Chapter Summaries

Shen Xuan agreed to accompany True Person Hanyu to the Ganshui Secret Realm, though he had judged the risks outweighed the likely rewards. Li Ruyi recognized the realm’s name and received permission to join them, while Shen Xuan’s return to his Cave Abode brought an unexpected visitor’s card.

• Shen Xuan presented True Person Hanyu with Lightning Spirit Pearls, a Thunder Talisman Spirit Array, a Top-grade Flying Sword, Hanyu Pills, and Demonic Cores, and she agreed to help him make an appearance.
• Shen Xuan decided against entering the Ganshui Secret Realm because he considered the risks unnecessary and believed he could advance through Alchemy and Talisman crafting.
• After the Council Meeting announced twenty trial participants, Shen Xuan went to the Alchemy Room and told Li Ruyi and Liu Bingyu to remain on Hanyu Peak while he and True Person Hanyu were away.
• Li Ruyi said the name Ganshui Secret Realm seemed familiar, and Shen Xuan obtained True Person Hanyu’s approval for her to accompany them.
• Su Xue'er handed Shen Xuan a Visiting Card, and he was surprised by the name on it.

Shen Xuan traded Lightning Spirit Pearls and Thunder Talismans with Xu Gaonong and Qingyun Sect disciples for cultivation items and collateral before the Ganshui Secret Realm Trial. He used Xu Gaonong’s Yellow Crystal Divine Soil to rapidly grow the Seven-Colored Treasure Lotus’s eighth petal, then prepared to study the Demonic Wood Sect inheritance.

• Xu Gaonong traded Yellow Crystal Divine Soil for a hundred Lightning Spirit Pearls and forty-nine ordinary Thunder Array Flying Talismans, then left his Demonic Wood Sect Inheritance Jade Slip with Shen Xuan as collateral for borrowing high-quality Thunder Talismans.
• Core Formation Seeds from most of Qingyun Sect’s peaks visited Shen Xuan to trade for Lightning Spirit Pearls and Thunder Talismans, and he lent them supplies in exchange for collateral.
• Shen Xuan lent He Zhengming high-quality Thunder Array Flying Talismans without asking for collateral and gave three high-quality Poison Talismans to the last disciples who came to see him.
• Shen Xuan fed the Yellow Crystal Divine Soil to the Seven-Colored Treasure Lotus, which consumed it in an hour and grew its central jade-white petal to half the size of the neighboring petal.
• Shen Xuan prepared to examine the Demonic Wood Sect Inheritance Jade Slip.

Shen Xuan studied the Demonic Wood Sect’s inheritance and considered using cultivators’ remains to nourish demonic plants. He accompanied Qingyun Sect to the Ganshui Secret Realm, where True Person Hanyu clashed with Medicine God Valley and Shen Xuan received gifts from Profound Heaven Sect, before the Profound Heaven Sect delegation arrived.

• Shen Xuan read the Demonic Wood Sect’s secret arts, rejected those that consumed his lifespan, and considered using Demon Cultivators’ bodies to nourish demonic plants.
• True Person Lingxiao and True Person Hanyu led Qingyun Sect’s airship to Ganshui Commandery with Shen Xuan and the sect’s Core Formation Seeds.
• True Person Hanyu froze a Medicine God Valley airship that overtook them, then let it pass after its True Person removed the ice.
• True Person Xuanji offered Shen Xuan a valuable Disciple Seal, but True Person Lingxiao intervened, and True Person Xuanyang gave Shen Xuan an eight-hundred-year-old Purple Blood Ice Ganoderma instead.
• Xuan Ying True Person pressured Shen Xuan with his Spiritual Sense until True Person Hanyu stopped him, and the Medicine God Valley delegation set up camp.
• True Person Xuanwen and True Person Xuanku arrived with fifty Profound Heaven Sect disciples, and Xuanwen’s Spiritual Sense caused many disciples from the other sects pain.

The Seven Sects gathered at the Profound Heaven Sect and opened the Ganshui Secret Realm, sending 180 disciples inside for a three-month trial. Three days later, a Soul Tablet belonging to a Medicine God Valley disciple shattered.

• Zhuo Qingning told Shen Xuan that he had obtained thirty sets of Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients and arranged for Shen Xuan to coordinate with Zhuo Jincheng on refining Life Extension Pills.
• The Divine Sword Sect arrived, and Yue Mingfei taunted True Person Hanyu over Nie Wuchen's loss to Shen Xuan before backing away from her challenge.
• The Golden Sun Sect, Beast Sovereign Pavilion, and Qianji Sect arrived, and leaders from all Seven Sects warned their disciples not to fight one another in the Secret Realm.
• The Seven Sects combined their Secret Realm Tokens to open the ancient gate, and all 180 disciples entered the Ganshui Secret Realm.
• Three days after the trial began, one of the fifteen Soul Tablets before True Person Xuan Ying cracked apart.

