Chapter Summaries

Li Qing returned to the Lingyun Sect and found the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body waiting for him, demanding to know how Li Qing had killed his previous Dao Body and why his fate was void and chaotic. After the Sage Ancestor killed Jiuxiao and took the Golden Spirit Pearl, Li Qing struck back and fled, while the Profound Yellow True Flame urged him to lure the Sage Ancestor to Fire Cliff Cave.

• Li Qing returned from the Boundless Sea and encountered the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body waiting outside the Lingyun Sect.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor questioned Li Qing about his fate and the death of his other Dao Body, but Li Qing denied knowing anything.
• Gold Slave attacked to protect Li Qing, and the Formless Sage Ancestor killed him and took the Golden Spirit Pearl.
• Jiuxiao regained his awareness before dying, apologized for distancing himself from Li Qing, and thanked him for repairing his spirit vessel.
• Li Qing attacked with his Lightning Fire Core, then fled as the Formless Sage Ancestor survived the explosion and pursued him.
• The Profound Yellow True Flame told Li Qing to lure the Formless Sage Ancestor to the magma beneath Fire Cliff Cave, where the Heavenly Monarch’s seal could restrain him.

Li Qing lured the Formless Sage Ancestor into Fire Cliff Cave and used the Crimson Blazing Palace, the Fire Spirit Pearl, and three spirit flames to activate the Crimson Blazing Heavenly Monarch’s seal. Unable to sustain the stalemate, Li Qing escaped through an explosion and headed for the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm, while the Formless Sage Ancestor recovered the Fire Spirit Pearl and pursued him.

• Li Qing sought help from True Lord Chen Yuan but found his cultivation ground destroyed, and the Formless Sage Ancestor said Chen Yuan had nearly died despite his defensive Spirit Treasure.
• Li Qing fled to Fire Cliff Cave, where the Profound Yellow True Flame guided him in setting up the Crimson Blazing Palace and Fire Spirit Pearl to activate the ancient seal.
• Li Qing and the Profound Yellow True Flame used three spirit flames to hold the Formless Sage Ancestor inside the seal, but Li Qing’s mana steadily ran low as the Sage Ancestor countered with Origin Demonic Energy.
• Li Qing abandoned the seal, threw four Lightning Fire Cores into the lava, and fled toward the former Tianhe Sect and the entrance to the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor emerged from the explosion unharmed, recovered the Fire Spirit Pearl, and followed Li Qing’s aura.

Li Qing escaped the Formless Sage Ancestor by entering the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm, but he remained trapped there while seeking a way to defend himself. As the Formless Sage Ancestor prepared to enter the realm, the Five Elements Spirit Saint arrived to claim the Golden Spirit Pearl and confronted him instead.

• Li Qing entered the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm and used spirit stones to restore his spiritual power after escaping the Formless Sage Ancestor.
• Li Qing weighed hiding in the Eternal Night World against the danger to the Lingyun Sect and decided he needed to find another way to fight.
• The Five Elements Spirit Saint and four Nascent Soul Realm cultivators followed the Golden Spirit Pearl's signal to the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor calculated that midnight was the best time to enter the secret realm and waited for the moment to arrive.
• The Five Elements Spirit Saint attacked the Formless Sage Ancestor and demanded that he surrender the Golden Spirit Pearl and join the cult.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor mocked the Five Elements Spirit Saint, who declared that he would make him see reason.

Li Qing escaped to the Eternal Night World after sensing a violent disturbance, while the Formless Sage Ancestor defeated the Five Elements Spirit Saint and seized four Five Elements Spirit Pearls. With the Ancestor waiting to enter the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm again, Li Qing began forging the first Immortal Slaying Sword from Geng Metal.

• Li Qing replenished his mana, decided to forge a powerful new spirit treasure, and fled to the Eternal Night World when he sensed the Formless Sage Ancestor attacking outside the secret realm.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor overwhelmed the Five Elements Spirit Saint, who escaped by transforming into mud with the Five Elements Escape Technique.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor killed the four Nascent Soul cultivators accompanying the Five Elements Spirit Saint and took four Five Elements Spirit Pearls from them.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor deduced that he could next enter the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm in twelve days and waited for the opportunity.
• Li Qing planned a future formation built around four killing swords, named his first sword the Immortal Slaying Sword, and began refining Geng Metal in the Eternal Night World.

