Chapter Summaries

Kong An joined the Sinpos at Black City Temple, where Luo Muye revealed a Living Buddha’s skull and declared his devotion to the deities. After the gathering, Zhan Si confronted and beat Kong An, then stopped him from leaving.

• Baqin invited Kong An to walk beside him, and the two joined the other Sinpos at Luo Muye’s hall.
• Luo Muye insisted Kong An take his chair, then used Gau Bone Beads to silence Zhan Si’s snort.
• Luo Muye revealed a Living Buddha’s skull and claimed there were six Living Buddhas in the Five Lama Court, shocking Zhan Si and the other Sinpos.
• A resentful shadow and several pursuing deities appeared at the hall; Luo Muye declared that he worshipped the deities and that the temple held no former Sinpo.
• An Kong walked alone through Black City Temple, where Zhan Si insulted him, beat him, and addressed him as Gongbu Tulku when he tried to leave.

Luo Bin mapped the area around Cabinet Mountain with Zhong Zhicheng, then rested and helped Qiang Village recover before setting out again. At a broad river near Ancient-Town Village, Fourth Master Gray detected Yi’s scent across the water, and Luo Bin spotted something unusual on the bank.

• Zhong Zhicheng filled in detailed maps around Cabinet Mountain, and Luo Bin marked Qiang Village and explained that it was a relatively safe place to wait.
• Luo Bin told Zhong Zhicheng to rescue as many Two-Legged Sheep as possible, then rested in an Underground Room while Fourth Master Gray hunted game.
• Luo Bin learned that Yan Li had died and that He Gui had survived with Blood-Human Medicine; he stayed in Qiang Village for about two days and helped supply the villagers with food.
• Luo Bin left Qiang Village with provisions and traveled for roughly three days to a river blocked by the sheer mountain where Ancient-Town Village stood.
• Fourth Master Gray caught Yi’s scent across the river and said she was alive, while Luo Bin noticed something unusual on the riverbank.

Luo Bin investigated the river crossing, then hid from Yuan Lu and the Cabinet Mountain Dojo disciples as they prepared to cross the river. He remained concealed while a strange face watched him from the treetop, and the chapter left him caught between that presence and the wary disciples below.

• Luo Bin found fragments of a Stone Talisman on the flooded riverbank and concluded that Qin Tianqing had altered the feng shui to help Gu Yiren cross the river.
• Luo Bin saw a humanlike shadow in the water, but it vanished when he used Rewind and fled.
• Luo Bin hid in a tree with Fourth Master Gray as Yuan Lu and the Cabinet Mountain Dojo disciples arrived, discussed crossing the river, and prepared a raft using a bronze mirror.
• Luo Bin noticed a strange face staring at him from higher in the tree while Yuan Lu and the disciples searched for someone nearby.
• Yuan Lu's disciple returned with several dazed villagers, and the dojo disciples discussed the village's Heart-Peering Field before Yuan Lu ordered the villagers left beneath the tree.

Luo Bin survived the strange events at the river and confronted Qin Que, who had become a puppet of Xiao Ba and Blackblood Vine. Qin Que escaped through a disappearing hole, leaving Luo Bin with only a faint sense of his whereabouts.

• Luo Bin watched Yuan Lu and the others cross the river safely with a Fate-Suppressing Object, then saw three newcomers lead the senseless people into the water and cross after them.
• Luo Bin recognized Qin Que, who warned him not to go ahead and tried to draw him away, but Luo Bin prepared to defend himself with Fourth Master Gray and a talisman.
• Qin Que attacked Luo Bin with strands of hair, revealing that Xiao Ba had turned him into a monstrous puppet.
• Luo Bin used his control over Blackblood Vine to influence Qin Que, but Qin Que was dragged into a hole beneath the leaves before Luo Bin could capture him.
• The hole vanished, and Luo Bin headed toward the riverbank after failing to retain Qin Que or learn what he knew.

Luo Bin crossed the river into Cabinet Mountain’s inner mountain and followed the Cabinet Mountain Dojo group’s trail. He hid in a hollow tree after dark, where he sensed that something was watching him.

• Luo Bin used the Hanging Tortoise Mirror, Black-Gold Toad, and Jade Star Qimen Compass to cross the river while Fourth Master Gray pushed the raft.
• Luo Bin concluded that the river divided Cabinet Mountain’s outer and inner mountains and suspected Ba Xiao had been using Qin Que to stop him from crossing.
• Luo Bin had Fourth Master Gray track the Cabinet Mountain Dojo group’s scent into the inner mountain.
• Luo Bin stopped before dark and hid inside a hollow tree, wary of the inner mountain’s nighttime dangers.
• After night fell, Luo Bin stayed motionless in the tree but sensed an unseen presence watching him.

