Chapter Summaries

Chen Lingxue taught Jiang Qinghe the Chen Family’s Frost Soul Ice Heart Art, and he tried to advance toward the Profound Light Realm while they remained trapped beneath Heaven Pillar Peak. Their slow progress and inability to escape left them worried about the fate of the Chen Family members who had joined the demon-slaying expedition.

• Chen Lingxue shared the Frost Soul Ice Heart Art with Jiang Qinghe and explained its cultivation in detail.
• Jiang Qinghe memorized the technique and spent three days attempting to unite the true qi in his nine meridians, but made little progress.
• Jiang Qinghe tried to use the Escaping Immortal Shuttle to pass through the rock wall, but it failed.
• Chen Lingxue wondered aloud how Third Granduncle and the others were faring, and Jiang Qinghe shared her concern for the Chen Family.

While trapped beneath the mountain, Chen Lingxue told Jiang Qinghe about her parents’ deaths and vowed to kill Xing Daoyuan. Over nearly two months, they cultivated and searched for an escape; Jiang Qinghe perfected Azure Sky Lightning Draw and Void Speed Star Mark, but remained imprisoned.

• Chen Lingxue told Jiang Qinghe that her father died attempting to open his meridians and her mother died after giving birth to her, while Third Great-Uncle had raised her.
• Chen Lingxue vowed that Xing Daoyuan would not escape her, and Jiang Qinghe silently agreed that the blood debt must be repaid.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue spent nearly two months cultivating with Spirit Crystals and trying unsuccessfully to escape the mountain.
• On the forty-seventh day, Jiang Qinghe perfected Azure Sky Lightning Draw and comprehended the Thunderquake artistic conception, leaving charred cracks in the rock wall.
• After nearly two months, Jiang Qinghe perfected Void Speed Star Mark, and his cultivation panel showed 1,500 Potential Points.

Jiang Qinghe advanced his Gale Wind Artistic Conception to Artistic Conception Fusion and detected a faint pulse deep beneath the platform. He and Chen Lingxue suspected it came from Earth Veins and began digging to find out.

• Jiang Qinghe touched the essence of wind in his consciousness and broke through to the second step of Gale Wind Artistic Conception.
• Jiang Qinghe showed Chen Lingxue his new Artistic Conception Fusion, and she was astonished by how quickly he had advanced.
• Jiang Qinghe used his enhanced senses to detect a slow pulse deep beneath their feet and told Chen Lingxue it might be the Great Earth's pulse.
• Chen Lingxue suggested the pulse could come from Earth Veins, and Jiang Qinghe chose a spot where the sensation was stronger.
• Jiang Qinghe dug into the rock with the Startled Swan Blade while Chen Lingxue cleared rubble and widened the pit.

After digging through the rock beneath Heaven Pillar Peak, Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue discovered the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot and a pool of Earth Vein Spirit Milk. Jiang Qinghe advanced his Earthen Intent Artistic Conception, and the pair stood before a treasure capable of attracting powerful cultivators from across Cangzhou.

• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue dug through roughly thirty meters of rock, opening a passage into a vast underground space filled with dense Spiritual Qi.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue found a colossal, pulsing Earth Vein Spirit Pivot and felt its Spiritual Qi nourish their bodies.
• Jiang Qinghe broke through to the second step of his wind-and-earth artistic conception while sensing the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue discovered a pool of Earth Vein Spirit Milk containing at least a hundred drops of the Heaven-grade treasure.

Jiang Qinghe used Earth Vein Spirit Milk to unify his nine Innate great meridians and condense a Frost Soul Profound Light Seed, reaching the Profound Light Realm. He invested his accumulated Potential Points into the Frost Soul Ice Heart Art, stabilizing his cultivation at the early stage of Condensing Light.

• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue sat by the Earth Vein Spirit Milk and began their breakthroughs, with Jiang Qinghe drinking several drops.
• Jiang Qinghe used the spirit milk’s energy to fuse his nine Innate great meridians into one foundation meridian.
• Jiang Qinghe condensed the Frost Soul Profound Light Seed in his dantian and entered the Profound Light Realm.
• Jiang Qinghe saw that his lifespan had increased by fifty years and that his Potential Point gains and lifespan-burning effect had improved.
• Jiang Qinghe spent all 1,550 Potential Points on the Frost Soul Ice Heart Art, strengthening his profound light and stabilizing at the early stage of Condensing Light.

Jiang Qinghe broke through to the Condensing Light stage with Chen Lingxue’s help and gathered the remaining treasures from the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot. After concealing their discovery, he prepared to test his new power against the rock wall that had blocked their way.

• Chen Lingxue reached the Innate Eighth Rank, then witnessed Jiang Qinghe successfully condense Frost Soul Profound Light and enter the Profound Light Realm.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue collected the remaining Earth Vein Spirit Milk and spirit liquid, intending to share the treasures with people close to them.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue agreed to keep the hidden Spirit Pivot secret, fearing others would covet it and bring disaster.
• Jiang Qinghe sealed the shaft to the Spirit Pivot with rocks and dirt, hiding the entrance beneath the rocky terrain.
• Jiang Qinghe infused the Startled Swan Blade with Profound Light and his Artistic Conceptions, then faced the rock wall as Chen Lingxue watched from a safe distance.

Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue broke through a rock wall and followed an underground river toward the surface, where they discovered Big Beard fighting an Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast. Jiang Qinghe recognized Big Beard but stayed hidden underwater as the battle continued.

• Jiang Qinghe repeatedly struck the rock wall with his blade until it collapsed, revealing an underground river passage.
• Jiang Qinghe and Chen Lingxue entered the river and swam downstream for hours toward a distant glimmer of daylight.
• Near the river’s exit, they heard a Great Demon roaring and stopped while Jiang Qinghe concealed his presence with the Breath Concealment Technique.
• Jiang Qinghe saw Big Beard fighting an Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast on the lakeshore and recognized him by the Escaping Immortal Shuttle’s reaction and his silver ring.
• Jiang Qinghe remained underwater and watched as Big Beard struggled to withstand the beast’s charges, declaring that he would claim its Void-Breaking Horn.

Big Beard killed the Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast to claim its Void-Breaking Horn, but a young man in blue-and-white robes ambushed him before he could take it. Recognizing the youth’s overwhelming strength, Big Beard abandoned the Anchoring Ring and fled into the forest.

• Big Beard fought the Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast with the Anchoring Ring and wounded it while enduring its spatially severing attacks.
• Big Beard tricked the beast into exposing its underside, then stabbed its vital point with a black spear and killed it.
• As Big Beard celebrated and watched the Void-Breaking Horn, a blue-and-white-robed youth burst from the lake and attacked him with a blade.
• The youth shattered Big Beard’s hastily formed shield, and Big Beard recognized him as the young man he had seen at the Pill Cauldron Grand Gathering.
• Big Beard realized the youth had reached Profound Light and possessed three Artistic Conceptions, then fled without retrieving the Anchoring Ring or Void-Breaking Horn.

Jiang Qinghe pursued Big Beard through East Mountain and broke through his Thunderflame Bombs to catch him. After overpowering Big Beard in a series of blade strikes, Jiang Qinghe left him gravely wounded and sprawled on the ground.

• Big Beard used his last two Thunderflame Bombs to block Jiang Qinghe’s path, then fled deeper into East Mountain.
• Jiang Qinghe swept the bombs aside with the Startled Swan Blade and survived their explosions behind layered defenses.
• Jiang Qinghe used the blast wave to accelerate and caught up to Big Beard as he tried to escape.
• Big Beard turned to fight, but Jiang Qinghe’s blade strikes overwhelmed his defenses and wounded his hands and arms.
• Jiang Qinghe broke Big Beard’s left arm and slashed across his chest, sending him crashing through trees and leaving him bleeding and in severe backlash.

