Chapter Summaries

Jiang Sheng spent the New Year alone at Qingxuan Temple, welcomed Bai Ying, and defended her from her parents’ schemes against Tian Ming'an. He taught Bai Ying about cultivation while Tian Ming'an practiced, then reflected on the children’s uncertain future as he continued cultivating.

• Jiang Sheng sent Tian Ming'an down the mountain for the New Year and told Bai Ying that he preferred the quiet life of the temple.
• Bai Ying visited Qingxuan Temple, and after Tian Ming'an returned, she watched him practice while Jiang Sheng explained how cultivation methods shaped techniques.
• Bai Shang and Qing Yun apologized for Bai Ying’s visits, but Jiang Sheng accused them of using their daughter to pursue their own intentions and forced them to kneel.
• Jiang Sheng taught Bai Ying basic principles of cultivation, praised Tian Ming'an’s Qingyuan Spirit Thorn Art, and told him to practice with Bai Ying while he was away.
• Jiang Sheng flew to the mountain, reflected that Tian Ming'an and Bai Ying might one day follow different paths, and continued cultivating the Heaven Generates Water Scripture.

Lin Fan returned to Qingxuan Temple and told Jiang Sheng that he planned to stop Princess Zhaoping Mu Chan’s marriage to Wei Kuang by stealing her away. Jiang Sheng warned that the plan could get Lin Fan killed, but Lin Fan departed anyway, leaving his belongings with Jiang Sheng in case he did not return.

• Years after Bai Ying’s visits to Qingxuan Temple began, Lin Fan returned and recounted his adventures with a Mighty Radiant Gold Bull in Thousandfold Mountain Valley.
• Jiang Sheng revealed that he had followed news from Wei Kingdom to learn whether Lin Fan was alive and identified Princess Zhaoping as Mu Chan.
• Lin Fan explained that Mu Cong had agreed to Mu Chan’s marriage to Wei Kuang in exchange for the Wei Family’s Five-Petaled Pure-Heart Lotus, which could protect him from a Heavenly Demon.
• Jiang Sheng warned Lin Fan that Golden Core Realm cultivators would oversee the marriage and that disrupting it could cost Lin Fan his life.
• Lin Fan left his storage pouch with Jiang Sheng and departed for Wei Kingdom to snatch the bride.
• After Lin Fan left, Jiang Sheng told Tian Ming'an that he could only watch his friend go to his death.

Jiang Sheng resisted the urge to intervene in Lin Fan’s tribulation, then entered seclusion to cultivate while Tian Ming'an steadily advanced. After several years, Jiang Sheng broke through to the late Purple Mansion Realm.

• Jiang Sheng explained to Tian Ming'an that Lin Fan had to face his tribulation of love alone, while Jiang Sheng wrestled with whether to help his longtime friend before suppressing the demons in his sea of consciousness.
• Jiang Sheng taught Tian Ming'an to judge the fish by their own world and to polish his Dao Heart, as Qingxuan Temple remained peaceful.
• Xu Xiao told Jiang Sheng that a princess had been abducted in the Wei Kingdom and that the Qi emperor was planning a multi-kingdom martial tournament; Jiang Sheng declined to participate.
• Jiang Sheng gained insight into the Heaven Generates Water Scripture and entered seclusion, instructing Tian Ming'an to send Lin Fan to pay respects to the patriarch’s portrait if he visited.
• Over the next three years, Lin Fan visited Qingping Mountain, paid respects, and left without disturbing Jiang Sheng, while Tian Ming'an cultivated to the eighth layer of qi refinement.
• Jiang Sheng’s spiritual liquid grew purer until his spiritual awareness broke through, bringing him into the late Purple Mansion Realm.

After reaching the late Purple Mansion realm, Jiang Sheng prepared to return to his sect and pursue core formation, but first took his disciple Tian Ming'an west to gather earthly baleful essence. They crossed the Wei Kingdom and entered Dreamcloud Marsh, where Tian Ming'an saw the vast wetland for the first time.

