Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan fought Zhang Taibai’s four imitation sacred beasts as the battle’s shockwaves drew the attention of Yinhun and human cultivators across the region. The Qingxiang Sect’s cultivators feared that Taixu Master had discovered their plan.

• Zhang Taibai transformed his magic treasures into imitations of the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger, then sent them after Lin Xuan.
• Lin Xuan used his giant python and Floating Cloud Falling Snow Sword to hold off the Azure Dragon while blocking the Black Tortoise’s water arrows with the Ancient Shield.
• The Black Tortoise charged the shield, and Lin Xuan poured in spiritual power and blood essence to enlarge it; their collision unleashed a devastating shockwave.
• A Ghost King and several Yinhun sensed the shockwave, withdrew, and planned to report the battle to the Ghost Emperor under His Majesty Hao Tian’s decree.
• A group of human cultivators suspected two Nascent Soul Realm experts were fighting, and one warned that Taixu Master of Azure Cloud Mountain might have arrived and discovered the Qingxiang Sect’s plan.

Lin Xuan used Shift and Swap and the Immortal Binding Ball to hold off Zhang Taibai’s Sacred Beasts, then summoned Yue’er to battle the Vermilion Bird. Yue’er unleashed the Beast Soul Banner and Bone Netherfire, leaving Zhang Taibai horrified by her power.

• The Qingxiang Sect’s cultivators learned Zhang Taibai had defected and withdrew to report to their sect master rather than risk a fight involving Nascent Soul Realm experts.
• Zhang Taibai empowered the White Tiger with his blood essence, but Lin Xuan escaped its claw-shadows using Shift and Swap.
• Lin Xuan used the Immortal Binding Ball to trap the White Tiger in silver threads while Zhang Taibai sent the Fire Bird to attack him.
• Lin Xuan summoned Yue’er, who used the Beast Soul Banner to hold off the Vermilion Bird as Lin Xuan fought the other Sacred Beasts.
• Yue’er attacked the Vermilion Bird with black blades and Bone Netherfire, shocking Zhang Taibai with her ability to use a Ghost King divine ability.

Lin Xuan and Yue'er defeated Zhang Taibai’s summoned beasts, and Lin Xuan used an Earth-Saint Spirit Talisman to kill the fleeing Sword Immortal Taibai. The chapter left Ouyang Qinxin astonished by Lin Xuan’s strength as he retained several uses of the talisman.

• Yue'er trapped and destroyed the Vermilion Bird, while Ouyang Qinxin beheaded the Iron-Armored Monster Python.
• Zhang Taibai recalled the Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon into flying swords and fled east.
• Lin Xuan used the Earth-Saint Spirit Talisman to launch a golden blade that cut Zhang Taibai in two.
• Yue'er captured Zhang Taibai’s Primordial Spirit in the Magic Banner and retrieved his Storage Bag.
• Ouyang Qinxin stared in disbelief at Lin Xuan’s strength, while Lin Xuan noted that the talisman could still be used three or four times.

Lin Xuan rescued Ouyang Qinxin, reunited with her, and accompanied her to a concealed Azure Cloud Mountain branch altar in fallen territory. The chapter ended as five cultivators emerged to greet Ouyang Qinxin.

• Lin Xuan restored the dimmed Gold Talisman and met Ouyang Qinxin, reflecting on the Sound Wave Technique and its benefits.
• Ouyang Qinxin thanked Lin Xuan for saving her, and they congratulated each other on their progress before leaving the battle site.
• Lin Xuan recalled Yue'er to his sleeve and told Ouyang Qinxin that his ghost servant had Core Condensation stage cultivation, asking her to keep it confidential.
• Lin Xuan and Ouyang Qinxin flew to a desolate mountain, where Ouyang Qinxin used a silver command token to reveal Azure Cloud Mountain's concealed branch altar.
• Three men and two women flew out of the branch altar and greeted Ouyang Qinxin with surprise and joy.

Lin Xuan visited Ouyang Qinxin at Azure Cloud Mountain and learned that several sects were gathering materials in the fallen region while dealing with the Yinhun invasion. After she gave him a map to Spirit Herb Mountain’s branch altar, Ouyang Qinxin revealed that she needed to discuss a secret affecting Azure Cloud Mountain’s fortunes, leaving Lin Xuan poised to hear her request.

• Ouyang Qinxin told Hui Jing that Zhang Taibai had been executed and ordered her to recall the searching disciples.
• Lin Xuan accompanied Ouyang Qinxin to her cave residence, where he asked about the fallen region and the Yinhun invasion.
• Ouyang Qinxin explained that Taixu Master was responsible for apprehending Zhang Taibai and that several factions, including Spirit Herb Mountain, were collecting materials in the fallen region.
• Ouyang Qinxin gave Lin Xuan a Jade Slip map to Spirit Herb Mountain’s branch altar.
• Ouyang Qinxin sealed their conversation with a soundproofing barrier and told Lin Xuan she wanted his help with a secret concerning Azure Cloud Mountain’s fortunes.

