"Can you imagine? One day you suddenly wake up in a cave and look around without knowing anything, but you already have a responsibility that you must shoulder. You have no right to see the scenery along the way, and you can’t enjoy your friends and lovers. The moment you regain consciousness, all the beautiful things in your life have no meaning to you.

Zhang Qiling is carrying his own destiny in silence." (DMBJ Volume 8, Postcript)

MDZS/GDC Chapter Summaries

So back...a while ago I made a post about things MDZS fandom really needs.  And from that post someone made a fantastic Guide to Chinese/pinyin terms.  And now I have my own contribution, a list of every chapter of the Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel along with summaries of what happens when.  

Because I know as a writer I often want to look at a particular scene in canon to refresh my memory or check something, but it’s nearly impossible to remember what happens when due to the different chronologies in each version of the story.

So I spent the last couple weeks listening to the audio drama and skimming the novel and making notes.  Hopefully they are useful and understandable to more than just myself, but you can definitely see my prejudices.  Like entire chapters where it’s basically just “people talk...plot”  versus deep detail on Wangxian scenes.  Anyway, here it is, I hope it helps.

1: Prologue – Short description of WWX’s death and 13 years after. 2: Reincarnation – WWX comes back in MXY’s body 3: Aggression Part 1 – WWX meets Lan disciples, Madame Mo, checks out some flags 4: Aggression Part 2 – Mo ZiYuan dies, so do some other people 5: Aggression Part 3 – WWX figures it out, raises some corpses, LWJ arrives, WWX steals a donkey 6: Arrogance Part 1 – WWX arrives at Dafan mountain, hears about people who lost their souls 7: Arrogance Part 2 – Meets Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng, and then Lan Sect arrives 8: Arrogance Part 3 – Backstory of everyone, WWX sees ghost and learns about goddess temple 9: Arrogance Part 4 – Goddess temple, statue comes to life, WWX summons Wen Ning 10: Arrogance Part 5 – WWX plays flute for Wen Ning, LWJ grabs him, Jiang Cheng uses zidian, LWJ claims WWX

