Recaps

Nie Qianyu recognized that Ren Xiaoyao’s powerful handwriting revealed his martial arts skill and tried to learn more about him. He avoided her questions about his age and kept his background hidden.

• Zhang Xiaohua bought the medicine at a pharmacy and threw away the prescription he had copied.
• Nie Qianyu explained to Xiao Juzi that Ren Xiaoyao’s forceful brushwork showed he was a martial arts master, though she could not tell how old he was.
• After Zhang Xiaohua returned with the medicine, Nie Qianyu asked about the prescription and learned he had discarded it.
• Zhang Xiaohua described Ji Xiaohua’s mother’s illness, and Nie Qianyu said an ordinary physician could treat her tuberculosis.
• When Nie Qianyu asked his age, Zhang Xiaohua demanded to know hers first and then evaded answering even after Xiao Juzi shared her age.

Zhang Xiaohua told Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi that he was eighteen, and Nie Qianyu began calling him Brother Xiaoyao while hoping to secure his help and protection. After leaving them, Zhang Xiaohua reflected on his new insight into the Heavenly Dao and recognized it as the true foundation of cultivation.

• Nie Qianyu told Zhang Xiaohua she would turn twelve in a month, and he revealed that he had turned eighteen two months earlier.
• Nie Qianyu asked to call Zhang Xiaohua Brother Xiaoyao, and he reluctantly let her use the name before hurrying away.
• Nie Qianyu told Xiao Juzi she hoped to draw Zhang Xiaohua closer because his strength and possible sect connections could protect them from their pursuers.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned to his room and contemplated his glimpse of the Heavenly Dao instead of immediately cultivating the Carefree Heart Sutra.
• Zhang Xiaohua concluded that understanding the Heavenly Dao was the root of cultivation, while Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment helped practitioners grasp and use it.

Zhang Xiaohua hid Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi at an inn while he advanced his cultivation and kept watch for their pursuers. After the town grew quiet, he proposed they leave for Danhe City to find an escort agency, and Nie Qianyu agreed it might be suitable.

• Zhang Xiaohua set a restriction around the courtyard, cultivated through the night, and discovered that his Big Dipper Divine Fist had reached its ninth layer.
• Zhang Xiaohua spoke with Nie Qianyu after she recovered from her fever, then avoided her suggestion that he escort her home in exchange for learning medicine.
• Zhang Xiaohua kept Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi hidden for two days, watched the town with his divine sense, and turned away anyone from the courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua found that the mysterious searchers had disappeared and proposed traveling to Danhe City to hire protection.
• Nie Qianyu said Danhe City was about two days away and asked whether Zhang Xiaohua could take them there.

Zhang Xiaohua slowly escorted Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi toward Danhe City, hoping to leave them with the Fushun Escort Agency and continue home. After avoiding several pursuers, he reached a desolate stretch of road, where one of five riders noticed something suspicious about his cart.

• Zhang Xiaohua left the inn with Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi, keeping their destination secret and driving the slow Four Unlike cart toward Danhe City.
• Xiao Juzi complained about the cart’s pace, and Zhang Xiaohua made Huanhuan run faster, silencing the women when the cart jolted.
• Zhang Xiaohua deliberately traveled slowly to avoid the men hunting Nie Qianyu, and a group of similarly dressed riders passed without recognizing them.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned Danhe City was near and planned to leave the women at the Fushun Escort Agency before heading home for the New Year.
• Five men rode toward Zhang Xiaohua’s cart, and one of them called to their Hall Master that something was wrong with it.

Zhang Xiaohua overheard Jiang Heshu identify clues suggesting his battered carriage concealed something heavy and several passengers, prompting Hall Master Qiu to pursue and stop him. Qiu began questioning Zhang Xiaohua and tested him by throwing a silver ingot, leaving Zhang Xiaohua startled and expecting an attack.

• Jiang Heshu explained to Hall Master Qiu that the carriage’s warped wheels, noisy ride, bouncing cushions, and struggling mule suggested it carried something heavy or multiple people.
• Hall Master Qiu dismissed Jiang Heshu’s deductions as uncertain, then decided to stop Zhang Xiaohua and inspect the carriage himself.
• Hall Master Qiu and his four men caught up, surrounded Zhang Xiaohua’s carriage, and demanded to know where he was going and what it carried.
• Zhang Xiaohua claimed the carriage had been registered with Danhe City’s garrison and told the men, who were not government officers, to move aside.
• Hall Master Qiu offered Zhang Xiaohua a silver ingot for answers, and Zhang Xiaohua asked to receive it first.
• Hall Master Qiu flung the silver at Zhang Xiaohua with force, making him fear the men were about to attack.

