Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu rescued his younger sister Duoduo from the Heavenly God Cave, where villagers had sent her to die, and made a fire to keep them safe for the night. While searching the cave for food, he discovered a small white turtle with mysterious patterns.

• Chen Mu ran to the Heavenly God Cave to find Duoduo, whom the villagers had sent there because of her poor eyesight.
• Chen Mu found Duoduo in a cave and comforted her, but decided they had to spend the night there because he could not safely take her back alone.
• Chen Mu gathered firewood, lit a bonfire, and sheltered Duoduo from the cave’s snakes and rodents.
• Chen Mu hunted rats and a snake among the human skeletons to provide food for them.
• Chen Mu found a palm-sized white turtle with strange patterns buried beneath a large rock.

Chen Mu and Duoduo revived a White Turtle in their cave, and it revealed that it was an ancient innate divine beast with sealed Spiritual Power. The White Turtle offered to teach Chen Mu the Path of Talisman Cultivation, and Chen Mu became immobilized as a glowing stone stele appeared from its back.

• Chen Mu gave the unmoving White Turtle water, and it revived and asked for more.
• The White Turtle told Chen Mu it was an innate divine beast whose Spiritual Power had been sealed, and Chen Mu grew comfortable talking with it.
• Chen Mu told the White Turtle about Duoduo and their village, and it lamented the hardships people still faced in the Wilderness.
• The White Turtle offered to teach Chen Mu the Path of Talisman Cultivation, explaining that talent would determine whether he could learn it.
• Chen Mu stood behind the White Turtle and looked at the glowing patterns on its back as a stone stele appeared, leaving him unable to move.

Chen Mu absorbed the Rune Ancestor’s True Explanation of Runes and began cultivating the Dao of Talismans. He stayed in Heavenly God Cave with Duoduo rather than return to the village, and Chen Hongjie left him a blade and food before departing.

• Chen Mu studied the runes in White Turtle’s legacy, combining them until thousands of runes became fewer, while White Turtle marveled at his talent and decided to follow him.
• Chen Mu woke with improved senses and learned that he could become a one-mark talisman master in less than three months.
• Chen Mu agreed to take White Turtle with him and told Duoduo to stay inside the cave when Chen Hongjie and the hunters arrived.
• Chen Mu refused to return to the village unless Duoduo came with him, rejecting Chen Hongjie’s claim that the Heavenly God would guide her soul.
• Chen Hongjie left Chen Mu a short blade and wheat cakes, then departed with the hunters; Chen Mu thanked him quietly.

Chen Mu prepared the Heavenly God Cave as a safer shelter for himself and Duoduo, then risked visiting a nearby pool to replenish his water. He returned with water and harvested salt from dark soil, while the giant crocodile remained a threat at the pool.

• Chen Mu cleared skeletons and weeds from the Heavenly God Cave, lit bonfires to deter venomous creatures, and shared food with Duoduo.
• Chen Mu left Duoduo to tend the fires and cautiously searched for the pool he remembered seeing.
• White Turtle warned Chen Mu that a demonic beast lurked in the pool, and Chen Mu watched a giant crocodile kill and eat a deer.
• After waiting for the crocodile to stop hunting, Chen Mu hurried to fill his waterskin and returned to the cave at dusk.
• Chen Mu scraped salt crystals from the dark soil he had tested and climbed back to his lair.

Chen Mu learned to use the Water Condensation Talisman, giving him and Duoduo a dependable source of water. As winter set in, they relied on stored food and firewood while Chen Mu stayed in the cave to cultivate.

• Chen Mu gathered food in Heavenly God Cave, made the cave entrance safer, and began cultivating the True Explanation of Runes.
• The White Turtle advised Chen Mu to learn the Water Condensation Talisman because water was scarce.
• Chen Mu mastered the rune, drew it in blood on a stone, and produced water for Duoduo.
• Chen Mu prepared for winter by hunting, setting traps, making weapons, and storing food and firewood while Duoduo made clothes and dried meat.
• After the first snow arrived and deep winter began, Chen Mu mostly stopped going outside and focused on cultivation.

Chen Mu broke through to become a One-Mark Talisman Master by condensing the Five Elements Chaos Talisman as his Life-Bound Talisman. After White Turtle warned him that strengthening it would require rare treasures, Chen Mu remained committed to his path and began studying runes that could improve his combat strength.

