Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng discovers that an attacker on his flight was sent by Christie Company. Since both Christie and Ultimate Care have traced him through earlier incidents involving stolen Gourd Immortal Abode treasures, he realizes his identity is no longer secret—but feels little fear now that he is back in Lower River.
• The encounter advances his cultivation: he has reached the fourth stage of the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Heart Method’s second level, having transformed Fu Shi into a Ghost Demon.
• On returning to Lower River, Tang is greeted with a grand welcome by Zhang Dacheng, Zuo Xingfa, and their followers. They explain that his use of Paper-Cutting Soldiers to defeat Ultimate Care’s people has become a major story in martial circles.
• Tang returns to the General’s Temple, where Da Xiang reports that all is well. Tang inspects the temple and the Ghost Domain beneath the mountain, then notices that the Bright Pearl in the Quiet Room has grown brighter.
• He sets his immediate priorities: understand the Silver Mirror and return it to the Gourd Immortal Abode; meet Fang Xin in five days to confront the Green King of Templefront Village; and, later, investigate the sealed Ghost Domain beneath Yin-Yang Mountain.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang is pleased by his rapid progress after years of slow cultivation, though he retains some unease about the dangers around him. His confidence also grows as he returns to familiar territory.
• Zhang Dacheng and Zuo Xingfa proudly welcome Tang and praise his growing reputation. Their pride in his achievement strengthens their loyalty to him.
• Tang’s initial reaction to the welcome is bemusement: he had not realized his spell had become so remarkable in an era when dwindling spiritual energy has made such techniques rare.
• Da Xiang provides a reassuring account of the temple’s condition, while Tang’s inspection shows him taking careful responsibility for its people and supernatural threats.

Significant themes

• Power in a changed world: Once-common legendary techniques have become extraordinary as spiritual energy declines.
• Home and confidence: Returning to Lower River makes Tang feel secure and grounded, despite enemies now knowing who he is.
• Growth and responsibility: Tang’s rapid cultivation is paired with mounting duties, from protecting the Gourd Immortal Abode to confronting local dangers.
• Prioritizing threats: His three planned tasks distinguish what is most important from what is most urgent.

Chapter Summary

This entry is a supporter acknowledgment, not a narrative chapter. The author thanks readers for their Qidian coin gifts and invites anyone omitted from the list to speak up.

• Events: Supporters are listed by gift amount, ranging from 10,000 coins down to 100 coins. Many names appear multiple times, reflecting repeated gifts.
• Character development: There are no story characters or character arcs.
• Themes: Appreciation, reader generosity, and the author’s connection with the audience.
• Interactions: The author addresses supporters collectively, expresses gratitude, and asks readers to point out any missing names.

Key events

• Back in the Quiet Room, Tang Changsheng examines the mysterious Silver Mirror. It disappears when viewed with his Heavenly Heart and absorbs the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp’s light.
• A beam from the Bright Pearl strikes the mirror, revealing its name: the Three Realms Mirror. Under the lamp’s light, it opens a view through the earth into the Ghost Domain beneath Yin-Yang Mountain.
• Tang glimpses the Protector King Divine General there, apparently in poor condition. The connection abruptly closes when the Bright Pearl and the temple’s Deity Statue flare with spiritual light.
• Soon afterward, fog and ghostly figures emerge from Dead Man Mountain. Tang recognizes that the mirror’s use has stirred the Ghost Domain, but keeps the cause to himself.
• He stays on the ridge to face the approaching creatures. His Cinnabar-charged Ritual Sword burns and disperses many of them, though its power fades as the Cinnabar is depleted. The fog eventually becomes so dense that Tang cannot see or move deeper into the Ghost Domain.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang shifts from cautious curiosity to excitement when he discovers the mirror can connect the living world with the dead. He also shows restraint by hiding his responsibility for the disturbance and handling the threat alone.
• Wu Shulan alerts Tang to the activity at Dead Man Mountain; Da Xiang expresses concern but obeys when Tang sends him and Wu back to the temple.
• The Protector King Divine General’s brief appearance suggests he may be in danger, though Tang learns too little to know why.

Significant themes

• Hidden powers and uncertain knowledge: The mirror defies ordinary perception and reveals its purpose only through an unexpected interaction of spiritual objects.
• Connection between realms: The mirror links the living world and the Ghost Domain, but that access is unstable and potentially dangerous.
• Power with limits: Tang can repel the ghosts, yet his sword’s Cinnabar is exhausted and the fog defeats his attempt to explore further.

