Chapter Summaries

Ma Liang was overwhelmed by Ling Su’s Nine Heavens Soaring Cloud Seal after the Ma Lineage abandoned him, but Chu Xinghe arrived just in time to stop the killing blow. Chu Xinghe shut down the Fengdu Grand Formation and stood between Ma Liang and Ling Su, declaring that he would handle the consequences.

• Ling Su struck Ma Liang with repeated Nine Heavens Soaring Cloud Seals, while Ma Boxing stopped Ma Bowang from pleading for Ma Liang to protect the Ma Lineage.
• Ma Liang sacrificed his spirit stones, merged with the Fengdu Grand Formation, and fought Ling Su despite knowing he would likely die.
• Ling Su’s lightning war blade descended to kill Ma Liang, but Chu Xinghe appeared beside him through a teleportation formation, forcing Ling Su to pull the blade back.
• Chu Xinghe told Ma Liang to rest, then used Evil Repeller and the Fengdu Token to shut down the Fengdu Grand Formation and return the malicious ghosts to the token.
• Chu Xinghe faced Ling Su and said he would settle matters for Ma Liang.

Chu Xinghe defended Ma Liang against Ling Su and Tian Qingquan, punished him publicly, then killed Tian Wenxin’s son and accepted a possible war between the Vast Heaven Sect and the Cloud Firmament Sect. The elders fell silent as Chu Xinghe demanded they decide whether they truly meant to start a sect war.

• Chu Xinghe killed a Great Yue imperial family member who interrupted him and challenged Ling Su’s claims that Ma Liang had slain innocent people.
• Chu Xinghe reminded Tian Qingquan that his daughter had killed Ma Liang’s elder sister, then ordered Ma Liang to kneel and demoted him from personal disciple to the outer sect.
• Chu Xinghe argued that Ma Liang had avenged his sister and that his victims had been judged guilty, leaving Ling Su unable to defend them as innocent.
• Chu Xinghe seized and beheaded Tian Wenxin’s son, the crown prince, saying his life paid for Tian Wenxin’s killing of Ma Liang’s sister.
• Chu Xinghe accepted a war between the Vast Heaven Sect and the Cloud Firmament Sect on the Vast Heaven Sect’s behalf and challenged Tian Qingquan and Ling Su to confirm whether they were serious.

Chu Xinghe defended Ma Liang after his revenge on the Great Moon Kingdom, warned the Cloud Firmament Sect against harming Vast Heaven Sect disciples, and brought Ma Liang back to Haotian Palace. As the story spread and Ma Liang faced the sect elders, Chu Xinghe trembled with excitement at the prospect of receiving sect punishment.

• Ling Su backed down from the threat of war, while Chu Xinghe warned that the Vast Heaven Sect would never forgive anyone who harmed its disciples or their families.
• Ma Liang cut all ties with the Ma Lineage and declared himself solely a Vast Heaven Sect disciple; Chu Xinghe then teleported him away.
• Ling Su rebuked Tian Qingquan, and the Great Moon Kingdom's misdeeds became public, turning opinion against its imperial family and praising Ma Liang's actions.
• Cheng Xiaotian and Zheng Yu discussed the massacre and Chu Xinghe's handling of the Cloud Firmament Sect, while Cheng Xiaotian lamented that Martial Emperor City was falling behind the Vast Heaven Sect.
• At Haotian Palace, Ma Liang and Chu Xinghe knelt before the assembled senior elders, with Ma Liang trembling in fear and Chu Xinghe excitedly anticipating sect punishment.

The Vast Heaven Sect convened to punish Ma Liang and Chu Xinghe for their unauthorized use of sect resources, but the elders defended them and rewrote the rules to lessen Chu Xinghe’s sentence. Chu Xinghe was left furious when the sect voted to adopt the new rule instead of expelling him.

