Chapter Summaries

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl followed Zhou Youcai's wedding procession to the Zhou Family residence, where the now elderly Zhou Youcai remembered their first journey across the Vast Sea. At the feast, Zhou Youcai noticed Little Girl among the people who had come for a free meal.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl encountered Zhou Youcai's grand wedding procession in Shayu County and followed it to Great Shun Prefecture.
• Li Ping'an recalled meeting Zhou Youcai during their first voyage across the Vast Sea.
• Zhou Youcai reflected on his youth and the journeys that had shaped his life while attending the wedding banquet.
• Zhou Youcai went outside to greet the people gathered for the free meal.
• Zhou Youcai noticed Little Girl among the children eating at the feast.

Li Ping'an shared a final toast with Zhou Youcai, who died peacefully and was offered the chance to become an Underworld official. Choosing reincarnation, Zhou Youcai recovered his memories and recognized Li Ping'an as the old traveling companion who had once advised him about adventure before he entered the cycle again.

• Li Ping'an met Zhou Youcai at the Zhou Family wedding and shared wine with his old friend without revealing his identity.
• After Zhou Youcai died, Lai Zi escorted him through the Underworld and explained that his good deeds had earned him a favorable afterlife.
• The City God offered Zhou Youcai a position as a local divine official, but Zhou Youcai chose reincarnation instead.
• Before reaching the Reincarnation Platform, Zhou Youcai reviewed his life and recognized Li Ping'an in his memories.
• Zhou Youcai entered reincarnation, answering Li Ping'an's farewell with, "Until we meet again."

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten reached Cloud Province after their boat broke, and Sun Hai guided them from the coast to his town. As refugees arrived from flooded counties and the town celebrated its Turtle God, Li Ping'an questioned why the god had protected only their county.

• Sun Hai found Kitten in the water, then saw Old Ox emerge with Li Ping'an and led the group ashore.
• Sun Hai invited Li Ping'an and his companions to town, where they passed refugees displaced by floods in nearby counties.
• Sun Hai explained that the town was holding a ceremony to thank the Turtle God for protecting it.
• Sun Hai brought Li Ping'an to his home, and later his uncle invited the travelers to bathe and eat at his inn.
• On the way, Li Ping'an questioned why the Turtle God had protected only their county and not the neighboring ones.

Li Ping'an learned that the Turtle God had become cruel and was oppressing the coastal people, so he confronted him and reclaimed the Snake Gallstone he had once given him. He decided their karmic tie was settled.

• Li Ping'an told Kitten how his friend had helped the Turtle Spirit cross the sea and later learned the old turtle had become the Turtle God.
• Sun Hai told Li Ping'an that people prayed for safety and an end to the floods but feared the Sea God's demands.
• A carp spirit recalled how the Turtle God had ordered embankments breached, flooding six counties and displacing over a hundred thousand people.
• Li Ping'an confronted the Turtle God, who begged for another chance as his aura weakened.
• Li Ping'an took back the Snake Gallstone and declared his karmic tie with the Turtle God settled.

After the Turtle God’s execution, Li Ping'an searched for a new Sea God to bring order to the coastal waters. He asked the Third Young Master to take the position, but the Third Young Master refused.

• Zhang Hai and his younger brother came to take Kitten to gather seafood, and Kitten changed from a little girl into a cat before going with them.
• Zhang Hai’s younger brother ate the candy Kitten wanted, and Kitten restrained herself from biting him.
• Li Ping'an returned from the sea with the Snake Gallstone and considered who should replace the executed Turtle God as Sea God.
• Kitten returned with Old Ox and a basket of seafood, and she cooked a meal while Li Ping'an pondered the disorder in the coastal waters.
• After tasting Kitten’s braised loach, Li Ping'an thought of the Third Young Master and summoned him through the White Jade Capital.
• Li Ping'an asked the Third Young Master to become Sea God, but the Third Young Master refused because he preferred his comfortable life in the White Jade Capital.

Li Ping'an sent Third Young Master to take charge of the Water Mansion after Turtle God's death, then prepared to leave with Little Girl and his companions. As Little Girl said goodbye to Third Young Master, he teased her about Li Ping'an and suddenly panicked when Li Ping'an reacted from afar.

