Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi traveled to Huangdang Sand Dune to attempt his breakthrough to Yin Venerable and prepare to kill the Netherworld Divine General if it appeared. After buying supplies from local merchants, he reached the dune’s scorching core and concealed himself in a sandstorm.

• Xu Yi chose Huangdang Sand Dune for his breakthrough because it was remote, vast, and rarely used, and resolved to kill the Netherworld Divine General if it appeared.
• Xu Yi disguised himself when Mechanical Birds approached and learned that local merchant groups sold supplies to cultivators attempting breakthroughs.
• Xu Yi bought a Mad Sand Array, two Water-Cleansing Beads, and a map after refusing offers of other goods and hired guards.
• Xu Yi flew east into the dune’s extreme heat, used a Water-Cleansing Bead, and landed at the core.
• Xu Yi activated the Mad Sand Array, raising a sandstorm around himself as his soul garment protected him.

Xu Yi attempted the Yin Venerable breakthrough at Huangdang Sand Dune, where his Earth Soul appeared unusually solid and the Netherworld Divine General confronted him. After Xu Yi captured the Divine General and absorbed his Earth Soul, his Yin Soul struggled to subdue it as the Yin Tribulation gathered overhead.

• Xu Yi used the Earth Soul Talisman, but his Earth Soul did not appear at first, puzzling the onlookers.
• A darkening sky and gale heralded the arrival of Xu Yi’s solid, pale Earth Soul and the Netherworld Divine General.
• Xu Yi used his Soul-Summoning Banner and Soul-Binding Technique to capture the Netherworld Divine General, then gathered the fallen items and absorbed the Earth Soul.
• Xu Yi’s Yin Soul attacked the Earth Soul on his spiritual platform as red and black threads bound them together, and Xu Yi screamed while his body rapidly expanded.
• Dark clouds gathered low over the sand formation as the onlookers sensed Xu Yi’s struggle and the approaching Yin Tribulation.

Xu Yi endured the Major Yin Tribulation as his Yin Soul and Earth Soul merged, relying on the Great Evolution Array of Rotation and his body-tempering art to survive the lightning. After the clouds cleared, he lay gravely wounded beneath the sand as cultivators rushed toward the impact site.

• Xu Yi activated the Great Evolution Array of Rotation while his Yin Soul and Earth Soul fought and merged inside his spirit platform.
• The Major Yin Tribulation struck Huangdang Sand Dune, and the array repelled eighteen lightning bolts before shattering.
• The Third Elder learned that Zhou Zongshi's jade tablet had gone dim and flew from Mount Cang.
• Xu Yi's newly merged soul was jolted by the lightning, but he burrowed beneath the sand and used the Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art to withstand further strikes.
• The tribulation ended with Xu Yi motionless and badly mangled beneath more than ten zhang of sand, while over a hundred cultivators raced toward the site.

Xu Yi survived the Yin Tribulation and fused his True Soul with his Earth Soul, then recovered and tempered his True Soul in his Qi Sea. The Zhou Family's Third Elder found Zhou Zongshi's body and learned that Zhou Zongshi had impersonated a Netherworld Divine General to attack Xu Yi.

• Xu Yi escaped the sand pit, healed completely in a Jade Wave Pool, and flew to a secluded mountain chamber to recover.
• Xu Yi guided his True Soul into his Qi Sea, where it mastered the sea of fire and endured three days of tempering.
• The Zhou Family's Third Elder found Zhou Zongshi's body and captured the True Soul inside the Soul Collecting Bottle.
• The Zhou Family's Third Elder tortured the True Soul until it revealed that Zhou Zongshi had planned to kill Xu Yi before he reached the Yin Venerable stage.
• The True Soul explained that Zhou Zongshi had captured the serving Netherworld Divine General, taken his regalia and the Immortal Slaying Spear, and attacked Xu Yi at Huangdang Sand Dune.

After Zhou Zongshi died at Xu Yi’s hands, the Zhou Family’s Third Elder tracked Xu Yi and set out to ambush him, while the Imperial Guard Bureau investigated the Netherworld Divine General’s death. Xu Yi awoke healed in the Yin Venerable realm and discovered his perception had greatly expanded.

• The Zhou Family’s Third Elder destroyed the Netherworld Divine General’s true soul and used an array disk to locate Xu Yi.
• A lean, three-star Imperial Guard Bureau official found the Netherworld Divine General’s remains and used the Machine-Locking Incense Box to collect scents near the cavern.
• The Zhou Family’s Third Elder followed Xu Yi’s location with a Ghost Worm and hurried toward his hiding place, hoping to recover the family’s secret treasures and strike while Xu Yi was injured.
• The Zhou Family’s Third Elder saw Xu Yi’s marker disappear from the Jade Array Disk and realized Xu Yi had escaped after killing the Ghost Worm.
• Xu Yi awoke in the stone chamber healed from his injuries and found that his perception radius had expanded to five hundred zhang.

