Chapter Summaries

After receiving Yan Canghai’s urgent letter, the King of Yan Country sought Heavenly Elder’s counsel about the powerful stranger and the danger facing the kingdom. Heavenly Elder recognized the stranger’s feats as far beyond his own abilities and ordered the Royal Family to comply with every demand, while he prepared to escort Li Weitian’s descendants to Cang Province.

• Yan Canghai sent the King an urgent secret letter warning him about the stranger’s extraordinary powers and the danger of resisting him.
• The King traveled to Heavenly Elder’s residence and discovered that Heavenly Elder had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and appeared much younger.
• After reading Yan Canghai’s letter, Heavenly Elder ordered the King to accept the stranger’s conditions, including releasing Li Weitian’s descendants and ceding the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Heavenly Elder warned that the stranger could destroy the Royal Capital and annihilate the Yan Family, and said the world had changed as Spiritual Qi revived and the Immortal Dao returned.
• Heavenly Elder told the King to release and placate Li Weitian’s descendants while he prepared to escort them to Cang Province himself.

Lu Qing returned from fishing and promised to give Nine Li Village’s young people an opportunity to try cultivation. He watched the Five Elements Secret Realm close, then came home to find Lin Zhi Rui visiting with two others.

• Lu Qing caught a bucket of Spirit Fish while Xiao Li, Xiao Yan, and Five Elements played and ate by the river.
• Grandpa Zhang asked whether Lu Qing would teach the village’s young people, and Lu Qing invited those interested to gather at his home the next day for an opportunity.
• Lu Qing flew to the Ten Thousand Mountains and watched the Five Elements Secret Realm entrance close, reflecting on the treasures and foundation he had gained there.
• Several Innate Realm cultivators emerged from hiding after Lu Qing left the valley and hurried away, relieved they had arrived too late to enter the secret realm.
• Lu Qing returned home, where Lin Zhi Rui arrived with two other people.

Lu Qing settled the Yan Family’s obligations, returned the captured prince and guards, and arranged for the Wei Family to resettle Li Weitian’s descendants, leaving him with a sense that his karmic debt was repaid. The next morning, he brought Xiao Yan to the village’s cultivation gathering and prepared to let even the elderly Grandpa Zhao try cultivating.

• Lu Qing met Yan Canghai and the Heavenly Elder outside Nine Li Village, accepted their agreement to keep the Yan Family out of the Ten Thousand Mountains, and returned the captured prince and guards.
• Yan Canghai and the Heavenly Elder left after Lu Qing said he would arrange the settlement of Li Weitian’s descendants, and Lu Qing asked Wei Xinghe to have the Wei Family take care of them.
• After arranging the matter, Lu Qing sensed that his mind had become clearer and more complete, and he recognized the change as connected to karma.
• The next morning, Lu Qing and Xiao Yan went to the Ancestral Hall, where villagers had gathered to begin cultivating.
• Grandpa Zhao insisted that he wanted to cultivate despite his age, and Lu Qing agreed that his Heart of Seeking the Dao deserved a chance before summoning a Jade Tablet.

Lu Qing tested Nine Li Village for cultivation aptitude and discovered that Er Ya, two others, and Grandpa Zhao could cultivate. Grandpa Zhao chose not to pursue cultivation, and the next day he died peacefully clutching the handkerchief his late wife had given him.

• Lu Qing used the Jade Tablet to test the villagers, but Wang Da'an and more than ten others showed no aptitude for cultivating the Immortal Dao.
• Er Ya, a young man, and a teenage boy triggered red light, revealing cultivation aptitude.
• Grandpa Zhao produced deep red light with a faint trace of gold, showing unusually strong potential, while Lu Qing judged he could reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Lu Qing offered the villagers without immortal cultivation aptitude a chance to study martial arts at a Martial Arts Hall planned for Nine Li Village.
• Grandpa Zhao declined Lu Qing's offer of a teacher, saying he only wanted to learn whether his youthful dreams of becoming an immortal were real and that he had no wish to live longer without A'e.
• The next day, Grandpa Zhao died peacefully in bed with the embroidered handkerchief from his late wife in his hands.