• Third Young Master begged to stay in the White Jade Capital, but Li Ping'an insisted he could no longer keep feeding him.
• A young carp spirit worried that Turtle God's death would plunge the waters into chaos, then watched Li Ping'an arrive with the tantrumming Third Young Master.
• Li Ping'an gave Third Young Master Turtle God's treasured snake gallstone and told him to manage the Water Mansion properly.
• Li Ping'an confirmed to Little Girl that Third Young Master had gone to the seaside, then watched Zhang Hai and his younger brother pray for protection from floods and the Sea God.
• Little Girl visited Third Young Master with pickled cucumbers and said goodbye, but he fled after teasing her about Li Ping'an and sensing Li Ping'an's displeasure.

Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox accidentally took nuts from two squirrel spirits, then gathered replacements with them as they traveled toward Jingmen Mountain and Demon-Suppressing Pass. A gathering of forest demons learned Li Ping'an was nearby and worried about the squirrels’ powerful backing.

• Kitten and Old Ox ate nuts they found in a tree, only for two squirrel spirits to accuse them of stealing from their home.
• Li Ping'an apologized and offered compensation, then agreed that he and his companions would gather as many nuts as they had eaten.
• The group gathered nuts together, and Kitten and the larger squirrel made peace after the haul made them even.
• Li Ping'an asked the squirrels about Jingmen Mountain, then continued toward Demon-Suppressing Pass after bidding them farewell.
• The White Clothes Man told a gathering of great demons that Li Ping'an had helped the squirrels, prompting them to wonder what backing the squirrels had.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten traveled through the mountains to Jingmen Mountain, where they waited for a Flying Boat to Demon-Suppressing Pass. While Kitten learned that Li Ping'an and Old Ox were famous, the first Flying Boat arrived and the group chose to wait for the next trip.

• Li Ping'an refused Kitten's rice mixed with rat meat and ate dry flatbread while Kitten and Old Ox ate.
• The group reached Jingmen Mountain, and Li Ping'an explained that the Three Teachings guarded the routes leading to Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Li Ping'an remembered his earlier visits to the pass and his late friend Zhang Song, Zhang Congxin.
• A Flying Boat arrived, but Li Ping'an decided to wait for the next trip because it could not carry everyone.
• A cultivator from Cloud Province recognized Li Ping'an and praised him and Old Ox, leaving Kitten surprised that they were famous.

As Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox traveled by Flying Boat toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, Liu Wuxin confronted Li Ping'an about his elder sister’s death in Small Town. Li Ping'an defended his actions and invited Liu Wuxin to seek revenge, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Little Girl overheard cultivators commenting on her and pretended to read a book, prompting them to invent a rumor about Old Ox and a pregnant cow.
• At dawn, Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox boarded the Flying Boat while other cultivators watched Li Ping'an with hostility over the deaths in Small Town.
• Liu Wuxin introduced himself as a member of the Heart Sword Sect and asked Li Ping'an why his elder sister, Liu Rushi, had been killed.
• Li Ping'an said Liu Rushi had helped Small Town perpetrate evil and explained that he had given its cultivators a chance to leave before he killed those who stayed and tried to kill him.
• Liu Wuxin challenged Li Ping'an’s right to act as he pleased, and Li Ping'an calmly told him he would be waiting if he wanted revenge.

Li Ping'an arrived at Demon-Suppressing Pass with Kitten and Old Ox, reunited with the innkeeper, and heard that locals treated the Demon Race’s renewed invasion as routine. After settling in for the night, he planned to look beyond the pass, while a squad in the snow infiltrated a camp and killed its guards.

• Liu Wuxin let go of his sword and left after telling Li Ping'an he would seek justice for his elder brother in his own way.
• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox arrived at Demon-Suppressing Pass and went to the inn where Li Ping'an had once washed dishes.
• The innkeeper recognized Li Ping'an, gave him and his companions a room, and shared food and memories with him.
• The innkeeper said the Demon Race's invasion was nothing unusual, and Li Ping'an decided to look beyond the pass the next day.
• A squad led by a pale-faced young man gave the password and showed its waist token before the young man stabbed a guard and ordered the others to hide the bodies.

