Chapter Summaries

Chen Fei completed his deduction of the Yuan Chen Sword Body on the Enlightenment Pagoda’s eighth floor in less than a day, then left to begin cultivating it. He invited Mi Xian to dine with him at the Wine House she had hoped to visit.

• Yan Zesong wondered how Chen Fei had endured the eighth floor’s pressure for half a day without relying on a spirit artifact.
• Chen Fei deduced the Yuan Chen Sword Body through its eighty-eighth acupoint and confirmed that the complete inheritance was cultivable.
• Chen Fei left the Enlightenment Pagoda and told the Steward Disciple that he had benefited greatly.
• Chen Fei found Mi Xian still waiting for him and asked her to take him to Haiyan City’s best place to eat.
• Chen Fei invited Mi Xian into the Wine House and ordered several signature dishes, delighting her.

Chen Fei treated Mi Xian to a meal and gave her the leftovers to take home before asking her to lead him to a secluded cultivation site. On the way, the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking arrived in Haiyan City, but Chen Fei chose to focus on cultivating first.

• Chen Fei encouraged Mi Xian to eat, served her meat, and had the remaining food packed for her family.
• Chen Fei asked Mi Xian to guide him to a place for secluded cultivation in Haiyan City.
• The Enlightenment Pagoda reacted to a distant spiritual treasure, and the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking appeared outside the city.
• Chen Fei avoided the rushing crowd with Mi Xian and learned that the ranking would remain for ten days.
• Chen Fei and Mi Xian reached a secluded cultivation site protected by a formation linked to Haiyan City's defenses.

Chen Fei cultivated the Yuan Chen Sword Body and linked all 108 acupoints, reaching the Peak Aperture Refining Realm. As he prepared to stop, Dragon Subduing Elephant Spirit Suppression advanced beyond Perfection and revealed a hidden acupoint within him.

• Chen Fei gave Mi Xian a newly created breathing technique after she eagerly asked to learn martial arts, then left her to share the news with her family.
• Chen Fei cultivated the Yuan Chen Sword Body in a cultivation chamber, and its progress harmonized the six other techniques in his body.
• Chen Fei opened the final acupoint, bringing his total to 108, then linked all the acupoints together and reached the Peak Aperture Refining Realm.
• Dragon Subduing Elephant Spirit Suppression surged beyond Perfection, and a hidden acupoint emerged inside Chen Fei's body.

Chen Fei discovered that the node formed by Dragon Subduing Elephant strengthened his body and continuously drew his 108 acupoints together, giving him an advantage in preparing for the Joint Aperture Realm. He went to the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking, where its keeper Shao Yongmin noticed his Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivation.

• Chen Fei realized the newly formed node was not an acupoint, but it greatly increased his physical strength and steadily tugged at his 108 acupoints.
• Chen Fei concluded the node could help him fuse his acupoints, but he still needed a rare limit-breaking pill or spirit material to break through with his mind.
• Chen Fei considered hunting a third-tier heart anomaly for its origin, then decided that seeking limit-breaking resources was safer.
• Chen Fei arrived at the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking outside Haiyan City and recognized the small mountain-shaped spirit treasure carried by a third-tier demon beast.
• Shao Yongmin, the ranking keeper, noticed Chen Fei's Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivation; no visiting Aperture Refining Realm cultivator had yet made the ranking.

Chen Fei entered the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking to earn a spirit treasure enchantment for the Qian Yuan Sword and a Haiyue Token. After easily defeating the first three opponents, he faced five new figures, while his allies on Chenshui Island tightened their defenses against probing factions.

• Shao Yongmin explained that reaching the ranking's top thirty would earn Chen Fei a weapon enchantment and a Haiyue Token, and Chen Fei paid fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones to enter.
• Chen Fei appeared in the ranking's Training Ground and defeated three late Aperture Refining Realm opponents with a single sword sweep.
• On Chenshui Island, Wu Guangyin warned Ji Ruiqing and Qu Qingsheng that more factions were probing the island, and Qu Qingsheng ordered the defenders to capture intruders and kill those who resisted.
• Chen Fei struck down the three opponents as they charged together, and the Training Ground produced five new figures.

Chen Fei tested the Great Perfection Yuan Chen Sword Canon against five coordinated late Aperture Refining Realm guardians and defeated them with the Yuan Chen Sword Array. He continued the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking challenge, where his next opponent was a Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivator, as spectators gathered outside to watch and bet.

