Chapter Summaries

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.

After returning from leave, Duanmu Ren discovered that people mistook his changed appearance for the result of weight-loss injections, while rumors spread that he had revived his godfather. His father-in-law summoned him and demanded the miraculous pill Duanmu Ren had supposedly used, but Duanmu Ren kept control of the conversation by warning him not to risk his health.

• Duanmu Ren patiently reassured a security guard who failed to recognize him, and Director Ma mistook his transformation for the result of semaglutide injections.
• Director Ma spread the injection rumor through the Civil Affairs Bureau, while Duanmu Ren realized that his appearance had changed after his trials entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion.
• Duanmu Ren gave his superiors vague answers about his godfather's recovery and was ordered by his father-in-law to come over that evening.
• Duanmu Ren's father-in-law asked whether a pill had saved the godfather and caused Duanmu Ren's transformation, and Duanmu Ren confirmed the story and claimed to have saved a pill for him.
• When his father-in-law demanded the pill, Duanmu Ren warned that slamming the table could endanger his heart, so his father-in-law sat down and began asking where to obtain the medicine.

Duanmu Ren reflected on his lost cultivation abilities while watching the bitter rivalries in his family play out over dinner. In Stone Ridge County, Li Jiabao welcomed a white-haired official-looking stranger who began asking questions about his household and business.

• Duanmu Ren joined his father-in-law for dinner and wondered why his cultivation abilities no longer worked on Earth, despite his improved physical condition and speed of thought.
• Duanmu Ren's wife demanded money for a beauty treatment, and her father criticized her before the young nanny transferred her living expenses.
• Duanmu Ren's wife left in anger, while Duanmu Ren sensed that everyone in the family harbored deep hatred for one another.
• Li Jiabao, after staying up all night reading a sudden-wealth webnovel, decided to stop struggling and rely on his immortal younger brother.
• A white-haired old man and two young men visited Li Jiabao with customary gifts, and the old man questioned him about his family, farmland, and supermarket.

Duanmu Ren’s godfather tried to secure control of the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard’s pneumoconiosis medicine, but Duanmu Ren took charge and arranged for Li Jiabao to receive a pharmaceutical company. At the Sub-Courtyard, Hua Chunning and Liu Zhijian tested fishing bait, while Li Chengxuan reached the Late Stage of Qi Refining and prepared to visit a place.

• Li Jiabao learned that the white-haired old man wanted to formalize trials and share profits from the pneumoconiosis medicine, then called someone else to discuss the proposal.
• Duanmu Ren arrived, and his godfather greeted him as his godson after realizing he could not bypass him to reach the medicine’s makers.
• Duanmu Ren told Li Jiabao to go to the provincial capital and take ownership of a pharmaceutical company named Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical.
• Hua Chunning and Liu Zhijian tested bait made with pills at the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard, and Hua Chunning considered giving their eldest senior brother a fishing-related business.
• Li Chengxuan reached the Late Stage of Qi Refining and set out to visit a place.

After reaching the Late Stage of Qi Refining, Li Chengxuan opened Supreme Mystery Mountain’s storeroom and reflected on the sect’s history and Old Daoist Wu’s legacy. As winter arrived, he planned to reward his disciples with Law Artifacts at year’s end and organized a reunion dinner with performances.

• Li Chengxuan opened the storeroom and examined its relics, including Old Daoist Wu’s yellow-skinned gourd and the broken sword of the cultivator who had slain Fubo.
• Li Chengxuan decided to give each of his disciples a Law Artifact at the end of the year, while warning himself not to hand out treasures too casually.
• As winter set in, Hua Chunning, Hu Yueqiu, and Jiang Xiaoyu adjusted their routines, while Duanmu Ren kept cultivating in the cavern beneath the back mountain and Liu Zhijian continued fishing.
• Li Chengxuan asked Hua Chunning to prepare a year-end party and reunion dinner for everyone on Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Li Chengxuan told everyone to prepare a performance for the gathering, delighting Jiang Xiaoyu and leaving Duanmu Ren and Liu Zhijian unsure how to respond.

At the New Year feast, Li Chengxuan had his three disciples demonstrate their cultivation. Hua Chunning presented a gentle spring breeze, while Duanmu Ren placed a tracking mark on Jiang Xiaoyu, leaving Liu Zhijian able to locate her for a month.

• Li Chengxuan asked Liu Zhijian to perform first, and Liu used his fishing method to make Jiang Xiaoyu inexplicably happy.
• Li Chengxuan recognized Liu Zhijian’s progress in the Old Man by the Stream ability, which could stir emotions and influence minds.
• Hua Chunning used a fragrant spring breeze to make Jiang Xiaoyu’s hair grow, then explained her Dao theory of Yi Wood and gentle winds to Li Chengxuan.
• Li Chengxuan approved Hua Chunning’s cultivation and advised her to consult Duanmu Ren.
• Duanmu Ren summoned a ghostly creature from his arm and sent it to place a tiny black tracking mark on Jiang Xiaoyu, telling Liu Zhijian he could locate her for a month.