Chapter Summaries

Shuiyue reported on the Big Bamboo Peak disciples’ battle with the Myriad Poison Sect and explained that Luo Yunji had accidentally injured Tian Buyi with a dangerous new spell. She also revealed Du Bishu and He Dazhi’s breakthroughs, leaving the disciples to wonder whether Zhang Xiaofan had advanced as well.

• Daoxuan True Person reviewed reports praising the Big Bamboo Peak disciples and learned that Tian Buyi remained unconscious and needed treatment at Tianyin Temple.
• Shuiyue told the Azure Cloud chiefs that Du Bishu had charged alone into the Myriad Poison Sect and that vines and trees had spread through Venom Snake Valley.
• At Big Bamboo Peak, Shuiyue reassured Su Ru and the disciples that everyone had survived, then revealed that Luo Yunji—not Poison God—had injured Tian Buyi with an uncanny spell.
• Su Ru worried about Luo Yunji’s Treasure Umbrella, and Shuiyue agreed it should be taken from him, unaware that it already held many souls.
• Shuiyue told the disciples that Du Bishu and He Dazhi had broken through, prompting Lu Daxin to ask whether Zhang Xiaofan was the only one who had not.

Su Ru revealed that Luo Yunji had repeatedly improved the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao and offered to share it with Shuiyue for Wen Min and Lu Xueqi. She then disclosed that Luo Yunji’s unusual Sea of Consciousness held books and that he had used Zhang Xiaofan’s Great Brahma Prajna to improve the cultivation method, leaving Shuiyue stunned.

• Shuiyue questioned whether Big Bamboo Peak’s disciples used cultivation methods different from those shared with other lines, and Su Ru confirmed that Luo Yunji had improved the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao several times.
• Su Ru agreed to give Shuiyue the improved method and sent Song Daren to fetch it from Black Bamboo Building.
• Su Ru told Shuiyue to limit the method to Wen Min, Lu Xueqi, and any disciple with Lu Xueqi’s aptitude, while warning that Black Bamboo Building held secrets outsiders must not see.
• Su Ru sent Wen Min and Lu Xueqi away, then told Shuiyue that Luo Yunji had spent his period of confusion inside his own Sea of Consciousness, which was filled with books.
• Su Ru explained that Luo Yunji had called the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao incomplete and had used Zhang Xiaofan’s Great Brahma Prajna as a reference to improve it, shocking Shuiyue.

Shuiyue struggled to accept that Luo Yunji had combined the Azure Cloud Sect's and Heavenly Sound's divine arts, then urged Wen Min and Lu Xueqi to keep the cultivation art secret. She agreed to let Wen Min marry Song Daren, though she hesitated at the thought of another loved one leaving for Big Bamboo Peak.

• Su Ru explained that Luo Yunji had succeeded in merging the two sects' divine arts, leaving Shuiyue stunned, and decided not to tell her about the Heavenly Book.
• Song Daren gave the copied cultivation art to Shuiyue, who passed it to Wen Min and Lu Xueqi after Su Ru warned them never to share it.
• Shuiyue recovered at Small Bamboo Peak and told Wen Min and Lu Xueqi to cultivate diligently and keep the art secret.
• Shuiyue asked Wen Min what she thought of Song Daren and offered to arrange their marriage, but Wen Min feared her master was rejecting her.
• Shuiyue comforted Wen Min, then hesitated over the wedding and sent her disciples back to cultivate.
• Wu Dayi and the other disciples discussed how Little Luo had watched over them while they were unconscious.

Zhang Xiaofan and his fellow Big Bamboo Peak disciples joked about their injuries and Luo Yunji’s unfinished Ghost Path spell, which left Poison God suffering at the Myriad Poison Sect’s headquarters. Bi Yao arrived at the Prince’s Mansion, and the disciples teased Zhang Xiaofan about her affection for him.

