Chapter Summaries

Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian helped subdue Zhou Rihui and Zuo Lianguang, while Wen Yishan recruited them and others for his film. The failed plan left Zhou Tianhao and Zuo Teng shaken, and Zuo Teng began to suspect Zhang Xuezhou could use leverage against Changkong Luo.

• Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian entered the villa to help Zhou Yueyan, and the fight ended amid shattered windows and dust.
• Wen Yishan emerged with Zhu Haishan and invited Changkong Yinghao and the others to act in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
• Changkong Yinghao agreed to cooperate with Wen Yishan and told him to coordinate through Zhu Haishan.
• Zhou Rihui complained that he had taken a beating over false information, while Zhu Kuang told Zhou Tianhao that the beating had likely been unavoidable.
• Zhou Tianhao and Zuo Teng said they wanted to go to Qinmeng, and Zuo Teng wondered whether Zhang Xuezhou had leverage over Changkong Luo.

After the fighting at the Zhang Household, Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian pressured the injured Zuo Lianguang to enter the Twilight Years Mansion for treatment and containment. Zuo Lianguang seemed to agree, while Zuo Teng realized the outcome had spared him from fearing his grandfather.

• Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian arrived and stopped the fighting at the Zhang Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou, Tuer Kalanduo, and Changkong Luo explained what they had been doing as Zhu Haishan and Wen Yishan clarified their visit.
• Changkong Yinghao warned Zuo Lianguang that the Phoenix Creek Medical Club might not be safe for him and urged him to accept treatment at the Twilight Years Mansion.
• Changkong Yinglian pointed out that Zuo Lianguang's beating of Zhou Rihui could be used against him, and offered to portray his injuries as acting makeup if he cooperated.
• Zuo Lianguang murmured that he regretted it, while Zuo Teng realized that sending his grandfather to the mansion had spared him a life of fear.

Wen Yishan recruited Changkong Yinghao and others to help with his film adaptation of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, while Zhang Xuezhou’s family faced rebuilding their damaged home. The group solved casting problems and arranged for Luo Tianming to attend Zhang Xuezhou’s class, leaving the production ready to proceed with its unusual cast.

• Changkong Yinghao inspected the production, agreed to play Yu Canghai, and promised compensation and a rebuild for Zhang Xuezhou’s unsafe villa.
• Changkong Yinglian persuaded Changkong Luo to help with filming, but Zhang Xuezhou’s plea finally convinced him to agree.
• Changkong Luo suggested that Luo Tianming imitate Luo Zhong to play Ren Woxing, and Changkong Yinghao called Luo Tianming about the role.
• Luo Tianming initially refused the role but eagerly agreed when he heard that Zhang Xuezhou was giving a class.
• Changkong Luo proposed splitting Dongfang Bubai between the Zhou siblings, and Wen Yishan confirmed that Zhang Hui was playing Yue Buqun.
• Wen Yishan admired the cast’s natural bearing, then reminded himself that they were actors in his crew.

Zhang Xuezhou filmed Yue Buqun’s fight with Zuo Lengchan as Wen Yishan’s production continued to take shape. At the filming site, Changkong Luo’s donations to Song Fengying’s livestream helped draw attention to the open auditions and the debate over genes and public opinion.

• Zhang Xuezhou filmed the Fengshan Terrace fight, and Zhang Hui’s Yue Buqun blinded Zuo Lengchan with an embroidery needle after the fight choreography was adjusted.
• Wen Yishan praised the specialty actors’ performances and prepared the set for the next major scene.
• Luo Tianming reminded Zhang Xuezhou that he had provided twenty doses of crane blood serum and two sessions of X432 repair technology on credit for Mental Strengthening.
• Changkong Luo defended his contribution by donating twenty million to Song Fengying’s livestream, prompting other viewers to donate as well.
• Song Fengying promoted the open auditions, while viewers debated genes and whether the auditions and production were genuine.

Zhang Xuezhou taught Mental Strengthening to Luo Tianming and Changkong Luo, who realized they needed to cooperate with the Ren siblings to advance their studies. As Changkong Luo returned to the Twilight Years Mansion, Luo Tianming resolved to unite with him and others while pursuing a separate route to longevity through research on Luo Zhong.

• Gene-related rumors and livestreams continued attracting viewers and money, while the gamblers' weak performances made genetic projects seem like capital-driven hype.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Luo Tianming that Ren Anran or Ren Wuyang could teach him more about Mental Strengthening, but Luo Tianming and Changkong Luo lamented how difficult cooperation with the Ren siblings had become.
• Changkong Yinghao asked whether Mental Strengthening was connected to genetic longevity, and Changkong Luo said it was his only current hope of survival.
• Changkong Luo ordered the special task force members to escort him back to the Twilight Years Mansion, and Luo Tianming decided to cooperate with him and recruit others to advance Mental Strengthening.
• Luo Tianming also resolved to keep developing pharmaceuticals with Professor Luo Hui and find a way to make Luo Zhong reveal the secret of longevity.

