Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing mastered the first three transformations of the Seven Stars Sword Formation and left seclusion after the Secret Realm on Tian Shu Holy Mountain emerged. He and Five Treasures Daoist flew to the Holy Mountain, where Lu Qing encountered its mysterious Mountain Qi.

• Lu Qing integrated the first three transformations of the Seven Stars Sword Formation into his Sword Qi Domain and considered combining it with Po Tian Sword Qi.
• Five Treasures Daoist told Lu Qing that the Secret Realm had emerged the previous day and that cultivators were already entering it.
• Lu Qing apologized for delaying their trip, and he and Five Treasures Daoist set out for Tian Shu Holy Mountain.
• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist arrived at the Holy Mountain, where Mountain Qi entered Lu Qing's body.
• Five Treasures Daoist explained that accumulated Mountain Qi could petrify cultivators, and the two rounded a bend to see the scene ahead light up.

Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist entered the newly formed secret realm, where thin spiritual energy and increasingly heavy space made travel and spellcasting costly. After discovering the entrance was nowhere in sight and flight became nearly impossible, they realized the realm was suppressing cultivators and began searching for a way forward.

• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist approached the enormous Space Vortex, passed the scrutiny of the Nascent Soul great powers, and entered the secret realm.
• Qian Lingxiao suspected that Lu Qing and his companion were the cultivators who had rescued Xiao Jing and the others, and Gongshu Zheng agreed to investigate them if they survived.
• Inside the secret realm, Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist found that spiritual energy was unusually scarce and the surrounding space was exceptionally stable.
• Lu Qing noticed that the Space Vortex was gone, leaving them uncertain how they could exit the realm.
• The two flew upward to survey their surroundings, but the space grew heavier with altitude and their mana consumption surged, forcing them back to the ground.

Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist explored the strange secret realm, using divination to choose a route before a hidden creature attacked them. Lu Qing captured and killed it, and learned that the realm was a Trial Secret Realm whose creatures held powerful bloodlines that could strengthen the body.

• Five Treasures Daoist divined that due north held a Great Ominous Sign, so Lu Qing and he set off southeast while staying near the treetops.
• A concealed creature attacked them from the forest, and Lu Qing struck it with sword qi before Xiao Li alerted him to its position.
• Lu Qing smashed apart part of the forest with the Five Elements Myriad Law Palm and captured the creature, astonishing Five Treasures Daoist with his strength.
• Lu Qing used his special ability to identify the creature as a Mystic Scale Black Rat from Tian Shu Holy Mountain’s Trial Secret Realm, with a powerful physical body and intense hostility toward outsiders.
• Lu Qing learned that the realm’s creatures possessed mysterious bloodlines that could enhance the body when refined and absorbed, then crushed the hostile Mystic Scale Black Rat to death.

After Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist encountered repeated Mystic Scale Black Rat attacks in the forest, Lu Qing had Yan extract a strange bloodline from the monsters. He identified it as Origin Blood of the Witch and swallowed a wisp, finding that it strengthened his body while its Baleful Qi barely affected him; Xiao Li also sensed its appeal.

• Lu Qing stored the first Mystic Scale Black Rat's corpse in the Li Fire Cauldron and asked Yan to extract its bloodline while they traveled through the forest.
• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist fought off more Mystic Scale Black Rats, then landed so Five Treasures Daoist could recover and Lu Qing could guard them.
• Yan presented Lu Qing with the extracted bloodline, and Lu Qing identified it as Origin Blood of the Witch, which could strengthen the body but risked corroding the divine soul with Baleful Qi.
• Lu Qing swallowed a wisp of the bloodline and found that it strengthened his body while the Baleful Qi was easily repelled by his defenses.
• Xiao Li sensed the bloodline's extraordinary appeal, and Lu Qing told her it might be one of the secret realm's opportunities.

Lu Qing discovered that Mystic Scale Black Rats contained a bloodline that strengthened the body, so he and Xiao Li swept through the forest sea to hunt them. After capturing more than twenty, the group began extracting their bloodlines, with Five Treasures Daoist using his Alchemy Gourd to help.

