Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun accepts a newly acquired ability, recognizing that additional skills may prove useful later.
• He appraises a bronze gui, an ancient vessel originally used to hold food. Because it is saturated with Killing Intent and filled with strange poisonous insects, the appraisal becomes dangerous.
• The insects attack and consume his spiritual power, but Chen Shaojun counters by dividing his spiritual energy into a grinding formation that destroys both the insects and the Killing Intent.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals the gui’s history:
  • It was buried over three thousand years ago as a nobleman’s funerary object.
  • After being unearthed, it came into the possession of a poor village widow who used it to refine poisons.
  • Slowly poisoned by her own experiments, the woman retaliated against her village by poisoning the communal well.
  • More than a hundred villagers died. Her actions were rooted in years of petty disputes, perceived persecution, and growing resentment.
  • She was executed, and the gui was confiscated before eventually being discarded onto the Moonlit Flower Boat.
• The bronze gui is identified as a Low-Grade Treasure Rank Poison-Making Gui. It increases poison-making success by ten percent, poison potency by thirty percent, and carries a mild poison itself.
• Chen Shaojun receives the Five Poisons Heart Sutra, a powerful poison manual containing recipes for hundreds of ordinary poisons, strange toxins, deadly poisons, incurable poisons, and “king poisons,” along with their antidotes.
• The scripture also includes an inner cultivation method based on absorbing deadly toxins, eventually granting immunity to nearly all poison and immense strength.
• Since Chen Shaojun already practices the Creation Heart Scripture, he decides not to replace his current cultivation method, though he recognizes the Five Poisons Heart Sutra’s tremendous value.
• To avoid arousing suspicion by finishing too quickly, he spends the remaining time practicing the Golden Bell Shield.
• Because of his powerful body and high-quality Creation true qi, he immediately reaches the entry level and forms a protective golden bell around himself, significantly improving his defenses.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates greater control over his spiritual power by inventing or applying a grinding technique to overcome the poisonous insects.
• He becomes more cautious and perceptive, recognizing that the gui itself is poisonous and appreciating the importance of avoiding direct contact with dangerous treasures.
• He gains a potentially powerful new path through the Five Poisons Heart Sutra, especially its poison-resistance and detoxification abilities, but remains disciplined enough not to abandon the Creation Heart Scripture impulsively.
• His understanding of combat broadens. Rather than relying only on cultivation and true qi, he deliberately strengthens his physical defense through the Golden Bell Shield.
• His body and Creation true qi prove exceptionally compatible with body-tempering techniques, allowing rapid progress.

Significant Themes

• The danger of human nature: Chen Shaojun concludes that humans can be more dangerous than supernatural beings, especially when resentment, paranoia, and fanaticism combine with power.
• Small grievances becoming great hatred: The widow’s revenge illustrates how repeated petty conflicts and perceived injustices can accumulate into catastrophic violence.
• Power and responsibility: Poison techniques can preserve life through antidotes or destroy entire communities, depending on how they are used.
• Caution and survival: The chapter emphasizes the importance of careful appraisal, avoiding physical contact with dangerous objects, and preparing multiple methods of defense.
• Balance between opportunity and restraint: Chen Shaojun acquires an extraordinary poison art but chooses not to practice it immediately because he already has a superior or more suitable cultivation foundation.
• Defense and preparation: His practice of the Golden Bell Shield reflects the need to supplement spiritual and internal cultivation with physical resilience.

Character Interactions

• Chen Shaojun has no direct conversation with other characters in the chapter, but he interacts intensely with the bronze gui through his appraisal.
• The gui’s history reveals the widow’s hostile relationships with her neighbors, villagers, village elders, and headmen. Their petty disputes and alleged favoritism helped fuel her persecution complex.
• The execution supervisor and his soldiers handle the confiscated gui, eventually passing it into the Moonlit Flower Boat.
• Chen Shaojun’s interaction with the treasure is both adversarial and investigative: he overcomes its spiritual defenses, uncovers its history, evaluates its abilities, and gains the Five Poisons Heart Sutra as a reward.

Chapter Summary: “He’d Overreached”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun finishes cultivating the Golden Bell Shield and realizes that its defensive power is directly tied to his Qi Sea Realm cultivation. As his cultivation improves, both his physical toughness and the shield’s protective strength increase naturally.
• He continues practicing the Tai Shang Perception Scripture, though he is frustrated by how slowly his Arcane Power advances compared with his martial cultivation. He hopes to obtain a future reward that can strengthen his Arcane Power.
• Elsewhere, two covert investigators observe a group of flower boats traveling toward the center of the river each night. They suspect the boats are involved in a major conspiracy but hesitate to involve the navy because powerful nobles and imperial princes sponsor several of the vessels.
• The investigators mention that Zhuge Divine Constable has already captured and interrogated several members of the suspected group, suggesting that authorities are preparing to uncover and suppress the conspiracy.
• Around midnight, Chen Shaojun leaves the appraisal room and reports the three treasures he examined to Wang Xinyuan. He asks Wang about the Divine Unsealing Technique, a superior method of spiritual-power manipulation used by treasure unsealers.
• Wang explains that ordinary appraisers generally lack the spiritual strength to learn the technique, but promises to introduce Chen to someone who can teach it if Chen first becomes a master appraiser and joins Wang’s organization.
• Chen realizes that his seemingly harmless question has prompted Wang to recruit him. Wang offers him martial arts, Daoist techniques, the Divine Unsealing Technique, and generous rewards in exchange for secretly appraising treasures for the organization.
• Chen suspects the group’s claims of working “for all the common people under heaven” conceal a revolutionary or rebellious agenda. Knowing the immense military and imperial power of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he decides that joining them would be extremely dangerous.
• The chapter ends with Chen trying to determine how to refuse the offer without exposing his suspicions or placing himself in danger.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: His martial strength continues to grow, particularly his defense through the Golden Bell Shield. He remains ambitious about improving his Arcane Power but is cautious and pragmatic when faced with danger. His suspicion and political awareness deepen as he recognizes the likely revolutionary goals of Wang’s organization.
• Wang Xinyuan: He reveals himself as both a skilled treasure unsealer and a recruiter for a secretive, powerful faction. He has closely observed Chen’s unusual spiritual acuity and sees him as a promising future master appraiser and valuable asset.
• The covert investigators: They demonstrate caution and awareness of the political protections surrounding the flower boats. Their conversation establishes that the authorities are already monitoring the conspiracy.
• Zhuge Divine Constable: Though he does not appear directly, his capture and interrogation of conspirators position him as an important force working against the group.

Significant Themes

• Power and ambition: The secret organization presents its cause as serving the people, but Chen interprets its rhetoric as a sign of rebellion and a bid for political power.
• Caution versus opportunity: Chen is tempted by access to powerful martial arts, Daoist techniques, and the Divine Unsealing Technique, yet recognizes that accepting these benefits could entangle him in a dangerous conspiracy.
• Hidden identities and political intrigue: The flower boats, their noble sponsors, and the secret organization all emphasize the concealed motives operating beneath Shengjing’s prosperous surface.
• Limits of strength: Chen understands that even a powerful faction may be overestimating itself against the Great Zhou Dynasty’s military, imperial, and hidden forces.
• Growth through cultivation: Chen’s martial defense improves steadily, but the slower development of his Arcane Power highlights the different challenges of his two cultivation paths.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen reports his appraisal results to Wang Xinyuan and asks him about the Divine Unsealing Technique.
• Wang answers Chen’s technical questions, then uses the conversation to recruit him into the secret organization.
• Wang praises Chen’s age, potential, spiritual sensitivity, and hidden talent, revealing that he has already been watching him closely.
• Chen outwardly remains composed but internally regrets asking about the technique, realizing he has attracted unwanted attention.
• The investigators’ discussion across the river provides an external view of the same conspiracy that is now directly involving Chen.

Chapter Summary: Moonlit Flower Boat Courtesan

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wang Xinyuan pressures Chen Shaojun to decide within three days whether he will accept an important opportunity, though he does not explain why the deadline matters.
• Chen leaves him and goes to the second floor of the Moonlit Flower Boat, where wealthy patrons, martial wanderers, appraisers, courtesans, music, wine, and incense create a seemingly luxurious atmosphere.
• He reunites with the drunken appraiser Zhang Gao, who introduces him to the flower boat’s pleasures and asks a madam to find him a girl.
• Using his heightened sense of smell, Chen detects an unnatural scent hidden beneath the incense. He secretly activates the Spirit Eye Technique and discovers that several “courtesans” are actually fox demons disguised in human form.
• The beautiful singer and top courtesan, Miss Mingyue, is revealed to be a particularly powerful fox demon, identifiable by her green eyes and two tails.
• Chen realizes that exposing the demons could get him killed. He decides to remain calm, gather information, leave safely, and report the matter to the authorities later.
• A young courtesan named Xiaocui is assigned to him. Rather than pursuing her, Chen questions her about her origins.
• Xiaocui explains that she came from Chu Commandery after floods and demonic disturbances around Zhou Lake destroyed her home. Forced by poverty and starvation, she entered the flower boat to survive.
• Her story reminds Chen of Guo Haiwang and the other refugees from the pawnshop, suggesting that their backgrounds may be connected to the same disaster.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates increasing spiritual power and caution. Though shocked by the presence of demons, he suppresses his fear and avoids reckless confrontation. His compassion is also emphasized through his discomfort with Xiaocui’s exploitation and his reflection on the helplessness of ordinary people.
• Wang Xinyuan: Remains mysterious and controlling, setting Chen a three-day deadline without revealing the larger purpose behind it.
• Zhang Gao: Appears debauched and careless, enthusiastically enjoying the flower boat and trying to push Chen into its pleasures. He remains unaware of the supernatural danger around him.
• Miss Mingyue: Is introduced as the flower boat’s most beautiful and prestigious courtesan, but is secretly a powerful fox demon who may be central to the flower boat’s hidden activities.
• Xiaocui: Is portrayed as young, cautious, and forced into prostitution by disaster and poverty rather than personal choice. Her tragic circumstances deepen Chen’s sympathy for victims of supernatural calamities.

