Chapter Summaries

Zheng Fa arrived at the Thunder Pool, learned of its devastating eruption and Senior Brother Zhuang’s death, and wrote down his cultivation research in case he died. True Person Huang then gave him Senior Sister Zhang’s map of places suitable for his training and a Jade Pendant showing that Zhang was still alive, while revealing that she approved of their relationship.

• Uncle-Master Pang warned Zheng Fa to watch for rivals among the Hundred Immortals Alliance and said their sects had agreed to support an exclusive marketplace.
• The Five-Dragon Heavenly Palace reached the Thunder Pool, where Zheng Fa learned that a sudden Spirit Cave eruption had destroyed a town and left survivors homeless.
• Senior Brother Yang told Zheng Fa that Senior Brother Zhuang had died in the Thunder Pool and that nobody had gone looking for him.
• Shaken by the mortal’s loss and Zhuang’s death, Zheng Fa wrote down his Talisman Dao and cultivation knowledge to leave something behind if he died.
• True Person Huang gave Zheng Fa Senior Sister Zhang’s Thunder Pool map and a Jade Pendant that showed Zhang was still alive.
• True Person Huang told Zheng Fa not to do anything foolish and said she approved of him and Senior Sister Zhang.

Zheng Fa established Thunder Pool Market, cultivated a new talisman, and gave Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu a spell to study. The chapter ended with Old Chen calling to say Zheng Fa had earned a remarkable College Entrance Exam result without stating the ranking.

• Zheng Fa and Uncle-Master Pang built Thunder Pool Market on the former Everlasting Spring Sect grounds, and its shops and stalls quickly filled.
• Uncle-Master Pang warned Zheng Fa that powerful cultivators could still threaten him in Thunder Pool despite their suppressed cultivation.
• A proud Celestial River Sect disciple arrived at the market, bought pills and Dharma Tools, and left after hearing the others discuss the Heavenly Stele.
• Zheng Fa condensed the Great Dream Talisman and continued cultivating the Five-Thunder Dharma Form.
• Zheng Fa gave Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu the Spirit Eye Method to help them study Talisman Diagrams.
• Old Chen called Zheng Fa about his College Entrance Exam results and said the ranking was too remarkable for him to state aloud.

After Zheng Fa chose physics at Capital University, Tang Lingwu surprised him with fireworks to celebrate his exam results. He and Old Man Bai then tested the Great Dream Talisman, and Old Man Bai woke from his dream claiming he had understood the difference between the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagrams.

• Zheng Fa told Old Chen he planned to attend Capital University and tentatively chose physics to study how spiritual energy affected the material world.
• Tang Lingwu arranged fireworks below the mountain to celebrate Zheng Fa's exam results, and he thanked her for the surprise.
• Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai tried using the Spirit Eye Technique to observe the Talisman Diagrams formed by spiritual energy, but they became overwhelmed.
• Zheng Fa used the Great Dream Talisman on Old Man Bai, whose dream showed him receiving the Fields Medal before flying away on a sword and trying to decipher talismans.
• Old Man Bai woke from the dream and exclaimed that he understood the difference between the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagrams.

Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai investigated the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagram’s chirality, and Zheng Fa suspected that yin and yang were mirror images of each other. As Zheng Fa prepared to enter the Thunder Pool to search for Senior Sister Zhang, Uncle-Master Pang gave him information and recognized his determination.

• Old Man Bai explained that the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagram’s yin and yang differed by chirality, while Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai questioned how opposite forms could give rise to each other.
• Zheng Fa observed the Origin Talisman Dao Foundation regenerate and suspected that one lotus pedestal was the other’s mirror image.
• Zheng Fa endured painful blood replacement while cultivating the fourth layer of the Five-Thunder Dharma Form, clutching half a jade pendant.
• Zheng Fa asked Uncle-Master Pang for Thunder Pool information, and Uncle-Master Pang gave him jade tubes after learning he had completed the fourth layer in half a month to find Senior Sister Zhang.
• Uncle-Master Pang scolded his disciples for playing games instead of cultivating, and the disciples joked that he was jealous of Senior Sister Zhang.

Zheng Fa stocked up on supplies and bought a Calamity-Crossing Boat before entering Thunder Pool to temper his body. After days of avoiding fights, he spotted a clash involving Great Freedom Demon Sect disciples, a Celestial River Sect disciple, and Chen Ting, where the Celestial River disciple suddenly turned his attack on Chen Ting.

