Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan defeated two Foundation Establishment experts, entered the Heavenly Soldier Rankings at fifteenth, and examined his challenge rewards. After leaving the Heavenly Court, he saw the Yellow-toothed Old Man flying toward him on a cloud.

• Chen Fan’s victory over two Foundation Establishment Early Stage experts sparked excitement, and his record earned him three A-grade ratings and fifteenth place on the Heavenly Soldier Rankings.
• Chen Fan returned to his Immortal Cave and studied an Avatar Dao Talisman, an unexplained map fragment, and two high-grade Spirit Tools.
• The Green-feathered Bird told Chen Fan that the cracked Black Silk Treasure Armor could be repaired and had the power to withstand three full-force strikes from a Golden Core Realm expert.
• Chen Fan left the Heavenly Court and stored the Avatar Dao Talisman in his Storage Ring while his physical body continued cultivating.
• Huang Cheng called for Tang Xue to look at an immortal, and Chen Fan saw the Yellow-toothed Old Man flying toward them on a cloud.

Chen Fan prepared to enter seclusion on Shu Mountain and break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm while Huang Cheng and Tang Xue went to seek work. On the way, Tang Xue suspected Chen Feng was connected to the wanted cultivator surnamed Chen, and Huang Cheng suddenly realized something.

• Yellow-toothed Old Man struck the formation between the Ninth and Eighth Peaks, discovered his Jade Token was missing, and cursed Bald Bird before flying onward on his sword.
• Chen Fan told Huang Cheng and Tang Xue he would enter seclusion, and they agreed to look for jobs at the Jade Pavilion and work with him when he returned.
• Chen Fan sealed his cabin with a protective formation, prepared three spirit medicines, and began cultivating with Shu Mountain's spiritual energy and Pseudo Immortal Qi.
• Tang Xue told Huang Cheng she suspected Chen Feng was connected to the powerful cultivator surnamed Chen who was being hunted by the Immortal Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.
• Huang Cheng acknowledged the possibility and suddenly said that a light had gone on in his head.

Huang Cheng and Tang Xue left the bamboo grove as disciples on the Eighth Peak plotted against Chen Fan, while Gao Yueyue began investigating him. Chen Fan used the Burning Wood Chapter to absorb three spirit herbs and approach a breakthrough, and Gao Yueyue was shocked to learn he had defeated Li Feng with one sword strike.

• Huang Cheng joked that he might change his surname to Chen, and Tang Xue rolled her eyes before hurrying away.
• Senior Brother Li, Liu Hong, and their allies discussed Gao Yueyue's appointment and planned to trap Chen Feng by assigning him dangerous tasks with poor rewards.
• Chen Fan used the Burning Wood Flame to refine three spirit herbs into green liquid, which his cocoon absorbed as he neared a breakthrough.
• Gao Yueyue learned that Li Du had looked up Chen Feng's records and asked what was unusual about him.
• A female cultivator told Gao Yueyue that Chen Feng had knocked Li Feng unconscious with one sword strike, and Gao Yueyue sat up in surprise.

Chen Fan completed his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and his increased strength prepared him for a new period of cultivation. He went with Huang Cheng and Tang Xue to the Jade Pavilion to choose tasks, where something on the second floor caught his attention.

• A Foundation Establishment female cultivator told Gao Yueyue that Liu Hong and others had abused their authority, and Gao Yueyue vowed to deal with them before taking an interest in Chen Feng.
• Chen Fan absorbed the remaining spiritual energy in his cocoon and liquefied his True Qi, entering Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• Chen Fan explained that the Blazing Heaven Sword Art had advanced his Burning Wood Chapter to Qi Refining Layer 5, while his other two chapters had reached Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• Huang Cheng and Tang Xue were astonished by Chen Fan's breakthrough, and he agreed to join them in choosing tasks at the Jade Pavilion.
• Chen Fan sensed that the Jade Pavilion might be suppressing something, then reacted with surprise upon reaching its second floor.

Chen Fan and Huang Cheng discovered that two Jade Pavilion disciples kept the easy, high-reward tasks for themselves and cheated Huang Cheng out of a Foundation Cultivation Pill. After the disciples mocked Chen Fan and claimed no one could remove several sealed bamboo slips, Chen Fan calmly reached for them.

• Chen Fan noticed runes suppressing something beneath Jade Pavilion while Huang Cheng searched the task bookshelf.
• Huang Cheng learned that the best tasks were withheld and offered a Foundation Cultivation Pill to the two disciples at the table.
• The disciples took Huang Cheng's pill, then gave him an extremely difficult task worth a thousand Contribution Points.
• Chen Fan asked whether they could choose any task on the shelf and walked over to the sealed bamboo slips.

