Chapter Summaries

Yun Qing gave food to the crippled beggar and learned his name was Ye Hui, a fallen cultivator from the Heavenly Pivot Sect. When Ye Hui tried to secretly devour a prized herb in Yun Qing’s shop, Yun Qing covered the box with his hand.

• Yun Qing left steaming noodle soup for the motionless beggar, who later told him his name was Ye Hui.
• Aunt Chen visited Yun Qing’s shop, and Ye Hui struggled inside to buy wound medicine for five copper coins.
• Ye Hui recognized the three-hundred-year-old meridian-congealing grass in a wooden box and used his hidden power to devour it.
• Yun Qing suddenly covered the wooden box with his hand as Ye Hui tried to steal the herb’s essence.

Yun Qing caught Ye Hui devouring the spiritual energy of an immortal herb, broke one of his fingers as punishment, and made him work in the shop to repay its value. After Ye Hui left for the woodshed, Yun Qing recognized his rare spirit-devouring constitution and found him interesting.

• Yun Qing stopped Ye Hui from devouring the herb and demanded three hundred high-grade spirit stones in compensation.
• When Ye Hui admitted he could not pay, Yun Qing broke his left little finger according to Blackwater Town's rule for theft.
• Ye Hui offered his life, but Yun Qing refused it and told him to work as a menial in the shop until he had repaid the debt.
• Ye Hui accepted the arrangement and went to tidy the woodshed.
• Yun Qing discovered that the herb was an Origin-Congealing Immortal Herb and recognized Ye Hui's spirit-devouring body.

Ye Hui endured the pain of repairing his meridians while recalling how Ye Tianchen had defeated him and driven him from the Heavenly Pivot Sect. Yun Qing recognized the potential in Ye Hui’s Spirit-Devouring Body but chose not to teach him yet; the next morning, Ye Hui began helping around the shop.

• Ye Hui absorbed the remaining power of the stolen Meridian-Congealing Grass and remembered how Ye Tianchen had defeated him, branded his Spirit-Devouring Body an evil art, and left him ruined and hunted.
• Yun Qing recognized Ye Hui’s unusual Spirit-Devouring Body and considered teaching him, but decided against it for now.
• Yun Qing found Ye Hui asleep in the woodshed and shut the door to keep out the night wind.
• Ye Hui stood in the courtyard the next morning, and Yun Qing noticed the serpent-like nature of his eyes with his Double Pupils.
• Ye Hui took the well rope from Yun Qing and struggled to haul up a bucket of water with his weakened body.

Yun Qing put Ye Hui to work carrying water and cooking, then invited the wary servant to share breakfast at the table. After watching Ye Hui wash the dishes, Yun Qing wondered whether the young man would eventually rise from his misfortune or fade into obscurity.

• Yun Qing watched Ye Hui carry water despite the pain in his injured right leg, then told him to cook breakfast.
• Ye Hui prepared pork congee and fried eggs, impressing Yun Qing with his skill.
• Yun Qing ordered Ye Hui to sit and eat with him, and Ye Hui reluctantly joined him at the table.
• After breakfast, Ye Hui washed the dishes while Yun Qing considered what might become of him.

Yun Qing gave Ye Hui clean clothes and medicine, then warmed the water so he could wash without enduring the cold. Ye Hui remained suspicious of Yun Qing’s kindness, but the unexpected care left him deeply unsettled.

• After finishing the dishes, Ye Hui followed Yun Qing around the shop like a silent shadow.
• Yun Qing gave Ye Hui clean clothes and ointment and told him to wash.
• Ye Hui began to wash with cold water, but froze when Yun Qing appeared behind him.
• Yun Qing warmed the water with a spiritual flame and told Ye Hui to apply the ointment, set his broken fingers, and come to the shop for work.
• Ye Hui washed with the warm water, troubled by the possibility that Yun Qing had shown him genuine kindness.

Yun Qing let Ye Hui use precious healing ointment, then put him to work sorting herbs in the shop. When Ye Hui described his strange power as evil and vicious, Yun Qing silently took offense and smacked him on the head with a piece of Chinese yam.

