Chapter Summaries

Fourth Master Gray raced toward Three Perils Mountain with the black-gold toad, while Luo Bin watched the Old Miao King recover and discovered that the Corpse Core’s life force revived Golden Silkworm Gu. Miao Zi arrived at Three Miao Cave and begged its cave god for possession, mistaking Luo Bin at the window for a divine presence.

• Fourth Master Gray agreed to carry the black-gold toad toward Three Perils Mountain and sprinted into the forest.
• Luo Bin kept watch over the Old Miao King, then slept and later spotted smoke rising from Witch Doctor Peak.
• Luo Bin placed the Golden Silkworm Gu Corpses on the Old Miao King, and more than a dozen Golden Silkworm Gu hatched and fed on his bloody scab.
• Miao Zi arrived wounded at Three Miao Cave with the Miao King's Ocarina and called on the cave gods to possess him and defeat the evil cultivator.
• Luo Bin appeared at the window, and Miao Zi mistook him for a divine presence and kowtowed while begging for possession.

Luo Bin confronted Miao Zi outside Three Miao Cave, frightened him with the Purple Flower Lantern, and reclaimed the Miao King's Ocarina. He played it from a life-generating position on the cliff platform, drawing out swarms of gu worms as White Oak approached.

• Miao Zi waited outside Three Miao Cave, believing the young Cave God would help him defeat White Oak.
• Luo Bin appeared, forced Miao Zi's soul into the sunlight with the Purple Flower Lantern, and picked up the Miao King's Ocarina.
• Luo Bin taunted Miao Zi about his failed attempt to unite the Three Miao and recognized that White Oak was coming.
• Luo Bin sat at the cliff platform's life-generating position and began playing the Miao King's Ocarina.
• Luo Bin's music stirred gu worms and venomous insects across the cliff and through Three Miao Cave, while blood seeped from his mouth.

Tang Yu played the Miao King's Ocarina at the Three Miao Cave, summoning the gu and filling the mountain with poisonous fumes while White Oak's group struggled to advance. Miao Miao learned that Tang Yu had returned and rushed toward the cave, where White Oak finally spotted him playing the ocarina.

• Miao Zi believed the elder playing the ocarina was the Miao King and watched as poisonous fumes spread from the Three Miao Cave.
• Granny Li, Eighth Uncle, and Miao Miao heard the ocarina and argued over whether Miao Zi should lead the Three Miao Lineage and whether Miao Miao should become Granny Li.
• Fourth Master Gray arrived with the Black-Gold Toad and Gu Silkworm Gold, and Miao Miao realized Tang Yu had returned and ran toward the Three Miao Cave.
• Bai Xianming, Bai Xingtai, and Bai Lushu stopped as the poisonous fumes weakened them, while White Oak continued climbing alone.
• White Oak saw Tang Yu playing the ocarina and shouted his name.

Luo Bin used the Feng Shui of Three Miao Cave to withstand White Oak’s Thunder Method and strike back, while White Oak identified him as a practitioner of Primordial Calculation. White Oak’s Divine Yin Spirit then emerged from his body, leaving Luo Bin facing a renewed threat.

• White Oak charged Luo Bin with the Qingwei Curse for Subduing Evil, but Luo Bin used Hexagram Speech Manifestation at the Acupoint Eye to become like a stone and let the talismans fall harmlessly.
• Luo Bin rebuked White Oak for stealing his disciple’s body and disgracing the Divine Firmament Mountain Lineage, and White Oak recognized him as Luo Bin of Primordial Calculation.
• Luo Bin used the Feng Shui of Three Miao Cave to suppress White Oak’s remaining life force and struck him with Six Mountain Yin copper beads.
• White Oak’s Divine Yin Spirit emerged unharmed, revealed that he had recognized the soul-capturing beads, and threatened to cripple Luo Bin’s body and interrogate him.
• A toad’s clear croak sounded as White Oak’s Divine Yin Spirit began returning to his body.

