Chapter Summaries

Ning Zhuo withheld evidence against Lin Shanshan’s fellow disciples and let their rumors draw challengers, defeating several cultivators before accepting a high-profile fight with Hua Gu Zi. Confined Lin Shanshan learned of the coming battle and decided to ask Linghu Jiu for metal- and fire-element Law Comprehension Charts to help Ning Zhuo.

• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong traced the rumors to Lin Shanshan’s fellow disciples, but Ning Zhuo chose to preserve the evidence rather than expose them on their home territory.
• Ning Zhuo defeated successive private challengers with Wood Element Spells, while his opponents spread claims that his techniques were too limited.
• Hua Gu Zi publicly challenged Ning Zhuo, and he accepted, stirring excitement and debate across Small Contention Peak.
• Lin Shanshan learned that Hua Gu Zi’s wood techniques and aggressive opening could threaten Ning Zhuo, and she devised a plan to obtain metal- and fire-element Law Comprehension Charts for him.
• Lin Shanshan decided to ask Eldest Brother Linghu Jiu for help and ordered Xiao Ju to deliver her letter to the Ten Thousand Demons Cave on Great Contention Peak.

Xiao Ju delivered Linghu Jiu’s apology and metal- and fire-element Law Comprehension Charts to Ning Zhuo after learning that Ten Thousand Medicines Sect disciples had stirred cultivators to challenge him. Ning Zhuo refused the charts, explaining that he had accepted Lin Shanshan’s help out of sincere friendship and intended to repay her in the future.

• Xiao Ju visited Linghu Jiu in Ten Thousand Demons Cave and told him of Lin Shanshan’s request for help.
• Linghu Jiu gave Xiao Ju his token and instructed her to collect Law Comprehension Charts for Ning Zhuo as an apology from Ten Thousand Medicines Sect.
• Lin Shanshan explained to Xiao Ju that Linghu Jiu was apologizing because sect disciples had helped turn cultivators against Ning Zhuo.
• Xiao Ju brought the charts to Ning Zhuo and told him that Ten Thousand Medicines Sect disciples had stirred up the challenges against him.
• Ning Zhuo returned the charts and told Xiao Ju that he had accepted Lin Shanshan’s help willingly and would repay her friendship in the future.

Ning Zhuo gave Linghu Jiu evidence against Lin Shanshan’s sect brothers and refused the Law Comprehension Charts, then faced Hua Gu Zi in a private duel. Hua Gu Zi gained the upper hand by using illusions and draining the life from Ning Zhuo’s Wood Element attacks.

• Ning Zhuo sent Xiao Ju back with the Law Comprehension Charts and evidence that Lin Shanshan’s sect brothers had spread rumors, and he discussed Linghu Jiu’s influence and judgment with Sun Lingtong.
• Lin Shanshan trusted Ning Zhuo’s confidence, and the private duel between Ning Zhuo and Hua Gu Zi began at Small Contention Peak’s Martial Arts Arena.
• Hua Gu Zi tricked Ning Zhuo with an illusion before the referee started the duel, then concealed herself and evaded his Wood Element attacks once the battle began.
• Ning Zhuo cast Tree World Descent to search the battlefield, but Hua Gu Zi answered with Life-Stealing Flower Bloom and Withering Flower Rain, draining his vines and trees until they withered.

Ning Zhuo turned the battle against Hua Gu Zi by unleashing skilled Mechanism Art, then shattered her illusion with divine sense transmitted through Adamantine Mirrors hidden in his Mechanical Creations. Hua Gu Zi recovered with medicinal dumplings and continued retreating, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Ning Zhuo tested his Wood Element Spells against Hua Gu Zi's Flower Sea Tide, then used twenty Mechanism Fists and Feet to smash through her attack.
• Ning Zhuo drove the Mechanical Creations through Hua Gu Zi's Thorn Flower Walls, enduring her Purple Flower Blaze and extinguishing its flames with Bitter Water.
• Hua Gu Zi used Fragrant Flower Traces to evade the Mechanism Fists and Feet, then trapped Ning Zhuo in her Flowery World illusion.
• Ning Zhuo's Mechanism Fists and Feet unleashed powerful divine sense through hidden Adamantine Mirrors, breaking the illusion and grievously injuring Hua Gu Zi.
• Hua Gu Zi retreated and rapidly recovered by eating dumplings from her Storage Bracelet, while Ning Zhuo failed to catch her.

Ning Zhuo defeated Hua Gu Zi with his Mechanism Fists and Feet, healed her, and earned praise across Small Contention Peak. After another sparring match with Han Zhou, he was startled when Hua Gu Zi offered him dumplings and revealed through her emotions that she wanted him to beat her again.

