Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan learned that Old Monster Jin had used a Pink Skull Talisman to boost his power at the cost of much of his lifespan, then heard both Jin and Yellow-Browed True Person try to recruit him for their fight. He remained undecided as the two prepared to battle in Offline Gorge.

• Lin Xuan recalled that the Pink Skull Talisman could raise a Nascent Soul cultivator's power by a realm but consumed roughly a quarter of their lifespan.
• Yellow-Browed True Person demanded to know why Old Monster Jin had used the talisman, and Jin accused him of killing his dual cultivation partner.
• Old Monster Jin completed the talisman's infusion, reached late-stage Nascent Soul-level power, and attacked Yellow-Browed True Person with a golden hand formed from spiritual Qi and true essence.
• Old Monster Jin offered Lin Xuan his accumulated wealth and control of Offline Gorge if he helped kill Yellow-Browed True Person.
• Yellow-Browed True Person urged Lin Xuan to stay out of the fight, promising treasures and cultivation insights in return.
• Lin Xuan listened to both offers without choosing a side, while the chapter revealed that Jin's intended allies had not arrived because Yellow-Browed True Person came months earlier than expected.

Old Monster Jin and Yellow-Browed True Person fought fiercely, with Yellow-Browed True Person claiming his late-stage skills gave him the advantage. Lin Xuan appeared to side with Yellow-Browed True Person, but redirected his Azure Fire Sword to strike him instead, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Old Monster Jin used the Pink Skull Talisman to match Yellow-Browed True Person's power and attack him at close range.
• Yellow-Browed True Person summoned forty-nine sword lights that multiplied into a sword net, but Old Monster Jin endured the barrage and charged through it.
• Yellow-Browed True Person used a giant stone and the Earth-Shrinking Technique to evade Old Monster Jin's attack, then warned Lin Xuan that Old Monster Jin could not truly match him.
• Lin Xuan pretended to accept Yellow-Browed True Person's side and sent the Azure Fire Sword toward Old Monster Jin, then secretly redirected it above Yellow-Browed True Person.
• Lin Xuan poured his magic power into the Azure Fire Sword as it descended on Yellow-Browed True Person, while Old Monster Jin reacted with shock and delight.

Lin Xuan and Old Monster Jin battled Yellow-Browed True Person, whose escape was checked by Lin Xuan’s spatial Long Spear. As the fight continued, Yellow-Browed True Person summoned a Golden-Horned Fire Python Beast to counter Lin Xuan’s spirit bird.

• Yellow-Browed True Person split his sword rays between Lin Xuan and Old Monster Jin, but Lin Xuan’s Azure Fire Sword cut apart his shield and severed half his arm.
• Lin Xuan protected himself with the Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield, which withstood Yellow-Browed True Person’s sword rays.
• Lin Xuan used the Snow Fox King’s Long Spear to twist space and break Yellow-Browed True Person’s Earth-Shrinking Technique, letting Old Monster Jin strike him with a powerful golden fist.
• Yellow-Browed True Person escaped Old Monster Jin’s follow-up attack, while Lin Xuan sent a spirit bird and Yin-Yang Strange Winds after him.
• Yellow-Browed True Person released a Golden-Horned Fire Python Beast, which swallowed Lin Xuan’s spirit bird as the great cultivator charged through the strange winds.

Lin Xuan and Old Monster Jin joined forces against Yellow-Browed True Person, but the battle left both great cultivators badly injured. Yellow-Browed True Person’s Nascent Soul escaped and vanished while Lin Xuan and the Corpse Demon attacked it.

• Lin Xuan used the Banana Leaf Fan and Azure Phantom Nether Fire to trap and injure Yellow-Browed True Person as Old Monster Jin rushed in.
• Old Monster Jin cut off his arm and transformed it into a strange weapon, then attacked Yellow-Browed True Person at close range.
• Yellow-Browed True Person self-detonated, badly injuring Old Monster Jin while Lin Xuan escaped the blast.
• Yellow-Browed True Person’s Nascent Soul tried to teleport away, but Lin Xuan disrupted the spell and sent the Corpse Demon and Azure Phantom Nether Fire after it.
• Yellow-Browed True Person used a secret art to vanish, and the Corpse Demon extended tentacles from its Demon Arm.

