Chapter Summaries

Gu Cheng, Hu Bayi, Fatty, and Yingzi left the Soul-Nourishing Golden Coffin behind and prepared to seal the secret chamber. As they headed toward the Jin General's Tomb, Yingzi discovered that several dozen Mountain Monsters had left tracks nearby, and Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi went to investigate.

• Gu Cheng refused to take the Soul-Nourishing Golden Coffin and planned to collapse the chamber, while Hu Bayi agreed and Fatty reluctantly accepted their decision.
• Yingzi asked what had happened while she was unconscious, but Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi diverted the conversation by asking how to preserve fresh meat.
• The group found the large iron door open, then left without noticing it slam shut behind them as faint singing came from within.
• While the group discussed cooking the Black Flood Dragon Meat, Hu Bayi spotted unfamiliar tracks among the blood and footprints.
• Yingzi identified the tracks as belonging to at least several dozen Mountain Monsters, and Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi went to investigate while Fatty stayed with Yingzi.

Gu Cheng and his companions abandoned the Black Flood Dragon meat to the Steppe Giant Ground Sloths and returned to the village, where Gu Cheng tallied his treasures and planned to explore Empress Dowager Xiao's Tomb. A call from Gu Sihai summoned him back to Yanbei City for a Divine Artifact Special auction, and Gu Cheng asked Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang whether they would go with him.

• Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi found Steppe Giant Ground Sloths devouring the Black Flood Dragon in the Jin General's Tomb and decided they could not challenge the beasts.
• Hu Bayi explained what the creatures were, and Fatty Wang grew furious over losing the Black Flood Dragon meat and blood before Gu Cheng persuaded him to leave.
• Gu Cheng, Hu Bayi, Fatty Wang, and Yingzi returned through the cave to the forest, then reached the Village Stockade after nightfall.
• While bathing, Gu Cheng reviewed the treasures he had recovered and resolved to explore Empress Dowager Xiao's Tomb after resting.
• After waking the next afternoon, Gu Cheng learned from Gu Sihai that Yanbei City would host a Divine Artifact Special auction and asked Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang whether they would return with him.

Gu Cheng and his companions returned to Yanbei City with antiques from the village, bringing Yingzi along to see the city. At home, Gu Cheng offered his parents five Golden Cup Longevity Fruits to help them cultivate, then hinted that he had brought back more and followed Gu Sihai to the study.

• Gu Cheng, Hu Bayi, Fatty Wang, and Yingzi left the village for Yanbei City after agreeing to prepare for another expedition and bring supplies back to the villagers.
• Gu Cheng and his companions delivered the antiques to the Treasure-Hiding Studio warehouse, and Gu Cheng arranged for Yingzi to spend a few days with Fatty Wang before going home.
• Gu Cheng reunited with his parents, and Zhou Xiumei noticed that his skin looked fairer and smoother after his cultivation improved.
• Gu Cheng showed Gu Sihai and Zhou Xiumei five Golden Cup Longevity Fruits and urged them to eat the fruits to advance their Fetal Breathing Method.
• Gu Sihai took Gu Cheng to the study after Gu Cheng hinted that he had brought home more treasures.

Gu Cheng showed Gu Sihai and Zhou Xiumei the Black Flood Dragon Heart, which could extend their lives, and helped them prepare to benefit from it. He then told Gu Sihai about his dangerous journey, leaving his father shocked by how much Gu Cheng had survived.

• Gu Cheng revealed that the bloodied heart in his wooden box belonged to a Black Flood Dragon Serpent and could extend their lives by decades.
• Gu Cheng warned Gu Sihai and Zhou Xiumei that the heart had begun to smell and advised them to raise their Fetal Breathing Method to the third level before eating it.
• Gu Sihai ate two Longevity Fruits and Zhou Xiumei ate three, bringing both to the third level and cleansing their bodies.
• Gu Cheng told Gu Sihai that his appearance would change and that they should invent explanations to avoid suspicion.
• Gu Sihai asked Gu Cheng to recount his trip, and Gu Cheng described the dangers he faced, including a Black Flood Dragon, a mysterious Military Base, and three reanimated corpses.
• Gu Sihai was shaken by Gu Cheng's account and marveled that his son had survived so many dangers.

