Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to revive Daoist Mu, who explained that only people with Law Power could perceive a Technique Method’s light. Daoist Mu recovered enough to reveal that his near-death had come from backlash after his ghost-possession ability trapped him inside Zhang Xuezhou the previous night.

• Rong Li examined Daoist Mu’s wooden figure and suspected that his misfortune might have been divine punishment.
• The crowd realized Daoist Mu was barely breathing, and Rong Li searched for someone who could save him.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to help Daoist Mu and pressed his Life Hall acupoint while channeling Law Power into him.
• Daoist Mu groaned and regained consciousness as Zhang Xuezhou’s Technique stabilized his injuries.
• Daoist Mu told Zhang Xuezhou that people without Realm Entry and Law Power could not perceive the light of a Technique Method.

Daoist Mu accepted that his failed ritual had ended his cultivation prospects, warned Zhang Xuezhou about the danger at Ten-Li Slope, and approved of Rong Tianding’s supposedly protective immortal paintings. Seven days later, a customer who had bought one had suffered an incident, drawing a crowd to Rong Tianding’s stall and a summons from the county yamen.

• Daoist Mu discussed cultivation with Zhang Xuezhou and accepted that his injuries had left him with no hope of advancing.
• Daoist Mu apologized to Rong Li for his earlier attack and said he would avoid further conflict with the Rong Household.
• Daoist Mu told Rong Tianding that the immortal paintings could ward off ghosts but warned him that strange things had happened at Ten-Li Slope.
• Daoist Mu cautioned Zhang Xuezhou about a possible ghostly presence at Ten-Li Slope as the group departed.
• Seven days later, something happened to a buyer of Rong Tianding’s immortal painting, and the county yamen summoned him.

Rong Tianding was summoned to the county yamen after a traveler carrying one of his deity paintings was found dead at Ten-Li Slope. Lord Bao began questioning the matter amid accusations and arguments, then ordered the court silenced with the threat of punishment.

• A county constable told Rong Tianding that he had been summoned because a traveler carrying one of his deity paintings was killed at Ten-Li Slope.
• Rong Li defended Rong Tianding at his stall, while Zhang Xuezhou reassured him that the yamen could not convict him of murder without evidence.
• Zhang Xuezhou worried that a powerful yin entity might truly haunt Ten-Li Slope as everyone followed Rong Tianding to the county yamen.
• Lord Bao heard Wang Baotian's family accuse Rong Tianding's painting of failing to protect the dead man, while Rong Li argued that the family was trying to extort money.
• Lord Bao ordered the constables to punish anyone who spoke without being questioned, silencing Rong Li and the others.

Lord Bao heard Wang Baotian’s accusation that Rong Tianding’s immortal painting had led to Wang Fu'an’s death, but refused to hold Rong responsible for the ghost’s murder. Rong agreed to catch the ghost, and Lord Bao made him answerable to the yamen if he failed.

• Wang Baotian accused Rong Tianding of causing Wang Fu'an’s death by selling him an immortal painting.
• Lord Bao examined Rong’s paintings, found no sign of Law Power, and demanded that Rong give an account of himself.
• Rong Tianding argued that a vicious ghost had overcome the painting and declared that he would catch the ghost rather than accept blame for its actions.
• Lord Bao accepted Rong’s offer and asked Wang Baotian whether he had any further accusations.
• Wang Baotian agreed that catching the ghost would bring justice for his son, and Lord Bao threatened Rong with ten strokes if he failed to investigate.

Rong Tianding and his companions prepared to investigate the supposed haunting at Ten-Li Slope, while Lord Bao learned that Jin Chang had taken the livestock and ordered a separate investigation into Wang Fu'an’s death. The chapter ended with Lord Bao turning to Rong Tianding’s group because Daoist Mu was too injured to help.

