Chapter Summaries

After leaving the Golden Kylin Gathering, Gu Chenfeng defended Su Wanyue when Imperial Uncle Xiao tried to force her to drink with him. The chapter ended with Gu Chenfeng slapping Imperial Uncle Xiao and sending him tumbling across the pavilion.

• Gu Chenfeng said farewell to Shangguan Bingxin, who invited herself to visit his residence to ask about raising Origin Beasts.
• Su Wanyue joined Gu Chenfeng as he prepared to leave the pavilion, but Imperial Uncle Xiao called her back and demanded that she stay and drink with him.
• Su Wanyue refused, and Imperial Uncle Xiao used his status to pressure her; Gu Chenfeng stepped in and told him she could not give him that respect.
• Gu Chenfeng dismissed Imperial Uncle Xiao's demand and led Su Wanyue toward the exit, but Imperial Uncle Xiao blocked their way and insulted her.
• Imperial Uncle Xiao reached for Su Wanyue, but Gu Chenfeng slapped him and sent him tumbling away.

Gu Chenfeng defended Su Wanyue at the Golden Kylin Gathering, then left with her after Princess Yaoyin stopped Imperial Uncle Xiao from pursuing them. As they departed, Gu Chenfeng vowed to protect Su Wanyue, leaving her flustered and convinced he had fallen for her.

• Gu Chenfeng struck Imperial Uncle Xiao and kicked Zhang You after they tried to bully him and Su Wanyue.
• Princess Yaoyin rebuked Imperial Uncle Xiao and warned him not to abuse his imperial connections, while privately reflecting on how much Gu Chenfeng had changed.
• The Third Prince observed Gu Chenfeng's talent but doubted he could shoulder the Gu Lineage's legacy without cultivation.
• Su Wanyue thanked Gu Chenfeng as he led her away, believing her plan to make him protective of her was succeeding.
• Gu Chenfeng told Su Wanyue that he would not let anyone harm her, then headed to the carriage with her following in a daze.

Gu Chenfeng sensed that the Huangfu Lineage was behind the attacks against him, and his carriage was ambushed in a gorge on the way to the Imperial Capital. After a bandit decoy attacked and was overwhelmed by his guards, a more disciplined force closed in on the carriage.

• A young man from the Huangfu Lineage watched Gu Chenfeng depart and ordered his people to prepare their next move.
• As the carriage approached a gorge, Gu Chenfeng and Su Wanyue sensed danger, and he sent her to alert his eldest sister in the Imperial Capital.
• A gray-robed expert revealed himself, took command of the Gu Lineage guards, and defended the carriage against a volley of arrows.
• Black-clad attackers posing as bandits surrounded the convoy, but the Chancellor's Residence guards quickly overpowered them.
• Gu Chenfeng detected a second, better-organized group moving through the woods and realized they were the real attackers.

A black-clad force ambushed Gu Chenfeng’s convoy, overwhelming the residence guards and using a Quicksand Formation to carry his carriage beyond their encirclement. When one attacker entered the carriage to seize him, Gu Chenfeng killed him with a single blow.

• The gray-clad Blood Tiger Guard defeated a woman in black and held off three other powerful attackers as the residence guards fought the larger force.
• The black-clad attackers activated a Quicksand Formation, separating the Blood Tiger Guard from Gu Chenfeng’s carriage and dragging it toward their ranks.
• The attackers swallowed Blood-Burning Pills to strengthen themselves and keep the Blood Tiger Guard occupied while the residence guards failed to reach the carriage.
• The woman in black ordered her companions to capture Gu Chenfeng and take him to the agreed location.
• A five-star Meridian-Opening Realm attacker entered the carriage, and Gu Chenfeng struck him dead, hurling his body into a boulder.

Gu Chenfeng emerged from his carriage and revealed the immense strength he had concealed, taking on the black-clad attackers surrounding the Gu Lineage guards. He overwhelmed their Source Qi Realm fighters with his body-tempering and spear techniques, ending the chapter as his first-form strike swept three mid-stage experts away.

