Chapter Summaries

Lu Nan backed Ye Hanyan’s plan to take over the Artifact Refining Sect and learned about the Southern Region’s seven major sects. After reaching Golden Core perfection, he suppressed his cultivation to avoid triggering the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation and spent two months improving his crafting skills.

• Lu Nan returned to the Azure Lotus Sword Sect and welcomed Ye Hanyan, who asked his opinion on the Peak Lords’ plan to take over the Artifact Refining Sect using Bai Yu and Lu Taiji.
• Ye Hanyan explained that the Great Geng Dynasty would not interfere and described the Southern Region’s seven major sects, including Soul Severing Cliff, Sky-Hanging Abyss, Light Tremor Temple, and Carefree Academy.
• Lu Nan supported the plan, and Ye Hanyan left with Lu Taiji and the nearly nine-thousand-year-old spirit bamboo.
• Lu Nan used 80,000 Top-grade Spirit Stones to reach Golden Core perfection, sensed the Heavenly Tribulation targeting him, then lowered his cultivation back to the ninth level of Golden Core.
• Lu Nan spent two months studying Artifact Crafting, arrays, and Talismans, reaching sixth grade in Artifact Crafting and arrays and learning one fifth-grade Talisman.

Lu Nan prepared for and began his lightning tribulation on a remote mountain, drawing the attention of powerful cultivators. After enduring three punishing bolts, he sensed his realm loosening and used recovery pills to heal before the next strike.

• Ye Hanyan told Lu Nan that the Artifact Refining Sect had merged into the Sword Sect, with Jiang Qing as Deputy Sect Leader and Qi Lan as an Elder.
• Lu Nan traveled to a remote mountain, set up formations, made Golden Body Talismans, and prepared recovery pills for his tribulation.
• Lu Nan released his Golden Core perfection cultivation, summoning thunderclouds that drew Ye Hanyan, Liu Qilan, the Sword Sect’s Spirit Transformation cultivators, and the woman in red from Soul Erosion Abyss.
• Lu Nan endured three golden lightning bolts, suffered severe injuries, and swallowed recovery pills after sensing his realm begin to loosen.
• The thunderclouds gathered again as their lightning shifted between violet and gold, eventually turning violet-gold.

Lu Nan endured a Nascent Soul tribulation that escalated into red Mortal Transformation Tribulations, while a mysterious woman explained that surviving them could forge a Battle Nascent Soul. Lu Nan decided he did not want one, but the woman’s voice interrupted him before he could resume protecting himself.

• Lu Nan endured the second bolt of violet-gold lightning and recovered with pills before bracing for the next strike.
• The third bolt blasted Lu Nan into the mountain, and he emerged injured as the tribulation clouds shifted from violet-gold to red.
• The woman in red told Lu Nan to face the remaining six Mortal Transformation Tribulations with his body and divine soul to escape the lower realm.
• Lu Nan faced a red bolt without using talismans, suffered devastating injuries, and recovered as the lightning restored his skin.
• The woman in red explained that victories could build a Battle Nascent Soul toward an Invincible Nascent Soul, but Lu Nan decided an ordinary Nascent Soul would be enough.
• Lu Nan prepared to restore his talismans and formations, but the mysterious voice spoke again and made him halt.

Lu Nan endured five crimson tribulation bolts that tempered his body, organs, and soul, then watched the final bolt shatter his Golden Core. As the Golden Core’s dust formed a tiny human figure marked by the remaining lightning, his Nascent Soul began to take shape.

• Lu Nan survived the first crimson bolt as it dissolved and restored his flesh, then recovered and faced the next bolt.
• The second bolt destroyed and tempered Lu Nan’s bones, and he recovered while anticipating the remaining trials.
• Lu Nan endured a third bolt that struck his internal organs and a fourth that attacked his divine soul.
• The final crimson-black bolt struck Lu Nan’s dantian and shattered his Golden Core, leaving him worried that he had failed to form a Nascent Soul.
• Lu Nan spotted a tiny figure condensing inside the shattered core as its dust fused into it, and the remaining tribulation lightning formed a pattern on the figure.

After surviving his tribulation and condensing a Nascent Soul, Lu Nan escaped the cultivators waiting outside his formations and returned to the Azure Lotus Sword Sect. He reunited with Lu Taiji and began a month of secluded recovery.

• Lu Nan regained consciousness after two hours, checked his newly formed Nascent Soul, and learned its markings could raise his combat strength by one level.
• Lu Nan found powerful cultivators waiting outside his formations and used the Great Five Elements Escape to flee to the Azure Lotus Sword Sect.
• Lu Nan discovered Lu Taiji was absent from his cave dwelling and found him eating with women in the sect's dining hall.
• Lu Taiji returned to Lu Nan and revealed that Lu Nan's advancement to Nascent Soul had lifted part of his seal, making him a Heavenly Human.
• Lu Nan told Lu Taiji he would enter seclusion for a month and not to disturb him without an important reason.

