Chapter Summaries

Wang Daoyuan attended Wang Daoyin’s Violet Mansion ceremony as the Wang Clan’s representative, gave a lavish gift, and was formally accepted as True Man Lei Yan’s registered disciple. The celebration turned confrontational when rival Golden Core cultivators challenged Lei Yan’s disciples, and a veiled Violet Mansion cultivator called Wang Daoyuan a traitor and demanded a fight.

• Wang Daoyuan chose to give twenty Violet Rhyme Pills, fifty Vein Protecting Pills, and ten Golden Thunder Demon Extermination Talismans as the Wang Clan’s gift.
• Wang Daoyuan presented the gift at the ceremony, drawing notice from the guests and a defense from a young Zhou Clan descendant after a Crimson Sun Palace cultivator mocked his Five-element Spiritual Root.
• After the ceremony’s formal proceedings, True Man Lei Yan announced Wang Daoyuan as his new registered disciple, and Wang Daoyuan completed the rites.
• True Person Ningshuang and True Person Xuanlei proposed that the younger generation exchange pointers, criticizing Lei Yan’s disciples and questioning Wang Daoyuan’s prospects.
• A veiled Violet Mansion woman beside True Person Ningshuang called Wang Daoyuan a rebellious traitor of the Wang Clan and challenged him to battle.

Wang Daoyuan rejected Zhao Qingshuang’s claim that the Wang Clan were traitors and defended his ancestor’s service to Zhao Kingdom. Their dispute escalated into a fight outside the Assembly Hall, where Wang Daoyuan countered Zhao Qingshuang’s ice attacks and left her struggling to win quickly.

• Wang Daoyuan mocked Zhao Qingshuang’s father, the Long-legged Prince, and denied that the Wang Clan owed his branch allegiance.
• Wang Daoyuan recounted his clan’s sacrifices for Zhao Kingdom and argued that his ancestor had served Emperor Zhao Lie and the Ninth Prince, not the Long-legged Prince.
• A Zhou-surnamed cultivator condemned Zhao Qingshuang’s accusations, and she challenged Wang Daoyuan to a fight.
• Zhao Qingshuang attacked with Ice Swords, but Wang Daoyuan’s White Tiger Blade shattered them.
• Wang Daoyuan evaded Zhao Qingshuang’s icy mist and built a massive Bifang phantom with the Divine Fire Burning Heaven Art.
• Wang Daoyuan and Zhao Qingshuang traded fire and ice attacks, and she realized she could not defeat him quickly or outlast his Five-element Spiritual Root.

Wang Daoyuan defeated Zhao Qingshuang in their duel, then reunited with Zhou Xuan at the gathering. As Kui Jian challenged him to fight, Wang Daoyuan restored his strength and accepted the match.

• Wang Daoyuan used the Heaven Severing Sword to break Zhao Qingshuang’s giant ice sword and disarm her.
• Wang Daoyuan defeated Zhao Qingshuang’s follow-up attack but spared her, and True Person Ningshuang ended their grievance with True Man Lei Yan.
• Wang Daoyuan recognized Zhou Xuan and told him that he had survived the Peach Blossom Tribulation and killed the person who schemed against them.
• Kui Jian challenged Wang Daoyuan to a duel, but Zhou Xuan offered to fight Kui Jian first because Wang Daoyuan had just battled.
• Wang Daoyuan drank Spirit Peach Dew, said he had recovered enough, and accepted Kui Jian’s challenge.

Wang Daoyuan recovered from his earlier fight and faced Kui Jian in a sword duel, where he endured Kui Jian’s strongest strike with repeated Wutu Divine Thunders and his Black Tortoise Shield. He defeated the attack and left Kui Jian questioning the saying that one sword could break ten thousand techniques.

• Zhou Jingyuan and Xuan Jiuxiao exchanged spells for a quarter of an hour and ended their sparring in a draw.
• Zhou Jingyuan invited Wang Daoyuan to visit Zhou and praised his potential, but Wang Daoyuan declined and went to face Kui Jian.
• Kui Jian and Wang Daoyuan traded sword attacks, then gathered their strength for their strongest strikes.
• Kui Jian’s longsword phantom split Wang Daoyuan’s Heaven Severing Sword, but Wang Daoyuan slowed it with repeated Wutu Divine Thunders and defended with his Black Tortoise Phantom.
• Wang Daoyuan withstood Kui Jian’s strike, leaving Kui Jian exhausted, then asked why ten thousand techniques could not break one sword.

