Chapter Summaries

Lin Shisan learned that Mu Ling'er had saved Hu Niu from assassins, though Aunt Mei had placed a demon spirit in her to keep her alive. Hu Niu stayed with Aunt Mei while Lin Shisan traveled with Mu Ling'er toward the Danyang Sect, where he was ordered to steal the Nine Yang Cauldron.

• Lin Shisan nearly used the Heartlock to avenge Hu Niu, but she told him Mu Ling'er had rescued her from the men in black.
• Aunt Mei showed Lin Shisan a Recording Image Stone proving that the old drunk had abducted Hu Niu and that Mu Ling'er had saved her from being possessed; Aunt Mei then used a demon spirit to prevent Hu Niu from dying.
• Mu Ling'er told Lin Shisan that Hu Niu had to remain with Aunt Mei and gave him a Message Stone, while Aunt Mei warned him not to use the Heartlock because it would cost him his senses and perceptions.
• Mu Ling'er disguised herself as Hu Niu and completed the wedding ceremony with Lin Shisan; five days later, she and Lin Shisan left Tianshui Village, entrusting their families' property to Huzi.
• Lin Shisan and Mu Ling'er traveled toward the Danyang Sect so he could steal the Nine Yang Cauldron, and their ten-day journey stretched into a month.
• Lin Shisan recovered his cultivation, reached the Body Tempering Eighth Layer, and condensed a strand of liquid spiritual power in his Dantian.

Lin Shisan and Mu Ling'er reached Nine Palaces Mountain after the Danyang Sect entrance examination had nearly ended, and Lin Shisan discovered registration had already closed. Mu Ling'er flung him onto the summit platform, where a Danyang Sect disciple threatened him and called him a crossbreed.

• Lin Shisan and Mu Ling'er arrived at Nine Palaces Mountain and saw disappointed candidates streaming down from the entrance examination.
• Mu Ling'er learned from a candidate that registration had closed the day before and the examination was ending that morning.
• Mu Ling'er told Lin Shisan she would give him a gift, then grabbed him and flung him toward the summit examination grounds.
• Lin Shisan landed on the platform and found Mu Ling'er had disappeared.
• A round-faced Danyang Sect disciple ordered Lin Shisan to leave, threatened him with a sword, and called him a crossbreed.

Lin Shisan was offered a chance to become Feng Xian’er’s personal disciple if he knocked Wang Yan flat. He swiftly defeated Wang Yan despite their cultivation gap, then asked Feng Xian’er whether that counted.

• Lin Shisan restrained his anger at Wang Yan’s insults while waiting to enter the Danyang Sect.
• Feng Xian’er woke and offered to take Lin Shisan as her disciple if he knocked Wang Yan flat.
• Lin Shisan confirmed that Feng Xian’er would accept him and protect him from consequences even if Wang Yan died.
• Lin Shisan struck Wang Yan before he could prepare, knocking out two teeth.
• Wang Yan attacked with the Blazing Flame Ice Claw, but Lin Shisan’s Reverse Scale broke two of his fingers.
• Lin Shisan knocked Wang Yan down, planted a foot on his chest, and asked Feng Xian’er whether he had knocked him flat.

Lin Shisan survived Zhang Qiling’s attack and was publicly accepted as Feng Xian’er’s disciple after she turned the kick against Wang Yan and drove Zhang away. After the preliminary test, Feng Xian’er summoned Lin Shisan and told him that his mistake had been going too easy on Wang Yan.

• Lin Shisan used the Reverse Scale to withstand Zhang Qiling’s strike while keeping his foot on Wang Yan’s chest.
• Feng Xiangu moved Lin Shisan aside, causing Zhang Qiling’s full-force kick to sever Wang Yan’s leg, which Zhang later reattached crookedly.
• Wang Yan accused Lin Shisan of being a Demon Cave Spy and demanded that Zhang Qiling kill him.
• Feng Xian’er declared Lin Shisan her disciple, and Lin Shisan called Zhang Qiling “Pockface Zhang” in her defense.
• Feng Xian’er struck Zhang Qiling into a mountainside, and he left in a rage as Lin Shisan became her disciple.
• Feng Xian’er questioned Lin Shisan in a pavilion and said she was angry because he had gone too easy on Wang Yan.

