Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Achieving Innate Grandmaster!

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi discovers that combining his American Style Iaido pistol technique with the Golden Sword Technique turns bullets into extremely powerful projectiles. The enhanced shots penetrate nearly everything except magic items and can severely injure Liu Wuhen.
• Wanting to improve the technique’s sustainability and use Golden Sword Technique Talismans independently, Yang Shi realizes he must break through from Half-step Innate to the Innate Grandmaster realm.
• During meditation, Yang Shi examines why he has been unable to complete his “spirit.” With Yang Genshuo’s [Calm the Heart] blessing, he enters an epiphany and explores his sea of consciousness.
• Yang Shi recognizes that, unlike Liu Wuhen’s pursuit of the ultimate martial path or Zhao Kuangfeng’s path of madness, he has not yet defined his own Dao.
• Memories of his past humiliation, his family’s destruction, and Bai Heyu’s death reveal his true conviction: he will not abandon revenge or allow fear of stronger opponents to control him.
• He declares his Dao—“Where the heart points, nothing can stop it”—and successfully merges his essence, energy, and spirit, becoming an Innate Grandmaster.
• His breakthrough grants him a perfected state of mind, Great Perfection in the Clear Heart Art, expanded spiritual perception, and the evolved Earth-grade talent Mad Scholar.
• With Innate True Qi, Yang Shi can activate Golden Sword Technique Talismans and combine them with his pistol attacks. His strength now allows him to suppress cultivators below the Qi Refinement stage and potentially fight Qi Refinement cultivators with talisman-enhanced weapons.
• Yang Shi confidently promises to lead the Yang Family to glory and destroy its enemies. He later departs for the Xuan Shi Sect under Yang Genshuo’s instructions.
• After his departure, six-year-old Yang Fu kneels before the ancestral tablets and vows to study under the Old Ancestor and protect the Yang Family in his father’s absence.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi: Makes a major breakthrough in both cultivation and identity. He overcomes fear, grief, and uncertainty, defines his personal Dao, and becomes an Innate Grandmaster. His talent evolves from Laugh-Cry+++ into Mad Scholar, reflecting his absolute determination and confidence.
• Yang Genshuo: Continues guiding Yang Shi through blessings and strategic insight. He is astonished by the breakthrough and recognizes the Clear Heart Art as a crucial method for developing the Yang Family.
• Liu Wuhen: Is shocked and alarmed by Yang Shi’s weapon technique. Though he teases Yang Shi for fleeing, he secretly recognizes how dangerous and unconventional the attack is. After learning Yang Shi has reached the Innate Grandmaster realm, he becomes unwilling to spar with him.
• Yang Fu: Shows surprising maturity despite his young age. He accepts responsibility for protecting the family and begins formally taking over Yang Shi’s ancestral training duties.
• Bai Heyu: Though already dead, his memory becomes the catalyst for Yang Shi’s realization that he must act according to his convictions rather than surrender to fear.

Significant Themes

• Defining one’s own path: Advancement requires more than physical strength; Yang Shi must understand and commit to his personal Dao.
• Courage versus fear: Yang Shi’s breakthrough comes when he refuses to let the power of Foundation Establishment cultivators paralyze him.
• Revenge and justice: His determination to avenge his family and Bai Heyu becomes a source of purpose rather than a destructive obsession.
• Accumulation and epiphany: Years of training, resources, combat experience, and emotional struggle finally converge in a single moment of enlightenment.
• Unconventional strength: Yang Shi’s firearm-based martial technique demonstrates how creativity and technology can overcome traditional limitations.
• Legacy and responsibility: Yang Shi leaves to pursue the next stage of the family’s plans, while Yang Fu begins preparing to inherit his duties.

Important Character Interactions

• Yang Shi tests his Golden Sword Technique bullets on Liu Wuhen, startling his master and forcing Liu Wuhen to recognize the technique’s lethality.
• Yang Genshuo intervenes when Yang Shi’s thoughts become dangerously unstable, using [Calm the Heart] to help him reach enlightenment.
• Yang Shi mentally compares his Dao with those of Liu Wuhen and Zhao Kuangfeng before realizing that his own path centers on unwavering pursuit of what he believes is right.
• After becoming an Innate Grandmaster, Yang Shi returns to challenge Liu Wuhen again, only to frighten his master with his newfound strength.
• Yang Fu symbolically takes over his father’s role before the ancestral tablets, promising to learn from the Old Ancestor and safeguard the family.

Chapter Summary: Golden Sword Qi

Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi travels through the dangerous Poison Snake Forest on horseback, using his Flowing Water Sword to kill venomous Five-Colored Serpents. He complains about the inconvenience of lacking a Cultivator’s utility spells, especially the Clean Clothes Technique.
• He reaches Moshah Town and senses something unsettling despite the town’s apparently normal appearance.
• At the town’s only inn, the sinister innkeeper attempts to lure Yang Shi into a trap using four seductive female accomplices. Yang Shi recognizes them as Demon Cultivators and kills the women with his pistol, using a technique he humorously calls “American Style Iaido Sword.”
• When the innkeeper attacks, Yang Shi combines the Golden Sword Technique with his firearm’s bullets. He destroys the man’s Blood Copper Coin defense and kills him before the Demon Cultivator can use his more powerful abilities.
• Yang Shi discovers that the innkeeper belongs to Blood Soul Valley and possesses the evil Blood Soul Great Law. He burns the cultivation manual to prevent its spread and keeps the Blood Soul Valley token and Blood Copper Coin for later use.
• Following Yang Genshuo’s instructions, Yang Shi retrieves and destroys a Soul Suppressing Stone hidden in the town well. The stone had been draining the vitality of Moshah’s residents. Once it is broken, the townspeople regain their awareness and energy, and the oppressive atmosphere disappears.
• Yang Shi searches the inn and finds Spirit Stones, martial techniques, and weapons, confirming that it was a black inn designed to ambush and exploit traveling Martial Cultivators.
• After cleaning himself up, Yang Shi continues preparing for his journey toward the Xuan Shi Sect.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi demonstrates growing confidence, resourcefulness, and combat skill. Though unable to use magical artifacts or ordinary Cultivator spells, he creatively adapts modern firearms and sword techniques to overcome a Qi Refinement Demon Cultivator.
• His experience in Moshah Town shows that he is increasingly capable of handling threats independently. Yang Genshuo only gives him a hint about the innkeeper’s identity, and Yang Shi investigates and resolves the entire situation himself.
• Yang Genshuo acts as a remote observer and strategist. He is impressed by Yang Shi’s performance but remains concerned that Yang Shi may encounter hidden Demon Cultivators during his journey.
• Yang Genshuo also improves his monitoring setup by installing a second screen, allowing him to watch Yang Shi separately from Yang Fu and Yang Fushuo.
• Yang Fu, only six years old, displays unusual maturity and dedication. He studies Fundamentals of Immortal Talismans because he wants to create protective talismans for his father, showing both intelligence and filial concern.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi interacts with the innkeeper and the disguised female Demon Cultivators in a mocking, deceptive exchange. He pretends to accept their trap while preparing to counterattack.
• His confrontation with the innkeeper highlights the gap between traditional Demon Cultivation techniques and Yang Shi’s unconventional firearm-based combat.
• Yang Genshuo evaluates Yang Shi’s actions from afar, functioning as both mentor and guardian.
• Yang Fu’s commitment to learning talisman crafting reflects his relationship with his father and his willingness to contribute to the family’s safety.

Significant Themes

• Ingenuity over conventional limitations: Yang Shi compensates for his inability to use magical artifacts by combining Martial Cultivation, sword techniques, and modern firearms.
• The evil of Demon Cultivation: The Blood Soul Valley’s methods are portrayed as cruel and parasitic, exploiting victims’ vitality and using sexual and spiritual manipulation to strengthen the cultivator.
• Independence and growth: Yang Shi is becoming capable of solving dangerous problems without direct intervention, while Yang Fu begins developing skills of his own.
• Protection and family responsibility: Both Yang Genshuo’s constant surveillance and Yang Fu’s desire to craft talismans emphasize the family’s efforts to protect one another.
• Modern technology in a cultivation world: Firearms, computer monitors, and dual-screen observation are integrated into the cultivation setting, reinforcing the story’s humorous and unconventional blend of modern life with fantasy martial arts.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Fu begins learning talisman-making after witnessing his father’s powerful Golden Sword Technique. Using inexpensive materials, he successfully creates a Golden Sword Technique talisman on his second attempt.
• Jiang Xiaobai proudly compares Yang Fu’s exceptional cultivation talent with that of his younger brother, Yang Fushuo. Fushuo reacts by crying, but quickly returns to happily playing in the mud.
• Yang Fu continues practicing talismans for the five basic Five Elements Moving Technique spells: Golden Sword, Divine Movement, Fire Breath, Spirit Rain, and Entangle. His extraordinary comprehension convinces Yang Genshuo that Yang Fu may become the future pillar of the Yang Family.
• In Moshah Town, Wu Hengyu and his 500-man Martial Cultivator army arrive after detecting Demonic Qi, only to find that five Demon Cultivators have already been killed by a mysterious Gold-element sword attack.
• During the following month, Wu Hengyu repeatedly discovers Demon Cultivators slain in the same manner before his army can reach them. Frustrated and increasingly obsessed, he begins to feel as though he is constantly living in the shadow of the unknown golden-sword cultivator.
• News arrives that Ding Zhen, a powerful ninth-layer Qi Refinement Demon Cultivator and Blood Soul Valley branch master, is active in Wan’an Prefecture. Wu Hengyu eagerly heads there, hoping Ding Zhen will confront the mysterious killer and give him a chance to identify and challenge that person.
• In Wan’an Prefecture, Yang Shi stops at a Spirit Cuisine House for a proper meal after subsisting on Grain-abstinence Biscuits during his journey. His abundant access to Spirit Food has made him far stronger than ordinary Innate Grandmasters, all of whom he has defeated in sparring matches.
• Yang Genshuo inspects the Character Cards of the restaurant’s patrons and realizes that one of them is Ding Zhen. Rather than showing concern, he responds with a knowing smile, implying that Ding Zhen’s presence may benefit the Yang Family or connect to a larger plan.

Character Developments

• Yang Fu displays remarkable talent, patience, and discipline. His rapid success in talisman-making reinforces his status as the Yang Family’s most promising young cultivator.
• Yang Fushuo is portrayed as carefree and emotionally simple. Unlike his serious older brother, he is content playing in the mud, suggesting that his value may lie in happiness or an unconventional strength rather than cultivation talent.
• Jiang Xiaobai is a proud and affectionate mother who appreciates the different qualities of both children, even when her comparisons unintentionally upset Fushuo.
• Yang Genshuo increasingly views Yang Fu as someone destined to shoulder the family’s future. He also remains alert to opportunities involving powerful outsiders such as Ding Zhen.
• Wu Hengyu develops from an eager, battle-hungry general into a frustrated and competitive figure tormented by the mysterious cultivator repeatedly stealing his victories. His desire to confront the killer becomes personal.
• Yang Shi continues to benefit from the Yang Family’s resources. His plentiful Spirit Food and powerful cultivation allow him to dominate ordinary Innate Grandmasters, though he remains unaware of the significance of Ding Zhen’s presence.

