Chapter Summaries

Ye Lin and Li Tianyang analyzed the village examination and suspected the ghost could evolve into a more dangerous state if they delayed. The system then ordered all examinees to spend the night alone in the village and survive until daylight for a crucial clue, leaving Ye Lin to choose where to shelter as the ghost arrived.

• Ye Lin lost a fleeting insight, while Li Tianyang connected ghosts to nightmares and speculated about their existence in reality.
• Ye Lin dismissed Li Tianyang's speculation and asked for his analysis of the examination before the preparation period ended.
• Li Tianyang proposed that the examinees would need a way to perceive an invisible ghost, and Ye Lin warned that a ghost could progress through further states if they took too long to kill it.
• The system announced that the examinees had to spend the night alone in the village and survive until daylight to obtain a crucial clue.
• A storm broke over the village, and Ye Lin considered which house to choose for the night as he realized a wrong choice could cost him his life.

Ye Lin and Li Tianyang investigated the village ancestral hall and discovered an arrangement meant to force a deity to kill ghosts. When a terrifying child ghost appeared and the statue’s head fell away, Ye Lin dragged Li Tianyang out and warned that even the deity feared the ghost.

• Huang Liang proposed staying in an outlying watchtower, but Li Tianyang argued that the group should shelter close together near the ancestral hall.
• Ye Lin went to inspect the ancestral hall alone, and Li Tianyang followed after sensing something strange inside.
• Ye Lin forced open the blocked doors, revealing iron cannons, spirit tablets, candles, and a Fangxiangshi statue.
• Li Tianyang recognized the hall’s layout as a ghost-killing formation, but Ye Lin noticed that the cannons were aimed at the statue.
• A deathly white child appeared and applauded, so Ye Lin pulled Li Tianyang from the hall and warned that the cannons had been used to compel the deity to kill ghosts.
• The statue’s head fell and turned toward the wall as the child flipped upside down and rushed after them.

Vengeful Ghosts ambushed the group, forcing them to seek shelter in the rooms, where the ghosts could still kill them in unexpected ways. He Zheng hid alone and worried about Ye Lin and Li Tianyang, unaware that a towering ghost was entering his room.

• An Ke escaped a ghost’s grasp with Teleportation and rushed into a room as the Vengeful Ghosts surrounded the group.
• A ghost killed one of Li Tianyang’s team members, and Huang Tao dragged Wang Feng into a room while fleeing.
• Huang Tao apologized to Wang Feng, but a ghost emerged from Wang Feng’s throat and stared at him.
• He Zheng hid alone with a Black Donkey Hoof and black dog blood, then tried to contact Ye Lin and Li Tianyang.
• A two-meter-tall woman ghost squeezed into He Zheng’s room through the roof.

Li Tianyang and Ye Lin were surrounded by Vengeful Ghosts as the child ghost directed them toward Ye Lin. Ye Lin used Mental Shock and Blood Shadow Impact to escape the child ghost’s attack and reach the door, but the ghost blocking it began reforming behind him.

• Li Tianyang tried to draw the Vengeful Ghosts away from Ye Lin, but his lightning and blood-empowered sword could barely slow them.
• The child ghost shrieked and sent the Vengeful Ghosts charging at Ye Lin, while Li Tianyang warned him that the exit was blocked.
• Ye Lin used Mental Shock and Rampage to hold off the swarm, then unleashed a mental shock wave that froze the attacking ghosts.
• The child ghost froze Ye Lin with its chilling attack, but Ye Lin became blood mist to evade it and used Blood Shadow Impact to reach the door.
• Ye Lin got up and rushed toward the door as the ghost he had blasted apart began to reform.

Ye Lin was trapped by the Little Child Ghost’s reversal ability and nearly killed, but he realized that Zhang Tie’s Protection could pull him toward its target. Zhang Tie activated it, sending Ye Lin back toward the house as An Ke moved to hold off the pursuing ghosts.

• The Little Child Ghost reversed Ye Lin’s movement twice, leaving him badly injured and surrounded by vengeful ghosts.
• Huang Liang shot the Little Child Ghost in the forehead, but its wound healed almost immediately.
• Ye Lin realized that reversal could bring him to someone moving toward him and shouted for Zhang Tie to use Protection with Ye Lin as the target.
• An Ke opened a route for Zhang Tie, who activated Protection and pulled Ye Lin through the ghosts toward him.
• An Ke removed her Hair Tie and charged the ghost blocking Ye Lin’s path to buy him time.

