Chapter Summaries

• Hui Ming recovers and is taken along: Chen Hao gives the one-armed monk an inner core, healing his wound and restoring his vitality. Hui Ming plans to return to his monastery near the Kunlun Mountains, but he initially stands back rather than trouble the group. At Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing’s urging, Chen Hao turns the car around and gives him a ride.
• Kindness and growing recognition: Hui Ming praises Chen Siyao’s kindness and expresses deep gratitude to Chen Hao for saving him, healing him, and helping him reconnect his meridians. He also reveals that sacrificing his arm to save more than a dozen people was worth it. The livestream audience becomes fascinated by him and by Chen Hao, with viewers competing to become Chen Hao’s disciple and sending lavish gifts.
• Relationships develop: Li Li grows more cheerful and begins bonding with Wolf Cub, whose affection comforts her. Cai Jingwen feels relieved to see her friend recovering and quietly reflects that meeting Chen Hao is fortunate, though she leaves any deeper relationship to fate. His humble answer about his abilities increases her admiration.
• Themes: The chapter emphasizes selfless service, humility, compassion, and recovery from grief. Hui Ming’s serene acceptance of his injury contrasts with the group’s concern for him, while Chen Hao’s extraordinary powers stand in comic contrast to his understated claim: “I just practiced a little.”

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao drives Hui Ming and the others to Tashi Chuling Monastery, where the monks are startled to see that Hui Ming has returned missing an arm.
• Hui Ming welcomes Chen Hao, Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, and Cai Jingwen as honored guests and offers them rooms and a vegetarian meal.
• Monk Hui Jing questions Chen Hao’s claim that he killed a Gu Diao King with one sword strike. He argues that such a feat would require strength beyond the Return to the True Realm, then suggests Hui Ming may have lost his arm under suspicious circumstances.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing defend Chen Hao, while Cai Jingwen wonders why Hui Jing distrusts them despite Hui Ming’s warm welcome.
• Hui Ming arrives and sharply reprimands Hui Jing for disrespecting the man who saved his life, accusing him of refusing to believe anyone could surpass him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm and understated, neither boasting about his strength nor entertaining Hui Jing’s challenge.
• Hui Ming shows gratitude and courtesy toward Chen Hao, then firmly defends him against suspicion.
• Hui Jing reveals pride and insecurity beneath his skepticism: he measures Chen Hao’s story against his own long years of training and reacts badly to the possibility that a younger practitioner is far stronger.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing speak up loyally for Chen Hao, while the livestream audience also rallies to his defense.

Significant themes

• Humility versus pride: Chen Hao’s composure contrasts with Hui Jing’s need to test and rank others.
• Envy and insecurity: Hui Jing’s doubts seem rooted less in evidence than in difficulty accepting someone’s superior ability.
• Gratitude and respect: Hui Ming’s hospitality and defense of Chen Hao underscore the obligation to honor those who have helped you.

Plot points and events

• Hui Ming rebukes Hui Jing for doubting Chen Hao, explaining that even he is insignificant beside Chen. The younger monks apologize; Hui Jing follows reluctantly.
• Chen tells Hui Jing that exceptional abilities can overturn what people believe is possible. Hui Jing is shaken, though still unconvinced.
• The group shares a simple vegetarian meal, where Li Li feeds the wolf cub tsampa and lightens the mood.
• Over tea, Hui Ming asks Chen for advice about breaking past the peak of the Transformation Realm. Chen explains that the Great Sun Sutra is incomplete: it once had nine levels, but only six survived, making further progress impossible.
• Chen produces a booklet containing the lost final three levels and gives it to Hui Ming. Hui Ming recognizes it as the missing portion of the sutra, lost for a thousand years, and is overwhelmed. Hui Jing and the other monks are stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Hui Ming moves from apologizing for his disciples’ behavior to openly acknowledging Chen’s superiority. He humbly seeks Chen’s guidance and is deeply moved by the gift.
• Hui Jing struggles with disbelief and wounded pride. Chen’s words unsettle him, and the recovered sutra leaves him speechless.
• Chen Hao remains calm and generous despite the monks’ earlier doubts. He offers both perspective and a priceless cultivation text without asking for anything in return.
• The younger monks apologize and become fascinated by Chen; their excitement grows when the lost sutra is revealed.
• Li Li and the wolf cub provide a warm, humorous moment during the meal.

Significant themes

• Humility before greater ability: Even accomplished practitioners may have much to learn.
• Limits of conventional knowledge: A person’s assumptions can be shattered by extraordinary examples.
• Generosity and mentorship: Chen shares knowledge and a rare treasure freely.
• Lost knowledge and the path to growth: Hui Ming’s stagnation stems not from lack of effort, but from an incomplete tradition.

