Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Tang Changsheng reflects that many ordinary people’s souls cannot reach the Netherworld and instead wander the forests, raising the possibility that unrest in the Netherworld is affecting the Mortal World.
• Qi reports that envoys from Rock-Piercing Stockade have arrived again, demanding that Hongdong search for an Outerworld Demon. Tang is frustrated by their repeated visits but knows Rock-Piercing’s strength makes open hostility dangerous.
• The envoys force their way in and order Tang to report to Rock-Piercing Stockade. Tang is on the verge of attacking them until Qi identifies the object they carry as the Black Rock Decree, which every stockade in the Black Rock Mountains must obey.
• Touching the decree gives Tang a terrifying glimpse of the Black Rock Progenitor, a vast, Yang Spirit-level presence associated with the mountains themselves. Tang realizes the decree carries the Progenitor’s authority, not merely that of Rock-Piercing’s Ancestral God.
• Tang agrees to attend before the deadline. After the envoys leave, he removes the guards who allowed them to enter and orders Qi to learn whether other stockades received decrees as well.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang shifts from irritation and defiance to wary submission once he understands the decree’s power. Though he hides his fear, the encounter leaves him shaken and more cautious.
• Qi remains deferential and anxious, but his knowledge of the Black Rock Decree prevents Tang from making a disastrous move.
• The envoys act with confidence and relish Tang’s apparent humiliation, while Tang quietly responds by punishing the guards rather than challenging the decree openly.

Significant themes

• Authority and power: A seemingly remote, mountain-wide power can compel even strong leaders to obey.
• Fear and restraint: Tang’s confidence has limits; recognizing a superior force makes strategic caution necessary.
• The supernatural order: The passage links wandering souls, the Netherworld, Ancestral Spirits, and the mysterious Black Rock Progenitor, suggesting that forces beyond ordinary tribal politics may be shifting.

Key plot points and events

• A rare Black Rock Decree, issued in the Black Rock Progenitor’s name, summons Wizards from nearly every Tribal Stockade within a thousand li. Tang Changsheng initially fears his earlier actions have been exposed, but learns the order is widespread.
• Now stronger and no longer focused solely on survival, Tang hopes to make the trial worthwhile, though he sets aside his concern for Senior Sister Gu Huanling and her group.
• Tang travels for more than twenty days with several ordinary attendants to Rock-Piercing Stockade. The settlement is carved into a mountain, with its people living in a vast network of caves.
• Near the stockade, Tang senses the overwhelming will of its Ancestral God. He realizes the deity’s power, amplified near its territory, could rival that of a Yang Spirit True Person—and resolves to stay inconspicuous.
• At the Ancestral Cave, Tang’s young age draws attention. Rock-Piercing Wizard Hongke nevertheless allows Tang’s four hooded attendants to enter with him.
• Hongke privately considers whether Tang is an Outerworld Demon, given his rapid rise and the timing of his successes. A special treasure finds no sign of possession, leaving Hongke uncertain.
• Inside the immense cave, Tang is struck by the thick, mist-like Spiritual Qi. More than a dozen Wizards have gathered around a bonfire.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng is more powerful and confident than before, but remains cautious around the Ancestral God’s domain. He deliberately presents himself as quiet and unassuming.
• Wizard Hongke is observant and suspicious of Tang, but the demon-detecting treasure provides no evidence against him.
• Qi is relieved to leave Tang’s oppressive presence.

Significant themes

• Power and territory: The Ancestral God’s influence grows stronger near its home, making location a decisive source of power.
• Secrecy and suspicion: Tang wants to keep a low profile, while others scrutinize his unusual rise and question his identity.
• Uneven strength and vulnerability: Tang’s confidence has grown, yet he recognizes that even great personal power may be overwhelmed in an opponent’s domain.

Character interactions

• Tang accepts the summons and travels with his attendants, who remain close to him throughout the journey.
• At the cave entrance, a guard tries to bar the attendants, but Hongke makes an exception for Tang, signaling that he considers the young Wizard noteworthy.
• Hongke studies Tang openly and later weighs the possibility that he is an Outerworld Demon, while Tang responds to the attention with restrained politeness.

Plot and events

• Tang Changsheng arrives among the Wizards of the Black Rock Mountains, hoping to avoid attention. An Ox-Horn Wizard publicly identifies him as the young Wizard who defeated Flower-Foot Stockade and challenges him, claiming he wants justice for the Flower-Foot Wizard.
• Wizard Hongke explains that the Ox-Horn and Flower-Foot tribes were close and that the Ox-Horn tribe is powerful. He also clarifies that fighting is permitted at the gathering, so the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God is unlikely to intervene.
• Angry at being repeatedly provoked, Tang accepts the duel. The Ox-Horn Wizard attacks with a staff containing an Ancestral Spirit fragment that can consume living creatures and Spirit Bodies.
• The attack has no effect on Tang’s attendants. As they close in, the Ox-Horn Wizard strikes one down, revealing it to be a Golden Corpse. The corpse rises again, and the other attendants continue pressing the attack, leaving the Ox-Horn Wizard alarmed and scrambling.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng begins intent on staying unnoticed, but the challenge pushes him into a fight. He remains composed until the provocation finally enrages him, then relies on his unusual attendants rather than fighting directly.
• The Ox-Horn Wizard enters confident in his power and dismissive of Tang’s youth. His confidence falters as his Ancestral Spirit fragment proves useless against the corpses and even a crushing blow fails to stop one.
• Wizard Hongke provides context about the tribes and the rules of the gathering, while appearing relatively friendly toward Tang.

