Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan learned that Golden Core Peak had fallen into decline and chose to join it so he could cultivate quietly within Cloud Hidden Sect. Thirty years later, he had reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage, helped his three companions establish their foundations, and heard from Su Ru that she had found a lead on the Waste Pill Room post he sought.

• Lin Xuan learned from Jingxu, Su Ru, and Chang Hu that Golden Core Peak lacked Dongxuan Realm cultivators and was bullied by the other lineages.
• After arriving at Cloud Hidden Sect, Lin Xuan chose to join Golden Core Peak instead of going to the Ascension Platform.
• Lin Xuan settled at Golden Core Peak and spent thirty years cultivating, advancing from the fourth layer of the Spirit Movement Stage to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Chang Hu, Jingxu, and Su Ru all established their foundations with Lin Xuan's help refining the necessary pills.
• Su Ru visited Lin Xuan and told him she had found a lead on the Waste Pill Room post he had asked her to investigate.

Lin Xuan set his sights on the Cloud Hidden Sect’s waste pills and accompanied Su Ru to the Waste Pill Room. On the way, he secretly sabotaged Luo Yunjie after the arrogant disciple tried to pressure Su Ru into becoming his concubine.

• Lin Xuan decided to seek the post of steward at the Waste Pill Room so he could make use of its discarded pills.
• Su Ru escorted Lin Xuan toward Golden Core Peak after arranging matters at the Waste Pill Room.
• Luo Yunjie stopped them and again urged Su Ru to become his concubine, but she rejected him.
• Lin Xuan invoked Grandmaster Wan to make Luo Yunjie let them pass, then secretly planted a force in Luo Yunjie that would cause qi deviation when he meditated.
• Lin Xuan assured Su Ru that Luo Yunjie would not trouble her again, and the two reached their destination.

Lin Xuan secretly looted the Waste Pill Room while a puppet and a Split Soul maintained the appearance of his seclusion. After defeating a disguised Corpse Demon, he stole pills across every cultivation grade and left the demon to take the blame.

• Lin Xuan spent three months familiarizing himself with the Waste Pill Room, then announced he was entering seclusion.
• Lin Xuan left a puppet bearing his appearance and a Split Soul in his cave while his true body secretly went to the upper floors of the Waste Pill Room.
• Lin Xuan found the cultivator surnamed Li hiding on the seventh floor and discovered he was a Corpse Demon whose power reached Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• Lin Xuan seized the Corpse Demon, destroyed its Split Soul, and made its corpse strike the restriction screen to disguise his own theft.
• Lin Xuan removed the restrictions and took all the waste pills on the seventh floor suitable for Dongxuan, Nascent Soul, Core Condensation, and Foundation Establishment cultivators before leaving.

Golden Core Peak’s leaders investigated the theft of the Waste Pill Room’s waste pills and suspected the Heavenly Corpse Sect, while questioning Lin Xuan’s unusual choice to manage the room. Acting peak master Grandmaster Wan decided to report the matter to Heavenly Sword Peak, where a recent death and Luo’s anger threatened to complicate the visit.

• Grandmaster Wan and the other Lihe Realm cultivators discussed the stolen waste pills and suspected the Heavenly Corpse Sect because the dead disciple bore its Substitute Demon Corpse Technique.
• Mo said he had interrogated the other Waste Pill Room guards and found no problems, but singled out Lin Xuan, a Rogue Cultivator who had advanced to Foundation Establishment Late Stage and volunteered for the post.
• Mo reported that Lin Xuan claimed to prefer the room’s quiet and had remained in seclusion under secret observation.
• Grandmaster Wan ruled that Golden Core Peak had to report the incident to the sect and said he would accept responsibility for the missing waste pills.
• Grandmaster Wan and Mo set out for Heavenly Sword Peak, while the white-faced old man warned that Luo was furious after his direct descendant died from qi deviation.

Lin Xuan secretly entered the Spirit Clear Mist Sea and used its rich spiritual energy and purified Waste Pills to cultivate for centuries. After bringing his Dual Infant One Core into the Dongxuan Realm and continuing to grow stronger, he faced a vast heavenly omen gathering over Golden Core Peak, signaling a Dongxuan-level breakthrough.

• Lin Xuan studied the Spirit Clear Mist Sea’s restriction with his Heavenly Phoenix Divine Eye, then cut through its nodes with eighty-one strokes of Sword Qi and entered the secluded valley.
• Lin Xuan settled into a former Dongxuan Realm cultivation cave and used the Star Sea to purify Waste Pills before cultivating.
• Over nearly seventy years, Lin Xuan advanced his Second Nascent Soul and Demon Core into the Dongxuan Realm, while Su Ru and Chang Hu condensed Golden Cores and Jingxu died fighting Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators.
• Lin Xuan continued cultivating in the Spirit Clear Mist Sea for another three hundred years as Cloud Hidden Sect and Heavenly Corpse Sect’s hostility deepened.
• After noon, the Sun dimmed and heaven-and-earth vitality gathered around Golden Core Peak, forming an enormous omen of a Dongxuan-level advancement.

