Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu struggled with the toll his Aperture Condensing Secret Technique took on his body and searched Tianyi Pavilion for a way to nourish his foundation and restore his vital energy. He learned that alchemist-made pills offered the strongest effects, but his attempt to get a list from Scripture Doctor Li Changjiu turned into a dispute over the price.

• Chen Mu heard from Shang Huan and Old Hao that the Other Courtyard had taken Six Linked Mountains and might make Jade Spring Mountain a Second Upper Courtyard, then accepted Shang Huan's offer to bring him nourishing Black Scale Bream.
• After Shang Huan and Old Hao mistook Chen Mu's gaunt appearance for romantic exhaustion, Chen Mu blamed his condition on cultivation and resolved to pause the Aperture Condensing Secret Technique.
• Chen Mu reviewed medicinal texts at Tianyi Pavilion for three days but found little useful information about remedies for nourishing his foundation and replenishing vital energy.
• Chen Mu asked Li Changjiu for advice, and Li Changjiu described several available remedies before demanding fifty Dao Merit and one hundred White Jade for a list of them.
• Chen Mu revealed that he was also a Scripture Doctor, prompting Li Changjiu to lower his price to five Dao Merit.

Chen Mu bought expensive Nine-Four Foundation Cultivation Pills and realized that sustaining his cultivation would require more Dao Merit than he could easily earn. After advancing his Medicine Crafting skill, he discovered he could analyze pill talismans and hoped to develop his own pills, though he decided to keep that knowledge largely to himself.

• Chen Mu paid one thousand Dao Merit and two hundred White Jade Coins for ten Nine-Four Foundation Cultivation Pills, then used one to restore his strength while cultivating.
• After three days, Chen Mu found that a pill’s effects had faded and estimated he would need at least ten pills each month, so he considered ways to earn more and refine pills himself.
• Chen Mu visited Li Changjiu at Tianyi Pavilion and learned that mastering the Nine-Four Foundation Cultivation Pill required years of study, costly secret arts, and difficult Qi Absorption Talisman research.
• Chen Mu raised Medicine Crafting to tier 6 and found that it let him analyze pill talismans, freeing him from relying entirely on Jilong Dao’s alchemy secret arts.
• Chen Mu decided to use any pills he developed mainly for himself, since openly trading them could raise questions about where he had obtained the secret arts.

After completing five parts of the Yellow Springs General Outline’s first spell talisman, Chen Mu learned that the Other Courtyard was expanding into Six Linked Mountains and worried that the growing conflict could disrupt his quiet cultivation. The chapter ended with him deciding to plan ahead after Bai Xiuwen, Feng Haoxiu, and Xue Yangliu said they had been ordered to go there.

• Chen Mu saw a crowd preparing to travel to Six Linked Mountains and warned Jia Tian to bring food and medicine, but Jia Tian planned to sell supplies to the mountain’s local forces.
• Chen Mu reflected on how the Other Courtyard’s rewards drew people into rebuilding Six Linked Mountains, then returned to his stable routine of cultivation.
• After snowfall, Bai Xiuwen, Feng Haoxiu, and Xue Yangliu visited Chen Mu to say goodbye before their assignment to Six Linked Mountains.
• Bai Xiuwen explained that the alchemists had been assigned because other practitioners feared the risks after Vice Dean Sun vanished at Mist Smoke Mountain.
• Chen Mu worried that Jade Spring Mountain’s expansion could lead to his own forced assignment and decided to make plans early.

Chen Mu completed the first layer of the Yellow Springs General Outline, learned the Vertical Rainbow Light escape technique, and arranged to teach alchemy at the Scripture Transmission Courtyard. He hoped that becoming a Scripture Doctor would keep him on Jade Spring Mountain and spare him from forced deployment.

• Chen Mu decided to make his Scripture Doctor role official so he could avoid being sent to the front lines.
• Sun Chengye told Sun Jian that the Gourd Sword Box had vanished, then persuaded him to recruit Chen Mu for the Sun Clan by describing Chen Mu's success training Alchemy Apprentices.
• Chen Mu spent one thousand Dao Merit on Foundation Cultivation Pills and found that his Jade Seed and magical power had grown after completing the first layer of the Yellow Springs General Outline.
• Chen Mu tested the Vertical Rainbow Light, which lifted him nearly into the air and let him glide around his Cave Dwelling.
• Chen Mu persuaded Supervisor Hu Kui to register him as an alchemy instructor and received three Alchemy Apprentice students to teach.

