Chapter Summaries

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.

Zhang Xiaohua told his family about the dangers he had faced during his five years away, while leaving out the immortal path and Nie Qianyu. The family began discussing a name for Zhang Xiaolong and Liu Qian’s newborn son, and Zhang Xiaolong recounted how Liu Kai and Li Yinfeng had come together.

• Zhang Xiaohua recounted his journey after separating from Zhang Xiaohu, and Guo Sufi wept as she heard how close he had come to death.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had avoided telling his family about Nie Qianyu and reflected that everyone had to follow their own path.
• Zhang Xiaohua practiced the Big Dipper Divine Fist, visited his grandmother’s grave, and returned after daybreak.
• Zhang Cai and Mr. Liu discussed keeping the circumstances of the child’s birth private and agreed that choosing his name was the next concern.
• Zhang Xiaolong told Zhang Xiaohua how Li Yinfeng had stayed with the Zhang family after caring for Guo Sufi and later became Liu Kai’s wife.

Zhang Xiaohua reunited with the Zhang family and helped resolve Li Yinfeng’s feelings for Liu Kai. As the family celebrated Liu Qian’s newborn son, they chose his given name and Courtesy Name, then Zhang Xiaohua proposed a childhood name.

• Liu Kai and Li Yinfeng grew close, and Zhang Xiaohua reassured them that Zhang Xiaohu would not object to their marriage.
• Li Yinfeng asked Zhang Xiaohua to pass along her good wishes to Zhang Xiaohu and Changge, and Zhang Xiaohua congratulated the couple.
• Zhang Cai named Liu Qian’s son Zhang Jian, and Mr. Liu gave him the Courtesy Name Youren.
• Guo Sufi struggled to choose a childhood name, so Zhang Xiaohua suggested Bairen.

Zhang Xiaohua urged his family and the Liu and Li families to keep Zhang Jian’s miraculous birth secret and advised the boy to hide his abilities. He revealed that his strength far exceeded what the others expected, leaving Zhang Cai unable to move his stone sword even with all his strength.

• Zhang Xiaohua asked everyone who had seen Zhang Jian emerge from the lotus to keep the secret, warning that the story could put the child in danger.
• Zhang Xiaohua advised the family to teach Zhang Jian to endure hardship and keep a low profile, and Mr. Liu praised his reasoning.
• Mr. Liu revealed that the bow Zhang Xiaohua had used as a boy was a hunter’s five-stone strong bow, which Zhang Xiaohua had drawn and fired with three arrows.
• When Li Jinfeng asked how strong he had become, Zhang Xiaohua said a thousand jin was still light and brought out his stone sword as proof.
• Zhang Xiaolong, Liu Kai, and Li Jinfeng each failed to move the sword, and Zhang Cai also could not shift it despite using all his strength.

After Zhang Xiaohua returned to Guo Village, he displayed his strength to quiet the villagers’ rumors and helped celebrate the birth of Liu Qian’s son, Zhang Bairen. On the Lantern Festival, Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Cai went with the Liu family to Hui Lu Town, where Old Shopkeeper Li hosted them as the town’s festivities began.

• Zhang Xiaohua lifted a heavy stone with one hand, and Zhang Xiaolong joked that he could replace oxen at farm work.
• Guo Sufi and Li Yinfeng told Liu Qian the three names for her newborn son, and she happily called him Zhang Jian, Zhang Youren, and Zhang Bairen.
• Old Shopkeeper Li accepted Zhang Cai’s invitation to stay in Guo Village until after the Lantern Festival, while Liu Kai and Li Yinfeng stayed with Mr. Liu.
• Zhang Xiaohua mingled with the villagers, demonstrated his strength, and knocked down young men who challenged him, silencing their rumors and earning their fear and admiration.
• Old Shopkeeper Li’s family prepared to return to Hui Lu Town on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and Zhang Cai and Zhang Xiaohua joined them for the lantern festivities.
• Old Shopkeeper Li hosted the Zhang and Liu families in Hui Lu Town, and the feast continued as drums, gongs, and firecrackers announced the evening celebrations.

During Lu Town’s Lantern Festival, Zhang Xiaohua’s group heard that a masked martial artist had abducted a seven-year-old girl named Zaizai. Zhang Xiaohua had already spotted the kidnapper with his divine sense, and after Zhang Cai urged him to help, he made an excuse to leave and pursue them.

• Li Yinfeng eagerly joined Zhang Xiaohua and the others for the Lantern Festival, and Old Shopkeeper Li and Shopkeeper Yu led the group through the crowded streets.
• Zhang Xiaohua watched the dragon and lion dances in West City’s square and reflected on the dragon-shaped Primordial Qi he had seen with his divine sense.
• Wuniang announced that a masked figure had snatched Zaizai from their courtyard, while onlookers speculated about the girl’s fortune and the kidnapper’s motives.
• Zhang Cai urged Zhang Xiaohua to rescue Zaizai, and Zhang Xiaohua admitted to himself that he had already located the kidnapper.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Liu Kai to protect Zhang Cai and said he was going to a nearby alley to relieve himself.