Chapter Summaries

Mingzhu led a group of young martial heroes through Yellow Springs Dao’s illusion arrays while Xiang Yuan exposed and killed the Daoists behind a plot to frame the Five Poisons Cult. After the survivors scattered toward safety, the Five Poisons Cult arrived and ordered a pursuit.

• Mingzhu guided the young heroes through Zhao Family Village’s ghost array, where they were wounded after some tried to break it alone.
• Xiang Yuan appeared before Mingzhu’s group after killing Yellow Springs Dao disciples, then went on to Lin Family Village.
• Sima Qingyan found suspicious living fighters among the black-robed attackers and gathered with Tang Rou and the other trapped heroes.
• Xiang Yuan disguised himself as an injured Daoist, killed the hook-nosed schemer and three other disciples, then dispersed the formation to free Sima Qingyan’s group.
• Mingzhu ordered the young heroes to split up and head toward Fengxian County, while Xiang Yuan took a separate path.
• The Five Poisons Cult arrived to find its people wounded or dead, and its leader ordered the group pursued.

Xiang Yuan fled the Five Poisons Cult’s Yin Mu, using a knockout drug and the River of Wrath to escape before her poisonous creatures cornered him. At the brink of collapse, he called for Yanfu and vanished through a gate that Yin Mu could not enter.

• Xiang Yuan left the young heroes behind and ran toward the main road, but Yin Mu intercepted him with a purple-gold beetle.
• Yin Mu attacked Xiang Yuan with the Cloud-Wreathed Emerald Mist Palm, poisoned him, and tried to capture him as a Bag of Treasures.
• Xiang Yuan fired poisoned sleeve arrows and used a third to burst open a packet of Three Nights Off Duty, then escaped into the River of Wrath.
• The current carried Xiang Yuan ashore, where a venomous snake bit him as the purple-gold beetle pursued him.
• Xiang Yuan summoned a gleaming white gate by calling for Yanfu, entered it with the jade disk, and disappeared; Yin Mu arrived too late to find him.

After recovering from snake venom and poisonous true qi at Medicine King Manor, Xiang Yuan tried to reopen the Jambu Gate and asked about the Ageless Celestial Venerable in hopes of finding a way back to the Dry Abyss Realm. Xiao Heizi instead revealed that he believed Xiang Yuan was a surviving heir of the Li Clan, though Xiang Yuan denied it.

• Xiang Yuan woke after three days of treatment by Xiao Heizi and care from Sun Baiwei, who had begun to develop feelings for him.
• Xiang Yuan recovered enough to practice saberplay, while Sun Baiwei watched and Bai Fuzi grew jealous.
• Xiang Yuan found that he could not summon the Jambu Gate and learned that this low-Vital-Energy world made cultivation difficult.
• Xiang Yuan asked Xiao Heizi about the Ageless Celestial Venerable and the Secluded Immortal Sect, hoping to learn how to return to the Dry Abyss Realm.
• Xiao Heizi recounted the Secluded Immortal Sect's decline and accused Xiang Yuan of being a descendant of the Li Clan who had inherited its legacy.

Xiang Yuan tried to leave Medicine King Manor after Xiao Heizi mistook him for a Li Clan descendant, but a crowd of martial artists arrived to seize him. He stayed to defend Xiao Heizi and defeated Han Iron Hand with one punch, then challenged the silent crowd to send another opponent.

• Xiao Heizi insisted Xiang Yuan was connected to the Li Clan and promised he could leave once his injuries healed, while Xiang Yuan planned to depart after nightfall with a letter explaining the mistake.
• A servant warned Xiang Yuan that martial artists had come to Medicine King Manor to take him away, so he went to the front hall instead of escaping through the back gate.
• Master Hongneng and the crowd accused Xiao Heizi of shielding an Immortal Sect rebel, while Bai Fuzi urged his master to hand Xiang Yuan over.
• Xiang Yuan joined Xiao Heizi and Sun Baiwei, denied that he was Li Xianyuan, and insulted Master Hongneng and the assembled martial artists.
• Han Iron Hand attacked Xiang Yuan, but Xiang Yuan knocked him unconscious with one punch and asked who would fight next.

Xiang Yuan defeated Master Hongneng and drove the intruders from Medicine King Manor, then received a map to the Ageless Celestial Venerable’s legacy treasure. He suspected the treasure, possibly another jade wall, could be the key to leaving this world.

• Master Hongneng challenged Xiang Yuan, and the two moved outside Medicine King Manor to fight.
• Master Hongneng attacked with several Buddhist martial arts, but Xiang Yuan’s saber broke his staff and forced him to yield.
• Xiang Yuan dismissed the remaining intruders, while Bai Fuzi begged Xiao Heizi for forgiveness and fled after being disowned.
• Chief Wang and Madam Hongmiao pleaded for mercy, and Xiang Yuan let them and the other guests leave.
• Master Hongneng gave Xiang Yuan a map to the Ageless Celestial Venerable’s legacy treasure and departed, while Xiang Yuan sensed it might help him leave the world.