Lu Qing’s Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion visited Nine Li Village to ask about Hanging Sky Mountain’s disappearance, and Lu Qing confirmed that the Secret Realm had been destroyed along with the remnants of Avici Pavilion. He reassured the other Secret Realms that he would not harm those who left him unprovoked, then joined the others for tea while continuing to worry about the resources his cultivation required.

• Lu Qing reflected on his slow Golden Core progress, his dwindling spirit stones, and the long wait he expected before the next Dao Sound.
• Lu Qing’s Master summoned him to the Half-Mountain Courtyard, where he found Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion visiting with Lin Zhi Rui and the Old Doctor.
• Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion asked whether Lu Qing knew why Hanging Sky Mountain’s Secret Realm had vanished, and Lu Qing confirmed that it had been destroyed.
• Lu Qing revealed that the remnants of Avici Pavilion had also perished and told Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion to assure the other three Secret Realms that he would not make enemies without cause.
• The Old Doctor served Plum Tea, and Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion discovered that it contained spiritual essence that enlivened spiritual power and aided cultivation.

Lu Qing left Nine Li Village with Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements to travel after exhausting his low-grade spirit stones and deciding to seek new experiences rather than spend his precious mid-grade reserves. Their journey broadened their horizons, and it left Lu Qing intrigued by the sea’s mysterious power and the unusual icy laws of the province they had just entered.

• Lu Qing declined to use his two Top-Grade Spirit Medicines for cultivation and decided to seek resources elsewhere after his spirit stones ran out.
• The Master of Heaven's Secret Pavilion conveyed Holy Mountain’s apology and invitation, and Lu Qing agreed to visit and exchange insights with the three Holy Masters someday.
• Lu Qing learned that the Old Doctor had reached Foundation Establishment Completion and asked him to send word when he was ready to undergo tribulation.
• Lu Qing took Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements on a journey through Cang Province and other provinces, finding no spirit stone veins at the sites Yan had identified.
• Lu Qing brought the group to the East Sea, where he sensed powerful and unknown forces in the ocean, but chose not to explore it with Xiao Yan along.
• Lu Qing entered a colder great province and realized its icy laws and spiritual energy suited Xiao Yan’s Ice Muscle Jade Bone talent.

Lu Qing and Xiao Yan visited Cold Water City, where Lu Qing learned that the Eternal Regret Sect Master had challenged Cold Water Palace over the alleged murder of his wife and child. As the challenge began, the Eternal Regret Sect Master announced his arrival with a threat.

• Lu Qing brought Xiao Yan and their companions to Cold Water City and sensed that its ancient formation was awakening without being properly used.
• At a restaurant, Lu Qing overheard that the Eternal Regret Sect Master had reached the Golden Core Realm and was due to challenge Cold Water Palace that day.
• Lu Qing learned that the Eternal Regret Sect Master's wife and child had supposedly died years earlier, but that their deaths might have hidden circumstances.
• A vast voice rang through Cold Water City as the Eternal Regret Sect Master arrived and threatened a woman, calling her a bitch.

Lu Qing watched as Li Changbo challenged the Cold Water Palace and threatened Cold Water City, while the Palace Master exposed the disputed history behind his wife and child’s deaths. The Palace Master came out to fight, and Li Changbo launched his first attack at her over the city.

• Lu Qing shielded Xiao Yan from Li Changbo’s Golden Core pressure and took her to the inn rooftop to watch.
• Li Changbo threatened to burn Cold Water City unless the Cold Water Palace fought him, and Lu Qing learned that he had another goal beyond revenge.
• The Cold Water Palace Master said Li Changbo had deceived its Holy Maiden to obtain an Exotic Treasure, while Li Changbo accused her mother of stealing his wife’s ancestral heirloom.
• The Palace Master admitted her mother had wronged the direct line but declared that Li Changbo had caused the Holy Maiden’s death and accepted his challenge.
• Li Changbo proposed that the Palace Master survive three moves, refused to move the fight away from the city, and hurled his Azure Flame at her.

