Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Xi explains that the floating, masked figure is the Five Prisons Common-Faced Deity. Those who swallow one of its eyeballs can become its disciples.
• Ye Jiangfan burns joss paper and receives the deity’s inheritance. He gains the ability to summon and control blood mist, shaping it into solid forms.
• Ye tests the power on Luo Sheng. A blood-mist rope binds Luo despite his attempts to escape, and reforms after he breaks it—demonstrating its strength and resilience.
• Ke Meng accepts an eyeball, explaining that she wants to survive and spend more time with her son, who has just begun university. Luo Sheng refuses, unable to accept what he sees as an evil-cult-like power.
• Shen Xi tells Ye and Ke that they may report what happened. She says anyone can make a memorial tablet and burn joss paper to summon the deity and request its inheritance, which reassures Ye that the institute need not confront Shen Xi or the deity.
• Ye and Ke test their abilities. Shen Xi adds that Blood Gate power can replenish the energy used by their Blood Pupils, raising new questions about the connection between the Blood Gate and Blood Pupils.
• The chapter ends as Ye notices one of the Shi Residence’s servants and recognizes him, reacting with shock: “How could it be him?”

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Jiangfan moves from cautious curiosity to excitement as he experiences the inheritance’s power. He also weighs the political consequences, then feels relieved when Shen Xi says the deity’s blessing is openly accessible.
• Shen Xi acts as mediator and guide: she explains the ritual, demonstrates the power’s implications, and offers the inheritance without pressuring Luo Sheng.
• Ke Meng chooses survival over concern about the power’s sinister appearance, grounding her decision in her wish to remain with her son.
• Luo Sheng resists the inheritance on moral and emotional grounds, even after seeing its practical value. His interaction with Ye also shows how startlingly effective the blood-mist ability is.
• Ye’s final recognition of a servant introduces an unresolved mystery.

Significant themes

• Survival versus moral scruples: Ke Meng accepts a frightening power to live longer, while Luo Sheng cannot bring himself to do the same.
• Power and institutional consequences: Ye considers how the institute might respond to the deity and whether its power could reshape apostle survival.
• Faith, ritual, and access to power: Burning joss paper and using a memorial tablet make the deity’s inheritance appear available beyond Shen Xi’s circle.
• Unanswered mysteries: The relationship between Blood Gate power and Blood Pupils, the nature of the deity, and the identity of the servant remain open questions.

Plot points and events

• After the battle at the Shi Residence, the few remaining servants clear away the bodies. Zhao Er, the Shi family’s coachman, is among them.
• Ye Jiangfan recognizes Zhao Er as the coachman who brought the group to Whitegrass Town. The coachman’s unexplained disappearance after arranging their inn—and his presence at the Shi Residence—makes the group suspect he helped lure them there.
• Ye and Luo Sheng learn that Zhao Er has gone to the Welcome Inn. Ye sends Luo back to alert the others, then intercepts Zhao Er alone.
• Under threat, Zhao Er begins telling Ye what he knows about Master Shi’s plans.
• Meanwhile, Shi Geng learns that Ye asked about Zhao Er and realizes the group may disrupt his plan to obtain “blood sources.” He kills the steward and decides to use the steward instead.

Character developments

• Ye Jiangfan becomes more suspicious and decisive, pursuing Zhao Er before he can deliver a message.
• Zhao Er is revealed as an unwilling but suspicious intermediary, repeatedly regretting his return to the residence.
• Shi Geng emerges as calculating and ruthless: he kills a servant without hesitation when his plans are threatened.
• The steward shifts from dutifully managing the aftermath to an unwitting victim of Shi Geng’s scheme.

Character interactions

• Ye questions the steward about Zhao Er, then reports the discovery to his companions.
• Ye and Luo coordinate: Luo returns to warn the group while Ye confronts Zhao Er.
• Ye intimidates Zhao Er into revealing information.
• Shi Geng questions the steward, then kills him after learning the guests are staying at the Welcome Inn.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden motives: Zhao Er’s errand and Master Shi’s intentions remain unclear, while the group realizes their arrival may have been engineered.
• Power and intimidation: Ye uses force to compel Zhao Er, and Shi Geng uses lethal violence to eliminate a perceived obstacle.
• People treated as resources: Shi Geng’s reference to “blood sources” suggests a plan that reduces human beings to expendable material.

Plot points and events

• Ye Jiangfan tells the group that Zhao Er has spent three years bringing outsiders to the Shi Residence under false pretenses. None of those people were ever seen again.
• The team concludes that Master Shi may be behind the disappearances. Ye Jiangfan sends Ma Tusheng and Shen Xi with him to confront Shi Geng, while Luo Sheng and Ke Meng wait nearby to provide backup.
• On the way to the ancestral hall, Ma Tusheng senses strong yin energy. Ye Jiangfan realizes the mission’s zombies may include ones Shi Geng has been nurturing, not just those created by the Evil Cultivator.
• The ancestral hall contains black soil, a black coffin, and a pile of shriveled bodies. The remains include Shi Geng’s family, household staff, the steward, and the Evil Cultivator—revealing that Shi Geng has been using the hall as a corpse-nurturing ground.
• Shi Geng admits he found the team among his “blood sources” and asks whether they would leave if he pretended nothing had happened. He reveals his ambition to create a legendary Flying Jiangshi, apparently using knowledge gained from his “traitorous disciple.”
• When Ye Jiangfan and Shen Xi attack with blood mist, Shi Geng opens the coffin. A powerful figure flies out, disperses their attack, and sends Ye Jiangfan flying. Shen Xi dodges, while Luo Sheng and Ke Meng emerge from hiding. The group recognizes the airborne creature as a possible true target of their mission.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Jiangfan shifts from seeing Shi Geng as a possible ally to treating him as a dangerous antagonist. He pieces together the disappearances and the corpse-nurturing ground, then prepares to attack.
• Shi Geng is revealed as an obsessive, ambitious corpse-nurturer. His earlier cooperation with the team now appears to have concealed his true motives.
• Ma Tusheng identifies the heavy yin energy and asks Shi Geng about the Flying Jiangshi, showing his knowledge of supernatural creatures.
• Shen Xi immediately backs Ye Jiangfan’s suspicions and evades the creature’s first strike.
• Luo Sheng and Ke Meng follow Ye Jiangfan’s plan to wait in reserve, then join the fight when the threat appears.

