Recaps

Lü Bufan and Simen Baihua searched a cavern for valuable Folded-Ear Mushrooms, where a purple-robed Immortal Herb Sect woman attacked them. Big Black emerged after eating the Folded-Ear Mushroom King, and its intoxicating fumes left everyone unconscious as Lü Bufan struck the woman down.

• Lü Bufan learned that Simen Baihua had come to Old Dragon Gully to find a snake-luring mushroom and that the Immortal Herb Sect had taken three villagers away.
• Lü Bufan and Simen Baihua entered a cavern, found dead beasts and Folded-Ear Mushrooms, and began collecting the valuable growths.
• A purple-robed Immortal Herb Sect woman confronted Simen Baihua, attacked Lü Bufan, and threatened to kill them both.
• Big Black burst through the cavern floor with Little Crayfish, and the woman recognized that Big Black had eaten the Folded-Ear Mushroom King.
• Big Black's breath intoxicated everyone in the cavern, but Lü Bufan briefly recovered and knocked the woman unconscious with his Flying Sword Technique before passing out.

Lü Bufan freed the purple-robed woman after learning Liuzi might become her senior sister’s disciple, while the little girl gave the woman a harmless pill and threatened her with a false poison. Big Black kept eating valuable Folded-Ear Mushroom Kings, and Lü Bufan explored the cavern for anything else worth saving.

• Lü Bufan learned that Liuzi had gone to Western Liang with the Immortal Herb Sect and might be taken as a disciple by the purple-robed woman’s senior sister.
• Lü Bufan agreed to release the purple-robed woman after she promised to look after Liuzi and keep quiet about their encounter.
• The little girl made the purple-robed woman swallow a harmless Soul-Nourishing Pill, then threatened her with a fake three-month deadline for an antidote before letting her go.
• The little girl and Lü Bufan watched Big Black eat another Folded-Ear Mushroom King and marvelled at his resistance to its hallucinogenic effects.
• Lü Bufan discovered the mushrooms were worth more than ten thousand spirit stones each and climbed into the cavern to search for other treasures.
• Lü Bufan found the mushrooms’ empty growing platform and continued deeper into the glowing cavern, hoping to find something valuable.

Huang Jiu met a black-robed man who offered rare materials and warned him that Old Skeleton’s life was at stake. Meanwhile, Lü Bufan explored a magma cavern, found an iron chain with a skeleton’s help, and left just before Big Black appeared and swallowed the skeleton’s soul fire.

• Huang Jiu infiltrated a spirit iron mine, where a black-robed man revealed rare materials and said their meeting concerned Old Skeleton’s life and death.
• Huang Jiu took the materials and warned the man not to endanger the child Big Black liked.
• Lü Bufan found a magma lake and collected several scorching red stones, then spoke with a skeleton embedded in the cavern wall.
• The skeleton shattered a stalactite with one of its teeth, freeing a heavy iron chain that Lü Bufan wrapped around his waist.
• After Lü Bufan left, Big Black appeared and swallowed the skeleton’s faint spark of soul fire.

Lü Bufan discovered that the lumps he had collected from the cavern were divine beast sariras, which Simen Baihua recognized as powerful treasures needed by her father’s demonic beasts. He gave them to the Southern Garden Marquis Estate in exchange for gifts and help for Liuzi, then watched Simen Baihua return to Western Liang with Huo Shanbei, who warned her that Big Black’s power made Lü Bufan dangerous to approach.

• After the cavern entrance collapsed, Lü Bufan showed Simen Baihua the lumps from his bamboo tube, and she identified them as rare divine beast sariras.
• Simen Baihua offered Lü Bufan wealth, status, and help from her father in exchange for the sariras, but Lü Bufan asked her family to look after Liuzi instead.
• Simen Baihua gave Lü Bufan a Mustard-Seed Object and an earring as a token, and Huo Shanbei arrived with additional spirit stones for the Southern Garden Marquis Estate.
• Huo Shanbei took Simen Baihua away from Old Dragon Gully, and Lü Bufan let them leave with the sariras.
• After they landed far away, Huo Shanbei warned Simen Baihua that Lü Bufan and Big Black might be immensely powerful and urged her not to invite trouble.

