Chapter Summaries

Wen Lan met Wu Wende, who tried to court her, while Anu revealed that she had seen Fang Yue, alarming Widow Yu. Fang Yue cultivated with Blood Ginseng and prepared for the challenges ahead; after Luo Wei threatened him by following him, he met Wu Wende and asked him for a favor.

• Anu insisted she had seen Fang Yue, and Wen Lan chased after him before losing track of her younger sister.
• Wu Wende arranged for Anu to be returned to Wen Lan, then praised Wen Lan and gave her a sachet; his pageboy later retrieved it after Wen Lan left it behind.
• Anu told Widow Yu that she had seen Fang Yue, leaving Widow Yu stunned.
• Fang Yue refused to choose between Bai Li and Hong Ling, then used a Blood Ginseng root to improve his cultivation.
• After three days, Luo Wei followed Fang Yue out of Wutu Great City to threaten him, then met Wu Wende at Delicacy House and asked him for a favor.

Luo Wei and Wu Wende agreed to help each other hinder people competing for their respective goals, while Fang Yue advanced his Qi Sense talent before preparing to leave Wutu Great City. Widow Yu was abducted by two thugs but rescued by Hong Ling, who brought her to the Wen Family’s secondary residence and planned to introduce her to her godmother Chen Shi.

• Wu Wende asked Luo Wei to make his rivals in the Wen Family’s marriage selection settle down, and Luo Wei agreed without learning their names.
• Fang Yue consumed his last Blood Ginseng, advanced his cultivation techniques to Mastery, and upgraded Beginner Qi Sense to Intermediate Qi Sense.
• Fang Yue bought supplies and gifts before visiting Manager Hui at the Imperial Observatory to thank him and ask about a previous matter.
• Widow Yu searched the streets for Fang Yue but was slapped and abducted by Wang Er and Song Tao, while the crowd failed to help her.
• Hong Ling followed the thugs, rescued Widow Yu, and brought her to the Wen Family’s secondary residence, where she offered to introduce her to Chen Shi.

Fang Yue traveled to Yujing City for the Wen Family’s marriage selection, unaware that two separate assassination plans against him had both been called off. At Wenlan Pavilion, he entered a poetry test for the marriage candidates while Hong Ling and Wen Wanrou watched from a hidden room, and Wen Lan waited unhappily for the selection to proceed.

• Hong Ling visited Fang Yue’s home again and spent time with Chen Shi before Fang Yue left for Yujing City.
• Luo Wei recognized Fang Yue as the target Wu Wende had hired him to kill, then abandoned the ambush because Fang Yue was an Imperial Inspector.
• The Wen Family page also recognized Fang Yue as the target of the exchanged assassination plan and left without attacking him.
• Fang Yue reached Wenlan Pavilion, where Wen Tailai announced that the candidates must compose poems inspired by three paintings to win the Wen Family women’s favor.
• Hong Ling and Wen Wanrou watched the candidates from a hidden room, and Wen Wanrou praised Fang Yue while Hong Ling teased her about liking him.
• Wen Lan waited in a room behind another bookshelf, dissatisfied that her family had arranged the marriage selection.

Fang Yue submitted his poem and essay at the Wen Family gathering, and Wen Tailai dismissed him after seeing his poor handwriting, prompting the other heirs to mock him. But when Wen Wanrou read Fang Yue’s work, she was so shaken that her Literary Qi advanced, leaving Hong Ling stunned.

• Wen Lan recognized Fang Yue and wondered why her Third Granduncle had taken an interest in him.
• Fang Yue submitted his writing first, but Wen Tailai turned the pages face-down after seeing his scrawled handwriting.
• Chen Yan mocked Fang Yue, while Song Mingtao defended him to improve his own standing; Fang Yue later left the gathering.
• Wen Wanrou asked a servant to bring Fang Yue’s work, and she stared at the pages in shock when she read them.
• Wen Wanrou dodged Hong Ling’s attempt to seize the papers, then repelled her with a burst of pale blue Literary Qi.
• Hong Ling realized that Wen Wanrou had just advanced in cultivation.