Feng Xian'er tested Lin Shisan by attacking him, then recognized the protection of his Reverse Scale and accepted him as her disciple. Lin Shisan chose to take the Grand Examination to become her true Personal Disciple and left with her gifts, warned that Zhang Mazi might target him.

• Feng Xian'er accused Lin Shisan of being a Demon Cave Spy and shot an energy arrow at his heart.
• Lin Shisan's Reverse Scale blocked Feng Xian'er's attack, and she recognized it as the scale that had also stopped Little Rabbit's and Zhang Mazi's attacks.
• Feng Xian'er told Lin Shisan that Zhang Mazi might sabotage him in the coming tests, but promised to protect him once he entered her tutelage.
• Feng Xian'er explained that Lin Shisan could become her disciple through direct admission or by passing the Grand Examination, and Lin Shisan chose the examination.
• Feng Xian'er gave Lin Shisan a Storage Ring containing a scroll, a sword, two bottles, and a thousand Spirit Stones, then sent him out of the pavilion.

After learning Seven Star Step, Lin Shisan practiced until he discovered its first signs of power. He then learned that Wang Yan’s disciples were plotting against him and had beaten Niu Geng to find him.

• Guan Yue berated Wang Yan for losing to Lin Shisan and urged the disciples to attack Lin Shisan before he formally joined Feng Xian’er’s tutelage.
• Lin Shisan studied Seven Star Step and practiced until he felt a tailwind beneath his feet and saw a speck of starlight at a landing point.
• Lin Shisan exhausted himself practicing, then restored his strength with an evolved apple and Body Tempering Liquid.
• Lin Shisan encountered the injured Niu Geng and used medicinal liquid from Mu Ling’er to heal him.
• Niu Geng told Lin Shisan that Wang Yan and two disciples had beaten him while asking about Lin Shisan, and warned that Guan Yue planned to kill him.

Lin Shisan ate breakfast with Feng Xian'er, then took the Danyang Sect’s second assessment, earning a four-star Dao Seed rating before facing the Ling Yun Stairway challenge. The chapter ended as he noticed Niu Geng had drawn a blank number tag for group placement.

• Lin Shisan cultivated, paid respects to his father, and visited Feng Xian'er, who teased him and served him deer penis soup before his examination.
• Feng Xian'er gave Lin Shisan valuable spiritual herbs and medicinal plants to prepare for the tests.
• Lin Shisan rode Feng Xian'er's cloud boat to Greenstone Plaza and barely passed the strength test with his body tempering eighth layer.
• Lin Shisan received a four-star Dao Seed rating, surprising him while Feng Xian'er slept through the proceedings.
• An immortal master introduced the hundred-step Ling Yun Stairway, where candidates needed to reach the thirtieth step to pass.
• Lin Shisan saw that Niu Geng's group number tag was blank after the candidates drew their tags.

Lin Shisan turned a rigged number-tag scheme to his advantage, prompting Feng Xian'er to secure him three valuable pills from Junior Brother Jin. As the Heavenly Ladder test began, Lin Shisan entered the climb and kicked one of the disciples who threatened him off the platform.

• Lin Shisan gave Niu Geng his valid number tag and took Niu Geng's blank one, then asked Feng Xian'er to inspect it.
• Junior Brother Jin tried to seize Lin Shisan's tag, but Feng Xian'er pressured him into giving Lin Shisan three Meridian Opening Pills worth five thousand Spirit Stones.
• The first two groups climbed the Heavenly Ladder, and only a small number of prospective disciples passed the early steps.
• Lin Shisan joined the third group, where three disciples who had crowded Niu Geng threatened him.
• Lin Shisan kicked the loudest disciple off the platform, and the other two backed away as the platform rose.

