Chapter Summaries

Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan entered Iron Gate Pass to investigate what had happened to Old Ironhead, only to find its ghost army in chaos. When the soldiers attacked, Hu Mang fought through them with his spear and Wisdom King Fire, while Chen Xiaosan watched in alarm.

• The Profound Yin Devil Fire returned to Hu Mang after devouring ghosts, and he warned Chen Xiaosan that the danger lay ahead at Iron Gate Pass.
• Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan entered the pass, where Hu Mang sensed dense Sha Qi and Chen Xiaosan agreed to continue searching for Old Ironhead.
• They found the ancient army camp in disarray, with ghost soldiers roaming and fighting one another.
• A ghost soldier attacked Hu Mang, who destroyed it with his spear and Wisdom King Fire, drawing the rest of the camp into a mass assault.
• Hu Mang advanced through the attacking soldiers, killing them with precise spear strikes as Chen Xiaosan compared his bearing to Boss Gu and tried to reassure his red scarf.

Hu Mang followed Chen Xiaosan to a Yin Qi-filled graveyard and discovered a demonic old man refining demon corpses with mechanical exoskeletons and threads of Divine Sense. After Hu Mang rescued Chen Xiaosan from the old man's attack, the two recognized each other and Hu Mang revealed the metal Dantian taken from the steam factory.

• Hu Mang slaughtered the ghost troops, then followed Chen Xiaosan as he tracked a ghost carrying Old Ironhead's natal flag.
• Chen Xiaosan left markers warning that someone was using Old Ironhead's flag to summon ghosts and refine demon corpses fitted with exoskeletons.
• Hu Mang found more than a hundred demon corpses, including familiar demons, being infused with Yin Qi through mechanical threads extending from the demonic old man's modified head.
• The old man caught Chen Xiaosan with a thread of Divine Sense, but Hu Mang intervened and burned the thread out of Chen Xiaosan's shoulder with the Wisdom King Fire.
• Hu Mang confronted the demonic old man and showed him the metal Dantian, accusing him of killing Jia Number Four at the steam factory.

Hu Mang learned that he might be a sealed Holy Son from the baby-selection experiments of the Holy Son Cult, but he rejected the old devil cultivator’s offer and fought the mechanical devil cultivators. He turned the battle with his devil-path Law Treasures, though the old cultivator’s fate remained unresolved.

• The old devil cultivator explained that the baby experiments had sought candidates for cult leader and suggested Hu Mang might be a sealed Holy Son.
• The old devil cultivator invited Hu Mang overseas, but Hu Mang suspected he wanted to dissect him or seize his body.
• Hu Mang fought the exoskeleton monsters, destroying several with his spear and Profound Yin Devil Fire.
• The old devil cultivator assembled the remaining exoskeletons into a Golden Core Late Stage monster and used powerful Divine Sense to extinguish Hu Mang’s devil flames.
• Hu Mang rang the Ten Thousand Ghost Bell, snapping the old devil cultivator’s Divine Sense threads, then attacked the formation with the Blood-Melting Divine Needle.

Hu Mang defeated the devil cultivator and learned that the Holy Son Cult had ties to the Immortal Dynasty’s Four Immortals, including the Destruction Kalpa Immortal. After hearing where the ghost general and a terrible sword intent had gone, Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan followed the trail and found Old Ironhead dead beneath a city wall.

• Hu Mang overwhelmed the old devil cultivator, sealed his soul, and searched his memories, learning that awakened Holy Sons could become disciples of the Destruction Kalpa Immortal.
• Hu Mang found Huang Jiayou and Fourth Aunt Bai among the survivors, while Huang Jiayou recounted how the Liu Household mother and daughter had been taken by a black willow branch.
• Huang Jiayou said he had glimpsed Old Xie and had sensed a terrifying sword intent in the direction of the ghost general, so Chen Xiaosan asked Hu Mang to investigate with him.
• Hu Mang used his Heavenly Eye to follow faint Blood Qi through the ghost walls and led Chen Xiaosan to Old Ironhead.
• Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan found Old Ironhead dead against a collapsed city wall, with a fine sword mark through his skull and terrifying sword intent still within it.

Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan traced the Iron banner to a heavily fortified ghost camp, where a mysterious figure had taken Old Ironhead’s place. Hu Mang recognized the camp as a deadly formation and entered alone, fighting through its ghostly walls as he sensed an acquaintance inside.

