Chapter Summaries

Zhou An and Wu Nian investigated Ting Yun Prefecture’s worsening floods and suspected a strange phenomenon caused by lingering Resentful Energy. Their search led them to Hua Yun Temple, where they uncovered a hidden chamber of dead monks and a message written by the Abbot before he died.

• Wu Nian explained that accumulated Resentful Energy might be causing the persistent rain and could soon create a strange phenomenon, so Zhou An urged Prefect Xu to investigate records and local legends.
• After finding no useful records, Wu Nian told Zhou An that Hua Yun Temple’s Abbot had vanished and the temple had been abandoned; Zhou An recognized the temple as an Indulgence hideout and agreed to investigate.
• Zhou An, Wu Nian, Prefect Xu, and several constables searched Hua Yun Temple and discovered a hidden passage behind the main hall.
• The group found a chamber containing many dead monks, including Hua Yun Temple’s Abbot, whose body had no obvious injuries.
• Zhou An noticed dirt beneath the Abbot’s fingernails, turned over the corpse, and found a message the Abbot had written with his fingers before dying.

Zhou An uncovered Indulgence’s role in the floods threatening Ting Yun Prefecture and helped Prefect Yan and Prefect Xu organize a response. When an illusion made his companions see him as a monster, Zhou An recognized the deception but had to fight them to break its hold; the chapter ended as he attacked Prefect Xu and Prefect Yan moved to intercept him.

• Zhou An, Prefect Xu, and Wu Nian learned that Indulgence had used Hua Yun Temple’s monks and shamanic rites to worsen the floods and gather Resentful Energy, while a dying monk had left behind a warning.
• Wu Nian explained that the Abbot had likely used Buddhism’s Reincarnation Method for a final burst of life, and Prefect Xu agreed that the Demon Suppression Division needed to prepare for a strange entity.
• Prefect Xu brought Zhou An and Wu Nian to Prefect Yan, who agreed to coordinate the response and deployed Demon Suppression Division members and constables across the flood-stricken villages.
• At the worst-affected village, a sudden downpour and chill accompanied an illusion that made Zhou An see Prefect Yan, Prefect Xu, and Wu Nian as monsters; Read a Hundred Scrolls helped him recognize the deception.
• Zhou An realized the illusion was manipulating his companions into seeing him as a monster, so he decided to incapacitate them to break the deadlock and attacked Prefect Xu with his Frost Iron Frying Pan.
• Prefect Yan moved from the side to intercept Zhou An’s opening attack.

Zhou An defeated Shang Jian after discovering that he was behind the illusion at Hua Yun Temple, but Shang Jian’s plan had helped turn the Moon River into an enormous anomaly. As the river creature emerged, Zhou An’s companions realized he was eager to fight it.

• Zhou An overwhelmed the illusory Prefect Yan, Prefect Xu, and Wu Nian, then sensed Shang Jian fleeing and pursued him on a water dragon.
• Shang Jian reached the Moon River and tried to use its growing anomaly against Zhou An, but Zhou An controlled the rain to capture and kill him.
• Zhou An and the arriving prefects and Wu Nian realized the Moon River was transforming into an anomaly and watched a faceless water creature emerge.
• Prefect Yan, Prefect Xu, and Wu Nian prepared for battle, then noticed Zhou An was filled with fighting spirit.

Zhou An defeated the Moon River Anomaly by controlling and stir-frying the river, ending the flood in Ting Yun Prefecture. After resting and celebrating the Five Grains Harvest Festival, he visited the Craftsmen's Bureau with gifts, where a familiar person appeared at the entrance.

• Zhou An used his Frying Pan, blade, and water-controlling skills to destroy the Moon River Anomaly while Prefect Yan, Prefect Xu, and Wu Nian watched.
• Zhou An returned to Ting Yun Prefecture with the others, and they confirmed that Moon River's danger and the flood had ended.
• Zhou An rested overnight, then learned from a noodle-stall owner that the yamen had announced the flood was resolved.
• Zhou An enjoyed the Five Grains Harvest Festival and brought gifts to Hu Haijin and the other Craftsmen's Bureau workers.
• Zhou An prepared to leave the Craftsmen's Bureau, but a familiar person appeared at the entrance.

