Chapter Summaries

Lu Feng proposed that he and Su Qing'er practice inscription under the Black Ice Cliff’s punishing conditions, then climbed to the sixth level to test whether its cold qi could repair the Turbid Sound Pattern. The sixth level overwhelmed him, and he crawled toward the Qi Wall as his life soul began to freeze.

• Lu Feng showed Su Qing'er how to practice inscription while adapting to the shackles, and she followed his advice by starting with weighted inscription.
• Lu Feng climbed from the second level to the fifth, seeking cold qi intense enough for the Turbid Sound Pattern.
• Lu Feng found Coldwater Crystals beneath a pool and cracked one while trying to pry it loose, then watched his iron rod shatter after he withdrew it.
• Lu Feng entered the sixth level, where the cold qi crushed him to the ground and made his shackles too heavy to move easily.
• Lu Feng tried to crawl back toward the Qi Wall as the cold qi enveloped him and his life soul’s trembling weakened.

Lu Feng survived the Black Ice Cold Qi and met Feng Sen, a powerful old friend of Yu Qinghe who recognized clues to Lu Feng’s origins. Feng Sen explained why he had been recovering in the Eastern Origin Spirit Prison, but their conversation ended when bloody sweat appeared on him.

• A purple light protected Lu Feng’s life soul from the Black Ice Cold Qi, and he regained consciousness on the fourth level as Feng Sen watched over him.
• Feng Sen examined Lu Feng and asked about his mother, age, and eyes, then learned his name and that Yu Qinghe had raised him in the Clear River Sect.
• Lu Feng recognized Feng Sen as the “Mad Monk,” and Feng Sen complained that Yu Qinghe had spoken of him as the “Crazy Monk.”
• Feng Sen told Lu Feng that they were brothers who had faced life and death together, and that he had been ambushed and grievously injured decades earlier.
• Feng Sen explained that he was recovering in the prison with help from a medicinal friend and was waiting for the Withered Sun Pill and Ice Bank Water.
• Lu Feng noticed bloody sweat appearing on Feng Sen and hurriedly called his attention to it.

Lu Feng used cold crystals that Feng Sen retrieved to repair the Turbid Sound Pattern and create a dangerous pseudo-array. After testing it, he realized its Turbid Qi could erode ordinary spiritual qi and potentially kill anyone unable to withstand it.

• Feng Sen gave Lu Feng several cold crystals, injuring his hand as he retrieved them from the pool, and told Lu Feng he would explain his origins once he reached the Heaven Soul Realm.
• Lu Feng discovered that Feng Sen's spiritual qi had made the cold crystals' Turbid Qi even more suitable for repairing the Turbid Sound Pattern.
• Lu Feng carved incomplete patterns into jade, drew Turbid Qi from a cold crystal into them, and guided the resulting lines onto a smooth stone to form a pseudo-array.
• Lu Feng tested the pseudo-array with Jade Shards, and several froze in place as the Turbid Qi eroded their spiritual qi.
• Lu Feng concluded that the Turbid Sound Pattern's true danger lay in its ability to erode ordinary spiritual qi, and he could only stare at the array he had made.

Lu Feng protected Su Qing'er after Yang Lan and two companions drove them from their spot in the confinement area, then fought them using Black Ice Cold Qi. He left the battle badly affected by the cold qi, while Su Qing'er stayed beside him and worried about his recovery.

• Lu Feng set up Qi Walls to isolate the Muddled Sound Array, then returned to the bottom level and learned that Yang Lan and two men had taken Su Qing'er's place.
• Lu Feng confronted Yang Lan, who mocked Su Qing'er and Lu Feng before the three men surrounded him and demanded that he kneel.
• Lu Feng exchanged palms with one attacker and secretly drove condensed Black Ice Cold Qi into the man's arm, freezing his meridians.
• Lu Feng released two Soul Arrays and struck Yang Lan and the remaining man, leaving both unconscious and severely affected by the cold qi.
• Su Qing'er summoned the prison guards to remove Yang Lan's group while Lu Feng tried to control the cold qi invading his body.
• Lu Feng condensed the cold qi in his meridians over three hours, and Su Qing'er stayed beside him and asked whether he was all right.

During their confinement beneath Black Ice Cliff, Lu Feng helped Su Qing'er endure the cold by sharing his methods and treating her injuries, while she grew closer to him. As his punishment ended, he secretly drew her cold qi into himself, leaving Su Qing'er moved and wondering why he treated her so well.

