Chapter Summaries

A richly dressed man demanded answers about Mei Niang’s disappearance and ordered an investigation in West Mountain Village. There, Zhang Yuan refined the black scales into the Dragon Carp Armor, claimed the Profound Artifact as his own, and tested its abilities.

• The richly dressed man struck and berated a middle-aged man for failing to find Mei Niang, then ordered him to investigate her disappearance.
• The richly dressed man privately clung to Mei Niang’s jade hairpin and insisted she would return to him.
• Zhang Yuan dripped his blood onto all four hundred and thirty-seven black scales, awakening their connection and learning that they formed the Dragon Carp Armor.
• Zhang Yuan activated the armor, which covered most of his body, enhanced his movement, and resisted covering his left hand because it feared the Crimson Blood Blade.
• The Dragon Carp Armor returned to bracer form when Zhang Yuan stopped supporting it with True Qi, and he recognized it as a valuable treasure.

Zhang Yuan struggled to find a cultivation method for his new realm while West Mountain Village became caught between True Martial Sect and the Fierce Tiger Gang. After the Fierce Tiger Gang searched his home for the disguised female assassin and found nothing, Zhang Yuan was left furious at their arrogance.

• Zhang Yuan considered seeking help from Xuan Cheng Daoren but held back because the price might be too high.
• Old Man Kou told Zhang Yuan that five households who had accepted True Martial Sect's aid had been wiped out, and warned him to leave West Mountain Village.
• The next morning, Fierce Tiger Gang warriors searched the village for the female assassin, and Zhang Yuan chose to wait rather than flee.
• When the warriors questioned Zhang Yuan, he denied seeing the woman in their portrait and let them search his home.
• The Fierce Tiger Gang found his hidden chamber but no evidence, then left after ransacking his home, filling Zhang Yuan with killing intent.

As West Mountain Village descended into violence from the True Martial Sect and Fierce Tiger Gang, Zhang Yuan decided the village was no longer safe and left for Ruins City. That night, Dian Wei of True Martial Sect burst into a room occupied by Fierce Tiger Gang members and attacked the Black-Clothed Warrior and his men.

• Armed men ransacked West Mountain Village, and Zhang Yuan watched the violence through the Red-Eyed Crow.
• Zhang Yuan packed his valuables, abandoned his home, and told Qu Hong he was heading to Ruins City.
• Qu Hong considered robbing Zhang Yuan but trusted his instincts and let him go, then led his companions to take the food Zhang Yuan had left behind.
• Fierce Tiger Gang members feasted in the village and revealed that their raid was mainly meant to pressure True Martial Sect.
• Dian Wei of True Martial Sect smashed into the room and attacked the Black-Clothed Warrior and the other gang members.

Zhang Yuan disguised himself as Dian Wei to kill the men searching his home, then left West Mountain Village for Ruins City to seek a path to greater strength. He met Xuan Cheng Daoren at the Heavenly King Hall, leaving his next move unresolved.

• The Fierce Tiger Gang’s hall master found five dead men and ordered the True Martial Sect to answer for the supposed killer, Dian Wei.
• Zhang Yuan returned to his hidden chambers, shed his disguise, and recalled how he had tracked and ambushed the Black-Clothed Warrior and his men.
• Zhang Yuan hid for two days, then left West Mountain Village and settled temporarily at an inn in Ruins City.
• Zhang Yuan weighed the difficulty of finding a fourth-order cultivation method and decided to seek help in Xia Ruins rather than retreat to the Great Dream Marsh.
• Zhang Yuan visited the Heavenly King Hall and met Xuan Cheng Daoren, who appeared to have expected him.

Zhang Yuan sought an Entry Qi cultivation art from Heavenly King Hall, and Xuan Cheng Daoren offered him his family-inherited Righteous Qi Art in exchange for a future favor. After swearing not to reveal it, Zhang Yuan accepted the manual and agreed to become a Guardian of the temple.

• Zhang Yuan asked Xuan Cheng Daoren whether Heavenly King Hall would let an Outer Guardian cultivate an Entry Qi inheritance, explaining that he had reached the fourth rank but lacked a cultivation art.
• Xuan Cheng Daoren explained the duties and benefits of Outer Guardians, including earning Dao Merit to exchange for teachings and other rewards.
• Xuan Cheng Daoren offered Zhang Yuan his family-inherited Righteous Qi Art in return for one future favor, and Zhang Yuan accepted on the condition that it would not require him to violate his principles.
• Zhang Yuan swore before the Heavenly King's statue not to pass on the art, then received the rare Righteous Qi Art manual from Xuan Cheng Daoren.
• Xuan Cheng Daoren told Zhang Yuan that the offer was separate from temple service, but Zhang Yuan chose to serve as a Guardian of Heavenly King Hall.

