Chapter Summaries

The Eldest Princess considered the Nine-Tailed Fox’s invitation for Su Mu and demanded Immaculate Lotus as payment, while explaining why the fox’s survival would benefit Great Liang. Back on Earth, Su Mu cared for his parents until his father’s hospital tests showed that his previous illnesses had cleared up.

• A tiger demon asked the Eldest Princess to invite Su Mu to the Nine-Tailed Fox’s birthday banquet, and she requested Immaculate Lotus in return.
• The Eldest Princess told her maid that helping the Nine-Tailed Fox survive would keep Green Hollow’s lesser demons in check, then sent a bamboo slip to her imperial father.
• Su Mu returned to Earth, prepared medicine for his parents, and arranged for several household appliances to be replaced.
• Su Mu declined the cultivation group’s request to teach them, then continued brewing medicine for his parents and studying with Xiao Lian.
• Su Mu took his father to the hospital after the medicine ran out, and the test results showed that his father’s previous conditions had cleared up.

Su Mu learned that he had to attend the Demon King’s birthday banquet and that the eldest princess had obtained an Immaculate Lotus to help him form a body. He went with Xiao Wu to the Ten Thousand Books Pavilion to buy books, leaving the palace to search for basic medicinal formulas.

• Su Mu returned to the Immortal Cultivation Realm, where Xiao Wu told him the Demon King had invited him to her birthday banquet in three days.
• Xiao Wu explained that the eldest princess had accepted the invitation and reassured Su Mu that she would ensure he returned unharmed.
• Xiao Wu told Su Mu that the eldest princess had obtained an Immaculate Lotus to help him form a physical body.
• Su Mu took Xiao Wu to the Ten Thousand Books Pavilion, leaving Xiao Lian behind to gather literary works.
• Su Mu bought books about Dragon Veins and astrology, then searched the medicine refining section for basic medicinal formulas.

After Su Mu produced a second calligraphic treasure within a month, scholars and influential figures flocked to meet him and seek his works. Xiao Wu helped him fend them off, and Su Mu returned to the courtyard to read, wary that more calligraphic treasures could attract danger.

• Li Sheng of the Academy of Righteousness visited Su Mu, acknowledged his literary talent, and then left.
• Scholars and other visitors crowded around Su Mu, so he told them his calligraphic treasures would be sold through the eldest princess.
• At the palace gate, a court official and an armored man approached Su Mu, but Xiao Wu sent them to ask the eldest princess instead.
• Xiao Wu explained that Su Mu's second six-inch calligraphic treasure made people think he could produce another, and said the eldest princess had kept most cultivators away.
• Su Mu returned to the courtyard, settled down to read his new books, and had Xiao Lian hold the book and help explain difficult passages.

Su Mu learned how Great Liang's declining National Fortune benefited great demons and decided to investigate Huaxia's Dragon Veins to restore its Spiritual Power. After bidding farewell to the Eldest Princess, he departed for the demon king's birthday banquet under a tiger demon's escort.

• Su Mu read that great demons could seize National Fortune as it declined, improving their cultivation and chances of passing tribulations, and wondered why the demon king had invited him.
• Back on Earth, Su Mu concluded that Huaxia's Dragon Veins might be causing its thin Spiritual Power and decided to investigate and nourish them.
• When Su Mu returned to the cultivation world, Xiao Wu told him that his escort had arrived and took him to bid farewell to the Eldest Princess.
• The Eldest Princess told Su Mu to invoke her name if he encountered danger, reassuring him that the journey was not meant to be fatal.
• At the palace gates, Su Mu met the burly escort, entered a sedan chair, and set off for the demon king's birthday banquet.

Su Mu traveled with Yu Shan toward the demon king’s birthday banquet, then returned to Earth to search for Dragon Veins and improve his cultivation. He found that the first Dragon Vein on his map was already ruined, leaving him to continue his search.

• Su Mu learned that his companion was Yu Shan and that their journey to the demon king’s lair would take about ten days.
• Yu Shan described the banquet’s rare delicacies, reminding Su Mu that his soul body could not eat, so Su Mu returned to Earth and went to a barbecue restaurant.
• After eating, Su Mu set out to clear Dragon Vein blockages because strengthening his cultivation could help protect his life if his soul body were destroyed.
• Su Mu entered the mountains and used Spiritual Power to search for the Dragon Vein marked on his map.
• Su Mu consulted his notes and confirmed that the Dragon Vein was ruined and had become a Dead Dragon.