Prefect Yan took Zhou An to the Imperial Music Academy to discuss reporting the aftermath of the incident, where Zhou An learned that Miao Xiao, a poison-cultivating survivor of the Gu God Sect, had arrived. The next morning, Zhou An went back after hearing of a disturbance and saw Wu Nian approach Miao Xiao before constables took him away.

• Prefect Yan invited Zhou An to the Imperial Music Academy and discussed how to report Zhou An's role in resolving the incident, agreeing to omit some details about the fighting.
• Prefect Yan told Zhou An that Miao Xiao belonged to the Gu God Sect, whose disciples had been wiped out for conducting experiments on living people, and that her clothes suppressed the poison in her body.
• After returning home, Zhou An recognized that he lacked poison resistance and continued training Soaring Dragon Steps while considering how to address the weakness.
• The next morning, Zhou An learned that a monk had caused a disturbance at the Imperial Music Academy and went there to investigate.
• Zhou An saw Wu Nian chant scriptures to Miao Xiao, who rejected his offer to dispel the Resentful Energy on her; constables arrived and escorted Wu Nian away, and Wu Nian noticed Zhou An as he left.

Zhou An sought a way to improve his poison resistance, obtained a medical book from Prefect Xu, and raised Medical Arts through hands-on practice. After choosing Medical Gu Meridian at level 3, he gained greater medical knowledge and a toxic effect in his qi, which changed the blade light of his Frost Iron Blade.

• Wu Nian visited Zhou An to say farewell, explaining that his cultivation had reached the realm of Form and that he had tried unsuccessfully to help the resentful young woman at the Imperial Music Academy.
• Zhou An asked Wu Nian about poison resistance and decided to study medical arts after hearing that knowledge of poison could help with detoxification.
• Zhou An visited Prefect Xu, who gave him a foundational medical book and warned him against spreading his efforts across too many disciplines.
• Zhou An practiced the book's medical methods on himself, raised Medical Arts to level 2, and gained Medical Theory.
• After further grinding, Zhou An chose Medical Gu Meridian, reached level 3, gained Toxicity, and altered the blade light by circulating his qi.

Zhou An sought ways to improve his Medical Gu Meridian and began treating patients at Renxin Medical Clinic, where his skill advanced rapidly. After Han Shan said he would need to study difficult cases, Zhou An discovered three severely poisoned commoners at the clinic and recognized that examining them increased his proficiency.

• Zhou An realized he needed practical medical experience to advance his Medical Gu Meridian and asked the Hengtong Merchant Guild for help finding a clinic.
• Zhou Qingyun sent Zhou An to Renxin Medical Clinic, where Han Shan tested his diagnostic skill and was astonished by how many illnesses he identified at a glance.
• Han Shan let Zhou An treat patients at the clinic, and Zhou An's Medical Gu Meridian advanced to level four after days of practice.
• Han Shan explained that Zhou An would need to examine difficult cases to improve further and mentioned Medicine King Valley, but Zhou An decided to keep training Soaring Dragon Steps for now.
• Zhou An returned to Renxin Medical Clinic and found three commoners suffering from severe poisoning; he recognized their condition and gained proficiency from examining them.

Zhou An investigated a Gu poison outbreak among workers in Ting Yun Prefecture’s mines, where he destroyed a Gu God Sect creation and learned the Emperor was secretly targeting the sect’s remnants. After returning home to practice Soaring Dragon Steps, he heard an unusual sound in the dark night and looked outside.

• At Renxin Medical Clinic, Zhou An identified Gu insects in sick commoners as Han Shan treated and cured them, and constables arrived to investigate.
• Hu Haijin summoned Zhou An to the Craftsmen’s Bureau, where Zhou Qingyun reported that miners had fallen unconscious from Gu poison, so Zhou ordered mining suspended and went to Prefect Xu.
• Zhou An and Prefect Xu entered a mine, found tiny Gu insects, and Zhou killed the swarm with one slash before locating a black egg identified as a Gu Poison Humanoid created by the Gu God Sect.
• Zhou An destroyed the black egg with a single strike, and Prefect Xu reported the incident to Prefect Yan, who revealed the Emperor had ordered a secret search for Gu God Sect remnants.
• Zhou An told Hu Haijin to keep the mines closed, returned home to practice Soaring Dragon Steps, and went to the window after hearing an unusual sound outside.

