Chapter Summaries

Chen Wei intervened when Xu Zhiyan mistreated Lu Yuan, forcing the office commissioner to praise and protect him. Lu Yuan realized his daughter Xiao'e's friendship with Chen Xiang had earned him powerful backing, and Yang Chan invited Xiao'e to visit freely.

• Xu Zhiyan panicked when Chen Wei contacted him and claimed he had been trying to reward Lu Yuan for his hard work.
• Chen Wei told Xu Zhiyan to treat Lu Yuan courteously, and Xu Zhiyan immediately rebuked Wang Ping for insulting him.
• Xu Zhiyan gave Lu Yuan half a month's leave and ordered Wang Ping to take over the Thunder Department's difficult accounts.
• Chen Wei reassured Lu Yuan that the children could manage their own friendship, and Lu Yuan resolved to cultivate Xiao'e's relationship with Chen Xiang.
• Yang Chan praised Xiao'e and invited her to visit with Chen Xiang, giving her free access to Wude True Lord's residence.

After Lu Yuan returned home from the Chen Residence, Xu Zhiyan apologized and gave him lavish gifts, then revealed that he wanted Lu Yuan to ask Chen Wei for help with a growing shortfall in the Heavenly Court’s accounts. Lu Yuan realized the matter involved a grave crime but did not yet agree to intervene.

• Lu Yuan returned home without Xiao'e, who stayed at the Chen Residence for dinner and was to be escorted home by Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.
• Xu Zhiyan arrived at Lu Yuan’s home with gifts, apologized, and persuaded Lu Yuan’s wife to accept them.
• Lu Yuan accepted the gifts on his wife’s behalf, and Xu Zhiyan said Wang Ping would take over Lu Yuan’s old accounts assignment.
• Xu Zhiyan insisted that Lu Yuan call him Brother Xu, then privately admitted that an unresolved accounts shortfall was worsening ahead of the Heavenly Court Examination.
• Xu Zhiyan asked Lu Yuan to use his connection to Chen Wei to help, and Lu Yuan recognized that the shortfall in incense offerings could carry the death penalty.

Xu Zhiyan tried to enlist Lu Yuan’s help with a dangerous Treasury deficit, but Lu Yuan refused. When Chen Xiang escorted Xiao'e home, Xu Zhiyan manipulated the boy into promising to obtain a seal for the stalled accounts, leaving Lu Yuan terrified of the consequences.

• Xu Zhiyan admitted that the government office could barely cover its Treasury deficit, and Lu Yuan firmly refused to help him.
• Chen Xiang arrived at Lu Yuan’s courtyard with Xiao'e, escorted by elite Heavenly Soldiers, and greeted Lu Yuan as his uncle.
• Xu Zhiyan told Chen Xiang that Lu Yuan was troubled by an old case and stalled documents, prompting Chen Xiang to offer his help.
• Chen Xiang learned that an authoritative seal was needed to process the old accounts and promised that his mother could provide one.
• Chen Xiang reassured Xiao'e that he could handle the matter, while Lu Yuan feared the seal would expose him to execution.

Chen Wei discovered that a stolen Heavenly Court subsidy for Great Immortal Zhenyuan had led to a financial scandal, and planned to use it to help Lu Yuan rise in the Revenue Department. The chapter ended when Yang Chan noticed that Chen Xiang had awakened a Heavenly Eye like Yang Jian's.

• Chen Xiang brought Chen Wei an official document and asked him to approve it to help Lu Yuan, at Xiao'e's request.
• Chen Wei realized the document concerned Great Immortal Zhenyuan's subsidy, which Revenue Department officials had embezzled for years.
• Chen Wei decided to let Xu Zhiyan face the consequences and use the scandal to secure Lu Yuan a position in the Revenue Department.
• Yang Chan spotted a vertical line on Chen Xiang's forehead and recognized it as a Heavenly Eye like Yang Jian's.

Chen Xiang unexpectedly awakened a Heavenly Eye, and its uncontrolled first blast damaged Chen Wei’s Study. Sun Wukong set off to obtain Ginseng Fruits to stabilize Chen Xiang’s divine soul, giving Chen Wei a legitimate reason to visit Wuzhuang Temple and audit its accounts, while Yang Jian hinted that he knew more about the events behind the scenes.

