Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaofan returned to Two Mountains with Luo Yunji, while Song Daren and the Azure Cloud disciples arrived too late to find him at the inn. Rogue cultivators explained at Azure Cloud Mountain that Luo Yunji had improved their manuals, and Song Daren’s group eventually reached Two Mountains and reunited with Wu Dayi.

• He Dazhi and Zhang Xiaofan discussed whether the Ghost King might repeat his earlier deception, then agreed to report the matter to their senior brothers and bring Luo Yunji back to Two Mountains.
• Song Daren’s group arrived at Zhang Xiaofan’s inn after he had left, learned from the waiter that he had returned to Two Mountains, and flew there.
• Rogue cultivators told Daoxuan True Person that Luo Yunji had improved their cultivation methods and that they were now seeking his help, leaving Tian Buyi awkward under the other branch leaders’ stares.
• Song Daren’s group was stopped by three Monster Beasts at Two Mountains until a soldier recognized him and went to inform Wu Dayi.
• Wu Dayi arrived, embraced Song Daren, and teased him about Wen Min, who blushed and glared at Wu Dayi.

Song Daren and the Azure Clouds disciples arrived at Two Mountains, where Wu Dayi and the others welcomed them. After reuniting with Luo Yunji and Zhang Xiaofan, they gathered at the Food Mansion for a welcoming banquet.

• Wu Dayi greeted the arriving disciples, reminded them about Two Mountains' formation, and led them inside with Zeng Shushu and Wen Min helping keep the group together.
• Luo Yunji and three Monster Beasts charged down the mountain to greet Song Daren, who caught Luo Yunji and reunited with him and Wen Min.
• He Dazhi welcomed the group at the Food Mansion, where Song Daren embraced Zhang Xiaofan and joked about Luo Yunji bullying him.
• Wen Min admired the Food Mansion's courtyard, and Wu Dayi ordered the banquet to begin after the guests were seated.
• Song Daren asked whether Zhang Xiaofan had prepared the dishes, and Zhang Xiaofan explained that he had made a few plates before leaving to greet him.

Song Daren, Zeng Shushu, Wen Min, and their companions arrived at the Food Mansion, where Zhang Xiaofan's cooking and the accommodations impressed them. The next morning, the visitors met the children training in the courtyard while the Big Bamboo Peak disciples prepared for the day, tired after staying up late together.

• Song Daren and Zeng Shushu praised Zhang Xiaofan's cooking, and the group ate together until nightfall.
• Song Daren, He Dazhi, Wu Dayi, and Luo Yunji settled into a cave dwelling while the Small Bamboo Peak and Wind Return Peak disciples stayed at the Food Mansion.
• Wen Min described Big Bamboo Peak's cave dwelling to her junior sisters and sent them to sleep, while Zeng Shushu stayed up telling his junior brothers about Big Bamboo Peak.
• The next morning, Wen Min and her junior sisters found children exercising in the courtyard, and Zeng Shushu admitted he had stayed up all night talking.
• Song Daren, He Dazhi, and Wu Dayi came out to the courtyard, and Song Daren told Wen Min that Luo Yunji had kept them awake late.

Song Daren and the Azure Cloud disciples learned that the accusations against Zhang Xiaofan had been resolved, then visited the cave residence and saw Luo Yunji put Song Daren to work shaping the grounds. Wen Min and Zeng Shushu went to inspect Sanfu Town, while Song Daren remained in the cave to help with construction.

• Zhang Xiaofan brought breakfast to Luo Yunji, who had slept late after playing with Song Daren the night before.
• Song Daren told Wu Dayi and He Dazhi that he had come to ask about the accusations, and He Dazhi explained that wandering cultivators now praised Zhang Xiaofan for improving their cultivation methods.
• He Dazhi showed Wen Min and the others the cave residence and its Book Tower, where the growing collection of cultivation methods was stored.
• Luo Yunji woke up, took Song Daren to an open space, and urged him to shape the earth and stone for a construction project.
• Song Daren spent the day making shapes from earth and stone, recovering his spiritual power, and reluctantly eating Zhang Xiaofan's food under Luo Yunji's supervision.
• Wen Min and Zeng Shushu left with the other disciples to inspect Sanfu Town, where they saw broad streets lined with shops, teahouses, taverns, and stalls.

