Chapter Summaries

Yi Shuyuan was summoned to face Moon Province officials investigating Jia Yuntong’s case, where Lord Li challenged the evidence and warned Lin Xiu about political repercussions. In the dungeon, Jia Yuntong begged Yi Shuyuan for help, and Yi revealed that He Xin was present—then her ghostly figure appeared before everyone.

• Yi Shuyuan received his wages, but a bailiff summoned him to Lin Xiu’s residence because officials from Moon Province had arrived to question him about Jia Yuntong’s case.
• Lord Li demanded that Yi Shuyuan summon He Xin and questioned Jia Yuntong’s confession, while Yi and the Yuanjiang County officials defended the investigation.
• Lord Li warned Lin Xiu that the case could damage his career, then took temporary control of the dungeon’s security and led the officials to Jia Yuntong.
• Jia Yuntong trembled and begged Yi Shuyuan to stop He Xin’s haunting, insisting that he had confessed everything.
• At Lin Xiu’s prompting, Yi Shuyuan confirmed that He Xin stood behind Jia Yuntong, and a chilling wind revealed her hazy figure to the assembled officials.

He Xin appeared before the officials and helped expose Jia Yuntong’s crimes, while Prefect Li left Moon Province officers under Lin Xiu’s command. Days later, the Night Wandering God warned Yi Shuyuan that Jia Yuntong’s fate had changed, and Yi found him transforming violently in the dungeon.

• He Xin became visible, confronted Jia Yuntong, and answered questions alongside him before the officials.
• Prefect Li promised to inform the Provincial Governor and left Moon Province officers under Lin Xiu’s command.
• Yi Shuyuan practiced martial arts and cultivated while the county officials waited for news about the case.
• A Night Wandering God warned Yi Shuyuan that Jia Yuntong was near death and might be targeted in secret.
• Yi Shuyuan rushed to the dungeon as Jia Yuntong threw off jailers and resisted the Moon Province officers with unnatural strength.

Yi Shuyuan stopped the spell that was tormenting Jia Yuntong, then followed the backlash to a ritual site outside Yuanjiang County. He arrived amid a clash with the spellcaster’s followers, who mistook him for an enemy and attacked.

• Jia Yuntong broke free of the officers’ restraints, and Yi Shuyuan entered the dungeon under an illusion to intervene.
• Yi Shuyuan struck Jia Yuntong three times and scattered the sinister energy inside him with a palm strike.
• The spellcaster’s ritual altar exploded, leaving the black-robed man gravely injured as the backlash reached him.
• Yi Shuyuan raced out of Yuanjiang County and reached the ritual site, where the spellcaster identified him as an immortal before dying.
• The followers attacked Yi Shuyuan, and his palm shattered the leader’s arm, prompting the man to cry out, “Xiantian True Qi!”

Yi Shuyuan defeated the sorcerer’s five martial allies, though their strongest fighter escaped into the river, then rescued Jia Yuntong’s son and took the survivors toward the Yuanjiang County Office. At the office, Lin Xiu waited for Jia Yuntong’s examination and reassured He Xin after suspecting she had caused his possession.

• The five martial artists fled after learning Yi Shuyuan possessed Xiantian True Qi, but Yi Shuyuan caught and killed or subdued four of them while their leader escaped underwater.
• Yi Shuyuan learned from the Night Patrol Spirit that sorcerers were mortal practitioners of limited, rootless magic, and the dying man in black mistook Yi Shuyuan for an immortal before his soul dissipated.
• Yi Shuyuan freed Jia Yuntong’s son and decided to take the child and the surviving martial artists to the Yuanjiang County Office, where he learned one captive had died.
• At the County Office, a physician found Jia Yuntong physically stable but badly frightened, and Lin Xiu waited outside the cell with the other officials.
• He Xin spoke directly to the officials and denied harming Jia Yuntong, and Lin Xiu apologized for suspecting her.

After Jia Yuntong recovered in the dungeon, a mysterious midnight drumming led Lin Xiu and the Yuanjiang County Office to three bound martial artists and a sleeping child, along with a letter from a Righteous Hero. Constable Yang’s search outside the city uncovered a ritual site and several bodies, leaving the officials with a likely explanation for Jia Yuntong’s recovery but many questions about the hero.