Luo Bin’s black-gold toad, wearing the Cinnabar Tortoise’s shell and accompanied by the Golden Silkworm Gu, suppressed White Oak’s Yin Spirit. With Fourth Master Gray reunited with him and Miao Zi confronting him, Luo Bin challenged Miao Zi’s claim to power over Three Miao.

• The black-gold toad leaped at White Oak, suppressed his Yin Spirit beneath the Cinnabar Tortoise’s shell, and spat out a crescent-shaped piece of jade.
• Luo Bin recognized the black-gold toad and Golden Silkworm Gu, while his three-refined snake Gu prostrated itself before them.
• Fourth Master Gray appeared on the Cinnabar Tortoise’s shell, and Luo Bin realized he had traveled far to find him.
• Fourth Master Gray urinated on the ground, pinning White Oak’s Yin Spirit there as Luo Bin told White Oak that his defeat was deserved.
• Miao Zi applauded and accused Luo Bin of using ruthless methods, while Fourth Master Gray insulted him.
• Luo Bin challenged Miao Zi’s lack of power over Three Miao and warned him not to assume he could now do as he pleased.

Luo Bin tried to drive Miao Zi away, but Miao Zi deduced the limits of the Purple Flower Lantern and attacked him with a swarm of Gu Worms. As the fight continued, Luo Bin spotted a figure watching from the highest room of Three Miao Cave and reacted with excitement.

• Luo Bin intimidated Miao Zi into leaving and told him where he could find Miao Shun’s body.
• Miao Zi concluded that Luo Bin could not kill him and identified the Purple Flower Lantern’s and Black-Gold Toad’s limitations.
• Luo Bin used Fourth Master Gray’s possession and the lantern to force Miao Zi’s soul from his body, but Miao Zi unleashed a swarm of Gu Worms.
• Miao Zi redirected the Gu Worms before they could attack White Oak, while Luo Bin retreated and considered escaping down the cliff.
• Luo Bin sensed someone watching and saw a figure at the window of Three Miao Cave’s uppermost room, while Miao Zi taunted him.

Luo Bin discovered that the Old Miao King had manifested his Yang Spirit while still alive, and the king intervened to stop Miao Zi. The Old Miao King revealed that the Great Pill and the Pill Corpse’s vitality had allowed him to emerge as a Yang Spirit without dying.

• Luo Bin recognized the figure at the window as the Old Miao King performing Yang Spirit projection and knelt toward him.
• Miao Zi ordered the gu worms to kill Luo Bin, but twelve Golden Silkworm Gu and the Old Miao King’s power disrupted his control.
• The Old Miao King’s Gu-Bound Person and the Cave Maidens overpowered Miao Zi, and the gu worms entered his body.
• Luo Bin explained that the Old Miao King had to act with the responsibility and magnanimity of a Miao King, while Fourth Master Gray complained that Miao Zi had died without begging for mercy.
• The Old Miao King approached Luo Bin in person, and Luo Bin realized that he had emerged as a Yang Spirit while still alive.
• The Old Miao King told Luo Bin that the Great Pill had purified the evil Pill Corpse and that the Pill Corpse’s vitality had kept his body alive.

Luo Bin and the Old Miao King forced White Oak to undergo Corpse Liberation, but White Oak died before attaining Yang Spirit Projection. After the Divine Firmament Mountain cultivators arrived, Luo Bin offered to remove the formless Gu afflicting their elder.

• The Old Miao King kept White Oak from escaping and ordered Luo Bin to make him undergo Corpse Liberation.
• The Cave Maidens restrained White Oak, and Luo Bin thrust the Blood Peach Sword into his mouth.
• The Old Miao King called on Bai Xianming, Bai Lushu, and Bai Xingtai to help White Oak through the ritual, but lightning burned White Oak's body to a charred husk.
• Bai Xianming lamented that White Oak's death left them without the location of the imprisoned Jade Clarity Peak Master, then asked to retrieve Elder Chen from Healer-Shaman Peak.
• Luo Bin said he could undo Elder Chen's formless Gu, and Bai Xianming bowed before leading the Divine Firmament Mountain group away.

