Chapter Summaries

At a trading meet, Xiao Hua gave up a damaged mirror he recognized as a fragment of the Kunlun Mirror rather than violate his principles under pressure from True Person Chu Feng. After leaving, he was approached by Zhang Chunyang and then received an invitation from Star Lord Palace.

• True Person Chu Feng pressured True Person Xifan to withhold the little mirror, and Xiao Hua returned it despite recognizing its value and having the strength to keep it.
• True Person Xifan agreed to lend the mirror to True Person Chu Feng in exchange for help finding a lifespan-extending fruit at the Yaotai Gathering.
• Xiao Hua told the trading-meet cultivators that he would not abandon his own principles because of their disorder, then left the cave abode.
• Zhang Chunyang followed Xiao Hua and asked to visit him, but Xiao Hua rebuked him and continued on his way.
• A martial cultivator concealed in Boundless Night presented Xiao Hua with an invitation from Star Lord Palace to meet its Palace Lord.

Xiao Hua refused the Star Lord Palace’s invitation, and Kong Hongwu and Scholar Linghu discussed recruiting him as a Star General for the Yaotai Gathering. After the Immortal Envoy arrived, Kong Hongwu greeted her and she addressed him as Hall Master Kong.

• Xiao Hua returned the Star Lord Palace’s invitation twice more, warned its warrior not to press him again, and flew away.
• The warrior destroyed the invitation, while Kong Hongwu and Linghu Piran watched Xiao Hua’s flight through a scene on the palace wall.
• Kong Hongwu ordered Linghu Piran to watch Xiao Hua and test him at the Yaotai Gathering, but Xiao Hua noticed the surveillance and flashed the wall white before disappearing from the scene.
• Linghu Piran reported that True Lord Huode had been injured by Xiao Hua after True Lord Qingxu had undermined him, and Kong Hongwu suspected the two had acted in concert.
• The Immortal Envoy stopped Kong Hongwu from sending men after Xiao Hua and True Lord Qingxu, then appeared before him in the palace and insisted he be called Hall Master Kong.

Kong Hongwu learned that the Yaotai Gathering was part of a plan to collect Nascent Souls for the Empress’s birthday gift, while the Immortal Envoy discussed Ancestor Hongmeng and Xiao Hua. The Immortal Envoy left Kong Hongwu to decide how many National Teacher’s tokens to offer, and Xiao Hua returned to his palace unaware he was being watched.

• Kong Hongwu reported that more than seven hundred Nascent Soul cultivators and over six thousand Golden Core cultivators had gathered, and the Immortal Envoy showed him three precious jade caskets to entice the Nascent Soul cultivators into Yaotai Mountain.
• The Immortal Envoy told Kong Hongwu that the Immortal Palace knew of Ancestor Hongmeng, had people tracking True Lord Qingxu, and suspected Xiao Hua was acting on Ancestor Hongmeng’s orders; she instructed Kong Hongwu not to interfere unless an opportunity arose to strike Xiao Hua.
• Kong Hongwu asked about the Empress’s birthday gift, and the Immortal Envoy revealed that it required ten thousand Nascent Souls, preferably from late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
• The Immortal Envoy told Kong Hongwu to conduct the Yaotai Gathering as usual and left the number of National Teacher’s tokens to the Star Lord Palace; Kong Hongwu wondered about the gift and returned to reading his ancient book.
• Xiao Hua returned to his palace after checking the area with his soul sense, unaware that he had come to the Immortal Envoy’s attention.

Xiao Hua recovered a missing bone for the skeletal frame in his space and received new soul cultivation techniques. After Chang Yu and Wu Tianxin returned, they unexpectedly became his disciples, and Xiao Hua declared his intention to establish a Daoist sect.

• Xiao Hua placed the white bone from Ying Bo into his space, where it joined the skeletal frame as its missing shinbone and began releasing Thunder Water.
• Xiao Hua sent the bone joints from the Golden Core cultivator to Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua and found several unfamiliar soul cultivation techniques within them.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tianxin returned to Xiao Hua's palace and asked to serve him after True Lord Huode's likely retaliation made their future prospects uncertain.
• Xiao Hua offered to accept Chang Yu and Wu Tianxin as registered disciples, and they gladly bowed to him as their master.
• Chang Yu explained that Daoist cultivators on Cangxian Continent were forbidden to openly accept disciples, but Xiao Hua said he intended to establish a Daoist sect anyway.
• Xiao Hua gave Wu Tianxin the name Wu Tian and promised to take a gamble on Chang Yu after the Yaotai Gathering.

