Chapter Summaries

Wen Tianzhen attacked the Red Heart Cult at Ghost Valley Ridge, where the sect’s leaders answered with their mountain gate and demonic arts. As Lady Chishu’s ghostly fog engulfed Tianzhen and the True Martial Dharma Form, Tianzhen began a True Martial incantation to overcome it.

• Wen Tianzhen struck the Red Heart Cult’s mountain gate with two Elixir Pearls, then manifested a towering True Martial Dharma Form that seized and kicked the gate.
• Cheng Xinzhan secretly merged the Earth Book with the ground to protect Ghost Valley Ridge’s mountain veins while allowing Wen Tianzhen’s attack to proceed.
• Heavenly True Boy countered Xia Junchen’s needles and erotic illusions with black xuan water and Pure Yang Sword Qi.
• Lady Chishu spread ghostly fog around Tianzhen and the Dharma Form, trapping them inside the Red Heart Cult’s sanctuary.
• Tianzhen wounded Lady Chishu with three Fire Dragon Darts, then invoked True Martial’s power against the cold, dense fog as the Dharma Form shone and chanted with him.

Heavenly True Boy feigned entrapment in Lady Chishu’s desire illusion, then used his Primordial Spirit and immortal sword to kill her. Xia Junchen grieved his wife’s death and unleashed Ghost Valley Ridge’s gates and ghost mist against the boy.

• Heavenly True Boy dispelled the ghost mist, revealing Lady Chishu’s desire kingdom and her hidden attack on the True Martial Dharma Form.
• Lady Chishu’s sixteen flying apsara forms ensnared Heavenly True Boy and the True Martial Dharma Form in an illusion, while Xia Junchen concealed the battle with ghost mist.
• Lady Chishu approached Heavenly True Boy and began harvesting his yang qi, but he opened his eyes and sent out his Primordial Spirit with the immortal sword.
• Heavenly True Boy caught Lady Chishu as she tried to flee and beheaded her with one sword stroke.
• Xia Junchen mourned Lady Chishu and unleashed Ghost Valley Ridge’s ghost mist and five stone gates to trap Heavenly True Boy.

Heavenly True Boy fought Xia Junchen’s Five Gates Returning Yin Inversion Grand Formation while Cheng Xinzhan intercepted Jiupanpo, who had rushed to reinforce the Demon Fiend. Jiupanpo escaped Cheng Xinzhan’s opening sword strike and challenged him, then unleashed a vast field of red flames as their battle began.

• Heavenly True Boy’s sword strikes battered Xia Junchen’s formation, thinning its ghostly mist and dimming the five stone gates as the surrounding mountains began to collapse.
• Xinzhan assured Heavenly True Boy that the earth qi was safe and that another enemy was approaching from the north.
• Cheng Xinzhan concealed himself along Jiupanpo’s flight path and attacked her with the Celestial Master Sword.
• Jiupanpo used the All-Heavens Gods and Devils Blood Transformation Flying Body Grand Art to evade the sword strike and recognized Cheng Xinzhan as True Lord Evolving Transformation.
• Jiupanpo dismissed Cheng Xinzhan’s challenge, produced a pouch made from human skin, and sent a vast expanse of red flames sweeping toward him.

True Lord Cheng overwhelmed Jiupanpo in their fight, absorbing and purifying her demonic fires before shattering her weapons and forcing her to flee. Jiupanpo’s escape was blocked by Cheng’s incarnation, which also drove off her Yin-Blood Net.

• Jiupanpo unleashed scarlet poisonous fire and Bloodflame Forks, but True Lord Cheng’s Red-Wart Gourd absorbed the fire and his flying sword battered the forks.
• Jiupanpo sent thirty-six blossoms of Heart Palace Form-Extinguishing Fire at Cheng, who swallowed and purified them, freeing the wronged souls to reincarnate.
• Cheng cleaved through Jiupanpo’s Coiled Dove Staff and subdued her Golden Azure Cloud Mantle, then gathered the mantle for Shi Yiniang.
• Jiupanpo recognized the Celestial Master Evil-Slaying Sword and fled, but Cheng’s incarnation blocked her path.
• Jiupanpo cast the Heavenly Cycle Yin-Blood Net at the incarnation, which purified it with star dew and sent the blood pool retreating.

Cheng Xinzhan overcame Jiupanpo’s demonic treasures and escape attempts, then split her body and captured her Primordial Spirit. He left his Qi Body at Ghost Valley Ridge to watch over Master Wen while carrying Jiupanpo north toward the Bare Body Sect’s headquarters.

