Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Fairy Bie Xue learns that the Melon-Eating Sage’s enormous whale body—including the liver she is preparing—is his former physical body. He says he voluntarily discarded it while helping the Northern Great Emperor’s formation and calmly offers to assist with cooking it.
• As the Sage places his own flesh into Bie Xue’s pot, he reflects on how unmoved he feels. He realizes that his new merit body and his old self are distinct, yet he remains himself.
• The realization helps him recover from the “absolute calmness” brought on by contact with a vast Merit Network. He explains that the network contains an ownerless Dao of Longevity, which he has decided to pursue.
• The Sage thanks the Northern Great Emperor and Song Shuhang, solemnly bows to Senior White for reasons he does not explain, and leaves to enter seclusion.
• Back in the kitchen, Bie Xue asks Shuhang to slice the liver. His special knife strikes it but only produces sparks: it is an Eighth-Grade organ.

Character developments

• Melon-Eating Sage: Moves from eerie emotional detachment toward a clearer sense of identity. He accepts the Merit Network’s longevity path and sets off to cultivate it.
• Fairy Bie Xue: Is horrified and awkward about preparing the Sage’s former body, especially when he offers to handle his own liver. She ultimately continues cooking with Shuhang’s help.
• Song Shuhang: Remains curious about the Sage’s transformation and helps with kitchen work, only to discover how tough the liver is.
• Northern Great Emperor and Senior White: The Emperor is intrigued by the Merit Network and the earlier Fairy’s refusal of its inheritance; White is puzzled by the Sage’s unusually formal bow.

Significant themes

• Identity and change: The Sage’s insight—that he is both continuous with and distinct from his former self—frames his transformation.
• Detachment and self-understanding: His unnatural calm initially protects him from being overwhelmed by the Merit Network, but reflection helps him regain his sense of self.
• Opportunity and choice: The Sage chooses an available route to longevity that another figure, the Fairy, previously declined.
• Cosmic matters amid comedy: Spiritual awakening and the pursuit of immortality unfold alongside the absurdity of cooking a Sage’s own body.

Character interactions

• Bie Xue and the Sage’s calm discussion of cooking his former body creates comic unease; she refuses to let him slice his own liver.
• The Sage thanks the Emperor and Shuhang, then bows deeply to Senior White, leaving everyone uncertain why.
• Shuhang shifts from asking questions about the Merit Network to helping Bie Xue prepare the meal.

Plot points and events

• Song Shuhang struggles to cut Melon-Eating Sage’s liver, which remains extraordinarily tough despite the Sage’s loss of strength and Natal Essence Blood. His Saber Intent only forms armor around the knife, and his blows merely spark against the liver.
• Fairy Bie Xue hints that Shuhang should fetch Senior White. She actually hopes to cook alongside White and feed him, but is too shy to ask directly.
• Shuhang goes to find White, who is playing cards with Xiao Cai and the Northern Great Emperor. Before White can respond, the Great Emperor volunteers for the kitchen.
• Bie Xue mistakes the approaching Great Emperor for White and offers him a bite of the first whale-meat dish. Realizing her mistake, she is mortified; the Great Emperor, recognizing what happened, kindly accepts the bite and praises her exceptional cooking.
• The Great Emperor slices the liver with ease and helps Bie Xue prepare the whale banquet.
• Back outside, White continues playing cards. Shuhang arranges a four-player game by bringing in Onion Lady and White’s Tree Demon.
• Shuhang contacts True Lord Eternal Fire and reports encountering Daozi, a Confucian Tribulation Immortal. Eternal Fire confirms the identity and says the Confucian School will search for him. He also raises the subject of transplanting a Heavenly Court Fragment.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang shows his limitations as a newly Fourth-Grade cultivator, while remaining resourceful: he seeks help and passes along important information about Daozi.
• Fairy Bie Xue is revealed as both an accomplished chef and someone with a shy romantic interest in Senior White. Her embarrassment gives way to professional focus once the misunderstanding is resolved.
• Northern Great Emperor proves gentle beneath his intimidating, icy appearance. He handles Bie Xue’s awkward mistake with kindness, appreciates her cooking, and efficiently helps with the meal.
• Senior White remains absorbed in his streak of card-game victories, while Shuhang adapts by finding other players.
• True Lord Eternal Fire takes Shuhang’s report seriously and trusts his identification of Daozi.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts appearance and reality: Bie Xue’s composed chef persona hides her bashful feelings, and the Great Emperor’s cold exterior conceals warmth.
• Awkwardness and kindness shape the kitchen scene: a humiliating misunderstanding is eased by the Great Emperor’s tact.
• Power and skill depend on context: Shuhang’s rank and Saber Intent are insufficient against an Eighth-Grade body, while the Great Emperor handles it effortlessly.
• The shift from comic domestic scenes to the Daozi report hints at larger mysteries and responsibilities, including the Heavenly Court Fragment.

Plot points and events

• True Lord Eternal Fire explains that the Confucian School knows of Ancestor Daozi, but Daozi’s deranged condition makes him impossible to contact or follow reliably.
• The Confucian School’s attempt to place an Ancient Heavenly Court fragment inside the Golden Lotus World has not yet worked: the fragment behaves like a building simply moved into the world. Eternal Fire plans to test another fragment and may ask Song Shuhang to investigate.
• Shuhang asks permission to teach his new disciple, Xiao Cai, the Confucian Vajra Body. Eternal Fire approves, provided she does not pass it on beyond her own discipleship.
• Shuhang considers what else Xiao Cai needs. Senior White recommends the Thirty-Three Beasts Innate Unity Qi Technique, noting that it suits demon cultivators and that Shuhang knows it well enough to teach her.
• While they wait for Fairy Bie Xue’s elaborate meal, Senior White plays cards with Xiao Cai, Onion Lady, and Qingwu, repeatedly producing bombs and winning with absurd luck. He eventually naps inside his giant silk cocoon.
• Xiao Cai, nearing the Fourth-Grade realm, asks to begin learning the new technique before attempting her breakthrough.
• Shuhang wonders whether Onion Lady has been neglecting the Heaven’s Weeping Canon because he rarely sees her cry. She reveals that she has found a workaround: she cultivates the canon and the Berserk Art simultaneously, suppressing the tears and turning red instead.

Character developments

• Song Shuhang takes his role as Xiao Cai’s master seriously, securing permission for her to learn the Vajra Body and seeking a suitable primary cultivation method. He is candid—perhaps too candid—about relying on his own familiarity with a technique to guide her.
• Xiao Cai is eager to improve before her upcoming breakthrough. She remains playful, even celebrating her new prospects by enthusiastically calling for “bombs” during the card game.
• Onion Lady proves resourceful and proud of her unconventional solution to the Heaven’s Weeping Canon’s effects, calling herself a genius.
• Senior White remains cheerfully lucky at cards, then reveals his fatigue after several days of tribulation.
• True Lord Eternal Fire shows growing authority within the Confucian School and remains cooperative with Shuhang.

