Chapter Summaries

Qu Zan received the Ghost Rope as a reward for helping suppress a Vengeful Ghost, while he and his companions continued attending the Water and Land Dharma Assembly. Back in his room, he began testing the uncanny object, which coiled around his hand and tightened with immense force.

• Qu Zan chose the Ghost Rope, and Queji agreed to submit an application for it.
• Namkha and Jiumo considered moving after hearing about the deaths, but Qu Zan persuaded them to stay in the courtyard with him.
• Qu Zan and his companions attended the Dharma Assembly, where Qu Zan recognized Zhulin, a young Jomo revealed to be a Hubilkhan.
• Queji gave Qu Zan the Ghost Rope, concealed inside a gold-thread-lined Cowhide Pouch, as a reward for suppressing a Vengeful Ghost.
• Qu Zan returned to his room and opened the pouch to test the Ghost Rope, which wrapped around his left hand and began constricting it.

Qu Zan returned from the Water and Land Universal Salvation Dharma Assembly with Bodhi the Fine Horse and the Ghost Rope, then discovered someone searching the temple’s guarded carriages at night. The intruder revealed that he knew Qu Zan’s past as an escaped serf, and Qu Zan suspected he was the Formless Tathagata.

• Qu Zan suppressed the Ghost Rope with Indra's Hand and learned to control its uncanny movements.
• Qu Zan returned toward Corpse Camel Temple with the elders, carrying the Enlightened One's Gau Box and riding Bodhi the Fine Horse.
• Namkha noticed that the Dharma Protector Elders were riding horses instead of their carriages, while Qu Zan wondered whether the carriages concealed something important.
• Qu Zan and Namkha drew night-watch duty at Bado Manor and were ordered to keep everyone away from the carriages.
• Qu Zan woke to someone searching the tents and saw Bado Weilei enter, recognize him as an escaped serf, and address him by name.
• Qu Zan used Indra's Eye, found nothing uncanny about Bado Weilei, and concluded that the visitor was the Formless Tathagata.

Qu Zan and the three elders confronted Wuxiang, who had taken over Bado Manor while seeking the Buddha’s Sarira. As the elders and two hell lords unleashed their powers, overwhelming darkness engulfed the manor and trapped the monks.

• Qu Zan escaped Bado Weilei’s tent and found the manor’s faceless residents controlled by a Vengeful Ghost.
• Elder Bei Ruogema awakened the sleeping monks with a piercing shriek, and Wuxiang appeared before Qu Zan and the elders.
• Wuxiang identified himself as the Lord of the Mirror of Sin Hell and demanded the Buddha’s Sarira, revealing that the carriage was a decoy.
• The Lord of Red Lotus Hell appeared, and the five binders unleashed their uncanny powers against the two hell lords.
• Darkness overwhelmed the manor, and Qu Zan used Indra’s Eye to see only a short distance as the monks cried out in fear.

Qu Zan and the monks tried to survive inside Bado Manor’s Ghost Domain as the elders’ battle unleashed deadly eerie powers around them. The chapter left Qu Zan shocked when the grievously wounded Tudeng Gero crashed to the ground in emerald flames.

• Qu Zan watched faceless corpses steal monks’ features and learned from Namkha and Jiumo that they were trapped in the Ghost Domain.
• Qu Zan used the Ghost Rope to link Namkha and Jiumo to himself so they could navigate the darkness and sense danger.
• Qu Zan restrained approaching faceless corpses with Ghost Hands while eerie winds, ghost flames, and bursts of crimson fire ravaged the Manor.
• Qu Zan struggled to keep warm and calm as the battle overhead shook the ground and filled the sky with emerald flames.
• Tudeng Gero fell from the sky in emerald fire, gravely wounded, and Qu Zan feared the elders could not defeat Hell’s Beings.

Qu Zan and the monks escaped the sealed Manor with golden containers after Tudeng Gero opened a passage, while the elders held off Hell's Beings. The monks raced west toward Corpse Camel Temple, and Qu Zan stayed alert as they fled with uncertain rewards and danger ahead.

• Qu Zan found Tudeng Gero badly burned, with the Flaming-Mouth Ghost Mother beginning to revive, and learned that Hell's Beings had trapped them inside the Manor.
• Tudeng Gero pulled five golden containers from his abdomen and ordered the monks to carry them west to Corpse Camel Temple, promising rewards and promotions.
• Qu Zan took the Golden Incense Burner and accepted Tudeng Gero's offer, while privately planning to surrender it if Hell's Beings caught him.
• Tudeng Gero burned a hole through the sealed domain with ghostfire, and the monks rode out as the elders distracted Formless and the other attackers.
• The monks split into groups and fled west through the night while Qu Zan kept alert.