Wen Wanrou advanced to the innate realm after reading Fang Yue's poems, then left Yujing City and headed west. Fang Yue traveled to Guangfeng Prefecture on an Imperial Observatory assignment, while Wu Wende and Luo Wei plotted to kill him there.

• Wen Wanrou advanced to the innate realm after reading Fang Yue's poems, and Hong Ling was astonished by what she saw on the pages.
• Hui Hengwu assigned Fang Yue to monitor a node in Guangfeng Prefecture for three months, and Fang Yue set out for the prefecture.
• Wu Wende told Luo Wei that Fang Yue was heading to Guangfeng Prefecture, and the two agreed to target him there.
• Old Master Wen learned that Wen Wanrou had run away and headed west, then decided to let her gain experience.
• Wen Tailai learned from Butler Fu that Wen Wanrou had advanced to the innate realm and left home.

Wen Tailai suspected Fang Yue’s poems had helped Wen Wanrou advance and visited Fang Yue’s family, while Widow Yu regretted missing the chance to see him. A month later, Fang Yue reached a heavily guarded checkpoint in Guangfeng Prefecture, where a caravan ambushed him at a ruined temple; after he defeated them, Luo Wei appeared and killed Old Zhang.

• Wen Tailai brought Widow Yu to visit Fang Yue’s family, but learned they had no poems or manuscripts by Fang Yue, while Widow Yu stayed to talk with Chen Shi.
• Widow Yu regretted not searching for Fang Yue earlier after she left his family’s home.
• Fang Yue reached a checkpoint in Guangfeng Prefecture, paid the guards’ inflated toll, and continued on without revealing his identity.
• Hong Ling and Wen Wanrou arrived disguised as young men, and Hong Ling fought the guards who tried to seize them.
• Old Zhang and his men followed Fang Yue to a ruined temple and attacked him, but Fang Yue avoided the one-eyed man’s lime and deflected Old Zhang’s poisoned arrows.
• Fang Yue subdued Old Zhang, but Luo Wei emerged from the darkness and stabbed him before Fang Yue could finish speaking.

Fang Yue escaped an ambush by Luo Wei and the Wu Family bookboy with help from the shy grandmaster Wen Wanrou, then took up his post guarding the Azure Spirit Divine Wood. After three months of cultivation beneath the tree, he found his physique, vital essence, and spirit had grown stronger, though his realm had not advanced.

• Luo Wei attacked Fang Yue, who fought back before fleeing and discovering that the Wu Family bookboy was pursuing him from behind.
• Luo Wei and the bookboy cornered Fang Yue, but Wen Wanrou stopped the bookboy with a word and drove both pursuers away.
• Wen Wanrou hurried away after saving Fang Yue, then Hong Ling teased her about blushing over him as they continued west.
• Fang Yue arrived at his assigned node, completed the handover with Fei Zhengqing, and began guarding the Azure Spirit Divine Wood and its herb garden.
• After three months of cultivating beneath the tree, Fang Yue sensed improved strength and vitality despite making no breakthrough in cultivation.

Fang Yue accepted an invitation to the Prefecture Lord’s birthday celebration and subdued the aggressive Black Scale Horse sent as a gift. After visiting Wudong Town to buy herbs, he found a furious young man claiming the horse for himself.

• Fang Yue caught two spirit fish and received an invitation from the Prefecture Lord of Guangfeng Prefecture to attend his eightieth birthday celebration.
• Wang Hu delivered a Black Scale Horse, and Fang Yue fought it until it yielded to him.
• Fang Yue rode the Black Scale Horse to Wudong Town and bought herbs from Fusheng Hall after haggling with Hall Master Hu over the higher prices.
• A young man and three Bone Forging Perfection martial artists confronted Fang Yue’s horse, and the young man declared that it was his now.

