Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi used his spectrum chart to attempt refining Spirit Derivation Pills, but repeated failures left him exhausted and nearly out of fruits. Qiu Wa intervened with a Black Origin Bead, stabilizing the furnace briefly, and Xu Yi asked how she had discovered its use.

• Desolate Ancestor gave Xu Yi sixty-three Spirit Derivation Fruits and warned that more would be difficult to obtain for months.
• Xu Yi spent forty-seven days condensing his spectrum chart into a single sheet to guide the pill-refining process.
• After restoring himself, Xu Yi began refining Spirit Derivation Pills and used nearly half the fruits without success.
• Qiu Wa emerged from the Starry Sky Ring and tossed a Black Origin Bead into the furnace, briefly stabilizing its chaotic airflow.
• Xu Yi's attempt failed again, and he asked Qiu Wa how she had learned that the Black Origin Bead could be used that way.

Xu Yi used Black Origin Beads to successfully refine five Spirit Derivation Pills, then rested for thirteen days before taking one to form a spirit root. As the pill pulled his flame-bathed soul toward a mist, a red glow appeared above it.

• Qiu Wa interrupted Xu Yi’s failed pill refining and explained that the Black Origin Bead had helped sustain the process.
• Xu Yi recognized the bead’s value, refined a Spirit Derivation Pill, and recorded the process with Ruyi Pearls.
• Xu Yi used six more Black Origin Beads to make four additional Spirit Derivation Pills and prepared five for forming his spirit root.
• Xu Yi rested for thirteen days, then swallowed a Spirit Derivation Pill in the refining room.
• The pill’s mist pulled at Xu Yi’s flame-bathed soul until a red glow appeared above its head.

Xu Yi completed the formation of his spirit root after consuming his last Spirit Derivation Pill, advancing to the spirit-root stage and recovering his perception. He learned that an old acquaintance had arrived at Guanglong Hall with news of Yan Zi, and hurried to meet him.

• Xu Yi used Spirit Derivation Pills to grow his spirit root into a towering tree before it finally connected with his soul and entered his Soul Body.
• Xu Yi opened his eyes as his aura harmonized with the world, marking his breakthrough from the twelfth layer of Spirit Nurturing to the spirit-root stage.
• Xu Yi discovered that his Exotic Soul had restored his perception, which reached a range of a thousand zhang.
• Desolate Ancestor told Xu Yi that an old acquaintance had arrived with news of Miss Yan and had been waiting nearly a month.
• Xu Yi hurried with Desolate Ancestor toward the front courtyard to meet the visitor.

Xu Yi reunited with Great Elder Su, who described how fellow countrymen had fared after arriving in the cultivation world and revealed that Yan Zi’s fortunes had collapsed. The chapter ended with Xu Yi learning that Yan Zi had been taken into the residence of Thousand Illusions Sect elder Feng Biao.

• Xu Yi welcomed Great Elder Su and learned that he worked as a menial in the Thousand Illusions Sect, where Yan Zi had helped him.
• Elder Su explained that many arrivals without Ascension Tokens had died or lost their freedom, while sects prized World Children who had obtained tokens.
• Xu Yi invited Elder Su to stay at Guanglong Hall, and Elder Su gratefully accepted.
• Elder Su told Xu Yi that Yan Zi had once been highly favored and quickly reached Spirit Nurturing Great Perfection, but a reckless breakthrough ruined her cultivation.
• Elder Su revealed that Yan Zi had been demoted to menial work and, just last month, taken into the residence of Thousand Illusions Sect elder Feng Biao.

Xu Yi learned that Yan Zi was in Feng Biao’s custody and went to meet the Thousand Illusions Sect elder at Peach Blossom Domain. There, Feng Biao revealed that he had lured Xu Yi into a gathering of old acquaintances, including Elder Su, who betrayed him.

• Desolate Ancestor told Xu Yi that Feng Biao was in Qingxing City and that Elder Su had joined his household to watch over Yan Zi.
• Elder Su showed Xu Yi an image of Yan Zi and warned him that Feng Biao would soon leave the city.
• Xu Yi asked Desolate Ancestor to invite Feng Biao to a feast, then went to meet him at Peach Blossom Domain.
• Feng Biao revealed that several of Xu Yi’s old acquaintances were waiting aboard his pleasure boat.
• Xu Yi recognized Elder Su among the gathered guests, and Elder Su accused him of hoarding Ascension Tokens and cutting off others’ chances to advance.

The Third Holy Son lured Xu Yi into a trap with a group of men seeking revenge, but Xu Yi revealed overwhelming power and defeated both him and Feng Biao. After the fight, Xu Yi realized his ultimate Hun Tian Sword had activated a fourth Domain Source.

