Chapter Summaries

Chen Xiuyuan escaped a gray wolf by cutting through his trapped bag strap and found himself in an unfamiliar land filled with immense wilderness and a creature swimming beneath the clouds. As the wolf cornered him on a ledge, an old man arrived and gave him a knife and directions to uncover hidden stone steps.

• Chen Xiuyuan wedged himself into a rocky gap to escape the gray wolf, then cut his shoulder strap with a broken metal shard and climbed onto a ledge.
• Chen Xiuyuan saw a vast forest and a gigantic scaled creature moving beneath the clouds, then wrapped his bleeding calf as the gray wolf searched for a way up.
• Chen Xiuyuan grabbed withered vines while considering climbing down, but an old man below warned him not to step on the rotten outer vines.
• The old man drove the gray wolf back with a thrown stone and extended a short knife to Chen Xiuyuan.
• The old man instructed Chen Xiuyuan to cut through the whitish vine in the middle of the bundle to uncover stone steps as the wolf prepared to attack.

Chen Xiuyuan and Elder Shi escaped the gray wolf by uncovering hidden stone steps and reached an old hunting shelter, where Chen Xiuyuan learned more about his strange cultivation text. The wolf—or something else with an injured paw—approached the shelter as they prepared to rest.

• Chen Xiuyuan cut through the hidden white vine while Elder Shi held off the gray wolf, revealing stone steps in the gully wall.
• Chen Xiuyuan descended the steps and helped Elder Shi retreat after the wolf backed away.
• Chen Xiuyuan recovered his reporting bag and its damaged contents before he and Elder Shi reached an old hunting shelter.
• Elder Shi introduced himself, and Chen Xiuyuan practiced cutting dried meat with the short knife.
• Chen Xiuyuan summoned a text stating that cultivation attainment never regressed and that sufficient accumulation guaranteed advancement.
• A slow scrape sounded outside the shelter, followed by the sound of an injured forepaw dragging across the stone entrance.

Chen Xiuyuan and Elder Shi escaped a shelter after trapping a Fang Wolf beneath a falling stone slab, with Chen Xiuyuan cutting the rope that released it. They reached the mountain pass at dawn, where a horn announced the Bloodstone Tribe.

• Elder Shi and Chen Xiuyuan held the shelter door against a Fang Wolf and discovered a narrow escape route through the rear wall.
• Chen Xiuyuan prepared to cut the rope holding a stone slab while Elder Shi lured the wolf toward the doorway.
• Elder Shi drew the Fang Wolf's front legs inside, and Chen Xiuyuan cut the rope so the slab pinned the beast.
• Chen Xiuyuan helped the injured Elder Shi escape through the rear gap and down the slope, then they treated their wounds and rested.
• At dawn, Elder Shi let Chen Xiuyuan keep the blade, and a horn sounded from the direction of the Bloodstone Tribe.

Chen Xiuyuan arrived at the Bloodstone Tribe, helped Elder Shi treat an injured hunter, and learned that he was on the Xuanhuang Continent. Shi Qiren allowed him to stay temporarily, and Shi Yuan approached with a possible job as Chen Xiuyuan prepared to recover and find work.

• Shi Qiren questioned Chen Xiuyuan at the gate, searched his belongings, and agreed to have the patrol look for Qin Chuan.
• Elder Shi brought Chen Xiuyuan into the medicine shed, where Chen helped treat an injured hunter and carefully bandaged the man's wrist.
• Shi Qiren offered Chen Xiuyuan a temporary place to stay with Elder Shi and told him to avoid the mountains while his injuries healed.
• Chen Xiuyuan asked where he was and learned that the land was called the Xuanhuang Continent.
• Shi Yuan brought Elder Shi a basket of meat and asked Chen Xiuyuan whether he could stand the next day, since he was looking for work.

