Chapter Summaries

Wu You suspected Chen Qing had arranged a meeting to keep him away from some hidden plan, so he and Hong Lie went to investigate. As Wang Ye and his companions arrived in Liuzhou, Murong Yunji ambushed Shen Yimiao to help Wang Ye escape, but Wu You and Hong Lie appeared and Shen Yimiao realized he had been set up.

• Hong Lie told Wu You that Liuzhou's contests had stirred martial enthusiasm among the people, while Wu You worried that bloodline soldiers were becoming complacent and ordinary soldiers had little incentive to serve.
• After learning Chen Qing had invited them for drinks that evening, Wu You reasoned the invitation was meant to keep them occupied and left with Hong Lie to investigate.
• Murong Yunji and Chen Qing watched Wu You head toward the busy district, where Wang Ye and his companions arrived through the opened passage to the Yin-Yang Road.
• Shen Yimiao and Eighth Master Shen were impressed by Liuzhou's lively streets and healthy residents, but Murong Yunji suddenly attacked Shen Yimiao with Divine Wind.
• Laoba blocked Murong Yunji's strike with Limitless Yin-Yang Positive Pole, allowing her to retreat with the mystic ice she had removed from Wang Ye and enabling Wang Ye to escape.
• Shen Yimiao tried to pursue Wang Ye, but stopped when Wu You and Hong Lie appeared; Wu You's presence made him realize he had been set up.

Shen Yimiao pursued Wang Ye and Murong Yunji to Great Azure Mountain, where Chen Qing and Chen Ying sheltered behind the Azure Dragon Barrier. After Shen Yimiao’s water attacks failed to break it, Chen Qing stepped outside to face him and called for an unseen senior to act.

• Wu You recognized that Chen Qing had led him into a setup, so he and Hong Lie avoided intervening as Shen Yimiao pursued Wang Ye and Murong Yunji.
• Shen Yimiao and Shen Laoba reached Great Azure Mountain and decided they had to break the Azure Dragon Barrier rather than threaten Liuzhou’s citizens.
• Shen Yimiao sent a flood of water against the barrier, and Chen Ying strained to maintain it while Chen Qing and Wang Ye watched from inside.
• Shen Yimiao rose from his wheelchair and compressed the water into deadly droplets, but the barrier continued to hold.
• Chen Qing stepped outside the barrier, faced Shen Yimiao, and called on a hidden senior to act.

Chen Qing’s scheme ended with Shen Yimiao possessed by an ancient insect, while Shen Yiyun warned Chen Qing about the danger and demanded he honor their agreement. Elsewhere, the crown prince discovered that the Princess Royal was commanding the court’s reinforcements, and she said she had come to deal with the Duke of Qin.

• Shen Yimiao was trapped by the ancient insect, while Wang Ye and Shen Lao'er sealed Shen Laoba’s power and Wang Ye teleported him away.
• The insect possessed Shen Yimiao and devoured his soul; Chen Qing received the soul as payment and demanded that she withdraw from Liuzhou.
• Shen Lao'er warned Chen Qing that the possessed Master Shen San would become dangerous, and Chen Qing promised that Master Shen San would become the lord of Nanyang's Underworld if their plans succeeded.
• The crown prince and Fei Jun arrived at the reinforcements’ camp and learned that the Princess Royal was leading the army; Fei Jun went to see his father in the command tent.
• The Princess Royal told the crown prince that she had come because she was the only person in Great Jin capable of dealing with the Duke of Qin.

The eldest princess revealed that the crown prince’s memories of being reborn had been fabricated to draw out Lu Ming, and that she had arranged for Thousand-Faced Fox to enter the capital. The crown prince realized she had killed his imperial mother, and demanded to know why.

• The eldest princess exposed the crown prince’s carefully concealed behavior and forced his Golden Crow Bloodline back into him with a touch.
• She severed the crown prince’s arm before he could use the mark connecting him to Lu Ming, then revealed that Lu Ming had bound himself to the prince because he believed him to be a reincarnator.
• The eldest princess explained that reincarnators had appeared twice in history and that she had deliberately manufactured one by altering a child’s memories to attract Lu Ming.
• The crown prince realized the eldest princess had arranged for Thousand-Faced Fox to enter the capital and had killed his imperial mother.
• The crown prince asked the eldest princess why she had done it.