Shen Xuan learned that Yan State cultivators were inside the Ganshui Secret Realm, explaining the unexpectedly high casualties among the Song State sects. The Seven Sects opened the gates early after casualties reached their agreed limit, and more than a hundred battered disciples emerged.

• Soul Tablets began cracking soon after the trial started, and the True Persons of the Seven Sects grew alarmed as disciples died at an extraordinary rate.
• Li Ruyi told Shen Xuan that her former sect, the Danxia Sect, had foretold that its Shuiyue Secret Realm would open in Song Country at Ganshui Commandery.
• Shen Xuan reported Li Ruyi's revelation to True Person Hanyu, who summoned Li Ruyi to explain that Yan State cultivators were likely fighting inside the Secret Realm.
• The Six Sects asked True Person Xuanwen to open the gates early, and the True Persons agreed to do so once casualties reached thirty-six.
• After eight more disciples died, True Person Xuanwen and the other sect leaders opened the gates, and more than a hundred injured disciples rushed out.

After the Seven Sects suffered heavy losses in the Ganshui Secret Realm, Shen Xuan traded for a Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent and sought Third-tier water-monster Essence Blood. True Person Xuanwen offered the remains of Profound Heaven Sect’s Jade Water Golden Eye Beast, but demanded the Spiritual Mystic Tortoise Remains Shen Xuan possessed in exchange.

• The Seven Sects’ disciples reported that Yan State cultivators had ambushed them in the Secret Realm, leaving thirty-six dead, including five Qingyun Sect disciples.
• Shen Xuan learned that Xu Gaonong had survived with the help of his Thunder Array Flying Talisman, while Xu concealed what he had found.
• At the True Persons’ trading meet, Shen Xuan exchanged thirty-six Hanyu Pills for Blazing Sun True Person’s Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent after learning it could grow additional heads.
• At Shen Xuan’s prompting, True Person Hanyu asked the gathered True Persons for Third-Order water-monster Essence Blood, and True Person Xuanwen offered Essence Blood from the deceased Jade Water Golden Eye Beast.
• Shen Xuan offered Hanyu Pills, a Top-grade Flying Sword, and Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talismans, but True Person Xuanwen demanded the Spiritual Mystic Tortoise Remains in exchange.

Shen Xuan traded for valuable treasures at the True Persons' gathering and returned to Qingyun Sect after the Ganshui Secret Realm expedition. He reflected on the dangers of attracting the True Persons' attention and prepared to cultivate with the Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent essence blood.

• True Person Hanyu traded Shen Xuan's Spiritual Mystic Tortoise Remains to True Person Xuanwen for Jade Water Golden Eye Beast essence blood and a Xuanfeng Teleportation Talisman.
• Shen Xuan traded his Hanyu Pill, Top-grade Flying Sword, and Thunder Array Flying Talisman to Blazing Sun True Person for Immortal Gold Battle Armor.
• Zhuo Qingning told Shen Xuan he would visit Qingyun Sect in half a year to discuss Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients, and the sect ships departed the Ganshui Secret Realm.
• Zhang Xingyuan and the other disciples paid Shen Xuan to reclaim their collateral spirit items, while Shen Xuan asked Xu Gaonong to help him find Yellow Crystal Divine Soil.
• After returning to Qingyun Sect, Shen Xuan considered the dangers posed by the True Persons and took out Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent essence blood to test his luck.

Shen Xuan absorbed the Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent’s talent for Endless Vitality and tested his growing strength in the Immortal Gold Battle Armor, gaining insight into the Dharma Aspect Realm. He received word that Tang Renhao and Zhu Jintang had arrived with demonic cores he had requested for experiments making Foundation Establishment Pills.

• Shen Xuan used the Mysterious Jade Talisman to plunder Endless Vitality from the Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent’s Essence Blood, gaining 67602 Dao Rhyme.
• Shen Xuan practiced on Hanyu Peak, transforming his body and testing his Golden Light Rod with the Immortal Gold Battle Armor.
• Shen Xuan discovered that he felt most comfortable at sixteen feet tall and grasped a trace of the Dharma Aspect Realm’s profound meaning.
• Shen Xuan studied cultivation texts for insights into Dharma Aspect Realm Body Refiners and found that Qingyun Sect had none.
• Wang Xiaogui brought Shen Xuan Visiting Cards from Tang Renhao and Zhu Jintang, whom Shen Xuan had asked to acquire Second Rank Demonic Cores for his Foundation Establishment Pill experiments.