Formless Sage Ancestor infiltrated the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm to find Li Qing, who was secretly forging the Immortal Slaying Sword in the Eternal Night World. After completing the sword and returning to the secret realm, Li Qing lured Formless Sage Ancestor through the exit toward the sword’s waiting tribulation and attacked him.

• Formless Sage Ancestor entered the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm through a moonlight gate and searched everywhere for Li Qing, but found no trace of him.
• In the Eternal Night World, Li Qing infused his accumulated baleful aura into a geng metal sword, refined it during a state of enlightenment, and named it the Immortal Slaying Sword.
• Li Qing returned to the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm, where Formless Sage Ancestor confronted him; Li Qing opened a moon gate, and Formless Sage Ancestor followed him through.
• Outside the secret realm, Formless Sage Ancestor saw the immense tribulation gathering over the Immortal Slaying Sword, while Li Qing summoned his Bone Wings and charged at him with the sword.

Li Qing used the Immortal Slaying Sword’s tribulation to pressure the Formless Sage Ancestor, then fought off three Spirit Pearl Saint Envoys while both tribulations raged. After the sword completed its tribulation, the Formless Sage Ancestor’s trap with the Spirit Pearls left Li Qing unable to summon it, and he seized the sword and prepared to strike.

• Li Qing drew the Formless Sage Ancestor into the Immortal Slaying Sword’s tribulation, and the Sage Ancestor was caught in an even more powerful tribulation of his own.
• Li Qing threw Lightning Fire Cores into the Sage Ancestor’s thunder sea, absorbed the Violet Void Divine Lightning, and then fought three figures bearing the Golden, Wood, and Earth Spirit Pearls.
• Li Qing trapped and refined the three Spirit Pearl Saint Envoys with the Myriad Flames Burn Heaven Formation, collecting their Spirit Pearls.
• The Immortal Slaying Sword completed its tribulation, granting Li Qing three thousand years of lifespan and raising his remaining lifespan beyond ten thousand years.
• The three Spirit Pearls released Origin Demonic Energy that disrupted Li Qing’s mana, allowing the Formless Sage Ancestor to seize the Immortal Slaying Sword.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor gathered Gold attribute essence into the sword and swung at Li Qing with his White Emperor Golden Sovereign Slash.

Li Qing turned the Formless Sage Ancestor’s sword against him and destroyed his Dao Body, then collected its remains and headed for the Lingyun Sect despite demonic patterns weakening him. In the Demon Realm, the Formless Sage Ancestor learned that another Dao Body had been lost but could not discover who had killed it.

• The Immortal Slaying Sword’s Sword Fiend redirected the Formless Sage Ancestor’s White Emperor Golden Sovereign Slash, cutting through his body and the world behind him.
• Li Qing used the Sword Fiend again to erase the Formless Sage Ancestor’s remaining life force, then reclaimed the Immortal Slaying Sword.
• Li Qing took the Formless Sage Ancestor’s two body halves and retrieved his Fire Spirit Pearl, but black demonic patterns left by the Sage Ancestor disrupted his mana as he flew toward the Lingyun Sect.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor sensed the loss of another Dao Body in the Demon Realm and used the Formless Fate-Peeking Technique, but saw only void and chaos.

Li Qing used the Five Elements Spirit Pearls to help Suxin cleanse the demonic patterns left by the Formless Sage Ancestor, while Spirit Transformation cultivators investigated the ruins of their battle. The demonic energy began to fade, and the gathered cultivators remained unable to identify the sword wielder who had defeated the Ancestor.

• Li Qing summoned Suxin and asked her to use the Water Spirit Pearl against the demonic patterns spreading through his body.
• Suxin could not cleanse the patterns with the Water Spirit Pearl alone, and Li Qing revealed that he had defeated the Formless Sage Ancestor's Dao Body.
• Li Qing brought out the Metal, wood, fire, and earth Spirit Pearls to amplify the Water Spirit Pearl's power.
• Suxin used the strengthened Water Spirit Pearl to wash away much of the demonic energy, while her cultivation advanced toward the Nascent Soul Realm.
• True Lord Chen Yuan and other Spirit Transformation cultivators inspected the battlefield ruins and marveled at the sword scar, but Chen Yuan could not tell them who had fought the Formless Sage Ancestor.

