Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi and the system reveal that Ran Zirou’s past-life kindness toward Immortal Ziyang was an act: she had once killed her mother and now intends to exploit her for cultivation resources.
• Immortal Ziyang hesitates after hearing Li Zi’s thoughts, but Ran Zirou persuades her with a fabricated story about remembering her childhood visits. The two reconcile emotionally.
• Immortal Ziyang adopts Li Zi as her goddaughter and calls her “daughter,” prompting Ran Zirou to show jealousy and glare at Li Zi.
• After consulting the Second Elder, Immortal Ziyang takes Ran Zirou to the Sect Master and brings her back to the Hehuan Sect, despite Ran Zirou’s protests that she wants to stay at the Spirit Sword Sect.
• Back at her Cave Abode, Li Zi worries for Immortal Ziyang but resolves to focus on cultivation. The system urges her to use the Heaven-and-Earth Artifact’s medicines to cleanse her body.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains compassionate and wary of Ran Zirou, but recognizes that she needs strength to change her fate. She is now Immortal Ziyang’s goddaughter.
• Ran Zirou proves manipulative, using knowledge from her previous life to win Immortal Ziyang’s affection. She resents Li Zi’s new closeness with her mother and appears hostile toward her.
• Immortal Ziyang is torn between suspicion and maternal longing. Ran Zirou’s performance softens her, though the Second Elder’s warning leaves doubts.
• The Second Elder considers intervening but ultimately respects the mother-daughter relationship. Ji Zheng avoids Ran Zirou, while she resents his distance; Fu Chaoqing escorts Li Zi home.
• Li Zi, the system, and several cultivators can hear Li Zi’s thoughts, allowing the others to glimpse Ran Zirou’s intentions even as she acts affectionately.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts genuine care with calculated affection, especially through Ran Zirou’s manipulation of Immortal Ziyang.
• It highlights the tension between family bonds and suspicion, as well as the danger of exploiting others for power.
• Cultivation and personal strength are framed as essential to resisting fate and changing one’s future.

Plot points and events

• Fu Chaoqing tells Li Zi that some of her herbs can be used for a simple Meridian Cleansing and offers to prepare her a medicinal bath. The system celebrates that Li Zi has gained an advantage without acting.
• Ran Zirou arrives at the Hehuan Sect with Immortal Ziyang. Hoping to advance her cultivation through a powerful Dual Cultivation Method, she worries that she has not yet met suitable male partners.
• Immortal Ziyang explains that the sect’s main art, the Heaven Tier Azure Rainbow Nether Art, strengthens the body and mind and accommodates different Spiritual Roots. The sect does not encourage Dual Cultivation, especially methods that exploit men and can harm their partners.
• Ran Zirou privately dismisses Ziyang’s warnings, believing her own method—remembered from her previous life—to be exceptionally powerful and safe.
• When Ziyang declines to give Ran Zirou medicine until her fragile Meridians are stronger, Ran Zirou uses tears to suggest that Li Zi has received all the resources.
• Mo Feng offers Ran Zirou a Third-Grade Medicinal Pill. Ziyang angrily knocks it away, slaps Mo Feng, and destroys the pill, insisting her daughter deserves something better. She promises to find a more suitable medicine.

Character developments and interactions

• Ran Zirou appears dependent and vulnerable when seeking help, but inwardly remains calculating, contemptuous of the sect’s teachings, and focused on obtaining resources and advancing quickly. Her resentment flares when the pill is destroyed.
• Immortal Ziyang presents herself as a protective, caring mother, while firmly controlling Ran Zirou’s cultivation and rejecting medicine she considers unsuitable. Her reaction to Mo Feng suggests intense protectiveness, though it also deprives Ran Zirou of a useful pill.
• Mo Feng tries to help Ran Zirou by offering medicine, but Ziyang publicly rebukes him.
• Fu Chaoqing supports Li Zi by arranging treatment, while the system frames the offer as a strategic win.

Significant themes

• Different paths to cultivation: The Hehuan Sect emphasizes disciplined bodily and mental cultivation rather than dependence on Dual Cultivation.
• Appearance versus motive: Ran Zirou’s tearful appeal masks self-interest, while Ziyang’s care is genuine but controlling.
• Power, harm, and consent: The discussion of methods that exploit partners contrasts with Ran Zirou’s confidence in a technique she believes benefits her.
• Rivalry and unequal resources: Ran Zirou’s suspicion that Li Zi receives preferential treatment reveals the tension around access to cultivation resources.