Shen Xuan hosted Tang Renhao and Zhu Jintang, bought their Second-Order Demonic Cores, and promised them Foundation Establishment Pills after a delay. The next day, as he prepared to begin alchemy, Lu Zhengying arrived with shocking news.

• Shen Xuan welcomed Tang Renhao and Zhu Jintang and discussed their old friend Wen Zijian and their stalled cultivation.
• Zhu Jintang presented eighteen Second-Order Demonic Cores, and Shen Xuan accepted all of them despite rejecting two as unsuitable for alchemy.
• Shen Xuan paid Tang Renhao and Zhu Jintang 350,000 spirit stones and promised them at least three to five Foundation Establishment Pills in two to five years.
• Shen Xuan asked the two men to buy more suitable Demonic Cores and saw them off from Hanyu Peak.
• The following day, Lu Zhengying hurried to Shen Xuan with shocking news just as he planned to begin refining pills.

Shen Xuan learned that Qin Yuehan had entered the Reincarnation Spirit Mirror to temper her Dao Heart and avoid a marriage arranged by the Qin Family, while he began refining Foundation Establishment Pills and gained the Endless Vitality talent. After rapidly mastering the pill-refining techniques, he was unaware that the True Persons were discussing his appointment.

• Lu Zhengying told Shen Xuan that Qin Yuehan had entered the Reincarnation Spirit Mirror and passed along her letter, which Shen Xuan read and destroyed.
• Lu Zhengying reported that Qin Zhigang, a False Core True Person from the Qin Family, had come to arrange a match for Qin Yuehan, and Shen Xuan decided they need not intervene while she was in the mirror.
• Lu Zhengying delivered seven Demonic Cores for Shen Xuan, who continued buying ingredients and attempted to refine Foundation Establishment Pills with Li Ruyi's advice.
• After five failed batches, Shen Xuan improved his Foundation Establishment Pill proficiency and saved the failed mixture to nourish his Purple Blood Ice Ganoderma.
• Shen Xuan gained the Endless Vitality talent from the last Two-headed Flood Dragon Serpent and used Dao Rhyme to raise his Foundation Establishment Pill skill to Minor Mastery.
• The Council Meeting of True Persons discussed Shen Xuan's appointment without his knowledge.

True Person Xuanling and True Person Changchun argued that Shen Xuan should join the Spirit Pill Hall, while True Person Hanyu fought to keep her disciple focused on the Ice Method. As True Person Mizong prepared to favor the alchemists’ plan, an authoritative voice interrupted to ask what Shen Xuan wanted.

• True Person Xuanling proposed that Shen Xuan join the Spirit Pill Hall and devote himself to refining pills for Qingyun Sect.
• True Person Hanyu rejected the proposal, defended Shen Xuan’s Hanyu Pill work, and challenged True Person Xuanling to a spar.
• True Person Changchun said Spirit Pill Hall alchemists resented Shen Xuan’s apparent preferential treatment, and True Person Mizong explained why Shen Xuan had been allowed to keep Hanyu Pills.
• True Person Changchun offered to take Shen Xuan as his final disciple and help him become a Third-grade Alchemist, while True Person Tianlei also offered to take him as a Personal Disciple.
• True Person Mizong prepared to side with True Person Changchun, but an authoritative voice asked whether anyone had considered what Shen Xuan wanted.

True Person Lingxiao blocked the attempt to transfer Shen Xuan to Longevity True Person and True Person Tianlei, and Shen Xuan refused to change masters. Reassured but wary of the sect’s power struggles, Shen Xuan focused on strengthening himself and successfully refined two Foundation Establishment Pills.

• True Person Lingxiao argued that changing masters required Shen Xuan’s consent and approval under the Sect Commandments, and Mizong True Person ruled that True Person Hanyu should ask Shen Xuan what he wanted.
• Shen Xuan told True Person Hanyu he would not become a disciple of Longevity True Person or True Person Tianlei, and he warned that Longevity True Person might also be targeting her and True Person Lingxiao.
• Shen Xuan used the Auspiciousness Avoidance Technique, marked True Person Tianlei, Longevity True Person, and True Person Xuanling as enemies, and resolved to grow stronger or flee if the sect tried to send him to the Spirit Pill Hall.
• Ten days later, Shen Xuan refined his sixth batch of Foundation Establishment Pills and formed two six-pattern pills, while Li Ruyi and Liu Bingyu watched.
• Li Ruyi told Shen Xuan that forming two Foundation Establishment Pills per batch qualified him as an alchemist in Yan State, and Shen Xuan wondered whether Song State’s standards differed.

