Chapter Summaries

Song Fengying considered selling shares in her struggling livestreaming website after receiving increasingly large offers from Wang Li. Zhang Xuezhou recognized Wang Li as the top tipper and concluded that his timed donations and rising offers were part of a calculated plan to turn the site into cash.

• Song Fengying told Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian she had invested nearly four million in her livestreaming website and asked whether she should sell sixty percent of it.
• Song Fengying showed them that three livestreams had earned 850,000 in tips, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized a top tipper as Wang Li.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Wang Li timed his tips to prompt other viewers to follow suit rather than donating large sums at random.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Wang Li had raised his offer from one million and reasoned that Wang Li was probing the business and likely had a quick way to profit from the website.
• Song Fengying noticed that Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian seemed to have reached the fringes of a social stratum their parents did not understand.

Song Fengying considered Wang Li’s investment offer as her livestreaming network ran out of money, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that the platform’s valuable asset was its viewers. After Zhang Xuezhou reassured his mother that his nightmares and health problems had improved, Song Fengying felt relieved but sensed a widening distance between their worlds.

• Song Fengying discussed the livestreaming network’s funding needs and Wang Li’s offer with Zhang Manqian and Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Wang Li valued the livestream’s audience, whose viewers could make the network attractive to investors.
• Song Fengying recognized that Wang Li’s rising offer and interest in managing the software showed he was serious about investing.
• Song Fengying asked Zhang Xuezhou whether he still had nightmares, and he said Professor Ren Yisheng’s treatment and his studies had helped him recover.
• Zhang Manqian told Song Fengying that a hospital had misdiagnosed Zhang Xuezhou and prescribed tranquilizers for years.
• Song Fengying felt relieved to see Zhang Xuezhou healthy, but sensed that she and her children now belonged to different worlds.

Zhang Xuezhou shared a meal with his mother, Song Fengying, and his sister, Zhang Manqian, when Ren Yisheng and Ren Wuyang joined them. While investigating Zhang Xuezhou’s possible connection to Hongku, Ren Yisheng noticed that Song Fengying’s spirit was burning away her future and suspected the family’s mental abnormalities pointed to something the professors had overlooked.

• Zhang Xuezhou obtained three portions of food and ate with Song Fengying and Zhang Manqian at the dining center.
• Ren Yisheng and Ren Wuyang joined them, and Zhang Xuezhou introduced Song Fengying as his biological mother.
• Ren Yisheng considered the theory that Hongku’s spirit had survived death and might be influencing Zhang Xuezhou, and concluded that another meeting with Hongku could help confirm it.
• While observing Song Fengying, Ren Yisheng sensed that her spirit was burning through her potential and that she might age and die prematurely.
• Ren Yisheng reflected on the unusual mental abilities and symptoms of Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Manqian, and Song Fengying, and suspected the professors had missed something about the family.

Ren Yisheng warned Zhang Xuezhou that Song Fengying suffered from a rare mental illness that could shorten her life, and advised that cultivating the Heart Incantation and Mental Strengthening Chapter might slow it. Zhang Xuezhou hurried to contact Zhang Manqian, while Ren Yisheng reflected that Ren Wuyang had become someone he could trust with his legacy.

• Ren Yisheng explained that Song Fengying’s mental energy was being depleted unusually quickly and that the Mental Strengthening Chapter could only slow the condition, while the Heart Incantation might help stabilize her.
• Ren Wuyang clarified that Song Fengying would need to make real progress in both techniques, and that reaching the third chapter of Mental Strengthening might extend her life by ten years.
• Zhang Xuezhou thanked Ren Yisheng and Ren Wuyang, then hurried away and repeatedly tried to contact Zhang Manqian because Zhang Weimeng might have the same condition.
• Ren Wuyang questioned whether warning Zhang Xuezhou had been worthwhile, and Ren Yisheng said they should act according to their conscience rather than seek a favorable outcome.
• Ren Yisheng sensed that Ren Wuyang’s character had changed after his ordeal and concluded he could eventually pass the family’s responsibilities to him.

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian decided to persuade their parents to cultivate after Ren Yisheng's assessment suggested they were running out of time. Zhang Xuezhou lured Zhang Weimeng toward Canglan Academy by offering martial-arts tricks, inspiration for his writing, and a chance at free food and housing.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian agreed that Zhang Manqian would persuade Song Fengying while Zhang Xuezhou worked on Zhang Weimeng.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent Zhang Weimeng a video of himself piercing fabric with a hair, prompting Zhang Weimeng to joke that he had learned the Sunflower Manual.
• Zhang Weimeng told Zhang Xuezhou that he planned to end Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, launch a new account called Dongfang Shuo, and write The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
• Zhang Xuezhou praised Zhang Weimeng's needle-and-thread martial art and offered to teach him tricks he could use to impress readers.
• Zhang Xuezhou transferred Zhang Weimeng five thousand yuan and promised him free meals and housing if he came to Canglan Academy.

