Chapter Summaries

After the Star Sea Foreign Race’s defeat, Zhou Ling pressed the Dao Alliance to investigate Liu Zheng Jia and Tao Yue for betraying his whereabouts. Back in Sunday Immortal City, he learned that Liu Zheng Jia had fled and confronted Tao Yue, who faced pressure to confess or risk the destruction of his family.

• City Lord He reported that Zhou Ling’s victory had destroyed much of the Star Sea Foreign Race force, and Zhou Ling accused Tao Yue or Liu Zheng Jia of arranging the ambush.
• Chen Zhanglei and City Lord He pledged to support Zhou Ling and seek an explanation from the Dao Alliance.
• Zhou Ling arranged for the injured Dean Gong to leave for Sunday Immortal City with him, then collected two thousand military merits from Yan Yu Tian after Yan conceded their wager.
• At Sunday Immortal City, City Lord Cheng told Zhou Ling that Tao Yue had revealed his whereabouts to Liu Zheng Jia, who had fled and was now suspected of being a spy.
• Guards brought Tao Yue before Zhou Ling, and Zhou Ling warned him to tell the truth or his family could be destroyed.

After Tao Yue exposed Liu Zheng Jia’s collusion with the Star Sea Foreign Race, Chen Zhanglei and Cheng Yi arranged to report the crime to the Dao Alliance while Zhou Ling stayed in Sunday Immortal City to forge a replacement sword. Zhou Ling completed a Fifth-Tier Sunday Immortal Sword, advanced to the Five Realms of Sword Dao, and demonstrated how its Mountain-Grade Sword Seal let Nascent Soul cultivators wield it.

• Chen Zhanglei declared that Liu Zheng Jia must be punished for colluding with the Star Sea Foreign Race, and Cheng Yi arranged for the Dao Alliance to issue a warrant while Tao Yue was taken into custody.
• Zhou Ling declined to withdraw from the trial because he had promised Fei Qinan he would forge a Sunday Immortal Sword for Sunday Immortal City.
• Zhou Ling treated Dean Gong’s injuries with the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame before spending ten days forging a Fifth-Tier Sunday Immortal Sword.
• The sword’s forging helped Zhou Ling stabilize his Sword Heart and enter the Five Realms of Sword Dao.
• Zhou Ling completed the Fifth-Tier Sunday Immortal Sword and presented it to Cheng Yi and Fei Qinan.
• Zhou Ling demonstrated that the sword’s Mountain-Grade Sword Seal allowed a Nascent Soul cultivator to wield it and release ninety percent of its power.

Zhou Ling showcased the upgraded Sunday Immortal Sword, secured future cooperation with the Sword Qi Great Wall, and prepared to leave Sunday Immortal City. He and his companions departed for Dragon Sword Immortal City as the Dao Alliance pursued Liu Zheng Jia.

• Zhou Ling demonstrated the Sunday Immortal Sword’s Mountain-Grade Sword Seal, Hundred Swords Seal, and powerful Sunday Sword Formation to Cheng Yi, Fei Qinan, and the other cultivators.
• Fei Qinan praised Zhou Ling’s sword-forging talent and invited him to represent the Immortal Gate in a future sword-forging competition, while Cheng Yi arranged for the Heavenly Crafts Division to supply materials for his future work.
• Cheng Yi and the other Nascent Soul Cultivators offered Zhou Ling gifts in gratitude, and Zhou Ling accepted a Fifth-Tier Sunday Star Stone for his daughter.
• Zhou Ling told Qi Jian Zhi, Feng Lan, and the others they would return to the Dao Alliance together, and Qi Jian Zhi reported that Liu Zheng Jia was wanted and the Inspection Division was pursuing him.
• Three days later, Sunday Immortal City’s cultivators saw Zhou Ling and his companions off as their warship sailed toward Dragon Sword Immortal City.