• Zheng Fa used Uncle-Master Pang's notes to prepare for Thunder Pool's dangerous rules and bought pills for his trip.
• Zheng Fa had Senior Brother Yang order him a Calamity-Crossing Boat, then entered Thunder Pool and traveled cautiously for seven or eight days.
• Zheng Fa spotted Great Freedom Demon Sect disciples confronting a Celestial River Sect disciple and recognized Chen Ting secretly watching them.
• The Celestial River Sect disciple attacked the Great Freedom Demon Sect disciples, but his sword suddenly veered toward Chen Ting, who was caught off guard as Zheng Fa fled farther away.

Zheng Fa avoided Chen Ting’s attempt to draw him into a deadly fight, then sought a place to temper his body with Heavenly Thunder. His Azure Yang Energy awakened as his Pure Yang Body-Refinement Art neared completion, revealing a giant tree in the heavens and drawing the attention of the Celestial River Sect disciple.

• The Celestial River Sect disciple ambushed and killed a Great Freedom Demon Cult disciple, then overwhelmed Chen Ting and the remaining cultists by drawing a storm of Heavenly Thunder down on them.
• Chen Ting fled toward Zheng Fa and offered information about Senior Sister Zhang, but Zheng Fa refused to trust him and escaped on the Calamity-Crossing Boat.
• Zheng Fa searched all five locations on Senior Sister Zhang’s map for more than half a month but found no clues, then chose a secluded place for body refinement.
• Zheng Fa endured Heavenly Thunder, and his Azure Yang Energy burst open as his Pure Yang Body-Refinement Art approached completion.
• A gigantic tree appeared above the Thunder Pool as the thunder and fighting stopped, while new meridians formed in Zheng Fa’s body and seemed to mark the birth of his Azure Yang Dao Body.
• Zheng Fa tried to leave before anyone arrived, but the Celestial River Sect disciple appeared behind him and asked whether he liked being struck by lightning too.

Zheng Fa learned from Yan Wushuang that the Heavenly Steles contained other worlds with unusual laws, then joined the search for Chen Ting. After Chen Ting was caught, he revealed that Zhang had sealed herself to escape the Great Freedom Demon Sect.

• Yan Wushuang mistook Zheng Fa for a fellow lightning-body-tempering enthusiast and proposed founding a kindred spirits society.
• Yan Wushuang explained that the Heavenly Steles contained small worlds with unusual laws and that the Thunder Dao Heaven Stele might be connected to lightning dao.
• Chen Ting hid in a violent part of the Thunder Pool while recovering from his injuries and avoiding his pursuers.
• Zheng Fa searched the dangerous area with Nine Mountains Sect disciples, while Pang True Person secretly accompanied him.
• Chen Ting tried to attack Zheng Fa with his treasure mirror, but Pang True Person knocked it down and exposed himself.
• Chen Ting told Zheng Fa that Zhang had sealed herself to escape pursuit by the Great Freedom Demon Sect.

Zheng Fa and Uncle-Master Pang confronted Chen Ting in the Thunder Pool, but Chen Ting escaped while the sect continued searching for Senior Sister Zhang. In the modern world, Zheng Fa arrived alone at Capital University to register for his first day.

• Chen Ting bowed to Uncle-Master Pang, but their exchange turned tense as Pang questioned his betrayal and Chen warned him about fighting in the Thunder Pool.
• Zheng Fa boarded the Calamity-Crossing Boat with the Nine Mountains Sect disciples and fled, and Chen Ting escaped before Uncle-Master Pang returned.
• Uncle-Master Pang explained that Senior Sister Zhang had fled into the Thunder Pool and sealed herself inside the Mystic Gate Mirror, which could be difficult to open because of her flawed Golden Core.
• Zheng Fa and Uncle-Master Pang resolved to search for Senior Sister Zhang before the Great Freedom Demon Cult could force her into its Secret Realm.
• Zheng Fa arrived alone at Capital University, registered at the School of Physics tent, and received his student documents and dormitory key.
• A senior student asked Zheng Fa to add her on WeChat, then told the next boy in line that no such requirement existed.

