Chapter Summaries

Chu Qing obtained Heavenly Sound Transmission from the Strange Arts Treasure Chest and tested its ability to connect minds, including listening to Wu Qianhuan and Wen Rou speak in their dreams. His sweep of Heavenly Sound Manor revealed a suspicious disciple, whom he confronted and identified as Ning Wufang.

• Chu Qing absorbed the Wind God Leg and sensed its force alongside those of the Heavenly Frost Fist and Cloud Dispelling Palm, but suspected he still needed Three Parts Return to Origin Energy to control them.
• Chu Qing opened the Strange Arts Treasure Chest and received Heavenly Sound Transmission, a Daoist art that let people converse mind-to-mind without speaking.
• Chu Qing connected with Wu Qianhuan and Wen Rou while they slept, overheard their dream-talk, and decided not to misuse the technique to invade others' privacy.
• Chu Qing extended Heavenly Sound Transmission across Heavenly Sound Manor and unexpectedly detected a disguised disciple approaching a secluded courtyard.
• Chu Qing appeared behind the disciple, stopped him, and identified him as Ning Wufang.

Chu Qing confronted Ning Wufang, uncovered why he had returned for Han Qiujun’s Golden Goblet, and revealed that the Ghost Emperor’s Eldest Young Lady may have been framed by the Heavenly Evil Cult. Ning Wufang set off to verify Chu Qing’s account, while Chu Qing suspected that the disguised man he had encountered was Hua Jinnian.

• Ning Wufang used the Soul-Shaking Ghost Roar to escape Heavenly Sound Manor, but Chu Qing caught up with him outside Heavenly Sound City and persuaded him to talk.
• Ning Wufang revealed that Han Qiujun’s Golden Goblet was the Four Directions Vessel of Heaven and Earth, one of the Nine Treasures of Heaven and Earth, which could turn fine wine into medicine that increased inner strength once a month.
• Chu Qing told Ning Wufang that the Lapis Lazuli Saintess had killed two of the Ghost Emperor’s wives, impersonated the Second Madam, and framed the Eldest Young Lady; he urged Ning Wufang to investigate the corpse in the Huaquan Well.
• Ning Wufang recognized Chu Qing’s Non-One Sword Technique as the Eldest Young Lady’s specialty and concluded that Chu Qing might have seen her disguised as a man.
• Chu Qing told Ning Wufang to examine the corpse at the Ghost King Palace before returning for more information, and Ning Wufang hurried toward Heavenly Pass Ridge.

After opening the Internal Cultivation Treasure Chest, Chu Qing gained the Divine Illumination Skill and used it to remake and refine his internal cultivation. He named the result the Illuminated Jade Divine Strategy, while Heavenly Sound Manor rallied to guard him during the immense disturbance his breakthrough caused.

• Chu Qing opened the Internal Cultivation Treasure Chest, obtained the Divine Illumination Skill, and entered the realm of Entering the Divine and Reflecting Within.
• Chu Qing used his newfound ability to observe his inner workings and refine his techniques, unleashing a vast display of power that alarmed Wu Qianhuan and Wen Rou.
• Wu Qianhuan and Wen Rou kept watch outside Chu Qing's room, while Liu Zhaohua recognized his cultivation and Liu Zhaonian organized a tight security perimeter.
• Liu Zhaonian turned Ouyang Tianxu away, then let Chu Tian enter after Liu Zhaohua identified him as her eldest son.
• Chu Qing finished remaking the Divine Jade Nine Chapters, realized he could heal Wu Qianhuan and potentially You Zong, and named his new art the Illuminated Jade Divine Strategy.

After emerging from seclusion with progress in the Illuminated Jade Divine Strategy, Chu Qing arranged for Liu Zhaohua and Chu Tian to leave Northern Ridge while he stayed to resolve its remaining dangers. He killed Han Qiujun after learning the Four Directions Vessel of Heaven and Earth had been sent to the Jade Terrace Sect, received an Ultimate Skill Treasure Chest, and was summoned by the Old Madam.

• Chu Qing told Liu Zhaonian that Liu Zhaohua and Chu Tian should leave Northern Ridge, and Liu Zhaohua agreed to wait for him in Heavenly Dance City.
• Chu Qing went with Wu Qianhuan, Wen Rou, and Liu Qingyan to Han Qiujun, intending to learn the location of the Four Directions Vessel of Heaven and Earth.
• Han Qiujun revealed that he had hidden the vessel in the dowry sent to the Jade Terrace Sect, then asked Chu Qing to spare his family bloodline.
• Chu Qing agreed to Han Qiujun's request and killed him, completing a commission and earning an Ultimate Skill Treasure Chest.
• Chu Qing offered to teach Su Ningzhen a martial art, but a Heavenly Sound Manor disciple interrupted to summon him to the Old Madam.

