Chapter Summaries

Yin Yunze discovered that Blessing protected its recipient from demons and evil spirits when Xu Yue’s protective amulet repelled a strange object. He identified the object as a Ghost Bone that had been draining Xu Yue’s Essence Blood, leaving him to deal with the dangerous bone.

• Xu Yue explained how she had found a piece of gold that turned into a white stone in sunlight and showed it to Yin Yunze.
• When Xu Yue touched the object, Yin Yunze’s protective amulet flew up and blasted it into a corner.
• Yin Yunze realized Blessing worked as a protective shield and sensed that the amulet could withstand several attacks.
• Yin Yunze examined the object and identified it as a human finger bone containing a ghost.
• Yin Yunze explained that the Ghost Bone had been feeding on Xu Yue’s Essence Blood and that her act of bringing it home had bypassed the protection of Dynastic Karmic Luck.

Yin Yunze destroyed the Ghost Bone that had been making Xu Yue ill and identified Wang Guisheng as the man who had planted it, while suspecting a more powerful mastermind was behind the scheme. As Yin Yunze prepared to leave, Zuo Xiaoyu had Xu Yue kneel and call him her godmother.

• Yin Yunze used a talisman to destroy the red-haired ghost and shatter the Ghost Bone, ending Xu Yue’s illness.
• Yin Yunze showed Xu Yue an image of Wang Guisheng, and she identified him as the old man who had dropped the bone.
• Yin Yunze deduced that Wang Guisheng had been trying to earn the Xu family’s gratitude by curing Xu Yue, and suspected someone more powerful had directed him.
• Yin Yunze decided not to warn Zuo Xiaoyu about the suspected mastermind and announced that he was leaving.
• Yin Yunze urged Zuo Xiaoyu to tell Xu Hanxian to focus less on his official reputation and more on improving people’s lives.
• Zuo Xiaoyu had Xu Yue kneel before Yin Yunze and tell her to call him godmother.

Yin Yunze accepted Xu Yue as his goddaughter and Zuo Xiaoyu as his sworn younger sister after saving Xu Yue from the evil ghost. He gave them protective talismans and healing biscuits, then left after passing Zuo Xiaoyu’s jade hairpin to Xu Yue.

• Xu Yue kowtowed to Yin Yunze and called him her godmother, and Zuo Xiaoyu urged him to accept her as his goddaughter.
• Yin Yunze accepted Xu Yue and invited Zuo Xiaoyu to call him Yi Yun, while Zuo Xiaoyu called him her elder sister.
• Yin Yunze gave Zuo Xiaoyu five peace talismans and five healing biscuits as gifts.
• Zuo Xiaoyu offered Yin Yunze her inherited jade hairpin, and he accepted it before placing it in Xu Yue’s hair.
• Yin Yunze told Zuo Xiaoyu to judge people by their deeds rather than their words, then left the room.

After talks with the county magistrate fell apart, Yin Yunze brought more than two thousand bags of pig feed into the warehouse and renamed it Fox Rice. He ordered Song Zhao to distribute porridge in his name and Peng Shulan to protect the operation, leaving the two with a plan to draw disaster victims to Clear Creek Village and challenge Xu Hanxian.

• Yin Yunze returned to the Song Grain Shop and entrusted Zhao Wan to Song Zhao, Song Ran, and Peng Shulan while he went to the real world.
• Yin Yunze filled the warehouse with more than two thousand bags of pig feed, declared it Fox Rice, and ordered Song Zhao to distribute two hundred jin of porridge daily with verses praising Yin Yunze.
• Yin Yunze told Peng Shulan to keep order at the porridge stall and stop Xu Hanxian from disrupting it, allowing him to seek Madam Zuo's help if needed.
• Yin Yunze promised Peng Shulan a job even if he lost his position as head constable, and offered him fifty jin of Fox Rice each day to use as he saw fit.

Yin Yunze arranged for Peng Shulan to buy and train ten girls, then had Song Ran escort them to Clear Creek Village in return for grain. After returning to the village, he began preparing Heal Wounds and Cure Illness Fox Immortal Cakes, while the strange feeling of being watched on the road remained unexplained.

• Yin Yunze told Peng Shulan not to risk his life over the porridge shed and instructed him to select ten girls, paying their families with Fox Rice.
• Yin Yunze assigned Song Ran to escort the girls to Clear Creek Village and promised him fifty jin of grain.
• Peng Shulan hired Yin Yunze a carriage and received two pictures of beauties as an advance reward for his work.
• Yin Yunze became badly dizzy from the bumpy ride, stopped before reaching the village, and briefly felt someone watching him from the woods.
• Yin Yunze returned to Clear Creek Village using Earth Escape, found Sun Qin away from home, and began making Heal Wounds and Cure Illness Fox Immortal Cakes.