• After reviewing his insights into the Dao of Talismans, Chen Mu began his breakthrough and shaped his Soul Power into a Life-Bound Talisman.
• Chen Mu condensed the talisman, became a One-Mark Talisman Master, and used it to draw a Water Condensation Talisman.
• Chen Mu sent White Turtle an image of his talisman, and White Turtle identified it as the Five Elements Chaos Talisman and explained its demanding cultivation path.
• Chen Mu told White Turtle he would keep following the path that suited his understanding of creation.
• Chen Mu turned to studying runes that could strengthen him in battle as winter drew to a close.

Chen Mu hunted a wild boar and used his talisman skills to bring it back to the cave, where he continued developing a weapon inspired by his memories of a musket. He successfully tested the Rune Gun, giving him a powerful new tool for hunting and facing weaker demonic beasts.

• Chen Mu ambushed a wild boar, wore it down, and killed it with his spear and knife.
• Chen Mu drew a Transport Talisman on the boar and hauled it back to the Heavenly God Cave, driving off a wild wolf along the way.
• Duoduo celebrated the arrival of the boar, while Chen Mu reflected on his progress as a One-Mark Talisman Master and his growing Divine Soul.
• Chen Mu finished crafting a wooden weapon engraved with runes that fired metal bullets using Soul Power, and he named it the Rune Gun.
• Chen Mu fired the Rune Gun into a rock, blasting a large hole and confirming that it could be fired about once per second.

Chen Mu returned toward Chen Village and became involved in a clash between Chen Village and the Black Water Tribe, killing the fleeing attackers with his Rune Gun. The survivors headed back to the village, unaware that a witness had escaped and vowed revenge.

• Chen Mu left Duoduo in their cave and set out for Chen Village, where he found Chen Shanxiong's hunting party confronting Huyan Fang over a wild boar.
• Chen Shanxiong pretended to retreat, then led Chen Village's hunters in an ambush when the Black Water Tribe entered a narrow pass.
• Chen Zihu overwhelmed the Black Water Tribe's fighters while Chen Shanxiong fought Huyan Fang, who eventually called for his men to retreat.
• Chen Mu shot down the fleeing Black Water Tribe members with his Rune Gun, and Chen Shanxiong killed the wounded Huyan Fang.
• Chen Mu reunited with Chen Zihu, and the hunters cleared the battle's traces before returning to the village with the wild boar.
• An unseen witness watched the fight and vanished into the forest, swearing that Chen Village would pay for the bloodshed.

After returning to Chen Village, Chen Mu learned that the Flame Blessing Tribe had taken his parents and threatened the village years earlier. He then discovered that curing Chen Duo’s illness might allow her to return from Heavenly God Cave, and left with renewed hope.

• Chen Shanxiong reported the hunters’ clash with the Black Water Tribe to Chen Shanyu, while Chen Mu explained his talisman training with a fabricated story about a Daoist.
• Chen Shanyu revealed that Tuoba Ziying of the Flame Blessing Tribe had isolated Chen Village and that his people had taken Chen Mu’s parents four years earlier.
• Chen Mu asked Chen Shanyu to let Chen Duo return, but Chen Shanyu said the village’s sacrifice tradition could not be broken unless her incurable illness was cured.
• Chen Mu realized that curing Chen Duo could bring her home, then left after telling Chen Shanyu he had no further requests.

Chen Mu used Profound Ice Talismans and a carved wooden frame to make glasses that corrected Duoduo’s nearsightedness. Duoduo could finally see clearly, though the glasses needed regular reinforcement until Chen Mu learned to make Spirit-Gathering Runes.

• Chen Mu returned to Heavenly God Cave after slipping away from his uncles and decided to make glasses for Duoduo using ice as lenses.
• Chen Mu created concave lenses from Profound Ice Talisman leaves and tested different strengths until Duoduo could see more clearly.
• Chen Mu carved Sealing Runes into a sandalwood frame and added a cord, completing glasses that held the ice in place and kept it from melting quickly.
• Duoduo happily tried on the finished glasses and said she could see far away, while Chen Mu smiled at her joy and reflected on how much he valued family.

Chen Mu returned to Chen Village with Duoduo, whose eyesight had been restored, and persuaded the chief and clan elders to accept her back. The village honored Chen Mu as a Tribal Warrior and decided to build him a talisman-making room.

