Chapter Summaries

Chen Fei absorbed rare spiritual materials that greatly increased his Mind Power, then followed the Twin Stone toward Feng Xiupu after sensing a High-Grade Spirit Artifact. He arrived near a battle where the Divine Flame Sect had trapped Feng Xiupu and three others, and Zhu Zixiang was close to defeat.

• Chen Fei refined the Strange Locust Tree sap and other Mind Power spirit herbs, increasing his Mind Power by nearly forty percent and his capacity to control Apertures.
• The Twin Stone reacted to Feng Xiupu’s location, and Chen Fei sensed a sharp Aura before rushing toward him.
• Chen Fei reached a formation-shrouded battle where Wu Yongzhao and the Divine Flame Sect had surrounded Zhu Zixiang, Ke Liangde, Feng Xiupu, and Wei Yantao.
• Wu Yongzhao saw through Zhu Zixiang’s escape technique and struck him down with his Superior Spirit Sword.
• Zhu Zixiang struggled against Wu Yongzhao while Ke Liangde was heavily surrounded, leaving Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao at risk if their allies fell.

Chen Fei infiltrated the Divine Flame Sect’s formation and rescued Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao from the ambush, then fled with them as Dong Xiuzhi gave chase. Chen Fei stopped on a boulder to face Dong Xiuzhi, while Wu Yongzhao had not yet joined the pursuit.

• Ke Liangde, Zhu Zixiang, Feng Xiupu, and Wei Yantao were overwhelmed by the Divine Flame Sect’s ambush inside an aura-concealing formation.
• Chen Fei located the formation, used the Rat Demon to distract the attackers, and slipped inside while concealing his aura.
• Chen Fei joined Feng Xiupu, and Wei Yantao seized the chance to regroup with them before Chen Fei carried both men toward the formation’s edge.
• Wu Yongzhao ordered a pursuit, and Dong Xiuzhi used a special spirit tool to catch up with Chen Fei’s group.
• Chen Fei stopped on a boulder and turned to face Dong Xiuzhi, who challenged him for no longer running.

Chen Fei faced Dong Xiuzhi alone and overwhelmed him despite Dong Xiuzhi’s Mid-Grade Spirit Sword and desperate attempt to Open Life Gate. Chen Fei killed Dong Xiuzhi with a single decisive follow-up strike, then saw Ning Yongfei approaching.

• Chen Fei stopped Wei Yantao from joining the fight and charged Dong Xiuzhi alone.
• Chen Fei struck Dong Xiuzhi with the Qian Yuan Sword, sending him retreating while vomiting blood.
• Dong Xiuzhi opened Life Gate to increase his strength and hoped to block another strike and escape.
• Chen Fei unleashed Refining Sword into Silk and smashed Dong Xiuzhi’s sword into his chest, killing him.
• Chen Fei looked ahead and saw Ning Yongfei approaching.

Chen Fei killed Dong Xiuzhi and Ning Yongfei, then worked with Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao to make the Divine Flame Sect believe the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect was responsible. The two groups converged on the same area, leaving Wu Yongzhao to face approaching cultivators from the east.

• Chen Fei caught Ning Yongfei as he fled and killed him with a sword strike.
• Chen Fei returned to Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao, searched both corpses, and hid the spoils in his Space Grid.
• Chen Fei, Feng Xiupu, and Wei Yantao agreed to pin the deaths on the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect and went to find Liao Hanqin.
• Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao told Liao Hanqin that the Divine Flame Sect had attacked them, and Liao Hanqin led his companions toward the reported battle site.
• Wu Yongzhao found signs that Dong Xiuzhi and Ning Yongfei had died quickly, suspected Liao Hanqin, and sensed several Aperture Refining Realm Auras approaching from the east.

