Chapter Summaries

Feng Miao visited Wang Ping to ask for help investigating a large group of shapeshifting Yao in Northern Mountain Forest, and Wang Ping agreed to seek support from Thousand Wood Temple. Zhao Qing said he could help organize a mountain search and promised an answer within half a month.

• Feng Miao visited Wang Ping at his mountain courtyard, and they caught up over wine and discussed Cheng Ji's progress toward Foundation Establishment.
• Feng Miao told Wang Ping that she and two Daoist Scripture Hall cultivators had found evidence of at least five hundred shapeshifting Yao in Northern Mountain Forest, including a possible Mountain God among them.
• Wang Ping asked Zhao Qing to come and discussed the unrest in Mozhou Road and other northwestern regions with Feng Miao while they waited.
• Zhao Qing agreed that Thousand Wood Temple could help organize a mountain search, and Feng Miao said she only wanted the memories of one Snake Demon.
• Zhao Qing promised to give Feng Miao an answer within half a month.

Wang Ping joined the Daoist Scripture Hall’s Sixth Seat and traveled to Shu County to help Feng Miao investigate a suspected monster infestation. The county magistrate stalled their mountain search despite an order from the prefect, leaving the group facing further obstruction.

• Daoist Yucheng arranged for Wang Ping to receive a Sixth Seat in the Daoist Scripture Hall and took him to Shang'an Prefecture to obtain his Jade Token.
• Wang Ping fed Yulian shrimp in Shang'an Prefecture and then traveled to Shu County to meet Feng Miao and her companions.
• Xia Yao told Wang Ping that the county yamen had rejected their mountain-search proposal, while Feng Miao insisted they could not ignore the suspected monsters.
• Zhao Qing returned with a handwritten order from the prefect, but the Shucheng County Magistrate delayed the search and demanded another document from Prefecture City.

Wang Ping joined Feng Miao, Xia Yao, and Zuo Suzi as they sought a way to capture a Snake Demon tied to a human-trafficking ring. After Xia Yao tracked the demon to the river and the group cornered him, a massive Blood Skull suddenly attacked Wang Ping.

• Feng Miao explained that her group had chased a Snake Demon from an underground warehouse to Shu County, where the county yamen stalled their search of the mountains.
• Xia Yao insisted they continue the mission, and Wang Ping revealed that his authority as the Daoist Scripture Hall's Sixth Seat could summon Qi Practitioners.
• Zhao Qing proposed persuading their ally Sanhe Temple to help, while Feng Miao agreed to overlook the county clans' dealings with Monsters as long as they captured the Snake Demon.
• Xia Yao sensed the Snake Demon's aura in the Five Gods River and rushed out of the tea house with Feng Miao and Zuo Suzi.
• Wang Ping followed after divining a safe route, and Xia Yao bound the Snake Demon with the river water while Feng Miao caught him in a net.
• Yulian warned of powerful malice, and a massive Blood Skull slammed toward Wang Ping.

Wang Ping survived a surprise attack by a Taiyin Sect cultivator thanks to the talismans Yucheng had given him, then helped defeat the Lesser Demons. Gu Heng arrived and pledged support for the Mountain Search Operation, but abruptly flew off after sensing something.

• A skull ambushed Wang Ping, but his protective talisman and Golden Armored Warrior blocked its attacks before it fled south.
• Wang Ping fought the Lesser Demons while Xia Yao checked on Zuo Suzi, who had died from his injuries, and Feng Miao fired a signal flare.
• Wang Ping and Yulian helped kill the remaining Lesser Demons, and Feng Miao apologized for drawing him into danger.
• Gu Heng of Sanhe Temple arrived, learned that a Taiyin Sect cultivator had attacked them, and offered support for the Mountain Search Operation.
• Gu Heng suddenly sensed something in the sky and flew away.

Gu Heng and Daoist Yucheng discussed looming political turmoil and their limited ability to shape events, while Wang Ping and his companions uncovered a failed plot tied to North Mountain. Sanhe Temple prepared a joint mountain search, and Thousand Wood Temple joined the operation as the hunt for the hidden Secret Method Cultivator began.

