Chapter Summaries

Wang Chen joined the Azure Cloud Alliance after its steward, Mo Han, explained its role and invited him to a Dharma assembly. Old Yao warned him that the alliance had changed and urged him to retrieve the secret treasury, so Wang Chen prepared to set out that night.

• Old Yao scolded Wang Chen for hiding his cultivation and warned that more people would come looking for him.
• Wang Chen spent several days searching Taiwu City with Hu Jiaojiao for signs of the Mysterious Fox Token, but they found nothing.
• Mo Han visited Wang Chen, apologized for the Department of Investigation and Arrest, and said the family that had tried to seize the White Fox had been raided.
• Mo Han explained the Azure Cloud Alliance and invited Wang Chen to attend its Dharma assembly at Azure Cloud Palace on the seventeenth; Wang Chen agreed to join.
• After Mo Han left, Old Yao criticized the alliance and told Wang Chen to retrieve his secret treasury to help Hu Jiaojiao advance.
• Wang Chen said they would go that night, having already scouted the treasury's location and surroundings.

Wang Chen opened Old Yao’s hidden vault beneath the Ruansha River and found a Sumeru Ring, but triggering an underground formation exposed his intrusion. After killing a warrior who confronted him, he retreated toward the water passage as more pursuers arrived.

• Wang Chen used a Water Control Spell to reach a concealed underwater entrance beneath a bridge in Taiwu City.
• Wang Chen opened the hidden vault’s stone door by tracing its True Script Runes with Innate true qi, triggering an underground formation.
• Wang Chen passed through a false vault of mundane goods and spent much of his Innate true qi opening Old Yao’s sealed secret chamber.
• Wang Chen claimed a Sumeru Ring and packed the chamber’s valuable items into it, drawing spiritual energy from the Reincarnation Pearl until Old Yao fell silent.
• A brawny Innate warrior burst through the passage wall and attacked Wang Chen, who killed him with two punches.
• Wang Chen leaped back toward the water passage as more figures appeared behind the dead warrior.

Wang Chen escaped an ambush in the Ruansha River and deliberately waited in a red-lantern tower as his pursuers surrounded him. A green-robed swordsman demanded the treasure Wang Chen had taken from Master Yao, but Wang Chen wounded him with shattered porcelain.

• Wang Chen cut through the capture nets in the Ruansha River and evaded the black-clad Martial Artists' chains with Cloud-Ascending Steps.
• Wang Chen entered a red-lantern tower, sent the young masters fleeing, and asked a pipa player to perform while he drank.
• Elite warriors surrounded the tower as Wang Chen calmly listened to the music and refused to flee.
• A green-robed swordsman confronted Wang Chen and demanded the treasure from Master Yao's hidden vault and one of Wang Chen's arms.
• Wang Chen shattered his wine cup and sent its fragments at the swordsman, cutting his cheek despite the swordsman's skill.

Wang Chen defeated the Green-Clad Swordsman and drove off four Innate Martial Artists who confronted him over Master Yao’s treasure. He then fought a white-robed cultivator and seized the third-tier treasure talisman the man tried to use.

• Wang Chen crippled the Green-Clad Swordsman’s right arm, and the swordsman fled down the stairs.
• Wang Chen deflected a crossbow volley and defeated three of the four Innate Martial Artists, prompting all four to flee.
• A white-robed cultivator warned Wang Chen to abandon Master Yao’s treasure, then attacked him with silver threads from his Whisk.
• A hidden attacker grabbed Wang Chen’s ankles through the rooftop, but Wang Chen smashed the attacker and used the severed claws to wound the white-robed cultivator.
• Wang Chen took the white-robed cultivator’s nearly depleted third-tier treasure talisman before he could activate it.

Wang Chen fought off attackers at the Red Pavilion after obtaining Master Yao’s treasure, then asked Old Yao about the strongest beings in the Mist Mountain Realm. He revealed the Sumeru Ring’s contents to Taiwu City’s gathered experts, some of whom withdrew rather than risk their lives.

• The man in white exposed Wang Chen as the holder of Master Yao’s treasure, but Wang Chen killed him with a punch as he fled.
• Wang Chen asked Old Yao whether anyone surpassed extraordinary Dao attainment, and Old Yao explained that Supreme was the realm’s ultimate level.
• As experts gathered around the Red Pavilion, Wang Chen warned them not to attack, then caught and killed a black-clad assassin.
• Wang Chen admitted he had Master Yao’s treasure and showed the crowd the Sumeru Ring containing it.
• One expert said he wanted the treasure but valued his life more, and several others began leaving.

Wang Chen escaped the Taiwu City experts pursuing Master Yao’s treasure and returned home, where he used the Sumeru Ring’s contents to help Hu Jiaojiao begin transforming. After three days and nights of refinement, she absorbed the Eight Desolations Dragon Beast claw bone and fell into a deep sleep.

