Recaps

Lu Ding and Yan Feifan traveled to Baofan District to take over as Bureau 749's new district administrators. Bei Heguang and Ming Jun plotted to delay their departure and open a mysterious tomb door, unaware that Lu Ding was one of the incoming investigators.

• Lu Ding teased Yan Feifan about wanting a management position, then let him finish eating before they set off for Baofan District.
• Bei Heguang and Ming Jun packed to leave, but Ming Jun refused to abandon the stone door and the treasures he believed were behind it.
• Bei Heguang learned that two intern investigators had been reassigned to Baofan District, and the pair speculated about who they might be.
• Ming Jun planned to intimidate unfamiliar arrivals into leaving, but to cooperate and share with anyone they recognized.
• Lu Ding and Yan Feifan arrived, and Gao Zhengliang and the Baofan District leadership came out to welcome them.

Bureau 749 trainee investigators Lu Ding and Yan Feifan arrived at the Baofan District Public Security Administration, where Lu Ding intimidated Ming Jun into backing down. After Ming Jun and Bei Heguang fled, they contacted Yan Feifan with an offer to work with Lu Ding on finding treasure, leaving Lu Ding eager to hear more.

• Lu Ding introduced himself and Yan Feifan to Director Gao Zhengliang, who was disappointed to learn they were trainee investigators.
• Ming Jun and Bei Heguang challenged the newcomers, but Lu Ding’s oppressive presence forced Ming Jun to his knees and sent both men fleeing.
• Ming Jun recognized Lu Ding as the Corpse-Dissecting Taisui and complained to Bei Heguang that Lu Ding had frightened him badly.
• Lu Ding declined Director Gao’s welcome banquet and settled into the office while Yan Feifan cleaned up.
• Ming Jun and Bei Heguang added Yan Feifan as a friend and asked him to tell Lu Ding they knew where treasure was and wanted to plan together.
• Lu Ding told Yan Feifan to ask what treasure they had found.

Lu Ding and Yan Feifan planned to search a tomb in Baofan District before deciding whether to cooperate with the people who had mentioned treasure. Lu Ding turned down invitations from local qi refiner factions, and Gao Zhengliang forwarded him an insulting message from the Five Viscera Life Society.

• Yan Feifan reasoned that the treasure was likely something found in a tomb but too difficult for others to retrieve, and suggested Lu Ding search for it first.
• Lu Ding agreed with Yan Feifan’s plan and set out with him to investigate the tomb.
• Gao Zhengliang asked Lu Ding to attend dinner with local qi refiner factions, but Lu Ding declined because he had urgent business.
• Gao Zhengliang relayed Lu Ding’s refusal, and Cao Family Alley and the Four Seas Group responded politely by offering to meet another time.
• Tang Hu of the Five Viscera Life Society insulted Lu Ding in a message, then Tang Bao asked Gao Zhengliang to disregard it; Gao Zhengliang forwarded the insult to Lu Ding and Yan Feifan.

Lu Ding arrived at the ancient tomb site and forced his way past the guards with his State Security credentials and a handgun. Inside, Ye Xuan learned that Lu Ding was approaching just as the Four Seas Group prepared to blast open a sealed burial chamber.

• On the way to the tomb, Lu Ding memorized Tang Hu’s name and told Yan Feifan he would deal with the Five Viscera Life Society after the immediate matter was settled.
• At the cordon, Lu Ding showed his credentials, then drew and chambered a handgun when a guard refused to let him enter without a pass.
• The guard let Lu Ding through and warned Ye Xuan by message that a State Security officer with a gun had entered the site.
• Ye Xuan recalled how he had defeated the White-Haired Hou, claimed the tomb site, and failed to open a burial chamber despite repeated attempts.
• Ye Xuan learned that explosives and a construction crew were on their way, and worried that Lu Ding’s arrival would disrupt the planned blast.

Lu Ding confronted Ye Xuan, who had barred the road to the ancient tomb, and crushed his hand and arm during their fight. When Ye Xuan threatened to repay him, Lu Ding launched a lethal attack, but a short old man intervened and appeared in front of Ye Xuan.

• Lu Ding and Yan Feifan encountered Ye Xuan blocking the road to the ancient tomb and learned he claimed its development rights.
• Ye Xuan challenged Lu Ding to a fight, and Lu Ding dislocated his arm and pulverized the bones in his fingers.
• Ye Xuan complained that Lu Ding had been too vicious and threatened to repay him another day.
• Lu Ding released killing intent and charged at Ye Xuan to kill him.
• An unseen person shouted for Patrol Officer Lu to spare Ye Xuan, raised earthen walls to slow Lu Ding, and a short old man appeared before Ye Xuan.

