Chapter Summaries

Mo Huaian and Zhang Yuan stayed at village chief Zhang Dashan’s home, where Mo tested the root bone of Zhang Dashan’s four-year-old granddaughter. The jade slip revealed that she had a Grade A Root Bone and was an Innate Dao Seed.

• Zhang Dashan invited Mo Huaian and Zhang Yuan to spend the night in his home after Mo found no aberrations in the village.
• Mo Huaian stepped in filth on the village road, and Zhang Yuan gave him a clean pair of Daoist boots.
• At Zhang Dashan’s home, Mo Huaian noticed the chief’s granddaughter and asked to test her root bone.
• The little girl began crying, but Zhang Yuan calmed her with a piece of crisp candy.
• Mo Huaian tested the girl with a jade slip, which revealed her Grade A Root Bone and Innate Dao Seed.

Mo Huaian discovered that Xiao Huan possessed rare Grade A Middle Bone Structure, but her family reacted with greed and suspicion when he offered to take her. Zhang Yuan bought Xiao Huan with gold and taught Mo Huaian to be wary of freely offering kindness, and they planned to take her away the next morning.

• Mo Huaian tested Xiao Huan and found that the four-year-old girl had rare Grade A Middle Bone Structure.
• Zhang Dashan tried to give Xiao Huan to Mo Huaian, while Xiao Huan's mother first resisted and then abandoned her for Zhang Yuan's gold.
• Zhang Yuan paid ten taels of gold, drew up a contract, and had Xiao Huan's parents press their fingerprints onto it.
• Zhang Yuan arranged for Xiao Huan to stay with her family overnight and told Zhang Dashan to prepare a clean room.
• Mo Huaian brooded over the family's behavior, and Zhang Yuan explained their suspicion and warned him not to offer kindness too freely.

Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian left Zhang Family Village after an Upper Scene Heaven envoy took Xiao Huan, then continued their journey through the countryside. While camping beside an official road, they encountered a fleeing man who recognized them and threw them a bundle, shouting for them to run.

• An Upper Scene Heaven envoy arrived and took Xiao Huan away after Mo Huaian had requested help with a Thousand-Li Letter Talisman.
• Villagers blocked Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian's path, begging Mo Huaian to test their children's aptitude, until the Gray-Toothed Lynx frightened them aside.
• Mo Huaian wondered whether he had handled Xiao Huan's recruitment wrongly, and Zhang Yuan explained that he should have offered her family a price.
• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian visited several more villages, where Mo Huaian easily dealt with a strange evil using a talisman.
• While they camped beside an official road in the rain, a fleeing man spotted them, threw them a bundle, and shouted for them to run.

Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian encountered a thief fleeing Huo Family Fort, and Zhang Yuan stopped him before the pursuers arrived. Zhang Yuan suspected Huo Zhennan would return with reinforcements, so he had Mo Huaian prepare a Killing Array at their campsite.

• A black-clad thief threw a bundle toward Zhang Yuan and fled, but Zhang Yuan cut off his legs and stopped him.
• Huo Zhennan arrived with martial artists from Huo Family Fort, questioned Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian, then apologized and took the thief and stolen goods away.
• Mo Huaian concluded the thief had tried to shift blame onto them, while Zhang Yuan warned that Huo Zhennan would likely return.
• Zhang Yuan decided they would wait at the campsite and told Mo Huaian to prepare a Killing Array instead of a defensive array.
• Mo Huaian took talismans and an array disk from his luggage and set up a temporary array around the campsite.

After torturing a thief who stole from Huo Family Fort, Huo Zhennan learned that the missing Jadeite Lion had been thrown to Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian. Huo Donghua authorized the Shadow Guard’s assistance, and Huo Zhennan rode out with elite warriors to pursue them.

• Huo Zhennan tortured the captured thief for the Jadeite Lion’s location, and the thief revealed that he had thrown it to Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian before dying.
• Huo Zhennan reported the theft and the two strangers to Huo Donghua, lord of Huo Family Fort.
• Huo Donghua agreed to let Huo Zhennan enlist the Shadow Guard and warned him that another failure would cost him his head.
• Huo Zhennan gathered elite warriors and rode southwest to pursue Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian.

Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian ambushed Huo Zhennan’s force with deadly archery and a magic array, devastating the riders. Huo Family Fort’s Shadow Guards then attacked, but Mo Huaian triggered the array’s sword qi and a protective jade pendant shattered as someone was sent flying.

