Chapter Summaries

Kang Dabao, the struggling sect master of the Chongming Sect, traveled to Pingrong County with a powerful golden donkey and reflected on his sect’s decline. At White Ram Monastery, he met He Muxian, then left after giving the monastery’s disciples an unusual medicinal gift.

• Kang Dabao whipped his donkey into clearing a landslide that blocked the snowy mountain pass.
• Kang Dabao checked the almanac, realized fifteen years had passed, and drove toward Pingrong County on the Longevity Festival.
• Kang Dabao visited White Ram Monastery and reflected on how the Chongming Sect had lost its monasteries and influence.
• He Muxian greeted Kang Dabao and spoke hopefully of the sect’s revival, while Kang Dabao privately doubted his optimism.
• Kang Dabao declined He Muxian’s invitation, left a strip of donkey meat as a tonic for the monastery’s disciples, and drove away.

Kang Dabao returned to the struggling Chongming Sect after an expensive, unsuccessful trip to Linghe Market and reunited with his fellow disciples and their families. At the Longevity Festival dinner, he turned to his third junior brother, Jiang Qing, who had something to discuss.

• Kang Dabao regretted spending nearly two hundred Spirit Stones on his market trip and worried over the sect's expenses and his disciples' futures.
• Kang Dabao returned to Chongming Sect, whose grounds and defensive formation were in poor condition.
• Yuan Jin greeted Kang Dabao with a pheasant and said Little Sanzi had returned covered in blood, while Kang Dabao scolded him for risking himself in the mountains.
• Kang Dabao changed into the sect's heirloom robe and chanted Daoist scripture until nightfall.
• Kang Dabao joined Yuan Jin, Jiang Qing, the Dong sisters, and the children in the courtyard for the Longevity Festival.
• Kang Dabao welcomed Jiang Qing and asked what he wanted to discuss as they prepared to eat.

During the Longevity Festival, Kang Dabao and his brothers shared a feast and discussed the growing dangers around the Chongming Sect. Kang Dabao angrily refused to let Jiang Qing take a risky caravan job, but Jiang Qing remained determined to pursue the path of a sword cultivator.

• Kang Dabao, Yuan Jin, and Jiang Qing feasted in the Founder's Hall while the White-Armored Land Tortoise ate bones and drank wine.
• Kang Dabao explained that he had captured an old donkey that had deceived Fine Willow Village into sacrificing children, and made it work for the sect instead of killing it for meat.
• Yuan Jin told Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing that bandits had wiped out the Shi Household and that the Dingnan Niu Household was organizing a new guard force.
• Jiang Qing revealed that eldest brother He had invited him to guard a caravan to the Wang Household Military Fort for forty-eight Spirit Stones, but Kang Dabao refused and warned him about the deadly risks.
• Kang Dabao recalled near-death encounters with Demon Beasts and the slaughter of a caravan by Evil Cultivators, while Jiang Qing insisted he could not become a sword cultivator by staying in seclusion.

Kang Dabao taught Han Yundao and Duan Anle about the vast cultivation world and urged them to remain humble and persevere despite their weak aptitude. He then reflected on his fifteen years in this world and how he had inherited a bankrupt Chongming Sect, leaving its future dependent on his struggle to rebuild it.

• Kang Dabao questioned Han Yundao and Duan Anle on the Great Wei Compendium, and Han explained that Chongming Sect was weak and unregistered among the dynasty’s sects.
• Kang Dabao warned his disciples not to become arrogant, encouraged them about their mixed spirit roots, and sent them to morning lessons.
• Kang Dabao practiced alone and lamented that his cultivation had stalled and that he was about to risk his life again.
• Kang Dabao recalled how his master had died and left him the Chongming Sect, after which his martial uncles divided its assets and left him only a mountain gate, two young disciples, and a dog.
• Kang Dabao rebuilt the sect by repairing an abandoned formation, sending Yuan Jin to apprentice in artifact refining, and trading goods to buy Jiang Qing’s cultivation materials.

