Chapter Summaries

On the Ghost Festival, Lü Bufan and Liuzi burned offerings for the dead while talking about their difficult lives and hopes of escaping poverty. At the burial ground, Lü Bufan met a mysterious white-haired man who vanished after asking him to deliver a cryptic message to Master Ming.

• Lü Bufan and Liuzi sold offerings to Madam Liu, who made a brief, reluctant sacrifice for her dead father at the City God Temple.
• Lü Bufan remembered how the old beggar had named him and how Madam Liu had taken him in as a brothel servant.
• Lü Bufan and Liuzi discussed their poverty and their unlikely chances of joining an immortal sect or learning martial arts.
• Lü Bufan and Liuzi burned offerings at the graves of the old beggar and Liuzi's foster parents.
• Lü Bufan offered fruit to a white-haired man, who asked him to tell Master Ming that he would break the Heart-Piercing Curse and then vanished.

Scholar Zhao, an Immortal Envoy watching Master Ming, was killed by a white-clad stranger who warned that Master Ming’s location must remain secret. Master Ming was left penniless and beaten by Madam Liu Jinyue, while the black-robed city lord suspected Wei Wuchen had reached the Ninth Realm to protect him.

• Master Ming drank and mourned his ruined life as Scholar Zhao posed as a refined scholar at Spring Splendor House and was exposed by Madam Liu for paying with counterfeit silver.
• Master Ming paid Scholar Zhao’s debt, but Zhao’s attempt to ingratiate himself was cut short when Master Ming threw a chamber pot at him.
• After leaving the brothel, Scholar Zhao met the black-robed city lord, who ordered him to watch Master Ming and drive him out of Guangling Commandery.
• A white-clad, white-haired man confronted Scholar Zhao and killed him instantly with a willow leaf, annihilating his soul before he could activate his communication talisman.
• Madam Liu discovered Master Ming had no money, then had her thugs beat and drag him to the stable when he could not pay her.
• The black-robed city lord examined Scholar Zhao’s corpse and the lifeless courtyard, suspecting Wei Wuchen had reached the Ninth Realm and was warning others not to harm Master Ming.

Lü Bufan rescued the half-blind Master Ming and fled Huqi Town with him, while Master Ming wondered whether the boy’s kindness and strange destiny were part of a plan. In the capital, the Liu Clan plotted to lure Wei Wuchen into a trap, and Xian’er’s murderous past with him came to light as he set out for the capital to settle their debt.

• Lü Bufan found Master Ming alive at the Mass Burial Ground and told him the white-haired old man’s message about undoing his heart curse.
• Lü Bufan took Master Ming to Liuzi’s home, then left Huqi Town with him before dawn, carrying their savings and leading him with a stick.
• Master Ming reflected that he had been waiting to see whether Lü Bufan would save him and suspected the boy’s fate held a hidden purpose.
• In the capital, the Liu Clan’s Patriarch ordered Liu Yang to use surviving Wei clan members as bait for Wei Wuchen and prepare a Mountain-Guarding Formation.
• Xian’er recalled tearing Wei Wuchen’s face off and became furious that he had taken it back.
• Wei Wuchen, his face scarred and disfigured, looked toward the capital and vowed to settle his debts with Xian’er after thirty years.

Lü Bufan led his half-blind master through the wilderness of Two-World Mountain, enduring hunger and a humiliating attack by a troop of monkeys. His master insisted they continue toward a village where he expected to swindle money from the residents.

• Lü Bufan complained about caring for his master as they trudged toward Two-World Ridge, then shared his last piece of flatbread with him.
• After Lü Bufan went to find wild apricots, a crow approached the old beggar, who chilled it with a mocking warning.
• Lü Bufan returned with apricots and boasted that he had chased off the monkeys, but the troop ambushed him with stones.
• The monkeys pelted and bruised Lü Bufan while his master stayed aside eating apricots, and their leader mocked him before leaving.
• The old beggar urged Lü Bufan to keep going because a village lay ahead, saying its residents were idiots who could be swindled.

