Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng leaves the Netherworld Office with his belongings packed in the Marching Bag, briefly wondering how much it can hold. He resolves to advance his cultivation so he can create another Divine Soul.
• Back at Yin-Yang Mountain, he finds the sect growing: several Outer Disciples are training under Da Xiang, with Cui Zhengfei among them.
• Tang speaks privately with Da Xiang about the disciples’ progress and hears that cultivation may be becoming easier, perhaps because Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Qi has begun to recover. Da Xiang is unsure.
• Tang gives Da Xiang plans for an improved Reversing Sun and Moon Heavenly Mechanism Formation, which lets disciples cultivate through solar and lunar forces while strengthening the formation in return. He also shares an improved method tailored to Da Xiang’s Gourd Islet lineage and corpse-refining skills.
• Tang teaches Da Xiang to control the mountain-protecting formation, despite it traditionally being reserved for the Sect Leader.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng shows growing confidence and strategic generosity. His strength gives him the security to delegate authority and share knowledge, while his concern for his disciples motivates him to provide better training methods and resources.
• Da Xiang continues to serve as a capable and loyal junior brother. He is careful not to overstep Tang’s authority, but is surprised and moved when Tang entrusts him with the formation and sect responsibilities.
• The Outer Disciples, especially Cui Zhengfei, are becoming more diligent, though they remain at an early stage of cultivation.

Significant themes

• Strength and trust: Tang’s rising power allows him to delegate without feeling threatened or undermined.
• Mentorship and shared responsibility: The sect’s leaders work together to support disciples who lack resources and guidance.
• A changing world: The possible return of Spiritual Qi hints at broader changes that may make cultivation more accessible.
• Collective cultivation: The new formation links individual practice with the sect’s strength, so each cultivator benefits the others.

Character interactions

• Tang warmly acknowledges Da Xiang’s work managing the mountain and training the disciples, while reassuring him that he trusts him.
• Da Xiang reports on the disciples and his own cultivation, and Tang probes his suggestion that Spiritual Qi may be recovering.
• Tang entrusts Da Xiang with powerful sect knowledge, signaling respect and a willingness to share the burden of leadership.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng explains that the General’s Temple’s ancient cultivation arts no longer function as intended because most celestial power is sealed away. Only the sun- and moon-based methods—and half of the Nine Luminaries method—can currently be cultivated.
• To help his disciples progress, he is considering modifying the Reversing Sun and Moon Heavenly Mechanism Formation so it can amplify cultivation. A trace of True Fire obtained from Marquis Wu could serve as its Formation Eye, though the design is still only at an early stage.
• Tang Changsheng gives Da Xiang a long list of ingredients for medicinal Pills. The purchases will be expensive, and the sect has recently spent heavily on repairing the formation and supporting Cui Zhengfei’s punishing training.
• He tells Da Xiang that the ingredients are for him and other disciples as well as Tang Changsheng and Wu Shulan. If needed, the sect can raise funds by selling some of its valuable shares and bonds rather than ancestral land.
• Tang Changsheng urges the sect to manage its inherited businesses, since a growing membership will require more money for cultivation. Da Xiang eagerly agrees to begin preparing, including pursuing his earlier antiques-business idea.
• After Da Xiang leaves, Tang Changsheng checks the Demon Web. He finds no discussion of Spiritual Qi rising, but sees a post reporting that tribulation lightning has struck multiple places worldwide.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng demonstrates his broad experience by advising Da Xiang on cultivation and adapting old methods to changed conditions. He is also planning ahead: securing resources, improving the formation, and building a sustainable financial base for the sect.
• Da Xiang moves from seeking cultivation guidance to taking initiative on the sect’s finances. Tang’s promise to help advance his cultivation encourages him, and he leaves energized.
• Cui Zhengfei is mentioned as enduring exceptionally intense Earthfire training, made possible by his willpower and the extensive Pills and treatments the sect provides.
• Tang’s joking reminder that junior disciples might surpass Da Xiang conveys their familiar, supportive relationship.

Significant themes

• Tradition adapted to changing times: Ancient cultivation arts must be revised because the world’s spiritual conditions have changed.
• Collective investment and stewardship: The sect’s wealth exists to support its members, while managing businesses can preserve its future better than repeatedly selling ancestral land.
• Preparation amid uncertainty: Tang is stockpiling resources and planning improvements before events in Wu Hou State demand his attention.
• Foreshadowing: Reports of widespread tribulation lightning hint at significant changes or dangers unfolding beyond the sect.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng finds an old online post describing worldwide cataclysms that occurred around the time of his own supernatural activity. He suspects a connection to the Flood Dragon Soul and wonders whether a larger upheaval is underway.
• He concludes that the recent Tribulation Lightning benefited him and the General’s Temple, and plans to expand the Nine-Dragon Heaven-Locking Heart Array. He also reflects that fully cultivating and reuniting his souls could lead him toward the Yin Spirit True Person realm—and possibly the Yang God realm.
• Tang enters the Ghost Domain beneath Yin-Yang Mountain to retrieve a Spirit Iron Mine for the Ghost Craftsmen.
• After more than ten days of renovations, the Lower River City God Temple reopens with a public ceremony attended by the Three Households’ leaders.
• In the Netherworld Office, Tang’s Central Soul uses the City God Seal to assume the City God’s role temporarily. Tang lights the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp in the mortal world, linking the newly consecrated City God statue to the Netherworld Office.
• Eight of Tang’s subordinates—including Yuan Wu, Zhangtai, Qin An, and King Shangyang—are appointed Ghost Gods to oversee the office’s various bureaus.
• A large crowd brings incense to the temple. Their accumulated prayer power pours into the Netherworld Office, washing away its bloodstains and gradually purifying it.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng becomes more alert to the possibility that his actions are tied to worldwide changes. He remains ambitious and practical, balancing cultivation plans with the construction of his divine institution.
• Tang and his subordinates formalize their working relationship: he appoints eight trusted followers to positions of authority as Ghost Gods.
• The townspeople respond with curiosity to the temple’s elaborate reopening, then enter to worship. Their devotion supplies the spiritual power that aids Tang’s project.
• The temple’s master of ceremonies announces the proceedings, while Tang’s rites connect the mortal-world statues and the Netherworld Office.