Kang Dabao traveled to Zhai Household Market to seek business and visit his old friend Niu Gui'er, arriving after a leisurely journey. Niu Gui'er shut them in a soundproof room and threatened him, but Kang Dabao challenged him to serve the promised tea.

• Kang Dabao left Jiang Qing in charge of the sect and promised to discuss his plans to travel with the He family's merchant caravan after returning.
• Kang Dabao traveled for twelve days to Zhai Household Market, stopping in towns along the way and sending Jiang Qing letters.
• Kang Dabao paid the entry fee and encountered Zhai An and Zhai He complaining about being punished by a Household elder.
• Kang Dabao visited Niu Gui'er at his teahouse, and Niu Gui'er led him into a quiet room and activated a soundproofing restriction.
• Niu Gui'er threatened Kang Dabao, who warned him about the consequences of harming him and demanded the promised dew-plum tea.

Kang Dabao attended a gathering of cultivators preparing to hunt the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, where the others traded valuable goods while he failed to sell his mysterious black bone. After two fruitless days of discussion, he heard a heavy object fall in the courtyard.

• Niu Gui'er and Kang Dabao discussed the gathering’s leaders and the dangers of hunting the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household.
• Daoist Wu, Gu Laoliu, and Niu Gui'er joined the gathering, and Gu Laoliu proposed trading goods to improve their strength.
• Daoist Wu traded an Army-Breaking Hammer to Gu Laoliu for Yellow Wood Heart, then failed to sell his pills.
• Daoist Wu outbid Kang Dabao for Niu Gui'er's Realm-Breaking Pill, leaving Kang Dabao empty-handed.
• Kang Dabao offered his black beast bone, but Daoist Wu mocked it and Gu Laoliu had to ease the tension.
• Kang Dabao spent two days in unproductive discussions, then heard a heavy object fall in the courtyard as he prepared to meditate.

After Daoist Wu was found murdered in Niu Gui'er's courtyard, the market stewards blamed Niu Gui'er and ordered the matter buried. The three cultivators debated whether to proceed against the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, but Kang Dabao's plans were interrupted when something in his Storage Bag flew out and reduced Daoist Wu's corpse to dust.

• Kang Dabao, Gu Laoliu, and Niu Gui'er found Daoist Wu's body and examined the precise, scorched cut that had severed him in two.
• Niu Gui'er reported the death to Great Zhai Market, but a Zhai family cultivator accused him of the deed and warned him to keep quiet.
• Gu Laoliu and Niu Gui'er wanted to continue the planned deal against the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, while Kang Dabao urged them to wait for Fellow Daoist Bai and Second Sister Song.
• After the others returned to their rooms, an object escaped Kang Dabao's Storage Bag, smashed through his door, and struck Daoist Wu's corpse.
• Daoist Wu's body turned to fine dust, which scattered through the courtyard in a cool breeze.

Kang Dabao faced public blame from Daoist Wu’s widow after admitting he had damaged her husband’s remains, while concealing the black bone that had absorbed them. Later, Bai Bian questioned Kang’s place in a dangerous mission against the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, but Second Sister Song vouched for him, and the group agreed to depart the next day.

• Daoist Wu’s widow confronted Niu Gui'er and Kang Dabao, demanding her husband’s body, and Kang admitted he had damaged the remains while hiding the black bone’s role.
• Kang Dabao threatened to settle the dispute in a fight, but Niu Gui'er stopped the widow from pursuing him and comforted her.
• Niu Gui'er’s attendant summoned Kang to meet Bai Bian and Second Sister Song, who had joined Niu Gui'er and Gu Laoliu to discuss their mission.
• Bai Bian questioned Kang’s usefulness and criticized his reputation, prompting Second Sister Song to reveal that Kang had returned unscathed from the Jiang Household Trading Company’s disastrous battle with the Black Ghost Bandits.
• Bai Bian and the others respected Kang after hearing of his survival, and Bai Bian set the group’s departure for the following day.

Kang Dabao joined Bai Bian, Second Sister Song, and other cultivators to ambush the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household in Wild Horse Village. As night fell, the group prepared for battle, and Kang Dabao grew suspicious of Second Sister Song’s behavior before learning that someone was approaching.

