Chapter Summaries

Chu Huai Xu reached the summit of Hidden Spirit Mountain and touched the Bronze Sword, completing the Sword Spirit Pressure mission and learning that the Heart Sword within him rivaled the Bronze Sword in rank. He then followed the pull he had sensed to a Black Bead, whose power drained his Spiritual Power and drew the sealed Sword Sheath into his arms.

• Chu Huai Xu mocked the ugly Bronze Sword and sensed its hatred and resentment toward him because he cultivated the Dao Ancestor’s complete Dao Canon.
• Chu Huai Xu touched the Bronze Sword, and the Heart Sword blasted him away, causing severe pain in his Sea of Consciousness as the System announced he had completed the Sword Spirit Pressure mission.
• Chu Huai Xu realized the unseen pull came from the Black Bead attached to the Sword Sheath and decided to take it.
• Chu Huai Xu grabbed the Black Bead and prepared to use his Pass Token, but the bead drained his Spiritual Power and pulled the sealed Sword Sheath into his arms.

Chu Huai Xu escaped Hidden Spirit Mountain with both the sealed Sword Sheath and the Black Bead Pendant, then recovered by leveling up. The Dao Sect elders were left puzzled by his choices and unusual cultivation method, and Li Chunsong asked him to explain it.

• The Black Bead drained Chu Huai Xu’s Spiritual Power, pulled the Sword Sheath off the mountain, and provoked the Bronze Sword into disrupting his teleportation.
• Chu Huai Xu escaped the mountain but crashed to the ground, then realized the Restrictions had not counted the Black Bead as a Spiritual Artifact.
• The Dao Sect elders debated why Chu Huai Xu had taken the Sword Sheath instead of the sword, and Xiang Yan sent Li Chunsong to check on him.
• Chu Huai Xu inspected his mission rewards and leveled up, enduring a painful breakthrough that restored his strength and healed his wounds.
• Li Chunsong examined Chu Huai Xu’s strange cultivation and, after Chu Huai Xu greeted him, asked what Cultivation Method he practiced.

Chu Huai Xu’s cultivation of the Dao Canon and balanced internal and external Spiritual Power astonished the Dao Sect elders and improved their hopes against the Origin Spirit Realm. After he removed the Dao Ancestor’s Sword Sheath from Hidden Spirit Mountain, Li Chunsong explained that the ordinary Black Wood sheath had become a Supreme Grade Spirit Artifact by staying with the Dao Ancestor.

• Chu Huai Xu told Li Chunsong that he cultivated the Dao Canon, and Li Chunsong confirmed that Chu Huai Xu’s Spiritual Power matched its upright and balanced nature.
• At Sect Leader Xiang Yan’s instruction, Li Chunsong probed Chu Huai Xu’s body and discovered Body Tempering, a Body Spirit Treasury, and unusually abundant Spiritual Power.
• Xiang Yan and the other Dao Sect elders concluded that Chu Huai Xu’s strength improved their odds against the Origin Spirit Realm, while Chu Yinyin wondered whether he had found the true Dao Canon.
• Chu Huai Xu realized the elders believed the pearl was part of the Sword Sheath and decided to present the sheath as the Spiritual Artifact they knew about.
• Li Chunsong explained that the Dao Ancestor had carried a Black Wood Sword Sheath after his Junzi Temple Wood Sword broke, and that it became a Supreme Grade Spirit Artifact through long association with him.

Chu Huai Xu refused to settle for the Dao Ancestor’s sword sheath and returned to Hidden Spirit Mountain to claim another artifact. His arrival disrupted Han Shuangjiang’s choice of the Partridge Sky, and he began climbing through the Bronze Sword’s pressure once more.

• Li Chunsong explained how the Dao Ancestor’s ordinary Black Wood sword sheath had become a Supreme Grade Spirit Artifact and offered to protect Chu Huai Xu during Blood recognition.
• Chu Huai Xu revealed a second Pass wooden token and asked to ascend Hidden Spirit Mountain again; Xiang Yan told Li Chunsong to let him go.
• Han Shuangjiang chose the Partridge Sky, but when Chu Huai Xu approached, the sword in its sheath trembled and strained toward him.
• Han Shuangjiang’s Pass token crumbled and teleported her to the foot of the mountain as Chu Huai Xu continued toward the summit.
• Chu Huai Xu stepped onto the final ten Stone Steps, endured the furious Bronze Sword’s Spiritual Pressure, and triggered the Sword Spirit Pressure mission again.

