Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Demon King Jiu Feng to abandon his attempt to kill him and instead help him escape Xiong State, while arranging healing pills in exchange for a future assassination. The Dao Lord observed the journey and noticed a Body Control incantation targeting the false Hongku, now aimed at Zhang Xuezhou.

• Zhang Xuezhou offered Demon King Jiu Feng three old ginseng roots and a commission to kill the person who had hired him.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent Demon King Jiu Feng to find Zou Bugui at the Xieluosi River Holy Land for healing pills and demanded an escort toward Yanmen Pass.
• Zhang Xuezhou rode his black bone horse south with Demon King Jiu Feng on his golden eagle.
• The Dao Lord watched Zhang Xuezhou and considered the growing conflict at the Yedie River Holy Land and Hongku’s plans.
• The Dao Lord detected a Body Control incantation aimed at Hongku and flew to see how Zhang Xuezhou would handle the attack.

Zhang Xuezhou rode toward Chang'an while suspecting that the treasures and mounts from the Yedie River Holy Land might contain hidden dangers. Jiu Feng attacked him under apparent control by an incantation master, and the chapter ended with Jiu Feng losing control of his demon body.

• Zhang Xuezhou considered the possible traps hidden in the gifts from the Yedie River Holy Land and decided to trade away dangerous treasures rather than carry them.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed a feather attack, dodged it, and saw Jiu Feng’s golden eagle dive at him.
• Zhang Xuezhou called out to Venerable White Bone and shouted that someone had taken control of Jiu Feng and his eagle.
• Jiu Feng said the golden eagle would not obey him and accused an unseen incantation master of tampering with him.
• Jiu Feng threw down the six Yang-Stabilizing Stones, transformed into his demon body, and pinned the golden eagle to the ground.
• Jiu Feng felt an incantation master gradually take control of his body until he could barely move or speak.

Zhang Xuezhou fled Demon King Jiu Feng, who was being controlled by a hidden curse master, and used deception and a transformation to escape. The pursuer’s identity remained unknown, while Hongku regretted that Zhang Xuezhou had not fought long enough to expose him.

• Zhang Xuezhou galloped away from Demon King Jiu Feng and suspected that someone was controlling him, while the Dao Lord followed and examined the lingering Law Power.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Jiu Feng to seek help from His Reverence and threw him a jade bottle after Jiu Feng claimed Sever Dust Powder could remove the curse.
• The curse master used the bottle to strengthen his control over Jiu Feng, revealed that he had accomplices, and accelerated toward Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou transformed his arms into wings, dismissed the black bone horse, and flew out of Jiu Feng’s reach.
• Hongku told Zhang Xuezhou that he should have used some Law Power to exchange blows and reveal the pursuer’s identity.

Zhang Xuezhou was forced by Hongku to dive toward Demon King Jiu Feng, allowing Hongku to ensnare the demon king and identify the hidden Incantation master as Dharma Master Hongyuan. Hongyuan realized Hongku had likely split into two bodies, leaving him exposed to retaliation from both holy lands.

• Zhang Xuezhou argued with Hongku about the disguise and Snake Head Incantation while flying away from Demon King Jiu Feng.
• Hongku threatened to use the Incantation against Zhang Xuezhou unless he approached Jiu Feng, so Zhang Xuezhou folded his wings and dived.
• Zhang Xuezhou crashed into Jiu Feng, and Hongku's huge green python coiled around the demon king.
• Hongku recognized Jiu Feng's controller as Dharma Master Hongyuan and warned that neither Hongyuan nor his accomplice would escape.
• Hongyuan realized Hongku had likely split into two bodies and feared that the Yedie River and Nine Spirits Holy Lands would turn against him.

Zhang Xuezhou survived the battle with Hongku’s help, received a golden insect that could strengthen his Drowsiness Technique, and healed himself before riding toward Yanmen Pass. The Dao Lord watched him escape danger and decided to seek opinions at the Sacred Land about the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique.

