Chapter Summaries

Li Xiao cleansed the Vengeful Ghost and discovered it was his fourth brother, Li Si, whom he saved by turning him into a Ghost Soldier. After acquiring Li Si’s teleportation ability, Li Xiao quickly cleared the fourth floor of the Infinite Reincarnation Pagoda.

• Li Xiao used the waters of the Sea of Bitterness to subdue the Vengeful Ghost, revealing that it was Li Si, his fourth brother.
• Li Si explained how he became a Vengeful Ghost in the Infinite Reincarnation Pagoda and agreed to enter a Frost Ghost Soldier token.
• Li Xiao gained Li Si’s teleportation ability, and the token pulled Li Si into the Nether Domain before the pagoda’s mark could destroy him.
• Li Si found he could not travel outside the Nether Domain, so Li Xiao entrusted Frost Hell to him.
• Li Xiao used teleportation to evade the moving Vengeful Ghosts on the fourth floor and found its exit within minutes.

Li Xiao cleared the fifth level by capturing and cleansing its Vengeful Ghosts, then entered the sixth level, where he encountered a Yaksha far stronger than anything he had faced before. Unable to harm it with a direct attack, he asked Black Jue and White Jue for help, but they warned him that neither could match the monster.

• Li Xiao discovered the fifth level contained stationary Vengeful Ghosts and chose to fight rather than evade them.
• He used the waters of the Sea of Bitterness and the Black and White Extremes to capture and cleanse the Vengeful Ghosts, but gave none of them tokens.
• After clearing the fifth level, Li Xiao ignored the crowd and entered the sixth, leaving the Eighth Madam worried about his strange behavior.
• Li Xiao identified the sixth level’s enemy as a Yaksha, but his Bronze Hammer Hand could not hurt it and he narrowly escaped its punch with Teleportation Art.
• Li Xiao summoned Black Jue and White Jue, who said a Yaksha was far beyond their strength and compared the gap to that between copper and silver zombies.

Chapter Summary: “A Desperate Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xiao and the Black and White Extremes realize that a Yaksha is vastly more dangerous than an ordinary Vengeful Ghost. Its mutated body is as strong as a Golden Zombie, while its speed and supernatural abilities make it nearly impossible to escape without teleportation.
• Li Xiao examines his reward from the fifth floor: a ring ability that creates a controllable golden energy shield.
• Testing shows that the shield can easily withstand the Black and White Extremes’ attacks. However, when expanded to cover his entire body, its energy becomes thinner and weaker. Repeated combined attacks eventually shatter it, after which it requires a full day to recover.
• After waiting for the shield to regenerate, Li Xiao prepares a strategy against the Yaksha. He surrounds himself with an oval shield filled with the Waters of the Sea of Bitterness.
• The Yaksha attacks immediately, shattering the shield and striking Li Xiao so hard that his body nearly breaks apart. Copper threads from the Copper Refining Technique hold him together.
• The Waters of the Sea of Bitterness severely weaken and torment the Yaksha, allowing Li Xiao to counterattack and release the Black and White Extremes. They bind the Yaksha with Soul-Seizing Chains while Li Xiao continuously pours the water over it.
• The attack proves insufficient to purify or kill the Yaksha because its resentment and murderous aura have become physically solidified within its body.
• The Yaksha eventually overcomes the pain, begins breaking free, and attacks Li Xiao. Li Xiao uses Nether Domain Suppression to distort space and shatter the Yaksha’s palm, gaining a temporary advantage.
• Just as the Black and White Extremes attempt to restrain the Yaksha, it reveals a lethal ability: spraying Red Mist. White Jue is instantly reduced to ashes, and Black Jue is killed immediately afterward.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao: Becomes more cautious after recognizing the Yaksha’s overwhelming strength, but remains decisive and resourceful. He tests the shield’s limits, develops a calculated battle plan, endures severe bodily damage, and uses spatial powers creatively when brute force fails. He also gains a clearer understanding of how weak he remains compared with beings such as the Yaksha King, Zombie Emperor, and Owl.
• Black Jue and White Jue: Initially terrified of confronting the Yaksha, they nevertheless follow Li Xiao’s orders and cooperate bravely once the battle begins. Their loyalty and usefulness are demonstrated, though both are ultimately killed by the Yaksha’s Red Mist.
• The Yaksha: Is established as an extraordinarily resilient and intelligent enemy. It can endure the Waters of the Sea of Bitterness, resist restraint, and conceal a devastating Red Mist attack until the crucial moment.

