Chapter Summaries

Nearly three years after his last visit, Chen Fei returned to the Ruan Family and gathered information about Sword Return Tower before setting out for Xiyun City. During an overnight stop, he reached Great Perfection in the Spirit Slaughter Technique and unleashed a flash of sword intent into the forest.

• Chen Fei visited the Ruan Family, where Ruan Qiaojun had maintained her authority and Chu Wennian and Chu Lan had prospered.
• Chen Fei reviewed the Ruan Family's reports on Sword Return Tower and took a map of the region, hoping to learn whether the tower held more Yuan Chen Sword Sect inheritances.
• Chen Fei gave Chu Lan pills for her and Chu Wennian, then left Qin Hai City for Xiyun City.
• While resting in a forest, Chen Fei considered how the Great Thunderous Sword could complement his other techniques, but he could not cultivate it until he recovered the complete Yuan Chen Sword Canon.
• Chen Fei trained through the night and brought the Spirit Slaughter Technique to Great Perfection as a cold, sinister presence watched him.
• The Shadow Reflection God Slaying Sword stirred in Chen Fei's Sea of Consciousness, and a flash of sword intent shot into the forest.

Chen Fei entered Xiyun City in disguise and learned that Sword Return Tower had grown far stronger than expected, making a direct confrontation impossible. He decided to infiltrate the sect as a disciple and arrived at its mountain gate among hundreds of applicants, his concealed cultivation escaping notice.

• Chen Fei's Great Perfection Realm Spirit Slaughter Technique enhanced the Shadow Reflection God Slaying Sword, and he continued cultivating through the night.
• Chen Fei reached Xiyun City, concealed his Aperture Refining Realm cultivation, and learned that Sword Return Tower was accepting disciples.
• After investigating the city, Chen Fei discovered Sword Return Tower had two late-stage Aperture Refining Realm cultivators and abandoned his plan to confront the sect by force.
• Chen Fei decided to infiltrate Sword Return Tower as a disciple, using his Spirit Slaughter Technique to conceal his cultivation and changing his appearance to support a new identity.
• Two days later, Chen Fei joined the applicants beneath Sword Return Tower's mountain gate, where an observing Aperture Refining Realm cultivator mistook him for an ordinary Bone Forging Realm martial artist.

Chen Fei joined Sword Return Tower under a false identity and used a shadow clone to search for the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s lost cultivation methods. After finding no trace on the main peak, he continued searching the sect grounds until the Sword Guiding Art reacted.

• Chen Fei posed as Zhao Tie and passed Sword Return Tower’s test to become an Outer Sect Disciple.
• Chen Fei settled into a shared room and waited until the other disciples were asleep before sending out a shadow clone.
• Chen Fei avoided an Aperture Refining Realm expert and used the Sword Guiding Art near the main peak, but sensed no Yuan Chen inheritance there.
• Chen Fei suspected the inheritance might be hidden elsewhere, then searched Sword Return Tower’s grounds with the Sword Guiding Art.
• An hour into the search, Chen Fei’s Sword Guiding Art reacted.

Chen Fei discovered Sword Return Tower’s inheritance beneath a lake but withdrew when he sensed its warning formation. He learned Blood Touch to borrow the formation’s power and returned to the lake after ten days of training, poised to infiltrate the inheritance site.

• Chen Fei followed the Sword Guiding Art to the lake, dug beneath its bed, and sensed a formation before reaching the inheritance site.
• Chen Fei returned to his room and used the panel to simplify Blood Source Technique: Blood Touch into bleeding, then cultivated the move by controlling his blood.
• Chen Fei attended the lesson on the Mind Sword Art and moved out of his shared room to avoid implicating the two disciples there.
• After ten days of practicing Blood Touch, Chen Fei returned to the lake, reached the formation, and spread his blood mist before it.

Chen Fei infiltrated the Sword Return Tower’s inheritance site, defeated its guard Shi Shaofang, and began collecting the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s lost cultivation methods. After acquiring the Blade Slayer Sword and Water Jade Sword, he started absorbing the Yuan Chen Sword Canon, whose inheritance continued beyond the third layer.

• Chen Fei used Blood Touch to penetrate the formation and entered the inheritance cavern undetected.
• Chen Fei struck Shi Shaofang with sword light, severely wounding him, then sealed his vital energy and Spiritual Power.
• Chen Fei absorbed the Blade Slayer Sword and Water Jade Sword inheritances from two stone steles.
• Shi Shaofang awakened but could not move, while Chen Fei continued to a stele bearing the Yuan Chen Sword Canon’s aura.
• Chen Fei pressed his hand to the stele and began receiving the Yuan Chen Sword Canon inheritance, which continued past its third layer.