Significant Themes

• Hidden danger beneath luxury: The flower boat’s music, beauty, wine, and incense conceal a demonic presence, showing how appearances can mask deadly threats.
• Powerlessness and survival: Xiaocui’s story illustrates how ordinary people become victims of floods, demons, and poverty when they lack the power to control their own fate.
• Caution versus heroism: Chen understands that moral outrage alone cannot defeat powerful demons. He chooses survival and future reporting over an impulsive confrontation.
• Social exploitation: The courtesans, especially Xiaocui, are treated as commodities by wealthy patrons, reflecting the harsh inequalities of the world.
• The consequences of supernatural disasters: The floods and demonic disturbances in Chu Commandery have displaced countless people, linking personal tragedies to a broader crisis.

Character Interactions

• Wang Xinyuan and Chen exchange a tense conversation about Chen’s three-day decision.
• Zhang Gao treats Chen as an inexperienced younger brother, teasing him about his virginity and attempting to arrange a courtesan for him.
• The madam presents Xiaocui to Chen and encourages him to accept her company.
• Chen and Xiaocui share a quieter, more sincere conversation in private. His respectful questions contrast with the behavior of the other guests, allowing her to reveal the disaster that drove her to the flower boat.
• Chen’s encounter with Xiaocui connects the flower boat’s world of pleasure to the wider suffering caused by demons and natural catastrophe.

Chapter Summary: “Strange Knowledge Acquired Once More”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun questions Xiaocui about Courtesan Queen Mingyue, hoping to determine whether the beautiful courtesan is connected to the fox demon he suspects her to be.
• Xiaocui explains that Mingyue is exceptionally talented and proud, rejecting even a wealthy merchant’s offer of five thousand taels. She also hints that a rival courtesan, Yuxiu, was ruined after competing with Mingyue and angering the boat owner.
• Chen Shaojun renders Xiaocui unconscious and uses his Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror to investigate the flower boat through the ornaments worn by its residents.
• By repeatedly stealing and appraising small accessories with his Empty-Handed Sleight, he uncovers much of the flower boat’s hidden history and receives various pills and strange abilities.
• His investigations reveal that:
  • Yuxiu was once a leading courtesan comparable to Mingyue but was persecuted and left gravely ill.
  • Boat owner Liu Yuhuan was formerly a famous courtesan who rose to power after gaining the Ninth Prince’s favor.
  • Liu Yuhuan is secretly a branch leader of the Red-Clad Cult and uses the Moonlit Flower Boat as one of the cult’s bases in Shengjing.
  • Seven fox demons from Qingqiu’s Enchantress Fox Clan reside on the boat. They feed on human vital energy but generally avoid killing their victims.
  • The flower boat serves as a smuggling hub, transporting goods stolen by the Red-Clad Cult and laundering them through appraisers who remove their baleful intent.
• Chen learns that the Red-Clad Cult is preparing a major operation in three days, likely connected to the upcoming Treasure Fair.
• Because the Appraisal Hall may be a target, Chen worries that the plot could directly threaten him. He decides not to investigate further that night and plans to wait until the next day.

Character Development

• Chen Shaojun becomes increasingly cautious and investigative. Rather than relying on direct interrogation, he creatively uses treasure appraisal to uncover secrets while avoiding suspicion.
• His confidence and abilities continue to grow. He acquires new pills and techniques, including Music Recognition, Woman-Reading Technique, embroidery, and the embarrassing Trembling Hand ability.
• Chen also demonstrates greater strategic awareness, recognizing that the Red-Clad Cult’s activities may intersect with his own work and place him in danger.
• Xiaocui shows attraction toward Chen and attempts to seduce him, but she remains frightened of speaking openly about the boat’s internal power struggles.
• Liu Yuhuan is revealed to be far more dangerous and influential than her public identity suggests.
• Mingyue is portrayed as a powerful, possibly ruthless fox demon whose favored position has enabled her to dominate the other courtesans.
• Yuxiu becomes an example of the consequences of opposing Mingyue and Liu Yuhuan.

Significant Themes

• Hidden identities and layered power structures: The flower boat’s courtesan business conceals a network involving demons, martial artists, political influence, and criminal trade.
• Knowledge as power: Chen’s ability to uncover the past through treasure appraisal proves more valuable than ordinary questioning.
• Exploitation and unequal power: Yuxiu’s downfall illustrates how ordinary humans are helpless against supernatural beings and powerful patrons.
• Moral ambiguity: The fox demons feed on humans without usually killing them, while the Red-Clad Cult commits theft and smuggling but operates through respectable-looking businesses.
• Growing danger beneath ordinary life: A seemingly entertaining flower boat is connected to a major conspiracy that may soon affect the capital and the Treasure Fair.
• Preparation and uncertainty: Chen recognizes that a major event is approaching but lacks enough information to determine its exact nature or whether he is personally involved.

Character Interactions

• Chen questions Xiaocui about Mingyue and Yuxiu, using her admiration and fear to extract information.
• Xiaocui attempts to turn the conversation into a seduction, but Chen rejects her advances and quietly incapacitates her.
• Chen indirectly investigates the boat’s inhabitants by stealing their ornaments, using the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror to observe their histories.
• The revelations link Liu Yuhuan, Mingyue, the fox demons, and the Red-Clad Cult, though their exact relationships remain partly unclear.
• Chen’s concern over the coming Treasure Fair creates a personal connection between the hidden conspiracy and his work at the Appraisal Hall.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a night of fighting aboard the flower boat, the passengers return to Shengjing. Despite the others’ exhaustion, Chen Shaojun remains energetic and arrives early at the Appraisal Hall, enjoying tea before beginning work.
• His first appraisal is a Phoenix Hairpin bearing a suspicious bloodstain. Using the Spirit Eye and Divine Gaze techniques, Chen removes both its killing intent and the blood.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals that the hairpin was involved in a murder. It belonged to the wife of Kong Zhengping, a low-ranking Imperial Observatory official. When Zhou Hu, a higher-ranking but corrupt official, attempted to assault her, she killed him with the hairpin.
• To conceal the crime, Kong Zhengping used the Three-Soul Separation Technique, sending a yin soul into Zhou Hu’s corpse and making it walk to a distant dry well. The separation prevented Daoist practitioners from summoning Zhou Hu’s soul to identify his killer.
• The hairpin is classified as a Mid-Grade Dharma Rank treasure, and Chen receives the Three-Soul Separation Technique as his reward.
• The second treasure is a bracelet recovered from an ancient tomb by the officially sanctioned Gold-Touching Guards, one of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s three tomb-raiding forces. The tomb expedition apparently encountered terrifying supernatural entities, likely ghosts or zombies.
• The bracelet is ranked Superior Dharma Grade, rewarding Chen with a Ghost-Expelling Talisman. The talisman can enslave ghostly creatures and later release them for combat, giving Chen a powerful new tool during future appraisals and battles.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun continues to demonstrate exceptional stamina, mental strength, and growing expertise as an appraiser. He becomes increasingly interested in tea and considers cultivating spirit tea in the future.
• His understanding of supernatural techniques expands significantly. He recognizes both the practical and morally ambiguous nature of the Three-Soul Separation Technique.
• Chen’s thoughts reveal a pragmatic, morally flexible side: although he understands that Kong Zhengping concealed a murder, he chooses not to report it because the victim was a predatory official and exposing the truth would be difficult and potentially harmful.
• He is especially pleased by the Ghost-Expelling Talisman, recognizing its usefulness both for overcoming ghosts during appraisals and for turning supernatural entities into weapons.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus legality: Zhou Hu’s death was legally a murder, but morally it was self-defense against attempted assault. The chapter questions whether uncovering the truth always serves justice.
• The power and danger of knowledge: The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals hidden histories that have been buried for years, showing how objects preserve the consequences of past actions.
• Practical morality: Techniques such as the Three-Soul Separation Technique can be used for evil or protection depending on the user’s intentions.
• Supernatural advancement and resourcefulness: Chen’s rewards steadily broaden his abilities, allowing him to deal with increasingly dangerous treasures, ghosts, and occult threats.
• Hidden histories within ordinary objects: Both the hairpin and bracelet appear mundane, yet each carries connections to murder, tombs, and supernatural danger.

Character Interactions

• Chen works alongside the Appraisal Hall staff, including exhausted colleagues such as Zhang Gao, while attendants provide tea and bring him new treasures to inspect.
• The hairpin’s history centers on the conflict between Kong Zhengping’s wife and Zhou Hu, whose attempted assault leads to his death.
• Kong Zhengping protects his wife through the Three-Soul Separation Technique, demonstrating the role of family loyalty and occult knowledge in evading official investigation.
• The bracelet’s history involves the Gold-Touching Guards and the dangerous supernatural beings encountered during their tomb expedition, though Chen does not directly meet them.

