Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• After surviving twelve Heavenly Punishments to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, Fang Chen learns from the Myna that most cultivators face only one.
• A golden beam carries Fang Chen out of the Tianluo Secret Realm. The Paper Crane brings the Myna along, though golden seal-runes fall away from the bird as it enters.
• Instead of arriving at the expected valley, Fang Chen appears in the ruins of an Ancient Heavenly Court sacred ground. The Myna explains that exceptional cultivators are sent to different locations, and that the Heavenly Court mysteriously vanished long ago.
• A black-cloaked figure suddenly immobilizes Fang Chen and forcibly removes his Foundation Establishment Dao Platform, calling it a temporary “borrow.” The platform’s Gray Imprint resists briefly, but the figure suppresses it and disappears.
• Weakened and furious, Fang Chen realizes the loss is real. He then asks the Myna to check whether his Life Wheel has been repaired. The Myna agrees and begins examining him with golden light.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen moves from astonishment at his rare achievement to shock, helplessness, and rage when his Dao Platform is taken. He quickly regains focus enough to ask about his Life Wheel.
• The Myna celebrates Fang Chen’s accomplishment and provides context about the secret realm and the Ancient Heavenly Court. It is stunned by the theft and tries, awkwardly, to support him.
• The Paper Crane silently helps the Myna cross into the golden beam, revealing its willingness or ability to assist the bird.
• The cloaked figure is introduced as overwhelmingly powerful and inscrutable: it takes Fang Chen’s Dao Platform by force, offers no explanation beyond saying it will borrow it, and vanishes.

Significant themes

• Achievement and vulnerability: Even Fang Chen’s extraordinary Foundation Establishment cannot protect him from a far stronger adversary.
• Mystery and lost history: The Ancient Heavenly Court’s fall remains unexplained, while the cloaked stranger’s motives and the Dao Platform’s fate are left unresolved.
• Persistence amid setback: After losing his hard-won platform, Fang Chen turns to the next urgent question: whether his Life Wheel has been repaired.

Key plot points and events

• The myna bird reveals that Fang Chen’s Life Wheel is still broken. It shows him a red, rune-covered ring with a gap through which his Life Essence is leaking; Fang Chen has at most one year to live.
• Fang Chen is devastated that completing Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment did not repair the Life Wheel, though he gradually regains hope and considers whether he can cultivate again after losing his Dao Platform.
• Before he can try, the cloaked figure who took the platform reappears, badly wounded. He thanks Fang Chen and gives him an Elixir of Immortality, explaining that it could grant Fang Chen up to a thousand additional years despite his damaged Life Wheel.
• The figure returns Fang Chen’s Dao Platform, now cracked and weakened, but says it can recover as Fang Chen cultivates. He then disappears.
• The myna identifies the elixir as the legendary Sky-Reaching Grass. Neither he nor Fang Chen knows how to consume it until the old man’s voice advises them to eat it as it is.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen moves from shock and despair toward cautious resolve: he has only a year, but still looks for ways to restore his cultivation and change his fate. Receiving the elixir gives him a major new chance.
• The myna bird acts as an examiner and guide, showing Fang Chen his Life Wheel and explaining its condition. He is blunt but sympathetic, and becomes thrilled when he recognizes the rare plant.
• The cloaked figure returns in a vulnerable state and repays Fang Chen with both the life-extending elixir and his damaged Dao Platform, suggesting a debt between them remains.

Significant themes

• Fate versus perseverance: Fang Chen’s extraordinary achievement fails to solve his central affliction, yet he refuses to give up.
• The cost and uncertainty of power: His cultivation foundation has been stolen and damaged, while his remaining lifespan is perilously short.
• Hope through unexpected aid: A seemingly devastating setback is followed by a rare gift that may buy Fang Chen centuries to seek a cure.

Plot points and events

• A mysterious figure silently guides Fang Chen, who immediately eats the Sky-Reaching Grass. Its effects send cool energy through his body, cover his skin in mysterious runes, and draw in nearby spiritual qi. Red mucus hardens around him into a gray shell, leaving him asleep inside what looks like a stone statue. Paper Crane stays by his side.
• Yan Ziyi reaches the mountaintop in the Tianluo Secret Realm and sees the enormous Universe Cauldron, though she does not recognize it as a Supreme Emperor Weapon. Unable to find Fang Chen and with the secret realm’s formation about to close, she takes Foundation Establishment Pills from the cauldron and begins cultivating. The other Glazed Sword Sect disciples do the same.
• At the Liudan River, Yu Liuyan, Shi Lei, Wang Mo, and the other sect disciples abandon their attempts to break the barrier. With time running out and the risk of being trapped in the secret realm, they turn to Foundation Establishment instead.
• In Blackwind Valley, representatives of the major sects wait anxiously for their elite disciples to emerge. Reports of unusually powerful demonic beasts, abundant ancient spirit medicines, and the ruined Sky Net Palace suggest the secret realm has changed.
• Wang Mu emerges and tells the Eight Trigrams Gate elders that the Glazed Sword Sect killed hundreds of their disciples. He describes Fang Chen shattering Shi Lei’s Spirit Snake Battle Formation, defeating the allied forces, and breaking the barrier so the Glazed Sword Sect could travel upstream.
• More disciples begin arriving, but none are from the Glazed Sword Sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen accepts the mysterious person’s guidance with gratitude, then undergoes a dramatic, unexplained transformation after eating the Sky-Reaching Grass. The scene leaves his condition uncertain.
• Yan Ziyi is briefly captivated by the cauldron’s Dao Resonance, but quickly regains focus and prioritizes survival and Foundation Establishment when Fang Chen is missing.
• Yu Liuyan, Shi Lei, and Wang Mo set aside their pursuit of the barrier once they realize that completing Foundation Establishment is necessary to escape.
• Wang Mu returns shaken and reports the Glazed Sword Sect’s victory. His testimony shocks and enrages the Eight Trigrams Gate elders, especially Dao Master Gumu.
• The sect leaders, including Dao Master Honghe and the Glazed Sword Sect elders, remain worried as their disciples’ delayed return suggests a crisis inside the realm.

