Chapter Summaries

Jiang Chen battered the River Earl with the Yin God Hammer until it began to crumble, then enhanced it and demonstrated his ability to disappear. The Kings saw him vanish from the river and then reappear near the Dragon-Locking Well, where the Dark Alliance had unleashed a terrifying black Flood Dragon.

• Jiang Chen pinned the River Earl to a river altar and struck it more than a hundred times with the Yin God Hammer, killing another King.
• Jiang Chen enhanced the damaged hammer with ghost qi, then decided to save further repairs for later.
• Xu Fu warned that Jiang Chen must not attack again, while Uncle Wei tried to contact him.
• Jiang Chen gestured toward the Mirage Tower Pearl, fell into the river, and vanished before the watching Kings.
• The Dark Alliance's seven Half-Kings overwhelmed the Nine Provinces' four Half-Kings, mortally wounded the Shangqing Sect's purple-robed Daoist, and released a powerful black Flood Dragon from the Dragon-Locking Well.
• A figure abruptly appeared in the long river beside the Dragon-Locking Well, shocking the Kings.

Jiang Chen arrived at the Dragon-Locking Well and destroyed the Flood Dragon and the Dark Alliance’s seven Half-Kings with only seven steps. The Nine Provinces observers were left stunned by his overwhelming power.

• King You and Xu Fu developed murderous intent toward Jiang Chen, while Mount Tai King warned them that he would fight back if they attacked.
• The Nine Provinces’ Half-Kings abandoned their plan to target the Third Ward and gathered at the Dragon-Locking Well to stop the Flood Dragon from becoming a King-Level Weird Object.
• Jiang Hongyu recognized Jiang Chen and worried that the outnumbered Nine Provinces group could not save him.
• Jiang Chen walked toward the Flood Dragon, which exploded after he glanced at it, and the river rose around him.
• Jiang Chen blocked the Dark Alliance’s seven Half-Kings from escaping and killed them with Blackwater Dragon Spears in the space of seven steps.

Jiang Chen’s overwhelming display left the onlookers in awe, while the Martial Sect disciples recognized him as the companion who had recited a poem at Qishan Village. After the Flood Dragon restored his body, Jiang Chen demanded its submission, and the frightened beast wondered whether he was the same person it remembered.

• Jiang Hongyu and the other disciples from Qishan Village recognized Jiang Chen after Zheng Yuan recited his poem, and Jiang Chen winked at them.
• The Martial Sect elder learned that Jiang Hongyu had challenged Jiang Chen and jokingly approved of their marriage, while the Purple-Robed Old Daoist and others praised the poem.
• The Flood Dragon reassembled its body after Jiang Chen killed the seven Half-Kings, since Jiang Chen had not destroyed its soul.
• Jiang Chen inferred that the Flood Dragon might once have been meant to replace the Ghost-Sacrificing Clan in overseeing the rivers and seas, and asked it to submit.
• The terrified Flood Dragon recognized Jiang Chen but questioned how he could have become so weak.

Jiang Chen killed the defiant Flood Dragon, then vanished with it into the water. At the East Sea, the Dark Alliance’s kings battled the Nine Provinces’ kings, but an immense shadow began rising beneath the sea as Jiang Chen’s whereabouts remained unknown.

• Jiang Chen crushed the Flood Dragon repeatedly, but it refused to submit, so he dragged it into the water and disappeared with it.
• King You attacked Mount Tai King while Earth Bodhisattva, Zuo Yi, Wei Wu, and a red-robed Ghost King engaged the other Nine Provinces kings.
• Xu Fu remained on the ship, absorbed in divining Jiang Chen’s fate as the battles unfolded.
• The Nine Provinces’ three kings suffered heavy injuries, while several Dark Alliance kings also took damage.
• The Dark Alliance’s kings paused their fights when Jiang Chen appeared to leave, and Earth Bodhisattva suggested he had fled.
• King You noticed a vast shadow rising beneath the sea, and the other kings realized an abyss was approaching.

