Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yi agreed to join the Dan Ding Sect but remained cautious, searching the market and discovering that the old daoist Lingxu was likely Xuan Qing in disguise. He left the story poised at a gathering where Lingxu taught alchemy to Zhou Yi and several Qi Refinement cultivators.

• Zhou Yi asked Xuan Kong about becoming a spirit vein steward, learned that only true inheritance disciples could hold the post, and received permission to stay in the market for a year.
• Zhou Yi sold pills at the Little Dan Pavilion, then visited the Myriad Destinies Pavilion and obtained a Blood Vine Demon from Lingxu in exchange for attending an alchemy gathering.
• Zhou Yi left Little Dan Mountain to verify Xuan Kong’s claims and test whether Real Person Xuanyu remembered him, then used the Jade Dew Art to rapidly grow the Blood Vine Demon.
• Zhou Yi returned to Little Dan Mountain and attended Lingxu’s gathering with eight late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.
• As Lingxu demonstrated how to judge pill quality, Zhou Yi recognized his superior-quality Essence Nourishing Pill and concluded that Lingxu was Xuan Qing transformed by a disguise art.

Zhou Yi killed Lingxu, who was secretly Xuan Qing, and acquired his Transformation Art. He used it to approach Xuan Yu about joining the Dan Ding Sect, then reunited with the yellow ox and told it to establish itself in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

• Zhou Yi secretly followed Lingxu to a cave, discovered him preparing a trap for cultivators, and killed him with repeated lightning strikes.
• Zhou Yi tested Lingxu's Storage Bag for poison, examined his belongings, and found the Transformation Art among his Jade Slips.
• After learning the Transformation Art, Zhou Yi disguised himself as Sha Wu and asked Xuan Yu to recommend him to the Dan Ding Sect.
• Xuan Yu attacked Zhou Yi after he teased her, and he escaped, concluding that she had not recognized him.
• Zhou Yi followed their soul contract to reunite with the yellow ox, learned that Real Person Chu had cared for it, and told it to claim a territory in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Zhou Yi parted ways with the yellow ox and traveled to the Dan Ding Sect, where Xuan Yun guided him into the sect’s hidden headquarters. He registered as a disciple but chose to cultivate alone rather than join a True Lord’s lineage.

• Zhou Yi gave the yellow ox advice and an escape-technique Jade Slip, while the thousand-year spirit ginseng bestowed essence on it.
• A purple-robed daoist flew after the yellow ox, and Zhou Yi left for Qing Kingdom after bidding it farewell.
• Zhou Yi met Xuan Yun, who opened the concealed gateway to the Dan Ding Sect’s headquarters and showed him around.
• At the Outer Affairs Hall, Zhou Yi declined to choose a True Lord’s lineage and registered as a cultivator who would train alone.

Zhou Yi joined the Dan Ding Sect, chose a remote Cave Estate, and exchanged his first free cultivation technique for the Five Elements Scripture. He left for Little Spring Mountain to begin cultivating, with a sect assignment due within a month.

• Zhou Yi received his identity token and followed Xuan Yun to claim a Cave Estate, where he learned that sect disciples had to complete an external assignment every ten years.
• Zhou Yi chose an unoccupied Cave Estate on Little Spring Mountain, more than four hundred li from Divine Fire Peak.
• Zhou Yi met Xuan Yi, Li Mu, and Xiao Yuan in the Outer Affairs Hall and chose the Five Elements Scripture as his first cultivation technique.
• Xuan Yun warned Zhou Yi to respect the three Foundation Establishment True Persons and explained that Xuan Yi had failed to form a Golden Core and was nearing the end of his lifespan.
• Xuan Yun told Zhou Yi to collect his technique, cultivate at his Cave Estate, and receive a sect assignment within a month before departing.
• Zhou Yi collected the Five Elements Scripture from the Technique Hall and flew toward Little Spring Mountain.

Zhou Yi mastered the beginnings of the Five Elements Escape Techniques and chose a sect assignment guarding Blackwind Cave at Repentance Cliff. He also obtained a catalog of cultivation methods, leaving with a chance to study them while keeping contact with others to a minimum.

