Chapter Summaries

Zhou Wuji’s master, Li Yiyuan, was struck by heavenly punishment after violating a precept while using the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, and he died after passing the artifact and his final instructions to Zhou Wuji. Zhou Wuji inherited the book and Seven Star Sword, then prayed for Li Yiyuan to receive a better fate after death.

• Zhou Wuji rushed into the Seven Star Hall after a flash and boom, and found Li Yiyuan badly burned by yin lightning.
• Li Yiyuan explained that he had violated a precept while using the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, then transmitted the divine artifact and its name to Zhou Wuji.
• Li Yiyuan warned Zhou Wuji to obey the book’s precepts, keep it secret, and seek proper cultivation methods at the main temple.
• Li Yiyuan told Zhou Wuji that Zhang Wuding, Fang Wuzhen, and their clans might target Hidden Dragon Temple, and advised him to go to the lower temple if necessary.
• Li Yiyuan died after asking Zhou Wuji to continue his path, and Zhou Wuji took the Seven Star Sword from beside his body.
• Zhou Wuji kowtowed to the statue and offered five years of his lifespan in prayer for Li Yiyuan, then asked that his master be reincarnated into a good life.

After Li Yiyuan died from Yin Thunder, Zhou Wuji’s senior brothers accused him of murder and tried to seize control of Hidden Dragon Temple. Zhou Wuji escaped their attack with an explosive trick, but instead of fleeing far, he went to Li Yiyuan’s room in the rear courtyard.

• Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen entered the hall and recognized Li Yiyuan’s charred corpse.
• Zhou Wuji said Li Yiyuan had suffered an accident while cultivating and urged his senior brothers to arrange the funeral.
• Fang Wuzhen accused Zhou Wuji of causing Li Yiyuan’s death, and Zhang Wuding joined him after noticing the Seven Star Sword at Zhou Wuji’s waist.
• Zhou Wuji scattered finely ground flour and ignited it with the incense lamp, blasting Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen back before escaping into the darkness.
• Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen decided to gather the other disciples and hunt Zhou Wuji, who had gone to Li Yiyuan’s room in the rear courtyard.

Zhou Wuji discovered that his status as an Extraterrestrial Otherworldly Spirit exempted him from the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment's penalties. He used the book and his Seven Star Sword to destroy a Sha Ghost, gaining Origin Spiritual Qi that might let him begin cultivation.

• Zhou Wuji entered the hidden chamber beneath Li Yiyuan's home and found the sealed Sha Ghost his master had kept there.
• He read the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment and learned that its precepts threatened severe punishments for violations.
• Zhou Wuji tested his Extraterrestrial Otherworldly Spirit annotation by breaking several precepts and discovered each violation was marked with a blanket exemption.
• He checked the book's record of his abilities and found that his Daoist techniques remained at beginner level because he could not sense Qi.
• Zhou Wuji released the Sha Ghost and destroyed it with the Seven Star Sword.
• The Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment offered the Sha Ghost's remains as Origin Spiritual Qi, and Zhou Wuji converted them into a golden dewdrop.

After consuming the primordial spiritual Qi, Zhou Wuji broke through to the eighth-rank Qi Consumption realm and gathered tools and proof of his master’s Daoist lineage. He returned to the main hall, where Zhang Wuding was denouncing him before the gathered disciples and servants.

• Zhou Wuji used the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture to absorb the golden light, awakened his spiritual aperture, and reached the eighth-rank Qi Consumption realm.
• Zhou Wuji tested his improved senses and swordplay, then read that the Northern Emperor’s Book of Heavenly Punishment had raised his rank and lifespan while exempting him from violated commandments.
• Zhou Wuji took Li Yiyuan’s three Yin Thunder Pearls and Tianshu Demon-Warding Token from a wooden chest.
• Zhou Wuji left the secret passage and quietly circled into the main hall, where he found Zhang Wuding addressing the crowd beside Li Yiyuan’s body.
• Zhou Wuji noticed Zhang Wuding carried no sword and decided the unarmed opponent was vulnerable.

