Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohu reached the hidden Misty Sect settlement and learned how its crippled disciples had refused to surrender their spirit or accept anything from the Incense-Passing Cult. At the Council Hall, Martial Ancestor Li initially refused to meet him, but reconsidered when he heard Zhang Xiaohu was Wen Wenhai’s direct disciple and carried messages for Shi Niu and Liu Qingyang.

• Zhang Xiaohua followed Zhang Xiaohu to the village and admired the Misty Sect disciples’ resolve, while quietly calculating how he might help them.
• Zhang Xiaohu entered through the Misty archway and saw the crippled disciples training without inner strength, which made him respect their perseverance and regret his own conduct.
• Martial Uncle Zhou explained that the elders had built their own homes, provided for themselves, and kept their old clothes rather than accept the Incense-Passing Cult’s supplies.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked about Liu Qingyang and Shi Niu, then told Martial Uncle Zhou that his master had asked him to visit them.
• Martial Ancestor Li refused to meet Zhang Xiaohu, assuming he had come to negotiate surrender, but changed his tone after Martial Uncle Zhou mentioned Wen Wenhai’s direct disciple and the messages for Shi Niu and Liu Qingyang.

Zhang Xiaohu visited Li Jian at Shixin Peak, where Li Jian mistook him for a Misty Hall persuader and rejected Yang Ruying’s proposal. Zhang Xiaohu hinted at a secret opportunity to revitalize the Misty Sect, but Li Jian refused to hear it without trusting his fellow disciples, leaving the matter undisclosed.

• Zhang Xiaohu met Li Jian, who criticized his Misty Divine Art cultivation and assumed he had come to persuade the Shixin Peak disciples to submit.
• Zhang Xiaohu paid respects to the spirit tablets of Ou Peng, Shangguan Fengliu, and Xu Peihua, then described the past year’s events to Li Jian.
• Zhou Mufeng brought the drunken Shi Niu into the Council Hall, while Martial Uncle Liu remained too drunk to attend.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Li Jian about events involving You Lan Mu Lian and Zhao Jian, prompting Li Jian to praise the former and condemn the latter.
• Li Jian rejected Yang Ruying’s proposal and told Zhang Xiaohu to report that the Misty Sect would remain independent and provide for itself.
• Zhang Xiaohu said he had come with a secret opportunity to revitalize the Misty Sect, but Li Jian refused to hear it because Wen Wenhai and other Misty Sect disciples had not been informed.

Zhang Xiaohu persuaded Li Jian to let Zhang Xiaohua treat Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng in secret. Zhang Xiaohua began repairing Zhou Mufeng’s dantian and treating Shi Niu’s crushed joints, but Liu Qingyang’s arrival threatened to interrupt the treatment.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Li Jian he could heal shattered dantians and crushed joints, but Li Jian initially rejected his claim as an Incense-Passing Cult trap.
• Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng convinced Li Jian to let Zhang Xiaohu try, and Zhang Xiaohu led them to a secluded hut with Zhang Xiaohua hidden nearby.
• Zhang Xiaohua emerged from underground, examined the injuries, and began repairing Zhou Mufeng’s dantian with a Meridian Nourishing Pill.
• Zhang Xiaohua crushed Shi Niu’s hardened joints and used two Bone Condensing Pills to begin healing them.
• Liu Qingyang loudly searched for Shi Niu outside the hut, and Zhang Xiaohu prepared to stop him from entering while Zhang Xiaohua continued treatment.

Zhang Xiaohua secretly healed Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng, then left Zhang Xiaohu to reveal their recovery to Li Jian and Liu Qingyang. Zhang Xiaohu confirmed Shi Niu was resting with his acupoints sealed, while Liu Qingyang was stunned that he had done so.

