Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Unprompted Confession

Plot Points and Events

• After learning about Feng Jun, Huangfu Wuxia secretly investigates him through the Heavenlink Trade Alliance’s extensive intelligence network.
• She discovers that Inspector Guo, an inspector connected to Pine-Cypress Peak, met Feng Jun and disappeared soon afterward. She also learns that Yu Meiren, a Dust-Free Realm cultivator associated with Guo’s family, vanished after entering Fushan Commandery.
• Using Yu Meiren’s belongings and a divination expert, Huangfu confirms that Yu Meiren died near Fushan Commandery. She concludes that Zhige Mountain—and likely Feng Jun—was responsible.
• During her conversation with Feng Jun, Huangfu tests him by mentioning Yu Meiren’s death. Feng Jun remains unnaturally calm, convincing her that he is either involved or has powerful backing.
• Feng Jun tries to deflect suspicion by suggesting that Xie Chaoqun might have killed Yu Meiren. Huangfu quickly realizes this accidentally reveals that Yu Meiren likely came to Zhige Mountain while impersonating or using Xie Chaoqun’s name.
• Huangfu points out that Xie Chaoqun had already entered seclusion, meaning Feng Jun could only have learned his name from Yu Meiren. Feng Jun recognizes that her superior information has trapped him but refuses to confirm anything.
• Huangfu then asks Feng Jun to accompany her around Zhige Mountain. He initially refuses, but she persists. Feng Jun eventually agrees to accompany her in exchange for compensation.
• During their tour, Huangfu examines Zhige Mountain’s unusual machinery, including the boiler-backed engine, farm vehicle, all-terrain vehicle, and especially the motorcycle.
• She then notices rare spiritual plants, including supposedly extinct Purple-Banded Lingzhi, oversized ginseng, and He Shou Wu lying carelessly in the courtyard. Feng Jun claims his elders brought them from an end-of-Dharma hidden realm.

Character Developments

• Huangfu Wuxia demonstrates exceptional intelligence, investigative skill, and confidence. She successfully reconstructs the likely connection between Feng Jun, Inspector Guo, and Yu Meiren, then uses conversational traps to test Feng Jun’s reactions.
• Her investigation strengthens her suspicion that Feng Jun possesses hidden strength or powerful backing. She is also intrigued by his unusual knowledge and unconventional attitude.
• Feng Jun remains guarded and evasive. He tries to avoid directly confirming Huangfu’s conclusions, but his attempt to redirect blame toward Xie Chaoqun unintentionally exposes how he encountered Yu Meiren.
• Feng Jun is irritated by Huangfu’s control of the conversation and her relentless probing, but he counters her commercial worldview with the saying, “What is free is actually the most expensive.”
• The exchange reveals Feng Jun’s preference for treating relationships and favors as transactions, while also showing his ability to impress Huangfu with insights from the Blue Star Realm.
• Huangfu’s dislike of dual-cultivation practitioners, particularly those who exploit maidservants, subtly affects her attitude toward Feng Jun.

Significant Themes

• Information as power: Huangfu’s superior intelligence network gives her a major advantage over Feng Jun, demonstrating how incomplete information can leave even a powerful person vulnerable.
• Suspicion and indirect confession: Feng Jun never openly admits involvement in Yu Meiren’s death, but his reactions and mistaken assumptions effectively reveal pieces of the truth.
• Business and value: Their discussion emphasizes the Heavenlink Trade Alliance’s belief that everything has a price, while Feng Jun reinforces the idea that “free” offers may conceal greater costs.
• Hidden strength and appearances: Feng Jun’s calmness regarding the death of a Dust-Free Realm cultivator suggests that his true status and abilities are far greater than they appear.
• Cultural and technological contrast: Huangfu is fascinated by Blue Star technology, especially the motorcycle, while Feng Jun treats these objects as ordinary. The rare spiritual plants further highlight Zhige Mountain’s mysterious resources.

Character Interactions

• Huangfu conducts the conversation like an interrogation, repeatedly probing Feng Jun while maintaining a composed, playful demeanor.
• Feng Jun resists her attempts to control the exchange, challenging her to state what benefit he would receive for accompanying her.
• Their verbal sparring becomes partially competitive: Huangfu takes pride in deducing Feng Jun’s connection to Yu Meiren, while Feng Jun responds with skepticism and commercial logic.
• Despite mutual suspicion, Huangfu becomes increasingly interested in Feng Jun’s personality, knowledge, and possessions.
• The chapter ends with the pair touring Zhige Mountain together, their uneasy cooperation continuing as Huangfu investigates its secrets and Feng Jun considers what compensation to demand.

Chapter Summary: “Good Things Never Come Easy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huangfu Wuxia becomes frustrated by the poor condition of Feng Jun’s spirit plants. Their lack of vitality suggests they were grown in a Dharma-Ending Secret Realm, where spiritual energy is severely depleted.
• Feng Jun refuses to reveal the secret realm’s location, recognizing that its true nature as an entire planet would make it extremely valuable and tempting to powerful cultivators.
• Feng Jun asks Huangfu for a Spirit-Plant Shepherd manual as his reward, intending to use it to cultivate the damaged plants through a Spirit Plant Formation.
• Huangfu doubts the plants can be saved, explaining that their deficiencies are innate. Feng Jun nevertheless insists on studying them to search for patterns and possible solutions.
• Feng Jun reveals that his Spirit Plant Formation will soon be fully analyzed. Huangfu is surprised and annoyed when she learns that he has already sold the formation to Venerable Yan, denying her the chance to purchase it.
• Feng Jun and Huangfu tour the damaged Zhige Mountain, whose landscape has been scarred by jade mining and Feng Jun’s previous explosions.
• During their return, Huangfu asks whether she may inquire about Feng Jun’s deal with Venerable Yan. Feng Jun allows it but warns that the transaction was made at a special “friendship price” and should not be treated as a standard valuation.
• Huangfu again tries to recruit Feng Jun into the Heavenlink Trade Alliance. He refuses, saying that his path involves Red-Dust Tempering of the Heart and that he values freedom over organizational ties.
• Huangfu offers to obtain a beast-taming manual instead. Feng Jun explains that he needs it to control Flower Lord, a masterless Blood Gu that has been damaging his spirit plants.
• Huangfu recommends a costly Mind-Reading-based beast-taming art, priced at roughly a thousand Spirit Stones. Feng Jun admits he cannot currently afford it.
• She offers to let him take the manual on credit, leaving the chapter with Feng Jun considering her proposal.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun continues to display secrecy, commercial intelligence, and confidence in his unique abilities. He deliberately conceals the value of his secret realm and the true significance of his formation-analysis skills.
• He also shows practical honesty: rather than pretending to be wealthy, he openly admits that he cannot pay a thousand Spirit Stones immediately.
• Feng Jun’s determination is emphasized through his willingness to experiment with seemingly hopeless spirit plants and to find a way to control Flower Lord.
• Huangfu Wuxia is shown as commercially shrewd, knowledgeable, and persistent. She recognizes the value of Feng Jun’s abilities and repeatedly attempts to establish a closer relationship with him or her alliance.
• Despite her frustration at being excluded from the formation transaction, Huangfu remains composed and adaptable, offering Feng Jun credit instead of forcing the issue.

Significant Themes

• Value, secrecy, and negotiation: Feng Jun carefully controls information about his resources, formations, and transactions so others cannot undervalue or exploit him.
• Freedom versus affiliation: Feng Jun rejects joining the Heavenlink Trade Alliance because he fears that organizational ties would restrict his independence and interfere with his cultivation path.
• Persistence against apparent impossibility: Feng Jun refuses to accept Huangfu’s judgment that the damaged plants are beyond recovery, choosing research and experimentation instead.
• Friendship and commerce: The chapter explores the blurred boundary between genuine friendship and business dealings, with both characters using the language of “friendship prices” while negotiating materially valuable exchanges.
• Knowledge as power: Feng Jun’s ability to analyze formations effortlessly gives him a major advantage, while Huangfu’s expertise in beast-taming makes her a valuable potential ally.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Huangfu engage in constant verbal sparring, with Huangfu pressing for information and Feng Jun responding with evasive jokes or carefully calculated refusals.
• Huangfu’s attempts to recruit Feng Jun are met with his firm defense of personal freedom.
• Their discussion of Flower Lord reveals mutual expertise: Feng Jun understands the danger posed by the Blood Gu, while Huangfu explains the relationship between gu insects, spirit plants, and their keepers.
• Although Huangfu is disappointed by Feng Jun’s refusal to sell her the formation, their relationship remains cooperative. Her offer to provide the expensive manual on credit suggests growing trust and continued interest in maintaining ties with him.

Chapter Summary: Soul Seal Manual

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun rejects Huangfu Wuxia’s offer of credit, insisting that he dislikes owing money.
• Huangfu offers him a Soul Seal manual, explaining that such manuals can only be read once and are often obtained through ancestral inheritance or soul-searching. Feng remains wary because Soul Seals may contain hidden tampering.
• Huangfu sells him the Blood Essence Control Technique for 100 Spirit Stones. The technique allows a cultivator to control Exotic Beasts through blood essence:
  • Qi Refining cultivators can control up to nine.
  • Dust-Free cultivators can control twenty-seven.
  • Gold Core cultivators can control thirty-six, including one Nascent Soul-level Exotic Beast.
• Feng also purchases Storage Talismans, claiming they are for exploring the Dharma-Ending Secret Realm. Huangfu realizes he intends to use mortals to investigate the secret realm and pretends to leave angrily.
• In private, Huangfu summons an ancestor through a wooden spiritual carving and incense. She asks him to place a concealed divine-sense thread on the cultivation manual so she can investigate Feng’s background.
• The ancestor agrees but warns her not to rely on him too often and urges her to advance to the Dust-Free Realm.
• Feng returns to Carefree Platform, reestablishes the Spirit Plant Formation, and continues practicing talisman-making.
• The next day, Huangfu visits Carefree Platform. Her arrival interrupts Venerable Yan’s research into the formation.
• Huangfu asks about Feng’s formation and then proposes that, after Carefree Platform finishes studying it, they transfer the formation to the Heavenlink Trade Alliance. Venerable Yan recognizes the threat: if Heavenlink copies the easily replicated formation, Carefree Platform could lose its exclusive advantage.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and independent. He refuses credit, distrusts Soul Seal manuals, avoids revealing information about the formation, and continues preparing for the Dharma-Ending Secret Realm.
• Huangfu Wuxia displays sharp business instincts and hidden curiosity about Feng. She acts playful and commercially flexible, but secretly uses her family’s influence to investigate him.
• Huangfu’s ancestor is revealed to be a powerful Gold Core True Person capable of attaching divine sense to objects. He is reluctant to indulge Wuxia’s schemes but still assists her.
• Venerable Yan is shown to be deeply absorbed in studying Feng’s Spirit Plant Formation. His irritation at Huangfu’s interruption also reflects his concern that Heavenlink may undermine Carefree Platform’s commercial position.
• Pan Renjie recognizes Huangfu’s family background and exchanges familiar but somewhat teasing remarks with her.