• Jiupanpo’s Heavenly Cycle Yin-Blood Net failed against Cheng Xinzhan’s Purifying Water Star Rain, and her Nine-Child Ghost Mother Yin Devils forced him to detour briefly.
• Jiupanpo sacrificed her arm in a Yin Thunder explosion and escaped through the sword net, but Cheng Xinzhan pursued her unharmed.
• Jiupanpo tried to flee with the Great Art of the Heavenly Gods and Devils’ Blood Transformation and Flying Escape, but Cheng Xinzhan’s sword momentum sealed the Void and trapped her in place.
• Cheng Xinzhan split Jiupanpo with the Celestial Master Sword and imprisoned her fleeing Primordial Spirit in a Sword Qi cage.
• Cheng Xinzhan found Jiupanpo’s body to be an empty shell, put away her remains and treasures, and carried her Primordial Spirit toward the Bare Body Sect while leaving his Qi Body to watch Master Wen.

Cheng Xinzhan destroyed the Bare Body Sect’s headquarters and transformed its sanctuary into a fire-filled Daoist ritual ground. At Ghost Valley Ridge, Heavenly True Boy found a way through the disorienting array and killed Xia Junchen.

• Cheng Xinzhan entered Longzhou Danxia with Jiupanpo and discovered the Bare Body Sect’s sanctuary filled with atrocities against captives.
• Cheng Xinzhan unleashed the Purifying Water Compassionate Light Sky-Filling Art, while the Immortal Sword, Peach Capital, and the gourd attacked the sect’s demons and his Dharma Form rescued the captives.
• Cheng Xinzhan cleansed the sanctuary, reshaped its array into a fire-powered purification ground, and destroyed Jiupanpo’s Primordial Spirit.
• At Ghost Valley Ridge, Heavenly True Boy used a spell to reveal the Black Tortoise constellations and establish north within Xia Junchen’s disorienting array.
• Heavenly True Boy spread his Dao Domain, reached Xia Junchen, and killed him with the True Martial Sword.

After destroying the Red Heart Cult, Cheng Xinzhan accepted Ghost Valley Ridge’s five stone gates and transformed the ridge into a cultivation ground, where he united with its Dao. The union triggered a violent disturbance at Min Mountain, and he rushed west to investigate.

• Cheng Xinzhan and Heavenly True Boy finished eradicating the Red Heart Cult’s remaining demons and rescued its surviving captives.
• Heavenly True Boy gave Cheng Xinzhan the five stone gates and left for the True Martial Temple, while Cheng Xinzhan arranged for the captives and spoils to be collected.
• Cheng Xinzhan had Ghost Valley Ridge rebuilt as a Spirit Mountain and united with its earth qi at the Listening to the Earth Monastery.
• Cheng Xinzhan deciphered the gates’ ancient inscriptions, learned that Guiguzi had received them from a Ghost Immortal, and studied their array patterns and restrictions.
• After Cheng Xinzhan united with Ghost Valley Ridge, an earth aperture shook near Min Mountain, so he tore through space and hurried west.

Cheng Xinzhan rushed to Min Mountain after sensing its collapse, rescued Zhou Qingyun’s primordial spirit, and learned that the Northern Faction had destroyed the mountain to retaliate against the Eastern Path. He left with Zhou Qingyun, the Azure Cord Sword, and Snow Treasure Summit, while warning Emei about its failings and the danger posed by Blood God Child.

• Cheng Xinzhan sensed a massive earth-vein disturbance and used the Earth Book to halt the collapsing Snow Treasure Summit at Min Mountain.
• Cheng Xinzhan followed Peach Capital toward the mountain’s ruins, where Xuanzhenzi mistook him for the culprit and attacked before Cheng Xinzhan parried him.
• Cheng Xinzhan and Peach Capital intercepted Dharma King Xuanyuan as Zhou Qingyun escaped underground in the Azure Cord Sword, and Cheng Xinzhan gave her a Sanyuan Spirit-Nourishing Pill.
• Dharma King Xuanyuan revealed that the Blood God Patriarch had ordered the attack on Min Mountain as retaliation against the Eastern Path, then fled.
• Xuanzhenzi demanded that Zhou Qingyun return to Emei, but Cheng Xinzhan defended her, took her and the Azure Cord Sword into his sleeve, and departed with Snow Treasure Summit.
• Cheng Xinzhan warned Emei to abandon its sectarian schemes and consider how its secrets had been exposed by Blood God Child.

Zhou Qingyun reunited with the Daoist after he rescued her, then explained that losing her body had complicated her path to the Fourth Realm. She asked him to help derive an Earthly Immortal method from her Master’s cloud-and-rosy-cloud techniques, leaving him struck by her heartfelt appeal.