• Hu Mang comforted Chen Xiaosan over Old Ironhead’s death, and Chen Xiaosan vowed to avenge him despite fearing the killer’s swordsmanship.
• Chen Xiaosan revealed that Iron Gate Pass’s banner should have vanished with Old Ironhead, but the Iron command flag remained and pointed toward an apparent impostor.
• Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan followed the flag to a vast, disciplined ghost army camp, where a lean man sat at the command table in place of Old Ironhead.
• Hu Mang warned Chen Xiaosan that the camp was a place of certain death and told him not to follow, then admitted he knew someone inside and walked into the formation.
• Hu Mang’s Yin Eye revealed that the charging wooden walls were layers of ghost wall effects, and he shattered one with Shattering Thunder after his spear struck it.

Hu Mang fought through a deadly Underworld formation and reached the command platform, where the Crimson Moon Fox recognized him as her son and gave him the tiger tally. He emerged from the Underworld at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection and reunited with Mama Hu, while the artificial intelligence "Xie Xianyu" appeared behind him.

• Hu Mang broke through the ghost-filled wooden walls and charged into the Crescent Moon Formation, using the Dragon-Suppressing Stake and his spears to carve a path toward the command platform.
• Chen Xiaosan attacked the blue-robed man, giving Hu Mang time to fight his way to within three steps of the platform.
• Hu Mang shouted "Mom," and the Crimson Moon Fox kicked "Xie Xianyu," took the tiger tally, and ran to Hu Mang.
• Hu Mang took the tiger tally and opened a gate to the Underworld, then realized he had reached Foundation Establishment Great Perfection as the camp and formation disappeared.
• Hu Mang emerged near an abandoned grave and found Mama Hu, who said she had sent Old Xie to search for him.
• Hu Mang turned and saw the artificial intelligence "Xie Xianyu" standing behind him.

Hu Mang learned that the Pine Peak Security crisis was resolved, while Eighth Master Hui explained the newly approved Grotto-Heaven Project, which would use Dragon Veins to restore talented historical figures through reincarnation. After Minister Hong and his companion left, Eighth Master Hui began handling the aftermath and recruited the newly merged personality of Liu Manqing into the Underworld Bureau.

• Hu Mang asked Mama Hu about Xie Xianyu's Receding Moon Formation and learned the Ghost Lord had resolved the Pine Peak Security problem.
• At Iron Gate Pass, Eighth Master Hui surrendered after Minister Hong and a middle-aged cultivator defeated him, then revealed that the Ten Lords had approved the Grotto-Heaven Project.
• Eighth Master Hui explained that the project would restore selected historical talents through the Dragon Vein and said the Dragon-Slaying Department would help identify candidates.
• Eighth Master Hui revealed that most demons who believed they were ancient demons were modern creations, except for five in the Five Great Households, and Minister Hong departed.
• Eighth Master Hui found Old Ironhead's remains and entered the Soul-Binding Willow, where he discovered that Liu Manqing and her mother's personalities had fused into a new one.
• Eighth Master Hui invited the new personality to work for the Underworld Bureau.

Hu Mang returned to the alley after Bai Siniang’s arrest and trained with the Tribulation-Breaking Great Spear. Huang Jiayou took over Pine Peak Security and showed Hu Mang a hidden stock of addictive Bone-Molding Pills, revealing a scheme linked to Sixth Master Shen.

• Mama Hu and Hu Mang learned from the news that Bai Siniang had been jailed on smuggling and other charges.
• Hu Mang practiced the Tribulation-Breaking Great Spear at night to prepare to overcome the formations that had trapped him.
• Huang Jiayou told Hu Mang that Shi Gandang had left after being recruited by the military and that Huang had become Pine Peak Security’s general manager.
• Huang Jiayou explained that Eighth Master Hui had kept Pine Peak Security intact and made him its third head, then gave Hu Mang shares in several businesses.
• Huang Jiayou showed Hu Mang boxes of disguised Bone-Molding Pills and said the operation had been planned with Sixth Master Shen.

Hu Mang accepted Huang Jiayou’s pills and the Huang Household’s dual-cultivation legacy, then learned its tale connected to the ancient immortal Shen Yan. After touring Huang Media and signing a medicinal-herb venture with Huang Jiayou, he returned home and found Eighth Master Hui with a newly changed Liu Manqing.

