Recaps

Chen Qing repaid his debt, learned about Langya Pavilion’s cultivation benefits, and used its Earth Core Milk to stabilize his middle-stage Embracing Dan Strength before breaking through to the Golden Body realm. After reckoning with the high cost of cultivation, he returned to the fishery, where a letter from Wu Tieshan invited him to meet about treasures that could improve innate talent.

• Chen Qing repaid Shen Xiuyong 31,500 taels for the Thunderclap Fire Seeds, and Shen Xiuyong explained the privileges of becoming Qingmu Institute’s Chief Disciple, including access to Langya Pavilion.
• Chen Qing paid to cultivate in a Langya Pavilion Quiet Room and found that its Earth Core Milk mist accelerated his cultivation fivefold.
• Over more than twenty days, Chen Qing frequently cultivated at Langya Pavilion while Old Zhao and the others managed the fishery and Lin Xue settled in.
• Chen Qing stabilized his middle-stage Embracing Dan Strength with five primary meridians open, then tempered his body with Ironclad Rhinoceros and Mountain-Splitting Bear Essence Blood until he reached the Golden Body realm.
• Chen Qing calculated that his cultivation expenses had totaled 26,500 taels in a month and returned his attention to the fishery as the Wutai Sect celebration approached.
• Wu Tieshan’s steward delivered a letter inviting Chen Qing to meet and discuss information about treasures that could improve innate talent.

Chen Qing learned that obtaining a Bone Transformation Pill would require rare ingredients and a risky, costly refinement, while Jiang Bohong warned that the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp had grown far more dangerous. At the Wutai Sect, He Yuzhou ordered Peng Zhen to make Qingmu Institute choose a Chief Disciple before the grand celebration.

• Wu Tieshan introduced Chen Qing to Jiang Bohong, who offered to refine Bone Transformation Pills for half the yield and a five-thousand-tael fee if Chen Qing supplied the rare ingredients.
• Jiang Bohong described the three required spirit herbs and revealed that the pill had only about a thirty percent chance of success, so Chen Qing decided to consider the matter further.
• Jiang Bohong warned Wu Tieshan and Chen Qing that a mysterious fiendish creature and rioting poisonous insects had made the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp exceptionally dangerous, then shared what little he knew of Haisha Sect steward Li Yuan.
• Lin Xue brought Chen Qing Silver Thread Fish soup, and Chen Qing praised her cooking while reflecting that he saw her chiefly as his responsibility and the younger sister of his fallen fellow disciple Lin Wei.
• He Yuzhou and Peng Zhen discussed the Demonic Sect threat, the loss of Xiao Ruizhe, and the unresolved Chief Disciple position at Qingmu Institute.
• He Yuzhou ordered Peng Zhen to tell Uncle Li to choose Qingmu Institute's Chief Disciple promptly, and Peng Zhen set out to deliver the message.

Chen Qing was unexpectedly named Qingmu Institute’s chief disciple, gaining substantial cultivation privileges and new responsibilities. After collecting his token and monthly pills, he received a stream of congratulations and gifts, including a visit from Lihuo Institute’s new chief disciple, Li Wang, who proposed that they support one another.

• Li Baichuan appointed Chen Qing chief disciple, shocking Luo Xinya, Xu Qi, and the other disciples.
• Chen Qing visited Sang Yanping at the Internal Affairs Hall and received his identity token, cultivation benefits, and access to the Tingchao Martial Library’s fourth floor.
• Sang Yanping told Chen Qing he would remain Fishery Steward until after the grand celebration, and Chen Qing collected his premium pill allocation.
• Wu Yuanhua, Song Ming, and nearby fishery stewards visited Chen Qing with gifts and congratulations.
• Li Wang congratulated Chen Qing, described his own shaky position at Lihuo Institute, and proposed that they keep one another informed and offer mutual support.

