Recaps

Miao Black Wolf exposed his feigned weakness, defeated Luo Daihe’s rebellion, and restored order at Peace Creek Stronghold. After completing their mission, Xiao He and Xiang Yuan left in new disguises and prepared to infiltrate the mines as Bliss Dao disciples.

• Miao Black Wolf and Luo Daihe fought while Zuo Yuanwen led an attack on Xiang Yuan and Xiao He, and Xiang Yuan appeared to flee as Xiao He faced Zuo Yuanwen alone.
• Xiao He took a pill, overwhelmed Zuo Yuanwen, and killed him; Luo Daihe stumbled over his severed head, allowing Miao Black Wolf to wound him and kill Mu Hongya.
• Miao Black Wolf revealed that he had concealed his strength, killed Luo Daihe, and ordered Meng Zhi to eliminate the remaining rebels.
• Miao Black Wolf thanked Xiang Yuan and Xiao He but declined to keep them as seated chiefs; Xiao He secretly gathered intelligence about Earth Dragon Fort.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao He left Peace Creek Stronghold, changed identities, and planned to pose as Bliss Dao disciples called Rain-Overturning Staff and Cloud-Turning Sword.

Xiang Yuan and Xiao He met Xia Yimei, a Bliss Dao martial aunt, and agreed to help her investigate reports of a heavenly treasure in the mining district. She led them through an abandoned mine into a forested valley, where they discovered that Yellow Springs Dao members had arrived first.

• Xiao He found Bliss Dao signs in town and brought Xiang Yuan to meet Xia Yimei, who recruited them to investigate the treasure.
• Xia Yimei used a mind-controlling technique on the miners' foreman and had him guide the group to the mine.
• The group passed through an abandoned mine tunnel and entered a deep valley filled with roads and signs of other visitors.
• Xiao He sensed dense yin energy in the forest and warned Xiang Yuan that Yellow Springs Dao members were nearby.
• Xia Yimei heard a voice from the forest inviting the group in, identifying them as fellow Bliss Dao cultivators.

Xiang Yuan and his companions entered a gathering of demonic factions seeking a strange treasure, only to discover that the treasure was the Yellow Springs Holy Maiden emerging from a jade cocoon. After she slaughtered the gathered Yellow Springs Dao members and transformed the maze into a deadly formation, Xiao He tried to guide Xiang Yuan to safety, but a moonlight attack forced them apart.

• Xia Yimei, Xiang Yuan, and Xiao He entered the formation and found dozens of demonic figures waiting around a failing chain formation.
• Xiang Yuan recognized the wanted Scarface among the crowd, while Xiao He identified several likely factions.
• The chains snapped and released a white jade cocoon, from which a young woman emerged and was identified as the Yellow Springs Holy Maiden.
• The Holy Maiden killed the black-robed elder and the other Yellow Springs Dao members with moonlight arrows, prompting the crowd to flee.
• The Holy Maiden reshaped the maze with moonlight, and the mining foreman died while Xia Yimei became trapped inside it.
• Xiao He studied Xia Yimei's movements to find a route through the maze, then shoved Xiang Yuan onward and confronted an incoming streak of moonlight.

Xiang Yuan escaped the Yellow Springs formation, killed Scarface when he tried to stop him, and then came face-to-face with the Yellow Springs Saintess. She mistook him for Left Envoy Spiritual Light, but her suspicion that he was weakened left his disguise in danger.

• Xiang Yuan absorbed the formation’s Yellow Springs yin energy, dispelled the eerie illusion, and fled through the forest toward the mine tunnel.
• Xiang Yuan encountered Scarface, who attacked him with poisoned darts, and fought him using the Thirteen Transformations of Yin Wind and Ghost Mist.
• After his ordinary blade broke, Xiang Yuan drew the Tiger Roar Saber from his sachet and used Lone Star Chasing Moon to sever Scarface’s arm and head.
• Xiang Yuan found the Yellow Springs Saintess blocking his path, and she addressed him as Uncle Spiritual Light, believing he had successfully possessed a body.
• Doubi took control, praised Chan’er, and rubbed her head, but she smiled and said he seemed weak.

Xiang Yuan bluffed Chan'er into believing he was Lingguang, a powerful cultivator who had possessed a new body, and revealed his name after she guessed he was hiding something. He swore to protect her if she faced danger in the future, then left relieved to have survived the encounter but worried that Chan'er had seen through him.

