Chapter Summaries

Ren Qing reached the Three Bodhis, where the Esoteric Buddhist Sect lured monks into gaining grotesque dharma while draining their Buddha energy. After discovering that Song Zongwu had refined the statue, Ren Qing began preparing to reverse-engineer its dharma and destroy the scheme.

• Ren Qing saw monks distort themselves while climbing the Three Bodhis and learned that they were being forced to master Esoteric Buddhist dharma.
• When a Gatekeeper Monk demanded flesh from the Laughing Lion Monks, Ren Qing stopped Zongshen from sacrificing himself and killed the attacker with a single palm.
• Zongshen explained that Buddhist factions had come searching for Laughing Lion Arhat, and that Zongqing had vanished after entering the Dead Man Forbidden Zone.
• Ren Qing concluded that the Three Bodhis was screening monks to become ten bodies while the Evil Buddha devoured their Buddha energy.
• Ren Qing checked the statue's Information Flow and discovered that Song Zongwu had refined it from the bones and souls of one hundred thousand living beings.
• Ren Qing decided to reverse-engineer the Esoteric Buddhist dharma, make it removable with the stomach world, and destroy the scheme.

Ren Qing perfected the Enlightened Martial Body and prepared to climb the Three Bodhis while the All-Living Buddha drove the monks into a frenzy. He fought his way up the statue, and the chapter left him advancing toward its summit as aberrant monks swarmed around him.

• Ren Qing created the Enlightened Martial Body, which formed a calculus Buddha pill to seal Buddha Energy, then spent thirty days mastering it while refining forbidden corpses.
• The All-Living Buddha spoke through the monks, urged Ren Qing to climb to Bodhi Peak, and caused frail monks to explode before the survivors devoured their remains.
• An unknown voice showed the climbing monks an Illusion of a many-headed, many-armed Buddha, turning them against Ren Qing and making them wait to feast on his flesh.
• Ren Qing climbed the statue and struck the swarming monks with a palm infused with the five mountain peaks of the Stomach World, killing hundreds and driving the rest down.
• Ghost Shadow secretly devoured hundreds of fine-haired sheep bred from the monks' corpses, while Ren Qing killed a flesh-covered monk at the statue's knee and continued upward toward the figures visible in its three heads.

Ren Qing climbed the Three Bodhis and resisted the evil Buddhas’ corrupting energy by advancing the Pratyekabuddha Martial Body. At the summit, he met the Nameless Ascetic Monk, who revealed that Song Zongwu’s six heads were Buddha Fruits and urged Ren Qing to consume one.

• Li Yaoyang emerged from seclusion as a Yang God Realm cultivator, while Han Li and other Jailer Hall members helped transform the sealed corpse into a zombie.
• Ren Qing fought through the aberrant monks and absorbed the Void Buddha’s and All-Living Buddha’s energy by advancing his Pratyekabuddha Martial Body.
• Ren Qing reached the Three Bodhis’ summit and found six severed heads identified as Song Zongwu, but no sign of his body.
• The Nameless Ascetic Monk appeared and explained that consuming Buddha Fruits could grant Secret Transmission Fruit Status, while he sought to devour the Ten Buddhas and attain Bodhisattva status.
• Ren Qing learned that the Nameless Ascetic Monk’s forgotten surname was Song and picked up one of Song Zongwu’s heads as the monk urged him to eat its Buddha Fruit.

Ren Qing resisted Nameless Ascetic Monk’s attempt to force him to consume Song Zongwu’s Buddha Fruit and used the chaos to seize the Corpse Core. With the Corpse Immortal destroying the Forbidden Corpse’s upper half, Ren Qing hid along Nameless Ascetic Monk’s path while Song Zongwu’s memories began to reveal the truth.

