Chapter Summaries

Chu Mu learned that the Thread-drawing Gu formula came from a cave inheritance and sought out Jing Yu Real Person, but a summons from Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor interrupted him. The Longevity Sect prepared a trap to draw out Wang Yu and capture Wang Xun, and Chu Mu was ordered to remain in the Southwest to help with the Wang Family Secret Realm.

• Yan Ming told Chu Mu that he had found the Thread-drawing Gu formula in an ancient Gu Cultivator's cave and advised him to ask Jing Yu Real Person for more information.
• Chu Mu went to Immortal Cloud Residence to meet Jing Hua Real Person, but Yu Zecheng summoned him back to the Garrison Manor after Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor called the sect's direct lineage disciples together.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor ordered the disciples to capture Wang Xun by luring out Wang Yu, and they devised a plan to trap Wang Yu after the Gu Dao Convention ended.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor told Chu Mu to stay in the Southwest and return to the sect with him after the matter was settled.
• Yu Zecheng told Chu Mu that Wang Xun might control the Wang Family Secret Realm, and Chu Mu feared he would be drawn into a dangerous effort to break into it.

Chu Mu learned that the Wang Family’s Secret Realm might still retain the Longevity Sect’s control authority and asked Yu Zecheng to compile what he knew. He then questioned Jing Hua about the Thread-drawing Gu and learned that Jing Yu had died at Wang Yu’s hands, leaving Chu Mu to search for clues among the family’s records.

• Yu Zecheng told Chu Mu the Secret Realm’s history, explaining how the Wang Family had gradually taken control of it and how it had served the sect’s campaign against Gu Dao.
• Chu Mu asked Yu Zecheng to organize information about the Secret Realm, then returned to Immortal Cloud Residence to meet Jing Hua Real Person.
• Chu Mu asked Jing Hua about the origin of the Thread-drawing Gu Jade Slip, and Jing Hua explained that Jing Yu had found the ancient Gu Cultivator ruins with Yan Ming.
• Jing Hua told Chu Mu that Jing Yu had died during the pursuit of Wang Yu, who had taken Jing Yu’s body and remnant soul.
• Jing Hua showed Chu Mu a recorded image of the battle, and Chu Mu asked whether Jing Yu had mentioned the Thread-drawing Gu.
• Jing Hua said Jing Yu had never mentioned it and promised to search the Qiu Niu Merchant Guild’s Scripture Pavilion for related information.

Chu Mu considered the uncertain trail to the Thread-drawing Gu's secrets, then reviewed Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor's plan to lure out Wang Yu by presenting the Saint Spirit Gu as bait. The Saint Spirit Gu's legendary ability to transform and heal Gu insects made it likely to draw the injured Wang Family Old Ancestor into a confrontation at Colorful Cloud City.

• Chu Mu put away the Thread-drawing Gu Jade Slip and returned to his cave abode after accepting that the remaining lead through Wang Yu was uncertain.
• Rainbow Cloud Garrison Manor sent Chu Mu a deployment plan based on its suspicion that Wang Yu had been plundering resources to heal the Wang Family Old Ancestor.
• Chu Mu read that Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor intended to lure Wang Yu out by offering the Saint Spirit Gu as bait.
• Chu Mu recalled that the Saint Spirit Gu had once been the Saint Spirit Sect's core inheritance and could merge with a Gu Cultivator's soul.
• Chu Mu reviewed accounts of the Saint Spirit Gu's power to heal Gu insects and transform their potential, and recognized that its appearance could make Colorful Cloud City the center of a storm.

After recovering for six days, Chu Mu received a Nascent Soul voice transmission and traveled to Immortal Spirit Mountain. There, he found the Longevity Sect constructing a counterfeit Saint Spirit Sect Inheritance Ground as bait to lure Wang Yu out.

• Chu Mu suppressed his thoughts about the Saint Spirit Gu and continued repairing his soul in secluded recuperation.
• Six days later, Chu Mu received a voice transmission through the True Inheritance Token and left his quiet room.
• Chu Mu traveled to Immortal Spirit Mountain, whose history traced back to the Immortal Spirit Alliance and the Immortal Spirit Five Clans.
• Chu Mu entered the mountain and found Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor and Rainbow Cloud Garrison Manor disciples building a hidden Inheritance Ground.
• Chu Mu recognized that the Longevity Sect was staging the Saint Spirit Gu discovery to lower Wang Yu's guard and lure him out.

