Chapter Summaries

Gu Yuan reached Gu Xun'er in the Tianhan Ruins, where she believed her companion had died in a self-destruction. After killing the Extreme Cold Ice Dragon, Gu Yuan told her to use the companion’s preserved aura to search for his faction or family, leaving Gu Xun'er determined to learn his name.

• Lin Ze learned that Gu Xun'er had summoned Gu Yuan and ordered his Death Soldiers to erase all traces of the Tianhan Ruins.
• Gu Yuan used his Di-Realm Soul to locate the Tianhan Ruins and brought Gu Xun'er inside.
• Gu Xun'er recognized the lingering energy as the trace of a self-destruction and asked Gu Yuan to kill the Extreme Cold Ice Dragon.
• The Extreme Cold Ice Dragon said Gu Xun'er's companion had blown himself up, but Gu Yuan crushed the dragon and its soul.
• Gu Yuan urged Gu Xun'er to search for the companion's faction or family using his aura, and she wondered what his name had been.

After returning to the Tianhan Ruins, Lin Ze sought to prevent Gu Xun'er from uncovering clues about the Black-Robed Person and collected the ruins’ remaining treasures. He found fragments of Tianhan Saint’s skeletal remains and ordered his death soldiers to extract their Dou Saint Bone Marrow.

• Lin Ze learned through the Mirror Spirit Trace that Gu Xun'er planned to travel the continent and search for people or factions connected to the Black-Robed Person.
• Lin Ze decided to turn the Black-Robed death soldier who had accompanied Gu Xun'er, along with the other death soldiers from the Tianhan Ruins expedition, into Mirror Spirits.
• Lin Ze returned to the ruins to claim their resources, especially the Battle Will secret art he had found on the way to Tianhan Palace.
• Lin Ze searched the ice mountain and sensed jade-colored fragments of Tianhan Saint’s skeletal remains among the ruins.
• Lin Ze ordered his death soldiers to collect the fragments and had his Alchemist Death Soldiers use their six Heavenly Flames to extract the Dou Saint Bone Marrow.

Lin Ze broke through to Seven-Star Dou Zun after gaining strength and treasures from the Tianhan Ruins, then concealed his cultivation as he left seclusion. Qing Lin welcomed him affectionately while Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa continued cultivating.

• Lin Ze broke through to Seven-Star Dou Zun, raising his strength to the point where he believed he could match a Peak Dou Venerate under normal circumstances.
• Lin Ze reviewed the treasures and incomplete Battle Will inheritance he had obtained from the Tianhan Ruins and considered how they could strengthen his Death Soldiers.
• Lin Ze concealed his Dou Venerate strength and left his chamber showing only Dou Zong cultivation so he could continue cultivating quietly in Danta.
• Qing Lin rushed to greet Lin Ze, told him she had missed him, and embraced and kissed him while Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa remained in cultivation.

Qing Lin welcomed Cao Ying to the Lin Family courtyard, where she and Lin Ze became better acquainted over conversation and a banquet. Cao Ying was impressed by the Lin Family’s nourishing dishes and began visiting Qing Lin regularly.

• A Death Soldier told Lin Ze and Qing Lin that Cao Ying had come to visit, and Qing Lin invited Lin Ze to meet her.
• Lin Ze and Qing Lin greeted Cao Ying in the reception hall, and Qing Lin helped the two get comfortable as they talked.
• Lin Ze told Cao Ying that his Soul Power had grown through an unusual encounter rather than exceptional birth talent.
• Lin Ze and Qing Lin hosted a banquet for Cao Ying, who discovered that the delicious dishes also nourished the body and meridians.
• Cao Ying agreed to visit Qing Lin more often, and she grew closer to Lin Ze, Medusa, and Xiao Yi Xian during her visits.

Cao Ying became distracted over Lin Ze’s valuable gift, while Lin Ze continued his campaign against the Hall of Souls as the Bronze Hall. After another branch hall was destroyed, the Hall of Souls headquarters ordered an investigation into the unknown organization.

• Cao Ying ruined her alchemy practice, and Xuan Kongzi noticed her distraction and told her to rest.
• Cao Ying wondered whether Lin Ze’s gift signaled his feelings for her and decided to visit him to ask about it.
• Lin Ze reflected on his growing familiarity with Cao Ying and used his Death Soldiers to monitor events across the continent.
• The Bronze Hall destroyed another Hall of Souls branch hall and moved the black hall into the Mirror World before reinforcements arrived.
• The Hall Master of the Hall of Souls learned of the fourth branch hall attack and ordered the Heavenly Venerates to investigate the Bronze Hall.

