Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yixian joined Zhang Xiaofan and the others in Sanfu Town, where he foretold that a young man would become closely connected to them and gain renown. After the meal, he sensed that Luo Yunji faced a matter whose outcome depended on his choice, leaving He Dazhi asking for guidance.

• He Dazhi recognized Zhou Yixian as the fortune-teller who had advised the Prince, and Song Daren and Wu Dayi bowed to him.
• Zhou Yixian told the group that a young man he had seen would not die young and would become renowned after his fate changed.
• Zhang Xiaofan had arranged for Zhou Yixian and Xiaohuan to stay at Fortune Comes Inn rather than the heavily watched Two Mountains.
• Liao Xing and the Third Prince learned that Luo Yunji and Xiaohuan had met over food and Candied Hawthorn.
• After eating, Zhou Yixian divined that a matter involving Luo Yunji might or might not affect him, depending on his choice.
• He Dazhi asked Zhou Yixian to explain what he had foreseen.

Zhang Xiaofan agreed to investigate the bandits Zhou Yixian had foretold and traveled with Luo Yunji, Liao Xing, Third Prince, and soldiers to their hideout. After learning the bandits enslaved people and forced children to fight beasts, the group prepared to attack.

• Zhou Yixian said a gang of bandits had a fleeting connection to Zhang Xiaofan, and Xiaohuan explained that he had met refugees who could be repaid by telling their fortunes.
• He Dazhi suggested Zhang Xiaofan investigate the bandits, and Zhang Xiaofan agreed to go with Luo Yunji, Liao Xing, Third Prince, and two squads of soldiers.
• The group rode out at dawn and reached the bandits' area after half a day; Luo Yunji traveled on a monster wolf.
• Scouts reported that the bandits enslaved people and forced them to fight each other and wild beasts, including children.
• Zhang Xiaofan ordered the soldiers to gear up and attack, while Third Prince felt murderous intent toward the bandits.

Zhang Xiaofan and his companions attacked a mountain bandit stronghold and found its people brutally slaughtered. After Luo Yunji confronted a strange presence and an attacker escaped, Old Ancestor Fengyue emerged and claimed the attacker was his old friend who had imprisoned him.

• Zhang Xiaofan urged the Third Prince to seek the truth through his own experience as the group rode toward the stronghold.
• Zhang Xiaofan's soldiers smashed through the stronghold gate and found corpses, while Liao Xing and the Third Prince fled outside to vomit and Luo Yunji climbed onto a wall.
• The soldiers defeated the bandits and the demon wolves subdued the vicious beasts; Zhang Xiaofan used the Fire Poker to turn the captured bandits and beasts to dust.
• Luo Yunji sensed a familiar aura in a building and drifted toward it, prompting Zhang Xiaofan to order the soldiers not to look.
• A figure burst from the building and screamed after Luo Yunji struck him, then escaped; Luo Yunji returned to his usual state.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue came out of the building and asked them to spare the fleeing man, explaining that he was an old friend who had trapped him inside; Zhang Xiaofan remained wary.

Zhang Xiaofan and the soldiers discovered the mountain bandits’ horrific crimes while Old Ancestor Fengyue wrestled with guilt over helping the bandit leader escape. When the leader returned to retrieve a mysterious item said to contain the only method of becoming immortal, Fengyue agreed to help him, and Luo Yunji attacked them as they approached the stronghold.

• The soldiers reported that the bandits had slaughtered or abused the stronghold’s inhabitants, and Zhang Xiaofan went inside to see the victims.
• Zhang Xiaofan fed Luo Yunji while the soldiers searched and cleaned the stronghold, and Old Ancestor Fengyue stayed behind, troubled by the carnage.
• Luo Yunji spotted the burly bandit leader returning, and Zhang Xiaofan ordered the soldiers to search the one building they had not yet checked.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue fought the returning leader, then agreed to help him retrieve an item after learning it recorded a way to become immortal.
• As Fengyue and the bandit leader walked toward the stronghold together, Luo Yunji sent a streak of white silk flying at them.

