Chapter Summaries

Liu Xiaolou continued refining the Twelve Yin Yang Grand Formation while a massive battle raged between the Zhanglong Sect and its opponents. After Diao Daoyi warned him to stay safe and improve his combat skills, Steward Zhao arrived with an urgent summons from the Great Elder.

• Liu Xiaolou lost focus while watching the battle’s magical lights and ruined a mid-grade Spirit Jade during the formation-disk refining.
• Diao Daoyi told Liu Xiaolou that many cultivators had been injured in the battle, but no one had died, and warned him to remain by the earthfire.
• Liu Xiaolou explained that the Zhanglong Sect had forbidden its people from taking anything from Dongbai Peak, despite the talk of a grand battle.
• Diao Daoyi urged Liu Xiaolou to improve his Daoist arts after hearing that Guan Li had badly injured him.
• Liu Xiaolou completed the Ren Zhaozhen formation disk, bringing the formation’s progress beyond eighty percent.
• Steward Zhao interrupted Liu Xiaolou’s work and told him that the Great Elder wished to see him.

Liu Xiaolou visited Tianquan Pavilion on Crane Releasing Peak, where Zhao Yongchun told him that the sect would accept the challenge from the Jingxiang Sects and seek revenge for Yi Wu. Liu Xiaolou was ordered to finish the array disc and return as their recognized envoy to deliver the challenge for a battle in seven days.

• Steward Zhao brought Liu Xiaolou up Crane Releasing Peak to Tianquan Pavilion, where he met Zhao Yongchun and admired the mountain view.
• Zhao Yongchun praised Liu Xiaolou for finding the Grand Formation’s problem and asked when he would finish the replacement array disc.
• Zhao Yongchun told Liu Xiaolou to return to Dongbai Peak and announce a battle in seven days, demanding the lives of Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu in revenge for Yi Wu.
• Steward Zhao explained that Zhao Yongchun had decided to accept the challenge after Yi Wu suffered severe injuries and warned that the Zhao Shi and other Jiangnan forces were eager to fight.
• Liu Xiaolou agreed to complete the array disc quickly, deliver it, and leave Crane Releasing Peak.

Liu Xiaolou completed a mountain-guarding formation, then left the mountain and delivered Zhao Shi’s response to the challenge letter to the sect leaders on Dongbai Peak. The response made Zhao Yiwu’s survival depend on obtaining Tianmu Mountain’s Grass Saint Pill, after which negotiations could begin.

• Liu Xiaolou finished refining the formation disks for the Twelve Yin Yang Grand Formation and hurried to Zhidun Ridge.
• Diao Daoyi tested Liu Xiaolou’s revised Jingyun Talisman Formation Disk, praised his illusion formation, and agreed to keep the disk until Liu Xiaolou’s affairs were settled.
• Dragon Son Fu warned Liu Xiaolou that people might watch or confront him on his way down the mountain and urged him to direct questions to Zhao Shi.
• Steward Zhao escorted Liu Xiaolou safely through the mountain gate, and Liu Xiaolou reached Dongbai Peak without harassment.
• Liu Xiaolou told Sect Master Qu, Sect Master Han, and the elders that Zhao Yiwu needed Tianmu Mountain’s Grass Saint Pill to survive, and that Zhao Shi would negotiate if the pill were provided.

Liu Xiaolou carried peace terms between the Jinting Sect and Lingxu, but disputes over the Ancient Cave Dwelling, Jing Zhao’s insult to Zhu Feiyun’s master, and the fighting at Dongbai Peak complicated negotiations. Lingxu rejected the proposed cave-dwelling slots and demanded withdrawal, compensation, and a duel, leaving Liu Xiaolou to deliver another difficult reply.

