Chapter Summaries

Zheng Fa met Senior Sister Zhang, a Golden Core cultivator whose blunt disregard for social status left First Miss and Seventh Young Master speechless. Senior Sister Zhang began testing Seventh Young Master's talisman knowledge and showed them an Origin Talisman, leaving Zheng Fa to see the world shatter before his eyes.

• Senior Sister Zhang impressed Zheng Fa with her extraordinary skill at mathematics and the Heavenly Origin and Concatenation Techniques.
• First Miss introduced Senior Sister Zhang as a Golden Core cultivator, and Senior Sister Zhang said she saw no difference between people of different status.
• Senior Sister Zhang advised First Miss to let go of her burdens and said they had held back her cultivation.
• Senior Sister Zhang agreed to teach Zhao Jingfan talisman arts and began testing his knowledge of Origin Talismans.
• Senior Sister Zhang formed a golden Origin Talisman and explained that a Talisman Diagram was heaven and earth, after which Zheng Fa saw the world shatter.

Senior Sister Zhang explained how Talisman Diagrams and Origin Talismans worked, then tested Seventh Young Master’s talisman-path aptitude. His accuracy exceeded thirty percent across the tested talismans, qualifying him as upper-grade talent, and the Eldest Miss asked for further testing.

• Senior Sister Zhang used the Spirit Eye Talisman to show Zheng Fa the spiritual-energy patterns behind Talisman Diagrams and demonstrated the Cloud-and-Rain Talisman.
• Senior Sister Zhang explained that Talisman Masters used Origin Talismans to conserve scarce spiritual materials and needed to recognize matching diagrams to draw in spiritual energy.
• Senior Sister Zhang described the Immortal Selection Fair aptitude test and began testing Seventh Young Master with a scroll of rapidly appearing Talisman Diagrams.
• Seventh Young Master showed accuracy above thirty percent for each tested Origin Talisman, which Senior Sister Zhang said was enough for upper-grade talisman-path talent.
• Seventh Young Master celebrated his result, while the Eldest Miss asked Senior Sister Zhang to test him further.

Senior Sister Zhang recognized Zheng Fa’s exceptional talent in the talisman path and explained that dwindling spiritual energy was tightening access to discipleship and the Immortal Selection Fair. She offered him an Immortal Selection Token in exchange for three hundred questions upfront and one hundred questions each month, leaving Zheng Fa with a chance to enter the fair and a warning to stop treating other people as his enemies.

• Seventh Young Master realized Zheng Fa’s Diagram Sea Tactics had quickly improved his talisman skills, and Senior Sister Zhang praised Zheng Fa’s teaching and talent.
• Eldest Miss defended Zheng Fa, promised he could continue training Seventh Young Master, and dragged her brother away.
• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa that spiritual-energy decline had led to restrictions on accepting disciples and rumors that the Immortal Selection Fair would have fewer slots.
• Senior Sister Zhang offered Zheng Fa her Immortal Selection Token in return for three hundred questions and one hundred questions per month.
• Senior Sister Zhang warned Zheng Fa to set aside his paranoid suspicions and said cultivators’ enemies had never been people.

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu visited Old Man Bai for tutoring, but found him away at a physical examination and met his concerned daughter. The chapter ended when Old Man Bai received his report and insisted its flawless results must belong to someone else.

• Wang Chen complained that Zheng Fa had begun memorizing difficult exam papers, then decided to imitate his studying.
• Zheng Fa asked Tang Lingwu to send him especially unpleasant math problems to memorize, and she wondered if he needed medical help.
• Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu went to Old Man Bai's home and learned he had gone for his annual physical examination.
• Old Man Bai's daughter explained that she wanted her father to rest and asked the students not to keep him up late with mathematics.
• Old Man Bai returned, argued with his daughter about his health, and then dismissed his clean examination report as someone else's.

