Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s group spends the night at an inn run by bandits. Geng Shu worries they may attack, but Xu Tong promises to protect everyone.
• The next morning, the bandits serve breakfast. Xu Tong compliments their cooking and suggests they give up robbery and run a legitimate inn.
• Their leader explains that she once ran an inn with her husband, until a powerful local bully seized it and killed him. Unable to get justice, she turned to banditry. Xu Tong recognizes her grievance but chooses not to press her or punish the group.
• As Xu Tong and his companions prepare to leave, a frightened teenager named Wan’er begs him to rescue her family, who were robbed and imprisoned by the bandits.
• Wan’er leads Xu Tong to a woodshed in the rear courtyard. He uses water-element power to break the lock and free her family, who thank him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains cautious but compassionate. He reassures Geng Shu, treats the bandits without hostility, and helps Wan’er’s family despite initially intending to leave.
• Geng Shu is uneasy about the bandits and remains on guard, but trusts Xu Tong’s assurance.
• The bandit leader reveals the injustice and loss that led her to abandon an honest life. Her calm account complicates Xu Tong’s view of the group, though she does not reconsider her choices.
• Wan’er shows desperation and resolve by escaping confinement and asking Xu Tong for help. Her family’s gratitude follows their release.

Significant themes

• Injustice and moral compromise: The bandit leader’s past suggests how corruption and lack of legal recourse can push people toward wrongdoing.
• Compassion without condemnation: Xu Tong recognizes the bandits’ humanity while refusing to endorse their actions.
• Choosing to help: Though he does not see himself as responsible for fixing every wrong, Xu Tong acts when a family’s immediate safety is at stake.

Key plot points and events

• After Xu Tong rescues a family, the daughter offers him money, valuables, and supplies as thanks. He refuses and leaves, while the family prepares to escape before their captors discover their flight.
• Xu Tong and his companions reach Black Tortoise City after a punishing journey and rest at an inn.
• While the others recover, Xu Tong investigates the whereabouts of Divine Physician Yun He. He learns that Yun He is treating a relative of the City Lord at the Zhao residence, but returns home each evening.
• Quan Wuxiang gives Xu Tong a jade pendant, explaining that he and his wife once saved Yun He’s life and received it as a promise of future help.
• Xu Tong visits the Zhao residence through proper channels, obtains Yun He’s address, and goes to his courtyard. A young attendant initially accuses him of trespassing, but recognizes the pendant and goes to fetch Yun He.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains practical and self-reliant. He declines payment for the rescue, chooses diplomacy over abducting Yun He, and stays focused on securing treatment for his seriously ill elder.
• Quan Wuxiang reveals a long-standing connection to Yun He, providing Xu Tong with a legitimate way to request his help.
• The rescued daughter and her family show gratitude and generosity, though Xu Tong refuses their reward.
• The attendant is suspicious and confrontational at first, but changes course when he sees the jade pendant.
• Xu Tong’s companions, especially Geng Shu, are exhausted by the journey and rest while Xu Tong handles the arrangements.

Significant themes

• Selflessness and gratitude: Xu Tong helps the family without seeking compensation, while Quan Wuxiang’s past kindness may now benefit his own family.
• Proper conduct and trust: Xu Tong avoids forcing an audience with Yun He and follows formal channels, even though he has other ways to persuade him.
• Reputation and personal affinity: Yun He’s fame and eccentricity make access difficult; whether he treats someone depends not only on payment but also on his judgment and goodwill.