• Liu Xiaolou explained that the Immortal Granny Sect and Immortal Child Sect seemed unwilling to make peace, and Elder Song revealed that Jing Zhao had humiliated Zhu Feiyun and his master.
• Sect Master Qu and Sect Master Han offered a Grass Saint Pill for Zhao Yiwu’s injuries and demanded thirty Ancient Cave Dwelling slots for each sect in exchange for ending their claim to ownership.
• Steward Zhao warned Liu Xiaolou that Chen Longzhang had come to Crane Releasing Peak and cautioned him to watch his words.
• Liu Xiaolou reported the proposed compensation and described Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu’s injuries and their desire to challenge Zhao Yiwu again.
• Chen Longzhang rejected the cave-dwelling slots and demanded the Jingxiang factions withdraw from Dongbai Peak, compensate the families for their losses, and fight a duel against Lingxu disciples.
• After Liu Xiaolou left to deliver Lingxu’s reply, Chen Longzhang and Zhao Yongchun agreed that the demands would give the aggrieved families a chance to vent their anger.

Liu Xiaolou carried peace terms between the Jingxiang sects and Lingxu Sect, but the talks stalled when Madam Mei sought to vent her anger on Jing Zhao and demanded the Grass Saint Pill. The elders proposed staging a beating of Liu Xiaolou to fool her, while he protested their plan.

• Liu Xiaolou reported Chen Longzhang's conditions, and Sect Masters Qu and Han agreed to meet them and pursue peace with the Jiangnan sects.
• Liu Xiaolou returned to Crane Releasing Peak, where Steward Zhao told him the Eastern and Western Immortal Sects had discovered the negotiations and Madam Mei had left Elder Ji to keep watch.
• Steward Zhao asked Liu Xiaolou to seek the Grass Saint Pill from Sect Masters Qu and Han for Zhao Yiwu, but they refused to hand it over before a peace agreement.
• Elder Bai suggested staging an attack on Liu Xiaolou so Madam Mei would believe the Jingxiang sects had acted against her wishes.
• The elders discussed how to make the staged beating convincing, while Liu Xiaolou objected that the deception could be exposed.

Jing Zhao agreed to meet Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu to discuss Zhao Yiwu’s cultivation methods, then traveled with them to Jingxiu Rock. From a distant ridge, Zhu Feiyun’s group watched the gathering while Su Zhenjiu explained what was happening.

• Jing Zhao rejected Dongbai Peak’s invitation at first, but agreed to meet Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu after hearing they wanted to discuss Zhao Yiwu’s cultivation method.
• Jing Zhao questioned Han Wuwang, encouraged him, and agreed to leave after two hours so Han Wuwang’s senior brother could return before nightfall.
• Han Wuwang met Jing Zhao on the way and told him that Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu were waiting at Jingxiu Rock.
• Jing Zhao followed Han Wuwang to Jingxiu Rock, where Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu hosted him and discussed their ambush of Zhao Yiwu.
• Qu Xuan and Sun Zhenliu proposed demonstrating their tactics at the ambush site, and Jing Zhao agreed to go with them.
• Zhu Feiyun’s group watched from a ridge as Su Zhenjiu calmly explained the gathering and Zang Qianli stood apart.

Madam Mei forced Zhu Feiyun to confront Jing Zhao while he was supposedly badly injured. Zhu Feiyun drove Jing Zhao into the forest, but lost his trail and came away with only a bloodstained robe.

• Su Zhenjiu claimed Jing Zhao, Qu Xuan, and Sun Zhenliu were gravely injured and that Jing Zhao had gone to heal, prompting the Immortal Child Sect to consider attacking.
• Madam Mei rejected Zhu Feiyun’s hesitation and struck him off the cliff, ordering him to pursue Jing Zhao.
• Zhu Feiyun approached Jing Zhao on Jingxiu Rock and tested him with a Three-Colored Stone, weakening his defenses before Jing Zhao fled.
• Zhu Feiyun struck Jing Zhao with his Seven-Colored Stone as he leaped from the cliff, drawing blood and sending him crashing to the ground.
• Zhu Feiyun chased Jing Zhao into the forest but lost his trail, finding only a bloodstained robe.

Liu Xiaolou survived Zhu Feiyun’s attacks with the Sunset Robe and escaped through a hidden passage, then returned to retrieve the robe and report to his allies. Despite his injuries, he was sent back to Crane Releasing Peak, where Steward Zhao was waiting for him.