Luo Bin and the Old Miao King discussed the Old Miao King’s transformation and his new bond to Three Perils Mountain. The Old Miao King sent Luo Bin back to oversee Thousand Miao Village while he remained on the mountain in solitude.

• Bai Xianming and Bai Xingtai recognized Tang Yu as Luo Bin and hurried away, fearing they had made an enemy of him.
• Granny Li, Eighth Uncle, and Miao Miao emerged from the woods after overhearing the Taoists’ conversation and went up to the Cliff Platform.
• The Old Miao King thanked Luo Bin for protecting Three Perils Mountain and promised it would remain a refuge for him.
• The Old Miao King explained that the Pill Corpses and the mountain’s vitality had carried him across a threshold, but now bound him to Three Perils Mountain.
• Luo Bin told the Old Miao King to accept his transformation and urged him not to belittle his achievement.
• The Old Miao King asked Luo Bin to return with Granny Li and oversee Thousand Miao Village, then closed his eyes to rest.

After returning to Thousand Miao Village, Luo Bin was acclaimed as the Young Miao King and attended a village sacrificial ceremony. He planned to visit Healer-Shaman Peak, but Chen Hongming approached him with another request concerning Shenxiao Mountain.

• Granny Li and the others returned to Thousand Miao Village with Luo Bin, who dismantled the feng shui of Chen Hongming’s Living Person’s Grave and freed the grave gu.
• The villagers welcomed Luo Bin and debated his status and Miao Miao’s role; Luo Bin affirmed his identity and sent Miao Miao home to rest.
• Luo Bin changed into clean clothes and slept, while Fourth Master Gray noticed a female corpse in his room but could not wake him.
• The villagers held a sacrificial ceremony honoring the Nuo Lord and Nuo Lady, and Luo Bin told Granny Li he intended to visit Healer-Shaman Peak.
• Chen Hongming met Luo Bin outside the village and said Shenxiao Mountain’s conflict was not over, then appeared to ask him for another favor.

Luo Bin refused Chen Hongming’s plea to help Divine Firmament Mountain, but learned that Fourth Master Gray might be able to track the missing Bai Xiaoshan by scent. He decided to pursue Bai Xiaoshan secretly and asked Fourth Master Gray what had happened to Xu Lu and Taoist Bai Xian after Sawu Mountain.

• Chen Hongming explained that Bai Xiaoshan was missing and that Divine Firmament Mountain had no one able to suppress the Divine Yin Spirits, then begged Luo Bin to ask the Old Miao King for help.
• Luo Bin refused, though Fourth Master Gray suggested he could track Bai Xiaoshan by scent; Luo Bin concealed this possibility from Chen Hongming and sent the visitors away.
• Back at his lodging, Luo Bin summoned Fourth Master Gray and explained that he wanted to help Bai Xiaoshan because of his past kindness and Heavenly First’s ancestral instruction, while avoiding attention from Divine Firmament Mountain.
• Luo Bin asked what had happened to Xu Lu and Taoist Bai Xian, and Fourth Master Gray said they had left Sawu Mountain with the Black-Gold Toad and speculated that Xu Lu might be dealing with the bugs afflicting the Taoist Maiden.
• Luo Bin concluded that he needed to meet up with Xu Lu and Taoist Bai Xian first.

Miao Tuo warned Luo Bin that drinking the Sacrificial Ancestor’s blood would gradually turn him into a corpse, then led him through Witch Doctor Peak to a hidden cavern containing the preserved bodies of past Grand Shamanic Healers. He offered Luo Bin Medicine Person Blood Pills as a gift from his home, but Luo Bin hesitated to accept them.

