Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao forces the Lu Association elders to accept his authority by having Uncle Zheng killed, then appoints Long Guangsheng and Haizi to run the organization in his name. The terrified elders comply, including the last holdout, Uncle Qian.
• He tells Long to work closely with Haizi, who already understands the Association’s business. Lü Liangwei remains in the Association’s hands, and Chen Hao leaves his fate to Haizi.
• Chen Hao gives Sen Tai the Spell Ring, a rare Spirit Artifact, asking him to protect Long, Haizi, Liu Yan, and Blue Light Pharmaceuticals while Chen is away. Sen Tai accepts the responsibility with deep emotion.
• The four men celebrate at the Golden Goblet, where Haizi is welcomed back by the subordinates who once mistreated him. They share stories of hardship and grow closer.
• Chen Hao learns that the Golden Cudgel gained only 3% progress from refining many low-level yin spirits, leaving him wondering how long it will take to reach level two.
• Outside the club, Chen Hao recognizes the drunken Su Xiaoxiao, Liu Yan’s best friend, being forced into a car. He scares off the man by denting the car’s hood, then takes Su to a hotel for safety.
• Su vomits on Chen’s shirt. While he is washing it, police arrive—apparently after a complaint from the would-be abductor—and take both Chen and the unconscious Su to the station.
• After statements are completed, Su wakes and misunderstands Chen’s rescue as an attempt to take advantage of her. She nearly calls Liu Yan, then leaves still convinced Chen is a pervert.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao consolidates power through intimidation, delegates the Lu Association’s management, and entrusts protection of his allies to Sen Tai. Despite his formidable strength, his attempt to help Su turns into an embarrassing misunderstanding.
• Long Guangsheng is thrilled to leave factory work and take charge, while Haizi gains authority and is encouraged to guide Long. Their reunion and celebration mark a renewed bond.
• Sen Tai shows loyalty and accepts both the Spell Ring and the duty that comes with it.
• Su Xiaoxiao is vulnerable while intoxicated, then angry and suspicious after waking; her friendship with Liu Yan makes her accusation especially awkward for Chen.
• The chapter contrasts the subordinates’ fearful obedience to Chen with the genuine warmth and trust among the four men during their celebration.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Chen secures the Association’s obedience through violence and appoints trusted allies to govern it.
• Loyalty and responsibility: The Spell Ring is both a gift and a charge to safeguard Chen’s circle.
• Found family and solidarity: Shared hardships bring Chen, Long, Haizi, and Sen Tai closer.
• Appearance versus reality: Chen’s rescue of Su looks suspicious to her, showing how good intentions can be misread.
• Slow progress and uncertainty: The Golden Cudgel’s modest advance underscores the long path ahead in Chen’s cultivation.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao and Su Xiaoxiao are detained for indecent behavior and can leave only when a family member vouches for them. Su Xiaoxiao calls her father, Su Kangyong, who scolds her at the station.
• During their argument, Su Xiaoxiao reveals that her father is pressuring her to marry Lou Haocheng in exchange for the Lou family’s help with Yongkang Real Estate’s financial crisis. Chen Hao recognizes the name and decides to intervene.
• Chen Hao asks Haizi to investigate the Lou family. The next day, he has Su Xiaoxiao arrange a meeting with them.
• At the hotel dinner, the Lou family makes clear that its promised investment depends on Su Xiaoxiao marrying Lou Haocheng. Su Xiaoxiao refuses, despite her father’s anger and the company’s looming bankruptcy.
• Chen Hao arrives, sits beside Su Xiaoxiao, and she kisses him to make a point. Lou Haocheng, remembering Chen Hao’s earlier beating, is frightened and calls for backup.
• Chen Hao claims the Lou family has no money left to invest. The Lou men dismiss him—until both receive calls reporting that all their assets have been frozen.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Xiaoxiao stands up more openly to her father and rejects a marriage arranged for financial rescue. Though anxious that Chen Hao may not be able to help, she places her hopes in him.
• Chen Hao shifts from teasing Su Xiaoxiao to taking her predicament seriously. He acts confidently on the information he has gathered, challenging the Lou family directly.
• Su Kangyong is torn between saving his company and controlling his daughter’s future. He tries to enforce the marriage arrangement and reacts angrily to Chen Hao’s presence.
• Lou Haocheng is arrogant toward Su Xiaoxiao but visibly afraid of Chen Hao because of their previous encounter. Lou Fangguo remains composed and uses the company’s financial support as leverage.

Significant themes

• Autonomy versus family pressure: Su Xiaoxiao resists having her marriage traded for business support.
• Power and leverage: The Lou family uses its wealth to pressure the Su family, while Chen Hao’s final revelation abruptly shifts the balance.
• Loyalty and intervention: Chen Hao chooses to help Su Xiaoxiao despite their unresolved conflict.
• Reversal and suspense: The chapter ends on the sudden news that the Lou family’s assets have been frozen, leaving the consequences for the dinner unresolved.

Plot and key events

• Chen Hao’s confrontation with Lou Fangguo and Lou Haocheng ends in the Lou family’s ruin. Their assets are frozen, they are removed from the Lou Group, and the men they try to command refuse to help them.
• After calls to board members confirm they have no power to reverse the decision, the father and son kneel and plead with Chen. He gives them a single yuan and orders them out, citing their earlier kidnapping attempt that nearly killed him.
• Chen reveals that the Lou Group was controlled by the Lu Association, which he and his allies now control. He uses that influence to appoint Su Xiaoxiao general manager of the Lou Group and arrange a capital injection for her family’s Yongkang Real Estate.
• Su Xiaoxiao thanks Chen and briefly embraces him. He asks her to keep his help secret from Liu Yan. Her father, Su Kangyong, then jokes that she should secure Chen as a romantic partner.
• Chen agrees to attend Qin Yumo’s father’s funeral the next evening and asks how she is coping. She says she is managing but needs time to adjust to recent hardships.
• At Blue Light Pharmaceuticals, Xiang Wencun thanks Chen for helping her start a new life and embraces him. Chen begins to return the hug but stops himself. Zhang Jing sees the entire exchange, leaving Chen worried about the trouble it may cause.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao demonstrates his power and decisiveness, while showing loyalty to Su Xiaoxiao and concern for Qin Yumo. He also tries to maintain boundaries with Xiang Wencun, though his attraction briefly complicates the moment.
• Su Xiaoxiao moves from uncertainty about Chen’s actions to gratitude and trust, accepting the general-manager role. Her playful closeness with him hints at affection.
• Su Kangyong quickly shifts from skepticism to deference once he sees Chen’s influence, then encourages his daughter to pursue him.
• Lou Fangguo and Lou Haocheng go from arrogant threats to panic, humiliation, and helplessness.
• Xiang Wencun expresses heartfelt gratitude through an impulsive embrace; Zhang Jing’s arrival turns it into a potential misunderstanding.
• Qin Yumo remains strained by her family’s losses but maintains a candid, familiar connection with Chen.

