Chapter Summaries

Cheng Sheng entered the eerie mist to investigate the Black Tide and discovered that the Hell Plague Fly absorbed the mist and formed a cocoon. Following the Primordial Mark to an evil spirit at Qingsha No. 3 Middle School’s old campus, he continued upstairs after the spirit tried to frighten him with falling figures.

• Cheng Sheng ignored warnings to stay home during the Black Tide and headed north toward the eerie mist.
• The Hell Plague Fly drew in eerie mist, absorbed it rapidly, and became wrapped in a sturdy gray cocoon.
• Cheng Sheng followed the Primordial Mark to an evil spirit inside an abandoned classroom building at Qingsha No. 3 Middle School’s old campus.
• A shadow appeared to fall from above, but Cheng Sheng found no trace of it on the ground.
• More than a dozen figures in school uniforms fell behind Cheng Sheng and left dark puddles, but he stayed calm and continued upstairs.

Cheng Sheng discovered that the hair doll contained an evil spirit made from the resentful souls of students who died by suicide, and decided to sacrifice it while preparing to confront the Curse master behind it. Elsewhere, a man named Old Wang discovered that another hair doll had awakened and planned to bring it home for Daji.

• Cheng Sheng found the hair doll and realized a Curse master had used the students’ deaths and an evil array to create an evil spirit.
• Cheng Sheng decided to keep the doll, photograph the array, and sacrifice the spirit, promising the resentful souls he would help them get revenge later.
• Old Wang returned to his dark apartment, where urns and dolls filled the rooms and a child’s laughter answered him.
• Old Wang found a hair doll with blood-red eyes in the largest urn and said Daji’s sister was ready to be brought home.
• The apartment’s children laughed as the urns, dolls, and tiny footprints began to multiply and move.

Cheng Sheng sacrificed an evil spirit, strengthening his Primordial Mark and gaining the spell [Summon Imp]. After summoning two Abyss Imps and testing their abilities, he considered how quickly they might grow and wondered what his Hell Plague Fly would become after evolving.

• Cheng Sheng sacrificed the evil spirit and found that his Primordial Mark had grown stronger, bringing him closer to advancing as a warlock.
• Cheng Sheng discovered that he had gained the [Summon Imp] spell and gathered its materials after the Black Tide receded.
• Cheng Sheng summoned two Abyss Imps in a sugarcane field, and they devoured more than a hundred jin of raw meat.
• Cheng Sheng tested the imps, found that one burst apart from a kick, and concluded that they could grow by consuming fresh flesh and blood.
• Cheng Sheng released his last Hell Plague Fly and noted its growth after absorbing eerie fog, wondering if it would evolve.

Cheng Sheng mastered the Black Killing Style’s second-layer secret technique, [Crocodile Sinews], and tested his growing strength at the abandoned logging camp. He then examined the Abyss Imp he had secretly raised and pierced its chest, watching it heal rapidly.

• Cheng Sheng destroyed the ironwood punching posts while practicing the Black Killing Style’s six major forms.
• Cheng Sheng examined the sinews developed through mastering [Crocodile Sinews] and considered how his strength compared with Nalong, Songpa, and Sha Lie.
• Cheng Sheng reflected that Su Tai was injured, Sha Lie was away, and Songpa was handling the gym’s affairs, leaving him free to practice on his own.
• Cheng Sheng entered the locked shack and found the Abyss Imp had grown into a tall, thin creature with gray skin and glowing red eyes.
• Cheng Sheng struck the Abyss Imp through the chest with his Crocodile Kiss, and its wound began healing rapidly.

Cheng Sheng rescued Song Cai from Red Ba Gang enforcers, paid off Song Cai’s loan through his Black Killing Style connections, and bought surveillance cameras to monitor the old campus. His mother, Wu Li, then warned him not to come home, prompting him to rush there.

• Cheng Sheng tested the Abyss Imp’s rapid healing and obedience, then rode into Qingsha City to buy surveillance cameras.
• Cheng Sheng recognized Song Cai being beaten by Red Ba Gang thugs and struck down two of them before warning the last one away.
• Song Cai told Cheng Sheng he had borrowed money at high interest to save his family’s coconut sugar factory and pay for his father’s operation, then limped away.
• Cheng Sheng asked Senior Brother Nalong to stop the gang’s harassment and used his own money to repay Song Cai’s loan.
• Cheng Sheng bought cameras to watch Qingsha No. 3 Middle School’s old campus, but worried about installing and monitoring them.
• Wu Li called Cheng Sheng, said he was all right, and warned him not to come home; Cheng Sheng immediately rode toward home.