Significant Themes

• Living in another’s shadow: Wu Hengyu’s repeated failure to catch the golden-sword cultivator creates the chapter’s central motif. His identity as a fierce general is undermined by someone whose actions he can only observe afterward.
• Inherited privilege and family support: Yang Fu and Yang Shi thrive because of the Yang Family’s accumulated resources, techniques, food, and guidance, contrasting with ordinary cultivators and martial artists who struggle to obtain Spirit Stones or elixirs.
• Different forms of talent: Yang Fu represents disciplined genius and cultivation potential, while Yang Fushuo’s carefree happiness suggests that worth is not measured solely by strength or achievement.
• Preparation and long-term growth: Yang Fu’s talisman practice and Yang Genshuo’s careful observation show the family steadily building its power rather than relying only on direct combat.
• The contrast between righteousness and reputation: Wu Hengyu’s army is officially tasked with suppressing Demon Cultivators, but his eagerness to kill is also driven by personal frustration, pride, and a desire for glory.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Xiaobai praises Yang Fu’s early achievements and uses him as an example to motivate Yang Fushuo, unintentionally making the younger child cry. She then comforts Fushuo and allows him to return to playing.
• Yang Genshuo mentally evaluates Yang Fu’s future role in the family, emphasizing the expectations placed on the gifted child.
• Wu Hengyu and his soldiers share frustration over repeatedly arriving after the mysterious cultivator has already eliminated their targets. His subordinates are both disappointed and wary of criticizing the likely Xuan Shi Sect-affiliated killer.
• Wu Hengyu relies on scout Li Chuan’s report about Ding Zhen and becomes determined to witness the confrontation himself.
• Yang Genshuo identifies Ding Zhen among the Spirit Cuisine House’s patrons, creating an impending connection between Ding Zhen, Yang Shi, and Wu Hengyu’s approaching army.

Chapter Summary: “Playing the Real Demonic Dao Kill!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi learns that Ding Zhen is not merely pretending to be a demonic cultivator: he is a powerful future figure of the Demonic Dao and an undercover agent working for Murong Ziyan and the Blackstone Sect.
• Yang Shi approaches Ding Zhen at the Spirit Meal Residence and reveals their shared allegiance by saying, “Long live Eldest Senior Sister,” then displaying his Blackstone Envoy Talisman and Thunder Talisman.
• Ding Zhen explains his tragic past. His master, the Blood Lord of Demonic Thought, had arranged the massacre of rogue-cultivator families—including Ding Zhen’s own—and used the victims’ resentment to cultivate demonic power. After confirming the truth, Ding Zhen abandoned his faith in the Demonic Dao and vowed to destroy the Bloodsoul Valley and kill his master.
• Ding Zhen has secretly contributed to the Blackstone Sect’s war against Bloodsoul Valley and is currently investigating a mysterious force aiding the valley in Peace Commandery.
• Yang Shi asks Ding Zhen to help him disguise himself as a demonic cultivator. He reveals that he has collected thirteen demonic artifacts from defeated demonic cultivators.
• Ding Zhen spends three hours repairing and cleansing the artifacts of their former owners’ marks. Yang Shi binds them with his blood, allowing the artifacts to protect him passively despite his lack of spiritual power.
• Ding Zhen gives Yang Shi a Demonic Qi Talisman that activates the artifacts’ aura and conceals his righteous techniques, making him appear to be an extremely powerful demonic cultivator—even to Foundation Establishment experts.
• Yang Shi is delighted that he can now travel and hunt demonic cultivators while disguised as one himself.
• Before Ding Zhen leaves, Yang Genshuo notices that Ding Zhen knows metal-element techniques and pressures him into making Golden Spirit Sword Technique Talismans by threatening to expose his identity as a Blackstone Sect agent.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi becomes even more confident and opportunistic. He uses his connection to Murong Ziyan to gain Ding Zhen’s trust, then takes advantage of the situation to obtain powerful defensive tools and a demonic disguise.
• Ding Zhen is revealed as a conflicted undercover agent rather than a true believer in the Demonic Dao. His hatred of the Blood Lord and Bloodsoul Valley is rooted in the murder of his family, giving his actions a strong personal motive.
• Murong Ziyan is shown to be a long-term strategist who secretly recruited and positioned both Yang Shi and Ding Zhen as her agents.
• Yang Genshuo, the ancestor guiding Yang Shi through the Character Card, demonstrates his talent for manipulation. His brief instructions allow Yang Shi to deceive Ding Zhen and secure major benefits.
• Ding Zhen, initially suspicious and ready to attack Yang Shi, gradually accepts him as a fellow subordinate of Murong Ziyan and treats him as a trusted ally.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden identities: Nearly every major character operates under a false identity, with Ding Zhen posing as a demonic cultivator and Yang Shi preparing to do the same.
• Loyalty beyond sects: Ding Zhen rejects the Demonic Dao after discovering that his own master caused his family’s destruction, choosing revenge and justice over inherited allegiance.
• Manipulation and strategic planning: Murong Ziyan’s years-long arrangements and Yang Genshuo’s quick improvisation show how information and deception can be more powerful than direct combat.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: Yang Shi looks like a righteous martial artist but is preparing to radiate terrifying demonic energy, while Ding Zhen appears to be a demonic powerhouse but secretly serves the Blackstone Sect.
• Comedic opportunism: Yang Shi’s casual attitude toward powerful demonic artifacts and his shameless attempt to extort more talismans from Ding Zhen provide humor amid the darker revelations.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Ding Zhen move from mutual suspicion to cooperation after confirming their shared connection to Murong Ziyan.
• Ding Zhen recounts his history and motives, giving Yang Shi insight into the internal conflict between the Blackstone Sect and Bloodsoul Valley.
• Ding Zhen assists Yang Shi by repairing the thirteen demonic artifacts and teaching him how to activate their disguise.
• Yang Shi gratefully praises Ding Zhen while privately viewing the encounter as an excellent opportunity to gain combat and protective advantages.
• At the end, Yang Shi—prompted by Yang Genshuo—turns their friendly exchange into a coercive negotiation, threatening to reveal Ding Zhen’s undercover identity in order to obtain Golden Spirit Sword Technique Talismans.

Chapter Summary: “Ding Zhen’s Bad Luck”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Yang Shi leaves, Ding Zhen is furious because Yang Shi forced him to spend the previous night crafting six second-rank Golden Spirit Sword Technique talismans. The task exhausted Ding Zhen’s spiritual power and humiliated him.
• Yang Shi accidentally releases the demonic qi of thirteen demonic artifacts near Jade Dragon Commandery, causing panic. Cultivators assume the powerful demonic presence belongs to Ding Zhen and consider hunting him for a bounty.
• Ding Zhen encounters Wu Hengyu, commander of the Law and Order Bureau, whose forces are skilled at detecting and suppressing Demonic Cultivators. Because Ding Zhen is contaminated with Yang Shi’s demonic qi, Wu Hengyu mistakes him for an associate of—or possibly the real—Ding Zhen.
• To escape, Ding Zhen falsely claims that the fleeing Yang Shi is the Demonic Cultivator Ding Zhen. However, Wu Hengyu becomes more interested in fighting Ding Zhen himself after realizing he is a metal-element cultivator. Ding Zhen barely escapes when Wu Hengyu turns away to look for Yang Shi.
• Meanwhile, Yang Shi disguises himself with demonic qi and encounters a Demonic Cultivator posing as a hunter. He claims to be an assassin under the Blood Banner Devil Lord and persuades the hunter to reveal information.
• When the hunter offers to guide him to Blackstone Sect cultivators, Yang Shi kills him instantly with a golden spear and takes his defensive Blood Garment artifact.
• Yang Shi continues traveling and finally reaches a gigantic floating black stone containing mountains, rivers, and settlements.

Character Developments

• Ding Zhen is shown as powerful but deeply frustrated and unlucky. Though secretly a Demonic Cultivator, he maintains the appearance of a respectable Blackstone Sect disciple. His resentment toward Yang Shi grows, but he still recognizes Yang Shi’s extraordinary strength.
• Yang Shi demonstrates resourcefulness, ruthlessness, and skill at deception. He comfortably manipulates both righteous and demonic cultivators, uses demonic artifacts and talismans strategically, and kills threats without hesitation.
• Wu Hengyu is established as a zealous, eccentric commander. He is highly capable against Demonic Cultivators but becomes almost obsessive when he encounters a strong metal-element cultivator, treating the pursuit as an opportunity for a sparring match.
• The hunter’s brief appearance reveals that Demonic Cultivators are organized through factions such as the Bloodsoul Valley and Blood Banner Devil Lord, while also showing how little they know about Yang Shi.

Significant Themes

• Misidentification and ironic bad luck: Ding Zhen is mistaken for himself because of Yang Shi’s demonic qi, while Yang Shi escapes suspicion by pretending to be a powerful Demonic Cultivator.
• Identity and concealment: Both protagonists hide their true affiliations. Ding Zhen disguises a Demonic Cultivator identity as a righteous disciple, while Yang Shi adopts a demonic persona to infiltrate hostile territory.
• Deception as survival: False accusations, improvised identities, and manipulation allow both men to avoid direct danger.
• Comedic contrast amid danger: Serious threats—demonic artifacts, bounty hunters, and military pursuit—are undercut by absurd misunderstandings and Ding Zhen’s exasperation.
• Power and unconventional methods: Yang Shi’s reliance on talismans, artifacts, and demonic techniques contrasts with traditional martial cultivation, making him difficult to classify and especially dangerous.

Character Interactions

• Ding Zhen and Yang Shi: Their relationship is antagonistic and exploitative. Yang Shi coerces Ding Zhen into crafting talismans, while Ding Zhen later retaliates by blaming Yang Shi for being the Demonic Cultivator under pursuit.
• Ding Zhen and Wu Hengyu: Wu Hengyu suspects Ding Zhen because of the demonic qi clinging to him, but his suspicion shifts into admiration and a desire to test Ding Zhen’s metal techniques. Ding Zhen sees him as an intolerable obstacle and escapes.
• Yang Shi and the hunter: Yang Shi deceives the hunter by claiming affiliation with the Blood Banner Devil Lord, then kills him when he has extracted useful information.
• The broader factions: The Blackstone Sect, Bloodsoul Valley, and Law and Order Bureau are positioned as competing powers, with Yang Shi moving toward a mysterious location connected to the Blackstone Sect.

