Chapter Summaries

Ning Zhuo went with Lin Shanshan to the Martial Arts Arena, where he demonstrated his spells and mechanical arms before exposing his weakness in close combat. He asked Lin Shanshan to teach him martial arts, leaving her hesitant because the lessons would require physical contact.

• Lin Shanshan secured a Heaven Grade Martial Arts Arena and entered with Ning Zhuo, drawing curious attention from the disciples and cultivators around them.
• Ning Zhuo demonstrated his Five Elements spells and six mechanical arms, impressing Lin Shanshan while concealing his strongest mechanisms.
• Ning Zhuo sparred with Lin Shanshan and was consistently outmatched in close combat.
• Ning Zhuo asked Lin Shanshan to teach him martial arts, and she hesitated because the training would involve close physical contact.

Ning Zhuo trained with Lin Shanshan to prepare for his battle with Han Zhou, while his refusal of Li Jingqing’s apology and Han Zhou’s honorable conduct fueled rumors. By the end, Ning Zhuo had become famous throughout Small Contention Peak and Original Mountain, and anticipation for the duel had grown.

• Ning Zhuo gave Lin Shanshan his mechanism Floating Hands, and she began sparring with him to simulate facing Han Zhou.
• Lin Shanshan agreed to continue training Ning Zhuo over the next few days, and their time together prompted speculation among sect members.
• Li Jingqing brought gifts to apologize to Ning Zhuo, but Ning Zhuo refused them and said he would face Han Zhou using his own strength.
• Ning Zhuo told Lin Shanshan about Li Jingqing’s visit, and she said she would watch his battle with Han Zhou.
• Ning Zhuo and Lin Shanshan trained for several days as rumors spread, while Han Zhou refused offers of help and called for an honorable fight.
• Sun Lingtong helped circulate accounts of Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou’s choices, making both men more renowned across Small Contention Peak and Original Mountain.

Ning Zhuo fought Han Zhou in the Martial Arts Arena, testing his elemental spells against Han Zhou’s Bitter Cold Qi and Suffering Body. As Han Zhou’s attacks grew stronger, Ning Zhuo entered close combat to test his special training.

• Lin Shanshan watched the match in disguise, while Lin Bufan observed from Original Mountain and formed a favorable first impression of Ning Zhuo.
• Han Zhou charged Ning Zhuo with Frostbite Fist, and Ning Zhuo countered with vines and a fire pillar that Han Zhou’s Bitter Cold Qi overcame.
• Ning Zhuo used earth- and metal-element spells, but Han Zhou broke free of the clay sculpture and endured the Golden Blades, growing stronger through his Suffering Body.
• Han Zhou charged through Ning Zhuo’s three water waves and reached him, where the two began fighting at close range.
• Han Zhou seized the rhythm and attacked Ning Zhuo with a relentless storm of fists and kicks.

Ning Zhuo fought Han Zhou in the Martial Arts Arena, first enduring his close-combat attacks before revealing his powerful Five Elements spells. When Han Zhou broke through the barrage, Ning Zhuo’s Golden Core Level Oil-slick Talisman protected him, and Han Zhou conceded; the fight left Ning Zhuo’s reputation rising across Ten Thousand Medicines Valley.

• Han Zhou overwhelmed Ning Zhuo in close combat, but Ning Zhuo endured the blows and praised Han Zhou’s fighting skills.
• Ning Zhuo unleashed six Mechanism Floating Hands and a barrage of interwoven Five Elements Spells, forcing Han Zhou to defend while his own magic power dwindled.
• Han Zhou unleashed his Bitter Cold Qi and lunged at Ning Zhuo, but Ning Jiu Fan’s Oil-slick Talisman activated and deflected the attack.
• Ning Zhuo offered to call the battle a draw, but Han Zhou declared that he had lost and left the arena.
• Lin Shanshan celebrated Ning Zhuo’s victory, while Lin Bufan took him seriously after learning he carried a Golden Core Level talisman.
• Word spread through Ten Thousand Medicines Valley that Ning Zhuo was a powerful young master from a great clan.

Lin Shanshan explained that Ning Zhuo’s Bitter Cold Qi would take over a month to fade and warned that it might erode his mind. Ning Zhuo soothed her suspicions by presenting his Oil-slick Talisman as proof of his trust and gratitude, leaving Lin Shanshan unable to ask for her Heart Warming Pendant back.

