Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou struggled to find a way to cut the spirit silk jade lotus root while Li Shaojun worried about making the Life-Extending Golden Elixir for Lei Ming. After Li Shaojun went to speak with Lei Ming, Dong Yan arrived at Zhang Xuezhou’s residence requesting an audience.

• Zhang Xuezhou discovered that the spirit silk jade lotus root was nearly impossible to cut, even with the Fish Intestine Sword, and placed both in a water jar.
• Li Shaojun refused to risk his life awakening the Fish Intestine Sword’s second form and worried that making the Life-Extending Golden Elixir would attract dangerous cultivators.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Shaojun to tell Lei Ming that they would resume refining the elixir once they found a way to cut the lotus root.
• Li Shaojun left to meet Lei Ming, and Zhang Xuezhou remained at the residence with the unusable treasures.
• Dong Yan, the Immortal Court’s Mao Guard Commandant, arrived and requested an audience with Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou questioned Dong Yan about the Demon-Revealing Mirror and weapons that could destroy it, while probing for connections to Immortal Court spies. He left Dong Yan believing he was a high-ranking second-generation scion of the Immortal Court, and Dong Yan became eager to win his favor.

• Zhang Xuezhou learned from Dong Yan that the Demon-Revealing Mirror was a massive jade mirror and asked about weapons capable of damaging it.
• Dong Yan said Commandant of the Guard Si was investigating the Red Empyrean Sword and offered to pass along Zhang Xuezhou’s need if he contacted her.
• Dong Yan named the Tai'e Sword and several famous ancient blades, prompting Zhang Xuezhou to recall Ying Fusu and the suspicious Liu Xuan.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Dong Yan why he had joined the Immortal Court, and Dong Yan explained his desire to cultivate and extend his lifespan.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed he had been led into the immortal sect from birth and had met the Jade Emperor, convincing Dong Yan that he was a powerful scion whom he should curry favor with.

Zhang Xuezhou gathered information from Dong Yan, considered his tangled affairs and weak self-protection, then went out searching for women with unusual physiques. At the Gold and Jade Entertainment House, Wei Shao'er greeted him and asked after Huo Qubing, prompting Zhang Xuezhou to suddenly run off.

• Zhang Xuezhou encouraged Dong Yan to keep gathering information after learning that the empress would visit Grand Princess Dou the next day.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent Dou Shisan to summon Liu Xuan so he could discuss the Four Directions Body-Locking Technique.
• After failing to cultivate the technique and feeling his Law Power thin, Zhang Xuezhou wandered the Imperial City District looking for women with special physiques.
• Zhang Xuezhou arrived at the Gold and Jade Entertainment House and watched Wei Shao'er sing to an enthusiastic crowd.
• Wei Shao'er greeted Zhang Xuezhou after her performance and asked whether Huo Qubing had come with him; Zhang Xuezhou suddenly leaped down and ran off.

Zhang Xuezhou returned home and found Huo Qubing recklessly handling the Red Empyrean Sword and Fish Intestine Sword. After a series of accidents left Huo Qubing injured and the house damaged, Zhang Xuezhou treated him and questioned how he had wielded the Red Empyrean Sword.

• Zhang Xuezhou rushed home after realizing Huo Qubing might be rummaging through his hidden treasures.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Huo Qubing cutting Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root with the Red Empyrean Sword, which also sliced his nanmu bed in two.
• The bedroom floor collapsed under Huo Qubing, and the Fish Intestine Sword pierced his thigh amid the wreckage.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to treat Huo Qubing and pulled the Fish Intestine Sword from his leg.
• Huo Qubing insisted he had simply drawn the Red Empyrean Sword and used it to cut the lotus root, and Zhang Xuezhou reluctantly believed him.

Zhang Xuezhou healed Huo Qubing after the Fish Intestine Sword pierced his thigh, then discovered that Huo could wield the Red Empyrean Sword to cut the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root. The sword’s power faded during the task, leaving it limp again.