Significant Themes

• Trust and secrecy: Feng distrusts Soul Seal manuals and refuses to disclose his plans, while Huangfu secretly investigates him.
• Power and commercial competition: The Heavenlink Trade Alliance and Carefree Platform must balance cooperation, rivalry, and the danger of technological copying.
• Hidden motives behind politeness: Huangfu’s courteous visit conceals a plan to obtain information and possibly acquire the Spirit Plant Formation.
• Reliance versus self-reliance: Huangfu’s ancestor criticizes her dependence on him and urges her to grow through her own abilities.
• Risk in cultivation: Soul tampering, divine-sense tracking, powerful backers, and secret-realm exploration all demonstrate the dangers of the cultivation world.

Character Interactions

• Feng and Huangfu negotiate over the Soul Seal manual and Storage Talismans, with Huangfu amused by Feng’s frugality and secrecy.
• Huangfu privately consults her ancestor, revealing that her interest in Feng extends beyond ordinary business.
• Huangfu greets Carefree Platform, exchanges remarks with Pan Renjie, and challenges Venerable Yan about the Spirit Plant Formation.
• Feng deliberately refuses to answer Huangfu’s questions, while Venerable Yan gives guarded replies to protect Carefree Platform’s interests.
• Huangfu’s proposal to acquire the formation places her alliance in direct commercial competition with Carefree Platform.

Chapter Summary: “Treasure-Appraising Eye”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Venerable Yan and Huangfu Wuxia negotiate over the transfer and resale of the deciphered Spirit Plant Formation. Yan objects to openly selling it because of Carefree Platform’s reputation, but he ultimately agrees to transfer it to Huangfu Wuxia privately.
• Feng Jun leaves the negotiations and spends two days excavating a large cave in Zhige Mountain. He moves roughly 150 spirit plants into it and establishes a Spirit Plant Formation to cultivate them.
• To protect the formation, Feng Jun conceals the cave with an Illusion Formation and installs infrared-triggered explosives. He also arranges for Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni to provide human guards, recognizing that formations alone are not completely reliable.
• Huangfu Wuxia arrives and informs Feng Jun that Venerable Yan has agreed to transfer the Spirit Plant Formation to her. She also delivers the Thirty-Six Blood Essence Control Art and thirty Storage Talismans in exchange for 110 Spirit Stones.
• Huangfu reveals her ability to appraise treasures, identifying Feng Jun’s Storage Pouch and discussing the possibility of selling him a larger one. Feng Jun again asks about learning her Treasure-Appraising Eye, but she insists it cannot be taught to ordinary people and jokingly suggests soul-searching as the only alternative.
• Huangfu proposes a new business arrangement: Feng Jun will decipher formation disks for the Heavenlink Trade Alliance, with each side retaining exclusive rights to formations originating from its own disks. She offers Feng Jun at least a ten-percent share of any formations he deciphers.
• Feng Jun accepts the arrangement cautiously and receives three formation disks to study. He identifies one as the Spirit-Binding Array, though he deliberately delays requesting materials and does not immediately begin working on it.
• His primary concern becomes cultivating the Thirty-Six Blood Essence Control Art. Wary that careless practice could be dangerous, he waits, rests, and only begins preparing to cultivate it after two days.
• The chapter ends with both Feng Jun and Huangfu Wuxia remaining awake at dawn—Feng Jun preparing to leave the Phone Plane, while Huangfu reflects on his unusual patience.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates increasing business sophistication. He understands how to balance Carefree Platform and the Heavenlink Trade Alliance against each other while protecting his own interests.
• He also becomes more practically resourceful, adapting Blue Star technology to create functioning explosive traps on the cultivation plane.
• Feng Jun remains cautious and calculating. He refuses to sell his spirit plants impulsively, delays commitments, and carefully studies dangerous cultivation techniques before attempting them.
• Huangfu Wuxia gains greater independence and authority through her agreement with Venerable Yan. She acts as a representative of the Heavenlink Trade Alliance and negotiates confidently with Feng Jun.
• Her hidden possession of a Divine Sense Token from her ancestor adds a layer of suspicion: she is considering monitoring Feng Jun but is inexperienced and uneasy about using it.
• Venerable Yan shifts from apparent opposition to pragmatic cooperation, showing that his concerns are largely about reputation and commercial control rather than refusing Feng Jun’s business outright.

Significant Themes

• Business and cultivation are intertwined: Spiritual advancement requires enormous resources, so even powerful cultivators must negotiate, trade, and seek profit.
• Secrecy and competition: Feng Jun’s formation knowledge is valuable, and both major organizations seek exclusive access to his discoveries.
• Practical innovation: Feng Jun combines modern technology with cultivation methods, using explosives, infrared sensors, and communications equipment to protect spiritual resources.
• Trust and hidden motives: Huangfu presents herself as a business partner, but her ancestor’s Divine Sense Token suggests she may also be investigating or monitoring Feng Jun.
• Patience and caution: Feng Jun’s willingness to delay cultivation and negotiations contrasts with the urgency of those around him, making patience a source of strength and leverage.

Character Interactions

• Venerable Yan and Huangfu Wuxia: Their negotiation reflects the tension between Carefree Platform’s reputation and Huangfu’s desire to secure profitable formation rights.
• Feng Jun and Huangfu Wuxia: Their exchanges are marked by mutual respect, teasing, and commercial rivalry. Huangfu praises his business instincts while probing his resources and future plans; Feng Jun responds cautiously and refuses to be pressured.
• Feng Jun and his followers: He relies on Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni to organize guards, showing his growing ability to manage a broader group and protect his assets.
• Feng Jun and the two organizations: His formation-deciphering ability places him between Carefree Platform and the Heavenlink Trade Alliance, allowing him to profit from both while they establish boundaries to avoid direct conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Sorrow and Joy, Worlds Apart”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huangfu Wuxia asks her ancestor, Huangfu Adept, to place a tiny strand of his Divine Sense on Feng Jun while he reads the Soul Seal Manual. Her goal is not to control him, but to investigate his mysterious background and uncover potential business opportunities.
• Feng Jun returns to Luohua Manor and examines the Radiant Blackstone tablet containing the manual. He worries that it may carry a curse or some other hidden mark, but concludes that supernatural effects should not be able to cross between planes.
• He presses the tablet to his forehead and receives the manual through direct mental infusion. Because his Divine Sense is exceptionally powerful from cultivating Thought Moves Heaven and Earth, he suffers almost no backlash and quickly masters the Soul Seal Manual.
• At the moment Huangfu Adept’s Divine Sense attempts to connect with Feng Jun’s consciousness, the planar barrier annihilates it. The Divine Sense Token linked to the strand also overheats, burns through a table, and shatters.
• Alarmed, Huangfu Wuxia summons Huangfu Adept through the wooden carving. He initially suspects an extremely powerful cultivator destroyed his Divine Sense, but eventually realizes that the planar barrier itself caused the destruction.
• Huangfu Adept is shaken because the Divine Sense in the token represented years of cultivation and could have caused serious damage if the token had not broken. He ultimately advises Wuxia to befriend Feng Jun rather than antagonize him.
• Meanwhile, Feng Jun remains unaware of the incident. He absorbs the Thirty-Six Blood Essence Control Art, masters it by lunchtime, and heads to the Bamboo Grove to test it.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates the extraordinary strength of his Divine Sense by learning a dangerous Soul Seal Manual with ease and surviving an attempted Divine Sense attachment. His confidence and curiosity grow as he quickly masters another secret art.
• Huangfu Wuxia: Her curiosity about Feng Jun intensifies after witnessing the destruction of her ancestor’s Divine Sense. Rather than being frightened away, she becomes more determined to understand him and even considers visiting him immediately.
• Huangfu Adept: Initially participates in Wuxia’s investigation, but the planar barrier’s overwhelming power frightens and humbles him. He recognizes that Feng Jun is far more mysterious and potentially formidable than expected, leading him to recommend friendship.

Significant Themes

• The limits of individual power: Even a Gold Core Adept’s Divine Sense is insignificant when confronted with the power of an entire plane.
• Mystery and hidden strength: Feng Jun’s abilities and origins remain unclear, while his effortless mastery of advanced techniques hints at secrets beyond his apparent cultivation.
• Risk versus opportunity: Wuxia’s attempt to investigate Feng Jun is dangerous, but she sees his secrets as a possible source of valuable opportunities.
• Sorrow and joy across worlds: The chapter contrasts Feng Jun’s pleasure at mastering new techniques with Huangfu Adept’s shock and loss after his Divine Sense is destroyed.
• Curiosity overcoming caution: Both Wuxia and Feng Jun are driven by curiosity—Wuxia toward Feng Jun’s secrets and Feng Jun toward the capabilities of his newly acquired arts.

Character Interactions

• Wuxia negotiates with her ancestor to secretly investigate Feng Jun while he reads the manual.
• Huangfu Adept’s Divine Sense attempts to connect with Feng Jun but is destroyed by the planar barrier, creating an unexpected conflict between them.
• After being summoned, Huangfu Adept questions Wuxia about the broken token and warns her indirectly about the danger of provoking Feng Jun.
• Wuxia reassures herself that Feng Jun may not be hostile, yet privately decides that his “offense” against her ancestor makes him even more interesting.
• Li Shishi briefly interacts with Feng Jun by asking whether he will take his usual midday nap; he declines because he is eager to test his newly mastered technique.

