Chapter Summaries

Chen Xun and his immortal companion, Black Ox, struggled to survive in Small Mountain Village while using their system’s yearly points to grow stronger. After their cottage burned down, they moved into a mountain cave, and the chapter ended with Chen Xun eating the beef Black Ox could not bear to touch.

• Chen Xun recalled how Old Wang and his men stole his crops and chicks, beat him, and broke one of Black Ox’s horns when they went to demand an explanation.
• Chen Xun spent his yearly point on strength, injured his hand testing it, and added a strength point to Black Ox.
• Xiao Heizi brought Chen Xun rice from the village chief, and Chen Xun and Black Ox shared a meal in their cottage.
• Chen Xun and Black Ox let their rice burn and watched their cottage nearly burn down, so they moved into a mountain cave.
• Chen Xun apprenticed with the village carpenter while Black Ox helped carry things, and they gathered leftovers from the village’s year-end feast.
• Black Ox refused the beef Chen Xun offered after the feast, so Chen Xun ate it himself.

Chen Xun and Black Ox built a life farming rice, then witnessed Cloud Heaven Sect cultivators test the villagers for Spirit Roots. After the cultivators departed with a gifted child and some menial recruits, Chen Xun recovered from Black Ox’s hoof and resolved to avoid sects.

• Chen Xun and Black Ox worked as a blacksmith’s apprentices before leaving and settling on fertile land to grow rice.
• Chen Xun and Black Ox harvested their crop, stored most of it in a mountain cave, and went to investigate the village gong.
• Cloud Heaven Sect cultivators tested the villagers for Spirit Roots, and one cultivator killed a man who refused to leave the testing pillar.
• Chen Xun tested as having Five Elements Mixed Spirit Roots, but the cultivators rejected him after he and Black Ox pretended to be frightened and near death.
• Black Ox carried the injured Chen Xun back to their cave, where Chen Xun recovered and decided that neither of them would join a sect.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox spent decades mastering village trades and growing stronger, but the Old Village Chief’s death reminded them that mortals around them were aging and dying. As villagers began to fear Chen Xun’s agelessness and covet Big Black Ox, the pair decided to leave.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox learned village trades, became sought-after wedding and funeral helpers, and spent ten years improving their strength.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox mourned and buried the Old Village Chief, then returned to the village and met the grown Xiao Heizi.
• Another ten years passed, and Chen Xun named one of Xiao Heizi’s sons Da Heizi while village gossip mocked Chen Xun for remaining unmarried.
• Chen Xun discovered that strength stopped increasing at 20 points, put a Longevity Point into speed, and gave Big Black Ox one as well.
• Chen Xun decided that he and Big Black Ox had to leave because familiar villagers were disappearing, people feared his unchanging appearance, and others wanted to slaughter Big Black Ox.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left their mountain home after entrusting its farmland to Xiao Heizi’s family, then tracked down the Lao Wang Family to avenge the theft and beatings from more than twenty years earlier. After wreaking havoc on their ancestral tomb, fields, and home, they escaped the villagers’ pursuit and disappeared, leaving behind a bandit legend.

• Chen Xun persuaded Big Black Ox to leave their farmland behind and set off with him to seek revenge.
• Chen Xun left rice and a farewell letter for Xiao Heizi, entrusting his family with the fertile land and Da Heizi.
• Three months later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox investigated the neighboring village and chose the Lao Wang Family as their first target.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox dug up Wang Defa’s grave and wrecked the Wang Family’s fields before attacking their home.
• Chen Xun struck Wang Tianming and damaged the Wang Family’s belongings, then fled with Big Black Ox as hundreds of villagers chased them.
• Big Black Ox’s foul fart incapacitated the pursuers, while Wang Tianming fainted after learning the ancestral tomb and fields had been ruined.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox practiced caution while traveling through the mountain forest, then encountered a man from the Hundred Mysteries Sect after noticing a fight nearby. The man took Big Black Ox’s rope and accused Chen Xun of being a spy, leaving Chen Xun in danger.

