Chapter Summaries

Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian discovered that the Jade-Cold Pool concealed an ancient sealing formation that could power the Xu Household’s Clan-Protecting Grand Formation. Xu Chuan also developed pills that greatly accelerated the Xu Household’s martial cultivation, while the formation’s sealed threat remained uncertain.

• Xu Chuan explained that the Black Iron Fruit Tree could transform demon beasts, then gave cultivation pills to household members and invited Zhang Wanqing to study the Pill Dao.
• Xu Mingxian investigated the Jade-Cold Pool and found traces of a powerful formation beneath its waters.
• Xu Chuan’s divination revealed that the Three-Absolute Dragon-Locking Grand Formation could support a Four Symbols Heavenly Dipper Formation, and Xu Mingxian confirmed this while warning that the formation sealed a great demon or vicious creature.
• Xu Chuan instructed Xu Mingxian not to damage the ancient formation and continued investigating its implications through daily divination.
• Xu Chuan perfected pill formulas for Houtian and Xiantian martial artists, enabling the Xu Household to cultivate martial experts more quickly and help some members enter the Immortal Way.

Xu Mingwei broke through to Grandmaster Perfection and entered the Immortal Way, then tested the Ink Flood Dragon Bow against Xu Chuan. His magic-powered arrow shattered five of Xu Chuan’s six Blazing Fire Walls, leaving the final wall between them.

• Xu Chuan developed Grandmaster Martial Pills, and Xu Mingwei used them to reach Grandmaster Perfection before converting his Xiantian True Qi into magic power and attaining the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingwei a Storage Pouch, High-Grade Qi-Gathering Pills, and a Mirror-Breaking Pill, while Xu Mingwei urged the Xu Household to guard against soul searches and keep watch on the loyalty of those it trained.
• Xu Chuan began teaching Zhang Wanqing pill refining, while his own cultivation neared the late ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei tested the Ink Flood Dragon Bow near Jade-Cold Pool, and Xu Mingwei’s physical-strength-only arrow broke through Xu Chuan’s Blazing Fire Wall after several breaths.
• Xu Mingwei powered a second arrow with his magic power, identified weaknesses in the fire walls with his changed Fate Talent, and shattered five of Xu Chuan’s six layers.

Xu Chuan tested Xu Mingwei’s combat strength, then learned that activating the Xu Household’s new protective formation disturbed the seal holding a powerful flood dragon beneath the Jade-Cold Pool. After speaking with the dragon, Xu Chuan weighed whether the Xu Household should cooperate with it or keep it sealed, while preparing to strengthen the clan and conceal its growing cultivation.

• Xu Mingwei used Weak-Point Targeting to break Xu Chuan’s Blazing Fire Walls, and Xu Chuan blessed him with [gale chasing lightning].
• Xu Mingwei reported that the Four Symbols Heavenly Dipper Formation was ready, and Xu Chuan’s divination warned that activating it would disturb the Three-Absolute Dragon-Locking Grand Formation and awaken the sealed flood dragon.
• Xu Mingxian activated the formation, allowing Xu Chuan to communicate with the peak third-rank Water-Element Flood Dragon and learn that it had only two or three hundred years of life remaining.
• Xu Chuan had Xu Mingxian deactivate the formation and discussed the flood dragon’s possible escape, deciding to consider cooperation while keeping the option of leaving it sealed.
• Xu Chuan sent Xu Mingxian to the Imperial Capital to seek another formation and collect cultivation resources, while planning to conceal the Xu Household’s rising strength.

Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingshu’s herb-gathering party encountered Su Dingzhen and his guards in the Broken Fang Mountain Range, where a dispute over a Blueheart Flower ended without violence. After learning the Xu party’s strength and spirit beasts, Su Dingzhen chose not to attack, and Xu Dezhao urged caution because the Su Household might retaliate.

• Xu Mingxian left to venture into the world, while Xu Chuan reassured Bai Jing that he would return soon.
• Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingshu led an eighteen-person party, including Xu Dezhao and the Red-Gold-Eyed White Tiger, back into the mountains to search for medicinal plants.
• A Su Household guard struck Wang Yan when he approached a Blueheart Flower, and Xu Mingshu demanded that Su Dingzhen settle the dispute.
• Su Dingzhen agreed to let the matter rest after sensing the Xu party’s strength, and Xu Mingxuan’s group gave up the flower and moved on.
• Su Dingzhen’s guards suggested attacking the Xu party, but he judged the outcome uncertain and led his group away.
• Xu Dezhao warned Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingshu that killing Su Dingzhen could provoke retaliation from the Su Household’s Foundation Establishment Ancestor.