Significant themes

• Power and consequences: Chen’s influence can dismantle the Lou family’s position, while their earlier cruelty toward him brings harsh retaliation.
• Gratitude and loyalty: Chen uses his resources to resolve Su Xiaoxiao’s family crisis, and several characters respond with personal thanks.
• Romantic tension and secrecy: Chen’s closeness with Su Xiaoxiao and Xiang Wencun risks complications, particularly because he wants to keep his actions from Liu Yan.
• Recovery amid hardship: Qin Yumo’s effort to adapt to grief and upheaval contrasts with the chapter’s triumphs and interpersonal comedy.

Key events

• Chen Hao tries to explain to Liu Yan that Xiang Wencun hugged him only to thank him, but Liu Yan refuses to listen after seeing the embrace. Zhang Jing explains that Liu Yan had already investigated Xiang Wencun and is especially sensitive because she knows she was Chen Hao’s first love. Zhang Jing agrees to speak up for him.
• Horse Face assigns Chen Hao a low-level soul-reaping mission: capture a wandering spirit within 48 hours. Success earns 10 Daoist Merit Points; failure costs him ten years of life. Though furious at the unfair terms, Chen Hao resolves to complete it and plans to go after Qin Xiao’s funeral.
• The Qin family holds a private funeral for Qin Xiao. Qin Kai lights the pyre and vows to uphold his father’s legacy, while Qin Yumo grieves deeply. Chen Hao comforts her and discusses their coming journey to Yunjiang Province, where they will face a difficult fight.
• Chu Jinliang and Chu Mengling prepare to return to Capital City with Elder Qin. Chu Jinliang entrusts Elder Qin’s care to Chen Hao and hints that, once Chen Hao visits Capital City, he will teach him more about Qi Refining. Mengling playfully asks Chen Hao to come with her.
• At his hotel, Chen Hao hears from Nezha, who wants a game console. Chen Hao asks whether Nezha can help him obtain Samadhi True Fire safely. Nezha says he has some and will look into how Chen Hao’s body can withstand it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao tries to repair his relationship with Liu Yan, but his awkward explanations only underline the mistrust. He remains determined to help the Qin family despite lacking confidence about the coming conflict, and he pursues a way to acquire Samadhi True Fire.
• Liu Yan is hurt and angry, interpreting Chen Hao’s closeness with Xiang Wencun as evidence of betrayal. Zhang Jing understands her concerns and offers to mediate, while also bluntly criticizing Chen Hao’s poor judgment.
• Qin Yumo is overwhelmed by grief but shows trust in Chen Hao, telling him she will not blame him if their effort in Yunjiang fails. She seems to want to say more as he leaves, but holds back.
• Qin Kai takes on the responsibility of carrying forward his father’s legacy. Chu Jinliang shows growing respect for Chen Hao and signals that he will share important knowledge with him later. Chu Mengling expresses affection through playful reluctance to part.
• Nezha is eager enough for a game console to offer powerful treasures, and his shared appetite for mischief makes him willing to help Chen Hao with the dangerous fire.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and jealousy: Chen Hao’s innocent actions deepen Liu Yan’s distrust, highlighting how appearances can damage relationships.
• Grief and duty: Qin Xiao’s death leaves the family mourning, while Qin Kai and Chen Hao focus on carrying forward responsibilities.
• Risk and obligation: The soul-reaping mission’s severe penalty forces Chen Hao to accept danger, reflecting the costs attached to his supernatural role.
• Loyalty and uncertain futures: Chen Hao’s commitment to the Qin family and the approaching Yunjiang struggle contrast with his uncertainty about whether he can succeed.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao breaks through to the mid Qi Nurturing Realm after a night of cultivation.
• In the Heavenly Court Chat Group, he learns that Nezha has rampaged through the Eastern Sea again. The other Dragon Kings complain, but Nezha threatens to keep slaughtering dragons, while Heavenly King Li tells him to vary his targets rather than stop.
• Nezha sends Chen Hao a dragon claw, claiming it can be made into an artifact capable of withstanding Samadhi True Fire. Chen Hao will need Supreme Lord Lao to refine it. Nezha then pressures Chen Hao for the promised game console, threatening more dragon slaughter; Chen Hao quickly sends it.
• Chen Hao sets aside the problem of persuading Lao for later and drives to a rural village to complete a soul-reaping mission. Moved by the villagers’ poverty, he gives children snacks and toys and distributes money to elderly residents. He silences the greedy village chief by throwing him cash.
• The chief tells him that the residents of Number 64, Little Fishing Village, have died mysteriously: several members of one family died in succession, leaving only a woman in her nineties. There was no blood at the scene, and villagers report ghostly cries followed by someone’s death the next day.
• After police leave the scene without finding an explanation, Chen Hao enters Number 64 to investigate, while the village chief refuses to accompany him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao is stronger after his breakthrough, but remains cautious about his growing entanglement with Nezha and the gods. His sympathy for the villagers prompts him to act generously, and his curiosity draws him into the apparent haunting.
• Nezha is impulsive and threatening, treating dragon slaughter as an ordinary way to help Chen Hao and demanding the console he was promised. His antics leave Chen Hao worried about being blamed.
• The Dragon Kings quarrel among themselves over Nezha’s attacks. The Eastern Sea Dragon King is furious and helpless, while the others offer self-serving excuses rather than solidarity.
• Heavenly King Li questions Nezha’s troublemaking but effectively encourages him to target other seas.
• The village chief shifts from officious and greedy to ingratiating when Chen Hao gives him money, then becomes wary when he hears Chen Hao’s destination. He avoids entering the supposedly haunted house.
• The police enforce the investigation boundary but find no clear evidence before leaving.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Nezha’s casual violence contrasts with Chen Hao’s concern about its consequences.
• Generosity amid poverty: Chen Hao uses his resources to help villagers, drawing a sharp contrast between their hardship and the city’s wealth nearby.
• Greed and self-interest: The village chief and the Dragon Kings reveal how quickly personal benefit overrides duty or loyalty.
• Mystery and supernatural danger: The unexplained deaths and ghostly cries set up Chen Hao’s soul-reaping investigation.

