Chapter Summaries

Lin Heng and Jiang Qian escaped the Star Sand cave by digging beneath Jiang Jingyi’s spatial barrier, then Lin Heng left a taunting inscription about its flaw. Jiang Jingyi learned that Dugu Feng had arrived and left to confront him.

• Jiang Lan told Su Wanyue and the others that Lin Heng and Jiang Qian had entered the hidden space, and Su Wanyue noticed the Star Sand flow had thinned.
• Lin Heng collected two cauldrons of Star Sand for Jiang Qian, and they found a spatial barrier blocking the entrance to the fourth trial.
• Jiang Qian could not break the barrier, but Lin Heng dug beneath it and escaped with her, repeating the method he had used at Immortal Cloud Ancient City.
• Lin Heng carved a stone stele mocking the barrier’s underground gap, leaving Jiang Jingyi furious and embarrassed in Heavenly Prosperity Hall.
• A messenger reported Dugu Feng’s arrival, and Jiang Jingyi left to meet him while ordering Murong Ziyan to remain in the hall.

Lin Heng entered the Immortal Mansion to seek an inheritance and visited Carefree Immortal Mansion, where Carefree True Lord first tried to drive him away. After Lin Heng showed no interest in staying, Carefree True Lord stopped him, and Lin Heng realized the remnant will was lonely.

• Lin Heng and Jiang Qian parted ways, and Lin Heng released Xiao Lan to explore the Immortal Mansion with him.
• Lin Heng entered Carefree Immortal Mansion and was met with a cutting wind and Carefree True Lord's order to leave.
• Carefree True Lord provoked Lin Heng, but Lin Heng silently turned to go, prompting the master to call him back.
• Carefree True Lord boasted of his reputation and blocked the gates when Lin Heng said his master was Meng Yutong.
• Lin Heng pointed out that Carefree True Lord was only a remnant will and guessed that he was lonely.

Lin Heng negotiated with Carefree True Lord, agreeing to leave his name on the Disciple Stele before the trial ended in exchange for information about Demon Beast clans in the Northern Continent. Meanwhile, Meng Yutong grew uneasy at the prospect of Lin Heng leaving, while Mu Li privately plotted to pursue him.

• Carefree True Lord tried to stop Lin Heng from leaving, but Lin Heng dodged his attack and figured out that the senior needed trial-takers to sign the Disciple Stele.
• Lin Heng agreed to sign the stele before the trial ended and asked Carefree True Lord about Demon Beast clans in the Northern Continent.
• Duan Shuyun and Leng Qingqiu discussed whether Lin Heng truly planned to travel north, while Meng Yutong worried that he might leave her behind.
• Mu Li teased Meng Yutong about her attachment to Lin Heng and suggested that he might leave with his Senior Sisters.
• Mu Li suspected Meng Yutong had romantic feelings for Lin Heng and privately resolved to pursue his Five Elements Body for Dual Cultivation.

Jiang Jingyi summoned Dugu Feng to discuss Lin Heng’s conduct, and Murong Ziyan began recounting Lin Heng’s actions after the Leng Family arrived to seek an audience. Dugu Feng’s confidence faded as he realized the story was not leading to a reward.

• Dugu Feng admired Profound Chamber Pavilion and boasted that the Female Emperor’s invitation would impress his clan.
• Jiang Jingyi welcomed Dugu Feng and confirmed that she had summoned him because of Lin Heng.
• Dugu Feng proudly claimed he would support Lin Heng even if his nephew had done something wrong.
• Murong Ziyan reported that the Leng Family had arrived after Leng Qiansha lost an arm and was injured in the secret realm.
• Jiang Jingyi told Murong Ziyan to recount Lin Heng’s conduct from beginning to end, and Dugu Feng’s smile froze as she began.

Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan confronted Dugu Feng with Lin Heng’s offenses and decreed that he would become the imperial palace’s chief steward after punishment. Dugu Feng avoided taking Lin Heng’s place himself and went to Heavenly Prosperity Hall, where the gathered disciples greeted him as “Uncle Prison.”

