Chapter Summaries

Li Yunyi used the gathering hexagram of the primordial sixteen trigrams to connect with Central Cave Mountain and the Blackblood Vine, then discovered Luo Bin in the cave. As Li Yunyi threatened him, Luo Bin used the opposing dispersing hexagram to disrupt their connection, and both men felt the effects.

• Luo Bin realized Li Yunyi was following the gathering hexagram’s number sequence and bodily movements, while strange particles and the Moss Eaters began responding.
• Li Yunyi sensed someone through his new connection to the cave, saw Luo Bin, and mistook him for someone sent by an old bastard to replace him and take the Blackblood Vine.
• Li Yunyi threatened Luo Bin and claimed that Floating Tortoise Mountain was his home ground, while Luo Bin grew alarmed at his influence over the cave.
• Luo Bin stepped into the position opposite Li Yunyi and performed the reversed sequence of the dispersing hexagram.
• Li Yunyi felt his connection to the cave break apart, while Luo Bin felt himself being enveloped.

Luo Bin used the gathering-and-dispersal principle to disrupt Li Yunyi’s control of the Blackblood Vine and take some of its power, then fought him in the cave. Li Yunyi retreated to a tortoise shell and opened it with his blood, revealing a human head.

• Luo Bin’s presence caused the Moss Eaters to close and Li Yunyi to lose much of the Blackblood Vine power he had been gaining.
• Li Yunyi moved away to stop the power from draining, but he and Luo Bin both felt their bodies changing as they resonated with the vine.
• Li Yunyi commanded the Moss Eaters and attacked Luo Bin with monstrous speed, while Luo Bin resisted his own transformation and defended himself with his blade.
• Li Yunyi broke off the attacks, retreated to the cave’s center, and tore away the aerial roots sealing a tortoise shell.
• Li Yunyi bit off flesh from his thumb, used his blood to draw a talisman on the shell, and revealed a human head emerging from it.

Luo Bin was pinned by the corpse in the tortoise shell while Li Yunyi tore at his shoulder and stole Yuan Yinxin’s book of the Primordial Sixteen Trigrams. When an unseen force made Li Yunyi cough up flesh and blood, he recognized Shangguan Xingyue as the one who had come for him, just as a woman screamed.

• The corpse inside the tortoise shell attacked Luo Bin, pinning him beneath its shell as he struggled to hold back its snapping jaws.
• Li Yunyi pulled Yuan Yinxin’s book of the Primordial Sixteen Trigrams from Luo Bin’s chest and bit into his shoulder, intent on keeping him alive while draining him.
• Luo Bin struggled and thought of his parents and Yi, but could not free himself or stop Li Yunyi.
• Li Yunyi suddenly coughed violently and spat out fragments of flesh, revealing that the hidden presence had struck him.
• Li Yunyi recognized the presence as Shangguan Xingyue and celebrated her arrival, while Luo Bin realized she had been secretly following and helping him.
• Li Yunyi spat out more blood as a woman screamed.

Luo Bin remained trapped while Li Yunyi returned with an injured Shangguan Xingyue and taunted them both. As Li Yunyi began tearing at Shangguan Xingyue’s clothes, a piercing sound suddenly rang through the cavern.

• Li Yunyi returned dragging Shangguan Xingyue, whose failed attack had left her suffering a severe backlash.
• Li Yunyi explained that Yuan Yinxin had tried to replace him with Luo Bin and accused Luo Bin of stealing power from Cabinet Mountain.
• Shangguan Xingyue tried to stop Li Yunyi from hurting Luo Bin, but her attempt injured her further.
• Li Yunyi mocked Luo Bin and began tearing Shangguan Xingyue’s clothes to provoke him.
• As Shangguan Xingyue silently waited for a chance to act, a deafening whistle suddenly sounded through the air.

Shangguan Xingyue revealed how she had secretly followed Luo Bin and arranged for a hidden group to intervene against Li Yunyi. As the two Taoists fought Li Yunyi and a diviner examined the Tortoise Shell, Luo Bin warned them where a Moss Eater was vulnerable.

• Two Taoists burst into the chamber and attacked Li Yunyi with swords and talismans, while their diviner stayed back to examine the scene.
• Shangguan Xingyue stopped herself from touching the Living Dead Corpse after the diviner warned that its corpse poison could infect her.
• Shangguan Xingyue revealed that she had followed Luo Bin, guided the pursuers toward him, and killed the man from the Floating Tortoise Mountain Taoist Grounds when he tried to flee.
• The diviner examined the Tortoise Shell as the Taoists fought Li Yunyi, who was wounded but still holding his ground.
• Luo Bin shouted that the Moss Eater’s weak point was inside its mouth and told the Taoists to thrust their swords there.

