Chapter Summaries

Song Rupu remained trapped in Mountain Pot Elder’s household, where Miss Yue’s servants prepared him for an unwanted marriage and urged him to accept the family’s blood-eating ways. Meanwhile, Chen Heng encountered Purple Oriole, who revealed that Miss Yue had captured several Mysterious Truth Sect cultivators, including Xu Zhi, before showing him her severed head.

• The Long-Tongued Ghost tried to persuade Song Rupu to marry Miss Yue by promising him status and explaining that her maids would also share his bed.
• Song Rupu rejected the household’s human-eating customs and was escorted back to his room.
• Purple Oriole offered Chen Heng a platter of freshly harvested human organs and introduced herself as Miss Yue’s personal maid.
• Purple Oriole told Chen Heng that Miss Yue had captured Yu Wanchou, Wang Ying, Xu Zhi, and another Mysterious Truth Sect cultivator.
• Purple Oriole removed her own head and asked Chen Heng whether he still found her pleasing to look at.

Chen Heng concealed his identity as a scenery cultivator to gain Purple Oriole’s trust and enter the residence, hoping to learn whether Xu Zhi was alive. After touring the Human Pen, he settled in under guard, where Yu Wanchou woke and recognized him among the captives.

• Chen Heng calmly resisted Purple Oriole’s ghostly intimidation and claimed to be a scenery cultivator who did not eat blood food.
• Purple Oriole invited Chen Heng to Miss Yue’s wedding in three days, and he agreed so he could investigate Xu Zhi.
• During the journey, Chen Heng charmed Purple Oriole into revealing information, and she diverted the sedan chair to the Human Pen after the ghost bearers demanded cultivators’ flesh.
• Purple Oriole crushed a disobedient ghost, then showed Chen Heng the Human Pen before settling him in a guarded room at the residence.
• Yu Wanchou woke in the Human Pen with both arms severed, and Chen Heng told her he had treated her wounds; she recognized him and asked how he had been captured.

Chen Heng found Yu Wanchou imprisoned and maimed in the Human Pen, learned how her party had been captured, and planned to strike the ghosts during Miss Yue’s wedding. On the wedding day, he encountered Song Rupu, who mistook him for a replacement groom and celebrated his chance to avoid marrying.

• Chen Heng questioned Yu Wanchou in her cage, and she explained that ghosts had captured her party after they harvested a Human-Faced Ganoderma.
• Yu Wanchou revealed that a cultivator named Xu had been taken away, but Chen Heng realized she meant a different Xu Zhi than the Senior Brother he knew.
• Chen Heng promised to save Yu Wanchou, gave her Small White Sun Pills, and decided to attack when the ghosts gathered for Miss Yue’s wedding.
• Chen Heng used the Floating-Water Mirage Bead to subdue the ghosts guarding the Human Pen and returned to his room without raising suspicion.
• On the wedding day, Purple Oriole escorted Chen Heng toward the central hall, where Song Rupu was thrown into their path.
• Song Rupu mistook Chen Heng for someone who could replace him as the groom, and Chen Heng calmly kicked him aside.

Chen Heng attended the ghost mansion’s wedding feast under the alias Bai Daoquan, where he learned that the guests considered Scenery Cultivators suitable prey. The ceremony began with Song Rupu leading Miss Yue into the hall, and Chen Heng’s first look at her left him stunned.

• Vicious ghosts beat Song Rupu, carried him away to prepare for his forced wedding, and warned him not to delay the feast.
• Purple Oriole led Chen Heng through the crowded ghostly banquet, then left him seated beneath an outer canopy.
• Chen Heng introduced himself to the Terminal Illness Ghost and the Long Ghost, who explained that ghosts viewed Scenery Cultivators as food and described the coming martial eating.
• Gongs and drums announced the wedding, and Song Rupu reluctantly led Miss Yue into the main hall as the ghosts fell silent.
• Chen Heng saw Miss Yue and stared at her in surprise.

Miss Yue used her wedding banquet to extort the gathered ghosts, killing the Three Red-Browed Ghosts with her Yin-Dipper Cord. Chen Heng then activated the Floating-Jade Mirage Bead and knocked the guests unconscious, leaving Miss Yue staggering as she faced him.