• Zhou Yi tested the Five Elements Escape Techniques and found that his five-element mana let him travel through different elemental obstacles.
• Zhou Yi visited the Outer Affairs Hall and selected the Blackwind Cave post at Repentance Cliff because it offered little contact with other cultivators.
• Li Mu warned Zhou Yi that he would be unable to cultivate at Blackwind Cave, but Zhou Yi confirmed his choice and had the assignment recorded.
• Zhou Yi reviewed the available demon-slaying assignments, then asked Xuan Yi for a catalog of cultivation methods and received a Jade Slip.
• After Zhou Yi left, Li Mu and Xiao Yuan discussed his lack of social tact, and Xuan Yi warned them not to speak dismissively of Rogue Cultivator elders.

Zhou Yi chose several cultivation arts and secret techniques to pursue at Dan Ding Sect, then began his post guarding Repentance Cliff. He entered Blackwind Cave and settled in to read while overseeing the prison.

• Zhou Yi studied Dan Ding Sect’s catalog and selected the Nine Revolutions Spirit Refining Art, True Dragon Nine Transformations, and Spirit Condensation Art.
• Zhou Yi prioritized the Blood Ignition Escape Technique after realizing Blood Spirit Fruits could replenish the essence blood it consumed, but found his chosen techniques would cost sixty-four thousand merit points.
• Zhou Yi decided to learn more about the sect before seeking merit, then used the passage between Bright Candle Peak and Golden Bell Peak to travel to Repentance Cliff.
• Zhou Yi reached Blackwind Cave, opened its formation with his identity token, and entered the brightly lit cave.
• Zhou Yi tidied the stone table, put away the Go pieces, and began reading a storybook while guarding the cave.

Zhou Yi found a way to earn merit by refining Foundation Establishment Pills and resumed his duty at Repentance Cliff, where he met Lin Yushu. Their exchange of storybooks revealed the fate of Quiet Void and Zhu Gang, while Lin Yushu explained why he had ambushed a fellow disciple.

• Zhou Yi learned that refining and submitting a Foundation Establishment Pill earned one thousand merit, and planned to grow thousand-year spirit ginseng for the task.
• Zhou Yi met Lin Yushu in Blackwind Cave and suspended his punishment for an hour after Lin Yushu pleaded for relief.
• Lin Yushu traded Zhou Yi volume two of The Tale of Three Heroes for a collector's illustrated edition, and Zhou Yi discovered Quiet Void had coauthored it with Zhu Gang.
• Lin Yushu said he ambushed Zhang because Zhang had bewitched his future fiancée, Junior Sister Zi Qiong, and Zhou Yi mocked him for being a simp.

Zhou Yi advised Lin Yushu about his infatuation with his junior sister and explained the Dan Ding Sect’s factional divisions. When Lin Yushu’s punishment ended, he left Blackwind Cave with a storybook and renewed resolve to cultivate.

• Lin Yushu admitted that he had spent his clan’s cultivation pills on his junior sister, and Zhou Yi introduced him to various dual cultivation arts.
• Lin Yushu vowed to place in the top ten of the year-end Sect Competition and reach Foundation Establishment so he could travel outside the sect.
• Lin Yushu told Zhou Yi that a rogue cultivator surnamed Zhang bullied him while exploiting loopholes in sect law, and Zhou Yi described the rivalry between the direct lineage and rogue cultivator factions.
• Lin Yushu shared rumors about the sect’s peaks, elders, and Sect Master while Zhou Yi listened and grew more content with his life at Repentance Cliff.
• After a month, Lin Yushu finished his punishment, received the storybook from Zhou Yi, and heard advice not to damage his foundation or neglect his appearance.

Zhou Yi continued his cultivation routine and met Jiang Kang, a dying Foundation Establishment True Person sentenced to ten years at Repentance Cliff for killing Yang Hua in a duel. Jiang Kang explained his reasons for the killing, and Zhou Yi became interested in hiring fellow disciples for demon-slaying assignments.