Luo Bin gained control of the Moss Eaters and killed Li Yunyi, then watched as the old gentleman placed a Compass on the Tortoise Shell and suppressed the force inside it. Shangguan Xingyue helped conceal Luo Bin’s pain, but the old gentleman watched him thoughtfully.

• Li Yunyi activated the Moss Eaters and tried to escape, while Shangguan Xingyue urged the two Taoists to kill him.
• Luo Bin steadied his mind and took control of the Moss Eaters, which forced Li Yunyi to open his mouth so the Taoists’ swords could kill him.
• The Moss Eaters retreated, and the old gentleman ordered the Taoists to cut open the Tortoise Shell, but their swords could not damage it.
• The old gentleman placed a Compass on the Tortoise Shell, suppressing the force inside and causing Luo Bin intense pain.
• Shangguan Xingyue warned Luo Bin to stay quiet and asked the old gentleman to lift the shell; after the Taoists removed it, the old gentleman watched Luo Bin as Shangguan Xingyue thanked him.

Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue escaped the cave after the Blackblood Vine reacted violently to being cut, only to find the mountain’s paths had vanished. As they tried to leave, the old gentleman stopped them and told Luo Bin that he was dying.

• The old gentleman ordered the Daoists to block the fissure with the Tortoise Shell, and Shangguan Xingyue claimed that she and Luo Bin’s master had been murdered.
• When the Daoists cut the Blackblood Vine, Luo Bin felt the pain himself and secretly stirred the Moss Eaters into motion, forcing everyone to flee the cave.
• Luo Bin saw the dead Li Yunyi rise as the vines spread through the cave, then watched the mountain paths and passage disappear before his eyes.
• Shangguan Xingyue tried to leave with Luo Bin, but the old gentleman’s Daoists blocked their way as he fixed his gaze on Luo Bin and said he was dying.

Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue met Zhang Yunxi, who mistook Luo Bin’s gray fingernails for a fatal poison and recognized the name Qin Jiumo. Zhang Yunxi insisted they stay and help break open Floating Tortoise Mountain before its Taoist Grounds could act, while Shangguan Xingyue questioned whether they might already be able to leave.

• Zhang Yunxi mistook Luo Bin’s gray fingernails for signs that Corpse Poison had reached his heart and offered to treat him.
• Shangguan Xingyue gave Zhang Yunxi their names and claimed Qin Jiumo had taken them as disciples inside the mountain.
• Zhang Yunxi revealed that he knew Qin Jiumo and explained that he had spent three years searching for a way to break out of Floating Tortoise Mountain.
• Zhang Yunxi said the root of evil remained and the mountain might not open, then urged Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue to help break out before the Taoist Grounds reacted.
• Shangguan Xingyue challenged Zhang Yunxi by asking what he would do if their earlier actions had already made it possible to leave.

Shangguan Xingyue persuaded Zhang Yunxi and the other Taoists to follow her toward Qin Jiumo’s body, claiming it was needed to escape Floating Tortoise Mountain. As they set out, Luo Bin feared Shangguan Xingyue planned to take him back to Cabinet Mountain, while Jin Hu watched from a distance and wondered whether to warn Luo Bin about her.

• Shangguan Xingyue told Zhang Yunxi she knew a way off the mountain, but said retrieving Master’s body was a prerequisite.
• Zhang Yunxi agreed to follow Shangguan Xingyue to Qin Jiumo’s body, which lay halfway up the mountain.
• Luo Bin realized Shangguan Xingyue might use the journey to escape with him and take him back to Cabinet Mountain, where Yuan Yinxin could be waiting.
• Zhang Yunxi examined Luo Bin’s hand and decided not to use his risky poison-purging technique now that they might leave the mountain.
• Jin Hu followed the group from far away and debated whether to approach Luo Bin and tell him Shangguan Xingyue had killed Huang Ying.

The group reached a collapsed cliff path that separated them from Shangguan Xingyue’s Master’s coffin, and the two priests prepared to attempt a crossing. As Zhang Yunxi pressed them to act, Luo Bin reflected on how Yuan Yinxin had deceived him and realized how completely Yuan had used everyone as pieces in a larger scheme.

• Hu Jin decided to follow Luo Bin down the mountain so Luo Bin would learn the truth about Huang Ying’s likely death and the danger posed by Shangguan Xingyue.
• Shangguan Xingyue showed Zhang Yunxi and the others the coffin across a fifty-meter gap and explained that they had to retrieve the body to escape.
• Zhang Yunxi urged the two Taoist priests to cross the gap, while Luo Bin realized the group trusted him and believed Shangguan Xingyue might use the attempt to take him away.
• Luo Bin reviewed how his reliance on Qin Jiumo, Si, and Gu Yiren had kept him from recognizing what was wrong with Yuan Yinxin.
• The two priests agreed to attempt the crossing, and Zhang Yunxi warned Shangguan Xingyue to step back from the cliff’s edge.