• The County Office staff heard midnight drumming, but gatekeepers found no drummer and discovered three unconscious men bound beside the drum stand with a sleeping child.
• The Old Instructor determined that the three men were skilled martial artists who had been crippled by a powerful expert, and Lin Xiu found a letter claiming a Righteous Hero had subdued them and that the child might be Jia Yuntong’s son.
• Lin Xiu sent Constable Yang and a group of officers to search the riverbank southwest of the city, while the Old Instructor arranged for the child to be cared for.
• Constable Yang’s party found a shattered ritual altar, the corpse of a black-robed ritualist, and another dead martial artist outside the city.
• Yang Pingzhong concluded that the Righteous Hero had disrupted the ritual, causing a backlash that killed the ritualist and explaining why Jia Yuntong had recovered in the dungeon.
• The officers collected the evidence and bodies and returned to the County Office, where they began questioning prisoners and caring for the child.

After the arrested martial artists confessed to the Skywhale Gang’s plot, Lin Xiu used their statements to prepare severe charges against Teng Jingcai and the wandering sorcerer. Back at the Library, Yi Shuyuan studied illusion techniques and discovered he could alter his face and voice by shaping his state of mind, giving him a first glimpse of his own Dao.

• A captured martial artist confessed that he and his companions belonged to the Skywhale Gang and had come with Master Zhou, while Yi Shuyuan recorded the statements.
• Lin Xiu read the confessions and drafted charges framing the Skywhale Gang’s intent as rebellion and the sorcerer’s methods as witchcraft.
• Yi Shuyuan returned to the Library before dawn and reflected on his ambition to work out his own Dao as he studied Huang Hongchuan’s illusion techniques.
• As spring rain and mist gathered outside, Yi Shuyuan used his thoughts and spiritual energy to change his face and voice, then lost the transformation when his concentration broke.
• Yi Shuyuan resolved to keep practicing and declared that he would one day master the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha Transformation.

Hall Master Yu survived an encounter with an Innate Expert and warned the Skywhale Gang that its mission threatened the gang’s survival. The gang’s young master realized Teng Jingcai had deceived them about the mission’s success and urged his father to cut ties with him.

• Hall Master Yu escaped after Yi Shuyuan nearly killed him with a palm strike, then collapsed beside the river and was rescued by the Skywhale Gang.
• After waking aboard the gang’s ship, Hall Master Yu warned the young master that an Innate Expert had intervened and urged him to alert the gang leader.
• The young master suspected the imperial court might be involved in the gang’s dispute over salt licenses and took Hall Master Yu to meet his father.
• Teng Jingcai welcomed the Skywhale Gang’s delegation, and the young master falsely claimed Immortal Zhou had completed the mission and driven off the Innate Expert.
• Outside Teng Jingcai’s residence, the young master confronted his father for hiding his ties to Teng Jingcai and urged him to break with him before the gang was dragged into danger.

Teng Jingcai and Sheng Shuying realized the danger posed by the reports of witchcraft and tried to protect themselves as the emperor ordered a thorough investigation. In Yuanjiang County, Yi Shuyuan sensed a bond between an abducted boy and his mother and reassured him that she was alive and would come for him.

• Teng Jingcai suspected that the Skywhale Gang’s plan had failed, then received a letter from Moon Province and began gathering his hidden valuables.
• Sheng Shuying learned of the witchcraft accusations, found Teng Jingcai’s secret letter, and accused his former subordinate before the emperor.
• The emperor reviewed reports about Teng Jingcai’s crimes and ordered the Ministry of Justice, Court of Judicial Review, and Censorate to investigate thoroughly, while allowing Sheng Shuying to remain in office for now.
• Yi Shuyuan spent a month studying and cultivating, reflecting on his ability to transform illusions into reality.
• Yi Shuyuan spoke with the rescued boy, sensed the bond between him and his mother, and told him that she was safe and would come for him.

Yi Shuyuan invited Chu Hang to lunch at the Tongxin Pavilion, where they discussed the child whose mother was missing. After Chu Hang revealed that he had a long-held account of strange events to share, Yi Shuyuan realized he had misjudged Chu Hang’s reasons for seeking him out.

• Yi Shuyuan left the Library and went to the Tongxin Pavilion for lunch.
• Yi Shuyuan spotted Chu Hang and called to him from across the street, inviting him to join him.
• Chu Hang admitted he had sent the child to ask Yi Shuyuan about his mother, and Yi Shuyuan assured him that the woman was fine.
• Yi Shuyuan and Chu Hang ate and drank together, then Chu Hang asked about Yi Shuyuan’s visit to the City God's temple.
• Chu Hang told Yi Shuyuan that he knew he was no ordinary person and wanted to share strange events he had kept secret.

Imperial officials took control of the Jia family case in Yuanjiang County while the imperial court launched a violent crackdown on the Skywhale Gang and discovered that Teng Jingcai had fled. Yi Shuyuan also agreed to investigate the mysterious creature haunting Chu Hang’s dreams when the case allowed.

