Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping and Gu Qingcheng prepared a vine-bound stone fortress for the second wave of the hunt, which came as a swarm of giant rats. Xu Taiping chose to rescue the fleeing refugees, and the Mysterious Wasteland Tower rewarded the group for every person they saved.

• Xu Taiping told Gu Qingcheng and the others to build a stone fortress, anticipating danger in the second wave of the hunt.
• Gu Qingcheng used blood talismans and Wood-Origin Power to raise vines, helping Xu Taiping and the others build a sturdy fortress before the hunt arrived.
• A swarm of calf-sized rats swept through the forest, devouring refugees who could not escape.
• Gu Qingcheng warned Xu Taiping that the refugees were dead Divine Souls who would reappear, but Xu Taiping insisted they were living people and went to help them.
• The Tower Spirit announced that each refugee they saved would earn the group cultivation, treasures, or abilities, depending on how many they rescued.

Gu Qingcheng recalled that Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland tested people through their choices, then lent Xu Taiping the Emperor’s relic, Thunder Soul. As refugees fled a rat swarm, Xu Taiping used the blade to hold the beasts off and protect their escape.

• Gu Qingcheng agreed to stay in the stone fortress with Nanxing and the others to help settle rescued refugees.
• Gu Qingcheng lent Xu Taiping Thunder Soul, a relic of Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland that her brother had found in the tower.
• As giant rats chased refugees toward them, Xu Taiping drew Thunder Soul and sent Gu Qingcheng and the others into the fortress.
• Xu Taiping told Zhai Mo to guide the refugees inside while he intercepted the swarm, and called out to fleeing people to follow him.
• Xu Taiping used the Mist-Borrowing Technique to confuse the rats, then swung Thunder Soul and cut through the leading beasts.

Xu Taiping and Zhai Mo fought back a massive swarm of giant rats at the entrance to Chaotic Stone Ridge. Xu Taiping drove the rats out with the Raging Thunder Form of the Great Sage Fist, but Gu Qingcheng recognized that his version of the technique was incomplete.

• Xu Taiping fought off waves of giant rats with his blade and the Chaotic Cicada Stance as the swarm forced him back to Chaotic Stone Ridge.
• Xu Taiping held the narrow entrance while Gu Qingcheng watched from the stone fort, and the rats eventually smashed through the boulder walls.
• After Zhai Mo brought the refugees to safety, he joined Xu Taiping and cleaved a path through the swarm with his axe.
• Xu Taiping told Zhai Mo to hold the rats back, then unleashed the Raging Thunder Form of the Great Sage Fist and drove the swarm out of the burial ground.
• Gu Qingcheng recognized Xu Taiping's Great Sage Fist as incomplete and noted that its true final punch could have annihilated the rats ahead.

After sealing the Stone Fortress, Xu Taiping recovered from the strain of driving back the rats and revealed that he had derived the Great Sage Fist through the Spirit Bone Stele. Gu Qingcheng explained that her sect’s rumor linked the fist to the Demon Ancestor, and said her eldest brother had inherited it from their generation.

• Zhai Mo carried Xu Taiping into the Stone Fortress, and Gu Qingcheng sealed its entrance with vines and boulders.
• Yuzhu treated Gu Qingcheng and then transferred true essence and blood qi to help Xu Taiping recover.
• Xu Taiping explained that his Raging Thunder Form had exhausted his qi and blood, leaving him unable to suppress his injuries.
• Gu Qingcheng revealed that her sect possessed a copy of the Great Sage Fist, and Xu Taiping said he had derived his version through the Spirit Bone Stele.
• Xu Taiping named the Baxia and Mountain-Bearing Forms, which Gu Qingcheng said were missing from her sect’s copy and known only through a rumor.
• Gu Qingcheng privately told Xu Taiping that her sect believed the Great Sage Fist contained true intent left by the Demon Ancestor, and that her eldest brother had inherited the fist.