Zhou Wuji returned to Hidden Dragon Temple and challenged Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen, claiming they had murdered Li Yiyuan. He used his sword and Heavenly Pivot True Qi to kill Zhang Wuding, while Fang Wuzhen remained nearby.

• Zhang Wuding accused Zhou Wuji of murdering Li Yiyuan and swore to avenge their master before the disciples and servants.
• Zhou Wuji appeared and accused Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen of betraying and murdering their master.
• Zhou Wuji drew the Seven Star Sword and attacked Zhang Wuding with the Xiaoxiang Sword.
• Zhang Wuding unleashed the Iron Tiger Fist’s Tiger Roar Thunder Sound, but Zhou Wuji protected himself with Qi and pressed on.
• Zhou Wuji changed to the Falling Goose Sword and pierced Zhang Wuding’s throat, spraying blood across Fang Wuzhen.

Zhou Wuji killed Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen after they conspired against their master, then arranged Li Yiyuan’s funeral. As he watched his master’s body burn, he discovered that the Northern Emperor’s Book of Heavenly Punishment had recorded the two men’s names and concluded that his killings counted as enforcing the law on Heaven’s behalf.

• Zhou Wuji killed Zhang Wuding with one sword strike, then swiftly beheaded Fang Wuzhen as the other disciples watched in fear.
• Zhou Wuji told the disciples that Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen had murdered their master and made them witnesses to his account.
• Zhou Wuji recognized that the Zhang and Fang households would likely seek revenge, but focused on arranging Li Yiyuan’s funeral instead.
• Zhou Wuji and the disciples burned Li Yiyuan’s body beside the Huamei River, and Zhou Wuji remembered how his master had saved him as a child.
• Zhou Wuji saw Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen’s names appear in the Northern Emperor’s Book of Heavenly Punishment and reasoned that his killings were slaughter in accordance with his own precepts.

After discovering that the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment could turn Zhang Wuding's fate weight into origin profound spirit, Zhou Wuji cremated his master and secured the Seven Stars Hall. He then recruited Li Ruyi to manage Hidden Dragon Temple in exchange for a recommendation to the Cloud Dragon Lower Court.

• Zhou Wuji learned that Zhang Wuding's collected spirituality could be converted into origin profound spirit, though the Book's precepts limited its use.
• Zhou Wuji recited the Supreme Rebirth Incantation, scattered his master's ashes into the river, and ordered everyone to remain in the hall.
• Zhou Wuji summoned Li Ruyi and explained that killing Zhang Wuding would bring Zhang Xinhu after him.
• Zhou Wuji warned Li Ruyi that the Zhang Household would suppress the Li Household's rise and offered her a chance to cultivate at the Cloud Dragon Lower Court.
• Li Ruyi agreed to manage Hidden Dragon Temple for a few days while Zhou Wuji pursued his transmission to eighth rank.

Zhou Wuji used the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment to turn Zhang Wuding and Fang Wuzhen's fate weight into swordsmanship gains, then prepared to leave Hidden Dragon Temple for the Cloud Dragon Lower Court. He left at dawn after confirming Li Ruyi and the others remained in the main hall.

• Zhou Wuji used Zhang Wuding's fate weight to raise the Xiaoxiang Swordsmanship to proficient and found his sword speed had increased.
• Zhou Wuji converted Fang Wuzhen's fate weight into origin profound spirit and practiced the Flowing Cloud Sword until that move reached minor attainment.
• Zhou Wuji spent the rest of the night meditating and waited for dawn rather than sleeping.
• Zhou Wuji packed his master's token, gold, records, Grain Avoidance Pills, and self-defense items.
• Zhou Wuji checked that everyone remained in the main hall, spoke with Li Ruyi, and left Hidden Dragon Temple down the mountain.

Zhou Wuji boarded the Li family's cargo ship to travel urgently to Yunyang Prefecture, where deserters from the defeated Crimson Phoenix Army were causing chaos. At White Stone Ferry, rogue soldiers attacked the crew, and Li Qiang was shot as Zhou Wuji and the others were cornered aboard the ship.

