Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• While sailing alone on the Dragon King River, Fang Han studies the Netherworld Bone-Rending Claw manual and discovers it is a complete Earth-grade martial art, far more valuable than he had assumed.
• He considers returning to the Xiao Family’s Rockery cave dwelling to search for pills and cultivation techniques, but makes that conditional on first using the claw art to break through to Grade Entry.
• Fang Han practices the technique on the boat. With help from the four Martial Soul Avatars, he rapidly advances its proficiency from Not Yet Initiated to Beginner, meeting the requirement to attempt its Grade Entry method.
• The method differs from the usual breakthrough process: instead of merging nine strands of Heaven-and-Earth Force in the Dantian, Fang Han sends them backward through his meridians and settles them in separate locations throughout his body.
• Despite severe burning, freezing, and cutting pain, he places all nine strands. They begin responding to one another, and the chapter ends as he concentrates on opening the hidden Heaven-and-Earth Bridge—the final step to Grade Entry.

Character development

• Fang Han demonstrates sharp judgment in recognizing the manual’s true value and ambition in weighing the treasures he might obtain from the Xiao Family ruins.
• His intense focus and pain tolerance become central as he persists through a dangerous cultivation method rather than backing away from the breakthrough attempt.
• His Martial Soul Avatars prove valuable training partners, reproducing the manual’s techniques and circulation routes with exact precision.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as power: Close study reveals that a seemingly familiar technique is far more profound—and dangerous—than expected.
• Risk and advancement: Progress demands enduring physical agony and the possibility of serious injury.
• Discipline and preparation: Fang Han memorizes the method thoroughly before attempting it, then advances through patient, repeated practice.
• Balance and transformation: The nine forces must occupy separate places and connect through the Heaven-and-Earth Bridge before they can become a new power.

Character interactions

• There are no direct encounters with other people. Fang Han’s key partnership is with his four Martial Soul Avatars, who mirror his practice and support his rapid mastery.

Chapter summary

Fang Han tries to open the Heaven-and-Earth Bridge—the final barrier to Grade Entry—but his Heaven-and-Earth Force is nearly exhausted from the battle at the Xiao Residence. He manages to crack the “stone gate” open three times, but each time his strength fails and it shuts again. A burst of frustration leads him to strike the river with Force Qi, but he soon regains his composure and recognizes that anger cannot solve the problem.
He concludes that restoring his depleted power could take months. Even the Xiao Family Patriarch had been unable to recover enough Heaven-and-Earth Force to advance beyond Ninth Grade. Fang Han cannot afford to wait: Zhou Kai of the Canal Gang may soon learn of the Xiao Family’s destruction, leaving Fang Han facing a looming threat. He tests whether his Panel can correct the Grade Entry method or provide another route, but it cannot overcome the shortage of power or change the fixed cultivation process.
Fang Han decides to return to the Xiao Residence to search for pills or other treasures that might replenish his strength. He changes into dark clothes, conceals his face, uses the Tortoise Breath Technique to mask his presence, and slips into the city and then into the residence.
The Xiao household is holding funerals for the Patriarch and three others. While the family’s members and staff gather in the brightly lit front courtyard, Fang Han heads for the rear garden, where guards are watching the Rockery ruins. He spots two of them, Gu Chenglin and Wang Ze—former academy associates who once mocked him under Wang Long’s influence. As the pair approach his hiding place, Fang Han silently reaches for his sword.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Han shows both frustration and discipline: he briefly lashes out, then calms himself and focuses on practical solutions. His urgency is driven by the approaching danger from Zhou Kai.
• Gu Chenglin and Wang Ze have since become Dark-Strength martial artists and guards at the Xiao Residence. Their patrol brings them close to Fang Han, reviving his memory of their past contempt.
• Fang Han and the two guards have not yet confronted one another; the chapter ends as Fang Han prepares to act before they discover him.

Significant themes

• Limits of power and the cost of overexertion: Burning Heaven-and-Earth Force can leave even a powerful martial artist severely depleted.
• Patience versus urgency: Recovery is normally slow, but looming threats force Fang Han to seek a faster solution.
• Adaptability and self-reliance: When the Panel cannot help, Fang Han shifts to searching for physical resources.
• Past grievances and changing fortunes: Former tormentors now stand in Fang Han’s path, setting up a possible reckoning.