Hun Miesheng reprimanded the Hall of Souls’ Heavenly Venerates after a month-long search for the Bronze Hall yielded no leads. He ordered the investigation to continue and arranged for branch halls to defend one another while sending their Soul Origin to headquarters through the Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror.

• After several branch halls were destroyed, the Hall of Souls’ Heavenly Venerates searched for the Bronze Hall by tracing its connections and investigating the attackers’ distinctive traits, but found nothing for a month.
• Hun Miesheng scolded the Heavenly Venerates for returning empty-handed and rejected the deputy hall master’s suspicion that another clan controlled the Bronze Hall.
• Hun Miesheng ordered the investigation to continue and told branch hall masters and Heavenly Venerates to rush to the aid of any branch hall under attack.
• Hun Miesheng ordered the Soul Origin collected at each branch hall sent to the Central Plains headquarters as soon as possible.
• The deputy hall master proposed using the Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror to transfer the Soul Origin, and Hun Miesheng agreed.

Lin Ze used the Hall of Souls’ search and Soul Origin transfers to plan how to profit while keeping the Bronze Hall hidden. Xiao Yi Xian confessed her feelings and chose to become his first woman, and Lin Ze embraced her.

• Lin Ze learned that the Hall of Souls had found no trace of the Bronze Hall and considered how his Death Soldiers could exploit the Hall’s search efforts.
• The Hall of Souls ordered branches to send Soul Origins to headquarters, giving Lin Ze a chance to skim some during Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror transfers.
• Lin Ze considered how the Soul Clan might eventually suspect the Xuangguang Clan and decided he had time to grow stronger or invent another cover story.
• Xiao Yi Xian visited Lin Ze after her retreat and told him she knew Cao Ying had feelings for him.
• Xiao Yi Xian confessed that she loved Lin Ze and wanted to be his first woman, and Lin Ze carried her to bed.

After spending the night together, Lin Ze and Xiao Yi Xian practiced the Dual Cultivation Technique and grew closer, though Xiao Yi Xian left in embarrassment the next morning. Lin Ze then cultivated with a Tier 8 Medicinal Pill and reflected on how the Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror had disrupted the Space Trading Fair.

• Lin Ze and Xiao Yi Xian practiced the Dual Cultivation Technique, which increased their Dou Qi and let them share a night together.
• Xiao Yi Xian woke beside Lin Ze, admitted that her lower abdomen felt warm, and declined to continue because others might come looking for them.
• Xiao Yi Xian dressed, hugged Lin Ze, and hurried away, while Lin Ze arranged for a Death Soldier to tidy the room.
• Lin Ze went to the secret chamber and swallowed a Tier 8 Medicinal Pill with Two-Colored Pill Lightning, converting its energy into Dou Qi.
• Lin Ze noted that cultivators increasingly valued goods in Resource Points through the Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror, leaving too few items for the Space Trading Fair to be held.

Lin Ze's Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror reshaped high-tier trading, while Yun Shan strengthened the Misty Cloud Sect under the Hall of Souls' pressure. The chapter ended with Yun Shan agreeing to sacrifice Gu He after Yun Yun killed a Soul Envoy.

• Organizers of the Space Trading Fair adapted to the Mysterious Light Treasure Mirror by helping cultivators buy through it and renting access to linked mirrors, which let Lin Ze profit.
• Yun Shan took control of the Misty Cloud Sect after advancing to Dou Zong and expanded it while collecting souls for the Hall of Souls.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran traveled through the Jia Ma Empire, where Yun Yun grew troubled by the sect's conduct and killed a Soul Envoy who was capturing souls.
• Protector Wu demanded compensation for the Soul Envoy's death and threatened Yun Yun, while Protector Lu insisted on receiving Gu He's soul.
• Yun Shan reluctantly agreed to hand over Gu He, the Misty Cloud Sect's honorary elder and a Sixth-Grade Alchemist.

Yun Shan joined forces with Protector Wu to seize the Jia Ma Empire for the Misty Cloud Sect, whose violent takeover spread across the realm as the Hall of Souls harvested spiritual bodies. In an inn, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran witnessed sect disciples assaulting a mercenary and threatening them, and Yun Yun finally unleashed her Dou Emperor pressure.

