Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohu defeated Wang Tong and ordered the other Wuming Hall disciples to surrender, then the scene shifted to the Misty Manor plaza as Li Jian and Wen Wenhai returned. Aunt Qin sent Ding Chao to welcome them while she stayed behind to restrain Ming Qing’s faction, and the chapter ended with the returning group waiting beneath the manor’s archway for Zhang Xiaohu.

• Zhang Xiaohu rejected Wang Tong’s excuses and demanded that he surrender, but Wang Tong invoked their life-and-death agreement and revealed that other disciples who had injured Misty Sect members were hiding nearby.
• Wang Tong and Zhang Xiaohu fought, and Zhang Xiaohu seized Wang Tong’s sword, struck his dantian, and carried him toward the plaza while ordering the other disciples to admit their crimes.
• The remaining disciples followed Zhang Xiaohu, realizing he had defeated Wang Tong and given them a chance to submit.
• A Misty Sect disciple reported to Aunt Qin and Ming Qing that Wen Wenhai’s group and Li Jian’s group had returned together; Ming Qing left the matter to Aunt Qin.
• Aunt Qin sent Ding Chao and several disciples to welcome Li Jian and Wen Wenhai while she stayed at the plaza to prevent Ming Qing’s faction from acting.
• Li Jian, Liu Qingyang, Wen Wenhai, and the others waited beneath Misty Manor’s archway, and Li Jian remarked on his return while Liu Qingyang asked why Zhang Xiaohu had not welcomed them.

Zhang Xiaohu welcomed Li Jian and the returning Misty Sect elders, then faced the Incense-Passing Cult’s interference by publicly enforcing the sect’s rules. After Wang Tong exposed Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng’s plot, Zhang Xiaohu executed him and ordered the other offenders punished.

• Li Jian and the returning Misty Sect elders entered Misty Manor, where the disciples greeted them with excitement.
• Zhang Xiaohu arrived carrying Wang Tong and addressed the disciples, apologizing for failing to establish the Law Enforcement Hall sooner.
• Zhang Xiaohu questioned Wang Tong, who admitted that Gao Kunheng and Ming Qing had instructed him to attack Zhang Xiaohu during their match.
• Zhang Xiaohu killed Wang Tong under the sect rules, while Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng denied Wang Tong’s accusations.
• Zhang Xiaohu ordered Ding Chao to punish the other disciples involved in the fight.

After Zhang Xiaohu settled the dispute with the Incense-Passing Cult deputies, Zhang Xiaohua explored the Misty Sect’s Forbidden Area and overcame its attack on his divine sense. He entered a hidden mountain passage and discovered a vast jade square, leaving him astonished by the Misty Sect’s concealed wealth.

• Zhang Xiaohu dismissed Wang Tong’s followers, while Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng declined to accompany him to meet Li Jian and the other former Misty Sect elders.
• Li Jian and the returning disciples saluted Zhang Xiaohu as their Great Sect Leader, and Zhang Xiaohu led them into the Council Hall.
• Zhang Xiaohua watched the gathering from the Medicine Hall, then decided to explore the Misty Sect’s Forbidden Area before returning to Guo Village.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered the white-mist restriction, resisted its attack on his divine sense with the Dragon-Tiger Talismans, and followed its passage to a white jade gate.
• Zhang Xiaohua opened the gate, walked down a brightly lit mountain passage, and reached an enormous jade square.

Zhang Xiaohua explored Misty Palace and discovered the Misty Sect’s underground pill-refining chambers and a hidden collection of Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnaces. After seven furnaces fused and joined six more in a ladle formation, they summoned Primordial Qi and absorbed seven-colored radiance, leaving Zhang Xiaohua to discover what the furnaces had become.

• Zhang Xiaohua entered Misty Palace, examined its silent halls, and chose a corridor that led down to the Misty Sect’s pill-refining chambers.
• Zhang Xiaohua tested an earthfire and used Abbess Jinggang’s incantations to transform it into a powerful cold fire.
• Zhang Xiaohua’s Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace reacted to a hidden space behind a stone wall and led him to six matching furnaces.
• The seven furnaces fused into one, and Zhang Xiaohua placed six more furnaces in the positions the first six had occupied.
• The seven furnaces formed a ladle-shaped formation, released Primordial Qi through the earth, and absorbed seven streams of seven-colored radiance before falling silent.

