Chapter Summaries

Xie Yuan, Huijue, and Zhang Junyi infiltrated the Yao Family residence to investigate Wang Zhiyi’s murder and uncovered a link between the Yao and Qian families. After following Mister Qian out, the three surrounded him in the street, with Xie Yuan demanding to know where he would run.

• Xie Yuan led the wary Young Taoist Priest to Huijue, where the taoist tested Huijue’s Indestructible Golden Bell Cover and introduced himself as Zhang Junyi of the Profound Truth Sect.
• Xie Yuan and Huijue told Zhang Junyi about the great families’ suspected scheme to prolong their lives by abducting people, and the three agreed to investigate the Yao Family residence that night.
• Xie Yuan returned to the Sword Sect Estate, told Qin Zhenyang about the plan, and replenished his strength before meeting Huijue and Zhang Junyi at midnight.
• The three slipped into the Yao Family residence, passed its defenses with Huijue’s guidance and Zhang Junyi’s talisman, and overheard Yao Qinglai and Mister Qian discuss Xie Yuan and Wang Zhiyi’s murder.
• After leaving the residence, Xie Yuan followed Mister Qian into the street, where Huijue and Zhang Junyi joined him in surrounding the man.

Lu Xuefeng confronted Xie Yuan, Mu Chaoyun, and Wu Daoji, seeking the secrets of Wu Daoji’s survival and the Black Heaven Book. Wu Daoji destroyed his own True Spirit to escape capture, leaving Lu Xuefeng to turn his attention to Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun, while Xie Lingyun arrived home to find her supposedly absent father dining with her mother.

• Lu Xuefeng revealed that he had come for Xie Yuan and the Black Heaven Book, then used a finger’s force to throw Xie Yuan beyond the barrier and bound him and Mu Chaoyun with qi chains.
• Lu Xuefeng questioned Wu Daoji about surviving for a thousand years, but Wu Daoji refused to reveal his methods and warned that he would leave the others to face their own fortunes.
• Lu Xuefeng attacked Wu Daoji with Spiritual Sense, and Wu Daoji recognized that Lu Xuefeng had entered the Dao through Spiritual Sense.
• Wu Daoji extinguished his own True Spirit rather than fall into Lu Xuefeng’s hands, and Lu Xuefeng turned toward the trapped Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun.
• Xie Lingyun rushed to Cui Pingjun with reports that rumors blamed Xie Yuan for killings and that Spring Rain Pavilion was demanding his capture, but she stopped when she saw her father dining with her mother.

Exhausted after the banquet, Xie Yuan let the injured Mu Chaoyun use his room to bathe and rest, then fell asleep nearby. While he slept, Mu Chaoyun decided to give him medicine made from the Azure Fruit and poured it into his mouth, leaving him writhing in pain without waking.

• Xie Yuan carried a bath barrel into the inner room so Mu Chaoyun could bathe, then waited outside while she washed and treated her wound with the Demon Tiger Bone.
• Mu Chaoyun forbade Xie Yuan from using the barrel she had bathed in, so he fetched another one and fell asleep in it.
• Xie Yuan made a bed on the floor of the outer room, while Mu Chaoyun quietly ate the food he had been given.
• Mu Chaoyun examined several porcelain bottles and decided the Azure Fruit should be used more effectively.
• Mu Chaoyun poured medicine from a porcelain bottle into sleeping Xie Yuan, whose body curled in pain as he remained unconscious.

Xie Yuan and the other Yunshan Sword Sect disciples traveled through Gourd Pass into the Western Desert for their trial, reaching Wind Sand Market. The group entered a suspicious inn, where Xie Yuan recognized the scene as a classic black inn and called it Dragon Gate Inn.

• A tea stall attendant welcomed Huang Zifeng, Xie Yuan, Lin Zhen, Lin Cheng, and Pei Yu, and Huang Zifeng led them toward the Western Desert for their trial.
• Lin Zhen suggested that Xie Yuan return home and visit Mu Chaoyun along the way, but Xie Yuan insisted that the trial take priority.
• The group passed through Gourd Pass and entered the Western Desert, where they agreed to settle at Wind Sand Market and gather information.
• At Wind Sand Market, the group drew wary stares and went into the Western Desert First Inn, where Huang Zifeng stopped Pei Yu from revealing too much.
• Xie Yuan sat down in the suspicious inn and called it Dragon Gate Inn.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin killed Yao Zhizhang and uncovered the great clans’ involvement in the Black River crimes, but a Heaven Rank Assassin attacked them. After they killed the assassin together, a watching servant and Li Tai learned that the mission had failed, leaving the conspirators’ next move uncertain.