Xu Hanxian woke from a dream of Rumeng and learned that the fox immortal from Clear Creek Village had left after he refused her grain proposal. Zuo Xiaoyu told him their daughter Yue'er had recovered thanks to Yi Yun, a nine-tailed white fox, leaving Xu Hanxian alarmed that Yi Yun had visited his home.

• Xu Hanxian woke in the Qingling County official residence and watched his memories of Rumeng fade away.
• Xu Hanxian summoned Peng Shulan and learned the fox immortal had left because he refused to reach an agreement with her.
• Peng Shulan told Xu Hanxian that the fox immortal was giving away congee outside the city instead of selling her grain.
• Peng Shulan challenged Xu Hanxian's distrust of the fox immortal and questioned why he had rejected her terms.
• Zuo Xiaoyu told Xu Hanxian that Yue'er had recovered after Yi Yun treated her and gave him a protective talisman.
• Xu Hanxian learned Yi Yun was a nine-tailed white fox and reacted with alarm when Zuo Xiaoyu said she had visited their home.

Xu Hanxian discovered that verses exposing his neglect of the starving had spread from Yin Yunze’s porridge shelter, and he tried to retaliate by ordering it torn down. Zuo Xiaoyu and Peng Shulan refused to support him, leaving him alone to recognize how far he had fallen.

• Xu Hanxian heard children reciting verses that mocked his refusal to distribute disaster grain and learned they had spread from Yin Yunze’s porridge shelter.
• Furious, Xu Hanxian ordered Peng Shulan to tear down the shelter and arrest the commoners, but Peng Shulan refused, saying the order would condemn people who depended on the porridge.
• Zuo Xiaoyu rebuked Xu Hanxian for trampling Yin Yunze’s talisman and targeting people receiving aid, then left him and said she would tell Yue'er he would not be coming home for a long time.
• Peng Shulan left to help protect the porridge shelter, while Xu Hanxian sat alone and reflected on losing his reputation and the people close to him.
• Xu Hanxian admitted that he had been wrong about Green Hill Yi Yun and called himself a disgraceful official.

Yin Yunze slowly worked to remove the Divine Sense imprint from the Dark Heavenly Lightning Flag while waiting for his new statue and temple to attract more worship. Sun Qin then reported that Lower Creek Village was willing to worship Lord Yi Yun, provided they could see his true appearance first.

• Yin Yunze complained that the Dark Heavenly Lightning Flag's defenses limited him to eroding about one percent of its Divine Sense imprint each day, and he learned the set contained seven flags.
• Yin Yunze put the flag in the statue's purifying vase and noted that the unfinished temple and villagers' uncertainty had kept the statue from serving as an anchor for his divine authority.
• Yin Yunze and Zhao Wan discussed the statue's appearance before Sun Qin arrived in shrine maiden robes.
• Sun Qin told Yin Yunze that Lower Creek Village's chief was waiting and that the village would worship him if they could first see his true appearance.

Yin Yunze received visitors from Lower Creek Village, revealed his Fox Immortal form, and offered them food in exchange for worship. The village chief accepted his portrait, while a young girl asked for a chance to serve him like Sun Qin.

• Sun Qin told Yin Yunze that Upper Creek Village had rejected his invitation and that Lower Creek Village had come to discuss another matter.
• Yin Yunze appeared before the visitors as Green Hill Yi Yun, startling the villagers, who bowed after Sun Qin ordered them to lower their heads.
• Qi Siyuan identified himself as Lower Creek Village's chief, and Yin Yunze gave him a portrait to worship in exchange for water and grain.
• Yin Yunze instructed Sun Qin to give each visitor ten jin of Fox Rice, prompting faith to appear among the villagers.
• A young girl declined the rice and asked Yin Yunze for a chance to serve him and become someone like Sun Qin.

Yin Yunze learned that Upper Creek Village planned to attack Clear Creek Village and discovered that its weasel immortal, Grandfather Huang Three, had gone mad and was demanding human blood food. He marked the villagers helping him, ordered them to keep the plan secret, and prepared for the coming conflict.

• Qi Rongrong volunteered to work for Yin Yunze, and he asked Sun Qin to assess her over the next few days.
• Yin Yunze asked about Song Ran and learned that he and his father were running their porridge shed outside the city without trouble.
• Qi Siyuan reported that Upper Creek Village had proposed joining Lower Creek Village to seize Clear Creek Village's water and grain.
• Sun Qin revealed that Grandfather Huang Three, a weasel immortal who had protected Upper Creek Village for over a century, still lived there.
• Qi Rongrong said Grandfather Huang Three had gone mad, killed villagers, and driven Upper Creek Village to seek people as blood food.
• Yin Yunze accepted Qi Siyuan's offer to coordinate from within, marked the gathered villagers to ensure their secrecy, and ordered them to stay vigilant.

