Chapter Summaries

Crown Prince Liu Yi told Zuo Xuan that his father’s damaged Qi Sea had led Chief Zhi Gong to recommend fusing with a demonic weapon to advance, but Zuo Xuan challenged the decision and delayed the abdication. After returning to Thousand Wood Mountain, Zuo Xuan learned that Daoist Zi Luan planned to return to the Six Hearts Sect in half a month.

• Liu Yi visited Zuo Xuan and explained that his father’s Qi Sea had collapsed while cultivating, leaving him to seek advancement by fusing with a demonic weapon.
• Zuo Xuan reprimanded Liu Yi for agreeing to Chief Zhi Gong’s proposal and ordered him to explain the decision within two months before any abdication ceremony could take place.
• Zuo Xuan left for Thousand Wood Mountain and warned her attendant not to agree to anything at the Chief Council while she was away.
• Zuo Xuan reached the Back Mountain dojo, where Zhao Gan reported that Daoist Zi Luan would return to the Six Hearts Sect in half a month.

During secluded cultivation, Wang Ping advanced his Heaven Connecting Talisman but struggled to condense his Primordial Spirit, while Yulian again urged him to try the Divine Art Array. After checking events through his Puppets, Wang Ping learned that Emperor Liu Jie planned to abdicate to his eldest son and dismissed the resulting problems as distant concerns.

• Yulian guarded Wang Ping during his meditation and asked him to have two mature Silverback Fish grilled.
• Wang Ping found that his Heaven Connecting Talisman fusion had reached 86/100, but attempts to cast spells with his Primordial Spirit still failed.
• Wang Ping activated his tea-making Puppet and used the Cave Heaven Mirror's transfer array to inspect the consciousnesses of his hundreds of Puppets across the south.
• Wang Ping realized that the number of enlightened Puppets he could control was limited, and that creating another would extinguish the consciousness of an existing one.
• Wang Ping learned that Liu Jie planned to abdicate the throne to his eldest son, then told Yulian the political problems did not concern him yet.

Wang Ping tested the Divine Art Array and used it to cast a basic Blessing Talisman, then concluded that he needed to build a spiritual energy barrier around his Primordial Spirit to cast spells reliably. As he rested, he sensed a funeral on Winter Water Mountain and recognized the deceased as He Jiu.

• Wang Ping activated the Divine Art Array and examined its broken map of Central Province and the believers who sustained the embryonic Divine Kingdom.
• Wang Ping severed the believers' prayers, cast a Blessing Talisman through the Heaven Connecting Talisman, and experienced nearly three hundred years of the Spirit Wood tree's past.
• Wang Ping stopped using the array and told Yulian that he needed to construct a spiritual energy barrier around his Primordial Spirit before he could cast spells.
• Yulian sensed a funeral on Winter Water Mountain, and Wang Ping recognized the deceased as He Jiu.
• Yulian noticed Zuo Xuan approaching a Daoist priest and asked Wang Ping whether he would go see her.

Zuo Xuan visited Wang Ping to discuss Zi Luan’s return, the upheaval within the Six Hearts Sect, and threats to the Southern Cultivation World. Wang Ping supported her goals as a Thousand Wood Temple disciple but refused to share the karmic burden, then assigned her to attend Zi Luan’s succession ceremony and consult Shuang’er about the Chu Kingdom’s succession.

• Zuo Xuan arrived at Wang Ping’s courtyard, where Yulian and the Sanhua cat eased her tension with their play.
• Wang Ping advised Zuo Xuan to withdraw from Dao Palace affairs and enter Secluded Cultivation, while she warned that Zi Luan’s return and the Chu Kingdom’s change of throne could destabilize the Southern Cultivation World.
• Wang Ping argued that compassion, justice, and greed could entangle Cultivators in worldly karma, and Zuo Xuan explained that she wanted to protect Southern Cultivators because she had once longed to be needed.
• Wang Ping accepted Zuo Xuan as a Thousand Wood Temple disciple and supported her purpose, but told her to bear its consequences herself.
• Wang Ping told Zuo Xuan to attend Zi Luan’s succession ceremony in his place and discuss the Chu Kingdom’s throne with Shuang’er; Zuo Xuan then reported news about the Soul Lure.

After recognizing that he had taken Zuo Xuan’s support for granted, Wang Ping decided to help her pass her Mortal World Tribulation and sent a letter to Hu Yin to discuss matters with the Dao Palace. While reflecting on how cultivation had made him self-important, he was interrupted by the sound of fighting from Winter Water Mountain.