• Lu Qing told Xiao Li and Five Treasures Daoist about the beneficial bloodline within the Mystic Scale Black Rats and decided they would search the forest sea for more.
• Xiao Li sensed a hidden rat, and Lu Qing trapped and killed it with Earth Vein Yuan Magnetic Power.
• Guided by Xiao Li, Lu Qing hunted more than twenty Mystic Scale Black Rats while Five Treasures Daoist struggled to find a way to contribute.
• Lu Qing set up a Rune Array, piled up the captured rats, and asked Five Treasures Daoist to extract their bloodlines.
• Five Treasures Daoist brought out his Alchemy Gourd, drew several rat corpses inside, and began activating the treasure.

Lu Qing, Xiao Li, and Five Treasures Daoist refined the Origin Blood of the Witch extracted from Mystic Scale Black Rats, discovering that it strengthened the body but carried limits and Baleful Qi. After Xiao Li reached the bloodline’s limit, Lu Qing prepared to test how much he could absorb himself.

• Lu Qing refined the Mystic Scale Black Rats’ bloodlines with the Li Fire Cauldron and warned Five Treasures Daoist and Xiao Li about the Baleful Qi they contained.
• Five Treasures Daoist and Xiao Li each refined a strand while Lu Qing stood guard; Xiao Li felt no ill effects, while Five Treasures Daoist struggled against the Baleful Qi.
• Xiao Li refined more than ten strands and increased her physical strength by about a tenth, while Five Treasures Daoist found he could safely refine only three strands at once.
• Five Treasures Daoist stopped refining to avoid tainting his divine soul, and Xiao Li discovered that further strands no longer strengthened her body.
• Lu Qing and Xiao Li discussed seeking stronger Strange Beasts, then Lu Qing swallowed ten strands of Origin Blood of the Witch at once.

Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist finished sweeping the forest sea for Mystic Scale Black Rats, then crossed the grasslands toward distant mountains while discussing how scarce spiritual energy made Spirit Stones vital. Near the mountains, Lu Qing sensed a group approaching and saw one party of cultivators chasing another to seize their Spirit Stones.

• Lu Qing refined ten strands of Origin Blood from Foundation Establishment Realm Mystic Scale Black Rats, gaining only a slight increase in physical strength because the bloodline's effects had reached their limit.
• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist captured more than a hundred Mystic Scale Black Rats, then left the forest sea after finding no Golden Core Realm rats.
• Five Treasures Daoist divined that signs of people lay to the southeast, and Lu Qing accompanied him across the grasslands toward the mountains.
• Lu Qing found that the grassland creatures also contained Origin Blood of the Witch, though the bloodline in a rabbit-like creature was too faint to be useful.
• As Five Treasures Daoist recovered near the mountains, Lu Qing sensed more than a dozen cultivators approaching, with several fleeing from pursuers demanding their Spirit Stones.
• A burly pursuer launched a saber-shaped magic treasure at the fleeing cultivators after they refused to surrender their Spirit Stones.

Lu Qing watched Scarred Liu’s group and their pursuers fight, then stopped the fleeing cultivators when they tried to rob him and Five Treasures Daoist. After crushing their companions and capturing their leader, he also suppressed Scarred Liu’s group when they arrived, leaving them begging for mercy.

• Scarred Liu’s attack helped the fleeing group gain distance, so he pursued them alone and was badly wounded by their coordinated counterattack.
• Lu Qing observed that the cultivators’ Daoist Arts were weakened in the Secret Realm and descended to protect Five Treasures Daoist as the fleeing group approached.
• The fleeing cultivators mistook Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist for easy prey, but Lu Qing froze their attacks, crushed several of them, and trapped their leader in illusions.
• Scarred Liu and his companions followed the disturbance and found Lu Qing standing beside the vacant-eyed leader and the resting Five Treasures Daoist.
• Lu Qing suppressed Scarred Liu’s group as they begged for mercy, then ordered them to shut up.

Lu Qing subdued a group of Rogue Cultivators and learned that tens of thousands of cultivators were trapped in the secret realm, where scarce spiritual energy and dangerous Strange Beasts had driven many to rob one another. He spared the group after taking their cultivation methods, then discussed with Five Treasures Daoist how the great powers exploring the Ancient Ruins might know a way out.