Jiang Chen’s demonized incarnation swallowed the ancient ship and forced the four Dark Alliance kings to flee after they sacrificed powerful substitutes to escape. The transformation left Jiang Chen drained, and the Nine Provinces kings believed his realm had fallen below the King Realm.

• Jiang Chen’s enormous flood-dragon incarnation attacked the four Dark Alliance kings and used Heaven Swallowing and Earth Devouring to drag them toward its mouth.
• Ghost King Earth Bodhisattva, Zuo Yi, the faceless man, and the red-robed female ghost each sacrificed a substitute or part of themselves to escape.
• Xu Fu used a Talisman Formation and white mist to make the fleet disappear, while King You withdrew with the remaining Dark Alliance kings.
• Jiang Chen’s incarnation vanished, and Flood Dragon caught him as he fell; Uncle Wei, Mount Tai King, and King of Equality rushed to his aid.
• The three kings concluded that Jiang Chen’s realm had dropped, and Jiang Chen reacted in despair when they said he would need to return to the King Realm.

Jiang Chen reassured the three kings that his apparent loss of power might only be exhaustion, then left with Flood Dragon to return to the battlefield. Flood Dragon’s extraordinary scars and strange behavior left Jiang Chen eager to uncover the serpent’s origins.

• Jiang Chen accepted incense offerings and Yellow Paper Money from the Mount Tai King and the King of Equality, while Uncle Wei promised to find him more treasures.
• Jiang Chen claimed his realm might not have fallen and stood up after taking a Blood Ginseng Pill, easing the three kings’ concern.
• Flood Dragon called Jiang Chen his father and complained about the kings standing on his head, then boasted about his strength and the scars left by powerful enemies.
• Jiang Chen joked that he might cook Flood Dragon, who eagerly offered to let him cut off some meat for soup.
• Jiang Chen refused the three kings’ attempts to stop him from returning to the battlefield and declined Uncle Wei’s offer to accompany him, intending to question Flood Dragon about his origins.

Jiang Chen traveled down the Long River with Flood Dragon, who followed him in hopes of becoming a true dragon and claimed they were father and son. Flood Dragon revealed his name was Tie Zhu and began explaining the mysterious ruins where he had once taken shelter.

• The Mount Tai King persuaded Uncle Wei not to follow Jiang Chen, trusting Jiang Chen to investigate the Dark Alliance’s next move alone.
• Flood Dragon told Jiang Chen he was following him to become a true dragon, while Jiang Chen tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to eat him for his bloodline.
• Flood Dragon said his name was Tie Zhu and claimed he was a rare Nine Luminaries Black-Scaled Python whose flesh was prized for its taste.
• Tie Zhu recounted being chased by hunters into a hidden place with ruined stone doors carved with giant black pythons, where the humans pursuing him died mysteriously.

Jiang Chen heard Tie Zhu recount how an ancient underground palace and its iron pillar had helped set him on the path to becoming a Flood Dragon, though Tie Zhu had forgotten where the palace was. Jiang Chen kept Tie Zhu with him and asked him to identify several gifts from the kings.

• Tie Zhu described an Ancient Hall where fierce creatures died among traps, and an altar bearing an iron pillar encircled by nine dragons.
• Tie Zhu said he had tried to swallow the pillar, injured himself, and escaped as the palace sank; afterward, he began transforming into a Flood Dragon.
• Jiang Chen asked where the Ancient Hall was, but Tie Zhu admitted he could not remember its location.
• Jiang Chen decided to keep Tie Zhu nearby as a source of knowledge about ancient times and had him stop at a riverbank.
• Jiang Chen showed Tie Zhu a candle, incense, lamp oil, and paper money, and Tie Zhu identified them as valuable treasures.

Jiang Chen enhanced a damaged candle into a High-Grade Sacrificial Offering and discovered that lighting it restored his power, healed his injuries, and increased his strength. Tie Zhu explained how Grand Sacrifices could empower cultivators and revealed that Reincarnators relied on them to sustain successive lives, leaving Jiang Chen wary of their origins and power.

