Chapter Summaries

Tang Wen visited Prefect Zhao Duan in Red River and learned that Zhao wanted to sell him a government weaving workshop, its land, and its slaves in exchange for help and merit points. The chapter ended with Tang asking for details about the offer.

• Tang Wen explained his plans to bring Feng Jiuxue into the Tang fold and suggested that Wan Hansong might become a future ally.
• Tang Wen, Feng Jiuxue, and Luo Yiwu traveled to Red River Prefecture, where Zhao Duan personally welcomed Tang because of his noble title.
• Zhao Duan described the burdens of wartime quotas and mentioned Tang's large donations and two hundred thousand merit points.
• Zhao Duan praised Tang's Western goods and proposed that he open a shop in Red River City.
• Zhao Duan offered Tang a government weaving workshop, its slaves, and land at a discount, with the purchase also earning him extra merit points; Tang asked for more details.

Tang Wen visited Red River City's Hundred-Leaf Workshop with Zhao Duan and Feng Jiuxue to consider taking it over, but he disputed Zhao Duan's four-million-tael asking price. The chapter ended with Tang Wen arguing that the government slaves were not worth a thousand taels apiece.

• Tang Wen asked Zhao Duan to bring the chief constable along, and Zhao Duan ordered Ding Qi to select constables to escort the party.
• Ding Qi explained that the Six Fan Gate's Red River Branch Hall was led by Tang Yao and monitored the Moving Wood Palace.
• Tang Wen and his companions toured the Hundred-Leaf Workshop, where Zhao Duan described its land, workers, and potential usefulness to Tang Wen.
• Zhao Duan asked four million taels for the workshop's land and workers, offering to convert the sale into merit points, while Feng Jiuxue urged him to ask for more.
• Tang Wen challenged the price, arguing that the women and men were not worth the amounts Zhao Duan claimed.

Tang Wen secured the Hundred-Leaf Workshop and the Red River Prefecture Horse Ranch in exchange for three million taels and forty-five thousand Merit Points, then questioned Constable Ding about the stolen grain shipment. Feng Jiuxue revealed her authority as a Six Fan Hall Hall Master and ordered Ding Qi to report what he knew about Liangzi Stronghold.

• Zhao Duan offered Tang Wen the Hundred-Leaf Workshop, the Horse Ranch, workers, and Merit Points, and Tang Wen settled on a price of three million taels with forty-five thousand Merit Points.
• Tang Wen told Mei Niansu to let a follower listen from outside the workshop but not approach.
• Tang Wen and Ding Qi discussed the robbery of grain provisions at Jiudao Liangzi Bend and concluded that moving the stolen grain likely required thousands of people.
• Feng Jiuxue rebuked Ding Qi for knowing so little about Liangzi Stronghold, then revealed her Command Token and authority as a Hall Master.
• Ding Qi denied collusion with the stronghold and described the delayed investigation, the rain-washed tracks, and the lack of evidence tying Liangzi Stronghold to the robbery.

Feng Jiuxue and Tang Wen planned to investigate the stolen government grain by infiltrating Liangzi Stronghold, with Tang Wen disguised as Li Mingkong. They recruited Li Hongqing to help, leaving him terrified by Feng Jiuxue’s threat and the Six Fan Gate’s command.

• Ding Qi told Feng Jiuxue that the investigation had stopped because the Moving Wood Palace was too powerful to challenge, but Feng Jiuxue ordered him to keep investigating in secret and summon Tang Yao.
• Tang Wen and Feng Jiuxue discussed her spirit stones and negotiated a protection fee for accompanying him to Liangzi Stronghold.
• Tang Wen explained that directly storming Liangzi Stronghold would be too dangerous, so he planned to infiltrate it disguised as the divine physician Li Mingkong.
• Tang Wen and Feng Jiuxue entered the Li Family residence and questioned Li Hongqing, who said Li Mingkong had been away for five years and could not be contacted.
• Feng Jiuxue told Li Hongqing that Tang Wen would impersonate Li Mingkong to investigate the stolen grain, then threatened him with the Six Fan Gate’s decree when he objected.

Tang Wen arranged to impersonate Li Mingkong to infiltrate Liangzi Stronghold, while Feng Jiuxue prepared disguises and recruited help. At a banquet in Red River City, Tang Wen showcased Western goods, sold nearly five hundred thousand taels’ worth, and paid Zhao Duan a commission.

