Recaps

The crown prince watched Jin Chang torture Zou Bugui while Dong Zhongshu struggled to maintain his observing spell. Kong Ning arrived and attacked Jin Chang, who escaped with his Puppet Technique, leaving Kong Ning to discover that she had found Zou Bugui instead.

• The crown prince held his people back from intervening as Jin Chang inserted a puppet thread into Zou Bugui and threatened to make him a human puppet.
• Dong Zhongshu warned that he could sustain the spell for only a quarter of an hour, while the crown prince waited for Jin Chang's pursuers to arrive.
• Kong Ning suddenly appeared, and Jin Chang recognized her as a dangerous pursuer.
• Kong Ning attacked Jin Chang, but a voice on the ground revealed his hiding place and helped her cut through his puppet decoys.
• Jin Chang escaped west using the Puppet Technique and taunted Zou Bugui, while Kong Ning recognized Zou Bugui and turned her attention to capturing him.

The crown prince learned that Kong Ning had driven Jin Chang away and sought a way to stop her from taking Zou Bugui. Zhang Xuezhou proposed a feint that would force Kong Ning to protect Zou Bugui, and the crown prince sent Lu Neng and the guards to carry it out, promising Zhang Xuezhou a mid-grade class-A technique if it succeeded.

• The crown prince asked Lu Neng how he could counter Kong Ning, whose speed made her a formidable opponent.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized Kong Ning and considered developing his own abilities toward her speed and mobility.
• After Dong Zhongshu ended the viewing technique, the crown prince offered a mid-grade class-A technique to anyone who could deal with Kong Ning.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed that the guards pretend to attack Zou Bugui, forcing Kong Ning to defend him and limiting her movement.
• The crown prince approved Zhang Xuezhou's plan, and Lu Neng led the guards toward Zou Bugui's lodging.
• The crown prince learned Zhang Xuezhou's name and promised him a chance to choose a mid-grade class-A technique if the operation succeeded.

After the crown prince offered Zhang Xuezhou a middle-grade, class-A Technique for the guards’ success against Kong Ning, Zhang Xuezhou considered how a better cultivation Technique could replace the Yin-Yang School’s method blocking his progress. The operation succeeded, but Lu Neng’s threat to kill Zou Bugui left the confrontation with the demoness unresolved.

• Dong Zhongshu gathered his spellcasting implements and reflected on how Zhang Xuezhou had maneuvered the imperial guards into fighting Kong Ning.
• Zhang Qian explained the value of a middle-grade, class-A Technique and envied Zhang Xuezhou’s chance to receive one from the crown prince.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered his need for a higher cultivation realm and a stronger Technique to replace the Yin-Yang School’s method and improve his Technique Within the Clouds.
• Zhang Qian lamented that Zhang Xuezhou had gained the rewards despite Zhang Qian coming to claim credit, and Zhang Xuezhou comforted him.
• Lu Neng threatened to kill Zou Bugui if the demoness made another move, as the operation succeeded.

The crown prince’s men captured Zou Bugui by falsely accusing him of causing the border war, while Kong Ning struggled to understand why the Han Dynasty wanted him executed. Zou Bugui recognized the crown prince behind the arrest and was taken toward Chang’an, while Kong Ning realized the crown prince himself had arrived.

• The crown prince reflected that he needed to build a broad network of capable people, including those who could work at every level.
• Lu Neng and the imperial guards seized Zou Bugui, and Lu Neng claimed the court had ordered his execution for stirring up war between Xiong State and the Han Kingdom.
• Kong Ning demanded that the guards release Zou Bugui, but Lu Neng threatened her and kept his sword at Zou Bugui’s neck.
• Zou Bugui insisted that he had done nothing wrong and recalled how Jin Chang had grown stronger while he was forced to share resources with him.
• After seeing the crown prince’s convoy and purple qi, Zou Bugui pleaded to the Crown Prince that he had been wronged, and Lu Neng shoved him into a carriage.
• Kong Ning realized the Crown Prince was present and saw him as a valuable target.

Kong Ning attacked the Crown Prince’s party, but his talismans shielded him from her first strike. After realizing the Crown Prince knew only her name and was bluffing about the Han Dynasty identifying her, Kong Ning remained intent on securing a reward from him or Zou Bugui.

