Chapter Summaries

Chu Mu entered the Immortal Path Sect’s inheritance space and chose to explore its array formations. After passing an initial test as a first-order low-grade Array Formation Master, he faced another array as the assessment continued.

• Chu Mu revealed his true aura and approached the Heavenly Mark Crystal Stone, reflecting on the Immortal Path Sect and his grave injuries.
• Chu Mu entered the inheritance space and found doors leading to the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.
• Chu Mu chose the Array Formations inheritance and was transported into a dark, starry void.
• Chu Mu identified and shattered the Minor Five Elements Vajra Array despite having only early Qi Refining-level mana.
• The inheritance space evaluated Chu Mu as a first-order low-grade Array Formation Master, then sent down another array.

Chu Mu passed the Array Dao and Artifact Dao assessments, gained new inheritance summaries, and used the remaining time to study formations and refine artifacts. After months of experiments with abundant third-order materials, he continued working in the inheritance space.

• Chu Mu completed the array assessment at Third Order Lower-Grade, was rated a second order high grade Array Formation Master, and received the Array Dao Grand Summary.
• Chu Mu spent nearly half a year comprehending the array inheritance under the Spirit Radiance Blessing before the Array Doorway opened.
• Chu Mu passed the Artifact Dao assessment and was rated a Third Order High Grade Artifact Refiner, which revealed another Weapon Refinement Grand Summary.
• Chu Mu found that the illusory room supplied spiritual materials up to Third Order High Grade but did not reproduce the Blazing Sun Fire Essence or Fusang Wood in his Storage Ring.
• Chu Mu spent a month studying the new Weapon Refinement Grand Summary, then used the earthfire and abundant third-order materials to refine artifacts for several months.

After studying alchemy in the Inheritance Ground, Chu Mu returned to the Magma Fire Sea and began arranging the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Grand Array to resist the Demon Domain’s invasion. He realized the Dragon Robe Man had likely saved and strengthened him to use him as bait for the true demon, while the two powerful beings watched across the boundary between their worlds.

• Chu Mu examined the high-grade and supreme-grade Nine Dragons magic treasures he had refined, but his instincts told him the Nine Dragons Suppressing Prison Tower was incomplete.
• Chu Mu entered the Alchemy inheritance for six days, then left the Inheritance Ground when his one-year appointment ended and returned to Sword Washing Lake.
• Chu Mu entered the Magma Fire Sea and found Demonic Fire from the spatial rift locked in a stalemate with the Secret Realm’s Earth Vein Fire Qi.
• Chu Mu began arranging the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Grand Array, then suspected the Dragon Robe Man had made him bait to lure the true demon out of the Demon Domain Heaven and Earth.
• The Dragon Robe Man watched from the Secret Realm as the true demon observed Chu Mu through a projection, but neither crossed the world boundary.

Chu Mu completed the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Grand Array and learned that making it truly complete would require the souls of nine fire-attribute dragons, a dangerous prospect he could not bring himself to abandon. After receiving a life-saving jade talisman and learning his demonic corruption left him limited time, he broke through the Secret Realm’s spatial barrier to return to the cultivation world.

• Chu Mu completed the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Grand Array, then met a mysterious senior who gave him a jade talisman to use if he encountered the true demon.
• Chu Mu asked about the array’s flaw, and the senior revealed that it needed nine fire-attribute dragon souls to become true Nine Dragons Divine Fire, just as Chu Mu’s Great Sun True Fire needed a Great Sun Fire Seed.
• Chu Mu considered abandoning his plan to refine a Lifebound Magic Treasure around the array, but the treasure’s potential made him reluctant to give it up despite the danger of obtaining nine jiaolong souls.
• Chu Mu sensed that his injuries and demonic corruption left him about five years, and he realized his recovery and planned treasure would take much of that time.
• Chu Mu found a weak point in space with the Restriction Breaking Jade Talisman, opened a crack in the sky, and leaped through it to leave the Secret Realm.

After emerging from the Secret Realm, Chu Mu encountered a prison island guarded by a giant eagle and a Giant Rock Alligator Turtle, then cautiously traveled back toward the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm. He reached the Red Glow Sea Area and learned that the war against the Dark Serpent Clan had worsened, with the Vast Ocean losing half its territory.

