Chapter Summaries

Dongfang Yuan began his breakthrough to the Second Order while Lu Yuan explained how cultivation, rules, and the World Consciousness shaped the Zhu Xian World. In the Ghost King Sect, Devil Child Lu Yuan hid his main body and avatars in a secret chamber with Bi Yao, who handled the bodies and weapons as You Ji searched for Qingyun Dao Child Lu Yuan’s corpse.

• Incense Valley’s leaders and disciples learned of Qingyun Dao Child Lu Yuan’s and Buddhist Son Fa Yuan’s deaths and believed Dongfang Yuan’s coming breakthrough would leave their sect unrivaled.
• Dongfang Yuan began breaking through to the Second Order as Yun Yilan judged that he would soon be able to contend with him.
• Lu Yuan reflected on how phenomena, cultivation techniques, and spells connected to the world’s rules, and compared the strengths and limits of the Zhu Xian, Fox Spirit, and Douluo Worlds.
• Bi Yao helped Devil Child Lu Yuan bring his main body and avatars, including Nameless Yuan’s intact corpse, into a Ghost King Sect secret chamber without detection.
• You Ji pressed Devil Child Lu Yuan about the missing Qingyun Dao Child Lu Yuan corpse, but he could not give it to her or create a convincing replacement.

Lu Yuan explained his plans for the impending upheaval to Bi Yao, who agreed to pressure the Joyous Union Sect while taking the Dragon Slaying Sword for You Yi. Meanwhile, the Qingyun Sect's Seven Peaks Tournament concluded with Lu Xueqi winning, and Dao Xuan announced the sect's plan to descend the mountain and gauge the other cultivation sects.

• Lu Yuan explained that his clones would merge for his breakthrough and laid out how he would take control of Blood Refinement Hall, asking Bi Yao to leave the Taixu Bone Sword with him and give the Dragon Slaying Sword to You Yi.
• Lu Yuan asked Bi Yao to force Jin Ping'er and the Joyous Union Sect into defecting, but Bi Yao objected because Jin Ping'er could be sacrificed as their token of allegiance.
• Lu Yuan told Bi Yao that bringing the Joyous Union Sect under Blood Refinement Hall's protection was the best way he could protect Jin Ping'er; Bi Yao asked whether he would be with Jin Ping'er, then accepted the Dragon Slaying Sword and agreed to help.
• Qi Hao defeated Chang Jian in the Seven Peaks Tournament semifinal, while Lu Xueqi defeated Tian Ling Er and sent her unconscious from the arena.
• Lu Xueqi defeated Qi Hao in the final, won the Six Harmonies Mirror, and offered it to Tian Ling Er, who refused it publicly.
• Dao Xuan announced that the Qingyun Sect would descend the mountain to assess the cultivation sects and test whether Heavenly Sound Temple would uphold right and wrong.

Lu Xueqi led Qingyun Sect’s tense group down the mountain, burdened by their mission and the aftermath of Lu Yuan’s death. When Tian Ling Er confronted her over Lu Yuan, Lu Xueqi acknowledged her own mistakes but insisted that he had chosen to die, leaving Tian Ling Er determined to oppose her.

• Lu Xueqi prepared to lead the eight Qingyun Sect disciples on missions involving Heavenly Sound Temple, Incense Valley, Blood Refinement Hall, and the undercover Xiao Yicai.
• The disciples gathered with deep divisions: Zhang Xiaofan was isolated over his silence about Grass Temple Village, Lin Jingyu struggled with his hatred of Zhang Xiaofan, and Tian Ling Er resented Lu Xueqi.
• Lu Xueqi considered the risks Heavenly Sound Temple posed and Qingyun Sect’s weakened position, while the sect’s elders placed their hopes in the next generation.
• As the team flew onward, Tian Ling Er told Lu Xueqi that she thought she deserved to die and insisted that she was Lu Yuan’s Little Senior Sister.
• Lu Xueqi argued that Lu Yuan had indulged Tian Ling Er and chosen his own death, then admitted she had been wrong; Lin Jingyu challenged her, but she said he could not deny Lu Yuan’s choice.
• Tian Ling Er followed Lu Xueqi after she sped ahead and vowed to take revenge on her without harming Great Bamboo Peak or Qingyun Sect.

