Chapter Summaries

Pu Hongying forced Zuo Peixian to surrender the treasures from the Gorge Abyss Ancient Realm, learning that Zuo had killed his father there. After Zuo died, Pu Hongying set his sights on the Sect Token and ordered his subordinate to buy a defensive Treasure Item so he could climb the mountain again.

• Pu Hongying confronted Zuo Peixian about the Gorge Abyss Ancient Realm, and Zuo revealed that he had ambushed Pu Hongying's father there.
• Zuo Peixian surrendered his storage item and asked Pu Hongying to spare the younger generation of Immortal Crane Mountain Villa; Pu Hongying agreed verbally.
• Pu Hongying found the Crane Immortal Step, the Crane Chasing Divine Palm, the Nine-Nine Returning Yin Staff, and the Hidden Heavenly Dipper Array among Zuo's treasures.
• Zuo Peixian urged Pu Hongying to seek the Sect Token and recruit the Upper Purity Sect and Demonic Ape Mountain, then ended his own life.
• Pu Hongying concealed the corpses and ordered A-Wu to buy the Void Stabilizing Shroud so he could attempt to reach the mountain summit again.

Lu Feng agreed to visit the Chu Family about marrying Chu Youwei, hoping to help the Lin Family despite Lin Wanxia’s pressure. As he left with Lin Xiaowan to arrange gifts, he sensed Evil Yin Grand Duke targeting Lin Liyun and began to suspect who had arranged the assassination.

• Lin Bairu asked Lu Feng whether he had feelings for Chu Youwei and explained that the Lin Family needed the Chu Family’s support.
• Lu Feng agreed to visit the Chu Family the next day, while privately resolving not to silently endure any mistreatment.
• Lin Bairu told Lin Xiaowan to accompany Lu Feng and help prepare gifts for the visit, and she excitedly asked whether he would marry Chu Youwei.
• Lu Feng asked whether Lin Wuhu managed the Lin Family’s remaining businesses, then left with Lin Xiaowan for the Hundred Fruit Shop.
• Lu Feng sensed Evil Yin Grand Duke nearby and realized the assassin had come for Lin Liyun, leading him to suspect a shared enemy of the Lin Family and himself.

Lu Feng realized Evil Yin Grand Duke was pursuing him and led the Black List assassin away from the Lin Residence to protect Lin Xiaowan and conceal his identity. He lured Evil Yin Grand Duke into a remote valley, where the assassin charged at him, unaware of the danger Lu Feng had prepared.

• Lu Feng ordered Lin Xiaowan to find Cousin-Uncle, then rode the Jade Dragon Steed away from the Lin Residence to draw Evil Yin Grand Duke out of the city.
• Evil Yin Grand Duke let Lu Feng escape the residence because he coveted the Jade Dragon Steed, then marked Lu Feng with his aura and pursued him.
• Lu Feng fled through Jinwan City and into a secluded mountain forest, where he considered the risk that Evil Yin Grand Duke might discover his identities.
• Lu Feng slowed the Jade Dragon Steed and steered toward QuFu Mountain, leading Evil Yin Grand Duke toward the gorge where the Shadow Fox had fought an assassin.
• Evil Yin Grand Duke entered the valley and lunged at Lu Feng, intending to kill him quickly and seize the steed.

Lu Feng ambushed Evil Yin Grand Duke with the valley’s stored killing intent, Xiao Gu’s soul corpse, and Grand Dream of Three Lifetimes, Nether Ghost Hell. As Lu Feng moved to finish him, strange gray-black patterns on Evil Yin Grand Duke’s face erupted with a terrifying aura.

• Evil Yin Grand Duke pursued the Jade Dragon Steed, while Lu Feng’s illusion array briefly concealed him behind a robe.
• Lu Feng released the valley’s stored killing intent, freezing Evil Yin Grand Duke in terror, then attacked with the Great Compassion Sword and Xiao Gu’s soul corpse.
• Evil Yin Grand Duke recognized Xiao Gu’s soul corpse as his Junior Brother and blocked Lu Feng’s first sword strike.
• Lu Feng and Xiao Gu’s soul corpse attacked Evil Yin Grand Duke from both sides, and Lu Feng’s Nether Ghost Hell soul assault left him hollow-eyed and vulnerable.
• As Lu Feng’s sword neared Evil Yin Grand Duke’s neck, the gray-black patterns on his face writhed and released a terrifying aura, stopping the attack.

