Recaps

Duanmu Ren weathered a public scandal and a renewed investigation by pressuring powerful contacts, then watched the provincial inquiry collapse. Just as his life settled back into routine, Li Jiabao ordered him to come to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard immediately.

• Duanmu Ren was removed as Stone Ridge County magistrate after public outrage over the old man's death, then secured his release from the investigation through his father-in-law's connections.
• A month later, Duanmu Ren feared a provincial investigation into his past projects and sent coded messages to former associates before visiting his ailing godfather.
• Duanmu Ren's godfather asked him to contact the woman doctor who had treated pneumoconiosis, then used his influence to stop the provincial investigation team.
• Duanmu Ren returned to his ordinary routine and chose not to visit his comatose godfather in the ICU.
• Li Jiabao sent Duanmu Ren a message ordering him to come to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard immediately.

Duanmu Ren went to Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard hoping to join Li Chengxuan’s cultivation sect and secure a new backer. Li Chengxuan accepted him as a Registered Disciple, but Duanmu Ren balked when he learned that the High Shaman Dao lineage began with tattooing Shaman Runes on his body.

• Duanmu Ren decided to seek a powerful new faction after his political connections and prospects were ruined.
• At Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard, Duanmu Ren questioned Liu Zhijian about his background and cultivation, then became convinced that the path to immortality was safe and worthwhile.
• Li Chengxuan arrived, and Duanmu Ren knelt and begged to become his disciple.
• Li Chengxuan accepted Duanmu Ren as a Registered Disciple of Supreme Mystery Mountain, ranked after Liu Zhijian and Hua Chunning, but told him to address him as Sect Leader until he entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion.
• Li Chengxuan explained the High Shaman Dao lineage and told Duanmu Ren to study its scriptures.
• Duanmu Ren learned that cultivation began with inscribing Shaman Runes on his body and protested that, as a civil servant, he could not get tattoos.

Duanmu Ren agreed to cultivate the High Shaman lineage to advance his career, while Li Chengxuan considered the unusual nature of his Manifestation and arranged for Liu Zhijian to rest. Back at Supreme Mystery Mountain, Li Chengxuan heard news of the turmoil in the Deng Kingdom, and Xue Yang recognized Hua Chunning as someone once thought unable to enter the Dao.

• Liu Zhijian described Duanmu Ren as flexible but possibly hiding ferocity, and Li Chengxuan compared his Manifestation with those of Hu Shihao and the new county chief.
• Li Chengxuan advised Liu Zhijian to pause cultivation and rest, and Liu Zhijian declined to visit his hometown.
• Duanmu Ren obtained leave by saying he needed to find Hua Chunning and seek medicine for his godfather, then brought Li Chengxuan's Shaman Rune design to a tattoo shop.
• Xue Yang asked Li Chengxuan to lend him Liu Zhijian's Geng Metal sword talisman, but Li Chengxuan refused and said he would send someone to address the Deng Kingdom's chaos.
• Xue Yang recognized Hua Chunning and recalled that her Manifestation had once seemed incomplete, though she had now begun Qi Gathering.

Xue Yang told Li Chengxuan that the fall of an exalted one might have awakened the fortune of Old Method lineages, and Li Chengxuan arranged for Hua Chunning to gather spirit-flower fragrance at Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain. After seeing them off, Li Chengxuan noticed new ink traces on the ancestral portrait and suspected the exalted one’s fall had freed fortune that had been withheld from the Dao lineages.

• Hua Chunning concealed the Grotto-Heaven’s secret by crediting Supreme Mystery Mountain, Li Chengxuan, and Liu Zhijian for her improved Manifestation and Fate.
• Xue Yang told Li Chengxuan that changes on Southern Edge Continent might be aftereffects of an exalted one’s fall and that Old Method lineages’ fortune could be reviving.
• Xue Yang advised Li Chengxuan to pursue a breakthrough and seek Children of Fate to strengthen Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Li Chengxuan asked Xue Yang to take Hua Chunning to Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain to gather [Fragrance of a Hundred Flowers], and Xue Yang agreed.
• After seeing Xue Yang and Hua Chunning off, Li Chengxuan noticed blurred ink traces forming a figure on the ancestral portrait and considered whether the fallen exalted one had been confining the Dao lineages and siphoning their fortune.

Li Chengxuan brought Duanmu Ren from Earth to the Southern Edge Continent, where the Heavenly Dao’s favor revealed that his Dao Path could advance beyond its previously uncertain limits. He began outlining two cultivation paths for Duanmu Ren to choose from.

