Chapter Summaries

Hua Mingcheng used the Azure Origin Fate-Weighing Plate to test whether Hua Chunning had enough fate to cultivate, but the result fell just short until the spirit spring water mysteriously submerged the seed and made it sink. Hua Chunning then escorted Liu Zhijian and Jiang Xiaoyu to meet Li Chengxuan, where Liu Zhijian suddenly coughed up a great gush of river water.

• Hua Mingcheng explained how he had preserved the Azure Origin Fate-Weighing Plate and arranged for Hua Chunning to enter Supreme Mystery Mountain, hoping to borrow its Manifestation and fate.
• Hua Chunning's medicinal seed sank in the spirit spring water before rising almost to the surface, leaving Hua Mingcheng convinced Hua Chunning was just short of the requirements for cultivation.
• A Hua Household member reported that Liu Zhijian had arrived at the foot of Supreme Mystery Mountain with Jiang Xiaoyu, and Hua Chunning recognized him and went to meet them.
• Hua Chunning greeted Liu Zhijian and led him and Jiang Xiaoyu up the mountain to see Li Chengxuan.
• The spirit spring water in the Azure Origin Fate-Weighing Plate swept over Hua Chunning's seed, which sank to the bottom and stayed there.
• Li Chengxuan welcomed Liu Zhijian, but Liu Zhijian suddenly coughed up a great gush of clear river water.

Liu Zhijian chose the River and Great Mound Scripture and cultivated to bring his overflowing Kan Water Manifestation under control. After his success turned a mountain creek into a torrent, he stopped the flood, while Jiang Xiaoyu complained that the creek had no fish.

• Liu Zhijian’s Kan Water Manifestation overflowed, pouring water from his face until Li Chengxuan explained the cause and the water subsided.
• Li Chengxuan offered Liu Zhijian two Kan Water Cultivation Methods, and Liu Zhijian chose the River and Great Mound Scripture because he refused to claim rivers and streams for himself.
• Liu Zhijian entered seclusion to cultivate while Hua Chunning taught Jiang Xiaoyu, who ignored her lessons and plotted to flood the library.
• During Grain Rain, Jiang Xiaoyu’s channel diverted a swelling creek toward Liu Zhijian’s cave, but Liu Zhijian stopped the torrent with his newly ordered Manifestation.
• Hua Chunning congratulated Liu Zhijian on his cultivation, and Jiang Xiaoyu told him the mountain creek had no fish.

Liu Zhijian learned that his master and several powerful allies were orchestrating Deng Gang’s rise to kingship, using the blood and fate of the slain flood dragon Fubo to strengthen him. The plan’s final step was to recreate Fubo’s legendary attack on Supreme Mystery Mountain, leaving Liu Zhijian alarmed by what they intended for Deng Gang.

• Liu Zhijian let Jiang Xiaoyu attend the Hua Household’s family school during the day after Hua Chunning explained that she was lonely and resisted studying Daoist scriptures.
• Liu Zhijian went to the General Affairs Hall, where Li Chengxuan introduced him to Xue Yang, Qiao Yunbai, and Dong Linyuan.
• Dong Linyuan explained that the first step in rearing a dragon was to use Fubo’s flood-dragon blood to strengthen Deng Gang’s blood and fate.
• Dong Linyuan said Deng Gang had to win every battle, seize the Huang Kingdom, and ascend its throne so his influence and Manifestation would grow without setbacks.
• Qiao Yunbai said the Azure Cloud Sect was helping Deng Gang take the Huang Kingdom and would submit to him once he became king, while Xue Yang promised the sect its promised reward.
• Dong Linyuan proposed completing Deng Gang’s fate by making him follow Fubo’s path and attack Supreme Mystery Mountain, and Liu Zhijian realized the scheme concerned Deng Gang.