Chu Huai Xu endured the Bronze Sword’s Spiritual Pressure on Hidden Spirit Mountain, broke through to the First Realm Third Layer Heaven, and carved a defiant inscription on the Junzi Tablet. After declaring that a gentleman uses things rather than being used by them, he crushed his Pass Token to leave the summit.

• Chu Huai Xu climbed Hidden Spirit Mountain again, triggered the Sword Spirit Pressure mission, and dismissed the Bronze Sword’s violent shaking as an empty display against Dao Ancestor’s seal.
• Han Shuangjiang watched from the mountain’s foot as the Artifact Spirits trembled, while Li Chunsong warned that Chu Huai Xu’s safety depended on the seal holding.
• Chu Huai Xu reached the summit, endured the Bronze Sword’s Spiritual Pressure, and repeatedly reached for it with his Heart Sword’s encouragement, completing the mission when the sword blasted him away.
• Chu Huai Xu stood again, taunted the Bronze Sword, and broke through to the First Realm Third Layer Heaven as spiritual energy surged into him.
• Chu Huai Xu took the Carving Knife and slowly engraved “A gentleman uses things; he is not used by things!” on the Junzi Tablet.
• Chu Huai Xu shouted the inscription, threw down the Carving Knife, and crushed the Pass Token at his waist.

Chu Huai Xu refused to take the Dao Ancestor’s sword and carved “Gentlemen use things, not be used by things” on the Junzi Tablet, prompting the Dao Sect elders to question their hopes of saving the world through one sword. After recovering, he gained a random attribute point and improved his Heart Sword Spirit Fetus to Middle Grade.

• The Dao Sect elders debated whether Chu Huai Xu was the Sword Attendant and whether the Dao Ancestor or Junior Uncle had chosen wrongly.
• Li Chunsong explained that Chu Huai Xu had refused the sword’s power rather than let it control him, and Han Shuangjiang admired his choice.
• Li Chunsong sent Han Shuangjiang and the sleeping Chu Huai Xu back, and Han Shuangjiang completed blood recognition with Partridge Sky and made it her Destined Magic Treasure.
• Chu Huai Xu woke, reviewed his mission rewards, and used his random attribute point to raise his Comprehension.
• Chu Huai Xu received a Spiritual Embryo attribute increase, improving his Heart Sword Spirit Fetus from Low Grade to Middle Grade.

Chu Huai Xu named the Dao Ancestor's Sword Sheath Calming the Waves and secretly bound its Black Bead as his Natal Spirit Artifact. The bead revealed a mysterious space containing a Medicine Cauldron, which reminded him of a legend that the Dao Ancestor had been an alchemist who longed to become a Sword Cultivator.

• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang ate together and discussed the Spiritual Artifacts they had encountered on Hidden Spirit Mountain.
• Chu Huai Xu decided to name the Dao Ancestor's Sword Sheath Calming the Waves.
• Chu Huai Xu examined the Sword Sheath and its Black Bead, then used the system to bind the bead as his Natal Spirit Artifact.
• Chu Huai Xu saw a Medicine Cauldron inside the translucent Black Bead and recalled a legend about the Dao Ancestor's alchemy and desire to follow the sword path.

After binding the Medicine Cauldron as his Natal Magic Treasure, Chu Huai Xu discovered its unusual properties and suspected it had once belonged to the Dao Ancestor. He found that the cauldron’s Artifact Spirit was constantly hungry and learned its name: Dao Gives Birth to One.

• Chu Huai Xu bound the Medicine Cauldron as his Natal Magic Treasure and examined Calming the Waves, discovering it could store Sword Qi and suppress other weapons.
• Chu Huai Xu saw that the Medicine Cauldron had only 10% Artifact Development and wondered whether it had been the Dao Ancestor’s Natal Magic Treasure.
• Chu Huai Xu discovered that the cauldron had a 100% success rate for refining First-grade Lower Pills despite his not having learned Alchemy.
• Chu Huai Xu fed Spiritual Power to the cauldron through the Black Bead, but its Artifact Spirit remained hungry and offered no explanation for what the energy did.
• Chu Huai Xu counted eighty-one kinds of carvings on the cauldron and found the words “Dao Gives Birth to One” inscribed inside.

