Chapter Summaries

Chen Fei learned that Sword Return Pavilion had grown too powerful for him to confront directly, so he decided to infiltrate it as a disciple and search for the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s secret manual. He arrived at the mountain gate in disguise and joined the recruitment crowd.

• Chen Fei killed a peeking Weird with the Shadow Reflection Severing God Sword, strengthened by his Great Perfection Realm Slaughtering Spirit Art, then continued cultivating and traveled toward West Cloud City.
• Chen Fei concealed his cultivation upon entering West Cloud City and learned that Sword Return Pavilion was recruiting disciples.
• Chen Fei discovered that Sword Return Pavilion now had two Late Aperture Refining Realm cultivators, making a direct attack or an appeal to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect unlikely to succeed.
• Chen Fei decided to infiltrate Sword Return Pavilion as a disciple, using the Slaughtering Spirit Art to conceal his cultivation and his control over his body to alter his appearance.
• Chen Fei arrived at Sword Return Pavilion’s mountain gate under a new identity and joined hundreds of applicants while an Aperture Refining Realm cultivator watched the crowd.

Chen Fei joined Sword Return Pavilion under a purchased identity and used a Shadow Clone to search for Yuan Chen Sword Sect techniques. After the Sword Guiding Art found no inheritance near the main peak, it finally responded elsewhere in the sect, leaving Chen Fei to investigate the location.

• Chen Fei used the identity of Zhao Tie to pass Sword Return Pavilion's test and became an Outer Sect Disciple.
• Chen Fei settled into a shared room and sent a Shadow Clone out at night to scout the sect.
• Chen Fei used the Sword Guiding Art near the main peak, but it detected no Yuan Chen Sword Sect inheritance there.
• Chen Fei suspected Chou Yuanzeng's information might be false and searched other parts of Sword Return Pavilion.
• After an hour of searching, Chen Fei felt the Sword Guiding Art respond.

Chen Fei discovered that Sword Return Pavilion’s inheritance was hidden beneath a lake, but its formation prevented him from entering unnoticed. He learned Blood Touch from the Blood Origin Art and returned to the lake after ten days, preparing to use blood to bypass the formation.

• Chen Fei followed the Sword Guiding Art to the lake and found the inheritance ground beneath its bed, but retreated when he sensed the formation’s alarm range.
• Chen Fei rejected the idea of becoming a True Inheritance Disciple or breaking the formation by force, and chose to learn Blood Touch from the Blood Origin Art.
• Chen Fei used the Panel to simplify Blood Touch into bleeding and practiced it through the night while keeping his roommates asleep.
• Chen Fei listened to the deacon disciple teach the Outer Sect Disciples the Recitation Sword Art, then moved to another room to avoid involving his roommates in his plans.
• After ten days of practicing Blood Touch, Chen Fei returned to the lake, reached the formation, and released blood that spread into a Blood Mist.

Chen Fei infiltrated the Sword Return Pavilion’s Inheritance Ground, subdued Shi Shaofang, and absorbed several lost Yuan Chen Sword Sect inheritances. He began studying the Yuan Chen Sword Canon, whose inheritance continued flowing into his Sea of Consciousness.

• Chen Fei used Blood Touch to penetrate the formation and entered the lakebed cave without triggering an alarm.
• Chen Fei struck Shi Shaofang down and sealed his Primordial Power and mind, leaving him gravely wounded but alive.
• Chen Fei absorbed the Slaughtering Edge Sword and Water Jade Sword inheritances from two steles.
• Chen Fei confirmed the Yuan Chen Sword Body’s Aura was absent and moved to the stele containing the Yuan Chen Sword Canon.
• Shi Shaofang woke but remained unable to move as Chen Fei received the Yuan Chen Sword Canon inheritance, which continued beyond its third layer.

Chen Fei obtained the complete seven-layer Yuan Chen Sword Canon from the Sword Return Pavilion’s inheritance stele, then fled the sect before its people could stop him. Sword Return Pavilion’s sect master Xing Xin Zhao tracked him down with the Sword Return Eye, and Chen Fei created a Shadow Clone to confuse his pursuer.

• Chen Fei received all seven layers of the Yuan Chen Sword Canon and realized he could smelt it together with his six complete cultivation techniques.
• Chen Fei left the Inheritance Stones intact, took Shi Shaofang’s valuables and Spirit Sword, and escaped through the formation.
• Chen Fei hurried toward the sect’s boundary, but the Sword Return Pavilion formation was seized by someone, revealing that he had been discovered.
• Chen Fei used Escaping Heavens Travel, the Flying Ling Shuttle, and the Slaughtering Spirit Art to flee, while Xing Xin Zhao pursued him.
• Xing Xin Zhao activated the Sword Return Eye, followed Chen Fei’s fading traces, and caught up as Chen Fei split off a Shadow Clone.

