Chapter Summaries

Luo Bin’s group retrieved the corpse cores from Jingshan Yue and her Infant Corpse, using them to restore Xu Lu’s body and revive Miao Zi. Miao Zi regained a wisp of awareness and began speaking, leaving Luo Bin shocked by the possibility that his soul had returned.

• Hu Taiqing shattered the Red Coffin, and Xu Lu pulled the soulless Infant Corpse from Jingshan Yue’s abdomen while Fourth Master Gray gnawed at it.
• The ghosts drained Jingshan Yue’s vital essence until her corpse lost its jade transformation, and Qin Tianqing extracted cores from both bodies.
• Qin Tianqing used Jingshan Yue’s benevolent corpse core to help Xu Lu reclaim his body, then placed the Infant Corpse’s evil core in Miao Zi.
• Miao Zi’s body filled out as his Gu returned, and Xu Lu regained control of his body after spitting out the core.
• Miao Zi approached Jingshan Yue’s corpse and spoke, prompting Luo Bin and Qin Tianqing to realize primordial life force and the white silkworm Gu may have restored a wisp of Miao Zi’s soul.

Luo Bin and his companions secured the Corpse Core and left the collapsing mountain, but a mysterious visitor arrived at the summit, and Zi Miao vanished. As Golden Altar Mountain broke apart, Xu Lu realized the old man there had detected his talisman.

• Luo Bin recalled how Primordial Calculation and his soul had enabled him to reach Emergence from Darkness, while Qin Tianqing allowed the Ghost Dean to take Jingshan Yue’s corpse and soul.
• Xu Lu used the Twenty-Four Mountains Dragon-Suppressing Talisman to stabilize the mountain’s life force and explained that his Master Talisman could trigger the mountain’s collapse.
• Hu Taiqing took the Corpse Core, and the group descended from the mountain before Wei Youming rejoined them; Luo Bin then noticed Zi Miao was missing.
• Spirit Mediums warned that the Immortal Ash sensed a terrifying presence, so Xu Lu led the group toward safety using hexagram positions and talismans.
• At the summit, a dragon-eyed man and a white-robed old man saw Xu Lu’s Blood Talisman as the hall and mountain collapsed around them.
• Xu Lu looked back at Golden Altar Mountain and wondered how the old man had seen his talisman.

After escaping Golden Altar Mountain, Xu Lu and his companions returned to Mountain Rules Four, where Xu Lu reunited with Bai Xian and discovered that she was carrying twins whose fates were not Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi. Qin Tianqing prepared to plan a journey to Heavenly Mechanism Mountain, while Luo Bin reunited with Shangguan Xingyue and then encountered Qi Hua.

• Xu Lu, Luo Bin, Qin Tianqing, and Shangguan Xingyue escaped the collapsing Golden Altar Mountain with the corpse core and returned to their car.
• Hu Taiqing and his companions left the group, while Luo Bin drove the others back to the town at the foot of Mountain Rules Four.
• At the mountain gate, Bai Xian ran into Xu Lu's arms, and Xiang Ke told Qin Tianqing that preparations had begun for a journey to Heavenly Mechanism Mountain.
• Bai Xian reassured Luo Bin that she and her child were safe, but Xu Lu examined her and discovered she was carrying twins with extraordinary fates.
• Xu Lu announced that the twins were not Vajravarahi and Chakrasamvara, then went with Bai Xian while Qin Tianqing headed to Thunder God Cliff and Luo Bin entered the Spirit-Focusing Hall with Shangguan Xingyue.
• Qi Hua rushed out to greet Luo Bin, then froze when she saw Shangguan Xingyue.

Hua Qi gave Luo Bin reusable Reed Rats for capturing ghosts before he examined Miao Zi and Jingshan Yue’s corpse. Miao Zi offered his twelve Gu Silkworm Gold Bars to feed Luo Bin’s gu, but Luo Bin refused and chose to preserve Miao Zi’s abilities.

• Hua Qi presented Luo Bin with a dozen reusable Reed Rats and invited him to visit Immortal Cave Mountain.
• Hua Qi teased Luo Bin about Shangguan Xingyue before leaving, while Fourth Master Gray joked about the women around him.
• Luo Bin entered his room and found Wei Youming watching Miao Zi beside Jingshan Yue’s Ascended Corpse.
• Miao Zi said he wanted to make pills and feed gu, while Wei Youming explained that Miao Zi was not ill and had a complete soul.
• Luo Bin decided to burn Jingshan Yue’s corpse after Wei Youming confirmed that her soul had not undergone Soul-Scattering Flight.
• Miao Zi offered his twelve Gu Silkworm Gold Bars to feed Luo Bin’s gu, but Luo Bin told him to take them back, choosing to keep Miao Zi’s strength intact.

