Chapter Summaries

Ji Yuan traded Ruyi Magic Money for Mountain God Jade and Gold Element items at Spirit Treasure Pavilion, where Steward Zhou recognized the coins’ extraordinary nature and asked to acquire more. With the five elements gathered, the Old Beggar proposed involving five cultivators to refine the Gold Thread Rope, and Ji Yuan considered seeking help at Immortal Mist Island.

• Ji Yuan exchanged one hundred magic coins for Mountain God Jade and gave the Spirit Treasure Pavilion steward another coin to keep.
• The Old Beggar examined a magic coin, praised its usefulness, and pocketed it as alms from Ji Yuan.
• Steward Zhou inspected a coin and discovered it could manifest all five elements with balanced yin and yang, then hurried to meet Ji Yuan.
• Ji Yuan declined to transfer the refining method but offered another hundred coins for Gold Spirit Items, which Spirit Treasure Pavilion supplied.
• The Old Beggar proposed that five cultivators work together under Ji Yuan’s Samadhi True Fire to refine the Gold Thread Rope, and Ji Yuan considered asking for help at Immortal Mist Island.

Ji Yuan and the Old Beggar planned to refine the Gold Thread Rope into a powerful magic treasure with five trusted cultivators, then set out to recruit them at Nine Peaks Mountain. They gathered Ju Yuanzi and Zhu Tingtao, and expected Dragon Lord Ying to join, though Ying’s Demon Race status might prevent him from entering the Immortal Gathering Convention.

• Ji Yuan agreed with the Old Beggar that they should gather five skilled cultivators to refine the Gold Thread Rope, and sent a Little Paper Crane to invite Dragon Lord Ying.
• Ji Yuan and the Old Beggar visited Ju Yuanzi at Jade Bamboo Garden, and Ju Yuanzi eagerly agreed to help refine the treasure and accompany them.
• Ji Yuan, the Old Beggar, and Ju Yuanzi went to Cloud Mist Garden, where Chang Yi welcomed them and summoned Zhu Tingtao.
• Zhu Tingtao returned and, after Ji Yuan explained the plan, eagerly agreed to take part in refining the Gold Thread Rope.
• The Old Beggar questioned whether Nine Peaks Mountain would admit Dragon Lord Ying during the Immortal Gathering Convention, and Zhu Tingtao offered to guarantee Ying’s entry or find another place to refine the treasure.

Ji Yuan, Zhu Tingtao, Ju Yuanzi, and Old Beggar began refining a Five Elements Dharma treasure at Cloud Mist Garden, using the silkworm thread as its Gold Element foundation. Ten days later, Old Dragon received Ji Yuan’s message about the ambitious project and decided to join them.

• Ji Yuan showed Zhu Tingtao, Ju Yuanzi, and Old Beggar the materials for their joint refinement, and they discovered that the silkworm thread contained intricate edicts and Imperial Decree spirit script.
• Ju Yuanzi agreed to infuse the silkworm thread with Gold Spirits, while Ji Yuan and the others took roles suited to their strengths in controlling the Five Elements.
• Ji Yuan opened an enormous intent cauldron and used Samadhi True Fire to melt the Gold Spirit Items as the others contained the flames and Ju Yuanzi drew the molten gold into threads around the silkworm thread.
• Chang Yi warned the Immortal Mist Island disciples to stop trying to perceive the scene in the reception hall before the Samadhi True Fire’s heat harmed their Primordial Spirits.
• Ten days later, the Green Vine Sword and a Little Paper Crane reached Old Dragon with Ji Yuan’s message about the Five masters refining a treasure that could bind even powerful opponents.
• Old Dragon decided to join the undertaking, sent the Green Vine Sword and Little Paper Crane back to report, and prepared to follow them.

The Old Dragon left the Tongtian River to help Ji Yuan refine a powerful Dharma treasure. As Ji Yuan and three formidable cultivators raised the Samadhi True Fire in Cloud Mist Garden, the resulting vision engulfed Immortal Arrival Peak, drawing the attention of Nine Peaks Mountain and the gathered cultivators.

