Chapter Summaries

Xiang Yuan rescued Shaolin’s monks from devilish qi, forced his way into the Scripture Repository, and beat up the martial-world figures who had slandered Bai Yue. He then destroyed the Unending Demon Cult and traveled to Mount Emei, where he arrived before Bai Yue and Ji Muqing.

• Xiang Yuan absorbed the devilish qi afflicting Bai Yue, Ji Muqing, the human experts, and Shaolin’s monks, then cleared the qi from the entire temple.
• Xiang Yuan persuaded Liao Yuan to let him read Shaolin’s scriptures and martial arts manuals in exchange for saving the monks.
• After Ji Muqing explained that Bai Yue was angry over people slandering Xiang Yuan, Xiang Yuan went out and beat the accusers, including Purple Void True Person.
• The next day, Xiang Yuan parted from Bai Yue and Ji Muqing and rode toward the Unending Demon Cult’s headquarters.
• Xiang Yuan razed the Unending Demon Cult, and survivors later spread news of the slaughter.
• Xiang Yuan reached Mount Emei before Bai Yue and Ji Muqing, entered Pure Moon Chan Heart Academy, and wondered why they had encountered another familiar crisis.

Xiang Yuan searched Mount Emei’s Scripture Repositories and encountered the mysterious Headmaster Jingyun, whose strength and perception unsettled him. After Master Bai Yue and Ji Muqing arrived, Bai Yue formally brought Xiang Yuan to pay respects to Guanyin and told him to accompany her to visit Headmaster Jingyun.

• Xiang Yuan left Pure Moon Chan Heart Academy and searched nearby peaks before sneaking into Golden Summit Chan Monastery’s Scripture Repository to find a method for condensing protective Gang Qi.
• Headmaster Jingyun entered the repository, noticed Xiang Yuan’s presence, and left after telling him to straighten the shelves; Xiang Yuan wondered whether she was hiding immense power or suppressing a great devil.
• Two days later, Master Bai Yue and Ji Muqing arrived at Pure Moon Chan Heart Academy and found Xiang Yuan surrounded by attentive female disciples.
• Master Bai Yue led Xiang Yuan to the rear hall, where they paid respects before Guanyin Bodhisattva, then voiced concern that his many killings might lead him toward demonic ways.
• Master Bai Yue asked Xiang Yuan to accompany her to visit Headmaster Jingyun and pleaded with him not to provoke the revered senior.

Xiang Yuan met Headmaster Jingyun, who agreed to accept him as a disciple if he helped Master Bai Yue ascend. He began replenishing Master Bai Yue’s cultivation, though she mistook his intentions and feared he was drugging her with Forget-Soul Powder.

• Master Bai Yue brought Xiang Yuan to meet Headmaster Jingyun and explained how he had joined Pure Moon Chan Heart Academy.
• Headmaster Jingyun said Xiang Yuan had extraordinary origins and promised to take him as a disciple if he helped Master Bai Yue ascend.
• On the way back, Xiang Yuan revealed that Li Xianyuan was an alias and told Master Bai Yue he would help her ascend.
• Xiang Yuan tried to arrange a secret nighttime lesson, but Master Bai Yue misunderstood his invitation and did not come.
• Xiang Yuan brought Master Bai Yue to her room and gave her a medicinal dose, which she mistook for Forget-Soul Powder as he sat beside her and played a wooden fish.

Xiang Yuan helped Master Bai Yue advance toward ascension, then completed his campaign against the remaining demon cults and returned to the Dry Abyss Realm. After resuming cultivation, he caught the badly wounded Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er as they emerged from Jambu Gate and opened it again to seek a place where they could recover.

• Xiang Yuan teased Master Bai Yue until she admitted her misunderstanding, then gave her blood medicine and told her to pass more to Mu Qing.
• Xiang Yuan and Cold Blood destroyed the Earth Demon Sect and Nafan Demon Cult, completing Xiang Yuan’s goals in the Dragon-Subduing Realm.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Song Family Village after forty days away, reviewed his gains, and cultivated until he opened more than twenty acupoints.
• Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er emerged from Jambu Gate covered in blood, and Xiao Lingyue collapsed into Xiang Yuan’s arms.
• Xiang Yuan gave Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er great restoration pills and opened Jambu Gate to take them to the Unborn Realm.

