Chapter Summaries

Xu Chunniang faced Hundun in the gray-mist corridor and concluded that the ferocious beasts represented the Five Poisons, each delivering a single attack before vanishing. Meanwhile, cultivators who had emerged from the corridor compared their encounters and wondered whether surviving the attacks meant they had passed the trial.

• Xu Chunniang recognized Hundun as the beast of delusion and endured its weak wind-and-sand attack without trying to dodge.
• Hundun vanished after its single attack, reinforcing Xu Chunniang's belief that the beasts represented greed, wrath, and delusion and would not pursue her further.
• Xu Chunniang continued through the corridor, calmer and expecting the beasts of arrogance and doubt to appear as part of the Five Poisons trial.
• Cultivators gathered at the far end of the corridor and discussed how Taotie had killed some of them before they reappeared there.
• A late Golden Core Ao Family cultivator said Taotie had left him alive before Nine Infant attacked and killed him, after which he revived and was transported out.

Feng Nitian escaped the gray-fog corridor after failing Qiongqi’s trial and explained her theory that its beasts tested the Five Poisons of cultivation. Xu Chunniang encountered Qiongqi, which let her pass, and she brought out Little Orange after recognizing something familiar in the beast’s manner.

• Feng Nitian recognized Chaos and Qiongqi as beasts associated with ignorance and contempt, then was sent out of the corridor by Qiongqi’s attack.
• Feng Nitian told her clan that the beasts tested the Five Poisons and predicted Ao Xingyun would fail the final trial of doubt.
• The Feng Family left to continue the inheritance trial, followed by cultivators from Penglai Immortal Island and Fangzhang Immortal Island, while Ao Xingyun remained inside.
• Xu Chunniang encountered Qiongqi, which glanced at her and left without attacking.
• Xu Chunniang pulled Little Orange out of her small world because Qiongqi’s arrogant manner reminded her of him.

Qiongqi sent a plume of gray-black mist into Little Orange, leaving it asleep, and Xu Chunniang suspected the beast had passed on an inheritance. After escaping the gray mist corridor and entering a primeval forest that seemed to be the next trial, Xu Chunniang encountered a Golden-Haired Howler.

• Qiongqi poked Little Orange, sent gray-black mist into its body, and told Xu Chunniang to take good care of it before departing.
• Xu Chunniang stored the sleeping Little Orange in her little world and continued through the gray mist corridor.
• Nine-Tails restrained Xu Chunniang and struck her before disappearing, after which the gray mist vanished.
• Xu Chunniang pushed open the stone gate, crossed through it, and watched the gate and gray mist corridor crumble away.
• Xu Chunniang rode her flying shuttle into a primeval forest and sensed growing danger as she approached a Golden-Haired Howler.
• The Golden-Haired Howler noticed Xu Chunniang and roared, shaking leaves from the trees and knocking nearby birds from the sky.

Xu Chunniang fought the Golden-Haired Howler in the Immortal Palace Ruins, using the Soul-Fixing Mirror, her artifact chain, Primordial Heavy Water, and Heartfall Flame to overcome its defenses. She pierced its eyes while the mirror held it still, leaving the wounded beast struggling to escape its control.

• The Golden-Haired Howler sensed Xu Chunniang and charged, but she blocked its sonic Soul Attack with her divine sense and dodged its blows.
• Xu Chunniang used the Soul-Fixing Mirror, but the Howler's golden halo blocked the attack and dimmed slightly.
• Xu Chunniang pierced the Howler's sole with her chain, pulled it off balance, and flooded its injured foot with Primordial Heavy Water and Heartfall Flame.
• The Howler tried to crush the chain, but Xu Chunniang withdrew it and fired a stronger Soul-Fixing Mirror beam through the golden ring, freezing the beast.
• Xu Chunniang reached the Howler's face and drove her chain into its eyes, twisting it deeper as the beast struggled against the mirror's control.

Xu Chunniang defeated a Golden-Haired Howler and discovered it was only a creature formed from spiritual power. She then fought off a flock of strange birds whose numbers and strength grew as they devoured one another, and chose to use a Golden Core Pill to restore her spiritual power before continuing through the forest.