• The five late Aperture Refining Realm guardians linked their power to share damage, but Chen Fei trapped them in the Yuan Chen Sword Array and defeated them one by one.
• Chen Fei recovered his vital energy, judged the Yuan Chen Sword Canon stronger than an ordinary Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivator's abilities, and chose to continue the challenge.
• The ranking summoned a Peak Aperture Refining Realm opponent for Chen Fei, marking the start of same-realm battles.
• Outside Haiyan City, spectators recognized Chen Fei in the ranking's halo, speculated about his chances, and discussed wagers on how far he would advance.
• Yan Zesong watched Chen Fei's aura on the ranking with a slight frown.

Chen Fei defeated Xia Xiangyi in the third round of the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking with overwhelming strength, advancing to challenge the ranking’s thirtieth-ranked martial artist. Outside, Yan Zesong and the spectators were stunned by how quickly Chen Fei had won.

• Yan Zesong arrived to challenge the ranking again but paused to watch Chen Fei, who had advanced to the Peak Aperture Refining Realm.
• Chen Fei faced Xia Xiangyi, whose immense strength was meant to overwhelm him, and blocked her saber without moving.
• Chen Fei used the Dragon Subduing Elephant’s power to send Xia Xiangyi flying and overpower her successive attacks.
• Chen Fei swept his sword across Xia Xiangyi’s neck, defeating her and earning the chance to challenge the ranking’s thirtieth-ranked martial artist.
• The crowd reacted to Chen Fei’s rapid victory, Cui Bao Xuan opened new bets, and Yan Zesong stared in disbelief.

After passing the third stage, Chen Fei changed his displayed appearance and aura before choosing a formal ranking opponent. He challenged the cultivator ranked twenty-fourth, leaving the spectators stunned and doubtful as the match began.

• Chen Fei used the ranking’s option to alter his appearance and aura, concealing his original identity from viewers.
• Chen Fei examined the ten challengers ranked thirtieth through twenty-first and chose the staff-wielding martial artist ranked twenty-fourth.
• The ranking transported Chen Fei and his opponent to a grassland, where the staff-wielder appeared with a powerful aura.
• Spectators reacted with disbelief when Chen Fei’s position leapt to twenty-fourth, and bettors who had wagered on him entering the ranking regretted their bets.
• Yan Zesong doubted Chen Fei could win, while Mi Xian watched the ranking wide-eyed.

Chen Fei defeated Lu Zhongjing and claimed twenty-fourth place on the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking, stunning Haiyan City and drawing attention across the Thousand Feathers Alliance. His rise shifted the rankings elsewhere, leaving Rao Chengwan to learn that he had dropped to thirty-first.

• Mi Xian recognized Chen Fei challenging the ranking and silently cheered him on as her family watched from nearby.
• Chen Fei saw through Lu Zhongjing’s concealment, disrupted his attempt to gather strength, and overwhelmed him in their clash.
• Chen Fei struck Lu Zhongjing through the chest and claimed the twenty-fourth rank, receiving origin energy and a mind-restoring pill.
• People in Haiyan City reacted with shock and excitement, while Mi Xian celebrated Chen Fei’s victory.
• Chen Fei’s new rank appeared across the Thousand Feathers Alliance, displacing the person ranked thirtieth and shifting the names below him down one place.
• Rao Chengwan learned that Chen Fei’s rise had pushed him from the ranking’s thirtieth place to thirty-first.

After Chen Fei rose to twenty-fourth place on the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking, he challenged the fourteenth-ranked Sheng Lanping. He withstood her Snow Anomalies’ attacks and struck her apparent body, but she escaped by shifting her true body among the eight Snow Anomalies.

• Rao Chengwan learned that Chen Fei had taken twenty-fourth place, lost his Haiyue Token’s qualification, and crushed the token.
• Chen Fei’s rise drew attention across the region, and betting pools opened on how far he would climb.
• Chen Fei chose to challenge Sheng Lanping for fourteenth place, surprising the spectators and Yan Zesong.
• Sheng Lanping unleashed freezing attacks and overlapping anomalous roars, but Chen Fei resisted them and shattered her apparent body with the Qian Yuan Sword.
• Chen Fei realized Sheng Lanping could move her true body among eight Snow Anomalies, then attacked one as the others countered him.

Chen Fei defeated Sheng Lanping and leaped from twenty-fourth to fourteenth place on the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking. He stopped challenging the ranking to have the Spirit Treasure raise the Qian Yuan Sword to a Top-grade Spirit Artifact, then left Haiyan City unseen.

