Recaps

Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi fought the eighteen strange buddhas guarding the Buddhist Sect's pagoda forest, but the buddhas overwhelmed them. Xu Chunliang then woke on a black stone bridge over a river of wailing souls, chained and unsure how he had arrived there.

• Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi watched eighteen rotten, gold-painted buddhas emerge from the pagodas and warn trespassers they would be sent to hell.
• Xu Chunliang challenged the buddhas, and Li Baiyi turned back to fight beside him rather than abandon him.
• Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi shattered one palm each, but Xu Chunliang's brass knife broke against a buddha.
• Xu Chunliang tried to attack again with the knife hilt, but his attempt to create a black slash failed as five buddhas struck him with their long-reaching arms.
• Xu Chunliang woke on a black stone bridge in white mist, with chains bound around his arm and the cries of the dead sounding nearby.

Xu Chunliang escaped the Buddha guardians’ illusion in the pagoda forest and rescued Li Baiyi. After learning about possible ways to leave the Ruin Realm, he gave Li Baiyi the Pearl Buddha Maiden’s pearl to test an old saying.

• Xu Chunliang recognized the hellish Naihe Bridge as an illusion, broke free, and attacked eight Buddha guardians with Li Baiyi’s sword.
• Xu Chunliang dragged the unconscious Li Baiyi away from the pagoda forest and claimed that a dangerous killing move had let him defeat the Buddhas.
• Li Baiyi explained that the capital had been sealed against Ruin Realms by the Dust-Sweeping Formation, created through the sacrifice of 36,381 people.
• Li Baiyi described several possible ways to escape a Ruin Realm and said an old saying linked a pearl held in the mouth with coming and going freely.
• Xu Chunliang gave Li Baiyi the pearl from the Pearl Buddha Maiden, and Li Baiyi recognized it as the one they had sought.

Li Baiyi used the pearl to gain Buddhist power and discover the way out, then followed Xu Chunliang east across a black road to Naihe Bridge. They encountered a monstrous centipede stitched from human bodies, and Li Baiyi realized they were surrounded.

• Li Baiyi swallowed the pearl, saw the way east, and gained some of the Buddha's power.
• Xu Chunliang took Li Baiyi's Elegant Heart Sword, carved a wooden saber from a tree trunk, and returned the sword.
• Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi followed the road east until they reached a black stone bridge over a river full of human bodies.
• Xu Chunliang destroyed a chain with his wooden saber when it shot from the fog toward him.
• A giant house-centipede monster made of naked human bodies climbed from the river, and Li Baiyi warned Xu Chunliang they were surrounded.

Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi fought human centipedes on a stone bridge before Xu Chunliang was swallowed and killed in the river. He revived on the bridge and used Li Baiyi, whose Buddhist pearl shielded them, as a weapon to charge through the monsters.

• Xu Chunliang struck a human centipede with his wooden saber and was knocked into the river, while Li Baiyi's Buddhist pearl burned another centipede and protected him.
• Xu Chunliang was entangled by black hair and attacked by river monsters as a thirteen-eyed creature rose from the riverbed to lunge at him.
• Li Baiyi jumped into the river to save Xu Chunliang but could not find him.
• Xu Chunliang found himself inside a monster's mouth, stabbed its flesh, and died when his head struck its teeth.
• Xu Chunliang revived on the bridge, grabbed Li Baiyi by the ankle, and swung him into the human centipedes as his Buddhist pearl shielded them.

Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi reached a giant Buddha that transformed into a mountain of Human Worms bearing the faces of the dead. After Xu Chunliang died trying to reach the frame behind them, he rolled back and began fighting through the swarm with Li Baiyi, spending all 168 attribute points to improve his Eerie Tiger Saber.

