Chapter Summaries

Ren Qing escaped the Insect Men, discovered that Corpse Food made by the Immortal Devouring Method could extend his lifespan, and rescued several townsfolk and Forbidden Guards. After defeating a Giant Insectoid, he hid from the approaching Grain Giant and prepared to search for Lu Xiaoyu and Huang Ziwang.

• Ren Qing watched the townsfolk worship the Grain Giant and saw their blood help the Insect Men collect Crystal Blocks from the Amber corpses.
• Ren Qing used the Ghost Shadow to kill the Insect Men, then ate a Corpse Food and gained two hundred days of lifespan.
• Ren Qing put the townsfolk and Zhang Mu into the Prison Within the Stomach, sent Huang Ziwang a warning, and sensed that Lu Xiaoyu was nearby.
• A Giant Insectoid attacked Ren Qing, who transformed into the Ghost Wolf and killed it before fleeing into a cave as the Grain Giant approached.
• Ren Qing suppressed the Ghost Wolf and prepared to search for Lu Xiaoyu and Huang Ziwang, hoping the Ghost Shadow could soon undergo an Eerie Transformation.

Ren Qing rescued Lu Xiaoyu and dug through the Forbidden Zone toward Huang Ziwang, discovering that its Ratmen and their breeding grounds offered him both danger and opportunities. After recovering Huang Ziwang and capturing the Rat Mother’s Eerie Object, Ren Qing ran deeper into the Rat Nest to disrupt the Forbidden Zone’s food chain.

• Ren Qing found Lu Xiaoyu transformed by the Resurrection Art, extracted her soul, and placed her in the Prison Within the Stomach.
• When the shifting cave tried to mislead him, Ren Qing used the Dragon Snake Spine to dig through the walls, and his body gained benefits from the Forbidden Zone.
• Ren Qing reached a Ratmen storehouse, fought through the Ratmen, and found Huang Ziwang inside a flesh mass that bred their kind.
• Huang Ziwang returned to his main body and killed the flesh mass with poisonous smoke, while Ren Qing captured the reviving Rat Mother Eerie Object.
• Ren Qing ran into the Rat Nest, intending to disrupt the Forbidden Zone’s food chain by removing the Ratmen’s Eerie Object.

Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang escaped the rice-husk Giant Face by collapsing the cave passage, then waited in hiding while Ren Qing completed the Ghost Shadow’s First Eerie Transformation. They prepared to return to the Kitchen, with Ren Qing leaving Huang Ziwang unaware that he had discovered the truth about the others trapped in the Rat Mother Eerie Object.

• Ren Qing used the Dragon Snake Spine to collapse the cave passage and bury the Giant Face, giving himself and Huang Ziwang temporary shelter.
• Ren Qing explained the Forbidden Zone and shared food and water from the Prison Within the Stomach while the two waited and planned to reach the Kitchen and Stove.
• Ren Qing cultivated as the Ghost Shadow neared its Eerie Transformation, and Huang Ziwang recognized the signs and watched from a distance.
• Ren Qing chose Ghost Substitute, allowing the Ghost Shadow to replace another person’s shadow and make injuries to the shadow affect the body.
• Ren Qing tested Ghost Substitute on Huang Ziwang, then asked why he had not escaped the Rat Mother Eerie Object; Huang Ziwang revealed that the others were unable to get out, and Ren Qing resumed cultivating.
• After two days, Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang prepared to return to the Kitchen and stir up trouble.

Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang crossed the Forbidden Zone’s altered kitchen and found the Insect Men had become corpse-stitched, apparently under a Forbidden Guard’s control. After reaching the stove, Ren Qing drew the Grain Giant’s attention with the Rat Mother’s Eerie Object, but a fire outside the kitchen suggested the Jailer Hall was closing in on the Forbidden Zone.

• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang emerged into the giant kitchen and watched a Lizardman hunt Human Head Ducks before Zombie Insect Men seized the corpses.
• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang fought off the Insect Men near the stove, then hid and discovered the creatures were stitched together from long-dead bodies.
• Ren Qing suspected a Forbidden Guard had reached the stove and taken control of the Insect Man colony, and he led Huang Ziwang up the stove wall.
• Ren Qing threw the Rat Mother’s Eerie Object off the stove to draw the Grain Giant away and give them a chance to hide in a cave.
• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang saw fire outside the kitchen and realized the Jailer Hall was likely burning the surrounding forest to locate the Forbidden Zone.

