Chapter Summaries

Lu Zhenghai explained the factional conflict in Tianxuan Holy Land and offered Qingyuan Sect pills and spiritual medicines, while Gu An maintained the sect’s dignity before accepting the aid. The chapter left their strained ties eased somewhat, though Yang Chan remained suspicious of Liu Xuan’s delayed response to Qingyuan Sect’s plea.

• Lu Zhenghai described how Chiyu Peak and Liu Xuan had been targeted within Tianxuan Holy Land, leading Yang Chan to doubt that Liu Xuan had learned of Qingyuan Sect’s plea for aid only recently.
• Lu Zhenghai presented Qingyuan Sect with cultivation pills and spiritual medicines, saying Liu Xuan had sent them to help the sect recover.
• Gu An thanked Lu Zhenghai for the support after first refusing the gifts and making clear that Qingyuan Sect deserved respect.
• Lu Zhenghai felt reassured by the elders’ interest in the pills and inferred that Yang Chan’s alchemy skills explained Gu An’s composure.

Yang Chan learned more about the dangers and opportunities in Tianxuan Holy Land and decided to remain in Qingyuan Sect for now. Gu An confronted Lu Zhenghai about recruiting more disciples and agreed to let him take a limited number for training.

• Lu Zhenghai described Tianxuan Holy Land’s internal strife, the threat of earth demons, and the cultivation opportunities it offered, while Yang Chan decided not to go there yet.
• After Yang Chan and the others left, Gu An asked Lu Zhenghai why he had returned to Qingyuan Sect.
• Lu Zhenghai revealed that Chiyu Peak’s disciples had suffered heavy casualties fighting earth demons and explained why high-level martial cultivators could not intervene.
• Lu Zhenghai asked to recruit talented Qingyuan Sect disciples for focused training, saying they would be more trustworthy than recruits from elsewhere.
• Gu An agreed that Lu Zhenghai could take up to thirty martial-talented disciples, warning that Qingyuan Sect could not afford to lose more of its future backbone.

Gu An agreed to send talented disciples to Tianxuan Holy Land but refused Lu Zhenghai’s request to take Yang Chan, Qingyuan Sect’s only Internal Refinement-level alchemist, for now. Lu Zhenghai planned to keep trying to persuade Yang Chan before returning to Tianxuan Holy Land, while Gu An allowed contact as long as Yang Chan was not pressured.

• Gu An offered Lu Zhenghai a group of Qingyuan Sect’s most talented disciples but insisted that Yang Chan remain in the sect for now.
• Lu Zhenghai argued that Yang Chan could advance quickly in Tianxuan Holy Land and bring more resources to Chiyu Peak and Qingyuan Sect.
• Gu An rejected Lu Zhenghai’s promises, saying Yang Chan could join Tianxuan Holy Land later after Qingyuan Sect recovered and the situation there stabilized.
• Lu Zhenghai said he would stay two more days, select thirty people below Personal Disciple rank, and meet the group traveling to the Great Zhou Dynasty to see the new Martial Saint.
• Gu An allowed Lu Zhenghai to speak with Yang Chan but warned him not to force the alchemist if he chose to remain in Qingyuan Sect.

Yang Chan returned to Yuanqing Courtyard after learning he would soon receive the complete Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture. Lu Zhenghai visited him and used warm conversation to build rapport, while Yang Chan suspected he had come to recruit him for Tianxuan Holy Land and concealed his reluctance.

• Yang Chan anticipated asking Sect Master Gu for the complete Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture to help him reach the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster realm.
• Han Bingyu told Yang Chan that Hall Master Lu Zhenghai had arrived at the reception hall.
• Yang Chan greeted Lu Zhenghai cordially and recalled their past suspicion and lack of friendship.
• Yang Chan hinted that he could only remain in Qingyuan Sect to refine pills, signaling reluctance to leave.
• Lu Zhenghai praised Yang Chan's value to the sect and used conversation to smooth over their past conflict and prepare for his plans.

