Chapter Summaries

Lu Nan won Master Cangshan’s Array Plate at auction for six hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones after outbidding Feng Yu and Jin Feng. He paid Gu Le and left the Spirit Treasure Pavilion alone, refusing to get involved with the local families.

• Feng Yu raised the Array Plate’s bid to three hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones before Jin Feng challenged him from another private room.
• Lu Nan examined the Array Plate and discovered it had nine layers of restrictions, then entered the bidding at five hundred thousand.
• Lu Nan won the Array Plate for six hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones after Feng Yu stopped bidding and Jin Feng withdrew.
• Feng Yu and Jin Feng waited outside Lu Nan’s room and sought a chance to meet him, but Lu Nan refused to see them.
• Lu Nan paid Gu Le with a mountain of Top-grade Spirit Stones, declined an escort, and vanished.

Lu Nan was hunted by a Tribulation Transcendence elder from the Boiling Fire Cult, and Miao Feng intervened to hold the elder back. Lu Nan fled, ordered Lu Taiji to move the two women and the bear, and contacted someone with a Cross-domain communication talisman.

• Lu Nan encountered a black-robed elder who tried to capture him and recruit him into the Boiling Fire Cult.
• The elder caught up with Lu Nan and revealed overwhelming power, forcing Lu Nan to summon Miao Feng with his backup spell.
• Miao Feng recognized the elder as a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator and confronted him while telling Lu Nan to run.
• Lu Nan fled and warned Lu Taiji to relocate the two women and the bear before the Boiling Fire Cult could find them.
• After escaping far enough, Lu Nan ignited a Cross-domain communication talisman, and a figure appeared.

Lu Nan was killed by a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator from the Boiling Fire Cult, and news of his apparent death reached Sword Valley and Azure Lotus Sword Sect. Hu Mei'er used her Life-Substitute Fox Tail to save him, then was forbidden by her grandmother from leaving Green Hill until she grew her sixth tail.

• Miao Feng told Lu Nan his avatar had dissipated and taught him a Breath Concealment Technique while Lu Nan prepared to hold off the black-robed old man.
• The black-robed old man found Lu Nan, admitted he intended to kill him, and struck him down so that even his divine soul could not escape.
• Miao Feng discovered that Lu Nan's Life Plaque had cracked and flew away in a rage, while Ancestor Yifeng arrived to investigate.
• At Azure Lotus Sword Sect, Chang Cang reported Lu Nan's cracked Life Plaque to Yu Shi, who brought it to Qingchuan; the two ordered the news kept secret.
• Hu Mei'er sensed that something had happened to Lu Nan and used her Life-Substitute Fox Tail to save him, leaving her in a younger form.
• Grandma learned that Hu Mei'er had used her fox tail and ordered her to stay on Green Hill until she grew her sixth tail.

Lu Nan died at the hands of the Boiling Fire Cult but unexpectedly returned to life, while Lu Taiji discovered their contract was equal and survived. Lu Nan recovered, vowed revenge, and uncovered the true nature of the Array Plate he had bought.

• Lu Taiji realized his contract with Lu Nan had vanished, but discovered it was an equal contract and set out with the two crystal coffins.
• Lu Nan found a light gate in the darkness after death and passed through it, waking up alive again.
• Lu Nan discovered an intimate new connection and realized his master-servant contract with Lu Taiji had been secretly dissolved.
• Lu Nan recovered his spiritual power, vowed revenge on the Boiling Fire Cult, and made a secluded valley his temporary base.
• Lu Nan broke the Array Plate's restrictions and learned it was a Nine Revolutions Formation Dispelling cube that required a drop of blood to recognize its master.

Lu Nan absorbed the Nine Revolutions Formation Dispelling and resolved to raise his cultivation so he could destroy the Boiling Fire Cult. Meanwhile, Miao Feng destroyed the Boiling Fire Cult’s mountain gate and killed two of its experts before vanishing, leaving the sect vowing revenge against Sword Valley.

