Chapter Summaries

Ren Qing watched Li Tiangang’s plan use Luo Mingmeng’s Pseudo Soul to create a Marsh Folk, revealing that newly Ascended Marsh Folk could be prey for the beings in Qingxu Palace. After deciding that longevity was his obsession, Ren Qing told Li Tiangang he would leave to advance to the Yin Messenger Realm in the Water Marsh.

• Ren Qing read Li Tiangang’s plan to turn Luo Mingmeng into a Marsh Folk and watched the Jailer camp prepare to carry it out.
• Luo Mingmeng left the camp under the Pseudo Soul’s control, and the water mist consumed it as she became a Marsh Folk.
• Ren Qing saw a tongue shoot from Qingxu Palace and swallow Luo Mingmeng, concluding that Ascended Marsh Folk were vulnerable prey.
• Li Tiangang used a tender shoot to restore Luo Mingmeng’s body and promised to help her reach the Ghost Envoy Realm.
• Ren Qing named longevity as his obsession and told Li Tiangang he would leave the camp to advance to the Yin Messenger Realm in the Water Marsh.

Ren Qing crossed the sandstorm into Yellow Sand City, where he discovered that the Zeren treated mortals as food for Pustule Old Daoist’s wounds. At the Jailer camp, Li Yaoyang asked Song Zongwu to explain what a Zeren immortal was.

• Ren Qing left the Jailer camp aboard his sand ship and learned that Li Yaoyang had failed to advance to the Yin Messenger Realm.
• Ren Qing used a giant sand person and the sand ship to cross the storm, then hid outside Yellow Sand City when a powerful Zeren searched the area.
• The elderly Zeren ordered Yellow Sand City to send ten pairs of virgin boys and girls to Yellow Crane Temple, promising them a chance to become immortal.
• Ren Qing entered Yellow Sand City and saw Liu Chuan’s remains used to summon Qingxu Temple, where Pustule Old Daoist’s maggots fell as food for the Gobi people.
• Song Zongwu urged the badly injured Li Yaoyang to return to Abhidi Hell, and Li Yaoyang asked him what a Zeren immortal was.

Ren Qing revealed himself to Sha Shanzi, learned the origins of the Qi Refining Method, and investigated Yellow Sand City’s Daoist temples and government. After deciding to visit the temple associated with Liu Chuan, he asked Sha Shanzi what the Ascension Ladder was used for.

• Ren Qing watched Sha Shanzi practice the Qi Refining Method and realized that it might be connected to the Dionysian Method.
• Ren Qing appeared before Sha Shanzi, used the Heavenly Dao Dream Seed to gain his trust, and obtained a tattered manual of the Qi Refining Method.
• Sha Shanzi told Ren Qing that Chao Yangzi had created the method from the Dionysian Method and died on the Ascension Ladder.
• Ren Qing mastered the Qi Refining Method, then questioned Sha Shanzi about Yellow Sand City’s temples, government, and Yellow Sand Daoist Assembly.
• Ren Qing decided to investigate the Daoist temple associated with Liu Chuan and asked Sha Shanzi about the Ascension Ladder.

Ren Qing investigated the Marsh Immortals in Yellow Sand City and obtained the Water Marsh Method from Liu Chuan. He concluded the method was a crude, flawed imitation of the Immortal Devouring Method and left Liu Chuan under Ghost Shadow surveillance.

• Ren Qing imprisoned Sha Shanzi, gave him an annotated Wind Sand Method manual, and began exploring Yellow Sand City.
• Ren Qing tracked the pseudo-Marsh People in Daoist temples and suspected they were used to advance from the Self-Devouring Realm to the Other-Devouring Realm.
• Ren Qing infiltrated White Cloud Temple, found its Dao Boy suffering from severe Aberration, and discovered Liu Chuan was mentally unstable and deteriorating.
• Ren Qing confronted Liu Chuan, suppressed the Ghost Shadows in him, and forced him to recite the Self-Devouring and Other-Devouring Realm methods.
• Ren Qing recognized the Water Marsh Method as a distorted mixture of the Immortal Devouring Method and Heavenly Dao Method, recorded it, and left Ghost Shadows to monitor Liu Chuan.

Ren Qing investigated the mass graveyard and uncovered signs that Chao Yangzi had faked his death and was using the Yellow Sand Daoist Assembly to pursue the Dionysian Method. He attended the assembly and found its Daoists unknowingly involved in Chao Yangzi’s wine-brewing scheme, leaving his next move uncertain.