• Chen Fei used the Star Gazing Art and God Slaying Sword to trap Sheng Lanping’s true body, then killed him with the Qian Yuan Sword despite the Snow Anomalies’ combined shriek.
• The Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking placed Chen Fei fourteenth after his victory, astonishing onlookers and Rao Chengwan.
• Chen Fei learned that spiritual infusion had three grades and could raise a Spirit Artifact only as far as Top-grade.
• Chen Fei chose to stop challenging and ordered the ranking to upgrade the Qian Yuan Sword, which absorbed spiritual essence and advanced to a Top-grade Spirit Artifact.
• Chen Fei left the ranking and appeared on a hillside several dozen miles from Haiyan City, avoiding the gathered onlookers.

Chen Fei learned that Sheng Lanping belonged to the Netherworld Gate, a leading sect with deep knowledge of the Heart Anomaly Realm, and considered visiting to investigate its methods. After selling a High-grade Spirit Sword in Haiyan City, he received a warning that the Yuan Chen Sword Sect faced a Peak Aperture Refining Realm threat, while two strangers approached its main peak.

• Chen Fei reviewed his Haiyue Token and resolved to seek limit-breaking resources when the Haiyue Grotto-heaven opened.
• Chen Fei bought information about Sheng Lanping and learned she came from the Netherworld Gate, whose disciples cultivated in the Heart Anomaly Realm.
• Chen Fei decided to visit the Netherworld Gate and investigate how its disciples dealt with Heart Anomalies.
• Chen Fei sold his High-grade Spirit Sword at Haiyan Pavilion for two thousand three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones and exchanged some for ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Chen Fei received a red warning from Qu Qingsheng that a Peak Aperture Refining Realm expert threatened the sect.
• Two figures walked up the Yuan Chen Sword Sect's stairs toward its main peak on Chenshui Island.

Chou Changtai and Lou Sanfeng arrived at Chenshui Island and intimidated the Yuan Chen Sword Sect and Sinking Water Pavilion. Chou Changtai demanded the founding Patriarch’s sword, and Qu Qingsheng refused as Chen Fei raced back to the island.

• Chou Changtai and Lou Sanfeng arrived at the Yuan Chen Sword Sect, where Qu Qingsheng, Zhou Zixun, and Ji Ruiqing cautiously received them.
• Chou Changtai and Lou Sanfeng toured the sect as if they owned it, while Chen Fei hurried from Haiyan City toward Chenshui Island after learning a Peak Aperture Refining Realm martial artist had arrived.
• Chou Changtai entered the main hall and pressured the elders, then announced that he would take the sword held by the founding Patriarch’s statue.
• Qu Qingsheng refused to surrender the sword, and Chou Changtai asked what they would do if he insisted on taking it.

Qu Qingsheng refused Chou Changtai’s demand for the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s Patriarch’s sword, and Chou Changtai sent his wife Lou Sanfeng to fight the sect’s defenders. Zhou Zixun challenged her, and his Heavy Origin Sword began to make her take the fight seriously.

• Qu Qingsheng refused to surrender the Patriarch’s sword, insisting that the Yuan Chen Sword Sect would not submit to Chou Changtai.
• Chou Changtai threatened the sect, while Lou Sanfeng accused Qu Qingsheng and the others of making trouble by refusing the demand.
• Chou Changtai offered to end the dispute if one of them could defeat Lou Sanfeng, who revealed her formidable late Aperture Refining Realm aura.
• Zhou Zixun stepped forward and struck Lou Sanfeng with the Giant Spirit Sword, but she blocked him without moving.
• Zhou Zixun used the Heavy Origin Sword to slow Lou Sanfeng’s elemental power, and she became more serious as their weapons clashed.

Lou Sanfeng defeated Zhou Zixun and Ji Ruiqing, then overcame Qu Qingsheng after Chou Changtai broke the Spirit Locking Pagoda’s seal. As Chou Changtai claimed the sword, Chen Fei arrived at the main hall.

• Lou Sanfeng defeated Zhou Zixun in two exchanges, leaving him unconscious and gravely injured.
• Ji Ruiqing fought Lou Sanfeng with the Sinking Water Secret but was overwhelmed and badly wounded.
• Qu Qingsheng challenged Lou Sanfeng with three sword techniques and the Spirit Locking Pagoda, but Chou Changtai cracked the artifact’s seal and Lou Sanfeng defeated him.
• Chou Changtai walked toward the statue and claimed the sword as his own.
• Chen Fei appeared in the main hall and challenged Chou Changtai’s claim.

Chen Fei arrived at the Yuan Chen Sword Sect and Sinking Water Pavilion after Chou Changtai and Lou Sanfeng had badly injured their members. He overwhelmed both attackers and left Chou Changtai defeated on the ground.