• Gu Chenfeng burst from the shattered carriage and killed several black-clad men, stunning both the attackers and the Gu Lineage guards.
• After the black-clad fighters recognized him as Gu Chenfeng, they charged, and he tore through them with his fists while their weapons failed to pierce his body.
• Gu Chenfeng met several Source Qi Realm martial artists head-on, injuring them before taking a spear and killing more attackers with the Tiger-Subduing Spear Technique.
• Three mid-stage Source Qi Realm fighters attacked Gu Chenfeng together, but his spearwork and strength kept him in control of the fight.
• Gu Chenfeng unleashed the first form, Tiger Roars Through the Forest, and swept the three mid-stage fighters away with a devastating strike.

Gu Chenfeng used a battle-axe to help the guards of the Prime Minister's Residence turn the battle against the black-clad attackers, then defeated a source qi realm seven-star swordsman with the combined power of his blood qi and source qi. As another black-clad attacker launched a sneak attack, a crimson projectile killed him, and a woman ordered the Tiger Guard to surround the area.

• Gu Chenfeng's spear broke, so a guard from the Prime Minister's Residence threw him a refined-iron battle-axe.
• Gu Chenfeng cut through the black-clad attackers with the axe and helped the guards turn the battle around.
• A source qi realm seven-star swordsman confronted Gu Chenfeng, who overwhelmed him with attacks powered by his blood qi and source qi.
• Gu Chenfeng used Tiger-Subduing Spear Technique's second form, Tiger Claw Rends the Sky, to split the swordsman in two.
• A black-clad attacker tried to stab Gu Chenfeng from behind, but a crimson streak pierced the attacker's head and pinned him to a boulder.
• A woman ordered the Tiger Guard to surround the area and kill anyone who tried to escape.

Gu Chenfeng survived an ambush when Gu Yanshuang and the Tiger Guard cavalry arrived, then concealed his cultivation secrets from her. He learned the attackers may have wanted to trade him for the Gu Lineage’s sealed mine, which could contain a source crystal vein.

• The Tiger Guard cavalry routed the attackers, and Ding Si reported that two groups had targeted Gu Chenfeng, including poisoned death warriors.
• Gu Yanshuang questioned Gu Chenfeng about his strength, and he claimed a glowing fruit had transformed his physique and accelerated his cultivation.
• Gu Yanshuang examined Gu Chenfeng and concluded that the fruit had strengthened his body, while he secretly concealed his internal cultivation.
• Gu Yanshuang told Gu Chenfeng that the Huangfu Lineage likely wanted to abduct him to pressure the Gu Lineage or exchange him for its mineral vein.
• Gu Yanshuang explained that the sealed fine iron mine might contain a source crystal vein, and Gu Chenfeng reacted with excitement.

Gu Chenfeng learned that the Huangfu Lineage had targeted him to seize his family’s Source Crystal vein, and he resolved to strike back. After the failed abduction, Huangfu Yun recognized Gu Chenfeng as a formidable rival and welcomed their coming conflict.

• Gu Yanshuang explained that the Huangfu Lineage had tried to kidnap Gu Chenfeng to take the Source Crystal vein and test Gu Grandfather’s condition.
• Gu Yanshuang told Gu Chenfeng that Ding Si was a loyal member of the Blood Tiger Guard and would serve as his personal bodyguard.
• Gu Chenfeng learned that his father had sent the other Blood Tiger Guard members to the Border Pass and decided to take the initiative against the Huangfu Lineage.
• Huangfu Yun questioned four surviving black-clad attackers and learned that Gu Chenfeng had broken through their encirclement and killed a seven-star Source Qi Realm warrior.
• Huangfu Yun admitted he had underestimated Gu Chenfeng and vowed to face him as a worthy enemy.

Emperor Xuan recited Gu Chenfeng’s Man Jiang Hong and recalled how Gu Beiwu had saved his life, reaffirming the Gu Lineage’s loyalty and announcing that the lyric would be displayed in the imperial hall. Li Yuanze and Princess Yaoyin then praised Gu Chenfeng’s talent, and Yaoyin began recounting the Golden Kylin Gathering to the emperor.