• The Daoist brought Zhou Qingyun from his sleeve to Ghost Valley Ridge, where she thanked him for saving her.
• Zhou Qingyun and the Daoist’s paired swords reunited, and he offered to reconstruct her Fleshly Body and Golden Core.
• Zhou Qingyun explained that her Golden Core had already merged with her Primordial Spirit and described Emei’s methods for entering the Fourth Realm.
• She rejected rebirth, corpse possession, and spiritual-body reconstruction because she did not want their karmic or cultivation consequences.
• Zhou Qingyun described her Master’s method of refining cloud essence and asked the Daoist to derive a corresponding method for gathering earth essence so she could pursue Earthly Immortality.

Zhou Qingyun gave Cheng Xinzhan the Essence Collection Secret Art and discussed the Azure Cord Sword and Min Mountain’s destruction with him. The next morning, Tao Siyong of Laojun Mountain visited, welcomed Cheng’s plans to settle in the north, and praised his actions against Dragon-Tiger Mountain as the two sects drew closer.

• Zhou Qingyun handed Cheng Xinzhan the Essence Collection Secret Art, and he agreed to create a related cultivation method.
• Cheng Xinzhan questioned whether the Azure Cord Sword was loyal to Zhou Qingyun, and the sword angrily confronted him before accepting his apology.
• Zhou Qingyun explained that Dharma King Xuanyuan had secretly reached Min Mountain’s Mountain Root, and she and Cheng suspected the Blood God Child had helped him penetrate its defenses.
• Zhou Qingyun noticed the Flowing Beads bracelet on Cheng Xinzhan’s wrist and considered finding him a more suitable personal gift.
• Tao Siyong arrived from Laojun Mountain, and he and Cheng Xinzhan exchanged friendly offers of tea and arranged a future visit.
• Tao Siyong praised Cheng Xinzhan for punishing Dragon-Tiger Mountain, and Cheng discussed the Northern Celestial Master Dao’s lineage with him.

After Tao Siyong and Xin Nengrong visited Cheng Xinzhan, sects across the northern lands sent envoys and gifts to his monastery, while Everlasting Spring Palace stayed away. Cheng Xinzhan gave Zhou Qingyun a cultivation method that preserved her future choices, and after several quiet days, Master Canxia arrived to request an audience.

• Tao Siyong questioned Cheng Xinzhan about the Northern Faction’s threat to march south, then left him a miniature set of chime bells as a gift.
• Cheng Xinzhan and Zhou Qingyun learned that the Guangyuan Sword Sect had become Emei’s vassal, and Xin Nengrong visited to report on Heluo and give him two jars of Macaque King Wine.
• Sect envoys and old acquaintances visited Cheng Xinzhan for more than half a month, bringing gifts and seeking his counsel on Daoist arts.
• Cheng Xinzhan noted that Everlasting Spring Palace had not come to visit and gave Zhou Qingyun a cultivation method that could help her enter the fourth realm without limiting her future Dao path.
• After three days without visitors, Master Canxia of Writing Brush Peak on Yellow Mountain arrived at the monastery and requested an audience with Cheng Xinzhan.

Master Canxia visited Cheng Xinzhan to bring Zhou Qingyun back to Yellow Mountain, and Zhou decided to leave for her own duties at Emei after recovering. As Canxia flew away with her, she learned that Zhou had survived her grave injuries by destroying her physical body, a fact Cheng Xinzhan had apparently never told her.

• Master Canxia arrived at Listening to the Earth Monastery and reunited with Zhou Qingyun before thanking Cheng Xinzhan for saving her disciple.
• Canxia asked to take Zhou back to Yellow Mountain, while Cheng Xinzhan questioned whether Emei was pressuring her to return.
• Zhou Qingyun chose to leave, saying she wished to visit Yellow Mountain and then return to Emei to resume her work.
• Canxia gave Cheng Xinzhan Yellow Mountain tea and the Crutch-Throwing Method, while Zhou Qingyun presented him with nine handcrafted belt hooks.
• Canxia flew off with Zhou Qingyun and asked why she was traveling as a Primordial Spirit; Zhou revealed that she had destroyed her body to escape the demons at Min Mountain.
• Canxia reacted with shock when Zhou said she had not been told about the destruction of her body.

Cheng Xinzhan rewarded Lion Lord with Snow Treasure Summit after the lion returned from Marshal Yuan having passed the Wind Calamity and gained a third head. They traveled to Laojun Mountain, where its leaders welcomed Cheng Xinzhan, but the visit was interrupted by news that Xu Wan had sent an envoy requesting to meet him.