• Yang Jian and Sun Wukong examined Chen Xiang after his Heavenly Eye appeared, and Yang Jian proudly claimed him as a son of Yang Family blood.
• Yang Chan found no Heavenly Eye on Chen Xiaochan, who became jealous while Chen Xiang bragged that he could protect her.
• Chen Xiang accidentally activated his unstable Heavenly Eye and blasted a beam through the Study’s roof and into the Nine Heavens.
• Sun Wukong warned that Chen Xiang’s divine soul needed nourishment and flew to Wuzhuang Temple to borrow Ginseng Fruits from his sworn brother, Great Immortal Zhenyuan.
• Chen Wei realized Sun Wukong’s trip gave him a natural pretext to audit Wuzhuang Temple’s accounts, and Yang Jian told him to proceed without overthinking the coincidence.
• Chen Wei suspected Yang Jian knew more about what was happening behind the scenes.

Chen Wei took Chen Xiang to Wuzhuang Temple to seek Ginseng Fruit for his son's weakened divine soul and discuss the Revenue Department's embezzled merit with Great Immortal Zhenyuan. Chen Xiang's innocent question about whether Zhenyuan was stronger than his Maternal Great-Uncle left Zhenyuan and Sun Wukong speechless as the visitors approached.

• Yang Jian advised Chen Wei to bring Chen Xiang to visit Great Immortal Zhenyuan, so Chen Wei took his son to Wuzhuang Temple without an escort.
• Chen Wei planned to ask for Ginseng Fruit to nourish Chen Xiang's divine soul and to discuss the rotten accounts involving Wuzhuang Temple's merit.
• On the way up the mountain, Chen Xiang disparaged Wuzhuang Temple's grounds and asked whether Great Immortal Zhenyuan was more powerful than his Maternal Great-Uncle.
• Chen Wei cautiously said the two elders each had their own strengths, but Chen Xiang concluded that Zhenyuan was weaker.
• Inside Wuzhuang Temple, Great Immortal Zhenyuan and Sun Wukong overheard Chen Xiang's question, and Sun Wukong hurried to excuse the boy's bluntness.

Great Immortal Zhenyuan set three tests for Chen Wei and Chen Xiang to earn a Ginseng Fruit, and the first tested whether Chen Xiang could make one fall naturally. Chen Xiang briefly succeeded through his pure-hearted wish, but lost the fruit and grew angry, leaving Chen Wei trying to stop him from damaging the sacred tree.

• Great Immortal Zhenyuan required Chen Wei and Chen Xiang to pass three tests, beginning with making a Ginseng Fruit fall without a Golden Striker.
• Great Immortal Zhenyuan transported Chen Wei and Chen Xiang to the Ginseng Fruit Tree, where Chen Xiang innocently asked a fruit to fall and caught it.
• Chen Xiang tried to bite the fruit, but it slipped from his hands and burrowed into the earth before returning to its branch.
• Chen Xiang's second request failed, and his Heavenly Eye beam could not shake the tree; Chen Wei warned him not to act rashly.
• Chen Xiang drew a magic axe and threatened to chop down the tree, so Chen Wei restrained him and told him to sit, close his eyes, and steady his mind.

Chen Wei calmed Chen Xiang’s rage beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree and realized the strange trial was helping his son master his temper and control his newly opened heavenly eye. As Chen Xiang meditated, three ginseng fruits detached from the tree and floated around him, leaving him to ask whether the living-looking fruits could be eaten.

• Chen Wei restrained Chen Xiang from chopping down the Ginseng Fruit Tree and suspected the surroundings were magnifying their emotions as part of Great Immortal Zhenyuan’s test.
• Chen Wei compared the elusive fruit to the immortal cranes in their courtyard and showed Chen Xiang that greed and anger made him act like the monsters he hated.
• Chen Xiang felt ashamed, put away his axe, and calmed his mind while Chen Wei recited the Pure Heart Daoist Scripture.
• Chen Wei realized that the trial was helping Chen Xiang control the dangerous force of his newly opened heavenly eye.
• Three ginseng fruits detached from the tree and circled Chen Xiang, who gently touched one and asked Chen Wei whether they could be eaten.

