Chapter Summaries

In the hospital, Godfather warned Duanmu Ren that the pneumoconiosis medicine project could become a political liability and taught him how officials competed at higher levels. Duanmu Ren left convinced by Godfather’s advice and prepared to coordinate with Li Jiabao to make the project legitimate and successful.

• Godfather praised Duanmu Ren’s work on Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical and asked whether the Isatis Root Lung-Clearing Oral Solution could treat pneumoconiosis.
• Godfather explained that at higher levels of government, incompetence was the weakness that could end a career, and warned that overseas media could portray Duanmu Ren’s medicine trials as illegal experiments on poor miners.
• Godfather revealed that he had arranged the testing documents and approvals so the miners’ treatment counted as phase one and the new oral solution as phase two.
• Godfather advised Duanmu Ren to produce results and build public support for traditional medicine, since a good reputation could help him win future promotions.
• Duanmu Ren accepted the advice and prepared to speak with Li Jiabao.

Li Jiabao used Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical to create jobs in Stone Ridge County, boosting his local reputation. Zhao Xiaojun learned the company was tied to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and decided to pursue online fame by making videos about it.

• Li Jiabao hired relatives and local workers after taking inspiration from webnovels and Brother Dong's biography, and Duanmu Ren approved his plan to create jobs.
• Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical offered factory workers five thousand yuan a month and herb-base workers 100 yuan a day, earning Li Jiabao widespread praise.
• Zhao Xiaojun's mother left to work at the medicinal herb base while his father urged him to apply at the pharmaceutical factory.
• Zhao Xiaojun recognized the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard's name and recalled his earlier success as a short-video creator.
• Zhao Xiaojun left home to sign up for an interview, hoping to make videos about the company and attract online traffic.

Zhao Xiaojun became determined to expose Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical after his new job’s modest salary embarrassed him, but his parents defended the factory and its local benefits. As Li Jiabao enjoyed his growing popularity, he came across Zhao’s accusatory video title.

• Zhao Xiaojun celebrated getting a quality-control job, then felt humiliated when his friend compared his salary to factory workers’ pay and resolved to become an internet celebrity.
• Zhao Xiaojun filmed the factory’s simple production process and planned a viral video alleging traditional medicine fraud and official-business collusion.
• Zhao Xiaojun’s mother defended traditional medicine, while his father warned him not to attack Li Jiabao and Duanmu Ren, whose projects supported local families.
• Zhao Xiaojun argued with his parents, returned to his room, and began editing his video in anger.
• Li Jiabao enjoyed the factory’s success and his rising local popularity before finding Zhao Xiaojun’s video accusing the factory of preying on poor, sick elderly people.

Zhao Xiaojun’s video exposing Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical’s Isatis Root Lung-Clearing Oral Solution went viral, reviving controversy over the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and Hua Chunning. Li Jiabao feared the fallout until Zhao Xiaojun’s parents arrived to apologize to him.

• Zhao Xiaojun posted a real-name video accusing Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical of making a shoddy medicine and swindling sick elderly people, and it quickly trended.
• Online doctors and professionals criticized the product, while viewers resurfaced old accusations against the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and Hua Chunning; Stone Ridge residents and recovered patients defended them.
• A popular internet doctor argued that anyone with a miracle cure would pursue fame and fortune rather than hide behind a low-quality workshop, shifting public opinion and reassuring Zhao Xiaojun.
• Li Jiabao panicked about the renewed controversy and contacted Duanmu Ren, who said the sect leader tacitly approved his actions and that the medicine’s effectiveness would determine the outcome.
• Li Jiabao opened his door to a family of three, and the middle-aged man apologized for Zhao Xiaojun’s videos causing trouble.

Li Jiabao let Zhao Xiaojun go after remembering his own past, but Zhao Xiaojun continued his campaign against him and Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical. His new video drew widespread attention, and Duanmu Ren was urged by the province to contain the online backlash.