Key plot points

• Chen Hao enters a dark hut and finds an old woman who appears alive but is actually dead; using the Heavenly Eye Art, he realizes she is possessed by a ghost.
• Horse Face tells him to wait until midnight to catch the spirit. While Chen Hao plays a game, the old woman’s body begins moving and the ghost tries to frighten him.
• Chen Hao punches the apparition, then binds it with a Soul-Locking Chain. The old woman’s body collapses, revealing a vicious female ghost.
• The ghost claims the old woman’s family was killed by the old woman herself, not by the ghost. She explains that the old woman had sold her soul in exchange for Spirit Awakening and a few more days of life.
• To avoid severe punishment in the Underworld, the ghost offers to help Chen Hao’s friend Xiang Wencun undergo Spirit Awakening. Chen Hao agrees to advocate for her ordinary reincarnation.
• Chen Hao takes the captive ghost to Xiang Wencun’s home. The ghost instructs Xiang to relax and not resist as she prepares to enter her body.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao proves fearless, irreverent, and confident in a supernatural confrontation, but he is also pragmatic: he turns the ghost’s knowledge into a possible benefit for his friend. His interest in Spirit Awakening overrides his immediate plan to hand her over.
• The female ghost shifts from threatening predator to frightened captive, then tries to bargain by offering her special ability. She insists the old woman was responsible for the family’s deaths.
• Xiang Wencun is bewildered by Chen Hao’s late-night visit and his strange conversation with an unseen ghost, but she trusts him and follows his instructions.
• Chen Hao’s blunt, joking manner unsettles the ghost; his threats keep her compliant, while his promise of leniency persuades her to cooperate.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Chen Hao turns the ghost’s attempt to intimidate him into a capture, reversing the usual predator-prey dynamic.
• The cost of extending life: The old woman’s bargain shows that Spirit Awakening and extra time in the human world may come at the price of one’s soul.
• Moral uncertainty and accountability: The ghost denies responsibility for the family’s deaths, but Chen Hao is focused less on proving the truth than on collecting souls and securing help for Xiang Wencun.
• Trust and self-interest: Chen Hao and the ghost make a deal under unequal circumstances, while Xiang relies on Chen Hao despite not understanding what is happening.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao removes the Soul-Locking Chain so the Female Ghost can possess Xiang Wencun and awaken her spiritual abilities. Xiang resists at first, but Chen’s reassurance helps her relax enough for the possession to succeed.
• The awakening is violent and supernatural: Xiang’s body contorts, floats, and releases a surge of spiritual power that shatters the room’s glassware. The Female Ghost confirms the awakening worked and identifies Xiang’s rare affinity for sound-related abilities.
• Chen calls Horse Face to take the ghost away. He asks that she be treated leniently, though Horse Face explains that the Underworld Official will decide her fate. Chen jokingly pretends he can intervene by phone, leaving the ghost frustrated as she is taken away.
• Xiang wakes, learns she is now a Qi Refiner, and begins sensing spiritual energy. Chen feels that helping her has eased some guilt and regret tied to their past romance.
• Chen receives a Bentley for Liu Yan and keeps the money Yu Jiao saved as compensation for arranging it. He and Xiang arrive at Blue Light Pharmaceuticals together.
• Liu Yan sees them and becomes jealous, suspecting they spent the night together. Zhang Jing talks her down and offers advice on how to pursue Chen, prompting Liu Yan to protest that she does not like him even as she asks for guidance.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao acts compassionately toward Xiang and the Female Ghost, but his joking promise to help the ghost is knowingly hollow. His thoughts reveal lingering affection and guilt about Xiang, while his Bentley gift shows he is trying to make amends with Liu Yan.
• Xiang Wencun gains the potential to become a Qi Refiner, with an unusual sound-related ability. Her gratitude and closeness to Chen coexist with unresolved romantic feelings; seeing him prepare a gift for Liu Yan makes her realize she may have lost him.
• The Female Ghost successfully uses her innate Spirit Awakening ability, then faces the consequences of her transfer to the Underworld. She initially trusts Chen but feels betrayed by his playful evasion.
• Liu Yan reveals her jealousy and growing attachment to Chen, though she denies having romantic feelings. Zhang Jing serves as her candid, teasing adviser and encourages her to take a more active approach.

Significant themes

• Second chances and regret: Chen’s help gives him a way to address lingering guilt over his past with Xiang, while Xiang confronts the cost of having set their relationship aside.
• Trust and deception: Chen’s reassurance helps Xiang through the frightening awakening, while his joking claims to the ghost expose the limits of his promises.
• Jealousy and unspoken love: Liu Yan and Xiang both harbor feelings for Chen, but neither situation is openly resolved.
• Potential and transformation: Xiang’s awakening turns hidden talent into a new path, though the destructive event hints at the power—and uncertainty—she must learn to control.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Jing leaves after telling Chen Hao she has “sorted everything out,” though he does not understand what she means. Liu Yan denies having been upset with him, then offers to buy him dinner before his planned trip to Yunjiang Province.
• Chen Hao and Liu Yan discover they have both lost track of CC. They find the dog outside Blue Light Pharmaceuticals commanding a large pack of dogs; Chen Hao gets CC to disperse them by threatening to withhold food.
• Chen Hao surprises Liu Yan with the return of her favorite Bentley. They share their first official date at an expensive Western restaurant.
• At Liu Yan’s home, Chen Hao hopes the evening will become more intimate, but she sends him to sleep on the sofa. He cuts the power and tries to scare her into his arms. Liu Yan instead hits him with a frying pan.
• Chen Hao pretends to be unconscious. Worried, Liu Yan attempts mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and he kisses her back. Their kiss turns passionate until her phone rings: her father has collapsed and been taken to the hospital.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains boastful and scheming, eager to advance his relationship with Liu Yan. He tells her he will help the powerful Qin Family, though she doubts him, and later tries to engineer a romantic moment. His prank backfires, but his feigned injury results in their first kiss.
• Liu Yan shows affection while continuing to guard her feelings: she invites Chen Hao to dinner, is delighted by the Bentley, and panics when she thinks he is hurt. Her concern leads her to kiss him, though she pulls away when she realizes he is conscious.
• CC is revealed to have gathered a canine “harem” and acts like the pack’s ruler. It obeys Chen Hao when food is threatened and accepts Liu Yan’s attention afterward.
• Chen Hao and Liu Yan’s relationship grows more intimate through their date and kiss, but the moment is abruptly interrupted by the emergency involving Liu Yan’s father.

