Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen receives a Second-Class Merit for his actions at Spirit Flame Valley. The sect cancels his 1,010 Spirit Stone debt, awards him 500 Contribution Points, and exempts him from assignments for a year.
• True Person Li Shui considers taking Fang Chen as a disciple but decides to observe him longer, wary because Fang Chen supposedly has no Spiritual Root. His young woman disciple asks to challenge his Li Shui Sword Array again, and he agrees.
• Liu Yu escorts Fang Chen back to Dog Head Ridge, where Li Yanshan and Elder Yun had feared he might not survive his encounter with Zhang Tielin.
• Fang Chen recounts the attack by Bloodthirsty Evil Crows and reveals he has advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining. Li Yanshan and Elder Yun are astonished by his rapid progress.
• Elder Yun examines Fang Chen and confirms he has no Spiritual Root, despite finding a Black Iron Sword in his dantian. Fang Chen explains his breakthrough came through combat, with the help of the Floating Immortal Sword.
• Elder Yun speculates that Fang Chen might have the legendary Battle Saint Body, a physique that grows stronger by surpassing its limits in battle. Fang Chen rejects the idea, believing himself ordinary.
• Li Yanshan and Elder Yun congratulate Fang Chen. The group decides to celebrate at the market, with Fang Chen offering to pay.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen gains security, recognition, and freedom from routine work, while his extraordinary cultivation deepens the mystery around his abilities. He remains modest and respectful toward his elders.
• True Person Li Shui shows interest in Fang Chen but chooses caution over immediately taking him as a disciple.
• Li Yanshan and Elder Yun move from expecting the worst to amazement and pride. Their doubts about Fang Chen’s lack of a Spiritual Root grow, though Elder Yun’s Battle Saint Body theory remains unproven.
• Liu Yu treats Fang Chen courteously and helps him return home.
• Li Yanshan, Elder Yun, and Fang Chen share a warm, celebratory bond; even Xiao Liu joins in the excitement.

Significant themes

• Recognition and reward: Fang Chen’s service earns tangible relief and status within the sect.
• Unexplained potential: His rapid advancement challenges what others believe possible for someone without a Spiritual Root.
• Growth through struggle: The Battle Saint Body idea emphasizes combat and pushing beyond one’s limits, echoing Fang Chen’s recent experience.
• Loyalty and belonging: Despite his unusual circumstances, Fang Chen is welcomed and celebrated by those at Dog Head Ridge.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Xu tells Zhang Tielin that Bloodthirsty Evil Crows attacked Spirit Flame Valley. Fang Chen fought well, reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and earned second-class merit.
• Rumors say Elder Li Shui may take Fang Chen as a disciple, though no decision has been announced.
• Zhang Tielin learns that Zhang Qining is missing and was not among the identified victims. Suspecting he may have vanished after their planned attack on Fang Chen, Zhang Tielin is furious but decides not to pursue Fang Chen for now.
• Zhang Tielin chooses to focus on his own cultivation, hoping to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, and asks Zhang Xu to keep searching for news of Zhang Qining.
• Later, Fang Chen visits New Floating Market with Li Yanshan and Elder Yun. Seeing a weaponsmith, he decides to repair the damaged Aerial Formation Pattern on his Black Iron Sword so he can learn Sword Flight. Elder Yun offers to arrange the repair more cheaply when they return.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Tielin shifts from seeking revenge to cautious self-preservation: Fang Chen’s growing strength and possible connection to Elder Li Shui make him too risky to confront.
• Zhang Xu acts as the bearer of news and supports Zhang Tielin’s decision to retreat into cultivation.
• Fang Chen is gaining both recognition and practical confidence. He sees sword flight as a way to improve his survival, while his companions help him pursue it.
• Li Yanshan recognizes that Fang Chen’s new cultivation level qualifies him to practice the Sword Control Technique. Elder Yun offers practical help with the sword repair.

Significant themes

• Power and status reshape conflict: Fang Chen’s advancement and possible patronage change the balance of power, discouraging revenge.
• Pragmatism over vengeance: Zhang Tielin puts personal advancement and safety ahead of avenging his brother.
• Growth brings new possibilities: Fang Chen’s breakthrough opens the door to sword flight and greater self-reliance.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen buys dozens of Spirit Wheat Flatbreads and over two hundred books to prepare for life as a cultivator.
• On returning to Dog Head Ridge, he learns from Li Yanshan that the Glazed Sword Sect’s Trial Path will open in three days—far earlier than its usual winter opening.
• The Trial Path lies inside the surviving first floor of the damaged Glazed Pagoda. Outer Sect Disciples collect Glazed Mushrooms there; the three top gatherers may become Inner Disciples. Other spirit medicines can be kept, but the path also contains dangerous Demonic Beasts and has caused deaths.
• Although warned of the danger, Fang Chen decides to participate, motivated by the chance to earn money. Li advises him to study so he can recognize useful medicines.
• Fang Chen starts reading a compendium of Demonic Beasts, then realizes that using his Floating Immortal Sword sharpens his mind by helping him absorb Spiritual Power. He packs his books and heads to the hillside to try reading there.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen shows initiative by stocking up on food and reference books, and pragmatism in treating the Trial Path as both a risk and an opportunity.
• He recognizes how much cultivation knowledge he lacks and begins addressing it, prioritizing information about Demonic Beasts because he expects to fight them.
• Li Yanshan explains the Trial Path and urges Fang Chen to prepare; Elder Yun reassures him that participation is optional. Fang Chen rejects the option to sit it out because both older men are going.
• Li and Elder Yun also plan to enter, hoping to gain wealth or achieve promotion to Inner Disciple.

