Chapter Summaries

Chen Fei resisted Shi Xueqin’s seductive art and wounded her while trying to reach the sect encampment. He escaped, but Shi Xueqin stabilized her injury and pursued him.

• Chen Fei avoided a strange creature and continued toward the encampment, but Shi Xueqin appeared in his path.
• Shi Xueqin tried to bewitch Chen Fei, who resisted with the Serene Heart Incantation while pretending to be under her spell.
• Chen Fei feigned revealing information about the strange creatures, then attacked Shi Xueqin with a concealed dagger.
• Shi Xueqin was badly wounded but knocked Chen Fei backward with a counterattack.
• Chen Fei fled toward the encampment as Shi Xueqin treated her wound and set off after him.

In Chen Fei escaped Shi Xueqin by using his techniques and calling for help, then warned Qian Lindu about a possible Divine Flame Sect camp. They reached the camp to find it in chaos and Qian Lindu charged ahead, leaving In Chen Fei behind.

• In Chen Fei used his sword and movement techniques to evade Shi Xueqin, who injured herself further with a secret technique trying to catch him.
• In Chen Fei called for Senior Uncle Qian, prompting Shi Xueqin to abandon the pursuit and flee.
• Qian Lindu found In Chen Fei, who reported a suspected Divine Flame Sect camp and warned him about an injured Organ Refinement Realm woman.
• Qian Lindu took In Chen Fei to the camp, where they found fighting underway and Guo Linshan missing.
• Qian Lindu told In Chen Fei to wait for the others and charged toward the camp.

Chen Fei joined Qian Lindu and Guo Linshan in fighting the Divine Flame Sect, then told Guo Linshan about the demoness who had chased him. He showed Guo Linshan a portrait of her and demonstrated that he could use the Disguise Technique.

• Chen Fei followed Qian Lindu to the battlefield and joined Guo Linshan and the Big Dipper Tower in defeating the Divine Flame Sect.
• Guo Linshan noticed Chen Fei using the Starry Night Sword and was stunned by how quickly he had learned it.
• The Big Dipper Tower and Yuan Chen Sword Sect searched the scene but found no clues, while captured Divine Flame Sect members died from poison.
• Guo Linshan told Qian Lindu and Chen Fei that the Divine Flame Sect had started withdrawing before the Big Dipper Tower arrived.
• Chen Fei showed Guo Linshan a portrait of the demoness who had pursued him, then used the Disguise Technique to change his face.

Chen Fei revealed his disguise skills and helped Guo Linshan investigate the Divine Flame Sect, then surprised Feng Xiupu and Guo Linshan by demonstrating his mastery of the Starry Night Sword and Soul Chasing Steps. The group remained guarded at the herb-gathering site as Chen Fei concealed the full extent of his abilities.

• Chen Fei explained that he had disguised himself as Kuang Dingbo when the demoness blocked the road, and asked Guo Linshan to keep the portrait and discreetly seek news.
• Feng Xiupu arrived with other Yuan Chen Sword Sect members and ordered them to stay at the site for several days in case the Divine Flame Sect retaliated.
• Guo Linshan told Feng Xiupu that he had completed the fifth level of the Source Connection Technique and was nearing a breakthrough to the Organ Refinement Realm.
• Chen Fei demonstrated the Starry Night Sword Shield, impressing Feng Xiupu while hiding that he had reached an even higher level of mastery.
• Chen Fei displayed his perfected Soul Chasing Steps, astonishing Guo Linshan and nearly unsettling Feng Xiupu, but said he still had parts to comprehend.

Chen Fei impressed Feng Xiupu with his rapid progress in the Source Connection Technique and began learning its third level. Guo Linshan revealed that reaching the fourth level could greatly shorten the time needed to attain the Marrow Refinement Realm.

• Feng Xiupu praised Chen Fei’s technique comprehension, urged him to improve his Internal Energy, and warned him to keep his talent secret.
• Chen Fei told Feng Xiupu and Guo Linshan that he expected to finish the second level of the Source Connection Technique the next day, astonishing both men.
• After a peaceful day on the mountain, Chen Fei met Feng Xiupu, who taught him the third level and explained its greater difficulty.
• Chen Fei thanked Feng Xiupu, and Guo Linshan told him that the fourth level of the Source Connection Technique could greatly accelerate his path to the Marrow Refinement Realm.

Chen Fei and the Yuan Chen Sword Sect evacuated the herb gatherers after the Biling Sword sensed a powerful aberration, but green aberrations attacked the fleeing group. Chen Fei and Guo Linshan fled toward the foot of the mountain as more enemies surrounded them.

