Chapter Summaries

The White Bone Eye Demon suspected Mo Hua had survived the battle through a costly hidden power and learned that Mo Hua had taken away a young survivor from Skull Cave’s massacre. Mo Hua brought Tu Sheng to the Dao Court Office for shelter, then alarmed Yu Cangming by revealing that he knew of Yu Cangming’s connection to the Water Prison Sect’s direct bloodline.

• The White Bone Eye Demon reasoned that Mo Hua’s reputation might be exaggerated or backed by a costly secret legacy, and considered setting a trap for him.
• Elder Lu told the White Bone Eye Demon that one Foundation Establishment youth had survived Skull Cave’s attack and been taken away by Mo Hua.
• Mo Hua brought Tu Sheng to the Zhu Family estate, kept his destination secret from Zhu Muchen, and then led Tu Sheng to the Dao Court Office in Houtu City.
• Mo Hua asked Yu Cangming to shelter Tu Sheng, and Yu Cangming agreed to let him stay near Gu Changhuai and do odd jobs.
• After Tu Sheng left, Mo Hua asked Yu Cangming about his surname and identified the Yu of the Water Prison Sect’s direct bloodline, prompting Yu Cangming to demand to know who Mo Hua was.

Mo Hua questioned Yu Cangming about the Water Prison Sect and learned that Yu was its descendant and a Deputy Chief Administrator of the declining Demon Suppression Office. Yu explained the office’s dangers and political isolation, then grew wary after realizing how much he had revealed to Mo Hua.

• Mo Hua used his knowledge of the Water Prison Sect and the Dark Water Heart-Punishing Sword to ask Yu Cangming about his connection to the sect.
• Yu Cangming admitted that he was a Water Prison Sect descendant who had changed his surname and taken refuge in Kun Province.
• Yu Cangming explained that the Demon Suppression Office hunted powerful Demonic Cultivators but had declined because of its dangers, dwindling recruits, and opposition from other powers.
• Yu Cangming said that Demon Sects, great clans, sects, and even the Central Dao Court had reasons to prevent the Demon Suppression Office from regaining strength.
• Mo Hua left the office after Yu Cangming refused to answer further questions, and Yu privately suspected that Mo Hua was dangerous.

Mo Hua returned from the Great Spirit Field Realm, gave Tu Sheng Spirit Stones, and asked True Person Rong to examine a strange cultivator’s flesh. Reunited with Bai Zixi, he told her about the dangers he had witnessed and confided his doubts about fulfilling his Dao Heart, leaving comforted by her encouragement as a greater threat gathered beyond the horizon.

• Mo Hua warned Tu Sheng to work hard and stay out of trouble, gave him Spirit Stones, and left the Dao Court Office.
• Mo Hua returned to Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land, brought Xiao Ju food and gifts, and asked True Person Rong to examine flesh from a soulless cultivator; she agreed to report back in seven days.
• Mo Hua reunited with Bai Zixi and described the Great Spirit Field Realm, including the Demon Sect, the deaths of refugees, and an ox-headed Yin Messenger that had tried to seize his soul.
• Mo Hua told Bai Zixi that he feared he was drifting away from his Dao Heart and might never change the fate of cultivators at the bottom of the world.
• Bai Zixi held Mo Hua’s hand and urged him to keep going, easing his loneliness as they lay together and watched the sky.

True Person Rong tried to keep Mo Hua and Bai Zixi apart by steering Mo Hua toward gatherings, but he refused to attend the Earth Sect’s Lantern Festival without Bai Zixi. Days later, an invitation from Yu Nujiao, courtesan queen of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, left Mo Hua uncertain about their past connection, while True Person Rong forbade Bai Zixi from accompanying him.

• True Person Rong invited Mo Hua to the Earth Sect’s Lantern Festival, hoping he would meet someone, but he declined after learning Bai Zixi could not attend.
• Mo Hua promised Xiao Ju that she could go to a future Lantern Festival, and Bai Zixi said she would go too; Mo Hua and Bai Zixi held hands.
• The Earth Sect’s Lantern Festival gathered the heirs and prodigies of Kun Province’s Great Clans, and afterward Mo Hua sensed that the situation in Houtu City had changed.
• Three days later, True Person Rong brought Mo Hua an invitation from Yu Nujiao, courtesan queen of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion.
• Mo Hua hesitated when Bai Zixi asked whether he knew Yu Nujiao, then asked Bai Zixi to accompany him; True Person Rong firmly refused to let her go.