• Hu Mang agreed to take Huang Jiayou’s batch of pills and asked him to find a secluded warehouse for future dealings.
• Huang Jiayou gave Hu Mang the Twelve Heavens of Yin-Yang Coupling, whose history linked it to Shen Yan, the Dragon King’s live-in son-in-law.
• Huang Jiayou explained how his family’s dual-cultivation method supported its long line of weasel spirits and showed Hu Mang Huang Media’s streamers and magical tools.
• Hu Mang signed shares in a new medicinal-herb company called Hu Huang Lin Farm.
• Hu Mang returned home and found Eighth Master Hui with Liu Manqing, whose personality had formed from the memories of Liu Manqing and Liu Wuniang.

Hu Mang learned that the Dragon-Shaped Meridian Diagram was an Innate Law Treasure capable of controlling Tribulation Fortune, making him a target for powerful factions. Eighth Master Hui offered him a place in the Underworld Bureau, but Hu Mang resisted joining and was left facing the need to secure his treasure and choose an official organization.

• Eighth Master Hui told Hu Mang that the Dragon-Slaying Department was producing Slaughter Fortune and explained that the Grotto-Heaven Project could resurrect historical figures, though Xie Xianyu was still missing.
• Eighth Master Hui explained that Xie Xianyu might have been erased by the Dragon Vein or might already be beside Mama Hu without his memories, and advised her to give him time to recover.
• Hu Mang showed Eighth Master Hui On Tribulation Dao Qi Meridians and the Dragon-Shaped Meridian Diagram, and Eighth Master Hui identified the diagram as an Innate Law Treasure tied to Tribulation Fortune.
• Eighth Master Hui warned Hu Mang that the Dragon-Slaying Department and other powerful groups could seek his treasure, then offered him a high-level position in the Underworld Bureau.
• Hu Mang said he did not want to work among ghosts, and Eighth Master Hui advised him to make arrangements to protect the diagram from being taken.
• Eighth Master Hui revealed that combining one virtue and one fortune produced Void Refinement, leaving Hu Mang considering which Heavenly Gate organization to join.

Hu Mang arranged for Eighth Master Hui to study the Dragon-Shaped Meridian Diagram and learned more about Liu Manqing’s transformation and the Underworld Bureau’s plans. He decided to travel overseas under the pretext of seeking revenge on the Holy Son Cult, and the chapter ended with a caller announcing they had formed a National Standard Golden Core.

• Hu Mang lent Eighth Master Hui the Dragon-Shaped Meridian Diagram to study and accepted a token making it easier to visit the Underworld Bureau.
• Eighth Master Hui explained that Liu Wuniang and Liu Manqing had become a new personality shaped by the Soul-Binding Willow’s snake nature, and said she now worked as an Underworld official.
• Hu Mang asked Eighth Master Hui to make Old Third an official employee, and learned the Underworld Bureau was monitoring his ghost livestreams as an experiment in contact between yin and yang.
• Hu Mang told Mama Hu and Eighth Master Hui he planned to go overseas to pursue remnants of the Holy Son Cult, and Eighth Master Hui gave him a contact for emergencies.
• Mama Hu agreed to let Hu Mang go and began planning his preparations, while Hu Mang received a call from someone who said they had formed a National Standard Golden Core.

Hu Mang watched Gu Yunshu reveal his immaculate National Standard Golden Core, then went to a hidden Bai Household factory to test and consume problematic Bone-Molding Pills. The pills’ Devil Qi began purifying his devil-path Root Bone through his Cauldron-Boiling Devil Meridian.

• Hu Mang examined Gu Yunshu’s Golden Core through Divine Communication, and Gu Yunshu credited the Three-Part Corpse Liberation Sword before ending the call to stabilize his cultivation.
• Inspired by Gu Yunshu’s achievement, Hu Mang practiced with his Tribulation-Breaking Divine Spear throughout the night.
• Hu Mang flew to the Bai Household’s hidden underground medicinal herb processing plant to collect the problematic Bone-Molding Pills arranged by Huang Jiayou.
• Hu Mang tested several pills and found that his Cauldron-Boiling Devil Meridian safely extracted and refined their Devil Qi.
• After Hu Mang consumed more pills, their accumulated medicinal power surged through his body, and his Devil Meridian refined the Devil Qi and sent it into his bones.

