Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing traded an illusion of a mysterious Strange Beast’s claw technique to the Dragon Turtle in exchange for the Water Spirit Pearl, then returned to Nine Li Village. He left the Dragon Turtle with a way to contact him, while the Dragon Turtle withdrew to the deep sea to study the inheritance and cultivate cautiously.

• Lu Qing showed the Dragon Turtle an illusion of a powerful claw strike, convincing it that the technique could help it break through its bottleneck.
• The Dragon Turtle agreed to trade the Water Spirit Pearl for the claw technique, and they established a Divine Soul Oath.
• The Dragon Turtle erased its Divine Soul Imprint from the Water Spirit Pearl, and Lu Qing gave it an inheritance jade slip limited to ten viewings and a Communication Jade Talisman.
• Lu Qing flew back to Nine Li Village with the Five-Colored Winged Snake as the Dragon Turtle returned to the deep sea and resolved to keep a lower profile.
• Lu Qing reunited with Xiao Li and Xiao Yan, then went to the quiet room and took out the Water Spirit Pearl.

Lu Qing gathered and refined the Water Spirit Pearl, completing the set of five Great Spirit Pearls and transforming his glabella aperture and divine soul. He gained the powerful Five Colors Light, but realized his increased potential would require him to cultivate at the Holy Mountain.

• Lu Qing refined the Water Spirit Pearl and placed it with the other four Great Spirit Pearls in his glabella aperture.
• The five Great Spirit Pearls joined together, strengthening Lu Qing's divine soul several times over and transforming his glabella aperture with a faint violet hue.
• Lu Qing sensed that the pearls also strengthened his body and continued nourishing his divine soul.
• Lu Qing formed the Five Colors Light, a powerful attack that consumed spiritual energy and mental strength too quickly for frequent use.
• Lu Qing concluded that his increased cultivation needs would require him to spend more time in seclusion at the Holy Mountain Cave Abode.

Holy Mountain's Enforcement Team pursued and captured Li Bao for massacring Miao Family Village over a Spirit Herb. The team returned to Central Province with him, approaching Holy Mountain to report their completed mission.

• Li Bao fled through the mountains while a Holy Mountain Enforcement Team chased him for killing everyone in Miao Family Village.
• The team's leader struck Li Bao with a Thunder Light Talisman, destroying his right arm and allowing the enforcers to surround him.
• The leader ordered the team to seal Li Bao's cultivation with Spirit Needles and bind him with Strange Beast tendons.
• The enforcers carried Li Bao back toward Holy Mountain, and their journey passed without further trouble.
• The team returned to Central Province and looked toward Holy Mountain with fervor.

After capturing Li Bao, the Holy Mountain’s Enforcement Team sensed a terrifying aura from the summit, where Lu Qing had just completed the third revolution of his Golden Core. Lu Qing realized that the cave dwelling’s spiritual energy had become inadequate for his next breakthrough.

• The Enforcement Team handed Li Bao to the Punishment Hall, and their young senior brother declined to join his fellow members at the Merit Hall so he could focus on cultivation.
• The young man felt an overwhelming pressure from the summit and wondered whether a Holy Lord or the legendary cultivator in seclusion had released the aura.
• Lu Qing completed the third revolution of his Golden Core after seven years of cultivation and reflected on how his profound foundation slowed his progress.
• Lu Qing sensed that the cave dwelling’s spiritual energy had become less effective and that reaching the fourth revolution would be extremely difficult.

After emerging from seclusion with a breakthrough, Lu Qing checked messages from Xiao Yan and learned she was traveling with a group of young cultivators, so he told Five Elements to keep protecting her. He then planned to visit the East Sea to trade with the Old Dragon Turtle, but the Holy Masters brought him a list of spiritual items, and one entry caught his eye.

• Lu Qing read the messages accumulated during his seclusion, including Xiao Yan's travel updates and the Old Dragon Turtle's agreement to discuss an exchange for its bloodline.
• Lu Qing contacted Five Elements and asked about Xiao Yan's companions, then instructed the spirit beast to remain alert and keep their communication secret from her.
• Lu Qing emerged from seclusion and greeted the three Holy Masters, who brought him a booklet listing spiritual items collected by Holy Mountain disciples.
• Lu Qing reviewed the booklet and marked items he wanted, then spotted a particularly interesting item on its final page.

Lu Qing exchanged a portion of a star map for Old Dragon Turtle’s True Blood and claimed the Soul Shaping Mud at Holy Mountain for refining a Puppet Avatar. The chapter ended with Old Dragon Turtle handing over three jade bottles of True Blood.

