Chapter Summaries

Yang Zhen defended his strange tiger and phoenix paintings as works of art, and Tian Rou declared them more precious than the Sea Pavilion’s famed inscription painting. When Yang Zhen shook the paintings, they unleashed overwhelming Literary Talent Qi Inscriptions and revealed the power behind his sketches.

• Yang Zhen showed off his round tiger and chicken-like phoenix paintings, insisting they were masterpieces despite the crowd’s doubts.
• Yang Zhen challenged Ji Shulin to understand the paintings, and Tian Rou said she understood some of them.
• Tian Rou declared that Yang Zhen’s paintings were the Sea Pavilion’s most precious works, even surpassing the painting displayed on the pavilion.
• Tian Rou stood beside Yang Zhen as Sun Yushi prepared to strike at him with Literary Talent Qi and True Essence.
• Yang Zhen shook the paintings, summoning a radiant tiger and golden-crowned bird whose Literary Talent Qi Inscriptions filled the sky and overpowered the Sea Pavilion’s famed painting.
• Sun Yushi vomited blood and collapsed, while Ji Shulin stared in shock at the inscriptions.

Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue left the Sea Pavilion to avoid the master, who had sensed Yang Zhen’s Literary Talent Qi and caught up with them. The chapter ended with Yang Zhen pretending not to know him and calling him “fellow villager.”

• The Literary Talent Qi Inscriptions above the Sea Pavilion stunned the crowd, and Ji Shulin urged everyone to comprehend them.
• An old master on Turtle-Snake Island sensed the inscriptions and raced toward the East Sea coast.
• Yang Zhen withdrew his Literary Talent Qi and led Hua Youyue away, fearing the master would take him as a disciple and expose his lack of writing and painting skills.
• The master stopped Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue in midair, and Hua Youyue addressed him as her master.
• Yang Zhen claimed they had come from Raging Fire City, asked the master for directions to Donglin Island, and called him “fellow villager.”

Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue traveled toward Donglin Island after meeting the mysterious gentleman, then boarded a luxury ship that hosted Flower Moon Pavilion. Yang Zhen drew the cabin’s attention by invoking “ladies first,” and a woman on the second floor found his remark interesting.

• Yang Zhen persuaded the gentleman to give them directions to Donglin Island, then hurried away with Hua Youyue.
• Hua Youyue laughed as Yang Zhen admitted he feared the gentleman had recognized him.
• Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue boarded a large ship and entered Flower Moon Pavilion, where guests had to fulfill a condition to eat.
• Yang Zhen called for wine as if he were at a restaurant, prompting the cabin’s guests to mock him.
• When Yan'er approached with a wooden box, Yang Zhen told her that ladies should go first, and she turned toward Hua Youyue.
• A sweet voice from the second floor remarked that Yang Zhen’s words were interesting.

Yang Zhen drew a question about maximizing cultivation speed at the Flower Moon Pavilion and answered that one should simply eat and eat. Luo Wuchen challenged him, leaving the crowd stunned by his response.

• Hua Youyue drew the day's koi, which let her ask the Flower Moon Pavilion to solve a problem or enjoy its services for free, and chose to keep it.
• Yang Zhen provoked Luo Wuchen, then drew a question asking how to raise cultivation speed to its maximum.
• Yan'er explained that bystanders could challenge an answer, and Luo Wuchen stood up to challenge Yang Zhen.
• Yang Zhen answered that the simplest way to cultivate faster was to eat and eat and eat, leaving everyone speechless.

Yang Zhen answered a debate about cultivating faster by eating rare treasures, then provoked Luo Wuchen by claiming he had plenty more. As their confrontation threatened to turn violent, a graceful woman arrived at the cabin hall.

• Yang Zhen told the gathered cultivators to keep eating, and their confusion and criticism left Luo Wuchen speechless.
• Yang Zhen ate Jade Lingzhi and shared it and Colorful Cloud Dew with Hua Youyue, while Luo Wuchen watched in envy and anger.
• Yang Zhen said he had eaten so much that his Golden Core might be born prematurely, then claimed he could keep eating rare treasures every day.
• Luo Wuchen accused Yang Zhen of twisting logic and threatened him with the Azure Blessed Land, but Yang Zhen taunted him and invoked the Wutuo Gang.
• As a fierce conflict seemed imminent, a graceful woman walked up the wooden stairs into the cabin hall.

Yang Zhen flirted with Boat Mistress Yun while turning her teasing into an exchange of lofty sayings, impressing the people in the cabin hall. After Luo Wuchen misinterpreted one of his lines and drew laughter from the crowd, Yang Zhen wondered why Boat Mistress Yun had come to seek him out.

