Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing reunited with his Taiqing Sect companions, learned that Xuan Yuan Shuo had taken credit for the death of the Peng Emperor, and prepared to return to the academy as crowds converged on Spirit Skull Mountain. On the journey, Zhou Qing suddenly suffered a suspected relapse of the poison and he and Yan Xiaohu were trapped by a formation as a Transformation Spirit Realm expert appeared.

• Cao Zhengyang and Gao Xuan left to investigate Spirit Skull Mountain, while Zhou Qing reflected on Gao Xuan’s past and NanNan’s body.
• Zhou Qing paid respects at Luo Xue and Tan Qiang’s graves, and Du Kui privately hinted that he might betray Zhou Qing for a purpose tied to Azure Heaven.
• Zhou Qing met He Han, Shi Zhen, Pei Yan, Lei Luo, and Yuan Ya, then joined them for a meal as they discussed Lu Yaoyao and the absent Lei Lie and Zhu He.
• News spread that Feng Xuanyi, the Peng Emperor of Great Demon Mountain, had fallen at Spirit Skull Mountain, and Xuan Yuan Shuo’s silence led people to believe he had killed him.
• Mo Xingjian urged Zhou Qing to leave for the academy, and Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu departed after Zhou Qing shared a farewell drink with Du Kui.
• A month into their journey, Zhou Qing became violently ill and fell from the sky; Yan Xiaohu caught him, but a formation trapped them and a Transformation Spirit Realm expert appeared.

Du Kui revealed that he had betrayed Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu to pursue Spirit Transformation, and Zhou Qing discovered that Du Kui had deliberately abandoned Luo Xue at Spirit Skull Mountain. Zhou Qing escaped Du Kui’s Intent Realm and array by transforming into a Golden Winged Great Peng, then battled Du Kui and Lin Jin.

• Lin Jin and Du Kui revealed that they had poisoned and trapped Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu, and Du Kui prepared to kill his Junior Brothers himself.
• Du Kui explained that he had knowingly abandoned Luo Xue to deepen his despair and strengthen his Intent Realm, then admitted he planned to kill Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu to complete his breakthrough.
• Du Kui’s despairing Intent Realm drove Yan Xiaohu toward suicide, but Zhou Qing stopped him and confronted Du Kui about Luo Xue’s death.
• Zhou Qing broke free of the array by transforming into a Golden Winged Great Peng, threw Du Kui outside it, and faced Lin Jin’s poison attacks.
• Zhou Qing fought Du Kui and Lin Jin, knocking Du Kui back while evading Lin Jin’s venomous snakes and Nine-Headed Serpent.

Zhou Qing defeated Lin Jin and helped Du Kui end his life with dignity, then returned to Taiqing Sect and set out again for Soaring Cloud Prefecture. At Bei Mang Mine, he discovered that a severely injured Demon Emperor had buried a great opportunity deeper in the tunnels.

• Zhou Qing used Emperor's Majesty to disrupt Lin Jin's attacks, wounded him with a poisoned broken sword, and fought him while Yan Xiaohu battled Du Kui.
• Zhou Qing pursued Lin Jin as he fled and killed him, then returned with his corpse, allowing Yan Xiaohu to sever Du Kui's arm.
• Du Kui asked whether he could return to Taiqing Sect, and Zhou Qing promised to bring him home before Du Kui destroyed his Nascent Soul and died.
• Gao Xuan told Zhou Qing that Du Kui had left an Image Stone explaining the truth, and thanked Zhou Qing for preserving his dignity.
• After recovering at Taiqing Sect, Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu returned to Bei Mang Mine, where Zhou Qing appraised the tunnel and learned a severely injured Demon Emperor had buried an opportunity deeper inside.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu found Feng Xuanyi’s hidden token and learned that the Eastern Region concealed a major secret, then returned to Vast Expanse Prefecture with Li Shitao and Xiao Cancan. On the way to White Jade Grand Ruins Academy, they reunited with Li Niang and confronted cultivators who demanded an outrageous price for the medicine she had stolen.

• Zhou Qing searched the abandoned mine with Yan Xiaohu and uncovered a box containing an Image Stone and a Heavenly Demon Token.
• Feng Xuanyi’s recording warned of Xuan Yuan Shuo’s strength, described ancient Demon Emperors’ search for an Eastern Region opportunity, and revealed that the token opened his cave residence’s Five-Colored Restriction.
• Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu returned to Soaring Cloud Prefecture, met Li Shitao and Xiao Cancan, and traveled with them to Vast Expanse Prefecture.
• After parting from Li Shitao and Xiao Cancan, Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu encountered Li Niang, who mistook Zhou Qing for her husband while fleeing four cultivators.
• Zhou Qing offered a High-Grade Spirit Stone to settle Li Niang’s theft of Dream Erosion Grass, but the leading elder demanded twenty High-Grade Spirit Stones and Yan Xiaohu angrily challenged him.