Lu Xueqi briefed the Qingyun Sect disciples on their route through Heyang City and Crimson Blood City, their mission to contact Xiao Yicai, and the dangers awaiting them. As the group questioned her about old grudges, revenge, and the Dao Child’s corpse, she answered some concerns but left their later arrangements unclear.

• Lu Xueqi explained that Heyang City would be the group’s first stop to replenish supplies, followed by Blood Refinement Hall’s Crimson Blood City, where they would meet Heavenly Sound Temple and Incense Valley’s disciples.
• Lu Xueqi said they would try to contact Xiao Yicai, whose last report described the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation and the Blood Refinement Hall Master’s death, but warned the group not to act rashly.
• Lu Xueqi told the disciples to restrain their anger toward Heavenly Sound Temple and avoid endangering the mission or wasting Lu Yuan’s sacrifices.
• Tian Ling Er asked whether the group would tolerate Heavenly Sound Temple insulting Lu Yuan, and Lu Xueqi rebuked her for failing to think through the political consequences.
• Zhang Xiaofan asked whether he could borrow a knife to kill, and Lu Xueqi offered limited help if his plan did not endanger the team or weaken Incense Valley.
• Lin Jingyu asked whether Incense Valley could help uncover the whereabouts of the Dao Child’s corpse, and Zeng Shushu asked about the route and plans after the second stop; Lu Xueqi had not yet answered them.

Lu Xueqi led the Qingyun Sect disciples toward Small Pond Town as their third rendezvous point, then brought them down near Heyang City to gather supplies. At Shanhai Courtyard, Lu Yuan met with Jin Ping'er and revealed that he had transferred her to protect her, while watching his former fellow disciples arrive below.

• Lu Xueqi named Small Pond Town as the third rendezvous point and told the disciples to abandon her plan if the commander became incapacitated and circumstances proved it flawed.
• Lu Xueqi led the group down near Heyang City, where Qi Hao explained the weather and how Dragon Head Peak disciples borrowed supplies from nearby cities.
• Lu Yuan watched Lu Xueqi and the others enter Shanhai Courtyard, while Jin Ping'er claimed Joyous Union Sect was her gesture of sincerity and offered him her obedience.
• Lu Yuan told Jin Ping'er he had transferred her to protect her and warned her to keep his Form-Splitting Phantom secret.
• Lu Yuan hoped Lu Xueqi and the others would pass the first trial he had set, while Jin Ping'er struggled to decide which of his identities to address.

Zhang Xiaofan and the Qingyun disciples ate at Shanhai Courtyard while tensions over Lu Yuan’s betrayal and the coming meeting with Heavenly Sound Temple weighed on them. After Lu Xueqi called Lu Yuan a traitor and clashed with Tian Ling Er, a green-clad girl arrived carrying the Dragon Slaying Sword.

• Zeng Shushu ordered Shanhai Courtyard’s signature Stewed Mei Fish to ease the group’s tense mood.
• Lu Yuan compared the dish with delicacies made from the Black Water Mysterious Snake and placed fish in Jin Ping'er’s bowl.
• Zhang Xiaofan said the dish reminded him of Lu Yuan, prompting Lu Xueqi to call Lu Yuan a Qingyun traitor.
• Tian Ling Er objected to Lu Xueqi’s words, then left the table and stood by the entrance with Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu.
• A beautiful girl in green condemned the group’s judgment of Lu Yuan and descended the stairs with the Dragon Slaying Sword on her back.

Bi Yao confronted Lu Xueqi and the others while carrying the Dragon Slaying Sword, deflecting their questions about her identity and her connection to Lu Yuan. You Ji interrupted the escalating dispute and revealed that she and Bi Yao had come to return the sword to Qingyun Sect and preserve Lu Yuan’s body.

