Chapter Summaries

Fang Zelin joined the others in setting out to bid farewell to Guangchengzi, then told Yunzi he would return home to consider how to strengthen younger cultivators and write more Daoist scriptures. He invited Yunzi to collect a copy at Yingping Peak, and she eagerly accepted.

• Daoist Master Fuqing reassured Fang Zelin that the disciples left at Dinggui Mountain would not release Bai Anmin, so Fang Zelin stopped worrying.
• Yunzi asked whether Fang Zelin would leave after they saw Guangchengzi off, and Fang Zelin said he would return to improve the cultivation world's strength.
• Fang Zelin explained that he planned to guide younger cultivators in comprehending the Dao and write down his insights as Daoist scriptures.
• Fang Zelin invited Yunzi to collect a copy of his scriptures at Yingping Peak, and Yunzi happily agreed.

Daoist Master Fuqing asked Fang Zelin and Yunzi to look after Dinggui Mountain after his death, while Bai Anmin tried to exploit their absence to escape the Pill Furnace. His increasingly convincing performance failed to move the two young Daoists, and he escalated his apparent injuries in another attempt to deceive them.

• Daoist Master Fuqing told Fang Zelin and Yunzi that his strength was declining and asked them to look after Dinggui Mountain after he died.
• Fang Zelin and Yunzi promised Daoist Master Fuqing they would help, then flew away with him to discuss their concerns about the Devil Race.
• Bai Anmin waited until the powerful cultivators had left before pretending that the pill fire was destroying his soul.
• Bai Anmin offered to reveal the Devil Race ancestor's stolen Dao scriptures and urged the two disciples to think of their master and fellow disciples, but they remained unmoved.
• Bai Anmin spat blood into the flames and collapsed, making himself appear to be on the verge of death.

Bai Anmin tried to lure Fuqing’s disciples into approaching the pill furnace, but they stayed on guard because Fang Zelin had predicted his scheme. Meanwhile, Fang Zelin joined the fellow Daoists in burying Guangchengzi and left wine at his grave before departing with them.

• Bai Anmin worsened his injuries to make the disciples think he was dying, but they refused to check on him and said they would follow Fuqing’s orders even if he died.
• The disciples praised Fang Zelin for predicting Bai Anmin’s attempt to lure them over, leaving Bai Anmin ashamed and furious.
• Fang Zelin and the fellow Daoists arrived at Azure Kite Ridge and helped Changsong bury Guangchengzi in a simple ceremony.
• Daoist Master Fuqing poured wine before Guangchengzi’s gravestone, and Fang Zelin left a bottle there, saying they would share a cup in another life.
• Fang Zelin left with the fellow Daoists and remarked that Guangchengzi’s solitary cultivation place was even barer than his own.

Fang Zelin joined the other Daoists in preparing gifts for Guangchengzi’s disciple, Changsong, and gave him a gourd that could absorb spells and release golden talismans. After realizing his handmade treasures could help disciples fight demons, Fang Zelin decided to make more for the Daoist Sect.

• The Daoists offered Changsong pills, a treasured sword, cultivation insights, and other gifts.
• Yunzi asked Fang Zelin what he had prepared, and he presented a gourd that could absorb spells but had only five or six uses left.
• Fang Zelin added golden talismans to the gourd so Changsong could use it for both offense and defense.
• Daoist Master Fuqing and Yunzi remarked on the strength of Fang Zelin’s gift, and Fang Zelin explained that he had made it himself.
• Fang Zelin decided to try making more treasures like the gourd for the Daoist Sect’s disciples.

Fang Zelin left after the crisis was resolved and returned to Yingping Peak, where his companions welcomed him back. He planned to cultivate and make more treasures, while the tiger and deer demons eagerly awaited his promised guidance.

• Fang Zelin told Daoist Master Fuqing to inform him if questioning the captured Demonic Dao member uncovered important information, then prepared to leave.
• Daoist Master Fuqing and the other cultivators gave Changsong gifts in recognition of Guangchengzi's sacrifice before departing.
• Fang Zelin bade farewell to the cultivators and flew toward Great Qian on Bearing the Heavens.
• Fang Zelin parted from Zhenke near the heart of Great Qian and continued alone to Yingping Peak.
• Fang Zelin returned to Yingping Peak, gave the medicine boy spirit rain, and found the tiger and deer demons eager for his promised cultivation guidance.

