Recaps

Qu Zan learned from Basang that a deadly Vengeful Ghost had killed most of his group and that no exit from the Ghost Domain had been found. Believing the suppressed hand might help him control the ghost and escape, Qu Zan returned to it and felt it pulling toward his left hand.

• Basang introduced himself as a Chöd School monk and explained that he had survived a Vengeful Ghost attack that killed twenty-two people in his group.
• Basang told Qu Zan and Doje that the Ghost Domain had no known exit and that the temple might not send anyone to rescue them.
• Qu Zan proposed that the exit might be connected to the Vengeful Ghost and planned to use the suppressed ghost hand to control it; he asked Basang and Doje to search for the ghost.
• Qu Zan returned to the Four Continents Zan Dho and found Zhuoma and Zhunnie dead near the spot where he had passed through the wall.
• Qu Zan approached the suppressed hand and felt his left hand being drawn toward it.

Qu Zan bound Indra's Hand, discovered its abilities and the danger of its rapid revival, and fed it the eyes of the dead to suppress it. He reunited with Doje and Basang and said he had a twenty or thirty percent chance of defeating the Vengeful Ghost.

• Qu Zan pulled the vajra from the ghostly hand and endured intense pain as he bound Indra's Hand.
• Qu Zan learned that using Indra's Hand hastened its revival, that eyes could delay it, and that an object of control might grant perfect control.
• Qu Zan discovered the hand's [Thousand Hands] and [Hand Mound] abilities, but its revival level rose to 30% after several uses and left him fatigued.
• Qu Zan dug out the eyes of Zhuoma and Zhunnie and other dead people, lowering the revival level to 1%, where it would not drop further.
• Qu Zan followed Doje's scent and reunited with Doje and Basang, telling them he had a twenty or thirty percent chance of defeating the Vengeful Ghost.

Qu Zan discovered how the Vengeful Ghost used the midpoint between two people to kill them, then devised a plan to catch it by making himself and Doje its only targets. He and Doje waited against a wall, ready to grab the ghost as it passed between them.

• Basang, Doje, and Qu Zan compared the victims and suspected the Vengeful Ghost killed people in pairs, but Caiwang and Tuya's survival showed their theory was wrong.
• Tuya described the ghost as an old woman with tangled white hair and a bronze mirror, while Caiwang said Zuo Qian had fled and shoved them aside.
• Zuo Qian led the Vengeful Ghost toward Qu Zan's group, and Qu Zan saw it emerge from the wall before it killed people in pairs.
• Qu Zan realized the ghost moved through walls and killed two people by passing through the midpoint between them; people joined together counted as a single point and survived.
• As the survivors scattered, Qu Zan held Doje close and explained that they could escape by catching the ghost when it passed between them.
• Qu Zan and Doje stood facing each other against a wall, leaving themselves as bait so Qu Zan could grab the Vengeful Ghost.

Qu Zan suppressed Mirror Granny long enough to escape the Ghost Domain with Doje, Basang, and Dzongben Caiwang, while Zuo Qian was killed after trying to force his way out. Back at Corpse Camel Temple, the Sutra Academy Abbot contained the bronze mirror, and a monastery steward demanded that Caiwang explain how it had entered the temple.

• Qu Zan used Indra's Hand to restrain Mirror Granny and opened a door to the Real-World Mìdì, allowing Doje, Basang, and Dzongben Caiwang with Tuya to escape.
• Zuo Qian tried to bargain with Qu Zan using Little Fragrance, then drank it and attacked; Qu Zan killed him with ghost hands.
• Qu Zan collected the dead people's eyes as offerings to counter Indra's Hand's revival, then left the Ghost Domain as Mirror Granny sank into the wall.
• Qu Zan emerged from the chest in the storeroom at sunrise, where the Sutra Academy Abbot and others had gathered after Caiwang reported the ghost attack.
• The Sutra Academy Abbot sealed the bronze mirror in a gold box, and a monastery steward questioned Caiwang about bringing it into the temple.