Significant themes

• Power and unintended consequences: Tang’s local cultivation may be linked to events affecting the entire world.
• Institution-building and hierarchy: The appointments establish a structured Netherworld administration under Tang’s authority.
• Faith as practical power: Public worship generates Incense and Fire Prayer Power that can cleanse and strengthen the Ghost Gods’ domain.
• Tradition and cultural adaptation: Great Chu embraces many forms of worship but reshapes imported religions to fit its own customs, while native and officially recognized gods remain especially influential.

Key plot points and events

• Incense and Fire Prayer Power cleanses the City God Underworld Office, removing its bloody taint and beginning to restore its buildings and Spirit Pool. The recovery is slight, but the City God Temple’s aura improves and its statue’s eyes regain a glimmer of life.
• Tang Changsheng leaves the office, and the Divine Soul avatar he had animated becomes vacant again, unable to think independently without a connection to his true soul.
• On Yin-Yang Mountain, Tang spends three days and nights refining medicine. Using Sky Silver, the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, and the Medicine King Cauldron, he turns several tons of ingredients into pills with pure prayer fire. The effort exhausts him and consumes all his Sky Silver, along with much of his stored prayer power.
• Tang produces 81 bottles of Introductory Qi-Refining Pills, with 100 pills per bottle. Da Xiang doubts the claim but tries one and is overwhelmed by its potency.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang shows practical concern for the City God Office’s recovery, then turns his attention to supplying his sect with pills. His skill and unusual methods impress even when others cannot see how he works.
• Da Xiang’s skepticism gives way to alarm and respect after he tests a pill. He learns that Tang’s pills are exceptionally potent, though Tang insists the recipe itself is unchanged.

Significant themes

• Restoration through faith: Worshippers’ prayer power can cleanse and gradually revive a damaged spiritual realm.
• Power has a cost: Tang’s rapid, effective pill-making drains his resources and strains his mind.
• Transformation through technique: Prayer fire purifies ingredients far more completely than ordinary methods, producing medicine of extraordinary strength.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng reveals that the Medicine King Cauldron greatly amplifies medicinal potency: his Qi Refining Pills can release all—or even more than all—of their ingredients’ effectiveness. Da Xiang is astonished by how powerful one pill feels.
• Tang assigns Da Xiang to distribute the pills to the disciples, with rewards adjusted for performance. Da Xiang and Wu Shulan may take as many as they need. Tang has made eighty-one bottles of Qi Refining Pills and five bottles of the more expensive Spirit-Nourishing Pills, which he needs for his own cultivation.
• Tang announces a long period of seclusion and forbids anyone from approaching the Quiet Room, which is guarded by Yin Soldiers.
• While surveying Fuyang Mountain, Tang notices that Earth Qi is stagnating without a Mountain God. He reflects on how this realm’s Divine Way differs from his original world: here, Mountain Gods still govern the Netherworld Office.
• Tang senses violent activity around Suxu City. A message-bearing Paper Crane arrives, but it contains no writing. Xin Chengying appears and congratulates Tang on completing his Primordial Yang Divine Lamp.
• Tang realizes Xin Chengying, Madam Hu, and others have been cooperating behind the scenes. Xin hints that Martial Uncle Lu is involved. Tang meets Lu Yuanzhen in person for the first time and receives his approval.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng demonstrates greater confidence and resources as an alchemist, casually offering to make more pills if supplies run low. He is also increasingly attuned to spiritual geography and the workings of the Divine Way.
• Da Xiang is grateful for Tang’s support but worries that such generous pill distribution is wasteful.
• Tang Changsheng grows suspicious of the older figures’ hidden plans, particularly after learning Madam Hu is involved.
• Lu Yuanzhen appears composed and reserved, but his brief praise signals approval of Tang’s progress.
• Xin Chengying remains teasing and cryptic, revealing information gradually rather than explaining the group’s intentions outright.

Significant themes

• Cultivation and practical leadership: Tang uses his growing abilities to strengthen both himself and the General’s Temple disciples.
• Hidden cooperation and intrigue: Madam Hu, Xin Chengying, and Lu Yuanzhen are coordinating a plan without Tang’s full knowledge.
• Spiritual order and place: The chapter contrasts different systems of divine governance and shows how the presence or absence of a deity affects a mountain’s spiritual vitality.
• Recognition and hierarchy: Tang’s meeting with Lu Yuanzhen marks an important step in his standing within the Daoist community.

