Chapter Summaries

Xu Yunfan traveled to Thousand Buddha Temple to investigate its unusual statues and seek an opportunity to advance the Lin Character Secret, while Wan Miaoyin entered North Ye City to track the aura he had left behind. Xu Yunfan found the temple grand and crowded but sensed no ominous aura or sign of the Power Awareness Bodhisattva Statues.

• Lu Yi continued forging after Xu Yunfan left the smithy and headed toward Accumulating Cloud Mountain.
• Wan Miaoyin entered North Ye City, detected Xu Yunfan's aura throughout the city, and decided to message her master before searching slowly.
• Xu Yunfan raced along the official road and reached Thousand Buddha Temple beneath Accumulating Cloud Mountain.
• Xu Yunfan climbed the Nine-Bend Lotus Stairway and noticed many martial artists among the temple's worshippers.
• Xu Yunfan toured Thousand Buddha Temple, but found no ominous aura, Attribute Panel notification, or Power Awareness Bodhisattva Statue.

Xu Yunfan waited near Thousand Buddha Temple while practicing his Hunting skill, then discovered that numerous martial artists were infiltrating the temple in search of a rumored divine weapon. He entered the crowded western wall area, recognized Su Shiyu among the intruders, and realized the temple was swarming with outsiders.

• Xu Yunfan met the towering monk Pu Wu near the temple's rear courtyard and left after being warned not to enter the monks' living quarters.
• Xu Yunfan practiced stalking a rabbit in the woods, raising his Hunting skill proficiency.
• Xu Yunfan overheard three Martial Masters discussing rumors of a divine weapon and watched them head toward Thousand Buddha Temple.
• Xu Yunfan decided the intruders could distract the monks while he searched the rear courtyard for the Power Awareness Bodhisattva Statues.
• Xu Yunfan reached the temple's western wall and saw groups of outsiders infiltrating; he recognized Su Shiyu among them.

Xu Yunfan infiltrated Thousand Buddha Temple amid a crowd of intruders and found a strange Buddha Hall hidden in the rear courtyard. An ominous aura drew him inside, where he began resisting its effects with a mantra.

• Xu Yunfan encountered Su Shiyu and a woman in black on the rooftops, then watched them leave.
• Warrior monks discovered the intruders and rushed toward the front courtyard, giving Xu Yunfan a chance to search the temple.
• Xu Yunfan evaded patrols and found a Buddha Hall built into the mountainside, where a strange scent and shifting carvings unsettled him.
• Xu Yunfan tried to retreat but found himself at the hall's doors as its lock crumbled and a three-headed Bodhisattva statue turned toward him.
• After a warning that an ominous aura was causing slight hallucinations, Xu Yunfan formed the Lin Word Seal and recited the Highest Good is Like Water Heart Mantra.

Xu Yunfan confronted a spiritually powerful Old Monk in the Buddha Hall and used the Lin Character Secret to resist his illusions. As an ominous force arrived and halted his attack, Xu Yunfan reached beginner proficiency in the Lin Character Secret.

• Xu Yunfan integrated the ominous aura with the Lin Character Secret, weakening the eerie influence of the Eight-Armed Three-Headed Statue.
• The Old Monk tried to ensnare Xu Yunfan with incense aura and illusions, but Xu Yunfan guarded his mind with the Lin Character Secret and charged him with the Weng Gold Hammer.
• Xu Yunfan struck the Old Monk and began his Heaven's Collapse attack, but the statue awakened and an invisible force stopped him.
• A golden light shot toward the Buddha Hall as the statue reacted, and Xu Yunfan's blurry inner figure fully emerged.
• Xu Yunfan's Lin Character Secret reached beginner level, sharpening his perception and accelerating his thoughts.

Xu Yunfan achieved a new state of spiritual awareness and escaped the temple courtyard just before a Gilded Mace crashed down. The Old Monk summoned black mist from the Bodhisattva statue, and five fighters arrived to fight over the divine weapon.

• Xu Yunfan relived his decades of cultivation and realized that the Innate Divine Being in the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace had his own face, achieving complete control over his body for a brief time.
• Xu Yunfan fled into the forest as the Gilded Mace struck the temple courtyard, exposing tens of thousands of buried bones.
• The Old Monk welcomed the Bodhisattva, whose cracked statue released black mist that engulfed him as he begged for immortality.
• Five fighters entered the courtyard, and the Old Ape-like warrior declared the Gilded Mace his and headed toward the crater.

Xu Yunfan watched five Flesh Refining Realm experts battle over the Gilded Mace until the Old Monk transformed and defeated them all. Though Liu Xiong urged Xu Yunfan to kill the possessed monk, Xu Yunfan fled, leaving Liu Xiong badly injured and unable to move.

