Chapter Summaries

Fang Zelin killed the cat demon that had been taking children’s souls and helped the villagers call their children home. He then questioned the Land God, who admitted he had been too weak to protect the villagers once the demon lured them away.

• The cat demon rejected Old Zhang as an offering, while a woman offered another villager to save her child and Old Zhang tried to stop her.
• Fang Zelin appeared before the villagers and used a wine blade inscribed with three small-seal characters to kill the cat demon.
• Dozens of children’s souls emerged where the cat demon died, and the villagers told Fang Zelin the demon had demanded seventy-one offerings.
• Fang Zelin instructed the villagers to call their children’s names and say they were home, then watched the souls return with their families.
• Fang Zelin placed a small-seal character on Old Zhang’s lintel and asked the Land God why he had failed to protect the village; the Land God said he was too weak to reach villagers lured beyond the village.

Fang Zelin killed the cat demon threatening Zhang Family Village and left the Land God with talismans to protect the villagers. Back at Yingping Peak, he learned Bearing the Heavens could carry him through the air but chose to conserve its Spiritual Qi, then turned to his next brewing plans.

• Fang Zelin explained that the cat demon had tried to gradually seize Zhang Family Village's fortune to avoid provoking a backlash from the human race's fortune.
• Fang Zelin sealed two talismans in a wine cup and gave it to the Land God, explaining how to use it against demons near the village.
• The villagers thanked Fang Zelin for saving them, and he cast the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique over their fields before leaving on the giant tiger.
• Fang Zelin told Zhang Weichu that he had slain the hundred-year cat demon, and Zhang Weichu praised the character of Fang Zelin's fellow cultivators.
• The next morning, Fang Zelin learned Bearing the Heavens could carry him through the air, but told it to conserve its Spiritual Qi.
• Fang Zelin cast spiritual rain for the medicine boy and considered brewing Clear as Empty and other wines from the new spirit rice harvest.

After two years of cultivation and tending Yingping Peak, Fang Zelin harvested the spirit rice and set out to meet Yang Xiang, leaving the medicine boy and two demons to watch the mountain. After nightfall, he found a campfire and approached a group of wary travelers.

• Fang Zelin brewed ten more jars of wine as the spirit rice and medicinal herbs flourished over two cycles of cold and heat.
• Fang Zelin harvested the spirit rice, told the medicine boy to guard Yingping Peak, and warned him to protect his ginseng leaves.
• Fang Zelin let the tiger demon and deer demon choose whether to stay on the peak or return to the mountains, then left to travel and deal with troublesome spirits.
• After passing through Anzi County and failing to find a place to rest, Fang Zelin spotted a fire and approached the camp.
• A man at the fire shouted at Fang Zelin, and the gathered travelers gripped their weapons as they watched him approach.

Fang Zelin spent the night at a roadside shelter with several wary groups, including refugees, then continued toward Flower Creek Village. He arrived near dusk and recognized the wealthy young man's carriage ahead.

• Fang Zelin asked the travelers at a roadside shelter for a place to rest, and they let him light a fire by the entrance.
• A scholar warned his sister not to trust Fang Zelin, while Fang Zelin overheard them and reflected on the refugees and Great Jin's troubled state.
• Fang Zelin told Bearing the Heavens to keep watch and passed a peaceful night without any spirits or monsters appearing.
• Fang Zelin set out in the morning, saw refugees along the road, and chose to rest at Flower Creek Village.
• Fang Zelin reached Flower Creek Village near dusk and recognized the carriage belonging to the wealthy young man from the previous night.

Fang Zelin met Xiang Genfeng and his younger sister beside an abandoned village, where they discussed the suffering of the people and the dangers on the road. As they camped for the night, Fang Zelin sensed something moving nearby.

• Fang Zelin found the village abandoned, and Xiang Genfeng explained that heavy taxes and mass recruitment had driven its residents away.
• Fang Zelin remarked that people suffered whether the realm rose or fell, and Xiang Genfeng warned him to keep such opinions from the imperial court.
• Xiang Genfeng invited Fang Zelin to camp with him and introduced his veiled younger sister, who privately asked why her brother had grown friendly with Fang Zelin.
• Fang Zelin told Xiang Genfeng he was traveling to keep an appointment with a fellow Daoist, and Xiang Genfeng warned him about spirits and murderous inns.
• Fang Zelin noticed something moving in nearby grass and became distracted while Xiang Genfeng spoke, then apologized to him.

Fang Zelin used water blades and seal-script characters to kill a nearby nonhuman creature, then shared small cups of Clear as Empty with Xiang Genfeng and the others, who passed out after drinking. Thirty years after beginning his mortal tempering, Yang Xiang reunited with his senior brother and prepared to return to the mountain, while waiting for Fang Zelin and agreeing to slay monsters at Jumbled Stone Cave.

