Chapter Summaries

Meng Yutong joined Lin Heng against Sun Chongzhi, but Sun unleashed a Literary Path art that summoned the power of his ancestors. Meng Yutong’s desperate counterstrike failed to shake the ancient attack and left her badly injured.

• Meng Yutong confronted Sun Chongzhi and fought off his rune cage with her Star-Shattering Sword.
• Meng Yutong and Sun Chongzhi traded attacks until both showed signs of exhaustion.
• Lin Heng returned bloodied after defeating Cheng Xunwen, and he and Meng Yutong attacked Sun Chongzhi together.
• Sun Chongzhi used the Past and Present Spirit Condensation Formula, burning thirty years of lifespan to summon ancestral power.
• Meng Yutong poured out her True Yuan and struck with the Purple Firmament Sword, but the attack failed to stop Sun Chongzhi’s blow and damaged her divine infant.

Lin Heng protected Meng Yutong from Sun Chongzhi’s attack, then used Dragon Qi to drive Sun Chongzhi back before collapsing from his injuries. Ye Tian appeared and seemed to trap Meng Yutong, but he then stabbed Sun Chongzhi and revealed that Meng Yutong had once been his Master.

• Lin Heng endured Sun Chongzhi’s golden palm strike by absorbing part of its power with the Nirvana Method, while Xiao Lan bit one of Sun Chongzhi’s men.
• Lin Heng summoned three streams of Dragon Qi, forcing Sun Chongzhi to flee before striking him and making him fall in flames.
• Lin Heng collapsed into Meng Yutong’s arms, and he warned her that Sun Chongzhi was only pretending to be badly injured.
• As Meng Yutong attacked Sun Chongzhi, Ye Tian arrived and used a blue light screen to suppress her.
• Sun Chongzhi approached the trapped Meng Yutong, but Ye Tian stabbed him through the chest and revealed that Meng Yutong had once been his Master.

Ye Tian killed Sun Chongzhi, trapped Meng Yutong, and forced Lin Heng to destroy his sword and feign killing Xiao Lan. He then demanded that Lin Heng destroy his Golden Core in exchange for letting Meng Yutong leave, and Lin Heng agreed as Ye Tian released her.

• Ye Tian killed the wounded Sun Chongzhi with his bare hand and trapped Meng Yutong beneath a Heaven-Suppressing Stone.
• Ye Tian mocked Lin Heng’s rapidly advanced cultivation and threatened Meng Yutong to force Lin Heng to surrender.
• Lin Heng bent the Nine Heavens Sword and struck Xiao Lan, making her pretend to be dead.
• Ye Tian demanded that Lin Heng destroy his Golden Core and promised to let him and Meng Yutong leave.
• Lin Heng agreed, and Ye Tian released Meng Yutong, who immediately attacked him but was knocked away.

Lin Heng stalled Ye Tian long enough for Meng Yutong and Xiao Lan to escape, while he recovered using energy left by Sun Chongzhi’s attack and the White Mystic Brush. Their fight resumed, and Ye Tian unleashed the full power of his Tyrant Blood Body, leaving Lin Heng facing a rapidly escalating threat.

• Lin Heng taunted Ye Tian about Hua Qi to keep him talking while Meng Yutong escaped on Xiao Lan, who had faked her death.
• Lin Heng revealed he had recovered by absorbing energy from Sun Chongzhi’s attack, and he and Ye Tian began fighting in the void.
• Meng Yutong worried that Lin Heng was losing, but Xiao Lan reminded her that he often used unexpected methods.
• Lin Heng used a Startled Swan gaze to shatter Ye Tian’s right arm, inadvertently freeing him from a restraint.
• Ye Tian activated his Tyrant Blood Body and launched a devastating blood-red punch as his combat power surged.

Lin Heng survived Ye Tian’s assault and revealed that the beating had helped him advance, triggering a strange Nascent Soul tribulation. As a nine-eyed Poison Nine Abyss appeared in the clouds and unleashed its punishment, Ye Tian and Lin Heng were both caught in the deadly storm.

