Recaps

After Xiang Yuan defeated a Yellow Springs Dao ghost-controller, he reviewed the fight and resolved to deepen his martial arts and cultivation. Xu Jixian offered to repay him, and Xiao He proposed paying Xiang Yuan’s academy tuition, though the academy was not accepting students.

• Xiang Yuan stayed at Xu Residence to recover and review his battle while Xu Jixian and Xiao He argued over who deserved credit for the victory.
• Xiang Yuan reflected on his past fights, studied the Lone Star Chasing Moon slash, and decided to keep training toward Acupoint Opening.
• Xu Jixian’s servant brought Old Liu and another constable, and Xiang Yuan reported how he had killed the Yellow Springs Dao disciple.
• Xu Jixian offered Xiang Yuan a reward, and Xiao He suggested that Xu pay his tuition so Xiang Yuan could study at the academy.
• After learning the academy was not accepting students, Xu Jixian agreed to beg the teacher by rolling on the ground.

Xiang Yuan attended classes at Yulin Academy, where Xiao He and Xu Jixian’s boastful behavior alienated the other students. After Wang Wenxu challenged the class to write a farming poem, Xiang Yuan decided to borrow a poem from Li and Du.

• Xiang Yuan listened to Wang Wenxu’s lecture while advancing his qi through the Ren Meridian and admiring a sword he believed belonged to Sima Qingyan.
• At lunch, Xiao He and Xu Jixian claimed that Sima Qingyan was secretly pursuing each of them, earning the contempt of nearby students.
• Xu Jixian failed to persuade Wang Wenxu to excuse Xiang Yuan from classwork, so Wang Wenxu arranged to test Xiang Yuan with questions.
• Wang Wenxu taught a lesson on farming and assigned the students to write a poem about it.
• Xiang Yuan saw Xiao He and Xu Jixian begin writing and decided to copy a poem, silently asking Li and Du for help.

Xiang Yuan submitted a famous poem about farmers’ labor, which Wang Wenxu recognized as extraordinary despite initially judging it merely acceptable. The poem topped the class noticeboard, while the students wondered how its author could be associated with Xiao He and Xu Jixian.

• Xiao He presented a poem praising the carefree riches of farming, and Wang Wenxu beat him for ignoring the lesson about farmers’ hardships.
• Xu Jixian offered a poem about an ox plowing at midnight and a tree welcoming spring, leaving Wang Wenxu furious and speechless.
• Xiang Yuan claimed he had borrowed Toiling Farmers from an elder named Li Shen, and Wang Wenxu praised it as acceptable before collecting it.
• Wang Wenxu became increasingly absorbed in the poem’s depth and simplicity, and he overlooked Sima Qingyan’s work while continuing to ponder Xiang Yuan’s talent.
• Wang Wenxu posted Toiling Farmers at the top of the noticeboard, and the students debated its plain language and lasting appeal.
• Sima Qingyan learned that Xiang Yuan had written the poem but had left with Xiao He and Xu Jixian, and she worried his association with them would hold him back.

Xiang Yuan earned Wang Wenxu’s approval and enrolled at the academy, but he refused to abandon Xiao He and Xu Jixian. The three headed south to visit Xu Jixian’s family graves, giving Xiang Yuan a chance to investigate the mass burial ground for yin energy that could aid his cultivation.

• Xiang Yuan let Xiao He and Xu Jixian take credit for his poem before Wang Wenxu praised his writing and invited him to study at the academy.
• Wang Wenxu tested Xiang Yuan by offering to fund his studies if he cut ties with Xiao He and Xu Jixian, but Xiang Yuan chose to remain loyal to them.
• Wang Wenxu accepted Xiang Yuan as a student, told him to pay his own expenses, and warned Xiao He and Xu Jixian not to lead him astray.
• Xiao He and Xu Jixian took Xiang Yuan away in a carriage and discussed visiting the mass burial ground to collect sticks for Xiao He’s divine weapon vault.
• Xiang Yuan saw the trip as a chance to scout the mass burial ground for yin energy that could help him cultivate the Thirteen Transformations of Yin Wind and Ghost Mist.