• Li Chengxuan concluded that Supreme Mystery Mountain needed to grow stronger under Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain’s protection, then entered secluded cultivation.
• Three days later, Li Chengxuan visited Liu Zhijian and Li Jiabao at the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and told Liu Zhijian that Jiang Xiaoyu had behaved better since Hua Chunning left for Qi Gathering.
• Li Jiabao described his debts and divorce, and Li Chengxuan said the sub-courtyard would become a private retreat for the sect’s disciples once Chunning stabilized her realm.
• Li Jiabao warned Li Chengxuan that the county planned to reclaim the property, but Li Chengxuan assured him he would handle it.
• Duanmu Ren arrived with bluish-black tattoos, and Li Chengxuan took him from Earth to the Southern Edge Continent.
• Li Chengxuan sensed the Heavenly Dao’s favor raising the upper limit of his Dao Path, then began explaining two cultivation paths for Duanmu Ren.

Li Chengxuan explained two ways for Duanmu Ren to ingest the [Resentment of the Myriad People], and Duanmu chose to rely on his own [Drink the People's Blood] Manifestation and true heart. After Duanmu entered the side hall to study Daoist scriptures, Li Chengxuan sensed Hua Chunning at Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain, but she suddenly vanished.

• Li Chengxuan warned Duanmu Ren that the [Resentment of the Myriad People] could kill him and proposed easing it by having him govern Deng Kingdom and build up supporting Manifestations.
• Li Chengxuan offered a second method: Duanmu could use only [Drink the People's Blood] to absorb and refine the resentment, relying on his character to hold fast to his true heart.
• Duanmu recognized the two methods as reflecting the New Method and Old Method, then chose to seek nothing outside himself.
• Duanmu agreed to read Supreme Mystery Mountain's Daoist scriptures, and Li Chengxuan suggested that his memories might help him discover an anchor for his true heart.
• Li Chengxuan sensed Hua Chunning at Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain through the [Two Worlds Pearl], but she vanished before he could locate her.

Hua Chunning arrived at Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain to undergo Qi Gathering and was summoned by Old Ancestor Xue after a spiritual rosy-light bird marked her. Old Ancestor Xue identified her mixed Manifestation as [Spring of Lesser Yang] and ordered her to enter a secret realm in three days, where failure would mean death.

• Xue Yang brought Hua Chunning to Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain and arranged for her to stay while he consulted the Xue Household ancestor.
• Xue Yang explained Hua Chunning’s origins and cultivation to the Xue Household ancestor, who ordered him to bring her up the mountain.
• A spiritual rosy-light bird gave Hua Chunning a mark on her forehead before she met Old Ancestor Xue.
• Old Ancestor Xue identified Hua Chunning’s Manifestation as [Spring of Lesser Yang] and criticized Sect Master Li’s understanding of the Dao.
• Old Ancestor Xue ordered Hua Chunning to return in three days to undergo Qi Gathering in a season-adjusted secret realm, warning that she must die there if she failed.

The Xue Household patriarch explained that Li Chengxuan had maneuvered Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain into helping Hua Chunning enter the Dao, then wondered whether the junior had learned of an old debt involving Zhuohua. Hua Chunning toured the mountain’s subordinate clans and recognized their five-element arrangement, but left puzzled by further designs she could not understand.

• The Xue Household patriarch told Xue Yang that Li Chengxuan’s plan had forced the clan to protect Hua Chunning from a dangerous clash between her cultivation and the mountain’s Manifestation.
• The Xue Household patriarch recalled that Zhuohua had once helped him attain the Dao and questioned whether Li Chengxuan’s scheme had truly been a coincidence.
• A reception steward guided Hua Chunning around Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain and described the Xue Household’s Wu Earth and Rainbow Rosy Clouds Dao lineages.
• Hua Chunning learned that the Wang, Lin, Jiang, and Yao Households cultivated metal, wood, water, and fire to complement the Xue Household’s Wu Earth.
• Hua Chunning considered the clans’ intricate arrangements, resolved to read more Daoist scriptures, and stopped to ask what place she had reached.

Hua Chunning visited Gathering Worthies Mountain, reflected on the hardships Hua Chunning might have faced without Supreme Mystery Mountain, and narrowly survived a Heart Demon Tribulation. When Xue Changfeng demanded Hua Chunning leave Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain over the cost of opening the Wu Earth Secret Realm, Hua Chunning refused, and Xue Yang intervened to take Hua Chunning into the secret realm.

