Chapter Summaries

After settling his affairs with Shui Sheng, Zhang Yuan went to South Li Island to investigate Yan Wushuang’s possible ties to the Hongmin. He entered the island under a disguise and began exploring its market, where he found Wild Ginseng far cheaper than in the Xia Ruins.

• Zhang Yuan left Shui Sheng gold and silver seized from the Brothers Gang, then returned to Great Chen Island in disguise.
• Zhang Yuan watched Chen Qi’s strongholds for half a month but saw no sign of Yan Wushuang, so he sailed to South Li Island to gather information.
• At the dock, two Hongmin guards demanded five taels of silver for a month-long identity plaque, and Zhang Yuan paid them.
• Zhang Yuan explored the Hongmin settlement and its open-air market, then found a stall selling quality Wild Ginseng.
• The stall owner quoted fifty taels of silver for a root, and Zhang Yuan decided to buy it.

Zhang Yuan killed a Hongmin stallholder and the High Master after they tried to force him to pay an inflated price for Wild Ginseng. He slaughtered pursuers as he fled South Li Island toward the docks, where a burly warrior attacked him and Zhang Yuan dodged into an alley.

• Zhang Yuan refused to pay the middle-aged Hongmin stallholder’s inflated price for Wild Ginseng, and the stallholder summoned several Hongmin to threaten him.
• Zhang Yuan revealed his Fourth Order strength, but the High Master arrived and challenged him while black insects crawled toward him.
• Zhang Yuan killed the High Master and cut down more than a dozen Hongmin, including the stallholder, before taking Wild Ginseng and fleeing.
• Hongmin warriors sounded the alarm and pursued Zhang Yuan through the settlement, but he cut down those who tried to block him.
• A burly man attacked Zhang Yuan with a curved blade, and Zhang Yuan abruptly turned into a nearby alley to evade the strike.

Zhang Yuan fought his way through the Hongmin stronghold and raced toward the water beyond South Li Island. As powerful Hongmin fighters closed in, he pushed the Golden Grasshopper to its limit and neared escape.

• Zhang Yuan used Carefree Roaming and Surging Wave Palm to evade arrows and break through the Jing People Warriors surrounding him.
• Zhang Yuan carved through the warriors on a narrow path, leaving more than a dozen dead as he neared the island's edge.
• Two nearly identical Hongmin women attacked Zhang Yuan with daggers, but he dodged their strike and escaped their counterattack.
• Zhang Yuan slashed at the pursuing twins, then resumed fleeing when they narrowly avoided his blade.
• Zhang Yuan saw powerful fighters rush from the Earthen Building and raised the Golden Grasshopper's enhancement to twelvefold, racing toward the water.

After escaping the market massacre, Zhang Yuan turned back underwater to attack the Hongmin hunting him. He overwhelmed the Jing People Warriors and left them facing a one-sided slaughter.

• Jing Yue arrived at the stronghold and ordered the Hongmin to search for Zhang Yuan dead or alive.
• Zhang Yuan watched the search through the Red-Eyed Crow and decided to fight the Hongmin underwater instead of escaping.
• Zhang Yuan concealed his belongings, activated the Dragon Carp Armor, and destroyed two fast boats from below, killing and injuring their crews.
• Zhang Yuan fought the Hongmin underwater with the Edge Piercing Dagger, killing several warriors before they could respond.
• Zhang Yuan’s speed, armor, and ability to remain underwater turned the hunt into a rout, and the Jing People Warriors began to fear him.

Zhang Yuan slaughtered the Jing People Warriors pursuing him underwater until they lost their courage, then confronted the twin Jing Women who came after him. He prepared to finish the fight as they regrouped and faced him with hatred.

• Jing Yue watched bodies surface in the bloodied lake and learned that the Jing People Warriors had suffered a disastrous defeat.
• Jing Yue’s two daughters dived into the lake, and the Black-Robed Old Man urged him to let them face the danger; more Jing People Warriors followed to support their tribesmen.
• Zhang Yuan killed so many pursuers that the remaining Jing People Warriors fled, and he chose not to chase them.
• The twin Jing Women pursued Zhang Yuan, who used tenfold enhancements to rush one of them and force her to block his dagger.
• Zhang Yuan evaded the second sister’s counterattack, and the Jing Women regrouped as he shifted his dagger to his left hand, ready to end the fight.

Zhang Yuan lured two Jing Women into the deep water and trapped them with Water Control, but his dagger strike released black qi and revealed that something was wrong with his target. On shore, Jing Yue worried about the escaped enemy and questioned the Black-Robed Old Man about his daughter Yu Er’s marriage.