Zhou Qing returned to the academy, learned more about the Blood Curse and his Four-Colored Flower from Second Uncle, and received two Enlightenment Talismans. Second Uncle then took him to Vast Expanse Prefecture to guide him in comprehending an artistic conception, beginning with its three stages.

• Li Niang defeated four Nascent Soul cultivators who attacked Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu, then fled after realizing she had mistaken them for someone else.
• Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu returned to a quiet academy, where Lu Yaoyao prepared to enter seclusion and Li Daoxuan asked about the fallen Severing Spirit Realm expert.
• Second Uncle examined Zhou Qing's Blood Curse, proposed using the Four-Colored Flower to remove it, and promised to take him somewhere after he rested.
• The white-clothed man apologized to Zhou Qing and showed him an Image Stone of Li Daoxuan, whom he had saved from a Demon King; Zhou Qing then gave the man a talisman-ash drink to undo his misfortune.
• Zhou Qing received two Enlightenment Talismans from the Strange Post Record and decided to use them to pursue an artistic conception.
• Second Uncle took Zhou Qing to Vast Expanse Prefecture and explained that comprehending an artistic conception involved observing all things, comprehending true meaning, and condensing a Dao Seed.

Second Uncle taught Zhou Qing to observe all things by becoming part of ordinary life, and Zhou Qing spent three months in Vast Expanse Prefecture helping the poor while trying to understand how to change their fates. After Old Weng helped him see that kindness could plant seeds of change over time, Zhou Qing continued his path with a clearer perspective.

• Second Uncle told Zhou Qing to experience the lives and emotions of ordinary people, then left him to pursue that understanding for a year.
• Zhou Qing joined the crowds in Vast Expanse Prefecture and began observing their lives and his own, while Second Uncle watched approvingly before leaving for Soaring Cloud Prefecture.
• Lu Yaoyao emerged from seclusion after reaching the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, noticed her silver hair had increased, and went looking for Zhou Qing after learning Second Uncle had taken him away.
• After three months in Vast Expanse Prefecture, Zhou Qing brought fish to Old Weng and gave pastries to the poor, who ate them without warning him when a thief stole his money.
• Old Weng recognized that Zhou Qing was trying to change people's fates and explained that his kindness could plant seeds of change, while his care had already improved Old Weng's own life.
• Zhou Qing thanked Old Weng, accepted that change took time, and asked what fish he would like to eat the next day.

After nine months living among ordinary people in Vast Expanse Prefecture, Zhou Qing reached Nascent Soul Great Perfection and formed the rudiment of an Overbearing Conception. He returned to the academy, decided to travel and refine his conception with Yan Xiaohu, and then entered the Grotto-Heaven before setting out to sell Lin Jin’s belongings.

• Zhou Qing reached Nascent Soul Great Perfection while fishing, then used an Enlightenment Talisman to form the rudiment of his own conception in South Alley.
• Zhou Qing gave Old Weng pills and a High-Grade Spirit Stone, returned to the academy, and told Yan Xiaohu, Li Daoxuan, and Lu Yaoyao about his progress.
• Zhou Qing decided to travel across Vast Expanse Prefecture with Yan Xiaohu to witness other conceptions, while Lu Yaoyao stayed behind to cultivate.
• Number Six thanked Zhou Qing for helping her obtain an Ice Glazed Spirit Ascension Pill, and Zhou Qing entered the Grotto-Heaven to face the Wandering Souls and try opening the first coffin.
• Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu went to Treasures Pavilion to sell items taken from Lin Jin, where Zhang Wanbao hurried out to greet them.

Zhou Qing sought a real trial to temper his extraordinary intent realm, and Second Uncle brought him to the Five Ghosts Sect with a plan to provoke Sixth Elder Luo Hou using incriminating footage. Disguised as Li Hanshan, Zhou Qing delivered the Image Stone and fled, but Luo Hou caught up with him.

• Zhang Wanbao gave Zhou Qing information about the war around the Witch Ancestor Mountain Range and warned him that Transformation Spirit Realm experts were dying in battle.
• Second Uncle explained that Zhou Qing needed to challenge mature intent realms, then took Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu to the Five Ghosts Sect and revealed an Image Stone implicating Luo Hou with the Sect Master's wife.
• Second Uncle gave Zhou Qing a wooden puppet that let him disguise himself as Li Hanshan and gave Yan Xiaohu the Purple Mansion Heart Inquiry Art.
• Zhou Qing delivered the Image Stone to the Five Ghosts Sect, then flew away as Luo Hou recognized the footage and learned Zhou Qing's appearance by searching a disciple's soul.
• Luo Hou killed two disciples who had encountered the Image Stone, pursued Zhou Qing, and caught up with him as Zhou Qing tried to escape.