• A deacon explained that Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain had established Gathering Worthies Mountain as a safe home where descendants of fallen immortal clans could farm spirit fields and earn cultivation resources.
• After returning to the guest quarters, Hua Chunning considered how easily Hua Chunning could have become a tenant farmer and questioned Hua Chunning's pride, triggering a Heart Demon Tribulation.
• Hua Chunning calmed down by reciting a Dao scripture and steadied Hua Chunning's heart.
• Three days later, Xue Changfeng confronted Hua Chunning, arguing that opening the Wu Earth Secret Realm for Hua Chunning would drain resources and harm Xue Household disciples.
• Hua Chunning refused to leave the mountain or give up the opportunity, and Xue Yang swept Xue Changfeng and the welcoming deacon aside before taking Hua Chunning toward the secret realm.

Hua Chunning entered the Wu Earth Secret Realm to gather Qi and pursue Qi Ingestion, while her privileged treatment sparked resentment among the Xue Household and envy among fallen cultivation families. When a Xue elder demanded an explanation from the patriarch, the patriarch invoked the Calamity of Wu Earth against him.

• The Xue patriarch opened the Wu Earth Secret Realm for Hua Chunning, changed its season to Yang Spring with the Zhaoyao Four Seasons Cauldron, and gave her one month to search for what Ancestor Zhuohua had left behind.
• Hua Chunning planned to replace her scent pills with rare Spirit Plant fragrances and resolved to complete Qi Gathering and enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion.
• Word spread that Hua Chunning had received special treatment, stirring resentment among the Xue disciples and envy among the fallen families at Gathering Worthies Mountain.
• The lame steward warned Xiao Hu away from Supreme Mystery Mountain while continuing to pressure her to marry him.
• Xue Household elders confronted the patriarch over his use of their resources for Hua Chunning, and one elder demanded an explanation after comparing her treatment with his grandson Changling's neglect.
• The patriarch answered with a cold laugh, and the Calamity of Wu Earth began grinding the elder's body away.

The Xue Household patriarch explained to Xue Yang why he had helped Hua Chunning and revealed the fate of her ancestor Zhuohua. Exploring the Wu Earth Secret Realm, Hua Chunning encountered a peach tree that prompted her to enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion.

• The Xue Household patriarch reprimanded Xue Yang for allowing the household disturbance and warned him that strength mattered more than schemes.
• The patriarch told Xue Yang that Zhuohua had sacrificed herself at Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain, and that her Qi, Blood, and ashes had strengthened him, the Zhaoyao Four Seasons Cauldron, and the secret realm.
• After gathering the Fragrance of a Hundred Flowers, Hua Chunning explored the Wu Earth Secret Realm and found many rare plants but no opportunity left by Zhuohua.
• Hua Chunning followed the cauldron's pure Qi east and discovered a peach tree growing in a spirit field that she suspected had been fertilized with plant ashes.
• Under the peach tree, Hua Chunning began to weep as its blossoms fell, and she realized it was time to enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion.

Xue Yang confronted Xue Changfeng and Xue Changling about their grandfather’s death, bluntly listing the dead man’s failings and leaving Changfeng determined to seek revenge. Meanwhile, Hua Chunning emerged from the Wu Earth Secret Realm after entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion, and Hu Yueqiu begged her to become his master.

• Xue Changfeng and Xue Changling pressed Xue Yang to explain why their grandfather had died, and Xue Yang said the man deserved it.
• Xue Yang described his Ninth Uncle’s abuses, poor cultivation, and interference in Xue Changling’s Dao Path; Xue Changling stayed silent while Xue Changfeng rejected the account and vowed revenge.
• Xue Yang stopped Xue Changling from pursuing Changfeng and said Changfeng could only cause a disaster if he became strong enough to threaten Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain.
• Hua Chunning left the Wu Earth Secret Realm after entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion and thanked the Xue Household’s patriarch for helping her begin cultivation.
• Xue Yang and Xue Changling saw the mountain’s spirit clouds gather around Hua Chunning, then offered to help her stabilize her realm before returning to Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Hu Yueqiu leapt out from beside the road and begged Hua Chunning to take him as her disciple.

Li Chengxuan received the first Merit from Hua Chunning’s entry into the Dao and gained the ability to cultivate Yi Wood techniques. Back on Earth, he told Liu Zhijian and Li Jiabao the news, then asked Li Jiabao to consider managing the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and checked whether Liu Zhijian’s State of Mind had recovered.