• Bai Bian assembled a group of cultivators to attack the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, who had devastated Wild Horse Village.
• Second Sister Song told Kang Dabao about the brothers’ abilities and the danger of the mission as they traveled to the village.
• Bai Bian hid the group outside the village and set up a concealment formation while Second Sister Song’s butterflies and Niu Gui’er’s Ghost Children scouted and guarded them.
• Second Sister Song reminisced with Kang Dabao about their childhood and secretly gave him a red mountain fruit, which he tested for poison before saving it for Jiang Qing.
• Kang Dabao heard someone approaching and warned the group.

Bai Bian and his allies clashed with the four Liu brothers, gaining the upper hand through their combined attacks. Just as Kang Dabao shattered Third Liu’s folding fan and moved to finish him, another scream rang out behind him.

• Gu Laoliu and Niu Gui'er sensed four approaching enemies, and Bai Bian led the group out to meet the Liu brothers.
• Bai Bian fought the Eldest of the Liu Household while Niu Gui'er and Gu Laoliu engaged Second Liu and Third Liu.
• Kang Dabao attacked Third Liu and Fourth Liu as Gu Laoliu’s ghosts trapped them, while Second Sister Song wounded Second Liu with her Venomous Bee Stinger.
• Second Liu detonated his flying wheel, injuring Second Sister Song and damaging Niu Gui'er's ghosts before fleeing into the forest pursued by Niu Gui'er.
• Bai Bian wounded the Eldest of the Liu Household, and Kang Dabao shattered Third Liu’s folding fan as Fourth Liu was overwhelmed by the ghosts.
• A scream sounded behind Kang Dabao just as he prepared to finish Third Liu.

Kang Dabao fought to survive after Second Sister Song’s ambush was exposed, but Liu Lao’er’s return and Blood-Burning Great Method turned the battle against him. After his white-shelled tortoise sacrificed itself to save him, the exhausted Kang Dabao saw Third Liu and Fourth Liu return to the fight.

• Second Sister Song killed Gu Laoliu, and Kang Dabao realized Liu Lao’er had only pretended to be injured as Third Liu and Fourth Liu fled into the forest.
• Kang Dabao shattered Second Sister Song’s defensive mirror while Bai Bian battled the Eldest of the Liu Household, but Liu Lao’er returned carrying Niu Gui’er’s head and rescued her.
• Kang Dabao used the Collapse Instruction to knock Liu Lao’er down, but Liu Lao’er activated the Blood-Burning Great Method and rose to attack again.
• Kang Dabao drove seven Midnight-Noon Nails into Liu Lao’er and fought him with his hammer, but Liu Lao’er’s flying wheel killed Kang Dabao’s white-shelled tortoise as it shielded him.
• Kang Dabao struck Liu Lao’er and slowed his assault, but Liu Lao’er burned more spiritual power, and Third Liu and Fourth Liu returned from the forest.

Kang Dabao fought the Liu brothers alongside Bai Bian, and a desperate battle left both sides badly wounded. As the eldest Liu brother moved in to kill him, Kang Dabao used the Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes for the first time, but its beams struck the third Liu brother instead, leaving Kang Dabao apparently dying.

• Bai Bian overwhelmed the fourth Liu brother with Sword Qi Finger, while the second Liu brother took the attack meant for him.
• The eldest Liu brother used a Heavenly Thunder Seed to blast Bai Bian, and Kang Dabao was knocked down in the aftermath.
• The third Liu brother accused Second Sister Song of betraying the Liu brothers, slapped her, and ordered her to tend to the wounded.
• Kang Dabao fought the eldest Liu brother after his allies were incapacitated, but his Mountain-Splitting Hammer shattered and a fragment killed the second Liu brother.
• As the eldest Liu brother charged him, Kang Dabao recited the first passage of the Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes and unleashed golden beams that struck the third Liu brother, who died alongside the fourth Liu brother.
• Kang Dabao collapsed, exhausted and seemingly near death, while the eldest Liu brother screamed over his dead brothers.

