Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Investigators arrive at Pale Blue Castle seeking Tang Changsheng over his alleged connection to the Christie Auction Company massacre. They cite testimony from a man named Fan Qiang and present a search warrant.
• The girls of the Rose Society initially doubt the accusation: they remember Tang was at the castle that night, where he saved Bonnie from jumping. One girl says so openly, and the others rally behind him.
• Investigators find Tang’s room empty and assume he has fled. Tang then appears on the stairs in pajamas and slippers, surprising everyone.
• The investigators draw their guns and move to arrest him. Recognizing the danger, Tang suppresses his urge to fight and raises his hands, while challenging their right to treat him as guilty without proof.
• The girls protest and surround the investigators, but the officers push Tang into a car. Tang suspects they are targeting him because they think he is easier to intimidate than the influential students.
• As the car is about to leave, Tang demands to contact his lawyer and the embassy, revealing that he is a noble of the powerful Great Chu Empire. The investigators hesitate and ask him to prove it.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng stays composed despite being angry and facing armed men. He chooses not to resist, but uses legal rights and his diplomatic status to shift the balance.
• The Rose Society girls move from alarm and uncertainty to firm support for Tang, motivated by their memory of his heroism and their belief that he could not have been at the crime scene.
• The investigators act aggressively, partly to recover their authority after earlier humiliations, but become wary once Tang invokes the Great Chu Empire.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage: Tang appears vulnerable when surrounded by guns, then gains influence by invoking noble status and international consequences.
• Justice versus intimidation: Tang challenges the investigators’ treatment of him as guilty before conviction, while they seem intent on making an example of him despite uncertain evidence.
• Loyalty and reputation: The girls’ firsthand memories of Tang’s actions lead them to defend him against the accusation.

Character interactions

• The girls openly confront the investigators, citing Tang’s presence at the castle and refusing to let them take him without protest.
• Tang verbally challenges the officers but avoids physical resistance, then counters their authority by demanding legal representation and embassy involvement.
• The investigators initially dismiss the girls’ objections, but Tang’s claim of Great Chu nobility forces them to stop and reconsider.

Key plot points and events

• North American investigators detain Tang Changsheng over an alleged connection to a series of murders, though they have no evidence.
• Tang reveals that he is Baron Yibi, a hereditary-style honor tied to a title granted by Great Chu’s late emperor. Because Great Chu’s noble titles are rare and its military power formidable, the investigators realize the detention could become a serious diplomatic incident.
• Tang calls the Great Chu embassy. After verifying his status, embassy staff demand to speak with the investigators. A senior investigator takes the call and quickly backs down, calling the detention a misunderstanding.
• Tang refuses the easy way out. He insists on going to the Investigation Bureau so the accusation can be formally examined and his honor cleared.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is calm, confident, and politically astute. He uses his standing to protect himself, then turns the investigators’ retreat into an opportunity to force a proper investigation.
• The investigators shift from dismissive confidence to anxiety and deference once they understand Tang’s status and hear from the embassy. Their leader tries to placate him with an offer of expensive coffee, but Tang remains firm.
• The embassy staffer treats Tang with immediate respect and asserts Great Chu’s diplomatic expectations, increasing the pressure on the investigators.

Significant themes

• Power and diplomacy: Great Chu’s military dominance gives its citizens—and especially its rare nobles—substantial leverage abroad.
• Status and honor: Tang’s title is not merely personal prestige; it carries political weight and demands formal respect.
• Accountability: Tang refuses to let the investigators quietly dismiss the matter, insisting that their unsupported accusation be properly addressed.

Key plot points

• Federal Investigators detain Tang Changsheng after an unauthorized search and evidence-gathering attempt ends with an investigator dead. Tang refuses to leave the car, while his companions fear the incident will become a diplomatic crisis.
• Professor Croft Clive arrives and apologizes, promising to prevent the Investigation Bureau from troubling Tang again during his stay in North America.
• Clive offers support and training for Ling Xiaoyu, including a path for her to become president of the Rose Society after Arabella graduates. He also promises Tang rare artifacts.
• Clive presents a silver hand mirror. Tang can feel it in his hand, but when he uses his Heavenly Heart to inspect it, the mirror disappears from his sight.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains composed and strategically refuses to leave the car until the authorities recognize the seriousness of their actions. Though initially wary of Clive’s offers, he is swayed by benefits that could help Ling Xiaoyu and by the promise of unusual artifacts.
• Professor Clive acts as mediator, showing respect for Tang and using an apology, protection, and generous offers to repair relations.
• The federal Investigators are alarmed by the consequences of their conduct and scramble to contact higher authorities.
• Arabella and the other Rose Society girls worry about Tang but are relieved when he signals that he is safe. Clive’s offer also establishes a possible future for Ling Xiaoyu within the Society.