• Xiang Yuan claimed that Que Xin had destroyed his body, forcing him to discard his cultivation and start anew, while Chan'er questioned his story.
• Chan'er suggested Xiang Yuan had failed at body possession, but he insisted he had succeeded and was cultivating his way back to power.
• Chan'er asked Xiang Yuan to reveal his true face, and he told her his name was Xiang Yuan; she began calling him Uncle Xiang.
• Xiang Yuan refused to return with Chan'er to Yellow Springs Dao, explaining that Que Xin might discover him and that the sect was rife with disputes.
• Chan'er made Xiang Yuan swear upon his Primordial Spirit to protect her if she encountered danger, then departed.
• Xiang Yuan considered the loopholes in his oath and worried that Chan'er had guessed his secret, while Doubi and Steady argued over whether he had been clever or foolish.

Xiang Yuan returned from the Southern Border, stocked up on supplies, and settled the aftermath of the kidnapping case before secretly bringing Senior Zombie back to life with the jade disc’s yin energy. Senior Zombie became a powerful-looking companion, but his lifelike appearance required frequent recharging, leaving Xiang Yuan with a new trump card and a short battery life to manage.

• Xiang Yuan cultivated with the Five Elements Pearl in East Ke Ravine and planned to spend his money at White Cloud Manor, while Xiao He arrived and tried to reclaim the sachet Xiang Yuan had kept.
• Xiao He reported that his mission was complete and that he had learned information about the Yellow Springs Dao’s Holy Maiden, then arranged for Liu Jingsheng to escort them back to Fengxian County.
• Liu Jingsheng disguised and escorted Xiang Yuan and Xiao He home, where officials rewarded Xiang Yuan, sealed Jade Sheng House, and Xiang Yuan bought sleeve arrows and supplies at White Cloud Manor.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Song Family Village, secretly retrieved Senior Zombie after forty-nine days, and used the corpse-controlling technique to make him acknowledge him as master.
• Xiang Yuan poured yin energy from the jade disc into Senior Zombie, restoring his body until he looked like a living man, but discovered that he needed daily recharging and could only maintain that appearance briefly.

Xiang Yuan met White Dragon, another jade-tablet holder who explained the Jambu Gate’s relic-delivery mission and recruited him as her teammate. After sending the relic through the gate, he learned that their next journey would be a higher-level world and remained wary of the mysterious woman directing them.

• Xiang Yuan mistook White Dragon for the powerful woman behind the Jambu Gate and tried to win her favor by calling her his godmother.
• White Dragon revealed that she was also compelled to serve the mysterious woman, identified herself as Senior Sister White Dragon, and asked for Xiang Yuan’s relic.
• Xiang Yuan used his jade tablet to open the Jambu Gate and tossed the relic through, completing Senior Jiang’s long-delayed task.
• White Dragon explained that Xiang Yuan had become her teammate and that they would enter another world together to seek a relic.
• Xiang Yuan learned that White Dragon’s cultivation would send them to a high-level world, then pressed her for answers about the mysterious woman and her motives.

Xiang Yuan and White Dragon entered the Unborn Realm and arrived in Stone Cloud County, where ghosts, monsters, and corruption ran rampant. White Dragon planned to spend five days adapting to the realm before searching for the nearby relic, and she ordered Xiang Yuan to stay out of trouble until then.

• White Dragon told Xiang Yuan they shared a karmic connection but promised to explain it only if he returned alive.
• Xiang Yuan and Senior Zombie passed through the Jambu Gate with White Dragon and arrived in the Unborn Realm.
• Xiang Yuan learned about Stone Cloud County, its surrounding dangers, and the prevalence of demons, ghosts, corrupt officials, and Buddhist cultivators.
• White Dragon explained that she had entered the Innate realm and needed five days to adapt to the Unborn Realm’s laws before acting.
• White Dragon told Xiang Yuan not to send Senior Zombie scouting or stir up trouble until she had finished adapting.

Xiang Yuan and White Dragon tried to draw out an expert from Lotus Zen Monastery, then ambushed Great Zen Master Fa Jing to investigate the world's laws. White Dragon fought Fa Jing, while Xiang Yuan watched from hiding and recognized something familiar about her sword technique.