• Chu Hang told Yi Shuyuan that an indistinct creature had haunted his dreams since childhood, and Yi Shuyuan suspected it might have been trying to ask him for help.
• Yi Shuyuan promised to investigate Chu Hang’s home after the Jia family case and the county gazetteer were finished.
• Imperial inspectors arrived in Yuanjiang County and announced that the Three Judicial Offices would take over the Jia family case, then went to see the prisoners.
• Imperial soldiers attacked Skywhale Gang branches in Wu Prefecture, killing gang members and using crossbows against those who tried to escape.
• Officials searching assistant prefect Teng Jingcai’s residence learned that he had fled days earlier, so they ordered his relatives detained and a province-wide search launched.

Emperor of Great Yong ordered Si Jingxiu to continue investigating Teng Jingcai’s disappearance and identify the mysterious Innate Realm martial artist connected to Yuanjiang County. Meanwhile, the Skywhale Gang’s young master planned to escape the court’s purge by spreading a story that an Innate Realm senior in Yuanjiang County was seeking a successor, and the rumor set the martial world ablaze.

• The emperor told Si Jingxiu to keep searching for Teng Jingcai, investigate the workers and officials involved, and handle Sheng Shuying with restraint.
• The emperor questioned Si Jingxiu about the unknown Innate Realm martial artist, then ordered him to discover the figure’s identity using gentler methods.
• Uncle Yan reported to the Skywhale Gang’s survivors that their branches had been destroyed and the court intended to wipe them out.
• The Skywhale Gang’s young master advised the group to hide until the purge passed, then change their banner and avoid attracting attention.
• The young master proposed spreading a story that the Skywhale Gang had sought innate martial arts from a secluded senior in Yuanjiang County and had incurred the senior’s displeasure.
• The rumor that an Innate Realm senior in Yuanjiang County was seeking a successor spread, setting the martial world ablaze.

News of an Innate Realm master in Yuanjiang County drew martial artists and the court’s attention, prompting a Martial Arts Gathering in Moon Province. A Fei learned that his family planned to attend, then realized the mysterious master was Senior Yi and feared for his safety.

• Rumors about an Innate Realm master spread, and the court announced a Martial Arts Gathering in Moon Province.
• A Fei’s family gathered at the Mai residence to discuss the news and prepare to travel to Moon Province.
• Mai Jinghua and the other elders decided to bring the younger generation to the gathering the next morning.
• A Fei recognized that Senior Yi was the master in Yuanjiang County and worried that his identity or health was in danger.
• A Fei blamed himself for leaving Senior Yi and wondered whether he could have prevented him from acting.

After the court’s examination found no sign of an Innate Realm master among Yuanjiang County’s staff, Yi Shuyuan helped investigate villages as rumors of a righteous hero spread. He heard distant drumbeats and looked up to see a glowing red drum standing on the clouds.

• Three military officers examined Yi Shuyuan and found only slight obstructions in his liver and spleen meridians.
• The court finished checking the county staff and ordered them to discreetly investigate Yuanjiang County and nearby villages.
• Yi Shuyuan surveyed West River Village and two neighboring villages, while the investigation revealed that Yuanjiang’s population records were incomplete.
• At the county bathhouse, Yi Shuyuan heard runners discuss rumors of an Innate Realm elder and a planned Martial Arts Gathering in Moon Province.
• Yi Shuyuan heard distant drumbeats, left the bathhouse, and saw a great red-glowing drum standing among the clouds.

Yi Shuyuan learned that the Martial Soul Sky Drum heralded a flourishing of Great Yong’s martial fortunes, though the gods suspected his rise had helped trigger it. On the road to Moon Province, A Fei rescued Deng the Third from a vicious white-robed fighter, who escaped after the surrounding martial artists challenged him.

• Yi Shuyuan visited Yuanjiang County’s City God Temple and asked Xiang Changqing what the Martial Soul Drum meant.
• Xiang Changqing explained that the drum announced Great Yong’s rising martial fortunes and warned monsters and demonic beasts not to cause trouble.
• Yi Shuyuan returned to the Library, wondered whether he had helped bring about the change, then decided not to worry about it.
• On the road to Moon Province, A Fei and other travelers watched a white-robed man taunt and fight the people pursuing him.
• The white-robed man badly wounded Deng the Third, but A Fei caught him and safely broke his fall.
• As the surrounding martial artists prepared to confront him, the white-robed man taunted them and fled across the treetops.

A Fei rescued Deng the Third from the fleeing man in white, then returned to camp and reassured his sister about his abilities. In Moon City, officials prepared for the martial arts assembly as the imperial chief steward unveiled the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram as its grand prize and announced that anyone under forty could compete.

