Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: The Monster Race Attacks, the Blood Fetus Takes Shape

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an experiments with the newly upgraded Tier 5 Life-and-Death Soul-Extinguishing Formation, discovering that it allows him to wield power comparable to a Spirit Transformation cultivator. He tests techniques such as Seal Heaven Lock Earth, which can suppress the spiritual energy of an entire city.
• Zi Xi informs him that she has passed Heavenly Lord Wuxiang’s assessment and become his disciple. She is assigned to guard Eighth Immortal City.
• After several quiet months, Zi Xi visits Ninth Immortal City. While she and Li Chang’an discuss her new master and cultivation path, the Monster Race launches an attack.
• More than a dozen Tier 4 demons, including two mid-Tier 4 Golden Pengs, appear outside the city. Li Chang’an suspects they are bait for a larger ambush and orders everyone to remain inside the formation.
• Hong Lei, angered by the demons’ taunts and Li Chang’an’s caution, ignores the order and leads Ling Meng and other cultivators out to fight. They quickly kill most of the attacking demons, while the two Golden Pengs escape.
• Their easy victory causes Hong Lei and the others to become overconfident. Li Chang’an’s divinations reveal that their apparent good fortune hides impending danger: the Monster Race is deliberately allowing them repeated victories to lower their vigilance.
• Li Chang’an determines that Hong Lei and the others will eventually die if he does nothing, but that adding himself to their fate changes the divination to an auspicious result. He decides to let them suffer some consequences before intervening.
• After Zi Xi leaves safely, Li Chang’an begins cultivating the Blood Fetus Incarnation Technique. He cuts three pieces of flesh from himself and transforms them into three identical Blood Fetus Clones.
• The clones eventually become indistinguishable from him in appearance and aura, but they possess only Foundation Establishment-level strength and require further nurturing with blood-qi treasures.
• Meanwhile, Hong Lei and the others celebrate their second consecutive victory, unaware that they are being drawn into a larger trap.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an demonstrates increasing mastery of formations, divination, and strategic thinking. Although others view him as cowardly, his caution is based on accurately sensing hidden danger and analyzing the Monster Race’s tactics.
• He also shows a more measured leadership style. Rather than constantly restraining Hong Lei and the others, he deliberately allows them limited success so that they can recognize their own recklessness.
• Zi Xi grows significantly stronger after becoming Heavenly Lord Wuxiang’s disciple. She gains access to the Wuxiang Heavenly Technique, numerous treasures, and powerful life-preserving methods.
• Hong Lei and Ling Meng become increasingly arrogant after their easy victories. Their resentment toward Li Chang’an deepens, and they begin to mistake his prudence for cowardice.
• Li Chang’an and Zi Xi’s relationship remains close and trusting. He worries about the risks surrounding Heavenly Lord Wuxiang and gives her a careful warning, while she reassures him of her safety.

Significant Themes

• Caution versus recklessness: Li Chang’an’s restraint contrasts sharply with Hong Lei’s desire for glory and merit. The chapter suggests that apparent cowardice may actually be foresight.
• Hidden danger beneath success: The Monster Race intentionally offers the Human Race easy victories, using confidence and greed as bait for a larger ambush.
• Power and preparation: Li Chang’an gains practical experience with Spirit Transformation abilities and begins developing a powerful incarnation technique, emphasizing preparation over immediate display of strength.
• Trust and misunderstanding: Li Chang’an protects the city and his companions, yet his motives are misunderstood by those around him.
• Fate and intervention: Divination reveals that Hong Lei and the others’ futures are not fixed. Li Chang’an’s decision to intervene can transform their destined deaths into survival.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and Zi Xi: They discuss her relationship with Heavenly Lord Wuxiang, the Wuxiang Heavenly Technique, and the danger surrounding Fu Sheng. Li Chang’an performs divinations to check her safety before she departs.
• Li Chang’an and Hong Lei: Li Chang’an orders Hong Lei not to leave the city, but Hong Lei disregards him after being provoked by the demons. Their conflict reflects the broader tension between strategic caution and aggressive pursuit of merit.
• Hong Lei, Ling Meng, and the demons: The demons’ insults provoke Hong Lei into battle. He and Ling Meng win decisively, reinforcing their confidence and making them more vulnerable to the Monster Race’s future scheme.
• Li Chang’an and his Blood Fetus Clones: Through the incarnation technique, Li Chang’an creates three replicas of himself, establishing the foundation for future infiltration, deception, or combat applications.

Key plot points and events

• After celebrating two victories, Hong Lei and Ling Meng urge their allies to leave the city and hunt Demonic Beasts. Azure Dragon, Old Turtle, Lin Xuanyan, and the other cultivators refuse, preferring to cultivate safely. Hong Lei’s group dismisses them as timid and plans to go out without Li Chang’an’s approval.
• Li Chang’an senses that disaster is drawing closer to Hong Lei’s group.
• Five Peak Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts, representing the Three-Headed Lion, Azure Roc, White Mastiff, Nether Flood Dragon, and Golden Ape clans, arrive at the Flame Dragon Tribe. Their leader demands that the Human Race surrender and become a Slave Race, threatening extermination otherwise.
• Yu Jiao Lan rejects the ultimatum with a single palm strike that nearly kills the Three-Headed Lion. She also sends the other four envoys fleeing, making the Human Race’s refusal unmistakable.
• Yanlong Gan, Yu Jiao Lan, and the Golden Wolf elders agree that surrender is unacceptable. Though Yanlong Gan privately sees little hope of winning, the others trust in Li Chang’an’s strength. Li Chang’an tells Yu Jiao Lan to ignore the threat and kill the invaders if they attack; he suspects the five clans are being manipulated by a more powerful force.
• News of the impending war spreads, and most races assume the Human Race will be defeated.
• Yanlong Gan seeks support from the Cloud Eagle and Stone Mountain clans, whose ancestors were once saved by the Human Race. Both leaders refuse, citing the danger to their own people, and even advise surrender.
• The Old Mountain Hound arrives voluntarily to honor an ancient debt, pledging his declining clan’s support.

Character developments and interactions

• Hong Lei and Ling Meng grow more reckless after their victories, treating caution as cowardice and ignoring Li Chang’an’s authority.
• Old Turtle and Lin Xuanyan remain wary of danger and encourage their allies to avoid Hong Lei’s expedition.
• Yu Jiao Lan takes a firm, decisive stand against the Monster Race’s ultimatum, then reassures the Human Race by conveying Li Chang’an’s confidence.
• Yanlong Gan is pragmatic and initially seeks time and allies, but refuses to surrender when pressed. His disappointment in the Cloud Eagle and Stone Mountain elders contrasts with his gratitude toward Mountain Hound.
• Jin Langhui and Jin Langyi support resistance, trusting that Li Chang’an can protect them.
• Li Chang’an remains calm and appears to understand that the five clans are pawns in a larger scheme.
• Cloud Eagle and Stone Mountain elders choose self-preservation over old ties; Old Mountain Hound chooses loyalty and gratitude despite the cost.

Significant themes

• Courage versus recklessness: Hong Lei’s confidence may be dangerous, while Yu Jiao Lan’s boldness is backed by strength and judgment.
• Loyalty and gratitude: The rival responses to past debts show that gratitude can endure even when survival is at stake.
• Resistance versus submission: The Human Race rejects survival through enslavement and chooses to fight for its dignity.
• Hidden power and manipulation: Li Chang’an suspects the apparent conflict is part of a larger plan, positioning the five clans as pieces in a broader game.

Chapter Summary: Immortal Body Seizure, News of Gu Dao

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Mountain Hound Clan decides to aid the Human Race in its impending battle against the Monster Race. Old Mountain Hound explains that the Human Race ancestor once saved his clan from annihilation, and the clan now intends to repay that debt—even if it means being exterminated.
• Yanlong Gan is deeply moved and accepts Old Mountain Hound’s assistance. In contrast, the Cloud Eagle and Stone Mountain ancestors urge Old Mountain Hound to reconsider, but he rejects them, believing that those who lack the same principles cannot cooperate.
• News of the Mountain Hound Clan’s decision spreads throughout the Moon Gazing Secret Realm. Most clans consider the choice foolish because the Human Race appears certain to lose.
• Li Chang’an admires the Mountain Hound Clan’s loyalty and resolves to help them recover after the battle, effectively regarding them as a future subordinate force.
• Ye Mengxian visits Li Chang’an because she has begun dreaming again of the mysterious white-robed female sword immortal. The dreams are becoming clearer, and Ye Mengxian increasingly feels the immortal’s cold temperament influencing her.
• Ye Mengxian fears that the female immortal may eventually seize her body. Li Chang’an suspects the Golden Sword Talisman within her spine is connected to the phenomenon, especially because it released terrifying Sword Qi when Ye Mengxian formed her Nascent Soul.
• Li Chang’an attempts to investigate and suppress the Sword Talisman using Spiritual Sense, the Wood Seed Technique, emotional stimulation, the Heart-Questioning Technique, the Seven Emotions Profound Technique, and various treasures. Every method fails, and approaching the talisman produces an overwhelming sense of danger.
• He concludes that if the female immortal begins to awaken fully, he may have no choice but to kill Ye Mengxian to prevent the immortal from using her body and causing a greater calamity.
• Searching ancient records, Li Chang’an finds a similar case involving an Azure Wood Spirit Body prodigy who believed an immortal intended to seize his body, eventually going mad and entering a forbidden land to die. However, the record contains too little information to provide a solution.
• Li Chang’an receives news from Fang Huaishan concerning the Hundred Gu True Lord’s inheritance. The Great Wei Fifth Prince discovered the True Lord’s cultivation cave and obtained hundreds of sealed jars containing unknown Gu worms.
• More than one hundred jars have already been traded to Gu Masters, while the Fifth Prince still possesses over three hundred. Because of the True Lord’s restrictions, neither the Fifth Prince nor outside observers can identify the Gu worms inside.
• Li Chang’an realizes that the jars may contain the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu, which he needs to deal with the Nine-Headed Bird. He plans to use Wei Mingyue as an intermediary to contact the Fifth Prince.
• When Li Chang’an arrives at Wei Mingyue’s Dao Field, he discovers that she also has a serious matter and wants to ask for his help.

Character Developments

• Old Mountain Hound demonstrates exceptional loyalty, gratitude, and courage. Despite knowing the Human Race is likely doomed, he chooses to repay an ancient debt with his clan’s survival.
• Yanlong Gan gains a deeper appreciation for the Mountain Hound Clan and is emotionally affected by their willingness to sacrifice themselves.
• Cloud Eagle Old Ancestor and Stone Mountain Old Ancestor are shown to be pragmatic and self-preserving. They do not consider themselves wrong for refusing to risk their clans, but their choices contrast sharply with Old Mountain Hound’s righteousness.
• Li Chang’an becomes more protective of the Mountain Hound Clan and begins treating them as a possible future ally. He also grows increasingly wary of the female immortal and recognizes that Ye Mengxian may become a major threat if the body-seizure process cannot be stopped.
• Ye Mengxian fears losing her identity and becoming merely a vessel for the female immortal. Her return to Li Chang’an for help shows both her trust in him and her desperation.
• Fang Huaishan proves useful as an information source, providing Li Chang’an with important intelligence about the Hundred Gu True Lord’s legacy.
• Wei Mingyue appears to be facing a major problem of her own, setting up the next development.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and repaying kindness: The Mountain Hound Clan’s decision illustrates the power of gratitude and moral obligation, even when repayment demands total sacrifice.
• Pragmatism versus righteousness: The contrasting choices of the three clans raise the question of whether survival justifies abandoning old debts and allies.
• Identity and possession: Ye Mengxian’s fear of being replaced explores the struggle between personal identity and an overwhelming external will.
• The limits of power: Despite Li Chang’an’s many techniques and resources, he cannot interfere with the Sword Talisman, emphasizing the vast gap between his power and that of the mysterious female immortal.
• Hidden inheritances and uncertain value: The sealed Gu jars represent both opportunity and danger. Their unknown contents could contain the exact resource Li Chang’an needs, but their restrictions prevent reliable identification.
• Preparation amid crisis: While the Human Race faces a likely war of annihilation, Li Chang’an continues gathering allies, resources, and information to improve his chances of surviving future threats.

