Chapter Summaries

Bai Yujun traveled alone on a Mount Hua mission, enjoying the countryside and encountering a ghost on a mountain ridge. The ghost, Xia Lan, revealed that she was waiting for the childhood sweetheart who had murdered her, hoping he would take her home to see her parents.

• Bai Yujun left Mount Hua with other disciples and continued alone after their routes split, while Chu Zhe watched her depart.
• Bai Yujun traveled through towns and villages, eating, singing, and playing in a waterfall pool in her snake form, where she startled a passerby.
• Bai Yujun crossed a mountain rumored to be haunted and met Xia Lan, a female ghost waiting by the road.
• Xia Lan told Bai Yujun that Young Master Li had become the Top Scholar, then strangled her after secretly becoming engaged to a minister's daughter.
• Xia Lan said she did not hate Young Master Li and only wanted him to take her home to see her parents.

Bai Yujun agreed to take Xia Lan, a ghost who had waited seven years for the man who killed her, to see him when he returned to his village. Xia Lan watched Young Master Li arrive to a hero’s welcome, while her lonely parents remained absent from the celebration.

• Bai Yujun told Xia Lan that Young Master Li would never return for her and persuaded her to agree to reincarnation if he refused to take her home.
• Bai Yujun found Xia Lan’s parents living in a thatched hut outside the village and learned that the Li family’s successful son had built a grand manor nearby.
• Bai Yujun waited for Young Master Li’s return, then used talismans to let Xia Lan appear beneath a paper umbrella during the day.
• Bai Yujun brought Xia Lan to a ridge overlooking the village entrance, where Xia Lan asked after her parents and learned they were lonely and had no descendants.
• Young Master Li arrived in an elaborate procession and was welcomed by the villagers as a high-ranking official, while Xia Lan watched from afar.

Bai Yujun brought Xia Lan to see Li Qiancheng, then abducted him from Li Manor so Xia Lan could ask him to take her home. When Li Qiancheng refused and smashed Xia Lan’s bones, Bai Yujun drew her blade and pressed it to his neck.

• Bai Yujun led Xia Lan to Li Manor, where Xia Lan watched Li Qiancheng arrive with his wife and child.
• Bai Yujun promised to bring Li Qiancheng to the mountain the next day, then returned there with Xia Lan.
• Bai Yujun caused a distraction at Li Manor, knocked Li Qiancheng unconscious, and carried him up the mountain.
• Xia Lan asked Li Qiancheng to take her home, but he denied their vows and screamed in fear.
• Bai Yujun showed Li Qiancheng Xia Lan’s bones and ordered him to carry them home for burial.
• Li Qiancheng smashed and trampled the bones, so Bai Yujun drew her blade and held it against his neck.

Bai Yujun buried Xia Lan, helped her pass on, and protected her grave until the Li family left before continuing her journey to Elixir Prefecture. There, a wealthy Household plotted to take the Chunyang Token from a newly orphaned boy so another family member could use it to enter Chunyang Palace.

• Bai Yujun buried Xia Lan's remains and chanted a scripture until Xia Lan let go of her attachment and departed through an ancient archway.
• Bai Yujun warned a geomancy master to tell Li Qiancheng's Household to leave Xia Lan's grave alone, and the master delivered her message without accepting payment.
• Li Manor sent exorcists and soldiers toward the mountain, but Bai Yujun frightened away the men who approached Xia Lan's grave, and the family later moved to Chang'an.
• Bai Yujun resumed her journey, crossing rivers and swamps, catching a fish, and drying her belongings after rain.
• In Elixir Prefecture, members of a wealthy Household learned that the orphaned boy's dead mother had received a Chunyang Token from a Chunyang Palace immortal.
• The Household elders and relatives demanded that the boy surrender the token, arguing that he had no right to go to Mount Hua.

Zhuo Feng’s relatives took the jade pendant his mother had left him by promising to bury her with his father, then broke that promise and imprisoned him. He was left to survive in a sealed courtyard while his cousin prepared to take the pendant’s place and go to Mount Hua.