Lü Bufan and his half-blind master, Master Ming, arrived at Two Realms Village and settled into an empty bamboo house despite the strange residents and the village’s ban on killing. Master Ming hinted that he knew the villagers’ histories and led Lü Bufan inside, warning him not to be frightened.

• Lü Bufan and Master Ming entered the desolate village, where a skeletal old man mocked Lü Bufan and pointed them onward after a mute’s loud howling.
• Granny Yu gave them the abandoned house of the absent faceless Village Head, and the mute led them to it.
• A tall, thin man explained that nobody could kill or take lives inside Two Realms Village, and said Meng Laojiu was temporarily in charge.
• A one-legged man asked Master Ming for a face reading, and Master Ming revealed details about his misfortune and the tall, thin man’s scars.
• Master Ming told Lü Bufan to follow him into the bamboo house and warned him not to get scared to death.

Lü Bufan and his half-blind master, Master Ming, settled into an abandoned bamboo house in Two Realms Village, where they found human-skin masks left by the missing Village Head. As the village’s strange residents watched them, Lü Bufan befriended a black dog and prepared their first meal, while Master Ming kept his past and his connection to the village secret.

• Lü Bufan discovered a room full of human-skin masks and learned from Master Ming that one was the face of the faceless, skinless Village Head, removed by Liu Xian’er.
• Granny Yu questioned Lü Bufan about how he became Master Ming’s disciple, then muttered that both Master Ming and the Village Head were mad.
• Lü Bufan burned the masks but saved the Village Head’s face, as Master Ming had instructed him.
• A tall, skinny man left cured meat and dried bamboo shoots as payment for Master Ming’s fortune-telling and warned them not to tell fortunes again.
• Lü Bufan fed roasted meat to the black dog, while the tall, skinny man and the cripple watched from a rooftop and the village settled down for the night.

Lü Bufan settled into Two Realms Village with his half-blind master, Master Ming, and learned the village’s rules and ways to survive. After giving Granny Yu a rare reishi in gratitude, he received a bag of white rice, while the dangers surrounding the village remained.

• At midnight, Meng Laojiu visited Master Ming and discussed Shameless’s departure, Master Ming’s curse and blindness, and the villagers Shameless had saved.
• The eerie mist swept through Two Realms Village but stopped before the Land God Temple, while the big black dog remained unharmed.
• The next morning, Meng Laojiu explained the village’s rules to Lü Bufan, and Granny Yu offered him food in exchange for gathering medicinal herbs.
• Lü Bufan learned the surrounding terrain and taboos, gathered herbs, and followed Mute on hunts as more than a month passed.
• Granny Yu told Lü Bufan to go to town with Meng Laojiu, and he gave her a nearly century-old reishi as thanks for helping him and Master Ming.
• Granny Yu took the reishi and tossed Lü Bufan a bag of white rice.

Liu Ling'er returned to Two Realms Village and demanded the Wei Martial Classic from Master Ming, threatening him and Lü Bufan. Black Dog and Mute intervened, and Liu Ling'er chose to stay in the village, leaving the conflict unresolved.

• Liu Ling'er visited Granny Yu, who rejected her and noticed dead venomous insects on the floor after she left.
• Liu Ling'er tried to charm Lü Bufan and asked him for a keepsake from the missing Village Head, but Master Ming interrupted him.
• Liu Ling'er demanded the Wei Martial Classic from Master Ming and threatened to ruin him and Lü Bufan with help from the tall, skinny man and the one-legged fat man.
• Master Ming revealed a bronze bell, and Black Dog appeared; the three intruders retreated when Black Dog's eyes turned blood-red.
• The tall, skinny man attacked Mute, who struck him down, while Black Dog's eerie growl made Lü Bufan collapse and Mute stood between Black Dog and Liu Ling'er.
• Liu Ling'er decided to settle in Two Realms Village, and the tall, skinny man and the fat man led her away to their courtyard.

Wei Wuchen approached Mount Yuekong to attack the Liu clan and destroy its Mystic Order Stele, while the Liu clan’s patron, the Venerable One, and Great Jin’s imperial house learned he had arrived. The chapter left Wei Wuchen poised to confront the forces guarding the mountain.