The Xu Household considered exploiting the growing turmoil between the Su and Zhou households, while the Su Household began rallying its allies and investigating rival clans. In the Imperial Capital, Xu Mingxian met three cultivators seeking a Formation Master to help explore an ancient cave abode in Guangling Commandery.

• Xu Mingxuan led the Xu team onward after confirming the other group had gone in the opposite direction, while Su Dingzhen returned from his herb-gathering trip with a report about a spirit-beast rider and a jade dew pill.
• Su Shangfang rewarded Su Dingzhen and reported the encounter to the Su Household’s leaders, who suspected a Qi Refining clan was secretly preparing to exploit the Su Ancestor’s approaching death.
• Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei discussed the coming turmoil in Moon Lake Commandery as a possible opportunity for the Xu Household, and Xu Chuan told them to plan carefully.
• Half a month later, the Su Household invited Qi Refining clans to send promising youths for training, prompting the Zhou Household and its allies to leave and dividing the city’s clans.
• Xu Mingxian, having failed to find rare cultivation materials in the Imperial Capital, was approached by Zhang Yanzhi, Daoist Chongxu, and Jin Hu, who invited him to help break the formation guarding an ancient cultivator’s cave abode in neighboring Guangling Commandery.

Xu Mingxian joined Zhang Yanzhi and the others to explore an ancient cultivator’s cave abode, where his formation skills helped them break through its defenses. After they found a protected jade slip in the owner’s meditation chamber, Zhang Yanzhi promised Xu Mingxian first pick of the storage pouch if he could break the inner formation.

• Xu Mingxian agreed to join Zhang Yanzhi, Daoist Chongxu, and Jin Hu after swearing not to reveal the cave abode’s location, and they traveled to Guangling Commandery.
• Xu Mingxian paused to visit his cave abode, while Zhang Yanzhi and the others waited elsewhere until he returned.
• Xu Mingwei worried about Xu Mingxian, but Xu Chuan used [Daily Divination] the next day and learned that Xu Mingxian was safe.
• Xu Mingxian spent five days helping the others break the cave abode’s first-tier high-grade defensive formation, then they entered and searched the chambers.
• The four cultivators broke into the meditation chamber and found the owner’s remains and an Azure Jade Slip protected by another formation.
• Zhang Yanzhi asked Xu Mingxian to break the inner formation and promised him first choice of the storage pouch’s contents.

Xu Mingxian and several rogue cultivators opened a Cave Abode, where a struggle over its treasures revealed that Daoist Chongxu was a powerful, disguised Qi Refining cultivator. Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei helped Xu Mingxian kill Chongxu, then the Xu brothers reflected on their strength and loyalty to the Xu Household.

• Xu Mingxian agreed to break the Cave Abode's formation in exchange for choosing two items first, and Xu Chuan took Xu Mingwei to lie in ambush outside.
• After breaking the formation, Xu Mingxian found an inheritance Jade Slip and two Millennium Spirit Medicines in the Cave Abode's Storage Pouch.
• Daoist Chongxu killed Jin Hu, while Xu Mingxian escaped Zhang Yanzhi and Chongxu by cutting through the vines blocking the exit.
• Daoist Chongxu revealed his cultivation at great perfection of Qi Refining, killed Zhang Yanzhi, and chased after Xu Mingxian.
• Xu Mingwei's arrows, Xu Mingxian's attacks, and Xu Chuan's Phoenix of Burning Fire overwhelmed and killed Daoist Chongxu.
• Xu Chuan went to search Chongxu's Storage Pouch, while Xu Mingwei affirmed that his bow and arrows would only target the Xu Household's enemies.

Xu Chuan’s family destroyed Daoist Chongxu’s evidence, returned home with his treasures, and began strengthening the Xu Household with new cultivation and formation knowledge. Three months later, the Yang Household debated whether to join the looming Su–Zhou conflict, with Yang Zhao warning against involvement while the clan lacked strength.

