Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong negotiated with Shen Haotian to establish the Tianhua Sect with Juxian Academy’s support, then appointed its leaders and began recruiting members. The sect’s planned location was Nine Cauldron Mountain, and Xu Qingtong agreed to admit Zhuo Bufan before the group set out.

• Xu Qingtong secured three hundred million spirit stones, personnel, and a two-year tribute waiver from Shen Haotian for the Tianhua Sect.
• Xu Qingtong appointed Dong Yunxiao deputy sect master and Guo Tianyu grand elder, and they agreed to follow him.
• Dong Yunxiao proposed Nine Cauldron Mountain as the sect’s site, where the long-ago Mystic Artifact Sect had been destroyed by the Wuji Sect.
• Xu Qingtong sent Dong Yunxiao to plan the site and Guo Tianyu to recruit academy members who wished to join.
• Zhuo Bufan, a fifth-tier alchemist recommended by his uncle, asked to join the Tianhua Sect, and Xu Qingtong accepted him.

Xu Qingtong led the construction of the Tianhua Sect at Nine Cauldron Mountain, organizing its defenses and expanding its influence across Central Province. After the sect gained hundreds of disciples, he proposed holding a Sect-Founding Celebration to announce its establishment and its ties to Juxian Academy.

• Xu Qingtong gathered thirty Golden Core guards from the Garrison Camp and led his group to Nine Cauldron Mountain.
• Dong Yunxiao presented his construction plans, and Xu Qingtong gathered suggestions from the group before assigning everyone work on the sect.
• Xu Qingtong gave Dong Yunxiao three grand arrays from Tianji Zi's Storage Ring, and Dong Yunxiao assigned them to protect the mountain, inner sect, and Martial Arts Arena.
• Xu Qingtong and Dong Yunxiao completed the sect's facilities and formations, while Xu Qingtong forged Identity Tokens.
• Xu Qingtong sent Zhuge Liuyun, Zhuang Shengren, and Lei Wei with Yuanrong Bolts and Garrison Unit members to clear Netherworld Cultivators, claim territory, and recruit disciples; after half a year, the outer sect had three or four hundred disciples.
• Xu Qingtong reported the sect's progress to Lü Wenqiu and Shen Haotian, then proposed a Sect-Founding Celebration to proclaim the Tianhua Sect as Juxian Academy's subordinate sect.

Xu Qingtong and the Tianhua Sect's founding members planned and prepared a celebration to announce the sect's establishment and sphere of influence. The celebration began with guests arriving, including Lü Wenqiu, Luo Yichen, and Yin Wanchou.

• Shen Haotian and Xu Qingtong finalized the sect founding celebration arrangements, and Xu Qingtong assigned preparations to the Tianhua Sect's founding members.
• Xu Qingtong spent heavily on preparations, while Shen Haotian later visited and revealed that he had killed Tianji Zi and that the Heavenly Mystery Palace had weakened.
• The sect founding celebration began, but many prominent figures were absent, including Yan Zhongzi and Zheng Zongping.
• Xu Qingtong welcomed Lü Wenqiu and Luo Yichen, then greeted Yin Wanchou when he arrived and invited the seniors inside.

Xu Qingtong established the Tianhua Sect, asserted its authority over nearby sects, and oversaw its first disciples’ advancement tournament. After the guests departed and thirty disciples entered the inner sect, he settled into Gloomwind Valley and decided to go to Bingzhou to bring Senior Sister back.

• Xu Qingtong completed the founding rites, declared the Tianhua Sect’s rules and tribute requirements, and rebuked Cheng Fang and the Redfire Sect’s Grand Supreme Elder for avoiding the war against the Netherworld Cultivators.
• The Redfire Sect and other guests departed, while Shen Haotian and Yu Jizi stayed to watch the outer disciples’ advancement tournament and suggested sending promising disciples to the academy.
• After the tournament, thirty disciples entered the inner sect and became personal disciples of Dong Yunxiao, Guo Tianyu, and others; Xu Qingtong chose no new disciples.
• Xu Qingtong returned to Nine Cauldron Mountain, settled in Gloomwind Valley, and invited Xiao Qi and Xiao Bai to make their own cave abodes there.
• Xu Qingtong decided to travel to Bingzhou and bring Senior Sister back.

