Chapter Summaries

Duan Rong fought Fan Yuanhai after Fan Yuanhai discovered his Filthy Blood Divine Skill and tried to expose him. Duan Rong poisoned Fan Yuanhai, who died before he could reach the official road, and left his corpse beside Blood Monk Wuxiang’s headless body.

• Fan Yuanhai approached Duan Rong in the Dense Forest, but Duan Rong sensed his hostile intentions and fled into the trees.
• Fan Yuanhai attacked Duan Rong’s Dantian, and Duan Rong revealed his Filthy Blood Divine Skill before counterattacking with knives and a saber.
• Duan Rong used a Divine Soul Wave to stun Fan Yuanhai briefly and smeared First Grade Red poison onto his severed arm wound.
• Fan Yuanhai tried to cut off his arm to stop the poison, but Duan Rong tackled him and the poison reached his heart meridians.
• Fan Yuanhai attempted to flee and expose Duan Rong, but the poison overwhelmed him and he fell dead in the Dense Forest.
• Duan Rong carried Fan Yuanhai’s corpse to the Dilapidated Temple, severed his head, and watched Blood Monk Wuxiang’s blood threads turn the body into a Dried Corpse.

After surviving the battle, Duan Rong reunited with Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan, while the group gathered on the road and learned that several disciples had died. The survivors left together, relieved to find one another alive.

• A Mo and Lü Qingzhu appeared beside the road, causing Dang Haihong and Xiao Nan to flee from Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng, and Wang Shanshan.
• Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng, and Wang Shanshan recovered, then Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan emerged from the Dense Forest.
• Zhu Qunxiang said he had not seen Duan Rong, and Lu Qingfeng feared Duan Rong had died before Duan Rong appeared from the forest.
• Duan Rong reunited with Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan, and Xi Men Kan Kan told him that Shuangshuang and Jiang Qingyu were dead.
• Duan Rong noticed Xiao Yu's injuries, teased Xi Men Kan Kan, and walked with them toward the main road.

After the battle, Zhu Qunxiang led the group through the Dense Forest to search for survivors and bodies, uncovering the Filthy Blood Sect’s dead and finding Shen Mizhi alive. The group gathered the casualties and headed back to Xiangu County to report the attack, while Lü Qingzhu suspected Duan Rong had killed Fan Yuanhai.

• Zhu Qunxiang persuaded the exhausted Sect Envoys to search the Dense Forest together, and Xi Men Kan Kan smiled as he twirled a scrap of ruined erotic picture paper.
• The group found Tao Rong’s headless corpse and discovered the bodies of Filthy Blood Sect fiends inside a Dilapidated Temple, including Fan Yuanhai’s dried corpse; Lü Qingzhu suspected Duan Rong had killed him, and Duan Rong realized she had guessed.
• Zhu Qunxiang found Shen Mizhi hanging from a tree and freed her, after which Shen Mizhi confronted A Mo for leaving her behind and A Mo defended Lü Qingzhu.
• A Mo investigated a huge shadow in the forest and found a pile of more than ten horse carcasses; the group then collected the bodies they had found.
• Zhu Qunxiang and the others loaded the dead onto three ox carts and set out for Xiangu County so they could hand over the evidence and report the attack.

Ge Qingchuan withdrew after her ambush on the escort party ended in a costly defeat, while Lü Zhongtang arrived by Cloud Feathered Mad Eagle and took Lü Qingzhu and A Mo back toward the mountains. Pei Du replaced Lü Qingzhu as Sect Envoy, and Duan Rong and Lü Qingzhu parted with unspoken sorrow as the ox carts continued toward Xiangu County.

• Ge Qingchuan ordered Dang Haihong and Xiao Nan to return to their branches, appointed Xiao Nan Helm Master of the Ninefold Branch, and left for Xiangu County in tears over the ambush's losses.
• Lü Qingzhu asked A Mo to carry her beside the ox cart and spoke of returning home to stay in the mountains, just before a Cloud Feathered Mad Eagle landed on the road.
• Lü Zhongtang arrived with Pei Du, scolded Lü Qingzhu for leaving her inspection post, and took her and A Mo away on the eagle.
• Duan Rong watched Lü Qingzhu depart and vowed they would meet again, while Lü Qingzhu looked back through tears and wished they would never meet again.
• Pei Du showed Zhu Qunxiang his Sect Cloud Document and took over Lü Qingzhu's Sect Envoy duties as the ox carts resumed their journey.

