Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ling led the Xiao family out of the capital and down the Tongtian River, but their journey was ambushed by armed attackers posing as bandits. Yin Chong and the Yin Family’s experts arrived in time to save them, then departed without revealing their identities.

• Xiao Du packed the treasured Spring Water Scroll, and Xiao Ling led the Xiao family’s convoy away from Xiao Manor before they continued by tower ship down the Tongtian River.
• Yin Chong anticipated that the Xiao family might split up near Swallowfall Hill and sent scouts to follow their movements.
• After traveling by small boats and then carriages, the Xiao family was attacked in the wilderness by mounted soldiers armed with javelins and crossbows.
• Xiao Ling and the Guards fought desperately as the attackers killed and wounded members of their party and targeted Xiao Du.
• Yin Chong and the Yin Family’s experts charged into the fight, killed the attackers, and left with their dead and wounded without giving Xiao Du their names.

Yin Chong returned to the capital after safely completing his mission and reunited with Ji Yuan and his family. Before leaving Great Zhen, Ji Yuan visited Emperor Yang Hao, whose days were numbered, and revealed himself to the emperor.

• Yin Chong told Ji Yuan about the attacks on his party and discussed immortality, the court, and the legacy of Yin Zhaoxian.
• Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing returned home, welcomed Yin Chong with a banquet, and said farewell to Ji Yuan the next day.
• Ji Yuan entered the Imperial Palace unseen and observed Yang Hao reading a bawdy book in the Imperial Study.
• Yang Hao sensed Ji Yuan's presence, and Ji Yuan appeared before him and reminded him of their earlier meeting at Prime Minister Yin's Manor.
• Yang Hao recognized Ji Yuan and asked whether he was an immortal.

Ji Yuan met Emperor Yang Hao in the Imperial Study and listened as the emperor shared three worries before his death. Ji Yuan offered to satisfy Yang Hao’s curiosity about seductive demons and transported him and Li Jingchun from the palace to a shabby tea stall.

• Yang Hao welcomed Ji Yuan, asked about his refusal to interfere with mortals’ lives, and learned that Ji Yuan had not intervened in Master Yin’s illness.
• Yang Hao served Ji Yuan tea and pastries, and Ji Yuan read the strange-tale collection Wild Fox's Shame from the emperor’s desk.
• Yang Hao revealed that he wished to see his deceased teacher, understand his legacy as ruler, and learn whether seductive demons existed.
• Ji Yuan said Yang Hao’s teacher might have left final words in the Underworld Bureau and offered to satisfy his curiosity about demons.
• Ji Yuan tapped the book, causing ink and shifting scenery to engulf the Imperial Study and take Yang Hao and Li Jingchun to a shabby tea stall.

Ji Yuan brought Emperor Hongwu Yang Hao and Li Jingchun into a vivid world based on the novel "Wild Fox's Shame," where they experienced its sights, sounds, and food as though they were real. After they enjoyed tea and rice cakes at a roadside stall, Ji Yuan asked Li Jingchun to pay, but the eunuch had only gold, silver, and banknotes.

• Ji Yuan used his marvelous methods to make Yang Hao and Li Jingchun experience a lifelike street scene from "Wild Fox's Shame".
• Li Jingchun tested the tea for poison, and Yang Hao tasted it before recognizing the book and asking whether he was dreaming or inside its world.
• Ji Yuan explained that Yang Hao need not distinguish dream from reality, and Yang Hao eagerly asked what they should do next.
• Ji Yuan suggested changing their clothes and sharing the rice cakes, and Yang Hao and Li Jingchun ate while observing the tea-stall shopkeeper.
• Ji Yuan asked Li Jingchun to settle the twelve-wen bill, but Li Jingchun found only gold, silver, and banknotes in his pouch and asked Ji Yuan to pay instead.

Ji Yuan used his newly understood transformation technique to make Yang Hao and Li Jingchun look younger and less conspicuous as they traveled through a town inside a book. At Hedian Inn, they watched a penniless scholar learn that he could sleep for free at the Old River God Temple, and the chapter left the scholar deciding whether to go there.

• Ji Yuan paid the tea stall innkeeper with old copper coins and gave him two extra coins when he objected to their currency.
• Ji Yuan transformed Yang Hao into his youthful appearance and made Li Jingchun look about forty, then led them to buy plainer clothes.
• Ji Yuan and his companions waited outside Hedian Inn as night approached, expecting a scholar to arrive.
• The scholar tried to bargain for a cheap place to sleep, but discovered that his money pouch was missing.
• The innkeeper told the scholar he could sleep for free at the Old River God Temple, though it was a long walk away.