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian discussed forming a team for the sequencer grand event, weighing their parents against recruiting Zuo Teng. Zhang Xuezhou rejected Zuo Teng and began contacting Wang Li to fill the team.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained the Thread-Control Incantation to Zhang Manqian and described how he was using it to improve his dexterity.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian that Ren Yisheng had suggested they enter the sequencer grand event in two years and explained its team format.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he wanted to develop Ren Yisheng's Kunpeng Combat Technique, while Zhang Manqian refused to team up with Zuo Teng because she distrusted him.
• Zhang Manqian suggested recruiting Zhang Weimeng and Song Fengying instead, and Zhang Xuezhou considered training them to help withstand opponents.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to avoid Zuo Teng and began messaging Wang Li to recruit another teammate.

After Zhang Xuezhou invited Wang Li to join his team for the Sequencer Grand Gathering, Wang Li accepted and abandoned his plans to sabotage Song Fengying’s streaming platform. He signed the deal, gained second-level permissions, and prepared to make money by livestreaming casino betting strategies to paying viewers.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Wang Li that Ren Yisheng had signed him up for the Sequencer Grand Gathering and asked whether he would join the team.
• Wang Li accepted Zhang Xuezhou’s invitation and decided to complete his blood replacement and fighting technique training as quickly as possible.
• Wang Li signed the streaming platform contract, transferred the money, and asked Song Fengying to upgrade the servers and grant him second-level permissions.
• Wang Li created the invitation-only stream Casino General and advertised paid access to his fair-weather friends.
• Wang Li planned to livestream betting strategies from a casino, hoping to profit from VIP fees before the casino banned him.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to the cave and found the Buddhist disciple gravely injured and unable to move, but only treated him after extracting a yellow feather from the Peacock Great Wisdom King. The Buddhist disciple recognized a hidden destructive power in Zhang Xuezhou and realized he had found another of his kind as he pursued the Eye of Destruction Divine Ability.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke in the other world and found the Buddhist disciple back in his own body, helpless and badly injured.
• Zhang Xuezhou initially left the cave without helping, but returned when the Buddhist disciple said he had more treasures.
• The Buddhist disciple offered the Peacock Great Wisdom King's yellow feather, and Zhang Xuezhou found it could ward off earth-element techniques and remove dust.
• Zhang Xuezhou took the feather from the Buddhist disciple's belt before agreeing to suppress his injuries.
• The Buddhist disciple recalled the previous night and recognized that Zhang Xuezhou carried a hidden destructive power, making him feel less alone on the path to control the Eye of Destruction Divine Ability.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Buddha's disciple believed they both carried a dangerous force of destruction and agreed they should work together. After the Buddha's disciple asked him to share his Divine Sense cultivation Technique, Zhang Xuezhou decided to teach him the Mental Strengthening Chapter to test whether it could help them.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned the Buddha's disciple's warning about a force of destruction inside him, then recalled Daoist Mu's failed attempt to possess him with a ghost.
• The Buddha's disciple explained that the force could grow, overwhelm its host, and make them a puppet, as he had suffered similar effects from a force inside himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked whether the Buddha's disciple had found a treatment, and the disciple described his failed remedies and the force's growing vitality.
• The Buddha's disciple proposed that they work together and asked Zhang Xuezhou to teach him his Divine Sense cultivation Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered his available Techniques and chose the Mental Strengthening Chapter to teach the Buddha's disciple.

The Buddha's Son struggled to cultivate Zhang Xuezhou's technique and urged him to travel west in search of great medicines that could strengthen Divine Sense and remove hidden dangers. Zhang Xuezhou hesitated between continuing toward Chang'an City and joining him, but the promise of a medicine that could improve his health made him lean toward going.

• The Buddha's Son found Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation technique confusing, and Zhang Xuezhou set aside his plan to use it to distinguish cultivation methods.
• The Buddha's Son told Zhang Xuezhou that a secret place to the west held great medicines that might strengthen Divine Sense and delay their bodily dangers.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to take the Buddha's Son to the Venerable One's herb garden and said he wanted to find his senior brother and return to Chang'an City.
• The Buddha's Son offered to share the medicines and claimed one could prolong life, remove bodily impurities, and help cultivation.
• Zhang Xuezhou became interested in the medicine's possible effects on his health and began reconsidering his plans.