Wu Yongzhao and Liao Hanqin clashed while their groups pursued one another, but the Divine Flame Sect’s survivors escaped and the Secret Realm’s changed rules prevented anyone from leaving early. Chen Fei regrouped with the Yuan Chen Sword Sect, opened three Apertures, and brought the Qian Yuan Sword to the threshold of becoming a Mid-Grade Spirit Sword.

• Wu Yongzhao spotted Liao Hanqin, held him off while the Divine Flame Sect members fled, and escaped after their evenly matched fight.
• Chen Fei and his companions lost track of their quarry, then regrouped with Liao Hanqin’s party, which found signs that Wu Yongzhao had swiftly defeated other cultivators.
• Chen Fei, Feng Xiupu, and Wei Yantao found the Secret Realm exit sealed until the end of the month and joined Ren Zhongyang and other Yuan Chen Sword Sect members.
• Liao Hanqin searched the Secret Realm for the Divine Flame Sect, confirmed that Zhu Zixiang and another person had been killed, and prepared a group to ascend Half Bottle Mountain.
• Chen Fei refined and consumed Spirit Grass, opened three Apertures to reach twenty-three, and fed the Qian Yuan Sword more than half of Dong Xiuzhi’s Mid-Grade Spirit Sword, bringing it to the limit of Low-Grade Spirit Swords.

Chen Fei upgraded the Qian Yuan Sword into a Mid-Grade Spirit Sword before joining the Aperture Refining Realm cultivators’ expedition up Half Bottle Mountain. As the group reached the upper slopes, their Mind Power was compressed and the mountain’s Primordial Qi grew unnaturally dense, until they spotted a city on the summit.

• Chen Fei absorbed the spiritual essence of a Sword Blade into the Qian Yuan Sword, raising it to Mid-Grade Spirit Sword and gaining its cultivation amplification.
• Liao Hanqin led dozens of Aperture Refining Realm cultivators toward Half Bottle Mountain to search for the Divine Flame Sect and mountain treasures.
• Chen Fei climbed with the group while Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao stayed behind to recover, and the Rat Demon in his sleeve resisted the ascent.
• As the cultivators climbed, Half Bottle Mountain increasingly suppressed their Mind Power, yet they found no Spirit Grass despite the dense Primordial Qi.
• Near the summit, the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect cultivators sensed Primordial Qi denser than any they had encountered in their own Secret Realm.
• Someone spotted a city towering atop Half Bottle Mountain.

A mysterious city atop Half Bottle Mountain swept away the Aperture Refining Realm cultivators who had gathered outside it. Chen Fei and the others awoke in strange roles within the city, while Chen Fei found himself standing by a road with a shoulder pole.

• The cultivators debated whether the city was an illusion or an Anomaly Realm, while Liao Hanqin urged them to decide whether to enter.
• The city suddenly rushed toward the group and released a strange fluctuation that made the cultivators vanish.
• Ren Zhongyang awoke in a Medical Hall as a physician, where a village woman and the attendants pressed him to treat her.
• Liao Hanqin awoke as a private school teacher and faced students demanding instruction as their faces twisted.
• Chi Shuqing found herself dressed as a maidservant, unable to locate the kitchen and frightened by her suddenly appearing Miss.
• Chen Fei stood beside a road carrying a shoulder pole, unsure where he was.

Chen Fei found himself selling strange fruits to a hostile, unnaturally cold crowd, and discovered that some fruits returned to his basket after being sold. He earned a few Wen Coins, but the customers grew furious after eating the fruit, and the crowd stopped buying from him.

• Chen Fei faced a silent crowd whose eerie threat eased only after he sold the Old Man a Winter Jujube.
• The Old Man and an old woman ate Winter Jujubes that tasted like air, while Chen Fei discovered the fruit returned to his basket and earned One Wen Coin.
• Chen Fei sold a small apple to the Old Man and learned that waving his hand could make the apple reappear, though the Old Man's anger and killing intent grew.
• Chen Fei hawked apples and Winter Jujubes to two women, collected two Wen Coins, and watched the fruits return after they ate them and turned furious.
• Chen Fei continued offering the fruit, but no one else in the crowd agreed to buy it.

