Chapter Summaries

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling returned home and reunited with Hei Xiazi, whose worsening eye condition Yu Zhi examined. Hei Xiazi chose to cultivate the Soul-Devouring Primal Spirit Art to deal with the possessing ghost, and Yu Zhi planned to prepare him for the painful process.

• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling returned to the courtyard, where Hei Xiazi teased them about their relationship and was beaten by Zhang Qiling.
• Hei Xiazi explained that he had moved into their courtyard and joked about helping Zhang Qiling prepare for married life.
• Yu Zhi asked about Hei Xiazi’s eyes and said he would examine them after the meal.
• Yu Zhi examined Hei Xiazi and explained that the possessing ghost could be used to cultivate the Soul-Devouring Primal Spirit Art.
• Hei Xiazi chose the cultivation art despite Yu Zhi warning that the ghost would fight back and the process would be painful.
• Yu Zhi said he would prepare Hei Xiazi’s essence, energy, and spirit before they began, then went to rest with Zhang Qiling following him.

Yu Zhi helped Hei Xiazi cultivate the Soul-Devouring Primal Spirit Art so he could devour the possessing ghost, then planned to travel with him and Zhang Qiling to the Palace of the King of Lu. Hei Xiazi successfully absorbed the ghost, and the chapter ended with him interrupting Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling’s intimacy to ask about the filth covering him.

• Blind Man told Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling that the Wu Family was trying to bait Mute into retrieving the Zhang Family’s Black Gold Ancient Saber and warned them that people named Zhang Qiling were being arrested across the country.
• Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Blind Man agreed to visit the Palace of the King of Lu after dealing with the possessing ghost and split whatever they found there three ways.
• Yu Zhi guided Hei Xiazi through the Soul-Devouring Primal Spirit Art, helping him draw qi into his body and devour the possessing ghost.
• Yu Zhi left Hei Xiazi to absorb the remaining spiritual power and rested while Zhang Qiling kept watch through the night.
• The next morning, Yu Zhi found Zhang Qiling still watching Hei Xiazi, sent him to rest, and went to buy breakfast after Hei Xiazi interrupted their intimacy to ask whether his filthy condition was normal.

Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Hei Xiazi traveled to Linyi in Hei Xiazi’s new Jeep to search for an ancient tomb. Yu Zhi stored the vehicle in his space and the three continued on foot under new aliases, leaving Zhang Qiling jealous after Yu Zhi admired Hei Xiazi’s looks.

• Hei Xiazi returned with a Jeep as an apology gift for Yu Zhi and offered to drive them to Shandong.
• The three drove to Linyi, and Yu Zhi shared the book’s directions to an underwater tomb route by recording them in a jade slip.
• After reaching the end of the road, Yu Zhi stored the Jeep in his space, astonishing Hei Xiazi.
• Yu Zhi suggested they use aliases to avoid recognition, and they settled on Xiao Yu, A Li, Brother Qi, Xiaoguan, and Xiao Hei.
• Yu Zhi admired Hei Xiazi’s appearance while thinking of matching him with Xie Yuhua, so Zhang Qiling turned Yu Zhi toward him and kissed him after Yu Zhi reassured him.

Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Hei Xiazi traveled by boat into the Corpse Cave, where they discovered Wu Sansheng’s group fighting corpse bugs. Yu Zhi recognized the encounter as plot correction and decided to stay hidden until the Corpse Bug King appeared.

• Yu Zhi produced a boat and guided Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi upstream toward the cave described in the book.
• Inside the cave, the three heard a distant sound and then a scream, and Yu Zhi disguised Zhang Qiling’s face and gave Hei Xiazi a white jacket before they approached a group of people.
• The trio hid near the group and watched Wu Sansheng, Qi Yu, Xie Lianhuan, Huo Ling, and Chen Wenjin fight corpse bugs.
• Yu Zhi explained that fate was forcing events back toward the original plot and told the others to keep Zhang Qiling’s identity concealed.
• Yu Zhi ordered Zhang Qiling to watch for and restrain the Corpse Bug King while they waited for Wu Sansheng’s group to move on.

Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Hei Xiazi fought the Corpse Bug King and prepared to face a Corpse Charm blocking the way ahead. They arrived at the trapped expedition just as its members debated sacrificing someone to the spirit.

• Zhang Qiling restrained the flying Corpse Bug King, Hei Xiazi devoured it, and Yu Zhi teased Hei Xiazi awake after the bell’s hallucinations left him vacant.
• Yu Zhi made Voice-Transmission Jade Slips for Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi, then warned them that the expedition ahead was entangled with a Corpse Charm.
• The boat passed scattered bones and rotting corpses, and Yu Zhi vomited from the stench before spotting an empty crystal coffin.
• Qi Yu told Wu Sansheng’s group that they could escape the Corpse Charm by tying someone up facing backward and letting it possess them.
• Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Hei Xiazi arrived by boat as Wu Sansheng’s group hesitated over whom to sacrifice.

Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Hei Xiazi dealt with a corpse fiend and encountered Wu Sansheng’s group on the way to the Tomb of the King of Lu. After reaching an inn, the two groups prepared to continue separately, while Wu Sansheng remained wary of the mysterious trio.

• Yu Zhi used the Soul-Locking Curse to subdue the corpse fiend, and Hei Xiazi devoured it while Wu Sansheng’s group watched.
• Xie Lianhuan thanked Yu Zhi and introduced Wu Sansheng, Qi Yu, Huo Ling, and Chen Wenjin as they left the passage together.
• Yu Zhi told Xie Lianhuan that his family had sent him from Penglai to find the Tomb of the King of Lu and deal with its blood corpse.
• Yu Zhi refused to travel with Wu Sansheng’s group, but accepted a room at their inn as repayment for saving one of their people.
• Wu Sansheng and Qi Yu admitted they could not read the three newcomers, and Wu Sansheng urged his group to rest before continuing toward the tomb.

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling rested after Wu Sansheng’s group left, then set out with Hei Xiazi by a shortcut to find the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress. At the cliff above the tree, Yu Zhi identified clues that it had been deliberately contained, while Hei Xiazi teased Zhang Qiling about the book.

• Yu Zhi reassured Zhang Qiling that he had been thinking about Qi Yu rather than admiring him, then kissed Zhang Qiling to settle his jealousy.
• After Wu Sansheng’s group departed, Zhang Qiling punched the awake Hei Xiazi for gossiping, and Yu Zhi decided the three would leave that afternoon after resting.
• Yu Zhi made Hei Xiazi cultivate instead of going back to sleep, and Hei Xiazi reflected that he had only reached the Qi Refining Second Layer.
• The three traveled by Zhang Qiling’s shortcut and reached a cliff overlooking the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress, where Yu Zhi sensed concentrated wood-element energy.
• Yu Zhi concluded that the ancient, corpse-tainted tree might have been deliberately raised as a tomb guardian and contained with Heavenly Heart Stone.
• Hei Xiazi teased Zhang Qiling about kneeling to an ancestor to save Wu Xie, and Zhang Qiling denied that the incident had happened to him.

Yu Zhi, Zhang Qiling, and Hei Xiazi cleared the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress and swept the tomb for its treasures. After Yu Zhi grew jealous over Zhang Qiling’s actions in the book, Zhang Qiling reassured him of his love, and the three prepared to leave.

• Yu Zhi and his companions watched Chen Wenjin, Qi Yu, Huo Ling, Xie Lianhuan, and Wu Sansheng escape the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress, then planned to destroy and refine it.
• Zhang Qiling attacked the cypress with ice and fire, Yu Zhi subdued it, and Hei Xiazi devoured its vicious ghosts until Zhang Qiling stopped him.
• The three descended into the tomb, cleared the corpses and coffins, and collected treasures while Hei Xiazi absorbed another vicious ghost.
• Yu Zhi absorbed the blood corpse and its coffin with the cypress’s vines after Hei Xiazi teased him about Zhang Qiling kneeling to it for Wu Xie.
• Zhang Qiling comforted the jealous Yu Zhi, promised that he loved only him, and kissed him before the three agreed to leave the tomb.