Gu Cheng learned about the Crescent Hotel auction and cultivated with a Black Flood Dragon Core, advancing his Fetal Breathing Method to the fourth layer. Meanwhile, Old Chen visited Big Gold Tooth in Panjiayuan and introduced him to Shirley, a reporter recently returned from the United States.

• Gu Sihai told Gu Cheng that the Crescent Hotel was hosting a Divine Artifact auction and gave him 400 million in family funds, warning him not to light the sky lantern.
• After a therapeutic feast, Gu Cheng spent the night unable to sleep because of swelling and cultivated with the Black Flood Dragon Core, reaching the fourth layer of the Fetal Breathing Method by dawn.
• Gu Cheng saw his parents acting unusually affectionate at breakfast and left without eating.
• Big Gold Tooth tried to sell a blue-and-white porcelain vase to two foreigners, but they declined his offer.
• Old Chen visited Big Gold Tooth and introduced Shirley, a reporter who had just returned from the United States.

Old Chen and Shirley Yang questioned Big Gold Tooth about the Gold-Seeking Commandants and offered him money for information. When a photograph of an eye-like design jogged his memory of a jade pendant, Big Gold Tooth realized he could bargain with them.

• Shirley Yang introduced herself to Big Gold Tooth, who questioned why she used a foreign name.
• Old Chen asked Big Gold Tooth whether he knew the Gold-Seeking Commandants’ art of Gold-Fixing and Acupoint-Determining, but Big Gold Tooth denied knowing anything.
• Shirley Yang offered Big Gold Tooth ten thousand US dollars for a solid lead and accidentally included a photograph of a strange design among the bills.
• Big Gold Tooth recognized the design as something he had seen recently and remembered it from a piece of jade.
• Big Gold Tooth noticed Old Chen and Shirley Yang watching him intently, then leaned back and concealed his reaction.

Big Gold Tooth told Old Chen and Shirley Yang that Young Master Gu of the Treasure-Hiding Studio had bought a jade pendant marked with the eye pattern they were investigating. Gu Cheng then prepared Yingzi, Hu Bayi, and Fatty Wang to join him at an auction at the Crescent Hotel.

• Big Gold Tooth demanded payment for information, and Shirley Yang transferred him two hundred thousand Dragon Yuan.
• Big Gold Tooth said a fatty from the Western Borderlands had owned the jade pendant, but Young Master Gu had bought it for a hundred thousand.
• Old Chen and Shirley Yang hurried off to find Young Master Gu after hearing where the jade had gone.
• Gu Cheng took Yingzi, Hu Bayi, and Fatty Wang shopping for outfits ahead of the Crescent Hotel auction.
• Yingzi emerged in a white dress and heels, and Gu Cheng complimented her while Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang joked that they looked like bodyguards.

Gu Cheng and his companions arrived at the Crescent Hotel, where the guest limit left Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang outside until Xie Yuchen agreed to help. After Gu Cheng promised to sell him a divine artifact, the group entered together and met Wu Xie and Huo Xiu Xiu.

• Gu Cheng showed his invitation at the Crescent Hotel, but the staff said it allowed only two guests, leaving Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang unable to enter.
• Xie Yuchen arrived with Wu Xie and Huo Xiu Xiu, and Gu Cheng asked him to get his companions past the guest limit.
• Gu Cheng promised to sell Xie Yuchen a divine artifact with a clearly identified function in three months, and Xie Yuchen agreed to help.
• Xie Yuchen introduced Huo Xiu Xiu and Wu Xie to Gu Cheng, and Gu Cheng introduced Hu Bayi and his companions.
• Wu Xie and the others warmed to Hu Bayi after learning he was a successor to the Gold-Seeking Commandants, and the group entered the hotel together.

Gu Cheng attended the Crescent Hotel’s Divine Artifact Special auction with Xie Yuchen, Wu Xie, Hu Bayi, Fatty Wang, and Yingzi. The first lot was a Buddha head that transmitted Buddhist teachings, and Gu Cheng left it to other bidders as the price climbed.