• Chu Mu appeared in the Outer Sea and found thousands of cultivators imprisoned on an island that was actually the back of a Third Order Perfection Giant Rock Alligator Turtle.
• A giant eagle attacked Chu Mu, but retreated when he revealed Blade Intent; Chu Mu declined the prisoners’ pleas for help and left unharmed.
• Chu Mu traveled cautiously for months, using Reconnaissance Puppets, and passed through the ruined Mountains Island sea area.
• Chu Mu reached the Red Glow Sea Area and saw signs of widespread devastation from the continuing war.
• Chu Mu learned that the Dark Serpent Clan had driven into Vast Ocean territory and that the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm had lost half its domain.

Chu Mu avoided the fighting in Red Glow while recovering from his injuries and designing a growth-oriented Lifebound Magic Treasure. After Chang Er brought the requested supplies to his island retreat, Chu Mu kept his Golden Core breakthrough secret and postponed any ceremony until he returned to Red Glow.

• Chu Mu questioned a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, learned of the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm’s repeated defeats, and decided to head toward Red Glow despite the danger.
• Chu Mu spent nearly half a year crossing beast-infested waters, then hid on a deserted island near Red Cloud Island and recuperated.
• Chu Mu spent months designing a crimson Nine Dragons tower as the prototype for his Lifebound Magic Treasure, leaving room for future upgrades.
• Chang Er arrived by Flying Boat with the supplies Chu Mu had requested and discovered that Chu Mu had formed his Golden Core.
• Chu Mu told Chang Er to keep his Golden Core breakthrough confidential and said they would discuss a ceremony after he returned to Red Glow.

Chu Mu weighed the Vast Ocean factions seeking his allegiance and prepared to refine a Lifebound Magic Treasure after promising Chang Er Foundation Establishment. He began forging the Nine Dragons Suppressing Prison Tower prototype, carefully melding spiritual material essences with Great Sun True Fire and array inscriptions.

• Chang Er told Chu Mu that several fallen factions and Immortal Hongyi wanted to pledge themselves to him, and Chu Mu ordered him to delay them until his return to Red Glow.
• Chang Er reported that Wangcai was cultivating on Second Order Demon Beast flesh and blood, while Xu Yuan had reached Foundation Establishment and left True Understanding Pavilion to start a foundation of his own.
• Chu Mu promised Chang Er that he would grant him Foundation Establishment, leaving Chang Er overwhelmed with gratitude.
• Chu Mu examined the jade talisman from the Dragon Robe Man, considered the mystery of realms beyond Nascent Soul, and decided to return to Red Glow after refining his treasure.
• Chu Mu built layered second-order grand arrays around his cave and spent more than half a year refining spiritual materials into purified essence for his Lifebound Magic Treasure.
• After restoring his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, Chu Mu began refining the Nine Dragons Suppressing Prison Tower prototype, joining spiritual material essences with Great Sun True Fire and array inscriptions.

Chu Mu completed the Nine Dragons Suppressing Prison Tower, a Lifebound Magic Treasure whose power grew with his Great Sun True Fire. He discovered that its fire dragons could attack the Demonic Markings on his Divine Soul, beginning to weaken the source of his demonic corruption.

• After months of refinement, Chu Mu infused the tower with a crystalline blood orb and completed the Nine Dragons Suppressing Prison Tower.
• Chu Mu tested the tower’s defenses and attacks, using its fire dragons and scarlet chains to vaporize and imprison Monster Beasts.
• Chu Mu examined the tower’s low-grade classification and recognized both its potential for growth and the danger of damage to a Lifebound Magic Treasure.
• Chu Mu summoned the tower’s dragons against the Demonic Markings on his Divine Soul, forcing them to manifest as demonic beasts and serpents.
• As the fire dragons destroyed the manifested beasts, the Demonic Markings visibly dimmed and Chu Mu’s demonic corruption slowed.

After spending years refining away the demonic corruption, Chu Mu returned to Red Glow and learned that the region had survived successive Nascent Soul battles and a recent Fourth Order Dark Serpent attack. He considered using his Golden Core cultivation to expand True Understanding Pavilion into a regional power.