Chen Fei obtained the complete seven-layer Yuan Chen Sword Canon from Sword Return Tower’s inheritance stele and escaped with Shi Shaofang’s belongings. Sword Return Tower’s Sect Master, Xing Xinzhao, discovered the intrusion and pursued him, forcing Chen Fei to use a shadow clone to mislead his pursuer.

• Chen Fei received all seven complete layers of the Yuan Chen Sword Canon and realized he could fuse six techniques, with the Yuan Chen Sword Body potentially recoverable from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.
• Chen Fei took Shi Shaofang’s spirit sword, elemental stones, and medicinal pills, then used Blood Touch to escape the formation beneath the lake.
• Chen Fei tried to leave Sword Return Tower unnoticed, but the sect’s formation was seized by someone and he sensed surveillance and pursuit.
• Chen Fei fled at full speed using Heaven Escaping Movement, the Flying Ling Shuttle, and the Spirit Slaughter Technique, while Xing Xinzhao used Sword Eye to follow his fading traces.
• Xing Xinzhao caught up with Chen Fei, who split off a shadow clone to confuse the pursuit.

Chen Fei escaped Sword Return Tower’s pursuit and met Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun, who had come to help him. He revealed that he had recovered the complete Yuan Chen Sword Canon and three other lost techniques, leaving the elders stunned as Xing Xinzhao caught up.

• Chen Fei used a shadow clone to split Sword Return Tower’s pursuit, but Xing Xinzhao and Sui Wengong continued closing in on him.
• Chen Fei reached Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun, who had arrived to assist him, and Zhou Zixun carried him away from the approaching pursuers.
• Chen Fei told Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun that he had recovered the complete Yuan Chen Sword Canon.
• Chen Fei revealed that he had also obtained the complete Blade Slayer Sword, Great Thunderous Sword, and Water Jade Sword methods.
• Zhou Zixun angrily condemned Sword Return Tower, then sensed Xing Xinzhao approaching.

Xing Xinzhao was trapped by Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun, but Chen Fei’s Mind Skill attack created an opening that let Xing Xinzhao escape with Sui Wengong. The battle left Zhou Zixun’s brief burst of strength fading and Chen Fei with new insight into the Giant Spirit Sword.

• Xing Xinzhao recognized Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun and tried to flee, but Qu Qingsheng’s Heavy Origin Sword Array and Zhou Zixun’s attack trapped him.
• Zhou Zixun fought with power drawn from his near-breakthrough to the Joint Aperture Realm, and Chen Fei noticed that Zhou Zixun’s Giant Spirit Sword carried his own Artistic Conception.
• Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun steadily wore down Xing Xinzhao as Sui Wengong’s aura drew closer.
• Chen Fei used Godslayer to injure Xing Xinzhao’s Sea of Consciousness, creating a brief opening for Qu Qingsheng to sever Xing Xinzhao’s arm.
• Xing Xinzhao unleashed his Acupoints’ power, tore through the sword array, and escaped while carrying Sui Wengong away.

Chen Fei returned several lost cultivation methods to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect after its fight with Sword Return Tower, giving the sect the chance to grow stronger. Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun chose to keep the recovery secret for now, but an alarm from the sect’s main peak interrupted them.

• Xing Xinzhao survived the battle but lost an arm and suffered lasting damage to his cultivation, while Zhou Zixun and Qu Qingsheng led Chen Fei away from Sword Return Tower.
• Chen Fei gave Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun jade slips containing four recovered cultivation methods, including the Yuan Chen Sword Canon.
• Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun decided to tell only elders who needed the methods, keeping the recovery secret because the Yuan Chen Sword Sect was weak compared with its neighbors.
• Qu Qingsheng received a warning from a spiritual artifact linked to the sect’s main peak and decided to return first.

Chen Fei reached Great Perfection in both Heaven Escaping Movement and the Giant Spirit Sword while traveling alone after Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun returned to the sect. He then found that the Cliff Mountain Army had taken Qin Hai City, and discovered the Ruan Family residence occupied by others.

• Chen Fei told Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun to return to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect while he continued alone.
• At the Tongtian River, Chen Fei comprehended Heaven Escaping Movement to Great Perfection and gained a fully solidified clone.
• Chen Fei comprehended the Giant Spirit Sword to Great Perfection, completing all three inherited cultivation techniques of the former Yuan Chen Sword Sect at that level.
• Chen Fei saw that Shangwu City had repelled the Cliff Mountain Army and followed the army’s apparent route toward Qin Hai City.
• Chen Fei found the Cliff Mountain Army’s banner flying over Qin Hai City, entered while disguised as a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, and discovered that strangers occupied the Ruan Family residence.

Chen Fei investigated why the Ruan Family had been eradicated after the Cliff Mountain Army took Qin Hai City and questioned a local information broker. The shopkeeper revealed that the Ruan Family’s connection to an Aperture Refining Realm powerhouse had reportedly caused the purge, then recognized Chen Fei as that very person.

