Chapter Summaries

On his wedding night, Yang Huai gained the red auxiliary Fate Pattern Divine Descent after his bride secretly examined him, and his treasure mirror refreshed a new anchored object. He entered the Wuwang Realm again, awakening in the body of a young Daoist novice in the capital of Xi Huang Kingdom.

• Yang Huai reassured his bride that he would accept her inability to bear children, and she used an invisible light to examine him while he slept.
• The treasure mirror showed Yang Huai had gained the red auxiliary Fate Pattern Divine Descent, apparently through his deep connection with his bride.
• Yang Huai saw that the mirror's anchored object had refreshed and chose to enter the new Wuwang Realm, recalling that his previous visit had earned him three Essence Points.
• Yang Huai awoke in the body of a frightened young Daoist novice in a Daoist temple and learned from the novice's memories that he was in Wanqu, capital of Xi Huang Kingdom, ruled by the Fuxi Clan.

Yang Huai took over Qingli’s body and began studying the Twenty-Two Primordial Glyphs at the Daoist temple, quickly recognizing a water glyph. He refused Bai Jian’s invitation to visit Hundred Beasts Cave, choosing instead to return to his room and study.

• Yang Huai reassured Qingli that he would help him return home and win back A Yu, then examined Qingli’s fate and discovered his innate sword bones and progress with the primordial glyphs.
• Yang Huai listened as an elderly Daoist explained the water diagram and successfully recognized its spiritual pattern, strengthening his soul.
• Yang Huai reflected that Qingli had learned only one and a half glyphs because he had been distracted by thoughts of home and his childhood sweetheart.
• After the lecture, Bai Jian invited Yang Huai to Hundred Beasts Cave to see a pure-blooded dragon turtle, but Yang Huai declined and said he would study the new glyph in his room.

Yang Huai learned the fourth primordial pattern and awakened the sword bone in his right arm, beginning to form an Innate Body. After returning from the Xi Huang Dao Kingdom to dawn in the bridal chamber, he sensed his Heavenly Circuit Heart Method advancing with new force.

• Yang Huai deconstructed the earth character, and Qingli learned from his explanation how to approach primordial patterns.
• Bai Jian returned shaken by the dragon turtle’s roar and thanked Yang Huai for warning him to keep his distance.
• Yang Huai quickly learned the metal character, awakening the right-arm Innate Sword Bone and changing his body and soul.
• Yang Huai saw the stars, felt their dangerous influence, and recalled the First Prohibition against looking directly at them.
• Yang Huai returned to the bridal chamber at dawn, where Yuan Xiuxiu greeted him and noticed a change in him.
• Yang Huai sensed his Heavenly Circuit Heart Method speeding up and hidden minor acupoints opening.

After completing the lesser heavenly circuit, Yang Huai ate his way through the wedding leftovers and worried about supporting his family. He secured a lucrative furniture commission for Liu Jingjing’s dowry and returned home with strength noticeably increased.

• Yang Huai completed the lesser heavenly circuit, woke ravenous, and ate most of the food left from the wedding feast.
• Yang Huai and Yuan Xiuxiu served tea to Father Yang and Mother Yang, then Yang Huai hurried out with Yang Dayuan to avoid his mother’s complaints about the missing food.
• Yang Dayuan accepted a commission from Mother Liu for a set of dowry furniture for Liu Jingjing, to be completed within half a month.
• Liu Jingjing praised Yang Huai’s craftsmanship to Mother Liu and explained why she had entrusted him with the job.
• Yang Huai carried a bundle of lumber weighing over two hundred jin by himself, astonishing Yang Dayuan and Mother Yang.

Yang Huai used his strength to force Yang San and his ruffians to help the family with their carpentry work, then finished the day’s furniture-making and returned to the Daoist temple. There, he began considering whether he could cultivate the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method with his innate sword bones.

• Yang Huai impressed Yang Dayuan with his strength and woodworking skill as the family began making furniture.
• Yang San and several ruffians barged into the Yang residence, but Yang Huai intimidated them into helping with the work.
• After leaving, Yang San rejected a suggestion to retaliate against Yang Huai, and an unseen figure watched the group depart.
• Yang Huai and his family worked until evening, making rough forms for several hu chairs.
• At the Daoist temple, Yang Huai woke and considered cultivating the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method with his innate sword bones.

Yang Huai cultivated at Inquiry Cliff, studied more primordial glyphs, and learned that Yuan Sheng and Hou Sheng had received Celestial Talismans. He went to his assigned kitchen duty, where an exhausted Daoist child asked him to take over stacking firewood.