• Zhou Wuji secured passage on the Wanfeng merchant ship with Li Ruyi's jade token and hid his gold in his cabin.
• Li Xin told Zhou Wuji that the Crimson Phoenix Army's defeat in Yunmeng Marsh had sparked a mutiny and sent thousands of rogue soldiers fleeing into Yunyang Prefecture.
• At White Stone Ferry, Li Qiang mocked Zhou Wuji for being a coward, unaware that Zhou Wuji heard him.
• Old Xu fled from the woods and warned Li Xin that rogue soldiers were killing people in White Stone Village.
• Four rogue soldiers appeared, shot Li Qiang through the shoulder, and drove Li Xin and the others back toward the ship.

Zhou Wuji saved Li Qiang and the others by killing the four marauders who had cornered them, then entered the woods to ambush the reinforcements summoned by whistle. He hid beside the path and prepared his talismans and Yin Thunder Pearls as hurried footsteps approached.

• A marauder raised his saber to kill Li Qiang, but Zhou Wuji leaped from the boat and killed him with a steel ball.
• Zhou Wuji killed a bowman with another steel ball, then used his swordsmanship to defeat the two remaining marauders.
• Li Xin and the others helped Li Qiang up, and Zhou Wuji told them to stay by the river while he dealt with the other marauders.
• Li Qiang thanked Zhou Wuji for saving him, and Zhou Wuji entered the woods to find cover near the path.
• Zhou Wuji hid behind a camphor tree, placed a Golden Light Talisman in his sleeve, and prepared his Yin Thunder Pearls as at least six or seven people approached.

Zhou Wuji ambushed and killed a squad of seven rogue soldiers, then reached White Stone Village and killed three more who had massacred its villagers. After seeing the bodies and the meager loot, he continued on without feeling any satisfaction, only the chill of the autumn wind.

• Zhou Wuji used his senses to assess seven approaching rogue soldiers and ambushed their armored captain, killing him with a sword thrust to the neck.
• Zhou Wuji killed two soldiers who charged him from behind, then faced the remaining four as they prepared to attack with sabers and bows.
• Zhou Wuji activated a Golden Light Talisman to dazzle the four soldiers and pierced all their throats with his sword.
• Zhou Wuji reached White Stone Village, found three rogue soldiers guarding plunder beside the bodies of more than a dozen villagers, and killed them.
• Zhou Wuji examined the villagers' corpses and the stolen valuables, then continued on as the cold autumn wind carried the stench of blood.

After defeating the rogue soldiers, Zhou Wuji returned to White Stone Ferry and used their fates to advance his Xiaoxiang Swordsmanship. He reached minor attainment and considered spending the remaining fates on the Rejuvenation Technique or saving them for a new spell.

• Zhou Wuji returned safely to White Stone Ferry and told Li Xin that the rogue soldiers had been dealt with and that villagers had been killed.
• Zhou Wuji checked and cleaned the Seven Star Sword, recovered his chest of gold from the water, and rested after replenishing his True Qi.
• Zhou Wuji used the four most valuable rogue soldiers' fates to improve the Xiaoxiang Swordsmanship in the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment.
• Zhou Wuji tested his improved swordsmanship and found he could make nine successive thrusts while coordinating his footwork; the Xiaoxiang Swordsmanship had reached minor attainment.
• Zhou Wuji considered using the ten remaining fates to improve the Rejuvenation Technique or saving them until he learned another spell.

Zhou Wuji used the Rejuvenation Technique to save Li Qiang from a poisoned arrow wound, earning the gratitude of Li Xin and the workers. After resting until dawn, he let Li Xin decide how to dispose of the mutinous soldiers’ valuable armor and weapons, provided the price was right.

• Zhou Wuji decided to save the remaining lowly life fates in the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment for later use.
• Li Xin asked Zhou Wuji to treat Li Qiang, whose arrow wound had become infected with poison.
• Zhou Wuji cut away the rotten flesh and used the Rejuvenation Technique and a Grain Avoidance Pill to stabilize Li Qiang.
• Li Qiang and the workers thanked Zhou Wuji, and Li Xin arranged hot water and a clean Daoist robe for him.
• At dawn, Li Xin asked Zhou Wuji what to do with the mutinous soldiers’ armor and weapons, and Zhou Wuji told him to sell them if the price was right.