Chapter Summary: “Flower Lord and Yi Wood”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun prepares to use the Blood Essence Control Technique on Flower Lord, a powerful Qi Refining butterfly, but hesitates because he has never performed the technique in practice.
• Gao Qiang asks when Feng Jun will allow him to begin cultivating. Feng Jun promises to teach him once Lei Gang and the other two trainees reach the Martial Master stage, though Gao Qiang must continue managing the manor.
• Gao Qiang also asks about Di Aixin, but Feng Jun explains that allowing both Di Aixin and Li Shishi—who come from the same village—to cultivate could expose the manor’s secrets through their shared relatives and acquaintances.
• To test the control technique safely, Feng Jun has a vicious dog and a goose purchased. The experiments succeed, proving he can control animals, though the process leaves both him and the animals weakened. He eventually releases the technique and kills the animals for meat.
• When Feng Jun returns to the Bamboo Grove, he finds Flower Lord unusually close to Gu Jiahui, despite the butterfly’s normal danger and aggression.
• Because Gu Jiahui is returning home soon and may be vulnerable, Feng Jun gives her a Blood Essence Protective Talisman and warns her to be careful around Flower Lord.
• Gu Jiahui asks whether Flower Lord can be given to her. Feng Jun refuses to decide immediately, noting both the butterfly’s danger and Sister Hong’s attachment to it.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes more cautious and experimental. Rather than risk Flower Lord, he tests the Blood Essence Control Technique on ordinary animals first. He also shows increasing concern for Gu Jiahui’s safety and remains uncertain about whether to accept her as a disciple.
• Gao Qiang grows impatient to cultivate after seeing prestigious sects seek Feng Jun’s guidance. He demonstrates loyalty and concern for others by asking about Di Aixin, but realizes that his attempt to help may create problems.
• Gu Jiahui shows greater confidence and determination. She trusts Feng Jun but directly challenges him when she suspects he is merely avoiding her request for Flower Lord.
• Flower Lord displays unusual interest in Gu Jiahui, approaching her far more closely than it does others.
• Sister Hong’s emotional attachment to Flower Lord becomes an important factor in Feng Jun’s decision, even though she is not directly present.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and responsibility: Feng Jun must limit who receives cultivation knowledge because social connections could expose the manor’s secrets.
• Power requires practice and caution: Inherited knowledge gives Feng Jun the technique, but not practical experience, forcing him to experiment carefully.
• Natural affinity and destiny: Gu Jiahui’s Yi Wood Physique appears naturally compatible with Flower Lord, raising the possibility of a mutually beneficial contract.
• Conflicting loyalties: Feng Jun must balance Gu Jiahui’s potential, Sister Hong’s attachment to the butterfly, and the risks of giving a dangerous creature to an inexperienced cultivator.
• Growing independence: Gu Jiahui’s willingness to confront Feng Jun signals her development from a passive recipient of his protection into someone capable of asserting her own desires.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Gao Qiang: Gao Qiang respectfully presses for cultivation, and Feng Jun gives him a conditional promise while rejecting the possibility of teaching both Li Shishi and Di Aixin.
• Feng Jun and Gu Jiahui: Their exchange is warm and protective but also increasingly frank. Feng Jun gives her a talisman, while Gu Jiahui questions his motives and presses him about Flower Lord.
• Gu Jiahui and Flower Lord: Though the butterfly is feared by everyone else, it remains unusually close to her, suggesting that her Yi Wood Physique creates a special natural affinity.
• Flower Lord and Sister Hong: Flower Lord’s bond with Sister Hong complicates Feng Jun’s consideration of giving it to Gu Jiahui.

Chapter Summary: “Shameless—Even Deceiving Insects”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning to the Bamboo Grove, Gu Jiahui behaves dreamily, while Flower Lord continues absorbing spiritual energy.
• Crow King brings Flower Lord two tiny pond snails. Flower Lord expertly breaks their shells, eats only the meat, and discards the rest. When Gu Jiahui offers her a sausage, Flower Lord rejects it and throws it toward Crow, revealing the pair’s growing companionship.
• Feng Jun sends everyone away so he can negotiate privately with Flower Lord. He confronts her about pretending to be unintelligent and explains that her uncontrolled presence is dangerous.
• Flower Lord mocks Feng Jun’s claim that the estate’s spiritual energy could help her reach higher realms, but she agrees to accept control in exchange for access to spiritual energy.
• Feng Jun and Flower Lord settle on a thirty-year control period. In return, she must help Crow King cultivate, tend the estate’s spiritual plants, and guard against enemies.
• Flower Lord also requests a storage item. Feng Jun agrees to provide a limited-use Storage Talisman, though he deliberately fails to mention its thirty-use limit until after she accepts the contract.
• Feng Jun successfully uses the Blood Essence Control Technique to bind Flower Lord and removes the iron chain around her neck.
• Flower Lord reveals that “Flower Lord” was originally her human name and that her human and butterfly forms somehow merged. She also claims to have survived for several hundred years.
• The chapter ends with Feng Jun deciding to rename her “Flower Flower,” partly because he dislikes her sharing the name “Jun.”

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes more assertive and strategic in dealing with Flower Lord. He recognizes her intelligence and potential danger but also sees the benefits of making her an ally. His negotiations show both caution and his tendency toward mischievous manipulation.
• Flower Lord is revealed to be far more intelligent, articulate, and powerful than she previously pretended. She is sarcastic, shrewd, proud, and capable of bargaining effectively. Her revelation that she was once human adds mystery and tragedy to her character.
• Gu Jiahui grows more comfortable around Flower Lord and gains courage after receiving Feng Jun’s Protective Talisman, though she still remains somewhat afraid of the butterfly.
• Crow King demonstrates loyalty and resourcefulness by finding food for Flower Lord. His apparent bond with her may lead to his beginning cultivation.
• Feng Jun and Flower Lord’s relationship shifts from wary opposition to a reluctant contractual alliance.

Significant Themes

• Trust and control: Feng Jun cannot simply trust Flower Lord, so he uses a binding technique and imposes clearly defined conditions.
• Deception and intelligence: Flower Lord has been pretending to be unintelligent, while Feng Jun himself deceives her about the Storage Talisman’s limitations.
• Freedom versus survival: Flower Lord accepts thirty years of control in exchange for spiritual energy and the chance to continue cultivating, highlighting the cost of survival.
• Humanity and identity: Her revelation that she is the merged result of a human and a butterfly raises questions about what defines a person, a beast, or a spirit.
• Companionship and loneliness: Flower Lord’s centuries of isolation contrast with her emerging bonds with Gu Jiahui and Crow King.
• Power and responsibility: Feng Jun must decide how to manage a powerful Spirit Beast while ensuring that she contributes to the safety and prosperity of the estate.

Character Interactions

• Flower Lord and Crow King: Their feeding exchange suggests a humorous but genuine friendship. Flower Lord gives Crow the sausage she rejects, and Crow eagerly catches it.
• Gu Jiahui and Flower Lord: Gu Jiahui cautiously offers Flower Lord food, showing affection and increasing trust.
• Feng Jun and Flower Lord: Their negotiation is the chapter’s central interaction. They threaten, mock, bargain, and exchange thoughts before forming a formal alliance.
• Feng Jun and Crow King: Feng Jun agrees to let Flower Lord teach Crow cultivation, recognizing that Crow’s constant use of spiritual energy could become more worthwhile.
• Feng Jun and Gu Jiahui: Flower Lord attempts to use Gu Jiahui and Sister Hong as emotional leverage, knowing Feng Jun cares about them. Feng Jun refuses to let this pressure him into taking Gu Jiahui as a disciple.

Chapter Summary: The Diligent Gardener

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun forces the butterfly to abandon its preferred identity as “Flower Lord” and accept the name “Flower Flower,” threatening to withhold Spirit Beast meat and delay its freedom if it refuses.
• He releases the butterfly from its chains after making it promise to behave. Flower Flower joyfully flies freely around the Bamboo Grove, astonishing the workers and attracting the attention of the other supernatural creatures.
• When questioned about releasing such a supposedly dangerous being, Feng Jun demonstrates that Flower Flower will obey him by calling it back. It obediently lands on Gu Jiahui’s shoulder.
• Feng Jun establishes a new Spirit Plant Formation between the existing formations. Flower Flower immediately begins transferring and planting spirit plants, secretly retrieving its Storage Talisman to do so.
• Li Shishi discovers that fourteen spirit plants have disappeared, prompting Gazi and several others to investigate. They find Flower Flower expertly digging holes, transporting plants, pruning their roots and branches, and replanting them.
• The group is stunned that a butterfly can function as an exceptionally skilled gardener. Feng Jun orders the others to help, but they quickly avoid the difficult terrain and leave the work to Flower Flower.
• Flower Flower plants fifteen or sixteen spirit plants in one afternoon. Feng Jun plans to use the Sweet Rain Talisman afterward to help the transplanted plants recover.
• Sister Hong gives Flower Flower a phone as a reward, along with bullfrog meat. That evening, everyone gathers to watch the butterfly learn to use the device.
• The next morning, Flower Flower demands a phone number so it can text and use social media. It also reveals that Gu Jiahui has offered to let it use her bank card, highlighting its rapidly growing familiarity with modern human conveniences.