Lu Zhenghai tried to recruit Yang Chan to Tianxuan Holy Land by promising better resources and alchemy guidance, but Yang Chan chose to stay in Qingyuan Sect out of gratitude to Gu An and concern for the sect. Hidden nearby, Gu An heard Yang Chan’s heartfelt refusal and decided to provide him with more alchemical materials.

• Lu Zhenghai asked Yang Chan to join Tianxuan Holy Land before Gu An went there, but Yang Chan said he would only go with Gu An after their agreement was fulfilled.
• Lu Zhenghai urged Yang Chan to leave Qingyuan Sect, citing Tianxuan Holy Land’s rare materials, expert alchemists, and better prospects for advancement.
• Yang Chan explained that Gu An had supported him since he was a Steward Disciple and had protected him from the imperial dynasty, so he could not abandon Gu An or Qingyuan Sect now.
• Yang Chan argued that leaving would also deprive Qingyuan Sect’s Inner Refinement Elders of needed pills and hinder the sect’s recovery.
• Gu An secretly listened, felt reassured by Yang Chan’s loyalty, and resolved to increase the spiritual materials he supplied him.

Yang Chan rejected Lu Zhenghai’s attempt to persuade him to join Tianxuan Holy Land early, insisting that he would not use its resources to benefit Qingyuan Sect. Suspecting that the Holy Land was sending recruits because its Qingyuan Sect disciples had suffered heavy losses, he stayed cautious and ordered Han Bingyu to watch Lu Zhenghai and his companions.

• Lu Zhenghai praised Yang Chan’s principles, then argued that joining Tianxuan Holy Land would turn his talent into ability and help him advance.
• Yang Chan countered that acting against his conscience for profit could damage his state of mind.
• Lu Zhenghai suggested Yang Chan could use Tianxuan Holy Land’s resources to repay Qingyuan Sect, but Yang Chan called that a betrayal of both sects’ principles.
• Lu Zhenghai stopped pressing Yang Chan to send medicinal pills and left Yuanqing Courtyard after inviting him to discuss joining the Holy Land later.
• Yang Chan inferred that the Holy Land’s returning disciples might have suffered heavy casualties and decided to delay joining.
• Yang Chan told Han Bingyu to monitor Lu Zhenghai and the others and report anything suspicious.

Yang Chan refused Lu Zhenghai’s renewed offer to join the Tianxuan Holy Land and chose to remain with the Qingyuan Sect. After Lu Zhenghai left with selected disciples, he explained to Gu An that the Steward Disciples were meant to reinforce the Holy Land’s forces against the Earth Demons.

• Han Bingyu told Yang Chan that many Qingyuan Sect disciples were seeking to join the Tianxuan Holy Land, while reports from the White Jade Capital remained blocked by the Great Zhou Imperial Family’s investigations.
• Lu Zhenghai asked Yang Chan once more to join the Tianxuan Holy Land, but Yang Chan declined and said he would follow Gu An there when Gu An went.
• Lu Zhenghai left after warning Yang Chan not to return to the border battlefield, and Yang Chan asked Han Bingyu to find out which disciples had gone with him.
• Gu An said he had already warned Yang Chan about Chiyu Peak’s dangers and promised to support his alchemy, while Lu Zhenghai explained that the Steward Disciples he took might be used as cannon fodder against Earth Demons.

Gu An oversaw Tianxuan Holy Land’s recruitment of Qingyuan Sect disciples and ordered the sect to replenish its ranks. Meanwhile, Yang Chan considered the Holy Land’s motives, while Old Emperor Yang Yu and Grand Tutor Lu Yuan discussed the Holy Lands’ distance from imperial affairs and continued searching for the Dragon Slayer.

• Lu Zhenghai warned Gu An that Tianxuan Holy Land’s internal struggles were dangerous, then took many Qingyuan Sect disciples, including numerous Steward Disciples.
• Gu An ordered Qingyuan Sect to double its Steward Disciple recruitment and relax age limits for Formal Disciples from aristocratic families.
• Yang Chan heard Han Bingyu’s report about the recruits and suspected Tianxuan Holy Land had a particular reason for taking so many low-talent Steward Disciples.
• Old Emperor Yang Yu lamented that the Holy Lands had refused to help find the Dragon Slayer, and Lu Yuan explained that they feared Imperial National Fortune.
• Yang Yu told Lu Yuan to continue investigating the Dragon Slayer and suggested the disturbance in Yuzhou might have come from a newly born draconic creature.

