Chapter Summaries

Lu Xuan learned that Evil Spirits and Demonic Beasts were causing unrest across the Cultivation World, but he hoped to stay safely within the sect. Qingxu True Person then summoned him to examine a mysterious mutation affecting Fire Essence Zhi, leaving Lu Xuan to investigate the unknown black-red lines.

• Lu Xuan reviewed his many Fifth Grade treasures and returned to his Cave Mansion to care for his Spirit Beasts and cultivate.
• At the General Affairs Hall, Lu Xuan heard reports of a Calamity-Class Evil Spirit, a mass blood sacrifice, and cultivators dying while suppressing Evil Spirits.
• Lu Xuan resolved to avoid dangerous missions and remain inside the sect, but half a month later Huo Liner summoned him to meet Qingxu True Person.
• Qingxu True Person asked Lu Xuan to inspect a Mutated Spirit Plant discovered by a clan attached to the sect.
• Huo Liner showed Lu Xuan a Fire Essence Zhi whose black-red lines absorbed flames and vitality, though the clan had been unable to remove them.

Lu Xuan identified the cause of the Mutated Fire Essence Zhi’s condition as a parasitic Moth Flame Insect and explained how to remove it. He agreed to accompany Huo Liner to Fire Cloud Cave to help his clansmen, accepting Qingxu True Person’s offer of a Rank 5 defensive Talisman.

• Lu Xuan planted the Mutated Fire Essence Zhi and used his ability to discover that a Moth Flame Insect had parasitized it.
• Lu Xuan told Huo Liner and Qingxu True Person that cold techniques or tools could awaken the insect so an experienced Spirit Plant Master could separate it safely.
• Huo Liner asked Lu Xuan to travel with him to Fire Cloud Cave and help resolve the parasitism affecting his clansmen’s Spirit Plants.
• Qingxu True Person offered Lu Xuan a Rank 5 defensive Talisman to protect him during the journey.
• Lu Xuan agreed to go with Huo Liner, who promised to ensure he returned safely.

Lu Xuan traveled with Huo Liner, Xu Yong, and Zhou Yunning to Fire Cloud Cave to investigate the mutation affecting the Fire Clan’s spirit plants. They reached the clan’s spirit field, where Lu Xuan examined the unusual Flame Soil as they prepared to assess the problem.

• Lu Xuan brought the Cloud Stepping Lynx and Demon Ghost Vine to join Huo Liner, Xu Yong, and Zhou Yunning for the journey to Fire Cloud Cave.
• Huo Liner flew the group to Fire Cloud Cave aboard his Azure Spirit Boat, while Lu Xuan kept a Thousand Blade Talisman ready in his sleeve.
• Huo Liner introduced Lu Xuan and the other disciples to Fire Clan Leader, explaining Lu Xuan’s role in discovering how to address the Mutated Fire Essence Zhi.
• Lu Xuan urged the clan to take them directly to the spirit field instead of holding a banquet first, and Huo Liner agreed.
• Fire Raven led the group to the spirit field and explained that its pale-red Flame Soil contained abundant, gentle Fire Spirit Aura that benefited fire-type spirit plants.

Lu Xuan discovered that Moth Flame Insects were causing the mutations in Fire Cloud Cave’s spirit plants and worked with Zhou Yunning to extract them safely. He began inspecting the field for hidden eggs while Huo Liner watched for whoever might be behind the infestation.

• Fire Clan Leader explained that Flame Soil and fire-element spirit plants sustained the clan, and that the mysterious mutations threatened its livelihood.
• Lu Xuan examined the mutated spirit plants and identified the Moth Flame Insects as their common cause.
• Lu Xuan directed Xu Yong and Zhou Yunning to use controlled ice techniques to expose the insects, then carefully removed them from the plants.
• Lu Xuan explained how the insects parasitized spirit plants and warned Fire Clan Leader that the rescued plants needed careful recovery.
• Lu Xuan asked Huo Liner to watch for the source of the insects while he and Zhou Yunning continued clearing them from the field.

