Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming traveled to Sanchuan County to meet the Zhao Family before exploring the Burning Heaven Sword Cave Abode Ruins. Zhang Qingyuan noticed that the locals routinely knelt before cultivators flying overhead and remained wary despite Wu Shanming's explanation.

• Wu Shanming explained that the Zhao Family dominated remote Sanchuan County and had joined the search for the Burning Heaven Sword Cave Abode Ruins.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming flew across the mountain ranges, while people below repeatedly knelt and prostrated themselves at the sight of their Sword Light.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked Wu Shanming why the locals knelt, and Wu Shanming attributed it to the county's isolation and the people's ignorance.
• The pair arrived at Sanchuan County City, where Zhao Zuzhi welcomed Wu Shanming and met Zhang Qingyuan, introduced as Zhang Yuan.
• Zhang Qingyuan joined the group heading to the Zhao Family residence and watched the kneeling crowd with lingering suspicion.

Zhao Tianji devastated a town and captured a young cultivator after discovering his mysterious Jade Bracelet. After receiving a message, Zhao Tianji flew toward Sanchuan County City, eager for an event he had waited over a year to attend.

• Zhao Tianji beat the young cultivator and blamed him for hiding a power and opportunity from the Zhao Family.
• The young cultivator mourned his murdered family, friends, and neighbors, whom his exposed power had brought into danger.
• Zhao Tianji cut off the young cultivator’s wrist and took his Jade Bracelet, then demanded to know where it came from.
• Zhao Tianji ordered a Black Shadow to seal the young cultivator’s dantian and take him to Blooddrop Hall for interrogation.
• Zhao Tianji received a golden message, laughed about an event he had awaited for over a year, and flew toward Sanchuan County City.

Zhang Qingyuan assessed the True Essence Realm cultivators gathering to explore Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng’s Cave Dwelling ruins and joined forces with Wu Shanming and the suspicious Flying Rat. The twelve cultivators then set off for the ruins, with Zhang Qingyuan wary that Flying Rat had recognized him.

• The cultivators gathered at the Zhao Manor, praised the Zhao Family for keeping the ruins secret, and agreed to depart for the mountain range.
• Zhang Qingyuan observed the expedition’s strongest groups, including the Three Heroes of Monan, the sword-carrying cultivator’s team, and Zhao Zuzhi’s party.
• Flying Rat approached Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming, claimed he had no powerful allies, and asked to explore with them.
• Zhang Qingyuan subtly signaled agreement, and Wu Shanming accepted Flying Rat into their group.
• Zhao Zuzhi glanced toward the newly formed group, and the twelve cultivators flew toward Yan Wusheng’s Cave Dwelling ruins.

Zhao Zuzhi led the group to the Four Extremes Mystic Fire Formation and arranged for them to break it, while secretly plotting with Zhao Tianji and a powerful Black Robe Figure to sacrifice everyone who entered. After the scheme began, a Spirit Essence Realm Ninth Level aura erupted in Sanchuan County City, and Wang Yuènián flew toward the city.

• Zhao Zuzhi revealed the Four Extremes Mystic Fire Formation and divided the group into four teams to break its formation eyes.
• Zhao Zuzhi secretly welcomed the Black Robe Figure and other powerful Zhao Family cultivators, who planned to trap the visitors as sacrifices for the Old Ancestor's Dao Path.
• Zhao Tianji asked to join the coming hunt, and his father assigned the Third Elder to keep him in check.
• Zhao Zuzhi and several True Essence Realm Mid Stage cultivators entered the fog to break the formation, while the Black Robe Figure sent a message to Sanchuan County City.
• A figure in the Zhao Manor Secret Grounds received the message and unleashed a Spirit Essence Realm Ninth Level aura over Sanchuan County City.
• Wang Yuènián received a Messaging Talisman at Mystic Water Peak and flew toward Sanchuan County City.

Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and the Flying Rat reached the northern formation eye and joined the effort to break the formation sealing the secret realm. After the barrier shattered, cultivators at the other designated positions attacked as well, opening the way toward the formation eye.

• Zhang Qingyuan told the Flying Rat that his exploration skills would be valuable and agreed to divide treasures and copied inheritances fairly.
• The Flying Rat revealed that his secret technique had warned him of great danger but also promised a valuable opportunity, so he had joined Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming for safety.
• Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and the Flying Rat traveled for two hours and reached the formation near the northern formation eye.
• Zhang Qingyuan received word that the other cultivators had reached their positions and signaled the start of the assault.
• Zhang Qingyuan, the Flying Rat, and Wu Shanming attacked the formation together, shattering its light curtain and tearing open a large gap.
• Cultivators at the other positions launched their attacks against the formation.