• Xu Chunliang and Li Baiyi reached a huge golden Buddha at the end of the bridge, and it bent down to smile at them.
• The Buddha collapsed into a mass of white flesh worms with familiar faces, which became Human Worms and swarmed toward the pair.
• Xu Chunliang realized the Human Worms were dead appendages, tried to reach the frame behind them, and was buried by the swarm and killed.
• After rolling back, Xu Chunliang pulled Li Baiyi onto the bridge and explained that the worms were endless appendages, asking him to find a way to deal with the Buddha.
• Xu Chunliang swung Li Baiyi through the Human Worms and spent all 168 attribute points to make his Eerie Tiger Saber proficient.

Xu Chunliang watched Li Baiyi die after Li Baiyi shattered the Buddha skeleton’s skull, then awakened a deathly power that erased the Ruin Realm’s creatures before killing himself. Time rolled back to the battle, where Li Baiyi found Xu Chunliang using a human-worm’s spine as a blade instead of throwing him at the skeleton.

• Xu Chunliang used Li Baiyi as a weapon to kill human-worms and launch him at the Buddha skeleton.
• Li Baiyi entered Moon Glow Grade and shattered the skeleton’s skull, but the skeleton killed him with a jade-white finger.
• Xu Chunliang pulled a human-worm’s spine free and resonated with death after witnessing Li Baiyi’s corpse be destroyed.
• Xu Chunliang spread death across the Ruin Realm, then drove the spine blade into his own head to die.
• The will above departed, space and time shattered, and the battle rewound with Li Baiyi asking Xu Chunliang to throw him toward the skeleton.

Xu Chunliang defeated the white skeleton, but a mad Buddhist being hidden in its finger bone invaded his body and mind. After Xu Chunliang survived and escaped the Ruin Realm with Li Baiyi, he discovered his bones had advanced to Solar Halo Grade and kept that power secret.

• Xu Chunliang used Kiss of Death to unleash black saber intent that destroyed the white skeleton and killed the human insects, then collapsed as a winged finger bone shattered his breastbone.
• The finger bone transformed into a mad little man, entered Xu Chunliang’s body, and tried to destroy his mind, but Xu Chunliang’s inner world overwhelmed it and a rusty iron hook killed it.
• Xu Chunliang awoke outside the Ruin Realm beside Li Baiyi and checked his panel, which showed 235 attribute points and Solar Halo Grade bones.
• Xu Chunliang tested his bones with Li Baiyi’s Elegant Heart Sword, then hid the finger bone’s effects and considered using his new strength against Jin Jun.
• Li Baiyi said he would return to the capital to investigate the pearl he swallowed and promised to arrange for his sister to meet Xu Chunliang while keeping their Ruin Realm meeting secret.

After recovering from the Buddhist Ruin Realm, Xu Chunliang returned to his quiet routine of work and hunting monsters. Liu Xin ordered Liu Jiu to kill Xu Chunliang and Zhou Dafu without evidence, and the chapter ended with Xu Chunliang killing a female monster while Zhou Dafu was murdered at home.

• Shi Qin told Xu Chunliang he should let him know if he fell ill again, while Xu Chunliang kept his entry into the Buddhist Ruin Realm secret.
• Xu Chunliang resumed working at the Demon-Slaying Bureau and hunting monsters at night, then went to Fireworks Lane with his newly forged brass knife.
• Liu Jiu reported that Xu Chunliang and Zhou Dafu were suspects in Liu Jie’s death, and Liu Xin ordered both men killed without proof.
• Liu Jiu killed Zhou Dafu’s wife and child, then pierced Zhou Dafu’s throat and tore out his heart.
• Xu Chunliang killed a sleeping female monster with a starlight-colored blade, raising his attribute points to 265.

Xu Chunliang repeatedly died in attempts to fight Liu Xin and the hidden Crimson Dawn Realm expert, Liu Jiu, then tried to survive by bargaining with them. After Liu Xin swore not to harm him, Xu Chunliang began describing his encounter with a Ruin Realm and the mysterious Life Silver.