• Five experts fought over the Gilded Mace while Xu Yunfan watched from hiding.
• The Old Monk transformed beneath the black mist, seized the Gilded Mace, and drove Liu Xiong away with a single kick.
• The Old Monk defeated the red-haired brute, the black-clad assassin, the silver-robed woman, and the one-armed saberman, though he then collapsed to one knee.
• Liu Xiong warned Xu Yunfan that the Evil God was possessing the Old Monk and urged him to attack, but Xu Yunfan ignored him and left.
• Liu Xiong tried to rise, then stayed still after realizing his chest and internal organs had been badly injured.

Old Monk Qiu Zhu emerged from his failed Body-Possession Rebirth as a grotesque monster and chose Liu Xiong as a potential new vessel. Xu Yunfan fled Thousand Buddha Temple and encountered a mysterious woman in white on the road.

• Old Monk Qiu Zhu's body split open, revealing a deformed monster that blamed the Power Awareness Bodhisattva for its failed rebirth.
• The monster smashed the Power Awareness Bodhisattva Statue, searched the injured men for a suitable vessel, and decided Xu Yunfan's body might be perfect.
• Xu Yunfan raced away from Thousand Buddha Temple, avoiding the fighting and deciding to travel to Changyi to seek a renowned sect.
• After placing sixty li between himself and the temple, Xu Yunfan stopped on the official road when he saw a woman in white gauze standing on a boulder.

Xu Yunfan tried to escape Wan Miaoyin by drawing Old Monk Qiu Zhu into their confrontation, and the two powerful fighters clashed. Wan Miaoyin and Old Monk Qiu Zhu both ended exhausted and badly injured, while Xu Yunfan escaped into the forest.

• Wan Miaoyin confronted Xu Yunfan and declared that she would kill him to avenge her senior sister.
• Xu Yunfan threw his Weng Gold Hammer away, fled into the forest, then doubled back as Old Monk Qiu Zhu emerged behind him.
• Old Monk Qiu Zhu attacked Wan Miaoyin, pierced her protective qi, and grabbed her shoulder while she fought back and damaged his monstrous body.
• Wan Miaoyin used the Celestial Pivot Sect's Mountain Stabilizing Pearl to shatter Old Monk Qiu Zhu's arm and knock away the Gilded Mace, leaving both fighters unable to move.
• Old Monk Qiu Zhu crawled toward Wan Miaoyin, who warned that attempting to borrow a body before the Heaven and Earth Primal Spirit arrived would turn him into a mindless demon.

Xu Yunfan seized the Gilded Mace and subdued it with the Lin Word Seal, then attacked the Old Monk while the weapon drained his strength. After killing the Old Monk, Xu Yunfan turned toward Wan Miaoyin with one breath of the Lin Stance remaining.

• Xu Yunfan gripped the Gilded Mace and endured its violent backlash, while the Apex Path Remains absorbed the blow it dealt to his chest.
• Xu Yunfan formed the Lin Word Seal, calming the mace and forcing it to acknowledge him as its master.
• Xu Yunfan realized the Lin Stance could last only three breaths and that the Gilded Mace was consuming his potential and lifespan.
• Xu Yunfan struck the Old Monk with the Gilded Mace, killing him before he could finish revealing the Longevity Secret.
• Xu Yunfan turned toward Wan Miaoyin as the Lin Stance continued to strain his body.

Xu Yunfan killed Wan Miaoyin with the Gilded Mace, but the weapon’s backlash left him badly weakened. After escaping the scene, he encountered Liu Tianyun at a Long Wind Tavern caravan and asked to buy Exotic Beast Meat and qi-and-blood pills.

• Xu Yunfan used the Lin Stance to wield the Gilded Mace and smash Wan Miaoyin’s head, then collapsed as the weapon’s power drained from his body.
• After recovering enough to dress and wrap the Gilded Mace, Xu Yunfan searched Wan Miaoyin’s corpse and watched the Mountain Stabilizing Pearl fly away.
• An old daoist arrived, found Wan Miaoyin dead, and carried her body toward Jade Capital, unable to track her killer.
• While fleeing through the night, Xu Yunfan sensed the Gilded Mace tremble and felt that he had avoided a calamity.
• Xu Yunfan found a Long Wind Tavern caravan in the wilderness, where Liu Tianyun recognized him, and Xu Yunfan offered banknotes for Exotic Beast Meat and qi-and-blood pills.

Xu Yunfan joined Liu Tianyun’s caravan on its journey to Changyi, buying meat and pills, recovering from his injuries, and cultivating along the way. Near Flying Crane Shoal, Liu warned him that the convoy would have to pay a toll to the bandits there and told him to stay out of the negotiations.