• The Old Dragon told a Yaksha Leader that he was leaving to help Ji Yuan refine a Dharma treasure, then flew away from the Tongtian River as a colossal Chi Dragon.
• Chang Yi and another elder watched the firelit anomalies spreading around Cloud Mist Garden and realized the restrictions could not contain them.
• Cultivators on Immortal Arrival Peak and visitors to Nine Peaks Mountain gathered to investigate the sea of fire, while the mountain's reception cultivators said they did not know its source.
• Ju Yuanzi urged Ji Yuan to intensify the Samadhi True Fire and refine the golden threads, while the Old Beggar and Fellow Daoist Ju helped guard the process.
• Ji Yuan opened the manifested elixir furnace, unleashing a surge of true fire as the four men refined the golden threads above the flames.
• Nine Peaks Mountain masters and a Lofty Brow Sect grandmaster arrived to investigate; the grandmaster identified Cloud Mist Garden as the source and saw the enormous elixir furnace.

Ji Yuan and three powerful cultivators continued refining the Golden Silkworm Thread in Cloud Mist Garden, forcing Nine Peaks Mountain to evacuate Immortal Arrival Peak. After a month of preparation, Ji Yuan sealed the thread in the furnace with a powerful decree, drawing the attention of cultivators throughout Nine Peaks Mountain.

• Lofty Brow Sect cultivators were scorched in the mind when they used their dharma eyes to peer at the Samadhi True Fire, and their elder dispelled the fire from their hearts.
• The Nine Peaks Mountain Sect Leader learned from Chang Yi that Ji Yuan, Zhu Tingtao, the Old Beggar, and Ju Yuanzi were preparing to refine a Five Elements treasure, with Dragon Lord Ying still expected to join them.
• The Nine Peaks Mountain Sect Leader moved the guests from Immortal Arrival Peak to Qi Dao Peak rather than interrupting the refiners.
• Ji Yuan and the others continued their work for a month as more cultivators arrived and heard rumors about the artifact refinement.
• Ji Yuan cast the decree “Furnace Fire Refines True Gold,” sealed the Golden Silkworm Thread inside the Cauldron True Fire, and sent a great bell-like roar across Nine Peaks Mountain.

Ji Yuan and his companions welcomed Ying Hong and began preparing to refine a Five Elements treasure at Immortal Arrival Peak. As the Immortal Gathering Convention opened, Jiang Xueling sensed that events at the peak had already made it begin in another sense.

• Ji Yuan and the others tested their skills by refining flawless Golden Spirit Silkworm Thread, then apologized to Nine Peaks Mountain and received permission to use Immortal Arrival Peak and admit Ying Hong.
• Ying Hong arrived at Nine Peaks Mountain in his dragon form, transformed into a man, and joined Ji Yuan’s group.
• Ji Yuan assigned the five participants their roles in the artifact refinement, and they began preparing the Five Elements spiritual items.
• The Immortal Gathering Convention officially opened at Heaven’s Will Peak, while cultivators watched Immortal Arrival Peak for signs of the ongoing refinement.
• Jiang Xueling’s disciple urged her to attend the convention, but Jiang Xueling looked toward Immortal Arrival Peak and wondered whether the convention had already begun.

The Immortal Gathering Convention began on Heaven's Will Peak as cultivators from across the region arrived and settled into their gathering places. A Handsome Man opened the Dao discussion by inviting everyone to guess what treasure was being refined on Immortal Arrival Peak, while Sect Leader Zhao doubted that this would prevent disputes.

• Jiang Xueling left with the Lofty Brow Sect cultivators and flew toward Heaven's Will Peak.
• Qiu Feng led the Yuhuai Mountain group to the convention, where Wei Yuansheng asked whether they would be fed and whether Ji Yuan and True Man Ju would arrive.
• Lin Jian welcomed the Yuhuai Mountain group and showed them to their pavilion on Heaven's Will Peak.
• Jiang Xueling touched a phantom peony, causing the flower scents around the summit to spread throughout the gathering.
• The Nine Peaks Mountain Sect Leader welcomed the cultivators, rang the convention's bell, and withdrew with his sect.
• A Handsome Man took the Dao Discussion Platform and asked the gathered cultivators to guess what treasure was being refined on Immortal Arrival Peak, while Sect Leader Zhao's companion warned that the idea might not prevent disputes.