Yang Chan continued refining Seven-Revolutions Organ Nourishing Pills and prepared to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster realm using his accumulated Potential Points. He received intelligence naming five Holy Lands connected to the Great Zhou Dynasty and planned to seek more information and obtain the complete Imperial Shocking World Scripture.

• Yang Chan kept accumulating Seven-Revolutions Organ Nourishing Pills while his bodily tempering approached its limit and Qingyuan Sect settled into peace.
• Yang Chan refused offers of more Alchemist Assistants and maidservants, and reviewed the complete Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture, including its methods for reaching the Blood-Changing Martial Saint realm.
• Han Bingyu delivered a letter from White Jade Capital listing Supreme Sect, Heavenly Fragrance Sect, Tianxuan Holy Land, Purple Mansion Holy Land, and Heavenly Sword Sect as connected to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
• Han Bingyu said Supreme Sect and Heavenly Fragrance Sect appeared to have strongholds in White Jade Capital, but she knew little about the other listed Holy Lands.
• Yang Chan planned to ask someone in Yuanqing Courtyard about the Holy Lands and seek the later portions of Princess Lanyue's Imperial Shocking World Scripture.

Yang Chan learned that the Imperial Shocking World Scripture was a dangerous, unverified cultivation method and advised Princess Lanyue not to switch to it. He remained committed to the complete Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture and considered Tianxuan Holy Land a better source for future cultivation methods.

• Han Bingyu told Yang Chan that disciples from the Supreme Sect and Heavenly Fragrance Sect reportedly entered the world to cultivate, and Yang Chan asked her to investigate the holy lands.
• Princess Lanyue visited Yang Chan after he received the complete Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture from Tianxuan Holy Land.
• Princess Lanyue gave Yang Chan the complete Imperial Shocking World Scripture she had obtained from Crown Prince Yang Gan, warning that its later methods were unverified.
• Yang Chan read the scripture and judged its brute-force breakthroughs too dangerous, with failure potentially resulting in death.
• Yang Chan advised Princess Lanyue to continue cultivating her current method and seek a safer cultivation method from Tianxuan Holy Land when the opportunity arose.

Princess Lanyue explained why she had chosen to cultivate the dangerous Imperial Shocking World Scripture, and Yang Chan promised to help her with pills when she approached a breakthrough. She then told Yang Chan what she knew about the Holy Lands, revealing that two of their bases were places he had already visited in White Jade Capital.

• Princess Lanyue explained that her identity made it too difficult to obtain the Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture, so she had chosen the Imperial Shocking World Scripture despite its dangers.
• Yang Chan agreed to refine pills for Princess Lanyue before she attempted to break through to Internal Refinement Grandmaster, and she thanked him.
• Yang Chan told Princess Lanyue that her work had earned his help, while privately viewing her as a valuable tool he wanted to keep alive.
• Yang Chan asked Princess Lanyue about the Holy Lands, and she identified Supreme Sect and Heavenly Fragrance Sect as having bases in White Jade Capital.
• Princess Lanyue explained that Hundred Flowers Tower and Ningxiang Tower were those bases, where the sects cultivated by drawing on the smoke and fire of the mortal world.

Yang Chan asked Princess Lanyue about Holy Lands and learned that the brothels Hundred Flowers Tower and Ningxiang Tower were connected to powerful sects with unusual cultivation methods. After hearing about other forces and how Holy Lands arose, Princess Lanyue considered joining one to obtain rare resources for cultivating the Imperial Shocking World Scripture.

