Chapter Summaries

Xue Ping told Xiao Hua why he had resigned from his post in Xiguo and described how Changsheng Town had become a center of Buddhist worship after Cihang stopped the Liao River flood. He had moved to Danliang Kingdom, where the monarch appointed him prefect’s aide with military and administrative responsibilities.

• Xue Ping reassured Xiao Hua that he had not visited the dangerous place they had discussed and offered to lead him there after the Yaotai Gathering.
• Xue Ping recounted how he had helped relieve the Changsheng Town disaster, then explained that Cihang’s deeds drew pilgrims and offerings to Little Gold Temple and prompted plans for a massive Guanyin statue.
• Xue Ping said the monarch’s response to Changsheng Town’s Buddhist influence brought Confucian and Daoist cultivators into Nanpu Commandery, so he resigned rather than risk being caught in a conflict.
• Xue Ping told Xiao Hua he now served as prefect’s aide in Butian Commandery of Danliang Kingdom, where the monarch had entrusted him with military, administrative, and governmental duties.

Xue Ping told Xiao Hua about Danliang Kingdom’s ruler, Xiao Jun, and invited him to meet the king, leaving Xiao Hua uncertain about the ruler’s true intentions. Later, Hong Songzi invited Xiao Hua to attend True Lord Huode’s banquet, and Xiao Hua asked Chang Yu who Huode was.

• Xue Ping told Xiao Hua that Xiao Jun ruled Danliang Kingdom and had approved his proposal to recruit Daoist cultivators, then gave Xiao Hua a communication talisman.
• Xiao Hua discussed Danliang Kingdom with Chang Yu, Wu Tianxin, and Zhu Chengli, who differed over whether Xiao Jun sincerely sought to benefit his people.
• Chang Yu brought Qingmu into the palace hall with an invitation from Hong Songzi for Xiao Hua to attend True Lord Huode’s banquet.
• Xiao Hua received Hong Songzi’s invitation and asked Chang Yu who True Lord Huode was.

Xiao Hua attended True Lord Huode’s banquet at Yaotai Mountain with Chang Yu and the others, where he revealed his mid-stage fourth-rank Yuan force to Hai Hongzi. The group reached True Lord Huode’s grand hall, and Xiao Hua saw the powerful host seated at its head.

• Xiao Hua accepted Qingmu’s invitation and brought Chang Yu, Wu Tianxin, and Zhu Chengli to True Lord Huode’s banquet.
• Hong Songzi and True Person Yuanqing welcomed Xiao Hua alongside Hai Hongzi, who doubted Xiao Hua’s displayed strength.
• Xiao Hua released a trace of his mid-Nascent Soul pressure, shocking Hai Hongzi, and stated that he sought the National Teacher’s token.
• Hong Songzi brought his Golden Core disciples together with Xiao Hua’s companions, and the group flew into Yaotai Mountain’s cavern.
• The group entered True Lord Huode’s lavish hall, where Xiao Hua saw the boy-like host seated at the head with flames shimmering around him.

Xiao Hua attended True Lord Huode’s banquet, where Huode praised his efforts to improve relations between Daoist and Confucian cultivators. When Xiao Hua’s wine cup vanished as he reached for it, he was left unable to join the toast, and Hai Hongzi reconsidered cooperating with him.

• Xiao Hua sat with Hong Songzi and the others while waiting for True Lord Huode to begin the banquet.
• True Lord Huode served Li Fire Fruits and Ganli Wine, then recounted how he had persuaded Great Grandmaster Kong Hongwu to increase the number of National Teacher’s tokens at a past Yaotai Gathering.
• A Nascent Soul cultivator led the gathering in thanking True Lord Huode for his support of the Daoist sect.
• Xiao Hua returned from looking in on Xue Xue and reached for his wine cup, but it vanished when his hand touched it.
• The other cultivators drank their wine while Xiao Hua watched, and Hai Hongzi decided Xiao Hua was too risky to cooperate with.