Wang Yuanming fled the town’s dangerous night streets and found shelter in the abandoned River God Temple, where Ji Yuan, Yang Hao, and Li Jingchun joined him. As they shared a fire and flatbread, Wang Yuanming and Yang Hao struck up a friendly conversation, leaving the group settled together for the night.

• Wang Yuanming rejected the innkeeper’s offer to pawn his books and hurried north toward the River God Temple.
• Wang Yuanming reached the temple at night, lost his flint while running, and settled down on its dry grass.
• Ji Yuan, Yang Hao, and Li Jingchun arrived at the temple, and Yang Hao asked Wang Yuanming for lodging.
• Ji Yuan secretly conjured a flame, and the group lit a campfire inside the temple.
• Wang Yuanming told the three men that he had lost his money pouch and offered to share his flatbread.
• Wang Yuanming and Yang Hao chatted warmly as the group prepared to roast the flatbread.

A fox woman came to the Old River God Temple and caught the attention of Yang Hao and Wang Yuanming, while Ji Yuan tried to avoid her notice. She joined the two scholars by the fire, and they grew increasingly captivated by her.

• Ji Yuan sensed a demon approaching and pretended to fall asleep after the fox woman watched him through the temple windows.
• The fox woman hesitated before entering the temple, then called out that she was alone and frightened.
• Yang Hao and Wang Yuanming opened the doors and invited the woman inside, where she introduced herself only as a little woman in need of shelter.
• Ji Yuan used his magic to make Li Jingchun pass gas, prompting the fox woman to move away from him.
• Yang Hao and Wang Yuanming offered the fox woman food and a place by the fire, then both became captivated by her beauty.

At the Old River God Temple, Yue Xu flirted with the travelers but showed more interest in Wang Yuanming than Yang Hao. The others pretended to sleep while Yue Xu settled beside the altar, then she told Wang Yuanming she was afraid to sleep alone.

• Yue Xu questioned Yang Hao and Wang Yuanming about Ji Yuan and Li Jingchun, then accepted Wang Yuanming’s flatbread.
• Yue Xu moved close to Wang Yuanming to read his book, leaving Yang Hao feeling excluded.
• Ji Yuan told Yang Hao that the night’s show was nearly over and that he would only hear what happened if he stayed awake.
• Yang Hao pretended to sleep under Ji Yuan’s spell while Wang Yuanming and Yue Xu continued talking.
• Yue Xu lay down on the far side of the altar, then called to Wang Yuanming and said she was afraid to sleep alone.

Ji Yuan brought Yang Hao and Li Jingchun through a dreamlike adventure in the world of "Wild Fox's Shame," then returned them to the Imperial Study as if no time had passed. A Zhengyang Tongbao coin left behind from the adventure convinced Yang Hao that the dream had become part of reality, while Ji Yuan departed without accepting his promised feast.

• During the night in the temple, a woman approached Ji Yuan but was repelled by the talismans on his wrist before she quietly left.
• The next morning, Yang Hao mocked Wang Yuanming, then spent three more days treating him to meals and lodging before they parted ways.
• Yang Hao and Li Jingchun found themselves back in the Imperial Study, where Ji Yuan said he had fulfilled Yang Hao's third wish and left without accepting a feast.
• Outside the palace, Ji Yuan examined the money from the dream and sent a Zhengyang Tongbao coin flying back to the Imperial Study.
• Yang Hao found the coin on "Wild Fox's Shame" and laughed as he reflected on dreams, reality, and immortality.

After completing the "Dream Roaming" chapter, Ji Yuan returned to Ju'an Pavilion in Ning'an County to rest and consolidate his gains. While he slept for months, the Little Characters continued their lively battles in the courtyard.

• Ji Yuan flew from the capital, practiced swordsmanship with the Green Vine Sword, and considered visiting Niu Batian before deciding to return home first.
• Ji Yuan reached Ju'an Pavilion at night, collected ripe jujubes from the Large Jujube Tree, and went to sleep.
• The Little Characters formed arrays and fought one another silently in the courtyard while Ji Yuan slept.
• Ji Yuan slept for months as life in Ning'an County continued and the Little Characters battled day after day.

Ji Yuan woke after three months and discussed with the Ning'an County underworld gods his belief that Bai Ruo and Zhou Niansheng’s bond could allow Zhou Niansheng to be reborn. He then traveled to the Wei family’s manor in Zhonghu Province, where the strange white vapor around the estate troubled him.

