Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing revealed his suspicions about Murong Yunji and the Shen Family’s hidden ancestor, while Wang Ye learned that the family’s dragon-transformation ritual extended the ancestor’s life by transferring their identity into a descendant. Wang Ye headed toward the Shen Family to investigate the conflicting claims and the possible link between the ritual and the West Sea fog.

• Chen Qing and Murong Yunji discussed A Li and Ziyue’s deep dormancy and the rapidly growing baby before Chen Qing left them in Murong Yunji’s care.
• Chen Qing accused Murong Yunji of wanting to escape the Shen Family and suggested that the eldest Shen brother’s death was unnatural.
• Chen Qing told Murong Yunji that the Shen Family’s ancestor was hiding among the heads of its twelve branches, and she challenged him to reveal what else he knew.
• Wang Ye reviewed Chen Qing’s account of the Shen Family’s dragon transformation, in which a descendant became a dragon and merged with the ancestor to extend their life by three hundred years.
• Wang Ye considered Chen Qing’s theory that the ancestor might be among the younger Shen descendants, possibly Shen Laojiu, and linked the theory to Shen Lao’er’s death.
• Wang Ye recalled that Shen Yinian rejected the idea that Shen Laojiu was the ancestor, warned that only Shen Laoliu could be trusted, and encouraged Wang Ye to investigate the Shen Family.

Wu You and Hong Lie weighed whether to seize military authority in Liuzhou, while the Duke of Qin realized the report he received had been replaced and suspected Chen Qing and Wang Ye were working together. In private, the crown prince and the Duke of Qin discussed the plot behind the Thousand-Faced Fox incident and resolved to investigate the governor-general of the West Sea.

• Murong Yunji refused to return Liuzhou’s city defenses to Wu You, insisting that Chen Qing would have to ask her himself.
• Wu You warned Hong Lie that Liuzhou’s soldiers were loyal to Chen Qing, but Hong Lie argued that their forces could not defeat Murong Yunji and the defenders.
• Wu You realized his messages were no longer getting out and suspected that Chen Qing and Wang Ye were colluding.
• The Duke of Qin received a replaced letter claiming Wu You and Hong Lie had taken over Liuzhou’s defenses, and concluded that Chen Qing controlled the city and Wang Ye was on his side.
• In private, the crown prince and the Duke of Qin suspected the governor-general of the West Sea had arranged the Thousand-Faced Fox plot, and the crown prince vowed to avenge his mother.

Chen Qing met Yuchi Feihong, learned that he served a powerful being inside Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, and asked for help meeting it. Meanwhile, Wang Ye reached Nanyang and learned from Shen Yixin that Shen Laojiu could not be the ancestor because the mystery began with the eldest brother’s death.

• Chen Qing teased Ghost Child about Murong Yunji as they traveled by boat to meet Yuchi Feihong.
• Chen Qing found Yuchi Feihong transformed into the seventh corpse form, Black Tide, and inferred that he had pledged himself to a being inside Nine Heavens Mirror Valley.
• Yuchi Feihong admitted that the being had promised to treat humanity well, and Chen Qing asked him to arrange a meeting with it under cover.
• Wang Ye arrived in Nanyang, where Shen Yixin welcomed him and secretly read information from the Shen Family token.
• Shen Yixin told Wang Ye that Shen Laojiu could not be the ancestor and began explaining that the matter started with the eldest brother’s death.

At a banquet in Nanyang City, Wang Ye questioned Shen Yixin about the Shen Family's hidden history and the strange calamity. Shen Yixin revealed that the family ancestor had disappeared after Eldest Brother died absorbing a deadly poison, and Wang Ye asked for information Chen Qing needed to identify the ancestor's current disguise.

• Wang Ye met the Shen Family's powerful branch heads at a banquet and learned about their spells and reputations.
• Shen Yixin told Wang Ye that Shen Laojiu was born from the ancestor and a gu human created in a horrific experiment.
• Shen Yixin revealed that Eldest Brother had protected Shen Laojiu's pregnant mother, then confronted the ancestor and died swallowing the poison on an island.
• Shen Yixin explained that the enormous serpent seen in the West Sea was Eldest Brother's spell, Xiushe, while the ancestor had hidden among the younger generation and could impersonate them.
• Wang Ye said Chen Qing needed details about the three newer branches' spells and the Shen Family's previous two dragon transformations to identify the ancestor, and Shen Yixin hesitated.

