Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu sold talisman papers to Hou Sailei and arranged a more profitable long-term partnership. After selling twelve papers, he exchanged most of the payment for a spirit stone and bought several books, including an expensive text on spirit studies.

• Chen Mu showed Hou Sailei his talisman papers, and Hou Sailei offered a premium and asked to work with their maker.
• Chen Mu told Hou Sailei that he was the talisman maker and agreed to return with more papers.
• Chen Mu borrowed money from Chen Shanxiong to buy materials and make more talisman papers overnight.
• Chen Tian, Chen Shanxiong, and Chen Zihu sold village goods at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, where Chen Mu confirmed its prices matched Hou Sailei's offer.
• Chen Mu visited Hou Sailei's bookshop and sold twelve talisman papers for 907 Wilderness Coins.
• Chen Mu exchanged 900 Wilderness Coins for spirit stones and bought five books, including Fundamentals of Spirit Studies for 200 Wilderness Coins.

Chen Mu, Chen Shanxiong, and Chen Zihu killed Chi Mo and his two companions after the Red Wolf Tribe men spotted them, then rescued the boy they had captured. They burned the bodies and took a longer route toward the village, while the Red Wolf Tribe would not notice Chi Mo’s disappearance for seven days.

• Chi Mo and two Red Wolf Tribe men caught a young boy fleeing through Fire Forging Mountain and began taking him back to their tribe.
• After Chen Mu’s Rune Gun lens reflected sunlight and revealed the group’s hiding place, Chen Shanxiong ordered Chen Zihu and himself to flank the approaching men.
• Chi Mo blocked Chen Mu’s first shot with his cleaver, but Chen Mu wounded Chi Mo’s companions and brought Chi Mo down with repeated gunfire.
• Chen Shanxiong killed the wounded men, and Chen Zihu carried the captured boy while Chen Mu burned the bodies to conceal the Rune Gun’s distinctive wounds.
• Chen Mu recovered the Rune Gun’s projectiles, and Chen Shanxiong led the group along a longer route toward the village.
• The Red Wolf Tribe did not realize Chi Mo was missing until seven days later, leaving little chance of tracing his death to the group.

Chen Mu and his companions rescued a guarded boy from Fire Forging Mountain and brought him back to Chen Village, where he refused to formally join but chose to live with Chen Mu. After the group returned, Chen Mu prepared to put the materials and knowledge from the market to use.

• A Huo woke in a cave, accepted the name Chen Shanxiong gave him, and agreed to go to Chen Village.
• On the journey back, Chen Mu and his companions encountered a late second-tier Crimson Flame Tiger; Chen Shanxiong was injured, and Chen Mu drove it off with his Rune Gun.
• Chen Mu noticed A Huo's unusual movement skills as the group hurried back to the village.
• Chen Hongjie invited A Huo to join Chen Village, but A Huo refused; he agreed to stay only if he could work.
• A Huo chose to live with Chen Mu, who welcomed him into his home.
• Chen Mu returned with talisman materials and books from the market, ready to study and use what he had learned.

Chen Mu developed the Five Elements Body Tempering Technique with help from A Huo’s former tribe’s method and introduced it to Chen Village. After the annual sacrifice and tribute, A Huo was accepted as one of the village’s own.

• Chen Mu watched Chen Shanxiong train the village children and decided to develop a more effective cultivation technique for Chen Village.
• A Huo offered to share his tribe’s Origin-Returning Body Tempering Technique in exchange for a longsword, and Chen Mu agreed.
• Using A Huo’s technique as a model, Chen Mu created the Five Elements Body Tempering Technique, which efficiently absorbed Five Elements Spiritual Qi.
• Chen Village held its annual sacrifice, replacing offerings of servants with wild beasts, and Chen Mu learned that the village had to pay spirit stones as tribute to a nearby mid-sized tribe.
• After Chen Village paid its tribute, Chen Mu introduced the new technique to the village martial artists and credited A Huo’s former tribe.
• The villagers accepted A Huo as one of their own, though he did not take the Chen surname.

Three years later, Chen Village had grown prosperous, and nine-year-old Chen Duo defeated an Azure Moon Wolf and bound it as her spirit pet. Chen Mu called A Huo to a clan meeting to discuss a possible campaign against the Black Water Tribe.

• Chen Duo fought the Azure Moon Wolf alone and defeated it with her Vajra techniques.
• Chen Duo used a Beast-Taming Talisman to establish a soul contract with the Azure Moon Wolf.
• Chen Mu learned that Chen Duo still could not grasp talisman cultivation and told her to focus on the Martial Dao.
• Chen Mu said Third Uncle had called a clan meeting and asked A Huo to attend because they would likely discuss wiping out the Black Water Tribe.
• A Huo agreed to join Chen Mu at the meeting.

