Chapter Summaries

Mountain Sprite used the Blood Lotus seat and Ancient Western Buddhist rites to refine Long Boyan's corpse, planting several eyes in it while Ye Lianchen watched from beneath the fire pit. As Mountain Sprite sent his Primordial Spirit into the corpse, Ye Lianchen cast a spell to awaken it.

• Mountain Sprite gouged out the eyes of twelve baleful corpses and began using one to alter Long Boyan's corpse.
• Mountain Sprite invoked the Great Black Realm Scripture of the Faith-Protecting Heavenly Corpse God and fused the first eye into Long Boyan, whose other eyes began to move.
• Mountain Sprite failed to implant another eye, then spent three months successfully planting two more while struggling to place a final eye.
• Mountain Sprite grew fleshy tendrils that joined him to the Blood Lotus and sent his Primordial Spirit into Long Boyan's skull.
• Ye Lianchen recited a spell commanding Long Boyan to awaken.

Ye Lianchen used his knowledge of corpse-nourishing arts to exploit the mountain fiend temple master’s attempt to suppress Long Boyan with the blood lotus. After awakening Long Boyan’s memories, Ye Lianchen sealed the mountain fiend’s Primordial Spirit inside the giant corpse, cutting it off from the outside world.

• The mountain fiend bound himself to the blood lotus and sent his Primordial Spirit into Long Boyan’s corpse to suppress it and complete its transformation.
• Ye Lianchen recognized the blood lotus as the Floating Life Burning-Karma Fire Lotus and realized the mountain fiend could not readily leave it.
• Ye Lianchen cast the Qinghua Longevity Incantation, awakening Long Boyan’s memories and trapping the mountain fiend’s Primordial Spirit amid the corpse’s recollections.
• Long Boyan’s memories revealed that walking corpses had slaughtered his Miao Stockade and killed his family and clanspeople.
• Ye Lianchen used the mountain fiend’s essence blood to draw the Nine Palaces Soul-Locking Spirit-Sealing Talisman on Long Boyan’s head, sealing the mountain fiend’s Primordial Spirit inside and preventing it from sending messages outside.

Ye Lianchen trapped the mountain fiend's Primordial Spirit inside Long Boyan's corpse and used a newly devised Great One talisman formation to awaken the giant's lingering consciousness. The chapter ended with Long Boyan taking control of his six-armed, twelve-eyed body and saluting Ye Lianchen as his benefactor.

• Ye Lianchen sealed the mountain fiend's Primordial Spirit within Long Boyan's corpse, preventing it from escaping or sending word.
• Ye Lianchen prepared to strengthen Long Boyan's lingering thoughts and nurture his spiritual awareness, combining the Great One's Salvation from Suffering tradition with the Dark Mystery Ancient-Knowledge Corpse-Nourishing Art.
• Ye Lianchen formed the Great One Qinghua Nine Palaces Spirit-Stabilizing Talisman Formation around Long Boyan and called on him to awaken.
• Long Boyan sat up in the fire pit as the talismans blazed, then pressed the fleshly orb into his face and opened all twelve eyes.
• Long Boyan knelt and saluted Ye Lianchen, calling him his benefactor.

Cheng Xinzhan awakened the Drought Demon, named him Wu Qingbo, and used a secret spell to inhabit the Mountain Sprite’s corpse while planning to take control of the Fire Temple lineage. At Pear Snow Mountain, he taught his new disciples and later asked Ji Hehe for permission to visit the Longevity Palace in a full ceremonial procession to seek a true scripture.

• The Drought Demon explained that he wanted the Mountain Sprite’s eye to perfect his Drought Demon body, and Cheng Xinzhan advised him to leave vengeance behind and gave him the name Wu Qingbo.
• Cheng Xinzhan used the “borrowing a corpse to return the soul” spell to enter the Mountain Sprite’s body, reviewed its memories, and prepared to uproot the Fire Temple lineage and other temple lineages.
• Cheng Xinzhan tested Zhu Shuyu and Lin Fengnian on Daoist scriptures, explained the origins and practices of Pear Snow Mountain’s lineage, and began teaching them Qi Ingestion.
• Cheng Xinzhan visited Ji Hehe at Three Pure Ones Palace and requested permission to go to the Longevity Palace with a full ceremonial procession to seek a true scripture.

