Chapter Summaries

Luo Yunji obtained Zhou Yixian’s talisman manual and studied it for six days, discovering insights that helped him deduce the final form of Footwork. He entered seclusion to develop it, and Wu Dayi sent word to Big Bamboo Peak.

• Zhang Xiaofan brought Zhou Yixian to the Two Mountains and arranged for Xiaohuan and He Dazhi to come from Sanfu Town.
• Luo Yunji offered Zhou Yixian chests of treasure for his talisman arts, and Zhang Xiaofan apologized for bringing him without permission.
• Zhou Yixian gave Zhang Xiaofan a booklet of talisman arts, and Luo Yunji noticed its explanations did not match the talismans he had seen.
• Luo Yunji studied the booklet for six days, then explained his deductions about Footwork and its ultimate form to He Dazhi and Zhang Xiaofan.
• Luo Yunji went into seclusion in the stone cave, and Wu Dayi sent a letter to Big Bamboo Peak to share the news.

Azure Cloud Mountain was caught between Incense Valley and Tianyin Temple, while Daoxuan True Person explained to Xiao Yicai how Luo Yunji’s influence had strengthened Big Bamboo Peak and Azure Cloud Sect. The chapter left Xiao Yicai beginning to understand that Big Bamboo Peak and Tian Buyi might be crucial when the Great Calamity arrived.

• Yun Yilan and Divine Monk Puhong brought their followers to Azure Cloud Mountain, where Incense Valley and Tianyin Temple argued over their grievances and the proposed marriage alliance.
• Xiao Yicai suggested summoning Luo Yunji to stop the visitors’ quarrels, but Daoxuan True Person hesitated because Luo Yunji’s involvement tended to bring trouble to everyone around him.
• Daoxuan listed Luo Yunji’s connections to Azure Cloud’s other branches and explained how Big Bamboo Peak had gained their friendship and support.
• Daoxuan told Xiao Yicai that Tian Buyi’s cultivation might rival or surpass his own, and that Tian Buyi was cultivating a secret art possibly created by Luo Yunji.
• Daoxuan said Tian Buyi’s secret art might help Azure Cloud resist the coming Great Calamity, and reminded Xiao Yicai that Luo Yunji had an important true identity.

Daoxuan True Person explained how Luo Yunji’s ties to the court and several Demon Sect factions had strengthened the Azure Cloud Sect’s position. At Big Bamboo Peak, Zeng Shuchang came to ask about his son in the western Inner Swamp, then spotted Tian Buyi’s powerful Spirit Wine and tried to get a taste.

• Daoxuan True Person told Xiao Yicai that Luo Yunji had opened the Imperial City to cultivation factions and won favors from the Ghost King Sect, the Acacia Sect, and the Longevity Hall.
• Zeng Shuchang visited Black Bamboo Pavilion to ask Tian Buyi about his son’s trip to the western Inner Swamp.
• Tian Buyi complained that Lu Xueqi had disappeared and that Lin Jingyu had come to Big Bamboo Peak seeking help finding her.
• Zeng Shuchang smelled the Spirit Wine in Tian Buyi’s gourd and recognized its fragrance.
• Tian Buyi refused to share the wine, but Zeng Shuchang set down his teapot and reached toward Tian Buyi’s gourd.

Tian Buyi reluctantly promised Zeng Shuchang a gourd of Spirit Wine while Luo Yunji and his senior brothers discussed the wine sent to Tianyin Temple and Luo Yunji’s seclusion. Zhang Xiaofan returned to Two Mountains and planned to check whether Luo Yunji had perfected his Footwork, though Wu Dayi doubted they could learn it.

• Su Ru, Shuiyue, and Lu Xueqi left Black Bamboo Pavilion after Su Ru warned Tian Buyi and Zeng Shuchang not to damage it, and Tian Buyi flung Zeng Shuchang off his belly.
• Tian Buyi agreed to give Zeng Shuchang a gourd of Spirit Wine, and Zeng Shuchang asked how much Two Mountains had received.
• Wu Dayi and Luo Yunji discussed Luo Yunji’s gift of Spirit Wine to Tianyin Temple and the arrival of Tianyin and Incense Valley at Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Zhang Xiaofan returned from his travels and learned that Luo Yunji had stayed in his cave residence while keeping his usual routine.
• Zhang Xiaofan said he would check on Luo Yunji’s Footwork, while Wu Dayi noted that the intermediate Footwork’s Thirty-Six Steps would be difficult for them to master.