Mo Hua accepted an invitation to Jade Fragrance Pavilion’s Courtesan Banquet and persuaded Bai Xiaosheng to accompany him. On the way, Bai Xiaosheng explained his All Beings Dao, then revealed that a Bai Family Old Ancestor had taught him its principles.

• True Person Rong urged Mo Hua to attend the Courtesan Banquet, and Bai Zixi agreed he should go but told him to bring Bai Xiaosheng along.
• Three days later, Mo Hua tracked down Bai Xiaosheng at a Tea House and invited him to Jade Fragrance Pavilion with the rare invitation.
• Bai Xiaosheng doubted Mo Hua’s motives but accepted the invitation and arranged a carriage to Jade Spring Pavilion.
• Mo Hua questioned Bai Xiaosheng about neglecting cultivation, and Bai Xiaosheng explained that observing all beings and understanding their joys and sorrows was his All Beings Dao.
• Bai Xiaosheng admitted that a Bai Family Old Ancestor had taught him the principles of the All Beings Dao.

Mo Hua questioned Bai Xiaosheng about the Bai Family’s mysterious Old Ancestor and learned that the peak of Void Insight might be the highest realm anyone had reached. The carriage arrived at Flower Street as Mo Hua was left pondering the cultivation world’s many unanswered mysteries.

• Mo Hua pressed Bai Xiaosheng about his Old Ancestor, and Bai Xiaosheng explained that powerful cultivators concealed their true names to avoid karmic entanglements.
• Bai Xiaosheng said the Bai Family had countless descendants and hidden Old Ancestors, and he could not identify the one who had guided him as a child.
• Bai Xiaosheng recalled that the Old Ancestor’s guidance had led him to abandon the Bai Family’s tradition and cultivate the All Beings Dao.
• Bai Xiaosheng estimated that the Old Ancestor had been at the late or peak stage of Void Insight, but said he knew of no one who had reached a realm beyond it.
• Bai Xiaosheng explained that the Bai Family received Sixth-Grade status because an ancestor at the peak of Void Insight had rendered service in bringing a ruler to power.
• Mo Hua questioned what lay beyond Void Insight as the carriage reached Flower Street.

Mo Hua attended the Courtesan Banquet at the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, where he encountered the heirs of Kun Province’s great clans and the Earth Sect Eldest Young Master. Using Heavenly Calculation and Heavenly Ghost Calculation, he discovered that the Eldest Young Master was connected to the Young Master Pavilion.

• Mo Hua arrived at the Jade Fragrance Pavilion with Bai Xiaosheng and was greeted by Lady Miao, whom he recognized from an earlier visit.
• Lady Miao led Mo Hua and Bai Xiaosheng into Spring Character Tower, where Mo Hua took his seat among the banquet’s invited young masters.
• Bai Xiaosheng identified the gathered heirs of Kun Province’s major clans for Mo Hua, who wondered why no Earth Sect representatives had appeared.
• The Earth Sect Eldest Young Master entered, received greetings from the gathered heirs, and took the central seat while Mo Hua and Bai Xiaosheng stayed apart.
• Mo Hua learned from Bai Xiaosheng that the Eldest Young Master held high standing and an exalted bloodline within the Earth Sect.
• Mo Hua used Heavenly Calculation and Heavenly Ghost Calculation to see filthy blood and Karma on the Eldest Young Master’s Flood Dragon robe, recognizing the signs associated with the Young Master Pavilion.

Mo Hua recognized Yu Nujiao as the Joyous Union Sect Holy Maiden and sensed the Earth Sect's Eldest Young Master was tied to the Young Master Pavilion. After Yu Nujiao's dance, she invited the young masters to offer courtship gifts, and Mo Hua stunned the hall by presenting a single Spirit Stone.

• The Earth Sect's Eldest Young Master sensed Mo Hua's use of Ghost Derivation, but dismissed the incident when questioned by the young men around him.
• Mo Hua saw the rotten, desire-laden Karma surrounding the Eldest Young Master and suspected he belonged to the Young Master Pavilion.
• Yu Nujiao descended into the hall, and Mo Hua recognized her as Yu Lian'er, the woman he had encountered at Dragon Pool and the Joyous Union Sect Holy Maiden.
• Yu Nujiao performed a dance that stirred the young masters' desire, then vanished; Lady Miao announced that Yu would choose one suitor from among their courtship gifts for a private musical Dao Discussion.
• The young masters presented rare treasures, and the Earth Sect's Eldest Young Master offered a Five Elements Heaven Crystal.
• Mo Hua tossed a single Spirit Stone onto his Mandarin Duck Plate, leaving the hall and Bai Xiaosheng astonished.