Chu Qing received the Liu family's lost martial arts and the dangerous Ancient Chapter Zither from the old lady after saving Heavenly Sound City. He then agreed to teach Su Ningzhen swordsmanship and began by demonstrating a set of moves to her and the others.

• Chu Qing followed the old lady to a hidden chamber, where she explained the Liu family's three divine arts and offered him one martial art and one treasure.
• Chu Qing chose Myriad Forms of a Single Sound and the Ancient Chapter Zither, despite its ability to stir a heart demon, and received the Blade Concealing Iron Box to carry it.
• Chu Qing returned from the secret chamber and showed the Ancient Chapter Zither to Wu Qianhuan, Wen Rou, Su Ningzhen, and Liu Qingyan.
• Su Ningzhen told Chu Qing she wanted to learn swordsmanship, and he agreed to teach her.
• Chu Qing demonstrated a sword form; Su Ningzhen remembered about seventy or eighty percent, Wu Qianhuan remembered ninety percent, Liu Qingyan remembered twenty or thirty percent, and Wen Rou remembered none.

Chu Qing opened his remaining Random Martial Arts Treasure Chests and obtained Three Parts Return to Origin Energy, then used Entering the Divine and Reflecting Within and the system’s assistance to integrate it into his cultivation. His transformed internal force left him eager to test his strength against a formidable opponent, but he stayed in his room to open the last Ultimate Skill Treasure Chest.

• Chu Qing demonstrated three entirely different versions of swordplay and told Wu Qianhuan to study Shangyin’s intent before the sword.
• Chu Qing opened three Random Martial Arts Treasure Chests and gained Jade Maiden Pure Heart Swordplay, Dog Beating Staff Technique, and One Yang Finger.
• Chu Qing opened the final Random Martial Arts Treasure Chest and obtained Three Parts Return to Origin Energy.
• Chu Qing used Heaven and Earth Great Shift, Divine Illumination Skill, and his other internal arts to balance and fuse his energies into a transformed cultivation system.
• Chu Qing’s strength rose dramatically, and he wondered how he would compare with Weapon Lord, but the sixth level of the Illuminated Jade Divine Strategy regressed to the fifth.
• Chu Qing saw that the sun was setting and people had gathered outside his room, but he stayed inside to open the remaining Ultimate Skill Treasure Chest.

Chu Qing balanced his internal energies with the Three Parts Return to Origin Energy, unleashing a citywide upheaval and gaining the ultimate skills Divine Saber Slash and Three Parts Divine Finger. After emerging, he repaired Wu Qianhuan’s damaged meridians, and she found that she could cultivate even faster than before.

• Chu Qing used the Three Parts Return to Origin Energy to rebalance his inner forces, triggering violent changes in temperature and weather that spread across Heavenly Sound City.
• Liu Zhaonian, Liu Zhaohua, Chu Tian, Liu Jinghan, Wu Qianhuan, and the others retreated and waited through the afternoon as the upheaval gradually subsided.
• Chu Qing discovered that he had obtained Divine Saber Slash and that his revised Three Parts Divine Finger could draw on the full range of his martial arts.
• Chu Qing emerged and told Liu Zhaonian that he had sorted out his cultivation, leading Liu Zhaonian to realize that Chu Qing had created an ultimate skill of his own.
• Chu Qing moved to a new courtyard, then used the Illuminated Jade Divine Strategy to repair Wu Qianhuan’s meridians over two hours.
• Wu Qianhuan tested her Moon Pointing Profound Skill and told Chu Qing that she felt she was cultivating faster than before.

Chu Qing taught Wu Qianhuan about the intent behind his Tai Chi Swordplay, wrote letters and martial arts manuals for his family, and discovered the clue “Blood-Clothed Qianluo.” The next morning, Chu Tian delivered intelligence on the Southern Region Main Branch and warned that the Mirror of Sin might target Chu Qing, before Liu Zhaohua announced the group’s departure for Heavenly Dance City.

• Wu Qianhuan explained that Wen Rou had grasped the intent of Chu Qing’s Tai Chi Swordplay, and Chu Qing reassured Wu Qianhuan about her aptitude and their relationship.
• Chu Qing wrote martial arts manuals and a family letter, asking Chu Tian to discuss his future marriage to Wu Qianhuan with Wu Ganqi; Wu Qianhuan also wrote a letter to her father.
• Chu Qing opened the clue chest and found the words “Blood-Clothed Qianluo,” which he could not identify.
• Chu Tian gave Chu Qing intelligence about the Southern Region Main Branch and warned that the Mirror of Sin might target him after learning his identity.
• Chu Qing gave Chu Tian the martial arts manuals, and they discussed Han Tingting before Liu Zhaohua told them the group would leave for Heavenly Dance City that day.

