Chapter Summaries

Jiang Chen spent 100,000 Ghost Qi to draw a four-star Azure-Haired Lion Monster card, then brought Su Ling to the Jiangbei Netherworld Branch Office to collect payment for his work. He left Xu Xingfeng and the others stunned by revealing that he had also killed a Fierce Soul's Incarnation.

• Jiang Chen drew the Azure-Haired Lion Monster card and glimpsed the terrifying Green Lion in the Lion Camel Kingdom.
• Jiang Chen learned that the four-star card let him manifest the monster's Life-Bound Weapon by spending Demonic Power, and resolved to hide his strength from his enemies.
• Jiang Chen brought Su Ling to the Jiangbei Netherworld Branch Office, where Xu Xingfeng warned him not to trust ghosts.
• Xu Xingfeng calculated Jiang Chen's payment at 56,000 Underworld Points, then multiplied it by four to compensate him fairly.
• Jiang Chen revealed that he had also killed a Fierce Soul's Incarnation, leaving Xu Xingfeng and the others shocked and worried about the added cost.

Jiang Chen negotiated with Xu Xingfeng for Netherworld information clearance and hinted that the old man who knocks was involved in a threat to Jiangbei. After pretending he could not remember the crucial details, Jiang Chen left Xu Xingfeng wondering whether he had misjudged him.

• Jiang Chen accepted triple Underworld Points instead of quadruple points and asked Xu Xingfeng for level-two information clearance as compensation.
• Xu Xingfeng and the other Netherworld Messengers tried to bargain Jiang Chen down to level-four clearance, but Jiang Chen refused to budge.
• Jiang Chen revealed that the Fierce Soul's Incarnation seemed connected to the old man who knocks, prompting Xu Xingfeng to investigate the threat to Jiangbei.
• Jiang Chen described the night vaguely, then claimed he had forgotten what happened and what the old man had said.
• Xu Xingfeng suspected the Fierce Soul might have erased Jiang Chen's memory, and Jiang Chen praised him as a good judge of character.

Jiang Chen negotiated with the Netherworld Messengers for information about the old man who knocked on doors, while Xu Lei suspected he was a hidden monstrous talent. Team Leader Yang Chuan arrived, and Jiang Chen revived an embarrassing old joke, provoking his resentment.

• Jiang Chen insisted on level-two clearance to obtain intelligence about the old man, so Xu Xingfeng went to fetch a team leader.
• Xu Lei recalled Jiang Chen’s earlier encounters and suspected he had been hiding Grandmaster-level strength, perhaps to avoid attention from the Dark Alliance and Ghost Kings.
• Jiang Chen mocked Qiu Hong’s claim that he had been able to see supernatural things since childhood.
• Yang Chuan appeared in the room, and Jiang Chen greeted him by repeating the room number from their earlier encounter.
• Jiang Chen used a loudspeaker to repeat the joke, so Yang Chuan sealed the room with a black veil and told him not to make loud noises at work.

Jiang Chen negotiated level-two Netherworld access as additional payment for information about the Knocking Old Man, and Yang Chuan agreed to submit his application. Jiang Chen then revealed Su Qiao, the ghost hidden in Su Ling’s shadow, whose intact humanity astonished everyone and led Yang Chuan to identify her as a Spirit Body who died.

• Jiang Chen demanded level-two Netherworld access as extra payment and refused Yang Chuan’s offer of two hundred thousand Underworld Points.
• Yang Chuan recalled Jiang Chen’s encounter with Young Ba and agreed to submit his application for level-two access within a day in exchange for a full account of that night.
• Jiang Chen handed Yang Chuan the Shrine but withheld his information until his access was approved.
• Yang Chuan examined Su Ling’s shadow and warned Jiang Chen about the Half-Body Blood Garment hiding inside it.
• Su Ling called out Su Qiao, who emerged as a powerful ghost but reacted to Jiang Chen with recognizable human anger and restraint.
• Yang Chuan recognized Su Qiao as a Spirit Body who died.

Yang Chuan explained that Su Qiao might be a rare spirit physique who could become a Yama’s successor, and he called the Netherworld director to assess her. Jiang Chen secured a large payment for his lost chicken soup, and the director arrived overnight, recognizing Su Qiao’s potential.

• Yang Chuan told the group that spirit physiques were exceptionally talented and that a spirit physique who retained her soul after death could become a Yama’s successor.
• Jiang Chen contacted Lin Youwei, who said she would inform her master and explained that the Shangqing Sect leader needed an heir.
• Yang Chuan asked Jiang Chen to wait for the director, and Jiang Chen negotiated ten thousand Underworld Points as compensation for his chicken soup.
• The director transferred Jiang Chen enough points to bring his balance to three hundred thousand, and Jiang Chen waited with the others.
• The director arrived unnoticed by most of the group, praised Yang Chuan’s vigilance, examined Su Qiao, and called her a fine prospect.