While sect cultivators argued over the magical treasure being refined on Immortal Arrival Peak, Ji Yuan and four ancient masters harmoniously discussed Yin-Yang and the Five Elements as they worked. Their Dao discussion transformed the peak and captivated the gathering, leaving the gray-haired man to suggest that everyone had mistaken where the Immortal Gathering Convention was taking place.

• Immortal cultivators on Heaven's Will Peak argued over the treasure's nature, and their debate escalated into a spell fight.
• Ji Yuan challenged the Old Dragon's distinction between immortal and vulgar airs, and the group grew more at ease with one another.
• Ji Yuan, Ju Yuanzi, Zhu Tingtao, the Old Beggar, and the Old Dragon discussed Yin-Yang and the Five Elements while refining the treasure.
• Their discussion transformed Immortal Arrival Peak with manifestations of wood, fire, earth, metal, water, and Yin-Yang, drawing the cultivators' attention away from their quarrel.
• The gray-haired man watched the transformed peak and told Sect Leader Zhao that they had mistaken the venue for the Immortal Gathering Convention.

At the Immortal Gathering Convention, Song Lun visited the Yuhuai Mountain Group to thank Ji Yuan for saving his disciple Mo Yu and invited Ji Yuan to meet his Honored Master, Zhong Pingxiu. Meanwhile, Ji Yuan and four others continued forging the artifact as the seal at Pozi Mountain came under threat, but Ji Yuan insisted they could not afford to be distracted.

• Yang Ming explained to Shang Yiyi that arguments on the Dao Discussion Platform tested cultivators' convictions, while Wei Yuansheng waited for food.
• Song Lun introduced himself to the Yuhuai Mountain Group and explained that Ji Yuan had saved his disciple Mo Yu from a demon twenty years earlier.
• Song Lun asked the group to pass along his Honored Master Zhong Pingxiu's invitation for Ji Yuan to visit Immeasurable Mountain, then departed.
• As Ji Yuan and the others forged the artifact, the Old Beggar sensed danger at Pozi Mountain.
• Ji Yuan calculated that the trouble at Pozi Mountain would not affect events outside the mountain and urged the others to keep working.
• Dark clouds and demonic winds gathered over Pozi Mountain.

The demons attacked Pozi Mountain to free Tu Siyan, but the Golden Armored Strongman resisted their assault and fought them off. The battle continued as the demons regrouped and decided to target him first.

• The Old Beggar, Ji Yuan, and the others began refining the Gold Thread Rope by forming yin and yang before moving on to the five elements.
• Shi Youdao sensed danger around Pozi Mountain and fled underground, while the Golden Armored Strongman remained to guard the seal.
• A group of demons gathered around Pozi Mountain and struck the mountain and its guardian with lightning, but neither was harmed.
• The Golden Armored Strongman punched the Handsome Man into a distant mountain and then moved among the attackers, crushing a devil's head and hurling the Giant Ape into a mountainside.
• The Golden Armored Strongman tore off another demon's arm before it escaped, and the demons agreed they had to defeat him first.

Tu Siyan’s rescuers struggled against the Golden Armored Strongman, who killed the Giant Ape with ease. After Tu Siyan revealed where the mountain god was hiding, the demons split up to seek him while the Handsome Man tried to hold the strongman back.

• Trapped inside the mountain, Tu Siyan heard the battle outside and warned the rescuers that the Golden Armored Strongman was difficult to defeat.
• The Golden Armored Strongman endured the demons’ attacks and shattered the Handsome Man’s water assault with a burst of strength.
• When the Giant Ape challenged him head-on, the Golden Armored Strongman disabled and threw him into the mountainside, then split him in two with a Palm Blade.
• Tu Siyan urged the demons to find the mountain god, explaining that he was hiding beneath the unfinished new temple and could be caught by suppressing the surrounding earth spirit.
• The demons scattered to pursue the mountain god while the Handsome Man transformed into a Great Serpent and flooded the Golden Armored Strongman’s position.

The demons attacked the Golden Armored Strongman while five others captured Shi Youdao and used the mountain flood to weaken Tu Siyan’s seal. Tu Siyan escaped, prompting the demons to flee as the Golden Armored Strongman pursued them and seized one of her rescuers.