Zhang Xiaohua discovered a hidden route to the Misty Sect’s Inheritance Pavilion and found its entrance protected by a restriction that the square token could dispel. After paying respects to Yang Haoya and resolving to leave the sect’s inheritance to Zhang Xiaohu, he reconsidered and went upstairs to investigate how his brother might reach it.

• Zhang Xiaohua searched the alchemy chambers, found them empty, and entered a white jade hall matching the halls he had seen at Yi Xiang Peak.
• Zhang Xiaohua matched a square token from Fuqiu Peak’s Qiankun Hall to an indentation in a jade pillar, revealing stairs to a hidden passage.
• Zhang Xiaohua used the token to neutralize the Inheritance Pavilion’s protective attack and entered the building.
• Zhang Xiaohua bowed before Yang Haoya’s portrait, promised to support the Misty Sect and Zhang Xiaohu, and initially decided not to inspect the upper floors.
• Zhang Xiaohua realized Zhang Xiaohu might not be able to enter the forbidden ground alone, so he turned back and climbed to the second floor.

Zhang Xiaohua explored the Misty Sect’s Inheritance Pavilion, discovered a Purple Phoenix Hairpin jade slip and the depleted Spirit Gathering Formation, then found a way out of the underground palace. He emerged near the Misty Sect’s Council Hall, where Zhang Xiaohu was hosting Li Jian and Liu Qingyang.

• Zhang Xiaohua searched the Inheritance Pavilion’s second floor, memorized the formation restrictions, and found the method for breaking them.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered a Purple Phoenix Hairpin-shaped jade slip containing detailed instructions for using the hairpins and put it away.
• Zhang Xiaohua found the third floor’s depleted Spirit Gathering Formation and memorized its layout.
• Zhang Xiaohua descended from the pavilion, retrieved an ingot-shaped jade talisman from the alchemy chamber, and used it to pass through the restriction and illusion.
• Zhang Xiaohua followed a mountain path through Misty Peak and discovered Zhang Xiaohu welcoming Li Jian and Liu Qingyang at the Council Hall.

Zhang Xiaohu celebrated the Misty Sect’s restoration with its elders while Zhang Xiaohua quietly returned to Guo Village and later brought his family to Misty Manor. The chapter ended with Ou Yan humbly explaining that Huanxi Mountain Villa should now belong under Changge’s management.

• At the celebration, Zhang Xiaohu and the elders worried that Incense-Passing Cult disciples might discover the martial ancestors had recovered their martial arts, but agreed the Misty Sect could not risk a conflict yet.
• Du Feng reported that seven-colored radiance had appeared over Misty Peak, and Zhang Xiaohu presented it to the gathering as an auspicious sign of the sect’s restoration.
• Zhang Xiaohua watched Zhang Xiaohu lead the celebration, then left Misty Peak and flew toward Guo Village.
• Several days later, Zhang Xiaohua traveled with Zhang Xiaolong, Zhang Cai, Guo Sufi, Ji Xiaohua, and the others toward Pingyang City and Misty Manor.
• Zhang Xiaohua brought his family into Misty Manor, where Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, Chen Chen, Ou Yan, and Qiutong awaited them.
• Ou Yan welcomed Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi and explained that Huanxi Mountain Villa belonged to the Misty Sect and should now be managed by Changge.

Ou Yan welcomed Zhang Xiaohua’s family to Huanxi Mountain Villa, where they settled into a prepared courtyard. Zhang Xiaohua then revealed that he had found the Misty Sect’s hidden inheritance and offered to take Zhang Xiaohu to see it.

• Ou Yan greeted Zhang Xiaohua’s family, invited them to stay, and showed them their new courtyard.
• Guo Sufi praised Ou Yan, and Zhang Xiaohua helped his family move their belongings into the courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua placed a Qi Stone in the water vat and told Ji Xiaohua to leave it there.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that he had found Misty Palace and the Inheritance Pavilion in the Misty Sect’s Forbidden Area.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked to see the inheritance, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to take him to the small door behind Misty Manor’s Council Hall.

Zhang Xiaohua brought Zhang Xiaohu into the hidden Misty Sect inheritance grounds and gave him the tokens needed to enter them. When Zhang Xiaohu paid respects to patriarch Yang Haoya in the Inheritance Pavilion, Yang Haoya’s Primordial Spirit projection appeared and asked about the Misty Sect’s fate.