After finding his family’s home wrecked by the Red Ba Gang, Cheng Sheng left to confront them at their headquarters. He broke into the gang’s warehouse and greeted its stunned occupants as his sacrifices.

• Cheng Sheng returned home and found his belongings destroyed, his goldfish nailed to the sideboard, and Wu Li and Cheng Shuisheng shaken.
• Wu Li told Cheng Sheng that neighbors had seen people from the Red Ba Gang enter the house, and the police had left without taking action.
• Cheng Sheng pulled down two goldfish, told Wu Li he would not be home that night, and left.
• At the Red Ba Gang’s warehouse in Pawan, Cheng Sheng drew a blood sacrifice ritual array outside and told a thug what it was.
• Cheng Sheng battered open the warehouse doors, tossed aside a half-dead figure, and greeted the gang members as his sacrifices.

Cheng Sheng stormed the Red Ba Gang warehouse and overwhelmed its fighters, while a blood-fed magic circle outside began drawing eerie energy toward the building. After the lights went out and the gang’s gunmen opened fire, Cheng Sheng spotted a horned figure emerging from the darkness.

• Jia Wa ordered his men to kill Saigong and told them to warn the Dongyue buyers that they could take the goods next week if they accepted the risks.
• Cheng Sheng tore through the Red Ba Gang’s casino and boxing gym, leaving many gang members injured or dead.
• As blood flowed, the magic circle Cheng Sheng had drawn outside the warehouse glowed red and sent mist drifting toward the building.
• Red Ba Gang gunmen surrounded Cheng Sheng, but he surrendered before they could shoot.
• Cheng Sheng warned the gunmen that more newcomers had arrived, and the warehouse lights went out as they opened fire.
• Cheng Sheng appeared on the third floor and watched a tall, horned figure emerge from the darkness.

Cheng Sheng attacked the Red Ba Gang warehouse, using a summoned Abyss Imp to slaughter the gang members downstairs before confronting Hei Cha on the passage to the fourth floor. After Hei Cha overwhelmed him in their fight, Cheng Sheng transformed and seized Hei Cha, preparing to inflict the pain he had endured.

• Jia Wa watched the fighting below and sent Hei Cha to catch the attacker.
• Cheng Sheng unleashed the Abyss Imp on the second floor, then made his way through the emptied nightclub toward the fourth floor.
• Hei Cha ambushed Cheng Sheng at the passage entrance, and the two began fighting.
• Hei Cha gained the advantage with his swift, powerful attacks, forcing Cheng Sheng to endure a punishing defense.
• Cheng Sheng transformed, grabbed Hei Cha by the head and hand, and drove him toward the wall.

Jia Wa discovered that the boy who had killed Hei Cha was retaliating because Red Ba Gang thugs had killed his father’s goldfish. The boy’s monstrous companion emerged through the shattered floor as blood mist gathered around him, leaving Jia Wa horrified by the scale of the threat.

• Jia Wa found that his calls could not get through and armed himself when someone knocked at the door.
• The boy arrived carrying Hei Cha’s corpse, then washed his hands while Jia Wa tried to learn who had sent him.
• Jia Wa offered the boy goods and friendship in exchange for his life, but the boy showed him a bag of dead goldfish and explained why he had come.
• A horned monster burst through the glass floor and stood obediently behind the boy as blood mist gathered around him.
• The boy said the dead goldfish had been his father’s favorite tank of gold lionheads, leaving Jia Wa stunned.

Cheng Sheng chose Blood Contract as his Blood Sacrifice reward and bound Jia Wa as his slave. The next morning, Jia Wa began following Cheng Sheng’s orders, including making amends to Cheng Sheng’s parents.

• Cheng Sheng examined three Blood Sacrifice rewards and chose Blood Contract to gain a loyal subordinate.
• The Abyss Imp self-destructed, and Cheng Sheng used the Blood Contract on Jia Wa, making him obey Cheng Sheng unconditionally.
• Cheng Sheng explained that Blood Sacrifice could continue indefinitely and that larger sacrifices could yield better rewards.
• The next morning, Jia Wa reported that he had arranged new furniture and a fish tank for Cheng Sheng’s parents and ordered his men to apologize and return the money they had taken.
• Cheng Sheng told Jia Wa to avoid frightening his parents and to make the arrangements normally.

