Recaps

Yang Xiao returned to Xiangyun County after killing the Pig Demon and used his Merit to acquire several martial arts, gaining new attributes. Zhang Hu worried that the Pig Demon's stronger allies on Three-Demon Mountain would retaliate and went to discuss the danger with the County Magistrate.

• Li Tie watched villagers praise Yang Xiao, resented his newfound acclaim, and feared the Ape Demon and Bull Demon would avenge the Pig Demon.
• Yang Xiao left Li Family Hamlet with Zhao Tieniu and three other constables, bringing the Pig Demon's corpse back to Xiangyun County.
• Yang Xiao registered 170 Merit and chose several basic martial arts for himself and enough Merit-earned training opportunities for his companions.
• Yang Xiao equipped Grass-Gliding Steps, Floating Cloud Shattering Hands, Hard Skin Technique, and Resting Breath Classic, gaining four attributes.
• Zhang Hu worried that Three-Demon Mountain's remaining great demons would retaliate and went to confer with the County Magistrate.

After Yang Xiao killed the Pig Demon, Zhang Hu and the County Magistrate warned that the stronger Ape Demon and Bull Demon might seek revenge, and told Yang Xiao to stay in Xiangyun County until the Demon Suppression Division arrived. On Three-Demon Mountain, the Bull Demon sent the Ape Demon to investigate the Pig Demon’s disappearance and confront anyone responsible.

• The County Magistrate learned from Zhang Hu that Yang Xiao had killed the Qi Gathering Pig Demon and realized the Ape Demon and Bull Demon might retaliate.
• The County Magistrate told Zhang Hu to keep Yang Xiao inside the county town until the Demon Suppression Division arrived in two days.
• Zhang Hu warned Yang Xiao that the two Demons above the Pig Demon might come after him, and Yang Xiao agreed to stay alert.
• The Bull Demon grew suspicious when the Pig Demon failed to return and told the Ape Demon to investigate at Li Family Hamlet.
• The Ape Demon headed down the mountain, eager to find out what had happened and fight the humans at the County Yamen.

Yang Xiao was lured to the County Yamen, where he found Constable Zhang gravely wounded and an Ape Demon waiting for him. The Ape Demon revealed that it had come on its Big Brother the Bull Demon’s orders, and Yang Xiao prepared to fight it.

• Little Liu summoned Yang Xiao to the County Yamen, where he found the courtyard deserted and covered in signs of battle.
• Yang Xiao discovered Zhang Hu near death, and Zhang Hu urged him to flee.
• Li Tie led Yang Xiao toward the main hall, where Demonic Qi filled the air.
• Yang Xiao found an Ape Demon sitting among the bodies of two women and learned it had come to investigate its third brother’s death on the Bull Demon’s orders.
• The Ape Demon challenged Yang Xiao, who drew near his saber and said it would not leave alive.

Yang Xiao fought the ape demon, overcoming its powerful attacks and sonic ability before it seized Li Tie as a hostage. The ape demon threatened to kill Li Tie and invoked its boss’s Qi Gathering Perfection realm, but Yang Xiao kept advancing.

• The ape demon attacked Yang Xiao with powerful fists, but Yang Xiao stood firm and then broke its ribs with a Mountain-Opening Force punch.
• Yang Xiao pressed the ape demon with a series of blows and broke its left arm with a Monument Splitting Palm.
• The ape demon unleashed a sonic attack that briefly disoriented Yang Xiao, then tried to strike his temple, but Yang Xiao redirected the punch with Floating Cloud Shattering Hands.
• The ape demon grabbed Li Tie and threatened to kill him as it backed toward the door, but Yang Xiao continued advancing.
• Yang Xiao asked about the ape demon’s boss, learned the boss was at Qi Gathering Perfection, and resumed walking toward the ape demon.

Yang Xiao killed the Ape Demon and Li Tie after the attack on the County Yamen, then used the demon's Inner Core to reach Twelfth Qi Gathering Orifice Perfection. He left the County Yamen in order and ended the night at the peak of Qi Gathering.

• Yang Xiao beat the Ape Demon to death and recovered its Demon Core while Li Tie begged for mercy.
• Yang Xiao asked Li Tie whether he had delivered the missing villagers to the Demons, then killed him.
• Yang Xiao found Zhang Hu gravely wounded but alive and took charge of the County Yamen's dead, wounded, and repairs.
• After handing the remaining work to the County Magistrate, Yang Xiao returned home, washed, and equipped the Ape Demon's Qi Gathering Demonic Core.
• Yang Xiao absorbed the core's spiritual energy and opened all twelve Apertures, reaching Twelfth Qi Gathering Orifice Perfection.

