Chapter Summaries

Wu Sunheng visited Zheng Yiming at the Peaceful Lodging Inn and gave him a sword pendant to protect him from what he believed was a demon. Yu Xinmei confronted Wu Sunheng for interfering with Zheng and the Wang Household’s examination fraud, then defeated him and left him alive but badly wounded.

• Wu Sunheng found Zheng Yiming copying books in the inn’s Firewood Room and, after hearing about Yu Xinmei, decided she was likely a demon targeting him.
• Wu Sunheng forced a sword pendant onto Zheng Yiming that could not be removed, then left to plan how to eliminate the supposed demon.
• Yu Xinmei confronted Wu Sunheng in the street, accusing him of helping the Wang Household despite its role in stealing Zheng Yiming’s examination result.
• Wu Sunheng and Yu Xinmei fought, and Yu Xinmei broke his sword, endured his talisman attack, and turned his Little Sword against him.
• Yu Xinmei pierced Wu Sunheng through the chest, told him he was out of his depth, and left him alive as bystanders approached.

After Wu Sunheng was wounded by a demon creature, he gave the Wang family two ways to resolve their troubles: Wang Shicai could become a monk, or the family could surrender his Provincial First Laureate title and disperse their fortune. Wang Xingfu set off for Gaochang Temple to seek help, while Wu Sunheng’s master arrived at the Wang residence and mistook Hui Mian for a powerful demon.

• The Wang family rushed Wu Sunheng to a clinic, where the old physician treated his chest wound and warned that his survival was uncertain.
• Wu Sunheng told the Wang family to send Wang Shicai to Gaochang Temple or give up his laureate title and the family fortune to resolve their troubles.
• Wang Xingfu left for Gaochang Temple to ask Master Golden Light to subdue the monster, while the servants carried Wu Sunheng back to the Wang residence.
• Wu Sunheng’s gray-clad master arrived, examined the broken sword, and promised to formally accept him as a disciple if he survived the calamity.
• The master spotted Hui Mian on the roof and attacked, forcing the cat to dodge and flee as he pursued it on his flying sword.

Hui Mian fought a Sword Immortal above Pingzhou’s old city wall, unleashing his demonic body and countering the Immortal’s sword with a transformed Golden Bristle. After the battle, the Sword Immortal returned to the Wang Household and accepted Wu Sunheng as his disciple.

• Hui Mian dodged the Sword Immortal’s killing strike, lost part of a claw, and unleashed his demonic aura in anger.
• Hui Mian and the Sword Immortal clashed above Pingzhou’s old wall, and Hui Mian used Golden Bristle and sword intent to drive the Immortal back as the wall collapsed.
• The Sword Immortal searched for Hui Mian, found no trace of him, and left Pingzhou without speaking to its Ghosts and Gods.
• Hui Mian returned to Yi Shuyuan’s boat and celebrated his fight, while Yi Shuyuan praised his performance.
• The Sword Immortal returned to the Wang Household, apologized to Wu Sunheng for misjudging his abilities, and accepted him as his disciple.

Wu Sunheng became the Sword Cultivator’s disciple, recounted his encounter with the Cat Demon, and began learning the Sword Formula Heart Method while his master prepared to investigate Zheng Yiming. The chapter ended with Wang Xingfu kneeling outside an abbot’s meditation room at Gaochang Temple, exhausted as the old monk finally emerged.

• The Sword Cultivator eased Wu Sunheng’s injuries, accepted his account of the Cat Demon, and told him that having both swords would not have changed the defeat.
• Wu Sunheng explained Zheng Yiming’s examination scandal and learned from Wang Household servants that Zheng had visited a bookstall, where he played with a cat.
• Wu Sunheng and the Sword Cultivator suspected the bookstall cat might be connected to the Cat Demon, and the Sword Cultivator promised to investigate the next day.
• The Sword Cultivator taught Wu Sunheng the Sword Formula Heart Method and guided him into cultivation through the night.
• Yu Xinmei, Zheng Yiming, and Wang Xingfu each spent the night unable to settle, reading, or enduring a vigil; at Gaochang Temple, an old monk finally came out to meet Wang Xingfu.