With Jia Wa now handling the surveillance, sacrifices, and other arrangements, Cheng Sheng turned his attention back to training and the Black Killing Style. He met Jia Wa at the new Hell Plague Fly breeding factory, where workers were already struggling with the foul conditions.

• Jia Wa arranged round-the-clock surveillance at the old Qingsha No. 3 Middle School campus, lined up buyers for Cheng Sheng’s sacrifices, and took over the fly breeding and loan matters.
• Jia Wa visited Cheng Sheng’s parents, returned their extorted money, gave them compensation and furniture, and made the men who had damaged their fish tank cut off their own ears.
• Cheng Sheng stopped sparring with Sulai at the Black Killing Dojo because he felt her attacks lacked killing intent and he could not fight freely against her.
• After Sulai left to see her injured father, Su Tai, Cheng Sheng reflected that Su Tai favored Sha Lie as the Black Killing Style’s successor and neglected his other disciples.
• Jia Wa summoned Cheng Sheng to a warehouse in Pawan District, where Cheng Sheng saw the eight-tank Hell Plague Fly breeding factory and its sickened workers.

Cheng Sheng collected a new batch of Hell Plague Fly eggs and learned that a suspicious man had arrived at Qingsha No. 3 Middle School. Wang Shan entered the sealed school to claim a mature evil spirit, unaware that Cheng Sheng was watching and preparing to release his “dog.”

• Cheng Sheng collected twenty Hell Plague Fly eggs and kept the evolved maggot separate to study further.
• After Jia Wa showed him surveillance footage, Cheng Sheng identified a bucket-hatted man as the person he had been waiting for and ordered Jia Wa to bring out his “dog.”
• Wang Shan concealed the creature Daji in his shoulder bag and recalled serving the powerful Spirit Jiang master Chuma Wugan.
• Wang Shan entered the abandoned school, planning to feed Daji to a mature evil spirit and use it to strengthen himself.
• Cheng Sheng watched Wang Shan enter the grounds and told his companions it was time to release the dog.

Wang Shan entered the abandoned school to claim the evil spirit Chuma Wugan had prepared, but found that another jinx master had taken it and trapped him. Cheng Sheng shot Wang Shan, but Daji attacked Cheng Sheng and seized his heart.

• Wang Shan found Chuma Wugan's spirit-summoning formation in the classroom, but the refined evil spirit was gone.
• A monster ambushed Wang Shan, and Daji fought it while Wang Shan fled the classroom.
• A second monster attacked Wang Shan on the stairs, but he used a bone whistle and bone bells to drive it over the railing.
• Cheng Sheng confronted Wang Shan with an AK and shot him, but Wang Shan's wounds healed rapidly.
• Daji struck Cheng Sheng from behind and gripped his heart with an icy hand.

Wang Shan thought he had killed Cheng Sheng and tried to search him for a Gu master's inheritance, but Cheng Sheng survived Daji's attack, ate the evil spirit, and killed Wang Shan. Wang Shan then regenerated and fled, leaving Cheng Sheng to strike him down again.

• Wang Shan approached Cheng Sheng, believing the youth was dying, and decided to take his Corpse Ghost Gu inheritance.
• Cheng Sheng tore Daji out of his chest and swallowed the evil spirit, shocking Wang Shan.
• Wang Shan sent his little ghosts at Cheng Sheng, but Cheng Sheng used Elephant Soul and Reef Piercer to smash Wang Shan's head.
• Wang Shan regenerated after Cheng Sheng's first blow and tried to flee.
• Cheng Sheng caught Wang Shan and struck the back of his head, leaving him fallen in a spreading pool of blood.

After killing the curse master Wang Shan, Cheng Sheng sacrificed his corpse and bone bells, gained the Control Shadow spell, and took the man’s belongings. Three days later, he completed an assessment at the Black Killing Dojo and saw how strongly Su Tai favored Sha Lie over the other disciples.

• Cheng Sheng searched Wang Shan’s belongings, found a curse master’s notebook, and dragged the corpse to his sacrificial array.
• Cheng Sheng sacrificed Wang Shan and the bone bells, strengthening his Primordial Mark and gaining the Control Shadow spell.
• Cheng Sheng tested Control Shadow’s concealment and shadow tentacle, then left the campus and gave Wang Shan’s wallet to Jia Wa to investigate.
• Three days later, Nalong praised Cheng Sheng’s progress after sparring with him at the Black Killing Dojo.
• Su Tai ended Cheng Sheng’s assessment and left with Songpa, while Cheng Sheng concluded that Su Tai favored Sha Lie above the other core disciples.

