Chapter Summaries

Wei Chen tested Tang Tianya’s Sword Primordial Qi by wounding Tang Tiansong, then helped him open his Divine Pill Meridian. After Wu Changgeng invited Tang Tianya to join the Azure Origin Sect, Miao arrived with the dark ladle, drawing the attention of Han Dahai and Wei Chen.

• Wu Changgeng lent Tang Tianya a second-grade spirit sword, but Tang Tianya still failed to unleash Sword Primordial Qi.
• Wei Chen pierced Tang Tiansong’s heart and pressured Tang Tianya to strike her; Tang Tianya’s sword revealed his Sword Primordial Qi when it hit her Golden Light Shield.
• Wei Chen withdrew her sword from Tang Tiansong after using a demonic sect technique to open his Divine Pill Meridian, shortening his path to Qi Refinement.
• Wu Mengmeng showed Tang Tianya the Pseudo Beast Core she had used to release Sha Qi, and Wu Changgeng invited Tang Tianya to become an Azure Origin Sect disciple.
• Miao arrived to protect her sons while carrying the dark ladle, and Han Dahai and Wei Chen approached it as the Earth Flood Dragon inside feared they would discover it.

Han Dahai and Wei Chen examined Miao’s mysterious black soup spoon while Wu Mengmeng discovered something unusual about it. Meanwhile, the Tang family discussed whether Tang Tianya should join the Azure Origin Sect, and he refused, choosing to stay near his mother.

• Miao explained that she was mortal and that her husband, a cultivator, had left the black soup spoon at home, so Han Dahai and Wei Chen examined it.
• Wu Mengmeng inspected the spoon with her Yin-Yang Eyes, then asked Wei Chen to create a soundproof barrier so she could share her doubts with him and Han Dahai.
• Wu Changgeng urged Tang Tiansong to let Tang Tianya join the Azure Origin Sect, and the Tang brothers discussed the offer privately.
• Miao told her sons that their father had left their choices about cultivation to them and that she hoped they would live safely and happily.
• Tang Tianya said he did not want to join the Azure Origin Sect because he wanted to stay with Miao and live peacefully with his family.

Tang Tiansong and Tang Tiandong argued that Tang Tianya should avoid joining the Azure Origin Sect or Azure Palace, fearing the sects might exploit him, and Tang Tianya refused their offers. Han Dahai gave him a Ten-Thousand-Li Sound Transmission Stone in case he changed his mind; later, Tang Tiansong played Go with Yu Wei at the Dangwu Village Clan Affairs Office.

• Tang Tiansong said the Tang Household should rely on itself rather than seek the Azure Origin Sect's protection, and advised against sending Tang Tianya to join it.
• Tang Tiandong warned that even orthodox cultivators might refine talented sword cultivators into Human Pills, and Tang Tianya said he did not want that fate.
• Tang Tiansong promised Tang Tianya would not join a sect and said the family should cultivate quietly until a great opportunity arrived near Gazing Dragon Lake.
• Tang Tianya refused to become a disciple of either the Azure Origin Sect or the Azure Palace, and Wu Mengmeng criticized him for turning down the offer.
• Han Dahai gave Tang Tianya a Ten-Thousand-Li Sound Transmission Stone valid for three years, then departed with Wei Chen, Wu Changgeng, and Wu Ningning.
• On the sixteenth day of the eighth month in 4041, Tang Tiansong played Go with Yu Wei at the Dangwu Village Clan Affairs Office.

Tang Tiansong and Yu Wei discussed their marriage plans, the Tang Household’s finances, and the welfare policies driving its growth. Tang Tiansong worried about the shortage of Spirit Stones and the mines running out, but privately believed his father’s plan to divert water to the Dragon-Gazing Lake Desert could secure the future.

• Tang Tiansong promised to marry Yu Wei properly and planned a thousand-table engagement banquet and a three-thousand-table wedding feast.
• Tang Tiansong told Yu Wei that the Tang Household lacked Spirit Stones despite owning two mines, and he set their engagement for the ninth day of the tenth month and their wedding for the sixth day of the ninth month next year.
• Tang Tiansong explained that the Tang Household’s low mining fees had helped many clanspeople become wealthy and that generous birth benefits and childcare support had encouraged the population to grow.
• Yu Wei worried that the welfare provisions would drain the Tang Household’s money and asked what would happen when its coal and copper mines became difficult to work in thirty years.
• Tang Tiansong privately thought that, by then, the Dragon-Gazing Lake Desert might have become fertile land after water was diverted there.

