Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua tried to convince Old Yu that sealing Ou Yan’s acupoints would temporarily control her worsening condition, while concealing the details of his treatment. After demonstrating the Dream Weaving Sword Technique and promising to bring Old Yu its manual, Zhang Xiaohua left and vanished, leaving Old Yu and Qiutong with unanswered questions.

• Old Yu failed to undo the acupoints Zhang Xiaohua had struck on Ou Yan and demanded that he release her.
• Zhang Xiaohua demonstrated the Dream Weaving Sword Technique, convincing Old Yu that his sword technique and acupoint method were genuine.
• Old Yu asked Zhang Xiaohua to share the sword technique, and Zhang Xiaohua promised to bring him the manual and teach him later.
• Old Yu accepted Zhang Xiaohua’s claim that sealing Ou Yan’s acupoints could control her condition, and Zhang Xiaohua said he would search for more medicinal pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua left the room and vanished, while Old Yu realized he still had not learned why Zhang Xiaohua struck Ou Yan’s acupoints.

Zhang Xiaohua searched Shixin Peak for a pill room and discovered a hidden chamber containing a furnace identical to the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace he already owned. After refining the new furnace, he wondered whether the two identical furnaces were a male-and-female pair.

• Zhang Xiaohua searched the abandoned caves on Shixin Peak but found only empty rooms and herb-storage caves.
• Zhang Xiaohua reconsidered the direction of Tianmu Peak’s pill room and searched Shixin Peak’s western back mountain.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered a hidden pill room and found a large furnace inside that resembled his own.
• Zhang Xiaohua found the same furnace-refining incantation and refined the new Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.
• Zhang Xiaohua compared the two identical furnaces and wondered whether they could be a male-and-female pair that might reproduce.

Zhang Xiaohua returned to the Pill-Refining Hall courtyard, cultivated by contemplating the Heavenly Dao, and named his current stage Contemplating Heaven. His meditation was interrupted by Misty Hall disciples challenging the Pill-Refining Hall, and the chapter ended as he faced their leader, Xiao Gonghe.

• Zhang Xiaohua placed his own furnace over the earth fire in Shixin Peak’s pill room and returned to the Pill-Refining Hall courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua contemplated the Heavenly Dao, identified his current stage as Contemplating Heaven, and failed to record his insights on a jade tablet.
• Misty Hall disciples gathered outside the courtyard and shouted for the Pill-Refining Hall disciple to come out and accept their challenge.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened the gate and greeted the disciples, who surrounded him and introduced their leader, Xiao Gonghe.
• Zhang Xiaohua challenged Xiao Gonghe’s claim to be his senior brother by pointing out that he was older, but Xiao Gonghe insisted martial skill determined seniority.

Zhang Xiaohua was drawn into a challenge with the Misty Hall disciples and faced Mu Tangchun, his opponent from the Martial Arts Tournament five years earlier. As the match began, Zhang Xiaohua realized Mu Tangchun might recognize his old fist technique and changed his approach.

• Zhang Xiaohua questioned Xiao Gonghe about Misty Hall’s senior-brother rules and learned that the disciples respected Zhang Xiaohu for his courage and sacrifice.
• Xiao Gonghe tried to persuade Zhang Xiaohua to compete, and Zhang Xiaohua chose the youngest disciple, Mu Tangchun.
• Mu Tangchun challenged Zhang Xiaohua and introduced himself, prompting Zhang Xiaohua to remember their tournament match from five years before.
• Mu Tangchun used the Tandian Fist, and Zhang Xiaohua realized Mu Tangchun might recognize the Big Dipper Divine Fist if he used it again.
• Zhang Xiaohua began his attack with a different idea in mind, surprising Mu Tangchun.

Zhang Xiaohua defeated Mu Tangchun in a contest of martial techniques and internal strength, then stopped Xiao Gonghe from fleeing. He confronted Xiao Gonghe and the other disciples over their wager, leaving Xiao Gonghe protesting that Zhang Xiaohua had ambushed him.