Lu Feng fought Evil Yin Grand Duke, whose Death Qi and lingering souls formed a protective Evil Spirit Skeleton. Lu Feng used the Kirin Ring to summon its Kirin phantom and defeat him, but the ring’s power was spent and could not be used again.

• Lu Feng wounded Evil Yin Grand Duke, but Death Qi and remnant souls protected him from the sword strike.
• Evil Yin Grand Duke stored the Ancient Desolation Altar and summoned a gigantic skeleton that attacked Lu Feng with Necromantic Qi and a soul-pulling force.
• Lu Feng activated the Kirin Ring’s hidden function, dispel evil, and summoned a Kirin phantom.
• The Kirin phantom severed Evil Yin Grand Duke’s soul attack and burned away his skeleton and the Death Qi sustaining him.
• Evil Yin Grand Duke died, and the Kirin phantom faded after exhausting the ring’s power.

Lu Feng learned the Kirin Ring’s origin and unleashed its remaining soul to defeat Evil Yin Grand Duke, but the Ancient Desolation Altar absorbed the enemy’s residual Soul Power into Xiao Gu instead of creating another soul corpse. With Xiao Gu’s strength rising beyond Lu Feng’s control and no memories or cultivation knowledge gained, Lu Feng turned to Evil Yin Grand Duke’s Storage Ring in hopes of finding useful spoils or clues.

• Lu Feng learned from Artisan Hero that the paired Kirin Rings were tokens of love containing Kirin souls, and he understood why wearing his ring had caused him pain.
• Lu Feng used the Kirin Ring’s remaining Soul Consciousness to attack and defeat Evil Yin Grand Duke, exhausting the ring’s offensive power.
• The Ancient Desolation Altar stripped the residual soul from Evil Yin Grand Duke and sent its Soul Power to heal and strengthen Xiao Gu’s soul corpse.
• Lu Feng realized Xiao Gu might become too powerful for him to control and received none of Evil Yin Grand Duke’s memories or cultivation experience.
• Lu Feng examined Evil Yin Grand Duke’s intact corpse and hoped his Storage Ring held Soul Power-restoring spiritual liquid or clues about the hidden mastermind.

After defeating Evil Yin Grand Duke, Lu Feng examined his Storage Ring and discovered Black Lotus Repentance Platforms that greatly accelerated soul recovery. He left the valley with the platforms and sent the Jade Dragon Steed back to the Lin Residence, while deciding not to visit QuFu Mountain.

• Lu Feng found that Evil Yin Grand Duke's Storage Ring held stolen cultivation gear, corpses, and two lotus-shaped platforms.
• Lu Feng identified the platforms as Black Lotus Repentance Platforms and used one to recover most of his depleted soul strength in less than half an hour.
• Lu Feng learned that Evil Yin Grand Duke had used the platforms' Soul Stealing Replenishment method to plunder other Soul Cultivators' power.
• Lu Feng put away the platforms, erased the traces of battle, and ordered the obedient Jade Dragon Steed to return to the Lin Residence in Jinwan City.
• Lu Feng chose not to ascend QuFu Mountain on this trip.

Jun Ziya questioned Jun Zi Shuo about the assassination attempt and dismissed his plea to support Jun Ziyi, citing her parents’ crimes against the Jun Family. Jun Zi Shuo outlined a plan to handle the imprisoned Qi Zhao, while privately resolving to take revenge on Qin Tianliang as well.

• Jun Ziya summoned Jun Zi Shuo and heard his account of the assassination attempt at the Jun Family Villa.
• Jun Zi Shuo identified array master Nangong Yun as a possible source of the Painting Scroll, but explained that the conspicuous clue was likely meant to frame the Qin Family.
• Jun Zi Shuo tried to argue that Jun Ziyi should no longer be neglected, but Jun Ziya refused because of her parents’ crimes against the family.
• Jun Zi Shuo proposed releasing Qi Zhao if the Phantom Sword Sect publicly apologized, but threatened to attack the escort if the sect tried to free him secretly.
• Jun Zi Shuo privately resolved not to spare Qin Tianliang, who had harassed the woman he loved.

Lu Feng returned to the Lin Residence with Ghost Performer disguised as a man, while Jun Ziya learned what Lu Feng had gained for creating the Refinement Formation and questioned Jun Zi Shuo about his dealings with him. As the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins’ opening approached, Jun Ziya revealed she had a plan that might involve making the ruins close permanently.

