Chapter Summaries

Qin Yang and Liu Yun agreed to investigate Wenxin Temple, while Black Fish Tower searched for Liu Yun. Song Yechen revealed that Marquis Fuhai’s Estate controlled several major forces in Yongning Prefecture, explaining why the Sky Patrol Division could not yet move against Wenxin Temple.

• Qin Yang agreed to report Liu Yun’s suspicions about Wenxin Temple, and Liu Yun planned to investigate it while hiding in plain sight there.
• Qin Yang told Liu Yun that he had killed the two culprits responsible for Zhang Cangjun’s death, and the two men parted after eating wontons.
• A Black Fish Tower subordinate reported that the Second Tower Master’s location had become ruins, and the long-haired man ordered his men to find Liu Yun by the end of the day.
• Leng Cang brought Qin Yang to meet Song Yechen, who explained that he had been sent to Yongning Prefecture to watch Marquis Fuhai and prevent a rebellion.
• Song Yechen revealed that Marquis Fuhai’s Estate controlled the Northern Flood Dragon Army, Black Fish Tower, Wenxin Temple, and three of the city’s Nine Great Families, so the Sky Patrol Division could not yet move against Wenxin Temple.

Qin Yang learned that Wenxin Temple had abducted thousands of people and that Marquis Fuhai's Estate was working with the Other Shore Cult, then agreed to join a staged operation against the great families. When the Nine Great Families ambushed Leng Cang's team on the road to Changhuai County, Leng Cang revealed that powerful allies from Yongning Prefecture City had come to help.

• Qin Yang heard Song Yechen and Leng Cang describe Wenxin Temple's abductions and Marquis Fuhai's Estate's ties to the Other Shore Cult.
• Song Yechen and Leng Cang told Qin Yang they would use a ghost-artifact incident to draw out and purge the great families, promising him eight hundred contribution points for showing his face.
• Ma Cheng gave Wu Qian a route map and urged him to kill Leng Cang, Qin Yang, and the others on their way to Changhuai County.
• Leng Cang led nearly twenty Evil Exterminators out of Yongning City, and Qin Yang joined them on the journey.
• At a relay station, Qin Yang spotted an ambush by more than thirty armed men, while Leng Cang revealed he had anticipated the attack.
• Zhou Dingtian, Shangguan Yun, and Daoist Feiyu arrived to aid Leng Cang against the attackers.

Qin Yang and the Sky Patrol Division confronted the Nine Great Families at a relay station, where Qin Yang clashed with Zheng Yuanshi and the sect masters surrounded the site. Meanwhile, Song Yechen told Shen Sanxiu he feared turmoil was coming and wanted to prevent the deaths it would bring, just as another figure arrived at the watchtower.

• Zhou Dingtian, Shangguan Yun, and Daoist Feiyu joined Leng Cang’s side against the Nine Great Families, while Qin Yang recalled that he and Zhao Xinmo had killed Zhou Fan.
• Leng Cang demanded that the black-clad leader surrender and return with him to the Sky Patrol Division, but the man refused to decide for King Yan.
• Qin Yang attacked the leader, who revealed himself as Zheng Yuanshi, and their clash forced Zheng Yuanshi back one step.
• Leng Cang ordered the Evil Exterminators to draw their weapons as the sect masters and their forces surrounded the relay station, while Mo Yunfan called for negotiations.
• Shen Sanxiu met Song Yechen on the Sky Patrol Division’s watchtower, where Song Yechen said he feared coming chaos and hoped to reduce its casualties.
• Another figure climbed onto the watchtower as Shen Sanxiu heard footsteps.

Song Yechen purged the aristocratic families from the Sky Patrol Division but compromised by releasing their captured leaders to prevent chaos in Yongning Prefecture. Meanwhile, Liu Yun continued investigating Wenxin Temple and suspected its charity concealed the disappearance of many people, leaving him waiting for Qin Yang’s help.

