Chapter Summaries

Changchun sent Wang Chen away with a peachwood talisman and told him to return alive in half a month, then Yunyang Sect conscripted him for a Clear Realm operation against Evil Spirits. Wang Chen crafted talismans to prepare and seek profit before boarding a Yunyang flying ship for the mission.

• Changchun praised the poem Wang Chen had offered at the gravestone, gave him a peachwood talisman, and told him to return alive in half a month.
• Wang Chen received a mandatory Crane Message ordering him to Sunset Peak, where Elder Mo Yangping announced a Clear Realm operation against Evil Spirits in three days.
• Mo Yangping said Mu Qingqiu would lead the operation, supported by seventy Purple Mansion cultivators and fifteen flying ships, and promised generous merit rewards.
• Wang Chen returned home and devoted himself to making Exorcism Talismans and protection talismans to sell for Spirit Stones.
• Three days later, Wang Chen boarded a Yunyang flying ship at Sunset Peak.

Wang Chen traveled with Sunset Peak disciples aboard a Yunyang Sect Flying Ship dispatched for the Clear Realm operation. The ship repelled a flock of demon birds with ease, leaving the excited disciples eager for a real battle as it continued toward an unknown destination.

• Wang Chen rode one of Sunset Peak's four Flying Ships and quietly cultivated while the other disciples formed groups.
• Wang Chen gave a peach to a delicate-looking youth who was trembling from his fear of heights.
• The Flying Ship descended after flying through the clouds, though the Sunset Peak disciples did not know their destination or enemy.
• A flock of long-necked demon birds attacked the Flying Ship with Wind Blades, but its golden defenses blocked them.
• The Flying Ship's heavy crossbows killed hundreds of the birds, and the remaining birds fled as the ship continued onward.

The Yunyang Sect attacked Five Tiger Stronghold after accusing it of sheltering Evil Cultivators, destroying its defenses and ordering Sunset Peak disciples to pursue its fleeing residents. Wang Chen joined the pursuit after kicking a frightened disciple off the flying ship.

• The Yunyang Sect demanded that Fei Bin deactivate Five Tiger Stronghold's formation and submit to inspection.
• Fei Bin pretended to agree, then ordered the stronghold's towers to attack the Yunyang flying ship.
• A Purple Mansion cultivator shattered the defensive formation with a giant palm, and the Yunyang Sect ordered its disciples to kill those who resisted.
• Hundreds of Sunset Peak disciples leaped from the flying ship to pursue the fleeing Rogue Cultivators.
• Wang Chen kicked a trembling youth clinging to a cabin door off the flying ship and set out after the fleeing residents.

Wang Chen hunted Five Tiger Stronghold’s Rogue Cultivators alone after Yunyang Sect’s disciples dispersed into the forest. He killed a Rogue Cultivator who tried to ambush him, then encountered another fleeing Rogue Cultivator, who attacked him with poisoned Black Fiend Nails.

• Wang Chen left a delicate-looking fellow disciple behind and entered the forest to hunt Rogue Cultivators.
• A gray-clad Rogue Cultivator pretended to surrender, then threatened Wang Chen and was swiftly killed; Wang Chen took his head and Storage Bag.
• Wang Chen found a concealed tunnel leading toward Five Tiger Stronghold and continued through the empty forest.
• Four Sunset Peak disciples chased a bloodied Rogue Cultivator toward Wang Chen.
• The fleeing Rogue Cultivator fired three poisoned Black Fiend Nails at Wang Chen.

Wang Chen killed a Rogue Cultivator who attacked him, then refused Du Yuankui and three Sunset Peak disciples’ demand to surrender his Storage Bag. When they tried to bully him, Wang Chen struck first, killing one disciple and badly injuring another as Du Yuankui and one survivor fled into the forest.

• Wang Chen repelled three poisoned Black Fiend Nails with his fist, killing the Rogue Cultivator and gaining six Heavenly Merit.
• Wang Chen yielded the Rogue Cultivator’s head to four pursuing Sunset Peak disciples, but Du Yuankui accused him of taking a Magic Tool and demanded to inspect his Storage Bag.
• Du Yuankui and the other disciples surrounded Wang Chen and threatened to teach him how to behave, prompting Wang Chen to attack.
• Wang Chen killed the strongest disciple with a Gengjin Finger and blasted the other three with Meteor Fireballs.
• One Sunset Peak disciple died, while Du Yuankui and another disciple survived through their body protection Magic Tools and fled into the forest.

