Chapter Summaries

Mu Zixi discovered that Xu Xiaoshou was her hidden senior brother and watched Elder Sang refine pills while Xu Xiaoshou explained the process through cooking analogies. Xu Xiaoshou deduced that Elder Sang was making a Yuan Ting Pill, then earned Elder Sang’s anger by comparing the pill cauldron to a bathtub and the ingredients to a hodgepodge stew.

• Mu Zixi learned Xu Xiaoshou was her senior brother and reluctantly greeted him after Elder Sang reprimanded her.
• Elder Sang brought out his three-legged pill cauldron, and Xu Xiaoshou teased Mu Zixi about mistaking it for a bathtub.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained the Emberlight Heavenly Flame and the heating process while Elder Sang prepared to refine pills.
• Elder Sang added many medicinal herbs, and Xu Xiaoshou identified their properties and deduced that he was refining a Yuan Ting Pill.
• Xu Xiaoshou compared pill refinement to cooking and called the cauldron a stew pot, prompting Elder Sang to tell him to shut up.

Xu Xiaoshou realized that Mastery of Culinary Arts might have unexpected uses in combat while helping Elder Sang explain pill refinement to Mu Zixi. After Elder Sang sent him away from the Spirit Treasury Pavilion, Xu Xiaoshou returned to his new spiritual residence and prepared to refine pills in the guest room.

• Xu Xiaoshou considered how Mastery of Culinary Arts could apply to pill refinement and even combat, then explained medicinal liquid and pill formation to Mu Zixi using cooking analogies.
• Elder Sang finished refining a pill, gave Xu Xiaoshou a jade slip on condensing pills, and ordered him to leave while he taught Mu Zixi.
• Elder Sang gave Mu Zixi a ring containing orthodox pill-refining methods, told her to practice extracting medicinal liquid, and left her alone.
• Elder Sang visited Qiao Qianzhi at the Spirit Affairs Pavilion, took the array disk, and suggested they stew pork knuckles.
• Xu Xiaoshou returned to his inner-court spiritual residence, washed his pill cauldron, and set it up in the guest room for refining pills.

Xu Xiaoshou practiced alchemy with Elder Sang’s instructions, then invented a Soup-Stewing Style that produced a far more potent Red-Gold Elixir than an ordinary pill. He resolved to master the Emberlight Pill-Condensing Art within three days before exploring his new method further.

• Xu Xiaoshou used Mastery of Culinary Arts to refine spiritual herbs efficiently and began practicing the Emberlight Pill-Condensing Art with the ingredients for a Red-Gold Pill.
• After more than ten attempts, Xu Xiaoshou managed to condense a tiny pill but became dissatisfied with how much medicinal liquid the process wasted.
• Xu Xiaoshou tried simmering the medicinal liquid gently and produced a springy drop of Red-Gold Elixir.
• Xu Xiaoshou tested the elixir by healing a wound and discovered that its medicinal potency far surpassed that of Red-Gold Pills.
• Xu Xiaoshou considered why the Soup-Stewing Style had not caught on and decided to ask Elder Sang after mastering the Emberlight Pill-Condensing Art.
• Xu Xiaoshou vowed to master the Emberlight Pill-Condensing Art within three days.

After three days of alchemy, Xu Xiaoshou successfully condensed Spirit Refining Liquid into a pill and prepared to enter Heavenly Mystery Gate. Mu Zixi left Spirit Treasury Pavilion with a map of the small secret realms, while Yuan Tou took a blood-colored bottle to strengthen himself for a possible fight with Xu Xiaoshou.

• Zhou Tianshen grew restless after Xu Xiaoshou stayed away for three days and decided to leave him to fend for himself.
• Mu Zixi finished refining a vat of medicinal liquid and bottles of it, and Elder Sang gave her a jade slip showing the locations of the small secret realms inside Heavenly Mystery Gate.
• Yuan Tou accepted a blood-colored bottle from Lan Xinzi, saying he needed it because he could not be sure he could defeat Xu Xiaoshou without it.
• Xu Xiaoshou completed his pill-refining research and made a Spirit Refining Pill, reaching ninth-grade alchemist status.
• Xu Xiaoshou washed up, bundled himself in layers of clothing, and set out for Heavenly Mystery Gate.