Lu Xuan and the others helped Fire Cloud Cave clear Moth Flame insects before learning that its Essence Fire Spirit had mutated and killed six clansmen. They rushed to the Fire Spring, where Huo Liner fought the rampaging spirit as Lu Xuan grew concerned about the infested Spirit Plants.

• Lu Xuan, Xu Yong, and Zhou Yunning spent nearly two hours clearing Moth Flame insects from over a hundred Fire-Type Spirit Plants, then rested and shared Fire Cloud Cave’s specialty food and Flowing Cloud Nectar.
• Huo Liner explained that Fire Cloud Cave’s Flowing Cloud Nectar came from a Spirit Spring enhanced by a tamed Essence Fire Spirit.
• A cultivator reported that the Essence Fire Spirit had gone berserk, killed six guards, and attacked the Restrictions around Fire Cloud Spring.
• Huo Liner, Fire Raven, Lu Xuan, Xu Yong, and Zhou Yunning went to the spring, where Huo Liner released the Essence Fire Spirit and attacked it as it charged the group.
• Lu Xuan asked Xu Yong and Zhou Yunning to stay behind while he went to inspect the Spirit Field, fearing the mutation was connected to the Moth Flame insects.

Lu Xuan investigated the moth flame insects in the Spirit Field and discovered that a hidden Moth Flame Insect Mother, a vassal of an Extraterritorial Demon, was summoning them. The insects stopped moving after he lured one toward them, making him suspect the Insect Mother had detected him, though he still believed he held the initiative.

• Lu Xuan left Zhou Yunning and Xu Yong to assist Huo Liner and headed back to the Spirit Field with the Cloud Stepping Lynx and Voidsky Nightmare Eye.
• Lu Xuan observed the moth flame insects emerging from their parasitic state and gathering toward an apparently empty spot in the field.
• Lu Xuan released a moth flame insect preserved in Hundred-Year Ice Soul and used the Voidsky Nightmare Eye to follow it toward the gathering insects.
• Lu Xuan learned that the hidden Moth Flame Insect Mother was a vassal of the Flame Demon, had Quasi-Core Formation strength, and commanded the strange insects.
• Lu Xuan saw the moth flame insects suddenly stop and realized the Insect Mother might have noticed him, but he decided it did not know he had discovered it.

Lu Xuan killed the Moth Flame Insect Mother after it ambushed him in the Spirit Field, then concealed its origins from Huo Liner and the others. The Spirit Plants suffered only limited damage, and Fire Raven felt grateful to Lu Xuan for preventing greater losses.

• Lu Xuan used the Illusory Breaking Eye Technique to expose the Moth Flame Insect Mother's hidden form and attacked it with the Thorn God Cone and Mirage Sound Pearl.
• Lu Xuan finished off the badly wounded Moth Flame Insect Mother with a Rank 4 Great Sun Sword Talisman.
• Huo Liner arrived after defeating the mutated Essence Fire Spirit, and Zhou Yunning and Xu Yong joined him to check on Lu Xuan.
• Lu Xuan told Huo Liner that he had come to protect the Spirit Field and claimed he defeated the strange insect with a purchased Rank 4 Sword Talisman.
• Lu Xuan and the others inspected the Spirit Plants and found that only a small number had been damaged, leaving Fire Raven grateful to him.

Lu Xuan helped Fire Cloud Cave eliminate the Moth Flame insects and restore its damaged spirit plants, earning generous gifts before hurrying back toward Heaven Sword Sect with Huo Liner. The chapter leaves them safely arriving at the sect while Xu Yong and Zhou Yunning continue on their own.

• Lu Xuan promised to use his Azure Wood Source Qi to restore the damaged spirit plants, then spent three days helping clear the infestation and heal them.
• Fire Raven and the Fire Cloud Cave cultivators thanked Lu Xuan and his companions with gifts, including Flame Soil and a Rank 4 Crimson Flame Gourd Spirit Seed for Lu Xuan.
• Huo Liner gave Lu Xuan an Essence Fire Crystal refined from the Mutated Essence Fire Spirit, and Lu Xuan accepted it.
• Xu Yong suggested visiting a rogue cultivator Marketplace, but Lu Xuan chose to return to Heaven Sword Sect, and Huo Liner accompanied him while Xu Yong and Zhou Yunning went on separately.
• Huo Liner sped up the Azure Spirit Boat, and Lu Xuan relaxed when they arrived at Heaven Sword Sect.