• Kong Ning shattered the Crown Prince’s carriage, but his golden light and talismans protected him from the attack.
• Wei Qing and the wounded Lu Neng guarded the Crown Prince as he threatened Kong Ning with the Han Dynasty’s retaliation.
• The Crown Prince called Kong Ning by name, startling her and making her fear that the Han Dynasty could identify and target her.
• Kong Ning demanded that the Crown Prince come with her, return Zou Bugui, or offer enough compensation.
• Kong Ning realized the Crown Prince likely knew only her name, possibly from Jin Chang, and saw through his threat to trap her in Han territory.

Kong Ning followed the crown prince’s convoy while the imperial guards failed to learn from Zou Bugui why Xiong State had issued a warrant for him. Just as the crown prince considered handing Zou Bugui over, Kong Ning and three demon kings incapacitated the convoy with Drunken Immortal Wine.

• Kong Ning shadowed the crown prince’s convoy after negotiations failed, while the crown prince waited for Zou Bugui to reveal the truth about the war between the Han Dynasty and Xiong State.
• Zou Bugui cooperated with the imperial guards but insisted he knew nothing and blamed his junior brother Jin Chang for dragging him into trouble.
• The crown prince learned the interrogation had yielded no answers, and Lu Neng advised him to hand Zou Bugui over to Kong Ning.
• The crown prince’s protective talismans activated as Drunken Immortal Wine spread through the air, leaving Wei Qing, the imperial guards, and the horses barely conscious.
• Kong Ning welcomed Lu Er and two other demon kings, revealing that they had brought the wine to capture the crown prince and help claim credit for Zou Bugui.

Dong Zhongshu and Sima Xiangru fought off an ambush by demon kings while Zou Bugui escaped and Kong Ning targeted the Crown Prince. Kong Ning was wounded by the Crown Prince’s iron sword, then a hidden black sword pierced her chest.

• Dong Zhongshu used a wind Technique to drive back the Drunken Immortal Wine, but the three demon kings were caught in its effects.
• Zou Bugui escaped the sleeping guards by sinking into the ground with a talisman.
• Kong Ning approached the Crown Prince’s carriage and grabbed the Crown Prince, but his iron sword cut her palm.
• Kong Ning struck back, shattered the iron sword, and drove the Crown Prince through the carriage floorboards.
• Wei Qing charged Kong Ning, but a hidden black sword pierced her chest before she could strike him.

With Dong Zhongshu’s spell clearing his head, Zhang Xuezhou witnessed Emperor Jing’s manifested Dharma body overpower Kong Ning and her father’s manifested Dharma body. As Kong Ning’s father struggled and the three demon kings failed to help, Demon King Luli activated a golden orb that summoned a gigantic serpent-bodied demon with a human face.

• Dong Zhongshu helped Zhang Xuezhou shake off his drowsiness, and Zhang saw Kong Ning and the three demon kings before a clash erupted.
• Emperor Jing’s black short sword wounded Kong Ning, who called on her father to spare her life; her father’s manifested Dharma body appeared and asked Emperor Jing to stop.
• Emperor Jing refused, drove the old monk back with his short sword, and threatened the Western Sect.
• Kong Ning called on Luli, Huli, and Yangli for help, but the drunken and incapacitated demon kings could not effectively intervene.
• At Kong Ning’s urging, Luli threw a golden orb and recited its activation incantation, causing a gigantic demon with a human face and serpent’s body to appear in the sky.

Demon King Luli summoned the Nine Yin Exalted One, who confronted Emperor Jing while temporarily blinding everyone nearby. Sima Xiangru completed his long zither technique just as the Exalted One prepared to destroy Emperor Jing, and the Ten Yin Holy Son’s laughter revealed that the Exalted One would never obtain his body.