• Zhou Yi cultivated, tended his medicinal herbs, and refined his Soul Stabilizing Mirror and Rivers and Mountains Cauldron.
• At Repentance Cliff, Zhou Yi gave Jiang Kang century-old Crimson Rainbow Wine during his punishment in Blackwind Cave.
• Zhou Yi read that Jiang Kang had been sentenced to ten years for killing Yang Hua in a duel on the dueling platform.
• Jiang Kang explained that his sentence was made harsher because he had little lifespan remaining and that he challenged Yang Hua over the man's mistreatment of Rogue Cultivator disciples.
• Jiang Kang said Yang Hua died after failing to withstand three rounds of his Thunder Method, and Zhou Yi wondered about hiring fellow disciples for demon-slaying assignments.

Zhou Yi asked Jiang Kang about sect duels, Devil Dao cultivators, and the dangers of devil-elimination assignments, learning how the Dan Ding Sect regulated combat and rewarded its disciples. Jiang Kang urged him to hire fellow disciples for protection, while Zhou Yi left convinced that fiends must be slain and that the sect’s merit system favored those willing to fight.

• Zhou Yi asked Jiang Kang about faction conflict and learned that duels required an approved application costing ten thousand merit points.
• Jiang Kang described Devil Dao cultivators using the Troop Refinement Art to turn mortals into cultivation materials and explained that sect rules against mass sacrifices were easily evaded.
• Jiang Kang told Zhou Yi about the Jade Dew Art, which extracted cultivators’ lifespans to ripen life-extending herbs, and condemned the fiends who used it.
• Jiang Kang advised Zhou Yi to hire three or four fellow disciples to surround and kill targets during devil-elimination assignments, even if it cost him Spirit Stones.
• Jiang Kang explained that the Dan Ding Sect had ended Spirit Stone exchanges for merit points to prevent direct disciples from gaining an advantage, while devil-elimination assignments offered disciples substantial merit rewards.

Zhou Yi spent a snowy night on duty at Repentance Cliff, trading Spiritual Wine with Jiang Kang for knowledge about cultivation arts and sect affairs. When the Sect Competition began at dawn, Jiang Kang urged him to study the contestants’ techniques and habits for future fights.

• Zhou Yi and Jiang Kang discussed the Troop Refinement Art, the Jade Dew Art, and the incomplete Minor Heaven Severing Art, which Zhou Yi resolved to obtain.
• Jiang Kang explained that disciples could hire fellow disciples for demon-extermination assignments, and Zhou Yi planned to sell Foundation Establishment Pills to fund safer merit-gathering.
• Jiang Kang recounted how he pursued the devil Li across two provinces and earned the nickname Flying Thunder Immortal.
• At dawn, the Sect Competition bell rang, but Zhou Yi initially dismissed the event as a fight among Qi Refinement disciples.
• Jiang Kang advised Zhou Yi to record contestants’ cultivation arts, secret techniques, combat habits, and temperaments, especially those of the top ten.

Jiang Kang advised Zhou Yi on the importance of the Sect Competition and revealed that Dan Ding Sect’s reduced recruitment may be connected to the Righteous-Demonic Sword Duel. Zhou Yi went to watch the competition, where a fellow disciple offered him a Jade Slip for betting on the matches.

• Jiang Kang explained how competing for a Foundation Establishment Pill had driven him to study opponents at ten Sect Competitions, and urged Zhou Yi to fight for every advantage despite his poor spiritual roots.
• Jiang Kang told Zhou Yi that the sect had canceled its missions to recruit disciples, a change that seemed connected to the Righteous-Demonic Sword Duel.
• Jiang Kang reassured Zhou Yi that the sect could withstand a sword duel and stressed that cultivators needed escape arts; he then lay down to sleep as Zhou Yi headed for the Battle Platform.
• Zhou Yi arrived at the Battle Platform and found disciples gathering while others distributed Jade Slips.
• Shu Bu Liao offered Zhou Yi a Jade Slip and invited him to bet on the competition, but Zhou Yi declined and heard Shu recommend Purple Cloud Gathering as a more reliable betting group.

Zhou Yi learned about the wealthy Purple Cloud Gathering and agreed to visit, then watched the Sect Competition and recorded the strongest disciples’ techniques. After consulting Jiang Kang about both the gathering and the battles, he was left with plans to attend and learn more about the competitors.