Significant Themes

• The gap between power levels: The chapter emphasizes how terrifying higher-level supernatural beings are. Even a Yaksha, far below a Yaksha King or Zombie Emperor, is nearly impossible for Li Xiao to defeat.
• Strategy versus overwhelming strength: Li Xiao survives by testing his abilities and combining the shield, Waters of the Sea of Bitterness, Copper Refining Technique, spatial distortion, and the Black and White Extremes’ chains.
• The limits of preparation: Although Li Xiao carefully studies the shield and constructs a plan, the Yaksha’s speed, resilience, and hidden abilities still turn the battle into a desperate struggle.
• Mortality and sacrifice: The Black and White Extremes’ fear gives way to loyalty and courage, but their deaths show the high cost of confronting powerful supernatural creatures.
• Uncertainty about ultimate strength: Li Xiao reflects on figures such as Owl and the Zombie Emperor, recognizing that the true hierarchy of power remains beyond his understanding.

Character Interactions

• Li Xiao commands the Black and White Extremes to test the shield, first individually and then together, allowing him to determine its defensive limits.
• He orders them to restrain the Yaksha while he attacks it with the Waters of the Sea of Bitterness.
• Black Jue and White Jue warn Li Xiao when the shield is vulnerable and later report that the waters are no longer suppressing the Yaksha.
• Li Xiao and the Yaksha engage directly, with Li Xiao using Nether Domain Suppression to defeat its palm attack.
• The Black and White Extremes attempt to capitalize on Li Xiao’s opening, but the Yaksha kills both of them with its Red Mist, ending the chapter on a major defeat and cliffhanger.

Summary of “An Open Plot”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After killing Black Jue and White Jue, the yaksha attacks Li Xiao with its Red Mist ability, Night Dew Death Suffering. Li Xiao escapes through teleportation, avoiding the attack.
• Li Xiao revives Black Jue and White Jue using the Underworld Domain’s power, since their life souls remain inside their tokens. Though weakened, they recover and explain that the Red Mist forced them to experience the yaksha’s immense suffering, causing their deaths.
• Li Xiao becomes convinced that the yaksha possesses an abnormal power or treasure. The Underworld Domain should have crushed it completely, yet it only broke the yaksha’s hand, while an unfamiliar force resisted the suppression.
• He theorizes that the yaksha either comes from another world or has acquired an otherworldly treasure. Because the Baisen Cult is searching for treasures left by the Forest Lord, Li Xiao decides the yaksha must be killed and its secret claimed.
• Black Jue proposes using the terrain and luring the red yaksha into fighting another yaksha. Li Xiao accepts the plan and involves Black Jue, White Jue, and Li Si.
• The ghosts bait the red yaksha. Li Si uses the Shadow Path and teleportation to transfer it into a neighboring passage, where it encounters a purple yaksha.
• The red and purple yakshas immediately engage in a brutal fight, exchanging punches and releasing red and purple mist. The purple yaksha appears to be losing, prompting Li Xiao to prepare Bitter Sea water to intervene.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao becomes more determined and analytical. His goal shifts from killing the yaksha for personal gain to uncovering the mysterious force protecting it and obtaining its possible treasure.
• Black Jue and White Jue are revived but remain fearful and submissive toward Li Xiao, since their lives depend on him. They nevertheless contribute useful observations and strategic ideas.
• Black Jue demonstrates initiative by proposing the plan to make two yakshas fight each other.
• White Jue shows growing insight, recognizing that the yaksha’s rapid recovery suggests the presence of an unusual treasure or power.
• Li Si proves essential to the plan, using the Shadow Path and teleportation despite needing preparation because his teleportation range is limited.
• The red yaksha is established as extraordinarily powerful, possessing overwhelming strength, speed, defense, recovery, and deadly mist-based abilities.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge and experience as advantages: Li Xiao’s broader understanding of different worlds allows him to recognize that the yaksha’s resisting force does not belong to the normal system of this world.
• Power versus strategy: Although the yaksha surpasses Li Xiao physically, he compensates through teleportation, cooperation, terrain, and manipulation of the environment.
• Control and dependence: Black Jue and White Jue’s revival reinforces their complete dependence on Li Xiao, who controls both their tokens and their continued existence.
• Mystery of otherworldly power: The yaksha’s unexplained resistance and rapid regeneration suggest a larger connection to foreign treasures, worlds, or cultivation systems.
• Suffering and obsession: The yaksha’s strength appears connected to its immense pain and obsession, making its existence both terrifying and tragic.

Character Interactions

• Li Xiao questions Black Jue and White Jue about the Red Mist and commands them to continue assisting him.
• Black Jue and White Jue cautiously discuss whether the yaksha can be avoided, but immediately submit when Li Xiao insists it must die.
• The two ghosts cooperate tactically, with Black Jue using the Shadow Path to evade the yaksha and rescue White Jue from its Soul-Binding Chain.
• Li Si coordinates with the ghosts and Li Xiao to teleport the red yaksha into another yaksha’s territory.
• Li Xiao and the three ghosts observe the battle from a safe distance, preparing to exploit the purple yaksha’s apparent disadvantage.

Li Xiao used the Waters of the Sea of Bitterness to keep two Yakshas fighting until they were both near death, then helped Black Jue and White Jue finish them. Red Yaksha’s final attack killed the two ghosts and knocked Li Xiao unconscious; the chapter then revealed how Li Fei, Li Xiao’s Eleventh Uncle, had transmigrated into his body.

