Chapter Summaries

Jiang Qinghe effortlessly withstood Chen Lingfeng’s forbidden Fourth Rank strike by activating his perfected Primordial Chaos Armor, shocking the spectators and Chen Lingxue. The duel left Chen Lingfeng’s attack neutralized and Jiang Qinghe’s hidden mastery revealed.

• Chen Lingfeng grew frustrated when Jiang Qinghe repeatedly anticipated and countered his attacks.
• Chen Lingfeng raised his strength to the Innate Fourth Rank and unleashed Ice Absolute: River Break at Jiang Qinghe.
• Jiang Qinghe activated the Primordial Chaos Armor and absorbed the strike without moving or being injured.
• Chen Lingxue recognized the armor as the Primordial Chaos Armor and realized Jiang Qinghe had perfected the difficult technique.

Jiang Qinghe impressed the Chen Family by defeating Chen Lingfeng’s attack with his consummate defensive technique, earning Chen Shouyi’s praise. After the gathering, Chen Shouyi privately summoned Jiang Qinghe and began offering the Chen Family’s thanks for his service and for saving Chen Lingxue.

• Jiang Qinghe’s Primordial Chaos Armor withstood Chen Lingfeng’s full-force strike, and his counterattack left Chen Lingfeng stunned.
• Chen Shouyi stopped the spar, praised Jiang Qinghe, and admonished Chen Lingfeng to guard against arrogance and impatience.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue exchanged smiles as the Chen Family gathering ended and the guests departed.
• Chen Lingxue led Jiang Qinghe to a quiet courtyard, where Chen Shouyi was waiting to meet him.
• Chen Shouyi thanked Jiang Qinghe for fighting beside Chen Lingxue and saving her life, then opened one of two jade boxes.

Chen Shouyi gave Jiang Qinghe several valuable treasures and cultivation resources as thanks for his actions at the Path of Rebirth, drawing him closer to the Chen Family. During their conversation, Chen Shouyi recognized that Jiang Qinghe had secretly comprehended the Gale Wind Artistic Conception.

• Chen Shouyi presented Jiang Qinghe with the Mid-grade Treasure Tool saber Jinghong and the Mystic Tortoise Armor.
• Chen Shouyi gave Jiang Qinghe a Mid-grade Myriad Phenomena Bag containing one hundred High Grade Purple Crystal Stones.
• Jiang Qinghe initially tried to refuse the gifts, but Chen Lingxue urged him to accept them and Chen Shouyi framed them as support for one of their own.
• Jiang Qinghe accepted the gifts and promised to meet Chen Shouyi's expectations.
• Chen Shouyi noticed the subtle influence of Gale Wind Artistic Conception in Jiang Qinghe's movements and admired his ability to conceal it.

Chen Shouyi taught Jiang Qinghe how to understand and embody the Gale Wind Artistic Conception and combine it with the Earthen Intent Artistic Conception. After Jiang Qinghe left, Chen Shouyi praised him to Chen Lingxue and resolved to support him, believing he could reach the Profound Light Realm before thirty.

• Chen Shouyi demonstrated the nature of wind and explained how Jiang Qinghe could learn to know it and become one with it.
• Chen Shouyi showed Jiang Qinghe how the wind and mountains complemented each other, giving him a way to combine the Gale Wind and Earthen Intent Artistic Conceptions.
• Jiang Qinghe thanked Chen Shouyi, gained a new understanding of his cultivation path, and tactfully took his leave.
• Chen Lingxue asked Chen Shouyi what he thought of Jiang Qinghe, and he praised her for recognizing Jiang Qinghe's exceptional talent.
• Chen Shouyi recalled choosing the most generous gift for Jiang Qinghe and resolved to invest further in him, predicting he would reach the Profound Light Realm before thirty.

Jiang Qinghe presided over his first quarterly meeting as Vice Grand Commander, then began cultivating the fusion of his Gen Earth and Xun Wind artistic conceptions. The chapter left him at the entrance to his courtyard, where he learned that a young man named Zhao Guangyi had requested an audience.

• Jiang Qinghe chaired the Northern District Demon Slaying Division’s quarterly meeting, heard reports on recent operations, and learned that Hong Yankun had been executed.
• Jiang Qinghe invited Zhou Yi to transfer to headquarters, and Zhou Yi eagerly accepted.
• Jiang Qinghe tried to fuse his Gen Earth and Xun Wind artistic conceptions but concluded that the process could not be rushed.
• Jiang Qinghe cultivated with a High Grade Purple Crystal Stone and slightly loosened the bottleneck of his sixth great meridian.
• A division guard told Jiang Qinghe that Zhao Guangyi had arrived and requested an audience.

After Zhao Guangyi awakened from fusing with Da Yi’s Battle Witch Blood Essence, he told Jiang Qinghe about the Star Stepping inheritance and demonstrated his immense physical power in a spar. Their first clash at full strength ended evenly, but Zhao Guangyi’s fist cracked, leaving his condition uncertain.

