Chapter Summaries

Qin Yi used the spoils from the monks to prepare for secluded cultivation, while Great Joy Temple confronted Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace over the destruction of its Universal Salvation Hall. The dispute ended with a proposed duel between Zheng Yunyi and a Great Joy Temple disciple at the Soaring Cloud Sixth Layer.

• Qin Yi sorted the spoils, took a Muscle Tendon Change Pill, and entered the Trial Painting World to cultivate and fight the mountain ghoul monkey while Liusu absorbed medicinal power.
• Great Joy Temple sent Guan Hai to demand an explanation from Heavenly Mystery Child for the destruction of Universal Salvation Hall.
• Heavenly Mystery Child refused to surrender Zheng Yunyi and argued that Great Joy Temple had provoked Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace by targeting Great Qian.
• Guan Hai threatened to kill Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace disciples entering the mortal world, and Heavenly Mystery Child proposed settling the dispute with a bout.
• Guan Hai proposed that Zheng Yunyi fight a Great Joy Temple disciple at the Soaring Cloud Sixth Layer, leaving Zheng Yunyi alarmed by the challenge.

Heavenly Mystery Child, Ju Yunxiu, and Guan Hai negotiated a month-later contest between Great Joy Temple and Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace, with each sect’s disciples facing separate opponents. While Guan Hai assumed Qin Yi was far from advancing, Qin Yi emerged from the Trial Painting World having reached Muscle Tendon Change Eighth Layer.

• Guan Hai weighed the risks of an all-out war and agreed to settle the conflict through a personal contest.
• Heavenly Mystery Child proposed that Zheng Yunyi and Qin Yi fight together against a Soaring Cloud Sixth Layer cultivator, citing Qin Yi’s role in Guan Ji’s death.
• Ju Yunxiu said Qin Yi was injured and arranged separate matches: Zheng Yunyi would face a Soaring Cloud Fourth Layer cultivator, while Qin Yi’s opponent would be at the early Soaring Cloud stage.
• Guan Hai and Heavenly Mystery Child sealed their agreement for the matches to take place in one month, each expecting to prepare their own disciple for the contest.
• Qin Yi emerged from the Trial Painting World with Gale Qi flashing around him, having reached Muscle Tendon Change Eighth Layer.

Qin Yi prepared for a coming duel by asking Ju Yunxiu to strengthen his training realm, while the two discussed the risks of completing her master’s paintings. The chapter ended with Qin Yi wondering whether Zheng Yunyi’s motives were tied to the paintings.

• Ju Yunxiu told Qin Yi that he would face an opponent in the early Soaring Clouds stage within a month, and Qin Yi predicted the Demon Sect would raise that opponent’s strength to the middle stage.
• Ju Yunxiu said Qin Yi should hide if he could not break through to Bone Forging, but Qin Yi reassured her that he would face the trouble rather than burden her.
• Qin Yi asked Ju Yunxiu to improve the Mountain Sprite trial scroll, and she merged it with the Rivers and Mountains Painting to create a larger landscape realm with stronger Mountain Sprites.
• Ju Yunxiu explained that other portraits could add spiritual essence to the painting, while the final painting from her master’s tomb remained the crucial missing piece.
• Qin Yi questioned Zheng Yunyi’s motives and wondered whether he knew what was hidden within the paintings.

Qin Yi received a wealth of pills, wine, and martial arts from the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace’s treasury to prepare for his life-and-death battle with Zheng Yunyi. After Liusu soaked in the wine and fell asleep, Qin Yi covered her with a leaf and entered the upgraded painting realm to cultivate.

• Ju Yunxiu brought Qin Yi a large supply of cultivation resources and martial arts from the Immortal Palace’s public treasury.
• Qin Yi and Liusu discussed the special support for their upcoming battle and which martial arts might suit Qin Yi after he broke through.
• Liusu climbed into a basin of Immortal Wine, which turned clear as she absorbed it, and muttered angrily in her sleep.
• Qin Yi covered the sleeping Liusu with a Nourishing Soul Flower leaf and promised to help her, then entered the upgraded painting realm to cultivate.