Significant themes

• Risk and reward: The Trial Path offers wealth and advancement but exposes participants to lethal danger.
• Preparation and knowledge: Recognizing beasts and spirit medicines may matter as much as strength.
• Resourcefulness: Fang Chen adapts his study plans by connecting reading with the sword’s mind-sharpening effect.
• Institutional decline: The damaged Glazed Pagoda and Glazed Sword symbolize the sect’s fall from its former prominence, while the mushroom harvest helps sustain it.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen discovers that striking a tree with the Floating Immortal Sword while reading lets its cool spiritual energy sharpen his mind. In sudden-enlightenment states, he can absorb books at extraordinary speed.
• Over several days, he memorizes every book he brought, including the Myriad Beast Compendium and Herbal Flora Atlas. Their contents reveal a world filled with legendary beasts and plants, though many of the most powerful exist only in stories.
• At the mountain’s foot, Fang Chen finds Li Yanshan preparing spirit medicines for the dangerous Trial Path, which contains beasts, poisonous plants, and harmful spores.
• Li gives Fang Chen his repaired Black Iron Sword and a copy of the Sword Control Art, obtained by Elder Yun. Fang Chen admires the restored blade and quickly reads the short manual.

Character developments

• Fang Chen’s repeated enlightenment has greatly improved his memory and mental ability. He is delighted by the efficiency of combining study with cultivation and is eager to keep learning.
• He is becoming better prepared for the Trial Path, gaining both knowledge about its dangers and a sword technique to study.
• Li Yanshan acts as a practical, protective mentor, warning Fang Chen about the Trial Path and offering help with his training.

Significant themes

• Study and cultivation: Fang Chen turns training into an opportunity to learn, combining physical practice with reading.
• Mentorship and preparation: Li and Elder Yun support Fang Chen by supplying medicine, equipment, and instruction.
• Wonder and uncertainty: The books describe astonishing creatures and plants, while noting that the greatest wonders remain unverified legends.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen enthusiastically shares a brief exchange with Li, asking about the medicines; Li explains the Trial Path’s hazards and gives him the repaired sword and technique manual.
• Li encourages Fang Chen to take his time learning the Sword Control Art and to ask for help, while Fang Chen responds with gratitude.

Key plot points and events

• After studying the Sword Control Art, Fang Chen quickly learns to make his Black Iron Sword hover and ride it. Though initially unsteady, he soon flies smoothly and performs difficult aerial maneuvers.
• His concentration leads to an unexpected state of Enlightenment: he imagines a radiant Flying Sword and instinctively follows its intricate flight paths. He realizes he can enter Enlightenment without the Floating Immortal Sword’s help.
• Li Yanshan is astonished by Fang Chen’s speed and ability, especially since he himself can barely turn while flying. He reflects that Fang Chen’s talent is extraordinary despite having no Spiritual Root.
• Li Yanshan explains a collection of medicines and gives Fang Chen more than a dozen bottles as a gift from himself and Elder Yun. Fang Chen accepts, intending to repay their kindness, and takes the medicines for protection on the dangerous Trial Path.
• A message from the Merit Hall orders the Azure Cloud Peak disciples to travel to Glazed Peak by a designated route. Elder Yun confirms Fang Chen has memorized the medicines’ uses and doses, then sets off with Little Six, his dog, riding his flying cane.
• Fang Chen demonstrates his newly mastered sword flight to Elder Yun. Elder Yun praises him and lets him fly independently, while Li Yanshan follows on his own sword.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen shows remarkable aptitude, quickly mastering sword flight and progressing beyond simple travel to agile maneuvers. He is eager to learn, takes the medicine instructions seriously, and values the generosity of his elders.
• Li Yanshan moves from skepticism about Fang Chen’s readiness to amazement and admiration. His comparison between their abilities underscores how far Fang Chen exceeds even experienced practitioners.
• Elder Yun is surprised by Fang Chen’s achievement but readily trusts him to travel on his own. He brings Little Six along, whose keen sense of smell may help locate Glazed Mushrooms.
• Fang Chen and Li Yanshan share a playful exchange over the supposed difficulty of the technique; Li Yanshan insists the ease comes from Fang Chen’s talent, not from the art itself.