Plot points

• Frustrated by her slow cultivation and the lack of resources from Immortal Ziyang, Ran Zirou decides to seduce the Dao Companion of Li Zi’s godmother.
• While enduring a painful medicinal bath designed to widen her meridians, Li Zi learns from her system that Ran Zirou is using the Devouring Cultivation Art, a sinister demonic technique that drains partners’ cultivation and makes them addicted to surrendering more.
• The Second Elder, Fu Chaoqing, and Ji Zheng overhear the revelation. They realize Ran Zirou’s scheme could have endangered the sect and Ji Zheng, whose constitution would make him a target.
• The Second Elder confirms that he and Immortal Ziyang had suspected Ran Zirou was practicing demonic cultivation, and says they may be able to use the situation to uncover clues about the Devil Lord.
• After Li Zi’s tenth collapse, the bath has widened her meridians to three times their original size. Fu Chaoqing offers her several powerful medicines, and she begins with a Bone-Regenerating Pill—another painful treatment.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi is determined to improve her cultivation, but the harsh treatments leave her exhausted and wary of Fu Chaoqing’s cheerful offers of medicine. Her knowledge helps expose Ran Zirou’s threat.
• Ran Zirou grows impatient with her stalled progress and turns to predatory dual cultivation to obtain power.
• The Second Elder shifts from investigating Ran Zirou to recognizing how much Li Zi has protected the sect; he expresses gratitude and arranges for Ji Zheng to go into seclusion.
• Ji Zheng is shaken by how close he may have come to being targeted, but agrees to his uncle’s plan.
• Fu Chaoqing continues helping Li Zi develop her constitution, using an abundance of high-grade resources despite the painful process.

Themes

• Power at a cost: Rapid cultivation can come through painful treatment or exploitative, dangerous methods.
• Knowledge as protection: Li Zi’s system revelations let the sect recognize and prevent a major threat.
• Trust and responsibility: The elders respond to the danger by protecting their disciples and acknowledging Li Zi’s contribution.

Key plot points and events

• After enduring two days of painful pill treatment, Li Zi takes an Essence-Gathering Pill and advances to the Fourth Tier of Qi Refining. Her body is stronger and healthier, and the system says her cultivation may accelerate further once her Myriad Flower Divine Bone awakens.
• The Fifth Elder visits with his young white fox, Lin Ning’er, and introduces her as his daughter, asking Li Zi to spend time with her. Earlier, news of the fox had spread through the sect and neighboring sects, bringing the Fifth Elder many congratulatory gifts.
• The system identifies the fox as Lin Wan’er and reveals that, in the original story, she will become a powerful villain. It recounts her tragic future: after falling in love with her foster guardian Qu Cang, she is betrayed by him and Ran Zirou, killed in an Elder Formation, and stripped of her Demon Core.
• Enraged by this prophecy, the Fifth Elder invents an excuse to leave and intends to investigate Qu Cang and prevent the danger to his daughter.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi celebrates her rapid progress but remembers the suffering behind it. She is curious and playful with the fox, while privately learning about the animal’s future from the system.
• The Fifth Elder is openly affectionate toward his daughter and grateful to Li Zi, whose earlier help has improved his relationship with his wife. Once he learns of Lin Wan’er’s fate, his tenderness turns to fury and protective resolve.
• Lin Ning’er/Lin Wan’er is currently a small, gentle fox, but the system describes her as exceptionally gifted and destined for great power.
• Li Zi’s conversations with the system reveal the future to both her and, inadvertently, the Fifth Elder, who overhears the account.

Significant themes

• Cultivation and endurance: Li Zi’s new strength comes at the cost of intense physical pain.
• Fate and foreknowledge: Knowledge of the original story gives the characters a chance to challenge a tragic future.
• Family and protection: The Fifth Elder’s love for his daughter motivates him to act before the betrayal can happen.
• Betrayal and injustice: Lin Wan’er’s predicted fate highlights the cruelty and exploitation she may face.

Plot points

• The Fifth Elder saves Lin Ning’er, a fox who is his daughter, and learns that his intervention has changed her fate—and saved her mother as well.
• He leaves Ning’er in Li Zi’s care, giving her a jade bracelet stocked with valuable pills, spirit medicines, and cultivation manuals. Li Zi and the System are delighted.
• As the Secret Realm expedition approaches, Li Zi continues training with Ji Zheng, reaches the peak of the Fourth Tier of Qi Refining, learns three sword techniques, and masters the first level of the sect’s cultivation method.
• On the journey, Li Zi’s System reveals embarrassing gossip about the Thunder God Hall Sect Master, including how lightning awakened his Thunder Spiritual Root when he was a child—and left him afraid of thunder.
• At the Secret Realm’s entrance, Li Zi unknowingly makes the gathered cultivators think about the sect master’s underwear by wondering aloud, through her thoughts, whether he is wearing red underpants. He demands to know who spoke, while the Spirit Sword Sect pretends ignorance.

Character developments

• Fifth Elder becomes more protective and affectionate toward Li Zi after realizing she helped him save his family. He also grows curious—and suspicious—about Qu Cang of the Wind God Sect.
• Li Zi makes steady cultivation progress and takes on responsibility for caring for Ning’er. Her curiosity and unfiltered thoughts continue to create awkward situations.
• Lin Ning’er is now safe with her mother alive, and her future has been altered.
• Thunder God Hall Sect Master is introduced as a formidable cultivator with an unexpectedly embarrassing childhood fear.

Interactions

• The Fifth Elder gives Ning’er to Li Zi’s care and rewards her with the jade bracelet.
• Li Zi trains alongside Ji Zheng and brings Ning’er to watch.
• The sect leaders and elders overhear Li Zi’s private thoughts, sharing the joke while concealing its source from the Thunder God Hall Sect Master.
• The Spirit Sword Sect Master appears eager to use Li Zi’s revelations to embarrass his old rival.