At Corpse Camel Temple, the monks questioned Dzongben Caiwang and examined Qu Zan’s bound ghost hand after the Vengeful Ghost rampage. Qu Zan chose to keep the hand, while the temple ordered repairs to the Mani Piles and began investigating the calamity without disturbing its meditating temple master.

• Dzongben Caiwang said he did not know how the uncanny object had entered the temple, and the monks kept Basang at Corpse Camel Temple for safety.
• Qu Zan described finding the ghost hand sealed by a Demon-Subduing Pestle in the Ghost Domain and showed the monks his left hand and Three-Pronged Vajra.
• The Sutra Academy Abbot confirmed the ghost power was stable and compatible with Qu Zan, and the chief steward explained that it could be expelled by cutting off his hand.
• Qu Zan chose to keep the ghost hand, and the chief steward returned the Three-Pronged Vajra as its Binding Artifact.
• The chief steward ordered the temple to repair and build Mani Piles, but decided not to interrupt the temple master’s meditation.

After Qu Zan learned that Meiduo and Duimu were safe, Corpse Camel Temple discovered that the Ghost Mirror had been used to infiltrate the temple and steal its sealed uncanny objects. The monks found the Rabbit Character Room flooded with blood and emptied of its contents, and began questioning whether the other chambers had also been robbed.

• Two Binding Monks stored the Golden Box in the Rabbit Character Room of the Demon-Subduing Hall.
• Qu Zan learned that Meiduo and Duimu were safe and was told to meet the Sutra Academy Steward the next day to visit the ritual master.
• A soldier reported that a convoy led by Caiwang had been destroyed by Vengeful Ghosts in Gawa Canyon, though the temple believed Dzongben Caiwang was staying in the Lay Buddhist Courtyard.
• An attending monk reported that Dzongben Caiwang, his followers, and the ritual master had vanished from the courtyard, while Madam Dzongben and her daughter remained.
• The Chief Steward and Qiong Re Ganbu opened the Rabbit Character Room and found it filled with blood and corpses, with all its sealed uncanny objects missing.

After the monastery discovered that uncanny objects had been stolen, its leaders suspected a group calling themselves Hell's Beings and sent warnings to other temples. Qu Zan learned that Dzongben Caiwang had been dead for days, then went with Jiduo to bathe before meeting the eccentric Jomo master.

• The Sutra Academy Abbot and the monastery's chief steward concluded that intruders had exploited a momentary distraction to steal uncanny objects and leave the message “Hell's Beings.”
• The chief steward decided to warn the Great Dzong Temple, the Ancestral Temple, and nearby temples, while sentencing the two Binding Monks to lose a year's stipend and serve a year in the Servants' Courtyard.
• Qu Zan and Doje heard that Dzongben Caiwang and his party had died six days earlier, and Qu Zan worried that he would not receive the promised payment.
• Qu Zan met Jiduo, who told him to bathe before meeting the cleanliness-obsessed Jomo master at the Corpse Camel Temple.

Qu Zan met Dharma Master Duo'erna and secured work as her attendant in exchange for a chance to learn spellcraft and secret pharmacology. After leaving her residence and returning to his quarters, he found a hooded figure waiting at his door.

• Steward Jiduo brought Qu Zan to Dharma Master Duo'erna's private residence and asked her to teach him the four arts.
• Duo'erna questioned Qu Zan's knowledge and watched him perform Sang Offering incense fumigation, then pointed out several mistakes.
• Duo'erna initially refused to take Qu Zan as a disciple, but hired him as an attendant for four hours each day, offering ten taels of secret silver a month and warning him to keep her formulas secret.
• Jiduo praised Qu Zan's quick thinking and said serving Duo'erna, who came from west of the Vast Sea, would benefit him.
• Qu Zan returned to his monastic quarters and found a hooded figure standing at his door.

Tuya visited Qu Zan to thank him and ask about clues to the false Dzongben, then Qu Zan absorbed Fortune Essence from her antiques and improved his Patience talent. The next morning, he began working for Duo'erna, studied medicinal herbs, and started reading about spellcraft.

