Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan met Meng Ruyan, suspected she might be a powerful cultivator, and accepted a miraculous disguise mask she offered. He treated her as a younger sister and gave her supplies, while Meng Ruyan discovered that immersing herself in ordinary life helped her cultivate her state of mind; they parted without Lin learning her true identity.

• Lin Xuan approached Meng Ruyan's stall while disguised as the Ascetic Monk, and she recognized him from their previous encounter.
• Meng Ruyan gave Lin Xuan a Skin Mask that could conceal him from divine sense, and he accepted it while offering her spirit pills and Spirit Tools in return.
• Lin Xuan urged Meng Ruyan to call him big brother, and she agreed, finding that her gratitude helped her Dao heart break through a restraint.
• Lin Xuan gave Meng Ruyan thirty mid-grade Spirit Stones to enter Xuanyuan City for the Sky Cloud Trade Fair, and she accepted them as part of her effort to live fully as a minor cultivator.
• Lin Xuan and Meng Ruyan parted, and he told Yue'er that befriending her benefited him whether or not she was Fairy Ruyan.

Lin Xuan disguised himself with a Skin Mask and encountered Yue'er’s disciple Zheng Xuan while she was fleeing pursuers. After Yue'er rescued her, Zheng Xuan explained that she had secretly come to Cloud Province searching for news of Lin Xuan, and the chapter ended with Lin Xuan admonishing her for taking such a risk.

• Lin Xuan changed his appearance with a Skin Mask and continued traveling toward the upcoming Sky Cloud Trade Fair.
• Yue'er rushed to rescue Zheng Xuan from three Foundation Establishment cultivators pursuing her, destroying them and taking their Primordial Spirits into the Beast Soul Banner.
• Zheng Xuan greeted Yue'er and Lin Xuan, then explained that Martial Aunt Lu Ying'er had brought her from You Province.
• Lin Xuan was surprised to learn that Lu Ying'er had come to Cloud Province and that Zheng Xuan had slipped away to search for him after hearing rumors about the pursuit order.
• Lin Xuan learned that Zheng Xuan had escaped the three cultivators using treasures Yue'er had given her, and he scolded her for wandering alone in the dangerous region.

Lin Xuan punished Zheng Xuan for sneaking away, then took her to Crouching Tiger City, where a strange Nascent Soul scholar became determined to obtain her. Lin Xuan refused to hand her over and followed the scholar into the wilderness, preparing to fight while wondering about the scholar’s motives and Yue’er’s sense that he felt like one of her kind.

• Lin Xuan punished Zheng Xuan for breaking sect rules, then explained the danger she might face outside and accepted her sincere promise not to escape again.
• Lin Xuan took Zheng Xuan toward Crouching Tiger City, where he encountered a strange scholar who stared greedily at her and offered to trade for her.
• Lin Xuan pretended to consider the scholar’s offer and left with him, while Yue’er wondered why the scholar wanted Zheng Xuan and sensed something familiar about him.
• The scholar led Lin Xuan far from the city, admitted he intended to kill him and seize his treasures, and Lin Xuan refused to surrender Zheng Xuan.
• Lin Xuan questioned the scholar about his motive, but the scholar refused to explain, so Lin Xuan set aside his confidence and cautiously assessed his opponent.

Lin Xuan faced a Confucian cultivator who used the Six Arts of Music and Calligraphy, while Lin Xuan tested his powerful Five Elements spells and Demon Mimicry Technique. The scholar mistook him for a Spirit Control Sect elder, then revealed his hatred of the Seven Great Powers and the Luo Clan’s former enemies, leaving Lin Xuan intent on capturing him alive to learn the truth.

• Lin Xuan recognized the scholar’s concealed Music attack, resisted its sound-based illusion, and watched him bring out a brush and inkstone.
• The scholar wrote the character “Defend” and used the Calligraphy Formula to block Lin Xuan’s storm of Sword Qi.
• The scholar wrote “Break” and produced Spirit Stones, while Lin Xuan summoned three powerful beasts with his Five Elements spells.
• Lin Xuan realized the scholar mistook his Demon Mimicry Technique for a Spirit Control Sect ability and pretended to be one of its enforcement elders.
• The scholar condemned the Seven Great Powers as traitors and rebels and invoked the Luo Clan, prompting Lin Xuan to plan to capture him alive and search his soul.

