Chapter Summaries

Bai Lan told Elder Fu about True Lord Suiyun’s plans and ordered Elder Xu to lure Yan Gu away from Hidden Dragon Abyss. Elder Fu threatened Elder Xu with a Divine Restraining Curse, leaving her to obey while wondering who was backing Bai Lan.

• Bai Lan told Elder Fu about True Lord Suiyun’s three reincarnations and her aim to absorb the Heavenly Dao’s favor, but withheld Long Aotian’s identity and unkillable nature.
• Elder Fu realized that the Heavenly Dao had prevented his ascension and lamented that his failed tribulation had not been caused by weak strength.
• Bai Lan ordered Elder Xu to lure Yan Gu out of Hidden Dragon Abyss and find a secluded place, while Elder Xu warned her about Yan Gu’s Nascent Soul backing.
• Elder Fu used his pressure to silence Elder Xu and claimed he had placed a Divine Restraining Curse in her soul, threatening to kill her if she disobeyed Bai Lan.
• Elder Xu failed to remove the curse and agreed to obey Bai Lan, while suspecting a powerful cultivator stood behind her.

Bai Lan planned to use Yan Gu to scout the bottom of Hidden Dragon Abyss, where she suspected an injured or trapped ancestral dragon was hidden. She arranged to implant a concealed camera in him and lure him down, hoping to learn the truth while avoiding detection by True Lord Suiyun.

• Elder Fu warned Elder Xu not to seek help from Suiyun, and Elder Xu left the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to find a way to lure Yan Gu out.
• Bai Lan considered the danger of True Lord Suiyun's divine sense and devised a plan to send someone else into Hidden Dragon Abyss.
• Bai Lan asked the system for a camera to monitor a scout who might not return, and the system agreed to provide one.
• Bai Lan explained that she planned to tell Yan Gu about an ancestral dragon corpse and give him the Dragon-Riding Art in exchange for a Heart Demon Vow.
• Bai Lan rejected the system's suggestion that Elder Fu scout the abyss, reasoning that the ninth-rank dragon would detect his divine sense.
• Bai Lan planned to implant the camera in Yan Gu, heal the wound, and conceal it with Elder Fu's power so even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would not notice.

Bai Lan arranged to use Yan Gu as bait for the Ninth Tier Demonic Beast in Hidden Dragon Abyss, then met Lin Ruoshui and revealed a Divine Restraining Curse on her soul. The chapter left Lin Ruoshui suspecting that her Master had placed the curse on her.

• Bai Lan gave Elder Fu a mundane silver needle to implant in Yan Gu so it could help lure the demonic beast from Hidden Dragon Abyss.
• Elder Xu trapped Yan Gu in an illusion after Yan Gu came alone to accept a supposed deal for a Heaven-rank cultivation method.
• Bai Lan met Lin Ruoshui, who demanded to know her identity, and Bai Lan said she was wary of someone close to Lin Ruoshui.
• Bai Lan had Elder Fu reveal the Divine Restraining Curse on Lin Ruoshui and told her it could control her life and death.
• Lin Ruoshui asked in disbelief whether her Master had placed the curse on her.

Bai Lan convinced Lin Ruoshui that Elder Yue might intend to use her as a safeguard or vessel if her tribulation failed, leaving Lin Ruoshui shaken but determined to investigate. Bai Lan reminded her that Yan Gu had been captured and that she would help eliminate him.

• Bai Lan told Lin Ruoshui that Elder Yue might be raising her as a safeguard against a failed tribulation, and Lin Ruoshui rejected the claim in anger.
• Bai Lan gave Lin Ruoshui her Sound Transmission Talisman and offered to rescue her if Elder Yue ever controlled or confined her.
• Lin Ruoshui stopped Bai Lan to ask why she had warned her, and Bai Lan said she considered her a dear friend.
• Lin Ruoshui said she would investigate Elder Yue and defend herself if her master intended to use her as a vessel.
• Bai Lan reminded Lin Ruoshui that Yan Gu had been captured and promised to help eliminate him.