Plot points and events

• After Chen Hao gives Master Hui Ming a cultivation art lost for a thousand years, Hui Ming expresses profound gratitude and vows that Esoteric Buddhism is at Chen’s command.
• Hui Ming asks Chen what realm he has reached. Chen avoids answering, saying that one’s state of mind matters more than one’s cultivation realm.
• The group returns to the guest quarters. Chen Siyao marvels at her brother’s generosity, Yang Wanqing suspects he has more treasures, and Cai Jingwen observes that Hui Ming will remember his kindness. When Li Li asks who he really is, Chen again calls himself ordinary.
• Hui Ming studies the art through the night. He concludes Chen must be a Xiantian master, a legendary realm said to offer the possibility of greatly extending life and approaching immortality. The art renews Hui Ming’s hope that he might advance beyond his current limits.
• Chen overhears this and reflects that he has long surpassed Xiantian and several higher realms. Yet the world’s depleted spiritual energy makes further cultivation—and its promised longevity—nearly impossible.
• Chen thinks about the Moonshadow Wolf cub, once destined for greatness but now vulnerable, and resolves to continue forward for himself and those in his care.
• Cai Jingwen cannot sleep and thinks about Chen. Li Li recognizes that Jingwen has fallen for him, but warns that someone like him may be impossible to keep. Jingwen admits, sadly, that she knows.

Character developments and interactions

• Hui Ming shifts from astonishment and gratitude to renewed ambition, seeing Chen’s gift as a chance to pursue further cultivation.
• Hui Jing reflects on his earlier doubts about Chen and silently apologizes, realizing that Chen truly can overturn what others believe possible.
• Chen Hao remains modest and enigmatic, while privately revealing how far beyond the monks’ estimate he really is. His thoughts also show his responsibility toward the wolf cub and his companions.
• Cai Jingwen grows more conscious of her feelings for Chen, while Li Li acts as a perceptive, cautionary friend.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing respond with admiration and playful curiosity about Chen’s wealth of treasures; Li Li remains curious but accepts that he will not explain himself.

Significant themes

• The limits of knowledge: Chen’s abilities challenge the monks’ understanding of cultivation and the world.
• Generosity and gratitude: Chen treats a priceless art as a simple gift, while Hui Ming regards it as life-changing.
• A declining age: Even immense cultivation cannot escape the world’s scarcity of spiritual energy, making immortality a fading possibility.
• Responsibility and perseverance: Chen continues his path despite the world’s limitations, motivated partly by those entrusted to him.
• Unattainable admiration: Cai Jingwen’s feelings highlight the emotional distance between ordinary people and Chen.

Chapter summary

Plot and events

• Before leaving, Cai Jingwen confides to Li Li that she does not expect to possess the person she admires; simply seeing him brings her happiness. Li Li, reflecting on her own failing marriage, questions whether true love exists, then comforts Jingwen and promises to support her.
• The next morning, Chen Hao and his companions depart Tashi Choling Monastery. Hui Ming, who lost an arm in the previous events, thanks Chen Hao and offers the support of Esoteric Buddhism. Hui Jing wonders whether they will meet again; Hui Ming says that fate will decide.
• Once the group reaches the grassland highway, their phones regain signal. Chen Siyao starts a livestream, and viewers flood in, eager to see Chen Hao and asking about the previous day’s events.
• Chen Siyao discovers that Chen Hao is trending nationwide. Topics about his identity, his slaying of the Gu Diao at Kunlun, and his feat of walking on water have attracted enormous attention.
• The viewers celebrate Chen Hao, but some doubt that the events were real, suggesting the footage could be special effects or AI-generated. Yang Wanqing insists they livestreamed it, and Chen Siyao becomes angry as skepticism grows. The chapter ends before the dispute is resolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Cai Jingwen reveals a quiet, unpossessive affection for someone she admires. Li Li responds with empathy, connecting Jingwen’s feelings to her own painful marriage and offering friendship.
• Hui Ming shows gratitude and serenity despite his injury, while Hui Jing expresses uncertainty about seeing Chen Hao again.
• Chen Hao remains composed amid sudden online fame, treating the public reaction as unsurprising.
• Chen Siyao is excited by her brother’s viral popularity and tries to engage the livestream audience; she grows defensive when viewers question the footage. Yang Wanqing likewise stands up for Chen Hao.

Significant themes

• Unrequited admiration, emotional support, and the uncertainty of love.
• Gratitude, fate, and parting.
• The tension between extraordinary spiritual events and modern skepticism, where viral footage can be dismissed as fabrication or AI-generated content.

Key plot points and events

• Viewers initially doubt the livestream footage of Chen Hao walking on water and killing a Gu Diao, though longtime followers defend what they witnessed.
• The stream becomes a sensation when viewers spot three related topics among the top twenty trending searches. The audience grows rapidly, and new viewers flood in.
• At viewers’ insistence, Chen Hao casually flicks a visible streak of energy at a roadside boulder, shattering it. The demonstration silences skeptics and triggers a surge of gifts and requests to become his disciple.
• Elsewhere, Ye Zhengying, head of a prestigious Lingnan martial arts family, repeatedly watches the earlier footage. He concludes that Chen Hao may have surpassed the transformation and return-to-the-true realms and attained the legendary Xiantian realm.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains calm and indifferent to his sudden fame, treating the rock-shattering feat as trivial.
• Yang Wanqing becomes increasingly excited as the livestream’s audience and gifts soar, enthusiastically promoting Chen Hao.
• Chen Siyao worries that the attention may be unwelcome to her brother.
• Cai Jingwen grows more captivated by Chen Hao as his abilities become clearer.
• Ye Zhengying moves from examining the footage to recognizing Chen Hao as a potentially unprecedented martial artist; Ye Chendong confirms that he witnessed the events live and is astonished by the Xiantian possibility.