Zhou Ling received the trial champion’s rewards and learned he had been appointed Chief of the Heavenly Inspection Division, though he was reluctant to leave Qingyun Immortal City. He returned home safely, reunited with his family, and introduced the Little Golden Dragon as the family’s new guardian.

• Chen Zhanglei announced Zhou Ling as the trial champion with eighty-five thousand points for killing two Fifth Order Star Sea Foreign Race members, breaking the Eight Desolations Blood Fiend Formation, and repairing the Sunday Immortal Sword.
• Chen Zhanglei awarded Zhou Ling a Heavenly-Grade Nascent Soul Pill and appointed him Chief of the Heavenly Inspection Division; Zhou Ling objected to relocating, but Chen Zhanglei assured him his family’s assets and Workshop would be accommodated in Tianxia Immortal City.
• Feng Lan, Yan Yu Tian, Qi Jian Zhi, and the other disciples congratulated Zhou Ling, and Qi Jian Zhi said he intended to follow him into the Heavenly Inspection Division.
• Zhou Ling returned home several days later and reunited with Zhou Shan, Li Ru, Wang Xin, Wang Qingshang, and Zhou Ying'er.
• Zhou Ling introduced the Little Golden Dragon, now a Third Order Spirit Beast, as the Zhou Family’s guardian, and Zhou Ying'er happily greeted it as Little Gold.

Zhou Ling gave Wang Xin Five Elements Pure Yang Pill Qi to prepare her for forming a Golden Core, then learned Wang Qingshang was pregnant and agreed to recommend a Wang ancestor as Qingyun Immortal City's next City Lord. While sorting treasures from a Fifth-Tier Star Sea Foreign Race, he discovered a rare Void Beast bone artifact and considered using it to make a grotto-heaven blessed land.

• Zhou Ling gave Wang Xin a bottle of Five Elements Pure Yang Pill Qi and planned to help her attempt forming a Golden Core by the end of the year.
• Wang Qingshang told Zhou Ling she was pregnant and asked him to recommend the Wang Family's fifth ancestor for the position of Qingyun Immortal City's City Lord; Zhou Ling agreed.
• Li Ru and Zhou Shan learned Wang Qingshang was pregnant and celebrated the news with her and Zhou Ling.
• Zhou Ling examined the treasures in a Fifth-Tier Star Sea Foreign Race's bone ring, finding abundant Spirit Stones, Blood Medicine, ores, and materials for Little Golden Dragon.
• Zhou Ling identified a large Void Beast bone artifact and decided to ask Ji Siqing about a Fifth-Tier spatial Engraving for making a grotto-heaven blessed land.

Zhou Ling secured Ji Siqing’s agreement to accompany the Workshop to Tianxia Immortal City and received guidance on Fifth-Order Space Engravings. Envoy Wang then delivered Zhou Ling’s finalized appointment as Chief of the Heavenly Inspection Division and news that the Dao Alliance had granted him Purple Cloud Mountain, a vast estate with a Sixth-Tier Spirit Vein.

• Ji Siqing agreed to accompany Zhou Ling to Tianxia Immortal City and gave him a Jade Slip containing eight Fourth- and Fifth-Order Space Engravings.
• Zhou Ling’s four disciples asked to move to Tianxia Immortal City with him, and he advised them on their cultivation paths.
• Envoy Wang delivered Zhou Ling’s appointment jade document and told him to complete his formalities in Tianxia Immortal City within a month.
• Envoy Wang informed Zhou Ling that the Dao Alliance had assigned him Purple Cloud Mountain, with a Sixth-Tier Spirit Vein, and offered transportation and other assistance for his move.
• Zhou Ling welcomed Envoy Wang and planned to ask him about Liu Zheng Jia, the Purple Sky Sect, and other matters.

Zhou Ling prepared to move his family and the Lingxiao Sect to Purple Cloud Mountain, while worrying that the wanted Liu Zheng Jia might attack him in Tianxia Immortal City. He refined a Fifth-Tier Void Bead into a vast spatial blessed land, entrusted Fang Yu Yun with moving a spirit vein into it, and then departed for Tianxia Immortal City with Fairy Zi Ling and Jin Yun.

