Chapter Summaries

Aze and his companions reached the eastern edge of Qingtian Mountain, but Aze turned back alone to continue searching for immortals. At Nine Peaks Mountain, Ji Yuan began expounding the book as a Dharma Form emerged in his perception and sensed a powerful obsession in the distant south.

• After sharing a meal, Aze argued with Along about seeking immortals and insisted that the immortal light they had seen was real.
• The five companions changed course for Du Yang and reached Qingtian Mountain’s eastern edge after about half a month.
• Aze turned back into the mountains alone, while his four companions watched him go.
• At Cloud Mist Garden, Ji Yuan began writing about Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements as the Little Characters formed an array around him.
• Ji Yuan’s illusory Dharma Form sensed harsh weather and a powerful obsession in the distant south, and the Nine Peaks Mountain Sect Leader also looked that way.

Ji Yuan’s Dharma Form drew the attention of the Nine Peaks Mountain Sect Leader, who sent Jin Changdong and Li to investigate a boy seeking immortals in Qingtian Mountain. They found Aze near death, and Jin Changdong took him back toward Nine Peaks Mountain.

• Zhao Yu noticed Ji Yuan’s Dharma Form looking toward Heaven’s Will Peak and ordered Jin Changdong to inspect the lower realm.
• Aze endured a violent storm in Qingtian Mountain, convinced that finding immortals might let him revive his family.
• Jin Changdong and Li found Aze asleep and recognized that the boy’s body and vital aura were failing.
• After three more days of hardship, Aze collapsed and mistook the approaching cultivators for Yin Cha.
• Jin Changdong introduced himself, restored Aze enough to stand, and carried him with Li toward Nine Peaks Mountain.

Zhuang Ze reached Nine Peaks Mountain and begged Sect Leader Zhao to revive his murdered family and village, but Zhao told him the dead could not return. After Zhao put him to sleep, Zhuang Ze relived the night his grandfather hid him and the other children from the bandits, then awoke in an unfamiliar place.

• Jin Changdong and the cultivator surnamed Li brought Zhuang Ze to Heaven's Will Peak to meet Sect Leader Zhao.
• Zhuang Ze pleaded with Sect Leader Zhao to save his family and the people of his village, but learned that his dead relatives could not be revived.
• Sect Leader Zhao protected Zhuang Ze's mind and instructed Jin Changdong and Li to take him away to rest.
• Zhuang Ze dreamed of Grandpa Zhuang hiding him and the other children in the village temple cave during the bandit attack.
• Zhuang Ze woke from the nightmare in unfamiliar surroundings, drenched in sweat.

Aze recovered on Nine Peaks Mountain while Jin Xiu cared for him and explained the immortals and the mountain’s strange passage of time. Ji Yuan visited him and, after learning that Aze had come seeking to revive his dead family, comforted him as Aze began to cry.

• Aze awoke from a troubled dream, and Jin Xiu brought him porridge and clean clothes while his wounds healed.
• Jin Xiu showed Aze the scenery and explained that time passed differently on Nine Peaks Mountain, then comforted him over the following two months.
• Ji Yuan finished writing the Mystic Transformation Heavenly Book and realized Aze remained deeply incompatible with the mountain’s Immortal Spiritual Energy.
• Ji Yuan found Aze sitting on a cliff edge and sat beside him when Aze would not move.
• Aze told Ji Yuan that his father, mother, and grandpa had died and that he had sought immortals to bring them back to life.
• Ji Yuan spoke of parents and the road home, and Aze silently began to cry.

Ji Yuan and Jin Xiu learned that Nine Peaks Mountain planned to take Zhuang Ze into the sect and protect his mind, while Ji Yuan offered to investigate the strange demonic signs surrounding him. Ji Yuan arranged to take Zhuang Ze to his hometown and let him see his family in the Underworld Bureau, leaving Jin Xiu eager to join them.