Lin Xuan fought a scholar whose writing-based secret art turned spirit-stone energy into vast attacks, and he realized the scholar was a formidable Nascent Soul cultivator rather than a Lihe Realm expert. Lin Xuan exploited the art’s slow casting with the Azure Fire Sword, but the scholar’s enlarged inkstone blocked the strike unharmed.

• Lin Xuan sent three magically formed beasts to attack the scholar, who shattered high-grade spirit stones and poured their energy into the character “break.”
• The scholar released tens of thousands of wind blades that overwhelmed Lin Xuan’s three beasts and made them vanish.
• Lin Xuan concluded that the scholar’s technique imitated Lihe Realm abilities but depended on spirit stones and took time to cast.
• Lin Xuan launched the Azure Fire Sword while the scholar was between techniques, but the scholar enlarged his inkstone to block it without damage.

Lin Xuan fought a strange scholar who used Baleful Ghost Ink to weaken the Azure Fire Sword and summoned a powerful ghost. The scholar revealed that he belonged to the Luo Clan of Heavenly Province, leaving Lin Xuan to wonder what the name meant.

• The scholar splashed Baleful Ghost Ink onto Lin Xuan's Azure Fire Sword, weakening its spiritual power and disrupting Lin Xuan's connection to it.
• Lin Xuan recalled the damaged sword and admitted to Yue'er that he had been careless in underestimating the scholar.
• The scholar used high-grade Spirit Stones and his blood to form tens of thousands of Yin Fires, then summoned a powerful evil ghost with the Ghost Mist.
• The scholar said the ghost's cultivation rivaled that of a great cultivator and threatened to destroy Lin Xuan's body and refine his soul.
• Lin Xuan questioned the scholar's Confucian and ghostly abilities, and the scholar revealed that he belonged to the Luo Clan of Heavenly Province, descendants of the Heavenly Sha Bright King.

Lin Xuan used his Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure to destroy the scholar’s powerful Fierce Ghost, then sent Yue'er, Pangolin, and the Corpse Demon after the weakened scholar. The scholar’s body was destroyed, and Lin Xuan moved to capture his Nascent Soul alive.

• Lin Xuan drew the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure and poured his magic power into the broken sword.
• Lin Xuan’s sword strike shattered the Fierce Ghost’s black taiji defense and spread Sword Rays throughout its body, destroying it.
• Lin Xuan summoned Yue'er, Pangolin, and the Corpse Demon to surround the exhausted scholar while he recovered his magic power.
• The scholar charged at Yue'er, who fought back with the Beast Soul Banner and Prayer Beads as Pangolin and the Corpse Demon joined the battle.
• Pangolin destroyed the scholar’s body, and Lin Xuan immediately vanished to capture his Nascent Soul alive.

Lin Xuan defeated a scholar Nascent Soul, searched its memories, and learned the history of the Luo Clan of Heavenly Province, an ancient clan descended from the Underworld Realm’s Heavenly Sha Bright King. The chapter ended with an account of Heavenly Province’s extraordinary resources and its past as the Luo Clan’s stronghold.

• Lin Xuan captured the scholar’s Nascent Soul and sealed it before it could self-detonate.
• Lin Xuan searched the Nascent Soul’s memories, then let the Corpse Demon devour it.
• Lin Xuan learned that the Luo Clan had ruled the Twelve Heavenly Cloud Provinces with extraordinary Spirit Roots and many powerful cultivators.
• Lin Xuan discovered that the Luo Clan’s aptitude came from its bloodline as descendants of Heavenly Sha Bright King, a powerful figure from the Underworld Realm.
• The Seven Great Sects and their allies destroyed the Luo Clan after a devastating war, though some of its members escaped.
• Lin Xuan learned that Heavenly Province had been the Luo Clan’s main territory and remained unusually rich in cultivation resources.

Lin Xuan learned that the Luo Clan was plotting against the Seven Great Powers after the scholar tried to capture Zheng Xuan as a cultivation furnace, and he took her safely into Crouching Tiger City. Meanwhile, the Luo Clan’s ancestor prepared his people for a plan that could either restore the clan’s standing or leave its future to the descendants already sent away.