• Zhou Ling told his family that he would go to Tianxia Immortal City first and bring them to Purple Cloud Mountain after settling matters there.
• Zhou Ling informed Fairy Zi Ling and the others that the Lingxiao Sect would move to Purple Cloud Mountain, and Fairy Zi Ling decided to accompany him because Liu Zheng Jia might target him.
• Zhou Ling chose the Consecutive Space Engraving and used his spirit flames to refine the Void Beast skeleton into a Fifth-Tier Void Bead with a space ten li across.
• Zhou Ling asked Fang Yu Yun to move the family's Fifth-Tier Five Elements Spirit Vein into the Void Bead and help plan the spatial blessed land.
• Zhou Ling said goodbye to his family and departed for Qingyun Immortal City's Teleportation Array plaza with Fairy Zi Ling and Jin Yun.

Zhou Ling officially took up his post as Head of the Dao Alliance's Heavenly Inspection Division and discussed his future duties and security with Head Meng. He then inspected Purple Cloud Peak, where he began planning new grounds for his family and the Lingxiao Sect.

• Envoy Wang gave Zhou Ling his Head's Jade Seal and introduced its powers and the benefits of his new position.
• Head Meng welcomed Zhou Ling, praised his achievements at the Sword Qi Great Wall, promised protection from Liu Zheng Jia, and told him to focus on the upcoming Star Domain Trial between the Four Great Grotto-Heavens.
• Zhou Ling returned to Lingxiao Residence, where Qi Jian Zhi, Feng Lan, and Pei Qing Shuang visited; Qi Jian Zhi offered to become a steward and help build a Workshop.
• Envoy Wang showed Zhou Ling around Purple Cloud Peak, explaining its spirit veins, planned Earth Fire Vein, and suitable areas for construction.
• Zhou Ling accepted Qi Jian Zhi's help with the Workshop and planned to place the Zhou Family's ancestral grounds by Qingyun Lake and the Lingxiao Sect on the southeastern slopes.

Zhou Ling prepared to move his family and Workshop to Tianxia Immortal City, consulting Wang Qingshang on plans for Purple Cloud Mountain. Before leaving Qingyun Immortal City, he visited Xuanyuan Daoist Academy and invited Dean Gong to join him; she confessed that she wanted to become his Dao companion, and he accepted.

• Zhou Ling showed his family the recording of Purple Cloud Mountain and discussed plans for its grounds, the Workshop, and recruiting more Artifact Refiners.
• Wang Qingshang agreed to leave family arrangements to Yuan Hu and Zi Jian while Zhou Ling prepared to move everyone to Tianxia Immortal City in ten days.
• Zhou Ling visited Xuanyuan Daoist Academy, recruited disciples for the Workshop, lectured the students, and gave Dean Zhong a jade inscription containing his Five Elements Sword Intent.
• Zhou Ling asked Dean Gong whether she would go with him to Tianxia Immortal City, and she asked what place she would have in his life.
• Dean Gong told Zhou Ling she wanted to be his Dao companion, and Zhou Ling agreed to marry her into the family before embracing and kissing her.

Zhou Ling arranged to marry Dean Gong, moved his family and sect to Tianxia Immortal City, and reflected on the achievements he had made in Qingyun Immortal City. After settling at Purple Cloud Mountain, he began planning improvements to the family Workshop.

• Zhou Ling and Dean Gong agreed to marry after arriving in Tianxia Immortal City, and Li Ru happily welcomed the news.
• Zhou Ling told Wang Xin and Wang Qingshang about Dean Gong; both accepted his decision without objection.
• Fang Yu Yun moved a Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein into the Void Bead, and Zhou Ling explored its transformed space with Little Golden Dragon.
• Zhou Ling and his family departed Qingyun Immortal City after its cultivators gathered to bid them farewell.
• Zhou Ling settled his family at Purple Cloud Mountain and discussed the nearly completed Workshop with Qi Jian Zhi, deciding his senior sister would set up a Fire Condensing Formation.