Zhou Qing fought Luo Hou to deepen his Conception, then traveled with Second Uncle to challenge sect elders and absorb their insights through battle. After three years of training, Zhou Qing began breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, but his breakthrough produced a Four-Colored Flower phenomenon that Second Uncle urgently tried to conceal.

• Zhou Qing fought Luo Hou inside a trapping array, overcame his ghostly Conception with his Overbearing Conception, and left after Second Uncle sent him an Image Stone.
• Second Uncle took Zhou Qing to Ten Thousand Flowers Valley, where Zhou Qing fought Valley Master Tan Taixue, then continued battling elders across several sects to develop his Conception.
• Yan Xiaohu cultivated the Purple Mansion Heart Inquiry Art, joined Zhou Qing's training, and broke through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage after three months of fighting.
• Second Uncle took Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu to another prefecture, and three years later Zhou Qing began his final breakthrough after fighting countless Transformation Spirit Realm opponents.
• Zhou Qing manifested a towering Nascent Soul Avatar and appeared to complete his breakthrough, but a Four-Colored Flower appeared behind him, prompting Second Uncle to cover the phenomenon with his Spiritual Sense.

Zhou Qing reached Spirit Transformation and condensed 186 spirit seals after the four-colored petals strengthened his comprehension, while Lu Yaoyao revealed memories of her father’s violent past. Lin Daochen then advanced to Level Three Array Master and agreed to help reinforce the troubled border defenses, with Zhou Qing and another disciple likely to accompany him.

• Zhou Qing absorbed the four-colored petals’ power during his breakthrough, condensing 186 spirit seals and reaching Spirit Transformation.
• Second Uncle congratulated Zhou Qing and planned to take him to the border to find a way to remove the mark in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Lu Yaoyao reunited with Zhou Qing, insisted on joining his border journey, and studied drawings recalling her childhood flight with her father from Demon Emperors.
• Lin Daochen broke through to the Great Perfection of Spirit Transformation and became the Saint Martial Dynasty’s third Level Three Array Master.
• County Governor Zhong Yao asked Lin Daochen to help strengthen the border defenses, and Lin agreed to go with two companions.
• Lin Daochen went to seek Second Uncle, while Zhou Qing and Second Uncle decided to wait before congratulating him.

Zhou Qing and his companions prepared to travel to the border with Lin Daochen, then visited Old Weng, who was revealed as the academy head and a powerful cultivator. Back at the cave abode, Zhou Qing discovered two new Strange Post Record posts before the group assembled to depart.

• Zhou Qing asked to bring Lu Yaoyao to the border, and Lu Yuanzhi revealed her cultivation and requested permission to accompany her; Second Uncle agreed.
• Lin Daochen arrived and invited the group to travel to the border, and everyone accepted.
• Lin Daochen brought Zhou Qing and Second Uncle to meet Old Weng, whom he called the academy head; Old Weng recognized Zhou Qing and acknowledged Second Uncle's help in his breakthrough.
• Second Uncle told Zhou Qing that Old Weng seemed to be an injured cultivator from another country and warned him to stay cautious.
• Zhou Qing appraised the Old Hen and learned it was undergoing a second mutation, then discovered the Corpse Touching Post and Good Fortune Post in the Strange Post Record.
• Lu Yaoyao arrived with Lu Yuanzhi disguised as an unfamiliar young woman, and Second Uncle asked Zhou Qing if he could recognize her.

Zhou Qing sparred with Jiang Pojun aboard the space ship and decisively defeated the seasoned border general, revealing an overwhelming power that left the onlookers stunned. Second Uncle won ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones from Zhong Yao, while Jiang Pojun struggled to accept his defeat.

• Zhong Yao and Jiang Pojun arrived to escort Lin Daochen and his companions to the border, where the defenses faced renewed danger from Great Demon Mountain and the Flood Dragon Emperor of Blood Hell Mountain.
• Second Uncle persuaded Jiang Pojun to spar with Zhou Qing and wagered ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones with Zhong Yao that Zhou Qing would win within half an hour.
• Jiang Pojun unleashed his Blood Hell Battlefield intent, but Zhou Qing shattered it with a single command and overwhelmed him with sword, lightning, and Golden Crow attacks.
• Zhou Qing defeated Jiang Pojun without using his full strength, then apologized and withdrew his sword as the stunned general realized he had lost.
• Zhong Yao paid Second Uncle the ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones, while Lu Yaoyao and Yan Xiaohu celebrated Zhou Qing's victory.

