Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• After advancing to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, Fang Chen outgrows the first spirit spring and moves to increasingly powerful pools, drawing enormous vortices as he absorbs their Spiritual Power.
• He cultivates in the Crescent Moon Pool but does not break through there. As his cultivation rises, converting Spiritual Qi into True Qi becomes less efficient, so progress slows.
• Fang Chen’s unusual cultivation attracts crowds of Inner Disciples. News of him spreads through the sect, and his example sparks a wave of interest in body tempering.
• Ten days later, Fang Chen reaches the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. His onlookers doubt the rumor that he has no Spiritual Root, given how quickly he advances.
• Despite the breakthrough, Fang Chen’s physical strength has stalled near the threshold of the First Layer of the Glazed Golden Body Art. While reflecting on the problem, he synchronizes his trembling muscles with his heartbeat, seemingly breaking an internal barrier. His muscles swell, red runes appear on his skin, and a powerful aura surges—suggesting a breakthrough in body tempering.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen remains intensely driven, repeatedly seeking stronger pools and pressing on even when cultivation grows harder. His frustration over his body’s plateau leads him to focus inward and discover a possible solution.
• The Inner Disciples shift from curious observers to enthusiastic admirers. They follow Fang Chen, trade stories about his feats, and debate whether someone without a Spiritual Root could really progress so quickly.
• Fang Chen’s example affects the wider sect: disciples who rarely tempered their bodies begin cultivating in Spirit Spring Valley.

Significant themes

• Persistence and adaptation: Fang Chen responds to diminishing returns by seeking stronger training and examining his own limits.
• Growth and its costs: Higher cultivation brings greater power, but refinement becomes increasingly difficult.
• Inspiration and reputation: Fang Chen’s conspicuous achievements reshape others’ beliefs about him and motivate them to train.

Key events

• Fang Chen completes the first layer of the Glazed Golden Body, activating Glazed Battle Runes that temporarily multiply his strength tenfold. He demonstrates the power with a punch that blasts a column of water from a distant pool.
• After ten days in Spirit Spring Valley, he leaves and takes his first Blood Lotus Seed, following True Person Liuli’s warning to wait until his body was strong enough.
• The seed’s fierce medicinal power causes him extreme pain. Fang Chen uses the Floating Immortal Sword’s spiritual energy and the Floating Immortal Art to refine it, cutting down trees as he struggles through the process.
• He consumes the remaining seeds over three days. His cultivation rises to the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and his body becomes stronger.
• Having fulfilled two of Senior Glazed’s three conditions, Fang Chen heads to Mad Demon Cave to reach its third level. The cave’s formation repels him, and an elderly man approaches and challenges him.

Character development and interactions

• Fang Chen’s disciplined cultivation pays off: he gains a major physical-power boost and grows strong enough to endure the Blood Lotus Seeds’ dangerous effects.
• He shows grit by enduring the seeds’ bitterness and pain rather than abandoning the refinement.
• The Inner Disciples at Spirit Spring Valley are astonished by his aura and endurance, discussing his ten-day stay after he leaves.
• True Person Liuli’s advice proves crucial: Fang Chen recognizes that taking the seeds before mastering the Glazed Golden Body could have killed him.
• The old man’s arrival at Mad Demon Cave sets up Fang Chen’s next encounter, though their exchange has only just begun.

Significant themes

• Strength through disciplined preparation: Fang Chen waits until he meets the required condition before taking the seeds.
• Pain as part of advancement: His progress demands enduring severe physical suffering.
• Power and its risks: The same medicine that strengthens Fang Chen could have destroyed him had his body been unprepared.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen arrives at the Mad Demon Cave and identifies himself as an Inner Disciple of Glazed Peak, showing the guardian his identity token.
• He explains that Senior Glazed sent him to complete a three-month challenge: reach the cave’s third level. The guardian doubts the task is possible, given the cave’s deadly hazards and malfunctioning restrictions.
• Fang Chen presents the rare black-skull token that authorizes entry. The guardian opens the sealed entrance, warns him not to risk his life, and lets him proceed.
• Inside, the cave suppresses Fang Chen’s True Qi. He climbs a vast staircase under steadily intensifying physical and spiritual pressure, resisting the temptation to use his sword to force his way forward.
• After adapting and reaching the top of the stairs, Fang Chen discovers Elder Yun, Li Yanshan, and Wu Qingfeng tied to stone pillars, badly injured. Little Six has been killed. Li Yanshan says the enforcement squad took them from Dog Head Ridge and tortured them for information about Fang Chen.

Character developments

• Fang Chen shows resolve and discipline: despite the guardian’s warnings, he enters the cave and relies on his own strength rather than using his sword to bypass the trial.
• The guardian is initially skeptical and concerned, but accepts Fang Chen’s rare token and permits him to enter.
• Li Yanshan is wounded but conscious; his account reveals that he and the others endured torture without giving up information about Fang Chen.