After recovering from his battle, Luo Bin gave Shangguan Xingyue fate-suppressing ritual artifacts and told her about Liu Shuisheng and his son. Investigating the eerie mountain pool, he discovered that the Female-One Patriarch had trapped the Charnel Ground Lords there, but something seized Luo Bin and held him underwater as a dark figure rose from the pool’s depths.

• Luo Bin absorbed Jingshan Yue into the White Flower Lantern, then rested while Fourth Master Gray guarded it.
• Luo Bin gave Shangguan Xingyue Tang Gaoji’s fate-suppressing ritual artifacts and told her about Liu Shuisheng and Liu Shengqi.
• Luo Bin watched the mountain pool and saw the Charnel Ground Lords appear above its surface before vanishing.
• Luo Bin submerged his head and saw the Female-One Patriarch trapping the Charnel Ground Lords with black blood vines beneath the pool.
• A hand pressed Luo Bin underwater, and a dark figure began rising from the bottom.

Luo Bin escaped the mountain pool after the Female-One Patriarch repelled the Blackblood Vine, but the Patriarch then tried to summon him back. The Old Miao King’s influence let Luo Bin resist and warn Four-Rules Mountain with the Miao King’s ocarina, leaving him to flee with the Gu Worms exhausted and the Blackblood Vine’s fate unresolved.

• The Female-One Patriarch drove the approaching Blackblood Vine back with the Female-One Jade Slip, while the Golden Silkworm Gu dragged Luo Bin out of the pool.
• Xiang Ke told Luo Bin that Junior Grand-Uncle and Master Qin wanted to speak with him, but the Female-One Patriarch also called for him.
• The Gu Worms took control of Luo Bin and led him toward the mountain gate despite the Patriarch’s command to come back.
• At the gate, Luo Bin played the Miao King’s ocarina as a Taoist approached, and the threat of a venom tide forced the Taoist to retreat.
• Luo Bin realized the Old Miao King had aided him and that Female-One wanted him to take the Blackblood Vine and the two deities away; he left Four-Rules Mountain as the Gu Worms’ strength ran out.

At Four-Rules Mountain, He Youtian feared that the mountain’s unprecedented prosperity concealed a calamity and speculated about the Female-One Patriarch’s plans for Luo Bin. Qin Tianqing discovered that the mountain pool and Female-One were being eroded, then realized the Spirit Embryo might be both a living Yang Spirit and a Heaven-Veiling Object.

• The Female-One Patriarch manifested and told Qin Tianqing not to follow him, so Qin Tianqing hurried toward the mountain pool as the weather suddenly cleared.
• He Youtian described Four-Rules Mountain’s past upheavals and suspected a hidden outside evil or a calamity of decline, while Luo Xianshen rejected his theory that Female-One intended to send the Blackblood Vine away with Luo Bin.
• Bai Xingtai and Bai Xiannan urged the others to wait for a sign from Female-One, and Luo Xianshen settled into meditation.
• Qin Tianqing found exhausted gu worms and wet footprints near the pool, then used the Heavenly Mechanism Jade Slip to see gray, skeletal-looking aura flowing into Female-One from the surrounding forests.
• Qin Tianqing examined the pool and concluded that the Spirit Embryo could be a living Yang Spirit or a Heaven-Veiling Object, two opposing extremes.

Qin Tianqing deduced that the Blackblood Vine might be used to devour the Heaven-Veiling Object, while Luo Bin returned to Four-Rules Mountain after learning Female-One Patriarch posed no danger to him. Huang Bing reported that a hostile group had blocked Three Perils Mountain’s Outer Stockade and captured Miao people, leaving Luo Bin concerned about the calamity facing the tribe.

