Chapter Summaries

Xie Jinhuan learned that the Corpse Ancestor was trying to enter the Land of Returning Souls before the ghost gates opened, while Yang Huaxian was following the same method and risked falling into the Corpse Ancestor’s trap. After Sister Guo reported a supposed sighting in the Western Sand Vast Sea, Xie Jinhuan recognized that someone was luring them toward the Corpse Ancestor and set out to intervene.

• Xie Jinhuan spent the night with Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye, while Zhao Ling later joined them through Ye Yunchi’s body.
• Ye Hongshang sensed that someone was trying to enter the Land of Returning Souls by sending only their soul, and suspected the Corpse Ancestor was exploiting a loophole before the fifteenth of the seventh month.
• Ye Hongshang warned that Yang Huaxian was copying the Corpse Ancestor’s method, prompting Xie Jinhuan to hurry out and investigate.
• Sister Guo reported that a cultivator had found traces of the Corpse Ancestor in the Western Sand Vast Sea, and Xie Jinhuan concluded that someone was using them as bait to test the Corpse Ancestor.
• Xie Jinhuan explained the danger to Sister Guo, who picked up the sleeping Jiang Xian and left with him.

He Can and the others discovered a vast reserve of Spiritual Charm and Divine Soul power in the Manluo Flower Sea, and Yang Huaxian followed them inside to seize it. Xie Jinhuan, Empress Dowager Guo, and Jiang Xian reached the desert and entered the Underworld Gate with Ye Hongshang to pursue them.

• Mo Hunsheng taught He Can and the others about the Three Realms and guided them in sensing Heaven and Earth inside the Divine Temple.
• He Can spirit-roamed into an abyss filled with immense Spiritual Charm and Divine Soul power, and Mao Chunniang and the others rushed to enter.
• Yang Huaxian, who had secretly followed the group, used Mo Hunsheng's method to leave his body and plunge into the abyss.
• Xie Jinhuan arrived in the Vast Sea desert with Empress Dowager Guo and Jiang Xian, then made a shelter and prepared to enter the Manluo Flower Sea.
• Ye Hongshang sensed Heaven and Earth and opened the Underworld Gate, allowing the three to enter without the Corpse Ancestor's Secret Technique.

Xie Jinhuan woke up naked beside Empress Dowager Guo and Jiang Xian in the Land of Returning Souls, where Ye Hongshang told him to hunt Yang Huaxian and capture the Corpse Ancestor. Meanwhile, Yang Huaxian arrived in the Manluo Flower Sea, mistook its illusory riches for real treasures, and encountered the supposedly dead Old Daoist Ziyang.

• Xie Jinhuan woke beside Empress Dowager Guo and Jiang Xian, and Ye Hongshang explained that he should kill Yang Huaxian and capture the Corpse Ancestor.
• Mo Hunsheng warned He Can and Mao Chunniang that the Manluo Flowers were an illusion and that the Land of Returning Souls was full of dangerous dead cultivators.
• Yang Huaxian discovered the abundant spiritual energy and Manluo Flowers, believed he could soon reach the Seventh Realm, and began gathering the treasures.
• Old Daoist Ziyang appeared and recognized Yang Huaxian, who was shocked to see the Daoist he thought had died.

Xie Jinhuan, Jiang Xian, and Empress Dowager Guo entered the Land of Returning Souls and witnessed Yang Huaxian being ambushed by Purple Sun True Person. As Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo joined the fight, Purple Sun True Person mistook Jiang Xian for a young Qixia True Person.

• Xie Jinhuan learned from A Piao that the Land of Returning Souls was a simulated market where the dead used play-money tokens, while living entrants risked their real fortunes.
• Jiang Xian offered incense to the statue of Qixia True Person, and Xie Jinhuan, Jiang Xian, and Empress Dowager Guo set out to search for Yang Huaxian.
• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo saw a vast display of thunder and fire and headed toward it, where Yang Huaxian was trying to flee Purple Sun True Person.
• Empress Dowager Guo and Xie Jinhuan ambushed Yang Huaxian, injuring him before he used his divine power to freeze the surrounding space.
• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo resumed their attack as the Light-Devouring Spirit-Severing Array and eight Dharma Forms surrounded Yang Huaxian.
• Purple Sun True Person found Jiang Xian and mistook her for the young Qixia True Person, calling himself Old Scoundrel Ziyang.