Ouyang Qinxin told Lin Xuan how Taixu Master was ambushed by Peacock Fairy and later injured by Ghost Emperor Haotian while pursuing Zhang Taibai. Taixu Master’s Nascent Soul was being corroded by Yin energy, and Azure Cloud Mountain had found a pill that could cure him but needed Lin Xuan’s help.

• Ouyang Qinxin explained that Taixu Master had pursued Zhang Taibai into fallen territory after he escaped Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Peacock Fairy attacked Taixu Master after Lin Xuan and Ghost Emperor Haotian each escaped her, forcing Taixu Master to flee using a costly secret art.
• Taixu Master encountered Ghost Emperor Haotian soon afterward and escaped back to his sect badly injured.
• Ouyang Qinxin told Lin Xuan that Haotian’s ghost claw had sent Yin energy into Taixu Master’s body, where it was corroding his Nascent Soul.
• Ouyang Qinxin said ancient records revealed that a Nine Suns Heaven-Returning Pill could remove the Yin energy, and Lin Xuan asked whether its ingredients were difficult to gather.

Lin Xuan learned that Azure Cloud Mountain wanted his help refining a pill for Martial Uncle Taixu, but he hesitated over the request and its terms. Ouyang Qinxin explained that the righteous and demonic factions had overlooked the many cultivation clans in You Province, whose combined strength formed a third major force.

• Ouyang Qinxin asked Lin Xuan to refine a pill for Martial Uncle Taixu, explaining that even Azure Cloud Mountain's alchemy disciples lacked confidence.
• Lin Xuan questioned why Azure Cloud Mountain had not sought help from his master, Perfected Master Tongyu, and Ouyang Qinxin appealed to their friendship before answering.
• Ouyang Qinxin told Lin Xuan that Spirit Herb Mountain had stood as a force comparable to the righteous and demonic factions during the conflict with Extreme Demon Cave.
• Ouyang Qinxin explained that the sects had drawn smaller groups into the war but had failed to account for the cultivation clans.
• Ouyang Qinxin said that cultivation clans were individually weak but far more numerous than the sects, and Lin Xuan was surprised by their potential combined strength.

Lin Xuan learned that Perfected Master Tongyu had secretly united most of You Province’s cultivation families, making Azure Cloud Mountain wary of asking him to treat Senior Taixu. Ouyang Qinxin persuaded Lin Xuan to help, and Senior Taixu summoned him to the Exquisite Pagoda.

• Ouyang Qinxin told Lin Xuan that Perfected Master Tongyu had spent decades drawing cultivation families and Rogue Cultivators into his sect’s sphere of influence.
• Ouyang Qinxin explained that Azure Cloud Mountain feared trusting Perfected Master Tongyu with Senior Taixu’s treatment because their sects now rivaled each other in strength.
• Lin Xuan considered the request and decided he would help only if Azure Cloud Mountain offered sufficient benefits.
• Ouyang Qinxin received a Sound Transmission Talisman saying Senior Taixu wished to see Lin Xuan.
• Ouyang Qinxin led Lin Xuan to the Exquisite Pagoda, and they teleported from its first floor.

Lin Xuan met the injured Taixu Master, who asked him to refine a Nine Suns Heaven-Returning Pill. After Taixu Master offered him a Saint Origin Token, Lin Xuan agreed and received ingredients for ten pills.

• Lin Xuan and Ouyang Qinxin arrived in the pagoda’s top chamber and greeted Taixu Master.
• Taixu Master pressed Lin Xuan to refine a Nine Suns Heaven-Returning Pill, and Lin Xuan cautiously voiced doubts about his skill.
• Taixu Master offered Lin Xuan a Saint Origin Token as payment, and Lin Xuan accepted the offer and agreed to refine the pill.
• Lin Xuan asked Taixu Master for cultivation guidance while Ouyang Qinxin fetched the ingredients.
• Ouyang Qinxin delivered a jade box containing enough rare ingredients for ten pills, though Taixu Master said he needed only one.

Lin Xuan agreed to refine the Nine Suns Heaven-Returning Pill for Taixu Master, who revealed that his worsening yin energy left him only half a month to live. At Ouyang Qinxin’s treasure chamber, Lin Xuan acquired the Purple Dragon Cauldron and a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Crystal, then gave her Spirit Returning Dew in return for the crystal.

