Chapter Summaries

Hu Mang defeated Zheng Qingbo by stripping away the Human-Body Buddha’s protection, seizing his Dragon Vein power, and binding him with the Three Yin Life and Death Talisman. He saved Secretary Jiacha and discovered a kindly old woman from the Liang Household had also been acting; afterward, both families declared victory in their war, while Hu Mang considered himself the true beneficiary.

• Hu Mang absorbed the Human-Body Buddha’s strange Buddhist power and persuaded it to withdraw the blood-colored kasaya protecting Zheng Qingbo.
• Zheng Qingbo revealed a Nanyang Dragon Vein, but Hu Mang caught its dragon shadow with the Ghost Dragon Claw and drained it into a dragon-blood jade pendant.
• Hu Mang placed the Three Yin Life and Death Talisman on Zheng Qingbo, turning him into a vacant, obedient puppet.
• Hu Mang healed Secretary Jiacha with Wisdom King Aizen’s Buddhist power and the Human-Body Buddha’s blood light, while the other Chinese man died.
• Hu Mang noticed another presence and met an old woman carrying the Sulu Wrapped Coconut Bone String, the Liang Household’s true heirloom.
• The fighting ended with the Liang Household Garden and Zheng Family Garden both claiming victory, while Hu Mang concluded that he had profited.

Hu Mang took control of the Zheng Family Garden and reviewed Zheng Qingbo’s assets and political connections while weighing two dangerous unresolved threats. As Liang Yanqiu arrived and mistook the disguised Hu Mang for her former husband, the real Boss Zheng emerged from the hidden room.

• Jiacha showed Hu Mang the Zheng Family Garden’s documents, and Hu Mang reviewed Zheng Qingbo’s extensive assets and connections beyond Java.
• Hu Mang told Jiacha that Zheng Qingbo’s mistresses would be made to worship Buddha rather than eliminated.
• Jiacha warned Hu Mang that the Demonic Machine Hall demanded answers over its losses and that the uncivilized Yi of Mandala Islet might retaliate for their dead leader.
• Hu Mang said he would take charge of the Zheng Family Garden while considering how to deal with the Yi and their uncontrolled ghosts.
• Liang Yanqiu arrived at the study and accused the apparent Zheng Qingbo of being alive, but Hu Mang’s disguise convinced her he was her former husband.
• The real Boss Zheng came out of the hidden room and told Hu Mang to stop acting so familiar with Liang Yanqiu.

Hu Mang rejected Liang Yanqiu’s demand for a share of the Zheng Family Garden, while Old Madam Liang left him a bone knife and an incantation. The next day, Zheng Qingbo’s many children arrived at the garden, where Hu Mang prepared to watch for conspirators as ghost infants caused another disturbance.

• Liang Yanqiu proposed that the Liang and Hu families share the Zheng Family Garden’s assets and offered help with its troubles, but Hu Mang refused her terms.
• Old Madam Liang gave Hu Mang Foreign Granny’s Offal Knife and vanished; ghost infants then emerged, and Hu Mang knocked them away with the ghost spear.
• The next day, Zheng Qingbo’s children and their families gathered outside the Zheng Family Garden, and Jiacha told Hu Mang that Zheng had thirteen sons and eighteen daughters, with two more women expecting.
• Hu Mang ordered Zheng Qingbo’s women and children to worship Buddha to make his feigned injuries convincing, and told Jiacha to watch Zheng’s descendants for conspiracies.
• Screams and commotion broke out in the front courtyard as ghost infants attacked people, so Hu Mang sent Jiacha to organize the people and went to deal with the ghosts.

Hu Mang used the Ghost Dragon Vein and a secret art taught by the Liang Household's old lady to suppress the Jiangtou ghosts in the Zheng Family Garden. He left the Salty Smoke Worms and other ghosts dormant beneath sheets of corpse dragon skin while the Zheng family fought over succession.

• Hu Mang examined the Human-Body Buddha and realized its power had accelerated his Buddhist cultivation toward Form Condensation, while considering ways to control it.
• Hu Mang saw that Zheng Qingbo had fainted as planned and went to deal with the Jiangtou ghosts in the rear courtyard.
• The Salty Smoke Worms swarmed Hu Mang after devouring the garden's livestock, but he reduced them to a carpet of corpses with his suppression implement.
• Hu Mang summoned the Ghost Dragon Vein and used Foreign Granny's Offal Knife to tear corpse dragon skin from the ground.
• Hu Mang covered the Salty Smoke Worms with the corpse dragon skin, putting them into a month-long dormancy, then suppressed other vicious ghosts beneath similar sheets.