A tremendous heavenly phenomenon gathered over Golden Core Peak, leading the Cloud Hidden Sect’s cultivators to suspect that someone was advancing to the Dongxuan middle stage. The other peaks’ experts arrived to investigate, but the source inside the Spirit Clear Mist Sea remained unknown.

• A sea of five-colored auspicious clouds formed over Golden Core Peak, drawing cultivators across the sect to watch.
• An old man from Spirit Beast Peak and a Palace-dressed Woman from Formation Peak questioned how such a powerful advancement could occur at Golden Core Peak.
• Chang Hu and Su Ru, now Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivators, searched the gathering for Senior Brother Lin but could not find him.
• The old man surnamed Wan ordered Golden Core Peak’s disciples back to their Cultivation Caves and wondered who was advancing inside the Spirit Clear Mist Sea.
• Luo Tianheng and Dongxuan-level representatives from the other peaks arrived, and the Palace-dressed Woman demanded to know whether Golden Core Peak had secretly allowed outsiders into the forbidden area.

Lin Xuan accidentally advanced to mid-stage Dongxuan inside Cloud Hidden Sect, drawing a massive celestial phenomenon that alerted the sect’s powerful cultivators. He succeeded without difficulty, but faced the choice of fighting his way out or risking confrontation with the sect’s Spirit Division elders.

• Cloud Hidden Sect’s Dongxuan cultivators debated how to handle the unknown cultivator, with Senior Brother Wu persuading them to wait until the dangerous breakthrough phenomenon ended.
• The Five-Colored Auspicious Clouds formed a vast vortex that drew in heaven-and-earth vitality, astonishing the sect’s cultivators with its scale and density.
• Lin Xuan recalled that his magic power had unexpectedly surged during meditation and started breaking through despite his plan to advance elsewhere.
• Pillars of concentrated vitality poured into Lin Xuan, whose tempered body easily endured the Marrow Cleansing as he advanced to mid-stage Dongxuan.
• After the phenomenon dispersed, Lin Xuan realized several Dongxuan cultivators waited outside and worried that Cloud Hidden Sect’s two Spirit Division elders might force him to flee.

After advancing to the Dongxuan mid-stage, Lin Xuan emerged to face Cloud Hidden Sect elders who suspected him of hiding among them and demanded he surrender. When they attacked, he was caught in a formation created by a Formation Peak elder’s colored orb and began searching for a way to respond.

• Lin Xuan decided to leave his cultivation site and explain that he had borrowed Cloud Hidden Sect’s spiritual land.
• Lin Xuan greeted the sect’s Dongxuan Realm cultivators and apologized for entering their land without notice.
• Jiang recognized Lin Xuan as a former Foundation Establishment disciple he had seen three hundred years earlier, and the elders suspected him of deceit.
• The Cloud Hidden Sect elders demanded Lin Xuan surrender, and the Palace-dressed Woman attacked with her colored orb.
• The orb transformed the surroundings into a barren plain and weakened the spiritual energy, trapping Lin Xuan in a formation as he searched for its flaws.

Lin Xuan effortlessly destroyed the Universe-Inverting Array and injured the Palace-dressed Woman, shocking the Cloud Hidden Sect cultivators. A bald, barefoot cultivator then challenged him and prepared to unleash a Blood-Thirsty Bat King.

• Lin Xuan spotted and destroyed two Child-Mother Yin Thunder ambushes, making the Palace-dressed Woman suspect his divine sense rivaled a Spirit Division cultivator's.
• Lin Xuan used a punch to expose and break the Universe-Inverting Array, shattering the Palace-dressed Woman's Dharma Treasure and injuring her.
• The Cloud Hidden Sect cultivators reeled at Lin Xuan's strength, and the bald, barefoot big man stepped forward to test him.
• The big man summoned a blood-red Spirit Beast Bag containing the Blood-Thirsty Bat King and warned Lin Xuan to surrender.
• Lin Xuan dismissed the threat and challenged the big man to make his move.

Lin Xuan faced another Cloud Hidden Sect challenger after Wei conceded when his Blood-Thirsty Bat King feared Little Fur Ball. Luo Tianheng attacked with an imitation Sword Gourd, and Lin Xuan answered with thousands of sword lights as their clash began.