• Xie Yuan killed Yao Zhizhang, then wrote his name and the killing on the study wall in blood after he and Situ Qin found the evidence had been burned.
• Situ Qin warned Xie Yuan that the Jinling Yao Family and Yongyang Qian Family were powerful, and the pair agreed that their investigation had achieved something despite losing every lead.
• A Heaven Rank Assassin from Autumn Wind Pavilion ambushed Situ Qin by the Black River, and Xie Yuan and Situ Qin fought him off, injuring him and forcing him to retreat.
• The assassin attacked them again from an underground river, but Situ Qin’s zither score immobilized him long enough for Xie Yuan to kill him with his axe.
• A servant aboard a ship learned that the assassin had died and resolved to investigate Xie Yuan, while Li Tai confronted another Autumn Wind Pavilion shadow and learned that the mission had failed.

Xie Yuan declined Cui Zhi’s offer to join the Yunshan Sword Sect, while the Lin Family Siblings prepared to enter it and Huang Zifeng vowed to challenge him again. As Mu Chaoyun’s guidance accelerated Xie Yuan’s cultivation, a letter from Situ Qin arrived reporting that the account book had become relevant to a major incident at the Judicial Surveillance Commissioner Office.

• Cui Zhi urged Xie Yuan to join the Yunshan Sword Sect, but Xie Yuan asked for time to consider and ultimately decided against joining.
• Cui Zhi encouraged Huang Zifeng after his defeat, and Huang Zifeng apologized to Xie Yuan before promising to challenge him again.
• Cui Zhi told the Lin Family Siblings to settle their affairs before departing, and Xie Yuan celebrated their acceptance with them.
• Xie Yuan told Mu Chaoyun that he had declined the sect’s offer, and she reminded him that she would not stay at the escort agency forever.
• Mu Chaoyun intensified her training guidance, and Xie Yuan’s cultivation advanced across several skills and techniques.
• Xie Yuan received a letter from Situ Qin stating that the account book had come into play in a major matter at the Judicial Surveillance Commissioner Office.

Xie Yuan and the Yunshan Sword Sect disciples fought their way out of Wind Sand Market, where Lu Lao San’s horse bandits had surrounded them. Just as they faced a mounted force in the desert, Xie Yuan fell behind and let the bandits overtake him, telling the others to escape and seek reinforcements.

• The Boss Lady forced Xie Yuan and the others out of her inn, and Huang Zifeng led the group into battle against the surrounding horse bandits.
• Huang Zifeng held off a Qi and Blood Transformation Realm leader while Xie Yuan secretly killed waves of bandits and rejoined his companions without revealing his strength.
• The group fought through more enemies, escaped Wind Sand Market, and reunited with Huang Zifeng outside the town.
• A mounted force of more than a hundred horse bandits, led by several Qi and Blood Transformation Realm fighters, pursued the five across the desert.
• Xie Yuan deliberately fell into the sand and told the others to seek reinforcements before the horse bandits swarmed over him.

Yao Qinglai and Mister Qian arranged for Qian Yangsheng to kill Xie Yuan beneath Seeing Truth Lake, but Xie Yuan and Zhang Junyi defeated him and found the lake’s enormous crystal. After touching the crystal, Xie Yuan awoke in a hospital in what seemed to be his original world, beside a woman he called Mom.

• Yao Qinglai drowned the boatmen with a sudden surge of the lake, recovered a jade pendant, and discussed with Mister Qian their plan to eliminate Xie Yuan.
• Beneath the lake, Qian Yangsheng trapped Xie Yuan with the Water Stabilizing Pearl, but Zhang Junyi used a Divine Talisman to seal the pearl’s power.
• Xie Yuan and Zhang Junyi fought Qian Yangsheng together; Xie Yuan killed him, though Qian Yangsheng destroyed his jade pendant and the key to leaving the ruins.
• Xie Yuan and Zhang Junyi took the Water Stabilizing Pearl and descended to the lakebed, where they discovered a massive, glowing crystal.
• Xie Yuan looked through the crystal, saw an unfamiliar vision, and blacked out; he awoke in a hospital as a middle-aged woman called him her son and a television reported on a cable car accident.