• Liu Xin entered Xu Chunliang's room and said he would avenge his younger brother Liu Jie by killing him.
• Xu Chunliang used 200 attribute points to advance to Moon Glow Grade, but Liu Jiu repeatedly pierced his chest and killed him.
• Xu Chunliang revealed that he knew Liu Jiu was hiding behind him and asked Liu Xin to talk instead of fighting.
• Liu Xin swore to spare Xu Chunliang and keep Liu Jiu from harming him if Xu Chunliang revealed his secrets.
• Xu Chunliang said he had entered the Ruin Realm at Guo Family Village, seen a rusty steelyard scale surrounded by corpses, and received eighty-eight taels of Life Silver.

Xu Chunliang led Liu Xin and Liu Jiu to Guo Family Village, where they sought the creepy artifact he had discovered. Guo Si agreed to take them to worship the Scale Immortal, and Xu Chunliang kept his distance as they approached the courtyard.

• Xu Chunliang revealed that he had hidden eighty-eight taels of Life Silver in a stove, and Liu Xin had it retrieved.
• Liu Jiu concluded that Xu Chunliang had encountered a powerful creepy artifact rather than a Ruin Realm, and Liu Xin decided to seek it out.
• Liu Jiu secretly considered betraying Liu Xin and claiming the artifact for himself, but agreed to first confirm it existed.
• Xu Chunliang led Liu Xin and Liu Jiu to Guo Family Village, where they saw the dead Liu Yong and Guo Si waiting in the darkness.
• Xu Chunliang asked Guo Si to let Liu Xin and Liu Jiu pay respects to the Scale Immortal, and Guo Si led them toward the courtyard.
• As they reached the courtyard wall, Xu Chunliang stepped back, determined not to die before Liu Xin and Liu Jiu.

Xu Chunliang watched Liu Jiu attack the Scale Immortal, only for the cursed scale to kill him and erase him from Liu Xin’s memory. The scale then spared Xu Chunliang, bound a small scale weight to his wrist, and promised to come when he needed it.

• Guo Si and Liu Yong entered the courtyard and knelt among hundreds of worshippers around the steelyard scale.
• Liu Jiu unleashed his spiritual energy, killed dozens of black-clad figures, and advanced toward the scale before the darkness trapped and hanged him among the corpses.
• Liu Xin began forgetting Liu Jiu, and Xu Chunliang stabbed him in the neck before fleeing the village.
• At the willow tree, Xu Chunliang tried to kill himself after confirming his rollback point, but a small scale weight blocked his knife as the Scale Immortal appeared overhead.
• The scale beam stroked Xu Chunliang with five corpses, attached the weight to his wrist, and promised to come whenever he needed it.

Xu Chunliang secretly disposed of traces of the Liu family’s visit, then rescued a dying girl named Yuhu and helped her begin recovering. After preparing to hunt strange entities at a newly opened restaurant, he advanced to the Moon Glow Realm and set out for the east of Fan City.

• Xu Chunliang discovered that the hook scale had taken back his Life Silver and cleaned up all traces of Liu Xin and his servant.
• Xu Chunliang heard that Zhou Dafu’s entire family had been wiped out and spent the day at the Demon-Slaying Bureau with Shi Qin.
• Xu Chunliang found children throwing dirt at a dying girl, fed her, and brought her home for Physician Wei to treat.
• Xu Chunliang gave the girl medicine, learned that her name was Yuhu, and urged her to keep living so she could repay him.
• Xu Chunliang disguised himself and headed to the Wine Pool and Meat Forest to seek strange entities and earn attribute points.
• Xu Chunliang spent two hundred attribute points to advance to the Moon Glow Realm, gaining the ability to fly for short periods.

Xu Chunliang survived an encounter with towering monsters by following Blind Chen’s instructions to stay silent and still. After the creatures passed, Blind Chen discovered that Xu Chunliang had seen the characters on their faces and said he had an affinity with immortals.