Zhou Yixian warned Wu Dayi and Zhang Xiaofan that Xiaohuan’s divination had revealed a white disaster spreading from the Southern Border, confirming that the Great Calamity had begun. As Qinglong headed south on the Ghost King’s orders, the Ghost King tried to trade the Four Spirits Blood Array for the Two Mountains’ Heavenly Book volumes, but Luo Yunji showed little interest.

• Wu Dayi urged Zhang Xiaofan to help He Dazhi work out more steps of Intermediate Footwork, and Zhang revealed he was only two steps short of mastering the first thirty-four.
• Zhou Yixian and Xiaohuan arrived, and Zhou reported that her divination with the Samsara Disk foretold a terrible white disaster moving from the Southern Border toward the Central Plains.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Zhou that a Deity had already warned them the Great Calamity began months earlier, while Wu Dayi explained that their investigators sent to the Southern Border had disappeared.
• Wu Dayi sent news to Azure Cloud, and Zhang Xiaofan informed the Ghost King, who then dispatched Qinglong to the Southern Border to retrieve an ancient exotic beast.
• The Ghost King offered Luo Yunji and He Dazhi the Four Spirits Blood Array in exchange for the third and fourth volumes of the Heavenly Book, but Luo Yunji remained focused on his pastry.

Luo Yunji recognized the Ghost King’s formation as a dangerous array connected to God Descent and wondered whether the Imperial Clan’s prophecy could explain it. He and He Dazhi went to visit the Prince and Princess Consort in Sanfu Town, where their children eagerly crowded around Luo Yunji.

• Luo Yunji copied the formation from the Dragon-Subduing Tripod, and the Ghost King traded the two volumes of the Heavenly Book for it before letting Luo Yunji inspect the original.
• Luo Yunji warned He Dazhi that the array was not what the Ghost King believed and that activating it would bring a bad result, so He Dazhi sent a letter to Tian Buyi.
• Luo Yunji connected the Imperial Clan’s prophecy to God Descent, and He Dazhi reminded him that the Prince and Princess Consort lived in Sanfu Town.
• Zheng Dali returned to Azure Cloud Mountain with the Azure Cloud disciples and began training Duan Ming in Taiji Cave, while Su Ru gave Shuiyue undiluted Spirit Wine.
• He Dazhi accompanied Luo Yunji to the Prince’s residence, where several children ran up to Luo Yunji and asked him to take them out to play.

Luo Yunji visited the Prince’s children and took them on a frightening but exhilarating flight before leading them out to play. Meanwhile, He Dazhi met with Liao Zhihe to ask about a fable inherited by the Imperial Clan, and the Prince retrieved the book containing it.

• Luo Yunji lifted the children into the sky with Water Ribbons, and the Princess Consort and He Dazhi discussed the children’s upbringing and their future cultivation.
• Luo Yunji brought the crying children safely down, where the Princess Consort and Liao Zhihe helped clean them up as they excitedly described the game.
• Luo Yunji took the children into town to buy treats and promised to teach them cultivation when they were older.
• He Dazhi told Liao Zhihe that the fable passed down through the Imperial Clan might contain important information left by their ancestors.
• Liao Zhihe remembered the fable and went to retrieve a book, saying he had recently told the story to Wen'er, Yao'er, and the other children.

He Dazhi and Liao Zhihe connected an Imperial Clan fable about the Heaven-Reaching Tower and the Five Seas to the God Descent rituals, the Great Calamity, and Luo Yunji’s journeys. He Dazhi grew concerned that Luo Yunji had unknowingly entered the trials and considered investigating a mysterious island in the Heartless Sea.