Key events

• Tang Changsheng uses the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp to dispel the darkness and thin the mist around the General’s Temple. Ghosts flee its light and keep their distance.
• He learns that legend places a Ghost Gate beneath Dead Man Mountain, an entrance to the Underworld that the sect’s founder sought to guard by building the temple.
• After the mist recedes, Tang reunites with three rapidly growing kittens raised by the temple. Their intelligence and abundant Blood Essence suggest they may become powerful guardian beasts.
• Tang considers entering the Ghost Domain, but concludes his body would hinder him. He reflects that his soul still needs to advance before it can leave the body, and that the world’s weakened spiritual forces may make cultivation difficult. He postpones investigating the domain and returns to Templefront Village through the Bagua Mirror.
• Meanwhile, on Gourd Islet, the Holy Shepherd and a follower discover what the Shepherd believes is a passage home to the “Ultimate Homeland.” The Shepherd enters it, triggering a violent disturbance, then reappears in alarm, asking how “that thing” could be there.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang remains cautious and deliberate: despite his curiosity about the Ghost Domain, he chooses to handle preparations in Templefront Village first.
• Da Xiang answers Tang’s question about the Ghost Gate, while Wu Shulan celebrates the retreating mist. Their teasing argument—her grabbing Da Xiang’s ear after he scolds her—shows their familiar, affectionate domestic dynamic.
• Tang’s warmth toward the kittens contrasts with his practical judgment: he is pleased by their promise but recognizes they are not yet useful.
• The Holy Shepherd’s excitement about returning home shifts abruptly to fear after he scouts the passage; his follower waits anxiously nearby.

Significant themes

• Boundaries between worlds: The Ghost Gate, the possible passage on Gourd Islet, and Tang’s travel between realms all point to dangerous thresholds linking different worlds.
• Limits of power and knowledge: Tang recognizes that the Ghost Domain is deeper and more complicated than expected, while the Shepherd’s discovery proves unexpectedly hazardous.
• Preparation and patience: Tang postpones a risky investigation until he is better equipped, and the growing kittens represent strength that will only come with time.

Key plot points

• On Gourd Islet, an unseen force drags the Holy Shepherd into the ground. Before he disappears, he tells his remaining follower to find the treasure Tang Changsheng possesses and kill him.
• The black-clad survivor concludes the treasure is not the Silver Mirror, which the Holy Shepherd had previously arranged to return to Tang. He decides to seek Holy Salt, weaken Tang’s allies, and plan an indirect attack rather than confront him in Lower River.
• Meanwhile, Tang’s effort to free Templefront Village from the Green King proceeds smoothly. Chen Wangshi has secretly rallied the villagers by telling them that an immortal master will help end the Green King’s oppression.
• On the first day of the month, Tang leads the villagers to the temple. At his command, they throw filth—including black dog’s blood and excrement—onto the temple and its deity statue.
• The Green King and his Ghost Soldiers cannot retaliate: trapped in the temple’s Spirit Realm, they fear the daytime sun’s Solar True Fire. As the temple’s spiritual light is defiled, the Radiant Spirit Daoist Grounds begin to shake and collapse, and some Ghost Soldiers disintegrate.

Character developments and interactions

• The black-clad man shifts from shock at the Holy Shepherd’s capture to obsessive determination to kill Tang and recover the unknown treasure. He recognizes that direct confrontation would be too dangerous.
• The Holy Shepherd is revealed to be vulnerable and trapped, despite his followers’ belief in his divine authority. His unfinished instructions keep his follower focused on Tang and the treasure.
• Tang Changsheng uses strategy and public support rather than fighting alone, directing the villagers’ action against the Green King.
• Chen Wangshi serves as Tang’s trusted organizer, quietly building the villagers’ resolve.
• The villagers move from fear and resentment to collective action, emboldened by Tang’s backing.
• The Green King is enraged but helpless, confined by his vulnerability to sunlight.

Significant themes

• Oppression and resistance: Long-suffering villagers act together once they believe they have support.
• Power and vulnerability: Even apparently powerful supernatural figures have limits; the Holy Shepherd is trapped, and the Green King is constrained by daylight.
• Faith, authority, and legitimacy: Tang challenges the Green King’s claim to divine status, demanding proof of heavenly authorization.
• Strategy over brute force: Both Tang and his enemy consider how to gain leverage rather than rely on a direct clash.
  The excerpt ends as the Radiant Spirit Daoist Grounds continue to collapse.

Key events

• Tang Changsheng leads the villagers in attacking the Green King’s temple, exploiting the Minor Deity’s weakness in daylight. Black-dog blood disrupts the spiritual-light domain, and torches quickly burn down the thatched temple.
• Tang reassures the villagers that he has arranged for Ghost Soldiers to attack the Green King in the Netherworld. At night, the villagers hear fighting from the temple and take it as proof that the plan is working.
• Knowing the battle could still go badly if his ally fails, Tang enters the ruined temple’s spiritual-light domain to join the fight. There, Fang Xin and his Ghost Soldiers have cornered the weakened Green King and his remaining defenders.
• Tang arrives in an unusual spirit form, riding a red steed. Fang Xin welcomes him but is puzzled by the nature of his technique.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is confident and strategic, using the villagers’ daylight advantage to weaken the Green King’s earthly foundation. Beneath that confidence, he recognizes how much depends on Fang Xin’s timely intervention. He ultimately joins the battle himself.
• Fang Xin has led the Ghost Soldiers’ assault and is glad to see Tang, though Tang’s unfamiliar spirit-transformation art surprises him.
• The villagers move from fear and skepticism to relief and admiration: Tang’s assurances, the burning temple, and the sounds of battle give them confidence. They protect him as he prepares to aid the Ghost Soldiers.
• The Green King is left with only a small band of defenders, his domain in ruins and his power sharply diminished.