• Xu Mingxian recounted the treasures taken from Daoist Chongxu, including cultivation arts and the Aura-Concealing Art, and Xu Chuan learned that Chongxu had been the Rogue Cultivator Alliance’s Third Elder.
• Xu Mingxian retrieved the formation texts, White Jade Circular Platform, and two remaining bodies, and Xu Chuan burned them with Chongxu’s remains before the family returned to Dongxi.
• The Rogue Cultivator Alliance discovered that its Third Elder’s Life Lamp had gone out, but his destroyed token and Storage Pouch left the Grand Elder unable to trace his killer.
• Xu Chuan distributed the Aura-Concealing Art and stored the recovered treasures, while Xu Mingxian studied an extensive formation inheritance and the family used the White Jade Circular Platform for cultivation.
• Three months later, Yang Wenfeng asked his household to decide how to respond to the approaching conflict between the Su Household and the Zhou Household.
• Yang Zhao urged the Yang Household to avoid involvement until it had sufficient strength, despite the elders’ concern that refusing the Su Household had already cost clan disciples their lives.

As the Su and Zhou households’ conflict drew in the Commandery Seat clans, Chang Haowen and Zhou Shaocheng investigated the Xu Household’s connection to Zhou Guest Elder San Shu. Both arrived separately at the Xu Household in Dongxi, where they met Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingyuan, and each other, leaving the reason for San Shu’s connection unresolved.

• Yang Zhao advised the Yang Household to stay neutral, keep its gates shut, and unite with other Martial Way clans if attacked; Yang Wenfeng agreed.
• The Zhou Household envoy offered the Chang Household cultivation aid in exchange for support, but Chang Haowen and his father decided to stall while investigating the Xu Household’s Guest Elder Token.
• Zhou Shaocheng told Zhou Sen about the Xu Household’s token, and Zhou Sen sent him to Qingjiang to find out whether Daoist San Shu was involved.
• Chang Haowen reached Dongxi first, was admitted to the Xu Household, and met Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan in the main hall.
• Zhou Shaocheng arrived shortly afterward, was invited inside, and met Chang Haowen as the Xu Household’s leaders received him.

The Xu Household received visits from the Chang and Zhou Households, both seeking information about Daoist San Shu, while Xu Chuan and his family prepared to support the Zhou Household against the Su Household. A year and a half later, the Xu siblings had all entered cultivation, and the household’s younger generation had made rapid progress.

• Zhou Shaocheng and Chang Haowen questioned Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan about Daoist San Shu, but the Xu brothers claimed they did not know his whereabouts.
• Xu Mingwei told Xu Chuan that the Chang and Zhou visitors had been seeking news of him, and Xu Chuan explained that the Xu Household would reveal itself and aid the Zhou Household during its decisive battle against the Su Household.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei discussed how the Xu Household’s earlier encounter with Charcoal Head’s herb-gathering team may have helped intensify the conflict between the Su and Zhou Households.
• A year and a half passed as Xu Chuan cultivated the medicine garden and the Xu Household advanced rapidly in cultivation.
• Xu Mingyuan emerged from the White Jade Chamber after converting his Xiantian true qi into magic power, and Xu Mingxuan gave him the Aura-Concealing Art to study.
• Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingshu, Xu Dezhao, Xu Dejing, Xu Dewen, and Xu Deling continued to progress, with Xu Deling reaching the peak fourth layer of Qi Refining at eleven years old.

Xu Chuan and Bai Jing strolled through the prosperous Dongxi Village, reflecting on their family and the changes to their lives. After Xu Chuan entered seclusion, Xu Mingshu fed pills to the spirit beasts and joked with them; a month later, Xu Chuan emerged having reached Qi Refining Perfection.

• Xu Mingyuan visited Xu Chuan and Bai Jing, and Xu Chuan confirmed that he had just become an Immortal Master.
• Xu Chuan and Bai Jing walked through Dongxi Village, where residents greeted them and discussed their descendants’ prospects.
• Xu Chuan began seclusion to attempt Qi Refining Perfection, while Xu Mingshu fed pills to the White Tiger and the three Azurefire Eagle brothers and made them compete for a Qi-Gathering Pill.
• After a month, Xu Chuan broke through to Qi Refining Perfection, and his family, the household’s cultivators, and Xu Deling congratulated him.

After reaching great perfection of Qi Refining, Xu Chuan planned to exploit the Su and Zhou Households’ growing conflict by spreading a rumor about a Lifespan-Extending Pill. The rumor reached the Su Household, whose ancestor ordered an investigation and pressed the Lei Clan for aid, leaving the clan’s next move uncertain.

