Chapter Summaries

Zhang Rongfang searched Black Cloud Pavilion for ways to improve his digestion and found the dangerous Golden Toad Skill, which Yue Dewen warned could shorten his life. Yue Dewen gave him the Daoist Title Heaven and Earth and explained the history of the Moon King and the Sensing Gate.

• Zhang Rongfang searched the Martial Arts shelves in Black Cloud Pavilion and found the Golden Toad Skill, an auxiliary art that claimed to enhance digestion and absorption.
• Zhang Rongfang deciphered the technique’s descriptions of toad digestion and learned that it required many medicines to alter the body’s digestive environment.
• Yue Dewen arrived and warned Zhang Rongfang that the Golden Toad Skill could damage his body and greatly shorten his lifespan.
• Yue Dewen gave Zhang Rongfang a black Waist Token bearing the Daoist Title Heaven and Earth, explaining that it expressed his expectations for his disciple.
• Yue Dewen explained that the Second Generation Moon King used the Golden Toad Skill to advance quickly but died at forty, and that the Sensing Gate had since lost its former strength.

Zhang Rongfang began cultivating the Golden Toad Skill and used Attribute Points to master and perfect its first layer, discovering that it greatly increased his appetite and digestion while reducing his vitality. Meanwhile, Five Hearts Zen Master and Monk Tanri carried Heavenly Maiden’s three Golden Rings out of Great Capital but were intercepted by Prince Yan and the Four Seasons Envoys.

• Yue Dewen warned Zhang Rongfang that the Golden Toad Skill had serious flaws, but Zhang Rongfang decided to cultivate it because Attribute Points could offset its lifespan cost.
• Zhang Rongfang bought the medicines needed for the Hidden Moon first layer and practiced until the Attribute Panel recognized the Golden Toad Skill.
• Zhang Rongfang spent four Attribute Points to master and perfect the first layer, losing vitality and developing intense hunger, harder teeth, and more efficient digestion.
• Five Hearts Zen Master and Monk Tanri traveled with Heavenly Maiden’s three Golden Rings, intending to deliver them to the Eastern Sect’s three Human Seeds.
• Prince Yan confronted the convoy, and the Four Seasons Envoys and other forces surrounded the two monks and demanded the Golden Ring and the Human Seeds’ whereabouts.

After Yan Xi and the Four Seasons Envoys recovered Golden Ring from the slaughtered convoy, they agreed to open the treasure together. At Heavenly Treasure Palace, Zhang Rongfang discovered that the Golden Toad Skill accelerated his Attribute Point gains and greatly increased his strength, then accepted Ming Yuan’s offer to spar.

• Yan Xi found the three Golden Rings with Xia Pulian, Li Fan, Huang Li, and Zhong Xue, and agreed to share the treasure with them.
• Weeks of rain caused flooding and other disasters near the Great Capital, prompting Ling Ting, the Great Dao Sect, and the Assembled Sages Institute to organize relief efforts.
• Zhang Qingzhi offered to arrange a supply of aged Blood Tonic ingredients for Zhang Rongfang and take a one-twentieth commission.
• Zhang Rongfang realized the Golden Toad Skill had increased his Attribute Point gain to one every seven days and raised his weight to 260 jin.
• Zhang Rongfang tested his strength on a metal dummy and found his ordinary strikes were at least thirty percent faster.
• Ming Yuan offered to spar with Zhang Rongfang and said he had once fought an expert who practiced the Golden Toad Skill.

Zhang Rongfang discovered the Golden Toad Skill strengthened his strikes and bones, while the Great Bright Light Temple fell and Great Ling imposed new clothing regulations. In the Jade Tree Palace, Ye Bai arranged to send the real Golden Rings to Cheng Hui and ordered him to leave the Great Capital.

• Zhang Rongfang sparred with Mingyuan, who identified a powerful burst in his attacks every five breaths, and Zhang Rongfang noticed the Golden Toad Skill had hardened his bones.
• The Great Bright Light Temple disbanded after its Super Grade monks were killed, and the Ling Ting later issued a Robe Hierarchy System regulation.
• Ye Bai learned that Gao Lie Wang had again requested her hand and discussed how the palace investigation would prevent her from leaving.
• Ye Bai decided to entrust the real Golden Rings to Cheng Hui, the Golden Wing Tower Master she had raised and trusted.
• Xiao Ling reported that Master Yuan had agreed to spare Cheng Hui if Ye Bai stayed out of the conflict, and Ye Bai ordered Xiao Ling to deliver the rings and have Cheng Hui leave Great Capital.