Li Ping'an and his companions sheltered from a blizzard near Demon-Suppressing Pass, where they encountered Demon Race spies disguised as guards. Li Ping'an defeated them, left Liu Maocai to deliver the survivors to the pass, and continued onward with Kitten and Old Ox.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten rested in a cave near Demon-Suppressing Pass and met Liu Maocai and his companion.
• A group of cloaked newcomers entered, and Liu Maocai recognized their mismatched guard uniforms and suspected they were spies.
• The cloaked young man threatened Liu Maocai, who introduced Li Ping'an and Divine Ox to the group.
• Li Ping'an sent a streak of light from his gourd to knock down the spies, and the young man briefly escaped before being brought back.
• Li Ping'an asked Liu Maocai to take the captured spy to the guards, then left with Old Ox and Kitten, who returned carrying a bulging saddlebag.

Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox stayed inside sealed Demon-Suppressing Pass, where Kitten tried to avoid spending their money and later befriended a boy who had traveled there with his father and brother. The boy asked Kitten to spar with him, while Li Ping'an pretended to remain asleep.

• A young cultivator told his companions how he had commanded a retreat, but they reminded him that Zhao Ling'er had held off the demons and saved his squad.
• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox visited a wine shop, but Kitten pulled them out without ordering because she feared they would spend all their money.
• Kitten learned that the checkpoints had been sealed, so the group pitched a tent and cooked mushroom soup in a secluded corner of the pass.
• At dawn, Kitten boasted to a boy about her adventures and pill-making skills, and the boy revealed that he had killed fifty-three people on the road.
• The boy asked Kitten to fight him so he could experience the gap between himself and a strong opponent, but Kitten refused, and Li Ping'an shifted away while pretending to sleep.

Little Girl, Li Ping'an, and Old Ox watched a demon assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass, where the youth joined the defenders. At the pass's command hub, Qianlong told Zhao Ling'er that Li Ping'an had arrived and warned her that great demons were hunting powerful cultivators as she headed to battle.

• Little Girl served the hungry youth porridge and dried fish while Li Ping'an and Old Ox began their morning routine.
• Little Girl heard something below the wall, and Old Ox pulled her back just before a demon lunged up from the clouds and was knocked away by his hoof.
• The demon army launched an assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass, and the youth left to join the battle after checking that Little Girl was safe.
• Li Ping'an said they could go out, and he and his companions began packing up.
• At the Wolf Guards' command hub, Qianlong told Zhao Ling'er that Li Ping'an had arrived and caught spies on the way.
• Zhao Ling'er headed for the central battlefield after Qianlong warned her that great demons were targeting Upper Third Realm cultivators.

The boy charged into battle but was rescued by the Bearded Man, while Li Ping'an carried Kitten and Old Ox through the Demon Army in search of the Extraterrestrial Demons. The Demon Race command tent noticed Li Ping'an’s lone advance and ordered the surrounding forces to kill him.

• The boy joined the charge at Demon-Suppressing Pass, fought Demon Race soldiers, and was saved from a hammer strike by Old Ox before the Bearded Man carried him back toward the pass.
• Li Ping'an flew through the battlefield with Kitten and Old Ox, evading attacks as Kitten insisted she was not afraid.
• Li Ping'an searched for the familiar aura of the Extraterrestrial Demons, suspecting their influence behind the unusual Demon Race offensive.
• Li Ping'an repelled a Seventh Realm Demon Race Sword Cultivator’s ambush, then used Old Ox to break through the encircling forces.
• A middle-aged jiao-bodied commander spotted Li Ping'an’s advance on the Sand Table and ordered the Demon Army to surround and kill him.

Li Ping'an escaped the demon army after searching for Extraterrestrial Demons, while Kitten lost her treasured shoulder bag and later got it back. At Demon-Suppressing Pass, Qianlong met Li Ping'an and asked how long he planned to stay.

• Li Ping'an rode Old Ox through the demon army, struck the Red Demon Ghost, and escaped back to Demon-Suppressing Pass without finding any Extraterrestrial Demons.
• Qianlong watched Li Ping'an's escape through a grain of sand and recognized him, while a middle-aged jiao-bodied man wondered who he was.
• Kitten mourned the loss of her shoulder bag, then found it beside her after Old Ox returned it despite being badly scorched and wounded.
• The next day, Kitten chose food at the beef stall while Old Ox looked on, and Qianlong introduced himself to Li Ping'an.
• Qianlong thanked Li Ping'an for dealing with the spies and asked how long he intended to stay; Li Ping'an said he did not know.

Li Ping'an accepted Qianlong’s offer of a shop on Vermilion Bird Street in exchange for his and Old Ox’s battlefield contributions. He and Kitten settled into the long-closed inn and began cleaning as they prepared for a new life there.

