Chapter Summaries

Luo Bin, Qin Tianqing, and Zhang Yunxi reached the Main Road but discovered that traitors had laid hidden killing moves across their route down Heavenly Mechanism Mountain. As Luo Bin warned that every escape route might be part of the trap, the group faced the possibility that they had nowhere to go.

• Luo Bin followed Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi away from the miasma, while Shangguan Xingyue prepared to leave the side hall where she had been trapped by attackers and illusions.
• Shangguan Xingyue stepped out and challenged the figures surrounding her, declaring that they could not keep her there.
• Qin Tianqing, Zhang Yunxi, and Luo Bin found the Main Road, but a concealed blade nearly killed Qin Tianqing when he stepped on a blade of grass.
• Qin Tianqing warned Luo Bin not to cut down the grass, explaining that the traitors had linked the feng shui dangers together so that disturbing one part could trigger more killing moves.
• Qin Tianqing proposed detouring uphill, but Luo Bin argued that the traitors could have anticipated every route and that the group might have no safe way forward or back.

Luo Bin used his evil spirit body to trigger and survive a series of traps, clearing a safe route for Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi. Impressed by his abilities and unusual nature, Qin Tianqing asked him to become his disciple, but Luo Bin politely refused.

• Qin Tianqing accepted Luo Bin's reasoning about the traitors and apologized for losing his composure.
• Luo Bin changed into his ragged clothes and let his transformation into an evil spirit become more complete.
• Luo Bin walked through the trapped area, using his body to trigger the mechanisms while Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi followed safely.
• Qin Tianqing wondered whether Luo Bin could overcome Yuan Xinyin's control of the Mountain Cabinet and make his abilities his own.
• Qin Tianqing described the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds' Yin-Yang Arts and asked Luo Bin to become his disciple.
• Luo Bin declined, saying he did not feel excited about the offer and thought it might not suit him.

Luo Bin used the Primordial Sixteen Trigrams to guide Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing through a deadly boulder trap on the mountain. As they neared the foot of the mountain, Qin Tianqing spotted another ambush, and Qin Ju appeared, urging them to run.

• Luo Bin warned Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing not to flee down the path because his Compass showed that direction led to death.
• Luo Bin identified safe positions through the Spirit and Death Sixteen Palaces and sent Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing to them as boulders crashed down the slope.
• The three survived the rockslide, and Luo Bin urged them to stay alert because the traitors might have more traps.
• Qin Tianqing stopped before the woods and spotted grotesque heads and dried corpses concealed nearby, realizing Qin Ju had prepared another ambush.
• Qin Ju approached and shouted for Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Qin Tianqing to run because their pursuers were close behind.

Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Qin Tianqing encountered Qin Ju, who claimed to be a disciple named Qin Shan and warned them about a trap. Luo Bin exposed the deception, but Qin Ju’s formation separated Luo Bin from the others and trapped him among attackers.

• Qin Ju urged Qin Tianqing, Luo Bin, and Zhang Yunxi to escape the heavenly palace nine fiends formation, claiming that his Martial Uncle had murdered disciples and planned to kill them.
• Qin Tianqing considered following Qin Ju, but Luo Bin realized that Qin Ju could not be Qin Shan because he knew Qin Tianqing was Grounds Master.
• Qin Ju revealed a sinister smile, and Luo Bin’s knife pierced the desiccated corpse he had been using as a disguise.
• Qin Ju lured Luo Bin deeper into a talisman path, separating him from Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing among the trees.
• A White-Faced Man stabbed Luo Bin, but Luo Bin counterattacked before two desiccated corpses grabbed his arms and began pulling him apart.

Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing abandoned their attempt to reach Luo Bin, believing he could survive the traps, while Shangguan Xingyue entered the deadly formation to help him. Qin Ju and his allies discussed the pursuers and revealed their uncertainty about the strange dangers of the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds.

