Chapter Summaries

After Xiao Ding and Xiao Li confronted Xiao Yi over Xiao Yan’s troubles, Xiao Yi knocked them unconscious and decorated their faces, leaving Xiao Yan stunned by the sight of a syringe from his past life. The Xiao Clan’s youths then tried to retaliate, but Xiao Yi’s traps and bizarre exorcisms turned their schemes into further humiliation.

• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li went to Xiao Yi’s courtyard to confront him, but he used syringes to put them to sleep and painted their faces.
• Xiao Yan found his brothers unconscious and saw Xiao Yi holding a syringe, which made him wonder how far Xiao Yi’s technology had advanced.
• Stories about Xiao Ding and Xiao Li’s painted faces shifted the Xiao Clan’s youths’ resentment toward Xiao Yi.
• Three Xiao Clan youths tried to throw livestock dung into Xiao Yi’s courtyard, but a net trapped them and rotten berries covered them.
• After strange disturbances haunted the youths’ homes, Xiao Yi performed exorcism rites that left the three youths exhausted and suffering diarrhea.

After Xiao Yan recovered, Yao Lao prescribed a diet and daily bug-catching to build his strength, while Xiao Yi discovered that Xiao Yan feared bugs but not snakes. Xiao Yi teased him about having snake children, and the chapter ended with Xiao Yan struggling to explain Xu Xian to Yao Lao as Xiao Yi went to buy ritual offerings, medicinal ingredients, and an alchemy furnace.

• Xiao Yu left for Jia Nan Academy, and Xiao Yan felt an increased urgency to cultivate as his body recovered.
• Yao Lao refused to give Xiao Yan pills and instead prescribed nutritious food and ten raw Vital Energy Bars each day.
• Xiao Yan struggled to catch a bright green bug in the grove, and Xiao Yi startled him with a snake that Xiao Yan barely reacted to.
• Xiao Yi showed Xiao Yan a large black beetle and concluded that Xiao Yan feared bugs but not snakes; Yao Lao found the idea interesting.
• Xiao Yi teased Xiao Yan about having snake children, and Xiao Yan called him Xu Xian before awkwardly explaining the reference to Yao Lao.
• Xiao Yi went to the Market District and bought ritual offerings, medicinal ingredients, and an alchemy furnace.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi spent years arguing, roughhousing, and cultivating together before Xiao Yi dragged Xiao Yan to a hidden cave, claiming a mysterious event was about to occur. The chapter ended with Yao Lao appearing in the cave and warily questioning Xiao Yi’s intentions.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi openly spoke their otherworldly language and brawled over which Ultraman was superior.
• The two boys continued their daily routines through the changing seasons and turned fifteen.
• Xiao Yi seized Xiao Yan and dragged him to a concealed cave, insisting that Xiao Yan’s fortune required him to be there.
• Xiao Yan found a prepared tea table, food, and a medicine-refining cauldron inside the cave.
• Xiao Yi invited Yao Lao to refine medicine there, and Yao Lao emerged from the ring to suspiciously confront him.

Xiao Yi used a mysterious incantation to summon an ordinary-looking old man into the cave, leaving Xiao Yan stunned and Yao Lao terrified by the stranger’s unfathomable presence. The old man wondered which little realm he had arrived in.

• Xiao Yi refused to explain his plan, and Yao Lao reluctantly agreed to trust him.
• Yao Lao placed the Black Demon cauldron where Xiao Yi had indicated and began refining pills while Xiao Yan sat on a meditation cushion.
• Xiao Yi formed a strange hand gesture and chanted, causing the cave’s air, light, and shadows to warp.
• A gray-robed old man appeared in the cave and asked which little realm he was in.
• Xiao Yan was dumbstruck, while Yao Lao sensed that the old man transcended the rules of their world.

Yao Lao asked the mysterious old man for guidance, and the old man demonstrated his profound abilities by refining the ingredients in Yao Lao’s cauldron with an ordinary flame. He revealed Yao Lao’s painful past and praised his perseverance, leaving Yao Lao and Xiao Yan in awe as the refinement neared completion.