Significant themes

• Romance and hesitation: Both characters show growing affection, but Liu Yan remains cautious and Chen Hao repeatedly pushes for closeness.
• Comedy and miscommunication: The missing-dog confusion, CC’s antics, and Chen Hao’s failed scare create the chapter’s comic tone.
• Affection expressed through care: Liu Yan’s alarm when Chen Hao appears injured reveals genuine concern beneath her denials and teasing.

Plot points and events

• Liu Yan and Chen Hao rush to the hospital after Liu Qi reports that their father, Liu Shan, has collapsed. Chen Hao reminds Liu Qi that he had previously advised Liu Shan to get his lungs checked, but Liu Qi dismisses the warning.
• A doctor reveals that Liu Shan has a lung tumor pressing on his heart and nearby nerves. Before the family can decide what to do, the doctor recognizes Chen Hao as the “miracle doctor” who once saved a critically injured patient.
• The hospital’s dean, Gong Honglin, arrives with a group of specialists and enthusiastically confirms Chen Hao’s reputation. Liu Yan and Liu Qi, initially incredulous, agree to let Chen Hao treat their father.
• In the operating room, Chen Hao uses his Golden Needle techniques to stabilize Liu Shan and remove the tumor. He allows Gong Honglin to observe and teaches him some basic methods, on the condition that Gong never charges patients treated with those techniques.
• Liu Shan wakes safely and is reunited with his children. Chen Hao watches the family embrace and thinks of his own parents and of bringing Liu Yan home for the New Year.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao demonstrates both extraordinary medical ability and generosity by sharing some of his knowledge with Gong Honglin. He remains humble about his reputation, while privately feeling moved by the family reunion.
• Liu Yan is frightened for her father and initially confused by Chen Hao’s medical reputation. Her trust in him grows as the hospital staff confirm his abilities.
• Liu Qi begins defensive and skeptical, rejecting Chen Hao’s earlier warning. Faced with the doctor’s and dean’s recognition of Chen Hao, he accepts his help.
• Gong Honglin is intensely devoted to understanding Chen Hao’s techniques. Observing the treatment and receiving instruction leaves him thrilled and eager to study further.
• Chen Hao’s interactions with the family contrast with the specialists’ awe: he quietly steps aside after saving Liu Shan, letting the family focus on one another.

Significant themes

• Trust and recognition: Chen Hao’s warnings and abilities are doubted at first, then validated by the medical staff.
• Knowledge passed on: Chen Hao shares a limited part of his inherited art to help Gong Honglin treat more patients.
• Compassion and responsibility: His treatment saves Liu Shan, and his condition that Gong treat patients for free emphasizes service over profit.
• Family and longing: Liu Shan’s recovery reunites the family, prompting Chen Hao to think of his own parents and future with Liu Yan.

Key plot points and events

• After Chen Hao saves Liu Shan, Liu Shan and his father warm to him, strengthening his future ties to the family he hopes to join by marrying Liu Yan.
• Preparing for a dangerous trip to Yunjiang Province, where the powerful Nine Blades organization operates, Chen Hao upgrades the Golden Cudgel to 16% by refining a general’s soul. He concludes that powerful yin spirits are needed to advance it further.
• Chen Hao trades with several immortals through WeChat: Sun Wukong sends him ten suspiciously foul-smelling strands of Monkey Hair and promises to find him a flashy cultivation technique; Thunder God sells him twenty improved Purple Thunder Pearls for cigarettes.
• Red Boy envies Nezha’s game console. Chen Hao suggests Red Boy look for treasures to trade, while pretending to discourage theft. Red Boy eagerly goes to search.
• Chen Hao persuades Supreme Lord Lao to forge an immortal artifact from a dragon claw. He offers chocolate as leverage, implying he might otherwise supply the God of Wealth’s rival shop. Lao Jun agrees to make the artifact fireproof enough to withstand samadhi true fire.
• Chen Hao sends Lao Jun ten boxes of chocolate and asks him to keep the source secret. Lao Jun immediately advertises chocolate in the Heavenly Court group, leaving Chen Hao unsure whether he’ll finish the artifact before his departure in two days.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao is strategic and resourceful, using favors, trades, and commercial rivalry to gather supplies for his upcoming journey. His dealings are usually playful and manipulative, though he is also careful to preserve useful relationships.
• Sun Wukong remains willing to help, while Chen Hao quietly tolerates the dubious Monkey Hair to avoid losing access to his aid.
• Red Boy is competitive and easily tempted by the game console; Chen Hao exploits that enthusiasm while maintaining a mockingly moral pose.
• Supreme Lord Lao is commercially ambitious and easily drawn into Chen Hao’s pitch. Their negotiation turns into a mutual bargain: chocolate for an artifact, with secrecy requested but undermined almost immediately by Lao Jun’s public announcement.