Bai Lan set a trap for Yan Gu by planting a hidden camera in his body and arranging for Elder Fu to pose as a remnant soul offering him a modified Dragon Taming Art. Yan Gu rushed toward Hidden Dragon Abyss to seek an ancestral dragon’s blood, unaware that his Storage Bag had been emptied, while Bai Lan prepared to watch his movements and ensure his death.

• Bai Lan explained to Lin Ruoshui how to use others to deal with Yan Gu and had Elder Fu plant a pinhole camera in Yan Gu’s body.
• Elder Fu pretended to be True Lord Fu Shan and persuaded Yan Gu to swear a Heart Demon Vow before giving him a modified Dragon Taming Art and a letter.
• Yan Gu learned that an ancestral dragon’s frozen corpse lay at the bottom of Hidden Dragon Abyss and hurried there to obtain its blood.
• Bai Lan showed Lin Ruoshui and Elder Xu a live feed from Yan Gu’s point of view and promised to help Lin Ruoshui get rid of him.
• Yan Gu left the cave without noticing that his Storage Bag had been emptied, while Elder Xu suspected Bai Lan resembled Lan Ning in his willingness to risk everything for someone he loved.

Bai Lan manipulated Elder Xu into leaving the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, then demanded a wisp of her divine soul after revealing her true face. When Elder Xu refused, Bai Lan ordered Elder Fu to kill her and planned to disguise her death as a sacrifice during an attack by a Nascent Soul assassin.

• Lin Ruoshui received Elder Yue's summons and returned to her master after Bai Lan reassured her.
• Bai Lan told Elder Xu that her adoptive mother might discover Yan Gu's death, then revealed she had arranged for Elder Xu to take the blame.
• Bai Lan offered Elder Xu a choice between dying in the Pavilion or abandoning it to serve her, and Elder Xu pretended to accept while planning to escape.
• Bai Lan revealed her true face and demanded a wisp of Elder Xu's divine soul in exchange for removing the Divine Restraining Curse.
• Elder Xu refused, and Bai Lan ordered Elder Fu to kill her and fabricate a story that Elder Xu died protecting Bai Lan from a Nascent Soul assassin.

Bai Lan took Elder Xu’s Primordial Spirit and brought her into the Spirit Taming Sect, where she appointed her future Peak Master of Heavenly Secrets Peak. She tested Luan Yin’s three new puppets and told him to improve their speed and strength.

• Elder Xu surrendered a wisp of her Primordial Spirit to Bai Lan in exchange for a chance to survive.
• Bai Lan brought Elder Xu into her Void Stone, where Elder Xu encountered Miaoyunzi, Elder Fu, and Luan Yin, whom she recognized as the Old Devil of the Corpse Refining Sect.
• Bai Lan named Elder Xu the future Peak Master of Heavenly Secrets Peak and told Luan Yin to show her around the Spirit Taming Sect.
• Luan Yin demonstrated three mechanical puppets, each with the strength of a late Qi Refining stage cultivator, and Bai Lan fought them.
• Bai Lan praised Luan Yin’s work but said the puppets needed greater speed and strength.

Bai Lan arranged for Luan Yin to produce puppets for the coming war and hid Elder Xu in the Void Stone, planning to tell True Lord Suiyun that she had died. To make the story convincing, Bai Lan injured herself with Ice Flame Bone Wine and began cultivating a body-tempering art, leaving Elder Fu alarmed by her bloody condition.

• Bai Lan marked the puppets’ weaknesses and asked Luan Yin to refine twenty thousand Qi Refining stage puppets and three thousand Foundation Establishment stage puppets within a year, promising materials and hundreds of helpers.
• Bai Lan told Elder Xu to stay in the Void Stone and said she would tell her adoptive mother that Demonic Palace cultivators had killed her.
• Elder Fu checked the surroundings and teased Bai Lan by pretending True Lord Suiyun was nearby, prompting Bai Lan to leave the Void Stone.
• Bai Lan drank Ice Flame Bone Wine, ruptured several unimportant meridians, and began cultivating the Five Mansions Marrow Forging Art to make her supposed encounter with an assassin believable.
• Elder Fu warned Bai Lan that the art might be a demonic-path technique as blood seeped from her body, but he noticed it was tempering her body.