• Chen Fei continued cultivating the Source Connection Technique while the camp gathered medicinal herbs and found no signs of the Divine Flame Sect.
• Feng Xiupu’s Biling Sword sensed a powerful aberration, and Qian Lindu ordered the disciples to evacuate the herb gatherers while the senior disciples stayed behind.
• Chen Fei’s carbuncle poison reacted as he and Guo Linshan led the herb gatherers down the mountain.
• A blood-red light and a piercing howl signaled the aberration’s approach, and a green aberration appeared beside the fleeing group and swallowed a herb gatherer.
• The green aberration transformed the swallowed herb gatherer into a controlled monster and regenerated its arm after Guo Linshan cut it off.
• Chen Fei shielded Guo Linshan and pulled him toward the foot of the mountain as at least five green aberrations surrounded them.

Chen Fei and Guo Linshan fought through a swarm of green ghosts while helping Yuan Chen Sword Sect disciples escape. Guo Linshan lured the ghosts away with a white candle, and Chen Fei chose to join him; they led the horde onto another path down the mountain.

• Chen Fei carried Guo Linshan as they outran five green ghosts, then turned back to save a disciple from another ghost.
• Chen Fei and Guo Linshan rescued more disciples, but the growing swarm made it clear they could not save everyone one by one.
• Guo Linshan ignited a white candle to draw the ghosts away and charged back up the mountain, intending to give the others time to escape.
• Chen Fei resolved to help those in danger when he had the strength, caught up with Guo Linshan, and fought beside him.
• Chen Fei and Guo Linshan drew more than twenty green ghosts after them and took a detour toward a giant boulder.

Chen Fei and Guo Linshan lured the Green Anomalies toward Xianyun City, then returned to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect after the creatures turned back toward the mountain. Feng Xiupu and other survivors arrived injured, and the next morning Chen Fei found people arguing inside Feng Xiupu's courtyard.

• Guo Linshan used an Imprint Stone to record Chen Fei with the Green Anomalies and White Candle as they charged after them.
• Chen Fei and Guo Linshan ran toward Xianyun City while discussing spirit swords and the Aperture Refining Realm.
• A distant burst of sword light appeared, and the Green Anomalies stopped before turning back up the mountain as the White Candle went out.
• Chen Fei and Guo Linshan returned to the sect, where they learned that several people had not come back.
• Feng Xiupu and several others returned injured after reinforcements helped them escape the Head Anomaly.
• The next morning, Chen Fei arrived at Feng Xiupu's courtyard and heard people arguing inside.

After the Disaster of Anomalies, Chen Fei and Guo Linshan faced claims that Xie Jindong had earned the credit for luring anomalies away with a White Candle. Feng Xiupu brought them to the Shang Gong Hall to report what they had done, where his announcement left the gathered disciples and elders stunned.

• Wen Ziqian and the other disciples accused Xie Jindong of falsely claiming credit for luring anomalies away.
• Chen Fei asked how many anomalies Xie Jindong had claimed to lure, and Luo Jun said witnesses supported his account.
• Guo Linshan said Xie Jindong had exceptional movement skills and might have been capable of luring anomalies away.
• Feng Xiupu learned that Chen Fei and Guo Linshan had also used White Candles to draw anomalies away, and agreed to report their merit.
• Feng Xiupu arrived at the Shang Gong Hall and told Qian Lindu that Chen Fei and Guo Linshan had also lured anomalies away, silencing the hall.

Chen Fei and Guo Linshan proved they had lured nearly fifty anomalies away with White Candle, while Xie Jindong had independently lured more than ten. The dispute over credit ended as a misunderstanding, with Chen Fei and Guo Linshan shown to have saved even more lives than Xie Jindong realized.

• Xie Jindong challenged Chen Fei's claim, and Chen Fei proved his superior movement technique by catching a bird before Xie Jindong could.
• Qian Lindu confirmed that Chen Fei was genuinely in the Bone Forging Realm, leaving Xie Jindong astonished by his speed.
• Guo Linshan explained that he and Chen Fei had lured around fifty anomalies, compared with the more than ten Xie Jindong had drawn away.
• Guo Linshan played an Imprint Stone recording that showed Chen Fei facing dozens of anomalies beneath the White Candle's light.
• Qian Lindu pointed out that Chen Fei and Guo Linshan's actions had also saved Xie Jindong's life, and the Shang Gong Hall steward recognized that the competing claims had been a misunderstanding.

Chen Fei received a reward for helping save the herb-gathering teams, then returned to Xianyun City to prepare for cultivation. After a failed attempt to challenge his weakness at Drunken Fragrance Tower, he took a Meridian Pill and began training the Source Connection Technique.