Wang Daoyuan helped Kui Jian recover from a crisis of faith by explaining how a sword cultivator’s belief in the sword could lead to Invincible Belief. Kui Jian resolved to gain experience and eventually defeat Wang Daoyuan, while True Person Xuanlei rewarded Wang with a Heaven Suppressing Stone.

• After Wang Daoyuan defeated Kui Jian, True Person Xuanlei threatened him over the possibility that Kui Jian’s Dao Heart would collapse.
• In a secluded room, Wang Daoyuan explained that sword cultivators used belief in the sword to cultivate belief in their own invincibility.
• Wang Daoyuan described fleeing from Black Cloud Wolves as a young cultivator and later taking revenge until their wolf king abandoned its territory.
• Kui Jian regained his resolve, vowed to treat Wang Daoyuan as an adversary he would eventually defeat, and asked to travel and gain experience.
• True Person Xuanlei gave Wang Daoyuan a Heaven Suppressing Stone as thanks for helping Kui Jian, and Wang accepted while promising to help Kui Jian if needed.

Wang Daoyuan stayed at the Divine Weapon Pavilion to study artifact refinement and asked True Man Lei Yan to inspect Fumo Zhenren’s inheritance for tampering. After Wang Daoyuan mastered and combined the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal, True Man Lei Yan discovered a flaw in it and suspected Luo Jiuyou had altered the combination secret art.

• Wang Daoyuan told Hall Master Gu he would remain at the Divine Weapon Pavilion, and True Man Lei Yan gave him a Heaven Suppressing Stone as a gift.
• Wang Daoyuan asked True Man Lei Yan to examine the inheritance Luo Jiuyou had given him for hidden tampering.
• True Man Lei Yan found no problems in the Animal Hide Book but noticed possible alterations to the Jade Slip’s method for combining the five ritual artifacts.
• Wang Daoyuan cultivated the remaining spells and combined the five artifact phantoms into the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal within five days.
• True Man Lei Yan tested the seal phantom with Wang Daoyin’s purple flame spell and identified a flaw, concluding Luo Jiuyou had tampered with the combination secret art.

Wang Daoyuan and True Man Lei Yan uncovered a deadly flaw Luo Jiuyou had hidden in the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal’s combination art. Lei Yan agreed to repair the art and modify Daoyuan’s Vermilion Bird Fan while teaching him artifact deduction over the next three years.

• True Man Lei Yan had Zhao Liang attack the weakened great seal phantom, which shattered and revealed that spiritual power would flow backward through it.
• True Man Lei Yan explained that Luo Jiuyou’s hidden flaw could destroy Wang Daoyuan if he used the completed seal, and Wang Daoyuan resolved to grow stronger and find a third refuge for the Wang Clan.
• True Man Lei Yan said he could reconstruct the combination art from True Man Leiguang’s notes within one or two years.
• Wang Daoyuan asked True Man Lei Yan to modify the Vermilion Bird Fan to control Five Elements Spirit Fire, and Lei Yan agreed after learning Daoyuan already had three types of spirit fire.
• True Man Lei Yan sent Wang Daoyin and Zhao Liang away, then promised to repair the seal art and modify the fan in about three years while teaching Wang Daoyuan how to deduce Natal Artifacts.

Wang Daoyuan studied Divine Weapon Pavilion’s artifact-refining inheritance, then used Blood Fire Fusang wood to begin testing True Man Lei Yan’s modified Vermilion Bird Fan method. True Man Lei Yan also offered to improve Wang Daoyuan’s Flying Kite, while the trial refinement left Wang Daoyuan with new insight into how his ancestor had refined artifacts.

• Wang Daoyuan spent half a year copying the artifact patterns and cultivation experiences stored in True Man Lei Yan’s cave abode.
• True Man Lei Yan completed preliminary improvements to the Vermilion Bird Fan and told Wang Daoyuan to cut branches from the Blood Fire Fusang for a trial refinement.
• Wang Daoyuan cut a thick branch from the Blood Fire Fusang after True Man Lei Yan assured him the tree belonged to their lineage.
• True Man Lei Yan explained the Blood Fire Fusang’s uncertain connection to the legendary Fusang tree, examined Wang Daoyuan’s Flying Kite, and offered to refine it into a Third-order Magic Tool.
• True Man Lei Yan gave Wang Daoyuan the modified Vermilion Bird Fan refining method, and Wang Daoyuan went to the artifact-refining chamber to test it using an ordinary magic tool.
• True Man Lei Yan criticized Wang Daoyuan’s ancestor for relying on brute force, then speculated that he might have been an acquired spiritual body.

