Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua gave Du Shanjun the Five Dragon Imperial Seal after learning it could bring danger to the Jiang Kingdom, then considered Du’s hidden motives and arranged to hear reports about the Creation Sect. Qin Xianyao reported the sect’s recruitment and admitted he could not recruit demon disciples.

• Du Shanjun asked Xiao Hua to hand over the Five Dragon Imperial Seal, warning that its claim to legitimacy could attract attacks on the Jiang Kingdom.
• Xiao Hua gave Du Shanjun the seal and asked him to spread the news that it had fallen into Tongzhu Academy.
• After Du Shanjun left, Xiao Hua suspected he sought authentic Five Qi True Thunder to advance his cultivation or endure tribulation.
• Wang Zhengfei told Xiao Hua that Qin Xianyao had an important report, and Qin Xianyao described how the Creation Sect had taken Jiang Kingdom cultivators and Daoist soldiers into its Outer Gate.
• Qin Xianyao said Black Bear, Golden Eagle, and White Lion had barred him from selecting demon disciples, so he had been unable to fulfill Xiao Hua’s instruction.

Xiao Hua set rules for the Creation Sect, guided its first-generation disciples, and ordered them to identify cultivators with spiritual roots. The chapter ended when Qin Xiaoyao reported that Li Xiang and dozens of his disciples were imprisoned in Tongzhu Kingdom, prompting Xiao Hua to question how the news had been found so quickly.

• Xiao Hua told Qin Xiaoyao that Creation Sect members must not kill fellow disciples and should avoid coveting wealth or interfering in Jiang Kingdom politics, though the sect would maintain its existing court ties for now.
• Xiao Hua summoned Jiang Ming, Qin Chengyi, and Jiang Haodang to inspect their cultivation and guide them.
• Xiao Hua used the Soul Bridge to break seals on three disciples' Spiritual Qi Heavens and discovered that Qin Chengyi had no seal.
• Xiao Hua gave the four disciples cultivation resources and jade pupils containing a technique to find spiritual roots, instructing them to select future disciples accordingly.
• Qin Xiaoyao reported that Li Xiang and several dozen of his disciples were imprisoned in Qianyushan Dungeon in Tongzhu Kingdom, and Xiao Hua asked how Qin Xiaoyao had learned this so easily.

Xiao Hua learned that Li Xiang was being held at Qianyu Mountain and planned to rescue him, while Qin Xiaoyao also urged him to attend the upcoming Yaotai Gathering. Xiao Hua prepared the Creation Sect for defense and heard the Black Bear Spirit’s complaint, though the chapter ended before he explained it.

• Qin Xiaoyao warned Xiao Hua that Tongzhu Kingdom might be using Li Xiang as bait, and Xiao Hua decided to find Qianyu Mountain and rescue him.
• Xiao Hua assured Qin Xiaoyao that he would protect the Creation Sect while accepting the jade pupil containing Qianyu Mountain’s location.
• Qin Xiaoyao told Xiao Hua about the Yaotai Gathering, and Xiao Hua agreed to attend its contests despite the risks from Confucian cultivators.
• Xiao Hua gave Qin Xiaoyao pills and formation instructions for the Creation Sect’s disciples, then asked him to bring in the Black Bear Spirit.
• Xiao Hua ordered the Black Bear Spirit to assist Qin Xiaoyao in defending Black Wind Ridge, then invited him to explain his grievance.

Xiao Hua learned that Gaza Kingdom had seized a Qi Stone mine on Black Cloud Ridge and set out with his disciples and demons to drive them out. After expanding his formation plans to cover all of Black Cloud Ridge, he ordered Yuan Ya to break open the mine entrance.

• Xiao Hua summoned Qin Xiaoyao, Xiao Jian, and Princess Changling to revise the formation so it would protect all of Black Cloud Ridge.
• The Golden Eagle told Xiao Hua that Gaza Kingdom’s people had occupied the area and injured several of the Black Bear Spirit’s children.
• Xiao Hua identified the site beneath the collapsed peak as a Qi Stone mine that Jiang Kingdom, Tongzhu Kingdom, and Gaza Kingdom had discovered.
• Xiao Hua sent Yuan Ya and the Black Bear Spirit to break open the mine entrance while the others followed.
• Yuan Ya smashed the stone gate with his demonic weapon, startling the Black Bear Spirit with his strength.