• The Shang Gong Hall awarded Xie Jindong five thousand Contribution Value, Chen Fei eight thousand, and Guo Linshan five thousand for their actions during the anomaly disaster.
• Guo Linshan told Chen Fei that other disciples would finish the herb-gathering mission while Chen Fei focused on cultivating the Source Connection Technique.
• Chen Fei met Chi Defeng and suspected the Divine Flame Sect had caused the anomaly disaster to retaliate against the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect; they planned to resume refining Floating Pills the next day.
• Chen Fei visited several medicine shops and bought a bottle of Meridian Pills for three hundred taels each.
• Chen Fei went with Chi Defeng to Drunken Fragrance Tower, returned to his courtyard, and swallowed a Meridian Pill before cultivating the Source Connection Technique.

Chen Fei used Meridian Pills to extend his cultivation sessions and continued advancing the third level of the Source Connection Technique while learning that strange entities had become more common amid widespread turmoil. He accepted a lucrative Alchemist Alliance task to refine Beauty Pills from fifty-year-old herbs, with a possible competition three days later.

• Chen Fei found that a Meridian Pill let him cultivate the Source Connection Technique for three hours with little strain, nearly doubling his usual cultivation time.
• Chi Defeng told Chen Fei that a family next door had fled strange entities and that such entities appeared more often during troubled times.
• Chi Defeng told Chen Fei about an Alchemist Alliance task for refining Beauty Pills, and Chen Fei went to the Alliance and accepted it after learning the pills would use fifty-year-old herbs.
• Chen Fei spent the next three days refining pills and cultivating, raising his third-level Source Connection Technique proficiency to 2589 out of 6000.
• Chen Fei expected to reach Great Perfection in several more days, awaken the Great Strength trait, and then learn the technique's fourth level from Feng Xiupu.

Chen Fei won the Zhao Family’s Beauty Pill assessment and recognized Zhao Peixiu’s companion as Shi Xueqin by her scent, despite her changed appearance. He sent a warning to the sect, then learned from Chi Defeng that the children he thought lived next door had never been there.

• Chen Fei refined Beauty Pills and won the Zhao Family mission assessment.
• He prepared a batch of Beauty Pills from rare fifty-year herbs for Zhao Peixiu and her Senior Sister, noticing a familiar scent and trauma medicine.
• After returning to Chi Defeng, Chen Fei recognized the companion’s scent as Shi Xueqin’s and suspected she used a Human Skin Mask.
• Chen Fei wrote a warning about Shi Xueqin and sent it to the sect by carrier pigeon.
• Chen Fei asked whether the children next door had moved away, and Chi Defeng insisted there had never been children in the neighboring courtyard.

Chen Fei escaped an illusion cast by his young neighbor, Si Yinan, and confronted her and her grandfather, Si Yuanhai. After Si Yuanhai apologized and gave him Thousand Snow Bamboo to help resist illusions, Chen Fei returned to his courtyard on guard.

• Chen Fei realized the street around him was an illusion and shattered it with the Serene Heart Incantation, returning to the rented courtyard with Chi Defeng.
• Chen Fei rushed into the neighboring courtyard after hearing a child cry and faced Si Yinan, while Si Yuanhai used Anomaly Hands to stop him.
• Si Yuanhai rebuked Si Yinan for using her power to trick Chen Fei, and Si Yinan apologized to him.
• Si Yuanhai explained that Si Yinan had an unusual constitution and offered Chen Fei Thousand Snow Bamboo to resist illusions.
• Chen Fei accepted the gift from a distance and returned to his courtyard, while Si Yuanhai scolded and spanked Si Yinan.

Chen Fei discovered more about anomaly controllers while staying in Xianyun City, then became the target of Shi Xueqin, who suspected he was the man who had injured her. After Si Yinan helped him kill Bi Lan, Shi Xueqin recognized Chen Fei, but a pair of pale hands seized her ankles before she could finish him off.

• Chen Fei and Chi Defeng discussed Thousand Snow Bamboo and learned that anomaly controllers sealed anomalies inside their bodies to fight, at great cost to their lifespans.
• Chen Fei sensed a faint aura outside, went into the courtyard, and collapsed after being struck by Soul Severing Incense.
• Shi Xueqin and Bi Lan arrived, recognized Chen Fei as a Yuan Chen Sword Sect alchemist, and decided to kill him because he might be the man who had injured Shi Xueqin.
• Si Yinan appeared and trapped Bi Lan in an illusion, allowing Chen Fei to rise and kill her with a sword thrust.
• Shi Xueqin recognized Chen Fei as her attacker and struck him through his Starry Night Sword Shield, sending him into the courtyard wall.
• As Shi Xueqin moved to kill Chen Fei, a pair of pale hands seized her ankles.