Tang Tiansong learned that the Crimson Blood Wolf could not be hunted for years and worried that the Tang Household lacked the resources to defend itself. Wu Changgeng offered to help him obtain Spirit Stones, then announced he had found a way to get the two hundred the household needed.

• Tang Tiansong welcomed Wu Changgeng, who congratulated him on reaching Qi Refinement and asked whether Tang Tianya had decided to join the Azure Origin Sect.
• Wu Changgeng explained that Han Dahai and Wei Chen had wounded the Crimson Blood Wolf but could not pursue it into Three Graves Mountain because of an agreement restricting Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Wu Changgeng told Tang Tiansong that the wolf would die within ten years unless it found a Dragon Spirit Pill, whose rare main ingredient was divine dragon afterbirth.
• Tang Tiansong said the household needed at least two hundred Spirit Stones to strengthen its newly discovered Aperture Openers within three years, and Wu Changgeng offered to lend what he could.
• After Tang Tiansong invited Wu Changgeng to his engagement banquet with Yu Wei, Wu Changgeng realized he had a way for Tang Tiansong to obtain the two hundred Spirit Stones.

Wu Changgeng showed Tang Tiansong how to use the Gathering Friends Market’s notice board to attract gifts for his engagement banquet. Meanwhile, Tang Tiandong continued helping Tang Tianshu “hatch” dragon egg fossils and set out to post the notice, leaving the story with a reminder to visit Tang Miao.

• Wu Changgeng explained that Tang Tiansong could pay three Spirit Stones to post an engagement banquet notice at Gathering Friends Market and potentially receive two hundred Spirit Stones in gifts.
• Wu Changgeng promised to have the Wu Household ask for an invitation first, encouraging other cultivation families to follow.
• Tang Tiandong complained that sleeping with the dragon egg fossils had hurt his waist, while Tang Tiansong offered to take over the monthly task.
• The Earth Flood Dragon Hou Fei was secretly using Tang Tianshu’s hatching idea to increase the vitality in the fossils when the Tang brothers stroked them.
• Tang Tiansong asked Tang Tiandong to post the engagement notice at Golden Crow Square and to visit Tang Miao at the Emptiness and Form Temple if he could.

Tang Tiandong tried to collect gift money for his eldest brother’s engagement banquet at Gathering Friends Market, where cultivators mocked his family’s poverty and few people showed interest. He learned that the Wu Household’s customary gift could attract other donors, but the Chu Household’s competing celebration seemed to leave the Tang Household with little hope; meanwhile, Yang Musheng’s remarks on cultivation impressed Tang Tiandong.

• Tang Tiandong paid Wu Qi to post a notice for his eldest brother’s engagement banquet and sat beside it at Gathering Friends Market to collect gifts.
• Passing cultivators mocked Tang Tiandong’s low cultivation and the Tang Household’s attempt to gather Spirit Stones, but he encouraged himself by noting other households were also soliciting gifts.
• Tang Tiandong asked a young collector about the Yun Household’s gift money, and Yang Musheng explained that he was collecting on the Yun Household’s behalf and described the Wu Household’s escort vouchers.
• Yang Musheng pointed out that the Chu Household had already collected about thirty Spirit Stones for a banquet celebrating Chu Zhiyu’s admission to the Azure Origin Sect.
• Tang Tiandong worried that the Chu Household’s presence would prevent the Wu Household from giving his family its customary gift, then listened closely as Yang Musheng shared his insights about cultivation.

Tang Tiandong learned from Yang Musheng about tribute obligations, the cultivation powers of Pingyang Commandery, and the region’s strongest households. Their conversation ended when Tong Lingling appeared and recognized Tang Tiandong as the buyer of three defective dragon egg fossils.

• Tang Tiandong asked Yang Musheng how the Azure Origin Sect’s tribute system worked, and Yang explained the household requirements, payment schedule, and risks of refusing to pay.
• Yang Musheng described the major sects and the Foundation Establishment cultivators and households across Pingyang Commandery.
• Yang Musheng confidently declared that his Yang Household would rank among the top ten households in Heavenly River Commandery within thirty years, and Tang Tiandong praised his prospects.
• Tong Lingling arrived with an elderly female cultivator and greeted Tang Tiandong, who recognized her from the Purple Moon Market.