The eldest princess revealed why she had plotted against the crown prince and exposed the schemes of his father, Lu Ming, and Liu Yu, leaving him devastated by the truth about his identity and bloodline. In Liuzhou’s Underworld, Chen Qing discussed the uncertain odds of taking control of Nanyang, hinting that an unknown worst-case scenario could leave him only a ten percent chance.

• The eldest princess told the crown prince that she and A Li had planted memories in him to lure the Duke of Qin into their trap, and she accused his father, Lu Ming, and Liu Yu of pursuing selfish plans.
• The eldest princess explained that the emperor had transplanted his blood essence into the crown prince to stabilize his Golden Crow bloodline and suggested he hoped to use A Li’s unborn child for his immortality experiments.
• The crown prince realized that his reincarnator identity and bloodline were false, then laughed in despair as he reconsidered his father’s past kindness.
• Wei Gongcheng showed Shen Yimiao the growing Liuzhou Underworld, and Shen Laosan learned that he might become lord of Nanyang’s future Underworld.
• Wei Gongcheng estimated Chen Qing had an eighty percent chance of taking Nanyang if three newer branches held the escaped ancient insects, but only forty percent if the fourth or seventh branch was involved.
• Chen Qing arrived and warned Shen Laosan that the worst-case scenario would leave him with only a ten percent chance.

Chen Qing left Xu Hu in charge of raising troops and rescue operations while he traveled toward Nanyang with Second Master Shen and Ghost Child. After they emerged from the formation at a harbor, Second Master Shen realized Chen Qing could use its exits to reach other prefectures, revealing the scale of his ambitions.

• Chen Qing ordered Xu Hu to handle the Liuzhou troops and county rescues, and to reach yellow rank, first grade within three months.
• Chen Qing explained that the court was advancing and a decisive battle could come within six months, so he needed enough fighters to protect his forces and join the campaign.
• Aboard the warship, Chen Qing refused to take Eighth Master Shen back, reasoning that he could remain safe on the Yin-Yang Road if he kept a low profile.
• Chen Qing told Second Master Shen that Eighth Master Shen's Yin-Yang Ultimate Art was suited to formation mastery, then led her and Ghost Child through an exit in the formation.
• Chen Qing, Second Master Shen, and Ghost Child emerged at a harbor in Nanyang, where Second Master Shen inferred that Chen Qing could reach other prefectures through the exits.

Shen Yifeng kept the Shen Family’s costly market-support efforts going while investigating the threat of a monster among the family. Chen Qing arrived at Nanyang without an identity token, and Sixth Master Shen wondered whether he had brought news of Wang Ye and Third Brother.

• Shen Yifeng ordered the merchant association to keep buying goods despite the mounting expense of the river blockade.
• Laoshi'er approached Shen Yifeng for an alliance against the suspected monster, and Shen Yifeng detected the other two young branch heads hiding nearby.
• The three young branch heads followed Shen Yifeng to meet Chen Qing, who had arrived at the southern gate with a child.
• Hong Rui asked Chen Qing for proof of identity, and Chen Qing explained that Sixth Master Shen had taken his token when Vice Minister Wang visited.
• Sixth Master Shen studied Chen Qing and wondered whether Wang Ye had taken Third Brother to Liuzhou and what the prefect was planning.

Chen Qing entered Nanyang City and confronted the Shen Family over the monster hidden among them. After the family challenged his innocence, he proved himself by sending his soul out of his body and proposed testing everyone in turn.

• Chen Qing entered Nanyang City after Shen Yixin deactivated the remaining formations at its gates.
• At a banquet, Shen Yichen demanded to know what had happened to Shen Laosan, Shen Laoba, and Shen Lao'er.
• Chen Qing revealed that Shen Lao'er had taken control of Shen Laojiu before Shen Laosan and Shen Laoba drove her into the river mist.
• Chen Qing said the monster was among the Shen Family members present, and the family challenged his account and demanded proof that he was clean.
• Chen Qing sent his soul out of his body and proposed that the Shen Family members do the same to identify the monster.

