Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua joined the bidding for the Light Beast cub and challenged the other bidders with a promise to exceed the final winning bid by ten thousand primeval stones. Nine Heavens Superior questioned which senior Daoist cultivator Xiao Hua was buying the cub for, leaving Xiao Hua to answer.

• Yin Hu appeared at the auction, and Ao Shuai insisted that bidders reveal themselves before the bidding began.
• Haitian, Xiao Hua, Mulu King, and Ao Shuai stepped forward and declared their bids for the Light Beast cub.
• Yin Hu complained that he had arrived unprepared, and Nine Heavens Superior agreed to appraise rare treasures offered in place of primeval stones.
• Old Demon Zhi Feng said he would join forces with Ao Shuai rather than bid separately.
• Xiao Hua offered to outbid whoever won by ten thousand primeval stones, provoking Yin Hu and astonishing the other bidders.
• Nine Heavens Superior asked Xiao Hua which senior Daoist cultivator he intended to obtain the Light Beast for.

Xiao Hua declared that he would bid for the Light Beast cub to protect it as a life deserving respect, not to control or exploit it. Nine Heavens Superior proposed that only someone who could subdue the cub would be allowed to take it, and Ao Shuai called for everyone to try at once.

• Xiao Hua told Nine Heavens Superior he represented only himself and had joined the auction after hearing the others’ plans for the Light Beast cub.
• Xiao Hua argued that every life deserved respect and said he would raise the cub like his own child, while Hai Tian offered to join him and make it Gaza Kingdom’s guardian divine beast.
• Mulu King mocked Xiao Hua’s intentions and challenged his qualifications, but Xiao Hua said he would face the Heavenly Dao’s test and protect the cub regardless.
• Nine Heavens Superior proposed that the bidders first prove they could subdue the Light Beast cub before taking it away.
• Yin Hu objected to the Nine Sons Dragon Tablet no longer being loaned, but Nine Heavens Superior’s refusal left him with little confidence in his chances.
• Mulu King asked whether they should act together or take turns, and Ao Shuai said they should act at the same time.

Nine Heavens Superior revealed that the Light Beast cub was bait to draw out its parent, and Ao Shuai and the Mulu King joined the fight to capture the Light Beast. As the battle erupted, Xiao Hua survived an ambush by Old Demon Zhi Feng and flew to confront him.

• Nine Heavens Superior released the Light Cub from the Nine Sons Dragon Tablet, and it charged toward the second pavilion instead of escaping.
• The Light Beast emerged from the pavilion and blasted Hai Tian away while the Light Cub rushed to its side; Nine Heavens Superior offered the cub to anyone who helped capture the beast.
• Ao Shuai attacked with the East Sea Immortal Law Chapter, while the Mulu King used a jade seal to strike the Light Beast and its inner core.
• The Light Beast’s breath overwhelmed Xiao Hua, but he resisted it with the Sun-Blocking Technique and deflected Old Demon Zhi Feng’s wind-sword ambush, though it wounded him.
• Xiao Hua’s wound rapidly healed, and he flew toward Old Demon Zhi Feng, who summoned a spirit-rat Dharma manifestation and attacked with a storm of wind blades.

Xiao Hua and the others struggled as the Light Beast fought the Mulu King, Ao Shuai, and Nine Heavens Superior. After the Light Beast broke free of the Nine Sons Dragon Tablets and Immortal Law Chapter, it charged at the owl-hawk holding the Light Cub, and Xiao Hua sent the Divine Strength Centipede to help.

• The collision between the jade seal and the Light Beast’s inner core sent shockwaves through the space, exposing all nine pavilions and hurling Xiao Hua, Old Demon Zhi Feng, and the Light Cub through the air.
• Nine Heavens Superior transformed into an owl-hawk and seized the Light Cub while it tried to attack a dragon tablet, and the Light Beast grew furious at the cub’s injury.
• Ao Shuai joined the Nine Sons Dragon Tablets with the Immortal Law Chapter to restrain the Light Beast, but the Light Beast’s heartbeats shattered both treasures and it broke free.
• The Light Beast rammed the Mulu King’s jade seal aside and charged at the owl-hawk, while Xiao Hua sent out the Divine Strength Centipede to attack its legs.
• The Divine Strength Centipede endured the owl-hawk’s wind and black lightning long enough to disrupt its preparations, allowing the Light Beast to ram into the owl-hawk as it counterattacked with flames and lightning.