• Ning Zhuo overwhelmed Hua Gu Zi with his Mechanism Fists and Feet, won the match, healed her, and gave her Golden Core Level Warm Autumn Wine.
• Ning Zhuo's victory and generosity boosted his reputation, while rumors that he would eventually leave Small Contention Peak eased local resentment toward him.
• Ning Zhuo sparred with Han Zhou again but found the training less useful, and Han Zhou warned him that Hua Gu Zi was arrogant and likely to seek revenge.
• Hua Gu Zi approached Ning Zhuo and presented him with dumplings as a token of her feelings, leaving him and Han Zhou stunned.
• Ning Zhuo sensed Hua Gu Zi's intense, twisted emotions and discovered she wanted him to beat her again, so he cautiously refused her gift.

After rejecting Hua Gu Zi, Ning Zhuo returned to his cave abode and worried that his cultivation was advancing too slowly. Sun Lingtong reminded him how costly their plans and treasures were, leaving Ning Zhuo to face the growing shortfall in resources.

• Ning Zhuo walked past Hua Gu Zi despite Han Zhou's confusion, leaving her humiliated and secretly delighted while Ning Zhuo grew wary of her strange emotions.
• Ning Zhuo returned to his cave abode, cultivated his three techniques, and complained to Sun Lingtong that reaching the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage felt too far away.
• Sun Lingtong explained that cultivation slowed at higher realms and urged Ning Zhuo to be patient, while Ning Zhuo said he wanted more strength to save his mother.
• Ning Zhuo proposed designing a mechanism body for Meng Yehu around a suitable cultivation technique, inspired by his experiments with martial arts mechanisms.
• Sun Lingtong listed the costs of a Golden Core Level technique, the Spirit Plant Cabin, their daily cultivation, the Hidden Spirit Willow, and replenishing fire essence for the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon.
• Ning Zhuo realized their accumulated wealth could not sustain these expenses for long and that they needed to address their worsening resource shortage.

Ning Zhuo struggled with Hua Gu Zi’s increasingly persistent apologies while Sun Lingtong urged him to recruit her and make use of her rare flower cultivation methods. He reluctantly let Hua Gu Zi into his cave dwelling after discovering that her letter offered valuable methods for the lineage.

• Ning Zhuo told Han Zhou he would focus on consolidating his strength rather than challenge anyone except Zheng Xingchen or Lai Wuying.
• Hua Gu Zi again pursued Ning Zhuo with a gift, and he rejected her while sensing that his coldness delighted her.
• Lin Shanshan learned that Hua Gu Zi kept pestering Ning Zhuo and angrily praised his rejection of her.
• Sun Lingtong advised Ning Zhuo to recruit Hua Gu Zi, warning that leaving her alone could endanger his branch family.
• Ning Zhuo read Hua Gu Zi’s letter offering cultivation methods for seven unusual flowers and brought her into his cave dwelling.

Ning Zhuo accepted Hua Gu Zi’s Seven Flowers Secret Records and studied the cultivation methods for seven rare plants, especially the valuable Poison Flame Chrysanthemum. He decided to deliver the industry secrets to the Ning Family branch in person so they could establish its cultivation safely.

• Ning Zhuo accepted Hua Gu Zi’s jade slip while keeping her at a distance, then sent her away despite her reluctance.
• Hua Gu Zi left Ning Zhuo’s cave abode overwhelmed by anger, grievance, and strange delight at his rejection.
• Ning Zhuo inspected the jade slip and learned the cultivation requirements and uses of the seven rare flowers and herbs, including the Soul Essence Flower and Poison Flame Chrysanthemum.
• Ning Zhuo concluded that Poison Flame Chrysanthemum could provide a steady source of income for the Ning Family branch.
• Ning Zhuo decided not to send the jade slip through a relay station and planned to deliver the industry secret in person.

While training with Han Zhou and Hua Gu Zi, Ning Zhuo learned about Heart Seals and rapidly improved his Mouth Seals, though early Foundation Establishment prevented him from forming spell Talisman Seeds. After Ning Zhuo returned to his cave dwelling alone, Ning Jiu Fan arrived and immediately suspected he was hiding a scheme or had caused trouble.