• Song Yechen accepted the resignations of Shen Sanxiu, Tao Ning, and Wu Qian, while Ma Cheng, Leng Cang, and Zhou Dingtian took key positions in the Sky Patrol Division.
• The great aristocratic families negotiated the release of Zheng Yuanshi and the others, and Song Yechen allowed them to return to avoid destabilizing Yongning Prefecture.
• Leng Cang explained to Qin Yang that the Nine Great Families controlled essential resources, and instructed him to contact Liu Yun about Wenxin Temple.
• Liu Yun continued posing as a poor scholar at Wenxin Temple and learned that Chen Hai had disappeared after supposedly leaving to visit relatives.
• Liu Yun suspected Wenxin Temple’s charitable work concealed a conspiracy and decided he would need the Sky Patrol Division’s help to investigate it.

Qin Yang met Liu Yun in disguise at Wenxin Temple and learned that the temple was involved in a deadly scheme, while the Sky Patrol Division prepared to keep Liu Yun undercover. As Qin Yang cultivated for the coming war with Marquis Fu Hai's Estate, a masked woman attacked a caravan bound for Wenxin Temple and killed its leader and guards.

• Qin Yang met Liu Yun at Wenxin Temple, where Liu Yun secretly reported his findings and gave Qin Yang a method for transmitting voices.
• Qin Yang warned Liu Yun about the danger posed by the temple's abbot, Kunxin, and reported their meeting to Leng Cang.
• Leng Cang said the Sky Patrol Division would secretly act to keep Wenxin Temple from focusing on Liu Yun.
• Qin Yang cultivated in seclusion, strengthening his Northern Darkness Blackwater True Art and Yin Yang Life and Death Talisman Scripture in preparation for war with Marquis Fu Hai's Estate.
• A masked woman ambushed the Wanfeng caravan on the road to Wenxin Temple, beheaded its leader, and slaughtered the guards.

After two months of cultivation, Qin Yang perfected the Northern Darkness Blackwater True Art and gained the Suppress Evil Divine Ability. He searched Lingxin Tower for a powerful Transcendent Profound martial art to advance further, but found none suitable and began looking among forbidden techniques.

• At Wenxin Temple, Monk Kunkxin learned that Liu Yun had again rescued the blood offerings and ordered the long-faced monk to work with Black Fish Tower to kill him.
• Qin Yang spent two months cultivating and perfected the Northern Darkness Blackwater True Art, transforming his aura and gaining the Suppress Evil Divine Ability.
• Qin Yang considered whether Suppress Evil could restrain ghost artifacts, which might appear more often if the Heaven and Earth Isolation Forbidden Technique failed.
• Qin Yang went to Lingxin Tower to find a Transcendent Profound martial art for his next breakthrough, but had no contribution points to exchange for one.
• Finding no suitable martial art among the Transcendent Profound techniques, Qin Yang searched for forbidden techniques and discovered a sparsely stocked shelf.

Qin Yang found the incomplete Big Dipper True Martial Profound Scripture and negotiated a mission reward with Leng Cang for infiltrating Wenxin Temple. Disguised as a poor laborer, he reached the temple and reunited with Liu Yun, who agreed to help him enter.

• Qin Yang discovered that the Big Dipper True Martial Profound Scripture contained only the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown section and decided to seek contribution points to obtain it.
• Qin Yang learned that the Sky Patrol Division was preparing to attack Wenxin Temple and bargained with Leng Cang for fifteen hundred contribution points to infiltrate the temple.
• Leng Cang explained that the division had investigated Wenxin Temple and planned to assault its rear mountain while Qin Yang and Liu Yun attacked from within.
• Qin Yang disguised himself as a laborer, left Yongning Prefecture City, and reached Wenxin Temple.
• Qin Yang secretly asked Liu Yun to help him enter Wenxin Temple, and Liu Yun agreed.

Liu Yun brought Qin Yang into Wenxin Temple to plan a Sky Patrol Division assault with Leng Cang. As the operation approached, Abbot Kunkxin revealed his hunger by attacking the long-faced monk who had failed to find Liu Yun.

• Liu Yun arranged for Qin Yang, posing as Qin Songling, to stay at Wenxin Temple and secretly explained that the temple's heart lay in its tightly guarded back mountain.
• Liu Yun and Qin Yang devised a feint to draw attention away from the back mountain, and Qin Yang said Leng Cang would decide whether to use the plan.
• Leng Cang met Qin Yang in disguise, approved the plan, and set the operation for the Hour of the Ox that night.
• Qin Yang told Liu Yun the operation's timing and continued guiding worshippers at the temple without raising suspicion.
• The long-faced monk told Kunkxin that he had failed to find Liu Yun, and Kunkxin attacked him after repeatedly saying that he was hungry.