Zhou Ling took charge of the Heavenly Inspection Division, reviewed its disciple-selection duties and the dangerous Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial, and ordered the customary candidates and preparations to proceed. After returning home, he agreed to marry Gong Yi on the eighth day of the next month and chose to keep the wedding low-key.

• Zhou Ling arranged the Zhou Family's defenses on Purple Cloud Mountain with a Fifth Order Nine Heavens Thunder Array and then assumed his post at the Heavenly Inspection Division.
• Lu Yunxi briefed Zhou Ling on the division's work and its upcoming selection of genius disciples from across the Dao Alliance's Nine Provinces.
• Zhou Ling questioned the fairness of recommendations tied to Nascent Soul Families and asked Lu Yunxi to investigate whether the system could be changed.
• Lu Yunxi explained the dangers and purpose of the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial, and Zhou Ling ordered the top eight Sword Qi Great Wall disciples to receive the customary quotas and proper resources.
• At home, Zhou Ling and Gong Yi agreed to marry on the eighth day of the next month, with Li Ru arranging the betrothal gifts and wedding preparations.
• Zhou Ling decided to keep the wedding low-key, inviting family, Chen Zhanglei, and a few others.

Zhou Ling rejected Wu Shi Hong’s proposal to merge the Purple Firmament Sect with the Lingxiao Sect, while offering to accept the Wu Family and other disciples who wished to leave. The chapter ended with Zhou Ling and Gong Yi’s wedding celebration on Purple Cloud Mountain, where prominent families gathered to congratulate them and seek his favor.

• Wu Shi Hong asked Zhou Ling to merge the Purple Firmament Sect into the Lingxiao Sect, but Zhou Ling refused because the Liu Family’s continued presence would threaten him and his family.
• Zhou Ling suggested that Wu Shi Hong bring the Wu Family and other willing cultivators to join the Lingxiao Sect, and Fairy Zi Ling approved the offer while Fang Yu Yun raised concerns about newcomers outnumbering the sect.
• Zhou Ling and Gong Yi’s wedding day arrived, and guests including Qi Zheng, Feng Bai Sheng, Feng Lan, Pei Yu, Pei Qing Shuang, Bu Ning, and Bu Yang came to Purple Cloud Mountain to offer congratulations.
• Prominent families discussed befriending Zhou Ling because of his achievements and prospects, while Zhou Ling sat with his wives and awaited the auspicious hour.

Zhou Ling and Gong Yi married in a lavish ceremony attended by senior Dao Alliance officials, establishing Zhou Ling’s prominence in Tianxia Immortal City. The next morning, Gong Yi discussed her plans to work at Nine Heavens Sword Academy, while reports about Zhou Ling’s deeds at the Sword Qi Great Wall reached his family and alarmed Li Ru.

• Deputy Head Lin and Head Meng attended Zhou Ling and Gong Yi’s wedding, drawing astonishment from the guests and highlighting Zhou Ling’s influence.
• Zhou Ling and Gong Yi completed their wedding rites, toasted the guests, and met prominent Tianxia Immortal City families who expressed interest in the Zhou Family Workshop.
• Zhou Ling and Gong Yi shared the wedding wine and spent their first night together as husband and wife.
• The next morning, Gong Yi told Li Ru and Zhou Ling that Nine Heavens Sword Academy had offered her a position, and Zhou Ling supported her decision to pursue it.
• Bai Ji, Song Yue, Luo Xuan, and Weng Lanyue paid their respects to Gong Yi, who gave them gifts and presented Zhou Ying'er with a Cloud Pattern Jade Token.
• Song Yue showed the family newspaper reports about the wedding and Zhou Ling’s Sword Qi Great Wall exploits, prompting Li Ru to worry about the danger he had faced.

