Chapter Summaries

Kong An emerged from the Three Miao Cave after a day of battle, badly wounded but carrying Lord Mo Di and a gu-controlling malevolent corpse as captives. When Kong An invited Luo Bin to accompany him, the Miao King began playing an ocarina, and Kong An transformed into a wrathful guardian.

• Hu Jin questioned whether the Three Miao could be trusted, and the Miao King said he would test Luo Bin alongside them.
• Luo Bin, Hu Jin, and Zhang Yunxi watched the Three Miao Cave collapse as Kong An continued fighting through the night and day.
• At noon, Luo Bin saw strange, wrinkled babies scurry through the cave, and the Miao King reassured him that a deity watched over them.
• Kong An appeared at the cave entrance, wounded and carrying Lord Mo Di and a gu-controlling malevolent corpse in chains.
• Kong An offered the captives as a gift for his new temple, said the deity had chosen Luo Bin, and asked him to come along.
• The Miao King knelt and then rose in renewed strength, playing an ocarina as Kong An took on the fierce appearance of a wrathful vajra guardian.

The Miao King battled Kong An while Luo Bin feared his master was nearing death. The Miao King’s gu insects turned Three Miao Cave into a trap, but Kong An escaped toward the Burden-Bearer and both fell from the cliff; Luo Bin realized the Miao King had engineered Kong An’s flight to make the Burden-Bearer attack.

• The Miao King poisoned Kong An with a Golden Silkworm Gu, while Luo Bin worried that the fight would consume his master’s remaining strength.
• Zhang Yunxi explained the Miao King’s choice to face danger for Three Miao, and Luo Bin insisted he could not accept losing his teacher.
• The Miao King’s ocarina summoned countless gu insects, transforming Three Miao Cave into a giant toad-like trap that drove Kong An toward its entrance.
• Kong An shattered the gu-insect trap with an esoteric Buddhist technique and charged toward Luo Bin and the others, but the Cave Maidens blocked his way.
• The Burden-Bearer attacked Kong An for the Rainbow Pill, but Kong An hugged him and fell with him over the cliff after killing the corpse on his back.
• Luo Bin realized the Miao King had deliberately forced Kong An to flee toward the Burden-Bearer, drawing the ambush out at the decisive moment.

After the Miao King sealed himself inside Three Miao Cave, Luo Bin and his companions were forced to leave without the Rainbow Pill. They clashed with Bai Su over the failed mission and the missing thunderstruck wood, and Luo Bin threatened him as the group prepared to return to Thousand Miao Stronghold.

• The Miao King entered Three Miao Cave, and Lord Mo Di and the other ascended malevolent corpse blocked Luo Bin from following him inside.
• The cave expelled Bai Guanli, Bai Xian, and Bai Su; Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin revived Bai Su and Bai Xian, while Bai Guanli remained unconscious from the Blood Corpse's poison.
• Zhang Yunxi told Bai Su that the Miao King had paid the price of saving them and warned him not to renew their hostility; Hu Jin explained that Lord Mo Di remained inside and they had not found the Rainbow Pill.
• Luo Bin urged Bai Su and the others to leave Three Perils Mountain, return his thunderstruck wood, and submit to a search, but Bai Su refused and threatened to report them to his grandmaster.
• Bai Su walked toward Luo Bin and accused him of deceiving them, but the black-and-gold toad lunged at him; Luo Bin then asked whether anyone would seek revenge if he killed Bai Su.

After escaping Three Miao Cave, Luo Bin reconsidered the Miao King’s intentions and followed the Golden Silkworm Gu Seed’s guidance instead of searching for the Rainbow Pill. At the mountain’s foot, he realized Three Miao Cave’s toad-like transformation was the Miao King’s final deterrent against the Black Gold Toad.

• Luo Bin rejected Bai Su’s demand for the Rainbow Pill, and Bai Xian apologized and offered an exchange if they had obtained it.
• Zhang Yunxi reasoned that the Rainbow Pill might not be what the Miao King needed and suggested the Miao King had entrusted his plans to Luo Bin as his disciple.
• Luo Bin understood that he should trust the Miao King’s judgment, sensed the Golden Silkworm Gu Seed pointing toward the Miao King’s Golden Silkworm Gu, and led Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin onward.
• The three traveled through the forest for two days and reached the foot of the peak beneath Three Miao Village.
• Luo Bin recognized Three Miao Cave’s changing forms as part of the Miao King’s plan to deter the Black Gold Toad.

Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Hu Jin were ambushed by five Living Green Corpses, and Hu Jin took a blow while protecting Zhang Yunxi. Huang Hang emerged and accused Luo Bin of destroying Spirit-Transfer Cave, leaving Luo Bin to stall him while assessing their surroundings.

• Luo Bin used the Golden Silkworm Gu Seed to search the cliff base, but a Living Green Corpse attacked and pinned him against a tree.
• Zhang Yunxi tried to rescue Luo Bin, but a second Living Green Corpse attacked him, and Hu Jin took the blow before using talismans to slow it down.
• Zhang Yunxi's talisman weakened the corpse holding Luo Bin, allowing Luo Bin to escape and draw the Lightning-Struck Chestnut Heartwood, now wrapped in talismans as a magical implement.
• Three more Living Green Corpses emerged, and Luo Bin realized that the ambush had been planned.
• Huang Hang appeared and blamed Luo Bin for Spirit-Transfer Cave's losses and the Burden-Bearer's death.
• Luo Bin denied responsibility and began gauging the surroundings while arguing that Spirit-Transfer Cave had brought its troubles upon itself.

Huang Hang revealed his plans to take control of Three Miao, but Hu Jin stalled him so Luo Bin could prepare a counterattack. Luo Bin trapped Huang Hang with a feng shui hexagram, gu worms, and the Miao King's ocarina, leaving him immobilized beneath a rain of venomous insects.

• Huang Hang declared that he would control Luo Bin, seize Kong An and the Burden-Bearer, and unite the Three Miao.
• Hu Jin mocked Huang Hang and kept him talking while recognizing that Luo Bin was positioning himself to act.
• When Huang Hang ordered a Living Green Corpse to attack Hu Jin, Luo Bin struck it with the Lightning-Struck Chestnut Heartwood.
• Luo Bin used a Mountain over Wind hexagram and talisman plaques to summon gu worms and disrupt Huang Hang's control of the Living Green Corpses.
• Luo Bin played the Miao King's ocarina, drawing venomous insects from the cliffs like rain until they covered Huang Hang and left him motionless.

Luo Bin killed Huang Hang after the black-gold toad broke through his poison protection, then Thousand Miao Village’s people recognized him as the new Miao King. He accepted his place in the village and considered it another home.

• Luo Bin continued playing the Miao King's Ocarina as Gu Worms engulfed Huang Hang, while Huang Hang secretly prepared a Fierce Corpse to strike him.
• The black-gold toad poisoned Huang Hang through his mouth, overcoming the Medicine Person's Bone Shard and killing him.
• Luo Bin discovered Huang Hang's antidote and the swaddled infant corpse, then reclaimed the Lightning-Struck Chestnut Heartwood as the Living Green Corpses stopped moving.
• Granny Li arrived with Thousand Miao Village's people and Fourth Master Gray, then led them in mourning the Old Miao King and welcoming Luo Bin as the new Miao King.
• Luo Bin accepted his new identity and recognized Thousand Miao Village as another home.

Luo Bin and the Miao people recovered the dead and injured after Kong An escaped, while the Golden Silkworm Gu Seed began absorbing the wounded Golden Silkworm Gu inside a cocoon. Back in Thousand Miao Village, Luo Bin examined his transformed lightning-struck chestnut heartwood and realized its power had greatly increased.

• Luo Bin found the Burden-Bearer's mangled body on the cliff and discovered the dying Golden Silkworm Gu pinned to a piece of Kong An's bone.
• The Golden Silkworm Gu Seed burrowed into the Golden Silkworm Gu and spun a cocoon, so Luo Bin put it away and led the group back toward the village.
• Granny Li arranged for the Burden-Bearer's remains and Huang Hang's body to be collected, while injured Hu Jin was carried away for treatment.
• Luo Bin returned to Thousand Miao Village with Zhang Yunxi, slept, and later found that the cocoon had grown thicker while the mark on his brow had vanished.
• Luo Bin inspected his lightning-struck chestnut heartwood and realized it had become powerful enough to cripple a living azure corpse.