• Lu Xueqi deduced that the woman carrying the Dragon Slaying Sword was likely Bi Yao or Jin Ping'er, and the others recognized her as the Ghost King's daughter.
• Bi Yao refused to confirm her identity or explain the sword, then claimed it was her own and mocked the group for having no proof.
• Lu Xueqi and the others challenged Bi Yao, who accused them of having no right to question Lu Yuan's choices and provoked Lu Xueqi into nearly drawing her sword.
• You Ji arrived and ordered Bi Yao to stop making trouble, easing the standoff.
• You Ji's thoughts revealed that Wan Renwang had sent her and Bi Yao to return the Dragon Slaying Sword, protect Lu Yuan's corpse, and travel together afterward.

Lu Xueqi invited Bi Yao to share what she knew about Lu Yuan, but Bi Yao refused and later confronted Lu Yuan about his plan to test his friends. The Qingyun disciples stayed in Heyang City and questioned Bi Yao privately, leaving Lu Yuan to watch the moon through the night as he reflected on the contradictions in his feelings.

• Lu Xueqi inferred that You Ji might have come to return the Dragon Slaying Sword and invited Bi Yao to share even minor details about Lu Yuan.
• Bi Yao refused Lu Xueqi's invitation, then entered a private room and challenged Lu Yuan over making his companions suffer and turn against him.
• Lu Yuan explained that he had to give his companions a chance to choose whether to oppose him or stand with him, and Bi Yao called him contradictory.
• Lu Xueqi and the other Qingyun disciples stayed at Shanhai Courtyard and later questioned Bi Yao privately, while Zhang Xiaofan remained withdrawn.
• Tian Ling Er emerged distressed and Lu Xueqi showed strong emotion after speaking with Bi Yao, while Lu Yuan watched the moon all night with Jin Ping'er.

Lu Xueqi led the Qingyun Sect disciples into Blood Refinement Hall territory to find the Heavenly Sound Temple, while Lu Yuan prepared hidden guardians at Ten Thousand Bats Cave for a test tied to the world's future. Lu Xueqi's group found the wounded Heavenly Sound Temple disciples in a forest, achieving their first meeting.

• Lu Yuan released a carrier pigeon after Lu Xueqi and the others departed, then reflected that their message had exposed them to danger.
• Lu Yuan explained that he intended to guide the world's response to its decline, and that success would cost him Heavenly Book Volume 3 from the Death Swamp.
• Lu Yuan arrived at Ten Thousand Bats Cave, created hundreds of steel-beast guardians, disguised them as stones, and scattered them around the cemetery.
• Lu Xueqi led the disguised Qingyun Sect group through Blood Refinement Hall territory, where they saw its disciples helping ordinary people and began reassessing the sect.
• Lu Xueqi deduced that the Heavenly Sound Temple had likely taken refuge in the forested area between Crimson Blood City and Ten Thousand Bats Cave.
• Lu Xueqi and her companions found a wounded group of Heavenly Sound Temple disciples in the third forest they searched.

Fa Xiang explained how the Heavenly Sound Temple disciples had been exposed and chased by Qin Wuyan’s forces, while Li Xun blamed Pu Zhi’s past deeds and mocked them. Li Xun then called for Yan Hong and Dongfang Yuan, leaving the gathered disciples awaiting the arrival of Incense Valley’s Young Valley Master.

• Qi Hao questioned Fa Xiang about the Heavenly Sound Temple disciples’ battered condition, and Fa Xiang recounted how a hunter betrayed his group to the Blood Refinement Hall.
• Tian Ling Er asked why the Qingyun Sect had avoided detection, and Li Xun said the villagers distrusted the Heavenly Sound Temple because of Pu Zhi and recognized the disciples by their shaven heads.
• Li Xun displayed his Ice Soul King Flame and challenged the Heavenly Sound Temple disciples, while Fa Xiang swallowed his anger rather than risk provoking Incense Valley.
• Li Xun called toward Yan Hong and Dongfang Yuan, announcing that he had found the Qingyun Sect disciples and the Heavenly Sound Temple group.