Bai Lan deliberately interrupted her cultivation to suffer manageable injuries, then blamed Green Soul Daoist for attacking her and killing Elder Xu. True Lord Suiyun healed her and offered to keep her on Cangwu Continent as the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s Young Pavilion Master, but Bai Lan said her Heart Demon Vow prevented her from leaving the Azure Origin Sect.

• Bai Lan interrupted her cultivation on her twenty-third attempt, suffered backlash, and asked Gongsun Lian to name a Nascent Soul-level enemy, prompting her to claim Green Soul Daoist had attacked her.
• True Lord Suiyun arrived after sensing Bai Lan’s injuries and questioned her account of Green Soul Daoist killing Elder Xu.
• True Lord Suiyun healed Bai Lan and concluded that someone had targeted her, even if her story about the Demonic Palace was false.
• Bai Lan insisted she had recognized Green Soul Daoist beneath a disguise and accused her of nearly killing her with spiritual pressure.
• True Lord Suiyun offered to make Bai Lan the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s Young Pavilion Master on Cangwu Continent, but Bai Lan cited her Heart Demon Vow to the Azure Origin Sect as a reason she could not leave.

Bai Lan learned that Green Soul Daoist had threatened to hunt her down, and True Lord Suiyun promised to send Elder Yue to kill him while giving Bai Lan a suspicious teleportation device disguised as a talisman. After returning to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, Bai Lan received a dubious plea for help from Lin Ruoshui and became intrigued when the messenger introduced himself as Yan Hao.

• Bai Lan told True Lord Suiyun that Green Soul Daoist had vowed to kill her, and Suiyun promised to send Elder Yue to deal with him.
• True Lord Suiyun gave Bai Lan a brick-sized device that Elder Fu identified as a teleportation array that could bring Suiyun to Bai Lan.
• Bai Lan returned to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, trained and explored for half a month, and mapped the pavilion.
• A messenger claimed that Elder Yue had confined Lin Ruoshui, taken her sound transmission talisman, and left her in danger.
• Elder Fu warned Bai Lan that the messenger was under a Divine Restraining Curse and that the plea was likely a trap.
• The messenger called himself Yan Hao, and Bai Lan reacted to the familiar name with sudden excitement.

Bai Lan subdued Yan Hao and recruited him by offering a Qi Gathering Pill in exchange for intelligence. Yan Hao revealed that Lin Ruoshui was imprisoned in a secret chamber in Elder Yue’s cave abode and explained how Elder Yue had learned Bai Lan’s identity.

• Bai Lan asked Yan Hao about Ling Xunxian, and he tried to deny knowing her and flee.
• Bai Lan used the Heart Devouring Gu’s Mother Gu to subdue Yan Hao and revealed that Ling Xunxian was one of her people.
• Yan Hao threatened to kill himself rather than serve another master, but Elder Fu stopped him.
• Bai Lan offered Yan Hao a Qi Gathering Pill if he performed three tasks, and he agreed to hear her demands.
• Yan Hao told Bai Lan that Elder Yue had learned her name from Lin Ruoshui and was holding Lin in a secret chamber in her cave abode.

Bai Lan arranged for Yan Hao to stay undercover near Lin Ruoshui, giving him Miaoyunzi to remove Elder Yue’s restrictions after Elder Yue died. Bai Lan then left the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, explaining that True Lord Suiyun was occupied reinforcing the seal after Yan Gu’s actions revealed a chained ninth-rank dragon beneath Hidden Dragon Abyss.

• Bai Lan told Yan Hao to remain undercover and wait for Elder Yue’s death before looting her cave abode and bringing Lin Ruoshui to her.
• Bai Lan summoned Miaoyunzi to assist Yan Hao, gave him a ring to house her remnant soul, and said she would later remove his Divine Restraining Curse in exchange for a wisp of his soul.
• Miaoyunzi scolded Yan Hao and ordered him to cultivate as he prepared to return to Elder Yue.
• Bai Lan left the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion after breaking through the first layer of the Purple Firmament True Art.
• Bai Lan told Elder Fu that True Lord Suiyun was busy reinforcing the seal, then showed him a recording of a chained ninth-rank dragon at the bottom of Hidden Dragon Abyss.

