Chapter Summaries

Li Qingxian led the Divine Bow Sect to confront the Divine Sword Sect after Jiang Shifang disappeared, hoping to force them to help find him. The chapter ended with Luo Nanqiong and Liu Yitian trading accusations over their sects’ bitter history while the gathered crowd watched.

• Li Qingxian said Jiang Shifang’s abductor was likely a Middle Rank Dao Cultivator or Fate Arts Master, and he ruled out the poisonous woman because the Weng Family had ordered her to stop.
• Li Qingxian learned the Divine Sword Sect was backed by Magistrate Wen and led the Divine Bow Sect and its allies toward the sect to demand Jiang Shifang’s return.
• The procession entered Far-Reaching City, drawing hundreds of followers and onlookers as it approached the Divine Sword Sect.
• Liu Yitian publicly accused the Divine Sword Sect of abducting Jiang Shifang, and Luo Nanqiong answered that the sect would meet any challenge.
• Luo Nanqiong and Liu Yitian argued about the Divine Sword Sect’s past defeat of the Divine Bow Sect, and Li Qingxian patted Liu Yitian’s shoulder before he could reply.

Liu Yitian and Li Qingxian confronted Luo Nanqiong and demanded that he find Jiang Shifang, while Luo Nanqiong tried to make peace with the Divine Bow Sect. By dawn, Jiang Shifang was found, but he had become a grinning, seemingly foolish child.

• Liu Yitian challenged Luo Nanqiong over the Divine Sword Sect’s past treatment of the Divine Bow Sect and demanded Jiang Shifang’s return.
• Luo Nanqiong offered Liu Yitian manuals, support, land, people, and money in exchange for peace, but Liu Yitian refused.
• Li Qingxian insisted that Luo Nanqiong search for Jiang Shifang before discussing anything else, and Luo mobilized the Divine Sword Sect and its affiliates.
• Luo Nanqiong invited the others inside, but Li Qingxian refused, and both sides waited through the night.
• At dawn, the searchers brought Jiang Shifang back, and Li Qingxian found that the child now seemed foolish.

Li Qingxian and the Divine Bow Sect investigated the disappearance of Cai Xuyuan and his family, learning that a Divine Life Sect priest had been involved. When Li Qingxian searched the room where the priest had met Madam Cai, a pink mist attacked him but was trapped by the divine beings in his Spirit Platform and his Thunder Dragon Fire Seal.

• Liu Yitian brought Jiang Shifang, a foolish child Li Qingxian had once chosen, to Li Qingxian, who recalled that Cai Xuyuan was the other child he had selected.
• Li Qingxian and the others visited Cai Xuyuan’s home, where an old servant explained that Cai Xuyuan, his parents, and a Divine Life Sect priest had vanished after black smoke appeared in the courtyard.
• The servant suspected that the priest had lured the Cai family to Far-Reaching City, while Xu Fang and Liu Yitian considered other possible explanations.
• Li Qingxian entered the bedroom where Madam Cai had met the priest to search for clues, and a pink mist surged into his Spirit Platform.
• The mist became demonic flames, but the divine beings in Li Qingxian’s Spirit Platform awakened and his Thunder Dragon Fire Seal trapped it in thunderfire.

Li Qingxian traced the Bewildering Fate Arts used by the Middle Rank Fate Arts Master who abducted the child and prepared a way to track him. Meanwhile, the Treasure Life Sect and Blood Robe Sect marched past the Green Mountain Gang’s residence, signaling that the conflict between the factions should end there.

• Li Qingxian recalled using Hundred Beasts Deliver Calamity against his enemies and gathered traces left by the Fate Arts Master in the bedroom.
• Li Qingxian used Shadow-Seeking Arts to form a faceless figure from the traces, then transferred the Bewildering Fate Arts into a Life-Replacement Wooden Child and sealed himself as though asleep.
• A Green Mountain Gang incense master warned Gao Tianwan that the Treasure Life Sect and Blood Robe Sect were clearing the streets, and Gao Tianwan ordered his people not to clash with them.
• Yu Xiaoshan entered after the Blood Robe Sect challenged the Divine Bow Sect’s place in the city.
• A Treasure Life Sect procession carrying banners, an empty sedan chair, and a bronze furnace passed the residence, followed by the Blood Robe Sect.
• Gao Tianwan told Liu Yitian and Wang Buwu that the Three Treasures Weeping Road was a warning from the Blood Robe Sect to end their dispute.