• Ji Yuan woke, calmed the Little Characters in the courtyard, and sent them back into the Sword Intent Scroll to rest.
• Ji Yuan told Old City God Song and the other underworld gods how he had used Bai Ruo’s Tear of True Emotion on Zhou Niansheng’s Heaven Soul, and they discussed the possibility of rebirth.
• Outside the Ghost Gate Pass, Ji Yuan told Song Shichang he was at least ninety percent certain the tear had worked, then left Ning'an County.
• Ji Yuan flew to Deer Peace City and found the Wei Family Manor still standing, though its surroundings seemed sparsely populated.
• Ji Yuan noticed an unsettling white vapor around the Wei Family Manor and learned from a servant that Wei Xuan and Wei Ming still led the family.

Ji Yuan disguised himself as Tie Mu, a Great Zhen master of the Iron Punishment Art, and visited Wei Family Manor to investigate the strange change he sensed there. After meeting Wei Xing, Ji Yuan found signs that the Wei family faced a serious problem whose cause remained unclear.

• Ji Yuan transformed his appearance into a grim, gray-clothed man and introduced himself as Tie Mu, a former official skilled in the Iron Punishment Art.
• Wei family gate guards welcomed Tie Mu and led him to Welcoming Wind Hall, where Ji Yuan noticed the manor's plaque and the hall's history differed from what he remembered.
• Jiang Tong of the Jiang Clan Merchant Group approached Tie Mu to exchange greetings, and Ji Yuan noted that the young man reminded him of Wei Wuwei.
• Wei Xing entered the hall and greeted Tie Mu, and Ji Yuan examined the faint white aura showing through his vigorous human vitality.
• Ji Yuan concluded that the Wei family had a serious problem, though he could not determine its cause or whether Wei Xing was human.

Ji Yuan disguised as Tie Mu sparred with Wei Xing to investigate the Wei family and exposed his opponent’s inhuman strength and rapid recovery. He concluded that Wei Xing’s borrowed essence qi came from other people and resolved to discover what was behind the Wei family’s transformation.

• Wei Xing invited Tie Mu to spar, and Ji Yuan agreed so he could examine Wei Xing and draw out the Wei family’s important members.
• Wei Xing pressed Tie Mu throughout their exchange, but Ji Yuan blocked his attacks and assessed his body and unusual aura.
• Ji Yuan suddenly increased his speed, broke Wei Xing’s arm and leg, and ended the spar with a decisive victory.
• Wei Xing stood up moments later, moved his injured limbs, and dismissed the damage as superficial.
• Ji Yuan noticed that Wei Xing’s recovery relied on essence qi that did not belong to him, and he decided to investigate the source of the Wei family’s strange condition.

Ji Yuan, disguised as Tie Mu, defeated Wei Xing in a spar and used the Wei family's hospitality to learn about its Wordless Heavenly Book. Wei Xing concealed his hatred and invited Tie Mu and the other guests to view the books, revealing that the Wei family also possessed an Immortal's Letter needed to understand the Heavenly Book.

• Ji Yuan, disguised as Tie Mu, exchanged courteous words with Wei Xing after their spar while privately noticing Wei Xing's simmering hatred.
• Wei Xing told Wei Ming that Tie Mu might be a Pre-Natal Realm expert, and Wei Ming urged him to welcome Tie Mu and learn why he had come to Deer Peace City.
• At the reception, Ji Yuan learned from Jiang Tong and the other guests that the Wei family allowed trusted people to view the Wordless Heavenly Book.
• Wei Xing returned, warmly invited Tie Mu to stay at the manor, and offered to let him and the other guests view the Wordless Heavenly Book.
• Wei Xing revealed that the Wei family also possessed an Immortal's Letter, which was needed to understand the Wordless Heavenly Book.

Ji Yuan exposed the Wei Clan’s corruption and revealed his identity when Wei Xuan led an attack against him. He froze the clan’s assailants and sent a Golden Armored Strongman after the fleeing leaders, ordering Wei Xuan captured.

• Ji Yuan discovered that nearly everyone in the Wei Clan had been tainted by an aura and had participated in eating people.
• Wei Xuan returned looking unnaturally young and surrounded Ji Yuan’s guest house with dozens of clan members.
• Ji Yuan confronted Wei Xuan about his corpse-puppet transformation, and Wei Xuan attacked but was knocked back by Ji Yuan’s finger flick.
• Ji Yuan revealed his true identity, and Wei Xuan ordered the clan to capture him while he and other leaders fled.
• Ji Yuan froze the attacking disciples and sent a Golden Armored Strongman to capture the fleeing leaders, sparing no one’s life except Wei Xuan’s.

Ji Yuan dealt with Wei Ming and sent the Golden Armored Strongman after the fleeing Wei Clan experts. The Strongman killed or incapacitated the pursuers and captured Wei Xuan, while Wei Xing remained alive.