• Liu Xiaolou crawled through the hidden passage to evade Zhu Feiyun, treated his wounds with pills, and checked that his Glazed Shield remained intact.
• After Zhu Feiyun left, Liu Xiaolou emerged near Fuxian Forest and met Han Wuwang, who told him to return with the elders’ next instructions.
• Liu Xiaolou went back to retrieve the Sunset Robe, then returned to Dongbai Peak and received praise and spirit pills from Elder Bai and Elder Song.
• Han Wuwang sent Liu Xiaolou to Crane Releasing Peak despite his injuries, and Liu Xiaolou insisted he was ready to help.
• Late that night, Steward Zhao stopped Liu Xiaolou at Crane Releasing Peak’s gate, and Liu Xiaolou explained that his injuries had forced him to recuperate.

Liu Xiaolou helped Steward Zhao learn where Guan Li would be when his debt came due, then accompanied Steward Zhao to meet Sect Leaders Qu and Han. The chapter ended with the sects preparing for a great battle that night, while the Three Xuan Sect was ordered to stay on Crane Releasing Peak and watch.

• Steward Zhao told Liu Xiaolou to confront Guan Li about his IOU and obtain a location where he could be found later.
• Liu Xiaolou pressed Guan Li until he promised to wait at Lone Mountain on Juxing Island in the East Sea.
• Steward Zhao met Liu Xiaolou at dawn and took him to Dongbai Peak to meet Sect Leaders Qu and Han.
• After Steward Zhao and the sect leaders flew toward Shigong Mountain, Elder Bai ordered the Zhanglong Sect's members to remain on alert and not leave the mountain.
• Liu Xiaolou told Lin Shuangyu that a great battle would take place that night, but the Three Xuan Sect would only watch.

Liu Xiaolou learned that Zhao Yongchun had become Jinting Sect’s new Spirit Refining Realm Sect Leader, then returned to refining formation disks after receiving compensation and an Ancient Cave Dwelling quota. With the Three Xuan Sect’s promised quotas secured, he considered how to use an extra one and went to meet visitors from Gengsang Cave.

• News arrived that Wei Jianzi had stepped down, Zhao Yongchun had succeeded him, and Zhao Yongchun had broken through to the Spirit Refining Realm.
• Liu Xiaolou tried to slip away, but Han Gao and Diao Daoyi found him; Diao Daoyi reassured him and gave him compensation and permission to enter the Ancient Cave Dwelling.
• Liu Xiaolou returned to Crane Releasing Peak and continued refining the Twelve Yin Yang formation disk while the negotiations concluded.
• Diao Daoyi reported that the Ancient Cave Dwelling quotas had been allocated, and Lin Shuangyu confirmed that the Three Xuan Sect had received five quotas plus one extra for Liu Xiaolou.
• Liu Xiaolou considered offering the extra quota to Ba Tianyou, then followed Han Gao to meet Zhang Daming and his third uncle from Gengsang Cave.

Liu Xiaolou secured a cave-dwelling slot for Zhang Daming’s third maternal uncle by making him a guest elder of Three Xuan Sect. After the Jingxiang Sects withdrew from Jinting Mountain and joined the Jiangnan Sects, the assembled cultivators returned to Sha Hu Pass, where the Ancient Cave Dwelling was set to open in three days.

• Zhang Daming asked Liu Xiaolou to secure his third maternal uncle a slot in the Ancient Cave Dwelling, and Liu agreed in exchange for Zhang Xiaojin becoming a guest elder of Three Xuan Sect.
• Zang Qianli told the Three Xuan Sect cultivators to clean their encampment before descending, and Liu Xiaolou had them uproot trees and refill the holes.
• Lin Shuangyu made Spirit Louse Sect yield the road to Three Xuan Sect, angering Ba Tianyou, who was persuaded not to retaliate.
• The Jingxiang Sects withdrew from Jinting Mountain, met the Jiangnan Sects by the river, and traveled by ship to Sha Hu Pass.
• Zang Qianli told Liu Xiaolou that the Ancient Cave Dwelling would be initiated on the night of the full moon in three days.

The sects used the jade-token golden key to reveal the Ancient Cave Dwelling and organized their allotted entry slots. Liu Xiaolou entered with the Jinting Sect group and was transported into a palace courtyard.