Bai Lan learned that a ninth-rank dragon was sealed beneath Hidden Dragon Abyss and began planning to free it as a powerful ally against True Lord Suiyun. She then planned a trip to the Lan Family to prepare jade-brick teleportation tokens for Spirit Taming Sect disciples, with safeguards to keep outsiders from entering the Void Stone.

• Yan Gu fell into Hidden Dragon Abyss, where the sealed dragon used a Full Power Strike Talisman to try to break the seal, but True Lord Suiyun arrived and reinforced it, killing him.
• Bai Lan decided she could recruit the dragon and the ninth-rank Black Tortoise, Old Turtle, to help her overpower True Lord Suiyun.
• Elder Fu suggested fleeing the Cangwu Continent, but Bai Lan rejected the idea and said she would find a way to free the dragon.
• Bai Lan agreed to place the large Teleportation Array inside the Void Stone and chose to visit the Lan Family first.
• Bai Lan planned to make jade-brick teleportation tokens for Spirit Taming Sect disciples, bind them to their owners' souls, and guard the array with cameras and people.

Bai Lan returned to the Lan Family after securing a Teleportation Array and other gains, while Li Xunxian recruited children in the mortal world and trained Long Yanran. Li Xunxian urged Long Yanran to leave for the cultivation world, but relented when Yanran worried about her mother and decided to speak with her instead.

• Bai Lan asked Elder Fu to research the Jade Brick and told him to have Tribulation Crossing cultivators refine the Teleportation Array.
• Bai Lan returned to the Lan Family, obtained a Heaven-grade cave dwelling, and prepared to cultivate toward the Tribulation Crossing stage.
• Li Xunxian recruited 137 children with spiritual roots and trained Long Yanran, Long Aotian's cousin, as a disciple of the Spirit Taming Sect.
• Li Xunxian invited Long Yanran to meet Bai Lan, but Yanran hesitated because she did not want to leave her mother alone.
• Li Xunxian understood Yanran's concern and decided to speak with her mother about resolving the matter.

Bai Lan arranged to bring new Qi Refining disciples into the Spirit Taming Sect and ordered Luan Yin to infiltrate the Corpse Refining Sect, while planning to destroy it and seize its protective array. She entered seclusion to prepare for Core Formation, as Gongsun Lian gained influence in the Demonic Palace and began gathering He Gui’s victims.

• Madam Long agreed to let Long Yanran leave the mortal world for cultivation, and Bai Lan sent Luan Yin with a Jade Brick to bring Qi Refining seedlings to the Spirit Taming Sect.
• Bai Lan tasked Luan Yin with infiltrating the Corpse Refining Sect and gathering intelligence for Qiu Tian, planning to attack the sect during the coming righteous-demonic war and acquire its Four Directions Soul Capturing Array.
• The Spirit Taming Sect’s Jade Bricks eased disciples’ suspicions, and they left to complete missions and gather materials for Bai Lan’s Formation Disks.
• Bai Lan announced that she would enter seclusion to break through to Core Formation using Ice Flame Bone Wine, leaving the sect’s affairs to others.
• Gongsun Lian rose to become commander of He Gui’s guards and chief steward of the Demonic Palace, while secretly gathering victims of He Gui’s killings.

He Gui forced Bai Ling to reveal what Qian Ji Zi had told her about True Person Qing Xuan, then ordered Gongsun Lian to investigate who had deceived her. Gongsun Lian learned that Green Soul Daoist had been killed by a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

• He Gui threatened Bai Ling and the men she had befriended until she explained her encounter with Qian Ji Zi.
• He Gui realized someone had impersonated Qian Ji Zi to manipulate Bai Ling into rescuing Lan Ning, and he ordered Gongsun Lian to investigate.
• Gongsun Lian suspected Bai Lan was behind the scheme and resolved to find a scapegoat for He Gui's investigation.
• A subordinate told Gongsun Lian that Green Soul Daoist had been killed by a black-robed Nascent Soul cultivator from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.
• Gongsun Lian pretended she had foreseen the killing and accepted her subordinate's praise.

