Chapter Summaries

Xu Yunfan spent nearly half a year cultivating with the Profound Sky Thunder Pearl, strengthening his divine sense and advancing several techniques. He emerged with a Natal Thunder Sword and greater power, but the beginner stage of his karma-altering art could expose him to Nine Abyss True Monarch.

• Xu Yunfan endured nine lightning strikes from the Profound Sky Thunder Pearl, restoring and strengthening his divine sense.
• Over seven days, Xu Yunfan doubled his divine sense's range and advanced the Azure Dragon Thunder Bead Calamity Locking Fortune Stabilizing Art to beginner level.
• Xu Yunfan sensed three conflicting karmic paths, realized the beginner art might draw Nine Abyss True Monarch's attention, and twisted the paths back into chaos.
• Xu Yunfan used the pearl's lightning to forge his Natal Thunder Sword and open the final three acupoints of the True Martial Subduing Demon Scripture.
• After nearly half a year of secluded cultivation, Xu Yunfan completed the sword art's initial stage and fully refined the Profound Sky Thunder Pearl into his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Xu Yunfan discussed the harsh cultivation practices of the Primal Beginning Sect with Bi Yuan and reflected on the sect’s demonic reputation. He then considered his growing dependence on the Profound Sky Thunder Pearl, while Zhang Ziyang advised him that the treasure was only an external aid.

• Xu Yunfan assessed the Dao Sect elders’ slow progress and concluded that Bi Yuan was close to the Land Immortal Realm.
• Xu Yunfan told Bi Yuan that the Primal Beginning Sect treated all things as nourishment for cultivators, explaining why others called it the Primal Devil Sect.
• Bi Yuan recognized that a disciple who had suffered qi deviation had been dragged away, and Xu Yunfan described demons as those who followed the principle of treating all things as straw dogs most thoroughly.
• Xu Yunfan considered exchanging for more true scriptures and discussed his cultivation progress with Zhang Ziyang inside the Myriad Souls Banner.
• Zhang Ziyang warned that the Profound Sky Thunder Pearl would eventually run out, while Xu Yunfan reassured him that Clear Source True Monarch would not leave him stuck at a bottleneck.

Xu Yunfan spent five years cultivating and studying arrays under Clear Source True Monarch’s protection before a black-robed Foundation Establishment True Person broke into his peak. The intruder destroyed Xu Yunfan’s defensive array and confronted him, leaving Xu Yunfan to decide how to respond.

• Xu Yunfan resolved to strengthen himself rather than rely on Clear Source True Monarch’s protection, then trained his techniques and studied arrays.
• Over five years, Xu Yunfan steadily improved his cultivation, swordsmanship, defensive technique, and array proficiency.
• A black-robed True Person arrived at True Martial Peak, startling Xu Yunfan from his secluded cultivation.
• Xu Yunfan discovered the intruder had destroyed his Nine Palaces Array and sensed the man’s Early Foundation Establishment cultivation and soul-refining magic.
• The black-robed True Person mocked Xu Yunfan’s array, shattered its remaining stones, and Xu Yunfan cautiously addressed him as an unfamiliar senior brother.

Li Baichuan confronted Xu Yunfan and demanded the North Pole Demon-Sweeping Qi to cleanse the blood fiends in his body. Xu Yunfan recognized that Li had been manipulated into attacking him, then killed him and destroyed his blood-tainted artifact.

• Li Baichuan demanded Xu Yunfan surrender his North Pole Demon-Sweeping Qi, claiming he would spare his life in return.
• Xu Yunfan realized someone had used Li to probe him and prepared to fight, invoking Article 307 to justify killing an evil cultivator impersonating a sect disciple.
• Li Baichuan attacked with blood talismans and three blood puppets, but Xu Yunfan’s sword techniques overwhelmed them.
• Xu Yunfan killed Li Baichuan with his third sword, and Li realized a True Monarch had set him up.
• Xu Yunfan took Li’s Hundred Souls Banner and burned it to ashes.

After killing Li Baichuan, Xu Yunfan drove away the cultivators spying on True Martial Peak and searched Li Baichuan’s storage bag. He discovered valuable materials and a rare artifact-refining method, leaving him with plans to improve his weapons.