Fang Yue discovered that Blood Dragon Platform was testing him as a possible Imperial Observatory Imperial Inspector and raided the medicine hall to uncover its plans. After killing Hall Master Hu and the steward, he learned that Blood Dragon Platform was searching for a node in Wudong Town.

• Young Master Li tried to take Fang Yue's Black Scale Horse, but the horse kicked him down before Fang Yue rode it himself.
• Li Yuhan apologized for her younger brother and stopped the confrontation, while Hall Master Hu revealed that he had arranged the incident to test Fang Yue.
• Hall Master Hu concluded that Fang Yue was likely an Imperial Observatory Imperial Inspector and ordered the steward to send a secret report to Blood Dragon Platform.
• Fang Yue returned to the medicine hall at night, overheard Hall Master Hu and the steward discussing their suspicions, and attacked them.
• Fang Yue killed Hall Master Hu and the steward, then found intelligence showing that Blood Dragon Platform was searching for a node and waiting for a chance to attack.

After refining Blood Ginseng for months, Fang Yue returned to find supplies cut off and Wudong Town occupied by bandits. He confronted King Guangmu, who tried to escape after inventing a story about a secret method for becoming a Celestial Being.

• Fang Yue looted the medicinal hall’s storehouse and spent months refining Blood Ginseng until his aptitude points reached 9,997.
• A servant reported that supplies from the Prefecture City had not arrived and that King Guangmu’s bandits had seized Wudong Town.
• Fang Yue rode to Wudong Town, where he found the bandits still looting and learned that some had tried to steal his Black Scale Horse.
• Fang Yue entered the medicinal hall estate and attacked King Guangmu’s men, killing the strategist and striking King Guangmu with the White Tiger Fist.
• King Guangmu claimed to know a secret method for achieving Celestial Being status, then used Fang Yue’s interest as a chance to smash through a wall and flee.

Fang Yue discovered that Liu Guangmu had carried an extraordinarily durable piece of beast hide, while a Blood Dragon Platform agent tracked Liu Guangmu to Wudong Town and learned the location of the Imperial Observatory’s demon-sealing node. After Fang Yue’s aptitude reached One in Ten Thousand and transformed his body, Ghost Face Prajna attacked the node; the chapter ended as he confronted Fang Yue in the bloodied courtyard.

• Fang Yue killed Liu Guangmu, found a palm-sized piece of nearly indestructible beast hide on his corpse, and returned with the bandits’ grain.
• A green-robed Blood Dragon Platform envoy killed his masked subordinate, found Liu Guangmu dead in Wudong Town, and received a note revealing the demon-sealing node’s location.
• Luo Wei and Wu Wende’s bookboy watched the envoy, then followed him in hopes that he would kill Fang Yue.
• Fang Yue’s aptitude reached ten thousand, becoming One in Ten Thousand, and his body grew stronger as he cultivated in the cold pool.
• Ghost Face Prajna broke into the Imperial Observatory’s courtyard and killed its elderly cook, who had poisoned himself in a futile attempt to stop him.
• Fang Yue returned to the courtyard, found its servants dead, and faced Ghost Face Prajna, who demanded that he lead him to the node.

Fang Yue fought off the Ghost-faced Man in Green and fled into a poisonous valley, where he lost consciousness and was rescued by members of the Xuanming Sect. After recovering, he found himself in an unfamiliar mountain settlement, where Qiu Di mistook him for an idiot and planned to make him her disciple.

• Fang Yue attacked the Ghost-faced Man in Green, but escaped after Luo Wei and another pursuer joined the fight.
• The Ghost-faced Man in Green pursued Fang Yue because the beast hide held the secret to a treasure trove, while Fang Yue fled toward a miasma-filled valley.
• Fang Yue entered the valley and disappeared; after waiting outside for three days, the pursuers left, believing he had died.
• A white-robed Xuanming Sect elder treated Fang Yue, while Qiu Di asked to refine him into an Iron Corpse and was refused.
• Fang Yue awoke after recovering from his injuries and recalled entering the valley before being attacked by savage beasts.
• Qiu Di called Fang Yue an idiot, ordered him to work with her, and decided to make him her disciple.

