Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua learned that Zhao Jian was responsible for the deaths of Misty Hall disciples and his second brother’s ordeal, while veiled Chen Chen exposed Zhao Jian’s betrayal and announced his execution. The chapter ended as Zhao Jian begged Xia Zihe for mercy and she cried out in shock.

• Zhong Pei admitted that he had told Zhao Jian to eliminate a few troublesome disciples, but denied ordering the deaths of dozens in the Grand Canyon.
• Zhao Jian denied the accusations and demanded evidence, while Zhang Xiaohua considered intervening.
• Xia Zihe proved she had been intimate with Zhao Jian by revealing a secret mark on his body.
• veiled Chen Chen invoked the Incense-Passing Cult’s First Rule and announced that Zhao Jian would be executed by lingchi for betrayal and murder.
• Zhao Jian begged Zhong Pei and then Xia Zihe to save him, and Xia Zihe cried out.

Zhao Jian was executed for his cruelty to Xia Zihe, and Chen Chen announced the Cult Master’s reward for Zhang Xiaohu. Yang Ruying warned that the yin-soft Su Huan Cultivation Method could clash with Zhang Xiaohu’s Misty Divine Art and cause Qi Deviation, leaving the disciples alarmed.

• Zhao Jian exposed Xia Zihe’s ruined hand and face, then Chen Chen ordered disciplinary disciples to seize and execute him by lingchi.
• Zhang Xiaohua and the other male disciples watched Zhao Jian die after the disciplinary disciples slowly stripped away his flesh.
• Chen Chen announced that the Cult Master rewarded Zhang Xiaohu with the Su Huan Heart Sutra and three Su Huan Pills for protecting fellow disciples.
• Yang Ruying objected that Zhang Xiaohu already practiced the pure-yang Misty Divine Art and that switching to the yin-soft Su Huan Cultivation Method could cause Qi Deviation.
• Wen Wenhai and the other disciples reacted with alarm as they considered the danger of Zhang Xiaohu cultivating the two opposing methods.

Veiled Chen Chen delivered the Cult Master's gift and orders to Zhang Xiaohu, who accepted the Su Huan Cultivation Method despite the risks to his Misty Divine Art. Zhang Xiaohua abandoned his attempt to kill Zhong Pei and later overheard Yang Ruying questioning whether Zhang Xiaohu intended to turn away from the Misty Sect.

• Veiled Chen Chen said Zhang Xiaohu could cultivate the Su Huan Cultivation Method and later the Misty Divine Art, and Zhang Xiaohu accepted the Brocade Box.
• Veiled Chen Chen examined Zhang Xiaohu's meridians, found no inner strength, and said he could begin cultivating the Su Huan Cultivation Method directly.
• Veiled Chen Chen gave Chen Chen a jade pendant and promised to look after her, then asked Zhang Xiaohua whether he had any secret marks on his body.
• Zhang Xiaohua followed the departing group and prepared to kill Zhong Pei, but stopped when he realized the attack could implicate Misty Hall and others.
• Zhang Xiaohua settled into his new courtyard, then went to Misty Hall to investigate why Zhang Xiaohu had lost his inner strength.
• Yang Ruying asked Aunt Qin whether Zhang Xiaohu's acceptance of the Su Huan Heart Sutra meant he intended to turn away from the Misty Sect.

Zhang Xiaohua overheard Yang Ruying and Aunt Qin worry that Zhang Xiaohu would abandon the Misty Sect after being ordered to cultivate the Su Huan Cultivation Method. After failing to find Zhang Xiaohu that night, Zhang Xiaohua met Du Feng the next morning and asked where Zhang Xiaohu lived so he could visit him.

