Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua confronted Professor Du after killing the constables he believed had concealed the truth about the deaths at Qiyang Temple. With Professor Du promising to investigate if Xiao Hua presented convincing evidence, Xiao Hua began recounting how he had learned what really happened.

• Professor Du arrived and stopped Xiao Hua from striking Professor Hu, then asked what had happened at the academy gates.
• Sun Xin reported that twenty-one Daoists had died at Qiyang Temple and that Xiao Hua had killed Constable Chief Wu Qian, coroner Zhuo Hong, and three constables before destroying the temple scene.
• Professor Du identified himself as Du Ming, courtesy name Shanjun, and promised to apprehend the true culprit if Xiao Hua provided evidence convincing to the public.
• Xiao Hua explained that he had found Master Dao Shan dead after returning to Qiyang Temple and had rejected Wu Qian's claim that the Daoists strangled themselves.
• Xiao Hua began telling the crowd that, after leaving Qiyang Temple, he encountered someone who knew the truth.

Xiao Hua confronted Professor Du and Jiang Wenhao over Wu Qian’s murder and the attack on Qiyang Temple, insisting that Jiang was the real culprit. Jiang denied involvement and presented an alibi and a contract separating himself from four suspected killers, leaving his guilt unresolved.

• Xiao Hua said he had used the Soul Searching Technique on Wu Qian and learned that Wu had helped Jiang Wenhao target Qiyang Temple and seize Xiluo Ridge.
• Professor Du argued that Wu’s deaths had to be handled by the Tongzhu Kingdom Prefect and promised to investigate Jiang Wenhao, while demanding an explanation for the Imperial Academy’s damaged gate tower.
• Jiang Wenhao returned to the academy after briefly fleeing, then denied the accusations and claimed he had spent the previous night at Dianhong Tower with several students.
• Professor Du questioned Jiang Wenhao about his whereabouts, accepted his account for the moment, and dismissed him and the other students with a promise of punishment.
• Xiao Hua asked Jiang Wenhao about Kong Lifeng, Quan Chong, Ji Miao, and Liu Wujie, and Jiang claimed he had hired them as martial masters but ended their employment the day before.

Xiao Hua demanded that Du Shanjun surrender Jiang Wenhao, but Du protected the Imperial Academy student and called on the academy to resist. Xiao Hua’s fire talismans countered Du’s Wood Qi Returning to Origin, and Du withdrew beneath the students’ formation to begin a new technique.

• Du Shanjun declared Jiang Wenhao innocent and refused to hand him over, so Xiao Hua threatened to carry Dao Shan’s remains to the Sage’s statue.
• Du Shanjun attacked Xiao Hua with Vast Righteous Qi and rallied the students to form the Hundred Child Book Formation.
• Du Shanjun used Wood Qi Returning to Origin to summon enormous wooden vines against Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua’s fire talismans broke through Du’s defenses and set the vines ablaze, leaving Du unable to restrain him.
• Du Shanjun recalled the wooden seed and retreated into the students’ formation, where he began chanting with a growing chorus of echoes.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen confronted Professor Du’s Hundred Sons Sing Together, but Du’s Sage overwhelmed Fu Zhiwen’s defenses. As Fu Zhiwen retreated, Xiao Hua countered the Confucian sound attack with his demonic cultivation and unleashed a roar that drowned out the academy’s chanting.

• Fu Zhiwen returned to help Xiao Hua avenge Master Dao Shan and explained that Du Shanjun’s technique was Hundred Sons Sing Together.
• Du Shanjun summoned a Sage whose essays attacked Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen with Vast Righteous Qi.
• Fu Zhiwen used the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Word Soul Formation to shatter the first wave of essays, but the next attacks broke his formations and injured him.
• Fu Zhiwen urged Xiao Hua to flee, while Xiao Hua sent him toward the Heavenly Horse and used his demonic cultivation to dispel the sound attack’s effect on his blood.
• A dark green radiance spread from Xiao Hua’s brow as he unleashed a resonant roar that suppressed Du Shanjun’s technique and the students’ chanting.