• Gu Heng and Daoist Yucheng recalled their early years and discussed the plot to steal the Xia Dynasty's National Destiny, with Yucheng insisting they might still influence events in Nanlin Road.
• Feng Miao and Xia Yao burned Zuo Suzi's corpse and searched the Snake Demon's memories, discovering they had been erased; Wang Ping realized the Lesser Demons had been bait in an ambush.
• Feng Miao urged the group to investigate North Mountain, and Wang Ping proposed joining the search as ordinary Qi practitioners after the Sanhe Temple group arrived.
• Guangxuan arrived with Sanhe Temple Disciples and heard Master Tian explain how North Mountain's fur trade had helped cover the Provincial Governor's military expenses; Master Tian pledged twenty thousand taels to the operation.
• Guangxuan declared that no North Mountain monsters, including the Secret Method Cultivator, would be allowed to escape, and Zhao Qing announced that Thousand Wood Temple would also participate.

Wang Ping and his companions helped organize a mountain search while Guangxuan developed a fortified camp that could later support Shu County. As the assembled team prepared to enter the demon-infested forest, the demons attacked with catapult-launched boulders that fell outside the camp.

• The Shu County Deputy Magistrate brought soldiers and conscripts to North Mountain, and Xia Yao, Guangxuan, and Feng Miao discussed the failing authority of the Imperial Court.
• Wang Ping meditated with Yulian and refined the killing intent in his State of Mind before joining Feng Miao and Xia Yao in the morning.
• Wang Ping saw that Qi practitioners had built a bridge and fortified camp overnight, and Guangxuan explained that developing North Mountain would provide Shu County with a future village and source of food and tax revenue.
• Wang Kang and more recruits arrived, bringing the Mountain Search Team to more than fifteen hundred people, including two hundred armored soldiers.
• Wang Ping and the others spotted thick Demonic Qi in the forest, and Guangxuan warned that the demons would be dangerous if they gathered together.
• The demons launched more than ten enormous boulders toward the camp, but every boulder landed outside its defenses.

Wang Ping and the others faced a sudden monster assault on the camp as the defenders struggled to hold their formations and Sanhe Temple’s Qi practitioners joined the fighting. The battle escalated when North Mountain’s Mountain God arrived on a giant Eagle, while Secret Method Cultivators fought above the Clouds.

• Monsters and mobile catapults attacked the sentry tower, and Guangxuan sent soldiers and Sanhe Temple Qi practitioners to reinforce it.
• Militia fighters initially held back the monsters, but boulders routed the armored soldiers until a man rallied the militia with local ballads.
• The monsters seized the sentry tower, and Feng Miao charged their ranks before a massive stitched monster attacked her.
• Guangxuan sent Qi practitioners into battle as heavily armored monsters and a four-armed human demon joined the fighting; Xia Yao confronted the human demon.
• A giant Eagle carrying North Mountain’s Tiger Demon dived toward the militia while Secret Method Cultivators fought above the Clouds.

Wang Ping helped turn the battlefield against the Demons, then learned the fighting in the sky and the mountain search had produced results. Feng Miao reported that the human-trafficking network ran deep and promised to send word after she reported it.

• Wang Ping killed Tiger Demon with his Mountain Suppressing Art, then joined Feng Miao and Xia Yao to defeat their opponents.
• A damaged flag fell from the sky as two streaks of light fled and pursued each other, leaving the victors of the aerial battle unknown.
• The militia killed more than half the Demons, while the survivors escaped into the forest and the Guangxuan Organization began searching the mountains.
• Wang Ping learned that Daoist Gu Heng had defeated the Secret Method Cultivator and accepted Tiger Demon's Black Spear as a trophy to be reforged.
• Feng Miao told Wang Ping that the human-trafficking clues led to the battlefield as the final place where accounts were settled, and that the missing people had been transported there through a smuggling route.