Chen Xiuyuan preserved his mother's last voice message in his notebook while grieving the loss of contact with his family and the disappearance of Qin Chuan. After Elder Shi encouraged him to eat, heal, and learn, Chen Xiuyuan decided to work at the meat shed and begin preparing to travel home.

• Chen Xiuyuan listened to his mother's voice message, tried to reply, and wrote down her words when he realized his messages could not be sent.
• Chen Xiuyuan recorded Qin Chuan's name and last known details in his notebook, but left his whereabouts blank.
• Elder Shi fed Chen Xiuyuan and explained that Shi Yuan would have him clean scraps and learn to recognize beast meat at the meat shed.
• Elder Shi sang the 'Ballad of Awaiting Return' and advised Chen Xiuyuan to heal, learn, and become capable enough to travel.
• Chen Xiuyuan resolved to work at the meat shed, copied the ballad into his notebook, and found that Elder Shi had left him a whetstone and knife to learn to sharpen.

Chen Xiuyuan learned to sharpen a knife and separate sinew from beast meat under Elder Shi’s guidance. After finding a narrow knife that suited the task, he finished a basin of meat, and Shi Lei challenged him to try a much thicker piece.

• Elder Shi showed Chen Xiuyuan how to remove burrs from a knife and hold its edge at the right angle on the whetstone.
• Chen Xiuyuan damaged the blade on a hidden bone fragment while sorting meat, then Elder Shi taught him to find the sinew’s direction and separate it from the flesh.
• Chen Xiuyuan practiced the technique until he could remove whole strands of sinew with little meat attached.
• Shi Yuan lent Chen Xiuyuan a narrow knife, which made it easier for him to work through another basin of meat.
• Shi Lei brought Chen Xiuyuan a thick piece of leg meat packed with sinew and asked if he dared to try it.

Chen Xiuyuan earned his own food by processing meat and successfully stripping an Ironback Ox’s bow sinew. After sharing the meal with Elder Shi, he wondered about Shi Lei’s strength, and Elder Shi asked whether he wanted to learn to train.

• Chen Xiuyuan asked whether his work processing meat counted toward a food share, and Shi Yuan gave him a token bearing his name.
• Chen Xiuyuan carefully stripped the Ironback Ox sinew while Shi Lei held the meat steady, leaving the sinew intact for repairing a bowstring.
• Shi Yuan recorded Chen Xiuyuan’s work and gave him meat and a leg bone for the day.
• Chen Xiuyuan brought the food home and added half his meat to the pot so Elder Shi could eat his usual share.
• Chen Xiuyuan asked whether Shi Lei had trained, and Elder Shi asked if he wanted to learn too.

Chen Xiuyuan learned the Savage Elephant Great Strength Art under Elder Shi and initiated it, beginning to mobilize his Qi and blood. He discovered that his cultivation needed restorative medicinal food, but the herb shed lacked scarlet whisker root, which grew beyond Broken Stream.

• Chen Xiuyuan agreed to learn the Savage Elephant Great Strength Art, and Elder Shi taught him its sitting posture and breathing until his progress reached eighteen percent.
• Chen Xiuyuan practiced while recovering and helping at the meat shed and herb shed, raising his progress to sixty-seven percent before his leg healed enough for standing practice.
• Shi Lei demonstrated the standing posture, and Chen Xiuyuan corrected his stance by planting his feet properly and linked the movements together.
• Chen Xiuyuan initiated the art and felt warmth spreading through his body as he mobilized Qi and blood, but Elder Shi told him he had not yet opened a Heavenly Meridian.
• Chen Xiuyuan read that Limit Breaking required mastering an art and developing new understanding, then discovered his first Heavenly Meridian accumulation had reached three percent.
• Elder Shi said Chen Xiuyuan needed restorative medicinal food to keep practicing and revealed that the herb shed was short of scarlet whisker root, which grew beyond Broken Stream.