• Yang Huai ate nourishing beast meat, circulated the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method, and comprehended the fifth primordial glyph before choosing to study the sixth, seventh, and eighth glyphs: essence, qi, and spirit.
• Yuan Sheng and Hou Sheng showed off the Celestial Talismans bestowed on them by Celestial Jade Palace, which could let them enter a Celestial’s tutelage and obtain a fundamental method.
• Bai Jian proposed that Yang Huai seek another Celestial’s favor, but Yang Huai said he would keep trying to comprehend eight primordial glyphs.
• Yang Huai joined the other Daoist children in their daily duties and went to the kitchen, where his task was stacking heavy firewood.
• A tired Daoist child saw Yang Huai arrive and asked him to switch places and take over.

Yang Huai took Qingli’s place in the kitchen, studied the remaining primordial glyphs, and discovered that circulating the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method had awakened Qingli’s innate essence qi. After learning all eight glyphs, he applied to attend an inner-hall lecture in half a month.

• Yang Huai relieved Chang Geng and spent his kitchen shift hauling heavy firewood while Feng Ying watched him with suspicion.
• After his shift, Yang Huai identified the primordial glyph “Essence” and continued cultivating the Lesser Heavenly Circuit.
• Yang Huai sensed innate essence qi transforming his body and strengthening his vital energy and blood, which he connected to Qingli’s innate sword bone.
• Yang Huai returned to the Yang Family Hunting Grounds at night and worked on carpentry while continuing to study the glyphs.
• After two days and nights, Yang Huai learned “Essence,” “Qi,” and “Spirit,” completing all eight primordial glyphs.
• Yang Huai asked the True Masters to record his achievement and applied to attend the next inner-hall lecture in half a month.

Yang Huai entered the Dao Registry as Qingli, gaining the rights of a Dao citizen and the freedom to choose whether to accept Master Jade Palace’s guidance. While his cultivation advanced during his kitchen shift, a swarm of deadly black specks burst from a tree trunk and attacked the Daoist boys.

• Yang Huai received a cloud-patterned plaque and shifted his focus toward cultivating the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method while continuing to study the primordial glyphs.
• Bai Jian, Yuan Sheng, and Hou Sheng questioned Yang Huai about his sudden entry into the Dao Registry, and he refused to reveal his innate talent.
• Yuan Sheng demonstrated his and Hou Sheng’s formidable strength and offered to arrange Yang Huai’s entry into Master Jade Palace’s service, but Yang Huai said he would consider it.
• Bai Jian reconsidered his own decision while Yang Huai continued working in the kitchen and felt his body’s cultivation advancing rapidly.
• Daoist Yunwu’s axe struck a black tree trunk, releasing a swarm of black specks that sent Yang Huai fleeing as another Daoist boy screamed behind him.

Yang Huai survived an attack by venomous Ironwood Bees, then used the time to recover and cultivate. On the second day, he broke through into the Greater Heavenly Circuit realm and sensed that the second Innate Sword Bone in his Niwan Palace might awaken soon.

• Yang Huai escaped into the kitchen as Ironwood Bees swarmed, and Daoist Cloudmist shielded himself while Daoist Hou Feng captured the insects in a gourd.
• Daoist Hou Feng found that one Daoist boy had died, gave Yang Huai Flesh-Regrowing Ointment, and excused him from extra labor for three days after learning he was a Daoist citizen.
• Daoist Hou Feng assigned Yang Huai's chores to the other kitchen Daoist boys, while the sinister firework Daoist complained about Yang Huai's escape.
• Yang Huai treated his burned back and continued circulating the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method as his wound rapidly healed.
• Yang Huai broke through into the Greater Heavenly Circuit realm and sensed an ancient sword forming in his sea of consciousness, possibly heralding the awakening of his second Innate Sword Bone.

Yang Huai advanced the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method, awakened the Innate Spirit-Awakened Sword Body, and improved his ability to understand primordial runes. He joined the other Daoist citizens to hear a True One teach the secrets of cultivation, arriving after the lesson had begun.

• Yang Huai opened the last crucial hidden aperture around the Niwan Palace, sharpening his senses and awakening the Innate Spirit-Awakened Sword Body.
• Yang Huai returned to the kitchen, took over the firewood work from Brother Chang Geng, and noticed Cloudmist Daoist’s precise axe strokes while Feng Ying watched him closely.
• Over the next ten days, Yang Huai’s Greater Heavenly Circuit matured and his primordial runes increased from eight to sixteen.
• Yang Huai joined Feng Ying, Yuan Sheng, and Hou Sheng to enter the inner hall and listen to the Daoist master from the Xi Huang Dao Kingdom.
• The Daoist master began teaching the cultivation process before Yang Huai arrived, then explained how to visualize runes, gather heaven-and-earth qi, hone qi seeds, and enter the Dao.

