Chapter Summaries

Jiang Man reached Falling Cloud City to investigate demon beasts gathering near the Back Mountain, after learning that the Immortal Gate had prevented Meng Qiewei from visiting him. As Jiang Man and Song Qing headed to the sealed area, a hidden enemy arranged for him to receive a blood-colored Evil God statue, while Cheng Yu told the Dean about Jiang Man’s achievements.

• Old Yellow Ox relayed Meng Qiewei’s message that powerful Immortal Gate figures had blocked her from crossing the Magpie Bridge and that she wanted Jiang Man to grow strong enough to rescue her.
• Jiang Man arrived at the Cloudfront Office, where Song Qing had waited several days to meet him and reported demon beasts appearing in the Back Mountain outside Falling Cloud City.
• Jiang Man and Song Qing set out to inspect the sealed Back Mountain area, where Foundation Establishment demon beasts had appeared in herds.
• A ragged man delivered Jiang Man a box containing a blood-colored statue, while the middle-aged sender planned to use it to corrupt Jiang Man through the Evil God.
• Cheng Yu told the Dean that Jiang Man was coming and described his Golden Core cultivation, Outer Sect distinction, and role in the planned revision of the Simple Visualization Method.

Jiang Man investigated strange mist on Falling Cloud City's Back Mountain and discovered demons hiding inside it. After defeating a beguiling Snow-White Fox and a flame Demon Beast, he questioned the surviving enemy about the other demons and the mist.

• The dean learned that Jiang Man had reached Golden Core in four years and arranged for Cheng Yu to return home with his support.
• Jiang Man brought Song Qing to the Back Mountain, where he sensed the aura of an Ancient Well-type Secret Realm in the mist and ordered everyone else to leave.
• The demons debated avoiding Jiang Man, then sent the Snow-White Fox and a flame Demon Beast to confront him while the others hid.
• The Snow-White Fox tried to beguile Jiang Man, but he struck her twice; he then broke the flame Demon Beast's hand and drove it into the ground.
• Jiang Man questioned the injured flame Demon Beast, which claimed only it and the fox were there and taunted him for not understanding the mist.

Jiang Man escaped a group of powerful Demon Beasts when the Magpie Bridge appeared and led him to a mysterious armored man. The man asked Jiang Man to kill the powerful woman who had crossed out of the Immortal Gate, leaving Jiang Man stunned by the request.

• The Demon Beasts decided to capture Jiang Man alive, but their ambush failed to stop him from fleeing.
• Jiang Man fought off the pursuing Flood Dragon and other demons until a river appeared and a stone stele announced the opening of the Magpie Bridge.
• Jiang Man entered the Magpie Bridge and met a man in Silver-White Armor, who claimed to be a Peerless Heavenly Prodigy.
• The man explained that someone powerful had escaped the Immortal Gate through the Magpie Bridge and asked Jiang Man to kill her.
• Jiang Man realized the target might be his wife and questioned how he could be expected to kill someone the Immortal Gate itself feared.

Jiang Man accepted Ting Fengyin’s mission to kill Meng Qiewei’s power avatar and received a Special Inspector’s token, while Meng Qiewei prepared to leave for the Wuyun Sect. Jiang Man returned from the mountain to preside over the Cloudfront Office Examination, where the Dean mistook Ting Fengyin’s feats for his.

• Ting Fengyin told Jiang Man to grow stronger and kill Meng Qiewei’s power avatar, then appointed him a Special Inspector in the Mountain Suppression Bureau.
• Ting Fengyin gave Jiang Man a Mountain Suppression Token, explained his duties, and showed him how to use the marked statue to find another Evil God.
• Ting Fengyin vanished after telling Jiang Man that the demon had fled, leaving Jiang Man to return and prepare for the Cloudfront Office Examination.
• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that the lineage had chosen five Primordial Spirit candidates for the marriage alliance, and Meng Qiewei later ordered her to notify the Immortal Gate that they were ready to depart.
• Jiang Man reached the mountain’s foot, where the Dean and others praised him for dispersing the mist and beast horde, unaware Ting Fengyin had performed those feats.