• Chen Fei found that the Ruan Family was the only local force eradicated by the Cliff Mountain Army and went to question an information shop.
• Lang Jiushan tried to attack Chen Fei, but Chen Fei froze him with his gaze and forced the courtyard guards against the walls.
• The shopkeeper welcomed Chen Fei and told him the Cliff Mountain Army had taken Qin Hai City ten days earlier, absorbed its soldiers, and assigned quotas to the family forces.
• The shopkeeper said rumors blamed the Ruan Family’s purge on an Aperture Refining Realm powerhouse who had a grudge against the Cliff Mountain Army.
• The shopkeeper recognized Chen Fei as the powerhouse the Ruan Family had befriended and realized Chen Fei was the reason the family had been purged.

Chen Fei learned that the Cliff Mountain Army had purged the Ruan Family and infiltrated its military camp to find them. He discovered Chu Wennian and Chu Lan imprisoned in a water dungeon, and his clone appeared before their tormentor, Yan Shiguang.

• Chen Fei questioned a shopkeeper, learned that the surviving Ruan Family members were imprisoned in the southern military camp, and warned the shopkeeper to keep his visit secret.
• Chen Fei sent a clone into the Cliff Mountain Army camp under cover of darkness to search for Ruan Qiaojun, Chu Wennian, and Chu Lan.
• Chu Wennian lay gravely injured in the water dungeon after protecting Chu Lan from the soldiers, while Chu Lan feared he would die.
• Yan Shiguang threatened Chu Wennian for coughing and sneered at Chu Lan's scar as the two clung to the hope that Chen Fei would come.
• Chen Fei's clone appeared before Yan Shiguang and decapitated him before he could raise an alarm.

Chen Fei rescued Chu Lan, Chu Wennian, and the Ruan Family members who chose to leave the water prison, then carried them through the military camp as the Cliff Mountain Army pursued. He split off his clone to keep the rescued group moving and confronted Cheng Hengzhong, whose defensive sword technique began to buckle under Chen Fei’s strike.

• Chen Fei killed Yan Shiguang, freed Chu Lan and Chu Wennian, and stabilized Chu Wennian’s condition.
• Chen Fei offered to take the Ruan Family prisoners outside the city, and the members willing to risk escape followed him while a few stayed behind.
• Chen Fei carried the Ruan Family members toward the camp’s edge, killing patrolling soldiers until the alarm brought Ji Zhuowen and Cheng Hengzhong after them.
• Ji Zhuowen fired an arrow at Chen Fei, but Chen Fei’s true body intercepted it while his clone continued carrying the prisoners away.
• Ji Zhuowen sent Cheng Hengzhong after the Ruan Family members, but Chen Fei appeared before Cheng Hengzhong and attacked with the Qian Yuan Sword.
• Cheng Hengzhong used Sword Seal Mountain to defend himself, but Chen Fei’s strike overwhelmed the technique.

Chen Fei fought through the Cliff Mountain Sect’s forces to protect the Ruan Family, defeating Cheng Hengzhong and Ji Zhuowen with overwhelming strength. When Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng arrived, Chen Fei realized they had used the Ruan Family as bait, then killed Ji Zhuowen despite Hong Yuanfeng’s threat.

• Chen Fei wounded Cheng Hengzhong with one sword strike, then turned away as Ji Zhuowen hesitated to stop him.
• Ji Zhuowen fired arrows at the Ruan Family and tried to block their escape, but Chen Fei destroyed the arrows and confronted him.
• Chen Fei used Heaven Escaping Movement to reach Ji Zhuowen and shattered his Sea Sealing Sword with a single thrust.
• Liang Zhongpu, Xu Yanxin, and Hong Yuanfeng arrived, and Chen Fei recognized that Hong Yuanfeng and the Cliff Mountain Sect had lured him out using the Ruan Family as bait.
• Hong Yuanfeng threatened Chen Fei, but Chen Fei swept his sword across Ji Zhuowen’s neck and killed him.

Chen Fei lured Hong Yuanfeng and Liang Zhongpu away from Qin Hai City while his avatar led the Ruan Family to safety. He stopped in a forest and revealed his plan to kill them, then overwhelmed Liang Zhongpu’s Sea Sealing Sword with the Heavy Origin Sword Array.

• Chen Fei killed Ji Zhuowen, took his spiritual weapon, and fled the military camp as Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng pursued him.
• Xu Yanxin followed the pursuit, believing the two men could defeat Chen Fei together.
• Chen Fei’s avatar escorted Chu Lan and the Ruan Family beyond Qin Hai City while his true body led the pursuers away.
• Chen Fei stopped in a distant forest, intending to kill Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng and eliminate the Cliff Mountain Army’s Aperture Refining Realm cultivators.
• Liang Zhongpu attacked with the Sea Sealing Sword, but Chen Fei’s Heavy Origin Sword Array crushed it and left Liang Zhongpu shaken.