• Ren Qing examined Song Zongwu’s remaining soul and delayed Nameless Ascetic Monk while Jailer Hall members cut into the Forbidden Corpse from within the stomach world.
• Nameless Ascetic Monk’s obsession overwhelmed him, but Ren Qing escaped his strike using Human World Walker and left a Mirror Immortal Phantom Body behind.
• Ren Qing returned to the Three Bodhis and reasoned that the evil Buddhas might hold other fragments of Song Zongwu’s soul.
• Ren Qing released the Forbidden Corpse to distract Nameless Ascetic Monk, then used the chaos to strip the Corpse Core from its dantian and escape with it.
• The Corpse Immortal dragged away the Forbidden Corpse’s upper half, while Ren Qing hid along Nameless Ascetic Monk’s route and Song Zongwu’s memories began to unravel.

Ren Qing killed the Nameless Ascetic Monk and learned that Song Zongwu was his tenth life, only to discover the monk had orchestrated events to prepare Song Zongwu’s resurrection. Bao Sheng Buddha appeared, devoured the Void Buddha, and unleashed destruction across the land as Ren Qing fled by dispersing his body and soul.

• Ren Qing fought the wounded Nameless Ascetic Monk, pulled the All-Living Buddha from his skull, and sealed it in the stomach world.
• Ren Qing’s divination turned to great misfortune, and he realized the Corpse Immortal had vanished while the Nameless Ascetic Monk remained behind.
• After the Nameless Ascetic Monk died, Ren Qing learned from Song Zongwu’s memories that Song Zongwu had been the monk’s tenth life and that the monk had prepared him for resurrection.
• Ren Qing realized the Nameless Ascetic Monk had been the six-armed, headless figure in Dream City and had deliberately drawn him to Three Bodhis.
• Bao Sheng Buddha appeared, drained the Nameless Ascetic Monk, swallowed the Void Buddha, and attacked the land with his tongue.
• Ren Qing scattered his severed arms, reduced his body to ash, and merged his soul into a diseased tree to begin conceiving a new body.

Ren Qing recovered within the Plague Dream Tree after escaping Bao Sheng Buddha, then spent years rebuilding his body and planning Jailer Hall’s next steps. As the chapter ended, strange seven-colored radiance shook the Sick Tree, and Ren Qing sent his soul into the world within his stomach to investigate.

• Ren Qing assessed the damage from his escape and estimated that his new body would take about ten years to mature.
• Ren Qing assigned Xiao San'er and Li Yaoyang to refine a Heavenly Dao small world, while Jailer Hall worked to resurrect Song Zongwu.
• Ren Qing cultivated Disease Types in the Sick Tree, hoping to find one that could restore Song Zongwu’s body and nourish his remnant soul.
• Ren Qing spent five years experimenting and finally produced the Regeneration Disease Type, which healed injuries at the cost of lifespan.
• The Sick Tree trembled amid seven-colored radiance, and Ren Qing sent his soul into the world within his stomach to investigate.

Ren Qing repaired Song Zongwu’s Niwan Palace and restored his body, uncovering memories that revealed the Nameless Ascetic Monk had contacted Buddhism’s Heavenly Dao, Ancient Buddha Dipankara, through a mortal sacrifice. After preserving the secret and completing Song Zongwu’s restoration, Ren Qing focused on his own revival and planned to cultivate toward the Heavenly Eerie Realm.

• Ren Qing arrived in Dream City and found Li Tiangang, Han Li, and other cultivators researching how to complete Song Zongwu’s soul.
• Ren Qing examined Han Li’s unusual combination of Arts and then carefully repaired the holes in Song Zongwu’s Niwan Palace.
• As Song Zongwu’s memories returned, Ren Qing discovered that the Nameless Ascetic Monk had summoned Ancient Buddha Dipankara through a sacrifice of nearly a thousand mortals and received the Bao Sheng Universal Salvation Scripture.
• Ren Qing recorded the method of contacting Ancient Buddha Dipankara, erased the Nameless Ascetic Monk’s memories, and kept the dangerous ritual from spreading.
• Ren Qing restored Song Zongwu’s body and continued watching Jailer Hall’s soul research while preparing to pursue the Heavenly Eerie Realm after his revival.