Significant themes and interactions

• Mentorship and preparation: Shuhang arranges techniques that can strengthen Xiao Cai before a dangerous realm breakthrough.
• Ingenuity through unconventional methods: Onion Lady combines two seemingly incompatible techniques to overcome an unwanted side effect.
• Comic contrast: Senior White’s unstoppable card luck, Xiao Cai’s joking complaints, and Shuhang’s awkwardly practical reasoning keep the cultivation discussion light.
• Key interactions: Eternal Fire and Shuhang reach agreements on both the Golden Lotus World and the Vajra Body; Senior White advises Shuhang about Xiao Cai’s training; Shuhang and Onion Lady trade skeptical remarks before she demonstrates her discovery.

Chapter Summary: “Song Shuhang’s Alt—Xiao Cai!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Onion Lady explains that she uses the anger generated by her Berserk Art to suppress the crying effect of the Heaven’s Weeping Canon. However, when her joy peaks, she suddenly loses control and enters berserk mode.
• In her frenzy, Onion Lady attacks Song Shuhang, repeatedly punching and kicking his legs. Her attacks are ineffective against his vastly stronger body, but Song Shuhang willingly lets her continue because her berserk state allows them to use the secret technique Onion Blade Drawn.
• Song Shuhang repeatedly pulls new onion sprouts from Onion Lady, harvesting thirty-three special onion sprouts, each with three hundred years of growth. Xiao Cai provides exaggerated background music for the spectacle, while Tree Demon Qingwu sympathizes with Onion Lady and compares Song Shuhang’s treatment of her to White’s treatment of demon pets.
• Once the Berserk Art ends, Onion Lady realizes how many sprouts have been harvested and begins crying under the effects of the Heaven’s Weeping Canon. Her distress increases when Fairy Bie Xue requests more onion sprouts for cooking whale meat, reminding Onion Lady that she is in the territory of her “natural enemy.”
• Song Shuhang sends Onion Lady back to the Core World to rest, then supplies the harvested sprouts to Fairy Bie Xue. In return, Fairy Bie Xue promises to prepare several Immortal Treasure Banquets for him after the current banquet.
• Returning to the living room, Song Shuhang begins testing Xiao Cai to determine which section of the Thirty-Three Beasts Innate Unity Qi Technique best suits her.
• Although Xiao Cai is a sparrow demon and would seemingly match a bird-related chapter, the test reveals that she has the strongest compatibility with the Giant Whale Chapter.
• The Scarlet Heaven Sword explains that Xiao Cai’s transformation during the Melon-Eating Sage’s ritual—especially the influence of Divine Whale bloodline—caused this unexpected compatibility. Song Shuhang decides that Xiao Cai should cultivate the Giant Whale Chapter.

Character Developments

• Onion Lady remains emotionally unstable but demonstrates improved cultivation and stronger attacks through her Berserk Art. Her relationship with Song Shuhang is shown to be affectionate despite his comical exploitation of her onion sprouts.
• Song Shuhang continues treating his demon pets in a practical, often absurdly exploitative manner, but he also protects and comforts them. His progress to the Fourth-Grade Realm gives him new abilities, including the power to identify the best cultivation path for others.
• Xiao Cai begins moving toward a cultivation path nearly identical to Song Shuhang’s. Her transformation has fundamentally altered her potential, making her unusually compatible with the Giant Whale Chapter.
• Tree Demon Qingwu increasingly accepts her role as a demon pet and bonds with Onion Lady through their shared experiences of being used as cultivation or cooking materials.
• Fairy Bie Xue continues functioning almost like Song Shuhang’s personal chef, though she benefits from their exchange of ingredients and favors.

Significant Themes

• Comedy through cultivation and exploitation: Powerful techniques and supernatural transformations are used for absurd purposes, particularly harvesting onion sprouts and creating dramatic background music.
• Growth and transformation: Xiao Cai’s unexpected whale affinity shows that her identity and potential have changed through the Melon-Eating Sage’s ritual.
• Companionship amid mistreatment: Song Shuhang’s treatment of his demon pets is harshly practical, but it exists alongside genuine trust, affection, and mutual dependence.
• Inheritance and synchronization: Xiao Cai is poised to become Song Shuhang’s “alt,” sharing his cultivation technique, body refinement, merit method, and saber technique.

Important Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang and Onion Lady: They cooperate in the chaotic Onion Blade Drawn ritual, with Onion Lady attacking him while he harvests her sprouts. Their teasing relationship also includes Song Shuhang reassuring her and sending her to rest.
• Xiao Cai and Song Shuhang: Xiao Cai provides comic commentary and music, then begins her formal cultivation assessment under Song Shuhang’s guidance.
• Qingwu and Onion Lady: Qingwu silently sympathizes with Onion Lady and recognizes that both have been treated similarly by powerful cultivators.
• Fairy Bie Xue and Song Shuhang: Their exchange of onion sprouts for future Immortal Treasure Banquets reinforces their mutually beneficial relationship.
• Song Shuhang and the Scarlet Heaven Sword: The sword clarifies why Xiao Cai is suited to the Giant Whale Chapter and confirms that her unusual result is a consequence of her transformation.

Key plot points and events

• Song Shuhang teaches Xiao Cai the first three chapters of Senior White’s revised Thirty-Three Beasts Innate Unity Qi Technique, choosing the Giant Whale Chapter to match her aptitude. He plans to teach her the accompanying Whale Swallowing Technique once she reaches the second chapter.
• Xiao Cai begins cultivating immediately, determined to make the most of her chance to advance. Song Shuhang watches over her as she switches techniques, while Tree Demon Qingwu wonders whether to ask Senior White for a cultivation method better suited to her new, purified state.
• In the Nine Provinces Number One Group, Song Shuhang confirms that Senior White has emerged from the Tribulation World and is resting at Fairy Bie Xue’s residence. He keeps quiet about the impending Eighth-Grade whale feast to avoid attracting envy.
• Song Shuhang sees that Senior Skylark’s game account visited his farm and briefly wonders whether she has returned. Mad Saber Three Waves admits that he used her account; he asks Song to tell him if he learns anything about Skylark, and says he may venture into the Nine Netherworld himself.
• The Northern Great Emperor finishes helping with the feast, but Senior White remains asleep inside his cocoon. Song Shuhang, then Fairy Bie Xue, try to wake him so he can eat. He responds sleepily but refuses to get up. Fairy Bie Xue finally shakes the cocoon, hoping to wake him before the food cools.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Cai shows gratitude and trust toward Song Shuhang, while privately placing especially strong faith in Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword’s judgment. Her diligence reflects her renewed determination after nearing the end of her lifespan.
• Song Shuhang takes a careful, responsible role in guiding Xiao Cai and monitoring her cultivation. He also hopes her progress will clarify whether his own Fat Whale Phantom Core came from the revised technique or his Sage Seal.
• Qingwu begins considering how her changed nature might require a new cultivation path.
• Three Waves’ concern about Skylark hints at his growing personal investment in her whereabouts. Song Shuhang is surprised by their apparent closeness.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen and Shi are both drowsy; Sixteen falls asleep on Song Shuhang’s shoulder. The chapter plays the sleepy characters’ behavior against Fairy Bie Xue’s urgency to serve the feast.