• The Dao Lord watched Hongyuan and Honghua die as Hongku and Zhang Xuezhou defeated their scheme, while Demon King Jiu Feng threatened to seek justice from the Nine Spirits Primal Sage.
• Hongku gave Zhang Xuezhou the golden insect Hongyuan had used to control Jiu Feng, explaining that it could help him cast Incantations across realms.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique and old ginseng to recover, then wrote a message on a bamboo slip for Jiu Feng.
• Demon King Jiu Feng took the bamboo slip and left, while Zhang Xuezhou rode toward Yanmen Pass on his black horse.
• The Dao Lord followed Zhang Xuezhou for more than two hundred li, confirmed he was safe, and resolved to discuss the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique at the Sacred Land.

Zhang Xuezhou tamed Dharma Master Hongyuan’s golden bug into a medium for his Drowsiness Technique and continued toward Yanmen Pass. In the Yedie River Holy Land, the Dao Lord addressed the rules that had fueled conflict between Dharma masters and venerables, leaving Hongku to reconsider who was truly responsible for his grievances.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Incantation Avoidance Formula while removing Hongyuan’s imprint and refining the golden bug.
• By dawn, Zhang Xuezhou had tamed the bug, named it, and recognized it as an excellent medium for his Drowsiness Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou estimated that Yanmen Pass was still a day and a night away and expected no one in the Holy Land to pursue him.
• Hongku knelt before the Dao Palace as Venerable Black Mountain, Venerable White Bone, Venerable Yellow Sand, and Venerable Weaver Emperor stood nearby.
• The Dao Lord promised to explain the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique and said the Sacred Land’s rules had turned healthy competition into a conservative alliance.
• The Dao Lord kept Hongku’s three-year term and declared that passing tests from three of the nine venerables would remove the limit on their number, prompting Hongku to question whether the rules and the Dao Lord were the source of his misfortune.

Hongku realized Zhang Xuezhou had used his name to obtain treasures and had convinced the venerables that Hongku knew the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique. He planned to use the three-year opportunity to learn the technique and seek further help from Zhang Xuezhou.

• Venerable White Bone and the other venerables explained that they had not attacked Hongku or sabotaged him, though their gifts to him had contained hidden dangers.
• Hongku realized the venerables mistook him for an expert in the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique because of Zhang Xuezhou’s actions.
• Hongku resolved to listen to the Dao Lord’s lecture and use the next three years to master the technique, which could also let him cast without interference from the poison in his body.
• Hongku decided Zhang Xuezhou was likely one of the technique’s original sources and considered seeking him out for help.
• Hongku’s Snake Head Incantation returned to him through the Dao Lord’s Law Power, and he reflected that Zhang Xuezhou had outpaced his former student Wu Chao.

Zhang Xuezhou tested the golden insect’s Drowsiness Technique on the grassland, then reached Yanmen Pass disguised as Hongku and claimed to be a traveling merchant. As he waited for the guards to verify his connection to General Zhang Qian, he recognized Wu Chao among two monks seeking passage.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the golden insect to put wild animals to sleep, but struggled to find food it would eat.
• A pack of hyenas chased Zhang Xuezhou, and he escaped on the white horse before riding toward Yanmen Pass.
• At the pass, Zhang Xuezhou claimed to be Du Gou, a manager in Master Zhao’s caravan, and said he knew General Zhang Qian.
• A captain rode off to verify Zhang Xuezhou’s claim while Zhang Xuezhou waited outside the gate.
• Two monks arrived seeking passage, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized Wu Chao among them.

Zhang Xuezhou encountered Senior Brother Rulai and Wu Chao outside Yanmen Pass, where they struggled to persuade the guards to let them enter. Zhang Qian recognized Zhang Xuezhou, and their reunion left him reflecting on the terrible consequences of their past journey to Lingnan.