Chapter Summary: “Yang Family Relocation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi and the Old Ancestor, Yang Genshuo, arrive at the Xuan Shi Sect and are stunned by its enormous foundation: the entire sect is built upon a gigantic spiritual Dark Boulder larger than Wan’an Prefecture.
• The sect’s dense spiritual energy convinces Yang Shi that the Yang family needs a better cultivation environment. Yang Genshuo agrees that superior “land” is vital, but warns that the family is still too weak to seize a powerful territory safely.
• Because the Spirit Lake in Demon Wind Forest has abundant spiritual energy, Yang Genshuo uses Divine Manifestation to instruct Yang Fu to relocate there and cultivate.
• Jiang Xiaobai dismantles the Yang family’s Myriad Trees Myriad Phenomena Formation, a Second-grade defensive formation capable of briefly resisting a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Its portability allows the family to establish a safe home elsewhere.
• Jiang Xiaobai, Yang Fushuo, and the Blazing Tiger travel to the Spirit Lake. Yang Fu begins cultivating beside the lake, while Yang Fushuo immediately starts playing with the mud.
• At the Spirit Lake, Huzi is training the Black Ghost Hash harshly, forcing him to work despite his cultivation. Hash has reached the second layer of the Fetal Breath stage and uses the Fertile Soil Technique to improve the family’s spirit fields.
• Meanwhile, Yang Shi uses Bai Heyu’s token to enter the inner areas of the Xuan Shi Sect. He and Yang Genshuo explore its facilities, including the Council Hall, Scripture Pavilion, Training Ground, Alchemy Chamber, Artifact Forging Room, Talisman Room, and Spirit Beast Garden.
• Yang Shi is overwhelmed by the sect’s wealth and resources, realizing that Qingshi County is vastly inferior to a true cultivation center.
• In Xuan Bao Town, Yang Shi visits a pill shop and discovers that high-grade cultivation pills are plentiful. He plans to purchase pills for Yang Fu and Yang Fushuo, despite the high cost of Fire Origin Spirit Replenishing Pills.
• Yang Shi also searches for pills capable of strengthening his Martial Cultivator body. Just as he complains that the shop appears not to carry such medicines, a mysterious and imposing figure enters, apparently someone the shopkeeper strongly dislikes.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi becomes increasingly ambitious and determined to improve both himself and his children. His visit to the Xuan Shi Sect broadens his understanding of the cultivation world and strengthens his resolve to obtain better resources, especially for martial-body cultivation.
• Yang Genshuo continues acting as the family’s cautious strategist. He acknowledges the value of rich spiritual lands but prioritizes steady growth and avoiding unnecessary enemies.
• Yang Fu demonstrates strong talent and discipline. His Talisman-making skills are improving, and he naturally cultivates whenever his spiritual power is exhausted. Relocating him to the Spirit Lake is intended to accelerate his already impressive progress.
• Yang Fushuo remains playful and mischievous, showing little interest in serious cultivation yet. His attachment to mud and imaginative play provides comic relief.
• Jiang Xiaobai proves practical and decisive, immediately relocating the family’s defensive formation and moving the children to a safer, more spiritually powerful environment.
• Hash has begun cultivating through the Mysterious Stone Qi Guiding Technique and has reached the second Fetal Breath layer. His Earth-Gold Spiritual Root complements his agricultural role, allowing him to improve the spirit fields.
• Huzi acts as Hash’s strict overseer, using intimidation and physical punishment to ensure that cultivation does not interfere with labor.
• Yang Genshuo and Yang Shi both gain a fuller appreciation of the wider cultivation world after seeing the Xuan Shi Sect’s true scale and resources.

Significant Themes

• The importance of cultivation resources: The chapter emphasizes the value of spiritual land, wealth, techniques, companions, and defensive tools. The Yang family’s relocation reflects the principle that a better environment can dramatically improve cultivation.
• Growth versus caution: Yang Shi wants to pursue every advantage immediately, while Yang Genshuo stresses that the family must first build enough strength to survive in more dangerous territories.
• Family advancement: Nearly every decision is made with the future of Yang Fu, Yang Fushuo, and the wider Yang family in mind.
• The gap between ordinary cultivators and major sects: The Xuan Shi Sect’s immense resources reveal how limited the Yang family’s former environment was, inspiring both awe and ambition.
• Civilization and control: The family views the Black Ghosts as subjects to be disciplined and “civilized,” while also exploiting their labor and cultivation potential.
• Ambition and perseverance: Yang Shi refuses to accept stagnation, particularly regarding martial cultivation, and is determined to find a way to strengthen his body enough to challenge Foundation Establishment experts.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo discuss whether the family should relocate, balancing the benefits of spiritual energy against the dangers of occupying valuable territory.
• Yang Genshuo communicates directly with Yang Fu through Divine Manifestation, and Yang Fu respectfully accepts the relocation order.
• Jiang Xiaobai organizes the move and forces the reluctant Yang Fushuo away from his mud project, while the Blazing Tiger provides transportation.
• At the Spirit Lake, Huzi warmly welcomes Jiang Xiaobai and the children, but immediately returns to disciplining Hash.
• Yang Fu begins serious cultivation beside the lake, contrasting with Yang Fushuo’s playful behavior.
• In Xuan Bao Town, Yang Shi questions the pill-shop owner about the unusually high price of fire-element pills. The shopkeeper explains the scarcity of fire materials and the demand for fire cultivators.
• Yang Shi’s search for martial-body pills ends with the arrival of an intimidating individual whom the shopkeeper refuses to serve, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “Strange Pill”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi encounters Wu Wukai, an enormous Xuan Shi Sect cultivator who specializes in physical training and alchemy.
• Wu Wukai tries to sell his pills at Boss Hao Fei’s shop, but Hao rejects him because his infamous Nine Revolutions Qi Blood Pill once caused a customer’s cultivation to fall from the third to the first Qi Refinement layer.
• Wu Wukai argues that the pill successfully strengthens the body by converting spiritual power into qi and blood, but leaves angrily when Hao refuses to sell it.
• Recognizing an opportunity, Yang Shi follows Wu Wukai and asks to buy pills designed to strengthen the physical body.
• Yang Shi flatters Wu Wukai by praising his muscular physique and calling it the “aesthetics of strength.” Delighted to meet someone who appreciates body cultivation, Wu Wukai gives him two pills for free:

Indestructible Vajra Pill

Nine Revolutions Qi Blood Pill

• Yang Genshuo, observing through the connection with Yang Shi, is amazed by how conveniently the encounter unfolded. He realizes that Yang Shi’s Mad Scholar talent grants him increased luck when he single-mindedly pursues a goal.
• Yang Genshuo studies the pills and determines that the Indestructible Vajra Pill is immediately useful, while the consequences of the Nine Revolutions pill remain uncertain because Yang Shi has no conventional cultivation base.
• Yang Shi consumes the Indestructible Vajra Pill. The pill releases powerful demonic energy, dramatically strengthening his qi, blood, and physical body.
• The transformation makes his skin as tough as Vajra Ape hide, but also causes black hair and a more ape-like appearance.
• While exploring the sect, Yang Shi encounters a female cultivator from the Wood Dragon lineage who is also in the middle of shedding a Vajra Ape-like form. He finds her unexpectedly attractive, prompting Yang Genshuo to worry that the pill may affect Yang Shi’s instincts.
• Yang Shi eventually regains his composure, equips his submachine gun and six Golden Spirit Sword Technique scrolls, and announces that he has something important to do.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi: Demonstrates initiative, opportunism, and shamelessly effective flattery. He uses his lack of a normal cultivation realm to avoid the main drawback of the Nine Revolutions pill. After taking the Indestructible Vajra Pill, he gains significantly enhanced strength and durability, though his appearance becomes partially simian.
• Wu Wukai: Is established as a powerful but eccentric body cultivator and alchemist. He is proud of his physique and deeply appreciative of recognition, becoming immediately friendly with Yang Shi after being praised.
• Yang Genshuo: Becomes increasingly aware that Yang Shi’s unusual luck is a major part of his success. He also acts as a cautious observer, questioning the pills’ effects and worrying about Yang Shi’s altered instincts.
• Hao Fei: Represents the conventional cultivation market, rejecting dangerous or unconventional pills because of their negative effects on customers and reputation.

Significant Themes

• Physical cultivation versus conventional cultivation: The chapter contrasts elegant, spell-focused sect traditions with Wu Wukai’s extreme body-refinement path.
• Luck and destiny: Yang Shi’s “Mad Scholar” talent appears to guide him toward exactly the opportunity he needs, suggesting that focused determination can produce improbable success.
• Unconventional value: A pill considered defective or dangerous by ordinary cultivators can be ideal for someone with unusual circumstances, such as Yang Shi’s lack of spiritual cultivation.
• Appearance and identity: The Indestructible Vajra Pill improves Yang Shi’s abilities but alters his body, raising questions about the sacrifices involved in pursuing strength.
• Flattery and social connection: Yang Shi’s exaggerated praise wins Wu Wukai’s trust, showing how interpersonal skill can be as useful as power or wealth.

Important Character Interactions

• Wu Wukai and Hao Fei: Argue over the safety and usefulness of the Nine Revolutions Qi Blood Pill, revealing Wu Wukai’s unconventional philosophy and Hao’s practical concerns.
• Yang Shi and Wu Wukai: Form an instant connection after Yang Shi praises Wu Wukai’s physique. Wu Wukai rewards him with free pills.
• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo: Their interaction remains mostly observational, with Yang Genshuo analyzing Yang Shi’s luck, the pills, and the consequences of his transformation.
• Yang Shi and the Vajra Female Cultivator: Their brief encounter hints at a possible attraction or instinctive connection caused by Yang Shi’s transformation.