Xiang Yuan traveled to Tide Sea Ancient City with Xiao Heizi and Sun Baiwei, then entered the underground palace to seek the Ageless Celestial Venerable’s legacy. When Xiao Heizi and Sun Baiwei were captured and used to pressure him, Xiang Yuan dropped his loyal persona and revealed that he had seen through the elaborate act.

• Xiao Heizi asked Xiang Yuan to take Sun Baiwei along, and Xiang Yuan insisted that Xiao Heizi come with them too.
• Xiang Yuan, Xiao Heizi, and Sun Baiwei disguised themselves as they traveled for six days to Tide Sea Ancient City, where hundreds of martial artists had gathered.
• Xiang Yuan used a hidden passage to enter the underground palace, placed the jade disc in the stone door, and opened the way to the stele and treasure box.
• Four Immortal Sect martial artists confronted Xiang Yuan while Master Hongneng brought out the captured Xiao Heizi and Sun Baiwei to make him surrender his weapon.
• Xiang Yuan refused to give up his weapon, dismissed his supposed devotion to Sun Baiwei, and revealed that he had recognized the others’ performance as a staged plot.
• Xiao Heizi broke free of his ropes, and Xiang Yuan drew his blade and challenged him by asking when anyone had ever seen the real him.

Xiang Yuan massacred the schemers in the tomb, claimed a mysterious relic, and escaped through Jambu Gate after learning that a powerful woman would come seeking it. Back in the Dry Abyss Realm, he learned only ten days had passed and discovered Xiao He was preparing his funeral.

• Xiang Yuan revealed his Coldblood persona and killed the Immortal Sect members, Bai Fuzi, and the other martial world figures who had conspired against him.
• Xiang Yuan opened the treasure box, found a white pearl that completed his quest, and read the Ageless Celestial Venerable's warning that the relic's owner would come looking for him.
• Xiang Yuan shattered the stele, warned the Immortal Sect that Li Xianyuan would return for their heads, and left through Jambu Gate as the surviving martial artists watched.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Western Chu and learned from Wang Wenxu that he had been missing for just over ten days and that the martial world heroes had retreated after losses to the Five Poisons Cult.
• Xiang Yuan found out Xiao He was preparing a funeral and condolence collection in his name, then resolved to train harder because he feared the mysterious woman who sought the relic.

Xiang Yuan advanced his cultivation with the Five Elements Pearl and settled into life as Song Family Village’s Righteous Protector, while Xiao He and Xu Jixian arrived with a birthday surprise. The chapter ended with them inviting Xiang Yuan to Jade Sheng House to celebrate his sixteenth birthday.

• Xiang Yuan used the Five Elements Pearl to cultivate his inner five elements, loosening his nine apertures and preparing for Foundation Establishment.
• Xiang Yuan refused the village elders’ offer of protection money, agreeing instead to accept three meals a day; Song Shan soon worried that his appetite would bankrupt the village.
• Xu Jixian brought Xiao He to Song Family Village, where Xiao He announced he had come to find Xiang Yuan and visit prostitutes.
• Xiang Yuan continued practicing the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber as he tried to combine techniques into a saber art of his own.
• Xiao He told Xiang Yuan that he and Xu Jixian were going to Jade Sheng House to celebrate a brother’s birthday, then revealed that it was Xiang Yuan’s sixteenth birthday.

Xiang Yuan accompanied Xiao He and Xu Jixian to Jade Sheng House, where they met the famed courtesan Baoqin after her captivating qin performance. Baoqin showed little interest in the other two and repeatedly watched Xiang Yuan, leaving her intentions unclear.

• Xiang Yuan entered Jade Sheng House with Xiao He and Xu Jixian, who joked about its costly entertainment and revealed that Xiao He had arranged to meet Baoqin.
• Xiang Yuan watched Baoqin perform a qin piece that moved the audience to shower her with rewards, while he teased Xiao He about not matching their generosity.
• Baoqin arrived at Peony Pavilion, and Xiao He and Xu Jixian tried to impress her by praising Xiang Yuan's poem, “Pity the Farmers.”
• Xiao He urged Xiang Yuan to compose a poem about Baoqin, but Xiang Yuan refused and let Xiao He and Xu Jixian continue their awkward flattery.
• Baoqin mostly ignored Xiao He and Xu Jixian, glancing repeatedly at Xiang Yuan as she sipped her tea.

Baoqin abducted Xiang Yuan and Xiao He from Jade Sheng House, but the two had anticipated the opportunity and escaped after waking in a concealed manor. Disguised and equipped for travel, Xiang Yuan and Xiao He set off together toward the Southern Border.

• Baoqin drugged Xiao He, Xiang Yuan, and Xu Jixian, then ordered her maids to carry Xiang Yuan and Xiao He out of Fengxian City through a secret passage.
• Xiao He revealed that he and Xiang Yuan had pretended to be drugged, and explained that he was leaving to verify intelligence from the Wise Master.
• Xiang Yuan agreed to travel with Xiao He, and they escaped the concealed manor while Baoqin's maids fought off a bandit raid.
• Xiao He retrieved hidden supplies, spatial equipment, weapons, masks, and a talisman to conceal Xiang Yuan's medicinal power.
• Xiao He and Xiang Yuan changed their appearances and prepared to travel toward the Southern Border under false faces.