• Chen Mu and Duoduo sealed their cave and left the Heavenly God Cave for Chen Village.
• Chen Shanyu offered to let Chen Mu return if Duoduo lived on the mountain behind the village under guard.
• Chen Mu claimed the heavenly god had cured Duoduo's eyes, and Chen Shanxiong tested her restored eyesight before the clan elders.
• Chen Shanyu allowed Duoduo to live in the village after the elders saw that she could see clearly.
• Chen Shanyu named Chen Mu a Tribal Warrior for killing a Black Water Tribe martial artist and being a Talisman Master, and ordered a talisman-making room built for him.

Chen Mu and Chen Duo returned to their village, where Chen Mu found a hidden box containing two Spirit Stones and the Acala Heart Sutra in his parents’ room. After keeping the discovery secret, he visited Eldest Uncle’s family and inspected the talisman-making room the village chief had arranged for him.

• Chen Mu and Chen Duo cleaned their long-abandoned home after returning to the village.
• Chen Mu found a hollow floor tile in his parents’ room and uncovered a box containing two Spirit Stones and the Acala Heart Sutra, a martial cultivation technique.
• Chen Mu hid the box again and told Chen Duo not to reveal their discovery.
• Chen Mu and Chen Duo ate at Eldest Uncle’s house, where Eldest Aunt and her children asked about their return and the Heavenly God Cave.
• Chen Mu visited the talisman-making room under construction and asked the carpenter to adjust its layout.

Chen Mu cultivated the Acala Heart Sutra and became a First-Duan Martial Artist in ten days. He then studied the village chief’s demonic-bone scepter, hoping to develop stronger spirit-casting runes for the village’s Martial Artists.

• Chen Mu retrieved the Acala Heart Sutra and began cultivating it, realizing his powerful Divine Soul let him progress far faster than ordinary martial cultivators.
• After ten days of cultivation, Chen Mu condensed Internal Force and became a First-Duan Martial Artist.
• Chen Mu continued making enhanced weapons and armor for the villagers, and his rune work helped him advance to a Two-Mark Talisman Master.
• The village chief asked Chen Mu to strengthen the village’s Martial Artists, agreed to buy talisman-making materials, and gave him a bone scepter passed down for hundreds of years.
• Chen Mu studied the scepter and realized he needed to derive higher-level spirit-casting runes to bring out the demonic bone’s full power.

The Blackwater Tribal Community learned that Chen Village had a Talisman Master and began preparing for possible war. A month later, Chen Mu continued forging weapons and training Chen Duo as Chen Village prospered and considered expanding its farming and animal-raising efforts.

• Huyan Qing learned from Amuduo that Chen Village's weapons bore runes and that its Talisman Master was probably a villager, then arranged to contact Tucha of the White Rock Tribe and ordered his people to avoid further conflicts while preparing.
• Chen Mu encouraged Chen Duo to cultivate the Acala Heart Sutra so she could eventually help search for their parents, and she devoted herself to training.
• Chen Mu successfully spirit-forged a long bone saber and reflected on his recent work enhancing weapons for Chen Village.
• Chen Village's improved weapons helped its parties return with more supplies and fewer casualties, while the Blackwater Tribal Community and White Rock Tribe stopped provoking it.
• Chen Shanyu discussed cultivating farmland and raising wild beasts with Chen Mu, who promised to seek solutions despite not knowing where to begin.

Black Water and White Rock attackers raided Chen Village, and Chen Mu used his Rune Gun to turn the village fight in its favor. The battle remained unresolved as Huyan Qing called for reinforcements against Chen Shanyu.

• Huyan Qing and Tucha led more than a hundred attackers to Chen Village, and Tucha smashed through its gates.
• Chen Mu armed himself and headed toward the fighting after asking Chen Zifeng to protect Chen Duo and the White Turtle.
• Chen Shanyu fought Huyan Qing and Tucha with his glowing bone staff while Chen Mu watched from a nearby roof.
• Chen Mu shot several enemy martial artists with his Rune Gun, helping Chen Village rally and counterattack.
• Huyan Qing and Tucha struggled against Chen Shanyu, then Huyan Qing called for Amuduo and Duotu to help him.

Chen Mu ambushed and killed the squad sent to hunt him, then returned to the battle at Chen Village and used his Rune Gun to turn the fight against the White Rock Tribe and Black Water Tribe. Chen Shanyu died after passing the chief’s bone staff to Chen Hongjie, while Huyan Qing survived the renewed gunfire by dodging a bullet.