Chapter Summary: “Reunion with Murong Ziyan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi prepares to confront Wu Wukai using a submachine gun loaded with powerful Second-grade Golden Spirit Sword Technique talismans. However, Yang Genshuo stops him after pointing out that his beast transformation is temporary and will last only one month.
• Hoping to reduce the excess spiritual power accumulated from years of eating Spirit Food, Yang Shi takes Wu Wukai’s second pill, the Nine Revolutions Qi Blood Pill.
• The pill unexpectedly converts not only his spiritual power but also the Demonic Qi within his body. His thirteen Demonic Artifacts are violently expelled, while Yang Shi transforms into a black-furred, demonic-looking gorilla.
• The eruption of Demonic Qi alarms the Xuan Shi Sect. Four Foundation Establishment elders arrive, assume Yang Shi is a Blood Soul Valley demon cultivator, and prepare to capture, interrogate, or destroy him.
• Yang Shi repeatedly tries to explain that he is not a demon cultivator and asks to see Murong Ziyan, claiming that he is “her man.” The elders remain suspicious and escort him to the Sect Master.
• Murong Ziyan arrives and initially fails to recognize Yang Shi. She identifies him only after he speaks and produces the Xuan Shi Walker Talisman.
• After briefly explaining the situation to the Sect Master, Murong Ziyan takes Yang Shi away. Her control over the Demonic Artifacts forces them to retreat into his body.
• Yang Shi explains that Ding Zhen repaired the Demonic Artifacts and supplied him with Second-grade talismans, while Murong Ziyan warns him never to reveal Ding Zhen’s identity.
• Yang Shi asks about Bai Heyu. Murong Ziyan confirms that Bai Heyu is dead and tells him where his grave is.
• Yang Shi explains that he came to sell the Yang Family’s Spirit Cuisine. Using Bai Heyu’s Storage Ring, Murong Ziyan removes 15,000 packs of Grain-abstinence Biscuits and two barrels, which Yang Shi presents as gifts to her.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi becomes even more frustrated with Wu Wukai after the pill causes an absurd and dangerous transformation. His anger is mixed with embarrassment, especially because he cannot return home while resembling a black gorilla.
• Despite the crisis, Yang Shi remains resourceful and outspoken, attempting to negotiate with the elders and using humor to defend himself.
• Yang Genshuo continues acting as the cautious voice of reason, preventing Yang Shi from acting impulsively and identifying the temporary nature of his transformation.
• Murong Ziyan is shown to be powerful, composed, and emotionally restrained. She can immediately suppress Yang Shi’s Demonic Artifacts and has enough authority to remove him from the elders’ custody.
• Yang Shi’s relationship with Murong Ziyan is affectionate and familiar from his perspective, but her distant attitude suggests emotional restraint or unresolved separation.
• Ding Zhen is indirectly characterized as highly skilled and generous, having repaired the Demonic Artifacts and provided valuable talismans, though his connection to Murong Ziyan must remain secret.
• Bai Heyu’s death remains emotionally significant. Yang Shi’s inquiry shows that he still hopes, however faintly, that Bai Heyu might have survived in some form.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus identity: Yang Shi’s black fur and Demonic Artifacts make him appear evil, causing the Xuan Shi Sect to judge him before hearing his explanation.
• Unintended consequences: Wu Wukai’s pills produce consequences far beyond their apparent purpose, turning Yang Shi into a target of the very sect he hoped to visit.
• Misunderstanding and prejudice: The elders immediately equate Demonic Qi and Demonic Artifacts with evil, showing the dangers of relying on appearances.
• Temporary transformation and identity crisis: Yang Shi’s beast form creates both comedic embarrassment and practical difficulties, forcing him to hide from those close to him.
• Loyalty, secrets, and relationships: Murong Ziyan’s connection to Ding Zhen, Yang Shi’s devotion to her, and Bai Heyu’s death all reveal a network of personal bonds shaped by secrecy and loss.
• Reunion and emotional distance: Although Yang Shi and Murong Ziyan are reunited, her cool demeanor contrasts with his familiarity, suggesting that their relationship is not as emotionally balanced as he wishes.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo: Yang Genshuo restrains Yang Shi’s anger and explains the time limit of his transformation.
• Yang Shi and the Xuan Shi Sect elders: Their interaction is dominated by suspicion and comic misunderstanding as the elders prepare extreme punishments while Yang Shi insists he is innocent.
• Yang Shi and Murong Ziyan: Their reunion mixes awkward humor, trust, and emotional distance. Murong Ziyan recognizes and protects him, while Yang Shi openly claims their relationship and seeks her help.
• Yang Shi and Ding Zhen: Though Ding Zhen does not appear directly, Yang Shi credits him with repairing the Demonic Artifacts and giving him powerful talismans. Both Yang Shi and Murong Ziyan agree to keep his identity secret.
• Yang Shi and Bai Heyu’s memory: Yang Shi asks Murong Ziyan about Bai Heyu and carries out his final wishes, using the Storage Ring to transport and sell the Spirit Cuisine.

Chapter Summary: “Lightning Body Tempering”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi arrives at Xuan Shi Sect carrying newly developed snacks as gifts for Murong Ziyan, the Eldest Senior Sister of Thunder Peak.
• Murong Ziyan accepts the gifts and rewards him with:
  • An Outer Disciple Token, officially making him a registered disciple of Thunder Peak.
  • Permission to train in the Lightning Body Tempering Room for one month.
  • The option to seek her help on the Thunder Stone if he encounters trouble.
• Yang Shi registers at the Outer Affairs Hall. The staff are astonished because Murong Ziyan has never before personally granted anyone an Outer Disciple Token. His registration is quickly approved, and he receives a small courtyard.
• Yang Shi pays respects to Bai Heyu and vows to avenge Bai’s death by killing those responsible.
• He visits Xuan Bao Town and sells 15,000 packs of the Yang Family’s Grain-abstinence Biscuits to the Spirit Cuisine Hall for 3,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones. The biscuits are clearly popular and in high demand.
• Yang Shi reflects on the inconvenience of carrying the spirit stones and his inability, as a Martial Cultivator, to use a Storage Ring. He thinks of the legendary Great Nai Martial Saint, one of the few Martial Cultivators able to use one.
• Yang Shi enters the Lightning Body Tempering Room, located underground within a massive mysterious stone. He begins tempering his body with powerful lightning.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi: Gains official status within Xuan Shi Sect, greatly improving his ability to move through the sect and access its resources. He becomes more confident in his relationship with Murong Ziyan and sees her gifts and protection as valuable advantages. His determination to avenge Bai Heyu is also reaffirmed.
• Murong Ziyan: Although she remains outwardly cold and composed, her acceptance of Yang Shi’s snacks and decision to personally recruit him reveal that she is supportive and perhaps enjoys his offerings. Her actions establish her as a powerful benefactor.
• Yang Genshuo: Continues observing and managing Yang Shi’s development through the game-like time-acceleration system. He begins worrying about how the upcoming clan sacrifice can be handled if Yang Shi and Yang Fu are in different locations.
• Bai Heyu: Though already dead, he remains an important emotional influence on Yang Shi, motivating his revenge.
• Wu Wukai: His reputation as a physically tough and eccentric cultivator becomes clearer through the comments of the Spirit Cuisine Hall steward. Yang Shi also views Wu Wukai’s physique as a model for his own development.
• Yang Fu: Remains important to the Yang Family’s broader plans, particularly because he is gathering Spirit Wheat in the Demon Wind Forest.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Murong Ziyan interact through a formal exchange of gifts and rewards. His food gifts soften the atmosphere despite her aloof personality.
• The Affairs Hall staff question Yang Shi about his relationship with Murong Ziyan, but he politely refuses to reveal details, increasing their curiosity.
• Yang Shi expresses loyalty to Bai Heyu by promising to avenge him.
• The Spirit Cuisine Hall steward recognizes Yang Shi as the supplier from the Qingshi Yang Clan and eagerly purchases his entire stock, demonstrating the commercial value of the family’s products.
• Yang Shi’s relationship with Murong Ziyan is viewed humorously by the Yang Family Ancestor, who imagines her becoming part of the Yang Family despite the enormous difference in their status and talent.

Significant Themes

• Building influence through practical value: Yang Shi uses food and trade to establish connections with powerful cultivators and organizations.
• Power and social hierarchy: Murong Ziyan’s status as an Innate Lightning Spiritual Root prodigy contrasts sharply with Yang Shi’s origins and lack of a spiritual root, emphasizing the gap between them.
• Resourcefulness and adaptation: Rather than relying solely on conventional cultivation, Yang Shi benefits from martial strength, unique products, powerful pills, and strategic relationships.
• Vengeance and loyalty: His promise to avenge Bai Heyu shows that personal bonds and justice remain central motivations.
• Physical transformation through hardship: The lightning chamber turns pain into growth as Yang Shi gradually adapts to the lightning and strengthens his body.
• The tension between cultivation and logistics: The chapter humorously highlights practical problems—such as transporting spirit stones, lacking a Storage Ring, and coordinating events in multiple locations—alongside major cultivation breakthroughs.

Cultivation Development

• The Lightning Body Tempering Room’s lightning initially causes severe spasms and discomfort, but Yang Shi quickly adapts.
• The unfinished effects of the Grade 2 Nine Revolutions Qi Blood Pill resume, drawing Demonic Qi from the Demonic Artifact within him and converting it into nourishing blood and qi.
• Lightning spiritual power strengthens both his body and the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir.
• His Black Fur defense is repeatedly destroyed and regenerated under the lightning, while his physique begins evolving toward the powerful body of Wu Wukai.

Concise Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Yang Family receives several breakthroughs and accomplishments:
  • Jiang Xiaobai reaches the eighth layer of the Fetal Breath stage.
  • Yang Fu perfects his Five Elements Spirit Vortex and reaches the fourth layer of Fetal Breath.
  • Yang Fu independently learns to create first-grade talismans.
  • The family gains additional incense from these achievements, bringing its total to 640.
• Yang Fu proves exceptionally hardworking, cultivating while mastering talisman-making. Yang Genshuo is impressed by his talent and dedication, while Yang Fushuo plays innocently nearby with mud and fire.
• After a month in the Lightning Body Tempering Room, Yang Shi emerges transformed:
  • His demonic energy has been completely removed.
  • His height, muscle mass, blood energy, and physical strength have greatly increased.
  • His body has effectively been strengthened twofold, allowing him to overwhelm ordinary Innate Grandmasters and potentially defeat low-level Qi Refinement cultivators without relying on techniques.
• Yang Shi’s transformation is attributed to the combined effects of:
  • The Indestructible Vajra Pill.
  • The Nine Revolutions Qi Blood Pill.
  • The thirteen Demonic Artifacts within him, whose demonic energy was converted into blood energy.
  • The Lightning Body Tempering Room, which amplified the pills’ effects.
• After ending his seclusion, Yang Shi visits the Spirit Cuisine Hall and eats a large meal after surviving for a month on Grain-abstinence Biscuits.
• He begins pursuing his second major goal at Xuan Shi Sect: obtaining cultivation resources for the Yang Family, especially a powerful Fire Element cultivation method for Yang Fushuo.
• Initially, Yang Shi searches the market for a cultivation method, unaware that Outer Disciples can select one for free from the Scripture Pavilion.
• In the Scripture Pavilion, Yang Genshuo examines the available “special methods” but realizes that unusual does not necessarily mean superior.
• They select the Blazing Sun Smelting Technique, a Fire Element method suitable for alchemy and artifact refinement and cultivable up to Foundation Establishment.
• The chapter ends as the pavilion gatekeeper warns that although the method is popular and profitable, there is an important drawback that he has not yet revealed.

Character Developments

• Yang Fu develops into an unusually disciplined and talented cultivator. Despite the difficulty of practicing the Five Elements Moving Technique, he continues progressing while also mastering talisman production.
• Jiang Xiaobai steadily advances through cultivation and remains a reliable member of the family.
• Yang Shi undergoes a major physical transformation, becoming far stronger and more confident. His improvement shifts his understanding of martial cultivation and makes him less dependent on conventional techniques.
• Yang Fushuo is established as a playful child with a powerful Fire Spiritual Root and an Innate Alchemy Saint Body, making him especially suited to alchemy.
• Yang Genshuo continues guiding the family from his God’s Perspective. He is impressed by Yang Fu, helps optimize cultivation through blessings, and carefully chooses a method for Yang Fushuo.

