Chapter Summaries

Yin Yunze woke in a ruined temple as the Fox Immortal and stopped villagers from sacrificing Xiao Wan'er, promising to bring rain later. After Xiao Wan'er believed in him and offered him wild fruits, he woke in his own bed holding the same fruits, leaving him unsure whether the encounter had truly been a dream.

• Yin Yunze watched Spirit Medium Wang and Village Chief Song prepare to sacrifice Widow Sun's daughter, Xiao Wan'er, to the Fox Immortal.
• Yin Yunze stopped the sacrifice and claimed he needed to obtain an edict from the Dragon Lord before he could bring rain.
• Yin Yunze ordered the villagers to leave Widow Sun and Xiao Wan'er in the temple and reassured Xiao Wan'er that he would not eat them.
• Xiao Wan'er believed Yin Yunze, offered him three wild fruits, and unknowingly gave him incense of faith.
• Yin Yunze accepted the fruits, woke in his bed, and found the same three wild fruits in his hand.

Yin Yunze reopened the passage to the ruined fox immortal temple and learned that faith offerings let him send blessings between worlds. As Wan'er asked for food, Widow Sun warned that his apparent gift might take from others, and Wan'er nevertheless prayed to him.

• Yin Yunze heard Wan'er call to the Fox Immortal and opened the door to the other world while still seeing the breakfast shop.
• Yin Yunze found Wan'er praying beside the exhausted Widow Sun and learned the mother and daughter had gone without food or water for a day and night.
• Yin Yunze realized sacrifices and blessings used faith offerings, and that a follower's prayer could fund a blessing and generate more offerings through gratitude.
• Widow Sun called Yin Yunze's offer demonic deception and warned Wan'er that food conjured from nowhere might be taken from someone else's home.
• Wan'er rebuked her mother for worrying about villagers who had not repaid their kindness and prayed for Yin Yunze to grant her food.

Yin Yunze answered Xiao Wan'er's prayer by sending her hot meat buns and soy milk, which she ate with delight. When Xiao Wan'er tried to share the food with Widow Sun, Yin Yunze refused because Widow Sun had insulted him, and Xiao Wan'er pleaded with him to forgive her mother.

• Yin Yunze received Xiao Wan'er's prayer and sent her a basket of meat buns and a cup of soy milk.
• Xiao Wan'er eagerly ate the hot food and soy milk, and her gratitude increased Yin Yunze's incense offerings.
• Xiao Wan'er offered food to Widow Sun, but Yin Yunze stopped her and declared that unbelievers could not eat.
• Widow Sun refused to back down from calling Yin Yunze a wild fox, though she was tempted by the food.
• Xiao Wan'er knelt before Yin Yunze and begged him not to hold her mother's insults against her.

Yin Yunze challenged Widow Sun over her insults while Xiao Wan'er tried to share the food with her mother. He declared himself a Nine-Tail of Qingqiu Fox and defended his treatment of Xiao Wan'er, leaving Widow Sun less certain that he was a dangerous wild fox.

• Widow Sun refused Yin Yunze's food but told Xiao Wan'er to save some for later, and Xiao Wan'er pleaded to share it with her mother.
• Yin Yunze threatened to withhold the food unless Widow Sun apologized, testing Xiao Wan'er's willingness to go hungry for her mother.
• When Widow Sun objected to him punishing Xiao Wan'er, Yin Yunze revealed that he was a Nine-Tail of Qingqiu Fox named Green Hill Yi Yun.
• Yin Yunze explained why he had chosen the Qingqiu identity and recited a passage from the Classic of Mountains and Seas to support his claim.
• Widow Sun questioned why a Nine-Tail of Qingqiu Fox had asked the villagers to offer Xiao Wan'er, and Yin Yunze said he had only wanted to avoid being disturbed.
• Yin Yunze argued that he had fed and protected Xiao Wan'er, while humans had caused the mother and daughter's suffering.

Yin Yunze cleared up Widow Sun’s misunderstanding and persuaded her to become his believer by granting her food. He promised Sun Qin and Zhao Wan that they would never lack food or clothing, and both mother and daughter offered him stronger faith.