Significant themes

• Power and negotiation: Tang’s refusal to yield forces the authorities to bargain rather than control him.
• Loyalty and practical generosity: Tang values the offer chiefly because it could improve Ling Xiaoyu’s future.
• Mystery and the supernatural: The mirror’s physical presence but invisibility to Tang’s spiritual perception introduces a new artifact whose nature is unclear.

Key plot points

• Professor Clive returns the Silver Mirror to Tang Changsheng, who had come to Lufadan specifically to recover it. Clive explains that the Sages’ Society found it after investigating its disappearance from Christie Auction Company’s Vault.
• The Society’s experts concluded the mirror had probably remained in the Vault, though it could not be detected. Tang realizes why: when his Heavenly Heart is active, the mirror vanishes from sight and touch; when he extinguishes it, the mirror reappears.
• Clive says the mirror was likely affected by the nearby Cursed Doll, causing it to become invisible even to ordinary people. Tang recognizes that the mirror’s unusual nature explains how it could anchor the Gourd Immortal Abode.
• Tang agrees to help Pale Blue Castle deal with the trouble involving Alina, in return for information about her and several valuable gifts. Clive confirms that the Society also wants his help against the vengeful spirit.
• Tang reunites with Ling Xiaoyu and Arabella, contacts the embassy to report his companions’ release, and reflects on how much has happened during his brief stay in Lufadan. Clive promises to visit that evening and tell him more.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is delighted to recover the mirror but frustrated to learn that he and Da Xiang had unknowingly searched the same Vault without finding it. He negotiates firmly with Clive, adding information about Alina as a condition of his help.
• Professor Clive treats the mirror as a fascinating artifact rather than a priceless treasure, but shows the Society’s expertise and keeps his promises. He readily accepts Tang’s terms.
• Arabella and Tang embrace after his return; Quintina watches and privately assumes Tang has charmed Arabella, with a hint of jealousy.
• Tang thanks the embassy for its support but makes clear he will not defend the Investigation Bureau, despite his agreement with Clive.

Significant themes

• The strange, unpredictable nature of artifacts: Extraordinary items can possess hidden effects that defeat ordinary detection and reasoning.
• Knowledge and trust as bargaining power: Tang’s help comes with conditions, and Clive’s willingness to negotiate reflects the value of what Tang can offer.
• A world beneath the surface: Lufadan and Pale Blue Castle conceal mysteries far beyond Tang’s previous experience, suggesting that his adventures are expanding his understanding of the world.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng resumes studying the Silver Mirror, which resists examination even under his Heavenly Heart and Primordial Yang Divine Lamp. He suspects it is connected to the Inner Abode of the Gourd Immortal Abode, and learns that Ultimate Care is also searching for it.
• A black cat suddenly attacks him in broad daylight. When Tang’s Heavenly Heart probes its Sea of Consciousness, a powerful hostile presence tries to seize his divine sense and invade his own mind.
• Tang confronts the intruder rather than retreating. In the outside world, the cat freezes, falls, and dies; the enemy’s presence fades with it. Tang suffers a nosebleed but checks his Sea of Consciousness with the Divine Lamp and finds no foreign demon inside.
• Professor Clive arrives with Arabella and Ling Xiaoyu. At Clive’s request, the women join the private discussion. Clive reveals that Arabella is his apprentice and explains that his group calls itself the Sages’ Society, or the Arcanists, rather than the Black-Clad Priests.
• Clive identifies the Society’s geometric emblem as the Philosopher’s Stone—a concept corresponding, in cultivation terms, to a Golden Core. He begins listing its other names and legendary powers.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shows growing confidence and formidable control in spiritual combat. He recognizes the attack as likely connected to Ultimate Care, yet calmly tests himself against it. His reaction to Arabella’s secret involvement is equally composed: he says it does not change anything.
• Arabella appears anxious when her relationship with Clive is revealed, but Tang’s lack of surprise or judgment eases the tension.
• Professor Clive is direct and candid, both about Arabella’s apprenticeship and the Arcanists’ identity and beliefs.
• Tang and Clive move from guarded discussion toward a frank exchange about the Arcanists’ central symbol and its connection to cultivation.

Significant themes

• Mind and spiritual warfare: The attack shows that a battle within a Sea of Consciousness can be as dangerous as a physical fight.
• Hidden identities and shared knowledge: The Society’s names and symbol link Western esoteric traditions with Eastern cultivation concepts.
• Composure under pressure: Tang’s calm responses—to the demon, Arabella’s secret, and Clive’s revelations—underscore his confidence and pragmatism.
• Power and destiny: The Golden Core’s association with escaping Heaven’s control introduces questions about immortality, transformation, and human fate.