Gu Qingcheng offered Xu Taiping the complete Great Sage Fist in exchange for him teaching her his version if he reached the Mysterious Wasteland Tower’s twelfth floor, and revealed her late brother’s wish behind the offer. As the second hunt wave battered the stone fort, Xu Taiping saw a little girl plead for help while her brother was trapped in a tree surrounded by giant rats, leaving Gu Qingcheng watching to see what he would do.

• Gu Qingcheng told Xu Taiping that two missing moves of the Great Sage Fist might be hidden in the Spirit Bone Stele and could lead to the Demon Ancestor’s true intent.
• Gu Qingcheng offered to teach Xu Taiping her sect’s Great Sage Fist if he agreed to teach her his version after reaching the Mysterious Wasteland Tower’s twelfth floor.
• Xu Taiping doubted Gu Qingcheng’s explanation, though he sensed she was telling the truth, and hesitated to accept her offer.
• Giant rats continued ramming the stone fort, and Xu Taiping said the second hunt wave would end when the incense stick burned out.
• Xu Taiping spotted a little girl clinging to a giant rat while her brother fought from a tree, and the girl cried out for the people inside the fort to save him.
• Gu Qingcheng watched Xu Taiping, waiting to see whether the Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland would respond to his choice.

Xu Taiping decided to leave the stone fortress and save the siblings trapped outside, both to rescue them and to pursue the Tower Spirit’s highest-tier reward. With Gu Qingcheng preparing to open the entrance and Yuzhu lending him True Essence, he readied Thunder Soul to clear the rats blocking the way.

• Xu Taiping told Nanxing, Elder Zhang, and the others that he had enough strength to hold out until the rats dispersed and would try to save the siblings.
• Xu Taiping admitted that he also wanted to save more than a hundred people and earn the Tower Spirit’s highest-tier reward.
• Elder Zhang and Nanxing warned Xu Taiping about the danger, but he stood by his decision, and Elder Zhang stopped trying to dissuade him.
• Xu Taiping asked Gu Qingcheng to open the entrance and said he would deal with the rats, then readied Thunder Soul and his Blade Force.
• Yuzhu sent Xu Taiping additional True Essence as Gu Qingcheng began controlling the vines and counted down to remove the boulder.

Xu Taiping rescued the two children and fought off the giant rats, prompting the Mysterious Wasteland Tower to promise him and the other Azure Dragon Armor bearers generous rewards. Gu Qingcheng concluded that the Tower Spirit’s response was Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland answering Xu Taiping, then watched anxiously as the swarm trapped him outside the Stone Fortress.

• Gu Qingcheng lifted the rocks blocking the Stone Fortress entrance with vines, and Xu Taiping unleashed Dragon-Slaying Form to destroy the giant rats gathered outside.
• Xu Taiping rescued the girl from a rat’s back and reached the great tree where the boy was hiding.
• The Tower Spirit promised Xu Taiping perfected cultivation for the Mysterious Wasteland Tower’s Seventh Layer and the highest-tier reward if he got the children safely through the hunt, while the other Azure Dragon Armor bearers would receive sixty years’ worth of cultivation.
• Gu Qingcheng decided the Tower Spirit’s response was Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland answering Xu Taiping and tearfully said she had found the person her older brother was seeking.
• The rat swarm knocked down the great tree, leaving Xu Taiping fighting alone with his back to a pile of rocks as Gu Qingcheng urged him to hold on.

Xu Taiping fought through a swarm of giant rats while protecting two siblings, and chose to use the Demon-Slaying Blade’s Crane-Listening Stance when his strength and the Thunder Soul Blade’s power began to run low. He led the siblings toward a gap in the swarm, and as they charged into another wall of rats, he drew his blade.