Key plot points

• Xu Tong presents Divine Physician Yun He with a jade pendant from Quan Wuxiang. Yun He recognizes it, learns Quan is alive but hiding from pursuers, and agrees to come examine Liu Banruo.
• Yun He leaves his clinic in the care of his blind daughter, A Ting, and a young man.
• At the inn, Yun He examines Liu and discovers that her confused, violent state has several causes: someone used a silver needle to control her, her cultivation was sealed, and the resulting internal disruption damaged her mind. She also has a vicious gu poison.
• Liu’s cultivation had been artificially raised with harmful pills, leaving her body badly weakened. Yun He can only nurse her back to health gradually; treating the gu poison requires rare Qilin Grass from the frigid northwest, reportedly guarded by a divine beast.
• Quan vows to find the herb and asks whether Liu’s mind can recover before the poison is removed.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun He shifts from wary curiosity about Quan’s pendant to serious concern for Liu. He offers a candid diagnosis but makes clear that his ability to help is limited without the rare medicinal catalyst.
• Quan Wuxiang shows deep commitment to Liu, accepting the dangerous search immediately and focusing on her recovery.
• Xu Tong acts as a restrained intermediary, sharing only what Yun He needs to know and deferring the fuller explanation to Quan.
• A Ting, Yun He’s blind daughter, is introduced as capable and accustomed to managing herbs independently. Her presence surprises Xu Tong, but he respects her privacy.
• Yun and Quan’s old friendship is evident in their familiarity, though their reunion is overshadowed by Liu’s condition.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Quan is willing to risk a perilous journey for Liu.
• The costs of manipulation: Forced cultivation, harmful medicines, and control techniques have damaged Liu both physically and mentally.
• Limits of healing: Yun’s skill cannot overcome every illness without the right remedy, leaving Liu’s recovery uncertain.

Key plot points and events

• Yun He tells Quan Wuxiang that Liu Banruo is severely weakened despite appearing physically stable, and that no one can predict when her confused mind will recover. He prescribes medicine intended to soothe her mind.
• Xu Tong and Geng Shu leave to obtain the herbs. On the way, they discuss Qilin Grass, which is rare, best used fresh, and reportedly guarded by a divine beast in the dangerous Bitter Cold Land.
• Geng Shu proposes joining Quan Wuxiang on the search. Xu Tong agrees to accompany them, drawing on his limited familiarity with the region. He describes its extreme cold, harsh terrain, and other hazards, including the Desolate Swamp.
• At an herb shop, the shopkeeper claims that two ingredients in Yun He’s prescription dangerously counteract each other and refuses to sell them. Xu Tong trusts Yun He’s judgment, but a second shop also turns them away.

Character developments and interactions

• Quan Wuxiang accepts Yun He’s assessment and treatment plan, though he remains quiet and concerned about Liu Banruo.
• Geng Shu shows loyalty to Quan Wuxiang and courage about undertaking a perilous journey. She is also practical, thinking about preparations rather than simply fearing the danger.
• Xu Tong supports Geng Shu and Quan Wuxiang, agrees to guide them, and remains confident that Yun He would not intentionally harm Liu Banruo.
• Xu Tong and Geng Shu tease and reassure one another as they discuss the expedition. The herb-shop owner, by contrast, distrusts the prescription and prioritizes avoiding responsibility.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and mutual support: Geng Shu and Xu Tong are prepared to risk danger for their mentor.
• Trust versus uncertainty: Xu Tong trusts Yun He, while the shopkeeper’s warning raises doubt about the prescription.
• Healing and peril: Liu Banruo’s recovery may depend on scarce medicine that requires a dangerous journey.
• Courage and preparation: The characters face danger with resolve while recognizing the need to plan carefully.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong struggles to find an apothecary willing to fill Yun He’s prescription. He assures one shop that he will take responsibility, but its proprietor, a woman, agrees to sell the medicine only after learning Yun He’s whereabouts.
• Xu Tong brings the medicine to the inn and tells Yun He that the proprietor hopes to meet him. Yun He accepts, saying he needs to prepare the medicine anyway.
• When the woman sees Yun He, she begs him to treat her dying husband. Yun He says he has already told her he cannot cure him and firmly refuses.
• The woman insists her husband has only days to live and offers any payment. When Yun He leaves, she kneels in the crowded inn, hoping to change his mind. Xu Tong tries to persuade her that begging will not help, but she remains determined.

Character developments

• Xu Tong is resourceful and willing to take responsibility to obtain the needed medicine, but he feels uneasy after unintentionally drawing Yun He into a painful encounter.
• Yun He is apologetic about the trouble caused by his unsealed prescription, yet resolute about refusing the woman’s request.
• The apothecary proprietor initially appears composed and businesslike, but her desperation becomes clear when she pleads for her husband.
• Geng Shu witnesses the exchange but remains largely an observer.