Lu Ding killed Ye Xuan after Ye Xuan threatened him, prompting Elder Huang to attack in revenge. The fight continued as Lu Ding exposed Elder Huang’s slow casting and the old man launched a powerful marsh technique.

• Lu Ding killed Ye Xuan and dismissed Elder Huang’s accusations, insisting he had acted to eliminate a threat.
• Elder Huang transformed the ground into a marsh, hoping to limit Lu Ding’s movement, but Lu Ding rose into the air.
• Xie Shunan tried to stop Elder Huang from fighting, but he vowed to avenge Ye Xuan and turn himself in afterward.
• Lu Ding mocked Elder Huang for winding up to cast and evaded his mud dragons before attacking him with a powerful kick.
• Elder Huang used the marsh to block Lu Ding’s strike, then rose into the air and unleashed Death Marsh Burial Kill.

Lu Ding defeated Elder Huang after the old man attacked him, then demanded an explanation from Xie Shunan and turned back to the unopened tomb chamber. The chapter ended with Yan Feifan offering to phase through the sealed door.

• Lu Ding overwhelmed Elder Huang with slashes, cut off his arm, and beheaded him after Yan Feifan escaped by sinking into the ground.
• Lu Ding pulled Yan Feifan out of the ground and shook him until he vomited.
• Lu Ding told Xie Shunan to leave while he searched the tomb, and she denied that the Four Seas Group had been involved in Elder Huang's attack.
• After leaving, Xie Shunan told her father she wanted to quit as the Four Seas Group's successor, and he promised the Xie Family would apologize to Lu Ding and avoid conflict with him.
• Lu Ding reached the unopened burial chamber but could not open its door, so Yan Feifan offered to phase through it.

Yan Feifan entered the sealed burial chamber to investigate while Lu Ding waited outside, but the chamber held a suspended coffin and a seemingly living corpse. After Yan identified the creature as a vulnerable Living-Molt Living Corpse, Lu Ding used his full strength to overpower it before it could complete its transformation.

• Yan Feifan tied a special rope around his waist and passed through the wall into the burial chamber.
• Yan Feifan found a mechanism that opened the stone door, allowing Lu Ding to enter, and they decided to bring down the suspended coffin rather than approach it.
• Lu Ding cut the coffin’s chains, dropped it to the altar, and kicked its lid open to reveal an armored corpse.
• The corpse’s mask twisted to evade Lu Ding’s attack, and it fought back as Lu Ding unleashed repeated slashes.
• Yan Feifan identified the creature as a Living-Molt Living Corpse that was vulnerable during its transformation.
• Lu Ding summoned a Flying Bear phantom, tackled the corpse to the ground, and prepared to dismember it.

Lu Ding killed the Living-Molt Living Corpse, gained a recovery technique, and used Yan Feifan’s plan to secure Bureau 749 rewards without punishment. After two quiet days, he learned that wealthy treasure dowsers had offered valuable goods and thirty million for the Wind-Calming Pearl, leaving him wondering whether they were connected to the Heavenly Principle Sect.

• Lu Ding tore apart the Living-Molt Living Corpse and gained the Living-Molt Living Life technique, which let him recover by shedding his skin.
• Yan Feifan proposed a revised account of events, and Lu Ding used it during Bureau 749’s inquiry into the deaths of Ye Xuan and Huang Zuo and the corpse’s destruction.
• Lu Ding left the inquiry with fifty contribution points and five hundred thousand in cash, then rested with Yan Feifan for two days.
• Wen Yuquan told Lu Ding that treasure dowsers had offered a hundred-year-old ginseng child, a spirit lingzhi, a Wrathful Dawn Rooster, and thirty million for the Wind-Calming Pearl.
• Lu Ding suspected the offer might be tied to the Heavenly Principle Sect and went to meet the treasure dowsers.

Lu Ding bought Cao Ying’s spirit treasures, then wondered how powerful a cultivator had to become before he could be considered strong. He returned to the Public Security Administration and made a fragrant stew with the ginseng doll, reishi, and chicken.

• Cao Ying told his younger brother why he hunted treasures and explained that he wanted the mushroom men and mushroom horses as gifts for his father.
• Wen Yuquan brought Lu Ding to meet Cao Ying, who offered the ginseng doll, reishi, and Wrathful Rooster for thirty million.
• Lu Ding warned Cao Ying that the treasures had been taken from the Heavenly Principle Sect, but Cao Ying said he could handle the danger.
• After the deal, Lu Ding asked Wen Yuquan how strong a cultivator had to be, and Wen Yuquan left to cultivate after feeling outclassed.
• Lu Ding returned to the Public Security Administration and stewed chicken with the ginseng doll and awakened reishi, filling his qi vortex with spiritual qi after one mouthful.