Qixia True Person revealed that she and Empress Dowager Guo had entered the Land of Returning Souls to hunt the escaped life soul of the Corpse Ancestor. Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo fought Yang Huaxian, who was left imprisoned in a Thunder Pool after Xie took a demonic strike to keep him from escaping.

• Purple Sun True Person mocked Jiang Xian, and Qixia True Person appeared and stopped him from being delivered into reincarnation.
• Qixia True Person told Purple Sun True Person that she and Empress Dowager Guo were hunting the Corpse Ancestor's escaped life soul, then said he could stay to learn what the young man would accomplish.
• Yang Huaxian, cornered by Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo, invoked Five Qi Returning to the Origin and unleashed a devastating attack.
• Xie Jinhuan shielded Empress Dowager Guo with a Golden Lotus as she struck Yang Huaxian with her Heavenly Gang Mace, shattering his Immortal Artifact and badly wounding him.
• Yang Huaxian struck Xie Jinhuan with Yin Baleful Intent, but Xie captured his soul in a Thunder Pool while Empress Dowager Guo continued her assault.

Mo Hunsheng used Plum for Peach to survive Yang Huaxian’s destruction, then revealed that he could escape through the Ghost Gate on the Hungry Ghost Festival. Qixia True Person let him leave for now, and the group planned to prepare for his return while Xie Jinhuan recovered.

• Mo Hunsheng explained that he had lured the righteous and unorthodox powers into conflict so he could exploit the opportunity to regain his strength.
• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo weakened Yang Huaxian’s soul with the Zhenglun Sword and Blazing True Fire until Mo Hunsheng exchanged life souls with him and re-formed.
• Mo Hunsheng told Qixia True Person that he would escape through the Ghost Gate on the fifteenth of the seventh month, warning that anyone left behind would be erased when the realm reset.
• Ye Hongshang confirmed that Mo Hunsheng’s escape route could be blocked, and Qixia True Person chose not to fight him while Xie Jinhuan was injured.
• Qixia True Person sent Empress Dowager Guo to take Xie Jinhuan away and went to find Sikong Shitang, while Purple Sun True Person left the threat to the younger generation.

At the mountain temple, Xie Jinhuan’s body deteriorated from yin baleful intent, and Ye Hongshang warned that leaving and returning would not reset his condition. Empress Dowager Guo kept him awake and warmed him through intimate attention, while he remained in danger as they waited for help.

• Empress Dowager Guo brought Xie Jinhuan into the temple and asked whether he could endure his worsening injuries.
• Ye Hongshang explained that the temple’s rules prevented Xie Jinhuan from resetting his body by leaving and returning, and said she would ask Zisu for help.
• Empress Dowager Guo tried to keep Xie Jinhuan awake by talking with him, but he repeatedly grew drowsy.
• Empress Dowager Guo fed and held Xie Jinhuan, then agreed to his advances when he began slipping into unconsciousness.
• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo became intimate while they waited for Ye Hongshang to return.

Yang Huaxian awoke weakened in the cave and was forced to submit to Mo Hunsheng, who took his soul and resources for the coming escape attempt. Elsewhere, Qixia True Person reflected on Mo Hunsheng’s treatment of Sikong Shitang, then returned to her temple and heard suspicious noises from the bedroom.

• Yang Huaxian woke in the cave and was made to accept He Can’s orders as a prisoner.
• Mo Hunsheng arrived, explained that he had saved Yang Huaxian with Plum for Peach, and took possession of his Divine Soul and holdings.
• Yang Huaxian revealed where his true body and resources were hidden, and Mo Hunsheng put him into a deep sleep.
• Mo Hunsheng explained that he would attempt to leave at the last possible moment, relying on the Righteous Path’s nervousness and the chance of mistakes.
• Qixia True Person and Purple Sun True Person reflected on Mo Hunsheng giving Sikong Shitang a dignified death, and Qixia returned to her temple.
• Qixia True Person heard suspicious sounds from the bedroom and crept toward it.

