Chapter Summaries

Yi Shuyuan met Duan Silie in an alley, shared food and wine with him, and promised him a reward if he won the martial arts gathering. After sensing demonic aura nearby, Yi Shuyuan tracked it to a pool and a stolen swill bucket before fleeing as ghosts and gods arrived.

• Yi Shuyuan admired Duan Silie's spear while Duan Silie slept, then woke him and shared roast chicken and wine with him.
• Duan Silie declared he was aiming to win first place and offered Yi Shuyuan the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram if he did.
• Yi Shuyuan promised Duan Silie a reward regardless of whether he won, then disappeared while Duan Silie was drinking.
• Yi Shuyuan followed a faint demonic aura to an overgrown pool and found a chicken bone and a wooden swill bucket.
• After hearing ghosts and gods approach the pool, Yi Shuyuan vanished and left the suspected demon to fend for itself.

Yi Shuyuan left Moon City after encountering two Wandering Spirits and giving a pancake to the creature hiding in a puddle, then returned to Yuanjiang County and slept. The next day, A Fei visited the Yi family and went to the county yamen, where he reunited with Yi Shuyuan.

• Two Wandering Spirits let the puddle-dwelling creature remain, warning it to leave Moon City after the gathering.
• Yi Shuyuan left a pickled-vegetable pancake by the puddle, flew back to Yuanjiang County, and went to sleep while thinking of the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.
• A Fei received money from Mai Jinghua and rode to West River Village to visit the Yi family.
• Yi Yong'an told A Fei that Yi Shuyuan was compiling the county gazetteer at the yamen, and A Fei left him a pouch of money before riding into town.
• A Fei learned that a condemned merchant was soon to be executed, then went to the county yamen and reunited with Yi Shuyuan.

Yi Shuyuan reunited with A Fei, tested his martial arts, and explained how Innate experts might approach the immortal path. A Fei left their conversation convinced that Yi Shuyuan had entered the Dao through martial arts.

• Yi Shuyuan met A Fei and took him to a secluded corner tower to eat and talk.
• A Fei asked whether Yi Shuyuan had intervened in the case involving Jia Yuntong, and Yi Shuyuan confirmed it.
• A Fei described his strategy for winning the Martial Arts Gathering and promised to give Yi Shuyuan the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram if he won.
• Yi Shuyuan sparred with A Fei, who fought for about a hundred exchanges before Yi Shuyuan knocked him down.
• While they ate, A Fei asked about the Innate Realm, the immortal Dao, and whether ghosts and spirits existed.
• Yi Shuyuan described how an Innate martial artist might glimpse the immortal path, and A Fei concluded that Yi Shuyuan had crossed the rumored death seclusion.

Yuanjiang County executed Jia Yuntong, Sun Shiwan, and the other condemned prisoners as officials, martial artists, and crowds watched. The executions ended with Sun Shiwan protesting his sentence before A Fei and other martial artists condemned him.

• The Lord of the Martial Star struck the Martial Soul Sky Drum, and Yi Shuyuan told A Fei that Jia Yuntong's execution would take place two days later.
• On the twenty-seventh day of the third month, A Fei joined the crowd gathered to watch the executions in Yuanjiang County.
• Lin Xiu ordered the executions to begin at noon, and the executioner slowly killed Jia Yuntong by severing him at the waist.
• Underworld officers collected Jia Yuntong's soul, while the executioner beheaded the other condemned prisoners.
• Sun Shiwan protested that he had been wrongly condemned, but Lin Xiu ordered his execution, and A Fei and other martial artists denounced him.

After Jia Yuntong’s execution, Yi Shuyuan hurried to complete the county annals while the newly dead were judged in the Underworld Office. The City God granted He Xin a chance to visit her family in a dream and sentenced Jia Yuntong to decades of torture.

• The underworld officers took the newly dead souls away, while Yi Shuyuan returned to the county office to finish writing the case record before the Martial Arts Gathering.
• The newly dead ghosts arrived at the Underworld Office and waited in the Hall of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil for judgment.
• The City God personally arrived and sentenced He Xin to twenty-one years in the underworld, allowing her to visit her family in their dreams.
• The City God sentenced Jia Yuntong to sixteen tortures each day and seven Soul Whip lashes for thirty years before he could be reborn.
• Jia Yuntong begged the City God for mercy, arguing that his execution had already made him suffer enough.