• Murong Ziyan listed Lin Heng’s offenses to Dugu Feng, who panicked and insisted his nephew would never dare insult the Female Emperor.
• Jiang Jingyi said Lin Heng’s merits did not erase his faults and ordered him to serve as palace chief steward after being taken to the Harsh Punishment Office.
• Jiang Jingyi suggested Dugu Feng could take the post instead, but he called Lin Heng unfit for responsibility and supported sending him to the palace for tempering.
• Murong Ziyan told Dugu Feng that Lin Heng and the others were at Heavenly Prosperity Hall, so he went there to see them.
• Leng Qingyun, Yun Yao, and the others greeted Dugu Feng as “Uncle Prison,” and Meng Yutong accidentally used the same nickname before denying she had meant to.

Dugu Feng told Meng Yutong and the other women that the Female Emperor had ordered Lin Heng to become a palace chief steward, prompting them to worry he would be made a eunuch. As Jiang Yan and Mu Li promised to intervene, Lin Heng continued cultivating in the Carefree Immortal Mansion until an unknown woman arrived and demanded Li Junxiao appear.

• Dugu Feng recounted the Female Emperor's judgment that Lin Heng become a palace chief steward, and Meng Yutong and the senior sisters feared the punishment would make him a eunuch.
• Jiang Yan assured the women that Lin Heng would be safe, while Mu Li offered to ask the Female Emperor about the decision.
• Dugu Feng learned that Jiang Yan was Prince Qi and Mu Li led the Joyful Union Sect, then felt reassured by their promises.
• Su Wanyue and the others followed Lin Heng's trail, found his filled-in Dog Hole, and used it to enter the Carefree Immortal Mansion.
• Lin Heng cultivated beneath a peach blossom tree while Xiao Lan ate Star Iron and Carefree True Lord watched the immense spiritual energy gathering around him.
• A powerful pressure enveloped the Carefree Immortal Mansion, and an icy female voice demanded that Li Junxiao come out.

Qu Shushuang and Leng Qiansha demanded that Li Junxiao hand over Lin Heng, but Li Junxiao refused and offered Lin Heng protection at Carefree Holy Land. After the secret realm trial ended, Lin Heng returned to Heavenly Prosperity Hall with valuable gains and new dangers to discuss with First Senior Sister.

• Qu Shushuang and Leng Qiansha arrived at Li Junxiao’s estate and demanded that he hand over Lin Heng.
• Li Junxiao rejected Qu Shushuang’s demand and warned her against interfering with his affairs.
• Li Junxiao helped straighten Xiao Lan’s growth bones, then offered Lin Heng a favor if he encountered trouble in the Northern Continent.
• Lin Heng carved his name onto the Disciple Stele and waited out the final days of the trial inside the estate.
• The secret realm trial ended, and Lin Heng and the other trial takers returned to the entrance before soldiers escorted them toward Heavenly Prosperity Hall.

Leng Lihui entered Heavenly Prosperity Hall to confront the person who injured Leng Qiansha, while Xu Shiqi tried to turn the dispute into a clash with the Dugu Clan. As Jiang Qian protected Lin Heng and Xu Shiqi challenged her, an unseen voice declared Lin Heng a member of the Dugu Clan.

• Leng Lihui confronted Xu Shiqi in Heavenly Prosperity Hall and said he had come to see who injured Leng Qiansha.
• Xu Shiqi and Fang He questioned Lin Heng's claim to the Dugu Clan and mocked the idea that the clan would get involved.
• Leng Qiansha reunited with Leng Lihui and told him that his arm had been remolded after he encountered Aunt Shushuang.
• Leng Lihui moved toward Lin Heng, but Jiang Qian repelled him and warned him not to attack anyone in the hall.
• Xu Shiqi argued that Jiang Qian should not make things difficult for the Leng clan, then a voice called out, asking who dared trouble the Dugu Clan's people.