• Miao Tuo explained that the Sacrificial Ancestor’s blood would make Luo Bin become a corpse, and urged him to remain alive as the reigning Miao King.
• Luo Bin thanked Miao Tuo for warning him and said Three Perils Mountain had always been his home since he gave his master his word.
• Miao Tuo led Luo Bin through hidden passages inside Witch Doctor Peak to a cavern filled with the bodies of past Grand Shamanic Healers.
• Miao Tuo explained that the dead healers’ bodies had survived because their medicinal practices transformed them into a resource for the mountain.
• Miao Tuo offered Luo Bin thirteen Medicine Person Blood Pills, saying Healer-Shaman Peak had no demands of him, but Luo Bin remained hesitant.

Luo Bin received Medicine Person blood and blood pills at Witch Doctor Peak, then returned to Thousand Miao Village and spent three days carving talismans. After speaking with Granny Li, he left the village with Miao Yun and Miao Tu, carrying his new talismans and artifacts.

• Miao Tuo gave Luo Bin blood from the Medicine Persons and showed him around Witch Doctor Peak, while Fourth Master Gray secretly ate the blood pills.
• Luo Bin returned to Thousand Miao Village and carved Seven Yin Talismans, Heavenly First Fiend-Suppressing Talismans, and Heavenly Circuit Concealment Talismans from the remaining Nine-Burl White Flower Tree wood.
• Luo Bin inspected the Blood Peach Sword, whose blade had developed black markings after surviving Thunder Attraction and destroying a Divine Yin Spirit.
• Luo Bin visited Granny Li and told her he was leaving for a while; she urged him to take Miao Yun and Miao Tu along to help him.
• Luo Bin left Thousand Miao Village with Miao Yun and Miao Tu, while Fourth Master Gray teased him about taking more wives.

After leaving Three Perils Mountain, Luo Bin discovered signs that trouble had struck in Daxiang City and suspected Huang Bing had been targeted. He headed for the Tibetan Lands while sending Miao Tu back to secretly investigate Huang Bing.

• Luo Bin called Su Su, learned that she and her father had left Daxiang City, then failed to reach Xu Lu as unfamiliar numbers kept calling.
• He Dongsheng tortured Wu Dong and gave him twenty-seven days to bring Luo Bin to Daxiang City, threatening one family member’s life for each day.
• Luo Bin warned Su Su and Su Jian to hide their whereabouts, but could not contact Huang Bing and concluded that Huang Bing had likely been targeted over the Cloudmist Mountain task.
• Luo Bin decided to meet Xu Lu and Bai Xian in the Tibetan Lands before addressing the danger in Daxiang City.
• Luo Bin sent Miao Tu back to Daxiang City to secretly find Huang Bing and learn whether he was alive, while Miao Yun continued with him.

Luo Bin reached Aw a County while searching for Xu Lu and Bai Xian, then learned that Huang Bing had died and suspected he had used a Copper Bead to preserve his soul. Miao Yun offered a lead on Xu Lu through a local living Buddha, whose reincarnation Luo Bin suspected was Soul Seizure.

• Luo Bin and Miao Yun drove into the Tibetan Lands and chose Aw a County because it had many temples, but Luo Bin could not reach Xu Lu.
• Miao Tu reported that Huang Bing's family had vanished and Huang Bing had died violently in the Seventeenth Elder Hall.
• Luo Bin reasoned that Huang Bing had likely taken his own life using a soul-collecting Copper Bead, and told Miao Tu to find the body and check for one.
• Miao Tu found what Luo Bin had asked for and began leaving the city, while Miao Yun said he knew how to find Xu Lu.
• Miao Yun explained that locals believed a living Buddha reincarnated into a new person, and Luo Bin asked whether that was simply Soul Seizure.

Luo Bin and Miao Yun traveled to a revered monastery to seek its Living Buddha, hoping to learn about reincarnation and spiritual attainment. As they climbed toward the monastery, Gongbu saw them coming and recognized that Luo Bin had arrived.

• Luo Bin wondered whether a Living Buddha's reincarnation could preserve spiritual attainment, then agreed with Miao Yun to seek him out.
• Xu Lu searched around Daren Lama Temple for the missing Little Gray Spirit while Second Madam Hu possessed him and urged him to decide whether to investigate further.
• Miao Yun drove Luo Bin across the snowy Tibetan Lands toward the monastery where a Living Buddha was said to appear.
• Luo Bin and Miao Yun left their car and began climbing the mountain toward the red monastery buildings.
• Gongbu spotted the approaching people, said that he had arrived, and began chanting.