After escaping the ambush, Qu Zan avoided the direct route to Corpse Camel Temple and sought a safer way home. He disguised himself and joined Luosang’s caravan, which was heading toward Red Sun Mountain near the temple.

• Qu Zan left the fleeing group, returned to Rika City, and rested while considering whether the Golden Cylinder held the Buddha's Sarira.
• Qu Zan decided survival came first and changed inns, clothes, and appearance to conceal that he was a monk.
• Unable to use the compromised route or travel alone without a map, Qu Zan decided to join a merchant caravan.
• Qu Zan approached Luosang’s caravan under the invented name Qucuo and claimed he was carrying salt to sell to mountain folk.
• Luosang explained the caravan’s ten-tael Secret Silver fee and deposit, and Qu Zan paid it.

Qu Zan practiced the Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method while traveling with a caravan through the Xionglian Mountains, then discovered ancient objects containing Fortune Essence at Duoyan Stockade. There he encountered Zhulin, who recognized him in disguise and demanded to inspect his Gau Box, leaving Qu Zan to protect his secret while granting her request.

• Qu Zan meditated on horseback during the caravan's journey and increased his consciousness and Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method progress.
• At Duoyan Stockade, Qu Zan found a damaged bronze cup containing Fortune Essence and traded five jin of salt for it.
• Qu Zan learned from a hunter that antiques washed out of the mountains and heard Zhulin identify them as relics from royal tombs of the Xiangxiong Ancient Kingdom.
• Zhulin recognized Qu Zan despite his disguise, and he quietly asked her not to expose him.
• Zhulin asked to inspect Qu Zan's Gau Box, and he agreed on the condition that she only look and not touch.

Qu Zan learned about reincarnation and the history of the Xiangxiong Kingdom from Zhulin, then used fortune essence from a bronze cup to raise his Body stat to ten. The breakthrough produced bindu that helped him perfect his Navel Chakra.

• Qu Zan showed Zhulin the Gau Box pendant, and she recalled that she had seen it in a past life but could not identify the blood inside.
• Zhulin explained reincarnation, her fragmented memories and abilities, and the history and customs of the Xiangxiong Kingdom.
• Qu Zan returned to camp and absorbed the fortune essence from the bronze cup, gaining 1.1 available points.
• Qu Zan raised his Body stat to ten, causing bindu to form in his body and bring intense pain.
• Qu Zan used the influx of bindu to compress his Great Sun Tummo until his Navel Chakra reached perfection.

After completing his first Chakra, Qu Zan left with the Caravan, relieved that the night passed without incident and intent on returning to Corpse Camel Temple with the Golden Cylinder. Meanwhile, a terrifying Vengeful Ghost attacked the Yueqing Monastery camp and seized Zhulin.

• Qu Zan completed his Navel Chakra, strengthened his body and will, and raised his Consciousness to 7.6.
• Qu Zan worried that Hell's Beings might attack Yueqing Monastery, then traveled with the Caravan and parted ways with the nuns at a junction.
• Zhulin awoke in the night to a chill and the smell of blood and corpses, then found an enormous iron tree impaling the Jomo and their bound Vengeful Ghosts.
• A black Vengeful Ghost climbed down from the tree and approached Zhulin as the impaled Jomo screamed for her to run.
• The Vengeful Ghost grabbed Zhulin by the neck and began strangling her.

Qu Zan confronted the Moon-Ear Tribe after its leader demanded tribute, Bodhi, and half an ear from every traveler. He defeated the tribesmen and their Spirit Shaman, but the leader summoned something from the mountain shadows, leaving the caravan facing a new threat.

• Qu Zan and the caravan met the Moon-Ear Tribe, whose one-eyed leader demanded a tenth of their goods and Bodhi.
• When Qu Zan refused to give up his horse, the leader demanded half an ear from everyone and ordered the tribesmen to attack.
• The Spirit Shaman's Execution Method incapacitated three guards, but Qu Zan's protection reflected the spell and injured the shaman.
• Qu Zan used Ghost Hands, broke the leader's arm, and bound the attacking tribesmen with his Ghost Rope.
• The wounded leader blew a Kangdong Bone Flute, stirring something in the distant mountain shadows and frightening the caravan.

Qu Zan destroyed the Cold Corpse Zan Demon and killed the Moon-Ear Tribe man who had summoned it, then led Luosang's Caravan to the tribe's stockade. After the Caravan guards slaughtered the tribe, Qu Zan found a hidden golden chest full of treasures.