Lu Nan recovered from his injuries in secluded cultivation while preparing to cultivate the Myriad Dao Body, and Lu Taiji anxiously waited outside his cave. After emerging, Lu Nan promised to give Lu Taiji spirit bamboo and said he was going out.

• Lu Nan upgraded and concealed his cave formations, then gathered herbs and refined pills to aid his recovery.
• Lu Nan took the pills, slept for three days, and began regulating his body in secluded cultivation behind a soundproof formation.
• Lu Taiji was blocked by Lu Nan's formations and told Ye Hanyan that Lu Nan was cultivating, sending her away until the next month.
• When Lu Nan remained inside for nearly two months and his aura repeatedly weakened, Lu Taiji stayed outside the cave in alarm.
• Lu Nan emerged recovered, reassured Lu Taiji, promised him spirit bamboo, and said he was going out.

Lu Nan returned from seclusion with spirit bamboo for Lu Taiji and met with Ye Hanyan, who revealed that a suspected Celestial Being had drawn many outsiders to the sect. After leaving the Sect Leader’s hall, Lu Nan ran into Liu Qilan, who eagerly asked about his cultivation and array studies.

• Lu Taiji secretly followed Lu Nan to a barren wasteland, watched him vanish and reappear, then returned to the cave abode ahead of him.
• Lu Nan gave Lu Taiji a bundle of two-thousand-year-old spirit bamboo, and Lu Taiji eagerly stored most of it and ate a stalk.
• Lu Nan learned that Ye Hanyan had visited while he was in seclusion, then flew to the Sect Leader’s hall to meet her.
• Ye Hanyan discovered that Lu Nan had reached the Golden Core seventh layer and told him the Artifact Refining Sect had merged with their sect and he should stay inside because a suspected Celestial Being had undergone tribulation nearby.
• Lu Nan left the hall and encountered Liu Qilan, who linked arms with him and asked about his cultivation and array studies.

Lu Nan visited Liu Qilan and Wu Wan, explained his ties to masters from the Central Continent, and showed off his sword intents. Ye Hanyan arrived and received his insights, while Liu Qilan resented that he helped Ye Hanyan but not her.

• Lu Nan brought Liu Qilan and Wu Wan to his cave dwelling to meet Lu Taiji, who asked how many masters Lu Nan had.
• Lu Nan explained that Wu Bai had brought him to the Central Continent and that he now had three masters, including a powerful master from Sword Valley.
• Liu Qilan asked about the Central Continent, and Lu Nan said his third master might be at the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
• Lu Nan reassured Liu Qilan that she and Great Master remained his masters, then revealed his Five Elements and Space Sword Intents.
• Ye Hanyan appeared, and Lu Nan shared his insights into both sword intents with her.
• Liu Qilan embraced Lu Nan and complained that he was biased for helping Ye Hanyan but not her.

Lu Nan shared his formation insights with Liu Qilan and Wu Wan, then helped Ye Hanyan comprehend two Sword Intents. After Ye Hanyan entered seclusion, Lu Nan returned to his cave abode to make preparations and barred visitors.

• Liu Qilan examined Lu Nan's sixth-rank formation insights, said they brought her closer to advancing, and left to enter seclusion.
• Lu Nan showed Wu Wan a fifth-rank formation and gave her insights into the first four ranks, prompting her to accept him as Senior Brother.
• Ye Hanyan awakened from her formation and revealed that she had comprehended both five-colored and Space Sword Intents.
• Ye Hanyan thanked Lu Nan, said she would enter seclusion, and briefly embraced him before leaving; she later blushed while thinking about him.
• Lu Nan returned to his cave abode, told Lu Taiji not to let anyone disturb him, and activated all the formations.

After preparing a hidden valley and a powerful formation, Lu Nan began preparing to forge the Myriad Dao Body. Once his medicinal ingredients had melted in a spirit-treasure Cauldron, he leaped inside to undergo the dangerous process.

• Lu Nan emerged from seclusion and flew with Lu Taiji to find a secluded place for his work.
• Lu Taiji cleared a sixth-rank great demon from a misty valley, and Lu Nan established a powerful formation on an island in its pool.
• Lu Nan sent Lu Taiji to borrow a spirit-treasure Alchemy Furnace from Elder Qing and told him to guard the formation.
• Lu Nan checked the ingredients in the Mysterious Space and spent a month studying the Myriad Dao Body process while they matured.
• Lu Nan placed the medicinal ingredients in the Cauldron, waited for them to melt, and leaped inside.