• Lin Xuan learned through soul-searching that the scholar belonged to the Luo Clan, whose elders and elites had gathered for a concealed scheme against the Seven Great Powers.
• Lin Xuan told Yue'er and Zheng Xuan that the scholar had targeted Zheng Xuan because her Underworld Spirit Root made her valuable to Luo Clan cultivators.
• Lin Xuan warned Zheng Xuan that other Luo Clan cultivators were nearby, destroyed the scholar’s remains, and escorted her into Crouching Tiger City.
• The Luo Clan ancestor asked Zicong whether the clan’s women, children, and young disciples had been sent to You Province, and Zicong confirmed that all 108 had been transferred.
• The Luo Clan ancestor said their plan might let the clan stand against the Seven Great Powers, but that the descendants in You Province would preserve its hope if the elders failed.

Lin Xuan reunited with Lu Ying'er in Crouching Tiger City and learned that she had made Baisuan Pavilion the dominant force in You Province before seeking to expand into Cloud Province. He approved her ambition but warned that, with him wanted by the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect and unable to help openly, she would have to establish herself through her own efforts.

• The Luo Clan learned that Luo Yun Feng's soul lamp had gone out, and their gray-robed ancestor feared the death would expose his plan.
• Lin Xuan arrived at Lu Ying'er's courtyard in Crouching Tiger City and met with her privately.
• Lin Xuan told Lu Ying'er that he had killed a great cultivator from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect, astonishing her.
• Lu Ying'er explained that Baisuan Pavilion had defeated its rivals and become the leading force in You Province, prompting her to seek a branch in Cloud Province.
• Lu Ying'er admitted she also hoped Cloud Province's greater resources would improve her chance of Nascent Soul Formation, and Lin Xuan accepted her reason.
• Lin Xuan warned Lu Ying'er that he could not assist her openly and that she would have to rely on herself to establish Baisuan Pavilion in Cloud Province.

Lin Xuan heard Lu Ying'er explain the origins of the Sky Cloud Trade Fair and wondered whether the Luo Clan had founded it. Elsewhere, Wang Tinglou confirmed that Luo Clan cultivators had resurfaced near Xuanyuan City and worried that the upcoming fair concealed a secret.

• Lin Xuan warned Lu Ying'er to put her safety first while establishing Baisuan Pavilion's Cloud Province branch, and she said she planned to attend the Sky Cloud Trade Fair.
• Lu Ying'er explained that the Sky Cloud Trade Fair began in ancient times through the efforts of a mysterious clan, prompting Lin Xuan to suspect it was the Luo Clan.
• Wang Tinglou received a message confirming that a Luo Clan cultivator had appeared near Xuanyuan City and told Hermit Qinglian that the Luo Clan's bloodline might have survived.
• Wang Tinglou explained that the Luo Clan's ancestors had convened the ancient trade fairs, where unexplained disasters once killed or injured many cultivators.
• Wang Tinglou said Fairy Ruyan had confirmed the cultivator's identity, but rejected Hermit Qinglian's suggestion to capture Luo Clan members and search their souls for their plans.

Lin Xuan discovered that the inkstone left by a Luo Clan scholar had produced Baleful Ghost Ink, while Yue'er’s sudden knowledge of ancient arts raised new questions about her past. Yue'er revealed that she was the woman in a mysterious scroll and confessed her love to Lin Xuan, who returned it before voicing his fear that she might someday leave him.

• Wang Tinglou sent Hermit Qinglian to Xuanyuan City to investigate whether the Luo Clan was plotting something.
• Lu Ying'er explained the history and vast scale of the Sky Cloud Trade Fair to Lin Xuan, who then examined the scholar’s inkstone and found Baleful Ghost Ink inside it.
• Lin Xuan tried to cleanse the Azure Fire Sword of the ink but only worsened its corruption, while Yue'er unexpectedly recalled the Heavenly Mansion Profound Art and the Underworld’s twelve supreme treasure arts.
• Yue'er said she was certain the woman in the third Xueming Mountain scroll was herself, though she could not remember who she had been before.
• Yue'er kissed Lin Xuan and confessed that she loved him, and Lin Xuan returned her feelings and promised to face danger with her.
• Lin Xuan admitted that he feared Yue'er might recover her memories, outgrow him, or turn against him.