Jiang Man returned to the Cloudfront Office, reunited with Song Qing, and prepared to oversee the August fifteenth examination. When the Zhao Family tried to force a student into the first batch admitted to the Sect, Jiang Man refused their demand and broke their envoy’s wrist, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Jiang Man arrived at the Cloudfront Office with Song Qing, and the guards realized that the visitor they had mocked was a powerful Golden Core figure.
• Jiang Man toured the Cloudfront Office, learned that Chang Qiwen’s younger sister Chang Qiwen was aiming to enter the Sect, and received a cultivation site from the Dean.
• On August fifteenth, Jiang Man began reviewing the student records and discovered that the Zhao Family wanted Zhao Tianhe to replace the fifth-ranked student in the first group admitted to the Sect.
• The Dean and a Zhao Family envoy pressured Jiang Man to accept the arrangement, but Jiang Man refused and declared that he would remove the Zhao Family’s Inner Sect elder from his position.
• When the envoy threatened Jiang Man, Jiang Man snapped his wrist and ordered him to stand quietly on the platform.
• Ji Hao learned that the Zhao Family’s people had already set out and planned to find a chance to speak with Jiang Man.

Jiang Man completed the Cloudfront Office assessment and prepared to return to the Sect, while Meng Qiewei traveled toward the Wuyun Sect disguised as Ji Meng and considered the danger posed by an unknown Special Inspector. Before departing, Jiang Man listened as Song Qing worried over his relationship with the Chang Household's little sister and tried to comfort him with a meat bun.

• Ji Hao worried that the Immortal Gate's unknown Special Inspector might be connected to the Ji Family's marriage alliance and searched a map from a mountain peak.
• Meng Qiewei and Qing Dai traveled with Ji Shuying's party through the Endless Mountain Range, and Qing Dai reported that the Immortal Gate had appointed a Special Inspector sent to the Wuyun Sect.
• Jiang Man reviewed the Cloudfront Office exam results, found Yang Fan had deliberately suppressed his cultivation, and ordered the Dean to admit the top five and arrange places for other candidates.
• Jiang Man slapped the middle-aged man who taunted him, then gave the Dean instructions for admissions, livelihoods, and future inspections.
• Song Qing waited for the Chang Household's little sister to visit after passing the exam, but she did not come, and his roommates warned him that they now belonged to different worlds.
• Jiang Man took Song Qing to buy meat buns, heard why Song Qing felt unsettled, and told him not to overthink it before leaving for the Cloudfront Office.

Jiang Man returned to the sect with five new disciples and discovered that a hidden technique had been placed on him, while Old Yellow Ox explained the danger and significance of Tingfeng Yin’s appointment. After Jiang Man received his Inspector credentials and reported the Evil God Statue, Ji Hao offered him Spirit Sources to meet potential marriage candidates, revealing that he had delayed the Immortal Abode’s opening.

• Jiang Man brought Luo Hu, Li Mo, Zhao Tiankuo, and the others to the sect, where Zhao Tiankuo secretly marked Jiang Man and reported to the Zhao Family.
• Old Yellow Ox identified a disguised Demon Race technique on Jiang Man and warned that someone among the five newcomers might have placed it on him.
• Jiang Man told Old Yellow Ox about Tingfeng Yin, his mission to kill Meng Qiewei, and the Inspector appointment; Old Yellow Ox confirmed Tingfeng Yin’s immense power and advised caution.
• Jiang Man unlocked the Identity Token and learned he had been appointed an Inspector of the Mountain Suppression Bureau under the codename Drunken Floating Life.
• Jiang Man gave Teacher Yan the Evil God Statue and information to pass on to Ren Qian, then refused Ji Hao’s invitation to meet marriage candidates until Ji Hao offered three thousand Spirit Sources per person.
• Ji Hao revealed that he had delayed the Immortal Abode’s opening so Jiang Man could meet the young women first.

Jiang Man learned about the Wind-Rain City Zhao Household, cultivated through the autumn, and prepared to meet the Ji Family women brought for a marriage alliance. As Ji Shuying went to meet him, Qing Dai guessed that Ji Rou was the most likely to marry him, while Meng Qiewei asked what Qing Dai thought of her own chances.

• Jiang Man asked Zhao Yaoyao about Zhao Tiankuo and learned that the Wind-Rain City Zhao Household used framing and sabotage against people seeking to enter the Inner Sect.
• Chang Qin entered the Sixth Courtyard and was mistaken for the servant of a wealthy household when two young women questioned her about her family.
• Jiang Man struck Song Qing for urging Little Fatty to return to his family, then heard Song Qing describe his past connection with Chang Family's Younger Sister.
• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that the Ji Family had arranged a meeting with Jiang Man, and Meng Qiewei agreed to meet him rather than risk disobeying the elders.
• Jiang Man cultivated from September through November, reached the twelfth layer of Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea, and accepted three thousand Spirit Sources from Ji Hao to meet someone from the direct line.
• Ji Shuying left to meet Jiang Man, and Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that Ji Rou seemed the most likely of the young women to marry him.