• Xu Chunniang killed the Golden-Haired Howler, which shattered into spiritual light and revealed that it had not truly existed.
• Seven or eight strange birds blocked Xu Chunniang's path, and she began laying a trapping array to restrain them.
• The strange birds devoured one another, shrinking their flock to four while growing additional heads and wings and becoming stronger.
• Xu Chunniang activated her array and used the Soul-Fixing Mirror to trap each bird in a golden claw before crushing them one by one.
• After the battles depleted much of her spiritual power, Xu Chunniang chose to take a Golden Core Pill rather than recover by meditating.

Xu Chunniang fought off a juvenile Ba Serpent blocking her way out of the wilderness forest, then escaped beyond the forest’s edge. She suspected the forest itself created its seemingly lifelike beasts, and the Ba Serpent could not follow her out.

• After her Golden Core Pills were nearly exhausted, Xu Chunniang reached the edge of the wilderness forest and encountered a juvenile Ba Serpent blocking her path.
• Xu Chunniang used the Cloud-Glimmer Scarf to resist the serpent’s suction, but it began to crack as the Ba Serpent pulled her toward its mouth.
• Xu Chunniang let the serpent swallow the Heartfall Flame and Primordial Heavy Water, then used the Soul-Fixing Mirror to stun it while the two forces damaged its belly.
• Xu Chunniang wounded the Ba Serpent further, stunned it again, and fled rather than risk fighting it to the death.
• Xu Chunniang escaped the forest as the Ba Serpent broke free and pursued her, arriving too late to cross the boundary.

Xu Chunniang discovered that the invisible barrier around her could be crossed by her Primordial Spirit, revealing Chengyun Hall and its preserved inheritances. After exploring the lower floors, she overcame the pressure barring the stairs and reached the seventh floor, where the inheritances were far more powerful.

• Xu Chunniang found that Ba Serpent would not leave the Savage Wilderness Forest and failed to break through the invisible wall with her attacks and abilities.
• Xu Chunniang sent her Primordial Spirit out of her body and passed through the invisible wall, discovering Chengyun Hall beyond it.
• Xu Chunniang entered Chengyun Hall, where clusters of inheritance light appeared, and explored the first six floors.
• Xu Chunniang faced pressure on the stairs to the seventh floor, affirmed that seeking the Dao was not greed, and continued upward.
• Xu Chunniang reached the seventh floor, where thirty powerful inheritance lights awaited her.

Xu Chunniang defied the deadly pressure on the stairs and reached the ninth floor of Chengyun Hall, where she awakened an inheritance by circulating the Carefree Art. She obtained the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra, though most of its golden characters remained obscured, and wondered how it was connected to her cultivation art.

• Xu Chunniang resisted the pressure on the eighth-floor stairs and reached the eighth floor.
• Xu Chunniang faced a force that threatened her life on the stairs to the ninth floor, resolved to keep seeking the Dao, and climbed without obstruction.
• Xu Chunniang found nine dim inheritance specks on the ninth floor but could not activate them by touching them.
• Xu Chunniang circulated the Carefree Art, causing one inheritance speck to brighten until it illuminated the hall.
• Xu Chunniang touched the glowing speck, entered its vast Inheritance Space, and then lost consciousness.
• Xu Chunniang awoke with golden characters in her mind, identified the inheritance as the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra, and wondered whether it was connected to the Carefree Art.

After obtaining the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra, Xu Chunniang left the Immortal Palace Ruins and settled on a remote island to study her inheritance. Finding that its Qi Introduction technique could not be used at her Golden Core stage, she decided to disperse her cultivation and start over, beginning preparations before collapsing her Golden Core.

• Xu Chunniang was expelled from the Immortal Palace Ruins after obtaining the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra, then used her Sea Travel Order to confirm she was still near the Phoenix-Qilin Continent.
• Xu Chunniang found a spiritual island, built a cave abode, set up formations, and brought Little White and Little Orange out of her small world.
• Xu Chunniang tried to cultivate the inheritance's Qi Introduction technique but found it had no effect on her Golden Core cultivation.
• Xu Chunniang decided to disperse her cultivation and start anew rather than risk remaining stuck at early Golden Core without a suitable cultivation technique.
• Xu Chunniang spent two months strengthening the cave's defenses and preparing formation flags, then began collapsing the Golden Core in her dantian.

Xu Chunniang shattered her Golden Core and erased her cultivation so she could begin practicing the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra. After a month of meditation, she entered the Void Extreme Realm, drew in Great Void Qi, regrew her right arm, and reached the first level of Qi Condensation.