Chen Qing persuaded the Shen Family to test for parasitized members by exposing their souls one at a time, with Ghost Child and Chen Qing guarding them. Shen Yifeng began the test, and the chapter ended as a sudden scream interrupted it.

• Chen Qing proposed that the Shen Family members expose their souls in turn while he protected them, and Ghost Child unleashed his blood qi to prove he could help guard them.
• Shen Yixin agreed to the test, and Shen Laoqi volunteered to go first despite his brothers' suspicions.
• Chen Qing used prepared dragon crystal stones to activate formations around the tavern, making the Shen Family more wary of his abilities.
• The Shen Family members paired off or took separate positions, and Shen Yixin reassured Laoshi'er by standing beside him.
• Shen Yifeng began projecting his soul under Chen Qing's protection, but a shrill scream suddenly rang out.

Shen Yinian received a court order to provide the Crown Prince’s army with a defense map, while secretly revealing that he was a living corpse enduring the sun with a device made by Laoliu. Elsewhere, Laoliu attacked and killed Laoshi'er, exposing himself and making Chen Qing suspect Shen Yinian was part of a larger conspiracy.

• The Duke of Qin and Shen Yinian discussed concentrating troops in Nanming Prefecture while keeping forces ready for the West Sea.
• Shen Yinian read a confidential order naming the Crown Prince as army leader with General Hong assisting, then declined to send the current defense map.
• In his tent, Shen Yinian revealed his damaged black hand and told the silver-armored officer that Laoliu’s sun-shielding membrane helped him endure daylight.
• As Laoqi’s soul left his body, Laoliu seized Laoshi'er and ground him to death inside his puppet body.
• Chen Qing confronted Sixth Master Shen and realized Shen Yinian might also be involved, raising fears that living corpses had infiltrated Great Jin’s court and military.

Chen Qing and the Shen Family tried to contain Sixth Master Shen after discovering the parasite, but Sixth Master unleashed hundreds of murderous puppets across Nanyang City to force them into a choice. Chen Qing formed rescue teams while Shen Laoqi realized Chen Qing had relatives in the city and suspected Sixth Master had noticed as well.

• Ghost Child destroyed the puppet that killed Shen Shi'er, and Chen Qing inspected the Shen Family members but found no other parasites among those present.
• Shen Laoqi activated his Thousand Eyes Spell to watch Nanyang City, but Sixth Master Shen sent more than nine hundred lookalike puppets into the streets, killing residents while others fled toward the gates.
• Chen Qing urged the Shen Family to save the people and warned that Sixth Master might stay in the city to target isolated Shen Family members.
• Chen Qing split the Shen Family into groups of three and took Shen Laoshi with him to rescue civilians, while Shen Laosi and the others guarded the remaining gates.
• Shen Laoqi told Shen Laoshiyi and Shen Laosi that Chen Qing had repeatedly watched the area where his relatives lived, and suspected Sixth Master had figured it out too.

Chen Qing found Shen Laoliu threatening his mother and eldest sister-in-law, and revealed that he had cooperated with Princess White Jade. He agreed to take Shen Laoliu out of Nanyang City and asked him to bring out his true body, leaving Shen Laoliu uncertain whether he could trust Chen Qing.

• Chen Qing's mother and eldest sister-in-law hid in an alley as chaos spread through Nanyang City.
• Shen Laoliu found the women and realized that Chen Qing was their son and relative, then prepared to use them to threaten him.
• Chen Qing arrived with Shen Laoshi and Ghost Child, and told Shen Laoliu that Princess White Jade had helped him.
• Shen Laoliu demanded that Chen Qing escort him out of Nanyang City or he would kill the women, and Chen Qing agreed.
• Chen Qing asked Shen Laoliu to bring out his true body so he could take him out safely.

Chen Qing escorted Shen Laoliu and Laoshi out of Nanyang City after Shen Laoqi chose not to attack, while binding Shen Laoliu with a soul oath to protect Chen Qing’s family. Once they crossed the city’s spell formation, a massive black arm burst from the ground and seized Shen Laoliu, revealing Chen Qing’s backup plan.