Plot points and events

• Wang Ze tells Gu Chenglin that the Xiao Family Patriarch is a Grade Entry martial artist and wonders whether the family is about to fall. Gu Chenglin explains that the Patriarch, the Head of the Family, and a man from the first branch were all Grade Entry martial artists—and all three were killed in the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
• Gu Chenglin urges Wang Ze to leave, but says the residence’s gates are guarded and escape is impossible.
• Near the Rockery ruins, the masked Fang Han ambushes them. He kills Gu Chenglin with a quick sword stroke and kills Wang Ze with a stab through the heart.
• Fang Han searches their bodies, taking their silver and Xiao Residence guard tokens.
• He then searches the ruined Rockery with the Qi Observation Art, finds a passage entrance partly blocked by a large boulder, and silently breaks the stone apart with Dark Strength.
• Fang Han enters the damaged, pitch-dark passage and carefully makes his way through the rubble, proceeding deeper until the passage begins to widen.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Ze is eager for gossip and still naively believes that benefits from the Xiao Family create lasting loyalty. Once he learns how powerful and dangerous the unknown killer is, his excitement turns to fear and a wish to flee.
• Gu Chenglin is more pragmatic and exhausted. He scolds Wang Ze for his foolishness and tries to explain the danger, but he cannot escape the guarded residence.
• Fang Han is calm, efficient, and unsentimental. He kills the two guards without hesitation, takes what they carry, and focuses on locating and entering the passage.
• The exchange between Gu Chenglin and Wang Ze contrasts Gu’s grim realism with Wang’s innocence; their conversation ends abruptly with Fang Han’s attack.

Significant themes

• The collapse of power: Even three Grade Entry martial artists can be killed swiftly, leaving the Xiao Family’s apparent strength meaningless.
• Survival over loyalty: Gu Chenglin questions whether the guards owe lifelong service to a family that has merely trained and rewarded them.
• Fear and helplessness: The guarded exits leave the men trapped, while the sudden deaths show how little control they have.
• Practical resourcefulness: Fang Han uses his abilities carefully to remove the obstruction and navigate the dangerous ruins.

Plot points and events

• Fang Han clears rubble from the Dan Character Passage and enters the Xiao Family Patriarch’s Pill Room.
• He finds shelves of mostly familiar pills, along with a mysterious bottle labeled Millennium Jade Marrow Pill. He collects it, the other intact bottles, and pills scattered on the floor.
• He then enters the better-preserved Ku Character Stone Chamber, which contains weapons, armor, and three treasure chests.
• Two chests hold immense wealth. Unable to carry it all without attracting attention, Fang Han takes only a selection of gemstones and gold bars.
• The third, much larger chest contains a patterned iron sphere. Fang Han recognizes it as the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, a Tang Sect weapon like the one Xiao Ran used in an earlier explosion. He takes it and identifies it as his most valuable find.

Character development

• Fang Han remains methodical and cautious, clearing the passages and packing the bottles carefully to avoid damage.
• His excitement at the treasure is tempered by practical concerns: he cannot transport everything quietly without exposing his identity and involvement in the Xiao Family’s destruction.
• He shows growing confidence in his understanding of events, reasoning that Xiao Ran likely killed Lin Huo and took the Tang Sect weapon.

Significant themes

• Practicality over greed: Fang Han leaves most of the treasure behind rather than risk discovery.
• Preparation and survival: The Divine Thunder matters most because it offers a powerful means of defense.
• Uncovering hidden history: The weapon’s presence helps Fang Han reconstruct the fate of Xiao Ran and Lin Huo.
• Value beyond wealth: The chapter contrasts vast riches with a single weapon that could save Fang Han’s life.

Character interactions

• Fang Han has no direct encounters with others in the chapter. His actions are shaped by earlier events involving Xiao Ran and Lin Huo, and by the risk of the Xiao Family discovering his presence.