Li Qing recovered from his battle with the Formless Sage Ancestor and used ancient demon remains to strengthen his cultivation before consolidating his foundation. Suxin began her breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm, while Li Qing prepared to investigate the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body.

• The Human Realm celebrated the Formless Sage Ancestor’s disappearance, and later generations named the battle scar Falling Sword Gorge, while Li Qing remained unaware of his fame.
• Li Qing purged the demonic markings from his body with the Five Elements Spirit Pearls, then sent Suxin away to prepare for her Nascent Soul breakthrough.
• Li Qing refined ancient demon corpses through the blood lotus, gaining a substantial increase in cultivation from a Spirit Transformation stage corpse as the lotus darkened.
• Suxin formed a nascent soul with the aid of the Five Elements Spirit Pearls and a Dragon Transformation Pill, then entered the Inner Demon Tribulation.
• Li Qing consolidated his foundation, continued refining his Dao art, and nurtured the Immortal Slaying Sword before placing his hand on one half of the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body.

Li Qing refined the Formless Sage Ancestor’s blood essence and reached perfection in the Nascent Soul Realm, while Suxin broke through to the same realm and strengthened Lingyun Sect. After years of secluded cultivation and research, Li Qing received word from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild that the Ascension Platform had been forged and was invited to witness its ceremony.

• Li Qing refined a drop of the Formless Sage Ancestor’s blood essence for several months, greatly increasing his mana.
• Suxin overcame her Inner Demons, entered the Nascent Soul Realm, and held a grand ceremony attended by cultivators from across the Qingling Region.
• Suxin gave Li Qing the Five Elements Spirit Pearls, and Li Qing reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm before finding the Spirit Transformation bottleneck impossible to break through for now.
• Li Qing spent years studying the Five Elements Spirit Pearls and tempering his body, but made little progress in either pursuit.
• Li Qing polished his cultivation and completed the Late Core Formation chapter of the Dao Tribulation Wuji Scripture, stabilizing his foundation.
• After nearly ten years at Nascent Soul perfection, Li Qing received a Spirit Message from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild announcing that the Ascension Platform had been forged and inviting him to witness the ceremony.

Li Qing accepted Wan Shengtian’s invitation to witness his planned ascension and set out for the Fengyuan Region. On the way, he intervened when Yang Wu attacked True Lord Yue Xuan, and the chapter ended with Li Qing confronting the West Heaven Pavilion master.

• Li Qing recognized the Ascension Platform as a tool for ascension and decided to attend Wan Shengtian’s gathering.
• Li Qing checked on the flourishing Lingyun Sect, where Suxin had formed her Nascent Soul and Xu Xia was preparing for Core Formation.
• Li Qing traveled toward the Fengyuan Region while nourishing the Immortal Slaying Sword with his true essence.
• Li Qing discovered Yang Wu attacking True Lord Yue Xuan and threatening to take her and Hanyue as furnace cauldrons.
• Li Qing struck Yang Wu with three-colored spirit flames, revealed himself, greeted True Lord Yue Xuan, and offered to help her.

Li Qing joined True Lord Yue Xuan against Yang Wu, the master of West Heaven Pavilion, and overwhelmed him with his magic treasures and swordsmanship. After capturing Yang Wu’s Nascent Soul, Li Qing left his fate to Yue Xuan and prepared to recover Liu Hanyue from the gourd.

• True Lord Yue Xuan warned Li Qing that Yang Wu was a vicious Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, and Yang Wu recognized Li Qing as True Monarch Wuji.
• Yang Wu attacked Li Qing with his spear and golden lion Demon Spirit, but Li Qing answered with his Primordial Peerless Hammer and Dark Willow Wood Spirit Puppet.
• Yang Wu used the Blissful Heavenly Eye to sever the willow branches, then protected himself with a powerful defensive technique that Li Qing could not penetrate.
• After Yue Xuan revealed that Yang Wu had imprisoned Liu Hanyue in a gourd, Li Qing unleashed the White Emperor Golden Sovereign Slash and split Yang Wu’s body in two.
• Li Qing caught Yang Wu’s escaping Nascent Soul and brought it to Yue Xuan, offering her the choice of what to do with him.

Li Qing rescued Liu Hanyue and True Lord Yue Xuan from Yang Wu, cured Liu Hanyue’s love poison, and brought them to the Spirit Treasure Realm for Wan Shengtian’s ascension ceremony. As Li Qing received honors and visits from powerful cultivators, Liu Hanyue felt increasingly distant from him.