Significant Themes

• Family growth and prosperity: The Yang Family’s strength increases through the combined progress of multiple descendants and the accumulation of incense.
• Talent supported by diligence: Yang Fu’s achievements show that natural ability becomes especially powerful when paired with relentless effort.
• The value of specialization: The Blazing Sun Smelting Technique is chosen because it matches Yang Fushuo’s constitution and gives the family an entry point into alchemy.
• Martial cultivation versus immortal cultivation: Yang Shi’s strengthened body demonstrates that a powerful martial cultivator can physically overwhelm lower-level Qi Refinement cultivators.
• Knowledge and opportunity: Yang Shi’s mistaken belief that all cultivation methods must be purchased highlights his unfamiliarity with sect benefits and the advantages of joining a formal sect.
• Appearance versus substance: The “special methods” are not automatically stronger, while Yang Shi’s flashy realization about Earth Puppet techniques reflects the importance of practical strength over outward display.

Character Interactions

• Yang Genshuo monitors Yang Fu’s progress and repeatedly uses the Spirit Gathering blessing to aid his cultivation.
• Yang Fu balances serious training with affection for his younger brother, helping Yang Fushuo light a mud stove while warning him to be careful.
• Jiang Xiaobai acts as a responsible father, attempting to keep Yang Fushuo from disturbing Yang Fu’s cultivation.
• Yang Genshuo humorously compares Yang Fu to the idealized “other people’s child,” contrasting him with the mischievous Yang Fushuo.
• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo cooperate closely in selecting a cultivation method, with Yang Shi relying on the Old Ancestor’s judgment.
• The Scripture Pavilion gatekeeper provides Yang Shi with guidance, correcting his assumptions about sect resources and hinting that the popular Blazing Sun Smelting Technique has hidden limitations.

Chapter Summary: Cultivation World’s Batman

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the Scripture Repository, Yang Shi learns that advancing from the tenth level of the Embryonic Breath Stage to the Qi Refining Realm requires refining Innate Spiritual Qi. Since his strongest affinity is fire, he needs Innate Fire Spiritual Energy.
• The gatekeeper explains that Innate Fire Spiritual Energy is extremely scarce and costs around 4,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, far more than Innate Wood Spiritual Energy. He warns Yang Shi that pursuing the fire path may be financially burdensome.
• Yang Shi remains determined because his Fire Spiritual Root is his most outstanding aptitude, comparable to a cultivator with Triple Spiritual Roots. His family’s growing income should allow them to afford the necessary resources.
• The gatekeeper copies the Blazing Sun Smelting Art into a single-use jade slip for Yang Shi. The art contains enough basic spells for the Qi Refining Realm, while advanced techniques are generally taught by masters after entering the inner sect.
• Yang Shi realizes he has spent only 305 spirit stones during his journey and still possesses roughly 3,300, in addition to money earned from hunting Demonic Cultivators. He decides to spend the rest in Mystic Treasure Town on formations, pills, magical artifacts, and other useful supplies.
• While shopping at the Formation Pavilion, Yang Shi encounters Chu Qiao, a senior sister who previously helped establish a formation for the Yang Family.
• He reveals that he has joined the Blackstone Sect as an outer disciple under Murong Ziyan’s Thunderclap Peak branch. When Chu Qiao asks about his unusual qualification, Yang Shi jokingly claims that his special ability is being rich.
• After learning that Chu Qiao wants a 500-spirit-stone Shadow Following Formation but cannot yet afford it, Yang Shi buys it for her. Chu Qiao is impressed and promises to protect him within the sect.
• In return, Yang Shi asks her to teach his son advanced spells if she visits Bluestone County. She agrees.
• The chapter ends by emphasizing Yang Shi’s growing identity and legend: despite his humble and tragic origins, wealth, resources, equipment, and extraordinary strength have allowed him to stand alongside cultivators. He proudly views himself as the cultivation world’s “Batman.”

Character Developments

• Yang Shi: Demonstrates determination, confidence, generosity, and strategic thinking. He refuses to abandon the fire cultivation path despite its high cost and begins building useful relationships within the Blackstone Sect. His willingness to spend money also reflects his belief that resources should be used to strengthen the family and secure allies.
• Yang Genshuo: Continues gathering and recording valuable information for the Yang Family. He recognizes that finding a source of Innate Fire Spiritual Energy could become a major business opportunity.
• The gatekeeper: Acts as a practical mentor, warning Yang Shi about the economic realities of fire cultivation and explaining the limitations of beginner cultivation arts.
• Chu Qiao: Shifts from viewing Yang Shi as a rustic martial artist to recognizing him as a powerful and wealthy junior disciple. Her attitude becomes friendly and protective after he generously purchases the formation for her.
• Murong Ziyan: Although absent from the chapter, her status is clarified: Yang Shi is her junior brother within the Thunderclap Peak branch, so he may continue calling her “Eldest Senior Sister.”

Significant Themes

• Resources and wealth as cultivation advantages: Spiritual roots determine potential, but money can provide access to rare resources, training facilities, equipment, and influential allies.
• Pragmatism versus ambition: The gatekeeper urges Yang Shi to choose a cheaper cultivation path, but Yang Shi follows the route best suited to his aptitude while relying on his family’s wealth.
• Networking and reciprocity: Yang Shi’s gift to Chu Qiao is both generous and strategic. He values trustworthy allies and understands that relationships may be as important as personal strength.
• Family development and long-term planning: Information about spiritual lands, cultivation resources, and future income is recorded for the benefit of the Yang Family, showing that Yang Shi’s cultivation journey is tied to the family’s rise.
• Self-made identity: Yang Shi’s tragic past, wealth, equipment, and unusual power combine into a distinctive persona—an unconventional protector and problem-solver in the cultivation world.

Important Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and the gatekeeper: The gatekeeper warns him about the cost of Innate Fire Spiritual Energy, but Yang Shi respectfully insists on obtaining the Blazing Sun Smelting Art.
• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo: Their discussion turns the scarcity of fire energy into a possible future business opportunity for the family.
• Yang Shi and Chu Qiao: Their reunion develops into an alliance. Yang Shi buys her a valuable formation, while Chu Qiao offers future protection and agrees to teach his son.
• Yang Shi and Murong Ziyan’s branch: His membership confirms his place among the unconventional cultivators of Thunderclap Peak and establishes him as Murong Ziyan’s junior brother.

Summary of “Launch Day Remarks”

Key Events

• The author announces that the novel has officially become a premium/paid work on Qidian Reading.
• They thank their editor, Star River, and readers who have supported the book so far.
• The author explains that, while they write seriously, their slow typing speed and daytime job limit their output.
• A schedule of three guaranteed updates per day is promised after the launch.
• Additional updates will be added for reader rewards:
  • A Leader reward earns two extra chapters.
  • Every 1,000 monthly votes earns two extra chapters.
  • These conditions will remain permanently active.
• The author acknowledges one current Leader, “Soy Sauce Guy Who Beats Passersby,” and promises to begin repaying the support the following day.
• Four chapters—more than 10,000 words—will be released on launch day.
• Readers are encouraged to subscribe, with subscriptions described as the main motivation for continuing the work.
• The author recommends several other novels, including works in the cyberpunk, xianxia, immortal-fantasy, and DNF-related genres.

Character Development

• There is no fictional plot or character development in this chapter, as it is an author’s launch announcement.
• The author presents themself as hardworking, sincere, appreciative, and committed to improving update frequency despite work and writing constraints.
• The editor, Star River, is characterized as direct, honest, and compatible with the author.
• Supportive readers—especially the named Leader—are framed as important contributors to the novel’s progress.

Significant Themes

• Gratitude and reader support: The author repeatedly emphasizes that reader subscriptions, votes, and rewards sustain the book.
• Hard work and dedication: The author writes chapters daily after working during the day and promises to repay extra-update commitments.
• Community and reciprocity: The update system turns reader support into additional content, while the author openly acknowledges individual contributions.
• Promotion and literary camaraderie: The recommendations demonstrate support for fellow authors and a shared online fiction community.

Character Interactions

• The main interactions are between the author and their editor, readers, and fellow writers.
• The author describes a positive working relationship with Star River.
• They directly address readers as “big shots,” thanking them and asking for continued support.
• The author publicly recognizes and promises to repay the Leader “Soy Sauce Guy Who Beats Passersby.”
• The recommended books and their authors are introduced with brief praise, highlighting mutual promotion among writers.

Chapter Summary: “The Wonderful Uses of the Ancestral Rite”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Genshuo prepares for the annual ancestral rite and considers what pills Yang Shi should buy in Mystic Treasure Town. He rejects Wu Wukai’s pills because of their dangerous side effects and discovers that the sect has no suitable Body-Refining medicines.
• He purchases four first-grade Longevity-Extending Pills, intending to give two to his parents while reserving two for emergencies. The pills extend a person’s lifespan by five years and are extremely valuable.
• Yang Shi and Yang Fu perform the ancestral rite simultaneously in different locations. Yang Shi offers the four pills, while Yang Fu offers 3,300 jin of Spirit Wheat, Spirit Fruits, and a seventh-layer Embryonic Breath Realm Woodgrain Rabbit.
• The offerings grant Yang Genshuo twenty Incense Value, and he realizes he can bestow rewards on both descendants separately.
• Yang Genshuo sends Yang Shi 15,000 Fasting Cakes and experiments by giving one of Yang Shi’s Longevity-Extending Pills to Yang Fu. This reveals that offerings from one descendant can be transferred to another through the ancestral system.
• He recognizes the strategic importance of this discovery: Yang Shi can acquire supplies safely while traveling, offer them during the rite, and Yang Fu can receive and distribute them to the family.
• The family’s agricultural production has improved because Black Ghost Hashi uses the Soil Enrichment Art, increasing Spirit Wheat output by ten percent. Huzi, meanwhile, is repeatedly fighting demon beasts as he approaches a breakthrough in martial cultivation.
• To celebrate the successful rite and the new discovery, Yang Genshuo organizes a barbecue gathering with Lin Yue, the Daoist, Xu Mengqi, and his old friend and former business partner Guo Xiaozhi.

Character Developments

• Yang Genshuo grows increasingly aware of the value of physical strength, lifespan, resources, and strategic planning. His enhanced body from second-grade pills has made him exceptionally strong but also creates awkward situations around Lin Yue.
• He becomes more inventive with the ancestral system, transforming it from a simple reward mechanism into a long-distance supply-transfer network between the Yang Family and Yang Shi.
• Yang Shi continues exploring Mystic Treasure Town and searching for useful resources, while functioning as the family’s connection to the outside cultivation world.
• Yang Fu remains dutiful and serious during the ancestral rite. He also serves as the family’s producer of first-grade talismans, which can support Yang Shi’s future travels.
• Black Ghost Hashi proves highly valuable to the family by improving the fertility of the Spirit Fields and increasing economic output. His relationship with Huzi has also improved, as Huzi now trusts him with greater responsibility.
• Huzi is nearing an important martial breakthrough and trains by battling demon beasts, despite frequently returning injured.
• Guo Xiaozhi is reintroduced as Yang Genshuo’s loyal childhood friend and former business partner. Their past business failure has left Yang Genshuo feeling guilty, but Xiaozhi remains enthusiastic and dependable.