• Lu Nan cut his finger and fed blood to the cube, which shot into his forehead and flooded his mind with information.
• Lu Nan learned that the Nine Revolutions Formation Dispelling contained countless formations and decided to raise his cultivation with Spirit Stones.
• Miao Feng smashed the Boiling Fire Cult’s mountain gate and declared that he would kill its disciples for sending a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator after his disciple.
• Miao Feng slaughtered the Boiling Fire Cult cultivators who rose to confront him and killed a black-robed old man with a strand of Sword Qi.
• Miao Feng fought and killed the gold-trimmed black-robed old man, calling the death interest, then vanished before a giant hand could seize him.
• A voice from the Boiling Fire Cult’s depths ominously spoke the name Sword Valley.

Miao Feng’s revenge against the Boiling Fire Cult ended in a negotiated settlement after Sword Valley’s Yi Feng intervened. As Yi Feng took Miao Feng back to the valley, Lu Taiji arrived carrying a crystal coffin and encountered him in Lu Nan’s courtyard.

• Miao Feng continued attacking the Boiling Fire Cult, while Huo Zou ordered his people to search for him and threatened war with Sword Valley.
• Huo Qi confronted Miao Feng and offered compensation, but Yi Feng appeared and demanded four Red Flames and a branch of the Boiling Fire Cult as payment.
• Huo Qi agreed to the terms and gave Yi Feng a ring containing the Red Flames, promising to deliver the people later.
• Yi Feng freed Miao Feng, ordered him to stay in Sword Valley, and took him back toward the valley.
• Lu Taiji arrived at Sword Valley with a crystal coffin, entered Lu Nan’s courtyard, and came face-to-face with Miao Feng.

Lu Taiji left Sword Valley after entrusting Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan to Miao Feng, then began hunting Boiling Fire Cult members to grow stronger. He continued targeting isolated cultivators while avoiding fights he could not win.

• Lu Taiji told Miao Feng that Ye Hanyan could be revived with immortality medicine and Liu Qilan would awaken in nine years, then left after warning Miao Feng to protect them.
• Miao Feng hid Ye Hanyan and Liu Qilan in Lu Nan's room beneath layers of restrictions and buried the courtyard under a thatched hut.
• Huo Zou ordered the Boiling Fire Cult to search for the mysterious figure hunting its disciples and told the cult's disciples not to leave unless necessary.
• Lu Taiji killed Junior Sister Jin and four Void Return cultivators who tried to capture him, then escaped when Huo Qi approached.
• After digesting his victims, Lu Taiji ambushed five black-robed figures and continued scouting the Boiling Fire Cult for suitable targets.

Lu Nan reached the peak of Nascent Soul and attempted to break through to the Heavenly Human realm. He survived the Heavenly Human Tribulation, collected its healing purple pool water, and watched the pool vanish as the lightning faded.

• Lu Taiji ambushed and swallowed two Boiling Fire Cult members before escaping through a spatial rift to a mountain refuge.
• Lu Nan reached the peak of Nascent Soul, cultivated further, and later decided to head toward the Boiling Fire Cult.
• Lu Taiji opened a passage to a floating island, while the Boiling Fire Cult resumed sending disciples into the world and the gate-blocking incident faded from public attention.
• Lu Nan entered the Heavenly Human Tribulation clouds as spectators gathered beyond the thirty-three-li danger zone.
• Lu Nan used his spiritual swords to split the clouds, but nine purple-gold bolts shattered his defenses and badly injured him.
• Lu Nan plunged into a hidden pool, recovered completely, filled three jade bottles with its water, and saw the pool explode as the lightning faded.

After surviving his tribulation, Lu Nan reached the Heavenly Being realm and spent a month comprehending formations before refining pills to sell. He began negotiating with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, where Master Hua identified his Quenching Spirit Pills as supreme quality and offered ten High-grade Spirit Stones each.