Wen Min, Zeng Shushu, and the others toured Sanfu Town and learned how its cultivators and ordinary residents lived under rules established by Wu Dayi and He Dazhi. They left with a clearer sense of the city’s growing influence and its efforts to protect ordinary people.

• Wen Min, Zeng Shushu, and the others marveled at Sanfu Town’s bustling cultivation market and the mix of cultivators, soldiers, and ordinary residents.
• A soldier sent by Wu Dayi arrived to guide them and explained that soldiers handled public order, with Ghost King Sect disciples assisting when needed.
• The soldier described how Luo Yunji’s improved cultivation methods had drawn independent cultivators to Sanfu Town and helped it grow into a city.
• Zeng Shushu learned that the town’s largest building was its frequently overcrowded prison, where newcomers were held while they learned the rules.
• The soldier explained that independent cultivators were barred from ordinary residents’ streets and neighborhoods to protect people from disputes and harm.

Wen Min and Zeng Shushu toured bustling Sanfu Town with a soldier, learning how its disciplined patrols and the Little State Preceptor’s cultivation method had changed the city. They returned to the Food Mansion at night and found Wu Dayi waiting while Zhang Xiaofan and the others were still keeping their eldest senior brother occupied.

• Wen Min and Zeng Shushu learned that Sanfu Town’s soldiers hoped the Little State Preceptor’s cultivation method would let them face wandering cultivators without help from the Ghost King Sect.
• The soldier explained that Zhang Xiaofan’s inn barred everyone but its chefs, so Wen Min gave up on visiting it and chose to explore the town instead.
• Wen Min, Zeng Shushu, and their fellow disciples visited Sanfu Town’s shops and restaurants with the soldier as their guide.
• The disciples returned to Two Mountains after nightfall and found Wu Dayi alone in the Food Mansion, waiting for them.
• Wen Min asked where Zhang Xiaofan and the others were, and Wu Dayi indicated they were still tormenting their eldest senior brother before calling for the dishes.

Wen Min, Zeng Shushu, and the others ate at Zhang Xiaofan’s place, where Zeng Shushu tried to convince Wen Min to delay returning to the mountain. He became fascinated by Wu Dayi’s strange book, Chronicles of the Illusory World, but Wen Min warned him that clever readers got into trouble from reading it.

• Wu Dayi had Spirit Wine brought to the group, and Zeng Shushu lamented that he would soon have to leave Sanfu Town.
• Zeng Shushu asked Wen Min to help him stay longer, but Wu Dayi said they needed to return and report on their mission.
• Zeng Shushu tried to read Wu Dayi’s storybook, but Wu Dayi blocked him, and Wen Min recognized the title as Chronicles of the Illusory World.
• Wu Dayi teased Wen Min about moving to Big Bamboo Peak, making her blush before she left with Zeng Shushu.
• After cultivation, Zeng Shushu asked Wen Min about the book, and she told him that smart people who read it got into trouble.

Wen Min told Zeng Shushu that a book had nearly obsessed He Dazhi, while Song Daren learned that Luo Yunji wanted him to help build an underground city beneath Sanfu Town. He returned to the mountain to train his control over earth, leaving his role in the project for a later visit.

• Wen Min explained that Uncle Tian had forbidden most Big Bamboo Peak disciples from reading a book, but He Dazhi had nearly become obsessed with it.
• Song Daren spent the night constructing a hexagonal pavilion and woke with an aching waist.
• He Dazhi gave Song Daren plans for Sanfu Town and revealed that Luo Yunji wanted him to build another town beneath it.
• He Dazhi explained that the construction might help Song Daren find his own cultivation path, though he could not be sure.
• Song Daren said he had to return to the mountain for the sect leader's mission, and He Dazhi told him to train his control over earth before helping build the underground city.

