Chapter Summaries

Chu Mu took the Life-Extending Pill and directed its vitality toward his shattered Golden Core, then spent years tending to his lingering injuries. Ten years later, a high-spirited youth arrived at Cave Estate No. 896 in Yao Guang City, where the story left him overlooking the city.

• Chu Mu inspected his shattered soul, dantian, and Golden Core and recognized that his severe injuries might remain incurable.
• Chu Mu swallowed the Life-Extending Pill and guided its surge of vitality toward his Golden Core before continuing to examine his lingering injuries.
• Ten years passed as Chu Mu continued recovering, while the True Inheritance Palace and the Cultivation World went through a period of change and peace.
• The True Understanding Pavilion acquired the thousand-year right to use the North Three Wards spiritual vein and took control of its cave estates.
• A youth flew to Cave Estate No. 896, confirmed its ownership with the Restriction Token, and looked out over Yao Guang City.

Lie Yan met his longtime friend Gongye Jianfeng in Yao Guang City, where Gongye gave him a Jade Slip containing a Blade Dao seal script and invitations to an auction. As Lie Yan considered whether to join the Longevity Sect at its upcoming Mountain Opening Ceremony, he entered his Cave Abode and began studying the seal script.

• Lie Yan waited outside his Cave Abode and welcomed Gongye Jianfeng, who had arranged the residence for him.
• Gongye gave Lie Yan a Jade Slip with a rare cloud seal and two invitations to an auction featuring Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Gongye told Lie Yan that Blade Intent could earn him an exception to the Longevity Sect's age restrictions, while Lie Yan revealed that he had a Heavenly Spiritual Root, which Gongye dismissed as a joke.
• Lie Yan weighed the risks of joining the Longevity Sect against the freedom of independent cultivation and eventually entered his Cave Abode.
• Lie Yan studied the Blade Dao seal script, which he had nearly comprehended before but lacked a complete imprint to understand fully.

A young cultivator absorbed the Blade Path Cloud Inscription from a marked Jade Slip, while Chu Mu recovered from his shattered Golden Core and watched the carefully orchestrated growth of a young man who resembled him. Chu Mu considered the young man’s body ideal for Body Seizing but rejected the risky act unless he faced a dead end.

• A young cultivator used his Divine Sense to enter the Jade Slip’s recorded scene and gained a sudden flood of insights into the Blade Path Cloud Inscription.
• Chu Mu awoke from nearly a decade of healing and found that the Life-Extending Pill had restored his Golden Core, healed many injuries, and extended his lifespan by nearly sixty years.
• Chu Mu viewed an image tracking the young man’s growth and saw that a hidden force had arranged the people and events around him.
• Chu Mu recognized that the young man shared his Great Sun True Scripture, Blade Intent, and Fire Attribute spiritual root, making their bodies exceptionally compatible.
• Chu Mu decided against seizing the young man’s body unless he reached a dead end, since Body Seizing would invite lasting trouble.

After leaving seclusion, Chu Mu went to True Essence Hall and learned that Xu Changqing planned to travel to the southwest to obtain a rare Spirit Herb for his injured father. Chu Mu agreed to manage the Peeking Truth Vein’s affairs and preside over the next Mountain Opening Ceremony while Xu Changqing was away.

• Chu Mu erased the traces of his secluded cultivation, then received Xu Changqing’s message and flew to the Peeking Truth Vein’s halls.
• Chu Mu found Xu Changqing handling the vein’s affairs at True Essence Hall and told him his injuries had become deeply rooted and difficult to heal.
• Xu Changqing said his father’s injuries were severe and explained that he would travel to Thousand Bamboo Kingdom to obtain a Spirit Herb for treatment.
• Xu Changqing asked Chu Mu to oversee the vein’s affairs and next year’s Mountain Opening Ceremony during his absence.
• Chu Mu agreed and urged Xu Changqing to set out soon to secure the Spirit Herb for his father.