Su Mu awakened the Dragon Vein beneath a ruined dragon lair and guided it to turn over, causing the surrounding mountain ridge to shift. Officials recorded the event, confirmed it with satellite maps, and classified the footage as S-class.

• Su Mu found that ruined Dragon Veins could be gathered to nurture a main Dragon Vein.
• Su Mu offered incense at the dragon lair and used Dragon-Treading Footwork to awaken the Dragon Vein's spirituality.
• Su Mu completed nine steps and began guiding the Dragon Vein, which protected him as the mountain ridge moved.
• Earthquake bureau staff detected the surface tremors and flew by helicopter to investigate, recording the shifting mountains.
• Su Mu left before the helicopter crew reached the altar-like site.
• Officials compared the footage with satellite maps and placed the recording in the S-class classified archives.

After the authorities investigated the Dragon Vein’s tremors, Su Mu left the area and returned to the cultivation world, where he obtained a method to hide from mortals. He joined Yu Shan at a cold pool to fish for Spirit Frost Fish as other anglers gathered beneath the full moon.

• Su Mu feared the authorities would trace him after the Dragon Vein’s tremors, so he took a roundabout route to a county town and checked into a hotel.
• Back in the cultivation world, Su Mu asked Yu Shan for a method to conceal himself from mortals, and Yu Shan gave him a Jade Slip in exchange for gold.
• Yu Shan explained that the invisibility method also lowered body temperature, and Su Mu studied it on their way to a large cold pool.
• Yu Shan struggled to catch Spirit Frost Fish and handed his fishing rod to Su Mu, who admitted he had never fished before.
• Several cultivators arrived to fish beneath the full moon, and Yu Shan told Su Mu that the fish were valuable, delicious, and especially beneficial to infants.

Su Mu discovered he could catch Spirit Frost Fish with ease and kept fishing for Yu Shan, who promised to let him keep the catch. After Yu Shan scared off would-be robbers by invoking the eldest princess of Great Liang, he suggested Su Mu try catching a Koi.

• Yu Shan gave Su Mu his fishing rod, and Su Mu caught a Spirit Frost Fish on his first awkward cast.
• Yu Shan urged Su Mu to keep fishing and offered ten Spirit Stones for each fish, but Su Mu demanded to keep the catch and the seasonings instead.
• Su Mu caught more than a dozen Spirit Frost Fish, and Yu Shan froze them and gave him some seasonings and spirit fruit to store.
• Several men demanded Su Mu's next catch, but Yu Shan said Su Mu belonged to the eldest princess of Great Liang, and the men fled.
• Yu Shan told Su Mu that Koi could bring good fortune and suggested he try catching one.

Su Mu mastered the Invisibility Art and used it to secretly awaken Dragon Veins across Huaxia, evading the Security Bureau’s searches. The bureau learned that the shifting mountain ranges were Dragon Veins that feng shui masters believed had come alive.

• Yu Shan told Su Mu that koi could sometimes be caught in the Qin River, and the two fished through the night, catching around a hundred Spirit Frost Fish.
• Su Mu practiced the Invisibility Art on Earth, confirmed that people and mirrors could not see him, and used it to evade surveillance cameras.
• Su Mu awakened another Dragon Vein, but a helicopter arrived with a search team, so he concealed himself and escaped.
• Su Mu continued clearing and nurturing Dragon Veins while the Security Bureau struggled to find the person causing the mountain shifts.
• A report informed the Security Bureau that the affected mountains were Dragon Veins, and feng shui masters believed the veins had come alive.

The Security Bureau learned that the person moving Dragon Veins might act near Xiaoshan and prepared an ambush, while Su Mu traveled with Yu Shan to the demon king’s territory for the king’s birthday banquet. Su Mu arrived at the bustling gathering, received his accommodations and a jade token, and began his stay among the gathered cultivators.

• The Security Bureau team leader ordered his people to set up an ambush around Xiaoshan after learning that the Dragon Veins might be moved there next.
• Su Mu returned to the cultivation world and traveled with Yu Shan toward the demon king’s territory.
• Yu Shan led Su Mu through a peach grove formation to a crowded street where cultivators traded treasures before the king’s birthday banquet.
• Yu Shan left to browse the stalls, and Su Mu gave his name to the women arranging guests’ accommodations.
• A maid led Su Mu to a prepared room and gave him a jade token that would warn him away from places he could not enter and summon assistance if tapped twice.