Li Changbo defeated the Cold Water Palace Master and moved to imprint her soul, while threatening Cold Water City and the palace. Lu Qing finally intervened, appearing with Xiao Yan while holding Li Changbo’s Azure Flame.

• Li Changbo’s Azure Flame struck the Cold Water Palace Master, who used her Ice Silk Brocade Scarf to shield herself as flames damaged buildings across Cold Water City.
• The Cold Water Palace Master survived the attack, but Li Changbo demanded that she acknowledge him as her master and claimed he was reclaiming his late wife’s inheritance.
• The Cold Water Palace Master used her heart’s blood to activate the Cold Jade Treasure Hairpin, but Li Changbo’s giant flaming palm captured it and left her badly injured.
• Li Changbo burned the palace elders who rushed to help, sealed the Cold Water Palace Master’s spiritual power, and threatened to make her his soul slave with a Divine Soul Imprint.
• As Li Changbo reached toward the Cold Water Palace Master, Lu Qing called out from an inn roof beside Xiao Yan, holding Li Changbo’s Azure Flame.

Lu Qing stopped Li Changbo from attacking Cold Water Palace and exposed the truth behind his supposed quest to avenge his wife and child. The chapter ended with Li Changbo awakening from Lu Qing’s illusion amid the city’s furious condemnation.

• Lu Qing caught Li Changbo’s azure flame and challenged his claim that the weak were merely ants.
• Li Changbo attacked Lu Qing, but Lu Qing extinguished his flame, froze him in place, and released the Cold Water Palace Master.
• Lu Qing and Xiao Yan approached the Cold Water Palace Master, who recognized Lu Qing from a portrait and thanked him for saving her.
• Lu Qing used an illusion to make Li Changbo confess that he had deceived his wife, arranged her capture, and caused her and their child’s deaths.
• Li Changbo ranted about his wife and child as the people of Cold Water City cursed him, then woke when Lu Qing withdrew his divine power.

Lu Qing captured Li Changbo after exposing his betrayal in an illusion, then accepted Han Lingbai’s invitation to Cold Water Palace’s treasury. He and Little Yan stayed for a banquet, where Han Lingbai met their spirit companions Xiao Li and Five Elements.

• Lu Qing suppressed Li Changbo, reminded him of his betrayal of his wife, and swallowed him into a black vortex.
• Lu Qing declined further thanks from Han Lingbai, but accepted her offer to inspect Cold Water Palace’s treasures and entered the palace with Little Yan.
• Cold Water City’s residents celebrated Lu Qing’s defeat of Li Changbo, while the innkeeper bragged that Lu Qing had dined at his inn.
• Han Lingbai changed clothes, introduced herself to Little Yan, and invited Lu Qing and his companions to a lavish banquet.
• Xiao Li ate Snow Dragon Fish Meat while Five Elements enjoyed the other dishes, and the group finished the banquet together.

Lu Qing visited the Cold Water Palace’s treasure vault, found and took the Fire Spirit Pearl, and borrowed the sect’s Frost Ice True Record to study. He left with insights for Xiao Yan’s cultivation method and for advancing his Perfect Golden Core Method.

• Han Lingbai led Lu Qing into the Cold Water Palace’s treasure vault and invited him to choose any treasures.
• Lu Qing sensed the Earth Spirit Pearl react, identified a dark-red pearl as the Fire Spirit Pearl, and accepted it with Han Lingbai’s permission.
• Lu Qing asked to study the Cold Water Palace’s inherited cultivation method for Xiao Yan, and Han Lingbai brought him the Frost Ice True Record.
• Lu Qing used his ability to absorb and simulate the inheritance, then returned the jade scroll after comprehending its contents.
• Lu Qing told Han Lingbai that he had gained insight into creating a cultivation method for Xiao Yan, while he considered how the inheritance could inform his own cultivation method.

Lu Qing gave Han Lingbai a Water Attribute Golden Core cultivation method and learned from her what had happened at the end of the previous cultivation era. He left after discovering that the Demon Race’s leaders had vanished, leaving open the possibility that Xiao Li’s parents survived.

