Chapter Summaries

Ren Ye swallowed the Ten Thousand Bone Jar and woke to questioning from the four family patriarchs, who heard his account of the attack and the prison-guard shoes. The patriarchs joined the jailbreak investigation, while Qian Zhongge concluded that someone in the Patrol Hall or Clan Hall might be trying to frame Ren Ye and seize the Three Thousand Secret Treasures.

• Ren Ye feigned madness to draw the Ten Thousand Bone Jar into his mouth, then collapsed unconscious.
• The four patriarchs gathered at the Clan Hall and questioned Ren Ye after he awoke; he claimed the attackers had brought prison-guard shoes and tried to flee north.
• Zhao Mi combined the jailbreak and the attempt to frame Ren Ye into one case, placing Sun Michen in charge of a joint Three Halls investigation.
• Sun Michen identified the fleeing criminal as Zheng Yu, a former Blade-Wielding Instructor who had a place in the upcoming Leaving Hometown Road.
• Qian Zhongge told Li Taishan that the shoes and the attackers’ northward flight pointed to a possible framing plot involving the Patrol Hall or Clan Hall, and vowed to defend Ren Ye’s rights.

After the failed pursuit of Zheng Yu, Ren Ye gave Zhao Haochen an account that hinted the patrolmen had killed the fugitive too quickly, then reunited with Tian Wei and learned she had gathered Ghost Spirit Grass. The next evening, Ren Ye and Tian Wei attended a banquet at the Sun residence, where Sun Michen sent his wife away so he could discuss the case with them.

• Sun Qingxue praised Ren Ye’s strength, and Zhao Haochen suspended the three patrolmen who had killed Zheng Yu while the halls investigated the jailbreak and the broken trail.
• During questioning, Ren Ye told Zhao Haochen that Zheng Yu had been dead by the time he and Sun Qingxue arrived, leaving the patrolmen’s haste open to suspicion without directly accusing them.
• Ren Ye found Tian Wei outside the Patrol Hall and learned she had gone to Three Ghosts Mountain to gather Ghost Spirit Grass for his medicine; he secretly told her the Storyteller’s talisman had supplied his strength.
• Tian Wei agreed to attend the Sun Family banquet after Ren Ye explained Sun Qingxue had invited them, and she told him to collect her after work the following evening.
• After Zhao Mi excused Ren Ye from visiting the Zhao residence for two days, Ren Ye brought Tian Wei to the Sun residence, where Sun Michen dismissed his wife to discuss official business with them.

At a banquet in the Sun estate, Sun Michen offered Ren Ye a place at the Enlightenment Academy, while privately proposing marriage to both Ren Ye and his aunt Tian Wei; Tian Wei rejected him and noticed he knew about Ren Ye's visits to the Zhao Family. Later, Sun Qingxue explained the Divine Tomb's use of living prisoners and revealed her theory that Ren Ye and Zhao Mi might be able to draw in the energy of heaven and earth.

• Sun Michen praised Ren Ye's combat prowess and offered him a chance to leave the Heavenly Prison for secluded cultivation at the Enlightenment Academy, but Ren Ye politely declined for now.
• Sun Michen confessed his feelings to Tian Wei and proposed that Ren Ye marry Sun Qingxue; Tian Wei rejected both proposals and challenged Sun Michen over his knowledge of Ren Ye's visits to the Zhao Family.
• Sun Qingxue showed Ren Ye her boudoir and explained that condemned prisoners were sealed in Golden Juice and sent to the Divine Tomb as nourishment rather than simply executed.
• Sun Qingxue described her failed Three Powers Spirit-Absorbing Array, which she had designed to imitate the Divine Tomb's ability to draw in energy from heaven and earth.
• Sun Qingxue suggested Ren Ye's Three Thousand Secret Treasures might give him a similar ability if he recovered his eyes, and said Zhao Mi might have already comprehended part of the Divine Tomb's method.

Ren Ye left the Sun Family wary of Zhao Mi and cautious about accepting the clan’s kindness, while Zhao Haochen’s investigation uncovered a suspicious food tray that might have helped No. 79 escape. As Ren Ye prepared to meet the Storyteller, Zhao Haochen began searching for the tray No. 79 had used.

