Chapter Summaries

Li Chu and the Little Divine Doctor discovered that Zuo Dannu had been trading human lives for Return Immortal Grass on behalf of Baishi Gong, a Demon Sect Dharma King. Li Chu destroyed Baishi Gong’s divided spirit and killed Zuo Dannu, then let the Little Divine Doctor gather the grass while he turned to confront the Water Ghost.

• The old man told Li Chu and the Little Divine Doctor the legend of Lady Luo, whose Yin Soul was said to haunt Qi Family Village.
• At Lake Heart Pavilion, the Water God refused to give Zuo Dannu Return Immortal Grass because no one had died that day, so he summoned Baishi Gong’s divided spirit.
• Baishi Gong blackened Qin Marsh, forced the Water God to yield, and ordered Zuo Dannu to harvest all the Return Immortal Grass; the Bear King and its clan tried to stop them.
• Li Chu and the Little Divine Doctor arrived, and Li Chu destroyed Baishi Gong’s divided spirit with a sword strike.
• The Water God identified Zuo Dannu as Baishi Gong’s servant, and the Little Divine Doctor recognized his Yanglu Insects as the cause of the deaths in Qi Family Village.
• Li Chu killed Zuo Dannu, reached level seventy-six, and let the Little Divine Doctor harvest the grass before turning toward the Water Ghost.

The Water God explained why she had arranged for Qi Family Village to be destroyed, and Li Chu decided to report her to Facing Heaven Pavilion for judgment. After Li Chu and the Little Divine Doctor gathered Return Immortal Grass, the Demon Sect learned that Zuo Dannu had died and its plans to make Creation Pills faced a shortage.

• The Water God told Li Chu that villagers had falsely accused and drowned her over a hundred years ago, and that she had made a deal to avenge herself on their descendants.
• Li Chu told the Water God he would report her to Facing Heaven Pavilion, leaving the law to judge her for the deaths of Qi Family Village residents.
• The Little Divine Doctor picked about a dozen stalks of Return Immortal Grass while the Bear King feared losing its clan's guarded herb patch; the two planned to ask Facing Heaven Pavilion to seal the area and possibly cultivate the rare fruit.
• A Black-Robed Person told Huo Zhuge that Zuo Dannu was dead and that the Creation Pill furnace would have to stop without more Return Immortal Grass.
• Huo Zhuge concluded that a powerful Daoist had killed Zuo Dannu and complained that Daoists kept killing his allies; the giant beside him remarked that Huo Zhuge was a Daoist too.

Huo Zhuge told the Little Prince that the Return Immortal Grass supply had failed and asked to avenge his dead fellow disciples. Back at Virtuous Cloud Temple, Li Chu learned more about Baishi Gong, healed Yu Qi'an with the Little Bodhi Mantra, and faced Shen Mu the Monk’s accusation.

• Huo Zhuge visited the Little Prince with Vajra Slave and reported that Zuo Dannu and the Return Immortal Grass supply were gone.
• Huo Zhuge asked to avenge his fellow disciples against the Daoists, and the Little Prince allowed him to act.
• Li Chu returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple and heard Yu Qi'an explain Baishi Gong’s reputation and medical skill.
• Li Chu used the Little Bodhi Mantra to relieve Yu Qi'an’s aches, astonishing Shen Mu the Monk.
• Shen Mu the Monk asked Li Chu whether he had been making a fool of him.

Shen Mu the Monk confronted Li Chu over the low-grade Iron Cloth manual Li Chu had given him, then asked him to help investigate ghostly beings at Lanluo Temple near Jinhua Town. Li Chu agreed to pose as a scholar and draw them out.

• Shen Mu the Monk complained that a month of practicing Li Chu's Iron Cloth manual had only made him a grandmaster of a low-grade martial art, and Li Chu realized his spiritual power was what made ordinary techniques extraordinary.
• Li Chu asked why Shen Mu had come to Ten Li Slope, and Shen Mu described young men and Scholars being found as dried corpses near a willow grove outside Jinhua Town.
• Shen Mu explained that he had searched the abandoned Lanluo Temple for three nights without finding any ghostly beings, which he suspected were avoiding his cultivation aura.
• Li Chu agreed to investigate because the ghostly beings might not recognize his power, and Shen Mu told him to disguise himself as a scholar.