Significant themes

• The limits of supernatural power: The Green King’s authority depends on a fragile spiritual domain and earthly worship, both of which can be attacked.
• Day and night as opposing forces: Daylight constrains ghosts and gods, while night enables their battles.
• Faith, fear, and communal action: The villagers’ courage grows as they act together and trust Tang’s plan.
• Unusual paths to power: Tang’s rare spirit form reveals that he can wield a technique outside the methods Fang Xin recognizes.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng arrives as Fang Xin and his forces face the Green King, a Minor Deity, and uses the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal against the Green King’s remaining troops.
• The seal crushes nearly all the Ghost Soldiers, but Tang’s strength runs low before it finishes the Green King. He withdraws, leaving Fang Xin and the Ghost Messengers to complete the fight.
• Tang returns to his body, reassures the villagers of Templefront Village, and soon the Green King’s last spiritual light vanishes: Fang Xin’s forces have slain him.
• Grateful villagers decide to build a temple and worship Tang, giving him a foothold in the Immortal Realm.
• Tang then returns to the fading Radiant Spirit Daoist Grounds. He asks Fang Xin for ghosts to use in his Yin Soldier Refinement Method, and Fang Xin gives him five or six surrendered Vicious Ghosts.
• Tang returns to his own world, reflecting that the battle has taught him about warfare among gods.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng demonstrates formidable power and gains the villagers’ trust, but the seal’s use leaves him exhausted. He is also practical: he seeks captured ghosts to strengthen his forces for the coming task of suppressing a Ghost Domain.
• Fang Xin recognizes Tang as an unusually capable and generous ally, relies on his intervention, and readily helps him afterward by handing over prisoners.
• The villagers, especially Chen Wangshi, move from fear of the Green King to gratitude and a desire for Tang’s protection.
• Tang and Fang Xin’s relationship is marked by trust: Fang steps aside for Tang’s attack, then Tang leaves the final victory to him and later asks for his assistance.

Significant themes

• Power has limits: The seal is overwhelmingly strong, yet Tang cannot sustain its use.
• Faith and protection: The villagers seek a deity to guard them, and Tang’s victory turns gratitude into worship.
• Growth through experience: Tang’s first major battle broadens his understanding of divine warfare and advances his position in the Immortal Realm.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng reflects on how weak he is compared with the powerful gods and spirits of the Immortal Realm, but decides his own world’s ruined Netherworld may still hold valuable relics.
• He considers exploring the Ghost Domain beneath Yin-Yang Mountain and the abandoned Lower River City God’s domain for treasures. The dangerous Gourd Immortal Abode, however, must remain sealed until he grows stronger.
• Since the Silver Mirror cannot suppress the Abode, Tang plans to use the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal instead. To do so, he must refine it using the mental cultivation method of True Person Golden Tiger’s lineage, which he expects to find in his extensive database. He still cannot identify how to refine the Demon-Slaying Sword.
• Until the seal is ready, Tang resolves to keep everyone out of the Gourd Immortal Abode’s Inner Abode.
• Deng Ruiming visits to thank Tang for avenging his family’s wrong. Tang explains that the mission led him into an Ultimate Care cult stronghold and nearly drew the FBI’s attention. Deng apologizes and promises to do what he can for Ling Zheng.
• Deng reveals that his grandson A Lang has died. Tang offers condolences, though he had expected the outcome.
• Tang summons Ling Zheng, who is now campaigning to become Lower River governor. Though politically favored, Ling understands that he needs the General’s Temple’s backing to win and remain secure.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is cautious about his weakness but resourceful and determined: he turns to forgotten techniques and relics to improve his position. He also makes sure Deng understands the danger he faced, without disguising or exaggerating events.
• Deng Ruiming expresses deep gratitude and guilt over the risks Tang took. His grief over A Lang’s death contrasts with his continued commitment to helping Ling Zheng.
• Ling Zheng has regained confidence and political momentum, but recognizes his dependence on the General’s Temple’s influence. He responds promptly and respectfully when Tang calls.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Tang’s ambitions are tempered by awareness of how small he is beside supernatural forces.
• Recovery and resourcefulness: The ruins and scattered knowledge of the old order offer ways to build strength.
• Risk, gratitude, and obligation: Tang’s dangerous favor creates lasting responsibilities between him and Deng.
• Political influence: Ling Zheng’s prospects depend not only on public position but on the temple’s unseen support.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng spends time with Ling Zheng, strengthening their relationship through warm conversation about Ling Xiaoyu rather than immediately raising practical matters.
• He returns to the General’s Temple and studies fragments of Golden Tiger True Person’s teachings, then begins refining the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal. The visualization-based art transforms the practitioner’s spirit into a golden tiger and can enter the underworld to retrieve souls or guide sinful ghosts toward rebirth.
• Tang also refines the five Vicious Ghosts he obtained from Fang Xin into Yin Soldiers, using the “Immortal Realm” because spiritual energy is scarce in the human world.
• At Templefront Village, he finances construction of a substantial temple on the former Green King site. The location’s favorable feng shui and surviving earth-energy make it valuable. His generous payment provides welcome work and income for the villagers.
• While the temple is being built, Tang settles in a mountain hut and cultivates. His Sun Body-Washing and Lunar Form-Refining methods advance quickly because the “Immortal Realm” has both the sun and two moons, though these are not his main cultivation path.
• The chapter ends when a tiger’s roar startles Chen Wangshi and Little Pearl at night. Their cat, Ahua, darts onto a roof beam.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng appears socially perceptive and generous: he builds rapport with Ling Zheng through their shared connection to Ling Xiaoyu and supports Templefront Village without demanding payment. He is also focused and strategic in cultivation, pursuing the seal as a more powerful answer to ghosts than the quick-kill spell he had falsely claimed he was developing for Fang Xin.
• Ling Zheng and Tang seem closer after discussing Ling Xiaoyu and her gifts.
• The villagers respond enthusiastically to Tang’s funding, taking part in the construction and viewing him as a benevolent, almost otherworldly benefactor.
• Chen Wangshi and Little Pearl look after Tang by bringing him meals while he cultivates.