Zhang Qingyuan and the other groups activated the Formation Disks, but the Zhao Family used the resulting formation to trap them as blood sacrifices. Zhang Qingyuan, Flying Rat, and Wu Shanming were swallowed into the Cave Heaven Relic, where a monster attacked them in a sea of flames.

• The Three Heroes of Monan, the sword-carrying cultivators, the Zhao Family, and Zhang Qingyuan's group reached the four formation eyes and placed their Formation Disks.
• Red light erupted from the disks, the Four Extremes Mystic Fire Formation collapsed, and most of the cultivators were swallowed by a Void Vortex.
• Zhao Zuzhi revealed that the Zhao Family had set a blood-sacrifice trap, tracked nine people with a Jade Disk, and ordered the hunt to begin.
• Zhao Tianji entered the relic with a team while the Zhao Family prepared the core blood sacrifice.
• Zhang Qingyuan, Flying Rat, and Wu Shanming found themselves above a scorching sea of flames, where an enormous monster suddenly burst out and attacked.

Zhang Qingyuan captured a Fire Spirit in the sea of flames, and Flying Rat discovered that it contained a trace of violent fire intent. He explained that Fire Spirits required a thousand years to form, far longer than this land had been engulfed in flames, leaving the origin of the creature unexplained.

• A flame phantom attacked Zhang Qingyuan and his companions, and Zhang Qingyuan destroyed it with a sword strike, leaving behind a Crimson Bead.
• Wu Shanming identified the creature as a Fire Spirit, and Zhang Qingyuan captured another one with his Water Intent-infused True Essence.
• Flying Rat examined and killed the captured Fire Spirit, then refined its pearl and sensed a powerful, scorching intent.
• Flying Rat explained that Fire Spirits formed only after fire spiritual power accumulated for at least a thousand years, though the sea of flames had existed for less than three hundred.

Zhang Qingyuan and his companions harvested Fire Spirit cores and realized the Zhao Family may have lured them into the Burning Heaven Sword’s relic as part of a hidden scheme. They set out to uncover the relic’s core and confront the Zhao Family’s true purpose.

• Flying Rat explained that Yan Wusheng’s lingering sword intent had transformed the sea of fire and created its Fire Spirits, whose cores could help them comprehend Fire Sword Intent.
• Zhang Qingyuan, Flying Rat, and Wu Shanming spent two days hunting Fire Spirits, gathering cores before leaving the depleted area to assess their gains.
• Zhang Qingyuan questioned how they had identified the relic as Yan Wusheng’s without entering it, and Wu Shanming recalled that Zhao Zuzhi had supplied the supporting evidence and identity jade token.
• Zhang Qingyuan concluded that the Zhao Family had likely discovered the relic long ago and deliberately staged the Four Extremes Mystic Fire Formation to draw them in.
• Zhang Qingyuan proposed that they find the Burning Heaven Sword’s remains, where the Zhao Family would eventually have to reveal itself.

Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and the Flying Rat searched the Cave Heaven Secret Realm for the Burning Heaven Sword while the Three Heroes of Monan gathered treasure and encountered Zhao Zuzhi’s group. Zhao Zuzhi revealed that he had found a palace they believed was where the sword fell, but the chapter ended before he explained why his group had not entered.

• The Flying Rat led Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming out of the Sea of Fire as they searched for the Burning Heaven Sword, and they fought several Demonic Beasts along the way.
• Zhang Qingyuan killed a concealed Demonic Creature near a lava lake and stored its skin, which could hide it from divine sense scans.
• The Three Heroes of Monan seized Spirit Fruits, Spirit Plants, and ores from a flaming spirit mountain and discussed claiming the inheritance by force if needed.
• Zhao Zuzhi and members of the Zhao Family arrived and greeted the Three Heroes of Monan.
• Zhao Zuzhi said his group had been transported to a ruined palace surrounded by skeletons, where they glimpsed a crimson glow they believed came from the Burning Heaven Sword’s resting place.

Zhao Zuzhi killed Scarface in a surprise attack, and Zhao Tianji revealed that the Zhao Family had lured the Three Heroes of Monan and other cultivators into the Cave Heaven Relic as blood sacrifices. The two surviving brothers realized they had been trapped as Zhao Tianji pressed his attack.