• Du Bishu, Wu Dayi, He Dazhi, and Zhang Xiaofan joked together and wondered whether Luo Yunji had created his spell after the deaths in the far north.
• Poison God suffered from the spell’s effects while Ghost King and Sanmiao Fairy considered seeking help from the Southern Border.
• Duan Ming told the disciples that Bi Yao was waiting outside the Prince’s Mansion, and He Dazhi guessed she had come for Zhang Xiaofan or Luo Yunji.
• He Dazhi praised Bi Yao’s affection for Zhang Xiaofan, while Du Bishu teased him about bringing her back to Big Bamboo Peak as his wife.
• Wu Dayi and Du Bishu joked that Luo Yunji’s appetite and behavior would make him a poor husband.

Bi Yao visited the Prince’s Mansion to check on the Azure Cloud Sect disciples and grew close to Tian Linger, while the others mistook her concern for romantic interest in Zhang Xiaofan. As spring arrived, Puhong prepared to take Tian Buyi to Tianyin Temple, and Tian Linger and Bi Yao remained fed up with Luo Yunji’s childlike state.

• Bi Yao arrived at the Prince’s Mansion, learned the Ghost King had not harmed Wu Dayi and the others, and asked about Luo Yunji’s strange condition.
• Tian Linger befriended Bi Yao and warned her to stay out of sight when Puhong came to treat Tian Buyi.
• Bi Yao joined Zhang Xiaofan and Liao Xing in the garden and explained that she had come because she worried they would stop going to Two Mountains and she would lose access to Tasty Things.
• Liao Xing told Wu Dayi and the others why Bi Yao had come, and they laughed at their mistaken assumptions about her feelings for Zhang Xiaofan.
• Puhong said Tian Buyi needed treatment at Tianyin Temple and ordered the disciples to keep him from waking until then.

Tian Linger and Bi Yao tried to prank the dazed Luo Yunji, but he turned the tables and drenched them with the pool water. Later, Zhang Xiaofan agreed to let Killing Monk join the group traveling to Tianyin Temple.

• Tian Linger persuaded Bi Yao to help push Luo Yunji into the pool, but the Wind Rain Thunder Lightning Quadruplets tried to stop them.
• Bi Yao restrained the Quadruplets while Tian Linger shoved Luo Yunji into the pool, where he sat on the water instead of sinking.
• Luo Yunji overturned the pool water onto Tian Linger, Bi Yao, and the Quadruplets, then the Quadruplets carried him away.
• Li Qinghe comforted the soaked Tian Linger and Bi Yao, who lamented that they could never get the better of Luo Yunji.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Killing Monk that the group would leave for Tianyin Temple in a few days, and agreed when Killing Monk insisted on coming along.

Zhang Xiaofan and his companions traveled toward Tianyin Temple, stopping at Heaven-Reaching Peak so Divine Monk Puhong could seek help for the unconscious Tian Buyi. Daoxuan tried to enter Luo Yunji’s Sea of Consciousness but was expelled by a mysterious figure, leaving Luo Yunji awake and hearing Zhang Xiaofan’s reassurance about the classmates who died at Water Marsh.

• Killing Monk packed his things and prepared to accompany Zhang Xiaofan and the others to Tianyin Temple, while Yan Hui secretly joined their party.
• Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji visited Water Marsh, where Long Zi and the Black Serpent had recovered from their injuries, and Luo Yunji retrieved the Yin Orb.
• Long Zi carried the group away, and Zhang Xiaofan promised Tian Linger he would bring her back to Two Mountains later if Tian Buyi and Su Ru agreed.
• At Heaven-Reaching Peak, Zhang Xiaofan introduced Divine Monk Puhong and the unconscious Tian Buyi to Xiao Yicai and Daoxuan.
• Daoxuan entered Luo Yunji’s Sea of Consciousness but was forcibly thrown out by a mysterious white-robed figure, awakening Luo Yunji.
• Zhang Xiaofan comforted Luo Yunji by telling him the classmates who died at Water Marsh would not blame him.

Zhang Xiaofan returned to Big Bamboo Peak with the injured Tian Buyi, and Su Ru learned that the disciples had kept him asleep to stabilize his injuries. Zhang Xiaofan prepared to give Yan Hui a treasured sword in gratitude and brought back He Dazhi’s cultivation method for the other disciples to study.