The Sky Patrol Division launched a night raid on Wenxin Temple, and the fighting quickly exposed their attack. While Leng Cang battled Abbot Kunkxin in the front courtyard, Qin Yang and Liu Yun slipped toward the back mountain to confront the temple’s secret.

• Leng Cang led the Sky Patrol Division’s squads into Wenxin Temple, where his attack on Hui Ding alerted the temple and he killed the monk in a brief fight.
• Abbot Kunkxin sent four senior monks to guard the back mountain and led the remaining elders and disciples to reinforce the front courtyard.
• The raiders overwhelmed the temple’s front-courtyard defenders as fires and panic spread among the monks and overnight pilgrims.
• Leng Cang met Kunkxin in battle, while Qin Yang and Liu Yun used the chaos to head for the back mountain.
• Qin Yang asked whether Liu Yun could fight without his sword, and Liu Yun revealed a small greenwood sword concealed in his mouth before continuing toward the demon’s den.

Qin Yang and Liu Yun fought their way into Wenxin Temple’s forbidden back mountain and discovered Hell Heart Hall, where monks of the Other Shore Cult were nurturing a ghost seed disguised as a Buddha Child. The four elder monks surrounded them, and Qin Yang prepared to fight.

• Liu Yun led Qin Yang into the back mountain, where warrior monks attacked them for trespassing.
• Qin Yang killed the leading warrior monk, while Liu Yun used his greenwood sword to kill the others and an old monk who recognized him.
• Qin Yang and Liu Yun fought through dozens of warrior monks and reached Hell Heart Hall.
• Inside the hall, Liu Yun recognized the faceless statue on the altar as a ghost seed being nurtured through bloody rituals.
• Old monk Hui Ri claimed the statue was a Buddha Child and revealed the temple’s connection to the Other Shore Cult.
• Hui Ri and three other old monks surrounded Qin Yang and Liu Yun, and Qin Yang took a fighting stance.

Qin Yang and Liu Yun fought four powerful monks guarding Hell Heart Hall, with Qin Yang battling three while Liu Yun faced Hui Chen. The monks transformed and unleashed a mind-affecting chant, leaving Qin Yang battered as he grinned and challenged their claim that he was struggling.

• Liu Yun engaged Hui Chen while Qin Yang fought Hui Ri, Hui Yue, and Hui Xing inside Hell Heart Hall.
• Qin Yang endured the monks' attacks, knocked Hui Xing into the wall, and sent Hui Ri and Hui Yue flying with a series of strikes.
• Hui Ri, Hui Yue, and Hui Xing transformed, and Hui Xing began chanting eerie scriptures that impaired Qin Yang's and Liu Yun's reactions.
• Liu Yun escaped Hui Chen's attack and drew him out of the hall, while Hui Ri and Hui Yue used their enhanced strength to batter Qin Yang.
• Qin Yang continued defending against the staffs and taunting the monks, then grinned and asked who was really struggling.

Qin Yang fought Hui Ri, Hui Yue, and Hui Xing in a desperate battle inside Hell Heart Hall, using Suppress Evil to overcome the monks’ unnatural resilience. He killed all three, but suffered grave injuries; Liu Yun arrived wounded, and the two acknowledged each other’s victories.

• Qin Yang activated Yin Talisman and charged Hui Xing, breaking through Hui Ri and Hui Yue’s defense to attack him.
• Qin Yang and the three monks fought fiercely, destroying Hell Heart Hall and continuing their battle among the ruins.
• Qin Yang used Suppress Evil to erase Hui Yue’s undying nature and kill him, then killed Hui Ri with another strike empowered by Suppress Evil.
• Hui Xing struck Qin Yang repeatedly, but Qin Yang unleashed Yin Talisman’s final burst, crushed Hui Xing with his fist, and stomped him to death.
• Qin Yang ended his Yin Talisman state and nearly collapsed, while Liu Yun arrived with his right arm severed; the two exchanged congratulations for defeating their opponents.

