Chapter Summaries

Yang Huai chose to learn slaughtering and was taken by Flame Daoist to the Slaughter Hall, where he was forced to choose between two entrances. He entered the main hall and faced the lingering vicious aura of a demon tiger.

• Yang Huai chose slaughtering over the other crafts, and Hou Feng Daoist gave him a beast-hide scroll and permission to visit the Slaughter Hall daily.
• Hou Feng Daoist sent Flame Daoist to take Yang Huai to the Slaughter Hall, while he learned that Jade Palace Daoist might be seeking a child to test the Heavenly Human Demon Dao.
• Flame Daoist led Yang Huai through the valley to two gates, then blocked his attempt to turn back and demanded that he choose an entrance.
• Yang Huai chose the stone gate and entered the main hall, where Flame Daoist revealed that a slaughtered demon tiger was being held inside.
• A vicious aura surged from the hall, and Yang Huai saw a black tiger charge toward him.

Yang Huai survived a black tiger demon soul’s assault in the Slaughter Hall and fused his Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman with his soul, awakening dharma power. After learning the hall’s dangers from Flame Daoist, he returned to his dwelling to study the spirit-stabilizing secret art in Hou Feng Daoist’s scroll.

• Yang Huai used his Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique to pin the black tiger demon soul, but it invaded his sea of consciousness and attacked his soul.
• Yang Huai formed the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman in his sea of consciousness and wielded a golden axe to destroy the black tiger demon soul.
• Yang Huai discovered that the talisman had fused with his soul and body, giving birth to weak dharma power and completing his talisman-seed refinement.
• Flame Daoist told Yang Huai to cultivate the spirit-stabilizing secret art in Hou Feng Daoist’s scroll and warned him to avoid the sealed beast pens.
• Hou Feng Daoist and Flame Daoist discussed Jade Palace’s proposed exchange for the Slaughter Hall’s only inner disciple, with Flame Daoist demanding an additional Bodhi seed.
• Yang Huai returned to his dwelling and opened Hou Feng Daoist’s scroll, focusing on the Suiren Spirit-Aspect Visualization Diagram.

Yang Huai struggled to visualize Sui Ren’s sacred aspect and nearly exhausted his soul, so he studied its cloud patterns by carving them into spiritwood. On the third day, he completed a Human King statue that drew in spiritual energy and greatly increased his dharma power.

• Yang Huai tried to visualize Sui Ren’s aspect, but the burning pain weakened his soul and forced him to recover with the Heavenly Circuit Heart Method and dried beast meat.
• Yang Huai examined the sacred image’s cloud patterns and decided to carve their forms so he could study how they connected.
• Yang Huai went to the kitchen and began carving Human King statues from greenwood heartwood, failing repeatedly before gradually capturing their divine bearing.
• On the third day, Yang Huai completed a carving that radiated compassionate Dao charm, and Cloudmist Daoist noticed it.
• The completed carving drew spiritual energy into Yang Huai, increasing the dharma power between his brows by seventy to eighty percent.

Yang Huai advanced through Foundation Establishment by carving wooden figures infused with Dao resonance and trading one for a potent spirit peach. After offering Chang Geng a carving in exchange for help finding customers, he asked Hou Feng Daoist to teach him branch arts, and Hou Feng agreed to take him along.

• Yang Huai reached the Gathering Origin stage of Foundation Establishment, and Cloudmist Daoist praised the compassionate Dao resonance in his first wooden carving.
• Yang Huai carved a second figure with a fierce, flame-like resonance, then traded the first to the white-furred Daoist acolyte for a spirit peach.
• Yang Huai refined the peach’s spiritual qi, nearly completed Gathering Origin, and awakened the spirit bone in his right palm.
• Yang Huai gave Chang Geng a defective carving and asked him to help spread the word about his work in exchange for future rewards.
• Yang Huai asked Hou Feng Daoist to teach him the branch arts, and Hou Feng agreed to take him along.

Feng Ying advanced his Lesser Circulatory Cycle Method, while Yang Huai learned the Little Vajra Incantation and prepared to observe an exotic beast at the Slaughter Hall. Mao Hong discovered that the Human King Woodcarving could calm the demonic nature stirred by his Divine Wood Celestial Transformation and decided to seek more carvings.

