Chapter Summaries

Fu Shaoping investigated the Half-Beast that slaughtered Dakui Village and deduced that it was hiding in the Longflow River to break through. After he raised the alarm, a Chief Banner of the Hundred Households Office arrived.

• Fu Shaoping suspected the Half-Beast had killed the villagers of Dakui Village to devour their hearts and advance.
• Fu Shaoping inspected Yellow Creek Village and learned that the fisherman Dazhuang had returned late with an empty basket.
• Fu Shaoping realized the Half-Beast’s presence had driven all the fish from the Longflow River and ordered the village protection squad to keep everyone indoors.
• Fu Shaoping told Old Zhan to launch a smoke signal and identified the Half-Beast’s hiding place as the riverbed downstream of Yellow Creek Village.
• A Chief Banner in a gold-embroidered Flying Fish Uniform rode up to Fu Shaoping and Old Zhan.

Chief Banner Chen killed the fish-headed half-beast at the Longflow River, and Fu Shaoping gained cultivation points for reporting its whereabouts. After learning that Chen wanted to meet him about joining the hunting reserve team, Fu Shaoping refused the opportunity and told Uncle Zhan that he would deliver his betrothal gifts on the fifteenth.

• Old Zhan told Chief Banner Chen that the fish-headed half-beast was hiding near Yellow Creek Village, and Chen rushed to the Longflow River.
• Chief Banner Chen trapped the half-beast, shattered its fish scale with a flying sword, and killed it.
• Fu Shaoping received a reward from the Mystic Mandate Codex, which raised his Body Tempering Realm progress and followed his chosen point allocation.
• After the danger passed, Chief Banner Chen returned to the Hundred Households Office, and Fu Shaoping saw the half-beast's corpse brought back.
• Old Zhan told Fu Shaoping that Chief Banner Chen wanted to meet him and might offer him a place on the hunting reserve team, but Fu Shaoping declined.
• Fu Shaoping told Uncle Zhan that he had set the date for delivering the betrothal gifts as the fifteenth, two days later.

Fu Shaoping received the second-grade Heavenstone Archery from Chief Banner Chen and discovered that he needed to improve his proficiency before returning the manual. He sought a criminal case from Old Zhan, who brought him a file about a hunter whose children did not resemble him.

• Chief Banner Chen offered Fu Shaoping a reward, and Fu Shaoping requested instruction in archery instead of joining the hunting reserve team.
• Chief Banner Chen lent Fu Shaoping the Heavenstone Archery manual for three days, hoping to earn favor with a future alchemist.
• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er studied the illustrations through the night but memorized only the first of the thirty-six principles.
• Fu Shaoping saw that Heavenstone Archery had reached First Glimpse (5/100) and decided to seek fate attributes in the prison.
• Fu Shaoping told Old Zhan that he had reached the third level of the Body Tempering Realm and asked him to find a criminal case.
• Old Zhan brought Fu Shaoping a case file about Qi Dashan, a hunter from Longfeng Village whose two children did not look like him.

Fu Shaoping recruited a Wind Spirit Hound and Zhou Pan'er to track Qi Dashan, who had murdered his children after believing village rumors about his wife. The hound picked up the trail at the Qilian Mountain Range, where Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er prepared to pursue him.

• Gossip and drunken taunts convinced Qi Dashan that his children were not his, so he killed them while his wife was away seeking a physician for his gravely ill mother.
• Qi Dashan's wife went mad after discovering the murders, and Qi Dashan fled into the Qilian Mountain Range to escape the Martial Suppression Guards.
• Fu Shaoping borrowed a Wind Spirit Hound from the Hunting Hall, spending his last five low-grade Origin Stones to help find Qi Dashan before his Heavenstone Archery deadline.
• Fu Shaoping brought Zhou Pan'er to Longfeng Village, where they learned that Qi Dashan's mother had died and his cousin Chen Dafu stood to inherit his property.
• The Wind Spirit Hound followed Qi Dashan's scent to the foot of the Qilian Mountain Range, and Fu Shaoping assigned Zhou Pan'er to watch their rear as they prepared to enter.

Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er ambushed and killed Chen Dashan in the Qilian Mountain Range, and Fu Shaoping gained beginner mastery of Heavenstone Archery. After returning to Green Ox Town, he demonstrated his skill to Chief Banner Chen with a bullseye from a hundred paces.

• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er waited in the Plum Grove until Chen Dashan emerged from his cave, then attacked him as he climbed down the cliff.
• Chen Dashan severed Zhou Pan'er's right hand with a cleaver, but she blocked his Palm Thunder with her inner armor while Fu Shaoping struck through it and pierced Chen Dashan's heart.
• Fu Shaoping received archery knowledge from the Mystic Mandate Codex, then cut off Chen Dashan's head and left the mountains with Zhou Pan'er.
• Fu Shaoping returned to Green Ox Town, reported the mission to Old Zhan, and went to return the Heavenstone Archery manual to Chief Banner Chen.
• Chief Banner Chen asked Fu Shaoping to demonstrate what he had learned, and Fu Shaoping shot an arrow into the center of a target a hundred paces away.

After demonstrating his skill with Heavenstone Archery, Fu Shaoping declined Chief Banner Chen’s Hunting Team and prepared to marry Zhou Pan'er. Following their betrothal ceremony, he began a secluded breakthrough toward the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

• Fu Shaoping impressed Chief Banner Chen by piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces, then politely declined the invitation to join the Hunting Team.
• After sleeping through the day from exhaustion, Fu Shaoping ate with Old Zhan and met Zhou Pan'er on East Street before his betrothal.
• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er completed their betrothal formalities, set their wedding for the sixth day of the sixth month next year, and received gifts from his colleagues.
• Old Zhan gave Fu Shaoping a Stone Origin Pill, and Fu Shaoping resolved to look after him in his old age.
• After the banquet, Zhou Pan'er teased Fu Shaoping and fled the storeroom before he could go further.
• Fu Shaoping entered seclusion at the Training Hall, prepared himself for a breakthrough, and swallowed the Stone Origin Pill.

Fu Shaoping broke through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm and learned about Origin Energy Pills as a faster path to cultivation. After two months of refining Blood Qi Powder, he reached a new stage of mastery and discovered that his latest batch smelled different.

• Fu Shaoping used a Stone Origin Pill to break through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Old Zhan gave Fu Shaoping an Origin Energy Pill and explained that its recipe was restricted, while demonic beast blood essence was dangerous to consume.
• Fu Shaoping planned to refine Blood Qi Powder to earn enough Low-Grade Essence Stones for an alchemy furnace and went to the Earthfire Hall.
• Junior Banner Liu offered Fu Shaoping an Earth Room, and Fu Shaoping spent two months refining Blood Qi Powder.
• Fu Shaoping reached Perfection in Blood Qi Powder and found that his latest batch carried a faint wheat fragrance instead of a bloody odor.

After completing a large batch of Blood Qi Powder, Fu Shaoping exchanged it with Granny Tang and revealed that he had refined five portions of Special Grade powder. The chapter left Granny Tang astonished by the powder’s quality.

• Fu Shaoping finished refining one hundred portions of Blood Qi Powder and discovered that every fifth batch yielded wheat-scented powder that was a full tier above Grade A.
• Fu Shaoping gave Junior Banner Liu ten portions of Grade A Blood Qi Powder, and Junior Banner Liu paid him thirty Low-Grade Essence Stones and offered him future access to an earth-class Alchemy Chamber.
• Fu Shaoping returned home and learned that Zhou Pan'er had advanced to the third level of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Fu Shaoping took Zhou Pan'er by carriage to the Ghost Valley Woods to trade with Granny Tang instead of risking a trip to the Black Market.
• Granny Tang noticed that Fu Shaoping's shipment was five portions short, so he showed her a packet of wheat-scented powder, which she recognized as Special Grade Blood Qi Powder.

