Chapter Summaries

After Shang Liuli removed Xiao Ke’s control threads from Zhang Yunxi and the others, Luo Bin revealed that Xiao Ke had taken Primordial Calculation. Zhang Yunxi called for them to find Xiao Ke, but as a visitor from White Buddha Temple arrived, he told the Taoist to send him away.

• At Greedy Wolf, Xiao Ke returned to his temple furious that an unknown Spirit Medium had stolen Primordial Calculation, and he vowed to destroy the thief and their Immortal Creature.
• In the Rear Taoist Grounds, Shang Liuli removed the red threads hidden beneath talisman marks; she extracted nine from Zhang Yunxi, who realized they had sealed his nine bones.
• Luo Bin told Zhang Yunxi how he had been captured, killed Long Phu, and encountered the Eighteen Buddha Temple, while Gu Ya recalled Xiao Ke entering her home and controlling her and Gu Yiren.
• Zhang Yunxi explained the Emotion Flower Fruit’s connection to Yuan Yinxin, said Long Phu’s death had removed a major problem, and insisted they had to find Xiao Ke without surrendering Primordial Calculation.
• A young Taoist reported that a monk from White Buddha Temple had brought an invitation, but Zhang Yunxi told him to send the visitor away.

Luo Bin and Zhang Yunxi accepted Golden Peace Temple’s invitation, and Abbot Kong Chen rewarded Luo Bin with a Buddha Bone for helping the Buddhist Order. Kong Chen then offered Jade Hall Taoist Grounds its former temple as payment for Zhang Yunxi to deal with a dangerous monk still inside.

• Zhang Yunxi dismissed White Buddha Temple’s visitors and welcomed Abbot Kong Chen, who reported that the couple had been returned safely and invited Luo Bin and Zhang Yunxi to Golden Peace Temple.
• Bai Zhi learned that Zhang Yunxi had refused White Buddha Temple’s invitation and that Kong Chen had personally visited Jade Hall Taoist Grounds.
• Kong Chen gave Luo Bin a Buddha Bone, which Zhang Yunxi said could calm Luo Bin and suppress evil.
• Kong Chen led the group to Golden Peace Temple’s old temple and offered it to Jade Hall Taoist Grounds.
• Kong Chen revealed that a mad monk remained inside the old temple, and Zhang Yunxi agreed to clear it only if Golden Peace Temple paid him in full first.

Zhang Yunxi negotiated protection for Golden Peace Temple and explained that the Witchfolk had more hidden leaders than Luo Bin realized. Meanwhile, a pair of Gu practitioners searched Long Phu’s grotto, and Lu You pressured Chen Zu into accepting a job to find a Spirit Medium in Nanping City.

• Zhang Yunxi persuaded Abbot Kong Chen to provide three groups of monks for his business and promised to protect Golden Peace Temple afterward.
• Zhang Yunxi told Luo Bin that Long Phu was not the Witchfolk’s only leader and warned that another Long Phor might seek Long Phu’s corpse.
• An old woman and a young girl entered Long Phu’s grotto, tried to recover something with a stone, and summoned an old man from a jar to search for it.
• Chen Zu’s people found a lead on Mr. Yin Yue, Xiao Ke, and Chen Zu set out with Zhang Yunxi, Luo Bin, Wen Qing, and Wen Chang to investigate.
• Lu You of Six Yin Mountain offered Chen Zu rare treasures to find a Spirit Medium who could command four Immortal Creatures, and Zhang Yunxi told Chen Zu to accept.

Zhang Yunxi arranged for the Nether Market to help Lu You find the Yin-Yang Practitioner Xiao Ke, while securing soul-nourishing medicine for Luo Bin and preparing him to protect the Nether Market. The group then visited a blinded practitioner who had suffered at Xiao Ke’s hands, and Luo Bin’s knowledge of the stolen livers alarmed him.