• Lu Feng explained that his palm technique gathered Black Ice Cold Qi and gave Su Qing'er part of the Turbid Sound Pattern to help her endure confinement.
• Lu Feng treated Su Qing'er's injured ankles and wrapped them to keep the shackles from rubbing them raw.
• On the seventh day, Lu Feng explained the levels of Dual Dragon Roaming inscription to Su Qing'er, deepening her interest in the Dao of Arrays.
• As Lu Feng's confinement ended, he held Su Qing'er's hands and drew the cold qi from her body into his own.
• Su Qing'er asked why Lu Feng was so good to her, feeling the door in her heart begin to open.

Lu Feng left Black Ice Cliff after agreeing to visit Su Qing'er’s estate, then learned that Ruo Shui had been poisoned with a Soul Destruction Pill. He confronted Yang Wu, who admitted arranging the poisoning and challenged Lu Feng and his companions to a fight.

• Su Qing'er gave Lu Feng her identity token and asked him to inspect an array at the Su Estate after her confinement ended.
• Tang Yuan and Ye Fan told Lu Feng that Ruo Shui had collapsed after eating a poisoned pastry, and that Ye Fan had sealed her life soul to keep her alive.
• Lu Feng learned that Yang Lan had poisoned Ruo Shui and that Tang Yuan and Yang Lan had both been confined after Tang Yuan attacked him.
• Lu Feng, Tang Yuan, and Ye Fan headed to the Medicine Hall to see Ruo Shui, but Yang Wu stopped them and demanded to know whether Lu Feng had injured Yang Lan.
• Lu Feng set up an Eye-Obscuring Array in a nearby bamboo grove, where Yang Wu admitted arranging Ruo Shui’s poisoning and used a secret technique to raise his power toward the late Core Formation Realm.

Lu Feng, Tang Yuan, and Ye Fan killed Yang Wu and concealed his body, then returned to the Medicine Hall to care for the unconscious Ruo Shui. They discovered that Ruo Shui could absorb the Black Ice Cold Qi from Lu Feng, and she began to wake as it helped clear the poisoned spiritual energy from her body.

• Tang Yuan defeated the poisoned Yang Wu, and Lu Feng killed him before burying his body with Ye Fan’s help.
• Lu Feng, Ye Fan, and Tang Yuan returned to the Medicine Hall and learned that waking Ruo Shui seemed to require a spiritual-energy exchange, rare ingredients, and an Earth Soul Realm medicine master.
• While nourishing Ruo Shui with spiritual energy, Lu Feng felt the Black Ice Cold Qi in his meridians stir and discovered that Ruo Shui was absorbing it.
• Ye Fan guided Ruo Shui’s energy as Lu Feng released the cold qi, gradually improving her complexion and drawing out the spiritual energy poisoned by the Soul Destruction Pill.
• After more than half a day of treatment, Tang Yuan saw Ruo Shui wake up.

After Ruo Shui absorbed Black Ice Cold Qi, her voice returned, the Soul Destruction Pill's poison vanished, and she rapidly advanced into the Chakra Realm. Lu Feng suspected she had the legendary Five Elements Pure Yin Body and decided to contact his mentor through a manual in the Spirit Prison Book Sea, while revealing that he intended to seek mentor authority.

• Ruo Shui woke and spoke after absorbing Black Ice Cold Qi, and Ye Fan urged her to cultivate with the qi to heal her poisoned meridians.
• Ruo Shui refined the cold qi, recovered from the Soul Destruction Pill's poison, and rose to the fifth stage of the Spirit Gathering Realm; after absorbing Lu Feng's remaining cold qi, she reached the second stage of the Chakra Realm.
• Lu Feng and Ye Fan reasoned that Ruo Shui had a special affinity for cold-type spiritual qi, and Lu Feng suspected she possessed the legendary Five Elements Pure Yin Body.
• Lu Feng explained that his mentor managed the Book Sea in the Northern Nether Spirit Prison and that he could contact him through a cultivation manual Lu Feng had written.
• Lu Feng confirmed that he intended to seek mentor authority, surprising Tang Yuan and drawing Ye Fan's interest.