Zhang Yuan rented a residence near Central Ruins despite learning that its landlord had fled a dispute with the Martial Might Gate. After moving in, he studied the Righteous Qi Art and demonstrated the power of his newly mastered Fourth Order cultivation.

• Zhang Yuan searched for a home in Ruins City and questioned the broker about an unusually affordable residence.
• The broker explained that the landlord had fled a conflict with the Martial Might Gate, and Zhang Yuan chose to rent the residence for one month.
• Zhang Yuan signed the contract, paid the rent and commission, and moved his belongings into the residence.
• After settling in, Zhang Yuan studied the Righteous Qi Art and learned it could guide cultivation from the Fourth Order through the Sixth Order.
• Zhang Yuan struck a wall from ten paces away with projected palm force, leaving a clear palm print.

Zhang Yuan continued cultivating the Righteous Qi Art and used his Heavenly King Hall status to defuse a confrontation with Martial Might Gate. After the encounter, he settled in to cultivate at home and planned to remain there for several years.

• Zhang Yuan finished a night of cultivating the Righteous Qi Art, increasing his Innate True Qi by nearly fifty percent.
• Yang Lang and Martial Might Gate men confronted Zhang Yuan at his courtyard, but Yang Lang grew cautious after Zhang Yuan identified himself as Zhao Yun, an Outer Guardian of Heavenly King Hall.
• Zhang Yuan paid the regulation fee and told Yang Lang that the dispute with the landlord had nothing to do with him.
• Yang Lang apologized and left with his men, and Zhang Yuan planted his Dao Flag on the roof as an identity marker and message anchor for Heavenly King Hall.
• Zhang Yuan stayed home in the following days to cultivate the Righteous Qi Art and work on opening his meridians and tempering his body.

Zhang Yuan broke through the blockage in his left hand and awakened the Divine Treasury Art, a secret method for wielding and restoring the Crimson Blood Blade. He could not reveal another mural, but left the Quiet Room with a new way to nurture the divine weapon.

• Zhang Yuan forced Innate True Qi through the final blockage in his left arm, completing the circulation into his left hand.
• The Crimson Blood Blade resonated with his qi, and a remembered mural flooded Zhang Yuan’s consciousness with information about the Divine Treasury Art.
• The Crimson Blood Blade moved into Zhang Yuan’s dantian, where he used the new art to summon it with Blood Light and return it to his qi sea without spending Essence Blood.
• Zhang Yuan learned that the Divine Treasury Art could guide him in restoring the Crimson Blood Blade and potentially nurturing it as his life-bound divine weapon.
• Zhang Yuan tried to reveal a second mural but failed, so he stopped and was satisfied with his breakthrough.

Zhang Yuan returned to West Mountain Village and found his old home ruined by the conflict between the True Martial Sect and the Fierce Tiger Gang. He tested the Dragon Carp Armor in the Long Sky River and discovered its true strength as water gear that let him swim swiftly and blend into the river.

• Zhang Yuan surveyed the ruined West Mountain Village and met Old Man Kou, who told him that Qu Hong had been killed by a Fourth Order Martial Artist from the Fierce Tiger Gang.
• Old Man Kou said he planned to move to the Outer Ruins, and Zhang Yuan watched him leave before heading to his hidden safe house.
• Zhang Yuan used True Qi to unfold the Dragon Carp Armor across his body and found that it fit lightly without restricting his movements.
• Zhang Yuan dove into the Long Sky River and found that the armor repelled the cold water and helped him swim with ease.
• Zhang Yuan activated Water Profound Understanding and swam at remarkable speed, while the armor's scales turned nearly invisible and let fish swim beside him unnoticed.
• Zhang Yuan realized the Dragon Carp Armor was designed for travel through water rather than combat and defense.

Zhang Yuan attended his first Heavenly King Hall Outer Hall Guardians’ monthly meeting, where he met the other Guardians and watched them divide up missions. After the meeting ended, Xuan Yong Daoren asked him to stay behind.