Chen Fei fought Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng, forcing Hong Yuanfeng to unleash a self-destructive technique that brought him to late-stage Aperture Refining Realm strength. Chen Fei survived the clash and began recovering rapidly, leaving both opponents stunned.

• Chen Fei's sword formation overwhelmed Liang Zhongpu's Sea Sealing Sword, while Hong Yuanfeng used the Heavenly Mountain Sword to attack the formation.
• Chen Fei intercepted Hong Yuanfeng's strike with his physique and counterattacked with the Qian Yuan Sword, forcing Hong Yuanfeng to shatter his acupoints with the Mountain Shattering Style.
• Chen Fei used God Slaying to briefly disrupt Hong Yuanfeng before their swords collided, breaking the formation and leaving Chen Fei covered in severe wounds.
• Hong Yuanfeng believed Chen Fei was defeated and Liang Zhongpu moved to capture him, but Chen Fei's wounds healed quickly and his aura began to rise.

Chen Fei recovered from his wounds and killed Liang Zhongpu, then trapped the crippled Hong Yuanfeng before pursuing Xu Yanxin. He caught up with Xu Yanxin outside Qin Hai City and struck him down as Xu Yanxin begged for his life.

• Chen Fei's Dragon Subduing Elephant Spirit Suppression healed his wounds enough for him to resume fighting, and he withstood Liang Zhongpu's attack.
• Chen Fei used the God Slaying Sword and Heavy Origin Sword Array to kill Liang Zhongpu despite his pleas to surrender.
• Chen Fei left Hong Yuanfeng trapped in the Dragon Elephant Array, where his injuries worsened as he struggled.
• Xu Yanxin hurried toward Qin Hai City, realized Chen Fei had likely lured Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng away, and tried to flee when Chen Fei appeared.
• Chen Fei caught Xu Yanxin and struck his treasured sword back into his chest, shattering his clothing, flesh, and bones.

Chen Fei killed the cultivators who had trapped him and then continued his assault on the Cliff Mountain Sect in Qin Hai City. After defeating Qi Yuanlu at the City Lord Mansion, he seized the sect’s stored resources.

• Chen Fei forced Xu Yanxin to kill the unconscious Hong Yuanfeng, causing Hong Yuanfeng’s blood mark to transfer to Xu Yanxin, then killed Xu Yanxin and erased the evidence.
• Chen Fei entered Qin Hai City and killed the injured Cheng Hengzhong in the military camp.
• Chen Fei infiltrated the City Lord Mansion, broke its formation, and killed the injured Cliff Mountain Sect Master Qi Yuanlu.
• Chen Fei opened a protected room in the mansion and took more than seven hundred thousand taels of silver, spirit pills, spiritual materials, over six hundred primal stones, and three Low-grade Spirit Artifacts.

Chen Fei collected the Cliff Mountain Sect’s resources, rescued Ruan Qiaojun from the City Lord Mansion dungeon, and moved the Ruan Family to Linshui City. He then read intelligence from the Cliff Mountain Sect Master that pointed to Shangwu City.

• Chen Fei packed away the Cliff Mountain Sect’s spirit materials, primal stones, and inheritance jade slips before heading to find Ruan Qiaojun.
• Ruan Qiaojun feared Chen Fei could not overcome the Cliff Mountain Army, but Chen Fei crashed into the dungeon and freed her.
• Chen Fei took Ruan Qiaojun and the Ruan Family to Linshui City, telling them that Qin Hai City had fallen into turmoil.
• Chen Fei gave Chu Lan medicine for her facial injury, then examined a jade slip containing intelligence about Shangwu City.

Chen Fei learned that Shangwu City held a cave abode once owned by True Lord Xilian and hurried there to investigate. Near the city, his Spiritual Power warned him of danger, and he discovered that he had somehow entered alone while his shadow clone remained hundreds of meters away.

• Chen Fei read that Shangwu City possessed a cave abode belonging to True Lord Xilian, whose rare treasures had drawn the Cliff Mountain Army's interest.
• Chen Fei suspected the missing Aperture Refining Realm cultivators of the Cliff Mountain Army had gone to seek reinforcements, then refined Origin Stones and spirit pills until he opened four Acupoints and reached forty-five.
• Chen Fei bid farewell to Ruan Qiaojun and Chu Lan before leaving for Shangwu City.
• Chen Fei sensed something wrong near Shangwu City, though the city and its approaching caravan appeared normal.
• Chen Fei sent his shadow clone toward the city gates, but the gates seemed like a beast's maw, and he realized he was inside the empty city in his true body while his clone remained hundreds of meters away.