At the Courtesan Banquet, Mo Hua’s tiny tip drew the young masters’ contempt as they waited to learn whom Yu Nujiao had chosen. Lady Miao passed over the most powerful guests and offered the jade peony to Mo Hua, inviting him to speak with Yu Nujiao in her chambers.

• The young masters reacted with anger and ridicule when Mo Hua tipped one Spirit Stone, while Lady Miao collected the gifts and arranged more performances.
• Bai Xiaosheng questioned Mo Hua about his tip and urged him to avoid provoking Kun Province’s powerful young masters, but Mo Hua remained unconcerned.
• After the performances ended, Lady Miao announced that Yu Nujiao had chosen a man and carried a jade peony toward the guests.
• Lady Miao passed the Earth Sect’s eldest young master and the direct heirs of the four Great Clans, disappointing and angering them as the other guests grew hopeful.
• Lady Miao presented the jade peony to Mo Hua and said Yu Nujiao invited him to her chambers for a private conversation.

Mo Hua entered Yu Nujiao’s private chambers after provoking the young masters of Kun Province’s clans, who waited below for his return. There, Yu Nujiao revealed that she had invited him because she wanted him to join the Joyous Union Sect.

• Mo Hua rejected the eldest young master of the Earth Sect’s demand to leave and declared that the clans should consider whether they wanted to make an enemy of him.
• Lady Miao led Mo Hua up a carpet of peony petals to Yu Nujiao’s chambers while the furious young masters watched.
• Mo Hua recognized Yu Nujiao as Yu Lian’er and challenged her to explain why she had arranged their meeting.
• Yu Nujiao admitted she had wanted Mo Hua to stir up trouble with the clan heirs, though she initially concealed her real motive.
• Yu Nujiao asked Mo Hua whether he had ever considered joining the Joyous Union Sect.

Mo Hua questioned Yu Nujiao about the Joyous Union Sect’s plans in Kun Province, but she tried to recruit and seduce him instead. She revealed that the Demon Sect intended to exploit the population of the Great Spirit Field Realm, and Mo Hua left without joining her.

• Yu Nujiao tried to recruit Mo Hua with promises of beautiful companions and herself, but he refused to join the Joyous Union Sect.
• Yu Nujiao explained that her Holy Maiden cultivation required her to remain a virgin and revealed that the Longevity Undying Talisman protected her from being killed without triggering a deadly backlash.
• Mo Hua asked whether the Demon Sect had a plot in Kun Province, and Yu Nujiao admitted that it was connected to the Great Spirit Field Realm.
• Yu Nujiao explained that Demonic Cultivators used people as resources and that the Great Spirit Field Realm’s large population made it a rich place to cultivate.
• Yu Nujiao tried to entice Mo Hua with an offer involving beautiful virgins and charm arts, but he saw through her and left.
• After Mo Hua departed, Yu Nujiao complained that he was difficult to fool, then blushed as she recalled his dangerous gaze.

Yu Nujiao and Lady Rui discussed recruiting Mo Hua into the Joyous Union Sect and discovered that a Joyous Union treasure might have been planted in his mind. Yu Nujiao proposed finding its inherited method so they could control him, and Lady Rui agreed to help while warning her to be careful.

• Lady Rui returned and scolded Yu Nujiao for provoking Mo Hua, but Yu Nujiao explained that she wanted to recruit him into the Joyous Union Sect.
• Lady Rui worried that Mo Hua's past killings had made him an enemy of the Demonic Path, while Yu Nujiao argued that the Joyous Union Sect could still benefit from winning him over.
• Yu Nujiao told Lady Rui that Mo Hua might carry a Joyous Union treasure planted in his brain, a secret she had learned from Lady Miao and partially confirmed with her charm art.
• Yu Nujiao proposed searching the sect's inheritances for the treasure's method so she could regain control of it and possibly control Mo Hua.
• Lady Rui agreed to help Yu Nujiao pursue the plan but warned her not to underestimate Mo Hua.