Luo Yunji, Zhang Xiaofan, and their allies rescued the Prince’s party from a deadly monster attack, with Dahei defeating and devouring the snake demon. After the survivors began tending to the wounded, Luo Yunji found the two injured guardian Monster Beasts barely able to move.

• He Dazhi learned that the Prince’s party had been attacked by a Monster Beast and sent Luo Yunji, Zhang Xiaofan, and soldiers to help.
• The Prince agreed to retreat as the Monster Beast overwhelmed the defenders and threatened to devour the party’s guardian Monster Beasts.
• Luo Yunji arrived on Dahei as rain fell, and Dahei slammed the snake demon into a mountain wall.
• Dahei swallowed the snake demon while He Dazhi, the Prince, and the soldiers organized the rescue of the wounded.
• Luo Yunji and Liao Xing saw that the two guardian Monster Beasts were badly injured and barely able to move.

After a deadly encounter with a demon snake, Luo Yunji delayed the group’s journey by gathering food and supplies from the mountains. When they reached Sanfu Town, the haul overwhelmed Zhang Xiaofan’s inn, so He Dazhi proposed a citywide banquet and invited Luo Yunji to judge the dishes.

• Luo Yunji fed the wounded Monster Beasts food from Zhang Xiaofan, while Zhang Xiaofan and He Dazhi helped rescue the injured soldiers.
• The Prince, the old Prime Minister, and the old general treated the wounded and gathered the dead after the attack.
• During the five-day rest, Luo Yunji and his companions explored the area and collected herbs, ingredients, and wild fruit before setting out with carts full of supplies.
• Luo Yunji’s detours stretched the remaining journey to Sanfu Town to three times its planned length, and the group arrived carrying their gathered goods.
• Zhang Xiaofan found that the inn’s storeroom could not hold the supplies, so He Dazhi proposed a citywide banquet and offered Luo Yunji the chance to judge the dishes.

Luo Yunji and Liao Xing’s feast turned Sanfu Town into a three-day celebration, while the soldiers kept order. After Prince explained that the court needed to govern the new city, He Dazhi agreed to let officials take over, and Song Daren trusted Prince to make the arrangements.

• He Dazhi promised Luo Yunji he could eat his fill before the other guests, then told the shopkeeper to arrange more food.
• Liao Xing organized a contest around Zhang Xiaofan’s seventeen spiritual dishes, and He Dazhi divided the competitors into cultivators and ordinary people.
• The people of Sanfu Town feasted and celebrated for three days, while Luo Yunji’s five thousand soldiers patrolled and caught thieves.
• The old Prime Minister and the old general wanted to manage Sanfu Town, and Prince explained the court’s concerns to He Dazhi.
• He Dazhi agreed to the court sending officials, and Song Daren told Prince to make whatever arrangements he saw fit.

The Prince, Song Daren, and the others planned how to govern Sanfu Town while respecting the cultivators and coordinating with the Imperial City and Ghost King Sect. As the Prince departed to report to court, He Dazhi revealed that he still needed to arrange for the soldiers’ families to move to Two Mountains.

• He Dazhi reminded the Prince that Sanfu Town had cultivators and that ordinary laws could not apply to everyone, and Wu Dayi said the final arrangements depended on the Imperial City.
• Wu Dayi suggested He Dazhi speak with the Ghost King, and the senior brothers explained that Bi Yao often visited Two Mountains to fight Zhang Xiaofan over food.
• Song Daren learned that the Ghost King Sect benefited from Luo Yunji’s cultivation advice and the Food Mansion’s meals, despite the Ghost King’s strained relationship with the people of Two Mountains.
• The Prince and the others prepared a letter to the court describing Sanfu Town’s special circumstances and plans, while He Dazhi refined the soldiers’ Crystal Tablets to grant them access to Two Mountains.
• The Prince left to send his report, and Song Daren strolled through Sanfu Town with his junior brothers.
• He Dazhi told Song Daren that he planned to bring the relatives of the five thousand soldiers to Two Mountains.