• True Lord Yue Xuan destroyed Yang Wu’s Nascent Soul, and Li Qing found Liu Hanyue trapped in a gourd and suffering from love poison.
• Li Qing refused True Lord Yue Xuan’s suggestion that he take Liu Hanyue as his Dao companion, and Yue Xuan used an antidote to cure Liu Hanyue.
• Liu Hanyue thanked Li Qing as the three traveled toward the Spirit Treasure Realm and reflected on how far his cultivation had surpassed hers.
• Li Qing opened the way into the Spirit Treasure Realm with an incense stick, and Wan Hong welcomed him and arranged a fine residence for the group.
• Cultivators flocked to visit Li Qing, and Wan Shengtian, the Azure Flood Dragon King, and other Spirit Transformation stage cultivators invited him to a gathering.
• Watching Li Qing’s growing prestige, Liu Hanyue felt that they belonged to increasingly different worlds.

At Wan Shengtian’s banquet, Li Qing drank Immortal Ascension Brew and learned about the Spirit Realm and the newly refined Ascension Platform. He promised to help protect the four great powers’ legacies if they faced annihilation, receiving gifts and a place for Qiu Zhen in the Lingyun Sect before the seniors ascended.

• Wan Shengtian served Li Qing a cup of Immortal Ascension Brew, which weakened his Spirit Transformation bottleneck, and explained that the wine was a simplified version of a Spirit Realm recipe.
• Wan Shengtian explained that the Ascension Platform would help keep the four cultivators together through spatial turbulence, though its true effectiveness was unknown.
• Wan Shengtian asked Li Qing to aid the four seniors’ factions once if they faced annihilation, and Li Qing agreed to help within his abilities.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King gave Li Qing a fifth-rank Crimson Fire Flood Dragon Pearl, Wan Shengtian promised him an Ascension Platform, and the Valley Lord of Mingwang Valley shared the location of a Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire.
• Old Man Chen Yuan asked Li Qing to let his disciple Qiu Zhen join the Lingyun Sect as an ancestor, and Li Qing accepted the arrangement and the gifts.

At a grand feast, Li Qing watched as Wan Shengtian and three other Spirit Transformation cultivators prepared to ascend, leaving the Human Realm’s future in his hands. The four activated the Ascension Platform and entered a spatial rift while cultivators watched in awe.

• Wan Shengtian hosted a grand feast, and Li Qing reflected that he might eventually stand alone at the peak of the Human Realm.
• Nascent Soul cultivators blessed Wan Shengtian and the others, who accepted their farewells before announcing their departure.
• Wan Shengtian, the Mingwang Valley Lord, the Azure Flood Dragon King, and Old Man Chenyuan traveled to the skies above the Boundless Sea, followed by Li Qing, Liu Hanyue, and True Lord Yue Xuan.
• The four Spirit Transformation cultivators stood on the Ascension Platform and joined their magical power to activate its formation.
• A spatial rift opened, and the four ascended as their followers watched and bid them farewell.

After witnessing four Spirit Transformation cultivators ascend, Li Qing returned to the Lingyun Sect and examined the spoils taken from Yang Wu, finding a fortune and numerous cultivation manuals. He resumed tempering his Spirit Transformation bottleneck, which had weakened further after he drank the Immortal Ascension Brew.

• Li Qing and Liu Hanyue left the sea near Heavenly Pole Island after watching the spatial rift close, and Liu Hanyue asked him to call her Hanyue; he wished her success in forming her Nascent Soul and offered his help.
• After returning to the Lingyun Sect, Li Qing inspected Yang Wu's Storage Bag and found hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, pills, rare treasures, and a three-thousand-year-old Tai Sui.
• Li Qing discovered that most of Yang Wu's manuals concerned dual cultivation and energy siphoning, and he distinguished the orthodox arts from the cauldron-refining methods that ruined their victims' foundations.
• Li Qing decided that he would visit West Heaven Pavilion someday to collect Fiery Gold Marks, then returned to peaceful cultivation.
• Li Qing found that the Immortal Ascension Brew had further weakened his Spirit Transformation bottleneck, though he continued tempering it patiently.