Significant themes

• Perseverance and self-reliance: Fang Chen deliberately faces the cave’s pressure without relying on his weapon.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Li Yanshan and the others suffer rather than betray Fang Chen.
• Danger and resolve: Fang Chen’s ambitious trial is set against the cave’s lethal conditions, while the discovery of the prisoners adds an urgent personal threat.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen respectfully establishes his identity and explains his mission to the guardian, who cautions him before opening the cave.
• Inside, Fang Chen’s solitary struggle against the cave’s pressure tests his determination.
• He reunites with the captive Li Yanshan and Elder Yun, urgently asking what happened; Li Yanshan identifies the enforcement squad as their captors and reveals Little Six’s death.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen finds Li Yanshan, Elder Yun, and Wu Qingfeng bound to a pillar. His Floating Immortal Sword cannot cut their restraints, which Zhang Daoling—also known as True Person Liuli, the Peak Master of Glazed Peak—identifies as a Fourth-Tier Spirit Treasure.
• Liuli admits he arranged the abduction. His cultivation has been stalled in the Nascent Soul Realm since he damaged his foundation while repairing the Glazed Sword, and he wants Fang Chen’s Battle Saint Body to gain a powerful new body.
• Liuli reveals that Fang Chen’s supposed damaged Life Wheel and short lifespan were lies. He deliberately strengthened Fang Chen’s body with the Glazed Golden Body and Blood Lotus Seed to prepare it for possession. He also killed Fang Chen’s former servants.
• To unsettle Fang Chen and make possession easier, Liuli kills Li Yanshan, Elder Yun, and Wu Qingfeng in front of him. Fang Chen attacks, but Liuli immobilizes him and begins trying to drag his soul from his body.
• Fang Chen activates the Glazed Battle Runes, weakening Liuli’s hold. He strikes Liuli’s neck, but the apparent victory is strange: no blood appears, Liuli dissolves into white motes, and the surrounding space breaks apart like glass.

Character developments

• Fang Chen moves from disbelief to fury and grief, but resists Liuli’s possession through sheer determination and the power of his Battle Runes.
• True Person Liuli is exposed as a calculating, desperate antagonist. Fear of aging and death has driven him to deceive Fang Chen, exploit his trust, and murder those close to him.
• Li Yanshan, Elder Yun, and Wu Qingfeng are killed while captive, their deaths intended to break Fang Chen’s resolve.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Liuli turns his position as a mentor and elder into a means of manipulating Fang Chen.
• Ambition versus morality: Liuli justifies any cruelty as self-preservation, while Fang Chen’s loyalty to others remains central to him.
• Resistance and defiance: Fang Chen refuses to surrender even when physically overpowered and under attack at the level of his soul.
• Reality and illusion: Liuli’s disappearance and the shattering space suggest that Fang Chen may not be seeing events as they truly are.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen repeatedly refuses Li Yanshan’s plea to escape, insisting he will not abandon the captives.
• Liuli reveals his scheme and taunts Fang Chen, then kills the captives to provoke him.
• Fang Chen answers Liuli’s cruelty with an attack and inward resistance, ultimately using his Battle Runes to break free and strike back.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen emerges from the first level of the Mad Demon Cave after escaping a terrifying illusion with the help of his Glazed Battle Runes. The Floating Immortal Sword sends a surge of energy through him, restoring his spirits.
• The cave’s white-haired guardian is surprised that Fang Chen cleared the first level in under two hours. He warns that the second level is far more dangerous and could kill Fang Chen, but Fang Chen insists on continuing.
• As Fang Chen enters the forest that marks the second level, the sky fills with red lightning and the trees ignite. Though he recognizes the scene as an illusion, its heat and pain affect both his body and soul.
• A fiery lion attacks and knocks Fang Chen into the flames. The sword’s energy eases his pain, and Fang Chen activates the Glazed Battle Runes to protect himself. Using the Misty Turtle Step, he kills the lion, whose fiery body dissolves.
• The sword replenishes Fang Chen’s strength, allowing him to press on through the burning forest. He defeats a fire lizard, but a burning willow branch suddenly coils around his ankle and drags him deeper into the flames.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen remains determined and cautious: despite the guardian’s warning, he chooses to face the second level. He relies on his composure, combat skills, Glazed Battle Runes, and the Floating Immortal Sword to withstand the trial.
• The white-haired guardian shifts from surprise at Fang Chen’s quick success to concern about the danger ahead. He warns Fang Chen and explains how to enter the next challenge, but respects Fang Chen’s decision.
• The Floating Immortal Sword acts as a vital aid, repeatedly supplying energy that eases Fang Chen’s suffering and sustains his defenses.

Significant themes

• Resolve in the face of danger: Fang Chen knowingly accepts a deadly challenge rather than retreat.
• The line between illusion and reality: The forest is an illusion, yet its pain and threats feel physically and spiritually real.
• Dependence and endurance: Fang Chen’s techniques and sword help him survive, but the second level’s escalating dangers continue to test his limits.

