Chapter Summaries

Chen Du overheard Xixi, Nan, and Bei communicating through an incense burner in a dream and learned that they were newly awakened seekers of cultivation, not a threat. Meanwhile, Yunzhi stayed up reading the Great Five Elements Evasion and saw how it might help her escape danger.

• Chen Du dreamed of a smoky hall where Xixi, Nan, and Bei discussed the incense burner that let them communicate and their search for someone who could teach them cultivation.
• Xixi told Nan and Bei that she had found a place rich in spiritual energy and a plant absorbing it, and confirmed that someone there might know cultivation.
• Nan and Bei advised Xixi to be cautious around the person she had found, and the three agreed to speak again the next night before the incense smoke dispersed.
• Chen Du woke, concluded the incense burner’s visitors meant no harm, and went back to sleep after considering what he had overheard.
• Yunzhi read the Great Five Elements Evasion through the night and realized its techniques could have helped her escape when the Door God trapped her.

Chen Du questioned the little figure about ancient cultivation and asked it to write down essence-gathering methods, while Xixi stayed at the temple to observe him and Yunzhi. After a day of watching, Xixi remained unsure whether they had begun cultivating, and her companions urged her to approach Chen Du with their Daoist scriptures before she left.

• Chen Du learned from the little figure that the ancient general Yachang had possessed over three hundred Essence Platforms, then asked it to record the essence-gathering methods it remembered.
• Xixi paid to stay another night and questioned Chen Du about a strange round-leaved tree, but Doubao's guesses failed to identify it.
• Xixi spent the day watching Chen Du, Yunzhi, and the cat, noting Yunzhi's tireless work and Chen Du's gentle manner.
• Xixi told Bei and Nan she had seen no conclusive signs of cultivation and could not afford to stay another night.
• Bei offered to send Xixi money, while Nan advised her to show Chen Du their three books and ask him for guidance; Xixi decided to observe longer.

Chen Du sensed that a seal on the mountain was coming loose and took Yunzhi and the Door God to investigate. The girl descended the mountain, reconsidered her doubts after hearing a farmer praise Chen Du’s powers, and hurried back with a plan to offer volunteer work.

• Chen Du watched the girl leave and considered taking her on as a human disciple and helper, but decided he needed to assess her character first.
• Chen Du noticed a black dot shifting on the seal, warned Yunzhi, and led her and the Door God out to inspect the mountain while Side-Swept Bangs guarded the temple.
• The girl walked down the mountain and overheard a farmer tell tourists that Chen Du had wielded his treasured sword and caused the mountain to shake.
• The girl weighed whether Chen Du was capable and trustworthy, then realized she could offer volunteer work instead of paying for her stay and ran back up the mountain.

Chen Du and Yunzhi unearthed a sealed demon and tried to renew its seal, but the powerful demon broke free and attacked them. Chen Du’s talismans and Yunzhi’s sword slowed it, though the battle was still underway.

• Chen Du used the seal to turn over the mountainside, uncovering a jade jar said to contain the Heavenly Palace on a Leaf and the stone casket holding a demon.
• Chen Du renewed the demon’s seal, but an unseen force stalled the mountain’s spiritual energy and the demon escaped as swirling black-and-white qi.
• Yunzhi slashed at the demon, but it struck her aside and charged Chen Du.
• The Door God’s voice blocked the demon’s attack, and Chen Du threw a suppressing talisman that drove it back but shattered.
• Yunzhi followed up with sword qi as the demon split into several masses and roared in pain.

Chen Du sent Yunzhi after the escaped demon while he and Door God returned to Earth Sage Temple. There he took in the girl with the schoolbag as a volunteer for the night, unaware that the demon’s smoke had followed her through the gate.

• The demon destroyed the jade tablet while escaping, and Chen Du gave Yunzhi a protective talisman and sent her to track it down.
• Chen Du returned to the temple with Door God, wary that the cunning demon might target them there.
• The girl with the schoolbag came back to ask about volunteering, and Chen Du agreed to let her stay and work at the temple.
• The girl followed Chen Du into the courtyard as smoke slipped through the gate behind her, changing the gate’s appearance.

Chen Du learned about jinyu and the temple’s Three-Pearl Tree from the little person, then learned that the demon was still on the mountain after it attacked the temple and fled. As Liu Yun and her friend drove back to the temple in the rain, they found an animal lying in a pool of blood on the road.