• Jiang Sheng tested Tian Ming'an's combat skills and taught him fire arts, water arts, and an escape technique as additional trump cards.
• Jiang Sheng told Tian Ming'an he planned to return to the sect to prepare for core formation, then invited him to travel west and promised him a gift.
• Tian Ming'an packed his belongings, left a letter for the little fox, and joined Jiang Sheng and the Cloud-Turning Steed on their journey.
• Jiang Sheng and Tian Ming'an traveled for half a year through the Qi and Wei Kingdoms, exploring cultivators' markets along the way.
• Jiang Sheng, Tian Ming'an, and the Cloud-Turning Steed passed through the Wei Kingdom's western border pass and reached the edge of Dreamcloud Marsh.
• Jiang Sheng carried Tian Ming'an and the Cloud-Turning Steed over the perilous swamp approach and into Dreamcloud Marsh.

Jiang Sheng sent Tian Ming'an to Fire-Refining Island alone to seek earthly baleful essence and gain experience before his master returned to Penglai. After five robber cultivators ambushed him, Tian Ming'an fought back, but the chapter ended with him struck down by their coordinated attack.

• Jiang Sheng told Tian Ming'an to find his own lodging and destination, then gave him a storage pouch and left him to travel independently.
• Tian Ming'an listened to cultivators at an inn on Zheluo Island and chose to seek fire baleful essence on Fire-Refining Island.
• Tian Ming'an boarded a ship to Fire-Refining Island, unaware that five cultivators were watching him.
• The five robber cultivators ambushed Tian Ming'an, revealing that they had lured him to the island after spotting his storage pouch.
• Tian Ming'an killed two attackers and wounded another, but the remaining three struck him with a coordinated barrage, leaving his fate unclear.

Tian Ming'an survived a bandit ambush with the Heartguard Mirror Jiang Sheng had given him, then searched Fire-Refining Island for earthly baleful energy and found it inaccessible. At Hundred Merchants Island, he learned that the next major auction was seven years away and began to question whether he could ever obtain the resources needed to establish his foundation.

• Tian Ming'an used the Heartguard Mirror to survive the Fire-Hair Needle, then killed the three bandits with water arrows and collected their belongings.
• Jiang Sheng watched Tian Ming'an from above and accepted Li Wang's invitation to visit the Hundred Merchants Association manager on Fire-Refining Island.
• Tian Ming'an learned that the island's molten lava baleful fire was difficult to collect and that workshops guarded the volcanic vents, so he traveled to Hundred Merchants Island.
• Tian Ming'an discovered that the auction for treasures such as earthly baleful energy was seven years away and felt overwhelmed by how scarce such resources were for cultivators of modest means.
• Tian Ming'an reconsidered his confidence in obtaining heavenly astral and earthly baleful energies and wondered what he would be without Jiang Sheng's protection.

After losing his savings and struggling as a rogue cultivator, Tian Ming'an found a supportive team and joined them in seeking earthly baleful energy on the sunken Yanshan Island. The island surfaced amid fierce competition and deadly ghosts, and Tian Ming'an led his companions toward Black Mountain despite the dangers.

• Tian Ming'an was robbed after getting drunk, then survived by taking commissions and learned how difficult life was for rogue cultivators.
• Tian Ming'an joined Lu Tianpeng, Yan Wushuang, Sun Deshui, Jia Xiangquan, and Gu Mingxi, and the team traveled together while pursuing cultivation opportunities.
• Lu Tianpeng and Yan Wushuang became Dao companions, and Sun Deshui later revealed a rumor and map fragment pointing to earthly baleful energy on Yanshan Island.
• The six traveled to the marked location and watched Yanshan Island rise from Dreamcloud Marsh as other cultivators gathered and fought for access.
• Tian Ming'an and his companions battled ghosts, monsters, and demonic plants on their way to Black Mountain, where they saw a foundation establishment cultivator die.
• After Lu Tianpeng and Sun Deshui voiced doubts about climbing Black Mountain, Yan Wushuang urged the team onward, and Tian Ming'an declared that he would lead the way.

Tian Ming'an’s group and several foundation establishment cultivators fought their way through the ghosts and strange trees of the Black Mountain Range toward its main peak. They reached a dazzling palace complex that appeared to be a True Person’s residence, leaving them convinced they had found an opportunity.