Key plot points and events

• After escaping the Xiao Residence with the stolen treasure, Fang Han returns to his fishing boat and inventories the pills he found.
• The Panel identifies the Millennium Jade Marrow Pill as a rare treasure, saying it can strengthen Heaven-and-Earth Force. Fang Han swallows it immediately.
• The pill heals his lingering Meridian injuries and restores all nine currents of Heaven-and-Earth Force, making them denser and purer than before.
• Fang Han uses the renewed strength to open the Heaven-and-Earth Bridge. The nine forces connect and fuse into a new power, carrying him through Grade Entry.
• His breakthrough creates a brilliant silver column visible for miles. Powerful figures across the Great Qian Dynasty sense the phenomenon, including an elder, a Taoist, a fisherman, a tavern patron, and the emperor.
• Unaware of the attention he has attracted, Fang Han tests his new power by carving a trench through the river and celebrates his achievement.

Character developments

• Fang Han moves from frustration over his failed breakthrough to exhilaration and confidence. His persistence pays off, and he becomes a genuine Grade Entry martial artist.
• The distant observers reveal that his advancement is extraordinary enough to attract attention from influential and mysterious figures, setting up wider consequences for him.

Significant themes

• Perseverance and breakthrough: Fang Han succeeds after an earlier failure, aided by preparation and persistence.
• The value of hidden treasures: The Millennium Jade Marrow Pill proves far more potent than its appearance suggests.
• Power draws attention: Fang Han’s personal achievement creates a public, supernatural signal that alerts forces far beyond his immediate world.
• Transformation and renewal: The pill heals his body while the fused forces remake and strengthen him.

Character interactions

• Fang Han’s main interaction is with the Panel, which identifies the pill and guides his decision to consume it.
• The distant figures do not meet Fang Han, but each independently senses or observes his breakthrough and reacts with curiosity or interest.
• Fang Han has no awareness of these reactions; his focus remains on his new strength and successful advancement.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Han achieves Grade Entry, marking his transition into the Grade-Entry Realm. His three previous forces—Manifest Force, Dark Strength, and Transformed Force—merge into Internal Force, which can carry Heaven-and-Earth Force.
• As a beginner Ninth Grade warrior, he has fused one attribute into his Internal Force: Heartfire, visible as a faint crimson glow.
• Grade Entry also strengthens his four Martial Soul Avatars and makes them better at practicing martial arts.
• Fang Han practices the Huo Family Saber Technique through the night. By dawn, he reaches Subtle Mastery.
• His Panel then fuses that technique with his Subtle Mastery Indestructible Vajra Body, creating the Profound-grade Acala Saber.
• Testing it, Fang Han stands motionless like a vajra guardian, then unleashes a powerful strike that cleaves a long gash through the river. Realizing the immense value of his new art, he prepares to return to the Martial Training Courtyard.

Character development

• Fang Han moves from exhilaration at entering a new realm to astonishment at the Acala Saber’s power, then steadies himself and turns toward his next responsibility.
• His growth is both physical and technical: his senses, Blood Qi, meridians, and Internal Force improve, while his saber skill becomes more precise and controlled.
• He shows increasing discipline by setting aside his excitement to focus on helping his elder brother.

Significant themes

• Progress through perseverance: A night of cultivation brings a major breakthrough in both realm and technique.
• Integration and transformation: Grade Entry combines three forces into Internal Force, while the Panel fuses two separate martial arts into a more powerful whole.
• Stillness before action: The Acala Saber’s central principle is to remain unmoved under attack, then strike decisively when an opening appears.
• Personal advancement and duty: Fang Han’s achievements matter, but he recognizes that his brother’s cultivation milestone cannot wait.

Character interactions

• The chapter centers on Fang Han’s solitary cultivation and his interaction with his Panel, which reveals his breakthrough and combines his martial arts.
• He recalls his master’s explanation of Internal Force, applying that teaching to understand his new abilities.
• Though his elder brother does not appear, Fang Han’s decision to return is motivated by his brother’s impending attempt to cross the Manifest Force Threshold.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Han checks his cultivation panel and realizes his comprehension is 499, one point short of the 500 needed to create a fifth martial soul avatar.
• He chooses to improve Seven Star Steps, a combat movement technique that helped him evade the Xiao family during their recent battle.
• Training both physically on the boat and through his existing four avatars, Fang Han quickly raises the technique from minor to major accomplishment. His comprehension rises to 504.
• Crossing the threshold triggers the birth of a fifth martial soul avatar. Unlike the first four, it appears unusually vivid, powerful, and self-aware.
• Fang Han names the newcomer Old Five and has all five avatars train Seven Star Steps. He estimates they can perfect it within three days.
• Since every additional 100 comprehension points can produce another avatar, Fang Han begins imagining the dramatically faster cultivation he could achieve with six, seven, or even ten.