Xiao Hua confronted Gaza Kingdom forces occupying Black Cloud Ridge and demanded punishment for injuring one of his people. After exposing Jiang Zhihe as a former Jiang Kingdom cultivator who had defected, Xiao Hua cut off Liao Shen’s left arm and asserted control over the Qi Stone mine.

• The Black Bear Spirit and Yuan Ya challenged the monk soldiers at the cave, and Yuan Ya smashed their leader’s staff before striking down a wooden fish artifact.
• Qin Xiaoyao and Xiao Jian joined forces to defeat the Demon Subduing Pestle, but a hidden cultivator trapped their weapons with a disc.
• Xiao Hua shattered the disc with the Sea-Overturning Seal, forcing Jiang Zhihe to emerge and identify himself as a refugee from the fallen Jiang Kingdom.
• Princess Changling angrily confronted Jiang Zhihe for abandoning her royal family, while Xiao Hua demanded an arm from whoever had injured a child of Black Wind Ridge.
• Liao Shen and Jiang Zhihe disputed Xiao Hua’s claim to Black Cloud Ridge and its Qi Stone mine, so Xiao Hua cut off Liao Shen’s left arm.

Xiao Hua took control of the Qi Stone mine at Black Cloud Ridge, drove out the Gaza Kingdom’s forces, and assigned the extracted Qi Stones and mining work to his allies. After discovering the mine’s enormous size, he realized its existence would attract powerful enemies from across Cangxian Continent.

• Xiao Hua cut off Jiang Zhihe’s arm, ordered him and Liao Shen to leave the mine, and forced their group to surrender its mining supplies.
• Xiao Hua let the departing soldiers keep their personal belongings but made them leave behind their Small Qiankun Bags and mining equipment.
• Xiao Hua granted Princess Changling the Qi Stones already extracted and ordered the Black Bear Spirit, Golden Eagle, and Xiao Jian to organize new mining operations.
• Xiao Hua rejected Qin Xiaoyao’s request for the stored Qi Stones, then sent him to gather leaders to take control of the mine while Xiao Hua prepared to secure it with an array.
• Xiao Hua explored the extensive mine, found it far larger than expected, and realized that the Gaza Kingdom and Tongzhu Kingdom would spread news of it and draw outside experts.

Xiao Hua explored the enormous Qi Stone mine and considered how to protect it, while discovering that his collected Essence Devouring Insects had vanished and finding a trove of divine-sense techniques in the Ink Cloud Pupil. After Dragon Vein Xiao Hua revealed that his “luck” had replaced the dragon qi in the Five Dragon Imperial Seal, Xiao Hua mined a gold-element vein and left Little Silver outside with him.

• Xiao Hua decided that he needed to strengthen Black Cloud Ridge’s defenses, rescue Li Xiang, and expand the Duotian Star Array to protect the Qi Stone mine.
• Xiao Hua tested the mine’s size with Little Yellow, Xiaohei, and Little Silver, then mined a vein and found that he could not store large quantities of Qi Stones in his space at once.
• Xiao Hua discovered that the Essence Devouring Insects had disappeared after leaving Profound Water Palace and realized they had been produced by its formation.
• Xiao Hua examined Du Shanjun’s Ink Cloud Pupil, found extensive divine-sense techniques, and gave it to Dragon Vein Xiao Hua to study.
• Dragon Vein Xiao Hua revealed that he had consumed the Five Dragon Imperial Seal’s dragon qi and left his own fart in the seal, which he claimed was even stronger luck.
• Xiao Hua mined a vast gold-element Qi Stone vein, asked Little Yellow and Xiaohei about the mine, stored them in the space, and left Little Silver outside.

Xiao Hua tried to anchor the Duotian Star Array to the Qi Stone mine beneath Black Cloud Ridge, but a powerful underground force led him to discover a Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism space. He reached the space and recognized it as one of the rare materials needed to refine the Five Elements As-You-Wish Heaven-Piercing Staff.