Xie Yuan defeated Xie Dun with a concealment art, winning the Xie Family's recognition and resources. After a family dinner made him feel at home for the first time, Xie Yi questioned his sense of belonging and began explaining the Xie Family Martial Repository.

• Xie Yuan evaded Xie Dun's final sword strike with the Heaven Concealing Art, placed his sword on Xie Dun's shoulder, and won his surrender.
• Xie Yi declared Xie Yuan the winner and promised the young descendants fair support and resources, while the Xie Family praised Xie Yuan's talent.
• Xie Yuan considered his need for a better cultivation method and accepted Xie Lingyun's invitation to dinner with Cui Pingjun and Xie Yi.
• Cui Pingjun cooked for Xie Yuan, and Xie Yuan felt that the family gathering finally felt like home.
• Xie Yi asked Xie Yuan whether he regarded the Xie Family as his own, challenged him to use his influence for the people under the family's power, and began telling him about the Xie Family Martial Repository.

Xie Yuan and the four clan heirs killed the Flame Igniter Envoy after she overwhelmed them with a temporary Grandmaster-like state, and the survivors explored the Scripture Pavilion. Xie Yuan and Wang Qishi stayed behind to investigate its damaged books, where he noticed a volume titled “Pre-Qin Alchemist's Notes.”

• The Flame Igniter Envoy used her newfound power to suppress Wang Qiwen, Cui Lei, Xie Wei, and Lu Bingyi, while Xie Yuan harried her from the shadows.
• Xie Lingyun entered the ninth floor as bait, giving Xie Yuan the opening to unleash his giant-axe strike and kill the Flame Igniter Envoy.
• The group confirmed the Envoy was dead, discovered the ninth floor's stone book platform, and found that most of its ancient texts were damaged or unreadable.
• The survivors divided the Envoy's remaining pills and treasures, then left to explore elsewhere, while Xie Yuan chose to study the platform.
• Wang Qishi stayed with Xie Yuan, and he focused on the surviving pages of “Pre-Qin Alchemist's Notes.”

Xie Yuan refined the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron and comprehended the mountain-splitting axe technique Splitting Mount Hua, then used it to fight off the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master’s assassination attempt. The Pavilion Master survived Xie Yuan’s repeated axe strikes, but a colossal axe light descended on him at the end.

• Xie Yuan refined the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, gaining its suppression ability, and chose to advance Chopping Wood rather than his foundational cultivation technique.
• Xie Yuan comprehended Splitting Mount Hua after reaching one hundred thousand Chopping Wood progress and tested the technique by splitting a mountain wall.
• Mu Chaoyun completed her Demonic Core purification, read a troubling celestial alignment, and set seven bright lamps around herself.
• The Autumn Wind Pavilion Master ambushed Xie Yuan, but Xie Yuan used the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron and his movement techniques to evade his strikes.
• Xie Yuan deployed illusions to create an opening and struck the Pavilion Master with Splitting Mount Hua, splitting the earth as the Pavilion Master narrowly escaped.
• The Autumn Wind Pavilion Master looked up and saw another enormous axe light descending, shaped like a mountain range.

Xie Yuan saved Zhou Feng from a tiger and helped the hunters bring the animal back to Small Stone Village, where the villagers hailed him as a hero. After the tiger was sold, someone came to his door with his share of the silver.

• Xie Yuan killed the tiger with his axe, saving Zhou Feng and helping the hunters survive, while Wu Lao Si suffered a broken arm.
• The hunters agreed that Xie Yuan deserved a larger share of the tiger’s proceeds, and Zhou Feng offered him the tiger bones so his father could forge a new axe.
• Zhu Dongming told Xie Yuan he would keep quiet about their affairs, and Xie Yuan responded that the tiger had been killed by the group together.
• The hunters carried the tiger into Small Stone Village, where villagers celebrated the hunt and praised Xie Yuan as a tiger-slaying hero.
• Xie Yuan considered using his share of the money to learn martial arts and remembered sensing Spiritual Qi near some trees.
• A few days later, someone knocked on Xie Yuan’s door and announced that the tiger had been sold and brought his silver.