• Gu Mingchao sentenced Ma Liang to demotion to the outer sect and barred him from promotion for life after Chu Xinghe claimed responsibility for giving him the Haotian Token and Fengdu Token.
• The Grand Elder declared that Chu Xinghe’s unauthorized use of the tokens carried a death sentence, but Elder He argued that the Fengdu Grand Formation belonged to Chu Xinghe and the Haotian Token had been bestowed on him by Gu Mingchao.
• The elders backed Elder He and recast Chu Xinghe’s actions as abuse of the Haotian Token, which carried expulsion from the sect at most.
• Elder He cited a rule allowing the sect to revoke prior rewards and impose a lighter punishment on members with great contributions, disappointing Chu Xinghe, who had hoped to be expelled.
• Gu Mingchao questioned the rule, and Elder He proposed it for an immediate vote; the elders and sect leaders approved it, leaving Chu Xinghe angry and tearful.

Chu Xinghe’s trial turned into a struggle over who would claim him as a disciple, as Gu Mingchao sentenced him to six months of confinement in Haotian Palace and the elders objected to the sect master’s apparent plan. After the Cloud Firmament Sect protested Ma Liang’s actions, the elders defended their disciple and ordered the truth about the Great Moon Kingdom made public; Chu Xinghe’s Misfortune Compass began spinning after he lost his personal-disciple title.

• The elders abandoned their planned trial script, and Gu Mingchao demoted Chu Xinghe from personal disciple to ordinary inner disciple.
• Gu Mingchao sentenced Chu Xinghe to six months of confinement in Haotian Palace, where he would personally guide his cultivation, prompting the elders to object.
• Elder He reported that the Cloud Firmament Sect’s master had sent a formal protest over Ma Liang’s actions in the Great Moon Kingdom.
• The Great Elder and other elders scolded Ma Liang for not asking the sect for help and vowed to protect disciples’ families from underhanded attacks.
• The Great Elder ordered Elder He to publicize what had happened in the Great Moon Kingdom and keep watch on Tian Qingquan, while Chu Xinghe’s Misfortune Compass began spinning wildly.

Chu Xinghe was stripped of his personal-disciple title but kept his cultivation boost and found that Spirit Crane Palace and the other palaces still treated him warmly. Ma Liang was demoted to the outer sect, where Liu Bo eagerly welcomed him and offered to show him around.

• The Misfortune Compass raised Chu Xinghe's cultivation limit to the peak of the Sixth Rank, and he thanked the elders for the punishment that triggered it.
• Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang left the Haotian Grand Hall with the Haotian Token still in Chu Xinghe's hands, and Ma Liang announced their punishments to the gathered disciples.
• Spirit Crane Palace disciples insisted Chu Xinghe would remain with them, while Feng Fei and the others rejected Chu Xinghe's request to be treated as an ordinary inner sect disciple.
• Chu Xinghe found that Spirit Crane Palace left his room and resources unchanged, and other palaces offered him a place as a personal disciple.
• The Grand Elder punished several palaces by cutting off their pill supplies until they met his cleanliness standards.
• Ma Liang arrived at the outer sect, where Liu Bo welcomed him and offered to introduce him to everything there.

Ma Liang toured the Vast Heaven Sect’s outer sect and was astonished by its lavish facilities and the exceptional disciples who were considered too ordinary to enter the inner sect. As he renewed his resolve to assist Xinghe, Chu Cheng loudly vowed revenge against him.

• Liu Bo showed Ma Liang the outer sect’s upgraded training grounds, dining hall, and cultivation facilities, praising Xinghe’s support.
• Ma Liang watched the outer disciples demonstrate their abilities and was shocked that talented alchemist Fan Xin and near-Fourth-Rank Xiao Chong were still in the outer sect.
• Liu Bo explained that Fan Xin and Xiao Chong had been overshadowed by the extraordinary disciples in their intake, including Mu Bai and others from the Muyue Kingdom.
• Liu Bo told the outer disciples to stop complaining about their rank and focus on cultivation, and they accepted his admonition after seeing Ma Liang’s stature.
• Ma Liang reflected that Xinghe had helped him rise far beyond his former standing and reaffirmed his ambition to become the Vast Heaven Sect’s Grand Elder.
• Chu Cheng shouted that he would make Chu Xinghe pay him back a hundredfold.