• Zhang Xuezhou noticed his Supreme Purity True Technique had grown stronger and could heal injuries more gradually, though treating Huo Qubing had caused him prolonged pain.
• Zhang Xuezhou retrieved the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root and found its fibers had become so tough that he wanted Huo Qubing to cut it into pieces.
• Huo Qubing woke with his thigh nearly healed, but Zhang Xuezhou warned that the injury still needed treatment and made him cut the lotus root first.
• Huo Qubing drew the Red Empyrean Sword, which released red Sword Qi when he gathered his Qi and Blood and sliced through the lotus root.
• As Huo Qubing continued cutting, the Red Empyrean Sword lost its power and turned limp in his hand.

Zhang Xuezhou used old spirit silk jade lotus root to loosen the blockage on his Law Power, while Huo Qubing accidentally ate some and began floating. By the end, Zhang Xuezhou had restored forty percent of his Law Power and Demon Power and planned to keep working toward a balance.

• Huo Qubing found that the Red Empyrean Sword had gone limp after he used it to cut the old spirit silk jade lotus root.
• Zhang Xuezhou ate the difficult-to-swallow lotus root and sensed its fibers pulling at the forces within his body, freeing his Law Power without dissipating his Cynomorium power.
• Huo Qubing copied Zhang Xuezhou and swallowed some lotus root, causing his feet to lift off the ground; Zhang Xuezhou said Cynomorium antidote could restore his balance.
• Zhang Xuezhou continued eating lotus root and found that two sections restored forty percent of his Law Power while his Demon Power also returned.
• Zhang Xuezhou circulated his restored power and considered using more lotus root and Cynomorium to continue balancing his body and advance his Technique Methods.

Zhang Xuezhou tested the Halt Warfare Formula’s new Divine Ability against Wei Shao'er and discovered that it could deflect attacks and reflect some of their force. After demonstrating his strength, he explained that he needed Wei Shao'er's help and believed she could grow into a formidable cultivator.

• Zhang Xuezhou activated the Halt Warfare Formula and tested its ability to evade the Red Empyrean Sword’s killing power.
• Wei Shao'er thrust her short sword at Zhang Xuezhou, but the technique deflected it and shocked her with reflected force.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered how his evasion techniques gave him Control over different kinds of intrusion and an advantage in one-on-one combat.
• Wei Shao'er kicked Zhang Xuezhou, hurt her own toes, and realized how much stronger he was than her.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Wei Shao'er he needed her help, praised her willingness to use underhanded tactics, and predicted she could reach the Sole Self Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou arranged for Wei Shao'er to teach Liu Xuan swordsmanship and provide him with cultivation resources. As Huo Qubing floated around after eating a rare treasure, Liu Xuan was put to work carrying him so the household could take him out for food.

• Zhang Xuezhou welcomed Liu Xuan and assigned Wei Shao'er to guide his swordsmanship cultivation, offering him Qi and Blood Pills.
• Wei Shao'er accepted Liu Xuan as her student after Zhang Xuezhou praised the Four Gates Body-Locking Technique Liu Xuan had taught him.
• Zhang Xuezhou planned to go out with Rong Tianding to find a carpenter and prepare for his future marriage.
• Huo Qubing floated out of a second-floor window with a rope tied to his leg and complained that he had become like a kite.
• Zhang Xuezhou invited Huo Qubing to get food, and Wei Shao'er told Liu Xuan to carry him out.

Tofu became an ordinary food in Chang'an as Zhang Xuezhou ate with his companions and prepared to meet Venerable Lei. When Liu Xuan explained horse-training techniques, Huo Qubing began regaining his ability to stand, though Wei Shao'er worried he had practiced recklessly.