Key plot points and events

• Professor Clive explains that Western alchemy began with mercury and sulfur, producing cinnabar—an ingredient familiar to Tang Changsheng from Central Land Daoist practices.
• Tang recognizes the similarity between alchemy’s goals and the ancient Golden Elixir tradition: transmuting base metals into gold and seeking an elixir of immortality.
• Clive argues that both traditions share a principle of transformation: a Philosopher’s Stone or golden elixir could purify and elevate metals—and, by analogy, human beings.
• The chapter distinguishes ancient External Golden Elixir practices from the later Internal Golden Elixir path. External elixirs became discredited in the Central Land after many prominent people reportedly died from taking them.
• Clive says the Sages’ Society is not a caricature of sinister occultists; it pursues the world’s mysteries through both occult study and science, including research at Blue Castle University.
• He calls Alina’s incident a terrible accident but suggests it may have prevented something worse.
• Tang detects an unfamiliar protective force surrounding Clive, which blocks his usual spiritual examination.
• When Tang asks whether Clive’s group is responsible for the “Longevity Project,” Clive denies it, attributing the technology to Kang Lei Company.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng responds with humor and skepticism, teasing Clive about plagiarism, but remains alert to the possibility that Western groups possess powers unfamiliar to him. His difficulty reading Clive makes him cautious.
• Professor Clive patiently explains alchemy and the Sages’ Society’s aims, presenting himself as a serious researcher rather than a sinister occultist. He also carefully distances the Society from the Longevity Project.
• Ling Xiaoyu listens quietly, learning about the Sages’ Society alongside the others.

Significant themes

• Shared traditions, different paths: Western alchemy and Central Land Golden Elixir practices have related origins and aims, yet developed differently.
• The dangers of immortality-seeking: The deaths linked to external elixirs show the cost of pursuing longevity through hazardous methods.
• Occultism and science: The Sages’ Society treats both as ways of investigating reality.
• Limits of knowledge and power: Tang’s inability to perceive Clive’s protective force highlights that mystical expertise is not confined to one culture.

Key plot points and events

• Professor Clive explains that Kang Lei Company developed genetic treatments that can greatly extend life, though not beyond the theoretical human limit of about 175 years. Because genes interact in complex ways, altering lifespan genes carries unknown risks.
• Tang Changsheng connects the genetic collapse he witnessed in an impoverished streetwalker to these treatments. Clive confirms that other organizations are conducting life-extension experiments, and Kang Lei has tested its drug on over 100,000 people and plans to sell it.
• Clive reveals that Holy Salt destabilizes modified genes, particularly at high doses. He shows footage of a clinical subject whose body deteriorated into pus over roughly ten days.
• Clive adds that genetic collapse can alter a person’s soul: people who received genetic treatment and then took Holy Salt may become vengeful spirits after death. Arabella and the others are shocked.
• Tang remains puzzled. His earlier examination of the streetwalker suggested that her Three Souls had disappeared and her Seven Souls had changed—an outcome he thought could produce a zombie-like creature, but not a Vicious Ghost.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng moves from confusion about modern genetic science to recognizing a link between Holy Salt, genetic damage, and supernatural transformations. His observations, however, leave him questioning Clive’s explanation of how vengeful spirits arise.
• Professor Clive shares increasingly disturbing findings, shifting the conversation from the uncertain risks of longevity treatments to their potentially catastrophic supernatural consequences.
• Arabella and the others react with alarm when Clive reveals the connection between genetic collapse and vengeful spirits.
• Clive’s explanation prompts Tang to revisit his own encounter with the streetwalker, while Tang’s questions help expose the broader implications of Holy Salt.

Significant themes

• The pursuit of immortality: Humanity’s fear of death makes people willing to embrace risky treatments, even amid uncertainty.
• Scientific ambition and unintended consequences: Manipulating a complex biological system can trigger effects researchers do not understand or control.
• Science and the supernatural: Genetic collapse and soul transformation appear intertwined, challenging the distinction between modern technology and mystical phenomena.
• Commercial power and secrecy: Huge public demand and corporate wealth help drive large-scale experimentation, despite its dangers.

Key plot points

• Tang Changsheng realizes Holy Salt may devastate people’s souls, not merely alter their genes, after recalling the ruined state of Deng Ruiming’s grandson, A Lang.
• Professor Clive explains that Alina’s ghost has grown beyond the Sages’ Society’s ability to destroy. He believes Tang is the only one strong enough to stop her, and attributes the weakness of practitioners to the current low tide of spiritual power.
• Clive links Holy Salt to Watt Walter, a self-proclaimed saint whose cult, Ultimate Care, has become powerful enough to control an entire county. The drug appears to affect people who have undergone genetic modification especially severely.
• Clive says the authorities have failed to suppress Ultimate Care and warns that its worshipped power may be a true god—or an Evil God.
• Tang agrees to help while he is in Lufadan, but plans to leave in a few days. He is increasingly interested in Holy Salt, partly because he wants to avenge A Lang.
• After Clive leaves, Tang reassures Ling Xiaoyu that he is not angry with her for joining the Rose Society, then admits he suspects Clive told the truth but withheld important information. He guesses Arabella mainly wants his help with Alina and the campus curse.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shifts from listening to Clive’s appeal to cautiously probing the motives behind it. Though he agrees to help, he remains suspicious and has a personal stake in investigating Holy Salt.
• Professor Clive presents himself as earnest and desperate, appealing to Tang’s power and offering a reward, but Tang doubts he has disclosed everything.
• Ling Xiaoyu worries Tang blames her for betraying their sect. He reassures her, recognizing her as impulsive rather than scheming; she also perceptively identifies his distrust of Clive.
• Arabella appears ready to ask Tang for help but is interrupted by Clive. Tang later confronts her indirectly by naming what he believes her real request to be.