• Wang Chen crushed the Innate Martial Artists who attacked him, forcing the gathered experts to flee before he escaped into the night.
• Wang Chen returned to his residence and soothed the clingy White Fox, Hu Jiaojiao.
• Wang Chen opened the Sumeru Ring and retrieved Old Yao’s preserved treasures and supplies.
• Old Yao told Wang Chen that the Eight Desolations Dragon Beast claw bone could help Hu Jiaojiao transform, and Wang Chen gave it to her.
• Wang Chen helped Hu Jiaojiao refine the claw bone for three days and nights, and she fell into a deep sleep after absorbing its essence.

Hu Jiaojiao reached the critical stage of assuming human form, drawing greedy and suspicious experts to Wang Chen’s residence in Taiwu City. Wang Chen defended her with the Sunset Bow, killing five Innate experts before another attacker closed in with a sword.

• Hu Jiaojiao floated above the couch as a white fox phantom appeared over the residence, signaling her transformation.
• Experts converged on Wang Chen’s home, and Wang Chen warned them away while claiming Hu Jiaojiao was his registered beast pet.
• An ambusher attacked Wang Chen, but Wang Chen killed him with an arrow through the throat.
• The surrounding experts attacked together, and Wang Chen shot five Innate experts with the Sunset Bow.
• A nearby attacker thrust a sword at Wang Chen, surrounding him with a thousand frosty gleams.

Wang Chen defeated the attackers and held off Taiwu City's siege force while Hu Jiaojiao completed her transformation. After Mo Han ended the army's intervention, Hu Jiaojiao became human and embraced Wang Chen.

• Wang Chen killed the Innate experts who ambushed him and drove the survivors away.
• Taiwu City's soldiers surrounded Wang Chen's residence with dozens of siege crossbows, but Mo Han arrived and took over the matter on behalf of Azure Cloud Palace.
• The City Guard Army withdrew, and Mo Han left after speaking with Wang Chen and observing the White Fox phantom.
• Wang Chen returned to the secret chamber and witnessed Hu Jiaojiao transform into a beautiful human girl.
• Hu Jiaojiao opened her eyes, smiled at Wang Chen, and threw herself into his arms.

After condensing Dao intent, Wang Chen returned to Broad Willow Alley and accepted Mo Han’s invitation to the Dharma assembly at Azure Cloud Palace. On the way to Taiwu Mountain, he healed a dying child and disappeared before her mother could thank him.

• After Hu Jiaojiao called him from his meditation, Wang Chen revealed that he had achieved extraordinary Dao attainment and returned home with her.
• Wang Chen received Mo Han’s invitation to the Azure Cloud Palace Dharma assembly and decided to attend to repay Mo Han for helping Hu Jiaojiao.
• Hu Jiaojiao changed back into a White Fox and fell asleep, while Wang Chen studied spells and perfected them with vitality points.
• On the seventeenth, Wang Chen traveled to Azure Cloud Peak and saw a destitute woman pleading with the Immortal Masters to save her sick daughter.
• Wang Chen touched the little girl’s face, restored her health, and vanished as her mother thanked him and other pilgrims began making their own pleas.

Wang Chen attended a Dharma lecture at Azure Cloud Palace, where Dharma Master Ji Yun proposed his entry into the Azure Cloud Alliance. When Hong Yuan challenged him to a match and tried to make Hu Jiaojiao the stake, Wang Chen refused and offered his Sumeru Ring instead, leaving Hong Yuan unable to name a counter-stake.

• Mo Han brought Wang Chen to Azure Cloud Palace, where Wang Chen and Hu Jiaojiao learned that the Mysterious Fox Token's aura was nearby.
• Dharma Master Ji Yun recommended Wang Chen for the Azure Cloud Alliance, and a middle-aged cultivator named Hong Yuan demanded that Wang Chen prove his ability.
• Wang Chen agreed to exchange pointers with Hong Yuan, despite Mo Han warning him that Hong Yuan was highly cultivated.
• Hong Yuan suggested wagering Hu Jiaojiao, but Wang Chen sharply rejected the idea and called her his companion on the path of cultivation.
• Wang Chen offered his Sumeru Ring as the stake and asked what Hong Yuan would wager, but Hong Yuan could not answer.

Wang Chen joined the Azure Cloud Alliance after defeating Hong Yuan’s attack and completing his registration. He settled into a secluded cottage with Hu Jiaojiao and planned to investigate Azure Cloud Palace carefully for the Mysterious Fox Token.