• Yin Yunze returned his attention to the breakfast shop, paid for extra buns and soy milk, and carried them home before reconnecting with the dilapidated temple.
• Xiao Wan'er pleaded with Yin Yunze to forgive her mother, and Yin Yunze forgave Widow Sun for insulting him but refused to let her eat without believing in him.
• Yin Yunze asked Widow Sun whether she would believe in him, and Sun Qin’s inner wish for her daughter’s safety produced a wisp of Incense of Faith.
• Sun Qin prayed to Yin Yunze for food for herself and her daughter, and he granted her buns and soy milk; she then pledged to worship him for life.
• Zhao Wan silently wished for her mother’s safety, and both mother and daughter asked Yin Yunze to ensure the other never lacked food or clothing.
• Yin Yunze granted their requests for food and clothing, and denser clouds of Incense of Faith flowed from Sun Qin and Zhao Wan.

Yin Yunze struggled to find a way to summon wind and rain for Clear Creek Village, knowing the desperate villagers had already killed other gods. After providing Sun Qin and Zhao Wan with food and hot water, he realized their real need was water, which did not have to come as rain.

• Yin Yunze considered fleeing rather than attempting the impossible feat of summoning wind and rain, but worried about Sun Qin and Zhao Wan's circumstances.
• Yin Yunze brought Sun Qin and Zhao Wan a candlelit meal and apples, then began planning to supply them with staple ingredients and fresh vegetables.
• Yin Yunze brought the mother and daughter a basin of hot water, soap, and towels so they could bathe.
• Sun Qin questioned why Yin Yunze had given them water, and Zhao Wan confirmed it was water, leading Yin Yunze to realize that the villagers truly needed water rather than rain.

Yin Yunze discovered that he could supply water to Sun Qin and Zhao Wan by channeling lake water through their prayers, offering a way to help the drought-stricken village. After testing the method through the night, he understood how prayer sustained the water channel and returned home to sleep.

• Yin Yunze realized providing water would be easier than summoning rain and chose a nearby lake as the source.
• Yin Yunze tested his idea at the lake while Zhao Wan prayed for an unspecified gift, then channeled water into her world through a continuous water channel.
• The water drenched Zhao Wan, and Yin Yunze explained the technique as a water-moving method arranged with the Dragon Lord, increasing Sun Qin and Zhao Wan's faith.
• Yin Yunze tested the method with Sun Qin and Zhao Wan outside the temple and learned that the channel's size affected its incense cost and that prayer had to continue to keep it open.
• After spending most of the night confirming how the water channel worked, Yin Yunze went home and slept.

Yin Yunze took a day off to carry out a plan to calm the desperate villagers by offering them water instead of rain. After claiming the Dragon Lord could not break the heavenly law, he asked Zhao Wan to demonstrate his ability to grant water, leaving the villagers waiting to see what would happen.

• Yin Yunze called Supervisor Song and secured a day off, then refined his plan for the villagers.
• Yin Yunze instructed Sun Qin and Zhao Wan to gather the villagers and make requests for food and water when he called on them.
• Yin Yunze bought food, cooking supplies, rice, and oil, then traveled to a secluded spot by the lake.
• Yin Yunze told the gathered villagers that the Dragon Lord had forbidden rain because the land had incurred heaven's wrath.
• Village Chief Song and the villagers accused Yin Yunze of breaking his promise, but Spirit Medium Wang silenced the crowd.
• Yin Yunze explained that he could not bring rain but might ask the Dragon Lord to grant water, then called Zhao Wan to make the request.

Yin Yunze manifested water for Clear Creek Village, then demanded that the villagers kneel to establish his authority. When Village Chief Song resisted, Yin Yunze ignored his excuse and called on Sun Qin.

• Yin Yunze sent lake water through the fox immortal statue, and the villagers celebrated and drank it.
• Yin Yunze stopped the water and asked what the villagers would do for him, then ordered everyone to stand away from him and kneel.
• Most villagers knelt, but Song Zhao remained standing and claimed his old legs were too stiff.
• Song Zhao resisted surrendering his authority as village chief, while Yin Yunze recognized him as a threat to the fox immortal's position.
• Yin Yunze ignored Song Zhao and abruptly called Sun Qin.

Yin Yunze won the villagers’ submission by manifesting a huge supply of food, then demanded offerings and worship in exchange for future aid. He let everyone eat regardless of belief, and their cheers sent incense offerings surging toward him before he returned to reality.

• Sun Qin prayed to the Fox Immortal, and Yin Yunze manifested rice, pork, vegetables, and apples before the villagers.
• Song Zhao abandoned his defiance, knelt, and begged Lady Fox Immortal for mercy.
• Yin Yunze said the villagers had to show sincerity and that only those who worshiped him would receive food and water.
• At Yin Yunze’s command, Zhao Wan prayed, two large pots appeared, and he invited the villagers to eat regardless of their belief.
• The villagers cheered and praised Lady Fox Immortal, sending incense offerings toward Yin Yunze until he returned to reality.