• Tofu spread through Chang'an and other regions over two years, becoming a common food among the poor and wealthy alike.
• Li Shaojun told Zhang Xuezhou that Venerable Lei wanted to meet him but was too afraid to come to the Imperial City District, so Zhang agreed to see him after breakfast.
• Wei Shao'er urged Huo Qubing to learn useful skills from Zhang, who said Huo should focus on his existing lessons and promised to take him for treatment.
• Liu Xuan warned that Huo's unusually light body could help him cultivate, then explained the horse-training techniques Thousand-Jin Plunge and Ten-Thousand-Jun Weight.
• Huo Qubing practiced the techniques as Liu Xuan explained them, and his legs began touching the ground, alarming Wei Shao'er.

Zhang Xuezhou visited the Court of the Grand Coachman to verify Liu Xuan’s horse-taming technique and learned that it was a valuable method from Great Qin’s lost military tradition. After Gongsun He corrected and recognized the text, Zhang reassured Huo Qubing’s companions that his practice was safe, though Huo Qubing still faced another beating from Wei Shao'er.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Gongsun He about the Thousand-Jin Plunge and heard how Great Han’s horse-taming methods and military equipment fell short of Great Qin’s.
• Zhang Xuezhou presented the horse-taming text, and Gongsun He compared it with old records, identifying it as a Qin technique and correcting its description.
• Gongsun He said the method could serve as a practical backup for the Grand Coachman’s office and promised to report it to the new emperor.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Shaojun, Wei Shao'er, and Liu Xuan that Huo Qubing had learned only the rough outline and could not yet harm himself practicing it.
• Wei Shao'er beat Huo Qubing with her shoe, and Huo Qubing complained that she had struck him eight times in three days.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun prepared to deceive Venerable Lei with a Life-Extending Golden Elixir made by mixing a genuine elixir into a batch of improvised ingredients. After Zhang Xuezhou reassured Venerable Lei about the recipe and the lotus-root starch, he entered the Alchemy Chamber to join Li Shaojun.

• Zhang Xuezhou encouraged Huo Qubing to learn from Liu Xuan, then split from Wei Shao'er’s group and headed outside the city with Li Shaojun and Rong Tianding.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Shaojun they would mix their ingredients with a genuine Life-Extending Golden Elixir to test its effects and keep Venerable Lei satisfied.
• Zhang Xuezhou discussed his family’s house and plans to help the villagers earn money by building and repairing tombs.
• Venerable Lei joined the carriage, and Li Shaojun reassured him that they would refine another batch of elixirs at Shanglin Park.
• Zhang Xuezhou convinced Venerable Lei that Li Shaojun had deliberately concealed the major ingredients and had found a way to process the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root.
• Li Shaojun called Zhang Xuezhou into the Alchemy Chamber, where Zhang Xuezhou saw that Li Shaojun had brought only a couple of angelica roots to supplement the ingredients.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun prepared a foul-smelling Life-Extending Golden Elixir to win Venerable Lei’s cooperation in a plan to exploit Bai’s weakness. Venerable Lei swallowed one of the pills, and its effects began coursing through his body.

• Zhang Xuezhou crushed a genuine Life-Extending Golden Elixir and used it to make four pills while Li Shaojun helped disguise the process.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Shaojun that he should watch for a moment when Bai was near death, then have Venerable Lei steal Bai away.
• Li Shaojun agreed to help secure Venerable Lei’s cooperation, despite suspecting Zhang Xuezhou would use him as a vanguard.
• Li Shaojun presented the pills to Venerable Lei and promised him a share if he helped obtain ingredients for further refinement.
• Venerable Lei swallowed a pill, and his body began reacting as cyan Demon Power and purple Law Power spread through him.

Zhang Xuezhou studied Venerable Lei’s reaction to the Life-Extending Elixir while using him to understand the fleshly-body cultivation of the Technique Within the Clouds. Venerable Lei recovered enough to offer help gathering ingredients, and Li Shaojun distributed the remaining elixirs while suspecting Zhang Xuezhou was hiding more.