Significant themes

• Transformation and mystery: Fang Chen’s reaction to the Sky-Reaching Grass hints at a powerful change whose outcome is not yet known.
• Survival and urgency: The approaching closure of the secret realm forces characters to abandon other goals and focus on Foundation Establishment.
• Power and reputation: Fang Chen’s unprecedented victory over a vastly larger force alarms rival sects and marks him as an extraordinary talent.
• Uncertainty and looming conflict: The altered secret realm, missing elite disciples, and growing anger between sects all foreshadow further danger.

Key plot points and events

• Disciples from the Misty Sect, Eight Trigrams Gate, and Lingyun Sword Sect emerge from the Tianluo Secret Realm. Their leaders learn that Fang Chen led the Glazed Sword Sect disciples against the other sects and overwhelmed them, provoking anger among their rivals.
• Dao Master Honghe tries to ask Kumou Dao Master what happened, but Kumou angrily refuses to answer. Honghe suspects the other sects suffered losses at the Glazed Sword Sect’s hands.
• Over the next two days, prominent disciples from the three rival sects emerge, some having formed Myriad Manifestations Dao Platforms. The Glazed Sword Sect’s disciples, however, remain absent.
• When the secret realm closes, the rival sects assume the Glazed Sword Sect disciples have died and celebrate. Honghe, Zixiao Daoist, and Azure Cloud Daoist are devastated, fearing the loss of their promising disciples.
• Zixiao Daoist receives a distress signal from Yuan Ziyi, indicating that she has left the secret realm. The Glazed Sword Sect leaders rush to a valley and find Yuan Ziyi and sixty other disciples, including Chen Xiaofei, safe outside it.

Character developments and interactions

• Dao Master Honghe shifts from cautious suspicion to profound grief as the Glazed Sword Sect’s disciples fail to appear, then acts immediately when he learns Yuan Ziyi is safe.
• Zixiao Daoist is especially anxious over the missing disciples and devastated by the apparent loss of her sect’s saintess. Her despair turns to joy upon receiving Yuan Ziyi’s signal.
• Azure Cloud Daoist fears losing Chen Xiaofei, a rare alchemy talent.
• Kumou Dao Master responds to Honghe with hostility, reflecting the sects’ strained relations.
• The rival disciples mock and celebrate the Glazed Sword Sect’s apparent destruction, while Shi Lei is particularly relieved at the thought that Fang Chen may be gone.

Significant themes

• Rivalry and resentment: Fang Chen’s victory over the other sects fuels their anger and delight at the Glazed Sword Sect’s apparent loss.
• Uncertainty and premature judgment: The Glazed Sword Sect’s absence leads others to assume the worst, though the final discovery overturns that expectation.
• Hope amid grief: A single message restores the leaders’ hope after they believe their most promising disciples have been lost.

Key plot points and events

• Yan Ziyi and the other Glazed Sword Sect disciples emerge from the Tianluo Secret Realm, surprising Dao Master Honghe and the sect elders, who had feared they were all lost.
• Yan Ziyi tells her master, Zixiao Daoist, that she and her companions reached the upper reaches—and even the source—of the Liudan River with Fang Chen’s help. Twenty-two disciples, including Yan Ziyi and Chen Xiaofei, formed Myriad Manifestations Dao Platforms; the rest formed Flawless Dao Platforms.
• Fang Chen is missing. Since the secret realm has closed, the elders and disciples assume he died, and the sect returns home grieving.
• The Glazed Sword Sect celebrates its unusually large harvest of talented cultivators, crediting Fang Chen for their success. Though recruiters from rival sects try to lure the disciples away, all choose to remain.
• Fang Chen, meanwhile, has been sealed inside stone and unconscious. After six months, the shell cracks and bursts apart. Bathed in nine-colored light and covered in colorful runes, he awakens, restored and feeling as if reborn.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Ziyi proudly shares her achievement of forming a Myriad Manifestations Dao Platform with two Innate Dao Patterns, while emphasizing her gratitude to Fang Chen.
• Zixiao Daoist, Azure Cloud Daoist, and Dao Master Honghe are relieved by the disciples’ return but saddened by Fang Chen’s apparent loss. They later invest heavily in nurturing the returned disciples.
• The disciples show loyalty to Fang Chen and the Glazed Sword Sect by refusing recruitment offers.
• Paper Crane and Myna bird keep watch over Fang Chen during his long sleep. Myna bird is eager to explore, but Paper Crane’s vigilance keeps him waiting.