Character developments

• Fang Han demonstrates patient, analytical training: he identifies the precise reason his next avatar has not appeared and selects a useful technique to improve.
• He becomes more ambitious after seeing how much faster five avatars make practice.
• Old Five’s unusually lifelike appearance and curious gaze suggest that avatars formed at higher cultivation realms may be more capable or independent than earlier ones.

Significant themes

• Incremental progress and thresholds: A single comprehension point unlocks a major new ability.
• Multiplying effort through cultivation: More avatars allow Fang Han to train many times more efficiently.
• Growth changes what comes next: Because Old Five is formed after Fang Han reaches grade-entry, it is stronger and more vivid than the earlier avatars.
• Ambition and future potential: Fang Han looks beyond his current achievement toward accumulating still more avatars.

Character interactions

• Fang Han studies Old Five closely, recognizes that it differs from the earlier avatars, and gives it the familiar nickname “Old Five.”
• He directs all five avatars to practice Seven Star Steps together, integrating the newcomer into his training immediately.

Plot and events

• Fang Han returns to Azure Cloud City and finds his elder brother Fang Ding practicing in the Martial Training Courtyard.
• He confirms Fang Ding has perfected the Body Tempering Third Layer and is ready to attempt the breakthrough to Manifest Force.
• Fang Han prepares the Manifest Force Breakthrough Pill, along with Qi-Replenishing and Essence-Congealing Pills. He explains that the breakthrough requires Fang Ding to fuse his twelve streams of blood qi and force them through his dantian—a dangerous process that could damage his meridians.
• After Fang Ding replenishes his qi, he takes the breakthrough pill. Fang Han supports him by guiding his internal energy through his meridians and repairing strain caused by the surging blood qi.
• Fang Ding repeatedly strikes his dantian until its barrier breaks. His blood qi fuses and condenses into a complete force circuit, successfully raising him to Manifest Force.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Ding moves from eager anticipation to focused determination during the risky breakthrough. Once he succeeds, his disbelief and near-tears reveal how deeply the achievement matters to him.
• Fang Han acts as his brother’s mentor and protector, carefully assessing his readiness, explaining the process, supplying the needed pills, and guiding his energy through the breakthrough.
• Their exchange emphasizes trust: Fang Ding follows Fang Han’s instructions, while Fang Han reassures him that he will keep him safe.

Significant themes

• Brotherhood and support: Fang Han helps his elder brother reach a milestone he could not safely attain alone.
• Discipline and preparation: Fang Ding’s training and perfected blood qi make the breakthrough possible.
• Perseverance through danger: The breakthrough demands repeated, painful effort and carries real risk.
• Personal triumph: Fang Ding’s success marks his arrival as a true martial artist.

Chapter Summary: “Arrangements Before Departure”

Key plot points and events

• Fang Ding reaches the manifest force threshold, becoming a true martial artist. Fang Han congratulates him and says he will teach him self-defense techniques before leaving Azure Cloud City for Lingzhou Prefecture.
• Fang Ding already understands that Fang Han must pursue his own path. He says the family would burden his younger brother on the journey and urges him to leave without worry. His confidence comes partly from a private conversation with their grandfather, who likewise accepts that Fang Han will eventually leave and wants him to feel free to go.
• Fang Han teaches Fang Ding four martial arts covering defense, movement, offense, and concealment: the Indestructible Vajra Body, Seven Star Steps, Flood Dragon Gale-Breaking Fist, and Tortoise Breath Technique.
• After half a month of diligent practice, Fang Ding reaches entry level in all four. His defensive technique can deflect much of an attack, his steps are becoming elusive, his fists are forceful and well coordinated, and his breathing technique lets him suppress most of his presence.
• Fang Han praises Fang Ding’s ability and believes he can eventually reach higher realms with continued training and support.
• Fang Han announces that he will leave within five days. Fang Ding regrets that his brother may miss his wedding, but accepts the decision and promises to protect the family. Fang Han says the wedding should proceed, with Senior Sister Zheng and his master helping.
• Before departing, Fang Han still intends to handle several matters: check on Xue Qinghe at Black Water Abyss, coordinate with Tiger Sparrow and Cloud Sparrow, and arrange continued resources for Fang Ding through Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Character development