• Yang Ruying told Aunt Qin that Zhang Xiaohu's Su Huan Cultivation Method would prevent him from cultivating the Misty Divine Art, and they suspected he would turn away from the Misty Sect.
• Yang Ruying and Aunt Qin discussed their concerns about Ren Xiaoyao and the Misty Hall, while Zhang Xiaohua listened from hiding.
• Zhang Xiaohua searched for Zhang Xiaohu but found no trace of him, then realized he could simply visit him openly and returned to his residence.
• The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua discovered that his Big Dipper Divine Fist had advanced another level and practiced tempering every bone in his body.
• Du Feng showed Zhang Xiaohua around and explained matters about the Pill-Refining Hall, and Zhang Xiaohua asked where Zhang Xiaohu lived so he could visit him.

Zhang Xiaohua received permission to visit the badly injured Zhang Xiaohu and began treating him. After discovering the extent of his whip wounds, he prepared to cut away the dead flesh and asked Changge to heat water for a bath.

• Du Feng obtained Hall Master Yang's permission for Zhang Xiaohua to visit Zhang Xiaohu at his courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined Zhang Xiaohu's pulse and meridians, then wrote a prescription for Changge to prepare.
• Zhang Xiaohua privately revealed that he truly understood healing arts and reassured Changge that Zhang Xiaohu's meridians were undamaged.
• Zhang Xiaohua removed Zhang Xiaohu's clothes and saw that his body was covered in severe whip wounds.
• Zhang Xiaohua took herbs from his jade boxes and asked Changge to heat water so he could bathe Zhang Xiaohu.

Zhang Xiaohua treated Zhang Xiaohu’s wounds, then returned to his room to inspect what he had gained from You Lan Mu Lian. He discovered strange changes in the Black and White Fruit and learned that Xiaohei and Xiaohuang were drawn to Qi Stones before examining the mysterious crack in his palm.

• Zhang Xiaohua shaved the rotten flesh from Zhang Xiaohu, immersed him in herbal water, and helped him absorb the medicinal power before sending him to sleep.
• Zhang Xiaohua inventoried the herbs and Blood Wolf tails he had collected in You Lan Grand Canyon.
• Zhang Xiaohua found that the Black and White Fruit had begun rotating and radiating a cold aura, but he could not identify it in his books.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered that Xiaohei and Xiaohuang were attracted to Qi Stones and tucked them inside stones beneath his robes.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened the crack in his left palm and saw himself from another angle, nearly jumping in shock.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered that the silver eye fused into his hand was the Eye of Delusion Breaking, then continued cultivating while treating Zhang Xiaohu with medicinal baths and Heavenly Bell Stone Milk. After Changge and Chen Chen visited, Zhang Xiaohua said he had something to discuss with them, but the chapter ended before he explained what it was.

• Zhang Xiaohua opened the silver eye and saw a crystalline skeleton, red threads, and a golden sphere before its use drained his divine sense and true qi.
• Zhang Xiaohua identified the silver eye as the Eye of Delusion Breaking and resumed cultivating at the Incense-Passing Cult.
• Zhang Xiaohua added a drop of Heavenly Bell Stone Milk to Zhang Xiaohu's medicinal bath, and Zhang Xiaohu's scars and rough skin healed into smooth, fair flesh.
• Changge and Chen Chen visited, and Zhang Xiaohu blushed when Chen Chen praised his changed appearance and Zhang Xiaohua teased him.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Chen Chen a jade bottle of face treatment for her bumps, then gathered Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen to discuss something important.

Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen what he had learned about the Incense-Passing Cult’s plans, then examined Changge’s healing arm and reassured Zhang Xiaohu about his own injury. Zhang Xiaohu revealed that Zhao Jian had tried to cripple his inner strength, but his dantian was intact, and Zhang Xiaohua found something surprising while examining it.

• Zhang Xiaohua recounted Yang Ruying and Aunt Qin’s private conversation and agreed that Chen Chen could tell her master, while keeping Hall Master Yang unaware.
• Changge praised the Bone Condensing Pill as her broken arm healed, and Zhang Xiaohua said it might also help Zhang Xiaohu’s more serious bone injury.
• After Changge and Chen Chen left, Zhang Xiaohu privately told Zhang Xiaohua that Zhao Jian had struck his dantian in the dungeon to cripple his inner strength.
• Zhang Xiaohu revealed that his dantian was unharmed and that he had regained some Misty Divine Art inner strength.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined Zhang Xiaohu’s dantian and exclaimed in surprise at what he found.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered that residual Meridian Nourishing Pill power had repaired Zhang Xiaohu’s shattered dantian and gave him the remaining pills to consider helping Wen Wenhai. After discussing pills and Zhang Xiaohu’s plans to aid injured Misty Sect elders, Zhang Xiaohua asked about He Tianshu, and Zhang Xiaohu revealed that He Tianshu was in very bad condition.