Chu Mu accepted command of the formation site from Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor and studied records about the ancient Saint Spirit Sect. He learned of its legendary devotion to kindness and the reasons behind its decline, but the truth of its connection to the Saint Spirit Gu remained unknown.

• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor gave Chu Mu the Jade Slip for the Great Thick Earth Formation and placed him in overall command of the site.
• Chu Mu recognized the formation from his studies and accepted a Storage Ring containing formation materials and records about the Inheritance Ground.
• Chu Mu read the records describing the Saint Spirit Sect’s history, customs, and opportunities linked to its ruins.
• Chu Mu learned that the Saint Spirit Sect had enforced a near-paradise in the southwest, valuing kindness and protecting all living beings.
• Chu Mu read that the sect declined because of its extreme benevolence, while the truth of how purity related to the Saint Spirit Gu remained uncertain.

Chu Mu and the Golden Core direct disciples built a convincing fake Saint Spirit Sect treasure vault to lure their targets. Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor added the real Saint Spirit Gu to the deception and arranged for it to escape into the ruined vault, leaving the plan poised to unfold.

• Chu Mu studied the Jade Slip’s account of the Saint Spirit Sect and identified the Inheritance Ground as a hidden provincial treasure vault.
• Chu Mu and the Golden Core direct disciples spent days constructing the fake vault and filling it with spiritual objects supplied by Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor wrecked much of the vault, erased the traces of his attack, and explained that the damage would make a released Gu insect seem responsible.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor revealed that he had preserved the Saint Spirit Gu since his time stationed in the southwest.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor opened the wooden box, let the Saint Spirit Gu shoot into the vault, then sent both it and the damaged box into the ruins before they could be clearly seen.

Chu Mu and the others staged a Gu Garden disturbance to make the discovery of a Saint Spirit Sect relic appear natural. Sun Ying found the hidden relic beneath the garden and, unaware that events were being orchestrated, chose to conceal it rather than report it.

• Sun Ying tended the Gu Garden while Chu Mu and the others watched from the clouds after Li Jie reported that everything was arranged.
• The Gu Worm became agitated and tried to burrow underground, so Sun Ying passed through the garden's formation restrictions to investigate.
• Sun Ying followed a tremor underground and discovered a cave he recognized as a Saint Spirit Sect relic.
• After finding a tiny gap in the relic's formation restrictions, Sun Ying concealed it and decided not to report the discovery to his clan.
• Chu Mu and the others watched Sun Ying's actions as part of their staged plan to lure others toward the Saint Spirit Gu.

Sun Ying discovered a breach in the Saint Spirit Sect Relic but, unable to claim or conceal it, reported it to the Sun Family Patriarch, who tried to monopolize the opportunity. The relic’s existence was exposed, and the Immortal Spirit Five Clans united to explore it while Chu Mu and the others watched their plan unfold.

• Sun Ying saw the relic’s array develop spreading breaches and reported the Saint Spirit Sect Relic to the Sun Family Patriarch.
• The Sun Family Patriarch hurried to the Gu Garden with Sun Ying, and the strange phenomena stopped when he arrived.
• Li Jie explained that the intelligent Saint Spirit Gu had hidden itself after sensing the stronger second-order Gu Cultivator.
• The Sun Family Patriarch tried for several days to conceal the relic and claim it for the Sun Family, while Chu Mu and the others subtly nudged events along.
• The other clans discovered the Saint Spirit Sect Relic, and the Immortal Spirit Five Clans joined forces to explore it.

A Longevity Sect deacon tried to seize control of the Saint Spirit Sect Relic, giving the Immortal Spirit Five Clans a chance to be drawn into a scheme devised by Chu Mu and his allies. After the clans were exterminated, rumors about a Saint Spirit Gu spread and turned Immortal Spirit Mountain into a focus of unrest, while cultivators pressed Chu Mu for information.

