Chapter Summaries

Wang Ping went through his daily duties and cultivation at Thousand Wood Temple while using his mysterious panels to track his progress. After hearing rumors of a Great Demon and watching his senior brothers spar, he was left longing to cultivate enough to ride the clouds.

• Wang Ping and Su Dun prepared breakfast, then Wang Ping and Su Dun cleaned the temple while the older disciples helped Daoist Yucheng in the medicinal field.
• Wang Ping practiced the Evergreen Cultivation Technique until he completed his five effective sessions for the day, then read Annotation of Heaven and Man and told the visiting Old Daoist that it left him irritated.
• Su Dun told the brothers that a villager had mentioned a Great Demon causing trouble in Shang'an Prefecture, but Mao Yulong dismissed the threat and challenged Li Antian after their argument.
• Li Antian and Mao Yulong fought in the courtyard until Daoist Yucheng stopped them and ordered them to kneel before the Ancestor Master's spirit tablet for two hours.

Wang Ping struggled to sense qi while practicing the Evergreen Cultivation Technique, but Liu Zixiu helped him recognize that his overthinking was hindering his progress. After reflecting on Su Dun’s natural approach, Wang Ping discovered a better way to practice and the Light Screen Panel raised his progress to 78/100.

• Wang Ping repeatedly tried to sense qi until Liu Zixiu stopped him and ordered him to recite the Calm Heart Incantation ten times.
• Wang Ping calmed his mind in front of the Ancestor Master's Memorial Tablet while Liu Zixiu reported his condition to Daoist Yucheng.
• The Old Daoist and Daoist Yucheng discussed Wang Ping’s Innate Spiritual Root and whether he might receive the Old Daoist’s True Exposition.
• Wang Ping practiced late at night, and Liu Zixiu explained that Su Dun’s relaxed state of mind helped his cultivation while Wang Ping’s complicated thoughts could hinder him.
• Wang Ping asked Su Dun how he practiced, followed his own preferences through several sets of movements, and gained a new method that the Light Screen Panel said could bring Qi Sensation in half a year.

After months of practice, Wang Ping achieved Qi Sensation and completed the Evergreen Cultivation Technique. Daoist Yucheng accepted him as his personal Disciple and told his three senior Disciples he would let them descend the mountain in five to eight years.

• Wang Ping and Su Dun continued their routine through winter, and a thirteen-year-old boy named Wang Kang joined the temple as Su Dun’s Junior Brother.
• Wang Ping practiced the Evergreen Cultivation Technique until he gained clear Qi Sensation and completed its progress.
• Daoist Yucheng and Wang Ping discussed Wang Ping’s difficulty understanding the Annotation of Heaven and Man, while the Old Daoist and Liu Zixiu offered differing views on contradictions.
• Daoist Yucheng recounted the temple’s history and announced that Wang Ping would become his personal Disciple, with the Apprenticeship Ceremony set for the sixth day of the next month.
• Daoist Yucheng told Li Antian, Liu Zixiu, and Yu Long that he would allow them to descend the mountain within five to eight years.

Wang Ping practiced the Returning Origin Art under Daoist Yucheng’s guidance and learned he could complete Qi Refining within two years. As Daoist Yucheng prepared for Wang Ping’s Apprenticeship Ceremony, he also arranged to recruit more disciples from the young descendants of Shang’an Prefecture’s prominent families.

• Wang Kang woke Su Dun, who brought breakfast to Wang Ping at the Back Mountain courtyard.
• Wang Ping completed five Heavenly Cycles of the Returning Origin Art, and his Light Screen Panel showed six percent progress.
• Daoist Yucheng praised Wang Ping’s steady cultivation, predicted he would complete Qi Refining within two years, and served him medicinal chicken soup.
• Daoist Yucheng advised Wang Ping to rest from cultivation and read books to improve his understanding.
• Daoist Yucheng prepared to meet the prefect of Shang’an Prefecture and select disciples from twelve young attendants and youths recommended by Li Antian, Liu Zixiu, and Mao Yulong.