Tang Tiandong invited the Tong Household to the Tang Household’s engagement banquet, but their visit turned chaotic when Long Zhiyu sniffed him and suddenly decided he should become her husband. She left fifteen Spirit Stones as a banquet gift and promised to attend, leaving Tang Tiandong unsure whether to accept them.

• Tang Tiandong invited the Tong Household to his eldest brother’s engagement banquet, and Tong Lingling agreed to give a gift after buying dragon egg fossils.
• Long Zhiyu arrived at Gathering Friends Market, mocked Tong Lingling’s dragon egg fossils, and sniffed around for a scent she recognized.
• Long Zhiyu stripped Tang Tiandong’s chest bare while searching for the scent, as a Long Household cultivator restrained him.
• Long Zhiyu learned Tang Tiandong’s age and cultivation, then declared she would marry him next month and offered a hundred Spirit Stones as a betrothal gift.
• After Tang Tiandong protested, Long Zhiyu left fifteen Spirit Stones as a banquet gift, promised to attend on the ninth of next month, and insisted she would see him there.

Tang Tiandong collected gifts for the Tang Household’s engagement banquet after the Long and Tong households gave Spirit Stones and drew other Lineages to follow. As Wu Juexia arrived, Tang Tiandong learned of the Wu Household’s influence, but Wu Juexia passed the Tang notice without giving a gift.

• Long Zhiyu and another Long Household cultivator gave five Spirit Stones, and Long Zhiyu asked Tang Tiandong to welcome her in person at the banquet.
• Tong Lingling gave four Spirit Stones and accepted an invitation after teasing Tang Tiandong.
• Yang Musheng explained the standing of the Long and Tong households, and other Lineages followed their lead in giving gifts.
• Tang Tiandong counted seventy-four Spirit Stones from thirty-two households and packed up as the sun began to set.
• Yang Musheng told Tang Tiandong that Wu Qufeng was attempting to reach the Heavenly Gate Realm and that Wu Juexia was his sixteen-year-old grandson.
• Wu Juexia greeted the Chu Household but passed the Tang Household’s notice without giving a gift, leaving Yang Musheng puzzled.

Tang Tiandong defended the Tang Household’s stall against the Chu Household, while Chu Shimo recognized that the conflict was tied to the Wu Household and the Azure Origin Sect. The chapter left Chu Shimo asking Tang whether he knew Wu Changgeng, and Tang confirming their connection.

• Yang Musheng warned Tang Tiandong that the Chu Household might injure him, and Tang abandoned his plan to stage an injury when he saw Chu Shimo among them.
• Chu Shiyan demanded that Tang close his stall and shattered its stone paperweight with the Chu Household’s Cold Pine Palm.
• Tang refused to back down, drew Azure Edge, and threatened to chop off anyone’s hand who tried to overturn his stall.
• Chu Shimo stopped Chu Shiyan, citing the cost of damaging the Wu Household’s tables and stools, while he considered the Wu Household’s role in setting the Chu and Tang Households against each other.
• Chu Shimo asked Tang whether he knew Wu Changgeng, and Tang said he knew him well and that his eldest brother had shared drinks with him.

The Tang Household gained prestige and resources after Tang Tiansong’s engagement celebration, and the family’s members set out on separate errands. Tang Tiansong went to arrange Tang Jincan’s marriage and prepare for his own wedding, while Tang Tiandong headed to Purple Moon Market to exchange marriage cards with Tong Lingling.

• Chu Shimo gave Tang Tiandong two Spirit Stones, prompting the Chu Household’s supporters and other families to present gifts to the Tang Household as well.
• Tang Tiandong collected 216 Spirit Stones in gifts and returned west, eager to tell Tang Tiansong about the windfall.
• On the ninth day of the tenth month in 4041, the Tang Household’s five villages celebrated Tang Tiansong and Yu Wei’s engagement, earning the family renown across Gazing Dragon Lake.
• On the second day of the second month in 4042, Tang Tiansong set out for Iron Bridge Village to arrange Tang Jincan’s wedding date, then planned to take Yu Wei to Huai'an City for wedding preparations and supplies.
• Tang Tiandong went to Purple Moon Market to look for affordable cultivation resources and exchange marriage cards with Tong Lingling of the Tong Household.