Significant themes

• Faith versus skepticism: Extraordinary claims provoke doubt until Chen Hao demonstrates his power directly.
• Fame in the digital age: A livestream and trending searches turn a private spectacle into a viral public event.
• Power and humility: Chen Hao’s immense abilities contrast with his unshowy, unconcerned attitude.
• The limits of established knowledge: Ye Zhengying’s assessment suggests Chen Hao may have exceeded the recognized martial arts hierarchy.

Character interactions

• Yang Wanqing encourages Chen Hao to perform for the viewers, while Chen Siyao voices concern about attracting attention. Chen Hao answers the audience’s demands with a brief, effortless display.
• Viewers argue, challenge the footage, and then rapidly shift to awe and admiration after seeing the boulder destroyed.
• Ye Zhengying questions Ye Chendong about the video’s authenticity and Chen Hao’s level; Chendong’s firsthand confirmation leads his grandfather to consider the legendary Xiantian realm.

Key plot points and events

• After learning of Chen Hao’s extraordinary cultivation, Ye Zhengying realizes his family’s long-standing martial-arts limits may be overcome through contact with him. He orders Ye Chendong to use the Ye Family’s verified account and send Chen Hao their largest gifts as a sincere gesture of friendship.
• In Luocheng, Wu Lie watches footage of Chen Hao’s feats and admits that his own attempts to advance beyond the Transformation Realm are futile. Convinced Chen Hao may be the Wu Family’s only hope in an era of vanishing spiritual energy, he instructs Wu Tian to send gifts from the family’s official account.
• Qin Wanshan, head of the reclusive Wuling Mountain Qin Family, studies the footage and judges Chen Hao’s strength “utterly unfathomable.” He, too, tells his granddaughter Qin Xiaoyu to send the largest gifts and approach Chen Hao sincerely.
• During Chen Siyao’s livestream, all three families’ verified accounts appear on the gift leaderboard, each sending 100 Carnivals and publicly expressing respect or a desire to befriend Chen Hao.

Character developments

• Ye Zhengying shifts from cautious observation to actively seeking Chen Hao’s favor, seeing him as a chance to break the Ye Family’s century-old cultivation bottleneck.
• Wu Lie abandons frustration over his failed breakthrough and becomes enthusiastic about forming an alliance with Chen Hao.
• Qin Wanshan, an experienced and discerning expert, is deeply impressed by Chen Hao and senses that his appearance may signal major change.
• Ye Chendong, Wu Tian, and Qin Xiaoyu accept their elders’ decisions and take on the task of reaching out to Chen Hao.

Significant themes

• Chen Hao’s power is so exceptional that established martial families view him as a possible source of guidance and renewal.
• In a declining era for cultivation, rare expertise and personal connections are portrayed as precious opportunities.
• Old traditions give way to pragmatic action: even families known for secrecy or restraint publicly seek Chen Hao’s goodwill.
• The repeated prediction that “the world is about to change” foreshadows wider upheaval.

Character interactions

• Each family head explains to a younger relative why Chen Hao is worth approaching, then directs them to use the family’s verified account and offer generous gifts.
• Chen Siyao witnesses the families’ public overtures during the livestream, turning their private assessments of Chen Hao into a visible display of respect.

Plot points and events

• The livestream draws a stunning show of support: verified accounts from the Chancheng Ye family, Luocheng Wu family, and Wuling Mountain Qin family flood the gift leaderboard with enormous donations. Ye family head Ye Zhengying also formally invites Chen Hao to visit.
• Their involvement overwhelms many skeptics, who fall silent, though a few viewers continue to claim the stream is staged.
• Yang Wanqing reports that the gifts are worth more than ten million. Chen Hao calmly tells her to donate the proceeds, further impressing viewers.
• Chen Hao treats the families’ attention casually. He says he might visit the Ye family if it happens to be on his way.
• Ying Wenjie, watching from Capital City, feels outmatched by the three prestigious families. Unable to enlist his own family’s support, he sends gifts from his personal account and again declares that he wants to become Chen Hao’s disciple.
• After his father rejects the idea and scolds him for wasting time on livestreams, Ying Wenjie resolves to pursue discipleship on his own.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains unshaken by the families’ wealth and prestige, revealing how far above ordinary social status he believes himself to be. His decision to donate the gifts reinforces his apparent generosity.
• Yang Wanqing is thrilled by the donations and the Ye family’s invitation, but Chen Hao’s indifference leaves her astonished.
• Cai Jingwen admires Chen Hao’s power and status, while also feeling the distance between them and a trace of disappointment.
• Chen Siyao innocently asks whether Chen Hao will visit the Ye family; he answers that he might if it is convenient. Li Li comments on the families’ vast wealth.
• Ying Wenjie shifts from feeling discouraged by his lack of family backing to a stubborn determination to become Chen Hao’s disciple. His father dismisses his ambition, deepening his sense that he must rely on himself.

