Chapter Summaries

Uncle-Master Pang warned Zheng Fa that rival Nascent Soul cultivators might target him to disrupt Zhang Wuyi’s breakthrough, so Zheng Fa led fewer than fifty Nine Mountains Sect disciples to block the Great Freedom Demon Cult’s secret-realm gate. Using an earth-grade Thunderfire Talisman, he turned back the cult’s attack and left Yan Wushuang amused by their shared combat style.

• Uncle-Master Pang explained that the Nascent Soul cultivators gathered at Five-Dragon Heavenly Palace could be hostile and that Zheng Fa might be targeted to interfere with Zhang Wuyi’s heart-demon tribulation.
• Zheng Fa proposed taking his fellow disciples into Thunder Pool to support the sect, and Uncle-Master Pang lent him spirit talismans.
• Lin Yangtian led Great Freedom Demon Cult disciples toward the secret-realm gate, only to learn that Zheng Fa’s group had attacked and blocked it.
• Zheng Fa and the Nine Mountains Sect disciples killed the first Foundation Establishment cultivators to emerge, then drove the advancing cult forces back with a Thunderfire Talisman.
• Yan Wushuang watched Zheng Fa fight and declared that Zheng Fa shared his predilection for the same combat style.

Lin Yangtian and the Great Freedom Demon Cult were trapped inside their secret realm as Zheng Fa’s talismans killed anyone who tried to leave. Yan Wushuang offered to help Zheng Fa save Uncle-Master Pang in exchange for a share of the talisman business, and Zheng Fa agreed if Pang remained unharmed.

• Lin Yangtian and the surviving cult disciples returned to the secret realm gate, where Uncle-Master Chi ordered two followers to test the way out and watched them die under a barrage of talismans.
• Zheng Fa and Sun Daoyu used the fallen cultists to explain how Talisman Seals made Profound-grade talismans an effective, low-cost weapon against the Great Freedom Demon Cult.
• Uncle-Master Chi realized Nine Mountains Sect was using cult disciples to make talismans, and the cult stopped sending anyone through the gate.
• Zheng Fa told Sun Daoyu that Nine Mountains Sect could not reconcile with the Great Freedom Demon Cult while the cult still threatened Thunder Pool, the sect’s spiritual vein, and Zhang Wuyi.
• Yan Wushuang asked to join the talisman business and revealed that Great Freedom Demon Cult Nascent Souls had left Thunder Pool to target Uncle-Master Pang.
• Yan Wushuang offered to save Pang in exchange for a share of the business, and Zheng Fa accepted on the condition that Pang remained unharmed.

Pang Qian fought the Great Freedom Demon Cult’s Nascent Soul cultivators alone after his supposed allies abandoned him. Just as he prepared to die after destroying his Five-Dragon Heavenly Palace, an old man arrived and killed the Baleful Sword Immortal.

• Zheng Fa and Sun Daoyu watched Pang Qian battle the Bronze Coffin Elder, Scarlet Serpent Immortal, and Baleful Sword Immortal while the Great Freedom Demon Cult’s ambush left him without allies.
• Scarlet Serpent Immortal revealed that the Nascent Soul cultivators Pang Qian had invited included hidden members of the Great Freedom Demon Cult, who had fled after Pang Qian killed Black Tortoise Superior Person.
• After a day and night of fighting, Pang Qian used his Linked-Talisman Technique to ambush Scarlet Serpent Immortal, but the Bronze Coffin Elder immobilized him and the Baleful Sword Immortal sent a bone sword at him.
• Pang Qian detonated one of the Five-Dragon Heavenly Palace’s golden dragons to break free, then struck Scarlet Serpent Immortal with another Thunderfire Talisman, leaving her gravely wounded.
• Pang Qian announced that he would die avenging the Nine Mountains Sect and urged Zheng Fa and the other disciples to destroy the Great Freedom Demon Cult.
• An old man arrived at the Thunder Pool and killed the Baleful Sword Immortal with a flying sword before the bone sword could strike Pang Qian.

