Chapter Summaries

Zhan Si Sinpo subdued Xu Lu in the Bright Consort Palace while Dibe Yum remained attached to Shangguan Xingyue. In the Main Hall, Luo Muye discovered that the figure posing as Kong An was Sinpo Kari, as another laugh sounded from outside.

• Dibe Yum stopped Shangguan Xingyue from killing herself, and Zhan Si Sinpo entered the Bright Consort Palace.
• Xu Lu attacked Zhan Si Sinpo with his ghostly true form, but Zhan Si Sinpo passed through the attack and pinned Xu Lu down with gabala beads.
• Zhan Si Sinpo threatened Shangguan Xingyue and Dibe Yum, then turned toward Xu Lu after Xu Lu insulted him.
• Luo Muye offered Black City Monastery and the Chief Seat to Kong An, but a voice calling for Mr. Luo distracted him.
• The figure in the Main Hall turned around, and Luo Muye recognized him as Sinpo Kari before another laugh sounded outside.

Luo Muye was trapped by Kari Sinpo and Longlin Sinpo after Kong An’s apparent death, while the monastery’s deities turned against Zhan Si Sinpo during his torture of Xu Lu. Zhan Si lost his rank and fled to seek Sinpo Baqin, leaving Xu Lu and Shangguan Xingyue free but confused.

• Kari Sinpo revealed Kong An’s lifeless body to Luo Muye, and Longlin Sinpo accused Luo Muye of abandoning his rank without permission as they trapped him.
• Luo Bin saw gray aura erupt from Black City Monastery, and Rinpoche ordered the lamas to enter when he sensed someone calling for help.
• Zhan Si Sinpo tortured Xu Lu in Bright Consort Palace while a deity pinned Shangguan Xingyue down.
• The deities abandoned Zhan Si Sinpo, and Xu Lu’s soul fragments reunited as Shangguan Xingyue freed him.
• Zhan Si Sinpo realized Sinpo Baqin had stripped him of his rank and fled to seek forgiveness, leaving Xu Lu and Shangguan Xingyue bewildered.

Luo Bin reunited with Xu Lu on the way to the summit, where Rinpoche battled two Sinpos and Luo Muye lay gravely wounded. As Zhan Si tried to steal Luo Muye’s ritual implements, Luo Bin summoned a sword with a talisman, and an unseen voice echoed his incantation.

• Luo Bin mistook the ghostly Xu Lu for an enemy and nearly struck him before Fourth Master Gray stopped him, and the two reunited.
• Xu Lu told Luo Bin that two Sinpos were attacking Luo Muye, Kong An had fled, and Shangguan Xingyue was in the Consort Hall.
• Luo Bin refused to retreat because he had brought Luo Muye to the monastery and hurried toward the summit with Xu Lu.
• Luo Bin and Xu Lu reached the Main Hall, where Rinpoche fought Kari and Longlin while the gravely injured Luo Muye was pinned to a pillar.
• Zhan Si returned and tried to take Luo Muye’s prayer beads and wooden fish, but Luo Bin invoked a sword talisman and an unseen sword knocked Zhan Si’s staff aside.

Luo Bin unexpectedly used Taoist power to repel Zhan Si Sinpo, but Zhan Si nearly killed him before Luo Xianshen arrived and joined the fight. Luo Xianshen rescued Luo Bin and Luo Muye, yet Zhan Si overpowered him, while Xu Lu recovered from having his soul shattered and watched in shock.

• Luo Muye struck Zhan Si Sinpo with a wooden fish, and Luo Bin used a sword and Taoist power to interrupt Zhan Si’s attack.
• Zhan Si shattered Xu Lu’s soul and drove his Buddhist staff at Luo Bin, who repelled him with an unseen power before being frozen by Zhan Si’s aura.
• Luo Xianshen arrived, bound Zhan Si with a bloody line, and pulled Luo Bin out of the path of the staff.
• Luo Xianshen struck Zhan Si with Heavenly Thunder and rescued Luo Bin and the gravely wounded Luo Muye, whom Wei Youming helped medicate.
• Zhan Si charged through the thunder and knocked Luo Xianshen flying, while Xu Lu’s soul reformed and he watched the fight.