Xu Qingtong set up a teleportation array between Central Province and Red Moon Island, then returned to Cloudsky Peak with Xiao Bai to reunite with Du Siwen and his son. The chapter ended with Duoduo tearfully welcoming her long-absent master.

• Xu Qingtong spent more than three months building a teleportation array in Gloomwind Valley and recorded its anchor point in his Space Stone.
• Xu Qingtong left Xiao Qi to assist Dong Yunxiao and took Xiao Bai through the array to Red Moon Island.
• Xiao Bai thanked Xu Qingtong for taking him away years earlier, and then guided him off the island to Cloudsky Peak.
• Du Siwen welcomed Xu Qingtong, and Xu Chengkang knelt to pay his respects to his father.
• Xu Qingtong forgave the gatekeepers for not recognizing him and gave them spirit stones.
• Duoduo arrived at the cave abode, knelt before Xu Qingtong, and tearfully greeted him as her master.

Xu Qingtong reunited with Chen Ruoling, Du Siwen, and Duoduo, then told them how devastating the calamity in Central Province had been. Xiao Bai and Xiao Qi had taken human form and become Xu Qingtong’s younger siblings, and Xiao Bai began settling into his new role as an elder by teaching Xu Chengkang and Duoduo Spatial Prison.

• Xu Qingtong raised Duoduo to her feet, teased her about slacking off, and praised Chen Ruoling for reaching the Golden Core Late Stage.
• Xu Qingtong told Chen Ruoling and Du Siwen that the calamity had devastated Central Province, destroyed the Wuji Sect and Jade Sound Pavilion, and claimed Tianji Zi, Xiao Yi, and Nalan Xue.
• Du Siwen embraced Xu Qingtong, then learned that Xiao Bai had taken human form, become his younger brother, and received the name Xu Yutong; Xu Qingtong also said Xiao Qi had become Xu Jing Tong.
• Xiao Bai imparted the inherited spell Spatial Prison to Xu Chengkang, who thanked his uncle, and Xu Qingtong promised to have Duoduo forge Xiao Bai a supreme-grade treasure.
• Xiao Bai offered to teach Spatial Prison to Duoduo as well, and she eagerly kowtowed to thank him.

Xu Qingtong returned to Qing-Bing Land, visited the Witch Clan and Gloomwind Valley, and invited Fang Tianqi to join the Tianhua Sect in Central Province. Fang Tianqi weighed the invitation against his duty to Gloomwind Valley and finally made up his mind.

• Xiao Bai taught Duoduo and Xu Chengkang Spatial Prison, along with ways to perceive Spatial Power and improve their spatial cultivation.
• Xu Qingtong visited the Witch Clan, reunited with Shi Chengjun and Gong Chu, and told Gong Chu that their master had died; Gong Chu chose to remain with the Witch Clan.
• Xu Qingtong went to Gloomwind Valley, where Fang Tianqi welcomed him and learned that the calamity in Central Province had subsided and Yu Tiancheng had died.
• Xu Qingtong invited Fang Tianqi to join the Tianhua Sect as an elder or city lord, explaining that its territory and cities far surpassed Gloomwind Valley's holdings.
• Fang Tianqi considered leaving now that Gloomwind Valley had flourished beyond its former heights, and finally made up his mind.

Fang Tianqi resigned as leader of Gloomwind Valley and joined Xu Qingtong on his journey to Central Province, while Duoduo and Xu Chengkang stayed behind to study spatial power. At the Tianhua Sect, Xu Qingtong appointed Fang Tianqi as Second Elder, but two people immediately objected.

• Fang Tianqi chose Qu Tianyi as his successor, resigned as sect leader, and left Gloomwind Valley to join Xu Qingtong.
• Xu Qingtong and his companions traveled by Flying Boat to Red Moon Island, where Duoduo and Xu Chengkang asked to stay with Xiao Bai and study spatial power.
• Xu Qingtong, Du Siwen, Chen Ruoling, and Fang Tianqi teleported to the Tianhua Sect, and Xu Qingtong explained the sect's situation to them.
• Xu Qingtong introduced Fang Tianqi as a new member of the Tianhua Sect and appointed him Second Elder.
• Two people objected to Xu Qingtong's appointment of Fang Tianqi.