• Xie Yuchen invited Gu Cheng and the others to watch the auction from his second-floor private box, where Wu Xie and Hu Bayi eagerly discussed Gold-Seeking Commandants.
• The auctioneer opened with a bronze Buddha head rated two stars, explaining that people who recited Buddhist scriptures before it experienced visions.
• Gu Cheng asked Xie Yuchen about the artifact rating system, and Xie Yuchen explained the Crescent Hotel’s one-to-five-star scale and gave examples.
• Gu Cheng identified the Buddha head as a magical artifact that transmitted Buddhist Dharma through a Heavenly Dragon Illusion, but decided he had no interest in it.
• Bidders raised the Buddha head’s price above seventy million while Xie Yuchen explained that Buddhist artifacts did not interest him and that the previous owner had taken this one to Shaolin Temple and become a monk.

Gu Cheng watched the Crescent Hotel auction a magical Erudition Chair for 437 million and discovered that the supposedly unremarkable Lucky Coin was a supreme-grade artifact that enhanced luck. The chapter ended as he realized the coin’s true value.

• An old man bought the Buddha head for 134 million, and Gu Cheng wondered how much his own treasures would be worth.
• The Crescent Hotel presented the Erudition Chair, and Xie Yuchen explained its rating and bidding to Gu Cheng.
• Gu Cheng inspected the chair and learned it enhanced comprehension and memory, while Xie Yuchen bid 150 million.
• Guests fought over the Erudition Chair until its price reached 437 million, and Xie Yuchen stopped Fatty Wang from recording the auction.
• The Crescent Hotel introduced a gold coin with unknown effects, and Xie Yuchen explained why the hotel was selling it.
• Gu Cheng inspected the coin and discovered it was a supreme-grade magical artifact that enhanced luck.

Gu Cheng used his reputation to win a mysterious gold coin that secretly boosted luck, then identified the power of a guqin that Xie Yuchen bought for his master. The chapter ended with Gu Cheng realizing Xie Yuchen’s master was February Red.

• Gu Cheng bid twelve million for the gold coin, and a middle-aged man who recognized him drove the price up to twenty million.
• Gu Cheng outbid the middle-aged man with twenty-one million and won the gold coin, while concealing his excitement from Xie Yuchen and Wu Xie.
• Gu Cheng identified the fourth lot, the guqin Spring Thunder, as a low-grade magical artifact that could make its music linger and convey the player’s state of mind.
• Xie Yuchen bought Spring Thunder for 215 million as a gift for his master.
• Gu Cheng realized Xie Yuchen’s master was February Red.

Gu Cheng bought the Welcoming Pine and learned that the Matchmaker's Red Thread linked its wearers' thoughts, while the auction price soared beyond 440 million. Huo Xiu Xiu tried to persuade Xie Yuchen to buy the cords for her, but he refused.

• Gu Cheng won the Welcoming Pine for seventeen million after seeing its ability to attract one thousand customers per day.
• A collector bought the ancient sword for sixty million, while Gu Cheng passed on it.
• Wu Xie explained that the Matchmaker's Red Thread let its two wearers sense each other's feelings.
• Bidders drove the Matchmaker's Red Thread's price from ten million to 440 million, and Wu Xie stopped Huo Xiu Xiu from bidding more.
• Huo Xiu Xiu asked Xie Yuchen to buy the cords for her, but he repeatedly refused.

Gu Cheng discovered that the auction’s eighth lot, the Immortal-Brew Gourd, was a supreme-grade magical artifact and tried to find a way to afford it. He offered Xie Yuchen divine items as collateral, but the chapter ended before Xie Yuchen agreed to help.

• Xie Yuchen told Gu Cheng that he was saving his funds for the auction’s grand finale.
• Gu Cheng inspected the fist-sized gourd and learned it could store one hundred kinds of liquid and brew Hundred Immortals' Brew from one hundred kinds of alcoholic drink.
• Gu Cheng realized he had only three hundred and sixty million available and asked Xie Yuchen for a loan or help securing credit from the Crescent Hotel.
• Xie Yuchen refused to lend money and said the Child-Giving Guanyin statue alone would not persuade the Crescent Hotel to extend credit.
• Gu Cheng presented the Little Divine Edge and described its powers, prompting Xie Yuchen’s interest; Fatty Wang then spoke up about their powerful axe.