• Chen Xun killed a brown bear, and he and Big Black Ox feasted while discussing how to avoid trouble with immortal cultivators.
• Chen Xun quizzed Big Black Ox about how to respond to a Little She-Ox facing an immortal cultivator, then tricked it into collapsing in fright.
• Big Black Ox launched Chen Xun into the air, where he spotted people fighting in the distance, and they quickly buried their traces and walked away.
• A man stopped Chen Xun and asked whether he had seen what happened, then demanded that he leave Big Black Ox behind.
• The man identified himself with the Hundred Mysteries Sect, took the ox’s rope, and accused Chen Xun of being a suspicious spy.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox fled after killing Liu Tian, then spent more than half a year traveling to Pan Ning City. They entered the bustling city excited for a new life, and Chen Xun received a wooden tiger carving in exchange for rice.

• Big Black Ox kicked Liu Tian, and Chen Xun killed him with the Mountain-Splitting Axe before they burned the body and fled.
• The Hundred Mysteries Sect's sect master investigated Liu Tian's disappearance but found no clear trail or witness who remembered Chen Xun's appearance.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox washed off the blood, burned their clothes, and continued toward a great city where cultivators lived.
• More than half a year later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reached Pan Ning City and entered its orderly, crowded streets.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched street performers, bought sugar-coated haws, and admired the vendors' handiwork.
• A vendor gave Chen Xun a wooden tiger carving in exchange for rice, leaving Big Black Ox envious.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox settled into work at a struggling blacksmith shop, where Sun Kaile taught them better forging techniques and the business gradually prospered. The chapter left them with savings and a major order from Zhang Jiang for a hundred broadswords.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox released Wishing Lanterns for the New Year, and Chen Xun read Big Black Ox's wish to follow him forever.
• Chen Xun failed to get hired at one blacksmith shop, then secured work and lodging at another from its owner, Sun Kaile.
• Sun Kaile taught Chen Xun and Big Black Ox new forging methods, and they worked at the shop over the following year as its business improved.
• Chen Xun learned that Sun Kaile had lost his son in the Ningyun Mountain Range while the two men grew closer.
• Zhang Jiang commissioned a hundred broadswords from Chen Xun and offered his help if anyone caused trouble at the shop.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox continued their blacksmithing work, learned that Zhang Jiang had died, and got themselves jailed after confronting an iron ore seller over raised prices. Five years later, their shop was thriving, but Chen Xun hurried to buy medicine for the dying Sun Kaile, choosing to care for his friends as his bottom line.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox unearthed their hidden savings, and Chen Xun promised to buy wooden carvings after they finished Zhang Jiang's order.
• A sect member told Chen Xun that Zhang Jiang had died fighting the Hundred Mysteries Sect, prompting Chen Xun to reflect on avoiding conflict and helping nearby friends.
• When the iron ore seller raised prices, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox confronted him, but the boss reported them to the authorities and they spent five days in prison.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned to the Blacksmith Shop without their confiscated weapons, and the iron ore seller kept his prices unchanged.
• Five years later, the Blacksmith Shop was flourishing, while Chen Xun bought medicinal herbs for Sun Kaile, whose health was failing, and reaffirmed that he would help friends within his means.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox mourned Sun Kaile, inherited his secret manual and blacksmith shop, and resolved to learn medicine after realizing they had been misled about the cost of his treatment. A year later, after paying off their debts, they left the city with plans to travel together.

• Sun Kaile gave Chen Xun a secret manual, entrusted him with the blacksmith shop, and died peacefully the next day.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox buried Sun Kaile, then comforted each other back at the shop.
• Chen Xun realized a physician had likely overcharged them for medicine and decided to learn medical skills.
• Chen Xun kept the shop thriving, rejected marriage proposals, and continued adding Longevity Points to speed.
• After paying off his debts, Chen Xun sealed the shop and left the city with Big Black Ox, carrying their belongings.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox visited Pingtai Medical Clinic so Chen Xun could study medicine, but a street thug tried to steal the ox. After Chen Xun beat the thug, Ning Si agreed to take them in as workers at the clinic.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox toured Pan Ning City, bought wooden ox carvings, and released Wishing Lanterns by the river.
• Chen Xun asked Ning Si to let him study medicine at Pingtai Medical Clinic, but Ning Si initially refused to take an apprentice.
• A thug tried to claim Big Black Ox, and Chen Xun confronted him after the ox called for help.
• Chen Xun beat the thug, while Big Black Ox tossed him away, and the crowd cheered for them.
• The crowd urged Ning Si to accept Chen Xun, and Ning Si agreed to let Chen Xun and Big Black Ox work at the clinic.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox studied medicine at Pingtai Medical Clinic for years, and Chen Xun was finally accepted as Ning Si’s disciple. He left the ceremony boasting wildly to Big Black Ox, who believed him and celebrated.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox studied medicinal herbs together, and Chen Xun became an assistant at Pingtai Medical Clinic after a year.
• Chen Xun caught Big Black Ox secretly studying and warned him not to identify herbs without guidance, then continued studying with him.
• Chen Xun learned the clinic’s common medicinal herbs, received a Pharmacology Book from Doctor Ning, and advanced to senior assistant over the years.
• After seven years at the clinic, Chen Xun answered Ning Si’s question about treating a wounded mountain bandit by saying he would avoid helping and conceal his identity.
• Ning Si accepted Chen Xun as his third disciple after Chen Xun paid respects and offered tea to Ning Si and Shimu.
• Chen Xun exaggerated Ning Si’s praise while bragging to Big Black Ox, who believed him and joyfully ran around the courtyard.