Character interactions

• Tang entrusts Da Xiang with managing the pills and encourages him and Wu Shulan to advance quickly.
• Tang’s followers respect the Quiet Room’s restrictions and the Yin Soldiers guarding it.
• Xin Chengying teases Tang about his completed Divine Lamp and confirms that Madam Hu is part of a wider “us.”
• Tang challenges Xin about the secret plans, then respectfully greets Lu Yuanzhen, who acknowledges his accomplishments.

Key plot points

• Lu Yuanzhen praises Tang Changsheng for his conduct in Wu Hou State and dismisses Xin Chengying’s antics. Tang thanks him for teaching him the full ritual method for the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp and providing Purple Pupil Jade.
• Lu reveals that Wu Hou State is doomed after defying the Immortal Sects. Marquis Yue and Shou Hou State are vying to conquer it, but backing either would leave little opportunity for Lu’s group.
• Tang realizes Lu intends to support the beleaguered Marquis Wu—not to save him, but to prolong the conflict between the rival powers.
• Lu reveals that he helped create the Primordial Yang Church and plans to use it to seize control of Wu Hou State for the Primordial Yang Abbey.
• His immediate priority is to get two thousand shi of grain and fodder to Marquis Wu. Tang identifies Zhang Bancheng and the wealthy households as the likely source.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shows tact and sharp political insight. He voices doubts strategically, prompting Lu to explain the plan, then quickly grasps its logic and identifies a possible source for the supplies.
• Lu Yuanzhen emerges as an ambitious, calculating strategist. He values Tang’s intelligence and intends to entrust him with the crucial supply mission.
• Xin Chengying is eager to agree with Lu but slower to follow the reasoning. His repeated need for clarification contrasts with Tang’s perceptiveness, and Lu privately sees him as less reliable.

Significant themes

• Power and institutional ambition: Lu wants the sect to rule directly rather than depend on human lords.
• Political opportunism: He plans to profit from a prolonged struggle among rival forces.
• Secrecy and strategic insight: Lu’s scheme depends on concealing his intentions, while Tang’s ability to read between the lines makes him valuable.
• The influence of wealth: Lu points out that powerful households, not officials, control the grain needed to sustain Marquis Wu.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng realizes the group’s earlier performance before Marquis Wu was meant to win his trust and create an excuse to send him grain and supplies. The plan could let them seize control of the Wu Hou State, but Lu Yuanzhen assures them they can escape overseas if it fails.
• Lu Yuanzhen teaches Tang Changsheng the Primordial Yang Abbey’s secret arts, including how to purify Incense and Fire Prayer Power.
• The group examines a wooden image of a Green Manghua guardian spirit, apparently captured during a past campaign against the Southern Barbarians. It contains a large reserve of unrefined prayer power.
• Lu Yuanzhen gives Tang a gourd of Sky Silver, the refined product of that power. Tang recognizes its value and welcomes the gift.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang shifts from suspicion to understanding, then decides to support the plan. Lu’s willingness to share both secret techniques and valuable resources convinces Tang that he genuinely considers him family.
• Lu displays deep knowledge of the Southern Barbarians and generosity toward his junior sect members, while Xin Chengying explains that the Primordial Yang Abbey originated in the Southern Barbarian Mountains.
• The three discuss the operation together; Lu presents an overseas escape as a fallback, easing Tang’s concerns.

Significant themes

• Kinship and loyalty: Outsiders may be excluded, but family ties create obligations and trust.
• Risk and ambition: The plan offers enormous rewards, balanced by a dangerous but viable escape route.
• Power and cultural change: The Southern Barbarians’ guardian spirits gather prayer power; some have learned to refine it as their societies interact with the Central Land.
• Resource and knowledge-sharing: Lu’s teaching and gift strengthen Tang’s position and bind him more closely to the sect.

Plot points and events

• Lu Yuanzhen explains that the world once had a single Heavenly Court. Several thousand years ago, a second moon and the Purple Dusk Heavenly Court appeared without explanation, beginning a war that weakened the Divine Way and helped the Immortal Way rise. The Eastern Flower Heavenly Court eventually allied with the Divine Way, but the war continues in the outer domains.
• Lu warns that once Tang Changsheng and Xin Chengying reach the level of Invisible True Person, they may be summoned to fight. The battlefield is so dangerous that even immortals can die; survival should matter more than earning merit.
• Tang reflects that the Purple Dusk Heavenly Court had attacked his original world before invading this one, suggesting its power is immense.
• Tang continues cultivating with a Jade Purity Pill. By carefully easing open his Cinnabar Origin Secret Aperture, he releases a small flow of power and feels a marked surge in vigor. The aperture differs from the Heavenly Pass and North Pole, which contain sealed Demon Gods Fu Shi and Non-Toxin; the Cinnabar Origin contains the Sparrow Yin soul.
• Unable to rely on Sky Silver for rapid growth, Tang adjusts his training plans and resolves to pursue his current assignment earnestly. He hopes that helping Lu Yuanzhen will connect him to a powerful Yang Spirit True Person and potentially give him access to a Marquisate’s resources.
• To secure two thousand shi of grain during wartime price inflation, Tang decides not to approach the evacuated Zhang Bancheng empty-handed. He instead heads toward Fangshi County, a drought-stricken area also affected by war and displacement.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yuanzhen reveals his experience of the outer-domain war through a grave warning, showing both the danger he has faced and his concern for the younger men.
• Xin Chengying shares Tang’s curiosity about the Heavenly Courts, then falls silent after hearing how deadly the battlefield is.
• Tang Changsheng shifts from anxiety about future danger to practical resolve: he adapts his cultivation, commits to doing his task well, and devises a more strategic way to obtain grain.