Chen Hongjie led Chen Village in a surprise attack to annihilate the Black Water Tribe and avenge the blood debt from three years earlier. Chen Village’s forces overwhelmed the settlement from two directions, leaving the battle underway as Huyan Qing fought Chen Honglie.

• Chen Hongjie gathered Chen Village’s martial artists and announced his plan to wipe out the Black Water Tribe, then asked Chen Mu for a strategy.
• Chen Mu proposed a surprise attack route, and the villagers agreed on a battle plan to minimize casualties.
• Before dawn, Chen Village’s forces set the Black Water Tribe’s buildings ablaze with flaming arrows and blasted open the rear palisade.
• Chen Mu led mounted warriors through the breach, and they routed the disorganized tribesmen while Chen Honglie confronted Huyan Qing.
• Chen Hongjie led a second force through the main gate and joined the attack on the Black Water Tribe from the opposite side.

Chen Village defeated the Black Water Tribe, captured Wu Tong and Huyan Manqi, and burned the tribe’s settlement. Later, Chen Mu continued developing rune-based computer components and completed a primitive control chip.

• Wu Tong rushed to help Huyan Qing but was intercepted by A Huo and attacked by Chen Village’s warriors.
• Chen Hongjie and the others overwhelmed Wu Tong, captured him, and learned he was the son of a Wumeng Tribe chief.
• Chen Village captured Huyan Manqi, took the Black Water Tribe’s property and prisoners, and burned the settlement.
• Chen Mu worked on rune-covered spirit wood and explained how he had designed logic, storage, and control runes for a computer chip.
• Chen Mu completed a limited but functional control chip and considered how a future computer could be useful in daily life.

Chen Mu built an early rune printer and found that Soul-Hosting Wood from Ghost Yin Mountain might let it make talismans without his constant Soul Power input. He set out with A Huo to find the material, leaving Chen Duo behind and learning that the captured Wumeng Tribe member had been released.

• Chen Mu modified a rune chip board and used it to make a wooden machine that automatically printed talismans, though he still had to supply Soul Power himself.
• Chen Mu searched his books and learned that Soul-Hosting Wood from Ghost Yin Mountain could nurture Soul Power and might enable the rune printer to work on its own.
• Chen Mu decided to travel to Ghost Yin Mountain and told Chen Duo to stay behind and continue learning to tame demonic beasts.
• Chen Hongjie and relatives came to see Chen Mu off, and Chen Mu asked what had happened to the captured Black Water Tribe members.
• Chen Hongjie said the attackers had been killed, the others enslaved, and Wu Tong had been released after his Wumeng Tribe identity was confirmed.
• Chen Mu departed with A Huo for Ghost Yin Mountain.

Chen Mu and A Huo entered Ghost Yin Mountain to find a Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Tree and obtain Soul-Hosting Wood. After fighting a White-Faced Xiao, they found traces of human activity while searching the mountain.

• Chen Mu and A Huo reached Ghost Yin Mountain with White Turtle and left their frightened horses outside the mountain’s Death Qi.
• Chen Mu and A Huo entered the mountain, where their cultivation techniques kept the Death Qi at bay.
• A White-Faced Xiao attacked them, and Chen Mu drew its attention while A Huo circled around and killed it.
• Chen Mu extracted valuable materials from the White-Faced Xiao before continuing deeper into the mountain with A Huo.
• On the second day, Chen Mu found no Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Tree but discovered traces of human activity.

Chen Mu and A Huo searched Ghost Yin Mountain and found a grove of Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Trees, which Chen Mu destroyed with Explosive Flame Talismans to harvest Soul-Hosting Wood. As they prepared to collect it, an Ice Spirit Sect swordswoman accused them of destroying her Ice Soul Grass and held a sword to Chen Mu’s neck.

• Chen Mu and A Huo found recently killed martial artists and learned that both people and demonic beasts made Ghost Yin Mountain dangerous.
• Wu Longjin ordered his people to search for the Holy Soul Grass and kill anyone who might reveal its location, while avoiding the Ice Spirit Sect.
• On his sixth day in the mountain, Chen Mu used medicinal powder to locate Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Trees and burned more than ten of them with Explosive Flame Talismans.
• Chen Mu prepared to collect Soul-Hosting Wood from the dead trees, but an Ice Spirit Sect swordswoman appeared and accused him and A Huo of destroying her Ice Soul Grass.
• The swordswoman placed an icy longsword against Chen Mu’s neck, and Chen Mu realized she was at least a Martial Master.

