Chapter Summaries

Su Mo watched Elder Du refine a Spirit Pill and realized that pill refinement resembled cultivation because both enacted the laws of Heaven and Earth. Elder Du invited him to try refining pills without a formula, and Su Mo began calculating how several herbs’ medicinal properties would interact.

• Su Mo used Elder Du’s token to reach Medicine Mountain and watched Elder Du refine a golden Spirit Pill.
• Su Mo studied the herbs’ changing medicinal properties and recognized pill refinement as a form of cultivation.
• Elder Du asked Su Mo to try refining pills, but Su Mo said he lacked a pill formula.
• Elder Du explained that Su Mo’s Way of Plants and Trees made formulas unnecessary and that formulas were shortcuts for outsiders.
• Su Mo placed several herbs in the Pill Furnace and began calculating their medicinal properties before infusing it with spiritual qi.

Su Mo learned pill refinement under Elder Du and eventually produced his first batch of Youth-Preserving Pills. Elder Du invited him to return to Medicine Mountain every morning, then watched him leave and thought of Le'er.

• Su Mo's first attempt to refine a Spring Passion Pill failed, and Elder Du explained that the pill was too difficult for a beginner.
• Su Mo tried refining Youth-Preserving Pills, ruined another furnace, and kept studying the medicinal properties until he succeeded at night.
• Elder Du praised Su Mo's talent, told him to come to Medicine Mountain every morning, and gave him the Youth-Preserving Pills to keep.
• Su Mo thanked Elder Du and left with the pills.
• Elder Du watched Su Mo depart and said Su Mo's alchemy talent reminded him of Le'er.

Su Mo learned to refine Youth-Preserving Pills under Du Pingsheng’s guidance, but his progress stalled because he lacked basic alchemy knowledge. Du Pingsheng told him to move to Medicine Mountain and devote himself to studying pill refinement.

• Su Mo told Chen Meiren he had watched Du Pingsheng refine pills, and Chen Meiren was surprised that an outsider had been allowed to observe.
• Du Pingsheng gave Su Mo a Jade Token bearing the name Yan Jingshu and the character for medicine, then had him refine more Youth-Preserving Pills.
• Su Mo made several dozen improved pills, which Du Pingsheng let him keep, and the two discussed the lifelong goals of alchemy cultivators.
• For a month, Su Mo refined pills on Medicine Mountain while Du Pingsheng watched and gave only indirect hints when he struggled.
• After noticing Su Mo’s progress had stalled, Du Pingsheng told him he needed to study alchemy fundamentals and instructed him to move to Medicine Mountain the next day.

Su Mo appeased the Dew Mountain disciples with Youth-Preserving Pills, then went to Medicine Mountain and began studying the Dao of Alchemy under Du Pingsheng. He asked to join the Sect’s Inner Sect selection, and Du Pingsheng told him to participate as a Medicine Mountain disciple.

• Su Mo told the Dew Mountain disciples he barely knew Chen Meiren and gave them Youth-Preserving Pills as thanks for guiding him before.
• The female disciples accepted the pills, forgave Su Mo over the previous incident, and warned him to stay away from Chen Meiren.
• Su Mo climbed Medicine Mountain, where Du Pingsheng gave him books to read and memorize instead of having him refine pills.
• After studying the Meaning of the Dao of Alchemy, Su Mo reflected on how alchemy and the Confucian Dao both worked with Heaven and Earth's Laws.
• Su Mo asked to enter the next day's Inner Sect selection, and Du Pingsheng told him to show his jade token and participate as a Medicine Mountain disciple.

Su Mo joined the Cloud Sect’s Inner Sect selection, where he learned the trials would test spiritual roots and combat strength. As registration began, the elders noticed Su Mo’s unusual identity tablets, including the Jade Token Du Pingsheng had given him.