After his strength test, Cheng Sheng studied how Jiang masters drew power from the Void Realm and considered whether he could become one despite his connection to the Abyss. He arrived at the zoo he had bought for sacrificial rituals and found its Snake Palace filled with giant snakes.

• Cheng Sheng completed his strength test while hiding his true level, and he noticed Su Tai coughing up maggots.
• Cheng Sheng studied Wang Shan’s notes and learned about Jiang masters, the Void Realm, soul threads, spiritual power, and Jiang poison.
• Cheng Sheng suspected that his connection to the Abyss might prevent the Void Realm from choosing him, and he decided to gather more information by killing Jiang masters.
• Jia Wa drove Cheng Sheng to the closed zoo that had been bought for his rituals and offerings.
• Cheng Sheng entered the Snake Palace and saw a glass enclosure packed with giant pythons and boas.

Cheng Sheng prepared a sacrifice by driving a roomful of giant snakes into a frenzy and collecting their blood. Meanwhile, Su Tai sent Songpa to search for missing Sha Lie, who was hiding in Nabang, badly wounded and consumed by pain after a confrontation with Peng La’s people.

• Cheng Sheng released drug mist into the snake palace and used Demonic Language to make the pythons and boas fight each other to the death.
• Cheng Sheng told Jia Wa to bring him the snakes’ blood, and Jia Wa hurried to fetch a bucket of it.
• Su Tai learned that Sha Lie had not been heard from since arriving in Nabang and ordered Songpa to search for him.
• Sha Lie killed two thugs who tried to rob him in a Nabang alley, then collapsed against a wall.
• Sha Lie recalled being rejected and attacked after approaching Peng La’s people about a Soul Root, and revealed his body was covered in festering burn wounds that repeatedly regenerated and rotted.

After being robbed and left badly injured, Sha Lie accepted the giant centipede Tanier’s offer of power and followed it into the darkness. Meanwhile, Cheng Sheng completed a sacrifice that greatly strengthened him and let him master the Black Killing Style’s third level, Crocodile Bones.

• Sha Lie struggled through his worsening Curse Arts injuries and tried to escape a giant centipede in an alley.
• The centipede spoke, identified itself as Tanier, and offered Sha Lie power and revenge against Wengzan’s people.
• Sha Lie followed Tanier into the darkness, accepting that only a curse master could stand against a curse master.
• At the snake palace, Cheng Sheng absorbed power from the Abyss and underwent a major boost in strength.
• Cheng Sheng manifested Crocodile Bones and became the first core disciple besides Sha Lie to master the Black Killing Style’s third level.

Cheng Sheng gained the Python Soul trait by combining his optimized Black Killing Style secret arts with Elephant Soul, then wondered whether his power matched that of a true martial artist. Later, he watched Su Tai harshly audit his core disciples and left the Black Killing Training Hall after noticing Su Tai had injured Sulai.

• Cheng Sheng activated Elephant Soul with his three optimized secret arts and unleashed the oppressive power of his new Python Soul trait.
• Jia Wa described seeing black snakes in the air, and Cheng Sheng ordered him to clean the room and find a barber.
• Cheng Sheng considered exploring the eerie fog zone during the next Black Tide, then waited beneath a porch during a rainstorm as Su Tai audited his core disciples.
• Nalong told Cheng Sheng that something seemed to have happened on Sha Lie's side and that Su Tai's temper had worsened.
• Cheng Sheng noticed redness on Sulai's foot after a teacup shattered, then left the Black Killing Training Hall without meeting Su Tai's gaze.

Cheng Sheng investigated the Black Tide on the Qingsha coast and used it to test the plague flies, then followed his Primordial Mark to a remote pier where he found a physical evil spirit chopping at a hut door. The spirit turned and realized Cheng Sheng had discovered it.

• Cheng Sheng reached the Black Tide and concluded his new Control Shadow spell might explain why he could absorb energy from the eerie fog.
• Cheng Sheng sent plague fly larvae into the Black Tide to test how they would mutate and decided not to absorb the tide himself.
• Cheng Sheng retrieved two black cocoons, returned the plague flies inside to his body, and rode along the coast.
• The Primordial Mark alerted Cheng Sheng to a wandering evil spirit, leading him to an abandoned pier and a hut.
• Cheng Sheng approached a huge masked figure hacking at the hut door, but it turned around before he could reach it.