• He Dazhi read the fable and worried over its claim that heaven and earth concealed the Heaven-Reaching Tower and established the Five Seas as trials.
• Liao Zhihe realized that Luo Yunji had visited all five Mysterious Seas and asked whether he had completed the trials.
• He Dazhi explained that Zheng Qi had been the offering for an ancient God Descent ritual that demanded immense spiritual energy and the deaths of many people.
• He Dazhi identified the Beast God as the deity behind the second story and said the fighting between two Southern Border tribes had marked the Great Calamity’s beginning.
• He Dazhi connected the third story to Yin Spirit Daoyan, then worried that Luo Yunji had unknowingly taken part in the trials.
• He Dazhi decided to ask Dahei about the dangerous island in the Heartless Sea, while Liao Zhihe objected to further risks during the Great Calamity.

He Dazhi questioned Long Zi about the Heartless Sea and learned that its Solar Flame Essence could become powerful enough to destroy the world. Long Zi warned him away from it, while He Dazhi remained troubled by the Great Calamity and the Five Seas’ purpose; Luo Yunji spent time with a crowd of children in Sanfu Town.

• He Dazhi returned to Sub-mountain and asked Dahei and Long Zi what lay on the island in the Heartless Sea.
• Long Zi identified the substance there as Solar Flame Essence, born from the Yinyou Water, and said it could threaten the world as spiritual energy declined.
• He Dazhi shared his theory that Long Zi was part of a vast plan, and Long Zi said the being behind it had saved the land and meant no ill toward the world.
• He Dazhi asked about the Five Seas’ trials, but Long Zi knew nothing of their purpose and warned him not to touch the Solar Flame Essence.
• Luo Yunji gathered a crowd of children in Sanfu Town, where their laughter brought smiles to passersby.

Xiaobai and Xiao San joined Luo Yunji’s outing and watched over the children, who ended up happily playing with Xiaobai’s nine tails and fox form. Meanwhile, the Ghost King brought Bi Yao to Sanfu Town, intent on finding her a husband as part of his plan to approach Luo Yunji.

• Xiaobai worried about Xiao San’s difficulty conceiving and considered traveling to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to seek the Fox Clan’s Sacred Fruit.
• Luo Yunji asked Xiaobai to show her tails, then called the children over; after some were frightened, they began hugging and playing with her tails.
• Xiaobai transformed into her White Fox form, and the children climbed over her while she basked in the sun.
• The Ghost King summoned Bi Yao from seclusion and told her to find a husband, leaving her stunned as he brought her toward Sanfu Town.

The Ghost King brought Bi Yao to Sanfu Town and tried to persuade her that Luo Yunji or one of the Big Bamboo Peak disciples would make a suitable husband. They found Luo Yunji playing with Xiaobai and the children, and the Ghost King finally coaxed him away from her tail.

• The Ghost King grabbed Bi Yao and flew with her toward Sanfu Town, insisting that Luo Yunji was an excellent match for her.
• The Ghost King praised Sanfu Town as a thriving haven for Loose Cultivators and told Bi Yao that Big Bamboo Peak’s Seventh and Eighth Senior Brothers, Zhang Xiaofan, and Luo Yunji were possible suitors.
• The Ghost King and Bi Yao found Xiaobai basking in the sun while children played on her, and Bi Yao recognized the White Foxes from her childhood memories.
• The Ghost King found Luo Yunji clinging to one of Xiaobai’s tails and criticized him for relaxing while others prepared for the Great Calamity.
• Luo Yunji ignored the Ghost King until he was finally coaxed away from Xiaobai’s tail.

The Ghost King worried that Bi Yao’s growing closeness to Luo Yunji had not become a real relationship, and warned her that she would need support to control the Ghost King Sect. The chapter left Bi Yao doubting that Luo Yunji would ever covet the sect, while the Ghost King feared Zhang Xiaofan could take its power after his death.

• Luo Yunji chatted with Bi Yao about Xiaobai’s tails, and the Ghost King left them together with a pleased smile.
• Half a month later, Tian Buyi received a letter from Two Mountains and sent Su Ru and Duan Ming there because Luo Yunji had entered seclusion to develop ultimate Footwork.
• Su Ru worried that Incense Valley would retaliate against Azure Cloud, but Tian Buyi assured her that he could handle the situation and urged her to go to Two Mountains.
• Bi Yao spent months playing with Luo Yunji, while the Ghost King grew anxious that their relationship had made no real progress.
• The Ghost King asked Bi Yao whether she liked Luo Yunji and warned that Zhang Xiaofan could leave her a powerless figurehead in the Ghost King Sect.