• Qin Tianqing called Luo Bin back to Four-Rules Mountain, explaining that he had deduced what happened and believed Female-One Patriarch was safe.
• The Old Miao King sensed danger around Luo Bin through the gu seed but could not leave Three Perils Mountain to intervene.
• Luo Bin waited near the mountain pool while Qin Tianqing explained that Miao Zi and the Golden Silkworm Gu might help safely remove the Blackblood Vine.
• Luo Xianshen, He Youtian, Bai Lushu, and Bai Xingtai arrived, and Luo Bin said he needed to wait until someone could reassure his master before proceeding.
• Huang Bing called Luo Bin and reported that a group had blocked the Outer Stockade, captured Miao people, and prevented him from entering Three Perils Mountain.
• Luo Bin ordered Huang Bing to withdraw to Gui City and resolved to return later to deal with the threat to the Miao people.

Luo Bin watched Miao Zi take the Blackblood Vine into himself and learned that the Taoists would soon set out to eliminate the fateless and approach the Spirit Embryo. Back at Concentrating Spirit Hall, he saw the vine’s power through Miao Zi and received three extraordinary pills made from Jingshan Yue’s Ascended Corpse.

• Luo Bin arranged for Huang Bing to warn the White Miao outside Three Perils Mountain not to return, then waited for Miao Zi to arrive.
• Miao Zi entered the mountain pool and absorbed the Blackblood Vine without incident, while Female-One Patriarch disappeared.
• Qin Tianqing explained the Heart-Prying Field, the fateless, and the Spirit Embryo, and the group agreed to set out the next day to eliminate the fateless.
• He Youtian thanked Luo Bin for taking the Blackblood Vine away and gave him a narrow box as a token of Four-Rules Mountain’s gratitude.
• Luo Bin had Miao Zi reveal the Blackblood Vine, whose growth produced Grudge Infants, Moss Eaters, and the Ghost Prison before Miao Zi withdrew it.
• Miao Zi gave Luo Bin three pills made from Jingshan Yue’s Ascended Corpse and asked him to save her.

Luo Bin gave the Jade Corpse Miao Zi’s medicinal pills to restore her life force and learned that Shangguan Xingyue had detected a dragon-breaking omen over Four-Rules Mountain. As Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue prepared to leave for Heavenly Mechanism Mountain, Xu Lu waited for them at the mountain gate.

• Miao Zi thanked Luo Bin and offered three pills refined from the Corpse Cores to help restore the Jade Corpse.
• Luo Bin gave the Jade Corpse all three pills, and her fingers began to straighten; Shangguan Xingyue then arrived and discussed ways to summon her soul.
• Wei Youming took the Jade Corpse away when Shangguan Xingyue mentioned a potentially cruel Underground Palace alchemy method.
• Shangguan Xingyue warned Luo Bin that floating qi over Four-Rules Mountain indicated a dragon-breaking omen, and Luo Bin asked Qin Tianqing to discuss it with He Youtian.
• The next morning, Luo Bin and Shangguan Xingyue set out for Heavenly Mechanism Mountain, where Xu Lu was waiting at the mountain gate.

Luo Bin arrived in Qushui Town with the others and went to check on Zhang Qiuxi, only to find her heavily pregnant and living with a strangely composed man. When Luo Bin's yin hexagram stranglehold had no effect on him, he realized the man was an Unlived Person.

• Xu Lu led Luo Bin and the others down Four-Rules Mountain and traveled with them to Qushui Town.
• Qin Tianqing brought the group to the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds' courtyard and arranged for supplies before their trip to the mountain.
• Luo Bin split from Xu Lu and Shangguan Xingyue and had Fourth Master Gray guide him to Zhang Qiuxi.
• Luo Bin found Zhang Qiuxi pregnant and living with a calm, unfamiliar man, while a young child watched television nearby.
• Luo Bin's yin hexagram stranglehold failed to affect the man, and he recognized him as an Unlived Person.

Luo Bin and Qin Tianqing tracked an Unlived Person to the home of pregnant Zhang Qiuxi, where Luo Bin restrained him with Gu Worms. Before they could question him, the Unlived Person died after asking Luo Bin whether he had a heart and where it was.

• Luo Bin realized Unlived People could leave Heavenly Mechanism Mountain and suspected they were no longer bound by their original restrictions.
• Luo Bin found Zhang Qiuxi’s address, called Qin Tianqing, and waited with him until the street emptied.
• Luo Bin and Qin Tianqing entered Zhang Qiuxi’s home and found her pacing under some influence while holding her young son.
• They confronted the Unlived Person upstairs as he prepared to stab himself with an awl.
• The Unlived Person vanished and charged, but Luo Bin’s Gu Worms forced him to his knees.
• The Unlived Person asked Luo Bin about his heart, then died as blood poured from his chest.