• Xiao Hua decided to include the Qi Stone mine in the Duotian Star Array and spent fifteen days planning its layout.
• Xiao Hua placed 358 jade talismans, then struggled to guide the crystalline array energy into one node against a powerful force pulling it downward.
• Xiao Hua used the Eye of Delusion Breaking and found azure and golden lights converging beneath the mine, identifying them as signs of Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism.
• Xiao Hua tunneled deeper, stored his belongings to resist the magnetism, and used spirit fire to open a passage through the black mist.
• Xiao Hua emerged beneath the mist and saw the slowly rotating, gold-and-azure Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism Space.

Xiao Hua collected Metal Essence Gold Marrow and Wood Marrow Li Crystal from the Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism, then realized that essence blood might let him temper the vast magnetic force. He reached the Metal pole and offered a drop of blood, which was stripped of its Five Elements substances and transformed as it touched the pole.

• Xiao Hua gathered sixty-one drops of Metal Essence Gold Marrow and saw an azure dragon spirit emerge from the Wood Primordial Magnetism before vanishing.
• He collected sixty-one drops of Wood Marrow Li Crystal and watched a golden tiger spirit appear and disappear into the Metal Primordial Magnetism.
• Xiao Hua concluded that his essence blood could temper the Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism, though its immense size made collecting it into his space impossible for now.
• He used the Wood Escape Technique to approach the Metal pole, then withdrew his mana and removed his clothing to avoid the pole’s repulsive force.
• Xiao Hua let a drop of essence blood fall onto the pole, where its Five Elements substances were stripped away and the remaining droplet became threaded with gold.

Xiao Hua failed to refine the Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism, then began setting up the Duotian Star Array around Black Cloud Ridge. After days of exhausting work shared with green-robed Xiao Hua, he neared the final nodes while the formation’s growing power overwhelmed the onlookers.

• Xiao Hua tried to use Blood Refinement on the Metal and Wood Primordial Magnetism poles, but both attempts failed and left him weakened.
• Xiao Hua left the primordial magnetism space, rested in the Qi Stone mine, and spent several dozen days setting up the formation’s nodes around Black Cloud Ridge.
• Xiao Hua activated the formation with his Nascent Soul, frightening the ridge’s monsters and Daoist soldiers as stars appeared around the mountain.
• After Xiao Hua exhausted himself, green-robed Xiao Hua took over the Nascent Soul, but their shared use of Dharma power caused coordination problems.
• Xiao Hua resumed control and laid the final several dozen nodes amid thunder and lightning, while the formation’s pressure felled many low-cultivation onlookers.

After completing the Duotian Star Array, Xiao Hua recovered in seclusion while Qin Xiaoyao managed Black Cloud Ridge and its growing number of refugees. Xiao Hua left Qin Xiaoyao in charge and prepared to go to Qianyu Mountain to rescue Li Xiang, despite news that Confucian scholars had gathered there.

• Xiao Hua completed the Duotian Star Array, entrusted its spirit stele to Qin Xiaoyao, and entered seclusion.
• During Xiao Hua’s absence, Qin Xiaoyao organized Black Cloud Ridge’s defenses and received refugees, while Princess Changling and Xiao Jian worked to restore Jiang Kingdom.
• After emerging from seclusion, Xiao Hua heard Qin Xiaoyao report that some powerful Daoist cultivators demanded supplies and privileges; Xiao Hua ordered Qin Xiaoyao to kill anyone who would not obey.
• Qin Xiaoyao warned Xiao Hua that several great Confucian scholars had arrived at Qianyu Mountain, but Xiao Hua insisted on going there to rescue Li Xiang.
• Xiao Hua left Qin Xiaoyao in charge of Black Cloud Ridge and told Wang Zhengfei to prepare to accompany him for three months to half a year.

Xiao Hua left Black Cloud Ridge on the Heavenly Horse, while Qin Xiaoyao realized his master had flown in the wrong direction. At Tongzhu Kingdom’s capital, Captain Situ Ming’s guards inspected vendors at the East Gate, and he revealed to Gao Peng that the Imperial Preceptor had died.