Wang Chen killed the fleeing Song Kai and Du Yuankui after they attacked him, then left the forest. A hidden Rogue Cultivator took a bronze seal from the scene and realized he could exploit the killing, but a sword suddenly sent him flying.

• Song Kai fled, but Wang Chen’s Heavy-Winged Fire Crow Technique burned him to ash.
• Du Yuankui used Shrink Ground into Inch to escape, but Wang Chen’s flying sword severed him and he died.
• Wang Chen collected Du Yuankui’s Storage Bag, disposed of the bodies, and left the forest.
• A middle-aged Rogue Cultivator emerged from hiding and took a bronze seal Du Yuankui had dropped.
• The Rogue Cultivator considered exploiting the fact that Wang Chen and Du Yuankui were fellow Yunyang Sect disciples, but a sword struck him and sent him into the air.

After killing the hidden Rogue Cultivator, Wang Chen counted his spoils and discovered Du Yuankui’s movement technique, Shrink Ground into Inch. He learned its Law Seed in a concealed cave, then headed back to the Yunyang flying ship when its horn summoned the disciples.

• Wang Chen killed the concealed Five Tiger Stronghold Rogue Cultivator, collected his head, and burned his body with the two Sunset Peak disciples’ corpses.
• A Purple Mansion cultivator watched the Sunset Peak disciples’ stars vanish from a chart aboard the Yunyang flying ship without showing emotion.
• Wang Chen counted his gains: seven kills, 45 Heavenly Merit, five heads for rewards, six Storage Bags, and numerous valuables.
• Wang Chen found Du Yuankui’s Jade Slip containing Shrink Ground into Inch, along with the Mandarin Duck Mirrors Du Yuankui had once given him.
• Wang Chen learned the Shrink Ground into Inch Law Seed, then flew toward the Yunyang flying ship after its horn summoned the disciples to return.

During the Yunyang Sect’s inspection of Yellow Mud Stronghold, Wang Chen uncovered a hidden chamber and found a man tainted by evil. He trapped the attacker in a net, leaving the man screaming as the chapter ended.

• Wang Chen searched a poor cultivator’s home and used an Evil Detection Talisman on a woman and her daughter, finding no evil in either of them.
• Wang Chen noticed the woman’s relief and exposed the secret tunnel beneath a stone slab.
• A man sprang from the tunnel and attacked Wang Chen with concealed weapons, but Wang Chen’s Vajra Fist struck him back into the tunnel.
• The woman pleaded with Wang Chen to spare the man, while Wang Chen entered the underground chamber and confirmed the man carried an evil aura.
• The man lunged at Wang Chen with clawed fingers, and Wang Chen trapped him in a net.

Wang Chen killed a corrupted cultivator, spared the man’s wife and daughter, and left them food before continuing his inspection of the settlement. When he went to help a Sunset Peak disciple surrounded by Rogue Cultivators, a sudden Sword Light cut through the crowd.

• Wang Chen recalled the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil and killed the dying middle-aged cultivator after promising to spare his wife and daughter.
• Wang Chen returned the cultivator’s ashes and Storage Bag to the sallow-faced female cultivator, adding food and warning her to take care of herself.
• Wang Chen told Rongrong to live bravely if she wanted revenge, then marked the household as inspected with a Yunyang Sect emblem.
• Wang Chen found a Sunset Peak disciple arguing with Rogue Cultivators who demanded compensation for a damaged Magic Tool.
• A dazzling Sword Light flashed before Wang Chen could intervene, and heads flew into the air.

Wang Chen witnessed Xie Yaoxiu reunite with her younger brother and reveal that she had become a Purple Mansion cultivator before the Yunyang Sect’s flying ship departed. After the Rogue Cultivators fell into a bloody frenzy, Mu Qingqing recruited Ji Wanrong as her disciple.

• Xie Yaoxiu and the Yunyang Sect’s true disciples arrived at Yellow Mud Stronghold, where Xie Yaoxiu punished her younger brother for sneaking away and revealed she had become a Purple Mansion cultivator.
• Wang Chen hid from the group, then watched Rogue Cultivators loot the corpses after Xie Yaoxiu and the others departed aboard a flying Magic Tool.
• The Yunyang flying ship summoned its disciples, and a rainbow-robed woman named Mu Qingqing arrived at Yellow Mud Stronghold, annoyed that the Yunyang Sect had scared away an old ghost.
• Mu Qingqing provoked the Rogue Cultivators into fighting one another, then noticed Ji Wanrong watching from a stone fort.
• Ji Wanrong asked to learn how to kill a bad person, and Mu Qingqing offered to take her as a disciple; Ji Wanrong accepted and learned that Mu Qingqing belonged to the Joyous Union Sect.