Chen Mu was recruited by Sun Chengye with an offer of Foundation Cultivation Pills and protection, but Sun Chengye recognized signs that Chen Mu had obtained the Sun Clan’s Yellow Springs General Outline. After Sun Chengye inferred that Chen Mu had killed Sun Wuhuan and hurried to report it to Ancestor Sun Jian, Chen Mu intercepted and killed him, then fled down Jade Spring Mountain.

• Chen Mu refined ingredients for Foundation Cultivation Pills and went to the Scripture Transmission Courtyard, where Li Changjiu told him that Eagle Sorrow Cliff had been captured and that he had been assigned to garrison it.
• Sun Chengye visited Chen Mu with ten Foundation Cultivation Pills and offered him a Sun Clan retainer position with alchemy secrets, resources, and protection from forced assignments.
• Sun Chengye noticed Chen Mu’s powerful physique and familiar gloomy aura, but Chen Mu activated the Giant Spirit Secret Technique and convinced him that it explained both.
• As Sun Chengye headed toward Golden Summit, he concluded that Chen Mu had cultivated the Yellow Springs General Outline and was responsible for Sun Wuhuan’s death, then rushed to tell Ancestor Sun Jian.
• Chen Mu appeared on the mountain steps and attacked Sun Chengye, breaking through his talisman defenses with sword qi and killing him with the Black Moon Blade.
• Chen Mu vanished into black smoke and fled toward the foot of Jade Spring Mountain.

After killing Sun Chengye, Chen Mu narrowly escaped Sun Jian and hid in the Scripture Transmission Courtyard while using disguise and mental defenses to avoid discovery. Half a month later, the mountain’s search had eased, and Chen Mu returned to teaching as Jade Spring Mountain remained under tighter patrols.

• Sun Jian pursued Chen Mu with Kuishui Yinlei, but the Yang Cha Bone Shield blocked the strike and Chen Mu escaped underground to his Cave Dwelling.
• Chen Mu changed his physique and appearance with Shape Shift Technique, then went to the Scripture Transmission Courtyard to avoid being cornered alone.
• Sun Jian and a limping old man questioned Chen Mu with Divine Bewilderment, but Seven Souls Return to Origin helped him conceal his reasons for coming and mislead them about Sun Chengye.
• Chen Mu stayed in the Scripture Transmission Courtyard for another day, then returned to his Cave Dwelling and remained on guard.
• Half a month later, the Patrol Institute’s search eased, and the Sun Clan’s ancestor attacked local forces at Eagle Sorrow Cliff with Kuishui Yinlei.
• Chen Mu resumed teaching his apprentices and encountered Li Changjiu, who condemned Sun Chengye’s killer without realizing he was speaking to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu left Jade Spring Mountain for Eagle Sorrow Cliff to avoid the Sun Clan and began settling into his new post. Once there, he planned to strengthen his defenses and continue cultivating, but worried about how to obtain enough Foundation Cultivation Pills without drawing attention or risking a dangerous journey back.

• Chen Mu persuaded Hu Kui to let him transfer to Eagle Sorrow Cliff, admitting that he wanted to hide from the Sun Clan after killing Sun Chengye.
• Chen Mu prepared supplies and traveled to Eagle Sorrow Cliff with his three apprentices, who joined him because they valued his alchemy lessons and saw the area as safe.
• Chen Mu completed his transfer to the Eagle Sorrow Cliff branch and settled into a residence on the mountainside, relieved that the Sun Clan had not pursued him.
• Chen Mu examined the Yang Cha Bone Shield and Yin Fault Moon Blade, then resolved to strengthen the blade and keep condensing the Yellow Springs Divine Aperture.
• Chen Mu worried that his limited supply of Foundation Cultivation Pills would slow his cultivation, and decided he needed to learn to refine them himself.

Chen Mu bought supplies at the market and reflected on the cost of talismans before strengthening his defenses and resuming cultivation in his underground chamber. A month later, attacks on transport teams had unsettled the market, and Chen Mu learned that the Patrol Institute had sent teams into the mountains to hunt the Wild Cultivators.

• Chen Mu bought expensive medicinal ingredients and Exotic Beast Meat, then learned that Wild Cultivators had been attacking Jilong Dao's transport teams.
• At the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Chen Mu learned that Demon Slaying Sword Qi Talismans cost five hundred White Jade each and Spiritual Light Talismans cost one hundred.
• Chen Mu tested a Bone Ball as a shield, resolved to keep cultivating with Foundation Cultivation Pills, and activated the Exquisite Jade Disk to support his Condensing Orifice cultivation.
• A month later, Chen Mu noticed that the market was crowded with people stocking up after attacks destroyed supplies from three transport teams.
• Chen Mu bought the remaining hundred pounds of boiled rabbit meat from Lu Tu and learned that the Patrol Institute had sent teams into the mountains.