Significant themes

• Relationships require warmth as well as mutual benefit: Tang’s connection with Ling Zheng is strengthened through personal affection and shared concern for Ling Xiaoyu.
• Power carries risk and cost: The Golden Tiger art is extraordinarily potent, but its lineage has vanished and its full teachings are lost.
• Generosity and community welfare: Tang’s temple project creates paid work and lifts the village’s spirits.
• Persistence and opportunity: Tang makes use of incomplete texts and the unusual conditions of the Immortal Realm to advance his cultivation.

Key plot points

• Tang Changsheng demonstrates the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal by transforming into a mighty golden tiger. Chen Wangshi and Little Pearl mistake its roar for a real tiger and panic, but Tang soon reassures them.
• The transformation works because the seal supplies power to Tang’s otherwise incomplete visualization of the Golden Tiger Divine General.
• Tang leaves the village and returns to the General’s Temple. Rather than immediately using the seal at the Gourd Immortal Abode, he uses the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp to activate the Three Realms Mirror.
• The mirror reveals a ruined stockade in the Ghost Domain beneath Yin-Yang Mountain. There, Tang sees the Protector King Divine General, who awakens and defeats several Long-Haired War Ghosts. The slain ghosts’ power is absorbed by the stockade, which becomes slightly more restored; the temple’s Bright Pearl also grows brighter.

Character developments and interactions

• Little Pearl bravely rushes to check on Tang despite being frightened herself. Her concern moves him, and he decides to teach her genuine skills rather than treating her discipleship as a whim.
• Chen Wangshi admires Tang’s apparent mastery of Dao Arts and tells Little Pearl she has found a good master.
• Tang keeps the limitations of his Golden Tiger transformation secret, maintaining a confident front before the women.
• The Protector King Divine General is revealed to be active in the Ghost Domain, defending the stockade and apparently restoring it by consuming the power of defeated ghosts.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Tang’s golden tiger looks overwhelmingly powerful, though its strength depends on the seal.
• Loyalty and care: Little Pearl’s concern deepens her bond with Tang and changes how he regards her.
• Spiritual power and restoration: The General’s Temple, the stockade, and the Divine General appear linked; defeating ghosts replenishes the ruined structure and strengthens the temple’s light.
• Worlds connected: The Three Realms Mirror provides Tang a way to observe—and perhaps eventually enter—the Ghost Domain.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng realizes the Bright Pearl’s growing light signals that the Protector King Divine General has awakened. He assumes the General’s Temple will regain some of its former strength.
• The temple statue briefly glows when Tang and Da Xiang offer incense, but the light fades. Tang discovers through the Three Realms Mirror that the statue responds only while the mirror illuminates the Divine General in the Ghost Domain—the mirror creates a connection between them.
• Using the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal, Tang projects a spirit-form golden tiger through the mirror and into the Ghost Domain. It reaches the Divine General’s fortress, warding off Slain Ghosts along the way.
• Tang pays his respects and asks about Gourd Islet. The Divine General warns that it is dangerous, says he will hold the Gourd Immortal Abode, and instructs Tang not to let intruders enter Yin-Yang Mountain or the Ghost Gate.
• The Divine General then leaves the fortress. With its protector gone, Slain Ghosts begin gathering nearby. Tang enters the fortress’s surviving hall and finds that its interior seems to lead into another space.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shifts from relief at the Divine General’s awakening to alarm when the General abandons the fortress. He uses his new talisman to investigate and communicate, and recognizes that he may now have to deal with the Ghost Domain’s exposed defenses.
• Da Xiang shares Tang’s excitement and offers to help the temple flourish, but the statue’s fading light interrupts their optimism.
• The Protector King Divine General is powerful but not fully recovered, communicating in short, fragmented thoughts. His decision to leave the fortress for the Gourd Immortal Abode reveals his urgent concern about the danger there.
• Tang approaches the Divine General respectfully as a founding ancestor, while the General gives him warnings and instructions but does not explain his plans.