• A chilling darkness spread through the alley, and Blind Chen told Xu Chunliang to press against the wall, put out the lantern, and neither think, speak, nor breathe.
• Giant cloth-wrapped creatures with [immortal] written on their faces approached beneath a swarm of enormous black paper cranes.
• Xu Chunliang drew his blade and was killed when strips of rag pierced him, then found himself back at the wall as the encounter began again.
• Xu Chunliang obeyed Blind Chen and stayed still until the creatures passed and the starlight returned.
• Blind Chen introduced himself and, after learning Xu Chunliang had seen the creatures’ faces without dying, declared that he had an affinity with immortals.

Blind Chen warned Xu Chunliang that Yin Immortals were searching Fan City for souls, but Xu Chunliang went to the Wine Pool and Meat Forest anyway. Blind Chen exposed the establishment as a hellish slaughterhouse where Human Cook was refining a life-prolonging pill from the city’s people, then faced ten royal deathsworn.

• Blind Chen told Xu Chunliang that the Yin Immortals were underworld soldiers seeking souls and gave him three talismans to hide from them.
• Blind Chen sent two green snakes to investigate the Wine Pool and Meat Forest, where Human Cook cut one of them in two.
• Blind Chen transformed the building into its true appearance: a blood pool surrounded by corpses and human flesh served to the guests.
• Blind Chen accused Human Cook of killing Fan City’s people to make a Three Corpses Life-Prolonging Pill for the emperor and linked him to the slaughter of Wood City.
• Human Cook laughed as ten red-veiled figures surrounded Blind Chen, who recognized them as the royal deathsworn of Blood Pagoda.

Blind Chen fought the Blood Pagodas, who beheaded him, but he revived through a straw figure and set out to find Xu Chunliang. Xu Chunliang arrived at the Wine Pool and Meat Forest and began dining, unaware of the violence that had just taken place there.

• Blind Chen rejected the Blood Pagodas’ claim that they served the world and fought them to stop the emperor’s pill-making.
• The Blood Pagodas used red threads to match Blind Chen’s speed, then cut off his head and left his body for Human Cook.
• Blind Chen’s straw figure transformed into a blind child, who reentered Blind Chen’s body; Blind Chen fashioned a paper head and escaped.
• Blind Chen decided to search for Xu Chunliang, whom he had encountered earlier that night.
• Xu Chunliang entered the Wine Pool and Meat Forest, ordered wine, and squeezed Leng Cui’s buttock as he sat down.

Xu Chunliang found no weird entities at the Wine Pool and Meat Forest, then learned from Yuhu that her former brothel was haunted and set out for the Jade Splendor Pavilion. Meanwhile, Wei Fang released the Imperial Qi Weird Box’s Weird Madness Qi at the government office, and Blind Chen followed a bone divination to Yuhua.

• Xu Chunliang left the Wine Pool and Meat Forest after finding no weird entities, while Blood Pagoda told Human Cook that the Blood-Boiling Grand Array would activate in an hour and agreed to release the Weird Madness Qi.
• Xu Chunliang checked on Yuhu, heard about the hauntings at the Jade Splendor Pavilion, and knocked her unconscious before leaving to investigate.
• Wei Fang opened the Imperial Qi Weird Box outside the Fan City government office and released green smoke into the air.
• Blind Chen divined Yuhua’s name from his broken bone, followed the clue into a courtyard, and frightened a fat man unconscious.

Xu Chunliang infiltrated the Jade Splendor Pavilion and revealed its uncanny inhabitants, killing Yu Tangchun before confronting their leader, Boss Ruyi. As more uncanny beings gathered to defend her, he faced a growing crowd inside the darkened brothel.

• Xu Chunliang approached Yu Tangchun and used uncanny madness air to provoke her into revealing her true form.
• Yu Tangchun transformed into a fanged dairy cow, and Xu Chunliang killed her with his brass knife, gaining three attribute points.
• Xu Chunliang challenged the other uncanny beings in the Jade Splendor Pavilion and saw a jade ruyi emerge as their leader, Boss Ruyi.
• Boss Ruyi summoned the porcelain Bottle Child, who threatened Xu Chunliang, while another group of children's voices jeered from nearby.