Wang Ye uncovered that the Shen Family’s nine branches were being prepared as vessels for the creatures connected to Nine Heavens Mirror Valley. Meanwhile, Chen Qing confronted a woman who had escaped the formation and asked which Shen branch heads had been possessed.

• Shen Yixin explained to Wang Ye that Dragon Transformation required new techniques each time, described the ancestor’s experiments with the Insect Spell, and connected the poisonous insects in the fog to the Shen Family’s history.
• Shen Yixin revealed that the final three branches inherited the Divine Wind, Divine Wood, and Divine Fire Spells, with the Divine Fire Spell repeating one used in an earlier Dragon Transformation.
• Wang Ye recalled that Nine Heavens Mirror Valley held nine poisonous insects and concluded that the Shen Family’s nine branches were vessels for them.
• Deep beneath the sea, Chen Qing met a woman in a giant shell and recognized the Shen Family’s Mysterious Water Technique around her.
• Chen Qing accused the woman of escaping Nine Heavens Mirror Valley decades earlier and using Shen Laosan, Shen Yimiao, as her intended vessel.
• Chen Qing proposed working with the woman to take over the other prefectures and asked which of her siblings had escaped and which Shen branch heads had been possessed.

Wu You warned Hong Lie that Liuzhou’s generous relief, recruitment, and soldiers’ supernatural strength could create lasting loyalty to Chen Qing and threaten Great Jin. He remained wary as Hong Lie began to see that Liuzhou’s arrangements might unsettle the imperial army.

• Wu You told Hong Lie that Liuzhou had 116,853 residents, including around ninety thousand able-bodied men eager to enlist for ten taels a month.
• Wu You argued that generous benefits and improved living conditions could make refugees and soldiers unwilling to return to their old lives, and that soldiers might resent the court if it forced Chen Qing to disband them.
• Wu You pointed out that food distributions had not diminished despite Liuzhou’s growing population, suggesting Chen Qing might be able to sustain the high standard of living.
• Wu You explained that Liuzhou’s ordinary soldiers had gained strength through faith in its door gods and the Battle God of the Tiger Guard Army.
• Wu You warned that Liuzhou’s soldiers were making Hong Lie’s men envious and that Chen Qing’s system could attract military talent and overturn Great Jin.

Wu You feared that Great Jin’s ordinary soldiers would be drawn away by Liuzhou’s promise of power and advancement. After hearing how the gate guards earned strength through hard work and selection, Di Yun and most of his men resolved to seek entry into the Tiger Guard Army, while Old Li asked what Di Yun planned to do.

• Wu You explained that ordinary veterans rarely advanced in Great Jin’s army because bloodline determined who could gain merit and rank.
• Maozi told Di Yun and the Black Dragon Guards that Liuzhou’s gate guards received power through blessings and regular selection tournaments, and that effort could help them rise.
• Maozi said the Tiger Guard Army was expanding and that its second-tier members could carry their power away from the deity.
• After Maozi left, Di Yun declared that he would enter the Tiger Guard Army selection, and most of the soldiers gathered behind him.
• Di Yun challenged Old Li over the limits of their careers in Great Jin, and Old Li finally asked what Di Yun wanted to do.

Wu You allowed Di Yun and Old Li to join the Tiger Guard Army’s recruitment, hoping their enlistment would expose Liuzhou’s limits. Meanwhile, Chen Qing reached an agreement with a primordial worm and led elite soldiers through a passage of living corpses toward the next stage of their campaign.

• Wu You permitted Di Yun and Old Li to enlist in the Tiger Guard Army, and told Hong Lie he wanted to test how many soldiers Liuzhou could support.
• Chen Qing learned that the Black Dragon Guard was joining the Tiger Guard Army and recognized Wu You’s plan to probe the limits of divine blessing power.
• Chen Qing assessed the recruitment limits of Xu Hu and Old Wolf, then spotted a mass of living corpses blocking the river ahead.
• A primordial worm agreed to help Chen Qing invade four Jiangnan prefectures in exchange for protection for her followers and help identifying possessed members of the Shen Family.
• Chen Qing and Ghost Child entered the water, followed by about thirty elite fighters, while black living corpses held the other corpses back.

Chen Qing led his people ashore after crossing a sea of living corpses and planned to make Yangzhou a safe haven, while secretly intending to settle accounts with the monster that had agreed to cooperate with him. In Nanyang, Wang Ye concluded that the Shen Family ancestor had died long ago and warned Sixth Master Shen that the creature behind the dragon-transformation rituals was among his brothers.