Xiao Hua and the Divine Strength Centipede helped the Light Beast break the Owl Hawk’s hold on the Light Cub, while Nine Heavens Superior’s black mist briefly trapped the Light Beast. The Owl Hawk then faced a clash between its own lightning and an unknown storm that it suspected Xiao Hua had summoned.

• The Owl Hawk was badly wounded by the Light Beast, but it kept the Light Cub in its claws as Nine Heavens Superior’s foul black mist engulfed the Light Beast.
• The Divine Strength Centipede struck the Owl Hawk’s left claw and freed the Light Cub from it, while Xiao Hua sent Xiaohei and the Heavenly Horse toward the Owl Hawk.
• The Light Beast burst through the black mist and shattered the Owl Hawk’s right claw, freeing the Light Cub and asking Xiao Hua for help.
• The Owl Hawk attacked the Light Cub again, but a dense storm of green heavenly lightning surrounded it and forced it to defend itself.
• The Owl Hawk recognized that the lightning could not have come from outside the sealed space and suspected Xiao Hua was behind it.

The Light Beast broke the demons’ attack, killed Yin Hu, and turned on Ao Shuai before unexpectedly fleeing toward the auction hall’s entrance. Xiao Hua exposed an attacker targeting the Light Cub and drove Yao Xiao back, then pursued the escaping Light Beast with Xiaohei and the Heavenly Horse.

• The Light Beast used blood-red runes to shatter the Nine Sons Dragon Tablets, the Immortal Law Chapter, the Mulu King’s jade seal, and Yin Hu’s inner core, then killed Yin Hu.
• The Light Beast feinted at the Mulu King and charged Ao Shuai, who defended himself with dragon qi as the Mulu King raised three jade seals.
• Xiao Hua’s Lightning and Thunder Technique held Yao Xiao at bay until Yao Xiao broke free and struck Xiao Hua with his claws.
• Xiao Hua was knocked toward the Light Cub, where he exposed a Confucian scholar using the Thousand Transformations Scarf to approach it.
• Xiao Hua smashed Yao Xiao’s claws with the As-You-Wish Staff, sending Yao Xiao falling toward the stone wall.
• The Light Beast unexpectedly fled toward the cave entrance, and Xiao Hua pursued it on the Heavenly Horse with Xiaohei while the Light Cub followed.

Xiao Hua and the Light Beast tried to escape the auction hall after discovering that it was inside a Catfish Eel’s body. They broke through its flesh with Innate True Water and their combined abilities, then were swept upward through a passage toward an exit.

• Xiao Hua warned the Light Beast that Clear Rain Superior had trapped them with corrosive spring water, while black mist and stomach fluid filled the hall.
• Haitian revealed that the auction hall was inside a Catfish Eel’s stomach and urged the humans and demons to work together to escape.
• Xiao Hua used the Pure Water Bottle’s Innate True Water to protect himself and the Light Beast, then joined the Light Beast in trying to break through the Catfish Eel’s stomach wall.
• Xiao Hua released Little Yellow and Xiaohei, whose silver light helped melt the stomach wall as the Light Beast and the others attacked.
• Ao Shuai and the other demons followed Xiao Hua’s group into the opening, and a hurricane carried everyone upward through a dark passage.
• The Light Beast told Xiao Hua not to resist the hurricane so they could escape first.

Xiao Hua followed the wounded Light Beasts as they escaped, while Ao Shuai, Old Demon Zhi Feng, and the Mulu King discussed the ambush and their next moves. The others departed on separate paths, and Old Demon Zhi Feng vowed to seek trouble with Xiao Hua after returning from another destination.

• Xiao Hua rode after the Light Beasts, while the kite owl used the Nine Sons Dragon Tablet to strike the Catfish Eel and then fled with it.
• The Light Beasts refused to pursue the kite owl and Catfish Eel, and Xiao Hua followed them as Ao Shuai and the others were cast out in another direction.
• Ao Shuai prepared to pursue the kite owl, but Old Demon Zhi Feng and the Mulu King warned him that the enemies were too dangerous and questioned why they had targeted the Light Beast cub.
• Ao Shuai and Old Demon Zhi Feng declined the Mulu King's proposal to discuss another matter, though both left open the possibility of meeting later.
• Ao Shuai departed for the East Sea, the Mulu King left, and Old Demon Zhi Feng headed toward another destination while vowing to take revenge on Xiao Hua.