• Tian Ming'an led five fellow qi refining cultivators through the misty Black Mountain Range, where ghosts and animated trees attacked them.
• Tian Ming'an and Sun Deshui used fire arts, flying knives, and Wood-Nature Spiritual Light to fend off the strange trees and specters.
• Lan Xinyao, Gao Yingwen, and Gao Yangwu advanced toward the main peak, defeating increasingly powerful ghosts and monsters along the way.
• Tian Ming'an’s group encountered ghostly spells deeper in the range but defended themselves and reached the foot of the main peak.
• The six cultivators climbed through a ghost-free landscape of living trees and stone steps until they saw a lavish, brightly lit palace.
• Tian Ming'an’s group declared that the palace must be a True Person’s residence and believed it contained treasures.

Tian Ming'an broke free of the demon tree’s illusion and helped the cultivators realize they were trapped on Black Mountain’s main peak. As they struggled against the blood banyan tree, Daoists watching from the clouds revealed its strength, and Jiang Sheng said he would intervene when the time came.

• Tian Ming'an recognized that the lavish hall was an illusion, woke the others, and exposed the skeletons and blood-filled ruins around them.
• The cultivators discovered a demon tree behind the hall, and a Qi Refinement cultivator was killed when monstrous trees seized him as he tried to flee.
• Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement cultivators attacked the demon tree, but its shriek and resilient roots disrupted their assault.
• Lan Xinyao drove back toxic blood mist and severed roots threatening Gao Yingwen and Gao Yangwu as the battle continued.
• Daoists watching from three thousand zhang above explained that the corrupted blood banyan tree could rival the Golden Core Realm, and Jiang Sheng said he would act when the time came.

Tian Ming'an’s journey to Dreamcloud Marsh ended when Jiang Sheng slew the Blood Banyan Demon Tree and helped him obtain secluded wood baleful intent. Tian Ming'an said farewell to his sworn siblings and returned to Qingping Mountain with Jiang Sheng, carrying what he needed to establish his foundation.

• Lan Xinyao and the Gao brothers abandoned the Qi Refining Realm cultivators, leaving Tian Ming'an and his companions trapped by the demon tree.
• Sun Deshui offered to burn his blood essence to open an escape route, while Jia Xiangquan and Gu Mingxi stayed behind to buy the others time.
• Jiang Sheng struck down the Blood Banyan Demon Tree with one sword slash, then sent Tian Ming'an to collect its tree heart and secluded wood baleful intent.
• Jiang Sheng gave Tian Ming'an a storage pouch containing darkwater mist astral force and told him to establish his foundation after returning to Qingping Mountain.
• Tian Ming'an revealed his background to Lu Tianpeng and his other sworn siblings, promised to meet them again after reaching Foundation Establishment, and returned home with Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng left Qingping Mountain in Tian Ming'an’s care and returned to Penglai, where the history of the Ten-Thousand-Year Tribulations explained the Dao Sect’s changing recruitment practices. After passing the Heaven-Ascending Stairway with a newly calm state of mind, Jiang Sheng entered Penglai.

• Jiang Sheng entrusted Qingxuan Temple to Tian Ming'an, then left Qingping Mountain for Penglai.
• Daolingzi welcomed Jiang Sheng at Yuanqiao and let him continue on to the Dao Sect.
• The account described how three Ten-Thousand-Year Tribulations reshaped the Shanhe World and led the Dao Sect to recruit disciples more frequently and send them out to temper themselves.
• The Dao Sect’s True Lords believed that people favored by destiny appeared before each tribulation, so the sect cast a wide net to recruit possible children of the tribulation.
• Jiang Sheng climbed the Heaven-Ascending Stairway and met Daoqing beneath the Heavenly Gate.
• Daoqing opened the Heavenly Gate, and Jiang Sheng entered Penglai.

Jiang Sheng received his core formation token and resources from the Penglai Dao Sect, then settled at Rosy Cloud Mountain to cultivate using the core formation section of the Heaven Generates Water Scripture. He remained in seclusion, gradually strengthening his spiritual power without yet beginning core formation.

• Jiang Sheng met Dao Kong, who gave him a token and recognized him as a promising candidate for forming a superior golden core.
• Jiang Sheng collected mica spirit sand from the treasury with Wang Zheng's help.
• Jiang Sheng chose Rosy Cloud Mountain as his cultivation abode and received its jade disc.
• Jiang Sheng used his token to study the core formation section of the Heaven Generates Water Scripture and began refining his spiritual power.
• Jiang Sheng continued cultivating on Rosy Cloud Mountain as the sun and moon passed, waiting for his spiritual power to reach its limit.

