Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping’s Lotus Eye consumed the Heaven-Sealing Stone, and Fairy Lingyue explained that it could help repair the Demon-Sealing Gate beneath Azure Profound Sect. After the eye sent Xu Taiping visions of the future, he feared that he would be killed in the coming days.

• The Heaven-Sealing Stone shattered and was absorbed by Xu Taiping’s left eye, leaving a tiny fragment behind.
• Fairy Lingyue explained the stone’s history and surmised that Xu Taiping’s Martial Aunt had sought it to repair the Demon-Sealing Gate beneath Azure Profound Sect.
• Xu Taiping worried that his eye had ruined the effort to save the sect, but Fairy Lingyue said the Earth Fruit could grow a complete stone if he reached the Transformation Realm.
• Xu Taiping resolved to make the Blood Rain Forest trip decisive for his cultivation breakthrough.
• A voice called the stone’s absorption a thank-you gift, and Xu Taiping saw visions of events that seemed to be in his future.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that he had seen someone kill him a few days from then.

Xu Taiping shared breakfast with Lu Yun and Lu Wen, confirming that his Lotus Eye showed possible futures rather than inevitable events. As he and Fairy Lingyue examined the seven deaths he had glimpsed, she recognized the Seven Tribulations Curse and explained that One-Leaf Book’s master had cursed all three thousand people he was screening.

• Xu Taiping split the porridge and meat patty with Lu Yun and Lu Wen, changing the scene his left eye had shown him.
• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue concluded that his Lotus Eye revealed possible futures and discussed the seven fatal calamities he had glimpsed.
• Fairy Lingyue realized that the Seven Tribulations Curse, a misfortune spell from One-Leaf Book, was behind the calamities.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that the curse did not mean One-Leaf Book’s master had found them; he had cursed all three thousand people he was screening.

Xu Taiping learned that the Seven Tribulations Curse might be countered by the calamities his left eye revealed, and he decided to face the danger awaiting him at the Relic-Seeking Studio to obtain the Coiling Dragon Tower. After helping Lu Yun with money for the Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall, Xu Taiping was visited by Chongde.

• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue realized his left eye’s seven calamities might help counter the Seven Tribulations Curse placed on three thousand people.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that cultivators would try to assassinate him after he visited the Relic-Seeking Studio, where he planned to buy a Coiling Dragon Tower.
• Fairy Lingyue identified the Coiling Dragon Tower as a possible Dragon-Trapping Tower, a rare treasure tied to a secret about True Dragons, and urged Xu Taiping to acquire it.
• Xu Taiping decided to visit the Relic-Seeking Studio rather than avoid the danger predicted by his left eye.
• Xu Taiping gave Lu Yun over a thousand Gold Essence Coins to help keep the Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall running and asked to use it again that night.
• Chongde arrived at the courtyard gate and announced that he had come to visit Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping went with Chongde to the Relic-Seeking Studio, where he recognized Qi Yu as the man from a vision who would later ambush him. On the third floor, he intervened in a dispute over a Crimson Flame Stone by offering a different stone to a young master and his maid.

• Xu Taiping and Chongde visited the Relic-Seeking Studio, where Xu Taiping bought herbs and supplies while Chongde reported his behavior to Abbot Guangze.
• Xu Taiping recognized Qi Yu as the man his left eye had shown leading an ambush against him, and Fairy Lingyue suggested marking him with a Divine Soul Mark.
• Xu Taiping saw Qi Yu's subordinate kick a young maid and knock a Crimson Flame Stone from her grasp.
• The maid's young master urged her to let the stone go, but Qi Yu mocked him and kept the stone.
• Xu Taiping approached the young master and his maid with another Crimson Flame Stone, offering them the chance to try it instead.

Xu Taiping drew attention to himself to help Fairy Lingyue place a Divine Soul Mark on Qi Yu, then sold a Crimson Flame Stone to the curious young master, who turned out to be a woman. At the auction, Xu Taiping learned that the Coiling Dragon Tower was needed by the Ancestor, and the disguised young woman revealed her identity beside him.