Lin Xuan killed Yellow-Browed True Person with the Corpse Demon and inherited the Master of Offline Gorge title from the dying Old Monster Jin. Three days later, he inspected the Purple Lotus Wood and prepared to honor his promise to Jin Ling.

• Lin Xuan's Corpse Demon exposed Yellow-Browed True Person's concealment, swallowed his Nascent Soul, and Lin Xuan claimed his Storage Bag.
• Old Monster Jin gave Lin Xuan the valley master's Command Token and a Jade Slip marking his hidden treasure cave, then used Liberation by Violence to preserve his divine consciousness.
• Lin Xuan took Old Monster Jin's Storage Bag and became the Master of Offline Gorge without resistance.
• Jin Ling led Lin Xuan through the Purple Lotus Wood forest, where he decided to have some wood sent to his cave residence.
• Lin Xuan offered Jin Ling a bottle of high-grade Foundation Establishment Pills as he honored his promise to help her.

Lin Xuan gave Jin Ling authority over Offline Gorge, recovered Old Monster Jin’s hidden treasures, and prepared his residence for seclusion. After confirming that Purple Lotus Wood matured his Jade Luo Bees, he studied the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art and learned it could grant him a Demon Core as he pursued a way back to the Human World.

• Lin Xuan appointed Jin Ling to manage Offline Gorge and promised that its Core Condensation cultivators would follow her orders, while Yue'er questioned his choice.
• Lin Xuan entered Old Monster Jin’s hidden cave, subdued and collected its Core Condensation Puppets, and took its Spirit Stones, treasures, cultivation arts, and secret techniques.
• Lin Xuan arranged for Yue'er and the Corpse Demon to cultivate, then tested Purple Lotus Wood on the Jade Luo Bees and ordered Jin Ling and a Puppet to supply it regularly.
• Lin Xuan studied the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art and learned that it could transform him into a Phoenix Vein Body and potentially let him condense a Demon Core.
• Lin Xuan checked on Yue'er, the Corpse Demon, and the Jade Luo Bees before deciding to rest and resume cultivation.

Lin Xuan endured a month of painful meridian remodeling with Peacock's Life Essence Light, then began cultivating the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art with the Demon Eye Relic. Fifteen years later, a Phoenix manifestation appeared above Offline Gorge, and Jin Ling—now a Golden Core cultivator—arrived as the valley's respected manager.

• Lin Xuan endured a month of agony while refining the Life Essence Light to remodel his meridians and muscles into a Phoenix Vein Body.
• After resting, Lin Xuan studied the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art and began cultivating its first layer with the Demon Eye Relic.
• Lin Xuan left Jin Ling to manage Offline Gorge while he cultivated in seclusion for more than ten years.
• Fifteen years later, a five-colored cloud formed a Phoenix above Offline Gorge, which circled the valley and vanished into Lin Xuan's mountain residence.
• Jin Ling arrived before the shocked cultivators, having broken through her Pulse-Severing Body and condensed a Golden Core about a year earlier.

After fifteen years of seclusion, Lin Xuan mastered the first layer of the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art, strengthened his companions and Jade Luo Bees, and prepared to leave Offline Gorge. He left Jin Ling in charge with the Spirit-Restricting Command Token, while secretly keeping her bound by the Blood Light Soul Refining Technique as a future contingency.

• Lin Xuan completed the first layer of the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art, while Yue'er reached great perfection in the Core Condensation Realm and the Corpse Demon refined its swallowed Nascent Soul.
• Lin Xuan inspected the Jade Luo Bees, found they had grown stronger but that the Purple Lotus Wood had lost its effect, and stored the bees in his Spirit Beast Bag.
• Jin Ling visited Lin Xuan after he emerged from seclusion, and they discussed matters for half a day.
• Lin Xuan announced his departure, gave Jin Ling the Spirit-Restricting Command Token, and left Offline Gorge as the cultivators watched in astonishment.
• Lin Xuan told Yue'er that Jin Ling's pure metal-attribute spiritual root gave her great potential and explained that he had bound her with the Blood Light Soul Refining Technique as a possible future contingency.