Lu Ding broke through to the Spirit Sea Realm and began refining his qi, while a terrified woman arrived at the Baofan District Public Security Administration claiming that a wardrobe had replaced her family. She recounted how a strange figure dragged her husband into the wardrobe, leaving Lu Ding to investigate her story.

• Lu Ding used medicinal soup to advance from the sixth level of Illuminating the Jade Pivot through the ninth and break into the Spirit Sea Realm.
• Lu Ding gave Yan Feifan a portion of the soup, then returned to his room to liquefy his qi and fill his Spirit Sea.
• A frightened woman crashed a white SUV into the Baofan District Public Security Administration and begged the officers for help.
• Lu Ding joined Gao Zhengliang and the officers as the woman insisted that her family members were not human and had been replaced.
• The woman explained that she had seen eyes on the wardrobe, then later watched a figure emerge from it and drag her husband inside; afterward, her husband angrily refused to replace the wardrobe.

A woman recounted how her husband and son became strange, how her parents-in-law vanished, and how she discovered what she believed were monsters in her family. Lu Ding believed her enough to investigate the wardrobe at her home and left for the Dinghao Residential Complex.

• The woman said her son grew quiet and aggressive after returning home, then bit another child and claimed the children smelled good.
• Her husband arranged for her parents-in-law to come stay, and she later found her family missing while her son's smartwatch location showed he was home.
• The woman overheard her son say Grandpa and Grandma's meat was too tough, then found her family apparently alive at home and was dismissed as mentally unwell.
• She fled after being restrained, and Lu Ding showed her his State Security credentials and promised to investigate her home and smash the wardrobe.
• Lu Ding asked Gao Zhengliang to watch over the woman and left for the Dinghao Residential Complex, telling him to get Yan Feifan if anything happened.

Lu Ding flew to investigate a suspected identity-stealing monster while Dong Wenrui discovered that an elderly man had no pulse. The man broke into her apartment, and another voice called to her from the window.

• Lu Ding left Yan Feifan behind and flew toward the caller's home in Baofan District.
• Dong Xinrui took her golden retriever downstairs and chatted with the elderly residents before offering to check their pulses.
• Dong Wenrui found no pulse in an elderly woman's husband and went home after becoming uneasy.
• After her friend suggested the man might be a zombie or ghost, Dong Wenrui heard someone at her door and saw the old man's eyes through the peephole.
• The old man smashed through the security door and entered the apartment, then a voice from the floor-to-ceiling window said, "I see you, too!!"

Lu Ding rescued Dong Wenrui from a ghost wearing an old man’s body, then hunted the other monsters in her building. At apartment 1911, he began torturing a family of monsters for information about their commander and plans for the Ghost Festival.

• Lu Ding killed the ghost that had eaten the original old man and told Dong Wenrui to stay hidden while he cleared the building.
• In the stairwell, Lu Ding questioned a ghost about its commander and the fifteenth of the seventh month, but killed it when it refused to answer.
• Lu Ding broke into apartment 1911 and attacked three monsters replacing the reporting woman’s family.
• Lu Ding tore off the young monster’s arm and threatened to kill it piece by piece until the old ghost agreed to talk.

Lu Ding uncovered an ancient ghost force hiding inside a Yin Domain in Dinghao Residential Complex and discovered that its general was the Pei Ziyi he had already killed. As monsters rushed toward him and their commander flew back to the complex, Lu Ding called Bureau 749 for backup, saying the incident had already become too large to retreat from.

• Lu Ding learned from the old ghost that Commander Fang Du was seeking his wife and that General Pei Ziyi would revive on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month.
• Lu Ding told the old ghost he had opened Pei Ziyi's coffin and killed him, then entered the bedroom and split open the wardrobe.
• A doorway to a Yin Domain appeared inside the wardrobe, triggering an overlap that drew the monsters replacing the building's residents toward Room 1911.
• Fang Du sensed the overlap while approaching the Public Security Administration and abandoned his plan to silence his wife, flying toward Dinghao Residential Complex instead.
• Lu Ding reported the Yin domain overlap and the ancient ghosts' troop buildup to Bureau 749, then told the operator to send people to clean up as monsters charged his room.