• Demon King Luli told the Nine Yin Exalted One that he had activated the sacred relic to save Kong Ning, but Emperor Jing’s manifested Dharma body had defeated him.
• Emperor Jing killed the old monk and stayed hidden, while the Exalted One used his Yin and Yang eyes to plunge everyone into darkness and then blinding white light.
• Zhang Xuezhou guessed the blindness was temporary because the Crown Prince was in the convoy, and Zhang Qian agreed.
• Sima Xiangru finished playing his Scorched-Tail Zither piece as the Exalted One prepared a white-hot breath attack against the fleeing Emperor Jing.
• The zither music made the Exalted One see the Ten Yin Holy Son’s body, and the Holy Son’s laughter convinced him that he would never possess it.

The Golden Toad Dharma King and Jin Wanliang followed Kong Ning’s group, hoping to find Zou Bugui before them. After sensing his Golden Toad Poison and rushing toward him, the Golden Toad Dharma King heard an enraged roar and spotted a fiery-red serpent body in the distance.

• The Golden Toad Dharma King told Jin Wanliang about the valuable treasures he had received from the Ten Yin Holy Son, including a pearl he had traded to Demon King Luli for medicine.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King and Jin Wanliang followed Kong Ning’s party south, planning to locate Zou Bugui and take him back to the Holy Land.
• Jin Wanliang asked whether Kong Ning’s group was really seeking Zou Bugui, and the Golden Toad Dharma King said they meant to target the easier prey rather than Jin Chang.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King sensed his poison on Zou Bugui and hurried toward its source with Jin Wanliang.
• An angry roar shook the sky, and the Golden Toad Dharma King saw a fiery-red serpent body in the distance.

Zhang Xuezhou survived His Eminence’s devastating attacks as Emperor Jing intervened and destroyed the serpent-bodied foe. The crown prince awoke and was ordered to return to Chang’an, while Emperor Jing’s fate remained uncertain after the fiery blast.

• His Eminence’s shrieks battered Zhang Xuezhou and the others, but Zhang used the Supreme Purity True Technique to suppress his injuries and survive.
• Zhang saw the convoy shattered and feared that Zou Bugui and the Yin-Yang School’s legacy had been lost.
• Emperor Jing stabbed His Eminence through the lower jaw, causing the flames swallowed by the foe to ignite and explode.
• Kong Ning fled while Demon King Luli grabbed Tiger Strength Demon King and Goat Strength Demon King and ran after her.
• Wei Qing woke the crown prince, who heard Emperor Jing order him to return to Chang’an.

Zhang Xuezhou rescued Wu Chao from a temporary grave and learned that flames had nearly destroyed Wu Chao’s Snake Head Incantation. After they reaffirmed their alliance, Wu Chao located the buried Zou Bugui with his Star-Fixing Technique.

• Zhang Xuezhou heard Wu Chao call out from a mound of earth and dug him free.
• Wu Chao explained that he had infiltrated the imperial guard unit using the Face-Changing Technique while pursuing Zou Bugui.
• Zhang Xuezhou treated Wu Chao with the Supreme Purity True Technique and discovered that the flames had scorched all the hair snakes sustaining Wu Chao’s Snake Head Incantation.
• Wu Chao apologized for suspecting Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhang Xuezhou affirmed that they depended on each other.
• Wu Chao warned that his strength had been badly damaged and said their plans would depend on Zhang Xuezhou if his risky cultivation path failed.
• Wu Chao used his Star-Fixing Technique to reveal that Zou Bugui was buried beneath nearby ground.

Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao tried to capture Zou Bugui, who had escaped deep underground using the Earth Escape Technique, but their digging failed as he kept burrowing lower. Zhang Xuezhou fell asleep, leaving Wu Chao to keep watch and prepare his last remaining strike against Hongku.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao dug for Zou Bugui and learned he was using the Earth Escape Technique to hide beneath the ground.
• As Zou Bugui continued moving downward faster than they could dig, Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao gave up and waited for hunger or thirst to force him out.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to persuade Zou Bugui to surrender in exchange for the remaining cultivation portions of the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation, but Zou Bugui did not respond.
• Zhang Xuezhou, overcome by sleepiness, left Wu Chao to keep watch through the night.
• Wu Chao threatened Zou Bugui with a sword and prepared his final Snake Head Incantation hair by soaking it in his heart's blood, knowing he had only one strike left against Hongku.