• Tang Wen threatened Li Hongqing into cooperating, then used the Bone-Shrinking Skill to match Li Mingkong’s height as Feng Jiuxue planned masks and a cover involving Xiu'er, Tong Ding, and Zhang Xiaoru.
• Li Hongqing agreed to delay Liangzi Stronghold by saying Li Mingkong would return in a few days, giving Tang Wen time to prepare his impersonation.
• Zhao Duan hosted a banquet for Tang Wen, attended by Red River branch head Tang Yao, and introduced Tang Wen’s Hundred-Leaf Workshop plans to local merchants.
• Tang Wen presented Western drinks, cosmetics, weapons, and Bulletproof Vests, turning the banquet into a sales event that brought in 493,800 taels.
• Tang Wen gave Zhao Duan a five-percent commission of 25,000 taels and offered Tang Yao a commission for future customer referrals.

Tang Wen investigated the stolen grain with Feng Jiuxue, then rushed between worlds to exchange money and deliver bridge girders to Su Mei Island. After completing the bridges, he absorbed popularity with Gu Hanyan, leaving her alive but both of them changed by the dangerous cultivation.

• Tang Yao accepted gifts from Tang Wen, then told Feng Jiuxue that his men had failed to investigate the Moving Wood Palace and that Liangzi Stronghold had powerful experts.
• Feng Jiuxue ordered Tang Yao to covertly trace the stolen grain and cooperate with arriving Blood Slaughter Hall members in investigating the Moving Wood Palace.
• Tang Wen traveled to Water Blue Star, exchanged gold for silver, sold more gold, and returned with goods and prefabricated bridge girders.
• Tang Wen and Zhan Dongwen installed girders on the three bridges, and Tang Wen slept for two days after working without rest.
• When the popularity quota was met, Tang Wen guided popularity into Gu Hanyan as they cultivated, and both entered a dangerous frenzied state.
• Tang Wen woke hours later, found Gu Hanyan alive, and noticed that his popularity eye had become more penetrating.

Tang Wen advanced his cultivation and taught Gu Hanyan a new technique before returning to Red River City to receive a Human-Skin Mask from Feng Jiuxue. Disguised as Li Mingkong, he led Wen Jinyuan and Xiu'er into the Medicine Hall.

• Gu Hanyan revealed her true face, explained that her cultivation had risen to the Second-Grade Realm, and insisted she would take revenge herself.
• Tang Wen taught Gu Hanyan and Tang Hao the Flood Dragon Lure before riding back to Red River City.
• Tang Wen saw through Feng Jiuxue's disguise as Xiu'er, and she gave him a Human-Skin Mask made by Ghost Face.
• Feng Jiuxue attacked Tang Wen with palm strikes, but his lightness skill let him dodge every blow.
• Feng Jiuxue helped Wen Jinyuan put on a Human-Skin Mask, and Tang Wen led him and Xiu'er into the Medicine Hall in disguise.

Tang Wen treated patients, agreed to visit Liangzi Stronghold, and uncovered evidence that a group was secretly trying to ruin his business. He reached the mountain stronghold with Feng Jiuxue, suspecting it could be connected to the stolen grain, and warned her to stay cautious.

• Tang Wen treated dozens of patients at the Medicine Hall, then told them that Zhang Xiaoru would see patients while he studied medicine in seclusion.
• Zhu Zi Yun offered Tang Wen a thousand taels of gold and warned that Liangzi Stronghold could either help or trouble the Li Family; Tang Wen agreed to visit the stronghold the next morning.
• Mei Niansu showed Tang Wen footage of Hall Master Cao and Zhang Long discussing orders to cut off Tang Wen's income, and Tang Wen told Mei Niansu to begin moving into the Hundred-Leaf Workshop.
• Tang Wen traveled with Zhu Zi Yun toward Liangzi Stronghold, while Feng Jiuxue, disguised as maid Xiu'er, complained that she had to walk and demanded another Spirit Stone.
• Tang Wen and Feng Jiuxue reached the steep, heavily guarded stronghold and reasoned that the stolen grain was likely hidden elsewhere; Tang Wen warned Feng Jiuxue not to reveal her identity.

Tang Wen entered Liangzi Stronghold disguised as Divine Physician Li Mingkong to examine the gravely ill chief, Ma Yao. His Popularity Eye suggested that Sun Hongqing, Yang Xiao, and Song Shan might be plotting against Ma Yao, and he grew suspicious of the tonic prescribed for him.