• The guards stopped Zhang Xuezhou, Senior Brother Rulai, and Wu Chao at Yanmen Pass because they lacked credentials.
• Senior Brother Rulai tried to reason with the guards while Wu Chao insulted them and accused his senior brother of plotting against him.
• Senior Brother Rulai recited Buddhist scriptures, briefly softening a guard's attitude, but the arrival of Zhang Qian interrupted his attempt to gain entry.
• The gate captain identified Zhang Xuezhou as Du Gou, and Zhang Xuezhou reminded Zhang Qian that they had once been jailed together and sent to Lingnan.
• Zhang Qian recognized Zhang Xuezhou and, seeing his aged appearance, asked whether being used as a medium for someone else's technique had caused it.
• Zhang Xuezhou vaguely confirmed it, and Zhang Qian regretted their past journey and suspected the troubles involved Emperor Jing and the crown prince.

Zhang Xuezhou reunited with Zhang Qian at Yanmen Pass and washed off his disguise. After Zhang Qian explained the Full Moon Scimitar manual’s use by Xiong State’s mounted warriors, he decided to recommend the manual to the Great Han army so they could prepare counters.

• Zhang Qian recognized Zhang Xuezhou beneath his disguise and led him into Yanmen Pass, where Zhang Xuezhou washed off the makeup and wig.
• Zhang Xuezhou thanked Zhang Qian for still serving at the pass, and Zhang Qian practiced the Subduing Tiger Fist while lamenting his lack of promotion.
• Zhang Xuezhou showed Zhang Qian the Full Moon Scimitar manual and asked him to explain the martial art.
• Zhang Qian explained that the manual taught a mounted scimitar style used by Xiong State’s elite nomadic cavalry, and Zhang Xuezhou was disappointed that it was not suited to ordinary combat.
• Zhang Qian decided to recommend the manual to the Great Han army so its soldiers could study the enemy’s technique and develop ways to counter it.

Zhang Xuezhou agreed to accompany Zhang Qian to Chang'an City and offer the Full Moon Scimitar Secret Manual to the imperial court, after securing a travel permit under the name Dongfang Shuo. As they left the permit office, Wu Chao unexpectedly spotted Zhang Xuezhou, whom he had been trying to attract as “Hongku.”

• Zhang Qian persuaded Zhang Xuezhou that the Full Moon Scimitar Secret Manual could benefit the country and earn them a reward, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed to travel with him to Chang'an City.
• Zhang Qian promised to cover their expenses and spoke of their future success, while Zhang Xuezhou agreed to let others practice the manual after he memorized it.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Qian discussed and demonstrated the Full Moon Scimitar technique as they prepared for their journey.
• Zhang Xuezhou obtained a travel permit under the name Dongfang Shuo, explaining that he had rejoined his ancestral clan and changed his name.
• Wu Chao saw Zhang Xuezhou leaving the government office with Zhang Qian after repeatedly trying to get the attention of the man he believed was Hongku.

Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao crossed paths at Yanmen Pass, while Wu Chao continued traveling with Senior Brother Rulai, who sought the Yin-Yang School's Realm Technique for the Western Sect. They headed deeper into Han territory, and the smell of food from a fire ahead gave Rulai an idea for feeding Wu Chao.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao briefly recognized each other at Yanmen Pass and passed without speaking.
• Senior Brother Rulai warned Wu Chao that their mission was to obtain the Yin-Yang School's Realm Technique for the Western Sect's leaders.
• Wu Chao complained about his Tightening Headband, but Senior Brother Rulai refused to remove it or be tricked into wearing it himself.
• Senior Brother Rulai carried Wu Chao along the military road as Wu Chao dawdled, complained, and demanded meat.
• Senior Brother Rulai spotted a fire and smelled charred food, then considered begging for meat rather than hunting an animal.

