Chapter Summaries

In his fourth year at the Great Wei border camp, Xu Mingxuan mined Blackiron Essence Ore, thought of his family, and spoke with his soldiers about life back home. His mining ended with his pick striking what appeared to be Mystic Iron essence stone.

• Xu Mingxuan reflected on his family and the Xu Household while gazing at the moon.
• On his day off, Xu Mingxuan drank and chatted with his soldiers, who teased him about never having been with a woman.
• Xu Mingxuan explained that his strict family and focus on martial arts had kept him from such experiences.
• After returning to his tent, Xu Mingxuan meditated and tried to sense the power of heaven and earth.
• During mining near the nearly hollowed-out Twin Camel Peak, Xu Mingxuan struck a hard object and recognized it as Mystic Iron essence stone.

Xu Mingxuan discovered blackiron essence mother and earned First-Class Merit, while Xu Chuan revealed pills that could speed up martial artists’ cultivation. The chapter ended with Xu Mingxian realizing the pills and the Xu household’s medicinal cuisines could quickly produce Houtian Peak Martial Artists.

• Xu Mingxuan found a piece of blackiron essence mother while mining and brought it to Commandant Ge Xuanhong.
• Ge Xuanhong explained the ore’s value, then presented it to the commander, who approved First-Class Merit for Xu Mingxuan.
• Ge Xuanhong invited Xu Mingxuan to become one of his Personal Guards, and the soldiers’ excavation uncovered a considerable amount of blackiron essence stone.
• Xu Chuan sent Xu Mingshu to find five loyal martial artists of different ages, and she rode the White Tiger down the mountain.
• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingxian Aperture-Opening Pills and explained how they could accelerate cultivation alongside the household’s Three Secret Medicinal Cuisines.

Xu Mingxian broke through to Xiantian and learned that he had mixed spiritual root aptitude, while the Xu Household continued pursuing cultivation methods and supporting its members. The chapter ended with Xu Mingyuan agreeing to seek the Qi-Inducing Pill formula from the Immortal Officials.

• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingxian to distribute Aperture-Opening Pills to five trusted household members and test them for adverse effects before using more.
• After more than ten days, Xu Mingxian broke through to Xiantian, becoming the Xu Household's third Xiantian expert.
• Xu Chuan revealed the Xiantian Five Elements Creation Art and tested Xu Mingxian's aptitude, finding that he had mixed spiritual roots that could be purified through cultivation.
• Xu Mingxian collected Five Elements Returning to Origin medicinal cuisine from Xu Mingwei, who learned that his younger brother had broken through.
• Xu Mingwei discussed the Immortal Officials' prices for cultivation methods with Xu Mingyuan and urged him to continue seeking them out.
• Xu Mingyuan said he would try to obtain the Qi-Inducing Pill formula from the Immortal Officials.

Xu Mingyuan bought the wood-attribute Everlasting Spring Art from Xiao Changyuan and brought it to Xu Chuan, who saw it as a foundation for the Xu Household’s cultivation future. Xu Chuan cautioned against expanding too quickly, while Xu Mingyuan began considering a foothold in Moonlake Commandery City.

• Xu Mingyuan visited Xiao Changyuan and paid one hundred thousand taels for the Everlasting Spring Art.
• Xu Mingyuan asked about Qi-Inducing Pill formulas, but Xiao Changyuan had none and offered to sell him pills instead.
• Xu Mingyuan brought the cultivation art to Xu Chuan, who said its wood attribute complemented his Shennong's Hundred Herbs.
• Xu Chuan said he could try to develop a Qi-Inducing Pill formula and advised Xu Mingyuan to amass wealth cautiously until the Xu Household had enough martial strength.
• Xu Mingyuan decided to train more martial artists and considered using the Yang Household connection to establish a foothold in Moonlake Commandery City.

Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan received Xu Chuan’s permission to travel to the Commandery Seat with their plans to visit the Yang Household and establish a business foothold. Xu Chuan remained concerned about the challenges awaiting them in the powerful city.