Lin Xuan failed to remove the Baleful Ghost Ink from the Azure Fire Sword with treasure-refining magic, but Azure Phantom Nether Fire drove the ink into Yue'er, who absorbed it unharmed. Yue'er identified the inkstone as Black Blood Profound Crystal Jade and began exploring how to control its ink, while Lin Xuan restored the sword through a night of refining.

• Lin Xuan used Azure Phantom Nether Fire against the Baleful Ghost Ink, which fought back as a vulture before fleeing toward Yue'er.
• Yue'er caught the black qi in her palm and explained that it was connected to one of her former divine abilities.
• Yue'er recognized the inkstone as a rare object made from Black Blood Profound Crystal Jade that gathered yin winds and resentment to produce Baleful Ghost Ink.
• Lin Xuan took turns using his two Nascent Souls and Demon Core to refine the Azure Fire Sword, restoring its brilliance by dawn.
• Yue'er found that the inkstone had produced a small amount of Baleful Ghost Ink and discussed trying to develop control over it with Lin Xuan.
• After ten days of seclusion, Yue'er had made no progress locating the absorbed ink, so she and Lin Xuan turned their attention to refining the inkstone.

Yue'er refined the ancient inkstone and gained control of Baleful Ghost Ink while Lin Xuan prepared for the Sky Cloud Trade Fair. As the fair opened, Lin Xuan sent Lu Ying'er to gather materials and gave her a bead of his blood.

• Yue'er easily refined the ancient inkstone, stored it in her palm, and revealed that she could control Baleful Ghost Ink.
• Lin Xuan considered the treasures and materials he needed to find at the Sky Cloud Trade Fair, including a method for Yue'er to form a Nascent Soul and ingredients for the Soul-Transforming Pill.
• Lin Xuan and Yue'er spent several days cultivating in their pavilion while Yue'er practiced using Baleful Ghost Ink.
• Lu Ying'er reminded Lin Xuan that the Sky Cloud Trade Fair had begun and offered to collect items for him.
• Lin Xuan gave Lu Ying'er a Jade Slip listing materials to buy and then handed her a blood bead he had formed from his own blood.

Lin Xuan disguised himself and headed to the Sky Cloud Trade Fair in Xuanyuan City, while Tian Xiaojian also prepared to attend in disguise. As cultivators converged on the city, Meng Ruyan and two members of the Luo Clan approached as well, with the clan members intent on carrying out a plan whose details remained hidden.

• Lin Xuan gave Lu Ying'er a bead that would alert him if she faced danger, then used Meng Ruyan's mask and a body-altering technique to disguise himself before flying toward Xuanyuan City.
• Tian Xiaojian, fleeing the Nine-Headed Ancestor and unable to return to Separation Medicine Palace, disguised himself as a young woman so he could attend the trade fair and seek medicinal pills.
• Lin Xuan traveled toward Xuanyuan City among the many cultivators arriving for the three-hundred-year trade fair, where even entry cost three thousand Spirit Stones.
• Meng Ruyan changed her mind about attending after seeing the Spirit Stones Lin Xuan had given her, and flew toward Xuanyuan City disguised as a low-level cultivator.
• A black-robed man asked a palace-dressed woman whether their plan had been exposed after Third Young Master fell and Little Black vanished; she insisted the Luo Clan's preparations remained intact and that their people had entered the city.

Lin Xuan entered Xuanyuan City to search for a way for Yue'er to form a Nascent Soul, then encountered Wu Yun'er being threatened by an arrogant cultivator claiming to be Flower Ancestor's descendant. Lin Xuan intervened and challenged the man's claim, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lin Xuan reached Xuanyuan City, noticed its strange architecture and heavy Yin energy, and entered after paying the three-thousand-Spirit-Stone fee.
• Lin Xuan studied the city map and rode a Beast Carriage to Market District No. 27, where he hoped to find materials or methods to help Yue'er form a Nascent Soul.
• Lin Xuan recognized the ostentatious flower-carriage cultivator threatening Wu Yun'er and hesitated because the man claimed to be backed by a Lihe Realm elder.
• The cultivator threatened Wu Yun'er and promised her Nascent Soul Formation if she became his concubine, while his maidservants complained that he had made similar promises to them.
• Lin Xuan stepped forward to protect Wu Yun'er and questioned the supposed power of Flower Ancestor, while Wu Yun'er recognized him as Martial Uncle Lin.