Xu Qingtong organized the Tianhua Sect, mourned Yu Tiancheng with Du Siwen, and oversaw the sect’s growth over the following decade. When his cultivation reached a bottleneck, he went to Juxian Academy seeking guidance from his Martial Uncle Lü, only to learn that Lü was in seclusion.

• Xu Qingtong appointed Fang Tianqi and Dong Yunxiao as Deputy Sect Masters with separate duties, kept Guo Tianyu as Grand Elder, and assigned recruitment and administrative work.
• Fang Tianqi asked to visit Yu Tiancheng’s grave, and Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen that her master had died; Du Siwen grieved before learning Xu Qingtong had been in the Netherworld when it happened.
• Xu Qingtong took Du Siwen and Fang Tianqi to Juxian Academy to pay respects, and Du Siwen apologized after hearing about his time in the Netherworld.
• Fang Tianqi later reported that the Tianhua Sect had earned two hundred million spirit stones in less than a year, and the sect’s income, membership, and Central Province’s cities continued to grow over the following years.
• After ten years, Xu Qingtong reached a cultivation bottleneck and went to Juxian Academy to seek advice from his Martial Uncle Lü, but Shen Haotian told him Lü had been in seclusion for a year.

Xu Qingtong learned that his stalled cultivation came from refining Xiao Yi’s nascent soul and chose to enter the world to improve his mindset and prepare for Spirit Transformation. He began a long seclusion, leaving Du Siwen startled by its possible duration.

• Xu Qingtong spent a month studying jade slips in the Library Pavilion until Shen Haotian told him Lü Wenqiu had emerged from seclusion.
• Lü Wenqiu explained that Xu Qingtong’s mindset had fallen behind his cultivation after he refined Xiao Yi’s nascent soul, and suggested Entering the World and Leaving the World as a path to Spirit Transformation.
• Xu Qingtong recalled the risks and hardships of Entering the World and learned how the method could strengthen his Dao heart through a mortal’s life.
• Xu Qingtong decided to enter the world to comprehend the changes of yin-yang and the five elements, since his Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art offered no guidance beyond Nascent Soul.
• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen he would enter seclusion for decades or possibly centuries and asked her to look after Cheng Kang, Duoduo, and Ruoling.

Xu Qingtong entered the mortal world by attaching his Divine Thought Body to Zhang Xiaobao, a fisherman’s son whose mind had been damaged by a childhood fever. The chapter ended with Zhang Xiaobao speaking clearly for the first time, astonishing his father.

• Xu Qingtong explained to Du Siwen that he would enter the mundane world to cultivate and arranged for Dong Yunxiao and Fang Tianqi to oversee the sect while he went into seclusion.
• Xu Qingtong condensed a Divine Thought Body and traveled in disguise to Siwei Island to find a suitable host.
• Xu Qingtong met Zhang Decai and his son Zhang Xiaobao, bought by Zhang Decai’s pumpkins, and used the moment to attach his Divine Thought Body to the boy.
• Xu Qingtong settled in a thatched cottage and began cultivating with the Cosmic Heart Stone as Zhang Xiaobao’s memories surfaced.
• Zhang Decai returned to find Xu Qingtong gone, then heard Zhang Xiaobao speak and excitedly asked his son to repeat himself.

Xu Qingtong’s Divine Thought helped Zhang Xiaobao express himself while he lived among the boy’s family and experienced ordinary life through him. After Zhang Xiaobao spoke and joined his father at sea, Xu Qingtong watched him begin learning to row on his own.

• Zhang Decai heard Zhang Xiaobao say “pumpkin,” then hurried home to tell Zhou Shi that their son could speak.
• Zhou Shi embraced Zhang Xiaobao as he named familiar things and asked to eat pumpkin, while Xu Qingtong passed along only the words the boy wanted to say.
• Zhang Decai and Zhou Shi spent the night teaching Zhang Xiaobao, and the next morning Zhang Decai took him fishing.
• Zhang Xiaobao insisted on rowing, but his first attempts spun the boat in place, so Zhang Decai taught him by guiding his hands.
• Xu Qingtong refrained from teaching Zhang Xiaobao the rowing technique directly and instead observed as the boy watched his father and began imitating him.