Xiao Hua discovered flaws in Chang Yu and Wu Tian’s cultivation techniques, suspected the Confucian cultivators had tampered with them, and had green-robed Xiao Hua repair both techniques. As they flew toward Yaotai Mountain, Xiao Hua saw thousands of cultivators gathering for the Yaotai Gathering and realized the Star Lord Palace’s rare treasures had drawn them into the Confucian cultivators’ scheme.

• Xiao Hua examined Chang Yu’s cultivation technique, identified a concealed flaw, and offered to alter it so Chang Yu could overcome his cultivation bottleneck.
• Xiao Hua examined Wu Tian’s cultivation technique and found similar flaws, leading him to suspect the Confucian cultivators had tampered with Daoist techniques.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua altered both techniques, and Xiao Hua spent three days teaching Chang Yu and Wu Tian how to cultivate with them.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian chose to remain behind and study their techniques rather than attend the Yaotai Gathering, but they followed Xiao Hua out of the palace hall.
• Xiao Hua learned that the Star Lord Palace’s treasures included items of extreme cold, extreme heat, and one that could extend life by a thousand years.
• Xiao Hua saw thousands of cultivators heading to Yaotai Mountain, including what appeared to be more than a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators.

Kong Hongwu opened the Yaotai Gathering with a heavenly edict and announced that Star Lord Palace had prepared three exceptional treasures for the cultivators. After sending Chilling Phantom Gall and Pure Yang Ancestor through Yaotai Mountain’s dragon gate, he paused with the third treasure as the crowd waited to hear what it was.

• Xiao Hua watched twenty-eight Immortal Generals assemble as Kong Hongwu descended and formally petitioned Heaven to open the Yaotai Gathering.
• A heavenly edict descended, and its sovereign voice shook the Dao Foundations of many Daoist cultivators, though Xiao Hua resisted it.
• Kong Hongwu sent the edict into the sky, where it formed a dragon gate and turned passing nine-colored carp into dragons.
• Kong Hongwu introduced Chilling Phantom Gall, a treasure that could help certain Nascent Soul cultivators break through to the Out-of-Body stage, and sent it through the gate.
• Kong Hongwu introduced Pure Yang Ancestor, which could refine spirit treasures, and sent it through the gate as a fiery dragon.
• Kong Hongwu took out a third jade casket and silently examined it while the cultivators waited for him to speak.

At the Yaotai Gathering ceremony, Kong Hongwu defended the sealed treasures against Daoist cultivators’ suspicions and sent them into Yaotai Mountain. He revealed that only ten National Teacher’s tokens were available, opened the entire mountain to attendees as compensation, and completed the ceremony.

• Kong Hongwu began sending the Qing Ming Dragon Saliva into the Dragon Gate, but True Lord Huode arrived and challenged him to let the cultivators inspect the sealed treasures.
• True Lord Qingxu disputed Huode’s support of the Star Lord Palace, prompting Kong Hongwu to swear a Confucian oath that all three jade boxes contained the promised treasures.
• After Huode accepted the oath, Kong Hongwu sent the Qing Ming Dragon Saliva into Yaotai Mountain and announced that the entire mountain would be open to the gathering’s participants.
• Kong Hongwu revealed that only ten National Teacher’s tokens were available and presented them as compensation for opening sealed spirit lands and all of Yaotai Mountain.
• True Lord Qingxu demanded more tokens, but Kong Hongwu refused, sent the ten tokens through the Dragon Gate, and completed the ceremony.

Kong Hongwu opened the Dragon Gate to the Yaotai Gathering, drawing cultivators seeking rare treasures and Qing Ming Dragon Saliva. Xiao Hua entered after declining an awkward invitation to join Hong Songzi’s group, while Hong Songzi and Hai Hongzi argued over whether Xiao Hua’s strength would endanger their plans.