• Feng Ying used spirit fruits and herbs to bring the Lesser Circulatory Cycle Method to minor mastery, awakening more of his innate essence qi and strengthening his wind and thunder talent.
• Feng Ying concluded that the method could not purify his Xi Huang bloodline, but expected it to help him rise in the clan's annual ranking contest.
• Hou Feng Daoist asked Yang Huai about his foundational method and taught him the defensive Little Vajra Incantation, a metal-attribute spell.
• Hou Feng Daoist told Yang Huai to report for rotation duty at the Slaughter Hall the next day to observe an exotic beast being slaughtered.
• Mao Hong tested the Human King Woodcarving while cultivating the Divine Wood Celestial Transformation and found that its pale halo cleared his frenzied demonic nature.
• Mao Hong decided that one Human King Woodcarving was not enough and that he wanted more.

Chang Geng used the Human King Woodcarving to improve his concentration, while Yang Huai cultivated the Little Vajra Incantation and was ordered to slaughter a Blackwater Pig-Dragon. The bound beast suddenly attacked Yang Huai with a streak of black light, which struck his golden defenses.

• Chang Geng discovered that the Human King Woodcarving helped him focus on comprehending the Twenty-Two Primordial Glyphs, and he decided to work toward Dao citizen status to strengthen his Senior Brother's reputation.
• Yang Huai mastered the Little Vajra Incantation's initial protection and used the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman to summon a golden spear.
• Yang Huai arrived at the Slaughter Hall and learned from the red-robed Daoist that a Blackwater Pig-Dragon had devoured tribal people near the Luo River.
• The red-robed Daoist gave Yang Huai a heavy boning blade and ordered him to kill the beast, so Yang Huai pierced its windpipe and caught its valuable vital blood.
• After the Blackwater Pig-Dragon seemed to lose its strength, it suddenly fired a streak of black light at Yang Huai, who raised golden barriers with the Little Vajra Incantation.

Yang Huai survived the Blackwater Pig-Dragon’s final attack, learned to process the beast under Flame Daoist’s guidance, and advanced his cultivation to the Purple Palace realm. He continued practicing the Suiren Spirit-Aspect Visualization Diagram and carving spiritwood as disturbances arose at the Yang Family Hunting Grounds.

• The Blackwater Pig-Dragon struck Yang Huai with a hidden mineral fragment, but his boning knife blocked it, and Flame Daoist explained the beast’s trick before guiding him through skinning and butchering it.
• Flame Daoist absorbed the beast’s remaining black qi and promised Yang Huai its hide armor as a reward, then told him to return the next day for more work.
• Yang Huai noticed his Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique had gained proficiency after the battle and returned to the kitchen to practice carving spiritwood.
• Yang Huai completed a blazing-yang cloud-patterned carving, refined the spiritual qi it released, and broke through to the Purple Palace realm by forming a seed of dharma power in his dantian.
• Cloudmist Daoist observed Yang Huai’s breakthrough as he began a lotus-petal-patterned carving, while a clearer Suiren Sacred Aspect gradually formed in Yang Huai’s sea of consciousness.
• At the Yang Family Hunting Grounds, the quiet mountain forest was disturbed by galloping horses, torches, and barking dogs.

Wild Dog Daoist Luo Zifu helped the leaders of Hengling Stockade recover Fifth Brother’s remains, and the Lone-Walker Heavenly King ordered him and two others to find the killer. At the Daoist temple, Feng Ying offered two thousand-year Vermilion Fruits for Yang Huai’s cloud-patterned Human King carving, leaving Mao Hong unable to compete.

• Luo Zifu used his magic to retrieve Fifth Brother’s bones from a deep cave, and the Lone-Walker Heavenly King vowed to avenge him.
• The Lone-Walker Heavenly King ordered Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother to help Luo Zifu track down the killer while he carried Fifth Brother’s remains away for burial.
• Luo Zifu set his vicious dogs on the scent from Fifth Brother’s bloodstained clothes and began the search.
• Mao Hong offered Yang Huai a five-hundred-year Green Jade Spirit Peach for the second cloud-patterned Human King carving.
• Feng Ying claimed the carving and offered two thousand-year Vermilion Fruits, leaving Mao Hong speechless.