Ma Liang and Liu Bo tormented Chu Cheng in the outer sect, while Chu Xinghe struggled to understand the Vast Heaven Sect’s supposed poverty. Tantai Jing then recruited Yan Shoujing into a plan to use the Soul-Devouring Banner to turn the Fengdu Grand Formation against the sect.

• Ma Liang and Liu Bo subjected Chu Cheng to repeated torment, and Ma Liang decided to continue tempering him each day for Chu Xinghe’s sake.
• The Great Elder cut off pill supplies to the other palaces and promoted Chu Xinghe to elite disciple, but Shen Chun refused to provide him elite robes while ordering gold tiles for the Medicine King Palace.
• Wu Xingyun contacted Yan Shoujing, who insisted he had done nothing to harm the Vast Heaven Sect, then handed the communication token to Tantai Jing.
• Tantai Jing proposed giving Ma Liang the modified Soul-Devouring Banner so it would consume the Fengdu Grand Formation and make its ghosts attack the Vast Heaven Sect.
• Yan Shoujing eagerly accepted the plan and intended to use Chu Xinghe to deliver the banner to Ma Liang, believing he could destroy Ma Liang and strike a blow against Chu Xinghe.

Chu Xinghe delivered the vice sect master's Soul-Devouring Banner to Ma Liang and redirected the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grand Formation from pill production to performances for the Southern Branch. Ma Liang vowed to repay Yan Shoujing with a surprise, leaving Chu Xinghe expecting his unusual research to produce an unpredictable result.

• Chu Xinghe criticized Spirit Crane Palace's disciples for letting Ma Liang take pills, then went to Haotian Palace to study with Yan Shoujing.
• Yan Shoujing gave Chu Xinghe the Soul-Devouring Banner and told him to deliver it to Ma Liang that night.
• Chu Xinghe found Ma Liang with Lu Chengqing and Sima Bian arguing over whether the Fengdu Grand Formation should support pill sales or performances.
• Chu Xinghe assigned the formation to Lu Chengqing's Southern Branch and told Sima Bian to pursue automated pill refining with Mu Bai.
• Chu Xinghe gave Ma Liang the Soul-Devouring Banner and explained that Yan Shoujing had sent it.
• Ma Liang vowed to repay Yan Shoujing with an enormous surprise.

Chu Xinghe tried to derail Ma Liang’s progress by sending him to the Dark Moon Palace and hoped Mu Bai’s failed automatic pill refining would damage the Northern Branch’s supply. Instead, Ma Liang’s visit prompted Great Sage An Zhi to complete the Formless Heart Sutra more than two months early, leaving Chu Xinghe aghast.

• Chu Xinghe gave Ma Liang the Soul-Devouring Banner and sent him to the Dark Moon Palace to learn about ghost artifacts.
• Sima Bian told Chu Xinghe that Mu Bai’s group had failed to develop automatic pill refining, but the Northern Branch still had enough medicine to last a year.
• Chu Xinghe comforted Mu Bai after another failed experiment and urged the Muyue Kingdom disciples to work in the spirit fields.
• Shen Chun told Chu Xinghe that Great Sage An Zhi had completed the Formless Heart Sutra.
• Great Sage An Zhi explained that Ma Liang’s visit had prompted him to finish the sutra immediately instead of announcing it two months later.

After the Great Sage completed the Formless Heart Sutra, the Vast Heaven Sect discovered that it improved not only spiritual power but also abilities such as medicine refining, forging, and formation work. The chapter ended with Tantai Jing finding himself on the Demonic Sect Must-Kill List and blaming Heaven's favor toward Vast Heaven for the Dark Moon Clan’s loss.