• Lu Nan emerged from the tribulation, confirmed his new Heavenly Being strength, and gained the Illusionary Shift and Call Forth abilities from two swords.
• Lu Nan began comprehending Nine Revolutions Formation Dispelling and spent more than a month advancing his formation skills.
• Lu Nan refined medicinal pills, disguised himself, and traveled to Great Geng Imperial City to sell them at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
• Pang Chang recognized one pill as a fifth-grade Quenching Spirit Pill and summoned Master Hua to authenticate it.
• Master Hua confirmed the Quenching Spirit Pill was of supreme quality and offered ten High-grade Spirit Stones per pill before examining another bottle.

Lu Nan sold a large batch of top-grade pills to Spirit Treasure Pavilion and arranged for it to seek rare materials for his master. Disguised as a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, he then offered many Spirit Artifacts to Imperial Dynasty Auction House and received its proposed prices.

• Lu Nan sold 300 fourth-grade, 240 fifth-grade, and 120 sixth-grade top-grade pills to Spirit Treasure Pavilion for 1,230 Top-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Nan gave Master Hua a list of scarce materials and asked Spirit Treasure Pavilion to gather them, despite an estimated cost of at least one million Top-grade Spirit Stones.
• Master Hua told Pang Chang to notify him whenever Lu Nan returned and to report the matter to headquarters.
• Lu Nan evaded any potential tail, transformed into a short, fat Middle-aged Man, and entered Imperial Dynasty Auction House.
• Lu Nan presented 58 low-grade, 42 mid-grade, 33 High-grade, and 9 Top-grade Spirit Artifacts for sale.
• The luxuriously dressed old man offered prices ranging from 10,000 High-grade Spirit Stones per low-grade Spirit Artifact to two million Top-grade Spirit Stones per Top-grade Spirit Artifact.

Lu Nan sold his Spirit Artifacts to the Imperial City Auction House for Spirit Stones and requested items, then discovered the house had sent assassins after him. He killed most of his pursuers, but three shadow-hiding survivors escaped, and he vanished underground as another shadow tracked him.

• Lu Nan agreed to sell his Spirit Artifacts for a total of thirty-three million five hundred forty-seven thousand Spirit Stones, partly paid in requested items, and checked the Storage Rings before leaving.
• After Lu Nan departed, the old man ordered a shadow to follow him and reclaim the goods if he had no powerful backing.
• Lu Nan detected the pursuer, led the attackers into remote wilderness, and killed ten Spirit Transformations and two Celestial Beings before vowing to remember the Imperial City Auction House.
• The old man reported the Shadow Guards' deaths to his master, who ordered him to keep sending people after Lu Nan.
• Lu Nan killed most of another group of black-clad men, but three survivors escaped through the shadows, and he burrowed underground as a shadow emerged and followed his trail.

Lu Nan rescued Princess Changle, Nangong Ya, from a group of black-clad attackers and negotiated for access to the Imperial Family Book Collection Pavilion. Nangong Ya swore to protect him and agreed to help obtain the books or gather the items on his list as they prepared to return to the imperial city.

• Lu Nan spotted Steward Fu and Princess Changle fleeing black-clad pursuers near his camp.
• Steward Fu asked Lu Nan to escort Princess Changle to the imperial city, and Lu Nan agreed in exchange for a favor.
• Lu Nan used a cool breeze to kill the black-clad attackers, including several powerful cultivators.
• Lu Nan asked to borrow books from the Imperial Family Book Collection Pavilion, and Nangong Ya explained that she needed the emperor's permission.
• Nangong Ya swore to guarantee Lu Nan's safety and agreed to seek permission or help gather the items on his list.
• Steward Fu told Nangong Ya and Xiao Nuan that Lu Nan might be a peak Nascent Soul cultivator or even a Celestial.

Lu Nan escorted Nangong Ya, Steward Fu, and two others toward the imperial capital, defeating the attackers who pursued them. When a badly injured woman in black fell into the hands of a broad-faced Celestial, Lu Nan rescued her and began fighting him.