Qin Yi fought the mountain ape in the upgraded painting realm while Liusu condensed its Yin Spirit and gained a tangible form. After Qin Yi panicked at thinking Liusu was missing, they reunited, and Liusu realized he had put its needs ahead of his own cultivation.

• Qin Yi explored the painting realm, was struck by the mountain ape, and charged back in to fight it.
• Liusu left the Nourishing Soul Flower pot, condensed its Yin Spirit, and became a small, solid white jade figure.
• Qin Yi returned from the painting realm, searched frantically for Liusu, and found it watching him.
• Liusu told Qin Yi its soul power was near the early stage of Radiant Sun, and Qin Yi rejoiced that he could touch it.
• Qin Yi said Liusu’s needs came first, and Liusu realized he had been focusing on Martial Cultivation and yielding priority in soul cultivation.

Qin Yi endured the agony of beginning Bone Forging, while Li Qingjun pushed through the pain of tendon changing at Penglai Sword Pavilion. The chapter left them both advancing in martial cultivation as Li Qingjun pursued the person waiting for her on the immortal path.

• Qin Yi completed Muscle Tendon Change and began breaking through the first layer of periosteum with the gate fragment and Bone Forging Pills.
• Qin Yi admitted the Bone Forging pain was terrible, but refused painkillers and continued cultivating.
• Li Qingjun’s spear strike subdued a senior brother who had tried to tease her, establishing her reputation at Penglai Sword Pavilion.
• Li Qingjun told the senior brothers that someone was waiting for her on the immortal path, then entered the Sword Pool to temper her tendons.
• On her seventh day at Penglai Sword Pavilion, Li Qingjun broke through Muscle Tendon Change and formed Gale Qi.

Qin Yi endured a painful breakthrough into the first layer of Bone Forging, then began advancing his Immortal Dao cultivation after Liusu urged him not to neglect it. He reached the barrier to the seventh layer of Zither Heart, leaving open whether he could overcome the greater Soaring Clouds barrier in time for the coming battle.

• Li Qingjun quickly broke through to Muscle Tendon Change while Qin Yi spent three painful days reaching the first layer of Bone Forging.
• Liusu gave Qin Yi three combat techniques and explained how they would improve his movement, defense, and ability to dismantle spells.
• Liusu told Qin Yi to balance martial cultivation with Immortal Dao cultivation, and Qin Yi's Mana surged from Zither Heart's fourth layer to its sixth.
• Qin Yi swallowed a Jade Spirit Pill and began meditating to break through to the seventh layer of Zither Heart.
• Liusu considered that Qin Yi might reach Soaring Clouds before the battle, though it remained uncertain whether he could overcome the required realization and Small Tribulation.

Ju Yunxiu returned to Transient Peak to check Qin Yi's progress before the battle deadline and tested his newly advanced cultivation in a spar. Satisfied that his strength and control were genuine, she let him claim a reward by pulling her into his arms.

• Ju Yunxiu found Qin Yi in a painted world beating a mountain imp and learned that he had reached the eighth level of Heart of the Harp and forged his bones.
• Qin Yi explained that he had cultivated steadily, and Ju Yunxiu challenged him to verify his progress.
• Ju Yunxiu's initial attacks sent Qin Yi flying, but his Wolf Tooth Club and Gale Qi broke through her solidified Mana and surprised her with their power.
• Ju Yunxiu trapped Qin Yi in a lotus-pond painting to test his control, and he escaped easily by expanding his Gale Qi.
• Qin Yi seized Ju Yunxiu's wrist and pulled her into his embrace; reassured by his performance, she closed her eyes as he asked for a reward.

After emerging from seclusion, Qin Yi appeared carefree before his upcoming life-and-death battle, prompting fellow disciples to bring him wine and a Spirit Devouring Puppet to help. The chapter ended with Ju Yunxiu revealing that Minghe would arrive as the neutral arbiter for the battle.

