Fang Xing enters the C-Rank herb field as a bottom-tier daotong, where the senior worker Wang Zhi and his lackeys immediately try to initiate him through forced labor and threat of nocturnal beatings. Fang Xing plays along during the day, submissively washing clothes, fetching water, and learning the tedious rules of watering the Qinrui flowers at sunset and the Moling herbs at dawn. But once night falls, he draws his uncle's dagger and stabs Wang Zhi straight through his non-lethal acupoints, pinning him to his bed. He uses this brutal display of violence to establish himself as the absolute boss of the field, warning the terrified onlookers that his dagger does not discriminate. Under his reign, the hierarchy is inverted: the other daotongs do all the weeding and watering while Fang Xing lounges in a bamboo chair eating roasted meats purchased with their pooled wages. His ruthless control over the garden allows him to hoard Hwa'jin weeds, forcing his body through agonizing, purplish-red transformations to build his Qi. When the corrupt gatekeeper Yu Sanliang tries to extort the herb field during an unscheduled inspection, Fang Xing beats him bloody, frames him as a thief by planting stolen magic herbs in his arms, and even forces a daotong to plant a gold hairpin on him to simulate extortion. He then uses the threat of sect rules to force the fat Daoist into a submissive friendship, mockingly calling him Shixiong Zhu while drinking his hidden wine. This reversal ensures his path to the outer court is cleared, leaving the terrified daotongs weeping with relief when he finally leaves to ring the Samsara Bell, completely unaware that they are celebrating the departure of a monster.

Upon entering the outer court, Fang Xing is assigned the lowest D-Rank and receives a single Spirit Stone, which greedy senior disciples immediately try to extort. Refusing to play the victim, he goes to the Pavilion of Spirit Tools. When the mustached guardian demands his Spirit Stone as a bribe for a good weapon, Fang Xing loudly accuses him of violating sect rules, forcing them to let him choose alone. Using his Book of Revelation, he bypasses the rows of tattered, broken swords and uncovers the dusty Mask of Wanluo, a tattered relic containing thirty-six intact disguise spells. He then uses this mask to transform into a twenty-something adult and infiltrates the underground Black Market. Instead of conducting normal trades, Fang Xing stages a daring heist. He uses his uncle's sleeping-fume snuff bottle to knock out the entire market, including the third-tier mustached guardian who had tried to cheat him earlier. Fang Xing systematically plunders every Spirit Stone, a high-grade storage ring, and the mid-tier Nine Snakes' Sword from the wealthy disciple Luo Xi. In a brilliant move of tactical confusion, he redistributes the remaining gold and low-grade weapons among the sleeping victims, leaving them too confused and fearful of losing their illicit gains to report the theft. He caps off the heist by urinating on the mustached guardian's face, returning to his cottage with a massive hoard of thirty Spirit Stones that secures his cultivation for the next year. He then uses his disguise to blackmail the counterfeit master Hua Qianzhi, forcing him to produce fake Ore Essence Powder to set up a massive scam against the arrogant genius Hou Qing.

When the arrogant third-tier genius Hou Qing and the crippled Shixiong Liu try to force Fang Xing into a deadly beast-slaying mission to use him as live bait for a tier-four Python Toad, Fang Xing plays the role of a terrified, greedy child to lower their guard. Deep within the treacherous Mount Miasma, he uses his Book of Revelation to identify environmental hazards that the older disciples miss. He lures the second-tier disciple Zhao into a river filled with flesh-eating Fanged Minnows, using Zhao's blood as a distraction while his own mud-covered body slips away safely. He then sets a trap using a mutated hornets' nest, severely poisoning another teammate. When Hou Qing attempts to sacrifice the remaining team members, Fang Xing uses his knowledge of the Python Toad's movement-based vision to trick Hou Qing into fleeing, drawing the massive beast's fury directly onto him. After Hou Qing exhausts his Qi fighting the toad to the death, Fang Xing emerges from the dead beast's stomach, reveals his true identity as the Black Market thief, and uses his Nine Snakes' Sword to sever Hou Qing's tendons. He absorbs the toad's beast core using a mysterious scripture from his dreams, leaping straight to the peak of tier two. He then recounts a fabricated story to the three elders at the Grand Hall of Promotions, presenting himself as a lucky survivor who only witnessed the heroic sacrifice of his seniors. This brilliant performance allows him to claim the mission rewards, blackmail the corrupt administrator Hei San, beat his old enemy Shixiong Liu once more, and establish himself as an unstoppable force in the inner court.