Li Qingxian explained that a Fate Arts Master had abducted Jiang Shifang and Cai Xuyuan to make Companion Star Fate Artifacts, possibly using stolen National Fortune and blood sacrifice. After convincing others he was trapped in an illusion, Li Qingxian left Wang Family Village with Zhou Hen to search for Cai Xuyuan’s family.

• Wang Buwu and the others found Li Qingxian apparently unconscious and carried him back to Wang Family Village.
• Li Qingxian told Wang Buwu that the Fate Arts Master had used Plucking Stars and Following the Dragon to turn the children’s Fate Mansions into Companion Star Fate Artifacts.
• Li Qingxian suspected the scheme involved stealing Far-Reaching City's National Fortune or sacrificing people, and said he would search for Cai Xuyuan's family while pretending to remain trapped in an illusion.
• Wang Buwu departed with his subordinates, while Liu Yitian stayed to recruit disciples and strengthen the Divine Bow Sect.
• Li Qingxian and Zhou Hen disguised themselves, entered the city, and found a frostbitten person dead beside a wall.
• Li Qingxian told Zhou Hen he would investigate from the sidelines before using Fate Arts to track down Cai Xuyuan's family.

Li Qingxian investigated a series of unnatural deaths in Far-Reaching City and followed Jiang Shifang and Cai Xuyuan’s trail to a courtyard where their Fate Mansions had been taken. As he and Zhou Hen prepared to investigate, a Fate Servant appeared and greeted them.

• Li Qingxian deduced that a man who had frozen to death had suffered an unnatural death, and warned Zhou Hen that the Fate Arts Master behind the calamities was cautious and difficult to deal with.
• Li Qingxian tracked Jiang Shifang and Cai Xuyuan’s route to an ordinary courtyard, where he believed they had been imprisoned and their Fate Mansions taken.
• Li Qingxian disguised his aura with two Fate Talisman People made using Ye Han’s blood, then prepared Fate Arts before approaching the courtyard with Zhou Hen.
• Li Qingxian placed twelve wooden figures around the courtyard, causing a golden character on its plaque to transform into a Fate Servant.
• The Fate Servant identified himself as the Plaque Guardian Servant and asked Li Qingxian and Zhou Hen why they had come.

Li Qingxian negotiated with the Plaque Guardian Servant over a Fate Chess match and the fate of Li Jingqiu and the Cai Family. He began the first round by observing the servant’s fate, discovering it possessed four auspicious Annual Fate stages.

• The Plaque Guardian Servant challenged Li Qingxian to Fate Chess, offering to reveal how to undo the Illusory Fate Arts if Li Qingxian lost and hinting at something left for him if he won.
• Li Qingxian refused to play without an oath that the servant’s master would not deceive or harm him, and threatened to destroy the formation with Zhou Hen’s help.
• The Plaque Guardian Servant insisted it could only obey its master and revealed that the first round required Li Qingxian to deduce its Fate Grounds, Fate Stars, and Youth Fate Spirit.
• Li Qingxian secretly gave Zhou Hen a Fate Talisman, then used Fate Observation and Qi Gazing on the Plaque Guardian Servant.
• Li Qingxian saw four auspicious Longevity Stages above the servant and realized ordinary changes in luck and destiny could not affect it.

Li Qingxian examined the Plaque Guardian Servant’s Fate Mansion, discovering its powerful Earth Virtue Fate Spirit and damaged Fate Stars. The servant began the Porcelain Beast Duel, and Li Qingxian studied the six Fate Patterns before weighing the risks of choosing first or second.

• Li Qingxian opened the Plaque Guardian Servant’s Fate Mansion with five Fortune Fish and observed its four Fate Grounds, twelve Fate Stars, and Earth Virtue Fate Spirit.
• Li Qingxian deduced that the servant’s Fate Mold was incomplete and that eight Fate Stars had declined.
• The Plaque Guardian Servant revealed the rules of the Porcelain Beast Duel and summoned six celadon beasts.
• Li Qingxian used Fate Observation and Qi Gazing to identify the beasts’ Fate Patterns and their countering relationships.
• Li Qingxian reasoned that choosing first would let him seize the initiative, while choosing second might leave him vulnerable to linked Fate Arts.