• Lu Qing killed two Rogue Cultivators who angered him, then questioned the survivors about the secret realm.
• The Rogue Cultivators explained that the secret realm had opened early, trapped its entrants, and offered no known way to leave.
• A Rogue Cultivator told Lu Qing that powerful forces were exploring an Ancient Ruins despite the realm’s dangers and might know how to escape.
• Lu Qing learned which forces were exploring the ruins, then took the Rogue Cultivators’ cultivation methods and let them go.
• Lu Qing asked Five Treasures Daoist for his thoughts, and Five Treasures Daoist said they should seek information from the great powers.

Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist traveled into the deep mountains to seek Ye Qingzhu and learn how to escape the Secret Realm. They found an immense Ancient Pagoda where Ye Qingzhu faced danger, and Lu Qing’s ability began revealing information about the pagoda.

• Lu Qing decided to contact the major factions for a way out while keeping his identity and Void Flying Boat secret.
• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist entered the mountains, ignored suspicious cultivators below, and learned that the Universe Sect disciples were there.
• Five Treasures Daoist divined that Ye Qingzhu and her companions were nearby and threatened by natural and human dangers, so the two hurried toward them.
• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist reached the damaged twelve-level Ancient Pagoda, whose savage aura seemed greater than that of a High-Grade Spirit Artifact.
• While Five Treasures Daoist meditated to recover, Lu Qing activated his ability and saw purple light and information strips emerge from the Ancient Pagoda.

Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist learned that the Ancient Pagoda was the Ancient Witch Race’s trial and inheritance tower, and that its inheritance might grant them a way out of the secret realm. Near the tower, they encountered Gongshu Yu and his clan, then left while the Gongshu Family remained outside, struggling to find a way in.

• Lu Qing discovered that obtaining the Witch inheritance could grant a Secret Talisman that allowed entry to and exit from the secret realm.
• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist approached the Ancient Pagoda, where oppressive space rapidly drained their spiritual power and forced them to descend.
• Lu Qing sensed Gongshu Yu and more than a dozen Gongshu Family members concealed nearby, and Five Treasures Daoist identified their leader as a powerful Golden Core Dao Child.
• Lu Qing declined to reveal a sect affiliation and left with Five Treasures Daoist before Gongshu Yu could question them further.
• Gongshu Yu restrained his clan members from pursuing the pair, wary of provoking exotic beasts and attracting rival factions.
• Gongshu Yu discussed the clan’s failed attempts to enter the Ancient Pagoda and their broken alliance with the Universe Sect.

Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist found the Universe Sect encampment and learned that Ye Qingzhu, Zi Xiao, and two other disciples were near death after a battle involving the Ancient Pagoda’s Strange Beast and the Gongshu Family. Lu Qing began treating them with a formation powered by Spirit Stones and healing talismans, leaving their recovery underway.

• Lu Qing and Five Treasures Daoist avoided ambushes in the Dense Forest and located the Universe Sect encampment.
• Chu Xiao Jing brought Lu Qing into the valley and told him Ye Qingzhu and Zi Xiao were gravely injured.
• Qin Zheng welcomed Lu Qing and explained that Ye Qingzhu, Zi Xiao, and two other disciples had been badly wounded by the Strange Beast guarding the Ancient Pagoda.
• Chu Xiao Jing blamed the Gongshu Family for fleeing and ruining the formation, while Qin Zheng stopped her from saying more.
• Lu Qing examined the four injured disciples, said he might be able to save them, and asked the Universe Sect disciples to move them outside.
• Lu Qing set up and activated a healing formation with Spirit Stones and Jade Talismans, then directed its life-infused spiritual energy toward the wounded disciples.

Lu Qing healed Ye Qingzhu, Zi Xiao, and two other Universe Sect disciples after they were gravely injured by the Strange Beasts. As they recovered, they learned that Zhao Gang and Wang Ming had died and turned their anger toward the Gongshu Family, while Lu Qing sought a way out of the Secret Realm.