• Boat Mistress Yun descended the stairs, and Yang Zhen took her hand and praised her beauty in front of Hua Youyue and the crowd.
• Boat Mistress Yun teased Yang Zhen about his honeyed words and glanced toward Hua Youyue, who watched his response with a smile.
• Yang Zhen answered with sayings about friendship and fate, winning Boat Mistress Yun's approval and impressing the gathered onlookers.
• Luo Wuchen mocked Yang Zhen as a toad who wanted to be Boat Mistress Yun's neighbor, prompting both women and the crowd to laugh at him.
• A burly man spat out his noodles at Luo Wuchen's remark, and Yang Zhen wondered why Boat Mistress Yun had sought him out.

Yang Zhen discussed the Pill Appreciation Conference on Donglin Island with Boat Mistress Yun, who invited him to cooperate with the Flower Moon Pavilion. After she whispered an offer to him and departed, Hua Youyue pressed him to reveal what she had said.

• Boat Mistress Yun invited Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue to speak privately, but Yang Zhen asked her to join them for a meal instead.
• Boat Mistress Yun agreed to sit beside Yang Zhen, stunning Luo Wuchen and the other guests.
• Boat Mistress Yun asked Yang Zhen about pill refining and proposed that they work together at the Pill Appreciation Conference on Donglin Island.
• Yang Zhen learned that Hua Youyue was going to Donglin Island to seek a pill from a grandmaster pill refiner.
• Boat Mistress Yun whispered an offer to Yang Zhen, then left and told him to think it over.
• Hua Youyue asked what Boat Mistress Yun had said, and Yang Zhen claimed she had only said he would find out later.

Yang Zhen traveled to Donglin Island for the Pill Appreciation Conference after making a loose exchange agreement with the Flower Moon Pavilion. As the conference approached, he learned that Hua Youyue hoped to ask Master Meng Bailou for a pill, and Yang Zhen offered to help if Meng refused.

• Yang Zhen accepted an agreement with Boat Mistress Yun that gave the Flower Moon Pavilion first right to exchange for his goods and asked him to help when he could.
• Hua Youyue warned Yang Zhen not to offend the respected alchemists attending the conference, especially Elder Chi, but Yang Zhen insisted he was low-key.
• Yang Zhen enjoyed an extravagant meal and a performance aboard the Flower Moon Pavilion during the two-day journey to Donglin Island.
• Elder Yao confronted Yang Zhen about the betting pool and demanded a hundred thousand crystals for his wager on Sun Yushi, while Yang Zhen tried to bargain him down.
• Yang Zhen heard that Master Meng Bailou planned to refine a high-grade seven-star pill at the conference and told Hua Youyue he would help if Meng would not.

After learning that Nascent Soul experts were hunting him, Yang Zhen bargained with Elder Yao for Thousand Faces, a mask that could disguise his appearance and voice. Just as Yang Zhen tried it on, a blood-red eruption revealed that the long-sought ruins were on Donglin Island, and Elder Yao rushed him toward them.

• Hua Youyue warned Yang Zhen to focus on cultivation, but Elder Yao interrupted and told him that Nascent Soul experts were searching for him over his actions on Donglin Island and the crystals he had won.
• Elder Yao offered Yang Zhen Thousand Faces, a disguise mask capable of deceiving even Void Refinement experts, and Yang Zhen haggled over its price.
• Yang Zhen traded part of his Jade Lingzhi and Colorful Cloud Dew for the mask, then used it to create a handsome new appearance.
• A blood-red wave of Qi erupted from Donglin Island's center, shaking the island and revealing the location of the ruins.
• Elder Yao grabbed Yang Zhen and hurried toward the ruins so they could be among the first to enter.

Yang Zhen and Elder Yao investigated a bloody phenomenon on Donglin Island and learned it might conceal Great Sage Chenxue’s inheritance. As Yang Zhen approached the entrance, someone cried that it was the Upper Gen Mirror World, leaving him confused and hesitant to enter.

• A mountain collapsed on Donglin Island, releasing a vast bloody light that drew cultivators toward the ruins.
• Hua Youyue told Yang Zhen and Elder Yao that the secret treasure was connected to Great Sage Chenxue, whose inheritance might include the Twelve Blood Refinements Profound Art.
• Elder Yao urged the group to enter the bloody light, and Yang Zhen rushed ahead on the Startling Thunder Sword.
• Yang Zhen fooled the crowd by denying he was Yang Zhen, claiming the sword belonged to him because Yang Zhen had swindled him out of crystal stones, and introducing himself as Li Xiaoyao.
• As Yang Zhen reached the bloody light, someone shouted that it was the Upper Gen Mirror World, and Yang Zhen stopped to ask what that meant.

