Chapter Summaries

Qu Zan stopped the Reba troupe from harming Zhulin, restrained two performers possessed by vengeful ghosts, and threatened the troupe leader into silence. The Caravan resumed its journey to Corpse Camel Temple, where Zhulin thanked Qu Zan for protecting her.

• Qu Zan used Indra's Eye to identify the dancing performers as members of the Reba troupe and restrained them with ghost hands as their ritual turned them into vengeful ghosts.
• The troupe leader appeared, but Qu Zan's ghost hands could not grow from his body because he had some kind of protective mantra.
• Qu Zan demanded to know why the troupe had targeted Zhulin, and the leader said they had followed orders from an important person.
• Qu Zan threatened to kill the entire troupe if they revealed the group’s whereabouts, and the troupe leader agreed to stay silent in exchange for his grandson and granddaughter's safety.
• The next day, the Caravan continued toward Corpse Camel Temple, and Zhulin thanked Qu Zan before lamenting that her strength had not recovered and she remained gravely wounded.

Qu Zan’s Caravan encountered a servant whose mistress had returned from the dead and was behaving ominously, so Qu Zan agreed to investigate at her manor. When they arrived, the old servant Puwang said the master had already found a Qingke Rice Witch, though the evil had not been driven out.

• Qu Zan continued cultivating the Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method as the Caravan struggled through deep snow.
• A servant named Zhaxi fell down the snowy slope and told the Caravan that his mistress had died and then returned, followed by disturbing signs of a corpse-like presence.
• Zhaxi asked Qu Zan to help, and Qu Zan agreed to visit the manor rather than camp in the mountains.
• Zhaxi led Qu Zan and the Caravan to the manor, where Puwang said the master had found a Qingke Rice Witch, though the mistress’s affliction remained.

Qu Zan entered the Manor at Zhaxi’s urging and watched the Qingke Rice Witch perform a ritual to draw the evil presence out of the possessed old mistress. The ritual appeared to work, but the chapter ended before the family knew whether her recovery would last.

• Luosang arranged for the caravan to camp outside the Manor, and Zhaxi later persuaded his master to let Qu Zan enter.
• Zhaxi brought Qu Zan into the Manor, where its master dismissed him as too young and focused on the Qingke Rice Witch, Mimola.
• Mimola scattered highland barley and shaped a barley-dough figure, drawing a gray-black mist from the old mistress onto it.
• Mimola circled the old mistress with dry barley, which blackened as it touched her, then had Zhaxi sweep the tainted grains into a bowl.
• Mimola set the barley ablaze, and a wailing face appeared in the smoke as the old mistress’s complexion began to recover.

Qu Zan stopped Suolang’s possessed wife from attacking the courtyard by using the Lion’s Roar to disperse the baleful aura controlling her corpse. Suolang agreed to give Qu Zan his antique collection in exchange for the rescue, and Qu Zan reminded him to fulfill that promise.

• Granny Mi’s highland barley ritual failed, and Suolang’s possessed wife broke free and attacked the Manor overseers.
• As the courtyard descended into panic and the locked gates trapped everyone, Qu Zan offered to save Suolang in exchange for his antiques.
• Qu Zan used the Lion’s Roar to disperse the baleful aura, leaving the already-dead woman unable to move.
• Granny Mi and the others marveled at Qu Zan’s power, while Qu Zan explained that Suolang’s wife’s corpse should be cremated.
• Suolang ordered his servants to carry out and cremate his wife, and Qu Zan asked him to honor his promise.

Qu Zan collected Fortune Essence from Suolang’s antiques and spent it to raise Secret Conduct to level three, allowing his consciousness to enter the Form Realm. There, he found ruined luminous buildings and signs of a catastrophe far worse than the Celestials’ Five Signs of Decay.

• Suolang brought out his antiques, and Qu Zan selected fourteen objects to move to his fortified house.
• Qu Zan absorbed Fortune Essence from seven antiques, gaining 5.2 available points.
• Qu Zan spent 4.8 points to raise Secret Conduct to lv3 and unlock access to the Form Realm.
• Qu Zan meditated into the First Dhyana Heaven and saw his own form as sparse particles of light, with Indra’s Hand appearing translucent and covered in eyes.
• Qu Zan discovered shattered luminous pavilions, golden stardust clinging to his left hand, and a monstrous, decaying Celestial Person.
• Qu Zan recognized signs resembling the Five Signs of Decay of the Celestials, but realized the destruction was even more terrifying.

