Chapter Summaries

Lu Changsheng explored the Cangyun Mountain Range as a Pangolin, collecting spiritual herbs and battling a colony of voles. After raising the Pangolin to Level 5, he headed deeper into the range with greater strength and speed.

• Lu Changsheng dug into the mountain and collected a Centennial Ginseng, then killed a vole that attacked him.
• He found four more medicinal herbs and fought off three elite voles without their bites piercing his scales.
• Lu Changsheng used Source Energy Points to raise the Pangolin to Level 2, recovering his energy and strengthening its body.
• He raised the Pangolin to Level 5, observed its major transformation, and saved his remaining Source Energy Points.
• Lu Changsheng dug deeper into the Cangyun Mountain Range, moving faster with his strengthened claws.

Lu Changsheng strengthened his pangolin into a King Pangolin and awakened underwater breathing, then became trapped in a vast ground rat swarm. As five Rat Kings attacked and his stamina began to fail, he raised the pangolin to level 11 and renewed his assault.

• Lu Changsheng spent five Source Energy Points to evolve his pangolin into a red-quality Beast King, gaining greater strength and defense.
• Lu Changsheng awakened Underwater Breathing and upgraded it to Excellent so he could explore underground rivers and hide underwater.
• Lu Changsheng collected a hundred-year Solomon's Seal while ground rats continued pursuing him through the Cambyun Mountain Range.
• Lu Changsheng was blocked by a massive ground rat swarm and fought through it as five Rat Kings attacked him.
• Lu Changsheng spent ten Source Energy Points to raise the King Pangolin to level 11, restoring his stamina and increasing his strength before charging into the rat tide again.

Lu Changsheng escaped a swarm of ground rats by diving into an underground river, where he collected several Ice Spirit Grasses before being attacked by a school of piranha-like fish. The next morning, he absorbed the spiritual herbs’ energy and found he had 38 Source Energy Points, enough to advance his cultivation again.

• Lu Changsheng fought his way to an underground river and escaped the ground rats by diving in, using his Underwater Breathing talent to explore beneath the surface.
• Lu Changsheng collected a fifty-year Ice Spirit Grass and a hundred-year Ice Spirit Grass, then found several more spiritual herbs along the riverbed.
• A school of strange fish attacked Lu Changsheng and gnawed at his scales, so he escaped onto a boulder and killed the fish that followed him out of the water.
• The next morning, Lu Changsheng placed his harvested spiritual herbs on a stone platform and absorbed their energy.
• Lu Changsheng checked his system and found he had 38 Source Energy Points, leaving him eager to discover the realm beyond the next level of Iron Cloth Shirt.

Lu Changsheng broke through Iron Cloth Shirt to the unprecedented Immaculate Skin Refining realm, gaining immense strength, flawless defense, and a longer lifespan. After naming the realm, he planned to explore the Cangyun Mountain Range for Source Energy Points, then discovered the Demon Suppression Department’s medicinal baths barely affected him.

• Lu Changsheng enhanced Iron Cloth Shirt to consummate mastery and discovered his strength had risen to around eight thousand jin.
• He crushed a standard-issue longsaber with his bare hand and realized his skin membrane had become a flawless whole.
• Lu Changsheng named his unknown realm Immaculate, and his panel recorded Skin Refining Immaculate as his new limit.
• He rejected fusion because he lacked enough Source Energy Points and decided to explore the Cangyun Mountain Range for more.
• A servant delivered Lu Changsheng’s monthly salary of three medicinal bath portions, but he found that one bath did not improve his strength.

Lu Changsheng gave Fang Tao the Iron Leg Technique and learned that the Three Rivers Gang was watching the siblings. At the Demon Suppression Department, he accepted a mission to investigate the strange deaths in Yunxi Village, while the deputy hall masters discussed the growing threats surrounding Changping County.

• Lu Changsheng gave Fang Tao the Iron Leg Technique, and Fang Qing warned that someone had been following her and Fang Tao.
• Lu Changsheng told the siblings to stay near the Demon Suppression Department's family compound and said he would handle their daily purchases.
• At the Demon Suppression Department, Gao Yunming announced a cleansing operation for strange incidents and posted a list of missions.
• Lu Changsheng chose the mission investigating the strange deaths of Yunxi Village residents and received a mission token.
• Qin Ruobing, Xiao Tianci, and He Chunlin discussed the growing activity of the Scent Worship Cult, the Wicked Spirits, and the Black Mountain Bandits.

Lu Changsheng joined a Demon Suppression Department mission to investigate mysterious deaths in Yunxi Village, where he encountered Li Yunhua, a hostile fellow agent pretending to be his ally. The group found ten corpses, and the village chief admitted the deaths had begun three months earlier, leaving Lu Changsheng suspicious about why the matter was reported so late.