Chapter Summary: The Third Person to Appraise the Porcelain Vase

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun finishes appraising treasures in Room 137 and encounters Manager Sun accompanying Mo Zhu-Xiang, president of the Mo Clan Trading House, and Lord Li Weixin, prefect of Shengjing City.
• Li questions Mo about the upcoming Treasure Fair auction, which begins in three days. He is concerned that several powerful treasures originally intended for the auction were stolen by the Red-Clad Cult.
• Mo assures him that the auction will still have enough valuable items, including Jade Spirit Paste, White Jade Qilin, and Golden Spirit Paste. The Golden Spirit Paste is especially valuable because it can help forge an “Invincible Golden Body” and may attract the attention of the Fifth Prince.
• Mo invites Li to dine at Roc-Crane Tower, claiming he has information about the treasure robberies and wants to discuss them privately.
• Hearing this conversation, Chen connects the auction’s timing with information previously obtained from the Moonlit Flower Boat. He suspects that the Red-Clad Cult’s mysterious plan will occur during the auction in three days.
• Chen reasons that the Appraisal Hall may remain relatively safe because the auction will likely take place several hundred meters away, though he remains cautious.
• At lunch, Chen notices that many appraisers have disappeared or become fearful. The number of deaths and injuries caused by treasures containing intense Killing Intent has made the atmosphere grim. Some apprentices have attempted to flee but were captured by the guards.
• After returning to his section, Chen sees guards carrying away the corpse of Old Xun, an appraiser he had met on the Moonlit Flower Boat. Zhang Gao and others lament that appraisers may die at any time from their work.
• Chen privately concludes that Old Xun’s death was likely caused by exhaustion and recklessness. Old Xun had spent several days appraising dangerous treasures during the day and then continued drinking, entertaining himself, and appraising treasures at night. His depleted spiritual energy left him unable to resist a powerful Killing Intent.
• Determined to prepare for the Red-Clad Cult’s impending plan, Chen resolves to appraise as many treasures as possible before the auction, hoping to gain useful rewards from the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror.
• The next treasure is a beautiful blue-and-white porcelain vase, apparently a rare official-kiln celadon with peony designs and an unusual ability to refract rainbow-colored light.
• The delivery servant reveals that Chen is the third person assigned to appraise the vase. Chen immediately becomes suspicious and asks what happened to the first two appraisers.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun becomes increasingly vigilant about the connection between the Treasure Fair and the Red-Clad Cult. Rather than panicking, he focuses on strengthening himself and acquiring more protective resources.
• His improved martial cultivation and heightened senses allow him to overhear the conversation between Mo and Lord Li, giving him important intelligence.
• Chen also demonstrates a practical, detached attitude toward danger. He sympathizes briefly with Old Xun but analyzes his death rationally, recognizing that carelessness and overexertion contributed to it.
• Mo Zhu-Xiang is portrayed as composed, politically skilled, and ambitious. He uses valuable treasures to attract influential buyers—possibly including the Fifth Prince—while carefully denying that he is deliberately targeting royal attention.
• Lord Li Weixin appears shrewd and somewhat threatening. He probes Mo about the auction and clearly understands the political value of the treasures being offered.
• Old Xun serves as a warning of the consequences of overwork, indulgence, and underestimating the dangers of treasure appraisal.
• The unnamed servant appears well-meaning and cautious, subtly warning Chen about the porcelain vase.

Significant Themes

• Danger beneath wealth and beauty: The Treasure Fair’s valuable objects are also deadly, carrying Killing Intent that can destroy or injure appraisers.
• Preparation versus recklessness: Chen’s careful planning contrasts with Old Xun’s excessive workload and careless lifestyle. The chapter suggests that survival depends on recognizing limits and preparing in advance.
• Political and commercial manipulation: Mo’s auction is not merely a marketplace; rare treasures are being used to attract powerful figures and influence political interests.
• Hidden threats and conspiracy: The timing of the auction and the Red-Clad Cult’s plan suggests that major events are approaching beneath the surface of ordinary trade.
• The cost of ambition: The pursuit of wealth, prestige, and rare treasures exposes appraisers and organizers alike to increasingly severe risks.

Character Interactions

• Mo Zhu-Xiang and Lord Li Weixin engage in a polite but pointed conversation about the auction, stolen treasures, and the possible interest of the Fifth Prince. Their exchange reveals mutual political awareness and subtle bargaining.
• Mo and Lord Li agree to dine together so Mo can discuss the treasure robberies, indicating a closer relationship between commerce and official authority.
• Chen and the other appraisers share an atmosphere of fear and resignation as deaths mount, though Chen maintains a more analytical perspective.
• Chen, Zhang Gao, and the surrounding appraisers react to Old Xun’s death, with the others expressing despair while Chen silently evaluates the real cause.
• Chen and the delivery servant have the chapter’s final interaction. The servant’s casual revelation that Chen is the third appraiser of the vase transforms Chen’s admiration into suspicion and establishes the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “Three Red Threadworms (Please Subscribe)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A porcelain bottle reaches Chen Shaojun after two previous appraisers die while examining it. Following Appraisal Hall’s rules, the treasure is repeatedly raised in grade whenever an appraiser fails to complete its cleansing.
• Although the bottle’s visible Killing Intent has already been removed, Chen discovers three invisible, fiery-red threadlike creatures living inside it through his Spirit Eye Technique.
• He tests the creatures with a candle and incense. They react violently to the flame but do not approach it, revealing that they fear fire.
• When Chen uses the Divine Gaze Technique, the threadworms ignore his spiritual power and transform into blood-colored arrows that attack his head. His spiritual barriers and Baleful Severing Ruler barely affect them.
• After considering escape and several talismans, Chen recalls their fear of fire and uses the Fireball Technique. The flames destroy all three threadworms.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals the bottle’s history: it was valuable official-kiln celadon, treasured by a high-ranking official, buried with him after his death, and later contaminated by red insects that emerged from his preserved head.
• The visions also show that the first two appraisers each unknowingly attracted one threadworm into their bodies, causing their deaths. Chen realizes there were originally five creatures, with two already consumed by previous victims and three remaining on the bottle.
• He concludes that the bottle could have required at least five lives to fully pass through the appraisal system and begins wondering what kind of creature the red threadworms are.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates confidence in his superior appraisal abilities but remains cautious after learning of the previous deaths.
• His Spirit Eye Technique allows him to perceive dangers that ordinary appraisers cannot detect, while his quick reasoning helps him identify the creatures’ weakness.
• Chen shows adaptability under pressure: when spiritual force and the Baleful Severing Ruler fail, he reassesses the situation instead of relying blindly on his usual methods.
• He also gains a deeper understanding of how dangerous the porcelain bottle truly was and recognizes that his survival depended on his unique abilities.

Significant Themes

• Hidden danger beneath apparent cleansing: Removing Killing Intent does not necessarily make a treasure safe; unseen supernatural threats may remain.
• Knowledge and observation as survival tools: Chen succeeds by carefully noticing the threadworms’ reaction to fire.
• The limitations of established systems: Appraisal Hall’s grading rules cannot account for a danger that standard techniques fail to detect.
• Human lives treated as expendable: The bottle’s passage through the appraisal system reveals how many appraisers could die simply because the threat is misunderstood.
• Adaptability versus brute force: Chen’s strongest spiritual techniques are ineffective, while a simple elemental weakness proves decisive.

Character Interactions

• An attendant warns Chen about the deaths of the previous appraisers and leaves the bottle in his care, trusting his superior abilities.
• Chen interacts primarily with the supernatural threat itself, attempting to restrain, repel, and ultimately destroy the threadworms.
• Through the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, Chen witnesses the deaths of the earlier appraisers, including an acquaintance from the Lin Clan Pawnshop, connecting the current danger to his past.

Chapter Summary: Merit Golden Light, Sword-Heart Clarity Fruit

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun appraises an Official Kiln Celadon and discovers that the two dead Appraisal Hall apprentices may still contain Corpse-Brain Worms in their brains. These legendary creatures feed on spiritual energy, are extremely poisonous, and can be used to create the deadly Forgetwake Poison.
• Although Chen considers eliminating the worms before they threaten others, he rejects the idea of cultivating poison arts or refining Forgetwake Poison, since both are dangerous and unnecessary for him.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror ranks the celadon as Lower Dharma Grade and rewards Chen with three points of Merit Golden Light.
• Chen discovers that Merit Golden Light can directly enhance his Arcane Power, with one point equaling roughly ten days of ordinary cultivation. He uses all three points, more than doubling his Arcane Power, though he remains uncertain about his exact Daoist cultivation level.
• Concerned about the corpses containing the worms, Chen asks a servant how deceased apprentices are handled. He learns that unclaimed bodies are sent to the Corpse-Mooring Temple, where they are buried. Chen decides to investigate the temple after completing his appraisals.
• His next item is an ancient painting of a swordsman. The painting contains faint Sword Qi, created by a skilled swordsman who was also an accomplished painter. Chen removes the dangerous Sword Qi using the Divine Gaze Technique without damaging the painting’s swordsmanship essence.
• The painting is assessed as Superior Dharma Grade, rewarding Chen with a Sword-Heart Clarity Fruit.
• After eating the fruit, Chen gains extraordinary comprehension of swordsmanship. He immediately understands the principles and techniques hidden in the painting, effectively becoming a genius capable of mastering sword techniques at a glance.
• Testing his newfound ability, Chen imitates the painting’s sword move using his hand as a sword and releases Sword Qi powerful enough to cleave his table in two.

Character Development

• Chen Shaojun becomes increasingly cautious and responsible. Rather than ignoring the Corpse-Brain Worms, he actively considers how to prevent them from harming ordinary people and plans to investigate the corpses.
• His cultivation advances significantly through the Merit Golden Light, giving him a large increase in Arcane Power while also highlighting his uncertainty about the broader Daoist power system.
• Chen’s attitude toward his limitations changes after obtaining the Sword-Heart Clarity Fruit. Previously unable to comprehend the painting’s swordsmanship, he instantly develops unparalleled insight and gains confidence in his potential as a swordsman.
• He continues to avoid reckless or destructive paths, such as poison cultivation, preferring safer and more practical methods of becoming stronger.

Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Chen recognizes that supernatural dangers like the Corpse-Brain Worms can threaten ordinary people and feels compelled to deal with them.
• Cultivation and uncertainty: Even dramatic improvements leave Chen unsure of his place in the larger cultivation world, emphasizing how vast and difficult the immortal path is.
• Talent versus opportunity: Chen initially lacks swordsmanship talent, but the Sword-Heart Clarity Fruit transforms his comprehension, suggesting that extraordinary abilities may arise through chance encounters and rewards.
• The hidden danger in objects: Both the celadon and the painting contain unseen supernatural forces, reinforcing the risks of Chen’s appraisal profession.
• Practical morality: Chen refuses to pursue lethal poison techniques simply because they are powerful, choosing methods that align better with survival and personal principles.

Character Interactions

• Chen briefly questions an Appraisal Hall servant about the treatment of deceased apprentices. The servant reassures him that the dead are properly buried and explains the role of the Corpse-Mooring Temple.
• Chen’s main “interactions” are with the supernatural objects themselves: he battles the Sword Qi inside the painting with his spiritual power and then uses the knowledge gained from the Sword-Heart Clarity Fruit to reproduce its sword technique.
• The chapter also reflects Chen’s imagined comparison with ancient Daoist cultivators and legendary “old monsters,” reinforcing his awareness of the enormous gap between his current strength and the world’s true experts.

Chapter Summary: “Soul-Deliverance Scripture, Man-in-the-Box”

Key Plot Points and Events

• While appraising a painting, Chen Shaojun comprehends a powerful sword technique from a sword mark within the artwork. Using Swordheart Clarity, he grasps the technique’s essence, abandons its original form, and creates an even more formidable sword strike.
• The strike accidentally cleaves the appraisal table in two, forcing Chen Shaojun to conceal his martial ability. He tells the servant that a sword mark suddenly emerged from the painting and nearly killed him. The servant accepts this explanation and reports the incident without suspecting Chen.
• Chen continues appraising treasures cautiously. Among his rewards are medicinal pills, several impractical skills, the Soul-Deliverance Scripture, and the supernatural stage technique Man-in-the-Box.
• Man-in-the-Box uses two prepared, talisman-inscribed boxes to transfer a person between them over a distance of roughly ten meters, functioning much like short-range teleportation. Chen recognizes its usefulness in emergencies and believes he can reproduce it.
• Before his appointment with Zhang Gao at the Moonlit Flower Boat, Chen visits the nearby Corpse-Mooring Temple to look for victims from recent appraisal accidents. He has abandoned the idea of reporting the Moonlit Flower Boat to the authorities after learning that the Ninth Prince supports it, fearing retaliation from powerful figures.
• At the temple, Chen discovers that its keeper is Three-Corpse Daoist, the corpse-refining cultivator connected to the Zombie he previously destroyed. The Daoist appears friendly and allows Chen to search the corpses.
• Chen finds the body of Zhao Hu, a former close acquaintance from his pawnshop days who died during an appraisal. Moved by grief, Chen recites the newly acquired Soul-Deliverance Scripture, dispersing Zhao Hu’s resentment and restoring peace to his expression.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates that his swordsmanship has reached an extraordinary level. Swordheart Clarity allows him not only to master techniques quickly but also to reinvent them into stronger, original forms.
• He becomes increasingly skilled at hiding his true abilities and managing dangerous situations through plausible explanations rather than force.
• Chen shows greater strategic caution by avoiding a direct report against the Moonlit Flower Boat and recognizing the dangers of becoming involved with the Ninth Prince.
• His reaction to Zhao Hu’s death reveals his lingering emotional connection to his former life and his compassion toward the dead. The Soul-Deliverance Scripture also gives him a new way to help others beyond martial strength.
• Three-Corpse Daoist is revealed to be operating openly as a temple keeper, making his relationship to Chen more complicated and potentially dangerous. He appears amiable but keeps a watchful eye on Chen.
• Zhao Hu’s death emphasizes the lethal dangers faced by appraisers and the personal cost of the supernatural incidents surrounding Appraisal Hall.

Significant Themes

• Concealment and survival: Chen must constantly hide his growing powers while navigating institutions and figures far more influential than himself.
• Transformation and innovation: Swordheart Clarity symbolizes Chen’s ability to absorb existing knowledge, discard limitations, and create something new.
• Death, resentment, and spiritual balance: The chapter explains how unresolved resentment can produce ghosts or Zombies, while the Soul-Deliverance Scripture offers a means of calming the dead and preventing further supernatural harm.
• Power and political danger: Chen’s decision not to involve the authorities reflects the risks of confronting forces backed by powerful nobles.
• Compassion amid danger: Despite his increasing strength and caution, Chen remains affected by the deaths of ordinary people and chooses to give Zhao Hu peace.

Character Interactions

• Chen deceives the servant about the sword strike, and the servant accepts the explanation because supernatural accidents are common in the appraisal profession.
• Chen and Three-Corpse Daoist exchange polite, cautious words. The Daoist permits Chen to search the temple, while his continued observation creates an undercurrent of suspicion and danger.
• Chen’s interaction with Zhao Hu occurs after death: through the Soul-Deliverance Scripture, he symbolically honors their former relationship and eases Zhao Hu’s final suffering.
• Chen’s planned meeting with Zhang Gao at the Moonlit Flower Boat remains upcoming, but political connections surrounding the venue shape Chen’s decisions throughout the chapter.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun continues searching the Corpse-Mooring Temple for the bodies of pawnshop appraiser apprentices killed by Corpse-Brain Worms.
• He uses the Soul-Deliverance Scripture to disperse the corpses’ resentment and prevent their souls from being consumed and their bodies from transforming into zombies.
• The scripture forces each Corpse-Brain Worm out of its host. Chen secretly captures two worms in metal containers using his Empty-Handed Sleight and Three Immortals Return to the Cave, without the Three-Corpse Daoist noticing.
• As Chen prepares to leave, the Three-Corpse Daoist questions him about the scripture. Chen invents a story claiming that an old Daoist taught it to his village.
• Impressed by the scripture, the Three-Corpse Daoist trades Chen a Soul-Calming Bell for a written copy. The bell can intimidate ghosts and protect appraisers from supernatural attacks.
• Chen takes the opportunity to ask about Daoist cultivation. The Three-Corpse Daoist explains the cultivation realms and how Spiritual Roots determine aptitude.
• Chen tests himself with a Spirit-Seeking Pearl, but it shows no reaction. The Three-Corpse Daoist concludes that Chen has no Spiritual Root and cannot cultivate Daoist arts.
• Chen is shocked because he already possesses Arcane Power from the Tai Shang Perception Scripture, but he hides this secret and pretends to be disappointed.
• After asking several more questions, Chen leaves the Corpse-Mooring Temple with the Soul-Calming Bell and two captured Corpse-Brain Worms.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates increasing caution, resourcefulness, and deception. He conceals his actions from the Three-Corpse Daoist, fabricates a convincing origin for the Soul-Deliverance Scripture, and carefully hides his true cultivation abilities.
• Chen’s curiosity about the Daoist path grows stronger. Learning about the higher realms awakens his longing to pursue greater power.
• The Three-Corpse Daoist reveals a more cooperative and knowledgeable side. Although he is an evil cultivator, he honors the trade and willingly explains Daoist cultivation after receiving the scripture.
• The Daoist also shows interest in Chen’s abilities, particularly the unusual effectiveness of his soul-delivering scripture, suggesting that he may continue to view Chen as someone valuable or mysterious.

Significant Themes

• Danger and mortality: Pawnshop appraisers face constant risks, and even Chen cannot guarantee his safety despite possessing powerful techniques and artifacts.
• Cunning and concealment: Chen survives by hiding his true strength, manipulating others’ perceptions, and appearing less capable than he really is.
• The divide between appearance and reality: Chen is judged to have no Spiritual Root despite possessing Arcane Power, implying that conventional methods may not fully measure his abilities.
• The arduous path to power: Daoist cultivation is presented as rare and difficult, requiring special aptitude and progressing through increasingly exalted realms.
• Moral ambiguity: The Three-Corpse Daoist is an evil cultivator, yet he conducts the exchange honestly and offers useful guidance, complicating the distinction between trustworthiness and morality.
• The importance of spiritual purification: The Soul-Deliverance Scripture not only protects the dead from becoming vengeful entities but also becomes a valuable source of influence and exchange for Chen.

Character Interactions

• Chen respectfully interacts with the Three-Corpse Daoist while remaining internally wary of his sinister presence and uncertain intentions.
• The Daoist probes Chen about the Soul-Deliverance Scripture, and Chen responds with a carefully fabricated backstory rather than revealing its true origin.
• Their exchange of the scripture and Soul-Calming Bell establishes a temporary relationship based on mutual benefit.
• The Daoist acts as an informal teacher, explaining Spiritual Roots, Buddhist Roots, and the realms of Origin Condensation, Dao Foundation, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul.
• The Spirit-Seeking Pearl test creates tension between the Daoist’s conclusion that Chen lacks cultivation aptitude and Chen’s private knowledge that he already possesses extraordinary power.