• As Jing People Warriors joined the pursuit, Zhang Yuan fled from Land Island and drew the pursuers, including two fourth-rank Jing Women, after him.
• Jing Yue watched the chase with growing unease, while the Black-Robed Old Man reassured him and a white-robed man arrived carrying a message from Yu Er.
• Zhang Yuan stopped in deep water and let the two Jing Women follow him down until they were isolated from the other Hongmin.
• Zhang Yuan used Water Control to imprison the two women, then stabbed one in the back with his Edge Piercing Dagger.
• Black qi burst from the Jing Woman’s back, and Zhang Yuan sensed that her body was unlike flesh and instinctively released his dagger.

Zhang Yuan fought the Jing sisters after they transformed into a massive Gu Serpent, while the Eel Pearl he accidentally swallowed merged with his true qi. Discovering that its power countered poisonous Gu, he wounded the serpent and struck as it tried to flee, leaving its fate unresolved.

• The Jing sisters' Concentric Heart Life-Protecting Gu transformed them into a black serpent made of Gu Worms after Zhang Yuan stabbed one of them.
• Zhang Yuan accidentally swallowed the Eel Pearl, whose energy merged with his Innate True Qi and condensed into a small pearl in his dantian.
• The Gu Serpent lunged at Zhang Yuan, but his Surging Wave Palm strikes blasted wounds into its body and revealed the Eel Pearl's power was especially effective against Gu.
• Zhang Yuan struck the serpent repeatedly, melting its Gu Worms until it abandoned its attack and fled upward.
• Zhang Yuan swam beneath the fleeing serpent and fired a streak of crimson blood-light through its tail and along its body.

Zhang Yuan killed the Jing Women twins with the Crimson Blood Blade, then slaughtered many Jing People Warriors as they retreated from the waters around South Li Island. He escaped to Great Chen Island, where he recovered his vitality and reflected on the dangers he had faced.

• Zhang Yuan used the Crimson Blood Blade to destroy the Gu Serpent and kill the Jing Women twins, Ling Er and Long Er.
• The Black-Robed Old Man suffered a bloody backlash, and Jing Yue ordered the Jing People Warriors to retreat after learning of the twins’ deaths.
• Zhang Yuan hunted down Jing People Warriors underwater as they fled, then stopped pursuing them when his vitality fell below one hundred points.
• Zhang Yuan retrieved his hidden items near South Li Island and returned to Great Chen Island with the Red-Eyed Crow’s help.
• Zhang Yuan ate Wild Ginseng to restore his vitality and reviewed the battle, recognizing that the Hongmin and their strange abilities were dangerous.

After defeating the South Li Jing Clan, Zhang Yuan used his Source Essence to advance the Divine Nest and Jade Mantis to Level 5, then discovered a high-value bounty notice bearing his likeness on Great Chen Island. He left the notice unresolved, facing the risk of being recognized and forced to flee again.

• Zhang Yuan spent 1,000 Source Essence on the Divine Nest and another 1,000 on the Jade Mantis, keeping the rest in reserve.
• Zhang Yuan cultivated in seclusion on Great Chen Island while the Crimson Blood Blade and Eel Pearl circulated together in his Qi Sea.
• After half a month, Zhang Yuan's Jade Mantis advanced to Level 5 and gained Intermediate Blade Esoterica, while the Divine Nest reached Level 5 and gained the ability to designate a permanent queen body.
• Zhang Yuan postponed choosing a queen body because destroying one would severely damage the Divine Nest and the choice could not otherwise be changed.
• Zhang Yuan went out to stroll through the market and found a bounty notice on his courtyard wall offering ten thousand taels of gold for someone resembling him.

Zhang Yuan learned that the South Li Jing Clan had placed a huge bounty on him and avoided capture when bounty hunters searched a teahouse. After deciding he could no longer pursue Yan Wushuang, he left Great Chen Island by boat to return to the Xia Ruins.

• Zhang Yuan saw the ten-thousand-tael bounty notice and heard teahouse patrons discuss the South Li Island killings and the search for him.
• Bounty hunters compared Zhang Yuan with their portraits, but he claimed to be Wei Yan and demonstrated his strength, prompting the scar-faced warrior to apologize.
• Zhang Yuan paid for the damaged teacup and table, then decided to abandon Yan Wushuang's mission because South Li Island was now heavily guarded.
• Zhang Yuan stayed on Great Chen Island for another half month, bought a small boat, and set off for the Xia Ruins.

Zhang Yuan returned from Great Dream Marsh and told Han Zixun that Chen Qi had betrayed him and that Yan Wushuang was with Hongmin on sealed-off South Li Island. Zhang Yuan left owing Han one hundred Dao Merit, while Han and Xuan Cheng were left to consider whether they could avenge Wan Yun.