• Li Chengxuan sensed Hua Chunning’s Qi Ingestion and used its Dao resonance to awaken a branch, gaining access to Yi Wood techniques.
• Li Chengxuan changed Hua Chunning’s status to his personal disciple, ranked below Liu Zhijian.
• Li Chengxuan told Liu Zhijian and Li Jiabao that Hua Chunning had entered the Dao, but said she had not yet returned.
• Li Jiabao explained that his former wife had divorced him and taken their savings, while Duanmu Ren had arranged monthly support for him and his child.
• Li Chengxuan told Li Jiabao that the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard could be saved and asked him to consider managing it.
• Li Chengxuan asked Liu Zhijian whether his State of Mind had recovered and mentioned that Jiang Xiaoyu kept asking when he would return.

Liu Zhijian accepted that his State of Mind did not need to be repaired and returned with Li Chengxuan to Supreme Mystery Mountain. There, Duanmu Ren argued that the present-day [High Shaman] Dao lineage had strayed far from its ancient origins, leaving Li Chengxuan to hear his case.

• Liu Zhijian told Li Chengxuan that he had come to terms with crossing blades with Deng Gang, and Li Chengxuan urged him to return to Supreme Mystery Mountain and cultivate.
• Li Chengxuan brought Liu Zhijian to the side hall, where Duanmu Ren said he found the Daoist scriptures interesting.
• Duanmu Ren compared Daoist scriptures to Earth’s academic texts and explained that readers needed to distinguish reliable research from beginner guides and nonsense.
• Duanmu Ren declared that the current [High Shaman] was a hodgepodge and divided its history into High Antiquity, Middle Antiquity, and Recent Antiquity.
• Duanmu Ren argued that High Antiquity [Shamans] held authority over both spiritual and material life, while later imperial rule reduced them to a supporting role.
• Duanmu Ren claimed that the [High Shaman] declined by pursuing kingdoms and Manifestation, then merged with the Immortal Dao, corrupting its imagery and cultivation methods.

Li Chengxuan helped Duanmu Ren resolve his doubts about the [High Shaman] lineage and urged him to enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion. Duanmu Ren went to cultivate, while Li Chengxuan recorded their conversation as a history of the sect’s revival.

• Li Chengxuan reassured Liu Zhijian that his simple, steadfast Dao heart was a strength distinct from Duanmu Ren’s remarkable Dao wisdom.
• Duanmu Ren admitted he had delayed entering the Dao because he sensed something was wrong with the scriptures and feared he could not reshape the [High Shaman] lineage alone.
• Li Chengxuan told Duanmu Ren to test his theories through cultivation and argued that [Drink the People's Blood] could fit the [High Shaman] lineage if cultivators protected the people who sustained them.
• Duanmu Ren considered whom he wanted to protect, then went to find a place to enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion.
• Li Chengxuan returned to the founding master's hall, offered incense, and wrote down their conversation under the title [Duanmu and His Master Discuss the Three Shamans of Past and Present].

Duanmu Ren found a cave on Supreme Mystery Mountain that suited him and began using the Resentment of the Myriad People to enter the Dao, only to be drawn into a painful illusion testing his heart. Meanwhile, Hua Chunning returned with Hu Yueqiu, whose ancestors had cultivated the Greater Yin Dao tradition.

• Li Chengxuan finished writing Miscellaneous Records of Supreme Mystery's Secret History and hid it behind the incense burner in the patriarchs' hall.
• Duanmu Ren searched Supreme Mystery Mountain for a suitable place to enter the Dao and chose a dark, damp cave at the back of the mountain.
• Duanmu Ren grasped the Resentment of the Myriad People, endured its searing pain, and lost consciousness as it engulfed him.
• In an illusion, Duanmu Ren experienced the suffering of people harmed during Deng Gang's western tour but insisted that he was Duanmu Ren, not one of them.
• The illusion showed Duanmu Ren the face of his wife, and he welcomed the new challenge.
• Hua Chunning brought Hu Yueqiu before Li Chengxuan and explained why she had taken the girl in; Li Chengxuan examined Hu Yueqiu, who revealed that her ancestors had cultivated Greater Yin.

Li Chengxuan recognized Hu Yueqiu’s dwindling manifestation as a sign of the Greater Yin inheritance and assigned her to serve as a steward while postponing her cultivation. Hua Chunning settled back into life on Supreme Mystery Mountain as Jiang Xiaoyu delighted in her stories, while Hua Chunning prepared to discuss her cultivation path with the sect leader.