• Zhang Xiaohua teased Zhang Xiaohu before offering to show him the hidden grounds, while Zhang Cai and Mr. Liu kept Zhang Xiaolong behind to serve them tea.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu an emerald-green jade talisman to pass the restriction, then guided him into the vast jade plaza and Misty Palace.
• At the Inheritance Pavilion, Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu a four-cornered token and warned him not to touch the second-floor inheritance until he could cultivate it.
• Zhang Xiaohu lit the nine incense sticks before Yang Haoya’s portrait and completed nine bows as the incense smoke gathered and entered the portrait.
• Yang Haoya’s Primordial Spirit projection appeared, learned that Zhang Xiaohu was the current Great Gang Leader, and said he feared the Misty Sect had perished during the long absence of an heir to receive its inheritance.

Yang Haoya revealed the Misty Sect’s hidden connection to an ancient Immortal Mansion and asked Zhang Xiaohu to deliver his regret to Yue Mingxin. After Yang Haoya vanished, his last true essence transformed Zhang Xiaohu’s inner force into Yin and Yang True Qi, leaving him unable to move the qi mass in his dantian.

• Yang Haoya told Zhang Xiaohu about the Misty Sect’s inheritance, its ties to the Incense-Passing Cult and Divine Blade Sect, and the Immortal Mansion near Yaoshan beside Lu Town.
• Yang Haoya warned Zhang Xiaohu not to endanger the Misty Sect’s inheritance over the Immortal Mansion and explained that it might be suppressing something.
• Yang Haoya asked Zhang Xiaohu to visit Yue Mingxin beneath Frowning Tower in Mochou City and tell her that he regretted it.
• Yang Haoya’s projection vanished, and his final true essence entered Zhang Xiaohu’s dantian, protecting its black-and-white qi mass and refining the medicines there into true qi.
• The new true qi transformed Zhang Xiaohu’s Su Huan Cultivation Method and Misty Divine Art energy into Yin and Yang True Qi.
• Zhang Xiaohu tried to circulate the qi mass but found that it would not move.

Zhang Xiaohua helped Zhang Xiaohu understand the changes to his Dantian after Yang Haoya bestowed his true essence, then found him two introductory Immortal cultivation methods. Zhang Xiaohu left the Inheritance Pavilion excited but learned its Spirit Gathering Formation could not currently be used.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua that Yang Haoya had protected his Dantian with true essence, leaving him unable to use his former internal energy normally.
• Zhang Xiaohua showed Zhang Xiaohu how to reverse their method so his new True Qi could imitate internal energy, and explained that he could still use his martial arts and Dragon Soaring Cultivation Method.
• Zhang Xiaohua took Zhang Xiaohu's token into the Inheritance Pavilion and returned with the Kun Peng Transformation and Ni Shan Cultivation Method, explaining why basic methods suited him.
• Zhang Xiaohua began reading the jade slips with divine sense while Zhang Xiaohu went back into the Pavilion to inspect its upper floors.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked about the Spirit Gathering Formation on the third floor, and Zhang Xiaohua explained that it could not currently be used; Zhang Xiaohu accepted that it might work when Primordial Qi recovered.

Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu he planned to claim the immortal estate for the Big Dipper Sect, then began refining a Soul-Snaring Pill in the hidden alchemy room. He later returned to Huanxi Mountain Villa and found Ou Yan treating his family with unusual warmth, leaving him puzzled by her closeness to Guo Sufi.

• Zhang Xiaohua explained that Shuiyunjian and Bai Yanqiu likely knew about the immortal estate and urged Zhang Xiaohu to focus on Misty Sect affairs.
• Zhang Xiaohua took the six pill furnaces with Zhang Xiaohu's permission, and Zhang Xiaohu secured the Misty Sect's jade talisman and token.
• After Zhang Xiaohu left, Zhang Xiaohua studied Abbess Jinggang's jade slip and Master Chang Geng's Poison Scripture, then began refining a Soul-Snaring Pill in the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.
• Zhang Xiaohua used green and then white earth fire to process the herbs, observing that the furnace kept its temperature even as the flames turned cold.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned to Huanxi Mountain Villa and saw Ou Yan hosting Zhang Cai, Mr. Liu, Guo Sufi, and Zhang Xiaolong with a lavish meal.
• Ou Yan asked Guo Sufi to call her by name and said she wished to acknowledge her as a godmother, leaving Zhang Xiaohua baffled by her sudden intimacy.

Zhang Xiaohua realized Ou Yan was worried that Zhang Xiaohu’s wives might resent her and that she would lose her place at Huanxi Mountain Villa. After Zhang Xiaohu’s family discussed the misunderstanding and the events behind his arranged marriage, Zhang Xiaohua gathered Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen to tell them that Zhang Xiaohu had begun cultivating the immortal Dao.