After returning to his cultivation grounds, Fang Zelin studied an alchemy manual for more than ten days, hoping to fix a flaw in his treasure gourds. The tiger demon’s suggestion gave him a possible solution: expose the gourds to the lightning where Bearing the Heavens had been born and see whether they gained spiritual sentience.

• Fang Zelin inspected the spiritual rice and medicinal field, then told the medicine boy to plant more gourd vines.
• Fang Zelin gathered his stored gourds and spent more than ten days studying an alchemy manual to find a way to eliminate their drawback.
• The tiger and deer demons kept watch over Fang Zelin while he read, and the tiger demon suggested making the gourds like Bearing the Heavens.
• Fang Zelin realized the gourds needed a trace of spiritual sentience and considered taking them to the place where Bearing the Heavens had been born so lightning could awaken them.

Fang Zelin returned to cook and caught up with Xiao Qin, whose cultivation was bringing her closer to the True Dragon Tribulation. After sharing a meal with Xiao Qin and the medicine boy, he learned that the gourd vines had been planted and decided the amount was sufficient for now.

• Fang Zelin cooked spirit rice after realizing he had gone several days without eating.
• Xiao Qin came to visit Fang Zelin, drawn by the food, and told him the Dragon Palace elders had been pushing her cultivation.
• Fang Zelin sensed that Xiao Qin was nearing the True Dragon Tribulation and warned her not to neglect her training.
• Fang Zelin cooked greens and shared a meal with Xiao Qin and the medicine boy.
• The medicine boy reported that he had planted several mu of gourd vines, and Fang Zelin told him that was enough for now.

Fang Zelin cultivated by the stream while Xiao Qin and the two demons tried to comprehend the Dao of Water. After decades without progress, Xiao Qin told the demons that the Dao did not suit them, and the tiger demon decided to wait for the Immortal Master's promised guidance.

• Fang Zelin sat beside the stream to cultivate, while Xiao Qin dipped her hand into the water to help her contemplate the Dao.
• The tiger demon and deer demon imitated Xiao Qin, but the tiger only soaked its head and then resolved to drink the stream dry.
• Xiao Qin stopped the tiger and told the demons to feel the Dao with their hearts, as the Immortal Master had taught.
• The demons said they had spent decades trying without gaining anything, and Xiao Qin suggested that the Dao of Water did not suit them.
• The tiger demon accepted that it should stop pursuing the Dao of Water and recalled that the Immortal Master had promised to guide them after returning.

Fang Zelin welcomed a fisherman who had wandered through the mist to Yingping Peak and learned that the man’s good fortune had allowed him to pass the formation. After sharing mountain spring water and news from town, Fang Zelin offered him herbs from the garden as he prepared to leave.

• The deer demon told Fang Zelin that a fisherman had come ashore at Yingping Peak.
• Fang Zelin welcomed the fisherman and offered him a seat and mountain spring water.
• Fang Zelin recognized from the clouds around the fisherman’s face that he had done good deeds in a previous life and was deeply blessed.
• The fisherman drank more water, admired Fang Zelin’s garden and rice field, and answered his questions about the town.
• As evening approached, the fisherman prepared to leave, and Fang Zelin invited him to take herbs from the garden.

Fang Zelin let the fisherman choose a gift from his mountain of treasure, but the fisherman passed over the herbs and gold for a jar of wine. The fisherman left with the wine after Fang Zelin warned him to dilute it before drinking.

• The fisherman marveled at Fang Zelin’s abundant medicinal herbs and asked if he could really take anything he wanted.
• The fisherman spotted a mountain of gold, and Fang Zelin said he could choose it, though its magic was nearly spent.
• The fisherman wondered if Fang Zelin was a yao, and Fang Zelin suggested he might be an immortal cultivator instead.
• The fisherman explained that immortals were taboo to discuss in Great Qian and that common folk believed yao still existed.
• The fisherman chose a jar of Fang Zelin’s wine instead of the herbs or gold, saying he feared greed might bring him bad luck.
• Fang Zelin gave the fisherman aged wine and told him to dilute it with water before drinking; the fisherman carried it back to his boat.