Xiao Hua used the Lightning and Thunder Technique to break Professor Du’s Hundred Sons Sing Together and exposed Jiang Wenhao’s involvement in the Qiyang Temple tragedy. Though a great Confucian drove Xiao Hua from the Imperial Academy, Xiao Hua killed Jiang Wenhao from afar before the chapter ended.

• Xiao Hua’s lightning shattered Professor Du’s word formation and trapped the Imperial Academy students as he pursued Jiang Wenhao.
• Xiao Hua stopped Jiang Wenhao and exposed the Qiyang Temple Jade Gui hidden in his robes, revealing Jiang Wenhao’s guilt before the students.
• Jiang Wenhao fled, and Professor Du tried to claim the Imperial Academy’s right to punish him, but a great Confucian’s Vast Righteous Qi forced Xiao Hua to escape.
• Xiao Hua declared that he would still take Jiang Wenhao’s life, and two tiny creatures flew from Jiang Wenhao’s robes as a crack appeared across his neck.
• Xiao Hua’s divine sense dispersed the Director of the Imperial Academy’s attack, and Jiang Wenhao’s body fell apart into fragments of ink.

After exposing Jiang Wenhao’s guilt, Xiao Hua left Tongzhu Kingdom with Fu Zhiwen and Master Dao Shan’s remains, determined to honor the slain Daoist and punish everyone responsible. He asked Fu Zhiwen to help locate Jiang Wenhao’s accomplices, while Fu Zhiwen weighed whether to become Xiao Hua’s disciple.

• Professor Du and Professor Hu recognized that Xiao Hua had proved Jiang Wenhao’s guilt and decided the Imperial Academy could not pursue him or answer the Jiang family’s demands.
• Xiao Hua flew away with Fu Zhiwen and Master Dao Shan’s remains, then chose to find a suitable burial place; Fu Zhiwen noticed Dao Shan’s eyes had finally closed in peace.
• After Fu Zhiwen pointed out Xiao Jian’s direction, Xiao Hua put away the Heavenly Horse and Dao Shan’s remains and declared he would return in ten days to attack the Jiang family if necessary.
• Fu Zhiwen warned Xiao Hua that the Jiang family and the Imperial Academy were now alert, and offered to search for Jiang Wenhao’s accomplices and notify him.
• Xiao Hua thanked Fu Zhiwen for his help, and Fu Zhiwen considered whether to set aside his reservations and follow Xiao Hua as his disciple.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen searched for Xiao Jian and the others but could not find them, and Fu Zhiwen prepared to return to Tongzhu Kingdom. Just as Xiao Hua was about to leave, Fu Zhiwen rushed back with a warning that Xiao Jian and the others might be in grave danger.

• Xiao Hua gave Fu Zhiwen a Rejuvenation Pill for his wife, and Fu Zhiwen offered Xiao Hua a jade slip containing a Confucian Cloud Riding and Fog Driving Technique.
• Xiao Hua answered Fu Zhiwen's cultivation questions and explained that Xiao Jian and Liu Yi would not have returned to Tongzhu Kingdom to look for him.
• Fu Zhiwen realized Xiao Jian might have taken a less-traveled road, so he led Xiao Hua along the alternate routes to search for the group.
• After searching most of the day without finding them, Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen to return to Tongzhu Kingdom while he continued with his own affairs.
• Fu Zhiwen turned back after departing and warned Xiao Hua that Xiao Jian and the others' lives might be in grave danger if they did not hurry to a place he had remembered.

Xiao Hua went to Black Cloud Ridge to search for Xiao Jian, Liu Yi, and Yuan Ya, but found the vast demon-infested range too large to search alone. He used his companions to draw out the demons and encountered the Black Bear Spirit he had seen before, which was carrying captives and eating a human leg.

• Fu Zhiwen suggested that Xiao Jian and the others might have been taken to Black Cloud Ridge, so Xiao Hua flew there to investigate.
• Xiao Hua found Black Cloud Ridge to be a sprawling, foul-smelling range of barren mountains filled with demon qi and bones, making it difficult to search for anyone.
• Xiao Hua released the Heavenly Horse, Xiaohei, and Xiaohuang to attract demons and seek Xiao Jian's trail, then let Xiaoyin join the search.
• The Heavenly Horse's radiance drew lesser demons out of the mountains, but they fled when a powerful spiritual sense swept over them.
• A Black Bear Spirit approached Xiao Hua carrying several mortals and eating a human leg, and Xiao Hua recognized it as the demon he had seen at the border of Xi Kingdom and Gaza Kingdom.