Interactions

• The Ox-Horn Wizard publicly humiliates and challenges Tang; Tang answers sharply and agrees to fight.
• Hongke explains the rivalry and the gathering’s permissive attitude toward combat.
• Tang’s four attendants surround and attack the Ox-Horn Wizard, surprising him and the watching Wizards, who begin to recognize that the attendants are corpses.

Significant themes

• Appearances and underestimation: Tang’s youth leads others to misjudge him, while his attendants’ stiff movements conceal their strength and durability.
• Unfamiliar power and limits: The Ox-Horn Wizard’s formidable spirit-based weapon is ineffective against corpses, showing that a power’s strength depends on its target.
• Reputation and provocation: Tang’s reputation draws attention he hoped to avoid, and public taunts turn a gathering into a confrontation.

Plot and events

• Tang Changsheng tests the four Zombies he has refined by having them fight the Ox-Horn Wizard. They prove nearly impervious to harm and overpower him, but the Hongke Wizard orders that no one be killed, and Tang calls them off.
• The display earns Tang respect. He joins the Wizards’ discussions, sharing nonessential knowledge of Corpse Refining and learning from them in return.
• As more Wizards gather at Rock-Piercing Stockade, Tang discovers that all eighteen major stockades in the Black Rock Mountains have summoned their subordinate Wizards. The reason is unclear; rumors point either to an attack by Great Pan King or a campaign against the Outerworld Demons. The Ancestral Gods’ ancestor may also have awakened.
• Tang becomes unremarkable in the crowd, and the Hongke Wizard’s suspicions fade. Tang reflects that his body and Primordial Spirit are now so well integrated that his disguise is difficult to detect.
• By the gathering’s end, sixty-seven Wizards have arrived from nearby stockades. Tang uses the numbers to estimate that the Black Rock Mountains contain about two million Shaman Barbarians and could raise a vast army.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng demonstrates both combat preparation and social adaptability. He had refined the Zombies in advance because he expected danger, then uses his broad knowledge of Witchcraft to fit in and exchange information without exposing his most important secrets.
• The Hongke Wizard initially watches Tang with suspicion, wondering if he is connected to the Outerworld Demons. Tang’s convincing knowledge and conduct gradually put those doubts to rest.
• The Ox-Horn Wizard is left humiliated and helpless after failing to injure the Zombies.
• The gathered Wizards move from looking down on Tang for his youth to respecting his abilities and seeking his advice.

Significant themes

• Concealment and infiltration: Tang succeeds by blending into a community rather than relying on force alone.
• Strength as a source of status: The Wizards’ respect shifts after Tang proves his power.
• Cross-cultural learning: Tang’s unfamiliar, modestly regarded Witchcraft knowledge still offers useful insights, while exchanges benefit both sides.
• Scale of potential conflict: The gathering and Tang’s estimates reveal the Black Rock Mountains’ formidable population and military strength, raising the stakes of the rumors surrounding them.

Plot points

• The Eastern Flower Heavenly Court’s plans to conquer the Wuman World remain distant from low-ranking infiltrator Tang Changsheng, who focuses on surviving inside the Ancestral Cave.
• The cave’s atmosphere grows tense: Wizards whisper and exchange wary looks, while the Rock-Piercing Stockade stations more Warriors at the entrance and gathers weapons.
• Wizard Hongke privately tells Tang that the Rock-Piercing Stockade once had many more Wizards, but now only six remain. He reveals that the Ancestral God has fallen: the Wizards can no longer access Divine Power, and the Totem Pillar has shattered.
• Tang realizes that without the Ancestral God’s authority and power, the Rock-Piercing Stockade is vulnerable. Its defensive preparations alarm the gathered Wizards, worsening the risk of conflict.
• Hongke asks Tang to stand with the Rock-Piercing Stockade, claiming that disorder there could threaten the nearby Hongdong Stockade. Tang asks what he will gain, while secretly deciding to exploit the crisis and provoke a clash.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng stays outwardly composed despite his suspicion and fear. Once he learns the Ancestral God is gone, he shifts quickly from caution to opportunism, seeing a chance to advance his covert mission.
• Wizard Hongke approaches Tang discreetly, first testing his reaction, then sharing the crisis and seeking his support. His appeal reflects the Rock-Piercing Stockade’s desperation.
• Their conversation is marked by mutual calculation: Hongke wants an ally, while Tang hides his true intentions and refuses to help without a promised benefit.

Significant themes

• Power and instability: The Ancestral God’s fall removes the authority holding the gathered Wizards in check, threatening to turn suspicion into open conflict.
• Deception and self-interest: Tang’s undercover role demands concealment, and both he and Hongke approach the alliance with strategic motives.
• Crisis as opportunity: While others see the Ancestral God’s death as a danger, Tang views it as a chance to sow disorder.