Qu Zan returned to Corpse Camel Temple after gaining fortune essence in the Form Realm, advancing his Peacock Wisdom King Esoteric Method, and completing the journey with Luosang’s caravan. He delivered the Golden Cylinder to Bei Ruogema, who revealed that he had thought Qu Zan’s entire force had been wiped out.

• Qu Zan escaped the Form Realm after sensing an enormous bird, gained 0.5 fortune essence, and used his points to advance his cultivation and strengthen his body.
• Suolang gave Qu Zan a carriage loaded with fourteen antiques, and Qu Zan later parted from Luosang at the foot of Red Sun Mountain.
• Qu Zan and Zhulin approached Corpse Camel Temple and concluded that Hell’s Beings had stopped ambushing pilgrims because the Buddha’s Sarira had already been seized.
• Qu Zan safely returned to Corpse Camel Temple and handed the Golden Cylinder to Bei Ruogema, who said he had thought their entire force had been wiped out.

Qu Zan returned to Corpse Camel Temple and learned that the ambush at Bado Manor had killed nearly everyone, including Namkha and two elders. Bei Ruogema accepted Qu Zan’s explanation for surviving and secured his promotion to Whole-Monastery Geshe, then asked him to recount his journey along the Northern Route.

• Bei Ruogema told Qu Zan that Elder Tudeng Gero, Elder Awang Gesang, Namkha, and Jiumo had died, and that the enemy had taken their Golden Cylinders.
• Qu Zan explained that he had traveled the Northern Route while the other monks drew the enemy toward the Southern Route, and Bei Ruogema praised his resourcefulness and offered him support.
• Qu Zan said Elder Tudeng Gero had promised to recommend him for Whole-Monastery Geshe, but several monks questioned whether the promise could be honored without a Written Contract.
• Bei Ruogema argued that Qu Zan deserved recognition for his service and ruled that he should be promoted to Whole-Monastery Geshe.
• Bei Ruogema asked Qu Zan to describe what had happened to him on the Northern Route.

After returning to Corpse Camel Temple, Qu Zan learned that Zhulin would give the monastery the Buddha's Sarira and began investigating why this world's scriptures concealed the Buddha's true name and background. He suspected the Buddha might not be Gautama Siddhartha and wondered whether Ananda had altered the scriptures.

• Qu Zan reported his journey to Bei Ruogema, who found animal bone instead of the Buddha's Sarira in the Golden Cylinder and confirmed Qu Zan would receive the Geshe position.
• Bei Ruogema told Qu Zan that Zhulin would give her Buddha's Sarira to Corpse Camel Temple, and explained the protections a stupa enshrining sarira was believed to provide.
• Qu Zan questioned why Bei Ruogema knew no name for the Buddha beyond Shakyamuni, and realized the scriptures in this world omitted the Buddha's original name and background.
• Qu Zan searched the Pali Vinaya and found that it also excluded the Buddha's background, as though someone had removed it.
• Qu Zan considered whether Ananda, the Buddha's close attendant and foremost in extensive learning, might have changed the scriptures.

Qu Zan visited Jomo Duo'erna before taking part in the ceremony that made him a monastery-wide Geshe named Gyatso. Giving alms to the gathered monks raised his Giving talent to level five and unlocked Giving Bestowal, and afterward he learned that the Sutra Academy had assigned him a separate courtyard residence.

• Qu Zan visited Jomo Duo'erna, helped prepare medicinal herbs, and gained progress in Secret Medicine Identification.
• Qu Zan completed the ceremony to become a monastery-wide Geshe, receiving his certificate and the Dharma name Gyatso.
• Tuya presented Qu Zan with gifts as his patron and mourned Namkha and her father.
• Qu Zan delivered his first public Dharma lecture and distributed food to more than a thousand monks.
• Qu Zan's Giving talent reached level five and transformed, unlocking the ability Giving Bestowal.
• The academy steward told Qu Zan that the Sutra Academy had arranged a separate courtyard compound for his new residence.

After becoming a Geshe, Qu Zan moved into a spacious courtyard residence and declined the attendants assigned to him, preferring privacy. He visited Guocuo to learn what paths were open to him, and Guocuo began outlining the opportunities available to a Geshe.

• Qu Zan packed his belongings and declined Rinchen’s offer to serve as his attendant.
• Qu Zan moved into his Geshe courtyard, inspected its rooms, and found that it had space for the antiques he had brought back.
• Qu Zan accepted the residence and Geshe clothing but sent away the assigned attendants, asking only for meals to be prepared.
• Qu Zan visited Guocuo and asked what he should do as a Geshe.
• Guocuo explained that Qu Zan could pursue advancement within the monastery or become a High Monk supported by a Manor, then began describing a third path.