Significant themes

• Faith and spiritual connection: The temple’s deity statue responds to the Divine General through the Three Realms Mirror, linking worship, distance, and spiritual presence.
• Duty versus danger: The Divine General leaves his post to confront a greater threat, while Tang is left facing the consequences.
• Uncertainty and shifting power: The Ghost Domain becomes vulnerable, and the strange space inside the hall hints that the situation is more complex than Tang expects.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng enters the Bright Pearl and discovers it contains a Spirit Realm connected to the General’s Temple. From within, he can observe the temple and access its records.
• He learns that the temple’s founders planned a vast array linking branch temples, earth veins, and divine power across Lower River. The City God Temple’s Ten Thousand Immortals Wall was a second focal point. Together, they were meant to form a self-contained realm, but the project was abandoned as the world’s spiritual energy declined.
• Ghosts begin pouring through the stockade, threatening to escape the Ghost Domain into the living world. Tang transforms into the Golden Tiger using the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal and fights them off.
• After defeating numerous lesser ghosts, he faces three exceptionally powerful War Ghosts—near the Ferocious Ghost level—who had burned to death on Yin-Yang Mountain. He defeats them after a difficult battle.
• The Spirit Realm absorbs the defeated ghosts’ remaining soul power and grows brighter. At dawn, the Ghost Domain recedes, and Tang returns through the Three Realms Mirror.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng uncovers important secrets about the General’s Temple and realizes the scale of its founders’ ambitions. He also proves his resolve by defending the Ghost Gate despite exhaustion and serious damage to his Golden Tiger form.
• The encounter strengthens his understanding of his role: he must prevent the ghosts from reaching the living world and preserve the temple’s legacy.

Significant themes

• Ambition and decline: The General’s Temple once sought to unite an entire region through a grand spiritual system, but dwindling spiritual energy left the plan unfinished.
• Duty and protection: Tang risks himself to stop the ghosts from escaping and endangering the living.
• Power gained through sacrifice: The ghosts’ destruction feeds the Spirit Realm, turning a desperate defense into a source of renewed strength.
• The boundary between worlds: The Ghost Domain threatens to spill into the living world, but dawn restores the boundary—at least temporarily.

Character interactions

• Tang’s main interaction is with the invading War Ghosts, whom he confronts directly in escalating battles.
• He also engages with the General’s Temple’s founders indirectly through their records, discovering their plans and the importance they placed on the Ancestor Worship ceremony and the Ten Thousand Immortals Wall.

Key plot points and events

• After his night in the Ghost Domain, Tang Changsheng returns to his body. The Primordial Yang Divine Lamp goes out, the vision in the Three Realms Mirror ends, and he feels that the light within his Spirit Terrace has weakened from the strain.
• His visit has revealed secrets about the General’s Temple: its founders knew of the Immortal Realm and prepared for the loss of Celestial Star Power. Tang realizes that using the Bagua Mirror may have exposed the Temple’s techniques, so he resolves to be more cautious.
• Tang decides that the Temple’s most urgent long-term project is rebuilding the Nine-Dragon Heaven-Locking Heart Array. By linking nine earth-vein Spirit Eyes to the stars, it could preserve Spiritual Qi and make Celestial Star Power easier to access. The original design is too demanding, so he considers adapting it.
• Only two potential anchor sites are confirmed: Yin-Yang Mountain, which is tied to the Ghost Domain and the Temple’s Mountain Gate Array, and Gourd Islet, where the Protector King Divine General is now stationed. The latter’s dangers worry Tang.
• Tang also decides to reopen the Temple’s branch shrines to restore Incense Offerings. These would strengthen the awakened Divine General and help sustain the Yin Soldiers Tang expects to command.
• When Da Xiang asks why the statue’s light faded, Tang hides the truth: the Divine General awakened but cannot connect to his statue in the mortal world, and has gone to guard Gourd Immortal Abode. Tang also conceals his own worries about that mission.
• Tang orders Da Xiang to reopen the branches. Da Xiang warns that some have been occupied, taken over by the government, or designated cultural relics. Tang responds coolly that the Temple still holds their deeds.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng emerges with a clearer strategic plan: adapt and build the array, restore the branch temples, and rebuild the Temple’s power. At the same time, he feels the strain and weight of personally guarding the Ghost Domain and managing the Divine General’s uncertain situation.
• Da Xiang shows himself to be informed and practical, promptly identifying the obstacles to reopening the shrines. He remains loyal, though Tang now sees that his cultivation and magical strength are no longer comparable to his own.
• The Protector King Divine General is revealed to have awakened but remains unable to reconnect with the mortal-world statue. His decision to guard Gourd Immortal Abode leaves Tang concerned about his incomplete strength and the consequences if he falls.