Yang Huai traded a Heavenly Yang Human King Woodcarving for two thousand-year-old vermilion fruits, then accepted Feng Ying’s challenge to spar at the Demonstration Hall. After refining one fruit, he advanced his cultivation and considered how to defeat Feng Ying the next day.

• Yang Huai accepted the two thousand-year-old vermilion fruits from Mao Hong and examined them, while Feng Ying admired the woodcarving he had received.
• Feng Ying challenged Yang Huai to a spar at the Demonstration Hall, and Yang Huai agreed to meet him there the following afternoon after refining the fruits.
• Yang Huai consumed one vermilion fruit and used the Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman to refine its medicinal power, strengthening his magical power and opening hidden apertures.
• Yang Huai’s Lesser Circulatory Cycle Method reached the pinnacle of Great Mastery, and he considered how the Nine Heavens Orthodox Path might complement the Daoist temple’s cultivation methods.
• Yang Huai assessed Feng Ying’s strengths and realized that he had a powerful ally.

Yang Huai sought advice from Yuan Xiuxiu about defeating a stronger opponent, then continued his cultivation while she resolved to find herbs to help him. At the Slaughter Hall, Flame Daoist learned of Yang Huai’s duel with Feng Ying and began planning how to help him win.

• Yuan Xiuxiu told Yang Huai that he would need to find Feng Ying’s weakness and create an opening, and she decided to search the mountains for herbs to speed his cultivation.
• Yang Huai continued opening apertures, mastered the Little Vajra Incantation, and strengthened his soul through the flow of qi and blood.
• The old donkey sensed something in the mountains, and Yuan Xiuxiu emerged from the courtyard.
• Yang Huai refined a second Millennium Vermilion Fruit and went to the Slaughter Hall, where Flame Daoist revealed that he had already dealt with the day’s azure goat exotic beast.
• Flame Daoist questioned Yang Huai about his arranged duel with Feng Ying and assessed Feng Ying’s wind-and-lightning foundation and secret arts.
• Yang Huai demonstrated his Soul-Calming Spirit-Cleaving Technique against Flame Daoist’s Little Vajra Incantation, and Flame Daoist decided he could help Yang Huai win, though he would have to suffer first.

Flame Daoist brought Yang Huai to Slaughter Hall’s Spirit-Slaying Jade Disc to force him to grow stronger before Flame Daoist’s dangerous departure. Yang Huai survived its three-hour trial without accepting its demonic inheritance, and left with his soul techniques greatly improved.

• Flame Daoist activated the Spirit-Slaying Jade Disc for Yang Huai, while Hou Feng Daoist warned that the trial could damage him.
• Yang Huai was repeatedly killed by an asura fiend inside the disc and discovered the Spirit-Slaying Treasure Wheel Secret Cache, but refused to cultivate its evil inheritance.
• Yang Huai realized he could nurture the killing thoughts required by the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique by dying repeatedly, and refined his soul defenses through hundreds of rebirths.
• Yang Huai endured the asura fiend’s attacks until a golden force pulled him out of the disc after three hours.
• Flame Daoist praised Yang Huai for emerging unstained, then dismissed him; as Yang Huai left, secret arts in his sea of consciousness transformed.

Yang Huai’s gains from repeated deaths let Qingli enter his arranged duel with Feng Ying far better prepared than expected. Feng Ying seized control of the platform with powerful wind techniques, but Qingli countered with his golden defense and struck toward Feng Ying just as he unleashed lightning.

• Yang Huai saw that the Little Vajra Incantation, the Suiren Spirit-Aspect Visualization Diagram, the Soul-Calming Spirit-Cleaving Technique, and the Heavenly Circuit Spirit-Light Protective Incantation had improved after hundreds of deaths.
• Daoist apprentices gathered at the Practice Hall to watch Qingli’s duel with Feng Ying, while Yuan Sheng rebuked Hou Sheng for disparaging Qingli.
• Qingli arrived and called Feng Ying onto the platform, and Feng Ying asked Elder Yu Qingzi to ensure the duel was fair.
• Feng Ying summoned fierce winds that formed tornadoes across the platform, but Qingli covered himself in golden light and endured their force.
• Qing Xian noted that lightning could make Feng Ying’s wind techniques more troublesome, and Feng Ying then unleashed lightning from a tornado as a golden streak shot toward it.