New County Magistrate Sun Qian took charge of the case after Zhu Qunxiang brought the survivors and corpses from a Filthy Blood Sect ambush to the Xiangu County yamen. The deaths of Xia Shuangshuang, Jiang Qingyu, and Tao Rong devastated their families, while Duan Rong returned to Xiao Zongting’s home with Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi before the survivors prepared to depart again.

• Sun Qian arrived in Xiangu County, while Zhu Qunxiang later entered the city with two carts of corpses and asked the county yamen to handle the ambush case.
• Zhu Qunxiang explained to Sun Qian that the Filthy Blood Sect had attacked them, killing one Sect Envoy and three Registered Disciples, and gave him a formal account of the incident.
• Xiao Zongting and other family members waited outside the yamen and learned from Zhu Qunxiang that Xia Shuangshuang, Jiang Qingyu, and Tao Rong had died; Tao Jiusong fainted and Jiang Heng confronted her in grief.
• Zhu Qunxiang told the surviving Registered Disciples to rest and pack, as they would leave early the next morning; Duan Rong went with Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi to Xiao Zongting’s home.
• Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi tended their wounds while the family shared lunch, and Duan Rong privately considered his feelings for Lü Qingzhu and decided he would tell Xiao Yu about her.

After advancing the Filthy Blood Divine Skill, Duan Rong worried that its power was nearing the three stars in his Luminous Consciousness Sea, but took comfort in the example of Fu Yi, who had cultivated both arts. Meanwhile, County Magistrate Sun Qian reshaped the report on Jie Daohan’s murder and learned from Ge Qingchuan that the Filthy Blood Sect intended to make Xiangu County a stronghold, leaving him uneasy about the unexplained killing.

• Duan Rong inspected his Luminous Consciousness Sea, saw the blood glow expand and approach the three stars, and decided not to cultivate the Filthy Blood Divine Skill further.
• After the Xia, Jiang, and Tao families mourned their dead, Sun Qian appointed Clerk Qin to oversee the clerks and Ding Xingxing to lead the constables.
• Zhu Baogui reported Jie Daohan’s murder, and Sun Qian ordered him to move the crime date back six days so the case would fall on Shen Yanliu.
• Ge Qingchuan visited Sun Qian in disguise, reported that Fan Hanzhou and Blood Monk Wuxiang had died, and asked him to delay submitting the case documents.
• Ge Qingchuan told Sun Qian to develop Xiangu County into a Filthy Blood Sect stronghold and keep his identity secret from Ruan Fengshan.
• After Ge Qingchuan denied that the sect had killed Jie Daohan, Sun Qian wondered who could have slain the True Qi Realm chief constable.

Lü Qingzhu returned from the mortal world and asked Lü Yinlin whether a thousand years of cultivation had made him happy, while Yang Zhen woke in the underground cave Duan Rong had left him in and resolved not to betray him again. Duan Rong and his companions reached Changliu Mountain seeking Taiyi Sect’s Mountain Gate, where a break in the fog revealed a colossal Immovable Wisdom King carved from a mountain.

• Lü Qingzhu reunited with Lü Yinlin, gave him a Xun, and asked whether he was happy after a thousand years of cultivation.
• Yang Zhen escaped the dry well where Duan Rong had hidden him, remembered their bond, and swore not to betray Duan Rong again.
• Ding Xingxing accepted Yang Zhen’s explanation for missing roll call and chose him as his runner.
• Duan Rong, Xi Men Kan Kan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi navigated Changliu Mountain with a map after the Court of Judicial Review released them and issued their Sect Cloud Documents.
• A gust cleared the fog, revealing a colossal mountain-carved Immovable Wisdom King that Duan Rong recognized as a vast mandala.

Duan Rong and his companions reached Taiyi Sect after Xi Men Kan Kan guided them through the fog-shrouded Changliu Mountain Range. As they headed toward the Lower Courtyard, Duan Rong sensed a powerful consciousness sweep over them, drawing the attention of Old Zhao.