• Ren Qing learned from Tu Qingzi that Chao Yangzi had likely arranged for Sha Shanzi to obtain the Qi Refining Method, then discovered that one corpse was missing from the mass graveyard.
• Ren Qing connected Chao Yangzi’s Ascension Ladder and the Yellow Sand Daoist Assembly to his effort to obtain ingredients for the Dionysian Method, while suspecting Qingxu Palace might be involved.
• Ren Qing studied the Water Marsh Method and reported his findings to Song Zongwu, prompting Jailer Hall to test Marsh People and prepare poison-related Forbidden Guards for Water Marsh.
• Li Tiangang gave a failed Marsh Person to Li Yaoyang, who took it into the desert to attempt advancement.
• Ren Qing attended the Sand River Daoist Assembly and saw that the gathered Daoists had altered lungs and organs that appeared adapted to brewing or purifying alcohol vapor.

Ren Qing secretly obtained the Dionysian Method from Chao Yangzi and altered the Qi Refining Method into the Sandstorm Qi Refining Method before it spread through the Yellow Sand Daoist Assembly. As Ren Qing left the gathering, Li Yaoyang arrived at Yellow Sand City in the form of black beetles, drawing the attention of the Yellow Crane Immortal and the Marsh people.

• Ren Qing planted a Heavenly Dao Dream Seed in Daoist Chenfeng and discovered that Chao Yangzi was hiding inside his lungs with an incomplete Dionysian Method.
• Daoist Chenfeng killed a Daoist who contested the seating, then turned the victim's flesh and blood into wine that helped the gathered Daoists advance their Qi Refining Method.
• Ren Qing copied the Dionysian Method from Chao Yangzi's memories and used the Fabricated Art to create the Sandstorm Qi Refining Method.
• Ren Qing altered Chao Yangzi's memories so Daoist Chenfeng taught the Sandstorm Qi Refining Method to the assembly through the night.
• Ren Qing sensed a familiar aura approaching Yellow Sand City and hurried toward the gate as Li Yaoyang's black beetles pushed through the sandstorm.
• The Yellow Crane Immortal sucked Li Yaoyang's remaining beetles into a jade gourd while Marsh people watched from the city wall.

Ren Qing investigated Yellow Crane Immortal’s plans and prepared to exploit the chaos in Yellow Sand City, while the Ascension Assembly claimed more young victims. After A Zhuo died and became a dried corpse, Ren Qing secretly took seven corpses to the Prison Within the Stomach for his experiments.

• Ren Qing examined the Dionysian Method and suspected that Pustule Old Daoist had relied on wine to sustain his vitality.
• Ren Qing learned that Great Dream True Person had directed Li Yaoyang’s actions, then watched Yellow Crane Temple prepare an Ascension Assembly and recruit more than thirty children.
• Ren Qing concluded that the assembly was a step toward the Third Realm and considered advancing Liu Chuan by using Water Souls.
• Daoist Changshi told Ren Qing that A Zhuo had died at Yellow Crane Temple, and the two went there to collect his dried corpse along with nine others.
• Ren Qing wrapped the corpses, took them to the mass graveyard, and secretly stored seven of them in the Prison Within the Stomach.

Ren Qing experimented with creating pseudo-Marsh Persons and waited for a chance to act as the Ascension Assembly approached. Chao Yangzi completed the Dionysian Method’s threshold by drinking the wine from thirty-six Daoists, but Marsh Persons seized him and carried him toward Qingxu Temple as Ren Qing glimpsed a strange face on Pustule Old Daoist.

• Ren Qing turned water-soul-fed corpses into five pseudo-Marsh Persons and left another corpse in a Prison Within the Stomach cell.
• Daoist Changshi brought Ren Qing to Yellow Crane Temple, where they found corpses whose flesh and bones had been eaten away by Gu insects.
• Ren Qing sent the pseudo-Marsh Persons to lurk near White Cloud Temple while he waited for the Ascension Assembly and Chao Yangzi’s final move.
• Qingmuzi gathered thirty-six aspiring cultivators at the Sand River as the dying Daoist Chenfeng hosted the Yellow Sand Daoist Assembly.
• Chao Yangzi emerged through Daoist Chenfeng, killed the assembled Daoists, and drank the wine from their corpses until the Dionysian Method reached its threshold.
• Marsh Persons captured Chao Yangzi and carried him toward Qingxu Temple, where Ren Qing saw a nonhuman face hidden on the back of Pustule Old Daoist’s head.

Ren Qing forced Liu Chuan to advance to the Other-Devouring Realm, then stole the complete Water Marsh Method from his memories. He uncovered the Marsh People’s role in nurturing the Heavenly Dao Worm and left White Cloud Temple, planning to wait for the Ascension Assembly before attempting to escape Yellow Sand City.