Dabai used Luo Yunji’s magic treasures to hold off Old Ancestor Fengyue and the burly bandit leader while Zhang Xiaofan kept his distance. As Zhang Xiaofan went to investigate a strange house, a pitch-black pillar of smoke erupted from the mountain stronghold, bringing the conflict to a sudden turn.

• Dabai’s Mysterious Gauze let him evade the two men’s attacks, but the burly man’s black-gray smoke could strike him and force him back.
• Luo Yunji gave Dabai the red skull, and Dabai used it to summon a Kui Ox phantom and a growing mass of smoke filled with ghosts.
• Zhang Xiaofan watched Old Ancestor Fengyue ally with the bandit leader, felt disappointed, and chose not to join the fight while Dabai held them off.
• A soldier told Zhang Xiaofan that his men had found something strange in a house that they could not approach, so Zhang Xiaofan went to investigate.
• The ground shook, and a straight, pitch-black pillar of smoke shot up from the mountain stronghold.

After Zhang Xiaofan opened the Wooden Box, black columns of gas immobilized the stronghold until the Deity possessing Luo Yunji took the black sheet and absorbed it into the Spirit-Concentrating Pearl. When Old Ancestor Fengyue and the burly man demanded the box, Zhang Xiaofan attacked the burly man and left him sprawled on the ground.

• Zhang Xiaofan opened the Wooden Box, releasing black columns of gas that froze the people and creatures around the stronghold.
• The Deity possessing Luo Yunji entered the building, took the black sheet, and absorbed it into the Spirit-Concentrating Pearl, causing the gas to fade.
• Luo Yunji returned to himself and recognized the black sheet's markings as similar to Fifth Senior Brother's Gold Talisman.
• A soldier reported that Old Ancestor Fengyue and the burly man had forced their way into the courtyard, and the burly man demanded the Wooden Box.
• Zhang Xiaofan struck the burly man twice with blinding speed, knocking him to the ground.

Zhang Xiaofan confronted Old Ancestor Fengyue and the burly man over the Wooden Box, then learned they had taken Liao Xing and the Third Prince hostage. After the exchange turned into a fight, Zhang Xiaofan seized the burly man and wounded him with the Fire Poker, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Zhang Xiaofan stopped the burly man with a series of Taiji Seals, and Old Ancestor Fengyue tried to withdraw with him.
• The burly man revealed that he had captured Liao Xing and the Third Prince, and Zhang Xiaofan agreed to hand over the Wooden Box in exchange for their safe return.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue chose to stay behind while the burly man carried the two unconscious hostages back and demanded the item first.
• Zhang Xiaofan tossed out a Yin Spirit instead of the Wooden Box, then vanished and grabbed the burly man as Old Ancestor Fengyue attacked with a Golden Roc.
• Dabai used the Red Skull to block the Golden Roc, and Zhang Xiaofan drove the Fire Poker into the burly man's thigh, which shriveled as the man discovered Zhang Xiaofan was unharmed.

Zhang Xiaofan brought the bandit chief back to the stronghold and let the tortured survivors decide his punishment. Old Ancestor Fengyue arrived with a secret to share, but Zhang Xiaofan recognized the item from the Wooden Box and ordered the punishment to proceed.

• Zhang Xiaofan gave the Wooden Box to the bandit chief, dislocated his limbs with the Fire Poker, and had soldiers drag him to the stronghold.
• Zhang Xiaofan gathered the surviving captives before the bandit chief, and they cried out for him to be cut to pieces as they died.
• The bandit chief demanded the Wooden Box’s contents, but Old Ancestor Fengyue opened it and revealed it was empty.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Old Ancestor Fengyue that the thing inside the box was no good, then ordered the soldiers to carry out the bandit chief’s punishment.

Zhang Xiaofan ordered the soldiers to continue executing the bandit chief despite Old Ancestor Fengyue's claim that the man knew a secret linked to becoming an immortal. Old Ancestor Fengyue then told Zhang Xiaofan about the mysterious Five Seas, before lightning struck and destroyed the bandit chief.