Ren Qing revived on the outskirts of the Beast Pen, a flesh-and-blood domain ruled by the Supreme Heavenly Demon, and assessed his condition and surroundings. After witnessing Black Goats emerge from a Heavenly Demon Nest and follow a powder trail, he decided to investigate the Beast Pen’s civilization before attempting the Ascension Ladder.

• A skinless driver used his body to power a Blood Chariot, dumped corpses and minced flesh near a towering wall, and left a trail of white powder as he departed.
• Ren Qing emerged from the soil beside the wall, concealed his presence, and realized he had arrived in the Beast Pen without being eroded by its Heavenly Demon aura.
• Ren Qing inspected his restored body and Arts, confirmed that Lifeless Dead had returned him to peak condition, and noted that his lifespan was nearing five thousand years.
• The Heavenly Demon Nest produced Black Goat beings that devoured the discarded flesh, became muddleheaded, and followed the Blood Chariot’s powder trail.
• Ren Qing decided to investigate the Beast Pen’s apparent civilization and seek the Ascension Ladder as soon as possible.

Ren Qing studied the Beast Pen and discovered that its people were born from the Mother Wall, rapidly developed through collective intelligence, and ultimately became Black Goats as part of the Supreme Heavenly Demon's cultivation. After witnessing their cycle repeat, he retreated deeper underground and prepared to advance the Ascension Ladder.

• Ren Qing followed Black Goats to a town, learned the Beast Pen language, and discovered that its people called the Heavenly Demon Nest the Mother Wall and returned their dead to it.
• Ren Qing built a concealed cave underground and spent a month cultivating, bringing his lifespan just past five thousand years.
• Ren Qing observed the Beast Pen people construct a Flesh and Blood Puppet to extend their lifespans, but their linked blood became infected and the clan died.
• The Beast Pen people transformed into a Black Goat that dissolved into Heavenly Demon aura, leading Ren Qing to realize that the Supreme Heavenly Demon used them for cultivation.
• Ren Qing watched a new group of Beast Pen people arrive and restart the cycle, then moved his cave deeper and summoned the Information Flow to advance the Ascension Ladder.

Ren Qing advanced the Corpse Blood Scripture through the Ascension Ladder, faced the Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Venerate, and created the Dead Mansion Method before revising the corpse arts into a more ambitious Ascension Method. The process ended with the immortal position Fengdu Corpse Emperor, and the chapter closed as Ren Qing returned to his body.

• Ren Qing spent five thousand years of lifespan to advance the Corpse Blood Scripture and witnessed the origins of Lady White Bone.
• Ren Qing encountered the Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Venerate, whose influence distorted the Eerie Fetus Artifact Forging Method.
• Ren Qing fused the Corpse Blood Scripture, Bone Tooth Method, and Corpse Scripture to create the Dead Mansion Method, with the immortal position Cycle Ghost Immortal.
• Ren Qing erased the Dead Mansion Method from his memory and revised the corpse arts to pursue eternal indestructibility.
• Ren Qing completed a new Ascension Method with the immortal position Fengdu Corpse Emperor and returned his soul to his body.

Ren Qing advanced Corpse Fengdu through the Yin Messenger Realm and into the Yang God Realm, gaining a lifespan without limit but discovering that pushing the incomplete immortal position too far could damage him. He chose to cultivate cautiously in the beast-pen cavern while the cracks in his turtle armor healed.