• Xu Taiping’s Thunder Soul Blade and borrowed thunderflame helped him kill giant rats, but their power and his blood qi steadily dwindled.
• Xu Taiping decided he would use the Demon-Slaying Blade’s Crane-Listening Stance if necessary, then refused the boy’s offer to distract the rats and abandon him with his sister.
• Xu Taiping cleared a stretch of ground with a sweeping slash and told the boy to carry his sister and follow him.
• The boy carried his sister after Xu Taiping, and the three charged toward a weak point as hundreds of rats gathered in their path.
• The boy reassured his frightened sister and resolved to trust Xu Taiping, who drew his blade as they neared the swarm.

Xu Taiping fought through the giant rat swarm to protect two siblings, inspiring the boy to vow to join the White Tiger Battalion and defend the western border. As the incense burned out and the swarm began retreating, the Stone Fortress group rushed to find Xu Taiping, while Gu Qingcheng feared the consequences if he died inside the Mysterious Wasteland Tower.

• Xu Taiping carved openings through the giant rat swarm with the Crane-Listening Force, guiding the boy and his younger sister forward despite exhausting his strength.
• The boy admired Xu Taiping's perseverance and vowed to join the White Tiger Battalion and fight Guifang if he survived.
• A giant rat struck Xu Taiping down, and when the boy tried to take up the Thunder Soul Blade, Xu Taiping stopped him and rose to attack again.
• The incense burned out, and Zhai Mo reported that the swarm was retreating.
• Gu Qingcheng opened the Stone Fortress entrance, and Nanxing and the others hurried out to find Xu Taiping while she prayed he was safe.

After defeating a mass of giant rats, Xu Taiping revealed that he had established a Blade Domain and nearly struck Yuzhu while immersed in the ultimate intent of the Martial Dao. Gu Qingcheng intervened, and Xu Taiping regained control before the story left him preparing to recover under Yuzhu’s care.

• Yuzhu found Xu Taiping standing among the giant rat corpses, exhausted but radiating the might of a Blade Domain.
• Gu Qingcheng recognized Xu Taiping’s Blade Domain and realized why Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland had chosen him.
• Yuzhu rushed toward Xu Taiping, and he instinctively swung the Thunder Soul Blade at her.
• Gu Qingcheng shielded Yuzhu, but Xu Taiping stopped his blade just short of her and regained his senses.
• Xu Taiping explained that immersing his mind in the ultimate intent of the Martial Dao empowered his attacks while making him unable to distinguish friend from foe.
• Yuzhu apologized and offered to treat Xu Taiping’s injuries and restore his Qi and Blood.

After the rat swarm dispersed, Xu Taiping told his companions they had to flee north before the next wave of hunting began, though the western exit was much closer. Most of the refugees chose to head west, while two children trusted Xu Taiping and stayed with him; the Tower Spirit then rewarded him for saving them.

• Xu Taiping learned from Elder Zhang that barely any time had passed since the rat swarm dispersed, and warned his companions that they needed to flee north before the third wave of hunting began.
• Gongshu Nanxing, Zhai Mo, and the others agreed to follow Xu Taiping north, but the refugees argued that the western exit was close and the northern woods were dangerous.
• Xu Taiping let the refugees choose their own path, and the cultivator leading them took most of them west toward the exit.
• Gu Qingcheng asked whether saving the refugees had been pointless if they headed toward danger, and Xu Taiping replied that he had saved them because it felt right.
• The Little Girl with Pigtails and the boy chose to trust Xu Taiping and stay with him, and he promised to get them out safely.
• The Tower Spirit offered Xu Taiping rewards for saving the refugees and the siblings: cultivation raised to the floor's great perfection, his first layer of blade domain power unsealed, and two choices of previously used treasures or abilities.

Xu Taiping entered the Mysterious Wasteland Tower to choose treasures for the third hunt, where Guifang hunters concealed among the refugees posed the greatest threat. He obtained the Fish-Seeking Disc and then asked whether he could choose powerful Buddhist treasures given to him by Ancient Buddha Kasyapa.