Luo Bin strengthened Luo Xianshen with a hexagram and Miao Zi’s blood, but Zhan Si and the other Sinpos overwhelmed them. As Zhan Si moved to kill Luo Xianshen, Mao Zhan possessed him and used a stratagem to smash half of Zhan Si’s face, leaving the fight’s outcome uncertain.

• Luo Bin used Death-Life Return and Miao Zi’s blood to strengthen Luo Xianshen, who continued fighting Zhan Si.
• Luo Xianshen’s attempt to summon lightning failed when Zhan Si interrupted his incantation, and Zhan Si buried him in a pit with repeated blows.
• Kari and Long Lin returned after defeating Rinpoche and pinned Luo Muye to the ground with pieces of Rinpoche’s bones.
• As Zhan Si prepared to kill Luo Xianshen, Luo Muye urged Luo Bin to act, and Mao Zhan’s Divine Yang Spirit possessed Luo Bin.
• Luo Xianshen struck Zhan Si’s face with the High Heaven Pestle, then escaped the pit as Mao Zhan’s possession left Luo Bin’s body under the Patriarch’s control.

Mao Zhan possessed Luo Bin and used Taoist techniques to wound Zhan Si, Kari, and Long Lin, then pursued the fleeing Zhan Si despite the danger to Luo Bin’s body. Two Deduos intervened against Kari and Long Lin, while Zhan Si returned to the Bright Consort Palace for Ribei Yumu.

• Mao Zhan took control of Luo Bin, bound Kari and Long Lin with Fox-Binding Ropes, and slashed both with the High Heaven Sword.
• Mao Zhan retrieved the One Goodness Taoist Art and questioned Luo Bin about devoting himself single-mindedly, then faced Zhan Si, Kari, and Long Lin as they prepared to attack.
• Zhan Si, Kari, and Long Lin fled when two Child Monks appeared and knocked Kari and Long Lin away; the Sinpos identified the monks as Deduos.
• Mao Zhan pursued Zhan Si despite Luo Xianshen’s warning, fed Luo Bin blood, and spoke of his debt to Juqu Mountain and Senior Brother Mao Dan.
• Shangguan Xingyue stayed in the Bright Consort Palace, and Zhan Si returned there seeking Ribei Yumu.

Luo Bin used Mao Zhan’s moving Ritual Altar Opening to strike Zhan Si off the cliff and free Shangguan Xingyue. The victory left Luo Bin severely injured, and Shangguan Xingyue rushed to help him.

• Shangguan Xingyue fled toward the Cliff Platform, but Zhan Si’s Bright Consorts trapped her and he immobilized her before she could leap from the cliff.
• Luo Bin realized Zhan Si was pursuing Shangguan Xingyue, and Mao Zhan urged him to focus as they approached the hillside.
• Mao Zhan possessed Luo Bin and performed a Ritual Altar Opening while walking, culminating in a Taoist Art aimed at Zhan Si.
• Luo Bin struck Zhan Si with the Taoist Art and sent him tumbling off the cliff, freeing Shangguan Xingyue.
• Shangguan Xingyue rushed to Luo Bin when he collapsed, while Luo Bin realized Mao Zhan had left him in terrible pain after the attack.

Luo Bin helped defeat Black City Monastery’s forces, but Rinpoche died at the hands of Living Buddha Deduo before revealing how to find Kong An. With Kong An’s whereabouts unknown, Shangguan Xingyue identified Khenpo Zhansi as the person he hated most.

• A strange man revived Luo Bin with Miao Zi’s blood, and Luo Bin drove the Bright Consort from Shangguan Xingyue before destroying Dibe Yum.
• Luo Bin found Zhan Si alive after his fall, but let the wounded Sinpo escape.
• Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue reached the summit, where Kari and Long Lin were dead and Rinpoche waited with the Living Buddha Deduos.
• Rinpoche said Kong An had reincarnated and urged Luo Bin to stop him, but Living Buddha Deduo killed Rinpoche before he could finish speaking.
• Luo Bin confirmed that Bai Xian’s baby was unharmed, then discussed finding Kong An with the survivors.
• Shangguan Xingyue said Kong An hated Khenpo Zhansi, whom Luo Bin had just allowed to escape.