• Jiang Qinghe welcomed Zhao Guangyi after he awakened and learned that the blood essence came from Da Yi, a Battle Witch who passed down the Star Stepping martial art.
• Zhao Guangyi explained that his Witch Clan bloodline was thin, so he had fused with only a small portion of the blood essence despite gaining tremendous strength.
• Jiang Qinghe challenged Zhao Guangyi to a spar to test the power he had gained from the Witch Blood.
• Zhao Guangyi overwhelmed Jiang Qinghe with his physical strength and durability, while Jiang Qinghe’s Innate true qi left only minor marks on his skin.
• Zhao Guangyi unleashed a punch carrying a million jin of force, and Jiang Qinghe met it with Innate Fourth Rank true qi; they separated evenly, but cracks appeared across Zhao Guangyi’s fist.

Zhao Guangyi sought help after his fist cracked from a full-strength punch and failed to heal. Zheng Borui identified him as a Witch Cultivator and warned that his body could not withstand the power of his awakened bloodline, leaving his progress in danger.

• Jiang Qinghe and Zhao Guangyi tried healing medicines overnight, but the cracks in Zhao Guangyi's fist did not heal.
• Jiang Qinghe brought Zhao Guangyi to the Spring Return Branch Pavilion to consult Zheng Borui while Ziyue was in closed-door cultivation.
• Zheng Borui sensed Zhao Guangyi's immense qi and blood and suspected that he followed the Witch Cultivator path.
• Zhao Guangyi confirmed that he had awakened Witch Clan bloodline and explained how his fist had begun to shatter after a full-force punch.
• Zheng Borui recalled another Witch Cultivator whose bloodline potential had reached its limit and judged that Zhao Guangyi's body could not bear his current bloodline power.

Zheng Borui explained that Zhao Guangyi’s heart could unleash more power than his body could withstand and proposed an experimental silver-needle method and potent pills to strengthen him. Zhao Guangyi accepted the risks and agreed to seek Spirit Monster inner cores in East Mountain, while Zheng Borui began planning the treatment.

• Zhao Guangyi declared that becoming a Witch Cultivator had been worthwhile even if his path ended there, and Jiang Qinghe asked Zheng Borui whether he could help.
• Zheng Borui demonstrated his Silver Needle Medicinal-Power Guidance Method and explained that Zhao Guangyi’s body could not endure the force his transformed heart produced.
• Zheng Borui warned that the experimental treatment carried unknown risks and required pills made with Spirit Monster inner cores.
• Zhao Guangyi vowed to hunt the inner cores and undergo the treatment, and Jiang Qinghe supported his decision.
• Zheng Borui agreed to examine Zhao Guangyi and said the Spirit Monster inner cores could be found in East Mountain beyond the city’s eastern gate.

After Zhao Guangyi settled at the Spring Return Branch Pavilion, Jiang Qinghe learned that the Demon Slaying Headquarters treasury had been robbed and was ordered to solve the case within three days. He suspected the Xiao Family had engineered the theft and investigation to undermine him, and the chapter ended as a brown-robed man taunted him for leaving work before the case was solved.

• Jiang Qinghe arranged for Zhao Guangyi to stay at the Spring Return Branch Pavilion, where Jiang Ziyue welcomed him warmly.
• Zhou Yi reported that the headquarters treasury had been robbed of valuable manuals, pills, and Natural Treasures.
• Jiang Qinghe ordered an investigation and suspected that an Innate High Grade expert, possibly connected to the Xiao Family, had committed the theft.
• The Supervision Department investigated the headquarters, uncovered accounting irregularities, punished staff, and held Jiang Qinghe responsible for failing to recover the stolen goods within three days.
• Jiang Qinghe left the headquarters after work, and a brown-robed man mocked him for departing while the treasury case remained unsolved.

Jiang Qinghe ignored Zhang Qizhi’s threats, broke through to Innate Sixth Rank, and secretly entered the Inner City using the Escaping Immortal Shuttle. He arrived inside the walls ready to confront Xiao Yonghao, while Chen Lingxue had still not returned.

• Jiang Qinghe left Zhang Qizhi behind after their hostile exchange, and Zhang vowed to use the investigation report to have him stripped of office.
• Jiang Qinghe cultivated at Quiet Contemplation Garden and spent his accumulated Potential Points to advance to Innate Sixth Rank.
• Jiang Qinghe noted that the investigation deadline ended the next day and resolved to deal with Xiao Yonghao.
• Jiang Qinghe changed into Night Travel Clothes, concealed his face, and left the headquarters for the Inner City.
• Jiang Qinghe used the Escaping Immortal Shuttle to teleport six hundred meters across the Inner City walls and arrived in a deserted alley.

