Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ling'er told her master that she had stayed at an old man's house longer than she wanted because she feared seeming rude, and he explained how letting others' imagined opinions override her own wishes had tied her heart in knots. He urged her to protect her heart and stay focused on her own path, leaving her with his distinction between awakened cultivators and ordinary people who remain unaware.

• Xiao Ling'er returned to her master with a troubled heart, and he questioned her about going against her own wishes.
• Xiao Ling'er explained that she had wanted to leave the old man's house but stayed because she feared angering him and seeming rude.
• Her master rebuked her for imagining how others might judge her and told her to politely leave whenever she felt uncomfortable.
• Her master taught Xiao Ling'er to bring her attention back to herself, preserve her focus, and follow her own heart while pursuing her goals.
• Xiao Ling'er asked why evil people could become wealthy, and her master said they acted without ordinary people's concerns but could still lose themselves to desire.
• Her master contrasted awakened cultivators with ordinary people he called unaware NPCs controlled by the laws.

Xiao Ling'er struggled over whether to continue studying medicine with the old man, and Big Brother used a story and teachings about observing one’s thoughts to help her decide for herself. After she said she understood, she locked Big Brother in a room and painfully pinched his foot while Jin Buque and Xue Pan watched from outside.

• The old man returned to persuade Xiao Ling'er to study medicine, but Big Brother left the decision to her.
• Big Brother told Xiao Ling'er a story about a girl trapped in an uncomfortable situation with an irresponsible drunk, urging her to notice unease and act according to her own heart.
• Xiao Ling'er explained what she had learned, and Big Brother expanded on self-cultivation, fear, and verifying principles through experience.
• Big Brother recited a poem about going against one’s heart and deceiving oneself, and Xiao Ling'er said she understood.
• Xiao Ling'er pushed Big Brother into a room and pinched his foot as he protested, while Jin Buque and Xue Pan climbed over the wall to watch.

Eldest Brother explained his views on life, cultivation, thought, and the Heavenly Dao to Xiao Ling'er, warning that spiritual practice could lead people astray without careful guidance. He hinted at a hidden force behind the Heavenly Dao before Xiao Ling'er stopped him.

• Xiao Ling'er asked Eldest Brother what he believed gave life meaning, and he answered that people lived for a breath of spirit they needed to swallow before death.
• Eldest Brother described how habitual thoughts could block a person's Qi and said cultivation required understanding and careful guidance from a master.
• Eldest Brother warned Xiao Ling'er about mistaking visions and supernatural experiences for wisdom, and said thoughts could shape what the subconscious created.
• Xiao Ling'er pointed out that Eldest Brother had broken rules by discussing forbidden matters, but he defended speaking openly to prevent people from deceiving themselves.
• Eldest Brother described a formless god hidden within all things and said he would continue investigating what lay behind the Heavenly Dao.
• Xiao Ling'er interrupted Eldest Brother, telling him to stop because his head was glowing.

Big Brother argued with a voice about the risks of teaching people to break the rules, then instructed Xiao Ling'er in his approach to cultivating Vast Righteous Qi through a steady mind, natural relaxation, and resistance to outside influence. He left her with warnings against forced Qigong practice and losing control of her own thoughts.

• A voice warned Big Brother that helping people break the rules could disrupt their understanding and alter their fates, but Big Brother defended opening a small crack in the rules.
• Xiao Ling'er noticed Big Brother sitting in meditation, and he silenced her before continuing his argument with the voice.
• Big Brother told Xiao Ling'er that belief, fear, and unsettled thoughts shaped a person's experience, and that Vast Righteous Qi arose from a steady spirit that resisted external evils.
• Big Brother explained that relaxed breathing naturally circulated qi, while deliberate forced practice could consume energy and damage one's foundation.
• Big Brother urged Xiao Ling'er to remain herself, learn without fearing others, and avoid being pressured into habits or practices she did not want.
• Big Brother warned Xiao Ling'er that overtraining and failing to guard the mind could exhaust the body and cause the spirit to depart at death.

Big Brother taught Xiao Ling'er about mind-qi, fear, self-respect, and balancing discernment with compassion. After Xiao Ling'er agreed to cultivate properly and help others, Big Brother noticed a black scroll with golden characters appear in his mind and began to examine it.