Significant themes

• Faith versus worldly power: Clive argues that a cult backed by a powerful supernatural entity cannot be eliminated through ordinary political or military measures.
• Hidden costs of progress: Genetic modification and Holy Salt promise extraordinary effects but may come with horrifying spiritual consequences.
• Trust and concealed motives: Tang accepts the facts Clive gives him while suspecting that the full story—and the reasons people want his help—remain hidden.

Key plot points and events

• Arabella returns as Tang Changsheng criticizes Professor Clive for exaggerating his cultivation and withholding information. Tang knows he has not reached the crucial stage of sensing the stars and suspects Clive is trying to use him.
• Tang also questions Clive’s claim that Ultimate Care is simply difficult to defeat. He reasons that the cult’s control of a county—and its apparent control of Holy Salt—threatens powerful people who rely on genetic modification to extend their lives. Those elites, he argues, would use their influence to destroy the cult if their own survival were at stake.
• Arabella realizes Clive has misled her and concludes that the situation is too dangerous and politically tangled. She decides that she, Tang, and Ling Xiaoyu should withdraw.
• When Tang asks whether Clive might retaliate, Arabella says the Society cannot simply dictate her fate. Ling adds that Arabella’s family, the Lester Lineage, has political and business influence. Arabella downplays its power and says Quintina’s Garcia Lineage is far more influential.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng displays clear-eyed skepticism. He knows his own limitations, doubts Clive’s motives, and analyzes how hidden political power—not just religious or supernatural strength—could shape the conflict. He is protective of Arabella, choosing not to voice a hurtful suspicion about her motives.
• Arabella shifts from involvement toward caution after recognizing Clive’s deception. She remains composed and confident about her ability to withstand any personal pressure.
• Ling Xiaoyu challenges Tang playfully but listens as he explains his reasoning; she also reveals the importance of Arabella’s family connections.
• Tang, Arabella, and Ling discuss Clive, Ultimate Care, and the forces behind the state, with Tang’s analysis persuading the others to reconsider the danger.

Significant themes

• Power behind institutions: The people who truly shape events may operate behind governments and laws.
• Self-interest and survival: Elites may abandon rules when their wealth, authority, or lives are threatened.
• Trust and manipulation: Clive’s selective account raises doubts about his motives and the Society’s agenda.
• Pragmatism amid danger: The group chooses withdrawal when the stakes and hidden forces seem too uncertain.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng agrees to help Arabella get rid of Alina’s ghost, but makes clear he will leave once the task is done. He refuses to be drawn into a larger conflict, though he wants to protect Arabella and Ling Xiaoyu, who must remain in Pale Blue Castle.
• The morning after the Glass Palace incident, Rose Castle begins a major rearrangement. Tang has identified the remaining girls as marked by Alina’s Grievance Aura and Killing Intent; they are among her intended targets.
• Tang fears that Alina could soon become a Ferocious Ghost, a threat capable of killing indiscriminately and endangering all of Pale Blue Castle.
• With the Sages’ Society providing what he needs and no authorities interfering, Tang prepares a Ritual Altar outside Rose Castle.
• During the day, he continues cultivating and refining his Four Great Yin Soldiers. He notices his Heroic Soul forming, though he still cannot sense the heavenly stars that his cultivation texts say he should.
• For the coming confrontation, Professor Clive gives Tang an iron Ritual Sword and a Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal. Tang recognizes the seal as an exceptionally powerful Magical Artifact, possibly one used by the legendary Golden Light Monk—and is thrilled that both items are his to keep.

Character development and interactions

• Tang Changsheng balances caution with responsibility: he will honor his promise to deal with Alina, but sets firm limits on how far he will become involved. His concern for Arabella and Ling Xiaoyu helps determine his choice.
• Arabella is the person to whom Tang makes his commitment, though the chapter gives little further detail about her response.
• Professor Clive supports Tang’s mission by supplying powerful ritual equipment, exceeding Tang’s expectations.
• The Rose Society girls are protected through the castle’s rearrangement, although they are not told why they are at risk. The Sages’ Society’s influence makes Tang’s preparations possible.