• Tuya brought Qu Zan fifty taels of gold and four antiques, and asked whether he had noticed anything about the false Dzongben, whose black stone skull ring bore the words “Hell's Beings.”
• Qu Zan admitted he had no clues, and Tuya left disappointed after explaining that the monastery was investigating the murder and the theft from its underground palace.
• Qu Zan absorbed Fortune Essence from three antiques and raised Patience to level 3, gaining the ability to heal injuries and purge possessing evil spirits by remaining patient and unmoving.
• Before dawn, Qu Zan arrived early at Duo'erna's residence and cleaned the rooms while waiting for her.
• Duo'erna instructed Qu Zan to process Red Moon Jing and left him books on medicinal herbs and spellcraft; after studying the herb book, Qu Zan gained Secret Medicine Identification and prepared the roots to dry.
• Qu Zan finished his courtyard chores, washed his hands, and sat down to examine Introduction to Spellcraft.

Duo'erna taught Qu Zan the principles of the four activity arts and demonstrated how a small spark could be amplified into a powerful spell. After Geshe Danba arrived to buy processed red moon stonecrop, he recognized Qu Zan as a Candidate Geshe and gave him a prayer-bead bracelet.

• Qu Zan explained his understanding of the four arts, and Duo'erna clarified that each art could be applied in unexpected ways.
• Duo'erna amplified a tiny spark into a pillar of fire and warned Qu Zan that wrathful spells could rebound on their caster.
• Geshe Danba visited Duo'erna to buy one jin of her processed red moon stonecrop, and Qu Zan weighed and packaged it.
• Duo'erna revealed that Qu Zan was her apprentice and a Candidate Geshe, prompting Danba to congratulate her and praise the boy.
• Danba gave Qu Zan a prayer-bead bracelet as a welcoming gift, and a notification appeared on Qu Zan's panel when he accepted it.

Qu Zan absorbed fortune essence and created Great Sun Tummo by combining Tummo Meditation with Sun Salutation, increasing his physique as he practiced. He continued his scripture studies and learned he would travel to Nagarjuna Victory Temple in Rika City in the first month.

• Qu Zan accepted fortune essence from Geshe Danba’s gift and returned to his quarters to absorb it.
• Qu Zan combined Tummo Meditation and Sun Salutation in contemplation and comprehended Great Sun Tummo.
• Qu Zan practiced Great Sun Tummo beneath the sun, and his physique increased from 6.7 to 6.9.
• Qu Zan attended his afternoon Debate class and studied the Five Great Treatises with Huo De Lama that evening.
• Huo De Lama told Qu Zan to read scriptures before his planned trip to Nagarjuna Victory Temple, and Qu Zan ended his study after gaining 1% progress in Extensive Learning.

After studying more Buddhist scriptures, Qu Zan’s possessed left hand tried to gouge out his eyes and strangle him, forcing him to use the last of his offerings to calm it. Duo'erna advised him to make a gold gauntlet as a temporary restraint, and Qu Zan went to Nyepa to seek another solution.

• Qu Zan asked Scripture Master Huode for more scriptures and spent the day reading the Sūtra on the Measure of Meaning and the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva's Conduct.
• During the night, Indra's Hand moved against Qu Zan, trying to gouge out his eyes before grabbing his neck and choking him.
• Qu Zan fed the ghost hand his remaining eyeballs, then pinned it to the floor with the Three-Pronged Vajra so he could make it through the night.
• Duo'erna offered to suppress the ghost hand only in an emergency and advised Qu Zan to make a thin, articulated gold gauntlet as a medium-term restraint.
• Qu Zan worked with his right hand at Duo'erna's quarters, then went to Nyepa after class to ask for help.

Qu Zan consulted Nyepa about controlling the Vengeful Ghost in his hand, and learned he needed another Vengeful Ghost tied to visual consciousness to balance it. Nyepa gave him records of supernatural incidents near Corpse Camel Temple, leaving Qu Zan with leads to pursue outside the temple.