• Xi Men Kan Kan used clues in the map to guide Duan Rong, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi through the mountains to the Stone Steps and Taiyi Sect’s Mountain Gate.
• A young man checked Duan Rong’s Sect Cloud Document, and the group continued up the steps to the platform marked Taiyi Creates Water.
• Eight sword-bearing sect members verified the group’s documents and directed the Registered Disciples toward the Lower Courtyard.
• Duan Rong and his companions nearly took the steps to the Judgment and Rectification Department before a figure warned them to use the other route.
• Duan Rong sensed a powerful consciousness pass over the group, while Old Zhao noticed that Duan Rong had briefly paused.
• A middle-aged man summoned Old Zhao on the Sect Master’s behalf, and Old Zhao left the Dense Forest.

Duan Rong and the other newly arrived Registered Disciples reached the Taiyi Sect’s Lower Courtyard, where they were assigned menial work. Duan Rong identified three plants as poisonous rather than medicinal, leaving Old Qin stunned as the group’s assignments remained unsettled.

• Duan Rong and his companions entered the shabby Lower Courtyard, where a baboon stole Xiao Yu’s bundle before Duan Rong tricked it into returning the bundle and drove it away.
• A fair-faced Senior Brother guided Duan Rong, Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi to Old Qin to register their Sect Cloud Documents.
• Old Qin assigned Shen Mizhi to serve as an attendant maid in the Hall of Elders, Xiao Yu to work as a stonemason, and Duan Rong and Xi Men Kan Kan to forge iron.
• Duan Rong persuaded Old Qin to let them try for a Medicine Boy position, and Xi Men Kan Kan failed to identify any of the three plants on the test board.
• Duan Rong identified all three plants and revealed that they were poisonous, shocking Xi Men Kan Kan, Xiao Yu, and Old Qin.

Duan Rong and his companions parted ways as they traveled by iron chains through the mist to their assigned places in the Taiyi Sect. Duan Rong reached Pharmacist Shang’s residence, where the other Medicine Boys’ strange tools and Tang Zhu’s remark hinted that his new post might bring trouble.

• Duan Rong, Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, and Xi Men Kan Kan reached the cliff, where Shen Mizhi took a chain toward the Hall of Elders and said goodbye to Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan departed for the Stone Workshop and Weaponry Workshop, while Duan Rong continued with Old Qin toward Pharmacist Shang’s place.
• Old Qin rebuked Duan Rong for asking too many questions, then warned him to hold tightly to the hide sling as they slid down an iron chain through the fog.
• Duan Rong saw an immortal crane perched on the chain before he reached the mountain top and followed Old Qin to Pharmacist Shang’s cave.
• Duan Rong noticed unfamiliar medicinal-processing tools at the cave entrance, and Tang Zhu muttered that another fool had arrived before Pan Yong reprimanded her.

Duan Rong followed Old Qin to meet Pharmacist Shang Xiangyu, who tested his knowledge of poison and read the notebook Duan Rong attributed to his teacher, Shen Ping. Shang Xiangyu recognized Shen Ping as an old friend, while Duan Rong collapsed after inhaling poison from a stone pot.

• Old Qin brought Duan Rong to Shang Xiangyu's cave to serve as a Medicine Boy, and Shang Xiangyu gave Old Qin a bottle of medicine for his ailment.
• Shang Xiangyu questioned Duan Rong about identifying three poisonous herbs, and Duan Rong claimed he had learned from an itinerant doctor who left him a notebook.
• Shang Xiangyu read the notebook and accepted that Duan Rong had told the truth, then asked to keep it for study.
• Duan Rong named Shen Ping as his teacher, and Shang Xiangyu reacted with shock before recalling their shared past and Shen Ping's talent for poison.
• The uncovered stone pot released a poisonous fragrance, and Duan Rong fainted after inhaling it.

Duan Rong woke in Changliu Mountain and joined the disciples stripping bugs, where he devoured the Black Iron Clamp’s Artifact Spirit and quickly mastered the task. The chained Little Demon King then appeared and began throwing stones at Duan Rong and Tang Zhu.

• Shang Xiangyu introduced Duan Rong to Pan Yong, who showed him how to strip bugs with a Black Iron Clamp.
• Duan Rong crushed his first bug, then read the clamp’s Artifact Spirit data and devoured its spirit.
• After digesting the Artifact Spirit, Duan Rong stripped bugs with exceptional speed and skill, astonishing Pan Yong, Yin Cong, Tang Zhu, and Chen Hu.
• The chained Little Demon King emerged and threw stones at Duan Rong, who caught several before letting one hit his forehead.
• The Little Demon King struck Tang Zhu with a stone, then lost interest and sat by the railing, howling at the mist.