Luo Bin and his companions learned that Kong An might be hiding in Zhan Si's Black City Monastery, and they urged the surviving monks to prepare for retaliation. When Luo Bin found Xu Lu beneath a covered deity statue, Xu Lu was overwhelmed by cold and resentment, and the statue's strange form was revealed.

• Luo Muye deduced that Kong An was likely inside Zhan Si's Black City Monastery, and Luo Bin decided to consult Xu Lu and Mr. Qin before changing their plan.
• The Iron-Staff Lama and Lama Tsangyang mourned Rinpoche and described the defeat of the Black Rakshasas, while Luo Muye warned them not to provoke Black City Monastery's deity.
• Luo Bin told the monks he would rescue the person he had come for and then leave, but Luo Xianshen noticed Xu Lu standing in the Main Hall.
• Xu Lu shivered and said he felt colder than in snowbound mountains as his resentful ghost aura rapidly intensified.
• Wei Youming reached toward Xu Lu, who turned on him and shouted, and the red cloth fell to reveal a bizarre deity statue that nearly stopped Luo Bin's heart.

Luo Bin stopped Xu Lu from returning to his body as a Corpse-Ghost after Xu Lu’s resentment toward Kong An surged. Xu Lu calmed down, while Luo Muye took responsibility for investigating the deities and seeking Taoist Bai Xian.

• Luo Bin recognized Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi as the deities guarded by the Charnel Ground Lords, and Xu Lu tried to return to his body.
• Luo Bin immobilized Xu Lu with the Primordial White Flower Lantern, and Xu Lu accused Luo Bin of urging kindness without understanding his suffering.
• Luo Bin urged Xu Lu to hold on to hope and offered to keep his body nourished while delaying his return until a suitable Corpse Core was found.
• Luo Bin released Xu Lu after the others left, then explained the statues and the lantern to Luo Muye.
• Luo Muye decided to see Taoist Bai Xian, while Xu Lu concluded that Kong An had likely manipulated him through the White Corpse.

Luo Bin returned to Luo Muye's Black City Monastery with his companions to find a Black Rakshasa who could guide them to Zhan Si's monastery. After paying respects at Mao Zhan's shrine, Luo Bin was summoned by Chief Seat Samba to the black prison, where the Sinpo wanted to show him something.

• Luo Bin and his companions agreed to abandon the plan to lure Kong An to Luo Muye's monastery, and Qin Tianqing decided to recall his people and prepare to act.
• Luo Bin's group traveled for more than a day toward Da County, while Luo Xianshen went ahead to coordinate with Qin Tianqing and Fourth Master Gray.
• Luo Bin, Miao Zi, and Shangguan Xingyue entered Luo Muye's Black City Monastery, where Luo Muye said a Black Rakshasa would soon guide them to the route they needed.
• Luo Bin went alone with Miao Zi to Mao Zhan's shrine, lit incense, and bowed, but Mao Zhan did not appear.
• Chief Seat Samba arrived at the shrine and told Luo Bin that the Sinpo had ordered him to visit the black prison and see a place.

Luo Muye and Shangguan Xingyue encountered An Kong, who revealed how he had killed Zhan Si and taken control of the deities in Black City Monastery. An Kong left Luo Muye trapped in the hall, saying he could not bear to kill him but felt terribly lonely.

• Luo Muye’s Sinpo Crown fell, and a Leather Tube unfurled into a Thangka as deities emerged from his body.
• An Kong appeared as a Child Monk, revealed himself as An Kong’s reincarnation, and blocked Luo Muye and Shangguan Xingyue from leaving.
• An Kong explained that Chief Seat Basang had been persuaded to draw Mao Zhan away by visiting Luo Bin, leaving Luo Muye without his usual protection.
• An Kong recounted how he had killed Zhan Si, erased Zhan Si’s Sinpo imprint, and claimed command of every deity in the monastery.
• An Kong told Luo Muye that the Chief Seat and Dibe Yum had given him the opportunity he needed, then said he could not bear to kill Luo Muye despite his loneliness.

Kong An revealed his superior divine favor and used mind-reading to anticipate Luo Muye’s plans, while Luo Muye steadied himself by turning his prayer beads. Meanwhile, Chief Seat Basang led Luo Bin through Black City Monastery’s Black Prison, where the prisoners and their suffering left Luo Bin and Xu Lu disturbed; the reason Luo Muye had sent Luo Bin there remained unclear.