• Chen Qing learned from Ghost Child that the black living corpses were powerful retainers, then told his soldiers they would cooperate with the sea creature to protect people before dealing with it later.
• Chen Qing set out with his force for Yangzhou City, aiming to turn it into a safe haven like Liuzhou.
• Yuchi Feihong reported to the woman beneath the sea that Chen Qing had reached Yangzhou, and she discussed the possibility that the Shen Family's ninth son had been possessed.
• Wang Ye showed Sixth Master Shen evidence that the Shen Family ancestor had gathered unusual, far-flung spells because they were requirements of the creature that taught him dragon transformation.
• Wang Ye told Sixth Master Shen that the ancestor had died decades ago and that the monster had reached Nanyang before the eldest brother's death, then warned that it was among Shen's brothers.

Wang Ye secretly exchanged information about the Shen Family with Chen Qing, then left Sixth Master Shen’s residence with Shen Yimiao to discuss the clan’s divisions and the mystery surrounding Second Master Shen’s death. The conversation ended when Sixth Master Shen appeared to reveal that he had already modified Wang Ye, leaving him unable to move or speak.

• Wang Ye used his hidden Star Shifting spell to share information with Chen Qing while recording events in his notebook.
• Wang Ye canceled his spells and answered a late-night visit from Shen Yimiao, who asked him to leave Sixth Master Shen’s residence for a conversation.
• Wang Ye pushed Shen Yimiao through Nanyang City, where Shen Yimiao explained how the Shen Family’s trading houses kept the city prosperous despite the blockade.
• Shen Yimiao accused Fifth and Sixth of caring only about themselves and said the ancestor had made arrangements in Laojiu to save the Shen Family.
• Shen Yimiao warned Wang Ye that Sixth Master Shen would not let him leave and revealed that Sixth possessed the Heavenly Craft Marvelous Art.
• Wang Ye suddenly found himself unable to move or speak as Sixth Master Shen’s voice came from behind him.

Wang Ye was taken under Shen Yixin’s control and brought into a confrontation with Shen Yimiao, who revealed the Shen Family’s secrets and demanded to leave Nanyang to investigate Second Brother’s death. The chapter ended with Shen Yixin threatening to kill Wang Ye through three hidden puppet mechanisms, exposing the vast gap between Wang Ye and the greatest sorcerers.

• Shen Yixin used his craftsmanship to control Wang Ye’s body and brought him to meet Shen Yimiao.
• Shen Yimiao confronted Shen Yixin about his fear, revealed Second Brother’s plan to protect Laojiu, and suspected someone had followed them and killed Second Brother.
• Shen Yimiao explained that the Nanyang spell formation came from the Dragon Palace and that Shen Yixin could use it to keep the Shen Family from leaving the city.
• Shen Yimiao and Eighth Master demanded that Shen Yixin let them leave to investigate Second Brother’s death, but Shen Yixin refused and began making Wang Ye’s body crack apart.
• Shen Yixin revealed that three different puppets had planted separate mechanisms in Wang Ye, and Shen Yimiao would have to destroy all three at once to save him.

Shen Laosan froze Shen Laoliu and took Wang Ye to Liuzhou using Flying Star, while Chen Qing led fighters into Chishui County to clear out living corpses and protect survivors. After hearing villagers describe their losses and hunger, Chen Qing promised that Chishui County would be safe.

• Shen Laosan revealed that he had planted Mystic water on Wang Ye at the banquet, allowing him to freeze Shen Laoliu when the latter prepared to attack.
• Shen Laosan urged Wang Ye to activate Flying Star and travel to Liuzhou, and Wang Ye noticed Chen Qing's late message saying they had his Flying Star.
• Chen Qing led his fighters to Chishui County, explaining that they would secure the countryside instead of attacking the overwhelmed Yangzhou City.
• Chen Qing's men entered Chishui County and found corpses and signs of the living corpses' attack before preparing to clear the buildings.
• Villagers from Hong Village told Chen Qing they had come to scavenge for food and described losing family members to the monsters.
• Chen Qing apologized for arriving late and promised the villagers that Chishui County was safe.

Chen Qing secured Chishui County and planned to spread his forces and faith across Jiangnan while monitoring the Shen Family. In Liuzhou, the Tiger Guard Army’s recruitment stirred martial enthusiasm and worried scholars until Zhou Haitao announced a new academy for them.