Chapter Summary: “It Seemed... Not Bad”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun remains puzzled that the Spirit-Seeking Pearl failed to detect any Spiritual or Buddhist Roots, despite his successful cultivation of the Tai Shang Perception Scripture and possession of Arcane Power. He concludes that the scripture may be an unusually specialized Daoist art and decides not to dwell on the mystery.
• He returns home with materials to create two wooden boxes based on the Man-in-the-Box technique. He also plants the Spirit Tea Seed rewarded by the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, intending to relocate it later if he finds better spiritual soil.
• Using his exceptional calligraphy and painting skills, supported by Arcane Power, Chen Shaojun successfully engraves the complex talisman formations inside both boxes.
• He tests the boxes on three swallows. After placing the birds in one box and activating the formation, they instantly transfer to the second box ten meters away without injury, proving that the technique works.
• Chen Shaojun burns the two remaining Corpse-Brain Worms, then realizes that destroying the previous worms had not earned him Merit Golden Light; the reward had come from treasure appraisal instead. He regrets wasting valuable poisonous insects.
• He appraises the iron can that held the worms and discovers that it had been used as a Money-Gathering Jar for five generations. The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror rewards him with Abacus Mastery.
• Although initially dismissive, Chen Shaojun discovers that the ability gives him extraordinary sensitivity to numbers, measurements, and calculations, making it more useful than expected.
• He then prepares to appraise and cleanse the Soul-Calming Bell obtained from Three-Corpse Daoist. He removes its Yin Baleful Intent, but the bell’s lingering Daoist spiritual imprint resists and attacks his mental power with Soul-Suppressing Light Waves.
• Chen Shaojun withstands the attack and grinds away the imprint with his mental power. The chapter ends as the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror appears, indicating that the bell’s appraisal is about to proceed.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates increasing confidence and versatility. He combines cultivation, Arcane Power, calligraphy, painting, and mental techniques to reproduce a complex Daoist spell.
• His cautious nature is evident in his refusal to test the Man-in-the-Box technique on himself and in his decision to cleanse the Soul-Calming Bell before attempting to use it.
• He also shows growing resourcefulness, experimenting with unfamiliar treasures and finding unexpected value in abilities such as Abacus Mastery.
• Despite his growing power, Chen Shaojun remains practical and occasionally frustrated, particularly after wasting the Corpse-Brain Worms.

Significant Themes

• Uncertainty surrounding cultivation: Chen Shaojun’s ability to cultivate despite lacking detectable Spiritual or Buddhist Roots suggests that his Tai Shang Perception Scripture may be unique.
• Experimentation and innovation: He adapts remembered techniques to his own abilities, creating and successfully testing the Man-in-the-Box formations.
• Caution versus opportunity: Chen Shaojun seeks to exploit new treasures but carefully tests them first, recognizing that magical artifacts can contain hidden dangers.
• Unexpected value: Objects and abilities that initially seem ordinary—such as the old iron can or Abacus Mastery—may possess considerable significance.
• The dangers of Daoist artifacts: The Soul-Calming Bell retains its former owner’s spiritual imprint and can automatically defend itself against anyone attempting to control it.

Character Interactions

• Chen Shaojun has no direct human interactions in the chapter, but he interacts with:
  • Three swallows, which he temporarily captures and uses to test the wooden boxes before releasing them unharmed.
  • The Corpse-Brain Worms, which he destroys with a fireball and later regrets wasting.
  • Three-Corpse Daoist’s Soul-Calming Bell, whose lingering spiritual essence actively resists Chen Shaojun’s purification.
  • The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, which evaluates treasures and grants him rewards, including Abacus Mastery.

Chapter Summary: “Dragon-Seeking Geomancy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals the complete history of the Soul-Calming Bell and its former owner, Three-Corpse Daoist.
• Three-Corpse Daoist was originally the third disciple of a lame old Daoist who ran a corpse-storing temple near Shengjing City. His two senior brothers were more talented or favored:
  • The eldest abandoned Daoist cultivation for martial arts.
  • The second possessed exceptional talent in talisman techniques.
  • The third was obedient and hardworking but was treated harshly by their master.
• During an exorcism for the Ren family, the third disciple betrays his master and brothers by secretly cooperating with Three Practices, a corpse-refining cultivator. Three Zombies help him kill the lame old Daoist, while the eldest escapes and the second is killed.
• The third disciple takes the Soul-Calming Bell and other treasures, then follows Three Practices and becomes his trusted disciple.
• Years later, he betrays Three Practices during a corpse-refining ritual, killing him and gaining three Zombies of his own. He becomes known as Three-Corpse Daoist.
• The eldest disciple later seeks revenge but cannot defeat Three-Corpse Daoist. Authorities issue a wanted notice for Three-Corpse because of his corpse-refining practices.
• Three-Corpse Daoist eventually joins the Red-Clad Cult and becomes the temple keeper of the corpse-storing temple outside Three-River Street.
• Chen Shaojun completes the appraisal of the Soul-Calming Bell. The Mirror ranks it as a Mid-Grade Treasure and rewards him with the ability Dragon-Seeking Geomancy.
• This skill allows Chen to read the feng shui of landscapes, identify Baleful Intent, spirit veins, spirit springs, ghost-attracting locations, and hidden blessed lands.
• Chen leaves to meet Zhang Gao at the Moonlit Flower Boat. He notices that the spirit tea seed he planted may be about to sprout.
• At the boat, the number of official appraisers has risen from twenty to thirty-two, despite one appraiser’s death.
• Manager Zhang arrives with Wang Xinyuan and a cold-faced young martial artist missing most of one hand. Chen recognizes him as the brutal fighter involved in the earlier attack on the merchant firm.
• Manager Zhang threatens all the appraisers into silence regarding the Moonlit Flower Boat and its activities, invoking the power of the Moonlit Restaurant and the Ninth Prince.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun gains deeper insight into Three-Corpse Daoist’s motives and realizes that his evil nature developed through years of favoritism, humiliation, resentment, and betrayal.
• Chen also obtains a powerful new practical ability, Dragon-Seeking Geomancy, expanding his expertise beyond treasure appraisal.
• Three-Corpse Daoist is revealed as morally corrupt but not entirely without personal logic. His betrayals stem from resentment toward his master and later a desire to avenge that master’s death.
• The lame old Daoist is shown to have contributed to his own downfall through extreme favoritism toward the eldest and second disciples while mistreating the third.
• The cold-faced martial artist is identified as a dangerous figure from the previous visions, though his missing fingers suggest that he has suffered a serious defeat or punishment.
• Manager Zhang and the Red-Clad Cult appear increasingly organized and emboldened, indicating that their broader plans are progressing.

Significant Themes

• Favoritism and its consequences: The lame old Daoist’s unequal treatment of his disciples creates resentment that eventually destroys the entire group.
• Betrayal and cyclical vengeance: Three-Corpse Daoist betrays both his master and Three Practices, while justifying the latter betrayal as revenge for his master’s death.
• Moral ambiguity: Three-Corpse’s actions are cruel and evil, but his motives arise from understandable emotional wounds and a distorted sense of loyalty.
• Cause and consequence: Chen recognizes that the old Daoist’s choices produced the disasters that followed, emphasizing that “the greater the cause, the greater the consequence.”
• Hidden power and political danger: The Moonlit Flower Boat, the Red-Clad Cult, and their connection to the Ninth Prince suggest a growing conspiracy operating under powerful protection.
• Knowledge as power: Chen’s appraisal not only uncovers history but grants him new abilities, allowing him to understand both objects and the forces shaping the world around him.

Character Interactions

• The lame old Daoist’s unequal treatment of his three disciples shapes their rivalries and resentments.
• The third disciple secretly collaborates with Three Practices, exchanging access to corpses for instruction in corpse-raising and corpse-refining.
• Three-Corpse Daoist eventually betrays Three Practices after years of obedience, believing revenge for his master justifies the act.
• The eldest disciple remains hostile toward Three-Corpse Daoist and repeatedly attempts to avenge their master and brother.
• Chen silently analyzes the connections among Three-Corpse Daoist, the Red-Clad Cult, Manager Zhang, and the brutal young martial artist.
• Manager Zhang intimidates the assembled appraisers, forcing them to promise complete secrecy about the Moonlit Flower Boat.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Appraisal Master Wang Xinyuan resumes distributing items for appraisal, but this time the treasures are weapons rather than antiques or jade.
• The weapons’ unknown origins create immediate concern because privately appraising or carrying weapons is illegal without official authorization.
• When one pawnbroker attempts to leave, Manager Zhang allows it, but a three-fingered red-clothed martial artist kills him instantly by crushing his head. This brutal execution intimidates everyone and reveals that the organizers are ruthless bandits, not respectable merchants.
• The remaining pawnbrokers are forced to accept the weapons under threat. They are promised thirty taels of silver and access to the women upstairs as compensation.
• Chen Shaojun receives three items: a long saber, a sword, and a spearhead. He takes them into an appraisal room and prepares an escape box in case the situation becomes dangerous.
• Using the Spirit Eye Technique, Chen detects the weapons’ intense Blood Baleful Qi and the lingering mental wills of their former owners.
• He begins by appraising the saber with the Divine Gaze Technique, suppressing and dispersing its violent killing intent.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals that the saber belonged to an escort who was killed by the red-clothed martial artists during an ambush. The saber was then taken as spoils.
• The appraisal also shows Chen various landscapes the escort had visited, including a particularly powerful feng shui location containing what may be a spiritual spring.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun remains calm and pragmatic despite the violence. He is disgusted by the execution but wisely avoids provoking the enemy, recognizing that the killing was meant to intimidate the group rather than target him personally.
• Chen demonstrates increasing caution and strategic preparation by carrying one escape box and hiding another aboard the flower boat.
• His appraisal abilities continue to develop. He successfully suppresses the saber’s powerful martial will and uses the weapon’s memories to identify a potentially valuable cultivation site.
• Manager Zhang is shown to be cold, manipulative, and complicit in the violence. He treats the execution as irrelevant and uses the threat of death to force compliance.
• The three-fingered martial artist is established as exceptionally brutal and sadistic, openly enjoying the killing and serving as the group’s enforcer.
• The pawnbrokers shift from professional confidence to fear and helpless submission after witnessing the murder.