Chu Mu reviewed the Peeking Truth Vein’s affairs and considered how the Sky Palace Relic and the Outer Sea conflict could reshape the Cultivation World. He concluded that the conflict would not end peacefully, though the Three Clans Alliance’s exposure had made the situation better than it might have been.

• Chu Mu contemplated bringing the Flower of Similarity into the Longevity Sect and weighed the difficulties of arranging it within the sect.
• Chu Mu reviewed dossiers on the Peeking Truth Vein’s resources, candidates, missions, and sources of wealth.
• Chu Mu reflected on how the Peeking Truth Vein and the Longevity Sect had shifted from dispersed benefits toward greater centralization.
• Chu Mu wondered whether the Cultivation World would be different if the Ascension Passage still existed, and connected lost hope of ascension to the conflicts among powerful figures.
• Chu Mu judged that the Sky Palace, the Heavenly Heart, and the severed path of ascension meant the Outer Sea conflict would not end peacefully.
• Chu Mu considered the Three Clans Alliance’s public exposure a favorable development and hoped the Longevity Sect Master could learn the Upper Realm pattern system and break the two Divine Restrictions.

After comprehending Blade Intent, a young cultivator wandered through Yao Guang City and drew the attention of powerful factions. Chu Yan, a direct disciple of the Longevity Sect’s Peeking Truth Vein, offered him a place in the sect and warned him that others had noticed him.

• The young man walked openly through Yao Guang City, revealing his newly comprehended Blade Intent and attracting covert attention from major powers.
• Chu Yan, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, spotted him and called him into a tavern.
• Chu Yan recognized that the young man had gained Blade Intent from Chu Shixiong’s Blade Path Cloud Inscription and asked whether he had a master.
• Chu Yan offered to recruit the young man into the Longevity Sect and warned that people in the city had set their sights on him.
• The young man asked which of Longevity’s nine veins Chu Yan belonged to, and she identified herself as a direct disciple of the Peeking Truth Vein.

At the Mountain Opening Ceremony, Chu Mu refused to immediately make a gifted independent cultivator a direct disciple, agreeing to assess him first. Yan Ming returned from the Southwest, revealed that he planned to form a Nascent Soul, and asked Chu Mu for help with an undisclosed matter.

• Chu Mu watched a boy arrive at the ceremony and discussed his admission with two elders and Chu Yan.
• Chu Mu arranged for the boy to be admitted to the inner sect after investigation, postponing a decision on direct discipleship until a senior returned or emerged from seclusion.
• Yan Ming returned to the sect from the Southwest and greeted Chu Yan and Chu Mu.
• Yan Ming said he expected to attempt forming a Nascent Soul within the next few years.
• Yan Ming asked Chu Mu for help with a matter, and Chu Yan praised Chu Mu's skills, mentioning the two Demon Souls the sect had captured.

Chu Mu agreed to arrange a formation to help Yan Ming break through to Nascent Soul in exchange for a fire-attribute flood dragon soul. At the Mountain Opening Ceremony, Lie Yan’s Heavenly Spiritual Root and Blade Intent were revealed before the assembled cultivators, drawing everyone’s attention.

• Yan Ming asked Chu Mu to arrange a formation for his future Nascent Soul breakthrough and offered him a fire-attribute flood dragon soul as payment.
• Chu Mu accepted the Jade Box containing the flood dragon soul and agreed to help when Yan Ming was ready.
• Yan Ming learned that Changqing had gone to the southwest on their master’s orders, then departed after inviting Chu Yan to visit his palace.
• As the Ascension Stairway trial began, Chu Mu watched Lie Yan’s past and considered a plan for his future cultivation.
• Two Longevity Sect Golden Cores approached Lie Yan, confirmed his identity, and tested his spiritual root in front of the crowd.
• The test revealed Lie Yan had a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and his Blade Intent further astonished the watching cultivators and Chu Mu.

