Chapter Summaries

He Pingsheng met Princess Qinghe and the Ninth Prince after testing a long-distance Teleportation Array, which he dismantled after learning the Great Liang Imperial Family regulated such arrays. He learned that Qiao Huizhu had become a Nascent Soul cultivator, then rejected an offer of Qinghe Commandery.

• Princess Qinghe and the Ninth Prince visited He Pingsheng at the Taixu Commerce Association and asked about the energy fluctuations.
• He Pingsheng admitted he had tested a fourth-grade long-distance Teleportation Array and said he had dismantled it.
• Liang Huaqiu noted He Pingsheng had reached the tenth layer of the Golden Core Stage but still faced two bottlenecks, then invited him to the Heavenly Pole Forbidden Ground.
• He Pingsheng declined because he wanted to visit his wife, and Liang Zhili revealed that Qiao Huizhu had formed her Nascent Soul about a year earlier.
• Liang Huaqiu asked whether He Pingsheng would accept Qinghe Commandery if it were offered to him, and he refused.

He Pingsheng offered Liang Zhili and Liang Huaqiu the Great Void Grand Mystic Scripture in exchange for accepting his conditions, including establishing a sect in the renamed Taixu Commandery and sharing the Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang. After the Ninth Prince hurried off to consult the Forefather, Liang Huaqiu explained that the Heavenly Pole Forbidden Ground was in the Chu Kingdom but belonged to the entire Cultivation World.

• Liang Huaqiu challenged He Pingsheng to test his strength, but He Pingsheng diverted her and the Ninth Prince with an outline of the Great Void Grand Mystic Scripture.
• He Pingsheng offered to teach Liang Zhili and Liang Huaqiu the complete technique if they became disciples of True Person Taixu and established the Great Void Sect in Taixu Commandery.
• He Pingsheng asked to learn the Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang, and the Ninth Prince proposed that he marry Liang Huaqiu to qualify for the royal secret art.
• The Ninth Prince took the technique outline to seek the Forefather's approval while Liang Huaqiu urged him to hurry before she entered the Heavenly Pole Forbidden Ground.
• Liang Huaqiu told He Pingsheng that the Heavenly Pole Forbidden Ground was in the Chu Kingdom but belonged to the entire Cultivation World.

Liang Huaqiu told He Pingsheng about the opportunities in the Heavenly Pole Forbidden Ground and showed him records linking He Asks and He Thinks to its temporal and spatial Daoist law origins, though their apparent age made the story puzzling. After she left, Xiao He and Ling Zhiwang returned from testing the long-distance teleportation array, and He Pingsheng asked whether Ling Zhiwang's shop stocked the remaining ingredients for Transformation-Breaking Pills.

• Liang Huaqiu explained that the Heavenly Pole Forbidden Ground held demon beasts, immortal spirit energy, demonic energy, and opportunities to comprehend Dao and break through bottlenecks.
• Liang Huaqiu showed He Pingsheng historical records saying two brothers obtained temporal and spatial Daoist law origins in the Heavenly Pole City Ruins and were later seen as disciples on Nine Thunder Mountain.
• He Pingsheng realized the records placed He Asks and He Thinks at nearly twenty-eight hundred years old, far beyond expected lifespans, and questioned whether the account made sense.
• Liang Huaqiu agreed not to visit the dangerous forbidden ground for now after He Pingsheng said he did not want to lose her, then teased him as she left.
• Xiao He and Ling Zhiwang returned with a rabbit after successfully testing the long-distance teleportation array.
• He Pingsheng asked Ling Zhiwang whether her shop had the ingredients he still needed to refine Transformation-Breaking Pills for himself, Xiao He, the others, and Ting Tong.

He Pingsheng refined supreme-grade Transformation-Breaking Pills and took Ting Tong to the desert so she could attempt to form her Nascent Soul. Ting Tong survived the tribulation but stayed small, while an unknown figure arrived after He Pingsheng left.