• Sun Qingxue gave Ren Ye a jade pendant, and Ren Ye accepted it while keeping up their flirtatious older-sister-and-younger-brother act.
• Little Aunt Tian Wei told Ren Ye that Sun Michen wanted him to marry Sun Qingxue, explained why she rejected the proposal, and warned him to keep a respectful distance from the Sun Family.
• At the Patrol Hall, Wu Li reported that investigators had found no clear leads, but a young constable recalled a loose wooden piece on one of Yang Youguang’s food trays.
• Zhao Haochen examined the tray and suspected its hollow space could have concealed the antidote used to help No. 79 escape his restraints.
• Yang Youguang explained that jailers used trays in a habitual order, so Zhao Haochen ordered him to identify the tray No. 79 had used.
• Ren Ye waited for Little Aunt to fall asleep so he could meet the Storyteller and secretly observe Li Xiaopang joining their deeper crimes.

Zhao Haochen investigated the antidote trail, but the Kitchen workers could not identify who tampered with No. 79’s tray, and the Yin Family’s abandoned Pill Pavilion offered no clear proof. Meanwhile, Ren Ye learned that the survivor who witnessed the Divine Tomb break-in, Zhou Taozhi, lived inside the heavily guarded Heaven-Character No. 1 Enlightenment Academy, and the Storyteller claimed he could make Zhou reveal the truth.

• Yang Youguang identified No. 79’s tray by its angle, and Zhao Haochen found that a hidden wooden piece fell from it when it struck the floor.
• Zhao Haochen questioned five Kitchen workers, but none remembered anyone approaching the trays, so he ordered further inquiries and decided to investigate the source of the Spirit-Passing Powder.
• Zhao Haochen and Wu Li took a Heavenly Spirit Mouse to the Yin Family’s Pill Pavilion, where it found a scent and led them toward the blind man’s home.
• Ren Ye met the recovering Storyteller, who revealed that the surviving Divine Tomb guardian, Zhou Taozhi, lived at the Heaven-Character No. 1 Enlightenment Academy.
• Ren Ye and the Storyteller discussed why Zhou Taozhi had survived the break-in, and the Storyteller said he could draw the truth from Zhou’s Divine Soul if they reached him.
• In Heavenly City, Li Yan and Qingning searched for Li Yan’s brother while wondering about the coming calamity.

Ren Ye and the Storyteller planned to enter the Enlightenment Academy and question Zhou Taozhi about the night of the prison escape, while Li Xiaopang supplied details and agreed to obtain their disguises and stakes. Meanwhile, Zhao Haochen persuaded the Clan Hall to begin an internal investigation of the Heavenly Prison, leaving Li Xiaopang and Ren Ye facing written accounts of their actions on the day of the escape.

• Ren Ye and the Storyteller planned to sneak into the Enlightenment Academy, pass Zhou Taozhi’s Treasure-Gathering Chess Game, and use the Storyteller’s Secret Method to learn what he remembered.
• The Storyteller enlisted Li Xiaopang, who explained the chess game and academy layout and agreed to acquire robes, Disguise Pills, and Magic Treasures for the operation.
• Zhao Haochen’s Heavenly Spirit Mouse led the Patrol Hall in circles as he reasoned that the scent it followed might be unusually strong and widespread.
• Zhao Haochen proposed that every Heavenly Prison guard write a detailed account of their actions on the day of the escape, and the Clan Hall approved an internal investigation.
• Li Xiaopang and Ren Ye joined the other day-shift guards in writing their accounts; Li Xiaopang worried that recording his rule-breaking visits to the Formation Core Chamber and Prison Supervisor’s room would expose him.

Ren Ye and his accomplices submitted accounts during the Heavenly Prison investigation, then entered the Enlightenment Academy in disguise to approach Zhou Taozhi’s Peach Courtyard. The Storyteller and Li Xiaopang began the Treasure-Gathering Chess Game while Ren Ye waited at the Library Pavilion, and Zhou Taozhi took the first turn after rolling a six.