Lu Nan endured the Cauldron’s pill fire as his body dissolved and began to be remade around the light of his consciousness. Outside, his weakening aura alarmed Lu Taiji, Ye Hanyan, and Liu Qilan, who searched for him and finally showed the damaged Jade Token to Qingchuan.

• Lu Nan let the pill fire consume his body while remaining conscious, and the melted spiritual materials formed a new human-shaped body around the light at his dantian.
• Lu Taiji sensed Lu Nan’s aura weaken to a faint flame but followed his instructions and guarded the formation instead of breaking in.
• Ye Hanyan discovered her cracked Jade Slip and rushed to Lu Nan’s cave dwelling, where she met Liu Qilan, who held a similarly damaged token.
• Ye Hanyan brought Bai Yu to shatter the sixth-rank formation around Lu Nan’s cave dwelling, and she and Liu Qilan found that Lu Nan had been gone since they entered seclusion.
• Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan searched the Azure Lotus Sword Sect for Lu Taiji but found nothing, then told Elder Qing and the other Peak Lords that something had happened to Lu Nan.
• Qingchuan snatched the nearly shattered Jade Token from Ye Hanyan and examined the words Lu Nan had carved on it.

Miao Feng arrived at the Azure Lotus Sword Sect after learning Lu Nan was missing and tested Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan by demanding they become his disciples in exchange for saving him. After they agreed and prepared to submit to his indecent demand, Miao Feng abruptly changed his mind, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Qingchuan ordered the Peak Lords to search for Lu Nan and sent Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan to seek help in Sword Valley.
• Miao Feng appeared before the sect, questioned Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan, and learned they were Lu Nan's masters.
• Miao Feng offered to take the two women as disciples, but they refused until he threatened Lu Nan's life and showed them an image of him being tortured.
• Ye Hanyan agreed to Miao Feng's demands, and Liu Qilan offered to leave with him if he saved Lu Nan.
• After Miao Feng demanded that the women strip for his inspection and they began to comply, he announced that he wanted to change his demand.

Miao Feng gave Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan valuable Rings as an apology, but the women and their allies feared the gifts were a price for Miao Feng’s interest in them. They chose to stay and protect the Azure Lotus Sword Sect, while Jiang Qing insisted Liu Qilan leave; after an hour, he prepared to make her go himself.

• Miao Feng vanished after giving Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan Rings filled with Spirit Stones, Spirit Artifacts, spiritual materials, and cultivation techniques.
• Qingchuan urged Ye Hanyan to flee, but she refused to abandon the Sword Sect, and Liu Qilan also resolved to stay.
• Ye Hanyan dismissed the assembled Peak Lords, and she, Liu Qilan, Qingchuan, and Jiang Qing discussed the Rings in Sect Master Hall.
• Jiang Qing blamed Lu Nan for attracting Miao Feng and demanded that Liu Qilan leave, saying he would remain to face the danger with the sect.
• After an hour, Jiang Qing rose and asked Liu Qilan whether she would leave, while warning Ye Hanyan and Qingchuan not to interfere.

Miao Feng guarded Lu Nan as he rebuilt himself inside the Cauldron, while Lu Taiji watched the formation. When Lu Nan awoke a month later and released a vast purple-qi phenomenon, Miao Feng concealed it and seized Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan from the arriving Azure Lotus Sword Sect group.

• Miao Feng found Lu Taiji guarding the formation, learned Lu Nan had been inside for two or three days, and settled into the space between worlds to watch over him.
• Lu Taiji continued guarding the formation as a month passed and Lu Nan gradually recovered inside the Cauldron.
• Lu Nan awoke and released a burst of divine light and pressure that knocked Lu Taiji to the ground.
• Miao Feng concealed the phenomenon, but purple qi spread across the valley and thirty thousand miles around it, drawing the attention of several sects and academies.
• Miao Feng warned the approaching figures to leave, then pulled Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan into the void as the Azure Lotus Sword Sect group watched helplessly.

Lu Nan emerged from refining the Myriad Dao Body and reunited with Miao Feng, Ye Hanyan, and Liu Qilan. After Lu Nan cleared up the misunderstanding about his alias and his relationship with the two women, Miao Feng approved of them and said Lu Nan’s future lay in the Upper Realm.

• Lu Nan awakened inside the cauldron with the Myriad Dao Body and learned it could absorb and merge other people’s techniques.
• Miao Feng disabled the formations on Central Island, revealing Lu Nan as he got dressed, and confronted him over using the name Zhao Qi.
• Lu Nan explained that Zhao Qi had been an alias he had adopted for safety, and Miao Feng showed him the shattered Jade Token that had led him there.
• Liu Qilan secretly told Lu Nan that Miao Feng wanted to take her and Ye Hanyan away, so Lu Nan claimed the two women were his Dao companions.
• Miao Feng clarified that he had only been testing Lu Nan, approved of Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan as his daughters-in-law, and said Lu Nan’s future was in the Upper Realm.