Li Chu rested in Lanluo Temple while a group of female ghosts watched him through a Bronze Mirror and fought over who would drain his Yang Energy. After nearly four hours of infighting, the cave fell silent, and Li Chu wondered where the ghosts had gone.

• Li Chu arrived at Lanluo Temple at dusk and settled in to rest.
• Xiaoshuang spotted Li Chu in the Bronze Mirror, and the female ghosts argued over who would approach him.
• The woman in yellow tried to end the dispute by claiming Li Chu for herself, but the other ghosts turned on her.
• The female ghosts fought a chaotic battle in the tree hollow that lasted nearly four hours.
• Li Chu waited in the temple, soothed the Pure Yang Ancient Sword, and wondered where the ghosts were.

Li Chu and Shen Mu the Monk recruited Wang Longqi to lure the ghosts haunting Lanluo Temple, while Huo Zhuge brought Grandmother Willow there to attack the Little Daoist Priest. Grandmother Willow discovered her ghost lair had been destroyed and vowed to wait at Lanluo Temple for the culprit.

• Li Chu and Shen Mu the Monk found that their disguise had failed to draw out the ghosts and decided to ask Wang Longqi for help.
• Huo Zhuge and Vajra Slave visited Grandmother Willow, who agreed to help him deal with the Little Daoist Priest.
• Grandmother Willow led Huo Zhuge and Vajra Slave to Lanluo Temple and discovered that all the Yin Souls in her hidden lair had been destroyed.
• Grandmother Willow swore to guard Lanluo Temple and kill the Little Daoist Priest when he returned.
• Li Chu and Shen Mu the Monk asked Wang Longqi to act as bait and gave him an Arhat Dharma Body for protection.
• Wang Longqi agreed to consider the plan but asked whether the female ghost was pretty.

Wang Longqi waited at Lanluo Temple for a female ghost, but Grandmother Willow attacked him and began draining his Yang Energy. Li Chu arrived just in time and confronted her, leaving the fight about to begin.

• Wang Longqi prepared two straw piles at Lanluo Temple and waited for the female ghost to appear.
• Grandmother Willow arrived, and Wang Longqi insulted her before she seized him with black tentacles.
• Wang Longqi threw Shen Mu the Monk's Buddha statue at Grandmother Willow, but she smashed it and began sucking away his Yang Energy.
• Li Chu sensed the danger and rushed to Lanluo Temple as Grandmother Willow blamed him for killing the Yin Souls she had raised.
• Li Chu drew his sword and interrupted Grandmother Willow's threat.

After killing Grandmother Willow, Li Chu learned that the surviving piece of her was valuable Thunder-Struck Wood and took it to Dan Ding Pavilion to sell. The deal was arranged, but the chapter ended with Little Koi eating black pills she had stolen from the appraiser’s room.

• Huo Zhuge and Vajra Slave watched Grandmother Willow die and discussed how Huo Zhuge might seek revenge through her powerful former lover.
• Li Chu found a heavy piece of Thunder-Struck Wood after killing Grandmother Willow, while Wang Longqi described the demon’s assault to Shen Mu the Monk.
• Back at Virtuous Cloud Temple, Yu Qi'an identified the wood and advised Li Chu to list it for sale at Dan Ding Pavilion.
• Li Chu and Little Koi visited Dan Ding Pavilion, where Mr. Chen valued the Thunder-Struck Wood at no less than three thousand Qi Gathering Pills and agreed to sell it for a ten-percent commission.
• Mr. Chen asked to buy Little Koi and then Li Chu, but Li Chu refused both offers and left with her.
• Little Koi revealed that she had picked up and eaten black pills from Mr. Chen’s room.

Li Chu discovered that Qi Gathering Pills could increase his Experience Points and left Dan Ding Pavilion with Little Koi. Mr. Wu learned that a Seven-Colored Koi was traveling with Li Chu, identified him as the handsome Daoist from Virtuous Cloud Temple, and set out to find them.