• Li Chengxuan recognized Hu Yueqiu’s connection to Greater Yin and assigned her to serve as a steward in the General Affairs Hall.
• Jiang Xiaoyu eagerly welcomed Hua Chunning back, rubbed against her to smell of flowers, and renamed herself Xiang Xiaoyu.
• Hua Chunning repeatedly told Jiang Xiaoyu about Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain, and Jiang Xiaoyu became determined to cultivate immortality so she could smell nice.
• Jiang Xiaoyu coaxed children from the school into running away to see the clouds, so Liu Zhijian brought her back and scolded her.
• Jiang Xiaoyu began visiting the peak with Hu Yueqiu to call out to the clouds, while Hua Chunning stabilized her cultivation and went to consult the sect leader about her future path.

Li Chengxuan recorded Hua Chunning’s adventures and guided her in cultivating Yi Wood with her peach-blossom branch. When Hua Chunning asked how to help Hu Yueqiu enter the Dao, Li Chengxuan rejected her suggestion to replenish Hu Yueqiu’s fading Fu Water Manifestation.

• Li Chengxuan wrote accounts of Liu Zhijian’s and Hua Chunning’s adventures, then revised Hua Chunning’s entry to include bringing Hu Yueqiu to Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Hua Chunning asked Li Chengxuan for guidance after stabilizing her realm and showed him the peach-blossom branch she had acquired as a fortuitous opportunity.
• Li Chengxuan explained how Hua Chunning could use peach wood and blossoms to cultivate Yi Wood, but warned her not to make the branch a life-bound artifact or pursue peach-blossom imagery.
• Hua Chunning asked what arrangements could be made for Hu Yueqiu, whose Greater Yin cultivation path Li Chengxuan did not understand.
• Hua Chunning suggested that Hu Yueqiu cultivate Water Virtue first and that they replenish her dwindling Fu Water Manifestation, but Li Chengxuan sharply refused.

Li Chengxuan refused to risk helping Hu Yueqiu cultivate because he suspected Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain or the Xue Household might be using her to spy on Supreme Mystery Mountain. As Hu Yueqiu reflected on her fading Manifestation and her hopes for a new life, she stumbled upon a blood-red, screaming scene that convinced her the mountain really was a demon sect.

• Li Chengxuan dismissed Hua Chunning’s request to help Hu Yueqiu pursue the [Greater Yin] Dao Path, deciding to keep observing her instead.
• Hua Chunning returned to the courtyard, where Jiang Xiaoyu argued with Hu Qiuyue about clouds and rosy clouds, then ran off to enlist Old Liu to take her to Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain.
• Hua Chunning told Hu Yueqiu that Li Chengxuan considered her situation complicated and needed to examine it further.
• Hu Yueqiu wandered the mountain and remembered finding an ancient sword, learning of her [Greater Yin] inheritance, and struggling as her Manifestation dwindled.
• Hu Yueqiu reached the back of the mountain, saw red mist and heard screams amid dense Blood Qi and resentment, and concluded that Supreme Mystery Mountain was refining Human Pills.

Duanmu Ren recalled the humiliations and betrayals that shaped his rise, from being sacrificed in political struggles to losing his mother’s protection and being falsely accused in his hometown. As his memories stirred the Resentment of the Myriad People, he rejected seeking justice from others and resolved to burn hatred within himself as a shaman above all shamans.

• Duanmu Ren’s wife struck him, and his father-in-law told him he had lost his chance at a top official post because his ruthless attacks on rivals had alarmed those above him.
• Duanmu Ren remembered being sent to Fumin Pig Farm, where an old worker’s beating of the wrong pig helped him understand that leaders had sacrificed him to restore stability.
• Duanmu Ren recalled how Daya’s mother falsely accused him of assault and forced him out of the township government and into the pig farm.
• Duanmu Ren remembered his mother Meng Shuxian’s hardship, her attempt to leave him in a storm, and her final plea that he grow into an upright, kind person.
• Duanmu Ren recognized that his memories had awakened the Resentment of the Myriad People and concluded that he should turn hatred inward into power rather than seek answers outside himself.

Duanmu Ren entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion, became a True Disciple of Supreme Mystery Mountain, and was sent to restore order in the Huang Kingdom. After arriving in its divided capital, he sensed several currents of hatred directed at him.

