Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan sealed much of the Demon Core’s power with Five Dragons Playing with a Pearl, strengthening his Main Nascent Soul and the Demon Core. He then released Old Devil Gu’s Silver-Winged Corpse King and prepared to try to subdue it.

• Lin Xuan sent five Flood Dragons into the Demon Core, sealing part of its magic power and leaving it at the middle stage of Dongxuan.
• Lin Xuan realized the Five Dragon Seal had briefly reacted during the sealing, but he could not discover anything further about it.
• Lin Xuan set up a formation in his Cultivation Room and threw the black Spirit Ghost Bag inside it.
• Lin Xuan released the Silver-Winged Corpse King, a powerful corpse demon formerly raised by Old Devil Gu, and considered trying to make it his servant.

Lin Xuan bound the injured Silver-Winged Corpse King but found no way to subdue it permanently. He studied three transformations of the Six-Word Evil Ghost Curse, then traveled to a remote wasteland to test the Ghost Driving Technique.

• Lin Xuan used the Esoteric Demon-Subduing Formation to bind the Silver-Winged Corpse King, which had been weakened in Tianfeng City.
• Lin Xuan searched Old Devil Gu's Heavenly Corpse Great Art for a way to control the Corpse King but found none and decided to postpone the attempt.
• Lin Xuan examined the Six-Word Evil Ghost Curse and learned that the incomplete art contained the Ghost Driving Technique, Demonic Aspect, and Child-Mother Yin Thunder.
• Lin Xuan spent three months studying the Ghost Driving Technique and then left his cultivation cave to test it far from people.
• Lin Xuan reached a deserted wasteland and began forming hand seals and chanting to summon a ghost.

Lin Xuan tested his Ghost Driving Technique and then concealed himself when he sensed Ye Ying being pursued. He identified her two attackers as Half-Demons, while Ye Ying fell into danger against their combined assault.

• Lin Xuan summoned a Fierce Ghost and judged that he had mastered the Ghost Driving Technique.
• Lin Xuan sensed someone being hunted, concealed his aura, and waited in hiding.
• Ye Ying fled past Lin Xuan with a black and a white stream of demonic qi pursuing her.
• Ye Ying fought off an Ink Flood Dragon sent by one pursuer, while the other revealed herself as a woman with Demon Markings.
• Lin Xuan recognized the pursuers as Half-Demons and saw that their attacks had put the injured Ye Ying in peril.

Lin Xuan rescued Ye Ying from two Half-Demons by destroying Fu’s Demon Sword and restraining the pair, but they unexpectedly self-destructed before he could question them. He saved Ye Ying from the blast and left her flustered after holding her close.

• Lin Xuan destroyed Fu’s Demon Sword with a streak of azure light, saving Ye Ying from the attack.
• Fu and her scholar-dressed senior brother tried to flee, but Lin Xuan immobilized them with Primordial Qi Shackles.
• Lin Xuan noticed the Half-Demons’ danger too late to stop them from detonating their bodies and Nascent Souls, so he shielded Ye Ying from the blast.
• Lin Xuan wondered whether the Half-Demons had self-destructed to conceal a secret, then decided not to pursue the matter.
• Ye Ying asked Lin Xuan to let go after realizing he was still holding her waist, and Lin Xuan awkwardly apologized.

Lin Xuan saved Ye Ying, but she mistook his innocent actions for flirtation and grew distant toward him. After he left her with a healing pill and flew toward his cultivation cave, a fleeting inspiration trapped him in deep thought until he suffered cultivation deviation.

• Ye Ying thanked Lin Xuan for saving her, while privately suspecting he knew about her family’s plan to marry her to him as a concubine.
• Ye Ying misread Lin Xuan’s continued embrace and his remarks as the behavior of a frivolous rogue, and remained cool toward him.
• Lin Xuan, baffled by Ye Ying’s distance, gave her a Healing Pill and left to return to his cultivation cave.
• While flying, Lin Xuan recalled the Ghost Driving Technique and suddenly stopped when a vague but important inspiration came to him.
• Lin Xuan pondered until nightfall, became absorbed in his thoughts, and suffered cultivation deviation without noticing the world around him.

Lin Xuan used the Spirit-Division Ghost-Driving Technique to control the Silver-Winged Corpse King with a Second Primordial Spirit, though he could command it for only fifteen minutes at a time. After emerging from seclusion, he learned that Ye Hongxue had been seeking him daily and welcomed her and Ye Ying into his cave to discuss her urgent matter.

