Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua brought Mei'er to the Cai Family manor and asked to see Fairy Hongxia, but Cai Mingsong mistook him for a Rogue Cultivator pursuing her. When Xiao Hua mentioned news about Cai Zhuoxia, Cai Mingxia appeared and unexpectedly assumed he was her sister’s dual-cultivation companion.

• Xiao Hua gave Mei'er a Wutuodan for her grandfather and three cultivation pills for her future, then had her knock at the Cai Family gate.
• Old Cai scolded Mei'er before recognizing Xiao Hua as an immortal and opening the gate to welcome him.
• Cai Mingsong rebuked Xiao Hua for being a Rogue Cultivator and offered to ask Fairy Hongxia about seeing him after she left seclusion.
• Xiao Hua insisted that he had important news about Cai Zhuoxia and asked Cai Mingsong to inform the family head.
• Old Cai hurried to report the news, and Mei'er helped him when he stumbled.
• Cai Mingxia flew out looking for Cai Zhuoxia, greeted Xiao Hua, and declared that she understood he was her big sister’s dual-cultivation companion.

Xiao Hua brought Cai Zhuoxia’s coffin to the Cai Family of Luyang, where her relatives learned of her death and began mourning. After he gave them a willow-branch ritual and explained that Cai Zhuoxia had entrusted her storage pouch to him for Fairy Hongxia, Cai Mingsong challenged his motives, but Cai Haisong ordered him to stop.

• Cai Haisong welcomed Xiao Hua to the manor despite Cai Mingsong’s objections about admitting a Rogue Cultivator through the main gate.
• Xiao Hua revealed Cai Zhuoxia’s coffin, and Cai Hesong confirmed her death.
• Xiao Hua used his willow branch in the family’s soul-summoning rite; a mysterious shadow far away sensed the aura of “Other Shore” and briefly flew toward it.
• Cai Zhuoxia’s relatives carried her coffin into the manor, where Xiao Hua told them only that she had died, withholding the details that could implicate other families.
• Xiao Hua said Cai Zhuoxia’s storage pouch was with him and that she had instructed him to deliver it personally to Fairy Hongxia.
• Cai Mingsong accused Xiao Hua of hiding ulterior motives, but Cai Haisong rebuked him and sent him away to handle the funeral.

After returning Cai Zhuoxia’s remains to the Cai Family, Xiao Hua stayed at their manor while they debated what to do about her storage pouch and his request to give it to Hongxia. The chapter ended as everyone at Zhuoxia’s funeral turned toward the mourning hall’s entrance.

• A Cai Family servant secretly left the manor and crossed the river toward Luyang Town, while Cai Haisong questioned Xiao Hua about Zhuoxia’s death and the storage pouch.
• Cai Haisong asked Xiao Hua to remain at the manor until he could try to bring Hongxia out of seclusion, and Xiao Hua agreed.
• The Cai Family examined Zhuoxia’s remains and began arranging her funeral while Xiao Hua cultivated in seclusion and reflected on how fulfilling his promise had eased an obstacle in his cultivation.
• On the day Zhuoxia was to be laid to rest, Xiao Hua agreed to hand her storage pouch to Cai Haisong after paying his respects, while asking the family to honor promises Zhuoxia had made to him.
• Xiao Hua bowed before Zhuoxia’s coffin, and the mourning hall fell silent as everyone turned toward the entrance.

Xiao Hua returned Cai Zhuoxia’s belongings to Fairy Hongxia, received the Cai family’s Stealing Heaven and Changing the Sun technique, and learned that a batch of Fetal Breath Pills would be ready in half a year. Their meeting was interrupted by Great Elder Cai Hongfeng, who arrived with Cai Yuxia and confronted Xiao Hua over accusations involving Cai Zhuoxia.