Plot and key events

• Trapped in a sea of fire, Fang Chen cuts free from a burning willow branch with the Floating Immortal Sword. Red branches then overwhelm his defenses and wound him, but the pain triggers a breakthrough: he can see through the flames and perceive the bloodred willow controlling them.
• With this enhanced perception, he anticipates and cuts down the branches. The pressure of the mysterious Law breaks, his True Qi begins to circulate freely, and his strength surges.
• Fang Chen charges the tree using his sword technique, Flowing Clouds Rolling Moon, but a golden branch withstands his attack and badly injures him. The Floating Immortal Sword flares with Sword Intent, heals his wound, and enables him to sever the golden branch.
• The branch’s golden sap marks his skin with Runes. After tasting it, Fang Chen discovers that it strengthens both his body and his soul, filling him with energy and sharpening his mind.
• He cuts down nearly all the tree’s branches, reaches its base, and finds rusted weapons left by cultivators who died in earlier trials.
• When Fang Chen strikes the trunk, his sword becomes lodged in it. The tree’s sap flows into the Floating Immortal Sword, strengthening its Sword Intent and sending Spiritual Power and golden energy into Fang Chen’s Soul Origin, which begins to grow stronger.

Character development and interactions

• Fang Chen shifts from desperate defense to determined attack as pain awakens his perception and helps him break through the Law’s suppression.
• His resourcefulness and confidence increase as he learns to use the Floating Immortal Sword and the tree’s sap to his advantage.
• The only direct conflict is Fang Chen’s battle with the sentient-seeming willow, which attacks him through its branches. Their struggle also reveals the sword’s capacity to absorb the tree’s power.

Significant themes

• Growth through adversity: Fang Chen’s suffering precipitates a breakthrough.
• Power and transformation: The sap, sword, and Soul Origin all become stronger through their interaction.
• Risk and reward: Defeating a dangerous trial yields rare benefits, but the rewards come at considerable physical cost.

Key plot points and events

• After the forest fire, the ancient willow cracks apart and burns to ash, leaving a fist-sized golden crystal. Fang Chen recognizes it as a Willow Heart and has Little Crane store it.
• The ground collapses beneath Fang Chen, and red mist carries him into a vast, empty plaza. The Mad Demon Cave guardian sees that Fang Chen has cleared the Second Layer and enters to congratulate him.
• Fang Chen asks how to reach the Third Layer and whether he can leave without clearing it. The guardian explains that, since the cave’s rules changed three thousand years ago, those who enter a layer generally cannot leave unless they clear it.
• Though the Third Layer is likely more dangerous, Fang Chen decides to enter. As the guardian prepares to open the way, lightning strikes him and the plaza collapses.
• Fang Chen and the injured guardian fall through clouds into a vast, barren graveyard. The guardian confirms that this is the Third Layer.

Character development and interactions

• Fang Chen gains a valuable Willow Heart and shows both caution and resolve: he is alarmed by the Third Layer’s danger, but accepts that he must face it to fulfill his goal. He also helps the wounded guardian after their fall.
• The guardian is initially surprised by Fang Chen’s rapid progress, then warns him frankly about the Third Layer’s lethal rules. He is badly injured by the lightning but insists he is not yet near death.
• Their relationship shifts from guide and challenger to companions caught together in the same perilous place.

Significant themes

• Danger and commitment: Entering the Third Layer means there may be no retreat; progress demands risking everything.
• Power and reward: Fang Chen’s survival brings him both advancement and the rare Willow Heart.
• Uncertainty and escalation: The cave’s unexpected collapse and lightning strike turn a planned challenge into a mysterious ordeal, ending with Fang Chen and the guardian stranded in a graveyard.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen asks the cave’s elderly guardian how to pass the third trial. The guardian says to follow the road ahead, but stepping onto it triggers red Runes, crushing pressure, and attacks from vengeful ghosts.
• Fang Chen discovers that cutting the ghosts releases black mist that tries to devour his Soul Origin. The Floating Immortal Sword sends golden Spiritual Power into him, allowing his soul to overcome the mist—and grow stronger by absorbing it.
• As Fang Chen advances, the guardian suddenly attacks. Fang Chen realizes the old man is an illusion created by the Mad Demon Cave.
• The ghosts’ Runes gather on the Floating Immortal Sword, coating it and sealing its power with the Myriad Soul Ghost Seal. The guardian then wounds Fang Chen with his cane.
• Though injured repeatedly and unable to use the sword’s Spiritual Power, Fang Chen keeps attacking. Under the pressure of the fight, he begins anticipating the guardian’s movements, dodging more effectively and copying the cane techniques with his sword.

Character developments

• Fang Chen shows persistence and composure in a trial designed to weaken and deceive him. His soul strengthens by consuming the ghosts’ mist, while his swordsmanship improves through repeated combat.
• The guardian shifts from seemingly helpful guide to hostile opponent. He reveals his intent to neutralize Fang Chen’s unusual sword and test him through a punishing fight.