Yang Huai defeated Feng Ying in a spell-testing duel, earning Feng Ying’s respect and drawing the attention of Yuanlu and other Daoist youths. After returning home exhausted, Yang Huai slept while Yuan Xiuxiu prepared him medicinal chicken soup, and Yang Huan rushed in with wonderful news.

• Yang Huai overcame Feng Ying’s defenses with the Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique and brought a golden spear to his neck, then called the duel a draw.
• Feng Ying accepted the loss and declared Yang Huai his senior brother, while Yuanlu explained that Feng Ying had underestimated him and expressed interest in recruiting him.
• Yang Huai woke at the Yang Family Hunting Grounds exhausted, and Yuan Xiuxiu told him his parents were fine and urged him to sleep longer.
• Mother Yang gave Yuan Xiuxiu an old hen to make nourishing soup for Yang Huai, while the old donkey protested from its shed.
• Yang Huai woke to the smell of medicinal chicken soup and began eating as Yang Huan rushed into the courtyard with wonderful news.

Yang Huai investigated reports of enormous wild dogs and sensed that one carried a foul, demonic aura, but the villagers chased it into the forest despite his warnings. Wild Dog Daoist prepared an ambush and pursued Yang Huai after learning the Dog King considered him unusually nourishing, while his brothers went after the villagers’ targets.

• Yang Huan told Yang Huai that Yang San Laizi had been badly bitten by one of several huge wild dogs.
• Yang Huai joined Yang Daxin and the villagers as they organized a hunt, then saw a monstrous dog flee toward the forest.
• Yang Huai warned Liu Si and Liu Da not to chase the dog into the forest, but they ignored him and joined the pursuit.
• Wild Dog Daoist gathered his gray-eyed vicious dogs and learned that one man had wandered off alone.
• Wild Dog Daoist decided to pursue Yang Huai himself, while Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother went to attack their assigned targets among the villagers.

Yang Huai was ambushed by Wild Dog Daoist, who sought revenge for the peddler, but he killed the Daoist and his Dog King with his soul techniques. After burying them, Yang Huai hurried toward the forest to check on his fellow villagers and find out about Hengling Stockade.

• Yang Huai destroyed Wild Dog Daoist’s paper men after they cut his new clothes, then learned the Daoist was avenging the peddler he had killed.
• Wild Dog Daoist attacked Yang Huai with a venomous vine whip, but Yang Huai blocked it with the Little Vajra Incantation and immobilized him with the Soul-Calming Spirit-Cleaving Technique.
• The Dog King attacked Yang Huai from the grass, but Yang Huai struck it back and killed it with his soul technique.
• Yang Huai found no valuable manual among Wild Dog Daoist’s possessions and buried the Daoist and the Dog King in a mountain pit.
• Yang Huai reflected on the differences between heterodox practitioners and the Nine Heavens Orthodox Path, then hurried toward the forest to check on his fellow villagers and question survivors about Hengling Stockade.

Yang Huai defeated and interrogated two leaders of Hengling Stockade, then disguised himself and set out to eliminate the bandit stronghold. He returned to the village after a slaughter, where Yuan Xiuxiu warned him that killing could bring karmic hindrances, while the old donkey silently cursed his claim that nothing could disturb his heart.

• The fourth and sixth leaders of Hengling Stockade prepared to attack the people in the forest, but Yang Huai arrived and shattered the fourth leader’s hand with the Little Vajra Incantation.
• Yang Huai defeated the sixth leader, learned the stockade’s leadership and layout from both men, and forced them to kill themselves.
• Yang Huai took a human-skin mask, disguised himself, and headed toward Hengling Stockade to remove the threat.
• A slender figure watched Yang Huai leave, judged his plan likely to succeed, and hurried back to eat and drink.
• Yang Huai returned to the village at night after a slaughter, while villagers celebrated Yang Dalang and the Liu Family mourned their eldest brother.
• Yuan Xiuxiu warned Yang Huai that killing karma could hinder his cultivation, and the old donkey silently condemned his boast that no one could disturb his heart.