Xie Jinhuan’s injuries left him dangerously exhausted, so Empress Dowager Guo and Jiang Xian tried to keep him awake while they waited for help. Qixia True Person intervened by sending him into unsettling dreams that jolted him awake, and he ended the chapter watching for Zisu to arrive.

• Empress Dowager Guo hid Xie Jinhuan’s intimacy from Qixia True Person, then told Jiang Xian to keep him awake because he might not wake again if he fell asleep.
• Jiang Xian returned to find Xie Jinhuan badly injured, but he succumbed to exhaustion despite her efforts to rouse him.
• Jiang Xian summoned Qixia True Person by insulting her, and Qixia cast a Spell Seal that gave Xie Jinhuan an intimate dream and woke him.
• Xie Jinhuan repeatedly drifted off and jolted awake from increasingly disturbing dreams, while Jiang Xian tried to keep him alert and asked whether Zisu had arrived.
• Empress Dowager Guo watched from outside, puzzled by the dreams that made Xie Jinhuan afraid to sleep.

Xie Jinhuan endured the night while Lin Zisu and Jiang Xian examined him, but their awkward treatment became increasingly chaotic as Empress Dowager Guo watched. Elsewhere, two outsiders realized they were trapped in a secluded realm and decided to hide until they found a chance to escape.

• Jiang Xian kept Xie Jinhuan awake until Lin Zisu arrived and diagnosed serious yin baleful energy in his body.
• Xie Jinhuan showed the women a crystal-ball vision of an erotic dream, then fell asleep so Lin Zisu could observe his condition.
• Lin Zisu concluded that Xie Jinhuan's symptoms were not serious and began acupuncture while Jiang Xian helped treat him.
• Xie Jinhuan woke during the treatment but pretended to remain unconscious as Jiang Xian and Lin Zisu argued over who should help him.
• Empress Dowager Guo watched the scene from outside the room as daylight broke.
• Two outsiders identified the Ghost Gate as the exit from their trapped realm and chose to conceal themselves while waiting for a chance to escape.

Xie Jinhuan woke after several days of illness and learned how Empress Dowager Guo was preparing to confront the Corpse Ancestor. The chapter ended with him behaving strangely in the pool while Guo watched in confusion.

• Xie Jinhuan woke after three or four days and teased Jiang Xian, who fled in embarrassment when he revealed he remembered her caring for him.
• Lin Zisu checked Xie Jinhuan's pulse while Empress Dowager Guo kept her distance from him until he approached her.
• Empress Dowager Guo told Xie Jinhuan that Yellow Qilin True Person, Lu Wuzhen, and other cultivators would help surround the Corpse Ancestor, while Shang Lianbi's absence raised suspicion.
• Xie Jinhuan offered to help restore Empress Dowager Guo's depleted qi, and she led him to a grove and told him to manage it himself.
• Ye Hongshang appeared in the pool and engaged Xie Jinhuan, who began moving as though he were acting upon empty air, leaving Empress Dowager Guo baffled.

While Xie Jinhuan helped Empress Dowager Guo recover, Jiang Xian’s diary confession brought Qixia True Person to the Daoist temple, where Ye Hongshang stopped her from interfering. Meanwhile, cultivators in the Western Regions learned that the Corpse Ancestor might require a defender to hold the line without retreating.

• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo fooled around in the pool until Qixia True Person arrived and found them, but Ye Hongshang blocked her from interrupting.
• Jiang Xian wrote a confession in her diary and summoned Qixia True Person, who warned Lin Zisu not to bully her before heading to the grove.
• Ye Hongshang convinced Qixia True Person not to interfere with Jiang Xian and Xie Jinhuan, so Qixia returned to the temple and filled Jiang Xian’s diary with warnings.
• In a temporary camp, Lü Yan briefed Monk Wuxin and Li Chimo that the Corpse Ancestor had taken Yang Huaxian’s Divine Soul and remained a grave threat.
• Monk Wuxin explained that the Corpse Ancestor’s mastery of timing could leave cultivators unable to hold the line, while Lü Yan was told to continue defense preparations and withdraw on time.