• Xu Taiping used a proposal to buy a Crimson Flame Stone to distract the crowd while Fairy Lingyue marked Qi Yu with a Divine Soul Mark.
• The handsome young master returned and insisted on buying Xu Taiping's stone, agreeing to split any treasure fifty-fifty despite Qing'er's objections.
• The attendant opened the Crimson Flame Stone and revealed a short saber with the aura of a Heaven Rank Spirit Treasure, drawing astonished cries from the crowd.
• At the Relic-Seeking Studio auction, Chongde asked Xu Taiping to take him stone-seeking, then the auctioneer announced the Coiling Dragon Tower among the lots.
• Fairy Lingyue's mark transmitted that the Ancestor needed the Coiling Dragon Tower, and the young woman beside Xu Taiping revealed she was the young master in disguise.

Xu Taiping learned that Chu Xiaoxiao was a princess with a gambling habit and agreed to advise her during the Relic-Seeking Studio sale. He planned to drain Qi Yu’s funds before bidding on the Dragon-Trapping Tower, and the first item was introduced.

• Xu Taiping sensed that Young Master Cao’s aura had changed and learned that she was Chu Xiaoxiao, the daughter of the emperor’s third uncle.
• Monk Chongde told Xu Taiping that Chu Xiaoxiao collected antiques and had once gambled away much of her family’s estate.
• Chu Xiaoxiao told her maid Qing’er that Xu Taiping was her benefactor and asked him to join forces during the sale.
• Xu Taiping declined to bid alongside Chu Xiaoxiao but offered to advise her, while planning to reduce Qi Yu’s funds before the Dragon-Trapping Tower auction.
• The Head Shopkeeper announced a Heaven Rank Golden Body Talisman as the sale’s first item and opened its Jade Box, releasing powerful aura fluctuations.

Xu Taiping manipulated the auction to drain Qi Yu’s funds while helping Chu Xiaoxiao win several treasures, then prepared to bid on the Coiling Dragon Tower himself. As Qi Yu believed he still had nearly thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins, Xu Taiping asked Chongde how much the Qi Household could raise at most.

• Chu Xiaoxiao bid against Qi Yu for the Heaven Rank Golden Body Talisman until the Qi Household bought it for three thousand seven hundred Gold Essence Coins.
• Xu Taiping let Chu Xiaoxiao win four or five later treasures at fair prices, further reducing Qi Yu’s funds.
• Chu Xiaoxiao asked Xu Taiping not to stop her if Qi Yu competed for the next item, but Xu Taiping said he needed to bid on it himself.
• Qi Yu told Xu Taiping that only the Coiling Dragon Tower remained on the Ancestor’s list and that the Qi Household still had nearly thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins.
• Xu Taiping asked Chongde about the Qi Household’s resources, and Chongde said fifty thousand Gold Essence Coins was likely its maximum available at once.

Xu Taiping bid aggressively against Qi Yu for the Coiling Dragon Tower, despite Chongde and Qing'er warning him not to get drawn into a price war. He raised his offer to thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins, leaving Qi Yu stunned as the auction continued.

• The Relic-Seeking Studio offered the Coiling Dragon Tower with a minimum bid of ten thousand Gold Essence Coins, and Qi Yu bid eleven thousand for the Qi Household.
• Xu Taiping bid twenty thousand Gold Essence Coins, prompting Qi Yu to accuse him of deliberately opposing the Qi Household.
• Chongde defended Xu Taiping, who confirmed he could pay the auction price on the spot.
• Qi Yu raised the bid to twenty-one thousand Gold Essence Coins and challenged Xu Taiping to bid again.
• Despite warnings from Chongde and Qing'er, Xu Taiping bid thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins, freezing Qi Yu's smile.

Xu Taiping outbid Qi Yu for the Coiling Dragon Tower and proved he could pay thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins, forcing Qi Yu and his men to leave the Relic-Seeking Studio. Outside, Qi Yu arranged an ambush with his uncles and the Qi Household’s Black-Robed Guards to kill Xu Taiping and reclaim the tower.