• Nyepa examined Qu Zan's ghostly hand and warned that it would keep consuming him until it eventually took control.
• Nyepa explained that Qu Zan needed a complementary Vengeful Ghost power connected to visual consciousness to achieve equilibrium, but the temple had no suitable item.
• Nyepa warned Qu Zan to find another Vengeful Ghost quickly because the hand's resurgence and backlash would grow stronger over time.
• Nyepa brought Qu Zan parchment records of supernatural incidents around the three nearby dzongs and explained the incident-level classifications.
• Nyepa searched the records and selected an incident for Qu Zan to investigate.

Qu Zan chose to investigate the disappearance of the Indra Thangka and asked to borrow the Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads, hoping to suppress the ghost hand within him and gain experience. Nyepa secured approval for Qu Zan to try two ritual implements, and Qu Zan arrived at the Evil-Subduing Institute to find both waiting for him.

• Nyepa told Qu Zan that supernatural incidents had sharply increased and that rumors linked them to Mìdì nearing the end of the world.
• Qu Zan selected the level one disappearance of the Indra Thangka and requested the Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads.
• Nyepa agreed to seek approval and asked Jiamo at the Evil-Subduing Institute to provide ritual implements for Qu Zan.
• Jiamo recognized Qu Zan as the monk who had survived Mirror Granny's Ghost Domain and agreed to let him sign out ritual implements.
• Nyepa brought Qu Zan to the institute, where two attendants presented Golden Boxes containing the Eye-Oil Lamp and the Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads.

Qu Zan visited the Evil-Repelling Court, passed Elder Jiamo’s test, and chose the Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads as his ritual implement. He was assigned to investigate a moving Indra Thangka in Liduo Village and planned to leave after having a Golden Glove made.

• Nyepa brought Qu Zan to Elder Jiamo, who tested his composure with the Great Fearless Vajra.
• Qu Zan declined to join the Evil-Repelling Court and chose the Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads over the Eternal Lamp.
• Jiamo assigned Qu Zan to investigate the Indra Thangka that kept appearing in different households in Liduo Village.
• Qu Zan wrapped the prayer beads around his left hand, restoring his control of it, and learned that they could dispel illusions and weaken spirits.
• Qu Zan told Jiamo he would set out after having a Golden Glove made, and Jiamo approved of his caution.

Qu Zan commissioned a golden gauntlet, then traveled from Corpse Camel Temple to Liduo Village under a Dharma decree to inspect an Indra Thangka. He found the village's Indra statue covered in countless eyes and asked Abbot Tu Jia why it looked so strange.

• Qu Zan paid a goldsmith fifty taels of gold and ten taels of secret silver to make a flexible golden glove.
• After collecting the gauntlet, Qu Zan left Corpse Camel Temple with supplies, a map, and Huode's copy of the Madhyamaka Treatise.
• Qu Zan reached Liduo Village and told Abbot Tu Jia he had come to collect the Indra Thangka for inspection.
• Tu Jia explained that villagers regarded the newly appeared Thangka as auspicious and might resist giving it up.
• Qu Zan examined the temple's Indra statue and discovered it was covered in tiny eyes, then asked Tu Jia why.

Qu Zan investigated reports that an Indra Thangka was vanishing and reappearing in Liduo Village, but found no uncanny power in the painting and learned that it had been seized from Tsering. Tu Jia revealed that Tsering later died in a fire and the steward’s son disappeared, leaving Qu Zan suspicious that the village’s strange events concealed something more.

• Tu Jia explained that the Thangka was being rotated among households, and Qu Zan went with him to see it at Taba’s home.
• Qu Zan intervened when Tu Jia ordered the blind Cizhu whipped, then learned that Lord Cai Xiangdangzhi had gouged out Cizhu’s eyes to punish his father, Tsering, for trying to escape.
• Qu Zan touched the Thangka with his left hand and found no ghostly resonance or other unusual quality.
• Tu Jia privately told Qu Zan that Tsering had found the Thangka, but a steward and then Lord Cai Xiangdangzhi had seized it from him.
• Tu Jia admitted he had reported the Thangka as an uncanny incident based on rumors, and said Tsering later burned to death in a house fire and the steward’s son went missing.