Yang Xiao left Xiangyun County alone at night to confront the Bull Demon on Three-Demon Mountain before it could threaten civilians. When the Demon Suppression Division arrived the next morning and learned where he had gone, Shen Qingyang led his guards out to find him.

• Yang Xiao prepared supplies and left the city alone for Three-Demon Mountain, telling the gate guards he expected to return before sunset.
• Shen Qingyang and ten Demon Suppression Division elites rode toward Xiangyun County and discussed the local demon cases and Yang Xiao’s reported achievements.
• The County Magistrate told Shen Qingyang that Yang Xiao had killed the Ape Demon but left for Three-Demon Mountain alone the previous night.
• Shen Qingyang condemned Yang Xiao’s decision and ordered his guards to ride to Three-Demon Mountain to bring him back alive if possible.

Yang Xiao tracked the demons to Cloudspring Peak and confronted the Bull Demon guarding a Condensed Essence Fruit Tree. Their battle began with the Bull Demon badly striking Yang Xiao, while Yang Xiao’s saber left only a shallow wound; the fight remained unresolved.

• Yang Xiao followed the Demonic Qi to Cloudspring Peak, killing several minor demons along the way.
• Yang Xiao found the Bull Demon beside the Condensed Essence Fruit Tree and learned that its fruit would mature at noon.
• The Bull Demon explained that the Demon Suppression Division had killed its mate and sons, and that Yang Xiao had slain its remaining brothers.
• The Bull Demon charged Yang Xiao, who slashed its neck with the Spring Embroidery Saber but barely wounded it.
• The Bull Demon struck Yang Xiao into an ancient tree, but Yang Xiao quickly rose and took up his saber again.

Yang Xiao killed the Bull Demon through agile movement and precise saber strikes, then claimed its Demonic Core and the Condensed Essence Fruits. Equipping the fruit tree expanded his spiritual qi reserves, and using the core granted him immense strength, leaving him eager to join the Demon Suppression Division and find stronger martial arts.

• Yang Xiao evaded the Bull Demon's attacks, wore it down with repeated cuts, and killed it by driving his saber through its throat.
• Yang Xiao retrieved the Bull Demon's Demonic Core and waited for the Condensed Essence Fruits to ripen while restoring his Spiritual Power.
• Yang Xiao equipped the three fruits, refilling three Apertures, then equipped the fruit tree and gained meridian reserves equal to twelve more Apertures.
• Yang Xiao used the Demonic Core, refilled his Apertures and half his meridian reserves, and gained the strength of one arm increased by thirty thousand jin.

Yang Xiao killed the Bull Demon on Three-Demon Mountain and roasted its meat while Shen Qingyang and the Demon Suppression Guards hurried to rescue him. Shen Qingyang found Yang Xiao alive and learned that he had defeated the powerful demon alone.

• Yang Xiao cooked and ate Bull Demon meat after using the island's remaining spiritual energy and traveling without food.
• Shen Qingyang led eight Demon Suppression Guards up Three-Demon Mountain, where they found no lesser demons and sensed a powerful presence ahead.
• The group discovered the Bull Demon dead from numerous wounds and a nearly severed throat, and Shen Qingyang realized it had been killed.
• Shen Qingyang followed smoke from a campfire and found Yang Xiao calmly roasting meat nearby.
• Yang Xiao confirmed that he had killed the Bull Demon, and Shen Qingyang introduced himself as a member of the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division.
• Yang Xiao offered Shen Qingyang some nourishing Bull Demon meat.

Yang Xiao returned to the County Yamen with Shen Qingyang after killing the Bull Demon and eliminating Xiangyun County’s Demon Plague. Shen Qingyang praised Yang Xiao’s accomplishments and announced that he would choose Yamen Runners to take back to the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division, then went to check on Zhang Hu.

• Yang Xiao entered the County Yamen alongside Shen Qingyang, and the Yamen Runners learned that he had returned alive with the Bull Demon’s head.
• Wang Dagui and the County Magistrate welcomed Yang Xiao and learned that he had eliminated the Demon Plague on Three-Demon Mountain.
• The Yamen Runners recognized Yang Xiao’s strength, while Hu Kai watched resentfully from the shadows.
• Shen Qingyang reviewed the demon records and remarked that Yang Xiao had already killed everyone listed in the Account Book.
• Shen Qingyang learned that Yang Xiao was eighteen and announced he would select Yamen Runners to accompany him to the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division.
• Shen Qingyang left with Yang Xiao to check on Zhang Hu’s injuries.