Yang Zhen was swept into the Upper Gen Mirror World, a dangerous realm created by Great Sage Chenxue, and discovered it resembled the primeval world inside the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda. He encountered Sun Yushi, who recognized him and attacked, but Yang Zhen vanished before Sun Yushi could strike.

• A cultivator explained that the Upper Gen Mirror World was created by Great Sage Chenxue, who had severed his Dao to refine it and leave behind a grand scheme.
• A violent surge from the world swept Yang Zhen inside before he could escape.
• Yang Zhen found himself in a dense, primeval realm and noticed its resemblance to the ninth level of the Nine Realms Exquisite Pagoda.
• Yang Zhen followed a distant pillar of bloody light and confronted Sun Yushi, who had recognized him by the Startling Thunder Sword.
• Sun Yushi unleashed his Nascent Soul Realm pressure and challenged Yang Zhen, who vanished and mocked Sun Yushi's lack of strength.

Yang Zhen fought Sun Yushi, using absurd poems to conjure an ocean, warhorses, and a woman with a riding crop, until Sun Yushi died. After burying him, Yang Zhen found his Golden Core had stopped changing and rushed toward another Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

• Sun Yushi attacked Yang Zhen with powerful poetic sword techniques, and the pressure caused Yang Zhen's Golden Core to stir.
• Yang Zhen countered with comic poems that manifested a raging ocean and charging warhorses, overwhelming Sun Yushi.
• Yang Zhen's poem conjured a woman with a riding crop, who struck Sun Yushi as he was swallowed by the attacks.
• Sun Yushi died after refusing Yang Zhen's request to teach him his technique, and Yang Zhen gathered his belongings and buried him.
• Yang Zhen found his Golden Core had stopped moving again, then sensed another Nascent Soul Realm cultivator and ran toward the fluctuations.

Yang Zhen mistook a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator pulling up a Jade Firmament Root for a villain and challenged him to a fight. Their battle drove Yang Zhen into a state of insight, but the exhausted cultivator fled, leaving Yang Zhen chasing him and offering treasures to lure him back.

• Yang Zhen attacked the middle-aged cultivator, believing he was harming a woman, then discovered he was pulling up a Jade Firmament Root.
• The middle-aged cultivator attacked, and Yang Zhen used the danger to sense the changes in his Golden Core.
• Yang Zhen and the middle-aged cultivator fought for two hours until the cultivator grew exhausted and ran away.
• Yang Zhen chased the fleeing cultivator, cursing him and calling for him to stop and fight.
• Yang Zhen offered the cultivator a pile of heavenly materials and earthly treasures, drawing the attention of the cultivators below.

Yang Zhen defeated the Golden Core Realm cultivators who tried to stop him and chased after a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, but another Nascent Soul Realm expert emerged and drew his attention to a hidden world. He entered it in search of treasures, where the people inside recognized him and sent for an elder.

• Dozens of Golden Core Realm cultivators attacked Yang Zhen, but his Great Evolution Wind and Thunder Sword sent many tumbling from the sky and made the middle-aged cultivator flee.
• Yang Zhen removed Thousand Faces and revealed that he was Yang Zhen, prompting more cultivators to run; the middle-aged cultivator recognized him and fled again rather than reclaim his crystal stones.
• A saber-wielding Nascent Soul Realm expert burst from underground demanding his crystal stones, and Yang Zhen clashed with him as other cultivators closed in.
• Yang Zhen noticed the world within a world beneath the ground and rushed inside, leaving the saber-wielding Nascent Soul Realm expert to follow.
• The people inside the world within a world recognized Yang Zhen and tried to hide their belongings, while a young man told a young female disciple to fetch the elder.

Yang Zhen found a Natural Dao Mark hidden among Blood Crown Flowers, tricked Lu Heng and the others into ignoring it, and carried off the stone. Outside, a Ninth Level Nascent Soul Realm cultivator and the others surrounded him and demanded he surrender it, leaving Yang Zhen preparing to fight.