Zhang Xuezhou took an interest in Tiger Form Fist while warning Zhang Manqian against practicing incomplete cultivation techniques, and his unusual behavior left her questioning her own hallucinations. Zhang Manqian failed to obtain Tiger Form Fist and felt trapped, while Young Master Zuo revealed that he was trying to draw her into a voluntary blood exchange for his own genetic adaptation.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Zhang Manqian about Tiger Form Fist and told her not to practice the incomplete Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation.
• Zhang Manqian saw Zhang Xuezhou apparently leap from a building, then heard him deny it and claim he had come down the stairs practicing Crane Form Fist.
• Unrivaled Hunk told Zhang Manqian he could offer only Leopard Walking Steps, so she refused the exchange and worried that she had no path to protect her family.
• Young Master Zuo and a burly middle-aged man discussed using Zhang Manqian's desire for Tiger Form Fist to persuade her to undergo a voluntary blood exchange.
• Young Master Zuo dismissed concerns about Zhang Manqian's genes, reviewed Tiger Form Fist materials, and planned to use them after completing his own genetic adaptation.

Zhang Manqian lamented that she could not obtain the Tiger Form Fist, while Zhang Xuezhou reassured her and discussed his cultivation techniques. The chapter ended with Zhang Xuezhou realizing that Zhang Manqian’s hallucination of becoming a seed and growing into a tree matched his own cultivation experience, suggesting she had entered the Realm.

• Zhang Manqian and Zhang Xuezhou met after class, each feeling disappointed for different reasons.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian that Professor Ren Yisheng had taken his Heart Incantation to study, and Zhang Manqian speculated that he was still examining it.
• Zhang Manqian said she could not buy the Tiger Form Fist, and Zhang Xuezhou promised to find her a better martial art someday.
• Zhang Manqian and Zhang Xuezhou decided to eat another batch of guinea fowl sent by Ai Fengwu.
• Zhang Manqian asked Zhang Xuezhou about her hallucinations and the Essential Instruction for Recuperation, then described seeing herself become a seed and grow into a tree.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that Zhang Manqian’s vision matched his cultivation experience and realized she had entered the Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou convinced Zhang Manqian that his healing Technique was real, and she proposed taking him to institutions to learn more about the Gene Fighting Technique. After agreeing to broaden his horizons, Zhang Xuezhou returned to his other body, determined to get a Cultivation Method from Zou Bugui.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian that her Realm Entry came from cultivating the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation, and promised to find its second half.
• Zhang Xuezhou demonstrated the Supreme Purity True Technique by rapidly healing a wound after Zhang Manqian cut his finger.
• Zhang Manqian recognized the Technique's practical value but urged Zhang Xuezhou not to dismiss the Gene Fighting Technique.
• Zhang Manqian proposed taking Zhang Xuezhou to institutions to study Gene Fighting Technique materials and watch sparring matches, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed.
• Zhang Xuezhou reflected on his experiences in Lingnan and resolved to keep investigating both worlds and himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou went to sleep and opened his eyes in his other body, hoping to obtain a Cultivation Method from Zou Bugui.

Zhang Xuezhou woke after surviving Lingnan’s poisonous miasma and found Jin Wanliang, the Golden Toad Dharma King, Wu Chao, and Zou Bugui injured after mistaking one another for enemies. He treated the poisoned fighters and offered to heal Zou Bugui, who recognized Zhang’s familiar demand for payment.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke coughing black blood and found Jin Wanliang calling him godfather beside the collapsed Golden Toad Dharma King, Wu Chao, and Zou Bugui.
• Jin Wanliang explained that Wu Chao and the Golden Toad Dharma King had attacked each other after failing to recognize one another, while Zou Bugui had run onto a guard’s sword after emerging from underground.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to help the Golden Toad Dharma King recover, and Wu Chao agreed to withdraw his Snake Head Incantation in exchange for the Dharma King removing his poison.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King drove his venom out of Wu Chao, while Jin Wanliang admitted he could not remove the poison he had inflicted on Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou suppressed his own poison and offered to heal Zou Bugui’s sword wound, then rubbed his fingers together, prompting Zou Bugui to recognize the gesture as a request for payment.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions tried to keep Zou Bugui alive so they could obtain the Yin-Yang School’s cultivation technique, while discussing the lost Spirit-Communicating Jade. As they stopped to eat in the forest, Jin Chang appeared before Zhang Xuezhou.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao failed to make Zou Bugui reveal the Yin-Yang School’s cultivation technique, and Jin Wanliang accidentally knocked him unconscious.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao treated Zou Bugui’s injuries so he would survive, while the Golden Toad Dharma King and Jin Wanliang noticed Zhang Xuezhou’s cultivation had advanced.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the group he had lost the Spirit-Communicating Jade, and the Golden Toad Dharma King and Wu Chao regretted that they could not obtain it.
• The group carried Zou Bugui into the forest, where Zhang Xuezhou offered him meat and considered using hunger to persuade him to cooperate.
• Jin Chang appeared before Zhang Xuezhou as the group prepared to eat.