• A Longevity Sect deacon claimed the relic for the sect and ordered the Immortal Spirit Five Clans to guard it, excluding them from its exploration.
• Chu Mu told Fang Qing to prepare the Garrison Manor to lure the greedy deacon into a trap, and the five clan patriarchs later killed the deacon and blamed Heretical Cultivators.
• Li Jie led the Enforcement Team to Immortal Spirit Mountain, captured the five clans' Foundation Establishment cultivators, and oversaw the clans' extermination.
• The Longevity Sect kept Immortal Spirit Mountain sealed and withheld details of the case, prompting rumors that the clans had been killed over a Saint Spirit Sect Relic and a Saint Spirit Gu.
• Cultivators flocked to Immortal Spirit Mountain, where some infiltrated the area or attacked Longevity Sect disciples, while visitors repeatedly sought information from Chu Mu at the Garrison Manor.

As unrest over Immortal Spirit Mountain spread, Chu Mu discovered that two third-rank Gu Cultivators from the Wang Family were secretly watching him and discussing the Saint Spirit Gu. The Longevity Sect’s scheme to draw out a hidden target escalated into widespread turmoil, all to gain control of the Wang Family’s inherited secret realm.

• Chu Mu watched visitors and cultivators gather around Immortal Spirit Mountain as rumors and clashes multiplied.
• Chu Mu sensed a third-rank observer, searched a nearby mountain, and found traces of two concealed Gu Cultivators after they vanished.
• The two Wang Family men debated capturing Chu Mu, confirmed their search for the Saint Spirit Gu, and identified a Longevity Sect Supreme Elder in Colorful Cloud City as a key figure.
• Chu Mu returned to the mountain belly and recognized the lingering aura as belonging to the Wang Family, but found no further useful clues.
• The Garrison Manor killed intruders and punished local factions as attacks and bounties spread across the Colorful Cloud Counties.
• The Longevity Sect’s plan to draw out a hidden person fueled a crisis, which the sect considered worth the cost of controlling the Wang Family’s secret realm.

The Saint Spirit Gu erupted with vitality across Immortal Spirit Mountain, drawing a red-robed cultivator who challenged Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor for it. Their battle devastated the mountain and broke its formation, letting cultivators pour in as fighting spread out of control.

• Before the ruin's formation was breached, the Saint Spirit Gu became agitated and sent waves of vitality across Immortal Spirit Mountain and the surrounding lands.
• A red-robed middle-aged man rushed toward the Saint Spirit Gu, but Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor intercepted him and deployed the Overturning Heaven and Earth Grand Formation.
• The red-robed man unleashed dark-red clouds and Silent Death rain, turning Immortal Spirit Mountain into a lifeless battlefield as he clashed with Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor.
• Their battle destroyed parts of the formation and devastated the mountain, allowing greedy cultivators to break through while Longevity Sect disciples fought to stop them.
• Nascent Soul combat and battles across the mountain spread, leaving the chaos at Immortal Spirit Mountain completely out of control.

Wang Yu and his companions watched as chaos engulfed Immortal Spirit Mountain, while Blood Robe Old Ancestor and Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor fought over access to the exposed Saint Spirit Sect Relic. Chu Mu and other Longevity Sect cultivators entered first, followed by a rush of treasure seekers, as Wang Yu ordered his group to continue their plan despite suspecting something was wrong.

• Wang Yu met his two junior brothers outside Immortal Spirit Mountain and learned that their Spirit Luring Grand Art had stirred the Saint Spirit Gu and thrown the mountain into chaos.
• Cultivators overwhelmed the Longevity Sect’s lockdown, and an unknown attacker triggered a melee outside the underground relic.
• The collapsing Immortal Spirit Mountain exposed the Saint Spirit Sect Relic, and Blood Robe Old Ancestor shattered its remaining array restrictions.
• Blood Robe Old Ancestor killed cultivators who rushed the entrance and sealed it with a curtain of rain, but Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor sent Chu Mu and other Longevity Sect cultivators safely inside.
• Blood Robe Old Ancestor invited the remaining cultivators into the relic, and Wang Yu told his companions to proceed with their plan while staying alert for changes.

The Longevity Sect’s staged treasury sent cultivators into a frenzy while Chu Mu and the sect’s Golden Core disciples monitored the ruins and searched for Wang Yu. Chu Mu considered using the Eight Trigrams formation to seal the Inner Eight Vaults, but remained wary that Wang Yu or other third-tier cultivators might be hiding in disguise.

