Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua explained to Zhang Xiaohu how opportunities and yuanstones had helped him advance on the Immortal Path, then showed him how to absorb qi from a yuanstone. Meanwhile, the Guiyuan Pagoda at Great Forest Temple began emitting extraordinary Buddhist light, and Master Changhui hurried to witness the phenomenon.

• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that Immortal Path advancement depended on affinity, technique, comprehension, and opportunity, and said Abbess Jingyi could not hold him in a fight.
• Zhang Xiaohu described his trouble cultivating Kun Peng Transformation, and Zhang Xiaohua realized he had not taught him how to use the True Essence in his dantian.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu a yuanstone and taught him how to absorb qi from it, while warning him not to reveal his Immortal cultivation level yet.
• At Great Forest Temple, Yuan Qing reported that the Guiyuan Pagoda had released a brilliant radiance, and Master Changhui rushed toward the Pagoda Forest.
• Master Changhui reached the Guiyuan Pagoda and saw nine-colored Buddhist light filled with vivid images, while blazing flames and figures rose a hundred zhang into the sky.

The Guiyuan Pagoda underwent the Guiyuan Tribulation, and Master Tiangang emerged to send Masters Yuandao, Yuanming, and Yuanwu toward Mount Yao to answer it. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohu returned to Misty Manor and reassured Wen Wenhai that the matter he had handled was fine.

• Master Changhui told Masters Yuandao, Yuanming, and Yuanwu that Abbot Changsheng had taken temple disciples to Mount Yao to investigate a rumored immortal artifact.
• The Guiyuan Pagoda's Buddhist light turned black, formed a fiery lotus, and then vanished as the pagoda returned to its original appearance.
• Master Tiangang emerged from the Guiyuan Pagoda, explained that the Mount Yao disturbance was where the monks should answer the Guiyuan Tribulation, and sent the three Masters after Changsheng.
• Master Changhui recognized Master Tiangang as the Library Pavilion's longtime floor-sweeper and was left to guard Great Forest Temple.
• Masters Yuandao, Yuanming, and Yuanwu departed, and Master Changhui ordered the remaining disciples back to the temple.
• Zhang Xiaohu returned to Misty Manor, where Wen Wenhai asked how his task had gone, and Zhang Xiaohu assured him that everything was fine.

Zhang Xiaohu welcomed Chu Yunfei and the returning Misty Sect disciples, while keeping the sect’s recovery secret. Du Feng and Ding Chao returned with news of a mysterious senior connected to the Misty Sect, whom Zhang Xiaohu recognized as a useful cover for Zhang Xiaohua’s actions.

• Liu Qingyang revealed that his injuries had healed, and Zhang Xiaohu said he had persuaded the Incense-Passing Cult disciples by reasoning with them.
• Zhang Xiaohu welcomed Elder Hu and the other Misty Sect disciples back through Chu Yunfei, but Aunt Qin reported that Du Feng and Ding Chao had disappeared.
• Du Feng and Ding Chao returned and described being captured by a cloaked senior who had given them pills and helped them improve their martial arts.
• Du Feng and Ding Chao said the senior claimed deep ties to the Misty Sect and had transported them back to the manor with inexplicable speed.
• Zhang Xiaohu implied that he too had received the senior’s help, privately deciding that the mysterious figure could serve as a cover for Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohu reassured Chu Yunfei that Misty Manor remained under Misty Sect control and urged Elder Hu and the former disciples to return. Chu Yunfei left to report what he had seen, while Zhang Xiaohua remained away refining pills.

• Li Jian and the others accepted Zhang Xiaohu’s explanation that a mysterious senior had restored the crippled disciples’ martial arts, though Li Jian suspected someone from Huanxi Mountain Villa.
• Chu Yunfei told Zhang Xiaohu that Elder Hu would return to support the Misty Sect if Misty Manor was controlled by its own disciples, and Zhang Xiaohu welcomed the news.
• Chu Yunfei asked whether Zhang Xiaohu was the brother of Zhang Xiaohua, and Zhang Xiaohu confirmed it and promised to pass along Chu Yunfei’s thanks.
• Zhang Xiaohu returned to Huanxi Mountain Villa and found Zhang Xiaohua away, likely working in Misty Palace’s alchemy room.
• Zhang Xiaohu inspected the imprisoned Righteous Path Alliance disciples’ area while Du Feng showed Chu Yunfei around Misty Manor, convincing Chu Yunfei that the sect was still itself.
• Chu Yunfei decided to report his findings to Elder Hu and expected to return with him within a dozen or so days, while Zhang Xiaohu invited him to stay for an important meeting.

