Chapter Summaries

Hu Qi practiced creating convincing illusions with spiritual power while Wu Yu and Chang Zhu infiltrated the City Lord's Manor in search of the Spirit Nurturing Tea Tree. Hu Qi hosted a mysterious Blood Feast for most of the Dense Forest Region’s Mid-tier Black Blood Species and announced that their blood food had arrived.

• Hu Qi used an illusion of a laptop and an animated show to demonstrate the technique he had learned from Xiao Bai.
• Wu Yu and Chang Zhu continued their investigation inside the City Lord's Manor but found no trace of the Spirit Nurturing Tea Tree.
• Wu Yu and Chang Zhu learned about Black Stone's strength and disguised themselves as servants to enter the kitchen.
• Hu Qi welcomed eight Mid-tier Black Blood Species and their Lower-tier companions to the Blood Feast.
• After Blood Lizard questioned why the guests had concealed their auras, Hu Qi said their blood food had arrived.

Wu Yu and Chang Zhu entered Blackstone City’s dining hall and discovered that Black Stone had gathered eight other Mid-tier Black Blood Species. After the pair fled and the others pursued them, Hu Qi killed the remaining Black Blood Species and absorbed them with his Gluttony Domain.

• Wu Yu and Chang Zhu entered the dining hall and recognized nine Mid-tier Black Blood Species, including Black Stone.
• Hu Qi revealed that the servants were Secret Martial Artists and attacked Wu Yu and Chang Zhu, who broke through the roof and fled.
• Blood Lizard and the other Mid-tier Black Blood Species chased after Wu Yu and Chang Zhu.
• Hu Qi killed Feather Crow, then slaughtered the remaining Lower-tier Black Blood Species.
• Hu Qi used his Gluttony Domain to devour the Black Blood Species’ bodies and strengthen his aura.

Hu Qi slaughtered the Black Blood Species who answered his call while Wu Yu and Chang Zhu were overwhelmed by eight Mid-tier Black Blood Species. Chang Zhu unleashed her master's Spirit Refining Venerable phantom to kill the attackers, drawing the attention of a powerful black-robed figure in the Dense Forest Region.

• Hu Qi summoned the Black Blood Species in Blackstone City and consumed the Blood Slaves and Lower-tier Black Blood Species who gathered.
• Wu Yu and Chang Zhu were cornered by eight Mid-tier Black Blood Species, and Chang Zhu lost her left arm while they fought back.
• Wu Yu suggested that they use the method left by their master, but Chang Zhu activated a white jade sword pendant first.
• Chang Zhu's pendant summoned her master's Spirit Refining Venerable phantom, whose sword strike tore apart the fleeing Mid-tier Black Blood Species.
• A black-robed figure in the Dense Forest Region sensed the phantom and declared that a surface Spirit Refiner had come to make trouble.

A massive claw attacked Chang Zhu in Blackstone City, but a fading phantom drove it back with a sword strike that devastated the city. Hu Qi left to begin his plans, while the injured Blood Lizard emerged from the wreckage and was confronted by Black Stone.

• A giant claw descended from a dark vortex, and the white phantom sent Chang Zhu and another person away before clashing with it using the Heaven-Splitting sword technique.
• The collision destroyed the phantom and sent shockwaves through Blackstone City, cracking its walls and collapsing buildings as Hu Qi watched without intervening.
• Hu Qi realized that a contingency left beneath Blackstone City had belonged to the Food Master, then vanished to begin what he had planned.
• Blood Lizard crawled from the wreckage with half his body missing and blamed Black Stone for the disaster.
• Black Stone approached Blood Lizard and accused him of being ungrateful for blaming him after failing to handle the situation.

Hu Qi killed Blood Lizard and hunted down the wounded Black Blood Species, gathering Modification Points before eliminating Black Stone to prevent the Food Master from tracking him. With his points nearing one thousand, Hu Qi chose to flee the Underground World rather than risk advancing while the Food Masters were alerted.

• Blood Lizard questioned Hu Qi, who killed him with a single attack and gained Modification Points.
• Hu Qi hunted down and killed the remaining wounded Mid-tier Black Blood Species he could find.
• Hu Qi removed Black Stone's head from the brass bell and swallowed him with the Gluttony Domain.
• Hu Qi's Modification Points reached 976, but he decided not to modify his bloodline while danger remained.
• Hu Qi transformed into a hawk and flew toward the passage out of the Underground World.

Hu Qi ambushed Wu Yu and Chang Zhu with a powerful saber strike, killing Chang Zhu and then killing Wu Yu with a punch. A black-robed figure arrived at the ravine afterward but, wary that a Spirit Refining Venerable might be nearby, abandoned the pursuit and left.