• Miss Yue revealed her enormous form and demanded gifts from the ghosts, threatening to keep or kill those who refused to pay.
• The Red-Browed Fierce Ghost challenged Miss Yue, but she killed him and the other two members of the Three Red-Browed Ghosts with her Yin-Dipper Cord.
• Miss Yue forced the surviving ghosts to surrender their possessions or work off their debts, while Chen Heng judged her strength and prepared to act.
• The Terminal Illness Ghost and Long Ghost tried to offer Chen Heng’s body parts to Miss Yue, but Chen Heng said he would settle their debts by killing the creditors and debtors.
• Chen Heng commanded the ghosts to fall, using the Floating-Jade Mirage Bead to make them all faint.
• Miss Yue recognized Chen Heng as an orthodox Immortal Dao cultivator and reached for her Yin-Dipper Cord, but her footing and vision began to falter.

Chen Heng defeated Miss Yue in the Earth Abyss and discovered that he could refine spiritual breath from dead ghosts to strengthen his cultivation. He turned to the many ghosts subdued by the mirage qi as a ready source of spiritual energy.

• Mirage qi confused Miss Yue, who mistook Purple Oriole for a living victim and killed her with the Yin-Dipper Cord.
• Chen Heng attacked Miss Yue with the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead and Azure-Law Sword, wearing down her defenses as she fought back.
• Miss Yue tried to defile Chen Heng's sword with the Yin-Dipper Cord, but Chen Heng evaded it and destroyed her with the Innate Great Sun Divine Light.
• Chen Heng absorbed the spiritual breath from Miss Yue's remains and found that its chilling essence could be refined into true embryonic breath.
• Chen Heng reasoned that the Earth Abyss's ghosts could supply the spiritual breath he needed, then used the Floating-Jade Mirage Bead to keep them subdued.
• When a four-armed ghost began to stir, Chen Heng renewed the mirage qi, snapped its neck, and absorbed its spiritual breath.

Chen Heng reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining and strengthened his Tai Su Jade Body by devouring ghosts, but he held back from establishing his foundation because of Ancestor Fu Can’s warning. He spared Song Rupu after learning of a Zhongyi Sword Sect inheritance tied to Yin-Eroding Red Water, and the chapter ended as Song Rupu revealed its story.

• Chen Heng used the ghosts and Talisman Coins he had gathered to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining, then chose not to establish his foundation because he remembered Ancestor Fu Can’s warning.
• Chen Heng subdued the remaining ghosts with embryonic breath and consumed their spiritual essence, advancing his Tai Su Jade Body to the fifth layer.
• Chen Heng killed the big-headed ghost and attacked Song Rupu, who had secretly escaped the pressure and tried to flee.
• Song Rupu offered information about Yin-Eroding Red Water, and Chen Heng stopped his attack when he heard the name.
• Song Rupu signed a Spirit Contract and told Chen Heng about a Zhongyi Sword Sect master who had carved the Yin-Eroding Red Water cultivation method into a mountain pillar.
• Chen Heng listened to Song Rupu’s account, his expression calm but his eyes showing a hint of unusual interest.

Chen Heng learned about the deadly trial guarding the Yin-Eroding Red Water scripture and decided to seek the divine ability despite the risks. He arranged for Song Rupu to contact Lou Fu to rescue and shelter the people in the Human Pen, then found a secluded kitchen.

• Song Rupu explained that the Yin-Eroding Red Water scripture could only be obtained by passing a lethal trial at a stone pillar, but Chen Heng resolved to attempt it.
• Chen Heng questioned Song Rupu about the Zhongyi Sword Sect expert, learning that the expert had lectured Lou Fu and other talented ghost cultivators on swordsmanship.
• Chen Heng ordered Song Rupu to free the people in the Human Pen and learned that Lou Fu could provide a method to protect them from the Earth Abyss's yin qi and find them shelter.
• Song Rupu agreed to contact Lou Fu, who was expected to arrive within three to seven days, and Chen Heng decided to wait for him.
• Chen Heng left the main hall, broke open the locked door of a secluded kitchen, and entered.

Chen Heng rescued the prisoners in the Earth Abyss, killed Yan Ping, and learned that Yan Feichen had switched the pill that led to his widowed mother's death. He left the surviving victims to begin cultivating the Netherworld Ghost Dao and flew away after arranging for the remaining captives to wait for Lou Fu.