• Ye Tian battered Lin Heng and claimed he had killed him, but Lin Heng coughed from the smoke and revealed he was still alive.
• Lin Heng explained that being beaten raised his cultivation, and a heavenly tribulation formed as he prepared to break through to Nascent Soul.
• Ye Tian tried to attack Lin Heng during the tribulation, but lightning struck them both; Dugu Feng, Jiang Yan, and Meng Yutong arrived and recognized signs of a phenomenon tribulation.
• Nine eyes appeared in the clouds, and Lin Heng identified the beastly phenomenon as Poison Nine Abyss before its lightning struck the battlefield.
• Ye Tian fled toward the edge of the tribulation but was targeted by the beast, while Meng Yutong told Dugu Feng and Jiang Yan that Ye Tian had ambushed her and forced Lin Heng to destroy his Golden Core.

Lin Heng endured the Phenomenon Heavenly Tribulation and used its power to refine Star Sand, while Ye Tian remained trapped nearby and shared the lightning. The spectacle drew powerful onlookers, who identified Lin Heng and questioned how his Nascent Soul tribulation could produce a phenomenon.

• Meng Yutong and Dugu Feng blamed themselves for Ye Tian’s danger, while Dugu Feng worried that neither Ye Tian nor Lin Heng would survive the tribulation.
• Lin Heng endured the third round of lightning and hurled his remaining Star Sand into the storm to absorb its power, risking his life as his Spirit Wheel neared shattering.
• Lin Heng realized Ye Tian was still being struck by the same tribulation and thanked him aloud, joking that he would use Ye Tian’s name when doing good deeds after Ye Tian died.
• King Le, Jiang Qian, Su Wanyue, Leng Qiansha, Leng Lihui, and other powerful figures arrived and learned that Lin Heng was undergoing the tribulation.
• Leng Qiansha and the others wondered how Lin Heng had advanced from Golden Core to Nascent Soul so quickly and why his tribulation had produced a phenomenon.

Lin Heng faced Poison Nine Abyss’s devastating phenomenon tribulation and revealed Imperial Dragon Qi before the attack shattered his body and Golden Core. The onlookers believed he was near death, while Jiang Yan and Jiang Jingyi recognized Dragon Qi as an imperial secret art and wondered how Lin Heng could wield it.

• Leng Qiansha and Leng Lihui watched Lin Heng’s tribulation and discussed their resentment toward him and his uncle.
• Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan observed Poison Nine Abyss and speculated about the strange tribulation.
• Poison Nine Abyss turned all nine eyes toward Lin Heng, who charged into the sky and was struck by a massive lightning pillar that shattered his sword and badly injured him.
• Lin Heng unleashed a crimson-golden dragon formed from Imperial Dragon Qi, but Poison Nine Abyss’s chaotic thunder destroyed his body and shattered his Golden Core.
• Meng Yutong tried to rush to Lin Heng, but Dugu Feng held her back while the others clung to the fact that the tribulation had not ended.
• Jiang Yan, Jiang Jingyi, and Jiang Qian recognized Lin Heng’s Dragon Qi, and Jiang Jingyi decided not to intervene in the tribulation.

Lin Heng survived the tribulation by using the chaotic thunder and the Kunpeng Nirvana Art to form a Thunder Evolution Dao Infant, then hid beneath a cliff and faked his death. After three days of fruitless searches, Yun Yao realized that his missing Nine Heavens Sword might prove he was still alive.

• Lin Heng used the final wave of chaotic thunder to condense his Thunder Evolution Dao Infant and escaped beneath a cliff to recover.
• Meng Yutong, Dugu Feng, Murong Ziyan, and the others searched the devastated area but found only traces of Lin Heng’s burned flesh and blood.
• Lin Heng decided to keep his survival secret to avoid the imperial clan and mislead his enemies, while waiting for his companions to find him.
• For three days, Meng Yutong and her disciples searched repeatedly without finding Lin Heng or his Nine Heavens Sword.
• Yun Yao noticed that Lin Heng’s Nine Heavens Sword was missing even though Ye Tian’s sword had left remnants, and told the others this could mean Lin Heng survived.

