Chapter Summaries

After returning to Nanyang Spirit Peak, Li Qing examined True Person Chifa’s Storage Bags and found a fortune in Spirit Stones, rare spirit materials, battle talismans, dragon marrow, and unusual treasures. He put the spoils away, including a damaged Fire Repelling Treasure Robe and a sound-based battle drum, and planned to investigate the mysterious stone embryo later.

• Li Qing secured his cave dwelling and found over thirty-four thousand Spirit Stones, rare artifact-refining materials, and three Spirit Corroding Fruits in True Person Chifa’s first Storage Bag.
• Li Qing set aside spirit gold and scraps to feed his three Golden Silk Silkworms and kept the Spirit Corroding Fruits for a possible future attempt to refine Spirit Nurturing Pills.
• Li Qing found second-rank and third-rank talismans, including Origin Shield Talismans and a Lightning Fire Talisman made by Fu Xuan, in the second Storage Bag.
• Li Qing discovered another half portion of dragon marrow, giving him enough to pursue advancement to Mid Core Formation, and stored the mysterious stone embryo for later investigation.
• Li Qing examined the damaged Fire Repelling Treasure Robe and blood-red sound-based drum, keeping both as potential assets for future battles.

Li Qing discovered that the Soul Calming Drum required its Treasure Cultivation Art to protect its user and enhance their blood and qi, then wondered what Gui Li’s newly refined cauldron meant for artifact refinement. Gui Li learned that his Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron was only a fragile imitation of an ancient Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, and that each use would bring it closer to breaking apart.

• Li Qing found the Soul Calming Drum’s Treasure Cultivation Art in a jade slip and used it to activate the drum without suffering its mind-disturbing effects.
• Li Qing realized the drum’s incantation could also boost blood and qi, and considered combining incantations with magic treasures in his future refinements.
• Li Qing received a lifespan reward of twelve years for assisting in the refinement of the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron (Imitation), and questioned why it was classified as a Forbidden Artifact.
• Gui Li tested the newly refined cauldron by striking a mountain, but discovered a crack in it after recalling it to his hand.
• Gui Li concluded that the Great Dao rejected the cauldron because the original had become a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, leaving his version a limited-use imitation that cracked with each use.

Li Qing prepared his cave abode with a Spirit Gathering Formation and helped Rice Bucket begin advancing with a Third-tier Red Crystal. Rice Bucket’s transformation drove him toward madness, and the chapter ended with his roar shaking Hundred Refinements Peak.

• Li Qing paid the young Formation Master six Mid-grade Spirit Stones for installing the Spirit Gathering Formation and used hundreds more Spirit Stones to enrich his cave abode’s spiritual energy.
• Li Qing released Rice Bucket and gave him the Third-tier Red Crystal to aid his advance, then sealed the cave abode with restrictions.
• Rice Bucket swallowed the crystal and endured a dangerous transformation as his fur turned black, Yin energy gathered around him, and his strength grew.
• Li Qing watched Rice Bucket’s consciousness falter and urged him to keep fighting, while Rice Bucket refused to stop the transformation.
• Rice Bucket’s last trace of clarity vanished into madness, and his roar shook the entire Hundred Refinements Peak.

Li Qing used a blood lotus seed to absorb the Red Moon Secret Power that had driven Rice Bucket berserk, and Rice Bucket completed his transformation into a Third-tier Demonic Beast. After experimenting with the sprouted lotus and Seven-Colored Vitality Essence, Li Qing moved it to a secret chamber and turned to examine the Withered Vine Wood from the Ghost Sword Sect.

• A blood lotus seed absorbed the Red Moon Secret Power from Rice Bucket, restoring his clarity before taking root and competing with him for spiritual energy.
• Li Qing fed spirit stones into the Formation Eye as Rice Bucket used the remaining Red Moon Secret Power to complete his transformation and forge a Demonic Beast Inner Core.
• After seven days of advancement and a further day of cleansing, Rice Bucket became a Third-tier Demonic Beast, briefly releasing an aura that Li Qing concealed from the cultivators on Nanyang Spirit Peak.
• Li Qing examined Rice Bucket's increased strength and new abilities, then considered cultivating the Blood Lotus Seed with spiritual energy and beast blood.
• Li Qing spent thirty-five years of lifespan producing Seven-Colored Vitality Essence and fed it to the Blood Lotus Seed, but saw no change.
• Li Qing replanted the Blood Lotus Seed in a secret chamber and took out the Withered Vine Wood he had brought from the Ghost Sword Sect.