Hu Mang opened the Stone-Flicking Devil Meridians and discovered that they sharpened his comprehension and let him create a Heavenly Devil Field. He tested the field’s ability to sense, dismantle, and restore objects, including Law Artifacts and Spirit Artifacts, and found that it could imitate lost spirituality within its boundaries.

• Hu Mang spent three days cultivating with mid-grade Spirit Stones and gradually sensed three hidden devil path developments in his body.
• Hu Mang struck the devil meridian between his brows five times with medicinal power and opened the Stone-Flicking Devil Meridians.
• Hu Mang found that the meridians enhanced his senses and comprehension, then traced their path from the Gate of Life to the Heavenly Devil Mysterious Pass.
• Hu Mang opened the Heavenly Devil Field around himself, creating a zone of silence where his Divine Sense could perceive and affect objects in detail.
• Hu Mang dismantled and restored a medicine cutter, a Law Artifact, and a Spirit Artifact, discovering that he could imitate the Spirit Artifact’s lost spirituality inside the field.

Hu Mang used the Heavenly Devil Field to simulate Devil-path abilities and study four Devil cultivation methods, then chose the Profound Yin True Scripture as his foundation while incorporating techniques from the others. Short on medicine and seeking another route to open his third Devil Meridian, he went to the Huang residence and asked Huang Jiayou for help with a cultivation method involving suggestive dancing.

• Hu Mang transformed the Heavenly Devil Field into vivid simulations of Buddha, devil, Dao, ghosts, and military formations, then assessed the ability’s power and limits.
• Hu Mang studied the Profound Yin True Scripture, Profound Soul Demon-Refining Great Method, Supreme Yin Soul-Slaying True Scripture, and Nine Nether Corpse-Control Great Method in the field.
• Hu Mang decided to use the Profound Yin True Scripture as his foundation while incorporating the other methods’ evolutions, including the Supreme Yin Soul-Slaying Forbidden Method and Nine Nether Corpse-Nurturing Technique.
• Hu Mang realized his Bone-Molding Pills had lost much of their effect and might not suffice to open his third Devil Meridian, so he considered using Buddha to promote the Devil and pursuing the Yugi Sutra.
• Hu Mang stored the remaining medicinal power in his Cauldron-Boiling Devil Meridian and went to the Huang residence, where he asked Huang Jiayou to have his stepmother perform a suggestive dance for his cultivation.

Hu Mang used a Divine Sense connection to cultivate a Wisdom King by resisting the seductive dance of Huang Jiayou’s demon stepmothers. The dance overwhelmed his senses and stirred a fire in his heart, leaving his attempt at cultivation in danger.

• Hu Mang persuaded Huang Jiayou to arrange for his stepmothers to perform through Divine Sense while he cultivated.
• Hu Mang studied the Yugi Sutra and explained that he hoped to transform desire into a Wisdom King, though he lacked its grand altruistic aims.
• Huang Jiayou described how his stepmothers, members of the Huang Household, had strengthened their cultivation through online Verbal Bestowals.
• The stepmothers connected with Hu Mang and performed an entrancing dance in a hazy courtyard within his consciousness.
• The dance heated Hu Mang’s body, clouded his thoughts, and scattered his recollection of the Yugi Sutra.
• A formless fire of desire ignited in Hu Mang’s chest.

Hu Mang cultivated Vajra Pure Bodhicitta and awakened the Unraveled Rope Devil Meridian while helping Huang Jiayou’s stepmothers form demon cores. After stabilizing his realms, he returned to Zhongshan Holy Land and set off for Ancient Java Island with Gu Yunshu’s new Golden Nature diary.

• Hu Mang used the heart fire and the stepmothers’ dance to cultivate the Yugi Sutra, condense Vajra Pure Bodhicitta, and summon Wisdom King Aizen.
• Hu Mang combined Buddha nature, devil Qi, and medicinal power to open the Unraveled Rope Devil Meridian and gain a vast reserve of vital essence.
• Hu Mang stayed with the Huang Household for ten days, while his Heavenly Devil Field helped several of Huang Jiayou’s stepmothers condense demon cores.
• Hu Mang left the Huang Household, returned to Zhongshan Holy Land, and booked passage to Ancient Java Island after receiving Gu Yunshu’s new Golden Nature diary.
• Hu Mang set off for Ancient Java Island and had his mother sign in for him at the Mystic Shield Sect after its out-of-court settlement with the Divine Sense Group was finalized.

Hu Mang settled the Divine Message Group dispute and advised the Mystic Shield Sect to test an abstinence feature for its devil-path software. He hoped the software’s user data could support a grand vow and advance his cultivation in the Practice and Vow Realm.

• The Divine Message Group paid 15 million to settle with the Mystic Shield Sect and obtain the next version of Bodhi State of Mind, while agreeing to stop its reports and updates.
• Sister Yu told Hu Mang the settlement had gone smoothly and asked him to guide the Mystic Shield Sect’s devil-path software development.
• Hu Mang proposed launching sexual abstinence software before the heart devil trial, arguing it could attract users without the risks of a heart devil firewall.
• Sister Yu, Huang Liang, and the Mystic Shield Sect team agreed to try the abstinence feature, though Huang Liang lamented that it required changing the underlying architecture again.
• Hu Mang considered using abstinence data from millions of users to make a grand vow and cultivate toward the Practice and Vow Realm.

Hu Mang cultivated the Profound Yin True Scripture aboard an ocean-going freighter while preparing to return to the Azure Mysterious Realm and confront the Overseas Devil Sect. After ten days in seclusion, he manifested a Profound Yin Form and stepped onto the deck, where a man asked whether he was the young fellow Zhao Tiezhu had sent aboard.

• Hu Mang examined his Devil Meridians and used the Unraveled Rope Devil Meridian's abundant essence Qi to accelerate his cultivation.
• Hu Mang boarded an ocean-going freighter bound for Ancient Java Island, planning to cultivate during the voyage and attempt to return to the Azure Mysterious Realm.
• After ten days in his cabin, Hu Mang advanced the Profound Yin True Scripture to the third layer's great completion and manifested a Profound Yin Form.
• Hu Mang incorporated Ghost Makeup into the form, allowing it to possess corpses, then left his cabin to air himself out.
• On the deck, a man asked Hu Mang if he was the young fellow Zhao Tiezhu had arranged to take aboard.

Hu Mang sailed aboard the Seagull toward the Thirty-Six Islands of the Eastern Sea, where Bosun Old Zhu told him about the dangerous Dragon Blood Tide. After meeting Captain Old Gan, Hu Mang returned to his room and used the Spirit Crystal Deconstructor to cross back to Demon-Subduing City.

• Hu Mang chatted with Bosun Old Zhu and learned that the Seagull was carrying goods to the Thirty-Six Islands of the Eastern Sea, with Ancient Java Island as its second-to-last stop.
• Old Zhu described the Dragon Blood Tide, its deadly waves, rich treasures, and the dangers posed by Dragon Saliva Sha and awakened corpse Sha.
• Hu Mang encountered Captain Old Gan, who objected to Old Zhu bringing him aboard, then joined Old Zhu for a meal and drinks with the crew.
• Hu Mang put on his Thunder-Warding Robe and activated the Spirit Crystal Deconstructor using a fragment and a high-grade Lightning Crystal.
• Hu Mang briefly crossed to Demon-Subduing City, returned safely to the ship, and then vanished again.

Hu Mang returned to Demon-Subduing City and found that powerful outsiders had wrecked its demon-suppressing sites and taken many valuables. He recovered a piece of the Human Immortal lightning puppet and discovered the Supreme Yin Treasure Pool was still intact, giving him what he needed to cultivate the fourth level of the "Profound Yin True Scripture."

• Hu Mang opened his Heavenly Eye and gained control over the lightning Spiritual Qi throughout Demon-Subduing City.
• Hu Mang inspected the ruined demon-suppressing sites and found the Demon-Subduing Prison's fifth level empty and stripped bare.
• Hu Mang visited the Dark Lightning Puppet-Control Hub, inferred that powerful figures had fought over the Human Immortal lightning puppet, and stored one of its arms in his Storage Bag.
• Hu Mang opened his Tribulation Eye and saw that the Tribulation Qi and Ascension Platform had vanished, while the opposing Tribulation Eye had partly closed.
• Hu Mang searched the Hundred-Well Abyss and found the Supreme Yin Treasure Pool still intact beneath the ruined Demon-Subduing Wells.