Chapter Summaries

Crazy Old Ancestor discovered that the Nether Saint Sect, the Yellow Springs Demon Sect, and the Stupa Demon Sect had become embroiled in conflict, leaving him unable to pursue revenge or reach Qin Yang. Deep underground, Qin Yang completed his initial cultivation of the Yellow Springs Secret Canon and approached the Dried Bone, offering to help free him.

• Crazy Old Ancestor learned that the Nether Saint Sect and the basin’s Great Ghosts had clashed after rare ghosts vanished, and he left to find that fighting had spread across the region.
• Crazy Old Ancestor discovered that grave excavations, accusations, and planted evidence had drawn the Yellow Springs Demon Sect and the Stupa Demon Sect into battle with the Nether Saint Sect.
• Crazy Old Ancestor found the Yellow Springs Demon Sect sealed and heavily guarded, while Yellow Springs Lineage Master was badly injured and difficult to reach.
• Qin Yang completed the introductory stage of the Yellow Springs Secret Canon, opening a sea of blood and a Yin Spring within his body.
• Qin Yang questioned Black Shadow’s motives for urging him to kill the Dried Bone, then approached the altar and offered to help free the senior.

Qin Yang awakened Dried Bone, who mistook his abilities for the Prefect Lord’s power and gave him a token and a warning. After leaving the Underground Maze, Qin Yang reunited with Crazy Old Ancestor and learned that he had returned to the Yellow Springs Demon Sect alive and had chosen to abandon his revenge.

• Qin Yang awakened Dried Bone, who declined his offer to send her on and asked him to find someone for her when he attained the Dao.
• Dried Bone warned Qin Yang to conceal the Prefect Lord’s power from Ancient Underworld officials and gave him her token, despite his protests that his abilities were only divine techniques.
• Qin Yang left the Underground Maze and found Crazy Old Ancestor waiting for him, alive and apparently restored to the sect’s favor.
• Crazy Old Ancestor explained that the Great Ghost had killed his enemy and that the injured Yellow Springs Lineage Master was recovering, while the sect was on high alert.
• Qin Yang realized Crazy Old Ancestor had returned without seeking revenge so he could remain an honored member of the sect and take Qin Yang back with him.
• Crazy Old Ancestor told Qin Yang that staying alive left room to struggle, while death left nothing.

Qin Yang settled into a comfortable life under Old Ancestor Cui’s protection while the demonic factions’ war subsided into a prolonged conflict. When the Yellow Springs Lineage Master returned to seek a reconciliation, Qin Yang provoked him and refused to let him meet Old Ancestor Cui, leaving the feud unresolved.

• Qin Yang stayed hidden in the Yellow Springs Demon Sect for three months as Old Ancestor Cui’s disciple while conflicts among the demonic factions continued and then stabilized.
• Lu Cure Ren visited on behalf of the sect and offered Qin Yang a rare Yin Spring cultivation slot, which Old Ancestor Cui accepted.
• When the Yellow Springs Lineage Master arrived without a calling card, Qin Yang arranged for Old Ancestor Cui to leave and make soup instead of receiving him.
• Qin Yang challenged the Yellow Springs Lineage Master over sect etiquette and dared him to attack, reminding him that harming Qin Yang would bring the Sect Master’s punishment.
• The Yellow Springs Lineage Master swallowed his anger and departed without seeing Old Ancestor Cui, while Qin Yang remained determined to keep their feud alive.

Qin Yang enjoyed the benefits of Old Ancestor Cui’s Beast Arena and learned that Lu Cure Ren had arranged the Nether Spring slots in a way that cost Zhao Ronghui his chance. When the Nether Spring opened, Qin Yang met the other entrants, and Wu Xiaoming’s attempt to greet Le Qi Yi ended with Qin Yang flying into a stone wall.