Kang Dabao survived the Eldest of the Liu Household’s torture when his blood awakened the black-glazed gourd, which killed the Eldest and left Second Sister Song mortally wounded. After killing her and gathering the dead cultivators’ belongings, Kang Dabao limped away to find a safe place to recover.

• The Eldest of the Liu Household tortured Kang Dabao while vowing to avenge his three brothers.
• Kang Dabao’s blood activated the black-glazed gourd, whose gray smoke devoured the Eldest of the Liu Household and returned to the gourd.
• Second Sister Song’s hairpin Law Artifact shattered against the gourd, leaving her grievously wounded and unable to reach the antidote in the Eldest’s Storage Bag.
• Kang Dabao regained enough strength to crawl to Second Sister Song, reflect on their lost friendship, and snap her neck.
• Kang Dabao gathered useful belongings from the corpses, left Second Sister Song dressed, burned the bodies, and limped away to find a safe place to heal.

Three months after the battle, Kang Dabao recovered in a cave and discovered that the gourd he had carried for years was the Primordial Gourd, Azure Smoke of Creation. Its spiritual dew greatly improved his cultivation and eye-technique talent, and he prepared to return to the Chongming Sect.

• Kang Dabao broke through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer with help from a Realm-Breaking Pill and reviewed the losses and spoils from the battle.
• Kang Dabao spent nine days dripping Essence Blood on the gourd and learned its name, its life-saving azure smoke, and that only one use remained.
• Kang Dabao poured spiritual dew from the gourd and drank it, stabilizing his cultivation and increasing his cultivation speed and talent for eye techniques.
• Kang Dabao learned that the gourd produced only one bowl of spiritual dew every twelve years and wondered how to restore its damaged essence.
• Kang Dabao gathered his belongings and prepared to return to the sect, remembering that Yuan Jin and Jiang Qing might be worried about him.

Kang Dabao returned to the sect after three months away, injured but richer and with his cultivation advanced. After reuniting with his fellow disciples and family, he set out with Jiang Qing and the boys to buy supplies, leaving Yuan Jin behind to watch the sect.

• Kang Dabao found no cultivation methods among the Storage Bags, burned a tear-stained booklet, and hired a Cloud-Traveling Beast carriage to return to the sect.
• Kang Dabao reunited with Jiang Qing, learned the He Household caravan had already departed, and told Jiang Qing to summon Yuan Jin and his family for a meal.
• Yuan Jin returned with his family but had not bought the costly dishes Kang Dabao requested, so Kang Dabao ordered pork hocks instead and shared a meal with everyone.
• Kang Dabao left Yuan Jin to guard the sect and traveled toward the market with Jiang Qing, Han Yundao, Duan Anle, Changsheng, and Ruyi.

Kang Dabao took Jiang Qing, his disciples, and the children to Linghe Market, where he handled an encounter with Shen Tu and taught his companions to value practical purchases and caution. Before leaving, he had a red mountain fruit appraised as an ordinary, nonpoisonous fruit and shared a small piece with Jiang Qing.

• Changsheng and Ruyi called out about Shen Tu and Lady Chong’s revealing clothes, and Kang Dabao apologized while Shen Tu warned him to teach the children better manners.
• Kang Dabao explained that Shen Tu was a core disciple of Zi Maple Valley and cautioned Jiang Qing against picking unnecessary fights.
• Kang Dabao haggled for spirit talismans and bought medicinal ingredients and wound medicine, arguing that practical supplies were part of cultivation.
• Ruyi and Changsheng pulled Kang Dabao’s hair while demanding sugar-oil fruit fritters, and Kang Dabao bought treats before preparing to leave the market.
• Kang Dabao asked the one-eyed shopkeeper to appraise the red mountain fruit, learned it was ordinary and nonpoisonous, then paid one Spirit Stone and left.
• Kang Dabao gave Jiang Qing a small piece of the fruit and ate the rest.

Kang Dabao brought the Chongming Sect to Xuanwei City, where Yuan Jin settled them into his courtyard and prepared to contact Master Qi. Jiang Qing learned that his friend Elder Brother He ran a business in the city and set out to find it.