Sun Zhengwen invited Su Qiao to become his teacher’s disciple, but she returned to herself as Su Ling before deciding. Dao Xuan arrived and also tried to recruit her, leaving the two elders in a tense dispute over who would take her as a disciple.

• Sun Zhengwen offered Su Qiao a chance to become a Yama’s disciple, and she grew excited at the prospect of becoming stronger than Jiang Chen.
• Su Qiao began to accept, but the possession faded and Su Ling returned, asking to discuss the offer with Jiang Chen before deciding.
• Dao Xuan appeared at the Jiangbei Branch Bureau, and Sun Zhengwen rebuked his old acquaintance for arriving uninvited.
• Dao Xuan noticed Su Ling’s exceptional Spirit Body and declared that she could inherit his martial aunt’s legacy.
• Sun Zhengwen claimed Su Ling had already agreed to become his teacher’s disciple, but Jiang Chen corrected him and said she had not decided.
• Sun Zhengwen and Dao Xuan argued over recruiting Su Ling as their auras pressed down on everyone in the room.

Jiang Chen chose the Dao Alliance for Su Ling rather than risk her life as a Netherworld Messenger, but learned her shadow-bound younger sister might need to follow both cultivation paths to survive. The proposed solution recalled the sole person said to have mastered both paths, who had stormed the Forbidden Zone alone.

• Sun Zhengwen described the Netherworld's power and urged Jiang Chen to let Su Ling join it.
• Jiang Chen chose the Dao Alliance, explaining that Su Ling was too young to face the dangers of becoming a Netherworld Messenger.
• Sun Zhengwen accepted Jiang Chen's decision, and Dao Xuan invited Su Ling to meet her master at the Fengdu Forbidden Zone and then join the Shangqing Sect.
• Dao Xuan warned that rising blood qi could destroy the soul of the younger sister hidden in Su Ling's shadow, and Xu Lei suggested that both sisters follow the Netherworld and Unusual Person paths.
• Sun Zhengwen and Dao Xuan said the dual path had failed for nearly everyone, then revealed that a previous Yama King had mastered it and stormed the Forbidden Zone alone.

Sun Zhengwen and Dao Xuan assessed Su Ling’s potential to follow both the Netherworld Messenger and Unusual Person paths, and Jiang Chen entrusted her to them while she pursued a way to save Qiao Qiao. Back home, Jiang Chen chose a task for Sister Hong and learned that the Young Ba was growing stronger as chaos spread across the Nine Provinces.

• Sun Zhengwen said Su Ling might be able to follow the path of both a Netherworld Messenger and an Unusual Person, while Dao Xuan said their sect master and a Yama would need to examine her.
• Su Ling said she would not give up on Qiao Qiao, and Jiang Chen agreed to let her join the Netherworld if she could not follow both paths.
• Sun Zhengwen prepared to take Su Ling away that night, and Jiang Chen gave her a phone and charger and asked her to call when she arrived.
• Jiang Chen checked his Ghost Qi, planned to train Sister Hong, and selected the C-Plus Rank solo task called “Friend.”
• Jiang Chen read reports that the Young Ba had killed people in several cities and grown to the strength of a top-tier Blood-Clad Ghost.
• Jiang Chen worried about the Young Ba’s danger and sensed that the Nine Provinces were descending into greater chaos.

Jiang Chen checked on Su Ling, learned that she was safe at the Living Person Forbidden Zone, and browsed dangerous B-Rank missions while reflecting on the world's worsening ghost crisis. An Underworld App livestream appeared, showing the Netherworld's attack on the Dark Alliance, and Jiang Chen recognized the title as the King of Reincarnation's show.

• Jiang Chen told Sister Hong to accept an Underworld App mission and study its details before their combat that night.
• Jiang Chen called Su Ling, who described the military fortress outside the Living Person Forbidden Zone and said the Dao Alliance seniors had approved her training as both a Netherworld Messenger and an Unusual Person.
• Jiang Chen visited the university, found Zhao Erhu, Lin Youwei, and Yang Chan absent, then returned home to browse B-Rank missions involving Blood-Clad Ghosts.
• Jiang Chen considered several dangerous missions and grew excited about the Ghost Qi he could gain from a Blood-Clad Ghost.
• Jiang Chen opened an Underworld App livestream titled "Bloodshed in the Dark Alliance, the King of Reincarnation's Show" and realized the Netherworld was broadcasting its attack on the Dark Alliance.

The King of Reincarnation livestreamed his attack on the Dark Alliance’s secret refuge, revealing overwhelming power as he halted a vast underwater waterfall. As he brought down his sword, another King confronted him with a giant black palm.