Zhou An killed a Gu Poison Humanoid sent to attack him, then learned that the Gu God Sect remnants had mistaken his poison-devouring ability for the sign of a Gu God Saint. Prefect Yan brought him into the Emperor’s plan and introduced Miao Xiao, a Gu Poison Humanoid with a mind who explained why she had been placed in Tingyun Prefecture as bait.

• Zhou An killed the Gu Poison Humanoid outside his lodgings and devoured the poison it released.
• Zhou An reported the attack to the Demon Suppression Division, and Prefect Yan’s men arrested the person behind it overnight.
• In the dungeon, the prisoner worshipped Zhou An as the Gu God Saint and claimed the Gu God Sect remnants would come for him.
• Prefect Yan took Zhou An to meet Miao Xiao, who revealed that she was the Gu God Sect’s only Medicine Woman and a Gu Poison Humanoid who retained her mind.
• Miao Xiao explained that the Gu God Sect was made up of women from Miao Territory, that its members had experimented on living people to relieve their poison, and that the Emperor’s plan used her as bait for the remnants.
• Prefect Yan rebuked Miao Xiao for the sect’s attacks on ordinary people, and Zhou An asked her to explain the rest of the plan.

Zhou An learned that the Gu God Sect’s remnants would target him as a Gu God Saint, then used Miao Xiao’s poison to raise his Medical Gu Meridian to level four. As Prefect Yan faced a gu-poison outbreak in nearby villages, Han Shan urged him to seek Zhou An’s help, and Prefect Yan rushed to find him just as Zhou An was training.

• Miao Xiao explained that Gu God Saints could absorb Gu poison and were coveted by the Gu God Sect as a way to discharge it.
• Zhou An stayed up talking with Miao Xiao while using his Medical Gu Meridian to grind proficiency, eventually raising it to level four.
• Zhou An stopped visiting Miao Xiao and focused on raising Soaring Dragon Steps, while the Demon Suppression Division continued hunting the Gu God Sect remnants.
• Prefect Yan learned that nearby villages had been infected with Gu poison and ordered healers to treat the civilians, but the outbreak spread too widely for them to keep up.
• Han Shan suggested Zhou An might be able to help treat the infected civilians, and Prefect Yan hurried to find him.
• An urgent knock interrupted Zhou An as he practiced Soaring Dragon Steps, which was close to reaching level five.

Zhou An cured thousands of Gu-poisoned commoners in Ting Yun Prefecture, foiling another plot by the Gu God Sect and gaining Medical Vein proficiency. After raising Soaring Dragon Steps to Level Five, he visited Miao Xiao and questioned the sect’s past attacks; the chapter ended with Chen Yun confronting Miao Xiao and warning her not to betray the Gu God Sect.

• Prefect Yan brought Zhou An to a village where several thousand commoners had been poisoned, and Zhou An rapidly cured them by devouring the Gu poison with his qi.
• The healers and officials celebrated Zhou An’s success, while his Medical Vein proficiency rose from treating the commoners.
• Zhou An later raised Soaring Dragon Steps to Level Five, gaining greatly increased speed and evasion.
• Zhou An visited Miao Xiao at the Imperial Music Academy and asked why earlier Gu God Sect attacks had spared their victims’ lives.
• After Zhou An left, Chen Yun appeared in Miao Xiao’s room and threatened to kill her if she acted against the Gu God Sect.

Zhou An reached level five in Medical Gu Meridian, discovered the Gu poison balanced inside Miao Xiao, and then killed Chen Yun when she attacked him. Chen Yun’s remains transformed into multiplying Evil Insects, leaving Zhou An battling them with his blade, water, and Object Juggling.

• Chen Yun warned Miao Xiao to infiltrate the Gu God Sect’s targets and said Zhou An had to die, while Miao Xiao hid her sorrow and conflict.
• Zhou An told Prefect Yan that the Gu God Sect’s minor poison attacks made little sense, then returned to the Imperial Music Academy and continued building proficiency with Miao Xiao.
• Zhou An reached level five in Medical Gu Meridian, detected a balanced mixture of thousands of Gu poisons within Miao Xiao, and left to focus on improving Object Juggling.
• Zhou An increased Object Juggling proficiency by experimenting with heat control while cooking, then killed Chen Yun when she appeared at his home and attacked him.
• Chen Yun’s remains and more than ten women transformed into a multiplying Evil Insect that threatened Zhou An, so he used blade light, water, and the Cold Iron Pot to contain and juggle the creature’s flesh.
• Zhou An’s Object Juggling began separating and destroying the tiny insects, while screams came from the Evil Insect’s remains.