• Wei summoned the Blood-Thirsty Bat King, but it cowered before Little Fur Ball, so Wei conceded.
• Cloud Hidden Sect's elders debated whether to summon the Supreme Elders, and Luo Tianheng volunteered to test Lin Xuan.
• Luo Tianheng revealed a fiery-red gourd and identified himself as a sword cultivator of Heavenly Sword Peak.
• Luo Tianheng released thousands of swords from his imitation Sword Gourd and sent them raining toward Lin Xuan.
• Lin Xuan raised the Mystic Cyan Mother-Child Shield and formed thousands of sword lights with his magical power, startling Luo Tianheng.

Lin Xuan defeated Luo Tianheng’s sword formation without using a treasure, leaving the Cloud Hidden Sect’s Dongxuan Realm cultivators unsure whether to let him go or activate their protective array.

• Luo Tianheng formed a Taiji Bagua sword formation with his Sword Gourd and attacked Lin Xuan.
• Lin Xuan answered with a Five Elements sword formation and clashed with Luo Tianheng’s formation.
• Lin Xuan’s Sword Rays destroyed nearly one-third of the uneven-quality swords in Luo Tianheng’s Sword Gourd, breaking the formation.
• Luo Tianheng blocked the remaining Sword Rays with a turtle-shell armor treasure, but the fight’s outcome was already clear.
• The Cloud Hidden Sect’s Dongxuan Realm cultivators lost their will to fight and debated whether to let Lin Xuan leave or activate the Sect Protection Array.

Lin Xuan faced the Cloud Hidden Sect cultivators until Martial Uncle Long, a Spirit Division stage cultivator, arrived and offered him a place in the sect. Lin Xuan accepted the offer and was appointed master of the Golden Core Peak lineage.

• Lin Xuan sensed a powerful presence and called for the hidden Senior to reveal himself.
• Martial Uncle Long appeared, and his spiritual pressure forced several cultivators to their knees while Lin Xuan remained composed.
• Martial Uncle Long dismissed the Cloud Hidden Sect cultivators and questioned Lin Xuan about his courage and intentions.
• Martial Uncle Long offered Lin Xuan generous terms to join the Cloud Hidden Sect, including the position of Golden Core Peak lineage master.
• Lin Xuan accepted Martial Uncle Long's offer and saluted him as Martial Uncle.

Lin Xuan joined the Cloud Hidden Sect and became the nominal master of Golden Core Peak, while Long explained to his silver-eyed senior sister why he had recruited him. Their discussion turned to the Spirit Division Trial, which would open in fifty years and require a Spirit Division Pill for advancement.

• Lin Xuan formally joined the Cloud Hidden Sect, and the Golden Core Peak cultivators addressed him as their Martial Uncle.
• Lin Xuan said he would stay out of ordinary affairs at Golden Core Peak and let its current managers continue their work.
• Long returned to his cultivation cave and met his silver-eyed senior sister, who had learned what happened at Golden Core Peak through the Tomorrow Illusion Mirror.
• Long told his senior sister that he recruited Lin Xuan for his potential and the possibility that he could help the Cloud Hidden Sect rise to greater heights.
• Long explained that the Spirit Division Trial would open in fifty years and that advancing to the Spirit Division Realm required a Spirit Division Pill.

Lin Xuan settled into Cloud Hidden Sect, reunited with Su Ru and Chang Hu, and stabilized his cultivation after three years in seclusion. He then went to Divine Artifact Peak to borrow Earth Vein Fire for refining the Fire Sword and arrived at Heavenly Fire Palace, where its guards greeted him.

• The silver-eyed girl and the youth surnamed Long discussed keeping Lin Xuan's origins under investigation and not yet telling him about the Spirit Division Trial.
• Lin Xuan met Su Ru and Chang Hu on Golden Core Peak, welcomed them as old friends, and gave them medicinal pills and Dharma Treasures.
• Lin Xuan entered seclusion for three years and stabilized his newly advanced Dongxuan Realm cultivation.
• Lin Xuan decided to refine the Fire Sword for his Nine Palaces Moment Sword Formation and chose to borrow Earth Vein Fire from Divine Artifact Peak.
• Lin Xuan arrived at Heavenly Fire Palace, where a Red-Haired Elder and the other guards asked which branch's senior he was and what business brought him there.

Lin Xuan entered the Heavenly Fire Palace to borrow its Earth Vein Fire and learned about the different levels available. After hearing that Purple Heart Earth Fire would appear in five years, he planned to return, but an attendant warned him that he still would not be able to use it.