• Yun Shan agreed to work with Protector Wu, who encouraged him to conquer the Jia Ma Empire and expand the Hall of Souls' supply of spiritual bodies.
• Yun Shan led the Misty Cloud Sect in taking the imperial capital, defeating the Jia Ma Imperial Family and forcing other major factions to submit.
• Misty Cloud Sect elders and disciples violently crushed resistance across the empire while black-mist figures secretly collected spiritual bodies.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran stopped at an inn near the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where Misty Cloud Sect disciples attacked a tall woman from the Iron Horse Mercenary Group.
• The scarred Misty Cloud Sect leader threatened Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran, and Yun Yun suppressed him and the others with her Dou Emperor pressure.

Yun Yun discovered that Misty Cloud Sect disciples were slaughtering and abducting people, then confronted Yun Shan over his acceptance of their brutality. Her last hope of persuading her teacher vanished, and she warned that his actions could bring disaster upon the sect.

• Yun Yun identified herself to a scarred Misty Cloud Sect disciple who had slaughtered a Mercenary Group and abducted a woman, then sentenced him and the other disciples to death under the sect's rules.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran departed after Yun Yun realized the sect's abuses were widespread, and the disciples were killed at the tavern entrance.
• Yun Shan welcomed Yun Yun back and offered her a high position if she would support his plan to make the Misty Cloud Sect a hegemon.
• Yun Yun challenged Yun Shan over the disciples' crimes, but he defended his methods and dismissed her concerns.
• Yun Yun warned Yun Shan that his stubbornness could bring disaster upon the Misty Cloud Sect, and he angrily rebuked her.

Yun Shan expelled Yun Yun from the Misty Cloud Sect but let her leave because he could not bring himself to kill her. After Yun Yun killed a Hall of Souls Soul Envoy, Protector Wu pressured Yun Shan to help kill her, and Yun Shan agreed to send a loyal elder instead.

• Yun Shan argued with Yun Yun over his plans for the Misty Cloud Sect and ordered her never to return.
• Yun Yun bowed to Yun Shan and left the sect, while he watched her go and chose not to stop her.
• Yun Yun encountered and killed a Hall of Souls Soul Envoy who was harvesting spiritual bodies amid the empire's chaos.
• Protector Wu confronted Yun Shan and demanded that he kill Yun Yun, invoking the Hall of Souls' power over him.
• Yun Shan refused to kill Yun Yun himself but offered to send a loyal elder to assist the Hall of Souls, and Protector Wu accepted the compromise.

Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran were cornered by Soul Envoys and Yun Shu, who revealed that Yun Shan had allied with the mysterious force. Lin Ze intervened, killed the attackers, and left Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran stunned.

• Yun Yun protected Nalan Yanran from Yun Shu's surprise attack and recognized the Misty Cloud Sect elder, whose strength had risen to Dou Emperor.
• Yun Shu revealed that Yun Shan had sent him to kill Yun Yun, while a Soul Envoy explained that Yun Shan had traded Gu He's spirit and Yun Yun to gain the mysterious force's help.
• Yun Yun lost hope and prepared to die with Nalan Yanran as the Soul Envoy attacked them with a black chain.
• Lin Ze's Black-Robed Person seized the chain, crushed the Soul Envoy, and killed the fleeing Soul Envoys with a Dou Qi palm.
• Yun Shu tried to escape, but the Black-Robed Person killed him with a blue slash, ending the ambush in less than twenty breaths.

Lin Ze rescued Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran, brought them to a hidden Death Soldier base, and revealed that he wanted to introduce them to a gifted young man from the Lin Family. Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran were startled when they realized he was proposing a match for both of them.

• Lin Ze showed Yun Yun the Ten Thousand Medicines Trading Firm token, and she recognized him as the mysterious alchemist’s associate.
• Lin Ze led Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran through the mountains to a concealed Death Soldier base.
• Lin Ze revealed his face and told Yun Yun he had saved her partly for his own reasons.
• Lin Ze claimed to serve a reclusive Lin Family whose elders wanted to find exceptional women for a genius said to have the potential to become a saint.
• Yun Yun asked whether Lin Ze meant to match her and Nalan Yanran with the young man, and he said he would not force the matter.

Yun Yun agreed to travel to the Central Plains and spend time with the Lin Family’s prodigious Young Master, hoping to gain cultivation resources and grow strong enough to change the Misty Cloud Sect. After reviewing his portrait and background, she and Nalan Yanran set out together for the Central Plains.