Lu Xuan returned from Fire Cloud Cave, planted a Fourth Grade Crimson Flame Gourd in Flame Soil, and shared Flowing Cloud Nectar with his Spirit Beasts. He harvested mature Sword Nurturing Gourds in the Defective Secret Realm and gained a large collection of Rank 4 Sword Talismans.

• Lu Xuan returned to his Cave Mansion with Huo Liner and planted the Crimson Flame Gourd in Flame Soil gifted by Fire Cloud Cave.
• Lu Xuan checked his Spirit Plants and gave Flowing Cloud Nectar, Bewitching Peaches, and Ice Fire Two Spirit Fruits to his Spirit Beasts.
• Fat Bird returned to the Cave Mansion, and Lu Xuan gave it a cup of Flowing Cloud Nectar.
• Lu Xuan entered the Defective Secret Realm and found his Sword Nurturing Gourds, Flame Fruits, and Ice Luo Fruits fully mature.
• Lu Xuan harvested forty-seven Sword Nurturing Gourds and obtained many Rank 4 Sword Talismans from their light orbs.

Lu Xuan condensed Spirit Seeds from several Spirit Plants, strengthened his Phoenix Wood, and inspected the Secret Realm’s growing plants. He then took a Fourth Grade Sword Thousand-Kite to Sword Hall, confident that the Profound Understanding Sword Heart had made him a true sword Dao genius.

• Lu Xuan obtained forty-seven additional Rank 4 Sword Talismans, bringing his total to sixty, and began nurturing embryonic Spirit Seeds in ten Sword Nurturing Gourds.
• Lu Xuan used all the Second Grade Flame Fruit and Ice Luo Fruit to condense Spirit Seeds, then fed Essence Fire to the Phoenix Wood.
• Lu Xuan inspected the Secret Realm’s Spirit Plants and found that the Lightning Fall Wood had reached maturity while the Fifth Grade plants were still growing.
• Lu Xuan decided to give away and sell some of his many Sword Nurturing Gourds, while keeping two and considering how to improve the plant.
• Lu Xuan took the Fourth Grade Sword Thousand-Kite to Sword Hall to deliver it to Shen Ye and seek more Sword Grass Spirit Seeds.
• Lu Xuan arrived at Sword Hall, confident that the Profound Understanding Sword Heart had made him a genuine sword Dao genius.

Lu Xuan exchanged the mature Fourth Grade Sword Grass Sword Thousand-Kite for compensation and received permission from Shen Ye to cultivate a Sword Peacock. Shen Ye also told him about a Fifth Grade Sword Grass seed being nurtured in the Sword Pool, which immediately drew Lu Xuan’s interest.

• Lu Xuan visited Shen Ye and overheard Zhong Baiyu’s application to cultivate Fourth Grade Sword Grass being rejected because of his poor cultivation record.
• Lu Xuan handed Shen Ye the mature Sword Thousand-Kite, and Shen Ye praised its quality.
• Lu Xuan chose to exchange Sword Thousand-Kite for four hundred Sword Seals rather than keep it.
• Shen Ye offered Lu Xuan one of the Sword Hall’s remaining Sword Peacock seeds, and Lu Xuan accepted.
• Shen Ye told Lu Xuan that a Fifth Grade Sword Grass seed was being nurtured in the Sword Pool and would be ready in about half a year to a year.

Lu Xuan learned that he might compete with Jian Wuxia for a rare Fifth Grade Sword Grass spirit seed, then planted a Fourth Grade Sword Peacock in his Cave Mansion. He later visited his Netherworld Courtyard to feed its evil Spirit Plants, whose growing demands for blood and flesh left him concerned.