• Zhao Zuzhi ambushed Scarface with his Natal Magic Treasure and smashed his head, killing the leader of the Three Heroes of Monan.
• Zhao Tianji and another Zhao Family cultivator attacked the two surviving brothers while Zhao Zuzhi collected Scarface's corpse, blood qi, and remnant soul in a pouch.
• One surviving brother demanded to know why Zhao Zuzhi had targeted them, and Zhao Tianji revealed that the Zhao Family had discovered the Cave Heaven Relic two hundred years earlier.
• Zhao Tianji explained that the Zhao Family had deliberately stirred the relic and trapped cultivators inside to use nine True Essence Realm cultivators as sacrifices to open its core and help the Old Ancestor inherit Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng's legacy.
• The two surviving brothers grew deathly pale as Zhao Tianji continued pressing his attack.

Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and the Flying Rat became trapped in a strange magma-filled space that they could neither escape nor retrace their way through. While the Flying Rat searched for an exit, Zhang Qingyuan plunged into the lava to investigate, leaving Wu Shanming astonished.

• Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming discovered that they and the Flying Rat were trapped above a magma sea with no way forward or back.
• The Flying Rat judged the space to be an unusual mixture of natural and human-made forces and said finding an exit might take days.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming agreed to let the Flying Rat calculate a way out while they guarded him and investigated the surroundings.
• After a day passed without danger or progress, Zhang Qingyuan asked Wu Shanming to guard the Flying Rat and jumped into the boiling magma.
• Wu Shanming called out in alarm, but Zhang Qingyuan sent word from beneath the lava that he would return shortly.

Zhang Qingyuan explored the Magma Lake but found no bottom or escape route, so he returned to cultivating inside it while relying on the Flying Rat to find a way out. He began tempering his body and comprehending the Artistic Conception of Fire with a Fire Spirit Core.

• Zhang Qingyuan dived into the Magma Lake without True Essence protection and discovered that its heat slowly strengthened his body and could help him comprehend the Artistic Conception of Fire.
• Zhang Qingyuan searched the depths for an exit but found no bottom, concluding that the space was distorted and that the Flying Rat would have to lead them out.
• Zhang Qingyuan sent Wu Shanming a Divine Sense message reporting that he had found no dangers or shortcuts and planned to cultivate in the magma while keeping watch.
• Wu Shanming agreed to Zhang Qingyuan's plan, marveled at his ability to endure the magma, and resumed meditating while guarding the Flying Rat.
• Zhang Qingyuan sat cross-legged in the lava, swallowed a Fire Spirit Core, and immersed himself in comprehending the flames as they burned through his body.

Zhang Qingyuan refined Fire Spirit Cores in the magma sea, strengthening his body and developing his own Artistic Conception of Fire as the Flying Rat searched for an escape route. Eight days later, a bloody-robed man killed a wounded swordsman in a violent battle against the Zhao Family.

• Zhang Qingyuan discovered that the magma tempered his body and helped advance the Desolate Sky Body Refining Art.
• He used the Great Evolution Technique to derive his own Artistic Conception of Fire from the Fire Spirit Core, avoiding any possible residual will of the Burning Heaven Sword.
• Zhang Qingyuan continued refining Fire Spirit Cores while Wu Shanming kept watch and the Flying Rat searched for a way out.
• Eight days later, a Sword Light clashed with a Blood Sea over a fiery-red mountain forest, devastating the surrounding area.
• A bloody-robed man mocked the Zhao Family and killed the heavily injured Quasi True Essence Seventh Level swordsman with a blood-red profound light.

Zhao Zuzhi and Zhao Tianji harvested cultivators for the Zhao Family’s Blood Sacrifice Formation and discussed their plans to abandon Sanchuan County. After discovering that three people had remained for days in a deadly Forbidden Land, they chose to proceed to the core area and prepare the formation.

• Zhao Zuzhi killed the wounded middle-aged swordsman and stored his corpse for the Zhao Family’s blood sacrifice.
• Zhao Tianji returned with another slain cultivator and boasted that he could defeat Yuzhou’s famed young geniuses, including Zhang Qingyuan.
• Zhao Zuzhi and Zhao Tianji planned to leave Sanchuan County after the Old Ancestor inherited the Burning Heaven Sword’s legacy.
• Zhao Zuzhi learned that Tong Feiyan had escaped, but decided not to pursue her because she was adept at escape techniques.
• Zhao Zuzhi noticed three cultivators had stayed for seven or eight days in a Forbidden Land where Zhao Family members had perished, but decided to leave them and head for the core area.
• Zhao Zuzhi and Zhao Tianji led the Zhao Family cultivators toward the core area to set up the Blood Sacrifice Formation.

The narrator described nearly falling for a scammer who claimed to be canceling a JD.com student loan account, then realized the supposed China Banking Regulatory Commission transfer was fraudulent and stopped before losing money to the scam. After repaying the 2,000 yuan he had borrowed through JD Gold Bar, he traced the likely source of his leaked personal information to companies where he had worked during university.