• Yun Qing added ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones to Ye Hui's bill for heating his bathwater.
• Ye Hui reset his crookedly healed shin, applied Yun Qing's ointment to his injuries, and washed and dressed himself.
• Yun Qing asked Ye Hui to sort herbs, then asked whether swallowing meridian-congealing grass had improved his injuries.
• Ye Hui said Yun Qing had seen the evil power inside him that devoured spiritual essence and was intolerable to the world.
• Yun Qing took offense at Ye Hui's description and rapped him on the head with a piece of Chinese yam.

Yun Qing challenged Ye Hui’s belief that his innate constitution was evil and gave him a place as a relative in his shop. As Ye Hui began to feel safer beside Yun Qing, Aunt Chen revealed that vagrants were being seized for brutal labor at an illegal mine, and Ye Hui realized he had nearly been taken.

• Yun Qing asked Ye Hui who had taught him to call his innate constitution evil and told him that believing it made him a fool.
• Ye Hui continued sorting herbs in Yun Qing’s shop and felt some of the tension in his heart ease.
• When Blacksmith Zhao asked about Ye Hui, Yun Qing introduced him as a relative who had come to stay, surprising Ye Hui.
• Aunt Chen warned Yun Qing that vagrants were being seized and sent to an illegal mine, where two beggars had died.
• Ye Hui recalled that the yamen runners had first tried to seize him on the street.

Yun Qing confronted Ye Hui about sacrificing beggars to save himself, but responded by feeding him instead of condemning or punishing him. Ye Hui accepted Yun Qing’s kindness and ate with him, leaving their relationship unexpectedly warmer.

• Aunt Chen warned Yun Qing that Ye Hui seemed cold, then left the shop.
• Yun Qing told Ye Hui he knew Ye Hui had tripped the beggars so they would be taken to the mine in his place, and Ye Hui admitted it.
• Yun Qing asked Ye Hui if he wanted to eat, then went to the kitchen and made two bowls of noodles.
• Ye Hui cautiously ate the noodles Yun Qing served him, surprised that Yun Qing did not reject or punish him.
• Yun Qing pushed his unfinished noodles toward Ye Hui, and Ye Hui accepted and ate them.

Yun Tianluo decided to enter the mortal world and pursue his Dao by joining Great Xia. His request to join the Great Xia Ancient Dynasty left Xia Wushang and Xia Wujie thinking he intended to defect from the Yun Clan.

• In Langhuan Clear Void, Yun Huang watered a Beauty Poppy intended for Yun Tianluo and considered finding a Dao-attainment gift for Yun Qing.
• In Great Xia's Imperial Capital, Yun Tianluo joked with Yun Ruyi about Yun Qing returning from his mortal journey with children, then said he was ready to walk his own path.
• Yun Tianluo went to the Eastern Palace, where Xia Wushang and Xia Wujie discussed bringing mortal sects under Great Xia's control.
• Yun Tianluo asked to join the Great Xia Ancient Dynasty, prompting Xia Wujie to exclaim that he was defecting from the Yun Clan.

Yun Tianluo accepted Xia Wushang’s offer to serve Great Xia, while Yun Ruyi chose to follow her own path. In A Little Shop, West Street thugs demanded protection money and began stealing goods, prompting Ye Hui to seize one thug’s wrist.

• Yun Tianluo explained that he wanted to serve Great Xia and observe how the Human Emperor Way governed the world.
• Xia Wushang welcomed Yun Tianluo and offered him a post, while Yun Tianluo left Yun Ruyi free to choose her own path.
• Yun Ruyi decided to visit places untouched by blessings and left with Little Wolf Cub.
• West Street thugs barged into A Little Shop, and Yun Qing calmly paid their demanded dues.
• The thugs rummaged through the shop and stole its goods, so Ye Hui grabbed one thug’s wrist as devouring power gathered in his palm.

Ye Hui embraced his devouring power and nearly killed a thug looting Yun Qing’s shop before Liu Niang drove the bullies away. Yun Qing revealed that the thugs had taken a Spirit-Gathering Jade Pendant, while Ye Hui wondered why he had struggled for a lesser treasure.

• Ye Hui stopped a bully from looting the shop and resolved that his devouring power was not evil.
• Liu Niang entered, frightened the thugs into leaving, and invited Yun Qing to her wonton stall.
• Yun Qing suspected that Liu Niang had powerful backing but chose not to investigate her.
• Ye Hui told Yun Qing that one of the items the bullies took had strong spiritual energy.
• Yun Qing identified the stolen item as a Spirit-Gathering Jade Pendant capable of nourishing the divine soul and stabilizing the meridians.
• Ye Hui regretted that he had not simply disguised himself as a thug and robbed the shop.

