Chapter Summaries

Wang Quan and the descendants of ghosts and gods toured Emperor's Tomb City and saw how cramped life was for residents without status. Wang Quan reached his own spacious courtyard and wondered whether he could link it to Stone City.

• The gatekeeper led Wang Quan and the others through gardens where low-status beings had to shrink, warning them about giants and the dangers of damaging the plants.
• Daoist Two Ravens followed his key to a cramped rack in a crowded high-rise and lamented his miserable lodging.
• Wang Quan and the others visited Wang Quan's lodgings in No. 95 Courtyard, where the descendants fought over jobs serving him.
• Wang Quan opened his courtyard with his key and considered turning it into a marker linking to Stone City.

Wang Quan linked his Underworld courtyard to the Real World while the Officiant and other cultivators protected him, then continued establishing an outpost. Meanwhile, Ruo Jinghong and the others cleared anomalous weather around Stone City until Dream Nun’s snake arrived with Wang Quan’s request for help.

• Wang Quan searched the house of the dead, set up a ritual array and Five-Colored Altar, and began linking the courtyard to the Real World.
• When ghost god descendants attacked Wang Quan, the Officiant and Real World cultivators struck them through the vortex until Wang Quan ordered the attack stopped.
• Wang Quan told Daoist Two Ravens and the others to stay quiet, then instructed the Real World cultivators as they prepared to establish contact and build an outpost.
• Ruo Jinghong, Ma Qingqiu, Su Mali, Mei Niang, and other cultivators directed a large force clearing anomalous weather around Stone City.
• Dream Nun’s colorful snake reached Ruo Jinghong with Wang Quan’s request for him to arrange people to assist with the Underworld outpost.

Wang Quan established an outpost in the Underworld, so Ma Qingqiu, Ruo Jinghong, and the others hurried to help build its matching structure in the Real World. As Wang Quan and the cultivators began stabilizing the passage between the Yin and Yang worlds, Underworld creatures leapt onto the dangerous golden lotuses formed by their chanting.

• After learning that Wang Quan had established an outpost in the Underworld, Ruo Jinghong and roughly a hundred Dao Seal Cultivators abandoned their remaining weather-clearing work and rushed to him.
• Ma Qingqiu and the others checked the Mission Hall, learned Stone City had earned ten points, and then joined Ruo Jinghong's group at the site.
• Ruo Jinghong told Ma Qingqiu that Wang Quan had secured Underworld territory and needed a matching courtyard built in the Real World to complete the landmark.
• The cultivators used spells to make building materials assemble themselves, finishing the courtyard and matching its details to the Underworld structure over six hours.
• Wang Quan and the Real World cultivators chanted together to stabilize the passage, causing heavenly flowers and golden lotuses to appear in both worlds.
• Despite Wang Quan's warning that the golden lotuses could dissolve them, the descendants of ghosts and gods jumped onto them, including Daoist Two Ravens and the gatekeeper, while Wang Quan continued chanting.

Wang Quan linked the Five-Colored Altars between the Real World and the Underworld, allowing travel between the realms without elaborate rituals. Stone City then established an Underworld outpost and gained new permissions, though most readers could not access the details.

• Wang Quan, Ruo Jinghong, and the others linked the Five-Colored Altars across the realms, and Wang Quan realized he could travel between them by thought alone.
• Descendants of ghosts and gods emerged from golden lotuses with purer bloodlines and greater strength, and Daoist Two Ravens asked Wang Quan to create more lotuses.
• Wang Quan returned to the Real World, where his identity token transformed as Stone City established an Underworld outpost and rose to rank 3,909.
• Cultivators and Spirit Monsters rushed to the Mission Hall to inspect Stone City's new permissions, but most were barred by insufficient access.
• A stone roller Spirit Monster entered with level-one permissions, then announced that Stone City could replenish large numbers of cultivators, martial artists, and Spirit Monsters each day without conditions.

The orthodox cultivators learned that Wang Quan and the other lords had gone to wage war in the Underworld, while they were left to clear abnormal weather. In the Underworld, Wang Quan granted the Dao Seal Cultivators clearance and residence-servant status, then sent them to search for the statue of the Western Ghost Emperor/Western Divine Emperor.