• Old Ancestor Fengyue tried to stop the execution, claiming the bandit chief knew how to use the black talisman and held a clue to becoming an immortal.
• Zhang Xiaofan refused to spare the bandit chief and ordered the soldiers to continue the death by a thousand cuts while the Yin Spirits prevented Old Ancestor Fengyue from intervening.
• Zhang Xiaofan joined Luo Yunji on the courtyard wall and explained that he had spared Old Ancestor Fengyue because of the treasures he had once given them and Fourth Senior Brother's feelings.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue offered to share what he knew about the item and asked Zhang Xiaofan about the mysterious Five Seas.
• Lightning struck the bandit chief, reducing his body to fragments as the survivors in the stronghold watched in silence.

Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji left the mountain stronghold after the soldiers rescued its survivors and recovered the woman and her children. The widowed woman offered Zhang Xiaofan her family's cookbook in hopes of finding a place for her family, and he returned it while inviting her to prove her cooking skill at his inn.

• Zhang Xiaofan used Mysterious Gauze and the Yin Spirits to shelter the courtyard from the rain while soldiers found survivors hidden in the stronghold.
• The soldiers rescued the hidden woman and children, and Zhang Xiaofan took Luo Yunji back to the carriage when Luo Yunji said he wanted to leave.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue stayed behind as the wounded survivors died and the soldiers gathered the dead and valuables.
• The next morning, Zhang Xiaofan learned that the rescued woman was the mother of quadruplets and that her husband had died after revealing where the survivors were hidden.
• The woman offered Zhang Xiaofan her family's cookbook, One Taste Is Enough, hoping he would take in her and her children.
• Zhang Xiaofan returned the cookbook and told the woman his inn welcomed chefs with real skill.

Zhang Xiaofan learned that the secret of immortality was tied to the Five Seas and a lost third volume of the Records of Strange Ambitions. He brought the surviving verse to Zhou Yixian in Sanfu Town, who recognized the Five Seas and the book’s three-volume history but had not yet explained what he knew.

• Zhang Xiaofan arranged for Luo Yunji and the woman’s children to join the Food Mansion, then heard Old Ancestor Fengyue explain that the secret of immortality lay within the Five Seas.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue revealed that his dead friend had memorized and destroyed the third volume of the Records of Strange Ambitions, which contained clues to immortality and the Five Seas’ locations.
• Old Ancestor Fengyue gave Zhang Xiaofan the verse, “The Heartless Nether Prison refines the Nether Marsh; the Azure Wrath Firmament roars with ten thousand thunders!” and explained that an object from the Wooden Box came from the Sea of Nether Domain.
• Zhang Xiaofan traveled back to Sanfu Town with Luo Yunji and the others, then delivered an inventory of their goods to the Ghost King Sect.
• Zhang Xiaofan showed the verse to Zhou Yixian and asked about the Five Seas and the third volume; Zhou Yixian confirmed that he knew of the Five Seas and recognized the significance of the three-volume book.

Zhou Yixian explained that the mysterious Five Seas were not ordinary seas and described the Heartless Sea to the Azure Cloud Sect disciples. As Luo Yunji and the others went out to explore Sanfu Town, Zhang Xiaofan stayed behind to ask Zhou Yixian more questions.

• Zhang Xiaofan asked whether the verses from the third volume of Records of Strange Ambitions revealed how to become an immortal, and Zhou Yixian said they concerned the mysterious Five Seas instead.
• Zhou Yixian named the Five Seas as Heartless, Nether Domain, Underworld Refining, Heavenly Mystery, and Thunder Marsh, explaining that most were not literal seas.
• Zhou Yixian recognized gems from the Heartless Sea in He Dazhi's magical treasure and warned that Death Spirit Abyss was deadly because of its Yin Spirits and wicked beasts.
• Luo Yunji and Liao Xing invited Xiaohuan to explore Sanfu Town, and Zhang Xiaofan arranged for two squads of soldiers to follow them with the Prince and the Princess Consort.
• Zhang Xiaofan stayed at the Food Mansion to question Zhou Yixian, and the Prince stared in astonishment when he saw the old Daoist.

Luo Yunji took his family and Liao Xing to Sanfu Town, where Loose Cultivators eagerly sought his help improving their cultivation methods. Faced with a towering pile of manuals, he offered to teach them the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, leaving everyone stunned and fearful of the consequences.