Fang Yue discovered that the valley leading out of the mountains had vanished and faced a three-year wait to leave Peach Blossom Village. As he considered Qiu Di’s offer to take him out, a pack of wolves surrounded the village and a massive red-eyed wolf approached.

• Fang Yue searched for the valley but found it gone, confirming Lin Chan’s warning that it would not reopen for three years.
• Qiu Di offered to take Fang Yue out if he became her disciple, claiming to be a member of the Xuanming Sect, but Fang Yue remained skeptical.
• Qiu Di tricked village children out of their snacks and fled after distracting them with a false warning about a Mountain Spirit.
• The village chief questioned Lin Chan about keeping Fang Yue in the village, and Lin Chan said Fang Yue would leave in a few days.
• More than a hundred black wolves gathered outside the village, and the villagers killed one that crossed the invisible barrier.
• A huge black wolf with blood-red eyes raced toward the village from a distant hillside.

Fang Yue left Peach Blossom Village with Qiu Di after the villagers blamed him for the wolf attack, and the pair traveled toward the Great Mang Mountain Range as he sought a way back to his family. The Wolf King caught up with them, and Fang Yue wounded it in their ongoing fight.

• When the villagers demanded Fang Yue be driven out, Qiu Di defended him, but Fang Yue left the village to draw the wolves away, and Qiu Di followed.
• Fang Yue realized the wolves were attracted to the beast hide he carried, and he and Qiu Di hid overnight in a valley cave.
• The next morning, Fang Yue asked Qiu Di to take him back to his world, promising to acknowledge her as his master if she did.
• Qiu Di explained that they were in a primeval mountain range and that the Great Mang Mountain Range contained fissures leading to the outside world, so they traveled northeast for several days.
• The Wolf King caught up with Fang Yue and Qiu Di, and Fang Yue fought it, striking it repeatedly and leaving three deep bloody wounds.

Fang Yue and Qiu Di traveled toward Great Mang Mountain, fought off Hui Tribe pursuers, and encountered strange, powerful beasts along the way. Near the mountain, they met a group from the Wu Tribe bearing the Blood Dragon Platform’s emblem, and Fang Yue wondered whether they knew a route out.

• Fang Yue killed the Wolf King, and he and Qiu Di gathered its best meat and hide before continuing toward Great Mang Mountain.
• Fang Yue sensed danger on a grassland and protected Qiu Di from arrows fired by Hui Tribe riders; he drove off their leader and escaped with her on horseback.
• Qiu Di explained that the Hui Tribe worshipped Demon Beasts and would relentlessly pursue anyone who killed one of them.
• As Fang Yue and Qiu Di traveled deeper toward Great Mang Mountain, they encountered fewer but far more powerful beasts, including a massive bear and a snake that breathed freezing air.
• Fang Yue and Qiu Di encountered twenty black-clad people from the Wu Tribe, marked with the Blood Dragon Platform emblem, and Fang Yue wondered whether they could lead him out of the mountain.

Fang Yue found the Blood Dragon Platform’s passage through Great Mang Mountain and fought his way through its guards. He emerged back in the Great Wei Dynasty, leaving the captured elder unconscious in the cave.

• Fang Yue learned from Qiu Di that the Wu Tribe, also called the Blood Dragon Platform, had arrived through a passage in Great Mang Mountain, and he tracked their route to a guarded valley.
• Fang Yue knocked Qiu Di unconscious and left her with Lin Chan, then told Lin Chan about the turmoil in the Great Wei Dynasty before heading into the mountain alone.
• Fang Yue infiltrated the valley disguised as a Blood Dragon Platform guard and found a cave that served as the passage.
• Fang Yue killed several guards, captured the elder who tried to flee, and forced him to reveal that the passage’s far side was unguarded.
• Fang Yue exited the cave into daylight and recognized that he had returned to the Great Wei Dynasty, then left the unconscious elder behind.

