Chapter Summaries

Qi Ziru questioned Shen Youkun about the secret excavation in the Eastern Nine Plains and learned that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were the only people left there. Shen Youkun explained Shi Chun’s background, while the two men watched from among the miners, leaving Qi Ziru still unaware that they were nearby.

• Two miners, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, watched Qi Ziru from a distance and narrowly avoided being recognized by Shen Youkun.
• Shen Youkun climbed to Qi Ziru and explained that he had cleared nearly everyone from the Eastern Nine Plains, except Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang.
• Qi Ziru challenged Shen Youkun’s claim that the area was cleared and asked about the two remaining men.
• Shen Youkun described Shi Chun as a local native who had become chief of the Eastern Nine Plains and held a grudge against him.
• Shen Youkun recounted how Shi Chun learned to read from an exiled woman, took the surname Shi in her honor, and was mocked for his name.

Shen Youkun told Qi Ziru about Shi Chun’s influence in the Eastern Nine Plains and explained why he had not eliminated him. Qi Ziru revealed that they were excavating the burial place of a legendary Female General, while warning Shen Youkun to keep the operation secret and finish their task.

• Shen Youkun explained that Shi Chun had taken control of the Eastern Nine Plains, refused to leave despite being offered a chance, and remained under secret surveillance with Wu Jinliang.
• Qi Ziru questioned why Shen Youkun had left Shi Chun alive, and Shen Youkun said Shi Chun was dangerous to provoke and that secrecy mattered more than dealing with him.
• Qi Ziru ordered that none of the recruited workers be left alive after the excavation, and Shen Youkun assured him that the follow-up arrangements were ready.
• Qi Ziru revealed that the Lineage had sent them to find the burial place of the legendary Female General, whose existence could help determine whether chaos had always existed.
• Qi Ziru told Shen Youkun that the Lineage had promised to restore their cultivation and reward them if they completed the task, but warned that Jailer Nie could bring ruin upon them if their actions were exposed.
• Shen Youkun said the dragon skeleton should be fully excavated within half a day, and Qi Ziru clarified that someone else would handle transporting it.

Wu Jinliang urged Shi Chun to stop investigating Shen Youkun’s suspicious supplies and the giant skeleton, but Shi Chun feared Shen would retaliate after they left and insisted on discovering what was happening. The chapter revealed how Shi Chun had badly mistreated Shen after mistaking his real connections for a bluff, leaving the two men wary as they continued their investigation.

• Wu Jinliang warned Shi Chun that Shen Youkun might recognize them in the mine, but Shi Chun said he could seize Shen if their cover was exposed.
• Wu Jinliang recounted how Shi Chun’s gang had robbed a huge shipment, sold it for enough merit to free everyone, and watched their chief send the others away while the two of them stayed behind.
• Shi Chun refused to leave because he suspected Shen’s supplies and the skeleton were part of a hidden scheme, and he feared Shen could use his outside connections against them.
• Wu Jinliang recalled that Shi Chun had once stripped and humiliated Shen Youkun after Shen failed to prove his family connections, only for Shi Chun to later learn that those connections were real.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang infiltrated the mine by switching between miner and overseer disguises, but Shi Chun killed an overseer who caught them dawdling. After learning that someone had dug up something else, they hurried toward the end of the mine to investigate.

• An overseer caught Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang whispering, whipped Shi Chun, and ordered them to stand still and keep talking.
• Wu Jinliang restrained the overseer while Shi Chun killed him and hid his body in a side passage.
• Shi Chun disguised himself as an overseer, covered the blood, and convinced two other overseers that his wound came from playing with a whip.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang continued through the mine in disguise, avoiding suspicion as they scouted the tunnels.
• A masked overseer said someone had dug something up and was going to notify Mr. Shen, so Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang rushed toward the end of the mine.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang discovered a glittering purple nebula inside a snake-like skull, which appeared to be Shen Youkun’s real excavation target. With the crowd ordered away and Shen Youkun on his way, Shi Chun bluffed his way into staying behind so he could try to reach the treasure.

• Shi Chun whipped his way through the crowd and saw a purple nebula floating inside a hollow in a partly buried snake skull atop the enormous Dragon Bones.
• An overseer ordered everyone to stop digging and wait for Mr. Shen, while Shi Chun realized the excavation might soon end before he found leverage against Shen Youkun.
• Shi Chun decided to touch or seize the nebula before Shen Youkun arrived, then falsely announced that Mr. Shen wanted most people to clear the area.
• Shi Chun persuaded the overseers to send the crowd away and remain with him to keep watch, while Wu Jinliang followed Shi Chun’s signal and left.