• Lin Shanshan examined Ning Zhuo and said his Bitter Cold Qi would take over a month to dispel, while explaining that it might carry Buddhist true intent and erode the mind.
• Ning Zhuo asked whether Han Zhou had come to Small Contention Peak to convert others, and Lin Shanshan said that remained an unproven conjecture.
• Lin Shanshan admitted she had underestimated Ning Zhuo, and he sensed her resentment and suspicion before apologizing and showing her his Oil-slick Talisman.
• Ning Zhuo pressed the talisman into Lin Shanshan’s hand and explained that his family’s honor, his humility, and his gratitude kept him from relying on trump cards or treating them as more valuable than people.
• Lin Shanshan remembered that she had come to reclaim her Heart Warming Pendant, but Ning Zhuo’s assurances that he would repay her with a spirit talisman made her unable to ask for it back.

Ning Zhuo persuaded Lin Shanshan to accept a Mist Embroidery Orchid and proposed cooperation between the Ning family and the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect. After My Buddha Heart Demon Seal purified the Bitter Cold True Meaning and deepened his understanding of the Bitter Cold Scripture, Ning Zhuo encouraged Sun Lingtong to pursue her own plans; Sun Lingtong slipped out to target Li Jingqing.

• Ning Zhuo used a romantic account of his travels to give Lin Shanshan a Mist Embroidery Orchid, then proposed that their families cooperate in medicinal goods.
• Ning Zhuo cultivated and used My Buddha Heart Demon Seal to refine the Bitter Cold True Meaning into insight, greatly improving his understanding of the Bitter Cold Scripture.
• Ning Zhuo told Sun Lingtong she could seek the Fetal Breath Spirit Boat through other means and encouraged her to leave the Mechanism Swimming Dragon.
• Sun Lingtong slipped out to have fun with Li Jingqing before taking My Buddha Heart Demon Seal, while Ning Zhuo warned her to be careful.
• Lin Shanshan reported the proposed cooperation to Lin Bufan, who advised her to show Ning Zhuo the sect's strength while waiting for the investigation results.
• Lin Shanshan praised Ning Zhuo but assured Lin Bufan she would protect the sect's interests, then tried unsuccessfully to plead for her imprisoned eldest brother.

Ning Zhuo negotiated a partnership between his Lineage and Ten Thousand Medicines Sect during a tour of Medicine Field Mountain, using a loan to Li Jingqing and the prospect of trading beast materials to build goodwill. Lin Shanshan proposed that Ning Zhuo compete for a top-ranked cave residence to earn medicinal herb discounts, while the sect elder grew concerned about their apparent personal closeness.

• Ning Zhuo and Lin Shanshan toured Medicine Field Mountain as a sect elder explained its formations.
• After Li Jingqing caused a scene over being refused credit, Ning Zhuo lent him five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones to buy medicinal herbs.
• Ning Zhuo challenged the listed herb prices and argued that his Lineage could offer Ten Thousand Medicines Sect a stronger, more dependable ally than ordinary merchants.
• Ning Zhuo proposed bartering fire persimmons and Crimson Flame Demon Beast materials for medicinal herbs, and Lin Shanshan said discounted prices could depend on the scale of their trade.
• Lin Shanshan suggested Ning Zhuo claim a top-ranked cave residence to qualify for herb discounts, and offered to guide him in martial skills as a friend.
• The sect elder noticed Lin Shanshan had accepted a flower from Ning Zhuo and resolved to report their closeness to the sect master.

Ning Zhuo trained with Lin Shanshan, used Warm Autumn Wine to dispel the Bitter Cold Qi, and learned how to prepare for his upcoming challenge against Chang Yan. Lin Shanshan arranged for him to study three of her sect’s wood-element Law Comprehension Charts, and the two exchanged charts as a sign of cooperation between their lineages.

• Lin Shanshan gave Ning Zhuo Warm Autumn Wine, which cleared his Bitter Cold Qi and relieved his training fatigue.
• Ning Zhuo resumed sparring with Lin Shanshan and improved his defense and counterattacks.
• Lin Shanshan advised Ning Zhuo to use wood-element spells against Chang Yan, an Earth Snake skilled in earth-element spells.
• Lin Shanshan offered Ning Zhuo access to three wood-element Law Comprehension Charts, and he selected them from her sect’s collection.
• Lin Shanshan and Ning Zhuo gathered the three charts, and Ning Zhuo offered his lineage’s Surpassing Frost Chart and Proud Snow Chart in exchange for study.