• Taixu Master and a middle-aged man discussed Lin Xuan’s skill at pill refining and revealed that Taixu Master could survive for at most half a month if his yin energy remained unresolved.
• Ouyang Qinxin escorted Lin Xuan to Azure Cloud Mountain’s treasure chamber so he could find a cauldron for refining the pill.
• Lin Xuan recognized and took the Purple Dragon Cauldron from the chamber’s collection.
• Lin Xuan asked for the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Crystal, and Ouyang Qinxin agreed to give it to him despite another disciple’s plans for it.
• Lin Xuan accepted the Snow Crystal without paying and offered Ouyang Qinxin a bottle of Spirit Returning Dew as a return gift.

Lin Xuan guarded himself against spying while refining the Nine Suns Heaven-Returning Pill, then discovered that purifying the failed pills with the Blue Star Sea was harder than expected. After two failed attempts, he adjusted his approach and finally purified a pill as dawn broke.

• Lin Xuan set up additional formations in the Alchemy Chamber and began refining the Nine Suns Heaven-Returning Pill while Ouyang Qinxin guarded the entrance.
• Taixu Master learned that Martial Nephew Feng could not see into the chamber, and decided not to risk disturbing Lin Xuan.
• After three days, Lin Xuan completed the pill-refining attempt, producing nine black Waste Pills.
• Lin Xuan entered his Sandalwood Random Box and tried to purify a Waste Pill with the Blue Star Sea, but his first two attempts failed.
• Lin Xuan rested, carefully reviewed the failed attempts, and eventually purified a pill as the sky began to brighten.

Lin Xuan emerged after refining a pill for Taixu Master, accepted an invitation to stay overnight, and was given the Purple Dragon Cauldron. A Sound Transmission Talisman then brought Taixu Master startling news, leaving Lin Xuan wondering what had happened.

• Ouyang Qinxin stopped Senior Brother Feng from entering Lin Xuan’s pill-refining chamber, and Lin Xuan emerged with the medicinal pill successfully refined.
• Lin Xuan gave the pill to Senior Brother Feng, who invited him to stay overnight while he reported to Taixu Master.
• Lin Xuan and Ouyang Qinxin shared tea and discussed their cultivation experiences through the night.
• Taixu Master arrived looking fully recovered, thanked Lin Xuan, and gifted him the Purple Dragon Cauldron.
• A Sound Transmission Talisman reached Taixu Master, whose expression changed with shock, puzzlement, joy, and wariness after he read it.

After helping Ouyang Qinxin, Lin Xuan left Five Finger Mountain while Taixu Master welcomed the bodyless Red-Haired Ancestor into Azure Cloud Mountain. Lin Xuan rested in the fallen territory and studied a map as he considered his next move.

• Lin Xuan said farewell to Ouyang Qinxin and flew away from Five Finger Mountain.
• Taixu Master met Red-Haired Ancestor, whose Nascent Soul had survived the destruction of his body and pursuit by the Yinhun.
• Red-Haired Ancestor joined Azure Cloud Mountain, and Taixu Master promised to find him a suitable physical body within half a month.
• Lin Xuan flew more than a hundred li before stopping to rest and cautiously examine his surroundings.
• Lin Xuan studied a map of the fallen territory and learned that forces across You Province were gathering spirit stones and treasures there.

Lin Xuan reached the area where Spirit Herb Mountain’s branch altar was supposed to be and encountered Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin fleeing from it. After stopping the two disciples and questioning them, he learned they claimed to have no intention of betraying the sect, but their urgent fear of something behind them left the reason for their flight unresolved.

• Lin Xuan decided to visit Spirit Herb Mountain’s nearby branch altar after obtaining the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Crystal and other treasures on Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Lin Xuan searched the forested area for the branch altar but found no signs of formations, then waited and sensed two low-ranked cultivators approaching.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin tried to flee, saying they could not stay there much longer, and Lu Ying'er prepared to carry them away on her flying sword.
• Lin Xuan appeared, seized Lu Ying'er's sword, and asked the frightened women about their connection to Spirit Herb Mountain.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin gave their names and insisted they meant no betrayal, while Lu Ying'er began to explain why they were escaping.

Lin Xuan rescued Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin and learned that disciples had been mysteriously disappearing from Spirit Herb Mountain’s branch altar in the occupied region. The sisters had fled the altar, but Lin Xuan warned them that the surrounding region was too dangerous for them to cross alone, leaving them unsure what to do.

• Lin Xuan carried Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin far from Spirit Herb Mountain’s branch altar and asked them to explain their troubles.
• Lu Ying'er described how disciples had begun vanishing, and Liu Xin said the missing disciples were found dead with their bodies torn apart and their souls taken.
• Liu Xin explained that the disappearances continued despite the Core Condensation grandmasters’ investigation, and even Martial Uncle Zhao was killed.
• Liu Xin criticized the elders for keeping the branch altar in danger and punishing disciples who tried to leave; Lu Ying'er warned her against speaking ill of them.
• Lin Xuan questioned why the sisters had fled and warned that their cultivation was too weak to survive the occupied region’s Yinhun and Fierce Ghosts, leaving them at a loss.