• The demons used floods, mudslides, and lightning to hold back the Golden Armored Strongman, but he turned a lightning strike into a spear that wounded the giant black snake.
• Four demons and one devil plotted to capture Shi Youdao, then trapped him underground and carried him away.
• The group battered the weakened mountain seal with floodwaters, and Tu Siyan escaped through a fissure.
• The Golden Armored Strongman roared at Tu Siyan to stop running, scattering the demons and sending them fleeing with her.
• The Golden Armored Strongman pursued Tu Siyan and seized the demon carrying her, binding him with yellow ribbons and lightning.

After the seal in Pozi Mountain broke, the Golden Armored Strongman killed a demon but failed to stop Tu Siyan from escaping, and the Great Show Celestial Master Bureau discovered the seal’s failure. Years later, auspicious signs appeared at Immortal Arrival Peak as Ji Yuan and the others neared the completion of their artifact refinement.

• The Golden Armored Strongman crushed the demon he had captured, then returned to conceal himself before the Great Mountain of Fox Suppression.
• After the mountain floods, villagers found the Mountain God Statue shattered, and the Great Show Celestial Master Bureau confirmed that the Mountain God had vanished.
• Celestial Master Bureau cultivators found and burned the Giant Ape’s corpse, then concluded that the seal had broken and warned that the demon had likely escaped.
• The Old Beggar sensed the broken seal but continued refining the Gold Thread Silk with Ji Yuan and the other masters.
• During the Awakening of Insects in the sixth year after the Immortal Gathering Convention, rosy light and Daoist music appeared over Immortal Arrival Peak.

Ji Yuan and four fellow cultivators completed the Immortal Binding Rope, then brought it outside Nine Peaks Cave Heaven to receive heaven and earth’s lightning and auspicious signs. At Heaven’s Will Peak, Ji Yuan promised to write a text for the four cultivators’ disciples and descendants to view.

• The Yuhuai Mountain Group and other cultivators witnessed auspicious radiance over Immortal Arrival Peak as the artifact refining came to an end.
• Ji Yuan received the completed Purple-Gold Thread Rope, whose spirit script named it the Immortal Binding Rope.
• Ji Yuan and the four other refiners carried the rope beyond Nine Peaks Cave Heaven, where it endured half an hour of heavenly lightning and returned to Ji Yuan’s hand.
• Cultivators congratulated the five refiners, and Ji Yuan and his companions thanked Nine Peaks Mountain for its help.
• At Heaven’s Will Peak, Old Dragon and the others asked Ji Yuan to write a book, and Ji Yuan promised that their disciples and descendants could view it at a small cultivation site.

After returning to Pozi Mountain, Ji Yuan learned that his Golden Armored Strongman had fought off the demons and devils who freed Tu Siyan, then discovered the talisman had begun to develop feelings. Ji Yuan called this new capacity its heart, the Spiritual Root of All Beings, and put it away to rest while the others watched in astonishment.

• Ji Yuan and his companions returned to Pozi Mountain and found that Tu Siyan had escaped through a new rift beneath the Great Mountain of Fox Suppression.
• The Golden Armored Strongman emerged from the mountain, and Ji Yuan asked who had come to rescue Tu Siyan six years earlier.
• The Golden Armored Strongman reported fighting ten demons and four devils for a day and a night, killing two and injuring three before the demon escaped.
• Ju Yuanzi and Zhu Tingtao questioned what the Golden Armored Strongman was, and the Old Beggar explained that it was a talisman and Ji Yuan called its method a Strange Art.
• Ji Yuan asked the Golden Armored Strongman what it felt about failing to guard Tu Siyan, and it answered that it felt guilty.
• Ji Yuan told the Golden Armored Strongman it had discovered its heart, the Spiritual Root of All Beings, then returned it to talisman form so it could rest.

Ji Yuan and his companions found that Shi Youdao had survived as a nearly unconscious spirit within a Mountain Yellow Stone. Ji Yuan sang a Dao song that gathered Pozi Mountain’s spiritual energy into the stone, strengthening Shi Youdao and beginning his recovery.

• Ji Yuan explained that his Strongmen Talisman was unlike traditional talisman arts, then joined Old Beggar and the others in searching for the Mountain God of Pozi Mountain.
• The group examined the abandoned Mountain God Temple, where Zhu Tingtao found three old incense sticks that suggested the Mountain God might not have perished completely.
• Ji Yuan’s Summon Deity art failed at first, but using one of the incense sticks, he summoned Shi Youdao’s remaining form as a Mountain Yellow Stone.
• After the group discussed ways to restore Shi Youdao, Ji Yuan sang a Dao song that quieted Pozi Mountain and drew its spiritual energy into the stone.
• The Mountain Yellow Stone developed fine cracks as its spiritual energy grew stronger, and Ji Yuan called on Shi Youdao to awaken.