Zhang Xiaofan and He Dazhi visited the Ghost King to deliver a formation diagram and discuss Sanfu Town’s growing troubles. He Dazhi proposed helping Ghost King Sect members gain roles in the town’s security and army, and the Ghost King questioned whether he had the authority to arrange it.

• Song Daren returned to Food Mansion with He Dazhi and Wu Dayi after hearing about the plans to build an underground city.
• Zhang Xiaofan prepared food and Monkey Wine, then accompanied He Dazhi to the Ghost King Sect’s main altar.
• He Dazhi gave the Ghost King a formation diagram, and the Ghost King agreed to study it and provide the complete Heavenly Book Volume Two later.
• He Dazhi warned that Sanfu Town’s growth and Azure Cloud Sect’s investigation would bring more trouble, then explained that the imperial court might send troops to garrison the town.
• He Dazhi offered to help Ghost King Sect disciples join the town’s security forces and obtain official posts, prompting the Ghost King to ask whether he could make that decision.

He Dazhi and Zhang Xiaofan returned to Sanfu Town to find Luo Yunji, who had drawn a crowd of rogue cultivators seeking help with their cultivation methods. When a dispute broke out over crowd control, He Dazhi confronted those stirring up trouble, while the instigator remained hidden.

• He Dazhi told the Ghost King that Luo Yunji was known as the Imperial Preceptor and that several Big Bamboo Peak disciples held court posts, then accepted a brocade box from the Ghost King.
• He Dazhi and Zhang Xiaofan returned to Two Mountains, discovered Luo Yunji was absent, and rushed to Sanfu Town.
• Luo Yunji was guarded at the inn by Song Daren and Wu Dayi while rogue cultivators gathered outside to ask him to modify their cultivation methods.
• A crowd-control dispute erupted after rogue cultivators were injured in the crush, and the Ghost King Sect disciples refused to apologize.
• He Dazhi called for the crowd to disperse and challenged the person accusing him of favoring the Demon Sect to step forward and explain himself.

He Dazhi confronted rogue cultivators who had come to Sanfu Town and exposed the troublemakers as members of demonic sects. After sending the crowd away, he left the Ghost King Sect disciples to handle their own, while the others were killed with his magical treasure.

• He Dazhi calmed the front row of rogue cultivators while Song Daren challenged the crowd to identify the injured person and stop spreading accusations.
• An elderly rogue cultivator explained that the crowd had come to ask the Little State Preceptor to revise their cultivation methods, and He Dazhi had soldiers escort him behind the crowd.
• He Dazhi summoned Clear Breeze Jade Dew and restrained several people who had stirred up trouble, then Wu Dayi played a flute inside the inn.
• He Dazhi questioned the captives, who identified themselves as disciples of the Myriad Poison Sect, Longevity Hall, and Ghost King Sect.
• He Dazhi handed the Ghost King Sect disciples over to a Ghost King Sect cultivator and killed the remaining captives in a gust of blood-red mist.

He Dazhi’s harsh response to trouble at Zhang Xiaofan’s inn drew awe from Sanfu Town, while the Ghost King used the incident to send a warning to rival sects. After sharing a meal with his senior brothers, Zhang Xiaofan went outside to hear the Ghost King Sect’s report.