Yin Yunze prepared weapons and protective gear for Clear Creek Village but decided to investigate Upper Creek Village before distributing them, hoping to stop the planned attack at its source. He entered Upper Creek Village and began searching for Grandfather Huang Three, whose name terrified a villager.

• Yin Yunze arranged for three hundred sharpened long sabers and three hundred stab-resistant vests, then oversaw the first delivery of water and grain to Lower Creek Village.
• The next day, Yin Yunze chose to investigate Grandfather Huang Three before distributing the equipment, then used Spirit Descent on Zhao Wan and left Clear Creek Village in secret.
• Yin Yunze explored Upper Creek Village and saw little sign of preparations for an attack, though some villagers appeared uneasy and afraid.
• Yin Yunze used an Illusion Character Talisman on a passerby and asked him to lead the way to Grandfather Huang Three.
• The villager panicked at the request, so Yin Yunze instead asked him to point toward Grandfather Huang Three.

Yin Yunze found Grandfather Huang Three’s temple steeped in sinister black Qi and tried to leave, but the old weasel intercepted him and used mind control to draw him inside. After breaking free, Yin Yunze attacked Grandfather Huang Three with his Snake Bone Whip.

• Yin Yunze reached Grandfather Three Temple and saw through the ordinary appearance to the black Qi and eerie signs surrounding it.
• Yin Yunze decided the temple was dangerous and turned to leave, but Grandfather Huang Three appeared behind him and invited him inside.
• Yin Yunze tried to refuse and offered to host Grandfather Huang Three for tea instead, but the old weasel touched his hand and led him toward the temple.
• Yin Yunze realized Grandfather Huang Three had used mind control and purified himself with Expel Evil and Dispel Filth before he could be dragged through the doors.
• Yin Yunze resisted Grandfather Huang Three’s pull and thrust his Snake Bone Whip toward the old weasel’s eye.

Yin Yunze fought Grandfather Huang Three, a Land God who controlled Upper Creek Village, and tried to escape after injuring him. Grandfather Huang Three stopped him at the village entrance, leaving Yin Yunze trapped inside and facing a stronger opponent on his own territory.

• Grandfather Huang Three caught Yin Yunze's Snake Bone Whip, but Yin Yunze ignited it with Fox Fire and stabbed Grandfather Huang Three in the right eye.
• Yin Yunze fled toward Upper Creek Village's entrance, but Grandfather Huang Three struck him back into the village with his dragon-headed cane.
• Yin Yunze used his Snake Bone Whip to land in a tree, while two safety talismans absorbed the force of Grandfather Huang Three's attack.
• Yin Yunze realized Grandfather Huang Three possessed a Land God Divinity that empowered him in Upper Creek Village and explained why he never expanded beyond it.
• Grandfather Huang Three blocked the village exit, and Yin Yunze realized he had come to understand his predicament too late.

Yin Yunze fought Grandfather Huang Three and learned that the old Land God wanted him to destroy his true body in Grandfather Three Temple. The chapter ended with Yin Yunze discovering that the Grandfather Huang Three he had faced was only an incarnation.

• Yin Yunze reflected on his mistakes as Grandfather Huang Three recovered and confronted him, then tried to work out why the old Land God was not using Earth Vein Power freely.
• Grandfather Huang Three complained that poisoned incense offerings and villagers' resentment had driven him mad, while Yin Yunze questioned why he was being stopped despite never having harmed him.
• Grandfather Huang Three claimed he wanted Yin Yunze to kill him because his madness came and went, and said he had been waiting for someone suitable to help.
• Grandfather Huang Three asked Yin Yunze to enter Grandfather Three Temple and destroy his true body, explaining that the real one had imprisoned himself there and that he was only an incarnation.

Yin Yunze refused to trust Grandfather Huang Three’s plea and negotiated three days to prepare before returning to help. As he left Upper Creek Village, Yin Yunze saw through an illusion and discovered he was one step from entering Grandfather Three Temple.

• Grandfather Huang Three told Yin Yunze that his incarnation was losing contact with his true body and asked Yin Yunze to enter Grandfather Three Temple and kill it.
• Yin Yunze rejected Grandfather Huang Three’s explanation and threatened to use Fire Character Talismans unless he was allowed to leave.
• Grandfather Huang Three cleared the road and agreed to let Yin Yunze return in three days.
• Yin Yunze cautiously crossed the village entrance, sensing that something was wrong as Grandfather Huang Three watched without moving.
• Yin Yunze used an Expel Character Talisman to dispel the illusion and saw Grandfather Three Temple ahead, with himself just one step from its threshold.

Yin Yunze saw through Grandfather Huang Three’s attempt to lure him into the Grandfather Three Temple and attacked both the old spirit and the temple. When his talismans proved ineffective, Yin Yunze used an explosive to destroy the temple, leaving Grandfather Huang Three facing its ruins.