Chen Mu and A Huo were captured by two women after destroying the Ice Soul Grass, so Chen Mu claimed he knew where to find Holy Soul Grass to save them. After the women rushed into a waterfall to investigate, Chen Mu and A Huo hid nearby and decided to watch what happened.

• A woman in blue threatened Chen Mu and A Huo for destroying the Ice Soul Grass, while her junior sister in purple arrived and confirmed it was gone.
• Chen Mu invented a story about Holy Soul Grass guarded by a powerful demonic beast, persuading the women to take him and A Huo to its location.
• The women let A Huo collect Soul-Hosting Wood, then carried both brothers to a waterfall where warriors were fighting a golden Earth-Splitting Bear.
• The women entered the waterfall, convinced Holy Soul Grass was inside, while Chen Mu and A Huo hid in nearby brush.
• Chen Mu refused to leave and decided to watch the fight, hoping to learn whether the treasure was really Holy Soul Grass.

Chen Mu tracked Landuo after he escaped the waterfall with the Holy Soul Grass, then captured him and took the herb. He decided to use the White Turtle’s soul-seed technique to secure Landuo’s loyalty, despite the danger to his own soul.

• Wu Longjin and Landuo fought two women over the Holy Soul Grass until Landuo used an Earth Escape Talisman to flee underground.
• Chen Mu sensed Landuo’s trail and followed him while the two women chased in the wrong directions.
• After Landuo emerged in a cave and began celebrating his find, Chen Mu and A Huo broke in and subdued him.
• Chen Mu took the Holy Soul Grass and considered whether Landuo’s skills as a talisman master made him worth sparing.
• The White Turtle warned that planting a soul seed could damage Chen Mu’s soul, but Chen Mu offered to use the Holy Soul Grass to heal the damage.

Chen Mu planted a Divine Soul Seed in Landuo and used Holy Soul Grass to advance to an Eight-Rune Talisman Master before returning toward Chen Village. He found the village under attack by a coalition led by Wu Tong and sent A Huo to bring Landuo to him.

• Chen Mu planted a Divine Soul Seed in Landuo, who agreed not to resist.
• Chen Mu ate the Holy Soul Grass and advanced to an Eight-Rune Talisman Master as its power healed his sea of consciousness.
• Chen Mu, A Huo, and Landuo left Ghost Yin Mountain and returned toward Chen Village with their horses.
• Chen Mu saw flames and heard fighting at Chen Village, then hid nearby with A Huo and surveyed the siege.
• Chen Mu recognized Wu Tong among the attackers and ordered A Huo to find Landuo and bring him back.

E Bei led an attack on Chen Village with mechanical puppets and warriors from nearby tribes, but Chen Hongjie’s cavalry repeatedly disrupted his forces. E Bei trapped the cavalry in a Soul-Bewildering Array, but his puppets unexpectedly failed to obey his order to attack.

• E Bei’s forces attacked Chen Village, but its defenses and ranged weapons damaged several mechanical puppets.
• Chen Hongjie led a cavalry charge that scattered enemy fighters, then used talisman papers to blast through a puppet blockade.
• E Bei trapped Chen Hongjie’s cavalry in a Soul-Bewildering Array and offered to spare Chen Village if it surrendered to the Wumeng Tribe.
• Chen Hongjie refused to surrender, and E Bei ordered his mechanical puppets to kill the cavalry while sparing Chen Hongjie.
• E Bei’s mechanical puppets remained motionless after he gave the order.

Chen Mu and Landuo turned the Wumeng Tribe’s attack against them, helping Chen Village defeat the invading forces. After the battle, Chen Mu reunited with Chen Hongjie and found Chen Duo tending to A Huo’s minor wound.

• Chen Mu learned that Landuo had made the mechanical puppets and asked him to seize control, despite the risk of the Wumeng Tribe discovering his presence.
• Landuo turned the mechanical puppets against E Bei’s forces while Chen Mu destroyed the Soul-Bewildering Array’s flags and attacked the trapped fighters with A Huo.
• Chen Mu blocked E Bei’s escape with Rune Gun shots, and Landuo had the mechanical puppets kill him.
• Chen Duo and Chen Village’s fighters charged out as the invaders fled or surrendered, and Chen Mu killed Wu Tong with a shot through the heart.
• Chen Mu reunited with the injured Chen Hongjie and found Chen Duo bandaging A Huo’s scraped arm.