Significant themes

• Guidance and trust: Song Shuhang passes on a cultivation method, while Xiao Cai’s trust in her mentors shapes her choice.
• Change and adaptation: Xiao Cai adopts a new cultivation path, and Qingwu reflects on finding a technique suited to her transformed state.
• Uncertainty and concern: Skylark’s absence remains unresolved, motivating Three Waves to consider searching the Nine Netherworld.
• Everyday humor amid powerful events: The group’s cultivation concerns and missing friend are interwoven with farm-game banter, sleepy companions, and the comic problem of getting Senior White out of his cocoon for dinner.

Plot points and events

• Fairy Bie Xue tries to wake Senior White by shaking his giant cocoon so he can enjoy the first course of the Eighth-Grade Whale Sage Feast. The cocoon suddenly pins her down.
• Song Shuhang persuades the sleepy Senior White to release the cocoon’s suppression seal, then lifts it. When he sets it down, it falls through a broken glass viewing floor into the fishpond below.
• The impact and movement wake Senior White just enough to make the cocoon leap onto Song Shuhang. Its suppression seal activates, pinning him to the floor. Senior White ignores Song Shuhang’s pleas, having plugged his ears.
• The broken floor turns out to be an unrepaired casualty of a cat demon that had smashed the glass to catch fish. Song Shuhang’s predicament is an unlucky accident, not a trap.
• The feast proceeds without Song Shuhang’s help. Fairy Bie Xue offers to save his portion, but Su Clan’s Sixteen decides to feed him while he remains pinned.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang remains quick-witted but suffers another humiliating mishap involving Senior White’s cocoon. He insists he is innocent and pleads for help, while accepting that his luck is terrible.
• Senior White stays half-asleep and oblivious, repeatedly responding with sleepy “mm”s. He pins first Bie Xue, then Shuhang, and ignores Shuhang after plugging his ears.
• Fairy Bie Xue shifts from eager host—and hopeful would-be feeder of Senior White—to frustrated chef. Her carefully planned chance to feed him is displaced by Sixteen’s offer to feed Shuhang.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen wakes eagerly for the feast, teases Shuhang about his past cocoon-related misfortune, and tenderly offers to feed him.
• Xiao Cai pretends concern for her master but mainly hopes to eat his share. Shuhang threatens to expel her, and she jokes that his ability to scold her proves he is fine.
• The Northern Great Emperor declines to rescue Shuhang, reasoning that interfering with Senior White’s peculiar luck could lead to something even worse.

Significant themes

• Comic misfortune: Shuhang’s bad luck turns an accidental floor collapse into yet another cocoon-induced disaster.
• Plans versus fate: Bie Xue’s elaborate intentions are undone by events, while Sixteen ends up taking the role she had hoped to fill.
• Affection expressed through food and teasing: The feast brings the group together, with care, rivalry, and humor woven into their interactions.

Chapter Summary: “I’m About to Face the Tribulation, I’m About to Die”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Clan’s Sixteen feeds Song Shuhang Fairy Bie Xue’s exquisite “Crystal-Clear Soup,” prepared from an Eighth-Grade Whale Sage. Song Shuhang is embarrassed at first, but secretly enjoys the intimate situation and the soup’s extraordinary flavor.
• The Northern Great Emperor and the others react humorously to the romantic atmosphere. Shi attempts to imitate Sixteen by feeding Xiao Cai, but instead eats the spoonful herself, leaving Xiao Cai confused.
• Fairy Bie Xue prepares a scallion-free bowl of soup for Onion Lady. Song Shuhang sends it into his Core World, where Onion Lady initially suspects a trap but greedily drinks it after hearing it contains no scallions.
• The soup’s immense spiritual energy causes Onion Lady, already at the peak of the Second Grade, to approach a Heavenly Tribulation. She immediately panics and contacts Song Shuhang for help.
• Fairy Bie Xue gives Song Shuhang another serving originally intended for Senior White. The Merit Snake Beauty consumes it instead, surprising Fairy Bie Xue because she normally only eats energy-based substances.
• The Northern Great Emperor explains that the Merit Snake Beauty can consume the soup because the whale’s flesh had fused with Merit Light, making it partially akin to an energy body.
• The Merit Snake Beauty undergoes another evolution. Rather than merely shedding her tail, a miniature Divine Whale grows into a massive whale, which she rides. She becomes a “snake beauty who rode a whale.”
• After drinking the soup, Xiao Cai also feels energized and announces that she may soon undergo a Heavenly Tribulation, giving Song Shuhang two simultaneous emergencies.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Becomes more comfortable with Sixteen’s affection and chooses not to interrupt her despite being capable of feeding himself. He also continues trying to manage the chaotic consequences of his companions’ cultivation breakthroughs.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen: Displays increasing tenderness and initiative by feeding Song Shuhang. Her slight embarrassment and blush reveal the growing intimacy between them.
• Onion Lady: Gains a major boost from the soup but immediately becomes frightened by the possibility of advancing into Heavenly Tribulation. Her reaction emphasizes her anxiety and dependence on Song Shuhang.
• Merit Snake Beauty: Evolves after consuming the whale soup, gaining a giant Merit Divine Whale as part of her transformed form. Her playful behavior contrasts with the seriousness of cultivation advancement.
• Xiao Cai: Receives enough spiritual energy to potentially trigger her own tribulation, adding to Song Shuhang’s problems.
• Fairy Bie Xue: Shows generosity and culinary mastery, while also teasing Song Shuhang about being fed. She accepts the Eighth-Grade whale flesh as payment for future culinary assistance.
• Northern Great Emperor: Acts as an observer and knowledgeable guide, explaining the Merit Snake Beauty’s condition and advising Song Shuhang to study Ancient Era Script more seriously.
• Scarlet Heaven Sword: Suffers comically after being drenched in the soup inside the Merit Snake Beauty.

Significant Themes

• Affection and intimacy: Sixteen feeding Song Shuhang creates a rare, tender moment amid the surrounding chaos.
• Cultivation as both opportunity and danger: The soup provides enormous benefits but pushes Onion Lady and Xiao Cai toward tribulation before they are emotionally prepared.
• Comedic escalation: A simple meal repeatedly produces unexpected consequences—romantic embarrassment, evolutionary transformation, and multiple imminent Heavenly Tribulations.
• Transformation and adaptation: The Merit Snake Beauty’s evolution shows how unusual beings can develop through Song Shuhang’s accumulated Merit Light and extraordinary encounters.
• Food as power: Fairy Bie Xue’s cooking functions almost like a miraculous pill, combining pleasure with genuine cultivation advancement.