Qu Zan stayed at the Cai Xiangdangzhi manor, where blind Cizhu claimed he could hear his supposedly dead father’s footsteps. The steward showed Qu Zan a mysterious letter from his missing son, and its message appeared in blood: “You all must die!”

• Qu Zan went to the Cai Xiangdangzhi manor and learned that its master was ill and that the steward’s son had gone missing.
• Cizhu told Qu Zan that his father, Tsering, was not dead and that he often heard his footsteps inside the manor.
• Qu Zan heard slow footsteps approach his room, but the steward arrived with hot water and said he had received a letter from his missing son.
• The steward showed Qu Zan a blank sheet of wolf-venom paper, and bloodstains and handprints appeared before the words “You all must die!” emerged.

Qu Zan investigated a Vengeful Ghost haunting the Manor and discovered that the ghost was Tsering, who had survived and gained power from a flesh-and-blood eye. Tsering revealed his revenge against Lord Qiangzuo, then fused with the steward as Qu Zan’s uncanny power suppressed the resulting monster.

• Qu Zan examined the bloodstained letter and deduced that a Vengeful Ghost was creating illusions that affected sight.
• Qu Zan overheard the steward lead servants to excavate the buried remains of a mother and child beneath the Small Tower.
• Tsering appeared in the courtyard covered in eyes and revealed that he had survived, changed Weise’s appearance, and caused the steward’s son to burn to death.
• Tsering accused Lord Qiangzuo of killing his wife and younger son and gouging out his elder son’s eyes, then asked Qu Zan to subdue him.
• Tsering seized the steward and fused with him as countless hands emerged to suppress his uncanny power.

Qu Zan subdued and bound Indra’s Eye, then used its power to give Tsering’s eyes to Cizhu before leaving Liduo Village. After learning how the eye’s abilities worked, Qu Zan reached Corpse Camel Temple and found secret mastiffs guarding its gates.

• Tsering asked Qu Zan to give his eyes to his son Cizhu, and Qu Zan bound Indra’s Eye with Indra’s Hand.
• Indra’s Eye grew across Qu Zan’s arm, but Indra’s Hand devoured the excess power until twelve eyes remained.
• Cizhu woke with his sight restored and learned that his father had given him his eyes before dying.
• Qu Zan told Cizhu what had happened, showed him his family’s remains, and departed from Liduo Village.
• Qu Zan experimented with Indra’s Eye, discovering that it could alter vision, create illusions, make him invisible, and leap between eyes within fifty paces.
• After several days of travel, Qu Zan arrived at Corpse Camel Temple and saw secret mastiffs outside its gates.

Qu Zan was detained at Corpse Camel Temple when the Secret Mastiff sensed an uncanny aura, and inspection revealed the eyes on his arm. Nyepa verified Qu Zan and brought him into the temple, while Guocuo was allowed in only after Nyapa confiscated his prohibited mixture.

• Qu Zan presented his registered documents at the temple gate, where a Secret Mastiff and monk soldiers noticed the eyes growing on his left arm.
• The monk soldiers held Qu Zan for verification and placed him in the gatehouse, where he met the noble monk Guocuo and his servant Sangduo.
• Sangduo complained about the delay and invoked Guocuo's Red Gate lineage, but Guocuo rebuked him and told him to follow temple rules.
• Nyepa arrived, identified Guocuo's Zhongdu as a prohibited Curse-Object Mixture, and confiscated it.
• Nyepa examined Qu Zan's eye-covered arm, accepted his Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads, and took him into the temple to report what he had encountered.
• Guocuo recognized Qu Zan as a promising Sutra Academy monk and explained to Sangduo why Nyepa's personal attention mattered.

