Chapter Summaries

Cheng Yu and his companions found the Demon-Worshipping Cult at a Demon Monster lair, where Ji Han revealed her betrayal and captured them. After overhearing her say that Cheng Yu was crucial to resurrecting the cult leader, he realized there was more to uncover about the plan.

• Cheng Yu listened as Gongliang She and Li Pei'er boasted about their ambitions, while the System urged him to humble Gongliang She.
• Gongliang She, Li Pei'er, Ji Han, and Cheng Yu reached a mountain hollow where demonic men guarded a cave.
• A fleshy tendril pierced Gongliang She, and Ji Han swiftly cut down Li Pei'er.
• Ji Han ordered nearby demonic men to capture Cheng Yu and had him knocked unconscious.
• Cheng Yu awoke to hear Ji Han reprimand a subordinate for nearly killing him and explain that he was essential to the Demon-Worshipping Cult leader's resurrection.

Cheng Yu pieced together why Ji Han had been acting suspiciously and concluded that she was an impostor from the Demon-Worshipping Cult who had captured Stillwater after learning about Yunyangzi's constitution. After Ji Han imprisoned him, a woman in the neighboring cell told Cheng Yu that she was not the Ji Han he knew.

• Cheng Yu connected Ji Han's unusual warmth and the suspicious fragrance in her house to a plot against Yunyangzi.
• Cheng Yu reasoned that the Demon-Worshipping Cult had captured Stillwater and learned about Yunyangzi's constitution, then sent someone disguised as Ji Han to capture him.
• Cheng Yu reflected that the Fun Blade gave him a chance to stir up trouble and satisfy the powerful figure overseeing his role.
• Cheng Yu awoke locked behind blood-red iron bars and pretended to rage at Ji Han when she came to see him.
• After Ji Han left with a covered figure, a woman in the neighboring cell told Cheng Yu that she was not the person he knew as Ji Han.

Cheng Yu learned that the Demon-Worshipping Cult had infiltrated the county town’s Demon Suppression Bureau and tested Mad Song on the prison’s blood bars. After escaping the cell, he faced a burly half-demon who mistook his transformation of the bars for artifact refining.

• Cheng Yu heard the real Ji Han explain that a Demon-Worshipping Cult impostor had captured her and replaced her, and Gongliang She concluded the cult was infiltrating the Heavenly Dynasty.
• Cheng Yu confirmed there were no guards nearby and tested Mad Song on the blood bars, which transformed into a living Iron Smiling Face.
• Iron Smiling Face skewered the demonfolk who came to investigate, and their bodies shriveled as flesh and bone grew on the iron skewers.
• Cheng Yu walked out of his cell and questioned why the iron bars had transformed differently from the creatures he had struck before.
• A burly half-demon arrived, called Cheng Yu an artifact refiner, and Cheng Yu claimed he had refined the bars in an instant.

Cheng Yu used Mad Song to make Iron Smiling Face attack a bear-like jailer, then freed Gongliang She and Li Pei'er while continuing to explore the Demon-Worshipping Cult's prison. He left the two disciples behind and found himself waiting beside Iron Smiling Face as it fought unseen attackers.

• The bear-like burly man attacked Cheng Yu, but Iron Smiling Face wounded him with its skewers and drained his body.
• Cheng Yu tested his theory that creatures cut by Mad Song would follow it, and Iron Smiling Face followed him past Gongliang She and Li Pei'er's cell.
• Cheng Yu left the cell keys for Gongliang She and Li Pei'er, explaining that he considered himself a good person before walking away.
• Cheng Yu searched the jailers' room and stored the money and useful items he found in System Space.
• Cheng Yu dodged as attackers struck Iron Smiling Face outside the room, then waited with Mad Song while the monster fought them.

Cheng Yu waited for the powerful newcomer to enter, then tried to attack him with Mad Song but was stopped by an invisible force. When the man grabbed the blade, it overwhelmed him, and Cheng Yu unlocked Mad Song’s restriction and made it his exclusive weapon.

• Cheng Yu listened for the approaching enemy and prepared to strike as soon as he entered the room.
• Iron Smiling Face launched its skewer at the doorway, but the newcomer stopped and returned it with tremendous force.
• Cheng Yu swung Mad Song at the blue-robed young man, who halted his hand and revealed that he was not a member of the Demon-Worshipping Cult.
• The young man took Mad Song, and the blade’s tentacles and laughter overwhelmed him as Cheng Yu received the restriction-unlock notification.
• Cheng Yu called Mad Song back, and the blade returned to his hand as its laughter stopped.

Cheng Yu reached an underground plaza where the fake Ji Han and a wrapped man were sending Demons into a hole, apparently as part of a plan tied to his abduction. The fake Ji Han betrayed her colleague during a fight, and Floating Tentacle Dead Head drained him, beginning another transformation.