• The Royal Family Ancestor and Patriarch Zhenyu discussed trading Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang for He Pingsheng's cultivation technique, and the ancestor decided Liang Huaqiu had approached the wrong person.
• He Pingsheng enhanced twelve middle-grade Transformation-Breaking Pills into twenty-four supreme-grade pills.
• He Pingsheng took Ting Tong to a remote desert and gave her a supreme-grade Transformation-Breaking Pill to begin her tribulation.
• Ting Tong endured eight waves of heavenly tribulation, formed her Nascent Soul, and healed under the golden clouds of creation.
• He Pingsheng put the still-tiny Ting Tong into the Great Freedom Pearl and teleported away, then an unknown figure descended into the desert.

He Pingsheng took Xiao He from the Imperial Capital to Redstone Commandery to rescue someone, while Xiao He prayed for a handsome immortal to save her from bandits. At the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect, He Pingsheng went to find Qiao Huizhu, and Qiao Xiaoqiao was shocked to learn Xiao He had reached the tenth layer of the Golden Core stage.

• He Pingsheng gathered six sets of Teleportation Array materials and left the Imperial Capital with Xiao He for Redstone Commandery.
• While He Pingsheng inscribed Formation Plates aboard the Eight-Treasure Ship, Xiao He revealed she was praying for bandits to attack them so a handsome immortal could rescue her.
• He Pingsheng arrived at the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect, told Qiao Xiaoqiao he needed to see her sister urgently, and flew to Clear Feather Palace.
• Qiao Xiaoqiao offered to show Xiao He around the sect, then was stunned when Xiao He said she had reached the tenth layer of the Golden Core stage.

Xiao He visited the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect with Qiao Xiaoqiao, and her presence helped Daoist Wuqiong overcome his resentment and advance in cultivation. Meanwhile, Qiao Huizhu revealed that she had accepted the Great Liang Imperial Family’s cultivation technique on He Pingsheng’s behalf, leaving him unable to refuse the arrangement.

• Xiao He told Qiao Xiaoqiao how she had become He Pingsheng’s disciple and declined the invitation to join the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect because she needed to mind his shop.
• Qiao Xiaoqiao took Xiao He to Jade Tree Peak, where they encountered Daoist Wuqiong and she revealed that Xiao He had reached the tenth layer of the Golden Core Stage.
• After Xiao He and Qiao Xiaoqiao left, Wuqiong reflected on his past and advanced from the second to the eighth layer of the Golden Core Stage.
• He Pingsheng lamented that dual cultivation with Qiao Huizhu had not broken his bottleneck, and Qiao Huizhu encouraged him to keep seeking a breakthrough.
• Qiao Huizhu told He Pingsheng she had agreed to the Great Liang Imperial Family’s proposal and presented him with the Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang technique.

He Pingsheng and Liang Huaqiu completed their exchange of secret cultivation techniques, and He Pingsheng began preparing to rescue his master in the Qi Kingdom. After three months of cultivation, he achieved minor mastery of Heavenly Gang Three Transformations and could use its first form.

• Qiao Huizhu told He Pingsheng that Liang Huaqiu had given her the Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang, and He Pingsheng memorized it before the jade slip destroyed itself.
• He Pingsheng swore not to pass on the Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang, then gave Liang Huaqiu the Great Void Grand Mystic Scripture under strict conditions, and she swore to follow them.
• He Pingsheng decided to raise his cultivation before going to the Qi Kingdom to rescue his master, and Qiao Huizhu insisted on accompanying him to visit the Cultivation Alliance.
• He Pingsheng enhanced the Liang Emperor Heavenly Gang with the Treasure-Gathering Basin, producing Heavenly Gang Three Transformations and the Liang Emperor Possession Art.
• He Pingsheng chose to cultivate Heavenly Gang Three Transformations first and, three months later, reached minor mastery of its first transformation.

He Pingsheng took Xiao He back to the ruins of her childhood home, then parted from Qiao Huizhu and continued to the Qi Kingdom's imperial capital. After arriving, he sought a residence and was startled by the price of a large property beside two sects.