Bai Su traded Bai Xian to Kong An for a Rainbow Pill, then discovered Kong An’s sinister nature and fled after losing an arm. Luo Bin learned the heartwood was a ritual artifact and was summoned to meet the Grand Shamanic Healer.

• Bai Su argued with Bai Xian about the heartwood and the talismans he had hidden on it.
• Kong An offered Bai Su a Rainbow Pill in exchange for a Bright Consort, and Bai Su knocked Bai Xian unconscious and accepted the trade.
• Kong An tempted Bai Su to hand over his injured Master as well, but Bai Su used an incantation to see through Kong An’s sinister appearance.
• Bai Su tried to escape, but Kong An severed his other arm and claimed Bai Xian and her Master before letting Bai Su flee.
• Luo Bin found the name Divine Firmament Five Thunder Pestle carved into the heartwood and considered returning the talismans to Bai Su.
• Miao Miao told Luo Bin that the Grand Shamanic Healer had come from Healer-Shaman Peak and wanted to see him.

Luo Bin met the Grand Shamanic Healer, Miao Zi, who demanded to inspect his Golden Silkworm Gu and the Miao King's Ocarina. Luo Bin refused both requests and asked why Miao Zi had summoned him, but Miao Zi smiled at his claim that he had only just become Miao King.

• Luo Bin went with Miao Miao to Granny Li's courtyard to meet the Grand Shamanic Healer.
• Luo Bin bowed to Miao Zi, then presented the medicinal human bone when Miao Zi asked for it.
• Miao Zi demanded to see Luo Bin's Golden Silkworm Gu, but Luo Bin refused, citing the Old Miao King's command.
• Miao Zi then asked to see the Miao King's Ocarina, and Luo Bin refused that request as well.
• Luo Bin asked why Miao Zi had summoned him, and Miao Zi smiled when Luo Bin said he had only just become Miao King.

Miao Zi challenged Luo Bin’s legitimacy as the Miao King and demanded that he prove he could command the Gu with the Miao King’s Ocarina. Luo Bin agreed to play it, but proposed a larger proving ground at the barrier mountain outside Thousand Miao Village.

• Miao Zi told Luo Bin that he was not yet the true Miao King and demanded to examine his Golden Silkworm Gu and keep the Miao King’s Ocarina until Luo Bin gained sufficient strength.
• Granny Li defended Luo Bin, and the people of Thousand Miao Village urged him to play the ocarina and prove himself to Witch Doctor Peak.
• Miao Zi challenged Luo Bin to play the ocarina so the Gu would emerge, while the Miao people prepared to stand behind their young Miao King.
• Luo Bin said the current place was too small to prove his abilities and proposed playing at the barrier mountain outside Thousand Miao Village.

Luo Bin refused to prove his claim by playing the Miao King's Ocarina in the ordinary way and instead used his Yin-Yang Practitioner methods to activate it. The ocarina stirred the gu in Thousand Miao Village and sent them surging toward Miao Shun, who cried out for the Grand Shamanic Healer to save him.

• Luo Bin led Miao Zi, Granny Li, and the Miao people to the Mountain-Wind Gu Hexagram position outside the village.
• Luo Bin admitted he could not play the Miao King's Ocarina by ordinary means and showed the crowd his fourfold refinement toad gu.
• Luo Bin arranged Jade Turtle Talismans in the Xun Palace Sixteen Hexagrams, swallowed a Good Corpse Core, and challenged Miao Shun to witness the ocarina's effects.
• Luo Bin played a powerful note on the Miao King's Ocarina while the Black-Gold Toad croaked beside him, and blood ran from his seven orifices.
• The Miao people's gu worms crawled out and rushed toward Miao Shun, who shouted for the Grand Shamanic Healer to save him.

Luo Bin used the Miao King’s Ocarina and Hexagram Speech Manifestation to overwhelm Miao Shun and his gu worms, then refused Miao Zi’s offer to teach him shamanic medicine. Miao Zi ordered Luo Bin to remain in the Three Miao Caves, while Luo Bin silently held onto his resentment.