• The Venerable One accused Liu Xian’er of trying to secure his offspring for the Liu clan, warned her father against coveting Great Jin’s imperial sovereignty, and demanded that Liu Xian’er send her younger sister to him.
• The Venerable One sensed Wei Wuchen approaching Mount Yuekong and recognized that he intended to kill the Liu clan and destroy its Mystic Order Stele.
• A Liu clan steward ordered three surviving Wei youths abused and assigned them to his room and the Liu clan’s armored soldiers.
• Wei Wuchen approached the Talisman-Clad Army’s camp under cover of night and vanished with a single step.
• The Prince of Linhe and a young prince learned that Wei Wuchen had arrived and discussed the Liu clan’s past crimes against the Wei clan and its attempt to draw the imperial house into the conflict.

Wei Wuchen split his three souls from his seven po and used the Dustless Sword to attack Liu Xian'er and destroy the Immortal Venerable’s hidden treasures. The Immortal Venerable destroyed Wei Wuchen and broke the sword, while Master Ming sensed what had happened and wept.

• Wei Wuchen silently killed Liu Clan soldiers at Mount Yuekong and confronted Liu Yang beneath the Immortals’ stele, while his seven po remained in his body and his three souls traveled elsewhere.
• Wei Wuchen appeared at the Jinhu Immortal Abode, revealed his restored face to Liu Xian'er, and demanded the Heart-Piercing Curse Anchor for Mingxin and the others.
• Wei Wuchen’s three-soul manifestation attacked the qilin remnant soul and destroyed the Heart-Piercing Curse jade talismans, then prepared to strike the Immortal Venerable’s Treasure Pavilion.
• The Immortal Venerable discovered Wei Wuchen’s divided souls and reduced his mutilated body and seven po to dust at Mount Yuekong.
• Wei Wuchen destroyed the Treasure Pavilion’s treasures and attacked the Immortal Venerable, who annihilated his three-soul manifestation and broke the Dustless Sword.
• Master Ming awoke, looked toward the Capital City, and wept as he cursed Wei Wuchen for carrying out his plan.

After Wei Wuchen died destroying the Heart-Piercing Curse talisman, the Immortal Venerable turned his rage on Liu Xian'er and demanded her family as compensation. In Two Realms Village, Master Ming mourned Wei Wuchen and set out to act against those responsible.

• The Immortal Venerable blamed Liu Xian'er and Liu Xuanli for his losses and ordered Liu Xian'er to bring her mother, sister, and niece to serve him.
• Sima Xiu explained that he had rescued a Wei Clan boy and hoped the act would build goodwill with the Land God Temple on Two-World Mountain.
• Master Ming told Lü Bufan that Wei Wuchen had died and asked him to burn paper money for Wei Wuchen each year.
• Master Ming told the old skeleton he intended to avenge the village, while the old skeleton warned him not to involve Black Dog.
• Master Ming walked through Two Realms Village and resolved that some people responsible for its deaths could not be allowed to live.

Liu Ling'er and her allies ambushed Master Ming to seize the bell and the Faceless One's Wei Martial Classic, but a one-armed gray-robed man returned to Two Realms Village and confronted them. The attackers launched their assault, and the gray-robed man's identity as a Sword Cultivator was revealed as the fight began.

• Meng Laojiu worried that Two Realms Village was falling apart and told Master Ming he wanted revenge like the Faceless One.
• Master Ming explained that Lü Bufan had no aptitude for cultivation, while Lü Bufan cheerfully prepared food and supplies for a trip to town.
• Liu Ling'er, One-Leg, the thin man, and two others surrounded Master Ming's home and demanded the bell and the Faceless One's Wei Martial Classic.
• Liu Ling'er said Mute had been drugged, Granny Yu was useless, Meng Laojiu was away, and the other villagers had been dealt with.
• A one-armed gray-robed man appeared beside the Stork's nest, and Master Ming told him the Faceless One had gone to Capital City and died.
• Liu Ling'er ordered the attack, and the gray-robed man evaded four Full-Moon Artifacts and countered with a flexible sword as Liu Ling'er identified him as a Sword Cultivator.