Old Han saved Uncle-Master Pang from the Great Freedom Demon Cult, and Zheng Fa learned that Yan Wushuang was the Tianhe Sect Master's son. As Senior Sister Zhang began her Nascent Soul tribulation, Zheng Fa and the others rushed to protect her, and he tried to pull her out of the heart demon tribulation by reciting their discussions.

• Han True Person drove off the demonic sect elder and revealed that Zheng Fa had already paid him to intervene.
• Yan Wushuang explained that Han True Person had followed him because his father, the Tianhe Sect Master, feared for his safety.
• Uncle-Master Pang and his disciples thanked Li Nuo for helping save them, while Zheng Fa reminded Li Nuo that he deserved their gratitude.
• Senior Sister Zhang endured nine days and nights of tribulation lightning, after which the damaged Mystic Gate Mirror left her vulnerable to the heart demon tribulation.
• Zheng Fa and the senior brothers reached Senior Sister Zhang, and Zheng Fa recited their discussions until her expression began to calm.

After Zhang Wuyi formed her Nascent Soul, she reunited with Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan, played the jade flute for them, and described the heart demon tribulation that showed her loved ones dead. She also sensed the Five-Element Sub-Talisman echoing something from the heavens, leaving its significance unclear.

• Nascent Soul True Persons congratulated the Nine Mountains Sect on Zhang Wuyi's breakthrough and offered gifts to Uncle-Master Pang, while Zhang remained away from the market city.
• Zhang Wuyi played her jade flute beside the Thunder Pool, drawing Senior Sister Yuan and the mountain birds into a delighted dance.
• The Setting-Sun Sword Immortal told Yan Wushuang that Zhang Wuyi had some of the Patriarch's spirit and praised Zheng Fa for his talent and good senior sister.
• Zhang Wuyi told Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan that her heart demon tribulation showed the Great Freedom Demon Cult destroying the Nine Mountains Sect and killing them all.
• Zhang Wuyi said that hearing Zheng Fa's mathematics lecture helped her see through the heart demon's illusions, and revealed that the Five-Element Sub-Talisman had briefly echoed something from the heavens.

Zheng Fa pondered the mysteries beyond the heavens and the Investiture Stele, then altered his Talisman Foundation and triggered an extraordinary Foundation Establishment phenomenon. The chapter ended with the Nascent Soul True Persons witnessing the spectacle and wondering who had caused it.

• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa that she knew nothing about what lay beyond the heavens and described how the Heavenly Tribulation Eyes had reacted to her Five-Element Sub-Talismans.
• Senior Sister Yuan told Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang that the Heavenly Stele was called the Investiture Stele, where entrants received visible divine ranks, and said Yan Wushuang currently ranked first.
• Zheng Fa considered the connection between Venerable Tianhe, the Modern World, and the Investiture Stele, then experimented with his Talisman Foundation using ideas about mirrors and higher dimensions.
• Zheng Fa’s Five-Element Sub-Talisman ring transformed into a Mobius-like two-sided mirror, drawing in spiritual energy and pulling his Divine Soul toward the sky.
• Uncle-Master Pang and the banquet guests saw purple qi, the sun and moon shining together, and realized the spiritual energy disturbance had come from within the Five-Dragon Heavenly Palace.

Zheng Fa gained the Positive-Negative Five-Element Divine Light after a celestial Talisman Diagram entered his foundation, and his allies tested its ability to interfere with Dharma Treasures. They agreed to keep his gift secret, while Old Han urged Yan Wushuang to approach the Nine Mountains Sect respectfully about their Talisman Seal cooperation.

