Chapter Summaries

Zhuang Shengyi completed the Immortal Elixir after his Alchemy Furnace exploded, and the emperor swallowed it despite Zhao Chaolin’s warning. As the emperor believed he was gaining immortality, Xiang Yi appeared to die amid the banquet chaos.

• Zhuang Shengyi struggled to stabilize the Alchemy Furnace while refining the pill, but the furnace exploded and destroyed the lineage’s inheritance.
• Zhuang Shengyi found a fully formed pill in the ruined furnace and announced that the Immortal Elixir was complete.
• The emperor welcomed Zhuang Shengyi at a royal banquet and swallowed the pill with wine, ignoring Zhao Chaolin’s advice to have it examined.
• The emperor felt heat and imagined power surging through him, then saw a person collapse with blood and silvery-white matter flowing from their orifices.
• A stern voice declared, "Xiang Yi-your time has come!"

After Xiang Yi died from taking an alchemical pill, Qi Zhongbin and his companions watched the Underworld Office escort him away, while Heaven-Bearing Prefecture dealt with the aftermath. As Xie Qing reflected beside the sunken Alchemy Furnace, the White Lord attained the Dao and became a dragon.

• Qi Zhongbin, Stoneborn, and Hui Mian watched the Underworld Office take Xiang Yi from the Golden Hall, and Xiang Yi mistook their radiance for a sign that immortals would guide him to immortality.
• Gao Hongqing returned to the Azure Spirit Estate and collapsed upon seeing the ruined Alchemy Furnace, while Xiao Yuzhi told Yu Ziye that Xiang Yi had died after taking an alchemical pill.
• The court imprisoned and later executed Zhuang Shengyi, Gao Hongqing, and officials implicated in wicked arts, while Sima Xiao and Lu Haixian were released from the Heavenly Prison.
• Officials sank the damaged Alchemy Furnace in the Kaiyang River, where Xie Qing watched it settle beside the riverbed.
• The White Lord burst from the North Sea amid thunder, became a dragon, and vanished before the North Sea Dragonkind could find him.

Yi Shuyuan restored the damaged Alchemy Furnace in the Kaiyang River and left it in Xie Qing’s care, then sensed an urgent event and departed. In the mountains of Lingdong, Chen Han recognized that her Little Sister had begun the tribulation to transform.

• Ao Po left the North Sea as a dragon, transformed into Yi Shuyuan, and traveled through the Astral Wind to the Kaiyang Grand Canal.
• Yi Shuyuan descended to the sunken Alchemy Furnace, examined its history, and repaired its crack while Xie Qing watched.
• Yi Shuyuan told Xie Qing the furnace should remain in the river until its fire rekindled, then hurried away after sensing a stirring in his heart.
• In the mountains of Lingdong, Chen Han heard thunder and realized that her Little Sister was undergoing a transformation tribulation.
• A radiant white fish leaped from the boiling pool and met the heavenly lightning, confident that her years of cultivation and good deeds would let her succeed.

Yu Xinmei completed her transformation into human form and reunited with Chen Han at the True Lord Temple, where she met the Su Sisters and She Changlai. She learned that Zhou Youzhi and the wonton seller she had hoped to repay were both dead, and Chen Han urged her to learn how to live among humans.

• Yu Xinmei completed her transformation, stopped the rain, and flew toward Deng Province before realizing she was naked.
• Yu Xinmei surprised Chen Han at the True Lord Temple, but Chen Han startled her in return and laughed at her reaction.
• Chen Han introduced Yu Xinmei to Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan, then sent Su Hongxuan to fetch She Changlai.
• At dinner, Chen Han reassured Yu Xinmei that the Starwoven Pill had been hers by fate, and Yu Xinmei shared her cultivation insights with the Su Sisters.
• Yu Xinmei asked how she could repay Zhou Youzhi, but She Changlai explained that Zhou and the wonton seller had both died despite their efforts to help them.
• Chen Han told Yu Xinmei to learn how to live as a human and teased her about arriving without clothes.