Themes

• War and survival: The conflict extends far beyond the familiar world, and even the strongest are vulnerable.
• Adaptation and perseverance: Tang changes his cultivation and plans as circumstances shift rather than clinging to what no longer works.
• Ambition and opportunity: He accepts risk and responsibility in hopes of gaining powerful allies and resources.
• Pragmatism amid crisis: Wartime scarcity and displacement make ordinary requests and plans unreliable, demanding careful strategy.

Summary

Tang Changsheng sets out to use his uncle Lu Yuanzhen’s influential Primordial Yang Church to pressure Zhang Bancheng into supplying provisions. Unfamiliar with the roads, he reaches Yun’an County after dark, only to find its gates shut and its walls badly damaged by recent warfare.
As Tang considers where to spend the night, a strange blue-red light flies over the city wall. The townspeople raise an alarm, and an officer—called General Red—shoots the fleeing figure down. The crowd pours out of the city, shouting that the “fiend” has stolen Divine Lord Meng’s bride.
The townspeople mistake Tang, a Daoist traveling alone outside the gates, for the fiend. When they try to seize him, he fights back briefly, then conceals his escape in a chilling mist. His Yin Energy frightens the crowd and weakens their vital yang energy, though they do not realize the harm they have suffered.
Rather than leave, Tang follows the renewed pursuit. He witnesses the fiend unleash a powerful blue-green flame, killing more than a dozen people, while the crowd continues to press forward in its effort to recover the bride. Tang stops a townsman to ask who Divine Lord Meng is and what happened to the bride. The chapter ends as his striking presence makes the man feel compelled to confide in him.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng begins focused on his plan to obtain provisions, but the strange incident draws his curiosity. He shows caution at first, then uses his supernatural abilities decisively when threatened. His interaction with the townsman suggests he can influence people through an almost uncanny personal presence.
• The townspeople act as a frightened but fervent mob, quickly labeling Tang a fiend and attacking him. Their zeal persists even after the fiend’s attack kills many of them.
• General Red appears as the city’s armed defender, wounding the fleeing figure with an arrow.
• Divine Lord Meng and the stolen bride remain unexplained, forming the mystery at the center of the pursuit.

Significant themes

• Ignorance and mob judgment: Tang is treated as guilty based on his appearance and circumstances.
• Supernatural power and its costs: Tang’s Yin Energy can conceal and frighten, but it also damages ordinary people’s vitality; the fiend’s flame proves deadlier still.
• War’s aftermath: Yun’an’s breached, unrepaired walls reflect the continuing destruction and insecurity of the conflict.
• Curiosity amid danger: Tang’s interest leads him toward the unfolding mystery rather than away from it.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng learns that Yun’an’s people offered a human bride to their guardian, Divine Lord Meng, but a “fiend” supposedly abducted her. Worried that the god may be an Evil God, Tang leaves the frenzied crowd and enters the city.
• Near the city gate, he finds a lavish new shrine. Its cold, impure spiritual aura and blood-tinged, dragon-headed statue convince him that Divine Lord Meng is not an Orthodox God—and perhaps not a proper deity at all. He is also puzzled that the authorities allow the shrine to stand so prominently.
• Tang realizes the statue is not the god himself: its Spirit Realm is empty, while its master is away. The worshippers’ fearful prayers send wish power into the shrine, gradually summoning the god’s consciousness.
• Before Divine Lord Meng can manifest, Tang traps the shrine’s Spirit Realm with the Three Realms Mirror and burns it with the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, destroying its gathered Divine Power.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng is cautious and initially avoids involvement, but his suspicion grows as he examines the shrine. Once he understands how the god is summoned, he acts decisively and strikes first.
• The townspeople are frightened and devoted to Divine Lord Meng, believing that appeasing him will protect them from renewed war. Their fear drives them to pursue the alleged bride-stealer and pray at the shrine.
• Tang and the townspeople do not directly confront one another; Tang hides in the shrine while they bring offerings and call upon their god. The man Tang questioned briefly loses awareness, then joins the pursuit out of fear for his family.

Significant themes

• False or corrupt worship: A supposed guardian may actually be an Evil God, and worship can expose people to harm rather than protection.
• Fear and coercion: The people’s prayers arise from terror of both the god’s displeasure and the return of war.
• Appearance versus reality: The imposing shrine and its official-sounding title disguise a sinister presence, while the statue itself is only a vessel through which the god may manifest.
• Tang’s restraint and intervention: Though he claims the affair is none of his concern, his growing unease ultimately leads him to disrupt the god’s manifestation.

