Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua rescued his family from the West Cui Mountain bandits and flew to their stronghold to retaliate. There he discovered that the mountain had been taken over by a larger criminal group, and the chapter ended with him uncovering their extortion and murder operation.

• Zhang Xiaohua extinguished the fire at his family’s home, freed his parents and relatives, and killed the bandits who had attacked them.
• Zhang Xiaohua gathered the bandits’ stolen goods, burned their bodies, and gave his family jade talismans for protection before setting out for West Cui Mountain.
• Zhang Xiaohua found over a hundred murdered victims displayed outside the West Cui Mountain stronghold and placed jade talismans around its walls.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered the stronghold’s main hall, subdued its leaders, and learned that West Cui Mountain had been taken over by a criminal group that extorted and killed wealthy households.

Zhang Xiaohua destroyed West Cui Mountain after learning its bandits had nearly ruined his family, then set out to confront the organization behind them. At Evil Tiger Mountain Villa, he overheard its leaders discussing their plans and announced that he had already taken West Cui Mountain’s wealth.

• Zhang Xiaohua sealed West Cui Mountain’s stronghold and burned it down, then gained new insight into the Heavenly Dao as the bandits died.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned to Guo Village after a day and a night away and told his family he had destroyed West Cui Mountain.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that West Cui Mountain’s Flag Master was tied to Evil Tiger Mountain Villa and flew there to investigate.
• Zhang Xiaohua saw a bronze-masked old man meet a man in blue outside Evil Tiger Mountain Villa, then overheard the old man and Flag Master Ma discuss missing reports and a demand for wealth and goods.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered the main hall and told the bronze-masked old man and Flag Master Ma that he had destroyed West Cui Mountain and taken its wealth.

Zhang Xiaohua killed the Azure Flame Token’s leaders and learned that the secret group served the Righteous Path Alliance by eliminating anyone who threatened its interests. He headed to Misty Peak to aid Zhang Xiaohu’s forces, finding the Misty Sect’s assault underway and facing a formidable defense.

• Zhang Xiaohua used Zhuimeng to kill Jiang Yan, the Azure Flame Token’s lord and the Righteous Path Alliance’s seventh Deputy Alliance Leader, and killed Flag Master Ma.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that the Azure Flame Token carried out secret orders for the Righteous Path Alliance, then slaughtered the Fierce Tiger Gang, took its hidden treasure, and burned Evil Tiger Mountain Villa.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that Misty Manor’s Ban Fugui had issued the orders behind the Azure Flame Token’s actions and flew toward Pingyang City to help Zhang Xiaohu.
• Zhang Xiaohua reached Misty Peak and found Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen protected by Misty Sect disciples while the battle raged across the mountain.
• Zhang Xiaohua saw Ming Qing and the Incense-Passing Cult disciples advancing up the mountain, Aunt Qin clearing enemies near Misty Manor, and Ban Fugui directing a defense supported by four venerables.

Zhang Xiaohua arrived at Misty Peak disguised as Pan An and intervened when the Misty Sect’s leaders were about to lose their battles against Ban Fugui and the Righteous Path Alliance. He killed Ban Fugui and four retainers, then left Zhang Xiaohu to lead the Misty Sect’s advance.

• Ban Fugui challenged Zhang Xiaohu, but Ming Qing stepped in to fight him while the other leaders engaged four Righteous Path Alliance retainers.
• Ming Qing, Gao Kunheng, Aunt Qin, Du Feng, Ding Chao, Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen fell into increasingly difficult fights.
• Zhang Xiaohua appeared above the battlefield and identified Ban Fugui as his target after learning Azure Flame Token was under Ban Fugui’s command.
• Zhang Xiaohua killed Ban Fugui with Dream Chaser, then pursued and killed the four fleeing retainers.
• Zhang Xiaohua departed, and Zhang Xiaohu ordered the Misty Sect disciples to advance, sparing enemies who surrendered and showing no mercy to those who refused.

Zhang Xiaohu led the Misty Sect and Incense-Passing Cult disciples to seize Misty Manor after the Righteous Path Alliance leaders fell. On his way to Guo Village, Zhang Xiaohua discovered that Primordial Qi had surged and recognized Five Claw Peak from the sheepskin scroll, leaving to investigate the suspected treasure site.