Jiang Qinghe took Big Beard’s treasures before killing him and erasing every trace of his body. He then collected spoils from the dead Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast and fled East Mountain with Ling Xue.

• Big Beard offered Jiang Qinghe the Nameless Strange Gold, his savings, and his service in exchange for his life.
• Jiang Qinghe took the Nameless Strange Gold and two Myriad Phenomena Bags, then killed Big Beard as he thanked him for sparing his life.
• Jiang Qinghe destroyed Big Beard’s corpse and searched the area with his Spiritual Sense to ensure no trace remained.
• Jiang Qinghe returned to the lakeside, collected Big Beard’s Anchoring Ring and black spear, and harvested the Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast’s Void-Breaking Horn and Demonic Beast Core.
• Jiang Qinghe called Ling Xue out of the water, and they hurried away into the primeval forest.

Chen Shouyi learned that the Chen Family ancestor’s failed breakthrough had left his Spiritual Sense injured, exposing the family to pressure from the Xiao Family and the other clans. He also faced the likely loss of Jiang Qinghe and Chen Ling Xue beneath Heaven Pillar Peak, while weighing the family’s survival against further rescue attempts.

• Chen Shouyi told the clan elders that the ancestor’s breakthrough into the Primordial Sea had failed and his Spiritual Sense had been injured by the Xiao Family’s hidden array.
• Chen Shouyi ordered the family to keep the injury secret and search for medicines and methods to stabilize the ancestor’s Spiritual Sense and repair his body.
• Chen Shouyi recalled that an earlier attempt to excavate Heaven Pillar Peak had collapsed, burying the passage and killing several rescuers.
• Chen Shouyi considered that Jiang Qinghe and Chen Ling Xue were likely crushed beneath the mountain, while the Chen Family lacked the resources for a safe rescue.
• Chen Shouyi suppressed his grief and weighed the lives of the trapped pair against the danger of further weakening the family.

Chen Shouyi organized the Chen Family’s emergency defenses as the family faced a grave crisis, then received the astonishing news that Chen Lingxue and Jiang Qinghe had returned safely. Their account of escaping Heaven Pillar Peak revealed that Jiang Qinghe had reached the Profound Light Realm, giving the elders renewed hope.

• Chen Shouyi classified the Patriarch’s situation as the family’s highest secret, assigned emergency preparations, and ordered Chen Shou'en to oversee security at the Patriarch’s cultivation site.
• After the meeting, a steward announced that Chen Lingxue and Jiang Qinghe had returned, and the two appeared in the council hall.
• Chen Lingxue reunited with Chen Shouyi and was overjoyed to find Chen Shou'en alive.
• Chen Shou'en told Jiang Qinghe that Zhao Guangyi had held Xing Daoyuan back and helped him and Ling Feng escape the beast tide, easing Jiang Qinghe’s worry for his Senior Brother.
• Chen Lingxue explained how she and Jiang Qinghe escaped the collapsed Heaven Pillar Peak through an underground river, revealing that Jiang Qinghe had reached the Profound Light Realm.

Jiang Qinghe gave the Chen elders ten drops of Earth Vein Spirit Milk, which might heal their injured ancestor and ease the Chen Family’s crisis. He then left for the Spring Return Grand Pavilion, while Chen Shouyi ordered preparations to secretly bring the treasure to the ancestor.