Old Man Bai’s medical report revealed that his health had improved remarkably, and he agreed to keep Zheng Fa’s cultivation secret. Zheng Fa brought Senior Sister Zhang a collection of difficult problems, while in the Xuanwei Realm, Madam proposed that her daughter Lan’er marry Zheng Fa.

• Old Man Bai’s daughter questioned his medical report, but Old Man Bai insisted he was healthy and credited his second spring to romance.
• Old Man Bai told Zheng Fa that he had concealed the truth to protect him, and Zheng Fa thanked him.
• Zheng Fa asked Old Man Bai for difficult calculation problems for a friend, and Old Man Bai brought out collections he had gathered as an Olympiad problem setter.
• The eldest young lady saw Zheng Fa visit Senior Sister Zhang and worried that he might disturb her, but Madam believed he had permission.
• Madam proposed that Zheng Fa marry into the Zhao Family, then told Lan’er that she intended him to marry her.

Madam urged the eldest young lady to marry Zheng Fa into the Zhao Family, but she refused and suggested betrothing him to a younger sister instead. Senior Sister Zhang gave Zheng Fa a Nine Mountains Sect Immortal Selection Token and explained that the Hundred Immortals Alliance had formed because smaller sects needed to unite against the dangers of spiritual-energy decline.

• Madam explained that Zheng Fa’s rapid rise and talent made him valuable to the Zhao Family, and urged the eldest young lady to marry him.
• The eldest young lady said she had no interest in marriage and proposed that Madam betroth Zheng Fa to a suitable younger sister instead.
• Senior Sister Zhang gave Zheng Fa a Nine Mountains Sect Immortal Selection Token and warned him to display his talents rather than hide them.
• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa that spiritual energy had declined at least five times and recounted how slaughter and sect destruction had accompanied the last two declines.
• Senior Sister Zhang explained that the Hundred Immortals Alliance was an alliance of small and medium-sized sects formed to unite against stronger sects and the threat of spiritual-energy decline.

Zheng Fa learned about the Hundred Immortals Alliance and discovered that he had a Fire-Wood Dual-Spirit Root. He then found out the Zhao family planned to marry him into the household, just as his Immortal Selection Token left Seventh Young Master facing the loss of his own chance at cultivation.

• Senior Sister Zhang explained that dwindling spiritual resources had kept major powers at peace, but warned Zheng Fa that the peace might not last and urged him not to hide.
• Senior Sister Zhang tested Zheng Fa's Spirit Root and identified it as a Fire-Wood Dual-Spirit Root.
• Senior Sister Zhang warned that the Hundred Immortals Alliance might intervene because the Lineages had called the Immortal Selection Fair early.
• The Eldest Miss told Seventh Young Master that their mother planned to marry Zheng Fa to one of his elder sisters, making him a relative and a household master.
• Zheng Fa revealed that Senior Sister Zhang had given him an Immortal Selection Token, and Seventh Young Master realized Zheng Fa had received the opportunity he had waited ten years for.

Madam decided to leave her small building and visit Zheng Fa after learning that True Person Zhang had given him an Immortal Selection Token. She arrived at Zheng Fa’s courtyard, where he told Gao Yuan that Madam was behind him.

• Seventh Young Master told Madam and the Eldest Young Lady that Zheng Fa had received an Immortal Selection Token and was not planning to marry.
• Madam decided to visit Zheng Fa, explaining that she did not want her past actions to affect her son’s future relationship with him.
• The Eldest Young Lady urged Seventh Young Master to remember that their mother was willing to set aside her pride for his future.
• Madam asked Steward Wu to lead her on foot to Zheng Fa’s family courtyard.
• Gao Yuan told Zheng Fa that Madam had left her building, and Zheng Fa revealed that she was standing behind him.

The Madam visited Zheng Fa and offered his family freedom from their indentures and a generous selection of properties. Zheng Fa accepted her gratitude but refused the deeds, warning that sudden wealth could bring trouble.