Wang Chen and the other Sunset Peak disciples witnessed five Yunyang flying ships attack a Ruined City and reveal a giant Evil Spirit beneath it. After the ships badly wounded the creature and drove it to flee, the elders ordered the disciples to sweep the Evil Nest for materials and double Merit Points.

• Wang Chen kept a low profile aboard the flying ship as the Clear Realm operation continued and casualties mounted among the Sunset Peak disciples.
• Five Yunyang flying ships assembled and bombarded a mist-covered Ruined City, exposing a vast crater and a hidden Evil Spirit.
• The giant Evil Spirit accused the elders of breaking their word, but an aged voice mocked its demand and the ships attacked it again.
• The Evil Spirit’s limbs were severed, and it fled while three flying ships pursued it.
• An elder ordered the disciples aboard Wang Chen’s ship and another to search the Evil Nest for Yin Qi Beads and other yin-baleful materials in exchange for double Merit Points.
• Wang Chen and the other disciples leaped from the ships and rushed to sweep the nest.

Wang Chen hid beneath Ruined City to rest, then spent Heavenly Merit to raise his Spiritual Root before an earthquake dropped him into a deep fissure. He reached the bottom and found an underground river.

• Wang Chen avoided the other disciples and dug a secret chamber where he slept through most of the day.
• After waking at dusk, Wang Chen ate and spent 100 Heavenly Merit to increase his Spiritual Root to six points.
• As Wang Chen prepared to return to the surface, a violent tremor shattered the ground beneath him and sent him falling.
• Wang Chen stopped his fall by gripping the fissure wall, then climbed down until he reached an underground river.

Wang Chen encountered a Blood God Son while exploring an underground river and fought to survive after the malevolent spirit ambushed him. He trapped it with the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil, but the creature began to break free as Wang Chen struggled to hold it.

• Wang Chen found the corpse of a Yunyang Sect true disciple floating down the underground river and realized something dangerous lay upstream.
• A Blood God Son attacked Wang Chen, and he dodged its crimson strike with Shrink Ground into Inch.
• Wang Chen's Exorcism Talismans barely affected the Blood God Son, and it caught his Fire Crow Sword despite his counterattack.
• Wang Chen struck the Blood God Son's left eye with Gengjin Finger and recovered his damaged Fire Crow Sword.
• Wang Chen charged in and trapped the Blood God Son with the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil, but the creature began loosening the net while he fought to restrain it.

Wang Chen fought to subdue Blood God Son, a powerful Grudge-grade evil spirit, using the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil and his own talisman techniques. After destroying it, he gained 1007 Human Virtue and confirmed that the treasure could help him claim rewards from valuable targets.

• Blood God Son struggled against the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil and attacked Wang Chen's mind, but the Primordial Dao Stele and Dragon-Subduing Sarira restored his clarity.
• Wang Chen continued draining Blood God Son's evil power and struck it with Gengjin Finger as it began swelling and resisting again.
• Wang Chen carved an Evil-Quelling Talisman into his palm with the secret Blood Talisman technique, suppressing Blood God Son's final struggle.
• The Heavenly Net to Punish Evil drained Blood God Son until Wang Chen recalled it, then he burned the weakened spirit with a Heavy-Winged Fire Crow.
• Wang Chen received 1007 Human Virtue and concluded that he had found a way to gain rewards when using the treasure against high-value targets.

Wang Chen survived the battle with the Blood God Son, returned from the sect’s Clear Realm operation with substantial rewards, and went to Peach Blossom Valley seeking guidance on reaching the Purple Mansion. The chapter left him pursuing the next step in his cultivation.

• Wang Chen recognized the limits of his strength after killing the Blood God Son, collected a sinister blood-red bone from its remains, and escaped the collapsing underground space.
• Wang Chen returned to the surface, joined the recalled Sunset Peak disciples, and spent the following days clearing four Evil Nests with his fellow sect members.
• Wang Chen returned to his manor, comforted the lonely Yuan Yuan, and rested before reviewing his mission rewards and gains.
• Wang Chen decided he needed a guide to the Purple Mansion and headed to Peach Blossom Valley the next day.