• Ren Qing studied the Corpse Fengdu art and advanced through the White Register and Scribe of Fate, then used the stomach world's materials to extend his lifespan enough to reach the Yin Messenger Realm.
• Ren Qing gained a lifespan of none, but noticed a crack in his turtle armor and concluded that consuming lifespan before mastering the immortal position carried hidden flaws.
• Ren Qing advanced the Calamity Eater galloping wolf to the Yin Messenger Realm, giving it the ability to detect wars and draw strength from battlefield murderous aura.
• Ren Qing continued Corpse Fengdu's advancement to the Yang God Realm, gaining control over yin qi and the ability to summon skeletal ghosts and reclaim their yin qi.
• Ren Qing saw that his turtle armor's cracks had worsened and decided against spending twenty thousand years of lifespan to advance to the Heavenly Eerie Realm, choosing instead to wait and cultivate in seclusion.

Ren Qing watched the Beast Pen people’s flesh-and-blood town decay and collapse, then investigated how they began rebuilding after its destruction. He suspected they had developed a hidden civilization and prepared to advance to Heavenly Eerie Realm while remaining wary of the unexplained effects of healing his turtle-shell cracks.

• Ren Qing adapted to his strengthened Corpse Fengdu body by wearing layers of weight-controlling robes and recalled Wang Ling and Xiao Wu’s lives in the Immortality Forbidden Zone.
• Ren Qing observed the Beast Pen people using flesh-and-blood walls and meat sheep to exchange flesh and extend their lifespans, but he foresaw that decay would doom their town.
• Ren Qing discovered that healing the cracks on his turtle shell weakened his Arts and body, so he investigated himself and prepared to advance Corpse Fengdu before entering Heavenly Eerie Realm.
• Ren Qing saw the Beast Pen people succumb to decay, destroy one another in desperation, and watch their town burn as Black Goats emerged from the walls.
• Ren Qing followed the first Beast Pen people born after the town’s destruction and discovered that their strange, interconnected souls might support a civilization hidden from outsiders.

Ren Qing discovered that the Beast Pen strengthened Song Zongwu's Heavenly Soul and rapidly grew soul-nourishing vegetation, so he expanded the farming operation with Hu Wen and the sheep demons. After the tortoiseshell divination reached great auspiciousness, Ren Qing called for the Jailer Hall's branches to help and prepared to break through to the Heavenly Eerie Realm.

• Ren Qing placed Song Zongwu's body-soul in the Beast Pen and found that its rules strengthened the Heavenly Soul and accelerated the growth of soul-nourishing plants.
• Ren Qing brought Hu Wen and sheep demons into the Beast Pen, ordered Hu Wen to farm within the area protected by the Disaster Aversion Method, and warned him not to take risks.
• Hu Wen organized the sheep demons to expand the planting caves and cultivate vast quantities of vegetation while Ren Qing remained in seclusion.
• Ren Qing emerged to find nearly ten thousand sheep demons working in a large farming complex, and the tortoiseshell divination had reached great auspiciousness.
• Ren Qing approved Hu Wen's continued farming, asked Li Tiangang to send cultivators from every Jailer Hall branch, and returned to prepare for his breakthrough to the Heavenly Eerie Realm.

Li Tiangang organized Jailer Hall to develop the Beast Pen, where its strange rules transformed plants, ores, and eerie beasts. Meanwhile, Ren Qing began consuming twenty thousand years of lifespan to advance to the Heavenly Eerie Realm, and the chapter left him on the verge of breakthrough.

• Li Tiangang and the Yang God Realm cultivators examined the Beast Pen and discovered that it rapidly transformed vegetation and metal ores through its mysterious power.
• Li Tiangang assigned Jailer Hall’s branches to expand and reinforce the cave abode, mine resources, refine pills, and raise eerie beasts.
• Li Tiangang noticed that eerie beasts were gradually changing toward goats under the Beast Pen’s influence, and he planned the cave abode’s development around Ren Qing’s residence.
• An aura from Ren Qing’s cave abode briefly affected cultivators throughout the area as Ren Qing prepared to advance to the Heavenly Eerie Realm.
• Ren Qing consumed twenty thousand years of lifespan, entered an ethereal state, and felt immense power surge through his body and soul as cracks spread across the turtle shell.