Xu Xiaoshou and the other disciples entered Heavenly Mystery Gate after Qiao Qianzhi opened it. Once the gate was sealed, Elder Sang revealed that he had forgotten to warn Xu Xiaoshou about something, but dismissed Xiao Qixiu’s concern that the boy might cause trouble.

• Ye Xiaotian warned the disciples that Heavenly Mystery Gate would stay open for three days and told them not to cause trouble, while Xu Xiaoshou teased Mu Zixi and learned Yuan Tou was watching him with hostility.
• Qiao Qianzhi arrived and opened Heavenly Mystery Gate with an array disc; Xu Xiaoshou learned that Qiao Qianzhi was a grandmaster, not merely an array master.
• The chosen disciples entered Heavenly Mystery Gate, and Qiao Qianzhi and Ye Xiaotian left the council hall.
• Elder Sang admitted to Xiao Qixiu that he had forgotten to warn Xu Xiaoshou, then reassured him that Xu Xiaoshou could not blow up Heavenly Mystery Gate.

Xu Xiaoshou entered the Heavenly Mystery Gate and convulsed under its overwhelming spiritual energy, breaking through while Mu Zixi delivered him a jade slip. Afterward, he noticed that Mo Mo had advanced to the Ju Wu Realm and sensed a terrifying aura from her bronze furnace.

• Xu Xiaoshou fell from the sky on entering the Heavenly Mystery Gate and convulsed as its dense spiritual energy flooded his body.
• Zhou Tianshen and Mu Zixi found Xu Xiaoshou suffering, and Mu Zixi tried to deliver him a jade slip from their master.
• Mu Zixi touched Xu Xiaoshou through his clothing, triggering a violent reaction that coincided with his breakthrough.
• Xu Xiaoshou took the jade slip and saw that Mo Mo had reached the Ju Wu Realm.
• Xu Xiaoshou sensed an ominous aura from the bronze furnace Mo Mo carried and wondered what was sealed inside.

Xu Xiaoshou sent Zhou Tianshen and Mu Zixi toward trial secret realms before provoking Yuan Tou into attacking. Yuan Tou fled instead, and Xu Xiaoshou revealed he had only wanted to buy time to grow stronger.

• Xu Xiaoshou shared the jade slip map with Zhou Tianshen, who chose to head south to Slaughter Corner, while Xu Xiaoshou planned to go west.
• Zhou Tianshen promised to challenge Xu Xiaoshou again, and Mu Zixi set off for Myriad Secret Forest.
• After the others left, Xu Xiaoshou attacked Yuan Tou with fire seeds and taunted him about lingering instead of seeking a trial secret realm.
• Yuan Tou was blasted away but refused to fight, then flew off after warning Xu Xiaoshou that private fighting was forbidden.
• Xu Xiaoshou admitted he had provoked Yuan Tou to drive him away and gain time to cultivate; Mu Zixi returned briefly, mistook his fire seeds for a fight, and left again.

Xu Xiaoshou read Ten-Stage Sword Finger and realized he had mistaken Sword Qi techniques for true Sword Intent combat. The jade slip set him on a new path as he raced toward Blackfall Cliff, wondering whether the masked man was connected to the Eighth Sword Immortal.

• Xu Xiaoshou stopped using pain to numb himself and adapted to Heavenly Mystery Gate's intense spiritual energy while heading east.
• Xu Xiaoshou studied Ten-Stage Sword Finger and learned that Sword Intent was distinct from Sword Qi.
• Xu Xiaoshou recognized Sword-Drawing Form as his only technique that truly used Sword Intent and recalled the masked man's words about formless combat.
• Xu Xiaoshou suspected the masked man was connected to the Eighth Sword Immortal after remembering Xiao Qixiu's excited reaction to their fight.
• Xu Xiaoshou put away the jade slip and bounded toward Blackfall Cliff, comparing his movement to the Hulk.