• Lu Qing used a formation and golden needles to repair the four survivors’ meridians, allowing them to awaken and recover much of their strength.
• Ye Qingzhu and Zi Xiao thanked Lu Qing, and Chu Xiao Jing told them that Zhao Gang and Wang Ming had died during the battle.
• Ye Qingzhu and Zi Xiao blamed the Gongshu Family for fleeing, breaking their formation, and leaving them as bait for the Strange Beasts.
• Lu Qing asked Qin Zheng how to leave the Secret Realm, and Qin Zheng explained that obtaining the inheritance or finding a Secret Realm Pearl could reopen a way out.
• Chu Xiao Jing suggested that the Strange Beasts guarding the Ancient Pagoda might possess Secret Realm Pearls, giving Lu Qing a possible lead.

Lu Qing learned that the ancient tower was guarded by eighteen powerful exotic beasts divided into three levels, and that they contained Origin Blood of the Witch. Despite the Universe Sect disciples’ warnings, he entered the plain alone to test the outer beasts, leaving Qin Zheng and the others waiting behind.

• Qin Zheng and Ye Qingzhu told Lu Qing how the Guardian Exotic Beasts had shattered their formation and killed Zhao Gang and Wang Ming.
• Lu Qing traveled with Qin Zheng, Ye Qingzhu, and the Universe Sect disciples to the ancient tower and saw the eighteen beasts guarding the plain.
• Lu Qing used his ability to learn that the beasts were Golden Core cultivators’ equivalents in three strength tiers, were bound to the tower, and contained Origin Blood of the Witch.
• Observers hiding in the forest noticed the Universe Sect party and discussed the faction’s previous failed attempt to reach the tower.
• Lu Qing insisted on testing the outer beasts alone, while Qin Zheng and the others warned him of the danger and urged him to retreat if necessary.
• Lu Qing walked onto the plain as the Universe Sect disciples watched anxiously.

Lu Qing entered the plain alone to test the Golden Core-level Guardian Exotic Beasts and claim their Witch Origin Blood. He killed a black wolf with two punches, collected its corpse and blood, then escaped into the Dense Forest with the Universe Sect party as two more beasts pursued.

• Onlookers, including Gongshu Yu and his clansmen, debated Lu Qing’s identity and mocked his decision to enter the plain alone.
• Lu Qing told Xiao Li he wanted the beasts’ Witch Origin Blood and needed to assess their strength, then entered the outermost black wolf’s Guarding Domain.
• Lu Qing met the black wolf’s charge with a punch that shattered its jaw and sent it flying.
• Lu Qing used Earth Vein Yuan Magnetic Power to bind the wolf and killed it with a second punch to the head.
• Lu Qing collected the wolf’s corpse and spilled blood, then fled into the Dense Forest with Qin Zheng and the Universe Sect disciples as two nearby wolves rushed toward him.

Lu Qing shocked the factions in the Dense Forest by killing a Black Wolf Exotic Beast with one punch, prompting Ba Tian and others to reassess him and discuss alliances for the Ancient Pagoda. After Lu Qing returned to the valley to refine the beast’s bloodline, Gongshu Yu arrived to speak with Qin Zheng.

• Lu Qing killed a Black Wolf Exotic Beast with a single punch, astonishing the factions hiding in the Dense Forest.
• Ba Tian told Shen Cangfeng that Lu Qing’s physical strength might rival his own, then invited the Sky Sword Sect to join forces with the Overlord Race to enter the Ancient Pagoda.
• A prospective Young Abbot negotiated an alliance between Dao Xu Temple and Azure Palace, agreeing to make a Divine Soul Oath and establish three rules.
• Gongshu Yu and the Gongshu Family discussed Lu Qing’s strength, and Gongshu Yu considered how Lu Qing might have helped Ye Qingzhu and the others recover.
• Lu Qing returned to the valley, concealed himself in a house, and used the Li Fire Cauldron to refine the Black Wolf Exotic Beast’s Origin Blood of the Witch while the Universe Sect disciples guarded the valley.
• The Universe Sect disciples and Five Treasures Daoist admitted they knew little about Lu Qing’s many abilities, then Gongshu Yu called out from beyond the valley to visit Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng rejected Gongshu Yu’s proposal to cooperate again, leaving the Universe Sect and the Gongshu Family openly hostile inside the Secret Realm. In seclusion, Lu Qing refined the Golden Core-level Origin Blood of the Witch and discovered its Baleful Qi could not harm his glabella aperture as his body grew stronger and its potential deepened.