• Li Chu stopped Little Koi from eating the Qi Gathering Pills, paid for them, and taught her not to steal.
• Li Chu tested the pills and discovered that several Qi Gathering Pills could grant Experience Points, but Little Koi had already eaten the rest.
• Mr. Wu saw Little Koi’s immense seven-colored luck and asked Elder Chen to reveal her owner’s identity.
• Elder Chen refused to disclose guest information despite Mr. Wu’s offer and the Prince of Jiangnan’s influence.
• Mr. Wu explained that the Evil God had demanded ten times the fortune, making the Seven-Colored Koi a valuable target.
• Mr. Wu investigated the most handsome Daoist in Hangzhou Prefecture and identified Li Chu of Virtuous Cloud Temple.

Chen Huaji asked Li Chu to help find a shepherd boy whose Magic Brush had created dangerous monsters, while Mr. Wu used a Witch Curse hidden in candied hawthorns to steal Little Koi’s fortune for the Evil Spirit. The curse instead triggered a runaway cycle that drained and incapacitated the Evil Spirit, while Mr. Wu remained unaware of the disaster.

• Chen Huaji was released from prison to make merit and told Li Chu about the shepherd boy and the Magic Brush; Yu Qi'an urged Li Chu to help and hoped to borrow the brush.
• Mr. Wu investigated Virtuous Cloud Temple, disguised himself as a candied-hawthorn peddler, and planted flags to form a fortune-screening formation.
• Little Koi followed the smell of candied hawthorns and bought a skewer from Mr. Wu, unknowingly accepting his Witch Curse.
• The Evil Spirit received Little Koi’s stolen fortune, but the Witch Curse’s growing suction created a vicious cycle that drained it and left it collapsed and unable to move.
• Mr. Wu prayed for more power, unaware that the Evil Spirit was desperately praying for someone to save it.

Li Chu searched Xuling County for Ma Liang and helped confront the dangerous creatures created by the Divine Brush, while Commander Zhan Liuming arrived to destroy several of them. Ma Liang remained in hiding with Mo Xian, two masked men from the Strange Demon Sect set out to find him, and Huo Zhuge arrived at Mulberry Tree Temple to meet the Black-Faced Daoist.

• Li Chu investigated Ma Liang's abandoned home and learned that Ma Liang had released his landlord's cows before vanishing, while the old cow that might have led him to the Divine Brush was gone.
• Li Chu reasoned that Ma Liang would need ink to use the Divine Brush and suggested checking the county's stationery shops, then rushed with Chen Huaji to answer a distress signal from a Facing Heaven Pavilion disciple.
• Zhan Liuming arrived on a Night Owl, cut down two ghosts and monsters, and pursued the remaining creatures until they vanished.
• Ma Liang met Mo Xian in hiding, where she urged him to stop using the Divine Brush because its creations consumed his lifespan.
• The Crying Mask Man and Smiling Mask Man found two surviving ghosts and monsters and forced one to agree to lead them to Ma Liang, revealing that they belonged to the Strange Demon Sect.
• Huo Zhuge arrived at Mulberry Tree Temple and announced himself to the Black-Faced Daoist.

Ma Liang and Mo Xian were attacked by bandits seeking the Divine Brush, but Zhan Liuming rescued them before masked envoys stole the brush. Daoist Sang forced the envoys to abandon it, then encountered Li Chu and noticed they wore matching Azure Daoist Robes.

• Ma Liang tried to protect Mo Xian and the Divine Brush from four bandits, but the scarred leader proved immune to blades and knocked Ma Liang down.
• Zhan Liuming arrived, defeated the bandits with a glance, and identified Ma Liang as the Divine Brush's wielder.
• Crying Mask Man and Smiling Mask Man demanded the Divine Brush, so Zhan Liuming retreated with Ma Liang and Mo Xian while the envoys took the brush.
• Daoist Sang confronted the envoys and made them abandon the Divine Brush before they fled.
• Daoist Sang reclaimed the Divine Brush and met Li Chu and Chen Huaji, then noticed that he and Li Chu wore the same outfit.