• Emperor Xuan summoned the princes and princesses and was deeply moved after reading Man Jiang Hong: Northern Expedition.
• Emperor Xuan told his children how Gu Beiwu had rescued him from the Barbarian Tribe’s encirclement at the Border Pass, suffering lasting injuries in the process.
• Emperor Xuan declared the Gu Lineage Great Li’s greatest contributors and ordered Man Jiang Hong displayed in the Hall of Imperial Polarity.
• Li Yuanze recognized that Emperor Xuan was publicly supporting the Gu Lineage and considered making plans amid the unresolved succession.
• Li Yuanze and Princess Yaoyin praised Gu Chenfeng’s literary talent, and Yaoyin began telling Emperor Xuan what had happened at the Golden Kylin Gathering.

Gu Yanshuang took Gu Chenfeng and Ding Si to the Hidden Dragon Mountains to punish the Four Directions Gate for joining the ambush against Gu Chenfeng. She slaughtered the disciples blocking their way and continued toward the summit as more fighters charged down.

• Gu Yanshuang told Gu Chenfeng that the Four Directions Gate had been identified as one group behind the ambush and explained that her guards had sealed off its mountain.
• Gu Yanshuang led Gu Chenfeng and Ding Si up the mountain alone, ordering the sect to surrender and telling Gu Chenfeng to study her Six Harmonies Great Spear technique.
• When the Four Directions Gate disciples mocked her and refused to surrender, Gu Yanshuang attacked and killed the dozens blocking the path.
• More Four Directions Gate disciples charged down from farther up the mountain, and Gu Yanshuang advanced to meet them while Gu Chenfeng watched and Ding Si protected him.

Gu Yanshuang led Gu Chenfeng and their companion up the mountain, defeating the Four Directions Gate’s forces and demanding answers from its master, Yan Sihai. After Yan Sihai refused to let them search the headquarters, Gu Yanshuang defeated him and forced him to offer information from his knees.

• Gu Yanshuang fought her way toward the summit while Gu Chenfeng watched her spear techniques, and she burned away the Four Directions Gate’s poisonous attacks with her fire Source Qi.
• Gu Yanshuang reached the Four Directions Gate headquarters with Gu Chenfeng and their companion, then demanded that Yan Sihai come out or see his sect destroyed.
• Yan Sihai recognized the pressure of Gu Yanshuang and the two figures behind her, apologized for his men, and tried to settle the matter peacefully.
• Gu Yanshuang demanded to know why Yan Sihai had sent a group out the previous day and ordered him to open the gates for a search.
• Yan Sihai refused, so Gu Yanshuang struck him down with Tiger Roars Through the Forest and held her spear to his throat.
• Yan Sihai mistook Gu Yanshuang for a Source Core Realm expert and begged to spare his life, promising to tell her everything.

Gu Yanshuang and Gu Chenfeng questioned Yan Sihai, who revealed that a mysterious young man had hired the Four Directions Gate to intercept Gu Chenfeng. Gu Chenfeng spared Yan Sihai and took the Four Directions Gate under his command, leaving Yan Sihai to swallow a pill whose purpose was not yet explained.

• Gu Yanshuang confronted Yan Sihai over the attempt to abduct Gu Chenfeng, and Yan Sihai begged for forgiveness.
• Yan Sihai explained that a noble young man had paid him to intercept and intimidate a wealthy young man from the Imperial Capital.
• Gu Yanshuang and Gu Chenfeng deduced that the Huangfu Lineage had used the Four Directions Gate as a scapegoat while planning to abduct Gu Chenfeng and seize the source crystal mine deed.
• Yan Sihai realized he had been framed and pleaded with Gu Chenfeng to spare his wife and daughter.
• Gu Chenfeng offered Yan Sihai a chance to live if he served him, and Yan Sihai agreed to put the Four Directions Gate under his command.
• Gu Chenfeng gave Yan Sihai a pill, which Yan Sihai accepted and swallowed.

Gu Chenfeng inspected the Four Directions Gate’s treasury after taking the sect under his command, but found little of value until he sensed something unusual in a battered, broken-handled battle-axe. After examining it with his spiritual power, he took the axe with him, apparently discovering something intriguing about it.