Important Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang and Sixteen: Sixteen feeds him affectionately while he quietly accepts the intimacy.
• Shi and Xiao Cai: Shi attempts to feed Xiao Cai but selfishly eats the soup herself, creating a comic misunderstanding.
• Song Shuhang and Onion Lady: He delivers her special soup, while she immediately warns him that it may trigger her tribulation.
• Song Shuhang and the Merit Snake Beauty: He allows her to drink the extra soup and prepares to protect her with Saber Intent Armor if her evolution becomes dangerous.
• Fairy Bie Xue and the Northern Great Emperor: They negotiate the exchange of the whale’s body for future culinary cooperation, with Fairy Bie Xue embarrassed by his warm and persuasive manner.
• Song Shuhang and the Northern Great Emperor: The Emperor teases him about forgetting the Merit Snake Beauty’s difficult name and advises him to improve his Ancient Era Script.
• Song Shuhang and Xiao Cai: Xiao Cai’s sudden announcement that she may also face tribulation leaves Song Shuhang overwhelmed by yet another crisis.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Cai’s cultivation has been pushed toward a third-to-fourth advancement tribulation by powerful benefits, but she lacks experience and preparation. Onion Lady is approaching her own tribulation too.
• The Northern Great Emperor offers to teach Xiao Cai a universal defensive tribulation method. Xiao Cai chooses to face the tribulation immediately, trusting his guidance. He passes the method and its energy-circulation route directly into her mind; she practices it successfully, and they head outside to begin.
• Song Shuhang remains pinned beneath Senior White’s Giant Cocoon while Su Clan’s Sixteen stays with him. He tries escaping through his Core World, but returns to the exact spot beneath the cocoon and is crushed again. Sixteen comforts him by feeding him soup.
• As Xiao Cai’s tribulation gathers, Shi explains that modern heavenly tribulations can take the form of weapons such as tanks, aircraft, and nuclear bombs. The Northern Great Emperor, newly returned from a secluded realm, is surprised by these changes and by Shuhang’s recent rise to Sage status.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Cai moves from anxious uncertainty to decisive confidence, accepting the Great Emperor’s help and quickly mastering his technique.
• The Northern Great Emperor demonstrates calm authority and generosity, while revealing he has been away from the recent upheavals.
• Song Shuhang remains resourceful but comically forgetful: despite having a powerful Core World, panic makes him overlook it, and his escape attempt fails.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen stays close to Shuhang, offering practical comfort; Fairy Bie Xue adjusts the feast’s cooking schedule to give Xiao Cai time to prepare.
• Onion Lady anxiously asks for help, but Shuhang postpones her turn while Xiao Cai’s situation is handled.

Significant themes

• Power without preparation is dangerous: rapidly gained cultivation leaves Xiao Cai and Onion Lady vulnerable.
• Mentorship and timely support: the Great Emperor’s experience turns Xiao Cai’s seemingly hopeless situation into a manageable challenge.
• Comedy amid danger: the contrast between terrifying tribulations and Shuhang’s repeated misfortune keeps the chapter lighthearted.
• A changing cultivation world: modernized heavenly tribulations and Shuhang’s rapid advancement show how quickly familiar rules are shifting.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Cai begins her Third-to-Fourth Advancement Heavenly Tribulation under the Northern Great Emperor’s guidance. He teaches her a defensive method combining a mantra and secret technique.
• The method makes Xiao Cai crouch, cover her head with her wings, and sway rhythmically. Despite looking ridiculous, it creates a golden glow that lets her withstand the first enormous lightning strike without injury.
• Shi recognizes the pose as the Head-Hugging Crouch Defense seen during Song Shuhang’s Manifestation Before All, where the Daoist Three Sages used similar poses to survive their tribulations.
• The Great Emperor is surprised: he believes only he and the technique’s unknown creator possessed copies. Shi’s account leads him to suspect a connection involving Song Shuhang.
• Song explains to Su Clan’s Sixteen that the earlier sages learned the pose through his puppet. He asks Puppet Girl whether she recognizes the Northern Great Emperor; her memories are hazy, but she agrees to meet him after repairing her body.
• Xiao Cai withstands three waves of fused Five Elements Tribulations without mutation. The fourth wave then transforms into a giant cannon—the Modernized Heavenly Tribulation—and fires at her.
• As Xiao Cai draws on the medicinal power of Fairy Bie Xue’s Crystal-Clear Soup, an illusory image of her human form appears and performs the same trembling, head-covering crouch.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Cai proves capable and resourceful, trusting the Great Emperor’s instructions and enduring successive attacks. Her confidence that her sparrow form makes the awkward pose look cute is undercut when her human-form image repeats it.
• The Northern Great Emperor reveals that the technique came from a long-lost junior and had once been intended for the Ancient Heavenly Court. He becomes curious about how the sages and Song’s puppet came to know it.
• Song Shuhang connects the sages’ pose to his puppet and considers whether Puppet Girl’s unknown true body might belong to the Great Emperor’s junior.
• Puppet Girl remains uncertain about her past, prioritizes repairing her body, and reluctantly agrees to meet the Great Emperor.
• Shi and Fairy Bie Xue observe Xiao Cai’s tribulation; Shi identifies the technique, while Fairy Bie Xue speculates that the earlier waves may not mutate for everyone.

Significant themes

• The ridiculous can be effective: The cowardly-looking defense method is genuinely powerful.
• Connections across eras: A technique from the Ancient Heavenly Court links the Great Emperor, the Daoist Sages, Song Shuhang, and Puppet Girl.
• Change and uncertainty: The modern Heavenly Dao produces a new kind of tribulation, while characters struggle to keep pace with shifting times and incomplete memories.

Plot points

• Song Shuhang and Su Clan’s Sixteen watch Xiao Cai endure her Third-Grade Heavenly Tribulation using the Great Emperor’s “Head-Hugging Crouch Defense.” The method withstands repeated attacks despite Xiao Cai having no tribulation array.
• Sixteen wonders whether the secret art has a cost. Song Shuhang asks the puppet girl, who explains that prolonged use can drain energy, injure the body, or require sacrificing part of it. She reveals that she sacrificed part of her puppet body to protect Song Shuhang and others during his past tribulation.
• Xiao Cai survives successive waves of cannons and machine-gun fire, while the Northern Great Emperor marvels at how modernized—and unfamiliar—the Heavenly Tribulation has become.
• When a Heavenly Tribulation battleship prepares to fire, the Great Emperor tells Xiao Cai to repeat the secret words three times so she can change to a stronger defensive posture. She accidentally repeats them four times, activating the method’s companion-protection function instead.
• Xiao Cai’s defensive power spreads to the Great Emperor, Fairy Bie Xue, Shi, and Merit Snake Beauty, leaving Xiao Cai herself less protected. The Great Emperor judges that she cannot survive the next wave and prepares to disperse the tribulation.
• Senior White suddenly arrives after recovering from his own tribulation. He spots the Heavenly Tribulation battleship and reacts with delighted interest.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang’s gratitude toward the puppet girl deepens when he learns she paid a physical price to save him and his companions. He briefly wonders whether she could be her own original body, but dismisses the idea based on an earlier appraisal.
• Sixteen’s concern about Xiao Cai prompts the discussion of the secret art’s risks. Song Shuhang, in turn, worries about Xiao Cai having to sacrifice part of her small body.
• The Northern Great Emperor remains composed and guides Xiao Cai through the secret art, though he is exasperated by the accidental fourth recitation and prepared to intervene.
• Xiao Cai is brave but frightened as the attacks escalate; she seeks guidance and becomes tearful when told her protection may not be enough.
• The onlookers are drawn into Xiao Cai’s protective field, while Senior White’s arrival shifts the scene toward a new, curious response to the battleship.