• Chen Heng freed Yu Wanchou and the other Mysterious Truth Sect cultivators, then confronted the mutilated Yan Ping, who revealed that Yan Feichen had ordered him to switch the pill meant for Chen Heng's mother.
• Chen Heng rejected Yan Ping's attempt to provoke regret over Yan Zhen and killed him with his embryonic breathing.
• Yu Wanchou and the other injured cultivators swore to keep the deaths secret, then abandoned their bodies and transformed into ghosts to pursue the Netherworld Ghost Dao.
• Yu Wanchou gave Chen Heng the cultivators' Heaven and Earth Bags, and she and her companions departed as ghosts.
• Song Rupu brought the people from the Human Pen to the main hall, and Chen Heng arranged for the few clear-minded cultivators to wait for Lou Fu while he recovered and questioned Song Rupu.
• After meditating and regaining his strength, Chen Heng transformed into white escape light and flew away.

Chen Heng used the Soul Enslavement Bell to make the turbid ghosts in a ghost village kill themselves, absorbing their spiritual essence until his Tai Su Jade Body reached the sixth level of the Mystery Realm. After three days of hunting ghosts in the Earth Abyss, he was confronted by a sword-wielding figure who recognized him as Chen Heng.

• Chen Heng used the Soul Enslavement Bell to subdue the village's turbid ghosts and ordered them to kill themselves so he could absorb their spiritual essence.
• After absorbing the ghosts' essence, Chen Heng advanced his Tai Su Jade Body to the sixth level of the Mystery Realm and defeated the butcher ghost that resisted his command.
• Chen Heng decided to seek out more ghost troops in the Earth Abyss to gather enough spiritual energy to advance his Tai Su Jade Body further.
• Three days later, Chen Heng destroyed ghosts beside a yin river with the Innate Great Sun Divine Light and absorbed their spiritual essence.
• A figure wielding a sword light approached Chen Heng, asked if he was Chen Heng, and praised his nerve.

Chen Heng and Song Rupu fled toward the stone pillar while evading the ghosts hunting them, and Chen Heng’s talisman edict suddenly burned away. At the same time, the Mysterious Truth Sect’s talismans went out of control, and Ai Jian learned that Senior Brother Wang Shu had died.

• Lou Fu took the nearly thousand people from Miss Yue’s estate into his Little Six Directions Tortoise and invited Chen Heng to spar, but Chen Heng declined to seek the Yin-Eroding Red Water method.
• Chen Heng used the One True Dharma Realm to inspect Lou Fu’s abilities and discovered Lou Fu had reached the third sword Dao realm.
• Song Rupu reported that Mountain Pot Elder and Flying Flower Granny had sent retainers to hunt Chen Heng, so Chen Heng and Song Rupu left for Five Clouds Wilds.
• Half a month later, Chen Heng concealed himself and Song Rupu from Gao Bi’s search party, then asked how far they were from the stone pillar.
• Chen Heng’s Earth Abyss Talisman Edict activated and burned away, while the Mysterious Truth Sect’s other talisman edicts also flared uncontrollably.
• At the Mysterious Truth Sect, Ai Jian staggered in alarm after hearing that Senior Brother Wang Shu had died.

Chen Ying told Ai Jian that Wang Shu had died after forming only a fourth-rank core, and revealed that Wang Shu had been murdered on Gu Zhao’s orders. After learning Chen Heng was in the Earth Abyss, Chen Ying worried he would die when the Huzhao Sect elders stirred up the turbid tide.

• Chen Ying told Ai Jian that Wang Shu had died after losing heavenly wander mud to Zhu Ling and forming a fourth-rank core.
• Chen Ying said Wang Shu had not committed suicide but had been killed with sword wounds and Sword Qi Thunderclap, causing Ai Jian to collapse in rage.
• Chen Ying confirmed Ai Jian’s suspicion that Gu Zhao had arranged Wang Shu’s death, and Ai Jian recalled how his feud with Gu Zhao had led to Wan Song’s execution and his own exile.
• Chen Ying tried to recruit Ai Jian and urged him to control his grief and temper before forming his core.
• Chen Ying asked about Chen Heng and learned that he had gone to the Earth Abyss.
• Chen Ying said the coming turbid tide would kill the living creatures in the Earth Abyss and lamented that Chen Heng might die before he could be sent to Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji.