Zhou Ling managed the attention following his victories, discussed the Zhou Family’s plans with Wang Qingshang, and began preparing to form a Nascent Soul. At the Heavenly Inspection Division, he confirmed the trial candidates and proposed expanding assessment opportunities for Rogue Cultivators, but an inspector warned that the change could waste Dao Academy resources.

• Zhou Ling received dozens of invitations and accepted an apologetic gift from the Tao Family after Wang Qingshang advised him not to antagonize them.
• Zhou Ling and Wang Qingshang planned to build alliances, develop the Workshop and Purple Cloud Mountain, and secure his position as chief of the Heavenly Inspection Division.
• Zhou Ling decided to prepare for a Heaven-Grade Nascent Soul by gathering supplementary spiritual items and strengthening his combat readiness before the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial.
• Lu Yunxi presented the trial roster, and Zhou Ling confirmed the top eight candidates; Qi Jian Zhi asked to be placed on Zhou Ling’s team if the candidates had to split up.
• Zhou Ling proposed changing the Six Great Daoist Academies’ recommendation system to give more Rogue Cultivator disciples a chance to take assessments, while Bai Le cautioned that it could waste Academy resources.

Zhou Ling guided his four disciples’ cultivation as the Zhou Family continued to grow. Wu Shi Hong then arrived with his family and pledged allegiance to the Zhou Family, hoping to protect Zhou Ling and help restore the Purple Firmament Sect’s reputation.

• Zhou Ling reviewed Song Yue, Bai Ji, Luo Xuan, and Weng Lanyue’s cultivation and gave each disciple guidance and a training plan.
• Chu Xing told Zhou Ling that Senior Wu had arrived with his clansmen, and Zhou Ling went to welcome Wu Shi Hong, Wu Rong, and Wu Jinlong.
• Wu Shi Hong asked Zhou Ling to accept his family as followers after losing hope that the Liu Family would reform the Purple Firmament Sect.
• Wu Shi Hong explained that he was joining the Zhou Family rather than the Lingxiao Sect so he would not appear to abandon the Purple Firmament Sect in its time of trouble and could help protect Zhou Ling.
• Zhou Ling accepted Wu Shi Hong and led him and his family to accommodations in the guest cultivators’ area.

Zhou Ling prepared Purple Cloud Mountain and helped Wang Xin strengthen herself for the Golden Core Tribulation. Wang Xin passed the first three trials and began facing the lightning, while Zhou Ling watched and prepared to absorb its Thunder Power.

• Zhou Ling accepted Wu Shi Hong and his family into the Lingxiao Sect, while Fairy Zi Ling and Fang Yu Yun warned him to stay alert to the Liu Family.
• Zhou Ling inspected the Workshop, then gave Wang Xin tribulation treasures and promised to channel Five Elements Pure Yang Pill Qi into her.
• Zhou Ling checked Purple Cloud Mountain’s defenses and had Fang Yu Yun set up an additional defensive array before Wang Xin began her breakthrough.
• Wang Xin passed the trials of her physical body, magical power, and divine soul, then emerged beneath the thunderclouds to face her Golden Core Tribulation.
• Wang Xin used her Golden Sword to fend off the lightning as Zhou Ling watched calmly, intending to absorb some Thunder Power with the Five Elements Thunder Gang.

After Wang Xin formed her Golden Core, Zhou Ling’s team prepared for the Four Great Grotto-Heavens Trial in the dangerous Youyun Star Domain. Zhou Ling planned to strengthen their equipment and secure a sword array before leading the group into battle.

• Wang Xin formed her Golden Core, and Zhou Ling congratulated her before she entered seclusion to consolidate her cultivation.
• Zhou Ling and his family celebrated Wang Xin’s breakthrough, while Zhou Ling left the question of a larger celebration for her to decide after seclusion.
• Lu Yunxi briefed Zhou Ling and the other trial participants on the Youyun Star Domain battlefield, its hostile Star Eye and Blood Mark races, and the supplies allocated to their team.
• Zhou Ling examined the Cloud Pattern Robes and decided to reforge them with Thunder Pattern Inscriptions to improve their defense and offensive power.
• Zhou Ling instructed Lu Yunxi to apply for a high-grade combined-attack sword array and warned the team to cooperate and follow his orders during the trial.
• After the meeting, Qi Jian Zhi asked how he could contribute without being a sword cultivator, and Zhou Ling assigned him to defense.

