Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuan destroyed the Eerie Vine Sphere’s decoy body, then used the Red-Eyed Crow’s enhanced vision and a wisp of Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Qi to kill the creature hiding underground. He gained 725 Source Essence, invested it in the Red-Eyed Crow, and found that the General-Slaying Saber had survived the attack with a subtle change to its blade.

• Zhang Yuan cleaved the Poison Thorn Vine Net and Eerie Vine Sphere apart, but received no Source Essence, so he realized the eerie creature was still alive.
• Zhang Yuan used the Red-Eyed Crow’s fourth-level vision to see through the mist and locate the creature approaching underground.
• Zhang Yuan poured Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Qi into the General-Slaying Saber and stabbed the hidden creature’s head, striking the jade-green orb.
• The creature’s vines burst from the ground, withered to ash, and yielded 725 Source Essence as the eerie aura and mist dissipated.
• Zhang Yuan invested the Source Essence in the Red-Eyed Crow and inspected the General-Slaying Saber, finding it undamaged but subtly changed.

After killing an aberration, Zhang Yuan dug into its underground lair and uncovered a huge cache of valuable medicinal herbs. He returned to the surface with dendrobium and cistanche, then summoned the Red-Eyed Crow to search the area further.

• Zhang Yuan dug through the soil and followed the aberration's slime-covered tunnel deep underground.
• Zhang Yuan found an underground cavern filled with Golden Silk and Silver Silk Dendrobium, then harvested every plant.
• Zhang Yuan excavated a huge, over-four-foot-long cistanche rootstock and recognized it as a precious herb useful for his cultivation.
• Zhang Yuan wrapped up the cistanche, took half a pack of dendrobium to the surface, and summoned the Red-Eyed Crow to search nearby.

After killing six bandits on his way out of Taiwu Mountain, Zhang Yuan returned to Ruins City with valuable herbs and presented a rare Tree-Top Ginseng to Xuan Cheng. Xuan Cheng agreed to exchange it for Ganoderma Ginseng Pills and clear Zhang Yuan’s debt, then hinted that another item in Zhang Yuan’s haul could fetch a very high price from Han Zixun.

• Zhang Yuan exposed six armed bandits hiding along the mountain path and killed them when they attacked.
• Zhang Yuan returned to Ruins City and sorted the herbs he had gathered from an aberration’s territory in Taiwu Mountain.
• Zhang Yuan showed Xuan Cheng a Tree-Top Ginseng, and Xuan Cheng offered to have Ganoderma Ginseng Pills made in exchange while wiping out Zhang Yuan’s debt.
• Zhang Yuan offered a bag of dendrobium to exchange for Dao Merit and showed Xuan Cheng another item, asking how best to use it.
• Xuan Cheng said Han Zixun would pay a very high price for the item, leaving Zhang Yuan eager to draw his blade.

Zhang Yuan traded his cistanche with Han Zixun and the Heavenly King Hall for a share of refined pills, then submitted Golden Silk Dendrobium for Dao Merit and exchanged most of it for Wind Cloud Nine Blades. After receiving the blade technique from Dharma Master Huifa, Zhang Yuan was approached by a short, plump Daoist.

• Xuan Cheng arranged for Han Zixun to buy into the cistanche, and Zhang Yuan, Han Zixun, and Xuan Cheng agreed to divide the refined pills and compensation.
• Han Zixun gave Zhang Yuan a hundred Dao Merit and three hundred taels of gold, and Zhang Yuan submitted his Golden Silk Dendrobium at the Outer Hall.
• Chen Daoren tallied Zhang Yuan's reward at five hundred and seventy-five Dao Merit.
• Zhang Yuan exchanged seven hundred Dao Merit for Wind Cloud Nine Blades and received its inheritance from Dharma Master Huifa.
• A short, plump Daoist approached Zhang Yuan outside the Law Transmission Hall and asked to speak with him.

Zhang Yuan refused Xuan Xin’s attempt to learn where he had gathered Golden Silk Dendrobium, drawing the Inner Hall Manager’s hostility. He arranged to expand and renovate his courtyard, then returned to Taiwu Mountain the next day.

• Xuan Xin asked Zhang Yuan for Golden Silk Dendrobium and offered to pay for directions to the place where Zhang Yuan had gathered it.
• Zhang Yuan refused, and Xuan Xin threatened him by invoking his influence in the Heavenly King Hall.
• Zhang Yuan left without seeking Xuan Cheng’s help and resolved not to be intimidated by Xuan Xin.
• Zhang Yuan hired a broker to join his two houses and renovate the enlarged courtyard within twenty days, paying a gold deposit.
• The next day, Zhang Yuan headed to Taiwu Mountain again.