• Zhang Yunxi persuaded Chen Zu to accept Lu You’s payment and arrange a search for Xiao Ke, with the remaining payment due once they found him.
• Zhang Yunxi explained that Chen Zu was investing in Luo Bin’s future and warned Luo Bin he might need to keep a Spirit Medium from harming the Nether Market.
• Chen Zu returned with Zhongshan baijiao and Hui River jade essence, and Luo Bin took a slice of the Zhongshan baijiao, feeling its soul-nourishing effects.
• Chen Zu led Zhang Yunxi, Luo Bin, Wen Chang, and Wen Qing to the blind practitioner’s home, where the man warned them against pursuing Xiao Ke and described the injuries Xiao Ke had inflicted.
• When Luo Bin guessed that Xiao Ke had taken the victims’ livers, the blind man panicked and asked whether Luo Bin had been one of Xiao Ke’s victims.

Zhang Yunxi and Luo Bin investigated why Xiao Ke had been cutting out his victims’ livers, and Luo Bin deduced that Xiao Ke was nurturing something connected to life. As the group headed north to confront him, Xiao Ke sensed danger but could not divine what was coming.

• Mr. Fang told Chen Zu and Zhang Yunxi that Xiao Ke had mutilated him and his fellow disciples after Master went searching for Xiao Ke near Greedy Wolf and Bamboo-Sprout Peak.
• Zhang Yunxi inferred that Xiao Ke had extended his life by taking the vitality from Yin-Yang Practitioners’ livers, then asked Luo Bin to consider why Xiao Ke was targeting him and the Primordial Calculation.
• Zhang Yunxi called Kong Chen, and Kong Chen joined the group as they drove toward the northern outskirts of Nanping City.
• Luo Bin connected the northern Kan direction, the Rest Gate, water, and liver wood, concluding that Xiao Ke was nurturing something and that this secret could help them oppose him.
• Xiao Ke sensed that something was about to happen, but his divination failed, leaving him unsettled.

Zhang Yunxi and Luo Bin found a concealed route into Greedy Wolf Peak while avoiding Xiao Ke’s watched path. Luo Bin discovered a vine-hidden walkway and weakened its supports, preparing to turn the mountain route into a deadly trap.

• Zhang Yunxi led the group off the highway and found Greedy Wolf Peak by following a hidden trail through the hills.
• Luo Bin studied the mountain’s directions and located pools and openings that revealed its water passages.
• Chen Zu returned to notify Zhang Yunxi while Luo Bin continued searching the mountain’s base.
• Luo Bin found a concealed plank walkway behind dense vines and climbed it to inspect the route.
• Luo Bin partially cut through the walkway’s wooden supports as he descended, weakening the path for anyone who tried to escape.

Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, Chen Zu, and Kong Chen led the martial monks through a sewage well onto Greedy Wolf Peak to confront Xiao Ke’s Taoist grounds. As the monks began their operation after dark, Luo Bin deduced that Xiao Ke was hiding east, then recognized a deeper connection between the grounds’ layout and his lightning-struck wood talisman.

• Luo Bin rejoined Zhang Yunxi and the others, and the group entered the sewage cave and climbed the well shaft to the courtyard atop the mountain.
• Zhang Yunxi arranged for Kong Chen and the martial monks to move out after dark and drive Xiao Ke’s disciples west, while Luo Bin explained that the west road should be held open as their escape route.
• After nightfall, Kong Chen led the monks away, and Luo Bin told Chen Zu that Xiao Ke would likely hide in seclusion rather than face them.
• Luo Bin deduced from the peak’s layout that Xiao Ke was hiding east, and he led Zhang Yunxi and Chen Zu over the courtyard wall toward the wooden buildings.
• Luo Bin connected the Taoist grounds’ Zhen alignment with his lightning-struck wood talisman and sensed that he had uncovered a new insight into the Yin-Yang Arts.

Luo Bin used a Primordial Sixteen Trigrams feng shui layout and thunderstruck wood to destroy the Chestnut Tree Xiao Ke had been cultivating beneath the mountaintop. Xiao Ke realized Luo Bin might find his hidden chamber and fled through a concealed door.

• Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Chen Zu searched a clearing on the mountaintop and concluded that Xiao Ke was hidden inside the mountain.
• Xiao Ke listened to Luo Bin through copper plates and prepared to kill anyone who dug into his chamber by setting kerosene and iron plates above it.
• Luo Bin arranged three Lightning-Struck Wood Talismans according to the zhen hexagram, causing them to smoke and turn to charcoal.
• The Chestnut Tree in Xiao Ke's chamber burned into a bare trunk, destroying the life-nourishing tree and its potential value to his plans.
• Xiao Ke cursed Luo Bin, feared he could discover the chamber, and escaped through a hidden door in the western wall.

