Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue helped drought-stricken mortals and discovered that changing spiritual energy had damaged ordinary rice crops. Xiao Hua supplied Fan Manor with abundant resilient seeds and left with Xue Xue, intending to turn next to disputes among cultivators.

• Fan Yunxiao told Xiao Hua that rice-growing seasons had shifted, harvests had dwindled, and ordinary seeds might soon become unusable.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue traveled through drought-stricken areas, with Xiao Hua refining Rain Condensing Talismans while Xue Xue activated them.
• After fourteen days in seclusion, Xiao Hua concluded that the altered spiritual energy had harmed ordinary seeds and that seeds from his space could still grow well.
• Xiao Hua gave Fan Manor enough fine seeds for its own fields and to share with nearby communities, and Fan Yunxiao promised to distribute them.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue departed, and Xiao Hua said he was more capable of settling disputes among cultivators.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue headed to White Bamboo Mountain to rescue Fu He, Fu Chu, and Fu Zhu, whom they believed might be in danger. There, Fu He and his wives were living safely as the founders of Tianfu Sect, unaware that Xiao Hua was coming.

• Xiao Hua took Xue Xue toward White Bamboo Mountain, hoping they had arrived in time to save the three Fu cultivators.
• Fu He failed again to draw an Invisibility Talisman and realized he needed Foundation Establishment true essence to complete it.
• Fu Chu blamed Xiao Hua for losing the yellow-talisman method, but Fu He defended him for taking the blame and helping them escape.
• Fu He and his wives discussed teaching Tianfu Sect disciples and agreed that Fu Chu would be more patient with them.
• Fu Chu recalled learning that she and Fu Zhu were not Fu He's blood sisters, and Fu He cautioned her against speaking of the matter aloud.
• Fu He mourned Uncle Xiang, and Fu Zhu comforted him by saying Uncle Xiang had died knowing he was happy.

Fu He, Fu Zhu, and Fu Chu confronted the consequences of Xu Zheqing fleeing after revealing that he belonged to the Xu Family of Xian City. The Fu Family of Jinhua Mountain arrived at White Bamboo Mountain, and the Xu Family appeared just as Yun Qingfeng and Yun Qinglie prepared to leave.

• Fu He explained that he founded Tianfu Sect to build strength and pursue his ambition of making it one of the foremost sects on the Xiaoyu Continent.
• Li Xukun reported that Xu Zheqing had fled, and Fu Chu admitted she had revealed Fu He's spirit-talisman method to him.
• Liu Xuan warned that visitors had arrived, and Fu Zhu and Fu Chu learned they were from the Fu Family of Jinhua Mountain.
• Fu Feng and Yun Qingfeng confronted Fu He, Fu Zhu, and Fu Chu, while Yun Qingfeng and Yun Qinglie prepared to depart.
• Two divine senses arrived, and a voice warned that the visitors were from the Xu Family of Xian City.

Yun Qinglie and Yun Qingfeng discovered that Xu Hong and Zhong Yejing had come to White Bamboo Mountain for the Invisibility Talisman, while Fu He revealed he also possessed an Essence Nourishing Talisman. As the Foundation Establishment cultivators debated whether to kill Fu Feng and the others, Yun Qingfeng invoked his sect leader’s final instruction to protect them, leaving Xu Hong to ask Fu He what he wanted.

• Xu Hong and Zhong Yejing arrived at White Bamboo Mountain and revealed that the Xu Family sought the Invisibility Talisman’s crafting method.
• Yun Qingfeng realized Fu Feng had concealed the real purpose of the expedition, and Fu Feng offered to let the four Foundation Establishment cultivators copy the method.
• Fu He disclosed that he also had an Essence Nourishing Talisman and agreed to provide both methods on the condition that Fu Feng, Liu Yun, and the others be killed.
• Xu Hong prepared to attack, but Yun Qingfeng stopped him by citing the Yun Lan Sect leader’s final instruction and proposed driving Fu Feng and the others away instead.
• Xu Hong warned Fu He that the Qi Cultivation cultivators would not trouble him again and asked what Fu He wanted done.