After Chen Qing was named Chief Disciple of the Qingmu Institute, news of his rise stirred regret, excitement, and resentment across Yunlin Prefecture. Back at the institute, he faced Luo Xinya’s challenge and decisively defeated her, leaving Xu Qi shaken by the extent of his strength.

• Chu Jinyun learned that Chen Qing had reached the middle stage of Embracing Dan Strength and become Chief Disciple, and Nie Shanshan urged her to accept that his path might have differed in the Guishui Institute.
• Wu Manqing, Gu Ruohua, and Li Wan heard that Chen Qing had become Chief Disciple; Li Wan and Gu Ruohua asked Wu Manqing to arrange introductions, but Wu Manqing said she would first sound him out.
• Xu Qi told Zhao Mingyuan that Chen Qing had been appointed Chief Disciple, rejected Zhao Mingyuan’s suggestion to arrange an accident, and resolved not to risk the Xu Family’s standing.
• Chen Qing returned to the Qingmu Institute, where new disciple Yu Bao'er greeted him and Luo Xinya challenged him to spar.
• Chen Qing used the Floating Light Fleeting Shadow Hand to deflect Luo Xinya’s attacks, then met her Raging Vajra punch head-on and forced her to concede defeat.
• Xu Qi watched Chen Qing overpower Luo Xinya and was left chilled and sweating at the strength the new Chief Disciple had displayed.

Chen Qing entered the Tingchao Martial Library’s restricted Fourth Floor and chose the Blood Burning Art after learning the Dragon Elephant Marrow Refining Art was incomplete and dangerously difficult. As the Wutai Sect Grand Celebration approached, he learned Li Baichuan had chosen him as chief disciple for financial reasons and delegated the institute’s disciple admissions to Luo Xinya.

• Chen Qing defeated Luo Xinya through sheer Internal Force, then went to the Tingchao Martial Library to use his new chief disciple privilege.
• Elder Ma escorted Chen Qing to the Fourth Floor, where he found the incomplete Dragon Elephant Marrow Refining Art and the dangerous Blood Burning Art, but no records on merging the five-element cultivation arts.
• After Elder Ma warned him about the Dragon Elephant Marrow Refining Art’s risks and missing materials, Chen Qing chose to make an imprint of the Blood Burning Art instead.
• At the Wuji Demonic Sect Yunlin Branch stronghold, Zuo Feng brought the shattered Zheng Hui to Blood Rakshasa Hu Mei and learned that the branch master was away; Zuo Feng urged an attack on the Wutai Sect celebration, but Hu Mei rejected the plan.
• Chen Qing spent ten days cultivating at Langya Pavilion, perfected Floating Light Fleeting Shadow Hand, and met Li Baichuan on the eve of the Grand Celebration.
• Li Baichuan admitted he chose Chen Qing because he expected him to bring in more tribute, instructed him to favor wealthy applicants, and Chen Qing assigned Luo Xinya to oversee admissions.

Wutai Sect held a grand celebration for its seven-hundredth anniversary, drawing its five institutes and experts from three other powers. After the Sect Master opened a martial examination and disciples competed for rewards, Yan Yaoyang stepped onto the platform, setting up the next match.

• Sang Yanping welcomed the institute heads and chief disciples, while Chen Qing concealed the Gengjin and Guishui True Qi in his dantian before greeting the visiting experts.
• Du Lingchuan, He Yueting, Granny Ling Shuang, and Ye Qingyi arrived, and Li Wang warned Chen Qing that he might have to compete and that Yan Yaoyang could target him.
• He Yuzhou arrived, recalled dangers including the escaped Zuo Feng, missing Zheng Hui, and the hidden Heart Eater, then opened the martial examination after the ancestral rite.
• Liu Mang defeated Zhao Yan with his Vajra Armor-Piercing Fist and won pills and Langya Pavilion cultivation time.
• Zhou Peng defeated Xu Qi by evading his attacks and countering with his Thousand Layer Wave Sword Art, while Luo Xinya later won a match for Qingmu Institute.
• After watching the matches and considering how the five institutes' cultivation methods might be combined, Chen Qing saw Yan Yaoyang rise and walk onto the platform.