Zhang Xuezhou accompanied the injured Buddha Son to a remote mountain border where a secret realm appeared, hoping to obtain a great medicine. After the realm opened, the Buddha Son warned Zhang Xuezhou to follow his steps carefully through its ancient formations.

• The Buddha Son led Zhang Xuezhou west for six days to the snowy mountain border between the Southern Jambudvipa Continent and West Ox Hezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou worried that Demon Beasts guarded the great medicines, but the Buddha Son assured him that none were present at their destination.
• The Buddha Son explained that the place they were waiting at was a secret realm, and Zhang Xuezhou admitted he had never entered the Dao Lord's or Venerable One's palace.
• The secret realm appeared beneath the boulder, replacing the snowy mountains with lush grass, and the Buddha Son suspected the protective formation had changed.
• The Buddha Son tied his hand to Zhang Xuezhou's with his belt and carefully led him through the realm, instructing him to follow his footprints and avoid the ancient formations.

The Buddha's Disciple realized that the Earth Spirit Fruit and Zhang Xuezhou were illusions, and waited for the formation to fade while trying to keep Zhang safe. After a second group entered and vanished into the formation, the illusion dispersed, leaving the real Earth Spirit Fruit—but Zhang was gone.

• The Buddha's Disciple discovered that the Earth Spirit Fruit had no effect and realized he was trapped in an illusion formation.
• He sat still and waited for the formation to fade, hoping Zhang Xuezhou would not act recklessly.
• Venerable Hongku and Venerable Lei entered the formation, and the Buddha's Disciple warned them not to come in.
• The formation trapped the newcomers in a blizzard, and they spoke of finding the true entrance to the Earth Immortal Realm's secret realm.
• The illusion dispersed, revealing the real Earth Spirit Fruit and the moonlit secret place, but the Buddha's Disciple could not find Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou worried about his missing parents and planned to visit the Han Dynasty after dealing with the Buddha Son. In the secret land, he escaped from underground only to be buried again beneath a strange peach tree after eating one of its peaches.

• Zhang Xuezhou waited for Zhang Weimeng, posted the saved drafts of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and resumed cursing the author under the 'Dongfang Shuo' account.
• Zhang Xuezhou thought about his estranged parents, Zhang Zhong and Lady Yourong, and planned to visit the Han Dynasty after his business with the Buddha Son was finished.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned to his body underground and used the Demon Power in the Peacock Great Wisdom King's yellow feather to escape beneath a peach tree.
• Zhang Xuezhou found a headless skeleton buried under the tree, then called for the Buddha Son but received no answer.
• Zhang Xuezhou ate a ripe peach, became dizzy as if drunk, and collapsed beneath the tree.
• Roots emerged from under the peach tree, bound Zhang Xuezhou, and dragged him underground again.

Zhang Xuezhou escaped being buried beneath the Drunken Peach Trees and discovered that the secret place was the Kunlun Ruins, where he became trapped in an illusion. He reunited with the Buddhist disciple, who appeared as an old man, and the two drank wine that improved Divine Sense.

• Zhang Xuezhou overheard women discuss the Drunken Peach Trees and learned that they used corpses as fertilizer and that the secret place had an owner.
• Zhang Xuezhou dug his way out of the soil, saw the trees dragging severed bodies underground, and followed the women's footprints toward an exit.
• Zhang Xuezhou found a boundary marker reading Kunlun Ruins and then became trapped in a pavilion illusion above an apparent abyss.
• An old man appeared in the pavilion, and Zhang Xuezhou realized he was the Buddhist disciple, though each saw the other as an ugly old man.
• The Buddhist disciple offered Zhang Xuezhou wine that affected Divine Sense, and Zhang Xuezhou drank it before criticizing its sour taste.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed winemaking with an old man in Kunlun, then passed out after drinking the Emperor’s Nine Treasures Wine. The Emperor sent him Earth Spirit Fruits and ordered him to leave through a formation, while he and the Golden Crow reconsidered their old grievances against Zhu Jiuyin.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that poor filtering and sterilization had spoiled the fruit wine, and the old man questioned him about making wine.
• The old man urged Zhang Xuezhou to drink more, promising that good fruit wine could benefit his Divine Sense, until Zhang passed out.
• The Emperor summoned a red-robed old man and ordered him to give Zhang two Earth Spirit Fruits and let him find his way out through the Lesser Six Vehicles Heart-Intimidating Formation.
• The Emperor and the Golden Crow discussed Zhang’s claim that better wines existed and reflected on how the outside world had changed.
• The Golden Crow raised the deaths of his son and Zhu Shiyin, but the Emperor argued that Zhu Jiuyin had suffered greater losses, and the Golden Crow accepted that their score was settled.

