Chapter Summaries

Wei Tianxing fled Zhang Meng and Si Jiu after Gongsun Lan’s faction began driving other cultivators out of the Divine Wood Secret Realm. In a secluded valley, Zhang Qingyuan comprehended an inherited move and advanced to the peak of the Eighth Layer Initial-Stage.

• Wei Tianxing cursed Zhang Meng for siding with Gongsun Lan and escaped his pursuit through the forest.
• Zhang Meng told Wei Tianxing that he cooperated with Gongsun Lan only to learn the truth of a legend, while Si Jiu attacked Wei Tianxing and was struck down by his Wood Dragon.
• Zhang Meng warned Si Jiu that their cooperation did not make him Si Jiu’s subordinate, then departed.
• Zhang Qingyuan finished comprehending an inherited move in a secluded valley and reached the peak of the Eighth Layer Initial-Stage.

Zhang Qingyuan refined an inherited Spring Breeze Fine Rain Technique, raising his Wood Life Intent and cultivation to the peak of the True Essence Eighth Layer Initial Stage. As he left to seek a deeper Wood Element inheritance, hostile cultivators arrived to drive others away for their Senior Disciple Brother’s plan, but Zhang Qingyuan had already escaped.

• Zhang Qingyuan practiced the inherited technique, gathering vitality and sensing changes throughout the space covered by his palm force.
• He judged that he could use the technique for restoration or to drain an enemy’s life force, though his strength fell far short of the original cultivator’s.
• Zhang Qingyuan decided to seek another inheritance and left to avoid several approaching cultivators with hostile intent.
• The cultivators found Zhang Qingyuan’s lingering aura and chose not to pursue him, calling him a cowardly rat.
• Their leader ordered them to clear the surrounding area while they carried out the Senior Disciple Brother’s plan.

Zhang Qingyuan found a second inheritance in the Divine Wood Secret Realm that clarified how to advance his Wood Life Intent toward Wood Life Momentum, and he sensed that completing the Five Elements path might bring an unknown change. With his main goal achieved, he headed toward the central region to investigate the faction hunting lone cultivators, but halted when he sensed a battle approaching and recognized Wei Tianxing among those involved.

• Zhang Qingyuan avoided patrols and battles while exploring the Divine Wood Secret Realm, then passed a test and obtained a second inheritance pointing toward deeper Wood Element inheritances.
• The inheritance clarified a path for advancing Wood Life Intent into Wood Life Momentum, and Zhang Qingyuan resolved to use the Great Evolution Technique to master it before pursuing the Gold Element path.
• As his understanding of Wood Life Intent deepened, Zhang Qingyuan sensed his water, fire, and earth powers resonating with it and wondered what completing the Five Elements path would bring.
• Zhang Qingyuan gave up hope of finding the legendary Divine Wood Consciousness and decided to investigate the faction that had been hunting lone cultivators in the central region.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed a battle approaching and recognized Wei Tianxing among those involved, so he stopped and watched.

Hu Feiyu and Si Jiu cornered and badly wounded Wei Tianxing after he uncovered Gongsun Lan's group's conspiracy in the Divine Wood Secret Realm. Just as Hu Feiyu moved to force Wei Tianxing out, Zhang Qingyuan appeared, stopped him, and began healing Wei Tianxing.

• Wei Tianxing accused Hu Feiyu's group of colluding with Gongsun Lan to eliminate their fellow disciples, but Hu Feiyu dismissed the accusation and attacked him.
• Exhausted from days of flight, Wei Tianxing's Wood Dragon failed to stop Hu Feiyu's Wind-and-Cloud Hand, and Si Jiu struck him with a blade.
• Hu Feiyu found Wei Tianxing wounded in a crater and prepared to send him out of the Secret Realm.
• Zhang Qingyuan appeared, seized Hu Feiyu's wrist, and stopped his attack.
• Zhang Qingyuan helped Wei Tianxing up and used Spring Breeze and Fine Rain to heal his wounds.

Zhang Qingyuan healed Wei Tianxing’s external wounds and faced Hu Feiyu’s group, who accused Wei of betraying Tianmu Peak and trapped the pair in the Five Wood Elemental Formation. Hu Feiyu believed the formation’s power could contend with True Essence Ninth Layer experts, leaving Zhang and Wei sealed inside its lightning cage.

• Zhang Qingyuan healed Wei Tianxing’s external wounds, while explaining that he could not remove the foreign True Essence and intent inside him.
• Wei Tianxing praised Zhang Qingyuan’s remarkable Wood Element progress, and Zhang credited his gains to the Divine Wood Secret Realm.
• Hu Feiyu recognized Zhang Qingyuan and accused Wei Tianxing of being the real traitor for colluding with outsiders.
• Hu Feiyu ordered his followers to form the Five Wood Elemental Formation, which enclosed Zhang Qingyuan and Wei Tianxing in a vast lightning prison.
• Wei Tianxing explained that the formation could combine its users’ strength to contend with True Essence Ninth Layer experts, while Hu Feiyu declared that his opponents had no escape.