Lin Xuan entered the Youhuan Mountain Range disguised as a Transformation Realm Demon Race member to search for an Ancient Teleportation Array. After a demon wolf exposed an unusual ability and awakened intelligence, Lin Xuan captured its soul and began searching it.

• Lin Xuan used a map gathered by Jin Ling to guide his search through the Youhuan Mountain Range.
• Lin Xuan transformed his aura with the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Art and traveled through the mountain range disguised as a Transformation Mid-Stage Demon Race member.
• Over three months, Lin Xuan searched nearly half the mountain range without finding the Ancient Teleportation Array.
• A hidden Three-Eyed Green Wolf attacked Lin Xuan after he let his disguise lapse, and he killed it with a streak of Sword Qi.
• Lin Xuan caught the wolf's fleeing soul, noticed its unusual strength and partial intelligence, and used the Soul Searching Technique on it.

Lin Xuan searched a hidden mountain near the Green-Eyed Patriarch’s cave and uncovered an ancient teleportation formation guarded by statues of the Five Great Demon Cultivators. When his Magic Stone only partly opened a spatial rift, he used his spatial spear to widen it and entered, leaving his destination unknown.

• Lin Xuan searched the mountain after concealing the area with an illusion restriction and leveling its peak with Sword Qi.
• Lin Xuan used an Earth Escape Talisman to descend underground, cut through an Iron Essence stone, and found a cavern containing an ancient teleportation formation and five jade statues.
• Lin Xuan recognized the statue of the Mystic Phoenix Ancestor and placed a Magic Stone in the formation’s Spirit Stone recess.
• The Mystic Phoenix Fairy’s divided soul awakened and activated the formation, but the Magic Stone produced only a small spatial rift.
• Lin Xuan used his spatial Long Spear to widen the rift, protected himself with several magic treasures, and flew inside.

After returning to the Human World through a spatial rift, Lin Xuan recovered his magical power and sought a nearby city to learn where he had arrived. At a roadside tea stall, a merchant caravan stopped, and its elderly master reacted with shock upon seeing Lin Xuan.

• Lin Xuan recovered for three days while Yue'er kept watch, then sensed a nearby settlement and flew with her toward it.
• Lin Xuan approached the city on foot and paused at a roadside tea stall to rest and eat.
• A large merchant caravan arrived, and Lin Xuan and Yue'er sensed that the young woman accompanying its elderly master was a Spirit Movement Stage cultivator.
• A steward offered Lin Xuan silver to give up his table, but the elderly caravan master saw Lin Xuan's face and trembled with excitement.

Lin Xuan met Zhang Changsheng, a mortal he had saved decades earlier, and learned that he might have returned to You Province. Zhang Xiaoying’s mention of the Separation Medicine Palace deepened his doubts about where he was and how much the cultivation world had changed.

• Zhang Changsheng recognized Lin Xuan as the cultivator who had saved him and his sister as children, then kowtowed to him in gratitude.
• Zhang Changsheng introduced his granddaughter, Zhang Xiaoying, who doubted Lin Xuan was a cultivator because she sensed no spiritual energy from him.
• Lin Xuan considered that he might have returned to You Province and wondered whether the Yinhun threat had been resolved.
• Zhang Changsheng described his lingering illness, and Lin Xuan offered to restore his health.
• Zhang Xiaoying asked whether Lin Xuan belonged to the Separation Medicine Palace, but Lin Xuan said he had never heard of it and questioned whether he was truly in You Province.

Lin Xuan learned from Zhang Xiaoying and her grandfather about You Province’s recent history and the disastrous war against the Yinhun. Zhang Xiaoying began explaining the heaven-and-earth upheaval that had led to the human race’s victory, leaving Lin Xuan awaiting the details.

