Recaps

Zhang Xiaohua fought Ye Liaocheng in the fifth betting match and appeared to knock them both unconscious with an accidental-looking collision. The match’s outcome remained unclear until Zhang Xiaohua sat up, leaving the officials and spectators to decide what had happened.

• Zhang Xiaohua realized Chen Fengxiao had scheduled his bouts to prevent him from winning the final match.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Ye Liaocheng exchanged blows for a long time, with Ye refusing to chase Zhang beyond the arena’s center.
• Zhang Xiaohua rushed into Ye Liaocheng and struck his Tanzhong acupoint with his head, leaving them both unconscious.
• The officials hesitated to enter the arena because the rules did not explain how to judge a match when both fighters fainted.
• Zhang Xiaohua suddenly sat up and rubbed his head as everyone watched.

Zhang Xiaohua won his match against Ye Liaocheng by dragging the unconscious opponent across the arena boundary, then prepared to bet on himself against Qi Yuntian. He left the chapter wagering two Blood Replenishing Pills despite Chen Fengxiao’s surprise.

• Zhang Xiaohua woke first, dragged Ye Liaocheng across the arena boundary, and won the ninth betting match for the Grass Department.
• Ye Liaocheng regained consciousness outside the boundary and realized Zhang Xiaohua had dragged him out, while Venerable Lei announced the next match against Qi Yuntian.
• Chen Fengxiao, Qiu Weicheng, and Zhang Xiaohua joked about the win and the fruit peel that had helped cause it.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Chen Fengxiao to place a bet for him, since participating disciples could not wager for themselves.
• Zhang Xiaohua chose to bet first one Blood Replenishing Pill, then two, on his victory over Qi Yuntian.

Chen Fengxiao arranged for Qiu Weicheng and Bai Huan to place a small bet on Zhang Xiaohua, who then entered the arena as Ren Xiaoyao to face Qi Yuntian. Qi Yuntian tried to stay near the arena’s center and wear Zhang Xiaohua down with lightness skill, but Zhang Xiaohua pretended to tire and waited for Qi Yuntian’s stamina to fade.

• Chen Fengxiao pressed Qiu Weicheng to arrange a bet on Zhang Xiaohua, and Qiu Weicheng obtained two pills from Bai Huan.
• Qiu Weicheng explained that the disciples’ bets also counted toward records that could earn future benefits.
• Venerable Lei called Ren Xiaoyao and Qi Yuntian into the arena, where Qi Yuntian cleared away debris and insisted on fighting near the center.
• Zhang Xiaohua struggled to draw Qi Yuntian from the center as they traded moves to a stalemate.
• Qi Yuntian shifted to evasive lightness skill to wear Zhang Xiaohua down, while Zhang Xiaohua pretended to tire and let the battle drag on.
• Qi Yuntian gradually slowed as his stamina and internal force began to run low.

Zhang Xiaohua outlasted Qi Yuntian and won the final match, securing the Grass Division’s victory in the betting tournament. The betting records showed Bai Huan was the only person who had wagered on Zhang Xiaohua, and Chen Fengxiao began to tell him how much he had won.

• Zhang Xiaohua endured Qi Yuntian’s attacks until Qi ran out of strength and admitted defeat, after which Zhang Xiaohua collapsed as if exhausted.
• The crowd accused the final match of being rigged, so Venerable Lei announced the Grass Division’s 8–2 victory and ordered an investigation of the betting records.
• The judges found that Bai Huan alone had wagered on Zhang Xiaohua’s victory, placing two Blood Replenishing Pills on his behalf with Qiu Weicheng supplying them.
• Chen Fengxiao and Wu Zhouxu confirmed the records were genuine, while the crowd turned suspicious and hostile toward Bai Huan.
• Qi Yuntian congratulated Zhang Xiaohua and left after Zhang thanked him for yielding; Chen Fengxiao then asked Zhang how much he wanted to know about his winnings.

Ren Xiaoyao redirected the Pill-Refining Hall disciples’ anger by inviting them to challenge him for a chance to erase their betting debts, while the Herb Division secured a large payout from the wagered duels. He returned to the small courtyard with Bai Huan and began arranging pill exchanges for herbs.