The Ghost King urged Bi Yao to consider marrying Luo Yunji, praising his abilities and warning her about Zhang Xiaofan’s risk of falling into demonhood. After Bi Yao began to develop feelings for Luo Yunji, the Ghost King grew impatient and ordered Qinglong to carry out a secret plan, while Su Ru arrived at the Food Mansion and found her youngest disciple and Bi Yao arguing over food.

• The Ghost King told Bi Yao that Luo Yunji’s support could help her lead the Ghost King Sect and that he possessed a cultivation method beyond the Heavenly Book.
• The Ghost King argued that Luo Yunji had a Deity behind him and urged Bi Yao to consider marrying him, also comparing him favorably with Zhang Xiaofan.
• Bi Yao left the study embarrassed after the Ghost King warned that Zhang Xiaofan might fall into demonhood, and she later began developing feelings for Luo Yunji.
• After a month without progress, the Ghost King whispered a plan to Qinglong and ordered him to carry it out.
• Su Ru entered the Food Mansion at Two Mountains and saw her youngest disciple and Bi Yao fighting over a plate of food.

Wu Dayi evaluated Duan Ming’s Footwork before showing him a gift, while Su Ru visited Two Mountains and watched Luo Yunji demonstrate his astonishing final Footwork. The demonstration ended with Luo Yunji appearing in Bi Yao’s boudoir, where he showed no understanding of why entering her private room was improper.

• Wu Dayi told Duan Ming to stay on Two Mountains, checked his Footwork progress, and promised to take him to choose a companion after their meal.
• Su Ru gave He Dazhi and Zhang Xiaofan pills from Tian Buyi and learned that Luo Yunji had completed the final Footwork.
• Luo Yunji demonstrated a technique that made him vanish without leaving any detectable trace, and Su Ru, He Dazhi, and Zhang Xiaofan could not find him.
• Bi Yao returned to her boudoir and found Luo Yunji sitting inside, then asked why he had entered her room without permission.
• Luo Yunji defended himself by saying he had entered the rooms of his senior brothers, his masters, and the Ghost King, revealing that he did not understand the privacy of a woman’s boudoir.

Luo Yunji was found at the Ghost King Sect after his disappearance from Two Mountains, where Su Ru caught him in Bi Yao’s bedroom and punished him. The Ghost King left the question of Luo Yunji and Bi Yao to Tian Buyi, while secretly celebrating the prospect of their marriage.

• Luo Yunji barged into Bi Yao’s bedroom, and the Ghost King hurried over after hearing about it.
• At Two Mountains, Su Ru and the others searched for Luo Yunji until a Ghost King Sect disciple reported that he was there.
• Su Ru rushed to Bi Yao’s bedroom and dragged Luo Yunji out after beating him, while Bi Yao pleaded for her to stop.
• The Ghost King confronted Su Ru, who said Tian Buyi would decide what to do; the Ghost King agreed and left.
• Su Ru returned to Two Mountains with her disciples, unaware that the Ghost King was delighted by the possibility of Luo Yunji marrying Bi Yao.

Tian Buyi received a letter reporting that his youngest disciple had been caught in Bi Yao’s boudoir, prompting him to prepare to travel to Two Mountains. He brought the matter to Daoxuan True Person, who was left to decide how Azure Clouds should respond.

• Tian Buyi read the letter and erupted in anger, while Song Daren and the others gathered to learn what it said.
• Tian Linger heard that Bi Yao had become entangled with her younger brother and hoped Bi Yao would become Big Bamboo Peak’s daughter-in-law.
• Tian Linger suggested that Tian Buyi tell Daoxuan True Person everything and ask Shuiyue to accompany him, and Tian Buyi ordered the disciples to pack for a trip to Two Mountains.
• Lin Jingyu left to inform Senior Brother Qi before joining Tian Linger and the others on the journey.
• Tian Buyi showed Daoxuan True Person the letter and left the decision to him, mindful that Azure Clouds could not afford to provoke the Ghost King Sect.

Daoxuan True Person discussed Incense Valley and Azure Cloud Sect’s growing power with Tian Buyi, then proposed that Big Bamboo Peak feign a split from Heaven-Reaching Peak to reassure other sects. The chapter ended with Daoxuan insisting the rift must remain a stopgap measure, not a real betrayal.