• Lu Qing refused to accept the Frost Ice True Record without repayment and gave Han Lingbai a Water Attribute cultivation method from a distant Great World.
• Han Lingbai told Lu Qing that sects had fought for places on the World-Breaking Boat, which carried the victors away to escape the Five Signs of Decay.
• Han Lingbai said the Talisman Gate had boarded the World-Breaking Boat, while the Demon Race’s leaders and great demons had vanished and the Sea Race’s fate was unknown.
• Yan learned that the Yin Heaven Sect had not departed on the World-Breaking Boat and fell silent as it considered how both it and the Li Fire Sect had been used.
• Lu Qing explained that other worlds were separated by vast distances and reassured Han Lingbai that the cultivation method’s sect was unlikely to reach their world.
• Lu Qing said it was time to leave the Cold Water Palace.

After leaving Cold Water Palace, Lu Qing learned that Han Lingbai hoped to use his influence to protect her weakened sect, while she resolved to restore its strength herself. He interrogated Li Changbo about his Spirit Stones, extracted their whereabouts, then killed him and discovered that the red pearl he left behind was a damaged fire-aspect high-grade magic treasure.

• Lu Qing and Xiao Yan departed Cold Water Palace, and Han Lingbai urged her disciples to cultivate while resolving to reach the Golden Core Realm herself.
• Yan told Lu Qing that Han Lingbai was using his reputation to deter threats to Cold Water Palace, and Lu Qing said he did not mind the arrangement.
• After Xiao Yan fell asleep at an inn, Lu Qing questioned the imprisoned Li Changbo about the Spirit Stones that had rapidly raised his cultivation.
• Lu Qing used an illusion to force Li Changbo to reveal the Spirit Stones' location, then rejected his offer to become a slave and burned him to ashes with the Southern Samadhi Fire.
• Lu Qing collected the fiery-red pearl left behind and identified it as a damaged fire-aspect high-grade magic treasure that Li Changbo had once had his wife steal from Cold Water Palace.

Lu Qing refined the Essence Fire Pearl, recovered Li Changbo’s treasures and inheritances, and traveled with Xiao Yan to the Eternal Regret Mountain Range. After studying its natural formation, he found the hidden entrance to a Spirit Vein Land and led the others inside, where a vast cave chamber opened before them.

• Lu Qing claimed and refined the Essence Fire Pearl, collected Li Changbo’s spirit stones and jade slips, and destroyed the jade slip containing an evil soul-puppetry method.
• Lu Qing studied the natural formation of the Eternal Regret Mountain Range and recorded the Hundred Rivers Gathering Spirit Array.
• Lu Qing and Xiao Yan reached Eternal Regret Sect and slipped past its disciples to the forbidden ground in the rear mountain.
• Lu Qing found the hidden spirit vein entrance, concealed it with Jade Talismans, and guided Xiao Yan through the traps and tunnels.
• Lu Qing, Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements reached a vast chamber filled with dense spiritual aura, leaving Xiao Yan amazed by its beauty.

Lu Qing discovered a Spirit Vein Land and settled in to cultivate and excavate spirit stones with Xiao Li and Five Elements. As news of his victory in Cold Water City spread, the First Holy Master resolved to prohibit powerful cultivators from fighting in human cities and said someone could enforce it.

• Lu Qing found that most of the jade in the Spirit Vein Land was unformed spirit stone, then decided to cultivate there while Xiao Li and Five Elements searched for and excavated spirit stones.
• Green Goat Temple's elders discussed Lu Qing's defeat of Li Changbo and ordered their disciples not to enter the Ten Thousand Mountains casually.
• The Second and Third Holy Masters agreed Lu Qing could easily kill a newly advanced Golden Core cultivator, while the First Holy Master focused on how newly powerful cultivators might endanger ordinary people.
• The First Holy Master reminded his brothers of their vow to protect the people and proposed forbidding powerful cultivators from fighting in human cities.
• The Second and Third Holy Masters doubted the three of them could enforce such a prohibition, and the First Holy Master said someone could do it.