• Zheng Fa's Divine Soul rose beyond the clouds, encountered a vast projected Five-Element Talisman Diagram, and received it into his Mobius Talisman Foundation as the Positive-Negative Five-Element Divine Light.
• Zheng Fa tested the Divine Ability on Senior Sister Yuan and Senior Sister Zhang, controlling Yuan's Dharma Treasure for an incense stick but affecting Zhang's only for a breath.
• Senior Sister Zhang and Uncle-Master Pang realized Zheng Fa's talent could attract danger and decided to conceal his Divine Ability from outsiders.
• Uncle-Master Pang lamented that he had let Zheng Fa join the Celestial River Sect, while Senior Sister Zhang connected Zheng Fa's gift to Venerable Tianhe's achievements.
• Old Han urged Yan Wushuang to visit the Nine Mountains Sect about the Talisman Seals, gave him a storage pouch for a gift and calling card, and told him to be respectful.

Senior Sister Zhang explained how the Five-Element Sub-Talisman Diagram had given her Nascent Soul a direction, while Zheng Fa learned that his cultivation method required costly materials and received supplies and a secret art from Uncle-Master Pang and his master. The chapter ended with Zheng Fa meeting Yan Wushuang, the Setting-Sun Sword Immortal, whose piercing gaze seemed familiar.

• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa that Nascent Soul cultivation was a rebirth and that the Möbius Talisman Diagram had helped her Nascent Soul begin changing.
• Zheng Fa learned that the Divine Firmament Thunder-Commanding True Method required many spiritual materials, and Uncle-Master Pang gave him supplies gathered from the market.
• Uncle-Master Pang passed Zheng Fa a storage pouch from his master, containing scarce materials and a secret art that could improve the quality of his Golden Core.
• Zheng Fa realized the secret art's materials were incomplete and difficult to find, but accepted that he might not be able to cultivate it.
• Zheng Fa went to the main hall after hearing Yan Wushuang had arrived and recognized the visitor as the Setting-Sun Sword Immortal, whose gaze seemed familiar.

Zheng Fa agreed to a partnership with Yan Wushuang to produce and sell Talisman Seals, while the Setting-Sun Sword Immortal warned him about the Demonic Sect Secret Realm and urged him to investigate the Heavenly Stele. In the modern world, Professor Tian found that the spiritually nourished grass contained no spiritual energy, while Old Man Bai had been happily tasting it.

• Han True Person offered Zheng Fa valuable pills and spirit materials, but Zheng Fa refused the gifts.
• Zheng Fa agreed to split the profits from Talisman Seal production with Yan Wushuang and revealed that the Nine Mountains Sect could reliably make fourteen types.
• Yan Wushuang suggested using blood from other Demonic Sects, but Han True Person warned that the Demonic Sect Secret Realm was dangerous and advised Zheng Fa not to enter before reaching Nascent Soul Realm.
• Han True Person told Zheng Fa to use the Heavenly Stele to learn about the Demonic Sect Secret Realm, and Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang decided to investigate it.
• Yan Wushuang guessed that Han True Person was trying to befriend Zheng Fa because Zheng Fa was his descendant, but Han True Person denied daring to think of himself as Zheng Fa's elder.
• In the modern world, Professor Tian confirmed that the grass and wheat seedlings contained no spiritual energy, while Old Man Bai said the grass she picked tasted sweet.

Zheng Fa used an Evergreen Talisman to ripen a patch of wheat, though the wheat contained no spiritual energy and was not a spirit plant. Tang Lingwu reached Qi Refinement Second Layer and tried flying under a Mirage Talisman, then brought agricultural equipment and seeds to the Nursing Home as a reward for Zheng Fa.

• Zheng Fa used an Evergreen Talisman to mature a small patch of wheat, and Professor Tian confirmed that the grains had grown larger than normal.
• Professor Tian proposed testing more plant varieties and considered whether spirit plants required a special environment, while Zheng Fa explained that Foundation Establishment let him use the talisman more often.
• Tang Lingwu broke through to Qi Refinement Second Layer and asked Zheng Fa to teach her the Wind-Riding Technique.
• Zheng Fa used a Mirage Talisman to hide Tang Lingwu from observers as she flew, and Old Man Bai teased Zheng Fa after she landed.
• Tang Lingwu flew every day, and two days later trucks delivered laboratory equipment and seeds she had bought for the Nursing Home as a reward for Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa reassured Tang Lingwu that he valued her as a fellow Daoist, not for her money or usefulness, while experiments showed that spiritual energy improved ordinary crops’ flavor without turning them into spiritual plants. Tang Lingwu recognized the crops’ potential as rare luxury ingredients and called her father to ask about the business.