• Qin Tianqing stopped Zhang Yunxi from approaching Luo Bin and convinced him to retreat, arguing that Luo Bin showed no signs of death and could withstand the traps.
• Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing retraced their steps toward Qin Ju’s traps, leaving Luo Bin behind.
• Shangguan Xingyue followed Luo Bin’s trail into the mist, determined to rescue him despite the danger.
• Qin Ju learned that Shangguan Xingyue had entered the formation and ordered his allies to send people after her.
• Qin Ju’s allies reported that Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi were retreating toward the traps, and Qin Ju said their deaths were inevitable wherever they went.

Luo Bin was nearly dismembered by the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds traitors before the Moss Eater Flowers emerged and slaughtered them. The survivors regrouped with Qin Ju, who ordered a withdrawal and condemned their cowardice.

• The traitors used silver-wire-controlled corpses to restrain Luo Bin and stabbed his joints and eye.
• Luo Bin’s appearance and presence changed, terrifying the traitors as a figure sprang from the corpses and revealed a blooming Moss Eater Flower.
• Seven more Moss Eater Flowers appeared and killed the remaining traitors, while the people controlling the corpses fled.
• Eight figures gathered around Luo Bin as he rose, and the surviving traitors returned to Qin Ju’s clearing.
• The man with the mole calculated that they should withdraw, and Qin Ju told him the miasma would make them a hindrance.
• Qin Ju berated the traitors and said he would choose the new disciples and become grounds master when the new Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds was established.

Qin Ju rallied the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds’ traitors and launched a coordinated attack on Luo Bin, suppressing his Moss Eaters and pinning him with supernatural tools. As Qin Ju ordered Luo Bin captured alive, Luo Bin tried to beguile him by calling him Qin Tianji.

• Qin Ju persuaded the traitors to follow his plan to use dried corpses against Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi and suppress Luo Bin with their methods against evil spirits.
• Luo Bin followed his instincts through the fog, hunting the traitors while the Moss Eaters surrounded him.
• The traitors used a spirit-suppressing bell, a bronze mirror, and copper-coin cords to weaken and bind Luo Bin, while Qin Ju watched confidently.
• Qin Ju ordered the disciples to capture Luo Bin alive so they could study how he had become an evil spirit.
• Luo Bin spoke to Qin Ju and urged him to change his name to Qin Tianji, using his beguiling words to target Qin Ju’s weakness.

Luo Bin persuaded Qin Ju and the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds traitors to cooperate by promising a safe place to rebuild their headquarters. He led Qin Ju and Qin Quan through the formation to capture Moon-Star Official Shang, but his own evil-spirit transformation’s intentions remained unclear.

• Luo Bin convinced Qin Ju that he could help the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds relocate to a safe place and offered to kill Qin Tianqing.
• Qin Ju ordered the traitors to stop attacking Luo Bin and agreed to cooperate with him.
• Qin Ju explained that Moon-Star Official Shang had entered the Nine Killing Stars Heavenly Palace Feng Shui Formation and was killing disciples.
• Luo Bin claimed Shang was essential to reaching the hidden place and offered to help capture her, while Qin Ju sent Qin Que and the other disciples to intercept Qin Tianqing.
• Qin Ju, Qin Quan, and Luo Bin followed the formation’s narrow path toward Shang, and Luo Bin shushed Qin Ju before he could finish speaking.

Luo Bin attacked Qin Ju and Qin Quan but was struck down by their warding mirrors, while Shangguan Xingyue used her spirit jade tortoise shell to resist the mist and corpses. Qin Ju and Qin Quan fled wounded, only for Luo Bin to emerge alive and behead them with the Jade Scepter.

• Luo Bin seized Qin Ju and Qin Quan by the waist, tore away flesh, and was struck in the head by their ritual mirrors.
• Shangguan Xingyue heard Luo Bin's screams and sensed him weakening, then used her bloodied jade tortoise shell to repel the mist and expose the dried corpses.
• Qin Ju and Qin Quan fled through the woods with severe wounds, believing Luo Bin had been suppressed and killed.
• Qin Ju and Qin Quan stopped to bind their wounds, and Luo Bin emerged from behind a tree and cut off both their heads with the Jade Scepter.