Significant themes

• Deception and shifting trust: A seemingly helpful figure may have been concealing a far darker agenda.
• The cost of ambition: Shi Geng’s pursuit of a legendary creature has turned people—including his own family—into material for his work.
• Uncertainty in the mission: The team’s initial understanding of the threat is overturned, suggesting the real danger may lie within the Shi Residence itself.

Plot points and events

• Shi Geng confronts the group beneath the Flying Jiangshi and offers to spare them if they surrender their Yin Cultivation methods. They attack instead.
• Four streams of blood mist bind the Jiangshi while Luo Sheng charges Shi Geng, but the creature breaks away and intercepts him. It drains much of Luo Sheng’s blood before Ma Tusheng and Ke Meng interrupt it and pull Luo Sheng free, though his shoulders are badly torn.
• Ke Meng then attacks Shi Geng. The Jiangshi grabs her and drains her despite her golden Protective Power, killing her.
• With the Jiangshi closing in, Ye Jiangfan stands between it and Shen Xi, who is still burning joss paper. Just as Ye prepares to die, blood-red mist gathers above them and forms the towering apparition of the Five Prisons Common-Faced Deity Lord.
• The apparition turns into a huge blood-red palm that smashes the Jiangshi and destroys the Ancestral Hall. After the palm’s fiery-looking mist dissipates, Ma Tusheng observes that the area’s Yin Energy has vanished.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Geng’s former gentleness is gone; he is detached and confident in the Jiangshi’s power, but becomes terrified when the deity apparition appears.
• Luo Sheng’s bold assault ends with him gravely wounded, and Ma Tusheng risks himself to pull him from the Jiangshi.
• Ke Meng fights fiercely to protect the others, but her attack leaves her vulnerable and costs her life.
• Ye Jiangfan accepts the possibility of death and protects Shen Xi, revealing his resolve and care for her. The sudden intervention of the apparition halts his sacrifice.
• The group’s coordinated attack gives way to shock and despair as the Jiangshi proves nearly unstoppable; the mysterious apparition abruptly reverses the danger.

Significant themes

• The limits of human power: Even coordinated fighters and supernatural protection cannot stop the Jiangshi’s blood-draining attack.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Ma Tusheng saves Luo Sheng, while Ye Jiangfan shields Shen Xi and Ke Meng risks herself against the creature.
• Divine or mysterious intervention: The deity apparition’s overwhelming arrival suggests forces beyond the characters’ control—and leaves the source and meaning of its power unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• The Divine Lord’s palm strike obliterates the Ancestral Hall and completely purifies its Corpse-Nurturing Ground, removing all Yin Energy. Ma Tusheng marvels at the Divine Lord’s power and wonders whether the legacy he carries could help him reach similar heights.
• Ye Jiangfan interrogates the dying Shi Geng, who confesses that he stole an incomplete Corpse-Nurturing method from his talented disciple. Shi Geng’s attempts to perfect it caused Whitegrass Town’s decade of zombie disasters.
• Shi Geng admits he used outsiders brought by Zhao Er as material for Corpse Nurturing. More shockingly, the five special Leaping Hopping Corpses in the second wave were his own creations—and he had killed his family to make them. He killed his disciple to prevent him from exposing the truth. Shi Geng dies before Ye Jiangfan can answer his questions about the apparition.
• Shen Xi uses joss paper to summon the Five Prisons Common-Faced Deity and obtains a Blood Pupil. She places it on Luo Sheng’s lips, leaving his fate uncertain; it eventually slips into his mouth.
• Shen Xi tells Ye Jiangfan he may report what happened to the research institute, but she will not join it for now. The next morning, Ye Jiangfan leaves through the Blood Gate with Luo Sheng, and Shen Xi departs separately.
• Back in the real world, Chen Miao realizes the Blood Gate creates instances from segments of past space-time rather than sending people into the actual past. Events inside cannot alter Mortal World history. He nevertheless wonders what became of Shi Geng in the original timeline and whether he might have created the Mortal World’s first Flying Jiangshi.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Geng is revealed as far more culpable than he first appeared: jealousy and ambition led him to betray his disciple, murder his family, and cause years of suffering. His final concern remains the nature of the Divine Lord.
• Ye Jiangfan hears Shi Geng’s confession, takes responsibility for arranging Luo Sheng’s possible recovery, and reflects on how difficult it is to define good and evil.
• Shen Xi remains independent and guarded about her identity, but gives Luo Sheng a chance to survive without claiming responsibility for the outcome.
• Ma Tusheng is awed by the Divine Lord’s power and newly hopeful about his own future.
• Chen Miao shifts from disappointment about the Blood Gate’s limits to recognizing that historical knowledge may still be useful.

Significant themes

• Ambition and corruption: Shi Geng’s desire for forbidden knowledge turns him into the very kind of villain he once opposed.
• Good and evil: Ye Jiangfan questions whether opposing an evil person automatically makes one good, and concludes that abilities themselves are not evil—people’s choices are.
• Fate and historical causality: The Blood Gate’s instances cannot change the original past, yet knowledge of that past may still influence decisions in the present.
• Life and choice: Shen Xi leaves Luo Sheng’s survival to him, underscoring the chapter’s uncertainty about agency and consequence.