Significant themes

• Deception and danger: The apparent guide is an illusion, and the straightforward-sounding path conceals a lethal trial.
• Growth through adversity: Fang Chen’s soul and skills improve as he withstands attacks and adapts.
• Persistence: Even with his weapon sealed and his body wounded, Fang Chen refuses to give up.
• Learning through combat: Fang Chen absorbs the guardian’s movements and turns an overwhelming fight into an opportunity to develop.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen first questions the guardian, then confronts him after recognizing the deception.
• The guardian seals Fang Chen’s sword and repeatedly attacks with his cane, while Fang Chen responds with increasingly adaptive swordplay.
• Fang Chen also battles the ghosts along the road; their attacks threaten his soul, but ultimately contribute to its strengthening.

• Key events: Fang Chen’s mastery of the Floating Immortal Sword grows during his final trial. Though the guardian’s black-flame-enhanced attacks repeatedly wound him, Fang Chen perceives countless sword trajectories converging into a plain, effortless strike. He disarms and beheads the guardian, who dissolves into black mist. The sword’s red coating then breaks apart, releasing a huge surge of energy that Fang Chen refines. As the trial ends, he receives a rare Nine-Leaf Sword Heart Grass, a plant rich in Sword Intent and Life Essence that aids longevity and sword comprehension.
• Return and revelation: Fang Chen exits the Mad Demon Cave and learns from its guardian that nine-leaf grass is exceptionally rare; most successful challengers find only five or six leaves. He returns to True Person Liuli on Glazed Peak with the grass as proof that he fulfilled all three conditions.
• Character development: Fang Chen’s sword skill advances sharply: he learns to wield the Floating Immortal Sword as naturally as an extension of himself and reaches a breakthrough in his understanding of the sword. His successful trial also reveals growing physical resilience. True Person Liuli’s examination finds his blood and vitality greatly strengthened and confirms that Glazed Battle Runes have formed throughout his body—proof that Fang Chen has mastered the first level of the Glazed Golden Body Art.
• Character interactions: The guardian explains the grass’s rarity and benefits, then marvels at Fang Chen’s achievement. Fang Chen respectfully thanks him and leaves. True Person Liuli, initially skeptical that Fang Chen completed every condition, is astonished by the nine-leaf prize. He examines Fang Chen and reacts with delighted laughter at the results.
• Significant themes: Perseverance under pain leads to mastery; rare rewards reflect both skill and fortune; and physical cultivation, sword comprehension, and opportunity combine to bring Fang Chen closer to the possibility of Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen meets all three of True Person Liuli’s conditions and is formally accepted as his Direct Disciple. Liuli reveals that his real name is Zhang Daoling.
• Liuli takes Fang Chen to Glazed Peak’s summit and into Glazed Hall, where statues commemorate the peak’s former masters.
• Liuli explains that the Glazed Sword once chose each Peak Master, but it was destroyed in the war between immortals and demons nearly ten thousand years ago. Liuli was the first person in that long period to gain its acceptance, over a thousand years ago, and has since tried unsuccessfully to restore it.
• At the end of the hall, Fang Chen places his hands on the sword’s platform to test whether he can sense anything. After a long silence, the cracked Glazed Sword suddenly responds.
• Its Sword Intent floods Fang Chen with painful force and unfamiliar information, while the sword absorbs Spiritual Qi and erupts in brilliant seven-colored light. The beam blasts through the hall’s roof and clouds, and swords throughout the sect begin to tremble—alerting everyone that the Glazed Sword may have accepted someone new.

Character developments

• Fang Chen moves from hopeful candidate to Liuli’s acknowledged Direct Disciple. His encounter with the Glazed Sword marks him as an extraordinary potential successor, though the experience is physically agonizing and its full consequences remain unknown.
• True Person Liuli / Zhang Daoling shows pride in Fang Chen and renewed hope for Glazed Peak. His long effort to revive the sword’s legacy may finally be bearing fruit.

Significant themes

• Legacy and restoration: The Glazed Sword represents a broken inheritance and a peak diminished by the loss of its teachings.
• Destiny and selection: The sword’s response suggests that mastery cannot be claimed by force or instruction; the sword itself chooses its master.
• Painful transformation: Fang Chen’s possible breakthrough begins not with ease, but with overwhelming physical and mental suffering.
• Hope after decline: The sword’s awakening offers the possibility that Glazed Peak’s former greatness can return.

Character interactions

• Liuli warmly accepts Fang Chen as his disciple, and Fang Chen responds with gratitude and respect.
• Liuli guides Fang Chen through Glazed Hall and explains the history of the sword and its masters.
• When the sword reacts, Liuli is shocked: Fang Chen is the first person besides Liuli himself to provoke a response in the many years he has tested candidates.