• Xu Yunfan’s three swords killed Li Baichuan, and the hidden cultivators who observed the fight were shocked by his skill and power.
• Xu Yunfan detected the spies around True Martial Peak and forced most of them to withdraw, striking several with the North Pole Demon-Sweeping Qi.
• Xu Yunfan collected Li Baichuan’s storage bag and removed the blood fiend restriction from it.
• Xu Yunfan found seven Blood Marrow Crystals and three Nine Hells Nether Orchids with Profound Yin True Water inside the bag.
• Xu Yunfan discovered the Eight Sceneries of Xuan Capital Heaven Refining Creation Cloud Book and considered using its techniques to re-refine his weapons.

After Li Baichuan’s death, Xu Yunfan visited Hundred Peaks True Person and learned that he was being assigned to guard the dangerous Cold Crow Pass. Hundred Peaks True Person explained the border’s rewards and rival sects, then showed Xu Yunfan a vision of the three sect-protecting grotto-heavens pressing against one another.

• Xu Yunfan considered the treasures he had gained from Li Baichuan and decided to ask Hundred Peaks True Person why his Divine Martial Dao Foundation was so coveted.
• Hundred Peaks True Person told Xu Yunfan that Cold Crow Pass’s Garrison Commander had undergone Weapon Dissolution, and Xu Yunfan saw evidence that Bodhi Zen Pure Land had used Marrow Extraction on a Foundation Establishment Paragon.
• Hundred Peaks True Person assigned Xu Yunfan to guard Cold Crow Pass within ten years and gave him a warrant and a Tiger Tally for the post.
• Xu Yunfan told Hundred Peaks True Person that Li Baichuan had attacked him under someone’s orders, and Hundred Peaks True Person dismissed the matter as a sign that someone was becoming impatient.
• Hundred Peaks True Person transmitted a vision of countless grotto-heaven worlds, including the three great sect-protecting grotto-heavens of the rival sects pressing against one another.

Hundred Peaks True Person explained that Xu Yunfan could use the Divine Martial Realm as the foundation for a Cave Heaven and revealed why Clear Source True Monarch’s lineage wanted him stationed at Cold Crow Pass. Xu Yunfan accepted the assignment, received the Cave Heaven Grafting Technique, and spent the following years cultivating while sensing the Divine Martial Realm.

• Hundred Peaks True Person told Xu Yunfan that his Divine Martial Dao Foundation was linked to the Divine Martial Realm and could help him form a Cave Heaven and reach Golden Core.
• Hundred Peaks True Person warned Xu Yunfan that the Three Realms Tide could erupt within sixty years and urged him to gather the Innate Pure and Turbid Qi when the three sects’ Cave Heavens collided.
• Hundred Peaks True Person gave Xu Yunfan the Cave Heaven Grafting Technique and mentioned an abandoned medicinal garden once owned by Old Man Heavenly Pill near Cold Crow Pass.
• Xu Yunfan realized that Clear Source True Monarch’s lineage expected him to guard the border while attacking the other sects, then left Hundred Peaks Peak determined to survive and pursue his own aims.
• Xu Yunfan spent the following days cultivating on True Martial Peak, refining star power and sensing the location of the Divine Martial Realm.

Xu Yunfan used the Lin Character Secret to cultivate with extraordinary efficiency, advancing his cultivation and mastering the Azure Dragon Thunder Bead Calamity-Locking Fortune-Suppressing Art. Yu Congling warned him that prolonged use of Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotion could strip away his humanity, but he resolved to find a way to withstand its effects.

• Xu Yunfan entered the Lin Stance, using Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotion to refine his magic power and rapidly improve his cultivation and Cave Heaven Grafting Technique.
• Xu Yunfan drew thunderclouds over True Martial Mountain and used heavenly lightning to temper his soul with the Azure Dragon Thunder Bead Calamity-Locking Fortune-Suppressing Art.
• After three days and nights, Xu Yunfan reached minor mastery in the art and withdrew from the Lin Stance as his humanity gradually returned.
• Xu Yunfan summoned Yu Congling from the Myriad Souls Banner and asked how to dispel the lingering divinity of the Lin Stance.
• Yu Congling warned that Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotion could erase his humanity and said only an unyielding mind and spirit could control it.
• Xu Yunfan decided to resist the art's effects and trusted that refining the Lin Character Secret's special effects would help him resolve the danger.