Wang Ping, Feng Miao, and Xia Yao prepared to investigate the Monsters’ gathering place while Xia Yao struggled with whether to interfere in the case against Deputy Magistrate Shen Dong. The discovery that General Liu Yue’s family had been imprisoned for treason complicated the search, and the chapter ended as the group prepared for a nighttime assault on the lair at Red Mountain.

• Xia Yao questioned whether she should act against Shen Dong, while Wang Ping learned that she also cultivated the Divine Path.
• After meditating, Xia Yao said she still could not determine her position, and Feng Miao offered to kill Shen Dong if Xia Yao wished.
• Guangxuan reported that the search had driven most Monsters deeper into the mountains, and Wang Ping questioned why the Daoist Scripture Hall did not eliminate them outright.
• Wang Kang told Wang Ping that the Imperial Court had imprisoned General Liu Yue’s entire family for treason, prompting Xia Yao to question the proclamation.
• A Sanhe Temple practitioner led Wang Ping, Feng Miao, and Xia Yao into the mountains, where Guangxuan explained that the Monsters’ lair lay ahead on Red Mountain and planned an overnight attack.

Wang Ping and the search party discovered a city built by Monsters, then uncovered First Day’s presence and a palace where captives were drained by a strange formation. The chapter ended as Wang Ping, Feng Miao, Xia Yao, and Guangxuan reached the palace and Yulian sensed malice there.

• Qi practitioners and the Mountain Search Troop entered the Monster city, killed the Lesser Demons in the square, and found rat Yaos fleeing with silver and gold.
• Wang Ping and the others arrived and learned that the city had a Daoist training ground where Feng Miao sensed the aura of a False God created by First Day.
• A Qi practitioner afflicted with Fiery Burst charged the group, but Guangxuan destroyed his Qi Sea and killed two flaming fox Yaos with ice spikes.
• Feng Miao, Xia Yao, Wang Ping, and Guangxuan pursued the attackers through a treasure vault and a corridor containing a dead Sanhe Temple Qi practitioner.
• The four reached a vast palace where captives were bound to stone pillars and a formation drew out their Essence, Qi, and Spirit, while Yulian sensed malice.

Wang Ping and the others destroyed a dangerous altar in the ruins, rescued captives, and found Cai Tong, a disciple of Thousand Wood Temple. A mural revealed the Five Elements Condensation Technique, which Wang Ping realized could be used to make grenades, while strange mechanisms began turning nearby.

• Wang Ping used divination to stop Feng Miao from approaching the altar, and his sword triggered a formation that melted the altar and damaged the stone pillars.
• Yulian shielded Wang Ping from the heat and its invading aura as the group waited for the palace to cool before rescuing captives.
• Guangxuan and Xia Yao led Qi practitioners into the ruins the next morning, while Wang Ping received a share of the recovered materials.
• Xia Yao told Wang Ping that a young disciple named Cai Tong, the student of Li Antian, had been found in an underground alchemy room.
• Cai Tong warned Wang Ping of a secret door, while Wang Ping examined a mural and learned the Five Elements Condensation Technique from his Light Screen Panel.
• Wang Ping realized he could use the technique to make grenades as gears began turning beside him.

Wang Ping and his companions discovered a horrific array that used living people to refine Spiritual Roots, then completed their return to Thousand Wood Temple. He reported the array’s method to Daoist Yucheng, who praised Wang Ping’s Innate Spiritual Root.

• Wang Ping, Feng Miao, Xia Yao, and Guangxuan entered the hidden hall and found more than a thousand living Human Pigs sustaining an Evil Array.
• Wang Ping’s Light Screen Panel identified the formation as a Yin-Yang Body Tempering Array that could improve Spiritual Roots, though its results were limited and uncertain.
• Guangxuan ordered the array destroyed, and the group withdrew as the Human Pigs screamed; afterward, Feng Miao and Xia Yao left the mountain search operation.
• Wang Ping traveled back with Feng Miao and Xia Yao, parted from them and Cai Tong in Shang'an Prefecture, and returned to Thousand Wood Temple in November.
• Wang Ping told Daoist Yucheng about the secret art he had found and the Yin-Yang Body Tempering Array, and Daoist Yucheng praised his Innate Spiritual Root.