• Lion Lord returned to Cheng Xinzhan after passing the Wind Calamity, and Cheng Xinzhan gave him Snow Treasure Summit as a reward.
• Lion Lord used his new Divine Ability, Expel the Qian, Absorb the Kun, to swallow the thousand-zhang summit and agreed to accompany Cheng Xinzhan on his journey.
• Cheng Xinzhan and Lion Lord traveled to Laojun Mountain, where Tao Siyong and Sect Leader An Zhiyu welcomed them.
• Tao Siyong showed Cheng Xinzhan Laojun Mountain's Money Tree, and An Zhiyu offered him a gift of Evil-Repelling Coins.
• An Zhiyu told Cheng Xinzhan that Xu Wan, ruler of the Ghost Kingdom of Mount Beikuang, had sent an envoy asking to meet him, and urged him to refuse.

Cheng Xinzhan consulted Laojun Mountain about Mount Beikuang’s history, defenses, and the forces available to attack it, then accepted Xu Wan’s invitation to meet at Jinping Ferry. As the two powerful figures faced each other across the Luo River, An Zhiyu discovered that Cheng Xinzhan’s painting might contain hidden talismans.

• Cheng Xinzhan agreed to meet Xu Wan at dusk but refused to see him before finishing his discussions with Laojun Mountain.
• Cheng Xinzhan questioned An Zhiyu and Tao Siyong about Mount Beikuang’s history and strength, and they pledged Laojun Mountain’s full support for an attack.
• Tao Siyong gave Cheng Xinzhan local gifts, and Cheng Xinzhan presented Laojun Mountain with a painting of Laozi riding an ox.
• An Zhiyu studied Cheng Xinzhan’s painting and asked Tao Siyong whether it contained one, two, or three talismans.
• Cheng Xinzhan arrived at Jinping Ferry and met Xu Wan across the Luo River, where Xu Wan formally greeted him.

Xu Wan defended Mount Beikuang’s history and conduct to Cheng Xinzhan, arguing that its service to the dead and its rescue of Yellow River ghosts should weigh against its dealings with the Northern Faction. After examining the past with his Divine Ability, Cheng Xinzhan remained determined to demand an accounting, while Xu Wan warned him that destroying the Ghost Kingdom would harm countless innocent spirits.

• Xu Wan greeted Cheng Xinzhan and praised his achievements, then asked whether he meant to unite north and south and offered Mount Beikuang’s support.
• Cheng Xinzhan questioned Xu Wan about Mount Beikuang’s role in helping the Northern Faction seize the Two Longs, and Xu Wan denied that his sect had joined the demons.
• Xu Wan accused Heluo’s sects of avoiding battle and unfairly branding Mount Beikuang demonic, while claiming its actions had indirectly helped the Righteous Path.
• Cheng Xinzhan used his Dharma Eye to inspect the past, then told Xu Wan that Mount Beikuang’s aid to the Northern Faction still required an accounting.
• Xu Wan cited his own merits, including rescuing thousands of drowned ghosts from the Yellow River, and asked whether those deeds could offset his wrongdoing.
• Xu Wan described the Ghost Kingdom’s hundreds of millions of inhabitants, including many harmless spirits seeking reincarnation, and challenged Cheng Xinzhan to consider whether he could destroy them.

Cheng Xinzhan accepted Xu Wan’s invitation to inspect the Mount Beikuang Ghost Kingdom, where he found an orderly, thriving community of ghosts and praised its accumulated merit. Over dinner, he asked Xu Wan what difficulties had led him to trade with the Northern Faction.

• Xu Wan agreed to let Cheng Xinzhan visit the Ghost Kingdom, and the two traveled together toward Mount Beikuang as concealed observers watched in confusion.
• Cheng Xinzhan identified Xu Wan’s ghost-fire baleful intent and realized that the figure before him was Xu Wan’s Second Primordial Spirit, while Xu Wan grew wary of the Daoist’s power.
• Xu Wan led Cheng Xinzhan underground by a deliberately roundabout route, but Cheng Xinzhan kept pace effortlessly as they passed through the magical restrictions.
• Cheng Xinzhan saw the Ghost Kingdom’s bustling markets and peaceful inhabitants, then praised Mount Beikuang for its merit.
• Xu Wan disguised himself and Cheng Xinzhan for the ghosts’ comfort, led him to a restaurant, and listened as Cheng Xinzhan asked what had driven him to trade with the Northern Faction.

Cheng Xinzhan heard Xu Wan explain Mount Beikuang’s declining strength and his bargain with the Blood God Child to save the Ghost Kingdom’s underground palaces. Instead of judging or punishing Xu Wan, Cheng proposed sworn brotherhood, and Xu Wan accepted despite the responsibilities it would bring.