Yan Yaoyang defeated Li Wang in a public challenge, and Li Lei then challenged Chen Qing with the same Mountain Suppressing Prison Spear. Chen Qing overcame Li Lei’s mastered spear arts and left the celebration’s audience stunned by his perfection-level spear technique.

• Yan Yaoyang challenged Li Wang and defeated him after a prolonged exchange, knocking away his saber and leaving him injured.
• Li Wang admitted defeat, and Hong Yuandong reassured him that Yan Yaoyang’s strength made the loss nothing to be ashamed of.
• Li Lei challenged Chen Qing to a spear match, and Chen Qing used footwork and precise technique to withstand Li Lei’s attacks.
• Li Lei pressed Chen Qing with two mastered spear arts, but Chen Qing redirected his Rock-Splitting Cloud-Piercing Spear and counterattacked with Collapsing Mountain Piercing Rainbow.
• Chen Qing followed with Mountain Breaking Frontier Dividing, sent Li Lei crashing to the edge of the arena, and revealed the Mountain Suppressing Prison Spear at perfection realm.

Chen Qing defeated Li Lei with a perfected Mountain Suppressing Prison Spear, earning acclaim before a sudden disturbance shook Lake Heart Island and He Yuzhou quelled a lake eruption. At the banquet, He Yuzhou privately ordered an investigation into a possibly unnatural disturbance, while Yan Yaoyang learned that the Prefecture Lord had invited him and other young talents to a gathering.

• Chen Qing defeated Li Lei, and the spectators recognized his extraordinary spear mastery as the Qingmu Institute's disciples celebrated their victory.
• Sang Yanping awarded Chen Qing ten-year Earth Core Milk and ten days in Langya Pavilion's Jia Character Quiet Room, and Li Baichuan told him to visit the rear courtyard after the celebration.
• A violent tremor shook Lake Heart Island, and He Yuzhou cut apart a towering water column before assuring the crowd that the disturbance came from a Water Vein.
• Chen Qing led the Qingmu Institute disciples to Tingtao Pavilion, where He Yuzhou privately told Sang Yanping that he had sensed a concealed aura and ordered him to investigate the disturbance discreetly.
• Nie Shanshan told Yan Yaoyang that the Prefecture Lord had invited them and several other young talents to the Yuntai Small Gathering at Yuntai Villa.

After Chen Qing drew attention at the Wutai Sect banquet, several factions tried to learn about or recruit him, while Hanyu Valley debated his potential and the disturbance at Lake Heart Island. The chapter ended with Li Baichuan revealing that he knew Chen Qing cultivated Guishui and Gengjin True Qi, leaving Chen Qing stunned and denying it.

• Li Wang told Chen Qing that He Yueting and Tan Yang were arranging a marriage alliance between Yan Yaoyang and He Lanxin, and Ye Qingyi questioned Chen Qing about his rapid progress before inviting him to Hanyu Valley's Ice Soul Coldpool.
• Du Lingchuan praised Chen Qing's spearwork and invited him to Xuanjia Gate to study the Mountain Splitting Thunder Spear, and Chen Qing said he would visit after settling his duties.
• Huang Dong urged Chen Qing to seek a place among Yunlin Prefecture's Five Heroes and Seven Beauties, but Chen Qing refused because he wanted to avoid fame and attention.
• Granny Ling Shuang and Ye Qingyi discussed Chen Qing's talent, the possible marriage alliance, and their suspicions that He Yuzhou was hiding something about the Lake Heart Island disturbance.
• Chen Qing visited Li Baichuan, who said he knew Chen Qing cultivated Guishui True Qi and Gengjin True Qi, and Chen Qing denied having cultivated either.

Chen Qing learned that the Wutai Sect’s five institute methods came from fragments of the Primordial Five Elements True Scripture, though its crucial general outline was lost. After settling into his new role as Qingmu Institute’s chief disciple and choosing a set of hidden weapons, he left the mystery of Li Baichuan’s knowledge unresolved, while Hanyu Valley’s Xiao Bieli gained permission to travel Yunlin Prefecture and challenge its outstanding peers.