Important Character Interactions

• Old Mountain Hound and Yanlong Gan: Old Mountain Hound offers to fight alongside the Human Race, and Yanlong Gan accepts with heartfelt gratitude.
• Old Mountain Hound with the Cloud Eagle and Stone Mountain ancestors: They attempt to dissuade him, but he rejects their cautious approach and ends their cooperation.
• Li Chang’an and Ye Mengxian: Ye Mengxian seeks his help against the female immortal. Li Chang’an tests numerous methods, ultimately realizing that the threat cannot be easily suppressed.
• Li Chang’an and Fang Huaishan: Fang Huaishan reveals the Fifth Prince’s possession of the sealed Gu jars, giving Li Chang’an a possible route to obtaining the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu.
• Li Chang’an and Wei Mingyue: Li Chang’an visits her intending to use her connections, but she immediately reveals that she needs his assistance with an unspecified problem.

Chapter Summary: Ling Meng’s Challenge, Opportunity in Dreams

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an visits Wei Mingyue to ask her to act as an intermediary, but she first seeks his help with a political crisis.
• Several imperial princes and princesses, led by the Thirteenth Prince, petition to divide Wei Mingyue’s military command authority. The Emperor permits them to challenge her legitimacy through a contest.
• The contest will not be based on direct combat or cultivation, since the imperial heirs differ greatly in age and strength. Instead, their Guest Elders will compete by entering the dreams of a Tier 5 Dream Tapir.
• Within the Dream Tapir’s dream world, participants face unpredictable trials based on temperament, life experience, and mental endurance. The trials are considered safe, even if someone “dies” within the dream.
• Li Chang’an studies records about the Dream Tapir and learns that its dreams may contain extraordinary opportunities, including lost techniques and even Immortal Arts.
• While Li Chang’an is considering whether to participate, Ling Meng arrives at Ninth Immortal City and challenges him. If he loses, he must allow her group to enter and leave the city freely and stop imposing restrictions on them.
• Li Chang’an refuses to fight, not because he fears Ling Meng, but because he is preoccupied with the Dream Tapir contest. Ling Meng and the others mistakenly assume he is cowardly and too weak to face her Dream Path techniques.
• At midnight, Li Chang’an consults his divination ability. The result is auspicious: he will enter the Dream Tapir’s dream, defeat the other Guest Elders, and obtain a Sword Dao opportunity.
• Reassured, Li Chang’an agrees to help Wei Mingyue.
• He also asks Wei Mingyue to help him meet the Fifth Prince so he can trade for Gu worms. She promises to arrange a private opportunity during an upcoming imperial clan trade fair.
• Wei Mingyue gathers her Guest Elders—Mei Yurong, Fang Huaishan, and Tang Lun—and leads them to the forbidden area where the Dream Tapir sleeps.
• At the forbidden-area entrance, Wei Mingyue warns everyone not to act recklessly because the surrounding formations are extremely dangerous. The other princes and their Guest Elders arrive as well, and the Second Prince immediately directs attention toward Li Chang’an.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Reveals his cautious, strategic nature. He avoids an unnecessary confrontation with Ling Meng and prioritizes the more valuable Dream Tapir opportunity. His divination confirms that he can safely participate and that he is destined to win a Sword Dao-related opportunity.
• Wei Mingyue: Demonstrates political pressure and vulnerability despite her powerful position. She must rely on capable Guest Elders rather than direct authority alone. She also shows trust in Li Chang’an by accepting his help and agreeing to assist him in return.
• Ling Meng: Displays confidence in her Dream Path abilities and frustration with Li Chang’an’s refusal to fight. She misjudges him as cowardly and mediocre.
• Mei Yurong and Fang Huaishan: Their age and accumulated experience become major advantages in the Dream Tapir contest. Fang is enthusiastic about finally displaying his abilities, while Mei remains serious and cautious.
• Tang Lun: Becomes aware that his youth puts him at a disadvantage in a contest determined by temperament and life experience.
• The princes and princesses: Their rivalry over military authority reflects the larger political struggle within the Great Wei Imperial House.

Significant Themes

• Authority and legitimacy: The contest is designed to determine who is qualified to command power, showing that political authority depends not only on status but also on the ability to recognize and employ talent.
• Experience versus cultivation: The Dream Tapir trial values temperament, resilience, and life experience rather than raw strength or cultivation level.
• Hidden ability and misjudgment: Li Chang’an is repeatedly underestimated because he conceals his true capabilities and refuses to seek fame.
• Risk, opportunity, and fate: The Dream Tapir’s dreams are both a test and a source of rare opportunities. Li Chang’an’s auspicious divination confirms that danger may conceal great fortune.
• Strategic restraint: Li Chang’an’s refusal to fight Ling Meng illustrates that avoiding a battle can be wiser than proving strength unnecessarily.
• Dreams as repositories of history and knowledge: The Dream Tapir’s dreams may preserve memories, techniques, and events from ancient times, making them a mysterious bridge to lost opportunities.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and Wei Mingyue: They negotiate mutual assistance. He agrees to participate in her contest, while she promises to help him contact the Fifth Prince.
• Li Chang’an and Ling Meng: Ling Meng challenges him to force him to surrender control over Ninth Immortal City, but he dismisses the challenge and shuts himself away, leading her to misunderstand his motives.
• Wei Mingyue and her Guest Elders: She explains the rules and relies especially on the older Mei Yurong and Fang Huaishan to compensate for the disadvantages of youth.
• Wei Mingyue and the imperial rivals: Her authority is directly challenged by the Second, Fifth, Thirteenth, and other princes and princesses.
• The Second Prince and Li Chang’an: Upon arriving at the forbidden area, the Second Prince pointedly addresses Li Chang’an, drawing everyone’s attention to him and setting up the next confrontation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• At a gathering of Great Wei’s princes and their Guest Elders, the Second Prince openly approaches Li Chang’an before greeting Wei Mingyue, offering him access to a collection of ancient texts. Wei Mingyue immediately challenges this attempt to win Li Chang’an’s allegiance, revealing the rivalry between the two royals.
• The princes discuss the various Guest Elders participating in the upcoming Dream Tapir trial. Wei Mingyue warns Mei Yurong and Fang Huaishan about two exceptionally experienced opponents: Zhang Hongzheng under the Fifth Prince and Kong Feilan under the Thirteenth Prince. She instructs them to eliminate these rivals within the dream if possible.
• While Li Chang’an travels with the imperial group toward the Dream Tapir, a conflict erupts outside Ninth Immortal City. Chi Qingwu defends Li Chang’an’s reputation after Ling Meng and other Heavenly Lord servants mock him for avoiding battle. The argument escalates into a fierce spell fight.
• Ling Meng’s Dream Path techniques overwhelm Chi Qingwu and the others, repeatedly putting them to sleep and leaving them injured. Li Chang’an intervenes and challenges Ling Meng directly.
• Hong Lei imposes conditions on the duel, demanding that Li Chang’an neither use the city’s formations nor any Tier 5 methods granted by Luo Heavenly Lord. Li Chang’an accepts without hesitation.
• Ling Meng attacks first with her strongest Dream Path technique, expecting to win quickly. Li Chang’an counters with overwhelming Sword Intent, completely tearing apart her technique. A single azure sword strike destroys her defensive treasures and stops at her throat.
• Li Chang’an defeats Ling Meng in one move, shocking everyone present. The attack demonstrates that, despite being only at the Early Nascent Soul stage, his swordsmanship possesses power comparable to the Late Nascent Soul stage.
• Ling Meng admits defeat, now fearful and respectful of Li Chang’an. Li Chang’an gives healing pills to Chi Qingwu and the others, then announces that he will enter seclusion to comprehend a spell.
• Ling Meng’s companions attempt to comfort her by claiming Li Chang’an merely used his strongest move to intimidate them and that Hong Lei would still be superior. Hong Lei accepts their praise and leads them out of the city to hunt Demonic Beasts for Merit Points.
• In the Great Wei Imperial Palace’s forbidden grounds, the group reaches the enormous sleeping Tier 5 Dream Tapir. The Guest Elders enter its dream one after another.
• Li Chang’an enters the dream and finds himself transported to the Great Jin Book Sword Academy of the past. He recognizes the old man teaching the Sword Dao as his former master, the founder of the Sword Study Hall and a Spirit Transformation Sword Cultivator who once ascended with the Great Jin Emperor.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates that his apparent low cultivation and quiet demeanor conceal extraordinary swordsmanship. He remains calm under provocation, accepts restrictive duel conditions, defeats Ling Meng effortlessly, and earns the fear and respect of those who previously dismissed him. His return to the Great Jin era suggests the dream may force him to confront his past and deepen his understanding of the Sword Dao.
• Wei Mingyue: Shows that she highly values Li Chang’an and is unwilling to let the Second Prince recruit or draw him away. She also proves politically perceptive by identifying the most dangerous Guest Elders and warning her allies.
• The Second Prince: Makes a deliberate attempt to establish a closer relationship with Li Chang’an by appealing to his love of ancient texts, revealing his interest in securing Li Chang’an’s support.
• Ling Meng: Begins the chapter confident and domineering, having easily suppressed Chi Qingwu and the others. Her confidence collapses after Li Chang’an defeats her in one move, forcing her to acknowledge his superiority.
• Hong Lei: Remains proud and dismissive of Li Chang’an, interpreting the defeat of Ling Meng as insufficient evidence of true superiority. He encourages his group to ignore Li Chang’an and focus on earning Merit Points.
• Chi Qingwu and his companions: Though injured and initially overwhelmed, they accept Li Chang’an’s protection and recognize him as someone capable of defending them against stronger opponents.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and underestimation: Li Chang’an is repeatedly dismissed because of his Early Nascent Soul cultivation, yet his swordsmanship vastly exceeds what others expect.
• Reputation versus reality: His earlier decision to avoid battle damaged his public reputation, but his victory over Ling Meng exposes how misleading appearances and rumors can be.
• Political competition and alliances: The princes compete indirectly for Li Chang’an’s loyalty, while their Guest Elders represent their influence and power.
• Pride and humiliation: Ling Meng and her companions’ arrogance is sharply overturned, while Hong Lei’s refusal to reassess Li Chang’an reveals the danger of pride and factional loyalty.
• Dreams as a path to inheritance and self-discovery: The Dream Tapir’s realm does more than test combat ability; it transports Li Chang’an into the history of Great Jin and reunites him with his master, potentially offering ancient insight into the Sword Dao.
• The Sword Dao and the past: The chapter ends with the central question, “What is the Sword Dao?”—linking Li Chang’an’s present development to the origins of his cultivation and his former master’s teachings.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and Wei Mingyue: Their established association is made visible when Wei Mingyue challenges the Second Prince’s attempt to attract him.
• Li Chang’an and the Second Prince: The Second Prince courteously invites him to study ancient texts, signaling an effort to cultivate a personal connection.
• Li Chang’an and Ling Meng: Their duel transforms Ling Meng’s view of him. She begins as an aggressor confident in her Dream Path, but ends by admitting defeat and fearing his sword.
• Li Chang’an and Chi Qingwu’s group: He intervenes when they are being badly beaten, stops the conflict, and provides healing pills after defeating Ling Meng.
• Ling Meng and Hong Lei’s group: After her defeat, they console her while continuing to insist that Hong Lei is stronger, reinforcing the faction’s refusal to acknowledge Li Chang’an’s true ability.
• Li Chang’an and his former master: The final scene reunites Li Chang’an with the master he remembers from Great Jin, setting up a potentially significant lesson or revelation about the Sword Dao.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an enters the Dream Tapir’s recreated vision of the Great Jin Academy, where the Master is lecturing on the Sword Dao to his nine disciples, including the young Zhang Huai’an and the Dream Tapir.
• The Guest Elders participating in the dream awaken as people seeking to become the Master’s disciples. The Master announces that he will accept only one disciple and sets a trial: enter the Mortal World, study martial arts, and derive Spells from them.
• The Master disappears before explaining further, leaving the participants to determine how to complete the challenge.
• Li Chang’an initially considers investigating heavily guarded locations such as Azure Mountain and the Ancient Ruins Secret Realm. He realizes that the dream has recreated the Great Jin era and that these sites may contain treasures and secret realms lost in later generations.
• When the dream begins to reject his attempt to record these locations for future exploitation, Li Chang’an abandons his greed and follows the trial properly.
• He visits numerous martial arts schools and observes external body refinement and internal-energy cultivation. However, he finds Mortal World martial arts crude compared with cultivation arts and cannot see how they might be elevated to the level of Spells.
• Over the years, the other Guest Elders adopt different approaches:
  • Fang Huaishan continues observing martial artists.
  • Tang Lun seals his own Mana and becomes a mortal martial apprentice, intending to experience the entire Martial Dao personally.
  • Zhang Hongzheng takes control of a Mortal Realm as State Preceptor, suppresses other schools of thought, promotes Martial Dao throughout the nation, and expands his influence through conquest.
• More than ten years pass within the dream, while almost no time passes in the outside world.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an demonstrates restraint and adaptability. Although tempted to exploit the dream’s historical knowledge to locate lost treasures, he recognizes that doing so may cause failure and chooses to focus on the trial.
• His prior experience as a Martial Grandmaster gives him a unique understanding of martial arts, but this advantage does not immediately reveal how to transform martial principles into Spells.
• Zhang Huai’an is shown in his youth as one of the Master’s nine disciples, accompanied by the Dream Tapir. This vision helps confirm the historical connection between the dream and the Great Jin Academy.
• Fang Huaishan remains perplexed despite years of investigation and exchanges ideas with Li Chang’an.
• Tang Lun takes an immersive, experimental approach by living as a mortal martial artist rather than merely observing.
• Zhang Hongzheng pursues an ambitious and authoritarian strategy, attempting to create a vast population of martial artists so that exceptional talents and new insights will emerge.