Zhang Xiaohu gathered Misty Sect elders and disciples to announce the return of the branch members and the integration of Righteous Path Alliance and Incense-Passing Cult disciples. He began reorganizing the sect by establishing an External Affairs Hall and appointing its deputy hall masters.

• Zhang Xiaohu sent Chu Yunfei back to Misty Manor and summoned sect elders, hall disciples, Deputy Sect Leaders Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng, and the Righteous Path Alliance members.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Liu Qingyang he no longer needed to pretend his injuries had not healed, then declared the Council Hall would become the Misty Sect’s true place of deliberation.
• Zhang Xiaohu announced that Elder Hu’s branch disciples would return soon and that Righteous Path Alliance disciples would officially join the Misty Sect.
• Zhang Xiaohu declared that Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng’s disciples would also become Misty Sect disciples, and warned everyone against reviving old factional grievances.
• Zhang Xiaohu established an External Affairs Hall to handle external affairs and internal logistics, appointing Liu Wanquan and Wan Feng as deputy hall masters.

Zhang Xiaohu reorganized the Misty Sect by creating four halls for former Incense-Passing Cult and Righteous Path Alliance disciples, then appointed Lu Yueming to lead Law Enforcement Hall and asked Xue Qing to take charge of Fledgling Eagle Hall. The meeting ended as Zhang Xiaohu began explaining how Xue Qing could choose deputy hall masters.

• Zhang Xiaohu assigned Liu Wanquan and Wan Feng responsibilities for strengthening the Misty Sect’s internal and peripheral forces.
• Zhang Xiaohu established Jiangwu Hall and Lunwu Hall for former Incense-Passing Cult disciples, appointing Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng as their hall masters.
• Zhang Xiaohu established Zhenwu Hall and Hongwu Hall for former Righteous Path Alliance disciples, appointing Wang Lun and Liu Bin as their hall masters.
• Zhang Xiaohu nominated Lu Yueming as Deputy Sect Leader and Law Enforcement Hall Master, and Lu Yueming demonstrated that his martial arts had recovered.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked Xue Qing to serve as Fledgling Eagle Hall Master and offered to appoint capable disciples she recommended as deputy hall masters.

Zhang Xiaohu assigned leaders to the Misty Sect’s halls and established an Elder Council, while Zhang Xiaohua reflected on Madam Aya’s past, missed Meng, and studied Fire Dragon True Person’s techniques. The chapter left the Misty Sect celebrating its reorganization as Zhang Xiaohua pondered how different cultivation methods might share an ultimate destination.

• Zhang Xiaohu appointed Xue Qing to lead the Fledgling Eagle Hall and Wen Wenhai to manage the Divine Mechanism Hall and serve as Deputy Sect Leader.
• Zhang Xiaohu confirmed Bai Dong as Medicine Hall Master, recommended He Tianshu as his deputy, and invited Li Jian, Hu, and other elders to join an Elder Council.
• The Misty Sect disciples celebrated Zhang Xiaohu’s leadership, while Zhang Xiaolong found comfort in Liu Qian and affirmed that his mission was to care for his family.
• In the pill-refining chamber, Zhang Xiaohua recalled seeing Madam Aya kill an aged monk in the River of Cause and Effect and wondered what Meng would think if she learned of her mother’s past.
• Zhang Xiaohua missed Meng, inspected the medicinal liquid in the furnaces, and studied Fire Dragon True Person’s jade slip, considering how cultivation techniques might reach the same destination by different paths.

Zhang Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohu 1,701 Soul-Swaying Pills and explained how to administer them, allowing Zhang Xiaohu to bring more disciples under his command. The process required Zhang Xiaohu to whisper an embarrassing password, and he planned to tell Chen Chen the words for real afterward.

• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu that he had refined 1,701 Soul-Swaying Pills and agreed to provide ten extra while Zhang Xiaohu handled administering them.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained the pills’ effects and told Zhang Xiaohu how to use them before leaving to visit their parents.
• Zhang Xiaohu took several bottles, then asked Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng to help organize heart-to-heart talks with disciples at Jiangwu Hall.
• Zhang Xiaohu secretly gave each disciple a Soul-Swaying Pill and whispered, “I love Chen Chen!” to make the pill take effect.
• The newly obedient disciples left eager and energized, so Zhang Xiaohu promised the remaining disciples their own talks while resolving to say those words to Chen Chen for real.