• Yulian prompted Wang Ping to consider whether he had truly treated Zuo Xuan as a fellow cultivator, and he admitted he had relied on her too much.
• Wang Ping decided to help Zuo Xuan pass her Mortal World Tribulation and wrote to Hu Yin to sound out her views on Dao Palace matters.
• Wang Ping sent Yulian to Baishui Lake with his letter and ID Badge for Qianqian to deliver to Hu Yin in Ningzhou Road.
• Wang Ping reflected with Mingshui on how constant flattery had made him take others’ efforts for granted and become too self-important.
• Mingshui suggested Wang Ping might have misunderstood his Master’s intentions, and Wang Ping heard fighting from Winter Water Mountain.

As Thousand Wood Temple’s growing ranks fueled internal disputes, Zuo Xuan halted a fight over He Jiu’s demonic weapon and arranged a contest to decide its owner. Wang Ping declined to intervene, meditated through the night with Yulian above the Great Sea, and returned to find He Jiu’s disciples unharmed.

• Wang Ping and Yulian watched Zuo Xuan stop two groups from fighting over He Jiu’s demonic weapon on Winter Water Mountain.
• Yulian asked Wang Ping to defend He Jiu’s disciples, but he argued that Zuo Xuan should resolve the dispute and protect them from the consequences of possessing the weapon.
• Zuo Xuan arranged a contest between the rival groups, with the victor set to receive the demonic weapon and compensation expected for He Jiu’s disciples.
• Wang Ping meditated on Yulian’s head as she drifted above the Great Sea, then watched her dive into the water to catch fish and shrimp.
• Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Temple and found He Jiu’s disciples unharmed before beginning his daily cultivation.

After seven years away, Xia Weny returned to Thousand Wood Temple with two clan disciples and was directed to assist his Master, Wang Ping. As Wang Ping prepared to enter Secluded Cultivation amid the temple’s preparations for Hu Yin’s visit, Xia Weny arrived at his courtyard to greet him.

• Xia Weny returned to Thousand Wood Temple, presented his credentials, and instructed the riverside temple keeper to register the three horses as inner-court property.
• At the Ascension Platform, disciples identified Xia Weny as True Monarch Changqing’s disciple, and he learned that Hu Yin was coming to the sect.
• Daoist Yucheng told Xia Weny to go to Wang Ping’s dojo and help for the day, then agreed to let Xia Weny’s two clan disciples stay in the inner court until he had a dojo of his own.
• After Xia Weny left, Daoist Yucheng studied the Sacred Divination and called him a true flawless jade who had taken form.
• Wang Ping and his attendants prepared the courtyard while Wang Ping and Yulian discussed keeping it sealed during his upcoming Secluded Cultivation.
• Xia Weny reached Wang Ping’s courtyard and formally greeted him as his Master.

Xia Weny reported on the Upper Capital region’s recovery and the alliance of three Cultivator factions seeking to claim territory, while Wang Ping began preparing him for the Immortal Realm. After sending Xia Weny to greet an arriving guest, Wang Ping explained to Yulian why he was carefully guiding his disciples and admitted that leaving behind a trusted lineage gave him something to hold on to as he faced the Fourth Realm.

• Xia Weny told Wang Ping that Cultivators rebuilt the Upper Capital region, fought over relics, and formed three rival factions that later allied to claim territory.
• Wang Ping reasoned that the factions must have been offered terms worth risking their lives for, and Xia Weny declared that no terms would make him abandon his dignity.
• Wang Ping gave Xia Weny a jade slip and money, instructed him to cultivate a Wood Spirit Spiritual Meridian and establish a dojo on Thousand Wood Mountain, and promised to guide him before Foundation Establishment.
• Wang Ping sent Xia Weny to greet Hu Yin and her clansmen, who were expected to arrive soon.
• Wang Ping told Yulian that Xia Weny needed guidance to avoid following Xia Yao’s path, and said he wanted trusted disciples to carry on his lineage if he followed Lord Xiaoshan’s path.

Wang Ping met Hu Yin to discuss an alliance and learned how Zhi Gong had been deliberately inflaming disputes across Dao Palace territory. The chapter ended with Wang Ping suspecting that Zhi Gong intended to provoke Haizhou Road into rebellion.