• Jiang Qinghe credited Chen Lingxue’s Frost Soul Ice Heart Art for helping him enter the Profound Radiance Realm, and the elders discovered she had advanced to the Eighth Rank.
• Jiang Qinghe revealed that he and Chen Lingxue had found Earth Vein Spirit Milk at the foot of Heaven Pillar Peak and offered ten drops to the Chen elders.
• Chen Shouyi accepted the Earth Vein Spirit Milk, hoping it would heal the injured Chen Family ancestor and repay the Chen Family’s kindness to Jiang Qinghe.
• Jiang Qinghe left for the Spring Return Grand Pavilion to reassure his Senior Brother and younger sister, while Chen Lingxue promised to visit them the next day.
• Chen Shouyi ordered Chen Shou'en to prepare secretly to take the Earth Vein Spirit Milk to the ancestor’s place of closed-door cultivation that night.

Chen Lingxue resolved to pursue her own path after comparing herself with Jiang Qinghe, while Jiang Qinghe returned to the Spring Return Grand Pavilion and ended Jiang Ziyue and Zhao Guangyi’s fears. The reunited group went inside to talk.

• Chen Shouyi praised Jiang Qinghe and urged Chen Lingxue to work hard, then advised her to find her own direction and cultivate steadily.
• Chen Lingxue left the discussion hall and turned her unease into determination to keep advancing.
• At the Spring Return Grand Pavilion, Jiang Ziyue asked Zhao Guangyi whether something had happened to her brother, and Zhao Guangyi prepared to reveal the truth about Jiang Qinghe’s disappearance.
• Jiang Qinghe arrived unexpectedly, reassuring Jiang Ziyue and Zhao Guangyi that he had returned alive.
• Zhao Guangyi verified Jiang Qinghe was real, and Jiang Qinghe teased him and Jiang Ziyue.
• Zheng Borui invited the reunited group inside for tea, pastries, and a proper conversation.

Jiang Qinghe reunited with Jiang Ziyue, Zhao Guangyi, and Zheng Borui, recounting how he survived the mountain's depths and learning how Zhao Guangyi survived the beast tide. He revealed his breakthrough and shared rare treasures with his companions, leaving them poised to use the Earth Vein Spirit Milk in secret.

• Jiang Qinghe described his ordeal to Jiang Ziyue, Zhao Guangyi, and Zheng Borui, while Jiang Ziyue reproached Zhao Guangyi for hiding the danger from her.
• Zhao Guangyi explained how life-and-death peril deepened his fusion with the Battle Witch Blood Essence, and Zheng Borui said he could now steadily exert strength comparable to the Innate Ninth Rank.
• Zheng Borui said Zhao Guangyi needed a Great Demon inner core as a medicinal catalyst for further treatment, and Jiang Qinghe produced the Earth-Covering Ink Armor Beast's inner core and horn.
• Jiang Qinghe revealed that he had broken through the barrier, leaving Jiang Ziyue, Zhao Guangyi, and Zheng Borui stunned by his aura.
• Jiang Qinghe gave each of them a bottle of Earth Vein Spirit Milk and warned them to keep the treasure secret.

After returning from East Mountain, Jiang Qinghe inspected the spoils from Big Beard and used Nameless Strange Gold to awaken the Escaping Immortal Shuttle’s eighth pattern. The shuttle developed a faint spiritual nature, revealing that it had become a Spirit Weapon.

• Jiang Qinghe settled into the Spring Return Grand Pavilion after returning from East Mountain and reviewed the weapons and martial technique manuals he had taken from Big Beard.
• Jiang Qinghe discovered that Big Beard’s booklet contained the Returning to Void Art, a powerful technique for concealing one’s aura and briefly making the body incorporeal.
• Jiang Qinghe summoned the Escaping Immortal Shuttle and activated the Profound Light Seed, causing the Nameless Strange Gold to break into particles and merge into the shuttle’s eighth pattern.
• Jiang Qinghe watched the eighth pattern light completely, leaving two of the shuttle’s nine patterns illuminated.
• Jiang Qinghe sensed the shuttle’s newborn spiritual nature and recognized it as a Spirit Weapon.

Jiang Qinghe examined the Escaping Immortal Shuttle after its upgrade, discovering expanded storage and a stronger instantaneous movement ability. The seventh pattern remained dormant, hinting at a future power tied to attack and slaughter.