Plot points and events

• As worshippers send in more Incense and Fire Prayer Power, the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp’s flames intensify inside the Sea of Consciousness and Daoist Grounds. The townspeople mistake the blaze for a divine manifestation and become even more fervent, unintentionally feeding it.
• Divine Lord Meng is consumed by the fire. Tang Changsheng extinguishes the lamp, ending the blaze and destroying the shrine’s spiritual realm. The realm has temporarily expanded, but begins to shrink once the fire is gone.
• Tang experiments with using the lamp’s power to strengthen a Grade-B Yin Soldier and make it take over the vacant spiritual territory. The soldier grows stronger but does not advance in rank. Tang concludes that the lamp can enhance existing Ghost Soldiers, but cannot create a powerful god instantly.
• Tang refines Meng’s unclaimed Prayer Power into Sky Silver. He then learns that the townspeople have captured the sorcerer and brought the woman Meng had selected as his bride.
• Examining them through the Three Realms Mirror, Tang realizes the woman has exceptional spiritual potential—better, in his view, than Ling Xiaoyu’s or Arabella’s. He also recognizes that the sorcerer is probably a Rogue Cultivator, not a monster.
• Tang releases a dense fog from the shrine. The waiting townspeople hear the clatter of armor and marching footsteps emerging from it.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shows growing confidence and resourcefulness: he destroys Meng, experiments with the abandoned spiritual realm, and converts the leftover Prayer Power into a useful resource. He remains cautious about the limits of his abilities.
• Divine Lord Meng is destroyed after entering Tang’s Sea of Consciousness, unaware that his own worshippers’ prayers are strengthening the flames.
• The townspeople mistake Meng’s destruction for a miracle and intensify their worship, then capture the sorcerer and bring forward the chosen bride.
• The woman in red appears frightened but possesses unusually pure spiritual qualities that catch Tang’s attention.
• The captured sorcerer is bound and in a disheveled state; Tang revises his first impression and identifies him as a Rogue Cultivator.

Significant themes

• Faith can be manipulated or misunderstood: the townspeople interpret a destructive fire as divine protection, and their devotion helps intensify it.
• Power has limits: Tang can refine and strengthen what already exists, but cannot rapidly create a powerful deity from nothing.
• Opportunity in a vacuum: Meng’s death leaves both his spiritual territory and Prayer Power available for Tang to claim.
• Appearances can deceive: the apparent miracle hides a god’s destruction, while the seemingly monstrous sorcerer proves to be a human cultivator.

Plot points

• Tang Changsheng finds a man and a young woman inside Divine Lord Meng’s shrine after the shrine’s supernatural mist carries them away from the crowd.
• The man, An Hai, is an incense master of the Primordial Yang Church. Tang reveals a Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, earns An Hai’s trust, frees him, and says he has already dealt with Divine Lord Meng.
• An Hai explains that Shou Hou State installed the deity after conquering the area. Its violence forced the townspeople to worship Divine Lord Meng, while the local Church was nearly destroyed.
• The captured cities are controlled by Shou Hou State, but many refugees in the surrounding countryside have joined the Primordial Yang Church. Tang sees their influence as a possible means of pressuring Zhang Bancheng and securing provisions.
• The young woman, Yan Yan’er, is the former magistrate’s daughter. Though her father still holds office under the new regime, she cannot safely return home because the townspeople believe she belongs to Divine Lord Meng.
• Tang advises her to remain in the shrine as its priestess, claiming Divine Lord Meng appointed her. Yan Yan’er accepts.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains composed and pragmatic. He uses the Divine Lamp to gain An Hai’s cooperation, assesses the political situation, and quickly finds a way to protect Yan Yan’er while considering how local unrest might serve his larger plans.
• An Hai shifts from defiant confidence in the Church to anxious concern over the danger Shou Hou State poses. He appears to care deeply for Yan Yan’er, though she does not seem comfortable with him.
• Yan Yan’er moves from frightened helplessness to cautious relief. She understands Tang’s proposed cover story and accepts the role of priestess as her safest option.
• The encounter reveals an awkward divide between An Hai’s attachment to Yan Yan’er and her unfamiliarity and fear of him.

Significant themes

• Faith under coercion: The townspeople’s worship of Divine Lord Meng grew from fear, blurring the line between devotion and survival.
• Power and political instability: Conquest, war, and drought leave ordinary people vulnerable, while control of cities does not extend into the countryside.
• Pragmatism and improvisation: Tang turns an unexpected rescue into both a solution for Yan Yan’er and a potential strategic opportunity.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng recruits An Hai for an unspecified task and promises he may secure grain for him. An Hai eagerly agrees, setting aside his concern about Yan Yan’er.
• After Tang leaves, a powerful Black-Robed Daoist appears unseen in the shrine. He wonders about Tang’s Heavenly Court Talisman, unusual star-related Dao Arts, and possible backing from a major sect. Though he briefly considers killing Tang, he decides the risk of provoking Tang’s allies is not worth it.
• The Daoist reveals that his group is targeting the Azure Sea True Void Palace. They have spent years preparing in Wu Hou State and intend to destroy the sect’s peripheral forces. He dismisses Yun’an City as unimportant and leaves the shrine, appearing atop the city wall.
• In Yanning Town, Zhang Bancheng has chosen to defend his fortified private compound rather than shelter in Suxu City. Although the estate has guards and a possible escape route by boat, he worries that it cannot withstand an army.
• A large crowd of refugees approaches and surrounds the compound. The guards sound the alarm and rush to defend the walls.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng shows practical resourcefulness by seeking An Hai’s help and offering grain as an incentive. His mysterious talisman and unusual cultivation make him appear more significant than his modest level suggests.
• An Hai is eager to cooperate when offered the prospect of food.
• The Black-Robed Daoist is powerful but cautious and politically calculating. He avoids killing Tang because the potential consequences could jeopardize his larger mission.
• Zhang Bancheng is anxious and increasingly second-guesses his choice to flee to Yanning Town, despite having made a deliberate plan.