Key plot points and events

• At the Blood Gate Research Institute, Director Luo Que reports that two Apostles, Luo Sheng and Ye Jiangfan, gained unusual powers from Blood Pupils—possibly connected to the Blood Pupil previously seen in the Island Nation.
• Deputy Director Dan Yang orders Earthly Chief Star Chen Jizhen to send investigators familiar with that incident and track down the Folk Blood Gate Apostle associated with the new Blood Pupils, fearing they may spread through Great Xia.
• In isolation, Ye Jiangfan demonstrates the powers: he turns water into blood mist and gains golden protection by burning joss paper. Chen Jizhen concludes the mist mainly harms spiritual beings, while the golden light protects against ghosts and evil spirits, not ordinary physical attacks.
• Ye Jiangfan recalls a powerful creature at the Shi Residence. Luo Que clarifies it was not a true Flying Jiangshi: its flawed creation left it dependent on blood, and it would weaken or become dormant if deprived of a supply.
• Ye Jiangfan summons the Five Prisons Common-Faced Deity. Though Luo Que and Chen Jizhen cannot see the deity, they can perceive his presence. At his command, two Blood Pupils appear in Ye Jiangfan’s hands.
• Ye Jiangfan says the deity invites the men to swallow a Blood Pupil. Both officials react warily. Meanwhile, Chen Miao, watching from Tianmen County, is intrigued by the prospect of Chen Jizhen accepting.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Que acts cautiously, seeking outside expertise while keeping some knowledge about the Jiangshi and wider situation to himself.
• Chen Jizhen investigates the abilities directly and remains skeptical that the new Blood Pupils are the same phenomenon as the Island Nation’s. His guarded response to the offer signals distrust.
• Ye Jiangfan demonstrates his powers and conveys what he witnessed, but his awe of the deity makes him nervous and reverent. He is surprised when the deity answers after many failed summons.
• Luo Sheng remains silent during the demonstration; he had swallowed a Blood Pupil to survive but has not used its powers.
• Dan Yang treats the possible spread of Blood Pupils as a serious national threat and assigns an investigation.
• The chapter emphasizes the contrast between what the Apostles can see and what ordinary observers can perceive: the officials sense the deity but cannot behold him, and the Blood Pupils themselves do not trigger the same reaction as the Island Nation’s.

Significant themes

• Fear of uncontrolled supernatural influence: Officials worry that the Blood Pupils may spread and threaten Great Xia.
• Limited knowledge and concealed truths: Luo Que knows more than he reveals, while the deity’s nature and motives remain uncertain.
• Faith, power, and risk: The deity offers power through a Blood Pupil, but the officials’ hesitation highlights the danger of accepting it.
• Unequal perception: Supernatural forces are not equally visible or accessible to everyone, reinforcing the characters’ uncertainty and dependence on intermediaries.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao’s split soul appears at the Blood Gate Research Institute, but neither Chen Jizhen nor Luo Que tries to consume the Blood Pupil. He deliberately remains still and acts unintelligent to avoid seeming dangerous to the Administration.
• After the split soul vanishes, Chen Miao continues observing through Ye Jiangfan and Luo Sheng, concealing that he can see through and control them.
• Luo Que’s remarks confirm that the Administration knows the Blood Gate World represents the Mortal World’s past.
• Chen Miao develops a plan to use Blood Pupils implanted in Blood Gate Apostles to gather historical information. By expanding from official Apostles to civilian ones—and focusing on especially talented Apostles who complete many missions—he hopes to explore periods closer to the Mortal World’s present.
• This knowledge could help him enter the Mortal World without exposing himself as an outsider, find relevant yin-cultivation factions, and improve his prospects of gaining status and resources. His greatest unresolved obstacle remains the Demon-Suppressing Bureau’s Soul-Inquiry Hall.

Character developments

• Chen Miao is cautious and strategic, hiding his abilities while turning his earlier observations into a long-term plan. He intends to make Luo Sheng and Ye Jiangfan only the first pieces in a growing network of controlled Apostles.
• Chen Jizhen and Luo Que remain wary and investigative, choosing not to take the unknown Blood Pupil.
• Ye Jiangfan and Luo Sheng continue to serve as unwitting channels for Chen Miao’s surveillance and control.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and survival: Chen Miao hides his power and intelligence to avoid attracting suspicion.
• Knowledge as preparation: Learning the Blood Gate World’s history is a way to reduce the risks of entering the Mortal World.
• Control and instrumentalization: Chen Miao plans to use Apostles—and potentially their experiences and abilities—as tools for his advancement.
• Ambition and adaptation: His goal is not merely to enter the Mortal World, but to blend in, gain standing, and secure resources.

Character interactions

• Chen Miao carefully avoids engaging with Luo Que and Chen Jizhen, allowing them to discuss the Blood Pupil without giving them reason to fear him.
• He observes Luo Que and Chen Jizhen through Ye Jiangfan and Luo Sheng, while keeping his surveillance and control abilities secret from everyone.
• Chen Miao’s future strategy depends on extending his influence through Blood Gate Apostles, beginning with Luo Sheng and Ye Jiangfan.