11: Refinement Part 1 – Cloud Recesses entry, meet LXC, see LWJ in spring 12: Refinement Part 2 – Running from spring, joining LWJ in bed, frozen on top of him 13: Refinement Part 3- FLASHBACK – coming to Gusu as student, sneaking over the wall and caught by LWJ, class with LQR 14: Refinement part 4 – Thrown out of class, JC and NHS talking, caught cheating and has to copy 15: Refinement part 5- WWX and LWJ in library—porn book destroyed 16: Refinement part 6 – Caiyi Town, water ghoul hunting 17: Refinement part 7 – More ghouls, waterborne abyss, loquat girl 18: Refinement part 8 – Drunk WWX woken by LWJ for punishment, cold spring scene, rabbit gift, fight with JZX, return to Yunmeng- END FLASHBACK 19: Contentment part 1 – First morning after, talking to juniors, arm suppression 20: Contentment part 2 – LWJ and WWX travel, meet Jin Ling and Fairy, hear about Man-eating Castle 21: Contentment part 3 – Xinglu Ridge, find Fairy, get to Castle/Tomb 22: Contentment part 4: - Find saber coffins, Inquiry, find Jin Ling in wall 23: Malice part 1 – Split up, JL and WWX convo, Jiang Cheng captures WWX 24: Malice part 2 – WWX and JC convo, Jin Ling frees WWX, info about childhood 25: Malice part 3 – LWJ back, carries him, meet with NHS 26: Malice part 4 – NHS explains about saber tomb 27: Malice part 5 – Play rest together to calm arm, return and get legs from tomb 28: Dew part 1 – LWJ and WWX talk, teasing, go to wine shop for rumors about Chang Clan 29: Dew part 2 – More about Chang Clan and Xue Yang, XXC, etc 30: Dew part 3 – Moreabout XY and LLJ sect, cemetery with teleporting gravedigger, find torso, LWJ gets drunk, WWX calls WN and removes nails 31: Dew part 4 – Drunk LWJ, jealous of WN, cleans LWJ face, asks questions, “Mine” 32: Dew part 5 – Morning after teasing, kids playing Sunshot 33: Grasses part 1 – Yi City arrival, meet up with juniors 34: Grasses part 2 – Corpses attack, juniors poisoned, LWJ fights gravedigger, enter house 35: Grasses part 3 – WWX making congee, discover old lady is living corpse, see A-Qing 36: Grasses part 4 – Looking out window, bringing “XXC” inside 37: Grasses part 5 – Song Lan attacks, inquiry, Xue Yang revealed, convo 38: Grasses part 6 – LWJ arrives, fights XY, WWX leaves with juniors, begins EMPATHY on A-Qing 39: Grasses part 7 – A-Q meets XXC, finds XY injured, until she sees XXC kill villager 40: Grasses part 8 – Stories from XXC and XY, meeting Song Lan, killed by XY, A-Q tells XXC 41: Grasses part 9 – Confrontation XXC and XY, XXC kills self, A-Qing runs, is found by XY, EMPATHY ends. 42: Grasses part 10 – WWX and LWJ confront XY, fight, gravedigger teleports away, revive Song Lan and talk with him, begin traveling 43: Allure part 1- Drunk LWJ #2! Wen Ning visits, convo, LWJ wakes, ties hands with ribbon, shows Juniors 44: Allure part 2 – Go upstairs, WWX bites LWJ, play chase for bites/kisses, Kiss, LWJ knocks himself out 45: Allure part 3 – Morning after, WWX talks to Jin Ling, garden of damsel of annual blossoms, ask juniors about ribbon, FLASHBACK to archery contest, pulling the ribbon 46: Guile part 1 – headless body put together, LXC arrives, identify body, talk about JGY 47: Guile part 2 – Discussion Conference Koi Tower – WWX teaches JL fighting, Paperman spying, Qin Su confronting JGY, secret room, NMJ’s head 48: Guile part 3 – EMPATHY begins – NMJ meets Meng Yao, then sends him to Jin sect, catches him murdering, is captured by Wen Ruohan 49: Guile part 4-  Scene in palace, MY kills WR, escape, meet LXC, victory banquet with everyone, LXC teaching JGY guqin,  NMJ and NHS argue, Xue Yang argument, burning NHS’s things 50: Guile part 5 – NMJ qi deviation, END EMPATHY – escape JGY back to body, LWJ and WWX confront JGY, Qin Su dies, WWX revealed, runs, stabbed by JY 51: Courage part 1 – FLASHBACK – Lotus Pier family, sent to Qishan, Wen Chao takes swords, sent to cave 52: Courage part 2 – WWX and LWJ and MianMian, find cave, stand up for MianMian, take Wen chao hostage 53: Courage part 3 – Beast attacks, Wens flee, everyone swims out, LWJ and WWX stuck behind and injured. 