• Su Mo found Chen Meiren bruised and learned that a Senior Sister named Bai had frightened him after an incident at Dew Mountain.
• Bai Senior Sister confronted Chen Meiren, who changed his story and agreed to participate in the selection.
• Chen Meiren described the rumored selection format, and Su Mo agreed to stay with him during the free-for-all while keeping his own techniques concealed.
• The Cloud Sect elders assembled with the Young Master of the Cloud Sect, who abruptly left after receiving a message, and Du Pingsheng announced the selection’s start.
• The participants registered with their identity tablets, and Su Mo revealed that he carried both his silver tablet and the Jade Token Du Pingsheng had given him.

Su Mo entered the Inner Sect promotion selection as a Medicine Mountain disciple and watched the spiritual-root test begin. As he worried that the Spirit-Testing Stone might expose his hidden cultivation, Great Calamity and the Mysterious Maiden assured him they could protect him, while Great Calamity concealed the truth about his spiritual roots.

• Su Mo used Du Pingsheng's Jade Token to register for the selection as a Medicine Mountain disciple, while Chen Meiren registered as a Medicine Garden disciple.
• Du Pingsheng refused to take back Su Mo's Jade Token, explaining that Su Mo wanted to earn his place in the Inner Sect himself.
• The elders began the selection by bringing out the Spirit-Testing Stone, and Su Mo realized its light could reveal a person's Dao Arts attribute.
• Su Mo asked Great Calamity and the Mysterious Maiden whether he would be safe if discovered, and the Mysterious Maiden promised to protect his life before he reached Spirit Transformation.
• Su Mo asked about spiritual-root quality, and Great Calamity claimed his roots were ordinary while the Mysterious Maiden questioned why she was hiding the truth from him.
• The Spirit-Testing Stone began testing the candidates, starting with Zuo Hou of the Dining Hall.

The disciples underwent the Spirit-Testing Stone examination, and Chen Meiren revealed a rare spiritual-root manifestation before passing. Su Mo’s test appeared unimpressive, but Du Pingsheng recognized the hidden Flower of the Other Shore and passed him; afterward, Du Pingsheng took the stone away to examine it.

• Zuo Hou and several other disciples took the spiritual-root test, with only a small number passing.
• Chen Meiren unleashed his late Core Formation cultivation, produced a dragon-headed beast manifestation, and passed; the Gray-Robed Elder claimed him as a disciple.
• Su Mo tested the Spirit-Testing Stone, whose dim light concealed the Flower of the Other Shore manifestation behind him.
• Du Pingsheng noticed Su Mo’s manifestation, called his talent excellent, and secured his passing despite the other elders’ doubts.
• After the day’s testing ended, Du Pingsheng shrank the Spirit-Testing Stone and left with it, saying he would study it and return it in a few days.

Su Mo worried that Du Pingsheng had detected the forbidden Flower of the Other Shore within him, while Du Pingsheng privately recognized what Su Mo carried and feared others would discover it. At the promotion melee, Chen Meiren protected Su Mo, who remained uninvolved and received a bye, prompting the internal affairs elder to accuse Du Pingsheng of favoritism.

• Du Pingsheng left the shrunken Spirit-Testing Stone for Su Mo and hinted that it could reveal an aura that did not belong to him.
• Su Mo returned the stone the next morning, and Du Pingsheng identified the aura as the Flower of the Other Shore and worried that its discovery would put Su Mo in danger.
• Chen Meiren offered to protect Su Mo during the promotion melee, where the last twenty contestants were meant to advance.
• Chen Meiren fended off attacks while Su Mo crouched behind him, and the melee stalled with twenty-one people remaining.
• Du Pingsheng arranged a drawing for the matches, and Su Mo's name was not called, giving him a bye.
• The internal affairs elder challenged Du Pingsheng for making his favoritism toward Su Mo too obvious.

Su Mo’s Inner Sect promotion competition was repeatedly disrupted by Du Pingsheng’s rigged draws and intimidation. The elders ended the contest by admitting eleven candidates to the Inner Sect, while Chen Meiren was assigned to Reflecting Mountain.