Xiang Yuan treated Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er after they were badly wounded in the Unborn Realm, then learned that Xiao Lingyue trusted Chan'er’s claim to be a Silver Moon Palace disciple despite his suspicions that she was the Yellow Springs Dao Holy Maiden. The chapter ended with Xiao Lingyue still drawn to Xiang Yuan’s medicinal blood and Xiang Yuan spotting a new way to tease her.

• Xiang Yuan brought Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er to a private residence, treated their wounds, and removed the poisonous true qi lingering in their bodies.
• Five nights later, Xiao Lingyue woke and thanked Xiang Yuan for caring for her while she recovered.
• Xiang Yuan gave Xiao Lingyue his blood to replenish her strength and claimed his unusual physique refined heavenly treasures into potent medicine.
• Xiao Lingyue explained that Chan'er’s cultivation came from Silver Moon Palace, while Xiang Yuan suspected she had tricked Xiao Lingyue into revealing information about Jambu Gate.
• Xiang Yuan argued that Chan'er was the Yellow Springs Dao Holy Maiden, but Xiao Lingyue refused to wager against her identity as a Silver Moon Palace disciple.
• Xiang Yuan noticed Xiao Lingyue's gaze following his moving finger and imagined using it to tease her.

Xiao Lingyue told Xiang Yuan how she and Chan'er had survived the perilous Heavenly Demon Realm and recovered under his care. As the two women healed, Chan'er grew jealous of Xiao Lingyue’s closeness with Xiang Yuan, though the sisters appeared to get along; Xiang Yuan worried Chan'er might try to steal him away.

• Xiao Lingyue revealed that she had reached Spirit Transformation and explained that she and Chan'er had entered the Heavenly Demon Realm, fought its demons, and returned with the relic after opening Jambu Gate.
• Xiang Yuan learned that Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er had been badly injured, treated them, and teased Xiao Lingyue while tending to her wounds.
• Chan'er awoke and saw Xiang Yuan caring for Xiao Lingyue, then pretended to be asleep while he changed her medicine and grew jealous of their closeness.
• Twenty days later, Xiao Lingyue dressed Chan'er's hair and praised her while Chan'er inwardly resented her and feared losing Xiang Yuan.
• Xiang Yuan watched Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er act like close sisters and worried that Chan'er might eventually take his place beside Xiao Lingyue.

Xiang Yuan traveled with Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er to Yin Mountain to investigate Kang Kuangshi, only to discover that Kang had already killed the Ghost King of Yin Mountain. The chapter left Xiang Yuan facing Kang as he mourned his friend Chu Yuanrong beside the grave he had just buried.

• Xiang Yuan took Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er on a journey toward the eastern border, detouring to Yin Mountain to challenge the Ghost King and later seek Kang Kuangshi.
• At Yin Mountain, Blackhearted Ghost attacked the group, but Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er suppressed his power while Xiang Yuan cut him down.
• Blackhearted Ghost revealed that Kang Kuangshi had killed the Ghost King of Yin Mountain and was still on the mountain.
• Xiang Yuan reached Blazing Sun Peak and found Kang Kuangshi burying Chu Yuanrong beside the Ghost King's severed head.
• Kang Kuangshi mourned Chu Yuanrong and drank to his friend, lamenting the bitterness of being number one under heaven.

Kang Kuangshi mourned Chu Yuanrong while drinking, then recognized Xiang Yuan as someone familiar from another world despite being unable to explain why. He joined Xiang Yuan, Xiao Lingyue, and Chan'er on their journey, and the chapter ended with Kang Kuangshi pulling Xiang Yuan aside to discuss his “true self.”

• Kang Kuangshi drank wine beside Chu Yuanrong's grave and asked Xiang Yuan for more, while Xiang Yuan and the women debated whether Kang was truly a villain.
• Kang Kuangshi noticed Xiang Yuan's group had unusual auras, admitted he could not claim to be number one under heaven, and said he felt he knew Xiang Yuan from another world.
• Kang Kuangshi fell asleep to contact someone, then returned to say he had been unable to reach them, prompting Xiang Yuan, Xiao Lingyue, and Chan'er to leave Yin Mountain.
• Kang Kuangshi chased after the group and became their carriage driver as Xiang Yuan and the women rode away from Yin Mountain.
• Kang Kuangshi interrupted the awkward carriage ride, told Xiang Yuan that Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er were outsiders, and wrote “True self!” in Xiang Yuan's palm.
• Xiang Yuan rushed off with Kang Kuangshi, leaving Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er behind as they tried unsuccessfully to decipher the pair's writing.

