Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qingyuan chose a dangerous mission to investigate Nangong Bantian, hoping to settle their old grudge. After finding no trace of him at his Dojo, Zhang Qingyuan learned that Nangong Bantian had recently been seen in the Land of the Forsaken Domain and wondered what he was seeking there.

• Zhang Qingyuan asked the Deacon Elder for a difficult mission and chose to investigate Nangong Bantian, whom he no longer feared facing.
• A month later, Zhang Qingyuan searched a remote island before departing without finding what he sought.
• Zhang Qingyuan visited a Black Market, bought two bloodstained Natal Magic Treasures, and paid an intelligence organization for information about Nangong Bantian.
• Zhang Qingyuan spent half a month watching Nangong Bantian's Dojo and searched it himself, but found no trace of him.
• Zhang Qingyuan learned that Nangong Bantian had been spotted in the Land of the Forsaken Domain three days earlier and questioned why he had returned near the sealed Spirit Sea Sword Sect Ruins.

Zhang Qingyuan tracked Nangong Bantian to the Land of the Forsaken Domain to settle their grudge, while Nangong’s growing madness consumed his thoughts. Zhang Qingyuan launched a sudden sword strike that blasted Nangong into the sea and devastated the island.

• Zhang Qingyuan traveled to the Land of the Forsaken Domain, disguised himself as a Spirit Essence Realm rogue cultivator, and found Nangong Bantian after three days of searching.
• Nangong Bantian raged over the missing Spirit Sea Sword Token and the Cloud Water Sect, unaware that black mist in his eyes was worsening his madness.
• Nangong Bantian recalled killing Ma Yulin, whose final counterattack had injured him, then lost track of why he was collecting Spirit Sea Sword Tokens.
• Zhang Qingyuan ambushed Nangong Bantian with a powerful Heavenly River Sword Light.
• Nangong Bantian blocked the strike with his War Blade, but the collision shattered the island and hurled him into the sea.

Zhang Qingyuan attacked the deranged Nangong Bantian, but Nangong survived his ambush and unleashed terrifying power despite his wounds. Zhang Qingyuan suppressed Nangong for a brief moment and prepared to strike with his strongest martial skill.

• Zhang Qingyuan revealed that he had secretly monitored Nangong Bantian for several days and attacked when Nangong left an opening.
• Nangong Bantian survived Zhang Qingyuan’s stored sword strike, badly wounded but grinning and shouting for everyone to die.
• Nangong Bantian charged at Zhang Qingyuan with a powerful blade strike that split the sea, forcing Zhang Qingyuan to retreat.
• Zhang Qingyuan used Four Seas Suppressing Heaven Palm to immobilize Nangong Bantian for one second.
• Zhang Qingyuan launched Heaven-Shattering Finger of Qiankun at Nangong Bantian.

Zhang Qingyuan used the Heaven-Shattering Finger of Qiankun to pierce through Nangong Bantian’s devastating blade attack, but Nangong survived with half his body and struck again. Zhang Qingyuan killed him with the Seed Sword Technique and examined the corpse, finding no explanation for his strange mutation.

• Zhang Qingyuan unleashed the Heaven-Shattering Finger of Qiankun, shattering Nangong Bantian’s blade light and tearing through half his body.
• Nangong Bantian survived and launched another powerful slash despite his injuries.
• Zhang Qingyuan summoned his Sword Pellet and used the Seed Sword Technique to sever Nangong Bantian’s head.
• Zhang Qingyuan took Nangong Bantian’s head and scanned his corpse, but found no clue to the mutation that had made him so powerful.

Zhang Qingyuan defeated Nangong Bantian and left the battlefield, but a black shadow emerged from Nangong’s remains and took over a scavenger. As Zhang Qingyuan traveled toward Tiannan City, he suspected Nangong had been corrupted before their final battle and began assessing his spoils.

• Zhang Qingyuan found no explanation for Nangong Bantian’s strange mutation, collected Nangong’s head, War Blade, and Storage Bag, and departed.
• A black shadow formed from Nangong Bantian’s remains, identified Zhang Qingyuan as carrying something it wanted, and struggled against the sword mark left on its neck.
• A greedy Spirit Essence Realm scavenger approached the wreckage, and the black smoke entered his neck and corrupted him.
• While traveling toward Tiannan City, Zhang Qingyuan recalled Nangong Bantian’s earlier behavior and suspected an unknown influence had affected him before their battle.
• Zhang Qingyuan set aside his suspicions and inspected his spoils, pleased to find Nangong’s intact High-grade Dharma Treasure War Blade.