Lu Ding fought off the monsters and ghosts overwhelming apartment 1911, then entered the Yin Domain and destroyed its ghost soldiers. He gained the Drumbeat Heart-Shaking technique, and the chapter ended with Fang Du returning to find his ghost soldiers dead.

• Bureau 749 mobilized investigators, cleanup crews, and emergency measures after the Yin Domain overlap at Dinghao Residential Complex began.
• Lu Ding slaughtered the monsters flooding the corridor and guarded the wardrobe opening as ghosts emerged from the Yin Domain.
• A heavily armored ghost organized the soldiers into a formation and ordered them to attack Lu Ding with spears and hammers.
• Lu Ding charged into the formation with the Flying Bear phantom, defeated the armored ghost, and contained the Drum Hammer Ghost Chief.
• Lu Ding gained Drumbeat Heart-Shaking and used it to blast the remaining charging ghosts apart.
• Fang Du returned to apartment 1911 and found all the ghost soldiers he had substituted dead.

Lu Ding taunted Fang Du over the deaths of his son and soldiers, then defeated him with a single devastating kick. As Bureau 749 investigators arrived at the residential complex, Xue Ning complained about being sent to deal with the overlapping yin domains.

• Lu Ding told Fang Du that his son and soldiers were dead, then described how he had killed Fang Du's son to torment him.
• Fang Du attacked Lu Ding with ghostly energy and a hurled section of floor, but Lu Ding sliced through both attacks.
• Fang Du summoned ghostly armor, a warhorse, and an ancient army, then charged Lu Ding with a lance.
• Lu Ding caught Fang Du's lance barehanded and kicked him through a wall, destroying half his body.
• Lu Ding drove Fang Du down from the nineteenth floor toward the first as six Bureau 749 investigators entered the residential complex.
• Xue Ning complained about being sent to the dangerous scene and was asked by Xiao Xiong whether he agreed.

Lu Ding killed Fang Du and revealed that he had also killed Fang Du’s General Sha, then confronted Xue Ning and Xiao Xiong after overhearing their insults. He left the six investigators cowed and injured, with Xiao Xiong apologizing to him.

• Lu Ding crushed Fang Du’s body and told him that he had already killed and dismembered his general before crushing Fang Du’s head.
• Lu Ding received the General’s Fitted Armor Technique for containing General Sha.
• Lu Ding emerged from the dust, struck Xue Ning with enough force to send him flying, and injured Xiao Xiong by returning one of her throwing knives.
• Lu Ding warned Xiao Xiong not to provoke him again and threatened the man who stepped in to defend her.
• Xiao Xiong apologized to Lu Ding and promised not to insult him again.

Lu Ding defeated the monster behind the Yin Domain, and his cleanup report stunned Bureau 749’s new investigators. Ji Yanshuang, newly awakened as a Qi Refiner, learned about the First-Year Martial Competition and questioned whether its celebrated contenders could match Lu Ding.

• Lu Ding ordered the survivors to handle the scene and flew back toward the Public Security Administration Bureau to wash off the blood and dust.
• Cleanup personnel found Fang Du’s corpse and documented the grisly aftermath, which confirmed that Lu Ding had fought alone.
• Bureau 749 released Lu Ding’s cleanup report, prompting trainee investigators to wonder who would dare compete against him.
• Ji Yanshuang, who had awakened as a Qi Refiner and joined Bureau 749, approached the investigators to ask about the First-Year Martial Competition.
• The investigators described the competition’s leading contenders, and Ji Yanshuang pointed out that Lu Ding had killed a veteran Spirit Sea Qi Refiner while at Illuminating the Jade Pivot.

After Lu Ding told a bereaved woman that her family had been killed, he spent the night smoking in the stairwell. When Gao Zhengliang reported that the Five Viscera Life Society had detained public security officers, Lu Ding set out to rescue them.

• Ji Yanshuang defended Lu Ding as the strongest after hearing others compare him with Bai Hemian.
• Lu Ding told Miss Cheng that her family had been killed and that he had avenged them, and she thanked him before asking to return home.
• Miss Cheng asked Lu Ding his name and bowed to him, while Lu Ding left without finding words to comfort her.
• Lu Ding spent the night smoking in the stairwell after reporting the incident to Gao Zhengliang.
• Gao Zhengliang told Lu Ding that the Five Viscera Life Society had detained officers from Ginkgo Public Security Station after a clash during an investigation.
• Lu Ding called it a rescue and ordered Gao Zhengliang to take him to the Five Viscera Life Society.

The chapter explained the Five Viscera Life Society’s rise in Ten Thousand People Residential Community and its secret trade in ritual supplies from Chenla. After public security officers caught the Society smuggling the goods, Tang Hu tried to intimidate them, but Yan Biexi defied him, and he prepared to act.