Ye Hui left to buy soy sauce, intending to steal back the jade pendant taken from Yun Qing's shop, but found the thugs threatening a young woman and killed two of them with his devouring power. The surviving leader revealed that yamen officers had already seized the pendant, leaving Ye Hui empty-handed.

• Yun Qing gave Ye Hui clean bedding and let him go out to refill the kitchen's empty soy sauce jar.
• Ye Hui filled the jug and headed to the back alleys to reclaim the jade pendant stolen from the shop.
• Ye Hui found three thugs cornering a young woman and killed two with his devouring power.
• Ye Hui demanded the jade pendant from the surviving leader, who said yamen officers had seized it.
• Ye Hui confirmed the leader was telling the truth and realized he had failed to recover the pendant.

Ye Hui killed the people in the alley with his Devouring Power and nearly silenced Niu Niu, but Yun Qing arrived and forbade him from harming West Street’s neighbors. Back at A Little Shop, Yun Qing reassured Ye Hui before asking about the opportunity he had sought, and Ye Hui admitted someone else had taken it.

• Ye Hui devoured the lives of the men in the alley while Niu Niu watched silently.
• Yun Qing arrived with food and asked Ye Hui whether he had gotten the soy sauce; Ye Hui retrieved it and followed him back to A Little Shop.
• Niu Niu returned to the braised meat shop, and Yun Qing noticed her as he left the alley with Ye Hui.
• Yun Qing told Ye Hui that Niu Niu was Aunt Chen’s daughter and ordered him not to harm any West Street neighbors.
• Yun Qing said he would not blame Ye Hui for thoughts he had not acted on, then asked whether his raid had brought him the opportunity he wanted.
• Ye Hui admitted that someone else had taken the opportunity first.

Ye Hui failed to reclaim the Spirit Jade Pendant, but Yun Qing gave him a superior jade treasure to nourish his meridians. At the Blackwater Mine, Lu Bing seized the pendant and set out for West Street, while Ye Tianchen prepared to investigate the mine for the Heavenly Pivot Sect.

• Yun Qing teased Ye Hui over his failed attempt to take back the pendant, then gave him a jade ornament to nourish his reconnected meridians.
• Ye Hui thanked Yun Qing, and Yun Qing warmed the wontons before Ye Hui ate.
• Lu Bing sensed the spiritual energy of the Spirit Jade Pendant confiscated by the bailiffs and took it from them.
• Lu Bing learned the pendant had come from a bully in Blackwater Town and ordered the bailiff to lead him there.
• At the Heavenly Pivot Sect, Ye Tianchen stood with Lin Muyao, Su Wanwan, and Red Ji as disciples discussed his trip to investigate the Blackwater Mine.

Yun Qing grew accustomed to Ye Hui’s meticulous service, then faced the arrival of Lu Bing, a Qi Refining cultivator who came to investigate a Spirit Jade pendant. Lu Bing entered A Little Shop and eyed Yun Qing with a predatory interest, while Ye Hui moved to protect him.

• Su Wanwan asked Ye Tianchen to stop in Blackwater Town to visit an old friend, and Ye Tianchen agreed to investigate the nearby mine there before going to the Purple Dusk Empire.
• Ye Hui served Yun Qing with such precise attentiveness that Yun Qing recognized the behavior as the same “Gentle, Soft, Fawning, Upward” approach he had once used on Yun Huang, but decided not to scold Ye Hui.
• Bailiffs led Lu Bing to A Little Shop, claiming its shopkeeper could explain the origin of a Spirit Jade pendant.
• Lu Bing entered the shop and inspected Yun Qing and Ye Hui, while Ye Hui stepped forward to shield Yun Qing.
• Lu Bing looked at Yun Qing with a filthy gleam and thought that, with training, he could become a peerless treasure.

Yun Qing toyed with Lu Bing after the cultivator tried to take him and Ye Hui, then secretly sent the encounter to Brother Huang. When Lu Bing ordered them seized, Ye Hui fought him despite his injuries, and Yun Qing flicked an abacus bead as Lu Bing prepared to strike.