• Zhang Xiaohu ordered the Misty Sect to charge, and Ming Qing, Gao Kunheng, Aunt Qin, and their disciples joined the attack as the Righteous Path Alliance disciples surrendered.
• Zhang Xiaohua flew toward Guo Village and was struck by a sudden wave of Primordial Qi, then noticed his divine abilities had grown stronger.
• Zhang Xiaohua searched for the source of the flash and Primordial Qi surge, briefly spotted a mysterious man carrying a wooden bucket, and failed to find him again.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned toward Guo Village, silently stopped Xiaohei and Xiaohuang from flying toward him, and saw them settle back beside Zhang Bairen.
• Zhang Xiaohua recognized Five Claw Peak as resembling the drawing on Ou Yan's sheepskin scroll and spread his divine sense over the mountain to search it.

Zhang Xiaohua found a silent sour jujube grove on Five Claw Peak that matched a mark on the treasure map, but its array nearly trapped him. After escaping, he connected the Misty Sect's destruction to earlier events around Lu Town and gained a deeper insight into the Way of Cause and Effect.

• Zhang Xiaohua examined the two sheepskin scrolls and spotted a mark corresponding to a sour jujube grove on Five Claw Peak.
• Zhang Xiaohua realized the silent grove might be an array and approached it to investigate.
• Zhang Xiaohua stepped into the grove, felt a terrible warning, and escaped its suction with Wood Escape.
• Zhang Xiaohua concluded that Wen Wenhai, Xue Qing, and Lu Yueming might have visited the grove before the Misty Sect was destroyed.
• Zhang Xiaohua contemplated the chain of cause and effect, and the Way of Cause and Effect stirred within him.

Zhang Xiaohua briefly glimpsed the River of Cause and Effect, then returned to Guo Village exhausted but apparently only a day after leaving. He reached home after learning that bandits had raided the Zhang family courtyard, and he accepted Ji Xiaohua as his disciple.

• Zhang Xiaohua saw Meng’s face in a droplet of the River of Cause and Effect and tried to freeze it, but the effort exhausted him and he returned to the place where he had been meditating.
• Unable to use his usual travel techniques, Zhang Xiaohua bought a poor horse and rode from Lu Town to Guo Village.
• Ji Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohua that he had left that morning and that the Old Madam had been worrying about him; Zhang Xiaohua offered to teach Ji Xiaohua how to fly.
• Ji Xiaohua asked to become Zhang Xiaohua’s disciple, and Zhang Xiaohua accepted him and promised to teach him martial arts.
• Villagers told Zhang Xiaohua that bandits had plundered the Zhang family courtyard, burned houses, and killed several members of the clan chief’s family.
• Zhang Xiaohua left the villagers’ questions behind and reached his home at dusk, where his mother came out to greet him.

Zhang Xiaohua returned home exhausted, reassured his family, and explained the dangers surrounding their growing prosperity. Mr. Liu suggested that Zhang Bairen might be Zhang Xiaohua’s first disciple, leaving the family puzzled.

• Zhang Xiaohua returned to the village, where Guo Sufi worried over his pale appearance and Zhang Cai welcomed him home.
• Zhang Xiaohua reassured his family that Zhang Xiaolong would soon return from Pingyang City and warned them that their spring water and Cloud Mist Tea might attract attention.
• Zhang Xiaohua recounted his recent fights, and Mr. Liu defended his actions when Guo Sufi feared the spiritual consequences of his killings.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that Ji Xiaohua had become his disciple, prompting Guo Sufi to joke about being a grandmaster.
• Mr. Liu suggested that Zhang Bairen might be the first person Zhang Xiaohua helped up and thus his first disciple, surprising Zhang Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaolong, and Liu Qian.

Mr. Liu persuaded Zhang Xiaohua to make Zhang Bairen the Big Dipper Sect’s founding disciple, and Zhang Xiaohua considered where to establish the sect while explaining why it would remain separate from the Misty Sect. He reassured Zhang Xiaolong that his own role mattered too, while Mr. Liu urged everyone to live actively for themselves and others.