Key plot points and events

• The Blood Gate Research Institute decides that Apostles on their first three missions cannot use Blood Pupil, half of those on their fourth mission will test it, and all those on their fifth mission will receive it because survival rates are nearly zero.
• Chen Miao distributes Blood Pupils and repeatedly answers Apostles’ calls for help. To meet demand, he creates five more split souls, weakening his own soul power by nearly a fifth. His survival time in the Mortal World’s battle royale drops from ten days to five, and his split souls risk breaking from overuse.
• Despite the strain, Chen Miao’s aid dramatically improves survival: the fourth-mission success rate rises from 12% to 78%. Two of three fifth-mission Apostles also return alive, bringing the institute valuable information.
• After several sixth-mission deaths, an Apostle survives and reveals that the seventh mission is locked until one hundred Apostles have survived the sixth. The new threshold greatly extends the time between missions, giving Apostles hope.
• Researchers conclude that the Blood Gate grows stronger as more Apostles gather and that opening it nearer to the Mortal World’s timeline requires more power. This raises fears of a future catastrophe they may be unable to prevent.
• Exhausted by his constant service, Chen Miao decides he must find a way to manage the workload. Meanwhile, two figures—a small, white-haired one and a larger companion—arrive at a house outside Shannan City.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao shifts from opportunistically helping Apostles to becoming a heavily burdened lifeline for them. His intervention saves many, but the cost to his own soul power makes him question his role as “Divine Lord.”
• Blood Gate Apostles increasingly rely on Chen Miao’s split souls in crises, often calling him directly rather than using Blood Pupil themselves. Their improved survival rates and the longer interval before the seventh mission restore their sense of purpose.
• The institute’s researchers and officials move from cautious experimentation to excitement over the results, while also growing concerned about the Blood Gate’s increasing strength.

Significant themes

• The cost of helping others: Chen Miao’s support saves lives but depletes him physically and spiritually.
• Hope amid escalating danger: Better survival rates and the new mission threshold offer Apostles a reprieve, even as later missions remain deadly.
• Power and unintended consequences: Blood Pupil and a growing number of Apostles can improve survival, yet may also strengthen the Blood Gate and magnify the threat.

Plot points and events

• Zhong Cai returns to his courtyard after a year away with his disciple, Xiao Bai. He is saddened that he can no longer sense the courtyard’s feng shui formation, but Xiao Bai’s presence comforts him.
• Xiao Bai goes to buy groceries while Zhong Cai starts preparing a meal. A group arrives: Ren Xiang, his friend, and a couple interested in viewing the property.
• Ren Xiang claims the courtyard is his. Zhong Cai discovers that his safe—and the ownership documents inside—have been stolen. Though digital records may eventually prove his ownership, he cannot retrieve them immediately because his old phone is gone and his memory is damaged.
• Ren Xiang produces documents and orders Zhong Cai to leave. When Ren Xiang tries to kick the cookware, Zhong Cai stops him, lifts him by the shoulder, and reveals an unnerving red glow in his eyes. Terrified, Ren Xiang agrees to let Zhong Cai stay and cook.
• Ren Xiang escorts the prospective buyers away. After Xiao Bai returns, Zhong Cai dismisses the visitors as having come to the wrong place and resumes their meal.
• Ren Xiang remains shaken. Learning that his friend’s cousin works for a department said to handle supernatural threats, he asks for the cousin’s number.

Character developments

• Zhong Cai is gentle and focused on caring for Xiao Bai, but he can become frighteningly powerful when provoked. His memory loss and missing documents leave him practically vulnerable despite his supernatural strength.
• Xiao Bai is cheerful and affectionate, openly relying on Zhong Cai and helping with their return to ordinary domestic life.
• Ren Xiang begins as a swaggering property usurper, but Zhong Cai’s display of power leaves him frightened and cautious. He starts seeking outside help to understand what he encountered.

Character interactions

• Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai share a warm, caring reunion: Xiao Bai’s touch lifts Zhong Cai’s spirits, and Zhong Cai prepares food for him.
• Zhong Cai initially handles Ren Xiang’s challenge calmly, but physically restrains him when he threatens the cookware. Ren Xiang’s fear reverses their power dynamic.
• Ren Xiang’s friend encourages retaliation, but Ren Xiang instead questions him about supernatural affairs and asks for his cousin’s contact information.

Significant themes

• Home and displacement: Zhong Cai returns expecting home, only to find it occupied and his ownership challenged.
• Power beneath vulnerability: Missing records and damaged memory weaken Zhong Cai’s practical position, while his supernatural force overwhelms Ren Xiang.
• Domestic affection amid conflict: Zhong Cai’s priority after the confrontation is still to cook for Xiao Bai, grounding the chapter’s tension in their bond.
• The supernatural entering ordinary life: Ren Xiang’s encounter prompts him to consider that demons, ghosts, and other supernatural threats may be real.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Bai enjoys a meal while Zhong Cai, unable to taste, reassures him that his condition is manageable. Xiao Bai promises to keep searching for a cure.
• The two prepare to visit Tianmen County and see Chen Miao. Zhong Cai reflects on how much Chen Miao has changed and remembers his debt to him for helping both him and Xiao Bai.
• Xiao Bai suggests eliminating two Curse Cult followers before they can expose Uncle San Shui. Zhong Cai stops him, saying Xiao Bai must not be implicated and that the followers need to be handled another way.
• Ren Xiang arrives with Jiang Yan, a Grade-C Investigator, and two trainees. Jiang Yan confronts Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai over their failure to register as yin cultivators.
• Jiang Yan’s detection device reacts strongly to the pair. He draws a Vital Blood Pistol, but Zhong Cai’s presence suppresses his power. Zhong Cai’s scarlet eyes and black energy reveal his overwhelming strength.
• Jiang Yan’s warning shot does no harm; his second bullet is neutralized before reaching Zhong Cai. The Administration orders Jiang Yan to evacuate, but black energy overwhelms him and he loses consciousness.

Character development

• Zhong Cai shows gratitude toward Chen Miao and restraint in keeping Xiao Bai from directly targeting the Curse Cult. His calm demeanor contrasts with the immense power he reveals.
• Xiao Bai remains devoted to his master, caring for him and trusting him to handle danger. He is protective of Uncle San Shui but accepts Zhong Cai’s decision.
• Jiang Yan begins confident in his authority and equipment, then quickly realizes he is outmatched. His final remark shows reluctant acceptance that his weapon was not defective.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and gratitude: Zhong Cai remembers those who helped him and Xiao Bai.
• Protection and responsibility: Zhong Cai seeks to prevent Xiao Bai’s actions from causing trouble for others.
• Hidden power and misjudgment: Jiang Yan mistakes the situation for a routine registration violation, only to encounter a force far beyond his expectations.
• Powerlessness before overwhelming strength: Official authority and specialized weapons prove ineffective against Zhong Cai.