Xiao Hua appeared at White Bamboo Mountain and overpowered Xu Hong, forcing the gathered cultivators to return Fu He's jade slips and swear not to harm Tianfu Sect. After settling the old grudges, Xiao Hua confronted two concealed cultivators, and one attacked him with a wind-blade fan.

• Fu He, Fu Feng, and Liu Yun swore heart oaths, and Xu Hong allowed them to leave White Bamboo Mountain.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue revealed themselves, and Xiao Hua immobilized Xu Hong, struck him, and returned Fu He's jade slips.
• Xiao Hua warned Xu Hong, Zhong Yejing, and the Yun Lan Sect against harming Tianfu Sect, then spared the Yun Lan Sect after hearing of Yun Tengyu's remorse.
• Xiao Hua told Fu Feng to end the Fu family's conflict with Fu He, and Fu Feng promised to relay the message to Fu Yunbo.
• Xiao Hua exposed two hidden cultivators and demanded they remove their Mihuan and swear a heart oath; one refused and attacked with wind blades from a palm-leaf fan.
• Xiao Hua's Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors cut through the wind blades and swept toward the fan.

Xiao Hua overwhelmed two disguised cultivators and forced them to surrender, discovering they were Qiu Mingwei and Liao Xuanlan. After supporting Tianfu Sect and thanking Yun Lan Sect for its help, he sent the Yun Qinglie brothers back to aid Yu City with seeds for the drought-stricken fields.

• Xiao Hua attacked the disguised cultivators with the Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors, Samadhi True Fire, and Town Cloud Seal.
• The male cultivator revealed a Black Bear Dharma Body, but Xiao Hua struck his mind with a soul spike and forced him to surrender.
• Qiu Mingwei and Liao Xuanlan removed their disguises, startling Xiao Hua and the Fu family members.
• Fu He invited everyone to Tianfu Sect’s Reception Hall, while Yun Qinglie and Yun Qingfeng asked to return to help Yu City.
• Xiao Hua promised to aid Yun Lan Sect if it faced trouble and gave the Yun Qinglie brothers fine seeds to plant where crops could not sprout.

Xiao Hua mediated between Tianfu Sect, the Fu Family, and Qiu Mingwei and Liao Xuanlan, urging reconciliation and confronting Liao Xuanlan about her revenge. After learning Qiu Mingwei had used a Cauldron-Vessel technique to force his cultivation breakthrough, Xiao Hua accepted the technique and encouraged Liao Xuanlan to pursue alchemy, leaving her hopeful about her future.

• Xu Hong gave Xiao Hua a piece of Qian Mo secret stone in exchange for spirit stones, and Xiao Hua asked Zhong Yejing to stay for a private discussion.
• Xiao Hua visited Tianfu Sect's Reception Hall and urged Fu He and Fu Feng to put aside their families' feud, while warning Liao Xuanlan not to harm unrelated people in the name of revenge.
• Liao Xuanlan admitted she had sought Fu He's talisman arts, and Qiu Mingwei revealed that he had used her as a cauldron-vessel to advance to late Foundation Establishment, leaving her cultivation likely capped at early Foundation Establishment.
• Qiu Mingwei gave Xiao Hua the Cauldron-Vessel technique and prepared to leave with Liao Xuanlan.
• Xiao Hua encouraged Liao Xuanlan to practice the Gengshan Liao Family's alchemy arts, and she resolved to try alchemy and repay his kindness if she succeeded.

Xiao Hua settled matters between the Tianfu Sect and the Fu Family, warned Fu He to act honorably, and gave him supplies for the sect. Before leaving with Xue Xue and Zhong Yejing, Xiao Hua accepted a damaged record of the concealment of heaven's guise technique from Fu He.

• Xiao Hua learned that Fu He and his twin wives had no direct blood relation, easing Xue Xue's concern.
• Xiao Hua told Fu He that he had helped the Tianfu Sect survive but would not shelter it, and warned him against wrongdoing.
• Xiao Hua gave Fu He a storage bag of Foundation Establishment Pills, spirit stones, spirit herbs, and rice grain.
• Fu He offered Xiao Hua a damaged Silk Brocade recording concealment of heaven's guise, and Xiao Hua accepted it.
• Xiao Hua left the Reception Hall and told Xue Xue that the Tianfu Sect and the Fu Family had made a good beginning.