Xu Chunliang fought the monsters inside the Jade Splendor Pavilion, destroyed Little Bottle Child, and killed the thirteen-headed conjoined infant with a new death technique called Deliverance. He left the surviving monsters kneeling in fear and asked the jade ruyi to guess which one he would kill first.

• Little Bottle Child filled the first floor with fog as the jade ruyi ordered the monsters to attack Xu Chunliang.
• Xu Chunliang fought blind, injured the monsters, and killed three of them before Little Bottle Child sucked the fog back in.
• Xu Chunliang rode the suction to smash Little Bottle Child’s white jade bottle and crushed his head beneath his boot.
• Xu Chunliang shattered the purple river cart and cut down the thirteen-headed infant, whose mother bowed to him before fading into starlight.
• Xu Chunliang used his newly named Deliverance slash to kill the fleeing infant and strip the remaining monsters of their madness.
• Xu Chunliang taunted the kneeling survivors and told the jade ruyi to guess who he would kill first.

Xu Chunliang repeatedly faced the Daoist’s deadly green attacks, then used a successful time reversal to kill him and destroy the jade ruyi. After clearing out the remaining eerie beings and looting the Jade Splendor Pavilion, Xu Chunliang stepped into Fireworks Lane and froze at what he saw in the sky.

• The Daoist appeared with Boss Ruyi and attacked Xu Chunliang with green-lit teeth, killing him as time and space shattered and rolled back.
• After the reset, Xu Chunliang dodged the Daoist’s attack, cut open his throat, crushed his heart, and sliced the jade ruyi in two.
• Xu Chunliang stunned the remaining eerie beings with Eerie Tiger Howls at the Heavens and killed them with Eerie Tiger Splits the Earth.
• Xu Chunliang searched the Jade Splendor Pavilion, took its gold and silver notes, and found the Daoist gone, leaving behind a bloody promise of revenge.
• Xu Chunliang left the Jade Splendor Pavilion and froze in Fireworks Lane as he looked at the sky and recalled Blind Chen’s warning.

As Fan City plunged into supernatural darkness, Xu Chunliang killed newly spawned skinny horses and secured the injured girl before seeking help. After a deadly encounter with Yin Immortals forced him to repeat his preparations, he headed for the Demon-Slaying Bureau, where a huge curtain blocked his way.

• Xu Chunliang killed thirteen skinny horses in Fireworks Lane and gained thirteen attribute points, while their corpses later merged into a powerful centaur who vowed that all men deserved to die and attacked a nearby residence.
• Xu Chunliang returned home, made sure the little girl was hidden beneath firewood with food and a note, then went looking for Blind Chen.
• Xu Chunliang found a street filled with Yin Immortals, who killed him instantly; he then returned to the moment before leaving home and repeated his preparations.
• Xu Chunliang abandoned the search for Blind Chen and set out for the Demon-Slaying Bureau, hoping its flag officer could help.
• A huge curtain blocked the road to the bureau, and Xu Chunliang heard a whistle as yellow light appeared behind it.

Xu Chunliang experienced the lives of Liu Dafu, Zhou Fugui, and Master Zhao while watching a shadow puppet show. After Master Zhao died, his spirit was drawn into the troupe and landed on a living shadow puppet.

• Xu Chunliang awakened as Liu Dafu at a shadow puppet show and remembered his wife Shuixian, their children, and why he had brought her to the fair.
• Liu Dafu watched the show happily with Shuixian while the gong rang.
• Zhou Fugui played the gong for the audience and dreamed about spending his earnings on food and Widow Lü.
• Master Zhao watched the show, envied Liu Dafu, and returned home to his unhappy household.
• Master Zhao died in his bed, floated above the town, and was pulled into the shadow puppet troupe, landing on a puppet holding a paper knife.