Significant Themes

• The gulf between Martial Dao and immortal cultivation: The trial emphasizes the enormous conceptual distance between mortal martial arts, Spells, and Immortal Techniques.
• Observation versus experience: Participants debate whether understanding Martial Dao requires detached study or personally walking the path.
• Comprehension and innovation: The challenge requires crossing established boundaries and creating something unprecedented—essentially discovering a method for mortals to reach the level of cultivation arts.
• Greed versus discipline: Li Chang’an’s attempt to exploit historical knowledge is rejected by the dream, reinforcing that success requires following the trial rather than pursuing unrelated benefits.
• Different approaches to enlightenment: The various Guest Elders test scholarly observation, direct experience, political control, and mass experimentation.
• The value of historical opportunity: The recreated Great Jin era contains immense treasures and lost secrets, but the dream’s rules prevent participants from treating it merely as a treasure-hunting ground.

Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an observes the Master’s lecture alongside the other Guest Elders, communicating with them only through cautious glances so as not to disrupt the dream.
• After the Master announces the trial, the Guest Elders compete silently and then exchange ideas about how to derive Spells from martial arts.
• Fang Huaishan consults Li Chang’an repeatedly, sharing his frustration after observing hundreds of martial artists without gaining insight.
• Li Chang’an later meets Tang Lun and learns about his decision to become a mortal martial apprentice; he encourages him despite doubting whether the method will work.
• He encounters Zhang Hongzheng after the latter has established his Martial Dao-centered regime, revealing that the competitors are pursuing radically different strategies in the same trial.

Concise Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Li Chang’an investigates how his rivals are trying to advance from martial arts toward a higher form of power.
• Zhang Hongzheng explains that he deliberately creates hatred by conquering realms and slaughtering families, while sparing promising survivors. Their desire for revenge drives them to train beyond ordinary limits. Li Chang’an recognizes the method’s effectiveness but feels it does not suit him.
• Kong Feilan describes her own brutal experiment: forcing captured Martial Grandmasters to fight to the death, hoping desperation will push them beyond the Martial Dao. Li Chang’an also rejects this approach for himself.
• After thirty years, the contestants have reached the Martial Grandmaster level but cannot progress. Their teacher’s cryptic reminder—“At the dawn of antiquity, who taught the Dao?”—suggests they must discover a path independently.
• Li Chang’an realizes that martial arts, Spells, and Immortal Techniques all emerge from ordinary mortal life. He studies people without formal training: a woodcutter’s blade work, a hunter’s archery, and a painter’s craft. These observations lead him to the principle, “Skill can approach the Dao; artistry can reach the divine.”
• Another thirty years pass. Yu Ze claims to have created a Spell, but the Master discovers it already existed and expels him from the dream for deception.
• Li Chang’an continues investigating how ordinary swordsmanship becomes martial technique. After ninety years in the dream, he creates an original sword technique from his observations of mortal sword use, cleaving a great river with a single strike. He has taken the first step from mortal to martial.

Character developments

• Li Chang’an shifts from studying extreme, externally imposed motivation to patiently observing ordinary people. He develops a personal method based on practice, craft, and gradual refinement, and successfully creates his own sword technique.
• Zhang Hongzheng is revealed as a calculating strategist who engineers revenge and ambition to drive martial progress. His scheme even controls the escape and growth of his intended avengers.
• Kong Feilan likewise experiments ruthlessly, using life-or-death combat to force breakthroughs.
• Yu Ze, an otherwise unremarkable contestant, tries to gain an advantage by claiming someone else’s Spell as his own. His deception costs him his place in the dream.
• The Master remains sparing with guidance, offering only a philosophical prompt and judging the contestants’ work without explaining his decisions.

Significant themes

• Innovation requires self-discovery: The path forward cannot simply be taught or copied; each person must forge it.
• The mortal roots of higher arts: Martial techniques and supernatural disciplines grow from ordinary human activities refined through repeated practice.
• Different motivations produce different paths: Hatred and desperation can drive progress, but Li Chang’an seeks a quieter, more natural approach.
• Authenticity and merit: Yu Ze’s failure underscores that genuine creation—not merely presenting an existing achievement—is essential.

Character interactions

• Li Chang’an respectfully questions Zhang Hongzheng and Kong Feilan about their methods, learning from them without adopting their approaches.
• The contestants gather at the Academy to compare progress and seek guidance; the Master’s brief remark prompts Li Chang’an’s breakthrough.
• Yu Ze presents his supposed invention before the Master, who rejects and expels him; Zhang Huai’an later explains the reason to the others.
• Outside the dream, Yu Ze admits his deception to the Seventh Prince, while Wei Mingyue asks about her Guest Elders’ progress and learns that Mei Yurong has found a promising direction.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an concludes that his successful transition from mortality into martial cultivation proves his chosen path is correct. He decides to create a cultivation method uniquely his own.
• Over the next decade, he travels the world, studies swordsmanship with knights-errant and martial artists, befriends people from various backgrounds, and absorbs the strengths of many schools. He eventually becomes a grandmaster through a path he forged himself.
• After spending a century in the dream world, Li Chang’an returns to the Sword Study Hall for a gathering. By this point, nearly half of the Guest Elders have been expelled for cheating, falsely claiming deductions, or failing to meet the master’s standards.
• The master reveals the reason he demands that they create original Cultivation Methods and Spells. Before his birth, his mother dreamed of Immortal Light entering her womb. Later, the master himself began dreaming of a white-robed immortal whose memories and personality gradually influenced him.
• The master’s memories describe a powerful Prodigy whose sect was destroyed by enemies capable of countering every technique and spell they possessed. This tragedy inspired the obsession with creating completely original methods—an obsession that the master inherited and passed on to the Guest Elders.
• Li Chang’an suspects the master’s situation may resemble Ye Mengxian’s mysterious birth and possible Body Seizure, but the master does not explain how he resisted it.
• Over the following century, Li Chang’an creates several sword-related grandmaster paths: some emphasize killing, others offense and defense, and others pure defense.
• Many Guest Elders eventually give up. Tang Lun voluntarily leaves after two hundred years, admitting that the prolonged stagnation has damaged his state of mind. The master then expels nearly everyone who has made no progress, leaving fewer than twenty.
• Several hundred years later, only Li Chang’an, Mei Yurong, Zhang Hongzheng, and Kong Feilan remain. The others begin to recognize Li Chang’an’s talent and seek closer relations with him.
• Mei Yurong is eventually expelled after failing to advance along her Death Path. The master then tells the three remaining candidates to return after another thousand years.
• During this millennium, Li Chang’an assumes countless identities across the Mortal Realms—fisherman, martial hero, nobleman, and minister—accumulating vast experience and insight.
• At the end of the thousand years, he unifies the sword techniques and experiences of all his former lives into a single strike that embodies the entire mortal world. He names this sword “Return to Mortal.”

Character Developments and Interactions

• Li Chang’an: Develops from a talented young cultivator into a patient, exceptionally deep martial artist. His strength surpasses the ordinary Grandmaster Realm, and he derives more than ten rudimentary Spells from his martial path. Rather than submitting an adequate answer, he continues pursuing greater potential. His composure is strengthened by the Heart-Questioning Technique and his previous experience within illusions.
• The Master: Reveals that his demand for original techniques is rooted in the trauma of an immortal’s memories and a devastating war. Though he appears connected to possible Body Seizure, he insists that he remains himself and withholds the method by which he resisted it.
• Fang Huaishan: Remains unable to make progress and notices that Li Chang’an has acquired a more weathered, ancient air. He interacts with Li Chang’an as a fellow seeker but ultimately fails to advance.
• Tang Lun: After two hundred years of fruitless effort, he recognizes that continuing would damage his mentality and leaves voluntarily. His decision highlights the psychological burden of the dream.
• Mei Yurong: Initially sees herself as one of the likely final contenders, but becomes unsettled when Li Chang’an endures longer than expected. Her Death Path reaches a standstill, and she is expelled. Wei Mingyue comforts her afterward.
• Zhang Hongzheng and Kong Feilan: Once dismissive of Li Chang’an because of his youth, they come to respect his endurance and ability. They attempt to befriend him but remain committed to their own “pooling wisdom” path.
• Wei Mingyue and the princes: Observing from outside the dream, they gradually revise their opinion of Li Chang’an. Wei Mingyue comes to regard him as her final hope after the other Guest Elders under her command fail.
• The remaining candidates: Li Chang’an, Zhang Hongzheng, and Kong Feilan agree to meet again after a thousand years, each continuing along a different path.