• Rong Tianding panicked about the yamen’s order to catch a ghost, and Rong Li’s group arranged to slaughter pigs before heading to Ten-Li Slope.
• Li Erlang agreed to bring two buckets of pig blood, and Zhang Xuezhou suggested asking Daoist Mu for advice.
• Adviser Li told Lord Bao that Jin Chang, a subordinate of the King of Huainan, had taken the livestock while pursuing an important criminal, and that compensation was coming.
• Lord Bao concluded the livestock’s disappearance was not caused by a ghost, but ordered Li Shuang to investigate Wang Fu'an’s death at Dragon Gate Village.
• Lord Bao recalled Daoist Mu’s injuries and decided he might have to rely on Rong Tianding and his companions.

As Zhang Xuezhou and the others discussed the deaths and livestock disappearances in Dragon Gate Village, Daoist Mu admitted he could no longer help them fight ghosts. He and Zhang Xuezhou searched the Corpse Jiao Codex for another technique, leaving Zhang Xuezhou considering trying one of its incomplete arts.

• Daoist Mu suspected a water ghost had killed Wang Fu'an, but Zhang Xuezhou pointed out that the livestock and Wang Fu'an had been left in different conditions, raising the possibility of two ghosts.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding joked about facing punishment at the yamen before Zhang asked Daoist Mu for ghost-fighting advice.
• Daoist Mu revealed that he was an outer disciple of the Fierce Ghost Sect of the Corpse Jiao Sect and that Zhang had destroyed the hanged ghost he relied on.
• Zhang Xuezhou opened Daoist Mu's chest and found the Corpse Jiao Codex, which contained many incomplete ghost-catching and ghost-controlling arts.
• After reviewing more than twenty pages, Daoist Mu found an art and suggested Zhang Xuezhou try learning it.

Zhang Xuezhou searched the Corpse Jiao Canon for a technique to find and capture Yin entities, while Daoist Mu warned him that the available tracking method could lead him to a much more dangerous ghost. After learning that the county yamen had sent them to Dragon Gate Village, Daoist Mu feared the entity was beyond his ability and revealed that he had another treasure.

• Zhang Xuezhou rejected the difficult Ashes-to-Ashes Annihilation Technique and memorized the relatively accessible Yin Entity Tracking Technique despite Daoist Mu's warning that it could lead him to a fierce ghost.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Daoist Mu found no suitable technique for catching Yin entities, and Rong Tianding warned that Lord Bao would punish Daoist Mu if anyone got hurt.
• Daoist Mu realized that the county yamen's order to catch the ghost meant the Yin entity in Dragon Gate Village might be beyond his ability.
• Daoist Mu saw Rong Li preparing to fight the ghost with a whetstone and, hoping the group would return safely, offered them another treasure.

Zhang Xuezhou practiced the Yin Entity Tracking Technique while he and the others traveled to Dragon Gate Village to investigate a water ghost. After arriving, Rong Li went to the Dragon Gate River, while Zhang Xuezhou and Jia Zhiyuan planned to question the villagers.

• Zhang Xuezhou examined the sealed jar Daoist Mu had given him and practiced the Yin Entity Tracking Technique, which produced a shadow that searched for yin entities.
• Zhang Xuezhou and his companions reached Dragon Gate Village, where Li Erlang welcomed them and Rong Tianding offered to raise his wages.
• Rong Li noticed villagers carrying immortal paintings and grew more determined to steer Rong Tianding away from painting and back toward the family trade.
• Li Erlang told the group that Wang Fu'an had encountered a water ghost near the Dragon Gate River.
• Rong Li drew her pig-slaughtering knife and headed toward the river, while Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Jia Zhiyuan to ask villagers about the ghost.