• Qin Yi resumed playing music and painting with Ju Yunxiu while concealing his true cultivation, leading fellow disciples to think he had made no progress.
• Yin Yizhong warned Qin Yi about the consequences of losing and gave him Spirit Gathering Wine, which Liusu judged unlikely to help him break through.
• Gongshu Lu and Mo Linzi visited Qin Yi, and Mo Linzi gave him a Spirit Devouring Puppet intended to counter the Great Joy Temple's Celestial Maiden Statues.
• Qin Yi appreciated the concern shown by his fellow disciples and felt more attached to the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace.
• Ju Yunxiu told Qin Yi that Minghe had been chosen as the neutral arbiter for his battle, leaving him stunned.

Qin Yi and Ju Yunxiu developed the Yunxiu Flute while the deadline for the battle against Great Joy Temple approached. At the Cloud Platform, the assembled cultivators awaited the arbitrator from Celestial Pivot Divine Palace, whose arrival was marked by a peerlessly beautiful Daoist Nun.

• Qin Yi worried about meeting Minghe and stayed with Ju Yunxiu instead of returning to his residence.
• Ju Yunxiu advised Qin Yi to develop the Yunxiu Flute into a Natal Magic Treasure that could unleash spells through its holes.
• Qin Yi remained on Qinqi Peak with Ju Yunxiu and Qing Cha until the one-month deadline arrived.
• The cultivators of Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace traveled to the Cloud Platform, where more than ten thousand spectators had gathered for the battle.
• The arbitrator from Celestial Pivot Divine Palace arrived, and the crowd was struck by the beauty of the Daoist Nun.

Minghe arrived at Great Joy Temple as an arbiter and unexpectedly met Qin Yi, the junior brother she had not seen in more than half a year. As the life-and-death matches began, Ju Yunxiu grew suspicious of their history and demanded answers from Qin Yi.

• Guan Hai and the Great Joy Temple monks were shaken by Minghe's beauty, but Minghe ignored their attempts to speak with her.
• The Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace arrived, and Minghe immediately fixed her attention on Qin Yi and the handkerchief he rode on.
• Minghe and Ju Yunxiu exchanged greetings while Qin Yi and Minghe recalled their past closeness and their promise not to meet again.
• Minghe questioned Qin Yi about the handkerchief and cut off Zheng Yunyi before ordering the matches to begin simultaneously.
• Guan Du of Great Joy Temple faced Qin Yi, while Ju Yunxiu tugged Qin Yi's ear and demanded that he defeat the monk and explain his connection to Minghe.

Qin Yi entered the arena and killed Guan Du with a single blow, stunning the spectators and forcing Guan Hai to change tactics. The chapter ended with Zheng Yunyi’s opponent breaking through to the Soaring Cloud Sixth Layer, ruining Zheng Yunyi’s counterattack plan.

• Zheng Yunyi fought a Great Joy Temple monk while Xi Xiangzi urged Qin Yi to surrender, and Qin Yi questioned whether his defeat would ease the pressure on Zheng Yunyi.
• Guan Du taunted Qin Yi for delaying, but Minghe ruled that the rules did not require him to enter the arena immediately.
• Qin Yi entered the arena and used Bone-Forging Gale Qi, a monster statue, Soul-Seizing flute music, and a giant Wolf Tooth Club to kill Guan Du in one strike.
• Ju Yunxiu remained unfazed, Minghe smiled with relief, and Guan Hai ordered the monk fighting Zheng Yunyi to break through and win at any cost.
• Zheng Yunyi’s opponent took a pill and advanced to the Soaring Cloud Sixth Layer, overturning Zheng Yunyi’s plans to lure him into a counterattack.

After Qin Yi defeated Guan Du, Guan Hai questioned whether the battle remained fair, but Minghe blamed his side for misjudging Qin Yi’s strength. Ju Yunxiu dragged Qin Yi aside to confront him about Minghe, and their conversation ended when Minghe appeared nearby.

