Chapter Summaries

Li Tianyang realized the Zhang Xiao Peng beside him was a ghost and narrowly escaped being devoured with help from Ye Lin and the others. The real Zhang Xiao Peng was killed while trying to warn them that ghosts could imitate people, leaving Li Tianyang the sole survivor of the Tianyang Team.

• Ye Lin’s question made Li Tianyang realize that the Zhang Xiao Peng beside him was a ghost, which immediately swallowed him.
• Ye Lin used Mental Shock, An Ke’s Vengeful Ghost restrained the creature, and Huang Liang shot it while Li Tianyang fought his way free with spiritual flames and heavenly lightning.
• He Zheng and Zhang Tie pulled Li Tianyang into the hall just before the devouring ghost could swallow him again.
• The devouring ghost pursued the real Zhang Xiao Peng, who tried to warn Li Tianyang that ghosts could imitate people before it killed him.
• The system announced Zhang Xiao Peng’s death, and Li Tianyang collapsed in grief as the sole survivor of the Tianyang Team.

Ye Lin and the survivors debated whether ghosts had infiltrated their group, while Ye Lin pieced together how the ghosts had deceived them. He realized the supposed Examination announcements were imitations, leaving him with one last question to answer before they could escape.

• He Zheng offered cigarettes to the Three Pure Ones, and Ye Lin directed the group to search for clues while Li Tianyang recovered.
• An Ke and Huang Liang asked Ye Lin whether Zhang Xiao Peng’s last words meant a ghost had imitated someone in their group.
• Ye Lin suggested the second Zhang Xiao Peng might have been a fake, and Huang Liang proposed that the ghost had staged his death.
• Ye Lin urged An Ke and Huang Liang not to suspect each other, reminding them that the Examination was cooperative.
• Ye Lin concluded that a ghost had imitated the system’s voice and that the supposed round announcements were false; the only real instruction was to find the escape point.

As the group prepared to leave the weakening protection of the Three Pure Ones Hall, Huang Liang modified his Spirit-Piercing Bullets while struggling with his injuries. An Ke and Li Tianyang offered different routes to search for clues, and the chapter ended with the group reacting strangely to Li Tianyang’s suggestion that a true deity might help them pass the exam.

• Huang Liang carved cross-shaped grooves into his last six Spirit-Piercing Bullets, hoping to make them tumble and inflict greater damage on ghosts.
• Zhang Tie supported Huang Liang, while He Zheng cursed him for spending his points on bullets and urged him not to die.
• Li Tianyang recovered enough to fight again, though he remained visibly frail, and the group gathered as the Three Pure Ones Hall’s protection weakened.
• An Ke proposed searching the Scripture Repository for clues and showed Ye Lin her rough map of the temple.
• Li Tianyang argued that they should search the side halls for other deities, suggesting that a true deity or divine protection might lead them to the extraction point.
• He Zheng and Zhang Tie reacted with startled expressions after Li Tianyang proposed finding or awakening a true deity.

Ye Lin led the group to the Taoist Quarters after inferring that the Celestial Masters had stayed there early in the incident. Beneath a Blood Moon, He Zheng realized that Ye Lin and the others had stopped making any sound as they walked.

• Li Tianyang questioned whether his suggestion about finding a god was mistaken, and He Zheng warned him that the gods could be ghosts.
• Ye Lin explained that incense ash on the Celestial Masters’ soles showed they had visited the Taoist Temple, so the group headed for the Taoist Quarters.
• The group discovered that a Blood Moon had appeared, but Ye Lin checked his watch and confirmed that the time remained consistent.
• An Ke warned Ye Lin that the open Taoist Quarters door concealed a pitch-black interior, and the group cautiously approached it.
• He Zheng sensed that something was wrong and realized that Ye Lin and the others made no sound as they walked.

He Zheng realized the others were being drawn toward a dark doorway by a supernatural force, while he remained unaffected. He discovered that Incense Ash could slow Ye Lin’s trance, but his supply was nearly gone as the group kept moving toward the door.

• He Zheng tried to stop Ye Lin and the others from entering the dark doorway, but Ye Lin dragged him forward and tore He Zheng’s right arm.
• He Zheng shouted, grabbed an Axe, and tried to block Ye Lin and Li Tianyang, but they continued toward the doorway without reacting.
• He Zheng searched for the difference protecting him and noticed Incense Ash scattered near his feet.
• He Zheng threw Incense Ash onto Ye Lin, slowing his steps and confirming that the ash could disrupt the force controlling him.
• He Zheng tried to gather more Incense Ash, then realized there was not enough to save everyone.