• Zhang Xiaohua noticed Ou Yan’s deference toward his mother and suspected she had feelings for Zhang Xiaohu, then warned his brother to explain the immortal Dao methods to Changge and Chen Chen.
• Zhang Xiaohu arrived with Changge and Chen Chen, and Ou Yan soon left the family gathering, saying she did not want to intrude on their reunion.
• Ou Yan told Qiutong that Huanxi Mountain Villa would likely pass to Changge and Chen Chen and worried that Changge’s feelings about Abbess Jingyi’s arranged marriage could make her unwelcome.
• Zhang Xiaohua overheard Ou Yan’s worries and told the family about them, prompting Changge to explain what had happened at Yi Xiang Peak and how Zhang Xiaohu’s arranged marriage came about.
• After Zhang Xiaohu reassured the family that Zhang Xiaohua had cured his poison, Zhang Xiaohua called Zhang Xiaohu, Changge, and Chen Chen to his room and revealed that Zhang Xiaohu had entered the immortal Dao.

Zhang Xiaohua helped Zhang Xiaohu prepare to cultivate the Immortal Path and asked him to bring Qu Zhigao and Jing'er to safety, while the Righteous Path Alliance debated how to respond to the Misty Sect's return. Zhang San revealed that he had already sent warnings and reinforcements, then hinted that Chai had received important news.

• Zhang Xiaohu told Changge and Chen Chen that he had stepped onto the Immortal Path, and Zhang Xiaohua advised him to focus on the Breaking Saber Force and true qi before studying the copied cultivation methods.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Zhang Xiaohu to bring Qu Zhigao and Jing'er from Qiu Long Mountain to the Misty Sect, saying he planned to take Jing'er as his disciple.
• Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu wondered why the Righteous Path Alliance had not attacked, and Zhang Xiaohua spent the following days teaching Zhang Xiaohu and refining Soul-Snaring Pills.
• Deputy Alliance Leader Mi and Deputy Alliance Leader You urged Zhang San to attack the Misty Sect, while Deputy Alliance Leader Chai objected to You Zhanfei's accusations.
• Zhang San said he had already warned Deputy Alliance Leader Ban and the Azure Flame Token, ordered them to preserve the alliance's strength, and sent the four consecrated elders to the Azure Flame Token.
• Zhang San said Chai had just received news and invited the hall to hear it.

Alliance Leader Zhang learned that Misty Sect forces had destroyed the Righteous Path Alliance’s forces at Misty Peak and other locations, then rallied the alliance to pursue a heavenly treasure appearing near Pingyang City. Meanwhile, Bai Yanqiu learned that Shuiyunjian was moving to claim the immortal estate and ordered powerful elders to emerge.

• Deputy Alliance Leader Chai reported that Misty Sect disciples led by Zhang Xiaohu had surprised the Righteous Path Alliance, while an Immortal Path expert killed Deputy Alliance Leader Ban and the Four Great Consecrated Elders.
• Deputy Alliance Leader Chai reported that the alliance’s forces at Evil Tiger Mountain Villa and West Cui Mountain had also been wiped out, and Alliance Leader Zhang warned Deputy Alliance Leader You against disloyalty.
• Deputy Alliance Leader Chai revealed that a messenger had seen seven-colored light southwest of Pingyang City, and Alliance Leader Zhang decided to lead the alliance’s elite forces to seek the presumed Immortal Path treasure.
• Alliance Leader Zhang whispered a plan to Deputy Alliance Leader Mi concerning the Misty Sect and assigned Deputy Alliance Leader You to guard Righteous Path Peak.
• Bai Yanqiu discussed the immortal estate with Li Xu, learned that the Misty Sect Remnants had retaken Misty Manor, and ordered disciples to invite several old immortals from the mountains.

Abbess Jingyi revealed that the omen near Yao Mountain signaled an emerging immortal estate and planned to claim it for the Incense-Passing Cult. Di Shitian also ordered the Heavenly Dragon Sect to join the struggle, while hinting that he intended to kill the Immortal Dao man.

• Abbess Jingyi explained that the Incense-Passing Cult's Founding Ancestor had left records of an immortal estate near Yao Mountain and that the Misty Sect's founder had known of it.
• Abbess Jingyi said the Incense-Passing Cult would wait for its Grand Elders, then travel to Yao Mountain and take advantage of its position near the immortal estate.
• Di Shitian told the Heavenly Kings that the omen marked an immortal estate, which he said would be useful to him and dangerous in another sect's hands.
• Garuda questioned the Immortal Dao man's actions, and Di Shitian promised that he would kill the man someday.
• Di Shitian said the Holy Maiden was recovering her memories but remained gloomy, then declared that the Heavenly Dragon Sect would join the fray.