Duan Shuyun and the others searched for Lin Heng and debated whether his sword’s disappearance meant he had survived the Heavenly Tribulation, while Leng Qingqiu and Mu Liuxi set out in different directions. At the imperial palace, Jiang Jingyi, Jiang Yan, and Jiang Qian discussed Lin Heng’s unusual Dragon Qi, which differed from the imperial clan’s.

• Duan Shuyun, Leng Qingqiu, Mu Liuxi, Yun Yao, and Leng Qingyun considered whether Lin Heng had survived and decided to expand their search.
• Leng Qingqiu used the Green Lotus Dao Fire to search for Lin Heng, while Mu Liuxi and Leng Qingyun headed out in other directions.
• Leng Qingyun confided her worries to Xiao Lan, who comforted her by praising her sealing ability.
• Jiang Jingyi summoned Jiang Yan and Jiang Qian to the Profound Chamber Pavilion to discuss Lin Heng’s use of Dragon Qi.
• Jiang Jingyi demonstrated her crimson-blue Dragon Qi and explained that Lin Heng’s Dragon Qi differed in color and form from hers.

Jiang Jingyi investigated Lin Heng’s disappearance after his tribulation, while his family and senior sisters continued searching for him. As Dugu Zixuan neared the end of her seclusion, Leng Qingyun’s clue led the searchers to reconsider a dangerous, mist-covered area they had overlooked.

• Jiang Jingyi ordered Jiang Yan to notify the Dugu Family that she would visit Great Mountain, then discussed the Star Sand she had arranged for Jiang Zhenqing with Jiang Qian.
• Murong Ziyan reported that the search for Lin Heng had found no trace of him, and Jiang Jingyi ordered the search to continue and a reward to be delivered to his Master and senior sisters.
• Shen Yeting arrived in Dingyang and scolded Uncle Prison after hearing that Lin Heng had supposedly died in a heavenly tribulation.
• Shen Yeting told Dugu Feng that Dugu Zixuan might emerge from seclusion in less than half a month, and Dugu Feng worried about explaining Lin Heng’s fate to her.
• Yun Yao, Leng Qingqiu, Duan Shuyun, and Mu Liuxi discussed where Lin Heng might be hiding until Leng Qingyun recalled a flattened mountain, a sheer cliff, and poisonous miasma to the west.

After recovering beneath the broken cliff, Lin Heng pondered the Mountains and Rivers Map and the mysteries surrounding Lin Ziqing before the Nine Heavens Sword revealed its Sword Spirit. He named her Lin Yu and learned that her former master was a peerless woman who had died and lost her Dao.

• After ten days of recovery, Lin Heng explored the broken-cliff tunnel and considered how the Mountains and Rivers Map connected him to Lin Ziqing and Ye Tian.
• Lin Heng found the damaged Nine Heavens Sword, declared it unusable, and tried to bury it.
• The Nine Heavens Sword began twitching, and its Sword Spirit appeared as a silver-haired woman in a blue dress.
• Lin Heng teased the Sword Spirit, threatened to refine her, and gave her the name Lin Yu after she offered the name Xiao Yu.
• Lin Yu praised her former master as a peerless woman and said Lin Heng was beneath comparison, while calmly accepting his claim that her master had died and lost her Dao.

Duan Shuyun and Xiao Lan searched the miasma-filled cliff path and found Lin Heng alive after tracking his scent. Lin Heng learned that his disappearance had left Master and the others consumed by guilt and self-reproach.

• Lin Heng put the Nine Heavens Sword away and worried that his Master and Senior Sisters might think he was dead.
• Duan Shuyun took Clear Qi Pills and brought Xiao Lan down the cliff to search for Lin Heng.
• After hours of searching, Xiao Lan found Lin Heng's scent near a collapsed cave, and Duan Shuyun blasted away the boulders blocking its entrance.
• Duan Shuyun and Xiao Lan pulled Lin Heng from the cave, and Xiao Lan bit his arm to check whether he was alive.
• Lin Heng woke in Duan Shuyun's arms, and she scolded him for worrying everyone before saying that Master and Uncle Prison were consumed by guilt and self-reproach.