• Luo Yunji explained that he had been perfecting his cultivation method in his Sea of Consciousness before Daoxuan True Person forced him out.
• The branch leaders examined Tian Buyi and found they could not treat him, so they planned to seek help at Heavenly Sound; Zhang Xiaofan and the others took him to Big Bamboo Peak.
• Su Ru comforted the disciples and learned that they had kept Tian Buyi asleep to prevent his injuries from flaring up.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Su Ru that Yan Hui had saved Little Junior Brother and sacrificed his magic treasure, then received permission to give him a sword from Death Spirit Abyss.
• Su Ru read He Dazhi’s sword-art formula and explained that its wind-based method suited only his spiritual-energy attribute and remained incomplete.
• Zhang Xiaofan showed Yan Hui the three treasured swords, and Yan Hui struggled to conceal his excitement.

Zhang Xiaofan rewarded Yan Hui with a treasured sword, while Luo Yunji brought Killing Monk to choose a magic treasure. Killing Monk reluctantly accepted a Zen Staff, convinced that he had truly become a monk and would have to give up wine and meat.

• Zhang Xiaofan offered Yan Hui one of three treasured swords, and Yan Hui chose Qingyu.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Killing Monk that Little Junior Brother had arranged a magic treasure for him if he practiced the Buddhist teaching.
• Luo Yunji took Killing Monk to the Black Bamboo Building and showed him two Zen Staffs to choose from.
• Killing Monk tried to refuse the Zen Staffs, but one fell toward him as he turned to leave.
• Killing Monk picked up the fallen Zen Staff and told Luo Yunji he would take it, mourning the wine, fish, and meat he believed he had to give up.

Luo Yunji sent Killing Monk to Tianyin Temple with a Zen Staff, while Song Daren warned that Luo Yunji might cause trouble there over Zhang Xiaofan’s past grievances. The group arrived at the lavish temple and settled Tian Buyi into a meditation room, where Zhang Xiaofan saw signs that his condition was improving.

• Killing Monk lamented that he could no longer drink wine or eat meat, and Luo Yunji told him that Buddhist practice did not require those restrictions.
• Song Daren warned Luo Yunji that bringing the Zen Staff to Tianyin Temple could provoke the monks, and Luo Yunji vowed to make trouble if they demanded it as payment for treating Tian Buyi.
• Song Daren told Su Ru about Luo Yunji’s intentions, and she supported her junior disciple despite the trouble it might cause.
• The group arrived at Tianyin Temple, where Killing Monk marveled at its wealth and Zhang Xiaofan was surprised to see ordinary worshippers praying there.
• Divine Monk Puhong settled Tian Buyi in a meditation room, and Zhang Xiaofan watched faint gray energy leave Tian Buyi as a monk recited scriptures beside him.

Luo Yunji escaped Zhang Xiaofan’s attempt to keep him occupied and caused trouble at Tianyin Temple by stealing stone beasts from a railing. Zhang Xiaofan collected the carvings and considered how to ask the temple to lend them the Qiankun Samsara Disk.

• Luo Yunji persuaded Yan Hui and Killing Monk to leave the meditation room and explore Tianyin Temple.
• Luo Yunji pried a stone beast from a railing, then repeatedly tried to steal more while Yan Hui and Killing Monk hurried to stop him.
• Yan Hui and Killing Monk brought Luo Yunji back to the meditation room with bundles containing stolen stone beasts.
• Zhang Xiaofan discovered the carvings and ground down a dozen or so stone beasts to take home for Luo Yunji.
• Zhang Xiaofan considered how to persuade Tianyin Temple to lend them the Qiankun Samsara Disk.

Zhang Xiaofan asked Divine Monk Puhong to lend him the Qiankun Samsara Disk so he could find the Sea of Heavenly Mystery and treat his junior brother’s Soul Separation. Puhong brought him to Pude, who possessed the treasure and recognized Zhang Xiaofan as the child from Grass Temple Village.