After Mo Decong expelled Lu Feng from Group 715, Lu Feng decided to seek the formation instructor assessment and form his own group. Thunder Fire then detained Lu Feng, Tang Yuan, Ye Fan, and Ruo Shui as suspects in Yang Wu’s murder, leaving Ruo Shui frightened and unsure of what had happened.

• A Master Hall prison disciple delivered the order expelling Lu Feng from Mo Decong’s Group 715, and Lu Feng said he planned to apply to become a formation instructor.
• Lu Feng explained the demanding Array Verification Assessment to Tang Yuan and discussed the difficulty of recruiting students for a Self-Organized Group.
• Thunder Fire arrived and accused Lu Feng and the others of killing Yang Wu, whose Soul Jade had shattered.
• Lu Feng denied the accusation, and Thunder Fire temporarily detained him, Tang Yuan, Ye Fan, and Ruo Shui in a sealed Stone Chamber.
• Ruo Shui, unaware of the others’ plans, feared they might have killed Yang Wu and began to cry silently.

The Martial Spirit Prison envoy Fan Shaobo questioned Lu Feng’s group about Yang Wu’s death, intending to force a confession from them. He tried to make Ye Fan believe Lu Feng had betrayed him, but Ye Fan stayed silent, leaving Fan Shaobo astonished by how much Ye Fan trusted Lu Feng.

• Lu Feng stopped Tang Yuan from telling Ruo Shui the truth about Yang Wu’s death, and Thunder Fire listened from the neighboring chamber.
• Fan Shaobo presented his deductions about Yang Wu’s death to the other envoys, then used Soul Jade Corpse-Seeking on Lu Feng’s group, but it showed no reaction.
• Fan Shaobo separated Lu Feng, Tang Yuan, Ye Fan, and Ruo Shui for questioning, then unexpectedly chose to interrogate Ye Fan instead of Lu Feng.
• Fan Shaobo claimed Lu Feng had confessed and blamed Ye Fan, then described a supposed plot in which Ye Fan, Lu Feng, and Tang Yuan killed Yang Wu.
• Ye Fan rejected Fan Shaobo’s accusations despite being shaken by the details, and Fan Shaobo realized Ye Fan trusted Lu Feng too much to be deceived.

Fan Shaobo tricked Tang Yuan into revealing that Yang Wu’s body was buried in the bamboo grove, then confronted Lu Feng, who challenged the Spirit Prison’s rules and its past failure to protect Zhou Yafu. The corpse was not found, and Fan Shaobo let Lu Feng leave as the elders reassured him that a prison envoy needed independent judgment.

• Fan Shaobo persuaded Tang Yuan that Lu Feng and Ye Fan had confessed, and Tang Yuan blurted out that he had killed Yang Wu and buried the body in the bamboo grove.
• Fan Shaobo discovered that the notebook he had used to deceive Tang Yuan was blank, then sent officers to find the corpse and went to question Lu Feng.
• Lu Feng revealed that he had anticipated someone would confess for brotherhood and criticized the Spirit Prison for failing to protect Zhou Yafu and his clan.
• Prison officers reported that Yang Wu’s corpse was not in the bamboo grove, and Fan Shaobo let Lu Feng leave while warning him not to kill an innocent person.
• Wei Xuancheng and Guan Yiwu told Fan Shaobo that his hesitation showed he was fit to become a prison envoy, and Wei Xuancheng said Yang Wu’s family could settle matters themselves.

After Tang Yuan learned that Lu Feng had hidden Yang Wu’s body and cleared him of suspicion, Lu Feng sought to become a formation instructor through Formation Verification. Qiao Xuan guaranteed the costly assessment, and the chapter ended with Ye Fan considering an apothecary assessment of his own.

• Lu Feng, Ye Fan, and Ruo Shui reassured Tang Yuan that the authorities had found no evidence against him because Yang Wu’s body was not buried in the bamboo grove.
• Fan Shaobo left the Civil Spirit Prison with Wei Xuancheng, while Qiao Xuan remained behind to speak with Lu Feng about his plans.
• Lu Feng asked Qiao Xuan to introduce him for Formation Verification, and Qiao Xuan agreed after seeing Lu Feng’s restored Turbid Sound Pattern.
• Lu Feng told Qiao Xuan that an uncontrollable Pseudo Turbid Sound Array remained at Black Ice Cliff, and Qiao Xuan said he would inspect it personally.
• Qiao Xuan guaranteed one hundred thousand Spirit Merit so Lu Feng could register for Formation Verification, and Lu Feng returned to wait with Tang Yuan, Ye Fan, and Ruo Shui.
• Tang Yuan said he and the others would leave Mo Decong’s group once Lu Feng became an instructor, while Ye Fan said he might pursue the apothecary assessment through Pill Verification.