Dongfang Yuan took command of the gathered Qingyun Sect, Heavenly Sound Temple, and Incense Valley disciples, then maneuvered Heavenly Sound Temple into leading the way through a cemetery at the entrance to Ten Thousand Bats Cave. As the group entered, the cemetery’s trees began to move, setting the first of Dongfang Yuan’s trials in motion.

• Dongfang Yuan told Yan Hong to keep Incense Valley’s strength concealed and use the tension between Qingyun Sect and Heavenly Sound Temple to make the latter scout ahead.
• Dongfang Yuan joined Li Xun, Lu Xueqi, Fa Xiang, and the other disciples, then became the group’s overall commander with everyone’s agreement.
• Dongfang Yuan assigned Heavenly Sound Temple to the vanguard, Qingyun Sect to support, and Incense Valley disciples to support or remain combat-ready according to their cultivation.
• Fa Xiang objected to putting his weakened Heavenly Sound Temple disciples at the front, but Dongfang Yuan defended the arrangement, and Fa Xiang agreed to follow orders.
• At the cemetery before Ten Thousand Bats Cave, Fa Xiang proposed scouting with Qi Hao; Li Xun mocked his caution, and Dongfang Yuan’s rebuke pressured Fa Xiang into leading Heavenly Sound Temple inside.
• As the group entered the cemetery, Dongfang Yuan vanished beside his own grave, white mist covered the area, and the withered trees began moving their roots.

Dongfang Yuan explained that the cemetery’s mist contained the mental power of thousands of dead Blood Refinement Hall cultivators, then guided the group through an attack by burrowing beasts. After a tremor interrupted a dispute between Fa Xiang and Li Xun, Dongfang Yuan declared that Dao Child Lu Yuan was buried in the cemetery.

• Fa Xiang warned the group that the fog suppressed their senses and might create illusions as they advanced into the cemetery.
• Dongfang Yuan explained the cemetery’s history, the Soul Shards in its fog, and how the Blood Refinement Hall recorded the dead’s lives and epitaphs.
• Lu Xueqi asked Dongfang Yuan about the difference in how cultivators perceived the fog, and he described four stages of understanding, citing Lu Yuan’s Myriad Laws Domain.
• A Heavenly Sound Temple disciple was dragged into the ground by a burrowing beast, but Fa Xiang rescued him while Yan Hong’s golden flames lit the way.
• Dongfang Yuan used incense from a gravestone to drive back the fog, and the group paid respects while Fa Xiang and Li Xun argued over doing so.
• A tremor interrupted the argument, and Dongfang Yuan identified Pu Zhi and Lu Yuan before declaring that Dao Child Lu Yuan was buried there.

Dongfang Yuan warned that the cemetery’s defenses included a flying ant colony resistant to elemental attacks, then led Incense Valley through the swarm while Qingyun Sect used Tian Ling Er’s blood to pass unharmed. The chapter ended with the Qingyun disciples grieving the Heavenly Sound Temple casualties and reassuring Tian Ling Er that Lu Yuan was still with them.

• Dongfang Yuan explained that speaking Lu Yuan’s full name had triggered the cemetery’s core defenses and warned that Blood Refinement Hall might have left dangerous protections behind.
• Dongfang Yuan identified the incoming purple-black ants as a colony with tough, element-resistant shells and paralyzing mouthparts, then advised Incense Valley to use yang flames.
• Fa Xiang asked for support, and Dongfang Yuan placed Heavenly Sound Temple behind Incense Valley while leaving Qingyun Sect at the rear.
• Dongfang Yuan secretly told Lu Xueqi that Tian Ling Er’s blood would repel the ants, and Lu Xueqi shared the advice with Qingyun Sect.
• Incense Valley and Heavenly Sound Temple entered the swarm, while Qingyun Sect followed safely using Tian Ling Er’s blood and collected three Heavenly Sound Temple corpses and their magical artifacts.
• Tian Ling Er said she felt Lu Yuan beside her, and Lu Xueqi reassured her that they all believed he was still with them.