• Lu Qing asked the First Holy Master to exchange merit for Soul Shaping Mud, explaining that he wanted to refine a Puppet Avatar using the Puppet Sect inheritance.
• Lu Qing left Holy Mountain and met Old Dragon Turtle in the East Sea.
• Lu Qing offered Old Dragon Turtle a star map showing worlds beyond their own and explained that Nascent Soul cultivators needed to leave their world to advance further.
• Old Dragon Turtle considered the map and agreed to exchange three portions of its True Blood for it.

Lu Qing traded three portions of True Blood to the Old Dragon Turtle for a detailed star map, then traveled to Lin Prefecture to reunite with Little Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements. As he comforted Little Yan, an unseen attacker called him a villain and struck at him with sword qi.

• Lu Qing gave the Old Dragon Turtle a complete star map in exchange for three portions of True Blood, and the Dragon Turtle judged the trade worthwhile.
• Lu Qing sensed Five Elements in Lin Prefecture and flew to the inn where Little Yan and Xiao Li were staying.
• Lu Qing descended into Little Yan's courtyard in disguise, then revealed himself to Xiao Li and Five Elements.
• Little Yan recognized Lu Qing, embraced him, and cried about how long he had taken to visit.
• Lu Qing promised to spend more time with Little Yan and said she could accompany him to the Holy Mountain.
• An angry voice shouted at Lu Qing to release Little Yan, and fierce sword qi stabbed toward him.

Lu Qing reunited with Little Yan and stopped Five Elements from killing Zhao Feng after Zhao Feng mistook him for a threat. The group revealed they were heading to Qiu Family Village to investigate villagers’ mysterious disappearances.

• Zhao Feng attacked Lu Qing, but Five Elements shattered the sword qi and cowed the young cultivators before Lu Qing called it back.
• Little Yan introduced Lu Qing as her brother, and he used the alias Chen Qing while thanking her companions for looking after her.
• Mu Tian introduced himself and the others, while Zhao Feng apologized for attacking Lu Qing.
• Lu Qing investigated the group and noticed something unusual in the information about Zhao Feng.
• Qin Wuxue reminded Little Yan that they were going to Qiu Family Village to investigate the villagers’ disappearances, and Lu Qing asked what had happened.

Lu Qing joined Xiao Yan, Mu Tian, and the others to investigate the disappearances in Lin Prefecture, and they discovered that Qiu Family Village had been wiped out. As Xiao Yan began examining the mummified villagers, a cold, sinister voice suddenly rang out.

• Mu Tian told Lu Qing that villagers had been disappearing across Lin Prefecture and that two people had recently vanished from Qiu Family Village.
• Lu Qing agreed to accompany the group but told Xiao Yan that she would have to handle the trial herself unless absolutely necessary.
• The group traveled to Qiu Family Village and found black qi drifting among the bodies of its murdered, mummified residents.
• Lu Qing stayed back as Xiao Yan inspected the corpses, and a cold, sinister voice suddenly sounded.

Mu Tian and his companions were attacked by reanimated corpses controlled by an unseen evil cultivator in Qiu Family Village. When they tried to retreat, the cultivator sealed the village in a formation and strengthened the corpses, leaving the group trapped and facing an enemy they believed was at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

• An unseen voice taunted Mu Tian and his companions as the village’s dead corpses rose and closed in on them.
• Mu Tian recognized the Corpse Refining Evil Technique and warned the group about the corpses’ strength and poisonous claws.
• Mu Tian and the others struck the corpses’ heads, but the blows failed to destroy them, and black mist healed their wounds.
• Mu Tian urged the group to retreat, but the evil cultivator sealed Qiu Family Village with a formation.
• Mu Tian deduced that the cultivator was likely at the Foundation Establishment Realm, and the cultivator intensified the formation and empowered the corpses with black mist.

Mu Tian and the other sect disciples fought the strengthening evil corpses in Qiu Family Village, while Xiao Yan joined them under Lu Qing’s watch. As they gained the upper hand, the hidden evil cultivator summoned three Black Coffins to turn the battle around.