Liu Zhijian realized that Deng Gang’s rise had been engineered by powerful sects, while Xue Yang tried to draw Li Chengxuan away from Supreme Mystery Mountain to further a scheme involving a Human Pill. Li Chengxuan refused to leave, arranged for Liu Zhijian to guard the White Dragon River, and revealed that the scheme might aim to have the Human Pill kill Supreme Mystery Mountain’s sect master and thereby complete his fate.

• Liu Zhijian deduced that the Azure Cloud Sect had helped deliver flood dragon blood to Deng Gang and that Deng Gang’s victories had been supported by several powerful factions.
• Xue Yang, Qiao Yunbai, and Dong Linyuan visited Supreme Mystery Mountain and pressed Li Chengxuan to join their plan in person.
• Li Chengxuan refused to leave the mountain and suggested convening the full Immortal Alliance, leaving Xue Yang unable to answer without exposing the Human Pill scheme.
• Li Chengxuan agreed to send Liu Zhijian to watch the White Dragon River outside Danzhou City for a month, starting in seven days.
• After the visitors left, Li Chengxuan explained that Xue Yang had wanted him away from the mountain and suspected the scheme sought to have the Human Pill kill Supreme Mystery Mountain’s sect master.

Li Chengxuan warned Liu Zhijian that Xue Yang might be plotting to have him killed, while Liu vowed not to take lives for cultivation. Deng Gang conquered Huang Kingdom’s capital, accepted the emperor’s surrender, then ordered the slaughter of the nobles and ministers on Imperial City Street in revenge for his uncle.

• Li Chengxuan told Liu Zhijian that Deng Gang was bound to die as a Human Pill, and said Liu might be able to save him if he reached Foundation Establishment.
• Deng Gang took another prefecture with ease and learned that a children’s rhyme praised him as a white-robed general feared by thousands.
• Qiao Yuniang advised Deng Gang to spare Huang Kingdom’s surrendering emperor, and Deng Gang granted him the title Marquis of Muddled Virtue.
• Deng Gang recognized Imperial City Street as the place where his uncle had been beaten and killed, then ordered his soldiers to kill everyone living there.
• Deng Gang rode over the corpses and declared that he had trampled the bones of nobles and ministers for his uncle.

After restoring the Deng Kingdom, Deng Gang struggled to find purpose and hesitated to pursue revenge against the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect. A dream of his dead uncle and his sudden transformation into a flood dragon reignited his ambition, and Qiao Yuniang advised him to perform the feng and shan sacrifices to become a true dragon.

• Deng Gang celebrated his enthronement, then grew aimless and left Qiao Yuniang to manage the court while he indulged in wine and women.
• Qiao Yuniang reminded Deng Gang of his family’s grievances, but he chose to pursue the Chu Clan remnants and postpone attacking the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect.
• Deng Gang dreamed that his dead uncle urged him to strike while the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect was weak and warned that their bloodlines could not coexist.
• Deng Gang awoke with flood dragon scales and claws, and he concluded that his family possessed an extraordinary bloodline.
• Qiao Yuniang told Deng Gang that he could become a true dragon by touring the realm and performing the feng and shan sacrifices to Heaven.

Deng Gang’s imperial tour toward Supreme Mystery Mountain was marked by brutal forced labor and his growing dependence on Essence Treasure Pills, while Qiao Yuniang sought to stir popular resentment and announced she was carrying the imperial heir. Outside Danzhou City, Liu Zhijian appeared and invited Deng Gang to share a drink, leaving their reunion unresolved.

• Deng Gang traveled upstream on a dragon boat while conscripted trackers were whipped and worked to exhaustion, and Qiao Yuniang watched as the suffering fueled her plan to gather resentment.
• Deng Gang took his daily Essence Treasure Pill and gave in to violent urges, while Qiao Yuniang left the cabin and reflected on her plan to imitate the evil flood dragon’s deeds.
• At Wild Goose Pond Mountain, Deng Gang discussed attacking Supreme Mystery Mountain with Qiao Yuniang, who promised him a Foundation Establishment Pill and said she was pregnant with his heir.
• Outside Danzhou City, exhausted trackers collapsed and guards drove them away as Deng Gang helped Qiao Yuniang ashore.
• Liu Zhijian waited by a campfire and invited Deng Gang to drink and renew their old friendship.