Zhang Rongfang studied pill-making, arranged to buy Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma from Chui Xi, and learned that Great Bright Light Temple and Cloud Mist Mountain Manor had been destroyed. Meanwhile, Xiao Ling gave Cheng Hui a secret mission involving three Golden Rings, but hesitated over whether Cheng Hui could be trusted.

• Zhang Rongfang pressed Daoist Qing You with advanced questions about combining medicinal properties until the lesson ended, then asked Chui Xi to arrange a purchase of her family's Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma.
• Zhang Rongfang spotted a couple embracing in the woods, then met Zhou Yan at Yuan Qing Hall to sell pills and ask about outside news.
• Zhou Yan told Zhang Rongfang that Heavenly Garment Pavilion's clothing rules were being enforced harshly and that Great Bright Light Temple had burned down, while Cloud Mist Mountain Manor had been slaughtered.
• Xiao Ling met Cheng Hui and said Thousand Leaves Princess had ordered him to deliver three items to three Human Seeds.
• Xiao Ling showed Cheng Hui an iron box containing Golden Rings, then pulled it back and scrutinized him despite Cheng Hui's calm response.

Cheng Hui accepted the three golden rings and resolved to live for himself, while political changes reshaped Great Ling. Chui Xi arranged for Zhang Rongfang to meet a supposed seller of medicinal ingredients, but Daoist Mingyuan arrived instead and revealed his power to the men lying in wait.

• Cheng Hui took the black box containing three golden rings and decided to stop living for his adoptive mother.
• Several Spirit Envoys disappeared, the Ling Emperor established new religious institutions, and Great Ling began preparing to invade Annan.
• Chui Xi arranged a meeting for Zhang Rongfang at Hundred Surnames Wine Shop, concealing that the appointment was meant to introduce him to a beautiful young woman.
• Zhang Rongfang traveled to Tiger Mountain Town and headed to the wine shop to meet the supposed seller of Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma.
• Hong Yan and Iron Shura waited in ambush for Zhang Ying, whom they believed was the Third Human Seed.
• Daoist Mingyuan entered the private room, spread smoke across it, and sent Iron Shura fleeing after he recognized Jade Void Palace.

Ming Yuan trapped and killed Iron Shura in the Mist of Jade Void Palace while the Great Dao Sect’s hidden forces eliminated Iron Shura’s ambushers. Zhang Rongfang reached Hundred Surnames Wine Shop, where a mysterious woman slipped him a key and a warning in handwriting he recognized as Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang’s.

• Iron Shura realized he was trapped in Jade Void Palace’s Mist, then attacked Ming Yuan and was effortlessly defeated as his Spirit Veins were absorbed.
• The Great Dao Sect’s hidden forces captured or scattered the subordinates ambushing Hundred Surnames Wine Shop.
• Zhang Rongfang arrived at the wine shop, recognized Ming Yuan as the expert sent to protect him, and went upstairs to the Flying Heaven Room.
• A woman handed Zhang Rongfang a cloth-wrapped object and used a Golden Wing Tower Feather Token to gain his trust before disappearing.
• Zhang Rongfang opened the package and found a black metal key with golden lines, a tiny map, and a note written in what seemed to be Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang’s hand.

Zhang Rongfang decoded a map hidden in a key from Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang and focused on strengthening himself while the Eastern Sect’s fall reshaped the Great Capital’s power struggles. Tong Zhang fought Yan Xi and Gong Shuyin over the Secret Cache, while Zhang Rongfang struggled to obtain a rare herb needed to advance his Golden Toad Skill.

• Zhang Rongfang imprinted the key’s markings onto cloth, decoded its Golden Wing Tower cipher, and resolved to raise his strength as quickly as possible.
• Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang, fleeing after the failed rescue at Ming Chan Palace, was intercepted by Yan Xi and Gong Shuyin, who demanded the Secret Cache and accused her of using fake Golden Rings and Human Seeds.
• Tong Zhang fought Yan Xi and Gong Shuyin in the forest, escaped badly wounded, and was pursued by the two opponents.
• Zhang Rongfang stayed at Black Cloud Pavilion, cared for Xiao Hong, trained, and learned that Chui Xi and her entire family had disappeared.
• Zhang Qingzhi told Zhang Rongfang that he could not find the Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma needed for the Golden Toad Skill, so Zhang Rongfang planned to seek it from the Pill Hall or Daoist Qing You.