Lin Shisan climbed the Heavenly Ladder Test with the help of his spiritual energy and secretly kicked down prospective disciples who had bullied him. At the fifty-first step, he struck back at a scar-faced youth and left him suddenly in trouble.

• Feng Xian'er recognized that Guan Yue had arranged the tampered number tags and punished him with a barking black-dog mark on his forehead.
• Lin Shisan used the Black-and-White Grinding Disc to ease the ladder’s tenfold gravity and climbed ahead of the other prospective disciples.
• Lin Shisan kicked down two prospective disciples who had picked on him, and the watching elders stayed silent.
• As the climb eliminated most candidates, Lin Shisan found the scar-faced youth and the taller youth waiting for him near the fiftieth step.
• The scar-faced youth threatened Lin Shisan and attacked with a dagger, but Lin Shisan disarmed him and threw the dagger into his leg.
• The scar-faced youth reached the fifty-first step in pain, then felt his chest tighten.

Lin Shisan climbed the Lingyun Heavenly Ladder with Zhang Hao and Senior Brother Hong until Senior Brother Hong threw him onto the dangerous sixty-sixth step. There, Lin Shisan used Spirit Stones and his Jiaolong True Spirit to draw lightning from the clouds and begin starlight body tempering.

• The scar-faced youth died after Lin Shisan pushed him onto the fifty-first step, and Feng Xian'er defended Lin Shisan’s actions.
• Lin Shisan climbed with Zhang Hao and Senior Brother Hong, reaching the fifty-fifth step together.
• The three continued to the sixtieth step, where Lin Shisan pretended he could go no farther.
• Senior Brother Hong used a secret treasure to toss Lin Shisan six steps upward, leaving him alone on the sixty-sixth step beneath lightning and crushing pressure.
• Lin Shisan formed a pattern with one hundred and eight Spirit Stones and sent his Jiaolong True Spirit into the clouds to channel lightning for starlight body tempering.

Lin Shisan endured the Heavenly Ladder’s starlight tempering and evolved his zero-star Taiji Wheel Dao Seed into a One-Star Dao Seed. He climbed to the eightieth step, setting a century-old Danyang Sect record and drawing the Ling Tian Lineage’s attention.

• The Jiaolong True Spirit’s starlight nearly broke Lin Shisan’s spine, but the returning power and his Black-and-White Grinding Disc helped him endure and strengthen his spiritual power.
• Feng Xian’er wanted to intervene, but Junior Brother Jin and the trainee immortal masters warned that doing so would violate the rules and put Lin Shisan at greater risk.
• Zhang Hao tried to climb to Lin Shisan, but he could not reach the sixty-first step and collapsed from exhaustion.
• Lin Shisan’s Taiji Wheel gained a star marking and became a One-Star Dao Seed as the starlight tempering advanced his strength.
• Lin Shisan climbed to the seventieth and then the eightieth step, setting a Danyang Sect record and impressing Feng Xian’er.

Lin Shisan stopped at the eightieth step of the heavenly stairway after a mysterious warning, then passed the trial and learned that ninety-five candidates had secured admission to the Danyang Sect. Back at the Courtyard, he rejected Steward Ling’s offer to become a Ling Family Outer Servant and sent him away.

• Feng Xian'er warned Lin Shisan not to climb any higher, and he withdrew from the heavenly stairway at the eightieth step while searching unsuccessfully for Aunt Mei and Hu Niu.
• Lin Shisan thanked Feng Xian'er, who offered him another bowl of soup, and the remaining candidates continued the trial; Niu Geng reached the forty-fifth step.
• Ninety-five of the four hundred and fifty-two candidates passed the stairway trial, and the sect scheduled the alchemy test for the morning after a day of rest.
• A pale-faced middle-aged man entered Lin Shisan's Courtyard and introduced himself as Steward Ling of the Ling Household.
• Steward Ling offered Lin Shisan a place as a Ling Family Outer Servant, but Lin Shisan refused and ordered him to leave.