• Fang Zelin sensed a nonhuman creature nearby and used water blades enhanced by seal-script characters to kill it.
• Fang Zelin warned Xiang Genfeng and the others to keep the incident secret, then gave them small cups of Clear as Empty, which caused them all to pass out.
• Xiang Genfeng and the others awoke the next morning refreshed, but Fang Zelin had already left.
• Yang Xiang met his senior brother at Sunset Cliff, who said Yang Xiang's thirty years of mortal tempering were complete and invited him back to the mountain.
• Yang Xiang told his senior brother that Fang Zelin would soon arrive to visit the mountain, and agreed to go with him to slay monsters at Jumbled Stone Cave.

Xuan Yi entered Jumbled Stone Cave alone and fought the scorpion spirit after finding a cavern carpeted with bones and a woman being tortured. He bound the spirit in flames, but a cloud of black smoke struck him from behind and sent him flying beneath a tree.

• Xuan Yi left Yang Xiang outside Jumbled Stone Cave and entered alone with the Yao-Beating Whip.
• Xuan Yi found bones covering the cavern floor and confronted the scorpion spirit, who was holding a frail woman captive.
• Xuan Yi rescued the woman and burned through the scorpions attacking him, while the scorpion spirit sent a descendant to fetch Old Ghost Black Wood.
• Xuan Yi bound the scorpion spirit with the Yao-Beating Whip and engulfed him in flames.
• A cloud of black smoke hit Xuan Yi from behind and knocked him beneath a distant tree.

Fang Zelin entered the Jumbled Stone Cave to help Xuan Yi and used water swords and a seal-script chain to overpower the two spirits. He left them bound as his swords attacked, while Xuan Yi’s fate remained unresolved.

• The woman arrived and freed the scorpion spirit from Xuan Yi’s Yao-Beating Whip, then shrouded the Jumbled Stone Cave in black fog.
• Yang Xiang worried that Xuan Yi was in danger, and Fang Zelin appeared and entered the cave to help.
• The woman and scorpion spirit prepared to attack Xuan Yi, but Fang Zelin arrived and offered to deal with the spirits.
• Fang Zelin drew water from a stream, formed it into swords, and sent them against the woman’s black fog.
• Fang Zelin bound both spirits with a glowing water chain, then sent the water swords through the fog to strike them.

Fang Zelin rescued Xuan Yi, Yang Xiang, and several civilians from demons, then traveled with the two cultivators to Jade Void Mountain. There, he reunited with Qingyun, who welcomed him as an honored guest and had been waiting for him to visit.

• Fang Zelin slew two demons with water weapons, recovered his small seal-script characters, and helped Xuan Yi rescue civilians from the cave.
• Xuan Yi introduced himself and Yang Xiang as cultivators of Jade Void Mountain, and Fang Zelin said he sought the Dao on Wangqing Mountain.
• Fang Zelin shared Clear as Empty with Xuan Yi and Yang Xiang during their flight, astonishing them when he said he had visited Seeking Dao Mountain seven or eight times.
• Xuan Yi brought Fang Zelin to Jade Void Mountain, where Fang Zelin met several disciples and shared wine with the immortal cranes.
• Qingyun recognized Fang Zelin when he arrived at the great hall and welcomed him, saying he had been waiting for his visit.

Fang Zelin visited Jade Void Mountain to help protect Great Jin’s dwindling fortune and asked Qingyun for manuals on demon-slaying spells. As Fang Zelin studied the mountain’s treasured manuals, Qingyun directed Yang Xiang to learn Qi Refining and prepare to seek entry to Seeking Dao Mountain.

• Fang Zelin told Qingyun he had come to help safeguard Great Jin’s fortune and asked to borrow spell manuals for slaying demons.
• Qingyun sent Xuan Yi to fetch every manual from the library’s A shelf, and Fang Zelin took the three books to study in a side hall.
• Qingyun and Xuan Yi discussed Fang Zelin’s cultivation of the Treatise on the Supreme One's Response and his apparent ability to enter Seeking Dao Mountain at will.
• Qingyun instructed Xuan Yi to teach Yang Xiang the Qi Refining method and help him seek entry to Seeking Dao Mountain.
• Xuan Yi led the anxious Yang Xiang away and urged him to stay true to his nature and keep his heart steady.

Fang Zelin studied three powerful Law Techniques while the Jade Void Mountain cultivators discussed the coming calamity in Great Jin and their dwindling numbers. Zhenke resolved to descend the mountain to fight demons, and Yang Xiang emerged from seclusion having failed to enter Seeking Dao Mountain.