• A Fei treated Deng the Third's injuries after the man in white escaped, and Deng thanked him before the groups parted.
• Mai Jinghua warned A Fei against recklessly challenging the man, and A Fei later told Mai Ake he had a thirty percent chance of holding his own and an eighty percent chance of escaping unharmed.
• Moon Province officials discussed lodging martial artists and managing disturbances without angering local residents.
• The imperial chief steward arrived with the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, which His Majesty had chosen as the martial arts assembly's grand prize.
• The chief steward said the competition must be fair and open to anyone under forty, prompting military and civil officials to recognize the significance of the rule.

Yi Shuyuan learned that the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram would be awarded at the martial gathering in Moon Province, and Chu Hang explained its value and history. Curious to see the painting and the bustling city, Yi Shuyuan secretly traveled toward Moon Province after nightfall.

• Yi Shuyuan ate crispy roast chicken with Chu Hang in the archives and heard that the martial gathering would be held in Moon Province City.
• Chu Hang told Yi Shuyuan that the winner under forty would receive the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, and Yi Shuyuan reasoned that the emperor might be using it to attract an Innate Expert.
• Chu Hang gave Yi Shuyuan pale yellow jade and a carving knife from Wu Minggao so he could make a seal.
• After leaving the county offices, Yi Shuyuan disguised himself and secretly hurried toward Moon Province to see the gathering and its famous painting.
• Yi Shuyuan reached the outskirts of Moon Province City and gazed at its brightly lit streets.

Yi Shuyuan discovered that he could truly ride the wind and flew toward Moon City, where the martial assembly had brought a flood of visitors and turned the city into a sleepless hub of activity. After taking in the bustling streets, he headed toward a conspicuous sixteen-story tower in the inner city and entered through its open gate.

• Yi Shuyuan overcame his fear of falling, learned to ride the wind, and descended near Moon City's outskirts.
• He slipped through the crowded streets using lightness skills and watched visitors find food and lodging as residents rented out rooms.
• Yi Shuyuan observed that the martial assembly had drawn martial artists, merchants, scholars, and sightseers, while the authorities focused on keeping order.
• He marveled at Moon City's size and vitality, then spotted a tower that appeared to have sixteen stories.
• Yi Shuyuan approached the inner city, walked through its open gate, and heard shopkeepers call out with offers of food and lodging.

Yi Shuyuan surveyed Moon Province City from a watchtower as martial artists gathered to see the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram. After watching Duan Silie defeat a white-robed attacker, Yi Shuyuan bought him pastries and left without giving his name, still intending to pursue the attacker.

• Yi Shuyuan climbed the watchtower, surveyed the city, and spotted He Chaoju's group arriving with A Fei and Mai Ake.
• A Fei sensed that a pastry-eating stranger was an expert, while the white-robed man nearby considered the possibility of facing A Fei in the tournament.
• The white-robed man attacked the stranger with a hidden steel needle, but the spearman, Duan Silie, fought back and wounded him before he escaped.
• Yi Shuyuan watched the fight, and Duan Silie returned to the pastry shop after the authorities arrived and the attacker vanished.
• Yi Shuyuan bought Duan Silie two pastries, declined to give his name, and walked away to follow the white-robed man.

Yi Shuyuan followed the man in white as he searched Moon Province City for the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, then used his steel needle to expose and immobilize him. Yi Shuyuan slipped into the guarded residence and saw the genuine painting, whose otherworldly scene left him transfixed.

• Yi Shuyuan tracked the wounded man in white through Moon Province City as he changed clothes and secretly marked seven locations.
• The man in white searched for the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram and considered stealing it if he could not win it at the martial gathering.
• Yi Shuyuan used a mysterious sense to send the steel needle through the man’s hands and pin them, along with his silk map, to a table in the inn.
• After hearing the commotion draw government personnel and martial artists to the inn, Yi Shuyuan entered the guarded residence as a breeze.
• Yi Shuyuan recognized the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram as a genuine, extraordinary work and stood transfixed by its scene.

Yi Shuyuan saw the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram but left it untouched, then disguised himself as Long Feiyang and met A Fei and his companions at a restaurant. His advice pushed A Fei to resolve to compete for first place in the martial arts tournament.

• Yi Shuyuan studied the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram and resisted taking it when the senior eunuch woke and rolled it away.
• Yi Shuyuan left the residence and reflected that the painting’s alchemical furnace might help his cultivation.
• Disguised as Long Feiyang, Yi Shuyuan joined He Chaoju, A Fei, and their companions at a crowded restaurant.
• Yi Shuyuan praised A Fei’s internal cultivation and told him that anyone entering the tournament had to aim for first place.
• A Fei thanked Yi Shuyuan for his guidance, and after Yi Shuyuan departed, resolved to contend for first place.