Significant themes

• Power and status: The elite families publicly acknowledge Chen Hao, but their prestige has little effect on him.
• Sincerity versus influence: Ying Wenjie cannot match the families’ wealth, yet insists that his own determination should count.
• Generosity and public image: Chen Hao’s promise to donate the livestream earnings strengthens his reputation among viewers.
• Admiration and distance: Chen Hao’s extraordinary standing inspires awe, but also makes him seem unreachable to those around him.

Plot points and events

• Chen Siyao’s livestream continues to surge in popularity as Chen Hao drives across the grasslands. Trending topics about him, his supernatural feats, and “walking on water” dominate the rankings.
• Cai Jingwen remarks that Chen Hao has become famous. He remains indifferent, treating fame as irrelevant; she reflects that his calm, unchanged nature is part of what draws her to him.
• Viewers praise Chen Hao’s appearance and ask about wolves. He senses three wolves nearby; his aura frightens them off before they approach. His reassurance turns the chat playful and relaxed.
• Wealthy families send lavish gifts and messages courting Chen Hao’s favor. One family claims its ancestors appeared in a dream, prompting jokes from the viewers. Chen Hao responds only with a brief “Mm.”
• At livestream platform Doule, director Li Na sees the explosive statistics: tens of millions of new followers, enormous gift revenue, and millions of viewers. Chen Siyao remains unsigned, despite the platform’s failure to secure her with a top-tier contract.
• Li Na recalls that she had urged her superior, Zhang Lei, to invest in Chen Siyao early, but he dismissed her proposal. She believes his rejection was driven partly by resentment after she refused his persistent, unwanted advances.
• Now that the numbers are undeniable, Li Na sets out to act. As she leaves, a sleazy voice calls after her, setting up a confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains detached from fame, wealth, and influential families. His quiet confidence also protects the group from danger without drama.
• Cai Jingwen’s affection for Chen Hao deepens as she sees that celebrity has not changed him.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing engage with the audience, helping sustain the lively, humorous mood of the stream.
• Li Na emerges as perceptive and determined: she recognized Chen Siyao’s potential early, endured professional obstruction tied to personal harassment, and is now prepared to press the issue.
• Zhang Lei is portrayed as both dismissive of Li Na’s judgment and retaliatory toward her; the final interruption suggests his influence may still complicate her efforts.

Significant themes

• Fame versus personal character: Chen Hao’s sudden celebrity does not alter his priorities or temperament.
• Power and influence: Families use gifts and flattery to seek Chen Hao’s favor, while the platform scrambles to capitalize on his livestream’s reach.
• Merit undermined by misconduct: Li Na’s sound professional judgment is blocked by workplace sexism and personal retaliation.
• Community and humor: Viewers turn danger and corporate maneuvering alike into jokes, creating a light, communal atmosphere around the livestream.

Key plot points and events

• Li Na tells her supervisor, Zhou Jianming, that an unsigned Doule streamer has reached 70 million followers, over 1.3 million concurrent viewers, and major trending exposure.
• Zhou had dismissed Li Na’s recommendation to sign the streamer half a month earlier, calling the growth temporary. He now hesitates again, despite the risk that rival platforms will recruit her.
• Li Na bypasses Zhou and reports the situation directly to Doule president Zhang Weimin.
• Zhang promotes Li Na to general manager of content operations and orders her to secure the streamer with a three-year exclusive contract, offering a 300-million-yuan signing fee plus extensive support.
• Zhou is demoted. He begs Li Na to intervene, but she refuses and tells him he deserves the consequences of his shortsightedness.

Character developments

• Li Na moves from a sidelined employee to a decisive leader. She trusts her judgment, acts quickly when Zhou obstructs her, and confronts him confidently after her promotion.
• Zhou Jianming shifts from smug and dismissive to panicked and remorseful. His failure to recognize the streamer’s value costs him his position.
• Zhang Weimin responds decisively to the commercial opportunity, prioritizing the streamer’s value—and the possibility of retaining Chen Hao—over the unprecedented expense.

Significant themes

• Hindsight and accountability: Zhou’s earlier dismissal becomes a costly mistake, and he faces consequences.
• Merit and initiative: Li Na’s accurate assessment and willingness to escalate the issue earn her advancement.
• Competition and commercial risk: Doule treats the streamer’s audience and influence as strategic assets worth a record-breaking investment.
• Power reversal: The employee Zhou had held back becomes his superior.

Character interactions

• Li Na challenges Zhou’s delay and reminds him that rival platforms could sign the streamer first.
• She presents the evidence directly to Zhang, who rewards her initiative and entrusts her with the signing.
• When Zhou pleads for help after his demotion, Li Na rejects his appeal and makes clear that their workplace relationship has changed.