Luo Bin and Qin Tianqing investigated an Unlived Person and realized the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds might be preserving its bloodline through offspring. After an On-Duty City God revealed that deformed Infant Ghosts were appearing around Qushui Town, Qin Tianqing recognized their connection to Heavenly Mechanism Mountain and suspected his people were responsible.

• The Unlived Person attacked Qin Tianqing, then asked whether he had a heart before tearing open his own chest and killing himself.
• Luo Bin and Fourth Master Gray proposed that the Unlived Persons might be trying to continue their bloodline, and Qin Tianqing agreed that their descendants could help them retain control of Heavenly Mechanism Mountain.
• Qin Tianqing ordered his disciples to investigate Qushui Town, took Zhang Qiuxi's child into his care, and said the fetus she would give birth to could not be kept.
• A wrinkled Infant Ghost appeared in the courtyard before Chen Ding, the On-Duty City God of Jiangqi City, arrived with another captured Infant Ghost and reported that such ghosts were spreading from Qushui Town.
• Xu Lu identified the Infant Ghost as a victim of Lifespan Theft, while Qin Tianqing recognized its deformities as connected to Heavenly Mechanism Mountain and promised to handle the matter.
• After Chen Ding left, Qin Tianqing condemned whoever was harming the Infant Ghosts, and Luo Bin feared the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds were responsible.

Luo Bin and the others traveled to Heavenly Gate Mountain to confront the Unlived People and contain the ghostly creatures. He used the Miao King's Ocarina to summon venomous insects and spread a poisonous miasma across the mountain, preparing the group to attack or defend.

• Qin Tianqing decided that the group would leave for Heavenly Gate Mountain to stop the Unlived People from disrupting the cycle of life and death.
• Luo Bin, Xu Lu, Shangguan Xingyue, and the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds disciples traveled by boat and on foot through the mountain wilderness to reach Heavenly Gate Mountain.
• Qin Tianqing led the group to a concealed vantage point near the mountain, where Xu Lu asked whether Luo Bin could handle the first step of their plan.
• Luo Bin played the Miao King's Ocarina and drew vast numbers of venomous insects toward Heavenly Gate Mountain.
• Luo Bin climbed the mountain and spread his Gu worms throughout the ruins, creating a poisonous haze that could gradually cover the area.

Luo Bin followed an eerie double of Qin Tianqing down Heavenly Gate Mountain before discovering the real Qin Tianqing was still on the summit. The forest below was revealed to be a vast Heart-Peering Grounds, leaving the group to confront the possibility that its influence reached beyond its borders.

• Qin Tianqing led the group to a vantage point overlooking Heavenly Mechanism Mountain and ordered them to rest before their dangerous ascent.
• During the night, Luo Bin saw a gaunt figure resembling Qin Tianqing descend toward the woods and followed it with Fourth Master Gray.
• Fourth Master Gray sensed Qin Tianqing both below and above, and Luo Bin saw the real Qin Tianqing beside Luo Xianshen on the summit.
• Qin Tianqing warned Luo Bin not to act alone and said the woods looked familiar, while Luo Bin told him he had seen him below.
• Luo Bin and the others realized the forest formed the shape of a heart and suspected the entire area was a Heart-Peering Grounds.

Luo Bin and the others debated how to cross the Unlived Person’s Heart-Peering Grounds, learning that it manipulated thoughts through souls bound as formation anchors. Luo Bin proposed using Miao Zi and venomous insects to lead the group through under gu control, and Qin Tianqing agreed to trust his plan.

• Luo Xianshen suggested the Heart-Peering Grounds might draw out thoughts like the Female-One Jade Slip, and Qin Tianqing explained how the grounds worked and why breaking their anchors was too dangerous.
• Qin Tianqing ordered Qin You and Qin Lü to search for the formation anchors and possibly merge into the formation, but Luo Xianshen, Shangguan Xingyue, and Xu Lu opposed sacrificing them.
• Luo Bin realized the group’s plan to unleash a Venom Tide would not work at the grounds’ threshold and asked Wei Youming to release Miao Zi.
• Luo Bin gave Miao Zi the Miao King's Ocarina and proposed using gu to control the group while venomous insects surrounded them and he led the way through the grounds.
• Luo Bin insisted Qin Tianqing also be controlled, and Qin Tianqing agreed before assuring Luo Bin he had revealed all crucial information.