Zhang Qingyuan realized that his reputation among Cloud Water Sect’s Core Disciples remained formidable despite his years in seclusion. Hu Feiyu attacked him with a powerful palm, but Zhang Qingyuan escaped the Five Wood Elemental Formation with Wei Tianxing, leaving Hu Feiyu’s strike to devastate the area.

• Zhang Qingyuan believed his long absence and secluded cultivation had made the outside world forget him, but his rapid rise to True Essence Late Stage had kept him famous among the Core Disciples.
• Hu Feiyu recognized Zhang Qingyuan and sensed that he was even stronger than the rumors suggested.
• Hu Feiyu unleashed his True Essence Ninth Layer power in an ordinary palm strike, intending to defeat Zhang Qingyuan.
• Zhang Qingyuan seized Wei Tianxing, spotted the formation’s weak point, and pierced a hole through the Five Wood Elemental Formation with a sword strike.
• Zhang Qingyuan darted beyond the formation as Hu Feiyu’s palm smashed the area inside it into a vast pit.

Zhang Qingyuan faced Hu Feiyu’s strongest attack, the Five Wood Style: God-Startling Seal, after enduring the power of the Five Wood Elemental Formation. Having deciphered the formation’s principles, Zhang Qingyuan summoned five Treants and formed his own Five Wood Elemental Formation, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Zhang Qingyuan stopped retreating and charged Hu Feiyu with his sword, meeting Hu Feiyu’s Wind-and-Cloud Hand head-on.
• Hu Feiyu used the Five Wood Elemental Formation to unleash the God-Startling Seal, a devastating attack that frightened Wei Tianxing.
• Zhang Qingyuan analyzed Hu Feiyu’s formation and realized its principles could guide his comprehension of Wood Life Momentum.
• Zhang Qingyuan summoned five Treants with Grass and Trees Soldier Summoning and formed his own Five Wood Elemental Formation.

Zhang Qingyuan copied Hu Feiyu’s Five Wood Elemental Formation, used its weakness to break it, and defeated Hu Feiyu and his companions. When the Divine Wood Secret Realm teleported them away, Zhang Qingyuan sensed the immense power behind the force and was shaken by its vastness.

• Zhang Qingyuan comprehended the Five Wood Elemental Formation and used it to merge his Treants into a colossal palm that clashed with Hu Feiyu’s attack.
• The collision wounded Hu Feiyu and left him horrified when he realized Zhang Qingyuan had learned and surpassed his formation.
• Zhang Qingyuan struck the formation’s weak point, breaking it and leaving Hu Feiyu and his companions unable to resist his sword attack.
• The Jade Talismans on Hu Feiyu and the others shattered, and the Divine Wood Secret Realm teleported them away.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed the immense power behind the teleportation and felt like an ant gazing at the sky and sea.

Zhang Qingyuan recovered from sensing the Divine Wood Consciousness and decided to investigate the faction plotting within the Divine Wood Secret Realm. After Wei Tianxing thanked him for the rescue and revealed he had learned about the faction, Zhang Qingyuan asked him to share what he knew.

• Zhang Qingyuan steadied his Dao Heart after sensing the immense power behind the Divine Wood Secret Realm and resolved to seek out the Divine Wood Consciousness.
• Zhang Qingyuan suspected Hu Feiyu's faction was clearing out cultivators to pursue a goal connected to the Divine Wood Consciousness.
• Wei Tianxing thanked Zhang Qingyuan for defeating Hu Feiyu and his companions, and admitted that Zhang Qingyuan's talent had ended his hope of catching up.
• Wei Tianxing said his internal injuries had left him unable to fight, so he planned to explore two opportunities before leaving the Secret Realm.
• Zhang Qingyuan said he was already preparing to investigate Hu Feiyu's faction, and Wei Tianxing began explaining what he had learned about their purpose.

Zhang Qingyuan learned that Gongsun Lan, a powerful Core Disciple seeking the Divine Wood Consciousness, had caused the upheaval in the Divine Wood Secret Realm. He followed Wei Tianxing’s directions to a hidden passage and arrived as Zhang Meng defeated Si Jiu, leaving Zhang Qingyuan to face the conflict over Gongsun Lan’s plans.

• Wei Tianxing told Zhang Qingyuan that Gongsun Lan had found a way for Core Disciples to locate the Divine Wood Consciousness.
• Zhang Qingyuan headed toward the location Wei Tianxing had identified, determined not to let anyone obstruct his Dao Path.
• Zhang Qingyuan found a vast crater and the remains of a battle at the hidden location.
• Zhang Qingyuan discovered a concealed entrance among ancient trees and followed a passage toward the sounds of battle.
• Zhang Meng accused Gongsun Lan of interfering at Tianmu Peak and defeated Si Jiu, whose Jade Talisman teleported him away.