The chapter describes Hanling Temple’s fame and the arduous, miraculous pilgrimage that led worshippers to its gates. Pilgrims who failed to reach the Buddha platform entered the temple instead, ready to offer incense before its many Buddha statues.

• An unknown wealthy merchant bought Hanling Mountain and donated it to the Buddhist Sect, which built Hanling Temple there.
• Pilgrims crossed the Tuotuo River and braved a dangerous mountain path to reach Hanling Mountain’s summit.
• Buddhist lights, floating lotuses, and visions refreshed pilgrims and guided them to Hanling Temple’s mountain gate.
• Pilgrims tried the path to the pagoda and Buddha platform but failed to reach the Buddha platform, despite rumors that it held a golden Buddha statue.
• Guest-receiving monks guided pilgrims past the two Vajra Dharma Appearances and into Hanling Temple, where they prepared to worship at its Buddha Palaces.

Mingyue Cimei summoned Jingcheng to Hanling Temple and questioned his priorities as abbot, urging him to release worldly attachments and focus on Buddhist practice. Jingcheng learned that Cimei favored building a golden body for Cihang over hastily appointing an abbot in Changsheng Town, while Cimei admitted Cihang’s near-attainment had nearly shaken him as well.

• Jingcheng greeted Mingyue Cimei, who had recently entered the Nilian Realm, and explained that he had come to report on Changsheng Town.
• Cimei asked Jingcheng about his thirty-six years as abbot of Ciyun Temple and challenged his attachment to his position and his habit of treating Cimei as his model.
• Jingcheng explained that he had sent for Jingmo to become abbot of Little Gold Temple, but was awaiting a decree because worshippers in Changsheng Town were raising funds for a ten-zhang golden body of Cihang.
• Cimei indicated that Jingcheng should prioritize erecting Cihang’s golden body rather than appointing an abbot, then criticized Jingcheng for bringing Xingchen without first asking what he wanted.
• Jingcheng acknowledged that secular duties and conventions had deepened his attachments, and Cimei praised his work in Xi Kingdom while warning that even he had nearly lost himself upon hearing Cihang had almost attained the Bodhisattva Fruit.

Cimei and Jingcheng investigated how Cihang gained a great Buddha Fruit through the villagers of Changsheng Town, and Cimei suspected he was an ancient Dhuta ascetic. She decided to use the villagers’ devotion to establish a golden body of Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva at Jiangchao Temple, and had already requested approval from Thunder Sound Temple.

• Cimei questioned Xingchen about Cihang’s encounter with the villagers of Changsheng Town and learned that Cihang had shown no reaction when he failed to achieve Buddhahood.
• Cimei explained that the villagers’ vows alone could not account for Cihang’s Buddha Fruit and said his unknown history and practice remained puzzling.
• Cimei told Jingcheng about Dhuta asceticism and suspected Cihang had practiced its severe rules before the Ten Schools of Buddhism were formed.
• Jingcheng reasoned that Cihang’s accumulated good deeds and the villagers’ faith might have completed the conditions for Buddhahood.
• Cimei ordered Jingcheng to help the villagers build a golden body for Cihang and revealed that she had requested permission to erect a nine-zhang-nine image of Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva atop Jiangchao Temple.

Cimei arranged for a nine-zhang-nine Guanyin Bodhisattva golden body to be erected in Changsheng Town and appointed Shan abbot of Little Gold Temple. He also ordered Jingcheng to find Xiao Hua and recruit him as a Buddhist Dharma Protector, while Xiao Hua remained unaware that Changsheng Town was becoming the center of a Buddhist-Confucian struggle.

• Cimei explained that the golden body would draw worshippers, help Senior Brother Cihang attain the Bodhisattva Fruit, and ease pressure on Hanling Temple.
• Cimei instructed Jingcheng to spread word of the golden body and let Changsheng Town's patrons drive its construction forward.
• Cimei appointed Shan, Hanling Temple's Library Pavilion elder, abbot of Little Gold Temple, and Jingcheng accepted the decision after hearing Cimei's reasoning.
• Jingcheng suggested recruiting Xiao Hua as a Dharma Protector, and Cimei ordered him to investigate Xiao Hua's whereabouts.
• Cimei warned Jingcheng to rely on Buddhist Dharma rather than demon-subduing abilities, while Xiao Hua remained unaware of the plans and the town's growing importance.