Wang Daoyuan refined an improved Vermilion Bird Fan that controlled and amplified spirit fire, then spent three years copying selected artifact-refining methods while True Man Lei Yan deduced the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal. True Man Lei Yan gave Wang Daoyuan the combined technique to cultivate and test.

• Wang Daoyuan refined a Vermilion Bird Fan with five-element feathers and confirmed it could amplify both ordinary fire and Wang Daoyin's Violet Lightning Divine Fire.
• True Man Lei Yan praised the fan's power and told Wang Daoyuan to keep studying the patriarchs' texts while he revised the combined secret art.
• Wang Daoyuan selected methods for more than two hundred valuable artifacts and finished copying them after three years.
• True Man Lei Yan completed the Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal and advised Wang Daoyuan to focus on artifact-refining fundamentals rather than collecting too many methods.
• True Man Lei Yan gave Wang Daoyuan the combination method and instructed him to cultivate it, then have Wang Daoyin test it with Violet Lightning Divine Flame.

True Man Lei Yan perfected Wang Daoyuan’s Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal, improving how he could combine and nurture his Natal Artifacts. Wang Daoyuan tested the seal against Lei Yan’s defense and learned its immense power came with a severe Spiritual Power cost.

• Wang Daoyuan relearned the improved supplementary spells and formed a stable Five Elements Subduing Demon Seal phantom under True Man Lei Yan’s guidance.
• True Man Lei Yan explained that Wang Daoyuan could use any Natal Artifacts he had and nurture all five together as the seal, reducing nurturing time by four-fifths.
• Wang Daoyuan fused the White Tiger Blade and Black Tortoise Shield into the seal phantom and struck True Man Lei Yan’s defensive barrier with all his strength.
• True Man Lei Yan was shocked that the seal shook a barrier formed with one-tenth of his strength and said it could break through ordinary Late Violet Mansion cultivators’ defenses.
• Wang Daoyuan replenished his strength with Spirit Peach Dew and said the seal consumed all his Spiritual Power, while doubting he could comprehend the Five Elements Divine Beasts’ divine essence.

Wang Daoyuan recovered, continued learning artifact refinement from True Man Lei Yan, and advanced to refining Mid-grade Third-order artifacts. Before Wang Daoyuan left, True Man Lei Yan revealed leads to spirit fires that could strengthen his cultivation, including the Crimson Sun True Fire in the Skyrend Mountain Range and a possible Metal Attribute Spirit Fire in the Southern Wilderness.

• True Man Lei Yan explained that comprehending divine essence could take decades, then agreed to refine Wang Daoyuan's Mysterious Ice Jade Marrow into a Demon Suppressing Pendant.
• True Man Lei Yan crafted a Mid-grade Third-order Demon Suppressing Pendant with Spirit Gathering Artifact Patterns and taught Wang Daoyuan artifact-refining techniques as he worked.
• Seven years later, Wang Daoyuan refined a Mid-grade Third-order artifact, and True Man Lei Yan praised his progress while advising him to continue developing his artifact-refining skills.
• True Man Lei Yan told Wang Daoyuan that True Lord Hundred Spirits had created Crimson Sun True Fire and that his final whereabouts pointed to the Skyrend Mountain Range near the Wan Chuan River.
• True Man Lei Yan advised Wang Daoyuan to seek Metal Attribute Spirit Fire in the Southern Wilderness only after reaching Violet Mansion Late Stage, because the region held dangerous beasts and devil cultivators.

Wang Daoyuan left Divine Weapon Pavilion with a new flying artifact and returned to the Wang Clan, where Twelfth Uncle gave him a Third-order demon bird’s Natal Feather. He stored the feather in the Spirit Pearl Space to restore its power and learned that the clan had recently killed a Green Feathered Azure Sparrow threatening Dragon Fall Ridge.

• True Man Lei Yan gave Wang Daoyuan the Wind Fire Flying Kite and urged him to cultivate toward Golden Core.
• Wang Daoyuan left Divine Weapon Pavilion with Wang Daoyin, Zhao Liang, and Wang Daoshu, then planted Blood Fire Fusang shoots near the Life Spirit Fire in the Spirit Pearl Space.
• Wang Daoyuan received Twelfth Uncle’s message and returned to Jade Spring Peak to refine Foundation Establishment Pills and collect a treasure.
• Twelfth Uncle showed Wang Daoyuan a Low-grade Third-order Natal Feather taken from a Green Feathered Azure Sparrow.
• Twelfth Uncle explained that the Green Feathered Azure Sparrow had threatened Dragon Fall Ridge before he and Fifth Uncle killed it.

