Chapter Summaries

Yan Shanshui discovered that the calligraphy in Lin Zhishui’s shop revealed a path toward the Great Way and began to suspect he was a reclusive master. As she gathered scraps from his wastebasket to take to her master, a strange voice ordered her to put them down.

• After Lin Zhishui left, Yan Shanshui tried to find the shop’s surveillance computer but was drawn to the calligraphy behind the folding screen.
• Yan Shanshui studied “The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contending,” and saw a way past her cultivation bottleneck.
• Yan Shanshui reconsidered Lin Zhishui’s remarks and behavior, concluding he might be a powerful master disguised as a mortal.
• Yan Shanshui searched the desk and wastebasket, found scraps of an inferior ink painting, and decided to take them to her master.
• As Yan Shanshui picked up the scraps, an unfamiliar voice from outside said, “Put it down.”

Yan Shanshui discovered that the pine tree guarding the calligraphy and painting shop had recently awakened intelligence and was protecting the owner’s belongings. She offered to ask the owner about a Dharma Body inheritance, while the tree decided it wanted to become a woman like the man it admired.

• Yan Shanshui questioned the pine tree about its intelligence, and it revealed that someone had awakened it but had forbidden it to tell anyone.
• The pine tree stopped Yan Shanshui from taking the shop owner’s wastepaper, and she put it in the wastebasket.
• Yan Shanshui explained that a Dharma Body inheritance could let the pine tree cultivate and take human form, then offered to ask the owner about one.
• The pine tree said it wanted to become like the man who had awakened it, and Yan Shanshui advised it to become a woman so he might like it.
• Yan Shanshui left the shop, and the pine tree returned to its ordinary appearance.

Yan Shanshui learned that only the Emperor's Flowing Elixir or a mighty immortal could awaken a living thing's intelligence, and realized the calligraphy shop owner had enlightened the pine tree. The next morning, Cheng Buxiu visited Lin Zhishui, who tried to reassure him about his daughter's purchases, while Cheng Buxiu mistook his words for a veiled warning.

• Yan Shanshui asked her master how living things could awaken their intelligence, and learned about the Emperor's Flowing Elixir and enlightenment by a true immortal.
• Yan Shanshui realized Lin Zhishui must be a mighty immortal because he had enlightened the pine tree outside his shop.
• Yan Shanshui told her master she had found an opening to advance in her Gonggong Dharma Body and asked for the Heaven-Praying Altar.
• Cheng Buxiu arrived at Lin Zhishui's shop the next morning, intending to beg forgiveness.
• Lin Zhishui explained that he had left works in the shop to address Cheng Buxiu's doubts, but Cheng Buxiu interpreted his words as a sarcastic warning.

Lin Zhishui accepted Cheng Buxiu’s apology and the Hidden Dragon Pearl, mistaking the cultivator’s reverence for ordinary deference. Cheng Buxiu bought one character of Lin’s calligraphy for 129,600 yuan and left convinced Lin had risen from mortal origins to become an immortal.

• Lin Zhishui inferred that Han Suxin had intimidated Cheng Buxiu and reassured him that he could make amends.
• Cheng Buxiu offered Lin Zhishui the Hidden Dragon Pearl, which Lin accepted as an attractive shop ornament.
• Lin Zhishui offered to sell Cheng Buxiu calligraphy for money, setting 129,600 yuan as the maximum price.
• Cheng Buxiu chose to pay 129,600 yuan for a single character, believing Lin was testing his sincerity and future role as a pawn.
• Lin Zhishui asked about Cheng Buxiu’s ambitions and remarked that people who were once human wanted to become immortal.
• Cheng Buxiu interpreted Lin’s remark as a revelation that Lin had ascended from mortal life to join the Immortals and Gods.

Lin Zhishui gave Cheng Buxiu a calligraphy piece bearing the character “Retreat,” which Cheng believed held a powerful divine ability, and accepted a large payment. After Lin left to retrieve his breakfast, Yan Shanshui returned and promised to ask her master about helping the pine tree take human form.

• Lin Zhishui advised Cheng Buxiu to accept his limitations and wrote “Retreat” for him, which Cheng regarded as a powerful safeguard.
• Lin added an inscription that concealed the calligraphy’s Dao Resonance, and Cheng Buxiu paid him 129,600 yuan before leaving.
• Lin checked his savings and ordered breakfast, then went outside to find the delivery driver who could not locate the shop.
• The pine tree watched Lin leave, and Yan Shanshui appeared and asked whether it remembered her.
• Yan Shanshui said she would indirectly ask her master to let the pine tree take human form, and the pine tree thanked her.