• Xu Taiping reasoned that he needed to find the disguised Guifang hunters before they gathered at the Ruined Temple and chose the Fish-Seeking Disc to intercept nearby voice transmissions.
• The Tower Spirit assured Xu Taiping that the Fish-Seeking Disc could be used freely in Black Mountain and allowed him to choose another treasure or cultivation technique without restrictions.
• Xu Taiping tried to choose the Yin-Yang Life-and-Death Seal, but the Tower Spirit said he had never wielded its power, so it could not retrieve the treasure.
• Xu Taiping realized he could choose treasures he had actually used and asked whether that included the Demon-Subduing Seal, Dhyana Seal, Vajra Seal, and a bracelet containing Ancient Buddha Kasyapa's sealed Buddha Domain power.

Xu Taiping received the Five-Life Bracelet and led his companions into the third hunt, warning them that Guifang hunters would disguise themselves among the refugees. After Gu Qingcheng confirmed the refugees’ deaths through divination, Xu Taiping used the Fish-Seeking Disc to locate six hunters south of their hiding place.

• Xu Taiping chose the Five-Life Bracelet, gaining five chances to start over, and returned to Black Mountain with his companions.
• Gu Qingcheng gave Xu Taiping a Qi-Concealing and Body-Hiding Talisman as dark clouds signaled the third wave of the hunt.
• Xu Taiping warned everyone that Guifang cultivators would disguise themselves among the refugees and continue killing them after the hunt ended.
• Gu Qingcheng divined that refugees fleeing west had died and stopped doubting Xu Taiping’s warning.
• Xu Taiping led the group toward a grove to hide, then used the Fish-Seeking Disc to identify six Guifang hunters south of them.

Xu Taiping and his companions listened to the Guifang Hunters plan a contest to kill refugees, while Gu Qingcheng warned that outsiders might be watching through treasures. She proposed sowing discord among the hunters instead of attacking them directly, and the Fish-Seeking Disc began vibrating again.

• Xu Taiping let Nanxing and the others hear the Guifang Hunters wager over who would kill the most refugees that night.
• Gu Qingcheng recognized the Fish-Seeking Disc and explained that Guifang nobles sometimes let spectators watch and bet on their hunts.
• Xu Taiping agreed that he needed to eliminate hunters before nightfall but realized a direct attack could draw more hunters.
• Gu Qingcheng proposed poisoning one hunter with poisonous herb branch sap to turn the rival groups against each other, and Xu Taiping praised her plan.
• The Fish-Seeking Disc began vibrating as its two black fish spat out bubbles.

Xu Taiping and his companions staged a ghostly procession to trap the refugees in Maplewood Forest while they identified the Guifang Hunters. As Gou Dan prepared to attack, Gu Qingcheng sent a poisonous Heart-Eroding vine toward him, and it began to bloom behind his tree.

• Xu Taiping and his companions used fake corpses, bloody warnings, and ghost fire to frighten the refugees into camping in Maplewood Forest.
• A scholar from Ningyuan Kingdom told the refugees to stay still when they saw the evil ghost wedding procession.
• Gongshu Nanxing used the Wind-Listening Art to identify six Guifang Hunters, and Xu Taiping learned from the Fish-Seeking Disc that they were about to attack.
• Xu Taiping warned Gu Qingcheng that Gou Dan was preparing to act with the Striking the Fou and Passing the Head Technique.
• Gu Qingcheng planted a Heart-Eroding vine that crept to Gou Dan's tree and began to sprout flower buds.

Gou Dan offered a severed head to Lady Qingye, unleashing the Guifang ghost-commanding power Striking the Fou to Send Heads and trapping the refugees in a bloody barrier. From the bushes, Gu Qingcheng explained the nature of ghost-commanding powers while Xu Taiping and the others watched from a distance.

• Gou Dan noticed a vine beneath the maple tree but dismissed it and left without discovering the hidden group.
• Gou Dan presented Lady Qingye with a severed head and announced that he had prepared a hundred human heads as offerings.
• Lady Qingye’s head opened its eyes and wailed, creating a bloody ring that trapped the refugees inside the woods.
• The refugees panicked and failed to cross or break through the ring’s invisible barrier.
• Helian identified the power as Striking the Fou to Send Heads, and Gu Qingcheng explained ghost-commanding powers to Xu Taiping and the others.