• Li Baichuan told Chen Qing that the five institute methods descended from fragments of the Primordial Five Elements True Scripture and that its general outline, which governed the Five Elements True Qi, was missing.
• Chen Qing questioned whether Li Baichuan knew clues to the lost outline, but Li Baichuan denied possessing it, leaving Chen Qing suspicious after the elder paused at his final question.
• Chen Qing handed over his work and belongings at Nanze No. 7 Fishery, received dried fish from Lin Xue, and returned to Qingmu Institute as its Chief Disciple.
• Yu Bao'er told Chen Qing that Elder Sang had arranged a Treasure Pavilion reward, and Chen Qing and Li Wang each chose a treasure: Chen Qing took the Nine Luminaries Star-Glow Needles, while Li Wang selected a crimson saber.
• Leng Qianqiu returned from seclusion and heard Granny Ling Shuang report the suspicious events at Wutai Sect’s celebration and Dingbo Lake.
• Xiao Bieli asked to leave Hanyu Valley to challenge outstanding peers in Yunlin Prefecture, and Leng Qianqiu approved his journey and ordered secret protection; Ye Qingyi offered to accompany him.

After learning he could buy a Bone Transformation Pill for two hundred thousand taels, Chen Qing sought loans to cover the shortfall. His appeals reached sect elders and fellow disciples, who began sending him money, though the chapter left the total raised unresolved.

• Chen Qing received Jiang Bohong's offer to sell him a Bone Transformation Pill for two hundred thousand taels, but he had only a little over fifty thousand taels.
• Chen Qing asked Yu Bao'er to deliver letters requesting loans, and Shen Xiuyong lent him twenty thousand taels while Nie Shanshan agreed to lend him thirty thousand.
• Sang Yanping agreed with Elder Wang and Elder Li to lend Chen Qing ten thousand taels each, then privately ordered He Ping to send him thirty thousand more.
• Other Wutai Sect figures reacted to Chen Qing's requests, and Li Wang sent ten thousand taels while Li Lei sent eight thousand.

Chen Qing obtained a Bone Transformation Pill, had Li Baichuan verify it, and endured its painful effects to improve his bone structure to a Six-Form Bone Structure. Meanwhile, He Yuzhou secretly discussed the Demonic Sect, Heart Eater, and Leng Qianqiu’s return from seclusion, while guarding the secret of the Earth Core Milk Springhead.

• Yu Bao'er counted 257,000 taels in contributions for Chen Qing, who rewarded her and considered the debts a way to build connections.
• Jiang Bohong refined three Bone Transformation Pills for Yue Shan and Liu Sanniang, then gave Chen Qing one in exchange for 200,000 taels.
• Chen Qing asked Li Baichuan to examine the pill, and Li Baichuan confirmed it was genuine and safe to take despite its crude refinement.
• Chen Qing refused servants sent by Elder Wang, swallowed the pill in seclusion, and transformed his bone structure into a Six-Form Bone Structure.
• He Yuzhou and a disguised man discussed the recent disturbance at the lake, Heart Eater’s expected return, and Leng Qianqiu’s emergence from seclusion.
• He Yuzhou warned the disguised man to keep his identity secret and stressed that the Earth Core Milk Springhead must remain protected.

Over four months, Chen Qing focused on cultivation and discovered that his unequal reserves of five-element true qi made fusion impractical for now. When Wutai Sect began distributing Century Earth Core Milk to its five Chief Disciples, Yan Yaoyang rejected an equal rotation and demanded that resources be allocated by strength, leaving the group facing a dispute over the treasure.