• Zheng Fa learned that Tang Lingwu had spent her New Year's gift money on crops and laboratory equipment, then told her he would walk the path of immortality with her even if she had no money or special skills.
• Old Man Bai observed that Tang Lingwu no longer seemed afraid Zheng Fa would abandon her, while Professor Tian reported that the tested crops had no unusual structures or spiritual energy.
• Professor Tian cooked the harvested crops, and the group discovered that spiritual energy had made them taste unusually good.
• Tang Lingwu explained that exclusive, delicious ingredients could be valuable to high-end restaurants and called her father to ask about business.

Zheng Fa, Senior Sister Zhang, and Senior Sister Yuan reached the edge of the Heavenly Stele’s lightning barrier, where Yan Wushuang urged Zheng Fa to enter its trial. Yan Wushuang revealed that passing the trial would give its victor control of the stele, which could leave Taiyang Commandery and deprive the Nine Mountains Sect of its defense.

• Zheng Fa brought Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan through the Thunder Pool, while Senior Sister Zhang revealed she had come partly to hunt the Bronze Coffin Elder.
• The group abandoned the Calamity-Crossing Boat when the lightning grew too dense and stopped where the three could see the Heavenly Stele and its ranked names.
• Yan Wushuang told Zheng Fa that the trial offered rare spiritual materials and encouraged him to temper himself there.
• Senior Sister Zhang offered to gather spiritual materials for Zheng Fa, but Yan Wushuang disclosed that passing the trial would let someone claim the Heavenly Stele and take it away from Taiyang Commandery.
• Yan Wushuang admitted he did not know why he had revealed his sect’s secret rumor, as he looked toward a small figure beyond the Thunder Pool.

Zheng Fa entered the Heavenly Stele World, where its strange rules limited his abilities, and received a Divine Rank granting him a fief. His Silver Scroll stunned Yan Wushuang and the others, who had expected him to receive a much smaller fief.

• Yan Wushuang told Zheng Fa that the Heavenly Stele was governed by strict rules and said Setting-Sun Sword Immortal Old Han had instructed him to share this information.
• Zheng Fa endured the stronger thunder surrounding the Heavenly Stele by circulating the Divine Firmament Thunder-Commanding True Method, while Yan Wushuang and the others wondered why Old Han valued him.
• Zheng Fa entered the Heavenly Stele World and discovered that he could not cast most spells, then inferred that spiritual energy there could influence only electromagnetic force.
• Yan Wushuang directed Zheng Fa to the God-Investiture Hall, where twelve statues scanned him and issued him a Divine Rank to command thunderbolts and govern clouds and rain.
• Zheng Fa received a Silver Scroll, surprising the onlookers and leaving Yan Wushuang wondering whether this explained Old Han's regard for him.

Zheng Fa learned that the Heavenly Stele Realm granted cultivators fiefs and Heavenly Merit for governing, then explored his vast, storm-ravaged territory and encountered a starving temple keeper. After returning, he suggested to Senior Sister Zhang that the Nine Mountains Sect might use the realm as a refuge if a great calamity struck.

• Zheng Fa inscribed his name in the God-Investiture Register and learned from Yan Wushuang how fiefs, Heavenly Merit, and Thundear Methods worked.
• Zheng Fa entered his five-thousand-li fief and found a vast, rain-soaked territory with few settlements and badly struggling residents.
• Zheng Fa listened to worshippers' thoughts in a temple and saw a young temple keeper secretly eat offerings while pleading for the Thunder God to show divine power.
• After a month, Zheng Fa returned from the Heavenly Stele Realm and discussed with Senior Sister Zhang whether its abundant spiritual energy and unusual rules could make it a refuge for the Nine Mountains Sect.