After the fisherman left the immortal realm with a jar of wine, Fang Zelin discussed the possibility of future visitors with the demons. He then began guiding the demons in cultivation, pointing to the medicine child as an example of their shared cultivation method.

• The deer demon sent the fisherman away with a warning not to tell outsiders about the immortal realm, and the fisherman saw the realm vanish behind him.
• The deer demon discovered the mountain of gold had turned to stone, and the tiger demon said future visitors might seek treasure.
• Fang Zelin said the formation would keep out people without affinity and that those who entered could be treated as guests.
• The deer demon suggested making more gold, but Fang Zelin ignored the demons and returned to his alchemy manual.
• Fang Zelin gathered the demons to discuss cultivation and explained that the medicine child’s natural birth and growth reflected their own method of cultivation.
• The demons realized the medicine child cultivated much faster than they did, while they themselves became restless and stopped progressing after long periods of cultivation.

Fang Zelin taught the two yao to cultivate more diligently, while the chapter followed the Immortal-Welcoming Tavern, whose diluted immortal wine drew customers from across Great Qian, including spirits and underworld officials. When customers asked the innkeeper where he had found the wine, he said he could not remember the immortal mountain he had entered.

• Fang Zelin explained how the two yao should cultivate, and they listened respectfully.
• The fisherman who had obtained the wine opened the Immortal-Welcoming Tavern, and its fame spread as business boomed.
• Judge Wen drank the diluted Clear as Empty with Zhang Weichu and lamented how much the wine had been watered down.
• Yao, yin gods, and underworld officials frequented the tavern, while some of them helped protect it.
• A customer asked the innkeeper which immortal mountain had supplied the wine, and he replied that he had been too dazed to remember.

At the inn, Zhang Weichu and Judge Wen discussed Great Qian’s prosperous age while the innkeeper concealed that he knew how to return to the immortal realm. Hours later, the suspicious burly martial artist went to the Yongding River to search for it and found many boats already there.

• The burly man questioned the innkeeper about the immortal realm, but the innkeeper denied knowing how to find it.
• Zhang Weichu and Judge Wen praised Great Qian’s prosperity and discussed how foreign visitors had changed the dynasty.
• Zhang Weichu and Judge Wen finished their wine and left, and the waiter found that their bowls held only water.
• The burly man left the inn and, several hours later, reached the Yongding River, where he saw many boats and realized others were searching too.

The burly man rented a boat on the Yongding River to search for the immortal realm, convinced that the fine wine he had tasted came from immortals. Shang Lewei returned to the river with her daughter and played a guqin piece in the mist, but nothing happened, and she planned to search once more before leaving.

• The burly man learned that the boatmen knew why visitors had gathered, then paid to rent a boat for half a month.
• The burly man rowed along the Yongding River and moved aside for a large boat carrying Shang Lewei and her daughter.
• Shang Lewei told her daughter that she had returned after hearing about the fisherman and still hoped to find the immortal realm.
• Shang Lewei played an unfamiliar guqin piece into the mist while people nearby listened for its source.
• When nothing unusual happened, Shang Lewei told her daughter to search again and said they would leave after spending the night.

Fang Zelin recognized Shang Lewei, an old acquaintance, arriving by boat on the Yongding River and arranged for the white deer to bring her to Yingping Peak after moonrise. He welcomed her by illuminating the area with a moon he drew on paper, and Shang Lewei was astonished by the technique.

• Fang Zelin recognized Shang Lewei by her zither tune and decided to meet her after moonrise to avoid attracting more visitors to Yingping Peak.
• The white deer entered Shang Lewei's room and offered to carry her to Yingping Peak on Fang Zelin's invitation.
• The white deer carried Shang Lewei across the Yongding River and through the mist to Yingping Peak.
• Fang Zelin drew a moon on paper, borrowed moonlight, and hung the glowing moon on a branch to brighten the area.
• Fang Zelin invited Shang Lewei to sit, and she marveled at his ability to hang the moon.