• The Great Sage admitted he had delayed completing the Formless Heart Sutra because he enjoyed its dangerous effects, then promised not to procrastinate again; the sect elders rejected Gu Mingchao’s proposal to promote Chu Xinghe.
• The Great Sage explained that he had encrypted the Formless Heart Sutra and would protect the sect’s cultivation methods, while telling Chu Xinghe that the Dark Moon Clan would safeguard his path to success.
• Spirit Crane Palace disciples found that the Formless Heart Sutra improved medicine refining, and Ouyang Ming and the Artifact Refining Palace discovered that it improved forging as well.
• The sect’s higher-ups realized the Formless Heart Sutra could enhance many abilities, and news of its power spread across the Blazing Sun Continent.
• Zheng Yu concluded that the Dark Moon Clan, rather than the sutra alone, was the source of its power, while Tantai Jing discovered he had been placed on the Demonic Sect Must-Kill List.

As Great Sage An Zhi and Ma Liang merged the Soul-Devouring Banner with the Fengdu Grand Formation, the banner restored the formation but also drove its ghosts into a violent frenzy. The great sage appeared to be affected as well, leaving Chu Xinghe, Ma Liang, and Yan Shoujing facing a disaster whose outcome remained unclear.

• The heads of the palaces thanked Great Sage An Zhi for completing the Formless Heart Sutra’s techniques, while Chu Xinghe found that cultivating the sutra improved his abilities despite not raising his cultivation realm.
• Ma Liang and Great Sage An Zhi researched the Soul-Devouring Banner, and Yan Shoujing joined Chu Xinghe in visiting the Dark Moon Palace to watch their progress.
• Great Sage An Zhi and Ma Liang activated the Soul-Devouring Banner inside the Fengdu Grand Formation, and its power quickly restored the formation’s weakened vengeful ghosts.
• The Soul-Devouring Banner’s baleful presence drove the Ghost Emperor and the other vengeful ghosts berserk, and Ma Liang found that the Fengdu Token could no longer control them.
• The blood-eyed great sage appeared to be affected by the banner, struck away Chu Xinghe’s Evil Repeller, and left the Fengdu Grand Formation in chaos as Yan Shoujing waited for disaster to unfold.

Yan Shoujing’s Soul-Devouring Banner unleashed ancient baleful Qi that strengthened the Fengdu Grand Formation and the Dark Moon Clan while destroying the formation’s ability to refine pills. Chu Xinghe, Ma Liang, and Great Sage An Zhi praised Yan Shoujing for the unintended benefits, leaving him bewildered and suspecting the Qi had affected him.

• Great Sage An Zhi drew the Dark Moon Clan into the baleful Qi, making the clan members and vengeful ghosts appear to lose control as Yan Shoujing considered attacking Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang.
• Great Sage An Zhi revealed that he had absorbed the ancient baleful Qi, restored Ma Liang’s control over the Fengdu Grand Formation, and strengthened both the formation and the Dark Moon Clan.
• Great Sage An Zhi explained that the baleful Qi had made the vengeful ghosts unable to refine pills, and Chu Xinghe welcomed the loss because it meant the Northern Branch could no longer produce them.
• Chu Xinghe, Ma Liang, and Great Sage An Zhi thanked Yan Shoujing, believing he had selflessly helped the sect and the Dark Moon Clan.
• Yan Shoujing wondered whether the baleful Qi had affected him as Chu Xinghe praised him, while he privately lamented that events had not gone as he intended.

Chu Xinghe discovered that although the Fengdu Grand Formation had lost its pill-refining ability, the Soul-Devouring Banner let it split into smaller formations and strengthened the Dark Moon Clan, bringing the Vast Heaven Sect major benefits. Yan Shoujing reported the outcome to Wu Xingyun, who devised a plan to exploit the Northern Branch’s reduced pill supply and help Zhou Medical Hall reclaim the low-end market.