• Xiao Hua told Fairy Hongxia that Cai Zhuoxia’s Fetal Breath Pills were still being refined and refused to keep what did not belong to him.
• Fairy Hongxia gave Xiao Hua the unnamed booklet containing Stealing Heaven and Changing the Sun, along with her jade token, and accepted his sound transmission talisman.
• Xiao Hua began to tell Fairy Hongxia about the bamboo-carved token, but Cai Hongfeng’s divine sense swept into the cave abode and locked onto him.
• Fairy Hongxia identified Cai Hongfeng as the Qingyang Cai Family’s Great Elder, and Xiao Hua said the matter concerned him and the Qingyang Cai Family alone.
• Cai Yuxia accused Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia of conspiring against her younger sister, while Cai Haifeng explained that Xiao Hua had returned Cai Zhuoxia’s remains.
• Fairy Hongxia rebuked Cai Yuxia for insulting her deceased elder sister, and Cai Hongfeng ordered everyone to pay their respects to Cai Zhuoxia.

Cai Hongfeng confronted Xiao Hua over Cai Yingxia’s death, but Xiao Hua explained that the killing happened during the Huanhua Sect selection and revealed his Good Karma Token. As Cai Hongfeng moved to cripple him, Xiao Hua used a yellow talisman to escape underground.

• Cai Hongfeng questioned Xiao Hua in the mourning hall and threatened to cripple him for killing Cai Yingxia.
• Xiao Hua recounted the selection and argued that Huanhua Sect rules had governed the contestants’ lives and deaths.
• Fairy Hongxia urged Cai Hongfeng to seek the truth from the Huanhua Sect rather than punish Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua revealed that he had received a Good Karma Token and could choose a Golden Core cultivator as his master, stunning Fairy Hongxia.
• Cai Yuxia mocked Xiao Hua, and he lunged to seize her throat before Cai Hongfeng stopped his arm with his cultivation.
• Xiao Hua activated a yellow talisman and sank into the ground.

Xiao Hua escaped Cai Hongfeng’s pursuit by fleeing toward the Xudi Mountain Range, where a late Foundation Establishment cultivator intervened and drove Cai Hongfeng away. The cultivator then pressured Xiao Hua and demanded repayment for saving his life.

• Xiao Hua broke through Cai Hongfeng’s restriction and fled underground, while Cai Hongfeng pursued him and Cai Haisong sent the Cai Family disciples after them.
• Xiao Hua used Flight Talismans, a spirit stone, the Burning Heaven Art, and the Dragon Transformation Art to evade Cai Hongfeng, but Cai Hongfeng gradually closed in.
• Xiao Hua tried using an Earth Evasion Talisman, but Cai Hongfeng gained on him, so Xiao Hua flew toward the foothills and called for help from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• The cultivator recognized Xiao Hua, threatened Cai Hongfeng, and forced him to flee.
• Xiao Hua thanked the cultivator, who then crushed him with spiritual pressure and demanded that he repay the rescue.

Gan Qinghuo forced Xiao Hua to take a restricted Minghua Pill and entrusted him with delivering a lightning pearl to the Thunder Control Sect after a year. Xiao Hua hid the pearl and token in his space, escaped Gan Qinghuo’s pursuers, and continued toward Lu Town, pleased by his progress in cultivation but worried about the pearl.

• Gan Qinghuo gave Xiao Hua a Minghua Pill whose power he restricted, warning that Xiao Hua’s meridians would burst if he tried to force it out.
• Gan Qinghuo ordered Xiao Hua to deliver a purple lightning pearl to the Thunder Control Sect after a year and gave him a token before sending him away from his approaching enemies.
• Xiao Hua used earth evasion to escape, then secretly moved the pearl and token from his storage pouch into his space.
• Two Foundation Establishment cultivators passed Xiao Hua without recognizing him, and he asked them for directions to Lin Yu Town.
• Xiao Hua traveled for nearly thirty days toward Lu Town, during which his Blood Shadow Art improved and his Fire Dragon Art began circulating on its own.

Xiao Hua hid the lightning pearl in the space within his mind, where it transformed the space and affected the willow branch, then approached Lin Yu Town’s Teleportation Array. Two late Foundation Establishment cultivators questioned and searched him, but he traded one spirit beast pouch for a used Invisibility Talisman and was allowed to leave.

• Xiao Hua placed the lightning pearl in the space within his mind, causing a black-hole-like glow, storm clouds, and lightning around the willow branch.
• As Xiao Hua neared the Teleportation Array, divine senses repeatedly swept over him before a male and female Foundation Establishment cultivator summoned and restrained him.
• Xiao Hua said he was a Fu Family talisman maker traveling from Yanyuan City and explained that Gan Qinghuo had made him leave the array with him because he wore Mi Huan.
• The cultivators inspected Xiao Hua’s Mi Huan and storage pouches, then asked about the spirit beast pouches he had found.
• Xiao Hua traded one spirit beast pouch to the cultivators for a used Invisibility Talisman, then asked why they were seeking Gan Qinghuo.
• The male cultivator warned Xiao Hua not to pry and told him to return to Jinhua Mountain, while the female cultivator dismissed him.