Fu Shaoping sold special-grade Blood Qi Powder for a fortune and decided to spend his savings on an alchemy furnace so Zhou Pan'er could refine at home. After learning why Zhou Pan'er was striving to advance, he promised to help her reach the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm and brought his Essence Stones to buy the furnace.

• Granny Tang valued Fu Shaoping's five packets of special-grade Blood Qi Powder at ten Low-Grade Essence Stones each, and he exchanged them for medicinal ingredients instead.
• Fu Shaoping returned home with two hundred and thirty Low-Grade Essence Stones and told Zhou Pan'er he planned to buy an alchemy furnace rather than spend them on property or other comforts.
• Zhou Pan'er explained that Granny Xue had promised to reveal more about her birth parents if she reached the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Fu Shaoping gave Zhou Pan'er a Qi Condensation Pill and proposed hunting Granary Bears with her at Seven-Mile Mountain to help her advance.
• Fu Shaoping took his savings to the Hall of Myriad Treasures, where Junior Banner Zhuo was stunned by the amount he had earned refining Blood Qi Powder.

Fu Shaoping bought a Purple-Gold Alchemy Furnace for Zhou Pan'er and a damaged Millennium Bow for their planned hunt. The next morning, they left for Seven-Mile Mountain, intending to ambush one beast and retreat before disturbing the powerful creature deeper in the mountain.

• Fu Shaoping purchased the Purple-Gold Alchemy Furnace and a cracked Millennium Bow from Junior Banner Zhuo at the Hundred Households Office.
• Fu Shaoping brought the furnace home, and Zhou Pan'er eagerly admired it while he urged her to wait before beginning pill refinement.
• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er rested overnight, then rented a carriage and traveled toward Seven-Mile Mountain at dawn.
• Fu Shaoping planned for them to ambush and kill one beast before quickly retreating, and Zhou Pan'er worried they might disturb the fierce beast in the mountain's depths.

Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er successfully hunted a Granary Bear on Seven-Mile Mountain and absorbed its blood essence, advancing their cultivation. Zhou Pan'er broke through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm, but her intense craving for demonic beast blood left them concerned about her constitution, so they planned to ask Granny Xue for answers.

• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er lured a Granary Bear into an ambush, and Fu Shaoping shot it through the neck before finishing it with his Martial Suppression Saber.
• Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er collected the bear's blood and fled Seven-Mile Mountain as other Granary Bears swarmed toward them.
• Zhou Pan'er drank the blood essence eagerly, and Fu Shaoping joined her before refining it with the Mysterious Tortoise Qi-Nourishing Art, raising his cultivation progress from 5 to 20.
• After four hours of meditation, Zhou Pan'er broke through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Zhou Pan'er admitted that the blood's smell had triggered a powerful craving, and Fu Shaoping reassured her while resolving to investigate her condition.
• Fu Shaoping suggested Zhou Pan'er ask Granny Xue about her bloodlust when they next met, and Zhou Pan'er agreed to make Blood Qi Powder as soon as possible.

Fu Shaoping sold a Granary Bear, bought the horse and carriage, and received a private alchemy commission from Junior Banner Zhuo. The chapter ended with Junior Banner Zhuo offering to reserve the Hou Yi Bow for him.

• Fu Shaoping sold the Granary Bear to Shopkeeper Tian and bought an Azure Zhao Horse and carriage from Shopkeeper Yu.
• Fu Shaoping returned home with too little money to buy servants and began teaching Zhou Pan'er how to refine Blood Qi Powder.
• Junior Banner Zhuo visited Fu Shaoping and asked him to refine ten batches of Grade A Blood Qi Powder at a premium for his daughter.
• Junior Banner Zhuo offered to reserve the Hou Yi Bow for Fu Shaoping because he had learned Heavenstone Archery.