Xiao Hua parted from the Light Beasts after receiving a location where he could learn how to refine the Earth Crystal Yao Ru in his body. On his way toward Tongzhu Kingdom, he discovered a Buddha Seal Catalogue and began studying its techniques, while the chapter ended with a view of a mist-covered peak in the Xuliu Mountain Range.

• Xiao Hua told the Light Beast he could not travel farther, and the Light Beast promised to repay him for saving its child.
• Xiao Hua explained that Earth Crystal Yao Ru filled his meridians and body, and the Light Beast gave him a location to visit in ten days to discuss refining it.
• Xiao Hua examined the Buddhist jade slip from the auction and found a Buddha Seal Catalogue containing Mountain, Stellar, and Karmic Obstacle Buddha Seals.
• Xiao Hua reflected on the similarities among the cultivation methods of different sects, then began to understand how karmic force could amplify the Mountain Buddha Seal's power.
• Xiao Hua asked travelers for directions and rode the Heavenly Horse toward Tongzhu Kingdom, studying the Mountain Buddha Seal along the way.
• A mist-shrouded peak stood in the Xuliu Mountain Range, three hundred miles from the capital of Xi Kingdom.

Mo Jianli reported to Shangguan Feiyu that Changsheng Town was raising funds for a giant Guanyin statue, prompting the Chongyun Sect master to order the project stopped. After Mo Jianli warned that Confucian rule lacked the devotion Buddhism inspired, Shangguan Feiyu sent him into seclusion and left to seek support from other sects.

• Mo Jianli told Shangguan Feiyu that more than ten thousand people in Changsheng Town were raising funds for a thirty-zhang golden Guanyin statue.
• Shangguan Feiyu declared that Chongyun Sect would stop the statue’s construction and removed Mo Jianli from the matter, ordering him to reflect and enter seclusion.
• Mo Jianli argued that Confucian teachings governed people through rules but failed to inspire the deep devotion Buddhism fostered, angering Shangguan Feiyu.
• Shangguan Feiyu warned Mo Jianli that his reflections had brought him to a dangerous spiritual trial and dismissed his suggestion to recruit Xiao Hua.
• Shangguan Feiyu destroyed his jade desk in anger, then flew away to seek help from other sects.

Xiao Hua returned to Tongzhu Kingdom and found Qiyang Temple surrounded by officials after Dao Shan and nineteen disciples were found dead. He confronted the constable captain over the suspicious deaths but stopped himself from using the Soul Searching Finger, leaving the real culprit unknown.

• Xiao Hua reached the capital on the Heavenly Horse, felt a foreboding, and rushed to Qiyang Temple fearing the Duanmu family had attacked Xiao Jian and the others.
• Xiao Hua found Xiao Jian, Yuan Ya, Liu Yi, and Fu Zhiwen detained outside Qiyang Temple, while his divine sense revealed the temple’s dead occupants.
• Xiao Jian explained that the constables had driven them from the temple after their horses were found dead inside.
• The constable captain claimed Dao Shan and nineteen disciples had strangled themselves and said the government had ruled out murder.
• Fu Zhiwen challenged the captain’s denial that he had implied the Daoist had been poisoned, and Xiao Hua insisted on investigating Dao Shan’s death.
• Xiao Hua nearly struck the captain with the Soul Searching Finger but stopped, deciding the captain might not be the culprit.

Xiao Hua rescued Xiao Jian and his companions from Qiyang Temple, gave Xiao Jian a Sky Mending Pill, and vowed to help him restore his kingdom. After a beggar provided evidence about Master Dao Shan’s suspicious death, Xiao Hua returned to confront the officials at the temple, where he smashed Wu Qian’s Wen Scroll and forced him to beg for mercy.

• Xiao Hua left Qiyang Temple with Xiao Jian and the others, while the constable chief collapsed in fear.
• Xiao Hua admitted he had been testing Xiao Jian, gave him a Sky Mending Pill, and promised to help restore his kingdom and expel the Buddhist sect from Danliang Kingdom.
• Xiao Hua asked Fu Zhiwen to escort Xiao Jian and the others away, then approached a beggar who appeared to offer evidence about Dao Shan’s death.
• Xiao Hua gave Yuan Ya a demonic hammer and sent the others toward Jiang Kingdom before returning to Qiyang Temple with a stone stele intended as a monument for Dao Shan.
• Xiao Hua dropped the stone stele into Qiyang Temple, challenged the constable chief and his associates, and declared that he would punish anyone who bullied his disciples.
• Wu Qian attacked Xiao Hua with a Wen Scroll, but Xiao Hua shattered it with the As-You-Wish Staff, prompting Wu Qian to beg for his life.