Shangguan Xingyue revealed that she had secretly injured the priests and Zhang Yunxi to clear a path for her and Luo Bin to escape. Luo Bin refused to let her kill Zhang Yunxi and dragged her away, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Two Taoist priests began climbing down the cliff, but the first suddenly lost his footing and fell before catching himself lower down.
• Shangguan Xingyue taunted the priests and used her hidden ability to injure Zhang Yunxi, who collapsed in pain.
• At Shangguan Xingyue's command, the second priest continued climbing and fell into the first, sending them both plunging into the mist.
• Shangguan Xingyue told Luo Bin to kill Zhang Yunxi, but Luo Bin refused and stopped her from drawing his knife.
• Luo Bin seized Shangguan Xingyue's wrist and forcibly dragged her behind him.

Luo Bin left the cliff path with Shangguan Xingyue and wrestled with whether returning to Cabinet Mountain would put him in Yuan Yinxin’s power. After reconsidering Zhang Yunxi’s efforts to help Floating Tortoise Mountain, Luo Bin resolved to act, then lit an incense burner as Shangguan Xingyue rested against him.

• Luo Bin pushed Shangguan Xingyue over the cliff path’s edge, then hauled her back up and apologized to Zhang Yunxi before leaving with her.
• Shangguan Xingyue followed Luo Bin down the mountain, reassuring him that Yuan Yinxin would reward him and apologizing for her past actions, but Luo Bin remained silent.
• Luo Bin feared Yuan Yinxin intended to exploit his ability to control Floating Tortoise Mountain’s black blood vines and concluded that returning to Cabinet Mountain could mean his death.
• As Shangguan Xingyue rested her head on his lap, Luo Bin recalled Zhang Yunxi’s mission to help Floating Tortoise Mountain and considered that similar intervention could help Cabinet Mountain.
• Luo Bin lit the incense burner he had taken from Li Yunyi, and Shangguan Xingyue opened her eyes and told him he did not need it because she had already given him her heart.

Luo Bin extracted a route off Floating Tortoise Mountain from Shangguan Xingyue, then escaped with several valuable items instead of killing her. At dawn, Hu Jin found him and told him Huang Ying had almost certainly died, leaving Luo Bin burdened by guilt and wondering whether he would have avenged her.

• Luo Bin pressured Shangguan Xingyue into revealing how to return to Cabinet Mountain and how to leave Floating Tortoise Mountain.
• Luo Bin took a Talisman Plaque, a Hexagram Position Map, and a pouch of Emotion Flower Fruit, then slipped away without killing Shangguan Xingyue.
• Luo Bin followed the Xun Hexagram through the forest until dawn, when his evil-spirit form faded and he reached the cliffside path.
• Hu Jin emerged from the trees and told Luo Bin what had happened to Huang Ying and Shangguan Xingyue, concluding that Huang Ying could not have survived.
• Luo Bin mourned Huang Ying and blamed himself, then wondered whether he would have killed Shangguan Xingyue if Hu Jin had warned him sooner.

Luo Bin and Hu Jin found Zhang Yunxi and tried to explain Luo Bin’s connection to Shangguan Xingyue and the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds. Zhang Yunxi questioned Luo Bin, while Hu Jin proposed they move somewhere safer before talking.

• Luo Bin decided to find Zhang Yunxi and seek help, while leaving Qin Jiumo’s body undisturbed in the coffin.
• Hu Jin located Zhang Yunxi, and Luo Bin gave him medicine as they traveled toward the branch Taoist grounds.
• Luo Bin recognized Zhang Yunxi and the two Taoists with him, including one he had thought had fallen from the cliff.
• Luo Bin told Zhang Yunxi that Shangguan Xingyue was not his senior sister and that he had traveled with her only because she could get him out.
• Zhang Yunxi questioned Luo Bin about his ties to the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds and Shangguan Xingyue, while Hu Jin vouched for him and suggested they move somewhere secluded.

Luo Bin returned to the Mountain God Temple and told Zhang Yunxi about Cabinet Mountain, asking him to help investigate it. After explaining a possible route off Floating Tortoise Mountain, Luo Bin went to search the rear of the temple for Huang Ying.