• Li Xiao repeatedly teleported the Waters of the Sea of Bitterness onto Red Yaksha, disrupting its fight with Purple Yaksha while he waited for an opening.
• After seven hours of fighting, Purple Yaksha stabbed Red Yaksha through the eye with its horn, while Red Yaksha pierced Purple Yaksha’s chest and spine.
• Li Xiao ordered Black Jue and White Jue to bind and attack the weakened Yakshas; Purple Yaksha crumbled, but Red Yaksha began to heal.
• Li Xiao struck Red Yaksha with Nether Domain Suppression, bursting its head and collecting a red seed, but Red Yaksha released red mist that killed Black Jue and White Jue and knocked Li Xiao unconscious.
• The narration revealed that Li Fei had transmigrated from Earth into the body of Li Xiao’s Eleventh Uncle after an accident left the original Li Fei unconscious.
• Li Shengsi suspected Li Fei was possessed and confined him while sending beautiful women to ensure he left descendants; Li Fei enjoyed the arrangement until he felt completely drained.

Li Xiao learned of Li Fei’s horrific fate and the Mysterious Broadcast System before binding himself to it and quickly earning gifts from viewers. After gaining a powerful new constitution and more than 100,000 live points, he browsed the shop for talent-type abilities.

• Li Xiao relived Li Fei’s suffering, learned how the Mysterious Broadcast System worked, and discovered that a viewer’s gift had once helped Li Fei escape soul imprisonment.
• Li Xiao swallowed the system’s red seed, started a livestream, and attracted Field One, who tipped him 100 live points.
• Field Three and other viewers joined the room, showered Li Xiao with tips, and sent food that doubled his stamina and upgraded his constitution to a yin-yang twofold dao body.
• A Niu entered the stream, argued with Field One and the other women, and tipped Li Xiao 100,000 live points before leaving with them.
• Li Xiao checked the streamer shop, noted that an escape talisman cost only 666 live points, and focused instead on finding talent-type abilities.

Li Xiao purchased Vast knowledge and a powerful memory, then gained insights by observing the resurrected Black Jue and White Jue. After leaving the Infinite Reincarnation Pagoda, he rejected Seven-Kill True Lord’s offers to kill his family and learned the stranger had killed his own parents; the chapter ended with Li Xiao examining his altered cultivation and opening the shop’s cultivation methods page.

• Li Xiao purchased Vast knowledge and a powerful memory and learned how ghosts’ thought information and energy worked after resurrecting Black Jue and White Jue.
• Li Xiao left the Infinite Reincarnation Pagoda, reunited with the Eighth Madam and Li Dun, and agreed to eat with Li Dun later.
• Seven-Kill True Lord repeatedly offered Li Xiao live points to kill Li Dun and the Eighth Madam, but Li Xiao ignored the offers and left with his mother.
• Li Xiao questioned Seven-Kill True Lord about killing his own family, prompting the viewer to leave the stream; Li Xiao then learned the viewer had killed both his parents and become known as No-Kill True Lord.
• Li Xiao discovered his yin-yang twofold Dao body had changed his Copper Refining Technique and opened the shop’s cultivation methods page.

Li Xiao sought a way to attract viewers and earn live points, then took Celestial Pivot’s advice to study other streamers. Watching a reckless streamer get swallowed by heavenly lightning left Li Xiao with a frightening example of what livestreaming could entail.

• Li Xiao browsed expensive cultivation methods and chose the Netherworld Yin Talisman Scripture as the one best suited to his Nether Domain and Sea of Bitterness.
• After Li Xiao’s livestream drew no viewers, Celestial Pivot watched him display his methods, called most of them trash, and taught him a stronger version of the Copper Puppet Method that refined copper into blood copper.
• Celestial Pivot advised Li Xiao to watch other streams and improve his title, so Li Xiao bought a streamer ticket and opened the viewing interface.
• Li Xiao entered a stream titled about facing a heavenly immortal’s lightning tribulation and saw its streamer taunt the elderly cultivator Zhou Tongwen while dodging stray lightning.
• A huge lightning bolt swallowed the streamer, the screen went black, and Li Xiao was kicked out after the stream vanished.

Li Xiao explored the Mysterious Broadcast System and watched several streamers die in dangerous, absurd broadcasts. He realized the viewers were powerful, fickle beings who often pushed streamers into fatal traps, and resolved to treat the system cautiously.

• Li Xiao entered livestreams featuring a vampire, an obscene spectacle, a Dragon-Ao Divine Turtle, and a white ape, and watched each end in death or an abrupt blackout.
• Li Xiao watched Gut-Piercer duel Zhang Dongchen through matching couplets, and Gut-Piercer collapsed after Zhang Dongchen left.
• Li Xiao searched for safer streamers but found their specialized skills impossible to imitate, and recognized that his earlier Live Points windfall had been unusual.
• Li Xiao rejected Seven-Kill True Lord's offer to kill his mother and Li Dun, despite the promise of sudden wealth.
• Li Xiao concluded that the system's viewers were immensely powerful and often encouraged streamers toward death, so he resolved to use their behavior as a warning.