Significant themes

• Preparation and survival: Chen Hao gathers weapons, techniques, and an artifact before facing a much stronger organization.
• Reciprocity and bargaining: Relationships among the immortals are sustained through favors, gifts, and trade.
• Humor and opportunism: Chen Hao repeatedly uses jokes, bluffing, and others’ desires to get what he needs.
• Commerce and rivalry: The competition between Supreme Lord Lao’s Store and the God of Wealth’s Store drives the artifact deal—and may create risks for Chen Hao’s secret role as supplier.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao prepares to travel to Yunjiang Province with Qin Yumo and her brother, Qin Kai. He sees the trip as a chance to build a business partnership between Blue Light Pharmaceuticals and the Qin Family.
• Qin Yumo and Liu Yan agree to explore the partnership. Liu Yan is visibly jealous of Qin Yumo but still gives Chen Hao an affectionate, worried farewell.
• Xiang Wencun unexpectedly joins the journey, insisting she wants to leave her current surroundings and visit Yunjiang, a place she has long hoped to see. Chen Hao reluctantly accepts her decision.
• During the drive to the airport, Chen Hao receives the first volume of the Immortal Collection of Talismans from Red Boy in exchange for a game console. It teaches basic talismans—including immobilization, invisibility, flame, flight, and speed—and, like spirit arrays, requires the three realms sacred fire.
• The group flies to Yunjiang. There, Qin Family associate Xiao Fei picks them up and provides information Chen Hao requested: the identity of Cloud Valley Adept, confirmed to be Elder Yun, and background on the elusive Nine Blades.
• Xiao Fei says Blackbeard, a mercenary captain who has visited Nine Blades, may know more. His information comes at a price: twenty million.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao balances his business and personal relationships, reassuring Liu Yan while taking responsibility for Xiang Wencun’s choice. He is delighted by the new talisman knowledge and increasingly eager to master samadhi true fire.
• Liu Yan shows affection and concern for Chen Hao, alongside insecurity about his closeness to Qin Yumo. She nevertheless welcomes the potential business alliance.
• Qin Yumo remains composed and capable in both business and travel planning. She briefly reveals disappointment at learning Chen Hao and Liu Yan are a couple, but hides it.
• Xiang Wencun demonstrates resolve in choosing a change of scene, though her sadness has not entirely lifted. She finds comfort in playing with CC.
• Qin Kai jokes that CC looks unintelligent, provoking the dog’s angry reaction. CC later humorously warns Liu Yan not to trust Chen Hao.
• Xiao Fei acts as a deferential host and investigator, but the information he has gathered is limited and costly to supplement.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and trust: Liu Yan’s teasing suspicion contrasts with her genuine care for Chen Hao.
• Choice and renewal: Xiang Wencun seeks a fresh start by leaving familiar surroundings.
• Business and personal ties: The proposed partnership brings the Qin and Chen households together, while personal feelings complicate their interactions.
• New knowledge and escalating ambition: The talisman collection expands Chen Hao’s abilities and reinforces his desire to obtain the sacred fire needed to use such techniques.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Fei hosts Chen Hao, Qin Yumo, and their companions at a luxury hotel and villa in Yunjiang Province. He says Blackbeard will collect them the next morning.
• Chen Hao tells Xiang Wencun to stay behind while he handles business, hoping to keep her out of danger. She refuses, insisting she will come with him.
• CC demands spiritual nourishment. Chen Hao contacts Nezha, who sends dragon meat in exchange for a bottle of cola—but mistakenly sends an enormous dragon leg. It wrecks Chen Hao’s room before he stores it away.
• CC secretly eats a bite, then falls asleep. Chen Hao uses the Heavenly Eye Art and discovers that CC is safely absorbing the meat’s potent spiritual energy.
• Qin Yumo gives Chen Hao a rare, expensive first-grade Qi-Replenishing Pill and explains that Spirit Artifacts, cultivation techniques, and pills are graded from one to nine. Higher-grade items are scarce, while even a first-grade pill can cost millions.
• Qin Yumo warns Chen Hao to keep CC’s identity as a spirit beast secret, since it could attract dangerous attention. She also confirms that Blackbeard, a mercenary captain, is the main risk in their plan, though they have few alternatives.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao tries to protect Xiang Wencun, worries over CC’s reaction to the dragon meat, and seeks to learn more about the cultivation world. His access to Heavenly Court contacts gives him an unconventional source of powerful resources, but also causes trouble.
• Xiang Wencun remains stubbornly determined to accompany Chen Hao despite his efforts to shield her.
• CC is greedy and shamelessly demanding, but the dragon meat proves beneficial: it begins absorbing a large reserve of spiritual power.
• Qin Yumo shows care and trust by giving Chen Hao a valuable pill and sharing what she knows, while remaining pragmatic about the danger ahead.
• Nezha readily helps Chen Hao after receiving cola, though his oversized delivery creates comic chaos. Chen Hao and Qin Yumo also discuss whether Xiao Fei and Blackbeard can be trusted.

Significant themes

• Power and secrecy: Rare pills, artifacts, and spirit beasts can provoke violence, making discretion essential.
• Trust amid danger: The group must rely on allies while recognizing that mercenaries may prioritize profit.
• Care and independence: Chen Hao’s protective instincts clash with Xiang Wencun’s refusal to be left behind.
• Comic contrast: Supernatural resources and serious risks are repeatedly undercut by mundane, slapstick problems—especially CC’s antics and Nezha’s enormous dragon-leg delivery.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Yumo’s group sets out for the remote Wolong Mountains, hoping to reach a place called Nine Blades. They travel with Blackbeard’s mercenary squad, whose members include several Qi Refiners.
• Chen Hao judges the squad capable but potentially dangerous. He clashes briefly with Sixth Brother, a scar-faced mercenary who mocks him for bringing CC, the unusually sleepy husky.
• Blackbeard explains that Nine Blades lies in a remote, dangerous part of the mountains. Though he asks why Qin Yumo is going there, she keeps the purpose secret. Blackbeard says he has visited the area before and is the right guide for the job.
• Qin Kai introduces himself to Xiang Wencun and asks how she knows Chen Hao. She calls Chen Hao a childhood friend, while Qin Kai jokingly suggests they are childhood sweethearts; Xiang remains reserved.
• The group reaches the mountains near evening, stays at a guesthouse on an outer peak, and plans to begin the journey properly the following morning.
• Chen Hao receives the fourth-rank Giant Spirit Art from Sun Wukong, but retrieving it does not teach it to him. Sun Wukong confronts Giant Spirit God for instructions, prompting a chaotic Heavenly Court group-chat exchange. Chen Hao hopes the art will significantly improve his combat ability.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains impulsive and flirtatious, admiring Qin Yumo and Xiang Wencun, but he also assesses the mercenaries cautiously. His current fighting options are limited, so he is eager for a stronger technique.
• Qin Yumo takes charge of the expedition and keeps its purpose confidential, while coordinating plans with Blackbeard.
• Blackbeard presents himself as experienced and accommodating, smoothing over Sixth Brother’s insult and asserting that he knows the route to Nine Blades.
• Sixth Brother’s mocking remark gives Chen Hao a poor first impression of him. Qin Kai, by contrast, approaches Xiang politely, though she shows little interest in continuing the conversation.
• Sun Wukong’s aggressive effort to obtain cultivation guidance contrasts with Chen Hao’s anxious hope to learn the art. The immortals’ teasing, bickering, and off-topic chatter leave Giant Spirit God pleading for help.