• Sun Hongqing and Ye Xiangyin escorted Tang Wen to Ma Yao's residence after Ma Fei questioned whether he was really Divine Physician Li.
• Tang Wen noticed that Sun Hongqing and Yang Xiao seemed hostile toward Ma Yao, while Song Shan's Popularity Little Figure faced Sun Hongqing.
• Tang Wen learned that Ma Yao's second wife was Song Shan and suspected she and Sun Hongqing were having an affair.
• Tang Wen spotted a strange black-purple line running from Ma Yao's Popularity Little Figure through his dantian and out toward the begonias outside.
• Tang Wen questioned the medicine left by Ma Yao's bedside, noticed Sun Hongqing react nervously, and asked to see the prescription from Master Yun.

Tang Wen discovered that the stronghold chief was being poisoned by a reaction between his restorative medicine and begonia flowers, then uncovered evidence that Sun Hongqing and Apothecary Yun were conspiring to seize Liangzi Stronghold. The chapter left Tang Wen’s involvement under suspicion as the conspirators discussed the investigation into Linghai’s missing military provisions.

• Tang Wen suspected that Ma Yao had been poisoned and asked Feng Jiuxue to secretly collect begonia flowers and the restorative medicine while Wen Jinyuan arranged surveillance of Apothecary Yun.
• Tang Wen tested the restorative and begonia separately on puppies, then found that combining them caused increasing toxicity as the dose rose.
• Tang Wen explained that repeated exposure to the combined poison and begonia scent could gradually bring down even a martial expert, and asked Feng Jiuxue to secretly find out who planted the flowers.
• Wen Jinyuan brought Tang Wen drone footage showing Sun Hongqing meeting Apothecary Yun, who described their plan to weaken Ma Yao and let Sun take control of Liangzi Stronghold.
• Apothecary Yun told Sun Hongqing that Tang Wen’s presence might be connected to an eventual investigation into Linghai’s missing military provisions.

Tang Wen secretly questioned Ma Fei about the poisoning and the stolen provisions, learning that Apothecary Yun had arranged for Seven-Star Begonias and that Sun Hongqing was backed by the Moving Wood Palace. Ma Fei revealed Liangzi Stronghold’s hidden Little Vermilion Fruit, but Ma Yao suddenly cried out as the chapter ended.

• Apothecary Yun warned Sun Hongqing that Six Fan Gate might investigate the stolen provisions and that Ma Yao’s death would draw suspicion.
• Tang Wen and Feng Jiuxue drugged the sentries and others in Ma Yao’s room so Tang Wen could question Ma Fei in secret.
• Ma Fei explained that Apothecary Yun had persuaded Ma Yao to plant Seven-Star Begonias and that Ma Fei had once traveled to Yuezhou to obtain medicine from the Red Fortress.
• Tang Wen showed Ma Fei a recording implicating the Red Fortress in the grain theft, and Ma Fei begged him to protect his family and Liangzi Stronghold.
• Ma Fei revealed that Liangzi Stronghold possessed Little Vermilion Fruit, a natural source of spiritual energy, just as Ma Yao suddenly cried out from his bed.

Tang Wen used the Gu King to neutralize Ma Yao’s poison and secured his agreement to enter the Tang family’s service, while pretending to Song Shan that his treatment had failed. Song Shan and Sun Hongqing continued plotting to take over Liangzi Stronghold, unaware that Ma Yao had recovered.

• Tang Wen showed Ma Yao evidence of Sun Hongqing and Song Shan’s treachery, then offered to save the Ma family if they entered the Tang family’s service.
• Ma Yao agreed, and Tang Wen sent the Gu King into him to absorb the poison until the blackish-purple thread disappeared.
• Ma Yao revealed that a stone key to the hidden vermilion fruits was inside his stomach, so Tang Wen induced him to vomit it up and treated him with medicine.
• Tang Wen pretended that Ma Yao’s poison remained and told Song Shan to prepare concentrated tonic, while Ma Fei helped maintain the deception.
• Song Shan secretly met Sun Hongqing, and they discussed killing Ma Yao, taking control of the stronghold, and Sun Hongqing’s claimed Second Grade strength.

Tang Wen showed Feng Jiuxue video evidence linking Sun Hongqing and Song Shan to the grain-and-fodder investigation, and she agreed to seek support from the Six Fan Gate. The chapter ended with Tang Wen and Wen Jinyuan weighing whether Zhuang Qiyang would dare pursue the case against Moving Wood Palace and beyond.