Xiang Yuan accompanied Xu Jixian and Xiao He to the mass grave, where he learned that Yellow Springs Dao fiends had entered Fengxian County and were connected to a new ghost attack. After pulling Xiao He away from the grave, Xiang Yuan urged Xu Jixian to finish quickly and return before dark.

• Xiang Yuan noticed that Wang Wenxu's calligraphy felt lighter, and Xiao He explained that some of its Vast Righteous Qi had been used to exorcise a ghost.
• Xiang Yuan learned that Xu Jixian was paying to send him to the academy as thanks for saving his life.
• At the mass grave, Xiao He wandered among the graves collecting yin soldiers while Xu Jixian and Xiang Yuan prepared to pay respects to Xu Jixian's ancestors.
• Xiang Yuan met Old Liu and learned that Wei Kun had died after mistaking a bridal sedan near the mass grave for his own wedding procession.
• Old Liu reported that Yellow Springs Dao fiends had entered the city, and Xiang Yuan suspected they were behind both Wei Kun's death and Xu Jixian's ghost encounter.
• Xiang Yuan dragged Xiao He back to the carriage and urged Xu Jixian to finish quickly so they could return to the county seat before dark.

Xiang Yuan and his companions left the cemetery and became trapped in a ghostly maze at the mass grave. Separated from Xiao He and Xu Jixian, Xiang Yuan resisted a series of tempting illusions and cut through the final vision of his master, Old Daoist Quexin.

• Xu Jixian paid respects to the Xu family ancestors at the cemetery and vowed to study hard.
• Xiang Yuan, Xiao He, and Xu Jixian crossed the mass grave safely at first, but a thick mist turned them back into it.
• The horse bolted, and Xiang Yuan discovered that Xiao He and Xu Jixian had vanished from the carriage.
• Xiang Yuan faced a sinister laugh that filled the mist with illusions of women, wealth, weapons, and treasures.
• Xiang Yuan broke through the illusions and slashed the vision of Old Daoist Quexin in two.

Xiang Yuan fought Sima Qingyan, a Yellow Springs Dao disciple and the county magistrate’s daughter, inside a dangerous formation. After their weapons broke and Cold Blood went offline, Xiang Yuan continued fighting with Buddhist martial arts, while Xiao He watched from outside and insisted Qingyan was no match for him.

• Xiang Yuan entered the Gate of Death and attacked the black-robed woman, who revealed herself as Sima Qingyan.
• Sima Qingyan and Xiang Yuan clashed with their ultimate arts, and Xiang Yuan recognized her as a Yellow Springs Dao disciple.
• Xiang Yuan used Everlasting Killing Intent and pressured Sima Qingyan with relentless saber strikes, then broke her sword arm with Lone Star Chasing Moon as his saber shattered.
• Cold Blood went offline, but Xiang Yuan charged Sima Qingyan with his fists and fought using several Buddhist martial arts.
• Sima Qingyan realized Xiang Yuan’s apparent exhaustion was a deception, while Xiao He watched the battle from outside the formation and said Qingyan was no match for him.

Xiang Yuan fought Sima Qingyan while Xiao He, Wang Wenxu, and Xu Jixian watched from outside the formation and discussed recruiting him. As Xiang Yuan’s strength ran out and Sima Qingyan pressed her attack, Doubi arrived.

• Xiao He insisted that Xiang Yuan was the fated person he wanted to bring into his sect, while Wang Wenxu argued that he should teach him at the academy.
• Xiao He said he would accompany Xiang Yuan to the Southern Border and urged Wang Wenxu to open the formation so they could seek Xiang Yuan’s forgiveness.
• Sima Qingyan used her remaining strength to fight Xiang Yuan, while he relied on the Formless Seal Method and planned a decisive strike.
• Xiang Yuan used Lone Star Chasing Moon, but Sima Qingyan stopped his attack with two fingers and drained his spiritual energy.
• Sima Qingyan thrust her sword fingers toward Xiang Yuan as Doubi arrived.

Xiang Yuan defeated Sima Qingyan by using her sect’s sword technique, then took her hostage and confronted Xiao He, Xu Jixian, and Wang Wenxu. After guilting them into opening the formation gate, he left, while Xiao He continued pressuring Sima Qingyan to complete another task in exchange for an item.