• Ning Zhuo added Hua Gu Zi to his daily sparring with Han Zhou, and she explained how Heart Seals, Mouth Seals, and spell Talisman Seeds worked.
• Ning Zhuo learned that he could not form Heart Seals or Talisman Seeds yet, so he trained Mouth Seals with Hua Gu Zi and improved his ability to divide his attention during combat.
• Hua Gu Zi tried to drive Han Zhou away from the Martial Arts Arena, but Ning Zhuo defended Han Zhou and struck Hua Gu Zi when she lost focus during their spar.
• Ning Jiu Fan watched Ning Zhuo leave the arena with Han Zhou and Hua Gu Zi, then saw Ning Zhuo reject Hua Gu Zi and enter his cave dwelling alone.
• Ning Jiu Fan visited Ning Zhuo, who welcomed him eagerly, prompting the Old Ancestor to suspect Ning Zhuo was plotting something or had caused trouble.

Ning Zhuo persuaded Ning Jiu Fan to consider an alliance with the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect and proposed that the Ning Family main branch join his Poison Flame Chrysanthemum business. After learning of Ning Zhuo’s entanglement with Lin Bufan’s daughter and the danger surrounding the Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence, Ning Jiu Fan accused him of causing trouble.

• Ning Zhuo proposed offering the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect the Ning Family’s combat support, but Ning Jiu Fan warned that Lin Bufan would drive a hard bargain and reject a rumor campaign.
• Ning Zhuo returned the Ice Heart Jade Kettle to Ning Jiu Fan and proposed an eighty-twenty profit split with the main branch for cultivating Poison Flame Chrysanthemums.
• Ning Zhuo showed Ning Jiu Fan the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon and explained that its Fire Essence costs were draining his funds.
• Ning Jiu Fan revealed that a Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence had appeared in Fire Persimmon Mountain and that Meng Kui had set a trap, so they agreed Yuan Lao needed to recover before joining the struggle.
• Ning Zhuo shared intelligence about the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect, prompting Ning Jiu Fan to accuse him of causing Lin Bufan’s Palm Pearl to be confined; Ning Zhuo said Lin Shanshan had not given him the Poison Flame Chrysanthemum cultivation method.

Ning Jiu Fan brought Ning Zhuo and Yuan Lao to Ten Thousand Medicines Sect to seek treatment for Yuan Lao and establish an alliance, while Ning Zhuo negotiated with Lin Bufan. After securing permission to visit Linghu Jiu, Ning Zhuo left the remaining negotiations to Ning Jiu Fan and headed toward Great Contention Peak with wine.

• Ning Jiu Fan arrived at Ten Thousand Medicines Sect with Yuan Lao and Ning Zhuo, and Lin Bufan welcomed them into Original Mountain.
• Hua Gu Zi asked Han Zhou to spar after seeing Ning Zhuo enter the sect, but restrained herself when Han Zhou warned her about violating sect rules.
• Ning Jiu Fan asked Lin Bufan to treat Yuan Lao's injuries and form an alliance with the Ning Lineage, and Ning Zhuo joined the negotiations.
• Lin Bufan praised Ning Zhuo's debating ability, then offered him a meeting gift after feeling his bones and confirming he was sixteen.
• Ning Zhuo asked Lin Bufan to lift Lin Shanshan's confinement, but Lin Bufan refused and let him choose another request.
• Ning Zhuo requested permission to visit Linghu Jiu in Ten Thousand Demons Cave, and Lin Bufan agreed; Ning Zhuo then left the remaining negotiations to Ning Jiu Fan and carried wine toward Great Contention Peak.

Ning Zhuo visited Linghu Jiu at the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, where wine revealed their mutual misunderstandings and Linghu Jiu shared a brew that let Ning Zhuo hear the Five Elements Divine Lord teach a cultivation art. The chapter ended with Ning Zhuo eagerly asking for a bowl so he could drink more and continue listening.

• Ning Zhuo met Linghu Jiu face-to-face at the Ten Thousand Demons Cave and offered him Ice Jade Wine in thanks for helping resolve the misunderstanding caused by Lao De and the others.
• Linghu Jiu drank bowl after bowl of Ice Jade Wine, while Ning Zhuo discovered that his Life Hanging by a Thread divine ability could affect Linghu Jiu only at the risk of being noticed.
• Linghu Jiu asked Ning Zhuo about his intentions toward Lin Shanshan, then used his Drunken Moon Immortal Seeking talent to confirm that Ning Zhuo's praise and gratitude were sincere.
• Linghu Jiu revealed that he had misunderstood Ning Zhuo too and said Ning Zhuo reminded him of his master, Lin Bufan.
• Linghu Jiu shared Secluded Thought Nether Brew, and Ning Zhuo heard the Five Elements Divine Lord begin teaching him the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art.
• After the brew's effects faded twice, Ning Zhuo asked Linghu Jiu for a bowl so he could drink more.

