Chapter Summaries

Wang Zang attempted to track Shi Wudao through a corpse-Qi-infected palace maid, and the token led toward Emperor Jing’s remains in the inner hall. Shi Wudao then revealed his influence over the maid, whose attack was stopped by the ministers’ Law Power, leaving Wang Zang injured.

• After Zhao Wan’s failed attempt, the new emperor ordered Wang Zang to try tracking Shi Wudao, while Dong Zhongshu declined to fight because he was injured.
• Wang Zang pinned down a half-dead palace maid with a silver needle and used her blood to prepare a token that would locate Shi Wudao.
• The token flew toward the inner hall where Emperor Jing’s coffin lay, making Cheng Bushi and Li Guang fear Shi Wudao was targeting the late emperor’s remains.
• Shi Wudao’s voice shifted between the eastern palace and Changle Palace as Li Guang suspected he was speaking through corpse-Qi-infected people.
• The palace maid suddenly attacked Wang Zang with blood and her tongue, but Dong Zhongshu and the ministers crushed the corpse Qi with Law Power, killing her and causing Wang Zang to suffer backlash.

Dong Zhongshu tracked Shi Wudao to Emperor Jing’s coffin but hesitated to act, wary of his own condition and the danger of harming the late emperor’s corpse. The new emperor confronted Shi Wudao in the inner hall as the Grand Empress Dowager’s suppression talisman arrived, followed by a streak of Southern Brightness Fire.

• Wang Zang’s tracking spell failed, but Dong Zhongshu’s tracking mark revealed that Shi Wudao was in the inner hall, likely targeting Emperor Jing’s corpse.
• Dong Zhongshu asked whether the guards could destroy Shi Wudao for good, and suggested waiting until dawn if they could not.
• The new emperor inferred that the ministers feared something connected to Emperor Jing, then ordered everyone to the inner hall despite attempts to stop him.
• The new emperor reached Emperor Jing’s coffin, where Shi Wudao emerged as smoke and taunted him about taking over the late emperor’s body.
• A messenger announced that the Grand Empress Dowager’s talisman could seal Shi Wudao in the coffin for forty-nine days, while Southern Brightness Fire followed the Corpse Qi toward the coffin.

Rong Tianding was engulfed by Southern Brightness Fire, and Zhang Xuezhou tried to save him with the Vajra Talisman, the Supreme Purity True Technique, and the Fire-Averting Art. As Rong Tianding recited the Tomb Scripture, he witnessed Shi Wudao trapped in Emperor Jing’s corpse and burned by the same fire.

• Rong Tianding accidentally ignited himself with Southern Brightness Fire, and Zhang Xuezhou tried to contain the flames with his available techniques.
• The Vajra Talisman and Supreme Purity True Technique failed to save Rong Tianding, so Zhang Xuezhou hurriedly taught him the Fire-Averting Art.
• Rong Tianding could not learn the technique and instead recited the Tomb Scripture, wishing for fewer sicknesses and disasters.
• Rong Tianding saw Shi Wudao struggling to escape Emperor Jing’s corpse and the suppression talisman.
• Southern Brightness Fire spread across Shi Wudao’s feet, and he realized the spark would kill him before he could break free.

The new emperor and Li Guang destroyed Shi Wudao’s divine soul and stopped his attack on Emperor Jing’s coffin. The new emperor then sought to strengthen his position by inviting the Confucian grandmaster Shen Peigong to serve the court.

• The new emperor ordered Shi Wudao killed and struck Emperor Jing’s coffin while Li Guang shot Shi Wudao’s manifested divine soul from the sky.
• Shi Wudao’s divine soul burst apart, and Li Guang reported that only a decaying husk remained and that Shi Wudao could no longer return from death.
• The new emperor recognized that court officials had failed to help and resolved to make disobedient officials feel the consequences.
• The new emperor praised Zhao Wan, Wang Zang, and Dong Zhongshu, then asked whether Shen Peigong would serve the court.
• Zhao Wan eagerly recommended Shen Peigong, and the new emperor agreed, intending to use the Confucian School to counterbalance other court factions.

Rong Tianding died after choosing to give himself over to death to escape Shi Wudao’s corpse Qi and Southern Brightness Fire, leaving Zhang Xuezhou grieving and determined to study fate and Fortune. As dawn approached, a woman with uterine bleeding offered to use a purging treasure on Rong Tianding if Zhang Xuezhou treated her again.