• Xiang Yuan and White Dragon learned that Lotus Zen Monastery had taken their payment without responding to Senior Zombie's staged disturbance, and Xiang Yuan suspected the monastery profited by sustaining the demons it claimed to suppress.
• Xiang Yuan gathered information about a funeral procession and arranged for White Dragon to ambush Great Zen Master Fa Jing, the monastery's Vajra on Land.
• Fa Jing sensed White Dragon and challenged her, then attacked with a golden palm technique after she revealed herself.
• White Dragon countered Fa Jing's palm shadows with Rising Sun and wounded his palm deeply enough to expose bone.
• Xiang Yuan switched from doubi to steady while watching the fight, and steady thought he recognized White Dragon's sword technique.

White Dragon battled Fa Jing, whose worldly laws and two Dharma treasures overwhelmed her despite her powerful sword art. As Fa Jing moved to capture her, Xiang Yuan sent Senior Zombie to attack, and Fa Jing’s precious pearl shattered, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Xiang Yuan recognized that White Dragon’s sword technique resembled Unrivaled Palace’s Blazing Fire Tempers True Gold and suspected she came from that sect.
• White Dragon and Fa Jing clashed with techniques that drew on the Unborn Realm’s laws, and their collision injured Xiang Yuan and knocked out the Red Envelope Cover team.
• Fa Jing used a precious pearl to counter White Dragon’s sword, then taunted her and summoned a Dharma-treasure pagoda that trapped her.
• Fa Jing approached White Dragon while she struggled against the pagoda, but Xiang Yuan sent Senior Zombie charging at him.
• Fa Jing struck Senior Zombie with the precious pearl and sent him crashing into a pit, but the pearl then lost its light and shattered.

Xiang Yuan, White Dragon, and Senior Zombie fought Fa Jing, whose treasures and martial arts initially gave him the advantage. Fa Jing was killed after White Dragon broke free and Xiang Yuan used Senior Zombie to finish him, while Xiang Yuan recovered the alms bowl.

• Senior Zombie shattered Fa Jing's treasure pearl, and Fa Jing decided to seize the zombie and Xiang Yuan's consort.
• Fa Jing sealed Xiang Yuan's calm Primordial Spirit with his alms bowl, but Cold Blood struck Fa Jing's eyes and blinded him.
• Senior Zombie slammed Fa Jing into the ground, breaking his Vajra Indestructible Body, as the wounded monk tried to locate and kill Xiang Yuan.
• White Dragon escaped the bowl's confinement, stabbed Fa Jing with her sword, and burned him with Sword Qi.
• Senior Zombie tore Fa Jing apart and stomped on his head, killing him; Xiang Yuan then spotted the alms bowl falling from midair.

After defeating Fa Jing, Xiang Yuan and White Dragon sought shelter near a village while recovering from their injuries and sealed powers. When a phantom pavilion appeared outside their ruined temple, Xiang Yuan dressed as a scholar and set out to investigate, prompting White Dragon to follow.

• Xiang Yuan claimed Fa Jing’s alms bowl after White Dragon inspected it and dismissed it as junk.
• Xiang Yuan and White Dragon agreed to avoid Lotus Zen Monastery and Stone Cloud County while they recovered; Xiang Yuan’s steady Primordial Spirit remained sealed.
• The pair found shelter in a ruined Daoist temple after Xiang Yuan offered Wang Wenxu’s calligraphy to the ghost in its well.
• A misty red pavilion appeared near the temple, where ghostly guests held a noisy banquet and tried to lure travelers inside.
• Xiang Yuan changed into a scholar’s outfit and headed toward the pavilion, and White Dragon decided to accompany him.

Xiang Yuan and White Dragon entered the Red Pavilion, where ghostly creatures lured travelers into trading away their lifespans for illusory pleasure. After White Dragon exposed one of the ghosts and challenged Grandma, the hall erupted into chaos, leaving the two sides on the verge of a fight.