• Zhang Xiaohua matched Mu Tangchun's fist techniques move for move, then met his punch and held against his full internal energy.
• Xiao Gonghe noticed Mu Tangchun was losing and tried to intervene, but Zhang Xiaohua warned him not to interfere with the match.
• When Mu Tangchun's internal energy ran out, Zhang Xiaohua quickly withdrew his true qi, and Mu Tangchun admitted defeat and called him Senior Brother.
• Xiao Gonghe claimed his senior sister had told him to go home for dinner and tried to flee, but Zhang Xiaohua caught him and brought him back to the field.
• Xiao Gonghe accused Zhang Xiaohua of ambushing him after Zhang Xiaohua criticized the disciples for running from their loss.

Zhang Xiaohua defeated the disciples challenging him on Shixin Peak and won their acceptance as Senior Brother Ren. After learning the disputes came from unfair herb-for-pill exchanges, he promised to give them fair prices and urged them to cultivate their fields.

• Zhang Xiaohua challenged the disciples to fight him one by one, and Xiao Gonghe accepted the challenge with his sword.
• Zhang Xiaohua repeatedly caught Xiao Gonghe by the throat until Xiao Gonghe yielded, then used the same tactic to defeat the other disciples.
• The remaining disciples surrendered and called Zhang Xiaohua Senior Brother Ren, while Xiao Gonghe warned that they would not obey orders harmful to Misty Hall.
• Xiao Gonghe explained that the disciples had rebelled because the Pill-Refining Hall undervalued their herbs, and Zhang Xiaohua promised fair exchanges.
• Zhang Xiaohua urged the disciples to plant their barren fields again and sent them back, asking them to bring pretty junior sisters next time.

Zhang Xiaohua reflected on his dealings with Misty Hall and visited Zhang Xiaohu, where he discussed Manor Lord Ou’s critical illness and the need to help the Misty Sect’s injured elders. Changge agreed with Zhang Xiaohua’s proposal but wondered why he would not join the Misty Sect, and his questions left everyone understanding that Zhang Xiaohu was better placed to benefit.

• Zhang Xiaohua sent the Misty Hall disciples away and decided to keep offering them fair deals without revealing his identity or allegiance.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that Manor Lord Ou was gravely ill and said he would postpone refining pills for Great Hero Wen and Captain He to focus on saving her.
• Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua discussed helping the Misty Sect’s injured elders and recalled that Martial Uncle Shi Niu had become a drunkard.
• Zhang Xiaohua teased Zhang Xiaohu about Changge, then Changge and Chen Chen praised his medicinal liquid for improving their skin.
• Changge approved Zhang Xiaohua’s proposal but asked him to join the Misty Sect, and Zhang Xiaohua’s questions showed why Zhang Xiaohu was the more suitable beneficiary.

Zhang Xiaohua advised Zhang Xiaohu on hiding his cultivation while preparing to learn the Su Huan Cultivation Method. He borrowed the Azure Water Sword and used sword light to extract a hidden sword manual from its scabbard, leaving Zhang Xiaohu astonished.

• Changge and Chen Chen supported Zhang Xiaohu taking credit for helping the Misty Sect, and Changge said she had not yet told Hall Master Qin about Zhang Xiaohua.
• Zhang Xiaohu worried that cultivating the Su Huan Cultivation Method alongside the Misty Divine Art would expose him to Yi Xiang Peak, so Zhang Xiaohua taught him the Spirit Guiding Technique's cultivation-concealment incantation.
• Zhang Xiaohua borrowed the Azure Water Sword after showing Zhang Xiaohu the short sword he had taken from Deputy Hall Master Xu.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had attacked Deputy Hall Master Xu, and Zhang Xiaohu warned him that the Cult Master might discover it.
• Zhang Xiaohua used sword light like an embroidery needle to remove a hidden sword manual from the Azure Water Sword's scabbard, stunning Zhang Xiaohu.

Zhang Xiaohua gave Old Yu the sword manual after securing his promise to return it to the Misty Sect, then went to Shixin Peak to refine a Spirit-Awakening Pill. At Ou Yan's manor, Qiutong reported that Ou Yan's condition had improved and that physicians from Yi Xiang Peak had noticed the change.