• Lu Feng returned to the Lin Residence with Ghost Performer and arranged for her to serve as his guard, while Iron Puppet took charge of Sun Chengnuo.
• Lin Xiaowan welcomed Lu Feng at the Hundred Fruit Shop, where she and Lin Wuhu had prepared the betrothal gifts for his proposal the next day.
• Jun Ziya questioned Jun Zi Shuo about the rewards Lu Feng had received for the Refinement Formation and learned about his dealings with the Qin Family and Jun Ziyi.
• Jun Zi Shuo worried that the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins’ opening would undermine the value of the ore deposits they had secured, and Jun Ziya said she had a plan.
• Jun Zi Shuo feared Jun Ziya intended to do something that would permanently close the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins.

Jun Ziya investigated Azure Mountain Sword Sect and Benevolent Heart Academy as both announced plans to reemerge, while Luo Tianci sent Luo Xiaoxi to QuFu Mountain. The chapter left Luo Xiaoxi unaware of her brother’s purpose as she eagerly set out with Fat Grandfather.

• Uncle Wen told Jun Ziya that Lu Feng had taken an unregistered maid from Jun Yue Pavilion, renewing her suspicions about him.
• Flame Sparrow reported that Azure Mountain Sword Sect and Benevolent Heart Academy planned to establish their sects, and Jun Ziya ordered a secret investigation into Benevolent Heart Academy and any Luo Family connections.
• Jun Ziya decided to attend the Qin Family’s birthday banquet in person and told Flame Sparrow to find eight capable people for the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins expedition.
• Luo Xiaoxi confronted Luo Tianci with her spear, demanding to know why he had given the Sect Token to Benevolent Heart Academy instead of Azure Mountain Sword Sect.
• Luo Tianci told Luo Xiaoxi to visit QuFu Mountain with Fat Grandfather, then privately instructed the old man to protect her and reveal some of his identity if necessary.

Luo Tianci arranged for Luo Xiaoxi to visit Benevolent Heart Academy while publicly severing the Luo Family’s ties to it and revealing its Sect Token. As Lu Feng traveled with the Lin Family toward the Chu Family, he realized the declaration would draw powerful enemies to QuFu Mountain and decided he needed to return there soon.

• Luo Tianci instructed the Fat Old Man to take Luo Xiaoxi to Benevolent Heart Academy and make a trip to Hidden Edge Valley, then confirmed his plans with his master.
• Luo Tianci warned that Benevolent Heart Academy had no connection to the Luo Family and explained that the academy held a Sect Token.
• Sun Liuliu and Jin Guan Kai discussed attacking Benevolent Heart Academy, but Sun Liuliu chose to wait for other factions to scout QuFu Mountain first.
• Lu Feng, Lin Xiaowan, Lin Bairu, Zhong Sanxiao, and Lin Wuhu set out from the Lin Residence with wedding gifts bound for the Chu Family.
• After hearing Luo Tianci’s declaration, Lu Feng worried that powerful soulmasters would attack QuFu Mountain and resolved to settle his affairs as Lin Liyun so he could return.
• The convoy approached Flying Hawk Ravine, an unavoidable passage watched over by Azure Hawk Stronghold.

Lu Feng took Ghost Performer to Profound Gold City to seek help from the Sun and Luo families, but she recognized a Sun Family warrior who had killed her father and asked to enter the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins to take revenge. Lu Feng hid her in the Outer Circle and met Sun Liuliu, who accepted his forged Heaven Marrow Ice Crystals while concealing her displeasure that he had made fewer than the furnace could hold.

• Lu Feng took two Fast Horses from the defeated mountain bandits and rode ahead with Ghost Performer, explaining that he would seek help from Luo Tianci and Sun Liuliu for the Lin Family.
• Near Profound Gold City, Ghost Performer recognized a bearded Sun Family warrior as the man who had killed her father and asked Lu Feng to let her enter the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins to kill him.
• Lu Feng promised to help Ghost Performer take revenge, then hid her in a small courtyard in the Outer Circle before visiting the Sun Family.
• Lu Feng met Sun Liuliu in Linliu Pavilion and gave her a furnace cauldron and twenty Heaven Marrow Ice Crystals he had forged.
• Sun Liuliu noticed Lu Feng had forged fewer crystals than the furnace could hold but kept quiet to protect the furnace's secret.