Lie Yan entered the Longevity Sect as an Inner Sect disciple and explored his new benefits and surroundings. Meanwhile, Chu Mu focused on finding a practical way to heal his divine soul injury and left the Mountain Opening Ceremony’s remaining arrangements to two elders.

• Lie Yan completed his admission procedures and received a year to familiarize himself with the sect before taking on Inner Sect duties.
• Lie Yan inspected his disciple benefits, put on his Longevity Robe, and admired his reflection.
• Chu Mu told the elders to observe Lie Yan for now, then considered the divine soul injury caused by the loss of part of his soul origin and the True Demon’s suppression.
• Chu Mu wrote down three pill formulas for rebuilding a damaged divine soul and began revising them to suit materials and methods within his reach.
• As the Mountain Opening Ceremony neared its end, Chu Mu told the two elders to select the best candidates as usual and flew away, leaving them to finish the arrangements.

After nearly a year in seclusion, Chu Mu developed a practical pill formula for his injuries but still could not find a way to save Wangcai, and he learned more about the Longevity Sect’s True Inheritances. A report on his old companion Xu Yuan revealed how their paths had diverged as Xu Yuan established his family’s foundation in the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm.

• Lie Yan became famous after the Longevity Sect’s Mountain Opening Ceremony, while Chu Mu entered the inner sect as a disciple.
• Chu Mu emerged from seclusion with a pill formula that might help his injuries, then checked on Wangcai and found the beast still barely alive.
• Yan Qiuling delivered materials and told Chu Mu that the Sect Master had led disciples to the Outer Sea ahead of the Sky Palace Relic’s opening.
• Yan Qiuling explained the distribution and duties of the Longevity Sect’s True Inheritances, including Yan Shixiong’s history and posting in the southwest.
• Chu Mu asked about the True Understanding Pavilion and Vast Ocean, and Yan Qiuling gave him a report on Xu Yuan’s family and their rise in the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm.

Chu Mu read about the Xu Family’s rise under Xu Yuan and then went to Bright Moon Palace to meet Yan Ming. Yan Ming asked about Chu Mu’s injuries from the Sky Palace Relic, and Chu Mu said his body had mostly recovered while his soul had not fully healed.

• Chu Mu learned that the Xu Family had grown to several thousand cultivators and thirteen Foundation Establishment Cultivators, with Xu Yuan reaching the Pseudo-Core realm.
• Chu Mu ordered Yan Qiuling to watch affairs in the Vast Ocean and report anything unusual.
• Chu Mu arrived at Bright Moon Palace and examined its third-rank Sect Protecting Dao Soldier puppets while waiting for Yan Ming.
• Yan Ming emerged from seclusion, welcomed Chu Mu, and asked about his injuries from the Sky Palace Relic.
• Chu Mu told Yan Ming that the Heavenly Essence Fruit had healed more than half his injuries, though his soul had yet to recover fully.

Yan Ming gave Chu Mu gu arts that might help with his soul injury and asked him to arrange a formation for his cultivation. Chu Mu agreed to study the formation for a month, though he suspected it was part of a larger array tied to Yan Ming’s secrets.

• Yan Ming revealed that an ancient gu art he had acquired concerned soul injuries and gave Chu Mu the jade slip to study.
• Yan Ming lent Chu Mu additional texts and secret arts about The Way of Gu Arts, including materials seized by the sect in the southwest.
• Yan Ming brought Chu Mu to a Weapon Graveyard and explained that his cultivation required a formation to purify the weapons’ Killing Intent.
• Chu Mu suspected the formation was incomplete and part of a larger array, but he did not question Yan Ming about it.
• Chu Mu asked for a quiet place to study the formation for one month, and Yan Ming offered him a nearby palace hall.

Chu Mu studied Yan Ming’s Killing Intent Body and Soul Tempering formation and discovered it was part of a larger formation, then examined the Thread-drawing Gu technique Yan Ming had given him. He learned that the Gu could protect and heal the soul but would need to reach the Third Order to help his injury, leaving him tempted by its potential benefits.