Zhan Liuming witnessed a terrifying death omen over Xuling County, while Li Chu confronted Daoist Sang over Grandmother Willow’s death and the Divine Brush. Daoist Sang left with the brush, reconsidered his suspicion of Li Chu, and warned Huo Zhuge not to manipulate him.

• Zhan Liuming sent a report about Ma Liang and Mo Xian to the prefectural city, then saw an immense death omen above the town that repeatedly appeared and receded.
• Li Chu told Daoist Sang he had slain Grandmother Willow because she drained people’s Yang Energy and caused deaths; Daoist Sang accepted that the killing might have been justified but said he would investigate.
• Daoist Sang revealed he had the Divine Brush and planned to return it to the tomb of its former owner, a senior friend who had died seeking immortality.
• Daoist Sang warned Li Chu he might come after him, then vanished with the brush as the death omen faded again.
• Daoist Sang confronted Huo Zhuge outside the city for concealing Grandmother Willow’s actions and warned him not to use him; Huo Zhuge lamented that Li Chu had escaped disaster.

Old Huang rescued Ma Liang from prison and restored him to a child’s body, then helped him reunite with Mo Xian, whom Ma Liang chose to live beside despite the cost to his lifespan. Back at Virtuous Cloud Temple, Yu Qi'an explained the Divine Brush, and the Little Divine Doctor arrived with the Creation Pill but no antidote for his pig’s nose.

• Old Huang appeared in Ma Liang’s cell, revealed his ox-spirit form, and turned Ma Liang back into a child.
• Old Huang carried Ma Liang to Mo Xian’s cell, where Ma Liang asked him to rescue her too.
• After learning that Mo Xian’s existence consumed his lifespan, Ma Liang told her he willingly wanted to share his life with her, and she wept.
• Li Chu returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple without the Divine Brush, and Yu Qi'an identified it as the Life-Blooming Brush and explained its limits.
• The Little Divine Doctor arrived with news that he had refined the Creation Pill but had failed to make an antidote for his pig’s nose.

The Little Divine Doctor stayed at Virtuous Cloud Temple after testing the Creation Pill on himself, and his pig-like nostrils set off a round of laughter. Seeking to expand his cultivation knowledge, Li Chu welcomed Zhao Liangchen’s request for help and asked for talisman-making instruction as payment.

• The Little Divine Doctor admitted he had taken a Creation Pill to test his formula, and the others laughed at his transformed nostrils.
• The Little Divine Doctor agreed to stay at Virtuous Cloud Temple while studying how to counter Baishi Gong’s alchemy.
• Li Chu recognized his lack of knowledge in talisman crafting and other cultivation disciplines.
• Zhao Liangchen visited Li Chu to ask for help with a thorny matter.
• Li Chu said he wanted Zhao Liangchen to teach him how to make talismans instead of paying him with money or Qi Gathering Pills.

Zhao Liangchen asked Li Chu to take his place in the Flying Crane Sect’s Four Flying Assembly after he accidentally injured the sect’s Chief Disciple. Li Chu agreed after negotiating for a thousand Qi Gathering Pills, leaving Zhao Liangchen relieved and indebted.

• Li Chu clarified that he wanted to learn Zhao Liangchen’s basic talisman-making techniques, and Zhao Liangchen agreed.
• Zhao Liangchen explained that the four allied sects held the Four Flying Assembly every five years, and that the Flying Crane Sect was hosting it this year.
• Zhao Liangchen said he had severely injured Lang Yuyan in a sparring match, leaving the Chief Disciple unable to compete.
• Yu Qi'an described the other three sects as much stronger than the Flying Crane Sect, worsening Zhao Liangchen’s worries about representing his sect.
• Zhao Liangchen asked Li Chu to pose as the Flying Crane Sect’s representative, and Li Chu agreed in exchange for one thousand Qi Gathering Pills.

Zhao Liangchen persuaded the Flying Crane Sect leaders to consider recruiting Li Chu for the grand assembly, but they fled before deciding whether to reimburse his expenses. Qiong Ji arrived at Flying Cloud Palace with Shen Erfu and saw Li Chu standing in the rain.