He Zheng chose to divide the remaining incense ash among the group and ran back toward the Main Hall to find more, while the others struggled to save him from an unseen attack. Ye Lin led the group into the Taoist Quarters, where a crowd of blue-robed ghosts appeared at the far doorway.

• He Zheng sprinkled the remaining incense ash over everyone and raced toward the Main Hall, determined to bring back enough to save them all.
• The others found He Zheng frozen on the path, and Ye Lin suspected he had triggered a ghost attack without anyone noticing.
• A backward-crawling female ghost charged the group, so Ye Lin ordered everyone to drag He Zheng toward the Taoist Quarters.
• Huang Liang's modified bullet wounded the female ghost, and Li Tianyang rescued Huang Liang from another ghost with a talisman.
• Ye Lin entered the Taoist Quarters and found a headless corpse surrounded by sealing power, then spotted blue-robed ghosts hopping toward the opposite doorway.

Ye Lin and the others sealed themselves inside the Taoist Quarters, where ghosts battered the doors and the blood curses began to fade. Ye Lin concluded that the headless corpse had used a secret technique to escape, and searched for where its head had gone as the ghosts neared breaking in.

• Ye Lin and An Ke shut the Taoist Quarters’ doors just as Zhang Tie and the others rushed inside, trapping the ghosts outside.
• Li Tianyang and the others asked Ye Lin what to do, and he told An Ke to photograph clues while he examined the corpse.
• Ye Lin deduced that the corpse’s head had separated from its body and escaped through another route, since the neck wound was clean and the body showed no sign of being eaten.
• Li Tianyang asked about flying-head magic, and Ye Lin cited examples from Chinese myths and history while searching through books and letters.
• The ghosts cracked the doors and burned away the blood curses, forcing Ye Lin to search urgently for the missing head’s escape route.

Ye Lin discovered a secret passage beneath the Taoist Quarters and led the group into it as ghosts broke through the doors. While fleeing, he recalled a letter revealing that the Taoists had gathered to open the Ninefold Immortal Gate and summon the Ten Thousand Immortals.

• An Ke proposed tearing up the stone slabs to search for a passage, but Ye Lin realized that water pooling by the entrance suggested a hollow beneath the floor.
• Ye Lin blasted apart the stone slab beneath the doors, revealing a talisman-covered underground passage, and ordered the group inside.
• Li Tianyang hesitated over leaving the books and letters, so Ye Lin used his telekinesis to flip through them and memorize their contents as the ghosts broke in.
• The group fled deeper into the passage while talismans briefly held back the pursuing ghosts, and Ye Lin continued searching his memories for clues.
• At a bend in the passage, Ye Lin recalled a letter saying the Taoists had answered a summons to open the Ninefold Immortal Gate and summon the Ten Thousand Immortals.

Ye Lin, An Ke, and Li Tianyang debated whether the Taoists had summoned a real immortal or mistaken a ghost for one, while Ye Lin suspected the Ninefold Immortal Gate might be their extraction point. As Ye Lin considered He Zheng’s condition, a strange reddish light appeared at the end of the hidden passage.

• Ye Lin read the letter aloud, revealing that Taoists had opened the Immortal Gate and summoned an immortal during the Warlord Era.
• Li Tianyang theorized that a ghost had devoured the summoned immortal, while An Ke argued that the Taoists might have opened the wrong gate and summoned a ghost instead.
• Ye Lin noted that both theories left unanswered questions and considered the possibility that an immortal had killed people before the ghosts appeared.
• Ye Lin identified the Ninefold Immortal Gate as a possible extraction point and wondered what linked it to He Zheng’s condition.
• A faint reddish moonlight appeared at the end of the hidden passage.

Ye Lin and the others entered an empty room with a lone chair and planned to search the nearby side hall for a way to open the immortal gate. When Ye Lin opened the door, a terrifying ghost appeared behind them and hanged the group, leaving them on the brink of death.

• Ye Lin led the group out of the tunnel into an empty room, where they found a wooden chair and red moonlight coming through the windows.
• Li Tianyang proposed searching the Scripture Pavilion or the side hall for a way to open the immortal gate, and Ye Lin chose the nearby side hall.
• Ye Lin noticed the chair seemed out of place but could not determine what had happened to the Taoist who had escaped through the tunnel.
• When Ye Lin opened the door, he saw a three-meter-long ghost reflected in the pane, hanging behind them with its arms on his shoulders.
• Ye Lin warned everyone to run, but the ghost froze the group and hanged them beneath the roof beam.
• Ye Lin escaped the rope with Blood Shadow Impact, but the ghost dragged him back and hanged him again as a death announcement sounded.