Luo Bin deduced that Xiao Ke would emerge from his hiding place and warned Kong Chen that the practitioners in the Main Hall had a dangerous advantage. Xiao Ke appeared and prepared to lead his disciples away, while Luo Bin stopped Chen Zu from confronting him, leaving their trap untested.

• Luo Bin predicted that Xiao Ke would flee west toward the plank walkway, while Kong Chen’s warrior monks surrounded the practitioners in the Main Hall.
• Xiao Jin told the trapped practitioners that monks had stormed the Mountain Gate, and Xiao Ke emerged from a concealed passage inside the hall’s well.
• Kong Chen offered to let the practitioners leave if they abandoned their atrocities, and Xiao Ke spoke with him while checking whether the monks recognized him.
• Luo Bin held Chen Zu back after realizing the wet man leading the group was Xiao Ke, and he explained that the Main Hall’s feng shui could make Xiao Ke dangerous.
• Chen Zu warned Luo Bin not to underestimate Xiao Ke and reminded him that Golden Peace Temple, Mr. Xiyun, and Chen Zu had helped bring about the apparent victory.

Luo Bin led Xiao Ke and his followers toward an apparent escape route, while Zhang Yunxi explained why they could not risk forcing Xiao Ke into a corner. The route was a trap: the cliffside walkway collapsed beneath Xiao Ke’s group, and Zhang Yunxi left Chen Zu wondering what part of Luo Bin’s plan remained uncontrolled.

• Zhang Yunxi quoted a saying about yielding to great force, and Luo Bin followed Xiao Ke’s group from the Main Hall while Chen Zu worried they were letting him escape.
• Xiao Ke and his followers reached the Western Mountain Summit watchtower, lowered the plank bridge, and crossed onto the cliffside walkway as Luo Bin’s group followed at a distance.
• Xiao Ke sensed danger as Luo Bin blocked the path behind them, then heard the walkway crack and ordered his followers to turn back.
• The walkway and sabotaged sections below it collapsed, sending Xiao Ke and more than twenty masters tumbling to their deaths while Luo Bin watched.
• Zhang Yunxi told Chen Zu that Luo Bin had wisely avoided cornering Xiao Ke, then said Luo Bin had controlled nine parts of the plan, leaving Chen Zu to ask about the remaining one.

Luo Bin’s group defeated Xiao Ke and discovered the hidden chamber where Xiao Ke had cultivated an enormous thunderstruck tree. They divided the treasure between Luo Bin and Chen Zu while keeping its existence secret.

• Xiao Ke survived the Cliffside Walkway’s collapse, but Wen Qing and Wen Chang killed him with a pair of swords as he tried to escape.
• Zhang Yunxi revealed that Wen Qing and Wen Chang had waited as a final contingency, and Luo Bin sent Kong Chen and the warrior monks back to search for two books Xiao Ke had taken.
• Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Chen Zu returned to the Main Hall and found a hidden passage through a Tai Sui barrier beneath the well.
• The three entered a stone chamber and discovered a huge thunderstruck tree, which Luo Bin identified as the result of feng shui rather than coincidence.
• Luo Bin agreed to keep the tree’s main trunk, while Zhang Yunxi offered its branches and forks to Chen Zu, who eagerly accepted.

After Xiao Ke's death, Luo Bin and his companions failed to find the Primordial Calculation inheritance and returned to the city believing it had been hidden. A rat spirit delivered the books to the Taoist temple, where Hu Xing revealed that she and Bai Wei had recovered them from Xiao Ke earlier and rescued Gu Ya and Gu Yiren.

• Zhang Yunxi explained that the thunderstruck chestnut tree held sealed life force, and Chen Zu planned to retrieve it later.
• Luo Bin's companions found no inheritance among Xiao Ke's body or the other disciples, so Luo Bin gave up searching and accepted that the books might remain hidden.
• Kong Chen finished chanting over the dead and arranged to have the bodies cremated, while Zhang Yunxi and Luo Bin planned to visit Golden Peace Temple in two days.
• Back at the Taoist temple, a rat spirit dropped a bundle containing the Primordial Sixty-Four Hexagrams, Xuanji Forty-Six Jia Heavenly Calculation, and a compass onto the table.
• Bai Wei and Hu Xing appeared from the roof beam, and Hu Xing told Luo Bin that they had recovered the inheritance from Xiao Ke and protected Gu Ya and Gu Yiren.