• Ren Xiaoyao told the disciples he had placed the two pills as bets on himself, then invited them to challenge him over the next three days to cancel their losses.
• Chen Fengxiao supported the weakened Ren Xiaoyao and sent Bai Huan to help him return to the small courtyard and organize the bettors’ records.
• Venerable Lei gave Chen Fengxiao the settlement showing that the Pill Division owed the Herb Division three hundred taels of gold, and Chen signed it while Wu Zhouxu accepted the debt.
• Ren Xiaoyao gave Bai Huan Blood Replenishing Pills to share with Bai Huan and Qiu, then asked him to let Herb Division disciples exchange herbs for pills.

Zhang Xiaohua planned to trade his winnings for rare herbs while continuing his cultivation, and Zou Shuming secretly checked whether he was exhausted. The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua noticed something unusual about the Azure Water Sword’s scabbard.

• Bai Huan asked whether he could exchange an unidentified herb from You Lan Grand Canyon for a pill, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to reserve one for him.
• Zhang Xiaohua celebrated his gambling winnings, considered seeking herbs in You Lan Grand Canyon, and returned to comprehending the Heavenly Dao.
• Zou Shuming secretly watched Zhang Xiaohua sleeping and concluded that he would be too exhausted to gamble the next day, while Zhang Xiaohua pretended to be asleep.
• Chen Fengxiao and Qiu Weicheng approached Zhang Xiaohua’s courtyard at night but turned back without entering.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined the Azure Water Sword and its scabbard the next morning, then noticed something with his divine sense that surprised him.

Zhang Xiaohua found a sword manual hidden in the Azure Water Sword’s sheath and traded herbs with Bai Huan for three Lesser Bone Condensing Pills. He then faced a challenge arranged by Tianmu Peak’s leaders, who made Zou Shuming represent the disciples whose stakes Zhang Xiaohua had won.

• Zhang Xiaohua discovered a concealed sword manual in the sheath and noticed its eighty-one moves seemed unusual.
• Bai Huan brought Zhang Xiaohua his betting records and traded several herbs, including Fragrant Soul Wood, for three Lesser Bone Condensing Pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua waited for disciples to challenge him, while Wu Zhouxu, Chen Fengxiao, and Zou Shuming arrived to explain that they had halted the planned challenges.
• Wu Zhouxu and Chen Fengxiao arranged for Zou Shuming to represent the other disciples, with their stakes increased by twenty percent if Zou lost and reduced by twenty percent if Zhang Xiaohua lost.
• Zhang Xiaohua agreed to the arrangement but insisted that Zou Shuming’s proposed challenge conditions must concern martial arts.

Zhang Xiaohua raced Zou Shuming up Tianmu Peak in a lightness-skill contest and rescued him when he fell from a cliff. Zou Shuming conceded defeat, and Zhang Xiaohua continued toward the summit with him following behind.

• Chen Fengxiao and Wu Zhouxu arranged a race to Tianmu Peak's summit, and Zhang Xiaohua and Zou Shuming set off together.
• Zhang Xiaohua kept pace with Zou Shuming, revealing that his lightness skill was far stronger than the onlookers expected.
• Zou Shuming left the mountain path to climb a steep cliff, hoping Zhang Xiaohua would fail to follow him.
• Zou Shuming's inner energy gave out, and Zhang Xiaohua caught him before he could fall to his death.
• Zou Shuming thanked Zhang Xiaohua and conceded the match, and Zhang Xiaohua headed for the summit with Zou Shuming following behind.

Zhang Xiaohua defeated Zou Shuming in a lightness-skill contest, confirming his victory in the wager and making the disciples accept their losses. He opened herb-for-pill exchanges to the Pill Department as well as the Herb Department, and by evening the courtyard was packed with herbs owed to him.