Huang Jiu set out alone for the Jinhu Immortal Abode to recover Shameless's Dustless Sword, while Lü Bufan returned toward Two Realms Village and discovered refugees being forced into mines. Outraged by their treatment, Lü Bufan entered the Taihua Immortal Sect's mining grounds to sabotage a mine, where guards were arranging to abuse captive women.

• Huang Jiu received a message from his former student luring him toward the Jinhu Immortal Abode with the promise of starstone from Shameless's Dustless Sword, and Master Ming realized it was a trap.
• Huang Jiu sent Lü Bufan home with Big Black and then headed alone toward the Jinhu Immortal Abode, planning to take advantage of the sect's investiture ceremony in five days.
• Lü Bufan saw government officers and militiamen drive refugees toward the mines, and he asked Big Black whether it would save him if he went to burn them.
• Lü Bufan followed the refugees' tracks to the restricted mining grounds controlled by the Taihua Immortal Sect and Guangling Commandery, then slipped inside to attack a lightly guarded mine.
• Squad Leader Qian accepted liquor from a militia corporal and permitted him to take two captive women to a guardhouse, warning him not to torment anyone to death.

Lü Bufan and a masked woman attacked the mine camp to stop its men from abusing a captive, but Squad Leader Qian’s fierce resistance brought the woman’s allies into the fight. After the masked group took control of the situation, Lü Bufan left without revealing his background.

• Lü Bufan watched the guards and militia abuse a woman, then attacked the guardhouse and killed several men with his Short Sword.
• The black-clad woman fought Squad Leader Qian, but he gained the advantage and tried to flee through a wooden wall.
• Lü Bufan ambushed Squad Leader Qian from behind, wounding him, but the two men continued fighting as Squad Leader Qian fought desperately.
• The black-clad woman charged back into the fight, and Second Senior Brother joined her, killing Squad Leader Qian while stopping Lü Bufan from striking.
• Two masked old men arrived and reprimanded the woman for acting against orders; Lü Bufan explained why he had intervened and then departed into the night.

Dong Jun tried to conceal his sect’s crimes while Lü Bufan escaped his probing with a stolen court saber. After witnessing the refugees’ suffering, Lü Bufan reunited with Master Ming and Han Wu, who tasked him with leading the survivors northwest and gave him a Daoist Scripture to begin cultivating.

• The Grand Elder ordered Dong Jun to investigate Lü Bufan and redirect blame, while forbidding him to harm innocent commoners.
• Dong Jun offered Lü Bufan a cold-iron saber and questioned him about his sect, but Lü Bufan claimed to be a rogue cultivator and left; he later hid the saber in a hollow tree.
• Dong Jun’s disciples distributed supplies to the refugees and claimed they were heroes from Two-World Mountain, while the black-clad group secretly carried away valuables.
• Lü Bufan watched a refugee woman kill herself after her husband rejected her, and concluded that the supposed rescuers had never planned to take the commoners with them.
• Master Ming and Han Wu arrived and explained that they would secretly follow Huang Jiu to Great Jin’s Capital City, leaving Lü Bufan to guide the refugees toward Western Liang.
• Master Ming gave Lü Bufan a Mustard-Seed Object pouch and a Daoist Scripture, then began teaching him to circulate true qi.

Lü Bufan left the commoners he had guided to Two-World Mountain and traveled into the fog with Big Black, while Master Ming and Han Wu boarded a Ghostway Gate ferry toward Jingting Mountain. Master Ming realized the Dustless Sword might still contain a wisp of Shameless's true spirit, as the immortal who had destroyed it indulged himself inside the restored Jinhu Immortal Abode.

• Lü Bufan distributed grain and copper coins to the commoners, left them with silver for their elders, and continued into the valley with Big Black.
• When fog rolled into the valley at midnight, Big Black trotted into it, and Lü Bufan followed.
• Master Ming used a talisman to convince the Ghostway Gate to ferry him and Han Wu, though its steward ordered them isolated and planned to cast them off before their destination.
• Master Ming and Han Wu paid for a cramped third-class cabin and planned to hide on Mount Yuekong near the Capital City while preparing for Huang Jiu's attempt at the Jinhu Immortal Abode.
• Han Wu wondered whether Shameless had survived by hiding in the Dustless Sword, and Master Ming recognized that the sword might contain Shameless's remaining true spirit.
• Inside the restored Jinhu Immortal Abode, the Upper Realm immortal watched Liu Xian'er and a young girl dance while he held an exquisitely beautiful woman.