• Kong Hongwu announced that the Dragon Gate would close after three hours and remain sealed for a year unless the required treasures and National Teacher’s tokens were found, prompting some cultivators to leave and others to enter.
• True Lord Huode entered the Dragon Gate to seek Qing Ming Dragon Saliva, and several other late Nascent Soul cultivators followed.
• Chang Yu and Wu Tian declined the Yaotai Gathering, while Zhu Chengli entered after Xiao Hua refused to promise him protection.
• Xiao Hua decided that obtaining a National Teacher’s token was not urgent and that he would not risk a fight for Qing Ming Dragon Saliva.
• Hong Songzi invited Xiao Hua to travel with him, but Hai Hongzi objected because Xiao Hua’s strength could disrupt their plans and the distribution of any treasure.
• Xiao Hua entered the Dragon Gate alone, and Hong Songzi confronted Hai Hongzi over his objection.

Xiao Hua entered the Dragon Gate and traveled through a teleportation passage into a sealed mountain hollow at the Yaotai Gathering. After discovering a pool of weak water, he watched a vast artifact formation awaken around it, revealing the danger of his confinement.

• Hai Hongzi persuaded True Person Yuanqing and Hong Songzi not to cooperate with Xiao Hua, and the three entered the Dragon Gate separately.
• Kong Hongwu wondered why Xiao Hua had dared to enter and planned to learn the whereabouts of Ancestor Hongmeng from him.
• The remaining cultivators entered the Dragon Gate before it shattered and dissolved into golden liquid.
• Xiao Hua passed through a cloud passage and arrived in a mountain hollow sealed by a broken restriction.
• Xiao Hua discovered that the deep pool was weak water, then saw the fallen leaves rise and reveal magical artifacts absorbing Vast Righteous Qi as an artifact formation activated.

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

• Xiao Hua used his Nascent Soul hand and Pure Water Vase to overcome the hollow's formations, collect the Weak Water, and destroy the inscriptions.
• Xiao Hua discovered bones in the drained pool and found a Weak Water Bead beneath its rubble.
• Xiao Hua left the hollow, reflected on the danger facing Daoist cultivators, and considered joining forces with others.
• Xiao Hua flew blindly through Yaotai Mountain, then used his soul sense to begin searching a vast forest for a National Teacher's token.
• Xiao Hua heard a muffled scream from the forest and flew toward it using the Wind Escape Technique.

Xiao Hua defeated a Confucian defensive array and survived the giant beast Du’s explosive attack, then searched the area with Xiao Yin and Xiao Guo. He found that Yaotai Mountain’s underground was sealed against escape and learned Xiao Yin could not locate the National Teacher’s token nearby.

• Xiao Hua tore apart a Wood-attribute defensive array and confronted the giant beast Du hidden inside.
• Xiao Hua nearly captured the Du, but it exploded with Vast Righteous Qi, forcing him to evade the blast and flee incoming Righteous Qi Pillars.
• Xiao Hua burned the bones scattered around the ruined array, while Xiao Guo returned with rare spirit herbs and Xiao Yin found materials and the Du’s horn.
• Xiao Hua discovered that Confucian arts prevented him and Xiao Yin from burrowing deep underground, then destroyed the remaining ancient trees.
• Xiao Hua tried to guide Xiao Yin toward the National Teacher’s token, but Xiao Yin found nothing, leaving Xiao Hua to suspect the token was out of range or concealed inside a defensive array.

Xiao Hua followed Little Silver to a cold ravine, where True Person Xiangtian demanded the Spirit Seeking Rat for his tiger cat. Their confrontation was interrupted by True Person Yuanqing’s arrival, and Xiangtian left with his beast through a wind tunnel.

• Xiao Hua followed Little Silver past two fleeing Golden Core cultivators to a ravine surrounded by gray-white mountain ranges.
• True Person Xiangtian arrived with his tiger cat and offered one hundred top-grade Qi Stones for Little Silver, but Xiao Hua refused.
• True Person Xiangtian threatened Xiao Hua after his tiger cat tried to attack Little Silver, and Xiao Hua prepared to fight back.
• True Person Yuanqing arrived riding a two-headed beast, interrupting the confrontation.
• True Person Xiangtian flew into a nearby wind tunnel with his tiger cat, while Little Silver taunted the departing beast.