Yang Huai learned the Pure Spirit Evasion Art from Hou Feng Daoist and continued advancing his cultivation through woodcarving. When Bai Lingzhen praised his craft, Yang Huai’s Carpenter Fate Pattern changed, and its azure resonance began nourishing his Main Fate Pattern.

• Yang Huai asked Hou Feng Daoist for a soul-based movement technique and received the Pure Spirit Evasion Art after agreeing not to pass it on.
• Yang Huai memorized the art, and the Bronze Mirror recorded it as a beginner technique.
• Yang Huai carved woodcarvings through the day, pushing his Purple Mansion mana toward liquefaction.
• Bai Lingzhen visited with other Daoist acolytes, examined Yang Huai’s woodcarving, and praised his craftsmanship.
• Bai Lingzhen’s praise transformed Yang Huai’s Carpenter Fate Pattern and caused its azure resonance to nourish his Main Fate Pattern.

Yang Huai traded his Cloud-Pattern Wood Carvings to Bai Lingzhen for spiritual fruits and gave two boxes to Daoist Wu Feng to keep using the kitchen’s spiritwood. He then consumed a Millennium Purple Lingzhi Fruit to cultivate his Innate Geng Metal Spirit Bone, pursuing a stronger foundation before advancing his other cultivation method.

• Bai Lingzhen bought Yang Huai’s Radiant Cloud-Pattern Wood Carving for two Millennium Purple Lingzhi Fruits and four more carvings for eight Millennium Lingzhi Fruits.
• Bai Lingzhen invited Yang Huai to bring him exotic-beast materials and spirit souls from Slaughter Hall for the alchemy hall to purchase.
• Daoist Wu Feng scolded Yang Huai for wasting kitchen firewood, then accepted two rosewood-heart boxes after Yang Huai offered them as a gift.
• Daoist Wu Feng warned Yang Huai to consume his new resources quickly, and Yang Huai hurried away from the kitchen.
• At Inquiry Cliff, Yang Huai swallowed a Millennium Purple Lingzhi Fruit and used its medicinal power to cultivate the Innate Geng Metal Spirit Bone in his left hand.

Yang Huai refined spirit fruits, advanced his cultivation, and awakened Swordheart Clarity as his sword body grew stronger. When rival wood carvings threatened his income, he gave Chang Geng two Millennium Vermilion Fruits and asked him to deliver a message.

• Yang Huai refined six Millennium Purple Lingzhi Fruits, condensed jade liquid in his violet palace, and awakened Swordheart Clarity.
• For over a month, Yang Huai carved Cloud-Pattern Wood Carvings and traded them for spirit fruits and medicines while cultivating the Metal Origin Five Aggregates Diagram.
• Chang Geng told Yang Huai that pill-room acolytes had begun selling similar carvings for one millennium spirit fruit each.
• Yang Huai's Innate Geng Metal Spirit Bones surpassed one hundred and transformed into the Innate Geng Metal Sword Body, while his jade liquid neared completion.
• Yang Huai gave Chang Geng a box containing two Millennium Vermilion Fruits and asked him to deliver a message.

An Sheng’s woodcarving business collapsed after Qingli’s new composite Cloud-Pattern Wood Carvings drew buyers across the Daoist temple. Yang Huai sold the carvings at the dining hall, while his newly transformed Craftsman God Destiny helped explain their extraordinary quality.

• An Sheng learned that Hundred Beasts Cave’s senior brothers wanted to return his woodcarvings after Qingli released powerful composite carvings and lowered the price of the single-pattern ones.
• An Sheng admitted he had already used the spirit fruits and herbs, then worried that rejecting the returns would anger Eldest Senior Brother Bai and damage his place in the alchemy quarter.
• Yang Huai’s carvings drew a crowd at the dining hall as an acolyte advertised their prices and limited supply.
• Feng Ying praised Yang Huai for turning the situation around, and Yang Huai reflected that his destiny had changed from white [Unique Craftsmanship] to red [Craftsman God Destiny] after azure qi entered him.
• Several fire-working Daoists watched the sale in astonishment.