Li Xiao spent months refining blood copper and grew strong while waiting for viewers, but remained cautious about the powerful cultivators hidden throughout the Yin-Spirit World. When Celestial Pivot and Seven-Kill True Lord argued over teaching him, Guarding the Central Court gave him the legendary Great Luo Gu Refining, calling it an investment in his potential for Transcendence.

• Li Xiao refined vast quantities of blood copper, became strong enough to contend with a Golden Zombie, and decided he still needed to reach the level of a Zombie King before acting recklessly.
• Li Xiao considered attending Fengdu Academy for its library, while reflecting on the many Zombie Kings and Ghost Kings who hid in seclusion.
• Seven-Kill True Lord urged Li Xiao to name a price for cultivation help, then argued with Celestial Pivot over whether Li Xiao should learn a minor art or a method suited to him.
• Guarding the Central Court entered the livestream and gave Li Xiao the Great Luo Gu Refining manual, a legendary Supreme Gu Scripture.
• Li Xiao read that gu insects pursued mutation, while Celestial Pivot and Seven-Kill True Lord recognized the manual and reacted to Guarding the Central Court's claim that he was investing early in Li Xiao's potential for Transcendence.

Chapter Summary: “Tip of the Iceberg”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xiao dismisses the idea that possessing “potential for Transcendence” guarantees he can actually achieve it. He reflects on how countless ancient cultivators have pursued Transcendence for ages without success, leading many to believe that Transcendent Ones are fated from birth rather than created through cultivation.
• Viewers Seven-Kill True Lord and Celestial Pivot doubt Li Xiao’s supposed potential, while Guarding the Central Court argues that Li Xiao’s Yin-Yang Twin Pupils, Yin-Yang Twofold Dao Body, and mastery of copper refinement indicate extraordinary aptitude.
• Guarding the Central Court realizes he may have overestimated Li Xiao’s age and jokingly asks for the gifted Supreme-grade cultivation art, Great Luo Gu Refining, to be returned. Li Xiao confirms that although his body is eight years old, he is genuinely ancient and does not know his actual age.
• Li Xiao explains that becoming a child again offers the benefit of seeing the world from a fresh perspective.
• Several new viewers discover Li Xiao’s stream because it has fallen to the very bottom of the platform’s rankings. His months of silently refining copper caused visitors to leave quickly, leaving him with almost no official viewers.
• Li Xiao decides to stop cultivating and take the viewers on a walk. His zombie guards, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, attract suspicion, though Li Xiao explains that they possess consciousness and unified spirits and bodies rather than being mindless corpses.
• The viewers discuss whether Li Xiao’s world could support zombies and whether Celestial Pivot and Seven-Kill True Lord might be interested in his treasures. Rich Woman’s Fate warns Li Xiao to remain cautious and suggests purchasing an escape talisman.
• Guarding the Central Court becomes suspicious that Celestial Pivot and Seven-Kill True Lord want to steal Great Luo Gu Refining, prompting discussion of major cultivation gathering places, including the Central Court, Mountain Beyond Mountain, Shadow Workshop, Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and Eternal Island.
• The chapter concludes by emphasizing the enormous scale and complexity of the cultivation universe. Different regions, power levels, cultivation systems, factions, and races form separate social “circles,” meaning even powerful figures have encountered only a tiny portion of the wider world.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao: Remains calm, humorous, and unconcerned with reputation or status. He accepts that his stream is ranked last and views his childlike body as an opportunity rather than a weakness. His ancient experience and unknown age further establish that he is far more mysterious than he appears.
• Guarding the Central Court: Shows strong confidence in Li Xiao’s talent and defends him against the skeptics. He is also playful and opportunistic, joking about reincarnating as a child and briefly attempting to reclaim his gift.
• Seven-Kill True Lord: Continues to be skeptical and outspoken, rejecting the idea that Li Xiao’s aptitude guarantees Transcendence. He also suspects Li Xiao may be far older than he looks.
• Celestial Pivot: Acts as a curious and comparatively diplomatic observer. He is interested in Li Xiao’s world and helps explain the geography and structure of the cultivation realm.
• Rich Woman’s Fate: Takes on a protective, suspicious role, warning Li Xiao that the other viewers might attack him or covet his treasures.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu: Continue serving as Li Xiao’s loyal zombie guards, demonstrating that his unusual methods and companions are accepted as part of his daily life.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus personal effort: The chapter questions whether Transcendence can be achieved through cultivation or whether true Transcendent Ones are predetermined by fate.
• The difficulty of ultimate power: Even supreme cultivation arts and extraordinary talent do not guarantee success, reinforcing how rare and unknowable Transcendence is.
• Appearances versus reality: Li Xiao looks like an eight-year-old child but may be older than many ancient cultivators. His apparent weakness conceals immense experience.
• Perspective and reinvention: Li Xiao’s reincarnated child body allows him to experience the world differently, suggesting that changing one’s form can create new opportunities and insights.
• The vastness of the cultivation world: No individual or faction possesses a complete understanding of existence. Even major experts know only their own limited “circle.”
• Community and suspicion: The livestream creates unusual interactions among distant cultivators, mixing curiosity, humor, generosity, and distrust.