Lin Xuan exposed Playboy Flower as a fraud and left him to face the fury of the women he had deceived. He then took Wu Yun'er somewhere secluded and learned that something serious had happened, though she had not yet explained what.

• Lin Xuan ignored Playboy Flower's threats and struck him down with sword lights, revealing that his supposed backing and cultivation were fraudulent.
• The maidservants realized Playboy Flower had deceived them with promises of Nascent Soul Formation and attacked him while he fled.
• Lin Xuan left with Wu Yun'er and brought her to a secluded place in Xuanyuan City.
• Wu Yun'er broke down in tears, so Lin Xuan used an illusion art to calm her and urged her to explain what had happened.

Lin Xuan learned from Wu Yun'er that Azure Cloud Mountain and the Wu Family had been destroyed by the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect after a dispute over an ancient cultivator’s treasure. Ouyang Qinxin survived the massacre but was poisoned and left in a coma, and Lin Xuan resolved to help her.

• Wu Yun'er told Lin Xuan that Azure Cloud Mountain and the Wu Family had been destroyed and that Ouyang Qinxin was poisoned and unconscious.
• Lin Xuan promised to avenge the dead, but Wu Yun'er begged him to save Qinxin and warned that the enemy was too powerful to provoke.
• Wu Yun'er recounted how she learned of the massacre, disguised herself to investigate, and discovered that Azure Cloud Mountain had found treasure in an ancient cultivator’s cave residence.
• Wu Yun'er explained that the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect used the death of the Wei Family’s ancestor as a pretext to attack Azure Cloud Mountain and seize its treasure.
• The Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect slaughtered Azure Cloud Mountain’s disciples and the Wu Family; Taixu Master and Ancestor Qingyi died, while Qinxin escaped but was poisoned by a palm strike.
• Wu Yun'er found Qinxin by following their secret signs after learning from a captured monk that the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect was pursuing her.

Wu Yun'er told Lin Xuan that Ouyang Qinxin had been poisoned with Heavenly Spider Gu Poison, which had spread into her Nascent Soul. Lin Xuan promised to find a way to cure her and entered a market for Ghost Cultivators to pursue clues, where he noticed something unusual near the entrance.

• Wu Yun'er reunited with Lin Xuan and explained that Ouyang Qinxin had been gravely wounded by a Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect cultivator and poisoned with Heavenly Spider Gu Poison.
• Lin Xuan learned that the poison had reached Qinxin's Nascent Soul and warned that the available pill formula could cure her only at the cost of severely damaging her cultivation.
• Lin Xuan gave Wu Yun'er pills to delay the poison and sent her back to Snow Tower City, promising to bring a cure within three to six months.
• Lin Xuan resolved to grow strong enough to challenge the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect and continued toward the Ghost Cultivator market to seek clues about the poison and help Yue'er form her Nascent Soul.
• Lin Xuan disguised his aura as a Ghost Cultivator, entered the eerie market, and turned in surprise toward the entrance after spotting something.

Lin Xuan recognized a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator as the Living Corpse tied to his old enemy, but the man passed him by and approached someone else. Lin Xuan was stunned to discover that the familiar figure was Tian Xiaojian disguised as a woman.

• A splendidly dressed old man arrived at the Ghost Cultivator market, and the cultivators nearby fled after sensing his Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation.
• Lin Xuan and Yue'er recognized the old man's aura as belonging to the one who had impersonated Tong Yu, and Yue'er identified him as a Living Corpse.
• Lin Xuan tried to slip away, but the old man called out to a fellow cultivator and Lin Xuan stopped, fearing he had been recognized.
• The old man swept past Lin Xuan and went to meet Tian Xiaojian, who was dressed as a woman.