Mo Hua faced the jealous young masters of Kun Province after leaving Yu Lian'er’s boudoir, and their suspicion turned into a coordinated attack. He evaded their encirclement and reached the hall’s exit, but a powerful Feather Transformation cultivator trapped him with four Jade Seals.

• Mo Hua told the young masters that he and Yu Lian'er had only chatted, but they accused him of coercing or dishonoring her.
• The Earth Sect Eldest Young Master ordered the attack after Bai Xiaosheng claimed Mo Hua as a distant relative of the Bai Family.
• Bai Xiaosheng fought off several Golden Core elders while Mo Hua slipped through the other attackers with Flowing Water Step.
• The Earth Sect Eldest Young Master and the four clan heirs formed an encirclement kill, but Mo Hua evaded their strikes and escaped their trap.
• Mo Hua reached the hall’s exit and scattered the disciples blocking it with Fireballs.
• A powerful Feather Transformation presence manifested four Jade Seals around Mo Hua, trapping him as he complained that the response was shameless.

Mo Hua was trapped by a yellow-robed Earth Sect True Person at the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, but True Person Rong intervened and let him leave. On the way back to Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land, Mo Hua worried about how he could defend himself against Feather Transformation cultivators without help.

• A yellow-robed Earth Sect True Person appeared and accused Mo Hua of causing trouble at the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, then tried to make him surrender and seal his cultivation.
• Mo Hua challenged the True Person’s authority and questioned whether the Earth Sect had a stake in the Jade Spring Pavilion, provoking his anger.
• The True Person trapped Mo Hua with the Jade Seal, but Mo Hua called for True Person Rong, whose sword broke the prison of laws and allowed him to escape.
• True Person Rong declared that people of Little Luan Mountain could not be detained, and Mo Hua left after exchanging hostile words with the Earth Sect Eldest Young Master and the other young masters.
• True Person Rong secretly protected Mo Hua until he and Bai Xiaosheng left the Jade Fragrance Pavilion and headed back to Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land.
• During the carriage ride, Mo Hua worried about how he would survive another encounter with a Feather Transformation cultivator if no one came to rescue him.

Mo Hua returned to Little Luan Mountain after the Courtesan Banquet, where Bai Xiaosheng warned him about the Feather Transformation cultivator and Kun Province’s young masters, while Bai Zixi secretly studied a portrait of the courtesan. The next morning, True Person Rong identified the flesh Mo Hua had given her as a Living Dead Corpse Embryo.

• Bai Xiaosheng warned Mo Hua that he had made enemies of Kun Province’s leading Aristocratic Clan successors and advised him to avoid the Feather Transformation cultivator.
• Mo Hua and Bai Xiaosheng returned to Little Luan Mountain, where Mo Hua greeted Bai Zixi and told her the courtesan was nothing special to him.
• Bai Xiaosheng recounted the Courtesan Banquet to Bai Zixi and gave her his portrait of the courtesan, which she examined after he left.
• Mo Hua spent the night pondering how to restrain Feather Transformation cultivators but made no progress.
• Mo Hua thanked True Person Rong for helping him, and she identified the flesh he had given her as a Living Dead Corpse Embryo.

True Person Rong identified Tu Sheng as a Living Dead Corpse Embryo, an anomalous being whose mind and spirit might determine whether he lived or evolved into a corpse. Worried about the danger, Mo Hua went to check on Tu Sheng and learned that he sometimes felt groggy and heard something calling to him.

• True Person Rong explained the Living Dead Corpse Embryo and warned Mo Hua not to let his interest in demonic arts lead him astray.
• Mo Hua asked True Person Rong about divine consciousness and Square Inch Mountain, but she said he had no way to find or enter it.
• True Person Rong declined to learn Tu Sheng's identity or location, and Mo Hua left Little Luan Mountain worried that Corpse Valley might target him.
• Mo Hua noticed Golden Core cultivators watching him, evaded them with the Small Five Elements Stealth Technique, and traveled to the Dao Court Office.
• Mo Hua found Tu Sheng, took him into a sealed chamber, and asked about his condition.
• Tu Sheng told Mo Hua that he sometimes felt groggy, as if his soul had slipped away, and sensed something calling to him.

Mo Hua suppressed Tu Sheng’s terrifying dream episode and gave him a talisman, then realized a hidden force in Kun Province was drawing near. Gu Changhuai told him that unrest had begun among Spirit Farmers in parts of four minor state boundaries, leaving the wider situation uncertain.