After the Spirit Mediums returned Luo Bin’s belongings, Bai Wei demanded that he lead them to Dai Zhixiong and warned that Huang Ying and Shangguan Xingyue were in danger. Back at the Courtyard, Luo Bin found Gu Yiren gone and discovered a white silkworm feeding on the Flower Affection fruit in his bundle.

• Zhang Yunxi confronted Hu Xing about testing Luo Bin, and Bai Wei reminded Luo Bin that Hu Jin had left him a message to seek him out.
• Bai Wei offered Luo Bin his recovered belongings in exchange for leading the Spirit Mediums to Dai Zhixiong, but Luo Bin said he could not go yet without the Inheritance to strengthen himself.
• Bai Wei warned that Huang Ying and Shangguan Xingyue would die if Luo Bin did not act, then left with Hu Xing after giving him the bundle.
• Zhang Yunxi confirmed that the Spirit Mediums were telling the truth but urged Luo Bin not to act rashly, while Shang Liuli warned against provoking Dai Zhixiong for two ordinary people.
• Luo Bin found that Gu Yiren had gone home to see her parents and noticed a Cloth Pouch in his bundle moving.
• Luo Bin opened the pouch and found a white silkworm wrapped around the Flower Affection fruit, recognizing it as the creature that had chased him from the female Corpse.

Luo Bin and the others failed to catch the White Silkworm, whose strange influence made their attacks miss, and Luo Bin grew suspicious of Gu Ya’s connection to Gu Yiren. He rushed to Gu Yiren’s home, only to find that she and her parents had moved away, leaving him unable to contact her.

• Luo Bin, Luo Feng, and Shang Liuli tried to kill the White Silkworm, but dizziness and its agility let it escape from the Courtyard.
• Shang Liuli said the White Silkworm was likely drawn by the Emotion Flower Fruit, while Luo Feng went to scatter insect repellent and Shang Liuli went to ask Mr. Yunxi for help.
• Luo Bin used Rewind to recall Gu Ya saying Gu Yiren had gone home to see her parents, and he suspected Gu Ya’s odd behavior was connected to Gu Yiren.
• Luo Bin left the Taoist Abbey and went to Gu Yiren’s home after his call to her phone failed.
• Granny Zhou told Luo Bin that Gu Yiren and her parents had moved away, and he found their apartment emptied of their belongings.
• Luo Bin called Gu Yiren again and received no answer, then felt increasingly afraid of losing her.

After Gu Yiren left Luo Bin a letter explaining that she felt like a burden, Luo Bin grieved and decided not to force her to return, but to have her protected in secret. Chen Zu then told him that the Spirit Medium had been found hiding near an old Morgue in Nanping.

• Luo Bin read Gu Yiren's farewell letter and realized she had left because she believed she could only hold him back.
• Luo Bin blamed his own lack of strength for failing to give Gu Yiren a safe place, then used Bell Mountain white resin to clear his mind.
• Luo Bin asked Chen Zu to find Gu Yiren and protect her without disturbing her, deciding not to make her come back.
• Chen Zu explained that a birth crone had identified Gray Immortals' damage to corpses at an old Morgue, revealing that someone was directing them.
• Chen Zu told Luo Bin that the Spirit Medium had appeared and was hiding in a secluded house behind the Morgue.

Luo Bin rushed to warn Bai Wei and Hu Xing after realizing Lu You’s search for the Spirit Mediums could lead to danger, but Witchfolk attacked him in the apartment building. He escaped their illusions and left to find his allies, unaware that the elderly woman and Miao Miao were tracking him with gu worms.

• Luo Bin told Chen Zu to make the two Spirit Mediums leave the morgue, but learned that a call to them had produced only screams.
• Luo Bin encountered Witchfolk attacks in the apartment building, used Rewind to recognize the apparitions as deceptive, and made his way downstairs.
• Luo Bin realized Gu Yiren’s departure had kept her safe and hurried to warn Bai Wei and Hu Xing not to confront Lu You.
• The elderly woman and Miao Miao discussed Luo Bin’s resistance to the corpse gu and decided to follow him and capture him somewhere secluded.
• Luo Bin noticed the same car following his taxi and recognized its license plate.