• Gu Chenfeng explained to Gu Yanshuang that he had taken over the Four Directions Gate to build a useful force and secure resources and intelligence without drawing attention to the Gu Lineage.
• Gu Yanshuang asked how he would keep Yan Sihai loyal, and Gu Chenfeng said he planned to give him a controllable poison disguised as an antidote.
• Gu Chenfeng rejected the Four Directions Gate’s low-grade treasures and told Yan Sihai to keep its Source Crystals and work hard for future rewards.
• Gu Chenfeng sensed an energy fluctuation near the storehouse entrance and uncovered a heavy, broken-handled axe Yan Sihai had found in Great Wilderness Ridge.
• Gu Chenfeng lifted the axe easily, and Gu Yanshuang identified it as a likely high-grade Source Weapon whose internal restrictions had been destroyed.
• Gu Chenfeng examined the axe with his spiritual power, froze briefly, then said he would take it back to study.

On the journey back to the Imperial Capital, Gu Yanshuang explained the Huangfu Lineage’s financial weakness and planned attacks on its income, while Gu Chenfeng considered how he could help. After receiving imperial honors, Gu Chenfeng deciphered the markings on the battle axe and discovered a martial technique.

• Gu Chenfeng and Gu Yanshuang discussed striking the Huangfu Lineage’s vulnerable finances, and Gu Yanshuang identified its three main sources of income: lending and gambling, the Exquisite Pavilion, and a hunting party in Great Wilderness Ridge.
• Gu Yanshuang planned to purge the Huangfu Lineage’s lending and gambling businesses, while her people searched for the hunting party’s traces.
• At the Prime Minister’s Residence, the siblings received an imperial decree promoting Gu Yanshuang to Chief Commander of the Tiger Guard and appointing Gu Chenfeng Assistant Director of Music, with a baronial title and rewards.
• Gu Yanshuang questioned Gu Chenfeng about the poem “Man Jiang Hong,” and he swore he had not been its original author.
• Gu Chenfeng studied the battle axe’s markings with his mental power and pieced them together into the martial technique Seven Mountain-Splitting Forms.

Gu Chenfeng discovered that the battle-axe held an incomplete mystic-grade technique and used the Enlightenment Platform to deduce its missing portion. In the imperial palace, Emperor Xuan discussed Gu Chenfeng’s growing abilities and the Gu Lineage’s power with the Imperial Preceptor, whose reassurances eased his doubts.

• Gu Chenfeng uncovered the Seven Mountain-Splitting Forms on the battle-axe and realized most of its haft, and part of the technique, was missing.
• Gu Chenfeng entered the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins and used the Enlightenment Platform to begin deducing the missing forms, replenishing his mental power with Spirit-Nourishing Pills.
• Emperor Xuan told the Imperial Preceptor that Gu Chenfeng had revealed literary talent and killed Source Qi Realm attackers, surprising him with his apparent cultivation.
• Emperor Xuan admitted he trusted the Gu Lineage but worried about its military power and whether Gu Chenfeng might become ambitious.
• The Imperial Preceptor argued that Gu Chenfeng and the weakened Gu Lineage posed no lasting threat, and Emperor Xuan said the explanation put his heart at ease.

After Gu Chenfeng’s triumph at the Golden Kylin Gathering restored the Gu family’s reputation, he delivered new pills to the Myriad Treasures House and learned how the Exquisite Pavilion was undermining it. He revealed supreme-quality pills to Liu Fuyan, leaving her hopeful that the Myriad Treasures House could regain the advantage.

• The Golden Kylin Gathering’s stories spread through Great Li, clearing Gu Lingxiao’s name and turning public opinion against Zhong Yanqi, Imperial Uncle Xiao, and Zhang You.
• Disguised as Ge Hong, Gu Chenfeng delivered high-quality Spirit-Nourishing and Body-Tempering Pills to Liu Fuyan at the Myriad Treasures House.
• Liu Fuyan explained that the Exquisite Pavilion had poached the Myriad Treasures House’s chief Alchemist, undercut its Essence Pills, introduced mental-energy pills, and spread rumors about its staffing.
• Gu Chenfeng warned that the Myriad Treasures House could keep losing customers if the Exquisite Pavilion matched its new pills and relied on its third-grade Alchemist’s reputation.
• Gu Chenfeng presented Liu Fuyan with supreme-quality Essence Pills and Spirit-Nourishing Pills, and asked whether they could give the Myriad Treasures House the upper hand.