Xiao Hua traveled with Xue Xue and Zhong Yejing toward the Zhong family’s Zhongling Mountain Villa, stopping along the way to give good seeds to farmers and visiting secretly at night. The Tianfu Sect’s leaders unexpectedly advanced to Foundation Establishment after a mysterious attacker fled, and Xiao Hua and his companions arrived at the Zhong family’s residence without its Family Head coming to greet them.

• Xiao Hua gave good seeds to farmers during the journey, while Zhong Yejing questioned why he helped mortals and he answered that it was his conscience.
• Xiao Hua learned that two gold foils he had long sought were kept in the Zhong family’s ancestral hall, and told Zhong Yejing how he had met her relatives.
• Xiao Hua left Xue Xue overnight and returned before dawn to study the concealment technique Fu He had given him.
• A short Foundation Establishment cultivator attacked White Bamboo Mountain, but fled after realizing he had targeted the wrong people; Fu He, Fu Feng, and Liu then each found a place to break through to Foundation Establishment.
• Xiao Hua, Xue Xue, and Zhong Yejing reached Luck City, and Zhong Yejing sent a message asking the Zhong Family Head to welcome Xiao Hua.
• The group continued to Zhongling Mountain Villa without receiving a response from the Family Head, and arrived at the Zhong family’s residence.

Xiao Hua visited the Zhong Family with Xue Xue, where Zhong Peifu tested him with late Foundation Establishment pressure. Zhong Haoran recognized Xiao Hua and helped ease the confrontation, and Xiao Hua was invited to the Reception Hall while Zhong Haoran followed behind.

• Zhong Yejing waited with Xiao Hua until Zhong Peifu arrived instead of the Zhong Family head.
• Zhong Peifu rebuked Zhong Yejing and pressured Xiao Hua, who remained calm and did not resist.
• Zhong Haoran recognized Xiao Hua and asked Zhong Peifu to show mercy, prompting Zhong Peifu to withdraw his pressure and apologize.
• Xiao Hua congratulated Zhong Haoran on reaching the peak of the twelfth layer of Qi Cultivation and asked whether Zhong Peihan had established her foundation.
• Zhong Peifu invited Xiao Hua and Xue Xue to the Reception Hall, while Zhong Haoran was told to follow behind Zhong Yejing.

Xiao Hua visited the Zhong Family to exchange Qian Mo secret stones for two pieces of gold foil, but Zhong Tianyao and Zhong Peiyuan refused to trade unless he revealed the foil’s use. The meeting turned hostile, and the Zhong Family threatened Xiao Hua and Xue Xue as he stood his ground.

• Zhong Peifu led Xiao Hua and Xue Xue into Zhongling Mountain Villa through a side entrance to meet Zhong Tianyao.
• Zhong Yejing recounted the events at White Bamboo Mountain, and Zhong Peiyuan dismissed her before she could explain further.
• Xiao Hua explained that he had obtained the Qian Mo secret stone by coincidence and revealed that he wanted to exchange it for the Zhong Family’s two pieces of gold foil.
• Zhong Tianyao refused the exchange because Xiao Hua would not disclose the gold foil’s use, while Zhong Peiyuan and Zhong Peifu accused him of threatening the family and mocked the Thunder Control Sect.
• Xiao Hua challenged the Zhong Family, and Zhong Tianyao and Zhong Peiyuan threatened to kill him and Xue Xue.

Xiao Hua threatened the Zhong Family after Zhong Peiyuan and Zhong Peifu attacked him and Xue Xue. He broke through the hall’s defenses and escaped with her, leaving the Zhong Family vowing to retaliate.

• Xiao Hua warned Zhong Tianyao that he would kill the Zhong Family’s disciples if they harmed him or Xue Xue.
• Zhong Peiyuan released his pressure at Xiao Hua while Zhong Peifu attacked Xue Xue, and Xiao Hua pulled her close and told her not to circulate her spiritual power.
• Xiao Hua resisted the two late Foundation Establishment cultivators’ pressure and used the Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors to smash through the hall’s sealed doorway.
• Xiao Hua hurled Fireball Talismans and Samadhi True Fire to block the Zhong Family elders, then escaped the hall with Xue Xue.
• Xiao Hua threatened to slaughter the Zhong Family’s disciples as he and Xue Xue fled, while Zhong Peiyuan pursued them and Zhong Tianyao ordered everyone back.