Significant themes

• Innate talent and effort: Fang Chen’s rapid mastery contrasts with the years of practice others need, prompting Li Yanshan to question how much hard work can overcome natural ability.
• Learning through immersion: Fang Chen’s focused practice leads to spontaneous Enlightenment and a deeper, intuitive grasp of sword flight.
• Mentorship and gratitude: Li Yanshan and Elder Yun support Fang Chen with instruction and supplies, while Fang Chen quietly resolves to repay their kindness.
• Preparation amid danger: The medicines and travel instructions emphasize the hazards ahead and the importance of being ready for unexpected threats.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen travels with Elder Yun and Li Yanshan toward the Trial Path, keeping pace on his newly learned flying sword. They join a large stream of Azure Cloud Peak disciples heading southwest.
• At Golden Bull Ridge, Zhang Xu anxiously waits for Zhang Tielin to emerge from seclusion before the trial. Tielin breaks through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining just in time, learns the Trial Path has opened unusually early, and sets off with Zhang Xu.
• Tielin asks whether Zhang Qining has been found. Zhang Xu suspects Fang Chen killed him; Tielin accepts that Fang Chen may be capable of it and resolves to deal with him after the trial.
• Fang Chen’s group reaches the Sky Lake Barrier, where everyone must land and proceed on foot. Beyond it, they find Heavenly Lake, the entrance to the Trial Path, and a crowded beach filled with arriving disciples.
• Green Support Peak disciples mock Elder Yun as a cripple and insult Fang Chen, Li Yanshan, and Xiao Liu. Elder Yun refuses to react and leads his companions away. One disciple threatens him, while Li Yanshan advises Fang Chen to fight enemies in the Trial Space only when he has the advantage.
• After an hour of gathering, a huge, cracked Great Bell appears above Heavenly Lake, radiating an immense, oppressive force.

Character developments

• Fang Chen is increasingly confident in his sword flight, but his instinct to defend Elder Yun shows his loyalty and temper. He accepts Li Yanshan’s practical advice.
• Zhang Tielin emerges stronger and more self-assured after reaching the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. He now considers Fang Chen a credible threat.
• Zhang Xu remains dependent on Tielin’s fortunes and is eager to keep him from missing the trial.
• Elder Yun displays restraint and composure in the face of public humiliation.
• Li Yanshan acts as a calm, pragmatic guide, counseling Fang Chen to avoid needless confrontations.

Significant themes

• Competition for resources: The Trial Path offers medicine, beast materials, and a chance to become an Inner Disciple, making it crucial to the disciples’ advancement.
• Power and rivalry: Tielin’s breakthrough intensifies his confidence and his hostility toward Fang Chen.
• Restraint and survival: Elder Yun ignores provocation, while Li Yanshan emphasizes choosing battles wisely.
• Prejudice and status: The Green Support Peak disciples use physical disabilities and perceived weakness to demean Elder Yun and his companions.

Character interactions

• Zhang Xu urges Tielin to join the trial, and Tielin questions him about Zhang Qining before setting out.
• Fang Chen travels under Elder Yun’s lead, with Li Yanshan explaining the barrier and the trial’s entrance.
• When Fang Chen is angered by the insults, Elder Yun stops him; Xiao Liu barks back, and the Green Support Peak disciples’ hostility is checked by their fear of punishment.
• Li Yanshan encourages Fang Chen to respond decisively to dangerous enemies in the Trial Space, but to flee when outmatched.

• The Glazed Bell is revealed: Above Heavenly Lake hangs the Glazed Bell, a damaged Saint Weapon and one of the Glazed Sword Sect’s three greatest treasures. Li Yanshan explains that the sect needs it to open the Trial Path. Its Dao Resonance also aids cultivation, sometimes bringing cultivators to Enlightenment.
• Fang Chen discovers a new art: As the disciples meditate beneath the bell, Fang Chen circulates the Glazed Qi Refining Art. The bell’s unusual Spiritual Power strengthens his cultivation and leads him into an Enlightenment-like vision. When the bell rings, its engraved characters form the Glazed Body Refining Art, a technique focused on refining the body and apparently related to the Qi Refining Art.
• The lake is drained: The bell spins and draws all the water from Heavenly Lake into the sky, lifting its creatures with it. The exposed lakebed is scattered with remains, including enormous skeletons, while mist hides the lake’s center.
• Disciples receive storage cranes: Colorful Glazed Paper Cranes emerge from the bell and settle before the disciples. Li Yanshan explains that the Mana-made cranes can store Glazed Mushrooms and other items, preserving their Spiritual Power. Each disciple marks a crane with an Identity Token, forming a personal connection to it.
• A new arrival: An imposing, gray-haired elder in a yellow robe descends beneath the bell, setting up the next development.
  Character developments and interactions: Fang Chen is awed by the bell and gains access to a new body-refining cultivation art through Enlightenment. Li Yanshan acts as his guide, explaining the bell and the paper cranes; Fang Chen follows his example and marks his own crane. The gathered disciples, Elder Yun, and even Xiao Liu join the meditation.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes the sect’s lost former glory, the mysterious power of ancient treasures, cultivation through insight, and the promise—and danger—of the secrets hidden beneath Heavenly Lake.