• Yang Chan realized that Hundred Flowers Tower extracted a portion of visitors’ spiritual power and that Ningxiang Tower stirred their deepest desires, and Princess Lanyue said both were linked to Holy Lands.
• Princess Lanyue recalled an unconfirmed report that the Saintesses of the two sects had appeared in White Jade Capital.
• Yang Chan asked about other major forces, and Princess Lanyue described the chaotic Great Yin Demonic Sect and the beast-commanding Myriad Beasts Dao, along with other Holy Lands.
• Princess Lanyue explained that imperial family members were often refused entry to Holy Lands, including when she had sought to join one after displaying exceptional talent.
• Yang Chan and Princess Lanyue discussed how varied inheritances shaped Holy Lands and how Martial Saints sustained their power across generations.
• Princess Lanyue, who had once been rejected by a Holy Land, now wanted to join one for the rare resources her cultivation of the Imperial Shocking World Scripture required.

Yang Chan prepared to break through to Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster in a secluded mountain chamber, relying on Potential Points instead of a Marrow Cleansing Spirit Pill. He waited for dawn and the refresh of his Potential Points before advancing his Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method.

• The chapter explained that reaching Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster required thoroughly tempered organs, powerful spiritual power, and usually a spiritual pill to help overcome the bottleneck.
• Yang Chan spent nearly two months at Qingyuan Sect, completed his preparations, and cultivated Pengmo Strength for his breakthrough.
• Yang Chan left Qingyuan Sect and built a concealed chamber in the deep mountains to avoid drawing attention to his breakthrough.
• Yang Chan prepared multiple exits and concealment methods because his breakthrough might release a powerful aura, especially if he completed his first marrow cleansing.
• Yang Chan waited for dawn so he could use his refreshed Potential Points to advance the Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method into Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

Yang Chan used refreshed Potential Points to raise the Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method and break through to the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster realm. His marrow began its first cleansing immediately, leaving him undergoing an intense but rapidly healing transformation.

• Yang Chan spent his refreshed Potential Points on the Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method, advancing it to Fifth Order: Outstanding.
• The method’s advancement tempered Yang Chan’s body from his marrow and organs outward, while his life-nourishing techniques healed the damage and eased the pain.
• Yang Chan realized that his breakthrough had triggered his first marrow cleansing because his body had already reached the necessary level of preparation.
• Yang Chan continued enduring the marrow-tempering process as his restorative techniques repaired his body.

Yang Chan completed his first marrow cleansing after breaking through to Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, gaining a dramatic increase in strength and talent. As his aura terrified a nearby beast, he realized his new power could crumble mountains and break peaks.

• Yang Chan continued his first marrow cleansing, which took far longer than expected, and found that his lifespan and talent had increased.
• Yang Chan’s growing aura frightened the Striped-Eyed White-Browed Great Cat, which fled the mountain to escape him.
• Yang Chan completed the first marrow cleansing and felt his body’s enhancement rise to fifteen times its strength before his breakthrough.
• Yang Chan concluded that his power could flatten the desolate mountain and reach the level of crumbling mountains and breaking peaks.

After emerging from seclusion, Yang Chan learned that a great secret realm had appeared on the border between the Tianfeng Dynasty and the Great Zhou Dynasty. He arranged for Han Bingyu and the Qingyuan Sect to gather its spiritual herbs, hoping they would speed his cultivation and alchemy progress.

• Han Bingyu told Yang Chan that the secret realm had appeared after people searching for a Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster's cave residence accidentally opened it.
• Han Bingyu explained that spiritual energy and rare spiritual herbs were flooding the area, and that the Qingyuan Sect and the Great Zhou Imperial Family had sent people there.
• Yang Chan told Han Bingyu to have the Han Family gather spiritual herbs from the secret realm and to notify him when the sect received any.
• Yang Chan reflected that his second marrow cleansing could take three or four years at his current rate and that refining higher-grade pills could increase his Potential Points income.
• Han Bingyu reported that nothing else major had happened and offered to scrub Yang Chan's back in the bathhouse.

Yang Chan chose to remain in Qingyuan Sect rather than risk the secret realm on the border, focusing on improving his techniques and cultivation. His panel showed major gains in lifespan and talent after reaching the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster realm, while he set his sights on advancing the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Technique.