Wang Ping formally entered Thousand Wood Temple as Daoist Yucheng’s disciple and received the Daoist name Changqing. A year later, as his Qi Refining approached a crucial stage, Daoist Yucheng left on a journey to find something for his cultivation and assigned Wang Ping Buddhist classics to read.

• Wang Ping completed the apprenticeship rites, accepted Daoist Yucheng’s precepts, and received the Daoist name Changqing.
• Daoist Yucheng assigned duties to Li Antian, Liu Zixiu, and Mao Yulong, and Thousand Wood Temple expanded and reorganized over the following year.
• Wang Ping learned that Junior Brother Su had passed his tribulation and left with his father, which disrupted Wang Ping’s meditation.
• Daoist Yucheng told Wang Ping to complete one Heavenly Cycle of Qi Refining each day for a month while he traveled to find something useful for Wang Ping’s cultivation.
• Wang Ping asked to practice sword technique, then spent the morning reading folk tales after Daoist Yucheng departed.
• Liu Zixiu delivered Buddhist classics for Wang Ping to read during the month, explaining that their wisdom could be borrowed even though Thousand Wood Temple did not cultivate their Dao.

Wang Ping learned the Thousand Wood Sword Art and discovered how to guide its forms with intent while keeping his violent impulses in check. After Daoist Yucheng returned from his journey with a wooden box, he promised to explain what he had obtained for Wang Ping the next morning.

• Wang Kang shared news about the county military examination and General Liu Yue’s victory at the Northern Border, then demonstrated the Thousand Wood Sword Art to Wang Ping.
• Wang Ping copied the sword moves and used his cultivation method to practice them, following the Light Screen Panel’s guidance.
• After an auspicious divination, Wang Ping understood how intent guided the sword forms, reached 65/100 progress, and meditated to calm his urge to fight.
• Wang Ping asked Wang Kang to request a sword from his Second Senior Brother and received an iron sword engraved with “Thousand Wood” the next morning.
• Daoist Yucheng returned with a wooden box he had obtained for Wang Ping and said he would explain it the following morning.

Wang Ping’s Spirit Snake hatched and bonded with him as Yulian, while Daoist Yucheng guided his cultivation. Old Daoist Wu then arrived to announce his departure and offer Wang Ping a parting gift.

• Daoist Yucheng gave Wang Ping a Spirit Snake Egg and instructed him to keep it close while practicing Qi Refining.
• After three months, the egg hatched during Wang Ping’s meditation, and a seal linked the Spirit Snake to him.
• The Spirit Snake recognized Daoist Yucheng’s powerful aura, ate frog meat, and told Wang Ping she was hungry through their connection.
• Daoist Yucheng named the female Spirit Snake Yulian and told Wang Ping to trust her words and stop her from probing others.
• Old Daoist Wu arrived, said he was leaving immediately after two sixty-year cycles without finding a successor, and tossed Wang Ping a bamboo slip as thanks.

Wang Ping received and tested the Earth Cave Sect’s Mountain Suppressing Art, then spent three months cultivating as Thousand Wood Temple reorganized. Near the Spring Festival, Su Dun arrived with wine and food to celebrate with Wang Ping and his senior brothers.

• Old Daoist Wu gave Daoist Yucheng the Mountain Suppressing Art, whose instructions entered Wang Ping’s Spirit Sea when he examined the bamboo slip.
• Wang Ping cast the spell, creating a pit in the earth, and the bamboo slip crumbled; Yulian interrupted his worried thoughts by biting his finger.
• Thousand Wood Temple formally divided into the Front Hall and Inner Sect, while Wang Ping continued cultivating until his Qi Refining reached a critical juncture.
• Daoist Yucheng told Wang Ping to stop cultivating and calm his mind as the Spring Festival approached.
• Su Dun arrived with Wang Kang, Wang Ping’s three senior brothers, and jars of wine; Wang Ping introduced Yulian, startling Su Dun, and Mao Yulong poured the wine.