• Hong Yuan attacked Wang Chen with his Golden Vulture Claw, but Wang Chen pierced his palm with Finger Force and forced him to leave.
• Dharma Master Ji Yun stopped Hong Yuan from continuing his abuse and asked whether anyone opposed Wang Chen joining the alliance; no one objected.
• Wang Chen registered as an alliance member, received supplies and an identity token, and was assigned a secluded cottage on Taiwu Mountain.
• Wang Chen thanked Mo Han for his help and gave him a bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills.
• Wang Chen asked Hu Jiaojiao about the Mysterious Fox Token, and she said she had sensed it in Azure Cloud Palace but could not locate it and feared the palace’s power.
• Wang Chen decided to settle in first and investigate Azure Cloud Palace cautiously until they recovered the Mysterious Fox Token.

Wang Chen spent the morning tending his Solomon's seal fields and took Hu Jiaojiao to Taiwu City for butter chicken. There, Mo Han begged him to save his unconscious father, revealing that cultivators were refusing to help unless Wang Chen surrendered Hu Jiaojiao; Wang Chen went to the Mo Residence to examine the patient.

• Wang Chen weeded his medicinal fields while Hu Jiaojiao urged him to take her to Taiwu City for roast chicken.
• Wang Chen and Hu Jiaojiao ate butter chicken at Wangyun Tower before he visited Taiwu Pavilion to meet Mo Han.
• Mo Han knelt before Wang Chen and pleaded for help because his father had been gravely ill and unconscious for days.
• Mo Han explained that cultivators had refused to treat his father unless Wang Chen exchanged Hu Jiaojiao, and he suspected Dharma Master Ji Yun was behind the demand.
• Wang Chen agreed to examine Mo Han's father and was shocked by the man's condition when they reached the Mo Residence.

Wang Chen lifted Father Mo’s baleful curse, awakened him, and struck back at the cultivator who had cast it from Azure Cloud Peak. Back at the Hidden Hermitage, Wang Chen explained to Old Yao why he believed worldly compassion could lead toward the Supreme Realm, leaving Old Yao silent.

• Wang Chen gave Father Mo a pill and drew the curse’s black qi from him, revealing it as a Sha Sha Spider before crushing it.
• Father Mo awoke, and Wang Chen used a true word to retaliate against the cultivator at Azure Cloud Palace who had sent the curse.
• Mo Han thanked Wang Chen, who left the Mo Residence after advising him to let his father recuperate.
• Old Yao warned Wang Chen that involvement in worldly affairs could hinder his pursuit of the Supreme Realm, but Wang Chen argued that withdrawing from the world was not necessarily the path.
• Wang Chen told Old Yao that helping others had stirred spiritual insight that merged with his Dao intent, and Old Yao fell silent.

Wang Chen enlisted Mo Han and the Mo Family to establish a medical hall in Taiwu City that offered treatment at prices based on patients’ means. The chapter ends with impoverished day laborer Ruan A-da leaving Ci Shi Hall with affordable medicine for his sick son.

• Wang Chen asked Mo Han to arrange a shop, workshop, residence, and staff for his use, and Mo Han quickly transferred them to him.
• At a banquet, Wang Chen confirmed that Dharma Master Ji Yun had been connected to the Sha Sha Spider curse and had entered seclusion after suffering a cultivation mishap.
• Wang Chen opened Ci Shi Hall on Changping Street, where physicians charged no consultation fees and priced medicine according to six levels of family circumstances.
• Ruan A-da brought his son’s case of Gu-bloat disease to Ci Shi Hall after he could not afford treatment elsewhere.
• Ruan A-da accepted medicine for the impoverished household price of ten Bone Coins and left the hall with the pills.

Ruan A-da gave his son Iron Egg a cheap pill from Ci Shi Hall, and Iron Egg quickly recovered enough to eat. As news of the clinic spread through Lower City, Wang Chen sensed that his chosen Way of Entering the World was working and continued refining affordable medicines as crowds gathered outside.

• Ruan A-da gave Iron Egg a pill that had cost ten Bone Coins, and Iron Egg woke, relieved his swollen belly, and asked for food.
• Ruan A-da told his neighbors that Ci Shi Hall had treated Iron Egg cheaply, prompting several people with sick relatives to seek out the clinic.
• Wang Chen sensed the mysterious spiritual intent again and took it as confirmation that his chosen Way of Entering the World was right.
• Wang Chen continued refining medicines with Old Yao's guidance and kept Ci Shi Hall's fees low so poor patients could afford treatment.
• An attendant told Wang Chen that a crowd had blocked the street outside Ci Shi Hall, and Wang Chen said he had prepared for it.

Wang Chen opened Ci Shi Hall to treat the poor and enforce its rules, using Hu Jiaojiao’s spiritual senses to catch patients who lied about their finances. He explained that helping mortals was his own way of entering the world and seeking to ascend to the Supreme, and Hu Jiaojiao promised to support him.