Chen Mu negotiated a secret monthly supply contract with Hou Sailei for five thousand talisman papers, each with at least six lines. After Chen Mu left Wuyan Market, Hou Sailei asked Elder Guo to follow him and discover which tribe he came from.

• Chen Mu told Hou Sailei he could supply up to five thousand talisman papers with six lines or more each month.
• Hou Sailei agreed to raise the purchase price by ten percent and signed a cooperation contract with Chen Mu, who also sold him over a thousand talisman papers.
• Chen Mu bought supplies in Wuyan Market and rode out on his Dragon-Horned Horse.
• Hou Sailei told Elder Guo about the large deal and asked him to identify Chen Mu's tribe without harming him.
• Elder Guo agreed to follow Chen Mu and investigate his origins.

Chen Mu returned to Chen Village after sensing an unseen follower and began preparing to strengthen the village, while Hou Sailei investigated Chen Village and considered protecting its production. In the talisman-making room, Landuo praised Chen Mu’s rune chip and identified gaps in his rune knowledge, leaving Chen Mu eager to hear more.

• Chen Mu escaped the feeling of being watched by returning to Chen Village and told A Huo to ask Chen Hongjie to increase patrols.
• Hou Sailei reviewed reports about Chen Village, concluded it had a powerful talisman master, and considered pressuring the Wumeng Tribe to protect its talisman-paper production.
• Chen Mu asked Landuo to operate the rune printers, and Landuo praised Chen Mu’s rune chip and unusual insights.
• Landuo told Chen Mu that his rune foundations were strong but his methods had flaws, and Chen Mu urged him to continue.

Chen Mu strengthened Chen Village’s defenses and began building a Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array to cultivate the clan’s strongest members. As he started installing the array in the new Chen Clan Cultivation Tower, the project remained unfinished.

• Landuo advised Chen Mu to focus on one discipline and suggested he eventually study at an ancient academy, but Chen Mu said he could not leave Chen Village yet.
• A month later, Chen Mu completed an upgrade to the village’s defensive array, while spirit-grain farming and beast taming continued to strengthen the villagers.
• Chen Mu completed a large transaction with Hou Sailei, received a first-grade storage ring, and used much of his earnings to buy fifteen third-grade single-element spirit stones.
• Chen Mu began constructing a Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array in the Chen Clan Cultivation Tower, planning to reserve its strongest cultivation levels for clan members selected by the clan council.
• Chen Mu began drawing the runes that would guide spiritual power through the tower, but the complex array would take at least half a month to finish.

Half a year after Chen Village defeated the Wumeng Tribe’s puppet force, Chen Mu attended his cousin Chen Zihu’s wedding and learned that visitors were showing suspicious interest in the village. The Rock Peace Tribe sent Nan Huaiyuan, a Martial Master and renowned formation master, to deliver wedding gifts, and Chen Mu met him at the village entrance.

• Chen Mu attended Chen Zihu’s wedding and welcomed the bride’s father, Tie Qianren, from Ironwood Village.
• A Huo warned Chen Mu that suspicious guests had tried to enter the talisman-making room, but Chen Mu left the matter to Chen Hongjie and the others.
• Chen Shanxiong told Chen Mu that the Rock Peace Tribe had sent a Martial Master with wedding gifts, so Chen Mu went to meet the visitor.
• Chen Hongjie introduced Nan Huaiyuan, a Martial Master and prominent formation master, to Chen Mu as Chen Village’s talisman master.
• Nan Huaiyuan praised Chen Mu, and Chen Mu greeted him politely.

Nan Huaiyuan visited Chen Village’s wedding to assess its strength, while Chen Hongjie planned a show of force against two hostile tribes. In the Flame Blessing Tribe, Tuoba Ziying learned Chen Village had prospered and ordered a secret attack on the Rune Master behind it.

• Nan Huaiyuan’s arrival unsettled the wedding guests, and Chen Hongjie showed him around before he left without staying for lunch.
• Chen Mu reassured Chen Hongjie that Nan Huaiyuan would find no weakness in his rune array, and Chen Hongjie decided Chen Zihu would lead an attack on two tribes in three days.
• Tuoba Ziying grew angry when A Ruo reported Chen Haoran’s victories and his growing reputation in the Flame Blessing Tribe.
• Mingye told Tuoba Ziying that Chen Village had survived with a Rune Master’s help and had repelled a mid-ranking tribe’s attack.
• Tuoba Ziying ordered Mingye to find and kill the Rune Master, claiming the attack would not violate the order to spare Chen Haoran’s clansmen.