• Ji Yuan asked Aze what he wanted to do, and Aze asked whether immortal arts could bring the dead back to life.
• Jin Xiu asked Ji Yuan to help Aze join Nine Peaks Mountain, and Sect Leader Zhao said the sect could take him in and teach him methods to clear his heart.
• Ji Yuan asked to bring Zhuang Ze into Nine Peaks Cave Heaven to investigate his unusual nature, and Zhao Yu gave him a Nine Peaks Mountain decree for the Underworld Bureau.
• After Aze finished eating, Ji Yuan invited him to visit his hometown, his companions, and his family in the Underworld Bureau.
• Jin Xiu asked to accompany them, and Ji Yuan told her to get her elder's permission.

Ji Yuan took Jin Xiu and Aze from Nine Peaks Mountain to Aze’s ruined hometown, where Aze mourned at his family’s graves. Ji Yuan suspected Nine Peaks Cave Heaven’s self-purification had concealed the consequences of the massacre, and prepared to take Aze to the underworld to find his family.

• Ji Yuan flew Jin Xiu and Aze away from Nine Peaks Mountain and explained that time passed faster in the Cave Heaven’s lower realm.
• Ji Yuan brought them to Aze’s village, where they found corpses and the remains of the military disaster.
• Aze paid his respects at the graves of his parents and grandfather, striking his forehead against the ground until it bled.
• Ji Yuan confirmed that the grave owners were in the underworld and offered to take Aze there after the offerings.
• Ji Yuan considered whether Nine Peaks Mountain’s Cave Heaven self-purification prevented evil energy from forming, while Aze’s situation suggested the system had a flaw.

Aze, Jin Xiu, and Ji Yuan honored the dead of Temple Cave Village before traveling through the desolate region toward Beiling Commandery City. Ji Yuan explained how rules could restrain conflict, and the chapter left them nearing North Mountain Ridge after a farmer mistook them for ghosts.

• With Jin Xiu's spell, Aze and his companions sent offerings to the dead through the Underworld Bureau and hoped to see Aze's family again.
• Ji Yuan led Aze and Jin Xiu on foot through deserted villages and taught them that rules were essential to restraining conflict.
• Aze questioned why laws had failed to protect his village, and Ji Yuan suggested that rules might be poorly upheld, flawed, or too limited in scope.
• The travelers encountered an old farmer, who warned them that North Mountain Ridge was dangerous and reacted fearfully when Aze mentioned Temple Cave Village.
• After Ji Yuan led them away, the farmer decided they were ghosts; Ji Yuan advised Aze to say he had fled the disaster early if he needed to explain his origins.

Ji Yuan, Jin Xiu, and Aze encountered bandits in North Mountain Ridge, where Aze recognized one of them as a possible killer of his grandfather and attacked him. After Ji Yuan restrained Aze and questioned the bandit, Aze killed him anyway, and Ji Yuan saw that Nine Peaks Cave Heaven had greatly affected Aze’s demonic thoughts.

• Ji Yuan led Jin Xiu and Aze through North Mountain Ridge, where they saw bandits plotting to attack a convoy and Ji Yuan immobilized them with a spell.
• Aze recognized a dagger on the bandit leader as resembling the one his grandfather had carried and stabbed the frozen man in the eye.
• Ji Yuan released the leader from the spell and stopped Aze from striking again so they could question him.
• The bandit leader claimed he had taken the dagger from a traveling merchant, not from villagers in Temple Cave Village, and Ji Yuan confirmed he was telling the truth.
• Aze killed the bandit leader with a slash to the throat, and Ji Yuan saw that Nine Peaks Cave Heaven had greatly influenced Aze’s demonic thoughts.

Ji Yuan guided Aze and Jin Xiu to the Underworld Bureau so Aze could reunite with the family killed by the bandits. After Aze embraced his family in Underworld Ghost City, Ji Yuan questioned the Judge about the absent City God.