Zhang Qingyuan studied Nangong Bantian’s blade technique and lifetime of Blade Dao insights, adapting the technique into a new sword art and planning to unite the many techniques he had mastered. On his way back, he gathered treasures and a pill recipe while preparing for his return to the Sect and the Inner Sect Grand Competition.

• Zhang Qingyuan found Nangong Bantian’s Nine Transformations of the Raging Dragon and the records of his Blade Dao insights in two Jade Slips.
• Zhang Qingyuan adapted the blade technique into a sword technique using his Sword Pellet and planned to incorporate it into a greater system of sword arts.
• Zhang Qingyuan studied Nangong Bantian’s insights during his journey, strengthening his cultivation foundation and understanding of the Dao.
• Zhang Qingyuan visited several Black Markets and obtained three Natal Magic Treasures.
• Zhang Qingyuan bought a Tongzhen Pill recipe to aid True Essence Realm Mid Stage cultivation and continued practicing alchemy.

Zhang Qingyuan bought the Tongzhen Pill recipe with his spoils from Nangong Bantian, then returned to Tiannan City to complete his mission and claim the Moon Liên Islands as his Dojo. After describing the strange circumstances of Nangong Bantian’s final battle, he waited for Steward Zhou’s explanation.

• Zhang Qingyuan bought the Tongzhen Pill recipe for eight hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones from Nangong Bantian’s Storage Bag and sorted the rest of his spoils.
• Zhang Qingyuan fed a Geng Metal ore from Nangong Bantian’s Storage Bag to the Sword Pellet, increasing its restoration.
• Zhang Qingyuan rushed to Tiannan City and showed Steward Zhou Nangong Bantian’s head and Ma Yulin’s Identity Token.
• Steward Zhou confirmed Zhang Qingyuan’s mission was complete and gave him authorization to make the Moon Liên Islands his Dojo.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked Steward Zhou about Nangong Bantian’s ability to attack at full strength despite his severe injuries, and Steward Zhou paused to consider the question.

Zhang Qingyuan discussed Nangong Bantian’s abnormal condition with Steward Zhou, who connected it to Abyssal Demons from a poorly recorded war a thousand years earlier. Zhang Qingyuan left Tiannan City troubled by the possibility that the sect and Yuzhou had deliberately concealed the history.

• Steward Zhou considered possible causes for Nangong Bantian’s mutation and recalled ancient records of Abyssal Demons from a war a thousand years ago.
• Steward Zhou described how Abyssal Demons could corrupt cultivators and beasts, giving them powerful regenerative abilities and muddled, violent minds.
• Zhang Qingyuan questioned why records of the devastating war were so scarce, and Steward Zhou suspected the conflict had been deliberately concealed.
• Zhang Qingyuan left Tiannan City and reflected that Nangong Bantian’s mutation and the missing history might be connected to something far more complicated.

Zhang Qingyuan returned to the increasingly prosperous Moon Liên Islands and learned that its monthly income had reached 180,000 Spirit Stones. Seeing that its growing population could strain its limited land, he ordered preparations to expand the islands.

• Zhang Qingyuan suppressed his worries about the Abyssal Demon and hurried toward the Moon Liên Islands, while Steward Zhou watched his departure from Tiannan City and pondered.
• Zhang Qingyuan reached the Moon Liên Islands after two days and found the region stable and growing as cultivators, families, and small factions settled there.
• Zhang Qingyuan learned that his lecture, the island's merit-based inheritance system, and the protection of the Cloud Water Sect had helped attract more cultivators.
• Zhang Changyang gave Zhang Qingyuan the monthly profit report, and Zhang Qingyuan was surprised to see income of 180,000 Spirit Stones.
• Zhang Qingyuan told Zhang Changyang to arrange work using Earth Creation Art and Land Elevation Art to expand the Moon Liên Islands.

Zhang Qingyuan explained his plans for developing the Moon Liên Islands before preparing to return to the Cloud Water Sect for the Inner Sect Grand Competition. A letter from Zhao Yuanyang brought news of old friends and fellow disciples, leaving Zhang Qingyuan reflecting on how they had changed during the ten years apart.

• Zhang Qingyuan told Zhang Changyang that developing the islands and creating permanent work for low-level cultivators would support the Moon Liên Islands' future growth.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Changyang established a general framework for the islands' development, and Zhang Qingyuan prepared to return to the sect for the Inner Sect Grand Competition.
• Zhao Yuanyang sent Zhang Qingyuan a letter inviting him to a welcome banquet and recounting the war with the Vast Sea Sect, deaths among their former fellow disciples, and news of Headmaster Liu and Shen Hongzhou.
• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on Zhao Yuanyang's letter and remembered Jiang Yuan, who had helped him in the past, resolving that he would help Jiang Yuan if the need arose.