Ning Zhuo used the Hidden Spirit Willow to comprehend three Wood Element spells from borrowed Law Comprehension Charts, greatly improving his strength. He continued training with Lin Shanshan, who praised his quick progress.

• Ning Zhuo tried comprehending the Old Tree Coiling Roots Chart and spent three hours in a draining state before hunger and exhaustion interrupted him.
• Ning Zhuo rested beneath the Hidden Spirit Willow, then mastered the Wood Element Spell Roots and Vines Entanglement in just over an hour as the willow shed and withered one branch.
• Ning Zhuo comprehended the Mountain Night Listening to Waves Chart and the Tree Bottom Peeking Sky Chart, mastering all three Wood Element spells.
• Ning Zhuo called Sun Lingtong to try comprehending the charts while he resumed cultivating and martial arts training.
• Ning Zhuo trained with Lin Shanshan over the following days, improving his offense and defense, and Lin Shanshan praised his quick entry into a state of comprehension.

Ning Zhuo refused to rely on his Oil-slick Talisman in his bout with Chang Yan and won by using three wood-element spells to control the battlefield. After claiming Chang Yan's cave dwelling, Ning Zhuo walked with Lin Shanshan and asked her for a favor.

• Ning Zhuo told Lin Shanshan he had comprehended the Mountain Night Listening to Waves Chart but was struggling with the third chart, then declared he would count using the Oil-slick Talisman in his battle with Chang Yan as surrendering.
• Ning Zhuo explained to Chang Yan and the spectators that he would not rely on the talisman to win, though he would still use it to save his life in a critical moment.
• Ning Zhuo countered Chang Yan's underground attack with Roots and Vines Entanglement, then met Chang Yan's Earthquake with Pine Wave Green Tide.
• Ning Zhuo cast Tree World Descent, trapped Chang Yan in a growing forest, and forced him to admit defeat.
• Lin Shanshan and the spectators praised Ning Zhuo's victory as he left the arena with Chang Yan's cave dwelling.
• Ning Zhuo walked with Lin Shanshan along a shaded forest path and asked her for a favor that might put her in a difficult position.

After defeating Chang Yan, Ning Zhuo discussed the risks of his victory with Lin Shanshan and asked for her help caring for a secret spirit plant. Lin Shanshan explained that he would need to learn cultivation methods himself, leaving Ning Zhuo with a difficult task and his promise to keep the plant hidden.

• Lin Shanshan celebrated Ning Zhuo’s victory and told him that defeating Chang Yan made him eligible for one of the top ten cave abodes.
• Ning Zhuo credited his tactics, the Wood Element Spell charts Lin Shanshan had obtained for him, and his Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, while warning that his swift win could invite challenges.
• Ning Zhuo told Lin Shanshan that he had gained the recognition of the Mist Hidden Mountain mountain god and received a Golden Core Level spirit plant that was now showing signs of withering.
• Lin Shanshan advised Ning Zhuo to learn plant cultivation himself because each spirit plant required suitable methods and careless treatment could harm it.
• Ning Zhuo explained that he was bound by a contract not to reveal details about the Hidden Spirit Willow, which he had kept secret from everyone except Sun Lingtong and the mountain god.

Ning Zhuo sought Lin Shanshan’s help identifying and saving the Golden Core-level Hidden Spirit Willow, and she obtained access to several highly restricted records with Linghu Jiu’s identity token. After she delivered the texts, Ning Zhuo gratefully promised to repay her kindness, while Linghu Jiu grew anxious about Lin Shanshan’s closeness to him.

• Ning Zhuo explained that the Hidden Spirit Willow was deteriorating after he and Sun Lingtong used it, so he asked Lin Shanshan to help identify it and find a way to care for it.
• Lin Shanshan searched the Library Pavilion with Ning Zhuo, found that the likely records were highly restricted, and decided to seek help from Linghu Jiu.
• Lin Shanshan told Linghu Jiu about Ning Zhuo and the Hidden Spirit Willow, then borrowed his identity token and promised to repay the Sect Merits needed to access the records.
• Linghu Jiu lent Lin Shanshan his token, noticed the scent of Warm Autumn Wine on her, and later worried about how she had been teaching Ning Zhuo martial arts.
• Lin Shanshan exchanged for several secret records and delivered them to Ning Zhuo, who praised her help and vowed to repay her.