Chen Ying revealed that he had once played both sides between Chen Jade Pivot and the Yuluo Immortal Mansion, but now intended to serve his father and recruited Ai Jian with promises of powerful scriptures and techniques. After learning that Wang Shu had been killed by He Lizi, Ai Jian swore revenge but remained wary of joining the Xiantian Demon Sect, then proposed visiting the Earth Abyss to retrieve Chen Heng for Chen Ying.

• Chen Ying told Ai Jian that he had feigned loyalty to both Chen Jade Pivot and the Yuluo Immortal Mansion, but now chose his father after witnessing his power.
• Chen Ying offered Ai Jian entry into the Xiantian Demon Sect and access to the Langhuan Secret Manual and other techniques if he signed a Spirit Contract.
• Chen Ying explained that He Lizi had killed Wang Shu after Wang Shu formed a Fourth-Rank Core, and Ai Jian vowed revenge against He Lizi and Gu Zhao.
• Ai Jian hesitated to join the Demonic Dao and asked Chen Ying for time to consider, troubled by Wang Shu's death and the danger of the sect's conflicts.
• As Chen Ying prepared to leave, Ai Jian offered to go to the Earth Abyss and bring Chen Heng out for him.

Chen Ying pressured Ai Jian to sign a Spirit Contract, while Ai Jian mourned the collapse of his master's lineage and concluded he had little choice but to serve him. After Chen Ying prepared for the possibility that Ai Jian might refuse, a message from Yuluo Immortal Mansion unexpectedly named Chen Heng for a mission to Outer Heaven.

• Chen Ying refused Ai Jian's request to search the Earth Abyss for Chen Heng and offered him a Spirit Contract, warning that the Magnetic Essence Golden Light Ball would soon be used there.
• Chen Ying told Ai Jian that Sima Lingzhen and Hou Wen would bring news of Wang Shu's death, prompting Ai Jian to realize the Jade Dawn School had left him without support.
• Ai Jian grieved with the Silver Eye Sword and decided he might have to join Chen Ying to continue cultivating and avenge his master's lineage.
• Chen Ying waited in a secluded mountain pavilion with the blood-red figure in his eye, planning to use it as protection if Ai Jian refused to join him.
• A messenger reported that Yuluo Immortal Mansion wanted Chen Ying to send Chen Heng to Outer Heaven, leaving Chen Ying surprised by the request.

Chen Ying entered Yuluo Immortal Mansion to discuss sending Chen Xuanwu, Yuan Yangsheng, and Chen Heng out of Xudu Heaven, despite his ties to Chen Jade Pivot. After Chen Runzi revealed that Eldest Brother had divined Chen Heng’s name, Chen Ying was left stunned by the revelation.

• Chen Ying agreed to answer Yuluo Immortal Mansion’s request and used a jade pendant to enter the mansion.
• Chen Ying confronted Chen Yichao in the Sun Essence Palace, and a red-robed monk and a Dragon Woman stopped them from fighting.
• Chen Ying explained that Yuan Yangsheng could be sent to Outer Heaven easily, but Chen Xuanwu’s meeting with Chen Jade Pivot complicated the plan.
• Chen Runzi arrived, ended the gathering’s quarrel, and asked Chen Ying about his progress with the matter.
• Chen Runzi told Chen Ying that Eldest Brother had used Xiantian Divine Calculation to divine Chen Heng’s name and surname.

Chen Runzi told Chen Ying that Chen Xiangxian had awakened and arranged for Chen Yuanji to retrieve Chen Heng from the Earth Abyss, while Chen Ying was tasked with guiding him. Chen Ying left with a formula and directions to a hidden residence, and Chen Heng reached the Yin-Eroding Red Water.

• Chen Ying learned that Chen Xiangxian had awakened and divined Chen Heng, whom Chen Runzi believed might become a crucial variable against Chen Jade Pivot.
• Chen Runzi warned Chen Ying that his attempt to claim the Formless Sword or Wusheng Treasure Mirror was dangerous, then revealed he had already arranged for Chen Yuanji to travel to Xudu Heaven and retrieve Chen Heng.
• Chen Runzi asked Chen Ying to guide Chen Yuanji, Chen Xuanwu, Yuan Yangsheng, and Chen Heng, and gave him a formula to access a hidden residence in Northern Lu Province.
• Chen Runzi urged Chen Ying to destroy the Yuluo Immortal Mansion's talisman decree if he chose to side with Chen Jade Pivot, and Chen Ying withdrew his divine sense.
• Chen Heng emerged from a dark cavern in the Earth Abyss and arrived at the Yin-Eroding Red Water.

