Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yang revealed a carefully limited account of his origins to Guo Jinhong, who dismissed the Boundless Sea of Sand as unimportant and forced him to choose between becoming his registered disciple and dying. Zhou Yang accepted, and Guo Jinhong announced that he had prepared a gift for his new disciple, startling Wang Qian.

• Guo Jinhong used his divine ability to question Zhou Yang, but Zhou Yang broke free before revealing his past.
• Zhou Yang told Guo Jinhong that he came from the Boundless Sea of Sand and had traveled to the Land of Extreme West with his Dao companion and niece.
• Guo Jinhong showed little interest in the remote sea of sand, then ordered Zhou Yang to become his registered disciple or die.
• Zhou Yang knelt and accepted Guo Jinhong as his master, becoming his third registered disciple.
• Guo Jinhong called for the gift he had prepared, and Wang Qian widened her eyes.

Guo Jinhong made Zhou Yang accept Situ Xuanyue, a captured Great Bright Immortal Palace cultivator whose memories and soul he had altered, as a gift and potential dual-cultivation partner. Zhou Yang yielded to avoid provoking Guo Jinhong, but remained wary of the elder’s motives.

• Zhou Yang recognized Situ Xuanyue as the Great Bright Immortal Palace cultivator he had once seen at an underground auction.
• Guo Jinhong explained that Situ Xuanyue had been captured again, renamed Qin Yue'er, and trained by Qin Zhiyun after her memories were sealed.
• Guo Jinhong said he had placed a Soul Restriction in Situ Xuanyue so she would serve Zhou Yang, and urged him to use her yin essence to aid his cultivation.
• Zhou Yang objected that he was devoted to his Dao companion and feared keeping a Great Bright Immortal Palace cultivator, but stopped refusing when Guo Jinhong described the restriction.
• Zhou Yang accepted the gift, and Guo Jinhong instructed him to bring Qin Yue'er back every thirty to fifty years so he could inspect her Soul Restriction.

Guo Jinhong gave Qin Yue'er to Zhou Yang as a concubine and dismissed them from Worry-Free Valley. After they left, he punished Wang Qian by sending her to Senior Chixiao, a sixth-tier flood dragon, as a sacrifice.

• Guo Jinhong introduced Zhou Yang as his new disciple and ordered Qin Yue'er to become his concubine, which she accepted.
• Qin Zhiyun urged Qin Yue'er to serve Zhou Yang, while Zhou Yang realized Qin Zhiyun had tricked Wang Qian into framing him.
• Zhou Yang confessed his supposed mistake to Guo Jinhong, who claimed he had arranged Wang Qian's test, forgave Zhou Yang, and gave him a Mysterious Light Ring.
• Zhou Yang and Qin Yue'er left Worry-Free Valley, and Guo Jinhong ordered Qin Zhiyun to take Wang Qian away as punishment.
• Qin Zhiyun brought Wang Qian to Senior Chixiao, who revealed that Guo Jinhong had previously sacrificed Luo Bing and accepted Wang Qian as a new sacrifice.

Zhou Yang left Worry-Free Valley with Qin Yue'er, whom Guo Jinhong had bestowed upon him as a concubine, and returned to Xiao Ying. He brought both women toward Cang Yuan Immortal City, warning Xiao Ying to keep their secrets and the Zhou Family's ties to the Boundless Sea of Sand hidden.

• Luo Jing escorted Zhou Yang and Qin Yue'er from Worry-Free Valley to Haoyang Immortal City after learning that she was Zhou Yang's concubine.
• Xiao Ying welcomed Zhou Yang back, and Qin Yue'er introduced herself as the concubine Guo Jinhong had bestowed upon him.
• Zhou Yang left Haoyang Immortal City with Xiao Ying and Qin Yue'er on the Golden Winged Thunder Eagle, heading for Cang Yuan Immortal City.
• Zhou Yang explained his meeting with Guo Jinhong to Xiao Ying but concealed Qin Yue'er's former identity as Situ Xuanyue.
• Zhou Yang warned Xiao Ying not to trust Qin Yue'er or reveal anything about the teleportation formation, Tongyue, or the Zhou Family's connection to the Boundless Sea of Sand.

Zhou Yang arrived at Cang Yuan Immortal City and learned that Zhou Guangxiang had grown fond of Li Mubai. After testing Li Mubai’s willingness to protect her, Zhou Yang approved their engagement, and the alliance stirred the city’s factions because of his ties to Guo Jinhong.