• Liu Qingyang confronted Li Jian about Shi Niu and lamented the suffering of disciples whose joints had been crushed.
• Li Jian urged Liu Qingyang to wait for a possible miracle and hinted that Zhang Xiaohu might be able to heal him.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that he had treated Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng, then vanished after asking Zhang Xiaohu to reseal their acupoints.
• Zhang Xiaohu poked Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng as instructed and emerged from the hut to meet Li Jian and Liu Qingyang.
• Zhang Xiaohu explained He Tianshu’s recovery, and Li Jian praised him for treating Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng cautiously.
• Zhang Xiaohu said Shi Niu was resting with his acupoints sealed, astonishing Liu Qingyang and Li Jian.

Zhang Xiaohu treated Shi Niu’s crushed joints and repaired Zhou Mufeng’s dantian before leaving Misty Manor, while Zhang Xiaohua recovered his depleted true qi on Shixin Peak. The chapter ends when Zhang Xiaohua senses two approaching men, one of whom looks familiar.

• Liu Qingyang and Li Jian doubted Zhang Xiaohu’s ability to strike Shi Niu’s hardened acupoints until Shi Niu cried out in pain.
• Zhang Xiaohu explained that he had crushed and reset Shi Niu’s joints, then treated him as Liu Qingyang urged Shi Niu to remain still.
• Zhang Xiaohu released Zhou Mufeng’s acupoints and said his dantian would need twenty or thirty days before its recovery could be assessed.
• Zhang Xiaohu declined to stay for a meal and left Misty Manor with Martial Uncle Bai escorting him out.
• Zhang Xiaohua replenished his true qi with a yuanstone on Shixin Peak, then noticed two men approaching, one of whom looked familiar.

Zhang Xiaohua overheard Senior Brother Ding and Junior Brother Fan discussing Zhang Xiaohu's rise to chief senior disciple. Ding respected Zhang Xiaohu's hard work and achievements, but still hoped for an honorable chance to compete with him and Junior Brother Du for the position.

• Zhang Xiaohua recognized Junior Brother Fan as the man who had spied on Huanxi Mountain Villa and hid to listen to him speak with Senior Brother Ding.
• Junior Brother Fan criticized Zhang Xiaohu's qualifications and praised Ding and the other promising disciples as the Misty Three Beauties.
• Ding rebuked Fan for judging Zhang Xiaohu unfairly and praised his perseverance, cultivation, and progress.
• Ding said Zhang Xiaohu had earned his achievements in You Lan Mu Lian and deserved the Hall Master's reward, though Ding and Junior Brother Du should receive a chance to prove themselves in martial arts.
• Zhang Xiaohua concluded that Ding's hope for a fair competition was unrealistic because Zhang Xiaohu already had the advantage in the race for chief senior disciple.

Zhang Xiaohua prepared to expand his pill-making work to restore the martial arts of Misty Manor’s disciples, then overheard Du Feng struggling with his ambitions and began questioning his own purpose. Du Feng appeared close to a breakthrough, but a strong gust scattered the energy gathering above his head.

• Zhang Xiaohua checked on the Spirit-Awakening Pill in the furnace and decided to find another pill chamber for making medicine for the injured disciples.
• Zhang Xiaohua heard Du Feng sparring with Junior Brother Wang, who urged him not to risk a rivalry with Ding Chao while pursuing the chief senior disciple position.
• Du Feng dismissed Junior Brother Wang’s advice and stayed on the mountaintop to cultivate.
• Zhang Xiaohua reflected on Du Feng’s pursuit, compared it with Zhang Xiaohu’s and Ding Chao’s ambitions, and wondered what his own purpose was.
• Du Feng’s internal energy began to break through, but a powerful mountain wind scattered the white vapor forming above his head.

Zhang Xiaohua saved Du Feng from Qi Deviation, and Du Feng broke through his cultivation bottleneck before leaving with Junior Sister Li. Alone on Shixin Peak, Zhang Xiaohua questioned what he wanted to pursue as his body began to flicker in the raging wind and rain.