Xiao Hua avenged the slaughter at Qiyang Temple, honored the dead Daoist disciples, and openly took responsibility for pursuing the true culprit. He flew to the Tongzhu Imperial Academy, where he suspected a Confucian cultivator was behind Master Dao Shan’s murder.

• Xiao Hua used the Soul-Searching Finger on Wu Qian, then ordered the Divine Strength Centipede to kill four fleeing constables and cut Wu Qian in two.
• Xiao Hua drove a stone stele into the ground, inscribed a warning, and marked it with Wu Qian’s blood.
• Xiao Hua found Master Dao Shan strangled and the Daoist disciples and horses in the rear courtyard dead; he burned the shrine and buried the disciples after the Buddha Sarira’s appearance caused alarming celestial phenomena.
• Xiao Hua wrote “Daoist Xiao Hua” beneath the stele, sent Xiaohei and Xiaohuang away, and flew out of Qiyang Temple in a carriage pulled by the Heavenly Horse.
• Xiao Hua landed at the Tongzhu Imperial Academy and suspected that a Confucian cultivator had orchestrated Master Dao Shan’s slaughter.

Xiao Hua brought Dao Shan’s body to Tongzhu Imperial Academy and accused it of harboring the people responsible for the old man’s death. He demolished the academy’s gate tower and challenged its Confucian cultivators, who insisted he had no right to interfere and disparaged Dao Shan’s charity.

• Xiao Hua descended before Tongzhu Imperial Academy on the Heavenly Horse, with Dao Shan’s body on a battered carriage, drawing crowds and the attention of the academy’s cultivators.
• Xiao Hua accused the academy of failing to punish an academy student who had committed evil deeds and declared he would smash its hypocritical gate tower.
• Xiao Hua used the As-You-Wish Staff to destroy the gate tower, nearby walls, and beast statues, opening a passage into the academy.
• An elderly Confucian cultivator and others confronted Xiao Hua, who identified himself and explained that Dao Shan had spent decades feeding beggars before dying and being called a suicide.
• The elderly Confucian cultivator told Xiao Hua to seek redress through the government and argued that Dao Shan’s free porridge encouraged beggars to avoid work.

Xiao Hua confronted Tongzhu Imperial Academy over its role in the injustice against a Daoist sect disciple and refused to submit to its demands for evidence. Professor Dong attacked him with a tiger and a Fangtian Huaji, but Xiao Hua killed the tiger and knocked Professor Dong out of the sky.

• Xiao Hua argued with Professor Hu, accusing the Academy of sheltering the culprit and demanding that he be allowed to take Master Dao Shan before the Saint.
• Professor Hu demanded the culprit’s name and evidence, while Xiao Hua threatened to kill anyone who blocked his way.
• Professor Dong arrived with armed youths and summoned a fierce tiger to attack Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua dodged the tiger and killed it with the As-You-Wish Staff.
• Professor Dong attacked Xiao Hua with his Fangtian Huaji, but Xiao Hua shattered the weapon and sent Professor Dong falling toward the ground.

Xiao Hua fought his way toward the Imperial Academy to find the culprit behind the deaths of Daoist sect disciples, defeating Professor Dong and overpowering Professor Hu. As Xiao Hua’s staff descended on Professor Hu, an unseen expert intervened and approached the academy.

• Xiao Hua warned Professor Hu and Professor Dong to stand aside, but Professor Hu insisted that he would not let Xiao Hua enter the Imperial Academy.
• Xiao Hua charged through Professor Hu’s Vast Qi River with the As-You-Wish Staff and shattered his sword net and Golden Qi Dawn sword.
• Professor Hu faced Xiao Hua’s descending staff without fear, while Xiao Hua protested that he had not intended to kill him.
• An unseen voice challenged Xiao Hua’s claim that he did not intend to kill, and a tall, thin figure in an azure robe flew toward the academy as clinging power restrained the staff.