Plot points and events

• Doule’s new business-division general manager, Li Na, calls Chen Siyao to offer an exclusive, lifetime contract with a 300-million-yuan signing fee and top platform resources.
• Chen assumes the call is a scam and hangs up, then blocks the number. Yang Wanqing admits she previously dismissed similar offers to Siyao as scams, too.
• Doule verifies the offer through official customer service, sending Li Na’s credentials and signed company documents. The group confirms the contract is genuine, and the livestream audience erupts over the unprecedented sum.
• Once Siyao accepts the news, Wanqing jokes about celebrating with an extravagant feast. The group continues driving through a canyon as viewers keep discussing the deal.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao shifts from suspicion and shock to cautious excitement. She doesn’t blame Wanqing for accidentally dismissing earlier offers and agrees to treat their friends.
• Yang Wanqing is embarrassed that her caution cost Siyao opportunities, but quickly turns playful and enthusiastic. Siyao reassures her, and the two laugh together.
• Chen Hao remains calm about the enormous sum, telling his sister not to become arrogant. Siyao takes his advice warmly, suggesting she trusts and respects him.
• Cai Jingwen notices Chen Hao’s rare, fleeting smile and feels drawn to him. She also recognizes the warmth in the sibling relationship.
• Li Li offers a sympathetic explanation for Wanqing’s mistake, citing the prevalence of real scam calls.

Significant themes

• Trust and mistaken caution: Scams make the characters wary, but that vigilance causes them to mistake genuine opportunities for fraud.
• Wealth and perspective: The others are overwhelmed by 300 million yuan, while Chen Hao treats it matter-of-factly.
• Family support and humility: Siyao welcomes her brother’s grounding advice and resolves not to let sudden wealth change her.
• Humor and camaraderie: The missed calls become a running joke, easing the tension and strengthening the group’s playful bond.

Chapter summary

Plot and events

• Chen Hao’s group travels through Northern Frontier, stopping on a breathtaking grassland beneath golden-lit, snowcapped mountains. They enjoy the scenery while Yang Wanqing livestreams; viewers flood the broadcast with praise and gifts.
• Li Li, still shaken by their earlier encounter with the Gu Diao, briefly finds comfort watching the wolf cub play.
• After driving for several hours, the group discusses local mysteries. Wanqing boasts that she would not fear another monster with Chen Hao around, but Chen Hao warns her not to tempt fate.
• Their car jolts to a stop when a landslide blocks the highway. As Chen Hao prepares to turn back, the wolf cub whines toward a deep canyon. Chen Hao senses a familiar aura and suspects something is below.
• Despite their unease, the group agrees to investigate. Chen Hao parks and leads them down a narrow trail into the canyon as the livestream audience eagerly follows along.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Li shows a small sign of recovering from her fear when the wolf cub’s playful behavior makes her smile, though she remains anxious about the canyon.
• Cai Jingwen quietly enjoys being beside Chen Hao, but hesitates to express her feelings.
• Chen Siyao wonders whether to give Chen Hao some of her newly acquired money; Wanqing points out that he has no need for it.
• Wanqing’s confidence is easily overturned by Chen Hao’s warning, though teasing her about being scared quickly prompts her to volunteer for the descent.
• The group’s trust in Chen Hao is clear: Siyao, Jingwen, and even the frightened Li Li agree to follow him.

Significant themes

• Wonder and adventure: The group’s journey pairs extraordinary natural beauty with the promise of supernatural mysteries.
• Courage through trust: The others are nervous, but Chen Hao’s calm presence gives them the confidence to proceed.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The wolf cub’s reaction and Chen Hao’s recognition of a familiar aura suggest that something significant—and possibly connected to his past—is hidden in the canyon.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao leads the group through a narrow mountain path into a secluded valley, where a clear stream, wildflowers, and steep cliffs create an apparently untouched hidden realm. Yang Wanqing livestreams their discovery to a rapidly growing audience.
• The wolf cub darts into the woods, drawing the group to a huge carved stone gate built into the cliff.
• Chen Hao identifies the inscriptions as writing older than Oracle Bone Script. Archaeology professor Li Zhengdao, watching the livestream, suggests they may be the legendary Cloud Seal Script and reads the symbols “west” and “mother,” possibly referring to the Queen Mother of the West.
• Chen Hao channels spiritual energy into the gate and opens it. When asked how he knew how, he lightly claims he guessed using feng shui and geomancy.
• Inside, the group finds a mural-lined passage showing ancient life and supernatural figures. Chen Hao identifies a feather-robed woman as the Queen Mother of the West and the three birds around her as her attendants, the Three Blue Birds. Professor Li confirms these figures appear in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, making the site potentially world-changing evidence.
• At the passage’s end, they reach a second, more ornate gate carved with dragons, phoenixes, and other legendary beasts. The chapter ends as the group examines it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm and knowledgeable, recognizing the ancient script, identifying the mythological figures, and opening the gate. His casual explanation for his apparent expertise only makes the others and viewers more suspicious of how much he knows.
• Chen Siyao is curious and attentive, asking Chen Hao about the gate and its meaning, and helping show the inscriptions to viewers.
• Yang Wanqing turns the discovery into a major livestream event, sharing the valley and ruins with an increasingly astonished audience.
• Cai Jingwen voices the group’s questions, connecting “West Mother” with the Queen Mother of the West and asking about the birds.
• Li Li worries about the imposing gate, while the wolf cub’s sudden dash leads the group to it.
• Professor Li Zhengdao adds scholarly credibility to the discovery, identifying the script’s possible origin and confirming the significance of the Three Blue Birds.