• Ma Liang revealed that the Soul-Devouring Banner let the Fengdu Grand Formation split into smaller formations, which Lu Chengqing planned to use to expand the Southern Branch’s performances.
• The Great Sage explained that the banner also reduced the spirit-stone cost of activating the formations, while the Dark Moon Clan gained baleful Qi that could help its members break through.
• Gu Mingchao and the sect leaders praised Yan Shoujing for strengthening both the Fengdu Grand Formation and the Dark Moon Clan, while Chu Xinghe mourned the loss of pill refining and Lu Chengqing promised the Southern Branch would make up for the Northern Branch’s losses.
• Yan Shoujing entered seclusion after experiencing an epiphany, then told Wu Xingyun and Tantai Jing what had happened; Tantai Jing blamed him for not teaching Ma Liang directly, and the two argued.
• Wu Xingyun realized the Northern Branch would lose its guaranteed pill supply and proposed that the Demonic Sect buy up its low-grade pills while supporting Zhou Medical Hall’s return to the market.

Chu Xinghe was summoned to help Sima Bian save the Northern Branch after the Fengdu Grand Formation lost its ability to refine pills. He rejected Sima Bian’s plan to ration the remaining stock and proposed a promotion followed by an attempt to grow low-grade pills from the ground, leaving the grand elder and Sima Bian stunned.

• Ma Liang showed off the strengthened Fengdu Grand Formation around the sect and gave the Soul-Devouring Banner to Lu Chengqing.
• Shen Chun told Chu Xinghe that the grand elder wanted to see him about Sima Bian and the Northern Branch’s collapsing pill business.
• Sima Bian proposed restricting sales to stretch the Northern Branch’s remaining pill stock while searching for a replacement method.
• Chu Xinghe rejected delaying and suggested holding a promotion to show that the Vast Heaven Sect could solve the pill shortage.
• Chu Xinghe proposed that Mu Bai and the others research growing low-grade pills from the ground, leaving Sima Bian and the grand elder dumbfounded.

Chu Xinghe proposed growing pills in the ground, expecting Mu Bai to reject the absurd idea so he could avoid helping the Northern Branch. Mu Bai revealed that the Muyue Kingdom had already made progress fusing medicinal ingredients as they grew, leaving Chu Xinghe stunned while Sima Bian mistook the proposal for a plan to protect the branch’s business.

• Chu Xinghe decided to keep quiet and block others from entering the spirit fields while Mu Bai’s group conducted research.
• The Grand Elder summoned Mu Bai and asked whether Chu Xinghe’s idea of growing pills in the ground could work.
• Mu Bai praised Chu Xinghe and explained that Mu Xiaoqi had proposed fusing medicinal ingredients as they grew, and their experiments had produced herbs with changing medicinal properties.
• The Grand Elder and Sima Bian concluded that Chu Xinghe had anticipated a future flood of pill-like herbs, and Sima Bian decided to sell the Northern Branch’s existing pill stock quickly.
• Chu Xinghe was left bewildered that his supposedly absurd idea had turned out to be feasible.

Mu Bai explained how the Muyue Kingdom had begun growing low-grade medicine directly in the fields, and Chu Xinghe was asked to help them improve it. Chu Xinghe suggested setting the spirit field on fire, and Mu Bai eagerly accepted the advice and raced off to do it, while Xinghe looked forward to the damage and punishment it might bring him.

• Mu Bai told Chu Xinghe and the grand elder that the Muyue Kingdom had learned to grow low-grade medicine with up to half the effect of ordinary pills, but could not improve its potency without spirit fire.
• The grand elder urged Mu Bai to seek Chu Xinghe’s advice because of his Medicine Saint Inheritance, leaving Xinghe unable to admit the inheritance contained no such method.
• Chu Xinghe advised Mu Bai to set fire to the fields, hoping the plan would destroy the spirit field and get him punished.
• Mu Bai excitedly agreed that fire was the missing ingredient and rushed out to set the spirit field alight.
• Sima Bian tried to warn Xinghe that burning the field would cause enormous losses, but Xinghe only became more excited.