• Wang Ping welcomed Hu Yin and her party to his Spirit Wood grove, then discussed the Datong Marquisate's military buildup on Shanwu Road.
• Hu Yin asked Wang Ping to speak on her tribe's behalf in the coming struggle over Central Province's divine artifact, and he agreed to write a letter.
• While playing Go, Wang Ping asked Hu Yin what Zhi Gong intended to do.
• Hu Yin explained that Zhi Gong had stirred conflicts between cultivators on Mozhou Road and Haizhou Road to weaken Haizhou Road's unity and advance her plans.
• Hu Yin said Zhi Gong's actions had benefited Thousand Wood Temple by driving cultivators to attach themselves to it, and Wang Ping asked whether Zhi Gong meant to force Haizhou Road into rebellion.

Wang Ping discussed Haizhou Road and its possible rebellion with Hu Yin, then checked on his disciples' cultivation and asked Daoist Yuanzheng about improving Spiritual Roots. The chapter left him seeking news about the Demon Race formation and Su Hai's missing Disciple.

• Hu Yin explained Haizhou Road's control by Qingjiang and said Daoist Zhi Gong cared about her reputation because of her strict Master, Wan Zhi.
• Wang Ping warned Hu Yin not to deceive him, then tasked Hu Qianqian and Zuo Xuan with investigating Haizhou Road without spreading their conversation.
• Hu Yin left for Jinhuai Prefecture City, and Yulian checked Shen Xiaozhu's stable but time-pressured cultivation progress.
• Wang Ping found Xia Weny's marrow cleansing less than one-third complete and asked Daoist Yuanzheng whether his Spiritual Root could be improved.
• Daoist Yuanzheng explained how Spiritual Root quality affected cultivation, prompting Wang Ping to ask about the Demon Race formation and Su Hai's Disciple, who had not returned from the north.

Wang Ping learned that people unconsciously forgot matters connected to Xuan Ling, and he hosted a formal visit from Demon Race elders at his dojo. At a family banquet, Wang Yang revealed his plan to leave and die at Thousand Wood Temple, while Wang Ping tried to draw the withdrawn Liu Shuang closer.

• Daoist Yuanzheng told Wang Ping that people seemed to forget things involving Xuan Ling, and Wang Ping recalled that an unknown force had altered his and Yulian’s memories when they examined Xuan Ling’s Spirit Sea consciousness.
• Daoist Yuanzheng said the Demon Race formation had been found in a small kingdom and might be brought back in two or three years.
• Demon Race elders visited Wang Ping’s Mountain Top Dojo with Daoist Yucheng and Ruan Chunzi, who later warned Wang Ping that the Demon Race could be swept into conflict with humans.
• Wang Ping, his disciples, and the Daoists drank together; Wang Yang said he planned to travel the world and die facing Thousand Wood Temple in a hundred years.
• Wang Ping encouraged Wang Yang to maintain his state of mind and gently reminded Liu Shuang of her liveliness as a young disciple, prompting Daoist Yucheng to pour her wine and ask her to toast her Master.

Wang Ping worked on a path for Liu Shuang to advance to the Third Realm of Wood Gathering Art while preparing Thousand Wood Temple’s disciples for the Six Hearts Sect’s succession ceremony. He led a group toward the Capital City, sensing a faint connection between himself and the people below.

• Wang Ping considered how to help Liu Shuang merge spirit-body consciousness, strengthen her soul, and refine her spirit veins while avoiding the dangers of frenzied memories and awakened spirit-vein consciousness.
• Wang Ping taught Xia Weny in the mornings and tested his cultivation ideas on Liu Shuang in the afternoons, and Liu Shuang grew more comfortable speaking with him.
• Daoist Yuanzheng told Wang Ping that Shangdan Sect would reserve a bottle of Sacred Heart Pills for him from each thirty years of production.
• Guangxuan and Liu Chang arrived from Sanhe Temple, and Wang Ping invited them to join the group attending Zi Luan’s succession ceremony at the Six Hearts Sect.
• Wang Ping named Liu Shuang, Guangxuan, Liu Chang, and twelve Immortal Realm disciples to accompany him, then led them toward the Capital City as the Heavenly Sword stirred and he sensed a faint connection with the people below.

Zi Luan questioned Daoist Wanzhi about the Six Hearts Sect, his missing junior brother Xiu Yu, and Xiao Shan’s plans to replace Changqing’s Primordial Spirit. After Daoist Wanzhi and the Star Demoness discussed who might be supported, Zi Luan returned to his dojo and learned that True Monarch Changqing had arrived.