• Zuo Hou conceded his first match to Chen Meiren, and Su Mo remarked that he likely would not face him.
• After the first round and a tie that left both fighters injured, Du Pingsheng rigged another draw that gave Yan Jingshu a bye.
• When a contestant objected to Su Mo’s bye, Du Pingsheng’s killing intent silenced him, and the man later conceded when drawn against Su Mo.
• Chen Meiren and Zuo Hou won their next matches, and the remaining matches narrowed the field.
• The Inner Affairs Elder stopped the competition and admitted the remaining eleven candidates to the Inner Sect.
• The Gray-Robed Elder assigned Chen Meiren to Reflecting Mountain, while Du Pingsheng declined to join the placement discussion.

After Su Mo received no Inner Sect token, Du Pingsheng demanded the Thousand Fragrances Cauldron for him and handed it over. A crimson phoenix pulling a Phoenix Carriage then appeared above the Cloud Sect, its cry overwhelming the disciples before the sect’s protective barrier rose.

• The elders selected Inner Sect disciples, but no elder chose Su Mo, and he took Chen Meiren’s jade token to compare it with his own.
• Du Pingsheng demanded an Inner Sect welcome gift from the internal affairs elder and threatened to go to the Thunder Sect to ask the Sect Master for the Thousand Fragrances Cauldron.
• The internal affairs elder brought the cauldron, and Du Pingsheng passed it to Su Mo.
• Du Pingsheng told Su Mo to return to Medicine Mountain, but a phoenix’s cry struck the Cloud Sect and hurt Su Mo’s divine soul.
• Du Pingsheng shielded Su Mo, the sect’s protective curtain appeared, and Su Mo saw a crimson phoenix pulling a Phoenix Carriage across the sky.

Su Mo learned that the Phoenix Race had likely come to seize Frost from the Rain Sect, then watched Du Pingsheng fail to refine a pill called Twin Perching. After reading the alchemy books Du Pingsheng assigned him, Su Mo was left puzzling over a sage’s conflicting descriptions of the Dao of Alchemy.

• Du Pingsheng told Su Mo that the Demon Realm was the Third Realm and surmised that the Phoenix Race was heading to the Rain Sect for Frost, hoping to use it to release “that thing.”
• Su Mo and Chen Meiren speculated that the Phoenix Race would take Frost by force and wondered what the Rain Sect would look like when robbed.
• Su Mo returned to Medicine Mountain and sensed heaven and earth resonating as Du Pingsheng refined a pill; Du Pingsheng later revealed its name was Twin Perching and appeared defeated.
• Su Mo spent his days reading the alchemy books Du Pingsheng had given him, deepening his understanding of the Dao of Alchemy.
• After finishing the final book, Su Mo puzzled over its lines describing pills and the Dao of Alchemy in contradictory terms.

Su Mo continued refining pills on Medicine Mountain and advanced to the point where he could make third-grade pills, astonishing Du Pingsheng. As tensions rose after the Rain Sect exposed the possible absence of its Ancestor, Du Pingsheng sent Su Mo to Elder Xia with a pill bottle and reflected that Su Mo might be able to refine a pill he and Le'er had never managed to produce.

• Du Pingsheng told Su Mo to focus on refining pills while he went away, and Su Mo devoted himself to practicing with the Thousand Fragrances Cauldron.
• News spread that the Phoenix Carriage had seized Frost from the Rain Sect, which had failed to stop it and revealed that its Ancestor might be unable to fight or might be gone.
• Du Pingsheng returned to Medicine Mountain and learned that Su Mo had reached a bottleneck and could refine third-grade pills after only a month of study.
• Du Pingsheng warned Su Mo to stay on Medicine Mountain regardless of what happened, then gave him pills to deliver to Elder Xia on Dew Mountain.
• After Su Mo left, Du Pingsheng wondered whether Le'er had sent Su Mo to him and concluded that Su Mo might be able to refine the pill they had never produced.