3. Significant Themes

• Coercion and survival: The pawnbrokers are forced to participate in an illegal activity because refusing means death, demonstrating how power and violence govern the flower boat.
• The danger within weapons: Unlike ordinary antiques, these weapons retain the bloodlust, will, and killing intent of their former owners. Appraisal is therefore both technically and spiritually dangerous.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: The rusty weapons appear old and neglected, but their sharp edges, superior materials, and accumulated baleful energy reveal their true danger.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Chen’s decision not to intervene in the murder may seem passive, but it reflects his understanding that reckless heroism would only endanger him.
• Feng shui and cultivation: The saber’s memories introduce the idea that landscapes and hidden spiritual sites can determine cultivation speed and may become future locations of conflict.
• Law versus criminal power: Official restrictions on weapon appraisal are rendered meaningless in the face of the red-clothed bandits’ control over the situation.

4. Character Interactions

• Manager Zhang and the pawnbrokers: Zhang presents the weapons as ordinary appraisal assignments and tells anyone unwilling to participate to leave, but his implied tolerance of the enforcer’s violence makes the choice clearly illusory.
• The fleeing pawnbroker and the three-fingered martial artist: The pawnbroker attempts to exercise his right to leave, but the martial artist kills him to terrorize the others.
• The martial artist and the crowd: His casual reaction to the murder, including licking the blood from his lips, establishes dominance and silences all further resistance.
• Chen and the weapons: Chen confronts the saber’s violent will through spiritual power, overpowering the weapon’s inherited killing intent and completing the initial appraisal.
• Chen and the saber’s history: Through the treasure mirror, Chen witnesses the former owner’s life and death, gaining both practical information about the weapon and insight into a possible spiritual cultivation ground.
  The chapter ends with Chen considering the value of the distant feng shui treasure land while recognizing that it may already be occupied by a powerful or sinister entity.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun completes the appraisal of the Star-Moon Saber, a Mid-Grade Treasure Rank weapon whose infused qi can produce starlight and moonlight, slightly enhancing saber techniques.
• His reward is the True Martial Grand Restoration Pill, a powerful spiritual medicine capable of healing severe injuries, restoring vitality, reviving the recently dead under certain conditions, and potentially increasing cultivation. Chen stores it safely in his storage ring.
• He then appraises a bloodstained longsword containing two conflicting spiritual wills. The sword’s history reveals that its former owner was attacked by the ruthless saber wielder Zuo Bofan, the Cold-Blooded Silver Saber, who severed the man’s fingers and slaughtered him.
• The longsword is also Mid-Grade Treasure Rank, and Chen receives the Technique of Ambidextrous Combat. This technique allows a cultivator to circulate qi through both arms and simultaneously use two different martial arts, effectively fighting with the power of two people.
• Chen realizes he cannot yet cultivate the technique because he has not opened the required Hand Three-Yin and Hand Three-Yang Meridians, though he expects it to become a powerful future ability.
• Finally, Chen appraises a highly dangerous spearhead, filled with Blood Baleful Qi, yin-soul resentment, and an exceptionally sharp spiritual will.
• During the cleansing process, the spearhead releases a powerful strand of spear astral qi. Chen blocks it with the Baleful Severing Ruler and his self-created Killing Sword technique, then destroys the spearhead’s remaining spiritual will.
• The spearhead’s history reveals that it belonged to a military officer and martial genius who rose rapidly through the ranks after using it in battle.
• The officer offended a powerful military eunuch who was secretly a member of the Red-Clad Cult. Fearing the officer’s imminent breakthrough to the Innate Realm, the eunuch deliberately sent him to fight a dangerous demon and secretly arranged for the cult to eliminate him.
• The officer and local experts killed a seven-hundred-year-old python demon that had devoured hundreds of villagers. During the battle, he comprehended spear intent and neared the Innate Realm, but was gravely injured by the demon’s dying attack.
• Two local martial artists who had concealed their strength then betrayed and killed him. His spearhead was eventually taken to Shengjing City.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates increasing mastery of appraisal, spiritual cleansing, and combat techniques. He is strong enough to destroy both the sword’s hostile wills and the spearhead’s astral attack.
• His use of the Killing Sword shows that he is not merely an appraiser but a capable martial artist with a developing sword-path realm.
• Chen becomes more aware of the dangers faced by ordinary appraisers, recognizing that many may die when appraising weapons containing hidden astral qi or hostile spiritual forces.
• He also gains a valuable long-term goal through the Technique of Ambidextrous Combat, though his current meridian cultivation prevents immediate use.
• Chen’s attitude toward the dead officer reveals sympathy and a growing understanding of the tragic consequences of martial ambition and political intrigue.

Significant Themes

• The hidden history of objects: Every weapon carries the memories, conflicts, ambitions, and tragedies of its former owners.
• Danger of the martial world: Strength alone is insufficient; political awareness and understanding human motives are equally necessary for survival.
• Betrayal and power struggles: The military officer is destroyed not because he lacks ability, but because he threatens the authority of a corrupt eunuch and is betrayed by hidden enemies.
• Limits of power: Even a gifted martial genius approaching the Innate Realm can be defeated through conspiracy, manipulation, and coordinated attacks.
• Growth and preparation: Chen cannot immediately use his new technique, but acquiring it expands his future potential and gives him another goal in cultivation.
• Moral ambiguity and tragedy: The martial world is portrayed as more than combat—it is shaped by greed, resentment, political schemes, loyalty, and treachery.

Character Interactions

• Chen confronts the hostile spiritual forces embedded in the longsword and spearhead through his spiritual will and appraisal techniques.
• The longsword’s former owner is connected to Zuo Bofan, whose cruel attack illustrates the brutality of some martial artists.
• The military officer interacts with local experts to defeat the giant python demon, briefly achieving a breakthrough in spear comprehension during the battle.
• The corrupt eunuch manipulates military authority to send the officer into danger and secretly collaborates with the Red-Clad Cult.
• Two local martial artists betray the wounded officer at the decisive moment, completing the conspiracy against him.
• Through these histories, Chen reflects on the importance of navigating relationships and power structures, not merely mastering martial strength.

Chapter Summary: “Money Can Move the Gods”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun realizes that the Red-Clad Cult is far more powerful and organized than he initially believed. Its influence extends beyond wandering martial artists to military officials, eunuchs, court figures, and possibly even the Ninth Prince.
• He considers secretly taking belongings from powerful suspects—including Wang Xinyuan, Steward Zhang, Zuo Bofan, and the owner of the Moonlit Flower Boat—to appraise them, but rejects the idea because the danger of being detected is too high.
• After appraising a silver spearhead, the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror rewards Chen Shaojun with the ability Money Can Move the Gods. By spending money, he can receive answers to questions from mysterious “ghosts and gods,” though he is limited to one question per day and must pay more for complex questions.
• Concerned about his dwindling finances, Chen remembers that refining Dragon-Tiger Vitality Pills is his main source of income and resolves to resume production as soon as possible.
• While other appraisers continue examining the dangerous weapons, screams repeatedly echo through the boat. Many appraisers are injured or killed by the weapons’ Baleful Intent and hidden dangers. Chen estimates that more than ten official appraisers have died.
• He concludes that the surviving appraisers will probably not be allowed to leave the Moonlit Flower Boat. They may be killed to silence them or forced to join the Red-Clad Cult.
• Chen uses Money Can Move the Gods, spending all the money he carries, to ask how many people aboard the boat are stronger than him. The answer is seven, but their identities are not revealed. Seventy taels of silver mysteriously vanish as payment.
• Chen becomes unsettled by the mysterious mechanism behind the ability, wondering whether the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror itself is responsible.
• After storing his prop box, Chen carries the three completed weapons out of the appraisal room. He finds the boat heavily guarded by red-clad martial artists, making escape nearly impossible without fighting through them.
• He goes to Wang Xinyuan’s room to submit the appraised weapons. Wang confirms that all three have been successfully appraised. As Chen attempts to leave and go upstairs, Wang suddenly tells him to wait.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun becomes increasingly cautious and strategic. Rather than recklessly investigating powerful figures, he weighs the risks and begins planning for survival and escape.
• His understanding of the Red-Clad Cult shifts from viewing it as a criminal gang to recognizing it as a vast, deeply embedded organization with unknown political backing.
• Chen demonstrates growing resourcefulness by immediately testing his new divine ability and using it to assess the danger aboard the boat.
• His anxiety increases as he realizes how outmatched he is: seven people aboard the boat are stronger than him, and at least three of them remain unidentified.
• Wang Xinyuan continues to present himself as calm and approving of Chen’s abilities, but his decision to stop Chen from leaving suggests that he may be monitoring or controlling the situation.
• Zuo Bofan remains an intimidating obstacle, casually guarding the exit and making it clear that escape would require confronting him.

Significant Themes

• The hidden scope of power and conspiracy: The Red-Clad Cult’s influence reaches into the army and government, suggesting a much larger political plot.
• Money as power and knowledge: The new ability literalizes the idea that wealth can obtain supernatural guidance, while also emphasizing Chen’s poverty and need to secure income.
• Survival under unequal power: Chen must rely on caution, deception, and planning because he cannot defeat the strongest people around him directly.
• Uncertainty and limited knowledge: Even supernatural assistance gives only partial answers. Chen learns that seven stronger individuals are present, but not who they are.
• The cost of ambition and exploitation: The deaths of numerous appraisers reveal how ordinary people are being used as expendable tools by the powerful.
• The unknowability of supernatural forces: The disappearance of the silver leaves Chen unsure whether the ability is controlled by spirits, gods, or the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror itself.

Character Interactions

• Chen reflects on the possible connections among Wang Xinyuan, the Red-Clad Cult, Zuo Bofan, the Moonlit Flower Boat’s owner, and the Ninth Prince, though he has no proof.
• The unnamed appraisers suffer or die while working with the dangerous weapons, contrasting their vulnerability with Chen’s unusual skill and caution.
• Chen and Wang Xinyuan interact formally. Wang praises Chen’s successful appraisals, but his command to “wait” creates immediate tension and implies that Chen’s movements are restricted.
• Zuo Bofan’s presence near the exit acts as a silent threat. Chen recognizes that any escape attempt would likely require getting past him.
• Chen remains isolated from the other appraisers, choosing cultivation and self-preservation over investigating their deaths, especially because his only acquaintance, Zhang Gao, is hostile toward him.