• Ren Qing used Ghost Shadow and the Heavenly Dao Dream Seed to force Liu Chuan to absorb three masses of pseudo-Marsh Person and complete his advancement.
• Ren Qing noticed Ghost Shadow and the Water Marsh Method intertwining, and deduced that Eerie Objects were needed for the Water Marsh Method’s Third Realm.
• Ren Qing realized the Marsh People were raising a mature Heavenly Dao Worm that likely parasitized Pustule Old Daoist, and that the Gobi people, Marsh People, and worm shared a symbiotic relationship.
• Ren Qing imprisoned Liu Chuan, beat him into submission, and used three Dream Seeds to steal the complete Water Marsh Method before returning him to White Cloud Temple.
• Ren Qing left White Cloud Temple as Ghost Shadow and decided to wait for the Ascension Assembly before trying to cross the sandstorm out of Yellow Sand City.

Ren Qing created the Marsh Immortal Method for his Split Soul, advanced it to the Other-Devouring Realm, and discovered that the Blood Moon threatened Xiangxiang. As Ren Qing prepared to leave Yellow Sand City, Li Yaoyang recovered enough to contact him and began forming a plan against Yellow Crane Immortal.

• Ren Qing modified the Water Marsh Method into the Marsh Immortal Method and used Water Souls and the Kindling Fire to turn his Split Soul into a Marsh Person.
• Ren Qing advanced the Split Soul to the Other-Devouring Realm, strengthening his suppression of the Supreme Dark Nightmare Lord Eerie Object, and decided not to spread the method.
• Ren Qing saw the Blood Moon rise over Jing Province from the Ascension Ladder and concluded that Xiangxiang was at risk, so he resumed preparing to flee Yellow Sand City.
• Li Yaoyang recovered his consciousness among the Gu Insects, recognized Ren Qing's name, and used the Ghost Shadow to tell him not to act.
• Ren Qing sent Li Yaoyang information about the Daoist temples' schemes, and Li Yaoyang began devising a plan as Yellow Crane Immortal laughed nearby.

Ren Qing watched Yellow Crane Immortal’s Ascension Assembly and discovered that Li Yaoyang was fighting for control inside Yellow Crane Immortal’s body. As Qingxu Palace appeared, Ren Qing found that its Heavenly Dao Worm was connected to the one in the Dao of Non-action Dojo, leaving him to wonder whether the palace was raising a Heavenly Dao Worm or Son of Heavenly Dao.

• Ren Qing observed Yellow Crane Immortal’s Ascension Assembly and saw the illusions created by the Marsh People conceal a desolate, bone-built platform.
• Yellow Crane Immortal appeared with Li Yaoyang’s face growing from his neck, while Ren Qing realized Li Yaoyang had divided his souls among Yellow Crane Immortal’s body and was resisting from within.
• Yellow Crane Immortal’s condition briefly worsened before he regained control, and Ren Qing sensed Li Yaoyang’s souls fighting and devouring one another.
• Qingxu Palace appeared and summoned the Marsh People upward, but Ren Qing’s Split Soul stopped responding before he could use it to investigate.
• Ren Qing fled into the sandstorm and attached Dream Seeds to Pustule Old Daoist, then discovered that the Heavenly Dao Worm in Qingxu Palace connected to the worm in the Dao of Non-action Dojo.

Ren Qing sent a Split Soul to Qingxu Palace and discovered that the Marsh people who ascended there were being assigned menial roles under the Dao of Non-action Monastery. His Split Soul was made a Wine-Warming Immortal and sealed inside an earthen jar, while Yellow Crane Immortal’s fate and Li Yaoyang’s next move remained uncertain.

• Ren Qing hurried toward the Jailer camp after sensing that conflict in Jing Province could threaten Xiangxiang, while his Split Soul ascended to Qingxu Palace.
• Ren Qing brought Sha Shanzi and Husky aboard the sandship, then focused on sensing his Split Soul as they traveled toward the Jailer camp.
• At Qingxu Temple, Ren Qing’s Split Soul saw Yellow Crane Immortal lose control and watched a pale Daoist use a wine-scented power to dissolve his flesh.
• The Daoist assigned the newly arrived Marsh people to temple duties, including making White Stone an Earth-Wood Immortal and Ren Qing’s Split Soul a Wine-Warming Immortal.
• Lu Shan Son tried to flee Qingxu Temple and was torn apart and eaten by the Other-Devouring Realm Marsh people.
• A middle-aged Marsh person led Ren Qing’s Split Soul to a dark side room and sealed him inside an earthen jar to serve as a Wine-Warming Immortal.