Shang Lewei returned the pearl she had carried for most of her life and reunited with Fang Zelin after more than forty years. Before she left, Fang Zelin confirmed that he had guided the emperor of Great Qian, leaving Shang Lewei stunned.

• Fang Zelin gave Shang Lewei a pill that stabilized her vital Qi and helped her feel more vigorous.
• Shang Lewei offered the pearl back to Xiao Qin, explaining she no longer dared keep such a precious treasure for fear it would endanger her descendants.
• Xiao Qin accepted the pearl after Shang Lewei insisted on returning it.
• Shang Lewei thanked Fang Zelin for letting her see an immortal again and asked whether an immortal had guided the emperor of Great Qian.
• Fang Zelin admitted that he had given the emperor some guidance, and Shang Lewei sat stunned by the revelation.

Shang Lewei learned that Fang Zelin had guided the Great Qian Dynasty’s founding and kept his warnings about the immortal secret. After returning her pearl to its rightful owner, she left by white deer, while Fang Zelin praised the deer’s cultivation and assessed the giant tiger’s progress.

• Shang Lewei heard Fang Zelin explain that cultivators guarded the mortal world and that the Great Qian Dynasty’s unification had followed the Heavenly Dao; he warned her not to tell outsiders.
• Shang Lewei asked Fang Zelin about cultivation through the night and returned to her room before dawn.
• Shang Lewei’s daughter noticed her mother’s youthful appearance and missing pearl, then wondered whether an immortal was near after glimpsing a white deer vanishing into the Yongding River’s mist.
• Fang Zelin’s white deer returned and told him Shang Lewei had arrived safely; Fang Zelin praised its cultivation progress.
• The giant tiger asked Fang Zelin about its own cultivation, and he said it had progressed well along a different path from the deer.

Fang Zelin tried refining Calming Pills but found that the pills repeatedly burst just as they were taking shape. He suspected his own restlessness was interfering, used the Calming Incantation to settle his mind, and began another attempt.

• Fang Zelin asked the medicine boy for Calming Pill ingredients and learned that only three batches were available.
• Fang Zelin spent three days refining a batch, but the forming pills burst and turned to charcoal.
• Fang Zelin examined the dregs and realized his restless state might be disrupting the pills as he used his Law Power.
• Fang Zelin recited the Calming Incantation until his mind became tranquil.
• Fang Zelin started refining another batch and felt that the process was now under control.

Fang Zelin used the Calming Incantation while refining pills, and his still State of Mind affected everything around him. After three days, he successfully completed more than a dozen pills and let the eager tiger demon test one; the chapter ended as the tiger demon swallowed it.

• Fang Zelin focused his mind with the Calming Incantation, and Xiao Qin discovered that his State of Mind had made a nearby drop of water completely still.
• Xiao Qin explained to the puzzled demons that Fang Zelin's State of Mind had improved and warned them not to disturb him while he refined pills.
• After three days, Fang Zelin sent Law Power into the Pill Furnace and successfully condensed the medicinal ingredients into more than a dozen pills.
• Fang Zelin examined the pills and gave one to the medicine boy to test, but the tiger demon eagerly volunteered to try it instead.
• Fang Zelin agreed to let the tiger demon test the mind-calming pill, and the tiger demon swallowed it in one gulp.

Fang Zelin tested a pill on the tiger demon, then traveled to Ten Thousand Blades Peak to try refining gourds with heavenly lightning. Bearing the Heavens suggested he follow the method used to forge the sword, and Fang Zelin began reshaping a lightning-filled gourd, though the outcome remained uncertain.

• The tiger demon swallowed Fang Zelin’s pill, sensed new insight into Daoist scriptures, and began cultivating while Fang Zelin watched.
• Fang Zelin told the medicine attendant to tend the field and plant more herbs, then picked several gourds and asked Bearing the Heavens to guard the area.
• Fang Zelin and Bearing the Heavens reached Ten Thousand Blades Peak, where Fang Zelin waited seven days for lightning to strike the gourds.
• Lightning shattered two gourds, and Bearing the Heavens urged Fang Zelin to refine the rest using the method he had used to forge the sword.
• Fang Zelin used lightning to temper a gourd and began applying the Heaven and Earth Technique to create a small space inside it.