Fu Shaoping taught Zhou Pan'er to refine Blood Qi Powder, and she quickly learned to produce Grade B batches. After Zhou Pan'er left to meet Granny Xue and learn about her origins, Fu Shaoping headed to Sunwood Forest to retrieve Old Zhan and strengthen his combat abilities.

• Fu Shaoping counted the thirty low-grade Origin Stones Junior Banner Zhuo had given him and began demonstrating alchemy to Zhou Pan'er.
• Fu Shaoping produced four supreme-grade batches among fourteen batches of Blood Qi Powder, and teaching Zhou Pan'er advanced his mastery.
• Zhou Pan'er succeeded in refining Grade C Blood Qi Powder on her first attempt, then improved until her final five batches were Grade B.
• After meeting the requirements to see Granny Xue, Zhou Pan'er left alone to seek answers about her birth parents, while Fu Shaoping escorted her out of town.
• Fu Shaoping delivered Junior Banner Zhuo's Blood Qi Powder, bought spicy stir-fried Firecloud Chicken, and traveled to Sunwood Forest to bring Old Zhan back and improve his combat strength.

Fu Shaoping arrived at Endless Cliff Village and encountered unsettling villagers, a grieving mother, and a ghostly figure among the children’s graves. He reached Sunwood Forest to meet Old Zhan, whom he found dozing at the Forest Lodge.

• Fu Shaoping dodged a woman who lunged from among the paper effigies and begged him to save her missing child.
• The priestess and Qiu Chang claimed the woman had lost her mind after her stillborn child died, while the villagers watched Fu Shaoping with hostility.
• Fu Shaoping left the village as the priestess led the villagers toward a woman who was about to give birth.
• Fu Shaoping crossed Five-Finger Slope, saw thousands of children’s graves, and spotted a half-bitten face that darted away among the mounds.
• Fu Shaoping showed his Town Martial Token at Sunwood Forest’s gate and went with an apprentice guard to find Commandant Zhan.
• Fu Shaoping arrived at the Forest Lodge and saw Old Zhan dozing in a rattan chair.

Fu Shaoping questioned Old Cui about the mysteries of Endless Cliff Village and learned its prosperity began after a ritual, while villagers blamed stillbirths on an ancestral curse. Old Zhan helped Fu Shaoping leave Sunwood Forest through a secret passage, which opened onto Five-Finger Slope, where Fu Shaoping turned and was startled by something behind him.

• Fu Shaoping visited Old Zhan and asked about Endless Cliff Village and Five-Finger Slope.
• Old Cui revealed that Endless Cliff Village had grown prosperous after its ritual and claimed that a curse caused babies born during the yin moon to die.
• Old Cui described seeing a terrifying vengeful spirit on Five-Finger Slope, though Fu Shaoping believed the figure was human.
• Old Zhan had Old Cui bound and ordered the servants to remain inside while he and Fu Shaoping discussed the village's possible conspiracy.
• Old Zhan led Fu Shaoping through a secret passage that opened onto Five-Finger Slope, where Fu Shaoping turned and nearly lost his nerve.

Fu Shaoping followed the ghost-faced boy into a hidden burial chamber and uncovered signs that Endless Cliff Village was trading infants born in yin months. He then watched the village priestess and another figure carry an infant into a concealed cavern, confirming his suspicions and leaving him poised to investigate.

• Fu Shaoping met the ghost-faced boy among the graves, and the boy led him into a hollow burial chamber where he lived on rotting remains.
• The boy dug up a fresh grave with Fu Shaoping’s help, revealing a dead puppy in a tiny coffin instead of an infant.
• Fu Shaoping suspected the villagers were trading infants born in yin months and persuaded the boy to guide him toward a valley with the promise of meat buns.
• Fu Shaoping and the boy hid as the village priestess and a companion carrying an infant approached the valley.
• The priestess opened a concealed stone door in the rock face, and she and her companion entered the cavern with the infant.