Chen Mu continued cultivating the Aperture Condensing Secret Technique while unrest in East Ridge disrupted supplies and made travel dangerous. Unable to return safely to Jade Spring Mountain or obtain Foundation Cultivation Pills, he discovered a new recipe called Return Vitality Soup.

• Chen Mu tested Five Ghosts Possession and found he could maintain it for about twelve minutes as the Aperture Condensing Secret Technique strengthened his body and mind.
• At Butcher Lu's shop, Chen Mu learned that East Ridge raiders were disrupting hunting and supply routes, and Butcher Lu noticed Chen Mu's unusual strength and teeth.
• At Hongcao Hall, Chen Mu heard that transport goods were delayed and more expensive, and he suspected Shang Huan and Jia Tian might have supplied the raiders with Detection Artifacts.
• Chen Mu saw a badly damaged Transport Team arrive, then learned that repeated attacks had made travel to Jade Spring Mountain increasingly dangerous.
• After eating braised pork to ease his worries about Sun Jian, Chen Mu recalled the Return Vitality Soup recipe and checked the Gray Wall, which showed Culinary at tier 6.

Chen Mu made Return Vitality Soup from Exotic Beast Meat and medicinal ingredients, using it to sustain his cultivation without Foundation Cultivation Pills. After a month of steady practice, he successfully advanced the Yellow Springs General Outline to Tier 3.

• Chen Mu cooked Return Vitality Soup with the Seven Revolutions Feast Origin Curse and found that it restored his vitality and supported his cultivation.
• After using the incantation repeatedly, Chen Mu saw the Seven Revolutions Feast Origin Curse appear on the Gray Wall and decided to rely on the soup instead of buying Foundation Cultivation Pills.
• Chen Mu bought Pig Rabbit meat from Butcher Lu, who mistook his purchases for evidence of hemorrhoids and repeatedly asked him for a cure.
• A month later, Chen Mu cultivated in his underground chamber and formed two silver rings on his chest, advancing the Yellow Springs General Outline to Tier 3.

Chen Mu discovered that his Condensing Orifice Spell Talismans had opened Secret Apertures and let him fly, then welcomed Liu Hongyang as a neighbor and learned more about Eagle Sorrow Cliff’s defenses. Later, Wang Heyuan and two apprentices passed their alchemist examinations under Chen Mu’s guidance and prepared to return to Jade Spring Mountain.

• After completing his second set of Spell Talismans, Chen Mu found a new Secret Aperture in his chest and used Vertical Rainbow Light to fly around his chamber.
• Chen Mu noticed people moving into a nearby Wooden Tower and resolved to improve the secrecy of his underground chamber.
• Chen Mu discovered that Liu Hongyang had become his neighbor and learned that Liu had come to help build the Mountain Protection Formation.
• Liu Hongyang told Chen Mu that Elder Sun had cleared the area around Eagle Sorrow Cliff and explained how his ties to Sun Wuhuan and Sun Chengye had led to a prolonged investigation.
• Chen Mu assessed pills made by Wang Heyuan and two other apprentices, confirmed they could take the alchemist examination, and heard that they planned to return to Jade Spring Mountain by a safer route.

Chen Mu discovered that Shang Huan was secretly trading Essence of Five Grains for Pig Rabbits and selling Detection Artifacts at Eagle Sorrow Cliff, putting himself and the Wushan Six Siblings at risk. After knocking Shang Huan unconscious through the Heart-Linking Incantation, Chen Mu worried about the trouble their actions could bring and considered using the Heart-Linking Lock to keep his identity secret.

• Chen Mu tried to return Wang Heyuan’s White Jade, then learned that a small-eyed, fat trader named Gongsun Bai was buying Essence of Five Grains.
• Chen Mu realized Gongsun Bai was Shang Huan, who had apparently moved his business from Jade Spring Mountain to Eagle Sorrow Cliff.
• Through Remote Sensing, Chen Mu heard Butcher Lu question Shang Huan about raising Pig Rabbits unusually quickly and watched Butcher Lu take ten away.
• Shang Huan told the Wushan Six Siblings that he used Essence of Five Grains to buy Pig Rabbits and claimed Mr. Gongsun had approved selling Detection Artifacts.
• Shang Huan interpreted Mr. Gongsun’s warning not to sell Wood Spirit Guards as permission to sell other items, so Chen Mu used Seven Souls Return to Origin to knock him unconscious.
• Chen Mu worried that Shang Huan and the Wushan Six Siblings could expose him to danger and resolved to keep monitoring them through the Heart-Linking Incantation.