Zhang Xiaohua revealed his strength when Hall Master Qiu recognized Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi, killing Qiu and his men before continuing to Danhe City. After finding an inn with money from Nie Qianyu, he settled the women in and began cultivating, while they whispered in the next room.

• Zhang Xiaohua let Hall Master Qiu see Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi, prompting Qiu to order his men to seize them.
• Zhang Xiaohua killed Hall Master Qiu and the other four martial artists with his long sword, then cleared their bodies and horses from the road.
• Zhang Xiaohua drove the carriage to Danhe City and passed through the city gate without trouble.
• Zhang Xiaohua refused several inns because he said he lacked enough money, so Xiao Juzi gave him Nie Qianyu's purse.
• Zhang Xiaohua chose a cleaner inn, brought food to Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi himself, and cultivated alone as the two women whispered nearby.

Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi spent a sleepless night discussing Zhang Xiaohua’s heroism, their fears about the treasure, and whether he would escort them home. The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua arranged to ask Fushun Escort Agency about the job, while Nie Qianyu revealed that her destination was Hui Chun Valley and he asked where it was.

• Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi recalled Zhang Xiaohua’s strength and worried that he would hand them over to an escort agency instead of taking them home.
• Xiao Juzi warned Nie Qianyu not to tell Zhang Xiaohua about their treasure, and Nie Qianyu confirmed that he had not seen the Brocade Box.
• Zhang Xiaohua cultivated through the night and practiced the Big Dipper Divine Fist the next morning.
• Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi emerged tired, and Xiao Juzi claimed they had both dreamed of a cat chasing a mouse.
• Zhang Xiaohua brought them breakfast and said he would ask Fushun Escort Agency about escorting them.
• Nie Qianyu said she was going to Hui Chun Valley, and Zhang Xiaohua asked her to explain where it was.

Zhang Xiaohua went to the Fushun Escort Agency hoping to arrange protection for Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi on their way to Mochou City, but discovered the agency had stopped escorting anyone or anything there. Suspecting the restrictions were meant to target Nie Qianyu, he secretly followed Chief Escort Leader Lu and began eavesdropping on a meeting with a middle-aged scholar.

• Nie Qianyu told Zhang Xiaohua that her home was in Mochou City, and he reassured her before leaving to find an escort agency.
• Zhang Xiaohua reached the Fushun Escort Agency and learned it had temporarily stopped taking jobs to Mochou City and was inspecting goods and people under new rules.
• Chief Escort Leader Lu told customers that other escort agencies had issued similar announcements and that armed martial artists had been posted at three of the city gates.
• Zhang Xiaohua suspected the restrictions were connected to the people hunting Nie Qianyu, then followed Chief Escort Leader Lu to a rear courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua used his abilities to reach the roof of the room where Lu met a refined middle-aged scholar and began listening in.

Zhang Xiaohua learned that Commander Zhou had sent his men to the East Gate after a false lead, so he rushed Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi out through the West Gate. The trio left Danhe City safely, but Zhang Xiaohua was still unsure how they would reach Mochou City without an escort.

• Commander Zhou learned that Hall Master Qiu and five others had been killed outside the East Gate, then ordered his men to gather and called for reinforcements.
• Chief Escort Leader Lu decided not to lift the escort agency's restrictions, leaving Zhang Xiaohua worried about how to transport Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi.
• Zhang Xiaohua bought a carriage and horse, told Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi to pack, and set out with them for the West Gate.
• Zhang Xiaohua checked the road with his divine sense and drove the carriage safely out of Danhe City.
• Zhang Xiaohua wondered who would escort Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi to Mochou City.

Zhang Xiaohua secretly took Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi out of Danhe City after escort agencies refused to take them south. He proposed that they travel with him until he finished his own business, then he would escort them to Mochou City.

• Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi realized Zhang Xiaohua had not left them behind and asked why he had taken them outside the city.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that their pursuers had gone toward the East Gate and that the escort agency would not accept their job.
• Nie Qianyu described the routes to Mochou City and Pingyang City, revealing that their destinations lay in different directions from Danhe City.
• Zhang Xiaohua decided he could not entrust the girls to unfamiliar escorts and offered to take them along until he completed his business.
• Nie Qianyu accepted the plan, reasoning that traveling farther from their pursuers would make it harder for them to be found.

Zhang Xiaohua traveled through the snow with Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi, heading toward Pingyang City while reflecting on their month-long journey from Danhe City. He reached the outskirts of the city and planned to arrive before nightfall, with the story leaving him and his companions racing through the snow toward it.