After Xie Yuan helped repel an attack on Situ Qin’s escort, she revealed her formidable cultivation and invited him to Yun Province Prefecture. Xie Yuan declined, and Situ Qin arranged to give him a great axe and a treasured Axe Technique before departing with Tai Bo.

• Situ Qin killed one attacker from her carriage, and the remaining black-clad men retreated after Xie Yuan and the guards fought them off.
• Commander Hu reported five guards dead and nine seriously wounded, and the party stopped to treat the injured and send word to Cloud Province.
• Situ Qin questioned Xie Yuan about his skills and asked him to join her in Yun Province Prefecture, but he declined.
• Tai Bo arrived at remarkable speed, checked on Situ Qin, and prepared to escort her onward.
• Situ Qin offered Xie Yuan a reward, and after he refused extra payment, she chose to give him a great axe and a treasured Axe Technique.

After Xie Yuan revealed his rapid breakthrough, Huo Da taught him the martial hall’s Iron Cloth Long Fist, which Xie Yuan quickly grasped. Huo Da then described Yun Zhao County’s powerful martial halls and the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency, leaving Xie Yuan curious about the wider martial world.

• Xie Yuan told Huo Da and the other Registered Disciples that he had broken through to the second level, surprising them with his progress.
• Huo Da took Xie Yuan aside and demonstrated the Iron Cloth Long Fist, combining the hall’s basic Stance Training routines into a fighting method.
• Xie Yuan understood the fist art after one demonstration and reproduced it, impressing Huo Da.
• Huo Da explained that the martial hall had one fighting method and a powerful killing method reserved for the master's direct disciples.
• Huo Da described Yun Zhao County’s four great martial halls and identified the Soaring Dragon Escort Agency as the county’s true top martial establishment.

Yun Xing revealed that Situ Qin had been chosen as the Fire Transmission Envoy, but Ji Hong rejected the appointment and attacked her, Xie Yuan, and Yun Xing. The Right Dharma King and Martial Transmission Elder then turned on Ji Hong and killed him, leaving the Right Dharma King in control of Heaven Beyond Heaven before he confronted Xie Yuan and the others.

• Yun Xing revealed Situ Qin's appointment as Fire Transmission Envoy and gave her the Holy Maiden's letter, while Xie Yuan supported Situ Qin's decision to stay in Heaven Beyond Heaven.
• Ji Hong rejected Situ Qin's appointment, summoned the Ji Family's Divine Axe, and attacked Xie Yuan, Situ Qin, and Yun Xing.
• Xie Yuan, Situ Qin, and Yun Xing struggled to withstand Ji Hong's attacks until the city-protecting formation suddenly shut down.
• The Right Dharma King and Martial Transmission Elder ambushed Ji Hong alongside Xie Yuan's group, killing Ji Hong and two Ji Family Grandmasters.
• The Right Dharma King justified his betrayal by declaring that he had freed Heaven Beyond Heaven from the Ji Family, then turned to confront Xie Yuan, Situ Qin, and Yun Xing.

Mu Chaoyun arrived at the Xie clan after resolving her family’s affairs, and Xie Yuan welcomed her into the clan grounds. Her gifts and talents won over Cui Pingjun and Xie Lingyun, and she settled into a courtyard beside Xie Yuan’s; the chapter ended with her first formal appearance at the Divine Weapon Hall.

• Xie Yuan greeted Mu Chaoyun at the Clan Land Gate and learned that her family’s affairs had been resolved, though she did not explain how.
• Xie Yuan brought Mu Chaoyun home, where she gave Xie Lingyun a protective jade hairpin and Cui Pingjun an Array Disk to stabilize Xie Yi’s condition.
• Mu Chaoyun calmly described her cultivation and skills after Xie Lingyun challenged her about the Xie Family’s supposed requirements for daughters-in-law.
• Cui Pingjun welcomed Mu Chaoyun and approved her staying in the courtyard beside Xie Yuan’s, despite Xie Lingyun’s objections.
• Xie Lingyun moved into the neighboring courtyard to watch over Mu Chaoyun, but soon began asking her for custom-made magical treasures.
• Mu Chaoyun made her first formal appearance in the Xie Family at the Divine Weapon Hall.