Significant themes

• Power and sacrifice: The secret art’s extraordinary defense comes with potentially serious costs.
• Care and mutual protection: The companion-protection function spreads Xiao Cai’s defense to those around her, even though it leaves her more vulnerable.
• Change and adaptation: The Great Emperor reflects on how modernized Heavenly Tribulations have transformed a familiar ordeal into something radically new.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: Song Shuhang’s playful concern about lacking knowledge—especially about bird anatomy—contrasts with the real uncertainty surrounding the secret art and Xiao Cai’s survival.

Chapter Summary: “A Piece of Bad News for the Cultivator World”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Senior White finishes farming Heavenly Tribulation weapons and ends his tribulation early, becoming a Sage. He arrives just as Xiao Cai’s tribulation is interrupted because she accidentally miscasts her secret technique.
• The Northern Great Emperor prepares to disperse Xiao Cai’s Tribulation Battleship, but Senior White asks to handle it himself. He seals the battleship with a series of runes and stores it in a spatial artifact, delighting in obtaining a weapon that can function in the Present World.
• Everyone is shocked that the Heavenly Tribulation appears to be “pressured” by Senior White. Shi explains that Senior White had previously collected and farmed Heavenly Tribulation weapons, making him seem like an abnormality even to the Northern Great Emperor.
• Xiao Cai prepares to withdraw her secret technique and try the tribulation again later. Song Shuhang comforts and admonishes her, emphasizing that she must not make careless mistakes and cannot always rely on powerful seniors to protect her.
• Before Xiao Cai can end the technique, another Tribulation Battleship appears. Senior White destroys Battleship 777 with a disposable flying sword carved from a branch of his Tree of Merit, but Battleship 888 immediately forms afterward.
• The group realizes that the modernized Heavenly Tribulation no longer ends when an outside cultivator disperses or destroys it. This fundamentally undermines the traditional method of protecting someone during tribulation by forcibly stopping the tribulation.
• Senior White and the Northern Great Emperor discuss intervening directly, but doing so might escalate Xiao Cai’s tribulation to the Eighth- or even Ninth-Grade level. The Merit Snake Beauty ultimately shields Xiao Cai and activates a secret technique.

Character Developments

• Senior White: Remains fascinated by powerful and unusual weapons. His disappointment over the limited usefulness of Heavenly Tribulation weapons disappears when he discovers that the Tribulation Battleship can operate in the Present World. He casually seals and collects it, demonstrating both his overwhelming ability and eccentric inventor-like personality.
• Xiao Cai: Feels guilty about failing her tribulation and fears disappointing Song Shuhang. She resolves to be more careful and prove herself as his disciple, but her situation becomes more dangerous when the Heavenly Tribulation unexpectedly continues.
• Song Shuhang: Acts as a supportive but responsible master. He comforts Xiao Cai while warning her that tribulation transcendence requires absolute precision and that she cannot depend on outside assistance every time.
• Northern Great Emperor: Shows caution because of his sensitive identity and prefers to avoid acting unnecessarily. He is deeply astonished by Senior White’s ability to seal and “farm” the Heavenly Tribulation.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen, Shi, and Fairy Bie Xue: Observe and react to Senior White’s actions. Shi records the event, while Fairy Bie Xue keeps her own recording as a treasured memory.
• Merit Snake Beauty: Takes direct protective action when the new Tribulation Battleship appears, shielding Xiao Cai with her body and secret technique.

Significant Themes

• The danger of technological change: The “modernized” Heavenly Tribulation changes the rules of cultivation. Traditional safety measures are no longer reliable, making future tribulations significantly deadlier.
• Reliance versus personal strength: Xiao Cai’s failure highlights the danger of depending on powerful protectors. Song Shuhang stresses that cultivators must ultimately be able to survive their own tribulations.
• The absurdity of Senior White’s power: The chapter humorously portrays Senior White treating Heavenly Tribulation weapons as collectible inventions rather than life-threatening disasters.
• Responsibility and mentorship: Song Shuhang balances affection with stern guidance, trying to prepare Xiao Cai for future dangers.
• Unintended consequences: Attempts to stop the tribulation do not solve the problem; instead, new battleships appear, suggesting that the Cultivation World must adapt to a major change.

Important Character Interactions

• Senior White asks the Northern Great Emperor for the Tribulation Battleship and earns his permission to deal with it.
• Shi explains Senior White’s history of collecting Heavenly Tribulation weapons, leaving the Northern Great Emperor stunned.
• Song Shuhang encourages Xiao Cai after her mistake but warns her not to treat tribulation transcendence casually.
• Senior White and the Northern Great Emperor debate whether direct intervention would worsen the tribulation.
• The group recognizes together that the new Heavenly Tribulation system poses a major threat to cultivators throughout the world, prompting Senior White to ask Song Shuhang to warn everyone.

Chapter Summary: “World, Submit Beneath Me and Tremble!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Merit Snake Beauty uses the Possession Merit Avatar Secret Method to merge with Xiao Cai’s Merit Light. Her possession dramatically strengthens Xiao Cai’s “Guardian Light Curtain.”
• Northern Great Emperor warns that interfering with Xiao Cai’s Heavenly Tribulation could raise its power beyond the Ninth-Grade level.
• As No. 888 Tribulation Battleship prepares to fire, the Guardian Light Curtain expands and envelops Song Shuhang, Su Clan’s Sixteen, Shi, and others.
• The curtain forces those caught within it to perform an involuntary “Head-Hugging Crouch Defense,” accompanied by rhythmic trembling.
• Senior White and Northern Great Emperor teleport outside the curtain’s range. They prepare to intervene if the Heavenly Tribulation changes dangerously, with Senior White targeting the tribulation battleship and Northern Great Emperor ready to rescue the group.
• Northern Great Emperor attempts to contain the expanding curtain with the Grand Thousand-Pillar Sealing Method, but the curtain passes through the barrier effortlessly.
• The light curtain spreads into a nearby town. Ordinary drivers are unaffected except for feeling refreshed, suggesting that the curtain selectively chooses its targets.
• It reaches a square-dancing plaza, forcing the dancing aunties into synchronized crouching and trembling. Spectators mistake the bizarre behavior for part of the choreography, though a few are affected as well.
• The curtain then enters a convention hall, where a speaker and the audience are compelled to adopt the same posture and rhythm, creating the appearance of a strange demonic ritual.