Character interactions

• Xiao Bai lovingly serves Zhong Cai and promises to continue seeking a cure; Zhong Cai responds with reassurance.
• Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai discuss protecting Uncle San Shui while avoiding direct involvement by Xiao Bai.
• Jiang Yan treats the pair as suspects and escalates to armed confrontation, while Zhong Cai remains composed and Xiao Bai relies on his master’s protection.

Key plot points and events

• Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai deliberately draw the Administration’s Investigators toward them, hoping to leave the Curse Cult members tracking them exposed.
• When the three Curse Cult trackers reveal themselves, one boasts that he alone can handle the approaching Investigators. Xiao Bai drains half of his yin energy and implants Ice Prison in all three, weakening them to make the confrontation fairer.
• Zhong Cai threatens the trackers with his blood-stopping ability. The shaken men agree to engage the Investigators, allowing Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai to escape by flight.
• An Investigator witnesses their departure and calls for reinforcements. Zhong Cai takes a long route through the mountains to avoid surveillance and reaches Tianmen Funeral Home.
• At the gate, Blackie barks and retreats fearfully. Gatekeeper Qi Hui recognizes Xiao Bai by his white hair and eyebrows, then realizes the adult with him is Zhong Cai.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Bai acts strategically and confidently, using the Curse Cult’s arrogance against them. His playful explanation that he weakened the trackers “to make things fair” contrasts with the severity of his power.
• Zhong Cai supports Xiao Bai’s decisions and remains protective, carrying him on his shoulders and intimidating the trackers when needed.
• The Curse Cult trackers shift from smug confidence to fear and submission once they understand the pair’s abilities.
• Qi Hui initially treats the visitors as strangers, but quickly recognizes them through his memories of his former night-shift work.
• Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai’s easy banter and mutual reassurance show their closeness; their arrival also reconnects them with someone from Zhong Cai’s past.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: The trackers’ status and bravado collapse when confronted with stronger opponents.
• Fairness as strategic irony: Xiao Bai frames crippling the trackers as “making things fair,” turning their own boastfulness against them.
• Loyalty and trust: Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai move as a coordinated pair, relying on and protecting each other.
• Concealment and pursuit: Their detour and disguises emphasize the growing danger of being tracked by both the Administration and the Curse Cult.

Plot points and events

• Qi Hui watches Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai leave, reflecting on how much Zhong Cai has changed. Blackie, usually wary, quietly watches them go.
• Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai visit the Funeral Home, where Old Yu warmly welcomes Xiao Bai and gradually recognizes Zhong Cai. They head to Chen Miao’s courtyard and reunite with Li Fu as well.
• After an hour of catching up, Old Yu and Li Fu leave to handle the day’s work. Xiao Bai takes Zhong Cai to Twin Ridge Mountain to inspect the feng shui formation Chen Miao established.
• Zhong Cai is astonished by the mountain’s unusually concentrated yin energy, judging Chen Miao’s achievement remarkable even compared with the Curse Cult’s resources.
• Chen Miao emerges from the mist. Zhong Cai, remembering how he once stopped Chen Miao from sacrificing Xiao Bai and then asked him to protect his disciple, feels ashamed and hesitant.
• Chen Miao instead embraces him warmly, greeting him as a brother. Zhong Cai relaxes and returns the greeting.

Character developments

• Zhong Cai appears changed after his time away, but remains burdened by guilt over asking Chen Miao to protect Xiao Bai. Chen Miao’s uncomplicated affection eases that shame.
• Xiao Bai is affectionate and eager to reconnect with the Funeral Home’s older staff. He also notices the mountain formation’s potential to support Zhong Cai’s cultivation.
• Chen Miao is shown as exceptionally gifted in feng shui and cultivation, and as generous and forgiving toward Zhong Cai.
• Old Yu and Li Fu reveal their affection for Xiao Bai through their delighted reunions with him.

Significant themes

• Found family and enduring bonds: The reunions show that time and distance have not weakened the group’s affection.
• Forgiveness and loyalty: Zhong Cai’s past choice to protect Xiao Bai still weighs on him, but Chen Miao meets him without resentment.
• Growth and talent: The yin-energy formation highlights Chen Miao’s rapid progress and skill.
• Homecoming: Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai’s visits reconnect them with the people and place they left behind.

Character interactions

• Qi Hui teases Blackie, who responds affectionately before keeping watch over the departing visitors.
• Old Yu and Li Fu greet Xiao Bai with warmth and include Zhong Cai in their reunion.
• Xiao Bai brings Zhong Cai to the mountain, hoping its formation can help him cultivate.
• Zhong Cai and Chen Miao meet face-to-face: Zhong Cai approaches with shame, while Chen Miao’s embrace restores their brotherly closeness.