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Qian traveled toward Chang'an City, where Zhang Xuezhou planned to check for news and pursue a possible reward. Their journey paused when Wu Chao and Senior Brother Rulai caught up with them seeking food, and Zhang Qian discovered that Rulai could withstand his weapons.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Qian about his seven-days-awake, seven-days-asleep condition, and Zhang Qian promised to protect and accommodate him in Chang'an City.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to stop in Chang'an City to look for news of Dong Zhongshu and the Agricultural Sect before continuing toward Hibiscus City.
• Wu Chao and Senior Brother Rulai approached the camp at night, asking Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Qian for food.
• Zhang Qian struck Senior Brother Rulai twice with his saber, but Rulai's bronze-colored body resisted the blows.
• Zhang Qian warned that Rulai's ability could be broken by destroying the object holding his thoughts, then explained that the court might grant Zhang Xuezhou a Vajra Talisman as a reward.

As the group shared roasted roe deer, Zhang Xuezhou examined how his Grain Avoidance Instruction and Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation might be strengthening his cultivation. Wu Chao recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s golden bug and offered to help, but Senior Brother Rulai immediately identified its age, diet, and cause of its weakness.

• Wu Chao and Senior Brother Rulai argued over whether a monk could eat meat while disciplining his heart, as the group ate around the campfire.
• Zhang Xuezhou fed a bite of burnt roe deer to his sleepy golden bug, which was too exhausted to eat.
• Zhang Xuezhou studied the Grain Avoidance Instruction’s circulation through his body and Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation, concluding that it might have reached the Divine Ability Realm’s level.
• Wu Chao recognized the golden bug, explained its rarity, and offered to help Zhang Xuezhou care for it.
• Senior Brother Rulai revealed that the bug was a roughly thirty-year-old winged ladybug that needed spiritual wood and had likely been weakened by starvation.

Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao discussed the sleepy feathered insect’s need for spirit wood, and Senior Brother Rulai let it feed on his Dragon-Subduing Wood staff. As Senior Brother Rulai explained his True Solar Fire and cultivation of 108,000 apertures, Zhang Xuezhou realized he had encountered another practitioner of the same kind of cultivation he was pursuing.

• Wu Chao explained that the sleepy insect ate spirit wood, enhanced spellcasting, and could starve to death within three to five days.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Senior Brother Rulai to save the insect, and Rulai let it gnaw on his staff made from five-hundred-year-old Dragon-Subduing Wood.
• Wu Chao revealed that the insect might fly off to find food on its own, while Senior Brother Rulai proposed taking it to Spirit Mountain, where it could feed on living spirit wood.
• Senior Brother Rulai said he expected to return to Spirit Mountain in one to three months after settling affairs in the Eastern Land, and claimed he could defeat Jin Chang with his strength and True Solar Fire.
• Senior Brother Rulai explained that he could release True Solar Fire through 96,000 of his 108,000 apertures, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized that he was cultivating the same finely divided apertures.

Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao questioned Senior Brother Rulai about his cultivation of 108,000 acupoints, and Zhang Xuezhou eagerly learned about the method. Wu Chao discovered that his unresolved cultivation problem left him trapped in a deadly contest within the Western Sect, and he searched for a way to survive.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Senior Brother Rulai how cultivating 108,000 acupoints compared with the simpler methods used in the Great Han Dynasty.
• Senior Brother Rulai explained that the detailed method strengthened cultivators and extended his lifespan, but required a century of painstaking cultivation and conversion to the sect.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Senior Brother Rulai about the acupoints, prompting Wu Chao to listen and then ask for more information himself.
• Senior Brother Rulai warned Wu Chao that he could not cultivate the complicated Technique until he resolved the problem holding back his Realm Technique.
• Senior Brother Rulai revealed that Wu Chao had to compete against other Buddha Son nominees, including the surviving candidates who might kill or cripple one another.
• Wu Chao secretly explained his situation to Zhang Xuezhou and despaired over how difficult it would be to escape the Western Sect alive.