Chen Mu bought expensive Star Sand Silver Thread robes and tested how well they held up during Five Ghosts Possession. When Shang Huan brought him a chest of smuggling dividends and asked for his protection, Chen Mu recognized the danger of the business and knocked Shang Huan and the Wushan Six Siblings unconscious.

• Shang Huan used the Wushan Six Siblings and East Ridge mountain folk to build a profitable barter business supplying Eagle Sorrow Cliff.
• Chen Mu bought a Star Sand Silver Thread outfit after haggling for extra sets, then found it stayed intact during Five Ghosts Possession.
• Chen Mu sensed Shang Huan contacting him and learned that he had brought nearly a quarter of Chen Mu's fortune in White Jade Coins as dividends.
• Chen Mu realized Shang Huan's smuggling operation could attract the Other Courtyard's attention and refused to accept the money.
• Chen Mu used Seven Souls Return to Origin to knock Shang Huan and the Wushan Six Siblings unconscious.

Chen Mu avoided further contact with Shang Huan’s group while the Patrol Institute prepared to crack down on the smugglers and seize their goods. After discovering he had gained weight, Chen Mu began practicing Giant Spirit God for strength and exercise, then decided to wait before copying more secret techniques from the smugglers.

• Chen Mu decided that Condensing Orifice cultivation mattered more than taking White Jade and worried that the Sun Clan might investigate him.
• Zhao Shaoyuan ordered Li Dechao to shut down the smuggling trade, arrest the groups involved, and learn where they hid and sold their White Jade Coins.
• More than twenty days later, Chen Mu noticed he had gained weight and realized he had overnourished himself with Return Vitality Soup.
• Chen Mu practiced Giant Spirit God, felt his strength increase, and raised the secret technique to its second tier.
• Chen Mu chose to wait before copying Lu Ku, Yu Lin, and Wu Ruo’s secret techniques so they could gain more experience first.

Chen Mu cultivated the Giant Spirit God to Tier 3 while the Patrol Institute pursued Shang Huan and the Wushan Six Siblings. After Li Dechao and Zhao Shaoyuan captured Ai Ji and threatened to frame the group, Chen Mu appeared and killed Li Dechao.

• Shang Huan warned Lu Ku and the Wushan Six Siblings that their smuggling operation had drawn suspicious silence, and Lu Ku ordered them to stop.
• Shi Xian spotted Patrol Institute chief Li Dechao and Zhao Shaoyuan, prompting Lu Ku to tell everyone to run.
• Chen Mu cultivated the Giant Spirit God to Tier 3, then ignored Shang Huan's plea for help and activated the Heart-Linking Incantation.
• Li Dechao and Zhao Shaoyuan caught Ai Ji; Zhao Shaoyuan suspected the group were Eastern Ridge Barbarian Hidden Agents, and Li Dechao broke Ai Ji's limbs.
• Ai Ji attacked Li Dechao while Chen Mu emerged from the Black Smoke, and Chen Mu severed Li Dechao's neck and devoured his body.

Chen Mu intervened when Zhao Shaoyuan attacked Shang Huan, then faced Zhao’s powerful Heart-Piercing Nail. Zhao fled after his weapon failed to overcome Chen Mu, but Chen Mu caught up and killed him before disappearing into the forest.

• Zhao Shaoyuan attacked Shang Huan with the Heart-Piercing Nail, and Shang Huan dodged with the Divine Movement Secret Art before Chen Mu arrived and protected him.
• Zhao Shaoyuan recognized Chen Mu as the masked man linked to strange deaths and a Sun Clan member, then unleashed the Heart-Piercing Nail’s deep-blue flames.
• Zhao Shaoyuan used the flames to flee into the sky, while Chen Mu realized the apparent attack had been an escape.
• Zhao Shaoyuan discovered that his Heart-Piercing Nail had been damaged and threatened to seek help from Elder Hu and the Sun Clan.
• Chen Mu pursued Zhao Shaoyuan in giant form, severed the Heart-Piercing Nail, killed him, and vanished into East Ridge’s forest.