Leng Cang fought Monk Kunkxin at Wenxin Temple while Shangguan Yun waited for a chance to strike. After their combined assault drove Kunkxin to unleash a devastating technique and escape, Leng Cang headed for the rear mountain to check on the battle there.

• Monk Kunkxin rejected Leng Cang's accusations and attacked him with the Ghost Buddha Claw, badly wounding him.
• Kunkxin's Ghost Buddha Pressing Down shattered Leng Cang's counterattack and sent him flying.
• Shangguan Yun's hidden Sword Qi cut Kunkxin's throat, and she and Leng Cang joined forces against him.
• Kunkxin unleashed Ghost Buddha: Heartless, blasting apart the ground and nearby buildings before escaping.
• Leng Cang left Shangguan Yun to handle the remaining fighting and rushed toward the rear mountain.

Qin Yang, Leng Cang, and the Sky Patrol Division searched Wenxin Temple for an incomplete Ghost Seed and found the eerie Buddha statue buried in the ruins. As Leng Cang waited for Xuan Qian to deal with it, Monk Kunkxin escaped and sought help from a long-haired man.

• Qin Yang told Leng Cang that Wenxin Temple’s strange Buddha statue was an empty Ghost Seed shell buried in the ruins, and Leng Cang summoned the authorities.
• Shangguan Yun and the Evil Extermination Department joined the search, while the Sky Patrol Division sounded its emergency horn and sent Huang Qu and nearly a thousand Armory Department personnel to Wenxin Temple.
• The Nine Great Families sent spies to investigate the disturbance, and Li Changkong ordered his subordinate to learn what had happened at the temple.
• Monk Kunkxin reached a manor with Lishui Sword Qi tearing through his body, and a long-haired man treated him while learning that he had failed to retrieve the thing and would explain himself to Lord Hou.
• Huang Qu’s soldiers uncovered a faceless Buddha statue, and Leng Cang sealed off the area and asked whether Xuan Qian had arrived.
• Xuan Qian complained that he had been dragged from the Gambling Den while he was making a fortune.

Xuan Qian identified the faceless Buddha statue at Wenxin Temple as a nearly completed Ghost Seed and arranged to seal it and transport it to the Sky Patrol Division. After the Division exposed Wenxin Temple’s crimes, Yongning City erupted in alarm while the great families focused on the mysterious cargo.

• Xuan Qian examined the excavated Buddha statue, identified it as a Ghost Seed, and ordered everyone else to withdraw from the rear mountain.
• Xuan Qian warned that destroying the more-than-half-formed Ghost Seed could turn Wenxin Temple into a ghost domain, so he planned to seal it and grind it away at the Sky Patrol Division.
• Zhao Xinmo covered the statue with Suppress Evil talismans, Shangguan Yun carved a stone coffin, and Xuan Qian placed the statue inside beneath a bronze lamp.
• Leng Cang and Shangguan Yun escorted the talisman-covered coffin, concealed in white mist, back to the Sky Patrol Division without incident.
• The Sky Patrol Division publicized Wenxin Temple’s crimes, shocking Yongning City’s commoners while the nine great aristocratic families wondered what the Division had transported.

The nine great families debated the Sky Patrol Division’s destruction of Wenxin Temple and the mysterious object it brought back, suspecting the attack might test whether Marquis Fu Hai was alive. After drinking with Liu Yun, Qin Yang entered seclusion to study the Big Dipper True Martial Profound Scripture and break through to the Grandmaster Realm.

• Shen Sanxiu gathered the nine Family Heads, who discussed Wenxin Temple’s destruction and the object the Sky Patrol Division had secretly transported.
• Tao Ning suggested Song Yechen had destroyed Wenxin Temple to test whether Marquis Fu Hai was still alive, and Shen Sanxiu urged the families to investigate the transported object.
• Qin Yang learned that Liu Yun had reached the threshold of the Divine Soul Realm after Wenxin Temple’s destruction and planned to enter seclusion.
• Leng Cang rewarded Qin Yang with two thousand contribution points, which Qin Yang used to obtain the Big Dipper True Martial Profound Scripture and Water Nourishing Pills.
• Qin Yang entered a cultivation chamber, confirmed the scripture’s Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown chapter was complete, and began comprehending its dangerous deathly state.