• Jiang Chen enhanced the half-candle into a Fine Sacrificial Offering-Soul Candle and lit it, restoring his Demonic Power and healing his injuries.
• Tie Zhu recognized the candle as a High-Grade Sacrificial Offering and warned Jiang Chen that he had used it extravagantly.
• Tie Zhu explained that Grand Sacrifices combined High-Grade and ordinary Sacrificial Offerings to produce extraordinary effects, including raising young cultivators to the Half-King realm.
• Jiang Chen connected Grand Sacrifices to the planned power increases of the Dao Alliance's Six Giants' Contemporary Successors and the Yama Successor.
• Tie Zhu told Jiang Chen that Reincarnators used Grand Sacrifices as fuel for successive lives and initially needed a ritual approaching the scale of a Divine Sacrifice.

Jiang Chen learned from Tie Zhu that a Divine Sacrifice could alter fate or kill even a Nine-Step King, while Reincarnators pursued a way to become gods. Tie Zhu recounted how a Heavenly Sacrifice had stopped a Yin God a thousand years ago, leaving Jiang Chen shaken by the scale of that ancient calamity.

• Jiang Chen questioned Tie Zhu about Divine Sacrifices, and Tie Zhu described their power to resurrect the dead, reverse the past, or erase powerful enemies.
• Tie Zhu explained that becoming a Supreme Powerhouse was only part of what the Reincarnators sought, then began recounting an ancient upheaval.
• Tie Zhu revealed that a Yin God had emerged during the Disorder of the Ultimate Number and devastated the world, killing a Supreme Powerhouse.
• Tie Zhu said humanity’s strongest factions had performed a Heavenly Sacrifice to kill the Yin God and seal her remains.
• Tie Zhu told Jiang Chen that the Reincarnators sought the highest-order Heavenly Sacrifice to become gods.

Jiang Chen learned that reincarnators might pool their vast resources for a Grand Sacrifice and considered ambushing them, while Tie Zhu traded ordinary offerings for two high-grade offerings. After Jiang Chen enhanced the Yin God Hammer and summoned the River Earl, Tie Zhu recognized it as a Yin God Puppet and warned that it had once been made from a Supreme Powerhouse.

• Jiang Chen and Tie Zhu discussed how reincarnators gathered the resources and knowledge needed for Grand Sacrifices, and Jiang Chen considered hunting them and seizing their accumulated wealth.
• Tie Zhu pretended to become an idiot to distance himself from Jiang Chen’s plans, then revealed he had offerings hidden away and agreed to trade ordinary offerings for two high-grade ones.
• Jiang Chen spent over five hundred thousand ghost energy enhancing the Damaged Yin God Hammer, repairing its cracks and revealing the name River Earl.
• Jiang Chen summoned the River Earl, whose mask let it move without additional power from him and whose presence trapped Tie Zhu in the river.
• Tie Zhu escaped the water, recognized the River Earl as a Yin God Puppet, and warned Jiang Chen that a Yin God had once turned a Supreme Powerhouse into one.

Jiang Chen joined the Nine Provinces sweep, while the King of the Metropolis pursued the Third Ward and was persuaded to abandon the search after the First Ward intervened. Jiang Chen then secretly cleared ghosts from cities in the rain, gathering more figures onto the Yin God Hammer until it became powerful enough to threaten kings.

• Jiang Chen learned that the Death-Curse Yin God Hammer could summon a Yin God Puppet, and Tie Zhu jokingly offered to work as a spy for the Restricted Zone.
• Jiang Chen traveled with Tie Zhu along the Long River and learned that the King of the Metropolis had taken the Half-Kings to Daxing'anling to pursue the Third Ward.
• Jiang Chen told the King of the Metropolis to abandon the pursuit after the First Ward rescued the Third Ward and moved the hospital; the King agreed after Jiang Chen pretended to worry about him and their supposed child.
• Jiang Chen began sweeping the Nine Provinces, using rain and the River Earl's concealment to kill ghosts throughout Xunhe City and other cities without alerting ordinary people.
• As Jiang Chen continued killing, the Yin God Hammer gathered a dense mass of figures and grew so heavy that only the River Earl could barely lift it.