Chen Fei sold strange fruits that repeatedly reappeared, while the people who ate them lost memories or experience and failed to drain his cultivation. As he earned money and glimpsed fleeting images, he entered a Medical Hall after recognizing the physician, Ren Zhongyang.

• Chen Fei sold the old woman a White Sweet Potato, and she lost the experience of making Stir-fried Pig Liver instead of taking his cultivation origin.
• Chen Fei discovered the White Sweet Potato had returned to his basket, rebuked the crowd for not buying, and walked away as they watched with killing intent.
• Chi Shuqing failed to find the kitchen, lost something precious when Miss whipped her, and was again ordered to deliver instructions before becoming lost in the identical courtyards.
• Ren Zhongyang examined the village girl, felt something draining through his fingertips, and faced her increasingly urgent demands to check her swollen belly.
• Chen Fei repeatedly sold fruit to buyers who ate it all at once, then watched them fall silent when the fruit reappeared; earning money made his discomfort fade and brought fleeting images to mind.
• Chen Fei entered a Medical Hall after recognizing Ren Zhongyang and called out, asking if anyone wanted fruit.

Chen Fei used strange fruit and pills to drive off a sinister village woman who had been threatening Ren Zhongyang. After Ren Zhongyang realized he could leave the doctor’s seat, Chen Fei offered to take his place and treat patients for money.

• Chen Fei sold the village woman three fruits, which gave her uncanny cooking skills instead of the origin she expected.
• The village woman demanded treatment for her stomach pain, and Chen Fei turned two fruits into pills by spending two wen.
• After the village woman swallowed the pills, Chen Fei lost two stretches of memory and discovered the pills had become cooking skills; the woman grew furious.
• Ren Zhongyang urged the village woman to take Chen Fei’s medicine, and she claimed her pain was gone, paid five wen, and left.
• Ren Zhongyang said the village woman’s departure had lifted the restriction keeping him at the doctor’s seat, and Chen Fei offered to take over.

Chen Fei earned money treating patients at the Medical Hall, and the money helped restore his clarity and memories. After exploring the city with Ren Zhongyang, he encountered a Martial Arts Hall Master who offered to double the value of Chen Fei’s tuition if he learned the hall’s techniques, but demanded Chen Fei’s lifespan as payment.

• Chen Fei treated five patients at the Medical Hall, used pills to cure their ailments, and earned a net profit of twenty-two wen.
• When the patients stopped coming, Chen Fei left the Medical Hall with Ren Zhongyang and found that earning money made his thoughts increasingly clear.
• Chen Fei explored the city’s Main Street, avoided its sinister alleys, and arrived at a martial arts hall that felt strangely familiar.
• The Martial Arts Hall Master offered to teach Chen Fei techniques in exchange for fruit from his basket, revealing that the largest fruit represented Chen Fei’s lifespan.
• Chen Fei called the tuition too expensive because the Hall Master might not be able to repay it twice over, and the Hall Master challenged him to enter the martial arts hall.

Chen Fei entered the martial arts hall, used the Panel to learn the Slaughtering Spirit Art, and forced the Martial Arts Hall Master to give up the Rat Demon and reveal a route out of Miwang City. The Hall Master and the students vanished after he pointed the way, and Chen Fei crushed the fresh blade of grass left behind.

• The Martial Arts Hall Master drew Ren Zhongyang into his influence, but Ren Zhongyang refused to enter, and Chen Fei went inside alone.
• Chen Fei met the dying Rat Demon, whose connection helped him break through the mist obscuring his spiritual insight.
• The Martial Arts Hall Master taught Chen Fei the Slaughtering Spirit Art, and Chen Fei used the Panel to simplify and learn it almost instantly.
• Chen Fei demanded the complete technique and other lessons, causing the Hall Master and students to lose source essence under the martial arts hall's rules.
• Chen Fei demanded to take the Rat Demon and have it healed, then pressed the Hall Master for a way out of Miwang City.
• The Hall Master pointed toward the route, then vanished along with the students as the martial arts hall collapsed; Chen Fei crushed the blade of grass that remained.