Plot points and events

• The Yellow Springs Peak Master, Huang Su, forms sand bridges across Heavenly Lake and opens the Trial Path.
• Elder Yun, Li Yanshan, Fang Chen, and the other entrants cross the lake. Elder Yun explains that entrants will be scattered randomly inside the trial grounds so they can search more widely for Glazed Mushrooms.
• Elder Yun jumps into the mist with Xiao Liu and his Glazed Paper Crane. Fang Chen and Li Yanshan follow, but the mist separates them.
• Fang Chen lands safely in a vast, red-glowing mountain range, cushioned by his seven-colored Glazed Paper Crane. He finds himself among enormous, ancient Black Scale Red Leaf Pines, whose fallen needles conceal the sought-after Glazed Mushrooms.
• Curious about the trees’ valuable spiritual power, Fang Chen strikes one with the Floating Immortal Sword. The bark repels the blow, but the sword transfers a torrent of Spiritual Power into him. Unable to refine it quickly enough with the Glazed Qi Refining Art, he fears his dantian will burst.
• Fang Chen recalls the newly acquired Glazed Body Refining Art and begins cultivating it. His body starts absorbing the excess Spiritual Power, offering a possible solution to the crisis.

Character development and interactions

• Fang Chen remains curious and resourceful: he admires the Peak Master’s sand-manipulation, appreciates the paper crane’s playful behavior, and experiments with the ancient trees despite the risk. When overwhelmed, he quickly remembers and applies a new technique.
• Elder Yun is practical and protective, warning Fang Chen that the group will be separated and explaining the trial’s search strategy. He enters first, carrying Xiao Liu.
• Li Yanshan stays composed and encouraging, smiling at Fang Chen before they jump into the mist together.
• Fang Chen’s Glazed Paper Crane shows playful, almost shy behavior and protects him from the fall.

Significant themes

• Trial and independence: Random dispersal forces each entrant to rely on themselves.
• Cultivation through risk: Fang Chen’s curiosity leads to danger, but also to an unexpected opportunity to use a newly learned technique.
• The value of nature’s resources: The ancient pines and their Spiritual Power are powerful, valuable, and difficult to exploit safely.
• Adaptation and ingenuity: Fang Chen responds to a crisis by drawing on knowledge acquired only moments earlier.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen uses the Floating Immortal Sword to strike ten-thousand-year-old Black Scale Red Leaf Pines. Though the sword cannot damage their nearly indestructible bark, each strike channels Spiritual Power into him, which he refines with the Glazed Qi Refining and Glazed Body Refining Arts.
• When the power from one tree weakens, he moves to another. He decides this safe, efficient training is more worthwhile than searching for Glazed Mushrooms, especially given the trial’s limited number of Inner Disciple places.
• After about an hour, Fang Chen breaks through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, entering the middle stage. His increased strength lets him refine incoming Spiritual Power more quickly, and he continues training.
• During a state of Enlightenment, he sees a hidden Glazed Mushroom beneath pine needles. It is Top Grade—the most valuable kind—and he carefully digs it up intact.
• He has the Glazed Paper Crane preserve the mushroom, then hears someone approach. The newcomer is Zhang Tielin, who recognizes Fang Chen; Zhang’s gaze turns hostile. The chapter ends before they interact further.

Character developments

• Fang Chen is pragmatic and focused on becoming stronger: he prioritizes reliable cultivation over competing for scarce trial rewards. His growing skill with the refining arts and rapid breakthrough show his adaptability and potential.
• His Enlightenment also gives him an unexpected advantage in finding hidden mushrooms, allowing him to benefit from the trial’s rewards without abandoning his training.
• Zhang Tielin appears at the end, immediately reacting to Fang Chen with hostility; his intentions are not yet revealed.

Significant themes

• Strength through persistence: Repeated, seemingly fruitless sword strikes steadily build Fang Chen’s power.
• Pragmatism and opportunity: Fang Chen chooses the path he believes will best advance his cultivation, while remaining open to unexpected gains.
• Talent and insight: Enlightenment transforms Fang Chen’s awareness, helping him discover a valuable resource others might miss.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen’s main “interaction” is with the Black Scale Red Leaf Pines, whose resistance both tests him and supplies Spiritual Power through his sword.
• He works with the Glazed Paper Crane to store the delicate mushroom safely.
• His encounter with Zhang Tielin sets up a likely confrontation, but no words or actions between them occur before the chapter ends.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen unexpectedly encounters his enemy Zhang Tielin on the Trial Path, where fighting is unlikely to bring legal consequences.
• Zhang accuses Fang of killing Zhang Qining. Fang confirms it and says he dissolved the body with Corpse Dissolving Water.
• The two fight. Though Zhang initially seems to have an advantage in cultivation, Fang’s Fourth Layer Qi Refining and powerful techniques let him wound Zhang and withstand his attacks.
• Zhang reveals he has reached the Fifth Layer. Realizing Fang is growing stronger and could become harder to kill, he takes a Berserk Pill.
• The pill drives Zhang’s power up to the peak of the Seventh Layer. His strengthened strike knocks Fang back against a tree, but the Floating Immortal Sword sends restorative warmth through Fang, healing his pain and steadying his Qi.