• Old Ancestor Cui stewed a black bull with Kui Ox bloodline, and Qin Yang’s cultivation surged as he drank the soup.
• Lu Cure Ren told Zhao Ronghui that the Nether Spring slots had gone to an outsider, Old Ancestor Cui, and the Yellow Springs Lineage Master’s disciple instead of Zhao Ronghui.
• Qin Yang learned how the slot decision weakened Zhao Ronghui’s position and gave Lu Cure Ren influence with Old Ancestor Cui and the Yellow Springs Lineage Master.
• Qin Yang shared his leftover soup with a skinny disciple, who praised his generosity and promised to keep him informed of any developments.
• At the deep pool, Qin Yang met Le Qi Yi and Wu Xiaoming, then appeared to be struck by Wu Xiaoming and crashed into a stone wall.

Qin Yang secretly absorbed most of the Yin Spring’s power, then spent months refining it and strengthening his body while the Yellow Springs Lineage Master and Wu Xiaoming took the blame for the public incident. After learning the sect’s defenses had weakened, Qin Yang arranged for Zhang Zhengyi to lure the Lineage Master out with a counterfeit Yellow Springs Secret Canon treasure book, while hinting that he might have a genuine one.

• Qin Yang staged his injury and let the Yellow Springs Lineage Master punish Wu Xiaoming, while the disciples and sect experts came to believe Wu Xiaoming had attacked him for the Yin Spring quota.
• Qin Yang absorbed nearly all the Yin Spring’s power and secretly raised his physical cultivation to the peak of the Divine Sea Realm, then returned to his mountain and refined the excess power for three months.
• Qin Yang learned that Le Qi Yi had helped turn the sect against the Yellow Springs Lineage Master, and he strengthened ties with supportive experts by sharing Old Ancestor Cui’s soup.
• After the Yellow Springs Lineage Master left to investigate false news about the Yellow Springs Treasure Book, Qin Yang summoned Zhang Zhengyi and gave him a convincing counterfeit to use as bait.
• Qin Yang told Zhang Zhengyi to lure the Yellow Springs Lineage Master to a chosen place, and then wondered whether a genuine treasure book could be used to kill him.

Qin Yang used Zhang Zhengyi to publicize the Yellow Springs Treasure Book and draw the Nether Saint Sect and other forces toward Black Forest Sea. As Qin Yang headed there to keep the scheme moving, the Second Sword Lord appeared and agreed to delay confronting the Yue Zhi Lineage Master.

• Qin Yang and Old Ancestor Cui treated the genuine Yellow Springs Treasure Book as a counterfeit and sent Zhang Zhengyi to lure out its pursuers.
• Zhang Zhengyi entered Black Forest Sea, leaked information about the treasure book, and escaped a Nether Saint Sect disciple and a ghost creature after the book vaporized the creature’s hands.
• The Nether Saint Sect disciple confirmed the treasure book’s identity, and news of its appearance spread to both sects and the surrounding region.
• Old Ancestor Cui prepared to pursue the thief, but he stayed behind after learning that the Yellow Springs Lineage Master had already set out; Qin Yang then left to follow the search.
• The Second Sword Lord met Qin Yang on the way and agreed to postpone confronting the Yue Zhi Lineage Master while his wife Ruo Yan recovered.

Ruo Yan warned Second Sword Lord that the demonic sects’ conflict might conceal a larger threat and urged him to withdraw if Qin Yang’s plan went too smoothly. In the Black Forest Sea, Qin Yang used Zhang Zhengyi and a counterfeit Treasure Book to lure the Yue Zhi Lineage into taking the bait, setting up a trap to draw out the Yue Zhi Lineage Master.

• Ruo Yan cautioned Second Sword Lord that the northern powers’ restraint suggested they might be guarding against the Great Ying Divine Dynasty, and told him to watch out for the Yellow Springs Sect Master.
• Qin Yang entered the Black Forest Sea, where rumors of the Yellow Springs Treasure Book had drawn several factions and the Yellow Springs Lineage Master had already fought an expert from the Nether Saint Sect.
• Zhang Zhengyi evaded Yue Zhi Lineage scouts and followed Qin Yang’s plan to draw pursuers toward the Twin Peaks with a counterfeit Treasure Book.
• Zhang Zhengyi killed his pursuer, was grievously wounded, and fell from the cliff as Yue Zhi Lineage members took the counterfeit and fled.
• Qin Yang revived Zhang Zhengyi at the bottom of the cliff, rewarded him with a pot of soup, and sent him away with instructions to report what he had learned.
• Qin Yang concluded that the Yue Zhi Lineage would need its Lineage Master to retrieve the Treasure Book, but planned to keep the book inside the Black Forest Sea to lure him in.