Ren Qing uncovered evidence that Pustule Old Daoist might be the remnant corpse of Wine and Meat Daoist, then returned to Jailer Hall aboard the powerful Sand Boat. He revealed his Yin Messenger Realm cultivation and brought Sha Shanzi before the senior Forbidden Guards, who prepared to discuss the Water Marsh.

• Ren Qing questioned Sha Shanzi about Yellow Sand City’s history and learned that the city’s records only covered several centuries, while Marsh Immortal had appeared about a century earlier.
• Ren Qing concluded that Pustule Old Daoist might be Wine and Meat Daoist, whose corpse had created the Water Marsh, and planned to warn Jailer Hall while concealing what he knew through the Information Flow.
• Ren Qing cultivated for several days aboard the Sand Boat, then accelerated toward the Jailer camp and arrived in less than half an hour.
• Huang Ziwang, Li Tiangang, and Song Zongwu witnessed the Sand Boat’s arrival and wondered how Ren Qing had obtained such a powerful artifact.
• Ren Qing revealed his Yin Messenger Realm aura, brought Sha Shanzi over the camp wall, and Song Zongwu said they would gather the Yin Messenger Realm cultivators and contact Great Dream True Person.

Ren Qing joined the Yin Messenger Realm cultivators to hear about the dangers hidden in the marshes and urged them to prepare for a possible evacuation. The Great Dream True Person warned that Abhidi Hell might have to relocate, and Ren Qing revealed his Sand Boat artifact and hinted that he wanted a larger place to forge artifacts.

• Ren Qing advised Huang Ziwang to cultivate the Poison Bone Art, and Huang Ziwang hurried to Abhidi Hell to pursue it.
• The Great Dream True Person summoned the Yin Messenger Realm cultivators to the Ghost Market, where Sha Shanzi's memories were turned into a book for them to read.
• Ren Qing revealed that his Split Soul had entered Qingxu Palace and found a mysterious corpse among the clouds, while the Head in a Jar warned it might be in the Heavenly Eerie Realm and parasitized by a Heavenly Dao Worm from Jingzhou.
• The Great Dream True Person warned that Abhidi Hell might need to relocate if the marshes became uncontrollable, and Ren Qing presented a Sand Boat artifact as a possible means of travel.
• Ren Qing hinted that Great Dream Artifact Forging needed more space, revealing that he operated it.

Ren Qing received the Dream Butterfly Method and took charge of the Ghost Market as Jailer Hall planned how to investigate Wine and Meat Daoist and Qingxu Palace. After Great Dream True Person withdrew the Ghost Market, Ren Qing resolved to restore it, improve artifact crafting, and seek more lifespan before departing into the desert to cultivate and refine artifacts.

• Great Dream True Person taught Ren Qing the Dream Butterfly Method after Ren Qing declared himself Lord of the Ghost Market.
• Jailer Hall agreed to test Wine and Meat Daoist's consciousness, investigate Qingxu Palace, and prepare for possible conflict in Marshland.
• Song Zongwu and the other Forbidden Guards left Abhidi Hell to carry out their duties, while Great Dream True Person withdrew the Ghost Market.
• Ren Qing planned to make the Ghost Market profitable by encouraging trade and improving artifact crafting, then advised Huang Ziwang on how to practice Poison Bone Art.
• Ren Qing told Li Tiangang he would cultivate and refine artifacts in the desert, then rode the Sand Boat away from Sand Dune Mountain.

Ren Qing advanced the Dream Butterfly Method to An Inch of Time and experimented with ways to refine Eerie Objects into artifacts. His attempt to destroy one in the endless sea of sand produced a Wraith Fetus, which seemed capable of transforming artifacts and drew an eager response from the sand ship.

• Ren Qing studied the Dream Butterfly Method, learned about its branches, and used the Supreme Dark Nightmare Lord to overcome the mutation during his cultivation.
• Ren Qing advanced to Dream Butterfly Cultivator and then An Inch of Time, gaining Soul Butterflies that could multiply and steal small amounts of lifespan.
• Ren Qing began testing Artifact Refining methods on Eerie Objects, but his experiments failed to turn them into artifacts.
• Ren Qing bound a Martial Human Realm Eerie Object with the Dragon Snake Spine and threw it into the endless sea of sand, where it died and became a Wraith Fetus.
• Ren Qing saw that the sand ship's keel reacted eagerly to the Wraith Fetus and wondered whether it could transform an artifact.