Xu Yi escaped the Ghost Worm and realized it was tied to an attempt on his life involving the Netherworld Divine General. After learning the general had been murdered near Immortal Martial Cliff, he suspected Zhou Zongshi and flew toward Cold Sun Peak.

• Xu Yi destroyed the Ghost Worm with his True Fire Malice, then fled into the mountains and hid beneath a river’s current.
• Xu Yi connected the Ghost Worm to the Netherworld Divine General’s attempt to kill him during his breakthrough.
• Xu Yi reasoned that Elder Qin’s backing and the approaching imperial examinations would help him weather suspicion over the general’s death.
• Steward Fang told Xu Yi that the Netherworld Divine General sent to Huangdang Sand Dune had been found murdered near Immortal Martial Cliff.
• Xu Yi suspected Zhou Zongshi had impersonated the general and immediately flew toward Cold Sun Peak.

Xu Yi rushed to Immortal Martial Cliff just before the deadline to join the Special Imperial Examination’s formation drill. After registering, he entered the training ground and was overwhelmed by a brutal assault from the instructor he suspected was Deng Blackface.

• Old Cai told Xu Yi that he had to reach Immortal Martial Cliff that day or lose his place in the Special Imperial Examination.
• Xu Yi hurried to Immortal Martial Cliff, where a clerk warned him about Deng Blackface and advised him to remove his Body Concealing Pill.
• Xu Yi restored his original appearance, registered for the drill, and received a yellow jade tablet for the training and his upcoming trip to Jiannan Road’s provincial seat.
• Xu Yi entered the training ground and recognized Gong Xiuhua among the candidates practicing with black spheres.
• An unseen attacker struck Xu Yi repeatedly; Xu Yi suspected Deng Blackface, but even his Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art could not stop the beating.

Xu Yi endured Deng Blackface’s beating and then demonstrated exceptional control of two Heavy Beads, astonishing the other trainees. He remained composed in the field long after everyone else had finished or failed, leaving the trainees silently watching to see how long he could continue.

• Deng Blackface battered Xu Yi with over a hundred blows before calling off the exhausted assault and ordering him to control two Heavy Beads for an hour.
• Xu Yi used two threads of thought to move both Heavy Beads into position before his brow, impressing the trainees with his control.
• Xu Yi grew absorbed in moving the beads while Deng Blackface gave extra training time to those who had dropped theirs.
• As the others finished or failed, Xu Yi continued holding the beads without showing strain, and the trainees gathered in silence to watch him.

Deng Blackface stopped Zhou Kun from questioning Xu Yi about the murdered Netherworld General and claimed he had witnessed Xu Yi’s breakthrough. After testing Xu Yi’s soul sense, Deng recognized his strength and urged him to compete for a top-three finish in the imperial exam.

• Deng Blackface silenced Zhou Kun and made him wait until the departments closed before allowing him to question Xu Yi.
• Zhou Kun identified himself as an Imperial Guard Department officer investigating the Netherworld General’s murder, but Deng dismissed the inquiry and claimed he had protected Xu Yi during his breakthrough.
• Zhou Kun left without questioning Xu Yi, and Xu Yi thanked Deng for shielding him from trouble.
• Deng suspected Xu Yi had revealed the strength of his true soul and challenged him to a soul-sense test, where Xu Yi’s soul sense survived Deng’s interception and struck the drum.
• Deng admitted he had protected Xu Yi because he saw potential in him and urged him to train for a top-three finish in the imperial exam.

Deng Blackface agreed to mentor Xu Yi in exchange for Xu Yi placing in the top three, then explained how intent, soul thoughts, divided souls, and true souls worked. He demonstrated precise control over true fiend energy but said his technique could not help Xu Yi, leaving Xu Yi to pursue cultivation on his own.

• Deng Blackface told Xu Yi that they would use each other to improve their rankings and warned Xu Yi to place in the top three.
• Xu Yi asked Deng Blackface about intent, soul thoughts, and divided souls, and Deng Blackface explained their differences and uses in combat.
• Deng Blackface described how the Netherworld Divine Generals sent their true souls out of protected bodies and explained the dangers of that method.
• Xu Yi asked whether controlling true fiend energy with thoughts made divine techniques unnecessary, and Deng Blackface praised the question.
• Deng Blackface compressed earthy-yellow true fiend energy into a bead and then dispersed it, but refused to teach Xu Yi the technique because it depended on his Earth True Fiend.