Chu Huai Xu sparred with Han Shuangjiang to test his Sword Sheath Calming the Waves, easily defeating her and prompting her to seek out sword techniques. Chu Yinyin then descended and challenged him to test the Sword Sheath against her.

• Han Shuangjiang suggested Chu Huai Xu check on Xu Ziqing, but he said he would bring him back and make him help wash clothes and shoes.
• Chu Huai Xu persuaded Han Shuangjiang to spar with him after breakfast and explained that he might call her Senior Sister based on their relative seniority.
• Han Shuangjiang struggled to draw Partridge Sky until she used Spiritual Power, and Chu Huai Xu told her that he and the sword had been suppressed by him.
• Han Shuangjiang attacked with Partridge Sky, but Chu Huai Xu blocked her strike with Calming the Waves and struck her lower back with the Sword Sheath, winning the spar.
• Han Shuangjiang decided to visit the Scripture Pavilion to choose a Sword Art, while Chu Yinyin descended and challenged Chu Huai Xu to test the Sword Sheath with her.

Chu Yinyin tested the Dao Ancestor's sword sheath and Chu Huai Xu's Clear Heart Sword, then tried to recruit him as her disciple while escorting him to the Purple Bamboo Forest. She offered him an early apprentice-acceptance gift, which turned out to be a Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill.

• Chu Yinyin arrived at the Bamboo House and invited Chu Huai Xu to test the sword sheath against her Spirit Sword, Xiang Jian Huan.
• Chu Huai Xu's Clear Heart Sword and the sword sheath briefly suppressed Xiang Jian Huan, but Chu Yinyin broke their influence and demonstrated her greater strength.
• Chu Yinyin flew with Chu Huai Xu toward the Purple Bamboo Forest while Han Shuangjiang stayed behind and decided she would not wash his clothes.
• Chu Yinyin told Chu Huai Xu that she had been watching him and offered to take him as her Personal True Disciple when he entered the Inner Sect.
• After Chu Huai Xu said Li Chunsong had recommended Seventh Elder Shen Man as his master, Chu Yinyin proposed that he take Shen Man as his First Master and her as his Second Master.
• Chu Yinyin gave Chu Huai Xu a prepared gift, and he opened the box to find a Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill.

Chu Huai Xu received a precious Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill from Chu Yinyin before joining the Dao Sect elders in the Purple Bamboo Forest, where they examined his unusual Dao Canon cultivation. The elders asked him to represent the Dao Sect in the upcoming Eastern Continent First Realm Grand Competition, while Chu Huai Xu suspected the contest carried greater stakes and recalled that Xu Ziqing was destined to win.

• Chu Yinyin gave Chu Huai Xu a Level 7 High-Grade Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill as a meeting gift, and he accepted it enthusiastically.
• Chu Yinyin told Chu Huai Xu that the elders had summoned him to discuss his unusual Dao Canon cultivation and the unresolved matter of Hidden Spirit Mountain.
• Xiang Yan and the other elders questioned Chu Huai Xu about how he cultivated the Dao Canon, then examined his vast Spiritual Power and stable foundation.
• The elders discussed Chu Huai Xu's prospects and agreed that he would need to reach Great Perfection of the Third Realm before the Second Layer of the Origin Spirit Realm opened next year.
• Xiang Yan asked Chu Huai Xu to represent the Dao Sect in the Eastern Continent First Realm Grand Competition and win the championship against the Western Continent champion.
• Chu Huai Xu wondered why the Sect Leader cared so much about the competition and remembered that Xu Ziqing was fated to win this year's First Realm contest and next year's Third Realm contest.

Chu Huai Xu received a phased mission for the East-West Continent Grand Competition and went to the Cold Pool to bring Xu Ziqing back. Xu Ziqing gave him a sword technique, and the System identified it as the Earth Grade Six Severances.

• The System assigned Chu Huai Xu the East-West Continent Grand Competition mission, whose first stage required him to reach the Eastern Continent's top five hundred.
• Chu Yinyin encouraged Chu Huai Xu to win the competition and promised him a private reward if he placed first.
• Chu Huai Xu ignored Han Shuangjiang's warning about the weather and entered the Cold Pool to retrieve Xu Ziqing.
• Chu Huai Xu found that Xu Ziqing had opened six acupoints and told him to leave the Secret Realm before the Cold Pool's chill grew too dangerous.
• Xu Ziqing gave Chu Huai Xu several sheets of paper, and the System identified the technique written on them as the incomplete Earth Grade sword art Six Severances.

