Chapter Summaries

After Xie Xiyi killed the demonic cultivators in the City of Ultimate Bliss, he and Chi Yu left the city and continued west. Chi Yu picked up a dragon-headed spirit beast and named it Xiaobai, but Xiaoqiu warned that Moonlits were difficult to keep.

• Qingxuan persuaded Mingxin to let Xie Xiyi handle the demonic cultivators, and Mingxin agreed not to oppose him.
• Xie Xiyi finished off the last demonic cultivator and asked Chi Yu if he was afraid of him; Chi Yu denied it and changed the subject.
• Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi stayed overnight, then left the half-emptied City of Ultimate Bliss after its inhabitants discovered the city lord and many women were dead or transformed corpses.
• Chi Yu asked Xie Xiyi whether anyone had ever tried to tempt him, and Xie Xiyi teased that Chi Yu had offered himself to him.
• Chi Yu found a dragon-headed Moonlit Thousand-Mile White eating wild scallions, brought it back, and named it Xiaobai after declaring it a divine beast.
• Xiaoqiu identified Xiaobai as a Moonlit and told Chi Yu that the spirit beasts were difficult to keep.

Chi Yu bonded with a Moonlit Thousand-Mile White, convinced it possessed divine beast blood despite Xie Xiyi’s mockery. Near Luqiu, Chi Yu discovered a town of mortals touched by demonic qi, then revived a child’s giant centipede after accidentally killing it, drawing the townspeople’s wary attention.

• Chi Yu formed a master-pet pact with the Moonlit Thousand-Mile White, which he named Little White, and insisted its divine beast bloodline would awaken.
• Xie Xiyi gave Chi Yu a spirit beast pouch, and Little White willingly entered it.
• As the group approached Luqiu, Chi Yu used his divine sense and found that every resident was a mortal despite demonic qi in the air.
• Chi Yu killed a giant centipede named Tutu, then revived it with Rejuvenation, reducing his age from seventeen to sixteen.
• The child reunited with Tutu, and the child’s father invited Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi into Luqiu.

Chi Yu investigated the strange child and his venomous centipede while Xie Xiyi questioned Chi Yu’s use of a Forbidden Technique. Xie Xiyi warned him not to use it again, and Chi Yu ended by asking what Xie Xiyi could see with his supernatural powers.

• Chi Yu asked Xiaoqiu to give the child an antidote pill and learn why he had let the centipede bite people.
• Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi’s supreme-grade Spirit Sword was named Phantom Lightning, which was also the sword name of the man who had bullied Chi Yu.
• Chi Yu decided the resemblance was probably a coincidence, while Xie Xiyi noticed his sorrow fade and worried that his growing attention to Chi Yu could complicate his path to becoming Buddha-son.
• Xie Xiyi identified Chi Yu’s Rejuvenation spell as a Forbidden Technique and warned that its consequences could damage his foundations and follow him into the future.
• Chi Yu promised not to use Rejuvenation again and asked Xie Xiyi what his supernatural powers let him see.

Chi Yu investigated the village’s poisonous creatures, then had an epiphany that resolved his determination to save Xie Xiyi rather than kill him. After advancing three cultivation realms, he told Xie Xiyi that he intended to deliver him.

• Chi Yu left Xie Xiyi with the child’s father and questioned Xiaoqiu, who reported that the child’s wounds had been treated and that venomous creatures were common in the village.
• Chi Yu and Xiaoqiu discussed the powerful demon nearby and Xie Xiyi’s Illusion-Piercing Supernatural Ability.
• Chi Yu decided he would give up killing Xie Xiyi and seek another way home, then had an epiphany that raised his cultivation to the Fourth Layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Xiaoqiu guarded Chi Yu while he stabilized his cultivation, and Xie Xiyi came to keep watch over him.
• After waking, Chi Yu thanked Xie Xiyi and realized that Xie Xiyi had sent him away to make him cautious about drinking tea.
• Chi Yu grasped Xie Xiyi’s hand, explained his insight into the mind, and told him he would deliver him.