Wang Ping witnessed Mao Yulong nearly die after attempting Marrow Cleansing without sufficient Spiritual Root, and learned that Daoist Yucheng believed there was a way to improve Spiritual Roots but discouraged his disciples from pursuing it. That night, Wang Ping overcame the final threshold of Qi Refining with Daoist Yucheng’s help.

• Daoist Yucheng predicted Wang Ping would reach Qi Refining Completion within ten days, while Wang Ping struggled to gather the confidence to break through.
• Daoist Yucheng took Wang Ping to Mao Yulong’s courtyard, where he expelled the dangerous energy from Mao Yulong after his reckless attempt at Marrow Cleansing.
• Daoist Yucheng warned Mao Yulong and his fellow disciples that insufficient Spiritual Roots made forced Marrow Cleansing deadly, and told them to practice the Lesser Dao Method instead.
• Wang Ping reflected on his fortune and dreamed that Mao Yulong wasted his life searching for a way to improve his Spiritual Root.
• Wang Ping practiced the Evergreen Cultivation Technique and circulated the Return to Origin Cultivation Technique through five Great Heavenly Cycles, successfully reaching Qi Refining as Daoist Yucheng supplied spiritual energy.

After completing Qi Refining, Wang Ping began Marrow Cleansing and learned that Daoist Yucheng had arranged for Daoist Yuanzheng of the Shangdan Sect to improve his Spiritual Root. Wang Ping trained and studied while preparing for the journey, then Daoist Yucheng told him it was time to leave.

• Wang Ping completed the Qi Cultivation Chapter, and Daoist Yucheng gave him a letter for Daoist Yuanzheng to improve his Spiritual Root.
• Daoist Yucheng gave Wang Ping a Jia Talisman and a Bing Talisman, and instructed him to prepare to travel after the new year.
• Wang Ping attempted his first Marrow Cleansing and endured intense pain as spiritual energy scoured his body.
• Wang Ping declined Wang Kang's invitation to watch the Outer Sect assessment, then received Daoist Yucheng's advice about eating after Qi Refining.
• Wang Ping sparred with Mao Yulong and studied books while performing one Marrow Cleansing each morning.
• On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Daoist Yucheng divined that it was time for Wang Ping to set off.

Wang Ping left Thousand Wood Temple to travel to the Shangdan Sect, seeing how much the temple and his old home had changed on the way. Outside Yuanning County, he discovered that a camp boss was drugging travelers so bandits could rob them, and stayed hidden after two strangers subdued the thieves.

• Wang Ping packed for his journey, received supplies and gifts from his fellow disciples, and left Thousand Wood Temple.
• Wang Ping passed the bustling mountain road and market, then paused to look toward his transformed childhood village without visiting it.
• Eight days later, Wang Ping camped outside Yuanning County and heard travelers discuss the area's lawlessness and hardship.
• Wang Ping gave food to a hungry beggar, then later spotted the Camp Boss's accomplices robbing sleeping travelers under the effects of Sleeping Powder.
• A woman and another stranger knocked out and bound the bandits, and the woman called for Wang Ping to come down from his hiding place.
• The woman scattered medicinal powder to wake the travelers while Wang Ping remained hidden.

Wang Ping entered Yuanning County, where he met Feng Miao and Cheng Ji, two Daoists who had exposed a bandit operation tied to local officials. Suspecting the county’s corruption ran deeper than they knew, Wang Ping urged Feng Miao to investigate the garrison commander, and she went to his home that night with Cheng Ji.

• Feng Miao and Cheng Ji captured bandits preying on travelers and brought them toward the Prefectural Office, while Wang Ping watched from nearby.
• Wang Ping entered the city, bought food and shrimp for Yulian, and later encountered Feng Miao and Cheng Ji at his inn.
• Feng Miao and Cheng Ji told Wang Ping that they had pursued a Tiger Demon and uncovered the garrison commander’s role in the bandit operation.
• Wang Ping warned Feng Miao that the garrison commander’s punishment was likely a sham and that Yuanning County’s troubles went beyond theft.
• Feng Miao and Cheng Ji went to investigate the garrison commander’s home that night.