Chen Fei escaped Sword Return Pavilion’s pursuit and met Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun, who had come to receive him. He revealed that he had recovered the complete Yuan Chen Sword Canon and three other lost cultivation methods, just as Xing Xin Zhao caught up.

• Chen Fei used his Shadow Clone to split Xing Xin Zhao and Sui Wengong’s pursuit, then headed for the agreed meeting point.
• Chen Fei met Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun, who had both left the sect to receive him.
• Chen Fei told them that he had recovered the complete Yuan Chen Sword Canon, shocking Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun.
• Chen Fei revealed that he had also recovered the complete Slaughtering Edge Sword, Great Thunderclap Sword, and Water Jade Sword methods.
• Zhou Zixun angrily learned that Sword Return Pavilion had kept the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s methods, then sensed Xing Xin Zhao approaching.

Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun confronted Xing Xin Zhao over the Yuan Chen Sword Sect’s stolen cultivation methods, while Chen Fei watched and recognized Zhou Zixun’s personal refinements to the Giant Strength Sword. Chen Fei’s Mind Skill created an opening that cost Xing Xin Zhao an arm, but Xing Xin Zhao escaped by burning his Apertures and carrying Sui Wengong away with him.

• Xing Xin Zhao recognized Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun and tried to flee, but Qu Qingsheng trapped him in the Heavy Yuan Sword Formation.
• Zhou Zixun used the Giant Strength Sword to intercept Xing Xin Zhao and helped Qu Qingsheng overwhelm him, though Zhou’s strength began to decline.
• Chen Fei noticed Zhou Zixun had infused the Giant Strength Sword with his own intent as the fight continued.
• Chen Fei struck Xing Xin Zhao’s Sea of Consciousness with God-Slaying, briefly disrupting him and allowing Qu Qingsheng to sever his arm.
• Xing Xin Zhao ruptured his Apertures, broke through the sword formation, and escaped with Sui Wengong.

Chen Fei returned the lost techniques to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect, and Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun decided to keep the news quiet while the sect grew stronger. Their plans were interrupted when Qu Qingsheng received a warning from the sect and prepared to return.

• Xing Xin Zhao survived the battle but lost his arm and the ability to open more Apertures, while Zhou Zixun and Qu Qingsheng regretted failing to destroy Sword Return Pavilion.
• Chen Fei gave Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun Jade Slips containing four recovered techniques as they traveled toward Immortal Cloud City.
• Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun admired Chen Fei and discussed how the recovered techniques could strengthen the Yuan Chen Sword Sect.
• Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun decided to conceal the techniques from most elders because the sect was weak and their recovery could attract unwanted attention.
• Qu Qingsheng received a warning from a spiritual artifact linked to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect's main peak and said he would return first.

Chen Fei parted from Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun, then traveled to the Reaching Heavens River and perfected Escaping Heavens Travel and the Giant Strength Sword. He continued toward Qin Hai City and discovered that the Yashan Army had captured it and the Ruan Family had disappeared from its residence.

• Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun left to return to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect, while Chen Fei continued alone.
• Chen Fei reached the Reaching Heavens River and comprehended Escaping Heavens Travel to Great Perfection, strengthening its clone.
• Chen Fei comprehended the Giant Strength Sword to Great Perfection, completing the perfection of the sect's three original Legacy Techniques.
• Chen Fei saw that Shangwu City had repelled the Yashan Army, then followed the army's trail toward Qin Hai City.
• Chen Fei found the Yashan Army's flag on Qin Hai City's walls, disguised himself as a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, and discovered the Ruan Family residence was empty.

Chen Fei investigated why the Ruan Family was the only clan eliminated after the Yashan Army seized Qin Hai City and questioned a local information shop. The shopkeeper revealed that rumors blamed the Ruan Family’s connection to an Aperture Refining Realm expert, then recognized Chen Fei as that very person.

• Chen Fei checked the other family manors and found that only the Ruan Family had been eliminated after the Yashan Army took Qin Hai City.
• Chen Fei entered a closed information shop, subdued Lang Jiushan and the guards, and met the shopkeeper.
• Chen Fei asked when the Yashan Army arrived, and the shopkeeper said it had taken the city ten days earlier and absorbed its soldiers while assigning quotas to the clans.
• The shopkeeper said rumors blamed the Ruan Family’s recent connection to an Aperture Refining Realm expert for its downfall.
• The shopkeeper recognized Chen Fei as the expert in the Ruan Family portraits and realized he was the reason the clan had been settled accounts with.

Chen Fei learned that the Yashan Army had purged the Ruan Family and infiltrated its barracks to rescue Ruan Qiaojun, Chu Wennian, and Chu Lan. He found Chu Wennian and Chu Lan imprisoned in a water prison, where Yan Shigang threatened them, and Chen Fei’s clone appeared and beheaded him.