Chen Fei and Si Yuanhai joined forces to fight Shi Xueqin, leaving all three badly injured before Guo Linshan arrived and helped capture her. Chen Fei collapsed after the fight, while Shi Xueqin was left unconscious in the courtyard.

• Chen Fei intercepted Shi Xueqin as she attacked, but she broke free of the ghostly claws and kicked him through a courtyard wall.
• Si Yuanhai used a lifespan-consuming sealing technique to freeze Shi Xueqin, then Chen Fei struck her with Sword Six and blew off her right arm.
• Chen Fei was left severely weakened, while Shi Xueqin recovered enough to retrieve her severed arm and try to escape.
• Guo Linshan arrived, blocked Shi Xueqin, and knocked her unconscious with a single blow.
• Chen Fei collapsed in relief after Shi Xueqin was captured.

Guo Linshan arrived in time to help Chen Fei capture Shi Xueqin, and Feng Xiupu later took her to the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect. After recovering and returning to the sect, Chen Fei received an Essence Gathering Bead from Feng Xiupu to aid his cultivation.

• Guo Linshan crippled Shi Xueqin's Dantian and restrained her, then explained that he had come to visit Chen Fei after breaking through to the Organ Refinement Realm.
• Feng Xiupu arrived, heard how Chen Fei and Si Yuanhai had subdued Shi Xueqin, and took her to the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect while warning everyone to keep the matter secret.
• Chen Fei and the others moved to new courtyards in Xianyun City, and Chen Fei paid the rent and returned the Thousand Snow Bamboo to Si Yuanhai.
• After recovering for five days, Chen Fei returned to the sect with Guo Linshan at Feng Xiupu's summons.
• Feng Xiupu gave Chen Fei an Essence Gathering Bead he had obtained from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect to help his cultivation.

Chen Fei learned about the Essence Gathering Bead and other rare items from Feng Xiupu, who warned him to keep his treasures secret. After revealing his rapid progress in the Source Connection Technique, Chen Fei headed to the Scripture Depository to seek a Flying Tomb Pill formula and a stronger mental defense technique, where he encountered a bustling market.

• Feng Xiupu explained that the Essence Gathering Bead helped Body Refining Realm martial artists absorb World Vital Energy and gave Chen Fei a Spirit Artifact Compendium.
• Chen Fei asked about Shi Xueqin's jade pendant and the Thousand Snow Bamboo, and Feng Xiupu identified their properties and warned him not to display his valuables.
• Feng Xiupu told Guo Linshan to prepare to challenge for the True Disciple inheritance and asked Chen Fei about his Source Connection Technique progress.
• Chen Fei said he expected to complete the technique's third level the next day, surprising Guo Linshan and pleasing Feng Xiupu.
• Chen Fei left for the Scripture Depository to find the Flying Tomb Pill formula and a stronger mental defense technique, then arrived at a busy market filled with vendors.

Chen Fei searched the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s Scripture Depository for a mental defense technique and chose the Heart Source Art, along with the Flying Tomb Pill formula. After returning to his room, he fused the Heart Source Art with the Calming Heart Art into the Tranquil Source Art and began studying the Spirit Artifact Compendium.

• Chen Fei ignored a stallkeeper’s half-complete mental defense manual and entered the Scripture Depository.
• Chen Fei reviewed pill formulas and mind-related manuals, then chose the Heart Source Art over the Heart Locking Art.
• Chen Fei exchanged 7,500 Contribution Value for the Heart Source Art and Flying Tomb Pill formula, then copied both manuals.
• Chen Fei simplified the Flying Tomb Pill formula and fused the Heart Source Art with the Calming Heart Art into the Tranquil Source Art.
• Chen Fei studied the Spirit Artifact Compendium and eventually managed to circulate it once in his mind.

Chen Fei awakened the Giant Strength trait, rapidly advanced the Spirit Artifact Compendium, and discovered that the Essence Gathering Bead could greatly accelerate his cultivation at the cost of exhausting his mind and the bead itself. When Chi Defeng arrived, Chen Fei noticed that his friend’s condition had become alarmingly weak.

• Chen Fei completed the third layer of the Source Connection Technique and awakened Giant Strength, letting him draw his longbow repeatedly without tiring.
• Chen Fei simplified the Spirit Artifact Compendium into drawing a diagram and practiced through the night, reaching Proficient level.
• Chen Fei used the Essence Gathering Bead to absorb vital energy, gaining three hundred points of Internal Energy cultivation in less than a quarter of an hour before overtaxing his mind and draining the bead.
• Chen Fei rested, then resumed drawing the diagram so he could improve his proficiency and make better use of the bead.
• Chi Defeng arrived carrying medicine, and Chen Fei noticed that Chi Defeng’s complexion and strength had deteriorated severely.