Liu Fuyan resolved to accept Ge Hong’s support as she fought to keep the Myriad Treasures House in the Imperial Capital, while Gu Chenfeng advanced his plans against the Huangfu Lineage. Su Wanyue told Gu Chenfeng she had tracked the man who injured her and intended to confront him alone.

• Liu Fuyan decided she would accept Ge Hong’s help and strengthen their connection so she could become the Myriad Treasures House’s head manager.
• Gu Chenfeng finished restoring the Seven Mountain-Cleaving Forms Axe Technique, mastered its first form, and judged that his cultivation limited his ability to practice the second.
• Gu Chenfeng supplied the Four Directions Gate with techniques and Gu Lineage guards, and ordered Yan Sihai’s hunting team to investigate the Huangfu Lineage’s secret hunters.
• Gu Chenfeng planned to cultivate further before inspecting the suspected Source Crystal vein at the family mine near Great Wilderness Ridge.
• Su Wanyue reunited with Gu Chenfeng, confirmed he was unharmed, and told him she had tracked the man who had injured her.
• Su Wanyue refused Gu Chenfeng’s offer of assistance and said she would confront the man herself, while he urged her to protect herself.

Huangfu Yun tried to strengthen the Exquisite Pavilion’s pill business after the Gu Lineage’s counterattack hurt Huangfu finances, but the Myriad Treasures House surprised him with supreme-quality pills. He ordered Alchemist Huang to outproduce his rival and secretly pushed forward a dangerous operation at Great Wilderness Ridge.

• Huangfu Yun questioned Steward Chen about the Exquisite Pavilion’s disappointing turnover, and Chen blamed the Myriad Treasures House’s new Alchemist for retaining customers.
• Huangfu Yun reflected on his failed schemes against Gu Chenfeng and the crackdown that had damaged the Huangfu Lineage’s gambling and lending businesses.
• A manager reported that the Myriad Treasures House had introduced supreme-quality Essence Pills and Spirit-Nourishing Pills, alarming Steward Chen and Alchemist Huang.
• Alchemist Huang promised to produce supreme-quality first-grade pills and superior second-grade pills to defeat the Myriad Treasures House, and Huangfu Yun offered him two maids.
• On his way home, Huangfu Yun told a man in night clothes to warn Black Dragon to avoid the Gu Lineage at Great Wilderness Ridge and accelerate the effort to break a restriction.

Gu Chenfeng left the Imperial Capital with Ding Si to inspect a supposedly collapsed mine and search for a Source Crystal Vein. As he scanned underground with his mental power, he discovered a tunnel entering the gorge from outside.

• The Gu Lineage and the Huangfu Lineage continued their struggle, while the Myriad Treasures House used Gu Chenfeng's exceptional second-grade pills to gain an advantage over the Exquisite Pavilion.
• Gu Chenfeng reached Source Qi Realm Seven-Star, advanced his martial arts and alchemy, and left the Imperial Capital in disguise with Ding Si to inspect the mine.
• On the way, Ding Si wondered how Gu Chenfeng had become so skilled despite appearing lazy, and suspected his visits to Lady Su might involve dual cultivation.
• At the mine, Gu Chenfeng found the guards lax and entered the valley with Ding Si to examine the rubble-covered site.
• Gu Chenfeng used his heightened perception to scan underground and discovered a passage that entered from outside the valley and sloped downward.

Gu Chenfeng and Ding Si discovered that thieves had tunneled into the Source Crystal Vein and entered the mine through a Concealment Formation. Inside, they found the black-clad intruders working to break a Crimson Light Barrier in pursuit of a rumored treasure, and the chapter ended as Gu Chenfeng and Ding Si burst into the cavern.

• Gu Chenfeng detected a concealed tunnel beneath his mineral vein and sent Ding Si to search the surrounding mountains with him.
• Ding Si found the tunnel entrance, and he and Gu Chenfeng descended toward the vein while tracking signs of recent intruders.
• Gu Chenfeng used his heightened mental power to penetrate the Concealment Formation at the tunnel's end.
• The black-clad thieves discussed their failure to abduct Gu Chenfeng, their order to break the formation within three months, and the rumored treasure beneath the vein.
• A command flag detected an enemy at the tunnel entrance, and Gu Chenfeng and Ding Si shattered the barrier and leaped into the mine cavern.