Plot points and events

• The Glazed Sword’s immense Sword Intent erupts from Glazed Peak, drawing the sect’s leaders and elders to the Glazed Hall. A seven-colored barrier of Sword Qi blocks their approach, revealing the Glazed Sword’s lingering power despite its damaged state.
• Dao Master Honghe and the rarely seen Sixth-grade Alchemist Black Flame arrive, followed by other powerful elders. None knows what has triggered the disturbance.
• Inside the hall, Fang Chen is overwhelmed as the Glazed Sword channels increasing Spiritual Power into him. Though he fears his body will burst, he keeps holding on.
• Under the pressure, Fang Chen enters a profound state of Enlightenment. He gains new insight into the Floating Immortal Art’s body-refining method and adapts it to his body. His pain begins to ease, colored runes appear on his skin, and his dantian’s True Qi Vortex rapidly expands.

Character developments

• Fang Chen shows determination under extreme physical pain and begins reshaping his cultivation technique to suit himself. His unusual response to the Glazed Sword suggests the possibility of Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
• True Person Liuli shifts from surprise to anxious support, recognizing that Fang Chen is the first person under his leadership to draw a response from the Glazed Sword.
• Honghe and Black Flame, along with the sect’s senior experts, are drawn out of seclusion but remain uncertain about the cause of the event.

Character interactions

• The Peak Masters and elders defer to Honghe and Black Flame, asking what is happening; both admit they do not know.
• Liuli urges Fang Chen to endure, explaining the extraordinary opportunity before him. Fang Chen tells his master that he feels close to bursting but chooses to continue.

Significant themes

• Endurance and opportunity: Fang Chen must withstand suffering to benefit from a rare breakthrough.
• Adaptation and self-cultivation: The body-refining art becomes more effective as Fang Chen adjusts it to fit his own body.
• Power and mystery: Even damaged, the Glazed Sword commands fear and brings the sect’s most powerful figures together, while its connection to Fang Chen remains unexplained.

Plot points and events

• After Fang Chen completes the Glazed Sword’s inheritance, the seven-colored barrier around the Glazed Hall disappears. The Black Flame Dao Master, Dao Master Honghe, and the Glazed Sword Sect’s leaders enter to investigate the disturbance.
• True Person Liuli announces that Fang Chen is his eldest direct disciple and the Holy Son of Glazed Peak. The gathered leaders are surprised, especially those who know Fang Chen has no Spiritual Root and a damaged Life Wheel.
• Dao Master Honghe privately questions whether Fang Chen’s condition makes the decision too risky. True Person Liuli confirms that he has made up his mind, and Honghe accepts it.
• The leaders leave and spread the news through the sect. Reactions among the inner disciples range from excitement and disbelief to disdain.
• Fang Chen finishes absorbing the inheritance. His cultivation remains at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, but his body and soul have grown much stronger. He also receives the Glazed Sword Art and begins organizing its knowledge.

Character developments

• Fang Chen gains the Glazed Sword’s recognition, an elevated status, and a powerful inheritance. Though he has not advanced in cultivation, he has made significant physical and spiritual progress.
• True Person Liuli (Zhang Daoling) publicly commits to Fang Chen as his disciple and Holy Son, showing confidence in him despite his apparent limitations.
• Dao Master Honghe initially doubts the choice because of Fang Chen’s short life expectancy, but trusts Liuli’s judgment once he sees that the decision is deliberate.
• The sect leaders and disciples begin reconsidering Fang Chen’s place in the sect, with many warning their followers not to offend him.

Significant themes

• Recognition and potential: The Glazed Sword’s inheritance suggests Fang Chen’s worth may exceed what his lack of a Spiritual Root implies.
• Status and responsibility: Becoming Holy Son transforms Fang Chen’s standing and affects how the whole sect must treat him.
• Trust and judgment: Liuli’s decision challenges conventional assessments of Fang Chen, while Honghe chooses to trust his senior brother.

Character interactions

• The sect leaders show formal respect to Liuli despite having greater cultivation, reflecting his seniority and standing.
• Liuli introduces Fang Chen as his disciple before the assembled leaders, making his support unmistakable.
• Honghe privately raises his concerns rather than challenging Liuli publicly; after receiving reassurance, he joins the others in congratulating him.
• Once the visitors leave, the sect’s leaders alert their disciples that Fang Chen is now too important to provoke.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen receives a damaged legacy of the Glazed Sword Art containing 3,372 characters—more than True Person Liuli received, though not enough for him to cultivate the art normally.
• Liuli explains that restoring the Glazed Sword would be harder than forging a new Saint Weapon. His own attempt damaged his foundation and left his cultivation stalled.
• Liuli admits that youthful pride made him reject opportunities to join powerful Central Barrens factions. With his lifespan nearly spent, he urges Fang Chen to prioritize growing stronger and seize opportunities he encounters.
• Liuli then seals Fang Chen’s acupoints and begins transferring his power through an enlightenment technique. Fang Chen circulates the Floating Immortal Art as a torrent of golden energy enters his body.
• The energy cannot merge with Fang Chen’s already-full True Qi Vortex. Instead, it condenses above it into a golden sphere covered in Runes, which grows to the size of a goose egg by morning.
• The restraint vanishes, and Fang Chen sees Liuli looking almost translucent, with a pile of ashes at his feet.