Yu Xinmei took a break from her studies to explore Dengzhou City with the Su Sisters, where she met Yi Shuyuan in disguise as a fortune-teller. After she returned his scattered divination coins, he offered to tell her fortune, and she accepted with playful skepticism.

• Yu Xinmei struggled with her classical studies until Su Hongxuan persuaded her and Su Guyan to go out and explore Dengzhou City.
• Yi Shuyuan spotted the three women, sensed that Yu Xinmei’s affairs might involve him, and secretly summoned Hui Mian before disguising himself as an old man.
• Yu Xinmei enjoyed the city’s festival bustle and browsed its stalls with the Su Sisters.
• When Old Man Yu spilled his divination coins, Yu Xinmei retrieved them and secretly returned coins that passersby had stolen.
• Old Man Yu offered Yu Xinmei a free divination, and she accepted while doubting that he could read her fortune.

Yu Xinmei received an uncanny fortune reading from Old Man Yu, who said she would face complications when she met her benefactor again. When he refused to read the dead Zhou Youzhi’s Four Pillars, Yu Xinmei took his warning to mean she should search the Underworld for Zhou Youzhi and hurried off to ask her elder sister for help.

• Yu Xinmei gave Old Man Yu her centuries-old Four Pillars, and he read her history and warned that meeting her benefactor again would bring uncertain complications.
• Su Guyan arrived and watched as Old Man Yu’s reading unsettled Yu Xinmei with its accuracy.
• Yu Xinmei paid for a second reading using Zhou Youzhi’s Four Pillars, but Old Man Yu recognized them as belonging to a dead person and angrily packed up.
• Old Man Yu returned Yu Xinmei’s silver and told her to ask about the dead in the Underworld.
• Yu Xinmei decided Zhou Youzhi might still be there or have reincarnated, then ran to seek her elder sister’s help as Su Guyan followed.
• Su Hongxuan came out of the tavern with a chicken leg and found Yu Xinmei and Su Guyan gone.

Yu Xinmei sought help from the City God to find Zhou Youzhi, whose kindness she was determined to repay. The City God revealed that Zhou Youzhi had been reincarnated and directed her to seek answers through the Demon-Subduing Palace and the Hundred Ghosts Picture.

• Yu Xinmei asked Chen Han to use her position to learn Zhou Youzhi’s whereabouts, but Chen Han refused to interfere with the Underworld Office.
• Chen Han gave Yu Xinmei three special incense sticks and told her to pray sincerely at the City God Temple.
• Yu Xinmei entered the City God Temple alone, where the City God appeared to her and said Zhou Youzhi had been reincarnated more than twenty years earlier.
• Yu Xinmei explained how Zhou Youzhi had saved her with an Immortal Elixir and asked the City God how she could find him.
• The City God told Yu Xinmei to seek Long-Haired Ghost in the Hundred Ghosts Picture and ask the Demon-Subduing Palace for help finding Youzhi.

After Chen Han explained the Long-Haired Ghost’s connection to the Hundred Ghosts Picture, Yu Xinmei prayed for help finding Zhou Youzhi. Great God Yunlai gave her visions of the ghost’s many reincarnations, and Yu Xinmei left to follow the traces before they faded.

• Yu Xinmei told Chen Han that the Dengzhou City God had urged her to ask the Demon-Subduing Palace about the Long-Haired Ghost.
• Chen Han explained that the Long-Haired Ghost had escaped from the Hundred Ghosts Picture and that the Demon-Subduing gods might know about his reincarnation.
• Chen Han, Yu Xinmei, Su Guyan, and Su Hongxuan prayed to the Imperial Lord and Great God Yunlai for guidance.
• Great God Yunlai used the Golden Brush on the Long-Haired Ghost’s image, giving Yu Xinmei visions of his past lives and the Wonton Seller’s life with Zhou Youzhi.
• Yu Xinmei told Chen Han she had sensed distant traces of the Long-Haired Ghost’s reincarnations, then flew south to pursue them on her own.