Fang Yue emerged from Mo Mountain and encountered the Zhou Family caravan, where Young Master Chen seized a Demonic Core and challenged him over the Demon Cores he carried. Young Master Chen wounded Fang Yue and left the fight unresolved.

• Fang Yue found himself in Shanyang Prefecture and spent three days traveling toward Mo Mountain as he sought a way back to Guangfeng Prefecture.
• Zhou Zhengyang led the Zhou Family caravan into Mo Mountain despite warnings, where the guards killed a wild boar before a Black Python attacked them.
• Zhou Zhengyang killed the Black Python and discovered a Demonic Core, but Young Master Chen took it and offered him ten taels of silver.
• Fang Yue emerged from Mo Mountain, and Young Master Chen demanded that he hand over his Demon Cores.
• Fang Yue fought Young Master Chen's two maidservants, then was wounded in the chest when Young Master Chen attacked him with a short blade.

Fang Yue defeated Young Master Chen but let him escape, then returned to Xiahe County and discovered Magistrate Liu was hunting the loyalist soldiers led by Fang Hu. The chapter ended with Magistrate Liu’s troops surrounding Fang Hu’s forces at Black Wind Ridge, while Fang Yue was positioned to intervene.

• Fang Yue fought Young Master Chen to a standstill and knocked him unconscious, but Young Master Chen’s maidservants helped him flee; Zhou Zhengyang then burned the caravan’s goods and escaped with his people.
• Fang Yue reached Xiahe County, recognized Magistrate Liu among the rebel officials, and heard that he was oppressing the townspeople.
• Disguised as a Yamen runner, Fang Yue learned that Magistrate Liu planned to attack the loyalist soldiers at Black Wind Ridge and capture Fang Hu and his son.
• At Black Wind Ridge, Fang Hu agreed to withdraw the next day as his remaining soldiers lost hope, but Magistrate Liu arrived with more than a thousand troops and surrounded the valley.

Fang Yue reunited with Fang Hu after killing Magistrate Liu and helped his group escape Shanyang Prefecture, but their route through Boundary Mountain led them to witness King Wucheng battle an azure Demon Dragon. The chapter ended with a white-haired elder intervening to stop King Wucheng from killing the wounded dragon, leaving Fang Yue shocked to learn the rebel king’s identity and strength.

• Magistrate Liu's troops trapped Fang Hu's group in a burning gorge, but Fang Yue shot and killed Magistrate Liu, allowing Fang Hu and the surviving soldiers to break through.
• Fang Hu and Fang Yue reunited and led their group toward Boundary Mountain, hoping to return to Guangfeng Prefecture, then followed a stream past the rebel patrols.
• A strange storm forced Fang Yue to leave the cave, where he saw an azure Demon Dragon fighting a blood-scented powerhouse in the sky.
• The powerhouse, King Wucheng, gained the upper hand and prepared to kill the injured Demon Dragon, but a white-haired elder arrived and urged him to spare it.
• Fang Yue recognized the powerhouse as King Wucheng and realized why the rebel king had been able to stir up such turmoil.

Fang Yue took a fallen Dragon Claw from the Azure Dragon’s remains and ate its meat, gaining a dramatic increase in aptitude and physical strength. Wu Yong led soldiers into the forest to hunt down whoever had taken the claw, while Fang Yue finished cultivating in a cave.

• King Wucheng fought Chen Hong and the Azure Dragon, and the Azure Dragon’s body was blasted apart in the battle.
• Fang Yue picked up a fallen Dragon Claw, told Fang Hu what had happened, and left alone for the mountains to avoid endangering his companions.
• Fang Yue cooked and ate the Dragon Meat in a cave, gaining 10,000 Aptitude Points and feeling his body being tempered.
• Wu Yong arrived at the place where the Dragon Claw had fallen and led his soldiers into the forest to find the thief.
• Fang Yue finished cultivating and discovered that his physical strength had roughly doubled to about 110,000 jin.