• Gao Yuan worried that the Madam had heard him praise her youth, and Zheng Fa explained that she was an immortal cultivator.
• The Madam respectfully greeted Zheng Fa’s family and praised him for remaining unmoved by the honor she had arranged for him.
• The Madam revealed that she would cancel the Zheng family’s slave registrations and offered them deeds to shops and residences as compensation and support.
• Zheng Fa returned the deeds because they were too valuable, explaining that sudden wealth could bring disasters.
• The Madam marveled that Zhao Jingfan had made a friend like Zheng Fa, then implicitly put her son down while praising him.

Zheng Fa accepted a modest residence deed and Madam’s Spirit Stones before moving his family out of the Zhao Residence. As they departed through the opened main gate, a Chen Family carriage waited outside, hinting at a new encounter.

• Zheng Fa chose a small courtyard deed and accepted Madam’s ten Spirit Stones after learning about her past in an Immortal Sect.
• Zheng Fa told Madam that he regarded the Young Master as a friend.
• Zheng Fa, Mother Zheng, and Zheng Shan moved out of the Zhao Residence with help from Gao Yuan and Steward Gao.
• The old driver took Zheng Fa’s family out through the Zhao Residence’s main gate, which Madam had ordered opened for their departure.
• The old driver spotted a Chen Family carriage outside the gate and told Zheng Fa that the Chen Family was one of Jingzhou City’s three great families.

The Chen Family accompanied Sun Daoyu to ask Senior Sister Zhang for her Immortal Selection Token on behalf of True Person Pang, who wanted it for the gifted Zhou Ganyuan. The request ended when Senior Sister Zhang revealed that she had already given the token to Zheng Fa.

• The Seventh Young Master told Zheng Fa that he had secretly stirred discord among the Chen Family and then changed the subject to their visit to True Person Zhang.
• Zheng Fa and the Seventh Young Master found Sun Daoyu and the Chen Family young masters waiting outside Senior Sister Zhang’s courtyard.
• Sun Daoyu told Senior Sister Zhang that True Person Pang had sent him to request her Immortal Selection Token for Zhou Ganyuan, a talented Talisman Dao cultivator with a Geng Metal Dao Body and Metal-Spirit Root.
• Senior Sister Zhang said she had already given her token to someone with similar qualifications and pointed to Zheng Fa as the recipient.

Zheng Fa learned that Senior Sister Zhang genuinely believed his Talisman Dao talent surpassed hers and promised to protect him in the Nine Mountains Sect. Worried he could not live up to her expectations at the Immortal Selection Fair, he asked Old Man Bai to help him create a rune-selection practice game.

• Sun Daoyu tried to persuade Senior Sister Zhang to give Zheng Fa's Immortal Selection Token to his junior brother, but she refused and said Zheng Fa had greater Talisman Dao talent than she did.
• After Sun Daoyu left, Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa that people would compete with him for resources and promised that she and her master would protect him.
• Senior Sister Zhang explained that she had judged Zheng Fa's talent from his Diagram Sea Tactics, Talisman Diagrams, and insights into Origin Talismans, not merely his arithmetic work.
• Zheng Fa realized Senior Sister Zhang sincerely believed he was a Talisman Dao genius, though he had not understood the patterns in the diagrams he drew.
• At Old Man Bai's home in modern times, Zheng Fa asked him to make a game for practicing rune selection with Diagram Sea Tactics so he could meet Senior Sister Zhang's expectations at the Immortal Selection Fair.

Zheng Fa commissioned a Talisman Diagram recognition game to train his skills, haggled its price down to five thousand yuan, and began practicing with it. Senior Sister Zhang later told him and the Seventh Young Master that the Immortal Selection Fair would rank candidates by placement, so Zheng Fa would need to outperform everyone else.