Luo Bin led the Witchfolk pursuing him to White Buddha Temple and sought shelter from Abbot Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi revealed that he had stationed eighteen monk overseers to confront them, though Luo Bin remained uneasy as the confrontation began.

• Luo Bin contacted Luo Feng to summon Bai Wei and Hu Xing, then told Zhang Yunxi that Witchfolk were following him and decided to lead them to White Buddha Temple.
• The old woman and Miao Miao tracked Luo Bin to the temple, where they openly followed him inside and left the gatekeeper standing motionless.
• Luo Bin warned Bai Zhi that the pair were connected to the Long Phu and had pursued him into the Mahavira Hall.
• Bai Zhi placed himself between Luo Bin and the Witchfolk and called eighteen monk overseers from the surrounding buildings.
• Bai Zhi said he had expected the Witchfolk to come and had prepared a trap, but Luo Bin still felt that something was wrong.

Luo Bin and Bai Zhi fought Miao Miao and an old woman who used Witch Bugs to turn the Monk Overseers against one another. The women escaped after Luo Bin incapacitated Miao Miao twice, while the Overseers remained bewitched despite the monks’ chants.

• The old woman and Miao Miao used Witch Bugs to make the eighteen Monk Overseers attack one another, and Bai Zhi charged them with a staff.
• Luo Bin used Rewind to discover the bugs’ role and warned Bai Zhi about the Witch Bugs and the red mist.
• Miao Miao attacked Luo Bin, but he used Water-Void Severance to wound her and cut through her strip of white cloth.
• As Luo Bin held his blade to Miao Miao’s neck, she spat out a dark-green shape and escaped when the old woman rushed to her aid.
• The old woman unleashed a swarm of black bugs at Bai Zhi, and Luo Bin used a strangulation technique on Miao Miao to stop her before the old woman carried her away.
• Bai Zhi ordered the monks to form an array and chant, but the Monk Overseers kept fighting.

Luo Bin realized the Old Woman and Miao Miao had pursued him to reclaim the white Silkworm, then learned Feng Luo’s attempt to contact the Spirit Medium had failed. Luo Bin and Zhang Yunxi hurried to the mortuary, where Lu You had defeated Bai Wei, Hu Xing, and the animals accompanying them and demanded the celestial calculations.

• Luo Bin concluded the Old Woman and Miao Miao wanted the white Silkworm that had eaten an Emotion Flower Fruit, while Bai Zhi went to question Bai Guang about removing the Witch Bugs.
• Zhang Yunxi arrived at White Buddha Temple, and Luo Bin privately told him about finding a Spirit Medium in the Nether Market and asking Feng Luo to contact them.
• Feng Luo reported that a hairless rat had circled the incense but the Spirit Medium had not appeared, while Zhang Yunxi warned that interfering could bring Six Yin Mountain and the Nether Market into conflict.
• Luo Bin and Zhang Yunxi changed into plain gray clothes and went to the mortuary using the address Chen Zu had provided.
• Lu You stood over the defeated Bai Wei and Hu Xing and demanded they hand over the celestial calculations, claiming Six Yin Mountain would not let anyone take what it wanted.

Bai Wei and Hu Xing were overpowered by Lu You, a Six Yin Mountain practitioner wielding a Calling Bell and Bronze Clubs that attacked their souls. Lu You demanded to know how Xiao Ke died and to obtain Primordial Calculation, then threatened to torture Hu Xing while Bai Wei remained pinned.

• Bai Wei recognized Lu You’s connection to Xiao Ke and tried to flee with the injured Hu Xing instead of risking a fight.
• Lu You put away the Calling Bell, struck his Bronze Clubs together, and brought Bai Wei crashing down from the Morgue’s eaves.
• Lu You pinned Bai Wei with a Bronze Club and used the Calling Bell to make Hu Xing attack, then stopped her with another clang.
• Lu You demanded the story of Xiao Ke’s death and Primordial Calculation, while Hu Xing refused to cooperate.
• Lu You pinned Hu Xing through the shoulder and threatened Bai Wei with making him watch her soul be stripped away.