• Li Jiabao recognized his own past in Zhao Xiaojun and chose not to punish him, welcoming his parents to visit instead.
• Zhao Xiaojun made his hidden video public again, hinted that he had been pressured, and posted a second video alleging that Banlangen oral liquid had won a government contract through corruption.
• Zhao Xiaojun left home under the pretense of visiting his aunt and planned a livestream featuring a miner with pneumoconiosis.
• Zhao Xiaojun's second video sparked a wave of online posts scrutinizing Li Jiabao and Duanmu Ren.
• Duanmu Ren received a call from the province telling him that the online attention had reached the Cyberspace Administration and that he needed to contain it.

Zhao Xiaojun and his classmate livestreamed an attempt to expose Isatis Root Oral Solution as a scam, but the uncle’s apparent improvement and a long queue of buyers prompted medical experts to investigate and confirm the medicine’s effects. Duanmu Ren and Li Jiabao became celebrated figures, while Duanmu Ren learned from Hu Yueqiu that the Hua Household had run out of medicinal pills.

• Zhao Xiaojun and his medical-school classmate visited the classmate’s uncle and filmed him drinking Isatis Root Oral Solution before the nephew smashed the vial.
• The uncle spat out black blood, then angrily insisted the medicine was helping him and told them people from other counties were buying it at North Gate Pharmacy.
• Zhao Xiaojun and his classmate found a kilometer-long line of people waiting to buy Isatis Root Lung-Clearing Oral Solution.
• Duanmu Ren invited provincial hospital staff and medical experts to assess patients, and hospitals confirmed that their conditions were improving.
• Public opinion turned in favor of Duanmu Ren and Li Jiabao, and Duanmu Ren received notice of a provincial cadre training program before a provincial post.
• At Supreme Mystery Mountain, Hu Yueqiu told Duanmu Ren that the Hua Household had no more medicinal pills, leaving him shocked.

Duanmu Ren learned that Li Chengxuan had forbidden the Hua Household from refining Blood Pills and ordered their remaining pills sold for Spirit Stones, then was sent to secretly protect Hua Chunning near the Azure Cloud Market. As Duanmu Ren set out with an ancient [Ding Fire] Law Artifact, he considered how it might counter the Lin clan’s [Jia Wood] methods.

• Hu Yueqiu told Duanmu Ren that the sect master had ordered the Hua Household to destroy its Blood Pills and sell its other pills for Spirit Stones.
• Duanmu Ren realized Li Chengxuan would not let him use the Hua Household’s pills for his own advancement.
• Li Chengxuan ordered Duanmu Ren to wait outside the Azure Cloud Market, follow Hua Chunning secretly, and rescue her if she faced mortal danger.
• Li Chengxuan gave Duanmu Ren an ancient [Ding Fire] Law Artifact and instructed him to kindle it with an ordinary farmhouse flame.
• Duanmu Ren left Supreme Mystery Mountain and reasoned that [Ding Fire] could expose hidden attacks and counter the Lin clan’s [Jia Wood] methods.

Hua Chunning confronted Xue Yong over his schemes in Azure Cloud Market and heard his fears about his family and the Lin Household’s uncertain future. At the Du Family Talismans shop, she learned that bandit cultivators were terrorizing the area, with rumors tying their leader Daoist Mu to the Azure Cloud Sect’s internal strife.

• Xue Yong explained the relationship between [Jia Wood] and [Yi Wood] to Lin Muyang, while Hua Chunning pointed out how [Wu Earth] could bury [Yi Wood].
• After Lin Muyang left, Hua Chunning rebuked Xue Yong for meddling and for his earlier handling of the black market proceeds, and he gave her half the Spirit Stones.
• Xue Yong confessed that he was gathering money to help his descendants and warned that the Lin Household could collapse if its gravely injured Foundation Establishment cultivator died.
• Hua Chunning visited the pregnant Hua Yuhe, who shared the names she and Du Qingquan had chosen for their child: Du Yulu or Du Qingchi.
• Du Qingquan told Hua Chunning that bandit cultivators had grown rampant around Azure Cloud Market despite the Azure Cloud Sect’s attempts to suppress them.
• Du Qingquan said one bandit leader, Daoist Mu, was a powerful New Method cultivator whose Wood Element Law Techniques suggested ties to the Azure Cloud Sect, and he repeated rumors that the bandit outbreak stemmed from sect infighting targeting Lin Muyang.