Tang Tiandong and Tang Tianlan met the Tong Household to finalize his marriage to Tong Lingling, but Long Zhiyu warned him about the mask Tong Lingling always wore. When Tong Lingling revealed her severely disfigured face, Tang Tiandong recoiled, and Tang Tianlan comforted her.

• Tang Tianlan reminded Tang Tiandong that he could not easily break an engagement with the powerful Tong Household.
• Long Zhiyu offered Tang Tiandong generous marriage terms and urged him to ask Tong Lingling to remove her mask.
• At the Drunken Immortal Tower, Tang Tiandong asked Tong Lingling to show him her face before their marriage.
• Tong Lingling removed her mask, and Tang Tiandong recoiled in shock at her disfigurement.
• Tang Tianlan put Tong Lingling's mask back on, embraced her, and promised to punish Tang Tiandong if he mistreated her.

Tong Lingling gave Tang Tiandong six months to decide whether to marry her despite her disfigurement, while Cui Xueyong worried that Tang Tianzi might be promised to someone else. After arranging a costly dinner at the Immortal Ascension Pavilion, Cui Xueyong appeared to be planning a way to secure their future together.

• Tong Lingling explained that Nether Bone Poison had disfigured her and that only a salve requiring extinct divine dragon afterbirth could cure her.
• Tang Tiandong failed to provide his birth information, so Tong Lingling gave him until the sixth day of the eighth month to submit it or have their engagement dissolved.
• Tang Tianzi warned Cui Xueyong not to cross boundaries before their formal engagement and insisted they wait until Tang Tiansong and Yu Wei married.
• Cui Xueyong feared a powerful lineage might offer generous betrothal gifts for Tang Tianzi and decided he needed to take measures to protect their relationship.
• Cui Xueyong treated Tang Tiansong, Yu Wei, and Tang Tianzi to food, wine, and rooms at the Immortal Ascension Pavilion, spending most of his yearly allowance.

Tang Tiansong and Yu Wei shared a room after Cui Xueyong lent them a sword manual, while Tang Tiansong distributed resources and guidance to the Tang Household cultivators. As the household struggled to fund its growth, Tang Tiandong revealed he had found all five lairs of the Crimson Blood Wolf, though Mystic Spoon Immortal Venerable had forbidden killing it.

• Cui Xueyong gave Tang Tiansong a borrowed sword manual for a cultivator and a mortal to practice together, and Tang Tiansong took it to their room with Yu Wei.
• The next morning, Cui Xueyong guessed that Tang Tiansong and Yu Wei had studied the manual, noticing Yu Wei had pinned up her hair.
• Tang Tiansong distributed Spirit Stones, pills, and cultivation advice to twenty-two cultivators, who praised his generosity and loyalty to the Tang Household.
• Tang Tiansong told Tang Tiandong that the household had fewer than sixty Spirit Stones left and rejected increasing miners' workloads because it could harm the household's unity.
• Tang Tiandong said he had located all five lairs of the Crimson Blood Wolf, but Mystic Spoon Immortal Venerable had warned them not to kill it.

Tang Tiansong learned that the Guishi Clan was desperate for food and considered using the opportunity to attack Northern Mystic City before Gu Husha grew stronger. Yang Yue'ao revealed that his influence there was weak and that Gu Husha had gained ten powerful witch cultivators, leaving Tang Tiansong questioning where they had come from.

• Tang Tiandong told Tang Tiansong that Immortal Venerable Mystic Spoon had forbidden the Tang family from hunting or revealing the location of the Crimson Blood Wolf.
• Tang Tiandong discussed marrying Long Zhiyu, and Tang Tiansong advised him to consider the risks and consult their parents before deciding.
• Yang Yue'ao arrived in person and told Tang Tiansong that the Guishi Clan was starving and might welcome aid from the Tang family.
• Tang Tiansong decided the Tang family should seize the opportunity to attack Northern Mystic City and weaken Gu Husha.
• Yang Yue'ao admitted his ties to the city's commanders were limited and reported that Gu Husha had gained ten Meridian Opening Late Stage witch cultivators.
• Tang Tiansong wondered how Gu Husha had suddenly acquired so many powerful cultivators.