• Du Feng suffered Qi Deviation while trying to break through an acupoint, and Zhang Xiaohua gathered his chaotic internal energy and gave him a Meridian Nourishing Pill.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered that the pill repaired Du Feng's meridians without his help, then disguised his voice and guided Du Feng to circulate his energy.
• Du Feng broke through his bottleneck, thanked the vanished senior, and discovered that his internal energy and lightness skill had greatly improved.
• Junior Sister Li called for Du Feng, and he flew off to meet her after thanking the unseen rescuer.
• Zhang Xiaohua thought of Meng and Little Fish and pondered his pursuit as a fierce wind and torrential rain swept over Shixin Peak and his figure grew indistinct.

After a night of reflection, Zhang Xiaohua resolved to pursue the Heavenly Dao and found his cultivation and pill-refining control improving. He successfully refined twenty-seven Spirit-Awakening Pills for Ou Yan, leaving him eager to see how many pills his skills might yield in the future.

• Zhang Xiaohua realized that the Heavenly Dao was the pursuit he wanted to follow and returned to the pill room to care for the Spirit-Awakening Pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua found that his hand seals and true qi control had improved, resumed studying the rabbit talisman, and began using another pill room to warm a furnace.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed the pill-nurturing process finish and carefully formed the pills while controlling his true qi and using a primordial stone.
• Zhang Xiaohua pulled twenty-seven golden-yellow Spirit-Awakening Pills from the furnace, enough to give him confidence that Ou Yan could be saved.
• Zhang Xiaohua collected the byproduct pills and wondered whether improving his skills could let him refine far more pills from the same herbs.

Zhang Xiaohua gave Ou Yan the Spirit-Awakening Pill he had refined, and it revived her after her vitality had nearly drained away. Ou Yan entrusted him with the letter and paper box again, leaving their future in his hands if anything happened to her.

• Zhang Xiaohua arrived at Ou Yan's bedchamber, where Qiutong and Old Yu anxiously waited for the antidote.
• Zhang Xiaohua reassured them that his unusual-looking pill was genuine and placed it in Ou Yan's mouth.
• Zhang Xiaohua released Ou Yan's sealed acupoints, and the pill stopped her vitality from draining.
• Ou Yan regained consciousness, thanked Zhang Xiaohua, and said she felt weak but otherwise unchanged.
• Ou Yan told Zhang Xiaohua to keep her letter and paper box, and to handle them if anything happened to her.

After recovering, Ou Yan persuaded Zhang Xiaohua to safeguard the map and Brocade Box, and the two recognized how their kindness to each other had come full circle. Zhang Xiaohua fled when Ou Yan teased him about a possible romance, then began refining Meridian Nourishing Pills and Bone Condensing Pills for the people of Misty Manor.

• Ou Yan asked Zhang Xiaohua to keep the map and Brocade Box safe, but he initially refused because of their importance to the Misty Sect.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Ou Yan recalled how they had helped each other, and Qiutong described their repeated kindnesses as karma.
• Ou Yan asked Zhang Xiaohua to safeguard the items as her younger brother, and he agreed to keep them for now.
• While Ou Yan drank white fungus soup, she guessed Zhang Xiaohua had a lovely confidante at Hui Chun Valley, prompting him to escape with Earth Escape.
• At the pill room, Zhang Xiaohua began refining Meridian Nourishing Pills and Bone Condensing Pills in two Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnaces.

Zhang Xiaohua visited Zhang Xiaohu and learned that Zhang Xiaohu had become Misty Hall’s chief senior disciple. The brothers discussed two matters Zhang Xiaohu needed help with, ending as Zhang Xiaohu revealed that the hidden matter involved Meridian Nourishing Pills.