• The Third Holy Son revealed that he had manipulated Elder Su and used Yan Zi to lure Xu Yi into the trap.
• The Third Holy Son said he planned to marry Yan Zi and spoke of her as a furnace, prompting Xu Yi to attack him and pin him to the ground.
• Feng Biao attacked Xu Yi, but Xu Yi caught and dispelled his energy strike, revealing that he had reached the Spiritual Root Stage.
• Feng Biao tried to flee, but Xu Yi trapped him with a light net and slammed him onto the deck.
• Xu Yi recognized that his ultimate Hun Tian Sword had activated a fourth Domain Source and recalled how the mutated Black Origin Bead had inspired him.

Xu Yi used his newly strengthened spiritual power to unleash all four Domain Sources and defeat Feng Biao, then dealt with the conspirators who had targeted him and Yan Zi. He killed Elder Su and the Third Holy Son, leaving the remaining captives begging for restrictions and answering his questions about the Saint Clan.

• Xu Yi unleashed all four Domain Sources of the Hun Tian Sword and knocked Feng Biao onto the deck, then returned to the feast.
• Xu Yi exposed the attempted use of a Ruyi Pearl and heard Feng Biao and the others plead for mercy.
• Elder Su confessed, revealed Yan Zi was safe, and killed himself, but Xu Yi destroyed his remnant soul.
• Xu Yi placed an Origin Seal Bead restriction on the Third Holy Son and asked about the Saint Clan.
• The Third Holy Son said the Saint Clan had gained an immense opportunity but could not reveal more, so Xu Yi activated the restriction and killed him in agony.

Xu Yi killed the Third Holy Son’s remaining allies and contacted Yan Zi through Feng Biao. Yan Zi refused to reunite with him for now, choosing to remain with the Thousand Illusions Sect and pursue her own cultivation.

• Xu Yi killed Lei Qianxiao, Zuo Feng, and the others who tried to fight, then killed the three remaining people on the deck.
• Xu Yi questioned Feng Biao about Yan Zi, and Feng Biao said she was safe and highly valued in the Thousand Illusions Sect.
• Xu Yi had Feng Biao contact the sect and send a message to Yan Zi mentioning A Li.
• Yan Zi spoke with Xu Yi through the Ruyi Pearl, and she and Qiu Wa joyfully greeted each other.
• Yan Zi told Xu Yi she wanted to continue cultivating on her own in the Thousand Illusions Sect, and Xu Yi agreed to let her stay.
• Qiu Wa pouted over Yan Zi’s decision and zipped into the Starry Sky Ring.

Xu Yi escaped the Third Holy Son’s trap, revealed that he had reached the Spiritual Root stage, and returned to the Xuanqing Sect to claim the privileges of an elder. A bell summoned the sect’s leaders and disciples, where he encountered Jun Wuxie being congratulated.

• Xu Yi spared Feng Biao, warned him about the restriction in his body, and arranged for discreet contact with the Thousand Illusions Sect.
• Xu Yi told Desolate Ancestor that the Third Holy Son had set a trap in Qingxing City and revealed his breakthrough to the Spiritual Root stage.
• Xu Yi left Guanglong Hall in Desolate Ancestor’s care and traveled by teleportation array to Gubei City.
• Xu Yi entered the Xuanqing Sect, passed Meng Fu’s cave, and returned to his own mountain before hearing that True Man Scarlet Fire had summoned him.
• A bell drew Xu Yi to a gathering of elders and Inner Sect Disciples, where Jun Wuxie greeted him as the crowd congratulated him.

Xu Yi returned to the Xuanqing Sect and found Jun Wuxie celebrating his breakthrough to the Spiritual Root stage. Jun Wuxie publicly challenged Xu Yi and True Man Scarlet Fire, then proposed forging a Dao bond with Xu Yi.

• Jun Wuxie greeted Xu Yi excitedly, but Xu Yi ignored him and asked why their meeting had been moved from the Law Enforcement Hall.
• True Man Scarlet Fire explained that Jun Wuxie had reached the Spiritual Root stage, and Xu Yi asked where he had obtained his Spirit Derivation Pill.
• Jun Wuxie revealed that he had promised another faction ten years of service for the pill and demanded that Xu Yi address him as Uncle Jun.
• Xu Yi tried to leave and discuss business elsewhere, but Jun Wuxie accused him of violating sect rules, while True Man Scarlet Fire told Jun Wuxie to stabilize his cultivation.
• Jun Wuxie publicly rebuked True Man Scarlet Fire and, after dismissing him, challenged Xu Yi to forge a Dao bond.

Xu Yi returned to the sect, revealed that he had reached the Spiritual Root realm, and effortlessly beat Jun Wuxie after Jun Wuxie provoked him. When Xu Yi learned Sect Leader Hongyi was in seclusion, he turned to True Man Scarlet Fire for guidance and invoked Guanglong Hall’s poor business to keep him from leaving.