Character Developments

• Merit Snake Beauty demonstrates that she can possess and greatly amplify Xiao Cai’s merit-based abilities, though her intentions remain unclear.
• Xiao Cai becomes the center of an increasingly powerful and uncontrollable phenomenon through the enhanced Guardian Light Curtain.
• Song Shuhang remains alert and protective, trying to help Shi and worrying about the danger the curtain may pose to ordinary people.
• Shi is completely controlled by the curtain but accepts her forced trembling with innocent obedience, adding to the scene’s humor.
• Senior White relies on his instinct for danger and avoids the curtain, then takes responsibility for countering the Heavenly Tribulation.
• Northern Great Emperor acts defensively and attempts to contain the phenomenon, but his sealing technique proves ineffective.
• Fairy Bie Xue becomes concerned about the effect on nearby civilians and helps draw attention to the growing threat.

Significant Themes

• Uncontrolled power and unintended consequences: A protective ability becomes a large-scale phenomenon that affects both cultivators and ordinary people.
• Protection versus disruption: The Guardian Light Curtain is meant to protect companions, yet its methods are bizarre and potentially dangerous.
• Selective supernatural influence: The curtain appears capable of distinguishing between people it wants to affect and those it does not.
• Comedic contrast: A terrifying Heavenly Tribulation unfolds alongside absurd images of square-dancing aunties and officials trembling in synchronized formation.
• Collective behavior and perception: Bystanders reinterpret supernatural actions as choreography or ritual, showing how ordinary people impose familiar explanations on strange events.

Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang and Su Clan’s Sixteen discuss the danger of Senior White’s absence and attempt to escape the curtain’s influence.
• Song Shuhang carries Shi into the air when she can no longer control her movements.
• Fairy Bie Xue questions whether civilians will be harmed, prompting Northern Great Emperor to attempt containment.
• Senior White and Northern Great Emperor silently coordinate their responses to the Heavenly Tribulation.
• The affected townspeople unknowingly join the bizarre “dance,” while spectators interpret the synchronized movements in increasingly confused ways.

Key plot points and events

• The Guardian Light Curtain spreads through the town, putting selected residents into a defensive crouch-and-tremble posture. It causes no harm, and the Northern Great Emperor watches the tribulation while Senior White oversees the town.
• The townspeople find comfort in trembling together. They discover they can shuffle or frog-jump without breaking the posture, while others record and post the bizarre scene online, prompting jokes and speculation.
• Meanwhile, the No. 888 Tribulation Battleship bombards Xiao Cai. Her defensive technique withstands successive volleys—even a powerful attack from the ship’s main cannon—without the tribulation growing stronger.
• The Northern Great Emperor suspects Merit Snake Beauty is helping Xiao Cai, but cannot understand why the tribulation does not react. He then sees prayer-like power from the Guardian Light Curtain gathered and placed onto the Profound Sage Tyrannical Song imprint on Xiao Cai.
• Xiao Cai instinctively activates her previously unexplained Saint Body ability. It connects to Song Shuhang, splitting off part of his consciousness and sending it into Xiao Cai’s body.
• Song Shuhang realizes he is now in Xiao Cai’s crouching defensive posture. He is immediately struck by more than a hundred cannon blasts, while his main consciousness watches from the sky. He concludes that he has effectively become Xiao Cai’s “alternate account” and is taking her place in the tribulation.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Cai moves from relying on her defensive technique to activating Saint Body, revealing that the ability can link her to Song Shuhang.
• Song Shuhang becomes unexpectedly involved in Xiao Cai’s tribulation and suffers the consequences of the connection. His joking “main account/alternate account” comparison becomes reality.
• Merit Snake Beauty appears to be supporting Xiao Cai through the Guardian Light Curtain’s prayer-like energy, though her exact purpose remains unclear.
• The Northern Great Emperor closely monitors Xiao Cai because Merit Snake Beauty is involved, and grows increasingly puzzled by the apparent loophole in the tribulation.
• The townspeople bond over their shared involuntary posture, turning collective fear into casual conversation and comic spectacle.

Significant themes

• Comedy through collective absurdity: A frightening supernatural effect becomes socially manageable—and even entertaining—when everyone shares it.
• Unintended consequences of power and connection: Xiao Cai’s unexplained ability links her to Song Shuhang, pulling him into danger.
• Mystery and rule-bending: Merit Snake Beauty’s use of prayer power and the tribulation’s failure to respond suggest hidden mechanics or loopholes.
• Responsibility and intervention: Song Shuhang’s connection to Xiao Cai means he may bear the cost of protecting or assisting her.

Plot points and events

• Song Shuhang’s consciousness unexpectedly enters Xiao Cai’s body during her heavenly tribulation. With Xiao Cai stuck maintaining a defensive crouch, he takes control to help her survive the Tribulation Battleship’s bombardment.
• He uses Xiao Cai’s newly learned Thirty-Three Beasts Innate Unity Qi Technique, quickly advancing it and forming Pseudo-Proto-Innate True Qi.
• Song Shuhang has the Merit Snake Beauty feed Xiao Cai the thirty-three spirit beast crystals he brought. Xiao Cai’s body successfully digests them, and each crystal strengthens the defense and adds a corresponding beast phantom to her true qi.
• Every crystal also triggers a memory from the embarrassing Two Hundred Skills Necessary for a Monster to Survive Tenaciously manual Song Shuhang encountered through Onion Lady. The memories include absurd monster strategies such as stealing, surrendering, and manipulating relationships.
• Song Shuhang suspects the manual may be connected to the Beast God Division’s hidden inheritance, which is supposedly passed down through an alliance of demon cultivators and spirit beasts. He wonders whether the monster organization All Monsters in the World Unite to Become One Family is that alliance—and whether the manual contains the complete form of the cultivation technique.
• As the tribulation defense nears collapse, all thirty-three beast phantoms converge on the Pseudo-Proto-Innate True Qi and merge with it. The chapter ends before the result is shown.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang shifts from surprise to urgent problem-solving, applying his cultivation experience to Xiao Cai’s body and guiding her through a rapid advancement.
• Xiao Cai’s cultivation proves unexpectedly compatible with the technique: her Third-Grade constitution and digestion allow her to absorb the crystals despite being unable to chew them.
• The Merit Snake Beauty follows Song Shuhang’s instructions, catching the crystals and feeding them to Xiao Cai while Xiao Cai remains immobile.
• Song Shuhang’s thoughts about the shameful manual reveal his reluctance to take it seriously, even as its repeated appearances make him reconsider its significance.