Xiao Hua and True Person Yuanqing entered the mist-filled formation, where Yuanqing told him about Fairy Xiangfeng and True Person Xiangtian. When Si Hong roared in anger, Yuanqing rushed to its aid and found it fighting Xiangtian’s tiger-cat.

• True Person Yuanqing joined Xiao Hua after True Person Xiangtian withdrew, and Xiao Hua agreed to cooperate with Yuanqing while pursuing their separate goals.
• Yuanqing explained that Fairy Xiangfeng was a male Nascent Soul cultivator who cherished and empowered True Person Xiangtian, his kept man.
• Yuanqing heard Si Hong roar and charged toward it, while Xiao Hua followed after realizing Yuanqing was seeking the Chilling Phantom Gall.
• Xiao Hua found Yuanqing facing True Person Xiangtian as Si Hong fought the tiger-cat, which had wounded Si Hong with its bites.
• Si Hong bit at the tiger-cat, which leapt into its mouth as Si Hong attacked its tail with its other head.

Little Silver killed True Person Xiangtian’s tiger-cat, prompting Xiangtian to attack Xiao Hua before the defensive array intervened. The array revealed a treasure and other cultivators, and True Person Yuanqing proposed that he and Xiao Hua join forces to kill Xiangtian.

• The tiger-cat dodged Si Hong’s attack, wounded Si Hong, and fought it until Little Silver flew from Xiao Hua’s hand and pierced through the tiger-cat, leaving it limp for Si Hong to kill.
• True Person Yuanqing sent his halberd toward the tiger-cat, and True Person Xiangtian countered with his flying sword before turning his fury on Xiao Hua.
• Xiangtian’s attack triggered the defensive array, whose Vast Righteous Qi cleared the fog and revealed several cultivators and a two-colored light emanating from an extraordinary treasure.
• A distant Nascent Soul cultivator charged toward the treasure, and Xiangtian pursued him; Yuanqing retrieved Si Hong and urged Xiao Hua to join him in killing Xiangtian.
• Xiao Hua agreed, while Yuanqing offered to leave the treasure to their target or split it with Xiao Hua.

The imperial formation unleashed endless iron cavalry and hidden immortal soldiers, killing many Golden Core cultivators as True Person Xiangtian and a nameless Nascent Soul cultivator raced for the strange treasure. Xiao Hua carved out a safe zone to protect the survivors, but the two Nascent Soul cultivators’ clash strengthened the formation and left the Golden Core cultivators in danger again.

• The pipa music activated the imperial formation, filling its icy rivers and pools with war riders and hidden attackers.
• Immortal soldiers ambushed and killed a Golden Core cultivator, while roughly half of the trapped Golden Core cultivators fell.
• True Person Xiangtian and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator rushed toward the jade box containing the strange treasure as the survivors tried to gather around them.
• Xiao Hua overtook True Person Yuanqing, killed several concealed immortal soldiers with his golden shears, and expanded a protected zone for nearby Golden Core cultivators.
• True Person Xiangtian and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator clashed, shaking the imperial formation and unleashing more troops that engulfed the surviving Golden Core cultivators.

Xiao Hua fought through the ice cavalrymen and immortal generals as the Confucian cultivators’ array overwhelmed the Golden Core cultivators. True Person Xiangtian battled True Person Yuanqing and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator while reaching for the strange treasure, and the chapter ended with Xiao Hua knocking Xiangtian’s cauldron away as he tried to stop him.

• Ice cavalrymen and lances appeared throughout the defensive array, killing the Golden Core cultivators while Xiao Hua fought to protect himself.
• Xiao Hua used the As-You-Wish Staff to kill a concealed immortal general and then joined True Person Xiangtian, True Person Yuanqing, and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator.
• True Person Xiangtian fought off the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator’s hand and blocked True Person Yuanqing’s halberd with a cauldron.
• True Person Xiangtian sent his Cold Plum Flying Sword toward the strange treasure, and Xiao Hua rushed in to stop him.
• True Person Xiangtian sent his cauldron crashing toward Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua struck it with the As-You-Wish Staff and knocked it out of control.