• Xiao Ling'er asked Big Brother whether cultivated qi was mind-qi, and he explained how a stable mind and relaxed breath supported cultivation.
• Big Brother warned that closeness could make students take their master for granted, and told Xiao Ling'er to be herself while remaining respectful and fearless around others.
• Big Brother urged Xiao Ling'er to protect her heart, distinguish between good and harmful people, and avoid misplaced compassion and self-compromise.
• Xiao Ling'er agreed to cultivate properly and help more people.
• Big Brother noticed a black scroll bearing golden characters in his mind and said he would pull it over to read it.

Big Brother recited Sacred Words—Notes on the Dao of Zen Heart to Xiao Ling'er and explained how a playful mindset could make any activity feel effortless. When Awesome Duck arrived injured and accused Bu Shoulu of attacking him, Big Brother went to confront the centipede.

• Big Brother dictated Sacred Words—Notes on the Dao of Zen Heart while Xiao Ling'er wrote it down.
• Big Brother played around to loosen his limbs and told Xiao Ling'er that he could summon whatever mindset he needed.
• Awesome Duck arrived bruised and bandaged, saying Bu Shoulu had attacked him and that Xue Pan had saved him.
• Big Brother shook Awesome Duck off his leg and agreed to go see whether Bu Shoulu had gone mad.

The narrator found Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck fighting while Xue Pan tried to stop them, and sent the two troublemakers down the mountain to reflect on their drunken behavior. Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck begged to stay, but the narrator told them to return only if they could keep their promise for ten years.

• The narrator arrived and heard Xue Pan rebuke Bu Shoulu for fighting Awesome Duck, while Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck blamed each other for their quarrel.
• Awesome Duck asked the narrator to intervene, so the narrator hurled him into Bu Shoulu; Bu Shoulu, Awesome Duck, and Xue Pan immediately fell silent and knelt or stood in fear.
• Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck argued over Bu Shoulu's past desire to eat Awesome Duck and whether his later kindness had been sincere.
• The narrator ordered Xue Pan to take Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck down the mountain, saying their drunken lack of self-control had crossed his bottom line.
• Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck admitted their faults and begged to stay, but the narrator told them to return only if they remembered their promise and avoided repeating the fault for ten years, then left.

Xiao Ling'er asked her eldest brother about the Three Souls, and he explained how cultivation could use the Heavenly Dao’s laws to reshape a person’s habits and thoughts. He left her stunned by claiming he was playing with those laws and could become a law himself.

• Xiao Ling'er asked why her eldest brother had driven away the two followers, and he said they had to choose for themselves whether to change.
• Xiao Ling'er asked her eldest brother to explain the Three Souls, and he described the roles of the Heavenly Soul, Earthly Soul, and Human Soul.
• Her eldest brother explained that cultivation could make the Earthly Soul govern the Human Soul and turn ingrained behavior into instinct stored in the Heavenly Soul.
• Her eldest brother said he consciously used the laws of the Heavenly Dao to reshape himself and direct his life.
• Xiao Ling'er realized he was using the Heavenly Dao’s laws to cultivate himself into something like a law, and her eldest brother laughed that he was simply playing with them.

Big Brother told Xiao Ling'er he wanted to help all beings escape suffering and break free of the laws governing their lives. Xiao Ling'er pledged to join him, and he promised to protect her and those under his care.

• Big Brother explained that compassion for all beings and attachment to them could arise from the same continuing thought.
• He said he wanted to create his own kingdom and lead a collective prison break from the laws after leaving the human world.
• Big Brother declared that he would carve a path for everyone to become their best selves, even if he had to face Heaven itself.
• Xiao Ling'er cheered and vowed to move forward with Big Brother, even if she were crushed to pieces.
• Big Brother lifted Xiao Ling'er and promised that no one would harm those he protected unless they first shattered him.

Ming Yue asked her elder brother about giving with form and formless giving, and he explained that genuine goodness came from acting without seeking merit or reward. He then urged her to live as herself and respect others, especially children, rather than letting relationships and expectations control her.