Shi Chun touched the Purple Glittering Nebula, causing it to enter his wounded arm and give him strange new vision. After killing the overseer who helped him, he fled toward Shen Youkun, intent on reporting what happened.

• Shi Chun and the overseer secretly investigated the Purple Glittering Nebula, and Shi Chun’s wounded arm made it shift and pour into his body.
• Shi Chun collapsed in agony, then discovered his right eye could see a hazy, otherworldly scene while his left eye saw the mine normally.
• The overseer helped Shi Chun toward the exit, but Shi Chun slashed his neck with a knife and left him bleeding to death.
• Shi Chun hid the blood on his clothes and hurried through the mine, finding that the crowd appeared as pale figures through his right eye.
• Shi Chun told the crowd he had something to report to Mr. Shen, and they cleared a path for him.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang fled the mine after Shi Chun’s attempt to seize the treasure went wrong, while Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru discovered the missing nebula and a dead overseer. Shi Chun stirred up a rush of rescuers by claiming Shen was in danger, and the pursuing groups became confused in the dark mine as they collided.

• Shi Chun told Wu Jinliang that his plan had failed and that they needed to flee before Shen Youkun exposed them, so Wu carried him through the mine.
• Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru reached the snake skull, found the nebula gone and an overseer dead, then learned Shi Chun had been with the chief and ordered a pursuit toward the exit.
• Near the entrance, Shi Chun and Wu smeared themselves with blood and pretended to be badly injured before Shi shouted that miners had rebelled and Shen was in danger.
• The guards and people on the surrounding hills rushed into the mine to save Shen, allowing Shi Chun and Wu to slip away.
• Shi Chun’s extinguished lamps left the pursuers and rescuers stumbling in darkness, and the two groups carrying lights collided inside the mine.

After Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru realized Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had stolen the treasure, Qi Ziru revealed he had stationed a backup force along likely escape routes. The fugitives kept moving through the mountains, but Shi Chun grew suspicious when no pursuers appeared.

• The guards reported that two people had escaped, and Shen Youkun realized they were Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang after recalling the tall man at the mine entrance.
• Qi Ziru sealed the mine, ordered the remaining skeleton excavated quickly, and warned Shen Youkun that the treasure's theft had to remain secret.
• Qi Ziru told Shen Youkun he had arranged ambushes along likely escape routes and believed Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang would be caught.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang retrieved their clothes and sabers from a hidden cache, then fled through low terrain in the mountains.
• Shi Chun stopped Wu Jinliang and said the silence was suspicious because no one had pursued them.

Shi Chun discovered that his strange vision let him spot an ambush and helped him kill two men pursuing him and Wu Jinliang. He realized Shen Youkun was trying to kill everyone who had witnessed the mine operation, and decided to return to the mine to strike while its guards were occupied.

• Shi Chun suffered another bout of head pain and used the strange vision in his right eye to spot two masked men hiding on a hill and other watchers farther away.
• Shi Chun whispered a plan to Wu Jinliang, who carried him beneath the hill while Shi Chun watched the ambushers follow them.
• Shi Chun lured the two pursuers into a gorge and killed them before Wu Jinliang could join the fight.
• Shi Chun told Wu Jinliang that Shen Youkun had stationed men to kill everyone leaving the mine and that the men had not been following only them.
• Shi Chun decided to return to the mine, reasoning that Shen Youkun's guards would be occupied silencing witnesses and leave him vulnerable.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang watched Qi Ziru's men retrieve a dragon skeleton from the mine and then collapse it, killing everyone sent inside. As Qi Ziru and his remaining companions departed, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang decided to attack them.

• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang returned to the mine area by a route that avoided the enemy reinforcements, then hid near the entrance.
• A burly masked man reported to Qi Ziru that two of his men had been killed, and Qi Ziru ordered him to gather his forces nearby.
• Shen Youkun emerged from the mine and told Qi Ziru that the excavation was complete; nearly three hundred masked men then entered the mine to collect the dragon skeleton.
• The masked men discovered that poisoned smoke had killed the miners, and their leader revealed that the poison had been triggered before he retrieved the skeleton with the Heaven-and-Earth Bag.
• The mine collapsed after the masked leader emerged, and Qi Ziru, Shen Youkun, and the leader began leaving with the skeleton.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang chose to attack Qi Ziru, Shen Youkun, and the masked leader, and Wu Jinliang charged first.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang ambushed Qi Ziru’s party but were stopped by an Immobilizing Talisman thrown by the masked burly man. As Shen Youkun returned to take revenge, Shi Chun discovered that his strange vision let him interfere with the forces restraining him, while Qi Ziru ordered the attackers brought down for questioning.

• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang charged Qi Ziru’s party, and Shen Youkun fled before recognizing the attackers.
• The masked burly man threw two talismans that immobilized Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang in midair.
• Shen Youkun realized the talismans had stopped them and ran back, while Shi Chun struggled to break free and suffered the return of his strange vision.
• Shi Chun saw glowing tendrils and pale turquoise force restraining him, then used his magical power to separate several tendrils from the force pinning him down.
• Qi Ziru examined the frozen attackers, praised Shi Chun’s unexpected return, and ordered the masked burly man to bring them down for questioning.

Shi Chun broke free of the Immobilizing Talisman and slaughtered Qi Ziru’s guards while rescuing Wu Jinliang. He cornered Qi Ziru, while Wu Jinliang chased Shen Youkun down the slope.

• The masked burly man tried to restrain Shi Chun, but Shi Chun broke free, killed him, and tore the talisman from Wu Jinliang.
• Shi Chun launched himself at the sedan bearers and disrupted their combined sword thrust with his saber.
• Shi Chun used the Demon-Undoing Hand to strike both sedan bearers, then killed them with his saber.
• Qi Ziru fled, but Shi Chun’s thrown saber stopped him, leaving him with no escape.
• Wu Jinliang rushed after Shen Youkun, threatening to strip off his skin.

Shi Chun killed Qi Ziru and Shen Youkun after questioning them about the excavation, then ordered Wu Jinliang to leave behind all evidence and flee. A mysterious man flying beneath a black umbrella arrived at the excavation site and began investigating.

• Wu Jinliang dragged Shen Youkun back to Shi Chun, who questioned him and learned that neither he nor Qi Ziru knew what the violet-glittering nebula was or where the excavated dragon bones were meant to go.
• After Shi Chun realized Qi Ziru knew the truth, he beheaded him, then persuaded Shen Youkun to reveal what he knew before killing him as well.
• Shi Chun warned Wu Jinliang not to touch Qi Ziru's talismans or pouch and said they had to leave no trace of their presence.
• Shi Chun recognized one of the dead men as Tian Zhan, chief of the Youle River, and fled with Wu Jinliang.
• A peculiar middle-aged man carrying a black umbrella arrived to investigate the excavation and examined the scattered weapons.

Qi Yueru learned that the Prison Inspector was investigating a deadly incident in the Eastern Nine Plains and risked leaving Zhixu City to find her son Shen Youkun and brother Qi Ziru dead. She recovered the Heaven-and-Earth Bag containing the target item, then realized someone might be watching for it and that taking it out of the Prison of Life could put her in danger.

• A man carrying an umbrella examined Qi Ziru's corpse, saw a bone dragon return to its pouch, and investigated the collapsed mine before vanishing.
• Ba Yingshan told Qi Yueru that the Prison Inspector had ordered an investigation of the ravine district, and warned her that the Jailer was in Zhixu City.
• Qi Yueru pressured Ba Yingshan to help her leave the city, then traveled secretly toward the scene.
• Qi Yueru found Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru among the beheaded corpses and discovered that they had secured the target item in the Heaven-and-Earth Bag.
• Qi Yueru took the Heaven-and-Earth Bag and realized that someone might be waiting to intercept it if she tried to leave the Prison of Life.

Qi Yueru left the Heaven-and-Earth Bag and Bone Dragon at the scene of her relatives’ deaths, then pursued a suspected killer despite evidence against him. Meanwhile, Shi Chun prepared to leave the land of exile by asking Miss Miao to let his group travel with Wangbo Tower’s delivery party.

• Qi Yueru returned the Heaven-and-Earth Bag to her brother’s corpse, and Ba Yingshan’s men later recovered the Dragon Bones and assembled them as a landmark in Zhixu City.
• Ba Yingshan brought Qi Yueru to her son’s corpse, then told her that the victims appeared to have been killed by a single saber wielder.
• Ba Yingshan’s witnesses established that the two local strongmen of the Eastern Nine Plains had stayed in their lair during the killings, but Qi Yueru still ordered Ba Yingshan to watch them and planned to confront one of them when they left.
• At the Eastern Nine Plains lair, Wu Jinliang shaved Shi Chun while warning him not to mistake Miss Miao’s politeness for affection.
• Shi Chun explained that he had endured years of ridicule to secure a chance to ask Miss Miao to let his group leave with Wangbo Tower’s delivery party, avoiding Shen Youkun’s men at the exit.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang prepared to leave the land of exile, and Shi Chun shared the secret of how he broke an Immobilizing Talisman. In Zhixu City, they visited Wangbo Tower, where Wu Jinliang loudly called its proprietress Lan Qiaoyan “Mom.”