Yan Shanshui returned to Lin Zhishui’s shop after gaining insight from his calligraphy, while Lin mistook her gratitude and interest in the pine tree for youthful innocence. She left planning to pray for a Dharma Body for the tree.

• Lin Zhishui greeted Yan Shanshui and assumed she had returned because she was attracted to him.
• Yan Shanshui thanked Lin for letting her view “The Highest Good Is Like Water,” explaining that it had helped her find a breakthrough opportunity.
• Lin learned that Yan had been speaking with the pine tree and encouraged her to keep visiting it.
• Yan asked to become friends with the pine tree and promised to care for it.
• Yan decided to prepare a Heaven-Praying Altar and pray for a Dharma Body for the pine tree.

Lin Zhishui agreed to let Yan Shanshui practice copying The Highest Good Is Like Water at his shop, mistaking her request for a crush while trying to keep her feelings at a distance. Yan Shanshui accepted his modest conditions with gratitude, unaware that he thought she was nursing an unrequited first love.

• Lin Zhishui shared breakfast with Yan Shanshui, who asked to learn calligraphy and copy The Highest Good Is Like Water.
• Lin Zhishui agreed to let Yan Shanshui practice at the shop, believing she wanted an excuse to spend time with him.
• Lin Zhishui decided he would remain aloof and rely on Little Snake’s visits to show Yan Shanshui that his heart belonged to someone else.
• When Yan Shanshui asked what she should give in return, Lin Zhishui learned she was an orphan and waived his tuition fee.
• Lin Zhishui asked Yan Shanshui to clean the shop and look after the pine tree, then told her their relationship would go no further than practicing calligraphy.
• Yan Shanshui thanked Lin Zhishui for his kindness, and he invited her to return the next day to practice.

Yan Shanshui prepared a Heaven-Praying Altar to help the sentient pine gain a Dharma Body legacy from the Defiled Earth Jianmu lineage. When she began the ritual, a host of Immortals and Gods appeared, including the three sovereigns, and all turned their attention to the pine.

• Yan Shanshui returned to the calligraphy and painting shop and told the pine that she would help it cultivate a Dharma Body.
• Yan Shanshui set up a Heaven-Praying Altar and explained how mortals received Dharma Body legacies from the wills of Immortals and Gods.
• Yan Shanshui advised the pine that a high-ranking legacy such as Shennong's would suit it, though such an inheritance was rare.
• Yan Shanshui presided over the altar and channeled the Immortals' and Gods' attention toward the pine.
• Many divine apparitions appeared above the altar, led by Fuxi, Nuwa, and Shennong, and all gazed at the pine.

All twenty divine wills of the Defiled Earth Jianmu lineage appeared before the newly awakened pine tree, Qing, and Yan Shanshui concluded they had come out of respect for Senior Lin. Qing chose Fuxi’s Dharma Body, beginning an inheritance that Yan Shanshui recognized as the birth of a pinnacle Dharma Body cultivator.

• Yan Shanshui saw all twenty divine wills gather around Qing and wondered whether they had chosen the pine tree because Senior Lin had awakened it.
• Yan Shanshui advised Qing to choose a suitable inheritance, and Qing selected Fuxi because he was highly ranked and associated with the color azure.
• Yan Shanshui suggested the pine tree be named Qing, and it accepted the name without choosing a surname.
• Qing touched Fuxi’s phantom, which became azure energy and flowed into its branch as wood-element spiritual energy gathered around it.
• Yan Shanshui watched Qing receive Fuxi’s inheritance and realized a cultivator with a pinnacle Dharma Body had appeared in the mortal world.

After Qing received Fuxi’s Dharma Body inheritance, Yan Shanshui explained how to cultivate its first heavenly pass, the Wooden Figure. Qing had already filled the Dharma Body with spiritual energy from the ink Senior Lin used to water it, so Yan told Qing to gaze at the sky and begin awakening it.

• Yan Shanshui observed Qing’s transformed pine form and asked how Qing felt; Qing said its senses had grown and explained that it had taken the form of a little girl because Senior Lin seemed to like children.
• Qing told Yan Shanshui that it could not yet take human form and would need to pass further heavenly trials to create an external incarnation or transform its true body.
• Yan Shanshui explained the two stages of cultivating a Dharma Body and said its first heavenly pass, the Wooden Figure, required Qing to follow Fuxi’s example and observe the sky.
• Qing revealed that Senior Lin’s brush-washing ink had already filled its Dharma Body with spiritual energy, leaving Yan Shanshui astonished by how quickly it had accumulated power.
• Yan Shanshui urged Qing to gaze at the sky and began wondering how quickly Qing could advance to the third heavenly pass.