Chen Fan broke the seals on the bamboo mission scrolls in the Jade Pavilion and distributed most of them to the watching disciples, defying the managers’ warning about a powerful cultivator. He shared the remaining missions with Huang Cheng and Tang Xue, then used a scroll to teleport them away to complete the missions.

• Chen Fan pulled every sealed bamboo scroll from the shelf, alarming the two Jade Pavilion managers, who warned that a powerful figure had placed the seals.
• Chen Fan kept three scrolls and sent the rest flying to the waiting disciples, who rushed out with them to claim the missions’ Contribution Points.
• Chen Fan told Huang Cheng and Tang Xue that the seals had been set by a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator but said he did not fear him.
• Chen Fan offered Huang Cheng and Tang Xue most of the rewards from the three mission scrolls, explaining that he needed only enough Contribution Points for one person to advance to the Seventh Peak.
• Chen Fan activated a mission scroll’s Teleportation Array, and he, Huang Cheng, and Tang Xue vanished from the Jade Pavilion.

Li Guo learned that Chen Feng had broken the Jade Pavilion’s seal and distributed Reserve Bamboo Slips, so he sent Li Du and Liu Hong to find the disciples and recover them. Meanwhile, Chen Fan, Huang Cheng, and Tang Xue discovered that their peaceful-city missions awarded Contribution Points anyway, and Chen Fan realized the Bamboo Slips were being used to store those points.

• The Jade Pavilion managers told Li Guo that Chen Feng had taken the sealed Reserve Bamboo Slips and given most of them to Eighth Peak disciples, and they revealed that he had reached the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• Li Guo ordered Li Du and Liu Hong to identify the disciples holding the slips and warned Li Du to silence anyone who had learned their secrets.
• Chen Fan, Huang Cheng, and Tang Xue found Kongming City peaceful, despite their Bamboo Slips assigning them missions to drive out Demon Sect disciples.
• The eastern mission Bamboo Slip flashed white, and Chen Fan received 500 Contribution Points; the western one then awarded Tang Xue 1000 points.
• Chen Fan examined the Bamboo Slip with his Divine Sense and realized that the supposed missions were being used to store Contribution Points.

After completing three suspicious task slips, Chen Fan returned to Shu Mountain and found the Bald Bird lounging amid a huge pile of spirit herbs. The Bald Bird denied stealing the treasures, while Chen Fan chose to stop questioning it and focus on stabilizing his new cultivation.

• Chen Fan, Huang Cheng, and Tang Xue completed the third task and earned Huang Cheng a thousand Contribution Points.
• Chen Fan returned to his hut, sensed strong spiritual energy inside, and found the Bald Bird resting on a bed piled with precious spirit herbs.
• The Bald Bird noticed Chen Fan had reached Foundation Establishment and praised his progress in the Burning chapters.
• The Bald Bird offered Chen Fan a piece of ginseng, but Chen Fan refused so he could stabilize his cultivation.
• Chen Fan suspected the Bald Bird had used Old Yellow Tooth's Jade Token to ransack his Immortal Cave, but the Bald Bird denied stealing anything.
• Chen Fan stopped questioning the Bald Bird and sat down to cultivate.

Chen Fan endured the Nirvana Sword Intent and began refining a tiny, powerful spark of Sword Intent, but an urgent mission sent him and his companions to reinforce Tianyun City against a beast tide. At the Teleportation Array, the group discovered that many assigned disciples were weak, and one refused to go.

• Bald Bird slept after stealing most of the Alchemy Hall's medicinal herbs, while Chen Fan continued tempering his Sword Intent inside the Jade Slip.
• Huang Cheng told Chen Fan that Seventh Peak had urgently assigned them a mission, and Chen Fan agreed to go after Tang Xue arrived.
• Two Foundation Establishment disciples ordered Chen Fan, Huang Cheng, and Tang Xue to reinforce Tianyun City, claiming a massive beast tide had struck.
• Chen Fan and his companions reached the Teleportation Array and found several Jade Pavilion disciples who had taken the mission slips he gave them.
• Law Enforcement Hall disciples questioned whether the group was strong enough, and one disciple in the crowd refused to go.

Shu Mountain disciples resisted being sent on a dangerous mission to Tianyun City, but threats of expulsion and the promise of Contribution Points persuaded them to enter the Teleportation Array. Chen Fan pulled the two arrogant Foundation Establishment cultivators into the array with the others, and they were all transported away.

• The Qi Refining disciples objected to the mission, but the Foundation Establishment cultivators invoked sect rules and warned that refusal could lead to expulsion or execution.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivators offered up to two hundred Contribution Points for completing the mission, and the disciples entered the Teleportation Array.
• Chen Fan calmly entered the array, prompting the remaining disciples to follow.
• As the Law Enforcement Hall woman activated the array, Chen Fan's pulling force swept both Foundation Establishment cultivators into it.
• The array teleported the disciples and the two Foundation Establishment cultivators to Tianyun City, while the Law Enforcement Hall disciples chose not to report what had happened.