Chapter Summary: “Conical Object (Please Subscribe)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wang Xinyuan pressures Chen Shaojun to appraise additional weapons before daybreak, breaking the previous limit of three items per day. His renewed offer to recruit Chen is revealed as an ultimatum rather than genuine persuasion.
• Chen realizes the Red-Clad Tower has stopped pretending to trust him and is effectively treating the appraisers as prisoners awaiting execution.
• While walking to the appraisal room, Chen secretly uses his Empty-Handed Sleight to steal five objects from nearby Red-Clad martial artists, including Wang Xinyuan’s Meridian Hairpin and a mysterious cone-shaped object.
• Chen assesses the security around the cabin and concludes that escape is nearly impossible without fighting his way out.
• Using the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, he examines the stolen objects to uncover the Red-Clad Cult’s plans.
• The cone proves extraordinarily dangerous. Merely looking at it gives Chen an instinctive sense of impending death, so he decides not to appraise it until his spiritual strength improves.
• Chen appraises the other four objects:
  • The first jade pendant reveals its owner’s history and the code name “Kill Five.”
  • The second jade pendant confirms that the Red-Clad martial artists will be assigned specific identities and locations during the Treasure Fair.
  • The hanging ornament shows that every Red-Clad operative has been given a predetermined time and place to appear.
• Chen connects “Kill Five” with rumors that the Fifth Prince may attend the Treasure Auction, leading him to suspect that the Red-Clad Cult may be planning an assassination.
• The objects also reveal that the Red-Clad Cult controls its followers through a special mind-controlling method, in addition to motivating them with profit and ideology.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun becomes increasingly cautious and proactive. Rather than passively awaiting danger, he gathers intelligence by stealing personal objects and using them to investigate the enemy.
• He demonstrates restraint by resisting his curiosity about the cone, recognizing that appraising it could kill him instantly.
• Chen’s suspicion of Wang Xinyuan deepens, and he openly treats the stolen cone as compensation for Wang’s threatening behavior.
• Wang Xinyuan shifts from superficially polite recruitment to open coercion. His confidence and vigilance appear weaker than Chen expected, allowing Chen to steal two items from him unnoticed.
• The Red-Clad martial artists are shown to be organized and loyal but largely uninformed about their true mission. Most know only their assignments and code name, not the identity of the target.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden motives: The Red-Clad Tower’s friendly façade collapses, revealing imprisonment and coercion beneath it.
• Knowledge as power: Chen relies on the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror to uncover secrets that the cult’s own members do not fully understand.
• Caution versus curiosity: The deadly cone tempts Chen with its mystery, but survival takes priority over immediate knowledge.
• Manipulation and control: The Red-Clad Cult maintains loyalty through both ideological promises and supernatural or specialized methods of controlling its followers.
• Political conspiracy: The code name “Kill Five” suggests a plot involving the Fifth Prince, potentially threatening the balance of power and the succession to the throne.

Character Interactions

• Chen and Wang Xinyuan: Wang threatens Chen with continued forced labor and renews his recruitment offer. Chen outwardly cooperates while secretly stealing Wang’s possessions and investigating the cult.
• Chen and the Red-Clad guards: The guards create an intimidating prison-like environment, but Chen covertly robs several of them without detection.
• Chen and the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror: Through the mirror, Chen reconstructs the histories and memories connected to the objects, turning seemingly ordinary accessories into sources of intelligence about the Red-Clad Cult’s operation.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun learns about the Red-Clad Cult’s Conversion Art, a long-term mental-control technique used to indoctrinate recruits and make them devoted followers. He compares it to Buddhism’s even more powerful Enlightenment and Refuge Method.
• He appraises Wang Xinyuan’s Meridian Hairpin, overcoming the residual spiritual power left inside it.
• Through the Heaven-Piercing Treasure Mirror, Chen witnesses Wang Xinyuan’s past:
  • His dangerous work as a treasure appraiser, including encounters with ghosts, monsters, weapon auras, and repeated injuries.
  • His eventual instruction in the Divine Dissection Technique by a Daoist True Person after repeatedly seeking the Red-Clad Cult’s assistance.
  • His visits to a secret Shengjing black market where cultivators buy and gamble with Spirit-Sealing Stones.
• Chen discovers that the mysterious conical object he possesses came from one of those Spirit-Sealing Stones.
• The appraisal reveals the truth behind the Red-Clad Cult’s “Kill Five” plan: although the Fifth Prince is the apparent target, the real objective is to implicate the Ninth Prince and damage his claim to the throne.
• The political conflict is explained through the Great Zhou Dynasty’s ancestral edict: an emperor may reign for only one hundred years before being forced to abdicate. The current Shengde Emperor has ruled for ninety-five years, intensifying the struggle between rival princes.
• Chen realizes he cannot safely warn either prince without exposing his own secrets, so he decides to focus on escaping the Moonlit Flower Boat.
• The Meridian Hairpin is judged to be a Mid-Grade Dharma Rank treasure, rewarding Chen with the Purification Spell.
• Chen tests the spell and discovers that it cleanses both his body and his clothing, restoring even garments worn for half a year.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun becomes more wary of the Red-Clad Cult and recognizes the terrifying danger of mental manipulation. He also demonstrates greater political awareness after uncovering the factional motives behind the assassination plan.
• He remains cautious and pragmatic, choosing not to interfere in the princes’ conflict because doing so would expose him to severe danger.
• Wang Xinyuan is revealed to have been an experienced and dedicated Red-Clad Cult appraiser who endured significant danger, developed stronger techniques, and became involved in treasure gambling.
• The Red-Clad Cult is shown to be deeply connected to imperial succession politics rather than merely acting as an isolated religious or martial organization.
• The Moonlit Flower Boat’s owner becomes more suspicious, as she appears publicly aligned with the Ninth Prince while participating in a scheme that could harm him.

3. Significant Themes

• Mental control and loss of free will: The Conversion Art raises concerns about indoctrination, manipulation, and the destruction of personal identity.
• Political intrigue and betrayal: The “Kill Five” plan demonstrates how assassination, factional conflict, and betrayal operate beneath the struggle for imperial succession.
• The danger of knowledge: Chen understands that learning the truth does not necessarily give him the power to act. Information can become a liability when powerful factions are involved.
• Treasure appraisal and chance: Wang Xinyuan’s involvement in treasure gambling highlights the mixture of risk, greed, luck, and unexpected opportunity in the cultivation world.
• Practical power and daily usefulness: The Purification Spell shows that not all valuable abilities are offensive; mundane utility can significantly improve Chen’s life.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen’s understanding of the Conversion Art is shaped by comparing the Red-Clad Cult’s methods with Buddhist mental-control techniques.
• Wang Xinyuan’s history reveals his repeated dependence on the Red-Clad Cult for protection and advancement, culminating in his receiving the Divine Dissection Technique.
• The Red-Clad Cult’s plan links the Fifth Prince, Ninth Prince, the Moonlit Flower Boat, and possibly another hidden imperial backer in a complicated web of manipulation.
• Chen does not directly confront the princes or the Moonlit Flower Boat’s owner, recognizing that any such interaction could expose him and place him in greater danger.
• His final interaction is with the Purification Spell itself, which he uses to cleanse his body and clothes, ending the chapter on a lighter and more satisfying note.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun realizes the weapons he secretly stole will soon be discovered. To avoid capture, he places the three weapons in his storage ring and uses his mysterious box prop to teleport from the lower deck into a storeroom.
• He disguises himself with the Face-Shifting Technique and goes to the flower boat’s second floor, believing the Red-Clad Tower warriors will hesitate to cause trouble there.
• On the second floor, he observes several suspicious appraisers, a fox demon disguised as a beautiful zither player, and a powerful martial artist posing as an ordinary wandering warrior.
• The Red-Clad warriors discover Chen’s escape and begin searching for him. The appraisers’ glances toward him make him the main suspect.
• Before Chen can be confronted, the flower boat is violently shaken by the arrival of an official ship investigating a serious case.
• The disguised martial artist reveals himself as Xu Zhengcheng, a Deputy Thousand-Household of the Patrol Inspection Bureau. He easily subdues the two Red-Clad warriors and orders an investigation of everyone aboard.
• Xu announces that intelligence indicates demons are causing trouble on the flower boat. The owner, Liu Yuhuan, protests and threatens him by invoking the authority of “Ninth Master.”
• Liu is accompanied by Mingyue, the flower boat’s courtesan queen and a two-tailed fox demon, as well as an ominous old woman—strong evidence that the flower boat is connected to supernatural forces.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates resourcefulness and composure. He uses his box artifact, disguise technique, and careful observation to escape pursuit, while recognizing that the flower boat contains hidden dangers.
• Xu Zhengcheng is introduced as a powerful and authoritative official whose martial cultivation is at least the Eighth Layer of the Qi Sea Realm. He is vigilant, decisive, and capable of effortlessly suppressing Red-Clad Tower warriors.
• Mingyue is revealed to be a two-tailed fox demon despite her beautiful public identity as the flower boat’s courtesan queen.
• Liu Yuhuan displays confidence and political backing, attempting to intimidate the authorities by citing Ninth Master’s influence.
• Constable Xing and Constable Ye are shown to be working with Xu Zhengcheng, linking the current investigation to their earlier inquiry into deaths at the Lin Family Pawnshop.
• The unidentified powerful martial artist’s true identity is revealed, changing him from a suspicious bystander into Chen’s potential protector or an important official ally.