Ren Qing investigated Yu Dachuan’s survival and found a way to use Ghost Shadow to delay the Forbidden Zone’s influence on him. He then stole Corpse Food from the Insect Nest, triggering a swarm of Zombie Insect Men that left Huang Ziwang stunned.

• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang watched Yu Dachuan’s corpse-like face grow from the wall as Insect Men fed it flesh, and Ren Qing discovered an Eerie Object had attached itself to Yu Dachuan’s soul.
• Yu Dachuan awakened, searched for his missing main body, and collapsed after his Art failed to locate it; before falling asleep, he sent flying insects into a cave.
• Ren Qing replaced Yu Dachuan’s shadow with part of Ghost Shadow, then decided to search the Insect Nest for Corpse Food to prolong Yu Dachuan’s life.
• Ren Qing found a hive producing stillborn Zombie Insect Men and took more than a dozen pieces of Corpse Food from its top.
• Ren Qing returned to the stove as tens of thousands of Zombie Insect Men poured from the crevice, and Huang Ziwang asked what he had done.

Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang prepared to escape the Forbidden Zone as its chaos worsened, and Ren Qing advanced Anomalous Mirror Symbiosis before leading their assault through the Zombie Insect Men. They reached the eastern wall's cave, where Ren Qing's newly enhanced abilities cut down their pursuers, but the battle continued.

• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang hid from the Zombie Insect Men, and Ren Qing trapped thousands of them in the Prison Within the Stomach to delay Yu Dachuan's revival.
• Ren Qing prepared Huang Ziwang's puppet body to guide them through the shifting Underground Cave, but he withdrew the Split Soul when the Forbidden Zone began stripping it away.
• Ren Qing advanced Anomalous Mirror Symbiosis, and Ghost Shadow nearly strangled the hive before Ren Qing stopped it.
• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang chose the eastern wall's cave and fought through the swarming Zombie Insect Men, with Huang Ziwang spraying venom and Ren Qing using Ghost Substitute to kill them.

Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang fought their way toward the exit while Yu Dachuan sacrificed himself to distract the Forbidden Zone. Ren Qing escaped through the Stone Wall and gained the Immortal Devouring Method, leaving the Forbidden Zone to erupt in chaos behind him.

• Yu Dachuan's Ghost Shadow revealed his original body, and he used Corpse Food and Zombie Insect Men to resist the Grain Giant and buy Ren Qing time.
• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang advanced through the cave, fighting Wraiths and Eerie Objects as the Split Soul guided them toward the exit.
• Ren Qing defeated the Chameleon Eerie Object, while Yu Dachuan's struggle ended and the Giant Human Face approached.
• When Huang Ziwang was badly wounded, Ren Qing stored him in the Prison Within the Stomach and summoned the Ghost Wolf to repel the pursuing Eerie Objects.
• Ren Qing hurled the Split Soul through the exit, transformed into the Ghost Wolf, and smashed through the Stone Wall as the Giant Face's freezing wind closed in.
• While crossing out of the Forbidden Zone, Ren Qing acquired the Immortal Devouring Method, and the Forbidden Zone began to collapse into chaos.

Ren Qing escaped the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone and recovered at Song Zongwu’s camp, where he recounted the dangers inside. Song Zongwu prepared to eliminate the Forbidden Zone, while Ren Qing decided to stay at the camp and prepare for his advancement.

• Song Zongwu found a body and a weak Split Soul resembling Ren Qing in the Grain Land, but Ren Qing’s true body emerged from another grain of rice and survived.
• Song Zongwu took the injured Ren Qing away and ordered Jiang Feng to have the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone temporarily sealed without spreading news of Ren Qing’s survival.
• After waking two days later, Ren Qing released the townsfolk from his Strange Mouth and noticed Huang Ziwang’s Aberration had worsened.
• Ren Qing and Huang Ziwang described the Forbidden Zone’s rules and Eerie Objects to Song Zongwu, who planned to enter it with several old Forbidden Guards to destroy it.
• Ren Qing, Huang Ziwang, and the others chose to remain at the camp while Ren Qing prepared for Heavenly Dao Worm’s advancement and studied the Immortal Devouring Method.