• Xiao Hua entrusted Qin Xiaoyao with guarding the cave abode and a sound transmission talisman, then departed with Liu Yi and Wang Zhengfei on the Heavenly Horse.
• Qin Xiaoyao watched Xiao Hua disappear and realized he had flown away from Qianyu Mountain in the wrong direction.
• Several days later, Captain Situ Ming’s soldiers stopped vendors at Tongzhu Kingdom’s East Gate and began rough inspections under wartime orders.
• Captain Situ Ming compensated an old vegetable seller for the damage and ordered him to enter the city.
• Captain Situ Ming told Gao Peng that the Imperial Preceptor had died, and Gao Peng reacted with shock.

Captain Situ and Gao Peng inspected people entering Tongzhu Kingdom’s capital after the National Teacher’s death, then became suspicious of a scholar trying to avoid the soldiers. Xiao Hua helped the scholar escape the inspection and parted from him outside the city, while continuing his journey toward Qianyu Mountain.

• Captain Situ told Gao Peng that the Ministry of War’s gate inspections were mostly meant to show the sovereign that officials were taking action after the National Teacher’s death.
• Captain Situ and Gao Peng spotted a nervous scholar surrounded by four martial artists among the people waiting to enter the capital.
• Xiao Hua left the capital with Liu Yi and Wang Zhengfei, and the nervous scholar grabbed his robe while pretending they were friends headed to Jingling Mountain.
• Xiao Hua played along with the scholar’s story, and the two left the gate together without Captain Situ pursuing them.
• After they had walked far enough to avoid the soldiers’ sight, the scholar released Xiao Hua, who bid him farewell without asking about the misunderstanding.

Xiao Hua refused to help a scholar evade inspection at Tongzhu Kingdom’s city gate, then advised him to try another gate and revealed his power by riding away in a heavenly-horse carriage. The scholar set off with his men to seek help from Senior Dao Hong, while Xiao Hua wondered whether he had met Dao Hong before.

• A burly man urged the scholar to ask Xiao Hua to escort them into the city, and Xiao Hua used a passage from the Doctrine of the Mean to make the scholar back down.
• The scholar asked Xiao Hua to bring him into the city, but Xiao Hua refused because helping him evade the soldiers could endanger Xiao Hua and his family.
• After learning that the scholar’s family had been attacked by Tongzhu Kingdom and his father captured, Xiao Hua suggested entering through another gate; the scholar abandoned his plan to threaten Xiao Hua and followed the advice.
• Xiao Hua summoned a carriage and heavenly horse and flew away, leaving the scholar and his men astonished at his cultivation.
• The scholar decided to inspect the other gates and seek help from Senior Dao Hong, while Xiao Hua wondered whether Dao Hong was the cultivator he had encountered at Star Picking Tower.

Xiao Hua explained why he had not intervened in the scholar’s dispute, then guided Liu Yi and Wang Zhengfei as they traveled toward Qianyu Mountain. Wang Zhengfei showed talent in talisman-making, while green-robed Xiao Hua hinted that he had discovered a secret during his time controlling the Nascent Soul.

• Xiao Hua told Liu Yi that he had refused to help the suspicious scholar and explained that Captain Situ had shown more compassion than the scholar.
• Xiao Hua sent Liu Yi and Wang Zhengfei toward Qianyu Mountain over three or four days because he believed the destination was a trap.
• Xiao Hua discussed Confucian cultivation and advised Liu Yi and Wang Zhengfei to focus on strengthening their foundations.
• Wang Zhengfei drew a portrait that gathered spiritual energy, and Xiao Hua praised his talent and encouraged him to pursue the Way of Talismans.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua told Jade Slip Xiao Hua that he had discovered a secret while controlling the Nascent Soul.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua and Green-robed Xiao Hua theorized that Confucian cultivation might be a Way of Life, then discussed their many cultivation duties and the trouble surrounding their companions. Jade Slip Xiao Hua discovered that Little Huang had been inspired by Wang Zhengfei’s stories about him and worried that something was wrong.