Significant themes

• Duty versus self-preservation: Tang helps despite recognizing the danger, but refuses to sacrifice himself to a wider cause.
• Escalating supernatural danger: Alina’s possible transformation from Vicious Ghost to Ferocious Ghost raises the stakes from targeted revenge to indiscriminate slaughter.
• Cultivation and uncertainty: Tang’s progress continues, yet his inability to sense the heavenly stars suggests that this world may interfere with his spiritual path.
• Power and patronage: Tang’s preparations depend on influential allies, while rare artifacts may prove crucial against the ghost.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng is pleased to receive two valuable items, especially the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal, but puts aside his excitement as night falls.
• At Rose Castle, the young women anxiously watch him prepare a ritual. Arabella reassures them that his odd behavior may be part of spirit work, while Ling Xiaoyu knows him well enough to be skeptical.
• Tang burns Alina’s clothing—awkwardly, a pair of lace panties—as part of a Soul-Summoning ritual. The women misunderstand what they see and speculate about his motives until Ling Xiaoyu explains that the clothes belonged to Alina.
• On the Seventh Night after Alina’s death, Tang uses her clothing and a Soul-Summoning Talisman to call her spirit to Rose Castle, a place she knew well. A chill wind and spreading mist signal the ritual’s effect.
• Tang senses that the supernatural force gathering is unusually powerful for a Grudge Ghost. He prepares two finely made paper figures, inscribing them with cinnabar but leaving the ritual unfinished.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is confident in his ritual craft, though his delight at acquiring treasure briefly distracts him. He remains composed as the strange energy builds.
• Arabella tries to calm the others by interpreting Tang’s behavior as normal mediumship.
• Ling Xiaoyu acts as the practical voice of reason, correcting the women’s assumptions and warning them about Alina’s ghost.
• The women of Rose Castle, impressed by Tang’s earlier rescues of Arabella and Bonnie, largely trust him despite their fear. Quintina fuels the confusion with playful gossip.
• Tang’s reputation as an exorcist is strengthened by his past rescues, while his actual methods remain mysterious to the others.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus understanding: The women misread Tang’s ritual, while Ling Xiaoyu recognizes its real purpose.
• Fear and reassurance: The women’s anxiety contrasts with their faith in Tang and Arabella’s efforts to comfort them.
• Ritual and supernatural power: Familiar objects, talismans, and crafted figures serve as tools for contacting and confronting the spirit world.
• Trust built through action: Tang’s earlier rescues earn the women’s confidence, even when they do not understand what he is doing.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng prepares to confront a ghost. He notes that Paper People can let Yin Soldiers wield greater power through illusion, but saves that technique for a later, crucial moment.
• He summons Du Song, a scholarly ghost with independent judgment, and gives him a powerful Grade D Ghost Artifact—a flintlock—ordering him to guard the area and stop the enemy from escaping.
• A supernatural battlefield illusion forms around the group: mist, cavalry, gunfire, and a Civil War-era cannon advance on Tang. Cannonballs and bullets appear to strike him but disappear before reaching him.
• The women witness the attack in terror. Arabella and Quintina explain how belief and the mind can make imagined injuries feel real—and, in extreme cases, even cause death.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains calm under attack, showing confidence in his preparations and command of the situation.
• Du Song proves obedient and eager to serve, accepting his new weapon and taking up a hidden position.
• Arabella recognizes the attack as a magical, psychological duel and explains its logic to the others.
• Quintina contributes a purported intelligence-agency case illustrating how fear and suggestion can have lethal effects.
• The frightened women look to Arabella and Quintina for an explanation as the apparent battle unfolds.

Significant themes

• The power of belief: Illusions can become dangerous when people accept them as real.
• Reality and deception: The chapter blurs the boundary between what is physically real and what the mind experiences as real.
• Preparation and restraint: Tang saves his strongest technique for the right moment while positioning Du Song to prevent the ghost’s escape.

Plot points and events

• Arabella explains that fake bullets can still kill if victims’ subconscious minds believe they are real. Only extraordinary mental control—like that attributed to Indian ascetics—could overcome the body’s fear response.
• The girls are impressed by Tang Changsheng, but Arabella doubts that mental discipline alone could explain bullets and shells vanishing before reaching him. She wonders whether Tang can affect matter with his mind, a power the Sages’ Society would consider godlike.
• Professor Clive and others secretly watching the event share Arabella’s astonishment.
• The narrative reveals that Blue Castle University’s rarely used Cross Library is far larger inside than outside: a medieval-looking hall occupied by black-robed priests, mysterious vessels, and an immense mechanical model of the cosmos.
• A group of the Society’s Arcanists watches Tang through an old mirror. Among them is Benjamin, whom Tang previously encountered while taking the Three-Eyed Stone Statue.
• The chapter ends with bullets rushing toward Tang and disappearing about three meters from him, leaving the cause unexplained.