• Luo Bin played the Miao King’s Ocarina and used Hexagram Speech Manifestation to make Miao Shun fall into the swarm of gu worms.
• Miao Zi shielded Miao Shun with yellow powder and water as Luo Bin’s black-gold toad hunted and ate Miao Shun’s gu worms.
• After the swarm departed, Miao Zi condemned Luo Bin’s excessive aggression and ordered him to return with him to Shamanic Medicine Peak for instruction.
• Luo Bin realized Miao Zi wanted to reclaim the Miao King’s Ocarina and golden silkworm gu, and said he would enter the Three Miao Caves but could not give up the golden silkworm gu.
• Luo Bin set down the Miao King’s Ocarina, refused further instruction in shamanic medicine, and said he would focus on refining gu.
• Miao Zi ordered Luo Bin to stay in the Three Miao Caves and reflect, while Luo Bin lowered his head and concealed his resentment.

Luo Bin was forced to hand over the Miao King's Ocarina and was confined in Valley Ravine after Miao Zi punished Granny Li for challenging him. After Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin reunited with him, Luo Bin decided to return only when he could make Miao Zi stop being the Grand Shamanic Healer.

• Luo Bin offered the Miao King's Ocarina to Miao Zi, but Granny Li protested that Miao Zi was breaking his promises and threatening the balance among the Three Miao.
• Miao Zi injured Granny Li with a gu worm, stripped her of her position, and ordered six people to escort Luo Bin to Valley Ravine.
• Two shamanic healers arrived at the stilt house to summon Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin, but found that both men and their belongings had disappeared.
• In Three Miao Cave, Luo Bin wondered whether the Old Miao King had also wanted to unite the Three Miao, then vowed to reclaim the Miao King's Ocarina and protect Thousand Miao Village.
• Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin found Luo Bin through a mountain fissure, and Luo Bin explained what Miao Zi had done.
• Luo Bin said he would return when he could make Miao Zi stop being the Grand Shamanic Healer, while Zhang Yunxi suggested they visit Corpse King Valley.

Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Hu Jin escaped Three Perils Mountain and learned that a Six Yin Mountain practitioner had attacked Southern Heaven Taoist Abbey and abducted Chen Zu. Luo Bin feared the practitioner had exposed his family’s whereabouts, and the chapter ended as he called Luo Feng with no answer yet.

• Luo Bin, Zhang Yunxi, and Hu Jin left Three Perils Mountain and agreed to seek information and refuge through the Nether Market in Jinyang.
• The group found a severed arm in a stilt house and examined a lightning-struck chestnut heartwood called the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Pestle.
• Zhang Yunxi contacted Shen Dong, who reported that a Six Yin Mountain practitioner had attacked Southern Heaven Taoist Abbey, badly injured Zhang Xuanyi and Yin Qingquan, and taken Chen Zu.
• Shen Dong also reported that Kong Chen had received a call from Chen Zu shortly before the abbot of Golden Peace Temple died.
• Luo Bin concluded Chen Zu might have revealed his and Zhang Yunxi’s identities, then called Luo Feng as the phone continued to ring without connecting.

Luo Bin confirmed that Chen Zu was alive and learned that a woman from Six Yin Mountain was using Chen Zu’s family to force him to return the stolen ritual artifacts. Luo Bin agreed to meet her at the Old Temple and revealed where the Bronze Clubs were, claiming Kong An had them.

• Luo Bin spoke with his parents and learned they were safe, then discussed his situation with Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin.
• Luo Bin asked Hu Jin to call Chen Zu, and the woman who answered exposed Hu Jin’s lie and revealed Chen Zu was being tortured.
• The woman threatened Chen Zu, his wife, and his children, and said she knew where Luo Bin’s parents and Yi Gu were.
• Luo Bin agreed to meet the woman at the Old Temple and said Kong An had the Bronze Clubs.
• Luo Bin asked the woman to release Chen Zu and told her she might have to wait a day or two for Kong An.