• Zhang Xiaofan followed a young monk to Little Heavenly Sound Temple to meet Divine Monk Puhong.
• Zhang Xiaofan explained that a wandering diviner had told him to seek the Five Seas to treat his junior brother’s Soul Separation, and that he needed the Qiankun Samsara Disk to find the Sea of Heavenly Mystery.
• Puhong agreed to help and led Zhang Xiaofan to the secluded Hall of Calming the Heart to meet Pude, who had long wanted to see him.
• Pude recognized Zhang Xiaofan as the child from Grass Temple Village, and Puhong explained that Zhang Xiaofan wanted to borrow the Qiankun Samsara Disk.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Pude that a wandering physiognomist had revealed the treasure’s location and that his junior brother’s safety was the reason for his request.

Zhang Xiaofan received the Qiankun Samsara Disk from Divine Monks Puhong and Pude, hoping it could cure Luo Yunji’s Soul Separation affliction. Meanwhile, Luo Yunji kept stealing stone beasts from Tianyin Temple’s railings, and the monks began watching him.

• Divine Monk Pude gave Zhang Xiaofan the Qiankun Samsara Disk, and Divine Monk Puhong warned him about its dangerous powers.
• Zhang Xiaofan asked how to use the disk, but Puhong and Pude admitted that ordinary people could not grasp its mysteries.
• Luo Yunji proudly showed Yan Hui and Killing Monk a stolen stone beast, then chased them around the room until Zhang Xiaofan returned and caught him.
• Yan Hui explained that Luo Yunji had stolen more than a dozen stone beasts over the past two days and that temple monks had been watching the railings.
• Tianyin Temple disciples reported to Divine Monk Puhong that stone beasts went missing whenever Luo Yunji passed by, so Puhong ordered them to keep an eye on him.

Luo Yunji provoked Tianyin Temple’s monks by prying stone beasts from the temple and then outran and taunted them across Mount Sumeru. He left the monks still pursuing him while Divine Monk Puhong watched from the summit.

• Luo Yunji kept prying stone beasts from Tianyin Temple’s railing after the monks confronted him, then ran off with the pieces.
• Killing Monk and Yan Hui fled behind the pursuing crowd, and Yan Hui went to find the Vice Sect Leader Tian Buyi.
• Luo Yunji dodged the monks’ attacks and mocked them as their pursuit carried them up Mount Sumeru.
• Luo Yunji used his Water Ribbon to cut the monks’ robes and threatened them with Big Bamboo Peak’s “Rain Technique” when they took to the air.
• Divine Monk Puhong watched the commotion from the summit as Luo Yunji continued to flee with the monks after him.

Luo Yunji slid down a cliff while eating wild fruit, and Zhang Xiaofan found him unharmed at the bottom beside a strange mirror-smooth rock face. The rock’s golden light pulled Zhang Xiaofan into his Sea of Consciousness, where he met a sinister version of himself.

• Luo Yunji ate red fruits at the cliff’s edge, lost his grip, and slid down the sheer cliff face while the monks watched and laughed.
• Puhong told Pukong that he had his own plans, while Zhang Xiaofan leapt down the cliff to find Luo Yunji.
• Zhang Xiaofan found Luo Yunji unharmed and noticed the cliff reflected a strange image of his Fire Poker glowing with green mist and red light.
• The cliff blazed with golden light, and Zhang Xiaofan lost consciousness before waking in a boundless expanse of water and sky.
• A black-qi-wreathed figure with Zhang Xiaofan’s face told him that they shared the Sea of Consciousness and claimed, “I am the real you.”

Zhang Xiaofan fought the double in his Sea of Consciousness, who claimed to be the true Zhang Xiaofan and tried to take over his body. Zhang Xiaofan recognized his opponent as a heart demon and struck through his chest, but the double laughed at the accusation.

• Zhang Xiaofan's three spiritual dragons were destroyed by the double's dragons, and the double knocked him across the water.
• Outside, Divine Monk Puhong led the Tianyin Temple monks in forming the Demon-Subduing Array around Zhang Xiaofan.
• Luo Yunji was thrown out of his Sea of Consciousness and found that the false double who had resembled him had been destroyed.
• The double beat Zhang Xiaofan severely and claimed the Fire Poker had chosen him, then said he would go out and care for Zhang Xiaofan's loved ones.
• Zhang Xiaofan called the double his heart demon, pierced his chest, and heard the double ask whether he knew what a heart demon was.