After being unable to enter the Fox Immortal Simulator for a day, Yin Yunze returned to the dilapidated temple and discovered that the world had undergone a major upgrade. He could now sense and visit praying believers across Clear Creek Village, and the new map let him observe the village beyond the temple.

• Yin Yunze found that the incense door had become more detailed but would not open, and he spent a sleepless night worrying that the simulator had shut down.
• The next afternoon, Zhao Wan called to Lord Fox Immortal, and Yin Yunze pushed through the door and returned to the dilapidated temple.
• Yin Yunze noticed that the world had clearer visuals and sound, and that he could smell it and summon a map showing believers as glowing dots.
• Yin Yunze selected a blinking dot and saw a ragged couple praying for wealth, then visited other dots and found Clear Creek Village villagers praying to him.
• Yin Yunze realized the upgrade let him respond to believers throughout the village and use the map to locate them or survey hazy surroundings.

Yin Yunze discovered that deep faith made believers’ lights larger and brighter, then found Spirit Medium Wang and her son attacking Sun Qin and Zhao Wan to seize the offerings. After advancing and gaining four skills, he confronted Spirit Medium Wang and declared himself Green Hill Yi Yun, a nine-tailed fox from the Qingqiu Kingdom.

• Yin Yunze realized the size and brightness of believers’ lights reflected the depth of their faith, and Sun Qin and Zhao Wan’s lights were the brightest.
• Yin Yunze saw Spirit Medium Wang and her scabby-headed son fighting Sun Qin and Zhao Wan over the villagers’ offerings.
• Yin Yunze’s anger caused his faith incense offerings to surge, advancing his level and granting him Illusion Technique, Fox Fire, Dream Entry, and Blessing.
• Yin Yunze believed Sun Qin and Zhao Wan over Spirit Medium Wang, ordered her to return the money and release them, and told her to leave.
• Spirit Medium Wang revealed that she knew Fox Seventh Aunt was a wild fox, and Yin Yunze rejected that identity and introduced himself as Green Hill Yi Yun, a nine-tailed fox of the Qingqiu Kingdom.

Yin Yunze used Illusion Technique to terrify Spirit Medium Wang and reveal a gigantic nine-tailed fox to the others. After demonstrating the skill’s power, he challenged Scabby Head to say whether he still saw him as just a fox.

• Yin Yunze trapped Spirit Medium Wang in a private illusion of a haunted graveyard, frightening her until she fainted.
• Scabby Head slapped Spirit Medium Wang awake, then blamed Yin Yunze when she fainted again after spitting out broken teeth.
• Yin Yunze showed Sun Qin, Zhao Wan, and Scabby Head a towering nine-tailed white fox and made them feel as though they had shrunk to the size of ants.
• Sun Qin realized the illusion had made them seem smaller, while Zhao Wan joyfully called the fox immortal’s appearance a manifestation.
• Yin Yunze explained that Illusion Technique had single-target and area-wide uses, then asked Scabby Head whether he still thought of him as just a fox.

Yin Yunze used Fox Fire and the Illusion Technique to frighten Laizitou into fleeing, then learned why Spirit Medium Wang had come to the ruined temple. He accepted the villagers’ money for Sun Qin to exchange into gold and promised to provide them with water starting at noon the next day.

• Yin Yunze’s Fox Fire struck Laizitou while an illusion made it appear enormous, terrifying him into begging for mercy.
• Yin Yunze ended the illusion and ordered Laizitou to leave; Laizitou carried the unconscious Spirit Medium Wang out of the ruined temple.
• Sun Qin explained that Spirit Medium Wang and Laizitou had tried to take the villagers’ collected money, claiming they would keep it safe for Yin Yunze.
• Yin Yunze asked Sun Qin to exchange the collected copper and silver for gold, and she agreed.
• Sun Qin asked when the villagers could receive Yin Yunze’s gift of water, and he said it would begin at noon the next day.

Yin Yunze supplied Clear Creek Village with water for one hour each day, winning most of the villagers’ faith while refusing their offer to repair his temple. He kept the supply limited to avoid overwork and resentment, and wondered why no one had yet come to ask him for something else.