• Ren Ye submitted a truthful-looking Daily Duty Report and advised Li Xiaopang to avoid lying during the investigation.
• Li Xiaopang omitted that Li Fusheng had left him alone in the Prison Supervisor’s office, but reported that he and Li Fusheng had visited the Formation Core Chamber together.
• After the shift, Ren Ye collected his disguise and supplies from the ruined temple, then entered the academy disguised as an old man while the Storyteller and Li Xiaopang adopted other identities.
• Ren Ye waited in the Library Pavilion as the Storyteller and Li Xiaopang entered Peach Courtyard and read the rules of the Treasure-Gathering Chess Game.
• Li Xiaopang offered a Great Dao Threefold-Opening Pill and Mighty Bull Virility Pills as stakes, and Zhou Taozhi accepted them in exchange for a Peach Sword if he lost.
• Zhou Taozhi rolled a six, while Li Xiaopang and the Storyteller each rolled a one, so Zhou Taozhi prepared to move first.

Zhou Taozhi used the Treasure-Gathering Chess Game’s tokens to attack the Storyteller and force Xiaopang through dangerous illusion realms, while both rivals were eliminated. The Storyteller noticed that Zhou Taozhi had avoided dangerous tiles, and Ren Ye concluded that the long match meant their plan had succeeded.

• Zhou Taozhi rolled first, gained the Ten Thousand Arrows Volley token, and sent Xiaopang into the freezing Myriad-Ages Snowfield, where he had to skip a turn.
• The Storyteller rested at an inn, but Zhou Taozhi used Ten Thousand Arrows Volley on him; the Storyteller survived the arrows and continued along the road.
• Xiaopang escaped the snowfield with the Cold-Descension Decree, then entered the Sand-Sea Kingdom and accidentally made the sand-and-stone giant stronger with the decree; he was defeated and lost his stake.
• Zhou Taozhi used the Calamity Decree on the Storyteller, who defeated Robbery Mountain’s bandits but ran out of money after bribing an official and was eliminated.
• The Storyteller urged Xiaopang to try again and pointed out that Zhou Taozhi had avoided dangerous illusion realms, while Ren Ye concluded that the long match meant their plan had succeeded.

Ren Ye chose Gambling Addict's Ghost Hand as his secret method and joined the Storyteller and Li Xiaopang for a second Treasure-Gathering Chess Game against Zhou Taozhi. The game began with Zhou Taozhi gaining another advantage, while Ren Ye held back his one chance to steal a die result and considered when to use it.

• Li Xiaopang complained about his suffering in the first game, and the Storyteller concluded that they needed a third player to improve their odds against Zhou Taozhi.
• The Storyteller summoned Ren Ye, who recognized the game as resembling Monopoly and agreed to join the group.
• Ren Ye received three secret-method options from the Heavenly Dao and chose Gambling Addict's Ghost Hand, which could steal a token or result at random every other round.
• Ren Ye returned disguised as an old man, instructed Li Xiaopang and the Storyteller to save their useful tokens, and led them into the Peach Courtyard for the second game.
• Zhou Taozhi rolled a six to determine turn order, and Ren Ye declined to steal the result because he wanted to wait for a more advantageous opportunity.
• Zhou Taozhi rolled a two, landed on a bluestone tile, and received armor that could block one calamity; Ren Ye considered whether to use his ghost hand.

Ren Ye used Gambling Addict’s Ghost Hand to steal from Zhou Taozhi, then both players tried to predict each other’s choices as the group advanced through dangerous Illusion Realms. Zhou Taozhi eventually gained a flying sword that carried him far beyond Ghost Hand’s range, leaving Ren Ye’s theft attempt failed and Zhou Taozhi vowing to torment the others.

• Ren Ye stole Zhou Taozhi’s Female Nation Lord Treasure Armor, then landed on a brothel penalty that reduced his next dice roll.
• Ren Ye, Li Xiaopang, and the Storyteller agreed to share details about the changing Illusion Realms as Zhou Taozhi began choosing dangerous results to avoid giving Ren Ye easy targets.
• Zhou Taozhi endured the Rotting Flesh and Corroding Bone Plague, a battle against thirty thousand troops, and an assault by tens of thousands of Wronged Souls while Ren Ye repeatedly held back from stealing.
• Ren Ye eventually stole the plague from Zhou Taozhi, contracted its weakened one-turn version, and watched Zhou Taozhi recover with a pill.
• Zhou Taozhi drew an unparalleled immortal sword that moved him twenty extra steps, putting him beyond Ghost Hand’s range.
• Ren Ye’s attempt to steal the sword’s advance failed, and Zhou Taozhi threatened to toy with the other players until they died.