Su Mu browsed the cultivators’ stalls but decided not to risk spending his Spirit Stones on goods he could not appraise. He then joined a gathering where demons complained about the difficulty of transcending tribulations, and a thunderclap from the Heavenly Dao left him chastened after he joined their complaints.

• Su Mu browsed the stalls, saw an expensive spiritual spring he could not afford, and decided not to buy anything because he could not distinguish genuine goods from fakes.
• Su Mu found cultivators and demons gathered by the river to discuss plant spirits and the Demon Race’s difficulty in transcending tribulations.
• A sharp-faced man asked how demons could weaken the Heavenly Tribulation, and the demons protested that humans had more ways to survive it.
• A thunderclap startled the demons, who feared the Heavenly Dao had sensed their complaints; many reverted to their original forms.
• Su Mu complained about the Heavenly Dao, and a cultivator angrily warned him to be silent and fear a Heavenly Tribulation.

Su Mu’s words about the Great Dao and its thread of hope convinced the Demon King that he was the key to surviving her tribulation. She welcomed him as an honored guest and left him in the care of her maids.

• The Heavenly Dao struck the old Daoist with lightning after he mocked its unfairness, and the Demon King appeared and slapped him underground for threatening Su Mu.
• The Demon King asked Su Mu about the demons’ difficult tribulations, and he said the Great Dao left a thread of hope for survival.
• Lightning dispersed as an azure lotus blossomed within Su Mu’s soul, and the Demon King recognized him as the hope revealed by her divination.
• The old Daoist crawled out and praised Su Mu’s words, but the Demon King slapped him underground again and ordered her maids to attend to Su Mu.

Su Mu was escorted to the Demon King's banquet, where he tried to avoid attention and secretly stored the food for later. When the Demon King arrived and guests presented congratulatory gifts, he realized he had brought nothing and did not know what he could offer.

• The Demon King's maids insisted on accompanying Su Mu, while the demons asked him to explain how to find a chance of surviving the heavenly tribulation.
• Su Mu said the workings of fate could not be sought or spoken of, then went with a maid to lodgings the Demon King had arranged for him.
• When the banquet was about to begin, a maid led Su Mu to the palace, where guests were seated according to their status.
• Su Mu tried to sit in a corner, but the maid guided him to a prominent place in the main hall.
• As the maids served unfamiliar dishes, Su Mu quietly stored them away for a time when he had a body.
• The Demon King arrived, and the guests presented congratulatory gifts, leaving Su Mu stunned that he had prepared nothing.

Su Mu presented the Demon King with a flattering piece of calligraphy at her birthday banquet, prompting her to unveil her face and praise him. After the banquet, she summoned him privately to discuss the matter the eldest princess had mentioned, leaving Su Mu apprehensive and unsure what would happen next.

• When his turn came to offer a congratulatory gift, Su Mu wrote the Demon King a couplet praising the mortal world's flourishing beauty.
• The Demon King delighted in the calligraphy, removed her veil, and revealed her breathtaking face to the assembled cultivators.
• Su Mu poured out his wine as an offering to the dead, then secretly stored away the dishes brought to him while the banquet continued.
• After the banquet ended, a maid told Su Mu that the Demon King wished to see him, and he followed her through a corridor.
• The Demon King met Su Mu alone and said she had summoned him for the matter he already knew about; Su Mu acknowledged it, still bewildered.

After leaving Green Hollow, Su Mu traveled with Gu Yu and several lesser demons. They met a water ghost named He by a river, and the catfish demon praised Su Mu as someone who might have advised He before his death.

• The Demon King played Go with Su Mu, then let him leave while wondering how he could help her survive the Heavenly Tribulation.
• Su Mu returned to Earth for food, then came back and received the Demon King's permission to depart.
• Gu Yu escorted Su Mu from Green Hollow, joined by lesser demons hoping to hear more of Su Mu's advice.
• The group walked toward a river, where the catfish demon called for his friend, a water ghost named He.
• The catfish demon introduced Su Mu to He and praised his understanding, leading He to lament that he had not met Su Mu sooner.