Significant themes

• Devotion and desperation: The woman’s willingness to bankrupt herself and kneel publicly reflects her love for her husband and her desperation to save him.
• Limits of medicine and reputation: Yun He’s fame does not mean he can cure every illness—or that he is willing to treat every patient.
• Responsibility and unintended consequences: Xu Tong’s effort to secure medicine unexpectedly exposes Yun He to a difficult personal request.
• Public pressure versus personal resolve: The onlookers’ attention does not sway Yun He, whose refusal remains firm.

Character interactions

• Xu Tong negotiates with the apothecary proprietor, then brings her request to Yun He without promising he can secure a meeting.
• The woman approaches Yun He directly and pleads for her husband’s treatment, while Yun He rejects her request and walks away.
• Xu Tong then tries to reason with the kneeling woman, but she refuses to give up.

Key plot points

• Xu Tong and Geng Shu learn why Divine Physician Yun He refuses to treat the woman’s husband: years earlier, during a plague in Black Tortoise City, the man sold counterfeit medicine that contributed to many deaths.
• The woman insists that the couple have repented and spent recent years distributing medicine for free, arguing that her husband deserves a chance to make amends.
• Xu Tong recognizes the complexity of the plea but refuses to intervene or judge on behalf of the people who died. He tells the woman that kneeling may look like an attempt to pressure Yun He, then leaves with Geng Shu.
• Yun He explains that the couple’s charity cannot undo the deaths they caused. He believes their remorse became genuine only when they needed his help, and remains resolved not to treat the husband.
• As Yun He, Xu Tong, and Geng Shu finish preparing medicine, a bystander confronts Yun He, accusing him of being heartless and suggesting he is either incapable of treating the man or motivated by money. Yun He warns him not to speak without knowing the facts.

Character developments

• Xu Tong becomes more cautious and morally reflective. Though he sympathizes with the woman, he questions whether later good deeds can compensate for irreversible harm and declines to take sides.
• The woman presents herself as remorseful and desperate, but her insistence that Yun He must treat her husband—and her refusal to stop kneeling—also places pressure on him.
• Yun He remains firm in his refusal. His anger is rooted in his identity as a physician and his belief that the victims’ suffering cannot be erased by the couple’s later charity.
• The bystander judges the situation from the woman’s visible distress and recent good deeds, without knowing the history behind Yun He’s decision.

Significant themes

• Justice versus mercy: The chapter asks whether sincere repentance should earn a second chance, especially when the original wrongdoing cost lives.
• Limits of atonement: Good deeds may help others, but they cannot restore those who died or guarantee forgiveness from their victims.
• Judgment without full knowledge: The bystander’s accusation shows the danger of condemning someone before understanding the circumstances.
• Responsibility and pressure: The woman’s appeal for compassion raises the question of whether a healer is obligated to treat everyone, even when he believes doing so would disregard past harm.

Character interactions

• The woman appeals to Xu Tong’s compassion, but he refuses to decide what the dead would have wanted.
• Xu Tong apologizes to Yun He for the disruption; Yun He calmly explains why he stands by his choice.
• The bystander challenges Yun He publicly, framing refusal as discrimination or greed. Yun He rejects the accusation, and the chapter ends as the confrontation begins to intensify.

Key plot points and events

• Yun He refuses to treat a sick man, whose wife and the man himself were involved in selling fake medicine that caused many deaths. Yun He goes upstairs, leaving Xu Tong to deal with the onlookers.
• A bystander accuses Yun He of cruelty and of denying treatment to people who have supposedly repented. Xu Tong counters that Yun He has the right to choose his patients, and that repentance cannot undo the deaths they caused.
• When the bystander cannot defend his position, the wife tearfully offers to give away her medicinal herbs after her husband dies. She speaks of their guilt and suffering, but also asks whether wrongdoers can ever become good people. Her appeal begins to sway the crowd.
• Xu Tong challenges the onlookers to help directly—by studying medicine and treating the man—and asks whether they would be so forgiving if their own family had died from the couple’s fake medicine. He then leaves with Geng Shu.

Character developments

• Xu Tong shows himself to be sharp-tongued and morally firm. He recognizes that the wife’s emotional appeal is influencing the crowd and responds more bluntly to prevent them from pressuring Yun He.
• Yun He remains resolute in his refusal, asserting his autonomy as a physician.
• The wife presents herself as remorseful and generous, but her speech also redirects attention toward her and her husband’s suffering, complicating her apparent repentance.
• The bystander begins as a self-righteous defender of the couple but is unable to answer Xu Tong’s challenges.