Plot and key events

• On Twin Ridge Mountain, Chen Miao gives Xiao Bai ten Soul Crystal Fragments so he can obtain the plans to build his own Five Prisons Common-Faced God Shrine. A shrine could house a split soul and provide Zhong Cai with a place to stay if he ever has to abandon his body.
• Chen Miao asks about Zhong Cai’s unusual corpse-like body. Zhong Cai explains that Xiao Bai used Chen Miao’s Extreme Yin Corpse-Refining technique, along with the Curse Cult’s resources, to transform it in only three months.
• The body has the strength of a Flying Jiangshi: Zhong Cai can fly, draw blood from a distance, and influence or even kill people with weaker soul bodies. It is also more flexible than a typical Flying Jiangshi, though still stiff and unmistakably unnatural.
• Zhong Cai’s chief problems are his blood craving, sensitivity to sunlight, fangs, and the corpse qi and yin energy leaking from his body. His bloodlust is manageable, but the leaking energies could expose him. Chen Miao thinks the yin energy may be treatable and suggests his disciple Shi Manman may be able to help with the corpse qi.
• Chen Miao mentions that Shi Manman is taking a trial on Twin Ridge Mountain and asks Zhong Cai to make it more difficult for the participants. Zhong Cai is surprised to learn that Chen Miao has become director of the Administration and has arranged for a branch office in Tianmen County.
• Chen Miao also shares his recent experiences involving the Blood Gate and Blood Pupil, partly hoping Xiao Bai can gather information through the Curse Cult.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Bai accepts Chen Miao’s gift after Zhong Cai encourages him, showing a return to a more childlike ease now that his master is back. Chen Miao is pleased to see this and affectionately ruffles his hair.
• Zhong Cai is grateful for Xiao Bai’s work but remains concerned about the drawbacks of his new body. He hopes to support Chen Miao, yet hearing about Chen Miao’s extraordinary achievements makes him doubt he can keep up.
• Chen Miao treats Xiao Bai and Zhong Cai with warmth and trust, sharing sensitive information and looking for ways to help Zhong Cai.
• Zhong Cai agrees to help with the mountain trial, despite privately concluding that “fighting side by side” with Chen Miao may be unrealistic; at best, he might serve as cannon fodder.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and care: Xiao Bai’s effort to restore Zhong Cai and Chen Miao’s practical help show the strength of their bonds.
• Transformation and its costs: Zhong Cai has gained formidable power, but his body brings discomfort, limitations, and the risk of discovery.
• Power and changing roles: Chen Miao’s rise to lead the Administration astonishes Zhong Cai, underscoring how dramatically their circumstances have shifted.
• Trust and cooperation: Chen Miao shares information with Xiao Bai because he trusts him and hopes to benefit from his access to the Curse Cult.

Plot and key events

• Two five-person teams of yin and yang cultivators train separately on Twin Peaks Mountain for two days and one night. They compete by keeping members on the mountain and dealing with ghosts; they must not attack each other.
• The teams have learned survival rules for the mountain: stay still in thick fog, remain together while moving, never regroup if separated, and use spirit-suppressing talismans when uncertain.
• At camp, Yang Jiuhua teases Shi Manman that Baili Huai may be courting her. Shi warns him off, then goes to confront Baili.
• Sun Tang’s mechanism detects an approaching figure in the fog. The group gathers to face it, but their formation blocks Shi Manman from acting. She kicks Sun aside and hits the figure with two yin darts; they simply clink off.
• Shi Manman senses strong corpse qi and calls for an attack. The team swiftly coordinates their techniques and talismans, but the figure burns away a spirit-suppressing talisman, seizes Sun Tang’s puppet, and breaks their connection to it. Their combined attacks all fail within seconds.
• The figure is revealed to be a Flying Jiangshi, secretly sent by Chen Miao as a sparring partner. Chen also notes that the other team will face an even more formidable opponent: the Upper Heavenly Plague Star Lord.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Manman remains the team’s central combatant and support specialist. She is sharp enough to recognize the corpse qi, but the unfamiliar jiangshi’s ability to walk rather than hop leaves her unsure.
• Yang Jiuhua’s joking about Baili’s supposed interest in Shi Manman earns him a warning and a near-miss from her black thread.
• Sun Tang shows careful preparation by planting mechanisms and skillful puppet control. His puppet is the first to be overwhelmed by the enemy.
• The team demonstrates strong coordination with talismans and techniques, but the sudden defeat exposes the limits of their training and equipment.

Significant themes

• Preparation versus the unknown: The trainees’ rules and teamwork help them manage ordinary dangers, but an unfamiliar opponent can overturn their assumptions.
• Teamwork and vulnerability: The group’s instinct to protect Shi Manman actually restricts her ability to respond.
• Training through adversity: Chen Miao deliberately arranges dangerous, unexpected opponents to test the trainees.
  The chapter concludes with an author’s note reflecting on eleven months and two million words of writing, thanking readers, discussing the book’s serialization and future length, and explaining that family responsibilities and fatigue make extra updates difficult.

Plot and key events

• Xiang Shang and Li Zi join Lin Chong, Zuo Qing, and Xu Yan in searching for a waist-high shadow they saw in the mist on Twin Ridge Mountain.
• Xiang explains his preparations for the trial: he carries a plain jujube-wood sword for training and has a rune-inscribed one for combat. His yin-cultivation background limits his use of talismans, but the sword gives him a weapon effective against ghosts.
• The group finds no sign of the shadow and heads back toward their camp. Li Zi suddenly detects it there and sends a Spirit-Sealing Talisman toward it.
• Before the talisman reaches the figure, it bursts into flames. The unused talismans in everyone’s pockets catch fire too, leaving the group without them.
• The team retreats, suspecting the shadow is an exceptionally powerful opponent—and perhaps part of Chen Guokun’s effort to make the trial harder.
• As they try to avoid it, footsteps approach through the mist. Two black shadows emerge instead of one.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiang is confident in his ability to protect Li Zi, relying on his physical training and jujube-wood sword. He accepts that Chen Miao’s trials are deliberately harsh and unlikely to become easier if he complains.
• Li Zi shows alertness by detecting the shadow at camp and acting immediately. Her glance at Xiang suggests their close understanding, though he has no way to help.
• Lin Chong takes charge, urging the group to search together and later trying to preserve morale. The talismans’ spontaneous combustion leaves him shaken.
• Xu Yan voices the group’s alarm and connects the danger to the Administration’s plan to raise the trial’s difficulty.

Significant themes

• Preparation has limits: The team brings specialized weapons and talismans, but an unknown threat can neutralize their safeguards.
• Trust and teamwork: The group stays close, searches together, and retreats together, while Xiang and Li Zi rely on their mutual understanding.
• Trials as forced growth: Chen Miao’s harsh approach reflects the idea that trainees must learn to survive without constant protection.
• Escalating danger: The talismans’ unexplained combustion and the arrival of a second figure signal that the challenge is more serious than the team expected.