• Kang Dabao led the whole Chongming Sect to Xuanwei City, and they paid the gate fee to enter.
• Yuan Jin guided the group through the bustling city to his courtyard and described local businesses and rumors to Kang Dabao.
• Yuan Jin privately offered to arrange a visit to the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion for Kang Dabao, but Jiang Qing interrupted them.
• Kang Dabao told Yuan Jin to send Master Qi a calling card, then learned that Jiang Qing planned to look for Elder Brother He.
• Jiang Qing said Elder Brother He’s business was the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion, and Kang Dabao let him go there.

Kang Dabao, Yuan Jin, and Jiang Qing navigated the Chongming Sect’s formal dealings with Master Qi, whose wealth and influence dwarfed their own. After hosting the sect leaders and apprentices, Qi Buxiu began considering Yuan Jin as a way to secure his family’s future.

• Kang Dabao arranged a thirty-Spirit-Stone gift and learned that Master Qi would receive him and his two junior brothers the next day.
• Jiang Qing left for the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion, prompting Kang Dabao to worry that the junior brother he had raised was spending too much on social obligations.
• Kang Dabao, Yuan Jin, and their junior brother visited Qi Buxiu’s lavish residence in a Cloud-Traveling Beast carriage and presented the gift.
• Qi Buxiu praised the Chongming Sect’s brotherly loyalty and privately reflected on Kang Dabao’s leadership and Yuan Jin’s artifact-refining talent.
• Qi Buxiu worried that his family might lose its wealth after his death and began considering a plan involving Yuan Jin.
• Kang Dabao and his junior brothers shared a meal with Qi Buxiu and Qi Duoluo, then took their leave; afterward, Kang Dabao suggested that his second brother spend more time with Yuan Jin.

Kang Dabao took Yuan Jin and Jiang Qing shopping for Jiang Qing’s cultivation equipment, then bargained for a first-tier supreme-grade flying sword at the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion. The group left with the sword and several extras, including the frightened maid Mo'er, whose sobs drew attention in the street.

• Kang Dabao gave Yuan Jin one thousand Spirit Stones and told him to outfit Jiang Qing, while Yuan Jin advised Kang Dabao to build ties with Senior Brother Qi and the Qi Household.
• Yuan Jin led Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing around Xuanwei City to buy equipment for Jiang Qing and Clear Spirit Bells for Han Yundao and Duan Anle.
• Kang Dabao, Yuan Jin, and Jiang Qing visited the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, where Huo Ying showed them several flying swords.
• Kang Dabao chose the Seven Luminaries Heart-Slaying Sword and bargained Huo Ying down to nine hundred Spirit Stones, receiving five Storage Bags and other extras.
• Yuan Jin pointed out Mo'er among the extras, and the frightened girl began sobbing as the group left the shop.

Back at Yuan Jin's courtyard, Kang Dabao arranged for Mo'er to be raised by the household and discussed Jiang Qing's upcoming trip and equipment with his brothers. The conversation ended with Jiang Qing acknowledging that Kang Dabao had risked his life to earn their wealth, prompting Kang Dabao to retreat to the back courtyard.

• Dong Wanxi comforted Mo'er after Kang Dabao brought her from Huo Ying, and Jiang Qing confirmed that she had a False Spirit Root.
• Kang Dabao asked Yuan Jin to find out whether Mo'er's family at the Illusory Sword Alliance's encampment could be brought over, while refusing to pay Huo Ying Spirit Stones.
• Jiang Qing told Kang Dabao and Yuan Jin that he would leave with He Degong from the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion on the morning of the eighth day, and Yuan Jin warned him to conceal his Seven Luminaries Heart-Slaying Sword.
• Kang Dabao reviewed Jiang Qing's new weapons, protective gear, pills, and talismans, then gave Yuan Jin the remaining Spirit Stones to buy equipment for himself.
• Kang Dabao reflected on his neglected cultivation and his recent progress with the Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes, then discussed He Degong and He Dezong with Yuan Jin and Jiang Qing.
• Jiang Qing remarked that Kang Dabao had risked his life to earn their wealth, and Kang Dabao abruptly went to the back courtyard to shout at Yundao and Anle about the pork hock.