• Xu Chunniang dissipated her cultivation, falling from the Golden Core stage through Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation until she had none left.
• Xu Chunniang began the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra's Qi Introduction method, which required her to enter the Void Extreme Realm and draw in Great Void Qi.
• Xu Chunniang repeatedly meditated, pausing to eat when hunger interrupted her stillness.
• A month later, Xu Chunniang entered the Void Extreme Realm and drew a wisp of Great Void Qi into her empty body.
• The Great Void Qi opened new Spiritual Veins, regrew Xu Chunniang's right arm, and settled in her dantian as she completed Qi Introduction.
• Spiritual qi filled Xu Chunniang's Spiritual Veins, restoring her cultivation to the first level of Qi Condensation and revealing the next words of the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra.

Xu Chunniang cultivated the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra back to Golden Core and survived a powerful tribulation, forming a Vast Void Innate Violet Pill. Little Orange then awakened and formed its core, but attacked Little White and severed its contract with Xu Chunniang, who confronted the creature about its identity.

• Xu Chunniang reached Foundation Establishment Perfection and condensed a Vast Void Innate Violet Pill after enduring twenty-seven tribulation bolts.
• Xu Chunniang returned to Golden Core Layer One, then discovered that Little Orange had begun undergoing its own core-forming tribulation.
• Little Orange endured its Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation without moving, while Xu Chunniang noticed its demeanor resembled Qiongqi.
• Little Orange attacked Little White after the tribulation, but Xu Chunniang blocked the blow and shielded Little White.
• Little Orange destroyed its contract with Xu Chunniang, who asked it who it really was.

Xu Chunniang battled Qiongqi, which had taken over Little Orange’s body, but it escaped before she could subdue it. Back at her cave abode, she studied the Nine Steps of Freedom and discovered the technique greatly increased her speed.

• Xu Chunniang realized Qiongqi had possessed Little Orange and attacked it to save Little Orange, while protecting Little White.
• Xu Chunniang used the Mountain and River Diagram, Spiritual Qi Bullets, and Purple Intent Blade against Qiongqi, but neither gained the upper hand.
• Qiongqi fled after its spiritual energy ran low, and Xu Chunniang lost its trail.
• Xu Chunniang returned to her cave abode and studied the Nine Steps of Freedom, which relied on Great Void True Qi.
• Xu Chunniang practiced the technique and found she could travel more than a hundred zhang in a few steps, far faster than with Cloud Concealment Escape.

After mastering the Nine Steps of Freedom, Xu Chunniang used the Great Evolution Technique to locate Little Orange and set out with Little White to find it. The trail led deep underwater, where she encountered a powerful fish demon pursuing her.

• Xu Chunniang learned the Great Evolution Technique and divined that Little Orange was far away.
• Xu Chunniang and Little White traveled for four months, using repeated divinations to track Little Orange.
• Xu Chunniang discovered that Little Orange had moved to the seafloor and suspected Qiongqi had gone there to find Sea Spirit Pearls.
• Xu Chunniang entered the deep sea and swam past lesser demonic beasts using the Nine Steps of Freedom.
• A mid-Golden Core stage fish demon pursued Xu Chunniang, and she stopped to confront it.

Xu Chunniang fought off a Golden Core stage fish demon as she traveled deeper toward Little Orange, then encountered a golden-haired merman and a vast Sea Clan city. Mistaken for an honored guest invited by the merman king, she was allowed to enter despite having no invitation.

• Xu Chunniang injured a Golden Core stage fish demon with her Purple Intent Blade, endured its attacks, and let it retreat without pursuing it.
• She continued toward Little Orange, leaving pursuing sea demon beasts behind as the waters grew darker over the next twenty days.
• Xu Chunniang resisted a bewitching song by reciting the Supreme Carefree Heart Sutra and discovered a golden-haired merman near a brightly lit Sea Clan city.
• The merman asked whether Xu Chunniang had come for His Majesty's invitation and requested her invitation, mistaking her silence for displeasure.
• The frightened merman apologized for questioning Xu Chunniang and invited her to enter the city.

Xu Chunniang entered a deep-sea demon city while posing as a high-ranking guest, hoping to find Little Orange without exposing that she was human. As her guides led her around, they stopped her before the royal palace, warning that the sleeping King must not be disturbed.