Significant Themes

• The value of time and lifespan: The Longevity-Extending Pills emphasize how precious additional years are, especially in a dangerous cultivation world.
• Family cooperation and resource management: The ancestral rite becomes a mechanism for coordinating people, goods, and abilities across great distances.
• Ingenuity and system exploitation: Yang Genshuo continually searches for unconventional ways to use the ancestral system more effectively.
• Economic development: Farming improvements, Fasting Cake production, talisman-making, and strategic trade all contribute to the Yang Family’s rise.
• Modern convenience and professional efficiency: Yang Genshuo applies practical modern ideas—such as paying professionals to handle cooking and event arrangements—to his supernatural circumstances.
• Friendship and loyalty: Despite past failures, Yang Genshuo values his old friends and attempts to reconnect with and support them.

Character Interactions

• Yang Genshuo works with Yang Shi to obtain valuable pills and later uses Yang Shi’s offerings to help Yang Fu.
• Through the ancestral rite, Yang Shi and Yang Fu become indirectly connected, exchanging resources and support through Yang Genshuo.
• Huzi and Hashi have developed a more cooperative relationship, with Hashi helping manage the Spirit Fields while Huzi focuses on martial training.
• Yang Genshuo invites Lin Yue, the Daoist, Xu Mengqi, and Guo Xiaozhi to a celebratory meal, showing his desire to bring together friends from different parts of his life.
• His conversation with Guo Xiaozhi recalls their failed board-game shop and Xiaozhi’s humorous philosophy that money purchases other people’s time—an idea Yang Genshuo now applies to organizing the feast.

Chapter Summary: “Someone Is Sneaking Bites”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Mengqi arrives at Yang Genshuo’s home expecting a romantic evening, imagining that he may confess his feelings or ask her to stay.
• Instead, she discovers that Yang has organized a lively backyard gathering with Lin Yue, Cheng Bo, and later Guo Xiaozhi. The courtyard is decorated with lights, alcohol, food, a grill, a pool, and an outdoor movie.
• Xu is initially disappointed and briefly suspects Yang of being flirtatious with multiple women, but she soon becomes interested in the friendly group.
• The five friends spend the evening eating, drinking, watching movies, and enjoying themselves.
• Guo Xiaozhi notices Yang’s expensive Bentley and realizes that Yang, whose business had recently failed, has become wealthy again. He worries that Yang’s success may create distance between them.
• On his way home, Guo receives a message from Yang ordering him to return because he has “a huge job” for him. His melancholy immediately disappears, confirming that Yang still considers him a close friend and intends to bring him into his success.
• Yang explains that he needs someone reliable to manage practical affairs, since his own abilities and time are stretched by his supernatural business and responsibilities involving the Yang Family in the game.
• Yang also becomes concerned that workers at the Red Maple Food Factory are secretly eating and taking home scraps of the spiritually enhanced Fasting Cakes. Because the cakes can improve health and potentially extend lifespan, uncontrolled consumption could create problems.
• He decides that Guo Xiaozhi should help him control the production line and manage his growing business, ending with the invitation: “Xiaozhi, come make money for me!”

Character Developments

• Xu Mengqi: Reveals romantic interest in Yang and arrives with expectations of a date. Her embarrassment and jealousy show that she cares deeply about him, but she adapts quickly when she realizes the gathering is platonic.
• Yang Genshuo: Demonstrates generosity, loyalty, and strategic thinking. He values his friends and wants to elevate them alongside himself. He also recognizes the need to delegate and convert his supernatural resources into a larger business.
• Guo Xiaozhi: Initially fears that Yang’s newfound wealth has created an unbridgeable social gap. His anxiety vanishes when Yang immediately offers him work, reinforcing his loyalty and emotional dependence on their friendship. He is characterized as trustworthy, adaptable, and an excellent executor who does not pry into matters unnecessarily.
• Lin Yue: Makes a strong impression through her youthful beauty and vitality. Her presence contributes to Xu’s initial misunderstanding, though she behaves politely and quietly.
• Cheng Bo: Adds humor and energy to the gathering, casually joining the drinking and social atmosphere.

Significant Themes

• Friendship surviving success: The chapter explores whether wealth and social advancement separate old friends. Yang’s invitation proves that he intends to share his success rather than abandon Guo.
• Loyalty and mutual trust: Guo’s willingness to act without questioning Yang’s secrets makes him valuable, while Yang rewards that loyalty with opportunity.
• Delegation and the value of time: Yang adopts the philosophy that money can purchase other people’s time and expertise, allowing him to focus on more important matters.
• Hidden power beneath ordinary life: The Fasting Cakes appear to be ordinary food products, but their spiritual properties make even factory scraps potentially life-changing.
• Romantic misunderstanding and social dynamics: Xu’s expectations contrast humorously with the actual group gathering, while her jealousy hints at unresolved romantic feelings.
• Wealth and class anxiety: Guo worries that Yang’s new fortune places them in different worlds, reflecting the emotional uncertainty that can accompany dramatic changes in status.

Character Interactions

• Yang orders Xu to help fill the pool, immediately undercutting her romantic expectations and establishing the casual, communal mood of the evening.
• Xu meets Lin Yue and is struck by her beauty, briefly interpreting her presence as evidence that Yang may be involved with multiple women.
• Yang and Guo greet each other warmly and tease one another about Guo’s lateness and spending habits, showing their long-standing familiarity.
• Guo’s concern about being left behind is answered by Yang’s blunt but affectionate message, restoring his confidence in their brother-like bond.
• Yang’s decision to recruit Guo reflects both practical business needs and genuine affection: he trusts Guo as someone who will execute tasks efficiently while respecting Yang’s secrets.

Chapter Summary: “Mounts, Arrays, Pills, and Talismans: A Massive Shopping Spree”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the previous night’s celebration, the courtyard is cleaned, and Yang Genshuo restores his condition by taking medicine and practicing the Trace-Free Sword Technique.
• Yang Shi sells another 15,000 packs of Fasting Cakes and receives 3,000 Spirit Stones, bringing the family’s total funds to 5,600 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• He begins a carefully planned shopping trip to strengthen the Yang Family:
  • He considers a Cloudsea Deer, a powerful and elegant high-grade flying Spirit Beast, but its price of 10,000 Spirit Stones is far beyond the family’s means.
  • Instead, he purchases an inexpensive Umbral Bat for 1,500 Spirit Stones. Though unpopular because of its sinister appearance and nocturnal habits, it is fast, already tamed, and well suited to Yang Shi’s covert movements.
  • He buys Five-Element Spirit-Replenishing Pills for Yang Fu, Yang Fushuo, and Jiang Xiaobai, spending 2,400 Spirit Stones.
  • He purchases 600 Qi-Gathering Pills to accelerate the Embryonic Breath cultivation of the family’s younger members.
  • He buys ten Bone-Strengthening Flesh-Regenerating Pills as a bonus from the pharmacy owner.
  • He obtains the First-Grade Nine-Palace Li-Fire Array for 500 Spirit Stones, giving the family a new defensive and offensive method.
  • He buys Yang Fu a high-quality talisman-making set and spends the remaining funds on a large collection of offensive, defensive, movement, and poison talismans.
• Yang Shi briefly visits Murong Ziyan at Thunderclap Peak before leaving the Blackstone Sect.
• At night, the Umbral Bat awakens and reveals its intimidating true form: a massive, flame-eyed creature surrounded by black aura and the pressure of a high-grade Spirit Beast.
• Yang Shi disguises his aura with the Blood Garment, mounts the bat, and flies home, announcing to Yang Genshuo that he is ready to act.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi demonstrates increasing foresight and responsibility as a family leader. Rather than spending impulsively, he prioritizes transportation, cultivation resources, defensive formations, and emergency combat tools.
• His practical and unconventional nature is emphasized by his choice of the unattractive Umbral Bat. He recognizes that its frightening appearance and nocturnal abilities can help conceal his identity and support covert operations.
• Yang Genshuo continues serving as Yang Shi’s guide and adviser, evaluating purchases and approving strategies. Their relationship remains humorous and cooperative, with Yang Genshuo teasing Yang Shi’s fascination with “demonic” equipment.
• Yang Fu, Yang Fushuo, and Jiang Xiaobai indirectly progress through the resources Yang Shi purchases for their cultivation, particularly the elemental replenishment pills and Qi-Gathering Pills.
• The Umbral Bat shifts from appearing lazy and useless during the day to an imposing “king of the night,” establishing itself as a potentially valuable and intimidating companion.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and long-term development: The Yang Family’s advancement depends not only on individual cultivation but also on acquiring transportation, medicine, formations, and tools.
• Practicality over appearance: The Umbral Bat is judged negatively by others because of its appearance, yet Yang Shi sees its actual usefulness and hidden strengths.
• Resource management and family investment: Yang Shi spends nearly all the family’s wealth on items that benefit collective growth rather than personal luxury.
• The blending of righteous and demonic imagery: Although Yang Shi belongs to a righteous cultivation environment, he enjoys demonic artifacts, disguises, and the intimidating bat, using them pragmatically rather than ideologically.
• Humor in cultivation-world adaptation: Yang Shi’s excitement over talismans and his “Batman” comparisons create a comedic contrast with the otherwise serious process of building the family’s power.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi consults Yang Genshuo throughout the shopping trip, relying on his ancestor’s judgment when comparing Spirit Beasts and cultivation resources.
• Yang Genshuo praises the Cloudsea Deer but supports Yang Shi’s more affordable and strategically useful choice of the Umbral Bat.
• Shopkeepers and Blackstone Sect disciples dismiss or criticize the bat, while Yang Shi interprets their rejection as an advantage.
• Yang Shi interacts briefly with Murong Ziyan before departing, suggesting that important matters remain connected to his activities at the Blackstone Sect.
• The chapter ends with Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo sharing the anticipation of imminent action as Yang Shi rides the awakened Umbral Bat back toward the Yang Family.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiang Pihe, a fifth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator and direct member of the Xiang Family, cultivates while guarding the family’s spirit fields. He has secretly allied with the demonic Blood Soul Valley and looks forward to the family’s future rise in power.
• Yang Shi arrives at Xiang Manor disguised as a Blood Soul Valley messenger. He claims to be delivering the Fat and Thin Daoists’ warning that they will soon collect the Xiang Family’s spirit-food tribute.
• After Xiang Pihe accepts Yang Shi’s identity, Yang suddenly attacks him with the Flowing Water Sword enhanced by a Golden Spirit Sword Technique talisman.
• Xiang Pihe’s blood-red demonic artifact protects him temporarily, but Yang destroys it with gunfire infused with sword techniques. Xiang Pihe recognizes Yang as the mysterious “Iaido Sword Saint,” though Yang’s extravagant use of talismans earns him the humorous label “Money Element Sword Saint.”
• Xiang Pihe counters with powerful Water Element techniques, including the Boundless Sea and a massive water fist. The battle awakens five Fetal Breath rogue cultivators working in the spirit fields.
• Xiang Pihe attempts to turn the workers against Yang by portraying him as a demon cultivator. However, the rogue cultivators are too intimidated to intervene meaningfully.
• Believing Yang to be a lawless “Chaotic Demonic Cultivator” who uses any techniques and artifacts he can obtain, Xiang Pihe tries to wear him down through an attrition-based water technique.
• Yang reveals that his physical endurance is far greater than Xiang Pihe expected. He then switches tactics, using Earth Element talismans to counter Xiang Pihe’s Water Element defenses.
• A Mount Tai Crushing Down talisman buries and disrupts the Boundless Sea. Earth-enhanced bullets break through Xiang Pihe’s Water Spirit Shield and severely injure him.
• Xiang Pihe tries to activate Xiang Manor’s defensive formation and escape, but the formation inexplicably fails to respond.
• Yang’s bat distracts Xiang Pihe with flames, allowing Yang to close in and kill him by piercing his heart with a Blood Soul Claw. The claw drains Xiang Pihe’s blood essence.
• Yang mocks the weakness of his defeated opponent before frightening the five rogue cultivators, who realize they are facing an even more terrifying figure than the demon cultivator they initially feared.