Zhang Xiaohu met Nie Qianyu and Zhang Ping'er, who had come from Hui Chun Valley looking for Zhang Xiaohua. He teased them by claiming Xiaohua was at a distant-sounding place, then revealed he was next door, leaving Zhang Xiaohu to worry about how many women were connected to his brother.

• Zhang Xiaohu learned that two women from Hui Chun Valley had requested an audience and invited them into the Council Hall.
• Zhang Xiaohu recognized Nie Qianyu and told her that Zhang Xiaohua dearly missed their happy times together.
• Zhang Ping'er revealed that she had left the Incense-Passing Cult after the Martial Arts Gathering on Huaiyu Peak and suggested Zhang Xiaohua had arranged her move to Hui Chun Valley.
• Zhang Xiaohu told Nie Qianyu and Zhang Ping'er that Zhang Xiaohua was at Huanxi Mountain Villa, which he then revealed was right beside Misty Manor.
• Zhang Ping'er asked Zhang Xiaohu not to call them Xiaohua's younger sisters-in-law, and Zhang Xiaohu remembered that Meng, Nie Qianyu, and Zhang Ping'er were all connected to his brother.

Zhang Xiaohua's reunion with Zhang Ping'er and Nie Qianyu exposed his identity as an immortal cultivator, and both women asked to become his disciples. Ou Yan also begged him to take her in, leaving Zhang Xiaohua surrounded by people seeking refuge and instruction.

• Zhang Xiaohu brought Nie Qianyu and Zhang Ping'er to Huanxi Mountain Villa, where Ji Xiaohua reunited with Huanhuan and Zhang Bairen rode the Four Unlike.
• Zhang Xiaohua pretended not to know Nie Qianyu and Zhang Ping'er, but Nie Qianyu crushed her communication jade talisman and it flew to him, exposing their connection.
• Zhang Ping'er knelt and greeted Zhang Xiaohua as her master, and Nie Qianyu followed, reminding him he had promised to accept her as a disciple.
• Ou Yan realized Zhang Xiaohua was the immortal cultivator who had saved Hui Chun Valley and knelt to ask him to accept her as a disciple.
• Qiutong also knelt and pleaded for Zhang Xiaohua to take in Ou Yan, while Zhang Xiaohua blamed Zhang Xiaohu for the situation.

Zhang Xiaohua accepted Nie Qianyu, Zhang Ping'er, and Ou Yan into the Big Dipper Sect and established their ranks, then outlined plans for the sect’s Seven Palaces. When Ou Yan asked how they would fund and organize the sect, Zhang Xiaohua produced chests of treasure and entrusted them to her.

• Zhang Xiaohua agreed to accept Nie Qianyu, Zhang Ping'er, and Ou Yan, who settled on calling him Sect Leader Senior Brother.
• Zhang Xiaohua named Nie Qianyu the Senior Disciple Sister, Zhang Ping'er the Second Disciple Sister, and Ou Yan the Junior Sister, and he told them to honor founding disciple Zhang Bairen.
• Zhang Xiaohua had Ji Xiaohua greet the three women as his Martial Aunts and described plans for seven Big Dipper Sect palaces and their corresponding Star Lord titles.
• Ou Yan offered to handle the sect’s business and asked where it would be established and how it would be funded.
• Zhang Xiaohua produced dozens of chests filled with treasure from the Righteous Path Alliance and entrusted the wealth to Ou Yan, reminding her to provide food money for his family.

Zhang Xiaohua welcomed new Big Dipper Sect disciples, distributed Meridian Nourishing Pills, and showed Zhang Xiaohu how to use true qi for sword techniques and martial arts. After sensing Misty Sect disciples coming to find Zhang Xiaohu, Zhang Xiaohua returned to the pill chamber and urged his brother to tell their parents about the Yin Power in his dantian.

• Zhang Xiaohua welcomed Nie Qianyu, Zhang Ping'er, and Ou Yan, and encouraged them to cultivate or learn about entering the immortal Dao.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Meridian Nourishing Pills to Zhang Ping'er, Zhang Bairen, Nie Qianyu for Valley Master Nie and Elder Zhang, and Ou Yan, while setting aside Ji Xiaohua's pill for later.
• Zhang Xiaohua demonstrated Object Manipulation Technique and flying sword skills for Zhang Xiaohu, then taught him to channel true qi into the Water Cutter Sword and Dragon Soaring Cultivation Method.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Zhang Xiaohu to practice Misty Steps with true qi and offered to teach him everything he knew about flying.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed Misty Sect disciples approaching, noticed Yin Power in Zhang Xiaohu's dantian, and told him to inform their parents before burrowing away.