Ji Hehe agreed to support Cheng Xinzhan's request to learn the Longevity Palace's water techniques, despite worrying that Cheng was exhausting himself by dividing his spirit among several bodies. After Cheng was appointed Three Pure Ones Mountain's Myriad-Dharma Scripture Master, a grand procession set out for the Longevity Palace, where True Person Baoyuan would judge his talent.

• Ji Hehe warned Cheng Xinzhan that his many incarnations and relentless demon-slaying efforts were shortening his life, but Cheng explained that he could not ignore people suffering at the hands of demons.
• Cheng Xinzhan admitted that seeking the Longevity Palace's scriptures would create a deep karmic debt, and Ji Hehe agreed to approach True Person Baoyuan on his behalf.
• Five days later, Ji Hehe told Cheng Xinzhan that True Person Baoyuan would meet him and assess whether his talent merited learning Celestial Master Xu's water techniques.
• Ji Hehe appointed Cheng Xinzhan Three Pure Ones Mountain's Myriad-Dharma Scripture Master and bestowed a scripture-preaching Daoist Robe and ritual treasures upon him.
• Cheng Xinzhan joined Dong Shouren and Huo Jingyan in a vast scripture-seeking procession that traveled west from Three Pure Ones Mountain toward the Longevity Palace.
• The procession reached the Gan River and began descending toward the Longevity Palace on its western bank.

Cheng Xinzhan halted the scripture-seeking procession to watch over people sheltering from a storm, then used the Dragon-Tiger Jade Ruyi to divert a flash flood and raise Longxing Sandbar into a protective mountain. True Person Baoyuan ordered the Longevity Palace to open its gates and welcome the guests from Three Pure Ones Mountain.

• Cheng Xinzhan noticed the growing dragon-shaped sandbar in the Gan River as the procession approached Nanchang.
• When a sudden downpour threatened to flood the river and endanger people beneath Shouchang Bridge, Cheng Xinzhan persuaded the procession to stop and keep watch.
• Shen Zhaoming and Daoist Liangyuan discussed the unexplained rain, while Daoist Liangyuan alerted the Flood Control Bureau and chose to wait.
• After upstream landslides sent a flash flood downstream, Cheng Xinzhan rushed to meet it and Dong Shouren sent the other disciples to rescue people along the riverbanks.
• Cheng Xinzhan used the Dragon-Tiger Jade Ruyi to weaken and redirect the flood, piling its rocks and sand onto Longxing Sandbar to form a mountain higher than Nanchang's walls.
• After witnessing Cheng Xinzhan's feat, Daoist Liangyuan exclaimed in realization, and True Person Baoyuan ordered the mountain gates opened so the Longevity Palace could welcome the guests.

Cheng Xinzhan and the Three Pure Ones procession received an extraordinary welcome at the Longevity Palace after Cheng used the Gan River’s sandbar to stop the flood. True Person Baoyuan explained that Cheng’s cultivation milestones had shaped the sandbar’s growth and that an ancient prophecy identified him as the master of eight hundred Earthly Immortals.

• After the floodwaters receded, Cheng Xinzhan and the procession crossed the Gan River and saw the Longevity Palace appear in a radiant display to welcome them.
• True Person Baoyuan and the Longevity Palace’s leading cultivators greeted Cheng Xinzhan and Dong Shouren, then escorted them to the Patriarch Hall.
• True Person Baoyuan and Daoist Liangyuan explained that the sandbar had rapidly grown during Cheng Xinzhan’s cultivation breakthroughs and Golden Core Tribulation.
• True Person Baoyuan recounted how Patriarch Xu had slain the dragon prince’s mother after the prince ravaged the Gan River, and how her body became White Dragon Mountain and supplied the river’s white sand.
• True Person Baoyuan revealed Patriarch Xu’s prophecy that a master from Yu Zhang would raise a dragon-shaped sandbar above Nanchang’s walls and command eight hundred Earthly Immortals to defeat water monsters.