• Lu Nan gave Steward Fu a Returning Heaven Pill, and Steward Fu recovered enough to continue traveling with the group.
• Black-clothed men surrounded the travelers and demanded Nangong Ya, but Lu Nan killed them all with Wind Blades.
• Lu Nan told Nangong Ya that future interventions would cost one hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones each, then asked when Lord Liu would return.
• A woman in black fell from the sky while pursued by a scarred, broad-faced man, and Nangong Ya pleaded with Lu Nan to save her.
• Lu Nan caught the woman, found that her meridians and bones had been destroyed, and challenged the broad-faced Celestial.
• The Celestial attacked Lu Nan, but Lu Nan sent him flying and kicked him into the ground before they charged at each other again.

Lu Nan rescued the injured black-clad woman by defeating Wang Dao, then learned she needed a rare seventh-grade healing pill to survive. Nangong Ya gave her a Returning Heaven Pill, but the group still had to find a proper cure within seven days.

• Lu Nan stopped Wang Dao from escaping and kicked him around while carrying the unconscious black-clad woman.
• The woman woke and identified Wang Dao, who escaped briefly before attacking Lu Nan with his killing move.
• Lu Nan split Wang Dao's enormous fist phantom with a sword and sent his spirit sword after the fleeing brute.
• Lu Nan handed the woman to Nangong Ya and demanded payment for saving her, then sold Nangong Ya a Returning Heaven Pill for ten Top-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Nan warned that the woman's shattered meridians and bones required a seventh-grade healing pill within seven days, leaving Nangong Ya and the woman worried about finding one.

Nangong Ya persuaded Lu Nan to carry the badly injured Liu Yanran toward Great Geng Imperial City, and he secretly gave Liu Yanran a pill to help her recover. After more than ten days on the road, Liu Yanran explained that the Third Prince was likely behind their pursuers, while Lu Nan scolded Nangong Ya for sneaking out; the group still had at least half a month of travel ahead.

• Nangong Ya asked Lu Nan to refine a seventh-grade pill for Liu Yanran, but he refused, saying he could not do it and they were only employer and employee.
• When Liu Yanran asked Nangong Ya to send her Jade Token to her master, Nangong Ya offered Lu Nan one hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones to carry her to the imperial capital, and he agreed for a total debt of three hundred thousand.
• Lu Nan carried Liu Yanran and secretly gave her a pill, which she began refining as the group traveled toward Great Geng Imperial City.
• After Lu Nan defeated another wave of pursuers, Liu Yanran said the Third Prince was the most likely culprit because capturing Nangong Ya would weaken the newly enthroned emperor.
• Lu Nan reprimanded Nangong Ya for leaving the city without permission and noted that the journey would take at least another half month.

Lu Nan and his companions set out for the Great Geng Imperial City, where Moonlit Night assassins ambushed them because of Nangong Ya. After Lu Nan killed the attackers, Liu Yanran explained the rival princes and their power within the Great Geng Dynasty.

• At dawn, Lu Nan picked up the recovering Liu Yanran and led the group toward the Great Geng Imperial City, waking Nangong Ya before they left.
• Moonlit Night assassins surrounded the group, and Lu Nan agreed to protect Nangong Ya for an additional two hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Nan used Wind Borrower to kill the weaker assassins, then defeated the three Heavenly Human assassins after they refused his offer to abandon Nangong Ya for six hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• Lu Nan scolded Nangong Ya for threatening to bite him and asked Liu Yanran about the Great Geng Dynasty's internal situation.
• Liu Yanran explained that King Heng, King Qi, and King Kang coveted the throne, while King Wu supported the current emperor and remained in the imperial city.

Lu Nan reached Great Geng Imperial City and met Nangong Yan, the woman ruling the dynasty as its Empress. He revealed his power as a seventh-grade formation master and offered to deal with the three princes in exchange for a Dragon Bone.