Jiang Sheng entered seclusion in Sunset Glow Cave and began forming his golden core after perfecting his Purple Mansion cultivation. As his nascent core grew under the tempering of true fire and spiritual medicines, he reached the final step of core formation, where heart demons and heavenly demons threatened to obstruct him.

• Jiang Sheng improved the Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture using insights gained from teaching Tian Ming'an, then practiced his swordsmanship and Heaven Generates Water Scripture on Rosy Cloud Mountain.
• Jiang Sheng sealed himself inside Sunset Glow Cave and tempered his spiritual power until it reached the perfection of the Purple Mansion Realm.
• Jiang Sheng cultivated true fire in his purple mansion, drew origin energy from his acupoints, and transformed his spiritual power into Cinnabar Alchemy and magic power.
• Jiang Sheng used the Water-Fire Spirit Pearl and other core-formation medicines to shape a nascent golden core, while a vast vortex of spiritual energy gathered above Rosy Cloud Mountain.
• Jiang Sheng refined the golden core with true fire and fused his essence, vital energy, and spirit into it, reaching the final step of core formation as heart demons and heavenly demons threatened to arise.

Jiang Sheng overcame the heart demon’s accusations and completed a superior golden core, then faced its lightning tribulation atop Rosy Cloud Mountain. He survived the ninth bolt and reached the Core Formation Realm.

• Jiang Sheng confronted illusions of people he had killed or failed to save, rejected their accusations, and kept his Dao Heart clear.
• Jiang Sheng’s essence, qi, and spirit merged as his golden core formed, producing a spectacular Azure Sea Tidal Sky phenomenon that drew cultivators from across the region.
• Jiang Sheng completed a flawless superior golden core and comprehended how to control the Waterlike Sword Formation.
• Jiang Sheng rode colorful clouds to Rosy Cloud Mountain as a lightning tribulation gathered overhead.
• Jiang Sheng met each bolt with his sword, cleaved apart the eighth thunder dragon, and dispersed the ninth bolt’s lightning to attain the Core Formation Realm.

Jiang Sheng absorbed the tribulation essence and formed a superior golden core, earning recognition as a True Disciple of the Dao Sect. After the sect's leaders formally accepted him and bestowed his new status and rewards, he understood that his fate was his own to command.

• Jiang Sheng absorbed the lightning tribulation's essence, strengthened his golden core, and manifested a vision that revealed his superior golden core.
• Dao Kong True Person announced that Jiang Sheng would become a True Disciple, and Jiang Sheng traveled to Tianshu Peak to meet the sect's leaders.
• Tianshu True Person reviewed Jiang Sheng's origins and conduct, and the peak masters unanimously approved his induction as a thirteenth-generation True Disciple.
• The Dao Sect granted Jiang Sheng pills, spiritual materials, treasures, a cloud carriage, a spiritual peak, and disciples and servants.
• Jiang Sheng accepted his new standing and realized that his fate was his to command, not Heaven's.

Jiang Sheng took possession of a spiritual peak on Penglai, named it Cloud Bamboo Peak, and began settling into life as a True Disciple. After planning how to refine his magic treasures, he went to the Dao Repository Pavilion to study.

• Jiang Sheng arrived at his assigned peak, greeted its disciples and servants, and reviewed its resources and register.
• Jiang Sheng appointed Le Fang to oversee the peak's affairs and named it Cloud Bamboo Peak.
• Jiang Sheng inspected the treasures in his palace and began stabilizing his Golden Core cultivation with the Heaven Generates Water Scripture.
• Jiang Sheng planned to reforge the Qingping Sword as his bonded magic treasure, improve his Jade-Green Lotus Platform, and refine other equipment.
• Jiang Sheng left Cloud Bamboo Peak the next morning and entered the Dao Repository Pavilion, where its two Pixiu guardians let him pass.

Jiang Sheng explored the Dao Repository Pavilion’s supreme legacies and chose the Wind-Water Concord True Scripture as his cultivation path. After he left, True Lord Jing Shu and Tianshu True Person discussed his promise and whether he would face the coming Ten-Thousand-Year Tribulation.