• Shen Laoqi and Shen Laosi debated whether to attack Shen Laoliu or let Chen Qing escort Laoshi out, and Shen Laoqi chose to protect Laoshi.
• Shen Laoliu revealed that his true body was hidden inside the puppet through the Seven-Skill Mofang, and he and Chen Qing formed a soul oath.
• Chen Qing and Laoshi used the Divine Wind Spell to leave Nanyang City, while Shen Laoqi let them pass and Chen Qing’s family remained behind with the puppet.
• Outside the city, Shen Laoliu realized Chen Qing had a backup plan, but an enormous black arm erupted from the ground and grabbed him.

Chen Qing explained the ancient insects’ connection to the Dragon Palace and revealed that Shen Laoda had absorbed two of them. The story left the Shen family facing a demon that commanded three insects’ high-ranking dependents and five million living corpses.

• Shen Yiyun used the Insect Spell to seize control of the ancient insect inside Sixth Master Shen and shut down the spell arrays around Liuzhou City.
• Shen Yifeng arrived with other Shen family members, and Shen Yiyun agreed to enter the city with Chen Qing for negotiations.
• Chen Qing reassured his family after the massacre in Nanyang City, then told the Shen family that Fifth Master Shen and Sixth Master Shen had a powerful ally in the capital seeking the Dragon Palace’s legacy.
• Chen Qing explained that the nine ancient insects carried memories that could reveal the Dragon Palace’s location, and said only four insects remained.
• Chen Qing revealed that Shen Laoda had killed and absorbed two other insects, giving it three insects’ high-ranking dependents and five million living corpses.

Hei Yun learned that West Sea City faced a sudden, coordinated siege by mutated living corpses and a vast serpent believed to be the Shen Family ancestor, threatening the Duke of Qin’s plan to preserve his forces and exploit the ancient incursion. Elsewhere, the eldest princess explained the hidden history behind the King of Qin’s fall and ordered the army to move out, telling the Shen Family monster that its flesh and blood had arrived.

• Lu Hong told Hei Yun that the living corpses had become stronger and united, and that their attacks had nearly breached West Sea City.
• Hei Yun and Lu Hong spotted an enormous serpent surrounding the West Sea coastline and suspected it was the Shen Family ancestor working with the living corpses.
• Hei Yun reflected that the Duke of Qin had planned to use the crown prince’s memories to seize the initiative against the ancients, but the attack on West Sea threatened that plan.
• Fei Tianxing asked why His Majesty had let the Duke of Qin lead the campaign, and the eldest princess explained that the Xiao Household had withheld records about the ancients from him.
• The eldest princess said the Duke of Qin had not rescued the King of Qin because he opposed the King’s refusal to let Lu Ming explore the demonic idol’s inheritance.
• The eldest princess ordered the army to move out and told the Shen Family monster that its flesh and blood had been delivered.

Chen Qing warned the Shen Family that Shen Laoda was consolidating living corpses in the West Sea, while the court’s Golden Dragon Guard marched into Jiangnan’s poisonous southwestern mountains under the eldest princess’s command. The troops discovered the trap after the princess and Fei Family spellcasters disappeared, as swarms approached through the mist.

• Chen Qing explained that Shen Laoda had devoured rival ancient insects and was gathering living corpses and military hosts in the West Sea.
• Chen Qing argued that the court’s elite forces could challenge Shen Laoda, but warned that the court was divided and Jiangnan’s hidden kin were stirring.
• The eldest princess led the Golden Dragon Guard into Jiangnan’s uninhabited southwestern mountains, confusing the aristocratic officers accompanying them.
• A young officer from the Hong Household recognized that the mist was poisonous, and the soldiers found that using their bloodline power weakened them.
• The officers discovered that the eldest princess and Fei Family spellcasters had vanished as vast numbers of creatures crawled toward the trapped army.

The eldest princess turned three hundred thousand Golden Dragon Guards into dependents and ordered them to evolve within ten days, while the Duke of Qin learned that the West Sea was under siege and prepared to meet the crown prince. The chapter left the Duke of Qi suspecting that Lu Ming and their old allies had all changed.