After earning the fifth-rank Whole-Monastery Geshe degree, Qu Zan decided to pursue the fourth-rank Great Prayer Geshe examination and learned what further practical cultivation it required. His new standing granted him access to the Warrior Monk Academy’s mudra methods, and he planned to visit it the next day before finding a carriage waiting outside his courtyard.

• Qu Zan rejected secluded retreat and itinerant Dharma propagation, then told Guocuo he wanted to earn a higher-ranking Geshe degree.
• Guocuo explained that the fourth-rank Great Prayer Geshe examination took place at Tian Zhao Temple in Mìdì and drew more than three thousand candidates each year.
• Qu Zan asked Duo'erna about the examination, and she warned that its practical disciplines required years of experience but offered to teach him mantras and mandalas directly.
• Qu Zan told Nyepa that he had completed his first chakra and learned that his Whole-Monastery Geshe degree let him access the Warrior Monk Academy’s mudra methods.
• Qu Zan planned to visit the Warrior Monk Academy the next day, but found a carriage parked outside his courtyard.

After saying goodbye to Zhulin, Qu Zan visited the Warrior Monk Academy to study mudras and attended a Yogi lesson. As the class practiced, Sanghai was surprised to see how well Qu Zan had cultivated his chakras.

• Zhulin told Qu Zan she would return to her temple the next day and promised to send him a mind-entering object and the gold she still owed him.
• Qu Zan went to the Warrior Monk Academy and used his Geshe seal tablet to gain access to mudra cultivation methods.
• Basang invited Qu Zan to attend a Yogi class, where Sanghai explained how mudras worked and warned that practitioners needed perfected chakras.
• Qu Zan followed Sanghai's instructions to guide his breath through his channels, and Sanghai was surprised by his level of cultivation.

Sanghai taught Qu Zan and the Yogis how Mudras united body, intent, and the Three Mysteries, then demonstrated four basic fist Mudras. Qu Zan began to understand their principles and wondered how Indra’s Hand might change their power, while Danyun proved strongest in a practice match.

• Qu Zan answered Sanghai’s question by explaining that bodily gestures originated in the mind, and Sanghai confirmed that Mudras also expressed a practitioner’s intent.
• Sanghai taught the Lotus Fist, Vajra Fist, Outer-Bound Fist, and Inner-Bound Fist Mudras, and Qu Zan gained insight into their use with the body’s Chakras.
• Qu Zan considered trying the Mudras with the God-and-Demon Power of Indra’s Hand when he was alone.
• When Kaizhu questioned how to practice Mudras while moving, Danyun explained that walking meditation also counted as meditative concentration.
• Sanghai paired Danyun with Kaizhu for a demonstration, and Danyun quickly overpowered him with the Vajra Fist Mudra.
• Danyun explained that matching a Mudra’s fist intent with one’s disposition increased its power, and Sanghai agreed.

After Kaizhu defeated the Yogis in his class, he challenged Qu Zan, the Whole-Monastery Geshe, and was knocked unconscious by Qu Zan’s Lotus Fist Mudra. Danyun then challenged Qu Zan to a final match and charged at him, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Kaizhu recovered from his loss to Danyun by fighting the other Yogis and swept through the class until they stopped challenging him.
• Kaizhu invited Qu Zan to spar, and Qu Zan accepted after asking that they avoid serious injury.
• Qu Zan evaded Kaizhu’s attacks, struck him with a Lotus Fist Mudra, and knocked him unconscious.
• Danyun examined Kaizhu, then challenged Qu Zan to spar and removed his robe to prepare.
• Qu Zan agreed to fight Danyun, who charged toward him and split the carpet beneath his foot.

Qu Zan defeated Danyun in a spar using the basic fist mudras, then studied how to inscribe a Dharma Mandala through visualization and spirituality. He successfully formed an invisible mandala after confronting memories of his past.

• Danyun attacked Qu Zan with fierce mudras, but Qu Zan blocked his strikes with ease.
• Qu Zan struck Danyun with the Lotus Fist Mudra, sending him flying and winning the spar while showing mercy.
• Qu Zan left the Warrior Monk Academy with the Fourteen Mudra Manual of the Immovable One and went to Duo'erna for his studies.
• Duo'erna taught Qu Zan to visualize a Dharma Mandala through meditation and spirituality.
• Qu Zan suppressed memories of his past and inscribed an invisible mandala through visualization.