• Fang Qing gave Lu Changsheng clothes she had made for his journey, while Fang Tao teased her about her feelings for him.
• Lu Changsheng met Li Yunhua and three other agents at the mission rendezvous, and he and Li Yunhua feigned friendliness despite their mutual hostility.
• The group traveled to Yunxi Village, where Yue Shulan grew closer to Lu Changsheng after noticing the tension between him and Li Yunhua.
• Village chief Old Man Sun led the agents to a ruined courtyard where ten villagers' corpses lay beneath white cloths.
• Lu Changsheng questioned Old Man Sun, who said the deaths had begun three months earlier, and Li Yunhua dismissed the frightened chief after Lu Changsheng asked why he had delayed reporting them.

Lu Changsheng guarded the village while searching for clues about the Wicked Spirit, then learned that a bride had hanged herself five years earlier and that her former beloved, Peng Yuntian, had gone mad. He left the Yang family’s home with Peng Yuntian’s location, taking the investigation in a new direction.

• Li Yunhua proposed that the five of them guard separate parts of the village and attack the Wicked Spirit if it appeared.
• Lu Changsheng stayed in the eastern village and heard the Yang family describe their son’s death at the hands of a demon.
• After several days without finding the Wicked Spirit, Lu Changsheng asked the Yangs about strange events in the village’s past.
• Madam Yang recalled that a young bride had hanged herself five years earlier after being forced to marry Old Zhang, and that her beloved Peng Yuntian later went mad.
• Old Yang told Lu Changsheng where Peng Yuntian lived, and Lu Changsheng left the family some silver before departing.

Lu Changsheng and the others investigated the deaths in Yunxi Village and traced the haunting to a dry well after discovering the truth about Peng Yuntian and the dead bride. They headed for the well to confront the wicked spirit.

• Lu Changsheng visited a dilapidated courtyard and found a disheveled man muttering, "She's here," before returning to brother Yang's home.
• Li Yunhua and the others agreed that the dead bride was connected to the village's strange incidents, and Lu Changsheng suggested investigating people who were still alive.
• The group questioned Zhang Dahan's heir, whose daughter revealed that her grandfather had left her a letter.
• The letter revealed that Peng Yuntian had murdered the bride's father, sold Yan'er to Old Zhang, and later married another woman; it also said the bride had climbed out of a dry well.
• Lu Changsheng learned that the well was on the back mountain, and Li Yunhua led the group there to confront the wicked spirit.

Lu Changsheng joined Li Yunhua and the others to slay two Wicked Spirits at the back mountain, then secretly harvested three Soul Stones from a dried-up well. The group returned toward the county town, while Lu Changsheng gained forty-two Source Energy Points and a chance to fuse Iron Cloth Shirt.

• Li Yunhua deliberately steered the first Wicked Spirit toward Lu Changsheng, but it killed Brother Yao instead when Lu Changsheng dodged aside.
• Lu Changsheng and the others fought the Wicked Spirit until Peng Yuntian emerged as a Living Corpse, forcing them to take Blood Fury Pills and fight both enemies.
• Lu Changsheng and the group killed the two Wicked Spirits, learning that the Demon Suppression Department's intelligence had missed the Living Corpse.
• Lu Changsheng volunteered to search the dried-up well and secretly absorbed its three Soul Stones for Source Energy Points.
• Lu Changsheng climbed out with the skeleton, and Li Yuntian led the group back toward the county town.

Lu Changsheng survived an ambush by the Scent Worship Cult and killed both his pursuer and Li Yunhua, then returned to Changping County with manuals and money. He recorded the manuals and resolved to deduce the next Iron Cloth Shirt method and break through to Muscle Refining as threats gathered around him.

• The Scent Worship Cult leader and his men ambushed Li Yunhua’s group, and the members fled in different directions.
• Lu Changsheng stopped and killed the middle-aged pursuer who had followed him, then took a manual and banknotes from the body.
• Li Yunhua tracked Lu Changsheng down and attacked him, but Lu Changsheng killed him with one strike and used corpse-dissolving powder to destroy the evidence.
• Lu Changsheng returned to Changping County, reported to the Demon Suppression Department, and examined the money and manuals he had taken.
• Lu Changsheng recorded the Great Strength Ox Demon Fist and Frenzied Wind Shadow Blade, then focused on deducing the next Iron Cloth Shirt method to reach Muscle Refining.