• Xu Chunniang questioned a golden-haired mermaid about the city, learned that a King ruled it, and absorbed a spell seal containing the Sea Clan's language.
• Xu Chunniang entered the city after telling the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals that she had come in response to an invitation to the King's banquet.
• The Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals arranged replacements at the gate and guided Xu Chunniang through the city, explaining its sights and customs.
• Xu Chunniang noticed the many powerful demons watching her and worried that they would expose her human identity.
• The Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals blocked Xu Chunniang when she neared the royal palace, warning that disturbing the sleeping King would bring punishment.

Xu Chunniang explored the Underwater Giant City while probing its sleeping king and searching for Little Orange. After locating Little Orange near the royal palace, she saw Qiongqi fleeing as the king attacked it with illusory light.

• Xu Chunniang learned from the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals that the sleeping king was the only Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in the city and had fallen out with Dragon Emperor Palace more than three hundred years earlier.
• The Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals showed Xu Chunniang around the city and settled her in a palace near the royal palace.
• Xu Chunniang used the Great Evolution Technique and found that Little Orange was nearby, in the direction of the royal palace.
• A strange roar came from the royal palace, and Xu Chunniang went to investigate.
• A giant clam phantom attacked Qiongqi with illusory light as Qiongqi fled, trying to evade the sleeping king's blows.

Xu Chunniang tried to locate Little Orange after Qiongqi escaped the Mirage Demon’s palace, but her divination and Little White’s tracking both failed. She followed the Sea Clan’s search preparations and questioned a commander about the theft, hoping to learn more about Little Orange’s whereabouts.

• The Mirage Demon struck Qiongqi with the Great Dream Technique, but Qiongqi escaped, prompting her to order the Sea Clan to hunt it down.
• Xu Chunniang failed twice to divine Little Orange’s location, and Little White could only tell that Little Orange was not nearby.
• Xu Chunniang went to the city gates, where Sea Clan troops prepared to search for Qiongqi and complained about being sent toward the Dragon Emperor Palace’s territory.
• Xu Chunniang approached the fishman commander and asked what Qiongqi had stolen from the Mirage Demon’s treasure vault.

Xu Chunniang joined the merman commander’s search for Qiongqi, hoping to rescue Little Orange, but after days without success she agreed to head south toward the Dragon Emperor Palace’s territory. She left Mirage Demon City to scout, while the commander prepared troops to follow.

• Xu Chunniang persuaded the merman commander to let her help search for Qiongqi.
• After four or five days of searching outside Mirage Demon City, Xu Chunniang and the Sea Clan found no trace of Qiongqi.
• The merman commander concluded Qiongqi might have fled south into the Dragon Emperor Palace’s territory and asked Xu Chunniang to investigate.
• Xu Chunniang accepted, took a sea map, and headed south from Mirage Demon City.
• The merman commander began selecting elite troops to send south after Xu Chunniang.

Xu Chunniang learned that Golden Snake Lady had taken Little Orange, the Qiongqi, and set out to intercept her before she could deliver it to the Dragon Emperor Palace’s Third Princess. After following Golden Snake Lady’s route, Xu Chunniang was suddenly called to a halt.

• Xu Chunniang reached the Dragon Emperor Palace border and asked the guards whether they had seen a Qiongqi.
• The guards told Xu Chunniang that Golden Snake Lady had taken the Qiongqi three days earlier to give it to the Third Princess.
• Xu Chunniang learned that Golden Snake Lady was at the Golden Core stage and used a sea map to determine her route to the Dragon Emperor Palace.
• Xu Chunniang activated Nine Steps of Freedom and hurried after Golden Snake Lady, turning down the patrols’ offers of help.
• As Xu Chunniang was about to leave after speaking with a patrol, someone called out, “Stop!”

Xu Chunniang was exposed as a human infiltrator in Sea Clan territory and escaped pursuit. Jinlinglong learned of her arrival and suspected she had come for the Qiongqi in her possession, so she slowed her journey in anticipation of meeting her.

• Jinliu demanded that Xu Chunniang reveal her true form, and she fled before he could inspect her.
• Jinliu and the Sea Clan soldiers pursued Xu Chunniang but lost her, then he warned his sister and ordered stronger patrols.
• Jinlinglong heard that a human cultivator had infiltrated the sea territory and recalled the conflict between the Sea Clan and human cultivators.
• Jinlinglong and her maid wondered whether Xu Chunniang was seeking the sleeping Qiongqi in Jinlinglong's possession.
• Jinlinglong told her attendants to slow their journey, expecting Xu Chunniang to come after the Qiongqi.