Character developments

• Fang Chen is more confident and capable than before, using his swordsmanship, movement technique, and unusually forceful True Qi to challenge a stronger opponent. He remains alert to the danger of Zhang’s sudden power boost.
• Zhang Tielin is enraged by Fang’s admission about Zhang Qining. His shock at Fang’s rapid progress turns into urgency, prompting him to use a dangerous pill to gain the upper hand.

Themes

• Revenge and mortal enmity: Both men see the encounter as a chance to settle their conflict.
• Power and rapid growth: Fang’s progress unsettles Zhang, while Zhang resorts to a pill for a temporary advantage.
• Risk and escalation: The fight intensifies as each side reveals greater strength, leaving Fang facing a formidable opponent.

Character interactions

• Fang and Zhang exchange hostile accusations and threats before fighting.
• Zhang attacks with golden Sword Qi; Fang deflects and counters with sword strikes and palm attacks.
• Their clash reveals that Zhang is stronger in raw cultivation, but Fang’s forceful Qi and the Floating Immortal Sword help him endure the confrontation.

Chapter Summary: “Killing Zhang Tielin”

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Tielin, empowered by pills, overwhelms Fang Chen with powerful sword attacks. Fang Chen is repeatedly battered, but the Floating Immortal Sword’s surging energy rapidly heals his injuries and strengthens him.
• Unable to defeat Fang Chen at range, Zhang Tielin attacks at close quarters. Fang Chen deliberately lets Zhang’s sword pierce his body, creating an opening to sever Zhang’s right arm with the Floating Immortal Sword.
• Zhang tries to take more medicine. Fang Chen interrupts him with Sword Qi, but Zhang manages to swallow another dose, pushing his cultivation to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining at the cost of severe physical damage.
• Zhang launches a furious barrage of attacks. Fang Chen’s perception sharpens, allowing him to deflect the Sword Qi and instinctively execute a powerful move from the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.
• Fang Chen’s green Sword Qi pierces Zhang between the brows, killing him.

Character developments

• Fang Chen displays extreme endurance and tactical resolve. Rather than simply trying to overpower Zhang, he accepts a serious wound to create the chance to disarm him. His growing strength and swordsmanship culminate in a decisive technique.
• Zhang Tielin becomes increasingly desperate, relying on successive doses of medicine to boost his power. His refusal to yield ultimately worsens his condition and leaves him vulnerable to Fang Chen’s counterattack.

Significant themes

• Endurance and resolve: Fang Chen survives repeated, brutal attacks and continues fighting.
• Power at a cost: Zhang’s pills temporarily increase his strength but visibly damage his body.
• Tactical sacrifice: Fang Chen turns a wound into an opportunity, showing that victory depends on judgment as well as strength.
• Growth under pressure: The fight brings Fang Chen’s latent perception and sword skill into sharper focus.

Character interactions

• The confrontation is a contest of escalating force and defiance: Zhang repeatedly tries to finish Fang Chen, while Fang Chen refuses to stay down.
• After losing his arm, Zhang’s rage drives him to take another dose of medicine and launch a final assault. Fang Chen answers with the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, ending the conflict.

Key plot points and events

• After killing Zhang Tielin, Fang Chen is healed and replenished by the Floating Immortal Sword. Refining its Spiritual Power also strengthens his cultivation, bringing him to the peak of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.
• Fang Chen confirms Zhang Tielin is dead, then searches his body and finds pills and talismans. He leaves behind the spirit treasures that spill from Zhang Tielin’s exploding dantian, wary of the trouble that taking a fellow disciple’s belongings could cause.
• Zhang Tielin’s Glazed Paper Crane flies away after his death, puzzling Fang Chen.
• Moving deeper along the Trial Path, Fang Chen chops Black Scale Red Leaf Pines to absorb Spiritual Power. The increasing gravity makes progress difficult, but the sword’s help restores his strength. Despite cutting down thousands of trees, he does not enter Enlightenment or find Glazed Mushrooms.
• As night approaches and the sword’s replenishing power fades, Fang Chen seeks shelter. He enters a lush valley seemingly full of animals and valuable herbs, only for the scene to vanish instantly. The valley becomes barren and silent, scattered with skeletons.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen grows stronger and more cautious. Though pleased by Zhang Tielin’s death and the treasures he finds, he refuses to risk taking the spirit treasures left behind.
• His interactions with Zhang Tielin are limited to confirming the kill and searching the corpse; afterward, he avoids other disciples, who remain focused on finding Glazed Mushrooms.
• Fang Chen’s confidence at the sight of the valley’s riches quickly turns to confusion when the landscape transforms around him.