Significant themes

• Personal choice and professional autonomy: A physician may refuse treatment, regardless of public pressure.
• Remorse versus accountability: Later good deeds and suffering cannot restore lives lost or erase past harm.
• Performative compassion: It is easy to demand generosity when one bears none of the cost; genuine help requires personal effort.
• Persuasion and public sympathy: Emotional appeals can make people overlook the victims and consequences of wrongdoing.

Character interactions

• Xu Tong confronts the bystander’s accusations with pointed questions, exposing the gap between his words and willingness to help.
• The wife addresses the crowd with a tearful appeal that softens some of their judgment.
• Xu Tong counters her influence by reminding the crowd of the victims and asking them to imagine the crime affecting their own families.
• As Xu Tong and Geng Shu leave, Geng Shu praises Xu Tong’s eloquence.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong reflects that the woman who confronted Yun He may have manipulated the situation by presenting only her side of the story and stirring up a crowd.
• Xu Tong apologizes to Yun He for bringing her to the inn. Yun He says the woman has troubled him for a long time and does not blame Xu Tong.
• Quan Wuxiang proposes staying at Yun He’s home while he searches the Bitter Cold Land for qilin grass. Xu Tong and Geng Shu insist on accompanying him, arguing that they owe their teachers and can improve their chances of success.
• The group waits until the woman leaves, then returns to Yun He’s clinic. There, an attendant reports that Yun He’s blind daughter has disappeared while he was fetching herbs.
• Yun He and Geng Shu search the nearby mountain. Xu Tong remains behind to examine the room, suspecting that the young woman may have been abducted rather than leaving on her own.
• Xu Tong finds traces of what Quan Wuxiang recognizes as Soul-Dazing Powder, strengthening the kidnapping theory. Xu Tong decides to call Yun He back and ask what might have happened.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong shows caution and analytical judgment: he recognizes that the woman’s account may be one-sided, then questions the circumstances of Yun He’s daughter’s disappearance.
• Yun He accepts Xu Tong’s apology and remains focused on his daughter once she is reported missing.
• Xu Tong and Geng Shu demonstrate loyalty to Quan Wuxiang and Liu Banruo by volunteering to accompany Quan on a dangerous journey.
• Quan Wuxiang initially refuses their help to avoid putting them at risk, but accepts their determination. He also helps Xu Tong assess the suspected drug.
• Xu Tong and Quan Wuxiang work together to investigate while Yun He and Geng Shu search outside.

Significant themes

• Judgment and incomplete information: Xu Tong warns against taking one person’s account as the whole truth.
• Loyalty and mutual obligation: Xu Tong and Geng Shu feel responsible to those who taught them and insist on helping.
• Vigilance and deduction: The disappearance appears suspicious, and careful observation—not assumption—uncovers a possible clue.
• Danger and uncertainty: Both the planned journey for qilin grass and the daughter’s disappearance introduce threats whose outcome is unknown.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong receives an anonymous letter confirming that Yun He’s adopted daughter, A Ting, has been abducted. The kidnappers demand Yun He’s Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus and instruct him to leave it on a courtyard stone table that night.
• Xu Tong finds Yun He injured after he falls while rushing back. Yun He fears that trying to capture the kidnappers might endanger A Ting, and initially argues that her life matters more than the rare medicine.
• Quan Wuxiang agrees that a person’s life comes first, but warns that surrendering the lotus without resistance could encourage further abductions and extortion. Xu Tong offers to use his dark-element abilities to track the thieves.
• Yun He accepts the plan. He places the lotus in a box on the stone table, while Xu Tong spreads his dark element through the courtyard and marks the box so he can follow it if it is taken.
• As night passes without any sign of the kidnappers, Xu Tong tells the others they can go to bed, confident that his mark will let him detect the box’s movement.

Character developments

• Yun He reveals his deep affection for A Ting, despite her not being his biological daughter. His compassion leads him to prioritize her safety over the valuable lotus.
• Xu Tong acts quickly, investigates the letter’s implications, and uses his confidence and control of the dark element to offer a practical way to protect both A Ting and the medicinal treasure.
• Quan Wuxiang balances compassion with resolve, emphasizing that giving in to the kidnappers could put others at risk.
• Geng Shu voices the group’s indignation at the kidnappers’ greed.