Character Developments

• Flower Flower/Flower Lord: Changes from a chained, resentful, and potentially dangerous spirit creature into a cooperative and highly productive gardener. Its centuries of experience in the Spirit Plant Garden make it more skilled than the humans at cultivating spirit plants. It also displays strong intelligence, vanity, greed for food and technology, and a growing interest in human society.
• Feng Jun: Demonstrates both authority and practical judgment. He controls Flower Flower through the contract and carefully tests its obedience before trusting it with freedom. He also recognizes and exploits its gardening expertise while remaining exasperated by its demands.
• Gu Jiahui: Shows curiosity and affection toward Flower Flower, readily accepting it when it lands on her shoulder and becoming one of its most enthusiastic teachers. She even offers access to her bank card.
• Sister Hong: Initially doubts whether Flower Flower can use a phone, but quickly treats it kindly, rewarding its work and attempting to build a relationship with it.
• Gazi: Continues to act protectively and helpfully toward others, rushing to investigate Li Shishi’s alarm because of his gratitude toward her.
• Zhang Caixin: Her confidence is shaken when she witnesses Flower Flower’s abilities. She realizes that she may have underestimated the power and capabilities associated with the Qi Refining Stage.
• The surrounding workers and cultivators: Their assumptions about insects, cultivation, and spiritual beings are challenged by the butterfly’s intelligence and physical abilities.

Significant Themes

• Power and obedience: Feng Jun’s control over Flower Flower raises questions about freedom, contracts, and coercion. Flower Flower technically gains freedom, but only under strict conditions.
• Transformation and adaptation: Flower Flower adapts from an ancient spirit creature to modern life, learning to use phones, social media, and human conveniences.
• Hidden expertise: The butterfly’s humble appearance conceals centuries of experience and knowledge, making it far more competent at cultivation than the humans.
• Clashing worldviews: The group struggles to reconcile ordinary human assumptions with the extraordinary reality of a powerful, intelligent butterfly.
• Human–spirit relationships: The chapter shows the beginnings of genuine companionship between Flower Flower and the people at Luohua, especially Sister Hong, Gu Jiahui, and Li Shishi.
• Humor through modernization: Flower Flower’s demands for medium-rare meat, a phone number with consecutive digits, social media access, and spending money create comedy by placing an ancient supernatural being in a contemporary setting.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Flower Flower repeatedly bicker over its name, food, freedom, and work obligations, establishing a relationship based on authority mixed with familiarity.
• Flower Flower interacts playfully with Crow King, even smacking it when it attempts to curry favor.
• Gu Jiahui and the others marvel at Flower Flower’s abilities, while Zhang Caixin reacts with insecurity and Zhuang Zesheng struggles to understand how it can use a Storage Artifact.
• Sister Hong takes responsibility for Flower Flower’s phone and food, while Gu Jiahui and Li Shishi enthusiastically teach it how to use the device.
• Flower Flower’s final demands show that it has already become socially integrated into the group, even as Feng Jun continues to treat it as a worker who must complete its gardening duties.

Chapter Summary: The Realization Came Too Late

Key Plot Points and Events

• Butterfly finishes planting all forty-eight spirit plants, while Sister Hong secures a lucky serial number.
• Feng Jun leaves ten Sweet Rain Talismans for Butterfly, pleased that her presence as an additional Qi Refining cultivator makes the manor feel safer.
• Returning to the Phone Plane, Feng Jun studies the Spirit-Binding Formation. He has nearly finished analyzing it and plans to refine and test it over the next few days.
• Huangfu Wuxia visits and questions Feng Jun about his progress with the formation. She then claims that the Blood Essence Control secret manual was mistakenly sold for one hundred Spirit Stones instead of five hundred.
• Feng Jun refuses to pay the difference, arguing that he has already cultivated the manual. Huangfu’s real purpose, however, is to determine when and how he cultivated it.
• During their conversation, Huangfu reveals that she practices the Flawless Clear-Sight Heart, a powerful cultivation method focused on purity of mind and preparation for the Nascent Soul realm.
• Feng Jun suddenly realizes that cultivating the Blood Essence Control Technique caused him to lose a large amount of energy from the Stone Ring—at least two hundred Energy Points. The Stone Ring had apparently protected him from a hidden, malicious effect in the manual.
• He conceals his discovery and subtly manipulates the conversation to buy time. Huangfu notices his sudden change in attitude and concludes that some powerful force or hidden protector must have intervened.
• The chapter ends with Feng Jun accusing Huangfu of deliberately setting the trap, insisting that the damage he suffered cannot be compensated by merely four hundred Spirit Stones.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes increasingly cautious and politically adept. Rather than confronting Huangfu immediately, he hides his discovery, studies her reactions, and uses ambiguous remarks to protect his secrets.
• Huangfu Wuxia is shown to be highly intelligent, calculating, and perceptive. Though she originally attempted to use the secret manual to investigate Feng Jun, she quickly reassesses the situation when she detects that something has changed.
• Butterfly continues to establish herself as a useful and trusted protector of the manor.
• Feng Jun’s understanding of the Stone Ring deepens: it is not merely a source of power but also a defense against harmful external techniques.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden motives: Huangfu’s cheap sale of the manual was bait intended to expose Feng Jun’s secrets.
• Caution and strategic restraint: Feng Jun’s decision to conceal his discovery prevents Huangfu from learning the full extent of his abilities and vulnerabilities.
• Power and status: Huangfu infers that Feng Jun may have a powerful sect or protector supporting him, raising his perceived importance.
• Cultivation of the mind and character: The discussion of the Flawless Clear-Sight Heart contrasts genuine inner purity with Huangfu’s deliberate worldly maneuvering.
• The cost of knowledge: Feng Jun’s attempt to cultivate a valuable technique nearly costs him a significant amount of energy, revealing that seemingly beneficial opportunities may contain concealed dangers.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Butterfly discuss the usefulness of the Sweet Rain Talisman, with Butterfly confidently offering to use it more effectively.
• Feng Jun and Huangfu Wuxia engage in a polite but tense negotiation over the secret manual’s price.
• Their conversation shifts into a subtle contest of probing questions, hidden meanings, and psychological maneuvering.
• Huangfu attempts to determine when Feng Jun cultivated the technique, while Feng Jun carefully avoids revealing what happened.
• By the end, Feng Jun openly challenges Huangfu’s intentions, while Huangfu remains composed and continues evaluating the mysterious protection surrounding him.

Chapter Summary: The Origins of Tai Chi Breathing

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huangfu Wuxia concludes that Feng Jun likely comes from a higher realm or possesses the backing of an extraordinary force, possibly one beyond the Spirit Severing Realm. Although impressed, she is not intimidated because the Heavenlink Trade Alliance itself has powerful connections.
• After Feng Jun objects to her earlier manipulation and pricing, Huangfu offers him compensation in the form of a cultivation technique.
• Feng Jun asks for the Taiji Breathing Technique, hoping it might help Zhang Caixin, but Huangfu explains that the authentic version is an ancient, nearly lost Martial Cultivation body-tempering method. It is extremely difficult to practice and may cause cultivation deviation.
• Huangfu reveals that the Heavenlink Trade Alliance is willing to pay ten thousand Spirit Stones for an authentic copy. She also notes that powerful Martial Cultivation techniques can be even more valuable than immortal cultivation techniques, citing the Profound Origin Blade Technique’s fifty-thousand-Spirit-Stone price.
• Feng Jun reflects on the possible providence connecting the Taiji Breathing Technique and Profound Origin Blade Technique, both of which he acquired early in his cultivation journey.
• Unable to obtain Taiji Breathing, Feng Jun requests a sealed beast-taming technique incorporating Mind-Reading. Huangfu agrees but claims delivery will take half a month to a month, secretly using the delay as an excuse to remain at Zhige Mountain.
• Feng Jun considers retrieving the technique himself at the Immortal Market, but Huangfu discourages him and offers to handle his purchases and sales through the Heavenlink Trade Alliance.
• Feng Jun remains suspicious of her intentions. Though he recognizes the advantages of her proposal, he understands the danger of allowing one organization to control his entire economic lifeline.
• To justify visiting the Immortal Market, Feng Jun claims that a friend at the Dust-Free Intermediate Stage needs a better spiritual environment to advance.
• Huangfu offers to provide the friend with access to one of the Alliance’s spiritual lands, asking in return that Feng Jun allow her to manage his business.
• The chapter ends with Huangfu explaining that Feng Jun’s goods appear to form a coherent system. The Alliance wants to preserve its advantage over competing merchants and therefore hopes to secure a closer, possibly exclusive, relationship with him.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Becomes increasingly cautious and politically aware. He appreciates Huangfu’s intelligence and willingness to admit mistakes but refuses to surrender control over his trade. He also continues concealing his origins, abilities, and true objectives through carefully constructed explanations.
• Huangfu Wuxia: Demonstrates her strategic thinking, commercial ambition, and ability to recover from conflict. Rather than openly threatening Feng Jun, she attempts to bind him to the Heavenlink Trade Alliance through favors, business services, and promises of mutual advancement.
• Zhang Caixin: Does not appear directly, but her rapid cultivation progress motivates Feng Jun’s interest in finding a suitable water-element or related cultivation method.
• Feng Jun’s “friend”: Serves as a fabricated excuse for Feng Jun’s interest in the Immortal Market and its spiritual lands.

Significant Themes

• Caution and concealment: Both Feng Jun and Huangfu conceal their true motives, forcing each to interpret the other’s words carefully.
• Economic power as influence: Huangfu seeks control over Feng Jun’s buying and selling because commercial dependence would give the Alliance significant leverage over him.
• Mutual suspicion and calculated cooperation: Neither character fully trusts the other, yet both recognize that cooperation could benefit them.
• The value of Martial Cultivation: The chapter elevates Martial Cultivation techniques, suggesting that rare and powerful methods may rival or surpass immortal cultivation techniques in worth.
• Providence and destiny: Feng Jun wonders whether the early appearance of the Taiji Breathing Technique and Profound Origin Blade Technique in his life reflects some larger design.
• Growth in obscurity: Feng Jun decides that remaining discreet and cultivating quietly is safer than exposing himself at the Immortal Market before he is strong enough.

Important Character Interactions

• Feng Jun challenges Huangfu over her earlier deception, while she defuses the confrontation by admitting fault and offering compensation.
• Their discussion of the Taiji Breathing Technique reveals Huangfu’s extensive knowledge and gives Feng Jun important information about the technique’s origins and risks.
• Huangfu repeatedly tries to persuade Feng Jun to let the Alliance manage his affairs, presenting herself as both a trustworthy ally and a practical solution to his logistical problems.
• Feng Jun counters her pressure with suspicion and insists that he still needs to visit the Immortal Market.
• Huangfu finally states her real concern: Feng Jun’s products are unusual and interconnected, and the Alliance wants to prevent competitors from gaining access to them.