Chen Xiuyuan learned to distinguish scarlet whisker root from brown thread root and caught brown thread root hidden in a bundle meant for medicine. After Elder Shi confirmed his work, Chen Xiuyuan agreed to join Shi Lei’s herb-gathering trip across Broken Stream the next morning.

• Elder Shi taught Chen Xiuyuan to identify the roots by their crowns and rootlets rather than by color, and Chen Xiuyuan set aside specimens he could not confidently identify.
• Chen Xiuyuan found brown thread root concealed inside a bundle of scarlet whisker root and alerted Elder Shi before the herbs could be used.
• Chen Xiuyuan sorted the bundle, separated uncertain damaged roots, and received Elder Shi’s confirmation that the usable roots were correctly identified.
• Elder Shi gave Chen Xiuyuan a whole scarlet whisker root to draw and explained that Shi Lei and the others would gather them across Broken Stream.
• Chen Xiuyuan asked Shi Lei to take him along, and Elder Shi approved a short trip as long as Chen Xiuyuan did not carry anything heavy.
• Shi Lei told Chen Xiuyuan to stay among the herb gatherers, follow instructions, and ask before handling unfamiliar plants; they planned to leave when the gate opened the next morning.

Chen Xiuyuan joined Shi Lei, Auntie Sang, and another warrior on his first herb-gathering trip into the mountains, learning to identify and carefully harvest scarlet whisker root. At the gorge, the group found their bridge deliberately cut and heard two whistles from the opposite bank.

• Chen Xiuyuan left the tribe with Shi Lei, Auntie Sang, and a saber-carrying warrior after Shi Qiren told them to stay together.
• Auntie Sang taught Chen Xiuyuan to identify scarlet whisker root, and he carefully harvested one plant while leaving a smaller one to grow.
• Chen Xiuyuan spotted tracks resembling those of a fang wolf, and Shi Lei led the group around them.
• The group reached the gorge and found the bridge broken; Chen Xiuyuan noticed knife cuts on the severed rope, and Shi Lei told everyone to get behind the trees.
• Two shrill whistles sounded from the shadows on the opposite bank.

Chen Xiuyuan and the others discovered that masked archers were guarding the broken bridge and blocking their retreat. After identifying the archers’ positions, Chen Xiuyuan crawled toward the bridge post to retrieve a rope while Shi Lei covered him.

• A whistle and an arrow revealed that the group was under attack, so Shi Lei ordered everyone to abandon their baskets and take only essential supplies.
• Shi Lei and Chen Xiuyuan spotted two archers across the creek and worked out how their positions covered the open ground and the route back.
• Chen Xiuyuan proposed using the rock shelf to reach the rope beneath the bridge, and Shi Lei agreed to cover him while Ge Ping waited to pull it in.
• Chen Xiuyuan smeared mud on his saber and crawled toward the bridge post as Shi Lei watched the archers.

Chen Xiuyuan and his companions recovered a bridge rope, but discovered beast lure on it and realized the armed men across the stream posed a serious threat. With the group trapped at the bridgehead and a beast approaching, they planned to distract the archer guarding their route while preparing to descend into the gully; Chen Xiuyuan ended the chapter hidden behind a slanted rock, ready to pull a basket on a cord.

• Chen Xiuyuan wedged a stone beneath the crossbeam, cut the old handrail rope free, and escaped the rock channel with Ge Ping's help.
• Shi Duo tested the rope, and Auntie Sang found beast lure on its end and a matching powder packet hidden near the bridge post.
• Shi Lei checked the south end while the group noticed a ford upstream and discussed how to reach the gully without exposing themselves to the archers.
• Ge Ping spotted a beast in the woods, and Chen Xiuyuan proposed dragging a basket north on a cord to lure the archer away from the gray rock.
• Shi Lei prepared to cover the group, Shi Duo went south with the rope, and Chen Xiuyuan hid behind a slanted rock and took up the cord's slack.

Chen Xiuyuan and the others escaped into a gully while Shi Lei and Shi Duo fought off their pursuers, but Ge Ping was wounded during the retreat. As rain began to fall, Chen Xiuyuan called for them to stop and treat Ge Ping’s bleeding.