• The Zhuo family tested two boys with a Testing Jade Talisman and chose the one with the slightly stronger response to claim the cultivation opportunity.
• The Clan Elders visited Zhuo Feng in the Spirit Hall and promised to bury his mother with his father if he surrendered her keepsake.
• Zhuo Feng gave them his mother’s jade pendant, and the elders celebrated after recognizing it as the token they wanted.
• His cousin told Zhuo Feng that his mother would be sent to a mass grave and that he would be expelled, so Zhuo Feng rushed after the family to reclaim the pendant.
• The chubby boy’s father struck Zhuo Feng, and the family carried away his mother’s coffin and sealed Zhuo Feng inside a courtyard.
• Zhuo Feng struggled to escape and survived on buns, rainwater, and help from sympathetic servants.

Bai Yujun visited the Zhuo family to bring Zhao Yu’s son, Zhuo Feng, to Mount Hua as a Chunyang Palace disciple, but learned that Zhao Yu had died. After confirming the Chunyang Token, she returned to the outpost and began helping with disciple recruitment in Qingding Commandery.

• The Zhuo family welcomed Bai Yujun with an elaborate ceremony, and she asked whether Zhao Yu was there.
• The Clan Elder told Bai Yujun that Zhao Yu had died a month earlier and left behind her son, Zhuo Feng.
• Bai Yujun explained that she had been ordered to take Zhuo Feng to Mount Hua, and the Zhuo family readily agreed.
• Bai Yujun examined the jade pendant, confirmed it was the Chunyang Token, and returned to the outpost after telling the family she would come back in a few days.
• Bai Yujun received her recruitment assignment and prepared to test children at the crowded drill ground alongside other sects.

Bai Yujun tested children seeking admission to Chunyang Palace, discovering several promising candidates, including a gifted little girl and an eight-year-old beggar. She continued recruiting in Prefecture City while protecting the beggar girl after she passed both tests.

• Bai Yujun tested a wealthy boy, who showed no cultivation aptitude and was rejected.
• A little girl named Xiner displayed upper-middle-grade aptitude, and the Dao Heart scripture glowed and floated, confirming she was suited to cultivate Chunyang methods.
• Bai Yujun recorded Xiner's details, gave her an identity jade talisman, and told her to return on the first day of the next month.
• Bai Yujun spent the day testing children and found about a dozen with cultivation potential, including three with Dao Hearts.
• Zhuo Feng's family connections brought him attention in Prefecture City, and he caused trouble after receiving a guaranteed place at Mount Hua's Chunyang mountain gate.
• Bai Yujun tested an eight-year-old beggar girl who passed both tests, then kept her in the tent and looked after her.

Bai Yujun protected Little Millet from her beggar bosses and finished the Chunyang Immortal Sect’s recruitment tests. When she returned to the Zhuo Household to take Zhuo Feng to Mount Hua, a servant tried to warn her that the household was presenting the wrong person, but he was dragged away before he could explain.

• Bai Yujun took Little Millet in as her assistant and gave her clean clothes and food while conducting the recruitment tests.
• Little Millet’s beggar bosses demanded compensation for her, but Bai Yujun killed their leader and knocked out his followers.
• Bai Yujun completed the tests, dismissed rumors of a flood dragon in the river, and learned the recruitment period had ended.
• Bai Yujun returned to the Zhuo Household to take Zhuo Feng away for the disciples’ review on Mount Hua.
• An old servant rushed in and begged Bai Yujun to save Zhuo Feng, claiming the household was deceiving her, but the household seized and dragged him away.
• The Clan Elder introduced a plump boy as his grandson Zhuo Feng, and the boy bowed to Bai Yujun.

Bai Yujun realized that the Zhuo family had substituted another boy for the Zhuo Feng she was seeking, and the Grand Clan Elder revealed that the real Zhuo Feng was in the rear courtyard. Before she could reach him, Cai Meng kidnapped the child and fled, leaving Bai Yujun in pursuit toward the city wall.

• Bai Yujun sensed the Zhuo family's fear and confronted the Grand Clan Elder, who admitted that the real Zhuo Feng was in the rear courtyard.
• Bai Yujun rushed into the rear courtyard as Cai Meng escaped through the back gate carrying Zhuo Feng.
• Cai Meng, a small-sect deacon, had spotted Zhuo Feng's exceptional aptitude and kidnapped him to recruit him for his sect.
• Bai Yujun pursued Cai Meng through the streets, throwing her Hengdao and heavy ruler at him as he evaded her attacks.
• Cai Meng headed for the city wall while Bai Yujun continued chasing him and demanded that he put Zhuo Feng down.