• Xiang Yuan and White Dragon sat down in the Red Pavilion, where White Dragon warned him that the guests were bewitched survivors being drained by ghosts.
• White Dragon explained that the Dry Abyss Realm allowed ghosts to cultivate normally and described the origins of Other Shore Gate.
• White Dragon sensed demonic energy from Grandma, while Xiang Yuan identified her as a tree spirit and wagered his sect's magical alms bowl against a life-saving ability.
• Two female ghosts approached Xiang Yuan and White Dragon, and White Dragon shoved away the ghost who tried to embrace her.
• Grandma defended her Red Pavilion as a refuge where guests came willingly, but White Dragon exposed a ghost's horrifying true appearance and demanded that the others be revealed.
• Grandma grew furious as panic spread through the hall and confronted White Dragon.

White Dragon defeated Tree Demon Granny’s false body in the red mansion, while Xiang Yuan drove off the female ghosts with Wang Wenxu’s calligraphy. They tracked Granny to Jingnan Village, where she sought help from a man she called her king.

• White Dragon exposed Granny’s tree-spirit nature and battled her while Xiang Yuan used Wang Wenxu’s calligraphy to repel the female ghosts.
• White Dragon burned Granny’s vine body, but let her escape so she could follow the demon’s aura to its true body.
• Granny’s last ambush brought down the red tower, and White Dragon escaped the ruins with Xiang Yuan.
• White Dragon and Xiang Yuan decided to pursue Granny to the village where monks had been conducting funeral rites.
• Granny reached Jingnan Village during a funeral and pleaded with a man in a pavilion to uphold justice for her.

Madam Huaize sought Wind Howl Demon's help after White Dragon destroyed her brothel, but he hesitated to confront the sword-wielding woman. White Dragon attacked and badly wounded Wind Howl Demon, who called for his real wife as Madam Huaize fled.

• Madam Huaize told Wind Howl Demon that White Dragon had destroyed her business and killed or scattered her ghosts, but he initially refused to seek revenge.
• Wind Howl Demon promised to protect Madam Huaize if White Dragon came, while blaming his delay on a planned meeting with Grand Zen Master Fa Jing.
• White Dragon arrived at the courtyard, and Wind Howl Demon faced her with his large saber as villagers fled and Senior Zombie watched.
• Wind Howl Demon struck first, but White Dragon unleashed a sword technique empowered by the momentum of heaven and earth and battered him into a crater.
• White Dragon held back from pressing her attack while Wind Howl Demon, badly burned and wounded, cried for his real wife to save him; Madam Huaize remained too frightened to help.

White Dragon searched Wind Howl Demon’s residence for a missing śarīra, but Lady Cold Shadow arrived and fought her instead. Just as Lady Cold Shadow gained the upper hand, Xiang Yuan empowered Senior Jiang, who brutally attacked Wind Howl Demon.

• White Dragon questioned Wind Howl Demon and his followers about the śarīra, but none of them knew where it was.
• Lady Cold Shadow arrived and defeated White Dragon’s attempt to control the force of heaven and earth, freezing her right arm.
• Lady Cold Shadow used three magical babies to hinder White Dragon and gained the advantage in their fight.
• Wind Howl Demon joined the battle, but Senior Jiang crashed into him and carried him through several walls.
• Senior Jiang overpowered Wind Howl Demon, endured his poisoned stinger, and tore off part of his tail as Wind Howl Demon begged Lady Cold Shadow to save him.

Xiang Yuan and White Dragon defeated Lady Cold Shadow and Wind Howl Demon, but White Dragon was left poisoned and weakened by the secret art she used. In an underground cavern, Xiang Yuan tried to treat her and finally fed her his blood, which began to restore her strength.

• White Dragon unleashed her martial strength to keep Lady Cold Shadow from reaching Xiang Yuan, while Xiang Yuan destroyed one of the porcelain dolls and Senior Zombie poisoned Wind Howl Demon with his own venom.
• White Dragon shattered the remaining dolls, struck Lady Cold Shadow with Rising Sun, and killed her after resisting her snakebite and venomous counterattack.
• Senior Zombie smashed Wind Howl Demon to death, and Xiang Yuan carried the poisoned, weakened White Dragon into underground passages to hide.
• White Dragon told Xiang Yuan that the secret art had damaged her foundation and that she needed heavenly treasures, but she fell asleep before explaining how to use her jade disc.
• Xiang Yuan cut his finger and placed it in White Dragon's mouth, and she instinctively sucked his blood as its medicinal power eased her condition.