Significant Themes

• Creating one’s own path: True mastery comes not from copying existing methods but from developing a path shaped by personal experience and insight.
• The value and burden of time: Centuries in the dream allow immense growth, but they also cause stagnation, isolation, and psychological exhaustion for those unable to progress.
• Originality as survival: The master’s memories suggest that unknown future enemies may be able to counter all familiar techniques, making innovation essential rather than optional.
• Identity and selfhood: The master’s dreams raise questions about possession, inherited memories, and whether a person can remain themselves while being influenced by another existence.
• Accumulated mortal experience: Li Chang’an’s final breakthrough comes from living countless ordinary and extraordinary lives, demonstrating that the Mortal World itself can be a source of profound Dao insight.
• Patience versus ambition: Li Chang’an succeeds because he refuses to settle for a merely acceptable result, continuing to refine his path even after achieving considerable power.
• The relationship between Martial Dao and Immortal Dao: His swordsmanship begins as a mortal discipline but gradually approaches the level of Spells and Dao principles, suggesting that martial cultivation can lead toward higher realms.

Chapter Summary: The Final Victor, Spirit Roaming the Void

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an completes the prototype of his Return-to-Mortal Sword, a technique formed from two thousand years of insight into the Mortal World. Though still immature, it possesses a vast, profound aura capable of frightening even peak Nascent Soul cultivators. He resolves to refine it further by sending clones throughout the Mortal World to deepen his understanding of mortal existence.
• At the Great Jin Academy, Li Chang’an reunites with Zhang Hongzheng and Kong Feilan, who have each developed their own techniques during the millennium:
  • Zhang Hongzheng creates Mountain-Splitting Fist, which continuously accumulates strength until physical power can rival spells.
  • Kong Feilan creates Primal Unity Force, combining the strengths of countless Martial Dao schools into a unified force.
• The Master evaluates all three techniques. He dismisses Zhang and Kong’s creations as derivative, saying they merely “pick up others’ crumbs.” Li Chang’an’s Return-to-Mortal Sword, however, earns the Master’s approval.
• Zhang Hongzheng and Kong Feilan are expelled from the dreamscape, making Li Chang’an the winner of the contest. Outside the dream, the princes and princesses realize that Wei Mingyue has won the trial because her candidate, Li Chang’an, was the last one remaining.
• Wei Mingyue is congratulated by the imperial descendants. Her opinion of Li Chang’an rises significantly, surpassing even her regard for Mei Yurong.
• Once alone with Li Chang’an, the Master’s form dissolves, revealing the true entity behind the dream: an ancient Dream Tapir.
• The Dream Tapir explains that it has lived since the era of Great Jin by spending most of its existence asleep. It is not a servant of Great Wei, but has an agreement with the dynasty allowing it to remain in the forbidden region where it sleeps.
• Li Chang’an reveals the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Sword, confirming that he inherited a technique from the Master’s ninth disciple, Zhang Huai’an. The Dream Tapir recognizes the technique and learns that Zhang Huai’an has gone searching for the Last Great Jin Emperor.
• Li Chang’an reconstructs the image of the deranged emperor he once encountered. The Dream Tapir confirms that this person is indeed the Last Great Jin Emperor, but clarifies that his power comes not from his physical body, but from a Divine Soul that has reached the realm of Spirit Roaming the Void.
• Li Chang’an realizes that the emperor is likely a Void Refining-level expert, vastly stronger than any current Nascent Soul or Tier 5 cultivator. If he were to lose control, the entire Cultivation World could be destroyed.
• The Dream Tapir cannot locate the emperor but promises to search for him and grants Li Chang’an a favor in return for the information.
• The Dream Tapir also reveals its unique Clone Technique, which can project figures from dreams into reality as powerful clones. It can even create more than ten Spirit Transformation-level clones, though doing so consumes immense energy.
• The chapter ends with Li Chang’an asking how the Master fought the mysterious white-robed immortal in the dream.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates extraordinary talent by creating a technique fundamentally different from conventional cultivation methods. His Return-to-Mortal Sword earns the Master’s approval and establishes him as superior to Zhang Hongzheng and Kong Feilan in terms of originality and potential. He also gains a powerful favor from the Dream Tapir and learns the possible location and condition of an immensely powerful ancient emperor.
• Zhang Hongzheng: Shows humility and perceptiveness by acknowledging that Li Chang’an’s potential surpasses his own despite Li’s shorter cultivation history.
• Kong Feilan: Suffers disappointment after learning that her Primal Unity Force is considered derivative, but accepts that Li Chang’an’s technique is superior.
• Wei Mingyue: Wins the contest through Li Chang’an’s success and develops an even higher opinion of him, recognizing that she has secured an exceptional talent.
• The Dream Tapir: Shifts from the apparent role of the Master to its true identity as an ancient, powerful exotic beast. It displays immense strength, deep knowledge of the Master and Great Jin, and a willingness to cooperate with Li Chang’an after he provides crucial information.
• The Last Great Jin Emperor: Is revealed to be a potentially insane Void Refining-level existence whose Divine Soul can tear through the void.

Significant Themes

• Originality versus imitation: The Master rejects techniques that merely combine or expand upon existing ideas. True advancement requires creating an entirely personal path.
• The relationship between mortality and transcendence: Li Chang’an’s Return-to-Mortal Sword seeks to use mortal understanding to affect even immortals, reversing the usual hierarchy between the mortal and immortal realms.
• The limits of power and longevity: The Dream Tapir’s long life is not true immortality, emphasizing that survival and strength do not guarantee permanence.
• Hidden history and lost legacies: The chapter reveals that the past—particularly the eras of Great Jin and the Master—still shapes the present through inherited techniques, ancient beings, and unresolved mysteries.
• Dangerous power: The Last Great Jin Emperor represents the catastrophic threat posed by beings whose strength has surpassed the world’s normal limits.
• Strategic alliances: Li Chang’an’s knowledge earns him a valuable favor from the Dream Tapir, showing how information and discretion can be as important as cultivation strength.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an competes with Zhang Hongzheng and Kong Feilan, then surpasses them through the originality of his sword technique.
• The Master evaluates all three cultivators, harshly criticizing Zhang and Kong while approving Li Chang’an.
• The princes and princesses reassess Li Chang’an after witnessing his victory and congratulate Wei Mingyue.
• Li Chang’an and the Dream Tapir discuss the Master, Zhang Huai’an, the Last Great Jin Emperor, and the nature of Spirit Roaming the Void.
• Li Chang’an earns the Dream Tapir’s gratitude and favor by revealing the emperor’s possible existence.
• The chapter closes with Li Chang’an beginning to investigate the Master’s battle against the white-robed immortal, setting up the next major revelation.

Chapter Summary: Rapid Progress, Recruitment from All Sides

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Dream Tapir explains that its master once suffered severely from an immortal’s influence and nearly lost his identity. In desperation, the master created the Guarding Heart Technique, which could protect one’s true self from immortal corrosion, though it remained incomplete.
• Li Chang’an asks to learn the technique for Ye Mengxian, who is facing a similar problem. The Dream Tapir cannot teach it to him but reveals that Li Chang’an’s own Return to Mortal Sword Art is even more effective against immortal Body Seizure.
• Unlike Guarding Heart, which depends on personal willpower, the Return to Mortal Sword Art draws strength from countless mortals, allowing it to oppose immortal power with fewer demands on the user.
• The Dream Tapir shares the master’s theory that the Immortal Realm may be facing a great tribulation. The severing of the two realms, the loss of ascension, and the appearance of special constitutions may all be connected to immortals seeking ways to avoid this disaster.
• As a reward for passing the Dream Tapir’s test, Li Chang’an receives the Shadowless Carefree Steps, a powerful, attribute-neutral evasion technique.
• He remains in the dream for thousands of years to cultivate. He first brings Shadowless Carefree Steps to major accomplishment, then studies Alchemy, Poison Dao, Formations, Divination, Talisman-making, Artifact Refining, Feng Shui, and other arts.
• Through persistence rather than external treasures or exceptional guidance, he reaches Quasi-fifth Rank in Alchemy, Poison Dao, Formations, and Divination. He also raises Talisman-making and Artifact Refining to Peak Fourth Tier and improves several other disciplines.
• After spending more than four thousand years in the dream, Li Chang’an finally leaves. The enormous flood of memories overwhelms his main body, causing him to collapse before recovering through pills and meditation.
• His clone, Lin Mu, appears before the various princes and princesses of Great Wei. They assume his momentary bewilderment may be the result of spending too long in the dream.
• To conceal his true achievements, Li Chang’an claims he merely created a powerful Killing Technique based on observing an old man chopping wood. The explanation still astonishes everyone.
• Recognizing his extraordinary talent, the royal heirs immediately attempt to recruit him. Wei Mingyue publicly protects him as her Guest Elder and privately praises him, joking that he may be a hidden prodigy from one of the Nine Great Immortal Sects.

Character Development

• Li Chang’an demonstrates extraordinary endurance, composure, and discipline. His greatest strength is revealed to be his steadfast temperament, allowing him to endure thousands of years of isolation without losing himself.
• He becomes far more versatile, advancing not only in combat techniques but also in Alchemy, Poison Dao, Formations, Divination, Talisman-making, Artifact Refining, and other scholarly disciplines.
• His Return to Mortal Sword Art is confirmed as a major defensive weapon against immortal possession, elevating its importance to both Ye Mengxian’s safety and Li Chang’an’s future.
• Li Chang’an becomes more cautious and politically aware, concealing his true accomplishments and allowing Wei Mingyue to handle the competing recruitment offers.
• The Dream Tapir shifts from examiner to mentor and observer. It is impressed by Li Chang’an’s mental strength and compares him favorably even with the greatest geniuses of the Great Jin era.
• Wei Mingyue shows increasing concern and personal investment in Li Chang’an. Her worry when he appears unstable reveals that she values both his service and his continued presence.
• The other princes and princesses recognize Li Chang’an’s potential and begin competing to recruit him, treating him as a future powerhouse despite his relatively low cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Inner self versus external corruption: The Guarding Heart Technique and Return to Mortal Sword Art both represent different ways of preserving identity against immortal influence.
• Mortal power opposing immortality: Li Chang’an’s sword art suggests that the collective strength of ordinary people can challenge beings far above them.
• Temperament over talent: The chapter emphasizes that long-term endurance, stability, and patience may be more valuable than raw comprehension.
• Time and cultivation: Dream cultivation allows Li Chang’an to compress thousands of years of study into a short period in reality, but the psychological and mnemonic burden remains dangerous.
• Reality versus illusion: The chapter repeatedly stresses the risk of losing oneself in dreams, with Li Chang’an’s return showing that even a stable mind must carefully manage the boundary between the two.
• Political value of talent: Once Li Chang’an’s abilities become visible, he attracts attention from every faction, turning personal cultivation into a source of political competition.

Important Character Interactions

• The Dream Tapir guides Li Chang’an by explaining the master’s history, evaluating his mental state, and awarding him Shadowless Carefree Steps.
• Li Chang’an and the Dream Tapir discuss Ye Mengxian’s condition and the possible connection between special constitutions and the Immortal Realm’s tribulation.
• After Li Chang’an returns, his Sword Spirit, artifact spirits, Profound Water Turtle, Da Huang, and Myriad Poison Gu all react with alarm and gather to check on him.
• Wei Mingyue comforts and tests Li Chang’an to ensure he can distinguish reality from the dream, remaining worried even after he appears stable.
• Zhang Hongzheng praises Li Chang’an’s ability to derive Dao from ordinary experience after hearing about his invented Killing Technique.
• The Fifth Prince and the other royal heirs openly compete to recruit Li Chang’an, while Wei Mingyue asserts her claim over him as her Guest Elder.
• Wei Mingyue privately praises Li Chang’an’s hidden depth, suggesting that his growing reputation and mysterious abilities may soon make him a figure of major political importance.