Xiao He and Xiang Yuan traveled to Peace Creek Stronghold to find an informant and verify intelligence about Earth Dragon Fort. They met Miao Manjing, who was being pursued, and the chapter ended as bandits cornered her and the brothers prepared to fight.

• Xiao He told Xiang Yuan they were heading to Peace Creek Stronghold to investigate its upheaval and seek help from Miao Manjing.
• Xiao He and Xiang Yuan adopted foolish personas and waited at a ruined temple, where they shared food and traded jokes.
• Miao Manjing and her two maids arrived disguised as merchants, and Xiao He identified her as the daughter of Peace Creek Stronghold's chief.
• A one-eyed bandit and his men found Miao Manjing, defeated her and her maids, and ordered their men to kill Xiang Yuan and Xiao He.
• Xiao He pretended to surrender while Xiang Yuan berated him, and the brothers provoked the bandits into attacking.

Xiang Yuan and Xiao He defeated One-Eye’s men, rescued Miao Manjing, and agreed to escort her to Peace Creek Stronghold for two thousand taels. As they traveled, Miao Manjing resolved to recruit the two money-hungry brothers to help her face the power struggle threatening her injured father’s stronghold.

• Xiang Yuan and Xiao He killed One-Eye and most of his men, then discovered that Xiao He had avoided One-Eye’s poisoned dart with a meatball.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao He threatened Miao Manjing until she revealed she was a woman and offered them two thousand taels to take her home.
• Miao Manjing gave One-Eye’s antidote to her maidservants, treated her wound, and set out with Xiang Yuan and Xiao He.
• On the journey, Xiao He tried to raise the price, while Xiang Yuan insisted they honor their agreed deal.
• Miao Manjing considered the danger at Peace Creek Stronghold, where her injured father’s subordinates were vying for power, and decided she could recruit Xiang Yuan and Xiao He with more money.

Miao Manjing returned to Peace Creek Stronghold with Xiang Yuan and Xiao He, where she found her father Miao Black Wolf gravely ill and the stronghold divided. Miao Black Wolf paid the men’s promised reward and urged them to leave before trouble erupted.

• Xiang Yuan and Xiao He escorted Miao Manjing toward Peace Creek Stronghold while bickering, and they met Meng Zhi and her patrol on the road.
• Meng Zhi escorted Miao Manjing into the stronghold, while Xiao He told Xiang Yuan about the chiefs and the unrest surrounding Miao Black Wolf’s injury.
• Miao Manjing reached her father’s sickroom and found Mu Hongya attending him, prompting a tense exchange about the two escorts and their four-thousand-tael reward.
• Miao Black Wolf woke briefly, acknowledged the reward, ordered Mu Hongya to pay Xiang Yuan and Xiao He, and urged them to leave before falling unconscious again.

Miao Manjing paid Xiang Yuan and Xiao He to stay at Peace Creek Stronghold and investigate her stepmother, Mu Hongya. That night, Miao Black Wolf revealed he had been feigning illness and asked the brothers to help him deal with a plot against his stronghold in exchange for a fortune map.

• Miao Manjing persuaded Xiang Yuan and Xiao He to stay at Peace Creek Stronghold by paying them three thousand taels and asking them to watch Mu Hongya.
• Xiang Yuan practiced with the Five Elements Pearl while Xiao He kept watch on the stronghold chief's residence and saw several figures leave it.
• Miao Black Wolf visited the brothers and revealed he had been pretending to be gravely ill.
• Miao Black Wolf explained that Yu Dashan worked for the Six Doors and that Luo Daihe, Zuo Yuanwen, and Mu Hongya had plotted against him.
• Miao Black Wolf asked Xiang Yuan and Xiao He to help him secretly defeat Luo Daihe, offering a map to a fortune two hundred li east in return.

Xiao He agreed to secretly help Miao Black Wolf while he and Xiang Yuan watched tensions rise in Peace Creek Stronghold. Luo Daihe launched his coup, but Miao Black Wolf revealed that he had only feigned illness, leaving the two sides facing off in the Hall of Brotherhood.

• Xiao He agreed to secretly trip up Luo Daihe so Miao Black Wolf could take the credit, while Xiang Yuan and Xiao He discussed an opportunity near a Five Poisons Cult mine.
• Miao Manjing learned that River-Crossing Dragon and Roadblock Tiger had been too drunk to give a clear account of anyone leaving the stronghold.
• Luo Daihe declared himself Chief Luo, rallied his followers, and ordered them to seal off the stronghold and seize the Hall of Brotherhood.
• Luo Daihe's men drove away the elders and reached the chief's chair, but Miao Black Wolf emerged in full health and revealed that he had feigned illness.
• Meng Zhi refused to take either side as Xiang Yuan and Xiao He watched from behind pillars, and Luo Daihe confronted Miao Black Wolf with the Five Poisons Cult's Zombie Art.

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.