Character Interactions

• Guarding the Central Court praises Li Xiao’s aptitude, while Seven-Kill True Lord challenges the claim and argues that talent does not equal certain Transcendence.
• Celestial Pivot and Seven-Kill True Lord question Li Xiao about his age and motives, but Li Xiao responds evasively and humorously.
• The viewers tease one another about Li Xiao’s low ranking, with Guarding the Central Court comforting him and Chen Mi pointing out that his bottom-ranked status is precisely what attracted them.
• Rich Woman’s Fate warns Li Xiao about possible attacks from the others, leading Guarding the Central Court to defend his gift of Great Luo Gu Refining.
• The group exchanges knowledge about their various regions and gathering places, revealing how isolated the cultivation communities are from one another.

Li Xiao learned how cultivators were ranked across the Myriad Realms, then traveled to Fengdu Academy for the start of term. The chapter left him waiting with the other new students after a female ghost cultivator entered their classroom.

• Li Xiao studied "Great Luo Gu Refining" and learned that cultivators' strength could only be judged reliably through combat.
• Li Xiao resumed his livestream, but no viewers came, so he continued studying and practicing gu refinement.
• Li Xiao set out for Fengdu Academy with his attendant Xiao Qi and traveled there through a teleportation array.
• Li Xiao arrived at Fengdu Academy, saw its vast vortex of yin energy and killing intent, and met the new student Zhao Zong.
• A female ghost guided Li Xiao and Zhao Zong to a classroom, where they waited nearly three hours before a female ghost cultivator arrived.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Li Xiao attends Fengdu Academy’s orientation, where instructor Ai Rong explains the academy’s rules and facilities.
• Students receive jade plaques that register their identities and provide information about academy rules, dormitories, courses, and credits. Li Xiao uses Blood Copper to provide the required blood imprint.
• While Xiao Qi listens to the orientation, Li Xiao cultivates. His classmate Zhao Zong notices and becomes fascinated that Li Xiao can cultivate despite still being alive.
• A Golden Zombie instructor begins teaching the Yin-Spirit World’s “Four Books and Five Classics”:
  • The Four Books: Soul Book, Earth Book, Yin Book, and Treasure Book.
  • The Five Classics: Yin-Yang Scripture, Five Elements Scripture, Eight Trigrams Scripture, Feng Shui Scripture, and Burial Treasure Body Scripture.
• Li Xiao finds the lessons tedious because he had already thoroughly studied the foundational texts before entering the academy.
• During class, he instead practices the mental cultivation method from Great Luo Gu Refining, which allows him to control his Gu insects.
• The chapter then explains Li Xiao’s nine Gu insects:
  • One life-bound Yin-Yang Gu.
  • Four Yin Gu, which can pass through matter, freeze blood, and aid in combat or reconnaissance.
  • Four Yang Gu, which possess strong defenses and can heal critically injured targets by consuming yang qi.
• The Yin-Yang Gu can transform yin and yang qi and even switch Li Xiao’s soul between Yang Soul and Yin Soul states. This potentially allows him to use both living-person and ghost-cultivator techniques, though he does not yet exploit this ability because he is focused on studying Great Luo Gu Refining.
• A year passes. Li Xiao finds the academy respectable but unsuitable for him. Its basic physical training is ineffective for his powerful constitution, and he has little interest in ordinary classes or social connections.
• While cultivating in his dormitory, Li Xiao receives his first summons to the academy’s conversation room. He goes there with Xiao Qi and discovers that Ai Rong is waiting to speak with him privately. Xiao Qi is asked to remain outside.

Character Development

• Li Xiao: Remains detached, highly self-directed, and far more advanced than his classmates in both knowledge and cultivation. He sees most academy instruction as beneath his level and devotes himself almost entirely to Gu refinement. His unusual Yin-Yang Gu also establishes his potential to bridge the living, zombie, and ghost-cultivator paths.
• Xiao Qi: Continues acting as Li Xiao’s capable and energetic pageboy. He listens carefully in class, handles routine matters, and develops friendly relationships with teachers and students.
• Zhao Zong: Emerges as an inquisitive, talkative classmate. His fascination with Li Xiao’s ability to cultivate while alive creates a light contrast with Li Xiao’s indifference.
• Ai Rong: First appears as an instructor addressing the new students and later takes on a more personal role by summoning Li Xiao for an unexplained private conversation.