Chapter Summary: “Shut Your Mouth”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huangfu Wuxia reveals that she came to Zhige Mountain for more than Feng Jun’s formation expertise; she is also interested in managing or competing in his commercial affairs through the Heavenlink Trade Alliance.
• During negotiations, Huangfu repeatedly interrupts Feng Jun and attempts to control the conversation. Feng Jun sharply reprimands her, insisting that she listen before pushing her own agenda.
• Feng Jun explains that his business relationships involve not only Carefree Platform but also the powerful Azure Steel Sect. He will consider Huangfu’s proposal only if her terms are more favorable than theirs.
• Feng Jun criticizes Huangfu’s forceful personality and questions whether it will create inner demons that could hinder her future breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm. Huangfu defends her behavior as part of her cultivation of the Flawless Clear-Sight Heart, and the two reach a measure of mutual understanding.
• Feng Jun begins establishing a telecommunications system on the Phone Plane. He builds equipment rooms, installs landline telephones, lays optical cable to Zhige County, and assigns members of the Tian and Yu Families to manage the work.
• He borrows Pan Renjie’s intermediate Dust-Free-stage Spirit-Gathering Array to advance his cultivation toward the peak of Qi Refining Level Six. Pan Renjie and several other cultivators join him in using the formation, and Feng Jun permits Venerable Yan to enter temporarily for cultivation despite the usual restrictions.
• Huangfu notices the powerful Spirit-Gathering Array and is surprised by Feng Jun’s willingness to allow Venerable Yan access, but Feng Jun refuses to justify his decision.
• Bao Ge’er delivers Black Iron and asks to purchase telephones for Northern Garden Count’s Manor. Feng Jun declines because he lacks sufficient switchboards and believes walkie-talkies are adequate there.
• Feng Jun settles into a routine of daytime cultivation, nighttime formation research, and tending spiritual plants.
• Wang Bocai proudly announces that he has built a boiler-powered car and proposes developing a Spirit Stone-powered vehicle. Feng Jun advises him to compare its efficiency with Spirit Stone-powered flying boats and suggests investigating hydroelectric and solar power.
• Hearing about solar power, Huangfu immediately offers the Heavenlink Trade Alliance’s participation, showing that she is still seeking involvement in Feng Jun’s technological and commercial projects.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes more assertive and unwilling to let Huangfu dominate their dealings. He maintains firm business boundaries while still recognizing the anxiety and pressure underlying her behavior.
• Huangfu Wuxia demonstrates her ambitious, controlling nature but also proves capable of quickly acknowledging justified criticism. Her explanation of the Flawless Clear-Sight Heart reveals that her bluntness is partly deliberate cultivation and partly driven by pressure to succeed.
• Venerable Yan remains respectful and pragmatic, seeking access to the Spirit-Gathering Array to stabilize his cultivation.
• Wang Bocai continues progressing as an inventor, developing an engine-powered car, though his thinking remains limited until Feng Jun introduces broader technological possibilities.
• Bao Ge’er shows interest in adopting Feng Jun’s inventions for practical use but is persuaded that the current communications technology is unnecessary for his needs.

Significant Themes

• Personal boundaries and control: Feng Jun’s reprimand emphasizes the importance of mutual respect and refusing to mistake politeness for weakness.
• Business competition and leverage: Feng Jun carefully balances relationships with Carefree Platform, the Azure Steel Sect, and the Heavenlink Trade Alliance, making clear that commercial cooperation depends on favorable terms.
• Cultivation and inner discipline: Huangfu’s behavior raises questions about the relationship between personality, cultivation methods, anxiety, and the danger of inner demons.
• Technological adaptation: Feng Jun introduces telephones, optical cables, engines, and ideas such as solar and hydroelectric power into the Phone Plane, though he recognizes that technological development must proceed gradually.
• Resource sharing and practical judgment: The Spirit-Gathering Array is used collectively, while Feng Jun distinguishes between genuinely useful innovations and technologies that are excessive for a particular situation.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Huangfu clash over interruptions and negotiation tactics, but their confrontation ultimately produces greater mutual understanding.
• Feng Jun and Huangfu also disagree indirectly over Venerable Yan’s access to the mountain, revealing Huangfu’s concern with rules and Feng Jun’s insistence on personal authority.
• Feng Jun mentors Wang Bocai by challenging his assumptions about power sources and encouraging more efficient, creative solutions.
• Huangfu’s immediate offer to support solar-power research shows her continuing effort to position the Heavenlink Trade Alliance as a valuable partner in Feng Jun’s enterprises.

Chapter Summary: “Wishful Thinking”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun discusses solar power with Huangfu Wuxia, explaining that unreliable sunlight and the high cost of batteries make it unsuitable as a primary source of electricity.
• Huangfu Wuxia asks whether electricity can be stored like spiritual energy, revealing the technological and conceptual gap between the Blue Star Realm and the cultivation world.
• She then expresses the Heavenlink Trade Alliance’s interest in purchasing and possibly representing Feng Jun’s Mission Management/Contribution Point System.
• Feng Jun realizes that the system is best suited for large organizations rather than small businesses and that Heavenlink’s professional sales network could help distribute it.
• Pan Renjie later visits on behalf of the Pan Clan. Because the Contribution Point System has improved fairness and reduced disputes within the clan, the Pan Clan wants to become its reseller—preferably with exclusive agency rights.
• Feng Jun is displeased by the Pan Clan’s expectations, especially since Heavenlink Trade Alliance is also interested and is much better suited to commercial sales.
• Pan Renjie admits that the request is unreasonable and warns Feng Jun to be cautious when dealing with Heavenlink, though he ultimately acknowledges that Huangfu Wuxia is likely the best person there to cooperate with.
• Feng Jun decides to consider working with Huangfu Wuxia rather than rejecting the proposal outright.
• The next morning, Feng Jun tells Huangfu that he has analyzed the Spirit-Binding Array and can provide a materials list at noon, but firmly refuses to interrupt his cultivation to discuss it immediately.

2. Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates practical business judgment, recognizing the system’s commercial value and identifying the most suitable distributor. He remains wary of aggressive negotiation tactics and insists on controlling his own time and priorities. His attitude toward Huangfu softens slightly after considering her competence and influence.
• Huangfu Wuxia: Shows intelligence, initiative, and strong commercial instincts. She actively seeks valuable products for Heavenlink and tries to control negotiations, but also displays genuine excitement about Feng Jun’s work.
• Pan Renjie: Acts as an intermediary despite feeling embarrassed by his clan’s excessive demands. He remains loyal to Feng Jun and offers honest advice, even while trying to defend the Pan Clan’s business potential.
• The Pan Clan: The Contribution Point System has helped it address internal favoritism and family disputes. Its success increases the clan’s confidence, but also leads it to overreach by demanding exclusive agency rights.
• Lang Damei and Lang Zhen: Lang Zhen places his daughter Lang Damei in Feng Jun’s service, hoping to bring her closer to an Immortal and strengthen the family’s position.

3. Significant Themes

• Practicality versus wishful thinking: Huangfu’s idea of storing electricity like spiritual energy highlights the danger of assuming that different systems operate by the same rules.
• Commerce and power: The dispute over agency rights shows how business opportunities are shaped by organizational scale, wealth, influence, and connections.
• Fairness through systems: The Contribution Point System replaces subjective family decisions with measurable data, reducing arguments and accusations of favoritism.
• Boundaries and autonomy: Feng Jun repeatedly resists others’ attempts to dictate the pace of negotiations or claim control over his products.
• Trust and caution: Both Pan Renjie and Feng Jun understand that large commercial organizations are capable and potentially dangerous, making personal judgment and careful cooperation essential.

4. Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Huangfu begin with a mildly tense exchange: she asks questions outside his expertise and then attempts to redirect the conversation toward business.
• Feng Jun and Pan Renjie discuss the Pan Clan’s agency proposal. Feng Jun criticizes the clan’s ambition, while Pan Renjie distances himself from the demand but still explains his family’s reasoning.
• Pan Renjie offers Feng Jun balanced advice, ultimately suggesting that Huangfu is the most suitable partner despite her shrewd and controlling manner.
• In their final interaction, Huangfu eagerly seeks Feng Jun’s help with the Spirit-Binding Array, but Feng Jun deliberately imitates her habit of interrupting others and makes her wait until he has finished cultivating.

Chapter Summary: “Trade in Progress”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun visits Huangfu Wuxia at the Heavenlink Trade Alliance after their earlier disagreement over the Spirit-Binding Array.
• Huangfu reveals, perhaps unintentionally, that her side used divine sense through the planar barrier, confirming Feng Jun’s suspicion about how they previously observed or contacted him.
• Feng presents Huangfu with a list of materials needed to continue researching and possibly reconstructing the Spirit-Binding Array. He promises that, once the materials arrive, they can discuss the array’s transaction in roughly ten days.
• Huangfu gives Feng the Mindlink Beast-Control Art, which she obtained specifically for him, and fulfills her earlier promise by presenting him with a high-grade Storage Pouch.
• Feng offers Huangfu the right to act as an agent for his Mission Management System, allowing her to determine the selling price while requiring her to cover after-sales maintenance. He also offers to train her personnel to handle minor repairs.
• Their discussion shifts to Feng’s communication technology. Huangfu recognizes that the phone system could be extremely valuable for large organizations such as the Azure Steel Sect.
• Feng reveals that the system could connect not only people within one organization but also separate major forces, such as the Azure Steel Sect and Crimson Phoenix Sect. Huangfu is shocked by the strategic implications.
• The chapter ends with Huangfu placing an ornate black miniature tower on the table, implying that she has prepared another major bargaining advantage or “surprise.”