• Ming Yue asked her elder brother to explain giving with form and formless giving.
• Her elder brother contrasted merit-seeking acts with instinctive kindness done without expecting anything in return.
• Ming Yue asked what to do when she felt compelled to repay people’s kindness, and her elder brother warned that she would be controlled if she could not express her own wishes.
• Her elder brother described how people lost themselves by obeying parents, bosses, friends, and social expectations.
• Ming Yue asked how to live without becoming exhausted, and her elder brother advised allowing herself and others to be themselves.
• Her elder brother urged parents to respect their children as individuals, guide them without imposing their wishes, and become a dependable harbor for them.

The speaker explained how parents could guide children with understanding and boundaries, then discussed how changing thoughts shape relationships and affinities. He said cultivation let him accept others’ changes without abandoning his own goodness, and left his listeners with the principle of meeting change with constancy.

• The speaker argued that children needed to experience hardship and that a parent should understand, respect, and guide them rather than indulge or control them blindly.
• He described how he would raise a child as both a caring father and a close friend, supporting the child’s interests while maintaining boundaries.
• The speaker explained that relationships and encounters arose and ended as people’s thoughts and circumstances changed.
• He said cultivation allowed him to remember others’ kindness without being undone by their later actions or turning evil in response.
• The speaker concluded that he remained true to his original heart and met myriad changes with constancy.

Big Brother explained non-attachment to Ming Yue as acting well without clinging to forms, outcomes, or habitual thoughts. He advised her to build self-control gradually through practice and reflection, leaving her with a practical path for cultivating the True Self.

• Ming Yue asked Big Brother whether forms or no forms were right and what someone unable to follow his example should do.
• Big Brother explained that non-attachment meant avoiding fixation on forms, results, and other things while doing what was in front of oneself well.
• Big Brother advised withdrawing from harmful entanglements without hurting oneself or others, and said people should seek methods rather than complain.
• When Ming Yue said the practice seemed difficult, Big Brother told her to begin with one habit and persist until it became natural.
• Big Brother used examples of driving, learning from repeated experiences, and cultivation to explain that steady practice could gradually strengthen a person's mind and actions.

Big Brother Jesus explained to Ming Yue how focused purpose could guide a person’s path, then described his own carefree approach to cultivation and using different belief systems. He left Ming Yue with the idea that she could draw on any useful tradition without clinging to whether it was real.

• Ming Yue asked whether following a pattern could help someone figure out anything, and Big Brother Jesus explained how focus and direction shaped a lasting path.
• Big Brother Jesus used Brother Wu You’s writing and work helping others as an example of a purpose that could change in form while keeping its core.
• Big Brother Jesus described how Wu You could guide cultivators through successive stages of awareness and transcendence without rushing them.
• Ming Yue asked what Big Brother Jesus would do, and he said he freely embodied his avatars’ traits while wandering through myriad worlds.
• Big Brother Jesus told Ming Yue that cultivation came naturally when he did not cling to becoming an immortal, and urged her to use whatever beliefs or teachings were useful.

Big Brother explained how breaking fixed beliefs and understanding human nature could help people master their thoughts, emotions, and grief. He ended by saying cultivation was about changing one’s own energy patterns, not external circumstances.

• Big Brother told his little sister that sincerity, tolerance, and not clinging helped people move beyond fixed viewpoints.
• Big Brother described how he fought to control his thoughts and emotions, then learned to observe their patterns and understand human nature.
• Big Brother explained that a grieving father could accept his loss, keep living, and cultivate rather than remain trapped in suffering.
• When his little sister said she understood the principles but could not follow them, Big Brother advised her to practice or seek rituals and divination to settle her mind.
• Big Brother concluded that people sought spiritual help because they lacked confidence and peace, and that cultivation meant cultivating their own energy patterns.

The narrator explained to Ming Yue how belief and repeated thoughts shape a person through the subconscious, and how he used that principle to form an independent soul. He said he had become both a guide within the subconscious of those close to him and a force that could make insincere disrespect turn into self-inflicted inner conflict.

• The narrator told Ming Yue that the subconscious records thoughts and words and can later turn them into actions, while the Heavenly Soul fulfills what a person has imagined without judging it.
• The narrator said he had openly controlled this law to form an independent soul and urged people to trust themselves, express their true wishes, and compare their progress only with their past selves.
• The narrator claimed that he could remain unaffected by others' curses while using human emotional weaknesses against them, and cited Zhuge Liang's treatment of Zhou Yu as an example.
• The narrator told Ming Yue that he lived within the subconscious of people close to him and that insincere apologies after disrespecting him left them with self-created inner demons until they sincerely repented.