• The Five Viscera Life Society grew influential in Ten Thousand People Residential Community by resolving supernatural incidents for its residents.
• The Society secretly arranged to import ritual supplies from Chenla because its domestic sources could not meet demand.
• A public security officer inspecting fruit discovered crates of protected animals and plants, bones, and skulls, and the Society caught the officers.
• At the Society’s headquarters, Tang Hu entered a spirit-invocation state and demonstrated his power to the bound officers.
• Yan Biexi rebuked Tang Hu and dared him to kill her, reminding him that harming a public security officer would carry serious consequences.
• Tang Hu abandoned his plan to intimidate the officers into silence and empowered incense ash with a secret art.

Lu Ding rescued Yan Biexi from Tang Hu’s torture and killed Tang Hu and the Qi Refiners who had surrounded him. He recorded Tang Hu’s confession before carrying out his sentence, leaving Gao Zhengliang stunned by the massacre.

• Tang Hu tortured Yan Biexi and demanded that she sign a statement promising to keep quiet, but Lu Ding broke into the room and eased her pain.
• Lu Ding invoked his authority as a Bureau 749 patrol investigator and sentenced Tang Hu and the surrounding Qi Refiners to death.
• Lu Ding destroyed the shrine’s statues and picture album, then drove off the mountain lord attached to Tang Hu with Flying Bear’s roar.
• Tang Hu admitted he had been wrong to arrest a public security officer and threaten Lu Ding.
• Lu Ding recorded Tang Hu’s confession and killed him, while Gao Zhengliang and the surviving officers stared in shock.

Lu Ding summoned Tang Long and Tang Bao to the Five Viscera Life Society after attacking its headquarters, prepared to judge them by their response. Tang Bao warned his brother against seeking revenge and led him upstairs after whipping himself with thorn branches to show remorse.

• Yan Biexi questioned whether Lu Ding had followed procedure, and he knocked her unconscious before telling Gao Zhengliang to summon Tang Long and Tang Bao.
• Gao Zhengliang accepted that Lu Ding would act against Qi Refiners who broke Bureau 749’s rules, while Lu Ding defended his actions as reasonable and legal.
• Tang Long and Tang Bao met outside the Five Viscera Life Society, and Tang Bao warned that their second brother, Tang Hu, might be dead.
• Tang Bao told Tang Long that their society’s arrogance and Tang Hu’s misconduct had brought them to the brink of ruin, and he insisted they must not seek revenge.
• Tang Bao took thorn branches from the car, whipped his back until it bled, and then went upstairs with Tang Long to see Lu Ding.

After Tang Hu’s death, Tang Bao and Tang Long knelt before Lu Ding, who ended the dispute and approved the Five Viscera Life Society’s application concerning Chenla. As news spread across Baofan District, Cao Ying decided to approach Lu Ding for support in securing his position in Cao Family Alley.

• Tang Bao and Tang Long found Tang Hu’s remains and knelt before Lu Ding to apologize and ask for mercy.
• Lu Ding warned the brothers not to let a similar incident happen again and agreed to sign their application concerning Chenla, reminding them to pay taxes.
• Tang Bao felt relieved that the Five Viscera Life Society was safe and that the ritual-consumables matter was resolved.
• News of the Yin Domain Overlap and Tang Hu’s death spread through Baofan District, drawing attention to Lu Ding.
• Cao Ying decided to seek Lu Ding’s support to secure his position in Cao Family Alley.

Cao Ying reconsidered how to challenge Cao Yuan, while Lu Ding spent all his Bureau 749 contribution points on three treasures that rapidly advanced his cultivation. As Lu Ding continued cultivating, visitors from Great Black Mountain stormed Xie Shunan’s office and seized the Baleful Qi-Nurturing Gourd she had bought for him.

• Cao Ying decided he needed an ally more powerful than Cao Yuan’s brother to help him regain his place in the Cao family.
• Lu Ding received 150 contribution points and two million in cash for resolving the Dinghao Residential Complex Yin Domain Overlap.
• Lu Ding spent all his contribution points on Disemboweled Buddha Buds, Fallen Spirit Sand, and Full Moon Dew.
• Lu Ding mixed the three treasures and drank them, causing his Spirit Sea to expand and his cultivation realm to rise rapidly.
• Xie Shunan received a Baleful Qi-Nurturing Gourd as an apology gift for Lu Ding.
• Several Great Black Mountain figures broke into Xie Shunan’s office, and their young leader took the gourd with Dragon Claw Hand.