• Zhou Yang entered Cang Yuan Immortal City with Xiao Ying and Qin Yue'er, then told Zhou Guangxiang about Qin Yue'er's identity and his encounter with a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
• Zhou Yang offered to cancel the family’s plans in the city, but Zhou Guangxiang admitted she no longer disliked Li Mubai, so Zhou Yang asked to meet him.
• Li Mubai assured Zhou Yang that he would abandon his Lineage and relatives to flee with Zhou Guangxiang if she were ever in danger.
• Zhou Yang approved Li Mubai and Zhou Guangxiang’s engagement, and Li Xuandao came to propose on the Li Family’s behalf.
• News of the engagement spread through Cang Yuan Immortal City, and rival factions reconsidered their plans after learning Zhou Yang was Guo Jinhong’s registered disciple.

Geng Zhong’s bid to inherit Cang Yuan Immortal City faltered after Zhou Yang’s arrival and Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai’s engagement won the city’s families over. Seven years later, Zhou Yang visited the recovered Cang Yuan Rogue Cultivator ahead of the wedding, and their warm meeting ended with an exchange of generous gifts for the couple.

• Geng Zhong lost much of his support in Cang Yuan Immortal City after the engagement news spread, but he resolved to continue pursuing his plans.
• Zhou Yang accepted gifts from the city’s families, declined their invitations, and entered seclusion to refine treasures and improve his cultivation.
• Over seven years, Zhou Yang refined three artifacts and advanced his Talisman Crafting to Tier 4 Mid-grade, while the Cang Yuan Rogue Cultivator recovered enough to resume public affairs.
• Zhou Yang visited the Cang Yuan Rogue Cultivator, and the two shared wine and spoke warmly about Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai’s marriage.
• Zhou Yang offered the Heaven Returning Life Extending Pill as Zhou Guangxiang’s dowry, and the Cang Yuan Rogue Cultivator responded by taking out a treasure as a betrothal gift.

Zhou Yang accepted Chiyuan Estate as a betrothal gift and arranged for Xu Song to study its unusual Spirit Gathering Formation in exchange for a chance to cultivate in Demon Fall Valley. After inspecting the Zhou Lineage’s progress, Zhou Yang planned to reward Li Hong’s service by making Li Hong and Zhou Fuyun’s second son the next Lineage head.

• Cang Yuan Rogue Cultivator gave Zhou Yang the control token to Chiyuan Estate, a secluded cultivation residence with an unusual Spirit Gathering Formation.
• Zhou Yang and Cang Yuan Rogue Cultivator exchanged Core Formation advice without discussing the future ownership of Cang Yuan Immortal City.
• Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai held their wedding, and Zhou Guangxiang moved into Li Mubai’s cave dwelling.
• Zhou Yang took Xu Song to Chiyuan Estate and promised to arrange his secluded cultivation in Demon Fall Valley if he could replicate the Spirit Gathering Formation.
• Zhou Yang secretly visited the Zhou Lineage’s new Spirit Mountain and was satisfied with its growth.
• Zhou Yang decided to discuss appointing Li Hong and Zhou Fuyun’s second son as the next Zhou Lineage head with Zhou Tongyue.

Zhou Yang failed his second Core Formation attempt after reaching the Core Merging stage, then recovered while Xu Song deciphered the Spirit Gathering Formation. When Guo Jinhong summoned him before he could collect the promised Jade Liquid Golden Elixir, Zhou Yang set out for Jinyang Country with Qin Yue'er and left Xiao Ying a contingency plan.

• Zhou Yang spent years testing Qin Yue'er but found no suspicious behavior and ultimately let her remain by his side.
• Zhou Yang tried Core Formation again, condensed a solid core, but failed to complete Core Merging and suffered severe dantian injuries.
• After secretly recovering at the Chiyuan Estate, Zhou Yang received Xu Song's findings and the Spirit Gathering Formation's arrangement method, then sent Xu Song to Demon Fall Valley.
• Zhou Yang returned to Cang Yuan Immortal City and announced that his Core Formation attempt had failed.
• Guo Jinhong summoned Zhou Yang through the Mysterious Light Ring, so Zhou Yang took Qin Yue'er to Jinyang Country and gave Xiao Ying a Great Teleportation Token and instructions in case he did not return.