Hu Yunyi returned to Misty Manor with two thousand Misty Sect disciples and reunited with Li Jian, Liu Qingyang, and the others. He rejected Zhang Xiaohu’s claim to lead the sect and insisted that Tiantian, Zhang Chengyue’s successor, should inherit the position, leaving the leadership dispute unresolved.

• A Misty Sect disciple told Zhang Xiaohu that Hu Yunyi and two thousand disciples had arrived, and Zhang Xiaohu hurried out to welcome them.
• Hu Yunyi arrived at Misty Manor with Tiantian and reunited emotionally with Li Jian, Liu Qingyang, Wen Wenhai, Lu Yueming, and Xue Qing.
• Li Jian discovered that Hu Yunyi’s health was seriously weakened, while Hu Yunyi introduced Tiantian and praised his martial arts and aptitude.
• Hu Yunyi explained that Shui Yupeng had reunited with the group and helped manage the disciples, who had grown from several hundred to two thousand.
• Hu Yunyi challenged Zhang Xiaohu’s authority as Great Gang Leader and declared that Tiantian should inherit the position, but Zhang Xiaohu deferred the dispute until after the returning disciples entered Misty Manor.

Hu Yunyi returned to Misty Manor with two thousand disciples and challenged Zhang Xiaohu’s claim to the Great Gang Leader position, accusing the Incense-Passing Cult of imposing him on the Misty Sect. He proposed Shui Tiantian or Shui Yupeng as a legitimate successor, leaving Li Jian and Zhang Xiaohu facing an open succession dispute.

• Hu Yunyi arrived at Misty Manor with two thousand disciples, and Zhang Xiaohu arranged lodging for them through the External Affairs Hall.
• Hu Yunyi addressed the gathered disciples, celebrated the Misty Sect’s return, and urged them to restore its former glory.
• In the Council Hall, Hu Yunyi questioned who should occupy the Great Gang Leader’s chair, and Zhang Xiaohu asserted that the disciples had publicly elected him.
• Hu Yunyi accused Zhang Xiaohu of being an Incense-Passing Cult spy and argued that a Misty Sect disciple should lead the sect.
• Hu Yunyi named Shui Tiantian as the proper heir, with Shui Yupeng as an interim leader, and declared that Zhang Xiaohu could not remain Great Gang Leader.

Li Jian argued that Zhang Xiaohu was the Misty Sect’s best choice for Great Gang Leader, while Hu Yunyi backed Shui Yupeng and challenged Zhang Xiaohu’s qualifications. The debate ended with Hu Yunyi acknowledging Zhang Xiaohu’s influence over both Incense-Passing Cult and Righteous Path Alliance disciples, though he questioned whether Shui Yupeng could do the same.

• Li Jian asked Hu Yunyi to hear the case for Zhang Xiaohu, and the assembled Misty Sect disciples sat only after Zhang Xiaohu took his place.
• Hu Yunyi explained that he had believed the disciples’ restored martial arts were a deception, but Li Jian and others demonstrated that their abilities had truly returned.
• Li Jian argued that Zhang Xiaohu had been chosen by the Misty Sect’s disciples and was a more suitable leader than the ten-year-old Hu Yunyi proposed or Shui Yupeng.
• Hu Yunyi said that he and the two thousand disciples he had brought supported Shui Yupeng, whom he considered superior in martial arts, prestige, and ability.
• Li Jian pointed out that Zhang Xiaohu had gained the obedience of leaders from both the Incense-Passing Cult and the Righteous Path Alliance, leaving Hu Yunyi to wonder whether Shui Yupeng could match that achievement.

Hu Yunyi insisted that Zhang Xiaohu prove his right to lead the Misty Sect by fighting Shui Yupeng, and Zhang Xiaohu agreed to a match in three days. Afterward, Zhang Xiaohua recognized Shui Yupeng as someone he had seen with the Azure Flame Token’s leader, raising the suspicion that Hu Yunyi and Shui Yupeng were working for the Righteous Path Alliance.