Character developments and interactions

• Arabella displays knowledge of the Sages’ Society’s research, while her confidence gives way to uncertainty about Tang’s true abilities. Her past intimacy with him makes the possibility of his being more than human especially unsettling.
• The girls react with admiration when Arabella describes Tang’s apparent power.
• Professor Clive and the observers are revealed as covert witnesses, equally shaken by what they see.
• The black-robed Arcanists, including Benjamin, are monitoring Tang, suggesting the Society has been tracking him closely.

Significant themes

• Mind, body, and belief: The chapter considers how belief can shape physical reactions, while questioning whether mental control could extend beyond the body.
• The unknown behind appearances: Tang’s defense, the library’s impossible interior, and the Society’s hidden activities all suggest that ordinary explanations are inadequate.
• A concealed supernatural world: References to collapsed cultivation realms and surviving hidden planes hint that the Society may be part of a much larger, secret landscape of power.

Plot and key events

• Tang Changsheng’s display of power astonishes the Sages’ Society Arcanists. They mistake his abilities for projecting mental power and converting it into fire—feats that seem nearly miraculous in an era when the Spiritual Power Tide has been declining for over two centuries.
• His demonstration renews the Arcanists’ hope that occult cultivation is still possible, even as their society fractures and many members have given up.
• In reality, Tang is not yet capable of the feats they imagine. The Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, empowered by his Heavenly Heart, protects him from yin-based illusions and lets him attack ghosts.
• He uses the lamp’s flames to destroy hundreds of ghosts. The ghosts’ essence seems to strengthen the lamp, whose light becomes increasingly brilliant even after its oil is exhausted.
• The Vicious Ghost Alina challenges Tang, claiming she wants revenge and summoning another ghost army. Tang dismisses the threat and decides to try out his newly acquired Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains composed and confident under attack. He understands the limits of his abilities, but his growing cultivation and mastery of the lamp have made him far less intimidated by ghosts. His eagerness to test the Seal also reveals a playful, experimental side.
• The Arcanists move from stunned disbelief to renewed optimism, interpreting Tang’s feats as proof that their own path may still lead to spiritual advancement.
• Alina refuses to back down. She disputes Tang’s explanation that the Holy Salt sellers are responsible for her suffering and escalates the conflict by calling in more followers.
• Tang taunts Alina, urges her to face him directly, and insists that her ghostly forces cannot defeat him.

Significant themes

• Hope amid decline: Tang’s feats inspire people who fear that spiritual cultivation has become impossible.
• Appearance versus reality: The Arcanists misread the source and scale of Tang’s power; his success depends heavily on a special artifact rather than the abilities they imagine.
• Power and resourcefulness: Tang survives through both cultivation and clever use of magical tools, while seeking new ways to meet supernatural threats.
• Revenge and responsibility: Alina’s claim of vengeance points to an unresolved grievance involving the sale of Holy Salt.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng combines the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal, and a talisman to perform a rite of feeding the dead—the first half of the Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique.
• He scatters soybeans, which appear to the ghosts as a lavish feast. As the Battle Souls eat, their battle wounds heal and their ruined clothing is restored.
• Grateful and sensing that Tang may free them from their suffering, the ghosts kneel to him. Tang orders them to attack Alina, the Vicious Ghost who had sent them against him.
• Alina’s greater strength lets her destroy many Battle Souls, but their fearless, relentless assault weakens her defenses.
• Arcanists watching through a magical mirror witness the transformation and speculate that Tang has used the legendary Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique, though they do not understand how it works.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng reveals ingenuity and unexpected power, using ritual food to win over the ghosts and turn the attack against Alina. He also sees their gratitude as an obligation they now owe him.
• The Battle Souls shift from hostile attackers to devoted allies. Their renewed bodies and gratitude make them willing to fight Alina even at the cost of their existence.
• Alina is startled by the reversal and tries to reassert control through her superior ghostly aura, but the Battle Souls’ loyalty to Tang lets them resist her intimidation.
• The Arcanists react with shock and curiosity, discussing the technique while admitting they cannot explain it.

Significant themes

• Generosity as influence: Feeding the dead earns Tang loyalty and changes the course of the battle.
• Power through understanding: Tang succeeds by applying unfamiliar ritual knowledge rather than relying solely on force.
• Devotion and sacrifice: The Battle Souls’ gratitude drives them to challenge a far stronger foe without fear.