At a banquet on Yaotai Mountain, True Lord Qingxu challenged the Daoist cultivators to reject dependence on Confucian handouts and remember the sacrifices of their ancestors. After Qingxu stormed out, the gathering resumed, and cultivators began introducing themselves to True Lord Huode.

• Hai Hongzi refined the powerful fire-aspected Primordial Qi in Li Fire spirit wine, while other cultivators praised True Lord Huode’s generosity.
• True Lord Qingxu rebuked the Daoist cultivators for accepting treasures and opportunities from Confucian cultivators, then drank a toast to the Daoist ancestors and left the cave dwelling.
• True Person Xuanpu tried to stop Qingxu, but True Lord Huode blocked him and let Qingxu go, saying he had no shame in his own actions.
• Hong Songzi privately told Xiao Hua that he had been rash toward True Lord Huode and suggested apologizing with a cup of wine.
• True Lord Jinxu proposed that unfamiliar Nascent Soul cultivators introduce themselves, and Zhi Chengzi toasted True Lord Huode while expressing hope of winning a National Teacher’s token.

At True Lord Huode’s banquet, he accused Xiao Hua of being a Confucian cultivator’s spy and provoked him into a confrontation. Xiao Hua revealed power comparable to a late Nascent Soul cultivator and shattered Huode’s fiery Nascent Soul hand, leaving the guests stunned.

• True Lord Huode questioned Xiao Hua’s unfamiliar origins and turned the banquet guests against him by suggesting he was a Confucian spy.
• True Person Yufeng confirmed that he had never heard of Xiao Hua and said no Yuzhou cultivator had formed a Nascent Soul in three hundred years.
• Xiao Hua saw through Huode’s attempt to restore his reputation and openly mocked him, provoking Huode into anger.
• True Lord Huode unleashed his late Nascent Soul pressure and struck at Xiao Hua with a fiery Nascent Soul hand.
• Xiao Hua released comparable pressure and summoned a solid golden hand that crushed Huode’s attack into scattered firebirds.

Xiao Hua intimidated True Lord Huode after Huode exposed his strength and past deeds, leaving Xiao worried that Confucian cultivators would now take notice of him. He joined True Lord Qingxu at the Trading Meet, where he browsed the Golden Core stalls without buying anything.

• Xiao Hua struck True Lord Huode with overwhelming force, declared his past deeds, and flew away while the other cultivators stayed behind.
• True Person Yufeng recognized Xiao Hua and recounted his reputation as True Person Chu and True Person Yifeng toasted his bold words.
• Xiao Hua worried that Huode had ruined his plan to conceal his cultivation and decided to obtain the National Teacher's token before returning to Black Cloud Ridge.
• Xiao Hua learned from Jin Hong that the Trading Meet was on its final day, then accepted True Lord Qingxu's invitation to attend.
• Xiao Hua browsed the Golden Core cultivators' wares with True Lord Qingxu but spent a long time asking about items without making a trade.

Xiao Hua searched the Gathering of Exchange for unusual materials and questioned True Lord Qingxu about Heavenly Soul, Earthly Essence, Human Vitality. True Lord Qingxu urged Xiao Hua to seek protection from a Daoist sect senior, but Xiao Hua grew impatient with his indirect advice.

• Xiao Hua traded a Profound Yin Pill for strange bone joints and learned the location of the reef where they had been found.
• Xiao Hua collected other unwanted materials while True Lord Qingxu wondered what use they had.
• Nascent Soul cultivators arrived from True Lord Huode's banquet, and Xiao Hua remarked that True Lord Huode would no longer hold a Gathering of Exchange.
• Xiao Hua asked True Lord Qingxu about Heavenly Soul, Earthly Essence, Human Vitality and where it could be found, but True Lord Qingxu said he did not know.
• True Lord Qingxu offered to help Xiao Hua find information and advised him to seek protection from a Daoist sect senior.
• Xiao Hua rejected the implication that Daoist cultivators needed senior protection and demanded that True Lord Qingxu speak plainly.

Xiao Hua learned from True Lord Qingxu that Ancestor Hongmeng had escaped his seals, and agreed to consider cooperating with him without pledging allegiance. After arranging a possible artifact-refining deal, Xiao Hua encountered a concealed demon from the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons at a market stall.