• Xu Taiping raised his bid for the Coiling Dragon Tower to thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins, enraging Qi Yu, who could afford only twenty-seven thousand.
• Qi Yu accused Xu Taiping of disrupting the auction and pressured the Head Shopkeeper to demand proof that Xu Taiping could pay.
• Xu Taiping agreed to show his funds on the condition that Qi Yu and his men leave if he proved his bid was genuine.
• Xu Taiping poured out thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins, and the Head Shopkeeper ordered Qi Yu and his men to leave the Relic-Seeking Studio.
• Qi Yu stationed his men around the Relic-Seeking Studio and contacted his Third Uncle to gather Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, and the Black-Robed Guards for an ambush on Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping stocked up on talismans, pills, and other supplies for his perilous journey to the Blood Rain Forest, then sent a clone to test a trap laid by the Qi Household. He told Monk Chongde that he had only a one-in-ten chance of surviving the journey, leaving the monk to fear that Xu Taiping intended to confront the Blood Demon Ancestor.

• Xu Taiping spent nearly twenty thousand Gold Essence Coins on supplies for the Blood Rain Forest, including powerful Heaven Rank talismans and materials for Bone-Regenerating Pills.
• Xu Taiping created a clone, gave it the Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing Talisman, and sent it downstairs to test the Qi Household's trap.
• Xu Taiping told Monk Chongde he was going to the Blood Rain Forest to find something he needed and refused the monk's offer of help.
• Xu Taiping used his clone to rescue a girl and her grandfather from a speeding carriage, avoiding the Qi Household's planned ambush.
• Monk Chongde heard that Xu Taiping had only a one-in-ten chance of survival and feared he was going to kill the Blood Demon Ancestor.

Xu Taiping arranged for Monk Chongde to protect the siblings at Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall and received a Relic-Seeking Token, then walked into Qi Yu's ambush at an abandoned manor. As Qi Yu's men attacked, Xu Taiping activated a superior-grade Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing Talisman.

• Xu Taiping asked Monk Chongde to look after the siblings at Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall while he was in Blood Rain Forest, and promised to credit Chongde with Ancient Buddha Kasyapa.
• The head shopkeeper gave Xu Taiping a Relic-Seeking Token and warned him that the Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing and Mountain-Shaking Talismans could harm allies as well as enemies.
• Qi Yu and his uncles entered an abandoned manor with their Black-Robed Guards and surrounded the Xu Taiping they believed was trapped by Mind-Confusing Art.
• Qi Second Uncle released the Mind-Confusing Art, and Qi Yu ordered the Black-Robed Guards to attack Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping smiled as the attackers lunged and triggered a superior-grade Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing Talisman, releasing a bone-chilling surge of aura.

Xu Taiping’s Bone-Freezing Talisman killed Qi Yu and his men, and Bai Yu finished off Qi Second Uncle and cleaned up. Back at the Relic-Seeking Studio, Xu Taiping met Young Master Zhu and recognized the cross-shaped scar on his hand from the visions of his second tribulation.

• Xu Taiping’s Bone-Freezing Talisman froze and shattered Qi Yu, his Fourth Uncle, his Fifth Uncle, and the nearby Black-Robed Guards, while Qi Second Uncle survived briefly before collapsing.
• Bai Yu crushed Qi Second Uncle’s head, then received Xu Taiping’s order to clean up and watch for anyone from the Qi Household.
• Xu Taiping reflected that the Lotus Eye’s visions had helped him pass his first tribulation and went to look for Monk Chongde.
• Chu Xiaoxiao introduced Xu Taiping to Young Master Zhu, a former member of the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s imperial clan, and asked him to help assess Zhu’s treasures.
• Xu Taiping recognized the cross-shaped scar on Young Master Zhu’s hand from his vision of the second tribulation.

Xu Taiping asked Monk Chongde to identify a strange design and learned it was the mark of Ghost Pagoda, a murderous organization tied to Fire Cloud Temple. When the mark appeared across the Relic-Seeking Studio’s walls, Chongde revealed that Ghost Pagoda had secretly taken control of the entire studio.