• Xu Chuan learned that the Xu Household’s Guard Team had gained xiantian fighters and ordered the best candidates selected for Qi-Inducing Pills.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingyuan discussed the Su and Zhou Households, and Xu Chuan decided to use a Lifespan-Extending Pill rumor to test the Su Household’s hidden strength.
• Xu Chuan instructed his family to conceal their cultivation, then stabilized his perfected Qi Refining cultivation and mastered the Aura-Concealing Art.
• Xu Mingxian sold an unusual pill in Guangling Commandery, drawing a crowd and sparking a bidding contest before news of the suspected Lifespan-Extending Pill spread.
• The Su Household Ancestor ordered the pill investigated and demanded that the Lei Clan help, while revealing that he had once surrendered the Azure Radiance Pill Formula to them.

The Xu Household prepared to emerge from hiding while its members advanced in cultivation and Zhang Wanqing improved her alchemy. Chen Daniu brought his dying mother, Xu Yan, to see Chen Ergou, and after her death Ergou grieved and asked Xu Chuan to look after their children.

• The Su Household Ancestor warned the Household Head that their allies might betray them and told him how to preserve the clan if it survived.
• Xu Mingyuan reported that the Su and Zhou Households had gone to Guangling Commandery, and Xu Chuan told him and Xu Mingwei to prepare for the Xu Household to emerge.
• Zhang Wanqing raised her Minor Martial Pill success rate, Xu Mingyuan learned the basics of the Aura-Concealing Art, and Xu Mingxian and Xu Mingwei neared cultivation breakthroughs.
• Chen Daniu returned to Dongxi to ask permission to take his critically ill mother to see Chen Ergou, and Xu Mingwei allowed him to go.
• Chen Ergou reunited with Xu Yan and forgave her before she died, then brought her coffin back to Dongxi and asked Xu Chuan to attend her funeral.
• While drinking with Xu Chuan after the burial, Chen Ergou asked him to care for Daniu and Fangfang; Xu Chuan agreed and reflected on how their changed circumstances had created distance between them.

Zhou Shaocheng sought the Yang Household’s support in the Zhou Household’s war against the Su Household, and Yang Wenfeng agreed after the clan weighed the risks and promised rewards. With the conflict looming, Yang Wenfeng assigned future roles to Yang Zhao, Yang Shidao, and Yang Yan, then arranged for Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao to seek refuge with the Xu Household in Dongxi if the Su Household won.

• Zhou Shaocheng offered the Yang Household support in exchange for joining the war, promising resources from his grandfather Zhou Sen to cultivate two Yang members.
• Yang Wenfeng gathered the household’s senior members, and they agreed to support the Zhou Household; Yang Zhao was designated acting patriarch, while Yang Yan was promised a cultivation opportunity.
• Yang Wenfeng named Yang Shidao the future Grand Elder and told him and Yang Zhao to leave the Commandery Seat secretly if the Su Household won.
• Yang Wenfeng explained that the Xu Household had become Qingjiang’s most powerful clan and controlled Dongxi, where two Yang investigators had disappeared.
• Yang Zhao agreed to follow Yang Wenfeng’s plan to seek temporary refuge with the Xu Household.

After the Yang Household sided with the Zhou Household, Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao fled with their families toward the Xu Household, unaware that a Su Household cultivator was following them. Xu Mingwei killed the pursuer with a single arrow, allowing the travelers to continue toward refuge while the Su Household Head vowed revenge.

• The Su Household learned that the Yang Household had sided with the Zhou Household and ordered surveillance and targeted killings.
• Yang Zhao and Yang Shidao secretly left the Commandery Seat with their families, and Su Taiyuan followed them toward Qingjiang County.
• Xu Chuan divined that the travelers and the Xu Household were in danger, then sent Xu Mingwei to eliminate their pursuer.
• Xu Mingwei spotted Su Taiyuan on the road and killed him with an arrow from more than a dozen li away.
• Xu Mingwei burned Su Taiyuan's corpse and returned home, while Yang Zhao's party continued toward the Xu Household.
• The Su Household Head learned that Su Taiyuan had died and vowed to destroy the Yang Household if the Su Household won the coming war.

Yang Zhao brought members of the Yang Household to visit and seek refuge at the Xu Household, where Xu Chuan agreed to host them. Yang Ronghua showed them to the West Wing Courtyard and explained the household’s rules as the guests settled in.

• Yang Zhao’s party arrived at the Xu Household, and the patrol captain sent word to Xu Mingwei after learning who they were.
• Xu Mingwei gathered his family to welcome Yang Zhao, Madam Yang, Yang Shichang, Yang Shidao, and their families at the gate.
• Yang Zhao asked to stay because the Commandery Seat had become unsettled, and Xu Chuan approved their lodging in the West Wing Courtyard.
• Yang Ronghua led the guests to the West Wing Courtyard and warned them to follow Xu Household rules and avoid wandering without an escort.
• Yang Shichang and Yang Shidao chose neighboring guest houses, while Shen Nianyan and Wen Jing commented on the Xu Household’s accommodations.