• Zhang Xiaohua visited He Tianshu, who reported that his dantian, meridians, and body seemed to be healing.
• Zhang Xiaohua found Zhang Xiaohu directing two disciples and learned that he had officially become Misty Hall’s chief senior disciple.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua that he had healed Shi Niu and Zhou Mufeng at Misty Manor without revealing the visit’s true purpose.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had given Du Feng a Meridian Nourishing Pill, and Zhang Xiaohu approved because Du Feng and Ding Chao could become valuable allies.
• Zhang Xiaohua suggested giving Ding Chao a Meridian Nourishing Pill too, and Zhang Xiaohu revealed that his hidden request concerned the pills.

Zhang Xiaohu revealed to Wen Wenhai that Zhang Xiaohua could restore his and the other martial uncles’ martial arts, and Wen Wenhai agreed to support Zhang Xiaohu’s plans. The chapter ended with Zhang Xiaohu preparing to help Wen Wenhai and the others recover before the pill trade drew attention.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua he wanted to restore Wen Wenhai, Lu, and Xue’s martial arts before the pill trade began, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to help.
• Zhang Xiaohu entered Wen Wenhai’s courtyard and secretly told him that his martial arts could be restored, along with his two martial uncles’ injuries.
• Wen Wenhai was thrilled but questioned Zhang Xiaohu for testing the method on He Tianshu before consulting him.
• Zhang Xiaohu explained that the method worked and hinted at his plans for the future, and Wen Wenhai promised that he and the other two would support him.

Zhang Xiaohua restored Wen Wenhai’s dantian and meridians, then repaired Lu Yueming’s dantian and treated his injured leg. After both treatments succeeded, Wen Wenhai and Lu Yueming helped Zhang Xiaohu consider how to treat Xue Qing without causing awkwardness.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Wen Wenhai that he wanted to advance in the Misty Sect, and Wen Wenhai agreed to help him.
• Zhang Xiaohu and Wen Wenhai discussed the difficulty of treating Xue Qing because Zhang Xiaohua’s method required striking acupoints.
• Zhang Xiaohua restored Wen Wenhai’s dantian and meridians, advising him to wait twenty days before trying to circulate his internal energy.
• Zhang Xiaohu and Wen Wenhai went to Lu Yueming’s courtyard, where Zhang Xiaohua repaired Lu Yueming’s dantian and meridians, reset his injured leg, and gave him a Bone Condensing Pill.
• Lu Yueming agreed to keep his recovery secret and suggested a solution to the problem of treating Xue Qing.

Zhang Xiaohu arranged for Zhang Xiaohua to treat Xue Qing’s injured arm while keeping the secret and respecting her concerns. After the treatment, Zhang Xiaohu left Wen Wenhai alone with Xue Qing, who asked him to help her up.

• Zhang Xiaohu rejected having Changge stay with him because he did not want to exclude Wen Wenhai from the secret, and Wen Wenhai arranged for Xue Qing to be treated in her bedchamber with the door open.
• Xue Qing agreed to the treatment, and Zhang Xiaohu immobilized her while Zhang Xiaohua placed jade talismans around the room and treated her arm.
• Zhang Xiaohua finished the treatment and left, while Zhang Xiaohu released Xue Qing’s acupoints and claimed he had an appointment with Changge so he could leave Wen Wenhai with her.
• Xue Qing teased Wen Wenhai and asked him to help her up, leaving him overjoyed.

After healing three people, Zhang Xiaohua returned to the Pill-Refining Hall courtyard and faced Xiao Tiantian, who demanded compensation for the rumor that they were romantically involved. He gave her a bottle of Whitening Elixir to settle the dispute, but froze just as he shut the gate.

• After using most of his true qi to heal Wen Wenhai, Lu Yueming, and Xue Qing, Zhang Xiaohua headed to the Pill-Refining Hall courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua found Xiao Tiantian kicking his gate and accusing him of hiding after spreading a rumor about their relationship.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had made the claim to provoke Song Zhiyong, but Xiao Tiantian said the rumor had harmed her reputation.
• Xiao Tiantian demanded two bottles of Whitening Elixir as compensation, and Zhang Xiaohua insisted he had only one.
• Xiao Tiantian accepted the single bottle and left, and Zhang Xiaohua froze as he closed the courtyard gate.