Fatty Wang described the giant serpent and supernatural creatures he and Gu Cheng had encountered, while Gu Cheng sought the Crescent Hotel’s permission to buy a water-storing gourd. Xie Yuchen offered to lend him money, and the two agreed to be friends.

• Fatty Wang told Xie Yuchen, Wu Xie, and Huo Xiu Xiu about the giant serpent, White-Haired Jiangshi, and Little Ghost Kings, but Hu Bayi stopped him from revealing more.
• Wu Xie tried to persuade Hu Bayi to share their tomb-robbing stories, while Xie Yuchen admired Gu Cheng’s Little Divine Edge.
• Gu Cheng learned that the Crescent Hotel’s Listening Servants had likely overheard his request and waited for the hotel to respond.
• Xie Yuchen questioned Gu Cheng’s eagerness to buy the gourd, then offered to lend him money if the hotel refused to extend credit.
• Gu Cheng accepted Xie Yuchen’s offer and agreed to call him a friend.

Gu Cheng bid aggressively for the Immortal-Brew Gourd, trading challenges with two elderly bidders as the price soared. He left the auction at one point six billion, still competing for the treasure.

• Huo Xiu Xiu urged Gu Cheng to light the sky lantern, but he refused.
• Gu Cheng raised the bid to eight hundred million, startling the auction hall.
• Old Xu and the old man with Wen Walnuts outbid Gu Cheng, pushing the price to one point five billion.
• Gu Cheng identified himself as willing to follow the other man's limit and bid one point six billion.

Gu Cheng won the Immortal-Brew Gourd for 1.6 billion and accepted the Crescent Hotel’s offer of interest-free credit in exchange for three conditions. The auction continued with a stack of paper money that could summon a deceased person’s soul.

• Gu Cheng won the Immortal-Brew Gourd after no one challenged his 1.6-billion bid.
• A woman representing the Crescent Hotel offered Gu Cheng interest-free credit if he met three conditions.
• Gu Cheng agreed to auction the Child-Giving Guanyin statue, give the Crescent Hotel first consideration for future treasures, and help it once if needed.
• Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang worried that Gu Cheng had overpaid, but he reassured them that he knew what he was doing.
• The auction’s ninth lot was paper money that could summon a deceased person’s soul while it burned.

Gu Cheng recognized the auction’s grand finale as a Visualization Secret Slip, but discovered it contained the Five-Animal Exercises rather than a powerful cultivation technique. Xie Yuchen warned him that outsiders called it a Cultivation-Transmitting Bamboo Slip, leaving Gu Cheng ashen after he revealed his unfamiliar terminology.

• Xu bought the Spirit Money for 430 million after a fierce bidding war.
• The tenth auction lot appeared, and Gu Cheng recognized the bamboo slips as a Visualization Secret Slip.
• Gu Cheng identified the slip’s ability as instantly teaching a technique, then used his innate ability to learn it contained the Five-Animal Exercises.
• Xie Yuchen explained that the Crescent Hotel had informed wealthy buyers about the auction lots in advance and said Visualization Secret Slips caused trouble wherever they appeared.
• Xie Yuchen told Gu Cheng that outsiders called the item a Cultivation-Transmitting Bamboo Slip and warned him not to use the name Visualization Secret Slip again.
• Gu Cheng’s face turned ashen as the private room fell silent.

Gu Cheng tried to hide his knowledge of the Cultivation-Transmitting Bamboo Slip while Xie Yuchen joined the fierce bidding for it. Xie Yuchen raised his offer to 2.6 billion, and Gu Cheng spotted Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang longing for the slip as an idea came to him.

• Gu Cheng played off his use of the name Visualization Secret Slip, while Xie Yuchen smiled as if he had seen through him.
• Xie Yuchen explained that a previous Cultivation-Transmitting Bamboo Slip had sold for 2.8 billion and that the Superman Family had needed to borrow money to pay for it.
• As the bidding reached 1.9 billion, Xie Yuchen offered 2.2 billion, but an old man surnamed Xu raised it to 2.3 billion and a middle-aged man bid 2.5 billion.
• Xie Yuchen said he had only a little over 2.7 billion left after buying an ancient guqin, declined Gu Cheng's offer to lend him money, and bid 2.6 billion.
• Gu Cheng noticed Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang longing for the slip and suddenly came up with an idea.