• He Pingsheng changed course to take Xiao He to her old home, where she found the cottage and fields overgrown and paid respects to her parents.
• Xiao He mourned the remains of her family's old ox before leaving her homeland with He Pingsheng.
• He Pingsheng and Qiao Huizhu parted in Dingxiang Commandery, agreeing to meet again at a mountain summit after their separate errands.
• He Pingsheng reached the Qi Kingdom's imperial capital after another half month and found lodging before seeking Daoist Long Yuan.
• He Pingsheng asked about buying a residence near sects and learned that a large property cost one million middle-grade spirit stones for a hundred years of use.

He Pingsheng bought a residence in the Qi Kingdom's Imperial Capital and began building a concealed escape route to rescue his sect. After completing five pairs of relay Teleportation Arrays, he returned to the capital and sought information from the When Will the Alchemy Shop, where he wrote the character "Lan" to identify himself.

• He Pingsheng bought a hundred-zhang residence near several sects, paying with spirit stones and fourth-grade Dao-Gathering Pills, then added fourth-grade sealing, warning, and defense formations.
• He Pingsheng showed Xiao He a zigzag escape route across three commanderies and set out with him to find hidden relay sites for six pairs of Teleportation Arrays.
• Over five months, He Pingsheng and Xiao He set up five pairs of Teleportation Arrays in concealed locations.
• He Pingsheng left Xiao He at the final relay site and told him to wait for a year before returning to the Liang Kingdom if he received no message.
• He Pingsheng returned to the Qi Kingdom's Imperial Capital, checked his formations, and went to the When Will the Alchemy Shop to learn about Long Yuan and his family.
• He Pingsheng wrote the character "Lan" in the shop's book as the one-eyed Golden Core shopkeeper watched.

He Pingsheng sought Jiang Lan’s help to rescue his sect members imprisoned in the Qi Kingdom’s Heavenly Prison, but learned that Long Yuan’s family could not be used as leverage. Jiang Lan agreed to join his plan and proposed taking the imperial princes hostage in the Scripture Lecture Hall.

• He Pingsheng sent a message to Jiang Lan through the one-eyed Golden Core cultivator and was brought to her hidden grotto-heaven.
• He Pingsheng asked Jiang Lan for help rescuing his captured master and fellow sect members.
• Jiang Lan revealed that the captives were in the Heavenly Prison and that Long Yuan had moved his family away years earlier.
• He Pingsheng explained his plan, and Jiang Lan agreed to help on the condition that she take part.
• Jiang Lan showed He Pingsheng a map of the imperial palace and proposed capturing the princes in the Scripture Lecture Hall as hostages.

He Pingsheng and Jiang Lan planned to seize control of the princes by impersonating Long Yuan, while weighing the danger posed by the spirit-transforming Third Patriarch guarding the capital. After Jiang Lan shared Long Yuan’s location and details about the Patriarchs, He Pingsheng abruptly realized something had gone wrong.

• Jiang Lan proposed that He Pingsheng control or kill Long Yuan, then impersonate him to enter the Scripture Lecture Hall and influence the princes.
• He Pingsheng returned to his new residence and completed the final Teleportation Array in its underground chamber.
• Jiang Lan gave He Pingsheng a Jade Slip containing Long Yuan’s residence and warned him about the Third Patriarch’s powerful divine sense.
• Jiang Lan explained that the Third Patriarch was only at the first layer of spirit transformation, and He Pingsheng said he could defend against his divine sense.
• Jiang Lan offered to accompany He Pingsheng inside a spatial Magical Treasure, and He Pingsheng suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Oh no!”

He Pingsheng regretted forgetting to give Qiao Huizhu an Immortal Talisman, then carried out Jiang Lan’s plan to impersonate and kill Long Yuan. The chapter ended with He Pingsheng slaying Long Yuan inside the Great Freedom Pearl.

• He Pingsheng worried that Qiao Huizhu might be in danger without the Immortal Talisman, then reassured himself that she could protect herself.
• He Pingsheng took Jiang Lan into the Great Freedom Pearl and headed toward Long Yuan’s residence to impersonate him.
• He Pingsheng entered Long Yuan’s estate disguised as Long Yuan and used Jiang Lan’s directions to reach his Great Hall.
• He Pingsheng blocked Long Yuan’s teleportation, struck his Sea of Consciousness with a Divine Sense Nail, and dragged him into the Great Freedom Pearl.
• Long Yuan blamed the Imperial Family for their past schemes, but He Pingsheng rejected his plea and killed him with a black divine spear.