Zhou An realized that Miao Xiao had used the Gu God Sect’s final attack to erase her ties to the sect, then learned she had inherited the Demon Breaking Gu Poison and planned to seize control of the Miao Territory. The chapter ended with Miao Xiao proposing that he marry her and help her kill everyone who knew her identity, and Zhou An calling her an idiot.

• Zhou An destroyed the Gu God Sect remnants who attacked him by exhausting the qi of their insect bodies in the Cold Iron Pot.
• Prefect Yan identified the attackers as the sect’s last remnants, and Zhou An connected their deaths to Miao Xiao’s earlier warning and the plan to clear her name.
• Zhou An visited Miao Xiao at the Imperial Music Academy, where she admitted she was the Gu God Sect’s final plan and revealed that her body was made of insects.
• Miao Xiao explained that the Gu God Sect had discovered she possessed Demon Breaking Gu Poison and had planned to make her the sect’s new inheritor.
• Miao Xiao revealed that she had killed the Gu God Sect members to gain freedom and intended to rebuild the Miao Territory under her control.
• Miao Xiao proposed that Zhou An become her husband and help her kill everyone who knew her identity, including the Demon Suppression Division, but Zhou An called her an idiot.

Zhou An confronted Miao Xiao at Cloud Mist Mountain after she threatened Ting Yun Prefecture and tried to recruit him, but her complete Demon Breaking Gu Poison turned his attacks and weapons into poison. As Miao Xiao pressed her assault and struck toward Zhou An's chest, he was left facing a serious disadvantage.

• Miao Xiao revealed her scheme to build a new force and threatened to poison Ting Yun Prefecture unless Zhou An met her at Cloud Mist Mountain.
• Zhou An told Prefect Yan what had happened, then led the Demon Suppression Division toward the mountain and strengthened their poison-dispelling sachets with his qi.
• Miao Xiao used harmless Gu insects to knock out Prefect Yan and the others, then led Zhou An toward a cave before he destroyed her insect decoy and drew out her true body.
• Miao Xiao offered Zhou An the Demon Breaking Gu Poison and asked him to join her, but he refused and attacked her.
• Miao Xiao revealed that Demon Breaking Gu Poison assimilated attacks and objects into poison of the same origin, then poisoned Zhou An's weapons and accelerated her own attacks.
• Miao Xiao rushed at Zhou An and pressed her hand toward his chest as he sighed that the situation had become absurd.

Zhou An defeated Miao Xiao, learned that Indulgence had helped her monitor him, and returned to his training. After raising Object Juggling to level five, he sought a new way to advance Read a Hundred Scrolls and found Zhou Qingyun waiting anxiously at the Hengtong Merchant Guild for an important visitor.

• Zhou An devoured Miao Xiao’s Demon Breaking Gu Poison, killed her, and learned that she had manipulated the Gu God Sect and that Indulgence had passed her information about him.
• Zhou An woke Prefect Yan and the Demon Suppression Division members, then told Prefect Yan to investigate Indulgence’s remaining agents in Ting Yun Prefecture.
• Zhou An trained Object Juggling until it reached level five, then tried copying the Demon Breaking Gu Poison text to improve Read a Hundred Scrolls but gained no proficiency.
• Zhou An went to the Hengtong Merchant Guild to seek books for his studies and found Zhou Qingyun waiting for an important person.

Zhou An received the Emperor’s reward from the Third Prince, including Frost Iron Crystal and rare restorative pills, while learning that Eunuch Wei would back him if he acted justly. After reforging his gear and beginning to copy the trade books Zhou Qingyun had collected, Zhou An started raising Read a Hundred Scrolls as he continued pursuing level-five skills.

• Zhou An asked Zhou Qingyun to collect cultivation methods from various trades, then passed the Third Prince’s carriage without realizing who was inside.
• The Third Prince visited Zhou Qingyun, asked for Zhou An’s address, and planned to meet him the next day.
• Prefect Yan told Zhou An that the Emperor had sent Demon Suppression Division commanders to purge the Miao Territory and that Eunuch Wei had guarded more than ten provinces.
• Zhou An met the Third Prince, accepted silver notes, Frost Iron Crystal, and Decayed Wood Rebirth Pills, and heard Eunuch Wei’s message that he would handle the consequences if Zhou An acted justly.
• The Third Prince left without explaining his broader interest in Zhou An, while his swordsman said a life-or-death fight between him and Zhou An had an uncertain outcome.
• Zhou An reforged his blade, pot, and soft armor with Frost Iron Crystal, named them, and began copying trade books to improve Read a Hundred Scrolls.