Xu Xiaoshou found Blackfall Falls and entered its crushing waters to cultivate, only to be battered by heavy water and swarmed by sword auras. After escaping into the pool and recovering, he reconsidered when he saw how quickly the attacks increased his Passive Value.

• Xu Xiaoshou arrived at Blackfall Falls and found a stele listing past cultivators, including Su Qianqian, then carved his own name into it.
• Xu Xiaoshou stripped down and leaped beneath the waterfall, where the heavy water slammed him onto a cultivation platform and forced him to raise a spiritual essence barrier.
• White sword auras tore through Xu Xiaoshou's barrier and repeatedly wounded him as the waterfall's pressure pinned him down.
• Xu Xiaoshou used the attacks' countershock to slide off the platform and into the pool, where Endless Vitality gradually healed his wounds.
• Xu Xiaoshou decided Blackfall Falls was too dangerous, but reconsidered after seeing his Passive Value rise by three hundred in only a few breaths.

Xu Xiaoshou trained in Blackfall Falls to strengthen his cultivation and comprehend sword intent, but repeated attempts to manifest it failed. After the waterfall reacted to his spreading sword intent, he decided to try a different approach and send the intent from within his body outward.

• Xu Xiaoshou used the Little Bathtub to rescue himself from Blackfall Falls whenever the pressure and sword auras overwhelmed him, then returned to train again.
• He studied the Ten-Stage Sword Finger jade slip and learned that manifested sword intent was called Ordinary Mental Force.
• Xu Xiaoshou entered Blackfall Falls with spiritual essence armor and tried to comprehend the artistic conception of the falling sword auras.
• His sword intent spread upward, causing Blackfall Falls to unleash more than ten times as many sword auras and shatter the training platform.
• He restrained his sword intent around his body, then repeatedly tried and failed to gather it onto his fingers.
• Xu Xiaoshou reconsidered the jade slip's method and decided to send his sword intent directly from within his body outward.

Xu Xiaoshou advanced his Sword Intent at Blackfall Falls and discovered how to wield it through Ordinary Thought Force. The chapter left him on the verge of forming a core and entering the Innate level.

• Xu Xiaoshou used his understanding of Sword Mastery to guide sword qi away from his body, then continued comprehending beneath Blackfall Falls.
• Xu Xiaoshou entered a White Cloud Illusion and awakened Ordinary Thought Force, using it to unleash sword qi with his fingers.
• Xu Xiaoshou realized that pure Sword Intent combat consumed no spiritual essence and that Ordinary Thought Force bridged intent and sword qi.
• Xu Xiaoshou noticed spiritual energy pouring into him and felt his spiritual essence about to condense into a core.

Xu Xiaoshou broke through to Innate and opened his Yuan Ting, gaining Spiritual Sense, but a red interface swallowed both of the innate attributes his soul tried to awaken. He ended the chapter vowing to remember the interface and seek revenge when he grew stronger.

• Xu Xiaoshou took the Innate Pill and broke through to Innate as his Origin Pill formed in his sea of energy.
• Xu Xiaoshou forced open the gates of his Purple Mansion and gained Spiritual Sense, which could sweep across several li.
• Xu Xiaoshou watched his soul awaken five-colored divine light, but the red interface swallowed it before he could claim a fire attribute.
• Xu Xiaoshou's soul produced white divine light and powerful Sky-Piercing Sword Intent, but the interface swallowed that too.
• Xu Xiaoshou stopped his weakened soul from attacking the interface and told it to remember the culprit for future revenge.

After the Passive System upgraded, Xu Xiaoshou discovered it had unlocked an Awakening Pool and granted him the special skill Passive Fist, which dealt true damage and gained charge when he was attacked. He tested the skill without any charge, then found the new pool beneath the Red Roulette.