• Zhang Yuan met Xuan Cheng at Heavenly King Hall, apologized for failing his mission, and waited for Han Zixun to arrive.
• Zhang Yuan told Han that Chen Qi had betrayed him and that he had killed Chen Qi; Han grew furious at the deception.
• Zhang Yuan reported that Yan Wushuang was on South Li Island with Hongmin, but the island was sealed off and he could not pursue them.
• Zhang Yuan offered to repay Han one hundred Dao Merit for Carefree Roaming, and Han agreed after Xuan Cheng's reminder that Zhang was a man of his word.
• After Zhang Yuan left, Han asked Xuan Cheng whether they could avenge Wan Yun, and Xuan Cheng said nothing escaped Heaven's net.

Zhang Yuan secretly returned to Great Chen Island and used Chen Qi’s abandoned hideout while preparing to resume his hunt for Yan Wushuang. He began surveilling South Li Island with the Red-Eyed Crow, but avoided spying directly on the Hong Clan Earthen Tower where he believed Yan Wushuang was hiding.

• Zhang Yuan returned to Great Chen Island after convincing Xuan Cheng and Han Zixun that he had abandoned the assassination mission, intending to make Yan Wushuang lower his guard.
• Zhang Yuan settled into Chen Qi’s unused hideout, cleaned it, changed his appearance, and listened for news around Great Chen Island.
• After failing to learn useful information about the Hongmin or Yan Wushuang, Zhang Yuan traveled toward South Li Island and hid his boat offshore.
• Zhang Yuan sent the Red-Eyed Crow to spy on the Hongmin settlement while he stayed underwater near the shore.
• Zhang Yuan avoided sending the crow over the Hong Clan Earthen Tower, where he believed Yan Wushuang was hiding, and continued his patient surveillance.

Yan Wushuang married Jing Yu in a grand Hongmin procession, despite his resentment and his secret grief over the dead Linglong Sisters. As the newlyweds traveled to worship the Black Dragon God, a blood-red attack pierced both their heads.

• Yan Wushuang prepared to marry Jing Yu, resenting the forced marriage and the Love Gu binding him to her.
• Jing Yu joined Yan Wushuang, and they set out in a lavish Tour of Joy procession through the settlement.
• The Hongmin crowds showered the procession with petals and cheers as it headed toward the shore for sacrifices to the Black Dragon God.
• Yan Wushuang remembered the women he had wronged and felt a sudden, unprecedented terror.
• A blood-red projectile pierced Yan Wushuang's protective barrier, killed him, and then pierced Jing Yu's head.

Zhang Yuan assassinated Yan Wushuang and Jing Yu during their wedding on South Li Island, then escaped with the Crimson Blood Blade. Jing Yue was left facing the deaths and chaos as Zhang Yuan sailed back toward Xia Ruins.

• Yan Wushuang and Jing Yu were killed by the Blood Light, and the Love Gu inside them devoured their bodies.
• A black crow retrieved the Crimson Blood Blade, while Jing Yue smashed the remains and searched the crowd for the assassin.
• The panicked Hongmin trampled one another as the killer disappeared, and Jing Yue spat blood onto the cloud carriage.
• Zhang Yuan surfaced in the waters near South Li Island, swallowed the Crimson Blood Blade, and returned to his hidden boat.
• Zhang Yuan rowed away toward Xia Ruins as warning horns sounded across the water.

Zhang Yuan returned to Xia Ruins and told Xuan Cheng that Yan Wushuang was dead, freeing Xuan Cheng from his Heart Demon and allowing him to advance to the Advanced Dharma Master Rank. He then explained the mission’s success to Han Zixun and claimed he had used a one-time mystic weapon to kill Yan Wushuang.

• Xuan Cheng’s Still Water Mindset stirred, and he met Zhang Yuan in a side hall after learning that he had returned safely.
• Zhang Yuan told Xuan Cheng that Yan Wushuang had fallen, and Xuan Cheng’s Heart Demon shattered as he advanced to the Advanced Dharma Master Rank.
• Xuan Cheng summoned Han Zixun, who arrived disheveled and mistook Zhang Yuan for someone who had died again.
• Xuan Cheng told Han Zixun that Zhang Yuan had completed his commission, and Zhang Yuan recounted how he had infiltrated South Li Island and killed Yan Wushuang.
• Zhang Yuan explained that he had used a special one-time mystic weapon to conceal the true nature of the weapon that killed Yan Wushuang.