• Tu Sheng told Mo Hua that a strange voice called him in his sleep, and Mo Hua helped him recall a vision of earth and shadow before the memory nearly triggered a mutation.
• Mo Hua calmed Tu Sheng’s Sea of Consciousness, reassured him that he was normal, and gave him a yellow cloth talisman to protect him from nightmares.
• After Tu Sheng left, Mo Hua connected the summons to the Living Dead Corpse Embryo and worried that a catastrophe in Kun Province might follow the pattern of the Great Wilderness.
• Mo Hua waited for Gu Changhuai and sensed that he had returned with a troubled expression and lingering Baleful Intent.
• Gu Changhuai told Mo Hua that unrest had broken out among Spirit Farmers in parts of Azure Fields, Returning Fields, Yellow Earth, and Southern Grain.

Mo Hua learned that famine riots were spreading through the Great Spirit Field Realm, where tangled folk worship might connect the unrest to powerful Underworld forces, and Gu Changhuai left to investigate. Mo Hua then discovered that the Earth Sect, Four Great Clans, and other families had issued a Wealth-Ban Order against him, preventing him from earning Spirit Stones in Houtu City.

• Mo Hua questioned Gu Changhuai about the famine riots, and Gu Changhuai explained that depleted soil had displaced Spirit Farmers while warning that folk worship could make the unrest dangerous to suppress.
• Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai discussed the aristocratic clans, the Earth Sect, Liu San, and Tu Sheng before Gu Changhuai departed for the Great Spirit Field Realm to investigate the worsening situation.
• Gu Changhuai offered Mo Hua one million Spirit Stones, but Mo Hua declined and said he expected to obtain a large sum soon.
• Mo Hua visited Shopkeeper Zhao at Fortune Pavilion, who explained that the pavilion could no longer do business with him because of his visit to the courtesan queen and the powerful enemies he had offended.
• Shopkeeper Zhao told Mo Hua that the Earth Sect, the Four Great Clans, and other families had joined forces to issue a Wealth-Ban Order, barring him from earning Spirit Stones in Houtu City.

After the Earth Sect and Kun Province’s Aristocratic Clans imposed a sweeping Wealth-Ban Order, Mo Hua found himself unable to earn Spirit Stones and feared the consequences for his cultivation and Taotie. He ignored a stream of engagement invitations until an important Earth Sect invitation arrived, and Bai Zixi revealed it was from Zhaozhao, the Grand Sect Master’s youngest daughter and the Earth Sect’s Senior Martial Sister.

• Shopkeeper Zhao told Mo Hua that the Wealth-Ban Order barred him from doing business throughout Houtu City and warned that anyone who worked with him could also be sanctioned.
• Mo Hua tested the ban at the Dao Field, Hongyun Pavilion, the market, and another Merchant Pavilion, but each refused to serve him.
• Mo Hua returned to Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land, concealed his troubles from Bai Zixi, and wondered how long he could remain by her side.
• After failing for half a month to earn Spirit Stones, Mo Hua received and ignored invitations to engagement banquets hosted by Kun Province’s powerful families.
• Xiao Ju delivered an Earth Sect invitation to Mo Hua, and Bai Zixi identified its recipient, Zhaozhao, as the Earth Sect’s Senior Martial Sister.

Mo Hua learned why Jiang Yingluo, the Earth Sect Senior Martial Sister, had invited him and traveled to Kunhua Garden to meet her. Jiang Yingluo offered to arrange a Dao companion for him so he could join the Earth Sect and be protected in Houtu City.

• Bai Zixi explained that Jiang Yingluo came from the Kun Province branch of the Jiang Family, whose women had traditionally been chosen as Dao Sons’ consorts, and said Jiang Yingluo’s marriage plans were uncertain.
• After Bai Zixi urged him to go, Mo Hua accepted Jiang Yingluo’s invitation but continued cultivating and studying Array Techniques until the appointed day.
• An Earth Sect carriage brought Mo Hua to Kunhua Garden, where Jiang Yingluo summoned him to her pavilion before the other disciples.
• Jiang Yingluo asked Mo Hua whether he wanted a Dao companion and offered to let him choose a girl from a Jade Slip, promising a wedding within a month and protection in Houtu City if he joined the Earth Sect.