• He Dazhi ignored the onlookers and returned to the inn, while Ghost King Sect disciples took the two troublemakers away.
• The Ghost King identified the captured disciples as spies and ordered them questioned, killed, and their heads sent back to their sects as a warning.
• Mr. Ghost explained to Qinglong that returning the heads showed sincerity and reaffirmed the sects’ understanding that spies should only gather information.
• Prince watched the inn from a distance and realized that he and the others could now enter Two Mountains.
• Luo Yunji and Zhang Xiaofan emerged from the kitchen with a feast, and Song Daren ate with his fellow disciples.
• Zhang Xiaofan went outside and heard two Ghost King Sect disciples explain how the Ghost King had dealt with the two troublemakers.

Zhang Xiaofan declined the Ghost King Sect’s offer to station guards at his inn but agreed to keep a young disciple as a contact, then spent time with his companions in Sanfu Town. Their outing was interrupted when a soldier reported that many civilians had been killed.

• Zhang Xiaofan refused special protection from the Ghost King Sect, saying the inn could be rebuilt if necessary, but allowed a young disciple to serve as a contact.
• Zhang Xiaofan asked Song Daren when he planned to return and offered to send new dishes back for Master, Mistress, and the other disciples.
• He Dazhi and Wu Dayi encouraged Song Daren to stay longer and take Wen Min around Sanfu Town.
• Luo Yunji, Liao Xing, Zhang Xiaofan, and the Third Prince went shopping in town while soldiers followed them carrying their purchases.
• Zhang Xiaofan sent a soldier to investigate a commotion, and the soldier reported that many ordinary civilians had been killed.

Zhang Xiaofan investigated the murders of commoners in Sanfu Town while Luo Yunji discovered that a household’s cat could speak. The cat demanded food before revealing how the victims died, and Zhang Xiaofan handed Luo Yunji something to feed it.

• Zhang Xiaofan learned that a cultivator had murdered several commoners and ordered a soldier to inform his senior brothers.
• Luo Yunji grew tired of being crowded by strangers, learned where the incident had happened, and went there with Liao Xing and soldiers.
• Zhang Xiaofan examined the victims and ordered inquiries into suspicious people, while Luo Yunji noticed the household’s large cat watching the bodies.
• Luo Yunji grabbed the cat and discovered it could speak; the cat demanded Tasty Things in exchange for information about the deaths.
• Zhang Xiaofan took cat food from Luo Yunji’s purchases and handed it to him on the courtyard wall.

Zhang Xiaofan tracked down and captured the two cultivators who had murdered people over a supposed earthly treasure, which turned out to be an old ginseng. He left their punishment undecided as the crowd gathered to watch him deliver justice.

• Luo Yunji’s big cat identified Wang Er, who confessed that he had told a cultivator about the supposed treasure in exchange for help entering cultivation.
• Zhang Xiaofan and the others reached Fortune Comes Inn, where the treasure’s owner surrendered a nearly three-hundred-year-old ginseng to He Dazhi.
• Zhang Xiaofan chased down the two fleeing killers and brought them back to the inn.
• Zhang Xiaofan saw the crowd expecting justice and had the soldiers announce the killers’ crimes.
• The two killers wept, kowtowed, and admitted their guilt as Zhang Xiaofan questioned whether they had been wrongly accused.

After resolving the murders in Sanfu Town, Zhang Xiaofan and his senior brothers recruited a kindhearted Ghost King Sect odd-jobs disciple to help them. An old diviner Zhang Xiaofan recognized as an enlightened master arrived, and Luo Yunji reunited with a little girl.

• Zhang Xiaofan killed the two murderers, arranged for the dead to be buried, and sent an old man to explain the case’s resolution to the townspeople.
• Wu Dayi learned that the young man who had stopped the killers was a Ghost King Sect disciple with no cultivation, and offered him a place with them.
• He Dazhi assigned the young man to follow Zhang Xiaofan so they could observe his character and let him help out.
• An old diviner entered and said the young man’s fortunes had turned auspicious and that he was deeply connected to the group.
• Zhang Xiaofan recognized the old man as the enlightened master he had met before and introduced him to the others, while Luo Yunji greeted a little girl and gave her food.