Master Ming and the gray-robed sword cultivator fought Meng Laojiu’s ambush, and Han Wu and the man in the vat emerged alive to help defend Two Realms Village. At the village entrance, the big black dog’s transformation drove off the Twelfth Guardian City lord and hundreds of Immortal Sect cultivators, while the battle inside the village remained underway.

• Master Ming drove off a Wild Spirit Land martial artist, and the gray-robed sword cultivator cut off the man’s ear as he left.
• Meng Laojiu summoned eight cultivators to attack Master Ming and the gray-robed sword cultivator, but Han Wu and the man in the vat revealed they had survived their earlier injuries.
• The gray-robed sword cultivator killed several attackers, and Master Ming used a hidden Thunder Net Formation to bring down the remaining enemies as Han Wu confronted Meng Laojiu.
• The old skeleton rejected the Twelfth Guardian City lord’s demand for an explanation over Wei Wuchen’s actions, and the big black dog grew into a terrifying beast that sent the lord and hundreds of cultivators fleeing.

Master Ming and the surviving cultivators regrouped in Two Realms Village, where they learned how Shameless had hidden them and argued over Lü Bufan becoming Master Ming’s disciple. After casting Meng Laojiu out and allowing Granny Yu to spare Liu Ling'er, Mingxin formally took Wei Wuchen’s place as village head.

• Han Wu learned that his second brother had gone to seek revenge on an immortal and mourned that he might never return.
• Du Yuan and Huang Jiu explained that Shameless had hidden them near Two Realms Village, while Master Ming revealed he had taken Lü Bufan as a disciple on behalf of the group.
• Han Wu, Du Yuan, and Huang Jiu doubted Lü Bufan’s aptitude, but Mute praised his character and resolve.
• Master Ming learned Meng Laojiu had helped lead Liu Ling'er and others into danger, then had Huang Jiu throw the ruined man toward the mountains and ordered him to leave.
• Granny Yu carried the wounded Liu Ling'er to the village boundary and told her never to return, revealing she had severed ties with the Liu family.
• Mingxin bowed before the village stele and assumed Wei Wuchen’s position as Village Head of Two Realms Village.

Master Ming told Lü Bufan about Two Realms Village’s resistance to the immortal sects, and Lü Bufan chose to stay and train despite the dangers. As he began his harsh lessons, Granny Yu agreed to help tend his injuries while Master Ming prepared to seal the village’s outskirts.

• Master Ming explained the village’s history and the threat facing the Human Race, but Lü Bufan pledged to protect Two Realms Village.
• Du Yuan and Han Wu tested Lü Bufan with a freezing Black Iron Vat, then assigned him rock-carrying exercises and a basic qi-circulation formula.
• Granny Yu gave Lü Bufan ointment for his injured hands after he admitted that he wanted to help the people who had treated him well.
• Master Ming offered Granny Yu a chance to leave or enter the Wild Spirit Land, but she chose to stay and asked him to establish a Spirit-Gathering Formation.
• Han Wu and Du Yuan teased Master Ming and Granny Yu, prompting Granny Yu to chase them off as Lü Bufan faced a pile of training stones.

Lü Bufan continued training in Two Realms Village, where he met Granny Yu’s young niece, who had fled Northern Qi to escape an Immortal Sect cultivator. When her parents were pursued and wounded, Huang Jiu agreed to secretly help them escape in exchange for Granny Yu’s hairpin and its treasures.

• The villagers shared venison, and Lü Bufan refused Du Yuan’s offer of the valuable healing vat while the big black dog ate meat he prepared.
• Lü Bufan trained with a stone ball and accidentally exposed himself when it dropped on his foot in front of Granny Yu’s niece.
• Granny Yu told Master Ming that the girl had an immaculate constitution and that her parents had brought her from Northern Qi to keep an Immortal Sect from taking her.
• Old Skeleton reported that the girl’s wounded parents were fleeing east with Immortal Sect cultivators pursuing them.
• Huang Jiu offered to escort the couple in exchange for Granny Yu’s hairpin, then left with her token to find them.
• The girl quietly resolved to return and save her parents.