Cheng Xinzhan’s role as the prophesied Master of Earthly Immortals sparked a scramble among Daoist sects to secure places for disciples under his tutelage. Back at Three Pure Ones Mountain, Ji Hehe and the elders accepted the prophecy and debated how Xinzhan could teach multiple traditions without fragmenting his lineage.

• True Person Baoyuan interpreted Patriarch Xu’s fulfilled prophecy as proof that Cheng Xinzhan would lead eight hundred disciples to Earthly Immortal fruition, and he pressed Dong Shouren to arrange teaching opportunities at Longevity Palace.
• Cheng Xinzhan identified the Southern Demon Cult and the Overseas Demon Cult as the Jiao dragons and water monsters whose defeat would complete his disciples’ merit.
• Two days later, Three Pure Ones Mountain’s procession left Sanyuan Mountain with the scriptures, while the growing alliance between Three Pure Ones Mountain, Juqü Mountain, and Sanyuan Mountain pleased the Haoran Alliance and unsettled the Orthodox Unity Alliance.
• Dong Shouren and Cheng Xinzhan told Ji Hehe and the elders about the prophecy, and Ji Hehe ordered Xinzhan never to doubt or speak against it.
• The elders agreed to make the prophecy come true if necessary, then debated whether to establish another lineage for Xinzhan, but worried that dividing his teachings among separate mountains would hinder his transmission of the Dao.

Cheng Xinzhan left the Three Pure Ones Palace to study Daoist scriptures while his Youjing Primordial Spirit, disguised as Shan Xingwei, met with Xue Linglong at Heavenly Scabbard Mountain. After revealing that Li Xiahua had kept the dragon bones from an ancient site and broken their oath, Cheng Xinzhan proposed that he and Xue Linglong stop merely persuading the other temple masters and contend for the Mountain Lord position.

• Cheng Xinzhan left the Three Pure Ones Palace and returned to Carefree Cave to read scriptures and practice techniques.
• Cheng Xinzhan’s Youjing Primordial Spirit learned that Heavenly Scabbard Mountain’s temples descended from remnants of the Śītavana branch of Ancient Western Buddhism.
• Cheng Xinzhan, disguised as Shan Xingwei, visited Xue Linglong at the Infinite Water Prison Temple and revealed dragon blood to catch her attention.
• Cheng Xinzhan told Xue Linglong that he and Li Xiahua had found an ancient dragon site, where Li Xiahua took the dragon bones while Cheng Xinzhan kept three blood crystals.
• Cheng Xinzhan said Li Xiahua had broken their oath by demanding more payment and asking for the blood crystals.
• Cheng Xinzhan asked Xue Linglong whether they should stop merely persuading the other temple masters and discuss claiming the Mountain Lord position.

Cheng Xinzhan persuaded Xue Linglong to ally with him by exploiting her suspicions about Old Ghost Li and promising her dragon treasures and a share of the spoils. They swore a Primordial Spirit Oath to campaign against the three temples, then began considering how to eliminate Old Ghost Li without alerting the others.

• Cheng Xinzhan offered Xue Linglong the dragon bones and Xiangliu, while asking for Heavenly Scabbard Mountain's gestation method in return for her support.
• After Xue Linglong initially sent him away, Cheng Xinzhan waited at the Fire Temple and received her when she arrived two days later.
• Xue Linglong said Old Ghost Li had shown draconic aura, reinforcing Cheng Xinzhan's fabricated claim that Li had obtained dragon treasure.
• Cheng Xinzhan and Xue Linglong negotiated their shares of the Mountain Lord's position, treasures, and spoils, then swore a Primordial Spirit Oath to campaign against the three temples.
• Xue Linglong asked how they would deal with Old Ghost Li, and Cheng Xinzhan left the plan to her; she began considering a discreet way to seize the Wood Temple.