Chen Xiang chose friendship over eating the Ginseng Fruits, which transformed into azure energy and entered him. Chen Wei drank a mysteriously replenishing cup of tea, deciphered the carvings on the table, and realized the Revenue Department had violated an old agreement among powerful figures.

• Chen Xiang refused to eat the three Ginseng Fruits and said he wanted to raise them as friends, after which they turned into azure streams and entered his body.
• A stone table and a cup of tea appeared, and Chen Wei drank the tea twice as it repeatedly refilled.
• Chen Xiang spotted carvings depicting Sun Wukong toppling the Ginseng Fruit Tree and Zhenyuan capturing the pilgrimage party in his sleeve.
• Chen Wei saw a third carving showing Zhenyuan, Patriarch Bodhi, and other powerful figures meeting, and inferred they had negotiated benefits for Wuzhuang Temple.
• Chen Wei realized the Revenue Department had stopped those benefits and broken an agreement among the Heavenly Court, Spirit Mountain, and the earth immortals.

Chen Wei and Chen Xiang returned to Wuzhuang Temple after Great Immortal Zhenyuan stabilized Chen Xiang’s divine soul, then climbed the mountain path to meet Zhenyuan and Sun Wukong. Chen Wei pledged to investigate the Heavenly Court Revenue Department’s embezzlement and recover Wuzhuang Temple’s losses, while Sun Wukong interrupted Zhenyuan’s account of the old affair.

• Chen Wei and Chen Xiang returned to Wuzhuang Temple, and Chen Wei told his son to keep his powers sealed as they climbed the path on foot.
• Great Immortal Zhenyuan transported Chen Wei and Chen Xiang into the main hall, where Sun Wukong was waiting.
• Chen Wei thanked Zhenyuan and Sun Wukong for stabilizing Chen Xiang’s divine soul.
• Chen Wei declared that he would enforce the rules, punish those responsible in the Revenue Department, and recover Wuzhuang Temple’s stolen merit with interest.
• Great Immortal Zhenyuan explained that the Heavenly Court’s actions had damaged the innate spiritual root, but Sun Wukong interrupted and asked for sweeter fruit wine.

After leaving Longevity Mountain, Chen Wei and Chen Xiang were diverted from their route to the Heavenly Court into a mysterious realm, where a woman who knew Yang Chan invited them to meet her. Chen Wei’s communication talisman failed, leaving father and son at the mercy of the unknown woman.

• Chen Wei left Longevity Mountain with Chen Xiang after drinking tea with Great Immortal Zhenyuan and Sun Wukong.
• During their flight, Chen Xiang asked whether he had been too naughty and resolved to become a good child like his little sister.
• Chen Wei realized their Auspicious Cloud had been diverted into gray mist and drew his Yin-Yang Demon-Slaying Sword to defend Chen Xiang.
• A woman in the mist said she knew Yang Chan and invited Chen Wei and Chen Xiang to come closer.
• Chen Wei tried to send a message with his Voice Transmission Jade Talisman, but it failed, and a flower-covered path opened before them.

Chen Wei and Chen Xiang met Chen Wei’s long-lost father-in-law, Yang Tianyou, and mother-in-law, Fairy Yunhua, in a secluded mountain realm. The reunion turned into a tense invitation to eat Fairy Yunhua’s notorious tangyuan.

• Chen Wei cautiously led Chen Xiang up the mountain after warning him to run if danger arose.
• The smell of tangyuan made Chen Wei and Chen Xiang recognize Yang Chan’s cooking, and a scholar emerged from the pavilion to summon Chen Xiang.
• Chen Wei realized the scholar was Yang Tianyou, hurriedly greeted him as his honored father-in-law, and prompted Chen Xiang to call him Grandpa.
• Fairy Yunhua appeared with a pot of blackened tangyuan and warmly welcomed Chen Wei and Chen Xiang, who told her about Chen Xiaochan.
• Yang Tianyou ate the tangyuan with relish and ordered Chen Wei to try some, while Fairy Yunhua chided him for hesitating.