Dugu Feng intervened when Leng Lihui confronted Lin Heng, forcing the Leng Family to back down by invoking Ten Directions Hall. Murong Ziyan then arrested Lin Heng under the Female Emperor’s orders, while Jiang Jingyi arranged to question him about the Demon Venerable Tomb and recover the Supreme Bone Sword.

• Dugu Feng appeared beside Lin Heng and warned Leng Lihui against bullying his nephew, identifying himself as a member of Ten Directions Hall.
• Leng Lihui slapped Leng Qiansha and left with him after Dugu Feng threatened a direct clash with Heavenly Mountain Prefecture.
• Dugu Feng scolded Lin Heng for provoking trouble, then Murong Ziyan seized him with the Lock Rope on the Female Emperor’s orders.
• Jiang Yan hurried to Jiang Jingyi to plead for Lin Heng and suggested using his punishment as a chance to ask for the Supreme Bone Sword.
• Jiang Jingyi agreed to question Lin Heng and told Jiang Yan to bring people to take him away, while keeping her real plan concealed.

Lin Heng was captured and named chief steward, and Old Deng nearly castrated him before Jiang Jingyi intervened. After promising to plead with the Female Emperor, Jiang Jingyi was interrupted by Prince Qi, leaving Lin Heng and her in danger.

• Lin Heng discovered that Murong Ziyan had suppressed his cultivation and that the Harsh Punishment Office intended to cleanse his root because he had been listed as chief steward.
• Old Deng prepared to use scissors forged with nether qi, but Jiang Jingyi arrived and ordered Murong Ziyan to release Lin Heng.
• Jiang Jingyi told Lin Heng that the Female Emperor might still force him to become chief steward, and Murong Ziyan said he had earned the punishment by mocking the Supreme One on a stone tablet.
• Lin Heng clung to Jiang Jingyi's leg and begged her to save him, and she agreed to plead with the Supreme Female Emperor if he let go.
• Prince Qi entered the cell and saw Lin Heng with Jiang Jingyi, who warned Lin Heng that neither of them could protect themselves.

Jiang Jingyi explained to Jiang Yan why she had spared Lin Heng and sent him to arrange Lin Heng’s release. At the teahouse, Jiang Yan asked Lin Heng for the Supreme Bone Sword, but Lin Heng refused, saying he had promised to return it to the Demon King.

• Jiang Yan suspected that Jiang Jingyi and Lin Heng shared a secret, and she warned him not to reveal what he had seen.
• Jiang Jingyi told Jiang Yan that she could hear Lin Heng’s inner thoughts and had learned of Jiang Yan’s embezzlement through him.
• Jiang Jingyi ordered Jiang Yan to go to the prison and rescue Lin Heng without exposing her identity.
• Jiang Yan arranged for Lin Heng to leave the Harsh Punishment Office and meet him at a secluded teahouse.
• Jiang Yan asked Lin Heng to hand over the Supreme Bone Sword, but Lin Heng refused because he had promised Senior Crimson Roc to return it to the Demon King.

Lin Heng recounted his tomb discoveries to Jiang Yan and concluded that he might belong to the Fourth Epoch, while suspecting Lin Ziqing was plotting around the coming calamity. Jiang Jingyi arranged a rumor to shield Lin Heng as he left for Prince Qi’s Mansion, but Sun Chongzhi and another Literary Path elder began planning to seize the artifact they believed he possessed.

• Lin Heng told Jiang Yan what had happened in the tomb, concealed his meeting with the Silent Chess Immortal, and shared his suspicions about his origins and Lin Ziqing’s plans.
• Jiang Yan relayed Lin Heng’s account to Jiang Jingyi, who decided to let him take the bone sword to the Northern Continent and clear obstacles in his way.
• Jiang Jingyi arranged for rumors to spread that the Dynasty had seized Lin Heng and that the Dugu Family had secured his release, discouraging others from targeting him.
• Lin Heng left the imperial palace and hurried toward Prince Qi’s Mansion.
• Sun Chongzhi and another Literary Path elder tracked Lin Heng, concluded he had obtained Lin Ziqing’s Literary Path artifact, and considered taking it by force.