After the black tide receded, Heavenly Sound Temple lost four disciples while all eight Qingyun Sect members survived, leaving Fa Xiang furious and accusing them of withholding a way through. Dongfang Yuan quelled the dispute and led the group toward the cemetery’s core, where Tian Ling Er spotted a tombstone connected to her Junior Brother but crashed into an unseen spatial barrier.

• The black tide retreated, and Fa Xiang found that only three Heavenly Sound Temple disciples remained with him; the eight Qingyun Sect disciples then emerged nearly unscathed.
• Fa Xiang confronted Lu Xueqi and accused Qingyun Sect of selfishly hiding a way through the ants and colluding with the Demonic Path.
• Dongfang Yuan restrained both sides with his pressure, warned them against shifting blame, and allowed the group to continue after a short rest.
• Dongfang Yuan explained that the cemetery’s core held the tombstone they sought, but an unseen obstacle made it impossible to reach even from ten meters away.
• Tian Ling Er recognized her Junior Brother’s tombstone, rushed toward it, and struck the Spatial Barrier.

Tian Ling Er and the others found Lu Yuan’s tomb behind an impenetrable Spatial Barrier, while Dongfang Yuan warned them that the Blood Refinement Hall Master had set a trap. The group’s attempt to attack triggered an assault by metal constructs, leaving them facing hundreds of nearly indestructible enemies.

• Tian Ling Er, Lu Xueqi, and the others found that a Spatial Barrier blocked access to Lu Yuan’s tomb and could not be broken by their attacks.
• Dongfang Yuan explained that the tombs were genuine and that the Blood Refinement Hall Master was demonstrating his power by preventing them from taking the remains.
• Fa Xiang ordered the Heavenly Sound Temple disciples to strike the barrier, but Dongfang Yuan stopped them and warned that their actions could trigger a trap.
• Dongfang Yuan prepared the Incense Valley disciples for combat and explained that the Blood Refinement Hall Master could use fate and calculations to exploit careless actions.
• Metal constructs attacked from the ground, wounding Heavenly Sound Temple disciples and launching Zeng Shushu into the air.
• Dongfang Yuan identified the constructs as metal given consciousness through the Earth Rule and warned that more than three hundred could keep fighting by repairing themselves with one another’s parts.

The three sects survived the Metal Beasts’ assault and regrouped, but Dongfang Yuan warned that the Blood Refinement Hall Master was manipulating fate to trap them. Dongfang Yuan sensed an unexpected turning point approaching, though he cautioned that the others might not welcome it.

• Fa Shan and the remaining Heavenly Sound Temple disciples fought off Metal Beasts until Dongfang Yuan rescued them and brought them together with Qingyun Sect and Incense Valley.
• The Metal Beasts transformed into scattered stones, and Dongfang Yuan explained that the Blood Refinement Hall Master could manipulate future branches of fate to steer their choices.
• Dongfang Yuan said his decision to save the sects had drawn him into the Hall Master's trap, and that Lu Yuan might have been able to counter it.
• Dongfang Yuan sensed someone approaching and called their arrival a turning point, adding that the others probably would not welcome them.

Bi Yao and You Ji joined Dongfang Yuan’s group, where Bi Yao confronted Fa Xiang over Heavenly Sound Temple’s crimes and later spoke privately with Tian Ling Er and Lu Xueqi about her connection to Lu Yuan. The group continued toward the Blood Refinement Hall, and Bi Yao left Lu Xueqi and Tian Ling Er questioning Lu Yuan’s identity and the secrets behind his mission.

• Lu Xueqi deduced that the arriving guests were Bi Yao and You Ji, and the two reached the group as Dongfang Yuan introduced them.
• Bi Yao argued with Fa Xiang and condemned Heavenly Sound Temple for the Grass Temple Village massacre before Dongfang Yuan introduced her as the Ghost King’s daughter and You Ji as Saint Envoy Zhu Que.
• Bi Yao and You Ji joined the group as it resumed its journey toward the Blood Refinement Hall, with Heavenly Sound Temple in the lead.
• Bi Yao approached Tian Ling Er and hinted at a close connection between herself and Lu Yuan, prompting Lu Xueqi to threaten her into explaining.
• Bi Yao said she was Lu Yuan’s sister-in-law through his relationship with the Dao Child, then claimed Lu Yuan had a more legitimate reason than Qingyun Sect to collect the Dao Child’s body.

