Recaps

Li Ping'an met Mountain God Liu Kan, an old acquaintance from his journey across the Vast Sea, and asked him to protect Xiong Da, Rabbit, and Big Yellow Dog. Liu Kan agreed, while Li Ping'an remembered the companions who had once traveled with him.

• Li Ping'an introduced Run Tu and Big Yellow Dog to Xiong Da and Rabbit, then offered to speak with the Mountain God about their predicament.
• Xiong Da and Rabbit arranged an audience with Liu Kan through Liu Shun, who escorted Li Ping'an, Yun Shu, and the others to the Mountain God Temple.
• Liu Kan recognized Li Ping'an as the immortal master whose accidental guidance had helped him rise from Land God to Mountain God.
• Liu Kan agreed to help Li Ping'an's friends and asked whether his former companions from the Vast Sea journey were still alive.
• Li Ping'an recalled Changqing, Zhang Song, Zhou Youcai, and Wen Tao, then quietly reflected on their parting.

After returning to Shushan, Li Ping'an paid off his debt, settled into a quiet life of cultivation and farming, and sent Aliya Spirit Stones and gifts for her family. The chapter ended when Run Tu hurried over with news that something had happened.

• Li Ping'an paid the debt collector the full amount owed and returned to Heaven-Reaching Peak with Yun Shu, Old Ox, and Run Tu.
• Li Ping'an practiced Taiji, improved Sows Go Wild into a cheaper, milder health supplement, and received twelve hundred Spirit Stones in monthly income.
• Li Ping'an reflected on Jing Yu's government appointment and enjoyed a relaxed routine developing Heaven-Reaching Peak with Old Ox and Run Tu.
• Aliya asked Li Ping'an to lend her fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, and he sent her three thousand Spirit Stones, pills, and silver for Duha's family.
• Li Ping'an transplanted rice seedlings, and Run Tu rushed over to tell him that something had happened.

Li Ping'an exposed Elder Sun and Zhou Rui’s scheme against Sows Go Wild, then used the backlash to secure money and technical support before resuming production. Meanwhile, Jing Yu paced in Yudu City, troubled by his weakness and an awkward situation at work.

• Run Tu alerted Li Ping'an that Elder Sun had collapsed after taking Sows Go Wild, and Li Ping'an removed a high-grade Breath-Sealing Pill from Elder Sun’s throat, exposing the attempted frame-up.
• Li Ping'an announced that he would stop producing Sows Go Wild and left the stall, leaving Elder Sun and his two martial nephews bewildered.
• The sect’s elders and disciples blamed Zhou Rui for the shortage, and their retaliation made Zhou Rui beg Li Ping'an to resume production.
• Li Ping'an cited his lack of funds and equipment, and Zhou Rui agreed to meet his demands, providing money and technical support.
• Sows Go Wild returned to Shushan’s market, and Run Tu praised Li Ping'an’s strategy.
• Jing Yu paced at the prefect’s residence in Yudu City, worrying about his shaking legs and having to work with a girl he had turned down.

In Yudu City, Prefect Jing Yu faced resistance from officials as he prepared to carry out Empress Liu Yun’s land and tax reforms. Li Ping'an read Jing Yu’s account and recalled an earlier summer with Liu Yun, when tax collectors arrived at their home.

• Empress Liu Yun appointed Jing Yu to test land and tax reforms in Yudu City, where powerful landlords, Lineages, sects, and schools held much of the untaxed land.
• Yudu City’s officials warned Jing Yu that reform would be difficult and defended the interests of the region’s powerful groups.
• Li Ping'an read Jing Yu’s letter, asked for details about the reforms, and recognized that they recalled events from decades earlier.
• Li Ping'an remembered a drought-stricken summer in Luoshui City when Liu Yun lived with him and they struggled with the heat and expense of ice.
• Li Ping'an and Liu Yun drank iced plum soup on the roof, then heard a tax collector and soldiers arrive to collect taxes.

Li Ping'an’s poem warning officials against corruption inspired Jing Yu’s sweeping purge in Yudu City and drew Liu Yun’s attention, leading her to order the verse displayed across the provinces. After replying to Liu Yun, Li Ping'an considered leaving Shushan with Old Ox.

