Chapter Summaries

Yan Shuang explained the different Super Grade paths to Zhang Rongfang and tried to persuade him to join the Sensing Gate’s Taiqing branch. After demonstrating her overwhelming speed and skill, she left him with the jade pendant and a warning about the choices ahead.

• Yan Shuang explained that Super Grade experts followed different stages and that Golden Wing Tower relied on Ling Ting for its External Medicines.
• She described the Sensing Gate’s five-sense branches, the Taiqing pursuit of lust, the Spirit Court Worship Path, and the painful Human Extreme route.
• Yan Shuang argued that the Sensing Gate offered freedom and bliss through worshipping Great Bliss Heaven, while Zhang Rongfang questioned her claims and refused to be persuaded.
• Yan Shuang warned that even a Grandmaster could not kill a Spirit Vein and urged Zhang Rongfang to worship in order to pass the Spirit Vein Selection.
• Yan Shuang exchanged several moves with Zhang Rongfang, revealing speed and skill far beyond his own, then vanished into the shadows.
• Zhang Rongfang examined the jade pendant Yan Shuang had left him and considered what she had said.

Mountain Young Master and his allies plotted to exploit the Eastern Sect’s decline, while Yan Shuang discussed recruiting Zhang Rongfang and the threat he faced from Floating Pagoda Mountain. Zhang Rongfang arrived at Heavenly Treasure Palace seeking the Secret Medicine needed for the Illusory Image Talisman Method, but was told he would first have to attend an Asking Master event.

• Mountain Young Master, Situ, Yu Lei, and Yan Shuang discussed gathering allies and dividing the spoils as the Eastern Sect weakened.
• Yan Shuang said Zhang Rongfang had refused recruitment and predicted he would reconsider when Floating Pagoda Mountain came after him.
• Zhang Rongfang climbed Heavenly Treasure Mountain and worried that the paths offered by Spirit Veins and the Extreme Realm both came with dangers.
• Zhang Qingzhi welcomed Zhang Rongfang at Heavenly Treasure Palace and escorted him to a hall with other visitors seeking teachers.
• Zhang Qingzhi explained that Zhang Rongfang could seek a master at the afternoon Asking Master event or pay for instruction from a palace teaching master.

Zhang Rongfang sought advice on passing Heavenly Treasure Palace’s Asking Master examination and considered how much of his extraordinary Civilian Skill to reveal. Meanwhile, Red Cliff Monk killed two Eastern Sect interceptors and headed for Yangshuo to assassinate Zhang Ying.

• Zhang Rongfang concluded he needed to advance through Civilian Skill rather than martial arts and asked Zhang Qingzhi privately about the Asking Master examination.
• Red Cliff Monk encountered two men sent to intercept him, killed them, and continued toward the Great Capital to avenge his disciples.
• Zhang Qingzhi explained that Zhang Rongfang’s Civilian Skill would be assessed through questioning and debate, and that a Fourth Grade martial artist needed to reach Foundation Establishment to stand out.
• Zhang Rongfang learned that Zhao Dingran had reached Fifth Revolution Core Formation at nineteen and realized his own Nine Revolutions Golden Pill cultivation would be difficult to explain.
• Red Cliff Monk planned to reach Yangshuo that night and kill Zhang Ying in a surprise attack.

Zhang Rongfang attended the Asking Master event at Heavenly Treasure Palace while Yue Dewen worried about finding a successor with the talent his sect needed. Zhang Qingzhi mistook Zhang Rongfang for a much older Daoist, leaving Zhang Rongfang wondering whether his cultivation memories had changed his apparent age.

• Zhang Rongfang observed Zhang Qingzhi's unusual standing among the Daoists and joined the other applicants at the Asking Master event.
• The three Asking Masters announced openings for an alchemy official, medicine garden stewards, and an agricultural development steward, but Zhang Rongfang avoided the assessments because he sought the Bewildering Jade Marrow.
• Yue Dewen discussed the Great Dao Sect's shortage of young Golden Core cultivators with Lao Dou and spotted Zhang Qingzhi at the event, angering him.
• Zhang Rongfang questioned Zhang Qingzhi about the benefits of high Civilian Skill cultivation and asked what treatment a nineteen-year-old Core Formation cultivator would receive.
• Zhang Qingzhi insisted Zhang Rongfang was around thirty and warned him not to forge his Daoist Certificate, prompting Zhang Rongfang to wonder whether his cultivation memories had made him appear older.