• Lin Xuan realized he needed a different method to control the Silver-Winged Corpse King and decided to try the Spirit-Division Ghost-Driving Technique.
• Lin Xuan studied the technique and the Ink Moon Heaven Witch Art, then spent over a month refining a Second Primordial Spirit.
• After more than three months of experiments, Lin Xuan successfully controlled the Silver-Winged Corpse King and learned he could unleash most of its abilities for only a quarter of an hour before it would backlash.
• Lin Xuan emerged from seclusion and learned from Zheng Xuan that Ye Hongxue had come to seek an audience every day for a month.
• Lin Xuan opened the cultivation cave to Ye Hongxue and Ye Ying and invited them inside to discuss Ye Hongxue's urgent business.

Ye Hongxue brought Ye Ying to Lin Xuan and offered her as a concubine, hoping he would help the Ye Family through a crisis. Lin Xuan refused, and after Ye Ying fainted and he revived her, she still hoped he might accept the marriage proposal.

• Ye Hongxue offered Ye Ying to Lin Xuan as a way to repay his kindness and secure his help for the Ye Family.
• Ye Ying swore she would serve Lin Xuan for life, but Lin Xuan rejected the offer, saying he was devoted to cultivation and did not seek a woman.
• Ye Hongxue explained that the Ye Family faced a grave crisis and had offered Ye Ying because it had no treasures to repay Lin Xuan with.
• Ye Ying fainted from distress, and Lin Xuan revived her with his spiritual energy.
• Lin Xuan checked Ye Ying's pulse as she blushed but did not resist, still hoping he would accept her and save the Ye Family.

Lin Xuan discovered that Ye Ying possessed a rare Wind Spirit Body rather than an ordinary wind-attribute variant Spirit Root and offered to take her as his disciple. Ye Ying accepted, and Lin Xuan began explaining the extraordinary nature of her aptitude.

• Lin Xuan examined Ye Ying's meridians and, after sensing her spiritual power, asked about her Spirit Root.
• Ye Hongxue said Ye Ying had a variant Spirit Root of the wind attribute, but Lin Xuan explained that she was mistaken.
• Lin Xuan offered to take Ye Ying as his disciple, and Ye Ying knelt and kowtowed to accept.
• Lin Xuan told Ye Ying that she possessed a Wind Spirit Body, created by a second mutation of a wind-attribute Spirit Root.
• Lin Xuan explained that Wind Spirit Bodies were so rare that there might be fewer than one among a hundred million cultivators.

Lin Xuan learned that Ye Ying had a rare Wind Spirit Body whose potential required a specialized ancient cultivation method, then heard Ye Hongxue explain that the Mu Family was trying to take the Ye Family’s Hundred Treasures Hall. The Mu Family’s ultimatum was nearly due, and Lin Xuan asked how powerful they were.

• Lin Xuan explained that Ye Ying’s Wind Spirit Body could be fully developed only through a specialized cultivation method, though he did not know where to find one.
• Lin Xuan promised to watch for the ancient method, and Ye Ying thanked him.
• Ye Hongxue told Lin Xuan that the Ye Family depended on Hundred Treasures Hall as its main source of wealth.
• Ye Hongxue said the Mu Family of Kuocang Mountain had offered an unfairly low price for the shop and that its ultimatum was about to arrive.
• Lin Xuan asked whether the Mu Family was powerful.

Lin Xuan protected the Ye Family’s Hundred Treasures Hall from the Mu Family and gave the clan the compensation he obtained. After nearly five years at Bamboo Forest Snow Mountain, he left to prepare for the Purple Heart Earth Fire’s eruption and reforge his lifebound treasure.

• Ye Hongxue asked Lin Xuan to help the Ye Family negotiate with the Mu Family, and he agreed after Ye Ying pleaded with him.
• Lin Xuan confronted the Mu Family elders at their headquarters, forced them to abandon their claim to Hundred Treasures Hall, and secured compensation for the Ye Family.
• Lin Xuan gave the Mu Family’s treasures to Ye Hongxue, who accepted them after he insisted they would benefit the clan.
• Lin Xuan stayed at Bamboo Forest Snow Mountain, mastered the remaining secret arts of the Six-Word Evil Ghost Curse, and taught Ye Ying the Nine Heavens Profound Art.
• Nearly five years after leaving the Cloud Hidden Sect, Lin Xuan departed Bamboo Forest Snow Mountain to reach the Purple Heart Earth Fire before its eruption.