Chapter Summary: Mingyue Gifts Talismans, Appraises Chang'an

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wei Mingyue subtly probes Li Chang’an about whether he might be a spy from one of the Nine Great Immortal Sects, but his flawless history and cultivation disguise leave her unconvinced of any wrongdoing.
• Grateful for Li Chang’an’s assistance in preserving her authority over the Immortal War, Wei Mingyue promises to fulfill a future request. Li Chang’an reminds her that he wishes to trade with the Fifth Prince for Gu worms.
• The other princes and princesses attempt to recruit Li Chang’an as they leave the restricted area, but he rejects all their offers and reports them to Wei Mingyue.
• Worried that the imperial descendants may attack him after failing to recruit him, Wei Mingyue urges him to remain cautious and even offers him lodging in her Dao Field. Li Chang’an declines because of the rumors and political complications such an arrangement would cause.
• In front of the other imperial descendants, Wei Mingyue gives Li Chang’an two Tier 5 Talismans: a Slaughter Talisman and a Defensive Talisman. This both protects him and warns the others that he is under her protection. The princes’ Guest Elders become envious, and the recruitment attempts cease.
• Li Chang’an’s true body absorbs four thousand years of accumulated memories, gaining insight into four Quasi-fifth Rank Skills and numerous Fourth Rank Skills. He worries about the ancient alchemist Dan Chenzi, whose abilities may be far beyond his own.
• His true body travels overnight to the Great Wei Imperial City, exchanges places with his Clone, and returns to Wei Mingyue’s Dao Field without her realizing the change.
• Wei Mingyue discusses the Monster Race’s attempt to use Minor Worlds to open a second battlefield. Li Chang’an advises against copying the strategy, warning that it would worsen tensions within the Immortal Extermination Alliance and leave Great Wei vulnerable to Fuxian Sect or the Sima Clan.
• Wei Mingyue asks about the famous cultivator Li Chang’an. Unaware that she is speaking to him, she dismisses him as a scheming flatterer who advanced through influential connections rather than personal ability. Li Chang’an conceals his identity and calmly agrees outwardly.
• The two continue analyzing the war between the Monster Race and the Western Three Domains. Li Chang’an predicts that the Monster Race’s apparent advantage will fade because the Heavenly Secrets Sect, Nether Prison Sect, and Yin Yang Sect are all exceptionally powerful.
• At dawn, Wei Mingyue brings Li Chang’an to a trade fair in a side hall, where the Second Prince and Fifth Prince are waiting.
• The Fifth Prince reveals several hundred sealed jars obtained from a cave mansion connected to the Hundred Gu True Lord. Using the Immortal Gazing Technique, Li Chang’an examines the jars and discovers the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu, apparently the same Gu once possessed by the Hundred Gu True Lord. He hides his excitement and continues inspecting the jars.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates political caution, strategic insight, and excellent deception. He carefully maintains his false identity as “Fellow Daoist Lin,” manipulates the exchange between his Clone and true body, and uses his Immortal Gazing Technique to identify valuable Gu worms. His growing abilities increase his confidence, but the possible threat posed by Dan Chenzi remains a source of concern.
• Wei Mingyue: Develops strong trust and favor toward Li Chang’an. She actively protects him, values his advice, and treats him as a particularly important ally. However, her misjudgment of the real Li Chang’an shows that she remains unaware of his true capabilities and identity.
• The Fifth Prince and other imperial descendants: Shift from trying to recruit Li Chang’an to treating him cautiously after Wei Mingyue publicly gives him powerful Tier 5 Talismans.
• The Great Wei imperial faction: Their internal rivalries become clearer, especially the competition among the princes and the larger political tension between Great Wei, Fuxian Sect, and the Sima Clan.

Significant Themes

• Concealment and mistaken identity: Li Chang’an successfully hides his true identity even while Wei Mingyue directly discusses him.
• Power and political protection: Wei Mingyue’s Talismans symbolize both personal trust and political backing, demonstrating that influence can be as important as cultivation.
• Internal division versus external threats: The Immortal Extermination Alliance suffers from distrust among the Human, Monster, and Alien Races, as well as rivalry within the Three Human Domains, weakening its ability to oppose the Nine Great Immortal Sects.
• Connections versus personal ability: Wei Mingyue criticizes Li Chang’an for relying on relationships, while the real Li Chang’an privately recognizes that cultivating useful connections is itself a legitimate survival strategy.
• Patience and accumulated strength: Li Chang’an’s four thousand years of effort have produced powerful skills despite his ordinary comprehension, reinforcing the value of longevity and persistence.
• Luck and hidden treasures: The sealed Gu jars may contain worms of vastly different ranks, but Li Chang’an’s special technique allows him to bypass chance and locate an exceptionally valuable Gu.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and Wei Mingyue: Their relationship grows more trusting and cooperative. She protects him and seeks his strategic opinions, while he provides honest counsel but continues concealing his identity.
• Li Chang’an and the other princes: They attempt to recruit him, but he rejects them and relies on Wei Mingyue’s protection instead.
• Li Chang’an and the Fifth Prince: Their planned trade begins with the Fifth Prince presenting hundreds of sealed Gu jars. Li Chang’an secretly identifies the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu as his primary target.
• Li Chang’an and Wei Sixian: The Second Prince joins the trade gathering, establishing a broader imperial audience for the exchange.
• Li Chang’an and Dan Chenzi: Though they do not meet, Dan Chenzi’s reputation and possible power create an important looming threat in Li Chang’an’s thoughts.

Chapter Summary: “Beauty and Talent, Mortal World Suppresses Immortals”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an secretly uses the Immortal Gazing Technique to inspect every sealed Gu jar at the Fifth Prince’s small trade fair. Although he pretends he cannot see through the seals, he identifies the contents, including the crucial Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu.
• To conceal his true interest, he marks several dozen jars for purchase and offers the Fifth Prince numerous valuable Tier 4 treasures. The Fifth Prince refuses payment and generously gives him all the selected jars.
• The Fifth Prince attempts to recruit Li Chang’an, offering him the remaining Gu worms, a Quasi-fifth Rank Gu Dao inheritance, Pill-Gu research materials, and even Tier 5 Talismans. Li Chang’an politely refuses, remaining loyal to Wei Mingyue.
• Wei Mingyue playfully asks whether Li Chang’an follows her because of her beauty. He praises both her beauty and talent, particularly emphasizing that she was the first to recognize his abilities. His words greatly please her.
• The wider trade fair begins when the princes, princesses, Guest Elders, and Spiritual Beasts arrive. Li Chang’an exchanges for more than a hundred valuable treasures related to body refinement, bloodline awakening, and Spirit Gathering Pill materials.
• After returning to his Dao Field, Li Chang’an opens most of the jars and confirms that their contents match what he had seen through his technique. However, the jar containing the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu cannot be opened, even with the combined strength of several powerful methods and artifacts.
• The Sword Spirit suspects that the jar itself may be made from an unusual Tier 5 material. Since forcibly breaking it could harm or unpredictably affect the weak Gu aura inside, Li Chang’an decides to consult the Azure Wood Divine Pagoda later.
• Before doing so, Li Chang’an assists Ye Mengxian with the Sword Talisman and female immortal inside her body. After waiting for an auspicious divination result, he uses his self-created Return-to-Mortal Sword.
• The sword technique surrounds Ye Mengxian with the aura of the Mortal World, suppressing the Immortal Dao aura and rendering the Sword Talisman dormant. Li Chang’an can then safely approach it with his Spiritual Sense and gain further Sword Dao insights.
• Ye Mengxian’s symptoms disappear, but Li Chang’an explains that the technique can only suppress the female immortal temporarily. She must return to him if anything goes wrong.
• Ye Mengxian tries to learn the Return-to-Mortal Sword but fails, realizing that it cannot be taught conventionally and requires an experience or comprehension that Li Chang’an uniquely possesses.
• Li Chang’an leaves a clone behind and travels toward Great Qi to seek the Azure Wood Divine Pagoda’s help with the mysterious stone jar.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates exceptional caution, strategic deception, wealth, and loyalty. He maintains his allegiance to Wei Mingyue despite the Fifth Prince’s tempting offer. His creation of the Return-to-Mortal Sword also reveals his unusual comprehension, experience, and ability to challenge Immortal Dao through the Mortal World.
• Wei Mingyue: Shows growing fondness and emotional satisfaction toward Li Chang’an’s praise. She is especially pleased that he values her talent and ability rather than merely her beauty.
• The Fifth Prince: Proves generous and politically perceptive. He recognizes Li Chang’an’s potential and repeatedly attempts to recruit him, but accepts his refusal without force.
• Ye Mengxian: Gains temporary relief from the female immortal’s influence and develops greater confidence in Li Chang’an’s abilities. She also becomes frustrated by her inability to comprehend his unique sword technique, while resolving to eventually confront the immortal herself.
• The Sword Spirit and other Artifact Spirits: Help investigate the mysterious jar, though only the Sword Spirit identifies the possibility that its material is an unusual Tier 5 treasure.

Significant Themes

• Talent versus beauty: Wei Mingyue’s interaction with Li Chang’an highlights the value of recognizing both outward beauty and inner ability, especially the importance of appreciating talent.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Li Chang’an refuses the Fifth Prince’s superior offer because Wei Mingyue first recognized and supported him, emphasizing repayment of kindness over immediate advantage.
• Deception and strategic concealment: Li Chang’an hides his true ability to inspect the jars and invents explanations for his wealth and interest in Gu arts to prevent others from discovering his secrets.
• Mortal Dao versus Immortal Dao: The Return-to-Mortal Sword embodies the chapter’s central philosophical idea: the aura and experiences of ordinary mortal life can suppress even powerful immortal influence.
• Unique comprehension: The technique cannot be learned through talent or instruction alone. Li Chang’an’s experience, temperament, and insight allow him to achieve something even prodigies with exceptional constitutions cannot reproduce.
• Caution in dealing with power: Li Chang’an avoids forcibly opening the mysterious jar and waits for divination before suppressing the female immortal, showing that prudence is essential when dealing with unknown immortal forces.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and the Fifth Prince: Their trade develops into a recruitment attempt, with the Fifth Prince offering increasingly valuable incentives. Li Chang’an remains polite but firmly declines.
• Li Chang’an and Wei Mingyue: He reports the Fifth Prince’s offer to her, then reassures and flatters her by praising her talent. Their exchange strengthens her favorable feelings toward him.
• Li Chang’an and Ye Mengxian: He suppresses the Sword Talisman within her, explains the limitations of his technique, and allows her to attempt learning it. Their relationship reflects both trust and Li Chang’an’s continued control over her as a puppet.
• Li Chang’an and the Artifact Spirits: He consults them about the sealed jar, ultimately learning that its material may be a rare Tier 5 treasure requiring the Azure Wood Divine Pagoda’s expertise.