• Lin Ze proposed that Yun Yun meet the Lin Family’s Young Master and offered her and Nalan Yanran resources for the journey.
• Yun Yun accepted the proposal, seeing the trip as a chance to grow stronger and eventually reform the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Nalan Yanran worried about Yun Yun’s decision, but Yun Yun explained her reasons and reassured her.
• Yun Yun read the Young Master’s profile and portrait in the Jade Slip, and Nalan Yanran remarked on his looks and status.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran rested for the night and then departed for the Central Plains.

After a sleepless night, Yun Yun resolved to stay strong for Nalan Yanran and consider Lin Ze’s proposed match on its own merits. Lin Ze gave them two Mysterious Light Treasure Mirrors and took them toward a Spatial Wormhole to the Central Plains.

• Yun Yun reflected on the Misty Cloud Sect’s upheaval and her uncertain future, then decided she could try spending time with the Lin Family prodigy while remaining a dependable teacher to Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Yanran woke, and Yun Yun told her to get ready to see Lin Ze.
• Lin Ze gave Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran two Mysterious Light Treasure Mirrors that they could borrow from his family.
• Lin Ze explained the mirrors’ cultivation and trading functions, then provided Mortal World Artifacts to conceal their identities.
• Lin Ze led Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran to a Spatial Wormhole so they could travel toward the Central Plains.

Lin Ze reunited with Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, and Qing Lin for a rare gathering after cultivation. After the others left, Qing Lin asked to share the intimacy Lin Ze had with Xiao Yi Xian, confessed she wanted to entrust her life to him, and Lin Ze carried her into his room.

• Lin Ze emerged from cultivation and joined Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, and Qing Lin around the courtyard table.
• Xiao Yi Xian blushed under Lin Ze's gaze, while Medusa and Qing Lin noticed the awkwardness between them.
• Lin Ze steered their conversation toward cultivation, and the four shared nourishing dishes and stories until nightfall.
• Xiao Yi Xian left first, and Medusa returned to her courtyard after noticing Lin Ze watching her go.
• Qing Lin asked whether something had happened between Lin Ze and Xiao Yi Xian and told Lin Ze she wanted the same closeness.
• Qing Lin confessed she wanted to entrust her whole life to Lin Ze, and he kissed her before carrying her toward the room.

Lin Ze reached Peak Nine-Star Dou Venerate after cultivating with Qing Lin and planned to help her gain control of the Ancient Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake. He prepared to use the Nine-Turn Saint-Becoming Method but worried that he would remain stuck before the Dou Sheng barrier until the Bodhi Ancient Tree appeared.

• Lin Ze discovered that his Dou Qi had increased enough for him to break through to Peak Nine-Star Dou Venerate.
• Lin Ze planned to take Qing Lin to find the Ancient Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake and weaken its soul so she could safely refine and control it once she grew stronger.
• Lin Ze reviewed how the Nine-Turn Saint-Becoming Method repeatedly condensed and compressed Dou Qi to prepare Peak Dou Venerates to enter the Dou Sheng Realm.
• Lin Ze decided to use the method but worried about how to break through the Dou Sheng barrier before the Bodhi Ancient Tree appeared.

Lin Ze considered ways to break through to Dou Saint, settling on Bodhi Seeds and a Bodhi Pill as practical preparations. After Qing Lin woke beside him, he told her to cultivate toward late-stage Dou Zong for an upcoming opportunity, and she took the quilt with her.

• Lin Ze weighed the difficulty of reaching Dou Saint and considered Bodhi Seeds, Bodhi Pills, and other possible breakthrough aids.
• Qing Lin woke beside Lin Ze and blushed when she realized he was watching her.
• Lin Ze told Qing Lin that his people had found a major opportunity suited to her and urged her to reach late-stage Dou Zong.
• Qing Lin promised to cultivate hard, dressed, and asked Lin Ze to get up so she could take the quilt.
• Qing Lin left with the quilt, intending to preserve it as a keepsake of her first time with Lin Ze.

Lin Ze affirmed Qing Lin as his wife, and she asked him to keep their marriage private for now. The two joined Medusa for a meal, where Qing Lin warmly reassured her that their relationship would not change.

• Qing Lin tidied Lin Ze's room and sought his praise, and he told her she was his wife rather than his maid.
• Qing Lin joyfully embraced Lin Ze, then asked him not to announce their marriage yet because she worried about his other close female friends.
• Qing Lin said Xiao Yi Xian would remain her sister and that she wanted to help Lin Ze manage his relationships.
• Lin Ze and Qing Lin went to the courtyard to eat, where Medusa joined them after noticing Qing Lin had stayed with Lin Ze overnight.
• Qing Lin greeted Medusa warmly, and the two women chatted while Lin Ze ate nearby.