• Yang Ronghua told Xu Mingwei that her family had invited them to bring Zhao'er and Wen'er to the Commandery Seat, and he agreed to ask Xu Chuan to oversee the household while they were away.
• Xu Mingyuan asked Xu Mingwei to let him travel along so he could begin establishing a business presence in the Commandery Seat.
• Xu Mingshu asked to join them, but Xu Chuan told her to wait until she reached xiantian, while Xu Mingyuan described the strength of the Commandery Seat’s lineages.
• Xu Chuan approved Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan’s trip and warned them to be careful in the dangerous Commandery Seat.
• After the brothers left to prepare, Yunnu asked Xu Chuan about his misgivings, and he said it would be difficult to make their way among the city’s great martial and immortal lineages.

Xu Mingwei and his family reached Moon Lake Commandery City and reunited with the Yang Household. Yang Zhao said he would discuss Zhao'er's matter with the lineage, leaving Wen Jing resentful over his defense of the Xu Household's former head.

• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingxian that a lineage might abandon individuals to protect its interests, while reassuring him that his suspicions about the Yang Household were only speculation.
• Xu Mingwei's party arrived at Moon Lake Commandery City, where Steward Yang welcomed them and led them to the Yang Residence.
• Yang Shichang, Madam Yang, and Wen Jing greeted Yang Ronghua and her family, and Yang Zhao later joined them to meet his grandchildren.
• Yang Zhao praised the Xu Household's former head and reprimanded Wen Jing when she dismissed him as old and ordinary.
• Yang Zhao said he would discuss Zhao'er's matter with the lineage, and Wen Jing complained to her husband that his rebuke had chilled her heart.

Xu Mingwei’s family visited the Yang Household in the Commandery Seat, where Xu Dezhao and Xu Dewen were tested and found to have exceptionally pure Yang bloodlines. The household head offered to teach them the Yang Household’s Inherited Martial Art and asked that they stay in the Commandery Seat.

• Yang Shichang took Xu Mingyuan, Xu Mingwei, and their family around the Commandery Seat, where they unexpectedly met Chang Haowen at a restaurant.
• Chang Haowen repeatedly sought out Xu Mingyuan over the next two days, but Xu Mingyuan avoided committing to an alliance with the Chang Household.
• Yang Zhao and his companions brought Xu Mingwei’s family to the Yang Ancestral Residence, where the household head and elders received them.
• The Yang elders tested Xu Dezhao’s bloodline and found it pure, then tested Xu Dewen’s and found it even purer.
• The head of the Yang Household offered both boys instruction in the Yang Household’s Inherited Martial Art and asked Xu Mingwei to let them stay in the Commandery Seat.

Xu Mingyuan negotiated with the Yang Household over whether Xu Dewen or Xu Dezhao would stay in the Commandery Seat for martial training, then proposed a contest between Xu Mingwei and Yang Shidao to settle the matter. The two fighters faced off as the chapter ended.

• Patriarch Yang offered to train the Xu children in the Commandery Seat and insisted that one remain with the Yang Household.
• Xu Mingyuan rejected the demand that both children stay and proposed that Xu Dezhao remain instead, but Patriarch Yang preferred Xu Dewen.
• Xu Mingyuan suggested waiting several years before taking Dewen, citing his young age and the need to stay with his mother.
• Xu Mingyuan proposed a contest between Xu Mingwei and a Yang Household martial artist, with a close Xu victory allowing the families to discuss the matter again in six years.
• Patriarch Yang accepted the contest and summoned Yang Shidao, while Xu Mingyuan advised Xu Mingwei to conceal his strength and win narrowly.
• Xu Mingwei and Yang Shidao took their positions and faced each other.

Xu Mingwei defeated Yang Shidao in a martial contest, ending the Yang Household’s attempt to pressure the Xu Household into an agreement. The Yang Household then proposed a marriage alliance with Xu Xueji, but the Xu brothers stalled the proposal by insisting their father must decide and asking for six more years.