White Dragon recovered from the snake venom with Xiang Yuan’s help, then joined him in pursuing Madam Huaize to learn about the sarira. They found her hidden underwater palace, where the chapter ended as Xiang Yuan and White Dragon prepared to confront the tree demon.

• White Dragon woke in Xiang Yuan’s arms after accidentally sucking on his finger, and she taught him how to open the jade wall’s storage space.
• White Dragon explained that using Unrivaled Palace’s secret art had damaged her foundation, admitted she was a disciple of Unrivaled Palace, and refused to reveal her name until Xiang Yuan returned alive to the Dry Abyss Realm.
• Xiang Yuan suspected Tree Demon Granny was hiding information about the sarira, and White Dragon vowed to find her once she recovered.
• Three days later, Xiang Yuan and White Dragon emerged near Great Marsh Lake and tracked Madam Huaize’s aura to beneath the water.
• Senior Zombie dug through the tree demon’s root-filled caverns and lifted a stone door, allowing Xiang Yuan and White Dragon to enter Madam Huaize’s underwater palace.
• White Dragon located the great locust tree at the palace’s center, and Xiang Yuan declared that they would defeat the demon and recover the stolen wealth.

Xiang Yuan and White Dragon confronted Madam Huaize to recover the relic, but Abbot Fa Kong appeared and took it for himself. Fa Kong fought White Dragon and Senior Zombie, gaining the upper hand before White Dragon unleashed her strongest sword move and Fa Kong answered with a sealing technique.

• Xiang Yuan and White Dragon found Madam Huaize with the relic and demanded that she hand it over in exchange for her life.
• Madam Huaize gave the relic to Senior Zombie, but it vanished from her hand as Abbot Fa Kong emerged from hiding with the treasure.
• Fa Kong explained that he had tracked Madam Huaize while investigating Fa Jing's death, then claimed the relic and fought Xiang Yuan's group.
• Fa Kong used his robe to bind Senior Zombie and countered White Dragon's sword attacks, gradually suppressing both opponents.
• White Dragon unleashed Ninth Five—Soaring Dragon in the Heavens, and Fa Kong rose amid golden lotuses and declared, "Seal!"

White Dragon and Xiang Yuan joined forces with Senior Jiang to defeat Fa Kong and recover the relic, escaping the flooded underground palace at the cost of severe injuries. White Dragon awoke at the inn, where Xiang Yuan teased her about rescuing and tending to her.

• Fa Kong's Flower-Twirling Finger overwhelmed White Dragon, burned Madam Huaize to ashes, and drained Senior Jiang's yin energy.
• White Dragon broke Fa Kong's illusion by confronting the phantom of her master, then advanced her cultivation and clashed with him using the force of heaven and earth.
• Xiang Yuan awakened from his illusion, and Senior Jiang drew yin energy from Xiang Yuan's jade bi to strike Fa Kong while Xiang Yuan and White Dragon attacked.
• Senior Jiang retrieved the relic and Fa Kong's precept saber after Fa Kong was killed, while Xiang Yuan carried the exhausted White Dragon toward the stone gate as floodwaters rose.
• The flood swept White Dragon away, but Xiang Yuan rescued her and brought her back to the inn, where she awoke and angrily told him to shut up as he teased her.

Xiang Yuan persuaded the injured White Dragon to help him loot the East Mountain Demon King's cave and Lotus Zen Monastery before they left the Unborn Realm. After learning they could return to the realm later, he departed with White Dragon, eager to seek more opportunities while heeding her warning about staying too long in lesser worlds.

• Xiang Yuan teased White Dragon about caring for her while she recovered, then convinced her to delay leaving until her injuries healed and they could pursue more treasures.
• White Dragon taught Xiang Yuan her family's breath-concealing art, and she helped him loot the East Mountain Demon King's cave of valuables, weapons, and cultivation manuals.
• Xiang Yuan and White Dragon infiltrated Lotus Zen Monastery's Scripture Repository, took its pills and martial arts manuals, and split the Great Restoration pills between them.
• White Dragon explained that the relic would become an ordinary stone outside the Unborn Realm, and that Jambu Gate would let them return after completing its mission.
• White Dragon warned Xiang Yuan that other worlds had weaker Vital Energy than the Dry Abyss Realm and that he should not remain in them for long.
• White Dragon opened Jambu Gate, and she and Xiang Yuan left the Unborn Realm together.