• Hu Qi spent 250 Modification Points to charge the Supreme Clarity Immortal Slaying Saber Technique with 6 years and 325 days of stored energy, then struck Wu Yu and Chang Zhu from the sky.
• A woman summoned by Wu Yu’s protective means tried to stop the blood-colored saber light, but it cut through her palm and carved a vast ravine into the forest.
• Chang Zhu crawled from the rubble, but Hu Qi appeared behind her and killed her with a swift saber cut.
• Hu Qi sensed Wu Yu hiding underground, punched him as he emerged, and killed him.
• A black-robed figure inspected the ravine, suspected a Spirit Refining Venerable was involved, and left rather than continue pursuing the fugitives.

Hu Qi returned to the lake passage and tried to leave before the Food Master could arrive, but Fa Ji insisted they wait for Chang Zhu and Wu Yu. Fa Ji sealed the area with a Buddhist barrier, trapping Hu Qi there.

• Hu Qi reached the lake, changed back into Herlinta's appearance, and joined Fa Ji, Guo Yi, and Lu Mei.
• Fa Ji suspected the earlier clash involved the Food Master and a Venerable from Sword Pavilion, while Guo Yi and Lu Mei worried that Chang Zhu and Wu Yu might not survive.
• Hu Qi said he would leave, but Fa Ji blocked his way and insisted they wait five minutes for Chang Zhu and Wu Yu.
• Hu Qi threatened Fa Ji with the Crimson Realm Blade and demanded that he move aside.
• Fa Ji offered to help dispel Hu Qi's killing intent, then used his prayer beads to form a golden Buddhist barrier around the area.

Hu Qi, Fa Ji, Guo Yi, and Lu Mei escaped the Earth Core Passage, leaving Chang Zhu and Wu Yu behind as the passage collapsed. Their return set off alarm within Sword Pavilion and Holy Rain Sect when the two prodigies’ life-bound tokens broke, while the sect masters were away.

• Hu Qi wounded Fa Ji in a clash at the passage, then entered the lake; Guo Yi and Lu Mei followed, and Fa Ji destroyed the passage behind them.
• Cao Ping felt the ground shake near the cold pool, fled to safety, and watched Hu Qi, Fa Ji, Guo Yi, and Lu Mei emerge from the water.
• Hu Qi, Lu Mei, and Guo Yi departed, while Fa Ji ordered Cao Ping to leave the area and reflected on Hu Qi’s hidden strength.
• A Sword Pavilion disciple discovered Chang Zhu’s life-bound spirit sword had shattered and reported her death.
• Holy Rain Sect also learned that Wu Yu had died, prompting both upper-tier sects to mobilize while their sect masters were away.

Erilosen informed the seven school leaders that the Vital Energy Tide was arriving far earlier than expected, leaving Xiya Federation only three to five years to prepare. The leaders debated escape plans and the missing Spirit Realm Sea Eye before emergency messages interrupted the argument between Thunderstorm and Shi Xiao.

• Erilosen showed the seven Sect Masters that rising Vital Energy meant the Tide could descend within three to five years.
• Thunderstorm questioned why the Tide was arriving a century early, and Erilosen explained that an abnormal circumstance had accelerated it.
• Erilosen reported that the Interstellar Battleship could carry about a hundred thousand people but still had unresolved power-system problems, and Li Xianyu ordered the issues solved within two years.
• Li Xianyu asked Xuan Qing whether he had found the Spirit Realm Sea Eye, and Xuan Qing said it might be at Earth's core or might not exist.
• Thunderstorm asked whether victory was possible, and Shi Xiao mocked him before Thunderstorm angrily challenged him to fight.
• Emergency communication projections appeared before Li Xianyu and Shi Xiao before they could respond to Thunderstorm.

Hu Qi learned that Snake Heart Sect’s purge had driven most Black Blood Species and lawbreaking Secret Martial Artists out of Donglin Province, then sought a remote island to safely enter seclusion. There, he discovered two Soul Anchor marks left by Wu Yu and Chang Zhu and used Modification Points to remove them.

• Hu Qi questioned Gu Feng about the small number of prisoners and learned that Zhu Xi’s crackdown had made Black Blood Species and unruly Secret Martial Artists avoid Donglin Province.
• Hu Qi absorbed Soul Light from the prisoners, drank Spirit Nurturing Tea to ease its aftereffects, and left Zhu Xi Building to find a secluded place for his breakthrough.
• Hu Qi flew to an uninhabited island nearly a hundred nautical miles from Anshan City and prepared a flat spot on a peak for meditation.
• Hu Qi checked his panel and saw that his status was abnormal because two Soul Anchor marks remained.
• Hu Qi recognized that the marks likely came from Wu Yu and Chang Zhu and spent twenty Modification Points to remove them.