• Tang Wen showed Feng Jiuxue an Image-Retaining Mirror recording of Sun Hongqing and Song Shan, startling her and revealing evidence relevant to the investigation.
• Tang Wen warned Feng Jiuxue that Sun Hongqing and Apothecary Yun were powerful and that more formidable figures might be behind the case.
• Feng Jiuxue said she would secretly contact Zhuang Qiyang, a Six Fan Division deputy commissioner and Core Elder, for help.
• Tang Wen explained that Zhuang Qiyang's involvement could give them the authority to challenge Moving Wood Palace, which Feng Jiuxue alone could not confront.
• Wen Jinyuan warned that Zhuang Qiyang might arrest only Sun Hongqing and end the case, preventing Tang Wen from tracing the investigation back to Ridge-Sea Academy.

Tang Wen and Wen Jinyuan discussed Moving Wood Palace and Ridge-Sea Academy’s hidden strength, then Tang Wen gave his newly appointed strategist a Void Bag and resources. Suspecting Moving Wood Palace sought the Little Vermilion Fruit, Tang Wen arranged to enter seclusion with Song Shan to treat Ma Fei’s father, leaving the story poised for their investigation.

• Wen Jinyuan warned Tang Wen that the Six Fan Gate would hesitate to confront a major sect, and they agreed to learn more about Ridge-Sea Academy when Zhuang Qiyang arrived.
• Tang Wen appointed Wen Jinyuan to advise him and gave him a High Grade Void Bag filled with Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills, urging him to reach Third-Rank Perfection within a month.
• Tang Wen and Wen Jinyuan suspected Moving Wood Palace was using Liangzi Stronghold both to target Tang Wen and to pursue the Little Vermilion Fruit, so they planned to visit it the next day.
• Tang Wen told Ma Fei that he would enter seclusion for about two days to force the Gu Worm out of his father.
• Song Shan insisted on staying to help, and Tang Wen agreed that she could join the preparations for the treatment.

Tang Wen brought Liangzi Stronghold’s leaders to its hidden Little Vermilion Fruit tree and used its rare Fruit Kings to help them cultivate. As they entered a profound state of cultivation, Tang Wen reached the First-Rank Realm.

• Tang Wen, Ma Yao, and the others descended into the cavern beneath Liangzi Stronghold and found the Little Vermilion Fruit tree.
• Ma Yao discovered a dozen Fruit Kings and pledged Liangzi Stronghold to Tang Wen, who accepted Ma Fei and Ma Yao as his followers.
• Tang Wen set up Spirit Gathering and Fusion Arrays, taught Wen Jinyuan, Ma Fei, and Ma Yao the Heavenly Wood Star-Pegasus Art, and gave each of them and Feng Jiuxue a Fruit King.
• Tang Wen and the others cultivated as the fruits’ spiritual energy surged through them, and Tang Wen entered a state of oneness with heaven.
• Feng Jiuxue felt a powerful pressure pin her down and began cultivating, while Tang Wen’s system reported that he had reached the First-Rank Realm.

Tang Wen’s Unity of Heaven and Man greatly strengthened those around him, though it consumed his Spirit Stones. After learning that Sun Hongqing was plotting against Ma Yao, Tang Wen prepared to wait for Zhuang Qiyang and investigate the conspirators’ plans.

• Tang Wen discovered that his intelligence had become outstanding and that Wen Jinyuan, Ma Yao, Ma Fei, and Feng Jiuxue had all advanced in cultivation after experiencing his Unity of Heaven and Man, while his Spirit Stones crumbled to dust.
• Ma Yao recognized Tang Wen’s achievement and credited him for everyone’s breakthroughs, while Feng Jiuxue boasted about reaching half-step second grade.
• Tang Wen ordered Ma Yao to prepare his trusted men, watch Sun Hongqing’s confidants, and locate the hidden provisions, but said they should wait for Zhuang Qiyang before acting.
• Tang Wen said he could transplant the Little Vermilion Fruit plant to Su Mei Island because his cave dwelling’s Spirit Gathering Array could sustain it.
• Wen Jinyuan returned with a USB flash drive, and Tang Wen watched footage of Sun Hongqing meeting Yang Xiao, Zhan Biao, Luo Li, and other confidants in a concealed cave.
• Sun Hongqing told the gathered men he intended to kill Ma Yao regardless of whether Ma Yao survived forcing out the worms, and Yang Xiao supported the plan to seize the Little Vermilion Fruit.

