Chapter Summaries

Dong Zhongshu left Chang'an after losing his place in the Confucian School’s struggle, with Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding carrying him beyond the city gates. As he set out to seek safety and relief from his bad luck, he wondered whether Shen Peigong might revive the Confucian School and why the Huang-Lao School had not done so with the Tomb Scripture.

• Dong Zhongshu told Zhang Xuezhou that Shen Peigong would likely seek a position with real power, though not the prime ministership.
• Dong Zhongshu met Gongsun Hong at the city gate, introduced Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding, and accepted Gongsun Hong’s offer to look after them.
• Dong Zhongshu said he might travel to Guangchuan, Huainan, or the Liang Lands, while first visiting the outer-city slums to transcribe an ancient text and seek relief from bad luck.
• Zhang Xuezhou teased Dong Zhongshu about his advice to ignore outside concerns, and Rong Tianding joked that he was one of the unrelated people Dong Zhongshu meant.
• Dong Zhongshu rested as Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding carried him out of Chang'an, quietly wishing for the Confucian School to flourish and questioning why the Huang-Lao School had not achieved lasting glory.

Zhang Xuezhou brought Dong Zhongshu to Wei Shao'er’s hut outside Chang'an and discussed Holy Mother Wudang, the fallen Heavenly Court, and the Immortal Court. At dawn, Zhang Xuezhou recognized Xu Yuan among the poor villagers, while Xu Yuan was urgently seeking an alchemy cultivator to preserve his herbs.

• Zhang Xuezhou carried Dong Zhongshu to Wei Shao'er’s hut and admitted he could not guarantee that the great cauldron would improve Dong Zhongshu’s luck.
• Dong Zhongshu explained that the Immortal Court had defeated the Heavenly Court after immortals gained strength and powerful Law Treasures, though he did not know where Jade Emperor Peak was.
• Zhang Xuezhou recited classics for Dong Zhongshu through the night, and Dong Zhongshu fell asleep at the fifth watch.
• At dawn, Zhang Xuezhou watched poor villagers outside Chang'an fight over irrigation water and heard someone urge them to trust their crops’ resilience.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized Xu Yuan and called out to him, and Xu Yuan ran over excitedly because he needed an alchemy cultivator to save his insect-damaged herbs.

Xu Yuan reunited with Zhang Xuezhou and met Rong Tianding, while Dong Zhongshu revealed he had been well enough to walk all along. Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu flew to the pavilion where the last Zhou Son of Heaven had died, and Dong Zhongshu’s threat drew out its hidden mistress.

• Xu Yuan told Zhang Xuezhou that his father was bedridden recovering from injuries, and Rong Tianding welcomed Xu Yuan into the house.
• Dong Zhongshu rose, used Law Power to summon water, and admitted that he had exaggerated his weakness while they carried him for more than eighty li.
• Rong Tianding stayed behind with Xu Yuan, while Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu flew toward the mountains.
• Dong Zhongshu recognized the pavilion as the place where the last Zhou Son of Heaven had been killed and warned Zhang Xuezhou that it was inauspicious.
• Zhang Xuezhou called for Holy Mother Wudang, and Dong Zhongshu threatened to send his three thousand students to search the site for treasure.
• A beautiful middle-aged woman appeared in the pavilion and confronted Dong Zhongshu with hostile Law Power.

Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu fled Holy Mother Wudang’s attack, but Pilan caught up with them in the sky. Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Pilan to seek information from them about the Ten Yin Holy Son, while he and Holy Mother Wudang continued to threaten each other over his escape.

• Holy Mother Wudang trapped Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu in a pavilion, but Dong Zhongshu broke her Technique and Zhang Xuezhou flew away with him.
• Holy Mother Wudang called Pilan to knock down the fleeing pair, and Pilan recognized Zhang Xuezhou as the doctor who had treated her troublesome girl's illness.
• Dong Zhongshu attacked Pilan with a wind blade, but she dodged it; Zhang Xuezhou then revealed that he and Dong Zhongshu knew where the Ten Yin Holy Son was.
• Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Pilan to ask Holy Mother Wudang to let them go so they could provide information, and Pilan flew down to plead with her.
• Holy Mother Wudang threatened that she could track Zhang Xuezhou's cousin, while Zhang Xuezhou claimed he could ride his Technique horse beyond the three-thousand-li boundary and showed her its Spirit Artifact.

Holy Mother Wudang pursued Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu after her attack failed, but Pilan’s intervention and Dong Zhongshu’s reputation forced her to reconsider. The group landed and swore to keep Holy Mother Wudang’s affairs secret, leaving them on the verge of negotiating cooperation.