• Wang Chen reassured Ci Shi Hall’s physicians that their work would be rewarded as the clinic’s crowd gathered outside.
• Hu Jiaojiao detected a patient lying about his family’s finances, and a fireball stripped him of his clothes when he caused a scene outside.
• Wang Chen entered Hu Jiaojiao’s room and praised her for helping identify dishonest patients.
• Hu Jiaojiao asked why Wang Chen devoted himself to mortal patients, and he explained that he was accumulating merit through his own path toward the Supreme.
• Hu Jiaojiao embraced Wang Chen and told him she supported his undertaking.

Ci Shi Hall’s success alarmed Taiwu City’s medical businesses, prompting Zhu Fengchun to confront Wang Chen about its plans. Wang Chen refused to limit the clinic’s growth, though he offered to reserve its services for ordinary and poor families, and the meeting ended in tension.

• Ci Shi Hall’s free consultations and income-based medicine fees drew growing crowds and threatened the interests of Taiwu City’s clinics and apothecaries.
• Zhu Fengchun warned the gathered medical businesses that Wang Chen, Ci Shi Hall’s owner, was an Immortal Master and proposed first asking him not to expand.
• The businesses agreed to restrict Wang Chen’s access to medicinal ingredients if he refused, and Zhu Fengchun went to Ci Shi Hall to meet him.
• Wang Chen told Zhu Fengchun that he planned to recruit dozens or even over a hundred more physicians.
• Wang Chen offered to treat only ordinary and poor families, but when Zhu Fengchun hesitated, Wang Chen warned him that his patience was limited.

After Zhu Fengchun’s failed negotiations, Wang Chen overcame the medicine merchants’ blockade and expanded Ci Shi Hall into Cishi Pharmacy and White Deer Academy. As his charitable enterprises drew patients and students away from the city’s established businesses, Zhu Fengchun appealed to Dharma Master Ji Yun, who agreed to intervene against Wang Chen.

• Zhu Fengchun left Ci Shi Hall furious after Wang Chen refused to yield, while Wang Chen told Little Mo to watch over the hall as he focused on refining Pills.
• Wang Chen thwarted scalpers by requiring treatment tokens to match their holders, then shrugged off medicine merchants’ price hikes and supply blockade because he had stockpiled ingredients and bought more from other cities.
• Wang Chen developed thousands of acres of medicinal fields outside Taiwu City, moved operations to Cishi Pharmacy, and opened White Deer Academy to provide free education and meals to poor children.
• Cishi Pharmacy and White Deer Academy expanded, treating thousands of patients and attracting physicians until Zhu Fengchun’s efforts to stop Wang Chen failed and the city’s medical businesses neared collapse.
• Zhu Fengchun appealed to Dharma Master Ji Yun at Azure Cloud Palace, and Ji Yun promised to deal with Wang Chen.

Ji Yun sought help from his Martial Grand Uncle after his schemes against Wang Chen backfired, and received the Myriad Beast Bell along with a final severing of their bond. As Ji Yun set his sights on revenge, Wang Chen continued overseeing White Deer Academy, unaware of the threat closing in.

• Ji Yun confessed his schemes against Wang Chen and his damaged Dao foundation to his Martial Grand Uncle.
• The old man refused to attack Wang Chen but gave Ji Yun the Myriad Beast Bell and taught him how to refine it.
• The old man ended his relationship with Ji Yun and ordered him not to return, leaving Ji Yun outside the sealed courtyard.
• Ji Yun gripped the bell and vowed to pursue Wang Chen with renewed hatred.
• Wang Chen sensed something while supervising White Deer Academy, which had grown to more than three thousand students and continued bringing him merit Spiritual Light.

Wang Chen’s path of merit drew Old Yao’s warning about impending tribulations, but a massive beast horde then emerged from the Mist Zone and threatened White Deer Academy. As Wang Chen ordered the academy to prepare its defenses, Hu Jiaojiao’s cry threw the horde’s green-wolf vanguard into chaos.

• Wang Chen watched White Deer Academy disciples practice the Dragon Tiger Fist as their gratitude gathered merit Spiritual Light around him.
• Old Yao warned Wang Chen that pursuing the path of merit would bring tribulations, and Wang Chen acknowledged the warning.
• Wang Chen received an alarm that countless ferocious beasts were advancing from the Mist Zone and ordered the guards to return to the academy and defend it.
• Wang Chen sent one guard to Taiwu City to request reinforcements while the rest withdrew to the academy.
• Hu Jiaojiao arrived beside Wang Chen and used her cry to knock down the green wolves at the front of the horde, causing the beasts behind them to trample them and throw the vanguard into chaos.