An Ke held off the pursuing ghosts so Ye Lin could reach safety, but a hidden Vengeful Ghost pierced her heart before she escaped into a house and lost consciousness. After the team took shelter, Ye Lin said An Ke would survive, though he warned that the round might not be over.

• An Ke used her ghostly possession to restrain a Vengeful Ghost and slow the others while Ye Lin ran toward a house.
• An Ke stopped Zhang Tie from intervening and took a hidden ghost’s attack, which pierced her heart and badly injured her.
• An Ke used Teleportation to escape into a house, shut the door, and collapsed unconscious as the ghosts failed to enter.
• He Zheng and Zhang Tie worried over the silent An Ke, while Ye Lin assured them that her bloodline gave her powerful survival abilities.
• He Zheng assumed the team only needed to wait until dawn, but Ye Lin warned that the round might not be so simple.

Ye Lin and the survivors reconsidered their assumptions about the ghosts and the exam topic, while Ye Lin privately feared that a far greater danger was coming. As Huang Liang watched the village from a hiding place, an unseen figure on the roof began blowing through a gap in the window.

• Ye Lin added Li Tianyang and Zhang Xiao Peng to the communications channel, and Li Tianyang blamed himself for the three deaths on his team.
• Ye Lin argued that the ghosts they had encountered did not fit their theories or explain the topic [The Mysterious and Subtle], so they had not yet understood the exam's real danger.
• Li Tianyang proposed investigating the Ancestral Hall and Taoist Temple after dawn, but Ye Lin doubted that dispelling the ghosts' resentment would help them escape.
• Li Tianyang used his ability to confirm that his three dead teammates had not become ghosts.
• Ye Lin recovered in a dark room and suspected that the ghosts could become far more terrifying, perhaps if he voiced his guess.
• Huang Liang sealed a gap beneath the window after noticing a draft, while an unseen figure stretched its head down from the roof and continued blowing through it.

An Ke reviewed her camera footage and discovered that the ghosts had emerged from inside the village houses, including the house where she was staying. The screen went dark, and the Long-Haired Woman appeared behind her.

• He Zheng chatted with Zhang Tie until An Ke woke and confirmed she had recovered.
• An Ke learned from He Zheng that Ye Lin still suspected their theory about the Mysterious and Subtle was wrong.
• An Ke reviewed her camera footage but initially found no unusual clues about the ghosts.
• An Ke noticed a house door move before a ghost appeared and realized the ghosts had come from inside the houses.
• An Ke recognized the house in the footage as her own, and the Long-Haired Woman behind her raised her head.

Ye Lin realized the village houses were the core of a formation that was sacrificing them, while ghosts secretly drained people inside the rooms. He urged everyone to escape onto the roofs and find the formation’s life gate.

• Ye Lin deduced that the ghosts had forced everyone into the houses to trap them in the village’s formation.
• An Ke warned everyone by watch message that the ghosts were there and told them not to speak.
• Ye Lin saw a ghost behind him, while Li Tianyang discovered one beneath his bed and realized it was draining his life force.
• Zhang Xiao Peng screamed after encountering a ghost, and Ye Lin ordered everyone to get outside.
• Ye Lin used Blood Shadow Impact to break through his door and told Li Tianyang to climb onto the roof, explaining that they were being sacrificed at the formation’s core and had to find the life gate.

Li Tianyang discovered that the village was a deadly formation and sacrificed an eye to locate its Life Gate. Ye Lin and He Zheng rescued Huang Liang and Li Tianyang as the ghosts closed in, and the group headed toward the southwestern corner.

• Li Tianyang climbed above the village to search for the Life Gate, breaking free from Long-Armed Ghost with talismans and his sword.
• Li Tianyang sacrificed one eye to reveal the Life Gate at the southwestern corner, near a withered tree, and shouted its location to Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin ordered He Zheng to rescue Li Tianyang, then used Mental Shocks and carried Huang Liang away from the pursuing ghosts.
• Huang Liang fired a Spirit-Piercing Bullet that made Long-Armed Ghost release Li Tianyang while He Zheng struck its hand with his axe.
• He Zheng had Li Tianyang grab his waist and used Leaping Slash to carry him away from Long-Armed Ghost.