Zhang Rongfang learned about Heavenly Treasure Palace’s paid precept options and the rare talent required for Snow Rainbow Pavilion protection, then arranged to seek work in the Pill Hall. Meanwhile, Hong Yan failed to assassinate Zhang Ying at the palace and decided to wait for him to leave.

• Zhang Rongfang received his Daoist Certificate with his age changed to thirty-five and learned that he could pay senior cultivators for transmitted precepts and disciple status.
• Zhang Qingzhi explained that Snow Rainbow Pavilion protected only exceptional Civilian Skill cultivators who entered the Nascent Soul Realm before age thirty.
• Zhang Rongfang gave Zhang Qingzhi five thousand taels in silver notes and asked him to arrange work in the Pill Hall so he could learn alchemy.
• Hong Yan infiltrated Heavenly Treasure Palace to kill Zhang Ying but was driven off by Spirit Veins armed with small crossbows and fled beyond Yangshuo City.
• Hong Yan’s wounds healed rapidly, and he decided to wait near the mountain road until Zhang Ying left the palace.

Zhang Rongfang advanced Guanxu Skill to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, discovering that the breakthrough had removed a restriction that had kept him from practicing certain martial arts. Meanwhile, Zhang Qingzhi was tricked by Xiao He into handing over the five thousand taels Zhang Rongfang had given him.

• Zhang Rongfang decided to pursue Civilian Skill advancement and seek the protection of Snow Rainbow Pavilion while investigating Secret Medicine on his own.
• Zhang Rongfang spent all six Attribute Points to advance Guanxu Skill from the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.
• Zhang Rongfang found that he could practice the Gathering Spirit Talisman and begin the Golden Roc Secret Record without the pain he had previously experienced.
• Zhang Qingzhi planned to return Zhang Rongfang's five thousand taels but hid the banknotes when Xiao He arrived.
• Xiao He borrowed Zhang Qingzhi's money, kissed him, and left him to realize that Zhang Rongfang's banknotes were gone.

Zhang Qingzhi used a superior-grade Qian Qing Pill to secure Zhang Ying an inner-hall Daoist child position in the Pill Hall. Zhang Rongfang reported to Daoist Qing You, who was stunned by the imposing adult disciple assigned to him.

• Zhang Qingzhi gave Senior Brother Yuan Zhang Ying's record booklet and a superior-grade Qian Qing Pill, persuading him to arrange an inner-hall position.
• Zhang Rongfang received instructions to report to the Pill Hall fire room and prepared for his new post.
• Zhang Rongfang arrived at the Gathering Fire Basin and followed the servant's directions to Fire Cave 134.
• Zhang Rongfang introduced himself to Daoist Qing You, who learned that he had reached the Golden Core Stage.
• Daoist Qing You stared in disbelief at Zhang Rongfang's towering, muscular appearance and realized that this was the Daoist child assigned to him.

Zhang Rongfang learned pill refinement at Heavenly Treasure Palace while planning to reveal his cultivation and draw the Great Dao Sect’s attention. As the Dao Register Office investigated his suspicious identity, Hong Yan plotted to have him exposed and killed if he left the palace.

• Zhang Rongfang watched Qing You refine a pill, studied her instruction, and received a booklet on tending the furnace.
• Zhang Rongfang planned to learn pill refinement and later reveal that he had reached the Nascent Soul stage to gain better treatment from the Great Dao Sect.
• Zheng Yanqiu and Wang Cheng found inconsistencies in Zhang Ying’s registry records and began checking his background.
• Hong Yan told his disciple to spread Zhang Ying’s identity near Heavenly Treasure Palace so the Great Dao Sect might drive him out.
• Hong Yan ordered his disciple to lure Zhang Ying from the palace and kill him in a single strike, abandoning the plan if Zhang Ying stayed inside for more than a month.

Zhang Rongfang learned pill refinement in the Pill Hall and discovered that his Attribute Panel could track the skill. After Chui Xi’s accident, he used his newly gained Attribute Point on Pill Refinement, leaving the result to be seen.