• Fang Ding grows from a dock laborer into a confident martial artist. His physique becomes leaner and stronger, while his eyes and bearing take on a sharper, more assured quality. His diligence and rapid progress reveal strong aptitude.
• Fang Han shows affection and responsibility toward his family. He prepares Fang Ding to defend himself and plans to secure his long-term training resources, while remaining focused on urgent obligations beyond the city.
• Grandfather Fang quietly supports Fang Han’s departure, recognizing that his future lies beyond Azure Cloud City and choosing not to make him feel guilty about leaving.

Significant themes

• Family love expressed through action: Fang Ding’s reassurance, Fang Han’s training and planning, and their grandfather’s quiet support all show care without requiring elaborate declarations.
• Duty and independence: Fang Han must leave to pursue important matters, while Fang Ding accepts responsibility for keeping the family safe.
• Preparation and perseverance: Fang Ding’s progress comes from sustained practice, while Fang Han’s careful arrangements ensure the family will remain supported after he goes.
• Potential and opportunity: Fang Ding’s rapid improvement suggests that talent, discipline, and access to resources can transform his prospects.

Character interactions

• Fang Han and Fang Ding share a candid, affectionate conversation about the coming separation; Fang Ding understands his brother’s ambition and promises to hold down the home.
• Fang Han acts as mentor, demonstrating and explaining each martial art while Fang Ding practices earnestly and asks questions.
• Fang Han’s praise strengthens Fang Ding’s confidence, while Fang Ding’s acceptance allows Fang Han to prepare for departure without having to argue or justify himself.
• The grandfather’s earlier conversation with Fang Ding reinforces the family’s shared decision to let Fang Han go freely.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Ding departs after briefing his younger brother, Fang Han. Fang Han spends the day refining his newly achieved Grade Entry cultivation, then leaves Azure Cloud City after dark.
• He heads for the Transverse Mountains, where an immense wall of gray-white ghost fog has surrounded the range. It gathers and shifts but cannot cross the mountain outskirts; indistinct shapes and moving beast roars can be sensed within.
• The city lord has investigated and banned hunters from entering. Rumors blame the fog on a wildfire, the Blood God Cult, or demons, and fear has prompted residents to stockpile food and wealthy families to prepare to flee. The crisis has eclipsed news of the Xiao family’s destruction.
• Fang Han decides to enter the mountains and rescue Xue Qinghe, a Sixth-Rank Demon Suppressor reportedly stationed at Black Water Abyss. He hopes the rescue will earn him the Demon Suppression Bureau’s favor, useful when he later goes to Lingzhou Prefecture.
• Inside the fog, Fang Han can barely see or hear, so he suppresses his presence with the Tortoise Breath Technique and navigates using the Qi Observation Art.
• He discovers a cracked, dark-red stone leaking bloodlike liquid whose metallic-sweet smell matches the fog. Its resemblance to an object associated with the Xiao Family Patriarch raises the possibility that the Blood God Cult is involved. Fang Han presses on toward Black Water Abyss.

Character developments

• Fang Han is shown as disciplined and capable: he carefully regulates his Grade Entry power before undertaking a dangerous journey.
• He weighs the risks of entering the fog against the potential reward, then commits to the rescue. His ambition is practical as well as altruistic: he wants connections and support for his future move to Lingzhou.
• Fang Han’s suspicion of the Blood God Cult deepens as he connects the strange stone to the Xiao family’s known ties to the cult.