• Hu Yunyi rejected Li Jian’s defense of Zhang Xiaohu and called for a martial arts contest between Zhang Xiaohu and Shui Yupeng in three days.
• Zhang Xiaohu accepted the contest and left the disciples Hu Yunyi had brought under Xue Qing’s temporary arrangements.
• Zhang Xiaohua urged Zhang Xiaohu to leave the Misty Sect, but Zhang Xiaohu refused to abandon his position and agreed to face Shui Yupeng himself.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed Hu Yunyi, Shui Yupeng, and Shui Tiantian in Fledgling Eagle Hall and recognized Shui Yupeng from an encounter at Hungry Tiger Villa.
• Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua suspected the Righteous Path Alliance was using Hu Yunyi and Shui Yupeng to seize the Misty Sect, but decided not to act without proof.

Zhang Xiaohua returned to his family’s courtyard, where Nie Qianyu and Zhang Ping'er settled in and enjoyed the Zhang family’s welcome. After slipping away to avoid his father’s plans for him to farm, Zhang Xiaohua secretly entered Fledgling Eagle Hall and found Shui Yupeng.

• Zhang Xiaohua found his parents hosting Nie Qianyu, Zhang Ping'er, and the others, and Guo Sufi welcomed the two women as family.
• Zhang Xiaohua questioned why the women planned to stay in the small courtyard, but Guo Sufi and the others supported the arrangement.
• The family shared dinner, and Zhang Xiaohua quietly told Zhang Xiaohu he would go check on something for him.
• Zhang Cai asked Zhang Xiaohua to help open plots of land for farming, but Zhang Xiaohua slipped away under the excuse of admiring the moon.
• Zhang Xiaohua tunneled into Fledgling Eagle Hall, located Shui Yupeng, and tapped the major acupoint in the center of his back.

Hu Yunyi arranged a martial contest between Zhang Xiaohu and Shui Yupeng to decide who should lead the Misty Sect. Zhang Xiaohu accepted the challenge before the gathered disciples, and the plaza erupted in support for him.

• Zhang Xiaohua left Shui Yupeng under suggestion that nothing had happened that night, then slipped back into the alchemy room.
• Xue Qing and Aunt Qin worried that Shui Yupeng might win the contest and trigger division within the Misty Sect.
• Hu Yunyi addressed the disciples, arguing that the contest would establish the Misty Sect’s independence and test Zhang Xiaohu’s claim to leadership.
• Hu Yunyi presented Shui Yupeng as a qualified successor and said the disciples could choose their Great Gang Leader through the martial contest.
• Zhang Xiaohu declared that he would fight, and disciples across the plaza began cheering for him.

Zhang Xiaohu defeated Shui Yupeng in a sword match by revealing his sword radiance, then agreed to spar with Shui Tiantian without using internal energy. The chapter ended as Shui Tiantian attacked and Zhang Xiaohu froze upon seeing his techniques.

• Hu Yunyi signaled Shui Yupeng to fight Zhang Xiaohu, and Li Jian asked both men to show mercy during their match.
• Zhang Xiaohu and Shui Yupeng exchanged sword strikes, and Shui Yupeng gradually gained the advantage with a technique that trapped Zhang Xiaohu’s sword.
• Zhang Xiaohu released sword radiance, broke Shui Yupeng’s sword, and spared his fingers before Shui Yupeng conceded defeat.
• Shui Tiantian challenged Zhang Xiaohu to a fist-and-foot spar and required him to fight without using internal energy.
• Zhang Xiaohu accepted Shui Tiantian’s condition, but froze when Shui Tiantian launched his attack.

Zhang Xiaohu defeated Shui Tiantian, and Hu Yunyi challenged his claim to lead the Misty Sect because he lacked its inherited waist token. Zhang Xiaohu produced the token and used the Object Manipulation Technique to reclaim it from Hu Yunyi, who collapsed after forcing his qi.

• Zhang Xiaohu recognized Shui Tiantian's Big Dipper Divine Fist and defeated him by exploiting a flaw in his moves.
• Hu Yunyi dismissed Shui Tiantian and argued that Zhang Xiaohu could not be the true Great Sect Leader without the Misty Sect's inheritance waist token.
• Li Jian rejected Hu Yunyi's demand and declared that he would rebuild the Misty Sect alongside Zhang Xiaohu.
• Zhang Xiaohu asked Hu Yunyi to describe the token, then showed him the waist token Zhang Xiaohua had given him.
• Hu Yunyi took the token and accused Jingyi of plotting, but Zhang Xiaohu used the Object Manipulation Technique to pull it back.
• Hu Yunyi tried to pursue the token with a Misty Sect technique, spat blood, and collapsed into Li Jian's arms.