54: Courage part 4 – Treating wounds, stripping, biting  ;P 55: Courage part 5 – Talk Xuanwu, talk about Cloud Recesses, Make Plan, Kill Xuanwu, WWX fever, SONG 56: Poisons part 1-  WWX wakes in Lotus Pier, family scene, WWX and JC scene 57: Poisons part 2- WLJ arrives, WWX whipped, Madame Yu slaps WLJ 58: Poisons part 3 – Wen Zhuliu arrives, fight,  WWX and JC put on boat, go back, see Wen Ning 59: Poisons part 4 -  Overhear WC and WLJ, WWX and JC fight, JC returns, Wen Ning helps rescue, FLASHBACK to meeting Wen Ning 60: Poisons part 5 – Supervision office, meet Wen Qing, JC wakes, put back to sleep, WWX tells JC about plan to get golden core back, Wen Chao captures WWX, throws into Burial Mound 61: Evil part 1 – WLJ and WC fear WWX, Sunshot progress, JC and LWJ find destroyed supervision office, find WZL and WC, WWX arrives 62: Evil part 2 – WWX torments WZL and WC, LWJ and JC reunion, LWJ and WWX argue, first “Come back to Gusu”, LWJ leaves 63: Tenderness part 1 – FLASHBACK ENDS -WWX calls to LZ in his sleep “I’ll go with you”, wakes after being stabbed by JL, talk with LXC about song, find evil score 64: Tenderness part 2 – LWJ, WWX, LXC work out how song works, LXC tells WWX about their mother, LWJ arrives with alcohol 65: Tenderness part 3 – WWX finds flower bookmark, JGY arrives and they spy on conversation, LWJ and WWX leave for Burial Mound, scene with rabbits, 66: Tenderness part 4 – WWX rides donkey, thinks about his childhood, learns LWJ wrote song, stop at house and hear wife call husband “Er-gege”, lying on each other in hay 67: Tenderness part 5 – Wen Ning scares off couple, find corpses and bury, talk about Yiling and fantasizes about living together after retirement, arrive at Burial Mound 68: Tenderness part 6 – WWX and Wen Ning remember and mourn, corpses chase them up the hill, find juniors tied up and arguing, free them, argue, JC arrives with group of cultivators who want to kill WWX. 69: Departure part 1 – FLASHBACK – Phoenix Mountain Hunt – Flower throwing, WWX shooting blindfolded, Blindfolded kiss in the tree, WWX finds LWJ punching tree, come across JZX and JYL, memories of their falling out during Sunshot, WWX confronts JZX, Big Argument 70: Departure part 2 – Argument continues, LXC and JGY arrive, more arguing, 71: Departure part 3 – Yunmeng, LWJ meets WWX and ghost girls, WWX and JC talk about responsibilities, JYL and WWX “three years old”, memories of when WWX arrived at Jiang Sect, WWX runs into Wen Qing 72: Recklessness part 1 – LWJ tells LXC he wants to take someone back to Gusu, banquet interrupted by WWX to demand Wen Ning, argue with everyone, go to Qiongqi Path, raise Wen Ning, kill inspectors, leave with Wen remnants 73: Recklessness part 2 – JC meets with sect leaders about WWX, MianMian leaves Jin sect, JC goes to Burial Mound, talks with WWC, fight duel 74: Distance part 1 – WWX at Burial Mound, LWJ in Yiling meets Wen Yuan, get food, learns JYL getting married, get Talisman warning, rides Bichen with LWJ 75: Distance part 2 – WWX calms Wen Ning, takes LWJ to his cave, pretends to faint to avoid Wen Qing, LWJ leaves, WWX goes back with WY has dinner with Wens, drinks, meets JC and JYL in Yiling to see wedding dress 76: Nightfall part one – WWX buys gift while listening to gossip, he and WN travel to Lanling, ambush by Jin XiZun, JiZiXuan arrives and is killed, WWX loses it, wakes up in cave, gets mad at WN, cries 77: Nightfall part 2 – WQ paralyzes WWX and she and WN say goodbye to turn themselves in, WWX is freed and goes to Koi Tower, sees JYL, runs, overhears gossip and scares people, heads to Nightless City 78: Nightfall part 3 – LWJ finds scared people, chases WWX, Conference of sects, WWX argues with them, is attacked and he calls corpses, LWJ arrives, WWX hears JYL, talks to her and JC, JYL killed, uses tiger seal 79: Loyalty part 1 – FLASHBACK ENDS – Argument with cultivators in Burial Mounds continues, fight corpses, spiritual powers gone, retreat behind array, talk about cause, Su She silenced 80: Loyalty part 2 – Uncover SS’s plot, SS pulls sword and is exposed 81: Loyalty part 3 – SS destroys array and teleports out, fight corpses, then second wave comes, WWX paints attraction talisman on himself, tells everyone else to escape 82: Loyalty part 4 – Corpses advance, everyone escapes, Jrs return, bloody corpses rise and fight, WN recognizes, corpses fall to dust, Fang MengChen still angry, WWX tells him off, everyone leaves 83: Loyalty part 5 – Group goes to Lotus Pier, WWX invites self along, everyone takes boats, WN gets on LSZ’s boat, they talk, Jin Ling interrupts, fights with LSZ, WWX and LWJ hear 84: Loyalty part 6 – JL starts crying, JC arrives, WWX is accused, infighting, WWX collapses, LWJ carries him inside cabin, juniors get awkward and leave, LWJ holds WWX who grabs his ribbon, arrive at Lotus Pier, LSZ and WN talk 85: Loyalty part 7 -  Arrive Lotus Pier, JC meets with women, Women