Zhang Xiaohua recognized the Way of Cause and Effect in the events of his life and briefly glimpsed its outline in the Heavenly Dao. After evading Junior Sister Yi at his door, he secretly hurried ahead to intercept her and Senior Brother Ding.

• Zhang Xiaohua connected past events in his life to cause and effect and gained a faint insight into the Way of Cause and Effect.
• The Heavenly Dao vision revealed an outline of the Way of Cause and Effect, but Zhang Xiaohua could not fully comprehend it.
• Junior Sister Yi came to Zhang Xiaohua's courtyard seeking an elixir, while Senior Brother Ding warned her about his reputation.
• Zhang Xiaohua overheard Junior Sister Yi defend him and learned that Xiao Tiantian had taken a bottle of elixir from him.
• Zhang Xiaohua slipped out and raced ahead to block Junior Sister Yi and Senior Brother Ding with his face concealed.

Zhang Xiaohua tested Ding Chao’s loyalty by pretending to threaten him and Junior Sister Yi, then gave him a Meridian Nourishing Pill. Back in the pill room, Zhang Xiaohua reflected on the Way of Cause and Effect and vowed to pursue the Heavenly Dao.

• A disguised Zhang Xiaohua confronted Ding Chao and Junior Sister Yi, forced Ding Chao to swallow a pill, and threatened Junior Sister Yi to test Ding Chao’s loyalty.
• Ding Chao refused to betray the Misty Sect for the Incense-Passing Cult, even when the shadow threatened to kill Junior Sister Yi and promised Ding Chao’s own death.
• Zhang Xiaohua revealed that the pill was not poison but a Meridian Nourishing Pill, then let Ding Chao and Junior Sister Yi flee.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned to the pill room, considered the causes and effects connected to people and objects in his life, and vowed to keep seeking the Heavenly Dao.

Zhang Xiaohua helped Zhang Xiaohu refine two Su Huan Pills, which increased the inner force of both his cultivation methods. A knock at Zhang Xiaohu's courtyard interrupted them just as the refinement was complete.

• Zhang Xiaohua visited Zhang Xiaohu and told him about Xiao Tiantian, Ding Chao, and Junior Sister Yi.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu went to the inner room so Zhang Xiaohua could help him refine the Su Huan Pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua guided the first pill's medicinal power into Zhang Xiaohu's black-and-white qi mass, and Zhang Xiaohu balanced the resulting increase by circulating the Misty Divine Art.
• Zhang Xiaohua helped Zhang Xiaohu refine the second Su Huan Pill and privately sensed that his reflection on balance had stirred a faint response in the Heavenly Dao.
• Someone pounded on Zhang Xiaohu's courtyard gate, interrupting the two brothers.

Zhang Xiaohua helped Zhang Xiaohu balance his internal energies before they were summoned to Misty Hall, where Old Yu asked for a Spirit-Awakening Pill for Ou Yan. After learning her condition had relapsed, Zhang Xiaohua hurried to Huanxi Mountain Villa and found her unresponsive.

• Zhang Xiaohua accelerated Zhang Xiaohu’s qi circulation, completed the Misty Divine Art cycle for him, and warned him that an urgent visitor was pounding at the gate.
• A disciple summoned Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua to Misty Hall, where Old Yu and Martial Uncle Bai were waiting alongside the three Hall Masters.
• Old Yu asked Zhang Xiaohua for a Spirit-Awakening Pill because Ou Yan was unwell, but Zhang Xiaohua denied having one; Yang Ruying said she had requested one from Yi Xiang Peak.
• Zhang Xiaohua left Misty Hall and rushed to Huanxi Mountain Villa, where Qiutong told him Ou Yan had suddenly clutched her head and screamed after breakfast, then became vacant and unresponsive.