• Guan Hai realized Qin Yi’s combined martial and Dao cultivation had made him far stronger than Guan Du expected, and considered him a future threat.
• Guan Hai challenged Minghe’s ruling over Qin Yi’s victory, but Minghe argued that Great Joy Temple was responsible for choosing an opponent without knowing Qin Yi’s strength.
• Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace disciples celebrated Qin Yi’s victory until Ju Yunxiu pulled him aside to question his relationships with women, including Minghe.
• Qin Yi admitted that he still had feelings for Minghe, though he understood that she wished to forget their past and pursue the Dao.
• Ju Yunxiu and Qin Yi noticed Minghe standing nearby after she apparently overheard their conversation.

Minghe reunited with Qin Yi and, while both insisted they were only old friends, their lingering feelings surfaced as they discussed his ties to Meng Qingying. Qin Yi returned Minghe’s Buddhist pagoda and replaced her Daoist Scarf after binding her azure tresses, leaving their relationship unresolved beneath her excuses.

• Ju Yunxiu and Minghe exchanged pointed courtesies about Qin Yi’s supposed desire to conquer Minghe before Ju Yunxiu left them alone.
• Minghe confronted Qin Yi for claiming their past was only an obsession, and Qin Yi asked whether she had come because she wanted to see him.
• Minghe called herself Qin Yi’s old friend and accused Meng Qingying of being her enemy, prompting Qin Yi to explain their dealings and return her Buddhist pagoda.
• Minghe asked whether Qin Yi had kept anything else, and he requested a keepsake in exchange for returning her Daoist Scarf.
• Minghe let Qin Yi remove her Daoist Scarf, bind her azure tresses, and put the scarf back on her, then claimed she had given it to him to keep him from forgetting his old friend.

Minghe stopped the confrontation between Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace and Great Joy Temple after Zheng Yunyi and a monk were both gravely wounded. As Great Joy Temple withdrew, Heavenly Mystery Child and several Huiyang cultivators launched a surprise attack, drawing in the sect’s Qianyuan power and the Palace Lord and turning the dispute into a life-and-death battle.

• Minghe returned to the Cloud Platform wearing the Daoist scarf Qin Yi had given her and reflected that they were now merely old friends.
• After Zheng Yunyi and the Great Joy Temple monk fell gravely wounded, Minghe used Qin Yi’s pagoda to separate the opposing disciples and declare the dispute ended.
• Guan Hai accepted Minghe’s ruling and led the Great Joy Temple monks away, though everyone expected the conflict to continue.
• Heavenly Mystery Child trapped the departing Great Joy Temple group in an Eight Trigrams Array as Huiyang cultivators among the spectators attacked them.
• Ju Yunxiu joined the assault with the Universe Mountains and Rivers painting, while Qin Yi realized Great Joy Temple faced overwhelming odds.
• A Qianyuan cultivator’s Buddhist Light swept toward the Cloud Platform, but the Palace Lord’s immortal crane met and extinguished it, beginning a true life-and-death battle.

Qin Yi realized Heavenly Mystery Child had engineered a battle that drew Great Joy Temple’s enemies and Celestial Pivot Divine Palace into a decisive confrontation. Great Joy Temple’s forces were crushed, and Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace set out to finish off the survivors.

• Qin Yi deduced that Heavenly Mystery Child had sabotaged an opponent’s breakthrough medicine and secretly prepared an Eight Trigrams Array while Zheng Yunyi stalled him.
• The Palace Master’s Yang Spirit fought Great Joy Temple’s Qianyuan, while Celestial Pivot Divine Palace shielded the Cloud Platform to protect Minghe and the other spectators.
• Nearly ten Huiyang cultivators killed the two monks trapped in the formation, and Heavenly Mystery Child crushed Guan Hai’s fleeing soul.
• The Palace Master and Great Joy Temple’s Qianyuan vanished after their clash, and the Palace Master said Cheng Yuan’s divine soul had escaped but would be unable to commit evil for a hundred years.
• Heavenly Mystery Child revealed that Red Ridge Child and Celestial Pine Hermit were pursuing Great Joy Temple’s two remaining Chief Seats, then led Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace’s sect masters to pursue them.

Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace destroyed the Great Joy Temple and claimed its vast resources, but Heavenly Mystery Child’s ruthless scheme left the sect’s leaders worried about future reprisals and their wounded Palace Master. Minghe explained to Qin Yi that Heavenly Mystery Child had engineered the conflict as a step toward Qianyuan, leaving Qin Yi to wonder what his next scheme would target.

• Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace’s leaders debated Heavenly Mystery Child’s decision to destroy the Great Joy Temple, as Mo Wuzi and Ju Yunxiu warned that surviving enemies and the Palace Master’s grievous wounds left the sect vulnerable.
• Heavenly Mystery Child admitted that his goal was to eliminate future threats and pursue his Path to Enlightenment toward Qianyuan, while the Red-Nosed Old Man, Ju Yunxiu, and Mo Wuzi rejected his approach.
• Ju Yunxiu and Mo Wuzi went to kill the remaining Great Joy Temple members despite their misgivings.
• Minghe told Qin Yi that Heavenly Mystery Child’s elaborate schemes might bring him close to achieving Qianyuan.
• Qin Yi realized that Heavenly Mystery Child had used past plots and the Great Joy Temple conflict to build toward Qianyuan, then wondered whether he would next target the Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting Sect or the Immortal Palace.

After the competition, Meng Qingying attacked Zheng Yunyi and tried to drive a wedge between Qin Yi and Minghe. Minghe and Qin Yi confronted their feelings before she left, and Qin Yi pulled her into an embrace as she closed her eyes.

• Zheng Yunyi rose unharmed in appearance and thanked Qin Yi for helping create a chance to prove the Dao, but Minghe criticized him for ignoring the innocent.
• Meng Qingying ambushed Zheng Yunyi, then recited a suggestive verse that implicated Qin Yi and fled into the forest.
• Qin Yi confronted Meng Qingying, who explained that she wanted to sever his bond with Minghe before he helped Minghe kill her.
• Minghe revealed she had heard their exchange and told Qin Yi she had not acted because she did not want to make things difficult for him.
• Minghe admitted she was leaving, and Qin Yi pulled her into his embrace; she slowly closed her eyes.

Minghe's master separated her from Qin Yi and ordered her to return to the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace, but she gave Qin Yi a hundred years to reach Huiyang before he could see Minghe again. After learning that his altered martial inheritance came from the first volume of Chaos Origin, Qin Yi accepted the challenge and headed back toward the Cloud Platform, where the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace's troubles awaited him.

• Minghe's master stopped Qin Yi from approaching Minghe, accused him of distracting her from her cultivation, and ordered her to return and reflect for a year.
• Qin Yi challenged the order, but Minghe's master struck him into a tree and recognized that his cultivation resembled Chaos Origin.
• Minghe's master carried Minghe away and told Qin Yi he could see her again if he attained Huiyang within a hundred years.
• Qin Yi reflected that his weakness and Minghe's Daoist path made their relationship difficult, and he accepted the hundred-year goal.
• Liusu explained that Qin Yi's technique was an incomplete first volume of Chaos Origin, altered to conceal its origin.
• Qin Yi and Liusu flew toward the Cloud Platform, where Qin Yi prepared to face the unsettled affairs of the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace.

The Palace Lord rejected Heavenly Mystery Child’s attempt to take control of the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace and sent him to face a Qianyuan challenger. Heavenly Mystery Child returned badly injured and announced that the Medicine, Divination, Schemes, Calculations Sect would split off to form its own Household.

• The sect masters learned that the Palace Lord was badly injured and heard Heavenly Mystery Child argue that he should take charge of the Immortal Palace to prove Qianyuan.
• Heavenly Mystery Child asked the Palace Lord to yield, promising not to interfere in the Immortal Palace’s affairs.
• The Palace Lord refused and told Heavenly Mystery Child to go ten thousand li south and fight someone waiting there.
• The sect masters followed Heavenly Mystery Child, while Qin Yi and the other disciples stayed behind.
• Heavenly Mystery Child returned with Mo Wuzi and Jiu Quanzi supporting him, his right foot mangled and bleeding.
• Heavenly Mystery Child announced that his sect would form its own Household and revealed that the Qianyuan opponent was a dog Xu Buyi had raised.