As Zhongyuan Night approached, Xie Jinhuan and the defenders prepared the Ghost Gate while he shared a quiet moment with Jiang Xian. At dusk, Mo Hunsheng gathered his subordinates and promised to lead their souls through the heavily defended pass.

• Zisu distributed powerful pills while Sister Guo planned the defenses, and Jiang Xian stood guard beside the command tent.
• Xie Jinhuan showed Jiang Xian a water-screen version of the Calabash Brothers, but A Piao’s interference turned it into an unsuitable spectacle that Xie could not dismiss.
• Xie Jinhuan told Jiang Xian to leave with Zisu after dark, and they discussed his coming child before he took her hand.
• Mo Hunsheng and his Four Great Demon Generals surveyed the defenses, and Mao Chunniang rejected He Can’s suggestion that they surrender.
• Mo Hunsheng told his subordinates to entrust their souls to him so he could lead them through the pass, and Mao Chunniang chopped He Can into three pieces before Mo Hunsheng seized his soul.

Xie Jinhuan and the assembled Righteous Path figures faced Mo Hunsheng at the Black Heroic Pass, where he explained that the damaged Qilin had destabilized the world and asked to be released so he could repair the damage. Qixia True Person refused, and the two sides prepared for a standoff as Mo Hunsheng waited for their time limit to force them to withdraw.

• Xie Jinhuan confirmed that the Hourglass would open the Ghost Gate at the appointed time and warned the Righteous Path figures to withdraw before its sand ran out.
• The Hourglass began to empty, the Ghost Gate opened, and Mo Hunsheng emerged from the mountains to propose discussing the world's future.
• Mo Hunsheng explained that breaking the Qilin's leg had unbalanced the world, that Ye Ci was holding it together, and that Xie Jinhuan might have to take Ye Ci's place.
• Mo Hunsheng asked the Righteous Path to release him under their supervision so he could restore order, but Qixia True Person rejected his offer and said she had chosen Xie Jinhuan instead.
• Mo Hunsheng challenged the assembled heroes to prove someone could overpower him, while both sides held their positions and he waited for their time limit to run down.

As the hourglass neared its end, Shang Lianbi arrived with a colossal demon and joined forces with Mo Hunsheng to break through the Ghost Gate. Xie Jinhuan transformed into a giant Silver Dragon to stop Shang Lianbi, and the final grain of sand fell as their clash plunged the world into darkness.

• Shang Lianbi arrived with a peak great demon, and the righteous heroes refused to let him leave the wasteland.
• Qixia True Person sealed the gate while Xie Jinhuan, Empress Dowager Guo, and the others fought Shang Lianbi and Mo Hunsheng as time ran out.
• Shang Lianbi unleashed his demonic power and struck the defenders, while Qixia True Person transformed and collided with him.
• Xie Jinhuan threw the injured Qixia True Person through the gate, then exploded his body and revealed a hundred-zhang Silver Dragon.
• Xie Jinhuan's Silver Dragon used Black Dragon Strikes the Pillar to collide with Shang Lianbi as the hourglass dropped its final grain, and the pass and battlefield dissolved into a Black Domain.

After Xie Jinhuan vanished from the Secret Realm, Qixia True Person and Empress Dowager Guo feared he was lost, but Ye Hongshang had pulled his soul to her island. She explained why she wanted him to stop taking dangerous risks, then sent him back and told him to join the race to seize Shang Lianbi’s property in Misty-Wave City.

• Lü Yan and the other cultivators decided to rush to Misty-Wave City and seize control of Dragonbone Shoal before the Demon Path arrived.
• Qixia True Person woke in the cavern and discovered Xie Jinhuan had not returned, while Empress Dowager Guo and the others grew alarmed.
• Xie Jinhuan regained consciousness on the island where he had first washed ashore, with only Fourth Grade strength and Coal Ball beside him.
• Ye Hongshang told Xie Jinhuan that she had pulled his soul from the battle after he refused to retreat, and warned that his attachment to others made his reckless risks dangerous.
• Ye Hongshang sent Xie Jinhuan back, telling him to frighten Qixia True Person by claiming he had died and then hurry to Misty-Wave City to confiscate Shang Lianbi’s property.