• Iron Smiling Face absorbed the man in green and the dark green clump, evolving into Floating Tentacle Dead Head.
• Cheng Yu found that the fake Ji Han had left the passage, then hurried through the cave with Floating Tentacle Dead Head following and draining Demons along the way.
• Cheng Yu entered an underground plaza and saw the fake Ji Han and a tightly wrapped man throwing Demons into a central hole.
• The fake Ji Han and the wrapped man argued over whether the cult leader had awakened and whether the man in green's memories were reliable.
• Floating Tentacle Dead Head attacked the wrapped man, and the fake Ji Han betrayed him by disrupting his movements.
• Floating Tentacle Dead Head drained the wrapped man, then began to change again.

Cheng Yu questioned Fake Ji Han about Stillwater and confronted the resurrected sect leader’s grotesque guardian creature in the underground plaza. After Mad Song’s third slash devoured the creature, Cheng Yu remained standing while Fake Ji Han watched in disbelief.

• Cheng Yu stopped Fake Ji Han from escaping and learned that headquarters was somewhere in the Northern Abyss Islands, while Stillwater had been fed to Dark Abyss after a soul search.
• Fake Ji Han fled when Cheng Yu lowered Mad Song, then revealed that the underground creature was intended to resurrect the sect leader.
• A blood-red pillar of flesh erupted from the opening, and its mental shriek injured the floating dead head as an invisible force encased it in stones.
• Cheng Yu slashed the blood-red slime twice to weaken the creature’s laughter, then shouted Mad Song’s active skill and devoured the creature with his third slash.
• Fake Ji Han watched from beyond the opening, bleeding from his face, as Cheng Yu remained smiling and unharmed.

Cheng Yu unlocked Mad Song’s Gimme That! restriction, which let the blade store and release what it devoured. After defeating the dead head and storing it, he released it and glimpsed the strange space where Mad Song’s eaten creatures might be merging.

• The System revealed that Cheng Yu had unlocked Mad Song’s Gimme That! restriction, allowing it to store and later release what it ate.
• The fake Ji Han offered Cheng Yu an Inner Demon Oath, but he could not hear her and sent the dead head to attack her.
• The fake Ji Han vanished, and the dead head turned on Cheng Yu, whose Pure White Emissary power repelled its tentacles.
• Cheng Yu used Mad Song to change the dead head’s expression, then devoured it with his third slash and learned he could store it inside the blade.
• Cheng Yu released the dead head through a red-misted rift and suspected Mad Song’s other swallowed creatures were merging inside its strange space.

Cheng Yu met Ji Han after escaping the underground, then returned with her to the county town and prepared to travel toward Azure Sky City. He entered the Beast-Taming Pavilion to find a mount, only to realize its inhabitants were members of the Demon Race.

• Cheng Yu named the blood-red monster inside Mad Song Little Red and decided to focus on making money before heading into the Demon Race's Northern Abyss Islands.
• Cheng Yu met Ji Han at the cave entrance, and she thanked him for saving her before agreeing to help him obtain a map, Grain-Avoidance Pills, and a mount.
• Ji Han told Cheng Yu that Gongliang She and his junior sister had helped free her, and that she had returned to retrieve correspondence about the Demon-Worshipping Cult's activities.
• Two Demon Suppression Bureau members summoned Ji Han to meet the inspector, while Cheng Yu avoided being taken with her and went to the market.
• Cheng Yu bought Grain-Avoidance Pills and maps, then entered the Beast-Taming Pavilion and realized its members were Demons.

Cheng Yu bought a water buffalo mount and promised to free him after their journey to the Northern Abyss Islands. As he learned the young demon’s name and origins, Cheng Yu realized Niu Ba knew details about Shen Yu’s legendary trial by the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, leaving him wondering whether Niu Ba descended from an old friend.

• Cheng Yu bought the cheapest mount at the Beast-Taming Pavilion and hurried out of town to avoid trouble from the inspector.
• Cheng Yu tried riding the water buffalo, but the mount was too slow, so he promised to free him after their journey and swore an oath upon the Heavenly Dao.
• The water buffalo spoke to Cheng Yu and introduced himself as Niu Ba, then explained that he came from the Central Continent and had been abducted while visiting an ancestor in the Southern Continent.
• Niu Ba explained that his ancestor had taught him to hide his bloodline and said a Heavenly Dao oath could not be faked.
• Niu Ba described how the Demon Race’s Great Sage had endured the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, prompting Cheng Yu to suspect that Niu Ba was descended from an old friend.