Wang Chen returned to Peach Blossom Valley and accepted Changchun’s offer to become his seventh registered disciple, paying an Yin Qi Bead and 150 Lower Spirits toward the fee. Changchun began assessing Wang Chen’s swordsmanship and demonstrated his own skill with the Fire Crow Sword.

• Wang Chen used Changchun’s peachwood talisman to enter Peach Blossom Valley and found Changchun playing the flute beside the pool.
• Changchun offered Wang Chen one final chance to become his registered disciple for 1,000 Lower Spirits, and Wang Chen accepted, paying an Yin Qi Bead and 150 Lower Spirits.
• Changchun told Wang Chen that he had one senior sister, no senior brothers, and three sword arts with steep prices or no price at all.
• Changchun asked Wang Chen to demonstrate the Sword Control Technique, then stopped him and criticized his precise but spiritless swordsmanship.
• Changchun took the Fire Crow Sword, restored its spiritual damage, and began demonstrating true swordsmanship with it.

Changchun repaired Wang Chen’s Fire Crow Sword and taught him the principles of the Sword Dao, then answered his questions about reaching the upper realm and the Yunyang Sect’s hidden powers. Wang Chen left with new insight into cultivation and was told he would learn more after he Break Through Apertures and Open the Mansion.

• Changchun demonstrated the nine foundational forms of the Sword Control Technique, and Wang Chen entered a state of deep concentration.
• Wang Chen’s Fire Crow Sword returned to him with its damage repaired and its spiritual nature enhanced.
• Changchun taught Wang Chen about the Sword Dao for three hours, resolving many of his doubts.
• Changchun told Wang Chen that his senior sister had gone to the upper realm and explained several ways to reach it.
• Changchun revealed that Yunyang’s strongest were one fox, one turtle, and one snake, whose identities Wang Chen would learn after he Break Through Apertures and Open the Mansion.

Wang Chen strengthened his skills through months of training, then visited the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to identify a blood bone he had taken from the Blood God Son. After learning it was a valuable Blood God Crystal, he kept it and met Wei Xiong and Wei Lian in Yunyang City.

• Wang Chen spent his Human Virtue on Master-level skills, raising several abilities to Grand Completion and planning to improve Sword Control Technique and Shrink Ground into Inch.
• Wang Chen turned nineteen while quietly cultivating, practicing swordsmanship, and tending his estate beneath Sunset Peak.
• Wang Chen disguised himself with the Thousand Transformations Mask and had the blood bone appraised at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
• The appraiser identified the blood bone as a Blood God Crystal worth three hundred Medium Spirit Stones and explained its uses, but Wang Chen chose to keep it.
• Wang Chen received Wei Xiong's Message Crane and met Wei Xiong and Wei Lian at the Moon Invitation Tower.

Wei Xiong and Wei Lian bid farewell to Wang Chen before following Xie Yaoxiu to cultivate at the Nine Peaks Sect. Wang Chen returned to his cultivation, then received a sword trial from Changchun: he had to collect spirit honey at Black Wind Cliff using only his sword to earn instruction in the Thunderclap Sword Technique.

• Wei Xiong and Wei Lian told Wang Chen they had chosen to follow Xie Yaoxiu to the Nine Peaks Sect, where she promised to seek pills that could remold Wei Xiong's Spiritual Root.
• Wang Chen shared a farewell feast with the siblings, and Wei Lian secretly gave him a sachet containing a peace talisman.
• Wang Chen returned home, put away the sachet, and found comfort in Yuan Yuan before resuming his daily cultivation.
• Wang Chen practiced the Sword Control Technique at Peach Blossom Valley, and Changchun praised the momentum of his sword.
• Changchun offered to teach Wang Chen the Thunderclap Sword Technique if he brought back one hundred jin of spirit honey from Black Wind Cliff using only his sword.

Wang Chen entered Wuyuan Grand Canyon to reach Black Wind Cliff and obtain spirit honey for Changchun. After fighting off swarms of black mosquitoes, he reached the cliff, where a mass of black light suddenly charged at him.

• Wang Chen used his map and prepared gear to descend into Wuyuan Grand Canyon on foot.
• Wang Chen pressed on through the canyon’s dense Yin Sha energy and fierce baleful winds.
• Wang Chen’s Spirit Light Shield Armor blocked a swarm of black mosquitoes until he burned them with the Fire Crow Technique.
• Wang Chen reached Black Wind Cliff, where the baleful winds grew violent and a mass of black light flew at him.