• Kong An read Luo Muye’s thoughts and outlined how he could exploit the plan to capture the Chief Seat and seize him alive.
• Kong An blocked Shangguan Xingyue from leaving the Main Hall by summoning a deity, while Luo Muye calmed himself and began moving his Gau Bone Beads.
• An unknown figure appeared at the Main Hall entrance, begged Kong An to let him go to New Black City Monastery, and fled as deities pursued him.
• Chief Seat Basang led Luo Bin and Mao Zhan to the Black Prison, where Luo Bin saw prisoners and learned that the prison had been emptied after the Old Sinpo’s death before being used again.
• Luo Bin and Xu Lu continued through the Black Prison, hearing young women weeping and moaning as Xu Lu’s ghostly aura churned.

Luo Bin left the Black Tower after learning the horrors behind the monastery’s Bright Consort and Gau Bone Bowl rituals, while worrying about Luo Muye’s intentions. As vultures gathered above him and Chief Seat Basang, Luo Muye and Shangguan Xingyue were unexpectedly allowed to leave the Main Hall and set out after Luo Bin.

• Chief Seat Basang explained how the monastery made Bright Consorts and Gau Bone Bowls, and Xu Lu condemned the rituals as evil.
• Luo Bin decided to leave and report everything to Luo Xianshen, while Xu Lu suspected Luo Muye might kill himself or bring an end to Black City Monastery.
• Luo Bin left the Black Tower with Chief Seat Basang escorting him, as vultures gathered and circled overhead.
• Kong An told Luo Muye that Luo Bin was about to leave and praised his boldness before allowing him and Shangguan Xingyue to go.
• Luo Muye exchanged a farewell with Kong An, left the ritual artifacts behind, and walked out with Shangguan Xingyue, who questioned why they had been released.

Luo Bin uncovered Basang’s connection to Kong An’s plans as Basang attacked him, and Miao Zi fought the deity-possessed monk. Despite Luo Muye’s urgent warning that Kong An had spared everyone, Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue fired the Summoning Order and knocked Luo Muye unconscious.

• Vultures swarmed toward the Black City Monastery, and Luo Bin recognized a bone fragment as belonging to Rinpoche and realized Kong An might have returned there.
• When Luo Bin questioned Basang about the Sinpo, Basang attacked him, but Miao Zi intervened and battled Basang after a deity possessed him.
• Luo Bin recognized Basang’s White Bone Garment as a relic made from bones taken from Three Perils Mountain and prepared to fire the Summoning Order.
• Luo Muye arrived with Shangguan Xingyue and shouted that Kong An had spared Shangguan Xingyue, Xu Lu, and his wife, urging Luo Bin not to fire the order.
• Luo Bin and Shangguan Yuexingguan unleashed yin hexagrams as Luo Muye tried to stop the signal, leaving him unconscious while the Summoning Order’s fireworks burst overhead.

Kong An's actions caused Black City Monastery's dharma nature to manifest, while Qin Tianqing realized Kong An was there and led the Taoists toward the monastery. Luo Bin sensed that leaving would be deadly and returned to the Black Prison, where Sinpo Ba Qin arrived to kill him, Luo Muye, and Kong An.

• Kong An revealed the human-skin scroll and turned the Living Buddha's Gau Bone Beads, causing Black City Monastery's dharma nature to manifest and its residents to chant.
• Qin Tianqing concluded that Kong An was in Luo Muye's Black City Monastery and ordered the red-robed elders and Taoists to attack.
• As Miao Zi and Basang fought, Luo Bin and Shangguan Yuexingguan carried Luo Muye toward the exit, but Luo Bin sensed danger and turned back toward the Black Prison.
• Sinpo Ba Qin arrived at Black City Monastery, identified Luo Bin as Kong An's chief and Luo Muye as a traitor, and waited to kill them.
• Miao Zi retreated toward the Black Prison as Basang pursued him, and Ba Qin flung a vajra bell into the fight.