Chen Fan and the disciples arrived at the ruined Tianyun City, where a hidden formation beneath the dark clouds began killing them. Chen Fan led some of the group to the city gate, but chains from the clouds kept dragging disciples away, and Tang Xue asked him what the danger was.

• Chen Fan struck a Foundation Establishment cultivator who attacked him after the group arrived outside Tianyun City.
• The disciples discovered the city’s surroundings were barren and bloodstained, and Huang Cheng questioned another Foundation Establishment cultivator about what he was hiding.
• The cultivator Chen Fan had struck disappeared, leaving a pool of blood, and the other Foundation Establishment cultivator revealed that a formation would kill them if they did not enter the city.
• Chen Fan realized the danger was above them, grabbed Huang Cheng and Tang Xue, and rushed toward Tianyun City as chains fell from the clouds and dragged away disciples.
• Chen Fan reached the city gate with Huang Cheng and Tang Xue while more disciples were pulled into the clouds, and Tang Xue asked him what the chains were.

Chen Fan learned that a Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array had been built around Tianyun City to refine a high-grade Spirit Tool, using the lives of disciples who had taken special mission bamboo slips and many innocent people. He led the survivors into the city, where they found a massacre by Monster Beasts and began turning on one another.

• Chen Fan forced the Foundation Establishment cultivator to reveal that Senior Sister Liu and Senior Brother Li had arranged the slaughter, and that disciples who used the special mission bamboo slips were targeted.
• The surviving disciples learned that the bamboo slips had drawn them into the array, and some blamed Chen Fan for their predicament.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator said the array trapped the area around Tianyun City, so Chen Fan led Huang Cheng, Tang Xue, and the others into the city.
• The group encountered a powerful bloody stench and found the marketplace filled with bodies torn apart by Monster Beasts; one female disciple fainted.
• A Qi Refinement cultivator blamed Chen Fan for giving him a bamboo slip, while Huang Cheng and Tang Xue defended Chen Fan and condemned the survivor's greed.

As the disciples split over whether to trust Chen Fan or the Foundation Establishment cultivator, Chen Fan led Huang Cheng, Tang Xue, and two others deeper into Tianyun City. The rival group watched them go, but a sudden crash and Monster Beast roar shook the city.

• A Foundation Establishment cultivator offered to lead the disciples to safety, while making clear he did not want Chen Fan and his companions to follow.
• Most of the disciples abandoned Chen Fan and joined the Foundation Establishment cultivator, leaving only Huang Cheng, Tang Xue, and two Qi Refining disciples with Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan assured his companions that he would kill any Monster Beasts that attacked, then led them toward the center of Tianyun City and entered an inn.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator and the disciples who had left hid atop a dilapidated house and mocked Chen Fan’s decision to venture deeper into the city.
• A tremendous crash shook Tianyun City, followed by a deafening Monster Beast roar.

Chen Fan protected Huang Cheng, Tang Xue, and the other disciples from a Nightmare Beast’s illusion, then sealed them inside a Sword Formation while he went to find the person behind the formation. Huang Cheng recognized the formation and stopped one disciple from leaving.

• A powerful Monster Beast’s roar and strange sounds filled Tianyun City as Chen Fan watched the dark clouds overhead.
• A Nightmare Beast trapped Chen Fan and the others in an illusion of a sea of blood, but Chen Fan split it with one sword strike and defeated the beast.
• Chen Fan warned the disciples to learn from their fear, then used four Talismans to create a Sword Formation around the inn.
• Chen Fan left to find the person who had set up the formation and warned the disciples not to leave the inn.
• A female Qi Refining disciple tried to go after Chen Fan, but Huang Cheng stopped her, saying he recognized the formation.

Huang Cheng's group realized the Four Symbols Secret Talisman protected them while Monster Beasts trapped the Foundation Establishment cultivator and his disciples. Chen Fan killed a Nightmare Beast and activated a formation outside the inn, leaving everyone stunned as the formation began drawing in spiritual energy.

• Huang Cheng explained that the Four Symbols Secret Talisman could shield his group, while the Monster Beasts targeted the Foundation Establishment cultivator and his disciples.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator and over a dozen Qi Refining disciples were trapped by two enormous wolves, a Nightmare Beast, and a golden-winged demon sparrow.
• Chen Fan activated the formation outside the inn, and the trapped group saw a dead Nightmare Beast with a single sword mark nearby.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator tried to turn the golden-winged demon sparrow against Chen Fan, but Chen Fan vanished with an unfathomable movement technique.
• The golden-winged demon sparrow shrieked for reinforcements, and the wolves and Nightmare Beast charged the formation, which remained undamaged.
• A vortex began drawing in spiritual energy above the formation; the Foundation Establishment cultivator mocked Chen Fan for lacking enough energy, but his smile suddenly froze.