• Zhang Rongfang continued studying pill refinement with Daoist Qing You and befriending Zhang Qingzhi while saving his Attribute Point.
• Zhang Rongfang noticed that Pill Refinement had appeared on his Attribute Panel after learning the craft’s principles and procedures.
• Chui Xi explained the acolyte training path and nearly injured herself when she fell into a rack of sharp medicinal ores.
• Zhang Rongfang saved Chui Xi, who thanked him and hurried away in embarrassment.
• Zhang Rongfang found three basic pill formulas in a book and worried that learning the secretive Bewildering Jade Marrow formula would take too long.
• Zhang Rongfang spent his Attribute Point on Pill Refinement, and the skill’s label changed from Beginner.

Zhang Rongfang confirmed that Attribute Points could improve alchemy, while Floating Pagoda Mountain’s attempt to expose Zhang Ying was crushed before its notices could be spread. Heavenly Treasure Palace’s Fang Zhiyun agreed to protect Zhang Ying after a woman invoked a debt of favor, leaving his safety dependent on the Palace Master’s support.

• Zhang Rongfang mastered basic alchemy and realized Attribute Points could apply to skills beyond martial arts.
• Zheng Jiaquan led Floating Pagoda Mountain bandits toward Heavenly Treasure Palace to post notices revealing Zhang Ying’s identity, but disguised fighters attacked and drove him off before burning the papers.
• Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang discussed Zhang Ying’s age and Golden Core achievement in Great Capital, while she prepared to enter the Extreme Realm.
• Fang Zhiyun completed a fortune-transfer ritual at Minghe Inner Palace and met a woman who invoked a debt of favor from the Parting Sorrow Hall incident.
• The woman gave Fang Zhiyun a scroll identifying Zhang Ying as a Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy, and Fang Zhiyun promised to speak in support of protecting him.

Zhang Rongfang met Chong Ming, a Golden Wing Tower deputy master, who warned him that his identity was exposed and the Great Capital was dangerous. When she seemed to suspect he was a Spirit Vein, he cut his own arm to prove he was human.

• Zhang Rongfang and Chui Xi delivered alchemy materials and saw desperate people seeking medicine at the Pill Hall.
• Zhang Rongfang recognized a noblewoman from the medicine queue, then met her outside the Pill Hall after the morning demonstration.
• The woman introduced herself as Chong Ming, a Golden Wing Tower deputy master, and told Zhang Rongfang that the Heavenly Maiden had chosen him as a seed.
• Chong Ming warned Zhang Rongfang to stay put, avoid contacting anyone through Red Sparrow, and seek Wei Feng at Cloud Mist Mountain Manor if he needed help.
• Chong Ming questioned whether Zhang Rongfang was truly himself or a Spirit Vein, so Zhang Rongfang cut his arm and declared that he was human.

Heavenly Treasure Palace debated whether to shelter Zhang Ying, a gifted Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy who had followed the Great Dao Sect since childhood. After the Palace Masters sent the choice to Yue Dewen, he set out to check Zhang Ying’s real age himself.

• Chong Ming accepted that Zhang Rongfang was not a Spirit Vein after seeing the metal threads in his wound.
• Fang Zhiyun urged Heavenly Treasure Palace’s leaders to take in Zhang Ying, arguing that he lacked Buddhist martial arts and sincerely sought the Dao.
• Lin Qinghong and Xie Ling opposed sheltering Zhang Ying, fearing the Great Dao Sect would be drawn into the conflict between the Eastern and Western Sects.
• Fang Zhiyun used his yearly additional decision power to submit the matter to Yue Dewen, with Zhang Ying to be expelled if Yue Dewen refused or gave no reply.
• Yue Dewen decided not to protect Zhang Ying based on the favor owed to Parting Sorrow Hall, but went to inspect him after doubting the reported age of thirty-five.

Zhang Rongfang underwent a Civilian Skill assessment, answering a high cultivator’s questions before enduring a series of physical tests. The old Daoist measured Zhang Rongfang’s age and cultivation, while Yan Shuang met an armed man in Great Capital and awaited the right moment to attack Cloud Mist Mountain Manor.