• Yin Yunze realized Grandfather Huang Three had used mental manipulation and moved the Grandfather Three Temple to conceal it near the village entrance.
• Yin Yunze resisted Grandfather Huang Three’s efforts to draw him inside and attacked him and the temple with Fox Fire and Expel Evil and Dispel Filth.
• Grandfather Huang Three blocked Yin Yunze’s attacks, while the temple’s black Qi extinguished Fox Fire and quickly wore away the purification talismans.
• Yin Yunze threw a Fire Character Talisman onto a cylindrical explosive, charged Grandfather Huang Three with his Snake Bone Whip, then dove behind a tree.
• The explosive detonated at the Grandfather Three Temple’s main hall, reducing the century-old temple to ruins.

After destroying the Third Grandfather Temple with explosives, Yin Yunze killed Grandfather Huang Three, but the old spirit’s body vanished and a second phase began. Yin Yunze tried to flee Upper Creek Village, only to be trapped inside a cage of towering earthen walls.

• Yin Yunze reflected that his fight with Wang Guisheng had shown him Fox Fire’s limits, prompting him to prepare explosives to strengthen his defenses.
• Yin Yunze taunted Grandfather Huang Three after an explosion destroyed the Third Grandfather Temple, and Grandfather Huang Three screamed as black cracks spread across his body.
• Yin Yunze struck Grandfather Huang Three with ten casts of Expel Evil and Dispel Filth, then used the Snake Bone Whip and Fox Fire to sever his head.
• Grandfather Huang Three’s headless corpse vanished without bleeding, and a furious beast’s howl came from the temple ruins.
• Paper musicians emerged from the ruins as Yin Yunze tried to leave, but four enormous earthen walls rose around him and sealed him inside Upper Creek Village.

Yin Yunze fought Grandfather Huang Three after the evil entity revealed his grotesque true form, while Zhao Wan suffered from the injuries Yin Yunze sustained through Spirit Descent. Yin Yunze healed her and used talismans to evade Grandfather Huang Three, then began testing a plan to escape the arena seal.

• Yin Yunze threw explosive bundles into the ruins, but Grandfather Huang Three emerged and knocked him from the wall, leaving him injured.
• Grandfather Huang Three revealed a monstrous weasel-like body covered in human limbs, grubs, pustules, and rotting wounds.
• Zhao Wan told Yin Yunze that she was in pain, so he applied healing talismans and quickly eased her injuries.
• Yin Yunze attacked Grandfather Huang Three with Fox Fire, but the flames were extinguished by the black substance covering him.
• Yin Yunze created multiple Zhao Wan phantoms with Group Character Talismans, hid his real body in a tree, and sent a phantom toward the wall.

Yin Yunze tried to escape Grandfather Huang Three’s earthen prison while weakening the monster with explosives, but Grandfather Huang Three summoned a horde of enslaved ghosts to hunt him. After the ghosts found Yin Yunze, his next explosive attack failed when Grandfather Huang Three burrowed underground.

• Grandfather Huang Three used Earth Escape to attack Yin Yunze’s phantoms, while Yin Yunze considered ways to escape the four-sided earthen prison.
• Yin Yunze blasted a hole through a wall with explosives, but Grandfather Huang Three quickly filled the opening with earth.
• Yin Yunze wounded Grandfather Huang Three with another explosive, destroying its left arm and part of its chest.
• Grandfather Huang Three summoned hundreds of enslaved ghosts and ordered them to find Yin Yunze.
• The ghosts exposed Yin Yunze’s phantoms and found him hiding in a tree, but he dispersed the female ghost that attacked him with an Expel Character Talisman.
• Yin Yunze threw another explosive at Grandfather Huang Three, but Grandfather Huang Three burrowed underground with Earth Vein Power to evade it.

Yin Yunze was overwhelmed by tiger ghosts and pinned down by Grandfather Huang Three, but he triggered the Dark Heavenly Lightning Flag and used it to unleash lightning inside his enemy. Grandfather Huang Three summoned the incense power he had gathered over a century to suppress the flag, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Yin Yunze fought off the surrounding tiger ghosts with talismans, Fox Fire, and his Snake Bone Whip as his protections rapidly burned away.
• Grandfather Huang Three burst from underground, pinned Yin Yunze beneath his claws, and prepared to kill him.
• After Zhao Wan apologized for limiting his power, Yin Yunze promised to protect her and drove the Dark Heavenly Lightning Flag into Grandfather Huang Three's chest.
• The flag unleashed blue and purple lightning, freeing Yin Yunze, destroying nearby tiger ghosts, and stripping away Grandfather Huang Three's black coating.
• Grandfather Huang Three tried to pull out the flag, lost a claw to purple lightning, and poured out the incense power of Upper Creek Village's believers to suppress it.