• Chen Fei learned from a shopkeeper that the Yashan Army had killed some Ruan Family members and imprisoned the rest in the southern barracks.
• Chen Fei paid the shopkeeper for the information and warned him to keep Chen Fei’s visit secret.
• After night fell, Chen Fei sent a clone into the guarded Yashan Army camp to search for Ruan Qiaojun, Chu Wennian, and Chu Lan.
• Chen Fei’s clone found Chu Wennian near death and Chu Lan imprisoned in a water prison, where Yan Shigang had threatened them.
• Yan Shigang turned and saw Chen Fei’s clone, which swiftly beheaded him.

Chen Fei rescued Chu Lan, Chu Wennian, and dozens of Ruan Family members from the Water Prison, then fought his way out of the Barracks while the Yashan Army pursued them. He confronted Ji Zhuowen and Cheng Hengzhong, and his sword began crushing Cheng Hengzhong’s defense.

• Chen Fei killed Yan Shigang, tore open the Water Prison bars, and rescued Chu Lan and Chu Wennian, stabilizing Chu Wennian with Yuan Power.
• Chen Fei agreed to take the Ruan Family members who wanted to leave, learned that Ruan Qiaojun had been captured separately, and carried the group out of the Water Prison.
• Chen Fei charged through the Barracks with the rescued Ruan Family members as alarms sounded and Ji Zhuowen and Cheng Hengzhong pursued them.
• Ji Zhuowen fired an arrow at Chen Fei, but Chen Fei’s true body intercepted it while his clone continued carrying the Ruan Family members toward safety.
• Ji Zhuowen sent Cheng Hengzhong after the Ruan Family, but Chen Fei intercepted him and struck his Sword Sealing Mountain defense with the Qian Yuan Sword.

Chen Fei fought through the Yashan Sect’s ambush in Qin Hai City after discovering its leaders had used the Ruan Family as bait. He left Ji Zhuowen gravely wounded and faced Hong Yuanfeng and the arriving cultivators.

• Chen Fei struck Cheng Hengzhong with one sword, leaving him near death, and headed out of the Barracks with the Ruan Family members.
• Ji Zhuowen fired arrows at the Ruan Family and tried to stop Chen Fei, but Chen Fei shattered the arrows and overwhelmed Ji Zhuowen’s Sword Sealing the Sea with a single attack.
• Liang Zhongpu and Xu Yanxin arrived with Hong Yuanfeng, and Chen Fei realized Hong Yuanfeng and the Yashan Sect had set the Ruan Family up as bait to lure him out.
• Hong Yuanfeng threatened Chen Fei over Ji Zhuowen, but Chen Fei killed Ji Zhuowen with a slash across his neck.

Chen Fei lured Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng away from Qin Hai City after killing Ji Zhuowen, planning to eliminate them while his clone escorted the Ruan Family to safety. He confronted the two pursuers with the Heavy Yuan Sword Formation, which crushed Liang Zhongpu’s Sword Sealing the Sea and left them facing its overwhelming pressure.

• Chen Fei killed Ji Zhuowen, took his spiritual weapon, and fled the Barracks as Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng pursued him.
• Xu Yanxin checked on the badly injured Cheng Hengzhong, then joined the pursuit, believing Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng could defeat Chen Fei together.
• Chen Fei’s clone led Chu Lan and the Ruan Family out of Qin Hai City to a mountain hollow while his main body drew the pursuers farther away.
• Chen Fei stopped in a forest and revealed that he had been leading Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng there so he could kill them.
• Liang Zhongpu attacked Chen Fei’s Heavy Yuan Sword Formation with Sword Sealing the Sea, but the formation crushed his sword shadow and spread across the surrounding area.

Chen Fei fought Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng, overpowering them with his sword array and strength. After Hong Yuanfeng unleashed the Mountain Shattering Stance and left Chen Fei grievously wounded, Chen Fei’s injuries rapidly healed and his Aura surged, freezing both opponents in shock.

• Chen Fei’s eighty-one sword pearls overwhelmed Liang Zhongpu’s Sword Sealing the Sea, while Hong Yuanfeng tried to break the sword array with the Heavenly Mountain Sword.
• Chen Fei appeared inside the array and stopped Hong Yuanfeng’s strike, then prepared a powerful counterattack with the Qian Yuan Sword.
• Facing death, Hong Yuanfeng shattered his Apertures and unleashed the Mountain Shattering Stance, driving his power to the Late Aperture Refining Realm.
• Chen Fei used Severing God to briefly disrupt Hong Yuanfeng before their swords collided, tearing apart the formation and leaving Chen Fei covered in severe wounds.
• Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng expected Chen Fei to be defeated, but his wounds rapidly recovered and his Aura rose, stunning them.