Daoist Mu, Xue Changfeng, and Lightless planned to ambush Hua Chunning near Danzhou, discussing her abilities and the spirit-rice convoy she might join. Hua traveled with the convoy and learned that her eldest senior brother Liu Zhijian had won renown by driving back a Foundation Establishment dragon prince and shaking loose an ancient secret realm.

• Xue Changfeng questioned Daoist Mu about his ties to the Azure Cloud Sect, while Lightless refused to reveal his origins.
• The three bandit cultivators planned to attack Hua Chunning near Danzhou, expecting her to travel with the spirit-rice convoy.
• Daoist Mu described Hua’s techniques and the rosy mark on her forehead, and Xue Changfeng assessed how to counter them.
• Hua Chunning joined the convoy, where Lin Muyang, Xue Yong, and a Dong Household cultivator were escorting the shipment.
• The Dong Household cultivator told Hua that Liu Zhijian had driven back a Foundation Establishment dragon prince and shaken loose an ancient secret realm.

Hua Chunning was ambushed by Xue Changfeng and Daoist Mu after leaving Danzhou City, but she repeatedly exposed Xue Changfeng’s hiding place within his Wu Earth formation. The formation was withdrawn, and Daoist Mu’s apparent defeat proved to be a trick as he closed in to attack Hua Chunning.

• Hua Chunning’s carriage was swallowed by a Wu Earth formation, and she escaped its grasp by taking to the air.
• Xue Changfeng attacked her with sand soldiers, but Hua Chunning sensed him and struck him through the dust by tracking the fragrance of her peach blossoms.
• Xue Changfeng withdrew the formation and called on Daoist Mu to help kill Hua Chunning.
• Hua Chunning questioned Daoist Mu about his ties to the New Method, then struck him down after he charged through her thorn whip.
• Xue Changfeng enlarged his apricot-yellow flag and forced Hua Chunning to block it, while the real Daoist Mu appeared behind her and reached for her heart.

Hua Chunning used the [Azure Yang Peach Ascension Talisman] to turn the battlefield to her advantage, injuring Daoist Mu and disarming Xue Changfeng. Daoist Mu revealed himself as Lin Yunqing, a wounded [Foundation Establishment] cultivator, and prepared to force Hua Chunning to surrender her wooden talisman while another hidden threat remained nearby.

• Hua Chunning used spring Qi and peach blossoms to drain Daoist Mu's vitality, while Xue Changfeng attacked her with his apricot-yellow banner.
• Xue Changfeng's earth and stones vanished against Hua Chunning's rosy light, which also knocked his banner away.
• Daoist Mu shed his flesh and revealed himself as Lin Yunqing, an Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Lin Yunqing demanded Hua Chunning's wooden talisman, while Hua Chunning warned that Supreme Mystery Mountain was nearby.
• Lin Yunqing realized Daoist Lightless was still hidden in the shadows and decided to force the issue, hoping to use Hua Chunning's [Yi Wood] Manifestation to suppress his injuries.

Lin Yunqing trapped Hua Chunning, but Duanmu Ren intervened with a strange lamp and helped her break free. Lin Yunqing escaped on the Lin Household’s Floating Cloud Boat, while Hua Chunning prepared to deal with Xue Changfeng and Xue Yong emerged to plead for his life.

• Lin Yunqing used her giant sword and flying techniques to suppress Hua Chunning, then trapped her in a net of roots.
• Hua Chunning struck Lin Yunqing, but Lin Yunqing transformed into a towering tree and ensnared her.
• Duanmu Ren arrived and used a lamp flame to set Lin Yunqing’s tree phantom alight, while Hua Chunning broke the root cage with golden talismans.
• Lin Yunqing escaped east on the Floating Cloud Boat after failing to remove the spark of Ding Fire.
• Hua Chunning offered Duanmu Ren her Golden Arrow Talismans, but he pointed her toward Xue Changfeng instead.
• Xue Yong emerged from hiding and asked Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren to spare Xue Changfeng.

Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren confronted Xue Yong, who sought to recover the Wu Earth Apricot-Yellow Spirit Flag and save Xue Changfeng. After Xue Yong claimed Changfeng was part of a secret plan to embody the Old Method’s evil fortune, Duanmu Ren appeared to spare him, then attacked him with black fire.