After surviving the Liang family’s attack, Zheng Qingbo purged rivals and appointed ten bosses, including Hu Mang, to manage the Zheng Family Garden. Jiacha explained Hu Mang’s role and Zheng Qingbo’s defenses, while Hu Mang questioned why the boss relied on outside protectors and left the story poised on Jiacha’s answer.

• Zheng Qingbo returned looking healthy, punished his scheming sons and wives, and promoted ten trusted aides to bosses while he recovered.
• Jiacha told the bosses that Hu Mang had secretly fed them intelligence and helped stop the Liang family’s old matriarch from killing Zheng Qingbo’s forces.
• The bosses accepted Hu Mang’s appointment to command the Zheng Family Garden’s fighting force, and Jiacha said Zheng Qingbo’s injuries remained uncertain.
• Hu Mang’s ghost-ship power overwhelmed Jiacha with its presence, then Hu Mang listened as Jiacha reported on the bosses and three Golden Core cultivators who had offered to protect Zheng Qingbo.
• Hu Mang reasoned that Zheng Qingbo kept powerful allies abroad to reassure others without provoking local gangs, then asked Jiacha why he did not use his control over Zheng Qingbo on everyone else.

Hu Mang revealed how the Three Yin Life and Death Talisman kept Zheng Qingbo under his control, then took charge of the Zheng Family Garden and summoned its alley leaders. He left the leaders facing their new boss as he assessed the unfamiliar cultivators modified with technology he recognized.

• Zheng Qingbo realized his consciousness had returned but concealed his suspicions and pretended to sleep.
• Hu Mang appeared with Jiacha, killed Zheng Qingbo, and watched him revive as a puppet who obeyed Hu Mang’s command to sleep.
• Hu Mang explained to Jiacha how the talisman repeatedly sent Zheng Qingbo into suspended death when his self-awareness returned, and assigned Jiacha to manage him.
• Hu Mang privately acknowledged that the talisman had weaknesses but decided he could keep control and preserve the Zheng Family Garden.
• The next morning, Hu Mang summoned the seventeen alley leaders, recalled old grievances and acquaintances, and examined six unfamiliar modified cultivators.

Hu Mang established control over the Zheng Family Garden’s alley chiefs while preparing to address the Demonic Machine Hall and the Mandala Tribe. The chapter ended with the tribe’s new grand elder and its sorcerers gathered at deserted Port Surumai, facing the Zheng Family Garden’s cordon.

• Hu Mang defeated Hong Xiao Hu and the other augmented alley chiefs in sparring, earning the respect of both the old and new fighters.
• Hu Mang kept the Zheng Family Garden’s rival factions in check and explained why he had no interest in taking over the Liang Household Garden.
• Xue Hu warned Hu Mang that the Demonic Machine Hall planned to halt supplies and demand compensation, and Hu Mang decided to report the matter to Boss Zheng.
• Su Tiya explained that the Mandala Tribe’s promised vengeance likely concealed plans for blood Jiangtou and sacrifices, leaving Boss Zheng responsible for the trouble he had caused.
• The Mandala Tribe sent most of its blood-sacrifice sorcerers and ritual materials toward Port Surumai, where Su Tiya and the Zheng Family Garden’s forces formed a cordon against the new grand elder and his sorcerers.

Su Tiya and Moheita prepared to negotiate with the wild-tribe sorcerers, but Hu Mang used the Ghost Dragon Vein to sink their ship and drown everyone aboard. The Zheng Family Garden then sent Su Tiya, Moheita, and their sorcerers to eliminate the remaining wild tribesmen on Mandala Islet.

• Su Tiya told Moheita that the wild-tribe sorcerers would arrive soon and asked him to negotiate their departure in exchange for sacrifices supplied in private.
• A black ship carrying the wild-tribe sorcerers reached the port, led by an old sorcerer whose open belly contained an infant's head.
• Hu Mang unleashed the Ghost Dragon Vein, created a whirlpool beneath the ship, and dragged it to the seabed, drowning the sorcerers aboard.
• Zhou Shenzhi told Su Tiya and Moheita to join the expedition to eliminate the remaining wild tribesmen on Mandala Islet.
• Moheita agreed to mobilize his tribespeople, while Liang Yanqiu and Liang Xiaoqiu watched the ship sink from the port.

Zheng Qingbo met with Sun Youcai at the Demonic Machine Hall to discuss his sorcery injuries and ask for help lifting the Incantation. Sun Youcai consulted two fellow Sealed Holy Sons, who became more interested in Hu Mang’s Seven Absolutes Bloodline than in Zheng Qingbo’s story.

• After the Zheng Family Garden sank an Incantation ship, Zheng Qingbo and Hu Mang visited the Demonic Machine Hall headquarters, where Hu Mang sensed that Sun Youcai shared his Seven Absolutes Bloodline.
• Sun Youcai revealed that he had sent men after Hu Mang and asked Zheng Qingbo why he had brought Hu Mang into the Zheng Family Garden.
• Zheng Qingbo said Madam Liang had arranged for Hu Mang to work beside him and used an Incantation to help sink the ship; he asked Sun Youcai to compensate for the failed operation and seek a way to lift Zheng’s Incantation.
• After Zheng Qingbo left, Sun Youcai used a Law Artifact helmet to contact two other Sealed Holy Sons and told them about Hu Mang.
• The two Sealed Holy Sons speculated about how Hu Mang had unsealed his bloodline and whether he might be a Heavenly Gate spy, while Sun Youcai asked whether Zheng Qingbo had been truthful or was plotting something.

Hu Mang strengthened his ties with Sun Youcai while learning about the New Demonic Path’s Sealed Holy Sons, then returned to Demon-Subduing City to attempt core formation. He found that the city’s Thunder Net was still intact and realized he could use it.

• Sun Youcai and the Blood Sea Holy Son decided to draw Hu Mang into their circle by offering him a say in Law Artifact modifications and probing his connections.
• Hu Mang met Sun Youcai, learned about overseas Demonic Dao modifications and the Sealed Holy Sons’ rankings, and let Sun Youcai believe he might have ties to the Heavenly Gate authorities.
• Sun Youcai gave Hu Mang the emptied body of Old Man Min, hoping someone could recover fragments of his memories, and promised to work exclusively with him on Zheng Family Garden business.
• Hu Mang returned to the Mechanism Compound in Demon-Subduing City and tried to form a Golden Core, but his perfected Golden Nature made the process difficult.
• Hu Mang realized the city’s Thunder Net remained even though its Tribulation Eye and demon-subduing ground were gone.

Hu Mang discovered that Demon-Subduing City's Thunder Net concealed a hidden realm and found Old Chen Sheng's corpse there with a letter explaining his attempt at Corpse Liberation. The letter revealed that Old Chen had written his name into the Heavenly Tribulation Register to force a thunder tribulation and create a chance to become an immortal.

• Hu Mang used his knowledge of thunder to enter the hidden world within Demon-Subduing City's Thunder Net.
• Hu Mang found an Ascension Platform, Old Chen Sheng's corpse, a demon-subduing sword, and a coffin from the Rebirth Shrine.
• Hu Mang read Old Chen Sheng's letter, which explained how he had used the Thunder Net, Ghost Makeup, and borrowed sword intent to prepare for Corpse Liberation as Fairy Yundu.
• Old Chen Sheng asked Hu Mang to look after his granddaughter Chen Xiaoguo and explained the Heavenly Tribulation Register's power to increase thunder tribulations.
• Old Chen Sheng revealed that he had written his own name in the Heavenly Tribulation Register to force a thunder tribulation and improve his chances of attaining the Dao through Corpse Liberation.

Hu Mang studied Old Chen’s legacy, learned the Heavenly Tribulation Register’s dangers and the Mysterious Peak Token’s value, and discovered that the small Ascension Platform could transport him beyond the Thunder Commandery Domain. After spending days moving supplies out of Demon-Subduing City, he met Doctor Sun at the Java airport and brought him to the Zheng Family Garden.

• Hu Mang read the Heavenly Tribulation Register, found Chen Sheng’s name and Primordial Lady Shuangwan’s crossed-out name, and considered ways to use the treasure.
• Hu Mang learned from Old Chen’s letter that Zhen'ezi had given him a Peak-Subduing Token that let him enter the Innate Peak-Subduing Sect without a test.
• Hu Mang took Old Chen’s corpse for studying Corpse Liberation and photographed the lightning patterns on the small Ascension Platform.
• Hu Mang discovered that the platform could transport major wanted criminals beyond the Thunder Commandery Domain, while the void passage was connected to the Old Man of the Void Rift.
• Hu Mang spent several days hauling supplies from Demon-Subduing City before meeting Doctor Sun at a Java airport.
• Hu Mang led Doctor Sun outside, where a group of armed men bowed and called Hu Mang their brother, alarming Doctor Sun.