Lin Shisan refused Steward Ling’s demand to join the Ling Household and fought back when the steward attacked him. Feng Xian’er intervened, drove Steward Ling away, and killed him, leaving the gathered disciples stunned.

• Steward Ling flew into a rage when Lin Shisan ordered him to leave and drew his flying sword to force Lin Shisan to kneel.
• Lin Shisan blocked Steward Ling’s attacks with liquefied spiritual power, astonishing the disciples and the three apprentice Immortal Lords watching.
• Steward Ling demanded one last time that Lin Shisan come with him, then attacked when Lin Shisan refused.
• Steward Ling struck aside two Immortal Lords who tried to intervene and sent his flying sword toward Lin Shisan’s chest.
• Feng Xian’er appeared, twisted Steward Ling’s flying sword into a braided cruller, and hurled him away.
• Steward Ling threatened Feng Xian’er, but she struck him down in a red mist that scattered into the wind.

After Feng Xian'er rescued Lin Shisan from the Ling Household, he read messages from Hu Niu and then received desperate cries for help from Long Yan'er. He pleaded with Feng Xian'er to go with him to Qingyang, but she refused, leaving him desperate to save the Long Household.

• Feng Xian'er took Lin Shisan back to her courtyard, gave him Deer Whip Soup, and dismissed the disciples who had gathered.
• Lin Shisan read Hu Niu's messages from Nine Nether Mountain and learned she was doing well with Aunt Mei and had begun cultivating.
• Lin Shisan received Long Yan'er's messages saying a bad man was attacking her, Auntie, and Grandpa and wanted to make Auntie his Furnace Cauldron.
• Lin Shisan told Feng Xian'er about Long Yan'er's danger and asked to go to Qingyang, but Feng Xian'er refused because the Alchemy Test was the day after tomorrow.
• Feng Xian'er recognized the Long Household name and its ancestor's connection to the Danyang Sect, while Long Yan'er's cries for help continued to come through the Message Stone.

The One-Legged Masked Man and Si Wu attacked the Long Household to force Long Shuang'er into marriage and seize the Biluō Purple Cauldron. Lin Shisan arrived in time to save Little Yan'er, unmasked the attacker as Ouyang Xiao, and faced his old enemy.

• Si Wu and Ouyang Xiao broke into the Long Household and subdued Long Tianming and Long Tianliang while demanding the Biluō Purple Cauldron and Long Shuang'er's marriage.
• Ouyang Xiao seized Little Yan'er and threatened to cut off her leg to lure Lin Shisan out.
• Long Shuang'er offered to marry Si Wu's father if Ouyang Xiao spared Yan'er and the Long Household, but Ouyang Xiao kept counting and pinned her in place.
• Lin Shisan arrived aboard a cloud ship, knocked Ouyang Xiao's sword aside with a Taiji Seal, and caught Little Yan'er.
• The Taiji Seal cracked Ouyang Xiao's mask, revealing him as Zhao Xun's former disciple, and Ouyang Xiao fixed his hatred on Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan confronted Ouyang Xiao and discovered that Long Qingshan was possessed by Ning Jiuying, a Demon Sect protector seeking his lost demon spirit. Feng Xian'er drove Ning Jiuying back into Long Qingshan, who seized Long Yan'er as a hostage, leaving Lin Shisan trying to stop Feng Xian'er from killing him.

• Long Yan'er clung to Lin Shisan, who recognized Ouyang Xiao and demanded that he reveal who was behind him.
• Lin Shisan attacked the sleeping Long Qingshan, whose demonic qi awakened and identified itself as Ning Jiuying.
• Ning Jiuying tried to seize the demon spirit inside Lin Shisan, but Lin Shisan blocked the attack with the Reverse Scale and suppressed his own demon spirit with the Taiji Seal.
• Ning Jiuying unleashed the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art, drawing people and objects into a black hole until Feng Xian'er arrived and countered it with a jade pearl.
• Feng Xian'er struck Ning Jiuying's skull, forcing it back into Long Qingshan, who grabbed Long Yan'er and threatened to kill her.
• Lin Shisan stopped Feng Xian'er from attacking Long Qingshan, and Feng Xian'er teased him about being eager to spare his prospective father-in-law.