• In the fourth winter, Chu Mu emerged from seclusion with his demonic markings and demonic qi gone, though his bodily injuries still needed time to heal.
• Chu Mu sensed that the widespread snowfall bore traces of powerful Technique Arts and suspected a Nascent Soul battle had caused it.
• On his way to Red Glow, Chu Mu was stopped by Chen Family patrol boats, revealed his Golden Core aura, and asked about current events in Hanhai.
• A Chen Family cultivator told Chu Mu that Nascent Soul battles had followed the Dark Serpent Clan’s Beast Tide, the Red Glow Defense Line had held, and a Fourth Order Dark Serpent Great Demon had recently frozen a thousand miles of sea.
• As he approached Red Cloud Island, Chu Mu considered turning True Understanding Pavilion into a major regional faction by drawing cultivators to serve him.

Chu Mu returned to Red Glow as a Golden Core True Person and took control of True Understanding Pavilion, while learning that Great Chu’s conflict had turned against the Righteous Path Alliance. He discovered that the Longevity Sect’s mysterious Ninth True Disciple was formally recognized but had never appeared—an identity he himself carried.

• Chu Mu entered Red Glow City, assessed its wartime tensions, and was welcomed by hundreds of cultivators at True Understanding Pavilion.
• Chu Mu declined to hold a Golden Core Ceremony, while Xu Yuan explained that he planned to establish a family and take Xu Jinhuai out to temper him.
• Chang Hongyi told Chu Mu that Hundred Treasures True Person had died and Hundred Treasures Pavilion had been annexed; Chu Mu appointed her to manage True Understanding Pavilion and gave Chang Er two Jade Boxes to aid his cultivation.
• Chang Hongyi described the Righteous Path Alliance’s defeats and the Longevity Sect’s growing advantage in Great Chu.
• Chu Mu asked about the Longevity Sect’s Ninth True Disciple and learned that the sect had held an investiture ceremony, though the mysterious disciple had never appeared or been named.

Months after Chu Mu returned to Red Glow, the True Understanding Pavilion grew into a major power, while he recovered from his injuries and explored a mysterious change in his Blade Intent. He sent his trained Artifact Refiner disciples to the pavilion’s branches and suspected his Blade Intent’s mutation would become clear once his Golden Core healed.

• The True Understanding Pavilion expanded rapidly after Chu Mu’s advancement to Golden Core, and his reputation as Dual Excellence in Pills and Weapons spread among Golden Core cultivators.
• Chu Mu finished teaching his nominal disciples the basics of Weapon Refinement Technique and sent them to the pavilion’s branch pavilions to gain experience.
• Chu Mu studied an Array Book and focused on recovering from his injuries while reflecting on his cultivation after forming his Golden Core.
• Chu Mu noticed an indistinct change in his Skill Approaching the Dao blade technique and Divine Soul Blade, and suspected his injuries and cracked Golden Core obscured the mutation.
• Chu Mu checked the Spirit Fields at the True Understanding Pavilion, where Spirit Planting Puppets and Chang Er tended the spirit plants.

Chu Mu examined Wangcai and found that its Adamantine Wolf bloodline was nearing a barrier that could prevent it from reaching the third order. He went to Green Wood Hall for a gathering of Golden Core cultivators, where Five Poisons Child hinted that Chu Mu might find a high-rank bloodline related to the Adamantine Wolf.

• Chu Mu inspected his spirit fields, cleared out Spirit Insects, and greeted the affectionate Wangcai in the rear courtyard.
• Chu Mu examined Wangcai and realized its Adamantine Wolf bloodline was limiting its progress toward the third order.
• Chu Mu fed Wangcai the body of a third-order black snake and then received a summons to Green Wood Hall.
• Chu Mu met Five Poisons Child and Wood Blue Real Person at Green Wood Hall, where cultivators had gathered to exchange news and resources.
• Five Poisons Child told Chu Mu that the gathering might help him find a high-rank bloodline related to the Adamantine Wolf, then discussed a Sky Water Turtle shell with him.

Chu Mu learned that the Dark Serpent Clan’s past attack on the Star Mountain Trial had left the Chen Family under suspicion and considered whether the Longevity Sect was exploiting the conflict to sow discord in the Vast Ocean. After joining an expedition to the Outer Sea, he learned that Green Wood Real Person had acquired Moon Glow Wolf Bloodline that might suit his needs.