Xu Taiping and his companions watched Helian’s refugees face a deadly game involving a Human-Skin Fou and a passing head. Xu Taiping proposed that Gu Qingcheng poison Gou Dan when the head reached him, hoping to deepen Helian’s suspicions of Wutu’s side.

• A female ghost’s head struck the Human-Skin Fou and forced the refugees to play a game in which whoever held the head when the drumming stopped would die.
• A refugee exploded after declaring he wanted to die, and the remaining refugees began passing the head around to survive.
• Gou Dan passed the head to a refugee, who exploded when the drumming stopped before he could pass it on.
• The refugees continued passing the head, and another died when he hesitated to wipe sweat from his forehead.
• Helian praised Gou Dan over the Fish-Seeking Disc, while Xu Taiping and his companions decided it was time to act.
• Xu Taiping told Gu Qingcheng to poison Gou Dan when the head next reached him, intending to make Helian suspect Wutu’s side.

Xu Taiping and his companions arranged for Gou Dan to die while holding the ghost’s head, framing Wutu’s group for the killing. After the ghost declared that the hunter was dead and the refugees could live, Helian’s group fought Wutu’s, leaving Helian as the sole survivor.

• Elder Zhang explained to Zhai Mo how Gou Dan’s death during the head-passing ritual would destroy evidence and make Wutu’s group look responsible.
• A refugee failed to catch the head before it reached Gou Dan, and the group waited for the ritual to begin again.
• When Gou Dan received the head, Gu Qingcheng crushed the green light, triggering his poison and causing him to burst apart.
• The female ghost swallowed Gou Dan’s head, declared that the hunter was dead and the refugees could live, then vanished as the refugees fled.
• Helian blamed Wutu for Gou Dan’s death and fought his group, killing all three members while surviving himself.

Xu Taiping impersonated Helian and reached the Ruined Temple, where he found no Guifang Hunters and received Gu Qingcheng’s Great Sage Fist techniques. A wounded hunter arrived with a warning, but a powerful attacker struck him down and threatened to kill every Helian Clan member on Black Mountain.

• Helian destroyed Wutu’s black stones and seals, then crushed his own stone and seal to prevent the Wutu Clan from tracking him.
• Xu Taiping decided to impersonate Helian and lead his companions to the Ruined Temple.
• Xu Taiping and his companions found over a hundred refugees but no Guifang Hunters at the temple.
• Gu Qingcheng passed her portion of the Great Sage Fist to Xu Taiping, and he began comprehending the combined techniques.
• A wounded hunter rushed into the temple, warned Xu Taiping that a Wutu madman had slaughtered hundreds of hunters, and was killed by a Fist Shadow from outside.

Xu Taiping, mistaken for Helian Su, received a black skull and sacrificed a wounded Helian Clan descendant to gain the Plate-Armor Ghost King's protection. Wutu Ba demanded the skull while holding a group of Guifang Hunters captive, leaving Xu Taiping to choose how to respond.

• A dying Helian Clan young man gave Xu Taiping the Plate-Armor Ghost King's finger bone and black skull, urging him to sacrifice the young man and deliver the skull to the Helian Family Head.
• Wutu Ba entered the temple and attacked Xu Taiping and the wounded young man, who broke the punch with four bloodied arms before urging Xu Taiping to sacrifice him.
• Xu Taiping sacrificed the young man and gained Black Scale Armor, which completely blocked Wutu Ba's punch.
• Xu Taiping asked Gongshu Nanxing to check the Fish-Seeking Disc for a guide out of Black Mountain, but the black fish nearby had been captured by Wutu Ba.
• Wutu Ba brought more than a dozen captured Guifang Hunters into the temple and demanded that Xu Taiping surrender the black skull, threatening to kill them one by one.