Zhang Qingyuan confronted Zhang Meng at the mysterious gate in the Divine Wood Secret Realm, where the powerful Ninth Layer cultivator attacked him in anger. Zhang Qingyuan met Zhang Meng’s overwhelming strike head-on, and their battle began.

• After Si Jiu was defeated and teleported away, Zhang Meng dismissed Gongsun Lan and prepared to approach the mysterious gate.
• Zhang Meng sensed someone in the passage and struck at the entrance, but Zhang Qingyuan blocked his punch and emerged.
• Zhang Qingyuan recognized Zhang Meng as a formidable True Essence Ninth Layer cultivator warned about by Wei Tianxing.
• Enraged that he had retreated before a cultivator at the Eighth Layer, Zhang Meng unleashed his full strength and attacked Zhang Qingyuan.
• Zhang Qingyuan erupted with his own aura and charged forward to meet Zhang Meng’s attack head-on.

Zhang Qingyuan withstood Zhang Meng’s full-powered attack and evaded his relentless pursuit, then trapped him with a spatial technique. He unleashed Buddha Kingdom in Palm, leaving the battle’s outcome poised to be decided.

• Zhang Qingyuan combined the Five Wood Elemental Formation’s power and blocked Zhang Meng’s full-powered punch.
• Zhang Meng decided Zhang Qingyuan’s strength came from an external secret technique and planned to overwhelm him with successive attacks.
• Zhang Meng pursued Zhang Qingyuan with a barrage of powerful strikes, but Zhang Qingyuan dodged them and the Underground Space began to crack.
• Zhang Qingyuan solidified the space around Zhang Meng and declared that the outcome was decided.
• Zhang Qingyuan invoked Buddha Kingdom in Palm, manifesting a giant hand that encompassed the sky and earth.

Zhang Qingyuan used his newly formed, incomplete Buddha Kingdom in Palm to defeat Zhang Meng, though the move nearly exhausted his strength. Afterward, he broke through to the Spirit Essence Realm Eighth Level Middle Stage.

• Zhang Qingyuan combined insights from the Spring Breeze Fine Rain Technique, Grass and Trees Soldier Summoning, and the Five Wood Elemental Formation to create a prototype of Buddha Kingdom in Palm.
• Zhang Qingyuan revealed that he had secretly built momentum during his fight with Zhang Meng and unleashed the four-element palm strike.
• The palm strike shattered the space around Zhang Meng, severely injured him, and teleported him away.
• Zhang Qingyuan recovered some True Essence and reflected that Buddha Kingdom in Palm consumed over ninety percent of his strength and remained a life-or-death trump card.
• Zhang Qingyuan absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, broke through his bottleneck, and advanced to the Spirit Essence Realm Eighth Level Middle Stage.

After breaking through, Zhang Qingyuan tried several ways to open the Ancient Gate but failed until the Divine Wood Seal resonated with its patterns. The resulting spatial vortex swallowed him, and he recognized it as the teleportation that expelled injured Core Disciples from the Divine Wood Secret Realm.

• Zhang Qingyuan broke through, nearly doubling his True Essence and greatly increasing his strength.
• Zhang Qingyuan tried pushing the Ancient Gate, probing it with divine sense, and dripping blood on it, but none of the attempts opened it.
• Zhang Qingyuan recognized that the gate’s patterns resembled those on the Divine Wood Seal he had obtained after rescuing Yang Yuyan.
• Zhang Qingyuan brought out the Divine Wood Seal, which resonated with the gate and made both glow.
• A spatial vortex swallowed Zhang Qingyuan, and he realized it was the teleportation used to expel injured Core Disciples from the Divine Wood Secret Realm.

Zhang Qingyuan met a powerful being in the verdant space, learned why the Five Elements Great Dao had fallen out of reach, and received confirmation that he could still pursue it. The being revealed that Abyssal Demons had devastated the realm ten thousand years ago, and Zhang Qingyuan reacted with shock because he had encountered them before.

• A mysterious being summoned Zhang Qingyuan, examined his Divine Wood Seal, and said his cultivation and talents had caught its attention.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked why the Five Elements Sect’s orthodox inheritance had fractured and why cultivators no longer followed the ancient Five Elements Great Dao.
• The being explained that a cataclysm severed the realm from the Upper Realm, deprived the sect of the Five Elements Origin Stone, and left the realm’s World Law incomplete.
• The being told Zhang Qingyuan that he could still pursue the Five Elements path and might ascend to the Upper Realm if he reached its summit.
• The being said Abyssal Demons had invaded and severely injured the realm ten thousand years earlier, and Zhang Qingyuan revealed through his reaction that he had encountered them.