• Jun Wuxie proposed forming a Dao bond with Xu Yi and threatened to visit Guanglong Hall, prompting Xu Yi to attack him.
• Xu Yi shattered Jun Wuxie’s energy orb, seized him, and beat him into a mangled lump while the hall watched.
• True Man Scarlet Fire learned that Xu Yi had reached Spiritual Root Layer One, and the elders abandoned plans to control him.
• Xu Yi asked True Man Scarlet Fire to arrange a meeting with Sect Leader Hongyi, but learned the sect leader would remain in seclusion for three to six months.
• Xu Yi asked True Man Scarlet Fire for guidance and said Guanglong Hall’s business had fallen sharply, stopping him as he tried to leave.

Xu Yi persuaded True Man Scarlet Fire to explain the Spiritual Root stage and the hidden apertures needed to advance. After learning that reaching Spiritual Root Layer Two required vast quantities of Origin Pills, Xu Yi asked to test Scarlet Fire's defenses, and Scarlet Fire invited him to strike.

• Xu Yi reminded True Man Scarlet Fire of Guanglong Hall's generous contributions, easing Scarlet Fire's anger and persuading him to stay.
• Xu Yi gave Scarlet Fire a Tong Gan Pill, and they sat in a pavilion to discuss Spiritual Root cultivation.
• True Man Scarlet Fire explained that opening all one hundred and eight hidden apertures advanced a cultivator from Spiritual Root Layer One to Layer Two and greatly strengthened their defenses.
• Xu Yi connected the hidden apertures to his earlier cultivation of the Three Dragon Gates and wondered whether opening them would help him unlock the third Dragon Gate.
• True Man Scarlet Fire said he had reached Spiritual Root Layer Two after more than twenty years and explained that the breakthrough required hundreds of thousands of Origin Pills.
• Xu Yi said he wanted to test the defenses of a Layer Two cultivator, and True Man Scarlet Fire stood ready for him to try.

Xu Yi learned about the cultivation stages beyond Spiritual Root Layer Two and refused to give up Guanglong Hall. When the Grievance Drum sounded, True Man Scarlet Fire realized Xu Yi was fleeing with Jun Wuxie, the likely complainant.

• Xu Yi tested an energy attack on True Man Scarlet Fire, destroying the pavilion and alarming him with its four Domain Sources.
• True Man Scarlet Fire explained that forming a Mystic Palace would bring Xu Yi to Spiritual Root Layer Three, followed by cultivating a Spirit Soul and reaching the Calamity Tribulation Stage.
• Xu Yi asked for access to the sect’s advanced techniques, and True Man Scarlet Fire advised him to study Pill Arts and step down as head of Guanglong Hall.
• Xu Yi refused to leave Guanglong Hall, joking that the elders could reduce his share of its profits if they thought he worked too hard.
• The Grievance Drum sounded at the Law Enforcement Hall, and Xu Yi vanished before True Man Scarlet Fire arrived.
• True Man Scarlet Fire saw Xu Yi fleeing with Jun Wuxie under his arm and suspected Jun Wuxie had struck the drum.

Jun Wuxie returned after Xu Yi disappeared and claimed he had struck the Grievance Drum by mistake, then fiercely defended Xu Yi from the elders who hoped to use the complaint to seize Guanglong Hall. Terrified by the Origin Seal Bead’s punishment, Jun Wuxie tried to appease Xu Yi by turning the crowd against itself.

• True Man Scarlet Fire tried to explain the Grievance Drum’s summons as elders and Inner Sect Disciples gathered, but Xu Yi was nowhere to be seen.
• Jun Wuxie returned, apologized for striking the drum, and asked Head Seat Fan to punish him for causing a disturbance.
• Elder Song urged Jun Wuxie to accuse Xu Yi, and the gathered elders joined in, hoping to bring down Xu Yi and take control of Guanglong Hall.
• Jun Wuxie wept and denounced the elders for exploiting his complaint out of jealousy and greed, while they wondered why he was defending Xu Yi.
• Jun Wuxie recalled the torment caused by the Origin Seal Bead and hoped his attack on the elders would earn him credit from Xu Yi.

Xu Yi studied the Hidden Scripture and rapidly opened hidden apertures, but had to temper his body with Origin Pills before he could continue. After opening twenty-six apertures over nearly two months, he received notice to travel to Bo Tan City for the Golden Core Academy.