Significant themes

• Power and its costs: The Floating Immortal Sword heals and strengthens Fang Chen, but its aid is limited and dwindles with time.
• Caution and reputation: Fang Chen avoids taking a fellow disciple’s property because it could bring consequences.
• Deception and danger: The valley’s alluring appearance gives way to a desolate, unsettling reality, suggesting that the Trial Path holds threats beyond physical hardship.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen realizes the valley of spirit medicines he had seen was likely an illusion and finds himself facing an eerie, unfamiliar valley.
• Bell tolls lead him to an ancient ruin called Glazed City, where he sees a breached gate, ruined weapons, and the skeletons of humans and Demonic Beasts.
• With night approaching and a storm gathering, Fang Chen enters the city to find shelter. The rain turns into foul-smelling red mist that poisons him.
• The city’s street and gate vanish when he tries to escape. His Detoxification Pills fail, and he collapses after coughing up blood.
• A graceful woman carrying an oil-paper umbrella approaches him. He later wakes in a simple stone room, alive and apparently recovering from his poisoning.

Character developments

• Fang Chen recognizes that his earlier excitement made him careless, but he continues into the ruin despite its danger. When trapped and poisoned, he acts quickly—first trying his sword, then using the pills he has available.
• His fear and helplessness become clear as his strength fails. Upon waking, his confusion gives way to astonishment at the woman who appears to have rescued him.
• The woman is introduced as beautiful and mysterious, but her identity, motives, and abilities remain unknown.

Significant themes

• Caution versus curiosity: Fang Chen’s eagerness leads him into danger, and the city’s ominous clues test his judgment.
• Ancient mysteries and entrapment: Glazed City appears to be governed by a powerful formation that distorts space and blocks escape.
• Survival and vulnerability: Fang Chen’s usual tools and medicine prove ineffective against the red mist, leaving his life dependent on an unknown rescuer.
• Illusion and uncertainty: From the false valley to the vanished streets, Fang Chen cannot trust what he sees.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen has no direct conversation with anyone in this chapter. His encounter with the mysterious umbrella-carrying woman is the central interaction: she finds him unconscious and apparently brings him to shelter, while he wakes to see her for the first time.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen wakes in a room after being rescued by Ye Qingci, the woman with the paper umbrella. Still too weak to move, he accepts her help and learns her name.
• He insists he will repay her for saving his life, though she says it was no trouble.
• Ye Qingci prepares mushroom soup for the starving, recovering Fang Chen. He verifies that his Floating Immortal Sword is still with him, then eats the entire pot.
• The soup makes him flush, feverish, and intensely thirsty. He realizes he has been poisoned: the mushrooms had red caps and white stalks.
• Ye Qingci is alarmed and offers him a rare, five-lined Detoxification Pill given to her by her father. The chapter ends as Fang Chen examines it.

Character developments

• Fang Chen remains determined to repay kindness, even while weak. His memories of his mother’s hardship surface when he praises the soup, revealing his grief and affection for her.
• Ye Qingci is gentle and attentive, caring for Fang Chen personally. Her confidence in the mushrooms proves misplaced, but she responds quickly and compassionately when she learns he is poisoned.

Significant themes

• Gratitude and reciprocity: Fang Chen treats rescue as a debt he must honor; Ye Qingci sees it as an ordinary kindness.
• Care and vulnerability: Fang Chen depends on Ye Qingci while recovering, while her well-meant act of feeding him unexpectedly puts him in danger.
• Memory and loss: The soup’s taste brings Fang Chen’s sorrowful memories of his mother to the surface.

Character interactions

• Ye Qingci helps Fang Chen sit up, gives him water, and cooks for him; he thanks her repeatedly and promises to repay her.
• Fang Chen praises her soup, which delights her, but then questions what mushrooms she used when he starts feeling ill.
• Once he identifies the poisoning, Ye Qingci anxiously offers her father’s pill, showing her concern for his safety.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qingci gives Fang Chen a precious Fifth-grade Detoxification Pill, but it worsens the heat and pain caused by the poison in his body.
• She empties her Storage Bag and offers him more antidote pills, including a Sixth-grade Snow Lotus Pill. Fang Chen refuses and suspects that striking something with his sword may help purge the poison.
• Outside, he repeatedly strikes a stone lion with the Floating Immortal Sword. The impacts draw a scorching current into him, gradually easing his symptoms and increasing the True Qi in his dantian.
• Fang Chen breaks through to a new cultivation level. A Golden Flame spreads through his body and neutralizes the poison.
• Once recovered, he thanks Ye Qingci, who feels guilty for nearly causing his death. She gives him her brother’s clothes and directs him to a nearby pool to bathe.
• When Fang Chen returns, Ye Qingci is sitting silently by the door. She initially does not respond to him; when she finally looks up, Fang Chen recoils in alarm.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen remains composed and resourceful under extreme pain, trusts his own judgment over the available pills, and turns the crisis into a breakthrough. He also reassures Ye Qingci and expresses sincere gratitude.
• Ye Qingci is alarmed when her antidote fails and tries urgently to help. After Fang Chen recovers, her guilt gives way to concern and practical kindness, though her withdrawn behavior at the end hints that something is troubling her.
• Their relationship shows growing trust: she tries to save him, and he comforts her rather than blaming her. The final moment abruptly shifts the mood and leaves their interaction unresolved.