After filming his final scene as Zuo Lengchan, Zhang Xuezhou learned that actor Ning Que had cultivated the Sunflower Manual and developed True Qi. Zhang confirmed Ning Que had reached Realm Entry and offered him pills and a chance to pursue cultivation, while warning that joining their world would take hardship and adaptation.

• After Wen Yishan called cut, Zhang Xuezhou finished filming his death scene as Zuo Lengchan and praised Ning Que’s sword fighting.
• Ning Que asked whether supreme martial arts existed and revealed that practicing the Sunflower Manual had given him a stream of True Qi.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined Ning Que’s pulse and sensed Law Power, confirming that Ning Que had reached Realm Entry through his own efforts.
• Ning Que asked whether Genetic Martial Arts existed, and Zhang Xuezhou decided not to dismiss his questions.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Ning Que to keep practicing the Sunflower Manual and Nine Swords of Dugu, and offered him Origin-Nurturing Pill paste to help him continue cultivating.

After finishing his roles in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Zhang Xuezhou arranged X432 treatments to help his parents advance their Mental Strengthening. He explained the treatment’s safety and urged them to study quickly, while anticipating that other powerful Households would soon seek the same opportunities and drive up costs.

• Zhang Xuezhou finished filming Hou Renying and middle-aged Zuo Lengchan and earned a substantial acting fee.
• Song Fengying ended her livestream after a month of filming and prepared to take a short break.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian persuaded Song Fengying and Zhang Weimeng to undergo X432 treatment and study the Mental Strengthening Chapter.
• Zhang Xuezhou reassured his parents that the first four chapters were safe and explained that the treatment would help them reach the fourth chapter.
• Zhang Manqian warned her parents that they would need to study more to reduce the treatment costs, while Song Fengying worried about the family’s rapidly disappearing money.
• Zhang Xuezhou predicted that the Changkong, Luo, and Song Households would soon pursue Mental Strengthening and X432 treatment, potentially raising prices in Western Capital City.

Zhang Xuezhou visited Ren Yisheng, who explained how Changkong Luo and other influential figures could advance Mental Strengthening and urged Zhang to handle their negotiations. Zhang then offered Ren a chance to attempt the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique, and Ren chose to try despite the risks.

• Zhang Xuezhou visited Ren Yisheng after arranging repairs for the X432 and discussed the situation of Changkong Luo, Song Bu'er, Luo Hui, and Zuo Lianguang.
• Ren Yisheng predicted that Changkong Luo and Luo Tianming would draw people in the Twilight Years Mansion into Mental Strengthening research.
• Ren Anran and Ren Yisheng asked Zhang Xuezhou to manage later dealings with the influential elders, and Zhang agreed to bring Ren the completed chapter for review.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Yisheng that the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique could create an incarnation outside the body but normally required the Divine Ability Realm.
• Ren Yisheng decided to risk attempting the technique rather than wait for Zhang Xuezhou to reach a level where he could help him later.

At the Save the World Group's medical center, Zhang Xuezhou's soul vanished from his body, prompting Ren Yisheng to wonder where it had gone. Ren Anran recognized that Ren Yisheng's mind was deteriorating and began analyzing his flawed cultivation as she sought to strengthen his resolve and refine Mental Strengthening.

• Zhang Xuezhou went still after lying down, and Ren Yisheng sensed that his soul had left his body.
• Ren Yisheng asked Ren Anran where Zhang Xuezhou's spirit had gone, and she said that knowing would not help him reproduce the sinkhole's effects.
• Ren Yisheng confessed that losing his strength had weakened his confidence and that his confinement in the Soul Jade felt like a terrifying prison.
• Ren Anran judged that Ren Yisheng's mind was falling apart and explained how his cultivation had neglected mental purity and the strengthening of its source.
• Ren Anran drew a scene that suggested she had glimpsed a flaw in the fifth chapter of Mental Strengthening, then continued drawing a vision of an emperor and empress watching her from afar.

Zhang Xuezhou reunited with Hongku and gave him the Nine Treasures Wine, which Hongku had found but feared was poisoned. After they drank it together, Hongku’s symptoms eased, and he realized the wine might restore him if he could obtain enough.

• Hongku returned to his residence and found Zhang Xuezhou, who claimed he had come to the Sacred Mountain to fulfill his promise.
• Hongku admitted he had found the Nine Treasures Wine but had not dared to drink it because he suspected Zhang Xuezhou had tampered with it.
• Hongku insisted that Zhang Xuezhou drink the wine alongside him, and they divided it into jade bottles.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Hongku drank their shares, and Hongku began expelling spoiled wine as his symptoms eased.
• Hongku found that his fighting endurance had increased and regretted giving Zhang Xuezhou half the wine.