• Shi Chun explained that he had liked Miss Miao but revealed his lasting admiration for the mysterious woman who had taught him as a boy and inspired him to defy fate.
• Shi Chun told Wu Jinliang how the purple nebula entered his body through his whip wound and explained how he had broken the Immobilizing Talisman, warning him to keep the method secret.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang washed, patched and blackened their worn shoes, packed their belongings, and left the mountain for Zhixu City.
• City Lord Ba Yingshan told Qi Yueru that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had entered the city and that someone was watching them.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang headed to Wangbo Tower, where Wu Jinliang called Lan Qiaoyan “Mom” twice, prompting her to threaten him.

Lan Qiaoyan learned of Wu Jinliang’s history of calling women Mother and confronting some of them, then spoke with Shi Chun as he prepared to leave the Land of Exile. She agreed to let Shi Chun and his companions travel part of the way with Wangbo Tower’s delivery caravan, and Shi Chun followed Old Tan to arrange their departure.

• Lan Qiaoyan recalled how Wu Jinliang had begun calling her Mother and grew angry after learning he had called other women Mother before their deaths.
• Lan Qiaoyan asked Shi Chun whether he was leaving, and Shi Chun asked where Miss Miao was; Lan Qiaoyan said her daughter had missed the account inspection.
• Shi Chun gave Lan Qiaoyan a regretful farewell message for Miss Miao, then asked to travel with Wangbo Tower’s delivery caravan because the outside world was unfamiliar to him.
• Lan Qiaoyan agreed to let Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang join the caravan for part of the journey and directed them to ask Old Tan about the arrangements.
• Shi Chun drew Wu Jinliang’s saber to proclaim that he feared no fight, then followed Old Tan to ask when they would leave.

Qi Yueru urged Ba Yingshan to detain Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang before they left Zhixu City, while Shi Chun discovered a possible way to perceive the Chaos World. As Shi Chun reunited with Wu Jinliang at Wangbo Tower, city guards arrested Wu Jinliang for theft and a ragged man accused Shi Chun of being his accomplice.

• Qi Yueru pressed Ba Yingshan to hold Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang until Wangbo Tower's delivery convoy departed, and Ba Yingshan left without answering.
• Shi Chun watched a Wangbo Tower apprentice fold a sheet of paper until it could support a brush and realized the right medium might let him perceive the Chaos World.
• The apprentice told Shi Chun that Miss Miao had not come to Zhixu City, then Wu Jinliang shouted for help outside.
• Shi Chun rushed outside and found Zhixu City guards holding Wu Jinliang while a ragged man accused him of stealing.
• The ragged man also accused Shi Chun of being Wu Jinliang's accomplice, and Shi Chun realized the accusation was a setup.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were framed for theft and arrested in Zhixu City just as they were preparing to leave. Lan Qiaoyan sought answers from Du Huoguan, while Ba Yingshan worried that her visit might be connected to the arrest.

• City guards found blue jade essence in Wu Jinliang's bundle and arrested him and Shi Chun despite their protests that they had been framed.
• Shi Chun called for Lan Qiaoyan's help, and Wu Jinliang shouted for his mother before the guards silenced and escorted them away.
• Lan Qiaoyan told Old Tan she would visit Du Huoguan to ask about the arrest, and Ba Yingshan learned she had gone to see the Prison Inspector.
• Lan Qiaoyan asked Du Huoguan why the guards had arrested the two men and explained that they were due to leave the Prison of Life that day.

Lan Qiaoyan warned Du Huoguan that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang might have been framed to draw Wangbo Tower into a scheme involving supplies from the Eastern Nine Plains. At the Prison, Du Huoguan uncovered the false accusation, while Ba Yingshan tried to conceal his role in arranging it.

• Lan Qiaoyan told Du Huoguan that she admired the Eastern Nine Plains chief’s loyalty and insisted Wangbo Tower had not supplied the region with smuggled goods.
• Du Huoguan reported Lan Qiaoyan’s information to Nie, who remained absorbed in painting on the Great Black Umbrella.
• Lan Qiaoyan met Ba Yingshan and explained that she had visited the Prison Inspector because she feared the arrests might involve Wangbo Tower.
• Ba Yingshan learned that Du Huoguan had taken control of the Prison and sent a subordinate to confirm the victim who identified Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang was being held there.
• Du Huoguan questioned the victim, who confessed that the chief of Seven Bends Bay had instructed him to frame Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang.