Chapter Summaries

Hu Mang and Mama Hu bluffed Liu Wuniang into believing their household was researching Dragon Veins, then negotiated an alliance and a share of the Bone-Molding Pill business. After they agreed to an engagement banquet, Hu Mang returned home with an item that could expose the danger of their bluff.

• Liu Wuniang mistook Hu Mang and Mama Hu's actions for secret Dragon Vein research, and Mama Hu played along to avoid being killed.
• Hu Mang used his Tribulation Eyes to disperse Liu Wuniang's ghost dragon, prompting her to reveal that she had experimented with snake-body possession and could possess her daughter, Liu Manqing.
• Hu Mang demanded a share of the Bone-Molding Pill business and proposed removing the Hui Household and the New Demonic Cult from the deal by claiming his household had overseas demonic connections.
• Hu Mang and Liu Wuniang's households agreed to hold an engagement banquet in three days, with the Five Great Households and Pine Peak Security acquaintances invited.
• Back at their courtyard, Mama Hu worried about Liu Wuniang and asked whether they should report the criminal business; Hu Mang said their Dragon Vein bluff made that dangerous, then brought an item from his Storage Bag to show her.

Hu Mang weighed the danger surrounding the Dragon Vein research and decided to keep the Liu Household close while seeking evidence of the overseas Devil Dao. He failed to open Daoist Xuanyin’s Storage Bag, then prepared to study Golden Nature as Huang Jiayou arrived to discuss their plan and the girl surnamed Ji and Qian Xiao Long reached the regulatory department.

• Mama Hu and Hu Mang agreed that reporting the Dragon Vein research could expose them to the authorities or the Ghost Lord.
• Hu Mang reasoned that the Liu Household needed their research materials and that Eighth Master Hui might be connected to smuggling Devil Dao drugs.
• Hu Mang used Golden Nature against the Divine Sense restriction on Daoist Xuanyin’s Storage Bag, but its backlash stopped him from opening it.
• Hu Mang read Boss Gu’s Golden Nature notes by lamplight, hoping to break the restriction within three days.
• Huang Jiayou arrived at Hu Mang’s room in disguise to discuss their plan.
• The girl surnamed Ji and Qian Xiao Long arrived at Pine Peak Blessed Land’s regulatory department.

While waiting at home for an investigation, Hu Mang studied Gu Yunshu’s sword principles and found that his Three Yin Flowers could satisfy the requirements of the Life-Taking Continuous Three Immortals Sword. He used spear principles to combine the Three Yin Flowers’ powers into a precise strike against the Divine Sense restriction sealing his Storage Bag.

• Qian Xiao Long and Xiao Ji arranged a formal investigation of Hu Mang, preparing to contact the local blessed land magistrate and relevant departments.
• Hu Mang stayed calm at home, studied Boss Gu’s notes, and made progress researching how to unseal his Divine Sense.
• Hu Mang discovered the Life-Taking Continuous Three Immortals Sword theory in Gu Yunshu’s notes and realized his Three Yin Flowers could fulfill its requirements despite his lack of swordsmanship.
• Hu Mang awakened Black Water, Red Lotus, and Sha Palace, then used spear principles to braid their forces into a concentrated strike.
• Hu Mang thrust the three-colored force at the Divine Sense restriction on his Storage Bag.

Hu Mang looted Wei Fotuo’s Storage Bag and found Spirit Stones, Devil Dao artifacts, and Profound Yin teachings. He began cultivating Profound Yin Devil Fire, but the flame was pulled into his Cauldron-Boiling Devil Meridian, which suddenly caught fire.

• Hu Mang accidentally burst the high-grade Storage Bag, releasing Void Spiritual Qi and a vast trove of Spirit Stones.
• He collected the Spirit Stones, Devil Dao Law Artifacts, cultivation methods, Divine Abilities, and other items inside the bag.
• Hu Mang examined the Profound Yin teachings, rejected the Black Sha Asura Cultivation Method, and chose to learn Profound Yin Devil Fire.
• He compressed Profound Yin Devil Qi in his Dantian and used a thread of Yang fire to kindle it into a small black flame.
• When Hu Mang drew more Devil Qi to nurture the flame, it was sucked into his Cauldron-Boiling Devil Meridian, which caught fire.

Hu Mang visited the abandoned factory where his mother had found him and discovered evidence that a powerful devil cultivator had been there. He waited for the visitor and confronted a heavily reconstructed man, whose appearance led Hu Mang to call this a new devil path.

• After the Profound Yin Devil Fire unexpectedly reached great perfection, Hu Mang asked Mama Hu about 14 Shougang Street and left to investigate.
• Fourth Aunt Bai worried that Huang Jiayou might unite with the Hu and Liu Households, and she sent her sons to strengthen their alliances and block the Hu Household from attending the Liu Household's engagement banquet.
• At the abandoned steam factory, Hu Mang found over a hundred External Spirit Roots and noticed oversized footprints and a lingering trace of powerful Devil Qi.
• Hu Mang hid in the factory for a day, then confronted a huge stranger carrying two cases when he returned at night.
• The stranger revealed that much of his body had been replaced with machinery, and Hu Mang remarked that the new devil path was advanced.

Hu Mang defeated a heavily modified demonic cultivator from the Sinful Earth Sect in an old factory and reported the body to the Demon Suppression Guard. Qian Xiao Long and local officials investigated the scene, but the surveillance footage showed the victim and not his killer.

• Hu Mang identified his opponent’s grave-soil cultivation and Sinful Earth Sect ties as the demonic cultivator powered himself up with conduits and factory boilers.
• Hu Mang used Unity of Heaven and Man to pierce the cultivator’s armor and head, then sealed his body’s signaling channels with Profound Yin Devil Fire and took his metal Dantian.
• Hu Mang called the Demon Suppression Guard from a public phone booth to report the body, then slipped away.
• Qian Xiao Long examined the factory and hypothesized that the cultivator had forced a breakthrough during a fight before dying to a spear attack.
• The head of the Demon Subjugation Bureau told Qian Xiao Long that surveillance had captured the cultivator but not the killer because local cameras covered only main routes and major roads.

Qian Xiao Long uncovered evidence that officials and the Underworld Bureau had concealed the origins of criminal yaoguai, while Hu Mang prepared for his engagement. On the way to the Liu Household, Brother Li betrayed Hu Mang and his family, leaving them surrounded by yaoguai and Shi Gandang.

• Qian Xiao Long deduced that the killer used a surveillance Law Artifact to avoid cameras, questioned Director Xu about Pine Peak Security’s undocumented yaoguai, and exposed his connection to Bai Siniang.
• Director Sun told Qian Xiao Long that the Underworld Bureau had erased yaoguai’s memories of their origins after examining them at the Evil-Subduing Chuma Battalion headquarters.
• Qian Xiao Long called his colleague, who was investigating a team of female cultivators, while Huang Jiayou confirmed his family owned twenty percent of Pine Peak Security.
• Hu Mang returned home, reflected on his impending engagement, and the next morning rode with his mother, Old Xie, and Brother Li toward the Liu Household.
• Brother Li diverted the flying shuttle to an old forest and helped Eighth Master Hui’s allies surround Hu Mang and his family.
• Shi Gandang stepped forward, and Hu Mang recognized him as a stone yao descended from Shi Polu’s essence Qi.

Hu Mang fought Brother Li and Shi Gandang, using his devilish sense to disrupt their ancient military formation before Shi Gandang turned on Brother Li. After Mama Hu spared the defeated Brother Li, Shi Gandang thanked her for the Xie Clan Military Treatise she had given him.

• Hu Mang fought through the coordinated ancient military formation, using Unity of Heaven and Man to identify its formation disks and disrupt its rhythm with his devilish sense.
• Brother Li and Shi Gandang confronted Hu Mang, but Shi Gandang used the formation's Qi and Blood to suppress Brother Li and struck him down.
• At the Liu residence, Liu Wuniang welcomed Fourth Aunt Bai, who disparaged the spiritual tea while waiting for Hu Mang and the others.
• Hu Mang asked Mama Hu whether to kill the defeated Brother Li, and she chose to leave his fate alone and not return.
• Shi Gandang switched sides, bowed to Mama Hu, and thanked her for the Xie Clan Military Treatise she had once given him.

Hu Mang enlisted Shi Gandang to obstruct Fourth Aunt Bai’s allies while traveling to the Liu Household, where the engagement gathering brought him face-to-face with Ji Xiaodao, an official who said she cracked down on pornography. The chapter ended as Hu Mang questioned why an anti-pornography officer was spending time with Huang Jiayou.

• Hu Mang gave Shi Gandang a list of Fourth Aunt Bai’s allies and ordered him to keep them from reaching the Liu Household; Shi Gandang accepted the task.
• Hu Mang revealed that he had paid Shi Gandang ten million Spirit Stones, prompting Mama Hu to grab his ear and demand an explanation.
• At the Liu Household, Liu Manqing welcomed guests and joked with Huang Jiayou about whether she would have to return engagement red envelopes if she and Hu Mang broke up.
• Ji Xiaodao noticed Hu Mang’s arrival at the engagement banquet and prepared to take care of business.
• Huang Jiayou warned Hu Mang that an official was present, and Ji Xiaodao identified herself as someone who cracked down on pornography.

Hu Mang agreed to cooperate with Ji Xiaodao as authorities investigated the Ghost Dragon Vein and related conspiracies, while a major operation gathered at Old Mountain. At the wedding banquet, Hu Mang revealed his Golden Core strength and terrified Bai Chengwan into reverting to a hedgehog and wetting himself.

• Hu Mang told Ji Xiaodao he would cooperate with the investigation, and she said their discoveries had tied their fates together before leaving.
• Ji Xiaodao reported that the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda operation at Old Mountain would target remnants of the Five Dynasties, while Qian Xiao Long learned Minister Hong would personally take charge of the arrests.
• Hu Mang chatted with Liu Manqing at the banquet as Ji Xiaodao watched from the corner and the guests eyed the strangers at the main table.
• Bai Chengwan demanded that Hu Mang greet his elders, and Hu Mang insulted him and pinned his raised arm with Golden Core Divine Sense.
• Hu Mang's pressure forced Bai Chengwan to revert into a white hedgehog, and Bai Chengwan wet himself in fear.

At Liu Manqing’s engagement banquet, Hu Mang and Huang Jiayou exposed the Bai Household’s misconduct before Eighth Master Hui revealed that the five households were surrounded and proposed escaping through a passage to the underworld. Ji Xiaodao attacked Eighth Master Hui with a Dragon-Slaying Department blade, but he stopped it between two fingers.

• Hu Mang frightened Bai Chengwan with his Golden Core-level Divine Sense, and Bai Siniang took her son home after he wet himself.
• Huang Jiayou displayed Pine Peak Security’s losses and evidence of Bai Siniang’s corruption, until an old overseas demonic cultivator silenced the screen with Divine Sense.
• The old cultivator questioned Hu Mang about the previous night and the middle-aged man beside Liu Wuniang about his demonic inheritance; the man identified himself as the Heavenly Demon Saintess of the Eastern Demonic Cult.
• Eighth Master Hui arrived with Bai Chengwan, revealed that the Demon Suppression Bureau had captured Bai Siniang’s secret force, and warned that Liu Wuniang’s Dragon Vein research had been exposed.
• Eighth Master Hui proposed that the five households escape through the Ghost Lord’s yin-yang passage, but Ji Xiaodao attacked him with her dragon-shaped tiger guillotine blade.
• Eighth Master Hui caught Ji Xiaodao’s blade between two fingers and identified it as a weapon of the Dragon-Slaying Department.

Hu Mang fought Ji Xiaodao as she tried to cut and refine the Ghost Dragon Vein, then plunged into the Yin Qi when the ground collapsed. Ji Xiaodao and Qian Xiao Long prepared to follow him underground, where Minister Hong had already gone ahead to open a path.

• Hu Mang protected Mama Hu and fought Ji Xiaodao while Eighth Master Hui worked to open the Yin-Yang passage.
• Hu Mang learned that Eighth Master Hui was part of the official establishment and stood between Ji Xiaodao and the others.
• Ji Xiaodao drove her blade into the ground to sever the Ghost Dragon Vein and refine it, while Hu Mang used the Eye of the Tribulation Dragon to absorb its power.
• The ground shattered beneath Hu Mang, pulling him into the Yin Qi as the Liu residence's main hall collapsed.
• Ji Xiaodao told the arriving Qian Xiao Long that Hu Mang and the others had gone below, and Qian Xiao Long said Minister Hong had gone ahead to open a path for them.

Hu Mang woke in a modern ghost city and reasoned through his fight with Ji Xiaodao and his connection to the Ghost Lord’s plans. Unable to find his mother or navigate the city, he spotted Old Third delivering food and followed him toward Many Gates Garden.

• Hu Mang woke beneath a gray-white sky in a modern city and realized he was neither alive nor dead.
• Hu Mang concluded that Ji Xiaodao had controlled the Dragon Vein rather than tribulations, and decided he needed to repay the Ghost Lord by helping his plans succeed.
• Hu Mang explored the ghost city, where silent ghosts refused to let him enter shops and his Spirit Pivot No. 1 had no signal.
• Hu Mang spotted Old Third, also known as Chen Xiaosan, riding a flying sword while livestreaming a delivery, but Old Third did not notice him.
• Hu Mang chased Old Third toward Many Gates Garden, hoping the delivery rider could help him find his way and locate his mother.

Hu Mang followed Old Third to Many Gates Garden, where the deadly security guard forced him to put on a security uniform before he could enter. Inside, Old Third was livestreaming another boastful exploration of the complex, while viewers recalled how badly his earlier visits had gone.

• Hu Mang reached Many Gates Garden and found that its buildings concealed overwhelming Yin Qi and a terrifying security guard.
• The guard’s Ghost Eye attacked Hu Mang, but Hu Mang used his Shattering Thunder spear and Heavenly Eye to resist.
• The guard recognized Hu Mang’s Heavenly Eye, then stopped him and handed him a filthy security uniform to wear.
• Hu Mang put on the uniform, and the guard left him alone until he seemed to remember that Hu Mang owed him cigarettes.
• Old Third livestreamed his third exploration of Many Gates Garden as viewers mocked his claims and recalled his frightened escapes on earlier visits.

Old Third bragged that his new residence in Many Gates Residential Complex would keep him safe from being teleported, but a thousand-year-old ghost pulled him into a Ghost Haunt. As Old Third escaped the grasping arms with strange, agile movements, the Ghost-Binding Willow appeared above him.

• Old Third explained why Many Gates Residential Complex was dangerous and claimed his room card would prevent him from being randomly teleported.
• Old Third knocked on a door to deliver takeout, and a ghostly hand pulled him inside and accepted the order.
• Old Third found himself in a Lesser Underworld filled with ghost fog and pursued by countless pale arms.
• The arms dragged Old Third down, but he slipped free and evaded them with unpredictable movements.
• Yin Qi grew heavier, and the enormous Ghost-Binding Willow appeared above Old Third.

Old Third was nearly dragged into the yin-yang passage by a ghost willow before a powerful stranger helped him escape, and Hu Mang found him in the ghost domain. Old Third revealed that his delivery work involved preventing ferocious ghosts from reviving, while Hu Mang recognized the willow as the Liu Household’s Soul-Binding Willow.

• Old Third was caught by a ghost willow, but his ghost bride and red scarf briefly resisted it as he livestreamed his predicament.
• Fengdu Mountain Recluse connected with Old Third, used Peak Nascent Soul Divine Sense to clear the ghostly mist, and directed him east toward signs of living people.
• Old Third followed the direction and found Hu Mang in a security uniform, who pulled him out of the ghost domain while searching for his mother.
• Old Third and Hu Mang exchanged stories about their backgrounds and learned that Hu Mang’s mother led the Underworld Bureau, where Old Third worked as an outsourced deliveryman.
• Old Third explained that the Many Gates Garden was a sealed yin-yang passage and that its ghost subway connected ghost cities through a Ghost Dragon Vein.
• Hu Mang identified the thousand-year-old ghost tree as the Liu Household’s Soul-Binding Willow, and Old Third revealed that his work was meant to prevent ferocious ghosts from reviving.

Hu Mang learned more about Old Third’s ghost-delivery work and followed him to search for his missing mother through the Underworld’s Yin-Yang passage nodes. Using the old security guard’s flashlight, Hu Mang opened a blocked passage and saw a bustling ghost street from another era.

• Hu Mang learned that Underworld delivery drivers fed ghosts to balance Yin and Yang, and that Old Third was paid in hell money.
• Hu Mang wondered whether the other delivery drivers were ghosts, and Old Third explained that he had learned cultivation online and worked for the Underworld Bureau.
• Old Third said Hu Mang’s mother had likely fallen into the same Ghost Dragon Vein branch and proposed checking its passage nodes to find her.
• Hu Mang and Old Third reached a blocked Yin-Yang Passage node, but Hu Mang used the flashlight to open the ghost door without spending Old Third’s Essence Blood.
• Hu Mang’s flashlight revealed a neon-lit street filled with shadowless ghosts dressed in old-fashioned clothing, and he wondered whether it showed the recent past.

Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan searched the Ghost Dragon Vein’s stations for a missing living person, learning that Iron Gate Pass was the likeliest place to investigate. At the pass, Hu Mang recognized a powerful sword technique and suspected Eighth Master Hui was there, then the pair headed for the ghost subway.

• Chen Xiaosan contacted Liu Ruyan at Red Beach Station, and she said no living person was there but directed them to ask Old Ironhead at Iron Gate Pass.
• Chen Xiaosan explained that Liu Ruyan was a powerful being who hoped to gain status in the Underworld Bureau by devouring part of a Dragon Vein.
• At Iron Gate Pass, thousands of broken weapons formed the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin technique and split the clouds above the ancient battlefield.
• Hu Mang recognized the sword technique as one used through a Dragon Vein and suspected Eighth Master Hui had forced someone to unleash it.
• Chen Xiaosan led Hu Mang to the ghost subway, where Hu Mang entered without a ticket in his security uniform while Chen Xiaosan had to buy one.

Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan rode the ghost subway, where Hu Mang’s Profound Yin Devil Fire drove the ghosts from their carriage. At Iron Gate Pass, Eighth Master Hui confronted Minister Hong about his motives for joining the Dragon-Slaying Department as Hong unleashed his Heavenly General Dharma Aspect.

• Chen Xiaosan told Hu Mang that the Underworld Bureau let outsourced workers exchange hell money for Yin Virtue, and that the ghost subway was dangerous for delivery workers.
• As the train arrived, its Yin wind suppressed Hu Mang’s Yang Qi, but his Cauldron-Boiling Devil Meridian fueled his Profound Yin Devil Fire and made the ghosts flee.
• Hu Mang cleared the carriage of ghosts and boarded with Chen Xiaosan, who marveled at his strength despite his injuries.
• At Iron Gate Pass, Eighth Master Hui lit incense among the ruins and spoke with Minister Hong, who had infiltrated the Underworld.
• Eighth Master Hui questioned whether Minister Hong had joined the Dragon-Slaying Department to investigate the Ghost Lord or to revive his late wife, and Hong unleashed his Heavenly General Dharma Aspect against him.

At Iron Gate Pass, Eighth Master Hui tried to bargain with Minister Hong and used the pass’s ancient terrain to thwart Hong’s attempt to break its restraints. A powerful Demonic Dao figure emerged and proposed an alliance with Hong, but Hui attacked before he could answer.

• Eighth Master Hui offered to resurrect Minister Hong’s late wife if Hong stopped investigating him and the old Ghost Lord.
• The rift closed and Hong’s dharma manifestation dissipated, as Hui explained that Iron Gate Pass’s Dragon-Locking terrain had neutralized Hong’s dragon-controlling methods.
• Hui revealed that his Soul-Binding Willow had trapped one of Hong’s subordinates and that another was caught in an ancient military formation.
• A middle-aged man emerged from the darkness, and Hui identified him as likely belonging to the Luo Lord Demonic Dao faction.
• The middle-aged man invited Hong to cooperate in investigating the Demonic Dao, but Eighth Master Hui attacked Hong with the modern Dragon Vein known as the Ghost Subway.