As the group advanced through the cemetery, Lu Xueqi and Tian Ling Er privately wrestled with what Bi Yao’s clues implied about Lu Yuan, while Old Man Nian prepared Blood Refinement Hall’s forces to harass the Orthodox Path alliance from the mist. Near the cemetery exit, Heavenly Sound Temple declined to lead the way, Qingyun Sect volunteered, and Dongfang Yuan unexpectedly refused.

• Lu Xueqi questioned why Lu Yuan had seemingly chosen death despite having better options, while Tian Ling Er inferred from his words that he might still be alive under another identity.
• Old Man Nian told Xiao Zhou that Blood Refinement Hall’s mist-covered force was meant to make surprise attacks and delay the alliance, not fight it head-on.
• Fa Xiang warned that Heavenly Sound Temple could not safely lead the way through the thick white fog and asked Dongfang Yuan to consider their depleted strength.
• Lu Xueqi volunteered Qingyun Sect to scout the fog while asking Incense Valley to guard the rear.
• Yan Hong welcomed the chance to let Qingyun Sect bear the risk, but Dongfang Yuan shook his head and rejected Lu Xueqi’s proposal.

Dongfang Yuan tried to avoid wasting Qingyun Sect’s strength, but Old Man Nian revealed that Xiao Yicai was an Orthodox Path spy planted in Blood Refinement Hall and used him to provoke the three sects. Qingyun Sect acknowledged Xiao Yicai, and Old Man Nian threatened to expose further secrets as the standoff continued.

• Dongfang Yuan threatened the white mist and urged Blood Refinement Hall’s disciples to retreat, but Old Man Nian emerged and said that wearing down their opponents was only his third mission.
• Old Man Nian struck Xiao Yicai, then revealed that he was a spy and offered him the choice to betray his original sect or become a bargaining chip.
• Blood Refinement Hall’s disciples berated Xiao Yicai, while Bi Yao’s correction of one disciple’s wording briefly disrupted their outrage.
• Xiao Yicai said he owed Blood Refinement Hall but refused to betray his original sect, so Old Man Nian proposed a deal and challenged the Orthodox Path sects to claim him.
• Fa Xiang argued that Xiao Yicai was not from Heavenly Sound Temple, and Qi Hao identified him as a Qingyun Sect disciple and accepted responsibility for the sect’s use of spies.
• Old Man Nian mocked Qingyun Sect’s methods and warned that another sect would retaliate after learning the news.

Dongfang Yuan revealed that the mausoleum’s trials were meant to force the group onward, and Wild Dog Daoist appeared to confirm that retreat was impossible and that the Blood Refinement Hall had left something for Dongfang Yuan. The chapter ended with Zeng Shushu stepping forward to test Wild Dog Daoist, the Blood Refinement Hall Master’s Guardian of the Dao.

• Fa Xiang defended Heavenly Sound Temple over Grass Temple Village, but Lin Jingyu condemned its five years of silence, and Fa Xiang argued that Pu Zhi’s actions and the temple’s losses had already settled the matter.
• Old Man Nian withdrew with the Blood Refinement Hall disciples after Dongfang Yuan assured him that they had planted enough suspicion, and the group found Xiao Yicai safe and the mausoleum’s exit open.
• Lu Xueqi and Fa Xiang decided their sects should turn back, but Dongfang Yuan warned that the group could not leave without facing the consequences and summoned someone hidden nearby.
• Wild Dog Daoist appeared and explained that the Blood Refinement Hall had only one path forward, with eighteen difficult trials ahead and rewards whose price had already been set.
• Lu Xueqi chose Zeng Shushu to test Wild Dog Daoist, who identified himself as the Blood Refinement Hall Master’s Guardian of the Dao, and Zeng Shushu raised the Xuanyuan Sword to fight.