Ren Qing advanced the Immortal Devouring Method into the Stove User branch, creating a Flesh and Blood Furnace that connected to Prison Within the Stomach and could refine Eerie Objects into Eerie Dust. After discovering that the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone was changing, he watched Song Zongwu lead four elderly Forbidden Guards into Grain Land, and the chapter ended as the Forbidden Zone underwent another change.

• Ren Qing reviewed his Arts and chose the Stove User branch of the Immortal Devouring Method, transforming his stomach into a Flesh and Blood Furnace.
• The furnace joined with Prison Within the Stomach, allowing its mouths to devour stored eyeballs and extend Ren Qing’s lifespan.
• Ren Qing refined a Martial Human Realm Eerie Object in the furnace and obtained Eerie Dust, which could alleviate Beastification when applied to an aberrated body.
• Ren Qing joined Huang Ziwang and another man at the camp, where he noticed gray rice in Grain Land and informed Song Zongwu.
• Song Zongwu gathered four elderly Forbidden Guards, accepted five pieces of Corpse Food from Ren Qing, and led them into Grain Land.
• Ren Qing waited as his lifespan became sufficient to exempt the Heavenly Dao Method’s cost, then the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone changed.

Ren Qing promoted Ghost Shadow’s Netherworld Cultivation Method to the Foundation Establishment Realm, redirecting the Nether Spiritual Root into his own spine and gaining forty years of lifespan. As he began advancing his other Arts, Li Tiangang, Lin Cheng, and Zhong Hulu approached the waterfall to investigate the aura of someone advancing to the Ghost Envoy Realm.

• After the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone expanded and the Forbidden Guards withdrew, Ren Qing decided to promote his Netherworld Cultivation Method before a Yin Messenger Realm cultivator arrived.
• Ren Qing used Ghost Shadow to suppress the young Heavenly Dao Worm and guide the promotion to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Ren Qing diverted the Nether Spiritual Root from Ghost Shadow and fused it with his own spine, strengthening his bones and Dragon Snake Spine.
• The promotion left Ren Qing with forty-seven years of lifespan, and he began advancing his other Half-Corpse Realm Arts, including the Human Skin Book.
• Li Tiangang, Lin Cheng, and Zhong Hulu flew toward Ren Qing’s frozen waterfall, and Li Tiangang said he sensed someone advancing to the Ghost Envoy Realm.

Ren Qing met Li Tiangang at the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone after advancing his three Arts to the Ghost Envoy Realm and learned that the Grain Land was expanding as more Forbidden Guards died. While waiting outside the zone, he investigated the damaged Dao of Non-action Dojo and found records in the Fire Refining Palace that linked Zhuo Liuzi’s artifact research, the Blind Daoist’s arrival in Xiangxiang, and a cruel Flesh and Blood artifact called the Shore Flower.

• Ren Qing emerged from Water Curtain Cave, greeted Li Tiangang, and revealed that he had reached the First Eerie Transformation.
• Li Tiangang recorded news about the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone, then hurried toward the Grain Land as it expanded and more Tombstones rose from underground.
• Ren Qing sent a ghost shadow to follow Zhong Hulu and went with Jiang Feng to watch the Forbidden Zone from a nearby mountain.
• Ren Qing noticed that the Dao of Non-action Dojo’s pond was draining and suspected that the Heavenly Dao Worm was breaking free as the Son of Heavenly Dao’s lifespan dwindled.
• Ren Qing entered the Fire Refining Palace and found Zhuo Liuzi’s books describing a cruel Flesh and Blood artifact called the Shore Flower.

Ren Qing uncovered the Shore Flower’s role in creating Pseudo Souls and worried that Jailer Hall’s Soul Summoning Technique might draw the Supreme Heavenly Demon into Abhidi Hell. He learned to operate Fire Refining Palace’s Tombstone Furnace and successfully forged a simple artifact, but still could not figure out how to move the furnace into the Prison Within the Stomach.

• Ren Qing read that Shore Flowers could produce Pseudo Souls and suspected some souls in Abhidi Hell might have been created with them.
• Ren Qing decided to find out who in Jailer Hall had mastered the Soul Summoning Technique and hoped Song Zongwu would return safely from the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone.
• Ren Qing learned that the seven Tombstone Furnaces were controlled through Heavenly Dao Worms and that his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation let him operate the first two.
• Ren Qing injected Nether Essence into an insect egg with Ghost Shadow, causing Zhuo Liuzi’s corpse to reassemble as a Tombstone Furnace.
• Ren Qing used the Tombstone Furnace to forge an ordinary beast-hide artifact that could suppress aberration in those at the Half-Corpse Realm.
• Ren Qing found that the Tombstone Furnaces were fused with Fire Refining Palace and could not work out how to move one into the Prison Within the Stomach.