• The Cold Corpse Zan Demon rose from the mountain mist, but Qu Zan used Indra's Hand to break its corpse shell and seize the Kapala Cold Bone Altar.
• Qu Zan followed the one-eyed burly man to the Moon-Ear Tribe's stockade and strangled him with ghostly hands outside its entrance.
• Qu Zan led Luosang and the Caravan guards into the stockade, where he burned the Spirit Shaman's book of sacrificial killing arts.
• The Caravan guards attacked the Moon-Ear Tribe, and no one in the stockade survived.
• Qu Zan found a concealed pure-gold box inside the wooden house's wall and saw that it held many treasures.

Qu Zan discovered the Human Tendon Bow, a weapon that used its wielder’s mental consciousness as an arrow, and strengthened his consciousness with Fortune Essence. After the Caravan reached a fortified mountain town, he continued cultivating the Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method.

• Qu Zan opened the Spirit Shaman’s strongbox, found treasure and the Human Tendon Bow, and learned that drawing it used his mental consciousness as an arrow.
• Qu Zan found two more ancient objects containing Fortune Essence and raised his Consciousness from 7.6 to 9.2.
• Luosang returned Secret Silver to Qu Zan, and the Caravan continued through the mountains under Luosang’s leadership.
• The Caravan reached a fortified town, where Qu Zan rested in an inn and bathed in a hot spring.
• Qu Zan considered the dangers ahead and strengthened his mental consciousness by visualizing the Peacock Wisdom King.

Qu Zan transformed his greed, anger, and delusion through acceptance, raised his consciousness above 10, and comprehended his fourth talent, Secret Conduct. Zhulin then revealed that Hell’s Beings had attacked Yueqing Monastery and that she had killed Iron Tree Hell’s lord and recovered the Buddha’s Sarira.

• Qu Zan’s desire to raise his consciousness engulfed him in the three poisons, reviving his fears and anger over his former life as a slave.
• Qu Zan accepted the possibility of suffering and failure, extinguishing the three poisons and gaining one point of consciousness.
• Qu Zan’s consciousness reached 10.4, and he comprehended the Secret Conduct talent, which could eventually let him enter and leave the Form Realm freely.
• Zhulin arrived at Qu Zan’s room and asked whether he was hiding after encountering people from Hell’s Beings.
• Zhulin told Qu Zan that Iron Tree Hell’s lord had seized Yueqing Monastery’s Buddha’s Sarira, but she killed him and recovered it.

Zhulin asked Qu Zan to help imprison the Vengeful Ghost pursuing her, offering information about reincarnation and the danger awaiting him near Corpse Camel Temple. Qu Zan agreed, delayed the caravan’s departure, and joined Zhulin in a plan to lure the ghost outside town.

• Zhulin explained that she had escaped Iron Tree Hell by killing the binder of [Iron Tree Corpse-Piercing Vidyaraja], but the Vengeful Ghost had marked her and was pursuing her.
• Qu Zan used his Ghost Hand to suppress the iron spreading through Zhulin’s wounds, and she asked him to help imprison the Vengeful Ghost.
• Zhulin warned Qu Zan that [Hell's Beings] had arranged for his death if he approached Corpse Camel Temple, and offered to help him arrange a reincarnation in return for his aid.
• Qu Zan agreed to help Zhulin and asked Luosang to keep the caravan in town for another day.
• That night, Qu Zan hid behind a rock while Zhulin sat beside the Golden Box outside town, preparing to act as bait for the Vengeful Ghost.

Qu Zan and Zhulin faced the Iron Tree Corpse-Piercing Vidyaraja, whose supernatural power resisted Qu Zan’s Indra’s Hand and began tearing Zhulin apart. Qu Zan pierced one of Indra’s Eyes with the Three-Pronged Vajra to restore balance, then pressed Indra’s Hand against the Vidyaraja and covered it in ghost hands.

• The Iron Tree Corpse-Piercing Vidyaraja approached Qu Zan and Zhulin, while the lingering cries in its fused flesh revealed memories of its victims.
• Qu Zan’s ghost hands failed to suppress the Vidyaraja and were sliced apart and absorbed, intensifying Ghost Hand’s awakening and causing it to spread over Indra’s Eyes.
• Qu Zan stabbed one of Indra’s Eyes with the Three-Pronged Vajra, triggering a surge of eyes on his right arm that halted Ghost Hand’s advance.
• The Vidyaraja’s iron branches tore into Zhulin as she retreated toward the gold chest and struggled to prolong her survival.
• Qu Zan rushed to the Vidyaraja and pressed Indra’s Hand against it, covering its body with ghost hands and suppressing it.

Qu Zan suppressed the Iron Tree Corpse-Piercing Vidyaraja with Indra's Hand, Indra's Eye, and the Ghost Rope, then sealed it inside the Golden Box. After burying the box outside town, he returned to Zhulin, who said she was ready to fulfill her promise.