Xue Linglong and Cheng Xinzhan arranged for Hu Baozhuang to lure Li Xiahua out so they could kill him and seize the Wood Temple. Cheng Xinzhan discovered Hu Baozhuang led the newly formed Soul-Ensnaring Cavern, which was tied to the destroyed Soul-Losing Ravine, and concealed his shock behind a show of support.

• Xue Linglong proposed using Hu Baozhuang to impersonate Old Woman Tian and lure Li Xiahua away, and Cheng Xinzhan agreed to hear the plan.
• Ten days later, Cheng Xinzhan met Xue Linglong and Hu Baozhuang at her secluded cave, where Hu Baozhuang's illusions had hidden the surrounding hills.
• Xue Linglong negotiated for Hu Baozhuang to receive non-corpse-refinement treasures from Li Xiahua, and Cheng Xinzhan accepted.
• Hu Baozhuang revealed that she knew their secret plans and hoped Cheng Xinzhan would become Mountain Lord with Xue Linglong as his deputy.
• Hu Baozhuang identified herself as the sect master of the Soul-Ensnaring Cavern and described it as a continuation of the destroyed Soul-Losing Ravine, leaving Cheng Xinzhan outwardly welcoming but inwardly alarmed.

Hu Baozhuang, Xue Linglong, and Cheng Xinzhan lured Li Xiahua into an ambush, where their corpse slaves fought his monstrous wood wraith. Wu Qingbo revealed his hatred and identity as more than a corpse slave, then burned Li Xiahua to death.

• Hu Baozhuang disguised herself as Tian Xiu'e and used Heavenly Scabbard Mountain's communication artifact to lure Li Xiahua to her cultivation grounds.
• Hu Baozhuang poisoned Li Xiahua when he arrived, and Cheng Xinzhan and Xue Linglong attacked as his magical power and meridians weakened.
• Li Xiahua summoned his grotesque wood wraith, whose flying heads overwhelmed the attackers and restrained Xue Linglong's dragon maiden.
• Xue Linglong froze the wood wraith's hands, allowing Wu Qingbo to strike its trunk, but the wraith broke free and tore the dragon maiden's tail.
• Wu Qingbo unleashed scorching heat that incinerated the wraith's hands and heads, then exposed Li Xiahua and burned him alive.

Cheng Xinzhan killed Xue Linglong and defeated Hu Baozhuang after resisting her illusions, then captured her in Mountain Sprite’s red gourd. He learned that Hu Baozhuang had ties to Dragon-Tiger Mountain and left her trapped and suppressed inside the treasure.

• Cheng Xinzhan ordered the giant ape to smash Xue Linglong’s body, then burned her Primordial Spirit while Wu Qingbo prevented it from returning to the dragon maiden.
• Hu Baozhuang attacked Cheng Xinzhan with white silk and a jade disc, while he released Fire Crows from Mountain Sprite’s red gourd.
• Hu Baozhuang trapped Cheng Xinzhan in illusions of lust, treasure, and slaughter, but he broke free from each and called her magic a petty art.
• Wu Qingbo struck Hu Baozhuang, who transformed into white smoke and tried to flee, but Cheng Xinzhan halted and bound her with fire qi.
• Cheng Xinzhan burned Hu Baozhuang with Yang Fire and drew her into the gourd, then used his Suppress incantation to subdue her.

Cheng Xinzhan purified the remains of Li Xiahua, Xue Linglong, and the corpse slaves, then sent the captured fox and recovered treasures back to Three Pure Ones Mountain. He reported that the fox had fled the Celestial Master Residence to Shi Tongxuan, while his plans against the temples of Heavenly Scabbard Mountain remained underway.