Chen Wei and Chen Xiang endured Fairy Yunhua’s black tangyuan before Yang Tianyou gave the children their courtesy names. Chen Wei realized that his in-laws’ survival and secluded refuge meant someone had altered the Heavenly Laws, and he agreed to use the names Chen Ping'an and Chen Xile.

• Chen Wei persuaded Fairy Yunhua that Chen Xiang’s shock at the extra tangyuan came from excitement, but she fed him another one herself.
• Chen Wei and Yang Tianyou ate the rest of Fairy Yunhua’s tangyuan, and Yang Tianyou bonded with Chen Xiang afterward.
• Yang Tianyou named Chen Xiang Ping'an and Chen Xiaochan Joy and Happiness, and Chen Wei accepted the courtesy names despite worrying about the Great Heavenly Venerable.
• Fairy Yunhua offered to speak to her brother at Lingxiao Palace, prompting Chen Wei to realize that Yang Tianyou and Fairy Yunhua had survived through an intervention that altered the Heavenly Laws.

Chen Wei and Chen Xiang visited Yang Tianyou and Fairy Yunhua in their secluded domain, where the grandparents gave the boy jade keepsakes before the family had to part. As they left, Chen Wei explained the Heavenly Laws and the Great Heavenly Venerable’s limits, while teaching Chen Xiang how people navigated the rules of the Three Realms.

• Yang Tianyou reconsidered Chen Wei and recognized that his son-in-law was capable and dependable.
• Fairy Yunhua gave Chen Wei two jade tablets engraved with “Peace” and “Joy” as gifts for the children.
• Chen Wei and Chen Xiang departed on an Auspicious Cloud as Yang Tianyou and Fairy Yunhua waved goodbye.
• Chen Xiang cried and asked why his grandparents could not leave with them, and Chen Wei answered that the Heavenly Laws prevented it.
• Chen Wei told Chen Xiang that even the Great Heavenly Venerable was bound by the responsibilities of his position.
• Chen Wei taught Chen Xiang that people should obey the Heavenly Laws, avoid leaving evidence if they broke them, and have strong backing if caught.

After Chen Wei returned from Longevity Mountain, Chen Xiang began studying Daoist scriptures in hopes of freeing his grandparents from the Heavenly Laws. Chen Wei told Yang Chan that her parents were alive and had chosen courtesy names for the twins, while Chen Xiaochan challenged her brother to find a more meaningful way to help them.

• Chen Xiang returned home quietly and went straight to his room to study Daoist scriptures, surprising Yang Chan.
• Chen Wei gave Chen Xiaochan a jade tablet and explained that her courtesy name, Joy and Happiness, had been chosen by her grandparents, who were confined somewhere.
• Yang Chan broke down in Chen Wei's arms after learning that her parents were alive and had sent gifts for the twins.
• Chen Xiaochan found Chen Xiang studying and learned that he hoped to rescue their grandparents by studying and cultivating.
• Chen Xiaochan argued that studying Daoist scriptures would not save their grandparents or the Three Realms, leaving Chen Xiang at a loss.

The Great Heavenly Venerable discussed Chen Wei’s meeting with Yang Tianyou’s family and the balance of power in the Heavenly Court with Taibai Jinxing. Meanwhile, the Southern and Big Dipper Star Lords plotted to turn Chen Wei’s investigation of missing merit into a trap that would provoke the gods against him.

• Taibai Jinxing told the Great Heavenly Venerable that Qingquan had met them, and the ruler revealed that Heaven’s will had guided Chen Wei to the hidden domain.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable asked whether he had been too stubborn in the past, and Taibai Jinxing defended his adherence to the Heavenly Laws.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable said the two young children could break the Three Realms’ deadlock, then asked whether a Constellations Faction existed in the Heavenly Court.
• Taibai Jinxing answered that no faction existed subjectively but that one perhaps existed objectively, acknowledging the Star Lords’ obstructive power without accusing them of rebellion.
• The South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords discussed Chen Wei’s growing influence and agreed that his investigation into the Revenue Department’s merit deficit implicated too many immortals to succeed safely.
• The South Dipper Star Lord proposed encouraging Chen Wei to intensify the investigation so the anger of the gods and Buddhas would eventually drown him.