• True Lord Qingxu told Xiao Hua that Ancestor Hongmeng had escaped the Buddhist, Confucian, and demon seals and planned to unite Daoist cultivators on Cangxian Continent.
• Xiao Hua recognized Ancestor Hongmeng as the being he had freed from the Sea Eye of the West Sea, but agreed to consider cooperation while refusing to pledge allegiance.
• Xiao Hua negotiated a possible deal to refine artifacts for Ancestor Hongmeng in exchange for protection and twenty percent of the materials.
• True Lord Qingxu gave Xiao Hua a communication jade imprint and left to report his response to Ancestor Hongmeng.
• A concealed demon explained that the black fruit Xiao Hua held was a Snake Eye Fruit used by serpent demons for healing, then confirmed that he came from the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons.

Xiao Hua traded with Ying Bo for goods from the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons and arranged for him to bring more items, maps, and writings. After hearing how the story of his actions at True Lord Huode's banquet had spread, Xiao Hua spotted a damaged mirror at the Trading Meet and stopped another Nascent Soul cultivator from seizing it.

• Xiao Hua bought Ying Bo's goods and offered him a deposit to procure useful items from the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons.
• Xiao Hua gave Ying Bo a communication talisman and asked him to bring spiritual fruits, materials, maps, writings, and other goods to Black Cloud Ridge.
• Ying Bo ended his trading and hurried away, promising to bring the first batch after the Yaotai Gathering.
• Xiao Hua changed his appearance and entered the Nascent Soul cultivators' trading area, where he heard that True Lord Huode had left his banquet after Xiao Hua embarrassed him.
• Xiao Hua saw an old man display a damaged mirror and stopped a Nascent Soul cultivator from snatching it with a fierce wind.
• Xiao Hua picked up the broken mirror as the rebuffed cultivator demanded to know what he was doing.

Xiao Hua refused to take a damaged mirror fragment by force after True Person Chu Feng pressured True Person Xifan to withdraw it from trade. As he left the Trading Meet, Xiao Hua was approached by Zhang Chunyang and then invited to meet the Palace Lord of Star Lord Palace.

• Xiao Hua recognized the little mirror as a possible Kunlun Mirror fragment, but True Person Xifan refused to trade it under pressure from True Person Chu Feng, who invoked his connection to Fairy Xuming.
• Xiao Hua returned the mirror and left, explaining that he would not abandon his own principles because the Trading Meet lacked rules.
• True Person Chu Feng persuaded True Person Xifan to lend him the mirror for the Yaotai Gathering in exchange for fire-aspect treasures and help seeking a life-extending fruit.
• Zhang Chunyang followed Xiao Hua and asked to visit him, but Xiao Hua dismissed him for acting furtively.
• A warrior emerged from concealment and invited Xiao Hua to meet the Palace Lord of Star Lord Palace, presenting him with a bamboo invitation.

Xiao Hua refused the Star Lord Palace’s invitation, while Kong Hongwu and Linghu Piran discussed recruiting him and the events surrounding True Lord Huode. The Immortal Envoy arrived and addressed Kong Hongwu as the palace’s Hall Master, as Linghu Piran went to inspect preparations for the Yaotai Gathering.

• Xiao Hua rejected the Star Lord Palace’s invitation three times, warning its warrior that the matter ended there, and the warrior destroyed the invitation.
• Kong Hongwu watched Xiao Hua through a wall projection as Linghu Piran explained his failed attempt to recruit the cultivator; Kong Hongwu ordered him to keep watch and test Xiao Hua at the Yaotai Gathering.
• Xiao Hua sensed the palace’s surveillance and flashed the projection white, prompting Kong Hongwu to estimate that his cultivation was at upper-grade fourth-rank Yuan force.
• Linghu Piran reported that Xiao Hua had injured True Lord Huode and that the planned Trading Meet had not taken place; Kong Hongwu suspected Xiao Hua and True Lord Qingxu had coordinated their actions.
• An unseen voice told Kong Hongwu to let the visitors reveal their purposes, and he sent Linghu Piran to inspect the Yaotai Gathering preparations.
• The Immortal Envoy appeared before Kong Hongwu, who respectfully greeted her, and she insisted he could properly be called Hall Master Kong.