Character interactions

• Fang Ding’s earlier briefing and reports of city rumors shape Fang Han’s understanding of the crisis.
• Fang Han recalls Xiao Ran’s worried question to the Xiao Family Patriarch about the fog and the patriarch’s confident claim that it could not reach the family grounds. The patriarch’s death leaves Fang Han unable to learn what he knew.
• Xue Qinghe is not present, but Fang Han’s decision to find her—and his concern that she may still be alive—drives the chapter.

Significant themes

• Fear and uncertainty: Conflicting rumors spread as residents confront a threat no one understands.
• Duty and self-interest: Fang Han’s rescue attempt may save Xue Qinghe, while also building a valuable alliance.
• Hidden connections: The bloodlike stone hints that the fog may be tied to the Blood God Cult and the Xiao family.
• Courage amid the unknown: Fang Han enters a perilous, disorienting environment despite having only partial information.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• On a cliff above the Black Water Abyss, Xue Qinghe is badly wounded and nearly out of strength after fighting four unknown Six-Eyed Monsters for three days.
• The monsters hunt in a coordinated formation: two pressure her from the front while two stay back, retreating whenever she pursues.
• Their most disturbing ability is regeneration through cannibalism. When one monster eats a dead or injured companion, it grows, splits in two, and produces two fresh monsters—making Xue Qinghe’s victories temporary.
• Xue Qinghe continues to fight despite having less than a third of her internal force remaining. After another attack, she retreats to the cliff edge and realizes she may soon be unable to defend herself.
• As the monsters feed and divide again, a figure emerges from the fog and lands between Xue Qinghe and her attackers. It is Fang Han.
• Fang Han assesses Xue Qinghe’s injuries, then uses the Qi Observation Art to examine the monsters. He discovers that all four possess minor transformed force and an unusual, living aura that continually strengthens them.

Character developments

• Xue Qinghe is shown as disciplined, perceptive, and extraordinarily persistent. Though exhausted, injured, and frightened by the monsters’ unfamiliar nature, she keeps resisting and carefully studies their behavior. Her resolve remains intact even as she expects to die.
• Fang Han arrives calmly and immediately evaluates both Xue Qinghe’s condition and the threat. His observation reveals a potentially important clue about the monsters’ power.

Significant themes

• Endurance against attrition: Xue Qinghe’s strength and skill are gradually undermined by opponents that can replenish themselves.
• The limits of knowledge: The monsters are absent from the Demon Suppression Bureau’s records, challenging Xue Qinghe’s experience and established understanding.
• Horror and unnatural survival: The monsters’ cannibalistic reproduction turns death into a means of multiplying, making each battle more disturbing and seemingly endless.
• Rescue and uncertain hope: Fang Han’s arrival interrupts Xue Qinghe’s desperate final stand, though the nature of the monsters’ strange aura suggests the danger is not yet understood.

Character interactions

• Xue Qinghe fights the monsters while trying to understand and exploit their tactics; they coordinate to wear her down and protect those feeding on their wounded.
• Fang Han steps between Xue Qinghe and the monsters. She recognizes him with disbelief, while he silently checks her injuries before focusing on the threat.

Plot points and events

• Fang Han arrives just as Xue Qinghe is struggling against four Six-Eyed Monsters. She warns him that killing one lets the others consume it and multiply.
• Fang Han recognizes that the monsters’ unusual power links them, and decides he can stop them by draining their blood essence. To hide his use of the Blood God Cult’s Rebirth Secret Art from Xue Qinghe—and the Demon Suppression Bureau—he lures the monsters into the ghost fog, where her weakened senses cannot observe him.
• He fights cautiously at first, driving the monsters toward the fog without killing them. Xue Qinghe warns him not to enter, but stays behind because her injuries and depleted internal force would make her a liability.
• In the fog, Fang Han kills the first two monsters with swift saber strikes, then restrains the remaining pair. He uses the Rebirth Secret Art to drain all four monsters, leaving their bodies as dry husks and preventing them from regenerating.
• The absorbed essence strengthens Fang Han’s blood core. He also discovers a dormant gray-white power within it, possibly the source of the monsters’ ability to split and regenerate. He heads back to the cliff, intrigued by the possibility of developing this power.