Xu Yi asked Deng Blackface about cultivation and the Yin Venerate Realm, then learned the identities and powers of two spiritual artifacts. Deng Blackface sent him to the White Building, where Xu Yi spent hours nourishing the artifacts with his true soul and established faint connections with them.

• Deng Blackface advised Xu Yi to focus on strengthening his true soul and training his soul sense, while admitting he did not know where the Yin Venerate Realm ended or whether Yang Venerates lived in the residence.
• Xu Yi showed Deng Blackface the Golden Small Bottle and Golden Fine Spear, and Deng identified them as the Zhou Family's Soul Locking Bottle and Immortal Slaying Spear.
• Deng Blackface explained that the Soul Locking Bottle captured the true souls of the dead and that the Immortal Slaying Spear could damage true souls, then advised Xu Yi to nourish both artifacts with his true soul.
• Deng Blackface gave Xu Yi access to Number Three Refining Room at the White Building and supplied a box of Heavy Beads.
• Xu Yi used his split souls to nourish the Soul Locking Bottle, the Immortal Slaying Spear, and the iron essence, eventually forming faint connections with all three spiritual artifacts.

Xu Yi strengthened his soul thoughts by splitting the Immortal Slaying Spear into more than a hundred pieces and training with Heavy Beads. After five days of practice, he left the White Tower and arrived at the training grounds, where Deng Blackface and the other candidates were gathered with a second-rank Star Official.

• Xu Yi split the Immortal Slaying Spear into more than a hundred tiny spears and learned to control them in coordinated attacks.
• Xu Yi tested a tiny spear against one of Old Demon Zhong’s gleam needles and snapped the needle in two.
• Xu Yi discovered that his soul thoughts could bear more than three hundred pounds and used them to lift his own body.
• Xu Yi spent five days training with Heavy Beads, repeatedly failing to suspend five beads at his brow while improving his control.
• Xu Yi’s access token buzzed, ending his independent training, and he went to the training grounds, where he found the other candidates, Deng Blackface, and a second-rank Star Official.

Director Han tried to steer the candidates’ choice of leader away from Xu Yi, but Deng Blackface nominated him and a challenge was arranged to settle the dispute. Gong Xiuhua challenged Xu Yi and was swiftly overwhelmed by Xu Yi’s golden threads, leaving his defeat narrowly short of fatal.

• Director Han announced that the imperial examinations would be held at the Road Court in ten days and asked the candidates to choose a leader.
• Deng Blackface nominated Xu Yi, and Director Han proposed that anyone who defeated Xu Yi could take the position instead.
• Gong Xiuhua volunteered to challenge Xu Yi and attacked him with the Abusive Demon Blade.
• Xu Yi endured Gong Xiuhua’s blade strikes without moving, showing the candidates his powerful defensive art.
• Xu Yi sent golden threads through Gong Xiuhua’s baleful energy and nearly annihilated him before stopping with a shallow cut to his neck.

Xu Yi became team leader after defeating Gong Xiuhua, then trained with the other candidates to master the Bagua token’s Soul Sword formation. After exchanging for a Wind Spirit Stone in the Third-level Armory, he returned to Cold Sun Peak to refine Wind Talismans before the imperial examination.

• Xu Yi defeated Gong Xiuhua with the Immortal Slaying Spear, and Deng Blackface named him team leader.
• The eighteen candidates spent seven days practicing the Soul Sword formation embedded in the Bagua wooden token.
• Deng Blackface ended the training and sent the candidates with Director Ma to exchange for one treasure each in the Third-level Armory.
• Xu Yi exchanged for a mid-grade Wind Spirit Stone and hurried back to Cold Sun Peak.
• Xu Yi entered seclusion, activated the Spirit Gathering Array, and began refining Wind Talismans.

Xu Yi reached the island where candidates for the Jiannan Road court gathered and learned that Huaixi belonged to the Huai character faction. Chen Xuan attacked him over their old grievance, but Gong Xiuhua intervened as the chapter ended with Chen Xuan confronting Xu Yi.

• Xu Yi traveled to Immortal Martial Cliff, rested in the Octagonal Tower, and joined the other successful candidates the next morning.
• The Middle-aged Man in White led the candidates through a teleportation array to an island, where a man in brocade robes checked their credentials and assigned them jade bands.
• Xu Yi joined candidates from Huaidong, Huainan, Huaibei, and Huaizhong, forming the Five Prefectures of the Huai Character faction.
• Chen Xuan launched a sword attack at Xu Yi, but Gong Xiuhua struck the sword light aside and challenged Chen Xuan.
• Chen Xuan threatened Gong Xiuhua and fixed his hostile attention on Xu Yi, still resentful over losing the fragment of the Heavenly God Chart.