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu visited Professor Tian after her illness worsened, but Zheng Fa could not yet treat her. Old Man Bai learned that Professor Tian had given up treatment to spare her elderly mother and persuaded her to hold on for another month, leaving Zheng Fa responsible for trying to save her.

• At the freshman ceremony, Zheng Fa met his roommate Dai Yuan, who searched the crowd for a potential girlfriend, while Tang Lingwu greeted Zheng Fa.
• Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu went to the hospital after learning that Professor Tian’s condition had deteriorated and she could barely walk.
• Zheng Fa told Old Man Bai that he needed another month to condense the talisman that might cure Professor Tian, and promised to help without asking for anything in return.
• At home, Professor Tian refused most of her medicine and explained to Old Man Bai that she had given up treatment because she did not want to burden her elderly mother.
• Old Man Bai urged Professor Tian to hold on for one month and promised to visit her mother if she died; Professor Tian joked that she would marry him if he truly saved her.
• Old Man Bai told Zheng Fa to treat Professor Tian while Tang Lingwu helped care for her, declaring that he wanted to become her old companion.

Zheng Fa learned that Uncle-Master Pang planned to send disciples into the Thunder Pool to search for Senior Sister Zhang, despite the danger from the Great Freedom Demon Cult. As the disciples prepared to trust Zheng Fa’s leadership, he brought Lin Bufan and Li Nuo in to help train them, leaving Lin Bufan assigned as their combat test.

• Uncle-Master Pang told Zheng Fa that Senior Sister Zhang’s general whereabouts were known, but the Great Freedom Demon Cult’s strength near the site made a rescue dangerous, so he planned to rely on lower-ranking disciples.
• Senior Brother Yang told Zheng Fa that some disciples would risk their lives because they trusted Zheng Fa not to send them to die for nothing.
• Senior Sister Yuan arrived with Lin Bufan and Li Nuo and gave Zheng Fa the Immortal Strife talisman formations he had requested.
• Zheng Fa explained that he wanted to train the disciples for the Thunder Pool mission and assigned Lin Bufan to test them in Immortal Strife rather than infiltrate the Great Freedom Demon Cult.
• Zheng Fa asked Li Nuo how many talisman seals he could make with Lin Bufan’s blood.

Zheng Fa arranged a bounty that exchanged the blood of Foundation Establishment Realm Great Freedom Demon Cult disciples for Profound-grade talismans, hoping to reduce the Nine Mountains Sect's casualties. The chapter ended with Yan Wushuang asking how much Zheng Fa would pay for a living captive.

• Li Nuo explained that Lin Bufan's blood could produce Divine Soul Talisman Seals, and Zheng Fa warned Lin Bufan against scheming before ordering him to train Nine Mountains Sect disciples.
• Zheng Fa proposed to Uncle-Master Pang that the Marketplace offer a bounty for Great Freedom Demon Cult disciples' blood, and Uncle-Master Pang agreed the reward could attract Rogue Cultivators.
• Zheng Fa told Senior Brother Yang and the others about the bounty, and they asked to take part; Zheng Fa required them to pass Lin Bufan's test before entering the Thunder Pool.
• Yan Wushuang visited Zheng Fa to confirm the bounty and asked how much he would receive for bringing back a living Great Freedom Demon Cult disciple.

Zheng Fa rejected Yan Wushuang’s plan to breed Demonic Sect disciples for their blood, insisting that the bounty was meant to kill them. As Great Freedom Demon Cult patrols entered the Thunder Pool, Immortal Sect cultivators ambushed them for the bounty, and one captured disciple realized the outside world was more savage than his own sect.

• Zheng Fa refused Yan Wushuang’s breeding proposal but confirmed that the bounty on Demonic Sect disciples remained in effect, and Lin Bufan volunteered to have Li Nuo draw more blood from him.
• Uncle-Master Pang watched Zheng Fa’s cultivation breakthrough while his disciples wished Zheng Fa would advance quickly enough to take over the Sect Leader’s responsibilities.
• A Great Freedom Demon Cult patrol leader boasted that his battle-hardened disciples would overpower the peaceful Immortal Sect disciples in the Thunder Pool.
• Nearly twenty Immortal Sect cultivators surrounded and attacked the patrol, collecting the Demonic Sect disciples’ blood as they fought.
• The patrol leader escaped toward the Secret Realm entrance but was paralyzed and captured by a burly cultivator, who planned to keep two captives and draw their blood regularly.