• Rong Tianding let the Vajra Talisman fade and died as the Southern Brightness Fire went out.
• Zhang Xuezhou carried Rong Tianding’s corpse through Chang'an City and resolved to study the Huang-Lao School of Thought and Physiognomy Technique to understand and change fate.
• A woman who had previously sought treatment grabbed Zhang Xuezhou and asked him to heal her injuries.
• Zhang Xuezhou offered to treat the woman if she told him how to save Rong Tianding, but her suggestion to put him in the sun did not persuade him.
• The woman offered to use a treasure with blazing power to purge Rong Tianding’s corpse Qi if Zhang Xuezhou treated her at least ten times.

Zhang Xuezhou gave Rong Tianding a dose of the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood and medicinal powder, which revived signs of life in his body. In exchange, he used the Supreme Purity True Technique to stop the wounded woman's bleeding, and she escaped over the compound wall as Rong Tianding began to mutter.

• The woman identified the golden liquid as the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood and persuaded Zhang Xuezhou to give some to Rong Tianding.
• When Rong Tianding showed no immediate change, Zhang Xuezhou refused to help the woman until she added medicinal powder to the deal.
• The powder made Rong Tianding's body warm and brought color back to his face, though he still needed someone to retrieve his soul.
• The woman threatened Rong Tianding with her shortsword, so Zhang Xuezhou cast the Supreme Purity True Technique to stop her bleeding.
• After Zhang Xuezhou cast the technique again, the woman escaped over the compound wall while Rong Tianding began to mutter.

After Rong Tianding began recovering from his apparent death, Zhang Xuezhou shifted his focus from pursuing strength to studying metaphysics and fortune. Rong Tianding regained memories of the previous night and discovered that the Ancestral Dragon’s Essence Blood had formed a protective inner armor, while Shi Wudao’s death left him free to seek the Shijiao School’s inheritance.

• Zhang Xuezhou carried Rong Tianding to the road where he had recited the Tomb Scripture and repeatedly used the Soul-Collecting Technique as Rong Tianding chanted.
• Rong Tianding stopped chanting to reach for coins, and Zhang Xuezhou helped him stand, relieved that he was recovering.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to investigate metaphysics and Fortune, hoping to use the Person-Fixing Technique and the Tomb Scripture to avoid misfortune and identify benefactors.
• Rong Tianding recalled his transformation and strange journey through a long river before waking, then noticed a threadlike inner armor absorbing Yin Qi and Law Power.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that the Ancestral Dragon’s Essence Blood had created the armor, and Rong Tianding recalled that Li Guang had killed Shi Wudao, leaving him free to seek Xu Ji and the Shijiao School’s inheritance.

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding faced a citywide inspection after the Northern Army entered Chang'an, and Zhang Xuezhou was challenged to prove his medical technique. The chapter left him preparing to treat the squad leader’s festering wounds to confirm his identity.

• Rong Tianding worried that his Shijiao School cultivation and the stolen court treasure inside him could bring him trouble, while Zhang Xuezhou let him decide whether to change schools.
• The Northern Army entered Chang'an under imperial orders, patrolling the streets and inspecting residents for unidentified people.
• An innkeeper reported Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding after noticing their unusual comings and goings, but Zhang Xuezhou calmly explained their plans and connections to the inspecting squad.
• The Northern Army squad leader accepted Zhang Xuezhou’s account provisionally and asked him to use his injury-treating technique on the wounds beneath his armor, offering ten banliang coins.

Zhang Xuezhou healed a Northern Army squad leader, attracting soldiers who wanted treatment, then rested and cultivated with Rong Tianding. A woman in the mountains swallowed a pill and gained the Ancestral Dragon's Technique Method Annihilation Armor, though the risks of the medicine remained.

• Zhang Xuezhou cut away the squad leader's rotten flesh and healed his wounds with the Supreme Purity True Technique, prompting other soldiers to request treatment.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed his Law Power was depleted, and the squad leader agreed the soldiers could return the next day.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding rested and recited the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction while Rong Tianding practiced recovering Law Power and swallowed Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood.
• A beautiful middle-aged woman warned Shao'er that the pill might bring formidable power for only a dozen years and could cause Ancestral Dragon's Demon Power to form inside her.
• Shao'er swallowed the dark-gold pill and gained the Ancestral Dragon's Technique Method Annihilation Armor, which weakened techniques used against her.

Zhang Xuezhou limited his spellcasting business to five customers a day, choosing steady income while he kept the risks of his bad luck in mind. He stabilized Rong Tianding’s condition with Origin-Nurturing Paste, but a mysterious woman suddenly emerged from a wall and asked him to treat her pupil.