Guo'er came to Two Realms Village to ask Master Peach to let Meng Lian'er become Sect Master Hanxin's final disciple, and Meng Lian'er agreed to leave for Azurefall Lake. Guo'er planned to return in three days, while Lü Bufan remained unaware of the decision and Du Yuan was left lamenting after Guo'er vanished.

• Du Yuan punished Lü Bufan for slacking by making him carry an iron ball around the village, while Old Skeleton worried over the unchanging shadow and Wordless Stele.
• Guo'er arrived through the midnight mist and asked Old Skeleton to let Meng Lian'er go to Azurefall Lake as Hanxin's disciple; he agreed on the condition that nobody force her.
• Guo'er told Granny Yu that the Transformation Pool would remain dry for at least a hundred years and gave her a spirit fruit to ease her suffering.
• Meng Lian'er chose to go with Guo'er, hoping to become strong enough to help her parents and aunt, and Guo'er said she would return in three days.
• Old Skeleton showed Guo'er the sleeping Lü Bufan, and she judged him inferior to the four disciples from the past.
• Du Yuan rushed to greet Guo'er and insisted he was still a proper man, but she disappeared into the mist, leaving him howling.

Lü Bufan and Meng Lian'er exchanged gifts before her departure for Azurefall Lake, while Master Ming and Han Wu were thrown off a Ghostway ferry and confronted by Master Ming’s former disciple. Back at Two Realms Village, Old Skeleton wondered about Lü Bufan’s nature as Big Black watched in silence.

• Du Yuan teased Lü Bufan about his feelings for Meng Lian'er, and Lü Bufan said he was content with his life and training.
• Meng Lian'er told Lü Bufan she was leaving for Azurefall Lake, gave him clothes, and accepted a jade bead from him.
• On a Ghostway Underground River ferry, Master Ming and Han Wu were unexpectedly put ashore in a cavern before reaching Jingting Mountain.
• Han Wu attacked a hooded figure he recognized, but Master Ming restrained him; the figure revealed himself as Master Ming’s former disciple and proposed a deal involving Huang Jiu and half of the Dustless Sword.
• Old Skeleton speculated that Lü Bufan might be a reincarnation of a powerful being, while Big Black silently dismissed his guesses.

Master Ming and Huang Jiu attacked the Jinhu Immortal Abode while Han Wu struck the Liu Clan on Mount Yuekong. The chapter ended with Han Wu preparing to test the Immortal’s Investiture Stele.

• Master Ming and Han Wu disguised themselves as travelers near the capital, where Master Ming revealed a scheme involving the Liu Clan, the Taihua Sect, and the Twelfth Guardian City.
• At the Taihua Sect, its sect master received the black-robed martial uncle who had attacked the sect’s mine, while the sect master’s disciple urged him to kill the visitor.
• Huang Jiu watched the immortal leave the Jinhu Immortal Abode, and a woman there struggled with the abuse and shame imposed on her and her family.
• Master Ming infiltrated Koi Lake and disrupted the Immortal Abode’s formation, allowing Huang Jiu to emerge from the water and join him.
• Han Wu defeated Liu cultivators and Immortal Armor Soldiers at the Liu Clan’s Investiture Stele on Mount Yuekong, then vowed to test its strength.

Sima Xiu let masked rebels pass through the Great Jin garrison at Mount Yuekong while a separate explosion drew away the court’s reinforcements. At Two-World Mountain, Bai Ye asked Big Black and Du Yuan to join his plan to kill Great Jin’s guardian immortal, revealing that he had arranged to suppress the formation protecting the immortal for three sticks of incense.