Significant themes

• Mentorship and collective achievement: Fang Chen’s guidance enables the disciples’ exceptional progress.
• Loyalty and gratitude: The disciples remain with the sect because they remember who helped them succeed.
• Hope amid apparent loss: The sect mourns Fang Chen while he survives elsewhere, setting up a dramatic reversal.
• Rebirth and transformation: Fang Chen’s emergence from the stone shell signals a profound physical and spiritual renewal.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen wakes after sleeping for half a year following his use of the Elixir of Immortality. With Myna bird’s help, he checks his Life Wheel and confirms it is healthier: its glow is stronger, the gap is smaller, and less Life Essence is leaking.
• His Foundation Establishment Dao Platform, damaged when the mysterious man borrowed it, has also improved somewhat, though its grade has fallen. Fang Chen accepts the trade: the elixir has helped preserve his life, and the Dao Platform may recover through cultivation. The Spiritual Power that tempered him during Foundation Establishment has also greatly strengthened his body and soul.
• Guided by Myna bird, Fang Chen sets off southwest. Ten days later, the scene shifts to the Glazed Sword Sect, where a delegation from the Primordial Sacred Land has come to recruit talented disciples.
• In a public arena, Yan Ziyi fights a Primordial Sacred Land disciple. Though she uses her “Ice Sky Snow Land” vision, she is outmatched by his “Hell Asura” vision. He breaks through her defenses, wounds her, and holds his saber to her throat.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen is relieved that the elixir worked and shows that survival matters more to him than the damaged grade of his Dao Platform. His focus remains on recovering and continuing his cultivation.
• Myna bird uses its energy-consuming Secret Art to inspect Fang Chen’s Life Wheel. It is eager to help, though it is wary of Paper Crane.
• Paper Crane greets Fang Chen enthusiastically after his long absence and keeps Myna bird in line.
• Yan Ziyi demonstrates resolve and powerful techniques, but her defeat reveals the gap between her and the visiting Sacred Land disciple.
• Spirit Wood Dao Master, a former Glazed Sword Sect member now affiliated with the Primordial Sacred Land, returns to recruit promising talent. The sect’s leaders feel unable to refuse openly because of the Sacred Land’s formidable power.

Significant themes

• Survival and sacrifice: Fang Chen accepts a lower-grade Dao Platform in exchange for a chance to extend his life.
• Power and recovery: His damaged foundation may improve with cultivation, while his body and soul have grown stronger.
• Institutional rivalry and recruitment: Powerful Central Barrens factions compete for talent, placing pressure on smaller sects such as the Glazed Sword Sect.
• The limits of talent: Yan Ziyi’s abilities are impressive, yet the visiting disciple’s superior power leaves her vulnerable.

Plot points and events

• Qi Dong, a third-level Foundation Establishment disciple of the Primordial Sacred Land, defeats Yan Ziyi, who is at the fifth level. He attributes her loss to the Glazed Sword Sect’s inferior techniques and urges her to switch sides.
• Yan Ziyi refuses, insisting that she will remain loyal to her sect. Qi Dong insults the Glazed Sword Sect and challenges its disciples to prove him wrong.
• The Glazed Sword Sect disciples invoke their absent Junior Uncle-Master, Fang Chen. Dao Master Honghe explains that Fang Chen, a talented disciple personally accepted by their late First Senior Brother, entered the Tianluo Secret Realm six months ago and never returned.
• When Yan Ziyi says Fang Chen may be dead, Qi Dong and the Primordial Sacred Land disciples mock him. The Glazed Sword Sect members grow furious, and Azure Cloud Daoist silences the jeering.
• Just as Spirit Wood Dao Master dismisses their anger, a voice calls from above: “Who said I was dead?” A tall figure approaches through the air.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Ziyi accepts her defeat without abandoning her loyalty. Her admiration for Fang Chen becomes clear when she fiercely defends his reputation.
• Qi Dong shifts from smug confidence after winning to open provocation, using the Glazed Sword Sect’s weakness and Fang Chen’s presumed death to humiliate them.
• Dao Master Honghe is angered by the insults but cannot answer Qi Dong’s challenge, exposing how badly the sect lacks powerful Foundation Establishment disciples.
• Spirit Wood Dao Master exploits the disciples’ talk of Fang Chen to question Honghe, then joins in dismissing the Glazed Sword Sect’s objections.
• Azure Cloud Daoist intervenes when the argument escalates, rebuking the Primordial Sacred Land disciples for their disrespect.
• The Glazed Sword Sect disciples rally around Fang Chen’s name, while the Primordial Sacred Land group laughs at his presumed death—until his unexpected arrival changes the scene.

Significant themes

• Loyalty amid decline: Yan Ziyi remains committed to her struggling sect despite pressure to join a stronger one.
• Strength and reputation: The Primordial Sacred Land uses its superior power to belittle its rivals, while the Glazed Sword Sect clings to the hope embodied by Fang Chen.
• The danger of underestimating others: The chapter ends with the presumed-dead Fang Chen appearing in person, overturning the mockery and setting up a reversal.