Jiang Qinghe infiltrated Xiao Yonghao’s estate and killed him with a sudden lightning-laced saber strike, then escaped into the shadows. Xiao Yonghao’s guards and servants rushed to investigate and found the shocking aftermath.

• Jiang Qinghe replenished his true qi in a Cangfeng City alley before continuing toward the Inner City.
• Xiao Yonghao decided to cripple Jiang Qinghe to remove him as a threat to the Xiao Family’s plans.
• Jiang Qinghe ambushed Xiao Yonghao with the Thunderclap saber move and split him in two.
• Jiang Qinghe took Xiao Yonghao’s Myriad Phenomena Bag, teleported away, and fled through the shadows with his true qi exhausted.
• Xiao Yonghao’s guards and servants rushed to the room and froze when they saw the scene.

Jiang Qinghe escaped the Inner City after killing Xiao Yonghao and deliberately left clues that could implicate the Lin Family. Back at the Demon Slaying Headquarters, he searched Xiao Yonghao’s stolen goods and found valuable cultivation resources that could help him advance.

• The guards discovered Xiao Yonghao’s charred remains and realized that a Direct Core member of the Xiao Family had been murdered in his own home.
• Jiang Qinghe replenished his true qi with a Purple Crystal Stone and reflected that he had left lightning wounds to direct suspicion toward the Lin Family and the Commander's Mansion.
• Jiang Qinghe used the Escaping Immortal Shuttle to leave the Inner City and returned safely to Quiet Contemplation Garden, where he burned his disguise.
• Jiang Qinghe opened Xiao Yonghao’s Myriad Phenomena Bag and found the stolen treasures, including several Earth-grade manuals and valuable pills and Natural Treasures.
• Jiang Qinghe decided to keep focusing on the saber and recognized that the cultivation resources could help him reach the Innate Ninth Rank and eventually condense Profound Light.

Jiang Qinghe found valuable cultivation resources among Xiao Yonghao's belongings, while Xiao Yongbo investigated the mysterious killing without identifying the culprit. The next morning, Zhang Qizhi panicked over losing his patron, unaware that Jiang Qinghe had killed Xiao Yonghao.

• Jiang Qinghe found no martial arts manuals among Xiao Yonghao's belongings but discovered dozens of Top Grade Purple Crystal Stones, enough to support his cultivation toward the peak of the Innate Realm.
• Xiao Yongbo examined the lightning-scorched room and concluded that the killing could not have been carried out by an ordinary Innate cultivator, but he could not identify the attacker.
• Xiao Yongbo considered Xiao Yonghao's many enemies and the Profound Light Realm experts of the other great clans, then ordered a thorough investigation.
• Jiang Qinghe went to the Demon Slaying Division the next morning and passed Zhang Qizhi, who was distraught over Xiao Yonghao's death.
• Zhang Qizhi resolved to seek a new patron and abandoned the Treasury Theft investigation, unaware that Jiang Qinghe was responsible for Xiao Yonghao's death.

After Xiao Yonghao’s death stalled the treasury theft investigation, Chen Lingxue and Jiang Qinghe discussed the Supervision Department’s suspicions about the killer. Chen Lingxue dismissed the possibility that Jiang Qinghe was responsible, though she privately wondered if he could be.

• Chen Lingxue resumed command of the Demon Slaying Headquarters and pushed back the deadline Xiao Yonghao had set for Jiang Qinghe over the treasury theft.
• Chen Lingxue told Jiang Qinghe that the Supervision Department suspected a Profound Light Realm expert had killed Xiao Yonghao while disguising the attack’s strength and leaving misleading traces.
• Jiang Qinghe realized the investigators had no idea that the Escaping Immortal Shuttle had enabled the killing, and he wondered about the shuttle’s origins.
• Chen Lingxue speculated that Jiang Qinghe might have killed Xiao Yonghao, but rejected the idea because of his cultivation level and lack of any recorded trip to the Inner City.

After the investigation into Xiao Yonghao’s murder stalled, Jiang Qinghe used his cultivation and spiritual pills to break through to Innate Seventh Rank. The next morning, he met Chen Lingxue, who asked whether he had heard about the Zheng Family’s upcoming Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering.

• The search for Xiao Yonghao’s killer petered out, and the Xiao Family replaced him with Xiao Yongchang while keeping its influence in the Supervision Department.
• Jiang Qinghe refined six spiritual pills and accumulated enough progress to advance his Nine Revolutions True Understanding.
• Jiang Qinghe opened the Baihui meridian and broke through from Innate Sixth Rank to Innate Seventh Rank.
• Jiang Qinghe spent the night adapting to his new realm and awoke refreshed the next morning.
• Jiang Qinghe met Chen Lingxue, who asked whether he had heard about the Zheng Family’s Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering.