Significant themes

• Myth meeting history: The carvings suggest that figures from Chinese mythology may have a real historical basis.
• Discovery and wonder: The untouched valley and hidden ruins reveal a world concealed from modern knowledge.
• The limits of established history: The possible existence of writing older than known scripts could force historians to rethink ancient civilization.
• Public spectacle and expertise: The livestream brings viewers—and a prominent scholar—into the exploration, blending immediate popular excitement with academic interpretation.

Key events

• Chen Hao opens the ancient stone door, revealing a hidden realm of clear skies, spiritual mist, jade paths, unusual plants, a sparkling stream, and seemingly tame wildlife.
• A streak of three-colored light rushes past and disappears into a distant cave, startling the group.
• Chen Hao invites Chen Siyao to taste vermilion fruit from a nearby tree. The fruit evokes different sensations and emotions in each person, and he identifies it as the Red Dust Fruit—a fruit whose taste varies from person to person and even from one tasting to another.
• Viewers watching the livestream recognize the fruit’s potential value and offer enormous sums for it, but the group barely notices the messages.
• The travelers follow the path through the realm to a cave in a towering rock face. Chen Hao senses that something awaits inside and leads the others in.
• They discover a vast, illuminated chamber with an ornate, aged bronze cauldron on a central stone platform.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains composed and confident, encouraging the group to explore and reassuring Siyao by letting her taste the fruit first. He shows quiet affection by ruffling her hair and taking her hand as they approach the cave.
• Chen Siyao moves from wonder and caution to emotional openness: the fruit’s taste recalls the security and tenderness of her childhood, bringing her to tears. She trusts Chen Hao even though she initially worries the fruit could be poisonous.
• Yang Wanqing reacts with alarm to the fast-moving light, then eagerly enjoys the fruit. Cai Jingwen notices that the fruit’s flavor differs between people, while Li Li’s experience—shifting through sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and heat before ending in stillness—moves the group.
• Cai Jingwen comforts Li Li by taking her hand, and Siyao works out that the fruit seems to reflect each eater’s life.

Significant themes

• Memory and emotion: The Red Dust Fruit turns personal experience into taste, linking sensation to memory and inner life.
• Wonder against worldly concerns: The hidden realm offers an almost timeless refuge from the outside world’s turmoil, while the livestream’s extravagant bids briefly expose the commercial ambitions waiting beyond it.
• Trust and protection: Siyao’s reliance on Chen Hao, and his steady care for her, anchors the group amid the realm’s mysteries.
• Mystery and anticipation: The unexplained three-colored light, the cave’s ancient atmosphere, and the bronze cauldron foreshadow discoveries still to come.

Key plot points and events

• The Three Blue Birds, an ancient divine creature from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, emerges at the bronze cauldron and frightens Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, and Li Li.
• Instead of attacking, it affectionately greets Chen Hao, who recognizes it and says they have been apart for ten thousand years.
• Chen Hao reveals that the hidden realm is the Queen Mother of the West’s former residence and that the Three Blue Birds was her personal attendant. The bird confirms this impression and leads the group farther inside.
• The visitors explore the beautiful jade palace, where Cai Jingwen finds unfamiliar inscriptions. Chen Hao identifies them as the Queen Mother’s own writing and reads a message saying she possessed an Elixir of Immortality and left her remains for someone destined to find them.
• In a stone niche, Chen Hao discovers a jade jar containing about three hundred golden, luminous pills. When the others assume they grant eternal life and youth, he challenges that assumption.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm amid everyone’s alarm, showing a longstanding, intimate bond with the Three Blue Birds and knowledge of the palace and its inscriptions. He acts as the group’s guide and source of revelations.
• The Three Blue Birds shifts from an imposing, alarming presence to a gentle, affectionate companion, greeting Chen Hao and guiding the group.
• Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, Li Li, and Cai Jingwen move from fear to awe and curiosity. Siyao keeps livestreaming and presses Chen Hao for explanations; the others react to the palace’s significance and the supposed elixir.
• The livestream audience echoes the group’s shock, with viewers recognizing the bird, speculating about the palace, and debating what the pills can actually do.