• Zhang Xiaohua declined Nie Qianyu’s offer to shelter inside the carriage and said they were only four or five li from Pingyang City.
• Zhang Xiaohua urged the black horse onward, while Huanhuan struck it with its tail to make it gallop faster.
• Zhang Xiaohua recalled how Huanhuan had guided the carriage during their month-long journey and how Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi had grown accustomed to him.
• Zhang Xiaohua remembered defeating bandits along the road with single sword strikes, while Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi watched from the carriage.
• Zhang Xiaohua recalled that Nie Qianyu had been upset to spend New Year away from home, but Xiao Juzi had taken her out and improved her mood.

Zhang Xiaohua arrived in Pingyang City with Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi, then left them at an inn to visit Misty Mountain Villa. As he approached the occupied villa, he reflected on whether the ruined Misty Sect could rise again and noticed something unexpected about the archway.

• Zhang Xiaohua remembered Nie Qianyu's twelfth birthday and how he had bought her twelve red eggs.
• Zhang Xiaohua lodged Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi at an inn in Pingyang City and left alone to handle his business.
• Zhang Xiaohua walked through the snowy night, then used the Floating Technique to travel toward Misty Mountain Villa.
• Zhang Xiaohua considered the Misty Sect's losses and wondered whether it could regroup under the Righteous Path Alliance's occupation.
• Zhang Xiaohua reached Misty Mountain Villa and found no guards beneath its archway; when his divine sense touched the characters for “Misty,” he was astonished.

Zhang Xiaohua investigated the ruined formation around Misty Mountain Villa, then visited Huanxi Mountain Villa and found its herb fields barren. He encountered Qiuju in the Inner Courtyard, where she struggled to recognize the grown young man before her.

• Zhang Xiaohua discovered that Misty Mountain Villa's archway was one of six formation eyes, while the other five had been destroyed and repurposed.
• Zhang Xiaohua visited Huanxi Mountain Villa's snow-covered herb fields and considered whether origin-stone-infused water could have helped the herbs sprout.
• Zhang Xiaohua overheard Ma Jing entertaining young servants with an embellished story about Great Forest Temple searching the villa for martial arts manuals and taking Ou Yan away.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed someone in the Inner Courtyard and went to the small courtyard where Qiuju was staying.
• Qiuju opened the door and hesitantly asked whether the grown young man was really Zhang Xiaohua, who reminded her that he had once helped hang her laundry.

Zhang Xiaohua reunited with Qiuju at Huanxi Mountain Villa and told her about his captivity and five years on a deserted island. After learning about the Misty Sect’s destruction and the villa’s troubled state, he said he planned to go home and then seek out Miss Ou, Sister Qiutong, and the others.

• Qiuju recognized Zhang Xiaohua and welcomed him into her room, where they caught up on his disappearance.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that the Heavenly Dragon Sect had captured him and that he later escaped to a deserted island, where he lived for five years.
• Qiuju told Zhang Xiaohua that she did not know whether Zhang Xiaohu was alive and described how the Misty Sect had been destroyed and its survivors scattered or taken away.
• Qiuju explained that the Righteous Path Alliance watched Huanxi Mountain Villa, whose medicinal fields had gone barren, and offered to help Zhang Xiaohua find work there.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Qiuju that he would visit his parents and then go find Miss Ou, Sister Qiutong, and the others.

Zhang Xiaohua visited Qiuju at Huanxi Mountain Villa and told her he planned to find Ou Yan and Qiutong. Qiuju gave him a letter and a small box intended for Qiutong, asking him to deliver them when they met.

• Qiuju praised Zhang Xiaohua for rescuing Ou Yan and Qiutong, and he explained that Chu Yunfei would ask Elder Hu about the Incense-Passing Cult's location.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Qiuju about He Tianshu, but she did not know where he was after the Misty Sect's defeat.
• Zhang Xiaohua prepared to leave and promised to send Qiuju's regards to Ou Yan and Qiutong, while asking her to keep his visit secret.
• Qiuju remembered that a Misty Sect disciple had left Qiutong a birthday letter and small box, then recounted how the attack and Qiutong's departure caused her to forget them.
• Qiuju gave Zhang Xiaohua the letter and box, and he promised to place them in Qiutong's hands himself.

Zhang Xiaohua left Pingyang City to travel toward Lu Town, carrying a letter and a small box for Qiutong while Nie Qianyu and Xiao Juzi stayed at the inn. On the snowy road, he witnessed a Swift Delivery carriage crush a cat and leave it behind, and the cat died before he could help.