Key plot points and events

• Black Death Worms silently attack a Wizard in the Ancestral Cave, paralyzing and dragging him into a dark Abyss. They then creep toward other Wizards.
• Wizard Hongke tries to recruit Tang Changsheng by promising rewards. Tang pushes for specifics and threatens to consult the other Wizards, forcing Hongke to promise access to the stockade’s treasures.
• Hongke leads Tang and more than a dozen Wizards—including Geshan and the Ox-Horn Wizard—out of the Ancestral Cave. The stockade is heavily guarded, while its children and elderly have been evacuated.
• The Wizards confront Hongke over his promised rewards, including access to the Black Rock Heavenly Book. Their demands reflect the stockade’s former mistreatment of them.
• A remark about the absent Wizards makes Tang suspect Hongke is hiding something, but the shattered Totem Pillar appears to confirm that the stockade’s Ancestral God has fallen.
• The Wizards enter the Ancestral God’s dwelling behind the pillar. Tang forces the powerless Hongke to come with them, abandoning his pretense of cooperation.
• Inside, they discover extraordinary Spiritual Qi and a vast, mist-filled cavern. After a distant scream, the mist retreats, revealing an immense space.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng plays along with Hongke’s bargain while pressing for better terms. He remains alert to signs of deception, then takes control by dragging Hongke into the dwelling.
• Wizard Hongke, stripped of his Dharma Power, is angry and powerless. His panic when the other Wizards question the absence of his companions hints that he may be concealing a threat.
• The other Wizards are openly hostile toward Hongke, eager to claim the promised treasures and eager to challenge the stockade after years of being bullied. Their fear of entering the dwelling briefly gives way to the Ox-Horn Wizard’s bold example.
• The Black Death Worms attack unseen, introducing a danger that may be connected to the stockade’s hidden situation.

Significant themes

• Reversal of power: The Wizards who once suffered under the stockade now pressure Hongke for compensation.
• Greed and distrust: Tang and the other Wizards pursue promised rewards while questioning Hongke’s motives.
• Fear versus reverence: Even with the Ancestral God apparently fallen, the Wizards remain uneasy before its sacred dwelling.
• Awe at spiritual power: The cavern’s rich Spiritual Qi underscores the extraordinary resources of this world and builds anticipation around what lies deeper within.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng recognizes the vast chamber as a Cave Abode—a rare cultivation resource that could help its owner become an Earth Immortal. He reflects that Wuman World is exceptionally rich in such resources, explaining why outside powers seek to invade it.
• The chamber contains the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God’s enormous, partly petrified body and a swirling remnant soul that pulls Wizards to their deaths.
• Wizard Hongke’s offer of help is exposed as a deception: he intended to sacrifice the visiting Wizards to the Ancestral God. One Wizard kills him, but the entrance disappears, trapping the group.
• The Wizards discover enormous stores of high-grade Fine Iron Ore and become eager to seize them. Tang, however, focuses on the strange markings covering the Ancestral God’s stone-like body.
• He identifies the markings as Innate Scattered Characters—fragments of the Great Dao with profound value for future cultivation. Believing they could strengthen his foundation on the path to becoming a True Immortal, Tang becomes determined to kill the remnant soul and claim them.
• Elsewhere in the Ancestral Cave, Tang’s earlier preparations take effect: Black Death Worms kill several Wizards. The survivors suspect Rock-Piercing Stockade and soon begin fighting its Warriors.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng shows both discernment and ambition: he sees through Hongke’s scheme, recognizes the spiritual significance of the markings, and values them above the chamber’s tempting ore.
• Wizard Hongke is revealed as a betrayer who meant to use his fellow Wizards as sacrificial offerings; he is killed before he can explain himself.
• The other Wizards shift from shock and fear to greed over the Fine Iron Ore, then to suspicion and violence after the worm attacks.
• Tang’s actions set opposing groups against one another: inside the Cave Abode, the Wizards turn on Hongke; elsewhere, their suspicion sparks a clash with Rock-Piercing Stockade’s Warriors.

Significant themes

• Ambition and cultivation: Tang sees the markings as a rare chance to build a stronger foundation for future advancement.
• Deception and mistrust: Hongke’s false plea for help and the ensuing accusations show how danger erodes cooperation.
• Material wealth versus deeper value: The Wizards crave Fine Iron Ore, while Tang recognizes the greater worth of insight into the Great Dao.
• The richness of Wuman World: Its Cave Abodes and resources make it a coveted target for external powers.