• Shu Bu Liao told Zhou Yi about the Purple Cloud Gathering, introduced by Fang Chengfeng, and gave him a jade token after explaining its monthly meetings and benefits.
• Zhou Yi watched the Sect Competition, recorded the contestants’ skills, and marked Li Qing and a disciple surnamed Gu as especially notable fighters.
• Zhou Yi returned to Repentance Cliff and gave Jiang Kang his records of the battles.
• Jiang Kang compared the competitors with those he had seen in past years and said the Sect Competition had grown stronger.
• Zhou Yi asked Jiang Kang about the Purple Cloud Gathering, and Jiang Kang said Fang Chengfeng was interesting and encouraged him to visit.

Zhou Yi watched the Dan Ding Sect competition, then met Fang Chengfeng, the son of Ancestor Jian Chen, while delivering a wagered jar of wine to Repentance Cliff. Fang Chengfeng explained his gambling loss and his plans to build alliances, while Jiang Kang revealed that enduring the Blackwind Poisonfire could preserve lifespan.

• Zhou Yi observed the Sect Competition and noted Chu Feng's victory, earned through talismans and formations.
• Zhou Yi brought Jiang Kang two jars of Spiritual Wine after losing their wager on the competition champion.
• At Repentance Cliff, Zhou Yi discovered Fang Chengfeng was serving a month of punishment for beating a fellow disciple.
• Fang Chengfeng told Zhou Yi that he had lost more than five hundred thousand Spirit Stones after someone rigged a bet, then beaten the culprit.
• Fang Chengfeng said he needed allies to protect his fortune because Ancestor Jian Chen showed little concern for him.
• Jiang Kang explained that Fang Chengfeng was enduring the Blackwind Poisonfire by circulating his cultivation method, which helped save his lifespan.

Zhou Yi learned from Jiang Kang how spells advanced beyond perfection, while rumors about Jiang Kang’s supposed turn to the demonic path spread through the sect. Concerned by the growing unease, Zhou Yi visited the Purple Cloud Gathering to sell a Foundation Establishment Pill and earn merit, where he found listings offering high prices for such pills.

• Fang Chengfeng spent a month at Blackwind Cave before leaving, and Zhou Yi returned to Little Spring Peak to tend his herbs and strengthen his warning restrictions.
• Jiang Kang explained the stages of spell cultivation beyond perfection and demonstrated how the Five Thunder Technique could be condensed into changing forms.
• Two Qi Refining disciples arrived at Repentance Cliff for punishment, feared Jiang Kang because of rumors about his killing of Yang Hua, and fled when their sentence ended.
• Jiang Kang told Zhou Yi that demon infiltrators were likely spreading rumors that he had entered the demonic path.
• After researching the Purple Cloud Gathering for over half a year, Zhou Yi disguised himself as an old daoist and flew to Purple Cloud Peak.
• Fang Chengfeng delegated the gathering’s listings to Zhi Mo, and Zhou Yi spotted Foundation Establishment Pills wanted for sixty to seventy thousand Spirit Stones each.

Zhou Yi traded Foundation Establishment Pills for Spirit Stones and Qianyang Separating Fire Pearls, then bought an array inheritance from Zhong Xing. After reviewing the risks from the transactions, he returned to Blackwind Cave, where Jiang Kang said he was leaving for Ji Province and probably would not return.

• Zhou Yi posted a bulk purchase request for Thunder Pearls and Fire Pearls, then agreed to buy ten Qianyang Separating Fire Pearls and offered Foundation Establishment Pills for their refining method, which the seller refused to sell.
• Zhou Yi sold two Foundation Establishment Pills and arranged to trade two more for Zhong Xing's array formation inheritance and insights.
• Zhou Yi collected 130,000 Spirit Stones and ten Qianyang Separating Fire Pearls from Fang Chengfeng after revealing himself as Zhu Gang.
• Zhou Yi met Zhong Xing north of Divine Fire Peak and exchanged two Foundation Establishment Pills for the inheritance Jade Slip.
• Zhou Yi returned to Repentance Cliff and entered Blackwind Cave, where Jiang Kang told him he was leaving for Ji Province and likely would not come back.

After Jiang Kang left to confront a demonic True Lord, Zhou Yi spent nine years cultivating quietly at Repentance Cliff. He finally returned to the Outer Affairs Hall, accepted a task to kill the elusive Luoshui Serpent Demon, and checked that a technique he wanted remained available for exchange.