• The Stone Mill Spirit revealed that its level-one clearance showed only two entries, and the orthodox cultivators went looking for Wang Quan and the others.
• The Officiant Daoist Nun told the cultivators that the lords had left to conquer territory and instructed them to clear the abnormal weather outside the city.
• The Officiant Daoist Nun revealed that Wang Quan and the other lords had gone to wage war in the Underworld, astonishing the Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators.
• Wang Quan welcomed hundreds of Dao Seal Cultivators to the Underworld residence, designated them as servants, and warned them about the dangerous alleys.
• Wang Quan asked Ruo Jinghong, Ma Qingqiu, and the others to search for the statue of the Western Ghost Emperor/Western Divine Emperor, while their Far West and Underworld clearances rose by one level.
• Ma Qingqiu questioned the risks of their servant status, and Wang Quan explained that serving a residence in Emperor's Tomb City gave them higher standing among ghosts.

Ruo Jinghong left Wang Quan’s estate after discussing the statue, Daoist Scriptures, and the dangers of the Underworld, while Wang Quan warned the remaining descendants of ghosts and gods not to harm his friends. Meanwhile, Ma Qingqiu and his companions began searching for a home and were directed toward a coveted property in the rear alley of No. 95 Courtyard.

• Ruo Jinghong told Wang Quan that the statue could greatly increase the Far Western Land’s authority in the Underworld and relayed Su Mali’s invitation to study the Daoist Scriptures; Wang Quan declined.
• Ruo Jinghong advised Wang Quan to prepare brains for later Daoist Scripture study and mentioned the nearly vanished Way of Idiocy before leaving to explore the imperial capital.
• Wang Quan warned the descendants of ghosts and gods not to scheme against his departing friends, and Daoist Two Ravens assured him they would not harm them.
• Ma Qingqiu and his two companions reached the estate’s busy rear gate, then decided to find a broker and buy a residence.
• A property broker offered Ma Qingqiu a place in No. 95 Courtyard’s rear alley, praising its access to resources from the courtyard’s sewers, and Ma Qingqiu agreed to view it.

Ma Qingqiu and his companions followed a broker into a grim back alley, where he tried to sell them a cremation urn and extort a fee. When the broker and the bull-headed man threatened them, Ma Qingqiu revealed his deadly power and prepared to fight.

• The broker led Ma Qingqiu and his two companions through the back alley and showed them a cremation urn labeled for sale as their supposed home.
• Ma Qingqiu told the bull-headed man to take the property, but the man grabbed him and admitted they had staged a bidding scam.
• Ma Qingqiu shattered the bull-headed man's wrist, silenced the angry urns, and confronted the broker for cheating him.
• The broker demanded a service fee and summoned Underworld beings to threaten Ma Qingqiu and his companions.
• Ma Qingqiu formed a Blue Lotus phantom and declared that he was better at killing than Wang Quan.

Ma Qingqiu used the power of a projected Magic Treasure to destroy Underworld creatures, while Mei Niang and Fierce Tiger Daoist explored City No. 95 and the great residence. Mei Niang began controlling captured creatures to search for statues, and Fierce Tiger proposed building a pill-refining base in the garden worlds.

• Ma Qingqiu summoned a phantom Blue Lotus that crushed many Underworld creatures, then explained that he had learned to project a Magic Treasure.
• Mei Niang gathered information about City No. 95, captured more than a thousand Underworld creatures, and used her Fundamental Method to make them search for statues of the Western Ghost Emperor/Western Divine Emperor.
• Fierce Tiger Daoist explored the great residence in cat form, mapped it, and discovered that its garden worlds contained rare spirit herbs.
• Fierce Tiger Daoist learned that Underworld Walkers struggled to refine pills because Underworld creatures attacked them, then offered them a plan for a pill-refining base.