• Yao Lao respectfully asked the old man to offer him guidance, and the old man agreed.
• The old man used a pale yellow ordinary flame to gently refine the medicinal ingredients in Yao Lao’s cauldron.
• Yao Lao wondered whether the flame and the old man were truly ordinary, then recognized that the old man’s power might lie beyond his understanding.
• The old man recounted the cauldron’s history and exposed the betrayal and loss that had shaped Yao Lao’s past.
• Yao Lao and Xiao Yan were shaken by the old man’s insight, while the old man praised Yao Lao’s resolve and said the refinement was nearly ready.

Supreme Lord Lao gave Xiao Yan three mysterious pills and Xiao Yi three unusual gifts, then offered Yao Lao words of encouragement before departing. After examining the pills, Yao Lao asked who the senior was, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi identified him as Supreme Lord Lao.

• Supreme Lord Lao gave Xiao Yan pills labeled Body Tempering, Life-Saving, and Level-Up.
• Supreme Lord Lao gave Xiao Yi a pale-golden ring of light, a book titled Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes, and a gourd.
• Supreme Lord Lao encouraged Yao Lao to pursue his wishes despite the risks and regrets, then vanished.
• Xiao Yan collected the pills and called Yao Lao back to his senses.
• Yao Lao examined the pills, marveled at their unfathomable nature, and asked Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi who the senior was.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi answered that the senior was Supreme Lord Lao.

Yao Lao reflected on Supreme Lord Lao’s appearance and gained a new goal of improving his cultivation, while Xiao Yan learned how to use the three pills. After joking with Xiao Yi about his Angel Halo, Xiao Yan swallowed the Body Refinement pill but noticed no immediate change.

• Yao Lao decided to pursue cultivation with the hope of someday understanding more about the vast gulf between himself and Supreme Lord Lao.
• Yao Lao advised Xiao Yan to take the Body Refinement pill early, save the Life Preservation pill for mortal danger, and reserve the Level Up pill for a major breakthrough.
• Xiao Yi put the Angel Halo on his head, and Xiao Yan tried to activate it by chanting a Tightening Spell.
• Xiao Yi explained that the halo was an Angel Halo rather than Monkey Sun’s golden circlet, and it vanished from above his head.
• Xiao Yan swallowed the Body Refinement pill, but he felt no immediate change in his body or Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan discovered his Dou Qi had been purged, but Yao Lao explained it had been purified by the Body Tempering pill, prompting Xiao Yan to begin cultivating again. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi explored the Angel Halo’s interface and opened its Online Shopping menu.

• Xiao Yan found his dantian empty and panicked that his recovered Dou Qi had vanished again.
• Xiao Yi mocked Xiao Yan, but Yao Lao examined him and explained that the Body Tempering pill had purified his Dou Qi as an impurity.
• Xiao Yan sensed new vitality in his body, resolved to regain his strength before the clan’s test, and began cultivating from the basics.
• Xiao Yi returned to his courtyard and activated the Angel Halo’s interface, selecting traditional Chinese as its language.
• Xiao Yi dismissed the Storage option because it required gold and opened the Online Shopping category for Cultivation Manuals.

Xiao Yi examined his unusual treasures and discovered that the gourd contained a talking octopus capable of compressing ambient elemental power into pills. After learning how the gourd worked and that the octopus ate fish, he named it Paul before it returned inside.

• Xiao Yi browsed martial arts books and food seasonings on the Halo Treasure, then inspected Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes and found nothing unusual about it.
• Xiao Yi tipped the palm-sized gourd over and released a small, talking black octopus.
• The octopus introduced itself as the core of the Mysterious Yahe Luo Gourd and explained that it compressed unclaimed elemental power into pills.
• Xiao Yi recognized the pills could help him store energy for battle, and the octopus said it needed fish to work.
• When the octopus began to dry out and return to the gourd, Xiao Yi named it Paul, and it slipped back inside.

After cultivating through the night, Xiao Yan stabilized at the third stage of dou qi and worried that he would be mocked at the Xiao Clan's annual assessment. Xun'er persuaded him to attend with her, and they headed together toward the Martial Arts Arena.

• Xiao Yan cultivated through the night and reached the third stage of dou qi, while Yao Lao explained that the Body Tempering pill had transformed his meridians and made further pills unsuitable for now.
• Xiao Yan asked Yao Lao about the old immortal, and Yao Lao said the gap between them was greater than the gap between himself and Xiao Yan.
• Yao Lao struck Xiao Yan with a backscratcher after Xiao Yan complained about not getting one of his pills, and Xiao Yan fled the cave.
• Xiao Yan considered skipping the clan assessment because he feared being mocked for his cultivation level.
• Xun'er arrived and invited Xiao Yan to the assessment, and he agreed to go with her to the Martial Arts Arena.