Xiang Yuan learned that Ji Boli was his senior brother in True Heart Dao, then trained with Kang Kuangshi and returned to the Dry Abyss Realm. Chan'er took him into the Southern Border and ordered him to retrieve a cultivation-enhancing medicine from a Five Poisons Cult sacrificial ground.

• Kang Kuangshi told Xiang Yuan that Ji Boli, whose Daoist title was Clear Insight, was his senior brother and asked Xiang Yuan to call Kang Kuangshi Senior Brother.
• Xiang Yuan rented a courtyard with Kang Kuangshi, who taught him saber and sword techniques in exchange for drinks.
• Xiao Lingyue invited Chan'er to Unrivaled Palace, but Chan'er declined and said she preferred to stay in the Southern Border.
• Chan'er dragged Xiang Yuan away in chains after he claimed Kang Kuangshi had discussed their shared lustful nature with him.
• At dawn, Chan'er told Xiang Yuan to retrieve a great medicine from a poisonous pool at a Five Poisons Cult sacrificial ground.

Xiang Yuan learned more about condensing Gang Qi from Chan'er, then headed to the Five Poisons Cult’s sacrificial site to kill Shi Chengshan and seize the poison pool’s medicinal opportunity. He infiltrated a smuggling caravan and reached Little Sesame Mountain, where he recognized Yin Mu and decided to kill her.

• Xiang Yuan showed Chan'er his White Tiger Gang Qi and explained how to condense Gang Qi after she trapped them underground to study it.
• Chan'er told Xiang Yuan about Shi Chengshan and the Five Poisons Cult’s sacrificial site, then kept Senior Jiang behind to refine it while Xiang Yuan set out alone.
• Xiang Yuan hid near Little Sesame Mountain, joined a Five Poisons Cult smuggling caravan, and questioned its members to learn about their route and activities.
• The caravan reached a concealed valley, where Yin Mu emerged with more than ten Five Poisons Cult disciples.
• Xiang Yuan remembered how Yin Mu had driven him into Jambu Gate and resolved to kill her.

Xiang Yuan infiltrated the Five Poisons Cult’s place of sacrifice and used Yin Mu’s attempt to interrogate him to learn about the cult leader’s wife’s secret poison-refining scheme. He learned that Elder Shi Chengshan was at Little Sesame Mountain and planned to meet him after nightfall, while a second caravan arrived with a report about Earth Dragon Fort.

• Yin Mu let Xiang Yuan and the traveling merchant team enter the valley, where they unloaded supplies and rested.
• Xiang Yuan bribed a patrol deputy to gain an audience with Yin Mu and claimed that two innate experts had been lost at Earth Dragon Fort.
• Yin Mu attacked Xiang Yuan and tried to probe his mind, but Xiang Yuan overwhelmed her with his Primordial Spirit and compelled her to answer his questions.
• Yin Mu explained that Shi Chengshan was secretly refining an immortal pill from the Black Lotus Snake, the Six-Winged Void Dragon, and other rare ingredients for the cult leader’s wife.
• Xiang Yuan learned that the altar at Little Sesame Mountain concealed an underground palace, but Yin Mu said he had to wait until night to meet Shi Chengshan.
• A second merchant caravan arrived, and its short man began reporting to Yin Mu that the matter concerned Earth Dragon Fort.

Xiang Yuan discovered Yin Mu’s poison stores and listened as Li Banshan and Wang Hu tricked her into revealing the Five Poisons Cult’s underground pill-refining site. After the two men confronted Shi Chengshan over the unfinished immortal pill, they turned on each other, while Xiang Yuan followed behind them to seize the chance to act.