After clashing with the Zhong Family over the gold foil, Xiao Hua flew away with Xue Xue and planned to steal it later, once the family let down its guard. He left Xue Xue to prepare for taking the Ling Lei Pill while he went to help mortals near Yuncheng.

• Zhong Tianyao scolded Zhong Peiyuan for provoking Xiao Hua and warned that the Thunder Control Sect disciple’s flying speed and strength made him dangerous.
• Zhong Peifu and Zhong Peiyuan discussed protecting the Zhong Family and finding another way to repair their ancestral magical artifact, which required the Qian Mo secret stone Xiao Hua had taken.
• Xiao Hua reassured Xue Xue that he had only threatened the Zhong Family, then said he would return later to secretly take the gold foil.
• Xiao Hua flew away with Xue Xue and told her to meditate and prepare to take the Ling Lei Pill while he went to deliver seeds to mortals near Yuncheng.

Xiao Hua left Xue Xue in seclusion inside the Rabbit Formation and went to distribute seeds near Yuncheng. Meanwhile, Fellow Daoist Dongshan prepared a vast hidden formation with Fairy Yingzhuo and the Xunyan Sect, leaving its purpose undisclosed as it awaited completion and concealment.

• Xue Xue urged Xiao Hua to continue alone, and he established the Rabbit Formation for her seclusion before flying toward Yuncheng to distribute seeds.
• Fellow Daoist Dongshan tested a method for disguising the hills’ thorns, then flew toward the region covered by black mist.
• Fairy Yingzhuo questioned whether the Xunyan Sect’s contributions justified the help Dongshan had promised, and he assured her he would help her split her spirit.
• Fairy Yingzhuo asked what powerful being Dongshan intended to confront, but he refused to reveal the matter and warned her that knowing could bring harm.
• Dongshan explained that the Eight Desolations Spirit Seizing Formation needed months to absorb spiritual energy and blend into its surroundings before it could conceal itself from divine sense.

Fellow Daoist Dongshan completed and concealed the Eight Desolations Spirit Seizing Formation after warning Fairy Yingzhuo that he had to act before his mysterious target found something. The story then shifted to Zhongling Mountain Villa, where four disciples were discovered dead in a locked room, their bodies showing signs of terror.

• Fellow Daoist Dongshan told Fairy Yingzhuo to scatter the Xunyan Sect disciples and continue tracking the person he feared might find something.
• Fairy Yingzhuo and the Xunyan Sect disciples departed, and Fellow Daoist Dongshan completed the formation with a powerful ritual that divided him into four selves before they reunited.
• Fellow Daoist Dongshan vanished, leaving the hills north of Xi Kingdom indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape.
• A disciple at Zhongling Mountain Villa cried out that the four Senior Brothers who shared his room were dead.
• A guarding disciple entered the small house and found four corpses with blue-black faces, terrified expressions, and bloodied lips.

Zhong Yu investigated the deaths of disciples in the medicinal gardens and learned that nineteen had been killed without visible wounds. As the villa’s restrictions sounded an alarm, Xiao Hua confronted Zhong Peiyuan in the ancestral hall.

• Zhong Yu examined the four dead disciples and questioned a surviving disciple, who recalled seeing a fast-moving black shadow.
• The survivor pointed toward another row of rooms, and Zhong Yu ordered the medicinal-garden disciples gathered.
• Zhong Huan reported that fifteen more disciples in three rooms had died in the same manner.
• The villa’s restrictions sounded, and Zhong Yu flew toward the disturbance as Zhong Peiyuan challenged an intruder at the ancestral hall.
• Xiao Hua announced himself, and a flash of golden light struck as Zhong Peiyuan shouted his name.

