Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye dismissed Old Xiangzi’s claims that a beggar had become immortal, then learned that someone had been killed near the ruined temple. He treated a badly wounded black cat and practiced the sword art taught by his disabled Grandpa Yue, while his own injury remained incurable.

• Old Xiangzi told Pei Ye that Big Ears had become an immortal after drinking Immortal Water, but Pei Ye dismissed his claims.
• Pei Ye went to Lu Youcai’s wine shop, where Lu warned him that someone had been killed outside the ruined temple east of town.
• Pei Ye returned home and treated the wounded black cat he had found by the stream.
• Pei Ye practiced swordsmanship under Grandpa Yue’s guidance, then wheeled him inside and prepared their meal and medicine.

After a black chi dragon intervened in Pei Ye’s dream and freed him from a mysterious divine favor, he woke in the rain beside two white-robed men. He fought off their deadly ambush and discovered that a blue symbol resembling the mark on Old Xiangzi’s forehead was burning in his reflection.

• Pei Ye dreamed that a black chi dragon rescued him from a monstrous bloody maw and told him to use the fruit [Quail Head] to counter Immortal Lord Spirit Summoning.
• Pei Ye woke in the rain beside two white-robed men carrying blue candle lamps and realized he had been sleepwalking.
• One of the men stabbed Pei Ye, but Pei Ye fought back, killed him, and then killed the second attacker.
• Pei Ye examined the strange blue flame reflected on the water and saw that it resembled the symbol on Old Xiangzi’s forehead.

Pei Ye escaped the men who had abducted him and went to seek help from Lin Lin, only to discover that Lin Lin and his daughter Lin Jue had vanished. He tracked them to a grove, found Lin Lin dead and evidence of several abductees, and the county officials began investigating the case.

• Pei Ye chose to seek help from Lin Lin and found his house empty, with Lin Lin and Lin Jue missing.
• Pei Ye followed their tracks north through the fields and across a river, then found Lin Lin's corpse in a grove.
• Pei Ye examined Lin Lin's wounds and realized that a powerful palm strike had badly injured him before a beast-like attacker killed him.
• Pei Ye found seven sets of boot prints, four bronze cups, and four torn, bloodstained garments, including Lin Jue's.
• Chang Zhiyuan, Feng Zhi, and Shen Yanping investigated the grove as constables searched for the culprit and the six victims.

Pei Ye and the county officials linked the killings to an ancient ritual in which a spirit claimed twelve victims over three days, while Pei Ye began to suspect his dream of a hornless dragon had freed him from the spirit’s attention. The officials prepared to protect the next seven potential victims, and Pei Ye returned home seeking medicine while wondering how to use the mysterious Quail Head.

• Feng Zhi found that the beast left no tracks between victims or after the killings, and Pei Ye noticed that Lin Lin’s long clothes remained untouched despite his body’s disappearance.
• Shen Yanping identified the forehead mark as a sign of the ancient Yu Feng ritual, which sacrificed one, four, and seven people over three days to feed a spirit.
• Shen Yanping proposed that Pei Ye’s connection to the ritual had been severed after he woke, and Pei Ye recalled the hornless dragon promising to free him from the divine favor.
• Pei Ye described his dream to the officials, who could not explain it, while he suggested the spirit might select victims based on martial talent.
• Chang Zhiyuan arranged to gather and protect possible victims at the county office, and Pei Ye left for home to fetch liquor and medicine.
• Pei Ye wondered whether he remained among the next seven victims and realized he needed to discover how to use the Quail Head against Immortal Lord Spirit Summoning.

Pei Ye found Old Xiangzi absent and learned from Grandpa Yue that the mark on his forehead belonged to the Torchworld Cult, while his question about Quail Head went unanswered. He prepared to stay at the county office and face the threat, where Shen Yanping explained that Commandant Jing was a grandmaster and Pei Ye began reflecting on what true martial arts meant.