Ren Qing completed his breakthrough to the Heavenly Eerie Realm by forcibly fusing the Corpse Fengdu Eerie Object, then learned that consuming lifespan could push his Fengdu Corpse Immortal toward becoming a mindless Tainted Immortal. He stabilized his power and resolved to limit further advancement until the Heavenly Dao rift healed.

• Ren Qing endured the Information Flow stripping away and then fusing the Corpse Fengdu Eerie Object, transforming into a towering Fengdu-like figure as his breakthrough progressed.
• While Ren Qing remained secluded, Jailer Hall expanded its resources, and cultivators noticed Yin Qi and White Bone spreading around his cave dwelling.
• Ren Qing emerged from seclusion and confirmed to Li Tiangang and Li Yaoyang that he had reached the Heavenly Eerie Realm.
• Ren Qing distinguished Anomalous Immortals from Tainted Immortals and realized that consuming lifespan was drawing the Fengdu Corpse Immortal toward the Heavenly Dao.
• Ren Qing inspected the cracks he called the Heavenly Dao rift and decided to wait for it to heal before advancing his other Arts.

Ren Qing advanced Turtle Longevity and the Disguise Technique, then investigated a Heavenly Demon Nest uncovered near Song Zongwu’s coffin. Inside it, he discovered a fragile False World inhabited by Beast Pen people and learned that its strongest resident, Sha Shengzi, had repeatedly tried to ascend.

• Ren Qing advanced Turtle Longevity, divined that Song Zongwu faced great misfortune near the cave’s southwest corner, and later advanced the Disguise Technique.
• Zombie cultivators uncovered a Heavenly Demon Nest, so Ren Qing sealed off the mine and found a flesh tumor containing the Beast Pen people’s shared brain and independent consciousnesses.
• Ren Qing entered the tumor’s memories and saw the Beast Pen people’s False World, then realized its structure might help restore Song Zongwu’s consciousness.
• A disaster began destroying the False World, and Sha Shengzi tried to use the Beast Pen people to force Ren Qing to help him escape.
• Ren Qing read Sha Shengzi’s memories, learned that he had become an immortal in the False World and repeatedly tried to ascend, then drew out his consciousness with World Like a Dream.

Ren Qing harvested Sha Shengzi’s consciousness to create a linked corps of zombie cultivators, while a Soul Brain began stirring Song Zongwu’s remnant soul. As the Jailer Hall prospered beneath the Beast Pen, Ren Qing raised his Arts to the Yang God Realm and prepared for future breakthroughs.

• After Sha Shengzi left the false world, its rules collapsed, and Ren Qing sealed off the path to the Heavenly Demon Nest.
• Ren Qing placed Sha Shengzi in a replica of the false world, harvested his split consciousness repeatedly, and used the copies to animate two hundred Purple Zombies.
• Ren Qing linked the zombies with umbilical cords and the Corpse Brain Method, joining their yin qi into a shared cycle and turning them into a collective cultivator.
• Ren Qing ordered the corpse ghosts to manage Sha Shengzi’s bodies and focused on organizing Ascension Methods for Ghost Shadow’s Arts.
• Xiao San'er completed the Soul Brain, and Ren Qing attached it to Song Zongwu, whose remnant soul stirred and whose fingers twitched.
• Ren Qing’s Arts reached the Yang God Realm as No Deceit expanded beneath the Beast Pen, leaving him poised to pursue the Lifeless Immortal and the Ascension Ladder.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ren Qing continues his closed-door cultivation, advancing the Disaster Aversion Method and reviewing his spells.
• He discovers the potent abilities of the Storyteller's Yang God Realm, "Ancient Storytelling," which can indirectly influence the actions of a host's closest blood relatives.
• Ren Qing realizes that the Heavenly Demon might be using zombies for its arrangements, not aiming for the immortal position of the Corpse Immortal.
• He creates Yin Corpse Water to modify the physiques of the Corpse Vein zombies, enhancing their aptitude and erasing traces of the Corpse Scripture.
• Ren Qing decides to evacuate the Beast Pen within a year and head to the Immortality Forbidden Zone.