Hu Qi erased the Soul Anchor mark from his body and left to find a safer place to break through. Meanwhile, Thunderstorm questioned Guo Yi about events in the Underground World, then ordered him to remain in the Thunderclap Sect as Fa Ji also went into seclusion.

• Hu Qi used Modification Points to erase the Soul Anchor mark and left the exposed location.
• Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu left a meeting with grim expressions after Wu Yu and Chang Zhu died.
• Thunderstorm returned to the Thunderclap Sect and summoned Guo Yi to ask what had happened underground.
• Guo Yi told Thunderstorm that Herlinta had injured Fa Ji, and Thunderstorm believed him but chose not to investigate further.
• Thunderstorm ordered Guo Yi to stay in the Thunderclap Sect, while Fa Ji entered seclusion at the Golden Buddha Temple.

After Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu discovered the Soul Anchor imprints of their dead disciples had returned, Hu Qi prepared for a breakthrough by merging his collected secret martial arts and testing two newly acquired divine abilities. He remained on an isolated island, having confirmed his new powers while the other schools began to suspect the deaths had a hidden cause.

• Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu discovered that the Soul Anchor imprints on Wu Yu and Chang Zhu had reappeared, suggesting their killer had reached the surface.
• Shi Xiao demanded that Golden Buddha Temple and Thunderclap Sect explain why their disciples had escaped trouble in the Underground World.
• On an island near an island nation attached to the Xiya Federation, Hu Qi reviewed his panel and decided to merge his Inherited Secret Martial Arts before breaking through.
• Hu Qi merged his collected arts into the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram, which underwent a qualitative transformation and added a Divine Abilities category to his panel.
• Hu Qi tested Water Control by summoning a storm, then used Intent Sword to destroy a lizard’s soul.

Hu Qi completed 75% of the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Bloodline and awakened its destructive Yuan Eye, learning that the creature was an apex being from the Spirit Realm. He then began opening the third Heavenly Heart Divine Treasure, and the door to it started to open as a starry space formed in his mind.

• Hu Qi used modification points to raise his Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Bloodline to 75%, triggering an inherited vision of the serpent destroying a planet with its Yuan Eye.
• Hu Qi awakened the Yuan Eye and learned from inherited memories that the Three-Eyed Yuan Snake was also called the Serpent of Destruction and came from the Spirit Realm.
• Hu Qi concealed the Yuan Eye and turned his attention to opening the third Heavenly Heart Divine Treasure.
• Hu Qi pressed his palm against the massive door, which began to open and release dazzling red light.
• A rumbling sound created a space in Hu Qi's mind, where chaos cleared to reveal a boundless, starry expanse.

Hu Qi opened the Heavenly Heart Divine Treasure and began transforming his soul to enter the Refining Spirit realm. The surge of World's Vital Energy drew Hanyun Chihō to Sea Lizard Island, where she discovered a giant, pulsing cocoon on a cliff.

• Hu Qi's Three-Eyed Yuan Snake entered the newly opened Heavenly Heart Divine Treasure as the space began to transform.
• A violent surge of World's Vital Energy drew attention to Sea Lizard Island, and a masked messenger reported the disturbance to Hanyun Chihō.
• Hanyun Chihō took a Blood Refining Spirit Weapon from the shrine statue and flew to Sea Lizard Island to investigate.
• Hanyun Chihō sensed the vast flow of World's Vital Energy converging on the island and followed it through the forest.
• Hanyun Chihō found a three-to-four-meter pale-red cocoon on a cliff, pulsing as it absorbed World's Vital Energy.

Hu Qi emerged from the giant cocoon after completing his transformation into a Spirit Refining Venerable, gaining a divine soul and Mind Power. He hypnotized Hanyun Chihō and learned about her origins and the Secret Martial Civilization relic, but she knew little about what else the ruin contained.

• Hanyun Chihō approached the giant cocoon, but an invisible force froze her and her Eight-foot Jade Blade in place.
• The cocoon cracked and burst, releasing Hu Qi, who restored his appearance and conjured clothes and a water mirror.
• Hu Qi realized his soul had become a divine soul and his mental power had evolved into Mind Power, which had frozen everything around him.
• Hu Qi hypnotized Hanyun Chihō and questioned her about where she came from and what she knew.
• Hanyun Chihō told Hu Qi that she was from Harmonious Cloud Country and had obtained Secret Martial Arts and a Blood Refining Spirit Weapon from a ruin, but she knew nothing more about its contents.