Qu Zan reported the Liduo Village incident, and Nyepa negotiated with Jiamo for him to learn the first level of the Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method. Jiamo agreed that Qu Zan could borrow the Yidam Statue after earning merit and submitting four offerings, leaving Qu Zan puzzled about what the statue was.

• Nyepa explained the Three Secrets Empowerment and proposed the Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method as a suitable Mind Secret method for Qu Zan.
• Qu Zan submitted his report and returned the Hundred-Eyed Prayer Beads and Golden Box to Jiamo at the Evil-Subduing Institute.
• Nyepa argued that the Liduo Village incident deserved greater merit because it had escalated into a Level-Two Haunting Event.
• Jiamo refused to grant the method outright and offered Qu Zan an alternative, but Qu Zan declined to join the Evil-Subduing Institute.
• Nyepa negotiated for Qu Zan to submit lotus, Juyuan Fruit, Auspicious Fruit, and Peacock Tail; Jiamo agreed these offerings and Qu Zan's merit would let him borrow the Yidam Statue.
• Qu Zan wondered whether the esoteric method's cultivation was not recorded in the scriptures.

Qu Zan gathered ritual materials and visited Master Duo'erna, where she taught him the four forms of the mandala and how they supported esoteric cultivation. He recognized that the temple’s prayer-flag script formed part of a dharma mandala used against ghosts and spirits.

• Nyepa explained that Qu Zan would need the Four Ritual Objects for esoteric practice, and Qu Zan planned where to obtain them.
• Qu Zan returned to the Monks' Quarters and learned from Rinchen that the Dzong Temple was selling Secret Mastiffs to help guard against spirits.
• Qu Zan visited Duo'erna and processed medicinal ingredients, improving his Secret Medicine Identification skill.
• Duo'erna gave Qu Zan the book Essentials of the Mandala and applied ointment to his hands before teaching him.
• Qu Zan learned about the Great, Samaya, Dharma, and Karma Mandalas and connected the temple’s prayer flags to the Dharma Mandala.

Qu Zan studied mandalas and spells with Duo'erna while planning his cultivation, scripture studies, and search for the Peacock Wisdom King's held objects. He accepted Geshe Guocuo's invitation to lunch, unaware that Guocuo had sought him out after learning about his promising background.

• Duo'erna taught Qu Zan about mandalas and charged him for the pigments and lotuses he requested.
• Qu Zan studied with Huode and reviewed his goals, including finding three sacred objects, cultivating, mastering the Five Great Treatises, and preparing for the Water and Land Universal Salvation Assembly.
• Qu Zan continued his lessons with Duo'erna the next morning and practiced Great Sun Tummo on his way to the dining hall.
• Guocuo invited Qu Zan to lunch, and Qu Zan accepted and followed him to his spacious courtyard residence.
• Guocuo introduced his servant Sangduo and shared a lavish meal with Qu Zan, whom he hoped to befriend after learning of his accomplishments and studies under Duo'erna.

Qu Zan befriended Guocuo, who gave him peacock tail feathers and offered to search for the fruits he needed. After Qu Zan left, Doji Cizhu returned to his gruesome workshop and worked on a bodhisattva assembled from human remains, believing it would come to life once its eyes were finished.

• Qu Zan told Guocuo that he had mastered uncanny power, and Guocuo explained why he had left his lineage to join the Corpse Camel Temple.
• Qu Zan asked Guocuo about peacock tail feathers, Auspicious Fruit, and Juyuan Fruit; Guocuo gave him the feathers and offered to look for the fruits.
• Doji Cizhu arrived demanding the 'Zhongdu' Guocuo had been collecting, and Guocuo said Nepa Lama had confiscated it.
• Qu Zan returned to his quarters with the feathers and continued attending classes after Doji Cizhu left.
• Doji Cizhu entered his eerie workshop and stitched the Flesh-and-Blood Bodhisattva, saying only its eyes were missing before it could come to life.