Lin Zhishui waited for She Xilu to wake, then found her acting cold before she fainted in his arms. She woke after he leaned in to kiss her, and he sent her to get ready for dinner, while she hurried to her room in embarrassment.

• Lin Zhishui waited for She Xilu to wake and worried that her unusually long sleep meant she was ill.
• She Xilu emerged from her bedroom acting cold and accused Lin Zhishui of hitting her before fainting in his arms.
• Lin Zhishui noticed She Xilu's beauty without her glasses and tried to wake her by kissing her.
• She Xilu awoke, blushed, and pushed Lin Zhishui away after he kissed her.
• Lin Zhishui went to the kitchen for dinner, while She Xilu rushed back to her room, embarrassed that he had seen her unwashed and unbrushed.

At breakfast, Lin Zhishui teased She Xilu about her strange nightmares and offered to connect her with Han Suxin for help. She Xilu revealed that her new book was becoming a major hit, leaving Lin Zhishui delighted about their growing prospects.

• Lin Zhishui asked She Xilu about her nightmare, and she described bodies inside a well, including a black dragon and a Seven-Colored Divine Deer.
• Lin Zhishui connected the nightmare to creatures and ideas from She Xilu’s old novel and teased her about its poor writing and tragic ending.
• Lin Zhishui offered to send She Xilu Han Suxin’s contact so she could discuss her recurring nightmares, but She Xilu declined for now.
• Lin Zhishui suggested moving to a nicer place and offered She Xilu money, while she said her new book was about to go paid and might be the platform’s second most popular ever.
• Lin Zhishui celebrated She Xilu’s success alongside his own progress practicing calligraphy.

Lin Zhishui tried to teach Yan Shanshui calligraphy, only to discover she was already highly skilled. Yan Shanshui took his criticism as profound guidance and planned to keep studying at his shop, leaving Lin Zhishui convinced she was scheming to get closer to him.

• Yan Shanshui arrived early to wait for Lin Zhishui and tended the pine outside his shop, earning his praise.
• Lin Zhishui asked Yan Shanshui to copy The Highest Good Is Like Water so he could assess her calligraphy.
• Yan Shanshui infused her writing with magic power and produced calligraphy that impressed Lin Zhishui with its quality.
• Lin Zhishui criticized her nervous brushwork and told her to keep copying his calligraphy.
• Yan Shanshui thanked Lin Zhishui for his guidance and said she would practice diligently, while he suspected she planned to keep visiting to win him over.

Lin Zhishui heard that a gas explosion had devastated the Cheng Family and called Cheng Buxiu to offer condolences. After speaking with Xiao Sui, he remained unaware that his casual remarks had given the Cheng Family hope, and she decided not to interrupt him while he played chess.

• Lin Zhishui noticed a news report about a gas explosion at Four Seasons Garden, where Old Master Cheng had lived.
• Lin Zhishui called Cheng Buxiu and learned that several Cheng Family members had died or been seriously injured, while the family head was comatose.
• Cheng Buxiu asked Lin Zhishui to help, and Lin Zhishui urged him to stay calm and remember the calligraphy he had given him.
• Xiao Sui called to ask Lin Zhishui about the incident, and he told her he had already spoken with the Cheng Family.
• Xiao Sui asked to visit Lin Zhishui before going to the Cheng Family, but he said he was playing chess, so she decided not to disturb him.

After the Cheng Family head was left dying by a Heavenly Dog, Cheng Buxiu urged the family to contact their ancestor in the Heavenly Realm, following advice from Senior Lin. Xiao Sui recognized Lin’s authority and endorsed the attempt, while wondering whether the attack was part of his larger chess game.

• Cheng Buxiu brought Cheng Qiyue upstairs and urged the Cheng Family elders to contact their ancestor, despite their doubts that his descending will could save the family head.
• The chief elder challenged Cheng Buxiu’s claim about an unnamed senior expert and resisted wasting one of the family’s Other Shore Straw Dolls.
• Xiao Sui appeared in a pillar of moonlight and said neither she nor the Cheng Family’s newly ascended ancestor could likely cure the family head’s lost vitality.
• When Cheng Buxiu revealed that the senior was Lin, Xiao Sui said she had met him and agreed that the family should contact their ancestor.
• Xiao Sui recalled that Lin had said he was playing chess and wondered whether the Cheng Family’s calamity was one move in his plan.

The Cheng Family contacted their ascended Ancestor after the Heavenly Dog nearly killed the family head, but he could not save him from the Heavenly Realm. When Cheng Qiyue revealed Senior Lin’s calligraphy, the Ancestor recognized it as the key to saving his descendant.