Big Brother, Wuyou, Liao Chen, and Xie Wuchen discussed Buddhist and Daoist views of karma, retribution, and how people’s actions affect others and their descendants. The chapter ended with Big Brother advising cultivators to give help in balance, reflect on each thought, and nurture good intentions.

• Big Brother meditated and connected with Wuyou, who joked with him about his mortal-world cultivation.
• Wuyou explained how Buddhist awakening could be realized through worldly life rather than by fleeing it.
• Liao Chen joined the discussion and compared Buddhist karma with Daoist teachings about ancestors’ deeds affecting their descendants.
• Big Brother described how excessive kindness could breed resentment and said people should use teachings without becoming attached to them.
• Xie Wuchen argued that improving oneself could influence others and one’s lineage, but warned against helping people beyond what they could handle.
• Big Brother concluded that cultivators should help people in urgent need, keep their intentions balanced, and nurture good thoughts.

Big Brother recalled a warm conversation with Mom Bodhisattva about cultivation, happiness, family, and companionship, then chanted from the Earth Store Sutra with his three incarnations. Back in his body, he learned Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck were refusing to leave the mountain, and Xue Pan questioned his decision to send them away.

• Big Brother told Wuyou, Liao Chen, and Xie Wuchen about his conversation with Mom Bodhisattva and her loving, understanding attitude toward him.
• Big Brother and his three incarnations chanted an excerpt from Chapter Twelve of the Earth Store Sutra several times.
• Big Brother ended the meeting, returned his divine soul to his body, and got up to pour water.
• Xue Pan reported that Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck were kneeling outside the main gate and refusing to leave the mountain.
• Xue Pan asked why Big Brother insisted on sending them away, arguing that both Bu Shoulu's and Awesome Duck's actions were understandable.

Big Brother explained why he punished Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck for causing trouble while drunk, insisting that people should control themselves rather than excuse bad behavior with alcohol. When Ming Yue and Xiao Ling'er arrived drunk and acted wildly, he immediately made an exception for them and sent Xue Pan away.

• Big Brother told Xue Pan that drinking did not excuse people who lost control and caused trouble, and said Bu Shoulu and Awesome Duck could return if they changed.
• Ming Yue brought the drunken Xiao Ling'er to Big Brother's bed, joked about leaving her with him, and then staggered away.
• Xiao Ling'er drunkenly ordered Big Brother around and demanded to pinch his face.
• Xue Pan worried that Big Brother would punish Ming Yue and Xiao Ling'er, but Big Brother said their drinking at home was harmless and hurried him out.
• Xue Pan accepted Big Brother's explanation that the women were safe because Big Brother was there, then left.

After Xiao Ling'er drunkenly babbled and fell asleep, Big Brother stayed by her bed and soothed her through the night. The next morning she mistakenly accused him of carrying her to his room while drunk, and Big Brother later visited Ming Yue, who laughed about his troubles.

• Big Brother scolded Xiao Ling'er for causing trouble, then soothed her to sleep after she cried.
• While sitting beside Xiao Ling'er, Big Brother remembered how his presence had once stopped his roommate from snoring and the neighboring dorm from knocking.
• Xiao Ling'er woke up and wrongly believed Big Brother had carried her to his room while drunk, then teased him about becoming her sister-in-law.
• Big Brother left Xiao Ling'er and went to Ming Yue's courtyard to ask whether she remembered what she had done.
• Ming Yue admitted she was reflecting on sending Xiao Ling'er to him, then laughed when Big Brother said he had only sat beside her and soothed her.

Big Brother taught Ming Yue that changing one’s understanding and character could alter the course of the future. He left her with advice about remaining true to herself and refusing to let relationships or other people’s demands control her choices.

• Ming Yue prepared braised pork and beer after Big Brother joked that he would teach her cultivation in exchange for a meal.
• Big Brother explained that a steady heart and swift, orderly actions were essential to cultivation.
• Big Brother told Ming Yue that changing her understanding and former self would change her future and fate.
• Big Brother explained that kindness should have clear limits and should not be used to control or obligate someone.
• Big Brother advised Ming Yue to do what she believed was right and what she wanted, without letting relationships force her into unwanted choices.