Jin Chang confronted the Golden Toad Dharma King to reclaim Zou Bugui, but admitted that his strength had been reduced after losing his puppet body. He offered to negotiate for the Yin-Yang School’s other cultivation technique, leaving Zou Bugui in the demons’ hands afterward.

• Jin Chang appeared beside the barbecue fire and demanded that the Golden Toad Dharma King return Zou Bugui, while the Dharma King warned that he could flee and summon reinforcements.
• Jin Chang used a silver thread to show his control of Law Power and spotted Wu Chao preparing to use his last Snake Head Incantation.
• Zou Bugui revealed that Jin Chang had only a forty percent chance of defeating the demons and that Kong Ning could hunt him down.
• Jin Chang said he wanted Zou Bugui’s cultivation technique rather than his life, and the Golden Toad Dharma King agreed to share the inheritance in exchange for a copy.
• Jin Chang and the Golden Toad Dharma King eased their hostility, and Jin Chang told Zou Bugui he had come to see him again.

Jin Chang tried to force Zou Bugui to surrender the Yin-Yang School inheritance and refine healing pills, but Zou Bugui refused and tried to turn the Golden Toad Dharma King against Jin Chang. After Jin Chang escaped their ambush, Wu Chao used the Star-Fixing Technique to track and threaten him.

• Jin Chang explained his history with Zou Bugui and demanded the inheritance, while the Golden Toad Dharma King and the others urged Zou Bugui to comply.
• Zou Bugui offered to refine pills and teach Zhang Xuezhou a Yin-Yang School technique if they killed Jin Chang.
• Jin Wanliang revealed that he had tampered with the roast chicken, and the Golden Toad Dharma King threatened Zou Bugui with poison.
• Jin Chang escaped the attempted attack, but Zou Bugui revealed his location and said killing Jin Chang was his only condition for cooperation.
• Wu Chao used the Star-Fixing Technique on the roast chicken to track Jin Chang and warned him to stay away.

Zhang Xuezhou, the Golden Toad Dharma King, and their companions plotted to ambush Jin Chang, who had been pursuing them for days. As the Dharma King went after Jin Chang, Wu Chao questioned Zou Bugui about the Yin-Yang School’s inheritance and heard how its pursuit of power relied on consuming human lives.

• The Golden Toad Dharma King proposed ambushing Jin Chang, and Zhang Xuezhou warned that his injuries made the plan dangerous.
• Zou Bugui gave Zhang Xuezhou a pill that neutralized the poison he had planted, then asked the Golden Toad Dharma King to remove the Golden Toad Poison from his own body.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King treated Zou Bugui’s poisoning and promised to kill Jin Chang before helping Zou Bugui recover.
• At night, Wu Chao located Jin Chang resting three li west, and the Golden Toad Dharma King rushed off to attack him.
• While Zhang Xuezhou slept, Wu Chao asked Zou Bugui why he had kept the Yin-Yang School’s inheritance from his talented junior brother.
• Zou Bugui explained that the inheritance could lead to making Human Pills, while Wu Chao argued that cultivators could share resources and build useful friendships.