Lin Heng returned to Prince Qi's Mansion and found his family playing mahjong rather than worrying about him. After choosing his senior sisters over Meng Yutong, he confronted his master about her harsh treatment and left her unsettled as she vowed not to take the initiative.

• Lin Heng secretly climbed into Prince Qi's Mansion and discovered Dugu Feng and the others playing mahjong.
• Mu Liuxi and Yun Yao pretended to discuss abandoning Lin Heng, and he planned to teach them a lesson before Meng Yutong exposed him.
• Lin Heng teased his senior sisters about spending the night together, then declined Meng Yutong's invitation to talk and chose to go with them.
• Lin Heng told Meng Yutong that her constant blame made him prefer the comfort of his senior sisters and challenged her to take the initiative.
• Meng Yutong refused to initiate anything but remained vexed after Lin Heng left.

Lin Heng reunited with his senior sisters at the hot spring and shared the Star Sand he had obtained in the secret realm to help them cultivate. After giving shares to Duan Shuyun, Mu Liuxi, Leng Qingqiu, Leng Qingyun, and Yun Yao, he called Duan Shuyun aside again.

• Dugu Feng left Prince Qi's Mansion after tidying the mahjong tiles, planning to enjoy himself in Dingyang and return for more Spirit Stones when he ran out.
• Lin Heng joined his senior sisters at the hot spring, hugged them, and joked with them about the secret realm and his Dog Hole plan.
• Lin Heng filled the Heaven and Earth Cauldron with Star Sand and persuaded Duan Shuyun to accept enough to aid her cultivation.
• Lin Heng gave Mu Liuxi Star Sand, and she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.
• Lin Heng gave Star Sand to Leng Qingqiu and Leng Qingyun; when the cauldron tipped, Leng Qingqiu secretly took some of her twin sister's scattered sand.
• Yun Yao came ashore and received her share, then Lin Heng called Duan Shuyun aside.

Lin Heng told Duan Shuyun about the Silent Chess Immortal’s warning that the Literary Path was impure, and they considered why the warning had been sent. They decided to use a fake Literary Path artifact to draw the suspicious people out.

• Duan Shuyun praised Lin Heng for sharing his treasures and said she valued his generosity more than the Star Sand.
• Lin Heng recounted his conversation with the Silent Chess Immortal in Guangming Ancient Tower, including the warning to guard against the Literary Path.
• Lin Heng and Duan Shuyun reasoned that the Literary Path’s impurity might involve people trying to disrupt the Poetry Immortal’s arrangement.
• Lin Heng proposed luring the suspicious people into revealing themselves with a counterfeit Literary Path artifact.
• Duan Shuyun explained that she could transfer Literary Path essence from the Ink Rhino Box into another object to imitate a White Mystic Brush, and she and Lin Heng agreed to make the bait.

Lin Heng reunited with his senior sisters, then visited Zhao Wanqing and discussed their past with Qing Ya. Meanwhile, Chen Bingyi mourned Su Lian'er until Bai Yi claimed she could be revived through the Rebirth Bridge, leaving Chen Bingyi demanding to know who Bai Yi was.

• Lin Heng used his Water Element Body to hide in the hot spring and tease Leng Qingyun, Yun Yao, and Lin Tailang.
• Over five days, Lin Heng exhausted himself caring for his senior sisters while Meng Yutong resented his neglect of cultivation.
• Dugu Feng borrowed Spirit Stones from Duan Shuyun, Mu Liuxi, Leng Qingyun, and Yun Yao by claiming he needed travel money.
• Lin Heng visited Zhao Wanqing, reassured her about her choices regarding Qing Ya, and considered helping her become a cultivator.
• Chen Bingyi mourned Su Lian'er, and Bai Yi offered to revive her by reopening the Rebirth Bridge and finding her hun and po souls.