Significant themes

• Fate and intervention: The Fifth Elder’s actions change Ning’er’s future and preserve her family.
• Found family and responsibility: Li Zi is entrusted with Ning’er, while the Fifth Elder’s care for his wife and daughter comes to the fore.
• Hidden thoughts and comic embarrassment: Li Zi’s inner commentary exposes private secrets, creating humor and potential trouble among powerful sects.
• Growth through training: Li Zi’s cultivation advances as the Secret Realm expedition draws near.

Key events

• Li Zi secretly asks the System for gossip about the Thunder God Hall Sect Master and his adopted daughter, Niao Niao.
• The System reveals that Niao Niao has been manipulating events to make the Sect Master suspect his wife of infidelity. His wife had actually been preparing an Eighth-Rank pill as a birthday gift, but he misread her visit to the Medicine King Sect and badly beat its First Elder.
• The Sect Master realizes his wife’s love and loyalty were never in question, and that he may have been deceived.
• The Medicine King Sect Master punches him and condemns him for assaulting the First Elder and wronging Madam Lei. He also questions the Sect Master’s closeness to Niao Niao.
• The Thunder God Hall Sect Master denies any improper relationship with his adopted daughter, but agrees to investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Thunder God Hall Sect Master: His certainty gives way to shock and guilt as he learns the truth. He begins to reconsider his assumptions, though he still fiercely defends Niao Niao.
• Li Zi and the System: Li Zi’s curiosity draws out the information; the System’s blunt account exposes the family deception to everyone nearby.
• Medicine King Sect Master: He acts on behalf of his injured First Elder and Madam Lei, openly confronting the Thunder God Hall Sect Master.
• Other cultivators: Having heard the revelations, they quietly observe rather than intervene. Thunder God Hall disciples are especially relieved that their Sect Master’s domestic turmoil may finally be addressed.

Significant themes

• Miscommunication and unchecked suspicion: The Sect Master’s refusal to listen or speak honestly turns doubt into violence.
• Manipulation and misplaced trust: Niao Niao’s alleged schemes exploit his trust in her and distrust of his wife.
• Public truth and accountability: The System’s revelations force private wrongdoing into the open, prompting confrontation and the possibility of investigation.

Key plot points and events

• The Medicine King Sect Master confronts the Thunder God Hall Sect Master for believing his adopted daughter and accusing his wife without evidence. Remembering what he actually saw, Thunder realizes he misjudged the situation and agrees to apologize to the Medicine King Sect, provide two Heaven Tier spirit medicines, and treat the First Elder’s injuries.
• Li Zi privately urges Thunder to remember that his adopted daughter may have caused the misunderstanding. Thunder leaves intending to make amends with his wife and investigate Lei Niao Niao.
• As the Secret Realm opens, Foundation Establishment disciples enter. Li Zi stays behind, hoping her sect master will ask the Medicine King Sect Master for a top-grade Marrow-Washing Pill to awaken her Divine Bone.
• Li Zi’s system reveals that the Medicine King Sect Master’s son is adopted and allegedly a poor character. When the sect master asks for a Seventh-Grade Marrow-Washing Pill, the Medicine King Sect Master recognizes that the revealing voice came from Li Zi’s direction.
• The Medicine King Sect Master angrily rejects the claim about his son. However, his disciples’ and female cultivators’ reactions suggest Li Zi’s gossip may be true.

Character developments and interactions

• Thunder God Hall Sect Master recognizes his rashness and becomes eager to apologize to his wife. He is also prompted to reconsider his adopted daughter’s role.
• Medicine King Sect Master lectures Thunder, then becomes defensive when Li Zi’s thoughts expose possible secrets about his son. He refuses to help the sect master with the pill request.
• The sect master (Jiang) tries to conceal Li Zi’s unusual ability, but eventually stops denying that the voice came from his sect.
• Li Zi remains observant and curious, privately commenting on others’ affairs while pursuing the pill needed to awaken her Divine Bone.

Significant themes

• Communication and trust: The chapter stresses that speaking openly can prevent painful marital misunderstandings.
• The danger of jumping to conclusions: Thunder’s unquestioning belief in his adopted daughter nearly damages his marriage.
• Secrets and gossip: Li Zi’s private thoughts expose hidden family matters, creating suspicion and conflict.
• Family by choice versus blood: The dispute over whether the Medicine King Sect Master’s son is biologically related to him raises questions about loyalty and family ties.

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi’s inner conversation with her system reveals that the Medicine Sect Master’s son has secretly abused his authority: he abducted women, forced a Mortal World city lord to gather a harem, and has a young girl imprisoned in his Cave Abode.
• The Medicine Sect Master is horrified to learn that his seemingly diligent son is infamous among the sect’s female disciples. One recalls leaving the sect after he spied on her and insulted her.
• The system reveals that the son is not the Sect Master’s biological child. Long ago, the Sect Master and a fellow apprentice each had a son on the same day, and the fellow apprentice switched the infants.
• The Sect Master recognizes details of his past and realizes the boy he raised resembles his former apprentice. The assembled cultivators believe the revelation and respond with sympathy rather than ridicule.
• The system begins sharing another secret: the Sect Master’s fellow apprentice murdered both the Sect Master’s wife and his master. The Medicine Sect Master, shaken, tries to intervene, but the Spirit Sword Sect Master restrains him and urges him to hear the rest in case the situation can still be remedied.
• Li Zi wonders what became of the Medicine Sect Master’s biological son. The system has not yet revealed his fate.