• Chen Qing watched villagers gain confidence and strength while defending Chishui County, and considered how to expand his influence before the court or Nine Heavens Mirror Valley reacted.
• Chen Qing judged that the Shen Family was the most troublesome threat to his plans, despite expecting the Duke of Qin to act cautiously.
• The Tiger Guard Army held open recruitment selections in Liuzhou, where displays of archery, fighting, and strength drew enthusiastic crowds.
• Scholars and masters worried that Liuzhou’s growing martial culture would undermine literary learning, and Master Liu’s grandson admitted he wanted to enlist.
• Zhou Haitao urged the masters to attend the academy and revealed that the prefect planned to open a Yin-Yang Academy belonging to Jiangnan.

Chen Qing proposed establishing a Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy to train spellcasters, especially in spell formations, while the city remained blockaded. After naming it Tsinghua Academy and promising superior spell arts inheritances for its best students, he left the masters eager to support the plan, while privately intending to secure powerful formation-master and runemaster techniques from the Dragon Palace.

• The masters doubted Zhou Haitao's claim that Liuzhou could establish a Yin-Yang Academy because spellcaster clans controlled admissions and training resources.
• Chen Qing explained that Liuzhou needed more spellcasters and a defensive formation, and argued that provincial graduates and other rescued students could provide potential recruits.
• The masters questioned how Liuzhou could train spellcasters without the capital academy's extensive texts and tools, while Chen Ying bristled at being treated as the city's only female spellcaster.
• Chen Qing proposed focusing the academy on spell formations, using Chen Ying's teaching materials and admitting only students suited to the discipline.
• Chen Qing named the institution Tsinghua Academy, outlined its foundation division and four advanced divisions, and promised superior inheritances for students with strong aptitude.
• The masters grew enthusiastic about Chen Qing's promise, while he privately planned to use the Dragon Palace's formation-master and runemaster inheritances to strengthen Liuzhou's academy.

Chen Qing established Liuzhou Tsinghua Academy and explained how its students could train for spellcasting and serve the newly founded Underworld. The gathering ended with the unexpected arrival of the missing Master Yang, whom Chen Qing recognized as the Mr. Five Poisons A Li had mentioned.

• Master Wei and the other scholars gathered to discuss the academy, and Master Wei asked whether anyone had seen Master Yang, who had been missing for ten days.
• Chen Qing introduced Wei Gongcheng as the City God and explained that the Underworld needed learned living people to fill official positions, offering underworld merit and potentially everlasting underworld lifespans in return.
• Chen Qing outlined the academy's focus on arithmetic and the investigation of things alongside classical studies, and he appointed Master Wei dean of arithmetic.
• Chen Qing announced Liuzhou Tsinghua Academy's opening, with government-funded foundational classes for students who could recite the Thousand Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames, followed by an examination to select spellcasting apprentices.
• Master Yang arrived late, and Chen Qing greeted him, recognizing him as the Mr. Five Poisons A Li had mentioned.

Chen Qing's clone confronted Master Yang about a murder and discovered that Mr. Five Poisons had possessed him, while a mysterious figure resembling Chen Qing appeared and challenged him. Back in Chishui County, Chen Qing sensed that his Liuzhou clone had vanished and feared that something had overcome its safeguards.

• Chen Qing questioned Master Yang about his disappearance and the murder, and Master Yang claimed he had seen Chen Qing near the victim.
• Chen Qing called Master Yang Mr. Five Poisons, prompting the demon to reveal himself and accuse Chen Qing of taking over the King of Qin's reincarnated body.
• A gigantic hand forced a familiar departing soul back into Master Yang, and Master Yang regained his senses without remembering what had happened.
• As Chen Qing's clone faded, he ordered Wei Gongcheng to warn the returning Chen Qing not to mention A Li's name around Master Yang, to remember that Mr. Shen Er was not killed by anyone, and to beware an enemy among their own.
• Another figure resembling Chen Qing appeared and said he understood Chen Qing best, and the two agreed to test each other.
• Three days after settling in Chishui County, Chen Qing sensed that his Liuzhou clone had disappeared despite its prepared escape route to Great Azure Mountain.

Chen Qing offered his fighters incentives to stay in Chishui County and build up the Tiger Guard Army, then set out for Liuzhou to investigate his clone’s disappearance. In Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, he learned that the court had doubled the troops sealing off Jiangnan, leaving him wondering why the emperor had sent such a force.