• Chen Mu used his Concealment Rune to kill the searching warriors and froze their leader with a talisman before slashing his throat.
• Chen Shanyu, gravely wounded, passed the bone staff to Chen Hongjie and died after making him promise to protect the villagers.
• Tucha attacked Chen Hongjie for the staff, while Chen Jianfeng and Chen Hongjie fought back against Tucha and Huyan Qing.
• Chen Mu’s Rune Gun rang out, wounded Tucha, and killed several warriors surrounding Chen Shanyu.
• The Chen Village villagers rallied and counterattacked as Chen Mu’s gunfire inflicted heavy casualties on the White Rock Tribe and the Black Water Tribe.
• Huyan Qing dodged a bullet, while nearly all the remaining warriors from both invading tribes were left seriously wounded.

Chen Village survived an attack by the Black Water Tribe and the White Rock Tribe but suffered heavy losses. With Huyan Qing having united the two tribes, Chen Hongjie chose to avoid further conflict and assigned Chen Mu to develop the village’s farmland using Five Elements Runes.

• Huyan Qing and Tucha fled after their forces lost the battle, and Chen Zihu pursued the fleeing enemies until Chen Hongjie ordered him back.
• Chen Village treated its wounded and repaired its gates, but more than a hundred people died in the battle and dozens more later succumbed to their injuries.
• Chen Hongjie led a ceremony honoring the dead in the ancestral hall, where only about two hundred villagers remained fit to fight.
• Chen Hongjie told the village’s key members that Huyan Qing had killed Tucha and annexed the White Rock Tribe, making retaliation too risky.
• Chen Hongjie ordered Chen Village to avoid further conflict and assigned Chen Mu ten people to help manage the farmland.
• Chen Mu agreed, anticipating that his experiments with Five Elements Runes might transform the farmland and produce surprising results.

Chen Mu used Five Elements Talisman Flags to improve farmland near Chen Village, then devoted himself to cultivating his Divine Soul as the village planted crops. Half a year later, the fields yielded a harvest five or six times larger than before, and Chen Mu began preparing handcarts to ease the villagers’ work.

• Chen Mu arranged Metal, Water, and Wood Element Talisman Flags across the field to enrich and nourish the soil, while planning to develop a complete five-element cycle in the future.
• Chen Mu instructed villagers to plant rice, vegetables, and fruit, and discovered that using his Divine Soul to draw Spiritual Qi accelerated his Acala Heart Sutra cultivation.
• Over the next half year, Chen Mu focused most of his time on cultivating his Divine Soul while watching the farmland’s changes.
• Chen Hongjie praised Chen Mu when the fields produced a harvest five or six times larger than before, and Chen Mu promised even greater yields and future medicinal herb crops.
• Chen Mu explained that he was having carpenters make handcart wheels so villagers could transport rice more easily, attributing his knowledge to his elusive teacher.

Chen Mu wanted to join Chen Zihu on a trip to the market to sell talisman paper and buy spirit stones, so he proved he could handle himself in a fight. After defeating Chen Zihu with martial arts and an Immobilization Talisman, Chen Mu claimed his strength came from a Body-Possessing Demon Rune, and Chen Zihu agreed to take him along.

• Chen Zihu told Chen Mu that the talisman-making materials were payment for improving the farmland and invited him to bring talisman paper to the market.
• Chen Mu asked to travel with Chen Zihu and Uncle Xiong, but Chen Zihu refused because the journey was dangerous.
• Chen Mu challenged Chen Zihu to a fight without using talisman paper or hidden weapons, and he knocked him down after immobilizing him with a rune.
• Chen Mu showed Chen Zihu the patterns on his body and said they were a Body-Possessing Demon Rune that strengthened him.
• Chen Zihu accepted that the rune could only work for Chen Mu, then agreed to meet him at the village entrance the next morning.

Chen Mu traveled with Chen Zihu and Chen Shanxiong from Chen Village to Wuyan Market, where they settled into an inn and explored the night market. He found several books he wanted and told a bookseller he planned to sell goods at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion the next day.

• Chen Mu joined Chen Zihu and Chen Shanxiong at dawn and ran with them toward Wuyan Market.
• Chen Shanxiong praised Chen Mu's stamina and urged him to find a way to strengthen the villagers, while Chen Mu agreed without explaining the limitations of Demonic Patterns.
• The three reached Wuyan Market by evening, paid the entrance fee, and rented a standard room at an inn.
• Chen Zihu took Chen Mu around the night market, where Chen Mu examined books on herbs, geography, history, and runes.
• A bookseller offered to buy Chen Mu's goods, but Chen Mu said he planned to sell them at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion the next day.