Cheng Yu traveled toward Azure Sky City with Niu Ba and joined Wen Yang’s party along the way. He learned that provincial war precautions had restricted teleportation to neighboring cities, leaving him worried about the cost and time of reaching his destination.

• Cheng Yu declined to ask about Niu Ba’s ancestor and learned that Niu Ba kept his slave contract so he could safely enter the spirit pet pouch.
• Cheng Yu rode on Niu Ba’s back, admired the scenery, and recited a verse that caught Wen Yang’s attention.
• Wen Yang introduced himself as the young proprietor of the Chenyang Commerce Association and invited Cheng Yu to travel with his party to Azure Sky City.
• Cheng Yu learned from Wen Yang that Fuzhou had restricted teleportation arrays because of unrest among the demons.
• Wen Yang explained that similar restrictions had lasted from one to five years, and Cheng Yu worried about the expense of making repeated transfers.

Cheng Yu traveled with Wen Yang toward Azure Sky City and learned about trade between Humankind and the Demon Race, as well as the city’s defenses and the Demon Suppression Bureau’s absence. After arriving too late to enter, he camped outside the gates, where he prepared to sleep as Yunyangzi and begin his journey.

• Cheng Yu questioned Wen Yang about the state of the Eternal True World and learned that trade between Humankind and the Demon Race had grown active.
• Niu Ba told Cheng Yu that his ancestor had dismissed the demon beasts’ commercial resurgence and said the Demon Race should strike back against anyone who harmed it.
• Wen Yang explained that Azure Sky City’s flying cultivators guarded against the Demon-Worshipping Cult and flying Demon Monsters, while the city’s Demon Suppression Bureau had been silent after personnel were transferred to the border.
• Cheng Yu and Wen Yang reached Azure Sky City near sunset, but soldiers closed entry for the day and turned the remaining travelers away until morning.
• Cheng Yu declined Wen Yang’s invitation, settled beside a campfire in the merchant association’s camp, and planned his route before falling asleep.

Cheng Yu learned about Broken Heart, a Half-Demon organization, after Niu Ba recognized two nearby Half-Demons as its members. Niu Ba held back from confronting them, and Cheng Yu learned about Shen Tian’s reforms in the Demon Race.

• Niu Ba told Cheng Yu that two nearby figures were Half-Demons from Broken Heart, an organization blamed for a massacre and hunted by the Demon Dynasty.
• Cheng Yu learned that the two Half-Demons carried blood curse brands marking them as wanted criminals.
• Niu Ba resisted charging at the Half-Demons, recalling his ancestor’s advice to survive first and seek revenge later.
• Cheng Yu jokingly suggested that Niu Ba write down his ancestor’s wisdom, and Niu Ba agreed to make a book.
• Niu Ba explained that Shen Tian had established schools for demon children, prompting the system to praise Shen Tian’s governance and reforms.
• Cheng Yu denied having played a role in Shen Tian’s accomplishments and credited Shen Yu instead.

Cheng Yu entered Azure Sky City and asked Wen Yang to help sell items taken from the Demon-Worshipping Cult. Wen Yang proposed selling them in Demon Race territory, and Cheng Yu asked why merchants had to be so cautious about dealing with the cult’s goods.

• Two half-demons watched Cheng Yu and Niu Ba, deciding to wait for the Demon-Worshipping Cult to act before making their move.
• Cheng Yu entered Azure Sky City and checked into an inn owned by Wen Yang’s family merchant association.
• Cheng Yu showed Wen Yang his spoils, and Wen Yang warned that private buyers in Baiyue Prefecture would not accept the Demon-Worshipping Cult’s items.
• Wen Yang offered to sell the items during his next trading trip to Demon Race territory, and Cheng Yu agreed to split the proceeds sixty-forty.
• Cheng Yu asked Wen Yang why merchants were cautious about dealing with the Demon-Worshipping Cult despite frequent contact between ordinary humans and demons.

Cheng Yu enjoyed Azure Sky City's lively night until a Half-Demon attacked him and Niu Ba drove it off. Taken to the Demon Suppression Bureau, Cheng Yu told Liang Fei about his encounter with the Demon-Worshipping Cult, while Liang Fei sensed that he was an unusually powerful figure.

• Wen Yang told Cheng Yu that powerful court figures backed trade with the Demon Race and likely profited from it despite its illegality.
• As Cheng Yu watched Azure Sky City's bustling night scene, Niu Ba warned him of danger and charged an attacker through the window.
• Cheng Yu put the wounded Niu Ba into his Spirit Beast Bag, and a Demon Suppression Bureau officer identified the attacker as an unusual Half-Demon.
• Officers brought Cheng Yu to the Demon Suppression Bureau, where Liang Fei questioned him about the attack and possible enemies.
• Cheng Yu named the Demon-Worshipping Cult as a shared enemy and said he had fought its Demons; Liang Fei sensed Cheng Yu's formidable strength.