• Holy Mother Wudang realized she had lost the advantage when Pilan refused to attack Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu urged Holy Mother Wudang to cooperate, while Pilan sided with them to seek news of the Ten Yin Holy Son.
• Dong Zhongshu warned that he could make both sides suffer if Holy Mother Wudang resumed the fight, and she chose to land rather than risk it.
• Dong Zhongshu apologized for his behavior and asked Holy Mother Wudang for help, while she questioned whether his troubles were real.
• Dong Zhongshu and Zhang Xuezhou swore in the names of Sage Kong and Sage Meng to keep Holy Mother Wudang’s affairs secret.

Zhang Xuezhou stalled Pilan with a fanciful story while Dong Zhongshu faced Holy Mother Wudang beneath the great cauldron. After Pilan flew off to seek Kong Ning, Dong Zhongshu revealed that the cauldron was said to be one of King Yu’s Nine Cauldrons, which gathered the continent’s fortune.

• Zhang Xuezhou kept Pilan occupied by describing a luxurious nest and promising her a secret for having a son.
• Holy Mother Wudang returned with Dong Zhongshu, and Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu prepared to leave.
• Pilan remembered her question about Ten Yin Holy Son, and Zhang Xuezhou directed her to ask Kong Ning about Zhu Shiyin.
• Pilan flew northwest to find Kong Ning, leaving Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu to talk.
• Dong Zhongshu explained that the great cauldron was one of King Yu’s Nine Cauldrons, which supposedly gathered the Southern Jambudvipa Continent’s fortune and grew over time.

Zhang Xuezhou learned the Treasure-Seeking Technique from Dong Zhongshu and asked him to inspect his treasures for hidden traps. After discovering that the treasures belonged to living venerables of the Yedie River Holy Land, Dong Zhongshu realized the scale of Zhang Xuezhou’s past fortune, while Zhang Xuezhou sought his help with a physical problem that might also offer Dong Zhongshu a solution.

• Dong Zhongshu taught Zhang Xuezhou how the Treasure-Seeking Technique worked and explained Spirit Jade’s veins and jade apertures.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Dong Zhongshu to inspect his Spirit Artifacts and celestial silkworm cloth for hidden traps.
• Dong Zhongshu learned that the treasures, including the Yellow Sand Sect’s secret scroll, came from living experts of the Yedie River Holy Land.
• Dong Zhongshu admitted he would join Zhang Xuezhou on a similar venture and urged him to invite him next time.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Dong Zhongshu about his bodily problem and the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique, which Dong Zhongshu recognized as a possible solution to his own condition.

Dong Zhongshu considered using the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique to solve his physical problem but lacked the Spiritual Qi or Spirit Jade needed to cultivate it. He and Zhang Xuezhou discussed Zhang’s unusual Fortune and unresolved bodily danger, leaving Zhang calmer and resolved to study his own fate.

• Dong Zhongshu decided the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique might help him, but his treasure-seeking Technique found no Spirit Jade or other cultivation opportunity.
• Dong Zhongshu planned to master the technique and then use Yin-Yang School cultivation to merge his divided realms and remove his bodily danger.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked about his own problem, and Dong Zhongshu suggested his Fortune might combine extraordinary good luck with severe misfortune.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that he had been unusually fortunate in Zhang Household Village, despite being stuck there for eighteen years.
• Dong Zhongshu offered to help him study Fortune, while advising Zhang that only he could ultimately understand and balance his own fate.

Zhang Xuezhou considered his split Fortune and returned to Wei Shao'er’s residence after Dong Zhongshu left to travel to Huainan. He proposed opening a pharmacy with Xu Yuan and Rong Tianding, but Xu Yuan’s lack of a travel pass threatened their plans to settle in Chang’an City.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched Dong Zhongshu leave, then reassured himself that Dong Zhongshu had found no hidden traps in the black and white horses or heavenly silkworm cloth.
• Holy Mother Wudang overheard that Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu had exchanged the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique and the Treasure-Seeking Technique, but dismissed the unfamiliar technique as too risky to cultivate.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned to Wei Shao'er’s residence and found Rong Tianding and Xu Yuan roasting a pig’s leg together.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested that Xu Yuan open a pharmacy with him so they could earn money, cultivate, and find a proper place to live.
• Xu Yuan explained that he could not enter Chang’an City because he had no travel pass, and Zhang Xuezhou promised they would find a way.