Luo Bin explained how he intended to use Kong An to kill the Six Yin Mountain practitioner, while Kong An brought Bai Xian and the corrupted Bai Guanli to the Old Temple. Kong An began a ritual to purify Bai Guanli in exchange for Bai Xian becoming his Bright Consort, and Bai Xian followed him after seeing Bai Guanli grow calmer.

• Luo Bin told Hu Jin and Zhang Yunxi that the Six Yin Mountain practitioner would likely seek Kong An, and planned to use Kong An to kill her before approaching Chen Zu.
• Kong An brought Bai Xian and Bai Guanli from Lake Island to the Old Temple, where he tied Bai Guanli to a pillar.
• Kong An offered to remove Bai Guanli's inner demons in exchange for Bai Xian's wholehearted devotion as a Bright Consort.
• Bai Xian considered escaping but stayed, hoping Kong An could cure her Revered Master.
• Kong An placed roasted food and incense beside Bai Guanli, who became calmer, then summoned Bai Xian to undergo the Bright Consort rite.

Lu Li went to the old Golden Peace Temple to retrieve ritual artifacts, but discovered Kong An’s brutal rites and was defeated by him. At the city Taoist temple, Luo Bin and the others awaited news when two frightened men arrived, leaving Lu Li’s fate unresolved.

• Lu Li entered the old Golden Peace Temple and found Bai Guanli acting like a starving madman.
• Lu Li discovered a captive woman and a ritual in the underground passage, then encountered Kong An as she tried to leave.
• Kong An overwhelmed Lu Li’s ritual attacks, revealed himself as a Perfected One, and said he would feed her to Bai Guanli.
• Kong An used Lu You’s Bronze Clubs to strike Lu Li down and dragged her away after she threatened him with Six Yin Mountain.
• At the city Taoist temple, two pale, trembling men arrived as Luo Bin asked whether Lu Li had died.

After returning to the Taoist Abbey, Luo Bin learned that Lu Li had been defeated by Kong An and went to the Nether Market to investigate Chen Zu before Six Yin Mountain could threaten them. While waiting for Chen Zu’s people to return, Fourth Master Gray pushed Luo Bin to try drawing talismans again, and Luo Bin began experimenting with a blood-ink technique.

• Zhang Yunxi and Hu Jin discussed Lu Li’s defeat and worried that Six Yin Mountain might blame them if it learned what had happened to her and Chen Zu.
• Luo Bin went to the Nether Market to obtain Chen Zu’s birth details, belongings, and information about his family, while warning Luo Feng that Gu Yiren was in danger.
• Xu Changxing told Luo Bin that Chen Zu’s family had been hidden somewhere safer and would take time to bring back.
• Fourth Master Gray urged Luo Bin to draw talismans, then led him to an inkstone and brush in the Nether Market’s storage pavilion.
• Fourth Master Gray spat blood into the inkstone, prompting Luo Bin to grind it into ink, and the inkstone cut Luo Bin’s finger as fresh blood dripped into it.

Luo Bin discovered that drawing the Gray Immortal Spirit-Inviting Talisman in one breath made it far more powerful, though the process drained both him and Fourth Master Gray. After returning to the Yutang Daoist Sanctuary and resting, Luo Bin saw a young practitioner beneath the bamboo, then found himself seeing the same scene again as a disorienting mystery began.

• After Xu Changxing pointed out that Fourth Master Gray drew its patterns in one breath, Luo Bin tried the method and created three unusually potent talismans before stopping from exhaustion.
• Fourth Master Gray strengthened the talismans with its blood, then recovered by inhaling from a Corpse Core that Luo Bin gave it.
• Xu Changxing gave Luo Bin the Talisman Inkstone, and Luo Bin promised that Chen Zu would return safely to the Nanping Nether Market.
• On the drive back, Luo Bin noticed the Fourfold Compass needle rotate briefly, while Shen Dong reported seeing a huge bank of fog.
• Luo Bin returned to the Yutang Daoist Sanctuary, delivered the collected boxes, and slept until daylight.
• After waking and eating, Luo Bin saw a young practitioner waving beneath the bamboo, walked past him, then found himself back at the courtyard entrance facing the same scene.