Xiao Hua escaped scrutiny from Foundation Establishment cultivators and traveled to Jinhua Mountain to join the Fu Family as a talisman maker. He arrived at the mountain and met twin Fu Family cultivators who questioned his qualifications before two more cultivators approached.

• The Foundation Establishment cultivators concluded Xiao Hua was unrelated to Gan Qinghuo and redirected their search toward Gan Qinghuo after a disciple spotted him.
• Xiao Hua teleported to Jian Yu Mountain, learned that another cultivator had headed northwest, and continued east toward Jinhua Mountain.
• During his ten-day journey, Xiao Hua advanced his cultivation, observed changes in the bead inside his space, and studied the appearance-altering portion of Stealing Heaven and Changing the Sun.
• Xiao Hua reached Jinhua Mountain and told two identical female cultivators that Shopkeeper Fu had recommended him as a talisman maker.
• The twin cultivators examined Xiao Hua's token from Elder Liu Yun, debated whether he could qualify as a talisman maker, and watched two more cultivators approach.

Xiao Hua reunited with He Fu at Jinhua Mountain, where both had been recruited as Fu Family talisman masters. After they reached Chaotian Pavilion, Elder Fu Feng recognized their exceptional talisman-making skills and revealed that the family head had specifically asked him to watch them.

• Xiao Hua recognized He Fu and learned that he had joined the Fu Family as a talisman master.
• He Fu charmed Fu Zhu and Fu Chu while Xiao Hua followed them and learned about their standing in the Fu Family.
• At Chaotian Pavilion, Fu Shan resisted Fu Yan's order to summon Elder Fu Feng, but Fu Feng's voice called the group inside.
• He Fu and Xiao Hua introduced themselves to Fu Feng, who praised their talisman-making abilities and said the family head had instructed him to pay close attention to them.

Xiao Hua demonstrated that he could nearly refine a high-grade Confinement Talisman, while He Fu stunned the Fu family by refining all five Five Elements talismans in sequence through their mutual generation and overcoming. The Fu family head, Fu Yunbo, arrived to meet the two newly discovered talents.

• Fu Feng supplied Xiao Hua with high-grade talisman materials, and Xiao Hua nearly completed a high-grade Confinement Talisman before the paper ignited because he lacked the inscription method.
• Fu Chu praised He Fu’s ability to refine all five Five Elements yellow talismans to middle grade, and Fu Feng invited him to demonstrate.
• He Fu used the Five Elements’ mutual overcoming and mutual generation to refine five talismans in sequence, astonishing Xiao Hua and the Fu family members.
• A divine sense arrived and focused on Xiao Hua and He Fu, and Fu Feng welcomed the Fu family head who had come after hearing the news.
• Fu Zhu, Fu Chu, and Fu Yun greeted Fu Yunbo as he entered the hall, while Xiao Hua considered his plans to cultivate with the Fu family and later visit the Thunder Control Sect.

Fu Yunbo welcomed Xiao Hua and He Fu into the Fu Family, weighing their talisman-making skills and explaining the conditions for learning its secret techniques. After settling the two newcomers and naming three senior sisters to guide them, He Fu asked for Xiao Hua to share his pavilion.

• Fu Yunbo praised Xiao Hua’s skill with Restraint Talismans and recognized He Fu’s mastery of the Five Stars Connecting method.
• He Fu explained that he had found the incomplete technique in a booklet, and Fu Yunbo offered him access to the Fu Family’s resources without demanding that he change his surname.
• Fu Yunbo told Xiao Hua that he could learn the Restraint Talisman inscription method only after joining the Inner Courtyard or making major contributions, and Xiao Hua agreed to refine Fireball Talismans first.
• Fu Yan, Fu Zhu, and Fu Chu argued over who would be He Fu’s senior sister, so Fu Yunbo appointed all three to guide both He Fu and Xiao Hua.
• Fu Zhu arranged a pavilion for He Fu and a small room for Xiao Hua, but He Fu asked that Xiao Hua be allowed to live with him, and Fu Chu approved.