Luo Bin endured a night of being watched in Inner Mountain, then found three cloth dolls and inferred that blinking after dark had drawn the Guides’ attention. He set out to find Yi Ren and leave, but became convinced that three suspicious travelers ahead were acting strangely and followed them.

• Luo Bin kept his eyes closed through the night as he used Rewind to examine what he had seen outside the tree hollow.
• Three unusual people stood surrounded by expressionless figures held back by talismans, and they discussed how their movements were being copied.
• At dawn, Luo Bin found three old cloth dolls nearby, destroyed one with the Thunderstruck Blood Peach Sword, and concluded that blinking after dark had triggered the threat.
• Luo Bin agreed to find Yi Ren and leave Inner Mountain, while worrying about what Yuan Tianshu might do to Qin Tianqing.
• Luo Bin caught up to the three suspicious travelers and followed them from concealment until two split off around noon.

Zhan Si beat Kong An but stopped when Ba Qin intervened, then realized Ba Qin had used the confrontation to discipline him and the other Sinpos. At Heavenly First's fortune-telling shop, Shangguan Xingyue resisted the Bright Consort Deity and continued drawing its yin energy from her body.

• Zhan Si repeatedly smashed Kong An's head against the paving stones and threatened to kill him for refusing to kneel.
• Ba Qin arrived and warned Zhan Si that Kong An had acted on Luo Muye's orders; Kong An spat on Zhan Si and repeated Ba Qin's warning.
• Zhan Si realized Ba Qin had engineered the confrontation to bring Kong An to heel, while the other Sinpos gathered nearby.
• Three people appeared at the black tower carrying six corpses, threw them beneath it, and left as Black Rakshasas dragged the bodies toward Black City Monastery.
• Shangguan Xingyue used Heavenly First's talisman and a formation to draw yin energy from herself while the Bright Consort Deity tried to tempt her into becoming Luo Bin's Bright Consort.
• Shangguan Xingyue recited the Method of Discussing the Spirit and used a bronze mirror as the Bright Consort's face began peeling away from hers.

Shangguan Xingyue was overtaken by a mysterious force and vanished from the Primordial Calculation Shop, leaving Zhang Ze unconscious as he chased her. At Cabinet Mountain, Luo Bin witnessed three men using Six Yin Mountain rituals on Yuan Lu and the disciples, then suspected they were Zhou Sanming’s three projected Yin Spirits before they turned toward his hiding place.

• Shangguan Xingyue’s talismans shattered, and she walked out of the Primordial Calculation Shop with a changed presence.
• Zhang Ze chased Shangguan Xingyue through the streets but collapsed unconscious in the sunlight.
• Luo Bin followed a man ringing a Calling Bell and saw Yuan Lu and the Cabinet Mountain Dojo disciples lying unconscious.
• Three men surrounded Yuan Lu and the disciples, used copper bowls and ritual sounds to control them, drew their blood, and fed them blood-soaked rice.
• Luo Bin concluded the three men were Zhou Sanming’s projected Yin Spirits seeking revenge on Cabinet Mountain.
• The three men turned their gazes toward Luo Bin’s hiding place, and he lowered himself into the undergrowth.

Luo Bin followed Zhou Sanming and his companions into the inner mountain, where they entered the ominous Wooden Puppet Village as dusk fell. After finding a warning not to enter, he met a pale man who urged him inside, and Luo Bin chose to follow him.

• Luo Bin watched Zhou Sanming's group feed Blood Rice to a surviving Cabinet Mountain Disciple, who then led them onward.
• Luo Bin identified the three men as Zhou Sanming and cautiously followed, hoping to exploit a conflict with Yuan Tianshu.
• Luo Bin found roadside shrines offering dried human tongues and reached the entrance to Wooden Puppet Village, where Zhou Sanming's group had split up and gone inside.
• Luo Bin read a carved warning telling him not to enter the village or spend the night in the woods, but a pale man emerged and insisted the village was safe.
• Luo Bin thanked the man and followed him into the village, while Fourth Master Gray questioned his decision.

Luo Bin entered Wooden Puppet Village with Liang Jin, who warned him about the dangers after dark and the rules for staying. Using Rewind, Luo Bin saw Gu Yiren outside the village telling him not to enter and not to trust her, then found Liang Jin looming over him and asking what he had said.

• Luo Bin followed Liang Jin into Wooden Puppet Village as night approached, while someone watched them from the woods.
• Liang Jin introduced himself as the Deputy Village Chief and explained that newcomers needed a position, or they would be sent into the woods.
• Luo Bin learned that another group had entered before him and hoped to find Heaven-Dumping Qin and Gu Yiren.
• Luo Bin used Rewind and saw Gu Yiren hiding behind a tree, silently warning him not to enter the village and not to trust her.
• Fourth Master Gray roused Luo Bin, and Liang Jin leaned over him to ask what he had been saying.