Zhang Yuan made another trip into Taiwu Mountain to gather herbs and hunt, but discovered a skilled tracker following him. After catching and wounding the man, Zhang Yuan saw him take poison and die before he could reveal who had sent him.

• Zhang Yuan sold his gathered herbs, hid the silver, and left the renovation of his new home to the craftsmen.
• Zhang Yuan entered Taiwu Mountain for a third trip and used the Red-Eyed Crow to spot a tracker following him.
• Zhang Yuan pursued the tracker with his enhanced speed and overcame the man’s needles and smoke bomb.
• Zhang Yuan severed the tracker’s leg with the General-Slaying Saber and demanded to know who had sent him.
• The tracker took poison and died, and Zhang Yuan’s attempt to Transcend the corpse had no effect.

Zhang Yuan continued gathering herbs and completed his new residence while remaining wary of the force behind the Death Warrior who had attacked him. At an unusually large Guardian Monthly Meeting, Xun Lingling approached him and warned that Xuan Xin was looking to make trouble for him.

• Zhang Yuan killed the tracker who had pretended to be dead, then escaped the Corpse Qi released when the body exploded.
• Zhang Yuan gathered valuable herbs through the hunting season and stayed alert despite hearing no further signs from his enemies.
• Zhang Yuan finished renovating his residence in Ruins City and planned to practice the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art and the first three blades of the Wind Cloud Nine Blades.
• Zhang Yuan received a notice to attend the Outer Hall Guardian Monthly Meeting and arrived to find more than thirty attendees and three Outer Hall Managers, including Xuan Yong.
• Xun Lingling sat beside Zhang Yuan, told him Xuan Cheng had entered Secluded Cultivation, and warned that Xuan Xin was looking to make trouble for him.

At the Guardian Monthly Meeting, Xun Lingling tried to trade protection from Xuan Xin for Zhang Yuan’s Ganoderma Ginseng Pills, but he refused her. Xuan Yong announced that a party of Celestials would likely arrive next spring, and the chapter ended when Han Zixun visited Zhang Yuan the following morning.

• Xun Lingling warned Zhang Yuan that Xuan Xin might target him and offered to intervene if he gave her a bottle of Ganoderma Ginseng Pills.
• Zhang Yuan refused Xun Lingling’s demands, and she angrily left the meeting.
• Xuan Yong announced that a party of Celestials would likely arrive in Xia Ruins next spring and that the Heavenly King Hall planned a cleansing operation beforehand.
• Xuan Yong offered Outer Hall Guardians a selection of Dao Merit missions, while Zhang Yuan watched without taking one.
• Han Zixun arrived at Zhang Yuan’s home the next morning while Zhang Yuan was practicing his blade.

Han Zixun delivered the pills entrusted to Zhang Yuan by Xuan Cheng, then left for the Qian Capital to rebuild his cultivation and reach the fifth rank. As Zhang Yuan stayed in the Xia Ruins despite Xuan Xin’s threat, he began refining a Yang Nurturing Pill with the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art.

• Han Zixun gave Zhang Yuan eleven medicine bottles and their instructions, explaining that Xuan Cheng had entered the Heavenly Gate for Secluded Cultivation.
• Han Zixun told Zhang Yuan he was leaving for the Qian Capital to cultivate at the Han Family’s main branch and would not return until he reached the fifth rank.
• Han Zixun warned Zhang Yuan about Xuan Xin and advised him to hide in the Great Dream Marsh, but Zhang Yuan calmly acknowledged the warning without intending to leave.
• Zhang Yuan stayed in the Xia Ruins through five days of heavy snow and focused on cultivation while Xuan Xin made no move.
• Zhang Yuan took a Yang Nurturing Pill and used the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art to refine its powerful medicinal energy, transforming his Innate True Qi into Mixed Origin True Qi.

Zhang Yuan absorbed a Yang Nurturing Pill and strengthened his Mixed Origin True Qi, then used it to clear the heavy snow from his courtyard. Through the Red-Eyed Crow, he witnessed a rice shortage spark a crowd riot that was put down by armed men.