Big Black relived the destruction of his master's world and unleashed a phantom beast, alarming forces across Great Jin before the village's restraints suppressed him. Meanwhile, Lü Bufan met Meng Lian'er at the lake, and Master Ming and the others worried that the Immortal Talisman was targeting the Suppressing Stele and that upheavals were growing both above and below.

• Old Skeleton questioned Big Black about Lü Bufan, but Big Black ignored him and fell asleep.
• Big Black dreamed of his master's fallen world, the Origin Spirits, and the attack that had shattered the world fragment he guarded.
• Big Black's dream summoned a gigantic phantom beast, which was suppressed by the village's heavenly restraints and the golden light from the Land God Temple; Old Skeleton was flung away with the boulder.
• Lü Bufan went to wash clothes at the lake, where Meng Lian'er introduced herself to him.
• Master Ming, Old Skeleton, and Du Yuan suspected Meng Laojiu's Immortal Talisman was aimed at the Suppressing Stele and resolved to keep the balance while investigating upheavals above and below.

Old Skeleton separated Big Black’s savage power and placed part of it inside the sleeping Lü Bufan, while the remaining power formed a younger black dog. Lü Bufan woke after a medicinal bath and reunited awkwardly with Meng Lian’er, unaware of the change within him.

• Old Skeleton extracted a dark-red orb from Big Black and pressed it into Lü Bufan, whose body was stabilized by Master Ming, Du Yuan, and Han Wu.
• A will left Lü Bufan a dark-red bead and mark before returning to Big Black, whose essence split into an old dog and a younger one.
• Master Ming explained that one Big Black relied on the nether mist while the other drew nourishment from Lü Bufan’s primal essence.
• Lü Bufan woke naked in Granny Yu’s medicinal vat, and the glossy-eyed Big Black came to sniff him.
• Han Wu carried Lü Bufan away in the vat, and Meng Lian’er gave him altered clothes, prompting Han Wu to tease him about hiding like a turtle.

Master Ming and the village elders arranged for Lü Bufan to cultivate as both a warrior and a Qi Refiner, while concealing his potential and suppressing his progress. After a year of slow training, Lü Bufan broke through to the second realm of bone stabilization, but his masters immediately made him carry a heavier stone ball.

• Master Ming urged Lü Bufan to cultivate martial arts and Daoist arts together, explaining the warrior and Qi Refiner realms.
• Lü Bufan spent time training by the lake with Meng Lian'er, while Granny Yu chased him away from her granddaughter.
• The elders discussed lifting their suppression of Lü Bufan, and Mute offered to teach him the Flawless Golden Body Method.
• After a year, Lü Bufan completed the Thirty-Six Fists and broke through to the second-realm bone stabilization stage.
• Du Yuan ordered Lü Bufan to learn a new fist routine and carry an even heavier stone ball, while Meng Lian'er congratulated him and promised to celebrate with Big Black.

Lü Bufan trained in Two Realms Village, faced a powerful Monkey King, and learned more about his masters’ past and his own cultivation. He prepared to leave the village to visit Liuzi in Huqi Town, carrying money from Master Ming and a warning to consider whether bringing his friend back would be wise.

• Lü Bufan hunted in the mountains, injured the smaller Monkey King with a pebble, and was badly beaten by the giant Monkey King before Huang Jiu carried him away.
• Huang Jiu revealed that the giant Monkey King was comparable to a fifth-realm martial artist, then punished Lü Bufan for teasing him about learning Rock-Paper-Scissors.
• Lü Bufan advanced to the second martial realm while continuing to train with an iron ball and spar with the monkeys, and Meng Lian'er told him her parents were away at sea.
• Master Ming urged Lü Bufan to travel and explained that his martial training could coexist with Qi Refining; Lü Bufan vowed not to betray his masters like the surviving senior brother had.
• Lü Bufan told Meng Lian'er he would someday find her parents, and she urged him to hide his connection to Two Realms Village from the Immortal Sect.
• Master Ming lent Lü Bufan a pouch of gold and silver for his journey and cautioned him to think carefully before bringing Liuzi back to the village.