Key plot points and events

• Tensions between Rock-Piercing Stockade and the Wizards erupt into open battle after Tang Changsheng kills three Wizards. The stockade warriors initially hold them back with bows and crossbows, but the Wizards’ dangerous Witchcraft turns the fight in their favor.
• A Wizard poisons a cave sheltering several hundred elderly people, women, and children. The massacre deepens the warriors’ hatred and makes the conflict even more bitter.
• Inside the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God’s Cave Abode, the Ancestral God’s powerful remnant soul kills Wizards one after another. Tang Changsheng conceals himself with the Myriad Forms Mirror, then uses the Netherworld Sacred Coin to absorb the remnant soul’s power and dispatch the surviving Wizards.
• Tang studies the innate Scattered Characters on the Ancestral God’s remains. Their patterns interact with his Heavy Python Bloodline, causing his body and presence to distort and change.
• Concluding that the Ancestral God’s power was tied to the earth, Tang reflects that the creature might have grown stronger had it continued developing its innate abilities—but believes the Heavenly Court’s invasion would have doomed it regardless. He then strikes the remains with the Sacred Coin, shattering both the body and the surrounding space.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains calculating and observant, letting the other Wizards fight the remnant soul before intervening. He demonstrates the Sacred Coin’s great power and discovers a connection between the Scattered Characters and his own bloodline.
• The Wizards and Rock-Piercing warriors shift from mutual suspicion to open, increasingly hateful warfare. The killing of civilians gives the conflict a lasting personal dimension for the warriors.
• The Ancestral God’s remnant soul is revealed as formidable within its Cave Abode, though Tang ultimately overcomes it.

Significant themes

• Escalating violence and vengeance: A fragile standoff becomes a massacre and a cycle of hatred.
• Power and survival: Tang’s artifacts, bloodline, and insight enable him to prevail where the Wizards cannot.
• A wider looming threat: Tang views the Heavenly Court’s invasion as a danger extending beyond any single tribe or powerful being.
• Innate nature and connection to place: The Heavy Python and Ancestral God are both associated with the earth, suggesting that their strength is rooted in it.

This chapter contains only a list of reader donations and acknowledgments. It thanks readers for their tips and groups contributors by donation amount: 10,000, 1,000, 500, and 100 Qidian coins. Several readers appear more than once, and “Madcap Prodigy” is listed three times.
There are no plot events, character developments, interactions, or themes beyond the author’s appreciation for reader support.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points

• The destruction of the Ancestral God’s body triggers a violent upheaval in the Cave Abode. Earth veins erupt, caves collapse, and mist swallows many Wizards fleeing the Rock-Piercing Stockade.
• Tang Changsheng and the other Wizards are suddenly transported out of the cave to a hilltop beneath dark clouds. A distant field of white light appears to belong to another world, leading some to suspect they have entered the Netherworld.
• They discover a vast battlefield: a small force of Black Rock Warrior Spirits is holding back Pan King’s enormous army of ghost soldiers.
• When a Wizard explains that Pan King’s captives are offered in a Blood Sacrifice to an Ancestral Deity, a blood-red thunderbolt strikes the group, killing that Wizard and those nearby.
• Dark-red clouds spread over the battlefield. Pan King’s soldiers grow stronger while the Warrior Spirits are suppressed and begin to lose ground. The hill shakes again, and Tang Changsheng senses that something disastrous may be coming.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains observant and analytical, trying to understand the strange battlefield and the Ancestral Deity’s power. Though shaken by the thunderbolt, he reasons that the deity’s awareness is likely limited to its surrounding aura. His confidence in his own knowledge of the world persists, even as the pressure of the deity’s presence weighs on him.
• The Wizards respond with confusion and fear. They speculate about where they are and whether the battlefield involves the Outerworld Demons. One Wizard corrects them, identifying the enemy as Pan King’s ghost soldiers and explaining the Blood Sacrifice—an explanation that immediately draws the deity’s lethal attention.

Significant themes

• The danger of forbidden knowledge and speech: Mentioning the Ancestral Deity’s role in the sacrifices seems to provoke an immediate, deadly response.
• Divine power and oppression: The spreading aura strengthens one army while weakening the other, illustrating how supernatural authority can reshape a conflict.
• Power imbalance and impending collapse: The outnumbered Warrior Spirits have held their line through sheer resistance, but the changing conditions threaten to overwhelm them.
• Human confidence versus the unknown: Tang’s learned assumptions help him interpret events, but the scale of the deity’s power and the mysterious upheaval challenge his sense of control.

Summary

• Crisis in the Netherworld: A blood-red thunderbolt tears open a huge fissure in the mountaintop, while the Ancestral Cave also begins shaking violently. Wizards flee through their own escape techniques. Amid the panic, shouts spread that the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God has fallen, driving the stockade into further chaos.
• Tang Changsheng nearly dies: As Tang prepares to leave the Netherworld, immense streams of gold and red light sweep across the sky. Their power destroys several Wizards, and one streak bears down on Tang. At the last moment, a symbol at his brow—the Heavenly Court Talisman—deflects the blow.
• Contact with the Heavenly Court: A Yang Spirit True Person notices the Talisman and asks why Tang did not reveal it sooner. Tang claims he is participating in the Red Trial and hiding among the Black Rock Mountains. The True Person accepts the explanation and continues fighting the black-and-red clouds.
• A larger conflict unfolds: Tang realizes that the Eastern Flower Heavenly Court’s experts appear to be helping the Black Rock Mountains, despite the Court’s broader aim of conquering the Wuman World. Gold and red lights form a coordinated formation and tear into the clouds, but the clouds repeatedly reform, fueled by Blood Essence and an increasingly furious will.
• Tang uses the Talisman openly: When stray attacks threaten him, Tang brings the Talisman out from beneath the Heavenly Mandate Compass. Its presence causes the attacks to pass him by, revealing that it identifies him as an ally to the Heavenly Court’s forces.