• Li Ping'an recalled discussing reforms with Liu Yun and sent Jing Yu a letter of encouragement with a poem condemning corrupt officials.
• Jing Yu had the poem carved onto tablets after his investigation of the Yudu Rice Theft Case implicated thousands of officials.
• Liu Yun and her ministers discussed Jing Yu’s actions, and she revealed Li Ping'an had written the poem and ordered tablets erected at government offices throughout the provinces.
• Liu Yun wrote to Li Ping'an, who replied after receiving her letter at Shushan.
• Li Ping'an watched Run Tu chase butterflies and asked Old Ox whether it was time for them to leave Shushan.

Li Ping'an prepared Heaven-Reaching Peak for life after his departure, leaving supplies, plans, and brewing instructions in Run Tu's care. He left Shushan quietly with Old Ox, leaving Qingfeng asleep behind.

• Li Ping'an rebuilt Heaven-Reaching Peak's facilities and Scripture Pavilion, then decided to leave without telling anyone but Old Ox.
• Li Ping'an strictly trained Run Tu and taught him to manage Qingfeng's wine ration and brewing methods.
• Li Ping'an compiled his brewing knowledge into an unfinished book titled "Li Ping'an's Brewing Technique."
• Over the next year, Li Ping'an and Old Ox stocked the cellar with ten years of wine, deposited four thousand Spirit Stones, and prepared medicines and plans for Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox left Shushan without saying goodbye after Li Ping'an tidied Qingfeng's room and tucked him into bed.

Li Ping'an left Shushan with Old Ox and traveled to White Horse Temple, where a young monk warned him about a demon in the mountains. Back at Shushan, Yun Shu learned that Li Ping'an had gone and Run Tu said he would take on his responsibilities.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox left the mountain as Qingfeng and Run Tu bid them farewell.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox reached White Horse Temple and spent the night with its young monk, who said he was the temple's only monk.
• Li Ping'an practiced the Turtle Breathing Method and Embryonic Breathing in the mountains, while Old Ox found Indian gooseberries.
• The young monk warned Li Ping'an that a powerful demon lived in the mountains and had killed his master and senior brothers.
• Yun Shu learned that Li Ping'an had left Shushan, and Run Tu said he would shoulder his responsibilities.

Li Ping'an stayed at White Horse Temple and encouraged the little monk, who had spent years training to slay a demon, to imagine a future beyond that mission. After half a year of practice, the little monk finally split a boulder with his saber, then sharpened it by the river while remembering his absent master and dreaming of the demon.

• Li Ping'an watched the little monk practice saber strikes against a boulder and learned that defeating a demon was his reason for training.
• Li Ping'an stayed at White Horse Temple for half a year, helping with chores while the little monk practiced each day.
• Li Ping'an asked what the little monk would do if the demon were already dead and offered to teach him eighteen saber moves.
• The little monk diligently practiced the moves, especially the unnamed eighteenth move, until his saber split the boulder in two.
• Li Ping'an lent the little monk a whetstone, and the little monk sharpened his saber by the river as he remembered his master and dreamed of the demon.

Wuchen confronted Guankong, the monstrous former third abbot of White Horse Temple, and defeated him after awakening his spiritual power. After Wuchen left the temple, Li Ping'an altered the surrounding terrain with a single strike of his Staff-Sword.

• Wuchen found Guankong in a ruined temple and learned that the monster was White Horse Temple's third abbot.
• Guankong attacked Wuchen, overpowering him with his staff and sending him crashing through the rain.
• Wuchen recalled his master and senior brother, awakened his spiritual power, and cut Guankong's throat.
• After recovering, Wuchen bid farewell to Li Ping'an and left White Horse Temple.
• Li Ping'an rode into the woods, judged the feng shui unsuitable, and split a nearby mountain with his Staff-Sword.

As New Year approached, Li Ping'an and Old Ox visited a lively temple fair, where Li Ping'an amused the crowd and gathered supplies for their travels. He also worked on a nourishing medicine to ease the strain that cultivating the Six Mysteries of the Human Body placed on him.