Zheng Fa explained his plan to make the Heavenly Stele World a refuge for the Nine Mountains Sect, then demonstrated a way to eject the Bronze Coffin Elder from his protective coffin. The chapter ended with Senior Sister Zhang attacking the exposed elder while Yan Wushuang and the others watched.

• Zheng Fa told Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan that he wanted to turn the Heavenly Stele World into a refuge from the Great Freedom Demon Cult.
• Yan Wushuang defended Zheng Fa to Chu Tianque and Junior Sister Xue, saying he would be happy if Zheng Fa surpassed him and took control of the Heavenly Stele Realm.
• Yan Wushuang, Chu Tianque, and Junior Sister Xue saw Zheng Fa at the bottom of the Heavenly Stele’s rankings and noticed that Li Corpse had rapidly accumulated Heavenly Merit.
• The Bronze Coffin Elder arrived at the Heavenly Stele in his coffin and threatened Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang, claiming he would uncover the realm’s secrets for the Great Freedom Demon Cult.
• Zheng Fa used Positive-Negative Five-Element Divine Light to open the coffin and eject the Bronze Coffin Elder, and Senior Sister Zhang struck him with Lightning-Attracting Talismans.
• Chu Tianque praised Zheng Fa’s technique and complimented Yan Wushuang’s judgment, leaving Yan Wushuang unsure what to admire.

After Senior Sister Zhang defeated the Bronze Coffin Elder, Zheng Fa received the bronze coffin and offered Senior Sister Yuan some of its Netherworld Divine Iron. He then cultivated and met Qian True Person of the Thousand Grain Sect to ask about how heavenly lightning affected spiritual plants, but Qian True Person refused to reveal the sect’s secret.

• Senior Sister Yuan and Senior Sister Zhang protected Zheng Fa from the Bronze Coffin Elder, who was destroyed by heavenly lightning in the Thunder Pool.
• Senior Sister Zhang gave Zheng Fa the bronze coffin, and Zheng Fa offered to share its Netherworld Divine Iron with Senior Sister Yuan after she melted it down.
• Zheng Fa examined his Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant and Foundation Establishment cultivation, then swallowed a Purple Lightning Fruit to strengthen his spiritual power.
• Senior Sister Yuan escorted Zheng Fa to meet Qian True Person, while Uncle-Master Pang closely inspected the visitor.
• Zheng Fa asked Qian True Person about the connection between spiritual plants and heavenly lightning, but Qian True Person refused to disclose the Thousand Grain Sect’s secret.

Zheng Fa learned that seasonal thunder could aid Spirit Plant cultivation and explored scientific explanations with Professor Tian. Meanwhile, Tang Lingwu’s plan to demonstrate the Nursing Home’s vegetables attracted a chef who offered to pay for the secret behind his suddenly improved cooking.

• Zheng Fa offered Qian True Person a larger order, but Qian refused to reveal Thousand Grain Sect’s secrets before sharing methods he claimed belonged to Dark Rice Sect.
• Qian True Person explained how thunder at different times of year helped Spirit Plants grow, and Zheng Fa arranged for him to send plants for Senior Sister Yuan to appraise.
• Professor Tian proposed that lightning might affect Spirit Plants through chemical reactions or magnetic fields, and showed Zheng Fa research on magnetic fields and living organisms.
• Zheng Fa found Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu hosting a professional chef to showcase their vegetables, and the chef discovered that cooking with them seemed to improve his skills.
• The chef offered to treat Old Man Bai and pay extra to learn the Nursing Home’s secret.

At the Nursing Home, Zheng Fa rejected an exclusive produce contract so the business would not distract from their research, then began using modern instruments to study Heavenly Tribulation Lightning. The chapter ended with Zheng Fa and his colleagues collecting measurements and recording the spell’s spiritual-power patterns.