Lu Nan discovered the fighting requirements and rewards tied to his Battle Nascent Soul and the Only-Me Domain, then chose to pursue their power despite preferring to lie low. The chapter left him resolved to fight across realms while stabilizing his cultivation.

• Miao Feng invited Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan to join his sect or follow him to Sword Valley, then gave them seven days to settle their affairs.
• Liu Qilan declared herself Lu Nan's Dao companion and kissed him, while Ye Hanyan reacted with irritation and concealed her own feelings.
• Lu Nan asked Lu Taiji to guard him as he studied his new cultivation and the Refining Method, which could let him refine defeated opponents' methods into an Only-Me Domain.
• The Mysterious Space revealed that condensing the Only-Me Domain could create Immortal Material and eventually an undying Immortal Soul and Immortal Body.
• Lu Nan learned that his Battle Nascent Soul required opponents of the same realm to condense Battle Marks, and he resolved to seek stronger opponents and fight across realms.

Lu Nan chose to remain in the Southern Domain while Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan departed with Miao Feng for Central Continent. Miao Feng set a two-year deadline for Lu Nan to return to Sword Valley for Grand View Dao Academy, and left a Heavenly Human puppet to protect the Azure Lotus Sword Sect.

• After returning to the Azure Lotus Sword Sect, Lu Nan spent seven days at his cave dwelling before Miao Feng arrived to take Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan away.
• Lu Nan refused to leave the Southern Domain, explaining that he wanted to travel and avoid the greater dangers of Central Continent.
• Miao Feng agreed to let Lu Nan stay but ordered him to return to Sword Valley within two years, before Grand View Dao Academy began accepting students.
• Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan first hesitated to leave Lu Nan, but Miao Feng persuaded them by promising Ye Hanyan a chance to reach Heavenly Human within two years.
• Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan entrusted the Azure Lotus Sword Sect to Elder Qing and departed through Miao Feng's void passage with Su Wan and Wu Wan.
• Miao Feng sent a Heavenly Human puppet to Qingchuan as protection for the sect, and Qingchuan asked Lu Nan how powerful it was and how to control it.

Lu Nan explained the Heavenly Human puppet and gave one to Qingchuan, then gave the second to Jiang Qing despite Yang Tian’s objections. After Lu Nan left, Qingchuan warned the Peak Lords against scheming, then teased Jiang Qing about Qi Lan before the two fought.

• Miao Feng told Lu Nan how to restore, bind, and power the Heavenly Human puppet, and Lu Nan relayed the information to Qingchuan.
• Qingchuan recognized the puppet as his master and expanded it into its full-sized form to test its power.
• Lu Nan gave Bai Yu to Jiang Qing, and Yang Tian objected that the puppet should belong to the sect and its controller should be chosen by vote.
• Qingchuan affirmed that Lu Nan had the right to decide what happened to both puppets, and Lu Nan warned the others not to challenge his distribution.
• After Lu Nan departed, Qingchuan warned the Peak Lords against plotting and told Jiang Qing that Qi Lan had no chance with him.
• Qingchuan and Jiang Qing argued over Qi Lan, fought, and eventually lay on the ground together.

Lu Nan bid farewell to Qingchuan, Bai Wei'er, and Su Wan before leaving the Azure Lotus Sword Sect to travel. He departed after teaching Bai Wei'er sword moves and giving Su Wan his insights into the Sword Dao, with no certainty that he would return.

• Lu Nan told Qingchuan he was leaving to travel, and Qingchuan reminded him that the Azure Lotus Sword Sect would always be his home.
• Lu Nan found Bai Wei'er practicing, corrected her sword moves, and praised her rapid progress before flying away.
• Lu Nan told Su Wan he was leaving that day and pressed his Sword Dao insights into her forehead.
• Su Wan watched Lu Nan fly away and then walked despondently toward the bamboo grove.

Lu Nan said farewell to Wu Wan and left the Azure Lotus Sword Sect, giving her sealed insights into array formations. He set off with Lu Taiji to travel the Southern Domain, and the two ended the chapter sharing a meal Lu Nan cooked.

• Lu Nan visited Artifact Peak, helped Wu Wan improve her fourth-grade Blazing Sword Formation, and revealed that he was a sixth-grade array formation master.
• Lu Nan gave Wu Wan his array formation insights as a farewell gift and told her he planned to travel through the Southern Domain before heading to the Central Continent.
• Lu Nan left a Storage Ring for Fu Ye at Spirit Treasure Pavilion, then joined Lu Taiji on a solitary peak to decide where to travel.
• Lu Nan tossed a shoe to choose their direction, and he and Lu Taiji set off south after Lu Nan persuaded the bear with promises of new delicacies.
• Lu Nan cooked an Ironclad Ox in a forest, and Lu Taiji eagerly ate the meal.