Bai Yujun pursued Cai Meng into a forest and fought him to stop him from abducting Zhuo Feng. As Cai Meng began stalling with his magic tools, Bai Yujun’s exhausted body struggled to evade his Square Seal.

• Bai Yujun chased Cai Meng beyond the city walls, using Hengdao to nearly strike him and slanted shields to deflect his Square Seal.
• Cai Meng set down the unconscious Zhuo Feng in a remote forest and faced Bai Yujun, who accused him of trafficking children.
• Bai Yujun pressed Cai Meng with sword and heavy-ruler attacks, breaking through his golden shield and countering his fire spells.
• Cai Meng unleashed Purgatory Fire Sea, but Bai Yujun used Snow Breaks the Bridge to drive the flames away.
• Two hidden cultivators considered ambushing the fighters after they weakened, while Cai Meng decided to stall and possibly surrender Zhuo Feng if he could not win.
• Cai Meng threw his Square Seal at Bai Yujun, who, aching from her earlier burst of speed, accelerated backward to evade it.

Bai Yujun escaped Cai Meng, then fled through the forest with Zhuo Feng while two Demon Subjugation Sect disciples pursued them. At the great river, she transformed into a huge white snake and caught Zhuo Feng in her jaws as he fell toward the water.

• Cai Meng stopped fighting and fled, leaving Bai Yujun to wake Zhuo Feng.
• Two Demon Subjugation Sect disciples revealed themselves and chased Bai Yujun into the forest.
• Bai Yujun carried Zhuo Feng through the woods, using fallen trees to knock aside the disciples' Beast Taming Circles.
• Bai Yujun realized the pursuers were tracking her with help from an eagle spirit creature and ran toward a great river.
• Bai Yujun threw Zhuo Feng toward the river, transformed into a huge white snake, and caught him in her open jaws.

Bai Yujun rescued Zhuo Feng from the Demon Subjugation Sect and brought him to safety at the Chunyang outpost. She then guided him to his mother’s grave, where he grieved, and offered him a harsh piece of advice about enduring life.

• Bai Yujun carried Zhuo Feng through the river to evade the Demon Subjugation Sect cultivators, then hurried him to the Chunyang outpost.
• Senior Brother Lingxu gave Zhuo Feng medicine and food, and Zhuo Feng declared that he would destroy the Zhuo family himself in ten years.
• Bai Yujun took Zhuo Feng to the mass grave and used his mother’s red cord to locate her grave.
• Zhuo Feng collapsed on his mother’s grave and wept, while Bai Yujun recalled her own family and urged him to keep struggling through life.

Bai Yujun retrieved the Chunyang Token from the disgraced Zhuo family and joined the new disciples’ journey back to Chunyang Palace. As flooding spread across Elixir Prefecture and nearby regions, Yu Rong ordered her to leave the group and manage the disaster.

• Bai Yujun took the Chunyang Token from the Zhuo family and delivered Zhuo Feng’s message to the Grand Clan Elder.
• Bai Yujun and three Golden Core Stage senior disciples led the new disciples out of the Prefecture City toward Chunyang Palace.
• Little Millet enjoyed the journey with snacks while Zhuo Feng remained withdrawn, and heavy rain forced the group to shelter at an inn.
• Senior Sister Zixu received a message from Yu Rong ordering Bai Yujun to control floods across Elixir Prefecture and neighboring prefectures.

Bai Yujun struggled to divert the southeastern floods and save humans and animals, while Yu Rong and Li Xiangyan discussed her unusual cultivation and the dangers facing the Tang Empire. Exhausted in the disaster zone, Bai Yujun met a Fox Spirit who planned to flee south to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

• Bai Yujun spent two days and a night guiding floodwaters, saving what she could as the disaster swept away people, fields, and animals.
• At Mount Hua, Yu Rong explained to Li Xiangyan and Gu Cangyu that Bai Yujun was an exceptionally rare demon cultivating toward righteous fruition.
• Yu Rong warned that the ill Tang Emperor, political unrest, and the floods could give Demonic Beasts an opening to cause trouble.
• After continuing her efforts in the rain, Bai Yujun reached a hillside to rest and encountered a Fox Spirit who questioned why she worked so hard.
• The Fox Spirit told Bai Yujun she intended to travel south and find a village where she could charm a foolish scholar.

Bai Yujun diverted the floodwaters while hunting demons that preyed on survivors, and her actions drew the attention of six water demons. The six approached her at Jicui Mountain, where she stood ready to face them.