Zhang Xiaobao spent a year mastering rowing to help his father, Zhang Decai, but their fishing trip ended in disaster when a sea beast smashed their boat. Zhang Decai wounded the beast but was dragged underwater, leaving Xiaobao calling for him as Xu Qingtong watched and struggled against intervening.

• Zhang Xiaobao practiced rowing by the wharf until Zhang Decai taught him to control the boat, and Zhou Shi wept with pride when they returned home.
• Over the next year, Zhang Xiaobao grew stronger and became a better rower than Zhang Decai through daily practice and helping on fishing trips.
• Zhang Decai and Zhang Xiaobao went fishing in hot weather to earn enough to replace their worn-out boat, but a sea beast attacked and knocked their baskets of fish into the water.
• Zhang Decai handed the oar to Zhang Xiaobao and tried to fend off the sea beast with a steel trident while Xu Qingtong sensed the danger but chose not to intervene.
• The sea beast smashed the boat, and Zhang Decai struck it with his trident before its taut rope pulled him headfirst into the sea as Zhang Xiaobao cried out.

After a sea beast destroyed Zhang Decai’s boat, Xu Qingtong secretly taught Zhang Xiaobao a fishing method that could earn the family a living from shore. Zhang Decai and his son returned home with valuable fish, giving the family hope, while Zhang Decai began telling Zhou Shi how Xiaobao had caught them.

• Zhang Decai escaped the sea beast and swam to shore with Zhang Xiaobao, though both were badly injured by giant crabs along the way.
• With their boat destroyed and savings nearly gone, Zhang Decai worried that his family would have no way to earn a living.
• Zhang Xiaobao brought home two Three-Flower Stone Perch and explained that an old man had shown him how to catch them with a cord and hook.
• Xu Qingtong left more Three-Flower Stone Perch at the shore, then vanished after deciding to pass the Fishing Method of Ksitigarbha to Zhang Xiaobao.
• Zhang Xiaobao demonstrated the fishing method to Zhang Decai, and they filled their basket with valuable fish.
• Zhang Decai sold the fish, bought rice and meat, and began explaining to Zhou Shi how Zhang Xiaobao had caught them.

Zhang Decai began honoring Xu Qingtong as the Bamboo Hat Immortal and prospered by fishing, while Xu Qingtong discovered that the family’s worship produced a mysterious white substance within him. Over two years, Zhang Xiaobao developed exceptional swimming and underwater skills, deepening Xu Qingtong’s understanding of water.

• Zhang Decai and Zhou Shi decided to honor the unknown immortal with a tablet called the Bamboo Hat Immortal and asked Carpenter Wang to make it.
• Zhang Decai placed the tablet in his home, prayed to it each morning, and learned to fish successfully, earning enough money to support his family.
• Xu Qingtong sensed that the family’s prayers caused a mysterious white substance to accumulate in his middle dantian.
• Zhou Shi persuaded Zhang Decai to stop fishing for a day to keep their fishing method from becoming widely known.
• Zhang Xiaobao practiced swimming for years, mastered underwater breathing, and became fast enough to catch fish by hand.
• Xu Qingtong experienced Zhang Xiaobao’s swimming through his divine thought body and gained new insights into water and the five elements.

Xu Qingtong tested whether worship from people besides Zhang Decai would grow the mysterious white mist within him, and discovered that it did. As more villagers worshipped the Bamboo Hat Immortal and sought his help, Xu Qingtong granted modest requests but ignored greedy ones.

• Xu Qingtong used the Time Law to stop two servants from whipping Zhang Decai's family, making the Man in Brocade Robes and his attendants flee.
• News spread that the Bamboo Hat Immortal protected Zhang Decai's family, and Old Man Zheng prayed for help finding his missing donkey.
• Xu Qingtong found the donkey with his Divine Sense and drove it home, prompting Old Man Zheng to proclaim the Bamboo Hat Immortal's power.
• Old Man Zheng's story led villagers to seek Ancestral Tablets from Carpenter Wang, and their offerings made Xu Qingtong's white mist grow.
• Xu Qingtong helped villagers with reasonable requests but ignored the Zhou family's demand for a mansion and two maids.