Ning Zhuo drank Linghu Jiu’s Secluded Thought Nether Brew to receive the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art, while Lin Shanshan learned of Ning Zhuo’s achievements and worried about his meeting with Linghu Jiu. Lin Bufan let Xiao Ju go to Great Contention Peak to watch over them, then sensed Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu together in Ten Thousand Demons Cave and fell silent.

• Ning Zhuo repeatedly drank Secluded Thought Nether Brew as the Five Elements Divine Lord taught him the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art, and Linghu Jiu supplied a second jar to help him continue.
• Lin Shanshan tried to leave her confinement to stop Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu from fighting, but Lin Bufan stopped her and showed her intelligence about Ning Zhuo’s rise and accomplishments.
• Lin Shanshan admired Ning Zhuo’s patience and ability, then agreed with Lin Bufan that her meeting with Linghu Jiu mattered to the future relationship between the sect and the Ning Family.
• After returning to her room, Lin Shanshan sent Xiao Ju to Great Contention Peak to intervene if Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu began fighting, while Lin Bufan watched without stopping her.
• Lin Bufan spread his divine sense over Ten Thousand Demons Cave, saw Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu together, and fell into a long silence.

Ning Zhuo gained the complete Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art from the Five Elements Divine Lord after drinking with Linghu Jiu, though he chose to use it as a reference rather than replace his current cultivation technique. After copying the art and consulting Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo meditated beneath the Hidden Spirit Willow and received further instruction from the Five Elements Divine Lord, suffering as the willow rapidly withered.

• Ning Zhuo thanked Linghu Jiu for helping him obtain the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art, then declined to cultivate it anew and offered to share its contents, which Linghu Jiu refused.
• Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu drank together, exchanged confidences, became brothers, and learned to play finger-guessing while Lin Bufan watched in exasperation.
• Xiao Ju arrived to prevent a conflict between Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu, but found them drinking and playing harmoniously; she watched over them as they slept through the night.
• After waking, Ning Zhuo returned to his cave dwelling, copied the complete divine art, and asked Sun Lingtong to examine it; Sun Lingtong praised it as a powerful technique suited to Ning Zhuo's balanced five-element spiritual roots.
• Ning Zhuo meditated beneath the Hidden Spirit Willow and saw the Five Elements Divine Lord, who instructed him in the five elements' Dao and principles as Ning Zhuo suffered and the willow's branches and leaves withered rapidly.

Ning Zhuo comprehended the Five Elements under the Five Elements Divine Lord’s demonstrations, reaching the Master level before collapsing from the overwhelming inheritance. After Sun Lingtong revived him, Ning Zhuo learned the Hidden Spirit Willow was dying and rushed to see it.

• The Five Elements Divine Lord demonstrated the manifestations and principles of the Five Elements, and Ning Zhuo advanced from ordinary mastery to Grandmaster-level and then Master-level understanding.
• As the Divine Lord demonstrated how the Five Elements generated and restrained one another, Ning Zhuo’s talent drew his attention, and the Divine Lord insisted he was not Ning Zhuo’s master before beginning to reveal the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art.
• The Hidden Spirit Willow exhausted its strength supporting Ning Zhuo, who spat blood and fainted.
• Sun Lingtong found Ning Zhuo unconscious in the Spirit Plant Cabin and used Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon’s medical cabin to stabilize him; Ning Zhuo woke after three days and three nights.
• Ning Zhuo learned from Sun Lingtong that the Hidden Spirit Willow was dying, insisted on seeing it, and was brought back to the Spirit Plant Cabin.
• After recovering enough to see clearly, Ning Zhuo looked at the Hidden Spirit Willow and felt his heart sink.

Ning Zhuo sought help for a dying Hidden Spirit Willow and brought Ning Jiu Fan to see it, hoping the ancestor would save it. Ning Jiu Fan realized Ning Zhuo had made the clan’s potential inheritance treasure his responsibility.

• Lin Shanshan received a letter from Ning Jiu Fan and learned that Ning Zhuo’s spirit plant was in danger, though she was unable to help while confined.
• Ning Zhuo visited Linghu Jiu, who lent him Sect Merits, advised him to consult a spirit plant expert, and gave him half a jar of Secluded Thought Nether Brew.
• Ning Zhuo searched the Library Pavilion and consulted spirit plant masters, but none could recommend treatment without examining the plant directly.
• Ning Zhuo brought Ning Jiu Fan into the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon and showed him the frail Hidden Spirit Willow.
• Ning Zhuo urged Ning Jiu Fan to save the Hidden Spirit Willow so it could become an inheritance treasure for the Ning Lineage, and Ning Jiu Fan realized he had been maneuvered into helping.