• Luo Bin brought Zhang Yunxi and the others back to the Mountain God Temple, where they found the Blackblood Vines, Moss Eaters, and evil spirits gone.
• Luo Bin recounted how he had been deceived into becoming Yuan Yinxin's disciple and brought to Floating Tortoise Mountain, leaving out key details about Yuan Yinxin's aims and legacy.
• Zhang Yunxi agreed to help Luo Bin investigate Cabinet Mountain, where Luo Bin's parents remained.
• Luo Bin showed Zhang Yunxi the Compass and described a route off the mountain, and Hu Jin offered to guide him to see its unusual features.
• Luo Bin stayed behind and searched behind the Mountain God Temple for the route Huang Ying had taken with Shangguan Xingyue.

Luo Bin discovered evidence that Huang Ying had been nearby when he abandoned her, and found a bloodied message she had scratched onto a talisman plaque before she died. Overwhelmed by regret, he resolved to confront Song Tianzhu, who was carrying the clothes and shoes Huang Ying had made for him.

• Luo Bin used Rewind to spot a distant figure wearing clothes like Huang Ying’s and realized she may have seen him leave.
• Luo Bin reached the place where Huang Ying had waited to die and found a talisman plaque bearing her bloodied final message.
• Luo Bin grieved over Huang Ying’s words about sewing him clothes and admitted he should have taken back the garments she had made.
• Luo Bin searched the area but found nothing else belonging to Huang Ying, then focused his thoughts on Song Tianzhu.
• Song Tianzhu felt a sudden chill in an abandoned mountain dwelling while carrying Huang Ying’s clothes and cloth shoes.

Song Tianzhu seethed over Luo Bin’s destruction of the Song Family estate while Zhang Yunxi and the others prepared to leave the Mountain God Temple. Elsewhere, a mysterious man treated the paralyzed Huang Ying as Luo Bin searched the mountain, consumed by grief and hatred for Shangguan Xingyue.

• Song Tianzhu blamed Luo Bin for destroying much of the Song Family estate and did not realize Luo Bin was searching for him.
• Zhang Yunxi, two Taoist priests, and Hu Jin emerged from beneath the Mountain God Statue after the Pure Brightness Disc began purifying the dangerous energy.
• Hu Jin explained that Luo Bin had gone to find the remains of their murdered friend, and Zhang Yunxi warned that the mountain was still unsafe.
• A man brought medicinal broth to Huang Ying, who was unable to move, and encouraged her with the possibility that her injury could be treated.
• Luo Bin walked through the forest, recalling Huang Ying’s kindness, hating Shangguan Xingyue, and refusing to eat the Flower Affection fruit in his pouch.

Luo Bin used the Primordial Sixteen Trigrams to track Song Tianzhu and found signs that he had passed through an abandoned mountain house. Exhausted, Luo Bin entered the house, unaware that Song Tianzhu was hiding in the rafters above him.

• Luo Bin reasoned that Song Tianzhu would avoid the dangerous Zhen direction and travel toward the heaven direction.
• Luo Bin crossed the mountains through the night, avoiding or fighting evil spirits along the way.
• Luo Bin found damp footprints in an abandoned house and followed them into an inner room.
• Luo Bin discovered an evil spirit pinned by a talisman-wrapped wooden sword and concluded Song Tianzhu had come that way.
• Song Tianzhu, hiding in the rafters, recognized Luo Bin and considered killing him despite feeling afraid.

Song Tianzhu hid above Luo Bin as the Blackblood Vine spread through the house, while an unconscious Li Yunyi appeared behind Luo Bin in the guise of the Moss Eater. After waking and finding no footprints leading out, Luo Bin realized Song Tianzhu might still be hiding inside and recalled the roof beam’s blind spot.

• Song Tianzhu decided not to attack Luo Bin and hid on a roof beam while Luo Bin rested in the outer room.
• The Blackblood Vine spread through the house, and the Moss Eater appeared behind the sleeping Luo Bin as Li Yunyi, but Luo Bin remained unharmed.
• Luo Bin woke, refreshed, and left the house while Song Tianzhu stayed hidden inside.
• Luo Bin noticed that the footprints showed no one had left the house and reasoned that Song Tianzhu might still be there.
• Luo Bin recalled the roof beam’s blind spot as a possible hiding place.

Luo Bin caught Song Tianzhu after he tried to flee, took back Huang Ying’s clothes, and made him the first offering to her. He left Song Tianzhu bound and unable to speak as evil spirits gathered nearby.

• Song Tianzhu climbed down after believing Luo Bin had left, but Luo Bin revealed he had stayed behind and caught him.
• Luo Bin took Song Tianzhu’s pack and clothes, then ordered him to come along.
• When Song Tianzhu kept asking questions, Luo Bin cut out his tongue and gave him medicine to stop the bleeding.
• Luo Bin bound Song Tianzhu and brought him to the place where Huang Ying had died.
• Luo Bin told Huang Ying he had returned her clothes and named Song Tianzhu her first offering as evil spirits gathered around them.