• Zhang Xiaohua promised Qiuju he would keep the letter and paper box safe and deliver them to Qiutong, then returned to the inn and stored them away.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Nie Qianyu he expected to be away for at least ten days and rode out on Huanhuan, teasing her and Xiao Juzi as he left.
• As he traveled toward Lu Town, Zhang Xiaohua contemplated how to reverse the forms of the Big Dipper Divine Fist but found no way to link them.
• A Swift Delivery carriage sped past Zhang Xiaohua and crushed a cat beneath its wheel, while the driver chose not to stop.
• Zhang Xiaohua hurried to the injured cat, but it looked at him with hatred and died before he could do anything.

After burying a stray cat, Zhang Xiaohua entered a deeper state of unity with heaven and gained insight into life, death, and the Heavenly Dao. He realized how to practice the Big Dipper Divine Fist’s second stage in reverse and continued his journey with a new resolve to treat his sword lightly.

• Zhang Xiaohua buried the cat that had been crushed by a carriage and reflected on the fragility of life.
• Zhang Xiaohua’s consciousness rose into the Heavenly Dao, showing him births and deaths across the world and the people he had killed.
• Zhang Xiaohua saw figures of a dragon and phoenix formed from Primordial Qi, then returned to his body with a deeper understanding of the Heavenly Dao.
• Zhang Xiaohua realized that each move in the Big Dipper Divine Fist’s second stage had to be performed in reverse, from the final move to the first.
• Zhang Xiaohua decided to remember the cat’s death as a warning and vowed not to draw his sword lightly.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered that the dragon-and-phoenix-shaped Primordial Qi above Guo Village was centered on his family home, where Nie Qianyu had gone into labor after carrying a child for nearly five years. He rushed home and reunited with Zhang Cai as the family awaited the birth.

• Zhang Xiaohua mastered the Reverse Big Dipper Divine Fist and practiced it alongside the forward form while traveling toward Guo Village.
• He saw dragon-and-phoenix-shaped Primordial Qi gathering above Guo Village and hurried toward his family home.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that Nie Qianyu was in labor and that Zhang Xiaolong had gone to find a midwife.
• Liu Kai mistook Zhang Xiaohua for Zhang Xiaolong, but Zhang Cai recognized him, and Zhang Xiaohua confirmed that he had come home.

Zhang Xiaohua returned to Guo Village as his sister-in-law Qian’er gave birth amid celestial omens, but the newborn was enclosed in a mysterious golden lotus formation. After discovering the formation’s extraordinary nature, Zhang Xiaohua noticed an opening that gave him hope of resolving the birth.

• Zhang Cai and the others welcomed Zhang Xiaohua home, and Old Shopkeeper Li thanked him for saving his family.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed Dragon and Phoenix Primordial Qi descend over the village and redirected most of the scattered qi into his courtyard.
• Li Yinfeng emerged from the house and reported that Qian’er had given birth to a huge, opening-and-closing lotus.
• Guo Sufi carried the golden lotus into the courtyard, and Zhang Xiaohua took it from her to examine it.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered that the lotus was an intricate innate formation made of countless golden talismans.
• As the formation rotated, Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense swept over a certain direction and his face lit up with delight.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered that his prematurely born nephew was enclosed in a layered formation inside the lotus and used his small sword to split it open. As the lotus fully bloomed, the infant opened his eyes, and Zhang Xiaohua was drawn into darkness.

• Zhang Xiaohua found a crack in the formation and told Guo Sufi that her child was a boy, then asked everyone to move back.
• Zhang Xiaohua identified the crack as the formation’s weak point and prepared to cut it with his small sword despite his doubts.
• Zhang Xiaohua’s sword drew a warm current from his left arm, widening the crack until the current weakened and the sword could go no farther.
• Purple Qi flowed from the formation through Zhang Xiaohua’s arm, replenishing the warm current and allowing him to keep splitting the sphere.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened the formation, and the lotus bloomed completely as a strange fragrance filled the courtyard.
• The infant opened his eyes and met Zhang Xiaohua’s gaze, pulling him into a realm of darkness.

After splitting the lotus formation, Zhang Xiaohua witnessed a vision of creation and destruction, then watched the formation’s golden spheres enter him and the newborn infant. The child appeared ordinary afterward, and Zhang Xiaohua’s family gathered around the newborn in the courtyard.