• Five Poisons Child told Chu Mu that the Dark Serpent Clan had abducted the elite disciples at the Star Mountain Trial, putting the Chen Family at risk of blame from the Vast Ocean’s factions.
• Chu Mu suspected the abduction was part of a scheme to stir internal conflict and wondered whether the Longevity Sect was involved.
• Green Wood Real Person announced an Outer Sea expedition, and Five Poisons Child joined the team led by Green Wood Real Person and four other Golden Core cultivators.
• Chu Mu remained unable to trade for the rare items he wanted during the gathering’s exchange.
• Green Wood Real Person told Chu Mu that the clan treasury had acquired Moon Glow Wolf Bloodline, which might meet his requirements because it shared an origin with the Adamantine Wolf.

Green Wood Real Person asked Chu Mu to repair the Chen Family’s damaged Fourth Order Sect Protecting War Puppet, and Chu Mu agreed to inspect it in a month. After leaving, Chu Mu met Five Poisons Child, who hinted at resentment toward the Chen Family, but Chu Mu avoided getting involved.

• Green Wood Real Person showed Chu Mu an image of the Ancient Immortal Path Sect’s Fourth Order War Puppet fighting a Beast Tide and explained that it had been damaged battling a Fourth Order Great Demon.
• Green Wood Real Person offered Chu Mu a reward to repair the puppet, citing his Immortal Path Sect connection and his skill in weapon refinement and puppetry.
• Chu Mu agreed to attempt the repair without promising success and arranged to meet Green Wood Real Person in one month.
• Chu Mu left the hall with a Jade Box and returned to the True Understanding Pavilion, where Five Poisons Child was waiting for him.
• Five Poisons Child suggested the Chen Family disregarded his Earth Rank Low Grade bloodline, while Chu Mu avoided responding and reflected that factions chiefly served their leaders.

Chu Mu studied how Moon Glow Wolf Bloodline Essence affected Wangcai’s Adamantine Wolf bloodline, then began a carefully prepared transformation for his companion. After Xu Lingtian summoned him away, he learned that Chu Mu’s Golden Core was supreme-grade and asked to inspect its lingering cracks.

• Five Poisons Child left Chu Mu a token granting entry to a secret trade fair, and Chu Mu wondered why a gathering for Golden Core cultivators needed secrecy.
• Chu Mu tested a thread of Moon Glow Wolf Bloodline Essence on Wangcai and identified Bright Flame Spirit Wolf, Adamantine Wolf King, and a third bloodline as likely transformation paths.
• Chu Mu prepared a protected formation and began Wangcai’s bloodline fusion, then left after receiving a voice transmission from Xu Lingtian.
• Chu Mu met Xu Lingtian at an inn, where Xu Lingtian noticed his injury and asked whether it had damaged his Dao foundation.
• Chu Mu said his Three Pill Pattern Golden Core should be supreme-grade and revealed it to Xu Lingtian, who saw that it remained cracked.

Xu Lingtian explained the origins of the Hanhai Chen Family and Jiaolong Chen Family, and why their rivalry shaped the conflict in the Vast Ocean. He also praised Chu Mu’s Supreme-Grade Golden Core, released him from handling the sect’s affairs there, and warned him to keep his Lifebound Magic Treasure pure.

• Xu Lingtian gave Chu Mu a secret healing medicine and learned that Chu Mu had formed his Supreme-Grade Golden Core by treating his dantian as a furnace and heavenly lightning as fire.
• Xu Lingtian revealed that Bloodline Cultivators could choose to remain human or become demons, explaining how those paths divided the Chen Family into the Hanhai Chen Family and Jiaolong Chen Family.
• Chu Mu connected the two families’ split to their changing fortunes and to the Jiaolong Chen Family’s intervention against the Dark Serpent Clan at Crimson Clouds.
• Xu Lingtian explained that the Jiaolong Chen Family descended from an Ancient Jiaolong and that other Vast Ocean demon races might exploit the ongoing chaos to attack the Chen families.
• Xu Lingtian told Chu Mu to focus on cultivation, reminded him to return to the sect as its Ninth True Inheritance, and warned him that his Lifebound Magic Treasure must remain flawless and pure.