Jia Yuntong pleaded for a chance to help Yi Shuyuan, but He Xin volunteered instead, prompting the City God to summon Yi Shuyuan to the underworld. Yi Shuyuan arrived at the Hall of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, where the gathered ghosts and gods sensed his extraordinary presence.

• The City God told Jia Yuntong he could attempt Yi Shuyuan's dangerous task only after enduring thirty years of punishment, and underworld officers dragged him away.
• He Xin learned that Yi Shuyuan was an immortal and returned to the hall to volunteer for the task.
• The City God sent Wu Haoyu, Night Patrol Envoy of Yuanjiang County, to tell Yi Shuyuan about He Xin and ask him to visit the underworld.
• Yi Shuyuan agreed, followed Wu Haoyu through the Ghost Gate, and entered the underworld without using any visible magic.
• Foul energy parted around Yi Shuyuan as he crossed the hall, and the ghosts recognized the immortal had arrived.

Yi Shuyuan came to the Underworld Office to choose a ghost to help him, and He Xin volunteered despite the dangers. The City God accepted her resolve, while Jia Yuntong was returned to his punishment and He Xin gained the chance and merit meant for her.

• Yi Shuyuan arrived at the Hall of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, where the City God welcomed him and He Xin greeted him.
• Yi Shuyuan asked the City God to bring Jia Yuntong in, and the attendants brought him after he had endured a day of punishment.
• Jia Yuntong begged Yi Shuyuan to save him, while Sun Shiwan and the other ghosts offered to help until Yi Shuyuan warned them of the risks.
• He Xin declared that she was willing to help Yi Shuyuan, and he accepted her offer and promised that he and Little Stone would owe her a favor.
• The City God said the opportunity and merit were meant for He Xin, then ordered Jia Yuntong taken back to his punishment.

Yi Shuyuan healed He Xin, left the Underworld with a promise of books from the City God, and traveled to Moon City. At a pool there, he discovered that a hidden creature was still watching nearby children.

• Yi Shuyuan healed He Xin's forehead and restored her soul-body, then promised to return when the time was right.
• The old City God offered to send Yi Shuyuan copied books on the divine path and warned him about deities seeking incense without earning merit.
• Yi Shuyuan returned to Yuanjiang County, learned Lin Xiu had gone to Moon City with the imperial inspectors, and set out there himself.
• Yi Shuyuan reached Moon City and watched the pool where he had previously sensed a creature, but detected no aura or spiritual energy.
• A child splashed water into the pool, stirring ripples that showed Yi Shuyuan the concealed creature was still there, watching the children play.

At the Moon City Martial Arts Gathering, Zhang Liangxi unveiled the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, and Yi Shuyuan discovered its vast supernatural conception while questioning whether others could recognize its true nature. As the tournament began, A Fei and Duan Silie drew their bout assignments, and martial fortunes surged through the city.

• Zhang Liangxi announced the emperor's presentation of the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram before the gathered martial artists and officials.
• Yi Shuyuan connected the painting's conception to the surrounding world, saw a golden bridge reach toward him, and bowed in gratitude to its creator.
• Yi Shuyuan overheard the Moon Province Great City God and other ghostly deities call the painting the work of a mortal, prompting him to suspect they could not perceive its supernatural nature.
• Zhang Liangxi and the martial luminaries announced the tournament rules as drums sounded across Moon City.
• A Fei drew the assignment Vermilion Bird Nine, rocky slope, one hundred and twenty, while Duan Silie drew White Tiger Three, bamboo grove, thirty-one.
• Martial artists began heading to their assigned grounds as the city's martial fortunes and killing intent rose.

A Fei and Duan Silie advanced through the Martial Arts Gathering as the field narrowed to 108 competitors, while Yi Shuyuan watched their progress. Duan Silie received a mysterious training method from the senior who had previously aided him and immediately asked for food and nourishing tonics.

• A Fei defeated Yu Wanbin in fewer than five moves, and Duan Silie won his bamboo-grove match despite his opponent attacking after conceding.
• Over nine days, the gathering eliminated most competitors, and A Fei became Azure Province's last remaining contestant as martial factions guarded against schemes.
• A Fei meditated on his matches and recovered from his injuries while Yi Shuyuan observed him from afar.
• Duan Silie found a paper of stances and instructions left on his bed by the mysterious senior, recognized the gift, and called for food and nourishing tonics.

Yi Shuyuan wandered through Moon City, reflected on the Martial Arts Gathering, and stopped a tavern brawl with effortless skill. He left the city streets with a clearer sense of his own path and greater ease about pursuing the martial way.