• Zhang Yuan shot Huo Zhennan’s riders from the darkness, killing several, including two fourth-rank experts.
• Huo Zhennan ordered his remaining men to charge Zhang Yuan, hoping the Shadow Guards would defeat him.
• Mo Huaian activated a Killing Array that unleashed wind blades, destroying the charging horses and riders while Zhang Yuan continued firing arrows.
• Huo Zhennan survived the attack but pretended to be gravely wounded as he searched for the Shadow Guards.
• The Shadow Guards appeared and attacked Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian, but Mo Huaian activated the array’s sword qi, and his jade pendant shattered as a figure flew backward.

Mo Huaian and Zhang Yuan defeated the attackers, and Zhang Yuan helped Mo Huaian steady himself after his first time killing. While clearing the battlefield, Zhang Yuan caught Huo Zhennan’s attempted ambush, questioned him, and killed him; the Gray-Toothed Lynx then returned.

• Mo Huaian activated the Killing Array, killing more than a dozen black-clad attackers and driving the survivors to flee.
• Zhang Yuan pursued the fleeing enemies and let a few escape while ordering the Gray-Toothed Lynx to hunt them.
• Zhang Yuan gave Mo Huaian a flask of strong wine, which eased his distress over killing for the first time.
• Zhang Yuan searched the battlefield and struck down the intact corpses to make sure no one was feigning death.
• Huo Zhennan sprang up to ambush Zhang Yuan, but Zhang Yuan severed his arm and legs, questioned him, and killed him.
• The Gray-Toothed Lynx returned after Zhang Yuan finished clearing the battlefield.

After the attack by Huo Family Fort, Zhang Yuan recovered the Jadeite Lion and discussed whether to retaliate against the family with Mo Huaian. They left the scene together the next morning, and a merchant caravan appeared as evening fell.

• The Gray-Toothed Lynx returned with the Jadeite Lion, which Zhang Yuan recognized as Huo Family Fort's inherited treasure.
• Mo Huaian identified the Jadeite Lion as a sealed vessel and said a Grandmaster Ancestor in Upper Scene Heaven might be able to unseal it.
• Zhang Yuan offered to split whatever was inside the Jadeite Lion with Mo Huaian and suggested wiping out Huo Family Fort, but Mo Huaian hesitated.
• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian spent the rest of the night by a bonfire discussing martial arts and the Dao.
• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian packed their belongings and continued onward, spotting a long merchant caravan as evening approached.

Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian traveled through drought-stricken Yongzhou with a merchant caravan, where they witnessed the devastation and Mo Huaian rescued a dying man. After they sensed the drought was abnormal and planned to consult Fang Hui in Yong'an, bandits appeared near the caravan’s camp.

• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian entered Yongzhou and found worsening heat, dried-up water sources, and corpses along the official road.
• Caravan guards killed wild dogs feeding on corpses and brought a dying green-robed man to the caravan leader.
• Mo Huaian revived the man, advised giving him ginseng, and gifted the caravan leader a Peace Talisman.
• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian recognized that Yongzhou’s drought was abnormal and decided to discuss it with Fang Hui after reaching Yong'an City.
• The caravan camped near the road, and guards returned to report a large group of bandits to the southeast.

Zhang Yuan turned thousands of starving refugees away from the caravan without bloodshed, then learned from a rescued Danyang County chief clerk that Yongzhou was suffering a devastating drought and Danyang was under siege. The caravan turned back, while Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian continued toward Yong'an, three to five days away.

• Zhang Yuan stopped the advancing refugees with a warning arrow and his fifth-rank aura, and their bearded leader turned them aside.
• Zhang Yuan returned to camp, where the caravan learned the refugees had left and thanked him for preventing a battle.
• Mo Huaian questioned the rescued man and learned he was Danyang County's chief clerk, sent to seek aid after the county was besieged by tens of thousands of bandits.
• The chief clerk explained that months without rain had devastated Yongzhou, prompting the caravan leader to decide to retreat; the clerk chose to go with them.
• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian parted from the caravan the next morning and continued toward Yong'an City.

Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian investigated a deserted village near Yong'an City and found its untouched food stores and broken Household Guardian Deity shrine suggested something strange had taken the villagers. As ghostly flames surrounded the ancestral hall, Mo Huaian activated his formation and revealed the monsters closing in.

• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian entered an empty village to rest and found its ancestral hall damaged and deserted.
• Zhang Yuan discovered that the villagers had left behind abundant food, while Mo Huaian sensed strange aura in the village.
• An evil wind swept through the ancestral hall, and Zhang Yuan drew the Taotie Saber as Mo Huaian activated his array to suppress it.
• At night, ghostly flames encircled the ancestral hall, and Mo Huaian's formation revealed the strange monsters behind them.

Zhang Yuan fought off a swarm of strange creatures attacking the village, protected by Mo Huaian’s Guardian Spirit Light and gaining Source Essence as he slew them. After clearing the area around the ancestral hall, he faced a powerful Hell Hound and landed a second, strength-enhanced strike on its head.

• Zhang Yuan charged into the creatures swarming the ancestral hall as Mo Huaian cast Guardian Spirit Light to protect and empower him.
• Zhang Yuan used the Taotie Saber and Army Breaker Saber Technique to kill dozens of strange creatures and draw most of the swarm away from the ancestral hall.
• Zhang Yuan gained Source Essence from the slain creatures and roared, scattering the surrounding Baleful Intent and wicked qi.
• A Hell Hound attacked Zhang Yuan from the side, but he sensed it, struck its head, and knocked it back.
• The Hell Hound breathed dark-red fire, which Zhang Yuan scattered with the Great Stele Shattering Hand before he activated Black Giant Ant Power and struck its head again.

Zhang Yuan killed an aberration and found a rare Fire Chi Stone, which Mo Huaian said could aid his Six Harmonies Qilin Body. Mo Huaian suspected a Drought Demon had appeared in Yongzhou, so they planned to investigate before going to Yongan and notify Upper Scene Heaven.

• Zhang Yuan killed the hound-shaped aberration with the Taotie Saber, gaining Source Essence and driving the other aberrations away.
• Zhang Yuan found a crimson Fire Chi Stone among the ashes and gave it to Mo Huaian to identify.
• Mo Huaian identified the stone as a century-old treasure and advised Zhang Yuan to keep it because it could help him cultivate the Six Harmonies Qilin Body.
• Mo Huaian warned that the Fire Chi Stone suggested a Drought Demon might have appeared in Yongzhou and planned to report the suspicion to Upper Scene Heaven.
• Zhang Yuan agreed to let the sect use the stone as evidence, and Mo Huaian praised his strength as worthy of a Guardian War General.

Zhang Yuan refined Blazing Sun Force from the Fire Chi Stone and advanced his Six Harmonies Qilin Body while he and Mo Huaian investigated villages for signs of a Drought Demon. Near Yong'an City, they found starving villagers and tried to help a child, but the village panicked when the Grain Requisition Team approached.

• Zhang Yuan used Mo Huaian's guidance to refine Blazing Sun Force from the Fire Chi Stone, advancing his Six Harmonies Qilin Body by dawn.
• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian searched villages for clues about the suspected Drought Demon, but found no people or strange entities for several days.
• Near Yong'an City, Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian encountered villagers weakened by famine and drought.
• A woman begged Mo Huaian to save her child, and he revived the child with a talisman while Zhang Yuan provided water and flatbreads.
• The child's mother died, and a middle-aged villager grieved over her before hoofbeats announced the Grain Requisition Team's arrival.
• The villagers panicked and fled as the Grain Requisition Team approached, while the weakest among them remained where they were.

Mo Huaian and Zhang Yuan confronted a prefectural Grain Requisition Team as its soldiers looted a starving village. Zhang Yuan killed the entire force, then urged the villagers to flee before he and Mo Huaian left for Yong'an City.

• A Black Armor Knight ordered his men to search Tong San’s village for grain, and they attacked villagers who pleaded for mercy.
• Mo Huaian rode in and demanded that the soldiers stop, but the Black Armor Knight threatened him and drew his sword.
• Zhang Yuan killed the Black Armor Knight with a single saber strike, then rushed into the village and slaughtered the entire Grain Requisition Team.
• Zhang Yuan told Tong San and the surviving villagers to flee, then departed with Mo Huaian for Yong'an City.

Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian reached Yong'an and found a stark divide between the starving refugees outside its gates and the prosperous city within. Mo Huaian sought help from his senior uncle Fang Hui, but learned that Fang had been in Secluded Cultivation for three months, so the pair stayed at Clear Wind Temple to wait for him.

• Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian saw drought victims and beggars lining the road to Yong'an and wondered why the authorities had done nothing.
• At Yong'an's gates, guards checked Mo Huaian's Daoist Certificate and let him and Zhang Yuan enter after he explained he was visiting Fang Hui.
• Inside the city, Zhang Yuan and Mo Huaian found bustling streets with no visible refugees or beggars.
• Mo Huaian and Zhang Yuan reached Clear Wind Temple and asked to see Abbot Fang Hui.
• The temple manager told Mo Huaian that Fang Hui had entered Secluded Cultivation three months earlier, so Mo Huaian and Zhang Yuan settled at the temple to wait.

At Clear Wind Temple, Mo Huaian worried that a Drought Demon threatened Yongzhou while he waited for word from Upper Scene Heaven. Zhang Yuan entered secluded cultivation to break through the Six Harmonies Qilin Body, driving the Fire Chi Stone’s last fiery energy toward his Heaven Gate Acupoint.

• Mo Huaian told Zhang Yuan that his three Thousand Mile Talismans had brought no response and considered forcing Fang Hui out of Secluded Cultivation.
• Zhang Yuan persuaded Mo Huaian to wait three more days, then promised to return to the mountain gate alone if there was still no news.
• Mo Huaian agreed to wait and said he would cultivate quietly while Zhang Yuan began Secluded Cultivation.
• Zhang Yuan absorbed the Fire Chi Stone’s fiery power and tempered his body as Qilin Dark Markings and a qilin phantom appeared.
• The Fire Chi Stone crumbled, and Zhang Yuan endured its final fiery energy as he directed it toward his Heaven Gate Acupoint.

Zhang Yuan reached Great Accomplishment in the Six Harmonies Qilin Body, dramatically increasing his blood and qi and proving he could withstand a thirtyfold strength enhancement. After emerging from seclusion, he learned that Upper Scene Heaven had ordered Mo Huaian to stay out of Yongzhou’s affairs and wait at Clear Wind Temple for further instructions.

• Zhang Yuan broke free of a vision of being trapped in an eggshell and realized the Six Harmonies Qilin Body had reached Great Accomplishment.
• Zhang Yuan found his blood and qi had risen to 1669 and tested the Black Giant Ant’s enhancement, confirming he could withstand thirtyfold strength.
• Zhang Yuan changed clothes and left the cultivation Quiet Room after ending his test.
• Mo Huaian told Zhang Yuan that his seclusion had lasted five days and gave him a Talisman Letter from Upper Scene Heaven.
• Zhang Yuan read that Upper Scene Heaven had ordered Mo Huaian not to interfere in Yongzhou and to cultivate at Clear Wind Temple for half a year while awaiting instructions.

After Upper Scene Heaven ordered Mo Huaian to stay at Clear Wind Temple, Zhang Yuan set out to investigate Yongzhou’s drought and the suspected Drought Demon. In Yong'an City, he discovered dozens of suspicious Celestials, then left the city and summoned his newly advanced Gray-Toothed Lynx to continue his journey.

• Zhang Yuan agreed that Mo Huaian should obey Upper Scene Heaven’s order and offered to investigate Yongzhou while Mo Huaian cultivated at Clear Wind Temple.
• Zhang Yuan toured Yong'an City and noticed more than twenty young Celestials in a short stretch of street.
• Zhang Yuan searched the city through the night, found fifty or sixty Celestials—including two whose strength made him wary—and suspected they were connected to the Drought Demon.
• Zhang Yuan left Yong'an City the next morning and saw refugees gathered hopefully at empty porridge stalls outside the gates.
• Zhang Yuan headed northwest and summoned the Gray-Toothed Lynx, which had advanced to Level Four and become a Beginner Mystic Beast.

Zhang Yuan traveled through the drought-stricken countryside to Qing Shui County, where he found an abandoned city and fought a pack of aberrant stray dogs. As night fell, black mist and hostile presences began to gather around him.

• Zhang Yuan rode the enlarged Gray-Toothed Lynx toward Qing Shui County and crossed a countryside strewn with corpses and bones.
• Zhang Yuan reached Qing Shui County City at sunset and found its gates open, its river dried up, and its streets deserted and looted.
• Zhang Yuan searched the city from above with the Red-Eyed Crow but found no people, then encountered a pack of hungry, aberrant stray dogs.
• Zhang Yuan killed more than a dozen stray dogs with his blade and gained only a small amount of Source Essence.
• Zhang Yuan sensed hostile presences awakening after nightfall, and black mist filled the streets amid ghostly cries and howls.