Chu Xinghe expected Mu Bai to burn down the Vast Heaven Sect’s spirit fields, but Mu Bai instead used buried fire crystal stones and Wood Spirit to develop crystalized medicinal fruit with nearly the efficacy of a Blood Recovery Pill. The Grand Elder approved Mu Bai’s request to name the new spirit herb the Crystal of Xinghe, while Chu Xinghe remained frustrated that the successful experiment had not caused the disaster he wanted.

• Chu Xinghe followed the Grand Elder to the spirit fields, hoping Mu Bai would set them ablaze and create a crisis.
• Mu Bai and the Muyue Kingdom disciples buried fire crystal stones and channeled Wood Spirit, transforming spirit-herb fruit into transparent crystals.
• Mu Bai showed Chu Xinghe and the Grand Elder that the fruit had nearly ninety percent of a Blood Recovery Pill’s efficacy, and Sima Bian credited Chu Xinghe with the discovery.
• Mu Bai explained that the Crystal of Xinghe could be harvested in enormous quantities and that the Muyue Kingdom could grow pills below Third Rank.
• Mu Bai asked to name the new spirit herb the Crystal of Xinghe, and the Grand Elder approved the name for all spirit herbs developed by the Muyue Kingdom.

The Vast Heaven Sect unveiled the Crystal of Xinghe, a cheap, high-yield alternative to pills below the third rank, and caused upheaval across the Blazing Sun Continent’s pill market. Zhou Xiaoguang’s plan to revive Zhou Medical Hall collapsed on opening day, and the pill-refining community was left in turmoil.

• The Grand Elder named the new product the Crystal of Xinghe, ordered Mu Bai to expand spiritual-herb cultivation, and told Sima Bian to sell the Northern Branch’s remaining low-grade pills.
• Zhou Xiaoguang bought the Northern Branch’s entire pill stock and reopened Zhou Medical Hall, convinced the Vast Heaven Sect could no longer produce pills.
• The Vast Heaven Sect announced the Crystal of Xinghe and sent samples to powers across the world, where tests confirmed the crystals could grow from the ground and rival ordinary pills.
• Zheng Yu tested a blood-recovery Crystal of Xinghe and learned that Muyue Kingdom disciples had cultivated the crystals under Chu Xinghe’s guidance.
• The Crystal of Xinghe devastated competitors who had prepared to enter the low-grade pill market, while Zhou Medical Hall closed on the day it reopened and Zhou Xiaoguang was killed by a Demonic Sect powerhouse resembling Wu Xingyun.
• The Crystal of Xinghe overturned the pill-refining community, whose members blamed Chu Xinghe for breaking its rules.

The Vast Heaven Sect’s cheap Crystals of Xinghe threatened low-rank medicine refiners, who formed an alliance to boycott them. Sima Bian revealed that Chu Xinghe had set the prices so more ordinary people could afford lifesaving pills, winning public support and deepening Sima Bian’s admiration for him.

• Medicine refiners across the continent reacted to the Vast Heaven Sect’s announcement that it would sell Crystals of Xinghe up to Third Rank at extremely low prices.
• Low-rank medicine refiners formed the Anti-Xinghe Crystal Alliance and accused the Vast Heaven Sect of driving them out of the profession.
• Sima Bian recalled how Chu Xinghe had rejected the Grand Elder’s proposal to keep prices higher, arguing that poor patients also deserved a chance to survive.
• Sima Bian ordered the Vast Heaven Sect to explain the compassionate reason behind the prices, and the public fell silent after hearing it.
• Sima Bian realized Chu Xinghe had put the needs of ordinary people above profit and regarded him as a saint who held the world in his heart.