Significant Themes

• Deception and disguise: Chen disguises himself, the fox demon wears a human-skin mask, and Xu Zhengcheng initially poses as a wandering martial artist.
• Justice versus hidden corruption: The Patrol Inspection Bureau’s investigation exposes the possibility that the flower boat is a front for demonic activity and criminal organizations.
• Danger beneath beauty and pleasure: The elegant flower boat, beautiful performers, and luxurious entertainment conceal demons, violence, and political intrigue.
• Survival through adaptability: Chen relies on observation, concealment, and quick decisions rather than direct confrontation.
• Authority and influence: The conflict between Xu Zhengcheng’s official power and Liu Yuhuan’s reliance on Ninth Master establishes a struggle between government authority and powerful hidden factions.

Character Interactions

• Chen exchanges a brief, cautious conversation with Xu Zhengcheng, flattering him after noticing his extraordinary cultivation.
• The Red-Clad warriors question the appraisers while searching for Chen, who watches them secretly.
• Xu blocks the warriors’ escape, challenges their suspicious behavior, and defeats them with ease.
• Chief Constables Xing and Ye respectfully obey Xu’s orders, confirming his superior rank.
• The Patrol Inspection Bureau confronts Liu Yuhuan and demands that everyone aboard be investigated.
• Liu attempts to stop the investigation through threats, while Xu remains unmoved and insists on searching the entire flower boat.

Chapter Summary: The Fox Demon Reveals Its True Form

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Patrol Inspection Bureau raids the Moonlit Flower Boat after tracing a case to the establishment.
• Xu Zhengcheng orders the use of a Demon-Revealing Mirror, threatening to expose the flower boat’s fox-demon inhabitants.
• Before the mirror can be fully used, Liu Yuhuan, the boat’s owner, launches a surprise attack on the inspectors. Her elderly companion also attacks, killing several guards with terrifying speed.
• Flower Queen Mingyue and the other fox demons join the battle, revealing their true demonic abilities. Their claws and martial techniques overwhelm ordinary people and lower-level guards.
• The young masters and patrons aboard the boat panic and attempt to hide or flee. The battle quickly destroys much of the flower boat, while civilians are caught in the crossfire.
• Xu Zhengcheng calls for assistance from a disguised expert who had spent the night with one of the fox demons. Horrified after witnessing her transformation, the man kills her and joins the fight against the remaining demons.
• Several fox demons and Red-Clad Tower fighters clash with the Patrol Inspection Bureau. Xu Zhengcheng personally saves Chen Shaojun from a rampaging fox demon, then returns to battle.
• Chen pretends to be frightened and helpless, using the chaos to avoid revealing his real strength. He retreats toward the flower boat’s hidden treasury, which he discovered through earlier appraisal visions.
• Chen plans to exploit the disorder by searching for the boat’s concealed wealth and treasures, though he lacks precise knowledge of the defenses and hidden dangers surrounding Liu Yuhuan’s private vault.

Character Developments

• Liu Yuhuan is revealed to be a powerful and decisive fox demon leader. Rather than submit to inspection, she immediately chooses violence, demonstrating both courage and formidable swordsmanship.
• Flower Queen Mingyue shows loyalty and leadership by ordering the fox demons to fight together. Her swordsmanship is elegant but deadly, confirming that she is far more powerful than her outward role suggests.
• The elderly painted woman proves to be one of the most dangerous combatants, using ghostlike movement to assassinate multiple inspection guards almost instantly.
• The gaunt middle-aged man undergoes a sharp emotional reversal. After discovering that the woman he slept with was a demon, his shock and disgust become murderous rage, driving him to kill her and attack the other fox demons.
• Xu Zhengcheng demonstrates practical authority and considerable strength. Though initially confident, he becomes pressured by the old woman’s killings and is forced to request help. He later kills a fox demon threatening civilians and continues leading the assault.
• Chen Shaojun remains cautious and calculating. He conceals his true abilities, manipulates others’ perceptions by acting frightened, and focuses on securing valuable treasures rather than becoming involved in a battle beyond his current strength.

Significant Themes

• The danger of hidden identities: The fox demons’ beautiful human appearances conceal their true nature, and the Demon-Revealing Mirror symbolizes the exposure of secrets.
• Prejudice and persecution: The Great Zhou Dynasty’s hatred of demons leaves the fox demons little room for negotiation; once exposed, they expect to be hunted and killed.
• Chaos revealing true character: The sudden battle strips away social masks. Some patrons flee, the fox demons reveal their brutality, and the disguised expert’s revulsion turns into violence.
• Survival and opportunism: Chen prioritizes self-preservation and profit, choosing to avoid a deadly confrontation while using the crisis to pursue the flower boat’s hidden wealth.
• Beauty versus monstrosity: The fox demons’ attractive human forms contrast sharply with their lethal claws and fox bodies, emphasizing the deceptive nature of appearances.
• The cost of unchecked conflict: Ordinary patrons, servants, courtesans, and guards suffer or die as powerful fighters battle without regard for the fragile surroundings.

Character Interactions

• Xu Zhengcheng and Liu Yuhuan become direct opponents when her sudden attack disrupts the official raid.
• Mingyue and the fox demons act as a coordinated group, with Mingyue directing them to fight rather than scatter immediately.
• The gaunt expert and his former companion have the chapter’s most dramatic interaction: after her transformation, he kills her in disgust and turns against the other demons.
• Xu Zhengcheng and the gaunt expert cooperate when Xu calls for assistance, relying on the man’s hidden strength to change the battle’s momentum.
• Xu Zhengcheng and Chen Shaojun briefly interact when Xu saves Chen from a fox demon. Chen flatters him to avoid suspicion and then escapes toward the treasury.
• Chen and the hidden treasures of the flower boat form the chapter’s emerging secondary conflict: while the main battle continues, Chen prepares to investigate Liu Yuhuan’s private vault and exploit the turmoil for personal gain.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun searches Liu Yuhuan’s private room aboard the Moonlit Flower Boat for hidden valuables. After appraising a bronze mirror with his Spirit Eye and Divine Gaze techniques, he sees visions revealing Liu Yuhuan’s activities and discovers a concealed staircase in the ceiling.
• The staircase leads to a secret storage area containing ten chests. Their contents include:
  • Large quantities of silver and gold
  • Jade, jewelry, calligraphy, and paintings
  • Numerous martial arts manuals
  • Account books documenting debts, transactions, and payments
  • Five valuable Spirit Stones
  • An ordinary-looking silver hairpin
  • A locked chest whose contents remain unknown
• The account books reveal that the Moonlit Flower Boat regularly pays five thousand taels to “Ninth Master,” apparently the Ninth Prince, and three thousand taels to “Red Robe,” referring to the Red-Clad Cult. This exposes the boat’s connections to powerful political and religious forces.
• Chen Shaojun stores the treasures in his Storage Ring, discarding the larger chests when space becomes limited.
• While attempting to leave, Chen discovers that the authorities’ ship is departing and that the Red-Clad Cult has defeated the other side. Cult members are dragging out the young masters and martial artists.
• Liu Yuhuan returns with the injured painted-face old woman, while Mingyue, the fox demon, is also visibly wounded and struggling to maintain her human disguise.
• Liu Yuhuan sees Chen leaving her room and immediately attacks him. Realizing he is trapped, Chen uses an Invisibility Talisman and the Spirit-Hiding Technique to vanish.
• Liu Yuhuan enters the room but cannot find him. Chen remains beside her while holding his breath and suppressing his aura, then cautiously begins moving toward the exit.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates patience, intelligence, and effective use of appraisal abilities. His discovery of the hidden storage room greatly increases his wealth and resources, but his greed places him in immediate danger. He remains calm under pressure and uses his talisman and concealment techniques to evade Liu Yuhuan.
• Liu Yuhuan: Is revealed to be wealthy, secretive, and deeply connected to influential forces. Her hidden treasury and careful storage arrangements show her caution and preparedness. After discovering Chen in her room, she becomes cold and murderous.
• Mingyue: Appears injured after the conflict, with her fox ears and tail exposed as her illusion weakens. Her condition suggests that the battle severely affected the flower boat’s occupants.
• The painted-face old woman: Returns injured while being supported by Liu Yuhuan, indicating that she participated in or suffered during the battle.
• The Red-Clad Cult: Emerges as the apparent victor over the authorities and other martial artists, taking control of the situation aboard the boat.

Significant Themes

• Greed and danger: Chen’s enormous treasure haul is both a reward and a liability, forcing him to escape before being caught.
• Hidden power and conspiracy: The account books reveal the Moonlit Flower Boat’s financial ties to the Ninth Prince and the Red-Clad Cult, suggesting a broader political and religious conspiracy.
• Knowledge as power: Chen’s appraisal visions allow him to uncover secrets that ordinary observation could never reveal, including the hidden staircase and Liu Yuhuan’s concealed wealth.
• Resourcefulness under pressure: Chen survives through quick thinking, talismans, concealment techniques, and careful restraint rather than direct confrontation.
• The fragility of appearances: Liu Yuhuan’s luxurious residence conceals a vast treasury, while Mingyue’s beautiful human appearance is failing as her injuries expose her true form.

Character Interactions

• Chen interacts indirectly with Liu Yuhuan through the appraisal visions, learning how she uses and conceals her room.
• His discovery of Liu Yuhuan’s secret treasury creates a direct conflict when she catches him leaving the room.
• Liu Yuhuan aggressively pursues Chen, while he remains hidden only a short distance away, creating a tense cat-and-mouse encounter.
• Liu Yuhuan supports the injured painted-face old woman, showing cooperation between them despite the chaos.
• Mingyue’s wounded condition contrasts with the confidence of the victorious Red-Clad Cult and highlights the aftermath of the battle.