Lin Xuan intervened when Spirit Herb Mountain Enforcement Envoys caught Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin, and his revealed Core Condensation cultivation forced them to back down. The envoys’ behavior suggested corruption at the Branch Altar, and Lin Xuan showed his identity token as he prepared to address the situation.

• Lin Xuan sensed the approaching Enforcement Envoys, while Lu Ying'er urged him to leave to avoid being drawn into her sect’s affairs.
• Cao Feng arrived with two other Foundation Establishment cultivators and accused Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin of betraying Spirit Herb Mountain.
• Cao Feng attacked the two women, but Lin Xuan blocked the strike with a Fire Snake.
• Cao Feng and the other envoys surrounded Lin Xuan and prepared to kill him, so Lin Xuan revealed his Core Condensation cultivation.
• Cao Feng begged for mercy and offered Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin to Lin Xuan, who recognized that the Branch Altar had serious problems.
• Lin Xuan produced a jade-green command talisman representing his identity.

Lin Xuan revealed himself as Spirit Herb Mountain’s Young Sect Master, then killed Cao Feng and sent his treasures after the two other Foundation Establishment cultivators who had served him. After the women escaped with him, he took them back to the Branch Altar, promising to handle the situation there.

• Lin Xuan showed his Young Sect Master talisman, and Cao Feng and the other two cultivators knelt to beg his forgiveness.
• Lin Xuan killed Cao Feng and sent his giant python treasure and refined corpses after the fleeing woman and scholar.
• Lu Ying'er thanked Lin Xuan for saving her and Liu Xin, and he explained that he had killed the three cultivators to prevent future trouble.
• Lin Xuan burned Cao Feng's corpse and told the two girls they were returning to the Branch Altar.
• Lin Xuan swept Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin into his azure light and flew away with them.

Lin Xuan arrived at Spirit Herb Mountain's Branch Altar and found the local leaders, Zhou Mian and Cao Yue, surrounded by an unexplained aura. He secured the release of two wanted disciples, then sealed himself inside a pavilion to investigate the Branch Altar's trouble before seeking treasures.

• Lin Xuan showed his command token to a group of disciples, who escorted him to the Branch Altar and summoned hundreds of cultivators to greet him.
• Lin Xuan met Zhou Mian and Cao Yue, learned that Tongyu was preparing to form his Nascent Soul, and discovered that another Core Condensation cultivator was away searching for a possible treasure site.
• Lin Xuan asked Zhou Mian to forgive the two women who had accompanied him, and Zhou Mian agreed.
• After Zhou Mian and Cao Yue left, Lin Xuan sensed a strange aura from them and suspected that the Branch Altar had a hidden problem.
• Lin Xuan searched the pavilion, set up protective formation flags, let Yue'er out of his sleeve, and began meditating while postponing his visit to the treasure vault.

Lin Xuan studied a divine ability from the Jade Slip before summoning Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin and asking them to bind themselves to him with a master-servant Blood Pact. After they agreed and completed the pact, he examined their Spirit Roots and promised that he could help them establish their foundations.

• Lin Xuan read the Jade Slip containing a divine ability obtained from Hundred Poisons Divine Lord and received a Sound Transmission Talisman from Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin.
• Lin Xuan told the two women he wanted them to become his personal subordinates, explaining that he was building a force loyal to himself rather than relying on his position as Young Sect Master.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin agreed to serve Lin Xuan after he offered them cultivation guidance and benefits, and assured them he would erase their memories rather than kill them if they refused.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin each surrendered a wisp of soul essence, and Lin Xuan completed the master-servant Blood Pact with them.
• Lin Xuan examined the women's Spirit Roots, found Lu Ying'er had a water attribute and Liu Xin had a metal attribute, and promised that Foundation Establishment would be within reach if they cultivated diligently.

Lin Xuan gave Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin cultivation techniques, pills, spirit stones, spiritual tools, and protective talismans, then explained to Yue'er why he had taken them in. He planned to use them to establish a secret shop that would collect ancient pill recipes and Waste Pills, leaving the operation in their hands as they grew stronger.

• Lin Xuan gave Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin top-tier cultivation techniques, mid-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills, one thousand spirit stones each, high-grade spiritual tools, and Earth-Grade Spirit Talismans.
• Lin Xuan told the two women to cultivate diligently and explained that their abilities were not yet strong enough to assist him, so they left the pavilion.
• Lin Xuan told Yue'er he had taken in Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin to help carry out a plan, not to build a sect or pursue power.
• Lin Xuan explained that he planned to open a secret shop to collect ancient pill recipes that could help his cultivation.
• Lin Xuan said the secret shop would also purchase Waste Pills because the war had changed You Province's cultivation world and cut off his usual supply.
• Lin Xuan planned to keep himself hidden while Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin developed their cultivation enough to manage the shop.