• Zhang Xuezhou observed Venerable Lei resisting the elixir’s effects and distinguished the Technique Within the Clouds from the Fleshly Body Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered combining the Technique Within the Clouds with a peacock transformation, though he knew transforming a human body into a demon would be difficult.
• Venerable Lei said the elixir had eased his drowsiness and tension, but its nauseating effects made him unable to take another soon.
• Venerable Lei praised Li Shaojun and offered to gather ingredients, and Zhang Xuezhou urged him to collect more so they could make larger batches.
• Li Shaojun gave Venerable Lei two of the four elixirs and kept the rest for analysis, while reflecting that Zhang Xuezhou likely had more Life-Extending Golden Elixirs.

Li Shaojun worried that word of the Life-Extending Elixir would bring danger, while Zhang Xuezhou left for home and exposed how far his cultivation had advanced. Later, the Empress Dowager offered Li Shaojun Fortune Pills to help with an ambush, and he considered accepting the risky mission for the reward.

• Li Shaojun warned Zhang Xuezhou that word of the Life-Extending Elixir could attract dangerous attention, but Zhang said he would not worry about it.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew toward Chang'an City with Rong Tianding, leaving Li Shaojun to envy his cultivation and peaceful life.
• Li Shaojun returned to the Cloud Wing Daoist Temple and found the Empress Dowager waiting to ask how much of his cultivation he had recovered.
• The Empress Dowager offered three top-grade and sixty-five high-grade Law Power Fortune Pills in exchange for Li Shaojun's help with an ambush.
• Li Shaojun asked whether the court's experts and several hundred thousand troops would join the ambush, then weighed the pills against the danger.

The new emperor asked Zhang Xuezhou for a piece of the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root after seeing Huo Qubing float, and learned that the root might also reveal how Huo could wield the Red Empyrean Sword. Zhang Xuezhou agreed to let Huo cut some for him while he slept through his next half-month cycle.

• The new emperor visited Zhang Xuezhou and asked for lotus root after seeing Huo Qubing floating above him.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned that the root’s floating effect had drawbacks and could have unknown consequences, but the new emperor decided its benefits outweighed the risks.
• The new emperor tried to cut the old lotus root with his sword, but it only left a grayish-white mark.
• The new emperor asked Zhang Xuezhou how Huo Qubing had cut the root with the Red Empyrean Sword, and Zhang Xuezhou said he did not know.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed that Huo could cut some root for the new emperor, while asking him to leave enough to treat his illness.
• The new emperor learned the root came from the same spirit lotus root Zhang Xuezhou and Buddha Son Shigong had taken, and considered how its effects might help him develop a unique sword style.

Zhang Xuezhou synchronized with Mallard and was pulled through the giant tree’s soul, where he observed its damaged flower chamber and traces of the Doomsday Fragment. He suspected the fragment had weakened the tree’s ability to restrain Donghua and decided to search for the hidden great hall.

• Zhang Xuezhou contacted Mallard and synchronized with him through the tree chair, beginning another journey between worlds.
• Zhang Xuezhou observed the giant tree’s vast branches and the damaged flower chamber carrying his soul, which white lights from chanting occasionally repaired.
• Zhang Xuezhou reasoned that the giant tree might have destroyed Donghua’s world and that the Doomsday Fragment had weakened its hold on Donghua.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw a bud-shaped flame containing traces of the great hall, throne, and figure, which he believed recorded the Doomsday Fragment’s detonation.
• Zhang Xuezhou planned to search for the hidden great hall after transporting supplies, using the Fire Avoidance Instruction to approach it.