• Daoist Wanzhi told Zi Luan that Xiu Yu had been intended to inherit the Six Hearts Sect but disappeared after the events in Capital City, and Zi Luan admitted he had helped Changqing’s plan.
• Daoist Wanzhi offered to protect Zi Luan if he pursued the Fourth Realm, but he asked about Xiao Shan’s condition and revealed Xiao Shan had given him an array formation intended to replace another cultivator’s Primordial Spirit.
• The Star Demoness warned Daoist Wanzhi that Zi Luan’s plan to replace Changqing’s Primordial Spirit could fail and cost him his life.
• The Star Demoness said they would support whoever was most qualified, including Xiu Yu if he could turn defeat into victory.
• Zi Luan returned to his dojo, where Hong Yuan told him that True Monarch Changqing had arrived.

Wang Ping arrived at the Six Hearts Sect ahead of its grand ceremony and learned that Yue Ziyu had been seen on Cangxia Island in Linshui Prefecture. Liu Chang proposed coordinating with the Third Prince’s faction to track Yue Ziyu, while Hong Yuan arrived seeking an audience with Wang Ping.

• Wang Ping greeted representatives from other sects and settled into a prepared courtyard at the Six Hearts Sect.
• Guangxuan asked Wang Ping to admit Liu Chang to their gathering, and Liu Chang pledged to remain a Sanhe Temple disciple as he prepared to advance to the Second Realm.
• Guangxuan revealed that Yue Ziyu had appeared on Cangxia Island, where an Eighth Prince’s disciple had spotted him.
• Liu Chang explained that tensions between the Seventh Prince and the Third Prince could soon erupt and offered to persuade the Third Prince’s disciples to cooperate with the Chu Kingdom to track Yue Ziyu.
• Yulian told Wang Ping that Hong Yuan had come to see him at Zi Luan’s behest, and Liu Shuang announced Hong Yuan’s request for an audience.

Zi Luan and Wang Ping explored Xiu Yu's abandoned Daoist Ground and discussed Xiu Yu's disappearance, Zhi Gong's plan, and Lord Xiaoshan's composite array. Zi Luan ultimately told Wang Ping he could not reproduce the array to help his Master cultivate faster.

• Zi Luan showed Wang Ping the resilient vines Xiu Yu used in his Sealing Array and described how quickly Xiu Yu had merged his Primordial Spirit with the Heaven Connecting Talisman.
• Zi Luan and Wang Ping entered the backyard, where Zi Luan uncovered a crystal sealing dozens of Wood Spirit creatures beneath the Eight Trigrams Array.
• Wang Ping and Zi Luan discussed their lack of news about Xiu Yu and the assassin, and Wang Ping explained Zhi Gong's plan to Zi Luan.
• Zi Luan supported Zhi Gong's plan for Haizhou Road and said it might force Xiu Yu out of hiding.
• Wang Ping asked Zi Luan to reproduce Lord Xiaoshan's composite array for his Master's cultivation, but Zi Luan said he could not.

Wang Ping sought a way to help his master, Daoist Yucheng, cultivate a spirit body and Primordial Spirit, but Zi Luan warned that the composite array was unsuitable and beyond Wang Ping’s abilities. As a fight broke out at the Six Hearts Sect, Qin Zifeng intervened and killed an Earth Cave Sect cultivator.

• Wang Ping asked Zi Luan about Lord Xiaoshan’s composite array, hoping to help Daoist Yucheng, but Zi Luan explained that the method would not suit his master and that Wang Ping lacked the strength to use it.
• Zi Luan introduced his youngest disciple, Qin Zifeng, who respectfully greeted Wang Ping as Martial Uncle Changqing while harboring faint hostility and ambition to surpass him.
• Qin Zifeng told Zi Luan that disciples from several sects were clashing with Daoist Zhi Gong’s followers at the front hall, and Zi Luan ordered him to handle the trouble as he saw fit.
• At the front hall, two Foundation Establishment cultivators fought while Hong Yuan tried to restore order, and Qin Zifeng suggested killing them.
• When an Immortal Realm cultivator from the Earth Cave Sect tried to stop two Gold cultivators, Qin Zifeng struck with three short swords and cut him in half.