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates greater diplomacy and business sophistication. Rather than acting impulsively, he approaches Huangfu in a spirit of reciprocal cooperation and carefully negotiates favorable terms.
• He remains cautious about revealing the full capabilities of his technology, withholding its potential value and refusing to disclose his intended pricing.
• Feng also shows a strong sense of fairness and reciprocity: because Huangfu honored her promise by giving him the Storage Pouch, he is unwilling to exploit her in business.
• Huangfu Wuxia continues to display intelligence, authority, and strong commercial instincts. She quickly understands the value of Feng’s inventions and actively searches for opportunities to expand their use.
• She also reassesses Feng, recognizing that his ability to decipher the Spirit-Binding Array and his technological knowledge make him far more capable and valuable than she had initially assumed.
• Her reaction to the possibility of communication between rival sects reveals that she understands the political and military consequences of Feng’s technology.

Significant Themes

• Mutual benefit and reciprocal trust: The negotiation is based not only on profit but also on keeping promises and repaying favors.
• Technology transforming cultivation society: Feng’s communication systems challenge existing limitations in transportation and information exchange, potentially reshaping sect administration and inter-sect relations.
• Information as power: The ability to communicate across vast distances—and even between rival organizations—could have enormous political, commercial, and strategic consequences.
• Negotiation and controlled disclosure: Both characters carefully conceal some of their intentions while testing the other’s knowledge and sincerity.
• Cultural and technological contrast: Feng applies modern business concepts such as agents, pricing, warranties, maintenance, and training to the cultivation world.

Character Interactions

• Feng and Huangfu engage in a polite but highly strategic business negotiation. Their conversation is friendly on the surface, yet both continually evaluate the other’s motives and leverage.
• Huangfu challenges Feng’s pricing and business methods, joking that his offer might resemble the exploitative practices of evil cultivators.
• Feng responds with humor while emphasizing his personal principles, particularly his dislike of being mocked or taken advantage of.
• Huangfu initially views the phone system as a useful internal communication tool, but Feng’s revelation that it can connect rival sects dramatically changes her understanding of its value.
• Her final presentation of the black miniature tower suggests that the negotiation is about to enter a new stage, with Huangfu preparing to make another significant offer or demand.

Chapter Summary: “A White Colt Flits Past”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Guildmaster Huangfu shows Feng Jun a miniature black replica of the legendary White Colt Pagoda, a cultivation treasure said to provide exceptional spiritual-energy conditions. The original could accelerate cultivation tenfold through time distortion, while the replica functions as a high-grade miniature Spirit Land.
• The pagoda can expand to accommodate up to thirty-six cultivators, though Huangfu normally rents it to high-level cultivators for 199 Spirit Stones per person per day. As a favor to Feng Jun, she offers a reduced rate of 195 Spirit Stones and allows him to pay later.
• Feng Jun is reluctant to borrow from Huangfu, especially because of her Soul Seal Manual and his distrust of owing merchants. He asks to test the pagoda and learns how to control it, but Huangfu refuses to let him take it permanently into the Dharma-Ending Secret Realm.
• Feng Jun secretly uses the Phone Plane’s exit function to bring the pagoda to the Blue Star Realm. However, the tower only expands to about four and a half feet, leaving it with a tiny “dog-sized” entrance that he cannot enter.
• Realizing that the pagoda’s effectiveness may depend on spiritual-energy resonance, Feng Jun returns to the Phone Plane to question Huangfu. She speculates that the Dharma-Ending Secret Realm may lack the necessary spiritual energy, though an Earth Vein might possibly provide enough resonance.
• Feng Jun returns to the Blue Star Realm and decides to investigate the tower himself rather than rely on Huangfu’s uncertain explanation.
• He then calls Yang Yuxin to discuss Gu Jiahui’s upcoming return to Long City, his possible absence, continued oversight of Chaori County, and the acquisition of communications equipment and technical personnel.
• Yang agrees to help but quickly realizes Feng Jun may be preparing for a lengthy journey and asks where he plans to go.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates caution, independence, and strong principles. Although he recognizes the pagoda’s value, he refuses to exploit Huangfu’s offer of credit because he dislikes debt and remains wary of her motives. He also shows resourcefulness by secretly testing the tower across realms and checking the Stone Ring to ensure it has not been tampered with. His plans to reach Qi Refining Level Seven indicate his continued focus on steady cultivation and preparation.
• Huangfu Wuxia: Appears commercially minded but also genuinely helpful toward Feng Jun. She explains the pagoda’s functions openly, teaches him how to operate it, offers a discount, and expresses confidence in his ability to repay her. At the same time, she firmly protects the Huangfu Family’s interests by refusing to let him take the treasure away.
• Yang Yuxin: Remains cooperative and attentive to Feng Jun’s concerns. Her surprise at his initiative in calling her reveals that he rarely contacts her first. She also shows growing awareness of his movements and becomes suspicious that he is preparing to leave for an extended period.
• Gu Jiahui: Does not appear directly, but Feng Jun’s concern about her health shows his continued protectiveness toward her, particularly regarding her sensitivity to Long City’s pollution.

Significant Themes

• Independence versus obligation: Feng Jun’s refusal to accept credit reflects his desire to avoid dependence and maintain clear boundaries in his relationships.
• Trust and suspicion: He appreciates Huangfu’s assistance but remains alert to possible manipulation, checking the Stone Ring and refusing to rely solely on her claims.
• Cultivation and adaptation: The pagoda represents the importance of specialized resources in advancement, while Feng Jun must adapt when an artifact functions differently across realms.
• Limits between worlds: The pagoda’s poor performance in the Blue Star Realm raises questions about spiritual-energy resonance and the differing laws of the Phone Plane, Blue Star Realm, and Dharma-Ending Secret Realm.
• Preparation and responsibility: Feng Jun balances his personal cultivation goals with concern for Gu Jiahui, Chaori County, and the development of communications infrastructure.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Huangfu Wuxia engage in a mixture of negotiation, explanation, and cautious testing. Their conversation highlights both her business instincts and his reluctance to become indebted.
• Feng Jun questions Huangfu repeatedly about the pagoda’s price, operation, portability, and compatibility with other realms, showing that he does not accept vague assurances.
• Feng Jun and Yang Yuxin have a practical, cooperative conversation about health, administration, technology, and his possible departure. Yang’s final question shifts the exchange from routine arrangements to concern about Feng Jun’s secret plans.

Chapter Summary: “A Long Journey”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun tells Yang Yuxin that he may travel abroad, partly as a joke and partly to test the situation surrounding the unresolved Jincheng killings. Yang warns him not to leave Xia Nation because the incident involved multiple deaths, foreign firearms, and possible connections to Mud Nation. His departure would attract unwanted attention.
• Yang also worries about Luohua Manor’s security while Feng Jun is away. Feng reassures her that he has subdued Flower Flower, giving the manor another powerful guardian.
• After making extensive arrangements and instructing Flower Flower to protect the estate, Feng Jun leaves early the next morning by motorcycle. He chooses a motorcycle because it is harder to track than a car and more practical for traveling through smaller cities.
• Shortly after Feng Jun’s departure, Guan Shanyue of Fugu Crimson Cloud Heaven arrives at the manor with two female disciples. She hopes to meet Feng Jun and discuss a matter that cannot be explained briefly.
• Since visitors are not permitted to enter without Feng Jun’s approval, the guards contact Gazi. Recognizing Guan Shanyue from the Green Mountain Sect’s ceremony, Gazi lets the women wait in his car while they explain their purpose.
• Guan Shanyue reveals that Mount Fugu wants to seek Luohua Manor’s assistance, likely in obtaining or exchanging valuable cultivation resources. She had previously confirmed through Tang Wangsun that Feng Jun was responsible for helping the Green Mountain Sect reopen Golden Altar Huayang Heaven.
• Her confidence increased after questioning Elder Guo of the Martial Sect. Elder Guo admitted that Feng Jun had helped him and described Feng Jun as powerful and fair in his dealings. Guan Shanyue therefore decided that Luohua Manor was trustworthy enough to approach.
• However, she arrives just after Feng Jun has left, creating a delay in Mount Fugu’s plans.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates caution and strategic thinking by preparing explanations for his movements, arranging the manor’s defenses, and choosing a motorcycle to avoid surveillance. His growing confidence is shown by his reliance on Flower Flower as a guardian.
• Yang Yuxin: Shows political awareness and concern for Feng Jun’s safety. She understands that the Jincheng incident could still affect him and warns him that foreign travel would increase official scrutiny.
• Gazi: Continues to grow in responsibility and status. As Feng Jun’s oldest friend and the manor’s first Martial Master, he handles the unexpected visitors tactfully while respecting the manor’s security rules.
• Guan Shanyue: Is portrayed as careful, perceptive, and persistent. She investigates Feng Jun indirectly, verifies his reputation through both the Green Mountain Sect and Martial Sect, and cautiously seeks cooperation rather than acting rashly.
• Elder Guo: His favorable assessment of Feng Jun strengthens Luohua Manor’s reputation among cultivation factions and suggests that he has already benefited from Feng Jun’s assistance.

Significant Themes

• Caution and secrecy: Feng Jun must balance his freedom with the attention created by the Jincheng incident. Both he and Guan Shanyue avoid acting without sufficient information.
• Trust built through reputation: Guan Shanyue relies on reports from respected figures before approaching Luohua Manor. Feng Jun’s fairness and strength are becoming known across the cultivation world.
• Security and responsibility: Feng Jun’s departure emphasizes the need to protect Luohua Manor and its valuable resources. The guards, Gazi, and Flower Flower each contribute to its defense.
• Changing relationships between factions: Cultivation sects increasingly view Luohua Manor as a potential partner for resource exchange and assistance, expanding Feng Jun’s influence.
• Modern life and cultivation society: The chapter contrasts ancient cultivation customs—salutes, sects, and resource exchanges—with modern concerns such as surveillance, passports, taxis, motorcycles, and public security.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Yang Yuxin discuss his possible foreign travel, with Yang warning him against leaving the country.
• Feng Jun reassures Yang that Flower Flower can protect the manor in his absence.
• Gazi interacts respectfully with Guan Shanyue, recognizing her from the Green Mountain Sect gathering while refusing to violate the manor’s visitor policies.
• Guan Shanyue questions Elder Guo persistently about his dealings with Feng Jun and uses the information to judge Feng Jun’s reliability.
• The chapter ends with Guan Shanyue’s planned meeting with Feng Jun postponed because he has already begun his journey.