• Xiang Yuan endured Sima Qingyan’s attack, wounded her, and taunted her until he could seize her sword.
• Xiang Yuan copied Sima Qingyan’s sect sword technique, defeated her, and held the blade to her neck.
• Xiao He, Xu Jixian, and Wang Wenxu appeared, and Xiao He claimed to be a Six Doors agent and Xiang Yuan’s fated companion.
• Xiang Yuan demanded that the three men kneel and accused Wang Wenxu of betraying him; Wang Wenxu dispelled the formation and let him leave.
• Xiao He refused to give Sima Qingyan the item because she had failed to defeat Xiang Yuan, and he followed her while offering an escort.

After defeating Sima Qingyan, Xiang Yuan stayed at the county yamen and focused on cultivation rather than returning to Xiao Residence. He reached the peak of the Qi Refining Stage, pawned his sword for money, and went to White Cloud Manor’s shop to seek pills for his next breakthrough.

• Xiang Yuan took Sima Qingyan’s sword as spoils and left her near the mass grave after claiming she owed him for sparing and protecting her.
• Xiang Yuan spent several days at the county yamen recovering, reviewing the fight, and cultivating until his Ren Meridian was fully open and he reached the peak of the Qi Refining Stage.
• Xiang Yuan decided not to seek help from Xiao He and considered selling belongings to afford supplements and pills for his breakthrough.
• Xiang Yuan pawned the sword for 1,500 taels of silver and headed to White Cloud Manor’s shop.

Xiang Yuan visited White Cloud Manor to buy pills and haggled the greeter down to a bargain price for a top-grade Acupoint Opening Pill. After the greeter persuaded him to consider a weapon, Xiang Yuan agreed to browse the manor’s rear courtyard.

• Xiang Yuan entered White Cloud Manor and bought a blood-replenishing pill for two hundred taels before realizing he had paid without haggling.
• Xiang Yuan chose a top-grade Acupoint Opening Pill and used a string of rhyming offers to bargain its price down from five hundred taels to three hundred and fifty.
• The greeter worried that the shopkeeper would punish him for the low price and followed Xiang Yuan, asking him not to reveal the deal.
• The greeter recommended that Xiang Yuan buy a weapon from White Cloud Manor instead of Forget Sword Manor.
• Xiang Yuan agreed to look around the rear courtyard, curious about its tea, music, and other attractions.

Xiang Yuan visited White Cloud Manor to shop for weapons, but the attendants tried to coax his remaining money from him. When Yue Huanjiang arrived and asked about Xiang Yuan’s business ideas, Xiang Yuan saw a chance to talk his way into a better deal.

• A shopkeeper scolded the front-courtyard attendant for selling Xiang Yuan an Acupoint Opening pill too cheaply and arranged for the rear courtyard to sell him an expensive weapon.
• Xiang Yuan pretended to flirt with his attendant, then browsed White Cloud Manor’s costly weapons while trying to avoid spending his remaining thousand taels.
• The attendant offered to discount a two-thousand-tael weapon to exactly Xiang Yuan’s budget, but refused to lower the price further.
• Yue Huanjiang introduced himself to Xiang Yuan and asked what he meant by membership prices and points.
• Xiang Yuan called his ideas a business secret and persuaded Yue Huanjiang to speak with him privately, while the shopkeeper followed warily.

Xiang Yuan impressed Yue Huanjiang and White Cloud Manor’s shopkeeper with a rambling business strategy for competing with Forget Sword Manor and enlisting the court’s influence. Yue Huanjiang interpreted his advice as a way to work with the Shendu Xiao Clan, then asked Xiang Yuan to become his sworn brother.

• Xiang Yuan explained how points and membership could attract and retain customers at White Cloud Manor.
• Xiang Yuan outlined a platform-based strategy involving events, coordinated businesses, and building White Cloud Manor’s reputation.
• When the shopkeeper asked how to profit if White Cloud Manor and Forget Sword Manor both competed, Xiang Yuan advised working with the government and finding a powerful ally.
• Yue Huanjiang inferred that the Shendu Xiao Clan could help White Cloud Manor and praised Xiang Yuan for resolving its predicament.
• Yue Huanjiang asked Xiang Yuan to become his sworn brother, and the two agreed to use tea in place of wine.