Duan Rong settled into life at Shang Xiangyu’s mountain retreat, where he was assigned a medicinal garden and invited to join the next day’s medicine refining. After Shang Xiangyu violently defended Xin Er from Tang Zhu, a shadowy figure vanished near a vine-covered stone wall in the back mountain.

• Pan Yong and Duan Rong pressed the insects into slurry and prepared the ingredients for Shang Xiangyu’s medicine refining.
• Shang Xiangyu approved Duan Rong’s participation in the next day’s refining, and Pan Yong assigned him a cave and a garden of Mystic Wilt Vine and Frost Hair Artemisia.
• Duan Rong ate with Pan Yong, Tang Zhu, Chen Hu, and Yin Cong, then returned to his cave and considered how to obtain pills to advance his cultivation.
• Tang Zhu fed Xin Er soup, but Shang Xiangyu struck her after Xin Er threw a stone at her and threatened to feed her to the Black Blood Vine if she mistreated him again.
• A lean figure carrying a stone pot and a bulging burlap sack vanished before a vine-covered stone wall in the back mountain.

Duan Rong settled into his new role as a Medicine Boy while planning to obtain pill medicines and learn alchemy. Shang Xiangyu’s history and desperate efforts to slow his body’s decay were revealed, and Pan Yong took Duan Rong to gather poisonous creatures before leading him to a secret base.

• Duan Rong reflected on the sect’s control of True Qi Realm pill medicines and planned to use his Medicine Boy position to gain resources and eventually learn alchemy.
• Shang Xiangyu visited a hidden cave connected to the God and Demon Ruins and used Five Venoms Blood Transformation to slow the spread of his withered skin.
• Shang Xiangyu recalled finding the Nine Nether Grand Hidden Art after killing a grave robber, then suffering a third failed attempt to form a qi cyclone before cultivating the art and becoming disfigured.
• Shang Xiangyu feared his lifespan was running out and pinned his hope on refining the Spring Return Pill from the Black Blood Vine.
• Pan Yong brought Duan Rong into the Dense Forest and used Poison Powder to attract and anesthetize venomous creatures.
• Pan Yong and Duan Rong filled two sacks with poisonous creatures, and Pan Yong led Duan Rong toward their secret base.

Duan Rong explored a volcanic cave, learned to feed the Black Blood Vines, and joined Pan Yong, Chen Hu, Yin Cong, and Shang Xiangyu in refining medicine. Shang Xiangyu completed the heating process and left Pan Yong to retrieve the medicine after the magma cooled.

• Pan Yong led Duan Rong through a dead volcano to a sealed cave, where he showed him the Black Blood Vines and warned him not to cross the discolored rock.
• Chen Hu brought a dead tiger to feed the vines, while Duan Rong scattered venomous insects with impressive precision; Pan Yong then assigned Duan Rong to feed the vines every three days.
• Pan Yong and Chen Hu discussed Duan Rong's unusual skills and his immediate invitation to medicine refining, while Yin Cong later watched him suspiciously as they prepared the cauldrons.
• Shang Xiangyu poured medicinal liquid into four Black Cauldrons, exposed magma to heat them, and directed Duan Rong, Pan Yong, Chen Hu, and Yin Cong to stir the ingredients.
• After inspecting and covering the cauldrons, Shang Xiangyu sealed the magma beneath the black stone and left Pan Yong to open the cauldrons and retrieve the medicine once it cooled.

Duan Rong learned how scarce and costly cultivation resources were for Registered Disciples and decided to pursue a dangerous task to earn Contribution Points. After visiting Xi Men Kan Kan at the Weapon Shop, he asked to see its discarded weapons, hoping to use his Devour Artifact Spirit ability.

• Pan Yong and Duan Rong processed the Purple Scar Pill paste together, and Pan Yong invited Duan Rong to collect his Star Disk the next day.
• Pan Yong explained that Duan Rong’s Star Disk held ninety-five Sect Contribution Points and showed him the low-paying labor tasks at Guanglu Court.
• Duan Rong exchanged twenty Contribution Points for twenty Righteous Yang Pills and considered taking a sixty-point Origin Beast task with Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan.
• Duan Rong visited Xi Men Kan Kan, found him struggling with hard work at the Weapon Shop, and asked to see the discarded weapons.