• Xu Yi returned to Guanglong Hall, studied three mathematical cultivation techniques, and began a period of seclusion with Desolate Ancestor's help.
• Xu Yi practiced the Hidden Scripture and opened thirteen hidden apertures in a breath, but intense pain forced him to stop and take Origin Pills.
• Xu Yi swallowed Origin Pills in large batches until he reached his daily limit, then spent nearly twenty days consuming more than ten thousand pills to catch up his body tempering.
• Xu Yi resumed cultivating and opened seven hidden apertures at a time, eventually reaching a total of twenty-six over nearly two months.
• Xu Yi received a message ordering him to reach Bo Tan City within seven days for the Golden Core Academy's opening, and Kong Qi told him to follow the badge's instructions.

Xu Yi prepared to leave Guanglong Hall, promoted Desolate Ancestor to the spiritual-root stage, and arranged for him to manage the hall in his absence. Xu Yi then traveled to Qingxing City and followed a Golden Core Society contact toward an undisclosed destination.

• Xu Yi told Desolate Ancestor he was leaving and instructed him to guard Guanglong Hall, then promised to help him form a spiritual root.
• Desolate Ancestor swore loyalty to Xu Yi, formed his spiritual root, and received a cultivation method and orders to manage the hall.
• Desolate Ancestor gave Xu Yi two storage rings filled with Origin Pills and alchemy materials, and Xu Yi told him to conceal his departure and search for news of Yin Qiu.
• Xu Yi traveled under a hood to a merchant association in Qingxing City and later met a black-clad man at Jingxuan teahouse.
• The black-clad man led Xu Yi to a private room and returned at midnight; Xu Yi sensed danger when the door opened, then followed the man onward.

Xu Yi and the other chosen students traveled beyond Wufeng Country to Golden Core Academy, where they learned their Starry Sky Rings were sealed. The academy warned them that they were now only students, bound by a life-and-death pledge, and could leave if they regretted coming.

• Xu Yi entered the residence, showed his Golden Core Society badge, and joined the gathered candidates.
• A black-clad man used four powerful Spirit Stones and over a hundred jade tablets to transport the candidates beyond Wufeng Country.
• Xu Yi arrived on a freezing hillside among nearly a thousand people and discovered his Starry Sky Ring could not be opened.
• A distant voice explained that outside spatial treasures were sealed and that the academy would provide storage rings.
• The voice silenced the students, declared that they had only the identity of students and that the academy bore no responsibility for their deaths, then offered them a chance to leave.

Xu Yi and the other recruits received rules restricting them to a cold basin where they would help build the Southern Academy. After a night of flute music and conversation was interrupted by strange howls and attacks on the barrier, the recruits suspected they had been brought to the Savage Wilderness Realm.

• A voice announced that the recruits would receive Golden Core badges and storage bracelets, then issued orders for them to obey and work together.
• Xu Yi read the badge's rules and learned that the three thousand recruits from seventeen southern countries had to remain in the basin and follow supervisors' instructions while building the academy.
• The recruits endured a cold night without shelter, gathering around bonfires as a woman played a jade flute and the crowd began to socialize.
• Howls and flashes of light around the basin's defensive barrier extinguished the bonfires and left the recruits wary of the unknown creatures outside.
• A round-faced Fat man and other recruits concluded that they were in the Savage Wilderness Realm and grew excited about exploring its untouched lands.

Xu Yi and the other students were ordered to quarry and haul boulders without spiritual power, weapons, food, or drink, turning their arrival in the Savage Wilderness Realm into a grueling physical trial. Xu Yi endured until the fifth afternoon before stopping, and on the seventh day the black-clad old man returned with a group of figures.

• The gaunt old man ordered the students to quarry boulders weighing at least three thousand pounds and carry them to designated locations without spiritual power or weapons.
• A student demonstrated how to break off and haul a boulder, prompting Xu Yi and the others to begin the work.
• The students labored continuously through extreme heat and cold without food or drink, and after three days many collapsed from exhaustion.
• Xu Yi kept working, quietly controlling his pace and staying among the strongest laborers without becoming the top performer.
• Xu Yi stopped on the afternoon of the fifth day, after most Spiritual Root Layer One students and many Layer Two students had already given up.
• On the afternoon of the seventh day, the black-clad old man returned with a large group of black-clad figures.

Xu Yi exchanged his points for supplies and found the cramped cave where he and four other students had been assigned beds. The academy then ordered their group to elect a head of the quarters, who would lead them on a seven-day mission to gather Orchid Grass.

• The old man in black and the men in black built a complex of buildings across the basin, then the academy revealed its map and students rushed to the Exchange Hall.
• Xu Yi spent his seventy points on seven days of food, one Ruyi Pearl, and five thousand Origin Pills.
• The academy assigned Xu Yi a bed in a cramped cave shared with four other students and forbade them from leaving during rest hours.
• The five students received a message ordering them to choose a head of the quarters to lead their defenses and gather Orchid Grass for seven days.