• Qianlong offered Li Ping'an a closed shop for two months in exchange for contribution points from his and Old Ox’s kills, and Li Ping'an accepted after consulting Kitten and Old Ox.
• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox opened the former inn and explored its rooms, discovering a blue-green bead that kept the air fresh.
• The group began clearing dust and moving furniture while Kitten eagerly carried things around and Li Ping'an warned her not to damage the expensive tables and stools.
• Li Ping'an visited the inn across the street, introduced himself to its shopkeeper, and exchanged polite greetings over tea.
• Kitten cooked noodles for Li Ping'an and Old Ox, then began cleaning while they ate and talked about starting a new life.

Li Ping'an, Little Girl, and Old Ox reopened their inn at Demon-Suppressing Pass, but it went several days without attracting customers. A grateful youth became their first guest, and Li Ping'an accepted a Spirit Stone when the youth could not pay the bill in copper coins.

• Li Ping'an, Little Girl, and Old Ox chose the name Faraway Inn and reopened the long-closed establishment.
• The inn received no customers for several days, while Little Girl worried that their ordinary ingredients could not compete with other inns’ nourishing food.
• Li Ping'an admitted that he had eaten at the busy inn across the street, prompting Little Girl and Old Ox to protest.
• A youth who had previously been saved by Little Girl arrived and offered to treat her to a meal.
• Little Girl took the youth’s order, Old Ox claimed the role of worker, and Li Ping'an charged him one hundred and fifty copper coins.
• The youth offered a Spirit Stone because he had no copper coins, and Li Ping'an accepted it.

Li Ping'an spent a quiet day at the inn before taking their savings to a cultivator market to buy pill ingredients. There, Zhou Wu challenged him to a fight, but Li Ping'an refused and walked away, with Zhou Wu following him.

• Little Girl and Li Ping'an served a youth a meal, and he left after thanking them for helping him earlier.
• Little Girl left the inn at night to hunt and returned with a large rat, which Li Ping'an praised her for catching.
• Li Ping'an persuaded Kitten to give him all their money by claiming he needed supplies to refine pills.
• At the market, Zhou Wu introduced himself as a Martial Warrior of Nanyang and challenged Li Ping'an to an exchange of fists.
• Li Ping'an declined to fight, bought medicinal herbs, and walked away; Zhou Wu followed him.

Zhou Wu followed Li Ping'an and asked him to find a worthy opponent, so Li Ping'an arranged a fight with Old Ox at the Faraway Inn. Zhou Wu was badly beaten but remained eager to fight again, and the chapter ended with him recovering and repairing the inn's damaged roof.

• Zhou Wu followed Li Ping'an through the market, and Li Ping'an caught him and asked why he was trailing him.
• Zhou Wu asked Li Ping'an for instruction, and Li Ping'an agreed to find him an opponent if he accepted a condition.
• At the Faraway Inn, Zhou Wu ordered one of everything before challenging Old Ox to fight.
• Old Ox endured Zhou Wu's punches and then kicked him through the inn's roof; Zhou Wu got up and asked to fight again outside.
• Old Ox returned that night carrying a battered Zhou Wu, while Li Ping'an taught Kitten to identify herbs as he brewed medicine.
• Zhou Wu recovered the next morning, returned by evening, and helped patch the hole in the roof.

Li Ping'an casually refined pills while Zhang Ningyuan watched, then Zhang Ningyuan's older brother maneuvered him into becoming Zhou Wu's disciple. After several days of training, Zhang Ningyuan witnessed Zhou Wu's imposing martial presence and realized his master was a true powerhouse.

• Li Ping'an refined pills with Little Girl while Zhang Ningyuan watched, and Zhang Ningyuan discovered Li Ping'an had been reading a novel as the furnace worked.
• Zhang Ningyuan returned home and met Zhou Wu, his older brother's old friend who had once saved his life.
• Zhang Ningyuan's older brother pretended to be drunk and pressured Zhang Ningyuan and Zhou Wu into accepting a master-disciple relationship.
• Zhou Wu learned the next day that he had acquired Zhang Ningyuan as a disciple and began teaching him fist techniques.
• After several days of training, Zhou Wu demonstrated his imposing presence, leaving Zhang Ningyuan convinced he was a true powerhouse.