• Zhang Xuezhou stopped treating customers after casting the Supreme Purity True Technique five times, explaining to Rong Tianding that he wanted a cautious, steady business.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined Rong Tianding and found that Origin-Nurturing Paste, together with the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction, could replenish the Law Power consumed by the soft armor inside him.
• Zhang Xuezhou gave Rong Tianding a supply of paste and said it should help stabilize him over the next seven or eight days.
• Rong Tianding accepted the risks of cultivation and resolved to be steadier, like the old dog Big Yellow.
• A beautiful middle-aged woman emerged from the wall, bowed to Zhang Xuezhou, and asked him to treat her willful pupil, startling Rong Tianding.

Zhang Xuezhou refused to treat the repeatedly hemorrhaging woman because he believed his bad luck would worsen her condition. The beautiful middle-aged woman offered to take him and Rong Tianding to a tomb she guarded, where a treasure might wash away his bad luck.

• The beautiful middle-aged woman found Zhang Xuezhou using a jade bottle that held traces of the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood and asked him to treat the woman who was bleeding again.
• Zhang Xuezhou said his bad luck made treatment too dangerous, and Rong Tianding backed him up.
• The woman offered to take Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding to a treasure that could bring good luck, along with other treasures in the tomb she guarded.
• After Zhang Xuezhou agreed to inspect the good-luck treasure, the woman decided to lead them to it first.

Rong Tianding watched the middle-aged beauty take Zhang Xuezhou through a wall, while she led Zhang through an underground passage to a tomb and promised a treasure that could suppress his bad luck. She sent him alone beneath a gigantic five-legged cauldron, where he began to feel a cleansing sensation.

• Rong Tianding wondered at the middle-aged beauty's ability and recited the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction as he continued recovering.
• The middle-aged beauty led Zhang Xuezhou through walls and underground darkness, then enlarged a bronze carriage and drove him through a passage.
• The middle-aged beauty told Zhang Xuezhou that a treasure in the tomb could restrain his bad luck and keep him safe, and Zhang grew hopeful.
• The middle-aged beauty opened the tomb's locked bronze gate but stayed behind because she had sworn not to take anything from the tomb herself.
• Zhang Xuezhou rode the bronze carriage to the center of a gigantic five-legged cauldron, where he felt a sensation that seemed to wash away grime.

Zhang Xuezhou sat beside a Fortune-receiving cauldron, believing it had cleansed his bad luck, before the beautiful middle-aged woman brought him to treat a severely ill patient. The chapter left him examining the unconscious woman, whose horns and golden scales showed that she had undergone a drastic demonic transformation.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked the beautiful middle-aged woman whether sitting by the great cauldron would bring him good luck, and she said it could cleanse bad luck.
• Zhang Xuezhou felt calmer and declared himself back to ordinary Fortune, then asked the woman to bring the patient to the cauldron.
• The beautiful middle-aged woman went through the bronze doors and returned with the patient in her bronze carriage, warning Zhang Xuezhou about the tomb's mechanisms and dead souls.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined the unconscious patient and saw horns, golden scales, and renewed uterine bleeding after her severe transformation.

Zhang Xuezhou struggled to heal a woman whose demon-blood poisoning kept reopening her wounds, so he sought help from a fortunate benefactor. The tomb keeper brought Hairy Head Sun Star Official's wife, who agreed to help wash out the injured woman's stomach.

• Zhang Xuezhou found that the Supreme Purity True Technique could not stop the injured woman's bleeding and suggested that good Fortune might help her recover.
• The beautiful middle-aged woman agreed to find a benefactor who met Zhang Xuezhou's requirements and took everyone out of the underground palace.
• While waiting at a pavilion, Zhang Xuezhou suspected the woman was poisoned by the demon blood and decided her stomach needed washing.
• The beautiful middle-aged woman returned with a beautiful woman who demanded revenge for her husband's death and doubted that the Ten Yin Holy Son was dead.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked for help washing the injured woman's stomach, and Hairy Head Sun Star Official's wife readily agreed.

Holy Mother Wudang, Pilan, and Zhang Xuezhou helped Shao'er survive the effects of a dangerous pill made with the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood. After Holy Mother Wudang and Pilan left, Zhang Xuezhou struggled to figure out how to return to Chang'an City, and Shao'er offered to help him if he kept her alive for seven days.

• Pilan made the unconscious Shao'er vomit the pill's remnants, and Shao'er woke in pain after the pill had nearly demonized her.
• Pilan offered Thousand Flower Dew to treat Shao'er's poisoning, and Holy Mother Wudang agreed to help Pilan deal with Zhu Shiyin in return.
• Pilan poured Thousand Flower Dew down Shao'er's throat, and Zhang Xuezhou used a Technique to stop her bleeding as she recovered.
• Holy Mother Wudang whispered to Pilan before Pilan flew away and Holy Mother Wudang vanished, leaving Zhang Xuezhou with Shao'er.
• Zhang Xuezhou worried that he could not get back into Chang'an City past the Northern Army, and Shao'er offered to help him enter if he kept her alive for seven days.