• Cultivators abandoned their alliance and fought over the treasures, while the Longevity Sect disciples also scattered into the frenzy.
• Chu Mu gathered the Longevity Sect’s Golden Core disciples in Qian Hall and used the projections to identify thirteen third-tier cultivators in the ruins.
• Fang Qing identified ten of the thirteen cultivators, and Yu Zecheng asked whether Wang Yu might be among the three unknown figures.
• Chu Mu asked where the Saint Spirit Gu was and learned it was hiding in the Pill Room of Li Hall.
• Chu Mu rejected sealing the entire damaged ruins and weighed the risks of using the Eight Trigrams formation to seal the Inner Eight Vaults.

Profound Bright and Profound Sincerity forced Blood Robe Old Ancestor to surrender the Saint Spirit Gu claim and leave Great Chu for a thousand years, then discussed the relic and the looming threat tied to the Outer Sea. As Chu Mu monitored the relic for Wang Yu, Profound Bright used his Xuan Ming Pagoda to expose disguised cultivators, revealing three hidden third-rank cultivators in a remote hall.

• Profound Bright arrived to help Profound Sincerity defeat Blood Robe Old Ancestor, who conceded the Saint Spirit Gu claim and accepted a thousand-year ban from Great Chu.
• Profound Bright explained that he had spared Blood Robe Old Ancestor because of his ties to the Thousand Bamboo Alliance and the Changping Zhao Family, then warned Profound Sincerity to watch Chu Mu for signs of the Dark Serpent Clan's influence.
• Chu Mu's monitoring system tracked thousands of cultivators entering the relic but found no sign of Wang Yu or the Wang Family cultivators.
• Profound Bright examined Chu Mu's Nine Dragons Suppressing Prison Tower and advised him not to rush its refinement.
• Profound Bright activated his Xuan Ming Pagoda, whose white light stripped disguises throughout the relic and exposed three hidden third-rank cultivators among the Qi Refining Realm figures.

Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor and Profound Bright Old Ancestor captured Wang Yu and his two clan cousins, but found a powerful force protecting Wang Yu’s soul and chose to investigate the Secret Realm instead. After ordering the execution of the cultivators in the relic, Profound Bright Old Ancestor heard Chu Mu’s request and gave him Wang Yu’s storage artifacts.

• The two Old Ancestors pursued and captured Wang Yu and his two clan cousins after they escaped the relic, and Fang Qing identified them as enemies responsible for killing sect disciples.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor used the Soul Searching Technique on Wang Yu’s companions, then he and Profound Bright Old Ancestor discovered a powerful force protecting Wang Yu’s soul.
• The Old Ancestors decided not to risk alerting the force behind Wang Yu and chose to seek another method in the Secret Realm.
• Profound Bright Old Ancestor ordered the direct disciples to execute the cultivators in the Saint Spirit Sect Relic.
• Chu Mu explained why he had come to the southwest and presented the Jade Slip about the Thread-drawing Gu.
• Profound Bright Old Ancestor accepted Chu Mu’s request and gave him the spiritual lights from Wang Yu’s storage artifacts.

After the slaughter at Immortal Spirit Mountain, Chu Mu and the Longevity Sect’s two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors searched Cloud Blossom Mountain for the Wang Family Secret Realm portal. They found a hidden formation beneath a pool, but Wang Xun’s control of the realm remained uncertain.

• The Longevity Sect finished its purge after the relic battle, and the Southwestern Garrison Manor updated its wanted list as factions across the region were destroyed.
• The two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors and Chu Mu arrived at Cloud Blossom Mountain, where Longevity Sect disciples had expelled the independent cultivators.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor searched a local Gu Dao Cultivator’s soul and confirmed that the Wang Family Secret Realm portal was believed to lie beneath his pool, though the man had known nothing of it.
• Profound Bright Old Ancestor and Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor questioned whether Wang Xun had ever controlled the Secret Realm, and they hesitated to search Wang Yu’s soul in case it alerted him.
• Fang Qing thanked Chu Mu and gave him the sect’s bounty treasures, which Chu Mu accepted in part before descending into the pool.
• Chu Mu followed the underground passage to a hidden formation of blinding white light, where the two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors stood beside Wang Yu.