• After returning to Ruins City, Zhang Yuan found a letter talisman summoning him to the Outer Hall meeting at Spring Breeze Pavilion.
• Zhang Yuan met the Outer Hall Guardians, and Xuan Yong Daoren introduced him as the newly promoted Guardian Zhao Yun.
• Xun Lingling invited Zhang Yuan to join an aberration extermination mission, but he refused, drawing hostile looks from her admirers.
• Xuan Yong Daoren reported the Outer Hall’s affairs and presented three aberration missions, which the Guardians discussed and accepted among themselves.
• As Zhang Yuan prepared to leave after the meeting, Xuan Yong Daoren asked him to stay behind.

Zhang Yuan arrived at Qiu Family Village to investigate reports of strange entities and learned that eerie events had begun in the ancestral hall before dogs were found drained of blood. When a new disturbance arose at Qiu Lao Wu’s home, Zhang Yuan approached with the greyhound, which sensed a strange entity inside.

• Zhang Yuan rode to Qiu Family Village on an assignment from Xuan Yong Daoren to investigate and eliminate suspected strange entities.
• Qiu San De welcomed Zhang Yuan and described candles going out, ancestral tablets falling, eerie whispers, and more than ten dogs found drained of blood.
• A villager reported trouble at Qiu Lao Wu’s house, and Zhang Yuan ordered the villagers to stay back as he went to investigate.
• Zhang Yuan brought the White Fur Greyhound to the open house, where it growled at the sound of chewing inside and alerted him to a strange entity.

Zhang Yuan fought and killed the weirdness possessing a burly man at Qiu Lao Wu's house. After collecting Source Essence, he used a talisman to make the corpse shrink.

• Qiu San De sent the villagers away while Zhang Yuan approached Qiu Lao Wu's house and found a burly man eating a severed arm.
• The burly man transformed as Zhang Yuan activated his hosts and enhancements, then caught Zhang Yuan's saber and counterattacked.
• Zhang Yuan dodged the burly man's attacks and struck his back with Crimson Blood Palm, leaving a wound that could not heal.
• Zhang Yuan pursued the injured man, stabbed his eye, crushed his skull, and stomped his head apart.
• Zhang Yuan gained 103 Source Essence and placed a talisman on the corpse, which began to shrink.

Zhang Yuan slew the aberration terrorizing Qiu Family Village, rescued Qiu Lao Wu’s infant son, and returned to the Heavenly King Hall with a Fiend Infant. Chen Daoren weighed it and identified it as a Sixth Grade Fiend Infant, revealing that the village’s threat had been far more dangerous than expected.

• Zhang Yuan used a Fiend Condensing Talisman to preserve the slain aberration’s Killing Intent and form a Fiend Infant.
• Zhang Yuan searched Qiu Lao Wu’s home and found his infant son alive beneath a bed, sucking on a severed finger.
• Zhang Yuan handed the child to Qiu San De and gave him a silver note before riding back to Ruins City.
• Zhang Yuan returned his borrowed equipment and presented the Fiend Infant to Chen Daoren at the Heavenly King Hall.
• Chen Daoren weighed the Fiend Infant at eleven jin, seven liang, and three qian, then identified it as a Sixth Grade Fiend Infant.

Zhang Yuan learned that the Fiend Infant he brought back was a rare Sixth Grade specimen from a Jiang Grade aberration, earning him substantial Dao Merit. After Elder Lu took the Fiend Infant and granted him a bonus, Zhang Yuan chose to exchange his 153 Dao Merit for a top-grade weapon, hoping to replace his broken saber.

• Chen Daoren explained that Zhang Yuan's Fiend Infant was Sixth Grade and came from a Jiang Grade aberration, making Zhang Yuan's victory exceptionally remarkable.
• Elder Lu arrived, examined the Fiend Infant, and criticized Zhang Yuan for damaging its quality before apologizing and awarding him an extra fifty Dao Merit.
• Elder Lu took the Fiend Infant, while Chen Daoren recorded Zhang Yuan's total reward of 153 Dao Merit for the mission, the Fiend Infant, and Elder Lu's gift.
• Zhang Yuan chose to exchange all his Dao Merit for a top-grade saber because his previous weapon had been ruined in combat.

Zhang Yuan redeemed the top-tier General-Slaying Saber and learned that Dao Merit could be traded through Wang Xingyang. As he prepared to leave, Xun Lingling confronted him, and he bluntly told her he found her filthy.