Chen Fei destroyed the Martial Arts Hall Master, discovered that the city’s coins held pure origin essence, and found a gate that could lead outside. He learned the gate would open in two days at the hour of Zi and took Ren Zhongyang to seek shelter before nightfall.

• Chen Fei used the Slaughtering Spirit Art to destroy the grass that embodied the Martial Arts Hall Master and put the resulting spiritual essence into the Qian Yuan Sword.
• Chen Fei broke a One Wen Coin and discovered its pure origin essence could strengthen his Mind Power without needing purification.
• Chen Fei brought Ren Zhongyang to a city gate visible only to him, then used coins to briefly clear Ren Zhongyang’s mind.
• Chen Fei approached the gate and paid the yamen runner ten Copper Coins to learn that it would open in two days at the hour of Zi.
• Chen Fei returned to Ren Zhongyang and decided they should find a place to stay before nightfall.

Chen Fei secured lodging for himself and Ren Zhongyang at the Medical Hall, then used Copper Coins to strengthen his Mind Power before a night creature attacked them. He escaped its mist illusion with the Severing God Sword, but Ren Zhongyang had already lost more than thirty percent of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

• Chen Fei threatened the Medical Hall curator into renting him and Ren Zhongyang a dormitory room for one Wen Coin per night.
• Chen Fei refined Copper Coins and raised his Mind Power to the level of controlling forty-one Apertures, saving the remaining coins for emergencies.
• After night fell, strange footsteps and a sudden drop in temperature heralded an Aura approaching the room, while Ren Zhongyang grew weak in his sleep.
• A piercing howl drew Chen Fei into a misty illusion where a figure called his name, and Chen Fei struck it three times with the Shadow Reflection Severing God Sword.
• Chen Fei woke inside the room and found that Ren Zhongyang had lost more than thirty percent of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Chen Fei learned that Netherworld Soldiers patrolled Miwang City at night and that violating the curfew meant death, while the shopkeeper hinted that money could help him avoid them. After Chen Fei tried to leave the shop, the shopkeeper demanded payment for looking at the goods, turning hostile.

• Chen Fei found Ren Zhongyang weakened after the night’s drain and left him in the Medical Hall while he explored the city.
• Chen Fei discovered a piece of Celestial Jade Stone in a shop, but could not afford its price of two thousand Copper Coins or a hundred years of lifespan.
• Chen Fei paid the shopkeeper twenty Copper Coins to learn that Netherworld Soldiers patrolled at night and killed curfew violators.
• The shopkeeper told Chen Fei that money could move gods when Chen Fei asked how to avoid the soldiers.
• As Chen Fei prepared to leave, the shopkeeper claimed he also had to pay for looking at the goods and revealed a cold, sinister expression.

Chen Fei used a Shadow Clone to escape a shopkeeper’s trap in Miwang City, then followed the Rat Demon to a residence where it sensed Baka inside a tree. He found Chi Shuqing there with a Weird young lady and tried to buy the tree as the chapter ended.

• Chen Fei’s Shadow Clone escaped the shopkeeper by throwing Copper Coins through the shop’s seal, while Chen Fei’s true self waited outside.
• Chen Fei spotted an unfamiliar Late Aperture Refining Realm cultivator, but the man ignored him and entered an alley.
• The Rat Demon detected Baka’s scent, and Chen Fei followed it to a large, silent residence.
• Chen Fei called to a tree that seemed to contain Baka, but Chi Shuqing and a Weird Miss arrived before he could wake it.
• The Weird Miss threatened Chen Fei for trespassing, and he offered her ten Copper Coins to buy the tree.