Lin Xuan returned to the Cloud Hidden Sect after two months away and discovered that Golden Core Peak’s disciples were fighting cultivators from another branch. He found Chang Hu seriously injured and prepared to learn what had happened.

• Lin Xuan arrived at the Cloud Hidden Sect, showed a patrolling disciple his jade token, and was recognized as the master of Golden Core Peak.
• Lin Xuan flew toward Golden Core Peak and heard the sounds of a fierce battle on its mountainside.
• Lin Xuan realized disciples from another branch were likely bullying Golden Core Peak’s people and grew angry.
• Lin Xuan rushed to the fight and found Chang Hu badly injured while two youths supported him.
• A young woman anxiously asked Chang Hu about his injuries.

Lin Xuan arrived at Golden Core Peak and confronted Shi Yu and his Heavenly Sword Peak entourage after they bullied Su Ru and seriously injured Chang Hu. He punished Shi Yu and the yellow-robed elder, leaving the elder with a lingering injury.

• The yellow-robed elder scolded Su Ru while Shi Yu and his followers faced off against Golden Core Peak’s disciples.
• Lin Xuan appeared, revealed his Dongxuan Realm cultivation, and heard from Su Ru how Shi Yu had harassed her and how the elder had injured Chang Hu.
• Lin Xuan rejected the elder’s offer of compensation and ordered the Heavenly Sword Peak cultivators to kneel under his spiritual pressure.
• Lin Xuan slapped Shi Yu repeatedly with an azure hand, swelling his face and knocking out many of his teeth.
• Lin Xuan struck the yellow-robed elder in the chest and declared the matter settled, secretly leaving a hidden injury in the elder’s meridians.

Lin Xuan returned to Golden Core Peak after driving off Shi Yu’s group and began examining treasures while waiting for the Purple Heart Earth Fire to erupt. He discovered an ancient manual, the True Explanation of Hundred Spirits, whose profound teachings came from a Demon-Transformed cultivator who had reached Tribulation Transcendence.

• Lin Xuan drove Shi Yu and the Heavenly Sword Peak disciples away, then gave Chang Hu a Dingyuan Pill to help him recover.
• Lin Xuan entered the Spirit Clear Mist Sea and returned to his cultivation cave, where he received Golden Core Peak’s Lihe Realm cultivators and dealt with peak affairs.
• Lin Xuan learned that the Purple Heart Earth Fire would erupt in about three months and decided to inspect the unopened chest from Tianfeng City.
• Lin Xuan opened the chest and found the ancient True Explanation of Hundred Spirits manual.
• After studying it for several hours, Lin Xuan realized the manual was an abstruse Demon-Transformed cultivation method passed down by a Tribulation Transcendence expert.

Lin Xuan studied the True Explanation of Hundred Spirits and realized its combat techniques could complement his spiritual power even though he could not use its demonic-core methods. After three months of training, he learned to combine martial arts with spiritual power and set out for Divine Artifact Peak when he heard the Purple Heart Earth Fire would erupt soon.

• Lin Xuan reconsidered the True Explanation of Hundred Spirits and decided to learn its moves while avoiding its internal-force and demonic-core techniques.
• Lin Xuan practiced the manual for three months, developing several hundred lifelike afterimages by combining martial arts with spiritual power.
• A disciple reported that the Purple Heart Earth Fire would erupt in three days, and Lin Xuan decided to set out.
• Lin Xuan flew to Divine Artifact Peak and entered Heavenly Fire Palace.
• Lin Xuan reached a stone chamber where cultivators registered visitors, and a Core Condensation cultivator respectfully asked how he could help.

Lin Xuan sought access to the Purple Heart Earth Fire and entered the hall where Dongxuan Realm cultivators gathered to compete for its use. There, Lin Yujiao explained that the outsiders present were elders from sects and clans dependent on the Cloud Hidden Sect.

• Lin Xuan learned that access to the Purple Heart Earth Fire was limited and depended on sect contributions, then followed directions to the review hall.
• Lin Xuan passed through the Dongxuan-only restriction and entered a hall filled with powerful cultivators waiting for the fire to erupt in three days.
• The cultivators recognized Lin Xuan as Golden Core Peak's master and discussed his reputation and past battle against experts from four branches.
• Lin Yujiao introduced herself to Lin Xuan as a Spirit Beast Peak cultivator who had recently advanced to the Dongxuan Realm.
• Lin Yujiao told Lin Xuan that the outsiders in the hall were elders of sects and clans dependent on the Cloud Hidden Sect.