• Ji Yuan reassured Aze after he killed the bandit leader, warning him to set rules for himself when his demonic thoughts stirred.
• Ji Yuan, Aze, and Jin Xiu reached Beiling Commandery City and entered the Underworld Bureau after its guards mistook them for wandering souls.
• A Judge welcomed the three and arranged for Yin Cha to search for Aze’s family.
• The Judge led Ji Yuan, Aze, and Jin Xiu to a group of ghosts from the households south of the mountain.
• Aze reunited with his mother, father, grandfather, and the other murdered villagers in Underworld Ghost City.
• Ji Yuan asked the Judge whether the City God was busy.

Ji Yuan discovered that the Beiling Underworld Bureau was in crisis and that its City God had undergone Demon Transformation. He exposed the City God’s attack and bound him and several corrupted ghosts and gods with the Immortal Binding Rope.

• The Judge explained that wars had cost the Underworld Bureau many ghost soldiers and that the injured City God was recovering; Aze said farewell to his family before leaving with Ji Yuan and Jin Xiu.
• At Ghost Gate Pass, Ji Yuan suspected that the City God’s injury and the bureau’s weakened state were connected to Demon Transformation, and the Judge admitted that ghost soldiers and division gods had been dying or growing weak.
• Ji Yuan went to the City God Hall and demanded to meet the City God, who refused at first but eventually emerged in a radiant guise.
• The City God suddenly attacked Ji Yuan with a demonic claw, and Ji Yuan repelled him with the Mountain Shaking Seal, exposing his Demon Transformation.
• The City God sealed Ghost Gate Pass and threatened everyone, but Ji Yuan used the Immortal Binding Rope to bind him and several corrupted ghosts and gods.

Ji Yuan subdued the corrupted City God of Beiling Commandery, learned that demonic erosion had spread through the divine hierarchy, and sent word to Nine Peaks Mountain. After the City God and the other demonized ghost deities were destroyed, Ji Yuan reassured the Underworld Bureau and promised Aze they would still find Along and the others.

• Ji Yuan bound the City God and the corrupted ghost deities with the Immortal Binding Rope, then restored the City God's identity as An Shuyu.
• An Shuyu explained that demonic erosion had gradually worsened over centuries and warned that the Prefecture City God who advised him might also be compromised.
• At An Shuyu's request, Ji Yuan burned him and the other demonized ghost deities with Samadhi True Fire, and the Underworld Bureau's officials bowed in farewell.
• Ji Yuan told the Underworld Bureau to maintain order and sent the Little Paper Crane to warn Sect Leader Zhao at Nine Peaks Mountain.
• Ji Yuan reassured Aze that they would still find Along and the others.

Ji Yuan informed Zhao Yu that Nine Peaks Cave Heaven had suffered a disaster and that its rules were no longer suited to the world’s troubled conditions. Zhao Yu summoned Nine Peaks Mountain’s masters, then came to Beiling Commandery, where he began to grasp the hardships afflicting the mortal world as the masters spread across it.

• The Little Paper Crane delivered Ji Yuan’s warning to Zhao Yu, who rang the Heaven’s Cry Bell and gathered Nine Peaks Mountain’s peak stewards and senior cultivators.
• Ji Yuan met Zhao Yu at a wonton stall in Beiling Commandery and promised to keep Nine Peaks Cave Heaven’s problems secret while urging Zhao Yu to reconsider its rules.
• Zhao Yu said he would investigate the matter himself, then stayed to eat wontons with Ji Yuan, Aze, and Jin Xiu.
• The old stall owner described the burdens of taxes, conscription, and violence, and Zhao Yu discovered that the chaos extended far beyond Beiling Commandery.
• Nine Peaks Mountain’s masters descended into the mortal realm and flew toward different parts of the world.