Character developments

• Medicine Sect Master: His image as a refined, upright leader is contrasted with the disgraceful conduct of the son he believes is his own. He learns that his family history may be built on betrayal and murder, and his grief and shock become visible.
• Li Zi: She remains absorbed in the system’s revelations, unaware of the turmoil they are causing around her.
• Spirit Sword Sect Master: He acts as a calming presence, restraining the Medicine Sect Master and encouraging him to listen before acting.
• Hall of Samsara Sect Master: Introduced as the leader of a reclusive, socially anxious sect; the shared revelation prompts a quiet sense of kinship between him and the Medicine Sect Master.

Significant themes

• Hidden truths and mistaken identity: The infant swap means the Medicine Sect Master has unknowingly raised his enemy’s child.
• Betrayal and injustice: The fellow apprentice’s crimes extend from switching the sons to murdering the Sect Master’s wife and mentor.
• Public reputation versus private reality: The Medicine Sect Master appears dignified, while the son he trusts has harmed others behind his back.
• Gossip as revelation: Li Zi’s private, system-driven commentary exposes secrets that powerful figures have kept buried.

Character interactions

• The female disciples’ reactions reveal the harm the Sect Master’s son has caused and show that his behavior was already known among those he mistreated.
• The assembled leaders listen eagerly to the gossip, especially when the Hall of Samsara is mentioned, and their sympathy grows once the Medicine Sect Master’s history is revealed.
• The Medicine Sect Master and the Hall of Samsara Sect Master exchange a look of mutual understanding, while the Spirit Sword Sect Master intervenes to prevent an impulsive confrontation.

Plot points and events

• The system reveals that Medicine Sect Master’s true son survived, but was mistreated by his junior fellow disciple, fled home, and became a Rogue Cultivator. The son was later blocked from joining Medicine King Sect after his alchemy test was sabotaged by the Sect Master’s fake son, who is now having him hunted near West-Pacifying Village.
• Medicine Sect Master leaves to investigate and save the boy. Li Zi worries that she should have warned him directly, but the system says doing so would seem suspicious. She also mentions that the fake son is holding an innocent girl captive. Medicine Sect Master praises Li Zi’s good heart and promises the Spirit Sword Sect Master a Marrow-Washing Pill in return for his help.
• Li Zi asks the system to keep watching the situation, while the assembled listeners wait eagerly for the next installment of the gossip.
• At Thunder God Hall, Thunder Sect Master’s wife prepares to leave after he angrily accused her of impropriety with Medicine King Sect’s First Elder. A disciple pleads with her to stay, but she insists that his distrust has broken their marriage and asks for divorce papers.
• Lei Niao Niao appears and taunts her, suggesting she is leaving out of shame. The wife rejects the accusation and angrily confronts her.

Character developments and interactions

• Medicine Sect Master shifts from shock and grief to decisive action, determined to verify the truth and rescue his son. His praise of Li Zi shows that he recognizes her compassion.
• Li Zi remains torn between protecting people and avoiding suspicion, but her concern extends to both the missing son and the captive girl. Her gossip has drawn the attention of the Sect leaders.
• Thunder Sect Master’s wife moves from hurt to resolve: despite her affection for her husband, she chooses to leave rather than endure a marriage without trust. The disciple supports her and insists the Sect believes in her.
• Lei Niao Niao continues to sow discord with a provocative accusation, intensifying the conflict between the wife and Thunder Sect Master.

Significant themes

• Truth and deception: The fake son’s schemes and the wife’s false accusation show how concealed facts and rumors can damage lives.
• Trust in relationships: The wife’s decision to leave reflects how deeply a lack of trust can undermine a long marriage.
• Compassion and responsibility: Li Zi’s concern for vulnerable people prompts others to act, even though she struggles with how much she can safely reveal.
• Gossip as influence: Li Zi’s overheard revelations set major events in motion, while Lei Niao Niao’s words worsen an existing marital rift.

Key plot points

• Lei Niao Niao publicly accuses Su’er and a male disciple of an affair, trying to drive Su’er out and keep her father’s affection to herself.
• Thunder Sect Master arrives, recognizes that he misjudged his wife, and apologizes tearfully. Su’er is still hurt and asks him to sign the divorce papers, but he begs for another chance and brings her back onto his side.
• He confronts Lei Niao Niao, realizes she has been manipulating him and spreading rumors, and throws her out. Later, he destroys her Dantian and casts her down the mountain.
• Thunder Sect Master reconciles with Su’er, clears her name across the Sect, apologizes to her family and to the Medicine King Sect’s First Elder, and vows never to adopt another daughter.
• Outside the Secret Realm Trial, Li Zi hears the news through the system and comments that the fearsome Thunder Sect Master seems afraid of his wife. The other Sect leaders laugh along.

Character developments and interactions

• Su’er remains gentle and reluctant to argue, but refuses to overlook her husband’s distrust; she initially insists on leaving despite his apology.
• Thunder Sect Master shifts from suspicion to remorse and decisive action once he understands Lei Niao Niao’s deceit. He protects Su’er, takes responsibility publicly, and tries to repair the harm he caused.
• Lei Niao Niao drops her respectful facade and reveals her jealousy and possessiveness, then panics when her father turns against her.
• Li Zi follows the aftermath from outside the trial, while the gathered Sect leaders react with amusement to the dramatic reversal.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and manipulation can destroy trust and family relationships.
• A sincere apology requires more than words: Thunder Sect Master must also correct the rumors and make amends.
• Hidden motives are exposed, and long-standing reputations can be overturned when the truth comes to light.