After years of studying medicine with Ning Si, Chen Xun’s generosity to poor patients left him broke and reviled when he stopped giving medicine on credit. He decided to leave Pingtai Medical Clinic, and Ning Si sent him off with a book of medical experience and his blessing.

• Chen Xun spent three years accompanying Ning Si on house calls, learning medicine while alarming patients’ families by accidentally revealing his Mountain-Splitting Axes.
• At Pingtai Medical Clinic, Chen Xun treated a poisoned patient and covered the cost of medicine when the patient’s companion could not afford it.
• Poor patients flocked to Chen Xun for free care and credit, but few repaid him; when he ran out of money and stopped extending credit, people accused him of hypocrisy and spread rumors about him.
• Chen Xun told Big Black Ox that they should leave the clinic, then went to bid farewell to Ning Si.
• Ning Si gave Chen Xun his accumulated medical experience and advised him to hold fast to his True Heart.
• Chen Xun promised to return if the Ning Family ever needed him, then left as Ning Si wished him a promising future.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox entered the Ningyun Mountain Range to gather herbs, where a demon beast chased them until Chen Xun and Big Black Ox killed it. After hiding their tracks and making a concealed burrow, Chen Xun took out the Qi Refining Art Sun Lao had given him.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left town and searched the Ningyun Mountain Range for medicinal herbs.
• A wolf-and-tiger-like demon beast chased Chen Xun and Big Black Ox, ignoring the townspeople nearby.
• Big Black Ox struck a tree while fleeing, and Chen Xun stayed to check that it was all right as the demon beast caught up.
• Chen Xun used his speed and Mountain-Splitting Axe to wound the demon beast, and Big Black Ox finished it with Black Ox Overhead.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox ate some of the demon beast, concealed the remains, and dug a hidden burrow to shelter in.
• Chen Xun reflected on the danger of the mountain range and took out the Qi Refining Art Sun Lao had given him.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox tried the Qi Condensation Art, initially thought it was fake, and later discovered it had enhanced their senses. After three years in the Ningyun Mountain Range, they hunted for food and debated how to overcome a limit on their physical growth.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox attempted to cultivate with the Qi Condensation Art but felt no spiritual energy, so they suspected their spiritual roots were too weak.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox continued gathering herbs and helping bury the dead while living in the Ningyun Mountain Range for three years.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox hunted down a wild boar and returned to their earthen cave with its carcass.
• Chen Xun realized the Qi Condensation Art was real because his hearing had improved, while Big Black Ox could see better at night.
• Chen Xun raised their speed Longevity Points but found their physical abilities had hit a limit, so they agreed to try Essence of All Things next year.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox discovered that Essence of All Things could accelerate plant growth, then spent a year cultivating herbs, refining their Qi, and burying scattered human remains. As they returned to their cave, they dodged three arrows shot from the forest.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox tested Essence of All Things and discovered that it could make wild grass grow faster, though producing it left them exhausted.
• A year later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox had raised Essence of All Things to level two and both reached the second level of the Qi Refining Art.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox buried human bones and performed funeral rites, continuing their daily effort to accumulate merit.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox heard arrows coming and dodged three shots that buried themselves in the ground.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox killed three Hundred Mysteries Sect fighters who attacked them, then hid the bodies and went down the mountain to learn why people were hunting a supposed wild man. Chen Xun returned to the city and visited Ning Si, who worried that his kind heart would bring him trouble.