• Xu Mingwei revealed his late Xiantian cultivation and fought Yang Shidao to a standstill before breaking his crimson palm imprint and pinning him.
• The Yang Household head stopped Yang Shidao from continuing and acknowledged his defeat, while Yang Zhao asked to honor their earlier agreement to revisit matters in six years.
• The Yang Household head accepted Yang Zhao’s plea and agreed to let Xu Mingwei and the others leave, then proposed a marriage alliance between Yang Shidao and Xu Xueji.
• Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan said their father had authority over their sister’s marriage, and Yang Zhao confirmed Xu Xueji was not yet fifteen.
• The Yang Household head suggested waiting until Xu Xueji turned sixteen, but Xu Mingyuan asked for another six years before she would be ready, angering the head.

Xu Mingyuan negotiated a six-year delay in the marriage dispute, and Xu Mingwei won a second contest against Yang Shigang. Yang Wenfeng honored the agreement and sent a gift after the Xu party departed, hoping to preserve relations between the households.

• Xu Mingyuan persuaded the Yang patriarch to defer the marriage question for six years, then accepted a contest between Xu Mingwei and a fighter of his generation.
• Yang Shigang attacked Xu Mingwei with a Crimson Palm Print, but Xu Mingwei shattered it with one punch and won.
• Yang Wenfeng arrived, confirmed the Yang Household would honor the six-year agreement, and ordered his son to reflect on his conduct.
• Yang Wenfeng explained to the Grand Elder that the Yang Household should seek an alliance with the Xu Household rather than forcefully recruit its members.
• Yang Wenfeng sent Yang Shihui to deliver a wooden box to the Xu Household before its visitors left.

Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan returned from the Commandery Seat with the Yang Household’s martial arts manuals after a tense clash and an unexpected gift. Xu Chuan heard their account and asked how the Xu Household should deal with the Yang Household, leaving the brothers’ differing views unresolved.

• Yang Shihui delivered two martial arts manuals from his grandfather as Xu Mingwei and the others departed the Commandery Seat.
• Xu Chuan used [Daily Divination] and learned that Xu Mingwei’s family and Xu Mingyuan would return safely with the Yang Household’s martial arts.
• Xu Chuan welcomed the returning family, then summoned Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan to his study to hear what had happened.
• Xu Mingwei said the Xu Household should repay the Yang Household’s wrongs if they came for its children, while Xu Mingyuan advised keeping peace until the Xu Household grew stronger.
• Xu Chuan suggested Xu Mingyuan was trying to guess his own thoughts.

Xu Chuan explained why the Xu Household should avoid a feud with the Yang Household, and Xu Mingwei accepted the lesson while choosing to pursue Immortal-Martial Dual Cultivation. After the brothers returned, Xu Mingshu revealed that Little White had become a Demon Beast, and Xu Mingwei told her to keep the growing tiger near the Jade-Cold Pool.

• Xu Mingyuan explained to Xu Mingwei that the Yang Household's apology and show of strength meant the Xu Household should avoid provoking a deadly feud.
• Xu Mingwei admitted his mistake, kept his position as household head, and resolved to cultivate the Grandmaster Chapter of the Xiantian Dragon Elephant Art before turning to the Immortal Way.
• Xu Chuan agreed to develop medicinal cuisine for grandmasters and told Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan to conceal the Yang Household details from the rest of the family.
• Xu Mingshu surprised the returning brothers and showed them that Little White had become a Demon Beast.
• Xu Mingwei praised Little White's growth but instructed Xu Mingshu to keep the tiger near the Jade-Cold Pool because the household residence was becoming too small.

Xu Chuan began Xu Dezhao’s martial training and granted him the [Qi-Blood Furnace] fate talent, while the Xu Household expanded its influence and Xu Chuan developed an improved Qi-Inducing Pill. The chapter ended with several Xu family members and guards advancing in cultivation and the Guard Team’s families settling in Dongxi Village.