• Xu Wan explained that Mount Beikuang’s eight underground ghost cities were failing without the Underworld’s support, and that the Naraka Pearl had stabilized them.
• Xu Wan admitted that he had accepted the Blood God Child’s help in exchange for tying down the Heluo sects for half a jiazi.
• After a long silence, Cheng Xinzhan asked Xu Wan what he thought of him, then praised the Ghost Kingdom and proposed they become sworn brothers.
• Xu Wan was stunned and asked Cheng Xinzhan to confirm that he was serious, then eagerly accepted the offer.
• Cheng Xinzhan warned Xu Wan that sworn brothers shared honor, disgrace, and enemies, and Xu Wan agreed to uphold the responsibilities of their bond.

Cheng Xinzhan and Xu Wan swore brotherhood before the watching factions, despite fierce criticism from the northern Righteous Path. Xu Wan then accompanied Cheng Xinzhan west as he purified and united with four mountains, shifting public opinion after Longdong’s Demon Cult fled and Heluo and Longdong were recovered.

• Cheng Xinzhan told Xu Wan that their simple ceremony was enough, and the two dressed for the occasion before facing east at dawn.
• Cheng Xinzhan proclaimed that humans and ghosts were kin and declared his wish to make Xu Wan his elder brother, provoking uproar among the watching factions.
• Xu Wan swore a binding oath to make Cheng Xinzhan his worthy younger brother, and the two completed their eight-direction bowing ceremony.
• The Northern Demon Cult withdrew from Longdong, while Heluo and Longdong were recovered in a single day.
• Xu Wan accompanied Cheng Xinzhan west as he purified Mount Hua, Mount Li, Mount Taibai, and Mount Zibai, uniting with each mountain and revealing a line of purple clouds over the Qinling Mountains.
• The northern Righteous Path’s criticism gave way to praise for Cheng Xinzhan’s judgment and his recovery of Heluo and Longdong.

Cheng Xinzhan joined with the Dao of four Qinling mountains and began restoring Mount Zibai while planning how to govern Longdong and resist the Profound Yin Sect. Two months later, he oversaw construction and Huo Jingyan’s cultivation, while the surviving Quanzhen Mount Hua Sect and Taibai Sword Sect continued asking him to return their ancestral mountains.

• Cheng Xinzhan told Xu Wan he would pause his campaign, establish an abbey on Mount Zibai, and summon alliance disciples to manage Longdong.
• Cheng Xinzhan offered Ghost Valley Ridge to Xu Wan’s people to develop as a sect foundation, while Xu Wan agreed to build a new abbey on Mount Zibai.
• Cheng Xinzhan found the ruined Lingxu Abbey and promised the Celestial Master Sword he would restore it and make the demons pay.
• Two months later, Huo Jingyan reported that the Quanzhen Mount Hua Sect had come for the fourth time to request its ancestral domain, then discussed his Rosy-Cloud Ascension Palace Breakthrough with Cheng Xinzhan.
• Cheng Xinzhan continued refusing to return Mount Hua and Mount Taibai because the northern sects lacked the strength to restore the badly damaged mountains.

Cheng Xinzhan and Xu Wan investigated the Ghost Kingdom’s underground palace restrictions before rushing to save Sword Gate Mountain as it collapsed. The destruction spread across Ba Mountain, and Li Yingqiong revealed herself as the Blood God Child’s agent, escaping after attacking Xuanzhenzi and declaring the devastation retaliation against True Lord Evolving Transformation.

• Cheng Xinzhan taught Xu Wan to decipher the Luo Yu Secret Taboo Ghost Seal Script, helping Xu Wan advance and allowing Cheng Xinzhan to improve the Ghost Valley Inversion Five Gates.
• Cheng Xinzhan and Xu Wan reached Sword Gate Mountain as it collapsed, and Cheng Xinzhan stabilized the earth and suspended the falling stones while Xu Wan rescued the Guangyuan Sword Sect’s disciples.
• Xuanzhenzi and a white-clad woman arrived, and Xu Wan told Cheng Xinzhan that Divine Thunder Thunderclap Pellets had been planted inside the mountains.
• Ba Mountain’s Eight Mountains, White Emperor City, Red Armor Mountain, and White Salt Mountain collapsed, and Cheng Xinzhan realized Li Yingqiong had been connected to the threatened sites.
• Li Yingqiong vanished and transformed Xuanzhenzi into a bloody shadow that wielded the Violet Ying Sword, escaped northwest, and delivered the Blood Lord’s threat.