Xiao Hua settled into the Fu Family on Jinhua Mountain and learned He Fu's Five Stars Connecting technique, which let him produce five-element yellow talismans of uniformly high quality. As Fu Chu grew closer to He Fu, Fu Shan confronted Xiao Hua for leaving the quiet room after finishing his assigned work.

• Xiao Hua accepted He Fu's offer to share the loft, while Fu Zhu and the other Senior Sisters left to patrol the mountain.
• Xiao Hua and He Fu discussed a Rogue Cultivator Xiao Hua claimed to have seen in Jingbo City, then He Fu offered to teach him talisman refinement.
• Xiao Hua practiced at the Fu Family and used his perception to learn Five Stars Connecting, discovering that it raised all five elemental yellow talismans to high-grade quality.
• He Fu grew closer to Fu Chu and improved his talisman skills, while Xiao Hua memorized much of the Flying Sword Talisman's pattern.
• Fu Shan rebuked Xiao Hua for leaving the quiet room and called him a third-rate talisman refiner despite his having completed his assigned Fireball Talismans.

Xiao Hua argued with Fu Shan about his role in the Fu Family, then attended the gathering where new talisman masters were assigned helping senior brothers. He and Xuan Lan were paired with Fu Min, who immediately criticized Xiao Hua’s cultivation and talisman abilities.

• Xiao Hua mocked Fu Shan by claiming he wanted to find a Fu Family woman as a dual cultivation partner, and Fu Shan left after warning him to attend Chaotian Pavilion before noon.
• Fu Chu explained that senior brothers would be assigned according to each talisman master’s cultivation and skills, then led Xiao Hua and He Fu to Chaotian Pavilion on the ninth chime.
• Elder Fu Feng told the eighty-four new talisman masters that Inner Courtyard disciples would guide them and report their progress to the Council of Elders.
• Xiao Hua introduced He Fu to Ye Xuguang and Ming Ju, and He Fu warmly encouraged them to exchange talisman-refining knowledge.
• Fu Shan read the assignments, and Xiao Hua and Xuan Lan were paired with Fu Min while Elder Fu Feng personally took He Fu as his student.
• Fu Min criticized Xiao Hua’s low cultivation, and Xuan Lan agreed that weak cultivation would limit the yellow talismans he could refine.

Xiao Hua and Xuan Lan visited Fu Min’s former talisman-making cave, where Xiao Hua noticed signs of earthfire and learned about the Fu family’s failed attempt to pursue alchemy. Fu Min then revealed that the Gengshan Liao Family’s alchemy techniques, furnaces, and related items had come from the Fu family, leaving Xuan Lan shocked.

• Xiao Hua followed Fu Min and Xuan Lan from Chaotian Pavilion to Fu Min’s cave, where Fu Min said they could use it to practice making talismans.
• Xiao Hua noticed a sulfurous smell and asked about Jinhua Mountain’s earthfire, prompting Fu Min to explain how the Fu family’s earlier pursuit of alchemy had nearly ruined the family.
• Xuan Lan asked Fu Min about the Gengshan Liao Family’s sudden decline, and Fu Min hinted that he knew a hidden secret.
• Fu Min told Xiao Hua and Xuan Lan that the Liao family’s alchemy techniques, furnaces, and related items had come from the Fu family.
• Xuan Lan questioned why the Liao family would have trusted the Fu family and why the Fu family would have given them such valuable resources.

Xiao Hua listened as Fu Min explained how the Fu Family’s abandoned pill-refining arts had helped lead the Liao Family to ruin, then endured Fu Min’s dismissive judgment of his talisman-making. After leaving, Xiao Hua searched the abandoned eastern side of Jinhua Mountain and found a hidden underground passage that might lead to the earthfire site.