• Green-robed Xiao Hua proposed that the Five Qi True Thunder revealed the life-giving origin of Confucian cultivation, and Jade Slip Xiao Hua considered whether Confucian cultivators pursued the mysteries of life rather than divine abilities.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua and Green-robed Xiao Hua discussed the other versions of Xiao Hua, their cultivation tasks, and the risks of dividing the Primordial Spirit further.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua warned Jade Slip Xiao Hua to check on Little Huang before he left.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua found Little Huang listless, and Little Huang said its comfortable home felt dull compared with the excitement of the outside world.
• Little Huang said Wang Zhengfei had told it about Jade Slip Xiao Hua’s exploits, leaving Jade Slip Xiao Hua alarmed and wondering when they had met.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua agreed to let Little Yellow and Xiaohei leave the space to see the outside world, while Xiaoyin stayed behind. Wang Zhengfei’s account of his dreams revealed that Jiang Liuer had been walking in nirvana for over a hundred years.

• Little Yellow told Jade Slip Xiao Hua that it wanted to leave home, and Xiaohei said he wanted to go too but would obey his father’s decision.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua agreed to send Little Yellow and Xiaohei out in a few days, gave all three creatures Rejuvenation Pills, and decided Xiaoyin was too young to leave.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua learned that Wang Zhengfei had dreamed of Little Yellow and encouraged it to see the outside world, then forgave him for unknowingly influencing it.
• Wang Zhengfei described a monk reciting the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra beneath a towering Buddhist image, and Jade Slip Xiao Hua realized the monk was Jiang Liuer.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua understood that Jiang Liuer had continued walking in nirvana for more than a hundred years.

Xiao Hua discovered that Liu Yi had memorized the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra and gave him Buddhist texts to study, with Wang Zhengfei helping him. At Qianyu Mountain, Young Master Zhu and his companions debated whether to risk rescuing his imprisoned father amid unexpectedly heavy guards.

• Liu Yi recited the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra from memory, and Xiao Hua offered to guide him in Buddhist cultivation.
• Xiao Hua gave Liu Yi a booklet of Buddhist characters and told Wang Zhengfei to teach his senior brother.
• The chapter described Qianyu Mountain as a poisonous, nearly inaccessible prison guarded by Tongzhu Kingdom soldiers.
• Young Master Zhu and Dao Hong found the military camp near Qianyu Mountain far larger than expected and considered retreating.
• An older man urged Young Master Zhu to seize the moment to rescue his father, arguing that Tongzhu Kingdom's attention was focused elsewhere.

Young Master Zhu and Elder Xian led a force toward Qianyu Mountain to rescue Master, relying on Dao Hong’s help and a plan to exploit the kingdom’s weakened attention. Their infiltration ran into the Black Armored Army, which attacked them with Immortal Slaying Crossbows, leaving the rescue force in grave danger.

• Young Master Zhu agreed with Dao Hong and Elder Xian to enter Qianyu Mountain, while Dao Hong used a talisman to conceal himself.
• Elder Xian persuaded Young Master Zhu to stay behind with Zhu Cheyun and oversee the operation as he led the family force onward.
• Young Master Zhu worried about Qianyu Mountain’s strengthened defenses and recalled meeting a formidable Daoist master outside Tongzhu Kingdom.
• Screams, lights, and the sound of Immortal Slaying Crossbows and God Slaying Bows revealed that the attack had gone wrong.
• Elder Xian’s force was discovered among the camps, where the Black Armored Army formed ranks and fired Immortal Slaying Crossbows at them.

Tongzhu Kingdom’s forces ambushed the Zhu family retainers and Daoist cultivators near Qianyu Mountain with Immortal Slaying Crossbows and God Slaying Bows. Xian Lao and Dao Hong were killed, while Young Master Zhu realized Xian Lao had sacrificed himself to protect them.

• Tongzhu Kingdom’s Immortal Slaying Crossbows tore through the Zhu family retainers as they tried to advance toward Qianyu Mountain.
• Xian Lao tried to defend against the crossbows, but a God Slaying Bow bolt pierced his heart and nailed him to a tree.
• Dao Hong was struck by God Slaying Bow bolts, then confronted by General Hao Hu and surrounded by Tongzhu Kingdom soldiers.
• Dao Hong used his bronze ring to block the arrows and detonated his Golden Core, but God Slaying Bow bolts killed him afterward.
• Young Master Zhu heard the fighting and understood that Xian Lao had held the enemy back to save him.