• Shen Ye told Lu Xuan that he and Jian Wuxia were the leading candidates to cultivate a Fifth Grade Sword Grass, and that the Wind Lightning Sword Grass was nearing its first successful seed batch.
• Shen Ye gave Lu Xuan a Fourth Grade Sword Peacock spirit seed, which Lu Xuan planted in his Cave Mansion.
• Lu Xuan transformed his appearance and entered Sword Gate Town to inspect the Netherworld Courtyard.
• Lu Xuan fed Flood Dragon Blood Essence to the rapidly growing Blood Karma Flower and shared some with the Blood Spirit Palm Ginseng.
• Lu Xuan tended the courtyard's other evil Spirit Plants and gave Demon Beast Blood Meat to the Flesh Spirit God, sensing that its hunger was rising as it neared birth.

Lu Xuan struggled to find enough high-grade blood, flesh, and souls to cultivate his sinister Spirit Plants. At the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, he learned about the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly, where rare and unidentified spirit seeds might be available.

• Lu Xuan worried that his supplies of essence blood, Demon Beast Blood Meat, and infant souls would not keep pace with his Spirit Plants' needs.
• He searched Sword Gate Town for high-grade Demon Beast Blood Meat but found nothing satisfactory.
• At the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Lu Xuan asked Steward Li for large quantities of high-grade Demon Beast Blood Meat, but the branch could not provide enough.
• Steward Li told Lu Xuan about the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly, a half-month exchange gathering featuring rare treasures and unknown spirit seeds.
• Lu Xuan eagerly accepted Steward Li's offer of an invitation to the gathering, which would take place in about a month.

Lu Xuan learned about the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly, then devised a way to obtain high-grade Demon Beast Blood Meat by commissioning a task through the General Affairs Hall. He offered Sword Nurturing Gourds and Dust Cleansing Pills as rewards, drawing eager interest from sect cultivators.

• Lu Xuan accepted a Gilded Name Card for the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly from Steward Li and returned to the sect.
• Lu Xuan decided to commission a task asking cultivators to hunt Fourth Grade Demon Beasts and collect their blood and flesh.
• Lu Xuan offered a Sword Nurturing Gourd for each beast corpse and a Dust Cleansing Pill for every three, with rewards subject to his judgment.
• The General Affairs Hall deacon and cultivators who saw the task were astonished by the rewards, and some began forming hunting teams or proposing to buy demon beast corpses.
• Lu Xuan watched the cultivators’ reactions and relied on his right to adjust the rewards if they supplied too little blood and flesh.

Lu Xuan tended his Spirit Plants and exchanged a Dust Cleansing Pill with Yang Qingfeng for three Fourth Grade Demon Beast corpses. Yang Qingfeng invited him to examine the sect’s Flood Dragons at Thousand Dragon Lake, and Lu Xuan agreed to visit soon.

• Lu Xuan cultivated Jade Dew Fruits and Crimson Flame Gourds while the Demon Ghost Vine tried to mark the plants with its gray mucus.
• Yang Qingfeng visited Lu Xuan and exchanged three Fourth Grade Demon Beast corpses for a Dust Cleansing Pill to help prepare for breaking through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Yang Qingfeng invited Lu Xuan to check on the Flood Dragons at Thousand Dragon Lake, and Lu Xuan agreed to go soon.

Lu Xuan arranged to attend the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly alongside Ge Pu, hoping to find rare Spirit Plants and protective treasures. Guided by their Gilded Name Cards, they reached the Treasure Pavilion and agreed to search separately while remaining in contact.

• Lu Xuan examined the Flood Dragons at Thousand Dragon Lake and collected their blood essence before returning to cultivate and refine pills.
• Lu Xuan contacted several true disciples and learned that Ge Pu also planned to attend the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly.
• Ge Pu visited Lu Xuan, and the two agreed to travel to the assembly together.
• When Lu Xuan's Gilded Name Card began pointing the way, he packed his Spirit Beasts and went to meet Ge Pu.
• Lu Xuan and Ge Pu followed their cards to the Treasure Pavilion, where Ge Pu explained its origins and warned Lu Xuan to seek help if danger arose.
• Lu Xuan and Ge Pu agreed to explore the Treasure Pavilion separately while keeping in contact.