Ye Lin realized the Hanged Ghost killed anyone who tried to leave the room and used the Sacrificial Dagger to destroy it. As the group fled, they discovered He Zheng’s soul had been left behind and was running away on its own.

• Huang Liang died, and the Hanged Ghost’s ropes continued choking Zhang Tie, An Ke, Li Tianyang, and Ye Lin despite their attempts to fight back.
• Ye Lin reasoned that the ghost’s killing condition was touching the door, then recognized that its repeated hanging reenacted its own suicide.
• Ye Lin used telekinesis to drive the Sacrificial Dagger into the Hanged Ghost, dispersing it, and urged the others to flee as a worse presence began to awaken.
• Zhang Tie noticed that He Zheng had become weightless and saw He Zheng’s soul standing apart from the body he was dragging.
• He Zheng’s soul ran away from the group while they watched in horror.

Ye Lin and the others hid in a Side Hall after escaping an awakened ghost, where Li Tianyang found yellow paper revealing that an immortal gate had been sealed. As a colossal ghost broke into the hall, Ye Lin led the group toward the Dining Room with the clue in hand.

• Ye Lin led the survivors into a Side Hall, where Zhang Tie grieved over He Zheng and Huang Liang while Li Tianyang urged him to focus on surviving.
• Ye Lin suspected the cloth-covered Deity Statue might conceal a clue, and Li Tianyang volunteered to uncover it.
• Li Tianyang found yellow paper describing an immortal who defied orders and an immortal gate sealed shut; its reverse bore seven red dots.
• A colossal ghost attacked the Side Hall, shattering the Deity Statue and forcing its way through the door.
• Ye Lin grabbed the yellow paper and smashed through the door to the Dining Room, urging the others to follow.

Ye Lin watched his companions die to the Head-Swapping Ghost and realized the Taoist Temple had repeatedly resurrected them, erasing their memories each time. As the ghost closed in, he tried to leave a warning on his body, then destroyed his own head to deny it a body to possess.

• Zhang Tie brought He Zheng into the Dining Room, where the Head-Swapping Ghost had taken over He Zheng's body, and the ghost twisted Zhang Tie's head around, killing him.
• The ghost teleported to Li Tianyang and killed him, then pursued Ye Lin and An Ke, killing An Ke as Ye Lin fled with Blood Shadow Impact.
• Ye Lin fought off ghostly hands and attacked the Head-Swapping Ghost, but the blade failed to kill it and the recoil left him unable to stand.
• Seeing familiar heads roll from a shattered urn and recalling the scars, rain, moon, and Dagger, Ye Lin realized they had died and been resurrected repeatedly with their memories erased.
• Ye Lin saw scars covering his left arm, carved his wrist with the Dagger, and smashed his own head with his sword before the ghost could replace it.

Ye Lin discovered unexplained scars on his hands and deduced that his memories had been erased after he suffered injuries. He concluded that he and the others had already died once and come back to life, leaving them to face the danger that killed them before.

• He Zheng lit three cigarettes for the Three Pure Ones and pocketed some Incense Ash.
• Ye Lin noticed old scars on his hands that he could not remember receiving, and the others found no similar injuries.
• An Ke suspected a ghost had attacked Ye Lin, but he tested the Sacrificial Dagger and found it could leave lasting scars.
• Ye Lin deduced that his wounds had healed into scars before his memories were erased, and that he had likely injured himself to leave a clue.
• Ye Lin reasoned that the others’ memories had also been erased and concluded that they had already died once and come back to life.

After the group revived at the statue, Ye Lin used his palm wound to deduce the dangers they faced on their previous attempt and concluded they had encountered a Hanged Ghost near the side hall. He then spotted a flaw in his reasoning and realized someone may have triggered the first ghost before they reached the Taoist Quarters.

• Ye Lin explained that the statue revived only those who had entered the Main Hall, and that revivals consumed its power; Li Tianyang regretted that Zhang Xiao Peng had died outside.
• The six survivors left through the right-hand door and found themselves beneath a blood moon, with their bodies weakened after revival.
• Ye Lin examined his palm wound and deduced that he had caught a returning Dagger telekinetically while fighting a powerful ghost that could restrict movement.
• Ye Lin inferred that the ghost was a Hanged Ghost and that they had reached it through a hidden passage leading from the Taoist Quarters toward the side hall.
• Ye Lin realized the first ghost could not have appeared in the Taoist Quarters, and suspected someone had triggered it ahead of time.