Yu Xinmei followed her sense of the Long-Haired Ghost to a mass burial ground and a river, then searched for Zhou Youzhi in Pingzhou. When she used star power to slow the Great Flood, a Sword Immortal attacked her, but the Land God helped her hide; Yi Shuyuan and Qi Zhongbin decided to help her find Zhou Youzhi.

• Yu Xinmei found a child’s grave and a river where the Long-Haired Ghost’s rebirths had ended in death, then gained a subtler connection to the power of the stars.
• When the Great Flood struck the Zhuoyang River near Pingzhou, Yu Xinmei used her cultivation and star power to weaken its force.
• A Sword Immortal attacked Yu Xinmei, but she escaped beneath the floodwaters and deceived him with an Illusion Technique involving Water Control.
• The Land God helped Yu Xinmei evade the Sword Immortal, and she returned to Pingzhou to continue searching for Zhou Youzhi.
• Yi Shuyuan left Qi Zhongbin and Hui Mian to decide what to do, and Qi Zhongbin agreed to give Yu Xinmei a helping hand.

Yu Xinmei searched Pingzhou for Zhou Youzhi, then recognized him when she saw a young man at the riverbank. She hid before he could speak to her, unsure how to approach him.

• Yu Xinmei searched Pingzhou for Zhou Youzhi and considered leaving after several days without success.
• A refined young man tried to cross the Zhuoyang River cheaply, then boarded a ferry whose singing boatman charged five coins.
• Yi Shuyuan released mist from the Dragon Pearl, causing rain to fall over Pingzhou and its surroundings.
• Yu Xinmei followed the boatman's song to the river and saw the young man after he fell from the ferry.
• Yu Xinmei recognized the young man as Zhou Youzhi, then hid behind a tree while he searched for her.

Yu Xinmei returned Zheng Yiming’s lost examination document and walked with him beneath an umbrella, learning about his family and his hopes for the Provincial Examination. She left him smitten on a Pingzhou street while Yi Shuyuan watched from afar.

• Yu Xinmei found Zheng Yiming’s examination document by the river and followed him to an inn in Pingzhou.
• Zheng Yiming discovered the document was missing, but Yu Xinmei arrived and returned it to him.
• Zheng Yiming offered to escort Yu Xinmei beneath his umbrella, and she accepted so she could learn about him.
• As they walked, Zheng Yiming described his studies and family, while Yu Xinmei introduced herself and said she was staying west of Pingzhou.
• Yu Xinmei stopped the rain with a spell and left; Zheng Yiming watched her go as Yi Shuyuan observed their meeting.

Yu Xinmei tried to keep Zheng Yiming from getting caught up in feelings for her, then secretly helped him prepare for the Provincial Examination and improved his family’s circumstances. She left the Zheng Household after caring for his ailing mother, who woke feeling better but puzzled by the washed clothes.

• Yu Xinmei decided to avoid Zheng Yiming and told herself that scholarly honors, wealth, and status would bring him marriage prospects.
• Zheng Yiming returned to the inn distracted by Yu Xinmei and asked the innkeeper whether he had a chance with her; the innkeeper suggested he first make the golden list.
• Yu Xinmei entered the Examination Hall, hid sandalwood incense in a randomly chosen cubicle, and cast an Illusion Technique over it to help Zheng Yiming focus during the exam.
• Yu Xinmei visited the Zheng Household, put Zheng Yiming’s ill mother to sleep, and used a drop of her blood to improve the old woman’s health.
• Yu Xinmei left twenty taels of silver and a letter claiming she was repaying an old debt, then washed and hung the family’s clothes with magic before leaving.
• Zheng Yiming’s mother woke feeling better and found the clothes hung out to dry, but could not remember washing them.

Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian watched the Autumn Examination, while Yu Xinmei secretly helped Zheng Yiming draw his assigned cubicle and settle into the exam. Zheng Yiming wrote a confident essay and, afterward, gave food and money to a sick little beggar, who noticed the slip identifying Zheng Yiming’s examination seat.

• Yi Shuyuan sold books outside the Examination Hall as Hui Mian waited for the candidates to enter.
• Yu Xinmei joined Hui Mian on a rooftop and used a spell to ensure Zheng Yiming drew the cubicle slip she had tampered with.
• Zheng Yiming passed a humiliating search, drew Bing Character, Number Twelve, and entered the Examination Hall.
• A faint fragrance calmed Zheng Yiming during the exam, and he wrote and submitted his essay with confidence.
• Zheng Yiming gave his flatbread crumbs, water, and a copper coin to a sick little beggar after another beggar stole his first donation.
• The little beggar noticed the slip in Zheng Yiming’s book identifying his examination seat.

After meeting bookseller Yi Shuyuan, Zheng Yiming reflected on the beggars in Pingzhou and the hardships caused by a flood, prompting him to reconsider the purpose of his studies. He borrowed books from Yi Shuyuan and began reading one that described a great flood in Great Yong.

• Zheng Yiming noticed more beggars than he remembered seeing in Pingzhou and stopped at Yi Shuyuan's bookstall, where scholars were arguing over the price of a book from Great Yong.
• Zheng Yiming asked Yi Shuyuan to examine a sick little beggar, but the beggar had disappeared by the time Zheng returned.
• Yi Shuyuan praised Zheng Yiming's kindness and let him borrow several books for free, then remarked that scholar-officials could save tens of thousands of people.
• Zheng Yiming told the innkeeper about the beggars, and the innkeeper explained that floods on the upper Zhuoyang River had driven many refugees into the city and that he could not support them all.
• Zheng Yiming realized he had only memorized the sages' teachings without understanding them deeply, then returned to his room and began reading a book from Great Yong about a devastating flood.

The little beggar spent the day eating a hot meal Zheng Yiming had encouraged him to seek, then sneaked into the Examination Hall to sleep. He overheard officials praise Zheng Yiming’s essay but decide to suppress its ranking in favor of a wealthy household’s candidate, and followed the official carrying the paper.

• The little beggar bought noodles with his five copper coins, and Li's Noodle Stall's owner gave him extra broth and a place to sit.
• After helping the stall owner push his cart, the little beggar returned to the Examination Hall and slipped past its guards to sleep in a cubicle.
• An examiner praised Zheng Yiming’s essay, and the chief official agreed that it was exceptional.
• The chief official refused to rank Zheng Yiming among the leading candidates, citing the limited places and the rankings already promised.
• The chief official told a local official to obtain more money from the Wang Household and have its young master copy Zheng Yiming’s essay.
• The little beggar overheard the arrangement, followed the official carrying Zheng Yiming’s paper, and waited for his carriage to leave.

After Zheng Yiming failed to find his name on the Provincial Examination results, the little beggar told him that officials had switched his paper with Wang Shicai’s. Zheng Yiming chose not to confront the officials immediately, but Yu Xinmei set out to punish Wang Shicai and the corrupt officials herself.

• Zheng Yiming searched the posted results and believed he had failed, while Yu Xinmei wondered why his strong essay had not earned him a place on the list.
• The little beggar found Zheng Yiming and told him that officials had switched his examination paper with the paper given to Wang Shicai.
• Zheng Yiming believed the little beggar but decided not to report the fraud yet, instead taking him to seek treatment for his illness.
• Yu Xinmei followed Wang Shicai to Spring Water Tower and used a Sword-Finger gesture to strike at his lower body as he began having sex with a woman.

Yi Shuyuan examined the little beggar and prescribed medicine, while Yu Xinmei caused an accident that injured the chief examiner as revenge for Zheng Yiming. Zheng Yiming took the little beggar to stay at his inn, and the Wang Household panicked over Wang Shicai’s unexplained condition.