Summary of “Seeing Tang Wenji Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Guan Shanyue and representatives from Fugu Crimson Cloud Heaven visit Luohua Manor hoping to meet Feng Jun, but Gazi explains that Feng Jun will not return soon. Attempts to contact him fail because Feng Jun has deliberately hidden his phone after suspecting that powerful people may be tracking him.
• Feng Jun travels to Green Mountain Sect to investigate whether its location contains an Earth Vein. Disguised and using a different appearance, he arrives by motorcycle and waits until nightfall.
• Increased security prevents him from entering freely. When guards confront him, Feng Jun deliberately provokes them by claiming that even Tang Wangsun and Tang Wenji would not dare speak to him disrespectfully.
• The guards summon Daoist priests, including Master Ma, who recognizes Feng Jun from a previous visit to Luohua Manor. Feng Jun demands to see Tang Wenji.
• Tang Wenji arrives on her motorcycle and immediately tests Feng Jun with a punch. He catches it effortlessly, and she recognizes him despite his disguise. Their reunion is cheerful and familiar.
• Tang Wenji takes Feng Jun through the heavily guarded Green Mountain Sect grounds to a secluded area near Golden Altar Huayang Heaven.
• Feng Jun tests his Black Colt Tower and confirms that it grows taller and resonates more strongly in the presence of an Earth Vein. However, he cannot determine the meaning of the resonance or find useful information by searching Tang Wenji’s phone.
• After Tang Wenji brings him a new phone, Feng Jun decides to leave and continue investigating Earth Veins elsewhere.
• Tang Wenji unexpectedly asks to accompany him. She wants to escape Green Mountain Sect’s increasing social obligations and holiday activities. Feng Jun’s attempt to discourage her only excites her further, especially since she can provide transportation.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and secretive, taking precautions to conceal his location and identity. He is also confident and deliberately provocative when challenged, knowing that his strength makes ordinary threats meaningless.
• His investigation into Earth Veins becomes more focused. The Black Colt Tower’s growth and heightened resonance provide evidence supporting his theory, though he still lacks a clear explanation.
• Tang Wenji has grown stronger, as shown by her improved punch, and has become more prominent within Green Mountain Sect. Despite her status as the Little Celestial Master, she is tired of the fame, security, and social responsibilities surrounding the sect.
• Tang Wenji’s warm and eager response to Feng Jun reveals her trust and affection toward him. She quickly shifts from testing him to insisting on joining his journey.
• Master Ma recognizes Feng Jun and reacts with caution, demonstrating his awareness that Feng Jun is far more powerful and significant than an ordinary visitor.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and surveillance: Feng Jun hides his phone, disguises himself, and checks for cameras before conducting his test, emphasizing the danger of being watched by rival powers.
• Power beneath appearances: Feng Jun appears to be an arrogant outsider, but his confidence and ability expose him as someone the guards and priests cannot safely challenge.
• The costs of fame and institutional growth: Green Mountain Sect’s renewed popularity brings wealth, worshippers, and security, but it also creates bureaucracy, crowding, and social burdens.
• Investigation and hidden forces: The Black Colt Tower’s response to the Earth Vein suggests a larger supernatural mechanism that Feng Jun is gradually uncovering.
• Companionship and escape: Tang Wenji’s decision to accompany Feng Jun introduces a more personal dimension to his quest and reflects her desire to escape the pressures of her public role.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun’s hostile exchange with the guards establishes his dominance and deliberately draws attention from the sect.
• His reunion with Master Ma combines recognition, intimidation, and Feng Jun’s impatience.
• Tang Wenji’s playful punch and Feng Jun’s effortless defense show their familiarity and mutual respect.
• Their motorcycle ride and private conversation create an intimate atmosphere, while Tang Wenji’s willingness to lend him her phone shows her trust.
• Their final exchange is humorous: Feng Jun tries to end the encounter and discourage her from joining him, but Tang Wenji turns every objection into a reason to come along.

Chapter Summary: “Second and First”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Tang Wenji travel by motorcycle from Yang City to Weiyu Grotto-Heaven in winter. Tang Wenji repeatedly complains about the cold, prompting Feng Jun to provide windproof handlebar covers, wool-lined knee pads, and eventually suggest that she ride wrapped in a blanket.
• After arriving, Feng Jun leaves Tang Wenji at a hotel and secretly tests his little tower at various locations throughout Weiyu Mountain. He is searching for Earth Veins and investigating whether they influence the Black Colt Tower.
• The testing is difficult because Weiyu Mountain is heavily developed and crowded. Feng Jun must avoid witnesses and surveillance cameras, even checking for nearby cameras before taking out the tower. He patiently examines locations across all five peaks until nightfall.
• Because Feng Jun is concealing his identity and movements, Tang Wenji uses her identification to book a hotel suite. She tries to persuade him to include her in his mysterious activities, but he refuses, preferring to keep his plans private.
• The next morning, they travel toward Jade Sect Mountain. Feng Jun briefly returns to Yang City instead, secretly checks Luohua Manor, and then leaves without being noticed.
• At Jade Sect Mountain, Feng Jun intends to investigate Lesser Pure Void Grotto-Heaven, the foremost of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens. The mountain is buried in snow, and the Jade Sect’s gates are closed for the winter.
• Tang Wenji reveals that she has previously visited the area and knows the suspected location of Jade Sect’s Spirit-Gathering Array. Although Feng Jun initially does not want her involved, he accepts her guidance.
• The pair climb the mountain at night to avoid detection. The icy roads make travel exhausting, and Tang Wenji nearly falls several times while trying to match Feng Jun’s pace.
• When she becomes too tired to continue, Feng Jun carries her on his back. He then unexpectedly flies the remaining distance, startling Tang Wenji.
• They reach a hillside near the Jade Sect abode. Tang Wenji identifies a pine forest leading toward it but warns that the forest may contain an array capable of trapping intruders.
• Feng Jun decides to investigate alone so they will not leave extra footprints. Just as he prepares to proceed, snow begins falling again.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates patience, caution, and resourcefulness. He is increasingly focused on locating Earth Veins and testing the little tower, while carefully concealing his identity and methods. His ability to fly confirms his growing power, and his protective behavior toward Tang Wenji contrasts with his insistence on keeping his plans secret.
• Tang Wenji: Shows resilience, curiosity, competitiveness, and a playful lack of formality toward Feng Jun. Despite being a talented young Martial Master, she struggles to keep pace with him in the harsh terrain. Her desire to accompany him reflects both her curiosity about his abilities and her growing personal involvement with him.
• Their relationship: Their banter becomes more familiar and physically comfortable. Tang Wenji jokes while riding on Feng Jun’s back and even twists his ear, treating him less like a powerful cultivator and more like an equal companion. Feng Jun continues to maintain boundaries but repeatedly assists and protects her.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and concealment: Feng Jun goes to great lengths to avoid surveillance, hotel records, witnesses, and physical traces.
• Exploration and cultivation: His journey reflects a larger investigation into Earth Veins, grotto-heavens, Spirit-Gathering Arrays, and the relationship between ancient cultivation sites and his mysterious tower.
• Power and disparity: Tang Wenji is highly accomplished, yet Feng Jun’s speed, endurance, and ability to fly reveal how far beyond ordinary Martial Masters he has progressed.
• Companionship and trust: Although Feng Jun prefers to work alone, Tang Wenji’s persistence gradually brings her into his plans. Their teasing and mutual assistance suggest increasing familiarity.
• Nature versus civilization: Weiyu Mountain is crowded, developed, and monitored, making secret cultivation work difficult; Jade Sect Mountain is isolated, snowbound, and dangerous, presenting a more traditional and mysterious cultivation environment.

Character Interactions

• Tang Wenji complains about the cold throughout the motorcycle journey, while Feng Jun calmly supplies winter gear and eventually offers to drive.
• She attempts to secure greater involvement in his activities by offering to arrange their lodging and asking to accompany him. Feng Jun repeatedly refuses, though he still allows her to guide him at Jade Sect.
• During the mountain climb, Tang Wenji competes with Feng Jun despite the physical disadvantage. He slows down for her, but she continues pushing herself.
• Their exchange while he carries her—her calling herself a fortunate “piglet” and his teasing reply—highlights their playful, increasingly intimate dynamic.
• Her shock at discovering that Feng Jun can fly marks a new revelation about the gap between his abilities and her own.

Chapter Summary: “Wangwu Earth Vein”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Tang Wenji secretly investigate the Jade Sect’s cave abode during a heavy mountain snowfall.
• Feng Jun discovers that the Jade Sect possesses a damaged Spirit-Gathering Array powered by a Spirit Stone hidden atop a stalagmite. Five cultivators are using the formation, which is protected by cameras and infrared alarms.
• He avoids the security measures and studies the formation, searching for evidence of an Earth Vein. He also tests the Black Colt Tower, which expands dramatically to nearly five meters but almost alerts the cultivators.
• After observing the formation several times, Feng Jun concludes that the Jade Sect’s Spirit-Gathering Array relies primarily on the surrounding Earth Vein rather than on Spirit Stones.
• Heavy snow makes their escape urgent. Feng Jun carries Tang Wenji out of the mountain, but the rapid flight causes her to catch a cold.
• They rest in Jade Sect City until Tang Wenji recovers. During this time, Feng Jun performs extensive calculations on the Spirit-Gathering Array and Earth Veins.
• Feng Jun determines that the Jade Sect’s Earth Vein is stronger than Green Mountain’s, explaining why the Jade Sect was historically considered the foremost Grotto-Heaven. However, the Earth Vein has weakened over time.
• The pair decide to travel west rather than continue north, aiming for the Supreme Origin Complete Truth Grotto-Heaven near Leaning Mountain in the Yuxu Mountain Range.
• Feng Jun obtains two off-road vehicles through Wu Limin and keeps the expedition secret from Luohua Manor. After five difficult days of travel through snowbound roads, they reach Leaning Mountain.
• In extreme cold, Feng Jun carries Tang Wenji through the air to search for the hidden grotto-heaven. They eventually find a relatively safe mountain hollow where they can rest, avoiding unstable snow-filled ravines.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates increasing expertise in identifying and analyzing Earth Veins. His investigation is driven not merely by cultivation or treasure hunting but by curiosity and systematic research. He also shows caution and responsibility by prioritizing Tang Wenji’s safety during the dangerous journey.
• Tang Wenji: Continues to act as a spirited and inquisitive companion. Although she jokes with Feng Jun and initially attempts to tease him, she quickly becomes absorbed in his discoveries about the Jade Sect. Her physical resilience is emphasized, though she acknowledges that Feng Jun’s endurance is far greater than her own.
• Wu Limin: Provides practical assistance by arranging two off-road vehicles and respecting Feng Jun’s request for secrecy, showing his trust and willingness to support Feng Jun discreetly.