Luo Bin realized the Hunter had taken complete control of his body, killed Qin Ju and Qin Quan, and carried their heads toward the Heavenly Gate. At dawn, he became unable to move, understanding that he had become a complete evil spirit.

• The Hunter pierced Qin Ju's and Qin Quan's heads, strung them together, and hung them from Luo Bin's waist.
• Luo Bin walked out of the woods toward the Heavenly Gate, unable to control his body or see what the Hunter had done.
• Qin Que and the traitorous disciples saw the heads hanging from Luo Bin and fled into the Outer Field's Heavenly Gate.
• At dawn, Luo Bin's clothing and weapon reverted to their former state, but he could no longer move.
• Luo Bin realized he was motionless because he had let the evil spirit's consciousness completely occupy him.

Luo Bin remained trapped in his body until Shangguan Xingyue appeared and used a talisman to lead him away. As she insisted that Cabinet Mountain’s people deserved their fate, Luo Bin began questioning whether his opposition came from justice or selfishness.

• Luo Bin hoped Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi would emerge and recognize what had happened to him, but Shangguan Xingyue arrived alone.
• Shangguan Xingyue comforted Luo Bin, told him Master’s restraint protected him, and kissed him before taking his return talisman and Cloth Pouch.
• Shangguan Xingyue ate Emotion Flower Fruits, then told Luo Bin that everyone kept on Cabinet Mountain was guilty and undeserving of kindness.
• Shangguan Xingyue wrote a Talisman Inscription with her blood and led Luo Bin away, though he had been unable to move before.
• Luo Bin reconsidered the wrongs of Cabinet Mountain’s people and wondered whether his outrage came from selfish concern for his parents and Gu Yi.

Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi discovered that the opened Heavenly Gate had released the demons imprisoned inside Heavenly Gate Mountain, while Shangguan Xingyue led the afflicted Luo Bin toward it. At the mountain, Shangguan Xingyue told Luo Bin to trust their Master, and his heart’s reaction suggested he was beginning to understand something.

• Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi hid as Shangguan Xingyue placed a talisman on Luo Bin and led him away.
• Qin Tianqing identified the heads Luo Bin carried as Qin Quan’s and Qin Ju’s, and concluded the traitors had been defeated.
• Qin Tianqing explained that Qin Ju’s death had burned the talisman formed by the Outer Field, opening the heavenly gate and freeing the imprisoned demons.
• Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi decided to follow Shangguan Xingyue and see how she would handle the demons.
• Shangguan Xingyue brought Luo Bin to the split Heavenly Gate Mountain and told him she would protect him and that Master was always right.
• Luo Bin felt his heart skip a beat as Shangguan Xingyue urged him to revere and honor Master’s decisions.

Luo Bin followed Shangguan Xingyue across Heavenly Gate Mountain while trapped under her control, but a strange man with a hole through his chest attacked them. Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi rescued Luo Bin and hid among the rocks, where Qin Tianqing warned that Shangguan Xingyue was in danger.

• Shangguan Xingyue took the Evil-Breaking Banner from Luo Bin and led him up the split mountain toward the burned Outer Field.
• Shangguan Xingyue and Luo Bin found a corpse with its chest and abdomen emptied, then continued through the ruins.
• A man with a hole through his chest attacked Luo Bin and wounded him before Shangguan Xingyue tried and failed to stop the man with a lightning-struck wooden talisman.
• Shangguan Xingyue fought the man, who matched her hexagram footwork and injured her before both of them vanished.
• Qin Tianqing carried Luo Bin away with Zhang Yunxi and hid among boulders.
• Qin Tianqing said Shangguan Xingyue's chances looked poor, and Zhang Yunxi questioned what the strange attacker was and where the sealed demon was.