• Zou Shuming swore that he had competed fairly, and Venerable Lei declared Zhang Xiaohua the winner of the contest.
• Chen Fengxiao helped Zhang Xiaohua assure the Pill Department disciples that they could exchange herbs for medicinal pills on the same terms as the Herb Department.
• Zhang Xiaohua said the exchange ratio would be his decision and asked Bai Huan and Qiu Weicheng to help manage the trades.
• The disciples hurried to gather herbs, then lined up at Zhang Xiaohua's courtyard to exchange them for pills while Bai Huan and other disciples handled the records and distribution.
• By evening, Bai Huan sorted the collected jade boxes into piles of ten-year herbs, older herbs, and herbs of unknown names for Zhang Xiaohua to inspect.

Zhang Xiaohua secured a mountain of herbs and jade cases through the Pill Division’s wagers, while Chen Fengxiao and Wu Zhouxu bargained over how debts would be paid. The chapter ended with Elder Purple Ginseng discussing the Cult Master’s concerns about Shixin Peak before asking Yang Yao about his trip to Hui Chun Valley.

• Bai Huan gave Zhang Xiaohua the wager records, and Chen Fengxiao asked Wu Zhouxu to collect pills owed by the Vajras.
• Wu Zhouxu offered accumulated herbs, including unidentified ones, in place of pills, and Chen Fengxiao agreed to exchange them for Zhang Xiaohua.
• Zhang Xiaohua pretended he did not want the herbs or know how to refine pills, but Wu Zhouxu promised to deliver them the next morning.
• After Chen Fengxiao and Wu Zhouxu left, Zhang Xiaohua decided to leave the herbs and jade cases in his courtyard and later refine the herbs into pills.
• Elder Purple Ginseng told Yang Yao that the Cult Master blamed the Pill-Refining Hall over the Shixin Peak matter, then asked how Yang Yao’s trip to Hui Chun Valley had gone.

Yang Yao reported the Hui Chun Valley matter to Elder Purple Ginseng, who decided to keep Zhang Xiaohua at Tianmu Peak under watch rather than bring him back to Baiyue Peak. Deputy Hall Master Xu learned of Zhang Xiaohua’s gold leaves and ordered Wu Zhouxu to seek a chance to recover them, while also discussing the approaching You Lan Mu Lian.

• Yang Yao told Elder Purple Ginseng about Zhang Xiaohua, Qiangshi, the Forget Worry Grass, and Deputy Hall Master Xu taking the short sword, then asked for Zhang Xiaohua to be transferred back to Baiyue Peak.
• Elder Purple Ginseng reprimanded Yang Yao for bringing an unqualified medicine boy into the Incense-Passing Cult and withheld the good post he had planned for him.
• Elder Purple Ginseng chose to leave Zhang Xiaohua at Tianmu Peak for two years under Chen Fengxiao’s supervision and ordered Yang Yao to keep watch on both newcomers.
• A disciple reported to Deputy Hall Master Xu that Zhang Xiaohua’s bundle contained hundreds of taels in gold leaves, and Xu ordered Wu Zhouxu to watch Zhang Xiaohua and find a chance to take the bundle.
• The disciple told Deputy Hall Master Xu that You Lan Mu Lian was approaching, and Xu said there was no need to hurry because Pill Department disciples could not enter.

Zhang Xiaohua received a delivery of herbs and was assigned Bai Huan as a companion and watcher at his courtyard. He traded pills to Senior Brother Liao for two old herbs and information about a place to gather more, then had Bai Huan move the herbs indoors.

• Wu Zhouxu sent Ye Liaocheng, Qi Yuntian, and Cheng Shi to deliver herbs to Zhang Xiaohua, who signed for them.
• Bai Huan arrived with bedding after Great Leader Chen arranged for him to stay and help watch over Zhang Xiaohua and the herbs.
• Senior Brother Liao offered Zhang Xiaohua two forty-year-old unidentified herbs and information about a herb-gathering location in exchange for three Lesser Bone Condensing Pills.
• After receiving the pills, Senior Brother Liao whispered the location to Zhang Xiaohua, who realized he might be able to gather herbs there.
• Chen Fengxiao and Qiu Weicheng visited the courtyard, and Zhang Xiaohua told Bai Huan to move the piled-up herbs indoors.