As the Bamboo Hat Immortal’s worshippers multiplied, Xu Qingtong discovered that using spells weakened the divine thought body within Zhang Xiaobao. When a fourth-tier octopus attacked the town, its people gathered to beg the Immortal for help, and Xu Qingtong left his cottage to respond.

• Xu Qingtong tested the divine thought body in Zhang Xiaobao by refraining from intervening for three days and found that it stopped diminishing, while Zhang Xiaobao no longer provided him with insights.
• A fourth-tier octopus surged ashore, swallowed three people, and retreated into the sea as Zhang Xiaobao escaped and told Zhang Decai what had happened.
• The town headman visited Zhang Decai and asked him to bring the Bamboo Hat Immortal’s ancestral tablet to town so the people could pray for protection.
• The townspeople gathered outside the yamen and worshipped the Bamboo Hat Immortal, prompting the white mist inside Xu Qingtong to swell.
• Xu Qingtong weighed the townspeople’s plea against the risk of spoiling his cultivation attempt, then vanished from his cottage; as the headman spoke, something slammed down outside the yamen.

Xu Qingtong left Siwei Island after ending his failed cultivation attempt, but established the Bamboo Hat Palace and arranged for Tianhua Sect disciples to help the townspeople. Zhang Xiaobao and Zhang Decai discovered the palace, and Xu Qingtong asked Fang Tianqi to post a yearlong mission there.

• The townspeople thanked the Bamboo Hat Immortal after a gigantic dead octopus fell outside the yamen, while Xu Qingtong accepted that his cultivation attempt had failed.
• Xu Qingtong built the Bamboo Hat Palace, left Zhang Xiaobao a vision of it, and departed from Siwei Island.
• Zhang Xiaobao found the palace and brought Zhang Decai there, where Zhang Decai knelt before the statue.
• The village head visited the palace with yamen runners, named the nearby mountain Bamboo Hat Mountain, and posted guards at the palace.
• Xu Qingtong asked Fang Tianqi to post a one-year sect mission to help mortals at the Bamboo Hat Palace.

Xu Qingtong learned that the mysterious energy mortals’ worship had placed in his Dantian was likely the Power of Incense, which required Buddhist cultivation techniques to activate. Hoping Ksitigarbha could teach him, Xu Qingtong prepared for a secret journey to the Netherworld and left Gloomwind Valley to meet Xiao Bai.

• Xu Qingtong ordered Fang Tianqi to post a well-paid mission for a Golden Core Cultivator to serve as the Bamboo Hat Immortal’s envoy at Bamboo Hat Palace, and Feng Sanqiang accepted it.
• Xu Qingtong visited Lü Wenqiu, who identified the strange energy in his Dantian as possibly the Power of Incense and explained that Buddhist cultivation techniques could activate it.
• Xu Qingtong decided to seek Ksitigarbha, Jin Qiaojue, in the Netherworld despite Lü Wenqiu’s warning not to go after the recent war.
• Xu Qingtong gathered Yuanrong Fruit, supplies, elixirs, and treasures to prepare for the trip.
• Xu Qingtong secretly asked Xiao Bai to help him reach the Netherworld and told him not to inform his Senior Sister or Xiao Qi.
• Xu Qingtong left Gloomwind Valley after making preparations to depart with Xiao Bai.

Xu Qingtong traveled through the Netherworld Forest and Phoenix Mausoleum Mountain Junctions with Xiao Bai before entering the Netherworld through the weakest passage. He reunited with Ksitigarbha, Jin Qiaojue, who explained the power of faith and gave him a Buddhist scripture to help him use it.

• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Bai found that the Junctions in the Haoyu Mountain Range and Netherworld Forest were too difficult for Xiao Bai to open.
• Xiao Bai carried Xu Qingtong inside the Seven-Star Bracelet to Phoenix Mausoleum Mountain, where he opened a passage through a weaker Junction.
• Xu Qingtong entered the Netherworld, concealed his aura, and began figuring out how to find Ksitigarbha.
• Ksitigarbha, Jin Qiaojue, appeared and recognized that Xu Qingtong had cultivated the power of faith.
• Ksitigarbha explained that sincere prayers from people who revered Xu Qingtong had produced the power of faith, then gave him a golden Buddhist scripture.