Zhong Tianyao and Zhong Peiyuan blamed Xiao Hua for the deaths of nineteen Zhong Family disciples and began searching for him and Xue Xue, despite Zhong Yejing's insistence that Xiao Hua was not the killer. After a brief lull, a new disturbance erupted inside Zhongling Mountain Villa, where Xiao Hua's voice revealed a hidden tool-refining site.

• Zhong Yu told Zhong Tianyao and Zhong Peiyuan that a shadow resembling Xiao Hua had appeared near the dead disciples, and they ordered an investigation and a search for Xiao Hua and Xue Xue.
• Zhong Peiyuan and Zhong Peifu questioned Zhong Yejing, who defended Xiao Hua and described his concern for ordinary people, but they dismissed her account.
• Zhong Peiyuan ordered Foundation Establishment disciples to gather and maintain strict vigilance until Xiao Hua was captured, while the searchers found no trace of him or Xue Xue.
• After a dozen days without further incidents, a cry for help sounded from the villa's inner household during a moonless night.
• Zhong Yu and the watch disciples rushed toward the disturbance, then heard clashes of magic tools from the southwest as Xiao Hua taunted Zhong Tianyao about the family's hidden tool-refining site.

Xiao Hua raided Zhongling Mountain Villa again but failed to obtain the gold foil, then discussed the Zhong family's troubles and his plans with Xue Xue. He left determined to keep pressuring Zhong Tianyao, while Xue Xue continued preparing for Foundation Establishment.

• Xiao Hua evaded Zhongling Mountain Villa's guards, found a hidden artifact-refining facility, and stole some materials before escaping.
• A black shape disguised as a stone watched Xiao Hua and shot away after he had left.
• Xiao Hua told Xue Xue he had failed to steal the gold foil and planned to keep harassing the Zhong family until they traded it to him.
• Xiao Hua explained that a Golden Core cultivator from the Changbai Sect had likely threatened Zhong Tianyao and taken materials he needed.
• Xue Xue said she expected to meet the requirements for Foundation Establishment within a year, and Xiao Hua praised her progress.

After thirty-four Zhong family women were found dead, Zhong Peiyuan blamed Xiao Hua and ordered Zhong Yejing to report to Spirit Hall. Elsewhere, Zhong Peihan resisted Zhong Haoran’s offer to seek Xiao Hua’s help for her injuries, then wondered why he remained devoted to her.

• Zhong Yejing reported that thirty-four female family members had been killed in the same manner as the medicinal garden disciples, and Zhong Peiyuan accused Xiao Hua.
• Zhong Yu suggested seeking help from the Taiqing Sect and Changbai Sect, but Zhong Peiyuan rejected the idea and ordered Zhong Yejing to redeem herself by helping slay Xiao Hua.
• A duty disciple reported that someone had dug up several medicinal fields, and Zhong Peiyuan then ordered Zhong Yejing to summon Zhong Yedong and report to Spirit Hall.
• Zhong Yu reflected on the growing unrest and the departure of tenant workers as grief and commotion spread through Zhongling Mountain Villa.
• At Lily Courtyard, Zhong Haoran urged Zhong Peihan to let him ask Martial Aunt Yejing to take her to Xiao Hua for medicine, but Zhong Peihan resisted because she was ashamed of her injuries.
• Zhong Peihan told Zhong Haoran to return to his cultivation, then asked why he was willing to put her recovery ahead of his own future.

Zhong Haoran urged Zhong Peihan to seek Xiao Hua’s help after learning that only a legendary Sky Mending Pill might restore her severed meridians. The chapter left Zhong Haoran secretly praying at sunrise, offering his own meridians in exchange for hers.

• Zhong Peihan told Zhong Haoran that her meridians were completely severed and that only a Sky Mending Pill could restore them.
• Zhong Haoran promised to ask Xiao Hua for help, and Zhong Peihan agreed to let him seek the pill.
• Zhong Haoran suggested contacting Martial Aunt Yejing because Xiao Hua had already left.
• Zhong Haoran refused to reveal his morning ritual to Zhong Peihan, then flew to a nearby mountain summit.
• Zhong Haoran knelt before the sunrise, bowed nine times, and prayed to exchange his meridians for Zhong Peihan’s.