• Jiang Kang entrusted Zhou Yi with returning his betrothal jade pendant to Shen and left him a jade slip containing the Essentials of the Thunder Method before departing in violet lightning.
• Zhou Yi bowed farewell to Jiang Kang, then kept a low profile at Repentance Cliff, cultivating and studying formations and the Thunder Method for nine years.
• Zhou Yi went to the Outer Affairs Hall to deliver a letter and accepted the long-uncompleted assignment to kill the Luoshui Serpent Demon, which had evaded pursuit seven times.
• Xiao Yun warned Zhou Yi that even a true disciple had failed to find the serpent demon, and explained that True Lords generally did not intervene against threats to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Zhou Yi confirmed his acceptance of the assignment and checked Chen Yu's technique catalog to ensure the inheritance he sought was still listed.

Zhou Yi recruited eight formation experts and used disaster relief in drought-stricken Tan Province to draw out the Luoshui Serpent Demon. He captured the demon’s mortal agent, Niu Dazhu, who defended the river god and denied that it was a demon.

• Zhou Yi gathered eight Foundation Establishment cultivators, gave them Eight Gates Golden Lock formation flags, and planned to lure the serpent demon out with a river god sacrifice.
• Zhou Yi and the others secretly traveled to Tan Province, where officials led ineffective drought-relief work along the Luoshui.
• Zhou Yi used his flying sword to bring water to dry wells, and the cultivators spread across Tan Province to help relieve the drought and encourage the serpent demon to appear.
• After more than half a month, the drought had eased except around Riverside Village, where Zhou Yi and Senior Brother He found and captured Niu Dazhu, a Qi Refinement cultivator who served the serpent demon.
• Niu Dazhu insisted that the river god had protected the people for decades, and Zhou Yi answered that this did not justify sacrificing children.

Zhou Yi and his fellow Dan Ding Sect cultivators exposed the River God’s blood sacrifices as a deception and killed the snake demon at the Luo River. After the group divided the demon’s remains, Zhou Yi left for the sect, intending to seek out the snake demon’s spiritual land after dispersing his cultivation and starting anew.

• Zhou Yi explained that the snake demon could not bring rain and had only dispersed existing rain clouds, leaving Niu Dazhu devastated over Shuang'er’s sacrifice.
• Three days later, Niu Dazhu led villagers in offering four children to the River God, and the snake demon emerged from the Luo River.
• Zhou Yi activated the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation while Senior Brother He and the other cultivators attacked and trapped the snake demon.
• Senior Brother He and the others seized the snake demon’s two Dragon Horns and killed it, with Senior Brother He destroying its remnant soul.
• Zhou Yi and his fellow disciples sold the demon’s remains for six thousand Spirit Stones and flew toward the Dan Ding Sect.
• Zhou Yi planned to find the snake demon’s spiritual land after dispersing his cultivation and cultivating anew.

Zhou Yi weighed his long-term cultivation options and returned to duty at Repentance Cliff, where he recognized that Xuanxiao was likely Xiao Tiezhun, the man whose gratitude over five sheng of spiritual rice had set him on a path toward killing Zhenyang. The chapter left Zhou Yi suspecting Xuanxiao’s arrival at Blackwind Cave would bring danger and deciding he could no longer simply wait and watch.

• Zhou Yi turned in his mission, considered dispersing his cultivation to obtain techniques, and concluded he needed to cultivate essence, energy, and spirit together to overcome his poor aptitude.
• Zhou Yi checked that the formations around his medicinal fields remained undisturbed and decided to wait for another suitable external assignment before spending his merit points.
• After two months, Zhou Yi reported to Repentance Cliff and found Xuanxiao serving a ten-year punishment in Blackwind Cave.
• Xuanxiao told Zhou Yi he had killed True Yang Demon Lord’s last disciple to avenge a benefactor who had once given him five sheng of spiritual rice.
• Zhou Yi recognized Xuanxiao as likely Xiao Tiezhun and connected his revenge to the coming Righteous-Demonic Sword Duel.
• Suspecting Xuanxiao’s arrival at Repentance Cliff was ominous, Zhou Yi recalled the unusual circumstances of Xiao Tiezhun’s earlier entry into Dan Ding Sect and decided he had to act.