He Pingsheng captured Long Yuan’s soul, took his place, and followed Jiang Lan’s guidance through the palace to the Scripture Lecture Hall. Surrounded by the princes and princesses, he considered how to seize them all at once, but a prince’s question interrupted him.

• He Pingsheng killed Long Yuan, captured his soul, and promised not to harm Long Yuan’s family unless they sought revenge, provided he could rescue his master and senior sister.
• He Pingsheng disguised himself as Long Yuan and set out for the palace the following morning while Jiang Lan guided him.
• He Pingsheng passed the palace guards and followed Jiang Lan’s instructions, including giving Eunuch Lu a reassuring response about the Seventeenth Prince.
• He Pingsheng entered the Scripture Lecture Hall and found twenty-one princes and princesses gathered there.
• He Pingsheng considered how to seize the young royals despite the open hall and its guards, as a prince asked which scripture they would study and whether the Emperor would attend.

He Pingsheng infiltrated Qi Kingdom’s palace, captured the emperor’s children, and demanded the return of his sect members. When the emperor brought in a Spirit Transformation cultivator to kill him, He Pingsheng’s defenses held, and he warned that another attack would cost more lives.

• He Pingsheng revealed his identity after poisoning and capturing all twenty-one princes and princesses, then survived the palace’s rapid lockdown and guards’ attacks.
• He Pingsheng accused the emperor of seizing his sect’s loved ones and demanded that every member of his sect be returned from prison within half an incense stick.
• The emperor went to the Third Patriarch, who accompanied him back and threatened to kill He Pingsheng with his divine sense.
• He Pingsheng blocked the Spirit Transformation cultivator’s attack with nine divine sense shields and had Jiang Lan throw out three princes’ corpses.
• He Pingsheng warned that another attack would get all the remaining captives killed and held an Instantaneous Teleportation Talisman ready.

He Pingsheng rescued Yu Ning and six others from the Qi Kingdom by trading them for hostages, then escaped through a Teleportation Array. The emperor sent the Third Patriarch after him and ordered the city searched for his accomplices.

• The emperor ordered He Pingsheng's imprisoned companions released after He Pingsheng promised to free the royal children once he reached safety.
• Qi Kingdom guards brought Yu Ning, Xu Kunlun, Zhao Ling'er, Tian Xiaoqing, Yuxuan, and two of Yuxuan's disciples to He Pingsheng.
• He Pingsheng threatened to kill more hostages, forcing the emperor to send the seven prisoners over, and He Pingsheng absorbed them into his Great Freedom Pearl.
• He Pingsheng released four princesses, then teleported away after releasing the twelve surviving princes beside the array.
• The emperor ordered the Third Patriarch to pursue He Pingsheng and sent troops to search the city and surround the Long Yuan Residence.

He Pingsheng led Jiang Lan and the others through a chain of teleportation arrays to escape the Qi Kingdom and reach Shangdang Commandery. After helping his rescued companions recover, he split from Jiang Lan’s conspicuous dragon ship and eventually landed at the mountain where he had arranged to meet Qiao Huizhu.

• He Pingsheng reunited with Xiao He and brought Jiang Lan and the others through six teleportation arrays, putting them several commanderies from the Qi Kingdom’s capital.
• Jiang Lan summoned her dragon ship, and He Pingsheng apologized to Zhao Ling'er, Yu Ning, Xu Kunlun, Yuxuan, and Yuxuan’s disciples for the decades they had spent imprisoned.
• He Pingsheng gave everyone Icefield Divine Dew and other pills, and Zhao Ling'er used an Origin-Repairing Pill to regrow her missing arm.
• The group crossed into Shangdang Commandery aboard Jiang Lan’s dragon ship, then left the conspicuous vessel flying on its own while He Pingsheng piloted his smaller Eight-Treasure Ship elsewhere.
• Several days later, He Pingsheng landed at the mountaintop where he had arranged to meet Qiao Huizhu.