Wang Daoyuan taught the Wang Clan’s alchemists to refine Foundation Establishment Pills while nurturing his Natal Artifact. Two months later, Yang Yong brought news of Elder Jin’s Nirvana and his own promotion, and Wang Zhian prepared to take over as Qingli Market’s Garrison Envoy.

• Wang Daoyuan accepted the Green Feathered Azure Sparrow’s corpse and agreed to guide the Wang Clan’s younger alchemists.
• Wang Daoyuan demonstrated Foundation Establishment Pill refinement to six Second-Tier Alchemists, producing nine pills in one furnace.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to his cave residence and continued nurturing his Natal Artifact.
• Yang Yong reported that Elder Jin had Achieved Nirvana after returning to the Jin family with five Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Yang Yong told Wang Daoyuan and Wang Zhian that he would become a manager in the Netherworld Sect’s Artifact Refining Hall and asked them to look after Yang Yulin.
• Wang Zhian was set to replace Yang Yong as Qingli Market’s Garrison Envoy, and Wang Daoyuan promised to protect Yang Yulin when he attempted to open his Violet Mansion.

Wang Daoyuan and the Wang Clan leaders decided to halt their expansion until the clan gained a Golden Core Cultivator, while Daoyuan searched Dragon Fall Ridge for rare resources. Zhou Luan summoned him with intelligence about True Lord Hundred Spirits' cave residence, but their discussion stalled when she asked for a Violet Rhyme Pill he did not have.

• Wang Daochang, Twelfth Uncle, and Wang Daoyuan agreed to consolidate the clan's holdings and develop Dragon Fall Ridge rather than expand further before a Wang Clan member formed a Golden Core.
• Fifth Uncle-Grandfather revealed that he had completed his Natal Artifact's modification and renamed the sword the Fish Dragon Water Control Sword.
• Wang Daoyuan searched Dragon Fall Ridge for several months, then received Zhou Luan's message that she had crucial intelligence and traveled to the Northern Mountain Branch.
• Zhou Luan told Wang Daoyuan she had found the location of True Lord Hundred Spirits' cave residence and asked him to bring a Violet Rhyme Pill.
• Wang Daoyuan admitted he had no Violet Rhyme Pill available, and Zhou Luan asked what he could offer instead.

Wang Daoyuan learned from Zhou Luan that True Lord Hundred Spirits’ cave residence and medicinal garden were likely near Baichuan Lake. He realized the secret realm where he had found the Life Spirit Fire had been Hundred Spirits’ garden, but he had already destroyed it.

• Wang Daoyuan bargained with Zhou Luan for information, offering spirit fruits, lotus seeds, and help modifying her Natal Artifact.
• Zhou Luan explained that True Lord Hundred Spirits had frequented Baichuan Lake and a gorge several hundred li to its east, where he likely Achieved Nirvana.
• Wang Daoyuan recognized the gorge as the location of the secret realm where he had found the Life Spirit Fire.
• Wang Daoyuan concluded that the secret realm had been True Lord Hundred Spirits’ medicinal and spirit beast garden, damaged during his failed breakthrough.
• Wang Daoyuan regretted destroying the secret realm, realizing it might have contained many valuable spirit herb seeds.

Wang Daoyuan searched Cloud Hidden Isle for True Lord Hundred Spirits’ cave abode but was intercepted by a hidden Violet Mansion Cultivator. He recognized the opponent as Shi Zhenbang just as he prepared a powerful sword attack.

• Wang Daoyuan left Zhou Luan and traveled secretly through the Qingli River to Baichuan Lake, avoiding Green Willow Continent.
• He headed straight for Cloud Hidden Isle, suspecting it was the location of True Lord Hundred Spirits’ cave abode.
• Wang Daoyuan searched Cloud Hidden Peak, but the mist hindered his Soul Chasing Bees and divine sense.
• A hidden cultivator attacked Wang Daoyuan with a crimson Sword Light and urged him to leave, warning that reinforcements were coming.
• Wang Daoyuan tracked the attacker’s fire spiritual power and attacked, forcing the hidden cultivator to reveal himself as Shi Zhenbang.
• Wang Daoyuan recognized Shi Zhenbang and formed a giant sword phantom over the White Tiger Blade.