Qin Yang realized that someone was secretly clearing other cultivators from the Black Forest Sea while the Yue Zhi Lineage disciples held the treasure tome. The Yellow Springs and Ghost Control Lineage Masters waited outside for Tian Lin, who chose to risk the journey, and Qin Yang concluded that Tian Lin was already doomed.

• Qin Yang noticed that nearly half of the unaffiliated cultivators had vanished overnight and deduced that someone was clearing the field.
• Qin Yang reasoned that the Yellow Springs and Ghost Control Lineage Masters had reached an agreement and were waiting for the Yue Zhi Lineage Master to take the bait.
• The Yellow Springs and Ghost Control Lineage Masters waited outside the Black Forest Sea while exchanging veiled insults and discussing their sects’ interests.
• Tian Lin weighed the danger against the disgrace of retreating, then ordered the Yue Zhi Lineage disciples to retrieve the treasure tome and flew toward the Black Forest Sea.
• Qin Yang watched Tian Lin’s approach and concluded that he was doomed, with the Yellow Springs Lineage Master next.

Qin Yang intervened in the Yue Zhi Lineage Master’s trap, steering him and the Ghost Control Lineage Master toward a battle that would kill the Yellow Springs Lineage Master. After the Yellow Springs Lineage Master fell, Qin Yang summoned the Second Sword Lord and withdrew as the surviving Lineage Masters resumed fighting.

• Qin Yang disguised himself, entered the Yue Zhi Lineage’s camp, and forced its disciples to summon Tian Lin by warning him of the trap.
• Qin Yang convinced Tian Lin to ally with the Ghost Control Lineage Master and kill the Yellow Springs Lineage Master, arguing that doing so would benefit them both.
• Qin Yang watched from afar as the Yue Zhi Lineage Master, the Yellow Springs Lineage Master, and the Ghost Control Lineage Master fought around the Black Forest Sea’s outskirts.
• The Ghost Control Lineage Master held back while the Yellow Springs Lineage Master and Tian Lin attacked, then struck the Yellow Springs River when it exposed an opening; the Yellow Springs Lineage Master’s aura vanished.
• Qin Yang summoned the Second Sword Lord, told him to retrieve the bodies if possible, and left the area as the Ghost Control Lineage Master and Tian Lin turned on each other.
• A streak of Golden Sword Qi descended on the Ghost Control Lineage Master and Tian Lin as they resumed their battle.

The Ghost Control Lineage Master escaped an ambush, secretly pursued the treasured tome, and was killed by a mysterious Black-Clothed Man after Qin Yang had replaced the real tome with a counterfeit. The Black-Clothed Man traced the theft to Qin Yang’s disguised appearance but believed he had uncovered Qin Yang’s true identity.

• The Second Sword Lord killed the wounded Yue Zhi Lineage Master as he tried to flee, while the Ghost Control Lineage Master escaped by using Shape Shifting to sacrifice his Ghost Servant and hide in disguise.
• Qin Yang noticed that the treasured tome was still with a disguised Yue Zhi disciple, concluded the Ghost Control Lineage Master had met with an unseen enemy, and decided to test who was behind the scheme.
• Qin Yang disguised himself as a Yellow Springs Demon Sect disciple, stole the genuine treasured tome from the Yue Zhi disciple’s Storage Bag, and replaced it with a counterfeit before leaving the area.
• The Ghost Control Lineage Master killed the disguised Yue Zhi disciple and found the counterfeit tome, but a Black-Clothed Man appeared and killed him before discovering that the book was false.
• The Black-Clothed Man used a silver mirror to trace the disciple’s journey back to Qin Yang, saw Qin Yang changing his appearance, and mistook that disguise for his true identity.