Significant themes

• Trust and secrecy: Qin Yumo withholds the mission’s purpose, while the group must rely on mercenaries whose strength and intentions matter.
• Risk and preparation: The journey enters a remote, dangerous wilderness, making expertise and combat strength essential.
• Power and ambition: Chen Hao sees the Giant Spirit Art as a chance to address his lack of effective combat techniques.
• Comedic contrast: The serious expedition is juxtaposed with Chen Hao’s awkward flirting and the Heavenly Court chat’s irreverent chaos.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao joins Blackbeard’s expedition into the mountains with Qin Yumo, Xiang Wencun, and others. Blackbeard supplies tracking communicators, since phones won’t work in the wilderness.
• From a mountain summit, the group sees the vast, ominous range they must cross. Blackbeard warns that reaching their destination will take at least two weeks, though they have only a week’s worth of food—making his guides and expertise essential.
• The first day tests the travelers with steep trails, damp conditions, mosquitoes, and a foul swamp. Chen Hao carries Xiang Wencun across, but deliberately drops CC into the mire after realizing the dog has been pretending to sleep to avoid walking.
• At camp, Blackbeard’s men arrange their tents defensively and take turns standing watch. Chen Hao lets the muddy CC sleep in his tent, but warns him not to reveal his spirit-beast abilities without permission. CC agrees—while immediately demanding dragon meat as payment for helping.
• The group struggles to sleep amid unfamiliar nighttime noises. While meditating, Chen Hao notices a shadow outside his tent and calls out, “Who’s there?”

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains capable and composed on the trek, but his patience with CC’s laziness and scheming is limited. He also takes responsibility for Xiang Wencun by carrying her across the swamp and recognizes the need to keep CC’s powers secret.
• CC reveals that his apparent exhaustion was an act: he was avoiding the mud and the hike. His comic laziness, appetite, and talent for bargaining clash with his genuine potential as a spirit beast.
• Xiang Wencun is reluctant to cross the swamp but readily accepts Chen Hao’s help, showing trust and comfort with him.
• Qin Yumo stays determined despite the daunting landscape and thanks Blackbeard for protecting the group.
• Blackbeard acts as a practical, experienced guide, balancing humor with firm warnings about the journey’s length, supplies, and water use.

Significant themes

• The wilderness as a test: The mountains’ scale and harsh conditions challenge the travelers physically and psychologically.
• Dependence and preparation: Limited supplies and absent phone service make the group reliant on Blackbeard’s expertise and their communication devices.
• Secrecy and responsibility: Chen Hao must control how CC’s unusual abilities are used to avoid attracting trouble.
• Humor amid hardship: Chen Hao and CC’s squabbling provides comic relief against the journey’s danger and uncertainty.
  Ending: Chen Hao detects an unidentified figure moving outside his tent, setting up a nighttime encounter.

Plot points and events

• Xiang Wencun asks Chen Hao to keep her company because she is afraid to sleep alone. He agrees, and she settles beside him while he repairs a broken tent light.
• Their innocent conversation and awkward silhouettes make the others believe they are being intimate. Qin Yumo sees the scene, becomes jealous, and spends the night angrily imagining the worst.
• Later, Chen Hao overhears a suspicious, fragmentary radio conversation. He catches Blackbeard with a walkie-talkie and hears an explanation about a supply station, but Blackbeard’s reaction leaves Chen Hao uneasy.
• The next morning, Chen Hao tells Qin Yumo his suspicions. They agree to keep the matter private and watch Blackbeard’s group.
• After several days of increasingly difficult travel, the party runs out of food. Blackbeard says the supply station should be reached by the following noon, but an approaching storm forces them to make camp early.
• Qin Yumo reports that she has seen no suspicious behavior from Blackbeard’s men, though Chen Hao remains cautious and believes the supply station will clarify matters.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao tries to manage Xiang Wencun’s request without encouraging misunderstanding, then shifts into alert, investigative mode after overhearing the radio exchange. He shares his concerns only with Qin Yumo.
• Xiang Wencun shows continued dependence on Chen Hao, echoing their closeness from high school; she falls asleep beside him, unaware of the rumors their situation creates.
• Qin Yumo moves from jealousy and contempt to cooperation when Chen Hao explains his suspicions. She agrees to observe Blackbeard’s group discreetly.
• Blackbeard maintains a friendly front, but his tense response to Chen Hao’s questions and hostile expression afterward suggest he may be hiding something.
• The group’s reactions to the tent silhouettes provide comic misunderstanding, while Chen Hao and Qin Yumo’s private conversation establishes a wary alliance.