• Zhang Xiaohua took the sword manual from Zhang Xiaohu, promised to let him have a copy, and urged him to study Wuming's cultivation method.
• Zhang Xiaohua searched the Shixin Peak pill room for a jade slip, found nothing, and began refining the Spirit-Awakening Pill in the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.
• Zhang Xiaohua worried about the Eye of Delusion Breaking and the two sleeping creatures before continuing his overnight pill refinement.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Old Yu the sword manual after asking him to return it to the Misty Sect once he had learned the swordsmanship.
• Qiutong told Zhang Xiaohua that Ou Yan's complexion had improved and that physicians from Yi Xiang Peak had also seen signs of recovery.

Zhang Xiaohua checked on Ou Yan, discovered a Misty Hall disciple secretly monitoring her, and encouraged Misty Hall disciples to restore their medicinal fields by promising to trade herbs for needed pills. As he descended Shixin Peak, several young female disciples watched him, and Xiao Tiantian approached and flirted with him.

• Zhang Xiaohua told Qiutong that he needed more than ten days to find herbs and prepare the medicine for Ou Yan, whose condition remained stable but whose vitality was still fading.
• Zhang Xiaohua caught an unfamiliar Misty Hall disciple spying on Ou Yan and leaving an unreadable message in a tree; he suspected another force might be behind her illness.
• Zhang Xiaohua promised Misty Hall disciples he would trade their harvested herbs for pills they needed, and Senior Brother Hu agreed to replant the desolate fields because he trusted Zhang Xiaohu's standing.
• Zhang Xiaohua noticed young Misty Hall women watching him, and Xiao Tiantian introduced herself and insisted he call her by her given name.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered that Xiao Tiantian wanted the beauty-enhancing elixir he had given Chen Chen and agreed to trade her a bottle for her gold hairpin. He went to Zhang Xiaohu’s courtyard, delighted by the chance to profit, and told him he was going to get rich.

• Xiao Tiantian asked Zhang Xiaohua for the beauty-enhancing elixir after learning that it had smoothed and brightened Chen Chen’s face.
• Zhang Xiaohua admitted that he had a scarce supply of the elixir and agreed to exchange a bottle for Xiao Tiantian’s gold hairpin.
• Zhang Xiaohua arranged to meet Xiao Tiantian at Zhang Xiaohu’s courtyard so Zhang Xiaohu could witness their fair exchange.
• Zhang Xiaohua went to Zhang Xiaohu’s courtyard and announced that Zhang Xiaohu was going to get rich.

Zhang Xiaohua turned his bathwater into a supposed Whitening Elixir and tried to make Xiao Tiantian and Junior Sister Yi bid against each other for it. Zhang Xiaohu discovered the trick but gave the bottles to both women, then invited others to come for more.

• Zhang Xiaohua bottled bathwater containing a trace of Heavenly Bell Stone Milk and hid the remaining water in his belt.
• Xiao Tiantian and Junior Sister Yi arrived at Zhang Xiaohu’s courtyard, and Zhang Xiaohua tried to use their competing interest in the Whitening Elixir to raise the price.
• Zhang Xiaohu insisted on learning what the deal was and drew two jade bottles from his robes after Zhang Xiaohua hinted at them.
• Zhang Xiaohu recognized the bottles as his bathwater, then gave one to Xiao Tiantian and one to Junior Sister Yi.
• Xiao Tiantian and Junior Sister Yi praised Zhang Xiaohu and suggested that other disciples might come seeking the elixir, and Zhang Xiaohu welcomed them.

Zhang Xiaohua’s bathwater, made with ten-thousand-year stone milk, became a coveted skin treatment among Mingcui Hall’s female disciples and boosted Zhang Xiaohu’s reputation. The chapter ended with Zhang Xiaohu learning the bathwater’s true ingredient and realizing Zhang Xiaohua had let others apply it to their faces.