Significant themes

• Turning misfortune into opportunity: Fang Chen’s poisoning becomes the catalyst for a breakthrough.
• Self-reliance and intuition: He finds an unconventional remedy when standard medicine fails.
• Care, guilt, and forgiveness: Ye Qingci feels responsible, while Fang Chen responds with gratitude and reassurance.
• Suspense: Ye Qingci’s unresponsive, altered-looking gaze at the end raises a new concern.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen finds Ye Qingci in a strange, vacant-eyed state and tries to help her. Her brother arrives, warns Fang Chen not to touch her, then uses a golden technique to restore her awareness.
• Ye Qingci embraces her brother and asks about the Nether Flower. He says he has not obtained it because zombies in the Hall of the Undead blocked his way.
• Her brother distrusts Fang Chen, objects to him wearing his clothes, and scolds Ye Qingci for being too trusting. Ye Qingci explains that she rescued Fang Chen after finding him unconscious from poison and gave him the clothes.
• Despite Ye Qingci’s concern for Fang Chen, her brother takes her away, leaving Fang Chen alone. Fang Chen decides not to follow them and tries to leave the ancient city.
• His sword will not fly even though its aerial formation appears intact. He also discovers that the higher he climbs, the stronger an unseen pressure becomes, suggesting the city is governed by a restrictive force or law. He sets off on foot to find an exit.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qingci remains compassionate and protective: she defends Fang Chen from her brother’s suspicion and worries about leaving him in danger. She also acknowledges her brother’s warning and promises to be more careful.
• Fang Chen is grateful to Ye Qingci but cautious around her hostile brother. Once alone, he investigates the city’s strange restrictions and prioritizes escape.
• Ye Qingci’s brother is cold and fiercely protective of his sister. His anger softens when she admits fault, but he remains wary of Fang Chen and removes Ye Qingci from his company. His tenderness toward his sister contrasts with his suspicion of strangers.

Significant themes

• Kindness versus caution: Ye Qingci’s generosity saves Fang Chen but worries her brother, who believes strangers may betray kindness.
• Protective family bonds: The brother’s sternness and Ye Qingci’s affection reveal a close, devoted sibling relationship.
• Uncertainty and danger: The city’s zombies, oppressive force, and failure of Fang Chen’s flying sword emphasize that its rules and threats remain unclear.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Ye Kong brings Ye Qingci to a stone house in the ancient city, where he uses magically animated beans to summon puppet attendants and have them clean and furnish the place.
• After briefly cultivating to recover, he lets his sleeping sister rest. When she wakes, she asks to accompany him into danger rather than remain alone; he agrees.
• The chapter explains why Ye Kong is risking everything: the siblings belong to the powerful Ye Family of the Central Land, descended from the Xuanhuang Great Emperor, but their father’s low status and their mother’s death have left them isolated and neglected.
• Ye Qingci has a mysterious, incurable illness. Ye Kong believes a Nether Flower may cure her, but it can only be sought in the Glazed Sword Sect’s Trial Path—and even a successful picker may find the flower withers upon leaving Glazed City.
• To enter the Trial Path, Ye Kong sacrificed his Deity Transformation cultivation, paid dearly for preparations and access, and accepted a seven-day limit. The path’s laws have further restricted his strength.

Character developments

• Ye Kong is established as exceptionally devoted and self-sacrificing: he values his sister’s life above his cultivation, status, or future.
• Ye Qingci is frail and unable to cultivate, but emotionally courageous. Though she fears being a burden and has considered dying to spare her brother, she chooses to stay by his side.
• Their decision to face the Trial Path together deepens their mutual dependence and gives Ye Qingci a more active role in the journey.

Character interactions

• Ye Kong treats Ye Qingci with gentle care, covering her with a quilt while she sleeps.
• Ye Qingci pleads to accompany him, insisting that she would rather face danger with him than be left alone. After hesitating, Ye Kong agrees.
• The siblings’ tenderness contrasts with the indifference and hostility they have experienced from their family.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and sacrifice: Ye Kong willingly gives up power and risks his life for his sister.
• Isolation and hardship: Despite their prestigious lineage, the siblings receive no support or affection from their family.
• Love as strength: Ye Qingci’s bond with her brother helps her endure despair, while her request to share his danger shapes their path forward.
• Hope amid uncertainty: The Nether Flower may be inaccessible or nonexistent, but Ye Kong continues despite the odds.

Key plot points

• Ye Kong brings Ye Qingci to the enormous, damaged Glazed Hall to search for a Nether Flower that may cure her illness. Because the pressure inside is too dangerous for her, he leaves her waiting outside.
• After three hours, Fang Chen finds Ye Qingci while wandering the maze-like, deserted city, unable to locate an exit and suffering from hunger.
• Ye Qingci explains her recurring illness, her brother’s efforts to find a cure, and the mistreatment she and Ye Kong have faced within their powerful Ye family.
• A scream and crash from inside the hall reveal that Ye Kong may be in danger. Fang Chen volunteers to help, despite Ye Qingci’s warnings, and enters the hall.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qingci remains trusting and affectionate, openly confiding in Fang Chen. Her concern for Ye Kong—and later for Fang Chen—shows how deeply she values those close to her.
• Fang Chen feels sympathy for Ye Qingci and reflects on how hardship is not limited to the poor: even powerful families can be divided by selfishness. Though hungry and wary of the hall’s danger, he acts selflessly to help her brother.
• Ye Kong is absent from most of the chapter, but his care for Ye Qingci is clear in his search for a cure and his decision to keep her out of danger.
• Fang Chen and Ye Qingci reconnect warmly, with Fang Chen maintaining respectful distance while they talk.