Significant themes

• Decline and restoration: The Temple has lost much of its former power, but Tang sees a path to rebuilding it through the array and renewed worship.
• Hidden knowledge and caution: The founders’ foresight and Tang’s use of forbidden or sensitive tools underline the risks of revealing the Temple’s secrets.
• Responsibility and concealed burdens: Tang keeps dangerous truths from Da Xiang, choosing to carry the Temple’s anxieties himself.
• Power depends on both faith and infrastructure: Celestial Star Power, earth-vein arrays, Incense Offerings, and human effort are all necessary to restore the Temple.

Character interactions

• Da Xiang asks Tang about the Divine General’s briefly glowing statue; Tang withholds the real explanation rather than burdening him.
• Tang gives Da Xiang a direct order to reopen the branch temples, while Da Xiang candidly explains why the task may be difficult.
• Tang’s mild reply about the deeds hints that he may use the Temple’s legal claims—and possibly force—to reclaim its property.

Key plot points

• Tang Changsheng orders Da Xiang to secure the temple’s land deeds and deal with anyone causing trouble. Da Xiang sets off the next morning.
• That night, fewer War Ghosts attack the fortress, and no peak-level Vicious Ghosts appear. Tang Changsheng leaves defense to his five well-equipped Yin Soldiers and focuses on cultivation.
• Unable to sense Celestial Star Power, Tang Changsheng skips that stage and begins opening the Northern Pole Secret Aperture. The Primordial Yang Divine Lamp greatly accelerates his progress.
• He subdues Non-Toxin, one of his souls, though it proves more difficult than Fu Shi. The effort drains his Heartlight and nearly exhausts the lamp’s oil.
• Tang Changsheng considers making lamp oil from ghostly remnants but rejects the idea, worried that turning this into a habit would be harmful in the long run.
• After a dream in which the Protector King Divine General mentions “Incense Offerings,” Tang Changsheng concludes the deity needs incense and prayer power, perhaps because matters in the Gourd Immortal Abode are going badly. He decides Da Xiang must finish his work quickly.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng grows more confident managing the Ghost Domain, delegating its defense to his Yin Soldiers. He advances in cultivation but shows restraint by refusing an expedient source of lamp oil. The dream renews his urgency.
• Da Xiang is trusted with the practical task of resolving the land-deed issue and is expected to help expand the temple’s operations, though staffing remains a concern.
• Tang Changsheng and Non-Toxin clash during the subjugation: Tang forces the stubborn, cunning serpent spirit into submission through direct punishment.
• The Protector King Divine General communicates indirectly with Tang through the dream, drawing his attention to the need for offerings.

Significant themes

• Delegation and institution-building: Tang shifts from personally handling every threat to relying on his subordinates, while recognizing the temple needs more people.
• Steady cultivation and restraint: Progress is valuable, but Tang resists shortcuts that might cause greater harm over time.
• Spiritual signals and responsibility: The dream suggests that divine needs—and troubles beyond the temple—may demand practical action.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng worries about the Protector King Divine General, now the General’s Temple’s last major source of strength after the Yin Soldiers were lost. He asks Da Xiang about restoring the temple’s branch properties and learns that recovering privately occupied sites will be difficult, while government-held sites may be reclaimed with deeds.
• Tang Changsheng plans to visit Gourd Islet, where the Divine General entered the Gourd Immortal Abode. The islet has been sealed off after officials reported a chemical leak, keeping curious visitors away.
• Before approaching, Tang Changsheng prepares several artifacts. He uses the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp to activate the Three Realms Mirror and discovers that the beautiful, cloud-shrouded buildings shown within are only an illusion masking the true Inner Abode.
• The apparent peacefulness proves deceptive. A Baleful Wind shatters the scene, revealing a ghostly face and a force of wind and sand attempting to break through the mirror into the living world.
• Tang Changsheng counters with the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal, then channels his Heartlight into it in the form of a fierce tiger. The chapter ends as he confronts the force pressing against the mirror.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng is cautious but confident: he prepares carefully, distrusts the Inner Abode’s unnatural silence, and anticipates an attack rather than being caught off guard.
• Da Xiang is handling the temple-property recovery, though he faces practical and legal obstacles.
• The Protector King Divine General remains absent and unaccounted for, heightening Tang Changsheng’s concern.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The serene immortal residence is a façade concealing a hostile force.
• Preparation and discernment: Tang Changsheng’s suspicion and choice of artifacts prove essential when danger emerges.
• Faith and institutional survival: The temple’s loss of personnel and properties underscores the importance of restoring its resources and Incense and Fire Prayer Power.
• The boundary between realms: The attack on the mirror threatens to cross from the Inner Abode into the living world.

Character interactions

• Tang Changsheng consults Da Xiang about rebuilding the temple’s presence and recovering its properties.
• Tang Changsheng’s main confrontation is with the unseen force inside the Inner Abode, which attacks through the Three Realms Mirror; he responds with the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal and his Heartlight.