• Chen Qing told the fighters that those who stayed in Chishui County would receive doubled pay and Battle God blessings, and could earn the chance to command the Tiger Guard Army.
• Chen Qing decided to return to Liuzhou that night so he could investigate his clone’s disappearance and recruit more fighters for Yangzhou City.
• Chen Qing summoned a living corpse and followed it through Nine Heavens Mirror Valley to meet the woman who had helped him enter Yangzhou.
• The woman asked Chen Qing to help eliminate the Eighth’s followers in Qushui County and Siyun County, and warned him that human old monsters were hidden in the Yin-Yang Road.
• The woman told Chen Qing that the imperial court had doubled the soldiers sealing off Jiangnan, and Chen Qing wondered whether the emperor had sent the imperial guards.

The crown prince accepted command of the Golden Dragon Guard and sought counsel from the Duke of Qin, who revealed a hidden plan involving the Shen Family and sent Hei Yun toward West Sea City. After returning to Liuzhou, Chen Qing pieced together clues about Master Yang and realized Second Master Shen was using Shen Laojiu as a vessel for possession.

• The crown prince accepted the emperor’s decree to command the Golden Dragon Guard in Jiangnan, while the Duke of Qin warned him that the emperor had used his sons mercilessly before.
• The crown prince told the Duke of Qin he feared the appointment echoed the past, and the Duke promised to protect him as the King of Qin had instructed.
• After the crown prince left, the Duke of Qin spoke with Hei Yun, who had survived through a substitute; they discussed an ancient power and Hei Yun departed for West Sea City.
• Chen Qing returned to Liuzhou after waiting two days to pass the blockade, and Wei Gongcheng told him what his avatar had communicated before disappearing.
• Chen Qing inferred that a taboo spell formula on Master Yang would kill anyone who directly uncovered his secrets, and concluded that the strange force in the Underworld was Second Master Shen’s ghost.
• Chen Qing deduced that Second Master Shen was possessing Shen Laojiu’s corpse-infected body and went with Wei Gongcheng to meet him.

Chen Qing confronted Shen Yiyun, who had possessed Shen Laojiu’s body, and learned how she had exploited the Underworld and planned to control the monsters in Nine Heavens Mirror Valley. Their discussion turned to the Shen siblings’ strength and Chen Qing’s promise to deliver Shen Laosan within three days, leaving Shen Yiyun shocked.

• Chen Qing and Wei Gongcheng met Shen Yiyun in an abandoned restaurant, where she revealed herself inside Shen Laojiu’s body while his soul remained bound nearby.
• Shen Yiyun explained that she possessed Laojiu after Chen Qing established Liuzhou’s Underworld, which allowed her to remain a disembodied soul and wield the Ghost King’s Arm without restraint.
• Chen Qing deduced Shen Yiyun’s plans involving Laojiu, the monsters, and Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, then agreed to cooperate with her.
• Shen Yiyun warned Chen Qing that Shen Laoba’s Origin Spell made him an exceptionally powerful fighter and urged him not to bring Shen Laosan and Shen Laoba into Liuzhou.
• Chen Qing said he had to deliver Shen Laosan within three days to fulfill an agreement, shocking Shen Yiyun.

Chen Qing formed a spell-bound pact with Shen Yiyun to secure her help against Shen Laoba, promising to help her capture an ancient insect within ten days. He prepared a plan to lure Shen Laoba and Shen Laosan toward Great Azure Mountain, while Wang Ye and the two Shen brothers remained trapped outside Liuzhou on the Yin-Yang Road.

• Chen Qing persuaded Shen Yiyun to help capture Shen Laosan in exchange for helping her capture an ancient insect, and they sealed their agreement with a spell-bound pact.
• Chen Qing told Murong Yunji that Shen Yiyun was the only Shen family member he knew to be uninfected and explained that he needed her help against Shen Laoba.
• Chen Qing asked Murong Yunji to rescue Wang Ye after he broke through the Yin-Yang Road and lure his pursuers toward Great Azure Mountain, where Shen Laosan's Mysterious Water technique could create an opening.
• Outside Liuzhou, Wang Ye explained to Shen Laosan that the city's barrier had blocked his Flying Star passage and that they needed Chen Qing's help to get inside.
• Wang Ye worried that Chen Qing's plan might fail because Shen Laoba had effortlessly guided them through the evil ghosts surrounding Liuzhou.