Qin Yang survived the dangerous cultivation of the Big Dipper True Martial Profound Scripture and advanced to a new realm, gaining powerful origin energy and a water-controlling Divine Ability. After leaving seclusion, he learned that Xuan Qian planned to destroy the eerily inactive Ghost Seed Buddha Statue with the Five Thunders Heavenly Annihilation Array.

• Qin Yang visualized a deathly deep-sea world, overcame his fear of dying, and transformed his true gang into Big Dipper True Martial Origin Energy.
• Qin Yang manifested a water sphere with his new water-controlling Divine Ability, then spent several days mastering his origin energy before leaving seclusion.
• Qin Yang found the Sky Patrol Division plaza surrounded by Armory Department soldiers and learned from Zhao Xinmo that Xuan Qian planned to destroy the Ghost Seed Buddha Statue.
• Zhao Xinmo led Qin Yang through the checkpoints to the Five Thunders Heavenly Annihilation Array, where Xuan Qian was preparing inside a peach grove.
• Zhao Xinmo told Qin Yang that the Ghost Seed Buddha Statue had shown no abnormal activity, and that its unnatural silence had prompted Xuan Qian to act quickly.

Qin Yang watched Xuan Qian destroy the melting Ghost Seed Buddha Statue with the Five Thunders Heaven-Shaking Array, though a hidden voice revealed that the loss could be remedied. Five days later, Marquis Fu Hai's Estate announced that the marquis had died, throwing Yongning Prefecture into an uproar.

• Qin Yang arrived at the Sky Patrol Division as its leaders and religious masters gathered to oversee the Ghost Seed Buddha Statue's destruction.
• Xuan Qian opened the stone coffin and everyone discovered that the Ghost Seed Buddha Statue had already begun to melt.
• Xuan Qian used the Five Thunders Heaven-Shaking Array to blast the statue, coffin, and Peach Wood grove into ash, leaving him exhausted.
• A sinister voice lamented that its Ghost Seed had been destroyed, but another voice said the loss could be remedied and ordered the plan to proceed.
• The Nine Great Families learned that the Ghost Seed had been destroyed and were relieved that Yongning City had been spared.
• Five days later, Marquis Fu Hai's Estate announced Marquis Fu Hai's death at age one hundred and nine, shocking Yongning Prefecture.

Qin Yang and the Sky Patrol Division went to Marquis Fuhai's Estate to investigate whether the marquis was truly dead. Outside the estate, Qin Yang clashed with Li Changkong, and the two groups entered after an estate steward stopped them from fighting.

• Leng Cang told Qin Yang that Marquis Fu Hai’s obituary had been issued by the estate, but the Sky Patrol Division could not tell whether he was truly dead or faking it.
• Qin Yang joined Leng Cang, Zhou Dingtian, and Ma Cheng on a visit to Marquis Fuhai's Estate during the three-day mourning rites.
• Li Changkong charged at the Sky Patrol Division’s group, and Qin Yang punched his horse, killing it.
• Qin Yang taunted Li Changkong about his slain son, but a plump old man from the estate intervened before they could fight.
• Li Changkong entered the estate with his people, and the plump old man’s servants led Qin Yang and the others inside.

Qin Yang and Leng Cang arrived at Marquis Fuhai's Estate to pay respects to Marquis Fu Hai, but Qin Yang sensed the household's grief was strangely orderly. After Qin Yang crushed Wu Hai in a brief clash, a commotion outside the reception hall brought the gathered guests rushing out.

• Qin Yang noticed that the mourning at Marquis Fuhai's Estate seemed rehearsed, and learned that guests had to wait three days before entering the Mourning Hall.
• Qin Yang and Leng Cang met Mo Yunlian, Wu Qian, Shen Sanxiu, and Tao Ning in the reception hall.
• Wu Hai mocked Qin Yang, who defeated him with one punch and took the chair Wu Hai had claimed.
• Leng Cang told Qin Yang that the newly arrived Shen Yu was a Five Energies Returning to the Origin martial artist who had founded Piaoyu Mountain Villa.
• The ground trembled and a commotion broke out outside, prompting everyone in the hall to rush out.