Significant themes

• Improvisation under pressure: Song Shuhang turns an unexpected possession into a practical way to strengthen Xiao Cai during a crisis.
• Inheritance and hidden connections: The chapter raises the possibility that a ridiculous monster organization and its embarrassing manual conceal a genuine, important tradition.
• Humor amid danger: The absurd memories repeatedly intrude during a life-or-death battle, contrasting comic embarrassment with the urgent threat of the tribulation.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Cai completes the third part of the Thirty-Three Beasts Innate Unity Qi Technique, forming a slender giant-whale phantom from the thirty-three beast forms.
• As the final barrage of her Heavenly Tribulation arrives, Song Shuhang’s consciousness controls Xiao Cai’s body. Using her steel-hardened wings, his Saber Intent, and the Reverse Scale Saber Technique, he helps her withstand the attack. The Tribulation Battleship then crashes into the ground, and the tribulation ends.
• Xiao Cai survives but remains unconscious and does not immediately advance. The Northern Great Emperor identifies this as a Heart Demon Tribulation, which she must overcome alone. Fairy Bie Xue takes her back to her cave residence.
• Song Shuhang releases Onion Lady for her Second-to-Third Rank tribulation. The Northern Great Emperor teaches her the Head-Hugging Crouch Defense technique, and she prepares to begin.
• Just as Onion Lady draws down her Tribulation Cloud, cultivators throughout the worlds sense that the flawed Contemporary Heavenly Dao has entered its final countdown.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Cai demonstrates major progress in her cultivation and endures a devastating tribulation, though her advancement remains unresolved while she faces her Heart Demon.
• Song Shuhang discovers that, while possessing Xiao Cai, he can use his Saber Intent and pass a small amount of True Essence through his Sage Seal. He takes an active role in protecting her.
• The Northern Great Emperor remains cautious about interference in the tribulation, explains Xiao Cai’s Heart Demon situation, and prepares Onion Lady for her own trial.
• Onion Lady is anxious about her lack of Saber Intent but agrees to follow instructions carefully.
• Fairy Bie Xue kindly takes Xiao Cai in, prompting Shi to jokingly worry that the Immortal Chef might cook the sparrow demon.
• Senior White and the others watch Xiao Cai’s final trial but avoid interfering, recognizing that doing so could invalidate her efforts.

Significant themes

• Endurance and self-reliance: Xiao Cai must face her Heart Demon alone, while both tribulations demand that their challengers withstand danger rather than evade it.
• Uncertain cosmic change: The Heavenly Dao’s long-hidden flaw finally becomes an immediate crisis, suggesting a new era may be near.
• Potential and destiny: Scarlet Heaven Sword wonders whether Onion Lady’s tribulation is connected to the Heavenly Dao’s impending end—and whether she could become its successor.

Key plot points and events

• The Northern Great Emperor announces he must withdraw from the world. The flawed current Heavenly Dao is nearing its end and may lash out at Longevity Immortals and peak Tribulation Immortals—potential successors to the Dao.
• Before leaving, the Emperor reassures Song Shuhang that he will eventually bring him the Heaven-Gazing Jade Sea Turtle, who can help obtain the last ingredient for Li Yinzhu’s Ice Soul Pill. He plans to seal the turtle’s cultivation in the meantime.
• Onion Lady’s Second-to-Third advancement tribulation is inexplicably weak: it ends after seven tiny lightning waves. Instead, she is plunged into a Heart Demon Tribulation, despite being only a Second-Grade cultivator.
• Her delirious cries suggest her demons involve Song Shuhang pinching her onion tip and Fairy Bie Xue turning her into onion dishes. The group decides to put her with Xiao Cai and let them face their trials themselves.
• Song Shuhang says Dharma King Creation’s singing may be a last-resort way to break Heart Demons, though he wants to use it cautiously.
• The same strange tribulation pattern is happening across the realms. Medicine Master’s carefully prepared tribulation formation goes unused when his lightning is feeble and he too enters a Heart Demon Tribulation.
• Song Shuhang introduces Puppet Girl to the Northern Great Emperor. She insists he is an impostor, but he says he is Northern and that he has changed since she last knew him. He asks Song Shuhang to look after her while he is away.
• The chapter ends with Song Shuhang asking the Emperor about the Beast God Division’s inheritance.

Character developments and interactions

• The Northern Great Emperor shows both a lighter side—eagerly accepting Fairy Bie Xue’s offer to pack his meal—and a tender, sorrowful side when speaking with Puppet Girl. Their exchange hints that she was once his junior and that his apparent death or return may have changed him profoundly.
• Song Shuhang remains practical and concerned for his companions, especially Li Yinzhu, Onion Lady, and Puppet Girl. His joking suggestion about Onion Lady’s Heart Demon draws teasing looks from the others.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen takes charge of the immediate response to the Heart Demon Tribulations, while the group considers Song Shuhang’s unusual musical countermeasure.
• Puppet Girl’s distrust of the Emperor contrasts with his calm affection toward her, leaving their shared past unresolved.

Significant themes

• The Heavenly Dao’s decline and impending upheaval: Its flawed condition threatens to destabilize the cultivation world and push powerful cultivators into hiding.
• Unpredictable tribulations: The weakened lightning followed by unexpected Heart Demon Tribulations suggests the Heavenly Dao’s crisis is affecting cultivation itself.
• Identity, change, and memory: Puppet Girl cannot recognize the Emperor, who insists that despite his changes, he remains himself.
• Care amid looming danger: Characters prepare for retreat and turmoil while continuing to protect one another and attend to ordinary needs, such as finishing and packing a meal.

Key events

• The Northern Great Emperor explains that Song Blockhead moved the Beast God Division’s inheritance after the Ancient Heavenly Court’s fall, splitting it into an open portion and a hidden one. The hidden inheritance was concealed somewhere nobody would associate with the Beast God Division.
• Song Shuhang suspects the bizarre “All the Monsters of the World Unite to Become One Family” may be connected to that inheritance. He plans to secretly practice The Two Hundred Skills a Monster Needs to Survive in hopes of uncovering the lost cultivation and artifact-refining methods.
• Shuhang asks about combining all thirty-three Beast Dharma Artifacts into one Natal Dharma Artifact. The emperor confirms it is possible, but extremely costly, technically difficult, and must be completed before the Fifth-Grade Realm—with only two successful cases in the Beast God Division’s history. Shuhang still wants to try, or at least obtain the method for the giant-whale branch’s artifact.
• Before leaving, the emperor warns that the changing heavens may open passages between other realms and the Present World, and advises Shuhang not to enter any such passage recklessly. He also promises to send Shuhang a foolish turtle.
• After the emperor departs, everyone enjoys Fairy Bie Xue’s Eighth-Grade Whale Sage Feast. To prevent its powerful energy from causing uncontrolled advancement, Senior White gives Shuhang, Shi, and Su Clan’s Sixteen formations that let them store and release the energy gradually.
• Xiao Cai and Onion Lady remain unconscious in their Heart Demon Tribulations. Fairy Bie Xue’s plan to feed White between courses fails again, leaving her so upset she faints in the kitchen.
• Shuhang alerts the Nine Provinces Number One Group that Heavenly Tribulations have changed: dispersing the tribulation cloud no longer ends the trial. Reports from several cultivators reveal a wider pattern—tribulations have grown abnormally weak, then led directly into Heart Demon Tribulations, even where one would not normally occur.
• That night, after checking that Xiao Cai and Onion Lady are still unconscious, Shuhang sneaks out to practice the monster survival skills. He then realizes he can practice in his Core World instead.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang becomes increasingly determined to recover the Beast God Division’s hidden inheritance and attempt its daunting artifact path. He also takes responsibility for warning other cultivators about the altered tribulations.
• The Northern Great Emperor shares his limited knowledge of Song Blockhead’s secrecy, supports Shuhang’s ambition despite doubting his odds, and cautions him about the coming upheaval.
• Fairy Bie Xue hosts the group and provides the feast, while her continuing disappointment over not feeding Senior White supplies a comic counterpoint to the chapter’s serious warnings.
• Senior White helps the group manage the feast’s energy by installing temporary sealing formations.
• Puppet Girl silently observes the emperor and remains unreadable. Xiao Cai and Onion Lady are still trapped in their Heart Demon Tribulations.