Character developments

• Fang Chen learns more about his sword-art legacy and experiences the painful, overwhelming process of absorbing Liuli’s power.
• True Person Liuli reflects on how his ambition and arrogance cost him opportunities and harmed his cultivation. He shifts his attention toward giving Fang Chen the guidance and power he can no longer use himself.

Significant themes

• Ambition and its cost: Liuli’s determination to restore the Glazed Sword ruined his foundation and narrowed his future.
• Seizing opportunity: He warns Fang Chen not to repeat his mistake by letting potential paths to strength pass him by.
• Legacy and sacrifice: Liuli’s final act appears to be passing his power on to Fang Chen, continuing his hopes through his apprentice.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen questions Liuli about repairing the sword and listens as his master candidly recounts his past failures.
• When Liuli begins the power transfer, Fang Chen protests out of concern, but obeys Liuli’s commands and focuses on circulating his cultivation art.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen discovers that True Person Liuli is only a fading Soul Phantom. Liuli explains that he is near death and has passed his remaining power to Fang Chen to help him pursue Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
• Liuli says that reaching this level requires at least the Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining, which cannot be achieved in the changed world’s ordinary conditions. Fang Chen must enter a Primordial-era secret realm, where special Spiritual Qi remains.
• Before disappearing, Liuli tells Fang Chen where to find two Storage Rings and a Jade Slip: the black ring is for Fang Chen, while the silver ring and Jade Slip are for the sect. Liuli’s Soul Phantom vanishes, and Fang Chen gathers his master’s ashes.
• Fang Chen snaps the Jade Slip as instructed. Its burst of seven-colored light shakes the Glazed Sword Sect’s Seven Great Main Peaks and summons its senior cultivators.
• Fang Chen tells the gathered sect leaders that Liuli is dead and explains what happened. Dao Master Honghe reads Liuli’s message from the silver ring, and the leaders mourn their senior brother.
• Fang Chen blames himself for Liuli’s death. Honghe and Black Flame Dao Master reassure him that Liuli’s lifespan was ending and urge him to honor his master’s hopes. They tell him the sect will send him to the Tianluo Secret Realm for Foundation Establishment.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen moves from grief and disbelief to accepting his master’s final instructions, though he feels intense guilt over Liuli’s sacrifice. He is now entrusted with Liuli’s power, possessions, and unfinished hopes.
• True Person Liuli remains affectionate and encouraging to the end, presenting his sacrifice as a final act of support for his disciple. He also leaves instructions and a message for the sect.
• Dao Masters Honghe and Black Flame, along with the other elders, grieve Liuli’s death but comfort Fang Chen and commit to helping him continue his cultivation.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and mentorship: Liuli gives his remaining power and final guidance to secure Fang Chen’s future.
• Grief and responsibility: Fang Chen mourns Liuli and mistakenly feels responsible, while the sect helps him understand the sacrifice.
• Legacy and perseverance: Liuli’s message and the sect’s support turn his death into a call for Fang Chen to keep striving toward Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Key plot points and events

• After learning that True Person Liuli has died, Fang Chen insists on completing the seven-day mourning period before entering the Tianluo Secret Realm, despite its imminent closing. Dao Master Honghe and the others accept his choice.
• The sect buries Liuli’s ashes behind his house on Glazed Peak. Senior leaders then discuss Liuli’s final wish: that they do everything possible to help Fang Chen achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
• The leaders recognize the enormous risks and costs involved, especially because the crucial Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Pill is difficult to obtain and Black Flame Dao Master cannot refine it. Still, impressed by Fang Chen’s rapid progress and possible Battle Saint Body, they agree to commit their resources to him.
• After the memorial, Honghe gives Fang Chen a plan for the secret realm. Fang Chen must find Chen Xiaofei, a gifted alchemist, and travel with him to Liudan River in search of the pill’s formula. He must also seek Yan Ziyi, the Zixiao Peak Saintess, whose Phoenix Bloodline essence blood is needed to refine the pill.
• Honghe supplies jade slips identifying Glazed Sword Sect disciples and some rival factions, plus three dragon scales containing the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth layers of the Glazed Qi Refining Art.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen grieves Liuli but resolves to honor his master’s hopes. By choosing the memorial over an earlier departure, he shows loyalty and filial respect; afterward, he accepts the dangerous mission with determination.
• Dao Master Honghe balances urgency with respect for Fang Chen’s mourning, then takes responsibility for guiding and equipping him.
• Black Flame Dao Master and the sect elders move from concern about the near-impossible cost of Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment to a collective commitment to give Fang Chen a chance.
• Chen Xiaofei and Yan Ziyi are introduced as essential potential allies: one for alchemy, the other for her rare bloodline.