• Pei Ye searched Old Xiangzi’s empty courtyard, found an Immortal Water cup and recent incense ash, and left without learning how Big Ears became an immortal.
• Pei Ye cut his forehead and confirmed the symbol remained branded in his flesh, then told Grandpa Yue about the mark and the Torchworld Cult.
• Grandpa Yue identified the symbol as belonging to the Torchworld Cult, warned Pei Ye not to underestimate it, and could not explain Quail Head.
• Pei Ye took his prize sword, removed Lin Jue’s tassel, gathered wine and medicine, and went to the county office.
• At the county office, Pei Ye offered to help defend against the murderer, and Shen Yanping explained that Commandant Jing had reached the grandmaster realm.
• Pei Ye recalled Grandpa Yue’s words about true martial arts as the chapter turned to the principles of cultivation.

Pei Ye accepted Shen Yanping’s offer to teach him martial arts and help him enter Little Cloud Mountain, while Feng Zhi and Chang Zhiyuan gathered potential targets to protect them from the killers. As Pei Ye kept watch with the rescued youths, Cheng Feng recognized him and Pei Ye tried to ease the children’s fear by asking about Master Huang’s stories.

• Feng Zhi offered Pei Ye a path to study under Shen Yanping, who agreed to train him for three years and later send him to Little Cloud Mountain.
• Chang Zhiyuan brought seven young people to the courtyard for protection, while Feng Zhi reported that a black-robed man had bought shoes matching prints at the trailhead.
• Chang Zhiyuan placed the youths in a room and asked Pei Ye to watch over them as Feng Zhi and Shen Yanping guarded the courtyard.
• Cheng Feng recognized Pei Ye from the Mid-Autumn Martial Gathering and asked about his injuries; Pei Ye learned that Cheng Feng had recently won his school’s competition.
• Pei Ye explained that hiding would not protect the youths from the killers’ ability to locate their targets, then asked them about Master Huang’s stories.

Pei Ye explained how Master Huang found new stories in the Court Gazettes, then searched the County Office for a book linked to his mysterious Quail Head without success. With the Soul Bird overdue and reinforcements uncertain, the County Office prepared to evacuate the boys, but a black-robed killer arrived and killed Feng Zhi.

• Pei Ye told the boys that Master Huang's new stories came from Court Gazettes kept at the County Office.
• Pei Ye fetched the August National Gazette and a Prefecture Gazette, then searched the clerks' office for the book he remembered but could not find it.
• Chang Zhiyuan told Pei Ye that the armed officers had taken positions and urged the boys to scatter on seven horses because the Soul Bird had not returned.
• Shen Yanping explained that the Soul Bird's delay left them unsure whether to flee or stay, and Chang Zhiyuan said the boys should not go home.
• A black-robed figure entered the courtyard and killed Feng Zhi with a blade.
• Shen Yanping swallowed his Thunder Pills as Chang Zhiyuan shouted for everyone to run, and Pei Ye fled toward the rear courtyard.

Pei Ye fled Fenghuai with Cheng Feng and the marked child Zhang Xiaoyan after Shen Yanping’s battle ended, but his injury flared and forced him to hide in a wheat stack. The black-robed killer caught up with Cheng Feng and beheaded him, leaving Pei Ye helpless and Zhang Xiaoyan in danger.

• Pei Ye and Cheng Feng rode out of town with two children, but a ghostly blue Fire Talisman appeared on Zhang Xiaoyan’s forehead, signaling that the selection had begun.
• Pei Ye ordered Cheng Feng to take the unmarked child to safety and set out with Zhang Xiaoyan, but his chest and abdominal injury flared and he collapsed in the fields.
• Cheng Feng hid Pei Ye inside a wheat stack, then returned for Zhang Xiaoyan and prepared to flee toward the mountains.
• The black-robed man emerged from the city gate, reached Cheng Feng, and beheaded him with a single stroke.