• Zhang Xiaohua examined Zhang Xiaohu’s dantian and explained that residual Meridian Nourishing Pill power had repaired it after Zhao Jian shattered it.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked for Meridian Nourishing Pills, and Zhang Xiaohua handed him the bottle, which contained fewer pills than expected.
• Zhang Xiaohu considered using the pills to help Wen Wenhai, whose dantian had been shattered, and asked Zhang Xiaohua about Bone Condensing Pills for injured Misty Sect elders.
• Zhang Xiaohua revealed that he had refined the pills himself and asked Zhang Xiaohu to find a pill room and obtain herbs from Misty Hall.
• Zhang Xiaohu teased Zhang Xiaohua about Chen Chen, and Zhang Xiaohua changed the subject by asking where He Tianshu was.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua that He Tianshu’s condition was very bad.

Zhang Xiaohua learned that Zhong Pei had crippled He Tianshu after the Incense-Passing Cult investigated the herbs that had sprouted at Huanxi Mountain Villa. He offered to heal He Tianshu and other injured Misty Sect elders, then proposed that Zhang Xiaohu use their gratitude to strengthen his standing in the sect.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua that Zhong Pei had tortured He Tianshu, leaving him crippled, after Chang Biao identified He Tianshu as the person responsible for the unusual medicinal fields.
• Zhang Xiaohua realized the herbs had sprouted because of his own actions and felt guilty about He Tianshu’s suffering.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked for a Meridian Nourishing Pill for He Tianshu, then learned that Xue Qing, Lu Mingyue, and other Misty Sect elders also needed their dantians healed.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu to bring the injured elders somewhere secluded so he could heal them without revealing his identity.
• Zhang Xiaohua proposed that Zhang Xiaohu use the elders’ gratitude to gain influence in the Misty Sect, and Zhang Xiaohu said he would think it over.

Zhang Xiaohua considered how the changing circumstances could help Zhang Xiaohu rise within the Incense-Passing Cult, then examined He Tianshu and discovered the severity of his old injuries. He returned to Zhang Xiaohu, intending to prepare medicine and let his brother take the lead in helping He Tianshu.

• Zhang Xiaohua advised Zhang Xiaohu to study the Su Huan Cultivation Method before practicing it and promised to help resolve the conflict with his Misty Divine Art internal energy.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Zhang Xiaohu about Manor Lord Ou and Sister Qiutong, then went to visit He Tianshu.
• Zhang Xiaohua found He Tianshu refusing food and unable to sit up because his body had been badly damaged.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined He Tianshu and found severe injuries to his meridians, dantian, internal organs, and crushed joints.
• Zhang Xiaohua decided to refine Jade Return Pills and returned to Zhang Xiaohu to discuss He Tianshu's condition.

Zhang Xiaohua prepared herbs to refine Jade Return Pills and searched Shixin Peak for an alchemy room, but learned that Ou Yan was gravely ill. He followed servants bringing her food to a bamboo-filled courtyard and froze as he emerged from the grove.

• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu he would try to treat their injured allies and needed an alchemy room, so Zhang Xiaohu directed him to secluded rooms on the cliff above Ou Yan's courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua urged Zhang Xiaohu to take credit for the treatment and use the merit to strengthen his standing, then returned to his courtyard to select and pack herbs for Jade Return and Meridian Nourishing Pills.
• After dark, Zhang Xiaohua rode to Shixin Peak's back mountain, avoided the guards with Earth Escape, and searched unsuccessfully for the alchemy rooms.
• Zhang Xiaohua overheard Yi Xiang Peak disciples say Ou Yan had been bedridden with a strange illness for five or six days and might not live much longer.
• Zhang Xiaohua tunneled into Ou Yan's courtyard, followed servants carrying food she had requested from Pingyang City, and emerged from a bamboo grove into the courtyard.