• The Prince thanked Zhou Yixian for guiding Luo Yunji and tried to bow, but Zhou Yixian stopped him and helped him sit down.
• Luo Yunji summoned Monster Beasts and led Liao Xing, the Princess Consort, Xiaohuan, and the Quadruplets toward Sanfu Town on their backs.
• Luo Yunji entered town with the group, browsed the stalls, and drew the attention of the waiting Loose Cultivators after word spread that Zhang Xiaofan was absent.
• The Loose Cultivators offered Luo Yunji treasures and cultivation manuals, and he agreed to revise their methods before realizing there were too many manuals to handle.
• Luo Yunji offered to teach the Loose Cultivators the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, shocking them, the soldiers, and the Princess Consort.

Luo Yunji offered to test Sanfu Town’s residents for aptitude to cultivate the Azure Cloud Sect’s Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, alarming the Ghost King and the soldiers who witnessed it. After a soldier reported the plan to the Food Mansion, Zhang Xiaofan and the others rushed to stop him, while Zhou Yixian’s divination left the outcome uncertain.

• Luo Yunji invited the people of Sanfu Town to test their aptitude for the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, and the crowd hesitated to approach him.
• The Ghost King and Qinglong heard what Luo Yunji intended to do and were shocked by his willingness to teach an outsider sect techniques.
• A young Ghost King Sect disciple volunteered, and Luo Yunji began testing him with green light flowing around his hands.
• A soldier reached the Food Mansion and reported Luo Yunji’s plan to teach the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao to everyone in Sanfu Town.
• Zhang Xiaofan, Song Daren, He Dazhi, and Wu Dayi hurried toward Sanfu Town to stop Luo Yunji, while Zhou Yixian struggled to interpret his divination.

Luo Yunji tested aspiring cultivators in Sanfu Town and found that none of the crowd could cultivate the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao. He offered them another path by inviting them to join his army and help inspire a new cultivation technique that required no particular aptitude, while Ghost King watched and considered the Azure Cloud Sect’s presence on Mount Huqi.

• Luo Yunji tested dozens of people, found no one with the aptitude he wanted, and stopped to rest.
• Zhang Xiaofan arrived in Sanfu Town and learned from the Princess Consort that the rejected cultivators had gathered to beg Luo Yunji for a chance.
• Luo Yunji told the kneeling crowd that they could not cultivate the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, leaving them in tears and despair.
• Luo Yunji proposed that the crowd join his army and explained that he planned to create a cultivation technique for soldiers that required no special aptitude.
• Ghost King and Qinglong watched from a tavern, and Ghost King decided not to interfere despite concerns about the Azure Cloud Sect gathering forces on Mount Huqi.

Zhang Xiaofan and He Dazhi organized the creation of a new cultivation method for Sanfu Town, setting rules to screen who could learn it and explaining why ordinary people needed to cultivate “force” first. The soldiers began registering and investigating candidates, while the Princess Consort worried about the trouble Luo Yunji had caused; He Dazhi assured her the sect would handle it.

• The Ghost King and Qinglong discussed Luo Yunji’s actions and the Azure Cloud Sect’s likely response.
• Zhang Xiaofan promised that those who supplied manuals could be first to learn the new method and restricted ordinary applicants to people with clean backgrounds.
• Song Daren, Wu Dayi, and He Dazhi arrived, and He Dazhi backed Zhang Xiaofan’s promise while setting rules against teaching the evil, crooked-minded, or unrighteous.
• Zhang Xiaofan demonstrated that he could float through cultivating “force,” and explained that the method strengthened the body to contain more spiritual energy.
• He Dazhi ordered soldiers to register applicants, investigate their backgrounds, and publicize the Three No-Teaching Rules.
• He Dazhi reassured the worried Princess Consort that their master would handle the sect’s response, as her two sons began fighting over the last pastry.

After the fighting, Luo Yunji declared that he wanted to take Zhong Ming as his disciple because the boy had a rare spiritual attribute. The Azure Cloud Sect disciples debated how to handle Zhong Ming’s Ghost King Sect ties, and Wu Dayi offered him three choices, leaving Zhong Ming to agree to join the Azure Cloud Sect before Song Daren revealed the threat was a joke.