• Zhang Yuan fully digested a Yang Nurturing Pill, greatly increasing his Mixed Origin True Qi, and resolved to follow Xuan Cheng's instructions on medicinal pills.
• Zhang Yuan opened the Quiet Room to find the courtyard buried in snow and blasted a path through it with his Primal Celestial True Qi.
• Zhang Yuan practiced the Surging Wave Palm and melted all the snow in the courtyard.
• Zhang Yuan used the Red-Eyed Crow to observe residents rushing to buy rice amid rising prices and rumors of a harsher, longer winter.
• A rice shop clerk announced the store had run out of rice, and the angry crowd attacked him and threatened to riot.
• Several dozen club-wielding men charged into the crowd, beat people down, and drove the rest away.

Zhang Yuan calmly paid Yang Lang’s Martial Might Gate the demanded fees, while his ominous reaction left Yang Lang convinced the silver might be life-buying money. Yang Lang returned to Martial Might Ward and reported the encounter and handed over the silver to Hall Master Zhu Jun.

• Zhang Yuan watched Yang Lang’s men disperse through the neighborhood and saw them approach his residence to demand fees.
• Yang Lang demanded one hundred taels from Zhang Yuan for Snow Removal Fees and Street Pacification Fees, counting his home as two households.
• Zhang Yuan fetched two silver ingots and paid Yang Lang, who left with his subordinates despite feeling increasingly uneasy.
• Yang Lang led his men back to Martial Might Ward, unaware that a black crow circled above him.
• Yang Lang reported his encounter with Zhang Yuan to Hall Master Zhu Jun and presented the two silver ingots.

Zhang Yuan learned that Xuan Xin and the Li Family were behind Martial Might Gate’s pressure on him, then advanced his cultivation before running into Yang Lang again. Yang Lang approached him with another matter, leaving Zhang Yuan ready to hear what he wanted.

• Zhu Jun told Yang Lang to keep the silver and continue pressuring Zhang Yuan until Martial Might Gate could move against him with a just cause.
• Zhu Jun dismissed Yang Lang, privately viewing him as a future threat and a sacrifice in the plan.
• Zhang Yuan used the Red-Eyed Crow to overhear Zhu Jun and Yang Lang, confirming Xuan Xin was plotting against him through the Li Family.
• Zhang Yuan cultivated the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art, converted all his Innate True Qi, and brought Rank Five within sight.
• After a day of rest, Zhang Yuan went out to buy New Year goods and met Yang Lang, who said he had another matter requiring his help.

Wei Yan attacked Yang Lang and his men at Drunken Flower House, killing them all after revealing that the money to buy Yang Lang's life had already been paid. Wei Yan escaped into the snow, leaving the house in chaos.

• Yang Lang celebrated with his subordinates at Drunken Flower House after extorting silver from Zhang Yuan.
• Wei Yan barged into Yang Lang's private room and killed a subordinate with a single slap.
• Yang Lang attacked Wei Yan, but Wei Yan caught his punch, crushed his fist, and killed him.
• Wei Yan killed Yang Lang's remaining three subordinates and declared that he was settling his grudges.
• Wei Yan escaped through a corridor window as the Madam and the Drunken Flower House staff raised the alarm.

Wei Yan ambushed Drunken Flower House after killing Yang Lang and other Martial Might Gate disciples, then killed Zhu Jun, the sect’s Outer Hall Master. As Zhu Jun died in the snow, Wei Yan’s attack continued upstairs against the remaining subordinates.

• The Madam told Zhu Jun that Wei Yan had killed Yang Lang and the others while settling old scores.
• Zhu Jun prepared to kill the Madam to vent his anger and assert his authority.
• Wei Yan burst into the private room and ambushed Zhu Jun with a powerful palm strike.
• Zhu Jun’s Giant Spirit Palm failed to stop Wei Yan, who broke both his arms.
• Wei Yan struck Zhu Jun in the chest and sent him crashing through the floor to the street, where he died as his subordinates were slaughtered upstairs.

After killing Zhu Jun, Zhang Yuan learned that the fourth-rank Outer Hall Master had been the mastermind behind Yang Lang’s harassment and gained 127 Source Essence by absolving his corpse. As Zheng Lianhong led Martial Might Gate’s forces to investigate, Zhang Yuan slipped into the sect headquarters and reached Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion.

• Zhang Yuan disguised as Wei Yan and killed Yang Lang and his men at the Drunken Flower House, then waited for Martial Might Gate’s response.
• Zhang Yuan ambushed and killed Zhu Jun, absolved his corpse for 127 Source Essence, and found no valuable spoils.
• Zheng Lianhong learned that Zhu Jun and more than a dozen men had been killed, then set out with elite disciples and two fourth-rank experts to investigate.
• Zhang Yuan evaded the patrols and climbed onto the second floor of Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion while its guards remained unaware.