Luo Bin followed Liang Jin to meet Wooden Puppet Village’s Shaman, who granted him permission to stay at the Wattle House and promised he would find the people he was looking for there. The Shaman’s attention and the warning not to approach the Wattle House left Luo Bin suspicious as he wondered what Qin Tianqing had arranged.

• Luo Bin reviewed the warnings about Wooden Puppet Village and the Wattle House before falling asleep beside Liang Jin.
• Liang Jin took Luo Bin through the village to meet the Shaman, warning him to speak little and ask few questions.
• Luo Bin noticed that Liang Jin and the two children who admitted them never blinked.
• The Shaman partly lifted her veil, then told Luo Bin he could go to the Wattle House and would find the people he sought there.
• The Shaman declared Luo Bin an honored guest and benefactor, ordered Liang Jin to treat him well, and told Luo Bin she would visit him at the Wattle House before dark.

Luo Bin recognized the Shaman as Gu Yiren and began to suspect that Wooden Puppet Village’s peaceful appearance concealed Yuan Tianshu’s plans. As he prepared to bathe before taking up an important position, he noticed signs that the village’s cottage and its people were far stranger than they seemed.

• Luo Bin recognized Gu Yiren beneath the Shaman’s veil and followed Liang Jin to prepare for his new position.
• Luo Bin reasoned that Qin Tianqing had placed Gu Yiren in the Shaman’s role and that Yuan Tianshu might have been waiting for Qin Tianqing at the cottage.
• Liang Jin led Luo Bin to a courtyard, where Fourth Master Gray said the cottage had been packed with people hidden inside cabinets.
• An elderly couple repeatedly carried hot water into the bathing room, followed by a woman who brought Luo Bin fresh clothes.
• Luo Bin noticed something was wrong and used Rewind to revisit the moment he had looked back while entering Wooden Puppet Village.

Luo Bin discovered that Wooden Puppet Village’s silent villagers were tongue-less and grew wary of Gu Yiren’s contradictory warning and behavior. He hid instead of going to meet Qin Tianqing, and Liang Jin searched the courtyard before leaving without finding him.

• Luo Bin saw two tongue-less villagers mechanically scrub him while he bathed, confirming that something was wrong with the village.
• Luo Bin questioned why Gu Yiren had warned him outside the village not to trust her, then dressed and reapplied his talismans.
• Rather than leave for the tiled house, Luo Bin hid on a roof beam under a concealment talisman and waited.
• Fourth Master Gray alerted Luo Bin that no one entering the courtyard had a scent.
• Liang Jin entered the courtyard in a visibly alarmed state, searched the room, and left without discovering Luo Bin.
• Luo Bin climbed down and explained Gu Yiren’s warning to Fourth Master Gray, who became confused by the contradiction.

Luo Bin investigated the Wattle House and discovered rows of strangely preserved corpses, including people from the Heavenly Mechanism Daoist Sanctuary. After escaping with someone who looked like Gu Yiren, he exposed her soul with the White Flower Lantern, only to realize she was not the real Gu Yiren and lose control of his body.

• Luo Bin sent Fourth Master Gray to set fires around the village, drawing the villagers away, then entered the Wattle House.
• Luo Bin found fake-eyed corpses in the cabinets and dozens more dead figures behind a curtain, including members of the Heavenly Mechanism Daoist Sanctuary.
• Luo Bin fled the Wattle House and met Gu Yiren, who warned him that someone wanted to kill him and hurried him out of the village.
• Luo Bin noticed that Gu Yiren had no scent and used the White Flower Lantern to reveal her soul, which still looked like Gu Yiren.
• While Luo Bin was stunned by the revelation, the soul attacked him, took control of his body, and left him demanding to know who she was.

Luo Bin fought off the Shaman and escaped the unseen control that had been forcing him toward a destination. He confronted the hidden person responsible, who answered from three directions.

• The Shaman used Little Figures to stab Fourth Master Gray, and Luo Bin's body moved against his will to stop the rat from attacking her.
• Luo Bin unleashed Gu Silkworm Gold, a tide of Gu insects, and his shadow merged with the Black Blood Vine, which severed the Shaman at the waist and corroded her body.
• Fourth Master Gray broke free, but Luo Bin was still compelled to walk toward the Shaman's destination until he ordered the rat to tear apart his Tang Suit, ending the control.
• Luo Bin gave Fourth Master Gray a Good Corpse Core and watched the surroundings for the hidden controller.
• An unseen person applauded from three directions and asked Luo Bin how he had discovered them.

Luo Bin bluffed to draw out the hidden observer but instead found himself surrounded by Zhou Sanming’s three bodies. Zhou Sanming realized Luo Bin knew who he was and challenged him to find a way to survive, leaving Luo Bin trapped under mounting pressure.