• Lu Bing coveted Yun Qing and Ye Hui, and the bailiff claimed they were brothers to persuade Lu Bing to take them to the mine.
• Yun Qing pretended to entertain Lu Bing’s offer and sent a recording of the encounter to Brother Huang through the Heavenly Origin Cauldron.
• Yun Qing laughed at Lu Bing, who realized he had been mocked and ordered his men to seize the brothers.
• Ye Hui drove back the bailiffs, but Lu Bing struck him with spiritual power and injured his newly reconnected meridians.
• Ye Hui attacked Lu Bing with a carving knife, and Lu Bing prepared a palm strike as Yun Qing flicked an abacus bead.

Ye Hui devoured Lu Bing and the constables after Yun Qing subdued them, then cleaned the shop while the neighbors calmly offered help. In the Heavenly Origin Continent, Yun Huang watched an image of the incident, destroyed Lu Bing’s remnant soul, and reflected that Yun Qing might soon abandon his mortal disguise.

• Yun Qing used a bead to pin Lu Bing and the fleeing constables down, allowing Ye Hui to devour them all with his serpent phantom.
• Yun Qing asked Ye Hui to clean the shop, then apologized to the neighbors, who responded casually and offered to help repair the door and settle his nerves.
• Ye Hui restored the shelves and herbs while growing more awed by Yun Qing and the people of West Street.
• The Heavenly Origin Heavenly Dao showed Yun Huang an image of Yun Qing’s encounter with Lu Bing, and Yun Huang watched it to the end.
• Yun Huang annihilated Lu Bing’s remnant soul in the Netherworld and said Yun Qing might soon abandon his mortal disguise.

Yun Huang searched the ruined Chaos Sea for a Chaos Ancient Beast to give Yun Qing, but found only broken eggshells. After exhausting the sea and the Heavenly Origin Continent without finding the creature, he sent his divine sense into the Netherworld Ghost Realm, where he startled the Skeleton Emperor.

• Yun Huang dismissed the Heavenly Dao’s complaints about the Chaos Sea’s ruin and overturned the sea in search of a suitable gift for Yun Qing.
• Yun Huang found broken eggshells from a recently hatched Chaos Ancient Beast, but his search of the Chaos Sea revealed no trace of it.
• Yun Huang swept his divine sense across the Heavenly Origin Continent and then forcibly crossed into the Netherworld Ghost Realm.
• Yun Huang’s divine sense crashed into the White Bone Hall while the Skeleton Emperor was trading insults with Wang Hu, making the Skeleton Emperor recognize him.

Yun Huang searched the Immortal and Ghost Realms for the Chaos beast that hatched from the eggshell, slapping the Skeleton Emperor when he could not help. In Blackwater Town, Yun Qing anticipated trouble from the mine but put it aside to enjoy Ye Hui’s cooking.

• Yun Huang slapped the Skeleton Emperor twice and questioned him about an ancient beast cub bearing Chaos Aura, but the Skeleton Emperor denied ever seeing one.
• After searching the Immortal and Ghost Realms without finding the beast, Yun Huang resolved to search the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds and bring it to his elder brother.
• Yun Qing considered how the cultivators at the mine might investigate the deaths on West Street, then decided to accept whatever conflicts came as part of his Dao path.
• Ye Hui proudly admired his cooking before remembering his shattered dantian, broken Dao path, and living enemies, leaving him dejected.
• Yun Qing arrived for the meal, told Ye Hui to serve the food, and privately thought the boy was becoming an heir to the Yun family tradition of flattering his superior.

Ye Hui dreamed of a past in which he was tortured by True Person Hua and escaped Blackwater Town as it burned. The dream ended with him fleeing into the wilderness with Niu Niu, carrying the weight of Aunt Chen’s death and his own vengeance.

• Ye Hui fell asleep in the woodshed with the jade pendant beneath his pillow and dreamed of a Blackwater Town without A Little Shop or Shopkeeper Yun.
• In the dream, Aunt Chen rescued the injured Ye Hui and asked him to look after Niu Niu, but constables soon dragged him to a mine.
• True Person Hua discovered Ye Hui’s devouring power and tortured him, draining his blood and using his flesh to forge a treasure.
• Ye Hui escaped during a mine riot, but True Person Hua tracked him down and killed Aunt Chen while testing her treasure.
• As blackfire consumed Blackwater Town, Ye Hui showed immunity to the flames, rescued Niu Niu, and fled into the wilderness.