Ye Lin and the others raced toward the shifted life gate while Zhang Tie tried to rescue the badly injured Zhang Xiao Peng. The group escaped into seven separate houses, but He Zheng then discovered a corpse in a purple Daoist robe hanging inside his room.

• Zhang Tie told He Zheng he was still trying to save Zhang Xiao Peng, while He Zheng and Ye Lin ordered him to abandon the rescue.
• Li Tianyang pleaded with Ye Lin to save Zhang Xiao Peng and explained that the boy’s life-force enhancement could restore vitality and that he was unlikely to have been possessed.
• Ye Lin told Zhang Tie to return with Zhang Xiao Peng if possible, then led the others toward the houses around the dead tree.
• A red-eyed female ghost teleported the pursuing Vengeful Ghosts close behind the group as they reached the doors of the life-gate houses.
• All seven rushed into separate rooms and slammed their doors against the attacking ghosts.
• He Zheng turned and saw a corpse in a purple Daoist robe hanging from a beam in his room.

He Zheng found a hanged Daoist priest in his room and learned that every room contained a corpse. Li Tianyang explained that the priests had been high-ranking Celestial Masters, leaving the survivors to wonder what could have driven them to suicide as Ye Lin suspected a more terrifying truth.

• He Zheng discovered a hanged priest in his room and contacted Ye Lin for help.
• Ye Lin told He Zheng that every room held a corpse, and he examined the priest hanging in his own room.
• Li Tianyang explained that the purple robes marked the dead priests as exceptionally powerful Daoist masters.
• Little Chubby suggested that the priests had sacrificed themselves out of guilt to keep the ghosts trapped.
• Ye Lin rejected the hopeful explanation and suspected that something had driven the priests to their deaths.

Ye Lin warned the group not to disturb the dead Daoists whose bodies helped sustain the life gates, then compared the exam’s difficulty with Li Tianyang’s team. As everyone rested and took turns keeping watch, Ye Lin feared the true horror would begin at dawn.

• Ye Lin reasoned that the Daoists had died laying formations to contain the ghost and told He Zheng not to touch their bodies.
• Li Tianyang questioned Ye Lin after learning his team considered the exam normal difficulty, and He Zheng bragged about their performance.
• An Ke suggested Li Tianyang’s earlier exams had been easier because his team had lower ratings, leaving him to understand why Ye Lin’s team had grown so powerful.
• Ye Lin ordered everyone to rest and leave two people on watch, warning that the next round could be much harder.
• Ye Lin looked toward the Taoist Temple and wondered what kind of ghost awaited them at A+ difficulty.

Zhang Tie narrowly survived a ghost attack after opening the door in response to a false alarm about the second round of the exam. He Zheng woke in what seemed to be his old life, but the voice outside his door revealed that the scene was a ghostly deception tied to Yang Qiao’s death.

• During his watch, Zhang Tie grew drowsy and heard urgent pounding and shouts claiming that the second round’s questions had arrived.
• Zhang Tie opened the door and saw a ghost impersonating He Zheng while another ghost attacked him from the window.
• Zhang Tie used Bear Transformation, his talismans, and Huang Liang’s bell to force the ghosts back and slam the door shut.
• He Zheng awoke in his rented room and initially believed the Death Exam had been a dream.
• When the voice outside recalled Yang Qiao bringing him food, He Zheng recognized the cruel reminder that she had died in a truck accident and shouted at the presence beyond the door.

At daybreak, Huang Liang faced accusations from ghosts while Ye Lin resisted a double tempting him with secrets about his body and the world’s truth. The rooms began to deform and attack the seven survivors, and Li Tianyang urgently asked Ye Lin whether they should flee.

• Huang Liang was tormented by ghosts resembling his father, instructors, and fallen comrades, and shouted that he would prove he was not a coward.
• Ye Lin refused to trust his double, which claimed his body remembered a surgery and tempted him with knowledge of the truth.
• The double vanished after telling Ye Lin he would return, and the system ordered everyone to leave their rooms for the Back Mountain Taoist Temple after daybreak.
• At 4:59, the walls began deforming, and Li Tianyang warned Ye Lin that the house seemed to be alive and trying to eat them.