Significant Themes

• Isolation and alienation: Although Li Xiao attends the academy, he remains emotionally and intellectually separate from its students and teachers.
• Knowledge versus formal education: Li Xiao has already mastered the academy’s foundational curriculum, making institutional lessons feel repetitive and inadequate.
• The fusion of opposites: The Yin-Yang Gu embodies the chapter’s central interest in life and death, yin and yang, and the possibility of transcending fixed cultivation paths.
• Potential and restraint: Li Xiao possesses extraordinary abilities but deliberately postpones exploiting them until he better understands Great Luo Gu Refining.
• The limits of institutions: Fengdu Academy is powerful and well organized, yet its standardized education cannot fully accommodate someone as unusual and advanced as Li Xiao.

Character Interactions

• Li Xiao quietly signals Xiao Qi to pay attention during orientation while he cultivates himself.
• Zhao Zong repeatedly questions Li Xiao about cultivating while alive, but Li Xiao dismisses him with dry, evasive answers.
• Xiao Qi acts as an intermediary and attendant, handling matters Li Xiao does not consider worth his attention.
• Ai Rong’s summons marks a shift from Li Xiao’s passive participation in academy life to a potentially important personal interaction.

Chapter Summary: “Diehard Remnants”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Teacher Ai Rong confronts Li Xiao about his apparent refusal to pay attention in class. Before he can respond, Li Xiao senses an invisible force attempting to infiltrate his body and soul.
• To avoid the force, Li Xiao temporarily transforms himself into a zombie. The infiltration immediately stops, confirming that the room contains a hidden threat.
• He attacks the wall and discovers dense golden runes concealed inside it. Ai Rong identifies them as the Golden Dragon Evil Talisman Scripture, a powerful scripture created by the Zombie Emperor to gather a dynasty’s dragon aura.
• Li Xiao realizes that the scripture is being used in Fengdu Academy to influence or control students. The force likely targets the academy’s living human students as vessels for resurrecting the Zombie Emperor.
• When someone knocks at the door, Li Xiao and Ai Rong hide within the Shadow Path. They suspect that Xiao Qi, who was waiting outside, has either been controlled or compromised.
• Li Xiao deduces that the academy is the ideal location for the Zombie Emperor’s remnants to operate: it is isolated, overlooked, protected by only a few high-ranking figures, and filled with powerless young human students.
• He concludes that the conspirators will attempt to eliminate both him and Ai Rong because Li Xiao has uncovered their plan. Revealing themselves openly would likely result in their deaths.
• Teacher Wang Tusheng enters the room, secretly controls Xiao Qi, and pretends that Xiao Qi merely went to the restroom. Li Xiao hides in Wang Tusheng’s shadow and follows him.
• Wang continues behaving normally throughout the day, teaching and interacting with students as usual. His apparent normality makes him even more suspicious.
• That night, Wang returns to the conversation room, where dozens of teachers and a vice-headmaster are gathered. He reveals that he knows someone has been hiding in his shadow and challenges Li Xiao to come out.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao demonstrates sharp deduction, caution, and tactical skill. He quickly identifies the room’s danger, uses his zombie transformation to resist the infiltration, discovers the hidden scripture, and infers the larger resurrection plot.
• His actions also show his willingness to take risks. By attacking the wall, he exposes the conspiracy but places himself and Ai Rong in immediate danger.
• Ai Rong shifts from a concerned teacher questioning Li Xiao’s behavior to an active participant in a life-or-death investigation. She recognizes the scripture and understands the implications of the Zombie Emperor’s possible resurrection.
• Ai Rong also realizes that Li Xiao’s recklessness has dragged her into the conflict, though she accepts that uncovering the plot was necessary.
• Wang Tusheng is revealed as a highly deceptive antagonist. Despite controlling Xiao Qi and participating in the conspiracy, he maintains the appearance of a harmless, attentive teacher.
• Xiao Qi becomes an uncertain and possibly controlled figure, making him a potential danger to Li Xiao and Ai Rong.
• The presence of a vice-headmaster and many teachers suggests that the conspiracy may extend deeply into the academy’s leadership.

Significant Themes

• Hidden corruption beneath ordinary appearances: The academy seems peaceful, but its classrooms conceal a powerful resurrection ritual.
• Deception and paranoia: Li Xiao and Ai Rong cannot determine who is trustworthy, while Wang Tusheng’s normal behavior masks his sinister actions.
• The danger of resurrection and power struggles: The Zombie Emperor’s return would threaten the Crown Prince, Zombie Lords, and Ghost Kings, creating opposition even among powerful undead factions.
• Courage versus recklessness: Li Xiao’s bold investigation saves them from ignorance but also exposes them to a deadly enemy.
• The vulnerability of innocence: The academy’s young human students are being targeted because they lack the cultivation or abilities to resist the conspirators.