Significant themes

• Human life versus material wealth: Yun He regards A Ting’s life as more important than even a rare medicinal treasure.
• Compassion and responsibility: Yun He’s care for an adopted child reflects his healer’s concern for human life.
• Resisting exploitation: Quan Wuxiang argues that unchecked extortion would encourage future crimes.
• Trust and cooperation: The group combines Yun He’s decision, Quan Wuxiang’s reasoning, and Xu Tong’s abilities to respond to the threat.

Character interactions

• Xu Tong informs the injured Yun He of the letter and the demand.
• Yun He explains his fear for A Ting and his reluctance to risk her life, prompting Xu Tong to initially fall silent.
• Quan Wuxiang later speaks privately with Yun He, persuading him that they can protect A Ting while still preventing the kidnappers from escaping without consequence.
• Xu Tong reassures the group that his dark-element mark will track the box, allowing them to stop waiting at the courtyard.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong senses intruders entering the courtyard at night and secretly follows them to a mansion on the outskirts.
• There he finds A Ting tied up and blindfolded. Eavesdropping, he learns that the men stole the mansion and coerced its owners—using poison—to reveal where the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus was.
• The gang’s leader, a scarred man, plans to keep the mansion and bring his sick wife there rather than return to the mountains.
• Xu Tong reveals himself and disables the men so they cannot use their cultivation. He then frees A Ting and explains that her father, Yun He, sent him to rescue her.
• A Ting asks about her father and the Snow Lotus. Xu Tong reassures her that Yun He chose her safety over the herb and says he will deal with the kidnappers before taking her home.
• Just as Xu Tong is about to attack, the scarred leader pleads for mercy, claiming the gang are “not bad people.” He explains that his wife is gravely ill, the Snow Lotus is needed as a medicinal catalyst, and he kidnapped A Ting only after learning the herb’s location through the Liu Family.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong acts with stealth and confidence, using his dark element to track the gang and prevent them from fighting. Though he did not originally come to pursue justice, learning about the gang’s crimes makes him willing to stop them.
• A Ting is revealed to have been silenced by sealed acupoints, not by choice. Once freed, her immediate concern is her father’s safety.
• The scarred leader shifts from threatening Xu Tong to begging for mercy. His account gives the gang a more complicated motive—saving his wife—but does not erase their kidnapping, theft, and coercion.
• Xu Tong reassures A Ting and intervenes on her behalf, while the gang members’ discussion exposes their crimes and the leader’s intentions.

Significant themes

• Good intentions versus wrongdoing: The leader presents his actions as desperate measures to save his wife, raising the question of whether suffering excuses harming others.
• Power and justice: The gang took the mansion because force gave them control, illustrating how martial strength can override ownership and fairness.
• Compassion and moral judgment: Xu Tong begins as a rescuer focused on A Ting and the herb, but becomes more willing to act against the gang after hearing what they did.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong confronts the scarred man, who admits his group took A Ting and the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus but says they acted to obtain medicine for his sick wife. He claims the Liu Family, whose estate they occupied, are notorious bullies.
• A Ting confirms the Liu Family’s reputation and recalls being harassed by their young master. Xu Tong decides the men were telling the truth but still takes back the snow lotus, warns them not to repeat their actions, and leaves with A Ting.
• Once Xu Tong’s restraint wears off, the scarred man resolves to seek help properly rather than give up on curing his wife. He leaves some men to watch the Liu Family and takes others to Yun He’s clinic.
• While A Ting sleeps after the ordeal, Yun He explains how she became his adopted daughter: orphaned by a plague, she chose to travel with him and learn medicine. Years later, she saved him from smallpox by testing medicines on herself.
• A Ting was blinded by poison while testing medicine for Yun He. He has been searching for a cure and privately hoped Qilin Grass might help her eyes, though the herb is also genuinely needed for Quan Wuxiang’s wife.
• Quan Wuxiang reassures Yun He that their long friendship means he need not fear being misunderstood.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong shows both judgment and mercy: he verifies the scarred man’s claims through A Ting, recovers the stolen herb, and gives the men a warning rather than punishing them further.
• The scarred man accepts responsibility for having gone too far and shifts from force to the possibility of asking for help.
• Yun He and A Ting are revealed as devoted father and daughter, bound by years of care, sacrifice, and shared medical work. Yun He’s guilt over A Ting’s blindness underscores how deeply he feels responsible for her.
• Quan Wuxiang responds to Yun He with trust and understanding, affirming the strength of their friendship.