Chen Heng entered the Five Clouds Wilds to study True Lord Qiao’s “Yin-Eroding Red Water” inheritance, using the Golden Cicada to preserve the scripture despite the pillar’s memory-erasing trial. As Chen Heng advanced toward the pillar, Ding Wei arrived and demanded to know who was studying the scripture.

• Song Rupu escaped Gao Bi’s pursuit with Chen Heng and explained that no calling card was needed to study the scripture.
• Chen Heng destroyed Song Rupu’s Spirit Contract, then refused his warning and approached the stone pillar.
• The pillar revealed golden characters that caused intense pain and erased themselves from Chen Heng’s memory, but he used the Golden Cicada and the One True Dharma Realm to record them.
• Chen Heng repeatedly copied each passage inside the Dharma Realm and advanced closer to the pillar, while the five Gang clouds concealed him from view.
• Ding Wei arrived with a carriage and ghost soldiers, saw the pillar’s golden characters flare, and asked Song Rupu who had come within fifty zhang.

Chen Heng identified the genuine Yin-Eroding Red Water scripture, completed the stone pillar’s trial, and was swept into a sealed hollow as the pillar shattered and Ancestor Yin Xing’s final divine thought departed. True Lord Qiao then told Ding Xian that Chen Heng had inherited the legacy and ordered him to summon Chen Heng to Golden Drum Cave once he mastered it.

• Ding Wei reflected on the many gifted cultivators who had died trying to claim the Yin-Eroding Red Water legacy while Song Rupu explained Chen Heng’s background.
• Chen Heng recorded two candidate scriptures in the One True Dharma Realm and tested them, discovering that the second caused death through Liberation by Violence.
• Chen Heng recited the first formula, and the stone pillar shattered, releasing a river of blood that swept him into a deep hollow sealed by a restrictive ward.
• Ancestor Yin Xing’s final divine thought appeared among the pillar’s fragments, declared that he had lost to Qiao Yubi, and departed through Liberation by Violence to reincarnate.
• Ding Xian visited True Lord Qiao, who assured him that Yin Xing had gone to reincarnate and ordered him to send Chen Heng to Golden Drum Cave after Chen Heng mastered the legacy.

Qiao Yubi summoned Ding Xian, urged him to improve his sword cultivation, and promised him a chance to enter the Myriad Forms Palace. Meanwhile, Chen Heng refined his first drop of Yin-Eroding Red Water, while Xu Zhi found himself under scrutiny from fellow Mysterious Truth Sect Daoists.

• Qiao Yubi reprimanded Ding Xian for neglecting his sword cultivation and promised him an assessment talisman writ for the Myriad Forms Palace if he attained Sword Qi Thunderclap within twenty years.
• Qiao Yubi gave Ding Xian a beast-headed token to deliver to Chen Heng after Chen Heng emerged from seclusion, then withdrew into his divine statue.
• Ding Xian resolved to cultivate diligently and left, reflecting on Qiao Yubi's support and the Mishan Qiao Clan's influence.
• Chen Heng used the river of blood to refine a drop of Yin-Eroding Red Water after seven days of cultivation.
• After the ghost cloud receded, the Mysterious Truth Sect Daoists questioned Xu Zhi about his plans as they sheltered in a river valley.

Xu Zhi learned that Jiao Jizhong and his companions planned to poison and kill him for his Pulse Abode Sword, then fled after leaving them a warning. As he ran through the Earth Abyss, a mysterious voice drew him into a strange void and lamented the sorry state of the Red Dragon Xu Household.

• Jiao Jizhong and the green-robed youth pressured Xu Zhi to hand over his Pulse Abode Sword, while Jiao proposed waiting for a chance to take it.
• Xu Zhi overheard Jiao Jizhong and the others plot to poison him at a reconciliation feast, then quietly left his stone chamber.
• Jiao Jizhong found Xu Zhi's warning carved into the chamber wall and ordered the group to hunt him down and seize his sword.
• Xu Zhi fled at full speed but was pulled into a strange void, where a mysterious voice said it had watched him since he entered the Earth Abyss.
• The voice mourned the decline of the Red Dragon Xu Household and asked whether Xu Zhi was its last surviving descendant.