Ren Ye recognized that the Treasure-Gathering Chess Game’s Illusion Realms shared a connected story and devised a risky strategy to save Li Xiaopang from the Sandstone Saint Spirit. The chapter ended with Xiaopang reluctantly preparing to discard his beneficial tokens while Ren Ye gambled that the Heavenly Transit Sect’s reward could turn the situation around.

• Ren Ye rallied the team with a plan to use leap-ahead tokens to bring him back within range of Zhou Taozhi, but his forced two-round labor delay widened the gap.
• The Storyteller prayed to a bronze statue of himself, rolled a six, and gained an offensive token while Zhou Taozhi continued building his lead.
• Li Xiaopang landed in an Illusion Realm where he had to fight the Sandstone Saint Spirit, and his aphrodisiac powder unexpectedly distracted the giant without defeating it.
• Ren Ye connected the Stone Kingdom, the Heavenly Transit Sect’s teleportation formation, and the Sandstone Saint Spirit’s story, then concluded that the Edgeless Shuttle might be a red herring.
• Ren Ye told Xiaopang to discard his five beneficial tokens and use any tokens that could advance someone else on No. 79, betting that the plan could save him.

Ren Ye, Li Xiaopang, and the Storyteller turned the Treasure-Gathering Chess Game against Zhou Taozhi, allowing the Storyteller to win and enter Zhou Taozhi’s house to ask about the truth. Zhou Taozhi began to explain that a frightening ghost watched him, just as a veiled woman headed toward the Peach Courtyard.

• Ren Ye used Li Xiaopang’s A Way Out in Desperate Circumstances token to secure a favorable roll, then stole Li Xiaopang’s Sandstone Saint Spirit penalty and redirected the spirit toward the Storyteller.
• The Storyteller used water to defeat the Sandstone Saint Spirit, earning a thirty-step advance; Ren Ye then used the resulting Flying Immortal sword strike and other stolen tokens to help overwhelm Zhou Taozhi.
• The Storyteller crossed the finish line first, and Zhou Taozhi invited him into his house to choose a Magic Treasure while telling Ren Ye and Li Xiaopang to wait outside.
• Inside Zhou Taozhi’s house, the Storyteller saw memorial tablets for Li Fengchen and Xue Que, refused a treasure, and asked Zhou Taozhi for the truth.
• Zhou Taozhi whispered that a frightening ghost watched him and began searching for more Talismans as a veiled woman set out to check on him.

The Storyteller provoked Zhou Taozhi into recalling the night two tomb keepers died, using a staged confession and accusations to overcome his reluctance. Zhou released his memories, where Ren Ye and the Storyteller discovered that Zhao Mi had tried to enter the Delusion Divine Tomb.

• Zhou Taozhi warded the house with talismans, and the Storyteller failed to draw him into his Word-Spirit Illusion Realm.
• The Storyteller confessed that he was the Inside Mole and claimed he had rescued the condemned prisoner to investigate Xue Que's death.
• The Storyteller told Zhou Taozhi that he was Xue Que's son and pressed him to explain why two tomb keepers had died while Zhou survived.
• Zhou Taozhi denied betraying his sworn brothers and, after the Storyteller accused him of hiding the truth, began searching his memories.
• Ren Ye entered as Zhou Taozhi released his Divine Soul projections, revealing a memory of a stranger demanding entry to the Delusion Divine Tomb.
• The stranger revealed himself as Zhao Mi, who threatened Zhou Taozhi when he refused to let him enter.

The Storyteller and Ren Ye watched Zhou Taozhi’s memories of Zhao Mi defeating him and killing his sworn brothers, while Zhou survived the Undying Hall and emerged with his memories shattered. When Zhou remembered his guilt and recognized Zhao Mingdi as a Zhao Family spy, he flew into a rage and attacked her, forcing Ren Ye and the Storyteller to flee.