• Luo Bin caught the Good Corpse Core Fourth Master Gray dropped and realized Zhou Sanming had emerged from hiding.
• The three Zhou Sanmings questioned whether Luo Bin knew them, and Luo Bin tried to conceal that he recognized Zhou Sanming.
• Zhou Sanming asked how Luo Bin had detected him, and Luo Bin credited a Six Mountain Yin artifact and his own observations.
• Zhou Sanming praised Luo Bin’s resourcefulness and said he wanted to see how Luo Bin would keep himself alive.

Zhou Sanming subdued Luo Bin and revealed that he intended to use him as bait, then attacked and crippled the Black-Gold Toad. As Zhou Sanming prepared to make Luo Bin experience the terror he had once suffered, Luo Bin realized a crucial detail might offer his only chance to escape.

• Luo Bin gave Zhou Sanming the Primordial Purple Flower Lantern, and Zhou Sanming explained that he had come looking for Yuan Tianshu because he needed bait.
• Zhou Sanming recognized that Luo Bin was searching for someone who resembled the dead Shaman and praised him as useful bait.
• Zhou Sanming used the Bell Clash to subdue Luo Bin and pinned Fourth Master Gray to the ground with a copper rod.
• The Black-Gold Toad leaped from its jar, but Zhou Sanming recognized its Cinnabar Tortoise Shell, tore it free, and stomped it nearly senseless.
• Zhou Sanming declared that he would make Luo Bin relive his own terror, and Luo Bin desperately searched his memories for a way to turn the situation around.

Luo Bin used the Three-Altars Great Precepts to immobilize Zhou Sanming’s Yin Spirits, then attacked Zhou Sanming’s possessed body with Crane-Bone Nails. After the body died, Luo Bin waited for the terrifying entity that had eaten other yin spirit practitioners to appear, but it had not yet come.

• Luo Bin recalled Li Qingxiu’s failed soul seizure, the strange entity that appeared during it, and other encounters with beings that ate practitioners of yin spirit projection.
• Luo Bin chanted the Three-Altars Great Precepts, which restrained Zhou Sanming’s three Yin Spirits and let Luo Bin escape their encirclement.
• Luo Bin used Crane-Bone Nails to pierce Zhou Sanming’s possessed body while Fourth Master Gray brought him the lanterns.
• Luo Bin activated the White Flower Lantern, exhausted himself suppressing Zhou Sanming, and tried medicine and the Good Corpse Core to ease his pain.
• Luo Bin heated the Crane-Bone Nails with the Hanging Tortoise Mirror until Zhou Sanming’s body stopped breathing.
• Luo Bin confronted Zhou Sanming’s immobilized Yin Spirits and prepared more Crane-Bone Nails, waiting to see whether the entity would appear.

Luo Bin witnessed a terrifying entity devour Zhou Sanming’s remaining Yin Spirit, then used the Good Corpse Core to save the Black-Gold Toad. Exhausted by the Three-Altars Great Precepts, he eventually collapsed unconscious.

• Luo Bin had Fourth Master Gray drag Zhou Sanming’s other two bodies into the White Flower Lantern’s range, but the lantern went out before he could attack them.
• Two of Zhou Sanming’s Yin Spirits possessed bodies and fled, while the remaining Yin Spirit summoned a Lifespan Person Ghost that a many-armed entity emerged from the fog to seize and devour.
• The entity approached Luo Bin but vanished without harming him, leaving him shaken and too exhausted to stand.
• Luo Bin had Fourth Master Gray bring the Black-Gold Toad over and fed it the Good Corpse Core, which began restoring its damaged body.
• Fourth Master Gray crawled into the Pill tortoise shell, and the Black-Gold Toad followed; Luo Bin then lost consciousness.

Luo Bin reunited with Qin Tianqing in Cabinet Mountain’s Inner Mountain and warned him that Gu Yiren was a human-skin puppet and that Yuan Tianshu was manipulating them. He offered the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds a place with Heaven Veil at Elephant Mountain, leaving Qin Tianqing to consider an alliance with Heavenly First Divination.

• Luo Bin woke in a cave beside his belongings and discovered that disciples of the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds had rescued him.
• Qin Tianqing met Luo Bin, who revealed his identity and reminded him of events they had shared before entering Cabinet Mountain.
• Qin Tianqing explained how Gu Yiren had led his group into danger and insisted that the Shaman they encountered was Gu Yiren.
• Luo Bin argued that the Shaman was a human-skin puppet and that Yuan Tianshu had manipulated Qin Jiumo, Gu Yiren, and himself to use them against Yuan Yinxin.
• Luo Bin offered Qin Tianqing an alternative to fighting for Cabinet Mountain, proposing that the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds settle at Elephant Mountain and cooperate with Heavenly First Divination.