Plot points and events

• Lin Chong’s group encounters Ji Mo and Shi Manman fleeing through the mist. They initially seem like possible ghosts, but their wary behavior fits the team’s rule for treating anyone they meet as an impostor.
• The pair’s flight reveals two threats: a smaller dark figure behind them and a much larger one blocking the group’s route. With nowhere safe to run, Xiang Shang leads an attack on the larger figure.
• Xiang Shang’s wooden sword produces a blinding flash, but the strike cannot pierce the figure. Shi Manman identifies it as a zombie; it snaps the sword, releases black qi that clears the mist, and immobilizes the people nearby.
• The figure rises into the air, its eyes glowing crimson. Lin Chong and the three interns are overwhelmed, while Li Zi, Shi Manman, and Ji Mo have their yin energy drawn out and are bound by it.
• Shi Manman’s Four-Tail Ghost Scorpion emerges to protect her, but the zombie suspends it in midair and weakens her connection to it.
• A familiar voice calls the creature “Xiao Bai” and tells it not to break Manman’s Ghost Scorpion, implying the speaker has authority over the overwhelming threat.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Chong stays alert and tries to make sense of the group’s predicament, but his confidence in Xiang Shang’s sword quickly gives way to alarm when it fails.
• Xiang Shang takes initiative by leading the charge and reveals that his wooden sword can unleash a powerful flash, though it proves ineffective against the zombie.
• Shi Manman recognizes the enemy and instinctively risks breaking the trial’s rules by sending out her powerful Ghost Scorpion. Her concern shifts from her own danger to the creature—and to the prospect of her master reprimanding her.
• Ji Mo and Shi Manman arrive together but remain mysterious: the chapter does not explain what separated them from the others or what drove them to flee.
• The final voice’s casual familiarity with the zombie (“Xiao Bai”) sharply contrasts with the danger it poses and hints at a powerful, possibly protective figure.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and mistrust: On the mountain, even familiar faces may be ghosts, so the characters cannot rely on appearances.
• Limits of power: Xiang Shang’s striking weapon and Shi Manman’s formidable spirit companion are both effortlessly defeated or restrained.
• Escalating supernatural danger: The zombie’s solid body, flight, control of black qi, and ability to drain yin energy make it far more threatening than the ghosts encountered earlier.
• Rules versus survival: Shi Manman breaks the trial’s restrictions to save herself, showing how danger can override procedure.

Key plot points and events

• After the trial, seven participants—including Xiang Shang and Yang Jiuhua—remain unconscious. Chen Miao arranges for the five Administration trainees to be taken away and has Li Zi and Ji Mo carry Xiang Shang and Yang Jiuhua to rest.
• Chen Miao asks Shi Manman whether her Corpse-Sewing Art can contain the corpse qi in Zhong Cai, whose body is that of a zombie while his soul remains human. She agrees to test the idea, with Zhong’s cooperation, and begins examining him on the mountain summit.
• Xiao Bai takes Shi Manman down the mountain by flying. Startled at first, she soon enjoys the ride, especially when Xiao Bai gives her a spiraling tour on the way back up.
• Chen Miao asks Xiao Bai about the Mortal World and the historical factions he has learned about through the Blood Gate Apostles. Xiao Bai confirms that he is currently in Cangzhou and recognizes one of five old Yin Cultivation families there, though it has since declined considerably.
• Xiao Bai explains that the Southern Curse Dao School’s foothold in a small town is paying off. Other Curse Cult branches now want to borrow him for their own expansion, but his school refuses; the dispute has led to their being ostracized.
• Chen Miao promises to help Xiao Bai once he can enter the Mortal World. Xiao Bai then reveals that the Southern Curse Dao School has found a way to enter that world while avoiding the Soul-Inquiry Hall.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Manman shifts from post-trial recovery to eager, professional curiosity about Zhong Cai’s unusual condition. Her brief flight with Xiao Bai also turns her initial amazement into enjoyment.
• Zhong Cai accepts the proposed tests and cooperates despite the uncertain risk to his soul.
• Xiao Bai is shown to be exceptionally powerful and is increasingly valuable—and politically contested—within the Curse Cult. He trusts Chen Miao deeply, taking his promise of help at face value.
• Chen Miao acts as a practical investigator and a protective mentor, seeking information about Xiao Bai’s circumstances and assuring him of future support.
• Shi Manman, Xiao Bai, and Zhong Cai coordinate around the proposed treatment, while Chen Miao and Xiao Bai share a candid conversation about Mortal World politics and their mutual trust.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: Chen Miao’s support reassures Xiao Bai amid pressure from rival factions.
• Power and political leverage: Xiao Bai’s rare talent makes him indispensable, but also exposes him to exploitation and factional conflict.
• Change over time: A once-prominent family has faded over centuries, illustrating how history reshapes influence and lineage.
• Experimentation and uncertainty: Shi Manman’s proposed treatment offers hope for Zhong Cai, but its effects remain unknown.
• The extraordinary becoming familiar: Shi Manman’s reaction to flight shows how astonishing abilities can quickly become part of everyday life.