• Masked Martial Warriors attacked the Great Jin Talisman-Clad Army camp, and Sima Xiu ordered his troops to let them pass toward Mount Yuekong.
• An explosion struck Jinhu Immortal Abode, so Sima Xiu sent only thirty soldiers to cheer on the Liu cultivators from a distance.
• Bai Ye arrived at Two-World Mountain and urged Big Black to kill the immortal at Jinhu Immortal Abode and rescue Han Wu, Huang Jiu, and the others.
• Bai Ye argued with Old Skeleton over his betrayal of Two Realms Village and explained that he wanted to follow the needs of the moment rather than rebel outright.
• Du Yuan confronted Bai Ye, who proposed joining forces to destroy the Taihua Sect and Twelfth Guardian City and kill Great Jin’s guardian immortal.
• Bai Ye revealed that his agent in Twelfth Guardian City could suppress the Restraining Formation for three sticks of incense, giving Big Black time to strike at full strength.

The Wild Spirit Land, Bai Ye, and Two Realms Village agreed to join forces against the Taihua Sect and Great Jin, while Lü Bufan prepared for the coming battle and learned that Lian'er had been taken away. The chapter ended with Mute leaving for the sea and another villager setting out with a bundle and staff.

• Guo'er announced that the Wild Spirit Land would help relocate Two Realms Village, and Master Ming sent word for Master Peach and Du Yuan to follow Bai Ye’s plan.
• Lü Bufan asked Big Black to fight for Village Head Shameless’s revenge, and Big Black agreed to merge with his other body and sleep after the battle.
• Bai Ye revealed that rebels across the Southern Borderlands would raise their banners against the Taihua Sect and Great Jin at dusk.
• Guo'er offered to take Lü Bufan into the Wild Spirit Land, but he refused, saying he would visit Lian'er by his own ability.
• Mute gave Lü Bufan a Demon-Subduing Pestle and left toward the sea, while Lü Bufan packed for the coming battle and Two Realms Village’s relocation.
• Two masked women from Azurefall Lake carried Lian'er away, and a middle-aged villager emerged with a bundle and bamboo staff.

A hidden plan to kill the immortal took shape as Master Ming and Huang Jiu raided Jinhu Immortal Abode, while Han Wu damaged the Immortal Sect Investiture Stele on Mount Yuekong. The chapter ended with Jinhu Immortal Abode burning and the conspirators disappearing, as Han Wu rested beside the damaged stele.

• The middle-aged scholar revealed himself to be a ninth-realm cultivator, gave Lü Bufan books, and left Two Realms Village to travel to Western Liang.
• Master Ming told Huang Jiu that allies from the Wild Spirit Land and Southern Borderlands would disrupt the Guardian Cities and the Three-Origin Immortal-Severing Array so Big Black could attack the immortal.
• Master Ming and Huang Jiu killed the two immortal servants at Jinhu Immortal Abode, and Fu Yuhua chose to die in the burning tower after speaking with Master Ming.
• Master Ming emptied the immortal's treasury and examined the broken Dustless Sword, but found no clear trace of Shameless before he and Huang Jiu fled the Inner Court Attendants.
• Han Wu and a group of cultivators and Martial Warriors killed the guards at the Immortal Sect Investiture Stele, and Han Wu smashed a notch into it with his bare fist before the black-clad group vanished.

Bai Ye’s rebellion spread through Great Jin as a terrifying being from Two-World Mountain killed the Upper Realm immortal Yunxia, intensifying the chaos across the Southern Borderlands. After arguing with Master Ming, Bai Ye arranged to ferry forces toward Two-World Mountain, while Lü Bufan learned his limits and resolved to become a Sixth-Realm Martial Warrior so he could visit Lian'er.

• Masked figures attacked Taihua Sect holdings and Great Jin government offices as the Twelfth City Lord and Bai Ye left their cities for Two-World Mountain and failed to return.
• A colossal shadow from Two-World Mountain tore through Yunxia’s protective light, swallowed the immortal manifestation, and scattered its corpse.
• Rebels, rogue cultivators, and commoners attacked sect holdings and government offices as Great Jin’s Southern Borderlands erupted into war.
• Bai Ye told Master Ming that Huang Jiu and Han Wu had nearly reached Guangling Commandery, but Master Ming urged him to stop before more people died.
• Bai Ye arranged for forces to be ferried toward Two-World Mountain, while the Ghostway Gate’s representative warned that future dealings would require the Sect Master’s approval.
• Old Skeleton told Lü Bufan he could reach the Sixth Realm as a Martial Warrior, and Lü Bufan decided to visit Lian'er at Azurefall Lake.