Key plot points and events

• After laughing at the Thunder Sect Master’s embarrassing deference to his wife, Li Zi learns through the system that the Medicine King Sect Master is approaching.
• Meng Ning, a young disciple of the Five Elements Sect, has escaped from Yao Hui, the Medicine King Sect Master’s son, and is running toward her master, who is nearby.
• The system reveals Meng Ning’s extraordinary potential: she has the rare Azure Lotus Yin Body, a pure fire Spiritual Root, and an Azure Lotus Demon Flame that could make her a once-in-a-generation prodigy.
• The Five Elements Sect Master realizes Meng Ning is in danger and intercepts Yao Hui just as he is about to seize her. His powerful shout wounds Yao Hui, and he throws him aside.
• Yao Hui claims he was only trying to rescue Meng Ning. Though she tries to speak, Meng Ning falls silent, afraid that her account will be used to shame her or pressure her into marrying her abuser.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi shifts from amusement to indignation, recognizing the injustice Meng Ning faces and wanting to intervene.
• The Five Elements Sect Master moves from surprise at his disciple’s hidden talent to immediate, protective action.
• Meng Ning is shown as frightened and physically hurt, but also guarded and determined not to let Yao Hui control her future.
• Yao Hui maintains a polished, deceitful façade, relying on Meng Ning’s silence to make himself appear innocent.
• The system supplies the information that lets the group understand both Meng Ning’s importance and the danger she is in.

Significant themes

• Abuse of power and gendered injustice: Meng Ning fears that speaking openly will damage her reputation and leave her vulnerable to being forced into marriage with her abuser.
• Appearances versus truth: Yao Hui presents himself as a rescuer, while Li Zi and the system expose his real conduct.
• Protection and responsibility: The Five Elements Sect Master’s swift defense contrasts with the social pressures that make Meng Ning hesitate to tell the truth.
• Hidden potential: Meng Ning’s rare constitution transforms her from an overlooked disciple into a potentially exceptional cultivator.

Key plot points

• Meng Ning stays silent about being abducted, knowing that exposing the crime could bring shame and consequences onto her rather than Yao Hui.
• Yao Hui leers at Meng Ning and then winks suggestively at Li Zi. Li Zi pretends to be frightened and asks her Martial Uncle, the Spirit Sword Sect Master, to protect her.
• The Spirit Sword and Five Elements Sect Masters use Li Zi’s complaint as a pretext to beat Yao Hui, with Li Zi enthusiastically cheering them on.
• When the Medicine King Sect Master arrives to defend his son, the two other Sect Masters claim Yao Hui insulted their disciples. Li Zi’s unspoken thoughts remind everyone that Yao Hui had abducted Meng Ning and tried to force her into marriage.
• Learning what his son did, the Medicine King Sect Master kicks Yao Hui himself and asks whether he knows West-Pacifying Village. Yao Hui panics and blurts out that he hired someone to kill a man who had previously threatened him.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi turns her apparent innocence into a weapon: she theatrically recruits her Martial Uncle to punish Yao Hui, then uses her thoughts to expose the seriousness of his past crimes.
• Meng Ning is moved by Li Zi’s support. Rather than remain helpless, she resolves to cultivate harder so she can protect herself in the future.
• The Spirit Sword and Five Elements Sect Masters set aside their usual restraint and cooperate in defending their disciples, even bending the truth to justify the beating.
• Yao Hui shifts from smugly threatening Meng Ning to bewildered, injured, and terrified—especially when his father mentions West-Pacifying Village.
• The Medicine King Sect Master initially arrives as Yao Hui’s protector but turns against him once he learns of the abduction and marriage scheme.

Significant themes

• Victim-blaming and injustice: Meng Ning recognizes that victims may be forced to bear social consequences while perpetrators evade them.
• Solidarity and protection: The Sect Masters’ intervention gives Meng Ning support, while Li Zi’s actions help make Yao Hui’s misconduct impossible to ignore.
• Power and accountability: Yao Hui’s status as a powerful man’s son does not shield him from punishment—and may make his father more suspicious of his crimes.
• Comic contrast: Li Zi’s childish appearance and dramatic performance contrast with her sharp, calculated thoughts.

• The Medicine Sect Master confronts Yao Hui after discovering that he is not his biological son and has abused his position to harass female disciples. He rejects Yao Hui’s pleas, breaks his arm, and takes him away to punish him. He also gives the Spirit Sword Sect Master a bottle as thanks.
• Li Zi quietly urges Meng Ning to seek her master’s help if she is ever threatened again. Meng Ning doubts she can rely on anyone and resolves to become stronger herself. The Five Elements Sect Master then publicly promises to protect her and extends that assurance to all his disciples, giving Meng Ning a new sense of what it means to be protected.
• After the confrontation, Li Zi and Meng Ning begin to bond, but the Spirit Sword Sect Master interrupts to introduce his disciples to other sect leaders. He leads them past the Hall of Samsara, whose disciples react warily to the group.
• Character development and interactions: The Medicine Sect Master shifts from apparent indulgence to decisive action once he learns the truth, while Li Zi shows empathy toward Meng Ning. Meng Ning’s guarded independence softens slightly when her master offers support. The Spirit Sword Sect Master tries to prompt Li Zi for gossip, but she remains focused on befriending Meng Ning.
• Themes: Abuse of authority and accountability; the importance of protection and trust; and gossip as a source of communal entertainment and shifting reputations. The chapter ends with Li Zi’s curiosity turning toward the mysterious Hall of Samsara Sect Master, whose disciples are said to fear social interaction.