In July 1977, Zhang Qiling’s urge to guard the Bronze Door grew unbearable, so Yu Zhi and Hei Xiazi accompanied him to Changbai Mountain. They reached the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace, where Zhang Qiling and Yu Zhi pressed on toward the door while Hei Xiazi stayed behind; Wu Sansheng’s group followed and suffered losses to the traps.

• Yu Zhi agreed to go with Zhang Qiling to Changbai Mountain despite Zhang Qiling’s fear of losing him, and Hei Xiazi joined them.
• The three reached the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace, followed the route through the tomb, and stopped at the Kunlun Fetus, where Zhang Qiling told Yu Zhi and Hei Xiazi to wait.
• Zhang Qiling agreed to let Hei Xiazi accompany them partway, then he and Yu Zhi continued ahead while Hei Xiazi stayed behind to wait for a month.
• Wu Sansheng, Xie Lianhuan, Chen Wenjin, Qi Yu, and Huo Ling arrived seeking a way to save Fo Ye, and Zhang Qiling and Yu Zhi hurried on without them.
• Wu Sansheng’s group crossed a trapped passage using Qi Yu’s directions, but three people stumbled and were killed by arrows.

Wu Sansheng's group reached a chasm with no visible way across and searched for a mechanism, while Zhang Qiling and Yu Zhi crossed ahead by leaping over it. Their teasing turned into an intense kiss, and Yu Zhi stopped Zhang Qiling from discussing marriage in the dangerous tomb.

• Pangzi reported that the passage ended at a three-hundred-meter chasm, and Wu Sansheng ordered everyone to search for a mechanism.
• Qi Yu said the group had only one route forward, while his thoughts revealed that he had entered the tomb to seek a chance to survive his foretold calamity.
• Zhang Qiling and Yu Zhi leaped across the chasm, and Yu Zhi joked about the deaths of the people behind them.
• Zhang Qiling refused to go back and save the others, then accused Yu Zhi of thinking about other men and no longer being attracted to him.
• Yu Zhi kissed Zhang Qiling fervently and got a nosebleed, turning Zhang Qiling's intended punishment into a reward.
• Zhang Qiling began to bring up marriage, but Yu Zhi covered his mouth and insisted they not discuss it in the tomb.

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling hid in the Spirit Palace Great Hall while the Nine Gates group searched for a way onward. After learning Zhang Qishan was seeking a supposed Longevity Pill, Yu Zhi considered whether to help them, then took Zhang Qiling into the System Space to rest.

• Yu Zhi told Zhang Qiling that he had joined the crowds who went to Changbai Mountain for him, and Zhang Qiling thanked him and kissed his hand.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling agreed to let the Nine Gates group go ahead, then hid in a blind spot above the great hall.
• Wu Sansheng's group crossed the dangerous cliff using the iron chains, and Huo Ling explained the route ahead toward the mausoleum's inner hall.
• Yu Zhi realized Zhang Qishan wanted a supposed Longevity Pill and considered helping the group obtain it.
• The Nine Gates group searched the empty Spirit Palace Great Hall for more than half an hour without finding a mechanism, so Yu Zhi took Zhang Qiling into the System Space to rest.

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling discussed helping Wu Sansheng’s group find the Corpse Bug Pill and uncovered the Ghost Seal while talking about Zhang Qiling’s duty at the Bronze Door. They followed the group into the underground palace after it opened a passage beneath a relief of King Wannu.

• Yu Zhi proposed helping the group obtain the Corpse Bug Pill so Zhang Qishan would become a Forbidden Woman, and Zhang Qiling agreed.
• Zhang Qiling retrieved the Ghost Seal from a pile of objects taken from the Tomb of the King of Lu and explained that the person entering the Bronze Door mattered more than the key.
• Zhang Qiling told Yu Zhi that the Zhang Family’s mission was to stop “it” from killing the family and bringing the Ultimate into the human world, and Yu Zhi promised to stay with him.
• Wu Sansheng’s group discovered a relief of King Wannu, and Chen Wenjin pressed its mechanism, opening a passage that Xie Lianhuan fell into.
• After the group entered the underground palace, Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling followed, and Zhang Qiling explained that the place received sacrifices rather than eating people.