Zhang Xiaohua secretly watched Qiutong and Old Yu discuss Ou Yan’s worsening illness at Shixin Peak. Their suspicions about Yi Xiang Peak remained unproven, and Qiutong hinted that Ou Yan’s value might not have diminished after all.

• Zhang Xiaohua found that the courtyard at Shixin Peak exactly resembled Ou Yan’s courtyard at Huanxi Mountain Villa.
• Zhang Xiaohua recognized Old Yu and Qiutong in the hall and listened as Qiutong reported that Ou Yan had become confused again and was growing weaker.
• Old Yu accused Yi Xiang Peak of causing Ou Yan’s illness, but Qiutong said they had no evidence and doubted the peak needed such a scheme.
• Old Yu recalled how the Incense-Passing Cult’s Inner Sect disciples surpassed his martial arts and described how he had learned the Nameless Sword Technique.
• Qiutong questioned whether Ou Yan’s value had truly diminished, leaving her meaning unexplained.

Qiutong and Old Yu suspected that Ou Yan’s imprisonment was tied to a mysterious map and hidden dissent within the Incense-Passing Cult, while Ou Yan’s health continued to worsen. Zhang Xiaohua revealed himself to Qiutong, who mistook him for an agent sent by Yi Xiang Peak.

• Qiutong told Old Yu that the Incense-Passing Cult’s interest in Ou Yan might concern a map rather than martial arts manuals, and they feared someone within the Cult was secretly defying its leader.
• Qiutong warned that Ou Yan had grown dangerously frail, then left Old Yu and went outside to pray for her.
• Zhang Xiaohua followed Qiutong unseen, was moved by her devotion, and decided to reveal himself.
• Qiutong was startled when Zhang Xiaohua called to her and initially mistook him for a servant.
• Zhang Xiaohua identified himself, but Qiutong questioned whether the Cult Master of Yi Xiang Peak had sent him and accused him of playing a trick while Ou Yan suffered.

Zhang Xiaohua convinced Qiutong that he was not an impostor and learned that Ou Yan remained unconscious with a grave illness. Qiutong brought him to examine her, leaving Zhang Xiaohua facing the sight of how much Ou Yan had wasted away.

• Qiutong suspected Zhang Xiaohua was an Incense-Passing Cult impostor, but he proved his identity by recalling the five-tael banknotes and showing her Dream-Chaser.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Qiutong he had come to find Zhang Xiaohu and offered to examine Ou Yan, saying he had studied medicine at Hui Chun Valley.
• Qiutong led Zhang Xiaohua to the courtyard where Ou Yan was being watched, and he followed her there without being seen.
• Qiutong let Zhang Xiaohua into Ou Yan's room, where he saw her unconscious and painfully thin.

Zhang Xiaohua examined Ou Yan but found no physical cause for her unconsciousness, though his divine sense revealed that her life force was fading. After learning that a Spirit-Awakening Pill had briefly roused her, he studied its formula and prepared ingredients to make one, then returned to watch Qiutong give Ou Yan another pill.

• Zhang Xiaohua examined Ou Yan and found her body and meridians mostly normal, but sensed her life force steadily slipping away.
• Qiutong explained that a physician had blamed Ou Yan’s condition on emotional knots and exhaustion, and that a Spirit-Awakening Pill had briefly awakened her.
• Zhang Xiaohua inspected the pill and suspected that a properly refined version might help Ou Yan.
• Zhang Xiaohua stayed overnight in an empty courtyard and, the next morning, studied the Spirit-Awakening Pill formula.
• Zhang Xiaohua gathered the ingredients needed to refine the pill and returned to Ou Yan’s room, startling Qiutong.