Ji Yuan reunited Aze with Along and the Agu brothers in Du Yang, where they learned Ani had been abducted and was being raised in a pleasure house. While Jin Xiu and the others went to redeem her, Ji Yuan witnessed the Du Yang City God’s statue crack, then arrived at Xiuxin Tower as another fight erupted.

• Ji Yuan and his companions reached Binyue Inn and found Along, Dagu, and Xiaogu working there.
• Aze reunited with Along and the Agu brothers, who told him Ani had been abducted and was now at a pleasure house.
• Ji Yuan gave Jin Xiu gold to redeem Ani, while he went to investigate the City God Temple after Nine Peaks Mountain cultivators arrived.
• The City God’s statue cracked during the battle in the underworld, and Ji Yuan left the temple.
• Ji Yuan arrived at Xiuxin Tower and saw several men thrown into the street as Jin Xiu fiercely confronted the establishment.

Ji Yuan ended the dispute at Xiuxin Tower and helped Along and the others establish an inn in a nearby city. As they settled into their new life, Ji Yuan inscribed a protective blessing on the inn, while Jin Xiu sneezed at the market.

• Jin Xiu and the boys left Xiuxin Tower with A Ni, and Ji Yuan struck the brothel madam and frightened the bald owner before declaring the matter settled.
• Ji Yuan led the group to a nearby city and bought a poorly run inn for Along and the others to operate.
• Along and the others cleaned the inn, and Aze told them that Ji Yuan was an immortal and that Jin Xiu was older than Along's father.
• Ji Yuan wrote a blessing on a pillar in the inn using his Wolf Hair Brush, and the words faded after a few breaths.
• Jin Xiu sneezed several times while shopping and wondered if someone was talking about her.

Ji Yuan bid farewell to Along and the others at the opening of South of the Mountain Inn, then returned Aze to Nine Peaks Mountain and urged him to resist the demonic nature within him. After Nine Peaks Mountain settled the changes to its Cave Heaven, Ji Yuan departed, carrying a new chess piece whose arrival left him uneasy about Aze’s future.

• Along opened South of the Mountain Inn with a ceremony, and Ji Yuan left with Aze and Jin Xiu.
• On the way to Nine Peaks Mountain, Ji Yuan told Aze that the sect would teach him and that repaying Ji Yuan meant remembering how Ji Yuan would look at him if demonic nature took root.
• City God statues cracked across Nine Peaks Cave Heaven, and Nine Peaks Mountain decided to restore the Path of Gods while keeping time flowing twice as fast as in the Outer World.
• Before leaving Nine Peaks Mountain, Ji Yuan gave Zhuang Ze an edict reading “Focus the Mind and Clear the Heart” and told him to cultivate well.
• Zhao Yu escorted Ji Yuan to Ruan Mountain Ferry, where Ji Yuan boarded a flying ferry and reflected on the new chess piece that had appeared after Zhuang Ze’s bow.

Ji Yuan completed the scattered details of the latter volume of Heaven and Earth Marvelous Method during the voyage back to Eastern Land Cloud Continent. At Moon Deer Mountain Summit Ferry, he found the Peach Blossom Branch again, and Green Vine Sword reacted with hostility to the person connected to it.

• Ji Yuan spent several months aboard the Nine Peaks Mountain vessel refining Heaven and Earth Marvelous Method and consulting the Mystic Transformation Heavenly Book.
• After finishing his writing, Ji Yuan emerged from seclusion and learned that the vessel had returned to Eastern Land Cloud Continent.
• Ji Yuan disembarked at Moon Deer Mountain Summit Ferry, parted from the two Nine Peaks Mountain stewards, and disappeared into the crowd.
• A young man fled Summit Ferry with a lean man and a plump woman, warning them about a powerful Master of the Immortal Path and revealing that he had left behind his Blood Branch.
• Ji Yuan retrieved a blooming Peach Blossom Branch from a cliff opening, recognized it from his earlier visit, and felt Green Vine Sword's sword intent rise against it.