• Xu Yunfan met Liu Tianyun in the wilderness and agreed to travel with his caravan to Changyi.
• Liu Tianyun sold Xu Yunfan Red Feather Deer Ribs and Deer Marrow Spring Return Pills in exchange for keeping the Seven Fragrance Carriage at the convoy’s rear.
• Xu Yunfan ate the ribs, swallowed several pills, practiced the Lin Character Secret, and silently tempered his bones while recovering.
• The caravan set out the next morning, and Xu Yunfan spent the journey cultivating and admiring the scenery.
• Liu Tianyun told Xu Yunfan that bandits occupied Flying Crane Shoal and said he would settle their toll himself.

Xu Yunfan arrived in Changyi and sought advice about joining a sect, then set out to find a bone-training master. Several sects rejected him because his training history and completed tendons, bones, and skin made him unsuitable for their methods, leaving him to continue his search.

• Xu Yunfan ignored the convoy's secret shipment, and Liu Tianyun warned his subordinates to treat it as though it had never happened.
• After reaching Changyi, Xu Yunfan heard Liu Tianyun describe several renowned sects and chose to seek instruction in bone training first.
• Xu Yunfan bought a Blood Serpent Horse, sealed the Gilded Mace in an iron case, and rode to Wu Mountain Xuan Yue Sect.
• An instructor at Wu Mountain Xuan Yue Sect rejected Xu Yunfan, claiming his early Eagle Claw Grappling had ruined his Root Bone.
• The chief elder of Yin Mountain Sect also turned Xu Yunfan away because his tendons, bones, and skin had reached completion.
• The sect master of Moving Mountain Sect refused Xu Yunfan, saying his bone marrow had been warped by brute force and could not suit the sect's method.

After the major sects rejected Xu Yunfan because he began martial arts too late and his body had already been shaped by another path, he considered seeking a smaller sect. Zhang Tiehu offered to bring him into Qixia Temple for a fee, and Xu Yunfan followed him toward the mountain as night fell.

• The White Ape Sect’s sect master told Xu Yunfan that his altered Jade Pillow Bones prevented him from cultivating the sect’s martial arts, though he could serve as a guest elder.
• Liu Xiong visited the sect master, who warned him to recover from his injuries and avoid confronting the old demon Buddha from Thousand Buddha Temple over a divine weapon.
• Xu Yunfan reflected on how the great sects favored established backgrounds and decided to consider smaller sects.
• Zhang Tiehu, an outer sect deacon of Qixia Temple, offered Xu Yunfan direct entry into the inner sect for three hundred taels.
• Xu Yunfan paid Zhang Tiehu fifty taels as a deposit and followed him, leading his horse along a winding path to a desolate mountain where Zhang said Qixia Temple was located.

Xu Yunfan discovered that Qixia Temple was a fraudulent cult and demanded his money back from Zhang Tiehu. When the cultists attacked, Xu Yunfan killed Zhang Tiehu and fought through their ranks, leaving Qixia Daoist Priest to face his advancing hammer.

• Xu Yunfan saw Qixia Daoist Priest preaching at Qixia Temple and recognized the gathering as a scam.
• Xu Yunfan pinned Zhang Tiehu and demanded his money, but Zhang Tiehu threatened to rob him and take his martial arts manual.
• Xu Yunfan knocked away Zhang Tiehu's saber, twisted his head around, and killed him.
• Xu Yunfan used his Weng Gold Hammer to cripple the tiger-head saber wielder and smash the lean man and several gray-robed cultists.
• Qixia Daoist Priest ordered the Seven Kill Formation and Hercules Technique, but Xu Yunfan broke through the enhanced cultists and deflected the Bone Penetrating Nails.
• Xu Yunfan charged toward Qixia Daoist Priest with his Weng Gold Hammer.

After destroying Qixia Temple, Xu Yunfan found evidence linking the Incense Fire Sect to shipments of children and supplies. In Changyi, he told Liu Tianyun that local sects had rejected him, and Liu offered him a chance to join the Heavenly Cicada Sect.

• Xu Yunfan killed Qixia Daoist Priest and the remaining cultists at Qixia Temple.
• Xu Yunfan found a roster describing shipments to Azure Wutong Villa and Lian Mountain Town, then took it and the temple's money.
• Three days later, Xu Yunfan shared a meal with Liu Tianyun at Long Wind Tavern in Changyi City.
• Xu Yunfan told Liu Tianyun that seven or eight nearby sects had rejected him despite his Second Tempering Martial Master realm.
• Liu Tianyun offered Xu Yunfan a place in the Heavenly Cicada Sect and handed him a thundercloud-patterned token.