The Immortal Envoy told Kong Hongwu that the Yaotai Gathering was meant to collect cultivators’ Nascent Souls for a birthday gift to the Empress, and instructed him to proceed with the plan. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua returned to the palace unaware that the Immortal Envoy had taken an interest in him.

• Kong Hongwu reported that hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators and thousands of Golden Core cultivators had gathered, and that Yaotai Mountain’s formations were ready.
• The Immortal Envoy gave Kong Hongwu three precious jade cases to use as bait and urged him to draw more cultivators into the gathering.
• Kong Hongwu asked about Ancestor Hongmeng, True Lord Qingxu, and Xiao Hua, and the Immortal Envoy ordered him to let them attend while striking Xiao Hua if an opportunity arose.
• The Immortal Envoy revealed that the birthday gift was the Nascent Souls of cultivators, with ten thousand needed, and told Kong Hongwu to let the gathering proceed as before.
• Xiao Hua returned to the palace gates after searching the area with his soul sense, placed his token against the gate, and opened the palace.

After completing his trades, Xiao Hua welcomed Chang Yu and Wu Tianxin back to his palace hall, where they asked to serve him. He unexpectedly accepted them as disciples, renamed Wu Tianxin Wu Tian, and hinted that he would help Chang Yu advance after the Yaotai Gathering.

• Xiao Hua restored the missing lower leg bone to the skeleton in his space and sent the traded soul-cultivation bone segments to Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian returned to Xiao Hua's hall and knelt, asking to serve him after deciding to support him despite his conflict with True Lord Huode.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian explained their motives, and Xiao Hua accepted them as registered disciples before realizing they had only asked to serve him.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian joyfully acknowledged Xiao Hua as their master after learning he intended to take disciples and establish a Daoist sect.
• Xiao Hua renamed Wu Tianxin Wu Tian and told Chang Yu he would take a gamble on him after the Yaotai Gathering.

Xiao Hua discovered hidden flaws in Chang Yu and Wu Tian’s cultivation techniques, modified them, and taught them for three days. As they flew toward the Yaotai Gathering, he realized the Star Lord Palace’s rare treasures had drawn thousands of cultivators into what he recognized as a Confucian cultivators’ scheme.

• Xiao Hua examined Chang Yu’s cultivation and identified a hidden flaw that had kept him stuck at late Golden Core.
• Xiao Hua offered to modify Chang Yu’s technique, then examined Wu Tian’s and found similar flaws that he suspected the Confucian cultivators had planted.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua modified both techniques, and Xiao Hua instructed Chang Yu and Wu Tian for three days before returning their revised methods.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian chose to stay and cultivate rather than attend the Yaotai Gathering, but they flew with Xiao Hua as he departed the palace hall.
• Chang Yu explained that the Star Lord Palace had offered treasures of extreme cold, extreme heat, and lifespan extension, drawing a massive crowd to Yaotai Mountain.
• Xiao Hua recognized the gathering as a trap and was astonished to see more than a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators among the crowds.

Kong Hongwu opened the Yaotai Gathering with a ceremony that displayed Confucian authority and announced three extraordinary treasures for the cultivators. After sending the Chilling Phantom Gall and Pure Yang Ancestor through Yaotai Mountain’s dragon gate, he paused with the third treasure still unrevealed.

• Twenty-Eight Mansions appeared above Yaotai Mountain as Kong Hongwu descended and formally requested permission to open the Yaotai Gathering.
• A heavenly imperial decree answered Kong Hongwu, and its overwhelming voice shook the Dao Foundations of many Daoist cultivators, though Xiao Hua resisted it.
• Kong Hongwu sent the decree into the sky, where a dragon gate formed and nine-colored carp transformed into dragons as they passed through.
• Kong Hongwu introduced the Chilling Phantom Gall, describing its uses in refining artifacts and pills and helping certain Nascent Soul cultivators advance.
• Kong Hongwu presented the Pure Yang Ancestor, which could help refine spirit treasures, and sent it through the dragon gate in a flame-wreathed dragon.
• Kong Hongwu took out a third jade box and silently examined it while the cultivators waited to hear what it contained.