Jiang Man met several Ji Family women in quick succession, then recognized a terrifying resemblance between the last one, Meng Qiewei, and his wife. He returned to Cloud Glow Peak and learned she was trapped inside the Immortal Gate, while the Mountain-Suppressing Office continued investigating the Evil God.

• Jiang Man rejected Ji Shuying, Ji Zhixia, Ji Rou, and Ji Suyue in turn, and received fifteen thousand Spirit Sources for the meetings.
• Jiang Man sensed danger from Meng Qiewei, ended their meeting quickly, and fled on his sword; Qing Dai realized Meng Qiewei had come to meet her husband, Jiang Man.
• Jiang Man told Old Yellow Ox he suspected Meng Qiewei had arrived, and Old Yellow Ox advised him to wait rather than flee.
• Meng Qiewei sent Jiang Man a message saying powerful Immortal Gate cultivators occupied the Magpie Bridge and asking whether he missed her.
• Ren Qian ordered the Enforcement Hall to send reports to the newly appointed Inspector and discussed the office’s discovery of an untranslated stele containing records about the Evil God.

Jiang Man investigated Zhao Tiankuo’s sudden rise while remaining focused on cultivating and avoiding Meng Qiewei’s invitation. After reaching major mastery in Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea, he hurried to meet his wife, unaware that she could strike him through a mark she had planted.

• Jiang Man heard that Zhao Tiankuo had reached Foundation Establishment through a replicable but difficult cultivation path, and the Outer Sect began comparing the new Heavenly Pride with him.
• Ji Hao offered to arrange formation lessons with Ji Meng for three thousand Spirit Sources per lesson, and Jiang Man accepted while asking about Zhao Tiankuo.
• In the Inner Sect, Third Master and Old Meng plotted to frame Jiang Man by claiming Old Yellow Ox was an Evil God and planning to plant its aura on the ox after Jiang Man entered the Immortal Abode.
• Jiang Man spent November and the following months raising his Golden Core Method, ignored offers and Meng Qiewei’s invitation, and reached major mastery in Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea in early February.
• After Old Yellow Ox warned him that Meng Qiewei could strike through a mark she had planted, Jiang Man rushed to keep their appointment while Qing Dai worried that her young lady might come after him.

Qing Dai learned that the Immortal Gate had discovered one of the Ten Great Evil Gods was missing, then Jiang Man arrived at Ji Meng’s residence to study formation arts with Meng Qiewei. He began learning the basics and revealed that he had once survived on coarse steamed buns, leaving Qing Dai eager to investigate his past.

• Qing Dai heard from Ji Wuye that the Immortal Gate had found one of the Ten Great Evil Gods missing, though they did not know which one.
• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei about the missing Evil God, and Meng Qiewei asked her to discover its name.
• Jiang Man visited Ji Meng’s courtyard, where Qing Dai ushered him in and Meng Qiewei offered him a choice between two formation arts.
• Jiang Man chose Mountains and Seas Array Patterns, but Qing Dai learned he had no foundation in formation arts, so Meng Qiewei began teaching him the basics and gave him books of Formation Runes.
• Jiang Man read nearly half a book and tasted a lotus-leaf rice cake, then told Meng Qiewei he had once eaten only one coarse steamed bun a day; Qing Dai was shocked and decided to investigate his past.

Qing Dai investigated Jiang Man’s harsh upbringing, while Jiang Man learned that his Peerless Heaven’s Chosen Destiny had caught up and given him a box-opening trial tied to formation arts and cultivation. He began advancing toward the Golden Core Middle Stage, then visited Meng Qiewei to study and shared a fruit with her.

• Qing Dai showed Meng Qiewei the account of Jiang Man’s impoverished childhood, but Jiang Man said he had been happy despite the hardship.
• Jiang Man read a Mountain-Suppressing Office report about an undeciphered stele and decided to hold back Old Huang’s interpretation until the right moment.
• The Peerless Heaven’s Chosen Destiny gave Jiang Man a patterned box and required him to open its three layers within set deadlines, or suffer Golden Core damage.
• Old Yellow Ox explained that opening the box would require cultivation and knowledge of formation patterns, so Jiang Man began cultivating with his pills and Spirit Sources.
• After learning that the Immortal Abode would open in about twenty days, Jiang Man went to Meng Qiewei’s residence to study formation arts and gave her a fruit he had tested with Old Huang.