Wang Daoyuan fought Shi Zhenbang on Cloud Hidden Isle while seeking third-tier Cloud Hidden Tea, then fled after realizing Green Willow Continent knew about True Lord Hundred Spirits. Shi Zhenbang and his arriving allies concluded that Cloud Hidden Isle was the most likely location of True Lord Hundred Spirits' cave abode, but they had found no clues.

• Wang Daoyuan overwhelmed Shi Zhenbang's phoenix phantom and pressed him with attacks while rejecting his offer to join the Zhao imperial house.
• Wang Daoyuan used Wutu Divine Thunder, but Shi Zhenbang defended himself with a third-tier high-grade shield and tried to recruit him again.
• Wang Daoyuan asked to pick Cloud Hidden Tea, then decided to leave when Shi Zhenbang refused and he suspected Green Willow Continent knew about True Lord Hundred Spirits.
• Wang Daoyuan escaped aboard the Wind Fire Flying Kite as a flying boat carrying five Violet Mansion Cultivators arrived at Cloud Hidden Isle.
• Shi Zhenbang told his younger brother that Wang Daoyuan likely knew about True Lord Hundred Spirits, and the two agreed that Cloud Hidden Isle was the likeliest site of the cave abode despite finding no clues.

Wang Daoyuan enlisted Zhou Luan to spread sensational rumors about True Lord Hundred Spirits' cave residence, hoping to draw powerful factions into conflict with Green Willow Continent. The rumors spread widely, and the Netherworld Sect began investigating while Wang Daoyuan waited at Jade Spring Peak.

• Wang Daoyuan decided to spread news of the cave residence to draw the Three Great Sects and other powers into the search, while leaving the Zhao Clan's remnants alive to keep the factions wary.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Zhou Luan and asked her to spread the news; she agreed, though she warned him that Golden Core Cultivators could endanger his attempt to obtain the Crimson Sun True Fire.
• Zhou Luan's people circulated detailed rumors about True Lord Hundred Spirits' cave residence, and Rogue Cultivators embellished them with claims of Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation methods.
• The Wang Clan's Dark Hall learned of the rumors, and Fifth Uncle-Grandfather reported them to the Netherworld Sect, which sent Elder Zhou to investigate.
• Elder Zhou traced the rumors to Mysterious Yin Market and questioned Wang Daoyuan about his Cloud Winged Tiger; Wang Daoyuan admitted he had obtained it on Cloud Hidden Isle.

The Netherworld Sect and the other powers gathered at Qingli Market after rumors linked Cloud Hidden Isle to True Lord Hundred Spirits' inheritance. As the mist began to clear on the ninth day of the ninth month, Wang Daoyuan and the chosen Violet Mansion cultivators prepared to enter the island.

• Hall Master Gu questioned Wang Daoyuan about Cloud Hidden Isle, and Wang Daoyuan described finding Cloud Hidden Tea and taking in the Cloud Winged Tiger cub.
• Wang Daoyuan urged the Netherworld Sect to wait until the island's mist dispersed on the ninth day of the ninth month, and Hall Master Gu agreed.
• Golden Core cultivators and their companions arrived from the four top powers, followed by representatives from the Zhou and Qin royal families and the Myriad Spirit Sect and Crimson Sun Palace.
• The various forces agreed on entry limits, and the Netherworld Sect selected Wang Daoyuan, Luo Hongming, Zhou Qi, and Liu Jinhui to enter.
• On the morning of the ninth day of the ninth month, the Golden Core cultivators watched from beyond the Skyrend Mountain Range as the mist around Cloud Hidden Isle began to thin.

Wang Daoyuan joined the cultivators investigating Cloud Hidden Isle for True Lord Hundred Spirits' cave abode. After a search revealed an anomaly deep beneath the island, the group tried to break open Cloud Hidden Peak, but the mountain resisted their attack.

• True Man Minghai sent Wang Daoyuan and the other juniors to Cloud Hidden Isle, where they found no visitors or passing spirit ships.
• Wang Daoyuan led the group to the Cloud Hidden Tea cave, where a Crimson Sun Palace cultivator tried to take a plant and then smashed a gravestone, provoking the other cultivators.
• The cultivators searched the island with magical artifacts but found nothing, until Heavenly Secret Sect's compass revealed an unexplained stretch of unbroken rock five thousand zhang underground.
• Wang Daoyuan suggested that the spirit vein might lead to the hidden area, and the Crimson Sun Palace cultivator struck Cloud Hidden Peak with a phantom fist.
• The attack shattered only a few rocks on the summit, leaving Cloud Hidden Peak unharmed.