Xu Yunfan learned from Liu Tianyun about the dangerous route to Wu Province and received a token for the Heavenly Cicada Sect. He continued training in Qingzhou, aiming to master his bone-training art before traveling onward.

• Liu Tianyun gave Xu Yunfan a Heavenly Cicada Sect token and warned that the Incense Fire Sect had blocked the routes into Wu Province.
• Xu Yunfan parted from Liu Tianyun and decided to travel to Wu Province after mastering the Iron Bridge Town Suppression Bone Training Chapter.
• Xu Yunfan reviewed the Divine Weapon Ridge token and considered visiting the ruined sect along his route.
• Xu Yunfan practiced the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art and Cloak Hammer, but found that completing the technique would take at least another half year.
• Xu Yunfan ate an expensive meal and resolved to save money.
• Xu Yunfan trained Fleet Foot in a mountain hollow, sprinting with explosive strength as his blood qi strengthened his legs.

Xu Yunfan devoted himself to bone training and reached Great Accomplishment. He sheltered Su Shiyu after learning that a demonic Blood Exchange Realm expert had attacked her family, while she planned to seek refuge in Jade Capital.

• Xu Yunfan spent several days cultivating the Iron Bridge Town Suppression Bone Training Chapter and gained proficiency rapidly.
• Xu Yunfan recognized Su Shiyu, who was disguised as a filthy beggar, and brought her back to his residence to clean up.
• Su Shiyu told Xu Yunfan that experts had overrun North Ye City and a demonic Blood Exchange Realm expert had occupied her family estate and slaughtered people there.
• Xu Yunfan offered Su Shiyu a place to stay, and she said she would go to Jade Capital to seek refuge with her uncle.
• Nine days later, Xu Yunfan pushed through intense pain as he trained, and his Iron Bridge Town Suppression Bone Training Chapter entered Great Accomplishment.

Xu Yunfan mastered the Iron Bridge Town Suppression Bone Training Chapter, said farewell to Su Shiyu, and left Changyi. Seven days later, he reached the ruined Divine Weapon Ridge, where an old voice asked whether he had come seeking a weapon.

• Xu Yunfan's bones transformed as he mastered the Iron Bridge Town Suppression Bone Training Chapter and advanced to Third Tempering Martial Master.
• Su Shiyu told Xu Yunfan she was leaving for Jade Capital and vowed to train seriously and avenge her father's murder.
• Xu Yunfan packed his belongings and rode out of Changyi, prompting the gate officer to recognize him as a Third Tempering Martial Master.
• Seven days later, Xu Yunfan saw the shattered Mountain-Suppressing Stele and sword scars at Divine Weapon Ridge and recalled Lu Yi's account of its destruction thirty years earlier.
• Xu Yunfan approached Divine Weapon Valley, but an aged voice stopped him and asked if he had come seeking a weapon.

Xu Yunfan learned that Divine Weapon Ridge had lost its inheritance and traveled through the famine-ravaged borderlands toward Wu Province. After killing bandits and a cannibalistic old woman, he entered the ruined Dingbei City, where its desperate survivors watched him from the shadows.

• Xu Yunfan showed the Divine Weapon Token to an old Second Tempering Martial Master at Divine Weapon Ridge, who explained that a mysterious wielder of Heaven's Punishment had destroyed the sect's inheritance thirty years earlier.
• Xu Yunfan continued toward Wu Province and found villages ruined by famine and violence, then killed five bandits who were threatening a pregnant woman and sent her toward a disaster relief shelter in Li City.
• At Dingbei City's gate, Xu Yunfan discovered an old woman selling buns made from a child's corpse and killed her and the other predators nearby.
• By dawn, Xu Yunfan stood before Dingbei City with a nine-chi-high corpse tower and entered through its broken gate as the survivors watched without daring to approach.

Xu Yunfan learned that the Demon Subduing Heavenly Army had massacred Dingbei City and discovered that the Incense Fire Sect used flesh-burrowing parasites to control people. He attacked the army as it preyed on refugees, and the chapter ended with its commander taking a scarlet pill and revealing the same corruption.

• Xu Yunfan questioned a cannibalistic youth, who said General Qi Tian had ordered Dingbei City's slaughter and pointed him toward Accumulated Thunder Mountain.
• The youth tried to stab Xu Yunfan, but parasites erupted from his body and caused him to explode into burning flesh.
• Xu Yunfan rode south from Dingbei City and found black-armored cavalrymen abusing refugees, so he attacked them with his Drumming Weng Gold Hammer.
• Xu Yunfan's mastered Iron Bridge Town Suppression let him withstand the cavalry's poisoned spears and shatter the Cavalry Commander's weapon.
• The Cavalry Commander swallowed a scarlet pill and developed crimson patterns matching the parasites Xu Yunfan had seen in the youth.