• Tian Buyi said Incense Valley would likely vanish unless Yun Yilan improved its cultivation method, and Daoxuan asked why Tianyin opposed Azure Cloud and Incense growing closer.
• Daoxuan warned that Azure Cloud Sect’s rapid growth could make Tianyin and Incense Valley wary, especially if the two sects formed an alliance.
• Daoxuan proposed a staged division within Azure Cloud Sect, and Tian Buyi protested when he learned Big Bamboo Peak would be involved.
• Daoxuan listed possible grievances Big Bamboo Peak could use to make the split seem credible, prompting Tian Buyi to accuse him of voicing his true feelings.
• Daoxuan reprimanded Tian Buyi and explained that Big Bamboo Peak needed to make a fuss so the other sects would feel less threatened by Azure Cloud Sect.

Tian Buyi fled Azure Cloud Mountain with Big Bamboo Peak after Daoxuan urged him to help stage a betrayal, then led the group toward Two Mountains. Tian Linger wanted Lu Xueqi brought along to avoid her marrying Li Xun, while a letter from Xiao Liu revealed that Auntie Bai had returned to the Southern Border to seek the Fox Clan's Sacred Fruit.

• Daoxuan pressed Tian Buyi to help pretend to betray the sect, but Tian Buyi refused and hurried back to Big Bamboo Peak.
• Tian Buyi left Azure Cloud Mountain with his disciples, then decided to keep heading toward Two Mountains rather than risk returning.
• Tian Linger complained that Lu Xueqi had not come with them, and she argued with Lin Jingyu about getting Lu Xueqi away from her sect mission and Li Xun.
• Tian Buyi sent a letter back to Azure Cloud Mountain instead of retrieving Lu Xueqi himself, but he would not reveal what he had written.
• Xiao Liu delivered a letter to Wu Dayi at the Food Mansion, and he and He Dazhi learned that Auntie Bai had gone to the Southern Border to seek the Fox Clan's Sacred Fruit.

Xiao Liu learned that the Southern Border had become a deadly wasteland and wanted to search for his mother, but He Dazhi persuaded him to stay at the Two Mountains. Wu Dayi and He Dazhi recognized the Beast God as the likely source of the Great Calamity and began preparing the Central Plains, while Tian Buyi arrived and beat Luo Yunji.

• Wu Dayi and He Dazhi read intelligence describing the Southern Border as overrun by monsters and refused to send anyone there.
• Xiao Liu said he wanted to find his mother himself, but He Dazhi explained that Auntie Bai was powerful and Xiao Liu would be a burden, so Xiao Liu agreed to stay.
• Wu Dayi and He Dazhi concluded that the revived Beast God had unleashed the Great Calamity and arranged warnings, an evacuation near the Southern Border, and Seventh Junior Brother's return.
• Tian Buyi arrived at the Two Mountains and immediately beat Luo Yunji, who had just been scolded by Su Ru.

Tian Buyi and Su Ru agreed to discuss Luo Yunji’s marriage to Bi Yao with the Ghost King, while their disciples considered the match and prepared for the wedding. As the preparations began, Li Qinghe remembered carrying Luo Yunji to Big Bamboo Peak as a child, and Su Ru reflected on Tian Linger’s lack of news about having children.

• Tian Buyi questioned Luo Yunji about entering a woman’s boudoir, then asked Su Ru what the Ghost King had said.
• He Dazhi reasoned that the Ghost King would benefit from Luo Yunji as a son-in-law, and Tian Buyi and Su Ru agreed to consider the marriage despite their concerns about the Ghost King’s ambitions.
• Tian Buyi praised Bi Yao for risking her life to save someone and said he would speak with the Ghost King the next day about settling the marriage.
• Su Ru, Wen Min, Zhao Yueyin, and Li Qinghe prepared Luo Yunji’s wedding clothes while Li Qinghe recalled carrying him to Big Bamboo Peak as a child.
• Su Ru told Zhao Yueyin that pregnancy was difficult for highly cultivated women, and Li Qinghe reassured her that Tian Linger’s lack of news might be fortunate during the Great Calamity.