• Xiao Tiantian and Junior Sister Yi thanked Zhang Xiaohu for the elixir before Changge and Chen Chen arrived and asked how it had become his.
• Chen Chen explained that the elixir had improved her skin, prompting female disciples to seek Changge out for access to more.
• Changge praised Zhang Xiaohua for supposedly refining the elixir and scolded Zhang Xiaohu when she thought he had treated his younger brother unfairly.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had meant to help Zhang Xiaohu gain prestige, and Changge decided to distribute the remaining elixir among Mingcui Hall’s disciples.
• After Changge and Chen Chen left, Zhang Xiaohu confronted Zhang Xiaohua and learned the elixir was bathwater containing ten-thousand-year stone milk.

Zhang Xiaohua defended calling his bathwater a skin-whitening elixir, arguing that it worked and spared his rare stone milk. He told Zhang Xiaohu about poisonous products and profiteering in a foreign land, then left him amused by the excuse.

• Zhang Xiaohua explained that his bathwater had cleared Chen Chen’s pimples, while Zhang Xiaohu objected to passing it off as elixir for the female disciples.
• Zhang Xiaohua recalled learning from books at the Lotus Escort Agency and told Zhang Xiaohu that Li Yinfeng had once waited for him before marrying Liu Kai.
• Zhang Xiaohua described merchants in a foreign land poisoning food, fish, and cosmetics to earn more silver, and Zhang Xiaohu angrily struck a tree trunk.
• Zhang Xiaohua argued that his bathwater was harmless and that using it instead of rare stone milk was far nobler than selling poisoned goods.
• Zhang Xiaohu questioned what happened to the people harmed by poison, and Zhang Xiaohua said each person had to live their own life.
• Zhang Xiaohu laughed that Zhang Xiaohua was merely covering up passing something fake off as genuine, and Zhang Xiaohua replied that a cheaper option was preferable.

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu prepared to distribute bathwater disguised as a Whitening Elixir, while Zhang Xiaohua proposed bringing Captain He to the courtyard for treatment. Zhang Xiaohu discussed concealing his cultivation and asked Zhang Xiaohua to help him begin cultivating the Su Huan Cultivation Method.

• Zhang Xiaohua mixed Zhang Xiaohu’s bathwater into three jars of clean water, and Zhang Xiaohu considered secretly claiming the Whitening Elixir might enhance the bust.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu discussed bringing Captain He to the courtyard so Zhang Xiaohua could treat his injuries in a secluded rear room.
• Zhang Xiaohu explained that he planned to cultivate his concealment method alongside his other internal arts rather than master it first.
• Zhang Xiaohu said his internal force was increasing and that he wanted to cultivate the Su Huan Cultivation Method before the Misty Divine Art became too powerful.
• Zhang Xiaohua agreed to try helping Zhang Xiaohu cultivate the Su Huan Cultivation Method, though he was unsure how to proceed.

A mysterious cloaked figure entered Ou Yan’s room, failed to undo the acupoints Zhang Xiaohua had sealed, and secretly worsened her condition before leaving. The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua found Ou Yan’s vitality draining faster and could only reinforce the seals as Qiutong begged him to bring the pill sooner.

• Zhang Xiaohua checked the pill in the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace and began cultivating in the pill room.
• A cloaked figure slipped into Ou Yan’s room, released black mist, and tried unsuccessfully to undo the acupoints sealed on Ou Yan.
• The figure sent tiny black specks into Ou Yan’s forehead, gathered the mist, freed Qiutong’s acupoints, and disappeared.
• Qiutong woke to find Ou Yan pale and feared her condition had worsened, then began to weep.
• Zhang Xiaohua examined Ou Yan and found her vitality draining faster, but reinforcing the sealed acupoints slowed it only slightly.
• Qiutong pleaded with Zhang Xiaohua to bring the pill sooner because Ou Yan might not survive until it was ready.

Zhang Xiaohua struggled with his inability to hasten the Spirit-Awakening Pill needed to save Ou Yan, then lost control when Song Zhiyong confronted him. He stopped choking Song Zhiyong after Mu Tangchun intervened and left with a warning.