• Qu Zan combined Indra's Hand and Indra's Eye to slow the Iron Tree Corpse-Piercing Vidyaraja, then used the Ghost Rope to suppress it completely.
• Qu Zan shut the Vidyaraja inside the Golden Box, and its iron curses vanished from Zhulin's body.
• Qu Zan took the injured Zhulin and the Golden Box to town, where a blacksmith sealed the box's gaps with molten gold.
• Zhulin promised to repay Qu Zan a thousand jin of gold and instructed him to bury the box outside town alone.
• Qu Zan buried the Golden Box beneath a leaning tree in a pine grove, then returned to the inn, where Zhulin said she would fulfill her promise.

Zhulin explained reincarnation, terma, and vow power to Qu Zan, describing the dangers of carrying consciousness into a new life and the cultivation needed to resist karma. She revealed that her cultivation had declined with each reincarnation and that her foundation in this life was ruined, while Qu Zan concluded that reincarnation required careful consideration.

• Zhulin explained the three stages of reincarnation and the risks of losing memories or being drawn into a random incarnation.
• Zhulin described consciousness terma and earth terma, and explained that the Heavenly-Gifted Bard could recover a reincarnated person's knowledge and cultivation through ceremonies.
• Zhulin told Qu Zan that resisting karma required vow power gained through cultivation to at least the Ten Abodes and attainment of the Bodhi Heart.
• Zhulin revealed that she had reached the thirtieth stage in her first life, but her cultivation declined in later lives and her foundation was ruined in this one.
• Qu Zan reflected that reincarnation could lead to a worse life each time and decided he needed to consider it carefully.

Zhulin explained that [Hell's Beings] had encircled Corpse Camel Temple with a hidden barrier to seize the [Buddha's Sarira], and revealed that the organization had spies and powerful members within Mìdì's monasteries. Qu Zan and Zhulin continued toward their destination, with Zhulin badly injured and dependent on medicine to recover.

• Zhulin told Qu Zan that [Hell's Beings] had built a hidden barrier around Corpse Camel Temple that transported unauthorized people into a Ghost Domain.
• Zhulin explained that [Hell's Beings] had exploited the Mani Piles, marked some pilgrims with dharma seals, and likely plotted to obtain the [Buddha's Sarira] through spies in the Ancestral Temple.
• Zhulin identified the Sixteen Lesser Hells and the Eight Great Hells as ranks within [Hell's Beings], while admitting she did not yet know the organization's ultimate aim.
• Zhulin suggested that Qu Zan might attack [Hell's Beings] members with his bound Vengeful Ghost, but Qu Zan declined to get involved.
• At daybreak, Qu Zan arranged a carriage and continued traveling with the severely injured Zhulin, who took a pill that quickly improved her condition.

Qu Zan cared for the gravely wounded Zhulin and discussed his cultivation troubles with her. Zhulin identified his obstruction as the Obstacle Mara and promised him a wondrous object from her hidden terma that could help him confront it.

• Zhulin explained that lifespan pills extended life by a year, but her shattered body needed treatment at Corpse Camel Temple’s Secret Medical Institute.
• Qu Zan kept Zhulin company by asking her about scripture and confessed that staying at Bado Manor had stirred painful memories and obstructed his cultivation.
• Zhulin recognized Qu Zan’s struggle as the Obstacle Mara, one of the Four Maras, and said overcoming it could lead him beyond the tenth stage.
• Zhulin told Qu Zan that an object stored in her hidden terma could help him enter the depths of his mind, but she could retrieve it only after the current matter was settled.
• Zhulin offered the wondrous object as compensation for Qu Zan dealing with the Vengeful Ghost, and Qu Zan welcomed the prospect of overcoming his obstruction.

Qu Zan’s Caravan took shelter from an approaching blizzard in Gukou Town, where a Reba Troupe performed a haunting dance. That night, Qu Zan overheard two troupe members planning to kill the gravely injured Zhulin and decided he could not let them harm her.

• Luosang warned Qu Zan that a mountain blizzard was approaching, so he led the Caravan to shelter in Gukou Town.
• Qu Zan recognized a Reba Troupe he had encountered on the road as its performers began a bell-and-drum dance for the gathered travelers.
• Qu Zan pitched his tent beside Zhulin’s ox cart while she remained inside, seriously injured.
• That night, Qu Zan overheard two aged voices from the Reba Troupe plotting to kill Zhulin and claim a reward from Lady Red Lotus.
• Qu Zan decided to stop the two from killing Zhulin, whose help he still needed.