Zhang Xiaofan defeated his double by turning the Fire Poker on himself, and the two collapsed together. He awoke to find the double had become a dying child who urged him to leave the strange place.

• Zhang Xiaofan realized his double was unharmed by his injuries, but the Fire Poker was not the difference that explained their connection.
• Zhang Xiaofan stabbed himself with the Fire Poker, making his double bleed as well, and insisted they would die together rather than be separated.
• After an unknown stretch of time, the double awoke as a child and placed his hand over Zhang Xiaofan's.
• While Killing Monk and Yan Hui waited anxiously outside, Zhang Xiaofan woke and found the child lying in a pool of blood and dissolving into spirit particles.
• Zhang Xiaofan begged the child to tell him how to save him, but the child said there was no need and told him he could now leave.

Zhang Xiaofan accepted the pain of his past and reunited with his younger self, then awoke before the Jade Wall with his spiritual energies transformed. He and Luo Yunji read the Heavenly Book, and Puhong warned that Zhang Xiaofan still had not subdued the Bloodthirsty Orb.

• Zhang Xiaofan embraced his wounded younger self and resolved to face the grief of Grass Temple Village instead of running from it.
• Zhang Xiaofan healed the child, persuaded him to leave with promises of food and family, and the two disappeared through a doorway of white light.
• Zhang Xiaofan awoke before the Jade Wall as blue, gold, and red spiritual energies fused into a higher-order radiance.
• Zhang Xiaofan touched the Jade Wall, causing its Buddha character to shatter and reveal the Heavenly Book, which he and Luo Yunji memorized.
• Zhang Xiaofan learned from Luo Yunji that he had been unconscious for several days and that Master Tian Buyi had been cared for.
• Puhong congratulated Zhang Xiaofan on his increased strength but said he had not suppressed the Bloodthirsty Orb's ferocity.

The Jade Wall and Zhang Xiaofan's Fire Poker clashed, provoking a storm and a bolt of heavenly lightning. Zhang Xiaofan joined the Fire Poker in facing the forces above, while Luo Yunji drew another lightning strike toward himself.

• Zhang Xiaofan thanked Divine Monk Puhong and affirmed his bond with the Fire Poker despite its evil nature.
• The Jade Wall's Buddhist light stirred the Fire Poker, and their opposing powers filled the valley with light and summoned dark clouds.
• Puhong and Pukong sent their disciples away as the storm intensified, while Luo Yunji continued striking the Jade Wall with a stone.
• Zhang Xiaofan flew up to the Fire Poker, declared he would stand by it, and used the Jiemo Bead and an unfamiliar Buddhist scripture to disrupt the storm.
• Pukong caught Luo Yunji hitting the Jade Wall, and a blue-purple lightning bolt suddenly curved down toward him.

Luo Yunji fought the thunderclouds with his Ghost Umbrella, startling Puhong and Pukong, then tried to lure the Jade Wall’s ancestor away with an offer of tasty vegetarian food. Later, despite Zhang Xiaofan keeping him close, Luo Yunji sneaked out and began stealing stone beasts again, forcing Yan Hui and Killing Monk to flee with him.

• A thunderbolt struck Luo Yunji’s Ghost Umbrella, and he charged into the clouds to fight the storm while Zhang Xiaofan followed.
• Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji emerged unharmed, and Luo Yunji dispersed the clouds before inviting the Jade Wall’s ancestor to eat tasty vegetarian dishes.
• Pukong carried Luo Yunji away, and Zhang Xiaofan pursued him, worried that the monk might fight his junior brother.
• Zhang Xiaofan noticed that his Fire Poker felt lighter after being struck by lightning, then kept Luo Yunji close so he would not cause more trouble at Tianyin Temple.
• Luo Yunji later sneaked out with Yan Hui and Killing Monk and snapped stone beasts off a railing.
• A monk spotted Luo Yunji stealing the stone beasts, and Yan Hui and Killing Monk grabbed him and ran.