Key events

• Tang Changsheng uses the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal to suppress the strange force disrupting the Three Realms Mirror. The mirror then reveals that the Gourd Immortal Abode is a desolate ruin buried in dust and fog.
• He glimpses a gigantic, headless skeleton kneeling near its detached skull. The sight of the remains—and the pressure they still give off—convinces him they may be tied to the Heaven and Earth Cataclysm.
• A tentacle lashes from the skull’s eye socket, but a red-lit blade cuts it off. Through the mirror, Tang recognizes the wielder as the Protector King Divine General, who is fighting creatures hidden in the darkness.
• Tang sends the golden tiger into the abode to aid the general. The tiger destroys the tentacled monsters; the general catches it as it returns to seal form, gaining a great surge of power, then charges deeper into the ruins.
• Tang ends his viewing and hopes the general can contain the abode for ten years—enough time for Tang to strengthen his cultivation and prepare the Nine Dragons Locking Heavenheart formation.
• Before leaving, Tang encounters police patrolling the area under orders to keep people away because of a supposed chemical leak. He reinforces the warning, especially against anyone entering Gourd Islet.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang is shaken by the abode’s horrors but remains cautious and resourceful, choosing to help the Protector King Divine General from a distance rather than enter an unknown danger himself. He resolves to return once his cultivation is strong enough to uncover the truth.
• The Protector King Divine General demonstrates formidable skill and caution in battle. He accepts the seal Tang sends, acknowledges Tang through the mirror, and presses deeper into the darkness.
• Tang speaks briefly with the police officer, who shifts from reprimanding him to addressing him respectfully as “Master Tang.” Tang thanks the officers and stresses the need to keep the island sealed off.

Significant themes

• Ancient catastrophe and buried history: The skeleton and the abode’s mysterious forces suggest a connection to the Heaven and Earth Cataclysm and the Evil God of Ultimate Care.
• Power and limits: Tang’s desire to investigate is checked by his insufficient cultivation; he must rely on allies and prepare for a future confrontation.
• Containment and sacrifice: The hoped-for ten-year delay is crucial, with the abode’s suppression tied to Tang’s broader plans and the fate of the formation.

Plot points and events

• Two police officers tell Tang Changsheng about a strange case rumored to involve a haunting. He dismisses it for now, gives them Protective Talismans, and turns his attention to more urgent matters.
• Tang goes to downtown Lower River to address the General’s Temple’s property. Its centuries-old holdings have become extremely valuable as the city has grown.
• At a former branch shrine now operated as a private club, Da Xiang confronts owner Zong Xiangrong over the Temple’s claim to the land. Zong refuses to give it up, while his security chief, Liang Hongyi, threatens Da Xiang.
• Da Xiang points out that Zong’s family’s original purchase may have been improper, then identifies Liang as a member of the increasingly powerful Twin Dragons Society. Liang warns that the gang protects Zong’s business. Da Xiang leaves without escalating the confrontation.
• Outside, Da Xiang’s armed escort surrounds him. Tang is already inside their car, having entered unnoticed. He orders the group to drive, then shows Da Xiang a remote-controlled bomb.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is preoccupied with revelations concerning the Heaven and Earth Cataclysm, but acts decisively when he appears at the club. His quiet command immediately wins the armed men’s obedience.
• Da Xiang remains composed under intimidation, challenges Zong’s claim, and refuses to be baited into violence. He recognizes that Liang’s threats reflect the Twin Dragons Society’s backing.
• Zong Xiangrong is wary of the General’s Temple but unwilling to surrender a highly profitable property.
• Liang Hongyi uses bluster and gang connections to defend Zong’s interests, though he ultimately lets Da Xiang leave.
• The police officers’ report foreshadows a future visit to Yin-Yang Mountain, but the haunting case is not pursued in this chapter.

Significant themes

• Wealth and entitlement: The Temple’s old land has become valuable, creating conflict between historical claims and present ownership.
• Power and intimidation: The General’s Temple, established gangs, and newer criminal groups compete for influence; threats are tempered by uncertainty about who truly holds power.
• Composure versus aggression: Da Xiang’s restraint contrasts with Liang’s hostility, while Tang’s calm authority proves more effective than open force.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng identifies the bomb planted under Da Xiang’s car and suspects the Twin Dragons Society, rather than businessman Zong Xiangrong, was behind it.
• Da Xiang wants to retaliate, but Tang insists on handling the matter himself. He plans to act quickly so he can secure the General’s Temple’s land and gather Incense and Fire Prayer Power.
• That night, Tang’s ghostly, armored soldiers abduct Zong Xiangrong from his home, along with Liang Hongyi and the guards protecting him.
• At Tang’s hall, Zong realizes he is facing Master Tang of the General’s Temple. Tang gives him two days to withdraw and return the temple’s land, then has him whipped three times. Zong can endure only one lash before Tang sends him back.
• Zong wakes in bed with a terrible whip mark on his back. Downstairs, Liang Hongyi and the guards are alive but unresponsive, apparently left in vegetative states.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng shifts from allowing Da Xiang to handle the dispute to taking direct, forceful action. His urgency is driven by his desire to obtain prayer power.
• Da Xiang feels ashamed that he failed to secure the situation, then turns his anger toward the Twin Dragons Society. He accepts Tang’s decision to intervene, with the understanding that he will manage the aftermath.
• Zong Xiangrong moves from anxious confidence in his guards to terror when confronted by Tang’s supernatural power. He is left physically marked and facing a strict deadline.
• Liang Hongyi and the guards are unable to protect Zong and are incapacitated by Tang’s intervention.