Significant themes

• Filial devotion and remembrance: Fang Chen’s mourning reflects the depth of his bond with Liuli.
• Sacrifice and collective responsibility: The sect is willing to risk its limited resources to fulfill Liuli’s last wish and nurture Fang Chen’s potential.
• Ambition amid uncertainty: Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment could transform the sect’s fortunes, but its enormous cost and uncertain success make the undertaking a gamble.
• Preparation and trust: The jade slips, instructions, and dragon scales show the sect preparing Fang Chen to survive and cooperate within a dangerous, crowded secret realm.

Key events

• Dao Master Honghe gives Fang Chen three scales containing the Glazed Qi Refining Art’s hidden Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Layers. Fang must reach each layer before studying the next, and he can cultivate beyond the ninth only after entering the Tianluo Secret Realm.
• Before leaving the sect, Fang visits his master, True Person Liuli’s grave, and promises to complete Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
• Honghe escorts him to the secret realm and equips him with a one-use Divine Silkworm Treasure Robe, which protects its wearer from the realm’s hostile laws and spatial forces. Fang enters the perilous valley, silently recites the supplied incantation, and survives the robe’s cocoon being battered by black mist and bone-like claws.
• Inside, Fang discovers that the realm’s Spiritual Qi flows unusually freely. His Floating Immortal Sword absorbs it, and he finds he can draw it into his body despite having no Spiritual Root.
• He studies a Black Jade Slip listing the identities of the hundred Glazed Sword Sect disciples who entered, then examines the scale containing the Tenth Layer’s cultivation method. He cannot break through without it.

Character development and interactions

• Fang’s determination to fulfill his promise to his deceased master is clear in his farewell at the grave.
• Honghe acts as a careful mentor: he explains the layered cultivation rules, provides Fang with essential equipment and instructions, and sees him off.
• Fang responds respectfully but confidently, navigating the dangerous entry alone and quickly investigating his new surroundings.

Significant themes

• Mentorship and legacy: Fang carries forward his master’s hopes, supported by Honghe’s guidance.
• Preparation amid danger: Survival in the secret realm depends on rare resources and precise instructions.
• Potential beyond convention: Fang’s ability to absorb Spiritual Qi without a Spiritual Root suggests that ordinary limits may not apply to him.
• Progress through stages: Access to the advanced cultivation art is conditional on achieving each breakthrough in turn.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen memorizes the Tenth Layer of the Glazed Qi Refining Art and fuses it with the Floating Immortal Art, using Spiritual Power from the Floating Immortal Sword to accelerate his cultivation.
• A burst of Golden Flame transforms his dantian and meridians, advancing him to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining and increasing his strength dramatically. Activating the Glazed Battle Runes makes him stronger still.
• He pushes deeper into the Tianluo Secret Realm, seeking richer Spiritual Qi, and enters a grove of Golden Thread Rock Fruit trees.
• A troop of unusually large Three-Eyed Long-Armed Apes attacks by hurling the hard, heavy fruit at him. Fang Chen dodges and then uses his sword to deflect or split the projectiles, gradually mastering his footwork and sword technique under pressure.
• An ape enters Frenzy, boosting its power to near the Second Layer of Foundation Establishment, and throws a Golden Flame-coated fruit. The resulting explosion hurls Fang Chen into a tree and leaves him badly scorched and battered.

Character development

• Fang Chen’s cultivation breakthrough greatly strengthens him, and he is excited to test his improved power.
• The ape barrage becomes an impromptu training challenge: Fang Chen sharpens his Misty Turtle Steps and Flowing Cloud Sword Technique while refining Spiritual Power from his sword.
• His confidence and resilience are tested when the apes escalate from ordinary attacks to a powerful explosive strike.

Character interactions

• The apes initially treat Fang Chen as an amusing target, laughing as they bombard him with fruit.
• When he withstands their attack, their amusement turns to anger, prompting one ape to enter Frenzy and launch a much more dangerous assault.
• Fang Chen responds to the troop’s coordinated attack with evasion and swordplay, but the strongest ape’s strike overwhelms him.

Significant themes

• Growth through adversity: Fang Chen’s breakthrough is followed immediately by a test that forces him to apply and refine his new abilities.
• Power and its limits: His strength now rivals that of many early Foundation Establishment cultivators, yet a single empowered enemy can still injure him.
• Preparation and knowledge: His prior study of the secret realm lets him identify the apes and understand their abilities, though their unusual size makes them more dangerous than expected.