• Jiang Xi arrived at the temple and agreed to begin cleaning the guest rooms the next day, while Chen Du told her which places she must not enter.
• The little person explained that jinyu was spiritual jade capable of storing spiritual energy, but he knew little about the Three-Pearl Tree or whether immortals existed.
• A cloud of black-and-white smoke attacked the temple, but the Door God repelled it and the demon fled.
• A bird brought Chen Du a leaf bearing a message that the demon had not left the mountain, and Chen Du returned to the rear courtyard to study the Heavenly Palace on a Leaf.
• Liu Yun and her friend drove toward the temple in the rain, but they stopped after spotting an animal and a large pool of blood on the road.

Yunzhi failed to track the wounded pig demon after rain erased its scent, though she found blood that suggested it may have escaped in a vehicle. Chen Du rewarded Yunzhi and the Door God, sent Yunzhi to keep searching, and entrusted the temple’s safety to the Door God while a new volunteer stayed at the temple.

• Rain washed away the pig demon’s trail, and Yunzhi found suspicious blood on the road after a vehicle convoy passed.
• Yunzhi told Chen Du she had failed to catch the demon, and he reassured her that the rain and the demon’s cunning had made the pursuit difficult.
• Yunzhi volunteered to search the surrounding area for the demon, while Chen Du told her a volunteer had returned to help at the temple.
• Chen Du gave Yunzhi a spiritual fruit and asked her to post a notice that the Daoist temple was temporarily closed to visitors.
• Chen Du rewarded the Door God with a spiritual fruit, expanded its range to the entire temple, and entrusted it with protecting the temple while Yunzhi searched.

After Yunzhi returned from searching for the monster, Chen Du learned that an enormous injured giant panda had been rescued near Yidu and suspected the monster might have attacked it or transformed into it. The temple closed to visitors while the panda disappeared from the rescue center, leaving its identity and whereabouts unresolved.

• Yunzhi returned from her search empty-handed, and Chen Du told Jiang Xi to sweep the courtyard while he and Yunzhi watched the news.
• Chen Du and Yunzhi heard that an unusually large, badly injured giant panda had been found near Yidu, and they considered whether the monster had attacked it or become it.
• Chen Du told Yunzhi to post a temporary closure notice and planned to warn tourists away from the mountain because of the dangerous wild animal.
• Tourists found the temple gates shut and read a notice announcing its temporary closure for wildlife protection and maintenance.
• The tourist who had discovered the panda asked rescue-center staff about its condition, while a staff member concealed that it had vanished from its monitored treatment room.

Chen Du arranged for Jiang Xi to take Yunzhi to a jade market so Yunzhi could choose spiritual jade for the temple. Jiang Xi agreed, hiding her curiosity about Yunzhi’s unfamiliarity with modern life, and the trip was set to begin after Yunzhi slept.

• In a dream, Jiang Xi told Nan and Bei that the cultivator she had found could use spells, and they agreed that his obscure inheritance could become famous because he was ahead of his time.
• Chen Du considered searching for jade containing spiritual energy, which he needed to make jade talismans to prepare for the threat of the great yao.
• Chen Du noticed Jiang Xi using the Chain-Form Health Preservation and Essence Gathering Method in the courtyard to quietly demonstrate her cultivation.
• Yunzhi returned from searching for the yao without finding it, and Chen Du asked Jiang Xi to take her to a jade market near Yidu.
• Chen Du explained that Yunzhi could choose and bargain for jade while Jiang Xi handled directions and payment, and Jiang Xi agreed to go after Yunzhi rested.

Chen Du sent Yunzhi and Jiang Xi to the city to find spirit jade for a new tablet to control the escaped monster, while the monster itself passed nearby disguised as a cat. The cat ended up in Liu Yun’s home as she defended Earth Sage Temple online, unaware that the temple had closed because the monster had escaped.

• Chen Du explained that he needed spirit jade to carve a new tablet capable of controlling or sealing the monster, and Yunzhi agreed to search for it with Jiang Xi.
• Yunzhi rode a car into the city with Jiang Xi, marveling at modern roads, trains, and skyscrapers before they arrived at the antiques and curio stones market.
• Liu Yun adopted a stray cat resembling a panda, not realizing it was the escaped monster, and took it home after visiting a pet hospital.
• Jiang Xi and Yunzhi went into the market to look for rough stones, unaware that they had just passed the monster.
• Liu Yun read a video about Earth Sage Temple’s closure and defended the temple master in a comment, unaware that the temple had closed because the cat had escaped.