Hu Qi obtained a jade record from a Dog Blade Sect ruin that revealed the Secret Martial Civilization’s unfinished path beyond Spirit Refinement, then strengthened his Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram. After giving Hanyun Chihō instructions, he flew toward Anshan City and sensed something near the city.

• Hu Qi planted a Mind Imprint in Hanyun Chihō, making her believe he was her master.
• At the Yunhe Country Cabinet Residence, Hu Qi examined the ruin’s artifacts and learned from an azure jade token that ancient factions had deduced a general direction beyond Spirit Refinement.
• Hu Qi inspected the Dog Blade Sect ruin but found no other surviving items, then returned to Yunhe Country and enhanced his Three-Eyed Yuan Snake Spirit Devouring Diagram to Level Two using 300 Modification Points.
• Hu Qi summoned Hanyun Chihō, gave her instructions, and left for Anshan City.
• As Hu Qi approached Anshan City, he sensed something and furrowed his brows.

Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu confronted the Snake Heart Sect over Herlinta, whom they suspected of killing Wu Yu and Chang Zhu. When the sect could not produce her within half an hour, they began attacking, leaving Du Wang helpless and the sect on the brink of destruction.

• Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu arrived at the Snake Heart Sect and demanded to know where Herlinta was; Du Wang said she had entered seclusion and could not be reached.
• Shi Xiao crushed Du Wang, Han Yuan, Lin Yao, and Lin Tu with his pressure, while Li Xianyu gave the sect half an hour to produce Herlinta.
• Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu revealed they suspected Herlinta because of her abnormal strength and Wu Yu's old grudge with the Snake Heart Sect, though they had no conclusive evidence.
• After half an hour passed without the sect reaching Hu Qi, Shi Xiao declared the Snake Heart Sect would be destroyed and wounded Du Wang with his sword intent.
• Li Xianyu stood and ordered Shi Xiao to deal with the Snake Heart Sect, while Du Wang could only kneel and fear for its survival.

Hu Qi confronted Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu at the Snake Heart Sect after revealing himself as a Spirit Refining Venerable, and their dispute nearly turned into a fight. Xuan Qing appeared to stop them, and Hu Qi recognized him as the figure named during the Gray Mist incident two months earlier.

• Hu Qi appeared in Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu's room, dispelled Shi Xiao's Intent Sword, and revealed his Spirit Refining Venerable strength.
• Li Xianyu questioned Hu Qi about Wu Yu and Chang Zhu's deaths, and Hu Qi blamed the Food Master in the Dense Forest Region.
• Hu Qi challenged Li Xianyu and Shi Xiao, drew the Red Mirror Saber, and threatened to destroy their sects if they survived the fight.
• Xuan Qing froze Anshan City's surroundings and urged the three Spirit Refiners to end the dispute, prompting Hu Qi to sheath his saber.
• Hu Qi recognized Xuan Qing as the name called out by the enormous face during the Gray Mist incident two months earlier.

Hu Qi forced Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu to compensate the Snake Heart Sect, then accepted Xuan Qing’s offer to become a Federation Parliament Speaker. After revealing his plans to keep using Herlinta’s identity, he created a controllable clone in her form.

• Hu Qi demanded compensation for the attacks on the Snake Heart Sect, and Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu agreed to provide three hundred kilograms of spiritual materials and medicinal treasures each.
• Hu Qi made Li Xianyu agree to send over another person, then watched her and Shi Xiao leave.
• Xuan Qing invited Hu Qi to become a Federation Parliament Speaker, and Hu Qi accepted.
• After Xuan Qing departed, Hu Qi healed Du Wang, Han Yuan, Lin Yao, and Lin Tu, then dismissed them.
• Hu Qi decided to continue using Herlinta’s identity to protect his other family from suspicion.
• Hu Qi used Twisted Light and Mind Light to create a controllable clone that looked like Herlinta.

Hu Qi tested a hypnotically controlled clone and considered the strength of Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu, while Xuan Qing discovered that an unknown anomaly could not be traced by his power to read fate. Han Luan broke through to the Blood Qi Soul Condensation Realm, aided by medicine from Wu Yu.

• Hu Qi confirmed that he could create a temporary clone with implanted commands, though it had limited strength and lasted only about a day.
• Hu Qi judged that he could defeat Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu but put the idea aside because of Xuan Qing and his presence in Anshan City.
• Xuan Qing failed to see an anomaly's fate and suffered a backlash when he tried to uncover it, then welcomed the uncertainty it brought to humanity's future.
• Han Luan emerged from seclusion after reaching the Blood Qi Soul Condensation Realm with help from medicine Wu Yu had given her.