Character interactions

• Tang persuades An Hai to assist him by promising possible access to grain.
• The Daoist silently observes the shrine’s occupants, who cannot see or perceive him, then speaks with a garrison officer on the city wall. The officer asks whether the shrine requires action, but the Daoist says Yun’an City matters little to his operation.
• Zhang’s guards alert him to the approaching refugees and mobilize to defend the compound.

Significant themes

• Power and hidden affiliations: Tang’s talisman and unfamiliar techniques signal connections that make even a formidable opponent wary.
• Strategic restraint: The Daoist prioritizes his long-term campaign over unnecessary conflict.
• Uncertainty in wartime: Zhang’s anxiety reflects how every choice carries risks, and how safety remains elusive.
• Social upheaval: The refugee crowd’s arrival shows the human consequences of war and threatens the fragile security of the wealthy.

Key plot points and events

• Thousands of starving, ragged refugees surround Zhang Bancheng’s manor, hoping to seize its food. Though armed mainly with wooden clubs, they vastly outnumber the roughly two hundred inexperienced defenders.
• The refugees charge, filling the defensive ditch with their bodies and battering the walls. Arrows kill some, but the violence only intensifies the crowd’s frenzy.
• As the manor gate comes under attack, the guards panic and begin to flee, leaving the defenses close to collapse. Zhang Bancheng believes the manor is about to fall.
• Tang Changsheng arrives holding an illuminated Immortal Sect Summons and declares the household under the sects’ protection. The refugees halt and part before him, allowing him to enter the manor.
• Zhang recognizes Tang with relief and welcomes him. The refugees remain outside, cowed for now but still surrounding the manor.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Bancheng shifts from despair at the defenders’ collapse to astonished relief when Tang appears. He admits he regrets staying in Wu Hou State, though Tang believes the manor’s strong position was a sound choice.
• Tang Changsheng intervenes with calm authority, using the Immortal Sect Summons to stop the attackers without fighting. He and Zhang exchange a warm reunion; Zhang’s gratitude is so strong that his voice catches.
• The estate guards prove inexperienced under pressure: the attackers’ frenzy unnerves them, and one man’s flight triggers a broader breakdown in morale.
• The refugees are driven by starvation and desperation. Their willingness to press on despite injuries—and even death—makes them terrifying, until Tang’s declaration causes them to hesitate.

Significant themes

• Desperation and hunger: Starvation turns the refugees into a dangerous, nearly unstoppable force.
• Morale and leadership: Strong walls mean little when defenders lose confidence; a single retreat spreads panic.
• The power of authority and belief: The Immortal Sect’s protection, represented by the glowing summons, halts violence where weapons and walls were failing.
• Security and vulnerability: Zhang’s fortified manor is strategically well built, yet its safety depends on people capable of defending it.

Key plot points and events

• Refugees have nearly stormed Zhang Bancheng’s manor, driven by hunger, but stop when Tang Changsheng invokes an Immortal Sect Summons. They know defying the sects could mean execution and imprisonment as Criminal Ghosts.
• Tang persuades Zhang to provide 300 shi of grain to the refugees. Zhang agrees, and the refugees kneel in gratitude, easing the immediate crisis.
• Tang reveals that he has another purpose: he wants to borrow 2,000 shi of grain. He offers Zhang a Peace Token from the Azure Sea True Void Palace in return.
• The token protects Zhang’s household from armies, refugees, and Ghost Gods. Zhang accepts the arrangement and agrees to prepare the grain.
• Tang encourages Zhang not to flee the region: protected by the token, he can remain and profit from wartime trade. Zhang recognizes this as an attractive opportunity.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shows himself to be a shrewd negotiator. He uses the Immortal Sect’s authority to halt the refugees, persuades Zhang to relieve their hunger, and secures a large grain loan by offering protection. He privately knows the crisis was arranged by him and Lu Yuanzhen to make the deal possible.
• Zhang Bancheng shifts from fear and relief to confidence and commercial ambition. Though his household resists giving up grain, he chooses to cooperate, values the Peace Token, and sees a chance to capitalize on wartime scarcity.
• The refugees move from near-violence to gratitude once promised food, though their compliance is reinforced by fear of the Immortal Sects.
• Tang and Zhang maintain a cordial, mutually beneficial relationship: Zhang thanks Tang for saving him, while Tang turns the moment into a negotiation.

Significant themes

• Authority and coercion: The Immortal Sects’ power can restrain desperate crowds without force, because people fear the consequences of defying them.
• Survival and self-interest: Hunger drives the refugees, while Zhang’s choices balance immediate safety, family protection, and profit.
• Crisis as opportunity: War creates scarcity and danger, but also opens profitable avenues for those protected and resourceful enough to trade.
• Manipulation and reciprocity: Tang’s apparent rescue is part of a calculated plan, with grain relief and the Peace Token serving as tools to secure his larger objective.