Jiang Chen continued the cleanup and shared resources with Sister Hong and Su Ling, while the Dark Alliance ended its campaign against the Nine Provinces. A newly exposed pseudo-restricted zone drew the world’s attention after a Reincarnator’s attempt to open it went wrong.

• Jiang Chen encountered Sister Hong, learned she had reached Pseudo-B-Rank, and offered to share Blood Points with her.
• Jiang Chen explained why he brought Su Ling and Sister Hong along but left his weaker friends out of the resource hunt.
• Tie Zhu flew through the rain as a Black Flood Dragon, delighted that he could inherit Jiang Chen’s ability to summon storms.
• Jiang Chen received news that the Dark Alliance had stood down after a pseudo-restricted zone appeared in a small country near the Polar Bear Empire.
• Jiang Chen learned that a Reincarnator had accidentally exposed the new pseudo-restricted zone, turning his intended private harvest into an opportunity for the entire Unusual Person World.

Jiang Chen spent three days clearing cities across the Nine Provinces as Yin Qi spread, while powerful factions opened the Ghost Prison. He finished the cleanup exhausted but delighted by his enormous haul of Ghost Qi, and planned to draw cards before checking on the Ghost Prison's sacrificial offerings.

• Jiang Chen chose to keep clearing cities instead of joining the factions gathered to break the Ghost Prison's seals.
• The Saints Organization condemned the effort to open the Ghost Prison, but a fight broke out and several Saints killed independent powerhouses while Church, Gods, and Dark Alliance members survived.
• Jiang Chen accelerated his work, prompting Nine Provinces' Unusual Persons and Netherworld Messengers to race to clear the remaining cities before his reserves ran out.
• Jiang Chen discovered that rising Yin Qi had turned a kind old woman into a ghost after she died before eating a cream cake, leading her to kill her grandson and her son and daughter-in-law to die in grief.
• After the Ghost Prison opened and the three kings joined the cleanup, Jiang Chen cleared the final city on the third night and headed toward the Fengdu Forbidden Domain with his companions.
• Jiang Chen counted nearly thirty million Ghost Qi, decided to draw several five-star cards and one six-star card, and planned to visit the Ghost Prison afterward.

Jiang Chen and his group entered the vast Fengdu Forbidden Domain and reached the Underground City, where the Unusual Person World was gathering after the Three Days of Unrest. The crowd discussed the Nine Provinces’ victory and the two new kings as the gathering continued.

• Su Ling guided Jiang Chen’s group through a winding mountain route and mist into the Eight Trigrams formation, explaining that the Restricted Zone lay beyond its peaks.
• Su Ling affirmed that the Nine Provinces would keep guarding the Restricted Zone, and Xiaohai asked Jiang Chen if he could join the defense when he grew stronger.
• Jiang Chen and his group arrived at the Underground City, where Tie Zhu shrank into a small snake and hid inside Xiaohai’s jacket.
• Unusual Persons and Netherworld Messengers gathered around the city’s central altar, discussing their kills, the Nine Provinces’ situation, and the two new kings.

Three Kings arrived in the Underground City, where Jiang Chen spread outrageous rumors about Uncle Wei’s supposed skill at exorcising female ghosts and rallied the crowd to call him King Wei Wu. Uncle Wei endured the public mockery and resolved to teach Jiang Chen a lesson after the gathering.

• The crowd welcomed Lord Mount Tai King, Lord King of Equality, and Uncle Wei as they crossed the Underground City’s sky.
• Jiang Chen told Netherworld Messengers that Uncle Wei was famous for exorcising female ghosts, especially married ones, and embellished the stories with a tale about widow ghosts.
• Uncle Wei heard Jiang Chen’s gossip, grew furious, and decided to punish him after the gathering.
• The three Kings sat at the altar, while Jiang Chen shouted slogans calling Uncle Wei King Wei Wu and urging female ghosts to retreat.