Qin Yang received the Yue Zhi Lineage Master's corpse from the Second Sword Lord and discovered memories linking the dead man, the Second Sword Lord, and Li Capital. He returned to the Yellow Springs Demon Sect, where the Yellow Springs Lineage Master's death had left many disciples relieved, and pretended to mourn the news.

• The Second Sword Lord gave Qin Yang the Yue Zhi Lineage Master's corpse and passed on Ruo Yan's warning that others were behind the recent events.
• Ruo Yan recognized the nourishing soup Qin Yang had sent and urged the Second Sword Lord to keep watch for anything he could report to Qin Yang.
• Qin Yang buried the Yue Zhi Lineage Master, then viewed memories showing the Second Sword Lord had maimed Tian Lin in Li Capital when they were young.
• Qin Yang found an ancient token inscribed with “Fengdu” and considered visiting the Great Ying Divine Dynasty, where the Second Sword Lord's family seemed powerful.
• Qin Yang returned to the Yellow Springs Demon Sect and encountered Lu Cure Ren, who was hurrying away after the Yellow Springs Lineage Master's death.
• Qin Yang feigned shock and sorrow over the Lineage Master's death, while Lu Cure Ren privately judged him vengeful and doubted Old Ancestor Cui had been involved.

Qin Yang returned to Old Ancestor Cui and found that his master had accepted the loss of the precious canon and no longer wanted him to explain or hand it over. After Sister-in-law Ruo Yan warned that enemies could use Qin Yang as a spark to reignite conflict in the South Barbarian Land, Qin Yang realized he needed to prepare for an attack.

• Qin Yang returned to Old Ancestor Cui, who told him the precious canon no longer mattered and urged him not to dwell on the past.
• Qin Yang and Zhao Ronghui drank together and discussed why the South Barbarian Land’s factions had grown calm after the three lineage masters died.
• Qin Yang spent the following months cultivating in the sect as the major factions avoided provoking one another.
• The Second Sword Lord delivered Sister-in-law Ruo Yan’s warning that someone could target Qin Yang to destabilize the South Barbarian Land.
• Qin Yang recognized that his connection to Old Ancestor Cui made him an easy target and began considering how to prepare.

Qin Yang suspected that someone was trying to use his death to reignite conflict in the South Barbarian Land, so he tested the danger by leaving the sect for Black Hawk City. An ambush failed when Zhao Ronghui intervened, but its mastermind revealed that Qin Yang was a pawn who had to die in a way that brought the greatest value.

• Qin Yang noticed that small clashes and suspicious deaths were increasing, and concluded that someone wanted to destabilize the South Barbarian Land by killing him.
• Qin Yang left the sect for Black Hawk City after arranging to meet Zhao Ronghui, then stopped on the road to see whether anyone would attack him.
• A fleeing saber cultivator tried to implicate Qin Yang, and Qin Yang fought alongside the two pursuers while concealing his true strength.
• Zhao Ronghui arrived and killed the two pursuers, but the saber cultivator self-destructed before he could be questioned.
• Qin Yang and Zhao Ronghui continued toward Black Hawk City, while a Black-Clothed Man told an associate that Qin Yang had to die at his hands to yield the greatest value.

The Black-Clothed Man arranged for Qin Yang to unknowingly consume Heart-Devouring Gu eggs in soup made by Old Ancestor Cui, intending to make Cui kill Qin Yang himself and then direct his rage at a false suspect. After the Gu hatched, Qin Yang realized how he had been trapped and feared Old Ancestor Cui would fall for the scheme.

• The Black-Clothed Man and the phantom discussed their plans and agreed to keep Qin Yang alive until the right moment.
• Lu Cure Ren reported Qin Yang’s supposed injury to his master, who ordered him to placate Old Ancestor Cui and authorized a Beast King as a gift.
• Old Ancestor Cui simmered the Five-Colored Brocade Chicken King into soup, and Qin Yang drank it over the following month, strengthening his Fire Element abilities.
• The Black-Clothed Man revealed that Heart-Devouring Gu eggs from the Beast King had entered Qin Yang through the soup and would eventually kill him.
• Qin Yang felt a sharp pain in his chest, discovered a Gu attached to his heart, and realized Old Ancestor Cui’s soup had been used to infect him.