Su Mo delivered pills and Du Pingsheng’s message to Elder Xia on Dew Mountain, enduring an awkward two-hour wait before she returned. Afterward, he reunited with Chen Meiren, activated the Jade Clasp, and vanished with him to visit a mysterious place.

• Su Mo encountered Chen Meiren hiding near Dew Mountain, and Chen Meiren promised to take him somewhere nice after his errand.
• Su Mo delivered pills to Elder Xia’s Bamboo Hut and waited there with Senior Sister Xia until Elder Xia returned.
• Elder Xia accepted the pills and heard Du Pingsheng’s message that she should remember her promise to him.
• Su Mo hurried down Dew Mountain and found Chen Meiren waiting, then activated the Jade Clasp at Chen Meiren’s request and disappeared.

Su Mo and Chen Meiren visited a moonlit pool in the Cloud Sect and discovered that the women they watched were a mirage connected to the Rain Sect. They found a hidden underwater passage linking the two places and agreed to keep it secret.

• Chen Meiren led Su Mo to a pool, where they watched women playing in the water while concealed.
• Su Mo noticed the splashes looked unnatural, identified the women as a mirage, and realized the image came from the Rain Sect.
• Su Mo and Chen Meiren found a hidden passage beneath the pool where the current surged.
• Su Mo connected the mirage to a link between the two places and told Chen Meiren not to reveal the passage to anyone.

Su Mo agreed to attend the Three Sect Grand Competition at the Rain Sect, where the elders planned to probe the Rain Sect’s strength. As the group traveled, Su Mo persuaded the Inner Affairs Elder to give him a talisman containing one powerful offensive spell and one defensive spell.

• Du Pingsheng told Su Mo that the Three Sect Grand Competition would serve as a probe and advised him to attend, while assuring him he would be safe if the sects fell into chaos.
• Su Mo spent the following days at the Thatched Cottage, bewildered by the affection he felt from Du Pingsheng despite his missing Seven Thoughts.
• Elder Bai led Su Mo, Chen Meiren, and other Inner Sect Disciples toward the Rain Sect, accompanied by several elders.
• Su Mo told Chen Meiren he planned only to watch the competition, then asked the Inner Affairs Elder for protection because he sensed the journey was dangerous.
• The Inner Affairs Elder secretly gave Su Mo a talisman with a mid Spirit Transformation offensive strike and a defense capable of withstanding a mid-to-late Spirit Transformation attack.

At the Rain Sect, Su Mo learned from Yu Gu that the sect’s Ancestor was near death and that Yu Gu wanted his help to preserve the Rain Sect when it faced peril. Yu Gu offered the Sacred Artifact Frost in return, leading Su Mo to realize the danger he meant was not the current crisis.

• The Cloud Sect party arrived at the Rain Sect, where Su Mo noticed Yu Gu’s calm demeanor and received a warning from Chen Meiren that the Rain Sect was acting unusually polite.
• Su Mo urged Chen Meiren to prioritize survival in the upcoming competition, then used the Jade Clasp to secretly meet Yu Gu on a nearby mountaintop.
• Yu Gu recognized Su Mo through his Buddha-nature and admitted that the Rain Sect’s Ancestor was close to death.
• Yu Gu begged Su Mo to help the Rain Sect survive a future peril, claiming Su Mo bore the Karma of the Four Realms and would have the power to save them.
• After the Great Calamity prompted him to ask about payment, Su Mo heard Yu Gu offer the Sacred Artifact Frost and realized the threatened peril was not the current one.

Su Mo accepted the Rain Sect’s plan to hand him Frost after tomorrow and realized the exchange would transfer the danger surrounding the Sacred Artifact to him. He returned to the courtyard and arranged for Chen Meiren and Senior Sister Xia to avoid the next day’s competition by feigning fatal poisoning.