Zheng Fa used the Great Dream Talisman to verify Professor Tian’s willingness to join the Nursing Home and discovered that her deepest wish involved both her laboratory work and Old Man Bai. After seeing her dream, Old Man Bai decided to learn a spell to change his appearance, and Professor Tian woke believing she had dreamed of him.

• Zheng Fa told Old Man Bai that he had condensed the Grand Unity Talisman, then went with Tang Lingwu to Professor Tian’s home and found her bedridden and gravely ill.
• Professor Tian agreed to join the Nursing Home, revealed that she and Old Man Bai had married, and insisted that Zheng Fa perform the required test before treating her.
• Zheng Fa used the Great Dream Talisman to examine Professor Tian’s deepest wish, which showed her happily working in a laboratory and being picked up by a handsome version of Old Man Bai.
• Old Man Bai asked Zheng Fa to teach him a spell to change his appearance, and Professor Tian later woke and asked whether she had dreamed about him.

Zheng Fa used the Grand Unity Talisman to cure Professor Tian, whose recovery brought her mother Granny Wu to tears. Professor Tian agreed to help Zheng Fa with agricultural research but revealed that building a proper laboratory would cost millions; in the Xuanwei Realm, Demonic Sect disciples were caught selling blood and claimed to know Zhang’s whereabouts.

• Zheng Fa treated Professor Tian with the Grand Unity Talisman, and she awoke looking healthy and strong.
• Granny Wu returned home, found Professor Tian recovered, and broke down crying after years of concealed fear and grief.
• Professor Tian thanked Zheng Fa and agreed to help with his research, then explained that a complete agricultural laboratory would require millions of yuan.
• Tang Lingwu inspected Professor Tian’s equipment list while Old Man Bai joked about women’s talents for spending or giving away money.
• Uncle-Master Pang told Zheng Fa that Demonic Sect disciples had been caught selling blood at Thunder Pool Market and claimed to know Zhang’s whereabouts.

Zheng Fa learned that the Heavenly Stele had emerged near Thunder Pool and traveled there with Senior Sister Yuan, Yan Wushuang, Chu Tianque, and Junior Sister Xue. He left the others to pursue the Stele and found Senior Sister Zhang trapped beneath her Mystic Gate Mirror, where she told him she had seen the Stele.

• Senior Sister Yuan told Zheng Fa that Senior Sister Zhang was alive but sealed inside Thunder Pool, so Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan went to find her.
• Zheng Fa met Yan Wushuang, Chu Tianque, and Junior Sister Xue, then learned the Heavenly Stele had emerged and that its surroundings were dangerous.
• The group entered Thunder Pool together, each using their own methods to withstand the lightning.
• Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan left the others to search for Senior Sister Zhang, while Chu Tianque suspected Zheng Fa planned to approach the Heavenly Stele alone.
• Zheng Fa found Senior Sister Zhang protected by the Mystic Gate Mirror, and she began telling him that she had seen the Heavenly Stele.

Senior Sister Zhang explained that the Mystic Gate Mirror would hold her until she reached Nascent Soul and warned Zheng Fa to proceed cautiously with Foundation Establishment. The next day, Zheng Fa brought her books on mathematics to help with Talisman Diagram research, leaving Senior Sister Zhang absorbed in study and searching for an excuse to send him away.

• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan that she could not leave the Mystic Gate Mirror until she reached Nascent Soul, and she warned Zheng Fa about the risks of creating an incomplete Dao foundation.
• Zheng Fa shared his Yin-Yang Origin Talisman ideas, but Senior Sister Zhang said chirality fit while the mirror-image theory did not fully match the talismans.
• Senior Sister Zhang told Zheng Fa she was relieved to have brought him into the Nine Mountains Sect and hoped he would one day perfect the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method.
• The next day, Zheng Fa brought Senior Sister Zhang books on mathematics and began explaining how their concepts might help her study Talisman Diagrams.
• Senior Sister Yuan fled to look at the Heavenly Stele after enduring Zheng Fa's explanation, while Senior Sister Zhang continued listening until she urged Zheng Fa to go see the stele too.