Yang Huai learned the Heavenly Origin Pure Spirit Codex and chose a talisman suited to Qingli as the foundation for his cultivation. After the lecture, he overheard Daoist children disparaging qi refinement in favor of the ancient gods’ path.

• The old Daoist instructor explained the ranks of cultivation and taught the Daoist children the Heavenly Origin Pure Spirit Codex.
• Yang Huai realized that his comprehension of the 'clarity' glyph qualified him to learn the method, and Qingli celebrated.
• The instructor described the eighteen Heavenly Origin talismans and warned that broad foundational methods were slow to cultivate.
• Yang Huai chose the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman, memorized its paired soul-nourishing method, and learned the stages for refining a talisman seed.
• After the instructor left, Yang Huai heard several Daoist children call qi refinement inferior to the ancient gods’ path and spotted Feng Ying among them.

Yang Huai refused to join Dao Yuanlu’s suspicious gathering at Glory Hall, then negotiated with Feng Ying over exchanging the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method for an unusual technique. Feng Ying asked for two days to consider the deal, and Yang Huai left to try gestating a talisman seed.

• Dao Yuanlu invited the Daoist acolytes to Glory Hall to hear about the path of the ancient gods, but Yang Huai stayed behind, suspecting a con.
• Feng Ying told Yang Huai that his dense vital essence made him tempting prey for evil entities and demons, and offered to trade an unusual technique for the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method.
• Feng Ying demonstrated the Seizing Mountain Wind Technique, but Yang Huai judged it insufficient for his secret art.
• Feng Ying displayed the Soul-Calming Spirit-Cleaving Technique, briefly immobilizing Yang Huai and piercing his soul with invisible force, but Yang Huai still refused the exchange.
• Yang Huai gave Feng Ying two days to decide whether to trade, then headed to the Daoist temple’s cultivation grounds to attempt gestating a talisman seed.

Yang Huai cultivated in People-Honoring Pagoda and formed the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman despite a terrifying attack from the void. He left the trial with the talisman formed and only the final step of refining its seed remaining.

• Yang Huai borrowed a stone chamber in People-Honoring Pagoda and began cultivating the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman.
• As he visualized the talisman, malicious thoughts and illusions attacked his soul, while Qingli watched in fear from beneath the Azure Mirror.
• Yang Huai’s Innate Sword Bone fate infused the forming talisman with innate aura, provoking a powerful hostile presence from the void.
• The patriarchs’ divine might suppressed most of the hostile golden light, allowing Yang Huai to complete the talisman and absorb the remaining aftershocks.
• Yang Huai realized he had subdued his delusions and gathered his thoughts into a talisman, leaving only the gradual refining of its seed before he could pursue further advancement.

Yang Huai and Yang Dayuan completed and sold the Liu Family’s finely crafted dowry furniture, earning money that Yang Huai used to replenish his qi and blood and advance his cultivation. As Yang Huai began circulating the Greater Heavenly Circuit, Yuan Xiuxiu examined him and suspected he possessed an unusual innate quality.

• Yang Huai and Yang Dayuan invited the Liu Family to inspect their completed furniture, and Butcher Liu approved it and paid in full.
• The Yang and Liu families publicly carried the furniture home, drawing attention to the Yangs’ craftsmanship and the Liu family’s dowry.
• Yang Huai persuaded Yang Dayuan to give him his share of the earnings and used the money to buy wine and meat.
• After the meal, Yang Huai circulated the Lesser Heavenly Circuit, restored his qi and blood, and began practicing the Greater Heavenly Circuit.
• Yuan Xiuxiu examined Yang Huai’s soul and cultivation, noticed signs of innate essence nourishing him, and wondered whether he possessed another innate quality.

Yang Huai strengthened his body with the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method, and Yuan Xiuxiu warned him that visualization arts could contaminate his foundation before explaining the Nine Heavens Orthodox Path. When she taught him the Heavenly Circuit Spirit-Light Protective Incantation, he mastered it immediately, astonishing her and the old donkey.

• Yang Huai awoke after cultivating the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method and marveled at the strength it gave his body.
• Yuan Xiuxiu took half of Yang Huai's wages to prepare secret medicine and asked whether he had encountered visualization-type secret arts.
• Yang Huai admitted that he had, and Yuan Xiuxiu warned that cultivating spells before establishing his foundation could contaminate his life radiance.
• Yuan Xiuxiu explained the Nine Heavens Orthodox Path and taught Yang Huai the Heavenly Circuit Spirit-Light Protective Incantation.
• Yang Huai subdued the incantation's delusions at once and formed a golden protective light, astonishing Yuan Xiuxiu and the old donkey.