Xu Yunfan practiced the Eight Sceneries of Xuan Capital Heaven Refining Creation Cloud Manual, surviving a destructive clash between its water and fire clouds before trying again with greater control. He also manifested his Divine Martial Dao Foundation atop True Martial Peak, drawing spiritual qi and stirring the earth veins, which astonished nearby cultivators.

• Xu Yunfan's Kan Water Cloud and Li Fire Cloud clashed, blasting apart his cave-abode furnishings and leaving him ash-stained and injured.
• Xu Yunfan saw his proficiency in the Eight Sceneries of Xuan Capital Heaven Refining Creation Cloud Manual increase and resolved to refine his control of the cloud qi.
• Xu Yunfan rebuilt his practice setup, separated the water and fire clouds, and adjusted his magic power to a more balanced Earth Element attribute.
• Xu Yunfan manifested his Three Heads Six Arms Divine Martial Dao Foundation, whose weapons drew on different attributes of Heaven and Earth Origin Qi and created a violent spiritual qi vortex.
• Bi Sheng, Xue Zhen, Azure Nether Fairy, and Mud Old Man sensed the upheaval at True Martial Peak and reacted with shock to Xu Yunfan's power.

Xu Yunfan spent years mastering the Eight Sceneries of Xuan Capital and combining his techniques into a powerful True Martial Dharma Image, bringing him to the brink of Mid Foundation Establishment. After receiving word that he must report to Cold Crow Pass, he set out for the dangerous border fortress.

• Five years after beginning his cultivation, Xu Yunfan reached beginner level in the Eight Sceneries of Xuan Capital Heaven-Refining Creation Cloud Tome.
• In the tenth year, Xu Yunfan merged the Divine Martial Dao Foundation’s three-headed, six-armed Dharma Image with the Tortoise and Snake True Form, creating an unprecedented True Martial Dharma Image.
• Hundred Peaks True Person arrived and gave Xu Yunfan a Jade Slip carrying the notice that he was expected at Cold Crow Pass.
• Xu Yunfan promised to honor his agreement, asked Hundred Peaks True Person to watch over True Martial Peak, and flew toward Cold Crow Pass.
• Xu Yunfan arrived at the border region and saw the black-stone fortress beside the Nether River, where countless resentful souls remained trapped.

Xu Yunfan entered Cold Crow Pass, where a deadly warning array and the Nether River’s yin wind revealed how perilous his new post as Garrison Commander would be. He surveyed the hardened Demon Sect disciples and indebted Qi Condensation cultivators stationed there, recognizing that their plight might make his command easier to manage.

• Xu Yunfan used his jade command token to pass through Cold Crow Pass’s three-layer Blood Fiend warning array.
• The Nether River’s unnatural yin wind pierced Xu Yunfan’s defenses and chilled his marrow, forcing him to circulate True Martial Magic Power.
• Xu Yunfan observed the pass’s cultivators, including disciples practicing the Nine Nether Profound Nether Art and a youth enduring the Blood Fiend array’s Yin Sha Qi.
• Xu Yunfan judged that the cultivators stationed at the pass were tougher than they appeared and noted that he was its only Foundation Establishment True Person.
• Xu Yunfan recognized that most of the pale Qi Condensation disciples had been sent to Cold Crow Pass because of debts from the Primal Beginning Sect’s cultivation loans.

Xu Yunfan reflected on the Primal Beginning Sect’s exploitative lending and the expendable disciples sent to Cold Crow Pass, then arrived to take over as its Garrison Commander. The previous commander, Li Wei, fled immediately, leaving Xu Yunfan to suspect the post was worse than he had expected.

• Xu Yunfan considered why True Martial Peak’s lending business attracted so few borrowers and reflected on how the sect’s elders recruited disciples only to exploit or discard them.
• Xu Yunfan noticed an old, nearly exhausted Qi Refining cultivator who felt relieved that the Foundation Establishment True Person ignored him.
• The old cultivator recalled how a Foundation Establishment martial uncle’s attention had ruined his cultivation and guarded the spirit stones he had saved to leave Cold Crow Pass.
• Xu Yunfan entered the central hall to meet the previous Garrison Commander, but Li Wei hurried away and said the pass’s affairs were recorded in a Jade Slip.
• Xu Yunfan watched Li Wei disappear and wondered what trouble awaited him as the new Garrison Commander.