Hongku questioned Zhang Xuezhou about why the Nine Treasures Wine and a Jade Condensation Pill had no effect on him, then warned that people in the Sacred Land might target him because of his connection to Hongku and his imperial-family bounty. The chapter ended when a voice from within the Sacred Land requested battle, revealing what Hongku had been hinting at.

• Hongku suspected Zhang Xuezhou had watered down the Nine Treasures Wine after seeing that it barely affected him.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed that heavenly treasures no longer worked on his body, then swallowed Hongku's Jade Condensation Pill without gaining any Law Power.
• Hongku questioned whether Zhang Xuezhou had abandoned his Realm Technique to become a martial artist, and Zhang Xuezhou said that was not far off.
• Hongku asked whether Zhang Xuezhou had found anything while staying in the secret place, and Zhang Xuezhou said he had slept for seven days and could ask the Dao Lord to confirm it.
• Hongku warned Zhang Xuezhou that people might attack him because they believed their master-disciple bond remained and because the Xiong State imperial family wanted him.
• Hongku hinted that Zhang Xuezhou could learn who might target him if he cooperated, just as a voice from within the Sacred Land requested battle.

After the three-year truce period, Mage Honghua challenged Venerable Hongku for his position, but Hongku defeated him by turning his poisonous creatures against him and using soul-bewitching incense. The victory left Zhang Xuezhou realizing he had little defense against Hongku’s technique.

• Mage Honghua challenged Venerable Hongku, and Dao Lord granted the contest while declaring a three-year truce for whoever remained or ascended as Venerable.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Hongku who supported Honghua, and Hongku suspected Venerable Yinghua.
• Honghua demanded that Hongku leave his formation, boasting that his poisonous creatures could counter Hongku’s techniques.
• Hongku used smoke from spirit incense to cast the Snake Head Incantation and trap Honghua with a venomous python.
• The soul-bewitching incense and Hongku’s higher cultivation frightened Honghua as his poisonous creatures turned on him, and Honghua died.
• Hongku explained his technique to Zhang Xuezhou, who realized he could scarcely resist it.

After Hongku defeated Dharma Master Honghua, he recruited Zhang Xuezhou to impersonate him while he impersonated Zhang Xuezhou, allowing them to handle threats and visitors in each other’s place. They began the exchange when Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone arrived to congratulate Hongku.

• Dharma Master Hongyi suspected Honghua had been encouraged to challenge Hongku and hoped his earlier support for Hongku would secure him a share of future gains.
• Hongku proposed that Zhang Xuezhou impersonate him while he went down the mountain disguised as Zhang Xuezhou.
• Hongku used makeup, wigs, and disguises to transform their appearances, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed to the plan.
• Zhang Xuezhou practiced Hongku’s voice and manner, while Hongku coached him on handling the visitors.
• When Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone called from outside, Zhang Xuezhou scolded Hongku in character, and Hongku left the courtyard pretending to weep.

Zhang Xuezhou, disguised as Hongku, welcomed Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone and began teaching them an advanced method from the Supreme One's lecture. The lesson drew Venerable Yellow Sand into the courtyard, and the three venerables listened in astonishment as Zhang described a technique capable of producing an external incarnation.

• Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone came to congratulate Hongku, then entered Black Stone Courtyard after he invited them in.
• Zhang Xuezhou, disguised as Hongku, asked the two venerables to examine a method he had encountered and offered to teach it in exchange for a reward.
• Zhang began recounting the Supreme One's teaching, hoping to understand its difficult principles through discussion and gain benefits from the gathering.
• Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone were stunned when Zhang explained that Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation could manifest an external incarnation.
• Venerable Yellow Sand arrived to congratulate Hongku, heard the teaching after being beckoned inside, and sat down to listen.

At the Black Stone Courtyard, Zhang Xuezhou offered to teach the External Incarnation Technique only to those who proved qualified and had something suitable to exchange. The venerables agreed to discuss the teaching together, and Venerable Yellow Sand sent for others as Zhang Xuezhou prepared to continue.

• Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone offered treasures to Venerable Hongku in exchange for the rest of the technique, while Venerable Yellow Sand asked to take part despite missing the beginning.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed discussing the technique openly so the listeners could demonstrate their aptitude before exchanging for it.
• Zhang Xuezhou invited more friends to listen and warned the others not to rely on secondhand teaching, since omissions could cause problems in cultivation.
• Venerable Yellow Sand questioned whether the technique was safe, and Zhang Xuezhou said they could examine it together and reject it if they found hidden dangers.
• Venerable Yellow Sand grew eager to learn the high-ranking universal technique and sent his messenger bird to summon others.