Luo Bin led the group down Heavenly Gate Mountain under Miao Zi’s gu protection, discovering a dead Weilu Sect Daoist and signs that the Heart-Peering Grounds were creating dangerous visions. The protection eventually reached its limit, and Luo Bin saw Qin Tianqing attack him and Xu Lu, though Rewind showed that neither attack had happened in reality.

• Miao Zi used his gu and the Miao King's Ocarina to control and protect the group, but the gu refused to approach Luo Xianshen.
• Luo Bin and Luo Xianshen led the group down Heavenly Gate Mountain, where Miao Zi’s gu exposed a soul-devouring mist.
• Luo Bin found a dead Daoist wearing a Weilu Sect robe and command flags, then warned that the Unlived Person might have killed the sect members.
• Luo Bin saw a pale Qin Tianqing strike his golden silkworm gu, but Rewind revealed that the vision had been false.
• After Miao Zi’s gu protection reached its limit, Luo Bin saw Qin Tianqing bite Xu Lu, then used Rewind and found Xu Lu unharmed.

Luo Bin led the group out of the woods after the Heart-Peering Grounds, where nearly everyone but Luo Xianshen had been affected by the illusion. A second, deathly pale Qin Tianqing appeared and secretly urged Luo Bin to follow him alone to save someone trapped, warning him not to tell the others, especially the liar.

• Luo Bin used Rewind to confirm that he and Fourth Master Gray had remained unaffected as they reached the woods' edge.
• At Heavenly Mechanism Mountain's summit, Unlived Persons discussed the calamity and Qin Tianji ordered them to stop the heaven-dumper and protect a hidden location.
• After Miao Zi recalled his Gu worms, the shaken group emerged from the woods, and Qin Tianqing offered to lead them through the next Heart-Peering Grounds.
• Fourth Master Gray warned of blood, and Xu Lu spotted a kneeling corpse beside the path as something fled into the grass.
• Luo Bin used Rewind and saw a pale Qin Tianqing withdraw his hand from the corpse's head before disappearing into the grass.
• The pale Qin Tianqing grabbed Luo Bin's leg, told him someone was trapped, and demanded that he follow alone without telling the others, especially the liar.

Luo Bin and the others followed the Weilu Sect’s trail to the Heavenly Mechanism Death Gate, where they found signs of a fierce battle and Qin Tianqing was injured by a hidden sword. The group began preparing to enter the stone forest carefully and disperse its deathly energy.

• Luo Bin decided to help the Weilu Sect, and the group agreed to follow the path where its formations had been broken.
• Shangguan Xingyue and Xu Lu urged Qin Tianqing to bypass the Unlived People and strike at the Mountain Embryo Spirit, but Fourth Master Gray’s report led them toward the Death Gate instead.
• Qin Tianqing warned that the Death Gate’s resentment could drain life and damage fate, and the group followed the Weilu Sect’s trail through the cleared path.
• The group reached a foul-smelling stone forest and found scattered Unlived Person corpses and bronze swords left by the Weilu Sect.
• Qin Tianqing stepped on a concealed sword, and Luo Bin ordered the Heavenly Mechanism disciples to stay out while the Taoists formed up to disperse the deathly energy.

Luo Bin and the Divine Firmament Taoists used wind and lightning talismans to break the stone forest’s formation and rescue Xu Ting and the Weilu Sect members. As the group set off to destroy the Unlived People, Luo Bin realized the smiling double of Qin Tianqing was an unknown being hunting them, though the reason the Unlived Person had spared itself remained unclear.

• Luo Bin directed the Taoists to disperse the stone forest’s miasma with wind talismans and illuminate it with lightning, drawing Xu Ting and the trapped Weilu Sect members out.
• Xu Ting thanked Luo Bin, then reprimanded the Heavenly Mechanism Order for allowing the Unlived People to threaten the world and agreed to travel with Qin Tianqing to destroy them.
• Qin Tianqing led the enlarged group onward while Luo Bin noticed the pale-skinned Qin Tianqing double smiling at the stone forest entrance before stepping back inside.
• Fourth Master Gray’s remark prompted Luo Bin to recall the Unlived Person asking the double whether it had a heart and where it was, and Luo Bin realized that it had been hunting the Unlived People.