• Fang Zelin read the manuals for Universe in the Sleeve, Size at Will, and Turning Stone into Gold, then began practicing the first two.
• Qingyun told Yunyi that a senior had guided him into Seeking Dao Mountain and would join them in subduing demons.
• Yunyi recalled how the battles across Great Xia and Great Zhou had cost Jade Void Mountain many disciples and weakened the Human Race's fortune.
• Zhenke volunteered to descend the mountain against demons, and Yunyi agreed that she should go with them.
• Yang Xiang told Xuan Yi that he had failed to enter Seeking Dao Mountain, and Xuan Yi encouraged him to keep cultivating.

Fang Zelin studied Jade Void Mountain’s Law Techniques and learned of the disciples who had died fighting demons through the ages. Moved by their resolve, he carved a poem into the training-ground cliff, and spiritual light, wind, and clouds gathered as he finished.

• Yang Xiang asked to descend the mountain with Xuan Yi, but Xuan Yi refused and told him to cultivate.
• Fang Zelin returned the three Law Technique manuals and asked Xuan Yi for a copy of the Technique of Riding Clouds and Mist.
• Fang Zelin memorized the cloud-riding manual, then learned that the library’s books recorded the insights of disciples who had perished fighting demons.
• Xuan Yi recounted Jade Void Mountain’s past battles as he led Fang Zelin to the training grounds, where Fang Zelin saw the disciples practicing.
• Fang Zelin drew Bearing the Heavens and carved a poem about the human, immortal, and ghost Dao onto the cliff, ending with “Deliverance for all without measure.”
• When Fang Zelin finished carving, spiritual light shone from the words and winds rose as clouds surged around the mountain.

Fang Zelin wrote the Scripture of Salvation on Jade Void Mountain, triggering a supernatural recitation that helped the disciples enter Seeking Dao Mountain. Yunyi asked Fang Zelin to let Zhenke contemplate the scripture, and Zhenke joined the other disciples inside Seeking Dao Mountain.

• Fang Zelin’s Scripture of Salvation sent the disciples’ written insights into the rock wall as winds rose and voices recited across Jade Void Mountain.
• Qingyun, Qingcheng, Yunyi, and Zhenke arrived at the stone platform and learned from Fang Zelin that he had written the scripture after glimpsing Jade Void Mountain’s past.
• Yunyi recognized that the disciples had entered Seeking Dao Mountain, and Fang Zelin explained that his cultivation insights had helped them advance.
• Yunyi asked Fang Zelin to let Zhenke contemplate the scripture, and Zhenke bowed to him before sitting before the rock wall.
• Zhenke was drawn into the recitation and found herself in Seeking Dao Mountain among the other Jade Void Mountain disciples.

Fang Zelin celebrated with the elders of Jade Void Mountain after his Scripture of Salvation helped their disciples enter Seeking Dao Mountain. The disciples returned with new gains, and they looked up to Fang Zelin as their mountain’s future prosperity began to seem possible.

• The old fisherman divined that Fang Zelin’s Scripture of Salvation had drawn cultivators to Seeking Dao Mountain, and the old Daoist celebrated the first sign of their Dao’s prosperity.
• Fang Zelin shared his immortal brew with Qingyun, Qingcheng, and Yunyi as they discussed their cultivation experiences and the Dao.
• The Jade Void Mountain disciples awoke after entering Seeking Dao Mountain and rejoiced at the opportunities the Scripture of Salvation might bring.
• Yang Xiang returned from Seeking Dao Mountain younger, with an increased lifespan, and recognized his experience as a fortuitous opportunity.
• The disciples saw Fang Zelin and the elders drinking and discussing the Dao, while Zhenke admired the scene.
• Fang Zelin put away his wine gourd and told the elders that he had little fine wine left.

After studying Jade Void Mountain’s Law Techniques, Fang Zelin agreed to help Qingyun and the other masters lead the disciples down the mountain to slay demons. As the group prepared to split into four routes, Zhenke asked Yunyi to let her follow someone else.

• Fang Zelin spent nearly half a month studying Jade Void Mountain’s Law Techniques, then sensed the sunrise from beneath a tree.
• Zhenke told Fang Zelin that Qingyun and the others were preparing to descend the mountain to protect common people from demons.
• Qingyun asked Fang Zelin to lead some of Jade Void Mountain’s nearly hundred disciples, and Fang Zelin agreed.
• Qingcheng showed Fang Zelin a map marking four demon-slaying routes and their eventual meeting place in Hang River Circuit.
• Qingyun assigned the disciples, and Zhenke asked Yunyi whether she could follow someone else so her master would not have to choose whom to save in danger.