Li Qingxian used Fortune Fish to foresee the Plaque Guardian Servant’s Porcelain Beast strategies, then altered his beasts’ Fate Patterns to turn the opponent’s counters against him. After the first two exchanges, Crouching Dragon devoured Twelve Heavenly Waters and transformed into Ascending Dragon.

• Li Qingxian reasoned that choosing his Porcelain Beast first would let him deduce the Plaque Guardian Servant’s follow-up Fate Arts.
• Li Qingxian spent five Fortune Fish to project the Plaque Guardian Servant choosing Greedy Wolf Faces Calamity and using the Fate Devouring Art against Myriad Ants Carrying Gold.
• Li Qingxian used Life-Change Art to swap the porcelain eagle’s Fate Pattern to Fire-Earth Raises Mountain, causing the servant’s Greedy Wolf Faces Calamity porcelain dog to explode when it tried to devour it.
• Li Qingxian projected the servant using Twelve Heavenly Waters and Fate Theft Art against Crouching Dragon, then swapped the Fate Patterns in his porcelain eagle and porcelain snake.
• The servant’s Fate Theft Art struck the eagle containing Crouching Dragon instead of Myriad Ants Carrying Gold, and Crouching Dragon devoured Twelve Heavenly Waters to become Ascending Dragon.

Li Qingxian defeated the Plaque Guardian Servant and rejected the mysterious Fate Arts Master's offer, demanding the release of Jingqiu's disciples and the end of the Illusory Fate Arts instead. He and Zhou Hen captured the servant, destroyed the courtyard, and returned to the Divine Bow Sect's encampment to investigate the mysterious master.

• The Plaque Guardian Servant offered Li Qingxian the Estate Guardian Gentleman forging method if he agreed to leave or avoid making trouble, but Li Qingxian refused and challenged him to withstand one Fate Art.
• Li Qingxian used the Dragon Suppression Art to distract the Plaque Guardian Servant while Zhou Hen ambushed and sealed him with a talisman.
• Li Qingxian stored the servant, deployed Fate Arts and Fate Artifacts to gather clues, and collected useful items from the house.
• Li Qingxian and Zhou Hen waited outside as prepared talismans unleashed thunder, fire, and poisonous mist that devastated the courtyard.
• Li Qingxian destroyed a spirit light sent from a nearby residence, erased the remaining traces, and left Far-Reaching City with Zhou Hen.
• At the Divine Bow Sect's encampment in Wang Family Village, Li Qingxian and Zhou Hen began investigating the mysterious Fate Arts Master and summoned Liu Yitian, Xu Fang, Wang Shoude, Zheng Gaojue, and Yu Ping.

Li Qingxian explained to Zhou Hen why he suspected the Weng Family, the Divine Life Sect priest, and the Divine Sword Sect were conspiring in Far-Reaching City. After Gai Fengyou contacted him about a client called Great Sir, Li Qingxian realized the client might have discovered his assumed identity and asked how close Gai Fengyou was to him.

• Li Qingxian told Zhou Hen to keep his survival secret and explained his theory that Weng Baihong and the Divine Life Sect priest were working together through the Divine Sword Sect.
• Li Qingxian said he would investigate the conspiracy while waiting for Magistrate Wen Siyan to leave, since he lacked conclusive evidence.
• Guo Xiang told Li Qingxian that Gai Fengyou would help investigate Far-Reaching City and might contact him directly.
• Li Qingxian recalled Gai Fengyou's generous gifts and advice, and wondered why the Upper Rank Fate Arts Master valued him so highly.
• Gai Fengyou asked whether Li Qingxian had encountered his client Great Sir, who had recently ordered fate materials sent to Far-Reaching City.
• Li Qingxian asked Gai Fengyou how close he was to Great Sir, concerned that his assumed identity might have been exposed.

Li Qingxian met Gai Fengyou to discuss Great Sir’s attempt to negotiate and the growing turmoil in the capital. After agreeing to arrange a meeting, Li Qingxian learned Great Sir wanted a bout and believed he could win.