He Pingsheng waited at Heavenly Talisman Mountain for Qiao Huizhu, but after half a year without word, he traveled to the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect and learned her Life Tablet remained intact. He headed back to the Cultivation Alliance to search for her, arriving at Heavenly Talisman Mountain.

• He Pingsheng sent Xiao He, Jiang Lan, Yu Ning, and the others to the Liang Kingdom's Imperial Capital while he stayed behind to wait for Qiao Huizhu.
• The Third Patriarch tracked the group to an empty Dragon Boat, then returned to the imperial capital to guard it.
• After another half year with no news, He Pingsheng reached the eleventh layer of the Nine-Toxin Golden Body and set out for the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect.
• He Pingsheng and Qiao Xiaoqiao checked Qiao Huizhu's Life Tablet, which remained intact, and He Pingsheng borrowed it to search for her.
• He Pingsheng traveled through Horsehead Mountain Market and reached the entrance to Heavenly Talisman Mountain.

He Pingsheng visited Heavenly Talisman Mountain to ask whether Qiao Huizhu had returned, but the sect’s cultivators provoked him and he forced their Patriarch to emerge. After learning He Pingsheng’s identity, the Patriarch feared the Imperial Family would destroy the sect for hosting him.

• He Pingsheng arrived at Heavenly Talisman Mountain and alarmed the sect by enveloping it with his divine sense.
• He Pingsheng asked the sect’s golden core cultivators whether Qiao Huizhu had returned, and the sect leader said they had not seen her.
• The sect leader threatened Qiao Huizhu, so He Pingsheng subdued the gathered cultivators with his divine sense and demanded to see their Patriarch.
• He Pingsheng shattered part of the Patriarch’s seclusion hall with a surge of divine sense, forcing the fourth-layer nascent soul cultivator to emerge and dismiss his kneeling disciples.
• The Patriarch recognized He Pingsheng as the man who had robbed the Imperial Family and killed five princes, then fell to his knees in fear for Heavenly Talisman Mountain.

He Pingsheng learned that Qiao Huizhu had never reached Heavenly Talisman Mountain and returned to the Great Void Sect to visit his childhood home. He left his abandoned courtyard in the neighbors’ care, hoping to preserve it as it was.

• He Pingsheng asked the Patriarch of Heavenly Talisman Mountain about Qiao Huizhu, but the Patriarch said she had never visited.
• He Pingsheng left Heavenly Talisman Mountain and flew toward the Great Void Sect, intending to visit his parents’ graves and Senior Brother Hao.
• He Pingsheng found his childhood home still standing and cleared the weeds from its courtyard.
• He Pingsheng told the curious neighbors that the courtyard was his home and offered them gold and silver to tidy it.
• He Pingsheng asked the neighbors to clear the clutter and install doors while leaving the house otherwise unchanged.

He Pingsheng gave the spirit-rooted Long Juanfeng a basic cultivation method and pills, promising to take him as a disciple if he reached the Liang Kingdom within ten years. When He Pingsheng caught the Beast Taming Immortal Sect’s crown prince and his companions desecrating Hao Yun’s grave, he killed the crown prince and forced the others to restore the headstone.

• He Pingsheng discovered that Long Juanfeng had a five-element spiritual root and learned that the Beast Taming Immortal Sect had rejected him for poor aptitude.
• He Pingsheng gave Long Juanfeng a basic cultivation method and Qi-Gathering Pills, then challenged him to find the Taixu Commerce Association in the Liang Kingdom within ten years to become his disciple.
• He Pingsheng bought offerings and set out to burn incense for his parents and find Senior Brother Hao Yun’s grave.
• The Beast Taming Immortal Sect’s crown prince and his companions dug up Hao Yun’s grave, hoping to find something He Pingsheng had left behind.
• He Pingsheng killed the crown prince when he insulted Hao Yun and threatened He Pingsheng’s family.
• He Pingsheng made the surviving youths put Hao Yun’s headstone back before allowing them to live.