• Duanmu Ren's newly awakened power nearly killed Hu Yueqiu, but Li Chengxuan stopped him and summoned him to the Founder's Hall.
• Li Chengxuan made Duanmu Ren a True Disciple, and Duanmu Ren paid respects to his new master and senior siblings.
• Li Chengxuan assigned Duanmu Ren to stabilize the Huang Kingdom with unlimited authority, giving him seven days there after his journey.
• Two days later, Duanmu Ren arrived at the Huang Kingdom's capital, where the Chu Household's old and new emperors and rival factions welcomed him.
• Duanmu Ren surveyed the tangled political struggle and sensed several currents of hatred aimed at him.

Duanmu Ren intervened in Huang Kingdom’s succession, killing the former and current emperors and their loyal ministers before installing Chu Yi as emperor. He left after securing the Azure Cloud Sect’s support and arranging policies to stabilize the court and help the people.

• Duanmu Ren recognized the Chu rulers’ resentment toward Supreme Mystery Mountain and selected their loyal officials from the court.
• Duanmu Ren killed both emperors of the Chu Household and their chosen confidants with black flames.
• Duanmu Ren questioned Chu Yi, the late emperor’s nineteenth son, then named him emperor after Chu Yi declared that the former rulers had failed to accept heaven’s will.
• Duanmu Ren ordered the courtiers to bow to Chu Yi and secured the Qiao Household’s support by arranging a marriage between Chu Yi and the Qiao immortal master’s daughter.
• Duanmu Ren told Chu Yi to reduce taxes and corvée labor and provide work and aid for disaster victims, then left the palace hoping his actions would gain him Manifestation.

Li Chengxuan reflected on Duanmu Ren’s extraordinary High Shaman cultivation before spending time with the disciples and offering Hu Yueqiu a chance to begin cultivation on Supreme Mystery Mountain. The chapter ended with Li Chengxuan discovering through the Two Worlds Pearl that Duanmu Ren was already hurrying back.

• Li Chengxuan accepted that Duanmu Ren’s Dao comprehension surpassed his own and left the Ancestral Master Hall to clear his mind.
• Liu Zhijian asked Hu Yueqiu for fishing advice, and Hua Chunning offered to make him special bait.
• Li Chengxuan reassured Hu Yueqiu about the High Shaman lineage and offered help with a Meridian Opening Method and a chance to try entering the Dao next autumn.
• Li Chengxuan connected to the Two Worlds Pearl and discovered that Duanmu Ren was hurrying back to Supreme Mystery Mountain.

Duanmu Ren returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain after ending the chaos in the Huang Kingdom and chose to study Daoist scriptures while stabilizing his realm. He then asked Hua Chunning to refine Blood Qi pills to revive an unconscious elder, and she agreed while warning him to keep it from Li Chengxuan.

• Li Chengxuan told Hua Chunning to send Duanmu Ren to the Ancestral Master Hall when he returned.
• Duanmu Ren reported that he had ended the chaos in the Huang Kingdom, and Li Chengxuan let him study in the Scripture Library to stabilize his realm.
• Duanmu Ren read scriptures on the [Yi Wood] and [Kan Water] lineages for three days, then visited Hua Chunning at the General Affairs Hall.
• Duanmu Ren guided Hua Chunning through questions about [Yi Wood] cultivation before asking whether she could help an unconscious, frail elder.
• Hua Chunning said Blood Qi pills might restore the elder's consciousness but could shorten a mortal's lifespan, and Duanmu Ren gave her Blood Qi from bandits he had killed.
• Hua Chunning agreed to fetch pills from her clan and told Duanmu Ren to keep their plan from Li Chengxuan.

Duanmu Ren secretly gave his comatose godfather a Blood Pill, which woke him, and hoped to rely on him for support in his troubled official career. The next day, Duanmu Ren returned to the Civil Affairs Bureau, where a security guard stopped him at the entrance.

• Duanmu Ren visited his godfather in the provincial hospital and slipped a Blood Pill into his mouth while blocking the surveillance camera.
• Director Wang arrived after an alarm sounded, then watched in disbelief as Duanmu Ren's godfather opened his eyes and spoke.
• Duanmu Ren left the hospital and returned to his apartment, deciding his godfather was the best person to support his stalled official career.
• Duanmu Ren ignored the calls and messages that flooded his phone until its battery ran out, then went to bed satisfied.
• Duanmu Ren returned to the Civil Affairs Bureau the next day, but a security guard stopped him at the entrance.