Zhou Yang returned to Jinyang Country and was ordered by Guo Jinhong to enter a dangerous secret realm in Golden Lion Country to retrieve True Man Black Fiend’s research. He joined two senior disciples on the journey, uncertain whether their expedition would end in treasure or disaster.

• Zhou Yang arrived at Worry-Free Valley with Qin Yue'er and met Guo Jinhong, who saw through his claim that his Core Formation prospects were poor.
• Guo Jinhong promised Zhou Yang access to a specialized Core Formation cave mansion if he helped retrieve True Man Black Fiend’s research from a newly emerged secret realm.
• Zhou Yang learned that the realm’s traps had already killed two Golden Core cultivators, eleven Purple Mansion cultivators, and more than forty Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Guo Jinhong assigned Zhou Yang to assist Liu Boyong and Yan An, relying on Zhou Yang’s Qianyang True Fire against demonic threats while leaving other conflicts to his judgment.
• Zhou Yang met Liu Boyong and Yan An in Golden Lion Country, and the three set out aboard Liu Boyong’s flying cloud vessel after a cool first meeting.
• Zhou Yang reviewed reports describing demonic formations, puppets, ghosts, and other dangers capable of threatening Golden Core cultivators.

Zhou Yang entered the Black Fiend Secret Realm with Liu Boyong and Yan An to seek True Man Black Fiend’s inheritance in the underground Demonic Cave. He agreed to help draw off an Early Golden Core opponent if needed, then used his Qianyang True Fire to clear swarms of demonic beasts as Liu Boyong guided them deeper.

• Liu Boyong learned that groups from the Lihuo Sect and Tian Gang Gate had entered the secret realm, including a group led by ninth-layer Golden Core cultivator Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster.
• Liu Boyong and Yan An pressed Zhou Yang to help restrain an opponent in a fight, and Zhou Yang agreed only if the opponent was at Early Golden Core Stage.
• Zhou Yang, Liu Boyong, and Yan An entered the underground Demonic Cave through a passage in a black hall.
• Zhou Yang burned the demonic corpses and fierce ghosts that attacked them, but warned his companions that he could not keep spending spiritual power to fight endless swarms.
• Liu Boyong found a route deeper into the Demonic Cave, and Zhou Yang led the way with Qianyang True Fire burning the beasts in his path.

Zhou Yang, Liu Boyong, and Yan An reached a vast underground hall containing a Nether Ironwood coffin, whose possible connection to True Man Black Fiend raised doubts about the danger ahead. As they considered their next move, three Golden Core Stage Cultivators from the Lihuo Sect appeared.

• Zhou Yang fought through increasingly dangerous demonic traps and beasts, following Liu Boyong’s guidance into a huge cavern hall.
• Liu Boyong recognized the dark-golden coffin as possibly made from rare sixth-tier Nether Ironwood and grew greedy over its life-extending properties.
• Yan An suggested True Man Black Fiend might be inside the coffin, prompting Liu Boyong to conceal his concern and warn that the mission could be difficult.
• Zhou Yang suspected Liu Boyong was hiding something and silently raised his guard as the group debated what to do.
• Three vermilion-robed Golden Core Stage Cultivators emerged from a passage, and Yan An identified their leader as the Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster of the Lihuo Sect.

Zhou Yang and the cultivators from Haoyang Sect, Lihuo Sect, and Tian Gang Gate agreed to cooperate against the demonic beasts guarding the cavern’s coffins. When the coffins burst open and a zombie horde trapped them, Zhang Xuanzhi began gathering the cultivators to form a lightning formation, and Zhou Yang reached him first.

• Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster insulted Zhou Yang and his companions, and Liu Boyong retaliated by revealing Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster’s shameful past.
• Zhang Xuanzhi arrived with his group and proposed that the three sides set aside their grudges to fight the demonic beasts together.
• Zhou Yang and the other cultivators opened outer coffins, releasing three Black Fur Zombies; their deaths triggered the remaining coffins to burst open and unleash more than a hundred zombies.
• The passageway collapsed, and the cultivators discovered that the cavern prevented escape through the Earth Evasion Technique.
• Zhang Xuanzhi called the cultivators to gather around him and form the Heavenly Dipper Divine Lightning Formation, while Zhou Yang fought through the horde using his Qianyang True Fire and artifacts.
• After Zhou Yang reached Zhang Xuanzhi, Zhang told him to conserve his spiritual power for the counterattack.