Li Qing tested his life essence on a withered vine and discovered that reviving it would require more lifespan than he could afford, so he stored it away as a likely priceless treasure. He then activated his Spirit Gathering Formation and began using dragon marrow to break through to Mid Core Formation.

• Li Qing poured life essence equivalent to thirty years of lifespan into the withered vine, restoring only a faint trace of vitality.
• Li Qing judged the vine too costly to revive for now and stored it in his Storage Bag.
• Li Qing filled the Spirit Gathering Formation with Low-grade Spirit Stones and began cultivating toward Mid Core Formation.
• Li Qing consumed five pellets of dragon marrow and used his Heaven and Earth Spirit Fires and Crimson Blazing Heaven Art to refine their energy, raising his cultivation.

During Li Qing’s six-month seclusion, Gui Li destroyed Jade Bamboo Valley with the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron, and rumors spread that the Pure Yang Physique had formed a core at Sun Gathering Cave. Li Qing emerged from seclusion at Hundred Refinements Peak after consuming thousand-year dragon marrow and advanced to Mid Core Formation.

• Gui Li used the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron to destroy Jade Bamboo Valley and kill its patriarch, Old Lord Kuzhu, while Ghost Sword Sect seized the valley’s resources.
• Cultivators linked Jade Bamboo Valley’s destruction to the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron, making Taiyi Sect hesitate to seek revenge and alarming the other demonic sects.
• Cultivators discovered that Sun Gathering Cave’s Pure Yang Energy had vanished and suspected the Pure Yang Physique had formed a core there and refined his Natal Magic Treasure.
• Ghost Sword Sect, Yin Puppet Sect, and Blood Spirit Sect jointly offered a bounty for information about the Pure Yang Physique.
• Li Qing emerged from seclusion at Hundred Refinements Peak after absorbing a portion of thousand-year dragon marrow and advanced from Early Core Formation to Mid Core Formation.

After reaching Mid Core Formation, Li Qing learned that Shangqing Sect was hunting his master, Ancestor Bingyun, in the northern Great Desolation Region. He resolved to rescue her and began devising a plan to exploit the conflict between the righteous and devil paths.

• Li Qing stabilized his Mid Core Formation cultivation after using thousand-year dragon marrow from Ghost Sword Sect.
• Shen Ningbing told Li Qing that Shangqing Sect cultivators were searching for a female ice-element Core Formation cultivator and had mentioned Lingyun Sect remnants.
• Li Qing reassured Shen Ningbing that he would not abandon Ancestor Bingyun and burned the intelligence report after reading it.
• Li Qing concluded that Shangqing Sect was colluding with Taiyi Sect and said they needed to assess the regional conflict before attempting a rescue.
• Li Qing learned that Gui Li and Ghost Sword Sect had destroyed Jade Bamboo Valley, and that the devil path had offered a substantial reward for the Pure Yang Physique.
• Li Qing planned to use the devil path's assembled forces to create a diversion and exploit the chaos while rescuing Ancestor Bingyun.

Li Qing spread false news to draw rogue cultivators into the western snowfields and disrupt Shangqing Sect’s pursuit of Ancestor Bingyun. The scheme led Shangqing Sect and a crowd of cultivators to a melting glacier, where they found a golden feather and converged on the site.

• Li Qing paid a rogue cultivator to spread a story that the western snowfields held traces of the Pure Yang Physique, sending gathered cultivators rushing there.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing used the resulting confusion to hinder Shangqing Sect as Shen Ningbing followed the lingering aura of Ancestor Bingyun.
• True Person Xuanhe dismissed the compass interference and led Shangqing Sect toward the southeast after its compass locked onto a clear direction.
• Shangqing Sect elders found a golden feather wrapped in sinister-cold ice inside a melting glacier.
• Rogue cultivators, including Core Formation cultivators, arrived and surrounded the glacier, believing it was connected to the Pure Yang Physique.