• Zheng Fa asked Old Man Bai to find someone to build a game that tested his recognition of Talisman Diagrams, and Old Man Bai warned him about the cost.
• Old Man Bai connected Zheng Fa with Han Xiaobai, who agreed to make the game for five thousand yuan after hearing about Zheng Fa's circumstances.
• Han Xiaobai advised Zheng Fa that the game might not be worthwhile, but Zheng Fa explained he had another use for it and promised to pay extra based on the price of a phone.
• Zheng Fa practiced with the game until the diagrams left him exhausted, and Wang Chen joked that he was preparing to conduct paternity tests.
• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa and the Seventh Young Master that the Immortal Selection Fair would rank candidates by placement rather than assign grades.

Zheng Fa learned that competition for Immortal Sect admission had intensified, then arranged for Huang Yu to serve as steward of the Zheng Family's new courtyard. He ended the chapter considering the pressure of his borrowed comforts after Zheng Shan asked whether he was tired of pursuing immortality.

• Senior Sister Zhang explained that the Immortal Selection Fair had imposed limited slots because of increased participation and pressure from existing disciples, while the Azure Wood Sect had less competition in talisman arts than the Nine Mountains Sect.
• Huang Yu and Steward Huang approached Zheng Fa and asked for Huang Yu to serve the Zheng Family, and Zheng Fa agreed to hire him for one tael of silver a month.
• Steward Huang explained to Huang Yu that the position could give him a secure future alongside Zheng Fa, and Huang Yu accepted his father's advice to work hard.
• Huang Yu moved into the Zheng Family's front courtyard to guard the gate and protect Mother Zheng and Zheng Shan.
• Zheng Shan told Zheng Fa that Mother Zheng worried he was overworking himself, then asked whether he was tired and offered to give up his pursuit of immortality.

Zheng Fa was carried to the Immortal Selection Fair’s Ascension Platform, where he joined the other candidates as they entered the hall for their initial assessment. Meanwhile, Senior Sister Zhang agreed to wager her talisman-path Foundation Establishment method against True Person Pang’s Void-Piercing Spirit Eye, and the candidates began taking turns before the Immortal Selection Mirror.

• Zheng Fa’s Immortal Selection Token crumbled, and its talisman carried him to the Ascension Platform alongside candidates from Jingzhou City.
• Senior Sister Zhang showed Mother Zheng and Zheng Shan a magical image of the candidates, then agreed to wager her Foundation Establishment method against True Person Pang’s Void-Piercing Spirit Eye.
• Zhou Ganyuan introduced himself to Zheng Fa, who recognized the talented youth’s resentment over losing the Immortal Selection Token.
• Zheng Fa and the Seventh Young Master entered the hall and watched candidates receive colored ranking rings from the Immortal Selection Mirror.

At the Immortal Selection Fair, Zheng Fa and Seventh Young Master entered the talisman-path examination at the Nine Mountains Sect. Seventh Young Master overcame his fear of heights after Zheng Fa provoked him about Gao Yuan, and the examination began with the candidates climbing dangerous, timed plank paths.

• Sun Daoyu explained the Immortal Selection Mirror’s grades as Zhou Ganyuan received purple, Seventh Young Master white, and Zheng Fa a faint green trace amid white.
• After the candidates were directed to choose an examination door, Zhou Ganyuan entered the Talisman door despite his purple grade, and Zheng Fa and Seventh Young Master followed.
• A Nine Mountains Sect examiner summoned Nine Mountains Patriarch, transforming nine halls into mountains connected by transparent plank paths, and announced that candidates had to climb as far as they could.
• Zhou Ganyuan began the climb, while candidates who mistimed their steps fell or lost their paths as Zheng Fa worked out the examination’s rules.
• Seventh Young Master nearly gave up because he feared heights, but Zheng Fa’s remarks about Gao Yuan’s ambitions stirred him to climb.

Zheng Fa advanced through the increasingly difficult talisman examination, helping Zhao Jingfan regain his resolve as they neared Ninth Peak. Zhou Ganyuan, rattled by their progress and Zhao Jingfan’s claim that Zheng Fa had taught him the talisman path, hurried after them.