Zhang Rongfang learned from Yue Dewen about the Golden Wing Tower’s destruction, Spiritization, and the paths of Worship God and Martial Arts. Meanwhile, Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang was cornered by six Spirit Vein Experts and fought back despite her injuries.

• Zhang Rongfang returned to the small building and found Yue Dewen waiting to discuss the Golden Wing Tower’s destruction and the Eastern Sect’s collapse.
• Yue Dewen told Zhang Rongfang that Tong Zhang had reached the Extreme Realm and explained that the Secret Cache concerned research into countering Spiritization.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Yue Dewen to save Tong Zhang, but Yue Dewen refused, and he explained the different benefits of Spiritization and the strength of Martial Arts against Spiritized beings.
• Tong Zhang fled along the Yellow River while Yan Xi and others pursued her and demanded information about the Secret Cache.
• Black Ten Sect fighters and Heaven Lock Sect fighters blocked Tong Zhang’s escape, surrounding her with six Spirit Vein Experts, including a Grandmaster.
• Tong Zhang suppressed her injury and leaped to meet the attackers as they charged from multiple directions.

Tong Zhang escaped her pursuers after Ding Rui intervened, and Zhang Rongfang deciphered the Secret Cache key to learn it held research on Spirit Transformation and the secret to Spiritization’s immortality. He failed to advance Golden Toad Skill without its required medicine and suspected Chongxuan was preventing him from obtaining it.

• Tong Zhang used Golden Needles and threads to evade the pursuers, but a Heaven Lock Sect man struck her with a chain and sent her toward the Yellow River.
• Ding Rui arrived on a Wish Wheel, killed one pursuer, and held off the others until Tong Zhang escaped before vanishing with his weapon.
• Gong Shuyin and the remaining pursuers recognized Ding Rui’s connection to the Great Dao Sect and dispersed.
• Zhang Rongfang deciphered the Golden Wing Tower cipher and learned the Secret Cache contained Spirit Transformation research, information about two other Human Seeds, and the secret to Spiritization’s immortality.
• Zhang Rongfang burned the translation and tried to spend three attribute points on Golden Toad Skill, but the skill remained unchanged without the required medicine.
• Zhang Rongfang recalled that the Pill Hall had no Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma and decided to search Great Capital for medicine, suspecting Chongxuan might be restricting his access.

Yue Dewen and Qing Yi discussed the Western Sect’s growing influence and the True One Sect’s rivalry with it, while Yue Dewen considered how to set the two against each other. In the Great Capital, Zhang Rongfang searched for Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma but found that the available stock had already been reserved, possibly by his master Chongxuan.

• Yue Dewen cautioned Qing Yi against criticizing the Western Sect’s ritual after His Majesty had agreed to attend, and Qing Yi accused him of refusing to act.
• Qing Yi congratulated Yue Dewen on his new disciple, then left as Yue Dewen resolved to stir conflict between the True One Sect and the Western Sect.
• Zhang Rongfang arrived in the Great Capital and traveled to Zhong Hui Trading Company to buy Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma.
• Manager Shen Zheyun told Zhang Rongfang that the company’s three pieces had been reserved about half a month earlier and that transferring more would take at least two months.
• Zhang Rongfang visited other large medicine shops, found that all their Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma had also been reserved, and returned without buying any.

Zhang Rongfang became Yue Dewen’s Daozi and learned that his master had blocked his attempt to obtain the Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma. Feeling constrained in Heavenly Treasure Palace, he met Yan Shuang, who hinted that his departure from Great Capital had already been arranged.

• Yue Dewen warned Zhang Rongfang to abandon the Golden Toad Skill, named him Daozi of Heavenly Treasure Palace, and introduced Zhang Qingzhi as his senior brother.
• Zhang Rongfang waited two months for Zhong Hui Trading Company to obtain a Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma, but Shen Zheyun told him someone had intercepted it.
• Zhang Rongfang realized he was being watched by Chongxuan and Mingyuan and felt trapped by his inability to train or safely use his Attribute Points.
• Zhang Rongfang wandered into a snack street, where Yan Shuang recognized him and asked whether he wanted to leave Great Capital.
• Yan Shuang said that Zhang Rongfang’s situation was nearly settled through the True One Sect’s maneuvering and her side’s quiet intervention.