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding returned to Chang'an after discussing how to build ties with Xu Yuan and secure medicinal herbs and pills. At their inn, Wei Shao'er splashed water on Zhang Xuezhou and a richly dressed passerby, who then went inside claiming he had suddenly recovered from his wound.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that he was cultivating a relationship with Xu Yuan to gain access to the Xu family's Shizi and a future supply of medicinal herbs.
• Rong Tianding agreed to help Xu Yuan enter the city and build a close relationship with him for their mutual benefit.
• Zhang Xuezhou reflected on how places and people endured while individuals passed through time as he and Rong Tianding returned to Chang'an.
• Wei Shao'er splashed water from the inn window onto Zhang Xuezhou, Rong Tianding, and a passerby, then coyly looked toward the passerby before closing the window.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that the passerby had come seeking a doctor for a sword wound, but the man declared himself cured and entered the inn.

Zhang Xuezhou trapped Chen Zhang into betting his possessions against a gold ingot in exchange for learning Wei Shao'er’s background. Using the Person-Fixing Technique, he discovered Chen Zhang was inexperienced and that Wei Shao'er had deliberately arranged to meet him by injuring him.

• Chen Zhang asked the innkeeper about Wei Shao'er, and Zhang Xuezhou offered to reveal her background instead.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding persuaded Chen Zhang to wager his valuables against Zhang Xuezhou’s gold ingot.
• Chen Zhang staked his money, clothes, jade pendant, and sword, then agreed to the bet and signed a record of it.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Person-Fixing Technique to inspect Chen Zhang’s memories and assess his temperament.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw that Wei Shao'er had arranged Chen Zhang’s injury to bring about a meeting with him.

Zhang Xuezhou helped Chen Zhang confirm Wei Shao'er’s name and collect their wager, while Wei Shao'er negotiated for part of the money to buy food. Chen Zhang became infatuated with Wei Shao'er and invited her to eat, and she accepted.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Chen Zhang that the woman’s surname was Wei, then went upstairs to ask Wei Shao'er to confirm it.
• Wei Shao'er said her surname was Jiang and negotiated for Chen Zhang’s two taels of silver and five hundred half-tael coins instead of Zhang Xuezhou’s ten taels of gold.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Wei Shao'er needed money for food and could not easily obtain the pills she needed for her condition.
• Zhang Xuezhou brought Wei Shao'er downstairs, where Chen Zhang became captivated by her and forgot about their wager.
• Chen Zhang asked Zhang Xuezhou to help him get to know Wei Shao'er, and she accepted Chen Zhang’s invitation to eat.

Wei Shao'er used Chen Zhang's infatuation to secure a meal and money, while Zhang Xuezhou advised Rong Tianding about women and introduced him to her. Wei Shao'er then revealed she had brought Zhang Xuezhou good news, though the chapter ended before she shared it.

• Wei Shao'er ate through the meal Chen Zhang provided, and Zhang Xuezhou ordered more food on her behalf.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Chen Zhang where to find a doctor for his injured hand, and Chen Zhang left happily after putting the bill on his tab.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding discussed how people could be deceived by women, and Zhang promised to introduce Rong to capable, wealthy women.
• Wei Shao'er took the money Rong Tianding had received from Chen Zhang and slapped him when he complained.
• Wei Shao'er promised to repay Zhang Xuezhou for her actions and said she had brought him good news.

Zhang Xuezhou decided to seek more patients at the West Market, while Wei Shao'er examined Rong Tianding and discovered his Technique Method Annihilation Armor had formed more completely than hers. She learned how he had endured its formation, but worried that she could not afford the Qi and Blood pills needed to sustain herself and her unborn child.

• Wei Shao'er left Zhang Xuezhou to treat Rong Tianding as Zhang set out to find customers at the West Market.
• Wei Shao'er examined Rong Tianding and found that his Technique Method Annihilation Armor was more complete and placed less strain on his body than hers.
• Rong Tianding explained how Origin-Nurturing Paste and Dong Zhongshu's Vast Righteous Qi Instruction had helped him recover his Law Power.
• Wei Shao'er realized she needed costly Qi and Blood pills to support both her body and her unborn child, but had no reliable way to obtain them.
• Wei Shao'er spiraled into fear and regret, while Rong Tianding took comfort in relying on Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou tried to make money treating Chen Zhang’s hand, but Chen had no money to pay him. That evening, Zhang Xuezhou encountered Chen Zhang again at an inn and learned that his companion was the Marquis of Quni.

• Zhang Xuezhou offered to treat Chen Zhang’s reopened hand wound for ten taels of silver, but Chen admitted he had spent his allowance and could not pay.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to lend Chen the money, and Chen left to seek another lender while Zhang waited for other customers.
• After closing his stall, Zhang returned to the inn and found Chen there with his elder brother, the Marquis of Quni.
• A servant demanded that Zhang kneel before the marquis, so Zhang turned to leave and claimed he had entered the wrong inn.
• The Marquis of Quni rose and swiftly appeared several paces ahead of Zhang to stop him.