• Xu Taiping agreed to meet Chu Xiaoxiao and Young Master Zhu later, then summoned Monk Chongde to Earth-Character Room Number One.
• Xu Taiping suspected Young Master Zhu had hidden intentions and considered that the tribulation might target Chu Xiaoxiao and the Relic-Seeking Studio.
• Xu Taiping drew the strange design for Monk Chongde, who identified it as Ghost Pagoda’s mark and described the organization’s history of massacres.
• After Xu Taiping revealed he had seen the mark inside the Relic-Seeking Studio, Monk Chongde chanted Buddhist scriptures and illuminated the room with golden light.
• Ghost Pagoda marks emerged on the walls, and Monk Chongde warned Xu Taiping that the organization had taken control of the entire Relic-Seeking Studio.

Xu Taiping learned that the Ghost Pagodas were preparing to open the Wangchuan Great Prison beneath Southern Chu’s Imperial City. The chapter left him and Monk Chongde heading toward the sixth floor, with Chu Xiaoxiao’s life and the prison’s seal in danger.

• Xu Taiping asked Monk Chongde how to identify the Ghost King and learned about the Ghost Pagoda mark and the Ghost King’s inability to look at himself in a mirror.
• Monk Chongde offered to help Xu Taiping escape, but Xu Taiping said identifying the Ghost King might let them break out of the death trap.
• Monk Chongde explained that the Ghost Pagoda Domain could turn cultivators into evil ghosts, and that restraining the weakened Ghost King while it unfolded would collapse it.
• Xu Taiping told Monk Chongde that a suspected Ghost King had posed as a member of the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s imperial clan to approach Chu Xiaoxiao.
• Monk Chongde realized the Ghost Pagodas intended to use the lives of the cultivators in the Relic-Seeking Studio and Chu Xiaoxiao to open the Wangchuan Great Prison.
• Monk Chongde explained that the prison sealed demonic monk Zhenwu and that the Southern Chu Imperial Clan’s bloodline could help break its seal.

Xu Taiping deduced that Young Master Zhu was the Ghost King and devised a plan to expose him before the Ghost Pagoda’s domain fully unfolded. The chapter ended as Xu Taiping’s golden Buddha Hand struck the transformed ghost.

• Xu Taiping concluded that Young Master Zhu was the Ghost King because the Pagoda Mark had not affected him, and Monk Chongde agreed.
• Xu Taiping learned from Monk Chongde how to resist the Pagoda Mark briefly and planned to use that time to confront the Ghost King.
• Xu Taiping joined Chu Xiaoxiao and Young Master Zhu in Heaven-Character Room Number One, where they were examining treasures.
• Xu Taiping offered Young Master Zhu a silver mirror in exchange for the Yellow Bell Sword.
• Young Master Zhu saw his reflection, transformed into an evil ghost, and triggered the room’s Pagoda Marks.
• Xu Taiping struck Young Master Zhu with a golden Buddha Hand just before the Pagoda Marks appeared.

Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde sealed one Ghost King, but a second Ghost King disguised as Qing'er attacked and captured Chu Xiaoxiao. As Chu Xiaoxiao was knocked unconscious, a piercing cicada cry suddenly sounded beside her.

• Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde used True Words and a blood-drawn curse inscription to seal the Ghost King inside a mirror.
• Monk Chongde and the old gentleman from the Relic-Seeking Studio realized the Ghost Pagoda marks were still spreading as the lights went out again.
• Qing'er transformed into a second Ghost King, cut Xu Taiping in two, and struck Monk Chongde into a wall.
• The second Ghost King grabbed Chu Xiaoxiao, but she cut off her hair to escape his grasp and tried to flee through a window.
• The Ghost King blocked Chu Xiaoxiao's escape, captured the old gentleman, swallowed her talismans, and struck her with a punch.
• As Chu Xiaoxiao's consciousness faded, a piercing cicada cry sounded beside her ear.

Xu Taiping struggled to seal a powerful Ghost King while evil ghosts attacked Heaven-Character Room Number One. After calling on Venerable Jiaye to repay what he owed, Xu Taiping received a surge of Buddha power and a strand of prayer beads bearing the Demon-Subduing Seal.