Ji Yuan pursued the demons who had fled Moon Deer Mountain, and the Green Vine Sword struck down She Niang after her Substitute Talisman failed. The young man and lean man escaped and regrouped, while Ji Yuan returned toward Summit Ferry to warn the mountain’s authorities.

• Ji Yuan recognized that the peach blossom branch’s owner knew him, and the Green Vine Sword followed the remaining wicked energy from Moon Deer Mountain.
• The young man gave the lean man and She Niang Substitute Talismans, then the three demons split up and fled in different directions.
• The Green Vine Sword struck She Niang, and Ji Yuan discovered that the young man had tampered with her Substitute Talisman, causing her to die when it was used.
• Ji Yuan returned toward Summit Ferry to warn the authorities about the Wicked Youth.
• The young man and lean man reunited near a Mass Grave, recovered the young man’s Substitute Talisman, and identified Ji Yuan as their pursuer.

Ji Yuan left Moon Deer Mountain for the Tongtian River and met Ying Feng and two other Water Tribe demons at a hot pot restaurant. He learned that Old Dragon had gone to deal with Dragon Corpse Worms and showed Ying Feng the Immortal Binding Rope.

• Ji Yuan concluded that the Peach Branch Youth belonged to a network of demons and monsters, then left Moon Deer Mountain and headed south.
• Ji Yuan stopped at Palace Exam Top Scholar Ferry and noticed Wei's Hot Pot Restaurant, a busy new establishment opened by the Wei Family.
• Ying Feng recognized Ji Yuan at the restaurant and invited him to join the hot pot meal with two other Water Tribe demons.
• Ying Feng told Ji Yuan that Old Dragon had left soon after returning because someone from the East Sea had come to discuss Dragon Corpse Worms.
• Ji Yuan asked Ying Feng to tell Old Dragon that the Yin-Yang Five Elements Heavenly Book was finished, then let Ying Feng examine the Immortal Binding Rope.

Ji Yuan shared a hot-pot meal with Ying Feng and two East Sea demons before returning to Ning'an County after nearly seven years away. He was recognized by Wang Xiao Jiu, who marvelled that Ji Yuan looked unchanged, leaving Ji Yuan considering whether he should eventually appear to die in the county.

• Ying Feng showed his friends the Immortal Binding Rope and praised its creation while Ji Yuan cooked and urged everyone to eat.
• Ji Yuan and the others enjoyed a spicy hot-pot meal, and a waiter who tasted their chili powder felt unusually warm and energetic afterward.
• After Ji Yuan left, Ying Feng learned his friends had been too frightened to ask Ji Yuan for guidance because they had once eaten fishermen as Black Sharks.
• Ji Yuan returned to Ning'an County and reflected on the nearly seven years that had passed and on the people and places he had left behind.
• Wang Xiao Jiu recognized Ji Yuan as the man he had served at the Temple Outbuilding decades earlier and remarked that Ji Yuan looked as if only a day had passed.
• Ji Yuan declined Wang Xiao Jiu's vegetables and considered eventually faking his death in Ning'an County rather than keeping his unchanged appearance there.

Ji Yuan returned to Ju'an Pavilion and reunited with Sun Yaya, who had been troubled by marriage pressure and the expectations placed on her. After she found him at home and regained her spirits, she invited him to dinner and to see her calligraphy.

• Ji Yuan returned to Tianniu Quarter, opened Ju'an Pavilion, and settled back into his home beneath the Large Jujube Tree.
• Sun Yaya wandered into Tianniu Quarter while seeking quiet and discovered that the lock had been removed from Ju'an Pavilion's gate.
• Sun Yaya entered and tearfully reunited with Ji Yuan, who teased her about how much she had changed since childhood.
• Sun Yaya complained that suitors and her family were pressuring her to marry into a wealthy family and that she disliked On Female Virtue.
• Sun Yaya invited Ji Yuan to her home for dinner and offered to show him the calligraphy she had practiced.