• Song Daren and the other disciples found Zhong Ming waiting with the Quadruplets and learned how he had ended up there.
• Luo Yunji defeated Liao Xing over the last pastry, then announced he wanted Zhong Ming as his disciple.
• Luo Yunji revealed that Zhong Ming had a spiritual attribute, prompting the senior brothers to discuss the risks of bringing a Ghost King Sect disciple into the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Luo Yunji insisted Zhong Ming was his, then said he wanted a disciple to cook delicious food for him.
• Wu Dayi gave Zhong Ming three choices, including joining the Azure Cloud Sect or being killed, and Zhong Ming hurriedly agreed to join.
• Song Daren laughed and told Zhong Ming that the threat had been a joke.

Zhong Ming learned that Big Bamboo Peak believed it could develop his spiritual energy affinity, while Luo Yunji was persuaded to take a disciple under Wu Dayi’s supervision. Sanfu Town’s cultivation offer drew mass migration and caught the attention of the orthodox and demonic factions, leaving Tian Buyi summoned before an exhausted Daoxuan to discuss the matter.

• Song Daren, Wu Dayi, and He Dazhi told Zhong Ming that Big Bamboo Peak could cultivate his spiritual energy affinity when other sects could not.
• Luo Yunji insisted on taking a disciple, and Wu Dayi persuaded him by promising to handle the teaching and care himself.
• He Dazhi restricted registration for the cultivation method to Sanfu Town residents, and the Old Prime Minister agreed to vet new settlers.
• News of Luo Yunji’s cultivation method drew a wave of migrants to Sanfu Town and reached both the orthodox and demonic factions.
• Daoxuan summoned Tian Buyi to Heaven-Reaching Peak, handed him a report, and asked how he would handle the matter while keeping the news from the other peaks.

Tian Buyi and Daoxuan discussed how to handle Luo Yunji’s latest trouble, while He Dazhi arranged for Song Daren to return to the mountain with news, a letter, paintings, and food for the elders. Before Song Daren departed, He Dazhi also settled Zhong Ming’s admission to Azure Cloud Sect and explained Sanfu Town’s study rules to the Ghost King.

• Daoxuan asked Tian Buyi what to do after learning Luo Yunji had revealed the sect’s cultivation methods, and Tian Buyi suggested going down the mountain to beat him.
• He Dazhi told Song Daren to return the next day with food and report the matter of becoming immortal to Tian Buyi, adding that the sect’s secrets should be shared with their Master and fellow brothers.
• Zhang Xiaofan went to prepare food for Song Daren, followed by Luo Yunji, the quadruplets, Xiaohuan, Liao Xing, and the Third Prince.
• He Dazhi told the Ghost King that Sanfu Town residents, including Ghost King Sect disciples, could apply to study, while the three prohibitions on transmission remained in force; Zhong Ming then joined Azure Cloud Sect.
• He Dazhi gave Song Daren a letter, more than a dozen paintings, and several large loads of food to take back to the mountain, while Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji were absent from the farewell.

Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji returned to Big Bamboo Peak, where the disciples welcomed them and Zhang Xiaofan cooked a meal for his family. After Zhang Xiaofan told Tian Buyi and Su Ru about the events of the past year and the claim of becoming an immortal, Tian Buyi left for Heaven-Reaching Peak, and Tian Linger rushed back in with an alarming message.

• He Dazhi and Wu Dayi found Zhang Xiaofan's note and learned that he had taken Luo Yunji back to Big Bamboo Peak overnight.
• Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji arrived at Big Bamboo Peak, where Su Ru welcomed Luo Yunji and the disciples guided Zhang Xiaofan to the kitchen.
• Zhang Xiaofan cooked a meal for Tian Buyi, Su Ru, and the other disciples, then told Tian Buyi about his experiences since leaving the mountain.
• Tian Buyi left for Heaven-Reaching Peak after hearing Zhang Xiaofan's account, and Zhang Xiaofan repeated his suspicions about becoming an immortal to Su Ru.
• Fifth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother, and Tian Linger took Luo Yunji outside, but Tian Linger soon rushed back pale and shouting.