Chapter Summaries

Lü Bufan left Two Realms Village with Huang Jiu, using a bamboo tube of incense ash from Old Skeleton to pass safely through the deadly white mist and evade the Immortal Sect watchers. The mist swallowed several cultivators who tried to collect it, while the big black dog followed Lü Bufan and Huang Jiu’s trail after finding a cloth pouch.

• Lü Bufan trained under Mute and Du Yuan before setting out to see Lian'er, but Du Yuan made him carry a huge iron ball for more training.
• A young cultivator tried to draw the white mist into his spirit-tool gourd, causing the mist to surge and devour him and three other cultivators.
• Senior Brother Wang escaped with two survivors and ordered them to warn the other Immortal Sects without mentioning the gourd.
• Huang Jiu carried Lü Bufan through the white mist with a bamboo tube of incense ash from Old Skeleton, safely passing the Immortal Sect watchers.
• The big black dog followed their scent through the mist after picking up a dull-colored cloth pouch, and Old Skeleton remarked that it had learned to pick up rubbish.

Lü Bufan traveled toward Huqi Town with Big Black, while a crow’s disappearance alerted the eleventh city lord and stirred concern at the Taihua Sect. After learning that officials were enslaving families over unpaid taxes, Lü Bufan worried Liuzi might be in danger and decided to enter town that night.

• Huang Jiu saw Lü Bufan off with Big Black, then teleported away as Lü Bufan continued toward Huqi Town with the dog.
• Lü Bufan considered whether to tell Liuzi about Two Realms Village and decided to let Liuzi choose between staying in town and going there.
• Big Black’s sneeze made a watching crow vanish, injuring the eleventh city lord’s left eye from afar.
• A Taihua Sect elder reported the city lord’s injury and disturbances near Two-World Mountain to the Deputy Sect Master, who dismissed any connection and told him to focus on taxes and pill refining.
• Near Huqi Town, Lü Bufan shared roasted rabbit with three young beggars and learned that tax evaders’ families were being seized and sent to the mines.
• Lü Bufan suspected Liuzi was in trouble and decided to go into town that night to check on him.

Lü Bufan investigated Huqi Town and learned that its officials had imprisoned and abused residents, including Liuzi. He attacked the Tax Office, freed its prisoners in a fire, and ambushed Constable Ma, but their fight was still underway.

• Lü Bufan questioned a little beggar about Liuzi and learned that fugitives were held in a cave prison north of town.
• Lü Bufan gave the little beggar silver, then armed himself with a short sword and went to investigate the Tax Office prison.
• Lü Bufan overheard jailers describe the officials’ abuses and saw women imprisoned and brutalized, including the pastry shop owner’s wife.
• A fire broke out at the Tax Office, and a runner told Constable Ma that Tax Clerk Zhao had been killed, the silver vault opened, and the prison burned.
• Lü Bufan, disguised as an injured tax runner, attacked Constable Ma and struck his shoulder with the short sword.

Lü Bufan freed the prisoners at Huqi Town by killing Constable Ma, then searched for Little Liuzi and learned he had entered Old Dragon Gully. After recovering with Big Black’s help, Lü Bufan gathered supplies and urged a little beggar and her companions to flee south as government forces were expected to arrive.

• Prisoners and townspeople killed several Tax Inspectorate officials and fled, while Lü Bufan defeated Constable Ma and opened the mountain prison.
• Lü Bufan learned that Little Liuzi had gone into Old Dragon Gully with two other young men and sent the freed prisoners toward Little Cold Spring Mountain.
• Big Black appeared and helped ease Lü Bufan’s injuries, then followed him into Huqi Town as he bought food and heard more about the town’s abuses.
• Lü Bufan left town with supplies, and the little beggar arrived with two companions at his mountain camp.
• Lü Bufan warned the little beggar and her companions to flee south, and she recognized him as the hero who had killed the bailiffs.

Lü Bufan entered Old Dragon Gully to search for his missing friend, only to encounter a girl who explained that the valley’s refugees had been taken away. He learned they had gone to Western Liang, though he still did not know whether his friend was among them.

• Feng Ling'er thanked Lü Bufan for avenging her parents and left with the two children; Huang Jiu promised to protect them and find them a place to settle and learn martial arts.
• After resting and treating his injuries, Lü Bufan took Big Black toward Old Dragon Gully, a valley feared for its disappearances and ghosts.
• Lü Bufan entered the misty gully while Big Black wandered ahead, and a black bear collapsed in fright after sniffing the dog’s urine on the warning stele.
• Lü Bufan fled from illusory ghosts and collided with a little girl, who said she was the only person living in the gully.
• The girl told Lü Bufan that someone had taken the people who sought refuge in the valley to Western Liang, but she did not know whether his friend was among them.

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.