The Yamas gathered at the altar as the King of Qin Guang revealed that his breakthrough had left him unable to fight without dying. Yuan Tiansuan arrived and recognized Jiang Chen as a man whose fate he could not calculate.

• The King of the Metropolis arrived, and Jiang Chen used a Megaphone to shout flirtatious lines at him until he ordered the crowd to shut up.
• The King of the Fifth Office and the Song Emperor arrived and took their seats at the altar.
• Li Zheng, the King of Qin Guang, announced that he had reached the King Realm but would die if he fought, and asked that someone worthy succeed him after his death.
• The King of the Fifth Office examined Li Zheng and could only shake his head.
• Yuan Tiansuan arrived with his Six Ren Pan, covered his eyes after the King of the Fifth Office called him out, and faltered when he saw Jiang Chen, whose fate he had never been able to calculate.

The Nine Provinces’ leaders gathered in the Underground City for a major conference, and Jiang Chen arrived with the King of Reincarnation and the Dao Alliance Kings. Jiang Chen took his place among the leaders, surprising those who had seen him begging for Underworld Points moments earlier.

• Yuan Tiansuan took a high-ranking seat representing the Yuan Family, and King Biancheng and Treasure-Gathering Daoist arrived with their powerful artifacts and treasures.
• Jiang Chen tried to borrow Underworld Points from a Netherworld team leader and then his deputy director, promising to repay them and promote them when he regained the King Realm.
• The King of Reincarnation arrived with five bloodied Kings, joked about the gathered crowd, and told the wounded Jiang Shenwu to cover his severed arm.
• Jiang Chen ascended the altar and sat alongside the Yamas and the Dao Alliance leaders, astonishing the people he had just tried to con.
• Tie Zhu transformed into an enormous form and stood behind Jiang Chen, howling to make him appear more imposing.

At the Nine Provinces gathering, the King of Reincarnation announced a Grand Sacrifice and lowered ghost-exorcism operations to level four as the coming upheaval threatened humanity. After the kings made proposals, Jiang Chen volunteered to create a Wake-Up Department to make Netherworld Messengers rise early and undergo extra training, provoking an uproar.

• Jiang Chen encouraged Tie Zhu to roar at the assembled kings until he finally pretended to scold him into silence.
• The King of Reincarnation announced that all qualified Unusual People and Netherworld Messengers had gathered, thanked them for eight years of struggle, and warned that they might become humanity's last torchbearers.
• The King of Reincarnation promised a Grand Sacrifice, lowered ghost-exorcism operations to level four, and invited the kings to present proposals before opening the reserve treasury.
• The King of the Metropolis received approval for two High-Grade Sacrificial Offerings, while King Qin Guang, Yuan Tiansuan, and other leaders made requests on behalf of themselves and their factions.
• Jiang Chen proposed establishing a Wake-Up Department to make Netherworld Messengers rise early and undergo extra training, causing the gathering to erupt in protest.

Jiang Chen’s proposal to establish Wake-Up Departments passed, and he was appointed to oversee them across the Nine Provinces. After a Grand Sacrifice healed injuries and raised the strength of many gathered fighters, the King of Reincarnation rewarded Jiang Chen for his deeds with seven High-Grade Sacrificial Offerings and revealed an offering for a Divine Sacrifice.

• Uncle Wei, King Chujiang, several other Kings, and Yuan Tiansuan supported Jiang Chen’s Wake-Up Department proposal, which passed almost unanimously.
• The King of Reincarnation appointed Jiang Chen to oversee the Wake-Up Departments, and Jiang Chen vowed to make the Netherworld Messengers rise early and strive for improvement.
• The King of Chujiang and the old Celestial Master prepared the Grand Sacrifice, which healed injuries and helped many Unusual People and Netherworld Messengers break through to higher stages.
• The King of Reincarnation told the gathered fighters to exchange their sacrificial offerings as they wished.
• The King of Reincarnation credited Jiang Chen for his deeds and gave him seven High-Grade Sacrificial Offerings.
• The King of Reincarnation presented Jiang Chen with an offering for a Divine Sacrifice, astonishing the Kings.