• Xiang Yuan searched Yin Mu’s rooms, found the Cloud-Wreathed Emerald Mist Palm manual, and took useful poisons, powders, and information about the Southern Border.
• Li Banshan and Wang Hu unmasked themselves after controlling Yin Mu and learned that an immortal pill was being refined beneath Little Sesame Mountain.
• Yin Mu revealed Shi Chengshan’s cultivation and led Li Banshan and Wang Hu through a secret passage into the underground palace.
• Xiang Yuan followed the group, intending to wait for an opportunity to take the treasure.
• Shi Chengshan explained that a living creature with yin, yang, and the five elements could help complete the pill, prompting Wang Hu to attack Li Banshan as Li Banshan released eight zombies.

Wang Hu defeated Li Banshan and Shi Chengshan after their attempt to refine an immortal pill failed, then turned on Xiang Yuan. Xiang Yuan brought out the Tiger Roar Saber and wounded Wang Hu, who mistook him for a demon cultivator and attacked again.

• Wang Hu broke Li Banshan's power of heaven and earth, defeated him, and handed him over for the medicinal-pool test.
• Li Banshan dissolved in the pool, and Wang Hu threw Shi Chengshan in; Shi Chengshan also vanished, leaving Yin Mu alive.
• Wang Hu decided to find more innate cultivators for the pool, but Xiang Yuan appeared and drew the Tiger Roar Saber.
• Wang Hu recognized that the blade had been tempered with his clan's blood, while Xiang Yuan let Steady take the lead in the fight.
• Wang Hu caught the saber but was wounded by Xiang Yuan's Lone Star Chasing Moon strike, then charged again after mistaking Xiang Yuan for a demon cultivator.

Xiang Yuan defeated Wang Hu and Shi Chengshan, absorbed the medicinal power of the pill pool, and upgraded his body again. He remained in the pool refining its yin-yang and five-element energies while Chan'er guarded the entrance.

• Xiang Yuan broke through to the Connate Realm with a Heavenly Devil Relic and defeated Wang Hu, whose demon core and corpse he collected.
• Yin Mu’s body released Shi Chengshan’s Primordial Spirit inside a purple-gold beetle, but Xiang Yuan crushed it and killed him.
• Xiang Yuan absorbed the pill pool’s yin-yang and five-element medicinal power, upgrading his body and saving the dying Yin Mu from immediate death.
• Xiang Yuan entered the pill pool to refine its remaining power while Chan'er watched and sealed the entrance with silver-white chains.

Xiang Yuan advanced his cultivation and honed his techniques while Chan'er broke through to the Spirit Transformation realm. After returning to Yulin Academy, he reunited with Xiao He and learned that Xu Jixian had entered seclusion and Sima Qingyan had reached Foundation Establishment.

• Chan'er consumed Xiang Yuan's blood medicine, broke through, and entered seclusion while Xiang Yuan cultivated and trained in the Dragon-Subduing Realm.
• Xiang Yuan traveled to Mount Emei, gave blood medicine to Master Bai Yue and Ji Muqing, and trained against Foundation Establishment experts before agreeing to attend Master Bai Yue's ascension ceremony.
• Chan'er awoke and took Xiang Yuan back to Dezhou so she could stabilize her new realm; she bit him for more medicinal power before resuming seclusion at the Upper Zhou Ruins.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Yulin Academy after three months away and learned from Xiao He that Xu Jixian had entered seclusion to pursue the Innate Realm.
• Sima Qingyan, now at Foundation Establishment, resolved to challenge Xiang Yuan again and win.

Xiang Yuan impressed Wang Wenxu with two poems, then accepted Sima Qingyan’s challenge and defeated her with a dead branch. He revealed that he had already advanced beyond Foundation Establishment.

• Wang Wenxu praised Xiang Yuan’s poem about the seasons and urged him to write another, so Xiang Yuan composed a lyric called “Jade Case.”
• Xiao He traveled with Xiang Yuan toward Fengxian County while insisting he had no younger sister, and Sima Qingyan followed their carriage.
• Sima Qingyan thanked Xiang Yuan for saving her sect sisters and challenged him to a rematch after reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Xiang Yuan picked up a dead branch and used true qi to sweep aside Sima Qingyan’s sword attack and tap her shoulder.
• Xiang Yuan told Sima Qingyan that she had lost and revealed that he was no longer at Foundation Establishment.