Significant themes

• Miscommunication and appearances: An innocent repair job is mistaken for sexual behavior, inflaming Qin Yumo’s jealousy.
• Trust and suspicion: Blackbeard’s plausible explanation conflicts with details Chen Hao finds questionable, leaving the group’s safety uncertain.
• Jealousy and concealed feelings: Qin Yumo’s irritation hints at emotional investment in Chen Hao, which she denies.
• Survival and hardship: The worsening terrain, insects, food shortage, and storm increase the expedition’s vulnerability.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Fen is bitten or poisoned after touching a colorful frog. Blackbeard warns that it is a deadly poison frog and gives him an injection, but Qin Fen quickly dies. Blackbeard says his body is poisonous and must not be touched.
• Qin Kai blames Blackbeard, who remains composed and warns the group that the jungle’s dangers are real. The Qin family is left grieving while heavy rain falls over the camp.
• Later, Qin Yumo discovers Qin Fen’s body has vanished. Chen Hao explains that wolves have surrounded the camp and likely dragged it away.
• The storm prevents the group from lighting a fire, and the wolves attack. Chen Hao fights with his martial arts, while Blackbeard and the mercenaries use guns and blades. One mercenary is dragged into the forest.
• Qin Yumo and Qin Kai use concealed Spirit Artifacts to kill wolves. Chen Hao defeats many attackers but is bitten in the thigh. He applies Blue Light Potion, yet more wolves close in, leaving the group in serious danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Blackbeard acts decisively during Qin Fen’s poisoning and later leads the defense, but his blunt warnings and refusal to promise a rescue provoke Qin Kai’s anger.
• Qin Kai moves from panic and grief to fighting alongside Qin Yumo, revealing both his attachment to Qin Fen and his determination to survive.
• Qin Yumo is shaken by Qin Fen’s death and the wolf attack, but proves capable in combat by using her Spirit Artifact.
• Chen Hao protects Qin Yumo and Xiang Wencun, repeatedly fights off wolves, and keeps acting despite his injury. He and Qin Yumo work together to alert the others.
• Xiang Wencun is frightened and depends on Chen Hao for protection.

Significant themes

• The cruelty of nature: The poison frog, storm, and wolf pack make the wilderness unforgiving and unpredictable.
• Survival and preparedness: Blackbeard’s warnings, the Qin family’s Spirit Artifacts, and the group’s weapons and medicine all matter in the fight to stay alive.
• Grief amid danger: The group has little time to mourn Qin Fen before a new threat forces them into action.
• Courage and vulnerability: The characters fight back, but overwhelming numbers and sudden injuries show the limits of individual strength.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao’s group is surrounded by a large wolf pack. As the wolves attack, CC refuses to help unless Chen Hao promises him dragon meat.
• Xiang Wencun unleashes a powerful sonic shriek that knocks out the wolves and stuns the people nearby. Blackbeard warns the group that the wolves will soon recover, so they abandon their luggage and flee into the forest.
• In the storm and darkness, Chen Hao and Qin Yumo fall into an abyss while carrying an injured Qin family member. The others, including Xiang Wencun and Qin Kai, are forced to keep running.
• Chen Hao wakes in a pool beneath a waterfall. He rescues Qin Yumo, whose heart has stopped but who revives after his efforts. The other Qin family member is dead from a head injury.
• Chen Hao and Qin Yumo take shelter in a small cave, build a fire, and try to warm themselves. Later, Qin Yumo confronts Chen Hao about his relationship with Liu Yan and what she mistakenly thought she saw between him and Xiang Wencun.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiang Wencun reveals a formidable new ability: her shriek can incapacitate a crowd, demonstrating the potential the Female Ghost predicted.
• Chen Hao remains resourceful under pressure, fighting the wolves and rescuing Qin Yumo. He comforts her after the latest death, then playfully teases her when her suspicions prove unfounded.
• Qin Yumo is shaken by repeated losses and blames herself for bringing the group on the expedition. Chen Hao reassures her. Once calmer, she shows jealousy and concern about his perceived closeness with other women.
• Blackbeard acts decisively after the wolves recover, prioritizing escape despite the danger and the group’s losses.
• CC adds comic tension by refusing to help without payment, even as the group faces imminent danger.
• Qin Yumo explains that she had misread a dark, awkward moment in Chen Hao’s tent as intimacy with Xiang Wencun. Chen Hao clarifies that nothing happened; their exchange ends in embarrassed teasing and an argument.

Significant themes

• Survival and sacrifice: The group must make fast choices amid overwhelming danger, and not everyone survives.
• Grief and guilt: Qin Yumo struggles with the deaths of her relatives and wrongly holds herself responsible.
• Hidden strength and potential: Xiang Wencun’s unexpected power shifts the group’s immediate fate.
• Trust, jealousy, and misunderstanding: Qin Yumo’s suspicions expose her concern for Chen Hao, while his explanation clears up the mistaken impression.
• Humor amid crisis: CC’s bargaining and the cave scene’s awkward banter provide comic relief against the chapter’s violence and loss.

Plot and key events

• After the storm, Chen Hao and Qin Yumo bury the Qin Family members who died. Their communicator is useless, and steep cliffs trap them in the basin, so they build a smoke signal and wait for rescue.
• Chen Hao reassures Yumo that Blackbeard will come back for the money still owed to her. She thanks Chen Hao and promises the Qin Family will repay him; he jokes about asking her to marry him, which embarrasses her and stirs feelings she does not admit.
• Chen Hao remembers a strange stone he saw on the lakebed while rescuing Yumo. He dives down and finds it pulsing with spiritual energy. When he touches it, the stone grips his hand and pours its energy into him. The resulting power nearly overwhelms him, making the lake churn violently.
• Chen Hao survives and discovers that the energy has become part of his spiritual power. A mental notification identifies it as “Infinite Heavenly Spirit,” one-fifth complete, and says it increases his spiritual power by thirty percent.
• Blackbeard’s group finds Chen Hao and Yumo and lowers a vine rope so they can climb out. The survivors reunite, but Qin Feng is missing; Yumo confirms he died. Four of the original eleven have now been lost in five days, including two of Blackbeard’s men.
• With their equipment abandoned, Blackbeard leads the group to a supply station. They find unusually clean food and water. Chen Hao notices that Blackbeard and his two remaining teammates refuse to eat. Before he can drink, he uses the Heavenly Eye Art and sees countless tiny organisms in the water.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains protective and resourceful, but the stone’s mysterious power gives him a major boost and raises new questions about its nature. His teasing of Yumo gives way to renewed seriousness when he speaks of curing Elder Qin.
• Qin Yumo shows deep gratitude and growing affection toward Chen Hao, though she covers her reaction to his marriage joke with irritation. She is also anxious for his safety when he dives.
• Qin Kai grieves Qin Feng and initially lashes out in anger, then apologizes to Blackbeard and thanks him for helping the group survive.
• Blackbeard keeps the survivors focused on reaching safety despite the losses. His refusal—and that of his teammates—to eat becomes suspicious.
• Xiang Wencun is delighted when Chen Hao returns and embraces him; their reunion is interrupted by CC, who jokingly demands dragon meat and is promptly tossed aside.