Hu Mang persuaded Sun Jidao to establish an overseas laboratory in Java to study the Human Immortal Lightning Puppet, then prepared a research facility while learning how difficult independent Golden Core formation was. After Eighth Master Hui assigned him to investigate the Sea Dragon Vein, Hu Mang opened the box containing Old Man Min’s weakened soul and considered using a Three Yin Life and Death Talisman.

• Sun Jidao examined the Human Immortal Lightning Puppet’s arm and agreed to resign from the Heavenly Gate, recruit researchers, and bring equipment to Java for Hu Mang’s laboratory.
• Hu Mang arranged construction of a research building in the Zheng Family Garden and continued scavenging materials from Demon-Subduing City.
• Old Xie developed a core-formation method requiring Hu Mang to unite Buddha-Devil Evolution with Daoist true essence, and Eighth Master Hui explained how institutions helped cultivators form top-grade Golden Cores.
• Eighth Master Hui asked Hu Mang to investigate the Yin Qi of the Sea Dragon Vein as a field assignment.
• Hu Mang opened the box containing Old Man Min’s soul and spirit, then took out a Three Yin Life and Death Talisman in case the old man’s memories remained intact.

Hu Mang recovered the Blood Shadow Divine Art, obtained Demonic Nature Grass seeds, and learned more about the Seven Absolutes Devil Meridians. He ignored Zheng Qingyuan’s invitation and went to Demon-Subduing City to plant the grass, leaving Zheng Qingyuan waiting in Java.

• Elder Min recovered memories about the Sea Dragon Vein and revealed that his three disciples had been entrusted with parts of the cult secret, though their fate remained unknown.
• Hu Mang gave Elder Min the Flesh and Blood Golden Core, and Elder Min explained its connection to the Blood Shadow Divine Art and blood-devil cultivation.
• Hu Mang collected three chests of Demonic Nature Grass seeds from Sun Youcai, who explained the Seven Absolutes Devil Meridians and their risks.
• Hu Mang told Sun Youcai that he had unsealed Cauldron Boiling and Unraveled Rope, then regretted revealing the information when Sun Youcai became more enthusiastic.
• Hu Mang threw away Zheng Qingyuan’s invitation and left to plant the Demonic Nature Grass in Demon-Subduing City, while Zheng Qingyuan waited for him in a restaurant in Java.

Master Bao revealed his boar-like yao nature while allying with Zheng Qingyuan, and Hu Mang prepared for the next stage of his cultivation. After returning to the Mystic Shield Sect, Hu Mang entered a richly detailed virtual Buddha realm to begin demonstrating his abilities.

• Master Bao met Zheng Qingyuan and Feng Haixiao, transformed with boar-like features, and promised not to eat his eldest nephew’s share.
• Hu Mang checked the rapidly growing demonic grass at Demon-Subduing City and considered preparing carefully before unsealing his fourth devil meridian.
• Hu Mang returned from overseas and met Sister Yu and Huang Liang at the Mystic Shield Sect after learning Wang Zeyu was away on business.
• Hu Mang, Sister Yu, and Huang Liang donned safety equipment and signed a Dao covenant before connecting to the cultivation software.
• Hu Mang entered a lifelike virtual Buddha realm, where Huang Liang explained that the team had modified its foundational architecture to help him work.

Hu Mang activated the cultivation program by transforming the Buddhist kingdom with the Yugi Sutra, while Sister Yu destroyed an evil Buddha that emerged from the process. After a day and night, Hu Mang completed the method, and he signed a contract with the Mystic Shield Sect as a cultivation method consultant.

• Hu Mang recited the Yugi Sutra from the Buddha's throne and began transforming the Buddhist kingdom's innate hindrances into Wisdom King Aizen.
• Huang Liang confronted his guilt about cross-dressing, broke through to the Golden Core Late Stage, and resolved to dress his future Nascent Soul in women's clothes.
• Sister Yu expelled the evil Buddha from Wisdom King Aizen and destroyed it with the Mystic Shield Sect's firewall data.
• After a day and night, Hu Mang completed the cultivation method, and Huang Liang thanked him for his guidance.
• Hu Mang signed a Dao contract with the Mystic Shield Sect for a 10% stake in the lust-abstinence software project and became its cultivation method consultant.