Wang Quan returned to the Real World after securing his Underworld residence, where he learned that the Orthodox Foundation Establishment Cultivators wanted answers about Stone City’s new privileges. He examined his access rights and discovered that linking the Underworld and Stone City had raised his Far Western Land access to level eight, revealing powerful privileges and unfamiliar Dao Courts.

• Wang Quan assigned rooms to Daoist Two Ravens and the others, installed Door Gods Paintings on his residence’s gate, and returned to the Real World.
• Dream Nun and the Officiant Daoist Nun told Wang Quan that Orthodox Foundation Establishment Cultivators were demanding information about Stone City’s privileges and access upgrades.
• Wang Quan told the two women that repairing their foundations would cost one thousand and eight strands of Foundation Establishment Spirit Light and one thousand and eight top-grade magic artifacts.
• Wang Quan checked his Far Western Land access and found that it had risen from level four to level eight after he linked the Underworld with Stone City.
• Wang Quan read the new level-eight privileges, including access to strikes from the Drowning Dao Court, its Sky Patrol Magic Treasure, and the All-Under-Heaven Dao Court, whose meaning he did not understand.

Wang Quan examined the sect’s enormous Dao Court privileges and found that his Underworld Protection had barely improved. Unable to wait for Ying Jiaren or find another Dao companion, he removed and prepared his own brain as an external aid, then entered the Second-Layer World to test it.

• Wang Quan learned that Sky Patrol Magic Treasures combined hundreds or thousands of twelfth-tier treasures, while Dao Courts and [All-Under-Heaven Dao Court] were built from increasingly larger collections of them.
• Wang Quan concluded that [All-Under-Heaven Dao Court]’s once-in-ten-thousand-years strike was a last-resort trump card, while strikes from Sky Patrol Magic Treasure and [Drowning Dao Court] could be used more freely.
• Wang Quan checked his Underworld Protection and found that it offered only a modest reputation and doubled Yin Virtue acquisition, then decided not to focus on improving it.
• Wang Quan considered waiting for Ying Jiaren, finding another Dao companion, or seeking a [Way of Idiocy] cultivator, but chose to use his own brain as an external aid.
• Wang Quan exchanged for a jade vat, removed his brain, cast spells to wash and strengthen it, and stored it inside the vat.
• Wang Quan grew a new brain, carried the vat into the Second-Layer World, and faced a world of black light and surging evils.

Wang Quan destroyed a self-aware brain in the Second-Layer World and decided against creating another, then shared his account of making an Underworld marker with a Drowning Dao Primordial Spirit Cultivator. The visitor departed without giving him a reward, leaving Wang Quan to watch him go.

• Wang Quan's brain developed self-awareness in the Second-Layer World and tried to escape, so Wang Quan burned it to ash and destroyed the spiritual liquid in his water vat.
• Wang Quan decided he would not make an auxiliary brain unless the cultivators of the Way of Idiocy helped or Ying Jiaren arrived.
• Wang Quan checked Stone City's ranking at the Mission Hall and saw it ranked three thousand nine hundred and ninth, ahead of cities with far more points.
• A Primordial Spirit Cultivator arrived and asked Wang Quan to describe how he had established a marker in the Underworld for the Drowning Dao.
• Wang Quan recounted his experience in detail and in Dao Language, but the Primordial Spirit Cultivator put away the reward boxes and left without giving him anything.

Wang Quan received the second-tier Magic Treasure Inverted Wisdom and spent a million streams of Dharma Power gaining control of it. Its wisdom enhancement let him rapidly study Daoist Scriptures and deduce spells, and he discovered that Underworld Protection could merge with Comprehend Yin and Yang.

• The Primordial Spirit expert gave Wang Quan Inverted Wisdom, explaining that it enhanced wisdom and would self-destruct if Wang Quan died.
• After the Primordial Spirit expert departed, Wang Quan spent a million streams of Dharma Power refining Inverted Wisdom until he gained control of it.
• Wang Quan activated Inverted Wisdom and increased its draw to two hundred streams of Dharma Power per breath, sharply enhancing his wisdom.
• Wang Quan sorted through his cultivation foundations, studied Daoist Scriptures, and used his enhanced wisdom to deduce Mountain-Uprooting Strength and Comprehend Yin and Yang.
• While taking examinations on the Daoist Scripture volumes, Wang Quan continued deducing Comprehend Yin and Yang until Underworld Protection merged with the spell.