Qin Yang discovered that a Heart-Devouring Gu had taken root in his heart after he drank Old Ancestor Cui’s soup, and he suspected Lu Cure Ren was behind the scheme. He realized the Gu could spark a war among the South Barbarian Land’s powers, so he planned to hide his condition and identify who would approach him when it became impossible to conceal.

• Qin Yang told Old Ancestor Cui about the Gu in his heart, and Old Ancestor Cui recognized it as a Heart-Devouring Gu and blamed himself.
• Old Ancestor Cui explained that the Gu would drain Qin Yang’s blood and qi before maturing, while Qin Yang reasoned that his strong body could let it survive long enough to detach.
• Qin Yang traced clues to Lu Cure Ren, who had arranged the Five-Colored Brocade Chicken King and recently asked whether Qin Yang had eaten it.
• Qin Yang concluded that the scheme could provoke Old Ancestor Cui, the Yellow Springs Demon Sect, Xuan Li, and the Li Race into a wider conflict across the South Barbarian Land.
• Qin Yang learned that the Gu would become impossible to hide after seven days and decided to pretend he was unaffected so he could discover who came to meet him at noon.

Qin Yang endured the Heart-Devouring Gu’s seventh-day attack and identified Wang Pengfei as the key to the plot against him, but Wang was killed before Qin Yang could catch him. Qin Yang planned to conceal his worsening condition, travel to the Li Clan, and use the enemy’s confidence in their scheme to set a trap.

• Qin Yang concealed the Gu’s seventh-day attack from Wang Pengfei and the Beast Arena disciples by using Secret Art Berserk, then recognized Wang as the person who had ensured the Five-Colored Brocade Chicken King infected him.
• Qin Yang learned that Wang Pengfei had died when a fierce beast’s chain supposedly broke, and concluded that the conspirators had silenced him and had allies within the Yellow Springs Demon Sect.
• Seven days later, Qin Yang endured another bout of the Heart-Devouring Pain while Old Ancestor Cui cared for him and urged him to seek help from Black Li.
• Qin Yang told Old Ancestor Cui that they should travel openly toward the Li Clan while letting the enemy believe he was near death, so they would lower their guard.
• Qin Yang prepared to persuade Mysterious Li’s leaders to cooperate with his plan, believing their help was crucial to his attempt to turn the scheme against its makers.

Qin Yang enlisted Black Li and Xuan Li in his plan, revealed that he possessed Xuan Li’s Sacred Tree, and used it to neutralize the Heart-Devouring Gu. After exposing the Jade Cicada’s role in a plot against him, he prepared to let the hidden enemy make their move during the coming chaos.

• Qin Yang brought Old Ancestor Cui to Black Li, where Ge Lou and He Xiao confirmed his Heart-Devouring Gu and agreed to help him uncover the plot against them.
• Qin Yang revealed that the Netherworld Ship held Xuan Li’s Sacred Tree and negotiated for Xuan Li’s full cooperation in exchange for returning it.
• Lu Cure Ren delivered a Jade Cicada and an old letter from Ying Lian, but Qin Yang suspected the gifts were part of the enemy’s scheme and arranged to proceed to the Netherworld Auction before going to Xuan Li.
• Qin Yang took He Xiao to the Netherworld Ship, where the Sacred Tree frightened the Heart-Devouring Gu into releasing its hold on him.
• At Black Li, the Jade Cicada killed the Heart-Devouring Gu during its noon attack, confirming Qin Yang’s suspicion that the gift was intended to kill him and leave Old Ancestor Cui vulnerable.
• Qin Yang concluded that the hidden enemy was about to make a decisive move, with several powerful figures near death and the South Barbarian Land on the verge of chaos.

Qin Yang helped expose the Demon Sect Master as the Yellow Springs Sect Master, who had conspired with Nine-Fingered Divine Marquis and manipulated the South Barbarian Land into chaos. After the Yellow Springs Sect Master and Lu Cure Ren died, Qin Yang returned to the sect to mourn them, left with a sense that everyone had been a victim.