• Lin Xuan revealed his overwhelming spiritual pressure, convincing Zhang Xiaoying that he was a powerful cultivator and prompting her to answer his questions.
• Lin Xuan gave the grandfather and granddaughter Blue Wind Pills and gifted Zhang Xiaoying a top-grade spiritual tool.
• Zhang Xiaoying explained that the Supreme Demon of Extreme Evil had been lured into a trap by the four great Ghost Emperors and killed.
• Zhang Xiaoying recounted how the righteous and demonic paths fell into conflict after the Demon Sovereign’s death, allowing the Yinhun to regain the advantage.
• Lin Xuan asked how the human race eventually drove back the Yinhun, and Zhang Xiaoying began describing the heaven-and-earth upheaval thirty years earlier.

Lin Xuan learned that the realms were now understood to include nine Human Worlds and six Underworld Realms, then heard how You Province’s desperate war against the Yinhun changed thirty years ago. Zhang Changsheng recounted a vast spatial rift that seemed to erase the sky, leaving Lin Xuan shaken and searching for an explanation.

• Zhang Xiaoying told Lin Xuan that current cultivation theory recognized nine Human Worlds and six Underworld Realms.
• Zhang Xiaoying explained that the Yinhun had occupied most of You Province after the Demonic Path collapsed and mankind weakened.
• Zhang Changsheng took over the account, saying his family had fled near Thunder Cloud Villa to escape the Yinhun.
• Zhang Changsheng recalled that thirty years earlier the sky darkened and appeared to tear open into an enormous rift.
• Lin Xuan recognized the phenomenon as a spatial rift but was stunned by its seemingly impossible scale.

Lin Xuan learned that a continent from another Human World had crossed over and joined You Province and Yanzhou, creating the vast Twelve Heavenly Cloud Provinces, where Demon Cultivators also flourished. After Zhang Xiaoying explained the new cultivation world and received his guidance, she offered to help Lin Xuan reach a nearby market town.

• An old man recounted how a continent emerged through a hole in the sky during the upheaval thirty years earlier.
• Zhang Xiaoying explained that the new continent had joined You Province and Yanzhou to form the Twelve Heavenly Cloud Provinces, whose sects and cultivation resources vastly surpassed those of the former You Province.
• Lin Xuan learned that the Twelve Heavenly Cloud Provinces included powerful Confucian, Buddhist, and Demon Cultivator forces, and he realized Demon Veins could have come from the other Human Worlds.
• Lin Xuan discovered that Zhang Xiaoying had reached the middle Spirit Movement Stage after nine years of cultivation, reviewed her water-attribute cultivation method, and gave her guidance.
• When Lin Xuan asked for directions to a nearby market town before leaving, Zhang Xiaoying offered to accompany him and asked whether he wanted to buy something.

Lin Xuan visited Baisuan Pavilion’s hidden market in Qingyang City with Zhang Xiaoying and learned how much You Province had changed since his departure. At the market, they went to meet Elder Xue, whose reaction to Lin Xuan ended the chapter in sudden fury.

• Zhang Xiaoying told Lin Xuan that Baisuan Pavilion had established a concealed cultivators’ market in Qingyang City, and Lin Xuan agreed to stay overnight at Zhang Xiaoying’s family residence.
• The next morning, Lin Xuan followed Zhang Xiaoying through an illusion formation into the market and observed its many cultivators and shops.
• Zhang Xiaoying led Lin Xuan to Qingfeng Pavilion, where they learned that Elder Xue was present and Fairy Cao had returned to the main altar.
• Elder Xue greeted Zhang Xiaoying, noticed Lin Xuan, and abruptly turned from surprise and confusion to towering rage.

Lin Xuan was mistaken for a Tianyuan Boat cultivator and confronted by Baisuan Pavilion stewards, but Elder Xue recognized him as the missing benefactor who had founded the pavilion. Lin Xuan learned that Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin had transformed his small shop into You Province’s leading merchant alliance, and he prepared to learn more about their affairs.