Zhang Qingyuan asked an ancient being about the Abyssal Demons and the erased history of the upheaval a thousand years ago. The being explained that the Huangtian Cult and the Desolate Sky Body Refining Art arose from attempts to imitate the demons, and that unchecked ambition led to the cult’s destruction.

• Zhang Qingyuan recalled killing Nangong Bantian ten years earlier and told the ancient being how his Sword Pellet had slain the demon-possessed foe.
• The ancient being confirmed Nangong Bantian had been possessed by an Abyssal Demon and explained that Zhang Qingyuan’s Sword Pellet was a Five Elements Sect weapon effective against them.
• Zhang Qingyuan questioned why records of the upheaval a thousand years ago had been erased, and the ancient being asked whether people would choose an easier path to power and longer life.
• The ancient being explained that Abyssal Demons drained the world’s origin and eroded their followers’ minds, while desperate cultivators accepted the risks for longevity and strength.
• The ancient being revealed that the Huangtian Cult and the Desolate Sky Body Refining Art originated from cultivators adapting the Abyssal Demons’ path, and that humanity’s ambition caused the cult’s destruction and the upheaval.

Zhang Qingyuan was sent to a vast world centered on a colossal tree, where he found an emerald cushion that amplified enlightenment. He began cultivating there, rapidly deepening his understanding of the Five Elements and strengthening his aura.

• A mysterious consciousness sent Zhang Qingyuan away to receive the opportunity meant for visitors to its domain.
• The consciousness wondered whether Zhang Qingyuan would succeed where a monstrous visitor from more than three hundred years earlier had failed, then vanished.
• Zhang Qingyuan arrived atop a colossal tree and found an emerald cushion infused with Dao Rhyme.
• Zhang Qingyuan concluded his chosen path toward the pinnacle was correct and sat on the cushion to cultivate.
• The cushion flooded Zhang Qingyuan with insights, rapidly advancing his understanding of Wood Life Intent and the Water and Fire Elements.

After half a month of cultivation, Zhang Qingyuan left Tianmu Peak with his Wood Life Intent advanced to force and his realm at the True Essence Eighth Layer Late-Stage. He planned to return to the South Sea to consolidate his gains, pursue the Ninth Layer, and later complete his Gold Element path.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on how the Divine Wood Secret Realm had deepened his understanding of the Five Elements and advanced his Wood Life Intent to force.
• Zhang Qingyuan realized that the remaining Breath Soil might not be enough to carry him to the True Essence Ninth Layer, so he planned to stabilize his realm and refine his True Essence first.
• Zhang Qingyuan decided to return to the South Sea, organize his gains, and later pursue the Gold Element path.
• Zhang Qingyuan departed Tianmu Peak unnoticed after most of the Divine Wood Secret Realm participants had already left.
• Zhang Qingyuan looked forward to cultivating quietly outside the sect and advancing to Cave True while the sect's disciples contended with one another.

Zhang Qingyuan left the sect and reflected on the loneliness brought by years of cultivation, wondering if his sorrow was an Inner Demon. Elsewhere, Zhang Meng escaped another confrontation and vowed to take revenge on Zhang Qingyuan and Gongsun Lan.

• Zhang Qingyuan tried to visit old friends, but learned that Wang Yuènián had left with Headmaster Liu and had not returned, so he left messages and departed.
• Zhang Qingyuan quietly passed the lively Inner Sect Grand Competition without drawing attention.
• After decades of cultivation and distance from family and friends, Zhang Qingyuan felt lonely and wondered whether he was experiencing an Inner Demon.
• Zhang Meng fought He Qianshan's people, denied seeing the person they sought, and left despite their warning that his conflict with a senior disciple was not over.
• Zhang Meng decided to enter seclusion for ten years and swore to repay Zhang Qingyuan and Gongsun Lan for his humiliation.

Zhang Qingyuan returned to the Moon Liên Islands and planned to consolidate his cultivation before attempting another breakthrough. There, he was surprised to find Yang Yuyan waiting for him, and he agreed to let her stay while remaining wary of the secrets behind her Divine Wood Seal.

• Zhang Qingyuan decided to spend several years stabilizing his cultivation before advancing toward the Spirit Essence Realm Ninth Level.
• Zhang Qingyuan returned to the prosperous Moon Liên Islands and slipped through the crowd and Island Protection Array unnoticed.
• Zhang Qingyuan found Yang Yuyan at his headquarters and asked why she had come.
• Yang Yuyan explained that her pursuers had not returned, and that she had come to the South Sea after wandering for two months with the token Zhang Qingyuan had given her.
• Zhang Qingyuan agreed to let Yang Yuyan stay on the islands, though he remained suspicious about her connection to the Divine Wood Seal and its mysterious secrets.