Wang Xingfu persuaded Master Golden Light to travel to Pingzhou and examine his son. At Yi Shuyuan’s bookstall, the sword cultivator confronted Hui Mian but lost track of the cat when a distant Buddhist hand chime rang, leaving him wary of the fiend’s unfathomable cultivation.

• Wang Xingfu offered ten thousand taels of silver to renovate Gaochang Temple, and Master Golden Light agreed to go to Pingzhou to see his son.
• Yi Shuyuan sold a handwritten book to scholars at his stall while Hui Mian lounged beside him.
• Wu Sunheng brought the sword cultivator to Yi Shuyuan’s bookstall, where the sword cultivator recognized Hui Mian as the monster he had fought the previous night.
• The sword cultivator questioned Yi Shuyuan about his travels and warned of evil creatures, while Hui Mian faced him without backing down.
• A Buddhist hand chime rang in the distance, and Hui Mian vanished before the sword cultivator noticed, deepening the cultivator’s concern about his power.

Wang Xingfu brought Master Golden Light back to Pingzhou, while Hui Mian fled the city after the Sword Immortal confronted him over the Starwoven Pill and pursued him into a storm. At the Wang residence, Wu Sunheng met Master Golden Light as thunderclouds gathered, and Yi Shuyuan wondered whether Hui Mian had been drawn into a fight.

• Wang Xingfu took Master Golden Light across the Zhuoyang River by ferry, where the ferryman insisted on taking other passengers before departing.
• Hui Mian watched the ferry from a rooftop, then the Sword Immortal confronted him and accused him of being a dangerous demon with a Starwoven Pill.
• Hui Mian fled beyond Pingzhou to keep their fight from endangering the city, and the Sword Immortal pursued him with his sword.
• Wang Xingfu returned home and learned Wu Sunheng was out of danger; Wu Sunheng met Master Golden Light and warned him that the demon was far stronger than expected.
• Dark clouds gathered beyond Pingzhou as lightning and rain began, and Yi Shuyuan wondered whether Hui Mian had been drawn into a fight.

Wu Sunheng and Master Golden Light investigated Zheng Yiming at the inn, where the monk found no sign that Zheng was bewitched and sensed he had unusual spiritual aptitude. The chapter ended with soldiers detaining Zheng on orders tied to a major imperial case.

• The Sword Immortal's duel with the cat demon ended when she escaped, leaving him unsettled by her ability to read his sword moves.
• Master Golden Light gave Wang Shicai a scripture to recite morning and evening, while Wu Sunheng urged him to continue his health exercises.
• Master Golden Light chanted at the Peaceful Lodging Inn, and Zheng Yiming found the sound calming enough to keep reading and writing.
• After hearing that Zheng remained calm during the chanting, Master Golden Light told Wu Sunheng that Zheng did not seem bewitched and had considerable spiritual aptitude.
• Soldiers arrived at the inn and seized Zheng Yiming under orders connected to a major imperial case.

Zheng Yiming was arrested after an Imperial Envoy arrived to suppress allegations of fraud in Pingzhou’s Autumn Examination. The officials framed Zheng as the culprit, but his accusation that his examination paper had been switched alarmed the official interrogating him.

• Soldiers arrested Zheng Yiming and dragged him to the Pingzhou Yamen prison, while Ke Xiaofa and Yu Xinmei wondered why he had been taken.
• The Imperial Envoy ordered Commander Liu to gather everyone connected to the examination and warned Pingzhou’s officials to prevent the fraud allegations from being proven.
• Bailiffs summoned Wang Xingfu and Wang Shicai, who returned home shaken after being pressured to hand over their estate.
• Wu Sunheng overheard Wang Shicai lamenting the loss of their family estate and Wang Xingfu telling him to keep the matter from his mother.
• An official accused Zheng Yiming of attempting to bribe an examiner and inventing the fraud report, but Zheng insisted his paper had been switched.
• The interrogating official reacted with alarm when Zheng declared that the examiners had switched his paper.

The Imperial Envoy tortured Zheng Yiming into a false confession, destroying his hope of serving Great Gui and leaving him convinced he would die. Yu Xinmei came to free him, then urged him to seek another path by rebelling against the corrupt court and revealed that she was a demon.