Huang Jiu pursued the immortal’s glazed-body fragments and killed two cultivators who challenged him, while Great Jin’s emperor ordered forces to retake the southern commanderies and sought the Upper Realm’s forgiveness. In Two Realms Village, Old Skeleton questioned Lü Bufan about his wish to stay, and Lü insisted that he cared about his friends regardless of his own prospects.

• Huang Jiu abandoned the largest glazed-body fragment to attack two cultivators, then killed both after they invoked the Mysterious Womb Gate and called him a sword immortal.
• A black cloud struck and briefly broke the barrier above Two-World Mountain before it closed again.
• The emperor of Great Jin ordered armies to retake the southern commanderies and asked the Four Great Immortal Sects to surround Two-World Mountain, then planned to beg forgiveness at the Ascension Platform.
• Sima Xiu learned that Consort Jie had brought pills to visit the emperor and quietly left as her sedan chair approached.
• Lü Bufan asked Old Skeleton to bring their companions and Big Black back, but Old Skeleton refused and warned that Two-World Mountain would soon be sealed off.
• Old Skeleton asked why Lü wanted to remain in Two Realms Village, and Lü said he wanted to care for his master and still worried about Liuzi and Lian'er.

Big Black returned wounded from fighting an immortal, and he and Old Skeleton discussed why they were watching over Lü Bufan, whose pure origin spiritual energy might draw out a hidden figure. After the upheaval in southern Great Jin was suppressed, Old Skeleton encouraged Lü Bufan to keep cultivating the Daoist Scripture and revealed that the mask he had inherited contained the Wei Family's Martial Scripture.

• Big Black returned to the Land God Temple badly exhausted, and Old Skeleton used his origin spiritual energy to help him recover.
• Big Black revealed Immortal Yunxia's immortal crystal and explained that Lü Bufan possessed a rare pure origin, so he and Old Skeleton planned to watch over him without deliberately shaping his path.
• Old Skeleton decided that Lü Bufan should be sent away once Mingxin and the others returned, while they prevented the conflicts around Two Realms Village from involving him.
• Great Jin's court and the Immortal Sects crushed the southern upheaval, and the Eleventh Guardian City took over the Twelfth Guardian City's holdings with support from two northern Immortal Sects.
• Old Skeleton questioned Lü Bufan about his Daoist Scripture cultivation and urged him to seek its meaning rather than abandon it.
• Old Skeleton found the Wei Family's Martial Scripture inside Village Head Shameless's mask and told Lü Bufan to try both martial cultivation and the Daoist path.

Lü Bufan demonstrated an uncanny grasp of the Wei Family’s Wandering Swordsmanship, while Old Skeleton and Master Ming questioned the motives behind the Wei Clan’s destruction and the latest political upheaval. The chapter ended with Bai Ye meeting Taihua Sect and Liu Clan leaders as they anticipated a new Immortal Venerable’s arrival and considered how to use it.

• Old Skeleton tested Lü Bufan’s understanding of the Wandering Swordsmanship, and Lü Bufan used gang qi to strike a pebble with true qi, astonishing him.
• Old Skeleton suspected Wei Wuchen had left a sword seed in Lü Bufan and wondered whether Liu Xian'er knew why Mount Zhilin had destroyed the Wei Clan.
• Guo'er departed with more than ten Upper Third Realm cultivators from the Wild Spirit Land, while Master Ming recognized Bai Ye’s effort to blame the Wild Spirit Land for the Southern Borderlands’ troubles.
• Huang Jiu and Han Wu returned to Master Ming, who gave Huang Jiu the broken Dustless Sword and asked Old Skeleton to examine it and forge a weapon for Lü Bufan.
• Bai Ye met Xu Yi and the Liu Clan elder, who discussed their losses, demanded a ten-year tax and tribute waiver, and expected news of a new Immortal Venerable within three days.