Key plot points and events

• The cultivation sect leaders and disciples overhear Li Zi’s system reveal that the Sect Master of the Hall of Samsara, despite his fearsome assassin reputation, is a lovesick man devoted to his childhood sweetheart junior sister.
• His junior sister broke their childhood pact to marry a prince, but later used the Sect Master’s affection to get him to kill her enemies and provide intelligence for her husband’s political struggles.
• She then persuaded him to give up a drop of heart blood, supposedly to treat the emperor’s illness. In fact, the couple planned to use it to implant a Gu parasite and control him.
• Realizing the danger, the Sect Master and his disciples immediately leave to reach the imperial palace and stop the plot.
• The system moves on to Huo Fei, the Sect Master of the Flame Hall, calling her a legendary woman whose reputation as a chaotic demoness stems from another love-related tragedy. The chapter hints that she was blamed for a war that killed tens of thousands and brought lasting disgrace upon her sect.

Character developments

• Hall of Samsara Sect Master: His confidence and lethal composure falter when Li Zi exposes his private history. He first considers killing her, then stops when he learns his junior sister has been exploiting him; he shifts from devotion to urgent action.
• Li Zi: She reacts with moral outrage and bluntly warns against relationships defined by one-sided taking.
• Huo Fei: Introduced as a gifted, formidable leader who defeated her master and rose to sect leadership, but whose later actions—or the events surrounding them—made her infamous.

Significant themes

• Love and exploitation: Devotion can be manipulated when it is not reciprocated.
• Appearance versus reality: A feared assassin may be emotionally vulnerable, while a woman condemned as a “demoness” may have a more complicated story.
• Reputation and blame: The Flame Hall’s disgrace appears tied to a past catastrophe whose truth has yet to be revealed.
• The dangers of unquestioning loyalty: The Sect Master’s willingness to comply leaves him vulnerable to betrayal.

Character interactions

• The gathered sect members watch the Hall of Samsara with fascination, while Li Zi’s system revelations expose the Sect Master’s secrets in front of them.
• The Sect Master’s threatening focus on Li Zi gives way to shock and alarm as the revelations match recent events.
• Li Zi and the system discuss the junior sister’s selfishness, prompting the Sect Master to act.
• The gathering’s attention then shifts to Huo Fei and the Flame Hall as the system begins recounting her story.

Key plot points and events

• Flame Hall has fallen from its former prominence, and its leader, Huo Fei, has not appeared publicly for years. The sects blame her for losses in the Immortal-Demon War, though an unseen voice suggests she may have been wronged.
• Li Zi’s inner thoughts—and the System’s gossip—reveal that Huo Fei was betrayed by the man she loved and has suffered deeply ever since. Flame Hall’s members have long known the truth but stayed silent.
• The sect leaders leave, and the Spirit Sword Sect Master gives Li Zi a top-grade Marrow-Washing Pill, telling her to focus on cultivation. She happily accepts, unaware how unusually easily she obtained it compared with the original story.
• On the journey home, the Sect Master warns Li Zi not to mention four figures taboo among the major sects: Huo Fei, Si Yaoxie, Cang Qing, and Immortal Hàn Rì.
• Li Zi obeys outwardly but asks the System for gossip. It begins to reveal that the four are complicated figures, including Hàn Rì’s historic achievement and her legendary romance with Si Yaoxie.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains curious and easily distracted by gossip, but is careful to keep her thoughts private. She also appreciates her martial uncle’s gift and praise.
• The Sect Master is protective and increasingly exasperated by Li Zi’s habit of mentally pursuing forbidden gossip; he tries to guide her while urging her to cultivate.
• Huo Fei and Flame Hall gain a more sympathetic portrayal: Huo Fei may have been betrayed, while her followers have carried the burden of public blame in silence.
• The System enthusiastically feeds Li Zi’s curiosity, treating secrets as valuable gossip and even promising a cultivation aid that would let her multitask.

Significant themes

• Public blame versus hidden truth: Huo Fei is condemned by the sects, yet the chapter hints that her story is more complicated.
• Silence and loyalty: Flame Hall’s members have accepted blame rather than explain what happened.
• Gossip and forbidden knowledge: Li Zi’s private curiosity clashes with the sects’ warnings and painful history.
• Moral ambiguity: The Sect Master describes the taboo figures as responsible for great harm, while the System insists they cannot be judged as simply good or evil.