Liu Zheng Jia and Liu Po Lei planned to wait for Zhou Ling’s trip to the Youyun Star Domain before attempting to kill him, while Zhou Ling prepared for the journey and avoided risking a premature confrontation. At the Heavenly Inspection Division, Feng Lan led the gathered disciples in testing the Green Lotus Sword Formation.

• Liu Po Lei warned Liu Zheng Jia that the ancestor had forbidden him from acting rashly because the Inspection Division and Wu Shi Hong were guarding Zhou Ling.
• Liu Po Lei told Liu Zheng Jia that the Liu Family planned to target Zhou Ling during the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial in the Youyun Star Domain, and Liu Zheng Jia agreed to wait.
• Zhou Ling finished modifying eight dharma robes with Thundercloud Patterns and decided not to use himself as bait to lure Liu Zheng Jia out.
• Lu Yunxi informed Zhou Ling that Feng Lan had chosen the Green Lotus Sword Formation, and Zhou Ling went to the Heavenly Inspection Division to meet the trial participants.
• Feng Lan assigned the Array Flags and positions to the disciples, then activated the Green Lotus Sword Formation.

Zhou Ling demonstrated the improved Green Lotus Sword Formation and prepared his team for the trial before returning home to spend time with his family. There, Zhou Ying'er received a Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame seed and was discovered to possess the Dual-Attribute Fire Spirit Wood Lotus Physique, leaving Zhou Ling ready to help her fuse with the flame.

• Zhou Ling led Feng Lan and the others in the Green Lotus Sword Formation, whose Nine Lotuses Return to One attack could confront a Fifth-Tier early-stage foreign race but consumed enormous spiritual power.
• Zhou Ling told the team to reserve the formation’s strongest move for emergencies and prepare for the trial, which was about twenty days away.
• Zhou Ling returned home and greeted Wang Yu and Patriarch Wang, who had come to congratulate Wang Xin on forming her Golden Core.
• Patriarch Wang presented Zhou Ying'er with a newly condensed Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame seed as a gift and offered Mysterious Spirit Jade to test her physique.
• The spirit jade revealed that Zhou Ying'er possessed the Dual-Attribute Fire Spirit Wood Lotus Physique, and Zhou Ling said he would help her fuse with the flame.

Zhou Ling safely helped his daughter Zhou Ying'er fuse with a Flame Soul Fire Seed softened by the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame. Ten days later, the Heavenly Inspection Division learned the rules of the Four Great Grotto-Heavens trial and saw Zhou Ling ranked fourth, behind three extraordinary prodigies whose abilities stunned the assembled cultivators.

• Zhou Ling used the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame and Five Elements Pure Yang Pill Qi to help Zhou Ying'er fuse with the Flame Soul Fire Seed, which she said felt warm and comfortable.
• At a Heavenly Inspection Division meeting, Lu Yunxi explained that the six-month trial awarded military merit for killing foreign races and allowed participants to exchange merits for supplies in a secret-realm treasury every two months.
• Lu Yunxi revealed that thirty-two cultivators would participate and that Zhou Ling ranked fourth, Feng Lan ninth, and Yan Yu Tian outside the top ten.
• Lu Yunxi introduced the top-ranked Wu Dao Yuan, a Nascent Soul sword prodigy with a Void Origin Sword Body and a Fifth-Tier Top-Grade treasure sword that had acknowledged him as its master.
• Lu Yunxi described second-ranked Qin Yi's Divine Ape Thunder Body and third-ranked Xia Ruo He's Myriad Spirit Dao Body, leaving the gathered cultivators stunned by the strength of the top three.