• Chen Fei revealed that he had reached the Peak Aperture Refining Realm, inspected Qu Qingsheng's injuries, and gave Zhou Zixun a healing pill.
• Chen Fei saw Ji Ruiqing's injuries and asked Lou Sanfeng if she had hurt the others; Lou Sanfeng admitted it.
• Chen Fei seized Lou Sanfeng, blocked Chou Changtai's blade, and twisted off Lou Sanfeng's right hand.
• Chen Fei blocked Chou Changtai's stronger strike and battered Lou Sanfeng until she was left severely injured.
• Chou Changtai used the forbidden Xuan Shui Yin Yang Profound technique, but Chen Fei unleashed the Dragon Elephant Roar and Yuan Chen Sword Canon to blast him through the hall and send him crashing to the ground.

Chen Fei returned to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect and killed Chou Changtai and Lou Sanfeng after they attacked the sect, then raided Xuanhe Palace for its resources and the Xuan Shui Secret. A month later, nearby factions quietly learned that Chenshui Island had gained a Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivator.

• Chen Fei defeated Chou Changtai, disrupted his attempt to fuse his acupoints, and killed him with the Qian Yuan Sword.
• Lou Sanfeng lunged at Chen Fei after her husband died, and Chen Fei killed her as well.
• The Yuan Chen Sword Sect and Sinking Water Pavilion recognized that Chen Fei's Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivation could protect them on Chenshui Island.
• Chen Fei and several Yuan Chen Sword Sect elders secretly raided Xuanhe Palace, taking valuable resources and the Xuan Shui Secret before leaving no clear trace.
• Xuanhe Palace descended into chaos the next day, and a month later nearby factions heard that Chenshui Island had gained a Peak Aperture Refining Realm cultivator.

After a year of cultivating, Chen Fei set out from Chenshui Island for Haiyue Grotto-heaven, hoping to find resources that could help him break through to the Joint Aperture Realm. As he skirted the mist near Yan Yu City, his acupoints began trembling and the Dragon Subduing Elephant nexus seemed drawn toward something inside.

• Chen Fei studied Xuanhe Palace's Xuan Shui Secret but chose to keep pursuing a breakthrough with the Yuan Chen Sword Canon rather than take over the Yuan Chen Sword Sect.
• Over the next year, Chen Fei drew his one hundred and eight acupoints together, growing stronger as they converged, while the sect recovered and advanced using Xuanhe Palace's wealth.
• Chen Fei told Qu Qingsheng he was going to Haiyue Grotto-heaven with the token he had earned on the Latent Dragon Nascent Phoenix Ranking, and Qu Qingsheng urged him to take care.
• Chen Fei learned in Haiyan City that Haiyue Grotto-heaven was in the Qingping Sea Region and briefly checked on Mi Xian before continuing toward it.
• Chen Fei reached Yan Yu City and chose to skirt the watery mist rather than cross it by ship, but a day later his acupoints trembled and the Dragon Subduing Elephant nexus reacted to something within the mist.

Chen Fei entered the mist after his Intermediary Point resonated with something inside it, then used the Sword Eye to trace a related aura to a ship. He discovered that the unknown presence seemed to be targeting the Zheng Family ship and asked to board after claiming his own ship had been destroyed.

• Chen Fei entered the mist and found a Sea Orchid Flower while following the Intermediary Point's pull.
• After the resonance vanished, Chen Fei used the Sword Eye to isolate its trace and locate a Zheng Family ship.
• Chen Fei learned that the aura had marked the ship or its passengers as a target.
• Pu Yixing questioned how long the Zheng Family ship would take to leave the mist, and Zheng Chuanwen said several hours remained.
• Chen Fei approached the ship and asked Zheng Chuanwen for permission to board, saying sea demons had shattered his ship.

Chen Fei investigated a mysterious creature that devoured people aboard the Zheng Family ship and recognized that it attacked through dreams. As the ship continued through the mist, Chen Fei prepared to catch the creature, while Dugu Man and Dai Yuqiu searched for its location nearby.

• Chen Fei boarded the Zheng Family ship while concealing his cultivation at the Mid-stage Aperture Refining Realm, hoping to find the thing that had attracted him.
• Cheng Huifang discovered that her senior brother had been reduced to a layer of skin, and Zheng Chuanwen blamed a sea demon before ordering the ship to speed through the mist.
• The passengers gathered on deck to keep watch, but a sleeping traveler began smoking green and was reduced to skin despite Chen Fei's attempt to intervene.
• Chen Fei recognized that the attacker disturbed its victims' Sea of Consciousness through dreams, forcing them to ignite themselves before it devoured them.
• Several dozen miles away, Dugu Man urged Dai Yuqiu to locate the creature, and Dai Yuqiu said its feeding on people and demons would soon help them pinpoint it.