• Jiang Sheng met True Lord Jing Shu on the seventh floor, where she explained that five doors held legacies leading toward the Pure Yang Realm and recommended two of them.
• Jiang Sheng entered the first door and received the Void-Bright Qingyan Dao Lord Expounds the Wind-Water Concord True Scripture from Patriarch Qingyan’s projection.
• Jiang Sheng entered the third door and studied the Daoist Lord Qianyuan Dejing Expounds the Li-Kan Water-Fire True Scripture, comparing Dejing’s view of water with Qingyan’s.
• Jiang Sheng chose the Wind-Water Concord True Scripture as his cultivation path and decided to use Dejing’s scripture as a reference.
• Jiang Sheng left the Dao Repository Pavilion, reflected that the Dao of water lay within himself, and rode away on a cloud.
• Jing Shu called Jiang Sheng proud and arrogant, while Tianshu True Person said he could shoulder Penglai’s future; Jing Shu said he was not destined to face the coming Ten-Thousand-Year Tribulation.

Jiang Sheng received fellow true disciples Ling Wei and Ling Yu, discussed their cultivation paths, and demonstrated his own understanding of wind, water, and fire. Ling Wei and Ling Yu were astonished by how effortlessly Jiang Sheng displayed arts from multiple paths despite having formed his Golden Core only days earlier.

• Jiang Sheng studied the Wind-Water Concord True Scripture and considered how to develop a Dao art of his own, with water as his foundation and wind and fire as support.
• Le Fang informed Jiang Sheng that Ling Wei and Ling Yu had sent visiting cards, and Jiang Sheng arranged to receive them three days later.
• Ling Wei and Ling Yu visited Cloud Bamboo Peak, exchanged greetings with Jiang Sheng, and explained that they had come to meet him and avoid appearing distant from their fellow true disciple.
• Jiang Sheng told Ling Wei and Ling Yu that he used Patriarch Qingyan's Heaven Generates Water Scripture as his main path and Patriarch Dejing's method as support; they shared their own plans to follow distinct paths.
• Ling Wei demonstrated his Geng Metal and wind-water arts, while Ling Yu demonstrated thunderfire and water-fire arts to help Jiang Sheng consider his own path.
• Jiang Sheng displayed a harmonious scene of wind and water before transforming wind into fire and producing two water-fire flood dragons, astonishing Ling Wei and Ling Yu.

Jiang Sheng studied the restrictive wards in his new fourth-tier artifacts and forged the Jade-Green Lotus Platform as his first treasure. With the platform's support, he repaired and refined the Qingping Sword into a treasure, whose completion sent azure light into the sky above Cloud Bamboo Peak.

• After discussing the Dao with Lingwei and Ling Yu, Jiang Sheng began studying artifact-forging and refined the five fourth-tier artifacts gifted by the Dao Sect.
• Jiang Sheng forged the Jade-Green Lotus Platform, inscribing thirty-six cloud seals and three kinds of Dao marks upon it.
• Ten days later, Jiang Sheng used the Jade-Green Lotus Platform to support his work as he smelted spiritual materials and swordheart marrow into the Qingping Sword.
• As the Qingping Sword's refinement stirred sword intent throughout the palace, Le Fang ordered the disciples and servants to leave the Cloud Palace.
• Jiang Sheng inscribed six kinds of Dao marks on the Qingping Sword and completed its refinement, sending a streak of azure light into the sky above Cloud Bamboo Peak.

Jiang Sheng refined a scabbard for the Qingping Sword and spent years cultivating his Dao arts before learning that Lin Fan had formed a superior golden core. After visiting Lin Fan and hearing that his True Disciple Ceremony was near, Jiang Sheng returned to Cloud Bamboo Peak and sent Le Fang to bring someone to him.

• Jiang Sheng forged an azure-patterned black scabbard for the Qingping Sword and nurtured the sword and scabbard alongside his golden core.
• Jiang Sheng spent several years practicing wind-and-water Dao arts while Le Fang managed Cloud Bamboo Peak’s affairs.
• Lin Fan formed a superior golden core and became the fourth True Disciple of the Ling generation on Jiang Sheng’s sixtieth birthday.
• Jiang Sheng asked Le Fang to arrange congratulations, then traveled with Lingwei and Ling Yu to Flying Flame Peak to visit Lin Fan.
• Ling Yu explained the solemn, widely attended True Disciple Ceremony and warned Jiang Sheng to remain in seclusion until his ceremony.
• Jiang Sheng returned to Cloud Bamboo Peak and told Le Fang to take his token and bring someone to him.