After Cheng Feng’s death, Pei Ye returned to the ruined county office, recovered the Little Flood Dragon Heart, and discovered that the Quail Head hand seal awakened an ability to perceive the world in extraordinary detail. He sensed the ritual beginning in the western outskirts and stood at the threshold between fleeing and confronting the enemy.

• Pei Ye carried Cheng Feng’s body to the county office and found Shen Yanping and many others dead amid the wreckage.
• Pei Ye read the letters explaining the Little Flood Dragon Heart, removed it from Shen Yanping’s body, and learned it could transform its user but had to be extracted within four hours.
• Pei Ye found The Illustrated Guide to Mountains and Seas on Shen Yanping and recognized the Quail Bird’s pose as the source of a hand seal.
• Pei Ye formed the hand seal and awakened [Quail Head], which let him perceive the world in slowed, precise detail and resist the ritual’s soul-stealing call.
• Pei Ye sensed the ritual in the west and considered escaping before deciding what to do next.

Pei Ye disrupted Wu Zaigu’s sacrificial ritual in the wine cellar and fought him despite Wu Zaigu’s superior strength and true qi. After being struck down, Pei Ye unleashed a sword technique that should have been beyond his reach, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Wu Zaigu brought the final sacrifices to the cellar and began the ritual to receive a sacred body, while the first boy drank the liquid from Dragon Tongue.
• Old Xiangzi entered asking for Immortal Water, but the white-robed man stabbed him and returned to the ritual.
• The boy turned out to be Pei Ye, who splashed the ritual liquid at Wu Zaigu and killed the white-robed man with a dagger.
• Wu Zaigu sent the remaining sacrifices away, then attacked Pei Ye with his saber and knocked him down despite Pei Ye’s enhanced abilities.
• Wu Zaigu lunged to finish Pei Ye, but Pei Ye struck upward with a sword, sweeping blood from the floor in a silver-dragon arc.

Pei Ye fought Wu Zaigu in the cellar, but Old Xiangzi transformed into a monster and briefly gave Pei Ye an opening before Wu Zaigu cut him down. Wu Zaigu then plunged the room into darkness, disarmed Pei Ye, and left him helpless at his mercy.

• Pei Ye and Wu Zaigu exchanged attacks, and Pei Ye grew closer to mastering the sword stroke that could pierce Wu Zaigu's throat.
• Old Xiangzi drank the Immortal Water, transformed into a scaled monster, and lunged at Wu Zaigu.
• Pei Ye and Old Xiangzi attacked Wu Zaigu together, but Wu Zaigu severed Old Xiangzi's body and the monster began regenerating as Old Xiangzi's human self disappeared.
• Wu Zaigu covered the blue flame with his robe to blind Pei Ye, who rushed toward the flame and thrust at Wu Zaigu in the darkness.
• Wu Zaigu made Pei Ye's sword clash with his saber, sent it flying, and left Pei Ye disarmed and helpless.

Pei Ye killed Wu Zaigu and the monster with the Dragon Tongue, which then consumed the Little Flood Dragon Heart and burrowed into his abdomen. He reached the house where his parents lay in coffins, while the story shifted to Mo Wu fleeing a dangerous beast in the Firewood-Cang Mountains.

• Pei Ye understood the Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword Form and struck Wu Zaigu with its first stroke, Clouded Sky Obscures Eyes, Lost Feathers.
• Pei Ye killed the wounded Wu Zaigu and used the Dragon Tongue to absorb the monster.
• The Dragon Tongue consumed the Little Flood Dragon Heart, bound Pei Ye, and crawled into his abdomen.
• Pei Ye found six unconscious people, then went to his family’s house and struck Wu Zaigu’s severed head against a coffin.
• Mo Wu fled through the Firewood-Cang Mountains as a storm approached, fearing the beast that could track his blood.

Mo Wu discovered that the beast had secretly followed him to the rope bridge, cut the bridge, and turned to face it, only to freeze when it revealed itself. Pei Ye recovered after using [Quail Head] and questioned Black Chi about its motives, ending with Black Chi challenging his suspicion that it had put the gourd inside him deliberately.