• Mu Tian and the others swallowed pills that temporarily boosted their spiritual power, then charged the evil corpses and discovered that their swords could pierce the creatures’ heads at close range.
• Dozens of evil corpses attacked with growing strength, but Mu Tian’s group held formation and gradually cut them down as Xiao Yan joined the fight.
• Lu Qing stayed beside Xiao Yan and let her face the danger, while silently tracking the hidden evil cultivator.
• The evil cultivator grew anxious as the disciples destroyed his specially refined corpses, which had been made from Qiu Family Village’s villagers and possessed a peculiar bloodline.
• The evil cultivator formed a Magic Art, causing three Black Coffins to burst from the ground.

Xiao Yan rescued Mu Tian and the others from the evil corpses and faced three powerful Strange Evil Corpses that emerged from the Black Coffins. Lu Qing cured the group’s Corpse Poison and injuries, while Xiao Yan used her sword-control technique to behead the three creatures.

• The three Black Coffins disrupted Mu Tian and the others’ formation, and evil corpses wounded them with their claws.
• Xiao Yan cut down the surrounding evil corpses and told Mu Tian and the others to retreat from the Black Coffins.
• Lu Qing used a Void Drawing Talisman to purge the group’s Corpse Poison, heal their wounds, and restore them from the side effects of their pills.
• The Black Coffins opened, releasing three Strange Evil Corpses that attacked Xiao Yan through a cloud of deadly black qi.
• Xiao Yan’s sword swept through the black qi, exposed the Strange Evil Corpses, and circled their necks until their heads began to fall.

Xiao Yan destroyed the evil cultivator’s Iron Corpses and broke the Corpse Refinement Formation trapping Qiu Family Village. When he tried to flee under cover of Death Qi, she killed him with a flying sword strike that demonstrated Sword Qi Thunder Sound.

• Xiao Yan froze and shattered the three Iron Corpses, then pierced the remaining evil corpses and weakened the formation with her silver sword lights.
• The evil cultivator realized he was outmatched and unleashed the formation’s remaining Death Qi to cover his escape from Qiu Family Village.
• Xiao Yan sent her flying sword after the fleeing evil cultivator, killing him with a strike that pierced his defenses and carved a long scar through the village and into the Dense Forest.
• As he died, the evil cultivator remembered ignoring Master’s warning to stop preying on living beings and urged Master not to seek revenge.
• Mu Tian and the others saw the evil cultivator’s body and the enormous sword scar, and marveled at Xiao Yan’s power.

Lu Qing and the others confirmed the evil cultivator was dead, and Junior Sister Xiao Yan earned his praise for her swordsmanship. While examining the dead cultivator’s belongings, Lu Qing discovered a Profound Nether Jade Pendant refined by a Golden Core Realm evil cultivator, revealing that someone more powerful was behind the attack.

• Junior Sister Xiao Yan burned the evil cultivator’s body with a fire dragon talisman, confirming that he was dead.
• Lu Qing praised Junior Sister Xiao Yan’s swordsmanship and recalled refining a superior flying sword for her.
• Lu Qing examined the surviving black jade pendant and identified it as a Profound Nether Jade Pendant made from Profound Nether Black Jade.
• Lu Qing learned that a Golden Core Realm evil cultivator had refined the pendant and suspected someone powerful was behind the attack.

Lu Qing used the Mystic Eight Trigrams Plate to trace the expert behind the evil cultivator and decided to pursue him with Xiao Yan and her friends. After burning the corpses and clearing the dangers from Qiu Family Village, he took everyone aboard his flying boat and headed toward the divined location.

• Lu Qing placed the Profound Nether Jade Pendant in the Mystic Eight Trigrams Plate, which revealed a Red Smoke Thread pointing toward the expert behind the evil cultivator.
• Lu Qing invited Xiao Yan and Mu Tian and the others to accompany him after they finished dealing with the village’s evil corpses.
• Lu Qing and his companions gathered the nearly hundred corpses of Qiu Family Village, and Lu Qing burned them with Southern Samadhi Fire to eradicate the Death Qi.
• Lu Qing cleared away the remains of the corpse-refining array and brought out his flying boat, startling Mu Tian, Zhao Feng, and the others.
• Lu Qing carried Xiao Li aboard the boat, and the group flew toward the location indicated by the Mystic Eight Trigrams Plate.

As Lu Qing led his group into the Arctic Region, the Black-Robed Old Man learned that Mo Heng had died and prepared to flee his hidden cave abode. Lu Qing found the cave through the Causal Red Thread and used a colossal Five-Colored Glaze Dharma Palm to strike the ice field below.