• A caller recited the narrator’s personal details and claimed he needed to cancel a student loan account, persuading him to borrow 2,000 yuan through JD Gold Bar.
• The caller said the transaction could not be completed and instructed the narrator to transfer the money to an account supposedly connected to the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
• While entering the account details, the narrator recognized that the supposed regulator would not use a private account and stopped before making the transfer.
• The narrator refused the caller’s further pressure, then repaid the 2,000 yuan two hours later and lost 1.10 yuan in interest.
• The narrator concluded that former employers, likely small factories and businesses where he had worked summer jobs, had leaked or sold his personal information.

Zhang Qingyuan emerged from a violent breakthrough in the magma sea, having strengthened his body and comprehended the Artistic Conception of Fire. He left the Magma Lake after considering how his new understanding could improve alchemy and artifact refinement.

• Wu Shanming sensed a terrifying presence and vision as the magma sea churned, but regained control of his True Essence.
• Zhang Qingyuan opened his eyes and drew in the power he had released, ending the disturbance in the magma sea.
• Zhang Qingyuan found that his Desolate Sky Body Refining Art proficiency had risen from second layer (19/100) to second layer (45/100), strengthening his body and foundations.
• Zhang Qingyuan confirmed that he had comprehended the Artistic Conception of Fire and considered how it could aid his alchemy and artifact refinement.
• Zhang Qingyuan ended his cultivation and flew away from the Magma Lake.

Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and Flying Rat escaped the endless lava space after Flying Rat found a way through its distorted formations. They emerged in the Cave Heaven Relic, where Zhang Qingyuan sensed a dangerous presence nearby.

• Zhang Qingyuan surfaced from the lava lake and joined Wu Shanming and Flying Rat, who had found no signs of demonic creatures or an exit.
• Flying Rat explained that an ancient battle and intersecting forces had twisted the space, trapping anyone without a special method.
• Flying Rat used a drop of blood and a spell to shatter the space, and the three were pulled through the breach.
• The three emerged in the crimson Cave Heaven Relic, where Zhang Qingyuan warned them to stay alert and searched for the source of danger.

Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and Flying Rat explored an ancient battlefield and concluded that Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng may have died in the Cave Heaven Relic after encountering a danger he could not overcome. With the Zhao Family’s power blocking their escape, they pressed toward the core region and spotted two enormous shadows ahead.

• Flying Rat examined ancient bones and armor, noting that they were thousands of years old while the battlefield’s newest traces appeared only a few hundred years old.
• Wu Shanming and the others discussed Yan Wusheng’s disappearance and suspected the Cave Heaven Relic had been his final resting place.
• Flying Rat explained that a powerful force concealed the realm and its entrances, and that the Zhao Family of Sanchuan County was likely behind the scheme.
• Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and Flying Rat continued toward the core region because they could not retreat.
• After a quarter of an hour, Zhang Qingyuan and the others saw two enormous shadows beyond a broken wall.

Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and Flying Rat encountered two enormous, seemingly petrified monsters blocking their path in the ancient battlefield. Flying Rat identified one as the rare Blazing Sky Qilin Snake linked to Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng, and the chapter ended as he sensed danger and shouted for everyone to retreat.

• Zhang Qingyuan, Wu Shanming, and Flying Rat approached the two motionless monsters after finding no way around them.
• Flying Rat recognized the giant snake as a Blazing Sky Qilin Snake, a rare Demonic Beast said to reach the Cave True Realm.
• Flying Rat explained that the snake had appeared only alongside Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng, suggesting the battlefield was where Yan Wusheng fell.
• Flying Rat wondered what creature had perished beside the snake as Zhang Qingyuan sensed the danger growing stronger.
• Flying Rat suddenly shouted for Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming to retreat.

Zhang Qingyuan and his companions accidentally awakened two powerful monsters whose battle revealed the overwhelming might of True Essence Realm experts at the eighth layer. Zhang Qingyuan stayed near the clash because his Sword Pellet reacted intensely to the four-armed giant.

• Zhang Qingyuan realized that the petrified Blazing Sky Qilin Snake and four-armed giant were still alive, and their awakening blasted him, Wu Shanming, and the Flying Rat away.
• The monsters roared and resumed their fierce battle, while their power left Wu Shanming and the Flying Rat badly injured and forced them to retreat.
• Zhang Qingyuan estimated the monsters were near the peak of the eighth layer and remained at the battlefield’s edge to study their strength and seek a breakthrough.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed his Natal Spirit Weapon Sword Pellet trembling with intense Battle Intent as he watched the four-armed giant.