• Li Ping'an exchanged New Year wishes with Happy Big Boy, Advancing Eagle, and Soaring Fish through the Great Dao Rune fragment.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox visited a crowded temple fair, and Li Ping'an moved Old Ox onto his shoulder to make room for other spectators.
• The crowd applauded Li Ping'an's feat and gave him copper coins, which he collected before continuing through the fair.
• At a restaurant, Li Ping'an prepared medicinal ingredients and studied gu insects as a possible component of a remedy for his cultivation-related symptoms.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox left the restaurant and bought supplies at the last market before New Year.

At a winter temple fair, Li Ping'an met a Southern Border woman with gu insects and intervened when she was attacked after she offered to provide them. He brought her home, and the chapter ended with them and Old Ox sharing New Year's Eve dinner as fireworks lit the sky.

• A Southern Border woman jumped into the river to rescue a drowning woman, and Li Ping'an helped treat the rescued woman after they reached shore.
• After sensing gu insects on the foreign woman, Li Ping'an asked to buy some, but she refused until Wu'a and his men confronted her.
• When Wu'a's fat subordinate overpowered the woman, she offered Li Ping'an gu insects as medicinal catalysts, and he stopped the man's punch.
• Wu'a offered to supply gu insects, but Li Ping'an honored the woman's first offer, so Wu'a and his men left.
• Li Ping'an brought the woman to his temporary home, where she spent New Year's Eve with him and Old Ox.

Li Ping'an spent New Year’s Day with Old Ox, then worked on a poison using unusual medicine-making tools that startled the woman staying with him. After tasting the poison, he collapsed, and Old Ox carried him to bed.

• Li Ping'an returned fifteen copper coins to a child who had lost his lucky money, then bought firecrackers with Old Ox and accidentally set off one inside cow dung.
• Old Ox chased a man in blue robes through the street after the firecracker exploded in the cow dung.
• The woman noticed that her wounds had stopped hurting and watched Li Ping'an prepare medicine with unfamiliar tools.
• Li Ping'an explained his medicine-making tools and mixed several medicines into a potent poison that made the woman and her gu insects uneasy.
• Li Ping'an tasted the poison, turned green, and collapsed, so Old Ox carried him to bed.

Li Ping'an recovered from testing poison, studied the foreign woman's Gu, and bought Zombie Gu to complete his medicine research. After she left, he and Old Ox continued their journey, and Li Ping'an tested his new Divine Power Pills before reaching the Tongtian River, where a boatman refused to carry them across.

• Li Ping'an woke after two days and nights of poison testing, found himself alive, and resumed his research.
• The foreign woman showed Li Ping'an her Gu, and he studied them with Old Ox while finishing his medicine research.
• Li Ping'an bought three Zombie Gu for two hundred Spirit Stones, warned the foreign woman about her pursuers, and parted ways with her.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox traveled onward, and Li Ping'an tested his newly developed Divine Power Pills beside the river while Old Ox cooked a fish.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox reached the Tongtian River and asked a boatman for passage, but he said small boats could not carry passengers across.

Li Ping'an and Old Ox boarded a large boat on the Tongtian River after learning that small boats had been capsizing. When a green fish revealed it had been overturning boats to repay the boatman who once saved it, Li Ping'an warned it to stop and struck it when it failed to understand.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox paid to travel downstream on a large boat because fierce currents had made small boats unsafe.
• A small boat capsized, and a strange current brought everyone aboard, along with their luggage, to safety.
• Li Ping'an used his Dharma Eye and realized that a river creature had helped rescue the passengers.
• At the bow, Li Ping'an questioned a large green fish and learned it had been overturning small boats to repay the boatman who once saved it.
• Li Ping'an warned the green fish to stop before its actions brought trouble upon the boatman, then slapped it when it did not understand.

Li Ping'an spared Big Blue Fish after making it promise to do good deeds, then traveled with Old Ox and shared a communal meal with fellow passengers. On the road toward Shang County, he met Chaolong Temple disciples Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai, who said they were going to slay a monster.

• Li Ping'an ordered Big Blue Fish to remain in Tongtian River for a year and atone through good deeds, then let it go.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox shared food with the boat's passengers before reaching shore three days later.
• Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai heard Li Ping'an playing the erhu and met him on the road.
• Li Ping'an agreed to travel with the two Chaolong Temple disciples toward Shang County.
• Wen Ruohai warned Li Ping'an about a monster in Shang County and said they planned to slay it.

Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai arrived in Wantou Village with Li Ping'an to deal with a demon that had been frightening villagers at night. After sharing a feast with the villagers, they heard the demon’s eerie cry as darkness fell, and Wen Ruohai rose with his sword.

• The village chief told Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai that a demon had appeared in Widow Liu’s cellar two months earlier and had since haunted the village with strange cries.
• Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai agreed to eliminate the demon, then joined a feast prepared by the villagers.
• Li Ping'an entertained the village youths with stories of the Jianghu while Wen Ruohai enjoyed the attention and promised to defeat the demon.
• As the feast ended and the sky darkened, the demon’s cry rang out, and Wen Ruohai stood with his sword and called to Xuan Ruo.

Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai discovered that the village’s supposed monster was an ordinary giant salamander, while Li Ping'an continued traveling and used his abilities to treat a tea-stall attendant’s illness. The chapter ended with someone rushing into a Mountain God Temple and urgently calling for Senior Sister.

• Xuan Ruo recognized the creature in the pond as an unintelligent giant salamander, and she explained the villagers’ mistake.
• Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai stayed overnight in the village, then learned the blind man in blue had already left.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox traveled toward Ningyuan County and stopped at a roadside tea stall.
• Li Ping'an used droplets of tea and his Dharma Eye to clear the attendant’s blocked acupoints, then left payment for the refreshments.
• Li Ping'an cultivated in a Mountain God Temple during the rain, then heard someone shove open the door and call for Senior Sister.

Li Ping'an treated Xuan Ruo’s Corpse Poison at the Mountain God Temple, then killed the Hairy Stiff that pursued her and Wen Ruohai. After remarking that he had encountered many zombies that day, he heard another unexpected voice.

• Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai fled into the Mountain God Temple and found Li Ping'an there.
• Li Ping'an recognized Xuan Ruo’s wounds as Corpse Poison and used rice wine and restorative pills to save her.
• Li Ping'an learned that a Hairy Stiff had pursued the pair and warned them when it reached the temple.
• Li Ping'an killed the Hairy Stiff with a single sword strike.
• Li Ping'an heard a mysterious voice and remarked that he had encountered many zombies that day.

Li Ping'an defeated a powerful Flying Stiff that had threatened Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai, then shared a meal with them at the Mountain God Temple. He learned that their master was Pan Jun, whom he recognized, leaving the connection between them unresolved.

• Xuan Ruo identified the approaching zombie as a formidable Flying Stiff, and Li Ping'an killed the two zombies it summoned.
• The Flying Stiff fled, but Li Ping'an caught up with it and cut it in two with his short sword.
• Old Ox gathered the Flying Stiff's treasures, and Li Ping'an collected its body parts for medicinal use.
• Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai thanked Li Ping'an and ate with him at the Mountain God Temple, where he advised them to travel cautiously.
• Wen Ruohai asked Li Ping'an about cultivation and the Jianghu, then said he reminded him of a gentleman his master had once met.
• Xuan Ruo named their master as Pan Jun, who preferred to be called Pang Jun, and Li Ping'an recognized the name.

Li Ping'an climbed to Chaolong Temple with Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai and reunited with Pang Jun. Over dinner, Pang Jun explained how his hopes for a grand life had faded into an ordinary existence at the temple.

• Li Ping'an climbed the mountain with Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai, stopping to gather water and catch a fish for Pang Jun.
• Pang Jun saw Li Ping'an arrive at Chaolong Temple and rushed over to embrace him, soaking his robe with tears.
• Pang Jun and his disciples prepared a meal for Li Ping'an at the temple.
• Pang Jun told Li Ping'an that after graduating from Huailu Academy, he traveled through the world, returned to find his parents dead, and eventually stayed at Chaolong Temple.
• Pang Jun explained that he had taken in Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai to preserve the temple and teach them cultivation.

Li Ping'an shared wine and a long meal with Pang Jun at Chaolong Temple, using the wine to heal and strengthen his old friend. After resting at the temple, Pang Jun woke with his true qi flowing freely, while Xuan Ruo and Wen Ruohai each sought Li Ping'an for help and guidance.