At the Xiao Clan’s test, Xun’er displayed remarkable talent while Xiao Yan’s result drew ridicule. Xiao Yan answered the crowd’s mockery with defiance, leaving his standing among the clan unresolved.

• Xiao Yan entered the Martial Arts Arena alongside Xun’er and endured the crowd’s stares.
• Xun’er tested at the ninth stage of dou qi, rank high, astonishing the gathered clan members.
• Xiao Yan tested at the third stage of dou qi, rank low, prompting the crowd to jeer at him.
• The crowd urged Xiao Yi to beat Xiao Yan again, recalling his past attacks on him.
• Xiao Yan insulted the jeering spectators and declared that he would become a legend they were unworthy to serve.

After Xiao Yan tested at the third stage, Xiao Zhan planned an elaborate exorcism for the supposed Qi-Sucking Ghost, while Xiao Yi prepared the procedures. Xiao Yan broke through to the fourth stage overnight, but his peaceful visit with Xun'er ended when Xiao Ning challenged him to a spar.

• Xiao Zhan decided to use a heavy consecrated implement to exorcise the supposed Qi-Sucking Ghost possessing Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan returned to his courtyard, where Yao Lao teased him about acting like Xiao Yi, while Xiao Yi wrote an exorcism plan for him.
• Xiao Yan woke to find his Dou Qi had advanced from the third stage to the fourth, and Yao Lao let him take the day off.
• Xiao Yan visited Xun'er and told her the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• Xiao Ning interrupted them, insulted Xiao Yan's worthiness of Xun'er, and challenged him to spar, which Xiao Yan accepted.

Xiao Yan accepted Xiao Ning’s challenge despite Xun’er’s concern, then used movements resembling Xiao Yi’s Tai Chi to effortlessly deflect Xiao Ning’s attacks. The duel left the spectators shocked as they recognized Xiao Yi’s distinctive fighting style in Xiao Yan’s technique.

• Xiao Yan reassured Xun’er and agreed to fight Xiao Ning at the Martial Arts Arena.
• Xiao Ning attacked Xiao Yan with a powerful punch, but Xiao Yan redirected it and nearly sent him off the platform.
• Xiao Ning charged again with a flurry of punches, and Xiao Yan calmly deflected every attack with one hand.
• Xun’er and the spectators watched in amazement as the crowd recognized Xiao Yi’s fighting style in Xiao Yan’s movements.

Xiao Yan abandoned his defensive style and unleashed a strange, ferocious barrage that knocked Xiao Ning unconscious in the arena. The crowd fled from him, while Xun'er approached with concern and fear instead of the admiration he expected.

• Xiao Ning, frustrated by Xiao Yan's defenses, taunted him into fighting directly.
• Xiao Yan adopted a strange stance and cried out, startling Xiao Ning and the spectators.
• Xiao Yan rushed Xiao Ning, landed a heavy punch, and overwhelmed him with a flurry of attacks.
• Xiao Yan finished with a powerful blow that sent Xiao Ning off the platform unconscious.
• The crowd recoiled from Xiao Yan as he left the platform, and Xun'er worriedly asked whether he felt strange.

After Xiao Yan’s strange victory celebration left him mortified, he took Xun'er to a new snack shop to escape the embarrassment. They found Xiao Yi running the shop and fled again after discovering his secret ingredient was monosodium glutamate.

• Xiao Yan realized the Martial Arts Arena had emptied after his bizarre performance, and Xun'er told him he had acted like Xiao Yi.
• Xiao Yan awkwardly invited Xun'er to stroll through Wutan City and try Heaven Silkworm Potato, then hurried toward the shop when they caught its aroma.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er discovered Xiao Yi behind the counter, running the new snack shop.
• Xiao Yi showed them a bag of monosodium glutamate as his secret recipe, leaving Xiao Yan stunned by its appearance and origin.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er hurried away without trying the food, while Xiao Yi returned to cooking.