Lu Changsheng fused Iron Cloth Shirt with other martial arts to create Dragon Roar Iron Cloth Shirt and advanced to Muscle Refining, gaining the strength to begin taking revenge on the Three Rivers Gang. As tensions rose around Changping County, he headed to the Demon Suppression Department to use a minor merit reward.

• Lu Changsheng created Dragon Roar Iron Cloth Shirt, used Source Energy Points to reach Minor Accomplishment, and estimated his strength at fifteen thousand jin.
• Lu Changsheng decided to seek spiritual resources while striking back at the Three Rivers Gang.
• After the Demon Suppression Department suffered losses, Qin Ruobing and Xiao Tianci blamed the Scent Worship Cult and discussed retaliating against it.
• Li Wanpeng ordered his subordinate to investigate his missing son and bring back either the man or his corpse.
• A masked man learned that the Venerable Master planned to sacrifice Changping County's people, beginning with the cult's followers.
• Lu Changsheng set out for the Demon Suppression Department to exchange his minor merit reward, while Fang Qing helped straighten his uniform.

Lu Changsheng exchanged his minor merit for the Bone Shrinking Art, completed it with his remaining Source Energy Points, and mastered it after three days of training. He then met Yue Shulan, who offered him a hundred-year-old ginseng root and invited him to join the Sea Shark Gang as a guest elder; he refused the position for now but accepted the gift.

• Lu Changsheng exchanged one minor merit for the incomplete Bone Shrinking Art and copied it from the library pavilion.
• Lu Changsheng used his two Source Energy Points to complete the art and decided it would help him secretly strike at the Three Rivers Gang.
• After three days of cultivation, Lu Changsheng reached minor accomplishment in the Bone Shrinking Art and was visited by Yue Shulan's maid.
• Yue Shulan invited Lu Changsheng to the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, offered him a hundred-year-old ginseng root, and asked him to join the Sea Shark Gang as a guest elder.
• Lu Changsheng declined to join the Sea Shark Gang for now but accepted the ginseng root as a gift from his former mission companion.

Lu Changsheng recognized that Zhao Yuanjing’s zither music had affected everyone in the Mandarin Duck Pavilion and decided to stay away while he was still weak. After gathering information on the Three Rivers Gang, he left Changping County to ambush its trade routes, unaware that Wang Yong had arranged a counter-ambush.

• Zhao Yuanjing’s music entranced the guests, but the panel’s warning alerted Lu Changsheng to its influence, and he concealed his reaction.
• Yue Shulan explained that she wanted to befriend Lu Changsheng because he had escaped the Scent Worship Cult, while Lu Changsheng left without committing to her offer.
• Lu Changsheng absorbed the ginseng, gained 8 Source Energy Points, and investigated the Three Rivers Gang’s size, leadership, and trade businesses.
• Lu Changsheng planned to ambush the gang’s trade routes, left Fang Qing and another person inside the Demon Suppression Department compound, and departed Changping County.
• Wang Yong ordered Wang Shouren to hire martial artists to ambush Lu Changsheng on his return route.
• Lu Changsheng changed his appearance with the Bone Shrinking Art and waited in a forest for a Three Rivers Gang caravan, ignoring other merchants as three days passed.

Lu Changsheng ambushed a Three Rivers Gang convoy, killed its escort leader Wang Shouren and the other gang members, and seized the convoy’s herbs, ores, money, and manuals. He discovered a strange letter among the loot, leaving him with new resources and information to use as he prepared to grow stronger.

• Lu Changsheng stopped Wang Shouren’s convoy and announced he had come to take its goods.
• Wang Shouren attacked Lu Changsheng, but Lu killed him with a single strike and beheaded a gang member who tried to flee.
• Lu Changsheng rejected the remaining gang members’ pleas for mercy and killed them all.
• Lu Changsheng opened the crates and stored the medicinal herbs and ores in his system space.
• Lu Changsheng searched the corpses and collected banknotes, martial arts manuals, and a strange letter.

Lu Changsheng raided Three Rivers Gang caravans, gathered herbs and martial arts manuals, and began improving his strength as tensions grew in Changping County. The gang searched for the mysterious attacker while Yue Wanting and Yue Shulan discussed recruiting him, and Lu Changsheng settled in to practice.

• Lu Changsheng found an encrypted letter among the evidence and worried that the Scent Worship Cult, Zhao Yuanjing, and the Black Mountain Bandits threatened Changping County.
• Over three days, Lu Changsheng ambushed several Three Rivers Gang caravans, then returned to the county town after changing his appearance back.
• Huang Tianba ordered Wang Yong to capture the attacker within half a year, while news of the raids spread through Changping County.
• Yue Wanting and Yue Shulan discussed recruiting the mysterious attacker to strengthen the Sea Shark Gang.
• Lu Changsheng absorbed herbs for 32 Source Energy Points, learned ten martial arts manuals, and began practicing with his pig-slaughtering knife.