During Li Qing’s prolonged secluded cultivation, Lingyun Sect gained Qiu Zhen as a Nascent Soul ancestor and connected its two strongholds with Teleportation Arrays. The sect later lost the exceptionally gifted Shi Zuming after Li Qing refused to take him as a disciple, leaving Shi’s future path unknown.

• Liu Hanyue informed Li Qing that she had entered the Nascent Soul Realm and inherited Moon Chasing Palace’s leadership, and the two exchanged occasional messages.
• Qiu Zhen visited Li Qing, revealed that he had entered the Nascent Soul Realm and wished to follow his master Chen Yuan’s instructions by joining Lingyun Sect, and Li Qing welcomed him as its third Nascent Soul ancestor.
• Qiu Zhen volunteered to guard Lingyun Sect’s Tianhe Vein, and Li Qing invited Old Man Tianxing to build Teleportation Arrays connecting it to the sect’s main mountain gate.
• At an Ascension Ceremony, Shi Zuming appeared with both a Heavenly Spiritual Root and a Savage Bone Battle Body, but he insisted on becoming Li Qing’s personal disciple.
• Li Qing refused to take Shi Zuming as his disciple and told him to leave if he would not join Lingyun Sect otherwise; Shi Zuming departed and traveled away from Qingling Region.

During Li Qing’s long seclusion, the cultivation world recovered and a mysterious, moving Immortal Mansion ruin appeared in the Great Desolation Region, drawing cultivators from across the realm. Li Qing sent Zhang Da to investigate while remaining in seclusion, and the powerful figures at Moonlit Ridge suspected a conspiracy and chose not to get involved.

• Li Yuhuan formed a flawless golden core, then married Jiang Han and received a Thunder Spirit Crystal from Li Qing as a wedding gift.
• Li Qing sensed the realm’s spiritual qi recovering and declared that the Great Dao was about to flourish, inspiring diligent cultivation among Lingyun Sect’s disciples.
• A moving Immortal Mansion ruin appeared in Baoyuan Prefecture, and rumors of ancient medicines and treasures drew cultivators and powerful figures to the Great Desolation Region.
• Li Qing stayed in seclusion and ordered Zhang Da to return to the Great Desolation Region to gather intelligence about the ruins.
• A False Core cultivator emerged with Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid, and the Ghost Sword Sect verified his account before exchanging Yin-Yang Spirit Liquid for part of his haul.
• The Spirit Transformation powers at Moonlit Ridge suspected the Immortal Mansion was a conspiracy and decided to avoid involvement while awaiting a chance to ascend.

The Immortal Mansion Ruins stopped in southern Juluzhou, drawing cultivators from across the regions, while Li Qing stayed behind and allowed Lingyun Sect elders to investigate. Jiang Han, True Person Fu Xuan, and Wu Chong reached the ruins and chose an entrance after hearing an unusual cultivation scripture.

• Gui Li fought the Three Immortals of the North Sea, then collapsed the earth fissure to expose the Immortal Mansion Ruins and entered through a side entrance.
• Cultivators poured into the ruins, while Li Qing ordered Zhang Da to keep watch and report intelligence instead of going himself.
• Jiang Han, Wu Chong, and True Person Fu Xuan asked Li Qing's permission to seek opportunities, and he allowed them to go.
• Li Yuhuan asked to support her beloved from outside the ruins, and Li Qing gave her a jade talisman while forbidding her to enter.
• The three Lingyun Sect elders reached the ruins, heard an obscure pure-origin scripture near the rear, and chose that entrance to investigate.

Wu Chong, Jiang Han, and True Person Fu Xuan solved the dangerous black-and-white paths to a temple, only to be forced inside by the Blood Shark King and trapped amid overwhelming chants. Outside, Li Yuhuan watched as the Immortal Mansion began moving again and chose to wait before using Li Qing’s jade talisman.

• Jiang Han identified that the temple’s black-and-white paths required stones of both colors to be harmonized, and Wu Chong used puppets to test the safe route.
• The Blood Shark King emerged from concealment, threatened the three cultivators, and made them lead the way across the paths.
• The group reached the temple and found corpses hanging upside down, chanting without any visible inheritance; after they entered, the chants overwhelmed them and the doors slammed shut.
• Li Yuhuan sensed the Immortal Mansion begin to move and considered crushing Li Qing’s jade talisman, but decided to wait and follow it.