Lu Qing completed the first revolution of his Golden Core after nearly half a year of cultivation in a hidden Spirit Vein Land. After learning that his Master might soon undergo Thunder Tribulation, he hurried back with Xiao Yan and the others.

• The Holy Mountain's three Holy Masters decided to ask Lu Qing to help restore order and sent Heaven's Secret Pavilion a message seeking his aid.
• Several months passed as factions searched for Lu Qing and Xiao Yan, while powerful cultivators across the land began breaking through and fighting over resources.
• Lu Qing completed the first revolution of his Golden Core, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Li reported reaching Innate Realm Completion and Foundation Establishment Completion respectively.
• Xiao Li showed Lu Qing the Spirit Stones she and Five Elements had collected, and Lu Qing told Five Elements to keep cultivating before he granted it lotus seeds to prepare for tribulation.
• Lu Qing read his Master's messages and learned that his Master might soon undergo Thunder Tribulation, so he sealed the cave and rushed away with Xiao Yan and the others aboard the Void Ark.

Lu Qing returned to Nine Li Village with Xiao Yan and presented his Master with two treasure pearls to help him prepare for his imminent tribulation. After hearing how conflicts across the land had endangered ordinary people and learning that Qiu Country threatened Yan Country, Lu Qing began to consider the Holy Masters’ request for him to help establish prohibitions.

• Lu Qing used the Void Flying Boat to return to Nine Li Village with Xiao Yan and the Five Elements, then reunited with the Old Doctor in the Half-Mountain Courtyard.
• Lu Qing gave the Old Doctor the Myriad Laws Pearl and Essence Fire Pearl to refine before his coming Heavenly Tribulation.
• The Old Doctor told Lu Qing that the three Holy Masters wanted him to help establish rules and prohibitions amid growing chaos across the land.
• The Old Doctor described rising conflicts, casualties among civilians, and the spread of powerful cultivators as heaven and earth changed.
• Wei Shanhai and Wei Xinghe told Lu Qing that Qiu Country, now led by two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, was considering an attack on Yan Country.
• Lu Qing recognized that the worsening disorder left ordinary people with little chance to survive and began to form a decision.

Lu Qing refined the Fire Spirit Pearl and discovered that it could resonate with the other Five Elements Spirit Pearls, sensing their locations. He then accompanied his Master, the Old Doctor, as he began his Golden Core Tribulation, which formed a faint golden tribulation cloud.

• Lu Qing refined the Fire Spirit Pearl, which submitted to the Earth Spirit Pearl, and sensed that the remaining three Spirit Pearls were in Central Province, the far west, and the eastern sea.
• Lin Zhi Rui invited Lu Qing to meet the three Holy Lords at the Holy Mountain, but Lu Qing postponed the meeting until after his Master's tribulation.
• After refining two precious pearls and integrating their insights into his Water and Fire Dao, the Old Doctor reached Foundation Establishment Completion and decided to undergo tribulation immediately.
• Lu Qing gave the Old Doctor a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, then accompanied him and the cheering Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements to a mountain peak in the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Wei Shanhai, Wei Xinghe, Lin Zhi Rui, and the others watched from a distance as the Old Doctor's tribulation clouds gathered and revealed a faint golden color.

Lu Qing watched his Master, the Old Doctor, undergo a Golden Cloud Heavenly Tribulation, while helping Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements withstand its pressure and learn from it. The Old Doctor survived the seventh bolt with his Water and Fire Dao, domain, and treasures, but the clouds gathered for an eighth strike.

• Lu Qing identified the golden clouds as the strongest kind of Golden Core Tribulation and brought Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements close to observe.
• The Old Doctor endured the first three lightning bolts with little harm, then used his Water and Fire Dao to recover from the fourth, fifth, and sixth.
• The seventh bolt badly damaged the Old Doctor and nearly ruined his Treasure Armor, so he used a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone to replenish his power.
• Lu Qing and the others saw that the tribulation clouds remained and began gathering for an eighth bolt.