Yang Shidao challenged Xu Mingwei to resolve the defeat that had haunted him, but Xu Mingwei defeated him with one punch, and Yang Zhao predicted Shidao would soon become a Grandmaster. Yang Ruifeng then prepared to spar with Xu Dewen, while the gathered families debated their relative strengths before the match began.

• Wen Jing and Yang Shichang joked with their family during the visit to the Xu Household, and Xu Mingshu firmly rejected pressure to marry.
• Yang Shidao asked Xu Mingwei for a match to put his long-standing obsession to rest, and Xu Mingwei agreed.
• At the Martial Training Ground, Xu Mingwei shattered Yang Shidao's crimson palm attack with a single punch, and Yang Shidao left relieved after bowing to him.
• Yang Zhao predicted that Yang Shidao would soon break through to the Grandmaster realm, while Yang Shichang failed to persuade Xu Mingwei to spar with him.
• Yang Ruifeng proposed a match with Xu Dezhao, but Xu Dewen volunteered to fight him instead, and Yang Ronghua agreed to the bout.
• Yang Shichang backed Yang Ruifeng because of the age difference, while Yang Shidao pointed out Xu Dewen's pure Yang bloodline and the advantage it gave him in the Fire Origin Art.

Xu Dewen used his fight with Yang Ruifeng to break through to the first-class warrior realm, then defeated him with superior martial technique. Yang Zhao advised Xu Chuan to eventually move the Xu Household to the Commandery Seat, while Xu Mingwei learned of his sons’ cultivation advances and discussed arranging Xu Zhao’s engagement.

• Xu Dewen endured Yang Ruifeng’s attacks to open his final three apertures, then defeated him before Xu Mingshu stopped the fight.
• Yang Zhao praised the Xu Household’s prosperity and urged Xu Chuan to consider moving it to the Commandery Seat for access to resources and alliances, but Xu Chuan said he had no immediate plans to move.
• At the Year Sacrifice, Xu Dezhao reached xiantian perfection and manifested a five elements spiritual root, while Xu Deling advanced to the fifth layer of qi refining.
• Yang Ronghua suggested that Xu Mingwei arrange an engagement for their eighteen-year-old son Xu Zhao, and Xu Mingwei agreed they should first let him meet a prospective bride.

Xu Mingwei and Yang Ronghua proposed Shen Qingyi as a bride for Xu Dezhao, and the family set out to learn how Qingyi and Dezhao felt about the match. Qingyi and Dezhao both showed signs of affection, leaving the arranged marriage looking promising.

• Yang Ronghua suggested Shen Qingyi as a suitable match for Xu Dezhao, and Xu Mingwei agreed to consult Xu Chuan.
• Xu Chuan approved his son’s choice and asked Xu Mingshu to sound out Shen Qingyi, while Xu Mingwei also spoke with Xu Dezhao.
• Xu Mingshu asked Shen Qingyi about her feelings; Qingyi denied liking Wu Tao and shyly agreed to let Xu Mingshu act as her matchmaker.
• Xu Mingwei proposed Shen Qingyi to Xu Dezhao, who praised her and admitted he could not easily speak of his feelings.
• After Xu Mingwei left, Xu Dezhao recalled his time with Shen Qingyi and felt his heart stir.

Xu Chuan offered Wu Tao two paths for his future, and Wu Tao chose to marry into the Xu Household. Xu Chuan arranged for him to marry Xu Dejing, who resisted the decision after her parents told her, while they argued that the match would protect her and support her ambitions.

• Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingshu discussed the Xu Household’s marriage customs and agreed that the younger generation should spend more time meeting people beyond the family.
• The Xu Household publicly announced Xu Dezhao and Shen Qingyi’s engagement, and Wu Tao watched them receive congratulations while mourning his unreturned feelings for Shen Qingyi.
• Xu Chuan visited Wu Tao and offered him the choice of building a vassal household or marrying into the Xu Household; Wu Tao chose to join the family.
• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingyuan and Wu Rushan that Wu Tao would marry Xu Dejing and move into the Xu Household, and they accepted the arrangement.
• Xu Mingyuan and Wu Rushan informed Xu Dejing of the engagement plan, and she protested that she was only fourteen and wanted to choose someone she loved.