• Xue Yong asked Hua Chunning to return the Wu Earth Apricot-Yellow Spirit Flag and spare Xue Changfeng, offering his possessions in exchange.
• Duanmu Ren advised Hua Chunning to report the matter to their sect, and she refused to settle it privately.
• Xue Yong claimed the Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain patriarch had chosen Xue Changfeng to become a Child of Fate who carried the Old Method’s evil fortune.
• Hua Chunning released Xue Changfeng’s restraints, and Duanmu Ren helped him up before suddenly pinning him in place.
• Duanmu Ren struck Xue Changfeng with a black Divergent Flame, engulfing them both in fire.

Duanmu Ren killed Xue Changfeng to prevent the Child of Fate from growing stronger, then drove Xue Yong away while escorting Hua Chunning to safety. He and Hua Chunning left the battle behind, and Duanmu Ren insisted that their master, the sect leader, deserved credit for her rescue.

• Duanmu Ren realized Xue Changfeng hated him and decided to kill him before the Child of Fate could grow stronger.
• Duanmu Ren burned Xue Changfeng with black balefire while his blue and red snakes drained and consumed Xue Changfeng’s body.
• Duanmu Ren threatened Xue Yong with the [Ding Fire] lamp, but Xue Yong fled underground after Hua Chunning blocked his attack.
• Duanmu Ren and Hua Chunning traveled ten li, where Duanmu Ren explained that a hidden figure had retreated from the [Ding Fire] and admitted he had only meant to scare Xue Yong.
• Hua Chunning offered to repay Duanmu Ren for saving her, but Duanmu Ren said their master, the sect leader, was her true savior.

Li Chengxuan heard Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren’s reports, warned them against pursuing dangerous ambitions, and cautioned Duanmu Ren about the Xue Household and the risks of targeting Children of Fate. After news of Liu Zhijian’s deeds spread, Jiang Xiaoyu waited on the stone steps until her returning master found her.

• Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren reported their journey to Li Chengxuan, who praised their efforts and urged them to focus on cultivation.
• Duanmu Ren returned the Ding Fire lamp and told Li Chengxuan that killing the Xue Household junior had clarified his spiritual perception and advanced his Dao attainment.
• Li Chengxuan warned Duanmu Ren not to treat the Xue Household or Children of Fate as cultivation resources, since doing so could lead to disaster.
• News of Liu Zhijian’s deeds drew cultivators to Little Dragon Mountain, where visitors and even nearby mortals found opportunities to enter the Dao.
• Jiang Xiaoyu waited on the stone steps for her master, who returned, picked her up, and heard her complain through tears that he had taken so long.

Liu Zhijian took charge of Supreme Mystery Mountain’s General Affairs Hall, settling apology gifts from Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain and the Azure Cloud Sect after the attack on Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren. He comforted Jiang Xiaoyu, explaining that the adults around her envied her freedom to cry and laugh.

• Liu Zhijian reported his travels to Li Chengxuan, who praised his growing fame and ordered him to oversee the General Affairs Hall.
• Liu Zhijian learned that Daoist Lightless had spread details of the ambush on Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren, and recognized why he had been appointed to handle the fallout.
• Liu Zhijian divided the apology gifts from Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain and the Azure Cloud Sect, sending Spirit Stones to the sect and arranging for Hua Chunning to sell pills and give Duanmu Ren the proceeds.
• Liu Zhijian shared his recent cultivation insights with Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren before Jiang Xiaoyu entered, crying after dreaming he had abandoned her to go fishing.
• Liu Zhijian soothed Jiang Xiaoyu by telling her the adults envied her ability to cry and laugh whenever she wanted.

Hu Yueqiu recalled the hardships that had brought her from a neglected fisherman's daughter to a sword-bearing cultivator, then practiced on Supreme Mystery Mountain, hoping to grasp the basics of the Sword Dao. As night fell, Venus and the moon shone together, and their light settled on her sword.