• Qin Zheng stopped the Universe Sect disciples from attacking Gongshu Yu and refused his renewed offer of cooperation, citing the deaths of Zhao Gang and Wang Ming and the disciples’ injuries.
• Gongshu Yu threatened that Qin Zheng might regret his choice, then led the Gongshu Family away without fighting.
• Qin Zheng warned the Universe Sect disciples to stay together and watch for ambushes from the Gongshu Family.
• Five Treasures Daoist told Qin Zheng that Lu Qing had entered seclusion after gaining insight from his battle with the Black Wolf Exotic Beast.
• Lu Qing swallowed and refined the Black Wolf Exotic Beast’s Golden Core-level Origin Blood of the Witch, finding that its Baleful Qi could not penetrate his glabella aperture.
• Lu Qing felt the Origin Blood strengthen and transform his body, and recognized that his Perfect Golden Core could reach Golden Core Twelve Revolutions.

Lu Qing refined Golden Core Level Origin Blood and discovered that it could further strengthen his already powerful body, then spent the night studying cultivation methods for a breakthrough. By dawn, he had found a faint clue to the seventh revolution of his Perfect Golden Core Method.

• Lu Qing refined a wisp of Golden Core Level Origin Blood of the Witch, strengthening his physical body by about one percent.
• Lu Qing decided to hunt more Golden Core Realm Exotic Beasts for their Origin Blood before attempting the Ancient Pagoda, and Xiao Li eagerly agreed to refine it too.
• Gongshu Yu set aside confronting the Universe Sect and led his family to seek other factions to help them enter the Ancient Pagoda.
• Lu Qing studied nearly thirty Golden Core Level cultivation method jade slips through the night and gained a faint clue about the seventh revolution of his Perfect Golden Core Method.

Lu Qing glimpsed the path to the seventh revolution of his Perfect Golden Core Method and formed a rough framework before joining the Universe Sect disciples for breakfast. After Qin Zheng warned him that the Gongshu Family might target him, Lu Qing said he still needed to return to the Ancient Pagoda.

• Lu Qing gained a clue to the seventh revolution of his Perfect Golden Core Method and outlined its framework before ending his cultivation session.
• Lu Qing gave Chu Xiao Jing rabbit Strange Beasts for medicinal cuisine, then prepared a breakfast of meat porridge and roasted rabbit for the Universe Sect disciples.
• Ye Qingzhu and the others praised Chu Xiao Jing’s medicinal cuisine to spare her feelings, then delightedly ate Lu Qing’s food.
• Qin Zheng warned Lu Qing that Gongshu Yu and the Gongshu Family might retaliate against him for associating with the Universe Sect.
• Chu Xiao Jing urged Lu Qing to stay in the valley for protection, but Lu Qing said he needed to return to the Ancient Pagoda.

Lu Qing discovered that the Ancient Pagoda replenished slain Guardian Exotic Beasts, allowing him to hunt them for their Golden Core Level Origin Blood. After other powerful figures grew suspicious and began hunting the beasts themselves, he withdrew and returned to the Universe Sect’s valley.

• Lu Qing left Qin Zheng and the Universe Sect disciples, reached the plain outside the Ancient Pagoda, and killed another Black Wolf Exotic Beast to test whether the beasts were replenished.
• Lu Qing watched the Ancient Pagoda replace the slain wolf, confirming that the plain maintained eighteen Guardian Exotic Beasts and that he could continue gathering their Origin Blood for himself and Xiao Li.
• Lu Qing provoked and killed three Black Wolf Exotic Beasts at once, drawing the attention of powerful figures hiding in the Dense Forest.
• Several powerful figures attacked newly replenished wolves, so Lu Qing abandoned his hunt and slipped back to the valley without being detected.
• Qin Zheng and the others welcomed Lu Qing back after preparing to search for him, and Lu Qing explained that other figures were fighting the Guardian Exotic Beasts before asking to use the wooden cabin for seclusion.