Chu Huai Xu accepted Xu Ziqing’s powerful but flawed Six Severances sword art after learning it was tied to the massacre of Xu Ziqing’s family. He encouraged Xu Ziqing to pursue revenge and gave him an item to eat before they left the pond.

• Chu Huai Xu examined Six Severances, found that it was an Earth Grade technique with severe self-inflicted damage, and decided it could serve as a killing move.
• Xu Ziqing explained that bandits had slaughtered his family and stolen the sword art, and he offered the version he had memorized to Chu Huai Xu.
• Chu Huai Xu warned Xu Ziqing that the technique was precious and asked whether he truly wanted to give it away despite his family’s deaths; Xu Ziqing insisted that he did.
• Xu Ziqing said he would identify his enemy if someone used Six Severances, and vowed to kill the person responsible for his family’s deaths.
• Chu Huai Xu encouraged Xu Ziqing to cultivate and seek revenge, then tossed him an item from his Storage Token and told him to eat it.

Chu Huai Xu gave Xu Ziqing a Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill, which raised Xu Ziqing’s Spirit Fetus from a Pseudo-Spirit Fetus to Level 3 Low Grade. After they left the Cold Pond Secret Realm, Han Shuangjiang joined them, and the three walked home together as Chu Huai Xu realized he had come to regard the Xuanhuang Realm as his real world.

• Chu Huai Xu gave Xu Ziqing a Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill and explained how it could improve his Spirit Fetus.
• Xu Ziqing initially refused the precious pill, but Chu Huai Xu insisted that he accept it as repayment for the Sword Art.
• Xu Ziqing took the pill and raised his Spirit Fetus from a Pseudo-Spirit Fetus to Level 3 Low Grade.
• Chu Huai Xu and Xu Ziqing left the Cold Pond Secret Realm and found Han Shuangjiang waiting in the heavy rain.
• Chu Huai Xu offered Han Shuangjiang a Water Repelling Bead, and the three walked together toward the Bamboo House.
• Chu Huai Xu reflected that he had stopped seeing the Xuanhuang Realm as a game and had begun treating it as his human world.

Chu Huai Xu planned to focus on learning Alchemy and borrowed Han Shuangjiang’s remaining Contribution Points to fund it. After Xu Ziqing demonstrated the Six Severances, Chu Huai Xu discovered that the youth’s adjustments had increased the sorcery’s completeness to 86%.

• Chu Huai Xu decided to prioritize learning Alchemy so he could refine pills and earn resources.
• Han Shuangjiang agreed to lend Chu Huai Xu her remaining Contribution Points for Alchemy techniques, recipes, and herbs.
• Chu Huai Xu learned that Xu Ziqing had mistaken the Six Severances for Martial Arts and had practiced its flashy moves for over a month.
• Xu Ziqing performed the Six Severances with a branch, revealing his exceptional sword talent and the technique’s physical backlash.
• Xu Ziqing showed Chu Huai Xu a modified strike, and the System announced that the Six Severances’ completeness had risen to 86%.

Chu Huai Xu discovered that Xu Ziqing had improved the incomplete Six Severances, then worried the change would make the skill impossible for him to learn. He chose an alchemy method and pill recipe to start earning money, and arranged to explore the Dao Sect with Han Shuangjiang in three days.

• Chu Huai Xu recognized that Xu Ziqing had fine-tuned Six Severances, and Xu Ziqing regained some confidence in his talent.
• Chu Huai Xu saw that Six Severances now required more Experience Points and feared Xu Ziqing might complete it before he could learn it.
• Chu Huai Xu borrowed Han Shuangjiang's Contribution Points and selected Mysterious Fire Burning Heaven Art at the Scripture Pavilion.
• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang bought the Qi Gathering Pill recipe and alchemy materials at the Treasure Pavilion.
• Chu Huai Xu urged Han Shuangjiang to search for Secret Realms with him, and they agreed to go exploring in three days.