Chu Qing left Heavenly Sound Manor to organize Northern Ridge against the Heavenly Evil Cult and travel to Jade Terrace Sect. On the road, he encountered a woman whose blood-stained red robes and sword matched clues about the Mirror of Sin’s mysterious kill target, possibly Blood-Clothed Qianluo.

• You Zong departed with an Acupuncture Bronze Figure and Chu Qing’s request to ask the Yin Yang Recluse about an antidote to the Poison of Dripping Water.
• Liu Zhaohua and Chu Tian left, while Chu Qing learned the Military Lord had subdued Autumn Water Sect and was marching toward Great Azure Sect.
• Liu Zhaonian gave Chu Qing a map hidden in Divine Sound Waterfall, and Chu Qing arranged a Martial Arts Gathering at Immortal Cloud Mountain one month later and ordered a warning sent to Great Azure Sect.
• Chu Qing set out for Jade Terrace Sect with Wu Qianhuan, Wen Rou, and Su Ningzhen, carrying fragmented clues about the Southern Region Main Branch and the Mirror of Sin.
• At a roadside tea stall, Chu Qing saw a stern woman in blood-stained red robes carrying a sword and suspected she was connected to the Mirror of Sin’s kill order and Blood-Clothed Qianluo.

Chu Qing encountered a skilled young woman carrying the Hidden Dragon Sword, watched her survive an ambush, and later killed an underground attacker who had wounded her. After his group treated and carried her to camp, she woke to find them unaware that armed followers had surrounded them.

• A young woman with the Hidden Dragon Sword killed several attackers at a teahouse and continued on her way while Chu Qing recognized her from Chu Tian's letter.
• Wen Rou detected the young woman's blood in the woods, and Chu Qing's group found her wounded and cornered by Sun Youxian, the Earth-Burrowing Rat.
• When Sun Youxian attacked from beneath the ground, Chu Qing killed him with a single stomp, allowing the young woman to drag his body out before she fainted.
• Chu Qing's group treated the young woman's wounds and carried her onward; Su Ningzhen identified Sun Youxian and explained his Earth Roaming Technique.
• The young woman woke at the campfire, demanded her Hidden Dragon Sword, and warned Chu Qing that armed pursuers had followed them, while Chu Qing asked her name.

Chu Qing questioned Wenren Qianluo about the Mirror of Sin’s kill order and learned that it had destroyed her family twelve years earlier. After Mirror of Sin assassins attacked and were defeated, Wenren Qianluo revealed that she had found their Southern Region Main Branch.

• Chu Qing deflected a hidden weapon, and Wenren Qianluo identified herself as the target of the Mirror of Sin’s kill order.
• Wenren Qianluo told Chu Qing that the Mirror of Sin had exterminated her family on fabricated charges twelve years earlier, and she was traveling home to pay her respects.
• Chu Qing revealed that the Mirror of Sin had issued a kill order against him too, just before a group of assassins emerged and attacked.
• Chu Qing, Su Ningzhen, and Wen Rou fought the assassins, with Wen Rou using Tai Chi Swordplay and the Nine Heavens Star Finger to kill her opponents.
• The assassin leader struck Chu Qing in the chest but then exploded into fragments, and Chu Qing resumed questioning Wenren Qianluo.
• Wenren Qianluo told Chu Qing that she had found the Mirror of Sin’s Southern Region Main Branch.

Chu Qing agreed to protect the badly injured Wenren Qianluo in exchange for three thousand taels and the location of the Mirror of Sin’s Southern Region Main Branch. At a town under Jade Terrace Sect’s authority, a poisoned bun exposed a Mirror of Sin assassin, and Chu Qing confronted the sect disciples and a disguised attacker.

• Chu Qing returned Wenren Qianluo’s Hidden Dragon Sword and agreed to protect her for three thousand taels and the Southern Region Main Branch’s location, recording their deal in writing.
• Wenren Qianluo told Chu Qing that Mirror of Sin pursuers had worked with the Mystic Mechanism Sect to track her using wooden kites.
• Su Ningzhen carried Wenren Qianluo onto a horse, and Chu Qing’s group traveled through the night to a town.
• A stray dog and the bun seller died after eating a poisoned meat bun, and the seller’s wife sprayed poison at Wu Qianhuan before Chu Qing turned it back on her.
• Jade Terrace Sect disciples confronted Chu Qing’s group, but the male disciple suddenly showed signs of poisoning as Chu Qing seized a child from the crowd and hurled him to the ground, revealing an adult attacker in disguise.