Lin Xuan learned how Cloud Hidden Sect’s gathering worked, then faced scrutiny when Lin Yujiao asked how he compared with Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable. The two exchanged a hidden contest of gazes, and both recognized the other’s strength as the gathering continued.

• Lin Yujiao explained that the gathering let Cloud Hidden Sect disciples and allied forces exchange contributions for many treasures, not just the Purple Heart Earth Fire.
• More than a hundred Dongxuan cultivators arrived, giving Lin Xuan a sense of Cloud Hidden Sect’s formidable strength.
• Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable entered the hall and drew the greetings of the gathered cultivators as Cloud Hidden Sect’s foremost Dongxuan expert.
• Lin Yujiao asked Lin Xuan how he compared with Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable, making the hall fall silent and turning everyone’s attention toward him.
• Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable recalled Shi Yu’s complaint against Lin Xuan but had held back from openly retaliating because they were fellow sect members and Lin Xuan was a peak master.
• Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable tried to bewitch Lin Xuan with his gaze, but Lin Xuan’s Heavenly Phoenix Divine Eye broke the technique, and both men privately acknowledged the other’s strength.

Lin Xuan attended the Cloud Hidden Sect exchange ceremony after his brief confrontation with Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable, and the first auction item was revealed as the Red Qilin Sword. The chapter ended before bidding began.

• Lin Xuan remained calm after gaining a slight upper hand over Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable, while the cultivators around them speculated that the two would clash again.
• More cultivators arrived, bringing the number of Dongxuan Realm experts in the hall to two hundred and thirty-four; Heavenly Sword Peak had the largest contingent.
• The horse-faced Ma opened the exchange ceremony and explained that treasures would be auctioned for sect contribution points.
• Ma revealed the Red Qilin Sword and explained that it had been forged using a fragment of a Qilin scale, with a starting price of one million sect contribution points.

Lin Xuan watched the auction passively until the Ice Silkworm Heart Armor caught his interest. After Li Hongxiu bid ten million sect contributions, Lin Yujiao unexpectedly raised the price to eleven million, leaving the gathered cultivators questioning how the newly advanced junior sister could afford it.

• A Heavenly Sword Peak elder bought the Red Qilin Sword, and a dark, skinny cultivator later won ten Heavenly Fragrance Yuan-Boosting Pills after fierce bidding.
• Lin Xuan watched the next treasures sell without bidding and told Lin Yujiao that he had only come to look around.
• The horse-faced old man presented the Ice Silkworm Heart Armor, a light inner armor with powerful defenses and an ability to freeze enemies, at a starting price of ten million sect contributions.
• When no one initially bid, Li Hongxiu of Formation Peak offered ten million contributions for the armor.
• Lin Yujiao unexpectedly bid eleven million, prompting Lin Xuan and the other cultivators to wonder how she could afford the price.

Lin Xuan waited for the Purple Heart Earth Fire to appear as the exchange ceremony reached its end, then watched the cultivators begin bidding for the sole remaining use of it. The price climbed rapidly, while Lin Xuan held back, waiting for a better moment to enter the contest.

• Li Hongxiu recognized Lin Yujiao and yielded the Ice Silkworm Heart Armor to her.
• The exchange ceremony continued, and Lin Xuan waited for the Purple Heart Earth Fire, his intended target.
• The horse-faced old man announced that Martial Uncle Long had claimed one of the two rooms, leaving only one available for the Purple Heart Earth Fire.
• The old man opened bidding with no starting price, and Senior Brother Gu offered fifteen million sect contribution points.
• Late-stage Dongxuan cultivators drove the price above twenty million while Lin Xuan continued to wait before bidding.

Lin Xuan challenged Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable for the Purple Heart Earth Fire, despite the crowd doubting he could afford the bid. He revealed five Soul Beads containing the remnants of slain Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators, and the auctioneer confirmed he had earned contribution points for at least one kill.

• The Purple Heart Earth Fire’s bid reached fifty million contribution points when Wan, the peak master of Divine Artifact Peak, entered the auction.
• Heavenly Pivot Sword Venerable bid fifty-three million and told Wan he would not yield; Wan then left the auction.
• Lin Xuan bid fifty-four million, drawing jeers and prompting the auctioneer to question whether his contribution points had been registered.
• Lin Xuan walked onto the platform and shattered a vase-like treasure, revealing five Soul Beads.
• The auctioneer examined a Soul Bead, confirmed it held the remnant soul of a Dongxuan Realm cultivator from the Heavenly Corpse Sect, and awarded Lin Xuan ten million contribution points.