• The Imperial Envoy had Zheng Yiming beaten and forced his handprint onto a false confession, then ordered the jailers to crush his fingers when he refused to name someone who had framed him.
• Zheng Yiming fainted under the torture and woke despairing for his mother and the people he cared about, believing his death was inevitable.
• Yu Xinmei visited Zheng Yiming and confessed that she had delivered the secret letter to the Capital City, hoping the court would investigate the examination fraud.
• Yu Xinmei offered to help Zheng Yiming escape, but he rejected the idea and mourned his inability to help Great Gui's starving people.
• Yu Xinmei slapped Zheng Yiming and urged him to rebel rather than believe becoming an official was the only way to save the people.
• Yu Xinmei caught Zheng Yiming's Little Sword, declared that she was a demon, and snapped the blade between her fingers.

Yu Xinmei persuaded Zheng Yiming to abandon his plan to die and broke him out of prison, taking him back to the inn to recover. After Zheng Yiming said goodbye to Ke Xiaofa and entrusted him with returning borrowed books, Yu Xinmei whisked him away.

• Yu Xinmei told Zheng Yiming that he could help remake the corrupt state instead of dying, and he agreed to escape after she warned that the authorities would execute him soon.
• Yu Xinmei unlocked Zheng Yiming's cell and used a demon wind to carry him out of the prison and back to the inn.
• Yu Xinmei gave Zheng Yiming her blood and treated his injuries with spiritual energy, easing his pain and reducing the swelling on his face.
• Ke Xiaofa found Zheng Yiming in the Firewood Room, and Zheng told him to keep the escape secret and take care of himself.
• Yu Xinmei returned Zheng Yiming's borrowed books, and Zheng asked Ke Xiaofa to return them and keep the silver before Yu Xinmei carried him away.

Yu Xinmei hid Zheng Yiming from a powerful Sword Immortal while Pingzhou authorities discovered his escape and launched a manhunt. As soldiers searched the city and officials ordered Zheng’s mother seized, Yu Xinmei flew with him toward Xiahe County.

• Yu Xinmei sensed a formidable swordsman overhead and took Zheng Yiming to a nearby house, warning him that another powerful monster was in Pingzhou.
• Wu Sunheng told Monk Jinguang that Zheng Yiming had been arrested and framed, and realized the protective Little Sword he had given Zheng was destroyed.
• Soldiers discovered Zheng Yiming had escaped from prison, and Imperial Envoy Zhao Zhongqing ordered a citywide search and sent troops toward Xiahe County to find Zheng’s mother.
• A Sword Immortal sensed that heaven’s secrets had become chaotic as soldiers searched Pingzhou and authorities raided the Peaceful Lodging Inn.
• Yu Xinmei wrapped Zheng Yiming in her sleeve and flew toward Xiahe County, concerned that the Sword Immortal remained nearby.

Yu Xinmei rescued Zheng Yiming from Pingzhou and took him to his mother, where he explained that he had been framed and they prepared to flee. As officials branded Zheng a wanted criminal, Ke Xiaofa grieved over injustice and received a book from Yi Shuyuan that appeared to contain a martial technique.

• Yu Xinmei flew Zheng Yiming out of Pingzhou, and Zheng reflected on the land’s capacity to recover and flourish.
• Soldiers searched the Peaceful Lodging Inn for Zheng, looted guests, and extorted silver from the innkeeper.
• Zheng reunited with his mother, told her he had been framed and tortured, and urged her to pack so they could escape.
• Officials posted notices accusing Zheng of examination fraud, while Ke Xiaofa returned Zheng’s borrowed book to Yi Shuyuan.
• Ke Xiaofa asked where justice could be found, and Yi Shuyuan warned that testifying would endanger him and Zheng.
• Yi Shuyuan gave Ke Xiaofa a book that revealed the title “Martial Might Military Strategy,” and Ke Xiaofa discovered a page of illustrated techniques inside.

After Zheng Yiming’s family home was ransacked and he was branded a wanted criminal, he returned to Pingzhou with Yu Xinmei and wrote an indictment of the corrupt court on the old city wall. The Sword Immortal and Monk Jinguang attacked Yu Xinmei, but Yi Shuyuan arrived just as Wu Sunheng was about to kill her and recited Zheng Yiming’s inscription.