Ren Qing captured Zhong Hulu after discovering his blood-fueled imitation of Water Gourd’s Art, then rushed to the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone when it expanded and trapped Song Zongwu. Song Zongwu passed Shore Flowers through a stone gate before it closed, and Ren Qing realized he knew the location of the core Eerie Object that might save him.

• Ren Qing ambushed Zhong Hulu, endured his water attacks, and imprisoned him in the Prison Within the Stomach before learning about his Flesh Gourd Art.
• Ren Qing fled with Lin Cheng as the Grain Land rapidly expanded and a massive stone gate rose at its center.
• Ren Qing joined Li Tiangang and Jiang Feng, and they watched Song Zongwu fight from within the Forbidden Zone through a narrow crack in the gate.
• Song Zongwu threw out a bundle of Shore Flowers before the stone gate shut and sank into the ground.
• Li Tiangang planned to wait before evacuating Annan Town, while Ren Qing realized he knew the location of the core Eerie Object.

Ren Qing entered the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone with his Split Soul and found Song Zongwu fighting the Grain Giant. He delivered a clue about the Stove Eye before withdrawing, and the Grain Land began to shrink.

• Ren Qing used the Eye-less Method to send his Split Soul into the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone, where he found Song Zongwu battling the Grain Giant amid swarms of Wraiths.
• Ren Qing returned to his body, released the Ghost Wolf, and reentered the Forbidden Zone by possessing a Werewolf Wraith.
• Ren Qing climbed to the stove, felt the Stove Eye stir his Immortal Devouring Method, and reached Song Zongwu despite the attacking Wraiths.
• Ren Qing told Song Zongwu that the Immortal Devouring Method's Eerie Object was hidden in the Stove Eye and might emerge once its flames were extinguished.
• The Forbidden Zone Consciousness targeted Ren Qing, so he withdrew and told Li Tiangang what he had learned; soon afterward, the Grain Land began to shrink.

Ren Qing used Zhong Hulu’s soul to create Kindling Fire and brought it into the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone, drawing out the core Eerie Object. Song Zongwu defeated the skeleton and left through Li Tiangang’s doorway as the Forbidden Zone began to collapse, while Ren Qing remained near the Stove Eye, feeling his palpitations intensify.

• Ren Qing sent his Split Soul into the silent Kitchen and found Song Zongwu badly wounded beside the extinguished Stove Eye, with the wraiths and Grain Giant gone.
• Ren Qing burned Zhong Hulu’s soul in the Flesh and Blood Furnace, producing Kindling Fire, then carried it into the Forbidden Zone.
• The Kindling Fire drew the core Eerie Object from the ashes as a skin-wrapped skeleton, and Song Zongwu attacked it.
• Song Zongwu smashed the skeleton and used Li Tiangang’s paper doorway to send it and the wraiths away, warning Ren Qing to escape as the Forbidden Zone collapsed.
• Song Zongwu left through the doorway, while Ren Qing stayed behind and felt the palpitations near the Stove Eye grow stronger.

Ren Qing discovered that the Kindling Fire made the Prison Within the Stomach more like a real world, then helped contain Eerie Objects in Abhidi Hell after the Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone collapsed. He returned to Sanxiang City, gave his companions Ghost Envoy Realm Eerie Dust, and prepared to reopen Great Dream Artifact Forging.

• Ren Qing collected the Kindling Fire from the collapsing Immortal Devouring Forbidden Zone and found that it caused the Prison Within the Stomach's candle lamps to become lanterns and its furnace flames to grow hotter.
• Ren Qing realized the Kindling Fire could let plants grow in the Prison Within the Stomach, though the weeds he tested did not take root.
• Ren Qing entered Abhidi Hell, secretly captured four Eerie Objects to fuel the Flesh and Blood Furnace, and saw an altar taking shape for the Jailer Hall's Soul Summoning Technique.
• Ren Qing rode the Husky back to Sanxiang City with Huang Ziwang, Lin Cheng, and Lu Xiaoyu, then gave them Ghost Envoy Realm Eerie Dust as protection for their advancement.
• Ren Qing returned to the Fire Refining Hall, learned Xiao San'er had joined the Bloodhound Gang, and began preparing to reopen Great Dream Artifact Forging.