• Zhang Rongfang and Chui Xi discussed Civilian Skill and Martial Arts while waiting for verification at Kanwen Hall.
• A Daoist servant led Zhang Rongfang to a small building, where a white-haired old Daoist questioned him about his teacher, his ambitions, and how he would face an uncertain future.
• The old Daoist examined Zhang Rongfang’s pulse, tapped his body and teeth, and tested a drop of his blood before declaring that his Civilian Skill Cultivation and age had been measured.
• Yan Shuang delivered a money pouch to a man at Cloud Dream Tower and asked when they would strike.
• The man told Yan Shuang to wait, explaining that Cloud Mist Mountain Manor had likely gained Eastern Sect experts after Golden Wing Tower was crippled.

Yan Shuang poisoned and robbed Brother Wu after he tried to seduce her, while Zhang Rongfang was assessed at Heavenly Treasure Palace and accepted as Chongxuan’s disciple. Chongxuan later celebrated alone after revealing that Zhang was actually a nineteen-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator and Ninth Grade martial artist.

• Yan Shuang discussed the Eastern Sect’s collapse and the coming gathering at Cloud Mist Mountain Manor with Brother Wu.
• Yan Shuang drugged Brother Wu, took his belongings, and left him unconscious as black blood seeped from his face.
• Chongxuan assessed Zhang Rongfang and mistakenly judged him to be under twenty, with Nascent Soul cultivation and Martial Arts between Eighth and Ninth Grade.
• Zhang Rongfang enthusiastically bowed to Chongxuan, became his disciple, and received a purple jade tablet.
• After Zhang Rongfang left, Chongxuan revealed his excitement that his new disciple was a nineteen-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator, Ninth Grade martial artist, and master of the Great Dao Sect’s Talisman Art.

The three Palace Masters received a Grand Master's Decree revealing that Zhang Ying had reached Nascent Soul at thirty-five and was to become Chongxuan's second Final Disciple. Zhang Rongfang met Yue Dewen, who arranged his cover as a Great Dao Sect agent in Golden Wing Tower and showed that he knew Zhang Rongfang's reason for coming to Heavenly Treasure Palace.

• Xiao Hong flew alongside a black-winged, white-crowned eagle, which struck the smaller bird and sent it tumbling from the sky.
• Lin Qinghong removed the Grand Master's Decree from the eagle and Xie Ling read that Zhang Ying had reached Nascent Soul at thirty-five and would be accepted as Chongxuan's second Final Disciple.
• Fang Zhiyun, Xie Ling, and Lin Qinghong realized Zhang Ying had been a disciple planted in Golden Wing Tower and thanked Fang Zhiyun for defending him.
• Zhang Rongfang went to Yue Dewen and paid his respects as his new master.
• Yue Dewen told Zhang Rongfang that the sect would identify him as an agent planted in Golden Wing Tower and asked whether he had come to advance his Ninth Grade Talisman Art to Super Grade.

Yue Dewen explained that the Great Dao Sect prized Civilian Skill because it raised the rank and lifespan gained through Worship God transformation, and he instructed Zhang Rongfang to focus on cultivation. After Zhang Rongfang’s attacks failed against Ming Yuan, a Spirit Vein, he saw the immense gap between them and asked whether Spirit Veins were truly immortal.

• Yue Dewen explained that Extreme Realm cultivation ended in madness or death, while Civilian Skill could enable higher-ranked Worship God transformations and longer life.
• Yue Dewen told Zhang Rongfang to prioritize Civilian Skill, remain at Heavenly Treasure Palace, and sever his ties with the Eastern Sect.
• Yue Dewen introduced his disciple Ming Yuan and asked him to demonstrate the strength of a Spirit Vein to Zhang Rongfang.
• Zhang Rongfang attacked Ming Yuan with his full strength, but Ming Yuan blocked every blow with one hand without suffering injury.
• Yue Dewen explained Ming Yuan’s transformation and told Zhang Rongfang that he could become a Spirit General after reaching late-stage Refining Spirit.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Yue Dewen whether Spirit Veins that feared no wounds could truly be killed or were immortal.