Zhang Xuezhou faced the Marquis of Quni’s suspicion and treated Chen Zhang’s sword wound to prove his healing skill. The treatment convinced the marquis that Zhang had real ability, but the marquis began suspecting that Li Guang was connected to the attacks on several noble households.

• The Marquis of Quni confronted Zhang Xuezhou and demanded that he treat his arm wound, while servants watched him closely.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked for the dressing to be removed and the wound cleaned, so the Marquis of Quni agreed to let Chen Zhang be treated first.
• The Marquis of Quni ordered a servant to bring ten taels of silver, which Zhang Xuezhou accepted as payment before treating Chen Zhang.
• Zhang Xuezhou washed the medicinal paste from Chen Zhang’s wound and used his Technique to ease the injury.
• The Marquis of Quni recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s genuine skill and recalled that Tian Tian, Zhou Jiande, and the households of the Marquis of Wu'an and the Marquis of Pingqu had also been attacked.
• The Marquis of Quni suspected Li Guang, commander of the Weiyang Palace guards, might be connected to the attacks.

After healing the Marquis of Quni, Zhang Xuezhou learned that the marquis would not recommend him because his backer, Dong Zhongshu, had been driven from Chang'an City. The chapter leaves Zhang Xuezhou considering how to help Wei Shao'er, whose condition requires more high-level Qi and Blood Pills than she can afford.

• Zhang Xuezhou healed the Marquis of Quni, who paid him twenty taels of silver and asked about his prospects for an official post.
• Zhang Xuezhou named Dong Zhongshu as his backer, and the Marquis of Quni abandoned the idea of recommending him to avoid angering the Confucian School.
• After the marquis and Chen Zhang left, inn guests complained about being beaten by the marquis's men, but Zhang Xuezhou declined to treat them.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Wei Shao'er still in the private room and heard that she feared her condition was hopeless because she could not afford the pills she needed.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he could only stop Wei Shao'er's bleeding, while Rong Tianding suggested she seduce wealthy cultivators for pills.

Wei Shao'er abandoned her plan to rob people and decided to exploit Chen Zhang’s infatuation for money, while Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding discussed their own prospects. The chapter ended with Zhang explaining how Rong Tianding might gradually strengthen his Technique Method Annihilation Armor.

• Wei Shao'er asked Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding about bewitchment techniques and proposed wounding people so they could demand medicine, but Zhang refused to risk a feud with the Marquis of Quni.
• Rong Tianding suggested that Wei Shao'er squeeze Chen Zhang for money, and Zhang agreed that she could test how much the Marquis of Quni’s household would provide.
• Wei Shao'er said she would reward Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding if she survived, then slipped into the adjoining room.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding considered using their earnings to buy a house near Chang'an City’s wealthy district.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Rong Tianding’s Technique Method Annihilation Armor had extinguished his Southern Brightness Fire and suggested that eating fish with traces of flood dragon bloodline might help strengthen it.

Zhang Xuezhou agreed to treat the injured sons of two marquises after they failed to persuade Li Guang to help. While Tian Tian waited for his turn, Chen Zhang admitted he had come to the guesthouse hoping to see a woman he had encountered.

• Tian Tian and Zhou Jiande arrived at the guesthouse with injuries and complained that Li Guang had refused their families’ offers to treat them.
• Tian Tian and Zhou Jiande each offered Zhang Xuezhou ten taels of silver to heal them, and Zhang agreed once he recovered some Law Power.
• When Zhang asked one of them to wait, Tian Tian volunteered to yield to Zhou Jiande.
• Tian Tian asked Chen Zhang why he had come, and Chen Zhang confessed he wanted to see a woman he had noticed the day before.
• Tian Tian teased Chen Zhang for being captivated by a beautiful woman, then reflected that Chen Zhang had accurately judged his father, Tian Fen.

The empress dowager consulted Physiognomist Yao about the new emperor’s unstable imperial star and received a bell meant to reveal someone whose fate countered his. As she began inspecting the palace, the bell rang outside the grand empress dowager’s hall.

• Physiognomist Yao warned that the new emperor’s imperial star was wavering and foretold that Tian Fen would not meet a good end.
• Physiognomist Yao gave the empress dowager a cinnabar-marked bagua bell that would ring near someone whose fate countered the new emperor’s.
• Physiognomist Yao left with Spirit Jade and gold after learning that the imperial palace’s stolen dragon blood was missing, while Tian Fen accused him of being a swindler.
• The empress dowager fastened the bell to her waist and began inspecting the palace, first watching the new emperor practice swordsmanship.
• When the empress dowager reached the entrance to the grand empress dowager’s main hall, the bell began to ring.