Lu Xuan arrived at the Treasure Pavilion for the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly and learned how its different sections operated. After spotting the many Evil Cultivators inside, he realized he could sell the sinister pills and other rewards from his evil Spirit Plants there without attracting attention.

• Lu Xuan entered the Treasure Pavilion with his Gilded Name Card and chose a room to rest in before the assembly began.
• A white-tailed girl greeted Lu Xuan, who clarified that his interest in researching her meant dissection and bloodline experiments, not redeeming her.
• The girl explained that the treasure assembly would begin the next day and described the pavilion's open and hidden treasure sections and its uppermost section.
• Lu Xuan left the room and saw several Evil Cultivators, including a gaunt old man with an Infant Ghost and a middle-aged man with tentacle arms.
• Lu Xuan realized he could sell Saint Infant Pills, Mystic Yin Pills, and other rewards from his evil Spirit Plants in the Treasure Pavilion.

Lu Xuan disguised himself to sell his bewitching treasures to the Joyous Union Sect at Treasure Pavilion. He offered Bewitching Desire Pills and Bewitching Sound Pearls to Fan Niangzi, insisting on payment in Spirit Stones rather than accepting her advances.

• Lu Xuan assessed the pills and treasures he was willing to trade, including Bewitching Desire Pills and Bewitching Sound Pearls.
• Lu Xuan disguised himself with the Thousandfold Wraith Mask and went to Treasure Pavilion’s top floor to meet the Joyous Union Sect cultivators.
• Fan Niangzi met Lu Xuan, who explained that his fourth-grade treasures could benefit cultivators of the yin-yang dual cultivation path.
• Lu Xuan revealed that he had at least twenty Bewitching Desire Pills and two Bewitching Sound Pearls, prompting Fan Niangzi’s interest and suspicion.
• Lu Xuan set firm prices for the pills and pearls and rejected Fan Niangzi’s attempt to entice him with the pavilion’s services.

Lu Xuan sold Bewitching Desire Pills and Bewitching Sound Pearls to Fan of the Joyous Union Sect, then declined her offer to become a Guest Elder. At the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly, he found and bargained for a piece of flesh from a Calamity-Class Evil Spirit.

• Lu Xuan sold Fan twenty Bewitching Desire Pills and two Bewitching Sound Pearls for thirty-eight thousand four hundred spirit stones.
• Fan invited Lu Xuan to join the Joyous Union Sect as a Guest Elder, but he declined because he preferred to travel alone.
• Lu Xuan returned to his room and waited for the Heaven Abyss Treasure Assembly to begin.
• Lu Xuan explored the stalls, looking for spirit plants and other items he could recognize.
• Lu Xuan spotted flesh from a Calamity-Class Evil Spirit and bargained with the sinister stall owner until he bought it for three thousand five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Lu Xuan bought a Blood-Colored Spirit Seed of unknown variety from a ghost cultivator at the treasure fair, trading a Mystic Yin Pill and a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. He left delighted by the seed and its likely high grade.

• Lu Xuan sealed away flesh and blood from a Calamity-Class Evil Spirit, intending to feed it to his gestating Flesh Spirit God or use it to enrich Spirit Soil.
• Lu Xuan noticed a burly cultivator questioning a thin stall owner about a Blood-Colored Spirit Seed, then examined the seed after the cultivator left.
• Lu Xuan used his Illusory Breaking Eye Technique and discovered that the stall owner was a Ghost Cultivator formed from Yin Qi.
• The stall owner asked for pills or Treasures containing pure Yin Qi, and Lu Xuan offered a Fourth Grade Mystic Yin Pill for the Spirit Seed.
• Lu Xuan bargained down the trade to the Mystic Yin Pill and a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, then left the stall satisfied with his acquisition.