• Xu Taiping revealed that the person he had killed was only his clone and struck the Ghost King with the Demon-Slaying Blade.
• Monk Chongde summoned a Buddha Hand to pin down the Ghost King, while Xu Taiping used a Spirit Mirror and Buddhist true words to try to seal him.
• Chu Xiaoxiao shut and locked the room door after blue-faced evil ghosts charged down the corridor, but their pounding began to crack it.
• The Ghost King broke free of Xu Taiping's rings of Buddha light, leaving Xu Taiping to choose between waking Fairy Lingyue, fleeing, or seeking another way.
• Xu Taiping shouted at Venerable Jiaye to repay his debt, and a golden pillar of light descended as prayer beads bearing the Demon-Subduing Seal appeared around his wrist.

Xu Taiping fought the second Ghost King as its strength rose toward the peak of the Spirit Refining Realm, relying on his ultimate-realm Azure Ox Great Sage Fist. When Xu Taiping exhausted his qi and blood, the Demon-Subduing Seal activated and formed a golden dharma aspect that shattered two of the Ghost King's arms.

• The second Ghost King broke free and attacked Xu Taiping, who met its punch with an ultimate-realm fist and was driven back.
• Monk Chongde warned Xu Taiping that the Pagoda Ghost Domain would open if the Ghost King's aura surpassed the peak of the Spirit Refining Realm.
• Xu Taiping used the furious flood dragon state and the Heaven-Rending Stance to trade blows with the Ghost King as its strength surged.
• The Ghost King's four fists overwhelmed Xu Taiping's protective gang qi, but Xu Taiping kept fighting by spending his remaining qi, blood, and true essence.
• Xu Taiping stepped forward with the Mountain-Shaking Form, and a Demon-Subduing Seal bead shattered, releasing a golden dharma aspect that broke two of the Ghost King's arms.

Xu Taiping killed the Ghost King with the Demon-Subduing Seal and helped Monk Chongde credit the victory to Ancient Buddha Kasyapa. His third tribulation began with scarlet lightning, while news of escaped prisoners and attacks across the Imperial Capital made him decide to flee at once.

• Xu Taiping struck down the Ghost King, causing the ghost pagodas to collapse and their victims to return to human form.
• Monk Chongde explained how the ghost pagodas drew out wicked thoughts, and Xu Taiping used pills and Dragon Gall Wine to recover.
• Xu Taiping asked Chu Xiaoxiao not to publicize his role, and Monk Chongde took credit for the victory on behalf of the Chan School.
• Scarlet lightning struck the Imperial City, signaling the start of Xu Taiping's third tribulation and the coming blood rain.
• Chu Xiaoxiao reported that Wangchuan Great Prison had been breached and Demonic Monk Zhenwu and the Martial God of the Former Dynasty had escaped, while ghost pagodas had attacked Prince Yi's Mansion.
• Xu Taiping feared the escaped demonic monk might kill him in his third tribulation and decided to leave the Imperial Capital immediately.

Xu Taiping interpreted his calamity visions as a warning that the Imperial Capital faced a threat beyond the forces gathering to contain its current unrest. He urged Chu Xiaoxiao and others to flee, then instructed Monk Chongde to evacuate Lu Yun and his elder sister from the city.

• Xu Taiping realized the scarlet lightning might mark a countdown and that the figure entering Mysterious Cloud Hall could kill anyone who looked at it.
• Chu Xiaoxiao reported that the Golden Guards, the Imperial City's Grand Formation, the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion's Divine Generals, and powerful clan and sect elders were mobilizing against the demonic monk and the Former Dynasty's Martial God.
• Xu Taiping rejected Chu Xiaoxiao's offer of shelter and told her, Monk Chongde, and Mister Da to take their families and leave the Imperial Capital within an hour.
• Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde left the Relic-Seeking Studio and passed through crowds watching the scarlet lightning.
• Xu Taiping told Monk Chongde to gather Lu Yun, his elder sister, and anyone willing to go, then leave the city immediately.