Chapter Summary: Spirit Vein Advancement, Taisui Beast

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an secretly leaves Ninth Immortal City for Great Qi through a Teleportation Array, while everyone—including Black Sand, the Yuan and Zhao cultivators, Hong Lei, and others—believes his true body remains in the City Lord’s Mansion.
• His clone at Azure Mountain uses his newly advanced Tier 4 high-grade Feng Shui technique to upgrade the region’s Spiritual Vein. He gathers Earth Vein power, rearranges the surrounding mountains, and deploys numerous Spirit-Enhancing Treasures.
• Azure Mountain’s Evergreen Spirit Vein successfully advances from Tier 4 mid-grade to near the peak of Tier 4 high-grade. The entire region benefits: new minor Spiritual Veins and Spirit Springs appear, spiritual plants flourish, and ordinary beasts transform into Demonic Beasts.
• Li Chang’an publicly reassures the frightened cultivators, claiming that a Feng Shui expert caused the changes. The cultivators relax after realizing that no invasion or returning force is responsible.
• With the improved Spiritual Vein capable of supporting his cultivation through the Late Nascent Soul Stage, Li Chang’an plans to replace the region’s existing formations with Quasi-fifth Rank formations, potentially incorporating Poison Dao.
• Luo Yunshu announces that she is ready to attempt Nascent Soul Formation. Li Chang’an confirms that her Golden Core and foundation are exceptionally strong and believes she can form an Immortal-grade Nascent Soul.
• Luo Yu arrives to protect Luo Yunshu during her breakthrough. During the process, Luo Yu captures several Late Nascent Soul cultivators from the Nether Prison Sect who had been spying on Azure Mountain and planning to capture Li Chang’an. He kills them instantly.
• Li Chang’an learns from Blood Rain that Tian Ming had secretly blocked Bliss Heavenly Lord and other Nether Prison Sect Spirit Transformation cultivators from attacking him. Tian Ming was seriously injured while protecting Li Chang’an.
• In Great Qi’s Azure Wood Divine Pagoda, Li Chang’an meets the Tower Spirit and observes him punishing a powerful Tier 5 strange beast. Li Chang’an identifies it as a likely mutated Taisui, a nearly immortal creature whose flesh and blood are extremely valuable.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: His Feng Shui skills have advanced greatly, allowing him to reshape the Azure Mountain Region and strengthen its Spiritual Vein. He is becoming increasingly capable of combining multiple disciplines, especially Feng Shui, formations, and Poison Dao. However, he remains cautious about powerful Spirit Transformation cultivators such as Bliss and realizes he owes major debts to both Luo Yu and Tian Ming.
• Luo Yunshu: Her cultivation foundation has matured to the point where she can safely attempt Nascent Soul Formation. Her resources and treasures, provided largely by Luo Yu, place her on the same level as elite disciples of major Nascent Soul sects.
• Luo Yu: He demonstrates overwhelming power by instantly capturing and killing several Late Nascent Soul cultivators. His arrival also confirms his continued support for Luo Yunshu and Li Chang’an.
• Tian Ming: His hidden protection of Li Chang’an is revealed. He has taken serious injuries while preventing Bliss and other Nether Prison Sect experts from attacking Azure Mountain.
• Bliss Heavenly Lord: He remains a major threat. Although he has not personally attacked Li Chang’an, his influence has led others to hunt him, and he may have been restrained only because Tian Ming intervened.
• Tower Spirit: He continues suppressing and tormenting the mysterious Tier 5 beast within the Azure Wood Divine Pagoda.

Significant Themes

• The importance of one’s own foundation: Li Chang’an prefers cultivating at Azure Mountain rather than relying on another sect’s Spiritual Vein, emphasizing independence and control over one’s resources.
• Hidden strength and deception: Li Chang’an’s true whereabouts remain concealed, while enemies misjudge which body is his true body. His cautious secrecy allows him to survive despite attracting powerful enemies.
• Debts and alliances: Li Chang’an repeatedly receives help from powerful figures such as Luo Yu and Tian Ming, creating obligations that may shape future alliances and conflicts.
• Preparation for greater realms: The upgrade of Azure Mountain and the planned formation improvements show Li Chang’an preparing for Mid- and Late-Nascent Soul cultivation and eventually Spirit Transformation.
• The value of rare lifeforms: The possible identification of the imprisoned beast as a mutated Taisui highlights the extraordinary value of ancient creatures and their potential uses in medicine, alchemy, and the cultivation of beasts and plants.

Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an reassures Azure Mountain’s cultivators after the Spiritual Vein’s advancement, presenting the transformation as a controlled Feng Shui project.
• Luo Yunshu consults Li Chang’an before attempting Nascent Soul Formation, and he examines her condition and approves her breakthrough.
• Li Chang’an informs Luo Yu of Luo Yunshu’s breakthrough, and Luo Yu arrives to protect her.
• Luo Yu interrogates the captured Nether Prison Sect cultivators, who reveal that they came to seize Li Chang’an independently rather than under Bliss’s direct orders.
• Li Chang’an contacts Blood Rain to confirm Tian Ming’s intervention and learns the extent of Tian Ming’s injuries.
• In the Azure Wood Divine Pagoda, Li Chang’an interacts with the Tower Spirit and studies the imprisoned beast, identifying it as a possible mutated Taisui.

Chapter Summary: “The Power of Foundations, Rapid Advancement”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an suspects that the imprisoned Tier 5 strange beast is related to the legendary Taisui clan because its blood may dramatically accelerate the growth of Spiritual Medicines.
• With the Azure Wood Divine Pagoda’s Tower Spirit using the Heavenly Thunder Earth Fire Great Formation, Li Chang’an obtains a drop of the beast’s blood and tests it on a Tier 4 Myriad-Year Blood Dragon Fruit.
• The blood immediately raises the fruit from Low Tier 4 to Mid Tier 4, confirming its extraordinary value.
• Although forcibly extracting the blood consumes enormous quantities of Spirit Stones, Li Chang’an decides to use it primarily on the Evergreen Vine, whose growth is closely tied to his own cultivation talent.
• By spending more than fifty thousand top-grade Spirit Stones, Li Chang’an repeatedly has the Tower Spirit draw blood from the enraged beast. The Evergreen Vine advances from Early Tier 4 to Quasi-fifth Rank and grows a total of 290 vines.
• Each vine provides Li Chang’an with Spiritual Charm. Combined with his previous eleven wisps, his total reaches 301 wisps, placing his innate talent among the very best in the world and ensuring that his aptitude will no longer hinder his future breakthrough to Spirit Transformation.
• Li Chang’an tests the blood on the dying Nine-Leaf Sword Orchid, but it has no effect. The Tower Spirit and Sword Spirit cannot determine whether the orchid might undergo a rebirth similar to the Evergreen Vine if it dies.
• The Tower Spirit advises Li Chang’an that he may need to seek help from the Ancient Wood Sect, but Li Chang’an is unwilling to infiltrate the sect and risk losing the orchid entirely.
• Li Chang’an then asks about his Insect Jar. The Tower Spirit identifies its material as silk produced by a Tier 5 Insect God, explaining why the jar is so difficult to open.
• The jar could be broken with Tier 5 power, but doing so might harm the weak Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu inside. Spirit Melting Dew is ineffective, leaving Li Chang’an with the seemingly impossible task of finding a Tier 5 Insect God to open it safely.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an demonstrates patience, decisiveness, and willingness to spend enormous resources for long-term benefits. Rather than waste the beast’s blood on many plants, he prioritizes the Evergreen Vine because its growth directly improves his own abilities.
• His cultivation foundation and talent undergo a massive transformation. Reaching 301 wisps of Spiritual Charm gives him an aptitude superior to many Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Li Chang’an reflects on his earlier rejection by the Qingyun Sect due to his poor talent, emphasizing how far he has progressed and the sacrifices required to reach his current position.
• He remains cautious regarding the Nine-Leaf Sword Orchid and refuses to take reckless action without certainty that it can be saved.
• The Tower Spirit and Sword Spirit increasingly treat Li Chang’an as Azure Wood’s successor, supporting him and helping him improve his cultivation potential.
• The imprisoned beast remains defiant and hostile, but its blood is gradually exploited as a valuable resource despite its resistance.

Significant Themes

• The importance of foundations: The chapter emphasizes that abundant resources, strong spiritual roots, and deep preparation are essential for reaching Spirit Transformation.
• Resource investment and long-term growth: Li Chang’an spends vast wealth to improve the Evergreen Vine and his own future, showing that powerful cultivation requires both opportunity and financial foundation.
• Transformation through accumulated effort: His rise from poor aptitude to extraordinary talent reflects the rewards of persistence and strategic investment.
• Value versus danger: The strange beast is both an overwhelming enemy and a living treasure vault, forcing Li Chang’an to balance potential benefits against the cost and danger of extracting them.
• Uncertainty and preservation: The Nine-Leaf Sword Orchid’s condition highlights the limits of Li Chang’an’s knowledge and the danger of experimenting with irreplaceable treasures.
• The gap between realms: Tier 5 beings and materials remain largely beyond Li Chang’an’s current reach, particularly the Insect God needed to safely open the jar.

Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and the Tower Spirit: Li Chang’an requests blood extraction and offers to compensate for the formation’s huge Spirit Stone consumption. The Tower Spirit agrees and repeatedly assists him, recognizing him as Azure Wood’s successor.
• Li Chang’an and the strange beast: The beast mocks his attempt to subdue it and threatens him, while Li Chang’an calmly states that he can still harvest its blood even if he cannot control it.
• Li Chang’an and the Evergreen Vine: The vine responds eagerly to the beast’s blood, almost like a child asking for food. Its rapid growth strengthens Li Chang’an through Spiritual Charm feedback.
• Li Chang’an and the Nine-Leaf Sword Orchid: He attempts to heal the orchid with the blood but fails, increasing his concern over its possible death and the need to seek Ancient Wood Sect techniques.
• Li Chang’an, the Sword Spirit, and the Tower Spirit: He relies on their knowledge regarding the orchid’s possible rebirth and the Insect Jar, though their answers reveal that both problems remain unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• Li Chang’an learns that the safest treatment for the harmful Gu threads is either help from a Tier 5 Insect God or rare Tier 5 Soul-Warming Spiritheart Fluid. Since the available Insect Gods are unlikely to help, he posts a generous bounty throughout the Black Market.
• Luo Yunshu completes Nascent Soul Formation on Azure Mountain, achieving an Immortal-quality Nascent Soul. Her success draws visitors, who speculate that the “senior” she is meeting must be a Spirit Transformation expert.
• Luo Yu advises Yunshu, gives her Tier 5 trump cards, and departs. Yunshu chooses to remain on Azure Mountain rather than take responsibility for leading the Luo Family elsewhere, and asks to establish a Cave Mansion there.
• Li Chang’an checks on people in the Fire Cloud Secret Realm. Yao Feng, whom he once helped, has reached Core Formation and is appointed a guard at the Changqing Divine Hall. Mu Danyang is nearing Nascent Soul Formation, while Sword Saint Dugu Ke continues to make strong progress.
• The Black Market master, Myriad Gold, summons Li Chang’an to the Myriad Gold Black Market with news about the sought-after fluid. Li pays him one hundred top-grade Spirit Stones for the information; the chapter ends before Myriad Gold reveals the details.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chang’an acts as a resourceful patron and mentor, spending freely to solve the Gu problem and supporting talented subordinates. He also remains cautious, using divination before entering the Black Market, and privately considers how to guide Mu Danyang’s eventual confrontation with the Fire Cloud God Lord.
• Luo Yunshu becomes a Nascent Soul True Lord but prefers cultivation over leadership. Her playful, familiar rapport with Li Chang’an continues: she offers him Luo Yu’s trump cards, teases him about lying about his cultivation, and vows to seal his mouth someday. He easily suppresses her attempts to resist his seal.
• Yao Feng returns as a successful cultivator, grateful for Li Chang’an’s earlier help, and asks to serve him.
• Luo Yu supports Yunshu with cultivation guidance and powerful defensive methods, underscoring her privileged backing.
• Myriad Gold presents himself as a man of integrity but insists on payment before sharing his information; Li Chang’an accepts the arrangement.