• Yi Shuyuan found that the little beggar’s illness was treatable, examined him with silver needles, and gave Zheng Yiming a prescription.
• Zheng Yiming admitted that he had failed the examinations, while the little beggar criticized Wang Shicai, who celebrated becoming Pingzhou’s Provincial First Laureate at a banquet.
• Wang Shicai told his father that something was wrong with his body after visiting Spring Water Tower, and Master Wang summoned a physician.
• Yu Xinmei caused the chief examiner’s sedan chair to overturn, and a horse trampled him as she took revenge on Zheng Yiming’s behalf.
• Yi Shuyuan advised Zheng Yiming to treat the little beggar, and Zheng brought him to stay in an inn’s woodshed in exchange for helping with work.
• Yu Xinmei met Yi Shuyuan at the bookstall without recognizing him, while the Wang Household remained alarmed because its physician could not explain Wang Shicai’s condition.

Wang Shicai’s mysterious loss of Yang Energy baffled physicians, while the Wang Household’s search for help led a Mage to suspect their family had committed terrible deeds. Zheng Yiming remained at the inn, where news of Wang Shicai’s illness brought grim satisfaction, and the black-and-white cat returned to observe the Wang Household.

• An old physician found Wang Shicai’s condition beyond ordinary treatment and advised Master Wang to seek spiritual help after learning the symptoms began at the Spring Water Tower.
• Word spread that Wang Shicai had contracted a serious illness, while the chief examiner remained in Pingzhou after a horse accident left him badly injured.
• Zheng Yiming discussed poverty and charity with the innkeeper, and Ke Xiaofa rejoiced when an inn worker reported Wang Shicai’s illness.
• A Mage arrived at the Wang Household and recognized that Wang Shicai had lost so much Yang Energy that an ordinary person would have died.
• The Mage accused Master Wang of deeds that defied Heaven and conscience as the black-and-white cat watched from the courtyard wall.

A hired mage treated Wang Shicai’s mysterious illness and warned the Wang Household that a demon had targeted them. When Yu Xinmei later tried to approach Wang Shicai, the mage’s talisman trap struck her and he attacked, but she escaped before he could catch her.

• The mage diagnosed Wang Shicai with depleted primordial yang, used talismans and needles to improve his condition, and warned that a demon had cast the spell.
• Wang Xingfu confessed to the mage that the family had cheated in the Imperial Examination and seized farmland and suppressed business rivals.
• Wang Shicai visited Spring Water Tower for several days, practicing exercises and restraining himself from sex as the mage had instructed.
• Yu Xinmei arrived at Spring Water Tower and saw that Wang Shicai looked healthy, then approached him to investigate.
• Talisman light burst from Wang Shicai and drove Yu Xinmei back, and the mage attacked her with his sword.
• Yu Xinmei sensed danger, dodged the mage’s strikes, and vanished from the room.

Yu Xinmei escaped Wu Sunheng after he attacked her with a ritually refined golden needle, then secretly watched him investigate the Wang Household’s troubles. Back at the Wang residence, Wu Sunheng learned that Zheng Yiming had not returned home after the Imperial Examination and prepared to use his stolen chopsticks for a spell.

• Yu Xinmei removed the golden needle from her shoulder and threw it into the mud beside the Zhuoyang River.
• Wu Sunheng found the needle and warned Wang Shicai that the beautiful woman was a powerful demon spawn, while Yu Xinmei watched them from the river in fish form.
• Yu Xinmei knocked a huge blackfish unconscious, and Wu Sunheng recognized it as a river spirit monster before taking Wang Shicai back to the Wang residence.
• A servant reported that Zheng Yiming had not returned to Xiahe County since the Imperial Examination ended, and Wu Sunheng suspected the matter was connected to Wang Shicai switching Zheng Yiming’s examination paper.
• The servant gave Wu Sunheng a pair of chopsticks stolen from Zheng Yiming’s home, and Wu Sunheng declared them suitable for his spell.