Deng Gang learned that Qiao Yuniang had been feeding him Human Pills and asked Liu Zhijian whether he had truly chosen the Flood Dragon Essence Blood for him. After taking a Foundation Establishment Pill, Deng Gang killed Qiao Yuniang and fled, only to find the cultivators behind his predicament blocking every escape route.

• Deng Gang asked Liu Zhijian whether he had known the truth in the Flood Dragon cave abode, and Liu Zhijian said he learned it only after returning to Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Liu Zhijian revealed that Deng Gang could seek shelter at Supreme Mystery Mountain if he had not consumed Human Pills, or could try to kill him and conquer the mountain to pursue Foundation Establishment.
• Deng Gang realized Qiao Yuniang’s Essence Treasure Pills had been Human Pills, swallowed a genuine Foundation Establishment Pill, and snapped her neck despite her plea that she was carrying his child.
• Deng Gang attacked Azure Cloud Sect disciples and fled east, but Qiao Yunbai struck him aside and warned that only the western route remained open.
• Deng Gang tried fleeing north and then south, but Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan blocked his way, and Deng Gang recognized Dong Linyuan as his uncle.

Deng Gang transformed into a vicious gray flood dragon and battled Qiao Yunbai, who wielded a Mystic Thunder Bamboo Sword, while Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan watched for their own advantage. Trapped from escaping to the White Dragon River, Deng Gang turned to Liu Zhijian, who unleashed a terrifying golden-white sword from his black case.

• Deng Gang transformed into a gray flood dragon and attacked Qiao Yunbai, hoping to reach the White Dragon River and escape.
• Deng Gang used his water-controlling abilities to sweep Azure Cloud Sect disciples into the river, and Qiao Yunbai fought back with his Mystic Thunder Bamboo Sword.
• Deng Gang swallowed the Mystic Thunder Bamboo Sword and defiled it with malice and Blood Qi, forcing Qiao Yunbai to flee with his surviving disciples.
• Xue Yang used a jade mirror to block Deng Gang from entering the White Dragon River with rainbow light that scorched him.
• Deng Gang turned west toward Supreme Mystery Mountain and asked Liu Zhijian to use his mysterious means, then charged at him with his remaining strength.
• Liu Zhijian released a golden-white small sword from his black case and sent its sword light crashing down toward Deng Gang.

Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan reported the results of Supreme Mystery Mountain’s sword talisman to their superiors, revealing that the mountain’s strength had alarmed both the Xue Household and the dragonkind. Liu Zhijian returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain with strange black-and-red Qi, which Li Chengxuan identified as possibly [Resentment of the Myriad People].

• Xue Yang told the Xue Household ancestor that a [Purple Mansion]-level [Geng Metal] sword talisman had destroyed Deng Gang’s Human Pill, and the ancestor ordered the household to cultivate good relations with Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Dong Linyuan fed the flood dragon’s body to the black fish demon general, then reported that a Supreme Mystery Mountain disciple had killed it with a [Geng Metal] sword talisman.
• The black fish demon general questioned Dong Linyuan about the [Kan Water] cultivator, and Dong Linyuan said he had invited the cultivator to Little Dragon Mountain and would prepare a Cultivation Method and spiritual resources.
• Dong Linyuan declined to invite the black fish demon general ashore, and the general returned to the sea to report to the king.
• Liu Zhijian reported to Li Chengxuan with the spent sword talisman’s remains, a damaged bamboo sword, and the strange Qi he had taken after Qiao Yunbai fled.
• Li Chengxuan examined the strange black-and-red Qi and said it seemed to be [Resentment of the Myriad People].

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.