• Chen Qing advanced his cultivation, searched for a way to fuse true qi, and decided to balance his five types of true qi before attempting fusion again.
• Chen Qing heard that Xiao Bieli had defeated Fang Rui and later Shi Ziyi, and learned that Hanyu Valley was helping him cultivate two types of true qi with the prospect of fusion.
• Wu Manqing asked Chen Qing to guide Wu Feng, but Chen Qing declined because he belonged to another sect; he agreed to help Wu Feng if he encountered trouble and accepted the Wu Family's gift of exotic beast essence blood.
• At the Internal Affairs Hall, Nie Shanshan proposed that the five Chief Disciples take turns receiving an extra drop of Century Earth Core Milk, and Chen Qing, Li Wang, and Li Lei agreed.
• Yan Yaoyang opposed equal turns and argued that the treasure should be allocated according to strength and potential, while Sang Yanping watched the dispute.

Chen Qing gained a drop of Century Earth Core Milk, opened his seventh primary meridian, and killed Ye Zhenshan in a rain-soaked ambush. He escaped after burning the painted boat and returned with Ye Zhenshan’s Treasure Armor, leaving the Ye Family thorn behind him.

• Yan Yaoyang took two drops of Century Earth Core Milk, Nie Shanshan took two, and Chen Qing, Li Lei, and Li Wang each took one.
• Chen Qing explained to Li Wang that the sect had distributed the milk to prepare its disciples for Xiao Bieli’s expected challenge, and He Yuzhou learned that Yan Yaoyang might face him.
• Chen Qing consumed his drop of Century Earth Core Milk and opened his seventh primary meridian.
• Chen Qing went to the Moon-Embracing Painted Boat in disguise, killed Ye Zhenshan and Ye Zhong, and took Ye Zhenshan’s low-grade Treasure Armor inner vest and money.
• Chen Qing set the boat ablaze with Meng Huo You and Lihuo True Qi, escaped through the rain, and returned to his courtyard with the stolen goods.

Chen Qing investigated Ye Zhenshan’s murder, while Li Wang resolved a case involving stolen Lihuo Institute cultivation notes. After learning that Xiao Bieli had defeated Feng Shuhao, Wutai Sect prepared for Xiao Bieli’s challenge at its mountain gate.

• Yu Bao'er told Chen Qing that disciples ranked him third among the five institutes’ chief disciples, and Chen Qing urged her to focus on cultivation.
• Elder Tang Song sent Li Wang to investigate bandits in Linyang County and assigned Chen Qing to look into Ye Zhenshan’s murder.
• Chen Qing investigated the Ye Family case, accepted twenty thousand taels from Third Madam Ye, and promised to pursue the killer while allowing other families to conduct lawful business.
• Zhou Tong celebrated reaching Embracing Dan Strength, while the Transformation Force disciples worried about Master Li’s upcoming assessment.
• Li Wang returned and reported that he had killed the bandit who had copied fragments of the Chiyang Burning Heart Art; he also told Chen Qing that Xiao Bieli had defeated Feng Shuhao and was coming to Wutai Sect.
• Xiao Bieli arrived at Wutai Sect with Ye Qingyi and Mo Yun and called on the sect’s outstanding disciples to challenge him.

Xiao Bieli challenged the Wutai Sect and defeated Yan Yaoyang in a fierce duel at the sect’s training ground. He left after no other disciple accepted his challenge, while Chen Qing remained uncertain about the full extent of Xiao Bieli’s strength.

• Sang Yanping welcomed Xiao Bieli at the mountain gate, while Mo Yun declared that he and Hanyu Valley would only observe the duel.
• Yan Yaoyang accepted Xiao Bieli’s challenge, and the Wutai Sect crowd moved to the training ground to watch them fight.
• Yan Yaoyang attacked with his Vajra Armor-Piercing Fist, but Xiao Bieli used the Flowing Cloud Sword Art to evade and deflect his strikes.
• Xiao Bieli spotted an opening in Yan Yaoyang’s attack and wounded him with Cloud Sea Returning Flow, forcing him to retreat and concede the apparent victory.
• Xiao Bieli invited another Wutai Sect disciple to challenge him, but no one stepped forward, so he departed with Ye Qingyi and Mo Yun.
• Chen Qing observed the battle and wondered whether Xiao Bieli had hidden another kind of True Qi or other trump cards.