Xiang Yuan accepted Yue Huanjiang’s hospitality at White Cloud Manor, received a supreme-grade Acupoint Opening Pill, and replenished his blood and qi with medicinal food. He then began breaking through to the Acupoint Opening stage in the manor’s quiet rear courtyard.

• Yue Huanjiang treated Xiang Yuan to a feast, and Xiang Yuan complained that White Cloud Manor had no points or membership benefits.
• After learning Xiang Yuan had bought a superior-grade Acupoint Opening Pill, Yue Huanjiang refunded his money and gave him a supreme-grade pill for free.
• Yue Huanjiang connected Xiang Yuan’s injuries to Six Doors’ seizure of contraband pills and offered rare medicinal dishes to make amends.
• Xiang Yuan tactfully declined Yue Huanjiang’s attempt to recruit him, but accepted the medicinal food and a quiet place to practice.
• After replenishing his blood and qi, Xiang Yuan swallowed the supreme-grade Acupoint Opening Pill and began opening the Chengjiang acupoint.

Xiang Yuan made smooth progress opening his mouth aperture with the help of a top-grade Acupoint Opening Pill and Yue Huanjiang’s guidance. When Yue tried to court him with gifts, Xiao He barged in and found the two men holding hands.

• Xiang Yuan used the Formless Seal Method and a top-grade Acupoint Opening Pill to make rapid progress opening his mouth aperture.
• Xiang Yuan planned to perfect the mouth aperture before opening his eyes, and considered asking White Cloud Manor for another pill.
• Yue Huanjiang visited Xiang Yuan with gifts, and Xiang Yuan let Doubi pretend to return his feelings while accepting Yue’s attention.
• Xiao He stormed into the room, mistook Yue Huanjiang for a demoness, and demanded that he let go of Xiang Yuan.
• Xiao He grabbed Xiang Yuan’s other wrist and urged him to leave White Cloud Manor and return home with him.

Xiao He used his official document and status as King Zhao’s son to take Xiang Yuan away from White Cloud Manor, while Yue Huanjiang reluctantly let him go. On the way back, Xiang Yuan questioned Xiao He’s true identity and learned he would explain once they were alone.

• Xiao He confronted Yue Huanjiang and produced County Lieutenant Qin’s stamped order requiring Xiang Yuan to stay with and protect him.
• Xiang Yuan urged the two men to avoid a dispute, then told Yue Huanjiang he would visit for tea another day.
• Yue Huanjiang let Xiang Yuan leave and sent him off with a gift, while the shopkeeper explained that Xiao He was King Zhao’s disregarded son.
• Xiao He took Xiang Yuan along East Street, bought him snacks, and grew jealous when Xiang Yuan praised Yue Huanjiang.
• Xiang Yuan challenged Xiao He about ruining his chance at White Cloud Manor and asked who he really was; Xiao He promised to explain in private.

The author announced the new book's December 1 launch schedule and discussed their writing plans, style, and reader support. They ended by promoting fellow authors' books and returning to writing.

• The author said the book would go on sale at midnight on December 1, with updates at midnight on launch day and 9 a.m. afterward.
• The author said they had no ideas for another multiverse story and wrote because they felt compelled to write.
• The author reassured readers that their account and writing style had not changed, and said they would avoid upsetting plotlines.
• The author said there would be no reader group and that daily word counts would build toward seven or eight thousand words.
• The author listed books by fellow authors and said they were going back to writing.

Xiang Yuan examined Yue Huanjiang’s congratulatory gifts, including a saber, cultivation manuals, and hidden weapons, while Xiao He warned him about the manuals and explained his own secret role in the imperial directorates. The chapter left Xiao He declaring that he planned to exploit the conflict between the Heavenly Sect and the Demonic Beings in the Southern Border.