Chi Yu told Xie Xiyi he wanted to become the person closest to him and help him through future troubles, and Xie Xiyi secretly welcomed the sentiment. After Xie Xiyi hinted that the town’s demons were “good, yet not good” and “evil, yet not evil,” Chi Yu investigated the townspeople and returned to the Town Magistrate’s lodgings with new questions about how mortals used demons.

• Chi Yu declared that he wanted to become Xie Xiyi’s Other Shore, but Xie Xiyi dismissed his words as delirious and made him swallow two Delusion-Breaking Pills.
• Xiaoqiu revealed that he had been standing guard nearby, teased Chi Yu about his sentimental speech, and was sent away by Xie Xiyi.
• Xie Xiyi admitted that Chi Yu’s words were lovely and said he hoped Chi Yu would become his Other Shore if he ever fell into trouble.
• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu that the demons were “good, yet not good” and “evil, yet not evil,” then left him to handle them.
• Chi Yu used his divine sense to listen to townspeople, heard a child being made to endure painful bites from Yaya, and wondered how mortals survived demonic qi.
• Chi Yu returned to the Town Magistrate’s lodgings and saw a village woman and her child bringing abundant food to the magistrate.

Chi Yu and Xiaoqiu hunted demons and cultivated near the town, where they discovered several weak creatures watching them. As Xiaoqiu encouraged Chi Yu to learn from others, Xie Xiyi’s heart stirred at the thought that Chi Yu had become one of his weak spots.

• Chi Yu learned that demons in the Wasteland preyed on children with Spiritual Roots and decided to stay in town to kill more demons.
• Chi Yu left town with Xiaoqiu while Xie Xiyi secretly followed them, and Xiaoqiu suggested that Xie Xiyi might be a weak spot for Chi Yu too.
• Chi Yu promised Xiaoqiu that he would cultivate hard enough to protect Xie Xiyi, and Xie Xiyi felt his heart begin to stir.
• Chi Yu and Xiaoqiu found few demons while hunting, then activated a formation ward and cultivated in the wilderness.
• Xiaoqiu spotted a green snake, a black scorpion, and a golden toad watching them, prompting Chi Yu to reflect on staying alert.
• Xiaoqiu reassured Chi Yu that they could learn from each other, and Chi Yu accepted his encouragement.

Chi Yu returned to town with Xiaoqiu and learned that a powerful Yaomo might be on the back mountain. As Xie Xiyi began noticing Chi Yu's appearance and questioning the effect he had on his cultivation, Chi Yu set out to investigate the mountain alone.

• Chi Yu marked several insects and returned to town with Xiaoqiu, who befriended the Town Magistrate's child, Xiaojing.
• Chi Yu collected the lotuses that formed during Xie Xiyi's meditation, but Xie Xiyi told him to keep them and criticized him for killing only one Yaomo.
• After Chi Yu left, Xie Xiyi noticed that he had begun distinguishing Chi Yu's appearance and recalled a strange desire involving him.
• Chi Yu checked the marked insects and learned from Xiaoqiu that the insects came from the guarded back mountain, where Xiaoqiu sensed a dangerous presence.
• Chi Yu told Xiaoqiu he would investigate the back mountain alone, promising to return and directing Xiaoqiu to seek Xie Xiyi if he did not come back.

The town magistrate and elders sought three gu insects from the imprisoned Flower Lady to control the cultivators who had arrived. Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi reached the cave after discussing Xie Xiyi’s growing awareness of Chi Yu, but Xie Xiyi stopped Chi Yu before he could approach it.

• The magistrate and elders entered the mountain and discussed using Flower Lady’s gu insects against the three cultivators.
• The magistrate asked Flower Lady for three controlling gu insects, and she sent them to him from inside her cage.
• Flower Lady sensed Chi Yu silently entering the mountain after the magistrate and elders left.
• Chi Yu got lost in the mountain until Xie Xiyi appeared and offered to lead him out.
• Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi had only recently begun noticing what he looked like, and the two shared a quiet moment of happiness.
• Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi reached the cave, where Chi Yu added concealment talismans before Xie Xiyi stopped him.

Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi explored the insect-filled cave and followed a passage to a caged spider yaomo. Chi Yu discovered that the Golden Core Stage yaomo was already dead and had been eaten hollow.

• Xie Xiyi accompanied Chi Yu into the cave, where insects watched them from the ceiling.
• Chi Yu told Xie Xiyi his real name and explained that he lacked basic knowledge of the cultivation world.
• Xie Xiyi chose a passage for them, and they reached a cage surrounded by poisonous insects and a foul stench.
• Chi Yu cut through the cage and fought off insects that swarmed from the spider yaomo.
• Chi Yu inspected the spider yaomo and found its front gnawed hollow, revealing that it had been dead for a long time.

Xie Xiyi uncovered the spider demon’s tragic history, killed her when she tried to possess him, and later reunited with Chi Yu, who had caught her offspring. The surviving demon transformed into a baby, leaving Chi Yu unable to treat it as food for Xiaobai.

• Chi Yu realized a second demon, likely the spider demon’s child, had escaped, and Xie Xiyi sent him to track it down.
• Xie Xiyi burned the spider demon’s corpse and entered an illusion revealing how Flower Lady fell in love with Ze Xiu, was trapped by a Gu, and was eventually devoured by her own child.
• Flower Lady tried to possess Xie Xiyi, but his Buddha Bone overwhelmed and killed her Nascent Soul Spirit.
• Chi Yu returned with a plump white bug and suggested feeding it to Xiaobai after Xie Xiyi cleansed its Demonic Qi.
• The white bug transformed into a crying baby with a worm’s lower body, and Chi Yu promised not to feed it to Xiaobai.

Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi spared the demon-human hybrid Wu Yunsu and left it on the mountain, where Gu Worms kept it from escaping. Back at the lodgings, Xie Xiyi destroyed Gu Worms hidden near their meal, and Chi Yu confronted the Town Magistrate over a suspected poisoning.

• Chi Yu argued that the demon should be killed, but Xie Xiyi chose to keep it and try to deliver it into cultivation.
• Chi Yu dressed the half-transformed demon, and Xie Xiyi named it Wu Yunsu; Chi Yu realized he had met Wu Yunsu five hundred years in the future and suspected history could not be changed.
• Wu Yunsu fell from Xie Xiyi’s hands at the foot of the mountain, and Xie Xiyi explained that a Gu Worm inside it prevented it from leaving.
• Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi returned to the lodgings, where the Town Magistrate served them a meal that Xiaoqiu believed included braised pork.
• Xie Xiyi spotted three Gu Worms approaching the table and destroyed them with his sword, breaking the dishes as well.
• Chi Yu pointed his sword at the Town Magistrate and accused him of poisoning the food, but the Town Magistrate denied it.

Chi Yu exposed the Town Magistrate’s plan to feed cultivators to demons, freed Wu Yunsu from the Mother Gu, and offered the townspeople a way to flee. He left with Xie Xiyi and Xiaoqiu, then jokingly declared himself Wu Yunsu’s godfather, stirring an unsettling impulse in Xie Xiyi.

• Chi Yu used a Truth-Telling Talisman to learn that the Town Magistrate had planned to feed them to Flower Lady and controlled her with a Mother Gu hidden in his heart.
• Chi Yu removed and sealed the Mother Gu, then gave the Town Magistrate spirit stones, a Flying Boat, and Explosive Talismans so the townspeople could try to reach the Eastern Mirror Continent.
• The Town Magistrate demanded that Chi Yu escort the mortals himself, but Chi Yu said they had to learn to rely on themselves and left with Xie Xiyi and Xiaoqiu.
• Xie Xiyi explained that the venomous insects’ bites would eventually turn the mortals into jiangshi, while Chi Yu and his companions returned to the mountain and caught Wu Yunsu.
• Chi Yu crushed the Mother Gu and declared Wu Yunsu his godson, while Xie Xiyi rejected the idea of being called his mother and warned Chi Yu against saying such things.
• Xie Xiyi examined himself and sensed an unfamiliar impulse stirred by Chi Yu’s words, though he could not identify its source.

Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi continued their journey with Wu Yunsu, while Xie Xiyi struggled to suppress his demonic heart and grew displeased with Chi Yu’s attention to others. Xiaoqiu competed for Chi Yu’s affection, and the chapter left Xie Xiyi reacting sourly when Chi Yu said he liked him too.

• Xie Xiyi made Chi Yu increase his daily cultivation to twenty-two hours after Chi Yu promised to do anything to earn his forgiveness.
• Chi Yu made Wu Yunsu new clothes and asked Xie Xiyi to help teach Wu Yunsu and Xiaoqiu.
• Xiaoqiu recited lessons Xie Xiyi had taught him, impressing Chi Yu, then proposed leaving Wu Yunsu in a mortal city.
• Chi Yu rejected Xiaoqiu’s plan because Wu Yunsu was a demon and might be killed, then reassured Xiaoqiu by kissing his forehead and letting him kiss his cheek.
• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu to practice swordsmanship, and Chi Yu teased him by saying he liked him too.

Xie Xiyi used Chi Yu’s mouth to investigate the Forbidden Curse, claiming he was contemplating, while struggling to suppress his demonic heart’s growing urges. Afterward, he asked to continue this unusual contemplation in the future, and Chi Yu protested when Xie Xiyi described his practice as finding purity in filth.

• Chi Yu tried to reassure Xie Xiyi that he liked and admired him, and Xie Xiyi pinched his cheeks and explored his mouth.
• Xie Xiyi examined the Forbidden Curse on Chi Yu’s tongue while calling the act contemplation, and he stopped only after Chi Yu asked if he was done.
• Xie Xiyi explained that his demonic heart stirred with destructive urges and that Chan cultivation helped him suppress it.
• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu that part of his deluded mind resided in him and asked to keep contemplating him, prompting Chi Yu to accuse him of calling him dirty.
• Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi resumed their banter while Xiaoqiu complained that he became unnoticed whenever the two of them were together.

Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi’s demonic heart might emerge and endanger him, then decided to help Xie Xiyi raise his cultivation so he could become the Buddha-son. During another visualization session, Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu to lick his finger, called him a puppy, and left Chi Yu furious.

• Xiaoqiu warned Chi Yu that Xie Xiyi’s demonic heart had once nearly killed the Empress and might be dangerous to him.
• Chi Yu reassured Xiaoqiu and resolved to help Xie Xiyi cultivate and overcome his demonic heart.
• Chi Yu offered his tongue for Xie Xiyi to visualize, and Xie Xiyi told him to close his mouth and keep licking his finger.
• Xie Xiyi called Chi Yu a puppy, so Chi Yu spat out his finger and stormed off.
• Xie Xiyi admitted he had told Chi Yu to lick, while Xiaoqiu asked him to visualize someone else and was told to shut up.

Xie Xiyi explained that his new discriminating mind made Chi Yu seem novel to him, and he believed observing Chi Yu might help him overcome his demonic heart. The chapter ended with Xie Xiyi holding and kneading Chi Yu’s hand while calling it contemplation, and Chi Yu accepted the explanation.

• Xiaoqiu asked whether Xie Xiyi’s demonic heart had emerged, but Xie Xiyi told him not to worry about it.
• At the river, Chi Yu argued with Xie Xiyi over his earlier teasing, and Xie Xiyi explained how his discriminating mind toward Chi Yu affected his cultivation.
• Xie Xiyi said Chi Yu might be guiding him to salvation and complimented him when he smiled, then apologized for calling him a puppy.
• Chi Yu encouraged Xie Xiyi to keep contemplating him and said he hoped Xie Xiyi would become the Buddha-son.
• Xie Xiyi took Chi Yu’s hand and repeatedly squeezed it while saying he was contemplating, and Chi Yu found the behavior strange but did not question it.

Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi discussed teaching Wu Yunsu, exchanged a childhood secret and questions about their families, and Xie Xiyi revealed why becoming a Buddha-son was difficult for him. The chapter ended with Chi Yu alarmed that Xie Xiyi had shared such a dangerous secret.

• Chi Yu suggested that Xie Xiyi teach Wu Yunsu, and Xie Xiyi agreed after Chi Yu offered to teach him instead.
• Xie Xiyi asked Chi Yu for a thank-you gift and reminded him to share the secret he had promised.
• Chi Yu told Xie Xiyi how he had run away as a five-year-old and been carried home by a freezing, mysterious stranger.
• Xie Xiyi explained that the stranger may have been a cultivator, then told Chi Yu about his family and his troubled younger brother.
• Xie Xiyi revealed that his family ties gave him an obsessive heart that obstructed his path to becoming a Buddha-son, and Chi Yu worried that he had disclosed too much.

Chi Yu worried that Xie Xiyi’s family ties and extraordinary talent could make him vulnerable, while Xie Xiyi insisted he would survive by his own strength. Later, Xiaoqiu’s jealousy over Wu Yunsu led to a confrontation, and Chi Yu tried to make amends by giving Xiaoqiu a valuable ring, prompting Xie Xiyi to criticize him for accepting it.

• Chi Yu warned Xie Xiyi that his family and reputation could make him a target, but Xie Xiyi said he trusted his strength and would accept death if he were weaker.
• Xiaoqiu force-fed Wu Yunsu, removed his jeweled collar, and fled when Chi Yu caught him mistreating the demon.
• Xie Xiyi pulled a Gu Worm from Xiaoqiu and revealed that Wu Yunsu had used it to make him act against the demon.
• Chi Yu handed Wu Yunsu to Xie Xiyi for discipline, then reassured Xiaoqiu and gave him Lecturer Hong’s Sumeru Ring to ease his jealousy.
• Xiaoqiu boasted about the ring to Wu Yunsu, and Xie Xiyi reproached him for accepting such a valuable gift.

Chi Yu and his companions reached a mortal city, where a kind stall owner took the infant-shaped Wu Yunsu to nurse him. The chapter ended as Chi Yu chased after them and heard a voice from inside the woman's home.

• Xie Xiyi agreed to teach Xiaobai alongside Wu Yunsu, and Chi Yu overheard him correcting Wu Yunsu harshly during their lessons.
• Chi Yu, Xie Xiyi, and Xiaoqiu reached a mortal city, and Xiaoqiu used a passage Jade Token to get them through the gate.
• Chi Yu explained that Wu Yunsu's yaomo cultivation would decline if he stopped eating flesh and blood, so he carefully fed and watched over him.
• A breakfast stall owner insisted on taking Wu Yunsu to nurse him, and Chi Yu chased after her, worried that Wu Yunsu might bite someone.

Chi Yu cared for Wu Yunsu after the demon transformed into a child and offered him a choice between following his demonic nature or cultivating as a human. The group rested at an inn while Chi Yu cultivated, where Xie Xiyi playfully shaped Chi Yu’s Divine Sense into figures.

• An older woman nursed Wu Yunsu, who then grew into a child, dropped to the eighth level of Qi Refining, and called Chi Yu “Daddy.”
• Chi Yu dressed Wu Yunsu in an enchanted robe and told him he could either prey on others as a demon or overcome his nature and cultivate as a human.
• Wu Yunsu recalled his survival in Mulian Town and his confusion about mortal parents’ affection, then said he understood Chi Yu’s choice without giving an answer.
• The group booked rooms at an inn, where Chi Yu cultivated while Xie Xiyi taught Wu Yunsu.
• When Chi Yu reached out with his Divine Sense, another Divine Sense kneaded it into the shapes of a little dog and a crooked-faced figure.