Xiao Hua defeated the Black Bear Spirit on Black Cloud Ridge and questioned him about the demons who might have taken Xiao Hua’s missing disciples. The Black Bear Spirit explained that he served Great King Wan Chou of Black Wind Ridge, and Xiao Hua demanded his help finding the disciples in exchange for his life.

• The Black Bear Spirit fled from Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua struck him with the Soul Stab technique and caught the mortals he dropped.
• The Black Bear Spirit hid underground, but Xiao Hua found him and blasted him out of a hill with the Lightning and Thunder Technique.
• The Black Bear Spirit attacked Xiao Hua with an iron staff, and Xiao Hua knocked him away with the As-You-Wish Staff.
• The Black Bear Spirit begged Xiao Hua to spare him and claimed he was a minor lackey who had not eaten the mortals.
• The Black Bear Spirit told Xiao Hua that Black Cloud Ridge included Black Wind Ridge, Mo Yun Ridge, and Lion Mountain, and that he served Great King Wan Chou.
• Xiao Hua told the Black Bear Spirit that his disciples had disappeared near Tongzhu Kingdom and ordered him to help find them if he wanted to live.

Xiao Hua forced the Black Bear Spirit to search Black Wind Ridge for Xiao Jian and the others, then secretly followed him using the Demonic Realm’s Shadow Concealment Art. The Black Bear Spirit reached a hidden cave abode before nightfall, while Xiao Hua watched from concealment.

• The Black Bear Spirit said he could ask around Black Wind Ridge but could not confront the other Demon Kings, so Xiao Hua threatened him until he agreed to search for the missing disciples.
• Xiao Hua described Xiao Jian and the others and gave their likely disappearance time and direction; the Black Bear Spirit recognized the area as a Black Wind Ridge hunting ground.
• Xiao Hua placed the Divine Strength Centipede inside the Black Bear Spirit’s chest and ordered him to return within an hour, then concealed himself with the Demonic Realm’s Shadow Concealment Art.
• On his way through Black Cloud Ridge, the Black Bear Spirit encountered two little demons who mocked his apparent route toward Lion Mountain, and he angrily denied going there.
• The Black Bear Spirit arrived at a concealed cave abode before nightfall and circled it before finally flying toward the entrance, with Xiao Hua following unseen.

The Black Bear Spirit returned to Black Wind Ridge and struggled through Great King Wan Chou’s new password checkpoints. He reached the feast hall, where he found Great King Wan Chou seated beside a snow-white bat monster in his former chair.

• The Black Bear Spirit failed to remember the password at the cave entrance and narrowly dodged the bat’s spiked iron-ball traps.
• Three bear spirits arrived with captives, and after they guessed several possibilities, one remembered the password: “little girl picking mushrooms.”
• A bear spirit questioned why the passwords were being enforced so often, but the Black Bear Spirit rebuked him for disrespecting Great King Wan Chou.
• The Black Bear Spirit entered the hall, searched the captives for Xiao Jian and the others, and found none of them.
• The Black Bear Spirit saw Great King Wan Chou seated at the center of the high platform and another snow-white bat monster occupying his former chair.

At Black Wind Ridge, Great King Wan Chou humiliated the Black Bear Spirit and offered captured humans as food at the welcoming feast for the Snow Bat King. Xiao Hua ambushed Great King Wan Chou with the As-You-Wish Staff, which pierced his chest and left the battle unresolved.

• Great King Wan Chou scolded the Black Bear Spirit for returning without humans and declared that he would go without meat.
• The Snow Bat King offered five captured people, including Xiao Jian, Liu Yi, and Yuan Ya, and Great King Wan Chou made him the Second Boss.
• The Snow Bat King handed Yuan Ya to Great King Wan Chou and Liu Yi to the Black Bear Spirit as food.
• The Black Bear Spirit shouted for Great King Wan Chou to wait, and Xiao Hua attacked him with the As-You-Wish Staff.
• Great King Wan Chou dodged the staff and tried to escape, but the staff suddenly extended and struck through his chest.