Zhang Xuezhou woke in Donghua's world to find the rain, lake, and poisonous plants changed, while the survivors discussed capturing Donghua and finding the Qinmeng Secret Stone. After warning Zhou Rihui about the increasingly toxic grass, Zhang Xuezhou prepared to bring supplies and try to escape the distorted space.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke to find the lake clear, insects plentiful, and the survivors healthier after eating roasted insects.
• Mengtesi Badun and Nagesi urged a plan to capture Donghua and obtain the Qinmeng Secret Stone, while Ren Yisheng warned that pressuring Zhang Xuezhou could endanger everyone.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he would investigate Donghua's whereabouts after bringing supplies, leaving Mengtesi Badun and Nagesi satisfied with his response.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined the purple grass and warned Zhou Rihui that its toxicity had grown stronger than its benefits.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to take grass out for Zhou Yueyan to study and prepare an antitoxin serum, then tried to use his speed-control ability to pass through the distorted space.

While Zhang Xuezhou tested the distorted space, Mengtesi Badun and the others discussed how different mental cultivation methods could produce Control and domains. Ren Anran arrived with news that the crisis in the Thousand Islands Alliance’s Tuer District had also erupted in the Aomeijia Alliance.

• Zhang Xuezhou passed through the distorted space using Control, while the others discussed how he could do so before reaching the Eighth Sequence.
• Mengtesi Badun told Qimeng Haige and Nagesi that Ninth Sequence Holders could develop Control in multiple forms and might learn to enter and leave the space.
• Qimeng Haige explained that the Scarlet Alliance State’s unusual cultivation methods came from the Luofu Empire and described the Mental Strengthening Chapter.
• Nagesi revealed that he repeatedly imprinted divine marks, and Mengtesi Badun described nurturing his stick through his convictions and longing.
• Ren Anran appeared and reported that the unrest in the Thousand Islands Alliance’s Tuer District had also spread to the Aomeijia Alliance.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed the chaotic region and Zhou Rihui’s unusual strength with the Emperor and Zhang Manqian, then reviewed the spreading spider crisis in the Aomeijia Alliance. The crisis remained uncontrolled as the Alliance tried to contain the spiders and wait for a cold wave.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained to the Emperor that the poisonous plants’ power came from Chaos Qi, which strengthened those able to adapt and eliminated those who could not.
• The Emperor regretted being unable to enter the region, while Zhang Manqian asked what its rapidly growing poisonous plants would become.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian that Zhou Rihui’s exceptional strength came from his unusual body and the Black Armor Combat Technique, and that Wang Li could not imitate him.
• Zhang Xuezhou reviewed Song Fengying’s footage of the spider outbreak and learned that the New Aomeijia Alliance Council was burning buildings and dividing infested areas in a large-scale counterattack.
• Zhang Manqian said the Aomeijia Alliance still could not find the source of the spiders and planned to trade space for time until a cold wave killed them off.

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian discussed the unrest caused by Aomeijia immigrants and the rapid spread of Gene Sequence cultivation, while the emperor considered the unprecedented scale of the new system. As research advanced toward higher-grade catalysts, Zhang Xuezhou planned to seek more Karmic Fortune and recognized that Gene Sequence cultivation needed reform to avoid running out of essential resources.

• Zhang Manqian showed Zhang Xuezhou videos of Aomeijia Sequence Holders facing hostility, while uncensored footage and online arguments stirred the immigrant community.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian discussed how Li Yingbo and the others planned to manage the arriving Sequence Holders by suppressing troublemakers at the same Sequence.
• The emperor marveled at the tens of thousands connected to the North Rehe Research Institute, and Zhang Xuezhou explained how technology and education could support widespread cultivation while filtering out many candidates.
• Zhang Manqian reported that Zuo Teng and Zuo Denggao's teams had produced a small quantity of R35 Catalyst, while research on R36 remained uncertain.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered using Karmic Fortune to improve catalyst research and planned to reach the Sixth Sequence before investigating what was needed for the Seventh.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed with the emperor that relying on a specific Ferocious Beast extract for high-Sequence cultivation was unsustainable and could cause Gene Sequence development to fade away.