Lu Changsheng fused his blade and movement techniques into the high-grade Overlord Blade and Nine Spiral Transformations, then planned to seek Source Energy Points in the Cangyun Mountain Range. Fang Qing, encouraged by Fang Tao, entered Lu Changsheng’s room overnight, but fled the next morning when he spoke to her.

• Lu Changsheng raised Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade to Transcendent Mastery and fused it into the three-star Overlord Blade.
• He fused Fleeting Light and Shadow into the three-star Nine Spiral Transformations, a movement technique that could create nine phantom bodies when perfected.
• Lu Changsheng decided to avoid the Three Rivers Gang until he grew stronger and planned to explore the Cangyun Mountain Range after checking in at the Demon Suppression Department.
• Fang Tao urged Fang Qing to pursue Lu Changsheng, and she entered his room and fell asleep beneath his blanket.
• The next morning, Lu Changsheng found Fang Qing in his room, and she blushed and hurried outside.

Lu Changsheng watched the execution of more than twenty Black Mountain Bandits and Scent Worship Cult members, learning that the killings marked an open conflict with Changping County’s official forces. He resolved to strengthen himself and later used the pangolin to continue exploring the underground river toward a mountain lake.

• Lu Changsheng met Yue Shulan at the execution grounds, where she explained that the condemned included Black Mountain Bandits and Scent Worship Cult members tied to County Magistrate Du Wentao’s family tragedy.
• Lu Changsheng saw a Bone Forging bandit among the prisoners and watched Wei Shaoxuan, the county lieutenant, supervise the execution of more than twenty people.
• The crowd dipped steamed buns in the condemned prisoners’ blood, while Yue Shulan warned Lu Changsheng that turmoil was coming and urged him to improve his strength.
• Lu Changsheng left Yue Shulan and controlled the pangolin in the underground river, planning to follow it downstream to a mountain lake and search for more spiritual herbs.

Lu Changsheng emerged from an underground river into a lake and gathered numerous Ice Spirit Grasses while exploring its bottom. After a dangerous Lake Monster drove him to hide, he dug a passage from shore and located a two-hundred-year Ice Spirit Grass, leaving him poised to collect it.

• Lu Changsheng followed the underground river to a waterfall, surfaced in a lake, and rested on shore.
• Lu Changsheng searched the lakebed and collected a hundred-year Ice Spirit Grass, then found more herbs, including two hundred-year Ice Spirit Grasses.
• A huge, tentacled Lake Monster attacked Lu Changsheng, forcing him to hide in a hole and retreat toward shore.
• Lu Changsheng dug a passage from the lakeshore toward the lake’s center, using it to explore without running out of air.
• Lu Changsheng followed a fragrant scent to a dazzling two-hundred-year Ice Spirit Grass and spotted it without emerging fully from the lakebed.

Lu Changsheng narrowly escaped the Lake Monster, then spent his gathered spiritual medicines to strengthen his Pangolin avatar and continued raiding the lakebed. After collecting nearly all the remaining herbs while evading the furious monster, he left for shore.

• Lu Changsheng collected a two-hundred-year-old Ice Spirit Grass as the Lake Monster attacked, escaped into a narrow cave passage, and found that its tentacle had only grazed him.
• Lu Changsheng absorbed his gathered spiritual medicines and used Source Energy Points to raise his King Pangolin to level fifteen, triggering another transformation and awakening signs of a miraculous bloodline.
• Lu Changsheng dug through the lakebed faster than before, found several dozen more spiritual medicines, and repeatedly evaded the Lake Monster.
• After stealing another herb, Lu Changsheng ignored the Lake Monster's furious assault and headed toward shore because the lake's spiritual medicines were nearly gone.

Lu Changsheng spent his Source Energy Points strengthening the King Pangolin and its Burrowing skill as he searched the Cangyun Mountain Range for resources. He discovered Moon-Patterned Stone that could be absorbed for energy and began digging deeper into the mountain for more.

• Lu Changsheng absorbed the spiritual herbs he had collected and raised the King Pangolin from level sixteen to level eighteen, awakening more of its mysterious bloodline.
• Lu Changsheng searched the Cangyun Mountain Range for ten days and discovered a deposit of Moon-Patterned Stone that was too impure to absorb.
• Lu Changsheng upgraded Burrowing to Excellent, strengthening his claws so he could break through the hard stone.
• Lu Changsheng found a Low-Grade Moon-Patterned Stone, absorbed it for one Source Energy Point, and continued digging toward the mountain's depths.