Xu Chunliang escaped the Shadow Play’s death illusion and killed it by cutting his own throat, but a strange scale weight on his wrist seemed to influence him. At the Demon-Slaying Bureau, Jin Jun revealed that Fan City was sealed under the sky’s strange phenomenon and ordered a ritual using bound civilians, leaving Xu Chunliang disturbed by his own excitement at their deaths.

• Xu Chunliang recognized that the King of Hell and his guards were shadow puppets, broke free of the illusion, and killed the Shadow Play as it fled by cutting his throat.
• Xu Chunliang noticed that the rust-red scale weight on his wrist had urged him to cut himself and seemed delighted when he killed the shadow puppet.
• Xu Chunliang met Shi Qin at the Demon-Slaying Bureau, where Jin Jun announced that Fan City was trapped and that killing eerie beings alone would not end the crisis.
• Jin Jun had a military cultivator kill chained civilians and absorb their blood into a military treatise, while Xu Chunliang found himself uncontrollably excited by the killings.
• Zhang Yu condemned the executions, and the military cultivator stabbed him in the belly before he could finish speaking.

Xu Chunliang forced the living military treatise to reveal that someone was using the uncanny to slaughter the city and that the emperor wanted the survivors dead for a Three Corpses Life-Prolonging Pill. While the others lost hope at the news, Xu Chunliang urged them to resist, and Shi Qin began to find the courage to fight back.

• The strategist tore Zhang Yu’s tongue out and placed it on the bloodied military treatise, bringing the book to life.
• Jin Jun mutilated a squad officer until the military treatise answered that someone was using the uncanny to slaughter the city.
• The military treatise demanded Xu Chunliang’s left hand, but Xu Chunliang threatened to cut his own throat until it agreed to explain what had happened.
• The crowd learned about the blood pool, the forest of corpses, and the Three Corpses Life-Prolonging Pill, and many broke down after hearing the emperor wanted them dead.
• Xu Chunliang rejected the crowd’s despair, declared that they could kill the emperor, and cut the tongue off the military treatise.
• Shi Qin pictured his loved ones being slaughtered for the emperor and resolved that they should not fear him.

Jin Jun turns the Demon-Slaying Bureau into a force hunting the Human Cook, while Xu Chunliang leads Shi Qin and three colleagues through a bamboo grove that traps their route. Deep in the grove, they encounter an enormous bamboo rat that Xu Chunliang recognizes.

• Jin Jun uses the military cultivator’s murderous aura to rally the Bureau and sends teams to find the Human Cook and destroy the Blood-Boiling Grand Array.
• Xu Chunliang takes Shi Qin and three colleagues out of the Bureau, then steers them away from Jin Jun’s team after a Solar Halo appears in the distance.
• Xu Chunliang’s group finds a bamboo grove and house blocking their way, and repeated attempts to go around lead them back to the same place.
• The group enters the grove after the bamboo leaves invite them to meet Madam Bamboo, and they discover the bamboo is enormous.
• Chen Ge disturbs a huge leaf, revealing a giant bamboo rat, which Xu Chunliang recognizes as the creature from a memory of roasting one by a river.

Xu Chunliang and his companions cleared two of Madam Bamboo’s trials in the bamboo forest, resisting its illusions and waking one another from their delusions. Madam Bamboo appeared and demanded to know whether she looked human or divine, but her forms proved to be bamboo decoys, and Du Qiang’s blunt answer drew her retaliation.

• Xu Chunliang realized the bamboo forest’s apparent size came from the group shrinking, and the first trial ended when the forest returned to normal.
• Xu Chunliang exposed an illusion of two women hanging from hooks, then woke Shi Qin and slapped Chen Ge, Li Jun, and Du Qiang out of their fantasies.
• Madam Bamboo appeared in the forest and asked Xu Chunliang whether she looked like a human or a god.
• Xu Chunliang attacked her with his brass knife, but her body turned out to be a woven bamboo pillow.
• Du Qiang stabbed another of Madam Bamboo’s bamboo decoys and called her a dead person, so she declared that he would become one as punishment.