Zhou Wuji sold the rogue soldiers’ weapons and armor to Li Xin, then traveled to Yunyang Prefecture and sought an audience with Yiping at the Cloud Dragon Lower Court. After a guest prefect dismissed him, Zhou Wuji found a Daoist acolyte willing to guide him to Yiping’s hall for a small payment.

• Zhou Wuji sold the weapons and armor to Li Xin and left the money plundered by the rogue soldiers for White Stone Village’s funerals and survivors.
• Li Xin stayed behind with Li Qiang to handle the village’s aftermath while Zhou Wuji’s ship continued to Yunyang Prefecture.
• Zhou Wuji arrived in Yunyang City, bought Daoist robes and supplies from Jin Fu, and learned that the lower court had sent people to suppress unrest caused by the Crimson Phoenix rogue soldiers.
• Zhou Wuji presented his master’s token at the Cloud Dragon Lower Court, but the guest prefect sent him to wait in a side room.
• Zhou Wuji asked a Daoist acolyte for directions to Yiping’s Flying Profound Hall and gave him silver to secure his help.

After Yiyuan’s death, Zhou Wuji visited Yiping and asked to inherit Hidden Dragon Temple, but his eighth-rank cultivation left him short of the seventh rank required to lead a branch altar. Yiping began arranging an initiation ceremony for him, and on the fourth day told him that the abbot wanted to see him.

• Zhou Wuji visited Yiping at Flying Profound Hall and told him that Yiyuan had died from a cultivation mishap.
• Yiping mourned Yiyuan, promised to protect Zhou Wuji from complaints over the killings, and invited him to stay in the lower monastery.
• Zhou Wuji said he wanted to inherit Hidden Dragon Temple, but Yiping explained that a branch altar’s leader had to be seventh rank.
• Yiping agreed to sponsor Zhou Wuji’s initiation and arrange for him to receive the precepts and seal, accepting the gold Zhou Wuji offered for the ceremony.
• While waiting for the altar preparations, Zhou Wuji read the Compendium of North Pole Divine Techniques and became interested in the Five Yin Pouch.
• On the fourth day, Yiping summoned Zhou Wuji and told him that the abbot wanted to see him.

After Abbot Zhiyuan questioned Zhou Wuji about his master Yiyuan’s death, he ordered Zhou Wuji to enter the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto and slay a Sha Ghost to qualify for the transmission. Zhou Wuji descended into the grotto, killed two Sha Ghosts, and faced a mass of Vengeful Ghosts as the chapter ended.

• Daoist Yiping warned Zhou Wuji that Abbot Zhiyuan would question him about his master and that the Heart-Questioning Mirror could expose lies.
• Zhou Wuji told Zhiyuan how Yiyuan died, accepted the abbot’s admonition, and agreed to enter the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto to slay a Sha Ghost.
• Daoist Yiping equipped Zhou Wuji with talismans and Golden Yang Pills, then escorted him to the grotto entrance and cautioned him to remain on the first level.
• Zhou Wuji took a Golden Yang Pill to resist the grotto’s Yin Qi and used drops of his blood to draw out two Seventh-Rank Sha Ghosts.
• Zhou Wuji destroyed both Sha Ghosts with the Seven Star Sword, then used a Golden Light Talisman and his Night Rain Sword to attack a vast swarm of Vengeful Ghosts.

After Zhou Wuji impressed Abbot Zhiyuan with his swordsmanship, the abbot arranged for him to study Law Techniques at the lower monastery rather than become abbot of Hidden Dragon Temple. During his initiation at the North Pole Heavenly Emperor Hall, Zhou Wuji resonated with the Heavenly Pivot Star and absorbed the primal mysterious Qi from the ghosts recorded in his book.