Lu Feng secured business contracts from the Sun and Luo Families to bolster the Lin Family’s standing, while Sun Liuliu prepared to enter the Sword Ruins after suppressing the Yin Force in her body. As Lu Feng set out to seek the Jun Family’s support, Jun Ziya summoned him to her residence.

• Lu Feng persuaded Sun Liuliu to sign business contracts benefiting the Lin Family, then took a new furnace vessel and thirty Heaven Marrow Ice Crystals.
• After Lu Feng left, Jin Guan Kai questioned his motives, and Sun Liuliu said the ice crystals would let her suppress her Yin Force and enter the Sword Ruins.
• Lu Feng obtained signatures on all his remaining contracts from Luo Tianci, though he still considered the Jun Family’s support necessary to counter the Chu Family.
• As Lu Feng prepared to visit the Jun Family, a carriage arrived with Jun Ziya’s invitation for him to come to her residence for a discussion.

Lu Feng negotiated with Jun Ziya to secure the Lin Family’s involvement in the Jun Family’s West Sheep Mountain mining operations in exchange for the Quenching and Purification Array. Jun Ziya signed the contract, but after Lu Feng left, she smashed his seat in fury, revealing her formidable strength.

• Lu Feng denied knowing anything about the maid he had taken away, and Jun Ziya confronted him about the Quenching and Purification Array.
• Lu Feng offered to provide the array plates if Jun Ziya let the Lin Family help mine and process the Fine Iron Ore at West Sheep Mountain.
• Jun Ziya saw that Lu Feng wanted to use the Jun Family’s influence to help the Lin Family and secure recognition of Lin Liyun and Chu Youwei’s marriage.
• Jun Ziya recognized that Lu Feng was not truly promiscuous because he had made a soul oath to Jiang Ruoyun, then accepted two Soul Plates as leverage.
• Jun Ziya signed a Business Contract agreeing to Lu Feng’s request and ordered him to deliver the remaining array plates within two months.
• After Lu Feng left, Jun Ziya smashed the seat where he had been sitting with a single palm strike.

The Lin Family confronted the Chu Family over the marriage contract, but Chu Youren refused to let them in. After Zhong Sanxiao demonstrated his strength and Lin Xiaowan appealed to the elders’ Last Wish, Chu Xuanhe emerged and revealed a breakthrough as he removed the contract from the gate plaque.

• Chu Youren blocked Lin Bairu and his party at the Chu Family gates and insulted the Lin Family while rejecting Lin Liyun’s marriage to his sister.
• Lin Bairu directed Zhong Sanxiao to throw the marriage contract into the Chu Family plaque, and Zhong Sanxiao pierced it through the character “Chu.”
• Zhong Sanxiao demanded that the Chu Family tear up the contract or have Chu Xuanhe face him, while spectators debated the marriage and the Chu Family’s plans for Chu Youwei.
• Lin Xiaowan pleaded that the marriage had been arranged by their elders and that the Lin Family only wanted to fulfill their Last Wish, shifting some onlookers to their side.
• Chu Xuanhe came out, objected to the commotion, and pulled the contract from the plaque with spiritual energy, startling Zhong Sanxiao and Lin Wuhu with his breakthrough.

Chu Xuanhe announced that Chu Youwei’s engagement to Lin Liyun was canceled, but Lin Liyun arrived alive and challenged the Chu Family Head. His declaration that Chu Youwei was his bride stunned the crowd, while Chu Youwei secretly listened and felt torn between relief and guilt over another man in her heart.

• Chu Youwei secretly left the rear courtyard and listened from behind the wall as Chu Xuanhe declared the marriage canceled.
• Lin Xiaowan defended the engagement and asked Chu Xuanhe to let Chu Youwei decide for herself, but Chu Xuanhe insisted he controlled her marriage.
• Chu Xuanhe and Chu Youren assumed Lin Liyun had been killed on the road, until Lin Liyun arrived at the Chu Family’s gate alive.
• Lin Liyun confronted Chu Xuanhe and declared that Chu Youwei was his bride because their parents had signed a marriage contract.
• Chu Youwei felt moved by Lin Liyun’s declaration, then remembered her intimate encounter with another man and became conflicted about marrying into the Lin Family.