• Yi Shuyuan considered the competitors’ growing strength and accepted that he might not obtain the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.
• At a crowded tavern, patrons argued over the tournament and Mai Lingfei until the dispute erupted into a fight.
• Yi Shuyuan disarmed several men and immobilized both sides with a swift display of martial skill, then left with his wine and peanuts.
• Officers hurried to the tavern while Yi Shuyuan walked away, reflecting that the gathering was only a small part of the martial world’s struggle for fame and fortune.
• Yi Shuyuan slipped away from several people searching for him and felt more composed about his own path as a carefree martial master.

Yi Shuyuan understood the immortal path by studying the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram in a dream and felt that his opportunity had come. At the Martial Arts Gathering, Duan Silie defeated a nine-section steel whip expert in a dramatic fight on a drifting bamboo raft, leaving forty-one contestants.

• Yi Shuyuan went to the ruined Bamboo Grove and rested on a swaying bamboo stalk while reflecting on the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.
• Yi Shuyuan perceived the painting’s five elements, understood how yin and yang manifested the Alchemy Furnace, and realized he had found the course of the immortal path.
• Duan Silie and a nine-section steel whip expert fought across bamboo rafts until their arena broke apart and they continued battling on bamboo poles.
• Duan Silie used Horizontal Spear Sweeps the Snow to disarm his opponent, pierced his shoulder, and sent him into the river.
• Duan Silie’s opponent conceded, and the day’s contests reduced the field to forty-one participants.

After leaving Moon City, Yi Shuyuan returned to Yuanjiang County and used insights from the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram to cultivate. He formed an alchemical furnace in his inner landscape and gained true immortal magical power, leaving him eager to explore his newfound abilities.

• Yi Shuyuan left Moon City after checking on A Fei and Duan Silie, then returned to the Library at the Yuanjiang County offices.
• He found a roll of Yin Bamboo slips filled with densely engraved writings on the divine and immortal paths and began studying it.
• Yi Shuyuan entered cultivation and used the principles he had learned to merge water and fire into yin and yang energy.
• He commanded the yin and yang energy to form a gigantic alchemical furnace in his inner landscape.
• The furnace refined spiritual energy into alchemical energy, which nurtured a responsive power that Yi Shuyuan recognized as true immortal magical power.
• Yi Shuyuan realized that his previous spellcasting and wind-riding had lacked the precise control of immortal arts, then laughed at his former confidence.

After spending several days in the Library, Yi Shuyuan carved a seal, bought a feast, and returned to West River Village to share it with his family. As they gathered around the food, the warmth of home stirred his spiritual spark and illuminated his Inner Scenery.

• Yi Shuyuan realized that several days had passed while he sat in the Library, then gathered his things and went to the Tongxin Pavilion.
• Yi Shuyuan carved a seal from scenic soft jade while waiting for the restaurant to prepare its eight delicacies and wine.
• Yi Shuyuan bought the food and traveled from the county town to West River Village, where Zhao, Yi Baokang, Li, and his grandnephew welcomed him.
• Yi Shuyuan teased his grandnephew with candied hawthorn and sent him to fetch Yi Yong'an, who soon arrived carrying a fish and his child.
• Yi Shuyuan shared the hot feast with his family, and the joyful gathering stirred his spiritual spark and illuminated his Inner Scenery.

Yi Shuyuan welcomed Mai Ake, who came to invite him to Moon City to watch Mai Lingfei compete, but secretly revealed that her brother was in trouble. Yi Shuyuan agreed to leave with her under the cover of helping the family transplant rice seedlings.

• Yi Shuyuan agreed to join Yi Baokang and Yi Yong'an in transplanting the rice seedlings.
• Mai Ake arrived at the Yi family home with two horses and introduced herself as Mai Lingfei's younger sister.
• Mai Ake invited Yi Shuyuan to Moon City and praised Mai Lingfei's rise among the martial world's top fighters.
• Mai Ake silently told Yi Shuyuan that Mai Lingfei was in trouble, and Yi Shuyuan realized she had come to seek his help.
• Yi Shuyuan suggested going to transplant seedlings, and Mai Ake volunteered to join him as a pretext to leave.

Yi Shuyuan worked in the rice paddies with his family while Mai Ake told him that A Fei’s internal energy was mysteriously draining. Yi Shuyuan used the spring energy of heaven and earth to prepare a rice seedling as a remedy and sent Mai Ake back with it, while deciding to investigate what had happened in Moon City.