Zhang Xuanzhi, Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster, and Zhou Yang revealed powerful methods to fight the zombie horde after the Heavenly Dipper Divine Lightning Formation faced a coordinated counterattack. With the weaker zombies defeated and the formation badly damaged, Zhou Yang was left holding off two Golden Core Stage zombies while the others fought their own opponents.

• Zhang Xuanzhi activated the Heavenly Dipper Divine Lightning Formation, but the zombies combined their Corpse Fiend Qi into a Mysterious Yin Nether Phoenix that clashed evenly with its Lightning Dragon.
• Zhang Xuanzhi and Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster used their hidden weapons to kill many zombies, then Liu Boyong pressured Zhou Yang into joining the attack in exchange for a chance to leave first after the treasure was seized.
• Zhou Yang activated the Great Sun Golden Light Talisman, weakening the zombies as the cultivators struck them with lightning, spells, and magical artifacts.
• After half an hour, the cultivators had killed every zombie below Golden Core Stage and three of the fifteen Golden Core Stage zombies, but the formation was badly damaged.
• Zhou Yang was assigned to fight two Golden Core Stage zombies while protecting an injured Ninth Layer Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, and he struggled to hold them off.

Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster and the other cultivators defeated True Man Black Fiend’s zombies, then agreed to open the dark-gold coffin and share its inheritance. After Zhang Xuanzhi broke the altar formation, the coffin opened and swallowed Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster, leaving the others to hear bones being gnawed inside.

• Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster defeated the Spear-wielding Zombie and tried to open the dark-gold coffin, but its lid would not move and the zombies swarmed him.
• Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster escaped with a Minor Teleportation Talisman, then persuaded Zhang Xuanzhi and Liu Boyong to cooperate in opening the coffin and dividing its contents.
• The three factions killed the remaining zombies and agreed to copy the inheritance while dividing any legacy treasures by strength.
• Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster, Zhang Xuanzhi, and Liu Boyong found the coffin fixed to the altar, and Zhang Xuanzhi suspected it was part of a formation.
• Zhang Xuanzhi smashed the altar’s edge with his seal artifact, allowing Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster to push the coffin lid open, but a force sucked him inside.
• Zhang Xuanzhi and Liu Boyong heard Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster scream and then heard bones being gnawed inside the coffin.

Zhou Yang awoke in a cave and learned that the monster who had slaughtered his companions was the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King, a sentient zombie who had spared him for his Qianyang Treasure Body. The Corpse King demanded Zhou Yang use his Qianyang True Fire to refine his magical power, and Zhou Yang refused without an assurance against being enslaved, ending under the monster’s terrifying pressure.

• Zhou Yang recalled the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King killing Crimson Eyebrow Old Monster, Zhang Xuanzhi, Liu Boyong, and the others before he lost consciousness.
• Zhou Yang found the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King in the cave beside the headless corpse of Yan An, his second senior brother.
• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King said True Man Black Fiend had perished and revealed that he had spared Zhou Yang to use his Qianyang True Fire to refine his magical power.
• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King threatened to use the Nine Nether Soul Seizing Technique if Zhou Yang refused, and Zhou Yang questioned whether he would later be turned into a puppet anyway.
• Zhou Yang refused to cooperate without an assurance against enslavement, and the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King struck him with a terrifying aura that made him spit blood.

Zhou Yang was forced to help the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King cultivate, then learned the fiend intended to target Guo Jinhong and coerced him into providing cover. With the Corpse King concealed in a coffin inside Zhou Yang’s spatial pendant, Zhou Yang returned to Jinyang Country and headed for Haoyang Mountain after his Mysterious Light Ring reacted.

• Zhou Yang refused to aid the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King without an oath, so the Corpse King swore not to use the Nine Nether Soul Seizing Technique on him and Zhou Yang helped refine his mana for nearly two years.
• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King revealed that he wanted Zhou Yang to help him target Guo Jinhong and threatened Zhou Yang’s Dao companion to force his cooperation.
• Zhou Yang agreed to help the Corpse King enter the Haoyang Sect, and the fiend hid inside his Nether Ironwood coffin and spatial pendant.
• After more than a month of travel, Zhou Yang returned to Jinyang Country, where Haoyang Sect intelligence soon informed Guo Jinhong of his arrival.
• When Zhou Yang’s Mysterious Light Ring began shining, he chose to fly toward Haoyang Mountain on the Phantom Cloud Boat.