Fu Shaoping uncovered the priestess and her accomplices’ decades-long infant-trafficking operation and reported it to Chief Banner Chen. Chen mobilized the Hunting Team to surround Endless Reach Village, where he prepared to confront those behind the crime.

• The priestess and her black-robed companion left the cave with the transformed child, and the black-robed man used a jade flute to subdue the Ghost-Faced Youth.
• The priestess doubled back to check the path, but Fu Shaoping stayed hidden until she left, then carried the Ghost-Faced Youth back to his grave.
• Fu Shaoping returned to Sunwood Forest and told Old Zhan what he had discovered; Old Zhan urged him to take the matter to Chief Banner Chen.
• Fu Shaoping rushed to the Hundred Households Office and reported the infant trafficking to Chief Banner Chen, who promised to petition for a major merit and assembled the Hunting Team.
• Chief Banner Chen and Fu Shaoping reached Endless Reach Village ahead of the team, and the team took positions around its five exits.

Fu Shaoping and the Hundred Households Office raided Endless Reach Village during its ritual and killed the priestess, who had overseen the murder of infants. The Treasure Mirror finally responded to her crimes, illuminating its third rune.

• The villagers gathered for a sacrifice as Chief Banner Chen sprang into the underground mechanism with the red coffin.
• Fu Shaoping shot at the priestess, who rushed toward his tower and was trapped by reinforcements from the Hundred Households Office.
• After the priestess’s barrier weakened under repeated volleys, Fu Shaoping killed her with six red-fletched arrows through the brow.
• The Hundred Households Office stopped the villagers from fleeing and forced them to kneel.
• Fu Shaoping waited for the Treasure Mirror to award points for the priestess’s crimes, and its third rune lit up.

Fu Shaoping uncovered a child-sacrifice operation in Endless Reach Village, rescued the imprisoned children and women, and earned a substantial reward. The Ghost-Faced Youth disappeared, while Fu Shaoping kept his new attribute points unused and advanced closer to his goal of one hundred merits.

• After the third rune in the Mystic Mandate Codex lit up, Fu Shaoping discovered he could store four attribute points.
• Chief Banner Chen emerged from the altar with an unconscious boy and the severed head of Registrar Cui, then ordered Nie Xiaoqi and Fu Shaoping to rescue the children at Five-Finger Slope.
• Fu Shaoping and Nie Xiaoqi found cages full of children and six abducted, tongueless women; Fu Shaoping freed the women and had them bring the children out.
• Fu Shaoping returned to Five-Finger Slope, but the Ghost-Faced Youth had vanished and was no longer under the female priest's control.
• Nie Xiaoqi told Fu Shaoping that the Hundred Households had awarded him twenty Ninth-Rank Merits, bringing his total to thirty-eight.

Fu Shaoping received merit rewards, a house, farmland, and Origin Stone Pills, while learning that placing in the top three at the Spring Hunt could earn him priority for promotion to Commandant. After declining the Hunting Hall’s invitation, he discovered that his Treasure Mirror could store and allocate attribute points, then used two points to advance his cultivation.

• Nie Xiaoqi gave Fu Shaoping twenty Ninth-Rank Merits, a house and land deed, and six Origin Stone Pills on behalf of the office and Chief Banner Chen.
• Nie Xiaoqi told Fu Shaoping that the Spring Hunt’s top three could receive priority for promotion to Commandant and invited him to seek hunting advice from the Hunting Hall.
• Fu Shaoping politely declined to join the Hunting Hall, explaining that he wanted to root out traitors and evil, and Nie Xiaoqi praised his resolve.
• Fu Shaoping showed Madam Jiang the deeds, and she urged him to stay safe and avoid pursuing merit recklessly.
• Fu Shaoping confirmed that his Treasure Mirror could store attribute points and allocate them to cultivation, then spent two points to raise his fourth-layer progress from 20 to 60.