Jia Zhiyuan worried about Rong Li and Rong Tianding searching for the water ghost, then heard a man crying for his life in the village. Rong Li and Jia Zhiyuan confronted the supposed ghost and discovered it was Constable Lord Li in disguise.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Daoist Mu had dismissed the rumor of a hundred ghosts and suspected a water ghost near Dragon Gate Village.
• Jia Zhiyuan fretted while Rong Li and Rong Tianding searched the misty riverbank, then welcomed them back safely.
• At the third watch, Jia Zhiyuan heard a man crying for his life and woke Rong Li, who grabbed her pig-slaughtering knife and went out to investigate.
• Jia Zhiyuan followed with a bucket of pig blood as Rong Li fought a dark figure in the village.
• Jia Zhiyuan threw pig blood onto the ground, causing the figure to slip, and Rong Li pinned and stabbed him before they recognized Constable Lord Li.
• Lord Li admitted he had been pretending to be a ghost so Rong Li and the others would drive him away and appear to have caught it.

Li Shuang explained that the county yamen had ruled out a real haunting at Ten-Li Slope and asked Zhang Xuezhou, Rong Tianding, Rong Li, and Jia Zhiyuan to help investigate Wang Fu'an's murder. Their inquiries revealed several villagers had feuded with Wang Fu'an, and Zhang Xuezhou focused on Wang Baoli as a possible culprit.

• Li Shuang told Zhang Xuezhou and the others that the county yamen had ordered him to settle the haunting and investigate Wang Fu'an's death, though he had been injured when Rong Li exposed his ghost act.
• Li Shuang reasoned that Wang Fu'an's killer was probably a villager with a grudge, and asked the group to help make inquiries.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the others went among Dragon Gate Village's residents to ask about Wang Fu'an's conflicts.
• Villagers recalled that Wang Fu'an's sheep had damaged Wang Baoli's grass and other residents' vegetables, prompting disputes and insults.
• Zhang Xuezhou watched Wang Baoli and considered him a possible murderer despite his ordinary appearance.

Li Shuang accused Wang Baoli of murdering Wang Fu'an, but admitted the yamen had not examined the body and could not arrest him without help. Zhang Xuezhou proposed pretending Wang Baoli was possessed by a water ghost so the group could catch him while convincing the villagers there were no ghosts.

• Li Shuang said Wang Baoli was almost certainly the killer, though he had not examined Wang Fu'an's body.
• Li Shuang explained that a powerful man had taken Dragon Gate Village's livestock for a feast and that the yamen planned to compensate the villagers.
• Rong Li agreed to help the yamen but warned that the group lacked the authority to arrest Wang Baoli outright.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed catching Wang Baoli and claiming a water ghost had possessed him.
• Rong Tianding agreed to hold a ritual using his reputation as the painter of immortal paintings, and he went outside to address the villagers.

Rong Tianding staged a ritual in Dragon Gate Village, using a painting of True Lord Tianpeng to identify the supposed water ghost. The villagers turned on Wang Baoli, who fled as Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Li accused him of being possessed.

• Rong Tianding warned the villagers that his painting could capture the water ghost, then performed an elaborate ritual while Zhang Xuezhou watched Wang Baoli in the crowd.
• After painting True Lord Tianpeng, Rong Tianding announced that the water ghost had possessed someone and asked the villagers to call out their names.
• When Wang Baoli gave his name, Rong Tianding identified him as the water ghost, following the plan Zhang Xuezhou had prepared.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged the villagers to seize Wang Baoli, and Rong Li charged at him with her pig-slaughtering knife.
• The village chief shouted for the villagers to burn Wang Baoli, who protested and fled through the crowd.
• Constable Li Shuang watched from a side room and reflected that Rong Li had nearly wounded his kidney.

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Li chased Wang Baoli into the feared Night Parade of One Hundred Demons forest, where he vanished into a shallow mud pit. As Zhang Xuezhou used the Yin Entity Tracking Technique to investigate, a golden light struck and bound him, leaving him captured by an unknown attacker.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding joined Rong Li and the villagers in pursuing Wang Baoli, who fled after Zhang accused him of causing Wang Fu'an's death.
• Wang Baoli ran toward the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons forest, hoping the villagers would be too frightened to follow, but Rong Li and Zhang Xuezhou continued chasing him.
• Wang Baoli disappeared after stepping into a shallow patch of mud, and Rong Li and Zhang Xuezhou found that it was too shallow to have swallowed him.
• Zhang Xuezhou activated the Yin Entity Tracking Technique to investigate, but a golden light struck him and left him tightly bound as an unknown voice revealed it had been lying in wait for a Realm Entry cultivator.