• Zhang Yuan redeemed the General-Slaying Saber for one hundred Dao Merit and admired its powerful craftsmanship.
• Wang Xingyang approached Zhang Yuan and asked to buy his Dao Merit, explaining how trading it worked and offering a current rate of 109 taels of silver per point.
• Zhang Yuan declined to sell his remaining 53 Dao Merit for now, though he noted Wang Xingyang's services could be useful later.
• Xun Lingling stopped Zhang Yuan as he tried to leave, and he told her that he found her filthy.

After publicly rejecting Xun Lingling and driving off her angry admirers, Zhang Yuan hunted beasts for seven days to strengthen himself. The Black Giant Ant evolved to level four, giving Zhang Yuan the potential for overwhelming strength as he prepared for any retaliation.

• Zhang Yuan exposed Xun Lingling’s reputation and rejected her advances, prompting her to leave in humiliation.
• Xun Lingling’s followers confronted Zhang Yuan, but he challenged the brocade-clad Hong Cai to a life-and-death fight, and Hong Cai backed down when Xun Lingling told him to leave.
• Zhang Yuan fed his Source Essence to the Black Giant Ant and hunted beasts around Taiwu Mountain for seven days to increase his strength.
• The Black Giant Ant evolved to level four and gained Sixteenfold Strength, while Zhang Yuan determined he could currently use an elevenfold enhancement.

Zhang Yuan learned that Xuan Cheng Daoren had settled his dispute with Xun Lingling and revealed that he was her cousin, then returned home to find his landlord waiting outside. The chapter ended as Zhang Yuan worried the landlord planned to take back his house.

• Zhang Yuan opened another acupoint but worried that the slow Righteous Qi Art would prevent him from reaching the seventh tier in time.
• Xuan Cheng Daoren told Zhang Yuan that he had resolved the trouble with Xun Lingling and revealed that she was his cousin.
• Xuan Cheng Daoren said he was cultivating a good relationship with Zhang Yuan because of his fortune, and Zhang Yuan left with the promised mountain tea.
• A compatible genetic entity prompt appeared as Zhang Yuan left the Heavenly King Hall, indicating the lifeform was moving beneath it.
• Zhang Yuan returned home and met Jia Chen, his landlord, then asked whether he intended to break their lease and take back the house.

Zhang Yuan arranged for Jia Chen to seek mediation between the Jia Family and the Martial Might Gate in exchange for the family residence. After a Heavenly King Hall guardian accepted the commission, Zhang Yuan transferred the Dao Merit and registered the residence in his own name.

• Jia Chen explained that the Martial Might Gate was threatening his family after his son provoked them, and asked Zhang Yuan to mediate.
• Zhang Yuan declined to approach the Martial Might Gate himself but proposed that Jia Chen hire Wang Xingyang to find a Heavenly King Hall mediator, with the residence as payment.
• Jia Chen reported that Wang Xingyang had accepted the commission and later brought Zhang Yuan to complete the transaction.
• Zhang Yuan transferred fifty-three Dao Merit to Han Zixun and registered the residence deed in his own name.

Zhang Yuan attended a lavish gathering at Spring Joy Quarter after receiving an invitation from Han Zixun. He refused the courtesans offered to him, citing the Qian Yang Art, and the gathering continued with Han Zixun teasing him about Xun Lingling.

• Zhang Yuan spent a night drinking beneath the stars, then woke refreshed and continued cultivating over the following days.
• Zhang Yuan accepted Han Zixun's invitation and arrived at Spring Joy Quarter the next evening.
• Han Zixun welcomed Zhang Yuan as an honored guest and introduced him to the other attendees.
• Han Zixun offered Zhang Yuan his choice of two courtesans, but Zhang Yuan declined, claiming he cultivated the Qian Yang Art.
• Han Zixun sent the courtesans away and later teased Zhang Yuan about Xun Lingling as the guests resumed drinking.

Han Zixun hosted Zhang Yuan at an extravagant banquet and used a Western Desert Beauty’s performance to single him out before the guests. As Han Zixun escorted Zhang Yuan home, he revealed that he wanted Zhang Yuan to help him kill someone.

• Han Zixun presented a whole roasted ox and a Western Desert Beauty’s dance as the banquet’s grand feast.
• The Western Desert Beauty opened the ox, lamb, and chicken to reveal a quail, then offered it to Zhang Yuan on Han Zixun’s behalf.
• Zhang Yuan calmly split the quail and offered half to Han Zixun, who ate it before Zhang Yuan tasted the other half.
• The feast continued late into the night, and Han Zixun offered to escort Zhang Yuan home.
• Inside the carriage, Han Zixun asked Zhang Yuan for help killing someone.