• The Storyteller and Ren Ye saw Zhao Mi overpower Zhou Taozhi, who fled into the Undying Hall as Li Fengchen and Xue Que rushed to help him.
• Zhao Mi killed Li Fengchen and Xue Que, while Zhou Taozhi vanished into the gray mist and later emerged alive but completely mad.
• Zhou Taozhi remembered that his sworn brothers had died and blamed himself, but the Storyteller calmed him by urging him to seek revenge on Zhao Mi.
• Zhou Taozhi recognized Zhao Mingdi outside the courtyard and accused her of spying on him for Zhao Mi, then vowed to avenge his brothers.
• Zhou Taozhi burst from the rooms and attacked Zhao Mingdi, while Ren Ye and the Storyteller prepared to escape and asked Li Xiaopang to cover their retreat.

Zhou Taozhi killed Zhao Mingdi, fought the Enlightenment Academy instructors, and died after dissolving into the Dao, revealing his guilt over abandoning his sworn brothers in the tomb. Ren Ye and the Storyteller concluded that Zhao Mi had likely stolen Ren Ye’s inheritance origin, but they could not explain why Zhao Mi still examined his star core or left Zhou Taozhi alive.

• Zhou Taozhi attacked Zhao Mingdi at the Peach Grove Courtyard, destroyed her treasure, and killed her despite her pleas for help.
• The Storyteller escaped with Ren Ye and Li Xiaopang while Zhou Taozhi confronted the Academy instructors and accused the Four Great Families of using the Divine Tomb to control Delusion Village.
• Zhou Taozhi fought Qian Zhongcai and the instructors, dissolved into the Dao, and confessed that he had abandoned Xue Que and Li Fengchen out of fear before entering the Undying Hall.
• At the ruined temple, the Storyteller confirmed that Zhou Taozhi and Zhao Mingdi were dead, and Ren Ye told Li Xiaopang that Zhao Mi had killed Zhou Taozhi’s sworn brothers.
• Ren Ye and the Storyteller reasoned that Zhao Mi had probably taken Ren Ye’s inheritance origin, but questioned why he still examined Ren Ye’s star core and had spared Zhou Taozhi.

Ren Ye reasoned that Zhao Mi had stolen his Origin Eyes and hidden them in the Delusion Divine Tomb, then planned to enter the tomb with the Storyteller and Li Xiaopang. After Zhao Mi examined Ren Ye’s Star Core, he suddenly demanded to know where Ren Ye had gone the previous night.

• Ren Ye deduced that Zhao Mi stole his Origin Eyes, failed to use them, and likely hid them in the coffin inside the Delusion Divine Tomb, where they could feed on the tomb’s devouring power.
• Ren Ye and the Storyteller agreed to have Li Xiaopang prepare for their joint entry into the Divine Tomb in three days.
• Zhao Haochen investigated Zhou Taozhi’s death and ordered Night Patrolmen to arrest two Academy disciples suspected of challenging Zhou Taozhi’s Treasure-Gathering Chess Game.
• Ren Ye returned to the Zhao estate after his leave and let Zhao Mi examine his Star Core for two hours.
• Ren Ye declined to ask Zhao Mi a question, and Zhao Mi demanded to know where Ren Ye had gone the previous night.

Zhao Mi questioned Ren Ye about Zhou Taozhi’s death and suspected he had provoked the elder, while Ren Ye resolved to hurry his investigation and find protection. At the peach grove, Wu Li discovered an unknown cultivator’s blood, and a Great Shaman used it to reveal the blood’s owner, leaving Zhao Haochen and his men shocked.

• Zhao Mi pressed Ren Ye about his whereabouts and his connection to Zhou Taozhi, then let him leave while privately suspecting him.
• Ren Ye decided to speed up his search for his Origin Eyes and consider seeking a powerful clan’s protection if Zhao Mi moved against him.
• Zhao Haochen returned to the peach grove for another search, where Wu Li found a fresh bloodstain on a stone fragment and argued it belonged to one of the disguised criminals.
• Zhao Haochen brought the bloodstained stone to the Patrol Hall and secretly summoned Great Shaman Wei Zhen to use a Faceless Puppet to identify its owner.
• Wei Zhen’s ritual revealed the blood’s owner, shocking Wu Li, Zhao Haochen, and the other witnesses, and Zhao Haochen asked whether the ritual could alert him.