Significant themes

• Family beyond blood: Yun He and A Ting become family through mutual care and loyalty.
• Sacrifice and responsibility: A Ting risks her sight to save Yun He, while Yun He spends years seeking to heal her.
• Mercy tempered by accountability: Xu Tong recognizes the captors’ motives but does not excuse their kidnapping or theft.
• Trust and honest communication: The chapter contrasts the scarred man’s initial deception with Quan Wuxiang’s confidence in a longstanding friend.

Plot and events

• Yun He acknowledges that he mishandled the earlier dispute, but the scar-faced bandit leader soon arrives to apologize for his men kidnapping A Ting and to plead for help treating his gravely ill wife.
• Yun He hesitates, since the bandits had threatened his family, but Quan Wuxiang urges him to investigate. The leader claims his group at Tiger Head Mountain helps the poor, and Yun He confirms this by asking local people.
• Yun He finds that the man’s wife is ill, though she does not need the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. He agrees to provide medicine, which should help after ten days to two weeks, and waives the fee.
• A Ting, worried about her father, insists on going to check on him. Yun He returns safely and reassures her.
• Xu Tong suggests that the bandits guard Liu Banruo while the group is away. Yun He agrees, and the bandits’ service will help protect her during the journey.
• With their affairs settled, Quan Wuxiang and the others depart the next day for the Bitter Cold Land, hoping to find a way to restore Liu Banruo’s mind.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun He balances his anger over A Ting’s kidnapping with his commitment to treat the sick. He also shows concern for Liu Banruo’s safety.
• Quan Wuxiang sympathizes with the bandit leader’s devotion to his wife, helping persuade Yun He to hear him out. His focus remains on his own wife’s recovery rather than revenge.
• The bandit leader shows remorse and devotion, pleading earnestly for treatment and agreeing, through the arrangement, to help protect Liu Banruo.
• A Ting demonstrates her affection for her father by worrying and wanting to go after him.
• Xu Tong takes a practical role, proposing that the bandits serve as guards.
• The scene also briefly brings the group together in a warm, relieved moment after Yun He returns safely.

Significant themes

• Compassion and medical duty can overcome resentment, though trust must be tested.
• Love and loyalty motivate both the bandit leader’s plea for his wife and Quan Wuxiang’s journey to help Liu Banruo.
• Mutual aid and practical cooperation turn a former threat into a potential source of protection.

Key plot points and events

• Quan Wuxiang, Xu Tong, and Geng Shu travel to the Bitter Cold Land in search of Qilin Grass, which Quan needs to help his wife. Yun He’s instructions point them toward the Black Swamp, though he does not know the herb’s exact location.
• Xu Tong warns that the swamp is highly dangerous, filled with poisonous miasma and corrosive ground. Yun He has supplied medicine to protect them, but they must leave within twelve hours.
• The group takes the medicine, stays connected by holding one another’s clothes through the dense fog, and follows Xu Tong deeper into the swamp.
• Xu Tong predicts the fog will disperse after about two hours and advises using the time to travel farther in. When the fog clears, they reach the swamp’s center, where the sun is scorching.
• Believing the harshest conditions—and perhaps the herb—may be found at the center, they use branches to test the ground and split up to search, planning to reunite in two hours.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong takes charge because he knows the swamp. He balances caution with confidence, guiding the others and sharing practical advice about the fog and unstable ground.
• Quan Wuxiang defers to Xu Tong’s local knowledge, though his urgency to find the grass for his wife makes him reluctant to turn back. He also checks that Geng Shu is willing to continue.
• Geng Shu expresses concern about searching in the fog but agrees to proceed with the group. Quan considers the risk of leaving her behind alone.
• The three cooperate closely, first keeping hold of one another in the fog, then separating only once visibility improves.