Significant themes

• Myth becoming history: The Queen Mother of the West and her palace are presented as real, challenging conventional understandings of ancient mythology.
• Immortality and uncertainty: The elixir’s existence raises the possibility of extraordinary longevity, but Chen Hao’s final question suggests its powers may not match legend.
• Fate and ancient connections: The Queen Mother’s inscription describes leaving the remains for someone destined to arrive, while the Three Blue Birds’ reunion with Chen Hao hints at a deep connection across millennia.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao identifies the Agelessness Elixir, explaining that it can extend a mortal’s life by about twenty or thirty years, though it is not true immortality.
• When the others question how he knew where to find it, a jade plaque confirms the elixir’s identity and bears the Queen Mother of the West’s signature.
• Chen Hao reveals that he knows the Queen Mother personally and says they met during his travels. The claim astonishes everyone, especially the livestream audience.
• He leads the group into a private chamber containing the Queen Mother’s portrait. Beneath it is an inscription describing her ten thousand years among mortals and her feelings for Chen Hao.
• The inscription says she repeatedly hinted that she wanted him as her Dao companion, but calls him a “blockhead.” Chen Hao’s slight reaction suggests the message hits close to home.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains composed while revealing an extraordinary connection to the Queen Mother. His memories show that their relationship is personal and emotionally significant, despite his restrained response.
• Yang Wanqing grows suspicious of Chen Hao’s unexplained knowledge, then becomes overwhelmed by his revelations and decides not to press him further.
• Chen Siyao is openly curious and excited, first asking about the Queen Mother’s appearance and then realizing the inscription was written about her brother.
• Cai Jingwen shares the group’s amazement and struggles not to laugh at the inscription’s teasing description of Chen Hao.

Significant themes

• Myth and reality: A legendary figure and mythical elixir are presented as tangible parts of the group’s discovery.
• Longevity and time: The elixir’s limited life-extending power contrasts with the Queen Mother’s vast lifespan and long separation from Chen Hao.
• Unspoken affection and missed signals: The inscription reveals her enduring feelings and suggests Chen Hao failed—or pretended not—to recognize her hints.
• Secrecy and revelation: Chen Hao’s calm, partial disclosures deepen the mystery surrounding his past.

Character interactions

• Yang Wanqing and Chen Siyao repeatedly press Chen Hao for answers, while he responds sparingly and leaves them—and the livestream viewers—stunned.
• The group examines the elixir, plaque, portrait, and inscription together, with Professor Li interpreting the ancient writing remotely.
• The final inscription turns the group’s awe into awkward amusement as everyone looks to Chen Hao for an explanation.

Plot points and events

• The group discovers inscriptions in the Queen Mother of the West’s ruins that reveal she once traveled with Chen Hao, asked him to become her Dao companion, and was rejected.
• Chen Hao explains that he turned her down because he believed cultivators should put devotion to the Dao before romantic attachments. The others—and the livestream audience—joke that he was too dense to recognize her feelings.
• The group leaves the ruins and returns to the valley, with the livestream capturing their teasing and Chen Hao’s attempt to avoid further questions.
• Asked whether he regrets rejecting the goddess, Chen Hao says he does not—because her cooking was terrible. His companions erupt in laughter.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains composed and committed to cultivation, though the group’s teasing briefly embarrasses him. His blunt final explanation gives the rejection a comic, mundane twist.
• Yang Wanqing turns the discovery into lively livestream entertainment, framing the inscriptions as the Queen Mother of the West’s “heartbreak diary.”
• Chen Siyao eagerly probes Chen Hao about his past and joins the teasing; she is briefly caught off guard when she realizes her questions are being broadcast.
• Cai Jingwen finds Chen Hao increasingly interesting and suggests he may have had greater priorities than romance, prompting Siyao to ask whether she is defending him.
• Li Li humorously interprets the inscriptions as a record of heartbreak, while the livestream viewers amplify the joke and marvel at Chen Hao’s legendary past.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts romantic attachment with devotion to the Dao, while treating Chen Hao’s choice as both principled and comically oblivious.
• Mythic history meets everyday humor: an ancient goddess’s feelings become livestream gossip, and her supposed heartbreak is ultimately explained by bad cooking.

Plot points and events

• After joking that the Queen Mother of the West was a terrible cook, Chen Hao and the others return to a beautiful, spiritually rich meadow. Yang Wanqing’s livestream viewers marvel at the seemingly otherworldly scenery.
• Chen Siyao and the women wistfully say they wish they could stay, but assume they must return to ordinary life and have nowhere to sleep.
• Chen Hao quietly takes a furnished pavilion from his Qiankun Bag and places it on the meadow without anyone noticing. He then tells the group they can stay a night or two.
• When he leads them to the pavilion, everyone is stunned to find a luxurious, traditional building where there had been empty grass. The livestream chat erupts with disbelief.
• Asked to explain, Chen Hao casually claims the pavilion was a guest villa belonging to the Queen Mother of the West. When Siyao questions this, he replies, “Rich people are all like that.”