After the group escaped Jin Chang, Zou Bugui agreed to teach Zhang Xuezhou the Nine Heavens Sect’s cultivation Techniques, but Zhang Xuezhou hesitated because he was already bound to the Yedie River Holy Land. The chapter ended with Zhang Xuezhou asking whether Zou Bugui would take godsons instead of disciples.

• The Golden Toad Dharma King returned with Jin Chang’s head, and Zou Bugui removed the puppet thread from his body and buried the head.
• Zou Bugui decided the battered group should leave the area and agreed to refine pills for the Golden Toad Dharma King.
• Zou Bugui offered to teach Zhang Xuezhou the Nine Heavens Sect’s arts if Zhang became his disciple.
• Zhang Xuezhou worried that Zou Bugui’s students had died and learned that changing masters could make the Yedie River Holy Land expel and hunt him.
• Zhang Xuezhou quietly asked Zou Bugui whether he was willing to take godsons.

After learning that Hongku might kill him within three years, Zhang Xuezhou sought a way to learn the Yin-Yang School’s cultivation arts without openly betraying his master. The Golden Toad Dharma King and Zou Bugui arranged for Zou to take the Dharma King as his godson, allowing him to teach Zhang, while the Dharma King and Jin Chang pursued their own dangerous bargain.

• Zhang Xuezhou told the Golden Toad Dharma King that Hongku had targeted him at the Yedie River Holy Land, and the Dharma King admitted he could not challenge the holy land’s rules.
• Wu Chao realized Jin Chang was still alive and suspected that Jin Chang and the Golden Toad Dharma King had staged their fight to scheme against Zou Bugui and obtain the Yin-Yang School’s inheritance.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that he needed a cultivation technique because he feared Hongku would kill him, and the Golden Toad Dharma King urged Zou Bugui to help him.
• Zou Bugui refused to teach Zhang unless he became his student, while the others feared that doing so would make Zhang a traitor to the Yedie River Holy Land.
• Jin Wanliang suggested that Zou Bugui take the Golden Toad Dharma King as his godson, and Zou accepted the arrangement as a way to bind himself to the group.
• The Golden Toad Dharma King told Zhang Xuezhou to call Zou Bugui his godfather, hoping Zhang would inherit the sect’s legacy and help him and Jin Chang remove the dangers hidden in each other’s bodies.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Nine Heavens Sect inheritance made conflict with Nine People Sect inheritors inevitable, then began rebuilding his foundational cultivation under Zou Bugui. Wu Chao revealed that Jin Chang had coerced him into switching allegiances, leaving Zhang Xuezhou and his senior brother entangled in another dangerous scheme against Hongku.

• Zou Bugui taught Zhang Xuezhou that Nine Heavens Sect cultivators could become Human Pills for Nine People Sect inheritors seeking breakthroughs.
• Zhang Xuezhou set aside his worries and listened as Zou Bugui taught him the Meridian Circulation Realm cultivation technique.
• Wu Chao told Zhang Xuezhou that Jin Chang had asked whether he obtained the Nine Heavens Sect inheritance, and Zhang Xuezhou replied that he had learned its Meridian Circulation and Blood Penetration techniques.
• Wu Chao revealed that Jin Chang promised him parts of the Nine People Sect inheritance in exchange for Zhang Xuezhou’s techniques, and that he was converting his cultivation foundation.
• Wu Chao told Zhang Xuezhou that Jin Chang had planted a Puppet Technique in him and that he had to become Jin Chang’s disciple within three years.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized that Wu Chao’s sudden betrayal had drawn them both into another dangerous predicament.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions crossed the war-scarred Northern Border and prepared to enter the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to gather ingredients and hunt. They recruited the hungry swordsman Zhufu Yan to help with the work, and the group continued toward the mountains.

• The Golden Toad Dharma King carried the group safely across the Northern Border, where Zou Bugui explained the cultivation potential of the devastated battlefield.
• Wu Chao watched a barefoot young swordsman fight and eat a piece of millet cake, reflecting on the hardships other cultivators endured.
• Zhang Xuezhou offered the young man meat if he joined the group on their journey into the mountains.
• The young man accepted after voicing his suspicions about being tricked and the dangers of the mountains.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhufu Yan introduced themselves, and the group welcomed Zhufu Yan into their venture.