Wang Quan discovered the hidden importance of yin virtue, then used the [Inverted Wisdom] Magic Treasure to master [Mountain-Uprooting Strength] and rapidly study Daoist scriptures. After the treasure’s effect ended and his wisdom returned to normal, his companions mistook his distress for an illness and forcibly treated him; he recovered and reflected on the treasure’s power.

• Wang Quan realized yin virtue concealed vast secrets and decided to keep them hidden until he was stronger.
• Wang Quan mastered [Mountain-Uprooting Strength] after studying five Daoist scripture scrolls, but his dharma power ran out and the [Inverted Wisdom] effect vanished.
• Wang Quan panicked at the sudden loss of transcendent wisdom, while cultivators outside the hall believed Lord Flower-Scatter had been injured.
• The Officiant, Dream, Fairy Qin, and others restrained Wang Quan and tried to treat him, eventually sending female corpses to subdue him despite his protests.
• Wang Quan recovered, calculated that he had studied ten scripture scrolls and comprehended two spells in under four hours, and wondered what stronger [Inverted Wisdom] could accomplish.

Wang Quan used Stone City's new privileges to order daily worship of the Great Sun and to collect manure for Sun Flower Spirits. Pig Spirit and Leopard Spirit seized the chance to enforce the orders and earned command flags from Officiant, leaving them empowered to patrol the city.

• Wang Quan hid the [Inverted Wisdom] treasure from Officiant and the others, then gave them [Sun Flower Spirit] seeds and instructions for cultivating them.
• Wang Quan reviewed Stone City's new privileges and issued a compulsory mission requiring everyone in the city to worship the Great Sun daily.
• Stone City members received a second order forbidding them from eating or stealing manure and requiring them to deposit it at designated locations.
• Pig Spirit persuaded Leopard Spirit to help enforce the orders, and the pair organized manure collection and public latrines across Stone City.
• Officiant rewarded Pig Spirit and Leopard Spirit with command flags, bronze gongs, and hammers, and told them to patrol and punish anyone who disobeyed.

Wang Quan organized Stone City's work and studied his spells and Daoist Scriptures until Ruo Jinghong summoned him to the Underworld. He learned that rebels and local thugs had seized parts of the city and were trying to take their residence.

• Great and Little Wind-Driller recruited temporary workers and helped the Officiant and Dream Nun manage manure and soil for growing Sun Flower Spirits.
• Wang Quan coordinated Stone City's missions and plans, then used [Inverted Wisdom] to study [Three Heads and Six Arms] and the Daoist Scriptures.
• Ruo Jinghong contacted Wang Quan and told him to come to the Underworld because they had run into trouble.
• Wang Quan arrived at the residence and found Ruo Jinghong, Ma Qingqiu, Su Mali, and the others injured, with Daoist Two Ravens and other ghost-and-god descendants missing limbs.
• Daoist Two Ravens explained that rebels had seized part of the city and local thugs had occupied the residence, forcing the group to call Wang Quan for help.

Wang Quan defended his residence from the Army of Survival Seekers, whose members tried to recruit him before attacking. As their spells and wandering souls overwhelmed his allies, he invoked Dao Language and transformed into a Three Heads and Six Arms form, preparing to choose his weapons.

• Wang Quan saw the rebels attacking his residence and joined Ruo Jinghong and the Door Gods on the wall.
• A winged member of the Army of Survival Seekers offered Wang Quan wealth and backing if he joined, but Wang Quan refused.
• Wang Quan unleashed lightning, fire, and wind spells against the attackers, while his Palace Maidens struggled against the wandering souls.
• Descendants of ghosts and gods sent spells toward Wang Quan as wandering souls slipped past his allies and closed in.
• Wang Quan spoke thirty-six words of Dao Language, exhausted his dharma power, and grew into a three-headed, six-armed form.
• Illusory Magic Treasures and weapons appeared in Wang Quan's hands as information about choosing his equipment surfaced in his mind.