Chen Mu and Wu Ruo confronted Butcher Lu, while Wu Ruo drained his blood and essence to heal the Wushan Six Siblings. After Chen Mu left, the siblings realized he might be the mysterious figure pursued by the Sun Clan, and Wu Ruo told Shang Huan that Chen Mu may have mistaken his attempt to invoke Elder Liang Yi for betrayal.

• Butcher Lu anticipated profiting from the meat shortage he had caused by reporting groups who bought Mutant Beasts from the East Ridge mountain folk.
• Wu Ruo seized Butcher Lu and used Soul Seizing Yuan Returning to drain him into a corpse, restoring the Wushan Six Siblings’ injuries in the process.
• Chen Mu ordered the group to clean up and warned them there would not be a next time before leaving in Black Smoke.
• The Wushan Six Siblings suspected Chen Mu was the mysterious person who had killed two Sun Clan descendants and escaped the Sun Clan ancestor’s pursuit.
• Wu Ruo explained that Chen Mu had heard Shang Huan apparently offer to reveal his backer, and Shang Huan feared Chen Mu now believed he had betrayed him.

Hu Changqing redirected the search for Zhao Shaoyuan after finding evidence of East Ridge barbarian Witchcraft Curse Killing, while Yu Lin and Lu Ku's group kept the Heart-Piercing Nail secret. Chen Mu used Remote Sensing and Shi Xian's enhanced hearing to follow the investigation, and later relaxed as the Patrol Institute's attention shifted away from Zhao Shaoyuan's disappearance.

• Yu Liu reported that the search near Eagle Sorrow Cliff had found no trace of Zhao Shaoyuan, but Yu Lin brought Hu Changqing a drained bird that suggested Witchcraft Curse Killing.
• Hu Changqing ordered Yu Liu to investigate the curse killings, while Yu Liu secretly tasked Yu Lin with finding Zhao Shaoyuan's body and magical artifacts.
• After Yu Liu left, Lu Ku and the others noted that Yu Liu seemed interested in the Heart-Piercing Nail.
• Chen Mu lent Shi Xian his Tier 6 True Hearing Technique through Remote Sensing and discovered that the Wushan Six Siblings were Patrol Officers investigating Zhao Shaoyuan's disappearance.
• Half a month later, Chen Mu learned that Hu Changqing had uncovered East Ridge barbarian spies and that Yu Lin and the others had been reassigned to support that investigation, leaving Zhao Shaoyuan's disappearance neglected.

Chen Mu listened in on Shang Huan and used his Divine Ability to make him suffer until he promised to behave. After a surprise visit from Liu Hongyang, Chen Mu learned that the Mountain Protection Formation was complete and invited his senior brother to dinner in exchange for instruction in Finger Points to Steel.

• Chen Mu realized Lu Ku and the others were off duty and heard Shang Huan offer Shi Xian a box of spoils from the last hunt in exchange for relief from his suffering.
• Shi Xian told Shang Huan to do the splits, and Chen Mu secretly ordered him to repeat them through the Heart-Linking Incantation.
• Chen Mu formed a new True Hearing Technique Spell Talisman and discovered Liu Hongyang had crept up beside his window.
• Liu Hongyang told Chen Mu that the Mountain Protection Formation had been completed after Elder Hu hurried the workers following a suspected Barbarian witchcraft attack.
• Liu Hongyang recognized the smell of spicy soup on Chen Mu's wooden cup, and Chen Mu offered to cook dinner in exchange for instruction in Finger Points to Steel.

Chen Mu learned that rumors about the East Ridge barbarians’ curse arts were exaggerated, then discovered the ultimate form of the Heart-Linking Gu curse art. The Seven Kill Yin Soldier Secret Method could reclaim the Gu and its hosts’ essence, qi, and spirit to create seven Yin Soldiers.

• Chen Mu sorted the dead Patrol Institute Vice Dean’s possessions and celebrated having more than forty-seven thousand White Jade Coins.
• At Butcher Lu’s shop, Chen Mu learned that Pig Rabbit meat had become more expensive and heard alarming claims about the East Ridge barbarians’ curse arts.
• Chen Mu questioned the Wushan Six Siblings and confirmed that the rumors about hidden agents seizing Qi Mechanism were false.
• After dinner, Chen Mu used the True Hearing Technique and considered asking Senior Brother Liu about Prohibitions.
• In the Underground Chamber, Chen Mu saw that the Heart-Linking Incantation had reached its limit and learned the Seven Kill Yin Soldier Secret Method’s true power.