Chen Fei recovered from Hong Yuanfeng’s life-burning attack, killed Liang Zhongpu, and left Hong Yuanfeng trapped as he hurried toward Qin Hai City. He caught up with Xu Yanxin and killed him before Xu could reach the city.

• Chen Fei’s wounds rapidly healed, and he withstood Liang Zhongpu’s sword attack before countering.
• Liang Zhongpu fled toward Qin Hai City, but Chen Fei struck his mind with the Severing God Sword and trapped him in the Heavy Yuan Sword Formation.
• Chen Fei killed Liang Zhongpu despite his pleas to surrender, then left Hong Yuanfeng pinned inside the Dragon Elephant Formation.
• Xu Yanxin rushed toward the battlefield, saw Chen Fei approaching, and realized Liang Zhongpu and Hong Yuanfeng might have been killed.
• Xu Yanxin tried to flee to Qin Hai City, but Chen Fei caught him and killed him with a crushing sword strike.

Chen Fei forced Xu Yanxin to kill Hong Yuanfeng so the blood mark would attach to someone else, then killed Xu Yanxin and continued his assault on the Yashan Sect in Qin Hai City. After killing Cheng Hengzhong and defeating Qi Yuanlu, Chen Fei looted the City Lord Manor’s resources.

• Chen Fei made Xu Yanxin stab the unconscious Hong Yuanfeng, causing Hong Yuanfeng’s blood mark to attach to Xu Yanxin, then killed Xu Yanxin and took their valuables.
• Chen Fei erased the traces of the fight and went to Qin Hai City to hunt the Yashan Sect cultivators who had helped set a trap for him.
• Chen Fei entered the barracks, killed the injured Cheng Hengzhong, and took his Spirit Sword and Primordial Stones.
• Chen Fei infiltrated the City Lord Manor, weakened its formation, destroyed its core, and killed the injured Yashan Sect Master Qi Yuanlu.
• Chen Fei entered a protected room in the manor and claimed the Yashan Sect’s silver, pills, Spiritual Materials, Primordial Stones, and three Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts.

Chen Fei rescued Ruan Qiaojun from the City Lord Manor dungeon and moved the Ruan Family from Qin Hai City to Linshui City. After treating Chu Lan’s injuries, he examined a Yashan Sect intelligence Jade Slip that pointed to Shangwu City.

• Chen Fei gathered the Yashan Sect’s resources and inheritance Jade Slips, then went to find Ruan Qiaojun.
• Chen Fei broke into the dungeon, knocked out a jailer, and freed Ruan Qiaojun.
• Chen Fei brought Ruan Qiaojun and the Ruan Family to Linshui City, telling them Qin Hai City had fallen into chaos.
• Chen Fei gave Chu Lan medicine for her injuries and examined an intelligence Jade Slip from the Yashan Sect sect master.
• Chen Fei discovered that the intelligence concerned Shangwu City, which the Yashan Army had previously sought to capture.

After learning that Shangwu City held one of Xilian True Person’s cave residences, Chen Fei cultivated until he opened forty-five acupoints and traveled there. His Mind Power warned him of an unseen danger, and he discovered that the city gate and its surroundings were an illusion that had somehow drawn in his true self.

• Chen Fei learned from the Jade Slip that Shangwu City’s cave residence belonged to the late Aperture Unification Realm rogue cultivator Xilian True Person, and suspected the Yashan Sect was seeking reinforcements to claim it.
• Chen Fei refined Primordial Stones and spirit pills for nearly two weeks, opening four acupoints and reaching forty-five.
• Chen Fei said farewell to Ruan Qiaojun, Chu Lan, and the Ruan Family, then set out for Shangwu City.
• Near Shangwu City, Chen Fei sensed a warning from his Mind Power despite seeing nothing unusual, and sent his Shadow Clone toward the city gate.
• Chen Fei realized that the apparent city gate had become a terrifying illusion, that no soldiers or people were present, and that his true self—not his clone—stood there.

Chen Fei escaped Shangwu City after discovering that Xilian True Person had become an Aperture Unification Realm Human-Strange and was drawing people into the city. He reported the danger to the Yuan Chen Sword Sect, and Qu Qingsheng set out to seek help from the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.

• Chen Fei resisted Shangwu City's illusions with the Severing God Sword and escaped its reach despite suffering backlash.
• He suspected that Xilian True Person had refined his followers and himself into a Human-Strange, then hurried toward Immortal Cloud City to report the threat.
• Chen Fei reached the Yuan Chen Sword Sect and told Qu Qingsheng and Zhou Zixun that an Aperture Unification Realm Human-Strange had appeared in Shangwu City.
• After hearing Chen Fei's account, Qu Qingsheng left for the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect while Chen Fei and Zhou Zixun stayed behind.