Ning Zhuo discussed the Hidden Spirit Willow, Secluded Thought Nether Brew, and the risks of relying on the Three Sects Forefathers' Techniques with Ning Jiu Fan. After they planned to seek more information and use Zhu Xuanji's letter to reassure Lin Bufan, Zhu Xuanji received a message from Ning Zhuo and felt his foreboding intensify.

• Ning Jiu Fan examined the Hidden Spirit Willow and said he could not safely treat the weakened Golden Core Level spirit plant, so Lin Bufan was their best candidate.
• Ning Zhuo told Ning Jiu Fan about obtaining the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art from Linghu Jiu, and he explained why he intended to continue cultivating the Three Sects Forefathers' Techniques.
• Ning Jiu Fan warned Ning Zhuo that the Three Sects Forefathers' Techniques might not reach the Void Refinement Stage and advised him to investigate the Dharma Transmission Bell and drink more Secluded Thought Nether Brew.
• Ning Jiu Fan urged Ning Zhuo to return for the Ghost Festival ancestral rite and suggested using his official position and a letter from Zhu Xuanji to reassure Lin Bufan about the Hidden Spirit Willow.
• Ning Jiu Fan suggested asking Zhu Xuanji about the Five Elements Divine Lord, and Ning Zhuo agreed to follow his advice.
• At the Divine Arrest Division Headquarters, Zhu Xuanji felt an ominous premonition and received an urgent letter signed by Ning Zhuo.

Zhu Xuanji sent Ning Zhuo aged Longing Wine and intelligence on the Five Elements Divine Lord, whose erased history revealed a secret love affair with Quiet Jade Immortal Consort and a death at Ten Thousand Demons Mountain. Still troubled by the divine lord’s transmission and inheritance, Ning Zhuo tested the Secluded Thought Nether Brew and learned from Hua Gu Zi that it was fake wine.

• Zhu Xuanji sent Ning Zhuo a jar of century-old Longing Wine and a jade slip containing records about the Five Elements Divine Lord.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong learned that the Five Elements Divine Lord had fought beside the Martial Emperor, died at Ten Thousand Demons Mountain, and was later erased from official records after his affair with Quiet Jade Immortal Consort was uncovered.
• Ning Zhuo remained uneasy about receiving the divine lord’s transmission and inheritance, so he drank the Secluded Thought Nether Brew again but noticed no effect.
• Ning Zhuo summoned Hua Gu Zi to examine the brew, and she declared it crudely made fake wine.

Ning Zhuo investigated Hua Gu Zi’s claim that the Secluded Thought Nether Brew was poorly made and could not grant communion with the underworld, but the wine’s mystery remained unresolved. After agreeing to prioritize the Hidden Spirit Willow negotiations, he sent Zhu Xuanji another letter and returned to Linghu Jiu with a sealed jar of Longing Wine.

• Hua Gu Zi identified the Secluded Thought Nether Brew’s ingredients and warned that its extreme yin nature could destabilize a drinker’s emotions, while Ning Zhuo wondered whether Linghu Jiu had told him the truth.
• Hua Gu Zi suggested a grand ancestral rite as a safer way to seek guidance from the dead, then Ning Zhuo sent her away after sensing her fervent feelings.
• Ning Jiu Fan told Ning Zhuo that Lin Bufan could treat the Hidden Spirit Willow in exchange for resources and cultivation-seed usage slots, but refused to sell or share the Secluded Thought Nether Brew recipe.
• Ning Zhuo agreed to prioritize cooperation over the wine negotiations, but remained convinced the brew concealed an important clue.
• Ning Zhuo had Sun Lingtong secretly deliver another letter to Zhu Xuanji, then brought a sealed jar of Longing Wine to visit Linghu Jiu at the Ten Thousand Demons Cave.

Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu shared century-old Longing Wine, discussed the suspicious origins of Secluded Thought Nether Brew, and explored the Ten Thousand Demons Cave together. Deep underground, Ning Zhuo heard the Five Elements Divine Lord call to him and identify a stalactite as a gateway.

• Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu drank century-old Longing Wine and reflected on the people they missed.
• Ning Zhuo told Linghu Jiu that a spirit chef had judged Secluded Thought Nether Brew to be counterfeit, and Linghu Jiu agreed to report the matter to Lin Bufan.
• Ning Zhuo proposed that the Five Elements Divine Lord might still influence the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, and Linghu Jiu agreed to investigate with him.
• Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu descended through the dark cave and entered a vast cavern filled with glowing stones and crystals.
• Ning Zhuo heard the Five Elements Divine Lord's voice identify a stalactite as the gateway.