Jiang Man raced to study formation patterns and buy supplies before the Immortal Abode opened, then was pulled into its misty interior. He worried that Meng Qiewei would visit Old Huang and expose the Evil God, while Old Meng secretly prepared to target the unguarded ox.

• Jiang Man studied formation-pattern books for nearly twenty days, and Meng Qiewei advised him to prioritize them before cultivating for the Immortal Abode.
• On the last day of February, Meng Qiewei sold Jiang Man supplies, formation rights, and the remaining books for seventy-two thousand Spirit Sources.
• At midnight, the Immortal Abode pulled Jiang Man inside before he could stop Meng Qiewei from saying she would visit Old Huang the next day.
• After Jiang Man entered the Immortal Abode, Old Meng decided to use a paper figure to secretly act against the ox at Jiang Man's residence.
• Jiang Man found himself in thick mist, guarded himself with the True Martial Art, and checked the Sect's Mountain-Suppressing Office through his jade Token for news about Old Huang.

Jiang Man used a formation to clear the fog inside the Immortal Abode, where Shangguan Lingyue and Hailian joined him while secretly planning to exploit him. Back at the Wuyun Sect, Meng Qiewei went to Jiang Man’s courtyard, where Old Yellow Ox faced a poised stranger surrounded by killing intent.

• Jiang Man established a formation that cleared the fog within its bounds and let him sense approaching people.
• Shangguan Lingyue and Hailian entered Jiang Man’s formation, offered to gather materials for its expansion, and secretly planned to use him to obtain the Immortal Abode’s opportunity.
• Jiang Man gave Shangguan Lingyue and Hailian portable formation stones, allowing them to explore the fog and collect spiritual materials.
• Ji Hao visited Meng Qiewei, discussed her relationship with Jiang Man, and offered to help her branch and arrange her departure if she did not want the match.
• Meng Qiewei left alone for Jiang Man’s home, where Old Yellow Ox sensed killing intent and watched a graceful stranger approach the courtyard.

Meng Qiewei confronted Old Yellow Ox, tested his defenses, and left after confirming he would not harm Jiang Man. While Yu Wanyi learned that trouble in the Outer Sect had restricted her movements, Jiang Man mastered formation patterns, opened the first layer of his box, and discovered that Old Yellow Ox had been arrested as a suspected Evil God.

• Meng Qiewei wounded Old Yellow Ox with her power but chose not to kill him, then said she would not obstruct her relationship with Jiang Man.
• Old Yellow Ox identified himself to Meng Qiewei as the Evil God Jiang Man kept, and she warned that she would send him to Jiang Man if Jiang Man died beneath his Fate Pattern.
• Yu Wanyi heard that Jiang Man was studying formations with Ji Meng, but Ren Qian told her she could no longer leave the Enforcement Hall prison because of a major incident in the Outer Sect involving Jiang Man.
• Jiang Man studied formation patterns, expanded the bewildering formation with the others, and opened the first layer of his box to find three flawless Chaoyuan pills.
• Jiang Man read a Mountain-Suppressing Office report saying Old Yellow Ox had been taken into custody after an Evil God aura was detected at his residence, and he feared the suspicions would implicate him.

Jiang Man cultivated while waiting for the investigation into Old Yellow Ox, and rented array-pattern volumes to prepare for the future. Meanwhile, investigators and Meng Qiewei’s people uncovered how serious the case had become, while the Zhao Family celebrated Jiang Man’s expected downfall.

• Jiang Man cultivated and agreed to split the cost of renting the twenty-one beginner volumes on array patterns with Shangguan Lingyue and Hailian.
• Shangguan Lingyue brought Jiang Man the volumes, but Jiang Man chose to focus on his cultivation before studying them.
• Ren Qian told Yu Wanyi that investigators suspected Old Yellow Ox was a living Evil God and that Jiang Man would likely face arrest, surveillance, and interrogation.
• Meng Qiewei ordered Qing Dai to investigate who had spread the news, and Qing Dai found that several lineages and Inner Sect members had helped circulate it.
• Old Meng and the Third Master of the Zhao Family discussed how the case would leave Jiang Man imprisoned and ruin him.