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao’s usually composed demeanor gives way to dry humor: he admits he stopped eating the Queen Mother’s cooking after trying it once. He also quietly acts on his sister’s wish to stay, showing affection through practical generosity rather than a grand explanation.
• Chen Siyao openly expresses her longing to remain in the valley, then is astonished by her brother’s solution. Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Li Li share her wonder; Yang also documents the pavilion for her audience.
• The livestream audience functions as a chorus, reacting with humor, amazement, and skepticism to both the scenery and Chen Hao’s unexplained feats.

Significant themes

• The extraordinary beside the ordinary: Immortal landscapes, treasures, and sudden buildings are treated with casual, everyday ease.
• Family care and quiet generosity: Chen Hao notices what his sister wants and makes it possible without drawing attention to his effort.
• Humor and understatement: Chen Hao’s deadpan explanations—especially his defense of the Queen Mother’s wealth—turn supernatural events into comedy.

Key plot points and events

• The group explores the Ancient Attic, a lavish three-story residence said to have belonged to the Queen Mother of the West. Its jade floor, luxurious furnishings, mysterious books and scrolls, and panoramic loft leave them amazed.
• They discover private bathing rooms beside the bedrooms, each furnished with a white-jade pool and bottles of fragrant golden liquid. The women bathe using it and emerge feeling refreshed, with noticeably improved skin.
• Chen Hao identifies the liquid as Spirit Spring Liquid and says one bottle will last a year. Yang Wanqing and Chen Siyao eagerly collect several bottles, while Li Li worries they may be taking too much. Chen Hao teases Yang Wanqing for justifying it as “reusing resources.”
• While the women explore and bathe, Chen Hao looks after the sleeping wolf cub. He reflects that he visited this place alone in the past, and enjoys hearing the group’s laughter.
• As evening falls, the women lament that they can only stay briefly because of school, work, family, and other responsibilities.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains calm and reserved, but shows quiet consideration by taking the wolf cub so Li Li can rest. His memories suggest a personal connection to the Ancient Attic.
• Li Li seems weighed down lately, but begins to smile again during the visit. Cai Jingwen notices the change and thanks Chen Hao for bringing them.
• Cai Jingwen is thoughtful and curious about the attic’s history and Chen Hao’s past visits, though she does not press him when he stays silent.
• Yang Wanqing and Chen Siyao respond with exuberant excitement, especially to the baths and Spirit Spring Liquid.
• The group as a whole becomes more relaxed and joyful, but their happiness is tempered by the knowledge that they cannot remain there.

Significant themes

• Wonder and the supernatural: The attic’s ancient luxuries and Spirit Spring Liquid make the legendary past feel tangible.
• Rest and emotional renewal: Chen Hao explains that the place’s pure energy can clear distracting thoughts; Li Li’s improved mood reflects this.
• Past and present: Chen Hao’s memories connect him to the ancient site, while the visitors experience it through modern eyes and livestreams.
• Freedom versus obligation: The group longs to stay, but family, school, and work bind them to ordinary life.

Character interactions

• The women share their discoveries and excitement, bonding over the attic and its baths.
• Chen Hao gently encourages Li Li to rest and takes the wolf cub from her.
• Cai Jingwen thanks Chen Hao for helping Li Li, then asks whether he has been to the attic before; he does not answer.
• Chen Hao lightly chides Yang Wanqing for taking extra bottles, while Li Li voices concern about taking too many.

Key plot points and events

• The women promise to return to Chen Hao’s paradise every year, sharing their excitement with the livestream audience.
• When the group gets hungry, Chen Hao says he will prepare dinner, despite having no visible ingredients.
• He retrieves preserved meat from a Primordial-era Flame-Patterned Deer and cooks it simply with Spirit Creek water and salt.
• The women are amazed by the dish, and even Li Li’s wolf cub eagerly begs for a share.
• Their joking comparison of Chen Hao’s cooking to the Queen Mother of the West’s prompts a rare moment of embarrassment from him.
• Drawn by the food’s aroma, the Three Blue Birds arrive at the pavilion window and appear to ask for some. Chen Hao offers the bird a piece.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Li Li deepen their bond by making a yearly reunion promise.
• Chen Hao’s generosity shows in how freely he shares treasures he considers ordinary, while his awkwardness at being teased adds a more youthful, approachable side to his ancient persona.
• The women’s delight at his cooking—and the wolf cub’s enthusiasm—underscores how extraordinary his seemingly simple meal is.

Significant themes

• Friendship and lasting connection: The annual promise turns a special visit into a tradition.
• The extraordinary in the ordinary: Chen Hao’s “simple” ingredients and cooking produce a meal beyond mortal standards.
• Generosity and perspective: What Chen Hao regards as insignificant can be priceless to others.
• Humor and warmth: Playful teasing and shared food make the paradise feel less imposing and more intimate.

Character interactions

• The women enthusiastically make their promise together, then share an exuberant meal.
• They tease Chen Hao about his cooking surpassing the Queen Mother of the West’s; he responds with embarrassed affection.
• Li Li feeds the wolf cub a piece, and its eagerness mirrors the women’s reaction.
• The Three Blue Birds join the gathering by silently begging for food, and Chen Hao responds warmly by offering it some.