Yang Xiao watched the Demon Suppression Division’s selection in Xiangyun County and prepared to leave for Qingzhou with Shen Qingyang. As the selected recruits departed, Hu Qingqing realized how far Yang Xiao had risen beyond her reach.

• Yang Xiao arrived at the County Yamen, where a Demon Suppression Guard and the County Magistrate treated him as already selected to join Shen Qingyang in Qingzhou.
• Yang Xiao visited the injured Zhang Hu, who warned him to be cautious in the Demon Suppression Division, and Wang Dagui encouraged him to make his mark.
• Shen Qingyang finalized the list and announced that three people would return with him to the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division.
• Yang Xiao boarded the lead carriage with Shen Qingyang, while Hu Kai and Hu Qingqing rode in the second carriage as part of the departing group.
• Hu Qingqing considered calling out to Yang Xiao but lowered the curtain, recognizing the gulf between their positions.

Shen Qingyang brought Yang Xiao and the other newcomers to the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division and explained its merit-based rules and ranks. Yang Xiao began the Captain examination, where he had to endure ten moves from a middle-aged examiner.

• Shen Qingyang told Yang Xiao that the Demon Suppression Division awarded resources for Merit and that newcomers had to pass assessments before receiving ranks and assignments.
• After two days of travel, Shen Qingyang, Yang Xiao, Hu Kai, Hu Qingqing, and the other newcomers arrived in Qingzhou and entered the Demon Suppression Division.
• Yang Xiao saw the Demon Subduing Stele, which recorded that 103,712 people had died in the division's line of duty.
• Shen Qingyang directed Hu Kai, Hu Qingqing, and the other newcomers to register for lower ranks, then took Yang Xiao to the Captain examination.
• The examiner asked Yang Xiao his name, hometown, and age, then told him he had to endure ten moves to pass.
• The middle-aged examiner attacked Yang Xiao at what he considered a modest Qi Gathering Realm level.

Yang Xiao passed the Demon-Slaying Captain examination by sending the instructor flying, then received his uniform and explored the Cultivation Manual Archive to choose a cultivation manual. There, Xu Qingshan introduced himself and offered to advise him.

• Yang Xiao struck back against the examination instructor, sending him into a wall, and the instructor reluctantly marked him as passed.
• Yang Xiao collected his Captain's waist tablet, uniform, and Merit Booklet, and learned that he could choose one cultivation manual for free.
• Yang Xiao settled into his courtyard, changed into his new uniform, and headed to the Cultivation Manual Archive.
• Yang Xiao browsed the manuals, searching for one that could help him break through from Twelfth Qi Gathering Orifice Perfection to the Liquid Condensation Realm.
• Xu Qingshan approached Yang Xiao, congratulated him on passing the examination, and offered to explain the manuals.

Yang Xiao visited the Technique Pavilion and learned that he needed Merit to obtain a Liquid Condensation Realm breakthrough art. He chose the Foundation-Solidifying Qi-Condensing Art, and its equipment effects gave him refined spiritual qi and the Qi Condensation Crystal trait.

• Xu Qingshan told Yang Xiao that the Demon Suppression Division kept breakthrough arts out of the archive and required Merit earned through missions to obtain them.
• Xu Qingshan recommended the Foundation-Solidifying Qi-Condensing Art, explaining that it refined spiritual qi, strengthened the foundation, and enabled the Qi Condensation Crystal technique.
• Yang Xiao accepted the booklet and realized his spiritual qi's poor quality had weakened his Demon-Slaying Blade Technique against the Bull Demon.
• Yang Xiao returned to his quarters, studied the art, and equipped it, gaining refined spiritual qi and the Qi Condensation Crystal trait without charge time.

Yang Xiao refined his spiritual energy with the Foundation-Solidifying Qi-Condensing Art and went to the Task Hall to find a mission. He teamed up with Xu Qingshan, and they began looking for a high-reward demon-hunting job.

• Yang Xiao used the Foundation-Solidifying Qi-Condensing Art to condense a Qi Condensation Crystal and test its power.
• Yang Xiao went to the Task Hall, where Manager Zhou explained that new guards had to take field missions in teams.
• Yang Xiao invited Xu Qingshan to partner with him after spotting him alone in the hall.
• Xu Qingshan explained his background, cultivation level, and cautious record, and Yang Xiao agreed to team up with him.
• Yang Xiao asked for a mission that offered demon kills and high merit, so Xu Qingshan asked Manager Zhou to find suitable options.

Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan accepted the Heishui County Painted Skin Case, hoping to uncover the demon responsible for the missing women and guards. After arriving and questioning County Magistrate Chen Bonian, they heard that a new Straw-Cloak Ghost sighting had been reported by the river.

• Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan took the Painted Skin Case after learning that several Demon Suppression Guards had disappeared while investigating it.
• Xu Qingshan explained that he wanted to earn the lead contribution to obtain a Liquid Condensation breakthrough technique, and warned Yang Xiao about the Painted-Skin Demon's ability to mimic people and hide its Demonic Qi.
• Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan traveled to Heishui County and went to the County Yamen to investigate.
• Chen Bonian told them that young women had been vanishing for two months and that two Demon Suppression Guards had gone missing after pursuing leads alone.
• A Yamen Runner rushed in to report fresh traces of the Straw-Cloak Ghost by the river west of town.

Yang Xiao investigated the Black Water River and uncovered an ambush of Straw-Cloak Ghosts, including a powerful one that regenerated until he cut it apart with his saber. After killing the ghost, he headed back to the County Yamen to confront Head Constable Zhao Peng, who had lured him into the trap.

• Yang Xiao went to the Black Water River while Xu Qingshan stayed at the County Yamen to search records.
• Zhao Peng pointed Yang Xiao toward the bodies, then left on the pretense of looking for other traces.
• Seven or eight Straw-Cloak Ghosts attacked Yang Xiao, and he destroyed all but the strongest one with Qi Condensation Crystals.
• Yang Xiao used his saber to sever the remaining Straw-Cloak Ghost's limbs, preventing it from regenerating.
• The Straw-Cloak Ghost claimed its elder brother was the Guanlan Prefecture River Inspection Envoy, but Yang Xiao killed it and collected its vital essence.
• Yang Xiao realized Zhao Peng had lured him into the ambush and raced back toward the County Yamen to find him.

Xu Qingshan and Yang Xiao realized the Painted-Skin Demon had been replacing people in the County Yamen and set a trap to draw it out. Xu Qingshan waited alone in the records room, where a Yamen Runner arrived with tea.

• A Yamen Runner tried to draw his saber on Xu Qingshan but stopped when Yang Xiao returned and announced he had killed the Straw-Cloak Ghost.
• Xu Qingshan explained that the missing people had progressed from young women to men, guards, and Demon Suppression Guards as the Painted-Skin Demon grew stronger.
• Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan suspected the Yamen Runner had been replaced and planned to lure the demon out by leaving Xu alone.
• Yang Xiao left under the pretense of checking the river while Xu waited in the records room with his hand ready at his sword.
• A Yamen Runner arrived at Xu's door with a lantern and hot tea.

Yang Xiao rescued Xu Qingshan from a Painted-Skin Ghost Clone posing as Yamen Runner Liu, which warned that multiple people in the County Yamen had been replaced. The next morning, Assistant Magistrate Wang proposed sealing Heishui City to trap the demon.

• Yamen Runner Liu attacked Xu Qingshan, revealed himself as a Painted-Skin Ghost Clone, and nearly overwhelmed him.
• Yang Xiao burst into the room and killed the clone with his Spring Embroidery Saber.
• The dying clone warned that more than one person in the County Yamen had been replaced, and Xu Qingshan named at least three suspected infiltrators.
• Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan agreed to take turns keeping watch through the night.
• Assistant Magistrate Wang proposed sealing Heishui City's gates so the demon could not escape.

Yang Xiao exposed Assistant Magistrate Wang as a Painted-Skin Ghost Clone and stopped it from attacking Xu Qingshan. A burst of powerful Demonic Qi then erupted from County Magistrate Chen's wife's room.

• Assistant Magistrate Wang urged Chen Bonian to seal Heishui County and search every household for the Painted-Skin Demon.
• Yang Xiao revealed that Zhao Peng had been a demon puppet who lured him to the river, then insisted that they search the County Yamen before sealing the city.
• Yang Xiao gathered the County Yamen's people in the main hall and sensed Demonic Qi near the inner courtyard.
• Yang Xiao noticed Assistant Magistrate Wang react when Chen Bonian mentioned his wife and went with Xu Qingshan to search her room.
• Assistant Magistrate Wang attacked Xu Qingshan with Bone Spikes, but Yang Xiao severed his arm and destroyed the Painted-Skin Ghost Clone.
• A powerful wave of Demonic Qi erupted inside Chen Bonian's wife's room.

Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan confronted the Painted-Skin Demon in the County Yamen after its clones revealed themselves and surrounded them. Yang Xiao destroyed the demon and its followers, but its final words warned that someone behind the monsters would not let him go.