• Li Zi and members of the Sect listen as the system recounts Huo Fei’s life, unaware that a ragged beggar nearby has begun listening too.
• Huo Fei was a gifted Flame Hall disciple with a powerful spiritual root and a trace of True Dragon blood. She fell for a reserved, ordinary-talented sword cultivator who focused on training rather than flattering her.
• When he hesitated to act on his feelings, Huo Fei drugged them both to force the relationship forward. He fled, and she publicly kissed Wen Yun, a visiting friend of Flame Hall’s Sect Master. She later married Wen Yun, though she had originally chosen him in anger and spite.
• Their marriage was turbulent. Wen Yun was outwardly regarded as devoted and patient, but the system reveals he cultivated the Amorous Dao and maintained a harem of over a hundred people, both men and women. Huo Fei nonetheless tried to make the marriage work; Li Zi wonders whether she eventually came to love him.
• Huo Fei’s most serious failure came during the final Immortal-Demon War. Flame Hall was meant to seal the retreating Demon Army with its grand formation, but she delayed the order. The delay allowed the demons to summon their Saint Son. Elders from the major sects sacrificed their cultivation and lives to seal him, leaving the strongest cultivators dead, though the victory helped preserve peace among the Three Realms.
• Character developments and interactions: Li Zi’s curiosity shifts to shock as the story grows more complicated. The Sect experts, initially eager for scandal, are stunned by the revelation about Wen Yun and begin reinterpreting the familiar account of Huo Fei’s marriage. The Sect Master keeps the gossip going, judging the teahouse safe and ordering more tea to calm the group.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts public reputation with private truth, explores impulsive choices and their lasting consequences, and complicates the idea of blame: Huo Fei’s marriage troubles may have had more behind them than outsiders knew, while her delay in wartime carried consequences far beyond her personal life.

Key plot points and events

• The system reveals how Huo Fei’s life unraveled: although she was a powerful sect leader, Wen Yun’s followers repeatedly framed and harassed her, damaging her reputation. When Wen Yun later used a sword-cultivator disciple as leverage, Huo Fei broke out of seclusion and nearly suffered qi deviation.
• Wen Yun exploited her concern for the disciple to coerce her into committing acts that brought her infamy. She now bears the karmic burden and suffers the sensation of insects gnawing at her bones. The disciple eventually escaped and vanished, while Wen Yun remains comfortably at Painting Residence, recovering from his wounds.
• The sect master suspects Huo Fei’s past may connect to the Demon Scion’s appearance during the immortal-demon war, but he keeps his questions to himself. Li Zi’s absurd speculation about whether cultivators can get constipated derails the moment.
• Back at the sect, Fu Chaoqing gives Li Zi a Marrow-Cleansing Pill and sends her into a month of seclusion, hoping she will awaken her Divine Bone of Ten Thousand Flowers.
• During Li Zi’s retreat, the Hall of Samsara’s sect master publicly displays the Black Crane Kingdom ruler’s corpse. Meanwhile, a mysterious young sword cultivator defeats powerful sect leaders with a single sword strike, but pointedly does not challenge the Spirit Sword Sect.
• Li Zi emerges from seclusion as the Spirit Sword Sect master and Joyous Union Sect master are drinking together.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Fei is revealed as a tragic, formidable figure whose devotion and concern were weaponized against her. She sacrificed her chance at immortality and now bears the consequences of coerced deeds.
• Li Zi reacts with sympathy and anger at the injustice, concluding that love should not make someone lose their judgment. Her comic inner conversation with the system briefly distracts her and the sect master.
• Wen Yun is exposed as manipulative and coercive, yet appears to have escaped lasting consequences.
• The sect master grows suspicious about the Demon Scion’s origins and considers questioning Li Zi about Huo Fei, but decides against it.
• Fu Chaoqing takes practical steps to help Li Zi advance her cultivation.

Significant themes

• Love and exploitation: Huo Fei’s affection becomes a means for others to control her.
• Unequal justice and consequences: Huo Fei suffers while the escaped disciple and Wen Yun avoid comparable punishment.
• Hidden truths and suspicion: The Demon Scion’s appearance may have a deeper explanation, but the sect master lacks proof.
• Power and reputation: Huo Fei’s public infamy conceals the coercion behind her actions; the new sword cultivator’s rise likewise unsettles the established sects.

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi and her Second and Third Senior Brothers finally resolve years of conflict after spending days and nights talking. When Li Zi emerges from seclusion, their relationship is noticeably warmer.
• Li Zi reaches the sixth level of Qi Refining. Her Heaven-tier cultivation method lets her Acupoints absorb Spiritual Power with unusual force, while her Myriad Flower Divine Bone gives her an instinctive sense of nature’s rhythms—she can even make a plant grow by channeling Spiritual Power into it.
• The system exchanges her points for a Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart, though Li Zi cannot immediately tell what effect it has.
• The system then reveals that Ran Zirou has returned to the Sect. Li Zi’s Second and Third Senior Brothers rescued Ran Zirou while training on Cragstone Mountain, and the three grew close. Ran is now coming to see Li Zi.
• Li Zi fears Ran, who has been reborn, may again target her Myriad Flower Divine Bone and Ji Zheng’s Pure Yang Physique. Her awakened divine bone could be stolen by a sufficiently powerful expert.
• The Spirit Sword and Hehuan Sect Masters suspect Ran may be connected to the Demon Prince, whose soul might not have been fully sealed. They worry she could pose a danger to Li Zi.
• Li Zi’s earlier influence has earned her protection from at least five Sects. Their leaders agree to secretly monitor her unspoken thoughts while hiding this from her.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi’s cultivation and connection to nature deepen, but news of Ran’s return immediately interrupts her progress and revives her anxiety.
• The Second and Third Senior Brothers’ reconciliation with Li Zi marks a major improvement in their relationship; their rescue of Ran, however, puts them back in the middle of a potentially dangerous situation.
• Ran’s return creates a new threat and raises questions about her motives and possible demonic ties.
• The Sect leaders show growing loyalty to Li Zi. The Medicine King, Thunder God Hall, Five Elements, and Hall of Samsara Sect Masters all promise to defend her, alongside the Spirit Sword and Hehuan Sect leaders. The Hall of Samsara Master is especially determined because Li Zi helped him discover he had been manipulated.