Ning Zhuo refined a cultivation plan for the Hidden Spirit Willow and sought rare materials to build its growing environment. With Lin Shanshan’s help, he gathered the materials at great expense and began arranging the Spirit Plant Cabin.

• Ning Zhuo studied cultivation manuals, combined their Hidden Spirit Willow plans, and used the willow to help review his revised method.
• Ning Zhuo’s sparring with Lin Shanshan showed how much his martial arts had improved, and she advised him to train against different opponents.
• Ning Zhuo asked Lin Shanshan for rare cultivation materials, then lowered his requirements after she explained their scarcity.
• Lin Shanshan helped Ning Zhuo borrow materials from Ten Thousand Medicines Sect members, and he paid with spirit stones and other valuables.
• Ning Zhuo returned to his cave dwelling, entered the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon, and began constructing the Spirit Plant Cabin.

Ning Zhuo built an artificial growing environment for the Hidden Spirit Willow, then learned that Lin Shanshan had been confined after helping him. After secretly discovering her senior brothers planned to stir up trouble against him, he welcomed the prospect of challengers and sought Han Zhou as a martial arts sparring partner.

• Ning Zhuo installed arrays, enriched the soil, and planted the Hidden Spirit Willow in a carefully controlled Spirit Plant Cabin environment.
• Lao De intercepted Ning Zhuo at Original Mountain and told him Lin Shanshan had been confined for neglecting her cultivation assignments.
• After Ning Zhuo appeared to leave, Sun Lingtong used the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon to overhear Lin Shanshan's senior brothers planning to use stationed cultivators to trouble him.
• Ning Zhuo decided the expected challenges would help him improve his combat skills and asked Sun Lingtong about Han Zhou.
• Ning Zhuo discussed the Bitter Cold Scripture with Han Zhou, then proposed that they exchange martial techniques at the Martial Arts Arena, and Han Zhou agreed.

Ning Zhuo sparred with Han Zhou, who offered to teach him martial arts through Bitter Water, and Ning Zhuo took some home to try. He and Sun Lingtong also discovered that the Hidden Spirit Willow was consuming its nourishing materials far faster than expected.

• Ning Zhuo held off Han Zhou’s relentless attacks until Han Zhou broke through his defense with Frostbite Fist and Old Cold Leg.
• Han Zhou offered to teach Ning Zhuo seven martial arts using refined Bitter Water, explaining that it came from the Bitter Cold Scripture and warning of its emotional dangers.
• Ning Zhuo accepted a small bottle of Bitter Water and returned to his cave residence, where he and Sun Lingtong checked that it had been refined before preparing to test it.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong inspected the Hidden Spirit Willow and found that it had consumed nearly all the Five Colors Divine Sand, Three Treasures Spirit Soil, and Star River Spirit Liquid they had provided.
• Ning Zhuo concluded that sustaining the Hidden Spirit Willow would require further investment, while Sun Lingtong suggested the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect might have more spirit soil and divine sand.

Ning Zhuo drank Bitter Water beneath the Hidden Spirit Willow and endured its assault on his memories and guilt, using the ordeal to strengthen his resolve and master Han Zhou’s martial arts. After Sun Lingtong confirmed that their different cultivation methods could support the techniques, Ning Zhuo sparred with Han Zhou and lent him two ice-and-snow Law Comprehension Charts in return for the Bitter Water.

• Ning Zhuo rejected Sun Lingtong’s suggestion to steal cultivated treasure materials unless they had no other choice, then asked her to guard him while he comprehended Bitter Water.
• Ning Zhuo drank Bitter Water and confronted vivid memories of the people he had harmed, but steadied himself by resolving to grow stronger and strive for victory.
• Ning Zhuo drew on the Bitter Cold Scripture’s principles to grasp Frostbite Fist, Old Cold Leg, Suffering Body, and other martial arts.
• Sun Lingtong drank Bitter Water, realized that Han Zhou’s martial arts required Bitter Cold Qi, and Ning Zhuo explained that his Demon-Tainted Blood Tendon Art could provide a different foundation.
• Ning Zhuo sparred with Han Zhou at Small Contention Peak’s Martial Arts Arena, demonstrating his mastery, then lent Han Zhou the Surpassing Frost Chart and the Proud Snow Chart in return for the Bitter Water.