Significant themes

• Devotion and sacrifice: Quan’s search is driven by his desire to help his wife, motivating him to face serious danger.
• Trust and teamwork: The travelers depend on Xu Tong’s experience and coordinate to reduce the risks of the swamp.
• Caution amid uncertainty: They take precautions—medicine, close formation, ground-probing branches, and a time limit—while still pressing into a dangerous, unfamiliar place.

Plot points

• Xu Tong finds a plant resembling qilin grass in the Black Swamp, but discovers the swamp can rise into a barrier and absorb attacks.
• He deduces that the swamp is a living divine beast guarding the grass, and that brute force only strengthens it. He floods the swamp with dark energy, then triggers water energy inside it, injuring the creature and forcing it into a beast-like form.
• Quan Wuxiang and Geng Shu arrive. Xu Tong asks one of them to hold off the beast while the other retrieves the grass. Geng Shu gets it, but the wounded creature suddenly collapses back into swamp form, and the ground gives way beneath her.
• Quan Wuxiang and Xu Tong reach for Geng Shu but catch only the qilin grass. The chapter ends with Quan Wuxiang fearing she has been swallowed.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong shows caution, ingenuity, and persistence. After recognizing that direct attacks are ineffective, he works out a strategy and keeps fighting despite being nearly exhausted.
• Quan Wuxiang responds quickly to Xu Tong’s danger, protects him, and then holds the creature off. His distress at Geng Shu’s disappearance reveals that her safety matters more to him than the prize.
• Geng Shu acts decisively, taking the risk of retrieving the qilin grass while the others engage the beast.
• The three cooperate under pressure: Xu Tong identifies the threat and directs the plan; Quan Wuxiang engages it; Geng Shu secures the grass.

Significant themes

• Cleverness over force: Understanding the enemy’s nature proves more effective than simply attacking harder.
• Teamwork and sacrifice: Each character takes a role in pursuing the shared goal, but success comes at a potentially devastating cost.
• The danger of ambition: Obtaining the qilin grass may have required a price the group never intended to pay.

Plot points and events

• After obtaining the qilin grass, Quan Wuxiang watches Xu Tong jump into the black swamp without explanation. He decides Xu must have a plan and waits rather than leaving.
• Xu Tong uses his connection to the dark and water elements he previously sent into the swamp to navigate its interior. He suspects the swamp is a divine beast and that he and Geng Shu are inside its body.
• Searching for a vital weakness, Xu finds a blocked passage and strikes it with his dark element. The swamp ejects him and Geng Shu.
• Geng Shu is badly injured and barely breathing. Xu sends his remaining dark element into her, causing black sludge to leave her body and strengthening her breathing—but he collapses from exhaustion.
• Quan carries both unconscious companions out of the swamp and to an inn. All three sleep for three days.
• After waking, Xu finds Geng Shu still unconscious. He can only keep her alive for now; he plans to have Divine Physician Yun He examine her once they return. Quan pays the inn bill, and the two eat.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong acts decisively and risks himself to rescue Geng Shu, relying on his knowledge of elemental forces and the swamp. Even severely depleted, he uses his last strength to stabilize her.
• Quan Wuxiang initially panics when Xu disappears, but trusts his judgment and waits. He then takes responsibility for carrying both companions to safety and caring for them.
• Geng Shu remains unconscious and in critical condition throughout the chapter; her survival depends on Xu’s intervention.
• Xu and Quan cooperate closely, each supporting the others: Xu handles the rescue and treatment, while Quan gets them out and provides for them afterward.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and self-sacrifice: Xu risks his life for Geng Shu, while Quan refuses to abandon his companions.
• Trust under pressure: Quan acts on his faith in Xu even without knowing his plan.
• The limits of power: Xu’s ingenuity saves Geng Shu from immediate death, but his exhaustion prevents him from fully healing her.
• Survival amid uncertainty: The group escapes the swamp, but Geng Shu’s recovery remains unresolved.