Character developments

• Fang Han shows tactical restraint and careful secrecy: he protects Xue Qinghe while concealing an ability that could damage his future standing with the Demon Suppression Bureau. Once out of her sight, he acts decisively and gains a potentially useful new power.
• Xue Qinghe is visibly moved by Fang Han’s timely arrival and worried for his safety. Though she wants to help, she accepts that she must trust him and remain behind. His protectiveness reminds her of her late husband.

Themes

• Secrecy and trust: Fang Han’s rescue may deepen their bond, but hiding his demonic art risks future suspicion.
• Protection and sacrifice: Both Fang Han’s choice to face the monsters and Xue Qinghe’s choice not to burden him express care.
• Power gained through danger: Defeating the monsters strengthens Fang Han, while revealing a mysterious ability he does not yet understand.
• The cost of protection: Xue Qinghe’s memories of her husband make Fang Han’s self-sacrificing behavior both comforting and painful.

Character interactions

• Xue Qinghe warns Fang Han about the monsters and the ghost fog; he reassures her and asks her to wait.
• She remains on the cliff, anxious but trusting him, while his actions echo the protection once offered by her husband.
• Fang Han conceals his true method from her, balancing his desire to save her with concern about how the truth could change their relationship.

Fang Han rescued the injured Xue Qinghe from the Ghost Fog and carried her out of the Transverse Mountains to the martial training courtyard. After she recovered, she told him the Demon Suppression Bureau’s headquarters had approved teaching him her healing secret technique.

• Fang Han returned to Xue Qinghe after killing four Six-Eyed Monsters and learned she was badly wounded.
• Sensing a pack of powerful monsters approaching, Fang Han carried Xue Qinghe through the Ghost Fog and fought off lesser monsters along the way.
• Fang Han brought Xue Qinghe safely to the martial training courtyard, where she rested and tended her shoulder wound.
• While Xue Qinghe bathed, Fang Han considered the Ghost Fog, the Blood God Cult, the Six-Eyed Monster, and the Xiao Family’s connection to them.
• Xue Qinghe joined Fang Han in the front courtyard and told him the headquarters had approved teaching him the Moonlight Pulse Recovery Classic.

Xue Qinghe taught Fang Han the Profound Grade Moonlight Pulse Recovery Classic, explaining its principles, circulation route, and limits. After an hour of instruction, Fang Han became absorbed in memorizing the method while Xue Qinghe left for the rear courtyard, annoyed that he had not noticed her stretching.

• Xue Qinghe explained that the Moonlight Pulse Recovery Classic used Moonlight Essence and water-element force to repair meridians and flesh.
• Xue Qinghe taught Fang Han the circulation route and shared how to avoid pain when joining the two forces at the chest center acupoint.
• Xue Qinghe warned Fang Han that the art could not heal someone whose meridians were too badly severed, whose dantian was shattered, or who had already died.
• Xue Qinghe repeated the five-element cycle until Fang Han had memorized the method, then told him progress depended on comprehension.
• Xue Qinghe stretched and saw that Fang Han was too absorbed in contemplation to notice, so she huffed and went into the rear courtyard.

Fang Han used his fifth Martial Soul Avatar to understand the Moonlight Pulse Recovery Classic, then began cultivating it under the moonlight to heal his hidden injuries. Xue Qinghe saw him absorb moonlight essence after only a short time and was astonished by his quick progress.

• Fang Han had Old Five practice the Moonlight Pulse Recovery Classic and discovered that his fifth Martial Soul Avatar could understand and refine the technique independently.
• Fang Han watched Old Five practice repeatedly, resolving his questions about the technique and gaining new insights.
• Fang Han sat beneath the moonlight and successfully drew moonlight essence into his body, guiding it through his meridians with water-element force to nourish his injuries.
• Xue Qinghe returned to the courtyard, saw Fang Han practicing with a faint silvery-white halo, and marveled that he had grasped the basics so quickly.

After recovering enough to travel, Xue Qinghe left Fang Han with her Demon Suppression Bureau token and returned to Lingzhou Prefecture. A Martial World Gazette notice led Fang Han to the Ghost Mist Forest black market, where he arrived under cover of night and sensed other visitors already heading inside.