Jiang Qinghe visited the Spring Return Branch Pavilion, where he reunited with Jiang Ziyue and tested her swordsmanship. The chapter ended as Zhao Guangyi and Zheng Borui arrived in the courtyard after their treatment.

• Chen Lingxue told Jiang Qinghe about the upcoming Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering and asked whether Jiang Ziyue would attend with Zheng Borui.
• Jiang Qinghe went to the Spring Return Branch Pavilion and learned that Jiang Ziyue was practicing swordsmanship in the rear courtyard.
• Jiang Qinghe sparred with Jiang Ziyue, easily disarmed her, and advised her to refine her technique and control of force.
• Jiang Ziyue reviewed the exchange, then Zhao Guangyi and Zheng Borui entered the courtyard.

Zhao Guangyi recovered from his hand injuries through Zheng Borui’s Silver Needle Guidance Technique, and the group discussed the upcoming Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering. Jiang Ziyue planned to compete for a rare medicinal ingredient, while Zheng Borui prepared a way to disguise her Glazed Medicine Heart so she could safely show her talent.

• Zhao Guangyi reported that the Silver Needle Guidance Technique had healed his hands and strengthened his tendons, flesh, and bones.
• Zheng Borui confirmed that he and Jiang Ziyue would attend the Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering, where the Pill Combat champion could win an Earth Vein Profound Yellow Ginseng.
• Jiang Ziyue explained that the ginseng could be used to refine Gui Cang Pills to further strengthen Zhao Guangyi’s physique.
• Jiang Ziyue vowed to win the Pill Combat and help Zheng Borui refine Gui Cang Pills for Zhao Guangyi.
• Jiang Qinghe worried that Jiang Ziyue’s Glazed Medicine Heart might attract unwanted attention, so Zheng Borui demonstrated how her Ice Glaze Pendant could disguise it as an Ice Physique.
• Zheng Borui told Jiang Ziyue to compete as usual and do her best without forcing herself to win.

Cangfeng City’s powers and alchemists gathered at the Hui Chun Main Pavilion for the Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering. Jiang Qinghe surveyed the assembled factions and spotted Zheng Borui, Jiang Ziyue, and Zhao Guangyi among the participants as the pill cauldrons awaited the start of the event.

• The Hui Chun Main Pavilion prepared its plaza and viewing seats for the Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering.
• Representatives of the Chen, Lin, and Xiao Families, the Outer City districts, the City Lord’s Mansion, and neighboring cities arrived.
• Jiang Qinghe sat with the Chen Family delegation beside Chen Lingxue and observed the gathering’s influential guests.
• Jiang Qinghe noticed Zheng Borui, Jiang Ziyue, and Zhao Guangyi in the alchemists’ seating section.
• Dozens of pill cauldrons stood in rows at the center of the plaza as the gathering prepared to begin.

Jiang Qinghe attended the Zheng Family’s Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering, where he learned that its Pavilion Master, Zheng Wanyun, was the person his master had asked him to greet. The gathering began with Zheng Wanyun outlining its three-day program, while Jiang Qinghe wondered what past connected her to his master.

• Jiang Qinghe and Jiang Ziyue exchanged smiles and waved across the viewing stands as Chen Lingxue recognized her.
• Xiao Mengrong recalled rejecting Xiao Haoze’s suggestion that she marry Jiang Qinghe, then saw him at the gathering as a powerful figure beside Chen Lingxue.
• Zheng Wanyun arrived to lead the gathering, and Chen Lingxue identified her as the Pavilion Master of the Spring Return Grand Pavilion.
• Jiang Qinghe recognized Zheng Wanyun’s name as the person his master, Ping Jiuxiao, had asked him to greet, and wondered about their history.
• Zheng Wanyun opened the gathering and explained that its three days would feature a pill competition, treasure appraisal, and auction.

The Pill Combat began at the Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering, with young alchemists competing for rankings and valuable rewards. As Jiang Ziyue settled into the contest, another participant's early mistake showed how the pressure could disrupt even a promising attempt.

• The chapter explained that Cangfeng City's branch pavilions and qualified independent alchemists could enter the Pill Combat, whose rankings affected prestige and resources, with the Earth Vein Profound Yellow Ginseng awaiting the champion.
• Jiang Ziyue joined the other young alchemists on the platform, winked at Jiang Qinghe, and sat down to compose herself at her pill cauldron.
• A Pavilion Elder announced the five-hour limit, ingredient options, and judging criteria before ordering the contestants to light the fires and open their cauldrons.
• The alchemists began warming their cauldrons and refining ingredients as the audience watched under the pressure of the competition.
• Youngster Liu from the Huafengxiang Branch Pavilion lost control of his flames, clouded his medicinal liquid, and nearly ruined his chance at a ranking.
• Jiang Qinghe remained confident in Jiang Ziyue but instinctively worried as the contest continued.