• Zhao Yongchun used the jade-token golden key to reveal the bronze hall hidden in the river, and the Sect Leaders decided not to increase the entry slots.
• Liu Xiaolou left the Three Xuan Sect Master Token with Lin Shuangyu and joined Diao Daoyi and Dragon Son Fu with the Jinting Sect group.
• The Jinting Sect assigned Liu Xiaolou and others to enter under the Qiao Sect's token, while Wan Qianshan set their entry order.
• Zhao Yongchun entered the bronze hall first, followed at five-breath intervals by Dragon Son Fu, Diao Daoyi, and Liu Xiaolou.
• Liu Xiaolou passed through darkness and a vortex before landing in a palace courtyard.

Liu Xiaolou found that leaving the desolate garden suppressed his cultivation and exposed him to deadly dangers in every direction. After exploring the garden, he discovered that its layout had shifted and turned a stone table, causing a stone coffin to rise from beneath a flowerbed.

• Liu Xiaolou tried to leave the garden but found his cultivation weakened to Qi Refining first layer whenever he crossed its boundary.
• Liu Xiaolou approached a dark hall, saw two enormous eyes inside, and fled after realizing a monster lived there.
• Liu Xiaolou escaped a furnace full of flames, became trapped in a Bamboo Forest illusion, and found a miasma-filled ravine blocking the remaining route.
• Liu Xiaolou returned to the garden and studied its White Tiger formation, then realized the cave abode's directions had shifted.
• Liu Xiaolou turned a stone table beneath the pavilion, rotating the pavilion and raising a stone coffin from beneath the flowerbed.

Liu Xiaolou discovered a sealed stone coffin in the abandoned garden but could not open it, then collected Ancient Miasma from a ravine. While hiding from two fighting cultivators, he recognized Zhu Feiyun and his mortal enemy Lu Yuanlang nearby.

• Liu Xiaolou uncovered a jade coffin and gravestone identifying the tomb as that of Ruyan, but none of his tools could open it.
• Liu Xiaolou hid the coffin and stele when he heard movement outside the garden, then collected a gourd full of Ancient Miasma drifting from the ravine.
• Liu Xiaolou spotted two cultivators fighting in the ravine and hid beneath vines as they leapt into the garden.
• Liu Xiaolou recognized Zhu Feiyun laughing on the garden wall and saw that the cultivator fleeing ahead was Lu Yuanlang.

Liu Xiaolou survived Zhu Feiyun’s fire and discovered the genuine Jade Marrow Elixir Fluid hidden inside the fake crystal box. He returned to studying the stone coffin, but fled when a new figure arrived and a tongue shot out from the High Platform main hall.

• Zhu Feiyun burned the crystal box with Crimson Fire Profound Light, while Lu Yuanlang fled and denied taking the elixir fluid.
• Liu Xiaolou extinguished the flames on himself and the garden wall, then found a smaller crystal box concealed inside the burned outer box.
• Liu Xiaolou discovered transparent, viscous liquid in the small box and placed it in his Universe Bag, believing it was genuine Jade Marrow Elixir Fluid.
• Liu Xiaolou raised the stone coffin to study it again, then lowered it when he heard movement beyond the wall.
• A figure raced past the High Platform main hall, and a tongue stretched from its dark doors to wrap around the figure.

Liu Xiaolou hid in the abandoned garden as Jing Zhao investigated the fire, exposed his identity, and gave him a way to escape the Ancient Cave Dwelling. After Jing Zhao left, Lu Yuanlang returned to search the burned garden, and Liu Xiaolou was caught in another wall of fire.

• Jing Zhao used a talisman to reignite the garden wall, setting Liu Xiaolou ablaze in his hiding place.
• Jing Zhao put out Liu Xiaolou's flames with Stone Milk, recognized him, and questioned him about Zhu Feiyun and Lu Yuanlang.
• Jing Zhao told Liu Xiaolou how to leave the Ancient Cave Dwelling and departed toward the Alchemy Furnace.
• Liu Xiaolou hid again when Lu Yuanlang returned alone to search the ashes for the shattered crystal box.
• Lu Yuanlang sent a tongue of fire along the garden wall and swallowed Liu Xiaolou in the flames.