After Zhou Qing defeated Jiang Pojun in a spar, he traveled with Lin Daochen and the others to the Saint Martial Dynasty’s border, where Lin was tasked with repairing the deteriorating Seven Stars Demon Binding Array. The chapter ends as Lin began repairing its core runes while Zhou Qing and Si Yunyai watched and studied.

• Jiang Pojun accepted his defeat graciously, and Second Uncle split the wager with Zhou Qing before selling him a Top-Grade Fire Attribute Spirit Stone.
• A month later, the group reached the border and saw the damaged Four Color Array, the Seven Stars Demon Binding Array; Jiang Pojun explained its defenses and asked Lin Daochen to repair it.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo welcomed Lin Daochen and the group, and Zhou Qing reunited with Xuan Yuan Yi Chen and Xuan Yuan Mu Qian at a banquet.
• The next morning, Lin Daochen brought Zhou Qing and Si Yunyai to the array, where Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang showed them the severe damage and Fang Jun warned them not to interfere.
• Lin Daochen began repairing the array’s core runes while Zhou Qing and Si Yunyai studied his methods; Zhou Qing recognized the array from an inheritance but could not access its full details.

Zhou Qing discovered that Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang had deliberately left Lin Daochen to take the blame for the failing array, but Lin Daochen still accepted the burden out of concern for the dynasty. After activating the Good Fortune Post, Zhou Qing learned which runes could stabilize the array and began recording them.

• A rune Lin Daochen repaired shattered, and Zhou Qing used Daily Appraisal to learn that Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang had sabotaged the Core Region and planned to scapegoat him.
• Zhou Qing warned Lin Daochen that the repair instructions were a trap, but Lin Daochen tested another repair and watched it destroy nine connected runes.
• Lin Daochen confronted Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang, realized they had schemed against him, and returned devastated.
• Lin Daochen chose to bear the blame rather than tarnish the veteran masters’ reputations and damage the dynasty’s efforts to cultivate Array Masters.
• Zhou Qing activated the Good Fortune Post and learned that repairing several specific runes could stabilize the array, then quickly wrote down the instructions.

Zhou Qing, Lin Daochen, and Second Uncle repaired the Four Color Array while Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang accused Lin Daochen of endangering it. Xuan Yuan Shuo confronted them, and Lin Daochen demanded a soul search to expose the truth.

• Zhou Qing used his spirit seals to repair the Thunder Shock Spirit Guiding Pattern, restoring a network of runes and allowing Lin Daochen and Second Uncle to begin repairs of their own.
• Lu Yaoyao saw Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang emerge from the array and learned they claimed the Four Color Array was close to collapse.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo entered the array after Wu Tiangang showed him an Image Stone of Lin Daochen and his students working on the core.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo angrily confronted Lin Daochen, but paused when he saw Zhou Qing wielding nearly two hundred spirit seals.
• Lin Daochen challenged Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang's account, then proposed a soul search to determine who had damaged the array.

Zhou Qing repaired the border’s Four Color Array after Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang left, restoring it and earning the gratitude of Xuan Yuan Shuo and the soldiers. The group prepared to rest while Zhou Qing studied the dynasty’s border threats and asked Second Uncle about the nearest Fifth-Level Cultivation Country.

• Fang Jun objected to Lin Daochen’s proposal to soul-search Wu Tiangang, but Wu Tiangang and Su Lishan refused to work with Lin Daochen and left.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo apologized to Lin Daochen and offered to take the blame for the array’s failure, but Zhou Qing restored the Four Color Array by repairing its final spirit pattern.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo confirmed the array was fully repaired, thanked Lin Daochen, and rushed to respond when demonic forces approached the border.
• Lu Yaoyao admired Zhou Qing, whose remark above her changed to “Good dad,” while Zhou Qing checked his talent panel and saw Mind Mirror Vision nearing Level Five.
• Xuan Yuan Yi Chen and Xuan Yuan Mu Qian checked on Zhou Qing and his companions, and Lu Yaoyao learned that Xuan Yuan Mu Qian’s mother, Consort Yuechen, was from the fox race.
• Zhou Qing read about the Saint Martial Dynasty’s border and its Demon Emperor threats, then asked Second Uncle which Fifth-Level Cultivation Country was closest.