• Zhao Liangchen told Yao Ding and Yao Lian that Li Chu could represent the Flying Crane Sect, citing his one-sword victory over a Ya Yu and explaining the talisman lessons and thousand Qi Gathering Pills he had offered.
• Yao Ding and Yao Lian avoided Zhao Liangchen's request for reimbursement and hurried out of the hall, leaving him alone.
• The chapter described how Flying Daoist's jade zither played by itself in the rain at Flying Cloud Palace, earning the site its name and fame as Rain Palace Zither Sound.
• Qiong Ji and Shen Erfu climbed the mountain while Shen Erfu praised the scenery and mocked Zhao Liangchen's reputation for relying on talismans.
• Qiong Ji insisted she did not judge people by their looks, then saw Li Chu standing before Flying Cloud Palace and faltered.

Shen Erfu and Qiong Ji arrived at the Four Flying Assembly, where they met the other sects’ representatives and learned that Li Chu would compete for the Flying Crane Sect in place of the injured Lang Yuyan. That night, Zhao Liangchen warned Li Chu about the dangers of Qi Gathering Pills and explained the first match, leaving Li Chu to face a contest of physique against formidable opponents, including the White Tiger Maiden Qiong Ji.

• Shen Erfu and Qiong Ji arrived at the Flying Crane Sect’s main hall and met representatives Liu Zhuang, Liu Fufeng, Wu Gen, and Lu Zhanmei.
• Qiong Ji praised Lu Zhanmei and wished that she would never marry, prompting Shen Erfu to pull her away and apologize.
• Yao Lian announced that Lang Yuyan had been seriously injured, and Yao Ding said candidate Chief Disciple Li Chu would represent the Flying Crane Sect.
• Li Chu ate Qi Gathering Pills until Zhao Liangchen arrived and warned him that relying on pills could ruin his cultivation prospects.
• Zhao Liangchen explained that Flying Immortal City had chosen a physique contest using the Visage of the Mountain and identified Qiong Ji as the White Tiger Maiden.

The four factions began a body-endurance contest beneath Flying Immortal City’s Visage of the Mountain, while Flying Crane Sect’s elders expected Li Chu to lose. As Li Chu approached Yao Ding, the sect master suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

• Shen Erfu explained the contest rules and raised Visage of the Mountain over Flying Crane Peak.
• Qiong Ji, Lu Zhanmei, Liu Fufeng, and Li Chu entered separate paths and faced crushing pressure that could only be resisted with their bodies.
• Yao Ding and Elder Yao Lian worried that Li Chu’s limited body-tempering would leave Flying Crane Sect in last place again.
• Yao Ding and Elder Yao Lian discussed persuading Li Chu to join their sect, and Zhao Liangchen pointed out that Li Chu was already nearby.
• Yao Ding started to ask Li Chu a question, then abruptly realized that something seemed wrong.

Li Chu unexpectedly dominated the pressure-bearing contest, while Qiong Ji finished last, and the Flying Heaven Sect arranged a qi-focused contest for the next day that might expose Li Chu's unusual cultivation. Li Chu was unsure whether his spiritual power could activate the sect's Origin Fire Heaven Furnace.

• Qiong Ji struggled through the pressure passage expecting admiration, but found Li Chu, Liu Fufeng, and Lu Zhanmei waiting outside at ease.
• Lu Zhanmei and Liu Fufeng credited Li Chu as the true monster after he finished the course far faster than everyone else.
• Li Chu explained that a trace of heat had countered the passage's pressure, and he had used the Orchid Butterfly Cloud-Striding Step to finish quickly.
• Shen Erfu comforted Qiong Ji for placing last and warned her that Li Chu was too fast, while Liu Fufeng told Liu Zhuang he had an idea for dealing with Li Chu.
• Zhao Liangchen told Li Chu that the next contest would test the strength of participants' qi seas by having them activate the Flying Heaven Sect's Origin Fire Heaven Furnace.
• Li Chu worried that the furnace might not respond to his spiritual power as it would to true qi.