• Xuan Li erupted in anger after Qin Yang was believed to have died from the Heart-Devouring Gu, and Old Ancestor Cui fought them before the South Barbarian Land descended into widespread conflict.
• At Tiger Head Mountain, the Demon Sect Master arrived with the Jiu Race to finish off the badly wounded fighters, but Qin Yang realized that the Yellow Springs Sect Master was still missing and stopped Old Woman He Xiao from attacking too soon.
• Old Woman He Xiao accused Xie Su Xian of serving Nine-Fingered Divine Marquis, and the apparently wounded factions revealed their strength and surrounded the Demon Sect Master.
• Qin Yang recognized that the Demon Sect Master was the Yellow Springs Sect Master in disguise, and Ge Lou confirmed his suspicions before the Yellow Springs Sect Master was exposed and defeated.
• Lu Cure Ren pleaded for his master, the Yellow Springs Sect Master, and died protecting him; Ge Lou explained that Mo Tingliu had also been replaced by an incarnation created through the Three Bodies Treasure Technique.
• Qin Yang returned to the Yellow Springs Demon Sect with Old Ancestor Cui and kept vigil beside the coffins of the Yellow Springs Sect Master and Lu Cure Ren.

Qin Yang refused to erase the traces around Mo Tingliu’s corpse, then joined Old Woman He Xiao and Ge Lou in ambushing the Nine-Fingered Divine Marquis, who escaped after being wounded. Three months later, Qin Yang received word that Old Man Wei was dying and prepared to return, where Le Qi Yi reappeared and revealed that Ru Yang Marquis was his father.

• Qin Yang left Mo Tingliu’s corpse untouched, and a dying spy used a silver mirror to confirm that nobody had erased the mourning hall’s traces.
• Qin Yang and Zhao Ronghui discovered that Old Tian had died after secretly sending the silver mirror out, while Qin Yang suspected the Nine-Fingered Divine Marquis was watching the sect.
• Qin Yang, Old Woman He Xiao, and Ge Lou waited in the ancestral land, but the Nine-Fingered Divine Marquis escaped after Ge Lou’s sacrifice technique wounded him and forced him to activate his official seal.
• Qin Yang found a book borer hidden in Mo Tingliu’s letter, bound it to himself, and obtained information about the Nine-Fingered Divine Marquis, another Three Bodies Treasure Technique, and the Shape Transformation art.
• Three months later, Qin Yang learned that Old Man Wei was gravely injured and agreed to return to the Southern Border after speaking with Meng Yi.
• Le Qi Yi arrived to accompany Qin Yang and confirmed that Ru Yang Marquis was his father.

Qin Yang traveled with Le Qi Yi from the South Barbarian Land toward the Southern Border, where he learned about the Divine Dynasty’s spiritual energy and saw its power struggles firsthand. When the Black Thunder Guard attacked their White Jade Boat, Qin Yang destroyed the entire squad, leaving Le Qi Yi rescued but the conflict with the Nine Fingers Divine Marquis’s forces unresolved.

• Le Qi Yi invited Qin Yang to recuperate at the Ru Yang Marquis’s Estate, and Old Ancestor Cui agreed to let Qin Yang leave with his blessing and a gourd of nourishing soup.
• Qin Yang departed aboard the White Jade Boat, later remembered that he had left the Yin Bei Beast in the Nether Saint Sect’s Ghost Pit, and chose not to turn back.
• As the boat crossed into the Southern Border, Le Qi Yi explained how spiritual energy there differed from the South Barbarian Land, and Qin Yang sensed the Great Ying Divine Dynasty’s immense power.
• Le Qi Yi ordered the White Jade Boat through a battle between a Sword Cultivator and black-clad forces, but the Black Thunder Guard struck the boat and trapped Le Qi Yi with lightning.
• After learning that the Black Thunder Guard belonged to the Nine Fingers Divine Marquis, whose relationship with the Ru Yang Marquis was hostile, Qin Yang entered the black clouds and used the Lightning Attraction Secret Technique to turn the lightning against them.
• Qin Yang’s scarlet lightning river incinerated the Black Thunder Guard, and he returned to the boat claiming that killing them had rescued Le Qi Yi.