After completing his trial, Xiang Yuan received the codename White Tiger and learned that White Dragon was Xiao Lingyue, Xiao He's younger sister. Xiao Lingyue asked him to look after Xiao He, and Xiang Yuan planned to swear brotherhood with him; White Phoenix would determine when Xiang Yuan next met the others.

• White Dragon told Xiang Yuan to choose between White Tiger and White Turtle, and he chose White Tiger despite her warning that a former Senior Sister White Tiger had died.
• Xiang Yuan reminded White Dragon of her promise, and she revealed that her name was Xiao Lingyue and that she was from the Xiao Clan in Shendu.
• Xiang Yuan guessed that he and Xiao Lingyue were siblings, but she explained that she had helped him because he had protected her elder brother, Xiao He.
• Xiao Lingyue recounted how Xiao He had defended her as a child and asked Xiang Yuan to watch over him without revealing her abilities to him.
• Xiang Yuan agreed to look after Xiao He and decided to swear brotherhood with him, while Xiao Lingyue said White Phoenix would arrange their next meeting.

After Xiao Lingyue left, Xiang Yuan’s Doubi side took control and decided to cultivate before pursuing his plans. He went to the Xiao Residence to persuade Xiao He to swear brotherhood, leaving Xiao He worried that Xiang Yuan had ulterior motives.

• Doubi mocked Steady for hiding his feelings for Xiao Lingyue, won their argument, and took the lead among Xiang Yuan’s three mindsets.
• Xiang Yuan stayed in to cultivate with the Five Elements Pearl and decided to enter low-Martial Path worlds to test his Martial Path.
• Xiang Yuan visited the Xiao Residence and surprised Xiao He by calling him Brother Xiao and asking to become sworn brothers.
• Xiao He resisted, fearing Xiang Yuan was plotting something, but agreed after Xiang Yuan threatened to go to White Cloud Manor.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao He swore brotherhood, then went to the academy, where Xiao He asked Xu Jixian why Xiang Yuan had changed so suddenly.
• Xu Jixian guessed Xiang Yuan wanted Xiao He’s sister, Xiao Lingyue, while Xiao He dismissed the idea because she was studying at Unrivaled Palace.

Xiang Yuan reached Severing Delusion Mountain and entered the Secluded Immortal Sect, where he killed the elders who feared Li Xianyuan’s return. He disguised himself as an elder and spread orders that kept the sect’s people on the mountain, leaving them eager to inherit the elders’ legacies.

• Xiang Yuan rode Senior Zombie toward the Secluded Immortal Sect, stopping regularly to visit Song Family Village and cultivate while traveling.
• Xiang Yuan arrived at Severing Delusion Mountain and decided to check the treasury before the sect’s people could take Senior Zombie’s inheritance.
• Xiang Yuan entered the elders’ council meeting and revealed himself as Li Xianyuan after hearing the elders discuss the threat he posed.
• Xiang Yuan fought and killed the gathered elders, then disguised himself as one of them and had Senior Zombie clean up the room.
• Xiang Yuan spread an order that the elders had entered secluded cultivation and that everyone must remain on Severing Delusion Mountain, prompting the sect’s people to compete for the elders’ favor.

After three months of refining his martial arts in the Secluded Immortal Sect, Xiang Yuan reached the peak of Acupoint Opening and left for the Dry Abyss Realm. He told Xiao He he needed a formidable opponent to polish his foundation before attempting Foundation Establishment, and Xiao He offered to arrange whatever challenges he wanted.

• Xiang Yuan used the Formless Seal Method to pose as the sect elders, trained the disciples in saber arts, and defeated a swordsman with his self-created tiger-themed saber technique.
• Xiang Yuan revealed his identity to the Secluded Immortal Sect, claimed he had been ordered to subdue a demon monkey, and left through the Jambu Gate as the disciples realized the elders had been his transformations.
• Back in Song Family Village, Xiang Yuan weighed whether to break through immediately or seek a stronger opponent, deciding to advance in the Dry Abyss Realm after tempering his foundation.
• Xiang Yuan visited Xiao He, explained that he had opened all nine acupoints and wanted a whetstone before Foundation Establishment, then demonstrated his saber technique.
• Xiao He offered to arrange intelligence, opponents, and challenges for Xiang Yuan, eager to benefit from his brother's rapid progress.