Jiang Man watched the Mountain-Suppressing Office debate whether he had colluded with an Evil God, then intervened as Drunken Floating Life to prevent his arrest and point suspicion toward the Zhao Family of Wind-Rain City. The sect imposed strict restrictions while requesting an Immortal Gate investigation, and Red Eagle later ordered the Zhao Family arrested after finding evidence connecting them to the Evil God's aura.

• Jiang Man read Ren Qian's report about puppetry traces at his residence and learned that the Mountain-Suppressing Office would meet on April 25 to decide his case.
• Red Eagle argued for Jiang Man's arrest, while Xiang Tianlin urged an Immortal Gate investigation and Youyu supported controlling him until his innocence was established.
• Jiang Man joined the meeting through his Identity Token as Drunken Floating Life and opposed Red Eagle's proposal to convict and expel him.
• Jiang Man named the Zhao Family of Wind-Rain City as a possible culprit, and the officers voted to suspend his sect support, restrict his movements, and request an Immortal Gate investigation.
• Red Eagle's investigation found that a Zhao Family member had delivered a paper figure to Jiang Man's residence around the time the Evil God's aura appeared, so he ordered the family arrested and questioned.

Zhao Tiankuo and the Zhao Family were arrested after Jiang Man’s investigation exposed their connection to an Evil God, while Jiang Man advanced to the Golden Core Middle Stage and strengthened his position inside the Immortal Abode. After sending the Stone Stele translation to the three leaders, Jiang Man left them speculating about his backing as Red Eagle prepared to test it.

• Zhao Tiankuo was taken by the Enforcement Hall, and Ren Qian arrested Third Master and Old Meng as the investigation into the Zhao Family widened.
• Jiang Man consumed a Chaoyuan Lesser Yang Pill and advanced to the Golden Core Middle Stage, then continued studying formation runes inside the Immortal Abode.
• Shangguan Lingyue returned with an injured fellow disciple, and Jiang Man traded Spirit Sources for Chaoyuan Greater Yang Pills while continuing to study and reinforce his formation.
• Jiang Man sent Old Huang’s Stone Stele translation to Red Eagle, Xiang Tianlin, and Youyu after seeing that the Zhao Family investigation was still underway.
• Red Eagle suspected Jiang Man’s apparent knowledge and strength concealed a source of backing, and decided to test the Inspector.

Red Eagle proposed testing Jiang Man’s standing by asking him to borrow the Evil God Record from the Immortal Gate, while Jiang Man continued studying formations and strengthened his position inside the Immortal Abode. The chapter ended with Zhao Qiu and other guards questioning Jiang Man’s importance and considering whether to ask him for pills.

• Red Eagle suggested asking the Special Inspector to borrow the Evil God Record to test his status, while the group continued investigating the Stone Stele, the Zhao Family, Old Yellow Ox, and Zhao Tiankuo.
• Yu Wanyi learned Jiang Man might be released after scrutiny, while Zhao Tiankuo regretted involving the Zhao Family and hoped to redirect suspicion toward Old Yellow Ox.
• Jiang Man studied formation books, traded pills with newcomers, and learned that attackers were sacrificing people to strengthen formations and hunt others through the fog.
• After completing the twenty-one beginner formation books, Jiang Man chose to study and establish the Mountain and River Labyrinth Formation, while agreeing to lower the entry fee for newcomers.
• Shangguan Lingyue recruited the group to twenty people, and Zhao Qiu questioned whether Jiang Man deserved the pills he collected and considered asking him for some.

Jiang Man beat Zhao Qiu and three others after they tried to pressure him for pills, then used his strength and formation to make Shangguan Lingyue back down. He decided to expand his formation and compete for the Immortal Abode’s opportunities.

• Zhao Qiu persuaded three companions to demand pills from Jiang Man, hoping to weaken him and gain Shangguan Lingyue’s support.
• Jiang Man defeated all four attackers and collected twenty thousand Spirit Sources from them.
• Shangguan Lingyue returned and learned that Jiang Man, not demon beasts, had beaten Zhao Qiu and the others.
• Jiang Man demonstrated his speed and strength in the formation, forcing Shangguan Lingyue to accept that he had reached the Golden Core Middle Stage.
• Jiang Man told Shangguan Lingyue he intended to expand the formation and asked how to win the regional contest.