Trapped in the Golden Toad Dharma King’s Grotto-Heaven Secret Land, Zhang Xuezhou realized that Jin Wanliang and the injured Dharma King intended to kill him for his heart. Zhang Xuezhou learned that escape depended on the immobile Dharma King, who needed to recover enough strength to search for the missing Ten Yin Holy Son.

• Zhang Xuezhou found himself in a swamp where Jin Wanliang confronted him, while the Golden Toad Dharma King demanded a cultivator to consume.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to dissuade them by claiming his newly attained Realm Entry cultivation had little medicinal value, but neither demon answered him.
• Jin Wanliang admitted his techniques and treasure were broken, but said he could still defeat cultivators in the Meridian Circulation and Blood Penetration Realms.
• Jin Wanliang revealed that they were trapped in the Dharma King’s Grotto-Heaven Secret Land and that no one could leave without the Dharma King’s permission.
• The injured Golden Toad Dharma King remained focused on regaining mobility so he could find the missing Ten Yin Holy Son.

Zhang Xuezhou tried to bargain with Jin Wanliang and the injured Golden Toad Dharma King to avoid being eaten. After Zhang Xuezhou offered the Supreme Purity True Technique, the Golden Toad Dharma King recognized its value, giving them both a reason to keep him alive for now.

• Zhang Xuezhou offered to reveal Daoist Mu as a source of medicinal help, but Jin Wanliang said there was no time to find him.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to reveal the Golden Toad Treasure Robe unless Jin Wanliang let him live, and Jin Wanliang rejected the deal.
• Zhang Xuezhou turned invisible and threw Daoist Mu's jar at Jin Wanliang, but Jin Wanliang tracked him by his footprints and captured him.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King prepared to eat Zhang Xuezhou, but Zhang Xuezhou shouted that he knew a technique to suppress injuries.
• Zhang Xuezhou named the Supreme Purity True Technique, and the Golden Toad Dharma King recognized it as a valuable military healing technique and asked how Zhang Xuezhou had learned it.

Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to stabilize the Golden Toad Dharma King’s injuries, but his low cultivation limited what he could do. The Golden Toad Dharma King revealed that someone else controlled his divine soul, leaving Jin Wanliang and Zhang Xuezhou to learn that even the powerful Dharma King could not act freely.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique on the Golden Toad Dharma King, briefly stabilizing his injuries.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King acknowledged Zhang Xuezhou’s Technique but said his low realm prevented him from repairing the injuries fully.
• Jin Wanliang demanded to learn the Supreme Purity True Technique, but the Golden Toad Old Ancestor warned him that human Techniques could damage a demon’s cultivation.
• The Golden Toad Old Ancestor offered to take Jin Wanliang to the Xieluosi River to learn demon methods after their current trouble ended.
• Jin Wanliang asked whether he and the Golden Toad Old Ancestor were related, and the Dharma King explained that his divine soul was controlled by someone else.

Zhang Xuezhou remained trapped in the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp for fifteen days, relying on his Supreme Purity True Technique to keep Golden Toad Dharma King alive while hoping for rescue. When Cheng Bushi arrived outside, Zhang Xuezhou bargained with Golden Toad Dharma King for a promise that he would not be harmed, and Golden Toad Dharma King agreed as he prepared to flee.