Liu Xiaolou was caught in the flames of Lu Yuanlang and narrowly survived as the Golden Core cultivator searched for a crystal box. After Lu Yuanlang rushed into a dark hall and vanished from sight, Zhu Feiyun arrived and chose to pursue Jing Zhao instead, leaving Liu Xiaolou behind.

• Lu Yuanlang's Eight Desolations Six Barbarian Fire exposed Liu Xiaolou, who hid his identity and claimed he had seen someone enter the great hall.
• Lu Yuanlang asked whether Liu Xiaolou had seen a crystal box, then set him alight and rushed toward the great hall.
• A long tongue lashed from the hall, caught Lu Yuanlang by the ankle, and dragged him inside despite his use of fire.
• Liu Xiaolou used his Sunset Robe and a Yellow Sand Umbrella to extinguish the flames, then waited uncertainly to learn Lu Yuanlang's fate.
• Zhu Feiyun found Liu Xiaolou, recognized signs of Jing Zhao's Divine Armor Talisman Fire, and decided to pursue Jing Zhao rather than Lu Yuanlang.

Liu Xiaolou and Jing Zhao discovered how to reveal the woman sealed inside the stone coffin. The coffin became transparent, showing a seemingly lifelike woman who appeared to resemble the jade maidservant statue.

• Liu Xiaolou raised the stone coffin again, and Zhu Feiyun fled from the pill furnace, injured, as Jing Zhao appeared.
• Jing Zhao noticed that the “smoke” character on the tombstone was unusual and deduced that they needed to search beneath the garden’s northwestern wall.
• Liu Xiaolou uncovered a jade maidservant statue beneath the wall and suspected it was connected to the broken jade hairpin that had served as the coffin’s key.
• Jing Zhao struck off the statue’s head, causing the tombstone and stone coffin to glow and the coffin’s lid to become transparent.
• Liu Xiaolou and Jing Zhao saw a beautiful woman lying inside the coffin, appearing as though she might awaken at any moment.

After leaving the ancient cave dwelling, Liu Xiaolou returned to the Jiang River with several treasures and reunited with Elder Bai and Zang Qianli. The cave dwelling continued expelling cultivators as the Zhanglong Sect prepared to defend its position.

• Jing Zhao returned the stone coffin to its underground place, gave Liu Xiaolou a Heavenly Star Stone, and sent him back through the pavilion’s exit.
• Liu Xiaolou emerged in the Jiang River, saw other cultivators returning, and took stock of his Ancient Miasma, Jade Marrow Elixir Fluid, and Heavenly Star Stone.
• Liu Xiaolou spotted Zang Qianli, Dongfang Yuying, and Zhao Yiwu among the cultivators who had escaped the cave dwelling.
• Liu Xiaolou noticed unfamiliar people watching him and hurried to the Zhanglong Sect crowd, where Elder Bai welcomed him.
• Zang Qianli told Liu Xiaolou that a snake-like creature had nearly killed him before turning to attack someone stronger.
• Elder Bai ordered two Officers to guard the Zhanglong Sect’s flank and kill anyone who ignored their warning.

Liu Xiaolou waited by the river as survivors emerged from the Ancient Cave Dwelling, tending to Song Axi and Su Jing and learning that several cultivators had died. Wu Changgeng and Han Gao returned with a sword just before the bronze hall vanished, but Liu Xiaolou still hurried to check on the final people.

• Liu Xiaolou rescued Song Axi from the river, then Lin Shuangyu brought Su Jing ashore and Liu Xiaolou treated him.
• Su Jing recalled seeing countless sword lights but only remembering one, and Liu Xiaolou forced him to sleep when he tried to return to the cave dwelling.
• Han Wuwang mourned Ye Zhenba, who had died inside the cave dwelling, while Liu Xiaolou searched anxiously for Wu Changgeng, Han Gao, and others.
• Zhang Daming told Liu Xiaolou that Jing Zhao had returned with proof that the cave dwelling belonged to a Qingyu Sect forefather.
• Yun Xingwu reported that Zhuang He had died, and an Elder of the Ling Sect also failed to return alive.
• Wu Changgeng and Han Gao emerged safely with the Golden Crow Taibai Sword, then the bronze hall vanished and Liu Xiaolou hurried with Zhang Daming to check the last arrivals.