Key plot points

• Fang Chen returns to the Glazed Sword Sect after escaping a hidden ruin in the Changqing Mountain Range. The sect’s disciples rejoice, having believed he was dead.
• He greets Dao Master Honghe and the others, then promises to explain his absence after dealing with the Primordial Sacred Land disciple harassing the sect.
• Fang Chen confronts Qi Dong, who challenges his reputation. Fang Chen slaps him aside, then disarms him and knocks out two of his teeth when Qi Dong attacks.
• Qi Dong summons a fiery Manifestation and launches a saber strike. Fang Chen evades it with the Misty Turtle Step, kicks Qi Dong away, and makes his Manifestation disappear.
• Fang Chen then challenges the rest of the Primordial Sacred Land disciples to attack together. They charge him, leaving the fight poised to escalate.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen returns confident and composed, protecting his sect without drawing his sword. His effortless victories establish the gap between his abilities and Qi Dong’s.
• Dao Master Honghe is delighted to find Fang Chen alive and warmly welcomes him, even affectionately stroking his head.
• Yan Ziyi is overwhelmed with relief and tears when she sees Fang Chen. He reassures her and takes over the confrontation.
• Qi Dong shifts from contemptuous confidence to fury and humiliation as Fang Chen repeatedly defeats him. He responds by unleashing his Manifestation, but it does not help.
• The Glazed Sword Sect disciples move from despair to exuberant support, cheering Fang Chen’s return and his victories. The Primordial Sacred Land disciples, angered by his challenge, rush in to fight together.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Fang Chen immediately defends his sect and its disciples.
• Reversal of power and arrogance: Qi Dong’s contempt is overturned by Fang Chen’s overwhelming skill.
• Relief and renewed hope: Fang Chen’s return restores the disciples’ spirits.
• Confidence and restraint: Fang Chen dominates the fight using movement and bare-handed strikes rather than drawing his sword.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen defeats all of Spirit Wood Dao Master’s dozen-odd Primordial Sacred Land disciples in seconds, disarming them and leaving them injured.
• Spirit Wood praises Fang Chen and offers him a place as a Core Disciple at the Primordial Sacred Land’s Main Peak. Fang Chen refuses outright, declaring he will remain with the Glazed Sword Sect, and declines the jade slip.
• Spirit Wood leaves with his disciples on a Three-Colored Auspicious Cloud, frustrated by the failed recruitment and public defeat. Dao Master Honghe is quietly pleased that Fang Chen has answered the disciples’ earlier disrespect.
• Honghe, Black Flame Dao Master, and the Seven Peak Masters visit Fang Chen at True Person Liuli’s grave. Fang Chen finishes burning joss paper and pays his respects to the gathered elders and seniors.
• Asked about his Foundation Establishment in the Tianluo Secret Realm, Fang Chen says he endured Heavenly Punishment but received no Heavenly Dao Brand, leaving him with a cracked, “Flawed Dao Platform.”
• Fang Chen conceals the more extraordinary details of his experience, following the Myna bird’s warning. The elders examine him with the Glazed Mirror and discover that his Life Wheel has brightened, its gap has narrowed, and less Life Essence is leaking.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen demonstrates overwhelming strength and firm loyalty to the Glazed Sword Sect. He is respectful toward his own elders but pointedly refuses to show deference to Spirit Wood after witnessing his disrespect toward the sect.
• Spirit Wood Dao Master remains outwardly cordial while recruiting Fang Chen, but Fang Chen’s refusal and the defeat of his disciples leave him inwardly resentful. He restrains himself because he is on Glazed Sword Sect grounds.
• Dao Master Honghe supports Fang Chen’s choice and enjoys seeing the Primordial Sacred Land’s disciples humbled. Along with Black Flame and the Seven Peak Masters, he shifts from celebration to concern and curiosity about Fang Chen’s unusual foundation and improving Life Wheel.
• Fang Chen’s grave-side ritual for True Person Liuli shows continued reverence and grief, while the elders wait respectfully rather than interrupting him.

Significant themes

• Loyalty over status and resources: Fang Chen rejects the prestigious offer in favor of remaining with his sect.
• Pride, respect, and restraint: The conflict contrasts Spirit Wood’s entitlement with Fang Chen’s loyalty and the elders’ controlled response.
• Secrecy and trust: Fang Chen withholds dangerous or astonishing information on the Myna bird’s advice.
• Uncertain transformation and hope: His flawed Dao Platform suggests a setback, but the Glazed Mirror reveals that his damaged Life Wheel is recovering.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen’s Life Wheel has partially recovered, increasing his lifespan. His Foundation Establishment Dao Platform is cracked, but unusually vast—far larger than Yan Ziyi’s—and appears stronger than a typical Flawed Dao Platform.
• Tests show that despite being only in early Foundation Establishment, Fang Chen can match an ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivator.
• Black Flame Dao Master gives Fang Chen a hundred second-grade Qi Gathering Pills and urges him to improve quickly. The sect plans to travel to the Central Barrens in three months, where Tianyuan Academy will recruit Foundation Establishment students in six months.
• Tianyuan Academy is an ancient, mysterious Human Race institution with a three-million-year legacy, known to have educated many Great Emperors. The sect hopes Fang Chen and other disciples can gain admission.
• Honghe proposes that Fang Chen use the Glazed Sword—whose recognition of him is unusually strong—to open the Glazed Sacred Pool, a forbidden reservoir of Spiritual Power that has remained inaccessible since the sword was damaged over ten thousand years ago.
• At the Glazed Hall, the protective Runes part for Fang Chen, and he takes hold of the sword. Its seven-colored light then vanishes, replaced by Azure Runes as an even more powerful Sword Intent erupts.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen’s recovery and exceptional combat strength impress his senior brothers, who congratulate and support him.
• Black Flame provides practical help and sets Fang Chen a goal: build his cultivation ahead of the Central Barrens journey and the academy’s recruitment.
• Honghe recognizes the opportunity Fang Chen’s bond with the Glazed Sword may offer the sect. Black Flame initially doubts Fang Chen can control the sword, but agrees to attempt it with the seniors’ support.
• Fang Chen approaches and grasps the sword without resistance, while the elders stand ready in case anything goes wrong.