• Yi Shuyuan and his family went to transplant rice seedlings, and Mai Ake fell into the muddy paddy when she tried to join them.
• Mai Ake told Yi Shuyuan that A Fei had been unable to sleep or concentrate for nearly three days and was rapidly losing internal energy after reaching the top ten.
• Yi Shuyuan suspected someone was using extraordinary means against A Fei and considered whether they were trying to seize the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.
• Yi Shuyuan drew spring energy from heaven and earth into a seedling, then gave it to Mai Ake to take back to A Fei.
• Yi Shuyuan told Mai Ake to keep the seedling alive, not to discuss his affairs, and to tell A Fei that he understood.

Mai Ake brought Yi Shuyuan’s rice seedling to A Fei, whose agitation vanished when it triggered a vision of spring growth and renewed his cultivation. Meanwhile, the monster hiding beneath an abandoned well sensed the event, feared it had been exposed, and struggled to choose between fleeing and pursuing the ancient painting.

• Mai Ake returned to Moon City with Yi Shuyuan’s rice seedling and gave it to A Fei, telling him Yi Shuyuan understood his situation.
• A Fei touched the seedling, experienced it growing through a full harvest, and found that his agitation had disappeared.
• A Fei circulated the Clear Heart Art as vitality flowed through his body and soothed his injuries.
• A monster hiding at the bottom of an abandoned well sensed the seedling’s power, feared an immortal had discovered it, and debated fleeing before seeking the ancient painting.
• Yi Shuyuan looked toward the well and wondered whether he and Moon Province’s Wandering Spirit had mistaken the creature for a fellow immortal cultivator.

Yi Shuyuan uncovered that a marten demon had used tricks to influence martial artists in the tournament while seeking the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram. After capturing it, he confronted it in the Bamboo Grove, where the demon tried to talk its way out of trouble and froze when Yi Shuyuan threatened to hand it over to Dragonkind.

• Yi Shuyuan watched an old man offer food and incense to the pool’s supposed Well Dragon King in exchange for help making his young master win the tournament.
• Yi Shuyuan secretly took a wisp of smoke from the old man’s incense burner, then forced the demon in the pool to reveal itself.
• A gray-and-white marten emerged from the pool, and Yi Shuyuan sealed its body and demonic aura before taking it to the Bamboo Grove.
• The Marten Demon offered Yi Shuyuan a roast chicken and claimed it had only interfered because it was greedy for food and kindhearted.
• Yi Shuyuan accused the demon of targeting Mai Lingfei and seeking the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, then threatened to hand it over to Dragonkind.
• The Marten Demon went rigid at Yi Shuyuan’s threat.

Yi Shuyuan spared Hui Mian, a little marten who had glimpsed the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, and agreed to let it follow him while he pursued the painting. The next morning, Mai Lingfei won his match at the Martial Arts Gathering as Duan Silie and Cheng Shouliang watched.

• Yi Shuyuan knocked Hui Mian aside, then let it go after learning it had impersonated the Dragon King and coveted the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.
• Hui Mian returned to ask about the painting, described its living scenery, and agreed to follow Yi Shuyuan for the next few days.
• Yi Shuyuan revealed his name and accepted a chicken leg from Hui Mian.
• Mai Lingfei defeated his opponent with his staff and won their match in the Azure Dragon Main Arena.
• Mai Lingfei looked toward Duan Silie and Cheng Shouliang, who were watching from the edge of the arena.

Mai Lingfei and Duan Silie fought in the final match of the Martial Arts Gathering, and Mai Lingfei won after a fierce contest. The court declared him the greatest martial artist under heaven among the younger generation, as the crowd celebrated and martial elders speculated that a Xiantian elder had appeared to guide the fighters.

• Duan Silie and Cheng Shouliang watched Mai Lingfei's earlier victory and discussed his strength, while Cheng Shouliang accepted his own defeat with respect for the martial world.
• Yi Shuyuan watched the gathering with Hui Mian and told it that he had already helped the competitors and that the rest depended on their abilities.
• Mai Lingfei and Duan Silie began the final match, exchanging weapon strikes that shattered the bluestone arena before Duan Silie used a spear attack to drive Mai Lingfei toward the edge.
• Mai Lingfei broke Duan Silie's spear and used close-range attacks to force him to the platform's edge, then pulled him back to safety after winning the contest.
• Duan Silie conceded defeat, and the court's military officer declared Mai Lingfei the greatest martial artist under heaven among the younger generation as the gathering erupted in cheers.