Xie Yuan returned to Heaven's Gate Mountain, where a Taoist priest gave him a blank fortune stick and a notebook that awakened memories of his cultivation methods and revealed the Supreme Purity Moral Scripture. He used modern studies to cultivate and build a successful tutoring business, then set out to visit Boss Wu before returning to the mountain.

• Xie Yuan traveled with Xie GuoLiang and Wang YaFang to Heaven's Gate Mountain, where an Old Taoist Priest gave him a blank fortune stick and a notebook labeled Tao Te Ching.
• Xie Yuan wrote down forgotten cultivation methods, saw the Supreme Purity Moral Scripture's second sentence in a dream, and realized that learning the laws of this world could lead him toward the Dao.
• Xie Yuan began studying graduate-school exam materials and offered to tutor a university junior, quickly demonstrating his skill across her subjects.
• Xie Yuan built a tutoring center over three months, repaid his family's debts, and used scientific knowledge to understand the world's laws and develop cultivation abilities.
• Xie Yuan decided to visit Boss Wu and then return to Heaven's Gate Mountain to investigate what he still did not understand.

Xie Lingyun defeated the Golden Gate Five Tigers in the Luoyang escort agencies’ tournament, and Xie Yuan stopped Golden Gate from forcing the Star Universe Escort Agency to merge after revealing his standing to Prefect Xie Wenxuan. Jin Tiannan later came to the Star Universe Escort Agency, knelt before Xie Yuan, and offered him a treasure as an apology.

• Mu Chaoyun told Zheng Ling that the Spirit Gathering Array was not for his use, and Xie Yuan killed him after Zheng Ling lunged at Zhao Xingyang.
• Zhao Xingyang’s men found stolen cultivation resources and a wanted notice identifying Zheng Ling as a notorious bandit.
• At Golden Gate’s tournament, Jin Yong injured Head Escort Zuo and intimidated the smaller escort agencies into surrendering.
• Xie Lingyun fought the Golden Gate Five Tigers in succession and defeated all four who challenged her before Jin Tiannan appeared.
• Xie Yuan took Xie Lingyun’s place and learned that Prefect Xie Wenxuan recognized him as the Xie Family Head, prompting Jin Tiannan to abandon his demands against the Star Universe Escort Agency.
• After Jin Tiannan knelt to apologize at the Star Universe Escort Agency, he offered Xie Yuan a treasure.

Xie Yuan encountered a mysterious hooded figure at Chunjiang Restaurant who warned him to leave the Capital City, while Huijue refused to explain the figure’s identity. As the Hidden Dragon Banquet began, the emperor asked the gathered prodigies what benefit noble families brought to the world.

• A hooded figure summoned Xie Yuan to share a meal at Chunjiang Restaurant, then warned him not to remain in the Capital City.
• Huijue recognized the hooded figure but refused to reveal who they were, and Xie Yuan reported the encounter to Xie Yi, who gave him a Heartguard Mirror for protection.
• Xie Yuan learned that Xie Lingyun could not remember the hooded guests, and Situ Qin later warned him that the emperor’s health seemed poor.
• Xie Yuan entered the Forbidden Palace for the Hidden Dragon Banquet and observed the prodigies, imperial family, and Zhikong Mountain’s new Heaven Calculating Master.
• The emperor addressed the banquet guests and asked what benefit noble families brought to the world.

Xie Yuan and the other three disciples were promoted to the inner sect and earned the chance to enter Sword Peak for enlightenment. After preparing for three days, they began climbing its stone platforms, where Xie Yuan’s ease with the sword wind set him apart as the others struggled.

• Xie Yuan resolved that he would continue practicing martial arts even if he lost his panel and Golden Finger.
• Li Xingtuo praised the four disciples’ trial performances, admitted them to the inner sect, and awarded them an opportunity to seek enlightenment on Sword Peak.
• Xie Yuan and the others moved to Into the Clouds Peak, where each chose a private courtyard; Xie Yuan also prompted a disciple to reconsider Tian Zhuang for promotion to the outer sect.
• Li Xingtuo explained Sword Peak’s dangers and set climbing limits before sending Huang Zifeng and the four disciples inside.
• The group climbed the lower platforms; Pei Yu stopped at the eighth, Lin Cheng reached the ninth before retreating, and Xie Yuan joined Lin Zhen on the tenth.