Lu Feng learned that his Array Verification instructor assessment would take place at Number Three Plaza before a large audience, then used Illusion Heart Pills to investigate the secret of his eyes. He awakened the Purple Eyes, which let him see spiritual energy and array connections, but their use caused severe pain to his consciousness.

• Qiao Xuan told Qiao Mumu and Qu Jiaojiao that Lu Feng had registered for Array Verification, while Xiang Tianming's group discussed the assessment and planned to have Gu Wuyan's maternal uncle become an examiner.
• The Master Hall scheduled Lu Feng's assessment for three days later at Number Three Plaza, and Qiao Mumu gave him records of potential examiners that Lu Feng said would not help much.
• Lu Feng asked Qiao Mumu for Illusion Heart Grass, accepted her Illusion Heart Pills, and returned to the Spirit Residence to test whether his eyes were connected to the clarity he had experienced in past dangers.
• Lu Feng took increasing doses of Illusion Heart Pills until a purple light flashed from his life soul's eyes and dispelled the illusion.
• Lu Feng activated his Purple Eyes to see spiritual energy and the Vein Connections in his Heart-Calming Formation, but the resulting pain forced him to stop experimenting.

Lu Feng faced a public Formation Verification Assessment at Eastern Origin Spirit Prison, where the crowd doubted his ability because of his youth. The first test began with an obscure question about the Nine Turns White Banners Array, and Lu Feng began explaining its history while warning Yan Qin to listen carefully.

• Lu Feng arrived at the packed plaza with Qiao Xuan as prison disciples, instructors, and visiting formation masters gathered to watch his assessment.
• Ji Tong and spectators questioned Lu Feng's qualifications, while Qiao Xuan defended him and said he had staked a hundred thousand Spirit Merit on Lu Feng.
• Spirit Void Sword Saint introduced the ten-round assessment, and Earth Grade instructor Yan Qin began the first round by testing Lu Feng's formation knowledge.
• Yan Qin asked for the minimum number of flags needed for the Nine Turns White Banners Array, a question that Qiao Xuan and other spectators could not answer.
• Lu Feng described the array's origins and workings, then told Yan Qin not to be impatient because he might not understand the explanation.

Lu Feng impressed Yan Qin by answering questions about the White Banner Array and how to counter the Five Ghosts Soul Array. Yan Qin acknowledged Lu Feng’s expertise and announced three final questions to decide whether he would pass the mentor examination.

• Lu Feng explained the White Banner Array’s five improvements and gave eighteen as its minimum number of flags, prompting Yan Qin to accept his answer.
• Yan Qin posed a question about countering the Five Ghosts Soul Array, and Lu Feng identified the Sky Clarity Cloud Sanskrit Array as its counter from within.
• After Yan Qin asked how to break the array from outside, Lu Feng proposed using the Nine Ghosts Soul Snatching Array.
• Yan Qin praised Lu Feng’s knowledge and said he would ask three final questions, while the audience reacted with shock and suspicion.

Lu Feng impressed the array masters by answering Yan Qin’s questions and identifying Gu Mohu’s drum array, passing both rounds of the instructor assessment. His display deepened Xiang Tianming’s and Chai Tong’s concern, while Xiang Tianming and Jia Tingxi began considering underhanded ways to deal with him.

• Lu Feng explained how Heart Soothing Water Jade and Black Flame Fire Jade could be connected, earning Yan Qin’s respect and prompting Yan Qin to warn the young disciples not to attempt the method prematurely.
• Yan Qin asked Lu Feng about Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea, then praised him and stayed to watch the next assessment round.
• Gu Mohu presented a drum array and challenged Lu Feng to identify it, but Lu Feng recognized its components and corrected Gu Mohu’s mistaken identification.
• Gu Mohu admitted his error and asked Lu Feng to explain the true Soul Sound Sky Drum Array, which Lu Feng described in detail.
• Xiang Tianming told Jia Tingxi that Lu Feng would be difficult to challenge openly, and they agreed to plan underhanded measures.
• Chai Tong watched Lu Feng’s performance and worried that Su Qing'er might favor him, while Qu Jiaojiao wondered whether Nan Qiu Ge could answer the same questions.