Xiao Yan watched Yao Lao adopt Daoist inner elixir cultivation and fortune-telling after learning from Xiao Yi, then received strange predictions about a love calamity and danger at the family gate. A few days later, the Misty Cloud Sect arrived in Wutan City with a powerful show of force.

• Xiao Yan returned to his room after parting from Xun'er and began preparing to cultivate.
• Yao Lao gave Xiao Yan a new Inner Elixir Heart Method based on Daoist classics from Xiao Yi.
• Yao Lao cast a divination and predicted Xiao Yan would become a Dou Di, face a fated love calamity, and suffer danger at his family's main gate.
• A few days later, crowds filled Wutan City's streets as the Misty Cloud Sect entered with banners and synchronized hoofbeats.

Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye followed the alluring aroma of Xiao Yi’s Heaven Silkworm Potato into his shop before heading to the Xiao Clan. Xiao Yi’s awkward claims of kinship drove them away, while talk of the engagement’s possible annulment and compensation left him imagining Xiao Yan’s furious reaction.

• Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye smelled Xiao Yi’s savory food and decided to visit his shop before attending to their business at the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yi greeted the Misty Cloud Sect guests enthusiastically, identified their connection to the Xiao Clan’s engagement, and claimed he was an adopted member of the clan.
• Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye left the shop without ordering after Xiao Yi’s overfamiliar remarks.
• Two customers discussed the Misty Cloud Sect’s likely formal annulment and speculated that the Xiao Clan might owe substantial compensation.
• Xiao Yi overheard the customers’ rumors and imagined Xiao Yan exploding in anger if Nalan Yanran demanded half the clan’s assets.

Xiao Yi rushed to warn Xiao Zhan that Nalan Yanran and the Misty Cloud Sect had arrived in Wutan City to break off the engagement. He urged Xiao Zhan to hasten the plan to distract Xiao Yan before the confrontation could provoke him into a rash act.

• Xiao Yi panicked over the possibility of Xiao Yan reacting violently to the broken engagement, closed his shop, and hurried toward the Xiao Clan.
• Elder Ge Ye suggested that Nalan Yanran and the Misty Cloud Sect party rest at an inn before visiting the Xiao Clan, and Nalan Yanran agreed.
• Xiao Yi reached the Xiao Clan ahead of the Misty Cloud Sect party and appeared suddenly in Xiao Zhan's study.
• Xiao Yi warned Xiao Zhan that Nalan Yanran and the Misty Cloud Sect were heading to the clan, then urged him to move up the plan to distract Xiao Yan.

Xiao Zhan wrestled with the coming Misty Cloud Sect visit and considered whether Xiao Yi’s plan might keep Xiao Yan from acting rashly. Meanwhile, Ge Ye learned bizarre rumors about Wutan City and Xiao Yi but chose to ignore them, leaving the engagement visit still set to proceed.

• Xiao Yi warned Xiao Zhan that Nalan Yanran’s visit was likely about the unresolved engagement, but Xiao Zhan ordered him to leave.
• Alone, Xiao Zhan feared the Xiao Clan could not protect its dignity and considered letting Xiao Yi distract Xiao Yan from the impending humiliation.
• Ge Ye received a scout’s report that the city’s clans had defeated the Black Sand Alliance and that Xiao Yan was rumored to be afflicted by a Qi-Sucking Ghost.
• Ge Ye learned that Xiao Yi was known as the Crazy Ghost and had staged an exorcism ritual, then crushed the report in disbelief.
• Nalan Yanran continued cultivating in the next room as Ge Ye dismissed the rumors and focused on carrying out the engagement-breaking order.

Xiao Zhan sent the Xiao Clan's younger members outside Wutan City for an ink spirit mushroom-picking contest, while Xiao Yan grew uneasy that the outing was meant to remove him from some hidden event. In the forest, Xiao Ning showed off his new sword as Xiao Yan watched.

• Xiao Zhan announced a mushroom-picking contest and sent the younger clan members out of the city with guards.
• Xiao Yi teased Xiao Yan during the procession, while Xiao Yan noticed Xun'er was absent and suspected his father had arranged the outing for a reason.
• The group reached a forest near Wutan City, where the youngsters scattered to search for ink spirit mushrooms.
• Xiao Ning showed off his refined-steel Wind-Splitting Sword and struck a nearby tree as Xiao Yan watched.