Yan Shuang warned Zhang Rongfang that an opportunity to escape his current restrictions was coming, then was pursued by Great Dao Sect experts after leaving him. A palace eunuch later tried to recruit Zhang Rongfang and hinted at a post guarding a region in turmoil, while Cheng Hui searched Golden Wing Tower’s records for the Eastern Sect’s Human Seed and Heavenly Maiden Secret Treasure.

• Yan Shuang warned Zhang Rongfang to prepare for news and cooperate, then fled when black-robed pursuers and a scarred man surrounded her.
• Zhang Rongfang returned to Heavenly Treasure Palace and considered how he might gain freedom without leaving the Great Dao Sect.
• Eunuch Li Xuance met Zhang Rongfang in Longsheng Hall, praised his abilities, and invited him to consider serving Ling Ting instead of the Great Dao Sect.
• Li Xuance hinted that Zhang Rongfang might be sent to guard a region destabilized by the Eastern Sect’s collapse, and Zhang Rongfang realized this could be the opportunity Yan Shuang had mentioned.
• Cheng Hui returned to Golden Wing Tower’s headquarters and searched its secret records for information about the Eastern Sect’s Human Seed and Heavenly Maiden Secret Treasure.

Cheng Hui compiled a list of potential Human Seeds while the True One Sect plotted to undermine Zhang Ying. Zhang Rongfang accepted an appointment to Citong despite Yue Dewen’s concerns, and Yue Dewen revealed that he had secretly sabotaged Zhang Ying’s Golden Toad Skill to push him toward Civilian Skill cultivation.

• Cheng Hui spent five days compiling 135 names of people who might be Human Seeds, including Zhang Ying, and decided to investigate them himself.
• Daoist Qing Yi and the Taiji Palace Supervisors discussed how Zhang Ying’s aptitude threatened the existing balance and planned to let him ruin his foundation by pursuing Martial Arts.
• Zhang Rongfang asked Daoist Mingyuan to assess his strength, then received a palace order appointing him Citong Guardian alongside Princess Yongxiang.
• Yue Dewen tried to dissuade Zhang Rongfang from accepting the posting, but Zhang Rongfang insisted he was willing to go and promised to keep improving his Civilian Skill.
• After Zhang Rongfang accepted the appointment, Yue Dewen told Daoist Mingyuan he hoped the trip would make Zhang Rongfang appreciate Spiritization and return to Civilian Skill cultivation.
• Yue Dewen revealed that he had secretly altered the Golden Toad Skill’s medicinal requirements to make Zhang Ying’s cultivation fail.

Zhang Rongfang prepared to leave Heavenly Treasure Palace for an official posting at Citong Port, where Princess Yongxiang would lead the assignment. Before his departure, Yue Dewen gave him the Illusory Image Talisman Method and Bewildering Jade Marrow, and Zhang Rongfang ended the chapter reviewing the Golden Toad Skill as he planned to rely on Martial Arts rather than Worship God.

• Zhang Qingzhi warned Zhang Rongfang about Princess Yongxiang and cautioned him not to lose his original heart; Zhang Rongfang gave him a Purple Fragrance Spirit Refinement Pill to borrow.
• Yue Dewen accepted Zhang Rongfang's decision to leave Heavenly Treasure Palace and gave him the Illusory Image Talisman Method and Bewildering Jade Marrow for advancing his Martial Arts.
• Yue Dewen explained that Zhang Rongfang needed to complete the final Gathering Spirit Talisman before taking the medicine and described the risks and stages of External Medicine and the Internal Method.
• Zhang Rongfang went to Black Cloud Pavilion to compare his copy of the Golden Toad Skill against the original before departing.
• Zhang Rongfang rejected Worship God and resolved to strengthen himself through Martial Arts, believing enough Attribute Points could let him contend with Spirit Veins.

Demon Eagle Xia Long and Ji Chang plotted to exploit Yue Dewen’s concern for Zhang Rongfang and provoke a conflict between the Great Dao Sect and the True One Sect. As Zhang Rongfang departed for Citong, he confirmed the Secret Cache map pointed there and completed the Great Dao Sect’s Yin Yang Harmony limit state.