Ye Lin explained that his wrist injury contained clues to several ghosts and warned that an unknown fourth ghost may already have been triggered. As the group tried to identify what they had done in the Main Hall, Ye Lin realized the ghosts might all be one entity.

• Ye Lin told the group that his wrist injury pointed to Ghost Hand, Hanged Ghost, and a ghost that could possess bodies, while an unknown fourth ghost might appear near the Taoist Quarters.
• Huang Liang questioned whether the clues really proved Ghost Hand and a fourth ghost existed, but An Ke explained that Ye Lin could have used a neck wound to signal Hanged Ghost and that the right-side pursuer pointed to another ghost.
• Huang Liang apologized for doubting Ye Lin, and Ye Lin asked everyone to recall their actions in the Main Hall and report anything that might have triggered the unknown ghost.
• Ye Lin reflected on how the clues overlapped and realized that the ghosts might all be one entity.

Ye Lin discovered that his body bore many more scars than he had realized, revealing that the group had died in multiple previous rounds despite their attempts to escape. As the others checked themselves and found no scars, Ye Lin concluded that their enemy was not merely a ghost but a dismembered immortal.

• Ye Lin questioned whether He Zheng’s stolen Incense Ash had triggered the ghost, while Li Tianyang suggested they check their bodies for clues left by previous rounds.
• An Ke agreed to let the others check her, and Ye Lin revealed scars on his arm and chest that he had not known about.
• The six returned to the Main Hall and checked themselves; only Ye Lin had scars, which suggested they had died at least four times.
• He Zheng offered to let Ye Lin stay behind while the others died for another round, but Ye Lin realized the threat was far more terrifying than they had believed.
• Ye Lin concluded that the enemy was an immortal who had been dismembered.

Ye Lin finished deciphering most of the clues and led the group toward the Taoist Quarters, believing they could find a way out. He explained that the different wounds reflected choices altered by the butterfly effect, then quietly watched the others’ shadows with killing intent.

• He Zheng questioned why Ye Lin’s scars were subtle and why he had left wounds instead of carved words, and An Ke theorized that the marks faded and that Ye Lin had faced certain death without time to write.
• Li Tianyang suggested drawings could convey more information than words, and Ye Lin interrupted to say they might be unable to write at all.
• Ye Lin said the wounds on his chest formed a map, though he still needed to confirm the marks on his arm, and led everyone toward the Taoist Quarters.
• When Li Tianyang questioned why they were going right instead of searching the Side Halls, Ye Lin argued that the right route was safer and more efficient.
• Ye Lin said the butterfly effect had led them to choose different paths and see different skies, then walked ahead while secretly watching the others’ shadows with killing intent.

Ye Lin led the group into the Taoist Quarters, where they found a headless corpse and a letter mentioning the Ninefold Immortal Gate. The letter made Ye Lin realize that his memories did not match the others’, leaving him to fear that he was not Ye Lin.

• Ye Lin used the pooled water and lowered ground to infer that a hollow space lay beneath the Taoist Quarters.
• The group entered, found a headless corpse, and closed the doors after Ye Lin judged it posed no immediate danger.
• Ye Lin suspected the corpse was connected to the Incense Ash and considered whether He Zheng had been possessed or had his head swapped.
• The group searched the room and found a letter that mentioned the Ninefold Immortal Gate and summoning all immortals once more.
• Ye Lin realized he remembered immortals and the Immortal Gate despite his erased memories, and feared that he was not Ye Lin.

Ye Lin reasoned that repeated deaths might cause the group to merge with ghosts, but concealed his doubts and led everyone to investigate the Scripture Pavilion for clues. The six split up inside, unaware that an eerie pattern of footprints had appeared outside.

• Ye Lin considered whether he was dead or had merged with a ghost, then told the others that the Immortals might have become ghosts.
• Ye Lin showed the group a scar on his arm, and An Ke suggested it resembled bamboo, pointing them toward the Scripture Pavilion.
• The six checked the area and cautiously made their way to the Scripture Pavilion beneath the Blood Moon.
• Inside, Ye Lin directed An Ke to use a flashlight and search for books with little dust; the group spotted cloud-patterned footprints leading to both upper floors.
• Ye Lin split the group between the second and third floors, while a precise array of footprints silently appeared outside as An Ke's flashlight swept past.