Significant themes

• Survival and loss: The expedition’s deaths force the survivors to grieve while continuing to make practical decisions.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Chen Hao repeatedly risks himself for the Qin Family, while Qin Yumo and Qin Kai acknowledge their debt to him and Blackbeard.
• Growing power and mystery: The stone’s energy enhances Chen Hao’s abilities, hinting at a larger supernatural force.
• Suspicion beneath apparent safety: The fresh supplies, Blackbeard’s behavior, and the contaminated water suggest that the supply station may conceal a new danger.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao realizes the food or water at the supply station has been poisoned. He and Xiang Wencun make themselves vomit, but Qin Yumo and Qin Kai collapse unconscious. Chen Hao and Xiang Wencun remain unharmed, for reasons he does not yet understand.
• Blackbeard arrives with members of Nine Blades, revealing that he had arranged the poisoning and led the group into a trap. He plans to extort the wealthy Qin family and seize the women’s valuables.
• Nine Blades’ leader, Arugan, agrees to work with Blackbeard for a share of the money and Spirit Artifacts. Chen Hao demands that they treat the poisoned pair and take him to Nine Blades’ leader, but Blackbeard orders an attack.
• Chen Hao sends Xiang Wencun and CC inside for safety. He uses the Golden Cudgel to smash the attackers’ returning curved blades and quickly overwhelms most of the Nine Blades fighters.
• Blackbeard has Sixth Brother shoot Chen Hao. Chen Hao appears to fall, but the gunshot was apparently a feint: he rises after Sixth Brother approaches and kills him, then throws a dagger that kills another man.
• Blackbeard opens fire. Chen Hao uses a strand of Monkey Hair to create a dozen copies of himself, setting up the next stage of the fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao confirms his suspicions about Blackbeard and responds to the ambush with confidence, protecting his companions while revealing the power of the Golden Cudgel and Monkey Hair. His immunity to poison explains why he stays conscious, though Xiang Wencun’s resistance remains a mystery.
• Xiang Wencun stays alert despite drinking the poisoned water and offers to help Chen Hao. He cautions her against using her powerful, indiscriminate sonic ability in close combat.
• Qin Yumo and Qin Kai are poisoned and lose consciousness; their condition and the reason Xiang Wencun is unaffected are unresolved.
• Blackbeard is exposed as a calculating traitor motivated by money and greed. He has underestimated Chen Hao and becomes enraged as his men fall.
• Arugan treats Blackbeard as a subordinate and negotiates for a large share of the spoils, but is surprised by Chen Hao’s strength.
• CC retreats to safety with Xiang Wencun, comically ignoring Chen Hao’s expectations.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and greed: Blackbeard’s helpful guide persona conceals a plan to poison and rob the group.
• Hidden power and overconfidence: The attackers mistake Chen Hao’s apparent vulnerability for defeat, while his magical weapons and abilities overturn their advantage.
• Protection and responsibility: Chen Hao prioritizes keeping Xiang Wencun safe even as he confronts the attackers.
• Unexplained differences: Xiang Wencun’s immunity to the poison introduces a mystery about her abilities or constitution.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao’s clones overwhelm Blackbeard, but Arugan counters with Worm Gu Art, summoning a huge swarm of venomous insects that destroys the clones and nearly overwhelms Chen Hao.
• Xiang Wencun saves Chen Hao with a powerful sonic shriek. The sound kills the swarm and knocks Arugan and Blackbeard down, though Chen Hao’s ears are hurt by the blast.
• Chen Hao defeats Arugan and wounds Blackbeard, then forces Arugan to hand over the antidote. Xiang uses it to wake Qin Yumo and Qin Kai.
• Arugan reveals that Nine Blades is led by a Holy Maiden, said to be at least in the Spirit Communion Realm. Reaching her requires a Sacred Envoy’s guidance and permission from the Sacred Hall. Arugan has never heard of Cloud Valley Adept.
• Chen Hao asks Arugan to take them to the Holy Maiden, but learns that Arugan is only a gatekeeper at an outer camp and cannot grant access.
• Qin Kai beats Blackbeard in anger over the Qin Family’s losses. Chen Hao prevents him from killing Blackbeard, disables his spiritual power with a golden needle, and leaves him hanging upside down in the forest.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shows resilience and tactical decisiveness, but is left swollen and badly bruised by the insects. He is embarrassed when Xiang and Qin Yumo photograph his swollen face, and lashes out comically at Arugan over his ruined appearance. His priority remains finding the Holy Maiden and learning more about Nine Blades.
• Xiang Wencun reveals that her sonic power can devastate a large swarm, establishing her as crucial support. She helps revive Qin Yumo and Qin Kai, but teases Chen Hao about his swollen face.
• Qin Yumo wakes, joins the group’s questioning, and shows renewed resolve despite concern about the Holy Maiden’s immense power and her grandfather’s condition.
• Qin Kai channels his grief and anger into beating Blackbeard. Chen Hao lets him vent, then stops the situation short of a killing.
• Arugan shifts from smug confidence to fear after his defeat. He provides the antidote and explains Nine Blades’ hierarchy, though he cannot take the group to its leader.
• Blackbeard goes from mocking Chen Hao to terrified helplessness. Chen Hao leaves him alive but powerless and stranded.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and unexpected abilities: Xiang’s intervention turns a near-defeat into victory.
• Power and hierarchy: The group confronts the enormous gap between their abilities and the rumored Spirit Communion-level Holy Maiden.
• Revenge tempered by restraint: Qin Kai wants to kill Blackbeard, but Chen Hao chooses a humiliating punishment instead.
• Humor amid danger: The teasing over Chen Hao’s swollen face provides comic relief after the battle.