• The King of Reincarnation joked with his disciple during a livestream as they approached the Dark Alliance’s hideout beneath an underwater waterfall.
• The King of Reincarnation raised a hand and stopped the enormous waterfall, exposing buildings hidden below it.
• Evil cultivators and intelligent ghosts emerged, recognized the King of Reincarnation, and called for the Owl King as some fled.
• The King of Reincarnation summoned a sword and raised it, filling the area with intense sword intent.
• A giant black palm rose from beneath the sea as another King challenged him, and the King of Reincarnation brought his sword down, declaring, “Gentlemen, hear the dragon roar!”

The King of Reincarnation defeated the Dark Alliance forces, killed the Owl King's body, and declared that the Nine Provinces would repay attacks tenfold. Inspired by the livestream, Jiang Chen decided to take on three B-Rank incidents after Qishan Village and reassured Sister Hong about joining him, though she remained hesitant.

• The King of Reincarnation cut through the sea King's attack and killed several fleeing Dark Alliance members with his sword intent.
• The King of Reincarnation tracked down and beheaded the Owl King, whose body self-destructed as his remnant soul escaped.
• The King of Reincarnation announced that the Nine Provinces had slain six Great Grandmasters, one King, and thousands of Dark Alliance members.
• Netherworld Branch Offices posted videos of captured Dark Alliance members being publicly executed, prompting an uproar across the world.
• After watching the livestream, Jiang Chen decided to take on three B-Rank incidents after Qishan Village.
• Jiang Chen reassured Sister Hong that she would be past the beginner stage after three days, but she remained worried about taking missions so soon.

Jiang Chen and Sister Hong investigated an abandoned urban village, where they encountered a little girl playing hopscotch with invisible friends. Jiang Chen turned the game against the girl on a rooftop and caught her breaking the rules, leaving her punishment unanswered.

• Jiang Chen and Sister Hong explored the eerily quiet urban village after confirming it was linked to a Paranormal Incident involving a little boy.
• They found Zhang Xiaoyu playing hopscotch alone, and she claimed her invisible friends were playing too.
• Jiang Chen asked to join the game, persuaded the girl to move it to a rooftop, and told Sister Hong that exorcism meant entering and redeeming ghosts' inner worlds.
• Jiang Chen drew a hopscotch course pointing toward the roof's edge and took the first turn while Sister Hong watched.
• When the girl tried to push Jiang Chen, he grabbed her hand and declared that she had stepped on the line and was out, then asked what punishment awaited her.

Jiang Chen killed Zhang Xiaoyu, then ambushed the child ghosts who came to avenge her and left two Vicious Ghosts for Sister Hong to fight. After Sister Hong accidentally knocked one into Jiang Chen, he offered to rub the boy’s head.

• Jiang Chen killed Zhang Xiaoyu and told Sister Hong that he had helped her fulfill her final wish.
• Jiang Chen and Sister Hong hid on an awning as seven or eight child ghosts arrived and discovered Zhang Xiaoyu’s corpse.
• The child ghosts realized Jiang Chen and Sister Hong were hiding nearby, accused Jiang Chen of killing their friend, and attacked.
• Jiang Chen used Purple Palace to kill most of the child ghosts, then left two Vicious Ghosts for Sister Hong’s combat practice.
• Sister Hong’s kick knocked the boy ghost into Jiang Chen, who smiled and offered to rub his head.

Jiang Chen and Sister Hong killed two ghosts, and Jiang Chen deduced that Sister Hong’s Kui Xing Points at the Dipper could let her permanently take luck from enemies who died under its effect. They entered a lit home in the abandoned village and met Zhang Xiaohao, who claimed the woman who let them in was not entirely his mother.

• Sister Hong used a Spirit-Gathering Pill +1 to regain her strength, but the little girl ghost fled until Jiang Chen leaped down and crushed her.
• Jiang Chen observed that Sister Hong’s aura had grown stronger and concluded that her ability could permanently steal an enemy’s luck if they died while it was active.
• Sister Hong sensed Jiang Chen’s terrifying presence when he spoke about having a demon in one’s heart, then followed him to apartment 301.
• Jiang Chen and Sister Hong entered the home after the woman let them stay, and Jiang Chen noticed her movements were strangely uncoordinated.
• In the dark bedroom, Zhang Xiaohao told Jiang Chen and Sister Hong that the woman was not entirely his mother.

Jiang Chen and Sister Hong heard conflicting accounts from a boy and his uncle about the boy’s dead parents and strange return, leaving them uncertain who in the household was truly dangerous. The woman then called Sister Hong into the kitchen to help sort vegetables.