Lin Heng explained his staged death and planned to keep it secret from most people while testing whether his parents cared about him. Duan Shuyun agreed to support him, but she left to take Xiao Lan away before Lin Heng asked her for one more favor.

• Lin Heng told Duan Shuyun that he had faked his death to hide from the Literary Path faction and protect the others who held Literary Path artifacts.
• Duan Shuyun explained that Yun Yao had realized Lin Heng might still be alive after noticing the Nine Heavens Sword was missing, and Qingyun and Xiao Lan had searched the dangerous cliff path.
• Lin Heng said only Duan Shuyun, his other senior sisters, Master, and Saint Ye should know he was alive, while Uncle Prison and Aunt should remain uninformed for now.
• Lin Heng revealed that he also wanted to see whether his estranged parents would care about his apparent death, and Duan Shuyun agreed to support him.
• After they embraced and kissed, Duan Shuyun remembered Xiao Lan and prepared to take her away, but Lin Heng stopped her and asked for one more favor.

Duan Shuyun told Yun Yao, Mu Liuxi, Leng Qingqiu, and Leng Qingyun that Lin Heng was safe, and they decided whom to tell while keeping his survival secret from his parents. In Dingyang City, Meng Yutong confronted Saint Ye over Lin Heng’s apparent death, and Saint Ye argued that danger could not have been avoided simply by keeping Lin Heng from venturing out.

• Duan Shuyun reunited with the four women and revealed that Lin Heng was safe, lifting their fears after his disappearance.
• The women agreed to keep Lin Heng’s survival from Uncle Prison and Aunt, and Mu Liuxi offered to tell Zhao Wanqing; they also discussed Jiang Caiyan.
• Meng Yutong emerged from her room at Prince Qi's Mansion, still grieving, while Shen Yeting urged her to focus on seeking vengeance against the people who had attacked Lin Heng.
• Meng Yutong confronted Saint Ye for sending Lin Heng outside Dingyang City, but Saint Ye argued that avoiding one danger could not guarantee safety and that Lin Heng had to face his tribulation.

Meng Yutong and her disciples prepared to leave the Eastern Continent while grieving Lin Heng, and Yun Yao took advantage of their sorrow to collect Spirit Stones from Dugu Feng. Lin Heng waited at Fragrant Stream Pool and pretended to be badly injured when someone approached.

• Saint Ye told Meng Yutong to trust Lin Heng’s ability to survive and to treat him peacefully if he returned, then reclaimed his bamboo straw so he could drink wine.
• Duan Shuyun suggested that Meng Yutong and the others visit Fragrant Stream Pool, and the group began packing to leave the Eastern Continent.
• Jiang Yan delivered two Imperial Tokens from Jiang Jingyi to Leng Qingqiu and Leng Qingyun, who were shocked by the Female Emperor’s generous gift.
• Yun Yao pretended to mourn Lin Heng and claimed he had promised her a new wine gourd, prompting Shen Yeting to make Dugu Feng hand over his hidden savings.
• Lin Heng waited in a wooden hut at Fragrant Stream Pool and, sensing someone nearby, hurriedly arranged the bed and pretended to be badly injured.

Zhao Wanqing visited Lin Heng after hearing he had survived, and the two reunited while she worried over his injuries. After Lin Heng revealed he was healthy, they grew intimate, but Zhao Wanqing was startled by his strength before he reassured her that his Wood Element Body could adjust.