• Zheng Fa focused on recognizing Talisman Diagrams and climbed steadily as the examination grew harder from the third mountain onward.
• Zhao Jingfan froze after seeing other candidates fall, but Zheng Fa reminded him of the ten years he had waited and cursed for this chance.
• Zhao Jingfan regained his focus and followed Zheng Fa toward Ninth Peak, leaving most candidates behind.
• Zhou Ganyuan grew tense as Zheng Fa caught up and passed him without looking.
• Zhao Jingfan passed Zhou Ganyuan, introduced himself, and said Zheng Fa had taught him the talisman path, prompting Zhou Ganyuan to chase after them.
• Sun Daoyu remarked that his junior brother’s heart was in turmoil, while Madam and the eldest young lady exchanged guilty glances.

Zheng Fa raced up the Nine Mountains Plankway and reached the Ninth Peak, where he encountered the Nine Mountains Patriarch in the guise of Senior Sister Zhang. Meanwhile, Senior Sister Zhang revealed that her true ambition was to find a fellow traveler on the Dao.

• Zhou Ganyuan lost focus watching Zheng Fa and fell from the plankway near the top of the Sixth Mountain.
• Sun Daoyu gave Senior Sister Zhang the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye method, explaining that Uncle-Master Pang hoped it might help her perfect her Dao path.
• Zheng Fa continued climbing as the trial grew harder, while the Seventh Young Master fell on the Seventh Mountain.
• Senior Sister Zhang told Sun Daoyu that she had failed the Nine Mountains Patriarch's trial before and sought a fellow traveler rather than merely the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye.
• Zheng Fa reached the Ninth Peak and discovered that the lecherous figure wearing Senior Sister Zhang's face was the Nine Mountains Patriarch.

Zheng Fa improved Nine Mountains Patriarch’s plank-path trial and earned a Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method. Nine Mountains Patriarch then revealed that his original body was the Mountain-River True-Form Talisman, which held the sleeping larger half of himself and the means to gain a new life.

• Senior Sister Zhang told Sun Daoyu that Nine Mountains Patriarch’s small reward had been a Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method, and said he favored people like Zheng Fa.
• Zheng Fa suggested that Nine Mountains Patriarch make the plank paths move, add dangerous weather and disasters, and force disciples to compete for limited routes and reach a target before time ran out.
• Nine Mountains Patriarch approved Zheng Fa’s ideas, gave him the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method, and offered to credit him for improving the trial.
• Nine Mountains Patriarch showed Zheng Fa the Mountain-River True-Form Talisman on Ninth Peak and explained how it had granted a spirit vein intelligence and led to the creation of Nine Mountains Sect.
• Nine Mountains Patriarch revealed that the larger half of his former self slept within the talisman, absorbing disciples’ insights so it could merge with the True Form Talisman and gain new life.

Zheng Fa used his method to analyze the Mountain-River True-Form Talisman and impressed Nine Mountains Patriarch with the Origin Talismans he deciphered. As Nine Mountains Patriarch offered him two choices from his legacy, Zhou Ganyuan began considering whether to become Zheng Fa’s disciple.

• Zheng Fa examined the Mountain-River True-Form Talisman and used the patterns in his notebook to analyze its unfamiliar diagrams.
• Seventh Young Master met Zhou Ganyuan, who asked whether Zheng Fa had taught him talisman arts and what Zheng Fa required of disciples.
• A golden beam revealed Zheng Fa analyzing the diagrams, and Zhou Ganyuan realized he had a method for deriving unfamiliar Origin Talismans.
• Seventh Young Master exaggerated Zheng Fa’s requirements to deter Zhou Ganyuan, who concluded that Zheng Fa was not very picky after all.
• Zheng Fa deciphered fewer than one-tenth of the Origin Talismans, but Nine Mountains Patriarch praised his achievement and offered him two items from his legacy.
• Nine Mountains Patriarch made two vermilion doors appear halfway up the mountainside.