• After learning that the princes wanted each other dead, Lu Nan arrived at Great Geng Imperial City with Liu Yanran and Nangong Ya.
• Eunuch Hua summoned Lu Nan to meet Nangong Yan, while Liu Yanran reluctantly went with the imperial physicians for treatment.
• Lu Nan asked Nangong Yan to marry him, then dodged Eunuch Hua’s attack and revealed Wind Blades throughout the hall.
• When Nangong Yan refused to give him a Dragon Bone, Lu Nan offered to eliminate the three princes in exchange for it.
• Lu Nan demonstrated a small fourth-grade formation and claimed that he was a seventh-grade formation master.

Lu Nan negotiated with Nangong Yan to create a Seven Fiends Killing Formation in exchange for the materials on his list, while Nangong Yan secretly investigated his identity. After several days, he completed the formation, and Nangong Yan ordered Nian'er to test its power.

• Lu Nan convinced Nangong Yan to provide his requested materials in advance, and he chose to make the Seven Fiends Killing Formation.
• Nangong Yan had a hidden Return to Void sixth-layer cultivator assess Lu Nan and ordered his information gathered using the Heaven-Questioning Mirror.
• Lu Nan stayed in the imperial palace for several days, then returned to Nangong Yan after Eunuch Hua summoned him.
• Nangong Yan used the Heaven-Questioning Mirror and learned that Lu Nan was under twenty and at the first layer of the Heavenly Being Realm.
• Lu Nan shaped the supplied materials into a black sword and completed the Seven Fiends Killing Formation.
• Nangong Yan called Nian'er to test the formation, and Lu Nan tossed her the sword and warned her to be careful.

Lu Nan demonstrated the Seven Fiends Killing Formation to Nangong Yan and proposed using it to eliminate the three kings, but his plan would require sacrificing the people of three cities. After threatening Nangong Yan when she invoked his deceased master, Lu Nan left, worried that he had been watched and considering abandoning the Dragon Bone if his next attempt failed.

• Lu Nan used the Seven Fiends Killing Formation to trap Nian'er, then gave Nangong Yan its control method and explained its range and power.
• Lu Nan proposed gathering the three kings in one place and killing them with the formation, asking Nangong Yan to sacrifice the people of three cities to draw them in.
• Nangong Yan hesitated over the thirty million lives involved, and Lu Nan warned that she could lure the kings out another way.
• When Nangong Yan mentioned Lu Nan's deceased master, Lu Nan seized her by the throat and threatened to bury the Great Geng Dynasty if she exposed him; she apologized and ordered the hall guards away.
• Lu Nan left after asking Nangong Yan to arrange payment of five hundred thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones owed by Nangong Ya.
• Back in his room, Lu Nan recalled sensing someone watching him and decided he could not stay long; he planned to try once more before giving up the Dragon Bone.

Lu Nan received the formation materials and a token from Nangong Yan, then learned that she had not yet decided whether to use his plan against the Three Princes. After Nangong Yan demonstrated his Seven Fiends Killing Formation to her advisers, they began weighing the costly plan before Lu Nan left the imperial city.

• Nangong Ya asked Lu Nan to go sightseeing, but he refused and warned her against wandering without guards.
• Lu Nan met Nangong Yan, received the materials for one formation, and asked her to decide soon because he would not stay in the imperial city long.
• Nangong Yan gave Lu Nan a token allowing him to enter and leave the palace, then promised to give him an answer in three days.
• Nangong Yan summoned Nangong Jingwu, Chancellor Cai, and Imperial Preceptor Liu and showed them Lu Nan's Seven Fiends Killing Formation.
• Nangong Jingwu tested the formation and learned it could destroy peak Void Return cultivators, while Nangong Yan explained that it could grow stronger through battle.
• Nangong Yan told the three advisers that Lu Nan proposed using the formation to eliminate the Three Princes and their fief cities, and Chancellor Cai asked about Lu Nan's conditions.