Plot points and events

• After recovering from their ordeal, Quan Wuxiang and Xu Tong reach Black Tortoise City with the unconscious Geng Shu and find Yun He’s clinic empty. They learn Yun He has gone to Tiger Head Mountain after a woman repeatedly begged him to treat her husband.
• They give Yun He the Qilin Grass they found. He confirms it is suitable, then treats Geng Shu, whose life is no longer in danger.
• While cultivating, Xu Tong briefly senses that his former cultivation may be stirring, but the energy vanishes when he tries to control it. He sets the matter aside and continues replenishing his dark element.
• Yun He prepares an antidote for Liu Banruo and A Ting. Quan Wuxiang gives Xu Tong the Heavenly Dragon Fruit as thanks for the help he and Geng Shu provided.
• Geng Shu wakes on the day the two women take the antidote. Yun He begins a seven-day treatment using silver needles, and Quan Wuxiang stays beside the women throughout.
• Xu Tong and Geng Shu return to Hongwu City. They learn that Hong Wu and Qian Ye apparently killed each other in a fight and that the city is about to get a new ruler and name.
• Yang Rufeng arrives to confirm Hong Wu’s death. Xu Tong urges him to release his long-held resentment and focus on cultivation.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains practical and composed, accepting the Heavenly Dragon Fruit and choosing not to dwell on his fleeting glimpse of renewed cultivation. He feels no sympathy for Hong Wu, but recognizes that Yang Rufeng may benefit from letting go of revenge.
• Quan Wuxiang shows guilt and concern over Geng Shu’s condition, then devotes himself to caring for Liu Banruo and A Ting during their treatment. He gives Xu Tong the fruit as a gesture of gratitude.
• Geng Shu recovers enough to wake after Yun He’s treatment.
• Yang Rufeng is left with mixed feelings when he learns his enemy is dead and his chance for revenge has passed. Xu Tong offers him support and advice.

Significant themes

• Revenge and release: Hong Wu’s death ends Yang Rufeng’s pursuit of vengeance, raising the possibility that he can turn toward a different life.
• Consequences of choosing power: Xu Tong believes Hong Wu’s betrayal and pursuit of power ultimately brought about his downfall.
• Care, gratitude, and loyalty: Quan Wuxiang’s attention to the injured and his gift to Xu Tong show the bonds formed through shared hardship.
• Uncertainty and acceptance: Xu Tong’s lost glimpse of his former power reinforces his decision to accept his circumstances and keep cultivating.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong reveals to Yang Rufeng that Hong Wu may not have been responsible for the wrong Yang Rufeng blamed him for. Yang Rufeng is shaken, having spent years cultivating for revenge, and Xu Tong gives him time to investigate and accept the truth.
• Liu Banruo and A Ting recover: Liu is reunited with Quan Wuxiang, while A Ting regains her sight. Liu and Quan decide to travel together and eventually settle somewhere peaceful.
• The group disperses. Xu Tong gives Geng Shu the Heavenly Dragon Fruit and returns with Yang Rufeng to a secluded mountain to cultivate. He plans to meet Xiao Se’s side in three years, though he avoids encouraging Geng Shu’s growing affection because he expects to leave.
• During those three years, Yang Rufeng advances to the sage realm, but Xu Tong’s cultivation remains stalled. When Yang leaves for the promised duel, Xu Tong’s cultivation suddenly returns, signaling that the great calamity is beginning.
• Yang’s duel attracts attention across the land. He announces Xu Tong’s name after his first victory, honoring his absent master.
• Geng Shu attends the match and follows Yang to find Xu Tong, but Xu Tong has disappeared, leaving a message carved into a tree: “If fate allows, we will meet again. There is no need to search.”

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Rufeng shifts from single-minded revenge toward uncertainty and reflection after hearing the new account of Hong Wu. He remains devoted to Xu Tong and vows to carry his teachings forward.
• Xu Tong acts as a patient mentor, then departs alone as his cultivation returns and the approaching calamity calls him onward.
• Quan Wuxiang and Liu Banruo are reunited and choose a quiet life together, their relationship renewed by the chance to be together again.
• Geng Shu grows attached to Xu Tong but is left without a final meeting. Her tearful shout—“Xu Tong, you big liar!”—expresses both affection and hurt.

Significant themes

• Fate and change: Xu Tong’s stalled cultivation, sudden restoration, and the approaching calamity suggest events unfolding according to a larger order.
• Letting go and new beginnings: Yang must reconsider his lifelong pursuit of revenge, while the reunited couple choose a peaceful future.
• Parting and impermanence: The group’s bonds endure, but their paths separate; Xu Tong’s note offers hope of reunion without promising it.
• Mentorship and legacy: Though absent, Xu Tong’s teachings shape Yang’s resolve and future.