After leaving the Demon Suppression Bureau, Cheng Yu treated Niu Ba to beef noodles and rode him back toward the inn. Niu Ba said the attacker was probably the Broken-Heart Half-Demon, though he had never met them, and the chapter ended with him galloping after Cheng Yu tempted him with late-night pastries.

• Cheng Yu released Niu Ba outside the Demon Suppression Bureau and rode him toward the inn while Liang Fei watched warily.
• Cheng Yu comforted Niu Ba's injured head, and Niu Ba demanded tasty food in exchange.
• Cheng Yu bought Niu Ba an extra-large bowl of beef noodles, which Niu Ba eagerly finished.
• On the ride back, Niu Ba said the attacker was probably the Broken-Heart Half-Demon and that he had never met them.
• Cheng Yu tempted Niu Ba with the inn's late-night pastries, and Niu Ba galloped down the street to get back quickly.

Cheng Yu traded Demon-Worshipping Cult ritual vessels to Liang Fei for a special Identity Token that let him use Teleportation Arrays for free. He prepared to leave Azure Sky City for the Demon Race Borderlands the next morning, while Half-Demons continued plotting against him.

• Two Half-Demons decided to watch Cheng Yu and wait for the Demon-Worshipping Cult to distract the Demon Suppression Bureau before attacking him.
• Cheng Yu met Liang Fei at Iron Bull's beef noodle stall and offered the marked items from the Demon-Worshipping Cult hideout in exchange for help with his travel expenses.
• Liang Fei promised Cheng Yu a special Identity Token granting free Teleportation Array use and hurried back to the Demon Suppression Bureau to obtain one.
• Wen Yang told Cheng Yu that the Demon Race Trading Guild would leave for the Demon Race Borderlands the next morning, and they agreed to meet at the city gate.
• Liang Fei delivered the Identity Token, and Cheng Yu handed over the Demon-Worshipping Cult's Ritual Vessels.

Cheng Yu apologized to Wen Yang by offering him a larger share of the Ritual Vessels’ proceeds, then learned that Broken Heart was recruiting Half-Demons in Azure Sky City. He failed to enter an expensive brothel, while a veiled woman and a burly man discussed using him to get to Niu Ba.

• Cheng Yu offered Wen Yang seventy percent of the proceeds from the Ritual Vessels, and Wen Yang agreed to meet him at the city gate the next morning.
• After Wen Yang left, the System explained that Broken Heart’s Half-Demons were persecuted in Demon territory and operated in Humankind’s lands, including Azure Sky City.
• Cheng Yu spotted a Fox Race Half-Demon courtesan and learned that her coworker belonged to Broken Heart and was trying to recruit her.
• Cheng Yu went to the brothel to investigate, but its entrance fee was too expensive, so he was turned away.
• A veiled woman asked a burly man if Cheng Yu was the person he meant, and the man said they would use her to reach Niu Ba.

Cheng Yu lured a half-demon woman into an alley, resisted her bewitching art, and killed her with Mad Song. At daybreak, he left the city with Niu Ba to continue his journey.

• The System warned Cheng Yu that an unknown attacker was repeatedly subjecting him to information pollution, but his title protected him.
• Cheng Yu pretended to fall under the half-demon woman’s bewitching art and went to meet her in a dark alley.
• Cheng Yu used Mad Song to force the woman to smile and prevent her from acting against him, then killed her with Eat, Eat, Eat.
• The burly half-demon man waited for the woman to return and suspected that something had happened to her.
• Cheng Yu settled the bill, mounted Niu Ba, and left the city at sunrise to begin the next leg of his journey.

Cheng Yu traveled with Wen Yang’s caravan toward Demon Race territory and grew acquainted with Wen Chen and Niu Ba. When Niu Ba sensed several Half-Demons from Broken Heart following them, Cheng Yu rode away from camp to draw the pursuers farther from the others before unleashing a dangerous technique.

• Wen Yang introduced his shy sister Wen Chen to Cheng Yu and explained that the caravan’s route through the border region was considered safe.
• During the journey, Wen Chen befriended Cheng Yu and Niu Ba, while Wen Yang told Cheng Yu they would reach Haiqi City after stopping for supplies at the border.
• Niu Ba revealed that he was eight years old and boasted that he was a rare genius among his peers.
• Late at night, Niu Ba sensed several Half-Demons from Broken Heart approaching, and Cheng Yu left camp with him without alerting the watchmen to the danger.
• Cheng Yu asked Niu Ba to lead the pursuers away from camp, then planned to send Niu Ba into the Spirit Beast Bag before using a powerful attack that would harm anyone nearby.