Xiao Hua killed Great King Wan Chou and Snow Bat King while rescuing the captives at Black Wind Ridge. He enabled Black Bear Spirit to reclaim the stronghold and revived Liu Yi, leaving the Daoist disciples safe from the demons.

• Xiao Hua killed Great King Wan Chou and challenged Snow Bat King after refusing to accept his excuses.
• Snow Bat King drove the lesser demons to attack Xiao Hua and Black Bear Spirit, then fled while leading a barrage of sonic attacks.
• Xiao Hua used the Lightning and Thunder Technique to defeat the bat demons, and Black Bear Spirit rallied the remaining demons to take back Black Wind Ridge.
• Xiao Hua rejected Snow Bat King's offer of a Daoist sect secret and killed him, declaring that he would establish the Daoist sect across the realms.
• Xiao Hua burned the two demon kings' bodies, took their Small Qiankun Bags, and used a silver needle to revive Liu Yi.

Xiao Hua rescued Yuan Ya, Xiao Jian, and Liu Yi from the bat monsters and ordered the Black Bear Spirit to eliminate them. After revealing that he had killed Jiang Wenhao, Xiao Hua decided that the group would hide for a while in Black Cloud Ridge, leaving them under the bear spirits’ protection.

• Xiao Hua revived Yuan Ya and Xiao Jian, then unleashed his pressure across Black Wind Ridge and struck down the bat monsters with lightning.
• Xiao Hua ordered the Black Bear Spirit to slaughter the remaining bat spirits, and the Black Bear Spirit obeyed.
• Liu Yi explained how the Snow Bat King had captured their group, and Xiao Hua told Xiao Jian that he had killed Jiang Wenhao for the Qiyang Temple massacre.
• Xiao Jian warned that Confucian and Buddhist experts might pursue Xiao Hua, who proposed hiding in Black Cloud Ridge for a while.
• The Black Bear Spirit returned with his followers and showed Xiao Hua fearful respect.

Xiao Hua spared the Black Bear Spirit and let him remain ruler of Black Wind Ridge, while ordering the demons to stop capturing and eating people. After spending the night nearby, Xiao Hua discovered that Xiao Huang, Xiaohei, and Xiao Yin still had not returned.

• The Black Bear Spirit refused Xiao Hua's offer to reclaim his position and asked to become Xiao Hua's gatekeeper, while Xiao Jian proposed using Black Wind Ridge as a foothold for the Daoist sect.
• An old bear spirit said Black Wind Ridge had once been a beautiful place, and Xiao Hua agreed to let the Black Bear Spirit remain Great King while he tested his suitability as a gatekeeper.
• Xiao Hua ordered the demons to release their captives and forbid human flesh, then promised to restore Black Wind Ridge and conquer Mo Yun Ridge and Lion Mountain.
• Xiao Hua sent the Black Bear Spirit to find the murderers of Dao Shan and the other Daoist priests, then took Liu Yi and the others away from the foul cave to rest.
• Xiao Hua meditated through the night but found no sign of Xiao Huang, Xiaohei, or Xiao Yin; by morning, he saw that the Black Bear Spirit had released the captives and gathered livestock.

Xiao Hua arranged a burial for Master Dao Shan at a Feng Shui site in Black Cloud Ridge and vowed to help restore the Daoist Sect. He returned to Black Wind Ridge, where he chose a place to build a cave abode and prepared to examine the Jade Gui and help Xiao Jian take the Sky Mending Pill.

• Xiao Hua sent Xiao Jian to find a Feng Shui site for Master Dao Shan’s burial, and Xiao Jian selected a Dragon Gathering acupoint in Black Cloud Ridge.
• Xiao Hua buried Master Dao Shan, marked the grave with a tombstone, and had Liu Yi and Yuan Ya kowtow to him.
• Xiao Hua discussed the Jade Gui with Xiao Jian and said they would return to Black Wind Ridge, where Xiao Jian could take the Sky Mending Pill under his protection.
• The Black Bear Spirit welcomed Xiao Hua back and offered to have demons build him a residence, but Xiao Hua declined.
• Xiao Hua chose a sunny spot on Black Wind Ridge and ordered puppets to carve out a cave abode, astonishing Xiao Jian and the Black Bear Spirit.