• Abbot Zhiyuan praised Zhou Wuji's swordsmanship but decided he was not yet strong enough to serve as abbot of Hidden Dragon Temple.
• Daoist Yiping told Zhou Wuji to study Law Techniques at the lower monastery for now and prepared to initiate him at the Heavenly Emperor Hall.
• Zhou Wuji bathed, changed into new robes, and waited quietly before the initiation ceremony.
• Daoist Yiping conducted the rites, and Zhou Wuji swore to observe the Middle Perfection Precepts before the statue of the North Pole Heavenly Emperor.
• Zhou Wuji resonated with the Heavenly Pivot Star, gained insight into the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture, and drew the primal mysterious Qi from two Sha Ghosts and nine Vengeful Ghosts into his divine aperture.

During his initiation, Zhou Wuji opened four apertures and resonated with the Northern Dipper, which Daoist Yiping called the Heavenly Emperor’s blessing. Zhiyuan rewarded him and urged secrecy, and Zhou Wuji later tested his heightened senses and considered creating a detailed stats panel.

• Zhou Wuji used the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment to open the apertures in both eyes and ears, then guided the remaining source Mystic Qi back to his divine aperture.
• Daoist Yiping saw Zhou Wuji resonate with the Northern Dipper stars and believed he had received the Heavenly Emperor's blessing.
• Zhiyuan witnessed the resonance through the Heart-Questioning Mirror, then told Daoist Yiping and Zhou Wuji to keep the blessing secret and awarded Zhou Wuji ten Golden Yang Pills and free Law Technique lessons.
• Daoist Yiping gave Zhou Wuji a Tianshu Demon-Warding Token and explained the costs of learning the sect's Law Techniques.
• Zhou Wuji found that his Origin Qi circulation, sight, and hearing had greatly improved, then checked his attributes in the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment.
• Zhou Wuji decided he could create a more detailed stats panel to track his condition and cultivation progress.

Zhou Wuji chose five Daoist spells to study and focused on the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword under Daoist Yiping’s guidance. By using origin profound spirit, he quickly raised the sword method to proficiency and successfully summoned a magical sword of light.

• Zhou Wuji reviewed his cultivation data and wondered whether the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment could convert origin mystic essence as well as spirit and Qi.
• Daoist Yiping took Zhou Wuji to the Law Transmission Hall, where Zhou Wuji swore not to teach the secret methods and received five spells: the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword, Heart-Purifying Divine Incantation, Fire Bell Incantation, Six Yang Dharma Eye, and Five Yin Pouch.
• Daoist Yiping warned Zhou Wuji about the risks and rules of the Five Yin Pouch, then advised him to prioritize the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword as his cultivation foundation.
• After studying the sword method and memorizing the other spells, Zhou Wuji spent two strands of origin profound spirit to raise the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword to proficiency.
• Zhou Wuji performed the method’s steps, seals, incantation, and visualization, then summoned a deep-blue sword of light that struck a wall without damaging it.

Zhou Wuji used the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment to improve several techniques and made rapid progress under Daoist Yiping's guidance. After more than ten days at Flying Profound Hall, he was summoned by Abbot Zhiyuan and assigned to return to Hidden Dragon Temple with Senior Brother Wuzheng to protect the surrounding lands from demons.

• Zhou Wuji spent Origin Profound Spirit to raise the Six Yang Dharma Eye and Heart-Purifying Divine Incantation to proficiency, the Five Yin Pouch to beginner level, and the Fire Bell Incantation to perfection.
• Zhou Wuji tested his improved techniques, finding that the perfected Fire Bell Incantation could be cast instantly and reach beyond ten zhang, while his Spirit no longer increased from low fates.
• Daoist Yiping watched Zhou Wuji rapidly master the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword and decided to keep his talent secret to avoid provoking jealousy in the lower monastery.
• Zhou Wuji asked Daoist Yiping to take Li Ruyi as a disciple, but Yiping declined, and Zhou Wuji later offered incense and a spirit tablet for his deceased master at the Hall of Ten Thousand Spirits.
• Abbot Zhiyuan summoned Zhou Wuji to Heart-Questioning Hall, introduced him to Senior Brother Wuzheng, and ordered them to return to Hidden Dragon Temple to protect the area from demons.