Key plot points and events

• With the danger apparently past, Zhang Bancheng offers Tang Changsheng 30% of his business profits, hoping to secure the mage’s continued support. Tang accepts after learning Zhang can obtain valuable goods through the sea market.
• Zhang shows Tang his extensive storehouses, which hold thousands of shi of grain. He explains that wealthy landowners produce far more grain than Wu Hou State can reasonably keep or regulate, and that regional trade is essential.
• Seeing how prosperous and productive the region is, Tang doubts whether Lu Yuanzhen’s plan can succeed. Still, events are already in motion, and Tang remains focused on gathering resources for the Nine-Dragon Heaven-Locking Heart Array.
• Tang uses his Marching Bag and Yin Soldier Camp Board to have Ghost Soldiers load grain. Zhang mistakes the black fog for the bag’s power and imagines it swallowing the supplies effortlessly. His interest fades when he recalls that such bags are costly, have limited capacity, and require a cultivator to operate.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng accepts a major business partnership, but remains wary of his ability to protect Zhang himself. He relies on the possibility that Lu Yuanzhen, his powerful and protective backing, could intervene if trouble arises. He also expects much of the benefit to go to his sect.
• Zhang Bancheng shifts from seeking Tang’s protection to treating him as a business partner, eagerly granting him access to the storehouses. He is impressed—and envious—of the Marching Bag, though its practical limitations make it unattractive to him.
• Their exchange shows growing trust: Zhang offers Tang a share of his profits and valuable information, while Tang accepts the partnership and demonstrates his unusual capabilities.

Significant themes

• Wealth and power: Grain is more than merchandise; in an agricultural society, it can sustain armies and shape political ambitions.
• Practical limits of magic: The Marching Bag is impressive, but its cost, restricted capacity, and need for magical power limit its usefulness.
• Interdependence of mortals and cultivators: Merchants can provide access to resources, while cultivators offer protection and extraordinary abilities.
• Doubt amid commitment: Tang recognizes that Lu Yuanzhen’s plan may be ill-suited to such a prosperous region, yet feels there is no turning back.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Bancheng watches Tang Changsheng use the Marching Bag and longs to buy one, imagining a larger-capacity model. Its price would be ruinous even for someone wealthy.
• Tang fills the bag with two thousand shi of grain and fodder. The bag’s immense pressure nearly overwhelms him, forcing him to burn precious Sky Silver in the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp to withstand it.
• Realizing he must refine the bag to carry it, Tang considers Madam Hu’s likely intention: to help strip Marquis Wu of the treasure. He prepares a third Divine Soul, since his other two are committed to the Yin Soldier Camp Board and Heavenly King Pagoda.
• Tang opens the Cinnabar Origin aperture, releasing a deep flow of vital essence qi. A Kunpeng vision marks the breakthrough; his Spirit Terrace gains a third tier, the Central Soul.
• The Central Soul enters the Marching Bag and takes control of its small Mechanism Spirit Realm. The bag becomes weightless and responds to Tang’s thoughts.
• Tang makes a quick, deceptive exit from Zhang’s Manor, then heads toward Suxu City. He spots a fleet flying Yue State banners, led by a commander whose banner bears the surname Wang.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng advances his cultivation by opening the Cinnabar Origin aperture and forming the Central Soul. He also gains control of the Marching Bag, transforming it from a dangerous burden into a convenient tool.
• Zhang Bancheng is revealed as extremely wealthy and acquisitive, though his desire for a Marching Bag is based on its usefulness and prestige.
• Madam Hu remains offstage, but Tang interprets her advice as a deliberate way to deprive Marquis Wu of the artifact.

Significant themes

• Power has a cost: Tang’s attempt to carry the bag consumes valuable Sky Silver, underscoring the expense and risk of magical tools.
• Preparation and accumulated strength: Tang’s strong spiritual foundation lets him break through smoothly and create a third soul without sacrificing the ones assigned to essential duties.
• Possession and control: Refining the Marching Bag gives Tang mastery over it, while raising the question of whether Madam Hu intended him to claim Marquis Wu’s property.
• Deception and appearances: Tang’s apparent supernatural departure is only an illusion, showing his resourcefulness and caution.

Character interactions

• Tang and Zhang exchange polite farewells, though Tang conceals his actual method of escape and destination.
• Tang’s thoughts about Madam Hu reveal a mix of suspicion and reluctant respect: he initially calls her a demoness, then corrects himself to “senior.”
• The sight of the Yue fleet introduces a new potential encounter, but the chapter ends before Tang meets its commander.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng approaches Suxu City and realizes Yue forces have reached it while Wu Hou State’s navy is absent, suggesting it has been destroyed or defected.
• He is intercepted by scouts serving Marquis Shou. When he identifies himself as a Primordial Yang Church disciple, they attack. Tang disables them with his Gu Worms and interrogates their leader, learning that Marquis Shou’s army has been sent against the church after a previous failed crackdown.
• Near Suxu, Tang sees the overwhelming crimson-and-black aura of tens of thousands of troops. Its heat and pressure injure his eyes and suppress his spiritual senses.
• A patrol spots him and attacks. The troops’ formation and killing intent leave him nearly trapped, but his Gu Worms disable the archer, disrupting the formation. Tang escapes the spear thrusts, though his robe is torn, and the remaining soldiers are fatally poisoned.

Character developments

• Tang remains resourceful under pressure, using his Gu Worms effectively against both scouts and trained soldiers.
• He learns to take military aura seriously: its impact on his senses and spiritual abilities teaches him not to inspect powerful auras carelessly.
• The scout leader’s resistance collapses after a single bite from the Flying Ant Gu, revealing the threat Marquis Shou’s forces pose to the Primordial Yang Church.