• Senior Brother Su, Junior Sister Wan, and scar-faced Junior Brother Tian accused Chen Xun of being a murderous wild man and attacked him and Big Black Ox.
• Chen Xun killed Junior Brother Tian and Senior Brother Su with his dual Mountain-Splitting Axes, while Big Black Ox killed Junior Sister Wan.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox cremated the bodies, concealed the evidence, and decided to go down the mountain to ask about the commotion.
• A middle-aged man told Chen Xun that soldiers and martial artists were organizing to hunt a wild man accused of killing people and eating their bones.
• Chen Xun visited the Ning Family and brought Ning Si precious medicinal herbs; she spoke with him through the night and worried that his kindness would bring him harm.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reopened their blacksmith shop in Pan Ning City, then reflected on their cultivation limits and resolved to avoid dangerous opportunities and stay out of other people's affairs. Half a year later, they watched a battle between cultivators over Ningyun Mountain Range from the city before returning to their ordinary work.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned to the Blacksmith Shop, cleaned it, and welcomed the neighbors who celebrated Chen Xun's return.
• Chen Xun reopened the shop for half-days while he and Big Black Ox experimented with the Essence of All Things on medicinal herbs.
• Chen Xun warned Big Black Ox that their talent might limit their cultivation and advised it to avoid risks, revenge, and meddling in others' affairs.
• Half a year later, cultivators fought in the skies above Ningyun Mountain Range, and Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched the battle from Pan Ning City.
• After the cultivators' battle ended, Chen Xun told Big Black Ox to get back to work.

After five years, Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox left the street where they had lived, as the people around them aged and died and their unusual longevity drew attention. A month later, they ran a popular food stall in Pan Ning City, where Senior Brother Yu encountered the Big Black Ox at the payment window.

• Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox decided to keep their century-old wild ginseng and grow less conspicuous medicinal herbs.
• Over five years, Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox reached the third layer of the Qi Condensation Stage while their neighbors grew old or passed away.
• Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox helped with funerals, and Chen Xun played the suona at a spirit hall as he mourned the people he had known.
• Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox left their street, and the neighbors later assumed Chen Xun had died far from home.
• A month later, Junior Sister Ye and her companions found Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox running a bustling snack stall in Pan Ning West City.
• Senior Brother Yu went to pay and stared in surprise at the Big Black Ox, which struggled to calculate his change.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox earned a living with their mobile food stall in Pan Ning City while trying to avoid forming lasting ties, but their house was stolen and their pursuit ended with them in prison. They were released after ten days, though the authorities ordered them to dismantle the house and stop blocking other vendors.

• Senior Brother Yu and his companions ate at Chen Xun’s stall through the night, and Chen Xun sensed they were cultivators but took care not to provoke them.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox moved their little house around Pan Ning City, sold snacks, and gave their merit to their deceased friends.
• After a year, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned from shopping to find their mobile little house stolen, then followed its wheel tracks to recover it.
• Chen Xun leapt onto the house and confronted the people moving it, only to discover they were government soldiers; he and Big Black Ox were arrested.
• Ten days later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left the Great Prison with their utensils returned, but the authorities required them to dismantle the house and avoid taking vendors’ spots.

After Ning Si died, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left Pan Ning City and spent a year recovering from their grief. They joined the journey to the Ascension Convention and stood before Nine Stars Valley, ready to enter the cultivators’ world.

• Chen Xun gave the Hundred-Year Old Wild Ginseng to Shimu, then watched from the crowd as Ning Si was laid to rest and left Pan Ning City with Big Black Ox.
• A year later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched the Wishing Lanterns before meeting Fat Brother, a broker who brought independent cultivators to the Ascension Convention.
• Fat Brother explained the convention’s purpose and warned Chen Xun not to dwell on rejection if his aptitude fell short of the sects’ standards.
• Fat Brother led Chen Xun and Big Black Ox to Nine Stars Valley, where a sect array concealed the Ascension Convention, then departed to guide other cultivators.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox stood before the valley, excited to enter the world of cultivators.