Wang Ping returned to Mountain Top Courtyard, checked his disciples’ progress, and began practicing the Cleanse Technique while preparing to try the Five Elements Condensation Technique. He summoned Zhao Qing to discuss turning pills into weapons, and Zhao Qing asked whether they could sell the results to repay the Daoist temple’s debt.

• Wang Ping reunited with Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping, discovered Liu Shuang had neglected her scripture copying, and ordered her to make one hundred Bamboo Slips under Yulian’s supervision.
• Wang Ping resumed his routine at the Daoist temple and sent Liu Shuang to fetch Zhao Qing so they could discuss the Five Elements Condensation Technique.
• Wang Ping practiced the Cleanse Technique until he could clean a tabletop and chairs, while Yulian watched and began learning it too.
• Zhao Qing met with Wang Ping and asked whether pills made into weapons could be sold to help repay the Daoist Scripture Hall.

Wang Ping struggled to fund his cultivation while developing explosive Power Pills, and Thousand Wood Temple expanded its operations around him. He learned that the investigation into North Mountain had been suppressed, then settled into a routine of cultivation, teaching, and refining.

• Wang Ping told Zhao Qing he could not teach his secret art and asked him to seek Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang treasures, but Thousand Wood Temple lacked the money to buy them.
• Wang Ping spent months refining materials, then received Feng Miao's letter saying the Daoist Scripture Hall had ended the human-trafficking investigation at North Mountain in Shu County.
• Wang Ping successfully made his first hand grenade and demonstrated its destructive power to Zhao Qing and the other disciples, while warning that it had weaknesses and could detonate if exposed to spiritual energy.
• Zhao Qing brought Wang Ping a sword forged from the Tiger Demon's spear and a letter from Guangxuan confirming that the North Mountain investigation had been suppressed.
• Wang Ping named his next five explosives Power Pills and wrapped them in Two Forms Vine Bark, while Zhao Qing organized temple expansion and Wang Ping continued cultivating, teaching, and refining.

In Year 5 of Longyuan, Wang Ping perfected the Five Elements Condensation Technique and produced Power Pills, while his Disciples advanced in their training. He began teaching Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping Qi Refining, though he learned they would need at least ten years of hard cultivation to make progress.

• Wang Ping made a successful divination and went to the Alchemy Room to try combining the condensation and fusion steps of the Five Elements Condensation Technique.
• After several failed attempts, Wang Ping refined a Power Pill by sensing the Five Elements spiritual energy’s rhythm during quenching, then successfully made more pills, including refining two sets of ingredients at once.
• Wang Ping sent Yang Ziping to deliver two pouches of Power Pills to Zhao and request more Spiritual Medicine.
• Liu Shuang broke through in her martial practice and, at Wang Ping’s request, agreed to help Yang Ziping develop Qi Sensation.
• Wang Ping later taught Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping the Qi Cultivation Chapter of the Return to Origin Cultivation Technique and learned they would need at least ten years of arduous cultivation to achieve much.

Wang Ping learned that the Imperial Court had opened Martial Arts Examinations and watched Thousand Wood Temple profit as young martial artists trained there. Over the next several years, Zhao Qing used the temple’s wealth to acquire Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang treasures for Wang Ping, ending with the costly purchase of a Fire Crystal.

• Wang Kang told Wang Ping that Su Dun had placed third in the county Martial Arts Examination and that the new assessments offered official posts to martial candidates.
• Su Dun and other aspiring martial candidates came to Thousand Wood Temple to train, earning the temple thirty thousand taels, and Su Dun later passed the prefectural examination and became a City Gate Commander.
• At year’s end, Zhao Qing gave Wang Ping the temple’s Power Pill sales account, and Wang Ping left the accumulated gold as temple reserves for purchasing Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang treasures.
• Zhao Qing bought a Bone Stone from a Taiyin Sect cultivator for five hundred thirty thousand taels, and Wang Ping entrusted it to Daoist Yucheng.
• In the eighth year of Foundation Establishment, Zhao Qing spent nearly all the temple’s accumulated wealth to buy a Fire Crystal for twelve hundred Gold Ingots, and Wang Ping accepted the expensive purchase as worthwhile.