• Xue Qinghe recovered most of her strength, ate breakfast with Fang Han, and said she had to return to Lingzhou Prefecture to report on the ghost fog in the Transverse Mountains.
• Xue Qinghe gave Fang Han her Demon Suppression Bureau token, promised to report how he had saved her, and invited him to seek her out if he faced difficulties in Lingzhou Prefecture.
• The Martial World Gazette warmed in Fang Han's robe and revealed that a black market transaction would take place at nine the next night in the Ghost Mist Forest.
• Fang Han decided to visit the black market in search of useful items for his dangerous journey to Lingzhou Prefecture.
• Fang Han donned night-traveler clothes and a gray-white mask, concealed his aura with the Tortoise Breath Technique, and headed to the Ghost Mist Forest.
• Fang Han entered the mist-shrouded forest after sensing several other auras moving deeper into the woods.

Fang Han attended the Ghost Mist Forest Black Market, where he spotted Lin Rou among the masked traders and learned she had reached Dark Strength Perfection. The Silver-Masked Man agreed to bring her a desired item to inspect at the next market.

• Fang Han sensed numerous martial artists gathering in Ghost Mist Forest and followed the announcement that the Black Market had opened.
• Fang Han examined the Silver-Masked Man, who presided over the market and concealed his formidable cultivation.
• Fang Han browsed the stalls, considered buying three-hundred-year-old fo-ti, and found a profound-grade fist art offered only in trade.
• Fang Han overheard the Silver-Masked Man tell Miss Lin that he could obtain what she wanted in Lingzhou Prefecture for at least three hundred taels of gold.
• Fang Han recognized Miss Lin as Lin Rou and realized she had reached Dark Strength Perfection.

Fang Han overheard Lin Rou plotting to buy an Army-Breaking Crossbow to kill him and secretly followed her into Ghost Mist Forest. He killed her, then returned to confront the silver-masked man who had arranged the weapon.

• Fang Han recognized Lin Rou and learned she blamed him for her brother’s death, had reached Dark Strength Perfection through the Blood God Cult, and planned to buy an Army-Breaking Crossbow.
• Fang Han followed Lin Rou through Ghost Mist Forest without being detected.
• When Lin Rou sensed someone behind her, Fang Han cut her throat before she could draw her concealed weapon.
• Fang Han covered Lin Rou’s body and returned to the Black Market, where the silver-masked man questioned why he had come back.
• Fang Han approached the silver-masked man and released his aura, prompting the man to demand his identity.

Fang Han killed the silver-masked overseer of the Ghost Mist Forest Black Market with one saber slash, then looted the abandoned stalls and returned to Azure Cloud City. He stored the goods and began recovering, while dismissing the threat of the Chen Household as a problem he could face after becoming stronger.

• Fang Han used the Netherworld Bone-Rending Claw to strike the silver-masked man's saber and revealed power beyond perfected transformed force.
• Fang Han drew his saber and killed the silver-masked man with a single Acala Saber slash, despite his threat that the Chen Household stood behind the black market.
• Fang Han collected the gold leaves and illicit goods left in the clearing, then left the Ghost Mist Forest for Azure Cloud City.
• Fang Han stored the looted goods in a locker at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and returned to the Martial Training Courtyard.
• Fang Han considered the Chen Household's possible retaliation, then circulated the Moonlight Pulse Recovery Classic to replenish his internal force and heal hidden injuries.

After recovering from his injuries, Fang Han unlocked an unlimited storage space and tested how to store and retrieve objects. He prepared to leave Azure Cloud City for Lingzhou Prefecture and said goodbye to Huo Zheng, leaving him valuable supplies.

• Fang Han found that the moonlight essence had healed his injuries and strengthened his meridians, then decided to leave Azure Cloud City.
• Fang Han unlocked the panel’s storage space after reaching 555 comprehension points and learned it could hold anything, living or nonliving, with unlimited capacity.
• Fang Han stored and retrieved his belongings, saber, and a teapot to test the new function.
• Fang Han visited Huo Zheng and told him he was leaving for Lingzhou Prefecture.
• Fang Han gave Huo Zheng century-old Treasure Medicine, Treasure Pills, and Poisoned Willow-Leaf Darts, and Huo Zheng offered to help him through the Huo Family Escort Agency’s contacts.