2. Character Developments

• Xiang Pihe: Revealed as selfish, treacherous, and deeply involved with the demonic path. He cares little about his dead cousin and prioritizes the Xiang Family’s secret plans and his own advancement. His confidence collapses as Yang’s varied techniques and enormous spending overwhelm him. He dies after losing both his defensive artifact and hope of escape.
• Yang Shi: Demonstrates himself as a resourceful and unpredictable fighter. He combines swordsmanship, firearms, talismans, physical cultivation, demonic artifacts, and his bat companion. His reputation as a sword-focused demon hunter grows, even though he does not realize how widely he is feared or misidentified.
• The five rogue cultivators: Initially assume Xiang Pihe is a righteous senior defending the manor, but they quickly become passive observers. By the end, they recognize Yang as the true threat and flee in terror.
• The Xiang Family: Their hidden cooperation with Blood Soul Valley is confirmed. The failure of their defensive formation also hints that the family’s protections may have been sabotaged or deliberately disabled.

3. Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden alliances: Yang exploits Xiang Pihe’s connection to Blood Soul Valley, while Xiang Pihe hides his demonic affiliations behind the appearance of a legitimate family cultivator.
• Power through preparation and resources: Yang wins not through a single overwhelming technique but through a vast supply of talismans, weapons, and adaptable tactics. His “Money Element” style satirizes the advantages wealth can provide in cultivation.
• Moral hypocrisy: Xiang Pihe invokes the righteous condemnation of demon cultivators despite being one himself. He attempts to manipulate the rogue cultivators by claiming the moral high ground.
• Adaptability versus specialization: Xiang Pihe relies heavily on Water Element techniques and endurance-based combat, while Yang shifts between Metal, Earth, physical, and demonic methods to exploit weaknesses.
• Fear and reputation: Rumors transform Yang into a legendary “Iaido Sword Saint,” and Xiang Pihe’s mistaken assumptions about him contribute directly to his downfall.
• The vulnerability of secret organizations: The Xiang Family’s reliance on Blood Soul Valley and its apparently inactive formation suggest that its hidden schemes may already be compromised.

4. Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Xiang Pihe: Their initial polite exchange is a calculated deception. Once Xiang Pihe lowers his guard, Yang launches a surprise attack, leading to a battle of Metal and Earth-enhanced weapons against Water Element defenses.
• Xiang Pihe and the rogue cultivators: Xiang Pihe orders them to help kill Yang and presents himself as their protector, but they hesitate because of Yang’s overwhelming strength and ultimately provide no real assistance.
• Yang Shi and the rogue cultivators: Yang largely ignores them during the battle, but his final sinister laugh terrifies them and reverses their understanding of who the “demon” truly is.
• Yang Shi and his equipment/companion: His bat’s fire attack creates the opening for the final strike, while his talismans, firearms, and demonic artifacts allow him to overcome Xiang Pihe’s layered defenses.

Chapter Summary: “Taking Over the Old Residence”

Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi defeats Xiang Pihe, a Fifth Layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator, and watches as the Xiang Family’s servants flee in terror.
• Using the Bloodsoul Claw and the Umbral Bat, he hunts down and kills the servants, absorbing their blood and vital energy.
• The Bloodsoul Claw’s energy is divided among Yang Shi’s thirteen Demonic Artifacts, restoring the twelve weakened artifacts that had nearly been drained by the Nine-Turn Blood-Qi Pill.
• Yang Shi’s body is further tempered, his blood energy surges, and he realizes that killing demonic cultivators could provide a rapid path to strengthening himself.
• Rather than killing five surviving Rogue Cultivators who had worked for the Xiang Family, Yang Shi follows Yang Genshuo’s advice and forces them to cultivate the Xiang estate’s fifteen mu of high-quality Spirit Fields.
• The Rogue Cultivators submit out of fear and are placed under the protection and surveillance of the Nine-Palace Li-Fire Array and the existing Earth-Deflecting Shield Array. They are promised eventual freedom if they work diligently.
• Yang Shi orders them to clean up the corpses and takes control of the Xiang Family residence, which contains valuable Spirit Fields, spiritual crops, fruits, herbs, and medicinal materials.
• The Umbral Bat retrieves the core of the Earth-Deflecting Shield Array, preventing Xiang Pihe from using it as a final defensive measure.
• Yang Shi searches Xiang Pihe’s belongings and obtains:
  • The damaged Demonic Artifact

Dead Man’s Skin

• The High-Grade Dharma Artifact

Profound Spirit Heavy Water

• Various recovery, healing, and life-preserving pills
• A storage bag that he cannot yet open
• Yang Shi absorbs the Demonic Artifact so it cannot send a death signal to Bloodsoul Valley, unlike the previous incident involving Xiang Pichi.
• He plans to give the Profound Spirit Heavy Water to Yang Fu, while reserving the pills for future use by himself or his family.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi embraces his new strength and begins thinking strategically like a demonic cultivator, though he uses demonic methods against evil cultivators. His actions lead Yang Genshuo to describe him as a “chaotic righteous cultivator” who uses demons to nourish righteousness.
• Yang Shi becomes more confident and ruthless, but he still shows practical judgment by sparing useful survivors instead of killing them unnecessarily.
• His combat potential expands dramatically because his body can absorb the energy generated by Demonic Artifacts without cultivating demonic qi directly.
• Yang Genshuo recognizes that Yang Shi’s Innate Grandmaster realm is not his limit but the beginning of a much faster period of growth. He guides Yang Shi in managing the Rogue Cultivators and exploiting the estate.
• The five Rogue Cultivators shift from terrified prisoners to obedient laborers. Although uncertain whether Yang Shi will honor his promise of freedom, they cling to it as their reason to cooperate.
• Xiang Pihe is revealed to have been caught unprepared: he left his storage bag at home and therefore could not access many of his treasures during the battle.

Significant Themes

• Using evil against evil: Yang Shi employs Demonic Artifacts and absorbs demonic energy, but directs these tools against demonic cultivators and their collaborators.
• Power through unconventional means: His lack of spiritual power, initially a weakness, allows him to use demonic qi in an unusual way through his body and artifacts.
• Practical mercy and control: The survivors are spared not out of compassion alone but because their farming skills make them more valuable alive. Mercy becomes a calculated form of governance.
• Resource accumulation and family advancement: Every captured treasure is evaluated according to how it can strengthen Yang Shi or benefit his relatives, especially Yang Fu and Little Bai.
• The importance of preparation: Xiang Pihe’s failure to carry his storage bag and his inability to activate his defensive array demonstrate how easily unprepared cultivators can be defeated.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo communicate through Yang Genshuo’s guidance and Manifestation. Yang Genshuo persuades him to spare the Rogue Cultivators and turn the estate into a controlled farming base.
• Yang Shi intimidates the five Rogue Cultivators into submission, then offers them conditional freedom in exchange for maintaining the Spirit Fields.
• Yang Shi’s relationship with his family remains central: he intends to give Yang Fu the water-element treasure and save useful pills and resources for the broader family.
• The chapter also reinforces Yang Shi’s dependence on Ding Zhen for repairing and managing Demonic Artifacts, particularly the damaged Dead Man’s Skin.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Shi returns to the Xiang Family’s ancestral residence, the home where he lived until age six. He reclaims it as the Yang Family’s territory and vows to avenge his murdered parents by destroying the entire Xiang Family.
• Jiang Xiaobai helps him establish the Nine-Palace Li-Fire Array around the residence, transforming it into a secure base for demonic cultivators. The imprisoned rogue cultivators are intimidated by the formation and abandon any thoughts of escape.
• Yang Shi flies home with Jiang Xiaobai on his enormous black bat, reuniting with Yang Fu and Yang Fushuo. Yang Fu proudly reveals that he has followed the ancestors’ instructions and begun learning talisman arts, while Yang Shi gives him talisman-making tools.
• Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai spend time together in a wooden cabin Jiang Xiaobai built in the treetops, strengthening their romantic relationship.
• They open Xiang Pihe’s Storage Bag and discover:
  • The Bloodsoul Grand Art, which Yang Shi destroys because it is dangerous and unsuitable.
  • The Whirling Tidal Art, a mediocre water-element cultivation method.
  • The Earth Sovereign Spiritual Art, a valuable earth-element summoning technique that may benefit future descendants.
  • Five Second-Rank Talismans and 2,089 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Yang Shi reflects that Xiang Pihe’s hoarding ultimately caused his defeat: had he spent his Spirit Stones on talismans, Yang Shi might not have been able to overcome him.
• With the Xiang Family’s fifteen mu of Spirit Fields, newly acquired farming resources, and improved trade routes to Blackstone Sect, the Yang Family resumes its long-term development plan.
• Time accelerates, and the Yang Family experiences rapid growth:
  • Yang Fu consumes a Marrow Cleansing Pill and Five Elements Spirit-Replenishing Pills, dramatically improving his spiritual roots.
  • He reaches the Fetal-Breathing Fifth Layer, becoming the first Yang descendant to achieve that level and earning a major Incense reward.
  • Jiang Xiaobai improves her Wood spiritual aptitude.
  • Yang Shi secretly hunts six demonic cultivators, earning demonic artifacts but becoming known as the mysterious “metal-element Sword Saint.” Bloodsoul Valley places him on its wanted list.
  • Huzi comprehends the martial path, advances to the Innate Grandmaster Realm, and learns Yang Shi’s “American Iaijutsu.”
  • The family expands its cultivated Spirit Fields to twenty mu and produces large quantities of Spirit Wheat, Spirit Rice, Spirit Fruits, and herbs.
• During ancestor worship, the family submits its harvest and receives First-Generation Hybrid Spirit Wheat Seeds and thousands of packs of Fasting Cakes.
• Yang Genshuo considers eating the Five Elements Spirit Fruits to determine whether they can strengthen his own body.