• Mr. Liu argued that Zhang Xiaohua should follow sect rules and make Zhang Bairen, rather than Ji Xiaohua, the Big Dipper Sect’s first disciple.
• Zhang Xiaohua accepted Bairen as his senior disciple and said he had a future location in mind for the sect, though he would wait before establishing it.
• Zhang Xiaohua told his family that his martial inheritance did not belong under the Misty Sect, even though he would still help Zhang Xiaolong when needed.
• Zhang Xiaohua credited the Misty Sect’s elders and Fire Dragon True Person for the brothers’ accomplishments, then told Zhang Xiaolong he would become renowned as Zhang Bairen’s father.
• Mr. Liu agreed that people could support one another but urged them to live actively, bravely, and optimistically for themselves as well as others.

Zhang Xiaohua revealed the Zhang family's wealth and persuaded his family to consider leaving Guo Village, with Mr. Liu agreeing to go with them. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohu struggled to manage the Misty Sect under the Incense-Passing Cult's influence and doubted his ability to challenge Abbess Jingyi.

• Zhang Xiaohua showed Mr. Liu and the Zhang family four chests of jewels, explaining that the family was no longer poor and might not be able to remain in Guo Village.
• Mr. Liu agreed that the Zhang family should consider moving and accepted their invitation to go with them.
• Zhang Xiaohua warned that Zhang Xiaohu's position as Misty Sect Master made it dangerous for the family to stay in Guo Village, and they decided to discuss their future after Zhang Xiaohu returned.
• At Misty Manor, Zhang Xiaohu and Ming Qing disagreed over who should guard the captured Righteous Path Alliance members and what should be done with them.
• Changge urged Zhang Xiaohu to use his hidden allies and wait for Martial Ancestor Hu's disciples to return, but Zhang Xiaohu doubted they could match Abbess Jingyi's strength.

Zhang Xiaohu weighed the possibility that Zhang Xiaohua was the mysterious immortal, then faced a dispute after an Incense-Passing Cult disciple attacked a Mingcui Hall woman. The chapter ended with Gao Kunheng arguing that Wang Tong should not be punished under Misty Sect rules that had not yet been restored.

• Changge and Chen Chen discussed whether Zhang Xiaohua could be the immortal, while Zhang Xiaohu doubted the connection and said he could not leave the ruined sect to visit his family.
• Aunt Qin brought Du Feng and the deputy sect leaders to the Council Hall to complain about Incense-Passing Cult disciples harassing Mingcui Hall women.
• Du Feng reported that Wang Tong had tried to assault a Mingcui Hall disciple, wounded a Misty Sect disciple who intervened, and was rescued by fellow cult disciples.
• Zhang Xiaohu demanded Wang Tong's arrest, but Ming Qing proposed a lesser punishment and suggested the woman marry him, citing Wang Tong's service and ignorance of Misty Sect rules.
• Zhang Xiaohu invoked the Misty Sect rule that those who molest female disciples should be killed, while Ming Qing argued that Wang Tong had not known the rule.
• Gao Kunheng proposed restoring the Disciplinary Hall and teaching the rules, but argued that Wang Tong could not be punished under rules that had not yet been reinstated.

Zhang Xiaohu appointed Ding Chao and Du Feng as deputy hall masters while arguing that the Misty Sect needed rules and cooperation between its factions. He insisted that Wang Tong would be punished in seven days, then announced he would enter secluded cultivation during that time.

• Zhang Xiaohu appointed Ding Chao Deputy Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall and charged him with restoring discipline.
• Zhang Xiaohu appointed Du Feng Deputy Hall Master of the Divine Mechanism Hall, rejecting Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng's objections about favoring Misty Sect disciples.
• Zhang Xiaohu argued that he had to punish Wang Tong to answer for the humiliation of the Mingcui Hall junior sisters and the Misty Sect disciples.
• Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng challenged Zhang Xiaohu's authority to handle Wang Tong, but Zhang Xiaohu declared he would act personally.
• Zhang Xiaohu set Wang Tong's punishment for seven days later and announced that he would enter secluded cultivation during that period.