• Zhang Xiaohua assured Qiutong that he would do everything he could to save Ou Yan, then left for the pill room.
• Zhang Xiaohua found no safe way to speed up the Spirit-Awakening Pill’s refinement and walked down Shixin Peak in a troubled mood.
• Song Zhiyong accused Zhang Xiaohua of deceiving him about Junior Sister Xiao, and Zhang Xiaohua grabbed him by the throat.
• Mu Tangchun urged Zhang Xiaohua not to take Song Zhiyong’s life, jolting Zhang Xiaohua out of his rage.
• Zhang Xiaohua released Song Zhiyong, explained that he had only joked before, and warned him not to seek trouble again.

Zhang Xiaohua regretted losing his temper with Song Zhiyong, then checked He Tianshu’s recovery and learned that his meridians and Dantian were healing. Zhang Xiaohu confirmed that He Tianshu would eventually regain his martial arts and urged him to keep the recovery secret from the Incense-Passing Cult.

• Zhang Xiaohua calmed down after mistreating Song Zhiyong and regretted letting his frustration control him.
• Zhang Xiaohua found Zhang Xiaohu absent and checked He Tianshu, discovering that a portion of his meridians and Dantian had begun to heal.
• Zhang Xiaohua told He Tianshu that Zhang Xiaohu expected his injuries to be fully repaired in about a month.
• Zhang Xiaohu arrived, confirmed that He Tianshu would be able to cultivate his martial arts again, and saw He Tianshu overcome with tears.
• Zhang Xiaohu warned He Tianshu to conceal his recovery from the Incense-Passing Cult so he could secretly heal other injured Misty Sect disciples.

Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that Ou Yan’s condition had worsened, then agreed to help restore the crippled Misty Sect disciples living at Misty Manor. They planned to use the treatment to gain the support of Martial Ancestor Li and the others for Zhang Xiaohu’s bid to become chief senior disciple.

• Zhang Xiaohua confirmed that He Tianshu’s dantian should recover after another month, and Zhang Xiaohu asked when he could restore his master’s dantian.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that Ou Yan’s condition had worsened and that he might not be able to save her; Zhang Xiaohu suggested telling Yang Ruying, but Zhang Xiaohua refused to meddle in their family affairs.
• Zhang Xiaohu explained that Martial Ancestor Li and Martial Ancestor Liu had made a separate community at Misty Manor, where more than a thousand crippled Misty Sect disciples lived.
• Zhang Xiaohua proposed that Zhang Xiaohu visit Misty Manor and offer to restore the disciples’ martial arts, which could help win support for his candidacy as chief senior disciple.
• Zhang Xiaohua agreed to accompany Zhang Xiaohu to Misty Manor, while advising him to treat several disciples before raising the question of the position.
• Zhang Xiaohu went to Misty Hall to request a token, and Zhang Xiaohua returned to the Pill-Refining Hall courtyard before they planned to meet again that afternoon.

Zhang Xiaohu reached Misty Manor on Hall Master Yang’s orders and gained entry by presenting Wen Wenhai’s direct lineage token. He was stunned to find the Misty Sect disciples living in severe hardship, and the chapter left him learning why they had built their own settlement.

• Zhang Xiaohu hid Zhang Xiaohua in the thorn forest when Yi Xiang Peak disciples approached the bridge.
• Zhang Xiaohu presented his Misty Hall and Deputy Hall Master Gao tokens, then crossed the bridge after the guard let him pass.
• Zhang Xiaohu told the Misty Sect disciples he had come to see Martial Ancestor Li and Martial Ancestor Liu, but they refused to admit him without proof.
• Zhang Xiaohu showed Wen Wenhai’s direct lineage token, and Martial Uncle Bai assigned Martial Uncle Zhou to escort him.
• Martial Uncle Zhou led Zhang Xiaohu into Misty Manor, where Zhang Xiaohu saw its crude huts and learned the disciples had built the settlement themselves rather than accept the Incense-Passing Cult’s favors.