Significant themes

• A changing and unreliable world: Tribulations behave unexpectedly, and new inter-realm passages may bring further upheaval.
• Hidden knowledge and inherited legacies: The Beast God Division’s concealed inheritance may be hidden in plain sight, requiring unconventional thinking to recover.
• Ambition tempered by risk: Shuhang pursues an exceptionally costly artifact path despite its near-impossible demands.
• Community and information-sharing: Cultivators use the group to compare experiences and warn one another as supernatural rules begin to change.

Plot points and events

• Seeking privacy to practice the strange manual The Two Hundred Skills a Monster Must Have to Survive, Song Shuhang chooses his Core World over the moonlit night.
• He works through its techniques, starting with the surprisingly useful Divine Stealing Technique and then the humiliating surrender poses and scripted apologies.
• Despite completing all two hundred skills, he finds no resonance with the Thirty-Three Beasts Innate Unity Qi Technique and assumes his hoped-for connection to the Beast God Division was imaginary.
• After leaving the Core World, the unusually powerful full moon prompts him to reconsider. Remembering that moonlight can aid Demon Cultivators, he flies to a secluded forest to try the manual again beneath the moon.
• As he performs the Tiger Pouncing Landing Surrender Stance and loudly recites its plea, a Space Gate opens—and a Great Sea Turtle crawls out.

Character developments

• Song Shuhang pushes through intense embarrassment by treating the practice as research, eventually becoming numb to the manual’s absurd demands.
• His disappointment at the failed experiment gives way to curiosity when he suspects the full moon may unlock the techniques’ effects.

Character interactions

• The chapter is mostly focused on Song Shuhang’s internal monologue and solo training.
• The Great Sea Turtle’s sudden arrival interrupts his second attempt, setting up an unexpected encounter.

Significant themes

• Comedy through humiliation: the monster techniques turn surrender into an elaborate, ridiculous discipline.
• Persistence and experimentation: Shuhang keeps testing a possible connection even after an apparent failure.
• Intuition and hidden conditions: the moonlight may be essential to revealing the manual’s true purpose.

Plot points and events

• The Ninth-Grade Jade Sea Turtle arrives through a Spatial Passage to help Song Shuhang find the final ingredient for the Ice Soul Pill. It catches him practicing an extremely embarrassing monster technique.
• Song jokingly considers turning the turtle into soup, but the turtle recognizes the technique as part of the Demon Cultivator Alliance’s manual, Two Hundred Essential Skills for Monsters to Survive.
• The turtle explains that Song Blockhead once tried to recruit it into the alliance. White-Bone Fairy had founded the group, while Song Blockhead helped recruit members and may have contributed to the manual.
• Song suspects the manual conceals a legacy. The turtle lends him its old copy in exchange for hearing about any discoveries.
• The turtle points out that many techniques require demonic energy and would not work for a human. Song realizes the manual may have resonated when he practiced it while inhabiting Xiao Cai, a demon.
• To test this idea, Song calls Young Master Phoenix Slayer and offers him rare dried fish in exchange for his “CPU.” Phoenix Slayer agrees to meet after dawn.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang shifts from embarrassment and suspicion to renewed excitement when the turtle’s explanation gives him a possible breakthrough.
• The Jade Sea Turtle is amused, perceptive, and unexpectedly helpful: it teases Song, shares its history with the alliance, and lends him the manual.
• Song and the turtle trade jokes and information, eventually making a deal based on their shared curiosity.
• Song’s exchange with the sleepy Phoenix Slayer shows his knack for bargaining—and his willingness to wake someone in the middle of the night to pursue an experiment.

Significant themes

• Appearances can mislead: A ridiculous manual may hide something valuable.
• Knowledge depends on the practitioner: The techniques’ reliance on demonic energy may explain why Song could not use them as a human.
• Chance and persistence: Song’s earlier experience in Xiao Cai’s body may have supplied the clue he needs.
• Humor amid investigation: Embarrassment, teasing, and absurdity frame the chapter’s growing mystery.

Chapter 1199: “Won’t Your Conscience Hurt?”

• Preparing for the Ice Soul Pill: Song Shuhang arranges to borrow Young Master Phoenix Slayer’s “CPU”—his innate ability to help solve cultivation problems—by luring him over with dried fish. Shuhang hopes this will help him master Two Hundred Skills a Monster Needs to Survive and uncover its secrets. The Jade Sea Turtle teases him for using such an embarrassing bargain, but Shuhang insists it is a fair trade.
• The missing ingredient: The turtle reveals that the final ingredient for the Ice Soul Pill is Buddha’s Hand Fruit, which remains common and should be easy to obtain. The pill will take no more than a day and a night to refine, and Li Yinzhu’s time realm gives them ample time.
• A running joke about age and conscience: The turtle mistakes Li Yinzhu for Shuhang’s daughter and declares that Shuhang looks forty or fifty. Shuhang protests that he looks thirty at most, but the turtle cheerfully says its conscience feels fine. It then hints that Shuhang’s plan to use Phoenix Slayer’s ability for an awkward secret art might strain their friendship.
• Checking on the others: Back at Fairy Bie Xue’s residence, Shuhang finds Onion Lady and Xiao Cai still trapped in their Heart Demon Tribulations. Onion Lady appears calmer and may recover first, while Xiao Cai’s ordeal seems more difficult because of her heartbreak over a Demon Catcher and her past brush with death. Shuhang hopes both will wake soon.
• The manual’s secrets: Shuhang uses his painful Appraisal Secret Method on the manual. It identifies the book as an inheritance from a demon-cultivator alliance founded by a survivor of the Ancient Heavenly Court, with “Song Beep Beep Beep” listed as a co-author. The appraisal suggests this is Song Blockhead—and that he is still alive—but refuses to reveal his private secret, citing his privacy rights. Frustrated, Shuhang gives up for the night.

Character developments and themes

Shuhang remains practical and resourceful, but his attempt to investigate the manual shows how much he depends on Song Blockhead’s mysterious legacy. His concern for Xiao Cai and Onion Lady highlights his care for his companions, while his urgency to obtain the pill reflects his commitment to saving Li Yinzhu. The turtle serves as a mischievous foil, mixing useful information with teasing and deliberately obtuse humor.
The chapter blends loyalty and friendship, privacy and secrecy, and the burdens of helping others with comic contrasts: Shuhang treats the Phoenix Slayer arrangement as ordinary cooperation, while the turtle sees a potential friendship disaster.