Significant themes

• Trust and reconciliation: Honest conversation repairs the long-standing rift between Li Zi and her senior brothers.
• Power and vulnerability: Li Zi’s rare divine bone brings extraordinary potential, but also makes her a target.
• Hidden knowledge and protection: The Sect leaders secretly listen to Li Zi’s thoughts so they can act on dangers she does not yet know about.
• Loyalty and consequences: Li Zi’s past actions have earned powerful allies who now feel personally indebted to her.

Plot points and events

• Li Zi cultivates while talking with her system, which explains that the sect’s Primordial Sage Secret Art is flawed: only its first four levels are safe. A method-perfection skill could fix the final two levels once Li Zi earns enough points.
• The two hidden sect masters overhear this and are reassured when Li Zi thinks of secretly placing the perfected method in the Scripture Library.
• The system reveals that Li Zi’s Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart has been fully activated, allowing her to cultivate and pay attention to other things at once.
• Ran Zirou arrives and sees Li Zi’s myriad flower divine bone manifesting. Confused because this differs from her memories of her past life, she assumes Li Zi must have obtained a rare Marrow-Washing Pill.
• Ran tries to disrupt Li Zi’s meditation, but Li Zi’s spiritual energy pushes her back. She is shocked to learn Li Zi’s cultivation has surpassed her own.
• Knowing her senior brothers are on their way, Li Zi switches from preparing to attack verbally to acting fragile and innocent. She answers Ran’s questions, then needles her with an offer of medicine for constipation.
• Ran grabs Li Zi and accuses her of obtaining the pill by seducing Ji Zheng. Her jealousy and anger intensify as she fears Li Zi may have claimed Ji Zheng, whose pure-yang physique she wanted.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi shows growing cultivation and new mental abilities, while continuing to use humor and calculated performance to manage threats. She also remains committed to helping her sect by improving its cultivation method.
• Ran Zirou becomes increasingly hostile as events diverge from her past-life expectations. She interprets Li Zi’s success through suspicion and jealousy rather than evidence.
• The hidden sect masters gain confidence in Li Zi’s loyalty and potential after overhearing her plans.
• The Fifth Elder arrives holding Little Fox. The sect master teases him about his reputation as a miser, which he silently resents; he had been keeping busy by taking Lin Ning’er to gather spirit medicines.

Significant themes

• Changing fate: Ran Zirou’s past-life knowledge is becoming unreliable as Li Zi’s circumstances improve unexpectedly.
• Appearance versus reality: Li Zi’s delicate, innocent act masks her awareness and strategic choices, while Ran’s assumptions distort her judgment.
• Hidden loyalty and responsibility: Li Zi’s plan to improve the sect’s flawed technique suggests care for the community despite her playful manner.
• Cultivation and personal growth: Li Zi’s emerging abilities advance both her spiritual power and her capacity to divide her attention.

• Bao Yuanwu and Yu Lin, Li Zi’s second and third senior brothers, arrive after hearing that their new junior sister may be bullying Ran Zirou. They expect Li Zi to be cruel, based on Ran Zirou’s account, but find Li Zi on the ground in tears and Ran Zirou glaring at her.
• Ran Zirou insists Li Zi is faking her distress because Li Zi is stronger, but the brothers are unsettled by the apparent mismatch between her story and what they see. They initially question whether Ran Zirou is the one bullying Li Zi.
• Li Zi’s unspoken thoughts—and the System’s replies—are audible to the brothers. They learn that Ran Zirou has been filling their heads with stories about Li Zi, and Li Zi privately mocks her own “innocent” performance.
• Yu Lin turns away from Ran Zirou and helps Li Zi up, introducing himself and Bao Yuanwu as her senior brothers. Li Zi uses the moment to touch his arm, then thinks of a grim future in which Ran Zirou will ruin his Cultivation and hand him over to other men. Yu Lin hears this and is stunned; Ran Zirou becomes furious at seeing him help Li Zi.
  Character developments and interactions: Bao Yuanwu and Yu Lin’s idealized view of Ran Zirou begins to crack as they witness her hostility and hear Li Zi’s thoughts. Li Zi proves both theatrically vulnerable and strategically manipulative, while Ran Zirou’s composure slips into jealousy and anger. The chapter centers on the tense triangle among Li Zi, Ran Zirou, and the two senior brothers.
  Themes: Deception and conflicting appearances; the power of reputation and persuasion; the uncertainty of whom to trust; and fate revealed through Li Zi’s knowledge of future events.