Chu Qing exposed and killed a poison-user who had framed him, then continued toward the Jade Terrace Sect. On the boat, Jade Terrace Sect disciples ambushed his group, accusing him of killing the Lord of Light Mist City.

• Chu Qing revealed the disguised poison-user by noticing his weight, protected himself with Heavenly Silkworm Silk Gloves, and destroyed the man's qi sea.
• The poison-user turned into black water before revealing his identity, so Chu Qing gave a detoxification pill to the poisoned Jade Terrace Sect disciple and left town with his companions.
• Chu Qing's group traveled peacefully for two days, then boarded a boat toward Jade Qiong City as they neared the Jade Terrace Sect.
• Jade Terrace Sect disciples stopped the boat and attacked Chu Qing's group with the Heavenly Net Earth Web Formation, but Chu Qing broke the formation and subdued their leader.
• The leader accused Chu Qing of killing the Lord of Light Mist City, and Chu Qing said he did not know who that was.

Chu Qing reached Jade Terrace Sect with the sect disciples he had captured and discovered signs that the sect had been attacked. He identified the likely attackers as people connected to the Weapon Lord and led the freed disciples up the mountain, where Ji Yexue appeared to confront the invaders.

• Chu Qing learned that Jade Terrace Sect disciples had attacked him over a blood-written message falsely claiming he killed the Light Mist City Lord, and he bound them as he brought them to Jade Qiong City.
• Chu Qing found Jade Qiong City unguarded and discovered blood and a recently killed Jade Terrace Sect disciple at the mountain gate.
• Chu Qing recognized the corpse’s spear wound as likely belonging to one of the Weapon Lord’s people and released the captured disciples so they could lead him up the mountain.
• At Jade Palace Pavilion, the fat and thin leaders of the attackers taunted the wounded Jade Terrace Sect disciples because Ji Yexue had not appeared.
• Ji Yexue suddenly emerged and struck toward the fat man’s forehead.

Ji Yexue emerged from seclusion and refused to let the Heavenly Evil Cult take control of the Jade Terrace Sect, then faced Huang Fu and Qi Lu in battle. Though her White Jade Longevity Scripture protected her from their blows, Huang Fu launched a powerful Great Hand Seal while Qi Lu attacked, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Ji Yexue appeared before the Jade Terrace Sect disciples and deflected Huang Fu's attack, while Qi Lu made lewd remarks about her.
• Huang Fu and Qi Lu identified themselves as generals of the Heavenly Evil Cult and demanded that Ji Yexue submit; she asked the disciples, who refused.
• Huang Fu and Qi Lu attacked Ji Yexue, and Qi Lu grew larger and repeatedly smashed her into the ground.
• Qi Lu broke a finger against Ji Yexue's defenses, while Ji Yexue rose unharmed and held back Huang Fu's descending attack with one hand.
• Qi Lu resumed attacking as Huang Fu pressed Ji Yexue with Primordial Qi Throw, forcing her to defend against both men.
• Huang Fu abruptly shrank and thrust a huge vortex of qi toward Ji Yexue with his Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth Great Hand Seal.

Ji Yexue was defeated and captured as the Heavenly Evil Cult forced the Jade Terrace Sect to choose between surrender and death. Chu Qing arrived, drove off the cult’s envoys, and discovered that the young-looking woman he had rescued was the sect master, Ji Yexue.

• Huang Fu struck Ji Yexue with the Primordial Qi Great Hand Seal after the skinny man’s attack, leaving her badly injured and in disarray.
• The skinny man seized Ji Yexue, and Huang Fu demanded the Jade Terrace Sect surrender or watch its sect master die.
• He Zhangwen offered to surrender, killed two disciples who opposed him, and urged the rest to submit or die; He Qiangu and other disciples joined the violence against those who resisted.
• The skinny man taunted Ji Yexue and began touching her, but Chu Qing suddenly appeared and sent him flying into the crater.
• Chu Qing caught Huang Fu’s palm, crushed his hand, and hurled him into the crater with the skinny man, while He Zhangwen was caught beneath them and knocked unconscious.
• Chu Qing introduced himself to Ji Yexue and realized that the young woman he had rescued was the Jade Terrace Sect’s fifty-year-old sect master.