• The boy told Sister Hong and Jiang Chen that his father had killed his mother, that both parents later seemed to return as strangers, and that he wanted their help escaping.
• Jiang Chen warned Sister Hong not to trust a ghost’s account and explained that the boy’s story might conceal more than it revealed.
• The uncle told Jiang Chen and Sister Hong that the boy had died by suicide, yet later appeared alive, and that the boy’s ghostly friends prevented him and his wife from leaving.
• Sister Hong wondered whether both the boy and uncle were trying to lure them away, but Jiang Chen left the possibility open.
• The woman of the house called Sister Hong to help sort vegetables, and Jiang Chen agreed on her behalf as they headed to the kitchen.

Sister Hong and Jiang Chen heard the woman’s account that her husband’s younger brother and his wife had died in a van crash, while the boy and the brother-in-law each offered a different explanation of the family’s ghosts. Jiang Chen chose to believe all three stories and arranged separate midnight escape plans with the woman and the boy.

• The woman told Sister Hong and Jiang Chen that her husband’s younger brother and his wife were dead and had been living in her home as ghosts.
• The woman asked Jiang Chen and Sister Hong to help her take Xiao Hao and escape after midnight, and Jiang Chen agreed.
• Sister Hong asked Jiang Chen which of the conflicting accounts they should believe, and he answered that they should believe them all.
• Jiang Chen went to the boy and agreed that they would escape together after one in the morning, when one parent would put the other in the fridge.

Jiang Chen led Sister Hong and the younger brother and his wife in a nighttime escape, using frightening stories and elaborate acting to panic the couple. The couple fled to the rooftop, where they found children’s corpses and heard heavy footsteps approaching from the stairwell.

• Jiang Chen and Sister Hong met the younger brother and his wife, and the four agreed to escape at eleven that night.
• After dinner, the four quietly left the house and hurried toward the road, but Jiang Chen claimed the man had stepped on a dead child.
• Jiang Chen pretended to see and hear ghost children, then ran into a nearby building, prompting Sister Hong and the couple to flee after him.
• The younger brother and his wife reached the rooftop and realized Jiang Chen and Sister Hong had disappeared.
• The couple discovered the rooftop was covered in children’s corpses, and the man heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairwell.

Jiang Chen and Sister Hong left the rooftop after killing two Vengeful Ghosts, then handed a bundle to a couple who had asked them to rescue their son. When the couple discovered the bundle contained their brother and then their daughter, they revealed themselves as Upper Vengeful Ghosts and attacked, but Jiang Chen killed them with lightning techniques.

• Jiang Chen killed two Vengeful Ghosts hiding on the rooftop and took their body parts with him.
• Sister Hong followed Jiang Chen back to the apartment, unsettled by his brutal methods.
• Jiang Chen handed a clothing bundle to the couple, who discovered it contained the remains of the man's younger brother, Zhang He.
• The couple revealed they were ghosts and attacked after finding their daughter's headless corpse, Xiaoyu, in a second bundle.
• Jiang Chen used Purple Palace Thunder to kill the woman and Divine Firmament lightning to destroy the fleeing man.

Jiang Chen defeated the boy ghost with the Kui Ox Drum and Thunder Method, then sent Sister Hong flying toward a mysterious blood-red child. Sister Hong realized that the real protagonist of the “Friend” incident was the boy’s friend.

• Sister Hong realized Jiang Chen had used the ghosts’ scheme to separate and kill them one by one.
• Jiang Chen tried to convince the little boy ghost that his family had gone to a happy afterlife, but the boy saw through him and attacked.
• Sister Hong fled downstairs as Jiang Chen unleashed the Kui Ox Drum and Thunder Method, destroyed the boy ghost, and brought down part of the building.
• Jiang Chen used a Spirit-Gathering Pill +3, and Sister Hong fussed over his exhaustion.
• Jiang Chen launched Sister Hong toward a blood-red child in a hospital gown, and she realized the boy’s friend had been the real protagonist of the incident.

Jiang Chen encountered a Blood-Clad Ghost disguised as a child and tested his Thunder Method against it, only to be overwhelmed by the gap in their strength. As the ghost demanded another attack, Jiang Chen began Demon Transformation into a two-star Yellow Lion Spirit.

• Jiang Chen faced the garbage-bodied child and calmly answered its questions about missing hearts and lungs, confusing and angering it.
• The child accused Jiang Chen of destroying its friend's home, but Jiang Chen denied responsibility and provoked it further.
• The child seized Jiang Chen with an invisible force and slammed him into a high-rise, which collapsed around him.
• Jiang Chen struck the Green-Skinned Little Drum and unleashed the Thunder Method, blasting apart the invisible hand, but the child immediately restrained him again.
• Jiang Chen recognized that his C-Class strength could not overcome a Blood-Clad Ghost and agreed to attack once more.
• Jiang Chen began Demon Transformation into a two-star Yellow Lion Spirit.