Ren Qing studied artifact refining and reopened Great Dream Artifact Forging on the day the Ghost Market opened. After forging several skullcap artifacts for veteran Forbidden Guards, he realized they were preparing to resist the coming Ksitigarbha King soul summoning, and decided to strengthen his own defenses.

• Ren Qing researched artifact refining, planted Blood Vine seeds in Prison Within the Stomach, and reopened Great Dream Artifact Forging during the Ghost Market.
• Ren Qing used Ghost Shadow and the Tombstone Furnace to forge a skullcap artifact that protected a veteran Forbidden Guard from soul attacks.
• Ren Qing forged more artifacts for veteran Forbidden Guards, earning over two years of lifespan during the Ghost Market.
• Ren Qing recognized that veteran Forbidden Guards were preparing for the Ksitigarbha King soul summoning and decided to complete one or two Eerie Transformations of the Twin Nightmare Demon.

Ren Qing tasked Zhou Zuosan with gathering information about strange occurrences in West of the City as Sanxiang City prepared for the Ksitigarbha King soul summoning. After Zhou Zuosan discovered an eerie infant at an apparently empty courtyard, Ren Qing watched Yan Jun and two others inspect the residents and realized the old woman who answered the door was a half-human, half-goat monster.

• Ren Qing asked Zhou Zuosan to report unusual events in West of the City and sent Ghost Shadow to guard him.
• After days of finding nothing, Zhou Zuosan heard a butcher describe unexplained baby cries at a childless couple's courtyard.
• Zhou Zuosan peered through a crack in the courtyard wall, saw an eerie infant appear and vanish, then fled and collided with Yan Jun and two Jailer Hall members.
• Yan Jun and the others continued their Yamen inspection and entered the courtyard where Zhou Zuosan had heard the crying.
• Ren Qing emerged from the shadows and noticed that the old woman who had opened the door was a half-human, half-goat monster.

Ren Qing investigated a Jailer Hall task in West City and discovered a monstrous infant connected to the Supreme Heavenly Demon and the Soul Summoning Technique. After capturing it, he used the Information Flow and realized that he himself was the culprit behind the events.

• Ren Qing accepted the livestock-inspection task and found Yan Jun, Xu Yang, and Chen Tingyi questioning an old couple in West City.
• Ren Qing used Mirror Immortal and the Eye-less Method to put the couple and the three Jailer Hall members to sleep, then searched the courtyard.
• Ren Qing examined the livestock and discovered that the goat had been torn open from the womb, while an infant in the house had been gnawing on the old man's severed leg.
• The monstrous infant attacked Ren Qing, but his Dragon Snake Spine chains restrained it and trapped it inside the room.
• Ren Qing consulted the Information Flow and realized that he himself was the wielder of the Soul Summoning Technique and the culprit behind the events.

Ren Qing learned that the Jailer Hall had preserved and divided the Son of Heavenly Dao's remnant soul as part of a long-term scheme to resurrect Ksitigarbha King. After Li Tiangang sealed the infant and warned Ren Qing away from forbidden knowledge, Ren Qing planned to investigate Dao of Non-action Monastery and refine skull Artifacts.

• Ren Qing realized the Jailer Hall had used the Son of Heavenly Dao's remnant soul to create Eerie Infants, and suspected Ksitigarbha King's soul had already merged with the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
• Ren Qing concluded the Jailer Hall might be able to resurrect Ksitigarbha King, but decided he could only focus on protecting himself amid the dangerous scheme.
• Ren Qing used the Blood Heart to summon Li Tiangang, who sealed the monstrous infant and told Ren Qing that around thirty Eerie Infants might be born from goats.
• Li Tiangang warned Ren Qing that Eerie Infants involved a dangerous Art and that people who had pursued related knowledge had gone mad or been imprisoned.
• Ren Qing woke Yan Jun and the others, explained that an Eerie Object had affected them, and handed an afflicted couple over to the constables.
• Ren Qing returned to the Fire Refining Hall and planned to explore Doushuai Palace for soul-protecting methods and alchemy knowledge, after refining skull Artifacts.