Fang Zelin led Jade Void Mountain disciples to investigate the disappearances in Yining County and learned from its Day Wandering God that the county had descended into chaos. The demon’s traces were obscured by the disorder, leaving Fang Zelin with little information as the group prepared to investigate.

• Zhenke chose to follow Fang Zelin, and Yunyi agreed to let her travel with him.
• Fang Zelin and the Jade Void Mountain disciples flew to Yining County, where several hundred commoners had gone missing.
• Fang Zelin sent Xuanyang and two disciples into the county to gather information while the rest waited outside.
• Fang Zelin summoned Yining County’s Day Wandering God, who confirmed that a demon had abducted people for half a year.
• The Day Wandering God explained that the magistrate and constables had fled, robberies and brawls had spread, and the resulting chaos had erased the demon’s traces.

Fang Zelin and the Jade Void Mountain disciples tracked missing people to a demon hideout in Yining County and killed the demons before they could manipulate rebels into slaughtering the town. After finding only bones and mutilated corpses, Fang Zelin ordered the disciples to bury the dead and rest nearby for the night.

• Xuanyang returned with blood from relatives of missing people and used a compass to lead the group to a mountain hollow.
• Fang Zelin and the Jade Void Mountain disciples overheard the demons planning to use rebels to slaughter Yining County and seize its human fortune.
• Fang Zelin had the disciples surround the hollow, and Xuanyang declared that Jade Void Mountain had come to subdue the demons.
• Demon King Wu's followers summoned apes to attack with stones, but the disciples blocked the barrage and split up to fight.
• The Jade Void Mountain disciples killed all the demons, then found no survivors among the remains.
• Fang Zelin ordered the disciples to bury the bodies and rest nearby until morning.

Fang Zelin and the Jade Void Mountain disciples reached Guyuan Commandery, where they learned that a mysterious Daoist surnamed Lü had driven off a great demon. After settling the exhausted disciples at an inn, Fang Zelin heard that people across the commandery were searching for Immortal Lü, whose supposed promise to grant an Immortal Method and make someone emperor seemed to be a political rumor.

• Fang Zelin and the Jade Void Mountain disciples arrived at Guyuan Commandery and learned from the Day Wandering God that a Daoist surnamed Lü had wounded the great demon and remained in the area.
• Fang Zelin led the disciples into the commandery seat and arranged an inn, though he worried about their dwindling silver.
• Fang Zelin told Xuanyang to gather information and planned to seek out Daoist Lü and the wounded demon.
• A diner said that people throughout the commandery were searching for Immortal Lü, who was rumored to grant an Immortal Method and make someone emperor.
• Fang Zelin suspected the emperor rumor had been spread by a local lord, but focused on finding the great demon.

Fang Zelin and the Jade Void Mountain disciples searched the streets of Guyuan for Daoist Lü, while Commandery Governor Wu Zicun looked for the immortal too. Wu Zicun recognized Lü in the guise of a beggar and asked to become his disciple, but Lü rejected him, knowing he would not give up his wealth and comforts.

• Fang Zelin discussed rumors about Daoist Lü with Zhenke and spotted Commandery Governor Wu Zicun searching the streets.
• Wu Zicun mistook the well-attended Fang Zelin for a possible Daoist Lü, then continued his search after realizing the rumors described someone alone.
• Wu Zicun recognized an old beggar as Immortal Lü because the copper coin in his mouth formed the character Lü.
• Daoist Lü told Wu Zicun that recognizing him did not make Wu his destined disciple and explained that Wu would not abandon his wealth and family.
• Wu Zicun offered to honor Lü at his residence instead, but Lü made clear that his life of cultivation could not accommodate Wu's comforts.

Daoist Lü refused Wu Cunyi’s request to become his disciple, then met Fang Zelin and left with him after Wu Cunyi missed the chance to speak to Fang. When Wu Cunyi learned that three feudal lords had mobilized their armies, he took Lü’s ominous saying as a warning and decided to withdraw by pledging allegiance to one of them.

• Daoist Lü rejected Wu Cunyi as a disciple and left him with a cryptic warning about dragons battling in the wilderness.
• Daoist Lü met Fang Zelin, recognized his reputation for guiding Jade Void disciples, and agreed to find a place to talk with him.
• Wu Cunyi tried to pursue the two men, but a mist rose and they vanished before he could reach them.
• After returning to his residence, Wu Cunyi learned that three feudal lords had sent out armies for a decisive battle.
• Wu Cunyi suspected the feudal lords had secretly allied against him and decided to withdraw by choosing one to serve.