Yang Yue'ao described how Gu Husha caused a catastrophic flood and plague that nearly destroyed the Guishi Clan, prompting Tang Tiansong to support them and prepare an expedition against the Western Rong. At Tang Jincan's wedding, Tang Miao sensed an overwhelming calamity approaching the Tang Household and warned that one person had to be sacrificed to avert it.

• Yang Yue'ao explained that Gu Husha had blocked the Gui River, flooding Moonlight City and leaving fewer than five thousand Guishi clanspeople alive after a plague.
• Yang Yue'ao asked Tang Tiansong to provide the Guishi Clan with money and grain, and Tang Tiansong agreed while ordering troops to assemble for an eastward expedition.
• Tang Tiansong sent aid to the Guishi Clan, learned when Gu Husha would be in seclusion, and attacked his grain stores, preventing him from invading eastward for at least three years.
• At Tang Jincan's wedding in Iron Bridge Village, Tang Tiansong spoke with Tang Miao, who had reached the Meridian Opening Sixth Layer and remained devoted to Buddhist practice.
• Tang Miao suddenly became distressed and warned Tang Tiansong that an overwhelming calamity would strike the Tang Household that day unless one person was sacrificed.

At a wedding banquet, Tang Tiansong discovered that Ye Hailiang had arranged an ambush to destroy the Tang Household and seize a coming opportunity near Gazing Dragon Lake. Tang Miao escaped after Tang Tiansong urged him to warn their family, while Tang Tiansong prepared to face the four cultivators alone.

• Ye Hailiang confronted Tang Tiansong at the wedding banquet and revealed that his three guests had concealed their Qi Refining cultivation with Void Spirit Pills.
• A masked cultivator attacked Tang Miao, but Mustache deflected the golden light and killed another guest with Sword Qi.
• Tang Tiansong told Tang Miao to flee, warn the Tang Household, deliver his final messages, and never tell his father how he died.
• The masked cultivators revealed they planned to wipe out the Tang Household because a great fortuitous opportunity was expected near Dangwu Mountain.
• Tang Miao blocked another attack with a barrier and sword, was thrown aside, and escaped as Tang Tiansong prepared to fight.
• Tang Tiansong refused to surrender, drew his sword, and destroyed two talismans in his pocket.

Tang Tiansong used the life-consuming Burning Life, Dream Unfinished to fight four attackers and tried to frighten them away from the Tang Household. He died after igniting black flames, while the masked cultivator urged the surviving men to attack Dangwu Village at once.

• Tang Tiansong activated Burning Life, Dream Unfinished, raising his cultivation and wounding three Golden Yang Gate disciples while fending off their attacks.
• The masked cultivator struck at Tang Tiansong, who knocked him away, but the four attackers regrouped as Tang Tiansong's life began to fade.
• Tang Tiansong taunted the attackers and claimed the Tang Household would avenge him, hoping to delay their assault and give Tianlan and the others time to prepare.
• The four men attacked together, and Tang Tiansong let their swords pierce him before unleashing black flames that injured the masked cultivator and burned the three disciples.
• Tang Tiansong died standing with his sword, and the masked cultivator urged the three Golden Yang Gate disciples to set out for Dangwu Village at once.

After learning that Tang Tiansong had been killed by four Qi Refinement cultivators, Tang Tianzi and Tang Tiandong argued over how to respond. They left the chapter resolved to go to Iron Bridge Village and avenge him.

• The mustached Golden Yang Gate cultivator agreed to rest overnight before going to Dangwu Village, while Liu Yidao secretly planned to kill the injured Tang Miao.
• At the Tang Household, Miao worried that Tang Tiansong had not returned from officiating a wedding, but Cui Xueyong reassured her that he was safe.
• Tang Tianshu arrived crying and said Mystic Spoon Li Immortal had told him that Tang Tiansong was dead, killed by four Qi Refinement Second Layer cultivators.
• Tang Tianzi used a compass and copper coins to confirm the news, and Miao told Tang Tiandong to lead the household and act cautiously.
• Tang Tianzi demanded immediate revenge against the Ye Household, and Tang Tiandong agreed to prepare before they fought their way to Iron Bridge Village.