• Zheng Yiming and his mother returned to their ransacked home, and he told Yu Xinmei he wanted to leave a message on Pingzhou’s old city wall before the imperial envoy departed.
• The authorities closed the examination fraud case by punishing other candidates, while Pingzhou residents assumed Zheng Yiming would not return.
• Yu Xinmei carried Zheng Yiming to the city wall, where he wrote an inscription condemning injustice and calling for Heaven and Earth to be forged anew.
• The Sword Immortal, Wu Sunheng, and Monk Jinguang confronted Zheng Yiming and Yu Xinmei, and their attacks gravely wounded Yu Xinmei.
• Zheng Yiming begged Wu Sunheng to spare Yu Xinmei, but Monk Jinguang restrained him and Wu Sunheng raised his sword to strike.
• Yi Shuyuan arrived by boat and recited Zheng Yiming’s inscription, stopping Wu Sunheng’s sword just before it killed Yu Xinmei.

Yi Shuyuan intervened when a Sword Cultivator and monks attacked Yu Xinmei, defeated the Sword Cultivator, and healed her. After revealing that Hui Mian was a separate spirit marten and identifying himself as Immortal Venerable Yi, he sent the attackers away and left Zheng Yiming and Yu Xinmei together.

• Yi Shuyuan arrived and walked toward the wounded Yu Xinmei despite the Sword Cultivator’s warning.
• Yi Shuyuan turned aside the Sword Cultivator’s attacks, shattered the flying swords, and cleared the storm clouds.
• Yi Shuyuan withdrew the sword from Yu Xinmei and told her that Great Gui’s destiny was nearing its end, though Zheng Yiming was not certain to rule.
• Yi Shuyuan declared Yu Xinmei a righteous demon cultivator and urged Monk Jinguang to follow the natural principle of the Dao.
• Hui Mian revealed that he was a spirit marten separate from Yu Xinmei, and Jing Shu recognized Yi Shuyuan as Immortal Venerable Yi before leaving.
• Monk Jinguang departed for Gaochang Temple after Yu Xinmei dismissed his offer to seek revenge.

Wu Sunheng chose to accompany Zheng Yiming on his dangerous path, while Yu Xinmei and Zheng Yiming searched for the books Yi Shuyuan might have left behind. After exposing the Imperial Envoy’s crimes, Zheng Yiming set out with Wu Sunheng and Ke Xiaofa for famine-stricken Xiyong.

• Wu Sunheng warned Zheng Yiming that Yu Xinmei’s protection of his rebellion could cost her cultivation, then offered to accompany him and fight demons.
• Yu Xinmei and Zheng Yiming returned to the Peaceful Lodging Inn to check on the borrowed books and found Xiao Fa reading in the firewood room.
• The next morning, scholars and townspeople gathered to read Zheng Yiming’s rebellious inscription on the old city wall, prompting the Pingzhou Prefect to send officers to investigate.
• Wu Sunheng exposed the missing Imperial Envoy’s crimes by tying him outside the Examination Hall with a written confession.
• Zheng Yiming, Wu Sunheng, and Ke Xiaofa departed by boat for Xiyong, where refugees and famine victims were suffering.

As Yi Shuyuan traveled upstream with Hui Mian and Qi Zhongbin, he reconsidered how calamities and the Dao applied to all beings, concluding that everyone could attain the Dao. The group entered the Mountain and River State Map and encountered Ao Po, who had completed his dragon transformation and invited them to look at a little White Dragon.

• Hui Mian and Qi Zhongbin discussed the damage left by the flood and the disorder under Zheng Yiming’s rule, while Yi Shuyuan reflected on his calamities and cultivation.
• Yi Shuyuan realized that all sentient beings had their own calamities and could attain the Dao, then said Zheng Yiming had a better chance of becoming emperor because others were supporting him.
• Hui Mian told Yi Shuyuan that Yu Xinmei was willing to risk her cultivation to protect Zheng Yiming, and Qi Zhongbin recalled how meeting Zheng Yiming had affected her.
• Qi Zhongbin told Yi Shuyuan that Master Wufa and a young Daoist from Dragonkind wanted to visit Senior Ao, and the boat entered the Mountain and River State Map.
• Ao Po emerged from the water in his True Dragon form and said he had no need for a Dragon-Transformation Banquet, but invited them to see the little White Dragon.