• Ji Yuan told Wei Ming that he could save his soul by burning away his body, but Wei Ming refused to accept death and his soul proved too entangled with evil energy to survive.
• Ji Yuan burned Wei Ming with Samadhi True Fire, and Wei Ming died after plunging into a river in a futile attempt to put out the flames.
• The Golden Armored Strongman caught the fleeing Wei Clan experts and killed them as they split up to escape.
• The Golden Armored Strongman struck Wei Xing, who crashed into a tree and survived, then pursued the last fugitive, Wei Xuan.
• Wei Xuan tried to claw the Golden Armored Strongman, but his nails failed against the armor, and the Strongman captured him as the Little Paper Crane watched.

Ji Yuan confronted Shi Jiu, the Corpse Demon behind the Wei family’s corruption, after the demon killed Wei Xuan and Wei Xing. Shi Jiu warned him about the Heavenly Revelation Alliance before the Golden Armored Strongman destroyed the avatar, while Shi Jiu’s true body watched from an underground cavern hundreds of li away.

• The Golden Armored Strongman brought Wei Xuan, Wei Xing, and the other Wei family casualties back to Ji Yuan, while Wei Xuan pleaded for his life and claimed the family had been deceived by a demon.
• Ji Yuan said he believed Wei Xuan, then demanded that he identify the demon; Wei Xing urged his brother to cooperate, but a voice announced that the demon had arrived.
• Wei Xuan and Wei Xing burst apart as Shi Jiu emerged from the earth and presented himself as an avatar, admitting he had taken Ji Yuan’s writings and the Heavenly Records Script but blaming the Wei family for their own choices.
• Shi Jiu told Ji Yuan about the Heavenly Revelation Alliance, an organization involving demons, monsters, ghosts, goblins, and demon kings, and offered his avatar as a gift.
• The Golden Armored Strongman crushed Shi Jiu’s avatar, while Shi Jiu’s true body opened his eyes in an underground cavern several hundred li away and praised the divine general.

Ji Yuan left the Wei family to face mortal justice after its members confessed to their crimes and surrendered in Deer Peace City. He then found Lord Lu in the mountains and invited him to join a search for Old Ox.

• Shi Jiu escaped Ji Yuan by burying itself far away and disguising itself as an aura-less corpse.
• The Wei clan's surviving members surrendered outside the Deer Peace City yamen, confessed to their crimes, and revealed that Ji Yuan had destroyed their manor.
• Jiang Tong and other investigators inspected the deserted Wei Family Manor, where they found battle damage and enormous footprints.
• The Wei clan's case stirred outrage in Deer Peace City, and most surviving members were exiled while a few were sentenced to death.
• Ji Yuan left before dawn and flew toward Lord Lu, guided by his vague sense of the chess piece.
• Ji Yuan found Lord Lu cultivating in the mountains and asked him to come along to find Old Ox.

Ji Yuan reunited with Lord Lu and brought him to visit Niu Batian and Yan Fei in Luocheng City. After Ji Yuan gave Niu Batian ten taels of gold for his plans at a brothel, Niu Batian realized Ji Yuan might have come with a request.

• Ji Yuan walked with Lord Lu toward Niu Batian’s manor and spent a day and night sharing stories about people and events from the mortal and immortal worlds.
• Ji Yuan and Lord Lu reached the manor in Luocheng City and learned that Yan Fei had rescued a refugee couple, who were now living there and caring for the property.
• Niu Batian returned to the manor and asked Lord Lu to lend him gold for an urgent martial-world matter, then admitted he wanted to reserve a young woman at Spring Apricot House.
• Ji Yuan gave Niu Batian ten taels of gold, and Niu Batian grew cautious when he realized Ji Yuan might have brought him a task.

Ji Yuan enlisted Niu Batian’s help with a matter involving fox demons, while rewarding him with gold and spiritual jujubes. Niu Batian believed the fox that had once deceived him would probably not recognize him, though Ji Yuan warned they might encounter more than one fox.

• Niu Batian sent the couple away to prepare lunch, then asked why Ji Yuan needed his help.
• Niu Batian kept the gold ingot Ji Yuan had lent him and negotiated for ten more taels and spiritual items for a young lady.
• Ji Yuan gave Niu Batian fifteen jujubes from Ju'an Pavilion’s Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root, and Niu Batian teased Lord Lu by sharing one with him.
• Ji Yuan recalled that a fox demon had once deceived Niu Batian and asked whether she would recognize him.
• Niu Batian said the fox had used an injured incarnation and probably would not recognize his altered appearance, then quarreled with Lord Lu over the last jujube.