Character Developments

• Yang Shi becomes more powerful, resourceful, and strategically confident. He secures the Xiang residence, expands the family’s territory, uses wealth intelligently, and begins actively hunting demonic cultivators. His revenge against the Xiang Family remains a central motivation.
• Jiang Xiaobai grows closer to Yang Shi and becomes an active partner in the family’s development. She helps establish the defensive formation, supports the household, builds a treetop cabin, and improves her spiritual aptitude.
• Yang Fu matures into a responsible young cultivator. He obeys the ancestors, studies talismans, and makes a major breakthrough after his aptitude is enhanced through pills and spiritual resources.
• Yang Fushuo has grown physically but is still young and dependent, warmly reuniting with Yang Shi.
• Huzi advances from martial training to the Innate Grandmaster Realm, demonstrating the family’s progress in both immortal cultivation and martial arts.
• Yang Genshuo continues guiding the family’s development, evaluating treasures and resources, managing accelerated time, and focusing on long-term growth.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and restoration: Reclaiming the ancestral home represents the first concrete step in Yang Shi’s revenge and the restoration of the Yang Family.
• Family growth and legacy: The family’s progress depends on cooperation across generations, with resources and knowledge being preserved for both current and future descendants.
• Strategic use of resources: Yang Shi’s victory over Xiang Pihe illustrates the importance of spending wealth at the right moment rather than hoarding it.
• Agricultural and economic development: Spirit farming, improved crop seeds, trade, and resource management form the foundation of the family’s rise.
• Cultivation through enhancement: Pills, fruits, and specialized resources can improve spiritual aptitude, accelerate breakthroughs, and reshape the family’s future.
• Secrecy and reputation: Yang Shi’s disguised activities create a dangerous new identity—the “metal-element Sword Saint”—while concealing his true identity from his enemies.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai work closely together to secure the Xiang residence and later share an affectionate reunion at home.
• Yang Shi encourages Yang Fu’s education and rewards his diligence with talisman-making equipment.
• Jiang Xiaobai helps Yang Fushuo recognize and greet Yang Shi as “Father,” reinforcing the family bond.
• Yang Shi, Jiang Xiaobai, and the children spend the night reconnecting after his long absence, emphasizing their closeness.
• Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo jointly assess Xiang Pihe’s possessions and analyze the strategic reasons behind his defeat.
• Yang Shi trains Huzi in a new martial technique, linking the family’s immortal and martial traditions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Genshuo experiments with a first-grade Little Wood Peach, hoping to benefit from its spiritual energy. Because he has no spiritual roots, he cannot retain the energy; it passes through his body and evaporates, leaving only minor physical improvements. He jokes that the fruit effectively gave him a “spa.”
• This experience reinforces the enormous gap between mortals, Martial Cultivators, and true immortal cultivators. Yang Genshuo reflects on how spiritual aptitude determines one’s future and worries about Yang Shi’s limited remaining lifespan and inability to cultivate without recovering his spiritual roots.
• During Year 16, Yang Shi travels to the Blackstone Sect, kills two Qi Refining demonic cultivators, sells Fasting Cakes, and purchases the Flame Dragon True Fire Formation and 300 Qi-Gathering Pills.
• Tensions rise between the Xiang Family, the Blackstone Sect, and Murong Ziyan after the Xiang Family sends a cultivator to investigate Xiang Pihe’s Spirit Food. Yang Shi kills the investigator, and rumors of demonic qi lead to conflict and the destruction of several Xiang Family branches.
• Yang Fushuo, now four years old, awakens his intelligence and begins cultivating under Yang Fu. He reaches the First Layer of Embryonic Breath by absorbing fire spiritual energy, becoming the Yang Family’s second cultivator.
• Jiang Xiaobai advances to the Embryonic Breath Ninth Layer, while her Mind Illumination Formula and wood affinity improve significantly.
• The Yang Family’s hybrid Spirit Wheat produces an exceptionally large harvest of 800 jin from its first mu, strengthening the family’s material foundation.
• Yang Genshuo recruits his friend Guo Xiaozhi to supervise workers and collect production scraps from the future compressed-biscuit operation. He promises him a monthly salary of 10,000 with benefits, gaining a trustworthy helper to prevent theft.
• Yang Genshuo continues practicing the Trace-Free Sword Technique and becomes increasingly dependent on the invigorating feeling of martial training.
• Two more years pass, and Jiang Xiaobai reaches Embryonic Breath Great Perfection, placing her on the verge of breaking through to Qi Refining.

Character Developments

• Yang Genshuo gains a clearer understanding of his limitations as a non-cultivator and the importance of spiritual roots. He remains practical and entrepreneurial, expanding the family’s production plans while maintaining his martial training.
• Yang Shi continues acting as the family’s protector, eliminating demonic cultivators and handling threats from the Xiang Family. His lifespan and inability to cultivate remain major concerns.
• Yang Fu successfully guides the young Yang Fushuo into cultivation, demonstrating his growing role as a teacher and family cultivator.
• Yang Fushuo shows early intelligence and cultivation potential, becoming the second official cultivator among the Yang descendants.
• Jiang Xiaobai makes rapid progress, reaching the peak of Embryonic Breath and further strengthening her wood-element talent. Her impending breakthrough marks a major advancement for the family.
• Guo Xiaozhi shifts from comic friend to dependable employee and ally. Though initially focused on the luxury of Yang Genshuo’s Bentley, he accepts the job once offered proper pay and benefits.

Significant Themes

• The importance of innate talent: The chapter emphasizes how spiritual roots determine whether spiritual energy can be absorbed and cultivated. The difference between possessing strong spiritual aptitude and having none is portrayed as vast.
• The contrast between cultivation and martial arts: Yang Genshuo cannot refine spiritual energy, but martial training still improves his body and vitality. His growing attachment to exercise highlights martial cultivation as his personal path.
• Family growth and legacy: The Yang Family’s increasing number of cultivators, successful harvests, ancestral rites, and industrial plans all contribute to its gradual rise.
• Pragmatism and resource management: The family uses Spirit Wheat, Fasting Cakes, pills, formations, and business ventures to build power and wealth.
• Loyalty and trust: Yang Genshuo chooses Guo Xiaozhi because he needs someone reliable to protect the family’s production interests, showing the value of personal loyalty amid expanding operations.
• Conflict between factions: The Xiang Family’s association with demonic cultivators brings it into confrontation with the Blackstone Sect and other powerful figures, foreshadowing broader political and cultivation-world conflict.

Character Interactions

• Yang Genshuo compares his failed absorption of Spirit Fruit energy with Yang Fu’s successful cultivation, highlighting the difference between ordinary bodies and spiritual roots.
• Yang Shi’s actions against the Xiang Family and demonic cultivators intensify the family’s external conflicts and demonstrate his role as its frontline defender.
• Yang Fu mentors Yang Fushuo, helping the child begin cultivation and establishing a new generation of Yang Family practitioners.
• Yang Genshuo and Guo Xiaozhi exchange exaggerated jokes about wealth, romance, and the Bentley before settling into a serious employment arrangement. Their humorous friendship ultimately becomes a practical partnership.
• Yang Genshuo’s martial practice and business planning show the two sides of his life: personal physical development and the long-term strengthening of the Yang Family.

Chapter Summary: “Beast Attack”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Xiaobai successfully advances from the Fetal Breath stage to Qi Refinement by refining a Mortal Grade Innate Azure Wood Spiritual Qi purchased by Yang Shi for 800 Spirit Stones.
• The spiritual energy purifies and transforms her existing power, forcing black impurities from her body. After three days of cultivation, her breakthrough causes the surrounding grass and plants to grow explosively.
• Using her enhanced Wood Spirit Incarnation, Jiang Xiaobai turns nearby plants into armor and weapons, including a whip, hammer, shield, and glowing Grass Card.
• She tests her new strength against Yang Shi. Although her power is comparable to that of a low-level demon cultivator, Yang Shi easily destroys her Grass Card and reminds her that she still needs combat practice.
• Jiang Xiaobai tries to teach Yang Fu how to use the Wood cultivation path, but he avoids her by pretending to enter an epiphany and hiding beneath the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array.
• Yang Genshuo observes that Yang Fu’s ability to avoid stronger opponents makes him suitable as a future family head.
• Yang Fushuo, only six years old, has reached Embryonic Breath Layer 3 after two years of cultivating the Blazing Sun Smelting Technique. His exceptional Fire Spiritual Root suggests he may eventually surpass Yang Fu.
• Yang Shi reflects on the scarcity and value of higher-grade innate spiritual energy. Earth Grade and Heaven Grade spiritual energy require rare spiritual lands and centuries of accumulation, making them difficult and dangerous to obtain.
• The family’s discussion is interrupted when Huzi arrives fleeing a Qi Refinement Black Bear. His gunfire barely injures it, prompting Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai to go confront the beast while Yang Fu is told to watch Yang Fushuo.

Character Developments

• Jiang Xiaobai makes a major breakthrough into Qi Refinement. Her spiritual energy becomes far purer and more powerful, and her Wood Spirit Incarnation becomes easier and more versatile to control.
• Her new talent, Azure Wood Spiritual Charm, allows her to absorb surrounding Wood spiritual energy and continuously replenish herself, greatly increasing her endurance.
• Yang Shi remains significantly stronger and serves as Jiang Xiaobai’s benchmark and mentor. He also becomes increasingly concerned about finding better innate spiritual energy for Yang Fu and Yang Fushuo.
• Yang Fu continues to cultivate rapidly and displays clever, self-preserving behavior by avoiding Jiang Xiaobai’s attempted training.
• Yang Fushuo demonstrates exceptional cultivation potential due to his Fire Spiritual Root and rapid progress despite his young age.
• Huzi is shown to be brave but ineffective in combat, as his inaccurate gunfire fails to stop the attacking beast.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation quality and innate potential: The grade of innate spiritual energy determines both the strength of a breakthrough and the talents gained afterward.
• Scarcity and competition: Higher-grade spiritual energy is rare, tightly controlled, and likely to provoke conflict among powerful cultivators.
• Family investment and protection: Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai seek better resources not for themselves, but to secure their children’s future.
• Growth versus experience: Jiang Xiaobai’s breakthrough grants great power, but Yang Shi emphasizes that cultivation alone does not equal combat mastery.
• Humor within family relationships: Jiang Xiaobai’s frustration with Yang Fu, his evasive tactics, and Yang Genshuo’s amusement provide a lighthearted contrast to the serious cultivation and resource concerns.

Character Interactions

• Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai: He evaluates her strength after her breakthrough, while she jokingly complains that he is not praising her enough. Their relationship is affectionate and playful.
• Jiang Xiaobai and Yang Fu: She wants to teach him Wood cultivation, but Yang Fu cleverly escapes to avoid being disciplined or outmatched.
• Yang Fu and Yang Fushuo: Yang Fu is assigned to watch his younger brother during the crisis, though the chapter mainly contrasts their different cultivation paths and talents.
• Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai: They discuss the difficulty of obtaining higher-grade spiritual energy and agree that they should seek the best opportunities possible for their children.
• Huzi, Yang Shi, and Jiang Xiaobai: Huzi’s desperate arrival launches the chapter’s final conflict, as the adults prepare to face the attacking Qi Refinement beast.