Character Interactions

• Ai Rong questions Li Xiao about his behavior, then works with him to investigate the hidden scripture.
• Li Xiao protects Ai Rong by pulling her into the Shadow Path and persuades her not to reveal themselves prematurely.
• Their discussion develops mutual trust as Li Xiao explains the conspiracy and Ai Rong recognizes the danger.
• Wang Tusheng manipulates Xiao Qi and uses friendly interactions with students to conceal his villainy.
• The chapter ends with Wang confronting the hidden Li Xiao and Ai Rong, while the gathered teachers and vice-headmaster imply that the final confrontation is about to begin.

After Li Xiao helped expose the Zombie Emperor’s followers at Fengdu Academy, the resulting battle and investigation devastated the school and uncovered a plot to turn students into avatars. Three days later, Ai Rong brought the academy’s apology and thank-you gifts to Li Xiao, who found two rare treasures among them.

• Wang Tusheng and the other infiltrators discovered Black Jue, but White Bone Old Monster and the academy’s forces sealed their escape routes and fought them until dawn.
• The academy found that students and graduates had been possessed by remnants of the Zombie Emperor’s consciousness, prompting it to suspend classes and setting off investigations across the Zombie Dynasty.
• Li Xiao received gratitude, gifts, and rare qi-refiner secret arts after exposing the plot, while the Zombie Emperor’s loyalists placed a bounty on him.
• Ai Rong visited Li Xiao at the Zombie King Estate and explained that the academy’s investigation and efforts to remove the remnants could take a century or two.
• Li Xiao opened the academy’s gifts and found emperor lung copper and the Life-Death Yin-Yang Art.

After eight years of cultivation, Li Xiao mastered the Life-Death Yin-Yang Art and set out to settle old scores, beginning at Ba Serpent Mountain. He subdued the first ghost cultivator who attacked him, while the others rushed in together.

• Li Xiao claimed the Sin Soul Banner, a weapon that imprisoned ghosts according to their karmic burden and could grow stronger by absorbing their cultivation.
• For eight years, Li Xiao cultivated in his courtyard, strengthened the banner, and endured assassination attempts while raising gu insects.
• At seventeen, Li Xiao finished mastering the Life-Death Yin-Yang Art, declared he would avenge his grievances, and flew toward Ba Serpent Mountain.
• Li Xiao reached the mountain, where ghost cultivators confronted and mocked him as he walked uphill.
• Li Xiao shattered a hideous ghost cultivator's soul with a breath and captured him in the Sin Soul Banner, prompting the other ghosts to attack together.

Li Xiao fought his way up Ba Serpent Mountain, defeating its ghost cultivators and discovering that the Ghost King was an avatar of the Zombie Emperor’s lingering thoughts. He confronted the Ghost King and began their battle with Ten-Direction Thunder Dragon, Bitter-Sea Thunder Prison.

• Li Xiao used the Sin Soul Banner to wipe out the ghost cultivators surrounding him and headed for Ba Serpent Mountain’s summit.
• Li Xiao imprisoned the mountain’s Ghost Soldiers in the banner and killed two Ghost Generals with Nether Domain Suppression.
• Li Xiao reached the summit and confronted the Ghost King of Serpent Mountain, whom he recognized as an avatar of the Zombie Emperor’s lingering thoughts.
• The Ghost King threatened to extract Li Xiao’s soul, and Li Xiao challenged him to attack.
• The Ghost King attacked with Plain-Cloud Palm Heaven Hand, and Li Xiao countered with Ten-Direction Thunder Dragon, Bitter-Sea Thunder Prison.

Li Xiao defeated the Ghost King of Serpent Mountain and then attacked the Sima Family in Central Pivot Prefecture to settle a score over an earlier assassination attempt. After smashing the family’s gates and sending Sima Ai flying, he faced a clan eager to turn his attack into an opportunity against the Li Family.

• Li Xiao used the Sin Soul Banner and Bitter Sea lightning to trap and kill the Ghost King of Serpent Mountain.
• Li Xiao identified the Sima Family as responsible for the assassination attempt and chose to confront them in Central Pivot Prefecture.
• Li Xiao appeared at the Sima Family estate, destroyed its gates with the Ghost King’s Plain-Cloud Palm Heaven Hand, and announced that he had come to wipe out the clan.
• Sima Ai attacked Li Xiao with the Ten-Step Baleful Smash Fist, but the banner streamers blocked his strikes and Li Xiao sent him crashing into a building.
• Sima Sang ordered Sima Xingchi to gather men and test Li Xiao, while the Sima Family considered how to profit from the confrontation.

Li Xiao overpowered Sima Xingchi and fought off the Sima Family’s Ghost Kings, killing one with his Copper-Lung Qi-Nourishing Godslayer Blade. He used the Heaven-Swallowing Gu to draw the remaining Ghost Kings into his thunder dragon, but an unseen attacker arrived with a lightning-wreathed axe.