Character developments and interactions

Tang’s near-death experience confirms both the danger of the battle and the usefulness of the Talisman. He remains wary and calculating: he had kept it suppressed because he feared it might expose or compromise him, and he gives the True Person a carefully chosen explanation rather than revealing his true motives. The True Person is powerful but dismissive of Tang’s circumstances, accepting his answer and moving on to the greater battle.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes survival and caution, as Tang’s suspicion nearly leaves him vulnerable, but his quick thinking saves him. It also introduces uncertain loyalties and political complexity: the Heavenly Court’s apparent aid to the Black Rock Mountains clashes with its stated conquest, leaving the meaning of Tang’s Trial in doubt. Finally, the immense, impersonal scale of immortal power underscores how fragile ordinary fighters are amid conflicts between great forces.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng watches a clash in the Netherworld: more than ten golden and red lights flee a vast, malevolent shadow rather than fight it. An azure Flying Sword arrives from the bright side and cleaves the shadow in two.
• As the cavern collapses, Tang escapes using a protective Yin Spirit Domain. He realizes his Heavy Python Bloodline’s gravity power, combined with the Myriad Forms Mirror and his Dharma Power, let him manifest the domain ahead of schedule.
• The injured Ox-Horn Wizard grabs Tang’s leg and threatens to expose him as an “Outerworld Demon.” Tang kills him with the Jade Ruyi and escapes.
• The collapse engulfs Rock-Piercing Stockade, killing its population of more than ten thousand, including thousands of Warriors.
• Near death, Tang awakens a third Bloodline power, Lightning Shadow, gaining a sudden burst of speed that lets him escape. He survives but is badly injured; his four Zombies are destroyed.

Character developments

• Tang’s curiosity about the battle nearly costs him his life, reinforcing how dangerous his growing involvement with the Netherworld and Heavenly Court may be.
• His Yin Spirit Domain proves stronger and more developed than expected, while his crisis-driven awakening of Lightning Shadow marks a major advance in his abilities.
• He shows ruthless self-preservation, refusing to stop for the Ox-Horn Wizard—and killing him once the Wizard becomes a threat.

Significant themes

• Survival and the cost of curiosity: Tang’s brief attempt to observe events nearly traps him in the catastrophe.
• Power awakened under pressure: Extreme danger unlocks Tang’s hidden Bloodline potential.
• Disaster and loss: Tang escapes, but the stockade and its people are wiped out, underscoring the devastation surrounding the supernatural conflict.
• Uncertainty and hidden allegiances: The retreating lights, shadow, and Flying Sword hint at a larger struggle whose sides and stakes remain unclear.

Character interactions

• Tang witnesses a dramatic confrontation between fleeing Yang Spirit True Persons and a hostile shadow, which is ultimately cut apart by the Flying Sword.
• The Ox-Horn Wizard appeals to Tang for rescue, then tries to coerce him by threatening to reveal his identity. Tang responds by killing him, ending their encounter in violence.

Plot points and events

• After crossing the Flowing Stone River, Tang Changsheng rests in a damaged cave and roasts a boar. He uses a small concealment trick to keep the smell from attracting danger.
• His new body, strengthened by three Bloodlines, heals rapidly as he eats and sleeps.
• The Heavenly Court Talisman suddenly activates, and Tang is drawn into a hall in the Heavenly Court, where he meets the Director Divine Lord.
• The Divine Lord demands an explanation for Tang’s long silence. Tang recounts his experiences in the Black Rock Mountains, while concealing minor details and saying he does not know why the talisman was shielded.
• The Divine Lord recognizes that Tang used his own means to conceal Heavenly secrets and the talisman. He then focuses on Tang’s foothold and assumed identity in the mountains, treating these as potentially important developments.

Character development

• Tang remains cautious and calculating. He had kept the talisman hidden to avoid exposing himself, and he carefully limits what he tells the Divine Lord.
• His confidence in his new body grows as he experiences its strength and rapid recovery.
• The Divine Lord shows sharp judgment and, despite his heavy workload, becomes unusually absorbed in Tang’s situation.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and survival: Tang’s concealment protects his undercover identity but also cuts him off from support.
• Power and identity: Tang’s position within the Black Rock Mountains may matter more than his personal strength or immediate circumstances.
• Unequal knowledge: The Divine Lord reflects on how Rogue Cultivator disciples are disadvantaged by the information withheld from them.

Character interactions

• Tang reports to the Director Divine Lord, carefully balancing honesty with self-protection.
• The Divine Lord sees through Tang’s concealment but does not reprimand him; he interprets the secrecy as understandable caution and listens closely when Tang describes gaining a foothold and identity in the mountains.