Li Qing attacked the Shangqing Sect cultivators after they fought over a Golden Fire Crow spirit feather, then turned the gathering Rogue Cultivators against True Person Xuanhe’s group. Xuanhe summoned his cranes and Natal Magic Treasure to resist Li Qing’s Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame.

• True Person Xuanhe ordered a Shangqing Sect elder to surrender the ice crystals and Golden Fire Crow spirit feather to the Rogue Cultivators, but they discovered it no longer held any Pure Yang power.
• The Rogue Cultivators fought over the feather until Li Qing unleashed his Spirit Devouring Flame Python, killing several Shangqing Sect Foundation Establishment elders and forcing the others back.
• Li Qing taunted Xuanhe and urged the Rogue Cultivators to stop the Shangqing Sect group from leaving, prompting them to question the group’s origins.
• Li Qing attacked Xuanhe with black flame blossoms, and Xuanhe crushed a Jade Pendant before summoning immortal cranes and wielding his Crane Feather Fan to counter them.
• A watching cultivator recognized Li Qing’s flames as the Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame.

Li Qing severely injured True Person Xuanhe, then killed the fleeing Shangqing Sect elders and left before the other rogue cultivators finished Xuanhe off. In the Taiyi Sect, Wen Xia learned that Xuanhe may have met with misfortune and grew too uneasy to continue pursuing her breakthrough.

• Li Qing empowered and detonated the Shattering Yuan Great Fire Seal, leaving True Person Xuanhe gravely wounded.
• Li Qing urged the rogue cultivators to attack True Person Xuanhe, and they swarmed him while Li Qing pursued and killed the fleeing Shangqing Sect elders.
• Li Qing collected several Storage Bags and departed, wary that Xuanhe's crushed Jade Pendant had summoned help from the Taiyi Sect.
• Wen Xia emerged from seclusion after sensing that Xuanhe had crushed her token, and told the Taiyi Sect's Supreme Elder that she feared he had met with misfortune.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing dealt with the Shangqing Sect’s forces while searching the ice plains for Ancestor Bingyun. A young man claiming to be the Pure Yang Physique confronted them and asked why they had come.

• The Shangqing Sect discovered that Ancestor Xuanhe and more than a dozen elders had died in the Great Desolation Region, and Sect Master Qingxuan ordered the other ancestors to investigate Xuanhe’s final memories.
• Li Qing rejoined Shen Ningbing on the far western ice plains, where they found that the Ice Origin True Explanation’s aura had ended.
• Li Qing suggested that Ancestor Bingyun might have gone to Moon Chasing Palace to seek help from True Lord Yue Xuan, but Shen Ningbing doubted it.
• A young man flew up to Li Qing and Shen Ningbing, declared himself the Pure Yang Physique, and said the people who had sought him were already dead.
• Li Qing warned the young man that others were searching for him, and the young man asked why Li Qing and Shen Ningbing had come to the ice plains.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing encountered True Person Zhiyang, who was seeking the killer of True Person Xuanhe, while they continued searching the icefield for Ancestor Bingyun. As Zhiyang’s reputation spread and Gui Fan challenged him, Zhiyang agreed to fight only if the Ghost Sword Sect promised to cease hostilities for a hundred years if he won.

• True Person Zhiyang questioned Li Qing about his purpose in the icefield and revealed that he was searching for the killer of True Person Xuanhe.
• Li Qing denied knowing anything about the killer, and Zhiyang described a lone cultivator who used the Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame before leaving.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing concluded that Zhiyang was the Pure Yang Physique and continued searching the icefield for Ancestor Bingyun without finding her.
• News spread that the Pure Yang Physique had defeated several opponents, prompting Gui Fan of the Ghost Sword Sect to demand a fair battle.
• True Person Zhiyang accepted Gui Fan’s challenge on the condition that the Ghost Sword Sect cease hostilities for a hundred years if he won, leaving the Devil Dao sects to consider their response.