Significant themes

• Collective power: The concentrated Blood Essence and killing intent of a disciplined army can overwhelm spiritual beings and even powerful cultivators.
• Preparation and adaptation: Tang survives by relying on his Gu Worms and quick reactions rather than confronting superior numbers directly.
• Escalating political danger: Marquis Shou’s hostility toward the church complicates Lu Yuanzhen’s plans and puts Tang in a precarious position.

Character interactions

• The scouts immediately treat Tang as an enemy once they learn he belongs to the Primordial Yang Church; he defeats them and forces their leader to talk.
• The patrol attacks Tang as a suspected spy, coordinating its spear assault with an archer. The Gu Worms disrupt that coordination, allowing Tang to break through.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng survives a dangerous encounter with five soldiers. He realizes that the army’s Myriad-Army Killing Aura—not the soldiers’ individual skill—had suppressed his powers.
• He ignites his Heavenly Heart, revealing the oppressive red-black qi in his Sea of Consciousness and easing its hold. With a large force closing in, he flees toward Suxu City.
• His Illusion Spell fails under the aura, and arrows pursue him. A Life-Saving Talisman deflects the arrows; an Armored Horse Talisman then boosts his speed, allowing him to escape before the soldiers can mount up.
• Outside the army’s perimeter, Tang sees a seemingly unguarded stretch of the city’s defenses. He suspects it is Marquis Yue’s sector, left open because that army has not arrived or something has gone wrong.
• Rather than risk entering through a guarded gate, Tang waits for night, follows Lu Yuanzhen’s markers, and enters through a water passage whose Iron Bars have already been moved.
• He emerges into an artificial lake in a large courtyard, where several people recognize him as an honored envoy and hurry to prepare hot water, towels, and clean clothes.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang is shaken by how helpless he was against ordinary soldiers, but quickly reasons out the cause and adapts. His experience teaches him to treat armies as a distinct, overwhelming threat rather than relying on Dao Arts.
• He uses two talismans given by Lu Yuanzhen, demonstrating his dependence on their preparations and their prior coordination. He also follows Lu’s secret route markers to enter the city.
• Tang intends to contact Marquis Wu secretly on behalf of the Primordial Yang Church, emphasizing the need for discretion.
• The soldiers pursue and identify him as a supposed fiend of the Primordial Yang Church after seeing his talisman, intensifying their hostility. Once inside the city, Tang is welcomed by an unnamed group of attendants.

Significant themes

• The limits of individual power: Military Aura can cripple Dao Arts, making even gifted practitioners vulnerable to organized forces.
• Preparation and adaptability: Tang survives through quick reasoning, talismans, stealth, and changing his plan rather than confronting the army directly.
• Secrecy amid political conflict: The siege and divided military sectors make Tang’s mission to reach Marquis Wu both dangerous and covert.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng reaches Bai Xingxian’s estate, where Bai assures him the household servants are trustworthy and explains that the city remains under siege.
• An attempted revolt by four powerful families was crushed by Marquis Wu’s Elite Guards, and the families were wiped out. The city has since grown quieter, with ordinary households conscripted to help defend it.
• The city’s main crisis is dwindling food. The great families’ grain stores were outside the walls and have been seized by the besieging armies of Marquis Shou and Marquis Yue.
• Tang learns that roughly 30,000 troops remain in the city, including 5,000 Elite Guards. Generals Zeng Daquan and Zhang Yuanhong command the forces; Zhang controls 12,000 troops.
• Tang suspects the grain shipment arranged by Madam Hu and Lu Yuanzhen is meant to keep Marquis Wu’s Elite Guards supplied while gaining leverage.
• He leaves Bai’s estate and heads for Marquis Wu’s Residence. His token now earns immediate obedience from patrols, unlike on his previous visit.
• At the residence, Tang notices its fortune has partly recovered, despite the destruction of Wu Hou State’s spiritual foundations. He also finds cavalry-equipped Elite Guards stationed at the entrance.
• The guards recognize him as Master Tang and escort him inside with news that he has brought the requested goods. Despite efforts to keep his arrival discreet, word reaches Zhang Yuanhong, who begins considering its implications.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains cautious and observant, reading the shifts in security, political influence, and the residence’s fortune. His suspicions deepen when he sees the unusual cavalry guard and the apparent revival of Marquis Wu’s fortune.
• Bai Xingxian presents himself as a helpful, well-informed host. Tang recognizes his wealth and influence and treats him with greater respect.
• Marquis Wu’s Elite Guards show increased discipline and deference toward Tang’s token, suggesting a change in the city’s balance of authority.
• Zhang Yuanhong responds cautiously to the report of a Primordial Yang Church representative entering the residence, hinting that Tang’s arrival may provoke political maneuvering.

Significant themes

• Scarcity and siege: Food shortages shape the city’s politics and make grain a source of leverage.
• Power and loyalty: The crushed revolt, household networks, military command, and Tang’s token reveal how authority is maintained—and how quickly people adjust to it.
• Hidden influence and uncertainty: Bai’s connections and Lu Yuanzhen’s reach suggest that much of the city’s power operates behind the scenes.
• Fortune and spiritual foundations: The residence’s unexpected recovery raises questions about what sustains political legitimacy after the state’s divine protection has been destroyed.