• Xu Xiaoshou noticed the system upgrading and caught a glimpse of 66,666 Passive Value before its interface vanished.
• Xu Xiaoshou checked that his passive skills remained, then imagined the upgrade might raise their level cap and let him buy a Tier 2 Skill Point.
• The Passive System returned with an Awakening Pool module and the unupgradeable special skill Passive Fist.
• Xu Xiaoshou read that Passive Fist gained Charge Value when he was attacked and tested it, but his uncharged punch made no visible difference.
• Xu Xiaoshou searched the system interface, entered the shop, and found the Awakening Pool beneath the Red Roulette.

Xu Xiaoshou discovered that Extended Passive Skills could be awakened, but the Awakening Stone and Skill Point prices threatened to consume his hard-earned Passive Value. He upgraded Sturdiness to survive Blackfall Falls more effectively, then began farming points while flying and dodging hidden sword qi.

• Xu Xiaoshou learned that the Awakening Pool could awaken Extended Passive Skills and saw that Awakening Stones cost ten thousand Passive Value each.
• Xu Xiaoshou calculated the cost of raising his nine major Passive Skills and plunged back into Blackfall Falls to farm Passive Value.
• Xu Xiaoshou spent Tier 2 Skill Points to raise Sturdiness to Innate Lv. 6, reducing the sword qi’s damage while Endless Vitality healed him.
• Xu Xiaoshou practiced flying in the falls and reveled in his new strength as he thought about Yuan Tou and Zhang Xinxiong.
• Xu Xiaoshou provoked the sword qi and began dodging the hidden powerful strikes with Perception as the attacks and his Passive Value gains increased.

Xu Xiaoshou endured the white sword auras at Blackfall Falls until he broke through to Grandmaster Physique, then spent part of his accumulated Passive Value upgrading Endless Vitality. He left the waterfall alive and stronger, with most of his Passive Value still available.

• Xu Xiaoshou dodged the white sword auras at Blackfall Falls and accumulated nearly three hundred thousand Passive Value.
• Countless enormous white sword auras struck Xu Xiaoshou, prompting him to max out Sturdiness and reach Grandmaster Physique.
• Xu Xiaoshou recovered from the strike, expelled impurities, and discovered that the sword auras no longer targeted him.
• Xu Xiaoshou checked his Passive Fist charge, then decided to reserve one hundred thousand Passive Value for the Awakening Pool.
• Xu Xiaoshou upgraded Endless Vitality to Grandmaster Lv.1, spending fifty thousand Passive Value.

Xu Xiaoshou spent his Passive Value on a new passive skill and awakened Sturdiness, then discovered Agility let him cross several hundred meters in an instant. He left ten thousand points for Sword Mastery and ended the chapter testing his new speed.

• Xu Xiaoshou decided not to upgrade Sword Mastery yet and spent ten Passive Keys on the Red Roulette.
• Xu Xiaoshou obtained Agility, used ten First-Grade Skill Points to raise it to Innate Lv.1, and got nothing from his remaining keys.
• Xu Xiaoshou repeatedly failed to awaken Sturdiness with Awakening Stones before succeeding and gaining the Berserk Giant awakening.
• Xu Xiaoshou spent more Passive Value to raise Agility to Master Lv.1 and reserved ten thousand points for Sword Mastery.
• Xu Xiaoshou tested Agility and dashed several hundred meters in an instant.

After breaking through to the Innate Realm, Xu Xiaoshou discovered that Blackfall Falls could no longer challenge his strengthened body and flew upward in search of a treasure. He broke through three invisible barriers and reached the cliff top, where he saw something that startled him.

• Xu Xiaoshou maxed out Mastery of Culinary Arts, gaining extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs, meat, and their combinations.
• Xu Xiaoshou decided Blackfall Falls must conceal an opportunity above the cliff and flew upward through the waterfall.
• Xu Xiaoshou struck and shattered the first two invisible barriers, despite their Passage Forbidden warnings.
• Xu Xiaoshou pierced the third barrier with Ten-Stage Sword Finger and passed through its opening.
• Xu Xiaoshou reached the cliff top and turned to look at something that made his pupils contract.