Wang Ping oversaw the construction of the Strange Pavilion, a costly, pillar-free structure intended for the Yin-Yang Body Tempering Grand Formation. After its completion, Daoist Yucheng and Daoist Gu Heng arrived to begin secluded cultivation inside it.

• Daoist Yucheng and Daoist Gu Heng identified a Feng Shui treasure ground and instructed Zhao Qing to build a spacious tower without interior pillars.
• Zhao Qing estimated the project would cost at least 1.2 million taels of silver, and Wang Ping told him the tower would let him continue his cultivation.
• The pavilion took two years to build, with the Prefectural Office of Yongshan County conscripting six hundred laborers to help finish it.
• After a favorable divination, Wang Ping visited the completed Strange Pavilion with Daoist Yucheng and Daoist Gu Heng.
• Daoist Yucheng ordered Zhao Qing to bring in the prepared materials and keep everyone from disturbing them during their secluded cultivation.

Wang Ping and the elders completed the Yin-Yang Body Tempering Grand Formation and tested it on Qi practitioners seeking to improve their Spiritual Roots. Zhao Qing endured the treatment, while Wang Kang gave up, and Daoist Yucheng called for Lu Xin to try next.

• Wang Ping spent half a month inscribing formation runes, then worked with Gu Heng to place the yin- and yang-attributed spiritual objects throughout the pavilion.
• Wang Ping installed the Bone Stone and Fire Crystal as the Array Eyes, activating the formation and stabilizing its Yin-Yang Attribute progress at 75/100.
• Gu Heng and Daoist Yucheng determined that the formation required guidance from cultivators at Qi Refining Completion and that its runes needed daily cleaning.
• Daoist Yucheng selected his four successful Registered Disciples for the first group, while Gu Heng left to bring two more candidates.
• Zhao Qing endured four hours in the formation, but Wang Kang quit after half an hour and was told to call Lu Xin in.
• Wang Ping returned to his Mountain Top Courtyard to continue his Foundation Establishment.

Wang Ping received the Spirit Condensation Method and Wood Spirit Art from Daoist Yucheng, beginning the next stage of his cultivation. He realized he could attempt to condense his divine soul immediately, while his disciples and Wang Kang made choices about their own paths.

• Liu Shuang sparred with Yang Ziping, then happily asked Wang Ping about the Strange Pavilion and received permission to explore the temple grounds.
• Wang Ping read Su Dun's letter asking him to care for Su Dun's children if anything happened to him while suppressing a rebellion.
• Wang Kang told Wang Ping he was leaving for the Martial Arts Examination in Capital City rather than continuing cultivation.
• Daoist Yucheng gave Wang Ping the Spirit Condensation Method and Wood Spirit Art, explaining that both were vital to becoming a Secret Method Cultivator.
• Wang Ping learned from the Light Screen Panel that he could attempt to condense his divine soul repeatedly, and considered completing the first step that day.

Wang Ping began secluded training with Daoist Yucheng to Condense Divine Soul, using Yulian’s guidance to enter the Psionic World and learning to ignore its dangerous voices. After a month of practice, he was still working toward Daoist Yucheng’s demanding standard of sustaining the state for a quarter hour.

• Daoist Yucheng took Wang Ping to the Back Mountain for a month of secluded cultivation, while Wang Ping kept one hour each day to instruct Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping.
• With Yulian guiding him, Wang Ping entered the Psionic World, but listening to a strange voice overwhelmed him and returned him to his body.
• Daoist Yucheng warned Wang Ping not to listen to Spiritual Monsters and had him practice again, where distractions repeatedly scattered his divine soul.
• Wang Ping returned to his disciples, encouraged Yang Ziping to spar, nourished the Old Huai Tree, and gave Liu Shuang silver to buy shrimp for Yulian.
• A month later, Wang Ping prepared for his three-hundredth attempt to Condense Divine Soul, still trying to satisfy Daoist Yucheng’s quarter-hour requirement amid specific noise.