• An old farmer sincerely prayed to Lord Fox Immortal for water, received it, and rejoiced, while villagers across Clear Creek Village also irrigated their fields.
• Yin Yunze stopped the water supply when his allotted half a shichen ended, and another villager explained the daily limit to the anxious farmer.
• After several days of supplying water, Yin Yunze had turned most of Clear Creek Village’s villagers into believers.
• Yin Yunze refused the villagers’ offer to repair the Fox Immortal Temple, earning their goodwill and avoiding the burden of owing them a favor.
• Yin Yunze kept his daily water service limited to one hour at noon and wondered why no one had yet come to ask him for something else.

Yin Yunze reviewed the limits of his supernatural skills while waiting for villagers to ask him for food. A young woman from a household that had run out of grain finally came to the fox immortal temple to beg him to save her family.

• Yin Yunze considered using Dream Entry to prompt someone to ask for food, but decided its unreliable effects and high cost were not worth it.
• Yin Yunze reflected that Dream Entry could only nudge people who were already inclined to act, while Blessing had shown no clear effect beyond Zhao Wan's improved health.
• Yin Yunze realized he could sense the Power of Incense Offerings in the modern world but could not use his skills there, possibly because he had no believers.
• A young woman entered the dilapidated temple and begged Lord Fox Immortal to save her family after they had eaten all their stored grain.
• Yin Yunze heard her plea and felt complicated relief that someone had finally come asking him for food.

Yin Yunze explained why Clear Creek Village’s drought would force villagers to sell grain, then told a woman that he would trade food for gold rather than give it away. He left the exchange rate set, while recognizing that his isolation and lack of trustworthy agents limited his ability to profit from trading between worlds.

• Yin Yunze considered how the drought could leave Clear Creek Village’s farmers without water for spring planting and drive them to sell their grain.
• When a woman asked for grain, Yin Yunze said he had some but asked why he should give it to her.
• Yin Yunze rejected the woman’s offer of incense and candles and demanded gold as payment for food.
• Yin Yunze set a rate of one tael of gold for twelve shi of polished rice or refined flour, as well as fruit, vegetables, fish, and meat.
• Yin Yunze judged that disaster-driven grain prices made his offer profitable, but he could not trade silver for gold elsewhere because he lacked reliable agents beyond the village.

Yin Yunze arranged to give Clear Creek Village a thousand jin of polished rice on credit, requiring the villagers to sell it and repay one tael of gold within three days. He ended the gathering by threatening to cut off the village’s water if they missed the deadline.

• Yin Yunze learned that Spirit Medium Wang had been collecting villagers’ spare money in his name and offered a hungry woman rice on credit if she brought the other needy villagers and Song Zhao to the temple.
• Yin Yunze refused Supervisor Song’s demand that he work overtime and left to buy rice for the village.
• Yin Yunze returned to the other world after dark with a thousand jin of rice, where Song Zhao, the woman, Sun Qin, Zhao Wan, and other villagers were waiting.
• Yin Yunze offered the rice for one tael of gold and gave the villagers three days to sell it in the county town and deliver the payment.
• Yin Yunze warned the villagers that he would cut off Clear Creek Village’s water supply if they failed to pay within three days.

Yin Yunze lent rice to villagers who promised to repay him in gold, then tasked Sun Qin with selling a separate supply of grain in the county town. The villagers prepared to transport the rice together, while Sun Qin went to find a helper before Yin Yunze could provide her grain.

• Yin Yunze offered rice only to the first five villagers who prayed to him, requiring each recipient to repay one tael of gold in three days.
• The five received four bags apiece, and other villagers offered to help carry the rice toward the county town alongside Song Zhao.
• Sun Qin asked to borrow grain so she could repay Yin Yunze's kindness and find useful work.
• Yin Yunze agreed to lend Sun Qin five hundred jin on the condition that she find a buyer and sell it herself.
• Yin Yunze sent Sun Qin to find a helper, then rode his tricycle to the grain and oil shop to buy more rice.

Sun Qin returned with the proceeds from selling Yin Yunze’s rice and offered him all the gold, hoping to secure his protection for herself and Zhao Wan. Impressed by her judgment and resourcefulness, Yin Yunze considered her for the role of his assistant and asked what she wanted.

• Sun Qin reported that she had sold Yin Yunze’s five hundred jin of polished rice for sixteen thousand five hundred wen and exchanged the proceeds for two taels and five qian of gold.
• Yin Yunze reflected on profiting from the drought and on his limited ability to help people beyond Clear Creek Village.
• Sun Qin knelt and offered Yin Yunze all the gold, explaining through her actions that she and Zhao Wan needed his protection.
• Yin Yunze approved of Sun Qin’s handling of the sale and recognized her as a capable potential assistant.
• Yin Yunze asked Sun Qin what she wanted.