Zhang Xiaohua insisted on tending herb fields despite Chen Fengxiao’s surprise, and he and Bai Huan were assigned to the barren fields on Tianmu Peak’s eastern summit. After the former caretakers handed over the fields and left, Zhang Xiaohua headed farther across the summit.

• Zhang Xiaohua reminded Chen Fengxiao that he had already asked to tend herb fields, and Chen Fengxiao agreed to assign him the barren fields on Tianmu Peak with Bai Huan as his companion.
• Chen Fengxiao confirmed that the Pill Department had delivered Zhang Xiaohua’s wager winnings and warned him to stay away from the consecrates’ pill-refining chambers on the western side.
• Chen Fengxiao, Qiu Weicheng, Bai Huan, and Zhang Xiaohua climbed to the eastern summit, where Chen Fengxiao showed them the bare fields and the small house they would share.
• Chen Fengxiao ordered the former caretakers to hand over the fields to Zhang Xiaohua and Bai Huan, then left with Qiu Weicheng.
• The former caretakers explained the fields’ upkeep, collected their belongings, and happily descended the mountain; Bai Huan went to fetch his bedding while Zhang Xiaohua headed toward the summit.

Zhang Xiaohua explored Tianmu Peak and overheard Pill Department disciples discussing his gambling match and Venerable Xu’s pill refining. After secretly observing the alchemy cave, he encountered Venerable Feng fleeing an explosion while attempting to refine pills.

• Zhang Xiaohua surveyed Tianmu Peak’s summit and headed west toward the Pill Department’s caves.
• Two disciples revealed that they suspected Great Vajra had deliberately lost to Zhang Xiaohua, and they discussed Venerable Xu’s difficulty refining the Lesser Bone Condensing Pill.
• Zhang Xiaohua followed the disciples to Venerable Xu’s cave and secretly watched him add herbs to a pill furnace.
• Zhang Xiaohua left the cave and discovered Venerable Feng escaping an explosion from another alchemy cave.
• Venerable Xu, Venerable Lei, and the others arrived, and Venerable Feng admitted he had failed to refine the Jade Return Pill and Lesser Returning Pill.

Zhang Xiaohua explored Tianmu Peak, found a cave to live in, and learned from Bai Huan that the Incense-Passing Cult had destroyed the Misty Sect and established Misty Hall. He questioned why Misty Hall had been given Shixin Peak, hoping to learn more about his second brother and the sect’s history.

• Venerable Lei and the other alchemists discussed their efforts to refine the explosive Jade Return Pill, and Zhang Xiaohua secretly followed the departing disciples before observing the pill-refining area.
• Zhang Xiaohua searched Tianmu Peak and found a spacious, dry cave on the southeastern side where he could live apart from Bai Huan.
• Bai Huan found Zhang Xiaohua and explained that the Grass Department cultivated herbs on Tianmu Peak’s eastern and southern slopes, while Misty Hall had received Shixin Peak.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Bai Huan about Misty Hall, and Bai Huan said it was formed from the Misty Sect’s surviving disciples after the Incense-Passing Cult destroyed the sect four years earlier.
• Zhang Xiaohua questioned Bai Huan about the Cult’s reasons for destroying the Misty Sect and giving Misty Hall Shixin Peak, but Bai Huan could only speculate about the cause.

Zhang Xiaohua learned from Bai Huan about Misty Hall’s treatment within the Incense-Passing Cult and the distant location of Shixin Peak, where he hoped to find his second brother. Bai Huan then told him an old tale about the cult’s nineteen peaks before taking him to settle into his room on Tianmu Peak.

• Bai Huan explained that Misty Hall’s disciples resented their defeat and confinement, and that other cult disciples often looked down on them.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that Shixin Peak lay three or four days from Tianmu Peak, so he decided to wait for a better chance to visit.
• Bai Huan told Zhang Xiaohua the tale that eighteen of the cult’s peaks had once floated around Yi Xiang Peak, and Zhang Xiaohua considered how such a formation might work.
• Bai Huan admitted he had arranged for others to carry Zhang Xiaohua’s belongings but had not dared order them to clean the room.