Significant themes

• Potential beyond appearances: Fang Chen’s damaged Dao Platform is still extraordinary, and his low cultivation conceals formidable strength.
• Opportunity and ambition: Tianyuan Academy and the Central Barrens represent a chance for Fang Chen and the sect to advance.
• Loyalty and collective effort: The elders pool their hopes and support around Fang Chen, both for his prospects and the sect’s future.
• Mystery and awakening: Fang Chen’s connection to the Glazed Sword deepens, with the Azure Runes and surging Sword Intent suggesting a new revelation.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen discovers that the Glazed Sword bears the same azure runes as the Floating Immortal Sword. When he holds it, the Floating Immortal Sword’s mark empowers it with formidable Sword Intent.
• He easily draws the Glazed Sword from its platform, astonishing Black Flame Dao Master and the others.
• The group takes him to the Forbidden Grounds’ stone door and instructs him to insert the sword into its central groove.
• Water unexpectedly sprays from the groove as Fang Chen pushes the sword in. The door shakes with Spiritual Power, but the sword jams partway and cannot be pushed farther or pulled out.
• At Dao Master Honghe’s suggestion, Fang Chen twists the sword. The Floating Immortal Sword Seal surges with power, helping him loosen and remove it. Another jet of water bursts out, which his protective Gang Qi blocks.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen moves from surprise at the sword’s connection to the Floating Immortal Sword to confidently using its power. He remains cautious, worrying that twisting the cracked blade might break it.
• Black Flame Dao Master is delighted when Fang Chen claims the Glazed Sword, then becomes concerned and uncertain when the door behaves differently than it did with True Person Liuli.
• Dao Master Honghe offers practical advice, reassuring Fang Chen that the sword can withstand the strain. The other masters watch in astonishment as events depart from their past experience.

Significant themes

• Power and connection: The Floating Immortal Sword’s mark enhances the Glazed Sword and appears central to Fang Chen’s ability to wield it.
• Unexplained differences: Fang Chen’s attempt to open the Forbidden Grounds produces results unlike True Person Liuli’s, suggesting a special connection or hidden mechanism.
• Trust amid uncertainty: Fang Chen relies on the elders’ guidance while they face a situation none of them understands.

Key events

• Fang Chen uses the Glazed Sword to work open the sealed stone door. As he repeatedly drives the sword into its groove, the door releases increasingly potent liquid and Spiritual Power, which the Floating Immortal Sword Seal channels into his body and Foundation Establishment Dao Platform.
• When the sword finally seats fully, the door’s runes fade and the stone door opens. Fang Chen then uses the sword to cut through a multicolored barrier beyond it.
• Inside, dense mist blocks sight and Spiritual Sense. The Glazed Sword pulls Fang Chen deeper into it; Black Flame Dao Master restrains him with a rope, and the group follows the sword’s pull.
• They emerge in a lush valley filled with lotus pools. At the center is a rare Nine-Colored Smoke Lotus. Its delicate blossoms scatter in a breeze, then re-form once the wind stops.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen shows persistence and growing physical power as he opens the door, but the sword’s mysterious pull leaves him briefly in danger. He relies on Black Flame Dao Master to catch and guide him.
• Black Flame Dao Master takes charge, first helping Fang Chen and then organizing the group to enter the mist together. He explains the lotus’s significance.
• Dao Master Honghe, Crimson Rainbow Daoist, and the Seven Peak Masters follow Black Flame’s lead. The group’s excitement rises when they recognize the lotus.

Significant themes

• Power and cultivation: The mysterious liquid and Spiritual Power strengthen Fang Chen’s body and cultivation.
• Discovery and ancient legacy: The lotus is a rare species said to date from the Chaos Era, far beyond ordinary recorded medicines.
• Cooperation amid danger: The group must rely on one another to traverse the mist safely.
• Mystery and fragility: The Glazed Sword responds to hidden forces, while the lotus’s smoke-like blossoms are easily scattered yet re-form when conditions settle.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen and the Glazed Sword Sect’s senior cultivators discover that the reopened Glazed Sacred Pool contains water rich in Spiritual Power, with smoke lotuses marking pools of different strengths.
• The pool’s discovery excites the sect leaders: it could greatly reduce the resources needed to cultivate disciples and eventually help the Glazed Sword Sect challenge the Eight Trigrams Gate, Misty Sect, and Lingyun Sword Sect.
• Black Flame Dao Master advises Foundation Establishment–level Fang Chen to begin in a Two-Colored Lotus Pool, then move to stronger pools only if he can endure them.
• When Fang Chen dips the Glazed Sword into the pool, the lotus disappears and the blade regains its nine-colored radiance, revealing that it is absorbing the pool’s Spiritual Power.
• Fang Chen enters the water and cultivates with the Floating Immortal Art. His absorption creates a powerful vortex and astonishes the assembled cultivators.
• He then summons the Floating Immortal Sword beneath the water. It also draws in Spiritual Power, sending cool energy into Fang Chen and accelerating his already remarkable absorption rate.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen displays extraordinary cultivation potential. Despite his Spiritual Root not having awakened, he absorbs Spiritual Power faster than even highly gifted cultivators. His Floating Immortal Art—strengthened by its fusion with the Eighteen Emperor Scriptures and numerous advanced Qi Refining Techniques—helps explain his unusual speed.
• Black Flame Dao Master guides Fang Chen cautiously, recommending a pool appropriate to his current realm. He and Dao Master Honghe quietly approve of what Fang Chen’s performance suggests.
• Honghe, Azure Cloud Daoist, Zixiao Daoist, and Dao Master Chihong react with increasing amazement as Fang Chen’s absorption rate surges, especially after he brings out the Floating Immortal Sword.
• The exchange between Fang Chen and Black Flame Dao Master establishes Fang Chen’s deference to his senior and the elder’s role as his cultivation guide.