• Cheng Xinzhan burned away Xue Linglong's remains, collected her Golden Core and Jade-Clean Bottle, and gathered Li Xiahua's Golden Core and demonic treasures.
• Cheng Xinzhan performed a rite of deliverance for the Three Corpses, whose bodies became fireflies that could live out their days and reincarnate.
• Cheng Xinzhan sent Bai Yongliang back to Three Pure Ones Mountain with the Gourd and recovered items, then flew with Wu Qingbo toward Heavenly Scabbard Mountain to continue his plans against the temples.
• Bai Yongliang returned safely to Carefree Cave, where Cheng Xinzhan spent the night studying before meeting Shi Tongxuan the next morning.
• Cheng Xinzhan gave Shi Tongxuan the Gourd and revealed that its captive Three-Tailed Celestial Fox had fled the Celestial Master Residence.

Cheng Xinzhan and Shi Tongxuan interrogated Hu Baozhuang and uncovered Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s role in collecting souls for a mysterious purpose. They spared her under confinement, and Cheng returned to Bright Governance Mountain to begin work in Mysterious Yang Cave, where another version of him sat beside the furnace and cauldron.

• Shi Tongxuan forced Hu Baozhuang into her fox form and questioned her alongside Cheng Xinzhan, learning that she belonged to the Yunmeng celestial fox branch and served Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
• Hu Baozhuang revealed that her great-aunt Baoxiang founded Soul-Losing Ravine and that she delivered two or three thousand souls a year to Dragon-Tiger Mountain, where the Little Celestial Master mentioned an Infant Elixir and a shortcut.
• Shi Tongxuan and Cheng Xinzhan spared Hu Baozhuang and sentenced her to confinement on Cliffside Mountain, where she would study the Soul-Guiding Scripture and perform good deeds.
• Cheng Xinzhan gave the demonic treasures he had seized to Jiang Weishan for the junior disciples to refine, then returned to Bright Governance Mountain.
• Cheng Xinzhan took Li and White Dragon to Mysterious Yang Cave to fire up the furnace, where they found another Cheng Xinzhan sitting beside the furnace and cauldron.

Cheng Xinzhan completed a fire lotus incarnation while unrest on Heavenly Scabbard Mountain escalated after Shan Xinggui manipulated the other temples into destroying the Earth Temple. As the Water and Wood Temples fought over succession, rumors began promoting Shan Xinggui as Mountain Lord.

• Cheng Xinzhan refined the Floating Life Burning-Karma Fire Lotus with specialized flames, jade marrow, moonlight, and sunlight, then completed its apertures and awakened the new incarnation.
• The Water, Fire, and Wood Temples accused the Earth Temple of causing their missing temple masters, and Shan Xinggui returned wounded, claiming Tian Xiu'e had ambushed him with an outsider.
• Shan Xinggui persuaded the other temples that Tian Xiu'e sought the Mountain Lord position and had used Xue Linglong's and Li Xiahua's treasures, prompting all four temples to attack and conquer the Earth Temple.
• The temples divided the Earth Temple's spoils, installed Tie Pofeng's disciple as its new master, and spent a month changing Heavenly Scabbard Mountain's defensive formation.
• Water and Wood Temple elders sought Cheng Xinzhan's support in their leadership contests, but he refused to interfere and later suppressed clashes between their factions.
• As Heavenly Scabbard Mountain reached the End of Heat season, rumors spread that Shan Xinggui should be elected Mountain Lord.

Cheng Xinzhan secured Tie Pofeng’s support to become Mountain Lord, then named him Deputy Mountain Lord before entering Śītavana Cave to seek a breakthrough to the Fourth Realm. Inside the cave, Cheng Xinzhan found the Mountain Lord’s seal and considered why Heavenly Scabbard Mountain’s threat had to be dealt with by someone like him.