Character Developments

• Ren Qing becomes more aware of the Heavenly Demon's plans and takes proactive measures to protect himself and the Jailer Hall.
• Li Tiangang shows responsibility and efficiency in handling the affairs of the Jailer Hall.

Significant Themes

• The theme of preparation and anticipation, as Ren Qing foresees potential threats and takes preventive actions.
• The theme of power and control, as the Heavenly Demon seeks to manipulate events from behind the scenes.

Character Interactions

• Ren Qing interacts with Li Tiangang, instructing him on the evacuation plan for the Beast Pen.
• Ren Qing's relationship with the Corpse Vein zombies becomes more complex as he modifies their physiques, intertwining their fates further.
• Ren Qing's relationship with the Heavenly Demon remains ambiguous, with Ren Qing trying to stay one step ahead of the entity's plans.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ren Qing enters the Mirror World and finds cultivators' bodies being exploited for resources by the Jailer Hall.
• He decides to restore the cultivators' bodies and introduce undetectable disease types to gather information.
• Ren Qing observes a larger game of chess involving Immortals, Buddhas, and living beings, with *** as a player.
• He advances his Taotie Method to the Yang God Realm, causing significant changes in the world within his stomach.
• The Jailer Hall prepares for evacuation, and Ren Qing continues his closed-door cultivation, aiming to advance his spells.

Character Developments

• Ren Qing: Becomes more strategic and calculating, aiming to use ***'s actions to uncover secrets of the world. Advances his Taotie Method, enhancing the world within his stomach.
• *** (Unknown Player): Revealed to be a mortal scheming against Immortals and Buddhas, with a high degree of certainty in their plans.

Significant Themes

• The game of chess metaphor: The world is seen as a chessboard where living beings, Immortals, and Buddhas are pieces in a grand, prolonged game.
• Resource exploitation: The Jailer Hall's exploitation of cultivators' bodies in the Mirror World highlights the theme of resource exploitation and its consequences.
• Information gathering: Ren Qing's introduction of disease types to gather information emphasizes the importance of knowledge and understanding in the game of chess.

Character Interactions

• Ren Qing interacts with the cultivators in the Mirror World, restoring their bodies and introducing disease types.
• Ren Qing observes ***'s actions from a distance, deciding not to interfere directly to avoid exposure.
• Ren Qing interacts with the living beings in the world within his stomach, allowing them to choose their "Mountain Gods" after death.

Ren Qing promoted the Disaster Aversion Method to the Lifeless Immortal stage, expanding Interminable Anomaly and improving Human World Walker as Jailer Hall prepared to leave the Beast Pen. Song Zongwu awakened briefly and recited a scripture about the Deer-Riding Arhat before collapsing, so Ren Qing tried to preserve his body and suspected his missing soul was connected to Linggan Temple.

• Ren Qing spent five thousand years of lifespan promoting the Disaster Aversion Method, and the Information Flow fused its five Eerie Objects into Interminable Anomaly.
• Interminable Anomaly reached the Lifeless Immortal stage, expanding the Disaster Aversion Method's range and strengthening Human World Walker.
• Ren Qing told Ghost Shadow to remind him in six months to promote the Taotie Method as Jailer Hall evacuated its resources from the Beast Pen.
• Li Tiangang heard Song Zongwu cough inside his coffin and gave him lifespan-extending pills, which briefly restored his strength and intelligence.
• Song Zongwu recited a scripture about the Deer-Riding Arhat, then collapsed as Ren Qing suspected his remaining soul had been devoured by the Deer-Riding Buddha energy.
• Ren Qing used marrow threads to support Song Zongwu's bones and told the gathered cultivators to prepare to depart.