• Chu Mu studied the Killing Intent Body and Soul Tempering formation and considered whether it could forge a distinct system of true intent.
• After more than half a month, Chu Mu concluded the formation was part of a larger formation but found no flaw in the portion Yan Ming had provided.
• Chu Mu read that the Thread-drawing Gu could resist soul attacks, stabilize and mend the soul, and clear distracting thoughts, but required periodic essence-blood nurturing.
• Chu Mu realized the Gu would need to reach the Third Order to affect his Golden Core Late Stage soul injury and felt tempted by its possible benefits.

On Serpent Island, Yan Ming lost himself in the Serpent Nest as the Dark Serpent Clan’s internal strife was swiftly suppressed. At Bright Moon Palace, Chu Mu completed a grand formation for Yan Ming, who activated it alone and revealed a cold, sinister demeanor.

• Yan Ming’s memories, cultivation, and sense of self faded in the Serpent Nest as he felt Another Him gradually taking him over.
• Violent infighting erupted among the Dark Serpents on Serpent Island, then ended with rebels imprisoned or dead as several leaders watched from above.
• Chu Mu spent nearly three days building a complex formation in Bright Moon Palace and warned Yan Ming to contact him if anything went wrong.
• After Chu Mu left, Yan Ming inspected the formation, stood at its central altar, and activated it with an Array Disc.
• The formation’s mysterious power enveloped Yan Ming, and his gentle manner vanished as he displayed icy eyes and a sinister smile.

Chu Mu felt an unexplained unease but found no sign of danger and chose not to contact the Longevity Sect Master. He went to the Scripture Pavilion to study Gu arts, gradually focusing his research on the Thread-drawing Gu and its refinement.

• Chu Mu sensed a palpitation, considered Bright Moon Palace and Starfire Peak, and suppressed the urge to contact the Longevity Sect Master.
• Chu Mu flew to the Longevity Sect's Scripture Pavilion and entered with his True Inheritance authority.
• Chu Mu began studying introductory Gu arts records on the pavilion's first floor, rapidly absorbing the material with Spirit Radiance Blessing.
• After more than a month, Chu Mu finished the Gu arts records on the first floor and moved to the second floor to study more advanced methods.
• Chu Mu focused his research on the Thread-drawing Gu, its refinement, and the spiritual materials and Gu insects related to it.

After spending a year studying the Scripture Pavilion’s Gu Arts texts, Chu Mu gained a profound understanding of Gu Dao and considered whether the Thread-drawing Gu could repair his damaged soul. He left the pavilion to seek the materials and Gu insects needed to refine it.

• Chu Mu finished reading the Gu Arts texts in the Scripture Pavilion and absorbed their knowledge into his cultivation foundation.
• Chu Mu reviewed how Gu Dao Cultivators relied on Natal Gu Worms and combinations of Gu insects to build their strength.
• Chu Mu learned that Gu Dao depended heavily on specialized resources and had become less common even in the southwest.
• Chu Mu realized that the Thread-drawing Gu might provide a framework to reshape his collapsed, injured soul.
• Chu Mu checked the Thread-drawing Gu’s required materials and insects, then vanished from the Scripture Pavilion.

Chu Mu arrived in Colorful Cloud City after a grueling journey from the Northern Border, intending to gather the spirit materials needed to refine the Thread-drawing Gu. As he surveyed the city and its Gu Dao cultivators, he understood why the Longevity Sect’s campaign to pacify the southwest had been so difficult.

• Chu Mu traveled through more than a hundred Teleportation Arrays to reach the southwestern city of Colorful Cloud City.
• Chu Mu discovered that the Longevity Sect’s stores lacked the Gu Dao materials he needed, so he came to the southwest to mobilize local resources himself.
• Chu Mu observed Colorful Cloud City’s vibrant, nature-oriented architecture and the distinctive aura of its Gu Dao cultivators.
• Chu Mu concluded that the Righteous Path Alliance’s Gu Dao cultivators had made the southwest war unpredictable because their Gu insects and methods were difficult for the Longevity Sect to know.