• Elder Xue summoned four Baisuan Pavilion cultivators to surround Lin Xuan, while Zhang Xiaoying protested that he was her ancestor’s benefactor.
• Lin Xuan revealed his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation and used a sleeping restriction to knock out the cultivators and Zhang Xiaoying.
• Elder Xue recognized Lin Xuan from portraits in the Pavilion Masters’ residences and knelt to welcome him back as their young master.
• Elder Xue explained that Baisuan Pavilion had grown from the Baishan Hall Lin Xuan gave Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin to manage.
• Elder Xue said he had mistaken Lin Xuan for a Tianyuan Boat cultivator, a rival merchant alliance encroaching on Baisuan Pavilion’s business.

At Floating Cloud Valley, now the Baisuan Pavilion’s main altar, Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin discussed growing pressure from Tianyuan Boat and the deeper threats to their sect. They remained worried about Lin Xuan, whose whereabouts had been unknown for years, and faced the prospect of relying on themselves after Azure Cloud Mountain moved away.

• Baisuan Pavilion had established its main altar at the former site of Floating Cloud Valley in Yanzhou, where Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin led the sect despite their False Core cultivation.
• Liu Xin told Lu Ying'er that Tianyuan Boat had taken another deal from them and attacked their marketplace in Qingyuan City, killing and injuring more than a dozen disciples.
• Liu Xin urged Lu Ying'er to retaliate, but Lu Ying'er said the greater crisis lay within Baisuan Pavilion rather than with Tianyuan Boat.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin recalled how Baishan Hall had grown with Elder Xue's management and Azure Cloud Mountain's support through the Saint Origin Token.
• Liu Xin worried that they had heard nothing from Lin Xuan for many years, while Lu Ying'er reasoned that their Blood Pact meant he was still alive.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin acknowledged that they would have to manage alone after Azure Cloud Mountain moved its main altar to Cloud Province seven years earlier.

Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin faced internal unrest and the threat of Tianyuan Boat after Azure Cloud Mountain’s departure, but learned that Lin Xuan had returned. Lin Xuan arrived at Baisuan Pavilion’s main altar, where the two women welcomed him with a grand procession and knelt before him.

• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin worried that their Core Condensation elders might rebel now that Azure Cloud Mountain no longer backed Baisuan Pavilion, while Tianyuan Boat posed an external threat.
• Lu Ying'er received a message that Lin Xuan had returned to You Province and was in Qingyang City, and she and Liu Xin decided to wait for him at the main altar.
• Three days later, Lin Xuan reached Baisuan Pavilion at the former site of Floating Cloud Valley with Zhang Xiaoying, and a patrol sent word of his arrival.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin led a lavish welcoming procession of cultivators and trained beasts to greet Lin Xuan.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin knelt before Lin Xuan and respectfully addressed him as Young Master.

Lin Xuan reunited with Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin, learned that Azure Cloud Mountain had relocated and that Baisuan Pavilion was facing trouble, and told them about his years away. He discovered the sisters had reached the great circle of Foundation Establishment but were struggling to advance because of their poor aptitude.

• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin welcomed Lin Xuan as their Young Master, shocking Baisuan Pavilion's cultivators when they saw the Pavilion Masters defer to a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
• Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin credited Lin Xuan and the Saint Origin Token for Baisuan Pavilion's growth, then explained that Azure Cloud Mountain had relocated to Cloud Province and the pavilion had begun encountering trouble.
• Lin Xuan wondered about Ouyang Qinxin and asked why Azure Cloud Mountain had moved, but Lu Ying'er said she knew nothing of the sect's reasons.
• Liu Xin asked where Lin Xuan had been, and he briefly recounted his experiences, leaving the two women astonished at his achievements.
• Lin Xuan praised Lu Ying'er and Liu Xin for reaching the great circle of Foundation Establishment, but they revealed their poor aptitude was keeping them from Core Condensation.