Zhang Qingyuan prepared to leave the Moon Liên Islands for the Inner Sect Grand Competition, while ensuring his territory and Spiritual Herb Garden could continue developing in his absence. He began designing a Magic Tool to extract Essence of Gui Water and support the growth of the islands’ Micro Spirit Vein.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on the loneliness of long cultivation and reaffirmed his goal of reaching the pinnacle and returning to his hometown.
• Zhang Qingyuan wrote Zhao Yuanyang a reply saying he planned to return within two or three months and declined a welcome banquet.
• Zhang Qingyuan arranged for a merchant guild branch to deliver his letter and decided to settle matters on the Moon Liên Islands before returning to the sect.
• Zhang Qingyuan considered how the Spiritual Herb Garden depended on Essence of Gui Water to nurture the growing Micro Spirit Vein.
• Zhang Qingyuan designed several blueprints for a Basic Gui Water Essence Centrifuge and began forging it.

Zhang Qingyuan successfully forged a Magic Tool that extracted Essence of Gui Water to sustain his precious Spiritual Medicine and help form a Micro Spirit Vein on the Moon Liên Islands. He entrusted the tool and its operation to Elder Zhang Changyang before preparing to leave, confident the work would continue in his absence.

• Zhang Qingyuan used his Spiritual Sense and remembered knowledge to design a Magic Tool for extracting Essence of Gui Water.
• After more than half a month of work, Zhang Qingyuan successfully forged the cauldron and tested its first, dilute Essence of Gui Water.
• Zhang Qingyuan determined that the Essence of Gui Water could nourish the Spiritual Medicine and support the growth of a Micro Spirit Vein on the Moon Liên Islands.
• Zhang Qingyuan gave the Magic Tool to Elder Zhang Changyang and asked him to organize reliable Water Attribute cultivators to operate it and tend the Spiritual Medicine.
• Elder Zhang Changyang gladly accepted the responsibility, and Zhang Qingyuan reaffirmed his trust in him.

Zhang Qingyuan rewarded Zhang Changyang for years of devoted service by giving him Condensing True Pills to support his breakthrough to the True Essence Realm. Before returning to the sect, Zhang Qingyuan left Zhang Changyang in charge of guarding the Moon Liên Islands.

• Zhang Qingyuan gave Zhang Changyang a bottle of seven Condensing True Pills, hoping he would break through to the True Essence Realm.
• Zhang Changyang hesitated to accept the pills and suggested they should go to younger family members instead.
• Zhang Qingyuan explained that Zhang Changyang deserved the pills and that he needed a True Essence Realm cultivator to guard the Moon Liên Islands after he left.
• Zhang Changyang accepted the pills and bowed, but Zhang Qingyuan declined the gesture and entrusted the islands to him for the next year or two.
• Zhang Changyang left with renewed determination to carry out Zhang Qingyuan's instructions and protect the islands.

After returning to Yuzhou from the Moon Liên Islands, Zhang Qingyuan waited in vain for Zhao Yuanyang at their agreed meeting place, then continued to Cloud Water Sect. He resumed his status as a Mystic Water Peak Inner Sect Disciple, while news of the approaching Inner Sect Grand Competition hinted at unrest within the sect.

• Zhang Qingyuan waited half a day at the pavilion where he and Zhao Yuanyang had agreed to meet, but Zhao Yuanyang never arrived.
• Zhang Qingyuan left the pavilion and passed two Outer Sect Disciples discussing the upcoming Quinquagenary Inner Sect Grand Competition.
• Zhang Qingyuan reached Cloud Water Sect and went to the Law Enforcement Hall to cancel his ten-year mission guarding the Moon Liên Islands.
• Zhang Qingyuan restored his status as a normal Mystic Water Peak Inner Sect Disciple without encountering trouble.

After returning to the Inner Sect, Zhang Qingyuan planned to rent a suitable Cave Dwelling, study the Tongzhen Pill Recipe, and prepare for the Inner Sect Grand Competition. At a plaza, he spotted his former junior Hu Junshan watching a fight and discovered that his friend Zhao Yuanyang was one of the combatants.

• Zhang Qingyuan left the Law Enforcement Hall with his Identity Restriction removed and his accumulated rewards added to his Inner Sect Disciple Token.
• Zhang Qingyuan planned to rent a Cave Dwelling connected to a Micro Spirit Vein and use the months before the Inner Sect Grand Competition to cultivate and refine Tongzhen Pills.
• Zhang Qingyuan changed course toward the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and noticed a crowd watching a True Essence Realm fight in the plaza.
• Zhang Qingyuan recognized Hu Junshan, whom he had once guided, and sensed that Hu Junshan had reached the Half-step True Essence Realm.
• Zhang Qingyuan approached Hu Junshan and then recognized Zhao Yuanyang fighting in the arena.