Significant Themes

• Earth Veins and the foundations of cultivation: The chapter reveals that powerful spiritual locations may depend on natural Earth Veins rather than artificial formations or Spirit Stones alone.
• Decline and preservation: The Jade Sect’s Earth Vein has weakened, suggesting that even ancient spiritual resources can deteriorate over time.
• Empirical investigation versus intuition: Feng Jun combines direct observation, cultivation knowledge, and written calculations to understand phenomena that modern technology cannot detect.
• Exploration and danger: The journey emphasizes the hazards of remote spiritual sites, including blizzards, extreme cold, blocked roads, and unstable mountain terrain.
• Secrecy and trust: Feng Jun carefully conceals his movements, while Wu Limin and Tang Wenji cooperate with him without pressing for unnecessary explanations.

Character Interactions

• Tang Wenji silently observes Feng Jun’s Black Colt Tower but refrains from questioning him so they do not alert the Jade Sect cultivators.
• She reminds Feng Jun that the worsening snowfall could erase their route, prompting their departure.
• After recovering, Tang Wenji becomes fascinated by Feng Jun’s calculations and questions him about the Earth Vein and the Jade Sect’s Spirit-Gathering Array.
• Feng Jun explains that Green Mountain also possesses an Earth Vein, though it is weaker, and contrasts it with the Jade Sect’s stronger but declining one.
• Tang Wenji objects to continuing northward by motorcycle because of the unbearable cold, leading Feng Jun to redirect their expedition west toward Leaning Mountain.
• Feng Jun’s protective behavior becomes evident when he carries Tang Wenji through the blizzard and chooses a safer resting place rather than entering potentially dangerous snow-filled hollows.

Chapter Summary: “Painstaking Efforts Not Wasted”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Tang Wenji arrive at the extremely cold Leaning Mountain to search for an Earth Vein. The Nine-Heavens Astral Gale makes ordinary tents useless.
• Feng Jun uses explosives to blast a cave into the mountain, then expands it manually with his saber. He creates separate sleeping areas, installs a generator and lighting, hangs insulated curtains, and stocks the cave with food and supplies.
• Tang Wenji prepares their first meal, though her unusual cooking methods—using sweet corn-boiling water and unwashed egg-boiling water for instant noodles—horrify Feng Jun. Despite his complaints, he still eats several bowls.
• Feng Jun establishes a Spirit-Gathering Array near the cave to restore the spiritual energy he spends searching the mountain. He invites Tang Wenji to cultivate there as well.
• Feng Jun searches Leaning Mountain for ten days, repeatedly traveling through the harsh terrain. Tang Wenji attempts to search independently but is forced to retreat after nearly freezing, while Feng Jun continues despite suffering from exhaustion and spiritual depletion.
• After initially searching mainly the eastern side and lower elevations, Feng Jun discovers an Earth Vein convergence point high on the mountain, more than thirty kilometers away and near the center of Leaning Mountain.
• He relocates their entire camp, manually digs a new cave near the Earth Vein, and sets up the generator and Spirit-Gathering Array again.
• The Earth Vein dramatically strengthens the array: after only one night, it has gathered more than half its capacity. Feng Jun begins preparing to cultivate inside his mysterious tower and asks Tang Wenji to stand guard.
• The chapter ends with Tang Wenji becoming confused by Feng Jun’s instruction to “lightly pat the tower,” then realizing that he possesses or can summon a tower-like cultivation treasure.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates his practical resourcefulness, wealth of supplies, explosive expertise, and high physical and cultivation abilities. He is willing to endure severe hardship and persist for days in order to find a suitable Earth Vein.
• He also reveals a more considerate side by building Tang Wenji a private sleeping area, allowing her to use the Spirit-Gathering Array, and eventually trusting her to guard him while he cultivates.
• Tang Wenji begins the chapter regretting her impulsive decision to come, as she struggles with the cold and harsh environment. She gradually adapts by cooking, cleaning, cultivating, and maintaining the cave, joking that she is becoming a housewife.
• Her attempt to prove she can search the mountain herself fails, reinforcing the vast difference between her abilities and Feng Jun’s. Nevertheless, she becomes increasingly impressed by him and feels honored when he asks her to stand guard.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and effort: Feng Jun’s repeated searching eventually pays off, showing that sustained effort and willingness to correct one’s assumptions lead to success.
• Preparation and adaptability: Survival in Leaning Mountain depends not only on cultivation but also on practical tools, food, shelter, and careful planning.
• The limits of assumptions: Feng Jun initially assumes Earth Veins should be near the ground or lower slopes, causing him to overlook the true location. His discovery comes after expanding his search and using multiple methods.
• Cultivation and modern technology: Explosives, generators, ovens, pressure cookers, and electric lights coexist with Spirit-Gathering Arrays, Earth Veins, and mystical towers.
• Trust and cooperation: Although Feng Jun usually acts independently, the harsh environment convinces him to rely on Tang Wenji as both a companion and a guard.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun frequently teases and criticizes Tang Wenji, especially over her cooking and lack of practical knowledge, while she responds with irritation and sarcasm.
• Tang Wenji is repeatedly astonished by Feng Jun’s cultivation level, equipment, ability to reshape the mountain, and seemingly endless supplies.
• Their relationship shifts from reluctant cooperation to a more functional partnership: Tang Wenji handles domestic tasks and cultivation while Feng Jun searches and organizes their relocation.
• Feng Jun’s decision to entrust Tang Wenji with guarding his cultivation session marks a significant increase in confidence and reliance between them, though her discovery of the tower may expose another of his secrets.

Chapter Summary: “Sneaky to the End”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun reveals the Black Colt Tower, a small magical tower that expands to over ten meters in height. He enters it to cultivate, while Tang Wenji remains outside as his guard.
• Tang Wenji is amazed by the tower and initially treats her duty casually, even touching it out of curiosity. Her actual responsibility is to pat the tower if an emergency occurs.
• During Feng Jun’s seclusion, Tang Wenji must endure harsh conditions on Jade Ruins Mountain:
  • An avalanche forces her to stand guard near the tower for three hours.
  • She catches a cold but recovers with ginger soup, rest, and the shelter of Feng Jun’s cave.
  • A twenty-hour blizzard nearly scatters the Spirit-Gathering Array. Tang Wenji risks herself in the storm to secure its materials.
• Feng Jun remains inside the tower far longer than expected. Tang Wenji eventually interrupts him on the twenty-sixth day because of the approaching holiday.
• Feng Jun explains that he has no intention of returning home. The tower’s abundant spiritual energy has allowed him to break through to Qi Refining Level Eight, and he wants to continue cultivating.
• After briefly emerging for food and bathing, Feng Jun returns to the tower. When he finally emerges on the eighth day of the New Year, he has reached Qi Refining Level Nine and is close to its peak.
• As compensation for Tang Wenji’s month-long guard duty, Feng Jun gives her six Origin-Nurturing Pills, enough to guarantee her advancement to Intermediate Martial Master if taken properly.
• Tang Wenji jokingly asks for Spirit Stones and suggests joining Luohua Sect to gain access to them. Feng Jun refuses the immediate request, noting that his sect has limited resources and must prioritize its core members.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates his determination to exploit the rare opportunity provided by the Black Colt Tower. His cultivation advances rapidly from Qi Refining Advanced Stage to Level Nine. He becomes increasingly willing to neglect ordinary obligations, including the holiday, in pursuit of greater strength.
• Tang Wenji: Initially curious and playful, she gradually proves herself responsible and resilient. Despite fear, loneliness, extreme cold, avalanches, and blizzards, she faithfully protects the tower and preserves Feng Jun’s cultivation opportunity. Her endurance and continued cultivation also improve her own foundation.
• Their relationship: Tang Wenji’s willingness to serve as guard strengthens her connection with Feng Jun. She grows comfortable enough to tease and bargain with him, while Feng Jun recognizes her efforts and rewards her generously.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and endurance: Both characters endure physical hardship and isolation to pursue cultivation.
• The value of opportunity: Feng Jun refuses to abandon the Black Colt Tower’s rare spiritual environment, choosing to remain “sneaky to the end” and maximize his gains.
• Sacrifice and reward: Tang Wenji’s discomfort and dangerous guard duty are eventually acknowledged through the Origin-Nurturing Pills.
• Isolation in cultivation: The chapter emphasizes that advancement requires tolerating loneliness and resisting distractions.
• Resource inequality and talent: Feng Jun’s refusal to provide Spirit Stones reflects the limited resources of Luohua Manor and his judgment that Tang Wenji’s aptitude, while respectable, is not exceptional.

Character Interactions

• Tang Wenji reacts with disbelief and humor to the Black Colt Tower, while Feng Jun responds with amused exasperation.
• She repeatedly worries about Feng Jun’s safety but restrains herself from interrupting his cultivation, showing growing trust and responsibility.
• When she finally calls him out for the delayed holiday, Feng Jun offers to escort her home, but she chooses to remain because traveling alone would be difficult and she does not urgently need to return.
• Their conversation about bathing reveals their practical dependence on each other in the isolated mountain environment.
• Feng Jun thanks Tang Wenji with pills, and she responds warmly but immediately attempts to negotiate for Spirit Stones and possibly membership in Luohua Sect.