Ren Qing discovered how to forge Eerie Fetus Artifacts by matching an artifact’s materials and consciousness with an Eerie Fetus from the same cultivation path. After successfully refining several artifacts, he named his sandship Ghost Ship and realized its Yang God Realm potential.

• Ren Qing tested an Eerie Fetus on an animated Human Skin Daoist robe, but the mismatched materials caused the artifact to decay and collapse.
• He refined another robe from Elephant-Foot User hide and discovered that using a Martial Human Realm Eerie Fetus from the same path produced a working artifact.
• Ren Qing established that Eerie Fetus Artifacts had to advance through matching cultivation realms and Aberration paths, and that the original artifact determined the artifact’s upper limit.
• He refined three Half-Corpse Realm Eerie Fetus Artifacts, including two Daoist robes and a bone sword, while testing their abilities and limitations.
• Ren Qing named his sandship Ghost Ship and recognized that its Ksitigarbha King rib could give it a Yang God Realm upper limit.

Ren Qing demonstrated the Eerie Fetus Artifact Forging Method to the Jailer Hall's leaders, who recognized its potential to address their shortage of usable personnel. He then fused a Taotie Method eerie fetus with the sample sand ship, revealing that it could devour materials to strengthen itself.

• Ren Qing completed the Eerie Fetus Artifact Forging Method and chose Butterfly Molting to keep the Ghost Market running while he was away.
• Ren Qing finished the sample sand ship and showed Sun that he could wield Bone Growth through an artifact, causing Sun to summon him to Abhidi Hell.
• Li Tiangang and Sun brought Ren Qing before Great Dream True Person and Head in a Jar, where Ren Qing presented the forging method.
• Great Dream True Person approved Ren Qing's proposal, and Li Tiangang recognized that the ghost ship's Ksitigarbha King's rib could let it advance toward the Yang God Realm.
• Great Dream True Person gave Ren Qing a Martial Human Realm Taotie Method Eerie Object, which Ren Qing fused with the sand ship.
• The sand ship's eerie fetus merged with its keel and planks, revealing its ability to devour other materials to make up for its shortcomings.

Ren Qing and Jailer Hall planned how to develop the Sand Boat artifact and teach the Eerie Fetus Artifact Forging Method while avoiding needless casualties. Ren Qing then advanced the ghost ship with Taotie Method Eerie Fetus Artifacts, discovering that Nightmare Demon transformation could turn it into a Ghost Wolf, and began considering reopening the Ghost Market.

• Li Tiangang and the others decided to promote the Taotie Method, cultivate more Bitter Yellow Grass, and teach artifact forging through Gobi people in Yellow Sand City.
• Ren Qing explained the Water Marsh Method’s Devouring Realm and proposed bringing selected Gobi people to Abhidi Hell to learn artifact forging.
• Ren Qing used the Dream Butterfly Method to replenish Prison Within the Stomach with resources, then left Abhidi Hell aboard the ghost ship.
• Ren Qing fed the ghost ship Taotie Method Eerie Fetus Artifacts and used his blood to bind its growing consciousness to himself.
• Ren Qing activated the Supreme Dark Nightmare Lord’s ability, transforming the ghost ship into a twenty-meter Ghost Wolf before it grew exhausted and reverted.
• Ren Qing considered reopening the Ghost Market to earn lifespan and increase his strength.

Ren Qing reopened and expanded the Ghost Market, drawing Forbidden Guards back to trade and take assignments while the crisis around Qingxu Temple continued. Xiao San'er discovered Ren Qing was the new Lord of the Ghost Market and accepted a dangerous Artifact Refining task near the marshland, while Ren Qing gained lifespan from managing the market.

• Ren Qing assessed the worsening state of Qingxu Temple and the Dao of Non-action Dojo, then began rebuilding the Ghost Market beneath the Dream Tree.
• The Dream Tree transformed, its branches expanding and its paths and buildings reshaping as the Ghost Market reopened to Forbidden Guards.
• Qin Jun, Qin Lan, and Xiao San'er explored the newly opened market, where Xiao San'er accepted an Artifact Refining task posted on the noticeboard.
• Qin Jun told Xiao San'er that Ren Qing was the Ghost Market's new Lord, and Xiao San'er recognized the familiar phantom in Great Dream Pavilion without exposing him.
• Nether Crow delivered Xiao San'er's assignment to travel to Heshantown near the marshland, and the Qin siblings decided to accompany him.
• Ren Qing watched the Forbidden Guards flood into the Ghost Market and devoted himself to managing it as his lifespan rapidly increased.