Zhang Xiaohua chose to live in a cave on Tianmu Peak and inspected the barren medicinal field. While studying a sword manual, he realized it contained an Immortal Path flying sword technique and began practicing it with Dreamchaser, leaving the technique unnamed.

• Zhang Xiaohua told Bai Huan he would live in a cave rather than the little room, and Bai Huan fetched his bedding.
• Bai Huan brought Zhang Xiaohua to a dry, secluded cave and mentioned seeing the Alchemy Division's alchemy rooms.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined the loose soil in the barren medicinal field and considered testing water soaked with yuan stones on the herbs.
• Zhang Xiaohua studied the eighty-one moves in the sword manual and recognized that they were altered Immortal Path sword-controlling moves.
• Zhang Xiaohua used his divine sense to guide Dreamchaser through the flying sword technique and considered naming it after Tianmu Peak.

Zhang Xiaohua named his newly mastered flying-sword art the Dream Weaving Sword Technique and explored the Pill Department's alchemy rooms at night. After accidentally falling into a hidden chamber, he discovered and unlocked an enormous pill furnace called the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.

• Zhang Xiaohua named his sword art the Dream Weaving Sword Technique and resolved to keep practicing it gradually.
• Bai Huan asked Zhang Xiaohua for advice about betting on future matches, and Zhang Xiaohua promised to share wager information and winnings.
• Zhang Xiaohua fetched spring water, placed a Yuan stone in the bucket, and completed his Heavenly Dao contemplation for the day.
• Zhang Xiaohua used Earth Escape to inspect the Pill Department's alchemy rooms, but found them occupied and decided to wait for Chen Fengxiao and Wu Zhouxu to negotiate.
• Zhang Xiaohua accidentally fell into a hidden underground alchemy room, broke the restrictions on its enormous pill furnace, and learned that it was called the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered pill formulas protected by a restriction in the hidden pill chamber and chose to break it with his own hand seals instead of using Meng. He then studied the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace’s refining method, which left him puzzled by its requirement for natal True Essence.

• Zhang Xiaohua practiced the Artifact Refining Gate’s object-moving hand seal to weed the herb field and watered several spots with spring water rich in Primordial Qi.
• Bai Huan offered to water the field and bring Four Unlike up, but Zhang Xiaohua declined and returned to the cave.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered the hidden pill chamber and broke the restriction protecting a jade slip through his own hand seals rather than using Meng.
• Zhang Xiaohua found formulas for secret pills including the Jade Return Pill, but lacked the required herbs.
• Zhang Xiaohua reviewed the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace’s refining method and became confused when its final step required natal True Essence.

Zhang Xiaohua partially refined the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, then used it to kindle azure flames and what he believed was Samadhi True Fire. Meanwhile, Chen Fengxiao decided to let Zhang Xiaohua live and work as he pleased while considering whether he could become a secret asset for the Herb Division.

• Zhang Xiaohua formed the furnace’s hand seals until he reached the final step, but stopped because he did not know how to spit out natal True Essence.
• Bai Huan told Chen Fengxiao that Zhang Xiaohua insisted on living alone in a cave, and Chen Fengxiao guessed he wanted privacy to cultivate internal energy.
• Chen Fengxiao told Bai Huan to keep watching Zhang Xiaohua without reporting so often, then considered asking Wu Dalang whether Zhang Xiaohua could refine pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua replenished his true qi with a yuan stone and found that his cultivation had moved closer to the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened the furnace, ignited its base with azure flames, and produced a flickering flame inside that he identified as Samadhi True Fire.

Zhang Xiaohua examined the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace and began turning green jade into herb-storage cases so he could secretly collect the herbs on Tianmu Peak. After Bai Huan explained the mysterious herb fields and the Incense-Passing Cult’s assessments, Zhang Xiaohua learned more about the barriers between the Outer Gate and the Inner Sect.