Luo Bin and Miao Yun met Lama Agong at the Five Lama Court and learned that Bai Xian and Xu Lu had been taken to the Daren Lama Temple. Lama Agong warned that they were vital to the temple’s resistance against the Black City Monastery and that its lamas would not let Luo Bin take them away.

• Lama Agong greeted Luo Bin and Miao Yun at the Five Lama Court and explained the Human Skull Tower’s purpose.
• Lama Agong told Luo Bin that the woman was becoming a Jom and the man an Umze, and that a khenpo had taken them to the Daren Lama Temple.
• Lama Agong explained that the Seventeenth Rinpoche had reincarnated as a Tulku and founded the Daren Lama Temple to oppose the Black City Monastery.
• Lama Agong warned Luo Bin that the Jom and Umze were foundation stones of the temple and that its lamas would resist anyone trying to take them.

Luo Bin received a mysterious Thangka and instructions from Lama Agong, who warned him to head west and avoid Daren Lama Temple. A strange celestial phenomenon led Luo Bin to suspect Kong An had become a third reincarnated Living Buddha, leaving him uncertain who he would encounter next.

• Lama Agong warned Luo Bin that he had conflicting auras, told him to leave the Tibetan Lands, and gave him a Thangka to guide him to a mysterious person.
• Lama Agong instructed Luo Bin to ask that person to feed flesh to the rat hidden on him, follow him if he agreed, and kill him if he refused.
• Luo Bin warned Lama Agong to abandon his plans and leave the mountain, but Lama Agong dismissed the advice.
• Luo Bin told Miao Yun to drive west, and they saw glowing clouds and a rainbow despite the sun still being overhead.
• Luo Bin recalled Kong An's death and questioned whether he had attained enlightenment and reincarnated as another Living Buddha.

Luo Bin concluded that Kong An had replaced the Tulku of Daren Lama Temple and worried that Xu Lu and Bai Xian were in danger. While searching Aw a County for the reincarnated person, he discovered Miao Yun had vanished; meanwhile, He Dongsheng held Miao Yun captive and demanded that he betray the Miao King.

• Luo Bin interpreted the rosy glow as proof that Kong An was the additional Living Buddha and warned himself that Xu Lu and Bai Xian were in danger.
• Luo Bin returned to Aw a County and told Miao Yun to investigate reports of strange events connected to the reincarnated person.
• When Miao Yun failed to return, Luo Bin used Fourth Master Gray to search for him, but the rat could no longer detect his scent.
• Luo Bin waited for Miao Tu, then went out to search when neither Miao Yun nor Miao Tu arrived.
• He Dongsheng revealed that he had Miao Yun and Miao Tu captive, freed Miao Yun's sealed mouth, and demanded that he talk.
• Miao Yun spat on He Dongsheng and cursed him rather than betray the Miao King.

He Dongsheng extracted information from Miao Yun while Wu Dong accepted that he had to side with him. In Aw a County, Luo Bin reunited with Miao Tu and learned of a mutilated body found outside town, a killing that did not match the person he was searching for.

• He Dongsheng restrained Miao Yun and forced his soul from his body after Wu Dong warned that killing him could alert Luo Bin.
• Wu Dong decided that standing with He Dongsheng was his only option and hoped He Dongsheng could capture Luo Bin.
• Luo Bin waited in Aw a County as Miao Yun and Miao Tu failed to arrive, then saw Miao Tu reach his lodging and relaxed.
• Luo Bin paid a restaurant owner to explain the Tibetan diners’ conversation, and the owner told him that a mutilated body had been found outside town.
• Luo Bin concluded that the murdered person was not the one he sought, since he believed the tulku was An Kong and his target was the Seventeenth Rinpoche.