Yang Huai continued cultivating under Yuan Xiuxiu’s guidance while protecting her from a suspicious peddler. After returning to Qingping Daoist Temple, he refined the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman and received Feng Ying’s request to meet about a trade.

• Yang Huai reviewed his cultivation progress, and Yuan Xiuxiu encouraged him to establish his foundation and pursue immortality.
• Yang Huan spotted a village peddler and persuaded Yuan Xiuxiu to give him copper coins to shop.
• When the peddler tried to enter the courtyard and stared at Yuan Xiuxiu, Yang Huai threw him out and ordered him to leave.
• The peddler departed while secretly vowing revenge against Yang Huai.
• Yang Huai returned to Qingping Daoist Temple and continued refining the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman and cultivating the Heavenly Circuit Spirit-Light Protective Incantation.
• Feng Ying sent word asking Yang Huai to meet, apparently ready to trade with him.

Yang Huai negotiated with Feng Ying for the Metal Origin Five Aggregates Diagram, trading it and the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique for the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method. After exchanging the secret arts, Yang Huai went to a secluded place to begin studying them.

• Yang Huai slipped into the rear hall and met Feng Ying, who offered his clan's Metal Essence Fivefold Tempering Secret Art.
• Yang Huai examined the incomplete art and recognized that it could cultivate innate spirit bones in several parts of the body.
• Yang Huai demanded that Feng Ying add the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique to the trade, then walked away when Feng Ying hesitated.
• Feng Ying agreed, and the two exchanged their secret arts; Yang Huai explained the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method's basic entry methods.
• After finishing his daily duties, Yang Huai found a secluded place to cultivate the secret arts.

Yang Huai cultivated the Metal Origin Five Aggregates Diagram, drawing an extraordinary pillar of gengjin spiritual energy that astonished the Daoists at Qingping Daoist Temple. He also began studying the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique but struggled to understand its required intent to kill, before receiving bad news at noon.

• Yang Huai visualized the spirit of gengjin and drew a pillar of golden spiritual energy into the meditation quarters as he began forming spirit bones in his wrist.
• Feng Ying recognized the phenomenon and concluded that Dao Brother Qingli's path to the Dao held great promise.
• A chieftain from Xi Huang Kingdom saw Yang Huai cultivating from afar before leaving for Wanqu City on important business.
• Yang Huai studied the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique and formed the outline of its engraving knife, but could not grasp the intent to kill needed to give it spirit.
• Yang Huai spent the morning pondering the technique, then received bad news at noon.

Yang Huai rushed into the mountains after learning Liu Jingjing had followed a peddler into the woods, and found her dazed and in distress. He used the Soul Carving Knife to incapacitate the peddler and began beating him.

• Yang Yuan returned home after Yang Yu and the other children misled her, and she told the family she had seen Liu Jingjing enter the mountains with a peddler.
• Yang Huai asked Yang Yuan which way they had gone, then headed into the mountains while Yang Dayuan went to gather the Liu Family's men.
• Yang Huai found the peddler leading a numb, disheveled Liu Jingjing through the forest.
• The peddler dodged Yang Huai's surprise attack and recognized him as a dangerous opponent.
• Yang Huai formed the Soul Carving Knife in his sea of consciousness and struck the peddler with it, then rushed in and rained punches on him.

Yang Huai investigated the limits of his new soul technique and watched Liu Jingjing marry into the Huang Family, where he sensed something suspicious about the groom and Daoist Xuanzhen. At Qingping Daoist Temple, Hou Feng offered Yang Huai entry into the kitchen’s inner hall and a choice among three inheritances.

• Yang Dayuan and the Liu Family found Liu Jingjing safe and the peddler unconscious, then the Liu brothers carried him into the forest while Yang Dayuan promised to keep the incident secret.
• Yang Huai examined the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique’s low proficiency and suspected he needed a stronger killing intent to master it.
• Yang Huai watched Liu Jingjing’s wedding procession and noticed the groom’s depleted vital essence and Daoist Xuanzhen’s wary reaction to him.
• Yang Huai continued training with Yuan Xiuxiu’s medicine and exercises, then learned Chang Geng had received a Vitality-Replenishing Pill from Senior Brother Jinxing.
• Hou Feng recognized Yang Huai’s progress and offered him a choice between the Chopping-Wood Heavy Metal Art, the Cooking Heavy Fire Method, and Butchering Heavy Slaughter.