Significant themes

• Divine authority and retribution: Tang invokes the idea that “there are gods three feet above your head,” making supernatural punishment a warning against defying the temple.
• Power and intimidation: Tang uses an overwhelming display of force to settle a land dispute and deter further opposition.
• Lawful appearances versus criminal influence: Zong is a businessman with connections, but Tang suspects the more ruthless Twin Dragons Society is driving the conflict.

Character interactions

• Tang reassures Da Xiang that he will still need him after the immediate obstacle is removed, while taking command of the confrontation.
• Tang confronts Zong directly, gives him two days to return the land, and punishes him as a warning.
• Zong’s pleas and his guards’ failure to intervene underscore his helplessness before Tang and the temple’s supernatural forces.

Key plot points and events

• Terrified by the General’s Temple’s power over souls, Zong Xiangrong orders his clubhouse emptied. Tang Changsheng casts the Twin Dragons Society members’ living souls into the Ghost Domain, leaving their fate uncertain.
• The General’s Temple’s former properties begin returning. After hearing what happened to Zong, monks occupying one site hand it back without resistance; other occupants gradually follow.
• Since many buildings need extensive restoration, Tang and Deng Ruiming establish a side hall in the Lower River City God Temple for the Protector King Divine General. The resulting surge in incense offerings helps sustain the deity’s protective work in the Gourd Immortal Abode.
• Tang settles into a routine of daytime cultivation and nighttime suppression of the Ghost Domain. His cultivation advances: he opens the Northern Pole Secret Aperture and subdues the ghost Non-Toxin.
• During a Ghost Domain patrol, Tang’s Yin Soldiers overwhelm a powerful Vicious Ghost nearing the Ferocious Ghost stage. Du Song finishes it with a shot from his top-grade Ghost Artifact firearm.

Character developments and interactions

• Zong Xiangrong is left deeply traumatized, eventually developing a fear of the dark.
• Tang Changsheng grows more confident in his forces but recognizes that his Yin Soldier unit remains too small and uneven in quality.
• Da Xiang is left to manage the returned temple properties.
• Deng Ruiming uses his standing among the Three Households to rally support for the General’s Temple.
• Du Song demonstrates his value as both a capable commander and a powerful fighter, while Tang’s Yin Soldiers prove effective even without Tang intervening.

Significant themes

• Fear and spiritual power: The General’s Temple’s authority over souls makes its enemies fear consequences beyond death.
• Restoration and adaptation: Tang reclaims the temple’s properties but finds practical ways to restore the deity’s support while buildings remain unusable.
• Growing strength and preparedness: Tang’s steady progress makes the Ghost Domain seem manageable, yet he understands that a fuller, better-balanced army is needed.
• Collective power: The deity’s protection depends not only on Tang’s cultivation but also on incense offerings, allies, and the coordinated Yin Soldier force.

Key events

• Tang Changsheng learns the Yin Soldier Camp Board was designed to be commanded by its owner’s Divine Soul. He sends his Heroic Soul into it, takes the Marshal’s Seal, and becomes the camp’s true commander.
• The board is badly depleted: it has only six Yin Soldiers at first, few remaining Ghost Artifacts, and no craftsmen or charioteers. Du Song, its sole sentient ghost, serves as minister and adviser.
• To strengthen his forces, Tang refines five captive Vicious Ghosts into Guardian Yin Soldiers using Seven Absolutions Yin Water, bringing his force to ten.
• He sends the soldiers to clear ghosts around the Ghost Domain Stronghold. Although the nearby area is swept clean, more ghosts keep appearing from the vast Ghost Domain, leaving Tang unable to abandon the stronghold for long.
• Realizing he needs a much larger force, Tang considers seeking more Vicious Ghosts in the “Immortal Realm,” but decides he must first reach the Manifestation realm and become stronger.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang moves from treating the camp board as an imperfect tool to understanding and personally commanding its full power. He is practical and ambitious, but recognizes his current limits.
• Du Song formally reports the camp’s poor state and becomes Tang’s adviser, while the previous marshal is reduced to an ordinary foot soldier when Tang’s Heroic Soul takes the position.
• Tang’s concern for the stronghold keeps him engaged in the Ghost Domain, even as he resents being tied down by the endless threat. His comparison with Fang Xin underscores how vulnerable he remains.

Significant themes

• Power requires responsibility and understanding: Tang can use the board properly only after learning its true purpose and accepting command himself.
• Strength is built through attrition and preparation: Expanding the Yin Soldier force offers a path toward security, but restoring the camp will take time and resources.
• Ambition versus vulnerability: Tang imagines sweeping the Ghost Domain, yet knows he is not strong enough to venture into the wider “Immortal Realm” safely.
• An overwhelming, persistent threat: The recurring ghosts reveal the scale of the danger and the limits of simply fighting one’s way out.