Wei Shao'er told Zhang Xuezhou how she had gained her cultivation and led him toward Chang'an to check on his cousin. They reached the slums, where Wei Shao'er killed two men and brought Zhang Xuezhou to the house she had claimed after killing its former owner.

• Wei Shao'er told Zhang Xuezhou that Holy Mother Wudang had taught her martial arts and supplied her with treasures and pills, helping her reach the Body Integration Realm in five years.
• After sundown, Wei Shao'er recovered from her injuries and offered to take Zhang Xuezhou to the city to see his cousin.
• Wei Shao'er led Zhang Xuezhou through Chang'an's slums and described the hope, despair, and chaos among their residents.
• Wei Shao'er killed two men in a thatched hut, and Zhang Xuezhou found a woman inside who could not be saved.
• Wei Shao'er took Zhang Xuezhou to her house and explained that she had killed its former owner after he drugged her and tried to assault her.

Wei Shao'er and Zhang Xuezhou entered Chang'an City with Wei Qing’s help, and Zhang resumed treating injured Northern Army officers at the inn. Wei Qing learned that his sister was pregnant and warned her not to trust men, while Wei Shao'er insisted the father was a gentleman.

• Wei Qing met Wei Shao'er and Zhang Xuezhou outside Chang'an City and used his connections to bring them inside without travel passes.
• Wei Qing drove them to Zhang Xuezhou’s inn, where Wei Shao'er booked a room and the inn’s officers recognized Zhang as Divine Physician Dongfang.
• Zhang told the officers he had restored his Law Power and promised to treat more of their injuries before returning to his room, where Rong Tianding was waiting.
• Wei Qing asked whether Zhang was Wei Shao'er's long-term laborer, and she explained that she relied on his healing Technique while pregnant.
• Wei Qing warned Wei Shao'er that men in Chang'an often abandoned women, but she insisted the child's father was a gentleman.

During Emperor Jing’s funeral procession, Zhang Xuezhou worried about losing his income from treating Northern Army soldiers, while Wei Shao’er realized her rapidly growing appetite would soon leave her broke. After studying the mourners, she left the inn to pursue a target she could rob.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched Emperor Jing’s funeral procession and decided to wait until it ended before setting up a stall to earn money.
• Rong Tianding asked whether powerful people could become formidable zombies or vengeful ghosts, and Zhang Xuezhou explained why raising them on a large scale was difficult.
• Wei Shao’er checked Rong Tianding’s condition, bought beef, and realized she was eating several times more than usual.
• Wei Shao’er decided she needed a large sum of money and studied the funeral crowd for a wealthy person she could overpower.
• Wei Shao’er slipped into the crowd to pursue her chosen target, while Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding worried she might drag them into trouble.

Zhang Xuezhou left his inn and watched Emperor Jing’s funeral procession, where he saw the court purge prisoners and learned that Shen Pei was gaining favor over Dong Zhongshu. Dong Zhongshu’s injuries and political fortunes worsened, but as he collapsed, the wish he had made with the Tomb Scripture seemed to stir.

• Zhang Xuezhou paid to leave the inn early and took Rong Tianding into the funeral procession’s crowd.
• Zhang Xuezhou watched prisoners accused of opposing the court being paraded through the streets and pelted by the crowd.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Shen Pei, head of the Confucian School, was being honored and saw Dong Zhongshu walking in the procession.
• Dong Zhongshu reflected on losing his contest with Shen Pei, his worsening court position, and his disciples abandoning him.
• Dong Zhongshu coughed blood, then felt the earth surge beneath him and collapsed as the Tomb Scripture wish seemed to respond.

Zhang Xuezhou settled near the West Market while planning how to develop his knowledge and pursue Fortune within the Han Dynasty’s rules. As he lay motionless at the inn, Dong Zhongshu arrived early, coughing blood and asking Rong Tianding for money to buy medicine.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding speculated that Dong Zhongshu had been injured in a fight before officials carried the unconscious Dong Zhongshu away for medical care.
• Zhang Xuezhou rented a cheap inn near the West Market and warned Rong Tianding to keep things quiet while he slept for twelve days.
• Zhang Xuezhou planned to adapt the Fuxi Physiognomy School and other teachings into new schools acceptable to the Han court, while considering how advancement and Fortune worked in both worlds.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered pursuing status in the Scarlet Alliance State and decided to take his opportunities one step at a time.
• After Zhang Xuezhou’s stall failed to attract customers, he returned to bed, and Rong Tianding worried about his worsening condition.
• Dong Zhongshu came to the inn several days earlier than expected, coughed into a white cloth, and asked Rong Tianding to lend him money for medicine.