• Bai Yujun spotted a lizard demon attacking a temporary village and killed it before it could seize another child.
• Bai Yujun ate the lizard demon's heart and left its meat for the survivors, who divided and ate the carcass.
• Bai Yujun continued clearing waterways and killing demons that preyed on people, while avoiding human cultivators.
• Six water demons approached Bai Yujun at Jicui Mountain, where she waited with a heavy ruler.

Bai Yujun fought six water demons who had been preying on others during the floods. She held her own against their attacks and discovered a new way to use the Sword Absorption Technique to keep her Hengdao circling in battle.

• Bai Yujun refused the Softshell Turtle Demon's offer to stop interfering with the water demons' hunting and challenged the six creatures to fight.
• The water demons surrounded Bai Yujun, and she opened the battle by striking at the Softshell Turtle Demons with her heavy ruler.
• Bai Yujun drew her Hengdao, evaded the water snake's attack, and used the heavy ruler to fend off the lizards and turtles.
• Bai Yujun threw her Hengdao at the Catfish Demon and used half a Sword Control Technique to steer it through the air.
• Bai Yujun blocked the Catfish Demon's water arrows and dodged the lizards' tongues, then discovered she could use the Sword Absorption Technique to keep her spinning Hengdao circling as an ongoing threat.

Bai Yujun fought off six water demons and forced them to agree to leave her territory alone. After the battle, the water snake returned and asked her to be its mate, prompting her to chase it away with her blade.

• Bai Yujun attacked the water snake and Catfish Demon, then fought the water demons on the surface as they launched spells at her.
• Bai Yujun used Snow Breaks the Bridge to shatter the demons’ spell barrage and drive them back.
• Bai Yujun spread her venom through the water, forcing the Catfish Demon and the other water demons to retreat.
• Bai Yujun and the old turtle demon agreed to stop fighting, with the demons promising not to cause trouble on her shore.
• The water snake returned and asked Bai Yujun to be its mate, so she chased it back into the water with her blade.

While diverting the flood, Bai Yujun fell asleep in a bay amid a strange storm and woke having grown several meters and gained stronger water control. She resumed clearing waterways, rescued a family on a raft, and continued downstream, where she encountered a young man drifting in a coffin.

• Bai Yujun left the river to sleep beneath the water in a quiet bay as rain clouds, wind, and lightning gathered over it for three days.
• Bai Yujun woke about three meters longer without shedding her skin and discovered she could control water within a hundred meters.
• Bai Yujun used her stronger water control to clear the river channels and tow a family of three on a raft safely to shore.
• Bai Yujun continued toward another flooded region and spotted a young man lounging in a coffin with skeletons as it drifted down the river.

After the floods receded, Bai Yujun traveled toward Mount Hua and spent the night in a dilapidated temple, where she met siblings Mo Qin and Mo Yuan. She learned they were heading to Jiangzhou to help the people and fight rebels who had seized relief grain.

• Bai Yujun crossed the flood-ravaged countryside toward Mount Hua and noticed her demonic beast aura had grown harder to detect.
• Bai Yujun lit a fire in a dilapidated temple and welcomed Mo Qin and Mo Yuan when they arrived seeking shelter.
• Bai Yujun shared demonic beast meat with the siblings, surprising them with how casually she treated the rare food.
• Mo Qin told Bai Yujun that she and Mo Yuan were going to Jiangzhou to join the Righteous Path and the imperial court against rebels who had detained relief grain.

Bai Yujun traveled with Mo Qin and Mo Yuan toward a Chunyang Palace outpost, helping them through a war-torn landscape and fighting off bandits and a rat demon. The group reached a county town where imperial troops faced rebel forces, and Bai Yujun watched the armies gather for battle.

• Bai Yujun gave Mo Qin and Mo Yuan demonic beast meat and wished them luck on their dangerous mission.
• Mo Qin spotted Bai Yujun's enormous white snake form on a cliff and fled back to the Dilapidated Temple in terror.
• Bai Yujun joined the siblings on the road toward Jiangzhou to contact Chunyang Palace and send a message to Mount Hua for Yu Rong.
• Bai Yujun killed bandits who attacked the group and later killed a rat demon, giving its teeth to Mo Qin and Mo Yuan.
• Bai Yujun and the siblings arrived at a county town where imperial troops and rebel forces faced one another outside the walls.