Liu Yinping and the Liu Family Taoists used talismans and a Yang Spirit Great Core to defeat Basang, while Sinpo Baqin fled toward Black City Monastery. Miao Zi recovered from his wound and rushed toward the black prison as the Taoists prepared to advance.

• Sinpo Baqin pinned Miao Zi with a deity while Basang attacked him, but Liu Yinping and the Liu Family Taoists arrived and surrounded Basang with blood talismans.
• Liu Yinping brought out a Yang Spirit Great Core, which suppressed the deity and kept Basang trapped as the Taoists drove golden hoes into the talisman bundle.
• Liu Yinping declared Basang defeated and turned to confront Sinpo Baqin, who spotted Taoist forces approaching from other directions and raced toward Black City Monastery.
• Liu Yinping ordered his group to hold formation and advance, while Miao Zi expelled the vajra bell from his skull and rose.
• Miao Zi rushed toward the black prison.

Luo Bin and his allies fought through Black City Monastery, using the White Flower Lantern and Gu Worms to help the Taoists defeat the monks and Black Rakshasas. They advanced toward the Main Hall, where Kong An and Baqin faced Zhang Poxuan and Luo Xianshen as battles raged below.

• Luo Bin rejected Luo Muye's plea to spare Kong An and argued that Kong An would eventually threaten the Sinpos and their allies.
• Luo Muye led Luo Bin, Shangguan Xingyue, and Xu Lu out of the Black Prison, and Luo Bin diverted to help three Red-Robed Taoists fighting possessed monks.
• Luo Bin used the Primordial White Flower Lantern to immobilize the monks' deities, allowing the Red-Robed Taoists to kill them.
• Luo Bin and his group joined forces with Miao Zai and other Taoists, using the lantern and Miao King's Ocarina to overwhelm Black City Monastery's defenders.
• Luo Bin's growing force cleared the monastery's outer halls and advanced inward while the Real Persons fought Cham Black Rakshasas below the Main Hall.
• Kong An and Baqin remained in the Main Hall as Zhang Poxuan and Luo Xianshen watched them, with Luo Xianshen ready to summon his Patriarch.

The Taoists gained the upper hand at Black City Monastery as Luo Xianshen summoned a Yang Spirit Patriarch and Luo Bin arrived with the Red-Robed Taoists. Kong An began to realize that his own actions had brought the calamity upon the monastery, while Ba Qin remained strangely composed.

• Ba Qin and Kong An assessed the battlefield as four Taoist yang spirits, Liu Yinping, and the Old Sinpo threatened their side.
• Ba Qin told Kong An to recite his scriptures, and the Cham Black Rakshasas fought more fiercely as the standoff continued.
• Luo Xianshen completed his possession ritual, and the patriarch criticized Zhang Poxuan for leaving Ba Qin and Kong An unharmed.
• Luo Bin arrived with Miao Zhan, Luo Muye, and the Red-Robed Taoists after they had killed ordinary Black Rakshasas around the monastery.
• Kong An recognized the Taoists’ lantern, Miao Zhan, and assembled force as a calamity, then began to understand that he had brought it upon Black City Monastery.
• Luo Muye observed that the Real Persons and Cham Black Rakshasas were locked in a standoff.

Luo Bin’s group reached the Main Hall as Ba Qin revealed the power of Phurba Yidam and withdrew the Cham Black Rakshasas from battle. Liu Yinping of Ancient Qiang City then sacrificed his life to summon the Liu clan’s Yang Spirit, charging Kong An with a devastating sword strike.

• Luo Bin rushed toward Bai Lushu with the White Flower Lantern while Taoists protected him, but Ba Qin ordered the Cham Black Rakshasas to withdraw into the Main Hall.
• Ba Qin revealed Phurba Yidam’s power, interrupting Zhang Poxuan’s thunder art and blocking Luo Xianshen’s sword as Kong An watched from the hall.
• Mao Zhan appeared near Kong An, while Luo Bin noticed Liu Yinping holding a Yang Spirit Great Core outside the Main Hall.
• Liu Yinping cut open his abdomen, placed the Great Core in his dantian, and swallowed a pill, sacrificing his life to summon the Liu clan’s Yang Spirit.
• Qin Tianqing explained the Liu clan’s life-forfeiting summoning method, and Liu Yinping charged Kong An with a powerful righteous sword strike.