After Shen Xuan’s Water Method Foundation Establishment Pills brought a flood of clients to Hanyu Peak, he became booked years in advance and gained influence across Qingyun Sect. He negotiated a lucrative Alchemy partnership with Zhuo Qingning’s Tongxin Chamber of Commerce, agreeing to produce at least twenty-four pills a year.

• Lu Zhengying sorted a flood of Visiting Cards for Shen Xuan, who agreed to meet with important families and have Lu handle the rest.
• At a Council Meeting, True Person Hanyu revealed that Shen Xuan could refine three Foundation Establishment Pills per batch, and news of his skill spread throughout Qingyun Sect.
• Shen Xuan accepted two batches of Foundation Establishment Pill materials each month and became booked two years in advance as sect families sought his pills.
• Shen Xuan agreed to meet Zhuo Qingning after receiving repeated Visiting Cards, while Lu Zhengying anticipated gaining a Gold Attribute Foundation Establishment Pill through the connection.
• Shen Xuan and Zhuo Qingning agreed that Tongxin Chamber of Commerce would provide the ingredients and receive one Water Law Foundation Establishment Pill per batch, with Shen Xuan producing at least twenty-four pills a year.

Shen Xuan improved his Eight-Colored Treasure Lotus by feeding it Yellow Crystal Divine Soil, then refined Jade Water Golden Eye Beast Essence Blood and gained the talent A Run of Good Fortune. Two years later, after the sect kept him busy with Alchemy assignments, he realized it was trying to control and exploit his skills, leaving him resentful and considering what to do.

• Shen Xuan fed three chunks of Yellow Crystal Divine Soil to the Seven-Colored Treasure Lotus, transforming it into an Eight-Colored Treasure Lotus with stronger purifying, soul-strengthening, and protective effects.
• Shen Xuan refined Jade Water Golden Eye Beast Essence Blood with the Eight-Colored Treasure Lotus, gaining progress in A Run of Good Fortune and 2,100 Dao Charm Points.
• Two years passed, and Shen Xuan became a renowned maker of Foundation Establishment Pills while keeping clients, including Zhou Jinxing, waiting outside Hanyu Peak.
• Shen Xuan refused to meet Zhou Jinxing, delegated the sect's latest Alchemy assignment to Lu Zhengying, and left the Alchemy Room to rest.
• Shen Xuan reviewed his packed Alchemy schedule and concluded that the sect was using its assignments to control him and consume his time and talent.

Shen Xuan broke through to the Dharma Aspect Realm and gained the Cold Ice Flood Dragon Dharma Aspect, while growing more wary of the Qingyun Sect’s demands. As the sect prepared its wilderness reclamation army, he learned that Ding Yuyao had died and decided to leave for Qingyun Immortal City to attend her funeral.

• Shen Xuan read reports about the Seven Sects’ wilderness reclamation plans and border skirmishes between Yan State and Song State, then resolved to increase his strength.
• Shen Xuan refined the Jade Water Golden Eye Beast’s Essence Blood but failed to advance until his cudgel practice awakened a Flood Dragon Dharma Aspect.
• Shen Xuan discovered that the Dharma Aspect greatly strengthened his body and let him wield the Cold Ice Flood Dragon’s abilities without spiritual power.
• Shen Xuan learned that True Person Lingxiao, True Person Hanyu, and Lone Peak True Person would lead an army to seek a Third-grade Spirit Vein, while the sect increased his alchemy workload.
• Shen Xuan received word from Shen Xiuxing that Ding Yuyao had died at eighty-eight and asked Lu Zhengying to file a request so he could leave for Qingyun Immortal City.

Shen Xuan traveled to Qingyun Immortal City with Su Xue'er to attend Ding Yuyao’s funeral, then discovered Xiao Jinsong intended to kill him on the return journey. Shen Xuan revealed his Dharma Aspect Realm body-refining strength and faced Xiao Jinsong’s full sword attack.

• Shen Xuan read Shen Xiuxing’s letter about Ding Yuyao and invited Su Xue'er to accompany him to her funeral.
• Shen Xuan, Su Xue'er, and Xiao Jinsong traveled to Qingyun Immortal City, where Shen Xuan and Su Xue'er mourned Ding Yuyao with her family.
• After Ding Yuyao was buried, Shen Xuan left Su Xue'er at Shen Manor and flew back with Xiao Jinsong.
• Over a river, Shen Xuan confronted Xiao Jinsong, realized he had been sent by Longevity True Person, and challenged him for his Spirit Artifact sword.
• Xiao Jinsong attacked with his flying sword, but Shen Xuan transformed into his sixteen-foot Golden Body and shattered the sword light with his Golden Great Staff.
• Xiao Jinsong recognized Shen Xuan had reached the Dharma Aspect Realm and launched another attack with his full sword strength.