• Xiang Yuan admired the Tiger Roar Saber and its matching techniques, then found five foundational cultivation manuals covering all five elements.
• Xiao He warned Xiang Yuan that cultivating the manuals could bind him to Yue Huanjiang, but Xiang Yuan decided to ask White Cloud Manor about them.
• Xiang Yuan tested an arm-mounted crossbow among the remaining gifts and lamented that he had not possessed it and the saber during his fight with Sima Qingyan.
• Xiang Yuan asked Xiao He about Xu Jixian and why they both concealed their identities and acted foolishly.
• Xiao He explained the Twelve Directorates of the Capital and revealed that he belonged to the Snake division of the Imperial City Directorate, serving a secret imperial order in the Southern Border.
• Xiao He said he intended to exploit the struggle between the righteous Heavenly Sect and the demonic forces by sowing discord.

Xiang Yuan learned that Xiao He was an Imperial City Directorate operative who had manipulated events in Fengxian County and tried to recruit him for work involving the Southern Border. Although Xiang Yuan refused to commit, he considered joining to retrieve his martial uncle’s inheritance and agreed to visit the Directorate’s hidden headquarters at Xu Residence.

• Xiang Yuan learned that the court intended to pit the Southern Border Demonic Beings against the Heavenly Sect factions, and Xiao He revealed that he and Xu Jixian served the Imperial City Directorate.
• Xiao He explained that he controlled Sima Qingyan through evidence against her father, Sima Changhui, and had taught her Yellow Springs Dao techniques as part of his plan.
• Xiao He offered Xiang Yuan evidence against Sima Changhui, but Xiang Yuan declined to get involved and asked how Sima Qingyan had learned the Yellow Springs Dao techniques.
• Xiao He invited Xiang Yuan to join the Imperial City Directorate and gave him a map, while Xiang Yuan said he needed time to consider the offer because he planned to retrieve his martial uncle’s inheritance in the Southern Border.
• Xiao He revealed that the Directorate’s Fengxian headquarters was in a dry well at Xu Residence and invited Xiang Yuan to visit that night with him and Xu Jixian.

Xiang Yuan explored the Imperial City Directorate’s hidden base beneath the Xu Residence and learned about its secretive operations. He declined to join outright but accepted the prospect of training and an undercover identity, leaving the chapter considering whether the Formless Seal Method could provide the perfect disguise.

• Xiao He led Xiang Yuan through a hidden passage into the vast underground palace beneath the Xu Residence and showed him its intelligence records, weapons, manuals, and escape routes.
• Xiao He explained the Imperial City Directorate’s strict secrecy, its hierarchy, and his own identity as the Snake of the Twelve Earthly Branches.
• Xiang Yuan refused to commit to joining the Directorate, while Xiao He promised to arrange him an open identity and teach him disguise techniques so he could pursue martial training.
• Xiao He brought Xiang Yuan back to Xu Jixian, who demonstrated his human-skin masks and received the codename Black Ringed Snake; Xiang Yuan chose Bamboo Leaf Green instead of Five-Step Drop.
• Xu Jixian’s attempt to disguise himself as Xiang Yuan failed, and Xiang Yuan considered using the Formless Seal Method to transform his appearance.

Xiang Yuan chose to become a Protector of Righteousness in Song Family Village, despite learning that Yellow Springs Dao disciples planned to turn its residents into ghosts. After Wang Wenxu arrived to discuss Xiang Yuan joining the Imperial City Directorate, Xiao He demanded hundreds of lewd writings and matching paintings as compensation.

• Xiao He offered Xiang Yuan a free-to-roam Bao Yi Lang position and asked whether he preferred a village north or south of Fengxian; Xiang Yuan chose the south.
• Xiang Yuan selected Song Family Village from the available posts, and Xiao He warned that Yellow Springs Dao disciples meant to refine its hundred households into ghosts.
• Xiang Yuan learned that Wang Wenxu's informant in the Six Doors was Fengxian's chief constable, Liu Jingsheng, and then memorized a Yellow Springs Dao cultivation method.
• Wang Wenxu apologized for concealing his Imperial City Directorate role, while Xiang Yuan silently made him feel guilty.
• Xiao He demanded three to five hundred lewd writings and the same number of matching paintings from Wang Wenxu as compensation.