Yi Shuyuan explained to Qi Zhongbin how living creatures’ perceptions sustained a Grotto-Heaven before taking Ao Po to meet Xue Tian. Xue Tian recognized the White Dragon Lord and led the group toward Great Autumn Temple to meet Monk Wufa.

• Yi Shuyuan told Qi Zhongbin that the Mountain and River State Map’s Grotto-Heaven could continue to grow because living creatures depended on it and perceived it as their world.
• Yi Shuyuan, Ao Po, Qi Zhongbin, and Hui Mian traveled by boat to Great Autumn Temple to meet Monk Wufa.
• Xue Tian heard the temple bells, left the riverbank, and encountered the boat carrying Yi Shuyuan and his companions.
• Xue Tian recognized Ao Po as the White Dragon Lord and eagerly offered to guide the visitors to Monk Wufa.
• Hui Mian climbed onto Xue Tian’s head, and Xue Tian carefully led the group toward Great Autumn Temple.

Yi Shuyuan and his companions visited Great Autumn Temple, where Monk Wufa welcomed them and discussed Yan’s political balance and Great Yong’s influence. Inside the Mountain-River Realm, Xue Tian completed his transformation into a true dragon, and the group reflected on the world’s future aquatic folk.

• Monk Wufa hurried to Great Autumn Temple’s gate to welcome Yi Shuyuan, Xue Tian, Ao Po, Hui Mian, and their companions.
• Yi Shuyuan and Monk Wufa discussed the Nine Kingdoms of Yan, Great Yong’s role in maintaining stability, and Great Autumn Temple’s influence.
• The An Kingdom’s emperor sent a eunuch to find the visitors, but they had already entered the Mountain and River State Map.
• Xue Tian swam through the Mountain-River Realm as a snow flood dragon and showed that he had become a true dragon under the White Lord’s protection.
• Hui Mian suggested using the old black dragon’s Dragon Horns to create more dragons and aquatic folk, while Yi Shuyuan explained that dragon transformation could not be taken lightly.
• Xue Tian returned to the group in human form and reported that many fish in the realm had spiritual awareness; Monk Wufa marveled that it was a world unto itself.

After leaving the Mountain-River Realm, Monk Wufa returned to the Great Autumn Temple as the First Prince of An and a Great Yong Envoy arrived to announce the new Jiande era. Jiang Lang came seeking Yi Shuyuan to arrange a meeting with the White Lord, while Yi Shuyuan and his companions fled before he could find them.

• Monk Wufa remained away through winter, while Eunuch Gao waited at the temple for his return on the Emperor’s orders.
• The First Prince of An brought a Great Yong Envoy to the temple, where the envoy announced that a new Son of Heaven had begun the Jiande era.
• Monk Wufa emerged from the Mountain-River Realm and went to receive the First Prince and the envoy, while Yi Shuyuan, Qi Zhongbin, Hui Mian, and Xue Tian stayed on the peak.
• Yi Shuyuan recognized Jiang Lang approaching and vanished; Hui Mian and Qi Zhongbin also escaped, leaving Xue Tian behind.
• Jiang Lang came to the temple hoping to find Yi Shuyuan and arrange a meeting with the White Lord, and he suspected the temple’s little white dragon might be Ao Po’s illegitimate child.

Jiang Lang arrived at Great Autumn Temple seeking Xue Tian and learned that the little dragon had been personally guided by the White Lord. After Monk Wufa revealed that Yi Shuyuan was at Upper Peak Pavilion, Jiang Lang rushed there, found Xue Tian alone, and shouted across the mountains for Old Yi to stop hiding.

• Jiang Lang asked a monk at Great Autumn Temple to take him to the little white dragon, Xue Tian.
• Monk Wufa recalled his early years at Xiangshan Monastery and confirmed to the Great Yong envoy that he had entered the monastic life there.
• A monk told Monk Wufa that Jiang Lang had arrived seeking Xue Tian, and Wufa left the gathering to meet him.
• Jiang Lang asked whether Xue Tian was connected to Dragon Lord Ao, and Monk Wufa confirmed that the White Lord had personally guided Xue Tian's cultivation.
• Monk Wufa told Jiang Lang that Yi Shuyuan was at Upper Peak Pavilion, so Jiang Lang flew there and found only Xue Tian.
• Jiang Lang shouted for Old Yi to come out of hiding, startling the monks and worshippers below.