• Xu Chuan arranged for Xu Mingxian to guide Xu Dezhao into the Martial Way and secretly decided to bestow [Qi-Blood Furnace] upon him.
• Xu Mingyuan partnered with the Chang Household to establish Xu businesses in the Commandery Seat and gather intelligence, giving them half of the profits.
• Xu Chuan studied Qi-Inducing Pills, developed a stronger and cheaper formula, and began supplying the Xu Household’s Xiantian Martial Artists while selling some pills for profit.
• Xu Mingwei reached xiantian perfection, and Xu Mingshu and Xu Mingyuan later broke through to xiantian with the help of Qi-Inducing Pills.
• Dozens of the Xu Household’s guards became First-Class Martial Artists, seven or eight reached houtian peak, and their families moved to Dongxi Village.

Xu Chuan purified his spiritual roots and converted his xiantian true qi into magic power, finally beginning Qi Refining cultivation. After reuniting with his family at a feast, he supported Xu Xueji’s choice of husband, insisting that any match would need to marry into the Xu family.

• At the border, Xu Mingxuan received Qi-Inducing Pills from home and decided to use one to pursue a breakthrough to Xiantian.
• While cultivating at Jade-Cold Pool, Xu Chuan felt his spiritual roots purify and began converting his true qi into magic power, while Xu Mingxian guarded his seclusion.
• After five days, Xu Chuan completed the irreversible conversion and reached the peak of the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Chuan came out of seclusion, thanked Xu Mingxian for guarding him, and went down the mountain with his family.
• At the family feast, Xu Mingshu praised Xu Dezhao’s martial talent, and the family teased Xu Mingyuan and Xu Xueji about marriage and children.
• Xu Chuan said Xu Xueji could choose someone she liked, but her future husband would have to marry into the Xu family.

The Xu Household expanded its martial halls and began cultivating two children with immortal aptitude while quietly gathering strength. Xu Mingxuan learned that he could return home the following spring, and Xu Chuan discovered that the infant Xu Deling possessed a true spiritual root and rare Innate Spirit Eyes.

• Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan opened Dragon Elephant Martial Halls in four neighboring counties, where the Xu Household found Wu Tao and Shen Qingyi and brought them to Dongxi Village to train under Xu Chuan.
• Xu Chuan renamed the children Wu Tao and Shen Qingyi, assigned Xu Dezhao to teach them to read, and learned that Wu Tao had a false spiritual root while Shen Qingyi had a mixed spiritual root.
• At the Great Wei border during the Year Sacrifice, Ge Xuanhong told Xu Mingxuan that the soldiers could return home in glory by late spring the following year, leaving Xu Mingxuan too excited to sleep.
• At the Xu Household’s reunion meal, Xu Chuan tested Xu Mingwei’s infant daughter Xu Deling and discovered her true spiritual root and Red eagle spirit eyes.
• Xu Chuan urged Xu Mingwei to have more children so that some could follow the Martial Way, while Xu Deling and Xu Dezhao pursued immortal cultivation.

Xu Mingxuan survived the final battle, earned First-Class and Second-Class Merit, and set out for home with the six other Xu Household survivors. Xu Chuan foresaw his return and prepared a banquet, and the chapter ended as Xu Mingxuan arrived at the household gates.

• Xu Mingxuan rescued the wounded Ge Xuanhong from enemy warriors, revealed his Xiantian strength, and earned enough merit for another Second-Class Merit.
• After Great Wei declared the war over, Xu Mingxuan collected his merit certificates and learned from Ge Xuanhong about exchanging merits for tax exemptions.
• Xu Mingxuan joined Li Zhi, Chen Daniu, Bai Hui, and three other survivors on the journey home; only seven of the Xu Household's twenty or thirty soldiers had survived.
• Xu Chuan received an auspicious divination predicting Xu Mingxuan's return with First-Class Merit and Second-Class Merit, so he arranged a banquet and invited the Chen, Bai, and Li Households.
• At the hour of the Rooster, Xu Mingxuan and the other riders approached the Xu Household, where Xu Mingshu startled their horses with Little White's roar before Xu Mingwei recognized his returning brother.