• Chen Xiuyuan used the herb basket as bait, and Shi Lei shot the gray-clad archer in the arm when he emerged from behind a rock.
• Shi Lei led Auntie Sang and the others down into the gully while Shi Duo fought a masked attacker at the entrance.
• An arrow struck near Ge Ping as he descended, and Chen Xiuyuan helped him reach the bottom of the gully.
• Shi Lei covered Shi Duo as he slid down the rope, but the masked attacker cut it before Shi Duo reached the bottom.
• The group moved deeper into the gully as Ge Ping weakened from his arm wound, and Chen Xiuyuan called for them to stop and control the bleeding.

Shi Lei led Auntie Sang, Chen Xiuyuan, Ge Ping, and Shi Duo through the rain while they evaded pursuers and found a safe crossing over the flooded gully. They rested near an old kiln, then prepared to return to Blood Stone with a broken arrow still lodged in Auntie Sang’s basket.

• Auntie Sang dressed Ge Ping’s arm wound while Chen Xiuyuan helped him, and Shi Lei arranged their gear before the group continued through the gully.
• Shi Lei laid misleading tracks at a fork, and the group hid as pursuers followed the false trail.
• When floodwater blocked their path, Ge Ping remembered a stone bridge by the old kiln and guided the group to it.
• The five crossed the stone bridge and rested behind a wall, sharing Ge Ping’s dry flatbread while Shi Duo tended his forehead cut.
• Chen Xiuyuan found a broken arrow lodged in Auntie Sang’s basket, and Shi Lei told him to bring it back without removing it.

After surviving an ambush at Broken Stream, Chen Xiuyuan and the others returned to Bloodstone Gate, where Shi Qiren began investigating the attack and the injured received treatment. The chapter ended with Chen Xiuyuan asking Elder Shi to teach him the saber so he could defend himself next time.

• Shi Lei led the five survivors back to Bloodstone Gate, where Elder Shi treated Ge Ping, Shi Duo, and Chen Xiuyuan.
• Chen Xiuyuan showed Shi Qiren the broken arrow and mapped the attackers’ positions, while Shi Duo recorded how the rope beneath the bridge had been cut.
• Shi Qiren ordered the patrol to warn households and question travelers, then promised to investigate the bridge and report what they learned to the five survivors.
• Elder Shi treated Chen Xiuyuan’s leg and ordered him to rest, while Chen Xiuyuan gave his share of medicinal roots to those in greater need.
• Chen Xiuyuan returned Elder Shi’s short saber and asked to learn how to use it so he could defend himself in another encounter.

Chen Xiuyuan returned the borrowed saber and, after his injured leg improved, began learning the Bloodstone Saber Technique from Shi Lei. He made early progress but discovered that fear of hurting his leg caused him to favor one side, so Shi Lei planned to correct his stance the next day.

• Chen Xiuyuan arranged to keep working at the meat shed while reserving time for saber practice, then repaired and returned Elder Shi's saber.
• Chen Xiuyuan rested and practiced until Elder Shi approved slow movements, and Shi Lei brought him a wooden saber and reported that the Broken Creek bridgehead had been tampered with.
• Shi Lei tested Chen Xiuyuan's defense, identified flaws in his attacks, and taught him the opening movements of the Bloodstone Saber Technique.
• Chen Xiuyuan practiced blocks and withdrawals, raising the technique's progress to 6% before lunch and 23% by evening.
• Shi Lei showed Chen Xiuyuan that he instinctively shifted away from his injured leg, leaving the opposite side open, and said they would correct his stance the next day.

Chen Xiuyuan steadily recovered his leg and advanced his saber training by practicing carefully, resting, and separating tasks instead of overexerting himself. After initiating the Bloodstone Saber Technique, he found his cultivation progressing too and learned he needed more nourishing food to support his increased training.