• The Cheng Family grand elder and Xiao Sui activated an Other Shore Straw Doll to contact the Ancestor.
• The grand elder explained that the Heavenly Dog had devoured the family head’s vitality before being gravely wounded by the family-protecting treasure and self-destructing.
• The Ancestor said he could not save the family head across the boundary between the mortal world and the Heavenly Realm, then softened when Cheng Buxiu said Senior Lin had directed them to call him.
• Cheng Qiyue reported that Senior Lin had given her calligraphy for the Ancestor and unrolled the scroll before his spirit tablet.
• The Ancestor laughed after seeing the calligraphy, and Xiao Sui asked what divine ability it contained.

The Cheng Family Ancestor explained that Senior Lin’s calligraphy could tear open a passage between the Heavenly Realm and the mortal world, then used it to send down immortal treasures. After the passage closed, the Cheng Family was left with the peaches and instructions to avoid contacting him except in an existential crisis.

• The Cheng Family Ancestor explained to Xiao Sui and the Cheng Family that Senior Lin’s calligraphy could open a passage through which inanimate objects could cross realms.
• The Cheng Family Ancestor offered four Lesser Immortal Peaches and an Immortal Seal Script, while Xiao Sui declined a peach and said all three for Senior Lin should go to him.
• The Cheng Family Ancestor ordered the family not to disturb Senior Lin and told Cheng Qiyue to deliver the three peaches to him.
• The Cheng Family Ancestor activated the calligraphy, and Xiao Sui caught four Lesser Immortal Peaches and a gold-leaf book as they came through the passage.
• The Cheng Family Ancestor warned the family not to contact him unless they faced extinction, then the passage closed and the calligraphy fell blank to the ground.

Xiao Sui gave Cheng Qiyue three Lesser Immortal Peaches to deliver to Senior Lin and questioned the Cheng Family about the Heavenly Dog’s attack. She warned them to investigate carefully, while suspecting Senior Lin had already anticipated the danger.

• Xiao Sui gave the Cheng Family a Gold-Leaf Book and one Lesser Immortal Peach, then entrusted Cheng Qiyue with three peaches for Senior Lin.
• Cheng Buxiu took Cheng Qiyue to visit Senior Lin, while Xiao Sui explained that a Lesser Immortal Peach extended a person's life by five hundred years.
• Xiao Sui asked the Cheng Family about the Heavenly Dog, who had infiltrated their grounds, been wounded by a Ninefold Samsara Incantation, and self-destructed.
• A Cheng Family elder reported that the Heavenly Dog had carried a palm-sized white scale, but no one had clearly seen it.
• Xiao Sui warned the Cheng Family to investigate cautiously and avoid exposing themselves to mortals, then wondered what Senior Lin was planning.

Lin Zhishui returned to his shop and found Cheng Qiyue waiting with a gift after the Cheng Family’s disaster. He accepted her three Lesser Immortal Peaches as a heartfelt gesture, while she was moved by his gracious response.

• Lin Zhishui abandoned his auto-battler game and headed back to his calligraphy shop to practice.
• Lin Zhishui found Cheng Qiyue waiting outside and gently tried to comfort her over the Cheng Family’s recent disaster.
• Cheng Qiyue thanked Lin Zhishui, saying his calligraphy had been a lifeline for her family, and confirmed that the family head was out of danger.
• Cheng Qiyue gave Lin Zhishui three Lesser Immortal Peaches and said she needed to return to her family.
• Lin Zhishui praised the gift as heartfelt, and Cheng Qiyue was touched by his response.

Lin Zhishui ate one of Cheng Qiyue’s Lesser Immortal Peaches and tossed its pit by Little Pine Tree, unknowingly giving the tree a chance to become a spiritual root. Later, he spotted a destitute old man who might be the missing elder Yan Shanshui was searching for and went to speak with him.

• Lin Zhishui received Yan Shanshui’s call and agreed to keep an eye out for her missing teacher’s elder, whose photo she sent him.
• Lin Zhishui ate one of the three Lesser Immortal Peaches Cheng Qiyue had given him and accidentally tossed the pit into the soil beneath Little Pine Tree.
• Little Pine Tree recognized the pit’s immortal energy, believed Lin Zhishui had given it to her, and drew it underground with her roots.
• Lin Zhishui later saw a disheveled old man in an underground passage and recognized a possible resemblance to Yan Shanshui’s missing elder.
• Lin Zhishui crouched in front of the old man and asked if he was waiting to die.