Zhou Qing defeated Lu Jinghong in a sparring match at Xuan Yuan Shuo’s victory banquet, winning Yan Xiaohu a large gambling pot. After recovering his strength, Zhou Qing challenged the Cold Abyss Army’s Qin Liao and Xie Heng to fight him together.

• Second Uncle told Zhou Qing that the Heavenly Fortune Saint Dynasty bordered a neighboring cultivation country, and Zhou Qing suspected Number Six came from there.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo thanked Zhou Qing, Lin Daochen, and their companions for restoring the Four Color Array and hosted a victory banquet.
• Lu Jinghong challenged Zhou Qing to a spar, and Zhou Qing broke his Dragon Abyss Raging Waves intent before defeating him in less than half an hour.
• Yan Xiaohu collected the winnings from his bet on Zhou Qing, while the gathered commanders and Xuan Yuan Shuo reacted in shock to Lu Jinghong’s defeat.
• Zhou Qing replenished his strength and challenged Qin Liao and Xie Heng to spar against him together.

Zhou Qing defeated six of the border army’s Deputy Generals in succession, strengthening his conception and fulfilling Second Uncle’s wager. After he awoke, the Peng Emperor’s blood curse revealed Zhou Qing as the one who had killed him, shocking the gathered commanders and soldiers.

• Zhou Qing defeated Qin Liao and Xie Heng together, then challenged Chu Duanfeng and Mo Cuicheng despite his exhaustion and defeated them with his Golden Peng True Body.
• Yan Xiaohu refused to place another bet on Zhou Qing, while the Nine Legion commanders pressured him to gamble and Lu Yaoyao and Lin Daochen backed Zhou Qing with Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Zhou Qing meditated for three days, and Second Uncle gave him Su Lishan and Wu Tiangang’s array insights before explaining that Zhou Qing had already won their wager by defeating five of Xuan Yuan Shuo’s disciples.
• Jiang Pojun, Lu Jinghong, Qin Liao, Xie Heng, Chu Duanfeng, and Mo Cuicheng brought Zhou Qing six captured Demonic Beasts as a gift after he awoke.
• The Peng Emperor’s blood curse manifested above Zhou Qing and named him as the one who had killed the Peng Emperor, stunning Xuan Yuan Shuo and the others.
• Second Uncle stepped between Xuan Yuan Shuo and Zhou Qing, declaring that Zhou Qing was one of his people.

Second Uncle revealed his Severing Spirit Realm strength and left with Xuan Yuan Shuo to seek herbs for Zhou Qing’s Blood Curse. At the border, Imperial Concubine Chen’s arrival exposed a painful history with Lu Shi, and Lu Yaoyao later told Zhou Qing that Lu Shi had revealed nine fox tails.

• Second Uncle revealed his Severing Spirit Realm aura, reunited with Xuan Yuan Shuo, and accepted Zhou Qing as his disciple in front of the others.
• Xuan Yuan Shuo said the needed herbs were in Great Demon Mountain, so he and Second Uncle left together to find them and help Zhou Qing.
• Imperial Concubine Chen arrived at the border, greeted Xuan Yuan Mu Qian and Xuan Yuan Yi Chen, and noticed Lu Yaoyao before stopping her daughter from calling out to her.
• Lu Shi asked Zhou Qing when he planned to leave, then confronted Imperial Concubine Chen and revealed nine tails before walking away.
• The next morning, Lu Yaoyao told Zhou Qing that she had seen Lu Shi argue with Imperial Concubine Chen and grow nine fox tails.

Zhou Qing learned more about Lu Yaoyao’s painful family history, then joined Second Uncle in treating the Peng Emperor’s mark in his Sea of Consciousness. The mark was destroyed by the Four-Colored Flower, which also repelled Second Uncle’s attempt to check on him.

• Zhou Qing asked Lu Yaoyao whether he resembled her father, and she fled in distress with the Old Hen.
• Xuan Yuan Yi Chen asked Zhou Qing to identify the Soul-Seizing Lamp, but Zhou Qing claimed he could not help and kept the item secret.
• Jiang Pojun escorted Zhou Qing to meet Imperial Concubine Chen, who praised his work on the Four Color Array and discussed Xuan Yuan Mu Qian’s admiration for him.
• Second Uncle and Xuan Yuan Shuo retrieved the Peng Emperor’s Great Demon Token from Zhou Qing, and Second Uncle took Zhou Qing to a wilderness cave to remove his mark.
• Second Uncle used six rare spiritual medicines to form spirit liquid, which stirred the blood-red mark into attacking Zhou Qing’s Primordial Spirit.
• The Four-Colored Flower destroyed the blood Peng, then shattered the thread of Spiritual Sense Second Uncle sent into Zhou Qing’s Sea of Consciousness.