Su Mu’s accidental guidance convinced the demons that his actions held secret meaning, while he tried to avoid their questions and resumed his journey with Gu Yu. Back on Earth, the officers waiting at the hill remained unaware that Su Mu had been delayed, and the demons watched him play a board game badly, mistaking his moves for wisdom.

• A water ghost sank back into the river, and the nearby demons concluded that Su Mu could not explain how to find a chance of survival because the guidance would stop working if spoken.
• Su Mu stopped fishing, pretended to contemplate, and returned to Earth to eat and sleep while the demons resolved to study his actions.
• Plainclothes officers continued their stakeout at the hill and decided that Su Mu was probably delayed or resting.
• After breakfast, Su Mu returned to the Immortal Cultivation Realm and asked Gu Yu to speed up their trip toward the imperial capital.
• Gu Yu enlarged his painted fan and let Su Mu and the demons ride it, while Su Mu played a board game with him to quiet the demons.
• The demons watched Su Mu miss obvious opportunities in the game and grew anxious, while Su Mu continued playing without noticing.

Su Mu reached Great Liang’s imperial city and bought pancakes for famine victims, unintentionally inspiring a catfish spirit to believe he had learned not to eat people. Gu Yu stayed near Su Mu with the eldest princess’s permission, while the catfish spirit flew away convinced he had found a way to survive his Heavenly Tribulation.

• Su Mu arrived at the imperial city and, moved by the famine victims’ condition, paid a pancake seller to feed them.
• The catfish spirit decided Su Mu’s kindness had taught him not to eat people, thanked Su Mu, and departed to face his Heavenly Tribulation.
• The other little demons suspected Su Mu was displeased that they had learned nothing and scattered to search for treasures to offer him.
• Gu Yu followed Su Mu to the palace grounds, where the eldest princess summoned him and allowed him to stay near Su Mu with restrictions.

After returning to the Immortal Cultivation Realm, Su Mu discovered that he could command the Spiritual Qi restored by the Dragon Veins and considered ways to earn Spirit Stones. He left his plan to open a shop undecided and wondered whether he could make money by fishing for Koi.

• Su Mu found that his Spiritual Power had recovered and that he could command the Spiritual Qi around him.
• Gu Yu told Su Mu that the Demon King had ordered him to stay by Su Mu’s side, and Su Mu decided to let him follow.
• Su Mu asked about visiting the Eldest Princess, but Xiao Wu warned that his praise of the Demon King might have offended her.
• Su Mu told Gu Yu he wanted to move out of the palace grounds and open a shop to earn Spirit Stones for rebuilding a body.
• Xiao Wu described profitable businesses, and Su Mu asked about illegitimate ones before joking that he wanted to crack down on them.
• Su Mu decided that earning money through a shop or fishing for Koi might not be reliable.

Su Mu learned that starvation persisted in Great Liang because cultivators were needed to fight demons and ghosts, and he considered bringing high-yield crops from Earth. After returning to Earth, he discovered a powerful typhoon was approaching his coastal city.

• Su Mu asked Xiao Wu why Great Liang had so many starving people, and she explained that cultivators were occupied fighting monsters and the court would provide disaster relief.
• Su Mu considered opening a passage between worlds to bring over high-yield crops and eventually develop hybrid spirit rice.
• Su Mu rejected the invitations piled up at home and spent the day reading while Gu Yu quietly watched him.
• Su Mu returned to Earth, noticed missed calls from Wang Peng and messages from Qingfeng, and arranged to meet Wang Peng for a drink.
• On his way to the restaurant, Su Mu learned from his taxi driver that a typhoon with winds above force ten was approaching and looked up at the darkening sky.

Su Mu met Wang Peng for dinner and learned that Wang Peng had broken up with his girlfriend over the cost of buying an apartment. Su Mu accepted Qingfeng’s request to examine a sick child the day after tomorrow for a fee, then left the restaurant unaware that the cashier had admired him and regretted not asking for his contact information.

• Su Mu declined Qingfeng’s invitation to a dinner gathering, then met Wang Peng at the restaurant.
• Wang Peng said he had broken up with his girlfriend because he could not afford the apartment she wanted, and Su Mu offered to keep him company while he drank.
• Qingfeng called to ask Su Mu to examine a friend’s sick child, and Su Mu agreed to visit the day after tomorrow for compensation.
• Su Mu paid the bill, and the cashier texted her friend that he was handsome and regretted not asking for his contact information.