• Zhao Wanqing climbed to the Small Wooden House and called out to Lin Heng.
• Lin Heng answered, and Zhao Wanqing rushed to his bedside and embraced him.
• Lin Heng noticed Zhao Wanqing was unwell, covered her with his coat, and admitted he had been pretending to be injured.
• Zhao Wanqing explained that fear over Lin Heng's supposed death had caused her spiritual energy to surge and left her overheated.
• Lin Heng and Zhao Wanqing kissed and began getting intimate, but Zhao Wanqing was frightened by his strength and tried to leave.
• Lin Heng pulled Zhao Wanqing back and told her that his Wood Element Body could adjust.

After Zhao Wanqing recovered from drawing on her Cauldron Constitution, she and Lin Heng talked about his plans and her past. At court, Jiang Jingyi turned Fang Yulong’s challenge over the Imperial Tokens into punishment for his unpaid bet, leaving him choking on three jade cups.

• Lin Heng settled the exhausted Zhao Wanqing in bed, then absorbed the spiritual energy drawn from her Cauldron Constitution.
• After waking, Zhao Wanqing asked Lin Heng about his plans, and he told her he intended to go to the Northern Continent while keeping his survival secret for now.
• Lin Heng and Zhao Wanqing sat together and talked about their pasts and changing ambitions.
• At morning court, officials questioned the Imperial Tokens, and Jiang Yan rebuked them while reminding Fang Yulong of his unpaid wager.
• Jiang Jingyi ordered Fang Yulong to eat the three white jade cups he had promised, and he began choking as the court called for tea.

Meng Yutong’s disciples brought her to a cabin where Lin Heng lay unconscious, and she confessed her regrets and feelings beside him. Lin Heng abruptly woke after hearing her offer to become Dao companions, leaving Meng Yutong shocked and slapping him.

• Duan Shuyun, Mu Liuxi, and Leng Qingqiu restrained Meng Yutong and carried her to a cabin near Fragrant Stream Pool.
• Yun Yao led Meng Yutong inside, where Zhao Wanqing explained that Lin Heng had injured his soul and might never wake.
• Meng Yutong touched Lin Heng’s face and admitted she had been an unqualified Master who regretted treating him harshly.
• Meng Yutong said she would become Dao companions with Lin Heng if he woke safely.
• Lin Heng suddenly sat up and asked, “Really, Aunt?” and Meng Yutong slapped him in shock.

Lin Heng used his heavenly tribulation injuries and Meng Yutong’s earlier confession to press her about becoming his dao companion. Meng Yutong kissed him, admitted her feelings had begun growing earlier, and left him wanting to hear what she had meant to say next.

• Lin Heng pretended to remain weak after Meng Yutong slapped him, and explained that heavenly punishment had harmed his Divine Infant.
• Meng Yutong examined Lin Heng, apologized for striking him, and softened toward him as he described her promise to become his dao companion.
• Lin Heng acknowledged that he had deliberately pursued Meng Yutong despite their master-disciple relationship and said he would do it again.
• Meng Yutong kissed Lin Heng and told him she had developed feelings after worrying about him during his time in the Western Wasteland.
• Meng Yutong said she had tried to keep her distance from Lin Heng, but stopped before explaining what had changed.

Lin Heng persuaded Meng Yutong to use the recuperation techniques in the Yin-Yang Harmony Art, and they were left alone together inside a barrier. As the others prepared to stay discreetly near Fragrant Stream Pool, Meng Yutong realized Lin Heng had faked the severity of his injury and confronted him.

• Lin Heng reminded Meng Yutong of the recuperation methods in the Yin-Yang Harmony Art, and she raised a barrier around the wooden hut before approaching him.
• The women waited outside the hut until a cloud of dust revealed Saint Ye returning on Xiao Lan, who was exhausted and injured from searching for Lin Heng.
• Duan Shuyun assigned the women tasks, including hunting, gathering herbs, watching Fragrant Stream Pool, and preparing an imitation Literary Path artifact.
• Saint Ye found Lin Heng's fishing rod and went to fish while the group enjoyed the quiet surroundings.
• Meng Yutong realized Lin Heng was lively despite claiming to be seriously injured, and Lin Heng explained that her care had healed him before calling her "Auntie."