Significant themes

• Hidden potential and unconventional growth: Fang Chen’s lack of an awakened Spiritual Root does not prevent him from surpassing cultivators who possess one.
• Accumulation and transformation: The Floating Immortal Art’s accumulated techniques and the swords’ connection to Spiritual Power produce exceptional results.
• Sect ambition and opportunity: The sacred pools promise not only personal advancement but also renewed strength and influence for the Glazed Sword Sect.

Key events

• Black Flame Dao Master orders Azure Cloud Dao Master to bring the elite disciples into the Glazed Sacred Pool’s Forbidden Grounds, urging them to advance toward the ninth Foundation Establishment level before departing for Tianyuan Academy. The sect keeps the grounds’ opening secret; because Fang Chen opened them, the Glazed Sword is no longer needed to enter.
• The Seven Peak Masters arrive with blindfolded disciples, whose sight, hearing, and consciousness had been sealed to protect the secret. Once inside, the disciples are allowed to see and hear again and begin cultivating, enduring the pools’ painful Spiritual Power.
• Fang Chen quickly outgrows a two-colored pool and moves through a three-colored one to a four-colored pool—an unprecedented choice for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• The four-colored pool’s intense, scorching energy strains Fang Chen’s Meridians. The Floating Immortal Sword supplies a cooling current that balances the heat, allowing the Spiritual Power to reach and nourish his damaged Foundation Establishment Dao Platform.
• After three hours, his Dao Platform sheds its outer layer, strengthening his dantian and Meridians. Fang Chen breaks through to the second level of Foundation Establishment, and the force of his breakthrough erupts through the pool, startling the other cultivators.
• To keep Fang Chen’s breakthroughs from disturbing everyone else, Black Flame Dao Master asks Dao Master Honghe to isolate him. Honghe uses the Glazed Mirror to enclose Fang Chen’s pool in a curtain of light.

Character development and interactions

• Fang Chen displays extraordinary cultivation speed and resilience, but his damaged, unusually vast Dao Platform means he needs far more Spiritual Power than ordinary cultivators to advance. He remains focused, grateful for the sacred pool’s help, and willing to test the limits of his capacity.
• Black Flame Dao Master supports Fang Chen’s progression while cautioning him to advance gradually. He also takes practical steps to protect the other disciples’ concentration.
• Dao Master Honghe manages the group and firmly redirects the disciples’ attention when they stop to watch Fang Chen.
• The disciples, including Yan Ziyi and Chen Xiaofei, are excited to see Fang Chen, then react with astonishment to the power of his breakthrough. Honghe’s rebuke gets them back to cultivating.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and institutional protection: The sect carefully conceals the Forbidden Grounds and limits what disciples can learn about them.
• Exceptional talent and its costs: Fang Chen’s extraordinary potential enables rapid advancement, but his damaged Dao Platform demands unusually intense cultivation.
• Perseverance through opposing forces: The hot pool energy and the Floating Immortal Sword’s cold current work together to help Fang Chen endure and progress.
• Individual achievement versus communal discipline: Fang Chen’s breakthrough is impressive, but its disruption prompts the elders to balance his needs with those of the group.

Plot points and events

• Three months after entering the Glazed Sacred Pool, most disciples—including Yan Ziyi and Chen Xiaofei—have reached Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment and left the Forbidden Grounds.
• Fang Chen has advanced from the first to the seventh layer, but his unusual Flawed Dao Platform requires so much Spiritual Power that he cannot keep pace. Black Flame Dao Master and Dao Master Honghe end his training so he will not miss Tianyuan Academy’s entrance exam.
• At Black Flame’s suggestion, Fang Chen throws the damaged Glazed Sword into the Nine-Colored Lotus Pond, hoping the accumulated Spiritual Power will help it repair itself.
• The group returns to the Glazed Hall, where the Seven Peak Masters greet Fang Chen. Though concerned by his slow progress, Black Flame assures them that Fang Chen is already stronger than many of the sect’s Golden Core cultivators.
• The Peak Masters note that Tianyuan Academy’s exam will pit Fang Chen against elite disciples from powerful Central Barrens factions, whose resources, techniques, treasures, and backing give them major advantages.
• Before setting out, Dao Master Honghe raises the Glazed Mirror and surrounds the leaders with a golden curtain, concealing whatever they are about to do from Fang Chen.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen is disappointed not to have reached Great Perfection, but remains eager to attend Tianyuan Academy. He respectfully greets the senior disciples and asks practical questions about the Glazed Sword and their departure.
• Black Flame Dao Master protects Fang Chen’s opportunity to take the exam while defending his potential to the skeptical Peak Masters.
• Dao Master Honghe voices the urgency of leaving and then uses the Glazed Mirror to shield a private discussion or action.
• The Seven Peak Masters welcome Fang Chen warmly, but their concern shifts from his cultivation progress to the dangers he will face among the Central Barrens’ elite.