Zhang Xuezhou learned from Senior Brother Rulai that the Unification of All Acupoints could combine cultivation techniques into Divine Ability-like powers, and realized that his own mastery of the Grain Avoidance Instruction had made him a Half-Step Immortal in that field. He left understanding the unusual strength he had gained, though his fixed cultivation made further progress unlikely.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Senior Brother Rulai whether subdivided acupoints could be unified, and Senior Brother Rulai explained how unified acupoints could combine techniques into powerful whole-body abilities.
• Senior Brother Rulai said that acupoint unification required perfect cultivation, then suggested that partial unification would amount to being a Half-Step Immortal.
• Senior Brother Rulai demonstrated his physical strength by smashing a large bluestone with his head, and explained that full unification would turn it to powder.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized that his perfected Grain Avoidance Instruction and other avoidance techniques had given him an extraordinary ability to endure hunger.
• Senior Brother Rulai advised Zhang Xuezhou to repeat the circumstances that had brought him his cultivation breakthrough, but Zhang Xuezhou recognized that his fixed cultivation made another such advance unlikely.

Wu Chao asked Zhang Xuezhou for help escaping the Western Sect’s control, and Zhang Xuezhou’s warning led him to consider turning the Buddha Sons against their sect masters. Wu Chao decided to seek the Nine People Sect’s inheritance so he could hide and survive the coming conflict.

• Wu Chao asked Zhang Xuezhou to help him and offered his senior brother’s body cultivation technique in return.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to try, then explained that Wu Chao faced danger from both senior brother Rulai and the Western Sect’s masters.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested that Wu Chao use the Buddha Sons’ conflicts and the weaknesses of Buddha Son Shigong to his advantage.
• Zhang Xuezhou’s question about whether Wu Chao could become the kind of person who targeted the sect masters made Wu Chao consider turning the Buddha Sons against them.
• Wu Chao decided to obtain the Nine People Sect’s inheritance and use its concealment techniques to survive the conflict.

Zhang Xuezhou and Wu Chao agreed to share cultivation methods and seek help with their respective predicaments, while Wu Chao urged him to visit the Western Sect for spiritual-soul treatment. As Senior Brother Rulai prepared to travel to Shouchun City, Zhang Xuezhou decided to follow and watch his confrontation with Jin Chang.

• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to let Wu Chao inspect his adoptive father's copy of the Yin-Yang School Realm Technique if Wu Chao obtained Jin Chang's inheritance.
• Wu Chao identified the Western Sect's Eight Treasures Merit Pool, golden lotus seeds, and White Lotus Method as possible remedies for Zhang Xuezhou's unstable spiritual soul.
• Zhang Xuezhou taught Wu Chao the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique after explaining its rules and restrictions.
• Senior Brother Rulai warned Zhang Xuezhou that the Sleepy Bug needed frequent feeding when used, and offered to care for it if Zhang could not afford to feed it.
• Senior Brother Rulai said he would travel to Shouchun City, and Zhang Xuezhou resolved to go there and look for an opportunity to join the hunt for Jin Chang.

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Qian rode toward Chang'an City while debating whether capable cultivators should serve the court, revealing their sharply different convictions. After arriving, Zhang Xuezhou resolved to secure a tangible reward for his help and considered exploring the city while Zhang Qian pursued his recommendation.

• Zhang Qian criticized cultivators who refused to serve the court, while Zhang Xuezhou argued they had no obligation to do so and recalled the slaughtered people in the Tomb of the King of Liang.
• Zhang Qian affirmed that he wanted to improve ordinary people's lives, and Zhang Xuezhou admired him while making clear he did not want to be sacrificed for others.
• After four days of travel, Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Qian reached Chang'an City, where mourning lanterns and memories of political violence made Zhang Xuezhou wary.
• Zhang Xuezhou gave up on collecting the reward promised by the crown prince and decided to seek a tangible benefit, such as the Vajra Talisman, a martial art, or money.
• Zhang Qian submitted a calling card at the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant and chose a cheap inn, while Zhang Xuezhou considered visiting Dong Zhongshu's residence and looking around the city.