Zhou Yang visited Guo Jinhong after escaping the Black Fiend Secret Realm and received a Jade Liquid Golden Elixir, while both men concealed their plans to kill the other. He began preparing for core formation in Fire Sun Cave, where the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King revealed it planned to strike once Zhou Yang formed his core.

• Zhou Yang gave Guo Jinhong a prepared account of his escape from the Black Fiend Secret Realm, and Guo Jinhong accepted his story without exposing his suspicions.
• Guo Jinhong gave Zhou Yang a Jade Liquid Golden Elixir and arranged for him to form his core in Fire Sun Cave, intending to kill him afterward.
• Qin Yue'er led Zhou Yang to Fire Sun Cave and remained outside his cultivation chamber while he prepared for core formation.
• After about two months, the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King contacted Zhou Yang and explained that it had not attacked in Worry-Free Valley because another Nascent Soul cultivator was present and Guo Jinhong was vigilant.
• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King told Zhou Yang it would attack after he formed his core, when Guo Jinhong came to receive him alone.

After years of pressure and recovery, Zhou Yang used the Jade Liquid Golden Elixir and Golden Pulp Fruit to successfully form a Golden Core Primordial Spirit. The resulting enormous spiritual-qi vortex alarmed Guo Jinhong, who stood ready to intervene as Zhou Yang faced the final stage of Core Formation.

• Zhou Yang recovered from his damaged dantian for three years while Guo Jinhong supplied spiritual items and the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King urged him to proceed.
• Zhou Yang swallowed the Jade Liquid Golden Elixir, condensed a tangible Golden Core, and used the Golden Pulp Fruit to help his soul merge with it.
• Zhou Yang's soul transformed into a Golden Core Primordial Spirit, and spiritual qi from across Haoyang Mountain gathered into a vast Seven-Colored Spiritual Qi Vortex above Fire Cloud Ravine.
• Haoyang Sect cultivators watched the Core Formation phenomenon, while Guo Jinhong arrived in secret and worried that Zhou Yang might not withstand the immense spiritual qi.
• As Zhou Yang entered the Core Completion stage, a treasure inside him that he had nearly overlooked began to stir.

As Zhou Yang completed Core Formation, the Qianyang Treasure Bead absorbed most of the spiritual qi and revealed Golden Core cultivation methods, helping him trigger the rare Great Sun Embracing phenomenon. Guo Jinhong attacked him afterward, but when he seized Zhou Yang’s spatial pendant, a coffin lid burst out and struck at him.

• The Qianyang Treasure Bead absorbed nearly sixty percent of the spiritual qi vortex and passed Golden Core cultivation methods into Zhou Yang’s mind.
• Zhou Yang refined the remaining spiritual qi, entered the Golden Core Stage, and triggered the Great Sun Embracing phenomenon above Haoyang Mountain.
• Guo Jinhong ordered the Haoyang Sect cultivators to leave and flew toward Fire Sun Cave, intending to kill Zhou Yang despite his rare phenomenon.
• Zhou Yang sensed Guo Jinhong approaching, knocked Qin Yue'er unconscious, and stored her in his silver pendant.
• Guo Jinhong seized the pendant and tried to release Qin Yue'er, but a coffin lid shot out of it and smashed toward his head.

The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King’s assault devastated Haoyang Sect and forced Guo Jinhong to abandon his body, while Zhou Yang survived by hiding in the silver pendant. After revealing that Qin Yue’er carried a Yin Yang Soul Devouring Worm egg and possessed a Profound Yin Spirit Body, the Corpse King left Zhou Yang questioning why it had warned him.

• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King ambushed Guo Jinhong, but Peng Yuanjing and Haoyang Sect’s Mountain Protection Array stopped it from killing him.
• Reinforcements drove the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King from Haoyang Mountain after a half-day battle, leaving Guo Jinhong gravely injured and Haoyang Sect badly damaged.
• The Anti-Light Alliance and Great Bright Immortal Palace issued orders to watch for the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King, which intended to return for Guo Jinhong’s treasure after increasing its strength.
• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King released Zhou Yang and Qin Yue’er from the silver pendant and explained that Guo Jinhong had planted a Yin Yang Soul Devouring Worm egg inside her.
• The Heavenly Fiend Corpse King revealed that Qin Yue’er had a Profound Yin Spirit Body and that Guo Jinhong had planned to use her and Zhou Yang to hatch the worm.
• Zhou Yang asked the Heavenly Fiend Corpse King why it had revealed Guo Jinhong’s scheme instead of keeping the secret for its own advantage.