Ning Zhuo lent Han Zhou two Law Comprehension Charts and used his divine powers to deepen Han Zhou’s admiration, then reflected on his own arrogance and returned to Original Mountain. Meanwhile, Meng Kui enlisted the Ning and Zhou clans to help contain a Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence, and Ning Jiu Fan received Ning Zhuo’s letter asking him to bring Yuan Lao to Ten Thousand Medicines Valley.

• Ning Zhuo lent Han Zhou two Law Comprehension Charts, while Life Hanging by a Thread and My Buddha Heart Demon Seal let him sense and subtly influence Han Zhou’s thoughts.
• Han Zhou suggested using Mechanism Art to help Ning Zhuo overcome his difficulty using martial arts, and Ning Zhuo recognized he had overlooked the idea because of growing arrogance.
• Ning Zhuo returned to Original Mountain, was rebuffed when he asked about Lin Shanshan, and inferred that the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect’s intelligence team had not yet returned to Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
• Meng Kui showed Ning Jiu Fan and Zhou Nong Ying a Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence and asked them to prepare for a hunt before it completed its transformation into human form.
• Ning Jiu Fan agreed to lend Meng Kui a Fire Core Pomegranate, then received Ning Zhuo’s letter and saw that Ning Zhuo wanted him to bring Yuan Lao to Ten Thousand Medicines Valley.

Ning Jiu Fan persuaded the injured Yuan Lao to travel with him to the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect for better treatment, while Liu Zhen arrived in Fire Persimmon Immortal City after a female ghost drained his vitality. The chapter left Liu recovering at Purple Sun Villa and preparing to complete his mission, while Sun Lie planned to accompany him to the sect.

• Ning Jiu Fan fed Yuan Lao medicine, admitted he had enslaved her for selfish reasons, and persuaded her to travel with him for better treatment.
• Ning Jiu Fan reported his plan to Meng Kui, then secretly left Fire Persimmon Mountain with Yuan Lao for the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect.
• Liu Zhen collapsed outside Sun Lie's residence after arriving in Fire Persimmon Immortal City and was treated by the alchemist.
• Sun Lie diagnosed Liu Zhen with severe depletion after a female ghost drained his blood essence and Yang Energy for seven days and seven nights.
• Liu Zhen recovered enough to walk over three days, learned that Sun Lie planned to travel to Ten Thousand Medicines Valley, and began arranging his sect mission.

Liu Zhen investigated Ning Zhuo and his newly established Ning Family branch, learning how widely Ning Zhuo’s achievements and influence were recognized in Fire Persimmon Immortal City. After reporting his findings, Liu Zhen left with Sun Lie to return to the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect.

• Liu Zhen asked Sun Lie about Ning Zhuo and learned of his rise from an overlooked youth to the head of a new Ning Family branch.
• Sun Lie told Liu Zhen how major powers had recognized the branch, including Golden Core Cultivators who attended its Family Division Ceremony and helped drive Song FuLi away.
• Liu Zhen investigated the city and concluded that Ning Zhuo was a formidable Young Hero who had built his influence through opportunity, alliances, and political skill.
• Liu Zhen posed as a worker to inspect the Ning Family branch and saw its artifact-refining operation running at an intense pace under the One-Armed Craftsman.
• Liu Zhen learned that Ning Zhuo’s classmates held important Magma Immortal Palace posts that aided their demon-beast hunts, and he judged the branch’s foundations and prospects to be strong.
• Liu Zhen sent his intelligence to the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect through the South Bean Country postal station, then departed with Sun Lie for the sect.

Linghu Jiu rejected his fellow disciples’ plan to use outsiders against Ning Zhuo, but Lao De proposed spreading rumors to provoke challenges instead. Meanwhile, Ning Zhuo dominated Han Zhou in a spar with floating mechanism limbs, then learned that rumors were already circulating about him on Small Contention Peak.

• Lao De and the other disciples visited Linghu Jiu in confinement and complained that Ning Zhuo had benefited from their support while mistreating their Little Junior Sister.
• Linghu Jiu refused to enlist resident cultivators against Ning Zhuo, warning that it would damage the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect’s reputation.
• After leaving, Lao De persuaded the others to spread rumors questioning Ning Zhuo’s strength and encouraging people to challenge him.
• Ning Zhuo used ten floating mechanism arms and ten mechanism legs to overwhelm Han Zhou in their spar, impressing him with his Mechanism Art.
• Han Zhou warned Ning Zhuo about the rumors targeting him, and Ning Zhuo thanked him while Han Zhou reflected that he too had approached Ning Zhuo with hidden motives.