Ye Lin recognized the apparent dawn and the house’s attack as an illusion meant to drive the group outside, but the illusion caused real, crushing pain. The six were trapped inside the shrinking house, and Ye Lin urged them to endure until the attack ended.

• As the house mutated and closed in, Ye Lin studied the shadows and concluded that it was still too early for dawn.
• Ye Lin identified the apparent daylight as an illusion created by the eyes, and He Zheng, An Ke, and Huang Liang trusted him and stopped reacting to the tendrils.
• Li Tianyang and Little Chubby questioned whether the house might truly become dangerous by day, but Ye Lin argued that the ghosts would not need to lure them away if staying were deadly.
• Tendrils dragged Li Tianyang into the wall, crushing his bones as the others were also swallowed by the floor and walls.
• Ye Lin told the group that the ghosts’ attack showed they were safe inside and urged them to hold on as all six endured the pain.

He Zheng discovered that inflicting real pain could break the ghosts’ illusion, helping the group survive until dawn. Ye Lin led everyone toward the Ancestral Hall and then the Taoist Temple to search for clues to escape, with sixty-one hours remaining.

• As the illusion crushed He Zheng, he punched himself and realized that physical pain restored his consciousness and weakened it.
• He Zheng warned the others to hurt themselves, and Li Tianyang and the rest followed his advice to break free of the illusion.
• A chicken crowed as dawn arrived, the room returned to normal, and the survivors left the old house for treatment.
• The group discussed whether He Zheng’s chicken had helped and recognized that his discovery had contributed to their survival.
• Ye Lin led the group toward the Ancestral Hall to find what they needed before proceeding to the Taoist Temple.

Ye Lin and the others searched the Ancestral Hall for the crucial clue the system had mentioned. Ye Lin uncovered a blood-inscribed formation beneath a floor slab and pulled out its black dagger, filling the hall with the stench of blood.

• Ye Lin led the group into the Ancestral Hall and examined the idol’s severed head and body, finding bluish-green liquid inside it.
• An Ke and the others reported that the hall contained no papers or other clues, while Ye Lin reasoned that the system required them to find something before entering the Taoist Temple.
• Ye Lin noticed a pale mark on the floor where Little Child Ghost had stood and pried up the slab to reveal a hidden blood-inscribed formation and a black dagger.
• Li Tianyang warned Ye Lin that removing the dagger might release a ghost, but Ye Lin argued it was neither the village formation’s focus nor a restraint on Little Child Ghost.
• Ye Lin wrenched the dagger from the formation, and a heavy stench of blood filled the Ancestral Hall.

Ye Lin and the others found a special sacrificial dagger and considered how it might affect the ghosts before heading for the Taoist Temple. Inside its darkness, an unseen presence touched them, and Ye Lin ordered everyone to run without looking back.

• Ye Lin obtained the Sacrificial Ritual dagger, whose description suggested it could be used against anyone, including ghosts.
• Huang Liang proposed that killing a ghost might make it stronger but buy the group time, while Ye Lin suggested the dagger might be intended for them to kill themselves.
• As darkness gathered again, Ye Lin led the group up the mountain toward the Taoist Temple, where a Daoist corpse hung from the entrance.
• Ye Lin sensed a barrier around the temple, opened its doors, and led the group into the pitch-black interior.
• Little Chubby asked Li Tianyang whether someone was touching him, and six hands appeared on Ye Lin’s shoulders.
• Ye Lin shouted for everyone to run and not look back.

Ye Lin realized the passage’s ghosts were manipulating the group’s minds and escaped by ordering everyone to turn left and move backward. After the survivors reached the Taoist hall, he stopped Li Tianyang at the threshold, questioning how many ghostly hands had been behind him and Zhang Xiao Peng.

• Ye Lin tested the passage with a gunshot and concluded that the group was standing still under the ghosts’ influence.
• Ye Lin told everyone to turn left and take one step backward for every ghost hand touching them.
• He Zheng and the others followed Ye Lin’s order, broke free of the ghosts, and found the Taoist hall.
• Ye Lin, An Ke, He Zheng, and Zhang Tie entered the hall, while He Zheng and Zhang Tie pulled Huang Liang inside.
• Li Tianyang arrived supporting Zhang Xiao Peng, and Ye Lin drew his sword to stop Li Tianyang at the doorway.
• Ye Lin asked who had been behind Zhang Xiao Peng and how many hands had been behind Li Tianyang.