Zhao Haochen used blood magic to identify a suspect connected to the Peach Grove Courtyard and ordered a secret, renewed investigation. Meanwhile, Ren Ye, the Storyteller, and Li Xiaopang prepared to enter the Delusion Divine Tomb, unaware that the Benefactor had separately arranged a scheme involving Daoist Jiuhan.

• Master Wei Zhen extracted the blood owner's identity from the stone, and Zhao Haochen ordered his people to keep the discovery secret while they reopened the investigation.
• Ren Ye, the Storyteller, and Li Xiaopang agreed to enter the Divine Tomb the next night using a stolen Guiding Talisman and a powerful mirror Li Xiaopang planned to take from his family.
• Li Xiaopang explained that he wanted to retrieve something from the tomb to save someone important to him, while the Storyteller reminded him to monitor the Clan Hall's investigation as an Inside Mole.
• The Benefactor asked Daoist Jiuhan to bring two people into the Divine Tomb, stage evidence of a failed attempt to force open the Tomb Gate, leave their blood, and hide them until the following night.
• Daoist Jiuhan accepted the task in repayment of his debt to the Benefactor, received a Guiding Talisman and Black Spy Board, and left the Dark Room.
• Ren Ye reviewed the trio's plan and went to the Heavenly Prison to await nightfall.

Zhao Haochen presented evidence to the Clan Hall that Blind Huang was the inside mole who helped No. 79 escape and met Zhou Taozhi before the latter’s rampage. While Daoist Jiuhan waited to seize Blind Huang and Tian Wei, Ren Ye went to meet the Storyteller and prepare to enter the Divine Tomb.

• Zhao Haochen told Sun Michen he had solved the escape and murder cases, and Sun Michen summoned the clan chiefs and Inner Hall elders for a deliberation.
• At the Clan Hall, Zhao Haochen accused Blind Huang of being the mole and argued that Tian Wei could have stolen Spirit-Passing Powder from the Yin Family’s Pill Academy.
• Zhao Haochen presented Blind Huang’s duty report and testimony from Kitchen workers, then showed a damaged meal tray that could have concealed the powder given to No. 79.
• Zhao Haochen had Archmage Wei Zhen use blood on a stone found in Zhou Taozhi’s peach grove to summon Ren Ye’s Divine Soul, identifying Blind Huang as one of the people involved in the Treasure-Gathering Chess Game.
• Daoist Jiuhan waited at a tavern for Ren Ye and Tian Wei, while Ren Ye went to the Ruined Temple to meet the Storyteller and prepare to enter the Divine Tomb.

Zhao Haochen persuaded the Clan Hall that Ren Ye was the traitor, and the elders ordered the Huang Family Aunt and Nephew arrested. Li Xiaopang discovered Ren Ye’s identity and the arrest order, while Ren Ye demanded details of the evidence; as the three prepared for the fallout, Daoist Jiuhan followed Little Aunt Tian Wei out of the Huang residence.

• Zhao Haochen explained how he believed Huang Boy had aided No. 79’s escape, and the elders agreed to arrest Huang Boy and his aunt.
• Zhao Mi ordered the three halls to seize the Huang Family Aunt and Nephew secretly and bring Huang Boy back for questioning.
• At the Ruined Temple, Li Xiaopang confronted Ren Ye and exposed him after seeing his blind eyes beneath the disguise.
• Li Xiaopang told Ren Ye and the Storyteller that Zhao Haochen had identified Ren Ye using blood from Zhou Taozhi’s courtyard, and that the Clan Hall had ordered his arrest.
• Ren Ye demanded that Li Xiaopang recount Zhao Haochen’s evidence while dozens of experts assembled for the arrest.
• Daoist Jiuhan saw Little Aunt Tian Wei leave the Huang residence at night and secretly followed her.