Han Shuangjiang cultivated toward the First Realm Third Layer Heaven while Chu Huai Xu used Dao Gives Birth to One to refine a perfect batch of Qi Gathering Pills. At Red Sleeves Beckon, Junior Uncle and the Dao Sect Second Elder discussed Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing’s progress and decided to return to the Dao Sect in another month.

• Han Shuangjiang reflected on walking with Chu Huai Xu, then cultivated the Six Imperial True Canon and neared the First Realm Third Layer Heaven.
• Chu Huai Xu used the Mysterious Fire Burning Heaven Art to power the Medicine Cauldron, which automatically refined ten perfect-quality Qi Gathering Pills.
• Chu Huai Xu gave Xu Ziqing the cauldron’s Herb Residue for a Medicinal Bath but kept the Qi Gathering Pills to build up his profits.
• At Red Sleeves Beckon, Junior Uncle told Big Man that Han Shuangjiang should have reached the First Realm and might have climbed Hidden Spirit Mountain.
• Big Man revealed that he had given Junior Sister a Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill, and Junior Uncle said the matter was top-secret.
• Junior Uncle and Big Man agreed to return to the Dao Sect in another month and seek a special Pass Token for Xu Ziqing.

Chu Huai Xu refined Qi Gathering Pills with ease while Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing made progress in cultivation. As Xu Ziqing prepared for the East Continent Grand Competition and the mystery of the sword on the mountain remained, Chu Huai Xu wondered why the game’s Internal Test and Forum had not appeared.

• At breakfast, Chu Huai Xu told Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing that he had refined three bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, then joked that he had been an Alchemy Grandmaster in a previous life.
• Chu Huai Xu sold thirty flawless pills at the Treasure Pavilion and bought more ingredients, while a Senior Brother assumed he had wasted his previous batch.
• Han Shuangjiang broke through again, prompting Chu Huai Xu to spend Experience Points to level up and stay one Minor realm ahead of her.
• After two days of Herb Residue baths and practicing the [Sword Refining Art], Xu Ziqing opened his Seventh Acupoint, and Chu Huai Xu thought he could reach the First Realm in time for the East Continent Grand Competition.
• Chu Huai Xu considered the dangerous sword on the mountain, its hostility toward his Dao Canon power, and whether Xu Ziqing could obtain it safely.
• Chu Huai Xu checked his system and questioned why the Borrowed Sword Internal Test countdown and Forum had not appeared.

Chu Huai Xu questioned whether the world had become real and worried that the East-West Continent Grand Competition offered him no benefits. At Inquiry Peak, Chu Yinyin discovered that the elders were teasing her about trying to recruit him as her disciple, then demanded they hand over the gifts they had planned for him.

• Chu Huai Xu refined Qi Gathering Pills and complained that he had received no quests or benefits despite being expected to compete for first place.
• Li Chunsong treated the elders to Spirit Wine he had won from Xiang Yan, and Chu Yinyin asked him to save some for Shen Man.
• The elders teased Chu Yinyin about giving Chu Huai Xu a Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill and revealed that they had also prepared gifts to attract him as a disciple.
• Chu Yinyin assigned the elders ranks as Chu Huai Xu's prospective masters, while Xiang Yan and Lu Pan said they had no True Disciple slots left.
• Chu Yinyin realized the elders had been baiting her and demanded that they hand over the gifts they had promised Chu Huai Xu.

Chu Yinyin brought Chu Huai Xu gifts from several elders, believing she had secured them through her own efforts, while the Dao Sect elders discussed preparing him for the Origin Spirit Realm. The gifts suited Chu Huai Xu’s cultivation needs, and he examined the black robe Nangong Yue had made.

• The Dao Sect elders celebrated their scheme to provide Chu Huai Xu with useful resources and discussed his prospects in the Origin Spirit Realm.
• Xiang Yan explained that the elders could support Chu Huai Xu now that he had ascended Hidden Spirit Mountain, while Lu Pan promised him a gift when he became a True Disciple.
• Chu Yinyin returned to the Small Courtyard after drinking and summoned Chu Huai Xu, who greeted her warmly and played along with her excitement.
• Chu Yinyin told Chu Huai Xu that the Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder, and Ninth Elder had sent him gifts for his future discipleship.
• Chu Yinyin presented Chu Huai Xu with two Profound Grade Sorcery Jade slips for Movement Technique and True Qi, along with a black Magic Artifact robe made by Nangong Yue.