Zhang Xiaohu upheld the Misty Sect disciples’ interests despite the risks and decided to leave Misty Manor with Changge and Chen Chen for Guo Village. Two days later, Zhang Xiaohua sensed their arrival and prepared his family to welcome them.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Aunt Qin, Du Feng, and Ding Chao that protecting the Misty Sect disciples mattered more to him than holding the Great Sect Leader position, and they pledged to follow him.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Changge and Chen Chen he would take them to Guo Village; Changge accepted despite believing the journey might be a farewell, and Chen Chen agreed to go too.
• That night, Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen secretly left Misty Manor.
• Two days later, Zhang Xiaohua sensed someone approaching Guo Village and told Ji Xiaohua to prepare scallion pancakes and river shrimp.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Guo Sufi that Zhang Xiaohu would arrive around noon with two women, prompting her to hurry off to prepare for their arrival.

Zhang Xiaohu returned to Guo Village with Changge and Chen Chen, where his family welcomed them and the two women declared themselves his future daughters-in-law. After Chen Chen recognized the significance of Zhang Cai’s gift, the family headed home, and Zhang Xiaohu learned that Zhang Xiaohua had predicted his return.

• Zhang Xiaohu reached Guo Village and was surprised to find his family waiting to welcome him.
• Zhang Xiaolong embraced Zhang Xiaohu, and Guo Sufi tearfully greeted her son after years apart.
• Changge and Chen Chen called Guo Sufi and Zhang Cai Mother and Father, prompting Zhang Xiaohua to explain that formal marriage customs still needed to be followed.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Cai the martial arts manual “flowing water” to present as a betrothal gift, and Chen Chen recognized its great value.
• Liu Qian urged the family inside as villagers gathered to watch Zhang Xiaohu arrive with the two women.
• At home, Zhang Xiaohu learned that Zhang Xiaohua had predicted his return and that Guo Sufi had prepared his favorite flatbread rolls with river shrimp.

Zhang Xiaohua reunited with his family and revealed that he had taken Ji Xiaohua and Zhang Bairen as disciples of the Big Dipper Sect. As the family discussed moving to Huanxi Mountain Villa for safety, Zhang Xiaohua demonstrated his transformations and ended by appearing as a second Zhang Xiaohu.

• Liu Qian and Guo Sufi both suspected that Changge and Chen Chen had a personal reason for calling Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi their parents, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to look into it.
• Zhang Xiaohua introduced Ji Xiaohua as his direct disciple and Zhang Bairen as the Big Dipper Sect’s founding disciple.
• At the family meal, Zhang Xiaohu grew emotional and appeared to speak as if preparing for his death, but Cloud Mist Tea dispelled his drunkenness.
• Zhang Xiaolong proposed moving the family from Guo Village to Huanxi Mountain Villa, but Zhang Xiaohu hesitated and Zhang Xiaohua suspected he was hiding something.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he had killed the West Cui Mountain bandits, including Ban Fugui and four consecrated elders, and showed the family that he could transform into a handsome man.
• At Changge and Chen Chen’s request, Zhang Xiaohua transformed into Zhang Xiaohu, leaving two identical Zhang Xiaohus before the stunned family.

Zhang Xiaohua reassured Zhang Xiaohu and his companions that he would help with the Misty Sect’s dangers, then secretly strengthened Zhang Xiaohu’s cultivation with a Meridian Nourishing Pill. The chapter left Zhang Xiaohua preparing to give his second brother another powerful gift.

• Liu Qian and Mr. Liu explained that Zhang Xiaohua’s disguise had fooled them, but his unchanged clothes gave him away.
• Changge and Chen Chen revealed that they would stand by Zhang Xiaohu even in death, and Zhang Xiaohua promised to help him face his enemies while letting him solve what he could himself.
• Zhang Xiaohu said he planned to return to the Misty Sect by the seventh day, while Zhang Xiaohua promised to deal with Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng and hinted at a plan for the Incense-Passing Cult.
• Zhang Xiaohua took Zhang Xiaohu aside and helped him refine a Meridian Nourishing Pill while circulating the Misty Divine Art and Su Huan Cultivation Method.
• Zhang Xiaohu found his cultivation about forty percent stronger than before his Dantian was pierced, and Zhang Xiaohua took out another bottle and prepared to give him a further gift.

Zhang Xiaohua helped Zhang Xiaohu take a Qi Boosting Pill, whose powerful medicine Zhang Xiaohu slowly refined through the night as starlight repaired his damaged meridians. Meanwhile, a five-colored radiance appeared over Yao Mountain, and Shuiyunjian disciples recognized it as the immortal estate Sect Leader Bai had sought; by morning, Zhang Xiaohu had gained about twenty-five years of cultivation, with much of the pill’s power still to refine.

• Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu the Qi Boosting Pill and used the Su Huan Cultivation Method to help him refine its medicinal power.
• Zhang Xiaohua fell asleep, and starlight descended to protect the brothers while Zhang Xiaohu continued cultivating through the night.
• Zhang Xiaohu’s meridians tore under the pill’s force, but a cool current from the starlight repaired them as he kept refining the medicine.
• A five-colored radiance appeared above Yao Mountain, and Shuiyunjian disciples identified it as the immortal estate Sect Leader Bai had been seeking and sent word to him.
• Zhang Xiaohua awoke and gathered the unrefined medicinal power in Zhang Xiaohu’s body for him to refine later.
• Zhang Xiaohu estimated that he had gained about twenty-five years of cultivation, and Zhang Xiaohua predicted he could reach around eighty years after refining the rest.

Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu a martial cultivation manual and helped him prepare to move his family from Guo Village to Pingyang City, where the family would stay at Huanxi Mountain Villa. Zhang Xiaohu left for Pingyang City while Zhang Xiaohua remained behind to help pack and manage the affairs of the Misty Sect.

• Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu the male cultivation manual "Breaking Saber Force" and told him he could cultivate it once his inner strength was sufficient.
• Zhang Xiaohu revealed that his inner strength had risen to about Changge's level, and Chen Chen thanked Zhang Xiaohua for the Meridian Nourishing Pill.
• Zhang Xiaohu agreed that his parents should move to Huanxi Mountain Villa, while Zhang Xiaohua said he would go to Misty Manor to deal with the former Incense-Passing Cult disciples.
• Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen said farewell and rode toward Pingyang City, leaving Zhang Xiaohua to help Zhang Xiaolong pack.
• The Zhang family began preparing to leave Guo Village, while Zhang Xiaohua considered the village spring's Primordial Qi a danger that moving away would help them escape.

Zhang Xiaohu and his companions saw a brilliant radiance near Mount Yao and resolved to investigate it as a possible Immortal Path opportunity. At Shuiyunjian, Bai Yanqiu interrogated Li Xu about an immortal who had emptied the sect’s treasures, while Liang Cangxu urged her to investigate why the visitor claimed to be reclaiming his own things.

• Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen praised Zhang Xiaohua’s abilities as they rode toward Pingyang City.
• Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen saw seven-colored light in the direction of Mount Yao and decided to send disciples there after returning to Misty Manor.
• Bai Yanqiu demanded that Li Xu explain how an immortal had broken Shuiyunjian’s protective formation and asked what had happened to Peng Yeyu, Ren Xiaoyao, and Zixia.
• Bai Yanqiu recalled that the visitor had taken Shuiyunjian’s jade materials, Haotian Mirror, pill furnaces, and Water Mist Pearls, but left its inherited cultivation techniques behind.
• Bai Yanqiu speculated that Peng Yeyu might have released Zixia because he recognized her as the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s Holy Maiden, but could not explain his disappearance.
• Liang Cangxu urged Bai Yanqiu to trace the immortal’s claim that he was taking back his own things, but she replied that she knew of no connection between Shuiyunjian’s treasures and anyone else.

Bai Yanqiu ordered Shuiyunjian to seek an immortal estate on Mount Yao while preparing to watch the conflict between the Incense-Passing Cult and the Righteous Path Alliance. At Misty Manor, Zhang Xiaohu emerged from seven days of secluded cultivation, signed a life-and-death contract with Wang Tong, and went to confront him.

• Bai Yanqiu ordered Li Xu to monitor the Heavenly Dragon Sect for news of Peng Yeyu and prepare to expand Shuiyunjian's influence.
• Bai Yanqiu learned that Shuiyunjian had found no trace of the immortal estate, then decided to lead the sect's elite to Mount Yao.
• Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng discussed using Wang Tong to humble Zhang Xiaohu, but Du Feng and Ding Chao barred them from approaching Zhang Xiaohu during his seclusion.
• Zhang Xiaohu emerged after seven days, agreed to seize Wang Tong, and signed a life-and-death contract Gao Kunheng presented.
• Zhang Xiaohu headed to Medicine Hall, used a decoy to conceal his route, and found Wang Tong waiting in a courtyard with a sword.