Lu Feng used Business Contracts signed by the Sun Family to counter the Chu Family’s rejection of his marriage proposal and make the Lin Family appear to have powerful backing. Chu Xuanhe reconsidered his hostility and invited the Lin Family inside to discuss matters privately.

• Chu Youren mocked Lu Feng and the Lin Family’s decline as a reason to reject the marriage proposal.
• Lu Feng defended the Lin Family’s chance to rise again and presented Business Contracts with the Sun Family.
• Chu Xuanhe and Chu Youren questioned the contracts, then began to suspect the Sun Family was supporting the Lin Family.
• Lin Bairu, Lin Wuhu, and Lin Xiaowan reacted with astonishment and admiration as Lu Feng’s bluff gained credibility.
• Lu Feng hinted that he had contracts with other families, prompting Chu Xuanhe to invite the Lin Family into the residence for a private discussion.

Lu Feng brought the Lin Family’s contracts from the Sun, Luo, and Jun Families to the Chu residence, prompting Chu Xuanhe to reconsider the Lin Family’s importance and the marriage alliance. Lin Xiaowan then told Chu Youwei that she might soon become her sister-in-law, but Chu Youwei reacted with unease and kept her feelings secret.

• Lu Feng presented the Sun, Luo, and Jun Families’ contracts, and Chu Xuanhe and the Lin Family were stunned by the support they represented.
• Chu Xuanhe left the Lin Family in the main hall to consult Weng Qin and the Chu elders about the contracts.
• Lin Xiaowan asked to visit Chu Youwei, and Chu Xuanhe allowed her to bring Lu Feng along.
• Lin Xiaowan told Chu Youwei that the Chu Family was reconsidering the marriage and that she might soon marry Lin Liyun.
• Chu Youwei concealed her awkward reaction, while Lin Xiaowan falsely claimed Lu Feng had asked to see her and went to bring him inside.

Lu Feng questioned Chu Youwei about Lin Xiaojin’s death and learned that Lin Xiaowan had been at the Soy Juice Hall when the murder occurred. Chu Youwei’s account suggested Xiaowan encountered the killer, suffered a devastating soul attack, and developed hysteria; Lu Feng was left wondering what powerful opponent she had faced.

• Lu Feng met Chu Youwei in the courtyard and asked to speak with her alone after Lin Xiaowan left.
• Lu Feng asked whether Chu Youwei knew about Lin Xiaojin’s death, and Chu Youwei said she had found Xiaojin’s body at the Soy Juice Hall during a thunderstorm.
• Chu Youwei explained that Lin Xiaowan had been living at the hall and was likely hidden in its secret room by Xiaojin before forcing her way out and escaping.
• Chu Youwei said she found Lin Xiaowan wounded and unconscious downstream, with a palm print on her shoulder and a shattered Guanxi Pearl Pendant.
• Chu Youwei revealed that a soul attack had shattered the pendant and damaged Lin Xiaowan’s soul sea, and Lu Feng realized the attacker must have been extraordinarily powerful.

Lu Feng reassured Chu Youwei that the marriage arrangement would only be a pretext to free her from Luo Tianfu, while keeping his impersonation secret so he could enter the Chu Family ancestral hall. Meanwhile, factions gathered at QuFu Mountain, where Pu Hongying tried to unite them into attacking Benevolent Heart Academy’s mountain-protection array.

• Lu Feng told Chu Youwei that Lin Xiaowan had asked him to use the family marriage arrangement to help her escape Luo Tianfu, and Chu Youwei blurted out that she did not want to marry.
• Lu Feng explained that the marriage could remain in name only, promised to respect Chu Youwei’s wishes, and said he would dissolve it once Luo Tianfu stopped pursuing her.
• Chu Youwei asked why Lu Feng had publicly declared that she would be his wife, and he admitted he had said it to persuade the Chu Family Head.
• More than ten factions gathered at QuFu Mountain after Luo Tianci announced the Luo Family’s break with Benevolent Heart Academy, and rumors spread that the mountain’s array could stop Heaven Soul Realm Initial Breath-level opponents.
• Pu Hongying used a Void Stabilizing Shroud and encouraged the factions to unite against the array, planning to sneak around to the rear mountain and create a diversion.
• Tian Lingzi of Exquisite Pavilion deferred to Zhai Kui of the Six Harmonies Sect as the factions assembled at the forefront.