The Nine Gates reached the Corpse Storage Pavilion and lost several hired hands to a concentrated-acid trap. Meanwhile, Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling waited in their space, and Yu Zhi abandoned a plan to use someone from the Nine Gates at the Bronze Door.

• Huo Ling guided Wu Sansheng, Xie Lianhuan, Qi Yu, and Chen Wenjin toward the Corpse Storage Pavilion using the mysterious map.
• Qi Yu rushed onto the stone platform when a mechanism activated, and concentrated acid killed several hired hands who remained below.
• Wu Sansheng calmed the survivors while the five members of the group began searching the bronze chariot for clues to opening the door.
• Zhang Qiling told Yu Zhi that concentrated acid lay ahead, and they decided to wait until most of the others had died before proceeding.
• Yu Zhi suggested throwing someone from the Nine Gates into the Bronze Door, but Zhang Qiling refused because they could not deliberately harm mortals.

Wu Sansheng’s group opened the Bronze Door and entered the Corpse Storage Pavilion, where their attempt to loot coffins unleashed giant centipedes. Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling arrived, saved the survivors for a price, and learned they were searching for the Longevity Pill; the group prepared to continue toward the inner hall.

• Chen Wenjin spotted a seam in one bronze horse’s mouth, and Pangzi activated it to reveal an entrance above the Bronze Door.
• Wu Sansheng led the group into the Corpse Storage Pavilion, where the remaining men opened a coffin and released swarms of giant centipedes.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling opened the entrance from outside, then Yu Zhi offered to save the trapped group for five million per life.
• Yu Zhi used blood-red vines to crush the centipedes and consume the coffins, leaving Wu Sansheng, Xie Lianhuan, Qi Yu, Huo Ling, Chen Wenjin, and Pangzi alive.
• Xie Lianhuan told Yu Zhi that the group was seeking the Longevity Pill for Fo Ye and expected to find it in the inner hall.
• Yu Zhi said he was not interested in the pill and urged the injured survivors to rest before they continued inward.

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling led the group through a dangerous passage into King Wannu’s volcanic crater palace, where they crossed a moat of mercury and acid and reunited with the others. As Xie Lianhuan asked about their relationship, he realized his question might have angered Zhang Qiling.

• Zhang Qiling warned the group about the magma-triggered passage, then led Yu Zhi through it while the others followed safely behind.
• The six from the Nine Gates escaped the closing stone door and emerged into a hot forest inside the volcanic crater, where they spotted the palace complex.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling crossed the moat, which Zhang Qiling identified as a channel filled with mercury and concentrated acid, and discussed the inner hall and Bronze Door.
• The six caught up and saw Zhang Qiling kiss Yu Zhi’s forehead before jumping across the moat to join them.
• As the group headed toward the city wall, Xie Lianhuan asked Yu Zhi what his relationship with Zhang Qiling was and worried he had asked a dangerous question.

Yu Zhi publicly declared Zhang Qiling his fiancé as they entered the underground palace to find the Longevity Pill. King Wannu attacked, Qi Yu died shielding Yu Zhi, and Yu Zhi stored Qi Yu’s soul while Zhang Qiling drove the monster away; the survivors fled with the pill and Qi Yu’s body.

• Yu Zhi declared Zhang Qiling his fiancé, and Zhang Qiling happily accepted his place at Yu Zhi’s side.
• Zhang Qiling opened the underground palace entrance with the Ghost Seal, and the group searched the hall for the Longevity Pill.
• Wu Sansheng found an eight-treasure box in a cauldron, and Zhang Qiling opened it with his Faqiu Finger.
• King Wannu attacked Yu Zhi, and Qi Yu stepped in front of him and was decapitated.
• Yu Zhi stored Qi Yu’s soul in the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress while Zhang Qiling wounded King Wannu and forced it to flee.
• Wu Sansheng and the others carried Qi Yu’s body and head out of the hall with the pill.