Zhou An reached Level Five in every skill and advanced to the First-Rate Realm, then learned about the Innate Realm from Prefect Yan. After accepting an invitation to a physicians’ gathering to improve his Medical Gu Meridian, he spent the night devising a new scouting skill.

• Zhou An copied books for days until Read a Hundred Scrolls reached Level Five, bringing all his skills to Level Five.
• Zhou An’s qi condensed into a Qi Core, advancing him to the First-Rate Realm and greatly increasing his qi’s purity.
• Zhou An visited Prefect Yan, who explained that the realm beyond First-Rate was the Innate Realm and described its Qi Body and unceasing qi.
• A group of physicians invited Zhou An to their exchange gathering, and discussing a difficult case increased his Medical Gu Meridian proficiency; he agreed to attend.
• After returning home, Zhou An decided to develop a scouting skill and spent the night forming a new approach.

Zhou An developed Appraising Gaze by practicing on women, then used the Imperial Music Academy to raise it to level two and gain scouting abilities. At the physicians’ conference, Medicine King Valley arrived with a disease-ridden corpse, and the chapter ended as they opened its coffin.

• Zhou An unlocked Appraising Gaze after repeatedly appraising women on the street, then went to the physicians’ exchange conference at Renxin Medical Clinic.
• Zhou An answered physicians’ questions throughout the day, raising his medical proficiency as the conference became centered on his expertise.
• Han Shan told Zhou An that Medicine King Valley would bring a corpse afflicted with many difficult conditions to the next day’s conference.
• Zhou An went to the Imperial Music Academy and appraised ten girls all night, raising Appraising Gaze to level two and gaining scouting abilities.
• Zhou An returned to Renxin Medical Clinic, where Elder Wang and Medicine King Valley arrived with the corpse in a special coffin.
• Elder Wang warned the physicians about an epidemic disease, and Medicine King Valley’s disciples opened the coffin after spraying medicine to contain it.

Zhou An used the mummified corpse brought by Medicine King Valley to rapidly increase his Medical Gu Meridian proficiency, clear the diseases from its hands, and teach the physicians how to treat them. He persuaded Elder Wang to stay for several more days and began examining the corpse overnight to continue his progress.

• Medicine King Valley showed the physicians of Ting Yun Prefecture a disease-ridden mummy whose ailments had resisted treatment, and Wu Xi insulted the local physicians.
• Zhou An examined the mummy, threatened Wu Xi with his connection to Eunuch Wei, and made Wu Xi kneel after he backed down.
• Zhou An channeled qi through the Frost Crystal Blade, cleared the diseases from the mummy's hands, and watched them regain a living appearance as his proficiency surged.
• Zhou An explained alternative treatments to the gathered physicians and asked Elder Wang to keep Medicine King Valley in Ting Yun Prefecture for a few more days.
• Zhou An chose to observe the mummy through the night and began examining its arms to keep raising his Medical Gu Meridian proficiency.

Zhou An raised the Medical Gu Seed to level six, cured nearly all the ailments afflicting the dried corpse, and shared treatment methods with the physicians before returning home. He then began training the Butchering Ox Technique with tofu and grinding the Appraising Gaze at the Imperial Music Academy, where the chapter ended as a new message appeared before him.

• Zhou An reached level six in the Medical Gu Seed and gained Poison Penetration, then used it to cure the dried corpse’s limbs and torso.
• Zhou An fought the ailments in the corpse’s head until he had cured them all, restoring the man’s body, but discovered a tiny piece of flesh was missing from his heart and he remained unconscious.
• Zhou An explained treatment methods to the physicians, and Elder Wang agreed to credit Zhou An when Medicine King Valley compiled them into a volume before taking the corpse away.
• Zhou An returned home, chose to train the Butchering Ox Technique, and began carving tofu with his Frost Crystal Blade.
• Zhou An visited the Imperial Music Academy each night to raise the Appraising Gaze while training his Butchering Ox Technique during the day; after one such visit, mist gathered before him and formed a line of text.