Wang Ping intervened when Feng Miao and Cheng Ji were ambushed at the garrison commander's estate, then left Yuanning County after the corruption case was exposed. He traveled along the coast and spent the night meditating in a fishing village, where a Calico Cat joined him to absorb spiritual energy.

• Wang Ping found Feng Miao and Cheng Ji fighting three Tiger Demons at the burning garrison commander's estate and disabled the Archers who were supporting them.
• Wang Ping killed one Tiger Demon with his Suppress technique, while Feng Miao and Cheng Ji chased the other two; one escaped into the nearby mountain forest.
• Feng Miao treated the unconscious garrison commander and put out the estate's flames, while Wang Ping returned to the inn and calmed himself through cultivation.
• Wang Ping learned that the county magistrate and garrison commander had been accused of colluding with Monsters, then accepted gold from Feng Miao and left town with an escort.
• Wang Ping traveled toward the coast, bought shrimp for Yulian, and took shelter from the rain in a thatched shed near a fishing village.
• A Calico Cat watched Wang Ping meditate, ate a mouse beneath the eaves, then sat beside him and absorbed the nearby spiritual energy.

Wang Ping traveled with Wu Ping’s caravan from Xia Kingdom into Hushan Kingdom and reached Sea City. After finding the Shangdan Pharmacy, he was told to wait three days to meet the person he sought.

• Wang Ping left the Fishing Village and meditated by the coast while Wu Ping’s caravan passed nearby.
• At a teahouse, Wu Ping invited Wang Ping to travel south with his caravan, and Wang Ping agreed.
• Wang Ping and the caravan crossed Mozhou Road and Haizhou Road, reached Huiping City, and entered Hushan Kingdom the next day.
• On the road to Sea City, Wang Ping saw two Pig Yao leading the local guards, and Wu Ping paid them for a campsite and Wild Vegetables.
• Wang Ping entered Sea City, paid the entry fee, and received a temporary ID Badge.
• Wang Ping followed Wu Ping’s directions to Shangdan Pharmacy, where the shopkeeper told him to wait three days.

Wang Ping met Daoist Yuanzheng, who examined him and began the painful process of improving his Spiritual Root. Daoist Yuanzheng told Wang Ping to stay with him for half a month and grow accustomed to the pain.

• Wang Ping learned that Sea City’s morning street fights were often deadly and that the City Defense Battalion arrived late.
• Wang Ping left the inn and went to the Shangdan Pharmacy to meet the Cultivator who would improve his Spiritual Root.
• Wang Ping discovered that the Cultivator was Yuan Zheng, who recognized him as Daoist Yucheng’s Disciple and demanded his letter.
• Yuan Zheng read Daoist Yucheng’s letter, examined Wang Ping, and confirmed that he had no Pill Toxin.
• Yuan Zheng began twisting Wang Ping’s muscles, sinews, and bones with his technique, causing him intense pain.
• Yuan Zheng told Wang Ping to remain with him for half a month to grow accustomed to the pain.

Daoist Yuanzheng used medicinal liquid and a magical treasure to enhance Wang Ping’s sinew, bones, and Spiritual Root. Wang Ping woke to find his Spiritual Root superior and his Marrow Cleansing progress greatly accelerated, then learned Yuanzheng had returned to headquarters for secluded cultivation and pill refinement.

• Daoist Yuanzheng began the medicinal treatment, guiding Wang Ping to absorb the liquid into his limbs and bones while Yulian slept nearby.
• After three days, Daoist Yuanzheng used a Medicine Cauldron-like treasure to extract the remaining medicinal properties, and Wang Ping endured the pain before passing out.
• Wang Ping awoke, fed Yulian, and checked his Light Screen Panel, which showed his Spiritual Root had become superior and Marrow Cleansing would take eight years.
• Wang Ping completed ten painless Marrow Cleansings and recovered through Qi Refining until dawn.
• Wang Ping visited the shop and learned from the shopkeeper that Daoist Yuanzheng had returned to headquarters for secluded cultivation and pill refinement.