• Gai Fengyou told Li Qingxian that Great Sir had offered a reward for the Fate Arts Master's identity and proposed a meeting through Gai Fengyou as guarantor.
• Li Qingxian agreed to meet Gai Fengyou and used fortune-reading spells and the Heart Inscription Technique to check for hostility.
• Li Qingxian met Gai Fengyou at Strange Peak Restaurant, where they discussed Gai Fengyou's work for Sun Mao and the political unrest in the capital.
• Li Qingxian told Gai Fengyou he wanted to deal with Great Sir, and Gai Fengyou relayed that Great Sir wanted a bout after peace talks failed.
• Gai Fengyou said Great Sir believed Li Qingxian was only Lower Rank and likely would not have challenged him without confidence in winning.

Li Qingxian learned about Fate Star True Altars and the rare resources needed to build one, while Gai Fengyou explained the dangers surrounding Great Sir. The chapter ended with Li Qingxian asking how to force Great Sir out of Far-Reaching City.

• Gai Fengyou explained how Sixth Rank cultivators built True Altars and how Fate Arts Masters used Fate Stars to create powerful True Spirits.
• Gai Fengyou warned Li Qingxian that ordinary Fate Stars would make a poor True Altar and described the exceptional people who had obtained six premium Fate Stars.
• Gai Fengyou revealed that Great Sir had bought rare Fate materials, including Nine-Lives Benevolent Bone, and might have become an Evil God while establishing the Divine Life Sect.
• Gai Fengyou told Li Qingxian that Great Sir proposed they play Fate Chess again and let Li Qingxian choose the competition.
• Li Qingxian asked about Far-Reaching City's chaotic fortune, then asked how to force Great Sir out of the city.

Li Qingxian arranged to challenge Great Sir at Beast Bridge through Fate Chess, with the False Temple Gate and Great Sir’s spoils from Jiang Shifang and Cai Xuyuan at stake. He then asked Shen Xiaoyi about Fate Mountain cultivation, while the chapter ended with Liu Yitian checking the Divine Bow Sect’s winter supplies.

• Gai Fengyou advised Li Qingxian that Fate Chess could force Great Sir to leave Far-Reaching City, and Li agreed to stake the False Temple Gate against Great Sir’s items from Jiang Shifang and Cai Xuyuan.
• Great Sir accepted the wager and chose to meet Li Qingxian at Beast Bridge on Little New Year’s Day.
• Li Qingxian asked Shen Xiaoyi about Fate Mountain and Fate Star True Altars, learning that a True Altar could not bear a Fate Mountain.
• Li Qingxian messaged Jiang Youfei, who replied that she was in seclusion.
• Liu Yitian inspected the growing Divine Bow Sect and asked Steward Shi about winter provisions; Steward Shi said Li Jingqiu had helped secure supplies through next March, but began to raise a concern.

As Qiyuan County suffered a harsh winter and soaring grain prices, Liu Yitian and the Divine Bow Sect discussed the hunger among nearby sects and the dangers facing their disciples. After Little Jin came to borrow food for his sick, starving grandson, Li Qingxian approved helping other reputable gangs in need.

• Steward Shi explained that a failed harvest, heavy snow, and grain hoarding by Magistrate Wen's younger brother had driven prices up and left small gangs struggling.
• Xu Fang and Li Qingxian discussed missing family members, Fifth Brother's danger at the Heavenly Profound Sacred Land, and the deaths surrounding its search for treasures.
• Little Jin arrived to borrow grain and told Liu Yitian that his grandson was ill and starving.
• Liu Yitian took the storeroom key and promised to bring Little Jin grain and pork and Chinese cabbage dumplings for his grandson.
• Li Qingxian asked Xu Fang to record the needy gangs in Wang Family Village and lend grain to those with good reputations.

Liu Yitian and the Divine Bow Sect faced rumors and opposition after opening a porridge kitchen, while other groups began providing relief. Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou discussed the worsening crisis and the limits of their intervention before Gai began telling the story behind Zhao Yishan’s study, Jiyi Residence.

• Rumors accused the Divine Bow Sect of contaminating its porridge, poisoning people, and tyrannically opposing others, while grain merchants and sects cut ties with it.
• Enlightenment Academy investigated and found the Divine Bow Sect innocent, then began distributing aid, followed by the Green Mountain Gang.
• Two hundred Green Mountain Gang members replaced their green headscarves with red ones bearing the character for “bow,” as Yu Xiaoshan sat before them.
• Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou discussed the county’s growing crisis, the deaths among its people, and the limits of Li Qingxian’s authority to intervene.
• Gai Fengyou told Li Qingxian that Great Sir had asked him to favor him as guarantor, then described Zhao Yishan’s reputation and began recounting how he learned from a village farmer.