• The Painted-Skin Demon revealed itself, and its maid clone attacked Chen Bonian before Xu Qingshan cut the clone down.
• The demon summoned more than twenty Painted-Skin Ghosts from human skins across the County Yamen, surrounding Yang Xiao, Xu Qingshan, and Chen Bonian.
• Yang Xiao unleashed a rain of Qi Condensation Crystals, killing more than a dozen ghost clones while the true demon tried to escape.
• Yang Xiao caught the demon and slashed away half its body, but it coiled around him and began peeling off his skin.
• Yang Xiao stunned the demon with the Ape Demon skill tag, then cut it apart and blasted its fragments with another crystal attack.
• The Painted-Skin Demon withered into dried skin after warning Yang Xiao that someone behind it would not let him go.

Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan closed the Painted Skin case in Heishui County and returned to Qingzhou, where Yang Xiao received the mission’s first merit. As Yang Xiao parted ways with Xu Qingshan, he saw Xu confronted by members of the Xu Family’s collateral branch.

• Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan found the skins of the missing victims, yamen staff, and two Demon Suppression Guards in the County Yamen, while Chen Bonian confessed he had not known his wife was a fiendish entity.
• Chen Bonian gathered the surviving yamen staff and said he would submit a petition of self-accusation; Xu Qingshan declared the Painted Skin case closed.
• Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan returned to Qingzhou, where Manager Zhou awarded Yang Xiao 600 Merit points and Xu Qingshan 400 for the mission.
• Yang Xiao agreed to work with Xu Qingshan on future missions and learned that members of Xu Qingshan’s family were giving him a hard time.
• A haughty young man confronted Xu Qingshan, sneering that he had acted as dead weight during the mission.

Xu Qingshan faced insults from Xu Mingting and other Xu Family youths until Yang Xiao arrived and rejected their offer to recruit him as an Attendant. Yang Xiao then exchanged Merit for the Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea Liquid-Condensing Method and began studying how to advance to the Liquid Condensation Realm.

• Xu Mingting and the other Xu Family youths mocked Xu Qingshan for supposedly taking credit for Yang Xiao’s work.
• Yang Xiao arrived, challenged Xu Mingting about his words, and refused the Xu Family’s offer of support in exchange for becoming an Attendant.
• Yang Xiao left with Xu Qingshan, while Xu Mingting said he would wait for Yang Xiao to run into trouble and seek him out.
• Yang Xiao exchanged Merit for the Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea Qi-Condensing Method at the Cultivation Manual Archive.
• Yang Xiao read the method in his courtyard and learned that Liquid Condensation required compressing spiritual energy into Spirit Liquid and refilling his Twelve Major Apertures.

Yang Xiao reached the liquid condensation mid stage and gained the Flesh Cloak and Thousand Faces traits by absorbing two demon essence cores. His equipment slots then unlocked a fusion feature that could combine three compatible traits into one of a higher grade.

• Yang Xiao equipped the Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea Qi-Condensing Method, condensed his spiritual energy into liquid, and reached the liquid condensation early stage.
• Yang Xiao absorbed the Straw-Cloak Ghost essence core and gained the Flesh Cloak trait, which let him rapidly heal a wound he made with his saber.
• Yang Xiao absorbed the Painted-Skin Demon essence core, gained Thousand Faces, and successfully disguised himself as Xu Qingshan.
• Yang Xiao used the essence cores' power to open two more apertures and reach the liquid condensation mid stage.
• Yang Xiao's three equipment slots activated a fusion feature for combining three compatible traits of the same grade into a stronger trait.

Yang Xiao synthesized his accumulated prefixes into stronger abilities, then learned that a series of grisly deaths and vanished riverboats implicated Jiang Chen, the Guanlan Prefecture River Inspection Envoy. The chapter ended with the Demon Suppression Division uncovering the official’s connection to the case.

• Yang Xiao synthesized three white prefixes into the green Rock Body and three others into the green Shadow Hunter.
• Yang Xiao combined green prefixes to obtain the blue Mountain-Crushing Strength and Wind-Chasing Scent Tracking.
• Yang Xiao synthesized his blue attack prefixes into the purple Demon-Slaying Crystal Edge and his spiritual-power prefixes into the purple Myriad Rivers Spirit Sea.
• Yang Xiao reviewed his refined set of prefixes and began to return to his thoughts when Xu Qingshan hurried to his courtyard with alarming news.
• Xu Qingshan told Yang Xiao that hundreds of bloodless corpses had surfaced in the Guanlan River and three merchant ships had vanished, leaving slime behind.
• Xu Qingshan revealed that the Demon Suppression Division had traced the case to Jiang Chen, the Guanlan Prefecture River Inspection Envoy.