The Devil Dao sects tried to draw out the Pure Yang Physique, and Gui Fan accepted True Person Zhiyang’s challenge. Meanwhile, Li Qing and Shen Ningbing followed traces of True Person Bingyun to a deep fissure in the ice, where Shen Ningbing called for her master but heard no reply.

• Zhu Jiuyin and Rakshasa Demon Lord discussed finding the Pure Yang Physique before attacking the Taiyi Sect and the Free and Unfettered Sect, and decided to consult Gui Li.
• True Person Zhiyang warned that he would leave the Great Desolation Region if the devils continued searching for him, making the Devil Dao patriarchs fear he might return for revenge in the future.
• The Ghost Sword Sect announced that Gui Fan would accept the challenge, and Gui Fan vowed to sacrifice the Pure Yang Physique’s blood to his Demonic Sword.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing found unusual ice crystals left by someone cultivating the Ice Origin True Explanation and followed them across the Extreme North Ice Plains.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing reached a deep fissure where the trail ended, and Shen Ningbing called down for True Person Bingyun but received no answer.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing discovered an Underground Ice Palace deep beneath the ice and found Ancestor Bingyun transformed into an ice sculpture by a forbidden technique. After Li Qing encouraged Shen Ningbing to keep searching for a way to reverse it, she asked him to help her.

• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing descended more than two thousand meters through the frozen fissure and discovered a vast underground space.
• They entered the Underground Ice Palace and found an ice sculpture with Ancestor Bingyun's face.
• Shen Ningbing explained that Ancestor Bingyun had used a Forbidden Secret Technique to force out true essence, permanently turning her body into ice crystals until she became an ice sculpture.
• Li Qing stopped Shen Ningbing from rushing toward the sculpture until she explained what had happened, then allowed her to grieve beside her master.
• Li Qing encouraged Shen Ningbing to search across other regions and even the upper realm for a way to reverse the transformation.
• Shen Ningbing asked Li Qing to help her, and he agreed before examining the Underground Ice Palace.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing discovered a mysterious Underground Ice Palace, where a frigid aura froze Shen Ningbing’s Frost Jade Ice Butterfly. The butterfly then absorbed the palace’s cold energy and began advancing to the third tier.

• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing found an unknown ice palace beneath the earth, and Shen Ningbing said she sensed a summons connected to her Ice Dao cultivation.
• Shen Ningbing sent her Frost Jade Ice Butterfly into the palace to investigate while Li Qing warned that they should leave if danger arose.
• A surge of icy radiance froze the butterfly, but Shen Ningbing sensed that it was still alive.
• The frozen butterfly cracked free and absorbed the surrounding cold aura, prompting Li Qing to realize it was advancing.
• The butterfly’s aura rose to that of a third-tier Demonic Beast, and the temperature around Li Qing and Shen Ningbing dropped further.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing escaped the ice palace after the Frost Jade Ice Butterfly’s breakthrough awakened a terrifying presence, then headed toward Moon Chasing Palace seeking help for Ancestor Bingyun. They learned the palace had become the gathering place for the new Saintess’s celebration and the coming duel between Gui Fan and the Pure Yang Physique.

• The Frost Jade Ice Butterfly advanced to the third rank, awakening a powerful presence beneath the ice palace, and Li Qing led Shen Ningbing and the butterfly to safety.
• After fleeing far south, Li Qing and Shen Ningbing agreed not to reveal the ice palace and decided to visit Moon Chasing Palace for help with Ancestor Bingyun’s condition.
• Li Qing questioned a Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator about the many travelers heading toward Moon Chasing Palace.
• The rogue cultivator explained that Gui Fan had accepted True Person Zhiyang’s challenge, and both sides chose Moon Chasing Palace as the duel’s venue.
• Moon Chasing Palace’s selection of a new Saintess coincided with the planned duel, drawing cultivators from across the Great Desolation Region.