• Zhang Xuezhou spent seven days trapped in the grotto-heaven, treating Golden Toad Dharma King's injuries and hoping Rong Li would find a way to rescue him.
• Zhang Xuezhou overheard Jin Wanliang and Golden Toad Old Ancestor discuss how difficult grotto-heavens were to locate and began trying to improve his standing with them.
• On the fifteenth day, Jin Wanliang reported that a general had arrived outside, and Golden Toad Dharma King identified him as Cheng Bushi.
• Golden Toad Dharma King warned Zhang Xuezhou and Jin Wanliang that if Han Dynasty forces captured and refined the grotto-heaven, all three could die, then ordered Zhang Xuezhou to suppress his injuries so he could escape.
• Zhang Xuezhou demanded that Golden Toad Dharma King never use another person or an accident to harm him, and Golden Toad Dharma King agreed before preparing to leave.

Zhang Xuezhou learned how to leave the Grotto-Heaven Secret Land and weighed his chances of escaping while the Golden Toad Dharma King fought Cheng Bushi. He held back from reciting the exit Incantation after hearing how high the Golden Toad Dharma King was jumping.

• The Golden Toad Dharma King explained that Cheng Bushi's Yin-Yang Parent-Child Formation Flags made his saber strikes difficult to resist, and Jin Wanliang coveted the formation.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King took Jin Wanliang's counting rods and left to fight Cheng Bushi, while the battle began changing the surrounding swamp.
• Jin Wanliang told Zhang Xuezhou that the Golden Toad Dharma King could enter or leave the Grotto-Heaven Secret Land at will, and revealed the exit Incantation.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized the Golden Toad Dharma King might still intend to kill him and calculated that he needed the right moment to escape safely.
• As Cheng Bushi and the Golden Toad Dharma King exchanged taunts, Zhang Xuezhou nearly recited the Incantation but stopped when Cheng Bushi described the Golden Toad Dharma King's leaps.

Zhang Xuezhou’s perfect scores pushed him toward the top of Yucai Middle School, while the danger in his dreams left him desperately counting the days until he could seek treatment. As Mei Renteng’s exam-driven fervor spread to him, Zhang Xuezhou wondered whether his growing will to survive could change how he faced the dream’s peril.

• Zhang Xuezhou earned another perfect score, this time in foreign languages, and climbed into Yucai Middle School’s top fifty.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Mei Renteng that luck explained his perfect scores, though he knew his heightened mental state made the courses easier to master.
• Zhang Xuezhou remained trapped in the Grotto-Heaven Secret Land as Cheng Bushi pursued the Golden Toad Dharma King, and he feared that escaping from a great height would kill him.
• Zhang Xuezhou calculated how long he might have to endure before he could meet Professor Ren Yisheng at Canglan Academy and seek treatment.
• Mei Renteng turned Zhang Xuezhou’s remark about rewards and work into a fervent study motto, prompting Zhang Xuezhou to echo his determination and consider whether a stronger will to survive could help him.

Zhang Xuezhou and Jin Wanliang endured hunger inside the Grotto-Heaven Secret Land while the Golden Toad Dharma King fled Cheng Bushi toward the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. As they discussed cultivation and their uncertain future, Jin Wanliang began considering Zhang Xuezhou as a potential ally in the demon sacred land.

• Jin Wanliang eyed Zhang Xuezhou hungrily, but turned into a toad and ate mud after Zhang Xuezhou warned that the Golden Toad Dharma King's injuries might need his help.
• During the sixth day of Cheng Bushi's pursuit, Zhang Xuezhou and Jin Wanliang survived on bones, marrow, and birds while the Golden Toad Dharma King raced toward the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
• Zhang Xuezhou gave up on escaping alone and decided that staying near the Golden Toad Dharma King offered his best chance of survival.
• Zhang Xuezhou expressed admiration for martial artists, and Jin Wanliang explained that Zhang's Law Power marked him as a Technique cultivator rather than a martial artist.
• Worried about being weak among the demons in the sacred land, Jin Wanliang considered making Zhang Xuezhou his ally and eventual lackey.