Xu Yunfan took command of Cold Crow Pass and questioned its staff about the depleted treasury and profitable Marketplace. He learned the Marketplace’s trade and fees could help cover the missing wealth, while its staff appeared to have been embezzling as well.

• Xu Yunfan entered the council hall and used his presence to silence the cultivators stationed at Cold Crow Pass.
• Zhou Lu reported that former Garrison Commander Li Wei had left with more than seventy percent of the pass’s spirit stones, pills, and Dharma artifacts.
• Xu Yunfan dismissed Zhou Lu’s report about damaged defenses and ordered him to explain the Marketplace first.
• Zhou Lu began detailing the Marketplace’s daily trade volume, its twenty-percent share, and the increased profits on new and full moons.

Xu Yunfan took control of Cold Crow Pass, disciplined Zhou Lu, and discovered the Nether River’s horrors and its usefulness for cultivation. The next morning, Mo Qingtang brought the Marketplace’s monthly proceeds and an additional offering to him.

• Xu Yunfan ordered three shifts at Cold Crow Pass, assigned Zhou Lu to repair the eastern formations, and demanded that Shopkeeper Mo surrender the Marketplace’s collected cuts.
• Xu Yunfan secretly used Divine Sense Reflection on Zhou Lu, clouding his mind and making him intend to reveal the hidden accounts.
• Xu Yunfan inspected the Nether River and saw the countless souls suffering in its waters, then realized its extreme yin qi suited his cultivation.
• Xu Yunfan meditated in Xuanming Pavilion and drew the Nether River’s yin qi into his Tortoise Coiling Serpent dharma form.
• Mo Qingtang of Hundred Desires Peak arrived, presented the month’s hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones and three pills, and remained kneeling before Xu Yunfan.

Xu Yunfan forced Mo Qingtang to keep Cold Crow Pass’s monthly tax revenue intact despite her attempt to win his favor with Hundred Desires Peak’s cultivation art. He then used the stars to consider condensing a Cave Heaven Prototype, but detected a Foundation Establishment-level presence from Bodhi Pure Land approaching the pass.

• Mo Qingtang offered Xu Yunfan the Hundred Charms Diagram’s third volume, but he remained unmoved and insisted that Cold Crow Pass’s monthly tax revenue be paid in full.
• After three days and nights, Mo Qingtang left Xu Yunfan’s Cultivation Cave Abode exhausted and accepted his demand without protest.
• On the Star Gazing Platform, Xu Yunfan studied the True Martial Seven Mansions and considered using the Nether River Yin Qi as the foundation for a Cave Heaven Prototype.
• Xu Yunfan sensed Buddhist light striking Cold Crow Pass’s Mountain Protection Array and recognized the approaching aura as belonging to Bodhi Pure Land and comparable to Foundation Establishment.

Xu Yunfan confronted Dragon Subduing Arhat, the abbot of the True Martial Dragon Subduing Temple, who had come to Cold Crow Pass to challenge him and seize the Divine Martial Realm's origin. Their shared cultivation path made them rivals for the Great Dao, and the chapter ended with the arhat declaring he would destroy Xu Yunfan's foundation.

• Xu Yunfan sensed Dragon Subduing Arhat's True Martial Subduing Demon Scripture aura enter Cold Crow Pass and recognized him as a same-path Foundation Establishment rival.
• Dragon Subduing Arhat's Buddhist mantras dispelled the Nether River's yin energy and overwhelmed the cultivators guarding the pass.
• Dragon Subduing Arhat urged Xu Yunfan to join the True Martial Dragon Subduing Temple, hoping to claim his cultivation and advance himself.
• Xu Yunfan rejected the offer and taunted Dragon Subduing Arhat for failing to break through despite having a Cave Heaven Prototype for thirty years.
• Dragon Subduing Arhat lost his composure and announced he had come to sever the foundation of Xu Yunfan's demonic path.
• Xu Yunfan mocked the arhat and compared him unfavorably to Li Wei.

Xu Yunfan used his knowledge of Cold Crow Pass’s Mountain Protection Array to trap Dragon Subduing Arhat and stop his escape. Facing death and seeing Xu Yunfan’s True Martial Sword, Dragon Subduing Arhat overcame his obsession, perfected his cultivation, and began transforming his Buddhist path.