• Yang Zhen entered the hidden chamber and spotted a Natural Dao Mark on a stone while Lu Heng and the others gathered Blood Crown Flowers.
• Yang Zhen told the group the stone was the chamber’s greatest treasure, then lifted it and left while they dismissed his warning and guarded the flowers.
• A Ninth Level Nascent Soul Realm old man attacked Yang Zhen with a sea of fire and demanded he put down the stone.
• Lu Heng and the gathered cultivators surrounded Yang Zhen and joined the demand, while Yang Zhen raised the Startling Thunder Sword and unleashed his presence.

Yang Zhen unleashed a devastating sword strike that defeated the Nascent Soul Realm elders and Golden Core Realm cultivators attacking him, then broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm. As the survivors fled, a terrifying blood-colored force erupted from a nearby mountain, and Yang Zhen recognized the power of a Sage Realm figure.

• The Ninth Level Nascent Soul Realm elder, Lu Heng, and the Golden Core Realm cultivators attacked Yang Zhen while he focused on the sword in his hand.
• Yang Zhen raised the Startling Thunder Sword and unleashed a golden sword strike that wounded the elder, severed Lu Heng at the waist, and killed the other attackers.
• Yang Zhen's Golden Core shattered under the pressure, and a nascent soul formed as he declared that he had a sword strike of his own.
• A cultivator who had been hiding behind a boulder fled, and the other onlookers scattered in terror.
• A blood-colored wave of force surged from a nearby mountain, and Yang Zhen admired the power of the Sage Realm figure behind it while lamenting that he had used less than one percent of the sword strike's power.

Yang Zhen stabilized his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm, cooked a pot of Tenfold Tonic Soup, and met a talking fat cat that claimed to be a qilin. The cat stole his soup, and Yang Zhen chased it through the Upper Gen Mirror World as cultivators watched.

• Yang Zhen spent half a day stabilizing his cultivation after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, then made soup from heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
• After drinking most of the Tenfold Tonic Soup, Yang Zhen absorbed its power and advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm First Layer.
• A fat cat tried to steal the soup, spoke to Yang Zhen, and insisted that it was a qilin.
• Yang Zhen struck the cat and traded the soup for rare treasures the cat offered, then realized the cat had stolen the pot.
• Yang Zhen chased the cat through the Upper Gen Mirror World while they taunted each other and passersby recognized him.

Cultivators gathered at a mountain in the Upper Gen Mirror World and struggled against a restriction that grew stronger with their cultivation. Just as they arranged to take turns cultivating on the steps, Yang Zhen and a fat cat raced toward them, throwing their plans into chaos.

• Elder Qu climbed to the twentieth step but was blasted back down by the mountain's restriction.
• Hua Youyue said she had reached the fifteenth step and felt a brief pain in her Spirit Sea, prompting speculation that opening a Spirit Sea helped cultivators climb.
• Elder Qu and Sect Master Wang proposed assigning places by cultivation so the gathered cultivators could take turns cultivating on the steps.
• Elder Qu and the other cultivators settled into positions on the steps and prepared to cultivate.
• Yang Zhen chased the fat cat toward the mountain, and the crowd recognized him with alarm.

Yang Zhen and Shameless Cat disrupted the cultivators gathered on the mountain steps as they chased each other upward. After reaching the twentieth step and revealing his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm, Yang Zhen defied Sect Master Wang and threatened to curse him to death.

• Hua Youyue left her place on the fifteenth step to greet Yang Zhen, explaining that he was her friend despite the others’ protests.
• Shameless Cat raced past the gathered cultivators to the thirty-ninth step and taunted Yang Zhen into chasing him.
• Yang Zhen charged onto the steps, and the Qi surging from his ascent blasted nearly everyone off the mountain path.
• Yang Zhen mocked the fallen cultivators, revealed his Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough, and continued climbing after Shameless Cat.
• Sect Master Wang threatened Yang Zhen, who answered that he would curse the Void Refinement Realm expert to death if he kept provoking him.

Yang Zhen taunted three Void Refinement Realm experts who waited below the stone steps, then began cooking with the wretched cat as his accomplice. The chapter ended with Yang Zhen challenging the cat to kick the three elders if his cooking proved delicious.

• Yang Zhen insulted Sect Master Wang, Elder Qu, and Elder Tie from the steps, while the three experts sat down to wait for him to come down.
• Yang Zhen said he could live on the steps for years, then joked with the wretched cat about food and beat it until it agreed to eat whatever he cooked.
• Yang Zhen took out a wooden board and began preparing a fire and ingredients while the three experts struggled to contain their anger.
• Yang Zhen challenged the wretched cat to kick the three experts if he made a delicacy fit for this world, and the cat admitted it had picky tastes.