Significant themes

• Rare resources and power networks: Exceptional treasures and high-level allies are difficult to obtain, so Li Chang’an relies on wealth, contacts, and the Black Market.
• Mentorship and patronage: Li Chang’an’s earlier investment in others bears fruit, while he continues to provide methods, guidance, and opportunities to promising cultivators.
• Ambition versus responsibility: Yunshu chooses personal cultivation over becoming the Luo Family’s leader, reflecting her and Li Chang’an’s preference for freedom from burdens.
• A dangerous world with uneasy coexistence: The Black Market allows humans and monsters—normally enemies—to trade under a prohibition on fighting, even as the growing monster presence signals worsening conditions for the Human Race.

Chapter Summary: “Treasure Aura, Plotting a Rescue”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lord Wanjin reveals that an ancient human ruin was discovered during a battle between the Yin Yang Sect and the Immortal Extermination Alliance. The ruins contain numerous treasures and remain a chaotic battlefield.
• Wanjin gives Li Chang’an a jade bottle containing the aura of a Tier 5 Soul-Warming Spiritheart Fluid and a jade slip marking the ruins’ location. He admits that the actual treasure was taken before he arrived.
• Using divination, Li Chang’an determines that another portion of the same treasure is somewhere within the territory of Ninth Immortal City, though its exact location cannot be identified.
• Li Chang’an asks Wanjin to monitor the black market for anyone selling Tier 5 Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid, promising a generous reward.
• He immediately travels to the ruins, where he kills numerous Tier 4 Demon Monarchs and collects their remains. After breaking through a formation, he obtains a Quasi-fifth-Rank treasure, but fails to find the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid.
• Meanwhile, Wu He, a wounded Nascent Soul elder of the Yin Yang Sect, arrives at Ninth Immortal City with his elder sister Wu Yan while being pursued by powerful Monster Race forces. Li Chang’an opens the city formation and allows them inside.
• The city’s cultivators pursue the retreating demons, while Li Chang’an provides Wu He and Wu Yan with a quiet chamber to recover.
• Li Chang’an secretly monitors them through the city’s Tier 5 formation after sensing the aura of Tier 5 Spirit-Warming Spiritheart Fluid on their bodies.
• Wu He and Wu Yan reveal that their younger brother, the “Third Younger Brother,” was captured by the Monster Race after Wu He’s attempt to seize the treasure caused all three of them to become surrounded.
• They seek help from Vice City Lords Qing He, Red Fox, and Zi Teng, but all three refuse, citing injuries, damaged foundations, or unwillingness to undertake such a dangerous rescue.
• Although Wu Yan doubts Li Chang’an will help because of his reputation for caution and self-preservation, Wu He insists that they ask him.
• They approach Li Chang’an and explain the situation. Wu He admits that the treasure was Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid, but claims that a Quasi-fifth-Rank Demonic Beast seized it and captured their younger brother. The chapter ends as Li Chang’an learns these details.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates caution, intelligence, and decisive strength. He verifies Wanjin’s information through aura sensing and divination, swiftly eliminates powerful demons, and secretly investigates Wu He and Wu Yan rather than taking their claims at face value. His interest in the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid gives him a personal reason to consider their rescue request.
• Lord Wanjin: Acts as an information broker, trading knowledge for Spirit Stones. He is knowledgeable about treasures and black-market connections, but admits he failed to obtain the actual Tier 5 treasure.
• Wu He: Is portrayed as trustworthy but regretful. His greed or obsession with the treasure led to the group’s ambush and the capture of his younger brother. He values Li Chang’an’s reputation for reliability and believes him more trustworthy than the stronger Vice City Lords.
• Wu Yan: Is rational, cautious, and skeptical of Li Chang’an’s combat ability. She initially prefers hiring the stronger Vice City Lords, but ultimately follows Wu He because time is running out.
• Qing He, Red Fox, and Zi Teng: Their refusals emphasize the extreme danger of rescuing someone from the Monster Race and reveal their unwillingness—or inability—to risk their lives despite the offered rewards.

Significant Themes

• Treasure and greed: The ruins transform former allies into enemies, and Wu He’s desire to obtain a treasure causes serious consequences for his group.
• Trust and deception: Li Chang’an carefully verifies information and secretly observes his guests, while Wu He emphasizes that a rescue requires someone dependable rather than merely powerful.
• Risk versus survival: The Vice City Lords refuse to endanger themselves, reinforcing the chapter’s focus on the harsh calculations cultivators must make in dangerous circumstances.
• Hidden motives and opportunity: Li Chang’an’s apparent generosity toward Wu He and Wu Yan is also connected to his desire to locate the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid.
• Power and strategy: The chapter contrasts Li Chang’an’s overwhelming combat ability with his cautious, methodical planning and use of formations, divination, and intelligence.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an and Lord Wanjin: They negotiate over the treasure information, with Li Chang’an securing both the treasure’s aura and the ruins’ location.
• Li Chang’an and Wu He/Wu Yan: He rescues them from pursuit, offers them shelter, and secretly investigates them. They later approach him for help rescuing their captured relative.
• Wu He and Wu Yan: They discuss responsibility, regret, and the need to find outside assistance. Wu He trusts Li Chang’an, while Wu Yan doubts his willingness and strength.
• Wu He/Wu Yan and the Vice City Lords: Each Vice City Lord rejects their request, leaving them with few alternatives.
• Li Chang’an and the Monster Race: Li Chang’an effortlessly kills multiple Tier 4 demons in the ruins, while the Monster Race remains a major threat capable of capturing powerful Yin Yang Sect cultivators.

Key plot points and events

• Wu He and Wu Yan reveal that their younger brother Wu Chen was captured by a Quasi-fifth-Rank Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast after they escaped from a ruin. He was taken to the demon’s underground prison.
• Li Chang’an agrees to help rescue Wu Chen, despite Wu Yan’s belief that he is too cautious to risk it. He refuses Wu He’s offered treasures, though his real motive is to obtain the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid—and divination has shown the mission to be auspicious.
• Li Chang’an, Wu He, and Wu Yan travel north to the prison. After questioning a patrol demon, they learn Wu Chen is held on the prison’s lowest, seventh floor, beneath the beast’s cultivation domain.
• Li Chang’an sends Wu He and Wu Yan to wait, claiming a treasure from Luo Heavenly Lord will let him proceed alone. He infiltrates the prison using a captured guard’s token and reaches Wu Chen’s cell.
• Meanwhile, Li Chang’an’s clone learns that the five great Monster Race clans are preparing to attack the Human Race in three months. The Three-Headed Lion Clan secretly decides to attack alone in half a month, hoping to seize the Human Race’s wealth before the others.
• The Three-Headed Lion heir, still resentful after Yu Jiao Lan wounded him, plans to enslave her and torture her Dao Companion. Li Chang’an dismisses the threat and intends to destroy the entire clan when the time comes.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Chang’an appears selfless to Wu He and Wu Yan, but is motivated by the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid and his favorable divination. He remains composed and strategic, using a cover story to separate himself from his companions before entering the prison alone.
• Wu He is devoted to his siblings and grateful for Li Chang’an’s help; he had previously offered all his treasures and even his life in exchange for Wu Chen’s rescue.
• Wu Yan initially distrusts Li Chang’an, then feels surprised and ashamed when he agrees to help. She and Wu He ultimately trust him to proceed alone.
• Demon Cattail Flower continues infiltrating Monster Race groups and reporting intelligence to Li Chang’an, including the Three-Headed Lion Clan’s plans.
• The Three-Headed Lion heir is revealed as arrogant and vindictive, while his father enables his ambitions.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus true motive: Li Chang’an’s apparent righteousness conceals a practical personal goal.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Wu Chen stayed behind to protect his siblings, and Wu He risks everything to save him.
• Cruelty and oppression: The prison’s tortured captives show the brutality of the Monster Race.
• Strategy and overconfidence: The Three-Headed Lions underestimate their opponents and pursue a secret, aggressive plan that Li Chang’an already knows about.

Chapter Summary: “Treasure Secured, Worries on All Sides”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Chang’an uses his years of dream cultivation to reach Tier 4 High-grade in both Spirit Physician techniques and Feng Shui.
• He secretly infiltrates the Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast’s underground dojo while pretending to bring news about Ninth Immortal City.
• Using the Heart-Questioning Technique and his Wood Seed Technique, Li Chang’an incapacitates the newly advanced Quasi-fifth-Rank beast, takes control of its defensive array, and refines it into a puppet.
• After interrogating the beast—with assistance from the Evil Soul—Li Chang’an discovers that it obtained the Tier 5 Soul-Warming Spiritheart Fluid from the Ancient Human Ruins.
• He searches the beast’s storage pouch and successfully claims the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid, along with numerous Earth-element resources, Spirit Mine ores, and cultivation methods useful to Da Huang.
• The beast reveals that the other Tier 5 treasures from the ruins were taken by elders of the Golden Peng Clan, which holds far greater status and power than rogue demonic cultivators.
• Li Chang’an learns that the Golden Roc Clan views Ninth Immortal City as a major obstacle. Several Quasi-fifth-Rank Golden Peng intend to destroy it, though the clan is still probing rather than launching a full assault.
• The beast also admits that its prison was built for profit: it extorted captives’ relatives, sold prisoners as slaves, and tortured them for intimidation. Wu Chen was one of its victims.
• Meanwhile, Wu He and Wu Yan grow worried because Li Chang’an does not return. Back in Ninth Immortal City, Hong Lei, Ling Meng, and others fear that he has endangered himself and decide to go rescue him.
• Hong Lei informs the Myriad Formation Sect, but Yu Xiaosheng remains confident that Li Chang’an would not act without a plan.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates increased cultivation, powerful tactical judgment, and mastery of deception, formation control, spiritual techniques, and puppet refinement. He remains calm and pragmatic, prioritizing valuable information and treasures over revenge. His interest in bloodline enhancement also suggests plans to strengthen himself or his allies.
• Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast: Its arrogance collapses after being subdued. It is revealed to be powerful but mentally weak, socially inferior to the Golden Peng Clan, and dependent on extortion and slavery for wealth. Once controlled, it becomes completely compliant.
• Myriad Poison Gu: Shows intense excitement over the Tier 5 Soul-Warming Spiritheart Fluid because it can nourish its spiritual sense, restrain insect silk, and help it resist a future Tier 5 Inner Demon Tribulation.
• Hong Lei and Ling Meng: Their concern for Li Chang’an reveals that, despite earlier discussions about abandoning him if necessary, they feel pressured to protect him because of Luo Yu’s expectations. Hong Lei is especially frustrated by what he sees as Li Chang’an’s reckless greed.
• Yu Xiaosheng: Displays greater confidence in Li Chang’an than the anxious cultivators in Ninth Immortal City, believing Li Chang’an is capable of handling the beast.

Significant Themes

• Cunning over brute strength: Li Chang’an defeats an opponent of a higher realm through disguise, psychological techniques, preparation, and formation control rather than direct combat.
• The hardship of rogue cultivators: The Mountain-Swallowing Beast’s relationship with the Golden Peng Clan parallels the struggles of human rogue cultivators. Powerful clans exploit weaker allies while denying them genuine respect.
• Power and hierarchy: The chapter emphasizes the gulf between Quasi-fifth-Rank cultivators and true Tier 5 experts, as well as the political dominance of ancient clans.
• Moral corruption and exploitation: The beast’s prison and ransom schemes reveal the brutality of the Monster Race’s treatment of humans, contrasting with Li Chang’an’s controlled and purposeful use of power.
• Treasure and ambition: The Soul-Warming Spiritheart Fluid is valuable not only for Li Chang’an’s plans but also for the Myriad Poison Gu’s advancement, while Li Chang’an’s questions about bloodline improvement point toward future power growth.
• Reputation versus practicality: The beast claims Tier 5 Demon Gods care about reputation and would not attack a Nascent Soul-guarded city directly, but Li Chang’an remains skeptical because powerful cultivators often ignore such conventions.

Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an deceives and then subdues the Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast, turning their initial false conversation into an interrogation.
• The Evil Soul assists by forcing the beast to cooperate and proposes creating a Demon Soul Banner to control captured demons.
• Li Chang’an and the Myriad Poison Gu discuss the use of the Tier 5 Soul-Warming Spiritheart Fluid, with Li Chang’an promising it a portion only after using it for his own purposes.
• Li Chang’an questions the beast about the Golden Peng Clan, the Ancient Human Ruins, bloodline strengthening, the second battlefield, and plans against Ninth Immortal City.
• Wu He contacts Li Chang’an out of concern, while Hong Lei and Ling Meng organize a rescue mission.
• Hong Lei reports the situation to the Myriad Formation Sect, where Yu Xiaosheng argues that Li Chang’an is capable of protecting himself.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• In the Myriad Formation Sect, Yu Xiaosheng confidently defends Li Chang’an’s decision to rescue the prisoners, believing Li can retreat safely. Mei Mengxuan criticizes him, arguing that he acted recklessly out of greed and has achieved nothing as the Ninth Immortal City’s commander.
• Beneath the Seven-Level Prison, Li Chang’an finishes interrogating the Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast and prepares to leave. Before departing, he decides to capture the prison’s demonic forces and rescue the imprisoned human cultivators.
• Using his control over the captured beast, Li summons all the demons to its Dao Field. The beast’s Quasi-fifth-Rank power suppresses them, allowing Li to place restrictions on dozens of Fourth-Tier demons and countless weaker beasts. He stores them all in his Spirit Beast Bag, including the Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast itself.
• Li dismantles and confiscates the Dao Field’s valuable Quasi-fifth-Rank formations and materials, taking the demonic beast’s accumulated treasures for himself.
• He frees Wu Chen from the chains piercing his body and gives him healing pills. To conceal the truth, Li claims that a treasure bestowed by Luo Yu forced the Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast to retreat.
• Li and Wu Chen release all the other prisoners: dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, more than a thousand Golden Core cultivators, and many Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators.
• The freed cultivators praise Li for his courage and offer their gratitude, skills, and future assistance.
• Li reunites Wu Chen with Wu He and Wu Yan, who are overjoyed to see their brother alive. On the return journey, Hong Lei arrives, expecting disaster, but is shocked to find Li and all the prisoners safe.
• Wu Chen repeats Li’s cover story, claiming that Li used a Tier-Five treasure to drive away the demonic beast. Hong Lei, Ling Meng, and the other servants are astonished, though some assume Li was motivated by the treasures promised by Wu He and Wu Yan.
• Wu He publicly clarifies that Li accepted no treasure, forcing the others to reconsider their assumptions about him.
• Back in the Ninth Immortal City, Qing He, Red Fox, and Zi Teng congratulate Li while privately regretting that they did not accompany him and share in the merit.
• News of Li’s success reaches the Myriad Formation Sect. Yao Lanqin is surprised, while Mei Mengxuan struggles to accept that Li succeeded. She insists that his accomplishment was entirely due to Luo Yu’s treasure.

2. Character Developments

• Li Chang’an: Demonstrates exceptional planning, decisiveness, and courage. He not only rescues the prisoners but secretly captures the powerful Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast and its forces. He remains modest and deliberately hides his true strength and gains behind the explanation of Luo Yu’s treasure.
• Wu Chen: Recovers from severe imprisonment and becomes an open supporter of Li, praising his courage and helping validate Li’s explanation.
• Wu He and Wu Yan: Their gratitude toward Li deepens after witnessing him rescue Wu Chen and all the other captives. Wu He also defends Li’s integrity by stating that Li did not demand or accept payment.
• Hong Lei: Initially fears that Li has been trapped or killed, but becomes deeply astonished when Li returns successfully with all the prisoners.
• Ling Meng and the servants: Their suspicion of Li’s motives gives way to uncertainty after learning that he acted without accepting treasure. They still underestimate him by attributing his success solely to Luo Yu’s bestowed treasure.
• Yu Xiaosheng: His confidence in Li is fully vindicated, strengthening his role as Li’s supporter.
• Mei Mengxuan: Her resentment and professional jealousy become more evident. Even after Li’s success is confirmed, she refuses to acknowledge his ability and continues to blame Luo Yu’s support.
• Qing He, Red Fox, and Zi Teng: Publicly welcome Li’s achievement but privately feel regret and envy over missing the opportunity to gain merit.
• Yao Lanqin: Reacts with genuine surprise to Li’s extraordinary success and accepts the reports as reliable.

3. Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and strategic deception: Li’s true victory is far greater than anyone realizes, but he allows others to believe he merely relied on a Heavenly Lord’s treasure.
• Prejudice and jealousy: Mei Mengxuan’s judgment is distorted by resentment over losing the Immortal City command to Li. Her refusal to credit him illustrates how personal bias can override evidence.
• Heroism and selflessness: Li risks himself to save the prisoners and refuses payment, earning sincere respect from those he rescues.
• Reputation versus reality: Outsiders view Li as an Early Nascent Soul cultivator protected by Luo Yu, while the reader knows he has secretly subdued a Quasi-fifth-Rank beast and taken control of an entire prison.
• Merit and missed opportunities: The other cultivators recognize that Li’s rescue operation has earned enormous merit, leading them to regret not participating.
• Power concealed beneath humility: Li repeatedly minimizes his own achievements, presenting himself as dependent on external treasures while carefully preserving his secrets.

4. Important Character Interactions

• Yu Xiaosheng and Mei Mengxuan: They debate Li’s character and judgment. Yu defends Li’s prudence, while Mei attacks him because of her resentment toward his appointment.
• Li Chang’an and the demonic beasts: Li uses the Fire-Scaled Mountain-Swallowing Beast’s authority to gather and suppress the demons, then secretly enslaves and captures them.
• Li Chang’an and Wu Chen: Li frees Wu Chen, heals him, and invites him to help rescue the remaining prisoners, establishing mutual trust and gratitude.
• Li Chang’an and the rescued cultivators: Their gratitude turns Li into a widely admired figure, with many offering future loyalty or professional assistance.
• Li Chang’an and Wu He/Wu Yan: Their reunion with Wu Chen confirms the success of the rescue and strengthens their appreciation for Li.
• Li Chang’an and Hong Lei/Ling Meng: Their astonishment highlights how unlikely Li’s success appeared to others. Their suspicions also emphasize the gap between Li’s public explanation and the hidden truth.
• Wu He and the servants: Wu He openly rejects the servants’ assumption that Li acted for treasure, defending Li’s righteousness.
• Yao Lanqin, Mei Mengxuan, and Yu Xiaosheng: The verified report of Li’s victory reinforces Yu’s confidence, surprises Yao Lanqin, and intensifies Mei Mengxuan’s denial and resentment.

Chapter Summary: The Method of Cultivation, Nourishing the Soul in Return

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ninth Immortal City celebrates its liberation with a massive feast, while Li Chang’an’s true body secretly studies the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid in the City Lord’s Mansion.
• He uses the fluid to dissolve the Tier 5 Insect Silk sealing the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu. After consuming nearly half the bottle, he opens a gap in the jar and retrieves the weakened Gu.
• Li Chang’an feeds the Gu the Nascent Soul Origin of a Nether Prison Sect cultivator, but the Gu shows no signs of awakening. Suspecting that he lacks the correct cultivation method, he travels to the Myriad Gold Black Market.
• Through Lord Wanjin, he purchases numerous Demonic Gu Arts Legacies from over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators and a demonic beast. He generously pays above-market prices and eventually obtains a Tier 4 High-grade legacy containing the cultivation method for the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu.
• The legacy reveals that the Gu must form a special contract with a master before it can awaken. Once bonded, it strengthens its master’s soul by transmitting a portion of the soul power gained from the souls it devours.
• A powerful soul may allow the master to retain memories after reincarnation, making the Gu a potential means of surviving death.
• Li Chang’an attempts to locate or reproduce the required Blood-Soul Contract. The Sword Spirit, Azure Wood, the Tower Spirit, and other Artifact Spirits cannot provide one. Several substitute contracts fail and burn to ash.
• Unable to derive the contract himself, Li Chang’an places another bounty through Lord Wanjin to search for the nearly lost Blood-Soul Contract.

Character Developments

• Li Chang’an demonstrates caution, wealth, decisiveness, and resourcefulness. He tests the Spirit-Warming Heart Fluid carefully, preserves the valuable Insect Silk, and avoids wasting additional Nascent Souls when the Gu fails to awaken.
• His attitude toward the Blood-Origin Soul-Devouring Gu changes significantly. He initially views it mainly as a weapon against the Nine-Headed Bird, but after learning that it can strengthen his soul and aid reincarnation, he regards it as an invaluable hidden treasure and possible escape route from death.
• Li Chang’an also shows increasing secrecy and strategic awareness. He conceals the Gu’s existence, disguises himself in the Black Market, checks for pursuers after making his purchases, and keeps the Gu’s abilities hidden.
• Lord Wanjin proves to be an efficient and enthusiastic intermediary. He rapidly mobilizes Black Market contacts and earns a substantial profit—over five hundred top-grade Spirit Stones.
• The Sword Spirit, Tower Spirit, Azure Wood, and other Artifact Spirits assist Li Chang’an but cannot solve the problem of locating the Blood-Soul Contract, emphasizing the contract’s rarity and lost history.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and caution: Li Chang’an relies on divination, careful experimentation, concealment, and contingency planning before using the Gu.
• Knowledge as power: The key to awakening the Gu is not brute force or additional resources, but recovering a lost cultivation method.
• Immortality and reincarnation: The Gu introduces a new possibility for continuing cultivation after death by strengthening the soul and preserving memories across reincarnation.
• Secrecy surrounding rare treasures: Because the Gu can potentially grant another life, Li Chang’an recognizes that revealing its existence would invite immense danger.
• Persistence and resourcefulness: Despite repeated failures and the absence of reliable records, Li Chang’an uses wealth, networks, clones, and multiple Artifact Spirits to continue his search.
• The moral darkness of demonic cultivation: The Gu’s growth depends on consuming Nascent Souls, Demon Infants, and other forms of life, highlighting the brutal nature of Demonic Gu Arts.

Character Interactions

• Li Chang’an interacts with the celebrating citizens of Ninth Immortal City through his clone, accepting their gratitude while concealing his true identity.
• He ignores the desperate pleas of the Nether Prison Sect cultivator whose Nascent Soul Origin he extracts to feed the Gu.
• His dealings with Lord Wanjin are mutually beneficial: Li Chang’an receives rare information and legacies, while Lord Wanjin earns generous commissions and builds a valuable relationship.
• During the Black Market transactions, Li Chang’an gains the trust of the six initial sellers by reimbursing their teleportation expenses and paying above the expected price, then repeats the process with later sellers.
• Li Chang’an consults the Sword Spirit and the other Artifact Spirits about the Blood-Soul Contract. Their failure to help leads him to rely once more on Lord Wanjin and the wider Black Market network.