• Demon Eagle Xia Long told Ji Chang that Damir had been dead for five years and proposed killing Yue Dewen’s disciple after others tried to cripple him, provoking Yue Dewen to attack Lian Qingyi and the True One Sect.
• Zhang Rongfang compared copies of the Golden Toad Skill but could not identify the inconsistency he suspected in its medicine formulas.
• Zhang Rongfang found that the map from his Golden Pattern Key matched part of a map of Citong, suggesting the Secret Cache was located there.
• Zhang Rongfang left Heavenly Treasure Palace with three guards, bound for Citong with Princess Yongxiang’s party, while saying goodbye to Zhang Qingzhi, Ming Yuan, and Master Chongxuan.
• On the journey, Zhang Rongfang used Attribute Points to bring Gathering Spirit Talisman to Breaking Limits and completed the Great Dao Sect’s Yin Yang Harmony limit state.

Zhang Rongfang joined Princess Yongxiang’s convoy on its journey to Citong, while a hidden faction plotted to provoke a conflict between the Great Dao Sect and the True One Sect. After the caravan entered Kai Province, Yongxiang decided to test Zhang Rongfang during the trip.

• Zhang Rongfang greeted Princess Yongxiang at Chongde Gate, then followed her caravan on foot with Chen Han and two guards.
• Masked plotters watched the caravan and planned to strike near Yongxi Town, using an insider from the True One Sect to make the killing ignite a conflict between the two sects.
• Yongxiang discussed Zhang Rongfang with her guard captain Hong Yi and decided to give him a chance by testing him along the way.
• The convoy left the Great Capital region and entered Kai Province, where Zhang Rongfang reviewed the route and warned that bandits and fierce beasts threatened the area near Nanyang.
• The caravan camped beside the Official Road, and Zhang Rongfang set up a small fire, ate, and began meditating while his companions stood guard.

Zhang Rongfang took Bewildering Jade Marrow and advanced to Super Grade, then used Attribute Points to strengthen the Illusory Image Talisman Method. After concealing his new strength, he set out with the convoy toward Citong, but trouble appeared on the road the next morning.

• Zhang Rongfang took Bewildering Jade Marrow and endured its painful effects as his body strengthened.
• Zhang Rongfang inspected the Guard Daoists’ and Chen Han’s Attribute Panels, learning about their Super Grade abilities and past injuries.
• Zhang Rongfang spent six Attribute Points to advance the Illusory Image Talisman Method to External Medicine three times, increasing his strength.
• Zhang Rongfang tested his enhanced strength and decided to conceal his breakthrough while preparing to seek the Heavenly Maiden Secret Treasure.
• Zhang Rongfang spent the night cultivating with the others, and the convoy resumed its journey the next morning before trouble arose ahead.

Zhang Rongfang’s journey with Princess Yongxiang’s convoy stalled repeatedly whenever she left to visit friends, delaying their progress toward Yongxi Town. After she disappeared for four days, Zhang Rongfang and his guards waited at a forest camp, frustrated by the continuing delays.

• A flute sounded in the forest, and Princess Yongxiang left the convoy with two Masters, asking Zhang Rongfang to guard it while she was away.
• Zhang Rongfang waited for hours, then through the night, as the convoy’s guards told him the Princess’s visits could last one to three days.
• A Master returned and directed the convoy to wait fifty li ahead, where Princess Yongxiang eventually rejoined them and refused Zhang Rongfang’s requests for an audience.
• The convoy resumed its journey, but Princess Yongxiang left again near Yongxi Town and remained away for four days.
• Zhang Rongfang sat beside a campfire with Chen Han and A Yi, eating roasted boar and complaining that the Princess’s delays could continue indefinitely.

Zhang Rongfang’s convoy was ambushed by a coalition that sought to draw Princess Yongxiang and her guards away. Two of her undercover guards attacked Zhang, but he killed them and escaped into the forest; Princess Yongxiang found their bodies afterward.

• Zhang Rongfang added three Attribute Points to the Illusory Image Talisman Method and strengthened his body.
• Old Man Wang led the coalition toward the convoy, intending to draw away Princess Yongxiang and Zhang Rongfang’s guards so insiders could attack.
• Black-clad attackers struck the convoy, and Princess Yongxiang fought Old Man Wang away from the camp while the guards were drawn into the woods.
• The attackers fired a cannon, scattering the convoy, and Zhang Rongfang ran into the forest, where two of Princess Yongxiang’s guards confronted him.
• The guards Yuan Hong and Liu Wuye attacked Zhang Rongfang, but he used Heavy Mountain to kill them and fled.
• Princess Yongxiang found Yuan Hong and Liu Wuye’s bodies and recognized them as her longtime personal guards.