Chen Fei manipulated Miss Gui into attacking first so Miwang City's rules would weaken her and remove the courtyard's protection. With Miss Gui reduced to the early stage of Tier 2, Chen Fei withstood her attacks and prepared a powerful counterattack.

• Chen Fei questioned Miss Gui's demands and tricked her into believing she should lend him five hundred Copper Coins.
• Miss Gui lost patience and attacked Chen Fei with a giant hand of fog.
• Miwang City's rules punished Miss Gui, severing her connection to the courtyard and weakening her Aura.
• Miss Gui attacked Chen Fei repeatedly, but he blocked her strikes and resisted her yin-cold and Mind Power assaults.
• Chen Fei unleashed the Qian Yuan Sword's power, the Yuan Chen Sword Canon, Dragon Elephant Roar, and his Proficient Slaughtering Spirit Art as he prepared to counterattack.

Chen Fei killed Miss Gui, collected her origins as Miwang City Copper Coins, and took Chi Shuqing with him after failing to awaken Baka. That night, as the Netherworld Soldiers patrolled, Chi Shuqing suddenly fell into a near-death state.

• Chen Fei overwhelmed Miss Gui with two sword strikes, then converted her origin into several hundred Copper Coins.
• Chen Fei discovered that the courtyard belonged to Miwang City, searched it for useful items, and found nothing.
• Chen Fei tried to awaken Baka by calling his name, then removed the tree’s central wood and kept it in his sleeve.
• Chi Shuqing asked Chen Fei to take her along, and he agreed before leaving the courtyard with her.
• Jin Weiming and Yu Zhongxin arrived at the courtyard, praised Chen Fei’s skill, and left without pursuing him.
• At midnight in the Medical Hall, Chen Fei heard the Netherworld Soldiers’ footsteps and noticed that Chi Shuqing had fallen into a near-death state.

Chen Fei saved Chi Shuqing from a deadly attack by the Netherworld Soldiers, then trained through the day as she recovered and Ren Zhongyang regained some lucidity. As night approached, the Medical Hall director offered information about the force that had marked them, revealing that Chen Fei might have mistaken the Hundred Ghoul Night Parade for the Netherworld Soldiers' Patrol.

• Chen Fei used source power to save Chi Shuqing, who could remember only feeling as if something had dragged her away.
• After midnight, Chen Fei practiced the Slaughtering Spirit Art while Chi Shuqing recovered and recalled his killing Miss Gui.
• Chen Fei searched the streets for other survivors but found only Weirds, then returned to the Medical Hall to cultivate.
• Chi Shuqing's injuries improved and Ren Zhongyang regained periods of clarity as evening arrived.
• The Medical Hall director told Chen Fei that Chi Shuqing and Ren Zhongyang had been marked, then asked whether he had mistaken the Hundred Ghoul Night Parade for the Netherworld Soldiers' Patrol.

Chen Fei rejected the Medical Hall Master's suspicious contract and tested the city gate with a Shadow Clone, then led Chi Shuqing and Ren Zhongyang toward it before midnight. As other cultivators gathered, he realized something was wrong and abruptly pulled his companions away from the gate.

• Chen Fei refused to sign the Medical Hall Master's contract after the Hall Master resisted letting him draft one himself, confirming Chen Fei's suspicions.
• As night fell, Chen Fei sent a Shadow Clone with its Aura suppressed to scout the city gate and confirmed that it would open that night.
• Chen Fei used Copper Coins to sharpen Chi Shuqing and Ren Zhongyang's minds, then led them through the bitter night cold toward the gate before midnight.
• Liao Hanqin, Wu Yongzhao, Jiang Ronghe, and an elder of the Big Dipper Pavilion arrived at the gate, while the Late Aperture Refining Realm expert did not appear.
• Chen Fei recalled the connection between the Netherworld Soldiers, midnight, and the city gate, then grabbed Chi Shuqing and Ren Zhongyang and vanished from the gate.