• Jiang Qinghe found that the Escaping Immortal Shuttle's storage space had expanded into a ten-meter cube and was organized with several dozen Myriad Phenomena Bags.
• Jiang Qinghe learned that the shuttle's instantaneous movement range had doubled to four thousand meters, though each activation consumed over thirty percent of his Profound Light reserves.
• Jiang Qinghe sensed that the dormant seventh pattern was brewing an unknown ability that seemed connected to attack and slaughter.
• Jiang Qinghe returned the Escaping Immortal Shuttle to his chest, where it settled into its nurturing place and synchronized with his heartbeat.

Zheng Bojun told Zheng Wanyun that the Xiao Family had crippled Chen Guantong and ordered the Zheng Family to quietly reduce its support for the Chen Family. He then confronted her about bringing new people into the Spring Return Grand Pavilion, clarifying that he did not mean Zheng Borui.

• Zheng Bojun asked Zheng Wanyun what she knew about the conflict between the Chen and Xiao Families.
• Zheng Bojun revealed that the Xiao Family had ambushed Chen Guantong as he prepared to break through, leaving him gravely injured and his cultivation in danger.
• Zheng Wanyun realized Chen Guantong's fall could destabilize Cangfeng City's balance and usher in a conflict among the Four Great Clans.
• Zheng Bojun ordered Zheng Wanyun to gradually reduce the Zheng Family's dealings and support for the Chen Family while keeping the family's intentions ambiguous.
• Zheng Bojun questioned Zheng Wanyun about bringing several new people into the Grand Pavilion, then interrupted her explanation that she had transferred Zheng Borui back.

Zheng Bojun confronted Zheng Wanyun over her secret reassignment of resources and accused her of still protecting Ping Jiuxiao’s descendants because she had never forgotten him. His accusations brought back the story of how she rejected Li Tianyu decades earlier, sacrificing a chance to advance the Zheng Family.

• Zheng Wanyun insisted that the reassignment had involved only Eldest Uncle, but Zheng Bojun accused her of deceiving him.
• Zheng Bojun slapped Zheng Wanyun, knocking her hairpin loose and leaving her cheek swollen and bleeding.
• Zheng Bojun accused Zheng Wanyun of still loving Ping Jiuxiao and secretly looking after his disciples and descendants.
• Zheng Wanyun remembered how Zheng Bojun had urged her to cultivate a relationship with Li Tianyu, the Li Family heir from Cangzhou’s provincial capital.
• Zheng Wanyun had rejected Li Tianyu’s invitations because her heart belonged to someone else, and Li Tianyu had departed without pressuring her.
• Li Tianyu later rose to prominence, joined the Wind Thunder Sect, and helped the Li Family become one of the provincial capital’s top powers.

Zheng Bojun reprimanded Zheng Wanyun for her past love for Ping Jiuxiao and warned her not to shelter his disciples amid the Xiao Family’s coming retaliation. Left alone, Zheng Wanyun recalled how she had fallen in love with Ping Jiuxiao and wondered whether to remain loyal to her family or fight for a chance to redeem her old regret.

• Zheng Bojun blamed Zheng Wanyun’s past choices for costing the Zheng Family a chance to rise beyond Cangfeng City.
• Zheng Bojun questioned Zheng Wanyun about who survived the battle at Heaven Pillar Peak and warned her not to favor Ping Jiuxiao’s disciples over the family.
• Zheng Wanyun left her father’s presence, recalling the compromise that had ended her relationship with Ping Jiuxiao and kept her from marrying Li Tianyu.
• Zheng Wanyun remembered meeting Yi Seventeen, whom she later named Ping Jiuxiao, and how his wildflowers had sparked her love for him.
• Zheng Wanyun considered whether to protect the family’s interests or take a chance on her buried feelings as danger approached.