• Mo Wu recalled fleeing after the beast killed the hunters, then pushed on through the rain toward the rope bridge while trying to evade it.
• Mo Wu found the beast’s paw print behind him, realized it had tracked him all along, and raced to the bridge to cut it down.
• Mo Wu confronted the beast on the far side of the ruined bridge, but froze when it emerged from the forest.
• Pei Ye collapsed after his ordeal, and the gourd’s energy began healing his injuries as he fell asleep.
• Pei Ye awoke on Black Chi’s chi above a sea of clouds and learned that [Quail Head] would disappear after twenty-four hours but could be borrowed again.
• Pei Ye admitted he distrusted Black Chi and asked whether putting the gourd in his body had been Black Chi’s goal; Black Chi asked whether Pei Ye had not chosen revenge himself.

Pei Ye formed a life pact with Black Chi, learned that his dantian might need a new, stronger seed, and woke healed after the battle against the Torchworld Cult. After agreeing to compete in the Golden Autumn Martial Contest, he returned home to Grandpa Yue.

• Black Chi explained the [Shared Fate of Flourishing and Decline] pact, and Pei Ye agreed to form it with him.
• Pei Ye and Black Chi spoke their names, binding [Quail Head] to the chi silhouette in Pei Ye's dantian.
• Black Chi told Pei Ye that the Torchworld Cult might know where to find a stronger seed to grow in his altered dantian.
• Pei Ye woke at the County Office fully healed, learned the other six victims had survived, and heard that the Torchworld Cult case would go to the Prefectural Government.
• Chang Zhiyuan offered to recommend Pei Ye for the Golden Autumn Martial Contest, and Pei Ye accepted.
• Chang Zhiyuan returned Pei Ye's sword and gave him pears before bowing to him; Pei Ye went home and greeted Grandpa Yue.

Pei Ye learned the first form of the Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword from the old man, then met Ming Qitian, who praised the sword and asked about the Dantian Seed Immortal Method. After the black cat discussed their pact and left, Pei Ye went to Lin Lin and Lin Jue’s funeral, where he questioned Meng Jiao about his recent activities.

• Pei Ye demonstrated the first form of the Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword, and the old man explained its five sword intents.
• Pei Ye read about Yan Feiqing’s victory in the martial contest and practiced the sword form in his courtyard.
• Ming Qitian analyzed Pei Ye’s sword form, asked whether he knew of the Dantian Seed Immortal Method, and gave him a Sword Talisman.
• The black cat wondered whether it had made the pact with the wrong person, then told Pei Ye its situation was manageable for now.
• Pei Ye attended the funeral for Lin Lin and Lin Jue and asked Meng Jiao what he had been doing lately.

Pei Ye searched Lin Jue’s room, found keepsakes that deepened his grief, and discovered her collected story, “Broken Chivalrous Bones.” He was summoned to meet envoys from the Divine Capital, where Lord Jing Ziwang demanded that Pei Ye be taken into custody over the ritual artifact fused with him.

• Meng Jiao praised Pei Ye for killing the villain and told him to look for keepsakes Lin Jue had wanted buried with her.
• Pei Ye found Lin Jue’s teapot, jade seal, practice-carving scraps, birdcage, and illustrated stories, then took her collected Court Gazette story to read.
• Pei Ye reflected on his grief and his confidence in returning to martial arts, then read the first installment of “Broken Chivalrous Bones.”
• A messenger summoned Pei Ye to the County Office, where Chang Zhiyuan introduced him to Jing Ziwang, Xing Zhi, and Shang Lang.
• Jing Ziwang demanded Pei Ye’s arrest because the enemy’s ritual artifact had fused with him, but Chang Zhiyuan defended Pei Ye’s actions.
• Xing Zhi urged the officials to calm down and asked to examine Pei Ye.

Pei Ye learned that the spectral-blue substance in his body was connected to the Torchworld Cult and began practicing how to command it with Shang Lang’s help. As he prepared to accompany the envoys into the Firewood-Cang Mountains, he discovered they had come to investigate an Immortal Hunter who might already have formed a pact with him.