• Fu Min described how the Fu Family had deposited pill-refining arts and furnaces with the Liao Family, and Xuan Lan concluded that the Liao Family’s pursuit of pill refinement had led to its destruction.
• Fu Min judged Xiao Hua’s Fireball Talisman without examining it, praised Xuan Lan’s Weak Water Talisman, and sent Xiao Hua away while teaching Xuan Lan another talisman method.
• Xiao Hua used an Earth Evasion Talisman to travel to Jinhua Mountain’s eastern side and began searching for the Fu Family’s abandoned pill-refining site.
• Xiao Hua noticed Fu Zhu flying over the area, then continued searching among the collapsed ruins and found a sulfurous sunken area.
• Xiao Hua burrowed beneath the ruins, discovered an underground passage, and entered it carrying the Mysterious Iron Array and Demonic Spear Tip.

Xiao Hua discovered and collected alchemy supplies in an underground hall, then learned to control its earth fire with hand seals. As he left, he overheard Fu He and Fu Zhu discussing their secret relationship and plans to pair him with Fu Chu.

• Xiao Hua searched the empty hall in Jinhua Mountain and gathered its alchemy tools and supplies.
• Xiao Hua broke the restrictions around the earth fire and discovered hand seals that let him control its flames.
• Xiao Hua decided to return the next day to prepare for pill refining and left the underground passage.
• Xiao Hua hid when he heard Fu Zhu and Fu He meeting near the forbidden area.
• Fu Zhu and Fu He discussed arranging for Xiao Hua to become an Inner Courtyard disciple and grow close to Fu Chu, while keeping their relationship secret.

Xiao Hua organized his growing collection, prepared to refine Wutuodan, and began his first alchemy attempt at the earthfire chamber. His initial batch failed, but he adjusted his method and started again, carefully controlling the fire as the refinement continued.

• Xiao Hua followed Fu He back to the small tower after discovering a secluded route to the earthfire chamber, then sorted the contents of his space into separate areas.
• Fu He returned and asked which senior brother had been assigned to Xiao Hua; Xiao Hua complained about Fu Min, while Fu He did not mention Fu Chu.
• Xiao Hua chose to refine Wutuodan, prepared the necessary supplies, and studied his alchemy technique before going to the earthfire chamber the next morning.
• Xiao Hua set warning talismans around the alchemy room, heated the furnace, and began refining Wutuodan with Wuji Grass and Xuejue Grass.
• Xiao Hua's first batch failed when the medicinal liquid splashed across the furnace, so he concluded that the pill-tempering talisman had been unnecessary and began a second attempt without it.

Xiao Hua continued experimenting with alchemy and uncovered Fu Min’s deceptive Wood-Generating Talisman instruction. As Xiao Hua headed toward the alchemy rooms, a Fu Family disciple spotted him and called out from above.

• Xiao Hua refined Wutuodan for several days, using recalled hand formulae and yellow talismans before leaving the alchemy room.
• Xiao Hua told He Senior Brother and Fu Chu that he had been practicing talisman-making formulae with his senior brother, and He Senior Brother said he had covered Xiao Hua’s quota work.
• Xiao Hua overheard Xuan Lan ask Fu Min whether he planned to establish his own branch, then used the Art of Earth Evasion to hide briefly in a restricted stone wall.
• Fu Min dismissed Xiao Hua’s Fireball Talisman progress and demonstrated Wood-Generating Talisman techniques that Xiao Hua recognized as flawed.
• Xiao Hua left Fu Min’s chamber and headed toward the alchemy rooms, but a Fu Family disciple above him called his name.

Xiao Hua used Fu Min’s absence to focus on alchemy, advancing his Wutuodan to the final stage before failing to draw it out. After more than ten days away, he returned to Chaotian Pavilion and caught up with Ming Sui and Ye Xuguang.

• Fu Yuan warned Xiao Hua that he had entered the Fu Family’s forbidden area, then asked whether Fu Chu visited Chaotian Pavilion every day.
• Xiao Hua returned to Chaotian Pavilion, crafted Fireball Talismans, and cultivated through the night before heading back to the pill room.
• Xiao Hua found the Wutuodan ruined, restarted the refinement, and reflected that Fu Yunbo might profit by turning alchemical hand seals into talismans.
• Over the next dozen days, Xiao Hua refined pills by day and cultivated by night, bringing the Wutuodan to its final pill-drawing stage but failing to extract it.
• Xiao Hua returned to Chaotian Pavilion and learned that Ming Sui’s Fireball Talisman was nearing top grade and Ye Xuguang’s Ice Thorn Talisman had reached top grade.