Xu Mingxuan returned from the frontier and learned how much the Xu Household had grown during his six-year absence, including its martial and cultivation resources. The household assigned his military merits, and two months later Li Zhi became Qingjiang County’s Magistrate’s Deputy while the Xu Household secured a tax exemption for its lands.

• Xu Mingxuan reunited with his family and companions at the Xu Household’s gate, then recounted his military service at the evening banquet and revealed his First-Class Merit and Second-Class Merit.
• Xu Chuan decided to use the First-Class Merit to exempt the Xu Household’s fields and mountain forests from taxes, reserve one Second-Class Merit, and use the other to appoint Li Zhi County Magistrate’s Deputy after he reached xiantian.
• Xu Mingxuan learned about the Xu Household’s growth, its Inherited Martial Art, and Xu Chuan’s cultivation, then joined his brothers and Wu Tao and Shen Qingyi near the Jade-Cold Pool.
• Xu Mingxuan discovered that Xu Mingxian had reached mid-xiantian and sparred with his siblings as he settled into life at the Jade-Cold Pool.
• Two months later, Li Zhi reached the Xiantian Realm and replaced the Wang Clan’s County Magistrate’s Deputy, while the Xu Household registered its First-Class Merit and gained tax exemption for its lands.

After Wu Rushan became pregnant, Bai Jing urged Xu Mingxuan to marry, and he arranged a talent contest to choose a bride. He selected Zhang Wanqing, married her, and began their first night together.

• Wu Rushan was found to be pregnant, and Bai Jing pressed Xu Mingxuan to marry again.
• Xu Mingxuan asked Xu Chuan for advice, then took Xu Mingshu's suggestion to hold a talent contest for a bride.
• Xu Mingxuan chose Zhang Wanqing, a young woman from an ordinary family, from among the contest's candidates.
• Xu Mingwei ordered the Xu Household to increase Zhang Wanqing's betrothal gifts, and the household welcomed her as Xu Mingxuan's bride two months later.
• On their wedding night, Xu Mingxuan told Zhang Wanqing about his family and the clan's rules before they began their marriage together.

After discovering Zhang Wanqing’s cultivation aptitude and watching the Xu Household grow, Xu Chuan decided to seek out cultivator markets in Moon Lake Commandery. He and Xu Mingxian traveled there disguised as rogue cultivators and arrived at one of the Xu Household’s businesses.

• Zhang Wanqing’s testing crystal revealed a true spiritual root, and she began cultivating under Xu Chuan while keeping her aptitude secret.
• Zhang Wanqing became pregnant, and three years passed as the Xu Household’s family and cultivation ranks grew.
• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingwei that the Xu Household needed to contact the wider cultivation world, then asked him to oversee matters at home during their journey.
• Xu Mingxian reached the sixth layer of qi refining, and he and Xu Chuan adopted the aliases Daoist Yunming and Daoist San Shu.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian entered Moonlake Commandery City and visited the Broad Lake Residence, a tavern secretly owned by the Xu Household.

Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian joined the Zhou Household after Young Master Zhou Yilin recruited Xu Chuan to help complete an incomplete pill formula. After passing the Zhou Household’s assessment, Xu Chuan began studying the formula alongside other rogue cultivators.

• Zhou Yilin invited Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian to help his household complete an incomplete pill formula, promising generous rewards for their contributions.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian followed Zhou Yilin to the Zhou Household, where Xu Chuan learned that its ancestor had reached Foundation Establishment.
• A Zhou Household medicinalist assessed Xu Chuan’s knowledge and arranged for him to study the formula with other Daoists.
• Xu Chuan left Xu Mingxian in the courtyard to cultivate the Golden Origin Art and went with three elderly Daoists to the Zhou Household’s pill hall.
• Elder Zhou gave Xu Chuan and the other Daoists copies of the incomplete formula and assigned each a junior to assist them.
• Xu Chuan inspected his lodging and the alchemy chambers, then began studying the pill formula.