• The eldest princess watched the Golden Dragon Guards succumb to the insects and rise as living dependents.
• The eldest princess examined the officers, learned they could reach their next form in ten days, and warned that the threat in the West Sea would not wait.
• Hei Yun told the Duke of Qin that at least ten million living corpses and powerful demons were attacking West Sea City, where the Shen Family's ancestor had appeared.
• Lu Ming ordered the Duke of Lu to take a hundred thousand troops to reinforce West Sea City and told the others to stall requests for aid from Jiangnan.
• The Duke of Qin learned that the crown prince would meet him at Yunzhou's entrance in ten days and planned to take him away afterward.
• The Duke of Qi noticed that Lu Ming and the other dukes seemed unfamiliar and indifferent to their former allies.

Lu Ming met the crown prince in the mist and tried to win his trust by explaining why he had come to Jiangnan and recounting his refusal to explore dangerous legacies. The princess’s ambush exposed the crown prince as a puppet and trapped Lu Ming inside the formation, while she revealed her hatred for the people who had turned against the King of Qin.

• Lu Ming met the crown prince in the fog, and the prince questioned his motives for coming to Jiangnan and asked whether he wanted the Dragon Palace’s secrets to cure his illness.
• Lu Ming said he had refused the King of Qin’s offer to investigate the otherworldly demon statues and would not take that risk now.
• A centipede-like creature attached to the crown prince’s spine revealed that he was a puppet, and the princess struck Lu Ming with the Xiao Household’s Flame Saber.
• The princess admitted she had arranged the crown prince’s false identity and brought the Thousand-Faced Fox into the capital to lure Lu Ming away from his troops.
• Lu Ming realized the princess had trapped him in the formation to keep him from returning to his three hundred thousand men.
• The princess declared that Lu Ming and everyone who had turned against the King of Qin deserved to die.

Lu Ming realized the eldest princess had trapped him to leave the Lu Household’s three hundred thousand soldiers vulnerable, while Tian Heng gathered intelligence and debated where to send reinforcements. Wang Ye returned with news of Jiangnan’s devastation and secretly suspected that Fifth Master Shen was a living corpse; the commanders still faced a decision about their troops.

• Lu Ming gave up struggling in the sealing formation, realized the eldest princess was targeting his soldiers in Jiangnan, and placed his hopes in Tian Heng.
• Tian Heng left for a command meeting after Wang Ye returned and reported that living corpses had overrun most of Jiangnan’s major cities.
• Fifth Master Shen said Nanyang City remained largely safe but lacked the troops to rescue its surrounding counties.
• Fifth Master Shen urged the commanders to prioritize reinforcing Nanming Prefecture, and Tian Heng praised him while privately doubting his motives.
• Wang Ye recalled Chen Qing’s intelligence that Fifth Master Shen was a powerful living corpse and wondered whether to follow Chen Qing’s instructions.

Chen Qing secured the Nanyang prefectural seal and set out for Liuzhou with his mother and sister-in-law, while Chen Ye and Wei Gongcheng awaited their family reunions there. The chapter ended with Wei Gongcheng and Shen Yimiao worrying that Liuzhou’s gains might come too late unless Lord Wang returned with benefits from the current chaos.

• Shen Laoqi and the other Shen family members agreed to trust Chen Qing with Nanyang’s administration because the city faced dwindling food and another attack by living corpses.
• Chen Qing took the Nanyang prefectural seal and brought his seasick mother and sister-in-law aboard, promising his mother he would take her with him from then on.
• Chen Qing avoided telling his mother about Chen Household Village and his eldest brother, saying they would learn the truth when they reached Liuzhou.
• Chen Ye returned to the prefectural office and worried whether his wife would accept him, while Chen Yuan assured him she would be happy to see him and their son.
• Wei Gongcheng and Shen Yimiao discussed the growing faith in Liuzhou’s Underworld and the possibility that Wei Gongcheng’s family had accompanied the army.
• Wei Gongcheng and Shen Yimiao agreed that Liuzhou’s rapid progress might still be too late unless Lord Wang returned with benefits from the chaos.