After learning that the Chen Family had human and monster branches, Chu Mu discovered that his Three-Pill-Pattern Supreme-Grade Golden Core gave him an additional thirty percent chance of forming a Nascent Soul. He healed his long-standing injuries with the Sword Dao Nascent Soul’s pills, then entered a strange state as his Blade Intent transformed the bamboo grove into a deadly domain.

• Chu Mu considered the Sword Dao Nascent Soul’s revelation about the two Chen Families and the vast number of human cultivators who could become monsters.
• Chu Mu read the Jade Slip and learned that his Supreme-Grade Golden Core increased his chance of forming a Nascent Soul by thirty percent.
• Chu Mu returned to the True Understanding Pavilion, examined Wangcai, and identified the nine emerald pills as powerful remedies for injuries to Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
• Chu Mu swallowed the pills and fully healed injuries that had troubled him for more than a decade.
• While Chu Mu remained unconscious, his Blade Intent spread through the bamboo grove, turning its plants into blade-like vessels and killing every other living creature there.

After his injuries healed, Chu Mu’s Blade Intent evolved into a Blade Domain, letting him infuse anything within his Divine Sense’s reach with its sharpness. He returned to True Understanding Pavilion, gave Hong'er a protective Wooden Sword, and began arranging the pavilion’s affairs while preparing to meet Green Wood Real Person.

• Chu Mu discovered that his elevated Blade Intent could turn bamboo leaves and other things into blades, and realized it had formed a Blade Domain.
• Chu Mu saw that the Light Screen Panel had added the skill “Domain” and considered how it could multiply the power of his attacks.
• Chu Mu listened to messages from Green Wood Real Person and Five Poisons Child, then reviewed True Understanding Pavilion’s growth with Hong'er.
• Chu Mu forged a Wooden Sword infused with Blade Intent and gave it to Hong'er to protect her, even against a Golden Core cultivator.
• Hong'er told Chu Mu that Hundred Treasures Pavilion had sent him a congratulatory gift in Evergreen Real Person’s name, and Chu Mu told her to accept it.
• Chu Mu gave Hong'er a list of materials to gather and flawless Alchemical Pills to support her cultivation.

Chu Mu and Green Wood Real Person traveled to the Demon Suppression Islands, where Green Wood explained the history of the demon beast invasion and the limits of the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm’s defenses. Chu Mu arrived at Heavenly Mystery Island to help repair the Ancient War Puppet and recognized that the islands’ grand array had been shaped by a Nascent Soul array master.

• Green Wood Real Person described the past battle against the Dark Serpent Clan and explained how the demon beast clans used enslaved beasts to drive their invasions.
• Green Wood Real Person told Chu Mu that the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm could not expand far into the Outer Sea without provoking other major demon beast clans.
• The Flying Boat entered the Demon Suppression Islands’ defenses, and Chu Mu examined the array built across its one hundred and eight artificial islands.
• Green Wood Real Person explained that a Nascent Soul array master had laid the grand array and was overseeing repairs to the Ancient War Puppet.
• Chu Mu arrived at Heavenly Mystery Island, where non-Chen cultivators were ordinarily forbidden to enter, while True Understanding Pavilion forces were stationed on Earthly Fiend Island.

Chu Mu arrived at War Puppet Island to examine a ruined Fourth Order Ancient War Puppet and discovered that the Chen Family expected him to attempt its restoration without providing a complete refinement method. After three months of reverse-engineering the puppet, he concealed his findings and turned his attention to persuading the Chen Family to reveal more, hoping to lead the restoration himself.

• Green Wood Real Person introduced Chu Mu to a towering Nascent Soul senior, who gave him a Jade Slip and told him to inspect the Ancient War Puppet.
• Chu Mu found the puppet had suffered catastrophic damage and learned that the Jade Slip contained only scattered records because the method for refining Ancient War Puppets had supposedly been lost.
• Chu Mu examined the puppet under Spirit Radiance Blessing and spent nearly three months reverse-engineering its structure, inscriptions, and refinement process.
• Chu Mu recorded his findings in a Jade Slip and concluded that he needed the Chen Family's refinement method and spirit materials to verify his deductions and restore the puppet.
• Chu Mu suspected the Chen Family had gathered the Artifact Refiners to select the best candidate, while the other refiners kept their research secret from one another.