Key plot points

• The Divine Lord orders Tang Changsheng to stay undercover on Black Rock Mountain, strengthen his position, and keep his identity concealed. Director Zhang is assigned as his contact and raises his clearance.
• Director Zhang explains that Tang’s success in entering a recognized local identity is exceptionally rare: previous Heavenly Court operatives were often exposed soon after arriving.
• The Heavenly Court’s main concern in the region is not the Black Rock Mountains themselves, but Pan King, who plans to invade them. Tang is expected to use local forces to resist or delay Pan King’s expansion.
• With Rock-Piercing Stockade destroyed and its Ancestral God gone, the surrounding tribes are in turmoil. Tang and Director Zhang agree this creates an opportunity for Tang to build influence and forces.
• The Heavenly Court will avoid directly supplying him with people or power, so as not to compromise his cover. It will instead create favorable conditions for his growth.
• Tang asks for help finding allies: he cannot contact his former subordinates, and the only one whose location he knows has been captured.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng recognizes how valuable—and precarious—his assumed identity is. He remains humble and cautious even as the Heavenly Court acknowledges his achievement.
• His strategic ability becomes clear: he quickly understands the wider conflict and infers his mission from Director Zhang’s explanation.
• Director Zhang comes across as observant, politically astute, and supportive. He values Tang’s judgment and treats him as a capable partner rather than a subordinate needing every detail explained.

Significant themes

• Identity and concealment: Tang’s survival and usefulness depend on maintaining a convincing local identity.
• Strategy and indirect power: The Heavenly Court plans to influence events without openly intervening, relying on Tang and local forces.
• Opportunity amid disorder: The destruction of a stockade creates danger but also room for Tang to expand his influence.
• Political scale and shifting priorities: What appears to be a major local struggle is only a small part of a broader contest between the Heavenly Court and Pan King.

Character interactions

• Tang approaches Director Zhang respectfully, seeking clarification and support.
• Zhang explains the political situation and tests Tang’s understanding; Tang quickly grasps the mission and proposes how to carry it out.
• They negotiate the limits of Heavenly Court assistance, agreeing to preserve Tang’s cover while enabling him to build strength.

Chapter Summary: “Invasion of the Pan Tribe”

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng receives temporary Silver Talisman clearance from Heavenly Court, giving him authority well above his usual rank. The upgrade comes with a future deduction from his Merit Points.
• He realizes his exchange with the Divine Lord and Divine Clerk took place through a projection of consciousness. Afterward, he blocks his talisman and decides to contact Heavenly Court again only when it is safe.
• With the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God dead and the Rock-Piercing Stockade devastated, Tang plans to seize the opportunity to expand his influence among the Hongdong Barbarians. He hopes eventually to turn his forces against the Black Rock Mountains and earn credit when Heavenly Court advances.
• On returning to the former Flowerfoot Stockade, now a Hongdong branch stockade, Tang learns of a major invasion. At the Blackwater River, a 50,000-strong Pan Tribe army defeats a force of roughly 10,000 Shaman Barbarians.
• Individual Shaman Barbarians are formidable, but the Pan Tribe’s numbers, weapons, and coordinated tactics overwhelm them. The survivors flee into the mountains.
• Pan commander Shao Jun orders his troops to gather the wounded and survivors—including slave soldiers and Shaman Barbarians—for sacrifice to the Pan Tribe’s Ancestral God.

Character developments

• Tang Changsheng gains greater authority but remains cautious, limiting contact with Heavenly Court. He is increasingly strategic and opportunistic, aiming to build a power base before the wider conflict reaches the region.
• Shao Jun, eldest son of the Great Pan King and commander of the invading army, is shown as calculating and ruthless. He recognizes the battle’s military outcome and treats captives as sacrificial offerings.

Character interactions

• Divine Clerk Zhang supports Tang by arranging the temporary Silver Talisman upgrade under the Divine Lord’s authorization.
• Tang’s prospective plans to consolidate power are interrupted by the Pan Tribe’s invasion, which has already reshaped the balance of power in the region.
• The Pan Tribe soldiers fight cooperatively against the more individually powerful Shaman Barbarians, then carry out Shao Jun’s order to collect survivors for sacrifice.

Significant themes

• Power and opportunity: Tang sees upheaval as a chance to expand his influence.
• Organization versus individual strength: The Pan Tribe’s coordination and numbers defeat the stronger fighters.
• Ruthlessness of war: The battlefield is brutal, and the defeated are treated as resources for religious sacrifice.
• Unequal authority: Heavenly Court’s talismans formalize rank and access, while Tang’s temporary promotion comes with a cost.

Key plot points and events

• Blackwater Stockade has been devastated, losing nearly 3,000 Warriors, and is too weak to take the offensive.
• Fu arrives at Hongdong Stockade seeking Tang Changsheng’s help: Ghost Monsters have repeatedly harassed the Tribal Stockade by day and attacked it at night.
• Tang learns that Flowerfoot Stockade has also been attacked. Wang Yanwen and Lu Rongguang say the attackers are a mixed host of monsters, Essence Souls, and Wild Ghosts. They offer to go with Tang, but he tells them to remain and defend their post.
• Tang uses the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, Three Realms Mirror, Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal, and soil from Hongdong’s Totem Pillar to enter the Netherworld and inspect Hongdong’s Spirit Realm.
• He finds its Ancestral Spirit under heavy assault by thousands of creatures. The Spirit Realm is weakened and close to collapse, with the Ancestral Spirit fighting alone.
• Tang tests the Heavenly Court Silver Talisman and successfully summons a squad of more than fifty Heavenly Soldiers. Their arrival disappoints him: their strength is no greater than that of Magical Weapons he already commands.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains decisive and confident, dismissing the dangers of traveling at night and choosing to investigate the crisis himself. Rather than charging into battle, he first studies the threat and tests his resources.
• Fu is frightened but determined to seek help; Tang orders him and his injured Warriors to rest and recover.
• Wang Yanwen and Lu Rongguang have largely recovered and have helped defend Flowerfoot Stockade with the Flowerfoot Snake Ancestral Spirit. They stay hidden because they lack recognized public identities.
• The Hongdong Ancestral Spirit is revealed to be much weaker than before and overwhelmed by the attackers.