As Yao Mountain’s glow disappeared, the martial world continued gathering intelligence while the Misty Sect appeared calm. Zhang Xiaohua offered Zhang Xiaohu Soul-Swaying Pills to control captives, and they began testing one on a Righteous Path Alliance prisoner.

• The martial world swarmed toward Yao Mountain, but its seven-colored glow faded and the Misty Sect made no visible move.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Zhang Xiaohua he distrusted Du Feng and Ding Chao, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to speak with them later.
• Zhang Xiaohua showed Zhang Xiaohu a small supply of Soul-Swaying Pills and proposed testing them on captives.
• Zhang Xiaohu took Zhang Xiaohua to the back mountain, where Righteous Path Alliance disciples were held, and asked a guard to bring in a prisoner.
• Zhang Xiaohua knocked out the prisoner and placed a Soul-Swaying Pill in his mouth.

Zhang Xiaohua tested the Soul-Swaying Pill on Righteous Path Alliance disciples, and Zhang Xiaohu confirmed that it could make them obedient Misty Sect followers. As Zhang Xiaohu prepared to welcome Elder Hu’s returning group, Zhang Xiaohua agreed to refine more pills for the remaining enemy disciples, while the situation at Mount Yao remained quiet.

• Zhang Xiaohua used the Soul-Swaying Pill on Wang Lun, who accepted Zhang Xiaohu as his leader and agreed to become a Misty Sect disciple.
• Zhang Xiaohu questioned Wang Lun and other converted disciples, then told a guard to treat the Righteous Path Alliance prisoners with consideration.
• Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua discussed the pill’s dangers and agreed that Zhang Xiaohu should lead through virtue rather than rely on mind-controlling medicine.
• A Misty Sect messenger told Zhang Xiaohu that Elder Hu had sent Chu Yunfei to discuss returning to the sect, and Zhang Xiaohu eagerly prepared to meet them.
• Zhang Xiaohua promised to refine pills for the remaining Incense-Passing Cult and Righteous Path Alliance disciples, while noting that Mount Yao had shown no recent activity.

Chu Yunfei came to the Misty Sect with news of Elder Hu, and Zhang Xiaohu brought the former Misty Sect elders into the Council Hall despite Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng’s objections. Zhang Xiaohu openly challenged the Deputy Sect Leaders’ authority, leaving the hall tense as he insisted the elders stay.

• Chu Yunfei rejected Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng’s claim to the Misty Sect and said he had come to speak with its Great Sect Leader.
• Zhang Xiaohu welcomed Chu Yunfei, credited the Misty Sect’s recovery to its disciples and the immortal master, and summoned Li Jian and the other former elders.
• Chu Yunfei greeted the elders warmly and reported that Hu Yunyi had recovered from his injuries but was in poor health from worry and overwork.
• Ming Qing demanded that people unrelated to sect affairs leave the Council Hall, but Zhang Xiaohu refused and told him to leave instead if he insisted.
• Li Jian and the others began to withdraw to avoid disrupting sect business, but Zhang Xiaohu asked them to remain as he continued to confront Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng.

Zhang Xiaohu openly rejected the Incense-Passing Cult’s control of the Misty Sect and arranged to remove Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng before they could report him to Abbess Jingyi. He left the chapter preparing to face the consequences himself, while Zhang Xiaohua warned that Abbess Jingyi might soon arrive and see through the Soul-Snaring Pills.

• Zhang Xiaohu argued that the Incense-Passing Cult had no right to control the Misty Sect, and Misty Sect elders and disciples affirmed him as their Great Sect Leader.
• Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng left the Council Hall after threatening to seek Abbess Jingyi’s judgment, and Zhang Xiaohu ordered the manor guarded so no one could leave or send news.
• Zhang Xiaohu hurried to find Zhang Xiaohua and asked him to make Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng take the Soul-Snaring Pills.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned after administering the pills, reporting that the two men had been discussing how to report Zhang Xiaohu to Abbess Jingyi.
• Zhang Xiaohu practiced the Arhat Fist Techniques to calm himself and told Zhang Xiaohua he would take responsibility if Abbess Jingyi discovered the deception.