• Li Ping'an examined Pang Jun and gave him a bowl of wine that caused him to fall into a deep sleep.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, Xuan Ruo, and Wen Ruohai continued eating and drinking while Pang Jun slept, and Li Ping'an offered to try making Xuan Ruo a pill to preserve her looks.
• Li Ping'an stayed at Chaolong Temple, learned about its history, and prepared millet porridge and cornmeal buns for breakfast.
• Pang Jun woke that evening with heat in his chest and his true qi flowing without obstruction, then went to find Li Ping'an.
• Xuan Ruo went to ask Li Ping'an about the Youth-Preserving Pill, while Wen Ruohai sought his guidance.

Li Ping'an refined Youth-Preserving Pills for Xuan Ruo, who accidentally took both at once and suffered an urgent bout of diarrhea. At the well, Wen Ruohai met a young Taoist master who divined that a penniless Confucian scholar had usurped Chaolong Temple's authority.

• Pang Jun welcomed Li Ping'an and Old Ox staying at the temple longer.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox refined two Youth-Preserving Pills using Spirit Stones, and Li Ping'an gave them to Xuan Ruo.
• Xuan Ruo swallowed both pills at once, learned she should have taken them in five doses, and hurried to the privy when her stomach began to rumble.
• Old Ox recorded notes about the pill-refining process.
• Wen Ruohai drew water at the well and met a young Taoist master who divined that a penniless Confucian scholar had taken over Chaolong Temple's authority.

Li Ping'an visited Chaolong Temple’s well with Wen Ruohai and calmly fished while a young Taoist and two children watched. After the boy tried to interfere with his catch, Li Ping'an gave him a fish and left, while the young Taoist remained unable to discern who he was.

• Wen Ruohai grew wary of the young Taoist and two children, then relaxed when Li Ping'an arrived at the well.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox drank from the well, and Li Ping'an began fishing while Wen Ruohai waited to see his abilities.
• As he fished, Li Ping'an read a pill-refining book, practiced the Gentle Fire Breathing Method, and ate Gangzitou.
• Wen Ruohai left with the water, while the young boy used magic to shake a fish off Li Ping'an's line.
• Li Ping'an caught another silverfish, gave the boy's fish back to him, and departed with Old Ox.
• The young Taoist asked whether Li Ping'an was a Taoist of Chaolong Temple, and Li Ping'an said he was merely an idler staying there.

A young Daoist and two children stayed at Chaolong Temple, where the young Daoist got to know Li Ping'an. The temple then received Liu Er, who asked the Daoists to save him from his wife, whom he suspected was a monster.

• The young Daoist arrived at Chaolong Temple with Li Ping'an and Old Ox, and Pang Jun welcomed him and explained how he had come to lead the temple.
• Wen Ruohai found Xuan Ruo rushing repeatedly to the privy and was startled by her suddenly fairer, smoother skin.
• The young Daoist spent several days seeking Li Ping'an out to discuss the Dao, while Li Ping'an gradually grew tired of his constant talking.
• Liu Er came to Chaolong Temple and told Li Ping'an and the others that he had seen his wife swallow a large black dog whole.
• Liu Er said his wife often disappeared during the day, that the City God had not answered his plea for help, and begged the Daoists to save him.

Li Ping'an and his companions discovered that a demon had possessed Liu Er's wife, Xiu Lian, and watched the Day Patrol Gods take it away. Afterward, Li Ping'an suspected something was wrong with the convenient arrival of the gods and used his Dharma Eye to examine Liu Er again.

• Liu Er led Pang Jun, Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and the young Daoist to Hequan County, where they spent the night eating fish at an inn.
• Li Ping'an learned the innkeeper's braised-fish recipe, while Old Ox recorded it in the Ingredient Notebook and the young Daoist secretly copied it.
• Liu Er brought the group to his home, where Xiu Lian collapsed and demonic energy burst from her body.
• The young Daoist struck down the demon, and Pang Jun explained that it had possessed Xiu Lian before her marriage to Liu Er.
• Two Day Patrol Gods arrived on the City God's orders and took the demon away; Li Ping'an then questioned the timing and used his Dharma Eye to inspect Liu Er.