• Old Man Bai told Zheng Fa that a restaurant offered generous prices for daily exclusive produce and custom-grown ingredients, but Zheng Fa decided their research should remain the priority.
• Tang Lingwu explained that she had calculated the restaurant’s costs and supply channels, and said Zheng Fa’s determination to understand cultivation was why they had gathered.
• Zheng Fa described three incomplete Thundear Methods—Heavenly Tribulation Lightning, Cloud-Rain Lightning, and Spiritwood Lightning—and discussed how difficult their mechanisms would be to investigate.
• Several days later, Zheng Fa set up sensors and a high-speed camera to conduct the group’s first experiment on Heavenly Tribulation Lightning.
• Zheng Fa cast the lightning repeatedly onto a metal rod while Old Man Bai recorded his spiritual-power patterns and Tang Lingwu’s computer logged the lightning’s measurements until Zheng Fa’s spiritual power ran low.

Zheng Fa and his collaborators derived an equation connecting Heavenly Tribulation Lightning’s power to the number of times its Talisman Diagram appeared, giving them a way to control the spell’s strength. Meanwhile, Xiao Yuying arrived at Thunder Pool Market to investigate the Heavenly Stele, warning the Nine Mountains Sect that claiming it could leave the Thunder Pool unable to restrain the Great Freedom Demon Cult.

• After repeatedly casting Heavenly Tribulation Lightning, Zheng Fa suffered Divine Soul strain and wondered whether the spell’s power consumed his Divine Soul.
• Old Man Bai identified patterns shared by Zheng Fa’s lightning casts, and Tang Lingwu fitted the data to find that peak current roughly followed the sixth power of a Talisman Diagram’s number of appearances.
• Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai concluded that the number of effective Talisman Diagram paths determined lightning strength, establishing a Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Spirit-Energy Equation.
• Uncle-Master Pang and Senior Sister Zhang discussed Zheng Fa’s plans to take control of the Heavenly Stele Realm, and Uncle-Master Pang resolved to search the marketplace for spirit materials.
• Xiao Yuying arrived at Thunder Pool Market, introduced herself as Fairy Lingye, and asked Uncle-Master Pang about the Heavenly Stele and its connection to thunder methods.
• Xiao Yuying said she intended to claim the Heavenly Stele and warned that doing so might release the Great Freedom Demon Cult from the Thunder Pool; Uncle-Master Pang and Senior Sister Zhang recognized her as a formidable rival for Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa learned of Fairy Lingye’s extraordinary fortune and her Magnetic Rail Body, then discovered she might be able to sense electromagnetic fields, giving him a possible way to study Heavenly Tribulation Lightning. He also learned that the Thunderclap Sect was taking worshippers from his temple in Half-Mountain City, and his first attempt to speak to the starving temple keeper made her faint.

• Senior Sister Yuan told Zheng Fa about Fairy Lingye’s talent, good fortune, and Magnetic Rail Body, while Zheng Fa asked Uncle-Master Pang about finding a Thousand-Year Yang-Thunder Spider Core for the Heavenly Net Thunder Armor.
• Uncle-Master Pang warned Zheng Fa that the core was rare and expensive, then tried to prepare him for the possibility that the Nine Mountains Sect would lose the Heavenly Stele Realm.
• Yan Wushuang recounted how Fairy Lingye had found a legendary desert treasure in three days after he and other cultivators searched for months, and Zheng Fa saw that her God-Investiture Register showed Golden merit.
• Zheng Fa reasoned that Fairy Lingye’s Magnetic Rail Body might let her attract treasures or sense their unstable magnetic fields, potentially providing a precise way to observe electromagnetic changes.
• Zheng Fa heard the hungry temple keeper explain that the Thunderclap Sect was stealing the city’s believers and that its leader planned to become a god, so he ordered her to state her name.
• The temple keeper recognized Zheng Fa as the Thunder God and fainted when he confirmed it was him.