Zhang Xiaohua used a Spirit-Awakening Pill to rouse Ou Yan and questioned her about the illness that was draining her life force. He also delivered Qiutong a dead Misty Sect disciple’s letter and birthday gift, and Qiutong’s shocked reaction to the letter left its contents unknown.

• Zhang Xiaohua gave Ou Yan a Spirit-Awakening Pill, briefly waking her and slowing the loss of her life force.
• Ou Yan mistook the room for Huanxi Mountain Villa and Zhang Xiaohua for the younger version she remembered before realizing where she was.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Ou Yan about her illness, and she described becoming exhausted and sleepy after a cold mountain wind struck her about twenty days earlier.
• Ou Yan and Qiutong discussed the Misty Sect and Qiutong’s future before Zhang Xiaohua gave Qiutong a letter and birthday gift from a deceased disciple who had admired her.
• Qiutong opened the letter and reacted with shock.

Qiutong and Ou Yan discovered that the mysterious gift Zhang Xiaohua delivered contained a Longevity Pill, while Qiutong’s supposed confession letter was a fragment of a map. After Ou Yan fell asleep, she entrusted the items to Zhang Xiaohua, and Qiutong began explaining their importance.

• Qiutong opened the letter and found a map fragment instead of a confession, prompting her and Ou Yan to inspect the Brocade Box.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened the Brocade Box, revealing a jade bottle labeled Longevity Pill, and Ou Yan recognized it as the reason the Misty Sect had been destroyed.
• Ou Yan realized Ou Peng had arranged for the items to be passed off as gifts, then fell asleep after telling Zhang Xiaohua to keep them.
• Qiutong gave Zhang Xiaohua the Brocade Box and map fragment, and he recognized the parchment as a piece of the same map he had seen before.
• Qiutong urged Zhang Xiaohua to protect the two items, then began explaining their importance to him.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Xiaohua overhears a conversation revealing the Misty Sect's destruction and the Incense-Passing Cult's alliance with others to plot against them.
• He realizes the cult's interest in a Longevity Pill and a map, speculating they seek Immortal Path cultivation techniques and alchemy.
• Zhang Xiaohua remembers there are at least two more sheepskin scrolls, implying four sects obtained them, and wonders about the other sects and a red-clothed person.
• Qiutong explains the burden on Zhang Xiaohua's shoulders regarding the Misty Sect's revival.
• Zhang Xiaohua realizes he should examine Ou Yan's head to diagnose her condition.

Character Developments

• Zhang Xiaohua demonstrates his intelligence and understanding of Immortal Path cultivation and alchemy.
• Qiutong shows concern for Ou Yan's condition and the Misty Sect's revival.
• Zhang Xiaohua shows empathy and understanding towards Ou Yan's condition.

Significant Themes

• The struggle for power and resources among sects.
• The importance of knowledge and understanding in solving problems.
• The burden of responsibility and expectations.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Xiaohua and Qiutong discuss Ou Yan's condition and the Misty Sect's revival.
• Zhang Xiaohua observes Ou Yan's condition, leading to his realization about examining her head.
• Qiutong expresses her concern for Ou Yan and the Misty Sect's future.

Zhang Xiaohua tried sealing Ou Yan’s head acupoints to slow her loss of vitality and gave her a Grain Abstinence Pill. Old Yu arrived, recognized Zhang Xiaohua, and rushed to examine Ou Yan after learning that Zhang had struck her head acupoints.

• Qiutong scolded Zhang Xiaohua, but he said he had found a possible way to treat Ou Yan.
• Zhang Xiaohua used Immortal Path True Qi to seal several of Ou Yan’s head acupoints, slowing her loss of vitality while leaving her in a deeper sleep.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Qiutong a Grain Abstinence Pill from Hui Chun Valley, and she fed it to Ou Yan.
• Old Yu entered the chambers, recognized Zhang Xiaohua after seeing his sword and sword technique, and asked about Ou Yan.
• Old Yu grew alarmed when Qiutong said Zhang Xiaohua had struck Ou Yan’s head acupoints and hurried into the inner room to examine her.