Significant themes

• Potential versus conventional progress: Fang Chen’s odd constitution makes his advancement unusually slow, even as his strength outstrips his cultivation rank.
• The unequal nature of power: Success and survival depend not only on cultivation, but also on resources, combat skills, treasures, and political backing.
• Preparation under time pressure: The group must balance further training against the approaching entrance exam, while the final concealed scene hints at plans Fang Chen has not yet been told.

Plot points

• The Black Flame Dao Master and the Seven Peak Masters decide to protect Fang Chen and give him the Glazed Sword Sect’s best available resources, recognizing the value of his past contributions.
• Each leader presents him with a powerful treasure: defensive and healing talismans and pills, a concealment talisman, an explosive pearl, an escape talisman, and the reusable Wind Spirit Feather.
• Fang Chen initially refuses, feeling the gifts are too valuable and undeserved. The leaders insist that his achievements and potential justify their support, and he accepts.
• The Azure Cloud Daoist tells Fang Chen he may study with any of the Peak Masters, who are willing to teach him what they know. The group then leaves the Glazed Hall.

Character developments and interactions

• The Peak Masters move from discussing their support in private to actively investing in Fang Chen’s safety and growth. Their gifts reflect different ideas about protection, including escape, concealment, healing, defense, and offense.
• Fang Chen shows humility and gratitude, but is persuaded to accept help when reminded of his contributions to the sect.
• The Azure Cloud Daoist emphasizes Fang Chen’s importance to both the sect and the Human Race. The Crimson Rainbow Daoist firmly presses him to accept, while the Zixiao Daoist warns that his future rivals will be richly equipped.
• The offer of instruction from any Peak Master gives Fang Chen unusual freedom to benefit from the whole leadership’s expertise.

Significant themes

• Reciprocity and duty: The sect regards its investment in Fang Chen as a response to what he has already done for it.
• Protecting potential: The leaders want to preserve Fang Chen so he can reach his full abilities and contribute to the Human Race.
• Humility and acceptance: Fang Chen’s reluctance contrasts with the leaders’ conviction that receiving support is appropriate.
• Pragmatic generosity: Though they suspect Fang Chen may eventually leave the sect, they choose to help him now.

Key events

• Fang Chen reunites with the Glazed Sword Sect disciples at Glazed Peak. Their affectionate pile-on turns into playful chaos before the group boards a Spirit Boat with the Black Flame Dao Master and Dao Master Honghe.
• They travel to Nantian City, wait three days for its Teleportation Array, and then spend three months reaching the Lotus Mountain Range—one of a hundred locations hosting Tianyuan Academy’s once-in-a-thousand-years assessment.
• The journey is delayed by crowded teleportation routes, but the group arrives before the Academy’s gates open. They settle on a distant hill and are warned not to attract trouble.
• To protect their identities, the disciples wear plain clothes, and the women disguise their appearances. Dao Master Honghe explains that applicants must choose titles for the assessment’s records and Heavenly Rankings.
• Fang Chen chooses an imposing-sounding title; Yan Ziyi writes “Little Yi Yi is Awesome,” and Chen Xiaofei chooses “I Want to Kill the Bald Bird.”

Character developments and interactions

• The disciples’ exuberant greeting shows their closeness to Fang Chen, who jokes and scolds them after being knocked into the pile.
• Dao Masters Honghe and Black Flame act as cautious guides, emphasizing preparation, discretion, and the need to avoid unnecessary attention.
• Chen Xiaofei’s chosen title reveals his lingering grudge against Master Hua, the myna bird. The bird has recently recovered more memories and now calls himself Master Hua—apparently becoming even more shameless in Fang Chen’s view.
• The group’s playful naming exercise contrasts with the seriousness of the journey and the assessment ahead.

Significant themes

• Ambition and status: The grand ships of Central Barrens’ powerful sects and clans display their wealth and prestige, especially as they gather for a rare opportunity.
• Preparation and caution: The group’s early departure, disguises, and insistence on staying put reflect the risks of traveling among powerful rivals.
• Camaraderie and humor: The reunion and eccentric assessment titles highlight the disciples’ loyalty and shared affection.

Key plot points and events

• Tianyuan Academy’s assessment begins in the Lotus Mountain Range. Participants have two days to enter the Secret Realm; the test lasts ten days.
• Fang Chen leads the Glazed Sword Sect disciples toward the entrance, warning them that they may be separated and will have to rely on themselves.
• A black myna bird joins Fang Chen, but the barrier refuses to let it enter. Fang Chen and the sect disciples proceed into the assessment area.
• The rules explain that participants’ Spirit Treasures—including storage treasures—will be sealed. Candidates are assessed in six fields, and the top 100,000 combat candidates in Examination Ground 101 will qualify. A protective mark can extract anyone in danger, but doing so costs them half their points, which go to the opponent who eliminated them.
• Fang Chen passes through the vortex, receives a white battle robe and a protective mark, and registers as “Riding Heaven Great Sage.” He chooses the Warrior category.
• After the Guiding Emissary explains how to check rankings and how combat points work, Fang Chen appears in a bustling city. A badly injured cultivator crashes through a shop window, and Fang Chen notices the strange name displayed above him: “Little Sister, Call Me Big Brother!”