Yu Shaojing defeated Zhao Yuanyang in a public arena clash, while Cloud Water Sect disciples argued over the rivalry between newer and older Inner Sect members. Zhang Qingyuan entered the crowd and listened to the debate, his gaze settling on the arena.

• Yu Shaojing mocked Zhao Yuanyang and struck him with a powerful Palm Seal, while Zhao Yuanyang fought back with a golden True Essence attack.
• Yu Shaojing overcame Zhao Yuanyang, leaving him wounded and kneeling in the cracked arena.
• Newly admitted Inner Sect Disciples condemned the Steadfast Faction for using their seniority to suppress younger disciples.
• Older disciples defended the need to temper younger members, as the crowd argued over the sect's rival factions.
• Zhang Qingyuan walked through the crowd toward Hu Junshan, listened to the discussions, and looked toward the arena.

Zhang Qingyuan reflected on the Steadfast Faction’s role in his past exile and resolved to repay their antagonistic treatment now that he had returned stronger. He reunited with Hu Junshan, exchanged a Messaging Talisman with him, and then appeared beside Zhao Yuanyang to confront the bully.

• Zhang Qingyuan decided that the Steadfast Faction’s past suppression of him warranted a measured repayment, as long as neither side crossed the sect’s boundaries.
• Hu Junshan recognized Zhang Qingyuan and addressed him as Master, but Zhang Qingyuan insisted he call him Senior Brother.
• Hu Junshan told Zhang Qingyuan that he had become an Inner Sect Disciple at the Half-step True Essence Realm and that his father had stepped down as Clan Leader.
• Hu Junshan thanked Zhang Qingyuan for his guidance, and Zhang Qingyuan credited Hu Junshan’s own diligence before giving him a Messaging Talisman.
• Zhang Qingyuan suddenly appeared beside Zhao Yuanyang and remarked that he had missed their appointment because he was dealing with a bully who preyed on the weak.

Zhang Qingyuan arrived at the arena and defended the injured Zhao Yuanyang, provoking Yu Shaojing with a scathing verbal attack. Yu Shaojing unleashed his Daluo Heaven Hand against Zhang Qingyuan, and the chapter ended as the giant palm descended.

• Zhang Qingyuan appeared at the arena and reunited with the injured Zhao Yuanyang.
• Yu Shaojing mocked Zhao Yuanyang, but Zhang Qingyuan stopped him from retaliating and insulted Yu Shaojing and the Steadfast Faction.
• The spectators fell silent at Zhang Qingyuan’s words, and Yu Shaojing erupted in rage.
• Yu Shaojing unleashed his True Essence and struck at Zhang Qingyuan with his Daluo Heaven Hand.

Zhang Qingyuan abandoned his usual caution and challenged Yu Shaojing, confident in his strength and backing. He shattered Yu Shaojing’s attack with a single finger, defeated him, and openly invited the Steadfast Faction to confront him.

• Zhang Qingyuan recognized that years of suppressed youthful defiance had driven him to step forward and reveal himself.
• Yu Shaojing attacked Zhang Qingyuan with the Daluo Heaven Hand, consumed by rage and intent on killing him.
• Zhang Qingyuan pierced through the Daluo Heaven Hand with a finger-strike and wounded Yu Shaojing’s shoulder.
• The strike’s shockwave blasted Yu Shaojing off the arena and sent him crashing into an artificial mountain.
• Zhang Qingyuan challenged the Steadfast Faction to come find him if they wanted a fight.

After witnessing Zhang Qingyuan defeat Yu Shaojing with a single finger, Lin Yan learned from his Old Man that Zhang had advanced far beyond him in cultivation and martial foundations. Lin Yan resolved to keep striving, and his teacher promised he could surpass the era’s geniuses with his guidance.

• Spectators at Arena Plaza discussed Zhang Qingyuan’s victory over Yu Shaojing and anticipated clashes with the Steadfast Faction.
• Lin Yan watched the ruined arena while his Old Man recognized that Zhang Qingyuan’s finger strike carried the essence of his martial path and a trace of Dao and law.
• Lin Yan asked his teacher about Zhang Qingyuan’s strike, but the Old Man warned that Lin Yan was not ready to understand the path behind it.
• The Old Man told Lin Yan that Zhang Qingyuan had reached True Essence Fourth Layer or above and had surpassed him in cultivation and other foundations.
• Lin Yan admitted he had grown slack, vowed to reach the summit, and received his teacher’s promise that he could surpass Zhang Qingyuan and other geniuses.