After defeating Sima Qingyan and escorting her back to Fengxian County, Xiang Yuan discussed his cultivation and planned a journey through Western Chu with Xiao He. Back at his estate, he welcomed Xiao Lingyue, who brought him a trove of spirit medicines, and ended the night teasing her with a promise that he had been saving something for her.

• Xiang Yuan escorted the devastated Sima Qingyan back to Fengxian County while Xiao He urged him to pursue her and begged for help improving his cultivation.
• Xiang Yuan told Xiao He he was suppressing his Foundation Establishment breakthrough and asked him to help plan a trip through Western Chu to find a whetstone.
• Xiao He proposed that Xiang Yuan and Xu later visit the Southern Border to stir up trouble for the Five Poisons Cult and recruit useful allies.
• Xiang Yuan prepared tiger demon materials and welcomed Xiao Lingyue, who came looking for Chan'er and then offered to guide his cultivation.
• Xiao Lingyue gave Xiang Yuan more than a dozen chests of spirit medicines, which he ate in half an hour.
• Xiang Yuan teased Xiao Lingyue at the door, saying he had been saving something for her for days.

Xiao Lingyue began cultivating with Xiang Yuan’s blood medicine, while Xiang Yuan prepared to leave Fengxian County with a map and a message for Xiao He’s mother. After departing, he challenged local martial artists and then gave Zhang Celiang a blood-medicine pill that restored his injured foundation, leaving Zhang Celiang eager to repay him.

• Xiao Lingyue drank Xiang Yuan’s blood medicine from his finger, then bit his shoulder to draw more and fled in embarrassment after he teased her.
• Xiao He gave Xiang Yuan a map prepared by Wang Wenxu and a token for his mother, Cheng Yuling, at King Zhao Residence, while dismissing his father Xiao Yan.
• Xiang Yuan left Xiao Residence, defeated five Foundation Establishment Realm experts from Fengxian County’s Martial Arts School Association, and disappeared before Innate Realm experts arrived.
• At Sea Gathering Manor, Xiang Yuan returned Zhang Celiang’s key and gave him a Blood Qi Pill made potent by his blood.
• Zhang Celiang consumed the pill, recovered from his old injuries, and awakened protective Gang Qi; he chased after Xiang Yuan but failed to catch him.

Xiang Yuan investigated the Wang Clan widow’s disappearance and discovered she was secretly meeting Ximen Daguanren, only to stumble upon an ambush by Stellar Palace assassins. When an Unrivaled Palace swordswoman rescued Ximen and Jinlian, Xiang Yuan recognized her swordsmanship and joined the fight.

• Xiang Yuan heard that the Wang Clan’s chief manager, Jinlian, had gone missing and went to investigate at the Wang Clan estate.
• Xiang Yuan followed a hidden expert to a cottage and found Jinlian carrying on an affair with Ximen Daguanren.
• Two Stellar Palace assassins attacked Ximen and Jinlian, and the hidden expert and his guards fought them off.
• More than ten assassins arrived, forcing the expert to cover Ximen’s escape while Ximen refused to leave Jinlian behind.
• An Unrivaled Palace swordswoman rescued Ximen and Jinlian, and Xiang Yuan recognized her swordsmanship and stepped in to help.

Xiang Yuan helped an Unrivaled Palace swordswoman defeat Stellar Palace assassins, then took the injured woman away to treat her wounds. Elsewhere, the expert fellow learned that Ximen Daguanren’s wife had been carried off by a youth in black and rushed to find her.

• Xiang Yuan joined the Unrivaled Palace swordswoman in fighting the Stellar Palace assassins and used his powerful saber techniques to kill several of them.
• The swordswoman shielded Xiang Yuan from the five remaining assassins’ formation, allowing him to kill all five while she suffered a shoulder wound and Primordial Spirit injury.
• Xiang Yuan supported the injured swordswoman to a ruined mountain temple, where he began treating her and noticed bindings beneath her bloodstained garment.
• The expert fellow finished fighting ten assassins and returned to find Ximen Daguanren on the official road.
• Ximen Daguanren told the expert fellow that the Sixth Prince’s Consort had been injured and taken away by a youth in black, so the expert fellow ordered him to search for her.