Duan Rong searched Taiyi Sect’s cave of discarded weapons and devoured several martial arts techniques, including a movement technique and a leg technique. He left with three useful items, viewing the cave as a steady source of techniques that could let him bypass the Scripture Repository.

• Duan Rong inspected a damaged Dragon Finch Saber and a Black Iron Knee Pad, discovering that the knee pad contained a movement technique beyond his current mental strength.
• Duan Rong found a Brass Carved Anklet and devoured its Hundred Flowers Misleading Step technique while Xi Men Kan Kan searched nearby.
• Xi Men Kan Kan demonstrated how to use a Brass Tiger-Head Stirrup, and Duan Rong devoured the Tombstone Breaking Leg technique it contained.
• Duan Rong and Xi Men Kan Kan agreed to smuggle out the Black Iron Knee Pad, Brass Carved Anklet, and Tiger-Head Stirrup, and Xi Men Kan Kan kicked Duan Rong as he left.
• Duan Rong retrieved and cleaned the three items, then concluded that the discarded weapons could supply techniques without requiring Scripture Repository exchanges.

Duan Rong visited Xiao Yu at the Stone Workshop, helped her improve her carving, and spent a tender evening with her. He discovered that the statues in Xiao Yu’s cave formed a Garbha Sutra mandala, then left before dawn while Xiao Yu watched him go in tears.

• Duan Rong found Xiao Yu carving a stone statue and used the carving knife’s artifact spirit to demonstrate a more fluid technique, helping her improve her work.
• Duan Rong brought Xiao Yu wild rabbits for dinner and gave her a Brass Carved Anklet he had recovered from broken weapons.
• Duan Rong and Xiao Yu shared a quiet evening together, and after he returned from leaving, Xiao Yu led him into her cave.
• Duan Rong recognized the four statues surrounding Xiao Yu’s bed as the correctly arranged Wisdom Kings of a Garbha Sutra mandala and wondered who had cultivated there.
• Duan Rong held Xiao Yu as they slept, then quietly left before dawn, and Xiao Yu watched him disappear into the darkness while crying.

Duan Rong spent a day tending his herb garden, training in four martial arts, and cultivating through the night to strengthen his true qi. After feeding the Black Blood Vines, he noticed one fruit had turned red and decided to tell Pan Yong the next morning.

• Duan Rong stayed in his cave, refined two Righteous Yang Pills through the night, and slept until the gloomy daylight returned.
• Duan Rong avoided the terrifying depths of the forest pool, tended his herbs, and practiced the Wither Bloom Prajna Saber, Dust-Wisking Mountain-Splitting Saber, Hundred Flowers Misleading Step, and Tombstone Breaking Leg.
• Duan Rong collected poisonous insects and fed them to the Black Blood Vine, then returned to his cave to cultivate with Righteous Yang Pills night after night.
• Three days later, Duan Rong fed the Black Blood Vines another two sacks of poisonous insects and spotted a fruit glowing faint red instead of ghostly green.
• Duan Rong suspected the Black Blood Vine fruit had matured and decided to report it to Pan Yong in the morning.

Duan Rong accompanied Yin Cong to the Herb Pavilion to gather ingredients for Shang Xiangyu’s pill refinement and discovered that Azure Eye and Black Blood Fruit could advance his Garbha Sutra cultivation. He realized the Black Blood Vines in Shang Xiangyu’s cave might be connected to a warped space, then began searching for the long list of ingredients Yin Cong had brought.

• Duan Rong woke to Yin Cong’s call and learned that Shang Xiangyu had sent him to the Herb Pavilion to collect ingredients for pill refinement.
• Duan Rong told Yin Cong that a Black Blood Vine fruit had ripened, and Yin Cong revealed that Chen Hu had already informed Pan Yong.
• Pan Yong searched Duan Rong’s empty cave for clues to his identity while Duan Rong and Yin Cong traveled through the mist to the Herb Pavilion.
• Duan Rong found that Azure Eye was a juvenile White Wolf essence beast’s third eye and that Black Blood Fruit was the fruit of a Black Blood Vine, priced at five hundred and twenty Contribution Points.
• Duan Rong wondered whether Shang Xiangyu’s cave was near a warped space, then accepted the extensive ingredient list from Yin Cong and began searching the pavilion.