Significant themes

• A growing, collective threat: Creatures once confined to the mountains have united in numbers and now menace settlements protected by Ancestral Spirits.
• Power and preparedness: Tang’s careful investigation and experimentation show that strength alone is not enough; he must assess what resources are useful before acting.
• Fragile security: Stockades and Spirit Realms that once seemed protected are vulnerable when their defenders are weakened or outnumbered.
• Hidden identities and future legitimacy: Wang and Lu remain concealed for now, but their visibility may change as Tang’s following expands.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng receives Heavenly Court reinforcements: a squad of Heavenly Soldiers who prove far stronger and more disciplined than his own Magical Weapons. They break through and scatter the Ghost Creatures using elite martial skill and military formation.
• Tang joins the battle with the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp, but discovers that the monsters can resist his Wishfire. A black liquid coating their bodies extinguishes most of its flames, exposing a weakness in Tang’s reliance on Wishfire.
• When hundreds of monsters rush him, Tang uses the Golden Tiger Soul-Chasing Seal to take tiger form. Its roar terrifies most of them into fleeing or collapsing.
• Tang summons the Flowerfoot Snake and orders it to fight. The Snake, now only a weakened Primordial Spirit, is frightened and struggles in its enormous form. Tang coats it in Wishfire, prompting it to transform into a more agile half-human, half-lizard shape. It then wields a flaming sword and cuts down several monsters.

Character developments

• Tang remains confident and resourceful, but the battle challenges his assumptions: his Wishfire is not universally effective, and the Heavenly Soldiers vastly outperform his own forces.
• The Flowerfoot Snake is revealed to be diminished and fearful without its former body. Under Tang’s coercive command and the Wishfire transformation, however, it adapts and becomes an effective fighter.

Significant themes

• Limits of familiar power: Tang’s dependable Wishfire meets an enemy it cannot easily burn, reminding him not to rely on a single method.
• Discipline and training: The Heavenly Soldiers’ formation and martial skill make them far more effective than Tang’s numerous but less elite Magical Weapons.
• Power and control: Tang directs both summoned forces and the Flowerfoot Snake, whose obedience is enforced through control of its True Name.
• Adaptation: Tang and the Snake respond to setbacks by changing tactics and form.

Character interactions

• Tang welcomes the Heavenly Soldiers and commands them to attack; their performance impresses him.
• The monsters target Tang after he joins the fight, but his Tiger Seal frightens them off.
• Tang summons and threatens the Flowerfoot Snake, forcing it to confront the monsters. He then supports it with Wishfire, which enables its transformation and counterattack.

Plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng, in his Golden Tiger form, joins Flowerfoot Snake, the Heavenly Soldiers, and the Hongdong Ancestral Spirit to break the Ghost Creatures’ siege of the Hongdong Spirit Realm. The defeated creatures flee.
• Worried the threat might return while he absorbs nearby Tribal Stockades, Tang leads a pursuit into the mountains.
• He tests the Netherworld Sacred Coin on a Wolf Demon covered in Karmic Sin Aura. The coin absorbs the aura and the demon’s soul, confirming its ability to consume negative energies.
• Tang reasons that the coin is the core of the Mysterious Yin Seven Fiends Heavenly Curtain Formation and the Yellow Springs Corpse Tide Formation. Because it belongs to the Purple Dusk Heavenly Court, he is wary of revealing or misusing it.
• The pursuit leads to a secluded gorge that has become a natural Ghost Domain. Tang uses the coin to absorb its Ghost Aura, Grievance Aura, Yin Energy, and baleful intent, then sends it crashing into the gorge.
• The strike devastates the area and disrupts its energy channels. Tang estimates its power rivals an attack by a Yang Spirit True Person, while costing less of his own Dharma Power than his other treasures.

Character developments

• Tang shifts from battlefield commander to investigator, testing the coin and learning how it works.
• His caution about the coin’s ownership contrasts with his delight at discovering its great power. After long periods of restraint, he enjoys being able to unleash a major attack.