• Dragon Subduing Arhat revealed that he had studied the Mysterious Underworld Seven Fiends Array and blocked the Mountain Protection Array’s key nodes.
• Xu Yunfan reconnected and improved the array, unleashing chains and seven streams of yin fiend sword qi against Dragon Subduing Arhat.
• Dragon Subduing Arhat escaped beyond the pass with Great Wheel Ming King Escape, while Xu Yunfan used the array to suppress the Nether River’s restless souls.
• Dragon Subduing Arhat recognized Xu Yunfan’s True Martial Sword and realized that his obsession, not an external demon, was what he needed to subdue.
• Under the pressure of battle, Dragon Subduing Arhat perfected the True Martial Mysterious Technique and began shedding Bodhi Pure Land’s seal as a Black Tortoise formed on his chest.

Xu Yunfan battled Dragon Subduing Arhat over the Divine Martial Realm's origin power, forcing him to flee before the fight could be settled. Dragon Subduing Arhat reunited with Cihang and Angry-Eyed, then revealed that Xu Yunfan had never left Cold Crow Pass.

• Xu Yunfan urged Dragon Subduing Arhat to defect from the Bodhi Pure Land, but the arhat hesitated because a Buddhist seal bound his soul to it.
• Xu Yunfan attacked with the Mysterious Underworld Seven Fiends Array and the True Martial Sword, shattering Dragon Subduing Arhat's relics and forcing him to use a golden lotus projection to defend himself.
• Xu Yunfan's third sword trapped Dragon Subduing Arhat with the Myriad Stars Array, but the arhat broke free with bodhi-seed incarnations and a Buddhist welcoming golden light.
• Xu Yunfan pierced Dragon Subduing Arhat's chest, but a blood dragon swallowed the arhat's injured body and carried him away; Xu Yunfan secretly tracked the sword's lingering aura.
• Dragon Subduing Arhat reached a barren cliff, where Cihang and Angry-Eyed waited with a Vajra Demon Subduing Circle, and told them Xu Yunfan had never left Cold Crow Pass.

Xu Yunfan recognized that Zhou Lu’s sudden proposal to explore Old Man Heavenly Pill’s garden was a plot to draw him out of Cold Crow Pass. He refused to leave while Dragon Subduing Arhat watched the pass and began to suspect that someone in the Primal Devil Sect was manipulating events against him.

• Dragon Subduing Arhat, Cihang Arhat, and Chanting Arhat discussed Xu Yunfan’s array skills and True Martial Sword, and planned to join forces against him once he left the pass.
• Zhou Lu urged Xu Yunfan to investigate Old Man Heavenly Pill’s medicinal garden, claiming Rogue Cultivators had found fluctuations in its restrictions.
• Xu Yunfan suspected someone was influencing Zhou Lu to lure him out, possibly as part of a scheme within the Primal Devil Sect.
• Xu Yunfan refused to leave Cold Crow Pass or give Zhou Lu protective talismans, saying they could investigate the garden after the situation stabilized.
• After leaving Xu Yunfan’s cave abode, Zhou Lu’s Spirit Platform cleared and he realized his reckless proposal had been out of character.

Zhou Lu discovered that someone had used a Mind Bewitching Technique to make him bait Xu Yunfan, while the hidden Foundation Establishment cultivator failed to deduce Xu Yunfan’s secrets. Xu Yunfan stayed in seclusion for ten years, strengthening his cultivation and preparing for the conflict ahead.

• Zhou Lu realized an unknown cultivator had manipulated his greed to lure Xu Yunfan out, and a warning prevented him from contacting Xu Yunfan.
• A mysterious Foundation Establishment cultivator tried to deduce Xu Yunfan’s whereabouts but found that the heavenly secrets surrounding him were concealed.
• Xu Yunfan suspected rivals in the Primal Devil Sect and other sects coveted his Divine Martial Dao Foundation, and he prepared to face Dragon Subduing Arhat.
• Xu Yunfan remained in his cave abode for ten years, using the Yin-Gathering Formation to cultivate and advancing his scripture and formation skills.
• Xu Yunfan reached the point where one more strand of Heavenly Fiend and Earthly Fiend Qi would let him advance to Mid Foundation Establishment.