Xiang Yuan visited Yue Huanjiang, who revealed a secret Five Elements cultivation method and lent him a pearl to aid his training before leaving Dezhou. After seeing Yue Huanjiang off, Xiang Yuan returned to Xiao Residence with his appointment as Song Family Village constable and went to the academy, where Xu Jixian teased him and Sima Qingyan glared at him.

• Xiang Yuan visited Yue Huanjiang at White Cloud Manor and asked why the five cultivation methods he had received differed from ordinary Acupoint Opening cultivation.
• Yue Huanjiang told Xiang Yuan to cultivate all Five Elements in the cycle of generation and lent him a Five Elements Pearl to protect him from becoming trapped in one element.
• Xiang Yuan and Yue Huanjiang talked and shared poems until Yue Huanjiang said he was leaving for the Sect Gate and invited Xiang Yuan to visit him in Tongjing Prefecture.
• Xiang Yuan saw Yue Huanjiang off at dawn, then returned to Xiao Residence, where Xiao He told him that County Lieutenant Qin had approved his appointment as Song Family Village constable.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao He went to the academy, where Xu Jixian teased Xiang Yuan about staying out all night and Sima Qingyan glared at him.

Xiang Yuan returned Sima Qingyan’s pawn ticket, gathered intelligence and supplies from Wang Wenxu, then traveled to Song Family Village to take up his post as Bao Yi Lang. After the villagers’ hunters left for the mountains, Xiang Yuan suspected the village’s leaders were hiding something and decided to act that night.

• Xiang Yuan gave Sima Qingyan the pawn ticket for her sword and left her puzzled by the low price it had fetched.
• Xiang Yuan borrowed books and learned from Wang Wenxu that Song Family Village faced a worsening threat from Yellow Springs Dao disciples.
• Xiang Yuan took six pieces of Wang Wenxu’s calligraphy and traveled to Song Family Village with his horse and Tiger Roar Saber.
• Cheng Yong and Cheng He challenged Xiang Yuan’s authority, then told him the villagers were out hunting and left him at the communal hall.
• Xiang Yuan noticed that no women or children were in the village and decided to make his move that night.

Xiang Yuan killed three Yellow Springs Dao disciples at the funeral home, disguised himself as one of them, and infiltrated the ritual site where four hundred villagers were being used to raise a godlike ghost. He struck down a fourth disciple and moved on to attack the others as the Yellow Springs Mother Tree’s projection appeared above the formation.

• Cheng Yong and Cheng He planned to lure Constable Xiang out while their senior disciple refined a godlike ghost from Song Family Village’s captured villagers.
• Cheng He blew poison smoke into the funeral home, but Xiang Yuan killed both brothers with poisoned darts when they entered.
• Xiang Yuan killed the third disciple outside, disguised himself in a black robe, and ran toward the village center.
• At the formation, four disciples guarded the villagers as the Yellow Springs Mother Tree appeared in a projection amid the red light and fog.
• Xiang Yuan feigned panic and reported that Constable Xiang had killed Brother Cheng, then drew his blade and beheaded the disciple who approached him.
• Xiang Yuan charged toward the remaining disciples, beginning another attack.

Xiang Yuan fought Duan Wei and two Yellow Springs Dao disciples while practicing the Thirteen Transformations of Yin Wind and Ghost Mist. After killing one disciple, he was trapped in Duan Wei’s fog formation, where he began slaughtering its ghosts and spotted the junior brother sent to kill him.

• Xiang Yuan parried Duan Wei’s hidden weapons and faced the three black-robed disciples, while Duan Wei mistook his techniques for those of a fellow disciple.
• Xiang Yuan killed one disciple with a sudden saber strike, and Duan Wei recognized that his saber style marked him as an agent of the Six Doors.
• Duan Wei forced Xiang Yuan into a fog formation and sent his frightened junior brother inside with a flag to attack him.
• Xiang Yuan charged into the formation’s ghosts and cut them down, while the junior brother crept toward him under cover of the fog.
• Xiang Yuan turned and met the junior brother’s gaze as the man prepared to strike.