Qixia True Person found Xie Jinhuan alive in the Land of Returning Souls and beat him after realizing he had pretended to be dead. Back in his body, Xie Jinhuan discovered his divine soul had grown stronger, learned that the Corpse Ancestor had escaped with part of Shang Lianbi's resources in reach, and was reunited with Sister Guo.

• Qixia True Person searched the Land of Returning Souls and found Xie Jinhuan resting in the Little Daoist Temple.
• Xie Jinhuan woke while Qixia True Person mourned him, and Ye Hongshang appeared in mourning clothes and urged him to keep up the pretense.
• Qixia True Person tested Xie Jinhuan with a Transcendence incantation, realized he was alive, and struck him for frightening her.
• Qixia True Person told Xie Jinhuan to go to Misty-Wave City and claim Shang Lianbi's fortune before the Northern Region took it.
• Xie Jinhuan returned to his body and learned that the Corpse Ancestor had escaped after intervening in his fight with Shang Lianbi and taking part of Shang Lianbi's soul.
• Sister Guo rushed into the cave and embraced Xie Jinhuan, who assured her he was fine.

Xie Jinhuan returned safely and reassured Empress Dowager Guo, while Shang Lianbi survived by transferring his life soul into a hidden body. Mo Hunsheng revealed that he had deliberately let Shang escape so he could see whether the defeated cultivator could rise again.

• Empress Dowager Guo scolded Xie Jinhuan for risking his life, then told him Jiang Xian had fainted from worry and urged him to give her a proper status.
• Xie Jinhuan asked after Qixia True Person and Lü Yan, and Empress Dowager Guo said Qixia was reflecting after being beaten while Lü Yan and the others had left for Dragonbone Shoal.
• Shang Lianbi emerged from hiding as a fennec fox, entered the Ancient Temple, and transferred his remaining life soul into a discarded half-demon body.
• Shang Lianbi accepted the humble body as the start of another climb and set off across the desert with the fox.
• Mo Hunsheng watched Shang Lianbi through Mirror Flowers, Water Moon and explained to He Can and Mao Chunniang that he had let him escape to see how he would return to the peak.

Xie Jinhuan returned to the Tower Ship and spent the night with Linghu Qingmo while Jiang Xian and Lin Zisu eavesdropped nearby. Empress Dowager Guo then called Jiang Xian into her room to warm her bed, leaving Jiang Xian obediently waiting beneath the covers.

• Xie Jinhuan let Coal Ball steer the Tower Ship down the Tali River and returned inside after reflecting on the Corpse Ancestor and the Righteous Path's next steps.
• Xie Jinhuan visited Linghu Qingmo and stopped her from writing the trip report so he could seduce her at her desk.
• Jiang Xian woke, ignored the Diary's warnings about Xie Jinhuan, and went into the passageway, where she found Lin Zisu secretly eavesdropping on Qingmo's room.
• Jiang Xian and Lin Zisu whispered together about Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo while Empress Dowager Guo watched Mei Conggao and considered how to advance her own plans.
• Empress Dowager Guo summoned Jiang Xian and ordered her to warm the bed; Jiang Xian removed her outer clothes and lay beneath the quilt as Guo left the room.

After checking on the pregnant Ye Yunchi, Xie Jinhuan went to visit Empress Dowager Guo and mistakenly climbed into bed with Jiang Xian, who had been asked to warm it. Empress Dowager Guo watched from the boat tower as Xie Jinhuan and Jiang Xian grew close.

• Xie Jinhuan visited Ye Yunchi, reassured her about the pregnancy, and shared a tender goodnight before leaving her room.
• Zisu told Xie Jinhuan to visit Empress Dowager Guo, so he headed to Guo's room and found it seemingly empty.
• Xie Jinhuan undressed and climbed into bed, only to discover that Jiang Xian was there instead of Empress Dowager Guo.
• Jiang Xian explained that Guo had asked her to warm the bed, and Xie Jinhuan embraced her and showed her an unfinished episode of Calabash Brothers.
• As Jiang Xian watched with him, Xie Jinhuan guided her hand beneath the blanket, while Empress Dowager Guo watched from the boat tower with Coal Ball.