• Zhang Xiaohua tested Samadhi True Fire by refining green jade and studied the furnace’s eight arrays and earth-fire platform.
• Zhang Xiaohua shrank the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, cleared his money pouch, and began making jade cases to store the herbs on Tianmu Peak.
• Zhang Xiaohua stopped work at night and encountered Bai Huan watching him near the herb field.
• Bai Huan told Zhang Xiaohua that the herb fields had failed to sprout since Inner Sect disciples planted unknown seeds there four or five years earlier.
• Bai Huan explained that Inner Sect alchemists served Inner Sect disciples and that only a few Outer Gate disciples could qualify to enter the Inner Sect.

Zhang Xiaohua secretly transferred the herbs from the Herb Division’s courtyard to his pill chamber while studying the Bone Condensing Pill formula and keeping Zou Shuming from learning his plans. After nearly twenty days, someone arrived at his cave and called for him.

• Zhang Xiaohua collected several hundred jade boxes of herbs and discovered Zou Shuming was secretly following him to watch his movements.
• Zhang Xiaohua studied the Bone Condensing Pill formula and found that he already had its three primary ingredients, then began making more jade boxes.
• For several days, Zhang Xiaohua tended the medicinal fields, cultivated, and studied pill-making, formations, and restrictions while avoiding Zou Shuming’s gaze.
• Zhang Xiaohua identified and transferred herbs from the courtyard to his pill chamber over nearly twenty days, leaving the empty jade boxes behind.
• Someone called for Zhang Xiaohua from outside his cave, and he went out to answer.

Zhang Xiaohua learned that the Herb Division could not use the Pill Division’s pill room, ending his chance to learn pill refining from its venerables. He continued watering the unusual seeds and returned to his own pill room, where he noticed an emerald-green jade slip.

• Chen Fengxiao told Zhang Xiaohua that the Pill Division barred Herb Division disciples from its pill room and would not let him learn from the venerables.
• Zhang Xiaohua pretended to be disappointed, while Chen Fengxiao concluded that he was not a pill refiner and left hoping to use him in future wagered fights.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined the seeds he had watered with spring water and decided to water them again despite the risk of attracting attention.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned to his pill room, set up the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, and noticed an emerald-green jade slip with his divine sense.

Zhang Xiaohua restored a pair of magical jade rings called the Dragon Binding Ring and tested their power, but found they consumed too much true qi to use fully. Zou Shuming then delivered Wu Dalang’s offer: Zhang Xiaohua could learn alchemy in exchange for five hundred taels of gold.

• Zhang Xiaohua used Artifact Refining Under Heaven’s methods to restore the jade rings, learned they were the Dragon Binding Ring, and stored them after they drained his true qi.
• The next day, Zhang Xiaohua tested the Dragon Binding Ring on a boulder, but stopped when activating another seal threatened to exhaust his true qi.
• Zou Shuming appeared on Tianmu Peak and spoke privately with Zhang Xiaohua after Bai Huan left them alone.
• Zou Shuming told Zhang Xiaohua that Wu Dalang wanted to know if he wished to learn alchemy and would pay a price for the opportunity.
• Zou Shuming revealed that Zhang Xiaohua could learn alchemy if he handed over five hundred taels of gold.

Zhang Xiaohua refused Wu Zhouxu’s offer to trade his gold leaves for alchemy instruction, while Wu Zhouxu reported the refusal to Deputy Hall Master Xu. In the pill room, Zhang Xiaohua broke the restriction on an emerald-green jade slip and was delighted by what he found inside.

• Zou Shuming offered Zhang Xiaohua a chance to learn alchemy from a consecrated master in exchange for five hundred taels of gold leaves, but Zhang Xiaohua refused.
• Bai Huan questioned Zhang Xiaohua about Zou Shuming’s visit, and Zhang Xiaohua hid the true purpose of their conversation behind a joke about a gambling match.
• Zou Shuming reported Zhang Xiaohua’s refusal to Wu Zhouxu, who ordered him to keep watching Zhang Xiaohua and sent Mo San to inform Deputy Hall Master Xu.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered the pill room and carefully broke the restriction on an emerald-green jade slip without harming his divine sense.
• Zhang Xiaohua immersed his divine sense in the jade slip and was pleased by its contents.