• Cheng Xinzhan told Tie Pofeng that his lifespan was nearly over and promised to appoint him Deputy Mountain Lord if he supported Cheng’s nomination.
• The five temple masters nominated Shan Xingwei as Mountain Lord, and Shan appointed Tie Pofeng Deputy Mountain Lord before agreeing to take the seal on Ghost Festival.
• At Śītavana Cave, the five temple masters used their seals to open the entrance, and Cheng Xinzhan entered for death seclusion, leaving Tie Pofeng to oversee the mountain.
• Cheng Xinzhan explored the cavern’s eerie temple complex and found the previous Mountain Lord’s robes, remaining treasures, and the Mountain Lord’s seal.
• Cheng Xinzhan reflected on Heavenly Scabbard Mountain’s formidable protective formation and the lack of powerful cultivators willing or able to confront it.

Cheng Xinzhan visited Gezao Mountain to recruit the Numinous Treasure Sect’s ritual masters for a plan to cleanse Heavenly Scabbard Mountain of its Walking Corpses. After securing their help, he traveled to Azure Ridge Village to meet the Form-and-Qi Harmony Sect, where its family heads and elders hurried out to welcome him.

• Cheng Xinzhan transferred his Taiguang Primordial Spirit into a fire lotus incarnation and left Three Pure Ones Mountain for Gezao Mountain.
• Song Jishu welcomed Cheng Xinzhan at Gezao Mountain and brought him to meet Deputy Sect Leader Ge Shengying.
• Cheng Xinzhan explained that his incarnation controlled Heavenly Scabbard Mountain and proposed suppressing its corpse hordes while the Numinous Treasure Sect conducted fasting rites.
• Ge Shengying agreed to provide ritual masters, and Cheng Xinzhan departed Gezao Mountain two days later.
• Cheng Xinzhan arrived at Azure Ridge Village and identified himself as Three Pure Ones Mountain’s Myriad-Dharma Scripture Master.
• The family heads and clan elders of Azure Ridge Village recognized Cheng Xinzhan and flew out to welcome him.

Cheng Xinzhan recruited the Four Great Families, the Pure Brightness School, and Juqü Mountain to help destroy Heavenly Scabbard Mountain and deliver its million corpses. The Four Great Families began preparing in secret, while True Person Chengchu agreed to hear Cheng Xinzhan’s request on Juqü Mountain’s behalf.

• Cheng Xinzhan met Liao Junshan and explained his ties to Bright Governance Mountain, earning the Four Great Families’ trust.
• Cheng Xinzhan asked the Four Great Families to help seal Heavenly Scabbard Mountain’s corpses and dismantle its Great Geomantic Configuration of Utter Yin, promising them a share of the treasures.
• After Cheng Xinzhan left, the Four Great Families gathered to mobilize their clans while keeping the plan secret.
• Cheng Xinzhan visited Daoist Liangyuan at Longevity Palace and invited the Pure Brightness School to join the campaign; Daoist Liangyuan gladly accepted.
• Cheng Xinzhan traveled to Juqü Mountain and asked True Person Chengchu to involve its Maoshan Daoists in the effort.

Righteous Path allies completed their preparations to use a Luo Tian Grand Offering against Heavenly Scabbard Mountain, while Shan Xingwei’s forces were caught unaware as the ritual broke the mountain’s defenses. Tie Pofeng realized Shan Xingwei had betrayed them and tried to flee amid the chaos.

• On the first day of the new year, Tie Pofeng inspected the Wood Temple’s corpse vault and treasury while Cheng Xinzhan’s allies secretly replaced corpse-suppressing talismans throughout Heavenly Scabbard Mountain.
• On Beginning of Spring, Gezao Mountain’s ritual altar sent a river of light into Heavenly Scabbard Mountain, dispersing its Corpse Clouds and causing its inhabitants pain.
• Tie Pofeng ordered the disciples to deploy Sun-Shielding Artifacts and open the corpse vaults, but the corpses in the temples would not move.
• The five temple masters failed to open the vault inside Śītavana Cave or reach Shan Xingwei, and Tie Pofeng concluded that Shan Xingwei had betrayed them.
• Tie Pofeng ordered everyone to flee, discovered that the ground blocked Earth Escape, and disguised himself among the escaping disciples.