Key plot points and events

• Members of the Sages’ Society debate how Tang Changsheng made food appear. One Arcanist identifies it as Mental Manifestation: mental power gives form to a medium such as soybeans, while the Society’s own tradition uses mental power to manipulate elemental matter and cast spells.
• The Society’s scholars argue that spiritual power is recovering and will eventually validate their magical tradition.
• Meanwhile, hundreds of Battle Souls attack Vicious Ghost Alina. She unleashes a piercing mental scream that travels through a Magic Mirror, injuring the Arcanists who are watching. One of them smashes the mirror to stop it.
• Alina’s surprise attack also hits Tang Changsheng and Rose Castle. Tang withstands it because the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp reinforces his Heavenly Heart. The girls are protected by talismans bought by Quintina, though they are left dizzy.
• The effort of her attack exposes Alina’s true form. Tang animates two specially crafted paper figures, each inhabited by one of his Yin Soldiers, and sends them—now Golden Armored Generals—after her.
• As Alina struggles to reform, a peanut-sized bullet hits her in the back.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng proves resistant to a powerful soul attack and quickly turns the opening it creates to his advantage, using the Cinnabar Brush to complete and animate the paper figures.
• Alina shifts from being besieged to launching a dangerous, direct attack, but the effort weakens her and reveals her location.
• The Arcanists show both curiosity and professional pride: they recognize Tang’s technique but contrast it with their own approach, hoping spiritual power’s return will vindicate their discipline.
• Quintina’s protection helps shield the Rose Society girls, while Tang’s Yin Soldiers become active allies through their new bodies.

Significant themes

• Different paths to power: Mental Manifestation and the Society’s elemental magic are presented as distinct ways of using mental or spiritual energy.
• Preparation and practical craft: Tang’s lamp, Quintina’s talismans, and the expertly made paper figures all prove decisive.
• Mind and spirit as battlegrounds: Alina’s scream attacks consciousness directly, affecting people and even disrupting the Magic Mirror.
• Turning vulnerability into advantage: Alina’s powerful attack exposes her, allowing Tang to counterattack.

Key plot points and events

• Du Song ambushes Alina with the Ghost Artifact musket, interrupting her attempt to regain human form and scattering her into black vapor.
• Two enchanted Paper People, crafted by the Marvelous-Hand Wang family and armed with powerful single-use weapons, repeatedly strike Alina and prevent her from recovering.
• Alina makes a desperate charge toward Rose Castle, hoping to take someone with her. Tang Changsheng intercepts her with his Ritual Sword and gradually refines her away.
• With Alina destroyed and the ritual complete, the castle’s light returns and the surrounding mist and yin energy disperse. Tang expects to leave for the Lower River the next day.
• The following morning, the ritual equipment is removed and Rose Castle is announced as repaired. Tang prepares to fly home, accompanied to the airport by Ling Xiaoyu, Arabella, Quintina, and other students.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng demonstrates confidence and skill against a dangerous ghost, while admiring the Marvelous-Hand Wang family’s craftsmanship. He is relieved that his work is finished and eager to leave.
• Du Song contributes decisively by landing the opening shot on Alina.
• Alina is driven by rage and desperation, but is ultimately destroyed before she can become a Ferocious Ghost.
• At the airport, Quintina openly flirts with Tang and suggests that the girls visit him during vacation. The others tease and challenge her, especially because Ling Xiaoyu is present. The group’s admiration for Tang has grown since the previous day’s events, and his formerly off-putting appearance now seems mysterious and alluring.

Significant themes

• The cost and finality of death: Alina’s soul is scattered beyond recovery, emphasizing the irreversible nature of her defeat.
• Craftsmanship and inherited skill: The Paper People and their weapons show how specialized family techniques can rival supernatural artifacts.
• Reputation and changing perceptions: After witnessing Tang’s abilities, the girls reinterpret traits they once disliked as part of his mysterious appeal.
• Departure and impermanence: Tang’s thought that even a fine garden is not a place to stay forever frames the chapter’s shift from battle and ritual to farewell.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng departs Pale Blue Castle after saying goodbye to Ling Xiaoyu and Arabella, then boards a Great Chu Airlines flight.
• He reflects on what he gained during his trip: progress in the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Heart Method, recovery of treasures from the Gourd Immortal Abode—including the Silver Mirror—and new powers from the Three-Eyed Deity Statue that have greatly enhanced his ability to read Fortune.
• After checking the passengers’ Fortunes and seeing nothing alarming, Tang settles in for the flight.
• His seatmate, Zhen Wuren, introduces himself with boisterous, intrusive behavior. When Tang advises him to sit down, turbulence nearly knocks Zhen over; Tang catches him, but Zhen responds by complaining to the flight attendant.
• Tang ignores Zhen and watches a movie. Zhen eventually falls asleep, and Tang notices that his Body Light is unstable and strange shadows are moving over him.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng is calm, observant, and reluctant to involve himself in other people’s affairs. His growing supernatural abilities let him assess the passengers, though Zhen’s true nature remains unclear.
• Zhen Wuren initially appears to be an obnoxious, restless rich young man, but his impressive golden Fortune and Prosperity Fire—and the strange signs visible only while he sleeps—suggest there is more to him than his foolish act.