Character interactions

• Tang’s overwhelming presence helps scatter the Ghost Creatures, while Flowerfoot Snake and the other allies press the attack.
• He handles the Wolf Demon directly, treating it as a test subject rather than a serious opponent.
• No one challenges Tang in the gorge; he uses the coin freely because he believes the area is unobserved.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Tang has potent weapons but must weigh their cost, risks, and ownership.
• Turning danger into strength: The coin absorbs the very negative energies that make the Ghost Creatures and their domain threatening.
• Conquest and security: Tang pursues the fleeing enemies to prevent them from threatening his territory again.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Changsheng enters the canyon with the Primordial Yang Divine Lamp and finds the remains of demonic creatures killed by an unseen force.
• He discovers part of an enormous, remarkably durable skeleton and considers using its bones for Witchcraft.
• Gu Junjie emerges from the shadows, transformed into a half-man, half-tree being after possessing a powerful Demon Tree. He controls the Ghost Creatures and Essence Souls gathered beneath it.
• Tang and Gu learn that each had assumed the other might be dead. Tang confirms that Zhang Qiuping died, while he rescued Wang Yanwen and Lu Rongguang.
• Gu explains that ancient battles left the canyon littered with Ancient Desolate Beast remains. The beasts’ lingering Killing Intent combined with the earth’s veins to make the area deadly.
• Tang reveals that he has already brought Hongdong and Flowerfoot Stockades under his control—news that surprises Gu, who had been building a following of his own.
• The chapter shifts to the wider regional upheaval: after the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God’s destruction and the deaths of many Wizards, stockades are attacking and absorbing one another. Yellowstone Stockade has expanded by taking over Baxuan Stockade, gaining a much larger population and access to a fish-rich lake.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Changsheng remains cautious and ambitious. His encounter with the skeleton shows his practical interest in powerful materials, while his control of two stockades reveals how far his influence has grown.
• Gu Junjie has survived but is profoundly changed by merging with the Demon Tree’s lingering spirit. He has gained substantial power and followers, though his nature is now muddled and partly shaped by the tree.
• The reunion is wary at first—Tang prepares to attack, and Gu’s followers initially regard him as prey—but recognition and their shared history restore trust. Gu’s knowledge of the canyon also makes him a valuable source of insight for Tang.

Significant themes

• Transformation and the cost of power: Gu’s strength comes with a strange, lasting alteration of his body and spirit.
• Lingering violence: The ancient beasts’ Killing Intent persists across ages, turning the canyon into a deadly place.
• Power shifts and opportunism: Regional disorder creates openings for ambitious leaders and stockades to expand.
• Knowledge and influence: Gu’s understanding of the canyon complements Tang’s growing political and practical power.

Key plot points and events

• After annexing Baxuan Stockade, Yellowstone Stockade enjoys a brief surge in confidence. But increasing Ghost Creature attacks—especially against Baxuan, which lacks its own Ancestral Spirit—make its people anxious and increasingly doubtful of Yellowstone’s protection.
• Yellowstone Warrior leader Shi Shou asks the Wizard what is happening. The Wizard says Yellowstone’s Ancestral Spirit is digesting Baxuan’s spirit and needs more worshippers to grow powerful enough to replace Rock-Piercing Ancestral God. He orders Shi Shou to seize Ox-Horn Stockade before Yangli Stockade can claim it.
• Ox-Horn is vulnerable because its Wizard died and it cannot appoint a replacement for months. Yellowstone sees annexation as a route to dominance, while its Wizard openly rejects the idea that any rival could become the new Ancestral God.
• Meanwhile, Tang Changsheng and Gu Junjie hunt Ghost Creatures in the Black-Smoke Mountains. With Tang’s help, Gu Junjie has rebuilt his forces to more than five thousand and hopes to command all the region’s spirits.
• Tang weakens the forest’s dense Yin Energy with the Jade Ruyi, then lets Gu Junjie’s forces engage a powerful White Tiger demon. The Tiger’s roar devastates the Ghost Creatures, but Tang stops Gu Junjie from attacking and moves in himself. The chapter ends as the Tiger strikes at him.

Character developments

• Yellowstone Wizard reveals his ambition: he wants his stockade to absorb rivals, gather worshippers, and supplant Rock-Piercing Stockade. His confidence rests on the Ancestral Spirit’s eventual growth, despite present instability.
• Shi Shou is troubled by the Ghost Creature attacks and by Baxuan’s growing discontent, but remains under the Wizard’s direction.
• Gu Junjie has grown from commanding only a few hundred Ghost Creatures to leading thousands. His confidence has become grandiose: he imagines challenging even Rock-Piercing Ancestral God.
• Tang Changsheng remains cautious about revealing his most valuable artifacts, but is increasingly confident in his power and eager to test himself against the Tiger demon.

Significant themes

• Ambition and competition: Yellowstone’s leaders seek supremacy, while Yangli is also vying for Ox-Horn.
• The limits of protection and loyalty: Baxuan accepted annexation for safety, but renewed attacks weaken its faith in Yellowstone.
• Power and vulnerability: Ancestral Spirits require worshippers and Wizardly support; Ox-Horn’s lack of a Wizard leaves it exposed.
• Growing supernatural disorder: The rising Ghost Creature activity unsettles stockades and suggests danger spreading beyond their control.

Character interactions

• Shi Shou turns to Yellowstone Wizard for an explanation, and the Wizard responds with both reassurance and orders to pursue expansion.
• Yellowstone Wizard’s rivalry with Yangli is conveyed through his insistence that Yellowstone alone should rise to power.
• Tang Changsheng directs Gu Junjie’s forces, restrains his eagerness, and then takes the White Tiger on himself—setting up a direct confrontation.