Bai Ye gained temporary full authority over civil appointments and security across the Southern Borderlands and nearby commanderies, while recognizing that the region’s factions would continue scheming within shared limits. Lü Bufan climbed toward the Nameless Ice Cave to repair his damaged cultivation, and after dispersing his Acquired Gang Qi, he discovered a way to endure the mountain’s cold.

• Bai Ye and Xu Yi discussed the Liu Clan, the redistribution of ruined factions’ lands, and the Taihua Sect’s role in rebuilding the Southern Borderlands.
• Bai Ye revealed that the imperial court had entrusted the Eleventh Guardian City with full temporary authority over civil appointments, pacification, and garrison duties across several regions.
• Xu Yi left, and Bai Ye told his disciple that Xu Yi would likely join forces with Elder Liu against him before describing the line that powerful factions would unite to defend.
• Old Skeleton directed Lü Bufan to climb toward the Nameless Ice Cave to repair his damaged meridians and dantian, warning that his Martial Warrior and Qi Refiner cultivation methods were clashing.
• Lü Bufan dispersed his remaining Acquired Gang Qi in the freezing mountain cold and used innate true qi to protect his dantian while rebuilding Gang Qi through his meridians.
• After enduring six hours of cold, Lü Bufan found he could remain on the mountain and resolved to keep climbing.

Lü Bufan survived the snowy mountain climb while Du Yuan, Huang Jiu, and Master Ming restored Huang Jiu’s flying sword. Old Skeleton agreed to shelter the remnant souls of Wild Spirit Land cultivators as they prepared to fight the immortals, and Two Realms Village decided to follow the Land God Temple to Three-Autumn Valley.

• Lü Bufan used spiritual True Qi and Martial Warrior Gang Qi to survive the snow and continue climbing toward the Ice Cave.
• Du Yuan put Huang Jiu’s Sword Cord into the furnace to repair his flying sword, while Master Ming helped Huang Jiu endure the pain of reforging their bond.
• Guo'er asked Old Skeleton to move Two Realms Village to Three-Autumn Valley as the immortals prepared to move against Two-World Mountain, and Old Skeleton agreed to shelter the Wild Spirit Land cultivators’ remnant souls in his peach tree.
• Luo Wuya reunited with Master Ming and Du Yuan, joked about his unrequited love for Lu Hanxin, and learned that her tears showed she cared for him.
• Master Ming asked Old Skeleton about moving the village, then declared that Two Realms Village would follow the Land God Temple wherever it went.

Lü Bufan began cultivating Wandering Swordsmanship in an ice cave, while Old Skeleton and the villagers prepared for a battle they expected to lose. During meditation, Lü Bufan glimpsed a vision of Two Realms Village being devastated, but Old Skeleton sealed his consciousness and left him undisturbed.

• Lü Bufan entered the ice cave, took crystals, and began meditating on the Ice Platform to practice Wandering Swordsmanship.
• Old Skeleton sent a mote of green light to Lü Bufan, which settled on his Baihui Acupoint, then spoke with the big black dog about the boy.
• Master Ming asked Old Skeleton about Lü Bufan, and Old Skeleton refused to explain his arrangements before warning that a losing war was coming.
• Master Ming agreed to make arrangements for the coming battle, while Old Skeleton told him to bring Luo Wuya back alive.
• Luo Wuya, Du Yuan, and Han Wu drank together as Huang Jiu and Guo'er discussed the villagers' decision to fight the Immortals.
• Lü Bufan dreamed of a battle that destroyed much of the mountain range and seemed to wipe out Two Realms Village, but green light sealed his consciousness and he returned to deep meditation.

Zhong Huan and his disciples discovered Lü Bufan frozen in an ice cave while mining ice soul stone, then debated whether to take him in or hand him over to the Immortal Sect. Lü Bufan realized his cultivation had fallen and wondered what had happened to his master and village.