• The Black-Robed Old Man discovered Mo Heng's shattered Life Tablet, failed to determine who killed him, and decided to abandon his cave abode rather than seek revenge.
• As the Black-Robed Old Man dismantled the first layer of formations, he sensed several Innate Realm cultivators arrive above and stopped moving.
• Lu Qing identified the hidden cave abode by following the Causal Red Thread and sensing the formations beneath the ice field.
• Lu Qing gathered spiritual energy into a giant Five-Colored Glaze Dharma Palm and pressed it down toward the ice field.

Lu Qing used the Five-Colored Glaze Dharma Palm to tear an enormous iceberg from the ice plains and expose the Black-Robed Old Man’s hidden cave dwelling. After the palm crushed the cave’s formations, the Black-Robed Old Man surrendered and was captured alive.

• The Black-Robed Old Man sensed Lu Qing’s enormous Five-Colored Glaze Dharma Palm descending and activated the cave dwelling’s formations to defend himself.
• Mu Tian and the others detected someone beneath the ice plains as Lu Qing’s palm pierced the ice and closed around the hidden cave dwelling.
• Lu Qing lifted the iceberg into the sky and crushed it down to a sphere, revealing the cave dwelling protected by layers of formations.
• The Black-Robed Old Man realized Mo Heng had provoked a terrifying powerhouse and prayed that his formations would hold.
• Lu Qing’s palm shattered the formations and destroyed the cave dwelling, grievously injuring the Black-Robed Old Man through their connection.
• The Black-Robed Old Man begged for mercy, and Lu Qing stopped crushing him, shrank the palm, and carried him to the flying boat.

Lu Qing killed the Black-Robed Old Man by trapping him in an illusion that made him relive the suffering of those he had harmed, then destroyed the vengeful ghosts released by his demonic backlash. After taking the old man’s artifacts, Lu Qing prepared to return to the village with Xiao Yan, Xiao Li, and Five Elements.

• Lu Qing identified the Black-Robed Old Man as Mo Heng’s master and rejected his claims that he had severed all ties with his disciple.
• Lu Qing trapped the Black-Robed Old Man in an illusion of vengeance, causing his mind to collapse and his demonic arts to devour him.
• Lu Qing crushed the vicious ghosts formed from the old man’s black qi and collected his remaining Dharma artifacts.
• Lu Qing inspected the Profound Nether Jade Pendant and found it was made from high-grade Profound Nether Black Jade that could protect Golden Core Realm cultivators from inner demons.
• Lu Qing told Xiao Yan they would return to the village and stroked Xiao Li’s and Five Elements’ heads, knowing they still had a stroke of fortune there.

Lu Qing took Xiao Yan back to Cang Province after dropping Mu Tian and the others in Lin Prefecture, while the group realized he might be the legendary Esteemed One. At the Jade Cave Chamber, Lu Qing asked Xiao Li and Five Elements whether they had sensed an opportunity to break through.

• Lu Qing flew Mu Tian and the others to Lin Prefecture, where Zhao Feng struggled with his feelings for Xiao Yan before the group parted ways.
• Wu Wenyuan, Qin Wuxue, and Mu Tian suspected Lu Qing was the legendary Esteemed One cultivating atop the Holy Mountain, and Zhao Feng learned Xiao Yan was likely his younger sister.
• Lu Qing asked Xiao Yan what she thought of her friends, and she described Zhao Feng as quiet, reserved, and a little dull.
• Lu Qing returned to Cang Province with Xiao Yan and Xiao Li, then took them to the Jade Cave Chamber instead of going straight to Nine Li Village.
• After paying respects at Li Weitian's grave, Lu Qing asked Xiao Li and Five Elements whether they had sensed an opportunity to break through from Foundation Establishment.

Lu Qing gave Xiao Li and Five Elements True Blood from the Ancestral Dragon and watched over them as they refined it. Their transformations drew in vast amounts of spiritual qi, and the chapter ended as the mist cleared and their figures were revealed.

• Xiao Li and Five Elements told Lu Qing they had reached the limits of their cultivation and were ready to undergo tribulation.
• Lu Qing gave each of them a portion of True Blood and warned them that it might be difficult to refine.
• Xiao Li and Five Elements swallowed the True Blood and began refining it in the Jade Cave Chamber while Lu Qing and Xiao Yan stood guard.
• As a majestic aura emerged from the two spirit beasts, Lu Qing activated the cave chamber’s formation to draw in spiritual qi for their transformation.
• After half a day of absorbing spiritual qi, Xiao Li and Five Elements stopped, and the mist dispersed to reveal them.