Chen Qing learned about the Gang Jin bottleneck and a coming auction of mysterious iron boxes, then returned to find Wutai Sect distributing more cultivation resources after Yan Yaoyang’s defeat. When Nie Shanshan claimed seven of ten drops of Earth Core Milk for herself, Chen Qing openly objected.

• Shen Xiuyong explained that reaching Gang Jin was exceptionally difficult and told Chen Qing that a Fengle Prefecture auction might offer a Mysterious Iron Box containing a Gang Condensing Pill; Chen Qing repaid his debt but declined to attend.
• He Yuzhou ordered Wutai Sect to double its Century Earth Core Milk supply and promised a drop of Three Hundred Year Earth Core Milk to anyone who fought Xiao Bieli if he returned.
• Chu Jinyun urged Nie Shanshan to contend for the Three Hundred Year Earth Core Milk, believing it could improve her root bones and future chances of breaking through to Gang Jin.
• Chen Qing learned that Xiao Bieli had left Yan Yaoyang with serious injuries and cold true qi lodged in his wounds, then told Yu Bao'er to keep the disciples calm.
• Sang Yanping announced that the four disciples would share ten drops of Century Earth Core Milk and that the sect might later award a drop of Three Hundred Year Earth Core Milk.
• Nie Shanshan proposed taking seven drops for herself and giving one each to Li Wang, Li Lei, and Chen Qing, but Chen Qing objected.

Chen Qing challenged Nie Shanshan over the Earth Core Milk and revealed enough strength to make her agree to a fairer distribution. Meanwhile, sect leaders considered the coming four-sect alliance and Xiao Bieli’s challenge, while Qixia Mountain Villa’s Great Villa Master showed signs of a strange, icy aura and black smoke.

• Chen Qing met Nie Shanshan’s palm strike head-on, and their clash left the Assembly Hall damaged while surprising the onlookers with his strength.
• Nie Shanshan agreed to split the ten bottles of Century Earth Core Milk, giving four each to herself and Chen Qing and one each to Li Wang and Li Lei.
• Sang Yanping reported the clash to He Yuzhou, who said the disciples’ rivalry had stirred the sect’s stagnant atmosphere.
• Shi Kaishan told Jin Poyue that Leng Qianqiu might be using Xiao Bieli’s challenges to weaken rival sects and secure leadership of a four-sect alliance.
• Qixia Mountain Villa’s Great Villa Master told Feng Shuhao to let Hanyu Valley and Wutai Sect fight, then displayed an icy aura and a faint wisp of black smoke behind the screen.

After condensing Kuntu True Qi, Chen Qing struggled to suppress the violent conflict among his five elemental energies and sought a way to stabilize them. Li Baichuan offered to guide him if he brought back a drop of Essence Blood from a hundred-year-old Red-Eyed Poison Boa, while Pang Qinghai entrusted his son Pang Yu to Chen Qing’s future guidance.

• Chen Qing refined Century Earth Core Milk, cultivated Kuntu True Qi, and barely suppressed the resulting clash among his five elemental True Qi sources.
• Unable to find a solution in the martial library, Chen Qing learned that Pang Qinghai had arrived with Pang Yu and welcomed them at the Qingmu Institute.
• Pang Qinghai reported that Chen Qing’s mother and old acquaintances in Gaolin County were well, then asked him to look after Pang Yu if the youth earned a place in the Inner Court.
• Chen Qing accepted Pang Qinghai’s gift of two herbs and promised to guide Pang Yu if he reached Transformation Force and chose the Qingmu Institute.
• After Pang Qinghai and Pang Yu departed, Chen Qing brought an Inner Court assessment roster to Li Baichuan and asked how to suppress conflicting True Qi.
• Li Baichuan promised to point Chen Qing toward a solution if he obtained a drop of Essence Blood from a hundred-year-old Red-Eyed Poison Boa.