• Lin Xuan presented his Command Token at the Heavenly Fire Palace entrance, and the Red-Haired Elder recognized him as the master of Golden Core Peak.
• Lin Xuan reached the registration hall and asked a Core Condensation Realm cultivator to explain the Earth Vein Fire levels and their costs.
• The attendant explained that the thirteenth level held rare Purple Heart Earth Fire, which appeared for just over a month every three hundred years.
• Lin Xuan learned that the next appearance was expected in five years and said he would return then.
• The attendant stopped Lin Xuan and told him he would not be able to use the Purple Heart Earth Fire even if he returned in five years.

Lin Xuan learned that access to the Purple Heart Earth Fire was awarded by sect contribution and found Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable far ahead on the rankings. He left the Cloud Hidden Sect to pursue difficult missions, including hunting Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators, to earn enough points before the earth fire appeared in five years.

• A Core Condensation Realm cultivator told Lin Xuan that sect contribution determined who could use the Purple Heart Earth Fire.
• Lin Xuan visited the Task Affairs Hall and learned that Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable had eighty million contribution points, then requested the most difficult missions.
• Lin Xuan returned to Golden Core Peak, instructed the branch's disciples in charge of affairs, and left the Cloud Hidden Sect the next morning.
• Lin Xuan reviewed the missions and considered hunting Dongxuan Realm cultivators from the Heavenly Corpse Sect for ten million contribution points per kill.

Lin Xuan traveled to Yue State to hunt Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators for sect contribution and stopped in Yuanwu City to explore its Demon-Transformed marketplace. He attended the city’s auction, where the first item was a rare Lihe Realm demonic beast crystal core.

• Lin Xuan went to Yue State in secret, intending to pick off lone Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators and earn sect contribution.
• Lin Xuan arrived at Yuanwu City, a bustling mortal city known for its large Demon-Transformed marketplace.
• Lin Xuan explored the marketplace and learned that an important auction would be held that afternoon.
• Lin Xuan paid one thousand Spirit Stones to enter the auction and took a seat in the underground hall.
• The auctioneer opened the bidding with a rare Lihe Realm demonic beast crystal core, whose value surprised Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan recognized a nine-headed, eighteen-armed statue as connected to the Lesser Luo Heaven Dharma Image and won it at auction for one hundred million Spirit Stones. As cultivators and Demon-Transformed began fighting across Yuanwu City, Lin Xuan seized the statue but was confronted by several Demon-Transformed.

• The auction’s early lots went to immortal cultivators, fueling suspicion among the Demon-Transformed.
• Lin Xuan recognized the statue from the Ink Moon Tribe ruins as connected to the Lesser Luo Heaven Dharma Image.
• A masked female cultivator and a balding Demon-Transformed bid against each other until Lin Xuan offered one hundred million Spirit Stones and won.
• The balding old man accused the auction of favoring cultivators, and the Demon-Transformed crowd began demanding that cultivators leave Yuanwu City.
• Fighting erupted across the city, and Lin Xuan rushed to the auction platform to take the statue.
• An unseen attacker struck at Lin Xuan, but he deflected the blade with a Sword Ray and seized the statue before several Demon-Transformed blocked his way.

Lin Xuan took the statue from the auction in Yuanwu City and escaped as the city descended into conflict. More than half a year later, he waited near the Heavenly Corpse Sect for a chance to hunt its cultivators, then spotted a pursued Nascent Soul cultivator and moved to investigate.

• Lin Xuan killed four Demon-Transformed who blocked his way, seized the nine-headed, eighteen-armed statue, and flew out of Yuanwu City.
• Over the following half year, Demon-Transformed attacks and the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s reprisals devastated Yue State.
• Lin Xuan considered whether Ancient Demons or Yinhun ghosts had stirred up the conflict, but found no evidence and remained focused on earning sect contributions.
• After hiding near the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s main altar for more than half a month, Lin Xuan sensed a pursuit and flew toward it.
• Three Demon-Transformed Zhong Brothers cornered a fleeing Nascent Soul cultivator of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, who warned them to leave.

Lin Xuan rescued Zhang Delei from the Zhong Brothers and learned about the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s Ten Thousand Treasures Assembly. Zhang Delei offered to escort him into the sect’s main altar, and Lin Xuan agreed to attend the gathering.

• The three Zhong Brothers overwhelmed Zhang Delei, a cultivator of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, until Lin Xuan arrived and revealed Lihe Realm spiritual pressure.
• Lin Xuan killed the eldest Zhong Brother with one strike, then cut down the two who fled.
• Zhang Delei thanked Lin Xuan and offered to take him into the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s main altar as his guarantor.
• Lin Xuan learned that the Ten Thousand Treasures Assembly was held once every three hundred years for Nascent Soul-level cultivators and agreed to attend.
• Zhang Delei wrapped himself in corpse qi and led Lin Xuan toward the sect.