Xiao Hua settled his followers into a newly excavated cave residence on Black Cloud Ridge and investigated the strange Buddhist signs surrounding his Buddha Sarira and the Jade Gui from Qiyang Temple. The Sarira’s link to the Great Sun Tathagata Buddha Edict seemed likely, while Xiao Hua began examining the Jade Gui’s odd blemishes with the Eye of Delusion Breaking.

• Xiao Hua ordered the Black Bear Spirit to stabilize his forces and investigate the other families, then warned that Black Cloud Ridge and its neighbors were ornaments belonging to someone else.
• Xiao Hua taught Xiao Jian the Sky Mending Pill’s consumption taboos, urged Liu Yi to practice diligently, and considered finding a hammer technique for Yuan Ya.
• Xiao Hua arranged the excavated cave residence into guest, shared, and private sections, then sealed his inner chamber with the Duotian Star Array.
• Xiao Hua released his Buddha Sarira, whose Buddhist phenomena overwhelmed the array, and suspected they came from the Great Sun Tathagata Buddha Edict he had obtained in the West Sea.
• Xiao Hua tested the Jade Gui from Qiyang Temple with spells and sword qi, found no response, and opened the Eye of Delusion Breaking to inspect its blemishes.

Xiao Hua unlocked the Jade Gui and discovered basic Daoist cultivation techniques, then considered how they could help Liu Yi cultivate. After Xiao Jian recovered his cultivation, he came to greet Xiao Hua and again expressed his wish to become his disciple.

• Xiao Hua used his divine sense to unlock the Jade Gui, transforming it into a golden stone tablet that revealed several dozen Daoist cultivation techniques.
• Xiao Hua found that the techniques covered only the lower cultivation stages, but realized they could give Liu Yi a path into cultivation.
• Xiao Hua compared Cangxian Continent’s body-tempering approach with Xiaoyu Continent’s methods and decided Liu Yi could temper his body before choosing a suitable technique.
• Xiao Hua reviewed the techniques over several days and then sensed Xiao Jian arriving after recovering his cultivation with the Sky Mending Pill.
• Xiao Hua congratulated Xiao Jian, who thanked him and said he wished to address him as Master.

After emerging from seclusion, Xiao Hua encouraged Xiao Jian, gave Liu Yi teachings, and heard the Black Bear Spirit’s report. He then ordered the Black Bear Spirit and Yuan Ya to rob an approaching party, leaving Yuan Ya to decide whether to follow.

• Xiao Hua gave Xiao Jian cultivation pills and urged him to advance, then taught Liu Yi enough to ponder for several years.
• The Black Bear Spirit reported that his search had found nothing useful and said he had enforced Xiao Hua’s ban on eating human flesh.
• Xiao Hua approved of the Black Bear Spirit’s private romantic interests, while warning him to behave with restraint.
• After sensing something beyond Black Cloud Ridge, Xiao Hua ordered the Black Bear Spirit to take his underlings and rob a large party approaching the area.
• Xiao Hua sent the Divine Strength Centipede with the Black Bear Spirit and told Yuan Ya he could join, but Yuan Ya remained uncertain.

Xiao Hua and Xiao Jian went to investigate the commotion outside Black Cloud Ridge, where a wounded princess and her companions were fleeing a pursuing army. As the fugitives neared the demon-haunted ridge, their pursuers closed in and the princess’s attendant questioned whether they could safely enter.

• Xiao Jian offered to make Xiao Hua Imperial Preceptor if he helped restore Xiao Jian’s kingdom, but Xiao Hua promised to help as his disciple without seeking the title.
• Xiao Hua and Xiao Jian flew out toward Black Cloud Ridge to see what was happening.
• A wounded woman in peach-red armor rode toward the ridge with other women, cultivators, and battered soldiers fleeing behind her.
• Three hundred armored cavalry and about two hundred crossbowmen riding flying creatures pursued the fugitives.
• The pursuing general charged into the air, and an old woman warned the princess against entering Black Cloud Ridge, where demons ran rampant.