• Su Mo inferred that the Rain Sect had concealed its Ancestor’s death and kept the real Frost, and Yu Gu confirmed that the Rain Clan’s hidden reserves would force its enemies to come.
• Su Mo agreed to take Frost after tomorrow and questioned Yu Gu about the calamity he had foreseen, but Yu Gu described only a world engulfed in dark fog, blood, and tears.
• Su Mo recognized that the Rain Sect was transferring Frost and its danger to him as an open gesture of goodwill, and he planned to publicly make it appear that Frost had left the sect.
• Su Mo found Chen Meiren in his room and told him to skip the competition, giving him poison pills that would make him appear fatally ill.
• Su Mo asked Chen Meiren to give poison pills to Senior Sister Xia as well, then helped him sneak into and out of Bai Senior Sister’s room while pretending to search for him.

Su Mo and Chen Meiren secretly poisoned Senior Sister Xia and Bai Senior Sister, but the next morning Chen Meiren, Bai Xia, and a third disciple were found unconscious from poison. Su Mo brought the three back to Medicine Mountain for Du Pingsheng to treat, then flew back toward the Rain Sect.

• Su Mo awkwardly stayed in Senior Sister Xia’s room while Chen Meiren slipped poison into her kettle; Chen Meiren also poisoned Bai Senior Sister’s water.
• The next morning, Elder Bai found Chen Meiren, Bai Xia, and a third disciple unconscious and poisoned in their rooms.
• Su Mo identified the poison as a potent divine soul poison and suggested bringing the disciples to Du Pingsheng for treatment.
• Elder Bai agreed to let Su Mo take the three disciples back to the Cloud Sect, and Su Mo flew them to Medicine Mountain.
• Du Pingsheng examined the poisoned disciples and agreed to keep them on Medicine Mountain while Su Mo returned to the Rain Sect.

Su Mo secretly watched the three-sect tournament as the Cloud and Thunder Sects engineered a provocation against the Rain Sect. Yu Gu exposed their pretext, but Lei Bu and the Thunder Sect elders unleashed their cultivation, leaving the confrontation on the brink of violence.

• Su Mo concealed himself near the arena and noticed the Sect Masters were absent and the Rain Sect elders seemed unwilling to challenge the other sects.
• After the tournament neared its end, Lei Bu emerged from the Rain Sect's Back Mountain carrying a dead Thunder Sect disciple and accused the Rain Sect of murder.
• A Cloud Sect elder backed the accusation, prompting the Rain Sect disciples and elders to realize the two sects had come to stir up trouble.
• Yu Gu arrived and accused the Thunder Sect of sacrificing its own prodigy to test the Rain Sect, but Lei Bu demanded the supposed murderer be handed over.
• When Yu Gu refused, Lei Bu and the Thunder Sect elders released their cultivation pressure, and Su Mo retreated farther from the mountain gate.

The Thunder Sect and Cloud Sect attacked the Rain Sect while Lei Bu and Yu Gu battled above the clouds. The Rain Sect Master appeared and called out Lei Ruo and Yun Huan, the hidden Cloud and Thunder Sect Masters, leaving the three sect leaders face to face.

• Lei Bu and Yu Gu fought above the clouds, where Yu Gu weakened the Thunder Sect’s techniques with Buddhist powers.
• A Thunder Sect elder attacked the Rain Sect elders, and the Cloud Sect joined the fighting, leaving the Rain Sect at a disadvantage.
• Su Mo retreated more than a thousand miles away and watched the battle with his Divine Sense.
• Lei Bu demanded that the Rain Sect hand over the murderer or face destruction, while the Rain Sect elders accused the Cloud and Thunder Sects of plotting against them.
• The Rain Sect Master emerged from the Back Mountain and summoned Lei Ruo and Yun Huan, who appeared from concealment.