Chu Mu and the two Heaven's Secrets Lineage elders examined a fourth-tier Reverse Five Elements Grand Array that concealed the Secret Realm and its secrets, while the elders began trying to break it. As they worked, Chu Mu searched Wang Yu's collected texts, finally uncovering the methods for making the materials needed to refine his Thread-drawing Gu.

• Profound Bright Old Ancestor and Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor concluded that the array concealed more than a Spatial Portal and likely hid the Secret Realm's Heavenly secrets.
• Chu Mu suggested Wang Yu could not have arranged the array and suspected it had been created by the Wang Family patriarch who once controlled the Secret Realm.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor restrained Wang Yu, and the two Heaven's Secrets Lineage elders began probing the array for a way to break it.
• Chu Mu searched Wang Yu's storage artifacts and found a cloth-bound book explaining how to refine Night-Crying Stones and Jade Bone Souls.
• Chu Mu learned that a Thread-drawing Gu required a middle- or upper-grade Jade Bone Soul, and considered sacrificing the main soul of his Ten Thousand Souls Banner to make one.
• While the elders worked on the array, Chu Mu copied the book and began studying Wang Yu's other Gu Dao texts.

Chu Mu studied the Divine Gu Nine Transformations and realized it could transform a Gu worm’s essential potential, though he could not use it himself. He then considered whether the Wang Family Old Ancestor had known about the Secret Realm without ever gaining control of the array concealing it.

• After reviewing several thousand books and Jade Slips, Chu Mu focused on the Divine Gu Nine Transformations recorded in one Jade Slip.
• Chu Mu learned that the secret art transformed a Natal Gu Worm’s Life Essence and could raise its potential through nine stages.
• Chu Mu wondered whether the art might transform human Spirit Roots or demon bloodlines, but dismissed the idea as beyond his understanding.
• Chu Mu noticed the two Nascent Soul cultivators still studying the Reverse Five Elements Grand Array, which had shown no unusual reaction despite their attempts.
• Chu Mu conjectured that the Wang Family Old Ancestor had known about the Secret Realm but lacked control of its array, leaving him unable to enter after his injuries in the Langya Battle.

Chu Mu watched Profound Bright Old Ancestor and Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor open a passage through the Reverse Five Elements Grand Array to a Spatial Portal. Wang Yu revealed himself as Wang Xun, who had seized his grandson’s body, and triggered the Wang Family’s backup preparations, causing space to shatter and the array to engulf the three Nascent Soul experts.

• Profound Bright Old Ancestor and Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor deciphered the array’s five-element transformations and opened a passage to the Spatial Portal.
• Chu Mu gathered nearby storage artifacts, while Wang Yu broke through Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor’s restrictions and entered the passage.
• Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor attacked Wang Yu, and Profound Bright Old Ancestor blocked him before Wang Yu’s Fleeting Light shattered.
• Wang Yu revealed that he was Wang Xun and said the Wang Family had prepared another way to enter the Secret Realm.
• Wang Xun summoned violent spatial fluctuations that fractured space, destabilized the array, and erased the passage.
• The Reverse Five Elements Grand Array resumed operating and engulfed Profound Bright Old Ancestor, Profound Sincerity Old Ancestor, and Wang Xun.

Wang Xun triggered a Space Storm inside the Reverse Five Elements Grand Array to escape Profound Bright and Profound Sincerity, while Chu Mu struggled through the storm’s shockwaves and survived. The two Nascent Soul cultivators began working to break the array, and Chu Mu realized Wang Yu had likely been possessed by Wang Xun.

• Wang Xun used the shattered Spatial Portal and the Reverse Five Elements Grand Array to create a Space Storm, then vanished into the Space Cracks ahead of Profound Bright and Profound Sincerity.
• Profound Bright and Profound Sincerity reappeared at the bottom of the dark waters, concluded that Wang Xun had concealed the Secret Realm Portal, and set out to break the array within three days.
• The Space Storm’s shockwaves destroyed the Sky-Piercing Flying Boat and Chu Mu’s Puppet Battle Armors as he struggled across several hundred zhang to escape.
• Chu Mu reached safety and recognized that the Reverse Five Elements Grand Array had evolved into a spatial grand array.
• Chu Mu suspected that Wang Xun had possessed Wang Yu after the Langya Battle and used the sect’s scheme as an opportunity to escape.