Chen Qing searched for Red-Eyed Poison Boa Essence Blood to resolve the dangerous conflict among the five-element true qi in his body, but Wanbao Pavilion found no news. He prepared to enter Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp with Jiang Bohong, while He Yuzhou learned that Chen Qing was leaving the mountain and ordered him watched without interference.

• Chen Qing asked Liu Chengzong to search the Liu Family's connections for Red-Eyed Poison Boa Essence Blood and sold two inner armors to Wanbao Pavilion for seventy-two thousand taels.
• Chen Qing consulted Jiang Bohong, who identified Ghost Cry Swamp as a possible habitat for hundred-year-old Red-Eyed Poison Boas and offered to guide him there in about half a month.
• Chen Qing cultivated while waiting, but after receiving no news from the Liu Family, he bought medicines, a swamp map, and intelligence about the boa and prepared his weapons and supplies.
• Jiang Bohong told Chen Qing to meet him at dawn at the Old Knife Handle Inn, and Chen Qing reported to the Internal Affairs Hall that he would leave the mountain for personal affairs.
• Sang Yanping told He Yuzhou that Nie Shanshan had gone to seek Mei Yingxue's sword guidance and that Chen Qing was leaving the mountain; He Yuzhou ordered him to watch Chen Qing without interfering.

Chen Qing traveled with Jiang Bohong, Zhao Tieying, Yue Shan, and Liu Sanniang into Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp, where they ambushed a group fighting a Red-Eyed Poison Boa and Chen secured its Essence Blood. After Jiang Bohong and Zhao pursued the fleeing Du Kui, the others heard Zhao scream and found him gravely wounded beside a poison pool, with Du Kui dead nearby.

• Chen Qing joined Jiang Bohong, Zhao Tieying, Yue Shan, and Liu Sanniang aboard a Treasure Ship and traveled to Hundred Ships Beach, the entrance to Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp.
• The group entered Ghost Cry Swamp, where Zhao Tieying swiftly killed an Iron Claw Mountain Cat and warned them about the swamp's dangers.
• Jiang Bohong ordered the group to wait until Du Kui and three companions weakened a Red-Eyed Poison Boa, then led an ambush for the fighters and the Rotten Bone Ghost Orchid.
• Chen Qing killed a wounded swordsman who attacked him, then collected three drops of Essence Blood from the Red-Eyed Poison Boa while Yue Shan and Liu Sanniang gathered the orchid and searched the bodies.
• Jiang Bohong and Zhao Tieying pursued the fleeing Du Kui, but Zhao soon screamed; Chen Qing, Yue Shan, and Liu Sanniang found Zhao badly wounded beside a poison pool and Du Kui's mangled corpse.

Chen Qing and the others discovered precious herbs guarded by a Red Blood Ghost Face Spider, but the fight exposed Jiang Bohong’s treachery and left Chen Qing facing him alone. Chen Qing revealed that he had avoided Jiang’s slow poison, and the chapter ended as they prepared to fight.

• Liu Sanniang spotted precious herbs beside the poison pool, and a Red Blood Ghost Face Spider emerged to guard them.
• Chen Qing, Yue Shan, Zhao Tieying, and Jiang Bohong fought the spider, but Jiang Bohong used Liu Sanniang to shield himself from its pounce, and she died before Chen Qing and Zhao Tieying killed the beast.
• Yue Shan demanded Jiang Bohong’s death, but Jiang revealed that he had poisoned the group with incense aboard his Treasure Ship and killed Yue Shan and Zhao Tieying when they resisted.
• Chen Qing pleaded for his life, then feigned a desperate attack while Zhao Tieying tried to flee; Jiang killed Zhao and turned on Chen Qing.
• Chen Qing said he had been foretold a fortunate fate, and Jiang challenged him, claiming his late-stage Embracing Dan Strength would ensure victory.