Kong Hongwu presented Qing Ming Dragon Saliva as the first rare treasure and swore a Confucian oath when Daoist cultivators demanded proof of the treasures. He sent the rare treasures into Yaotai Mountain, opened the entire mountain to participants, and completed the ceremony after revealing that only ten National Teacher's tokens were available.

• Kong Hongwu described Qing Ming Dragon Saliva and prepared to send its jade box into the Dragon Gate.
• True Lord Huode and True Lord Qingxu challenged the sealed treasures, prompting Kong Hongwu to swear that all six promised items were genuine.
• Kong Hongwu sent the jade box into Yaotai Mountain and announced that the entire mountain would be open to participants.
• Kong Hongwu revealed ten National Teacher's tokens and said he had opened the mountain as compensation for their scarcity.
• True Lord Qingxu demanded more tokens, but Kong Hongwu refused, and the ceremony ended as the Dragon Gate remained open.

Cultivators gathered at the Dragon Gate to enter the Yaotai Gathering, where they sought exotic treasures and National Teacher's tokens. Xiao Hua declined Zhu Chengli’s request for protection, then entered alone after Hai Hongzi objected to joining forces with him.

• Kong Hongwu announced that the Dragon Gate would remain open for three hours and that it would take all three exotic treasures and ten National Teacher's tokens to open the exit early.
• True Lord Qingxu and many Golden Core cultivators left, while True Lord Huode and other Nascent Soul cultivators entered in pursuit of Qing Ming Dragon Saliva.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian chose not to enter the gathering, and Zhu Chengli entered after Xiao Hua declined to promise him protection.
• Xiao Hua considered his chances of obtaining a National Teacher's token and then agreed to travel with Hong Songzi.
• Hai Hongzi objected to Xiao Hua joining their group, so Xiao Hua entered the Dragon Gate alone; Hai Hongzi then explained his objection to Hong Songzi.

Xiao Hua entered the Dragon Gate and was transported to a restricted mountain hollow in Yaotai Mountain, where he discovered a pool of weak water and the beginnings of a deadly array. The chapter left him facing a rapidly gathering storm of magical weapons, Vast Righteous Qi, and killing intent.

• True Person Yuanqing, Hong Songzi, and Hai Hongzi decided not to cooperate with Xiao Hua and entered the Dragon Gate separately.
• Kong Hongwu watched Xiao Hua enter and resolved to question him about Ancestor Hongmeng.
• The Dragon Gate shrank and shattered after the last cultivators entered, while Xiao Hua traveled through a cloud passage and emerged in a sealed mountain hollow.
• Xiao Hua found spirit herbs beyond broken sections of the restriction and recognized the jade-green pool as weak water.
• A gust lifted the needle-like stalks around the pool, revealing inscriptions that activated an array and transformed the stalks into growing serrated magical weapons.

Xiao Hua broke the restrictions in a mountain hollow, drained its weak-water pool, and found a Weak Water Bead among the remains of fallen cultivators. He left to search Yaotai Mountain for a National Teacher's token, then rushed toward a muffled scream in a forest.

• Xiao Hua used the Pure Water Vase to absorb the weak water, then destroyed the inscriptions and magical artifacts that powered the hollow's formations.
• Xiao Hua found the bones of dead Golden Core cultivators and uncovered a Weak Water Bead with Little Silver's help.
• Xiao Hua realized the Daoist cultivators faced another slaughter over the National Teacher's tokens and considered joining forces with others.
• Xiao Hua flew through Yaotai Mountain searching for a token, relying on his soul sense despite its suppression.
• Xiao Hua heard a muffled scream from the forest and rushed toward it with the Wind Escape Technique.