Wang Quan used [Three Heads and Six Arms] to choose four magic treasures and two weapons, then tested their abilities against the winged ghost and his allies. He trapped the winged ghost with the [White Bone Ring], captured several ghosts with the [All-Heavens Banner], and attacked a flesh-and-blood being as the enemy forces charged.

• Wang Quan activated [Three Heads and Six Arms] and selected the [White Bone Ring], [All-Heavens Banner], [Light-Splitting Mirror], [Immobilization Pearl], [Twenty-Four Solar Terms Mace], and [Seventy-Two Pentads Lamp].
• Wang Quan's Yang Spirit emerged in the same form and cast spells while Wang Quan fought the winged being.
• Wang Quan used the [White Bone Ring] to trap the winged being, then recalled it when he realized the ghost had no bones to extract.
• Wang Quan used the [All-Heavens Banner] to capture the winged being's ghost companions as they tried to flee, while the [Immobilization Pearl] protected him.
• The winged ghost led other spirits into hiding among beings of flesh and blood and ordered them to attack Wang Quan.
• Wang Quan threw the [White Bone Ring] around one attacker and extracted all the white bones from its body.

Wang Quan used his magic artifacts to repel the Underworld rebels, while a winged ghost fled and encountered an old woman bearing a red lantern. After the battle, Wang Quan taught the Dao Seal Cultivators how to refine the All-Heavens Banner so they could devise artifacts to fight the ghosts.

• Wang Quan’s magic artifacts tore ghosts from their bodies, blocked curses, and helped the Dao Seal Cultivators drive back the Underworld creatures.
• A fleeing winged ghost met an old woman with a red lantern, and his mask revealed his ties to the Army of Survival Seekers and his encounter with the Flower-Scatter Daoist.
• The old woman declined to study Wang Quan’s artifact and said the rebellious ghosts and gods had once been human.
• Fierce Tiger Daoist’s bags and other artifacts captured or destroyed the remaining rebels, leaving both sides battered and the Dao Seal Cultivators troubled by ghosts their spells could not harm.
• Wang Quan offered to teach everyone how to refine the second-tier All-Heavens Banner, and the cultivators began experimenting and making deductions.
• Mei Niang proposed using Beautiful Lady Yu as they continued deducing and cultivating.

Wang Quan joined the ghost god descendants in confronting the gatekeeper who had opened the compound’s gates to the rebels, then led them to investigate the tenth steward. They found the steward’s ruined residence and a corpse that appeared genuine, leaving the search for the mastermind unresolved.

• Wang Quan explored the garden and found Underworld walkers organized in settlements, all carrying signs bearing [Fierce Tiger Daoist].
• Wang Quan joined the ghost god descendants in denouncing the gatekeeper, who had opened the gates and allowed the rebels into their courtyards.
• The gatekeeper admitted that the tenth overseer had ordered him to open the gates, so Wang Quan led several hundred ghost god descendants to confront the overseer.
• Wang Quan and the others reached the ruined tenth steward’s residence and found the steward’s corpse, along with soul fragments inside its head.

Wang Quan exposed the tenth steward as a subordinate and urged the descendants of gods and demons to challenge the estate’s hierarchy. When servants ordered them to kneel before the pavilion lords, he installed rebellion bones in one descendant, who attacked the servants and rallied the others to seize the courtyards and pavilions.

• Wang Quan helped the descendants of gods and demons verify that the corpse was the tenth steward, then argued that someone else had masterminded the rebels’ attack.
• Wang Quan urged the descendants to reject the estate’s old leadership and claim better homes and status.
• Servants arrived bearing the pavilion lords’ orders and demanded that the descendants kneel.
• Wang Quan stopped one descendant from kneeling, broke his legs, and stuffed a kneecap into the back of his skull to awaken his rebelliousness.
• The descendant attacked and killed a servant with crutches, then called on the others to charge and seize the courtyards and pavilions.