Zheng Fa taught Senior Sister Zhang Topology while she remained trapped in the Mystic Gate Mirror, then reconsidered how the Talisman Dao Foundation worked. He left the chapter with a new theory that the Five Elements were inherent to spiritual energy and that a cultivator’s Dao foundation might be closer to spiritual energy than to spirit talismans.

• Zheng Fa finished teaching Senior Sister Zhang the basics of Topology, and she said his daily visits improved her mood even though she had not yet applied the subject to Talisman Diagrams.
• Uncle-Master Pang warned Zheng Fa not to sacrifice his Dao Path for Senior Sister Zhang, recounting how Aunt-Master Huang’s husband died saving her and urging Zheng Fa to focus on his own cultivation.
• Zheng Fa reached the completion of the Qi Refinement Realm, and Senior Sister Zhang advised him to consider dissolving his Talisman Dao Foundation and pursuing orthodox Foundation Establishment if necessary.
• Zheng Fa explained how questioning Euclid’s axioms had led to non-Euclidean geometry, then questioned whether the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagrams in his Dao foundation were truly the same as those found in the Xuanwei Realm.
• Zheng Fa proposed that the Five-Element Sub-Talisman reflected an inherent property of spiritual energy and that the Dao foundation condensed within cultivators might be closer to spiritual energy than to spirit talismans.

Zheng Fa’s theory helped Senior Sister Zhang gain insight and begin forming her Nascent Soul, though she asked him to wait before attempting Foundation Establishment. As the Nine Mountains Sect prepared for a possible attack by the Great Freedom Demon Cult, Zheng Fa returned to his quiet routine at Capital University.

• Senior Sister Zhang’s twin lotus pedestals merged into one, and she told Zheng Fa she would attempt Nascent Soul formation after gaining insight from his theory.
• Senior Sister Zhang asked Zheng Fa to delay Foundation Establishment until she had passed her Nascent Soul tribulation and tested the method’s safety.
• Zheng Fa left the Thunder Pool and told Uncle-Master Pang that Senior Sister Zhang was attempting to form her Nascent Soul.
• Uncle-Master Pang ordered the marketplace placed under martial law, fearing the Great Freedom Demon Cult would attack during Senior Sister Zhang’s ten-day breakthrough.
• Zheng Fa cultivated on Capital University’s lawn before going to the library, where he spoke with graduate student Yang.

Zheng Fa considered how to test the Three-Subsymbol Theory without relying on expensive experiments or Tang Lingwu’s money. At the Nursing Home, Professor Tian suggested using the prepared land for winter wheat research, prompting Zheng Fa to realize he could begin with basic experiments.

• Zheng Fa studied The Evolution of Physics and worried that testing his theories would require costly experiments and money from Tang Lingwu.
• Senior Yang saw Zheng Fa leave the library with Tang Lingwu and overheard them discuss her willingness to provide ten million, which renewed his resolve to work on his thesis.
• Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu went to the Nursing Home, where Professor Tian said she planned to plant winter wheat despite the laboratory not being ready.
• Zheng Fa realized that basic physics experiments could answer many of his questions without waiting for a fully equipped laboratory.

Zheng Fa and his companions tested how spiritual qi affected electromagnetic induction, while Old Man Bai challenged Zheng Fa to keep asking questions about the foundations of talisman cultivation. As Senior Sister Zhang neared Nascent Soul formation and the Nine Mountains Sect prepared for battle, Zheng Fa refined a Mirage Talisman and learned that Uncle-Master Pang’s invited allies might be dangerous.

• Zheng Fa’s experiment showed that spiritual qi suppressed electromagnetic induction but also caused unpredictable currents in a galvanometer, prompting him and Old Man Bai to consider how qi interacted with matter and how the Five-Element Sub-Talismans were structured.
• Old Man Bai told Zheng Fa that asking questions was as important as effort or answers, before Professor Tian slapped him for showing off.
• As Senior Sister Zhang’s Nascent Soul formation approached its critical juncture, Sun Daoyu gave Zheng Fa his savings to pass to his family if he died.
• Zheng Fa refined a Mirage Talisman as his tenth Origin Talisman, then considered whether higher dimensions could explain the mirror structure behind yin and yang.
• Uncle-Master Pang hosted seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators who had come to aid the Nine Mountains Sect, but the next morning he warned Zheng Fa to leave because some guests seemed to harbor sinister schemes.