Wang Ping returned from his travels through a region devastated by the Mozhou Road rebellion and learned that his earlier investigation in Yuanning County had been connected to the disaster. After discussing the danger with Cheng Ji, he hurried back to Thousand Wood Temple, where his senior brothers and fellow disciples awaited him.

• At Huiping City checkpoint, Wang Ping learned that a Mountain God had escaped after a monster and two rebellious Mountain Gods caused devastation in Mozhou Road.
• Six days later, Wang Ping saw officials end their search, and a month later he found a coastal village and Yuanning City in ruins after the Taiyin Sect's corpse-refining scheme was uncovered.
• Wang Ping traveled to Changwen Prefecture and met Cheng Ji, who revealed that a powerful Cultivator in Yuanning County could easily have killed them.
• Wang Ping concluded that the rebels had been deliberately sacrificed to silence others, then left for Nanlin Road the following morning.
• After half a month, Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Temple, where an Outer Sect Disciple reported his arrival and senior brothers and Inner Sect disciples gathered to greet him.

Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Temple and devoted five years to cultivation and nourishing a Huai Tree, while Daoist Yucheng told him to leave the troubles of Mozhou Road behind. As the temple prepared for an Apprenticeship Ceremony, Wang Kang visited with news of his new disciples, and the chapter ended with Wang Ping unsettled despite three favorable divinations.

• Wang Ping told Daoist Yucheng what had happened in Yuanning County, and his master advised him to focus on Marrow Cleansing rather than worry about Mozhou Road.
• Wang Ping spent five years cultivating, clearing the summit of Thousand Wood Mountain, and nourishing a Huai Tree sapling with his spiritual energy.
• Wang Kang visited Wang Ping before the Apprenticeship Ceremony and said he had taken disciples and would assume responsibility for teaching new ones.
• Wang Ping practiced swordsmanship, continued Marrow Cleansing, and nourished the Huai Tree as Daoist Yucheng had instructed.
• Wang Ping cast three favorable divinations, but Yulian noticed that his Spirit Sea was in disarray.

Wang Ping discovered that Yu Long had poisoned his food to damage his Spiritual Root, then spent three years strengthening his resolve to cultivate. After eight years of Marrow Cleansing, he completed the process, and Daoist Yucheng began discussing the next step: Foundation Establishment.

• Daoist Yucheng revealed that Yu Long had poisoned Wang Ping's steamed bun and described Yu Long's secret experiments on disciples with good Spiritual Roots.
• Wang Ping realized Daoist Yucheng had known about the brothers' crimes and had allowed them to continue as a lesson, then returned to cultivation.
• Three years passed as the Huai Tree grew and Yulian completed Qi Refining.
• Wang Ping completed his hundredth Marrow Cleansing, causing spiritual energy to gather around him naturally and helping Yulian grow faster.
• Daoist Yucheng praised Wang Ping's Marrow Cleansing and warned that Foundation Establishment still required a final step and Foundation Establishment Material.

Wang Ping prepared Thousand Wood Mountain for Foundation Establishment, planted Spirit Wood and Spirit Grass, and began training two disciples while continuing his cultivation. As his Foundation Establishment progress slowly advanced, Feng Miao arrived at the mountain foot seeking to speak with him.

• Wang Ping reviewed the Foundation Establishment requirements, then built eight Spirit Gathering Towers and prepared the mountaintop for planting.
• The following spring, Wang Ping planted Spirit Wood Saplings, raising the spiritual energy concentration to 28/100, as the Xia Kingdom's Old Emperor abdicated and the new emperor adopted the era name Longyuan.
• Daoist Yucheng brought Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping to Wang Ping, who accepted them as disciples and began teaching them.
• By autumn, Wang Ping's Foundation Establishment progress had reached 3/100, and Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping could practice the Evergreen Cultivation Technique on their own.
• After Wang Ping practiced the Cloud Soaring Technique, a young disciple reported that Feng Miao had come to see him, and Wang Ping agreed to receive her.