Bai Lan cultivated with Ice Flame Bone Wine and three Qi Gathering Pills, then began forming a Golden Core inside the Void Stone. As her breakthrough grew more difficult, she repeatedly reloaded her save to repair the damage and continue condensing her core.

• Gongsun Lian warned Bai Lan that Old Demon He Gui had discovered her impersonation of Qian Ji Zi, but Bai Lan did not answer.
• Bai Lan spent months cultivating with Ice Flame Bone Wine and advanced from the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment toward its great completion.
• True Lord Xu questioned Bai Lan's rapid progress, while True Lord Hong Xiao told her she would get used to Bai Lan's unusual cultivation.
• Bai Lan swallowed three Qi Gathering Pills and began forming a Golden Core, prompting True Lord Hong Xiao and True Lord Xu to flee in fear of a lightning tribulation.
• Bai Lan's Dao foundation shattered as spiritual power surged through her body, and she reloaded her save whenever her meridians, dantian, or core formation ran into trouble.

Bai Lan successfully formed a five-colored Golden Core after two hundred reloads, with no lightning tribulation, and returned to the Azure Origin Sect after receiving an urgent message from True Lord Lingxiao. There, she overheard Qi Xiaoru repeating Bai Lan’s observations about Nan Xianshi, who realized they described her accurately.

• Bai Lan formed her Golden Core, and True Lord Hong Xiao and True Lord Xu wondered why no lightning tribulation had appeared.
• Bai Lan ordered the system to tell cultivators in the Void Stone that breakthroughs there would not bring lightning tribulations.
• Bai Lan received a message from True Lord Lingxiao summoning her back to the Azure Origin Sect and traveled there.
• Bai Lan learned the sect was preparing for a possible war with the demonic path, then returned to her courtyard to pack.
• Bai Lan overheard Qi Xiaoru tell Nan Xianshi that Bai Lan had explained how to read Nan Xianshi’s feelings and mannerisms.
• Nan Xianshi shattered a stone table and fell silent as Qi Xiaoru described her habit of saying one thing while meaning another.

Bai Lan returned to the sect and stunned True Lord Lingxiao and Ji Feng by revealing that she had reached Core Formation. After verifying she had no demonic aura, they discussed her breakthrough and the approaching war between the righteous and demonic paths.

• Bai Lan met True Lord Lingxiao and Ji Feng, who were shocked to learn she had advanced to Core Formation.
• True Lord Lingxiao searched Bai Lan for demonic aura and asked her to cast a technique, confirming her water arrow showed no sign of corruption.
• Bai Lan claimed her breakthrough was luck and privately planned to blame the Corpse Refining Sect for her rapid cultivation.
• Ji Feng proposed sparring with Bai Lan, but backed down when she demanded a Spirit Stone wager.
• Ji Feng joked that he could provoke Bai Lan outside her cave abode until she fought him, and Bai Lan decided he was not normal.
• True Lord Lingxiao admitted he had falsely warned Bai Lan that the sect was in danger because he feared for her safety while she was away.

Bai Lan revealed her Tribulation Crossing cultivation to Nan Xianshi, Qi Xiaoru, and the Azure Origin Sect’s leaders, shocking them with how far she had advanced. After reaching the Sect Master, she explained that the Corpse Refining Sect’s ancestor had abducted and imprisoned her, while Elder Fu identified a Black Tortoise aura around True Lord Fu Guang.

• Bai Lan claimed she was her own adoptive mother before admitting her identity to Nan Xianshi, who recognized her voice and was stunned by her Tribulation Crossing cultivation.
• Bai Lan followed True Lord Lingxiao to Righteous Path Peak to meet the Sect Master, while Nan Xianshi and Qi Xiaoru struggled to comprehend how quickly she had advanced.
• True Person Qing He recognized Bai Lan and questioned how she had progressed from early Foundation Establishment to Tribulation Crossing, while True Lord Fu Guang sensed demonic cultivator aura on her.
• Elder Fu identified True Lord Fu Guang as carrying the aura of the divine beast Black Tortoise.
• Bai Lan recounted how the Corpse Refining Sect’s ancestor had abducted and imprisoned her, mixing truths and borrowed details into her story.