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Chen shows leadership by preparing the Glazed Sword Sect disciples for possible separation. He is concerned that his Floating Immortal Sword may be sealed, but accepts the rules and chooses the Warrior assessment.
• Chen Xiaofei and the myna bird immediately quarrel, trading insults and threats. Fang Chen’s intervention calms them; the bird’s attempted entry ends in failure.
• The Guiding Emissary calmly directs Fang Chen through registration, marks him for protection, and explains the assessment system.
• Fang Chen and the other Glazed Sword Sect disciples part with mutual encouragement before entering the vortex.

Significant themes

• Fairness and competition: Sealing Spirit Treasures limits advantages from powerful backgrounds, while points reward defeating opponents.
• Individual responsibility: Participants may be separated, leaving each to depend on their own abilities.
• Diverse contributions: Tianyuan Academy values six professions, presenting the advancement of the Human Race as a collective effort.
• Risk and consequence: The protective mark offers rescue, but losing half one’s points makes survival costly.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Chen discovers that contestants’ nicknames and sect affiliations appear above their heads. He sees Xiong Kaishan of Overlord Sect kill another competitor, whose body and traces vanish after death.
• Fang cannot summon the Floating Immortal Sword, but its seal still channels Spiritual Power into him when he strikes Xiong’s projectile. Xiong attacks, confident Fang’s low cultivation makes him an easy target.
• Fang defeats Xiong with one punch, then kills him. The competition’s system awards Fang one kill point and one reward point. Checking the leaderboard, Fang finds himself ranked over eight millionth; he is astonished by the competition’s enormous scale and by the leader, Qin Tian of Primordial Sacred Land, already having over 300 points.
• An archer, Zhang Qian of Divine Arrow Sect, attacks Fang. When he catches her arrow, the seal absorbs Spiritual Power, and the arrow gains Azure Runes and Sword Intent matching those of his sword. Fang deflects two more arrows, then pursues Zhang and wounds her shoulder with the empowered arrow.

Character developments

• Fang Chen learns that the Floating Immortal Sword’s seal remains useful even when the sword itself cannot be summoned. He displays far greater combat strength than his apparent cultivation suggests, and grows excited as he discovers the seal can empower other weapons.
• Xiong Kaishan underestimates Fang because of his low cultivation and is killed.
• Zhang Qian is surprised by Fang’s ability to catch her arrow and quickly shifts from attacking to fleeing.

Character interactions

• Xiong publicly demonstrates his brutality by killing a fallen competitor, then insults and attacks Fang.
• Fang responds decisively, killing Xiong and earning points in the competition.
• Zhang attacks Fang from a distance; after he catches her arrows and charges, she tries to escape, but he strikes her with one of them.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus true strength: Fang’s low cultivation and lack of a displayed sect affiliation lead others to underestimate him.
• Competition and violence: Contestants earn points through killing, and the leaderboard turns survival into a ranked contest.
• Adaptation and hidden potential: Though Fang cannot summon his sword, he finds new ways to use its seal, transforming an ordinary arrow into a potent weapon.

Plot points and events

• Fang Chen defeats and kills Zhang Qian, an archer from the Divine Arrow Sect, after questioning her about her bow. Her death raises his score to 13, unlocking the Spirit Treasure Space.
• Inside, he finds a vast marketplace of treasures—including weapons, pills, talismans, and escape tools—and learns that Zhang Qian’s Cold Iron Bow costs 50 points.
• Fang Chen spends 10 points on a manual for the Startling Swan Arrow Technique, then leaves to study it rather than immediately resume fighting.
• After mastering the manual, he uses the Floating Immortal Art to channel Spiritual Power through the Cold Iron Bow, enhancing it with azure light, runes, and Sword Intent.
• A second Divine Arrow Sect disciple, Zhang Qin, shoots at Fang Chen from a rooftop. Fang Chen catches the arrow and pursues him.
• Zhang Qin, a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, uses his Gale-like Speed Manifestation to accelerate dramatically and pull ahead.

Character developments

• Fang Chen shows ruthless pragmatism by killing Zhang Qian despite her plea for mercy. He also demonstrates patience and adaptability: he invests points in archery and combines the bow with his existing cultivation technique.
• Zhang Qian is established as a capable archer, but her equipment and skill cannot overcome Fang Chen’s strength.
• Zhang Qin is introduced as a trained archer who understands the danger of close combat and relies on speed to escape.

Significant themes

• Survival and competition: Points, equipment, and kills directly affect contestants’ chances in the recruitment trial.
• Preparation over haste: Fang Chen chooses to learn a new technique before returning to battle.
• Adaptability: He turns an enemy’s weapon and the Spirit Treasure Space’s resources to his advantage.
• Specialization and vulnerability: The Divine Arrow Sect excels at ranged combat and speed, but its disciples struggle when enemies close in—and cannot afford expensive escape talismans.

Character interactions

• Fang Chen interrogates Zhang Qian about her bow and the Spirit Treasure Space, then kills her when she asks to be spared.
• The Guiding Emissary welcomes Fang Chen, explains how to browse and purchase treasures, and offers assistance.
• Fang Chen and Zhang Qin clash from a distance: Zhang Qin fires first, Fang Chen catches the arrow, and Zhang Qin flees as Fang Chen gives chase.