Cultivators gathered at Moon Chasing Palace ahead of the Moon Chasing Grand Gathering, where the new Holy Maiden would be revealed. Li Qing and Shen Ningbing arrived to seek an audience with Yue Xuan and were welcomed into the palace, where a female cultivator asked why they had come.

• Rogue cultivators outside Moon Chasing Palace discussed the palace's new Holy Maiden and awaited the Grand Gathering.
• Gui Fan of the Ghost Sword Sect arrived early to congratulate the palace and entered along a path of moonlight.
• Powerful cultivators and invited guests arrived over the following days.
• With three days left before the gathering, Li Qing and Shen Ningbing arrived, and Yue Xuan invited them into the palace.
• A female cultivator greeted Li Qing and Shen Ningbing and asked their purpose, offering to arrange their attendance at the Grand Gathering.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing met True Lord Yue Xuan to ask for help with Ancestor Bingyun, whose body had turned to ice crystal after using a forbidden technique. Yue Xuan could not reverse the condition but said Bingyun’s soul remained preserved, and Li Qing ended by asking her to help rebuild Lingyun Sect.

• Li Qing invoked the name of the Sky Swallowing Ancestor to gain an audience with Yue Xuan, and he and Shen Ningbing were welcomed into Moon Chasing Palace.
• A Moon Chasing Palace cultivator led Li Qing and Shen Ningbing to Yue Xuan, who recognized Li Qing from their meeting in Ancient Imperial City.
• Shen Ningbing presented Ancestor Bingyun’s ice-crystal body and begged Yue Xuan to save her.
• Yue Xuan explained that she could not undo the effects of the Ice Origin True Explanation’s forbidden technique, but Bingyun’s consciousness and soul remained frozen and preserved.
• Shen Ningbing regained hope after Yue Xuan said a way to reverse the condition might exist, and Li Qing asked Yue Xuan to help rebuild Lingyun Sect.

Li Qing failed to persuade True Lord Yue Xuan to help rebuild the Lingyun Sect, but she gave him a White Jade Plate capable of unleashing two attacks as powerful as her own. As the Moon Chasing Grand Gathering began, the Rakshasa Demon Lord arrived and challenged the Pure Yang Physique, who soon approached Moon Chasing Palace on a Green Ox.

• True Lord Yue Xuan explained why Moon Chasing Palace could not intervene in the Lingyun Sect’s affairs, citing its longstanding neutrality.
• True Lord Yue Xuan gave Li Qing a White Jade Plate containing enough power for two attacks comparable to her own.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing took up temporary residence on a spirit peak and waited for the Moon Chasing Grand Gathering.
• Cultivators and major figures from the righteous and demonic paths gathered at Moon Chasing Palace as the grand gathering approached.
• The Rakshasa Demon Lord arrived, asked whether the Pure Yang Physique had come, and soon saw an elderly man approach on a Green Ox.

As the Moon Chasing Grand Gathering approached, the righteous and demonic paths kept their truce under the Moon Chasing Palace’s watch, while the Rakshasa Demon Lord confirmed that the Pure Yang Physique remained the demonic path’s target. Li Qing learned how the gathering’s spiritual rewards came from Moonlit Ridge, a forbidden land whose treasures were said to carry ill omen.

• The Rakshasa Demon Lord taunted Grand Supreme Elder Xuan about True Lord Chi Yuan’s injuries, and Xuan said his junior brother was recovering before confirming that the Pure Yang Physique had arrived.
• The Rakshasa Demon Lord declared that the decisive battle would begin after the gathering, and the Moon Chasing Palace invited him and Grand Supreme Elder Xuan inside.
• Tensions flared during the days before the gathering, including a demonic cultivator’s attempt to investigate the Pure Yang Physique, but the Moon Chasing Palace suppressed the incident.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing left their cave abodes for the gathering, where Li Qing encountered Venerable Xuan Gu and asked him to explain its proceedings.
• Venerable Xuan Gu explained that the Palace Master would draw moon energy from Moonlit Ridge to baptize the Saintess, bringing spiritual objects that attendees could receive, but warned that Moonlit Ridge was a deadly forbidden land and its treasures carried ill omen.