Xiao Hua stopped the other cultivators from fighting as the imperial formation’s faint wind grew more dangerous, and he organized them into an alliance to protect themselves and approach the cliff. The four cultivators headed toward the exotic treasure under the protection of Xiao Hua’s Weak Water Bead, leaving the treasure’s identity and their escape from the formation unresolved.

• Xiao Hua warned True Person Xiangtian that his fights were worsening the imperial formation and killing Golden Core cultivators.
• As the faint wind intensified and threatened their magical treasures, True Person Yuanqing retrieved the Minghao Halberd, True Person Xiangtian reclaimed his weapons, and Xu Tingzi used a Wind-Quelling Bead.
• Xiao Hua confronted True Person Xiangtian, and True Person Yuanqing and Xu Tingzi joined him in opposing further reckless fighting.
• Xiao Hua and Xu Tingzi agreed to cooperate because they sought different things, and True Person Xiangtian reluctantly joined after Xiao Hua proposed they leave the exotic treasure untouched until they could protect themselves.
• Xiao Hua deployed the Weak Water Bead to shield the group, and the four cultivators began flying toward the cliff.

Xiao Hua guided the group through the Star Lord imperial formation and helped them reach a jade box, but the formation expanded and brought in many new cultivators. As rival Nascent Soul hands contested the treasure, a three-colored giant python descended, and True Person Xiangtian recognized the Twenty-Eight Star Lords.

• Xu Tingzi used the Wind-Quelling Bead to weaken the winds, while True Person Xiangtian guarded the group with his sword and Samadhi True Fire.
• Xiao Hua detected hidden immortal generals and directed True Person Yuanqing and Xu Tingzi to attack them as the group advanced toward the jade box.
• Xiao Hua told True Person Yuanqing to retrieve the jade box and then take custody of it, but the imperial formation expanded and the cliff retreated before Yuanqing could reach it.
• Newly arrived cultivators sent Nascent Soul hands toward the jade box, and Xiao Hua crushed their hands when they turned against his own.
• A three-colored giant python descended amid renewed winds and waters, and True Person Xiangtian identified it as the Twenty-Eight Star Lords.

A three-colored python spear grievously wounded Xiao Hua, and the Nascent Soul cultivators abandoned him to race for the unusual treasure. As the Imperial Array erupted into battle, a hidden force killed one cultivator and seized his Nascent Soul.

• A three-colored python transformed into a spear and pierced Xiao Hua, while True Person Yuanqing and True Person Xiangtian resumed their advance toward the unusual treasure.
• Xu Tingzi recognized that the Star Lord had attacked Xiao Hua for helping the others cooperate, gave up the treasure race, and stayed nearby in case he could rescue Xiao Hua.
• The Nascent Soul cultivators rushed for the unusual treasure, and a winged demon-body cultivator smashed through a giant hand before a five-colored magic treasure blocked him.
• The Imperial Array filled with icy rivers, iron cavalry, mist, and music as the cultivators fought amid its shifting formations.
• An iron spear pierced a short cultivator after his life-bound treasure was destroyed, and a Righteous Qi Pillar swallowed his fleeing Nascent Soul.

Xu Tingzi realized the Yaotai Gathering’s controlling formation might be a deadly trap and went to rescue the injured Xiao Hua, gathering nearly twenty Golden Core cultivators along the way. When a three-colored python spear attacked Xu Tingzi, Xiao Hua suddenly sprang into action and trapped it with his Sleeve Universe technique.

• Xu Tingzi suspected the Star Lord Palace had turned the Yaotai Gathering into a deathtrap and decided to seek out Xiao Hua for help escaping.
• Xu Tingzi found Xiao Hua unconscious, then agreed to protect nearby Golden Core cultivators after they swore blood oaths.
• Xu Tingzi led the cultivators through the formation, fighting iron cavalry and immortal soldiers while growing increasingly fearful of the Star Lord guarding the formation.
• A three-colored python spear descended and overwhelmed Xu Tingzi’s Heaven Shaking Hammer as he tried to retreat.
• Xiao Hua sprang up after Xu Tingzi tossed him aside and used Sleeve Universe to ensnare the python spear, while Vast Righteous Qi struck at his technique.