• Sima Xingchi grew into a giant and attacked Li Xiao, but Li Xiao pierced his hand with the Sin Soul Banner and paralyzed him with lightning.
• Sima Sang ordered the Ghost Kings to save Sima Xingchi, and dozens of them attacked Li Xiao while a red-haired Ghost King tried to destroy the banner.
• The Ghost King of Serpent Mountain ambushed the red-haired Ghost King, while Li Xiao killed Ksitigarbha Old Ghost with his Copper-Lung Qi-Nourishing Godslayer Blade.
• Sima Sang judged that the Ten Carefree Elders could not defeat Li Xiao and left to seek help as Li Xiao unleashed the Ten-Direction Thunder Dragon.
• Li Xiao combined the Heaven-Swallowing Gu with a secret art to pull the Ghost Kings toward the thunder dragon, which coiled around them.
• An enraged voice called out as the sky darkened and a lightning-wreathed axe cleaved toward Li Xiao.

Chapter Summary: “Sima Three Heroes”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xiao confronts the Sima Family after uncovering their long history of attempts to assassinate him, including poisoning attempts, hired killers, and attacks by powerful cultivators.
• Sima Ji, a powerful Thunder Ghost wielding the top-grade Thunderbolt Battle Axe, challenges Li Xiao.
• Li Xiao activates the Sin Soul Banner’s “Bitter Rain,” summoning the Waters of the Sea of Bitterness. The rain severely weakens the surrounding Ghost Kings, allowing Li Xiao to capture and enslave them within the banner.
• Sima Ji attacks with tremendous speed, but Li Xiao blocks the axe barehanded and counters with a devastating punch. Though Sima Ji abandons his weapon to escape, Li Xiao later captures the Thunderbolt Battle Axe inside his Nether Domain.
• Recognizing Sima Ji’s rare Thunder Ghost constitution, Li Xiao offers to spare the Sima Family if Sima Ji becomes his subordinate. Before Sima Ji can answer, the Sima Family’s ancestor, Sima Tianzang, appears and rejects the offer.
• Sima Tianzang orders a coordinated assault: an arrow barrage, an earth-binding technique, and his own Yinwater Sword. The sword pierces Li Xiao’s hand, chest, and back.
• Li Xiao survives because of the Vitality Gu, which rapidly regenerates his wounds. He mocks Sima Tianzang and recalls the Copper-Lung Qi-Nourishing Godslayer Blade.
• The blade’s return triggers a terrifying reaction underground. Sima Tianzang realizes that his younger brother has been attacked by Li Xiao’s “Earth Burial” technique.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao is shown to be overwhelmingly confident, ruthless, and physically formidable. He refuses to justify his revenge through legal evidence, declaring that he came to kill rather than argue. His control over the Sin Soul Banner, Nether Domain, healing abilities, and powerful artifacts continues to expand.
• Li Xiao also demonstrates strategic judgment by recognizing Sima Ji’s rare Thunder Ghost physique and attempting to recruit him rather than simply kill him.
• Sima Ji is established as a rare Thunder Ghost who controls lightning and is immune to one of the greatest weaknesses of ordinary ghosts. Though powerful and honorable compared with the rest of his family, he remains loyal to Sima Tianzang.
• Sima Tianzang is revealed to be far stronger and more dangerous than expected, possessing cultivation close to the Ghost Emperor realm. However, his confidence and desire to seize Li Xiao’s secrets lead him to underestimate Li Xiao’s regeneration and hidden abilities.
• The wounded Sima Ghost Kings are reduced to helpless captives, becoming slaves of Li Xiao’s banner.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and justice: Li Xiao rejects formal proof or courtroom justice, believing the Sima Family’s repeated assassination attempts justify direct retaliation.
• Strength and survival: The chapter emphasizes overwhelming power, rapid recovery, and the ability to withstand seemingly fatal attacks.
• Recruitment versus destruction: Li Xiao is willing to spare talented enemies if they submit to him, showing that he values rare abilities even while remaining merciless toward those who resist.
• Hidden power and underestimation: Both sides conceal dangerous techniques and abilities. Sima Tianzang believes Li Xiao is defeated after the sword strike, only to discover that Li Xiao’s healing and counterattack are far beyond his expectations.
• Family loyalty and hierarchy: Sima Ji obeys Sima Tianzang despite Li Xiao’s offer, demonstrating the authority of the family ancestor and the importance of loyalty within the Sima clan.

Character Interactions

• Li Xiao and Sima Ji exchange accusations over the Sima Family’s attempts on Li Xiao’s life. Sima Ji demands evidence, but Li Xiao dismisses the need for proof.
• Li Xiao taunts Sima Ji’s combat ability after blocking his axe and later ridicules the apparent youth and clean-shaven appearance of Sima Tianzang.
• Li Xiao attempts to recruit Sima Ji by praising his Thunder Ghost constitution, but Sima Tianzang interrupts and prevents the negotiation.
• Sima Tianzang and Li Xiao engage in a battle of confidence and insults, with both asserting that the other will die.
• The chapter ends with Sima Tianzang realizing that Li Xiao’s underground attack has struck a member of his family, shifting the initiative back to Li Xiao.