Lu Feng faced Zhuge Qingfeng’s assessment, a fused Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams formation that the examiners expected to take hours to solve. After studying it with arrows, Lu Feng announced that he had already discovered how to break it.

• Gu Mohu recognized Lu Feng’s knowledge of the Soul Sound Sky Drum Array and eagerly arranged to discuss it after the assessment, but Zhuge Qingfeng arrived to set the next test.
• Zhuge Qingfeng challenged Lu Feng to explain how to respond to his fused Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams formation, and Lu Feng used four arrows to probe its structure.
• Qiao Xuan explained the formation’s complexity to Qiao Mumu as spectators doubted Lu Feng could solve it within the allotted time.
• Zhuge Qingfeng granted Lu Feng two hours, and Ran Nanfeng agreed to let Lu Feng’s result count for his own upcoming assessment.
• Before the Spirit Void Deputy Prison Master returned to his seat, Lu Feng declared that he had already found the method to break the formation.

Lu Feng easily broke Zhuge Qingfeng’s Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Array, explained his method, and inspired Zhuge Qingfeng to pursue a more powerful design. He then accepted five simultaneous Formation Verifications from Array Association examiners and noticed that Vice President Qin had a hidden ailment, before beginning to examine the examiners’ arrays.

• Lu Feng explained the Taiyi Nine Palaces Movement and used it to break Zhuge Qingfeng’s array, impressing the assembled array masters.
• Lu Feng described how the Innate Eight Trigrams could strengthen the array, prompting Zhuge Qingfeng and Ran Nanfeng to leave and investigate the idea.
• Lu Feng invited the five visiting Array Association examiners to assess him at once, and they set five different arrays simultaneously.
• Lu Feng told Vice President Qin that she had a hidden ailment, shocking her and making the other examiners suspicious.
• Lu Feng examined Xie Yuan’s beast array and recognized that his strength-focused training had left him suited to arrays that relied on forceful inscription.

Lu Feng exposed the flaws in Xie Yuan’s beast array and identified Qu Yanfu’s Nine Twists Lotus Array as an illusion array with a breakable method. He left Qu Yanfu agreeing to pay three Origin Stones if he proved he could complete her engraving technique and make the Lotus Array flawless.

• Lu Feng recognized that Xie Yuan’s Striking Frenzied Lion was not fully tamed and that Beast Suppression Runes controlled it, then identified the beast array’s technique and hidden killing move.
• Xie Yuan withdrew the array and explained its concealed killing move to Qu Yanfu, who insisted her own array would stump Lu Feng.
• Lu Feng told Qu Yanfu that her Nine Twists Lotus Array was an illusion array and could not trap a Five Elements Realm cultivator if its method of breaking became known.
• Lu Feng described Qu Yanfu’s array-making technique and revealed that her Flower Plucking Hand Technique was incomplete.
• Lu Feng offered to teach Qu Yanfu the missing paths and provide a flawless Lotus Array in exchange for three Origin Stones, and Qu Yanfu agreed if his claims proved true.

Lu Feng explained how to perfect Qu Yanfu’s Lotus Array, diagnosed Qin Su’s array-induced ailment, and identified the hidden danger in Lan Yin’s restorative array. He then faced Yuan En’s assessment, admitting he had seen less than sixty percent of the grandmaster’s swift array-setting technique.

• Lu Feng explained how to disrupt Qu Yanfu’s Lotus Array and described how replacing its jade stones could make it perfect; Qu Yanfu promised to deliver three source stones to his academy.
• Lu Feng diagnosed Qin Su’s hidden ailment as the result of an imbalance and fiery energy caused by her Array Dao cultivation, then gave her a risky treatment method on a jade slip in exchange for source stones.
• Lu Feng recognized Lan Yin’s Withered Wood Weeping Tears Array as both restorative and deadly, and Lan Yin invited him to visit the Azure Sky Array Association.
• Spirit Void Sword Saint ordered a prison attendant to invite Hall Master Nangong after he and An Xianglian decided Lu Feng deserved an exception to become an instructor.
• Yuan En asked Lu Feng what he had seen of his array-setting, and Lu Feng said he had caught less than sixty percent, including thirteen Skill Inscriptions.