Xu Yi stopped Chen Xuan's attack, beat him down, and learned that the Huai eastern contingent was led by Cao Ji. The imperial examinations began as candidates flew toward Gale Force Canyon, where the first challenge and its rewards were announced.

• Xu Yi blocked Chen Xuan's Adamant Seal and struck him repeatedly before Cao Ji intervened.
• Cao Ji restrained Chen Xuan, who took pills and returned to the Huai eastern contingent.
• Xu Yi introduced himself to Cao Ji, and the candidates recognized his reputation.
• A green-robed Second-rank Star Official warned the candidates that the journey to the Road Court was dangerous and summoned their flying clouds.
• The candidates flew west and received instructions to cross Gale Force Canyon for points, marking the start of the imperial examinations.

Xu Yi led the Huaixi contingent through the Gale Force Canyon by linking them together with Clear Wind Silk and guiding them through the deadly winds. As they entered an even fiercer stretch, he ordered the group to change formation and announced that he would take the vanguard.

• Xu Yi warned the Huaixi contingent to stay together, but Tu Lao San rushed ahead as several other examinees did the same.
• Xu Yi linked his group with Clear Wind Silk, helping them survive the first gale and pass the other four contingents.
• An examinee who abandoned his cloud was torn apart by the wind, while the Huaixi group continued forward as one and took the lead.
• In a calm gray stretch, Tu Lao San revealed his Brocade Cloud Sail and crossed ahead alone after Fei Si hesitated to join him.
• Xu Yi urged the Huaixi contingent to pool their strength and hold nothing back before leading them into a much stronger gale.
• As the wind drove the group toward a cliff, Xu Yi ordered them to change into columns and said he would take the vanguard.

Xu Yi endured the full force of Gale Force Canyon so the group could escape, until Yang Jun organized them into the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Array. The formation carried them forward, but Xu Yi was left gravely exhausted and injured, and they found evidence that Tu Lao San had died.

• Xu Yi formed a line and used his Golden Membrane to shield the group from the gale while they pushed him forward with their baleful energy.
• Qiu Dao Ming noticed that the gale changed force every five breaths, and Yang Jun proposed the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Array.
• Xu Yi held out until the array was ready, then took the Li position as everyone joined their baleful energy to redirect the wind.
• Xu Yi refused Qiu Dao Ming's offer of medicine because his true soul was badly injured, and the group continued through the wind belt.
• The group spotted the Brocade Cloud Sail embedded in the cliff beside a smear of flesh and blood, confirming that Tu Lao San had died.

Xu Yi used seven Swift Body Talismans to help the group pass through the wind belt safely, then drew lots to decide who would leave first and who would maintain the array. He was chosen to go with the first ten, while Gong Xiuhua and Qiu Dao Ming stayed behind as the group charged toward the edge of Gale Force Canyon.

• Gong Xiuhua suggested that Xu Yi should be the first to leave the wind belt because he had done so much for the group.
• Xu Yi asked Yang Jun how many people could leave at once, and Yang Jun said the formation could send out ten while he stayed behind to control it.
• Xu Yi offered six Swift Body Talismans to the others in exchange for spirit stones, and the group contributed twenty-three stones while several promised to pay later.
• Xu Yi arranged a lottery to choose who would leave first, and the draw excluded him while selecting Gong Xiuhua and Qiu Dao Ming to stay behind.
• Xu Yi distributed the talismans, and Yang Jun shifted the array so ten people led the way while seven maintained the formation behind them.

Xu Yi and the other candidates completed the first trial and gathered on the cliff, where they recovered and received their team rewards. A green-robed man announced that passing the upcoming second trial would make them Star Clerks, then explained its scoring rules.

• Xu Yi finished the race among the last arrivals and received no first-place reward, while the first ten candidates each earned one hundred points.
• The candidates rested on their cushions, and Xu Yi recovered by eating, drinking, and meditating with the Still Water Art.
• After all five prefectures arrived, the Huaixi candidates thanked Xu Yi for leading them, and he urged them to recover for the next trial.
• The green-robed man announced that candidates who passed the second trial would meet the Official Recorder and become Star Clerks.
• Gong Xiuhua explained the Official Recorder's role, and the green-robed man stated that the second trial would award points to the first ten finishers and the strongest team.