Qin Tianqing explained how the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds’ Unlived People came to be and why they were dangerous, then warned that traitors and other threats were nearby. As Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing considered how to help Luo Bin recover, an eavesdropper appeared among the rocks, forcing Qin Tianqing to lead them elsewhere.

• Qin Tianqing told Zhang Yunxi and Luo Bin that malformed children born among the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds’ disciples became Unlived People, and that the sect cast them into a crevice at Heavenly Gate Mountain.
• Qin Tianqing explained that Unlived People had no allotted lifespan, were powerful, and could not be killed by Moon-Star Official Shang Chu in the usual way.
• Qin Tianqing warned that Qin Que’s traitors and the Unlived People might be hiding in the rocky passages, while Zhang Yunxi said they needed Luo Bin to recover so they could face their enemies.
• Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing discussed Luo Bin’s transformation into an evil spirit and how to extract the poison, but a cunning-faced eavesdropper appeared between the rocks.
• Qin Tianqing stopped Zhang Yunxi from pursuing the eavesdropper and led them away, warning that the hidden passages made their position unsafe.

Qin Tianqing carried the poisoned Luo Bin and Zhang Yunxi through the Heavenly Gate Mountain Rift to shelter inside the mountain, where Qin Que and the other traitors caught them. Qin Que used the forbidden Twelve Palaces of Life-Binding to steal Luo Bin’s allotted fate, leaving Luo Bin’s body painfully changing as the chapter ended.

• Qin Tianqing carried Luo Bin through the Heavenly Gate Mountain Rift while Zhang Yunxi followed, and they reached a cavern inside Heavenly Gate Mountain.
• Qin Tianqing said he would remove Luo Bin’s poison and that Luo Bin needed to save Shangguan Xingyue, whom he called the key to his plan.
• Qin Que and the other Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds Traitors entered the cavern, subdued Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi, and surrounded Luo Bin.
• Qin Que renamed himself Qin Tianji and used jade coins and talismans to perform the forbidden Twelve Palaces of Life-Binding on Luo Bin.
• Qin Que felt Luo Bin’s fate entering his body as Luo Bin’s pain intensified, his limbs went limp, and the nail on his left little finger came off.

Luo Bin escaped the traitors after the Evil Spirit was taken from him, while Qin Que was left unable to move. Hidden with Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing, Luo Bin waited for nightfall, when Qin Que finally appeared in strange ceremonial dress.

• Luo Bin’s Evil Spirit transformation ended, and Qin Que stood upright but could not control his body; Luo Bin used Qin Que’s silence to persuade the traitors to release Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing.
• Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Qin Tianqing left the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds’ traitors, while Qin Que remained frozen and the disciples eventually began to suspect something was wrong.
• Yuan Yinxin saw the game piece representing Luo Bin crack and rejoin, then sealed it with dark blue-black cloth and ordered Luo Bin to return to the mountain.
• Qin Tianqing told Luo Bin that the stolen life was his allotted fate from Cabinet Mountain—the Evil Spirit—and proposed waiting for Qin Que and the traitors to draw away the Unlived People before seeking Shangguan Xingyue.
• Luo Bin confirmed that his skin was vulnerable again, treated his injured little finger, and waited in hiding with Zhang Yunxi and Qin Tianqing as daylight faded.
• After night fell, Qin Que appeared wearing a blue-black python robe, with a talisman on his forehead and a jade tablet in his hands.

Luo Bin, Qin Tianqing, and Zhang Yunxi rescued the badly wounded Shangguan Xingyue and followed Qin Que’s trail toward the exit from Heavenly Gate Mountain. Qin Tianqing’s attempt to divine Qin Que ended in failure, suggesting Yin Yuan was interfering and blocking access to Cabinet Mountain.