• Xing Zhi explained that the substance in Pei Ye’s body resembled the Dragon Tongue and might create independent, human-shaped Dragon Tongues, while Pei Ye considered Black Chi’s different account of the ritual.
• Pei Ye agreed to enter the Firewood-Cang Mountains with the envoys, and Jing Ziwang promised to protect him, subject to Senior Brother Zhu’s approval.
• Xing Zhi proposed that Pei Ye could command the spectral-blue energy like true qi, and Shang Lang began channeling his own true qi into Pei Ye’s dantian so he could learn the sensation.
• Shang Lang told Pei Ye that the Immortal Platform had detected an Immortal Hunter in the Firewood-Cang Mountains and that the group had come to investigate it.
• Shang Lang explained that Senior Brother Zhu hoped to form a pact with the Immortal Hunter, and Pei Ye asked what would happen if it had already formed a pact with someone else.

Pei Ye joined an armed expedition to White Bamboo Village after a monstrous tiger killed villagers, and the group found his childhood friend Meng Jiao missing near the village. Headman Zhao Baishu began recounting how the disappearances started, leaving the villagers’ ordeal unexplained.

• Pei Ye discovered that he could control the blue markings in his arm as Shang Lang advised him to keep them confined there.
• A hunter from White Bamboo Village reported that a monstrous tiger had killed more than twenty people, and Chang Zhiyuan authorized Pei Ye to go with the expedition.
• Shang Lang led the Dragon Martial Army toward the village while Jing Ziwang and Xing Zhi joined the expedition; Zhu went ahead to investigate suspected Torchworld Cult traces.
• Jing Ziwang’s group found Meng Jiao’s overturned cart and dead donkey, and Xing Zhi determined that the animal had been frightened to death by the tiger.
• Pei Ye and the others reached White Bamboo Village, where Headman Zhao Baishu explained that an herb gatherer and several search parties had vanished over the preceding days.

Pei Ye and the others learned that a demon tiger had killed many villagers, but Xing Zhi ordered the group to leave for the mountains after discovering Zhu Gaoyang was missing. Before they departed, a monstrous creature attacked the village, and Pei Ye sensed that the dantian seed was nearby.

• Zhao Baishu told Jing Ziwang and the others that the demon tiger had killed seventeen hunters and several riders who had sought help.
• Pei Ye examined the bodies and Xing Zhi detected residual spiritual energy in a wound.
• The Soul Bird returned with Xing Zhi’s original letter, revealing that it had not found Zhu Gaoyang.
• Xing Zhi sent four soldiers back to Fenghuai and ordered the rest to search the mountains for Zhu Gaoyang.
• Pei Ye sensed the dantian seed inside the village just as a dark, scaled humanoid attacked the villagers.
• Xing Zhi bound the creature with Water Autumn Lotus, and a soldier’s halberd pierced it before she led the group toward the mountains.

Jing Ziwang killed the transformed Meng Jiao, but the corpse became Qiongqi, which attacked him and poisoned his arm. Pei Ye learned that Qiongqi was the great enemy Black Chi had warned him about and was urged to flee, just as Qiongqi launched a full-strength attack on Jing Ziwang.

• Jing Ziwang killed the monster wearing Meng Jiao's clothes, but its body transformed into a colossal Qiongqi and attacked him.
• Jing Ziwang struck Qiongqi with Bì'àn Wounds the World, blasting its flesh apart, but the beast re-formed and took to the sky.
• Qiongqi's poison began corroding Jing Ziwang's hand and consuming his true qi, while Pei Ye confirmed the seed was inside the beast.
• Black Chi told Pei Ye that Qiongqi was their great enemy and ordered him to leave, but Pei Ye hesitated to abandon Jing Ziwang.
• Jing Ziwang sat down to expel the poison as Qiongqi feigned a probing attack, then unleashed its full strength without warning.