Chen Qing killed Jiang Bohong in the Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp, escaped its deadly depths, and returned to the Wutai Sect with valuable spoils. After Li Baichuan gave him a Five Qi Zhenyuan Pill, Chen Qing broke through to late Embracing Dan Strength and discovered that his five kinds of True Qi could circulate in a mutually generating cycle.

• Jiang Bohong took a Qi-Boosting Pill and launched a desperate poisoned-palm assault, but Chen Qing pierced him through with the Cloud-Coiling Spear and killed him.
• Chen Qing collected the dead men’s valuables and rare herbs, then fled the poison pool when a huge shadow stirred beneath its surface.
• Feng Shuhao and the Qixia Mountain Villa disciples encountered Chen Qing near the swamp, but both groups avoided a confrontation and went separate ways.
• Chen Qing returned home with weapons, money, rare medicines, and monster Essence Blood, then brought the Red-Eyed Poison Boa’s Essence Blood and a Jade Marrow Ganoderma to Li Baichuan.
• Li Baichuan refined a Five Qi Zhenyuan Pill for Chen Qing, who swallowed it and broke through to the fourth layer of the Qingmu Everlasting Spring Art and late Embracing Dan Strength.
• The pill harmonized Chen Qing’s five kinds of True Qi into a mutually generating cycle, allowing him to convert them into a greatly strengthened flow of Qingmu True Qi.

Chen Qing searched Jiang Bohong’s room, repaid debts to Li Wang and Nie Shanshan, and discussed the contest for the Three Hundred Year Earth Core Milk. Nie Shanshan reported her meeting with Chen Qing to Chu Jinyun, who urged her to compete for the treasure and strengthen her future claim to the position of Sect Master.

• Chen Qing searched Jiang Bohong’s room but found no valuables, then suspected that Jiang’s wealth was aboard his Treasure Ship at Hundred Ships Beach.
• Chen Qing repaid Li Wang eight thousand taels and warned him to stay alert about the Prefecture City families seeking to associate with institute Chiefs.
• Chen Qing repaid Nie Shanshan thirty thousand taels and admitted that he intended to compete for the Three Hundred Year Earth Core Milk.
• Nie Shanshan told Chu Jinyun about her conversation with Chen Qing, and Chu Jinyun explained that Li Baichuan was too old and cautious to be Chen Qing’s backer.
• Chu Jinyun urged Nie Shanshan to compete for the Earth Core Milk to impress the sect’s leaders and strengthen her future claim to the Sect Master position, and Nie Shanshan agreed.

Leng Qianqiu prepared to use Xiao Bieli’s rematch at Wutai Sect to strengthen her bid to lead a four-sect alliance, while Chen Qing advanced his cultivation and faced questions about missing companions from Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp. The chapter ended with Yue Ling’er suspecting Chen Qing and Bai Qingquan eyeing her missing parents’ wealth.

• Leng Qianqiu warned Xiao Bieli about breaking through to Gang Jin, then ordered alliance invitations sent and publicized his planned rematch at Wutai Sect.
• He Yuzhou recognized Leng Qianqiu’s political strategy and offered Three Hundred Year Earth Core Milk to motivate Wutai Sect’s disciples to face Xiao Bieli.
• Chen Qing used the essence blood of the Red-Eyed Poison Boa and Red Blood Ghost Face Spider to reach the Tiger Elephant realm of Eight Extremes Vajra Body.
• Chen Qing read about the planned alliance and Xiao Bieli’s return, then told Bai Qingquan that he had separated from Yue Shan and Liu Sanniang in Ten Thousand Poisons Swamp and last expected to meet them at Hundred Ships Beach.
• Bai Qingquan told Yue Ling’er that Chen Qing denied knowing what happened to her parents, warned her not to accuse a Wutai Sect chief disciple without evidence, and accepted her three thousand taels to continue the search.
• After Yue Ling’er left, Bai Qingquan privately considered waiting to see whether Yue Shan and Liu Sanniang returned before claiming the girl’s family wealth.