After leaving the Heavenly Gate, Hu Mang crossed the Thunder Net and arrived in the Central Continent, where he reached Wangsong County in search of a Spirit Path. He learned that the county drew powerful cultivators with a recurring Rainbow Path, an old land-god temple, and a mountain said to bear the mark of a great sword strike.

• Huang Liang explained that the Demonic Net used dangerous first-generation soul-networking technology, and offered Hu Mang protection if he went online.
• Hu Mang visited his hometown, then returned overseas and used the Ascension Platform to enter the Central Continent.
• Hu Mang found himself in a wilderness rich with Spiritual Qi and sensed dangerous demonic creatures throughout the mountains.
• Using his spiritual power detector, Hu Mang traveled to Wangsong County, where he found many cultivators gathered despite the town's low Spiritual Qi.
• Hu Mang paid a waiter to explain Wangsong County's history and three treasures: the Rainbow Path, the land-god temple, and Divine Pine Mountain, which had been split by a great Divine Ability user.

Hu Mang explored a county town on the way to the Liang Kingdom, learned about its cultivation customs and the Mysterious Peak Sect’s mountain-work, then met Jiang Mingshan and Wu Hun while trying to observe sword intent from the town wall. The story left Hu Mang curious about the local sects and Wu Hun’s plans to take an examination.

• Hu Mang questioned a waiter about the Rainbow Path, declined an expensive room, and explored the town’s Spirit Stone economy, cultivators, and martial arts schools.
• Hu Mang avoided visiting the Land God and used his status as a Two Flowers True Person to persuade the gate guards to let him onto the town wall.
• After observing Divine Pine Mountain through Unity of Heaven and Man and the Heavenly Devil Field without detecting sword intent, Hu Mang met Jiang Mingshan, who explained that the Mysterious Peak Sect’s Dharma lineage repaired and guarded mountains and waterways.
• Jiang Mingshan revealed his interest in joining the Divine Sword Sect, and Hu Mang sensed that his sword intent was nearly as strong as Gu Yunshu’s.
• Wu Hun introduced himself, then left after a guard summoned him to the county magistrate; a gate guard explained that Wu Hun was the town’s chief instructor and planned to try the sect examinations.

Hu Mang learned that the beast tide was a ploy by a thousand-year great demon to break its seal, while the Divine Sword Sect used the crisis to send disciples to retrieve a sealing treasure. As the tide reached Wangsong County, County Magistrate Hu activated the city-protecting formation.

• Jiang Mingshan and Hu Mang learned that Head Instructor Wu hoped to join the Mysterious Peak Sect, then County Magistrate Hu summoned them and the other Rogue Cultivators.
• County Magistrate Hu revealed that he was a fox spirit of the Divine Tail Fox lineage, recognized Hu Mang’s Crimson Moon Fox bloodline, and gave him a secret method to awaken it.
• County Magistrate Hu told Hu Mang that the supposed Divine Sword Sect test concealed a mission to subdue the thousand-year great demon sealed in Divine Pine Mountain Range.
• County Magistrate Hu asked Hu Mang for a favor as the beast tide approached Wangsong County.
• County Magistrate Hu completed a formation that spread golden light across the city walls as the beast tide arrived.

Jiang Mingshan and the county defenders fought off the beast tide while Hu Mang watched from the outskirts, then entered the thousand-year-old monster’s cave after two sword cultivators killed it. Hu Mang recovered the snake’s corpse and used the Land God’s Mountain-Sealing Talisman to restore the mountain, ending the beast tide.

• Jiang Mingshan killed more than a dozen Demon Beasts with his sword intent as Wu Hun and the county soldiers charged into the tide.
• Hu Mang learned that he had been sent to seal the thousand-year-old monster’s Demon Acupoint and used his demon fox form to pass unnoticed among the beasts.
• Hu Mang heard the sword hum, saw two streaks of sword light vanish, and found the thousand-year-old snake dead in its cave with its head severed.
• Hu Mang dragged the giant snake’s corpse through the fragment to store beneath the Zheng Family Garden.
• Hu Mang activated the Mountain-Sealing Talisman, restoring the land and plants as the beast roars ceased across the surrounding peaks.