• Yang Chan decided to avoid the secret realm, where Grandmasters and possibly Martial Saints were gathering, and stayed in Qingyuan Sect to cultivate safely.
• Yang Chan saw that his lifespan had risen to 407 and his talent to 33 after his breakthrough and first marrow cleansing.
• Yang Chan planned to focus Potential Points on the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Technique until it reached Fifth Order, while gradually advancing his Sword Master profession and Primordial Soul Sword.
• Yang Chan found that his Second Order Primordial Soul Sword could pierce weapon-grade blades and potentially threaten Grandmasters, though the Black Dragon remained asleep inside the Mysterious Yin Hanging Beads.
• Yang Chan noted that Han Bingyu’s help had advanced the Primal True Mutual Sense Great Method to Second Order, while his first marrow cleansing had rapidly raised the Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture to Third Order.

Yang Chan hoped to find rare Spiritual Materials in the newly emerged secret realm so he could refine pills that aided Marrow Cleansing and Body Tempering. Gu An summoned the Medicine Hall Pharmacists and arranged for some to accompany Qingyuan Sect’s expedition, leaving the sect to seek more opportunities in the vast realm.

• Yang Chan considered refining Meridian Nourishing Marrow Cleansing Pills and a Creation Body Tempering Pill, but he lacked some of their Spiritual Materials.
• Gu An arranged for people to explore the new secret realm, whose resources could help strengthen Qingyuan Sect and support its Steward Disciples.
• Yang Chan attended a meeting where Gu An explained that Qingyuan Sect would send Pharmacists to treat injured disciples near the secret realm.
• Gu An invited Pharmacists to volunteer to search for opportunities, noting that high-grade and top-grade spiritual herbs had already been found there.
• Gu An hoped the expedition would bring back more Five-Cycle Organ Nourishing Pills and other resources to help him advance toward the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster realm.

Old Emperor Yang Yu learned that the newly emerged border secret realm was connected to the Zixu Imperial Dynasty and might hold resources and clues to the Starry Sky Teleportation Array. With Holy Lands converging on the realm, Grand Tutor Lu Yuan asked Yang Yu to send more Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster experts to strengthen the Great Zhou Dynasty’s position.

• Grand Tutor Lu Yuan reported that the border secret realm was linked to the Zixu Imperial Dynasty and might once have served as a spirit-plant field.
• Yang Yu recalled the Zixu Imperial Dynasty’s power and considered the possibility that its disappearance was connected to the Starry Sky Teleportation Array.
• Grand Tutor Lu Yuan explained that the Holy Lands were entering the secret realm to seek resources and search for the legendary array.
• Grand Tutor Lu Yuan told Yang Yu that Great Zhou and the Tianfeng Dynasty had already gained substantial resources but needed more experts to compete with the arriving Holy Lands.
• Grand Tutor Lu Yuan requested that Yang Yu dispatch several more Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster experts into the secret realm.

Old Emperor Yang Yu assigned Grand Tutor Lu Yuan to oversee affairs surrounding the newly emerged secret realm while sending Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters inside to seek opportunities. At Qingyuan Sect, Yang Chan cultivated the difficult Peng Demon Martial Imprint and planned to master five complementary demon techniques to comprehend the Five Demon True Intent.

• Yang Yu decided to send Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters into the secret realm and remain in White Jade Capital, wary of Ouyang Qingtian and the risks of leaving the capital.
• Yang Yu ordered Lu Yuan to accompany the expedition and gave him authority over all matters outside the secret realm.
• Yang Chan struggled to advance the Peng Demon Martial Imprint, which was harder to cultivate than the Flood Dragon Demon Martial Imprint.
• Yang Chan chose to keep prioritizing the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Technique rather than spend many Potential Points on the Peng Demon Martial Imprint.
• Yang Chan planned to cultivate the Peng Demon Marrow Cleansing Scripture and the Demon Dragon Blood Transformation Art alongside his other techniques to comprehend the Five Demon True Intent.