Hong Yuan and Qin Zifeng suppressed a confrontation at the Six Hearts Sect, while Gan Xing and Wu Quan arrived to confront the gathered cultivators. Later, Zi Luan and Wang Ping discussed the coming struggle over a divine artifact and the possible rise of regional powers, and Qin Zifeng returned after the visitors reached a conclusion.

• Hong Yuan used talismans to destroy a pagoda attack from Shuang Yang’s Earth Cave Sect group, while Hong Jing of the Haizhou Road Dao Palace tried to provoke the Six Hearts Sect.
• Qin Zifeng rebuked Hong Jing, and Gan Xing and Wu Quan arrived, silencing the gathered cultivators and demanding to meet Wang Ping and Changqing.
• Zi Luan, Wang Ping, Gan Xing, and Wu Quan exchanged intelligence and discussed the coming chaos and the contest between Chu Kingdom and the Datong Marquisate for a divine artifact.
• Zi Luan predicted that instructions would arrive after he became headmaster of the Six Hearts Sect and said they should let the decision follow the will of the people.
• Wu Quan and Gan Xing discussed Zhi Gong’s plan to seek the Fourth Realm and the strength of the Haizhou Road cultivators, while Zi Luan suspected they had staged the plaza clash to test the sect’s response.
• Qin Zifeng returned, and Zi Luan concluded that the visitors had reached a decision.

Wang Ping and his allies discussed Haizhou Road’s proposal for a life-and-death arena battle and learned that Daoist Zhi Gong had accepted it. Wang Ping proposed letting Zhi Gong lead a more direct attack on Haizhou Road, then planned to return to Thousand Wood Temple.

• Qin Zifeng told Zi Luan and the others that Haizhou Road had proposed the arena battle, and he suspected its Cultivators had allies in other sects.
• Wang Ping sent a message and discussed how Thousand Wood Temple might be drawn into the conflict, while Yulian went to look at Xiu Yu’s fishpond.
• Daoist Zhi Gong replied that she agreed to the arena battle, prompting Wang Ping to ask if he could withdraw from the dispute.
• Wu Quan suggested killing Haizhou Road’s Disciples to create a reason to withdraw, and Zi Luan entertained expanding the attack.
• Wang Ping advised letting Daoist Zhi Gong take the lead and offered to discuss the plan with her before returning to Thousand Wood Temple.

Wang Ping rested at Baishui Lake with Liu Shuang, Hu Qianqian, and their companions before hearing how Zhi Gong’s plan to target Haizhou Road was progressing. He approved Zuo Xuan’s request to lead Thousand Wood Temple’s disciples in the coming operation and told Liu Shuang to enter secluded cultivation with him, then asked about the Soul Lure.

• Wang Ping rested at Baishui Lake while Liu Shuang and Hu Qianqian played the zither, and he healed the young foxes Hu Miao and Hu Xin with Blessing Talismans and Wood Spirit Qi.
• Liu Shuang brought Zuo Xuan and Guangxuan to Wang Ping after Yulian spotted their arrival, and they reported that Zhi Gong’s allies had attacked and framed Haizhou Road cultivators.
• Zuo Xuan said the Haizhou Road cultivation world could no longer ignore the conflict and requested to represent Thousand Wood Temple in Zhi Gong’s coming operation.
• Wang Ping approved Zuo Xuan’s request and told Liu Shuang to avoid the operation and enter secluded cultivation with him.
• Wang Ping asked Zuo Xuan whether any news had returned regarding the Soul Lure.

At True Sun Mountain, Qiu Wang and Wen Hai investigated the disappearance of a man called Daoist Cang Lian, who had been arranging a transaction involving True Monarch Changqing. Qiu Wang suspected the canceled meeting concealed a larger plot and ordered a broad investigation.

• Qiu Wang told Wen Hai that a war over the world's divine artifacts could bring bloodshed to Jianglin Road and help him reach the Third Realm.
• Wen Hai asked Qiu Wang about the missing contact for his transaction, and Qiu Wang explained that the sects on True Sun Mountain belonged to several factions.
• A Single Saber Sect disciple reported that Daoist Cang Lian had lived beneath Moon Mountain but vanished after returning to his courtyard seven days earlier.
• Qiu Wang ordered his disciple to investigate everyone Daoist Cang Lian had met, using both local officials and covert agents.
• Qiu Wang and Wen Hai reasoned that the transaction may have been canceled because its organizers realized True Monarch Changqing would not attend in person.
• Qiu Wang concluded that Daoist Cang Lian was a big fish and vowed to search for the traces he had left behind.