Yue Dewen explained the limits of Spirit Veins and taught Zhang Rongfang the Great Dao Sect’s Supreme Bright Void Skill, while Cheng Hui pledged himself to the Sea Dragon King. After rescuing an injured Xiao Hong Bird, Zhang Rongfang questioned whether he should pursue Spiritization or seek another way to gain power.

• Ming Yuan explained that Spirit Veins could recover from ordinary attacks but could be destroyed by superior Spiritization, and Yue Dewen described the path to becoming a Spirit General.
• Yue Dewen replaced Zhang Rongfang’s Guanxu Skill with the Supreme Bright Void Skill, and Zhang Rongfang’s Attribute Panel registered the new art as he began cultivating it.
• Cheng Hui knelt before the Sea Dragon King, ate the monk’s leftover beef bone, and promised to show more sincerity if he wanted to Worship God.
• Zhang Rongfang found an injured Xiao Hong Bird beneath a Sunny Flower Tree, brought it to his room, and treated its wound.
• Zhang Rongfang considered the advantages of Spiritization and the Supreme Bright Void Skill but rejected the prospect of power controlled by others, then wondered whether Martial Arts could oppose Spiritized experts.

Zhang Rongfang sought ways to improve his nutrient absorption and accelerate the accumulation of Attribute Points, learning pill formulas and considering specialized martial arts. He then heard that Cloud Mist Mountain Manor had been attacked and its lord, Wei Feng, was missing, leaving him alarmed because of Chong Ming’s advice to seek Wei Feng’s help.

• Zhang Rongfang converted his cultivation method, noticed his Life Attribute had increased, and continued cultivating while staying in the portrait-filled building.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Qingyou for remedies for weak absorption, and Qingyou shared two pill formulas and suggested frequent small meals and martial arts that strengthened digestion.
• Zhang Rongfang copied the formulas from the neglected Pill Hall Library and went to obtain ingredients to try refining them.
• Chui Xi considered selling information about Zhang Ying’s whereabouts but kept her intentions to herself.
• Zhang Rongfang heard that Cloud Mist Mountain Manor had suffered a bloody attack and that Wei Feng was missing, and he recognized the manor as a place Chong Ming had told him to turn to for help.

Zhang Rongfang mastered pill refining and successfully made and took One Consistent Powder while the Golden Wing Tower’s Cheng Hui ambushed and killed Chong Ming. The chapter left Zhang Rongfang beginning a month-long course of the medicine, while the Golden Wing Tower faced an uncertain future after the disaster at Cloud Mist Mountain Manor.

• Zhang Rongfang spent the evening processing ingredients and used an Attribute Point to raise Pill Refining from Basic to Mastered.
• Zhang Rongfang rapidly crushed ingredients and refined a successful batch of One Consistent Powder overnight.
• Chong Ming met Cheng Hui at the Golden Wing Tower headquarters as they discussed the defeats at Cloud Mist Mountain Manor and plans to evacuate their people.
• Chong Ming discovered that a blank letter had been treated with Thousand Pines Spirit Confusion, and Cheng Hui poisoned and killed her.
• Zhang Rongfang checked the powder against its formula, swallowed a dose, and stored enough One Consistent Powder for the coming month.

Zhang Rongfang tested medicines to accelerate his Attribute Point gains, learned that One Consistent Powder helped but caused medicinal poison, and abandoned the experiments. In Great Capital, Tong Zhang swallowed an Emperor Flow Pill as the Eastern Sect’s defeat became imminent, leaving her secret cache and research to Ye Bai.

• Zhang Rongfang gained Attribute Points more quickly while taking One Consistent Powder, but stopped when he felt medicinal poison accumulating.
• Zhang Rongfang found that Closing Yang Pill disrupted his body and slowed his Attribute Point gains, so he ended his medicinal experiments and prepared to raise Gathering Spirit Talisman.
• Ye Bai and Tong Zhang met at the top of Hunting Swallow Tower and discussed the Eastern Sect’s losses, their missing allies, and the Sect Master’s condition.
• Tong Zhang entrusted Ye Bai with three rings that opened her Secret Cache, which held her resources and research on restraining Spiritualized Individuals.
• Tong Zhang swallowed an Emperor Flow Pill, accepting her final fight against the enemies watching her from below.