• Zhang Xiaohua experienced the evolution and collapse of the universe, from darkness and the emergence of life to the return of everything to darkness.
• Zhang Xiaohua used his divine sense to memorize the infant’s meridians as they absorbed the purple Qi, then watched the formation divide into two golden spheres.
• One sphere entered Zhang Xiaohua’s brow and disappeared into a mysterious place at the back of his head, while the other entered the infant and produced a golden phantom that vanished into the child.
• Guo Sufi asked whether she could carry the newborn inside, and Zhang Xiaohua assured her the child was safe.
• Guo Sufi picked up the infant, who began crying, as Zhang Xiaolong hurried into the courtyard and asked whether Qianqian was all right.

Zhang Xiaohua returned home just as Zhang Xiaolong’s child was born, and Granny Li fled after mistaking the unusually beautiful newborn for a demon. The family reunited, but Li Yinfeng’s worry about Xiaohu and Li Jinfeng’s question about Qiutong left the chapter with both seeking news of loved ones.

• Zhang Xiaolong hurried to see his newborn, while Granny Li called the beautiful baby a demon and ran away without taking her silver.
• Mr. Liu explained that Zhang Xiaolong’s delay had kept outsiders from learning about the strange phenomenon surrounding the birth.
• Zhang Xiaolong discovered that Zhang Xiaohua had returned, and the brothers embraced before Zhang Xiaohua greeted Li Jinfeng.
• Li Yinfeng asked Zhang Xiaohua whether he knew if Xiaohu was alive, but he said he had no useful information.
• Zhang Cai warned Zhang Xiaohua to be careful after learning he had visited Huanxi Mountain Villa.
• Li Jinfeng nervously asked Zhang Xiaohua whether he had seen Qiutong.

Zhang Xiaohua reunited with his family in Guo Village, shared news of Qiutong with Li Jinfeng, and brought Huanhuan back to the Zhang family courtyard. While resting, he reflected on the Heavenly Dao, his newborn nephew’s meridians, and the mysterious purple Qi, unaware that characters were appearing on his wristguard.

• Zhang Xiaohua told Li Jinfeng that Qiutong was safe but not in Pingyang City, and Li Jinfeng was relieved.
• Zhang Xiaolong asked Zhang Xiaohua where he had been, but Zhang Cai told him to rest before explaining.
• Zhang Xiaohua and the others found Huanhuan outside the courtyard, and Zhang Xiaohua led the Four Unlike back to the Zhang family courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua visited his grandmother’s grave, then meditated in the rebuilt room where her little house had stood.
• Zhang Xiaohua recalled the Heavenly Dao’s evolution and memorized the many meridians he had seen in his newborn nephew.
• Zhang Xiaohua considered the purple Qi absorbed into his left arm, while faint characters began appearing on his wristguard unnoticed.

Zhang Xiaohua found that the golden formation around his core was beyond his ability to study, then reflected on his cultivation and joined his family after a day of contemplation. He learned that his Four Unlike, Huanhuan, preferred water rich in vital energy and settled in with his family, who asked him to tell the story of how he acquired it after dinner.

• Zhang Xiaohua examined the golden formation around his core but had to withdraw his divine sense because studying it exhausted him.
• Zhang Xiaohua accepted that he needed to build his foundation and resumed studying Fire Dragon True Person's Dao of Formations.
• Zhang Xiaohua left his room and found his family gathered around Huanhuan, then exchanged jokes with Li Yinfeng and asked after Qianqian and the baby.
• Mr. Liu asked Zhang Xiaohua about Huanhuan, and Zhang Xiaohua promised to tell everyone how he had acquired the Four Unlike after dinner.
• Zhang Xiaohua realized Huanhuan was drinking the family's spring water, then wetted some grass and made it eat.
• Zhang Cai invited Zhang Xiaohua and the others inside for tea and promised to have Zhang Xiaohua's mother make braised pork later.

Zhang Xiaohua reunited with his family over a festive meal and met his newborn nephew, who was mysteriously drawn to him. The baby quieted only when Zhang Xiaohua gave him a Qi Stone, leaving Zhang Xiaohua to suspect the child already had a taste for valuable things.

• Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi welcomed Zhang Xiaohua home with a feast attended by the Liu and Li families.
• Zhang Xiaohua visited Liu Qian and learned that the small stone he had given her had crumbled just before her baby was born.
• The newborn stopped crying when Zhang Xiaohua approached, but Zhang Xiaolong’s attempt to hold him ended with the baby urinating on him.
• Zhang Xiaolong placed the baby in Zhang Xiaohua’s arms, and the infant happily grabbed Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation Qi Stone.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave the baby another small Qi Stone, which quieted him and put him to sleep.