After Zhang Yuan revealed that he had killed Yan Wushuang, Han Zixun thanked him and Xuan Cheng promised to arrange a reward. Two days later, a purple-robed elder of Heavenly King Hall imparted a cultivation art to Zhang Yuan, whose contents formed into a book in his Sea of Consciousness.

• Han Zixun thanked Zhang Yuan for avenging him, and Zhang Yuan said he had acted to obtain a cultivation art.
• Xuan Cheng told Zhang Yuan he would give him an answer within three days, while Han Zixun realized that Xuan Cheng had broken through.
• Zhang Yuan asked Han Zixun to keep Yan Wushuang's death secret, especially from people around him, and Xuan Cheng told Han Zixun to take responsibility for himself.
• Two days later, Xuan Cheng brought Zhang Yuan to meet a purple-robed elder in Heavenly King Hall's Main Hall.
• The elder sent spiritual light from the Heavenly King statue into Zhang Yuan's brow, imparting information that condensed into a cultivation art book in his Sea of Consciousness.

Zhang Yuan cultivated the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art after receiving it from the Heavenly King Hall, then heard that a Celestial was coming to Xia Ruins. As Flood Rain Season began, he stayed home and focused on mastering the art, leaving the rumors about the Celestial and the Yan Clan unresolved.

• Zhang Yuan spent three days comprehending the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art, a powerful cultivation art that Xuan Cheng had given him as compensation for his lost mystic weapon.
• Zhang Yuan bathed using his true qi to heat the water, then ate at a restaurant and overheard that a Celestial was coming to Xia Ruins, with the news traced to the Yan Clan.
• Zhang Yuan wondered whether the Yan Clan had invited the Celestial or was trying to associate itself with one, then returned home without learning more.
• Half a month later, Flood Rain Season arrived, and Zhang Yuan stayed in his residence with supplies while steadily cultivating the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art.

Zhang Yuan bought the neighboring house from Liang Yuanwai after Martial Might Gate drove Liang’s family into debt, borrowing the purchase money from Mage Xuan Cheng. Once the Flood Rain Season ended, Zhang Yuan set out for Taiwu Mountain to earn enough silver to repay the loan.

• Heavy rain flooded parts of Xia Ruins, but the drains cleared when local gang members removed the blockages.
• Liang Yuanwai told Zhang Yuan that Martial Might Gate had bullied his family and his son had lost more than ten thousand taels in a gambling trap.
• Liang Yuanwai offered to sell his house, and Zhang Yuan agreed to buy it for three thousand five hundred taels of silver.
• Zhang Yuan borrowed the money from Mage Xuan Cheng and completed the property transfer with Liang Yuanwai.
• After the Flood Rain Season ended, Zhang Yuan left for Taiwu Mountain with his bow, saber, and rations, determined to earn four or five thousand taels of silver.

After returning to the mountains beyond West Mountain Village, Zhang Yuan honed his movement technique and hunted with the Red-Eyed Crow while searching for valuable medicinal herbs. He found a rare ginseng growing in a tree fork, where a Black-Spotted Venomous Snake had been guarding it.

• Zhang Yuan surveyed West Mountain Village, then traveled into the mountains and gained a deeper understanding of Carefree Roaming.
• Zhang Yuan killed a black bear and sacrificed its carcass, receiving only 1.8 Source Essence.
• Zhang Yuan followed the Red-Eyed Crow to a herd of Wild Boars, killed one with his Iron Womb Bow, and fed its organs to the bird.
• Zhang Yuan and the Red-Eyed Crow searched the woodland for valuable medicinal herbs.
• Zhang Yuan found a ginseng plant with crimson fruits in a tree fork and killed the Black-Spotted Venomous Snake that ambushed him.

Zhang Yuan unearthed a roughly 130-year-old wild ginseng on Taiwu Mountain, then encountered an eerie creature made of enormous, thorn-covered vines. After cutting through its attacks and locating its true body, he launched a powerful saber strike at it.

• Zhang Yuan carefully dug an intact, roughly 130-year-old ginseng from a tree fork and stored it in his Medicine Box, planning to sell it to repay his debts.
• The Red-Eyed Crow warned Zhang Yuan of an unseen eerie presence, and he drew the General-Slaying Saber as a cold aura spread through the forest.
• Zhang Yuan retreated to lure the creature into attacking, then fought off waves of thorn-covered vines and evaded an underground ambush.
• Zhang Yuan advanced from tree to tree until he found the enormous Eerie Vine Sphere and sensed the danger it posed.
• Zhang Yuan struck at the Eerie Vine Sphere with a powerful saber blow, and it raised a net of thorny vines to block him.