Zhang Yuan broke into Zheng Lianhong’s study to search for valuables and secrets, overcoming a sedative incense trap with the Eel Pearl. He uncovered hidden compartments and found a dark gold box, but removing it triggered a talisman that burned to ash.

• Zhang Yuan slipped into Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion after confirming through the Red-Eyed Crow that Zheng Lianhong had left.
• Zhang Yuan resisted the sedative Red Crisp Incense with the Eel Pearl and extinguished it.
• Zhang Yuan cut through a concealed iron bookshelf and wall plate to uncover a compartment containing medicine, books, and silver notes, then packed the books and medicine without taking the heavy jewels.
• Zhang Yuan dismantled the study’s furniture and floorboards, finding a second hidden compartment with a dark gold box.
• Zhang Yuan removed the box, causing a talisman beneath it to ignite and turn to ash.

Zhang Yuan robbed Zheng Lianhong’s study and fought his way out of Martial Might Ward, killing a Fourth Order expert and Martial Might Gate’s senior elder. Zheng Lianhong lost the trail and discovered that both hidden compartments in his study had been emptied.

• Zheng Lianhong questioned the kneeling deputy hall master at Drunken Flower House and learned that Zhu Jun was still missing.
• Zheng Lianhong sensed trouble, warned Martial Might Ward with a howl, and rushed toward the disturbance as Zhang Yuan fled the Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion with his stolen goods.
• Zhang Yuan smashed through a squad of Martial Might Gate disciples and killed a gray-robed Fourth Order expert with a punch and the Crimson Blood Divine Weapon.
• Zheng Lianhong found his trusted Martial Uncle dead and failed to locate Zhang Yuan in the snowy night.
• Zheng Lianhong returned to his study and discovered that its hidden compartments had been looted, then spat out another mouthful of blood.

After defeating Martial Might Gate, Zhang Yuan counted the riches he had taken from Zheng Lianhong’s lair and discovered valuable medicines, silver, and rare martial arts manuals. He turned his attention to a mysterious dark gold box, whose contents remained unknown.

• Zhang Yuan reflected on his attack against Martial Might Gate, where he had killed two fourth-rank experts and looted their boss’s lair.
• Zhang Yuan inspected seven types of pills and found three old Wild Ginseng roots, a jade ganoderma, and a piece of Yellow Essence among the hidden medicines.
• Zhang Yuan counted forty-seven thousand taels in Fu Ji Bank bills and checked them for secret markings.
• Zhang Yuan identified Great Stele Shattering Hand and Six Harmonies Qilin Body as rare-edition Entry Qi Realm manuals, while Tiger Seal Book was a military treatise he had little use for.
• Zhang Yuan examined the runes on the mysterious dark gold box he had found stored alone in the hidden compartment.

Zhang Yuan opened Zheng Lianhong’s sealed box and was attacked by the sinister mask inside, but the Crimson Blood Blade destroyed the invading evil power and brought the mask under his control. He learned the mask’s abilities and noticed that it seemed to be made from the same hide as his Treasure Map.

• Zhang Yuan cautiously opened the metal box and found a translucent, featureless mask beside a bronze mirror.
• When Zhang Yuan touched the mask, its reflection took on his face and its evil aura invaded his body, threatening to devour his soul.
• Zhang Yuan activated the Primal Celestial True Qi, and the Crimson Blood Blade destroyed the evil force while the Divine Nest Emblem flashed.
• Zhang Yuan learned that the Soul-Devouring Mask could copy a dying person’s appearance but accumulated the resentment of the souls it consumed.
• Zhang Yuan removed the cleansed mask and compared it with the Treasure Map, concluding that they likely came from the same piece of hide.

After defeating Martial Might Gate, Zhang Yuan hid his spoils and focused on cultivating while the sect weathered pressure from rival factions. By spring, he had opened more than half the acupoints in his body and reached the late Fourth Order stage.

• Zhang Yuan pressed the cleansed Soul-Devouring Mask to his chest, hid most of his spoils, and began studying the Six Harmonies Qilin Body manual.
• Zheng Lianhong sent Martial Might Gate’s hall masters, elders, and disciples searching for Zhang Yuan, but they found no trace of him.
• Rivals exploited Martial Might Gate’s losses, forcing Zheng Lianhong to withdraw into the ward and abandon several shops; the Li Family and Xuan Xin stopped targeting Zhang Yuan.
• Zhang Yuan spent the winter cultivating the Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art, using Yang Nurturing Pills to open more than thirty acupoints.
• After another month of bitter weather, spring arrived, and Zhang Yuan had opened more than half his acupoints and entered the late Fourth Order stage.