Shen Xuan defeated and killed Xiao Jinsong after transforming into an Armored Flood Dragon, then escaped with the Ten Thousand Mile Golden Light Talisman. True Person Guangwei arrived too late and confronted True Person Hanyu over the attack, while she said Shen Xuan could not be kept waiting.

• Shen Xuan fought back against Xiao Jinsong’s Spirit Artifact flying sword and chose to face him rather than escape immediately.
• Shen Xuan transformed into an Armored Flood Dragon and overwhelmed Xiao Jinsong with his Bloodline Talents, Spirit Devouring Demonic Fire, and Roar of the Four Directions.
• Shen Xuan broke Xiao Jinsong’s Divine Bell Talisman, pierced him with his fangs, and devoured his False Core.
• Shen Xuan took Xiao Jinsong’s flying sword and Storage Bag, stored his corpse in a Corpse Raising Gourd, and escaped using the Ten Thousand Mile Golden Light Talisman.
• True Person Guangwei arrived after Shen Xuan vanished and rebuked True Person Hanyu, who said she could be patient but Shen Xuan could not.

After fleeing Song State, Shen Xuan reached Divine Dragon Island in Yan State’s lawless Outer Sea and negotiated a place to settle as a guest elder of the Chen Family. The chapter ended with Chen Zhifang presenting the Spirit Contract after witnessing Shen Xuan craft nine flawless talismans, just as Shen Xuan raised another condition.

• Shen Xuan traveled east across the sea in disguise, decided he could not safely remain in Song, Liang, or Lu, and chose to seek a remote spirit island in Yan State.
• Three months later, Shen Xuan arrived at Divine Dragon Island, concealed his identity and cultivation, and introduced himself to the Chen Family as Shen Fei, a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Rogue Cultivator.
• Chen Zhifang welcomed Shen Xuan and offered him a guest elder position, and they negotiated the stipend, contract term, cave abode, and limited instruction for Chen Family Talisman Apprentices.
• Shen Xuan crafted five Spring Return Talismans and four Water Escape Talismans, all successfully and at top quality, impressing Chen Zhifang.
• Chen Zhifang presented Shen Xuan with the Guest Elder Spirit Contract, but Shen Xuan stopped him and began to state another condition.

Shen Xuan secured a place as a Guest Official of the Chen family and chose a Cave Abode on Spring Wind Island. When the Chen family’s Formation Master could not follow his elaborate design, Mu Ling'er offered to help.

• Shen Xuan asked the Chen Family Old Ancestor for a Branch Island on which to establish a Cave Abode, and the Old Ancestor offered him a place on Spring Wind Island.
• Chen Zhifang introduced Shen Xuan to Alchemist Zheng Ziyi and Mu Ling'er, who both accepted his settling on the island.
• Shen Xuan signed the Guest Official agreement and chose the best remaining Spirit Vein node on Spring Wind Island for his Cave Abode.
• Shen Xuan described an elaborate formation design, but the Chen Family Formation Master could not carry it out.
• Mu Ling'er offered to set up Shen Xuan’s formations and said she was the fairest in the Starry Sea.

Shen Xuan hired Mu Ling'er to install four Second-Order formations at his new Cave Abode on Spring Wind Island, then finished preparing the Dao Field and made an escape route into the East Sea. After scouting Divine Dragon Island Market for information, he entered Immortal Heavenly Court and demanded to see whoever was in charge.

• Mu Ling'er reviewed Shen Xuan's Cave Abode blueprint, recommended formations suited to the terrain, and agreed to install four formations for 210,000 Spirit Stones.
• Shen Xuan signed a Spirit Contract with Mu Ling'er, paid an 80,000 Spirit Stone advance, and learned she would only show him her face after he paid in full.
• Shen Xuan developed his Dao Field, created a concealed passage from its Spirit Pool through the cliff, and prepared it as an escape route to the East Sea.
• Shen Xuan disguised his Silver Horned Heavenly Steed and assigned it to guard a planned Spirit Herb Garden while he considered how to gather news about Song State and Qingyun Sect.
• Shen Xuan explored Divine Dragon Island Market, visited Drunken Immortal Tower for information, and then entered Immortal Heavenly Court demanding to see whoever was in charge.