• Hu Yueqiu felt out of place on Supreme Mystery Mountain and resolved not to give up despite her dwindling Manifestation.
• Hu Yueqiu recalled how she had endured her family's cruelty, pursued learning and martial arts, and found an ancient sword and sword technique after escaping the fishing bandit chief.
• Hu Yueqiu killed the fishing gang leader and his followers, destroyed the gang and other factions, and later traveled the world before reaching Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Hu Yueqiu practiced the mortal heaven-tier sword technique and the Moon Palace Sword Canon, letting memories of her past fade until she recalled the autumn night she named herself.
• Hu Yueqiu recognized Venus rising beside the full moon, and golden-white starlight and moonlight fell upon her sword.

After Hu Yueqiu comprehended sword intent, Li Chengxuan accepted her as a Registered Disciple and arranged for her to complete her Manifestation before beginning cultivation. Hu Yueqiu steadied herself as Jiang Xiaoyu showed her around the mountain, and Hua Chunning told her they would start at the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard the next day.

• Li Chengxuan saw the moon mark appear on the ancestor's portrait and understood that the ancestor had consented to his plans.
• Li Chengxuan summoned Hu Yueqiu and accepted her as a Registered Disciple after she had comprehended sword intent.
• Li Chengxuan directed Liu Zhijian to trade for Fu Water Proper Qi, Hua Chunning to guide Hu Yueqiu's Manifestation, and Duanmu Ren to arrange matters at the sub-courtyard.
• Jiang Xiaoyu took Hu Yueqiu around Supreme Mystery Mountain, and Hu Yueqiu resolved to proceed patiently with her cultivation.
• Hua Chunning told Hu Yueqiu that they would go to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard the next day to complete her Manifestation.

Li Chengxuan brought Hu Yueqiu to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard’s Grotto-Heaven, where she began trying to replenish her diminishing Manifestation under Hua Chunning’s guidance while cultivating her sword intent. Her moonlit sword dance went viral, and she unexpectedly gained a great deal of sword immortal Manifestation, prompting her to seek Li Chengxuan as Li Jiabao received an invitation for her to perform at a Mid-Autumn Festival gala.

• Li Chengxuan brought Hu Yueqiu to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard’s Grotto-Heaven, where her diminishing Manifestation stopped worsening.
• Li Chengxuan asked Hua Chunning to teach Hu Yueqiu how to replenish her Manifestation and cautioned her to pursue sword cultivation on her own.
• Hua Chunning shared how she had gathered spring pentads, and Hu Yueqiu began gathering autumn pentads such as [Chill Cicadas Sing].
• Hu Yueqiu watched birds, practiced swordsmanship by the lake, and harvested rice at the Sub-Courtyard, where visitors filmed her routine and posted it online.
• A moonlit video of Hu Yueqiu dancing with her sword went viral, and she accumulated a great deal of sword immortal Manifestation.
• Hu Yueqiu called for Li Chengxuan to ask about her unexpected gains as Li Jiabao received a call inviting her to perform at a Mid-Autumn Festival gala.

Li Chengxuan obtained Mystic Marsh Submerged Thunder Qi for Hu Yueqiu and advised her on entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion while continuing to pursue the Sword Dao. He outlined five more Autumn Phenological Periods for her to gather, leaving her with nine in total to pursue.

• Liu Zhijian reported that the Xue Household had found Mystic Marsh Submerged Thunder Qi but could not obtain the extinct Spiritual Qi strands, and Li Chengxuan accepted the substitute.
• Li Chengxuan told Hu Yueqiu that her progress gathering Autumn Phenological Periods and her sword talent were promising, but reminded her to focus on replenishing her Fu Water Manifestation and entering the Dao through Qi Ingestion.
• Li Chengxuan explained that Mystic Marsh Submerged Thunder Qi could empower Hu Yueqiu's Fu Water or Sword Dao, but would kill her if she acted against her heart or became a demon.
• Li Chengxuan instructed Hu Yueqiu to gather Thunder Falls Silent, Insects Seal Their Burrows, Waters Begin to Dry, Grass and Trees Shed Their Leaves, and All Hibernating Creatures Lie Still.
• Hu Yueqiu recited the five remaining periods and resolved to seek Dao guidance from Duanmu and read more scriptures.