Significant themes

• Family and self-interest: Ye Qingci’s account challenges Fang Chen’s belief that shared blood guarantees loyalty; power and profit can undermine family bonds.
• Suffering and compassion: Comparing their hardships leads Fang Chen to greater empathy, and his willingness to risk himself turns that compassion into action.
• Hope and sacrifice: Ye Kong’s search for a cure—and Ye Qingci’s hope that he succeeds—underscores the sacrifices made for loved ones.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen enters the Glazed Hall and is nearly overwhelmed by its crushing pressure. He finds a blood-red barrier covered in golden runes, with fighting audible beyond it.
• Striking the barrier hurts Fang Chen, but the Floating Immortal Sword sends its backlash into him as potent red Spiritual Power. He refines it with the Glazed Body Refining Art, greatly strengthening his body.
• Fang Chen repeatedly attacks the barrier. As he withstands its force, his swordsmanship improves; after half an hour, he comprehends Sword Intent and cuts a long opening through the barrier.
• Inside, he discovers a black pool, an altar, and a strange orchid-like Spirit Medicine bearing black leaves, red eye-shaped markings, and blue flowers—the likely Nether Flower Ye Qingci’s brother seeks.
• Ye Kong is fighting zombies that continually emerge from the pool. Fang Chen joins the fight, but his sword cannot harm one, and it strikes him hard. The Floating Immortal Sword again channels Spiritual Power into him, healing his pain but burdening him with more energy to refine.
• Ye Kong recognizes Fang Chen and reacts with surprise or hostility.

Character developments

• Fang Chen grows stronger through the barrier’s repeated backlash and develops Sword Intent, allowing him to breach it. His confidence and combat ability are tested when the zombies prove far tougher than expected.
• Ye Kong is revealed as a powerful, resilient fighter, protected by a golden glow of tiny scales, but even he cannot reach the altar while the zombies keep emerging.

Significant themes

• Growth through adversity: Fang Chen turns painful setbacks into physical cultivation and swordsmanship breakthroughs.
• Power and its limits: His new Sword Intent can pierce the barrier, but it does not overcome the zombies.
• Persistent danger: The zombies’ endless emergence from the pool makes the Nether Flower difficult to reach, even for a formidable fighter.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen initially confronts the barrier alone, using its resistance to strengthen himself.
• He then encounters Ye Kong amid the zombie battle and attempts to help, but is immediately knocked down by a zombie.
• Ye Kong spots Fang Chen and addresses him with a startled, tense “You?”

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen offers Ye Kong help, but Ye Kong angrily refuses, fearing Fang Chen will take the Nether Flower he needs to save his younger sister.
• The Nether Flower emits a powerful pulse that causes both men intense pain. Fang Chen eases his suffering by drawing Spiritual Power from the Floating Immortal Sword; Ye Kong has no such relief and is overwhelmed by zombies.
• Ye Kong unleashes Xuanhuang Transformation, gaining a formidable golden aura and the strength to destroy the zombies and red skeletons emerging from a black pool.
• Ye Kong attacks the Nether Flower. Its leaves withstand his first spear thrust and blast him away. He then uses Golden Dragon Emerges from the Sea, building power through repeated spins before piercing the flower’s leaves.
• The strike destroys the leaves, but the backlash badly wounds Ye Kong and throws him far from the altar. The pressure returns, dropping Fang Chen and the debris to the ground. A cluster of blue flowers lands near Fang Chen.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen remains concerned for Ye Kong despite being rebuffed, partly because Ye Qingci once saved his life. He watches Ye Kong’s transformation and assault with growing shock, while continuing to fight the creatures.
• Ye Kong is shown as fiercely distrustful and single-minded about obtaining the Nether Flower for his sister. When cornered, he reveals extraordinary power and determination, but succeeds only at tremendous personal cost.
• Their relationship remains tense: Fang Chen tries to help, Ye Kong rejects him, and Fang Chen nevertheless prepares to intervene when Ye Kong is swarmed.

Significant themes

• Family devotion and sacrifice: Ye Kong’s desperation over the flower is rooted in his sister’s survival.
• Distrust versus compassion: Ye Kong suspects Fang Chen, yet Fang Chen still feels responsible for his safety.
• Power and its cost: Ye Kong’s transformation lets him challenge overwhelming enemies, but his final attack leaves him gravely injured.
• Nature’s resilience and danger: The Nether Flower and altar resist damage and unleash powerful defenses, making the prize far more perilous than expected.