Zhao Xidong discovered that two boundary-suppressing treasures inside the Heavenly Mystery Gate had been taken and rushed to alert Old Xiao. Meanwhile, Qiao Qianzhi, Elder Sang, Xiao Qixiu, and Ye Xiaotian discussed the Holy Spirit Hall’s motives and the rumored Yousi Sword in White Cavern, ending with Elder Sang proposing a wager involving Xu Xiaoshou.

• Zhao Xidong woke from a nightmare about Xu Xiaoshou and saw one bead on the Twelve-Bead Spirit Veil Disc go dark, indicating a treasure had been taken.
• Zhao Xidong grabbed the spirit disc and flew toward the Spirit Affairs Pavilion, but another bead’s barrier shattered as he took off.
• Qiao Qianzhi told Elder Sang, Xiao Qixiu, and Ye Xiaotian that the Holy Spirit Hall had confirmed Saint Slave was targeting the Twenty-One Famous Swords.
• Elder Sang argued that the Holy Spirit Hall might be exploiting the turmoil, while Qiao Qianzhi warned Xiao Qixiu to keep Qianqian from going out.
• Qiao Qianzhi revealed that the Holy Spirit Hall had spread a rumor that the Yousi Sword would emerge in White Cavern, upsetting Elder Sang, who had long awaited its return to its sheath.
• Elder Sang bet that the Holy Spirit Hall would use a respectable excuse to obtain White Cavern entry slots, with the wager being that they would turn a blind eye to whatever Xu Xiaoshou obtained.

Ye Xiaotian and Elder Sang bet on whether Xu Xiaoshou would bring back a treasure from Blackfall Cliff, just as realm-suppressing seals began exploding. The Spirit Palace leaders suspected both a long-term mole and Xu Xiaoshou might be responsible, while Zhao Xidong named Mo Mo based only on intuition and was struck down by Xiao Qixiu.

• Ye Xiaotian bet Elder Sang a favor that Xu Xiaoshou would fail to bring anything out of Blackfall Cliff, with Qiao Qianzhi and Xiao Qixiu witnessing.
• Zhao Xidong reported that two realm-suppressing objects had exploded within a dozen breaths of each other.
• Xiao Qixiu suggested that one mole and Xu Xiaoshou might have caused the two explosions.
• Qiao Qianzhi explained how the masked attacker had entered Spirit Palace through an insider and said the spirit disk now confirmed the insider was in Heavenly Mystery Gate.
• Zhao Xidong guessed that Mo Mo was the mole based on a man's intuition, and Xiao Qixiu slapped him to the floor.

Elder Sang and the others used Ye Xiaotian’s Grand Heaven-Shifting Mirror to inspect the Heavenly Mystery Gate, hoping to identify possible spies. Their glimpses showed Zhou Tianshen fighting in the Slaughterhouse, Mu Zixi soaking up life force, and Lei Lei beside the Blackfall Sword Scabbard with Xu Xiaoshou nearby, leaving them uncertain whether Xu Xiaoshou had been wrongly judged.

• Zhao Xidong said Mo Mo seemed out of place, but the others dismissed her as a likely spy.
• Elder Sang told Ye Xiaotian to use the Grand Heaven-Shifting Mirror, and Ye Xiaotian warned he could hold the view into the different-dimensional space for only ten seconds.
• The mirror showed Zhou Tianshen fighting steel puppets in the Slaughterhouse, and Elder Sang recognized that he had cultivated the Sever Myself technique.
• The mirror showed Mu Zixi floating above the Life Well, apparently drunk on its life force, before Ye Xiaotian shifted the image.
• The mirror briefly showed Lei Lei beside the Blackfall Sword Scabbard and Xu Xiaoshou nearby, prompting the others to question Elder Sang’s judgment.