• Key plot points and events: The Golden Thread Rock Fruit explodes in Fang Chen’s hands, badly injuring him, but the Floating Immortal Sword releases a scorching current that rapidly heals him. The Three-Eyed Long-Armed Apes then bombard him with flaming fruits. Fang Chen defends himself with the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, and amid the fight discovers he can use the Misty Turtle Step to move through the air. Chasing the apes through the canopy, he studies their movements and unexpectedly fuses their agility with his own footwork, gaining a stronger movement technique. He uses it to catch and kill several apes, and the sword absorbs energy from the battle. The surviving apes flee when a gigantic leader appears: the Ape King.
• Character development: Fang Chen shifts from struggling to survive to confidently taking control of the fight. His persistence and close observation let him improve his movement technique in the midst of combat. The Floating Immortal Sword’s healing and energy-absorbing effects also become more pronounced.
• Character interactions: The apes first attack Fang Chen, then mock him as he fails to catch them. Their flight becomes an unintended lesson in agility; once Fang Chen masters their movements, he turns on them and kills several. Their fear of the Ape King is evident when they flee at its arrival.
• Significant themes: Adversity drives growth: Fang Chen turns a dangerous pursuit into a chance to develop his skills. The chapter also emphasizes the interplay between observation and adaptation, as he learns by studying his opponents, and raises the stakes with the Ape King’s entrance.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen kills the Three-Eyed Long-Armed Ape King with a single sword strike, takes its Inner Core, and continues searching for Chen Xiaofei and Yan Ziyi. He must find them to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment before the Tianluo Secret Realm closes in less than a month.
• After three days of fighting Demonic Beasts, Fang Chen still has not advanced beyond the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.
• At a river valley, he attacks a group of thirty Blazing Tyrant Lizards feeding on a giant python’s corpse. He kills them all with the Floating Immortal Sword, without even using his Glazed Battle Runes.
• The Spiritual Power absorbed by the sword fuels his cultivation. Fang Chen reaches the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining, though the breakthrough briefly causes a powerful, physically overwhelming transformation.
• Soon after, a wounded Demonic Flame Devouring Python bursts from the mountains, fleeing toward him. This Ancient Desolate Exotic Beast is said to rival a cultivator at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment. Fang Chen recognizes the danger, and the chapter ends as it approaches.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen demonstrates growing combat strength and confidence, easily defeating opponents that would challenge Foundation Establishment cultivators. His breakthrough marks an important advance, but his immediate priorities remain finding his two companions and completing Foundation Establishment.
• The ape king rallies its troop with roars, while the Blazing Tyrant Lizards attack Fang Chen as a group and then flee when he proves too powerful.
• The approaching python has been badly wounded by an unseen force; its flight brings it into Fang Chen’s path.

Significant themes

• Strength through peril: Fighting powerful beasts helps Fang Chen grow, but each encounter carries real danger.
• Urgency and dependence: The secret realm’s deadline makes finding Chen Xiaofei and Yan Ziyi essential to Fang Chen’s cultivation plans.
• Power and escalation: Fang Chen’s rapid victories are followed by the arrival of a far more formidable threat, setting up the next conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen witnesses Misty Sect disciples kill a rare, valuable Demonic Flame Devouring Python. Hoping to leave unnoticed, he is stopped by the group, who intend to kill him to protect their secret.
• When they refuse to let him go, Fang Chen attacks first, using the Glazed Battle Runes and Floating Immortal Sword to kill their leader, Gu Xin, and another disciple before the rest can react.
• He fights off the remaining disciples, deflecting the archer’s Light Arrows and defeating the group. He kills even the wounded survivors, then takes the python’s Inner Core and searches the disciples’ belongings.
• Fang Chen stores the Inner Core and other spoils—including Demonic Beast Inner Cores, Spirit Medicine, and valuable Foundation Establishment Pills—in the Spirit Crane Space, then continues deeper into the secret realm.

Character developments

• Fang Chen shows decisive tactical judgment: he targets Gu Xin immediately, recognizing that the group’s leader is the greatest threat. His strong cultivation and swordsmanship let him overcome a numerically superior force.
• The Misty Sect group is portrayed as ruthless and greedy. Gu Xin and his companions are willing to murder an innocent witness for the python’s valuable remains; their confidence collapses when Fang Chen proves stronger.

Significant themes

• Survival and self-preservation: Fang Chen fights because the disciples leave him no safe alternative.
• Greed and moral corruption: The python’s priceless Inner Core motivates the Misty Sect disciples to kill and conceal their actions.
• Strength and timing: Fang Chen’s victory depends not only on power but on striking Gu Xin before he can respond.
• The lure of wealth: The secret realm’s treasures encourage cultivators to delay advancement and keep searching for more.

Character interactions

• The Misty Sect disciples confront Fang Chen and reject his promise to stay silent, escalating the encounter into a fight.
• Fang Chen’s opening attack kills Gu Xin before the leader can organize a defense, unsettling the group and shifting the battle’s momentum.
• The archer repeatedly targets Fang Chen, but he blocks her attacks and ultimately kills her as she flees.
• The surviving wounded disciples beg for mercy, but Fang Chen kills them, concluding the confrontation and claiming the group’s spoils.