Lin Shisan chased Ouyang Xiao and Si Wu into an ambush, then defeated their demonic-energy-controlled fighters and killed both men. After Ouyang Xiao’s death, Lin Shisan discovered that he craved the taste of blood.

• Feng Xian'er sent Lin Shisan after Ouyang Xiao and Si Wu while she stayed with Long Shuang'er and the others.
• Lin Shisan followed an Earth-Escape Talisman into an alley, where Ouyang Xiao and Si Wu ambushed him with eight accomplices.
• Ouyang Xiao ordered the demonic-energy-controlled fighters to attack, and Lin Shisan killed two before striking down Si Wu.
• Lin Shisan used the demon spirit to remove the demonic energy from the six surviving fighters and forced Ouyang Xiao to kneel.
• Lin Shisan beheaded Ouyang Xiao, then felt a powerful craving for blood and wanted to devour it.

After Lin Shisan defeated Ouyang Xiao and the others, he collected their spoils and rushed back to the Long Household when Feng Xian’er warned that Long Qingshan was near death. Long Qingshan gave him the Biluō Purple Cauldron as a keepsake, while Feng Xian’er recognized its name but could not remember why it sounded familiar.

• Lin Shisan’s demonic state faded, and the terrified survivors fled after he let them go.
• Lin Shisan searched the defeated men and took their Spirit Stones, talismans, herbs, pills, Flying Sword Embryo, and Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art.
• Feng Xian’er sent Lin Shisan an urgent message that Long Qingshan was clinging to life, so he hurried to the Long Household.
• Lin Shisan found Long Qingshan gravely ill and Feng Xian’er holding the tiny figure she had extracted from him, Ning Jiuying.
• Long Qingshan asked Long Shuang’er to give Lin Shisan the Biluō Purple Cauldron and requested that he help the Long Household if it ever faced trouble.
• Lin Shisan hesitated to accept the cauldron, while Feng Xian’er wondered where she had heard its name.

After Long Qingshan died, Lin Shisan promised to protect Long Yan'er and accepted the Biluō Purple Cauldron, while Feng Xian'er agreed to take the girl as a nominal disciple. Back at the Danyang Sect, Lin Shisan opened the cauldron and discovered a mysterious flame pattern appearing on it.

• Long Qingshan died after entrusting the Biluō Purple Cauldron to Lin Shisan, who promised to care for Long Yan'er.
• Feng Xian'er agreed to take Long Yan'er as a nominal disciple, and Lin Shisan left the Long Household with the cauldron while the girl stayed to observe seven days of mourning.
• On the way back, Lin Shisan told Feng Xian'er about his past and his demonic influence, and she said his choices would show whether he was truly a demon or an immortal.
• After returning to the Danyang Sect, Lin Shisan opened the Biluō Purple Cauldron effortlessly but found nothing unusual about it.
• As Lin Shisan rested with his eyes closed, a thumb-sized flame pattern appeared on the cauldron.

Lin Shisan entered the Danyang Sect’s final Grand Examination test, where the top three could observe the Nine Yang Cauldron for three days. He prepared to refine pills with the Biluō Purple Cauldron as Guan Yue arranged to sabotage him.

• Lin Shisan drank Feng Xian’er’s Deer Whip Soup and confirmed that he had memorized the spirit herbs for the alchemy test.
• At Greenstone Plaza, Junior Brother Jin announced that the top three would receive a Meridian Opening Pill and three days to observe the Nine Yang Cauldron.
• Niu Geng encouraged Lin Shisan, while Guan Yue secretly ordered another disciple to interfere with his test and promised a Meridian Opening Pill in return.
• Lin Shisan entered Alchemy Chamber Forty-Five, steadied his mind with the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art, and summoned the Biluō Purple Cauldron to begin refining pills.