Yu Zhi destroyed the monsters threatening them, and Zhang Qiling, terrified of losing him, asked to bind their souls with a new contract. After they formed it, they reached the Bronze Door and entered with the yin soldiers, leaving their next steps beyond the door unknown.

• Yu Zhi released the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress and wiped out the monsters emerging from the six passages.
• Zhang Qiling clung to Yu Zhi and cried, then asked to bind their souls together so they could never truly die apart.
• Yu Zhi found the Primordial Spirit Imprint Dao Companion Contract, and he and Zhang Qiling exchanged wisps of their souls to form it.
• Yu Zhi refused to wait outside the Bronze Door, and Zhang Qiling chose the yin soldiers' passage while teasingly admitting he wanted to impress him.
• Zhang Qiling gave Yu Zhi the Ghost Seal for protection, and they joined the yin soldiers' procession through the crack in the Bronze Door before it closed behind them.

Wu Sansheng and the survivors returned with the Longevity Pill and Qi Yu’s remains, and the pill restored Zhang Qishan’s appearance and breathing. Inside the Bronze Door, Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling discovered that the Ultimate was an underground hell filled with monsters, just as creatures began emerging from the mist.

• Wu Sansheng brought the surviving Nine Gates members back with Qi Yu’s corpse and the Longevity Pill, while Hei Xiazi chose to remain in the tomb and cultivate.
• Xie Lianhuan broke down as he reported Qi Yu’s death to Er Yuehong, who arranged Qi Yu’s funeral and sent Wu Sansheng to deliver the pill to Fo Ye.
• Zhang Rishan opened the pill’s box and fed it to Zhang Qishan; the pill restored Zhang Qishan’s breathing and turned his gray hair black, though he remained unresponsive.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling entered the space beyond the Bronze Door and found a deep, filthy river crossed by a bridge disappearing into mist.
• Zhang Qiling told Yu Zhi that the Ultimate was an imitation of hell, where monsters produced inside the Queen Mother of the West had to be killed or they would die there.
• As monsters began emerging from the mist, Zhang Qiling told Yu Zhi to deal with them first.

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling entered hell to clear its monster-filled levels, and Zhang Qiling explained the False Queen Mother of the West’s origin and the Zhang Family’s role in sealing her. After Yu Zhi’s devouring nearly overwhelmed him, they adapted their strategy and cleared the first level before resting together in their space.

• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling crossed the Bridge of Helplessness, killed monsters, and discovered that doing so granted merit.
• Zhang Qiling explained that the Ji Clan had created the False Queen Mother of the West, who stole heavenly authority before the Zhang Family and other cultivators sealed her behind the Bronze Door.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling agreed to clear the first seventeen levels, while Zhang Qiling clarified that Nine Gates members were meant to be sacrificed to maintain the seal.
• Yu Zhi’s devouring of the monsters’ resentment and baleful energy began affecting his mind, so Zhang Qiling led him out of the fog and took over the killing.
• Yu Zhi found he could safely devour monsters Zhang Qiling had killed, and together they cleared the first level before entering their space to rest.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling discussed their work ahead and kissed as they rested.

After Zhang Qishan woke from his long coma with the Longevity Pill, he prepared a banquet for the Nine Gates while rumors spread through Changsha. Inside the Bronze Door, Yu Zhi reached foundation establishment and joined Zhang Qiling in clearing the third level.

• Zhang Qishan woke after twenty days unconscious, learned the Wang Family had attacked two branch halls, and ordered Zhang Rishan to prepare a Nine Gates banquet and gifts for the youngsters who brought the pill.
• Zhang Qishan learned Qi Yu had died and ordered Zhang Rishan to arrange a proper funeral rite.
• Shop hands in Changsha traded rumors about Zhang Qishan's recovery and the growing influence of the Wang Family.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling finished clearing the second level of the Bronze Door, and Yu Zhi began cultivating on the surface while Zhang Qiling guarded him.
• Yu Zhi smoothly broke through to foundation establishment and told Zhang Qiling he would handle the monsters from then on.
• Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling entered the third level, where Yu Zhi's new power and the Nine-Headed Serpent Cypress rapidly destroyed the monsters.