Bai Yi told Chen Bingyi that Lin Heng could retrieve Su Lian'er from the far shore of Rebirth Bridge and gave him the Blood Soul Banner to collect the souls needed to open it. Chen Bingyi accepted the banner and carried Su Lian'er’s coffin away, while Bai Yi arranged for Lin Heng to be intercepted for his Bone Sword.

• Bai Yi explained that Lin Heng could enter the far shore of Rebirth Bridge, though opening it required the divine souls of at least one hundred thousand people.
• Chen Bingyi accused Bai Yi of manipulating the Cao Family and attacked him, but Bai Yi blocked the strikes with a Nine Palaces Disc.
• Bai Yi gave Chen Bingyi the Blood Soul Banner and urged him to collect hundreds of thousands of souls, warning that Lin Heng might turn against him over the sacrifices.
• Chen Bingyi put the banner away and left the city carrying Su Lian’er’s coffin, intending to take her home before pursuing a way to bring her back.
• Lord Yi ordered an associate to intercept Lin Heng on his way to the Northern Continent and seize the Bone Sword.

Lin Heng learned from Saint Ye about a poisoned cliff near Dingyang and planned to investigate it, while Meng Yutong realized her harshness had driven him away. The chapter ended with Meng Yutong deciding she needed to talk with her rebellious disciple.

• Bai Yi ordered his subordinates to intercept and kill Lin Heng, suspecting the Dynasty had only pretended to reclaim the Supreme Bone Sword.
• Lin Heng found Saint Ye hiding in the Spirit Pool, teased him about his lotus-root body, and heard about a poisonous miasma beneath a broken cliff northeast of Dingyang.
• Saint Ye explained that the miasma seemed deliberately created, and Lin Heng promised to investigate the cliff the next day.
• Lin Heng took Saint Ye out for drinks, thinking about how much he depended on the old Sage for advice and support.
• Shadow One told Meng Yutong that Lin Heng had risked his life to save her and suggested she apologize for scolding him.
• Meng Yutong dismissed Shadow One, worried that her disciples might leave her, and decided to speak with Lin Heng.

Lin Heng traveled to a cliff rumored to hold true dragon aura, but five cultivators from the Literary Path ambushed him and demanded the White Mystic Brush. He challenged their claim to revive the Literary Path and tried to defuse the confrontation by asking Sun Chongzhi to take him as a disciple, but one of the young men rejected him.

• Lin Heng slipped out of Dingyang City at night, while Meng Yutong secretly followed him.
• Lin Heng summoned Xiao Lan, discovered she had eaten his star iron, and brought her along to investigate the cliff's true dragon aura.
• At the Grass Mountain District, Lin Heng sensed people following him, and two old men and three young cultivators revealed themselves.
• Sun Chongzhi and Cheng Xunwen used a compass to identify Lin Heng as someone who had used the White Mystic Brush, then demanded he hand it over.
• Lin Heng learned the five were from the Literary Path and proposed helping revive it, even offering to become Sun Chongzhi's disciple.
• A young disciple insulted Lin Heng and questioned his qualifications to become Sun Chongzhi's disciple.

Lin Heng and Xiao Lan fought Sun Chongzhi, Cheng Xunwen, and their disciples after the elders decided to kill him and search his soul. Just as Lin Heng was nearing his limit, Meng Yutong arrived and vowed to stop the two elders.

• Sun Chongzhi refused to take Lin Heng as a disciple, and Cheng Xunwen argued that Lin Heng could not be allowed to live after revealing his Dugu Clan background.
• Lin Heng sent Xiao Lan to fight the three Golden Core Realm disciples and attacked Sun Chongzhi and Cheng Xunwen, but Sun Chongzhi's blade-qi knocked him back.
• Cheng Xunwen tried to capture Lin Heng with his Text-Order Chains, but Lin Heng's Rend Earth divine ability shattered them.
• Lin Heng used his Sword of Time domain and clashed with Cheng Xunwen's Supreme Pure Mystic Dao Slash, while the fight left him nearly spent.
• Sun Chongzhi was forced to dodge a sword-qi strike, and Meng Yutong arrived with the Purple Firmament Sword and challenged the two elders.