Qu Zan learned how his spiritual mandala could protect and aid his cultivation, then discussed the four maras and ritual artifacts with Duo'erna. After Duo'erna identified the deities associated with his Three-Pronged Vajra, Qu Zan reacted involuntarily to Indra's name.

• Qu Zan told Duo'erna that memories of the past had troubled him while he constructed his spiritual mandala, and she explained that cultivators commonly faced the four maras.
• Duo'erna described how a practitioner from the Chöd School had helped her sever an obstacle mara, while Qu Zan resolved to remember the school as another possible source of help.
• Duo'erna taught Qu Zan that ritual artifacts symbolized Buddhist teachings and could support cultivation, especially when imbued with a god's or adept's power.
• Qu Zan showed Duo'erna his Three-Pronged Vajra, and she identified it as a valuable gold artifact likely forged by a cultivator rather than a divine object.
• Duo'erna named Vajra Mother, Vajrapani Bodhisattva, and Indra as deities who wielded Three-Pronged Vajras, and Qu Zan's left hand twitched at Indra's name.

Qu Zan studied Buddhist ritual artifacts with Duo'erna, who showed him her treasured Jambudvipa Ritual Artifact Catalog. Their discussion led Duo'erna to recount how her grandmaster became trapped in deep meditation and never awakened, leaving Qu Zan concerned about the dangers of meditative absorption.

• Qu Zan kept the true name of his Ghost Hand secret, while he and Duo'erna discussed whether the Three-Pronged Vajra had belonged to a god or Buddha.
• Duo'erna showed Qu Zan the Jambudvipa Ritual Artifact Catalog and explained the khakkhara's original use and later forms.
• Qu Zan called Duo'erna "Master" and asked where her grandmaster had gained her knowledge.
• Duo'erna explained that her grandmaster acquired scriptural knowledge through meditation but became unable to awaken from deep absorption.
• Qu Zan learned that Duo'erna's master had also entered deep meditation while trying to save her own master, and he asked whether the grandmaster had fallen into a coma.

Duo'erna told Qu Zan that her master, He Yanjialuo, had changed after waking from the Form Realm and disappeared in Mìdì. Qu Zan secretly entered the Form Realm to gather Fortune Essence, then attended the morning Dharma Assembly, where the Sutra Academy Abbot summoned him.

• Duo'erna warned Qu Zan to avoid the Form Realm and explained that her master had awakened as someone different before disappearing in Mìdì.
• Duo'erna described He Yanjialuo as a beautiful former healer who controlled the powerful Vengeful Ghost [Thousand Hands Avalokiteshvara].
• Qu Zan returned to his residence, entered the Form Realm using [Secret Conduct], gathered Fortune Essence, and withdrew when he sensed a being approaching.
• Qu Zan spent his Fortune Essence to raise [Extensive Learning lv3] to lv4.
• Qu Zan attended the morning sutra-chanting Dharma Assembly, and an Attendant Monk told him that the Sutra Academy Abbot wanted to see him.

Qu Zan met with Qiong Re Ganbu, who discussed his future as a Geshe and instructed him to keep an attendant. Qu Zan chose the dim-witted novice Liuwa as his servant, pleased that Liuwa admitted he was stupid.

• Qiong Re Ganbu asked Qu Zan about his plans, and Qu Zan said he wanted to stay at the monastery and continue his studies.
• Qiong Re Ganbu explained Qu Zan’s duties as a Geshe and told him to keep an attendant so people could find him.
• Qu Zan went to the administrative office and asked to choose a young menial worker as his servant.
• Qu Zan selected the scrawny novice Liuwa from among the children, despite their surprise.
• Liuwa said he was afraid he would not understand the job because he was stupid, and Qu Zan decided he was well suited to be his servant.

Qu Zan hired Liuwa as a simple-minded servant to watch his courtyard, then practiced the Fourteen Mudras of the Immovable One and ignited his heart chakra. He eventually combined a mudra, mantra, and visualization to unleash a Lion's Roar that startled Liuwa below.

• Qu Zan chose Liuwa as his servant after learning he was willing to work for food, and the steward took him to wash and change.
• Qu Zan settled Liuwa in the courtyard storeroom and instructed him to answer the door, serve guests, and stay out of the main house.
• Qu Zan studied the Fourteen Mudra Manual of the Immovable One, practiced its mudras, and ignited his heart chakra.
• Qu Zan tried combining the Lion's Vigor Mudra, the Lion's Roar Heart Mantra, and mental visualization, failing several times before succeeding.
• Qu Zan's Lion's Roar shook the windows and sent a fierce wind through the room, frightening Liuwa as he swept outside.