tell story about JGS’s death 86: Loyalty part 8 – Madam Qin’s maid tells her story about JGY, cultivators discuss it, WWX and LWJ go eat and explore, WWX climbs tree 87: Loyalty part 9 – WWX jumps from tree and is caught, visit ancestral hall, kneel, confronted by JC 88: Loyalty part 10 – JC accuses WWX and LWJ of being couple, they fight, WWX collapses, WN interferes and reveals golden core 89: Loyalty part 11 – WN explains about core, LWJ and WN carry WWX to boat, talk about A-Yuan and WWX’s core removal 90: Longing part 1 -  WWX and LWJ in boat talking, WWX thinking about his feelings, steal lotus seeds 91: Longing part 2 – eat lotus, arrive Yunping City, visit Temple, go to inn, memories of WWX sneaking into LWJ’s bed and trying to strip him, settling into room. 92: Longing part 3 – WWX naps, hears gossip about JC, gets LWJ drunk, touches his face and stares, then LWJ bites him 93: Longing part 4 – LWJ stabs floor, gives WWX his money, drags him outside, steals chickens, jujubes 94: Longing part 5 – LWJ takes gifts back, then carves name in wall, dog makes WWX jump into his arms, return, WWX draws bath, naked LWJ, LWJ bath 95: Longing part 6 – WWX bathing LWJ, traces whip scars, etc, ahem, you guys know, aka SEX, “Thank you”, LWJ pushes away 96: Longing part 7 – aftermath of drunken sex, WWX and LWJ misunderstandings, inn owner discovers water, move to two separate rooms 97: Longing part 8 – WWX leaves inn, finds graffiti and WN, they talk, go “looking for trouble” 98: Hatred part 1 – Guanyin Temple, see JGY and LXC inside, send WN to get LWJ, Fairy and JL arrive, JL and WWX caught 99: Hatred part 2 – JGY threatens, everyone talks, LXC is most concerned about the state of his Wangxian ship, JGY and LXC are shocked by WWX’s obliviousness, tell WWX what LWJ did, about scars, and tells him off.  WWX tries to run back to LWJ, LWJ arrives, JGY gets wire around his neck 100: Hatred part 3 – LWJ seals his power, WWX confesses and escapes to LWJ, everyone goes inside the Temple, Wangxian confession, Su She arrives with NHS, SS rants, LWJ smiles, JC arrives 101: Hatred part 4 – JC enter, WWX and LWJ hug, JC fights, JGY talks distracting JC about WWX, distracts and stabs him 102: Hatred part 5 – JC and JL talk to WWX and LWJ, talk about golden core, argue, LWJ shoves JC, JC rants, cries. 103: Hatred part 6 – JC apologizes, WWX says to leave it in the past, NHS wakes, coffin is dug up, JGY poisoned, WWX talks about mastermind 104: Hatred part 7 – SS exposed for curse, JGY says WWX destined to die young, JC rages at him, JGY blames JC, WWX accuses of NMJ’s murder, corpses attack, LXC and LWJ attack 105: Hatred part 8 – WWX does empathy on ghoul, sees 14 yr Meng Yao and his mom, JGY admits to starting the fire and burning the brothel, JGY and LXC talk 106: Hatred part 9 – JGY reveals threatening letter, claims he had no choice etc, explains his actions, attacks Jin Ling with string, Wen Ning breaks door in with NMJ, LWJ cuts off JGY arm. 107 Concealment part 1 – JGY bleeds, WN explains, NMJ smashes stuff,  JC and JL feel bad for WN, WWX whistles NMJ to the coffin,  NHS is stabbed, SS slices at NMJ 108: Concealment part 2 – SS dies, JC gives WWX his flute, NMJ sealed in coffin, NHS gets JGY stabbed, and JGY accuses him, leads LXC to coffin, then pushes him away, NMJ kills him 109: Concealment part 3 – LWJ seals tomb with statue, LXC questions NHS, WWX accuses NHS, explains how it happened 110: Concealment part 4 -  Questions, Jiang and Lan sects arrive with juniors, LSZ looks at chenqing, JL cries, WWX and LWJ sneak out, JC revelation about getting caught 111: Wangxian part 1 – LWJ and WWX with lil apple, LSZ catches up, reveals identity, group hug, WN and LSZ leave together, WWX and LWJ talk (thank you and sorry), kiss, memory of phoenix mountain, tells LWJ it was his first kiss, sex in the grass, explanation of burn scar, more sex 112: Wangxian part 2 – 3 months later, WWX and LWJ role-playing while night-hunting, WWX tries to get LWJ to call him Gege, ties up with forehead ribbon, interrupted by MianMian and child, talk to MianMian and her husband, LWJ is jealous,  WWX teases about his money pouch, LWJ says they are married 113: Wangxian part 3 – WWX and LWJ stop at inn, overhear rumors about JGY, news that LXC is in seclusion, leave on Lil Apple, WWX talks about his mom, talk about name for song, The End

Holy crap you guys.  *pants*  anyway enjoy, share, whatev! And in case you feel like it, I do have a Ko-fi.

ETA: Now on AO3 also.