• Zhong Huan led Zhong Duo'er, Feng Hu, and Liu Zhi into an ice cave, where they found ice soul stone and began mining it.
• Zhong Duo'er spotted a figure inside a massive block of ice, and Zhong Huan broke the ice open to reveal Lü Bufan.
• Zhong Huan and Feng Hu questioned Lü Bufan, who said he had lived with Old Blind Man in a village northeast of the mountain.
• Liu Zhi urged Zhong Huan to hand Lü Bufan over to the Immortal Sect, but Zhong Huan suspected the boy had been trained by hidden cultivators and feared the sect would kill him.
• Zhong Duo'er argued that they should take Lü Bufan in, while Lü Bufan overheard their discussion and wondered why his cultivation had weakened and what had happened to his village.

Zhong Huan’s party left the mountains after reporting an ice soul stone vein to Taihua Sect Cultivators, who took control of the discovery and promised them a share. At a mountain temple, Lü Bufan chose to stay with Zhong Huan’s group for now and resolved to live on and cultivate while hoping his masters had survived.

• Zhong Huan bribed the checkpoint soldiers and a Taihua Sect Cultivator with ice soul stones and silver so his party could pass, then followed the Cultivator to report the vein.
• Taihua Sect Cultivators took over the vein’s discovery, gave Zhong Huan a token for future payments, and warned him that his family would suffer if his report proved false.
• Zhong Huan led his party away from the checkpoint and told Lü Bufan that the area around Two-World Mountain had been devastated and occupied by the Immortal Sect and court forces.
• Lü Bufan wondered whether his masters had escaped into the Wild Spirit Land and reflected on the martial and cultivation teachings they had left him.
• Zhong Huan invited Lü Bufan to stay near the commandery city with the Vigorous Martial Gate, and Lü Bufan thanked him and promised to keep living well without seeking trouble.
• Zhong Huan asked Lü Bufan to demonstrate his punches so he could assess his Second Realm cultivation.

Lü Bufan joined Zhong Huan’s Vigorous Martial Gate as an attendant and traveled with the group toward Guangling Commandery. Their route took them through the ruined Huqi Town, where Lü Bufan revisited the graves of people who had helped him and saw how thoroughly the town had been devastated.

• Zhong Huan tested Lü Bufan’s fist technique, while a hidden Immortal Sect cultivator watched them and then departed after their conversation eased suspicion.
• Zhong Huan introduced Lü Bufan to Zhong Duo'er, Feng Hu, and Liu Zhi, and told them to conceal what had happened to him in the Ice Cave.
• The group set off on horseback, and Lü Bufan learned to ride after the horses reacted fearfully to him.
• At Huqi Town, Lü Bufan stopped to pay respects at the graves of an old beggar and an elderly couple who had helped him.
• Lü Bufan saw that Huqi Town had been devastated by rioting cultivators and refugees, then reunited with Zhong Huan at an inn courtyard.
• Zhong Huan gave Lü Bufan his pay and extra silver, and told Zhong Duo'er to help him buy proper clothes.

Lü Bufan and Zhong Duo'er searched Huqi Town for clothes, then Lü Bufan confronted the town’s brutal aftermath when he found Sun Xiaoliu torturing the former madam of Spring Splendor House. After Lü Bufan secretly killed her to stop the abuse, Zhong Huan revealed he had followed him and accepted him as kindhearted, while warning him to conceal his abilities and stay cautious in the jianghu.

• Lü Bufan and Zhong Duo'er bought clothes at a pawnshop in Huqi Town, where Duo'er showed the shopkeeper an ice soul stone but Lü Bufan refused to sell it.
• Lü Bufan recognized the former madam of Spring Splendor House as she begged for food, but Sun Xiaoliu and another hooligan dragged her away to abuse her.
• Lü Bufan explained to Duo'er that Sun Xiaoliu sought revenge because the madam had once lured his wife into Spring Splendor House, where a constable violated her.
• Lü Bufan followed the hooligans to Sun Xiaoliu’s courtyard and killed the madam with a pebble as they tortured her.
• Lü Bufan questioned whether Sun Xiaoliu and others were shaped into evildoers by the world’s cruelty, while Zhong Huan disclosed that he had followed him.
• Zhong Huan reassured Lü Bufan that he trusted him, then advised him to hide his kindness and abilities to survive in the jianghu.