Chen Wei ordered the Censorate to arrest Xu Zhiyan for embezzlement, and Ma Muzhi led a squad to seize him during a Revenue Department meeting. The chapter ended with Lu Yuan reflecting on how quickly Xu Zhiyan's fortunes had changed.

• Chen Wei issued an arrest warrant for Xu Zhiyan and assigned Ma Muzhi to carry it out.
• Xu Zhiyan led a meeting at the Revenue Department, praised Lu Yuan, and lectured his subordinates about their performance assessment.
• Ma Muzhi entered the hall with Censorate officials and announced that Xu Zhiyan's crimes had come to light.
• Xu Zhiyan claimed he was close to Chen Wei's family, but Ma Muzhi ordered him gagged and arrested him.
• After the Censorate took Xu Zhiyan away, Lu Yuan stood stunned and murmured, "Yesterday, gone never to return..."

The God of Wealth grew furious when he learned that Chen Wei’s Discipline Inspection Court had entered the Revenue Department without notifying the Finance Department. The South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords urged him to stay calm, but their provocation only drove him to set out for the Censorate to confront Chen Wei.

• The God of Wealth heard that Ma Muzhi had led a squad into the Revenue Department and resolved to demand an explanation from Chen Wei.
• The South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords arrived with a modest box of tea and complained about the Discipline Inspection Court’s strict rules.
• The Star Lords warned the God of Wealth not to clash with Chen Wei, while secretly trying to inflame his anger and test Chen Wei’s strength.
• The God of Wealth recognized the Star Lords’ motives but feared losing face if he backed down after they had witnessed his hesitation.
• The God of Wealth rejected their pleas, declared that the Finance Department feared neither Chen Wei nor the Censorate, and flew off toward the Censorate.

The God of Wealth gathered the Five Gods of Wealth to confront Chen Wei over his unannounced arrest of Xu Zhiyan. Chen Wei turned their arrival into a public welcome, leaving the God of Wealth to step onto the red carpet and discuss the matter inside.

• The God of Wealth summoned True Lords Yiling, Hanyuan, Zhaoning, and Jingning and led them toward the Discipline Inspection Court to demand an explanation.
• Chen Wei decided to avoid a direct clash and instructed Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to prepare a red-carpet welcome for the Finance Department dignitaries.
• Ma Muzhi ordered the inspection officials to put away their magical treasures, roll out a carpet, and greet the Five Gods of Wealth with music and banners.
• Chen Wei praised the God of Wealth as a supporter of the investigation into Xu Zhiyan, prompting the inspection officials to applaud and chant their thanks.
• Chen Jiugong advised the God of Wealth to accept the welcome and continue the discussion inside, and the God of Wealth descended onto the red carpet.

Chen Wei defused the Five Route Gods of Wealth’s anger over Xu Zhiyan’s arrest by claiming he had acted to protect their reputations, then revealed that Xu Zhiyan’s embezzlement investigation had uncovered a substantial surplus. He began arguing that the surplus should not automatically go to the Heavenly Treasury, leaving the God of Wealth curious about his reasoning.

• Chen Wei served the Five Route Gods of Wealth tea and courteously explained that he had arrested Xu Zhiyan without notifying the Finance Department to protect the elders from suspicion.
• The God of Wealth accused Chen Wei of disregarding the Finance Department’s authority, and Chen Wei described how Xu Zhiyan’s embezzlement had nearly provoked the Ancestor of Earth Immortals and the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
• Chen Wei persuaded the Five Route Gods of Wealth that his actions let the Finance Department avoid blame and preserve its reputation, easing their anger.
• Chen Wei disclosed that investigators had found a considerable surplus in addition to enough merit to cover Wuzhuang Temple’s losses.
• The God of Wealth insisted that confiscated assets belonged in the Heavenly Treasury, but Chen Wei argued that the rules should not be followed blindly and said the surplus should be handled differently.