Gai Fengyou explained how Chief Minister Zhao’s principle of mastering each basic step led to Upper Rank and Complete Understanding, convincing Li Qingxian of the path’s importance. Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou then crossed the white bridge to the Beast Bridge, where Gai Fengyou recognized the Grinning-Toothed Black Horse Head as the Fate Game champion.

• Gai Fengyou recounted how Chief Minister Zhao learned to master every step of farming and study, eventually naming his study Jiyi Residence.
• Gai Fengyou said that accumulating mastery of the basics led to Upper Rank, while knowing and understanding all of Literary Cultivation could lead beyond it.
• Li Qingxian agreed that Gai Fengyou should act as a fair guarantor and warned him that the Fate-Breaking Needles were fake.
• Zhou Hen said he had found his path to Upper Rank as Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou prepared to leave.
• Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou crossed the white mist to the Beast Bridge, where the Grinning-Toothed Black Horse Head recognized Li Qingxian as the Fate Game champion.

Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou visited Beast Bridge, where Li arranged to buy Pure Southern Treasure Spring and discussed Gai’s plans to seek the Heavenly Profound Sacred Land. Li then met Wolf Head Great Sir and agreed to begin a three-round Fate Chess match with Flow Push, leaving both men’s wagers ready as they prepared to establish an oath contract.

• Li Qingxian and Gai Fengyou disguised themselves and walked onto Beast Bridge, where Fate Arts Masters traded rare goods.
• Li Qingxian arranged to buy ten drops of Pure Southern Treasure Spring from Gai Fengyou at cost and offered to consign his future wares through Gai.
• Gai Fengyou explained that he planned to seek a mountain at the emerging Heavenly Profound Sacred Land after the New Year, while Li Qingxian planned to cultivate using Chief Minister Zhao’s method.
• Li Qingxian met Wolf Head Great Sir, who asked for his Fate Servant back, and Li said he would return it if Great Sir cured Jiang and Cai again.
• Li Qingxian and Great Sir agreed to play three rounds of Fate Chess, beginning with Flow Push, and each presented a treasure before Great Sir proposed an oath contract.

Li Qingxian and Great Sir began a Fate Chess match under a contract, with Gai Fengyou overseeing the Flowing Annual Fate round. As they correctly deduced the Fate Gentlemen’s Annual Fates, onlookers recognized Li Qingxian’s Mind Deduction, but Liu Laohu said the winner remained uncertain.

• Li Qingxian, Great Sir, and Gai Fengyou signed a contract that awarded the winner two treasures and required the loser to leave Far-Reaching City for three years.
• Li Qingxian chose Flowing Annual Fate, and Gai Fengyou announced that the contestants could not use external objects and invited Fate Arts Masters to lend Fate Gentlemen.
• Gai Fengyou separated the contestants from the crowd with birdcages and began recording their Annual Fate deductions.
• Li Qingxian and Great Sir both correctly identified the first Fate Gentleman’s Annual Fate as Cap and Girdle and continued deducing the others.
• A red-haired fox head identified Li Qingxian’s method as Mind Deduction, while Liu Laohu warned that the demanding test of essence, qi, and spirit left the match’s outcome uncertain.

Li Qingxian and Great Sir continued their Fate Chess contest as the number of Fate Gentlemen grew and the pressure mounted. Great Sir fell behind and struggled to keep pace, while Li Qingxian maintained his speed; the observers debated whether Li Qingxian had been concealing his strength, and Liu Laohu began to challenge their interpretations.

• Li Qingxian and Great Sir deduced and recorded the Annual Fate of hundreds of Fate Gentlemen inside the birdcage.
• As Great Sir slowed, Li Qingxian finished each new deduction first, and the Fate Gentlemen began stacking into higher layers.
• Great Sir accelerated after falling behind by three, but Li Qingxian kept pace as the contest continued on the third layer.
• When Great Sir recorded a different Annual Fate from Li Qingxian, a new Fate Gentleman was placed on the fourth layer, and Liu Laohu noted that uncertainty could distract them both.
• Great Sir sped up again after falling behind on the fifth layer, while Li Qingxian matched his pace.
• The Fate Arts Masters praised Li Qingxian’s control and tactics, but Liu Laohu shook his head and said they were wrong.