• Shi Lei taught Chen Xiuyuan to receive and deflect attacks within the limits of his injured leg, and Chen Xiuyuan improved his balance and saber technique.
• Elder Shi stopped Chen Xiuyuan from overtraining, explained how to settle his breathing after exertion, and advised him to handle medicine decoction and saber practice separately.
• Chen Xiuyuan followed a more orderly routine, connected new saber movements, and gradually regained weight-bearing ability in his injured leg.
• On the twelfth day after returning, Chen Xiuyuan completed the full saber sequence against Shi Lei's attacks and initiated the Bloodstone Saber Technique.
• Chen Xiuyuan's Savage Elephant Art and Heavenly Meridian progress advanced, and Elder Shi told him he needed more blood food and nourishment as his training increased.
• Chen Xiuyuan decided to ask for more work at the meat shed so he could obtain additional food.

Chen Xiuyuan earned beast blood through careful work inside the gate and used it, alongside measured practice, to advance his cultivation and saber skills. His first Heavenly Meridian reached 97%, and Elder Shi agreed to watch over him as he attempted to open it the next morning.

• Chen Xiuyuan took on gate duties sorting baskets and recording deliveries, earning a separate share of beast blood without risking his healing leg.
• Shi Yuan verified Chen Xiuyuan's work tally and set aside his earned portion, which Elder Shi inspected and instructed him to use gradually alongside regular meals and practice.
• Chen Xiuyuan advanced his first-meridian accumulation through controlled cultivation while continuing his work and morning practice.
• When rain forced saber practice into a cramped shed, Chen Xiuyuan adapted his movements to the space and learned to account for what was behind him.
• On the twenty-third day after his return, Elder Shi found Chen Xiuyuan's leg no longer hindered normal walking, and Chen Xiuyuan's first-meridian accumulation reached 97%.
• Chen Xiuyuan asked Elder Shi to watch over his attempt to open the first Heavenly Meridian the next morning, and Elder Shi agreed.

Chen Xiuyuan opened his first Heavenly Meridian, tested the strength and control it gave him, and began learning the route for the next one. Shi Yuan then told him that an old arrow-making craftsman recognized the broken arrow and wanted to ask him about it the next morning.

• Chen Xiuyuan completed his accumulation and opened his first Heavenly Meridian under Elder Shi’s guidance.
• Chen Xiuyuan tested his new strength by carrying a stone block and practicing with Shi Lei, discovering that his power had improved but his technique still needed work.
• Elder Shi showed Chen Xiuyuan a more detailed meridian diagram and explained that opening all 108 Heavenly Meridians would not complete his cultivation.
• Shi Yuan brought Chen Xiuyuan the meat he had missed collecting and said the old arrow-making craftsman wanted to ask him how he got the broken arrow.
• Chen Xiuyuan looked up the arrow’s location in his herb-identification booklet after Shi Yuan said Auntie Sang also had something to show him.

Chen Xiuyuan and Shi Yuan traced a batch of arrow shafts and medicinal herbs to the same cart by questioning a workshop master, Auntie Sang, and a porter. The porter produced a charred wooden tag from the cart, while the arrow tubes and the source of a strange smell remained unconfirmed.

• The workshop master said he had made the broken arrow’s shaft batch and recalled a herb cart buying some shafts, but could not identify who had fired the arrow.
• Auntie Sang said a returned herb packet carried a scent resembling residue from beast-luring medicine, though she could not confirm its source or connect it to the bridgehead packet.
• Shi Yuan paid the porter his overdue wages, and Chen Xiuyuan arranged for him to stay safely inside the gates before asking what he had seen.
• The porter described long tubes with bundled slender rods, a cart with a repaired shaft, and a route whose unloading details matched Shi Yuan’s records and the herb shipment.
• The porter said he had seen a yellow leaf packet wrapped in thin vines, then produced a charred wooden tag that he said had hung from the cart.