Ji Yuan revived Shi Youdao from the Mountain Yellow Stone, and Shi Youdao recovered his life and spiritual cultivation. After Ji Yuan and the others departed, travelers arrived at the Mountain God Temple to worship the restored statue, while Ji Yuan’s group continued north with a new White Piece forming in his sleeve.

• Spiritual qi and earth-vein energy gathered in the Mountain Yellow Stone as Ji Yuan’s Dao song awakened Shi Youdao and restored him to life.
• Shi Youdao thanked Ji Yuan, reflected on his failure to trust Tu Siyan, and learned that Golden Armored Strongman was well.
• Old Beggar restored the Mountain God statue, and Ji Yuan advised Shi Youdao to cultivate the righteous path before departing with the other Masters.
• Shi Youdao watched travelers enter the temple, worship the restored statue, and offer incense, then considered Ji Yuan’s words about understanding his heart and seeing his nature.
• Ji Yuan and the others traveled north from Pozi Mountain as a White Piece formed inside Ji Yuan’s sleeve.

Ji Yuan explained that his Dao Melody came from an Earth Spirit Heavenly Book and returned to Cloud Mist Garden to compose and deduce a Heavenly Book. As the others departed Nine Peaks Mountain, Lin Jian arrived and heard the Sword Intent Scroll's characters speak.

• Ji Yuan told Old Dragon, Zhu Tingtao, Old Beggar, and Ju Yuanzi that he had recalled passages from the Record of the Venerable Master Zhengde and used them to sing the Dao Melody.
• Three days later, Ju Yuanzi and the Yuhuai Mountain Group boarded a Realm Ferry Flying Boat at Ruan Mountain Ferry, leaving Ji Yuan behind to deduce a Heavenly Book.
• Old Dragon, Old Beggar, Zhu Tingtao, and the Immortal Mist Island group also departed, while Immortal Mist Island's True Persons visited the healthy Old Emperor at Ji Yuan's request.
• Ji Yuan stayed at Cloud Mist Garden, brought out the Sword Intent Scroll, and began brushing Golden Fragrance Ink over its characters as they clamored for it.
• Lin Jian brought Ji Yuan tea and refreshments, then heard the characters on the Sword Intent Scroll argue and mock him before Ji Yuan ordered them to be quiet.

Ji Yuan brushed ink for the Little Characters on the Sword Intent Scroll, preparing them to help conceal the secrets of his new Heavenly Book. Meanwhile, a group of exhausted young people in Nine Peaks Cave Heaven continued toward Qingtian Mountain, hoping to find immortals who could revive their dead families.

• Ji Yuan explained to Lin Jian that the characters on the Sword Intent Scroll were independent spirit monsters, then brushed ink over them as they cultivated.
• Lin Jian left Ji Yuan to eat after sensing the Little Characters were cultivating under his guidance.
• Ji Yuan ate the refined dishes from Nine Peaks Mountain and asked the Little Characters to help conceal the heavenly secrets of his Heavenly Book.
• After months of travel through the mountains, Aze and the other young people became exhausted and begged to turn back.
• Aze insisted they continue toward Qingtian Mountain to find immortals who could bring his parents and Grandpa back to life.

Aze and four companions struggled through the mountains without food, warmth, or a way to make fire, while seeking the Immortal Realm. After an old man secretly helped them through the night, they found mushrooms and made a meal, but their journey continued.

• Aze led the exhausted young men to shelter, but they discovered their flint was missing and failed to start a fire.
• A storm drenched the group, so Aze shared their remaining bran rice while everyone huddled together and took turns keeping watch.
• A brown-black leopard approached the sleeping young men, but an old man in a green robe drove it off, dried their clothes, and left logs bearing mushrooms.
• Aze and Along woke in the sunlight and found the mushrooms, then used wood drilling to start a fire.
• Aze and his companions cooked bran rice and mushrooms in their pot and celebrated having food.