Chu Mu arrived at Colorful Cloud City and learned that a roaming Gu Dao Cultivator named Wang Yu had renewed turmoil across the southwest. When Chu Mu asked the garrison for materials for his ancient Thread-drawing Gu formula, Yu Zecheng warned that many of its ingredients might no longer match their modern equivalents.

• Chu Mu visited the Colorful Cloud City Garrison Manor and met Yu Zecheng, who explained that Fang Qing and Ming Ye had left to pursue a heretical cultivator and had not returned.
• Yu Zecheng told Chu Mu that Wang Yu, a Golden Core elder of the Langya Wang Family, had destroyed a Longevity Sect spirit planting garden, killed hundreds of disciples, and escaped repeated attempts to capture him.
• Yu Zecheng said Wang Yu might be gathering life essence to heal his grandfather, a missing Wang Family Nascent Soul Gu Dao cultivator who had fought the Longevity Sect Master.
• Chu Mu handed Yu Zecheng a list of materials for his Thread-drawing Gu formula, and Yu Zecheng warned that ancient Gu Dao ingredients had often been lost or transformed over time.
• Chu Mu realized that he might not be able to identify the modern equivalents of the formula’s ingredients, and that substitutions could produce the wrong Gu or ruin the refinement.

Chu Mu sought experts and records to understand how the ancient materials in the Thread-drawing Gu formula related to modern Gu Dao. After reviewing the Colorful Cloud Garrison Manor’s Scripture Pavilion, he identified only fifty-three of the formula’s ninety-eight materials, leaving the rest uncertain or unknown.

• Chu Mu asked Yu Zecheng about accomplished Gu Dao Cultivators in the southwest and learned that Li Jie was the sect’s most highly cultivated practitioner there.
• Yu Zecheng said Li Jie was stationed at Fallen Phoenix Mountain after helping suppress an attack by Heretical Cultivators, and Chu Mu decided to meet him when he returned.
• Yu Zecheng led Chu Mu to the Colorful Cloud Garrison Manor’s Scripture Pavilion, where Chu Mu began studying its Gu Dao texts.
• Chu Mu spent several days surveying the texts and comparing the Thread-drawing Gu’s required materials with modern Gu Dao materials.
• Chu Mu determined the identities of fifty-three of the ninety-eight materials, while forty-five remained uncertain or completely unknown.

Chu Mu sought experts at the Southwest Gu Cultivator Convention to identify the remaining materials in the Thread-drawing Gu formula, hoping it could shorten and stabilize the recovery of his divine soul. The formula was narrowed to two unknown materials, Night-Crying Stone and Jade Bone Soul, and Chu Mu turned to his absent Senior Brother Yan Ming for help.

• Chu Mu concluded that he could not resolve the Thread-drawing Gu formula’s remaining mysteries alone, and Li Jie identified only a few additional materials.
• Yu Zecheng told Chu Mu about the approaching Gu Cultivator Convention, and Chu Mu decided to seek answers there while treating his divine soul with Third-Order Alchemical Pills.
• At the convention, Li Jie introduced Chu Mu to Southwest Gu Dao cultivators, whose combined knowledge confirmed ninety-six of the formula’s ninety-eight materials.
• Chu Mu left the convention after ten days because few high-level local Gu Cultivators had survived the Southwest war, and the remaining gatherings offered little help.
• Chu Mu identified Night-Crying Stone and Jade Bone Soul as the formula’s final unknown materials and considered that their recipes might have been lost with their creator.
• Chu Mu checked his True Inheritance Token, hoping Senior Brother Yan Ming would answer his earlier message and help resolve the formula’s final impasse.