Key events

• Xiao Bai explains that the Southern School of the Curse Dao discovered Soul-Dissolving Water, a way to evade one of the Soul-Inquiry Hall’s screening methods. It works by dissolving the hidden remnant soul inside someone entering the Mortal World, leaving nothing for the Hall to summon.
• The method is dangerous and unreliable. The remnant soul’s location and size vary, and dissolving too much of the user’s own soul could make it collapse. Users also risk damaging the soul-linked nine apertures, and must somehow find or make the water after entering the Mortal World.
• Chen Miao is reluctant to sacrifice soul power he spent a long time cultivating, but believes his Notebook can overcome the method’s luck-based uncertainties. For now, however, Soul-Dissolving Water is the only approach he knows.
• Xiao Bai advises him to wait for a safer method. Chen Miao explains that the danger surrounding the Blood Gate makes him feel he must grow stronger quickly to protect those he cares about. He says he can accept losing some soul power if necessary and already has a way to alter his soul body’s appearance.
• Shi Manman offers several plans for Chen Miao to consider, shifting the group’s attention toward their next steps.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao weighs the cost of entering the Mortal World against the urgent need to prepare for the Blood Gate. His concern for others outweighs his attachment to the soul power he worked hard to gain.
• Xiao Bai tries to protect Chen Miao by urging patience, but feels discouraged that he cannot help his “Uncle San Shui.” Chen Miao reassures him with a warm gesture and moves the conversation forward.
• Shi Manman takes initiative by proposing plans tailored to Chen Miao.

Significant themes

• Power and sacrifice: Progress may require surrendering hard-earned strength.
• Uncertainty and risk: Soul-Dissolving Water offers a possible solution, but success depends on strength, resources, and luck.
• Protection and responsibility: Chen Miao’s urgency—and Xiao Bai’s concern—comes from wanting to keep loved ones safe.
• Imperfect solutions: The only known method is costly and hazardous, underscoring the characters’ need to keep searching for better options.

Key plot points and events

• Shi Manman presents three ways to control Zhong Cai’s leaking corpse qi and yin energy, with Chen Miao, Zhong Cai, and Xiao Bai listening.
• Plan one: Use Corpse-Sewing Art to seal Zhong Cai’s body. It is simple and would store some leaking corpse qi inside him, potentially strengthening him, but it would not fully hide him from yin cultivators and would leave him feeling mentally constrained.
• Plan two: Stitch suitable Yang Objects onto his body to neutralize and conceal the corpse qi and yin energy. This could also mislead detection techniques, but the objects would be costly, need frequent replacement, and might be destroyed if Zhong Cai fought.
• Plan three: Confine corpse beetle gu inside Zhong Cai’s body and have them consume his corpse qi. Properly controlled, they could conceal his energy and serve as weapons, but a natural bane could make them turn against him, and raising them too powerfully could damage his body.
• Zhong Cai chooses the corpse beetles. Chen Miao then mentions that he also knows the Gu Wood Art, hinting at another possible technique.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Manman demonstrates growing expertise by combining Corpse-Sewing Art with gu techniques and laying out practical benefits and risks.
• Chen Miao recognizes that Shi Manman has outgrown his expertise in her specialty, but still contributes advice and introduces his Gu Wood Art.
• Zhong Cai accepts the unsettling idea of hosting corpse beetles, reasoning that his limited bodily sensation and the ability to confine them make it manageable.
• Chen Miao worries about Zhong Cai’s comfort and safety, while Shi Manman’s plan requires Zhong Cai’s consent.

Significant themes

• Practical compromise: Each solution trades concealment, strength, cost, or risk against the others.
• Adaptation and ingenuity: Shi Manman repurposes knowledge of gu to solve a problem with Zhong Cai’s undead body.
• Trust and bodily autonomy: The group weighs invasive treatments, but Zhong Cai makes the final decision about what happens to his body.
• Power with consequences: A method that offers new offensive capabilities may also introduce serious vulnerabilities.

Plot and events

• Chen Miao uses the Gu Wood Art’s muscle-softening poison to loosen the stiffness in Zhong Cai’s face. After repeated applications, Zhong Cai can smile more naturally, though the tiny Gu Worms in the poison will need blood to keep them active.
• Chen Miao orders Corpse Beetles through the Administration’s internal network for Shi Manman’s planned treatment of Zhong Cai.
• While waiting for the delivery, Xiao Bai learns the Feng Shui Formation on Twin Ridge Mountain and demonstrates how to make Soul-Dissolving Water. Chen Miao tests it on a Ghost and sees that it is devastatingly effective, but notes that the Administration tightly restricts access to it.
• Shi Manman implants specially prepared Corpse Beetles throughout Zhong Cai’s body. With Xiao Bai’s Yin-Yang Dharma Eye accelerating the process, the procedure takes forty-nine minutes instead of forty-nine days. The beetles consume Zhong Cai’s Corpse Qi, leaving only a small amount behind.
• With the Corpse Qi problem addressed, Chen Miao prepares to deal with Zhong Cai’s Yin Energy by producing a Soul-Sealing Memorial Tablet engraved with the Great Compassion Soul-Sealing Original Vow Sutra.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhong Cai willingly accepts both the facial treatment and the beetle implants. His readiness to endure unusual procedures reflects how his transformation into a zombie has changed his outlook. He is pleased that his face feels and looks more expressive.
• Chen Miao’s care for Zhong Cai is practical but affectionate: he wants to restore his friend’s expressions and carefully checks how he feels after the procedure. Yet he recognizes that he, Zhong Cai, and Xiao Bai have all changed from who they once were.
• Xiao Bai contributes crucial knowledge and skill, first sharing the Feng Shui Formation method and then using his Dharma Eye to speed Shi Manman’s work.
• Shi Manman performs the invasive surgery with precision, while Chen Miao and Xiao Bai watch.
• Chen Miao remains cautious about Soul-Dissolving Water, recognizing both its usefulness against Ghosts and the danger of putting it in careless hands.

Significant themes

• Change and identity: The characters acknowledge that none of them are as they were before, and Chen Miao is unsure whether he prefers his former self or his present one.
• Care through adaptation: Friendship is expressed through accepting strange, painful, or risky methods to help one another.
• Power and responsibility: Soul-Dissolving Water’s restrictions highlight the need to control powerful tools that could harm as much as they help.
• Bodily transformation: The chapter’s procedures show how supernatural characters adapt their bodies to manage the consequences of their altered existence.