Tang Wen uncovered plans by Sun Hongqing and Apothecary Yun to kill Ma Yao and seize the Little Vermilion Fruits, while the two plotted to betray one another’s allies. With reinforcements arriving, Tang Wen organized arrests and challenged Deputy Commissioner Zhuang Qiyang to prove his chivalry; the chapter ended with Zhuang questioning whether Tang had the strength to back up his words.

• Sun Hongqing rallied Zhan Biao, Luo Li, and Yang Xiao to kill Ma Yao, seize the Little Vermilion Fruits, and later eliminate Ye Xiangyin’s group.
• Apothecary Yun told a masked purple figure that he planned to force Ma Yao to reveal the fruits’ location, while the figure ordered him to sever ties with Liangzi Stronghold afterward.
• Tang Wen showed Ma Yao the videos, and Ma Yao cursed the conspirators for endangering the stronghold.
• Feng Jiuxue reported that Deputy Commissioner Zhuang Qiyang had arrived with more than a dozen experts, and Tang Wen assigned teams to arrest Sun Hongqing’s allies and Apothecary Yun.
• Tang Wen and Zhuang Qiyang argued about the stolen military provisions, and Zhuang challenged Tang to show he had the ability to act on his chivalrous ideals.

Tang Wen helped Zhuang Qiyang capture Apothecary Yun and expose his role in the crimes at Liangzi Stronghold. After the interrogation revealed that the ninth elder, Ding Kui, was behind the threats against Yun Heng’s family, Zhuang Qiyang promised to spare the family if Yun Heng confessed.

• Tang Wen tricked Apothecary Yun into taking a knockout drug, allowing Zhuang Qiyang’s men to chain him up.
• Zhuang Qiyang interrogated Apothecary Yun, who admitted he had colluded with Sun Hongqing over the Little Vermilion Fruit and the government grain shipment.
• Feng Jiuxue reported Sun Hongqing’s confession, and Zhuang Qiyang ordered torture that forced Apothecary Yun to admit he had killed Ma Yao and supplied Sun Hongqing with information for the robbery.
• Tang Wen showed Zhuang Qiyang a recording of a purple-robed figure, prompting Zhuang Qiyang to order more torture.
• Apothecary Yun said the ninth elder had threatened his family, then identified the elder as Ding Kui after Zhuang Qiyang promised to spare his family.

Tang Wen and Zhuang Qiyang uncovered Moving Wood Palace's role in the grain robbery and learned that Ridge-Sea Academy had targeted Tang Wen's family. They recovered the hidden grain and arrived at Moving Wood Palace to confront its leaders, but the Palace Master was away.

• Tang Wen exposed Apothecary Yun's ties to Third Elder Sun Long, and Sun Hongqing confessed that he and Yang Xiao had drugged the soldiers and hidden the grain on Apothecary Yun's instructions.
• Tang Wen said Moving Wood Palace had targeted his brother-in-law Wang Binfeng because of Ridge-Sea Academy's plot against him and his family, and Zhuang Qiyang agreed to visit the sect.
• The group found nearly all the stolen grain hidden in a vine-covered cave beside the Red River, and Zhuang Qiyang secretly guarded it rather than move it.
• Tang Wen, Zhuang Qiyang, and their party reached Moving Wood Palace on Hidden Mountain, where more than a thousand martial artists assembled at the gates.
• Zhang Li told Zhuang Qiyang that the Palace Master was away and led him, Tang Wen, and Feng Jiuxue into the Main Hall to meet the Grand Elder.

Zhuang Qiyang confronted Moving Wood Palace over the government grain robbery and accused Ninth Elder Ding Kui of masterminding it. After the palace’s hidden expert forced the Six Fan Gate party to retreat, Tang Wen offered Zhuang Qiyang a Healing Pill in Red River City.

• Zhuang Qiyang asked to take Ding Kui to Six Fan Gate, then accused him of directing the robbery based on Yun Heng’s signed confession.
• Ding Kui denied the accusation, while Sun Long and other Moving Wood Palace members refused to let Zhuang Qiyang take him.
• He Junyi agreed to the transfer only if Ding Kui would not be tortured, but Sun Long continued to obstruct the arrest.
• Sun Long struck Tang Wen and Feng Jiuxue, and an unseen expert’s attack injured Zhuang Qiyang and ordered him to tell Qiao Tian to come personally.
• Zhuang Qiyang withdrew with Tang Wen and Feng Jiuxue, then collapsed after vomiting black blood in Red River City.
• Tang Wen offered Zhuang Qiyang a Healing Pill, and Feng Jiuxue urged him to take it because it came from the Western Lands.