Character interactions

• Tang shares a brief farewell with Ling Xiaoyu and Arabella before boarding.
• Zhen tries to befriend Tang and flirt with a flight attendant, then argues with the attendant after turbulence. Tang rescues him from falling but otherwise keeps his distance.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: Zhen may be pretending to be foolish, while his supernatural signs hint at a hidden identity or condition.
• Power and responsibility: Tang’s enhanced perception gives him insight, but he chooses not to intervene without reason.
• Composure amid disorder: Tang remains detached as Zhen creates a scene and the flight jolts through turbulence.

Summary

Tang Changsheng recognizes Zhen Wuren’s attack as an unusually sophisticated form of Suppressing-Death Art: a shadow that feeds on its target’s Fortune. He initially chooses not to interfere, but the shadow reaches toward him. At the same time, Zhen Wuren secretly sends a hair-thin Centipede Gu Worm to bite Tang’s calf.
The Gu’s venom is neutralized by the power of Fu Shi within Tang, and the worm dies. However, while Tang deals with it, the shadow slips into his Sea of Consciousness and takes the form of a gigantic centipede. Tang recognizes the technique as belonging to the Southern Demon Cult. Though his Heavenly Heart cannot illuminate every hidden corner of his consciousness, he responds by invoking the Yao Light Divine Transformation, a stage of the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Heart Method. His Spirit Terrace has grown to nearly one zhang, meeting the minimum requirement to cultivate the method’s third stage.
Tang then unleashes a Ghost Demon formed from Fu Shi. It breaks through Zhen Wuren’s Body Light and invades his Sea of Consciousness, reaching his Heavenly Heart and Spirit Terrace before he can react. Tang identifies Zhen Wuren as a cultivator from the Central Land. The passage ends as Tang begins explaining the Daoist belief that gods govern the body’s organs and senses.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng initially keeps out of the conflict, but turns decisively against Zhen Wuren once attacked. He shows composure and resourcefulness: he survives the Gu Worm, recognizes the hidden method, and counters with a forceful invasion of his own.
• Zhen Wuren reveals himself as a deceptive and aggressive practitioner, pretending to sleep while combining Fortune-stealing shadow magic with a concealed Gu Worm. His confidence gives way to shock when Tang’s counterattack reaches his Primordial Spirit.
• Their encounter becomes a contest of surprise attacks: Zhen Wuren targets Tang from two directions, but Tang ultimately gains the upper hand.

Significant themes

• Cunning versus cultivation: Secret tricks can threaten even a powerful cultivator, but experience and adaptability can turn an ambush back on its maker.
• Unorthodox survival: The disastrous state of the world has driven people toward dangerous, unconventional methods of gaining power.
• The mind as a contested realm: The Sea of Consciousness is vast and partly shadowed, making inner defense and spiritual cultivation central to combat.
• Power and restraint: Tang does not act as a universal enforcer, but he responds when another person directly threatens him.

Plot points

• Tang Changsheng’s attacker, Zhen Wuren, unleashes a vicious Fu Shi ghost from his body. The ghost nearly destroys Tang’s Primordial Spirit, but Zhen’s Life-Bound Gu—a Seven-Colored Centipede associated with the Southern Demon Cult—protects him.
• Tang recognizes the centipede and connects Zhen, the General’s Temple, and the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Heart Method to the Southern Demon Cult’s history and its blend of witchcraft and Daoist practice.
• Before Zhen can counterattack, Tang’s Fu Shi invades Zhen’s Heavenly Pass Secret Aperture and devours Zhen’s own Fu Shi. The resulting imbalance lets the toxins in Zhen’s body spread, weakens his spirit, and leaves him vulnerable to Tang’s final strike.
• Zhen’s Primordial Spirit is destroyed. He survives physically but is left an unconscious, effectively lifeless shell, while everyone on the plane assumes he is asleep.
• Tang restrains his own Fu Shi with Heartlight, transforming it into the more orderly Heroic Soul. He then turns to searching for the “venomous snake” now that its apparent master is gone.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shows quick judgment and lethal decisiveness: rather than wait for a hidden threat to emerge, he attacks and removes the immediate danger. But using his Fu Shi’s power has made it stronger and harder to control, forcing him to discipline it.
• Zhen Wuren is revealed as a dangerous cultivator with ties to Southern Demon Cult traditions. His ambush fails, and his protective Gu cannot save him once Tang attacks his internal spiritual balance.
• Their confrontation takes place largely through their spirits and secret apertures, unseen by the passengers. Afterward, ordinary people—including a flight attendant—mistake Zhen’s ruined state for sleep or sudden illness.

Significant themes

• Discipline versus corruption: Cultivation means subduing the foul Fu Shi and nurturing its bright counterpart, the Heroic Soul.
• Power’s cost: Tang’s Fu Shi is effective in combat but grows more difficult to control when he draws on it.
• Hidden traditions and blurred orthodoxy: The General’s Temple presents itself as rooted in Daoist practice, yet its methods incorporate witchcraft and Demon Cult techniques.
• Invisible violence: A devastating spiritual battle can occur without any outward sign, leaving its victim unnoticed in a mundane setting.