After waking in the real world, Zhang Xuezhou realized the old man he met in the Kunlun Ruins' secret realm was its master and that the fruit wine he drank was made with powerful medicinal ingredients. The wine was strengthening his mental power, so Zhang Xuezhou decided he wanted to return for more rather than hurry to escape.

• Zhang Xuezhou recalled the old man's mention of rare medicinal ingredients and concluded that he had encountered the secret realm master.
• Zhang Xuezhou searched for winemaking theory so he could use the master's interest in fruit wine to gain his favor.
• As Zhang Xuezhou studied and cultivated, he felt the wine steadily increase his mental power and help him advance through the fourth chapter of the Mental Strengthening Chapter.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized that even diluted medicinal wine retained some effects of its top-grade ingredients, and he wanted to drink more to complete the chapter sooner.
• Zhang Xuezhou compared the master's wealth with the Venerable One's and decided to stay in the Kunlun Ruins' secret realm in hopes of gaining another opportunity.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the hidden land’s winery with the Buddha’s son, who wanted to drink its Divine Sense-strengthening fruit wine. They discovered the Nine Treasures Wine recipe and learned that its seal bore the name Haotian, while the Buddha’s son identified Zhang Xuezhou’s Dao Lord as Lu Ya; they remained in the winery as the Buddha’s son urged Zhang Xuezhou to improve the wine.

• Zhang Xuezhou received Zhang Weimeng’s message that he planned to visit the academy, and Zhang Xuezhou promised to cover his food and lodging.
• Zhang Xuezhou awoke in a winery, where he mistook a nearly featherless crow for the hidden land’s master before the Buddha’s son appeared.
• The Buddha’s son refused to leave without tasting the Divine Sense-strengthening fruit wine and showed Zhang Xuezhou a silk scroll containing the Nine Treasures Wine recipe.
• Zhang Xuezhou noticed the seal on the recipe, and the Buddha’s son read its name as Haotian.
• The Buddha’s son told Zhang Xuezhou that his Dao Lord was called Master Lu Ya and described him as a formidable opponent feared by the Western Sect.
• The Buddha’s son urged Zhang Xuezhou to help make the wine and see whether he could improve its quality.

Zhang Xuezhou advised the Sovereign on improving his fruit wine, and they tried different methods despite disagreeing about how it should be made. The chapter ended with both men uncertain whether cooling or bottling the wine hot would produce the better result.

• Zhang Xuezhou identified the Sovereign's method as distillation and explained how it could refine the wine while preserving its flavor.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested covering the vat's vent with damp silk to limit its exposure to air, and the Sovereign followed his instructions.
• The Sovereign and Zhang Xuezhou disagreed over whether the wine should be cooled before bottling or matured while hot.
• The Golden Crow watched the disagreement and privately thought Zhang Xuezhou was talking nonsense.
• The Sovereign and Zhang Xuezhou split the wine into two batches, cooling one and bottling the other hot, but neither knew which method would work better.

Zhang Xuezhou waited in the winery with the Imperial Lord, who was disguised as the Buddhist Son, while the fruit wine matured. After discovering that the wine’s sour taste came from its ingredients rather than spoilage, Zhang Xuezhou saw a familiar face rush into the winery.

• Zhang Xuezhou stepped outside the winery, saw the dangerous cloud-wreathed realm and distant peach grove, then returned inside.
• The Imperial Lord explained that the area was deserted and full of formations, and threw the Golden Crow out of the winery.
• After waiting for half a shichen, the Imperial Lord left to check on the Golden Crow Great Emperor and the activity outside.
• Zhang Xuezhou found three extraordinary black feathers beneath the brewing pool and used them to rekindle the fire.
• Zhang Xuezhou tasted the base liquor and realized its sour, astringent flavor came from the combination of ingredients, but its potency made him tipsy.
• Someone rushed into the winery, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized the familiar face, which shocked him sober.

Zhang Xuezhou was caught brewing wine from rare fruits in the Kunlun Sacred Land, and Hongku and Venerable Lei sampled it. The wine proved to be a potent great medicine that loosened the barrier at Hongku’s Sole Self Realm.

• Hongku and Venerable Lei entered the winery and found Zhang Xuezhou drunk beside the brewing vat.
• Venerable Lei identified several rare fruits in the wine and explained that mixing Bitter Apricot with Exquisite Fruit made it taste sour and astringent.
• Hongku asked whether they could drink the wine, and Venerable Lei poured him a cup after Zhang Xuezhou tested a small sip.
• Hongku drank the wine and felt its power pry loose the barrier at the Sole Self Realm.