Chu Qing overwhelmed the Heavenly Evil Cult attackers at Jade Palace Pavilion, defeating Qi Lu and Huang Fu while mastering remote swordplay with a borrowed sword. Ji Yexue and the Jade Terrace Sect disciples joined the fighting, and the battle ended with every invader dead as Chu Qing remained in control of the captured traitors.

• Ji Yexue explained that the White Jade Longevity Scripture had preserved her youth and might give her another twenty or thirty years to live.
• Qi Lu attacked Chu Qing, but Chu Qing blocked his assault, severed a finger, and repeatedly smashed him into the ground until he lost his mad demon state.
• Huang Fu launched the Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth Great Hand Seal, but Chu Qing used a Jade Terrace Sect disciple’s sword to pierce Huang Fu’s throat and attack the other Heavenly Evil Cult disciples.
• Ji Yexue recovered her composure and charged into the fight, while the Jade Terrace Sect disciples joined her and the newly traitorous disciples stood aside.
• Chu Qing experimented with the Sword Control Technique and used the Nine Solitary Swords to break the attackers’ moves, helping slaughter every Heavenly Evil Cult invader.
• Chu Qing sat at the hall entrance with Qi Lu pinned beneath his foot, while the sword returned to its owner, who joked that it had become disobedient.

After the Heavenly Evil Cult’s assault, Chu Qing exposed a Mirror of Sin assassin hiding among the Jade Terrace Sect disciples and helped stop the chaos. Ji Yexue entrusted He Qiangu to him, then offered up the Jade Terrace Sect in exchange for preserving its teachings.

• Ji Yexue asked Chu Qing for He Zhangwen’s life, and Chu Qing warned her about the Heavenly Evil Cult’s strength while she considered the sect’s future.
• He Qiangu tried to break out of the encirclement as a hidden assassin attacked Wenren Qianluo, but Wu Qianhuan blocked the strike after Chu Qing warned her.
• Chu Qing identified and killed the Mirror of Sin assassin disguised in Jade Terrace Sect robes, then explained the plot to Wu Qianhuan.
• Chu Qing asked for He Qiangu, and Ji Yexue handed him over along with the skinny Heavenly Evil Cult fighter.
• Ji Yexue asked about Heavenly Sound Manor’s Hero’s Invitation and told Chu Qing she would offer up the Jade Terrace Sect if its teachings could endure.

Chu Qing took control of the Jade Terrace Sect after Ji Yexue agreed to place the sect under his authority. He exposed He Qiangu’s ties to Mirror of Sin and stopped an assassin’s attempt to silence him, then ordered the Han Family’s dowry retrieved and invited Su Ningzhen to take revenge.

• Ji Yexue agreed to make Chu Qing supreme over the Jade Terrace Sect, and the disciples abandoned their resistance after Zhou Zhiyuan backed down from leaving.
• Chu Qing questioned He Qiangu about his broken engagement to the Han Family and his relationship with Mirror of Sin.
• Under Chu Qing’s pressure, He Qiangu admitted that he had helped Mirror of Sin infiltrate the Jade Terrace Sect and create an opening to attack Wenren Qianluo.
• Chu Qing stopped a hidden assassin from poisoning He Qiangu, and He Qiangu identified the attacker as the second Mirror of Sin agent in the sect.
• Chu Qing ordered the Han Family’s dowry retrieved and asked Su Ningzhen whether she wanted to take revenge, telling her not to kill them.

Chu Qing interrogated He Zhangwen about Xiang Mountain Sea’s destruction and his secret dealings with the Heavenly Evil Cult, then Ji Yexue killed He Zhangwen and He Qiangu. After inspecting Ji Yexue’s cultivation texts, Chu Qing sought the Heavenly Buddha Temple, and Ji Yexue said she could find it.

• Su Ningzhen beat He Qiangu after Chu Qing gave her permission, and Chu Qing accepted the unlisted Golden Goblet as payment for helping her.
• Chu Qing ordered He Zhangwen punished until he awoke, then forced him to confess that he had learned of Star Splitting Manor’s plan against Xiang Mountain Sea and had hidden the Hero’s Invitation out of fear of the Heavenly Evil Cult.
• He Zhangwen explained that He Qiangu had kept Su Ningzhen because he desired her and expected her to depend on him after Xiang Mountain Sea fell.
• Chu Qing questioned He Zhangwen about the Mirror of Sin and his withheld invitation, then Ji Yexue killed He Zhangwen and He Qiangu before Chu Qing finished asking his questions.
• Chu Qing followed Ji Yexue to her mountain retreat and studied the White Jade Longevity Scripture, hoping its methods might help save Wen Rou.
• When Chu Qing asked about the Heavenly Buddha Temple, Ji Yexue said she had never visited it but could find it.