Zhang Xuezhou, posing as Venerable Hongku, taught the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique to cultivators at the Yedie River Holy Land and narrowed the group to those capable of discussing it. He began exchanging the complete method for gifts, while an apprentice offered a martial cultivation manual that caught his interest.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that cultivators with divine sense could cultivate the technique within their bodies, though only those whose Yang Corporeal Soul could leave the body could manifest a Dharma Body.
• Dharma Master Hongyi suggested the technique might let its practitioners defeat cultivators above their realm, prompting the venerables to decide they needed to learn it too.
• After nearly an hour of discussion, Zhang Xuezhou kept four venerables, eight dharma masters, and two apprentices, then asked them to offer gifts for the complete method.
• Venerables Black Mountain, White Bone, Yellow Sand, and Weaver Emperor offered treasured stones, horses, a major technique, and heavenly silkworm cloth.
• Tutuerlan offered his tribe's military tally, while the other apprentice presented the Full Moon Scimitar manual, which interested Zhang Xuezhou.

After lecturing the Yedie River Holy Land on the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique, Zhang Xuezhou collected lavish gifts and escaped on Venerable White Bone’s bone horse while disguised as Hongku. The Dao Lord recognized the disguise from afar, failed to divine what would happen next, and then formed a faint shadow body outside himself.

• Zhang Xuezhou received valuable gifts from Tutuerlan, the Venerables, and the Dharma Masters before continuing his lecture on the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique.
• Venerable Black Mountain and Venerable White Bone questioned the technique’s divergent paths, then the Venerables left without sharing their thoughts with the Dharma Masters.
• Zhang Xuezhou declined to explain more, and the Dharma Masters and apprentices departed without reaching a useful discussion.
• Zhang Xuezhou packed his belongings, refined Venerable White Bone’s bone horse, and rode away from the Black Stone Courtyard.
• The Dao Lord recognized Zhang Xuezhou beneath his Hongku disguise, considered who might be targeting Hongku, and failed to divine the answer.
• The Dao Lord stayed in the Dao Palace and formed a faint shadow body outside himself.

Zhang Xuezhou fled the Yedie River Holy Land on Venerable White Bone’s white Technique Method horse and discovered that his Grain Avoidance Technique had improved enough to sustain his strength without food. A feather-arrow assassin pursued him, and he recognized the attacker as Demon King Jiu Feng, who demanded to know his relationship with the Nine Spirits Primal Sage.

• Zhang Xuezhou rode away from the Yedie River Holy Land and realized that disguise powder and a wig prevented him from changing his appearance.
• Zhang Xuezhou discovered that he could go without food for seven days without losing his strength and suspected his Grain Avoidance Technique had advanced.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed an attack and dodged feather arrows fired by a pursuer from the night sky.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed ties to Lord Feiyu, Yangli, Huli, and Demon King Luli, then mentioned meeting the Nine Spirits Primal Sage.
• Demon King Jiu Feng descended on a golden eagle, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized him before Jiu Feng demanded proof of his relationship with their big brother.

Zhang Xuezhou tried to convince Demon King Jiu Feng that he was not Hongku and had ties to the Nine Spirits Primal Sage, but Jiu Feng rejected every explanation. The chapter ended with Jiu Feng deciding that Zhang Xuezhou should die either way.

• Zhang Xuezhou stopped his horse and told Demon King Jiu Feng that he was friends with the Nine Spirits Primal Sage.
• Zhang Xuezhou showed Jiu Feng the golden lion hair, but Jiu Feng suspected he had cursed the Nine Spirits Primal Sage and stolen it.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Hongku had disguised him and attached the hair to his scalp, then realized he was drawing danger away from Hongku.
• Demon King Jiu Feng grew wary of Zhang Xuezhou's claims and questioned whether he was Hongku or a powerful ally.
• Zhang Xuezhou insisted he was a weak, peace-loving cultivator, but Jiu Feng refused to believe him and resolved to kill him for the reward.

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Demon King Jiu Feng that he was not Hongku and that killing him would violate Jiu Feng’s professional ethics. Jiu Feng accepted the Yang-Stabilizing Stones as proof of task completion and turned to Zhang Xuezhou for help with his injuries.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Demon King Jiu Feng about who had hired him and learned that the Exalted One’s black ginseng was offered as payment.
• Zhang Xuezhou revealed his knowledge of the black ginseng, Demon King Feiyu, and Jiu Feng’s injuries, making Jiu Feng believe he might truly be a physiognomist.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that the target was Hongku, not him, and offered six Yang-Stabilizing Stones so Jiu Feng could claim the task was complete.
• Zhang Xuezhou showed Jiu Feng his young body, convincing him that he was not Hongku.
• Demon King Jiu Feng accepted that killing the wrong person would violate his professional ethics and became a seeker of Zhang Xuezhou’s guidance.