• Luo Bin saw Qin Que fully transformed into a Hunter and followed him with Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi, who believed Shangguan Xingyue was hiding nearby.
• Zhang Yunxi led the group to a hidden chamber, where Luo Bin found Shangguan Xingyue badly wounded and helped her out.
• Luo Bin treated Shangguan Xingyue’s wound, bound her mouth to prevent her from harming anyone with her words, and carried her toward the mountain exit.
• The group found several dead Unlived People near the ruined Paifang and realized Qin Que had left the mountain with the traitors.
• Luo Bin suspected Qin Que was heading to Cabinet Mountain and wondered whether becoming his substitute had freed him from Yin Yuan’s control.
• Qin Tianqing tried to divine Qin Que but injured his fingers when the changes in Qin Que’s fate prevented him from seeing clearly, and he suspected Yin Yuan was interfering.

Luo Bin, Qin Tianqing, and Zhang Yunxi escaped Heavenly Mechanism Mountain after the unlived people emerged, leaving Qin Tianqing to confront what their arrival meant for the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds. At the waterfall, they found every boat gone, and the awakened Shangguan Xingyue greeted Luo Bin with a smile he met with murderous hostility.

• Luo Bin saw unlived people and demons gathering around the clearing, and Qin Tianqing led the group down Heavenly Mechanism Mountain.
• At the mountain's foot, Luo Bin saw the unlived people wave farewell before Qin Tianqing spat blood and Zhang Yunxi realized what had happened.
• Luo Bin understood that the unlived people might carry on the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds beyond heaven's constraints, while Qin Tianqing silently turned away from the revelation.
• Qin Tianqing refused to follow Qin Que's group, reasoning that Yuan Yinxin might mistake their pursuit for a trap and lose track of Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue.
• Luo Bin, Qin Tianqing, and Zhang Yunxi reached the waterfall and discovered that all the boats were gone.
• Shangguan Xingyue woke and smiled at Luo Bin, who dropped her and glared at her with murderous intent.

Qin Tianqing explained that the Heavenly Mechanism Jade Slip, made from a Mountain Embryo Spirit, protected him from Shangguan Xingyue’s attack. The group then discovered Wei Dong nearby, who revealed that he had burned the Outer Field in revenge for Qin Que’s crimes.

• Shangguan Xingyue threatened Qin Tianqing and Zhang Yunxi, then her attack rebounded and she collapsed.
• Qin Tianqing revealed that his Heavenly Mechanism Jade Slip came from the Mountain Embryo Spirit and anchored his life.
• Luo Bin and Zhang Yunxi bowed after Qin Tianqing shared his secret, and he declined to explain further mysteries about the jade slip.
• Luo Bin sensed someone watching and spotted Wei Dong emerging from behind the trees with a bundle containing a head.
• Qin Tianqing asked whether Wei Dong had burned the Outer Field, and Wei Dong said he had done so because Qin Que had harmed everyone.
• Luo Bin beckoned Wei Dong over, but Wei Dong remained wary and kept his eyes on Qin Tianqing.

After Wei Dong avenged his son, he helped Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, Qin Tianqing, and the unconscious Shangguan Xingyue escape by raft. They discovered an Unlived Person had replaced Wei Dong, and Qin Tianqing revealed he had accepted Wei Dong’s death to prevent the Unlived Persons from killing people in Qushui Town; the group continued downstream as Shangguan Xingyue awoke afraid of Qin Tianqing.

• Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Qin Tianqing reassured Wei Dong, who had waited for them and built a bamboo raft.
• Wei Dong, Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Qin Tianqing took the raft through the dark water tunnel, with Qin Tianqing carrying Shangguan Xingyue at first.
• After the raft emerged into daylight, Zhang Yunxi spotted an Unlived Person at the rear, and it fell into the river and vanished.
• Qin Tianqing explained that he had expected Wei Dong might die and had chosen not to intervene so the Unlived Persons would not kill others in Qushui Town.
• The group passed the deserted dock near Qushui Town and continued downstream, while Shangguan Xingyue woke and stared at Qin Tianqing with fear.