Chen Fan’s Four Symbols Secret Array transformed into a blood-soaked demonic formation and slaughtered three monster beasts, while the Golden-Winged Demon Sparrow attacked a wounded Foundation Establishment cultivator. As fleeing disciples begged to enter the inn, Chen Fan remained concealed in the clouds, watching a white-haired Shu Mountain cultivator refine something in a bronze cauldron.

• The Four Symbols Secret Talismans ignited, summoned bloodied Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise phantoms, and absorbed the filthy qi around the inn.
• The Vermilion Bird killed two wolf beasts and a nightmare, and the array drew in their blood as the Golden-Winged Demon Sparrow attacked the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• The Golden-Winged Demon Sparrow tore off the cultivator’s arm and poisoned him, but the cultivator escaped by shoving two Qi Refining disciples into the beast’s path.
• The surviving disciples begged Chen Fan to open the array, but Tang Xue and Huang Cheng refused them entry because they had rejected and accused him earlier.
• Chen Fan hid among the dark clouds and watched a white-haired Shu Mountain Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator tend a blazing bronze cauldron, from which a terrible scream sounded.

Chen Fan watched a white-haired man and a Golden Core Realm old woman complete the final stages of refining a Soul Devouring Banner with countless souls and a captured Golden Core Realm Monster Beast soul. After the old woman left to confront the Monster Beast’s enraged elder brother, Chen Fan decided to steal the banner and claim it as payment for the Six Paths Jade Disk.

• Chen Fan saw a phantom soul emerge from the bronze cauldron and realized the Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array held tens of thousands of souls.
• The white-haired man infused Golden Thunder Bamboo with filthy essence blood and placed it in the cauldron, then waited for his master to return.
• The old woman arrived carrying the Six Paths Jade Disk and added a captured Golden Core Realm Monster Beast soul to the cauldron as the banner’s main soul.
• The Monster Beast’s elder brother roared for the old woman to release its younger brother, and she flew away to confront him after ordering the white-haired man to guard the cauldron for forty-nine hours.
• The white-haired man continued feeding True Essence Power into the cauldron, while Chen Fan emerged from hiding and decided to take the Soul Devouring Banner.

Chen Fan waited for the Soul Devouring Banner to finish refining, then seized it and confronted the white-haired man who had made it. The man summoned Heavenly Dipper Myriad Swords as the battle began.

• Chen Fan watched as the white-haired man completed the Soul Devouring Banner’s refinement and the ghost souls devoured the bronze furnace.
• Chen Fan shattered the man’s defensive array and knocked aside his flying sword when they both rushed for the finished banner.
• Chen Fan used Nine Palaces Footwork to take the Soul Devouring Banner and pointed his sword at the white-haired man.
• The white-haired man demanded the banner back, and Chen Fan refused and threatened his master.
• The white-haired man summoned Heavenly Dipper Myriad Swords, aiming countless invisible swords at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan fought the white-haired man, breaking his sword technique and confronting him after he drew strength from the Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array. Chen Fan killed him with a sword strike as fast as light, and the man fell through the dark clouds.

• The white-haired man attacked Chen Fan with the Heavenly Dipper Myriad Swords Art, but Chen Fan broke through the flying swords with his Nine Palaces Sword Art.
• Chen Fan struck the white-haired man and aggravated his old injury, forcing him to reveal his blood-red transformation powered by the Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array.
• Chen Fan opened the Heavenly Plate and Earthly Plate formations, but the white-haired man charged through their effects.
• Chen Fan unleashed Three Wonders and Six Rituals, Supreme Li Nine Palaces, and its beam of light pierced the white-haired man's chest and destroyed his heart.
• The white-haired man wondered how light could kill before falling through the dark clouds to the ground.

Chen Fan killed the white-haired cultivator, destroyed the Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array, and returned to Tianyun City to reunite with the four disciples he had protected. As his group left the city, its one-horned ape king revealed that it considered Chen Fan too powerful to challenge.

• Chen Fan killed the injured white-haired man and used the Array-Breaking Ruler to destroy the Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array.
• Chen Fan returned to Tianyun City and found Huang Cheng, Tang Xue, and the other two disciples safe inside the Four Symbols Secret Array.
• Huang Cheng told Chen Fan that the disciples who had abandoned them had been killed or captured by Monster Beasts.
• Chen Fan searched the white-haired man's storage pouch, found the incomplete Blood Prison Soul-Refining Array method and Golden Thunder Bamboo, and gave ordinary spirit herbs to the four disciples.
• Chen Fan and the others left Tianyun City, and the one-horned ape king watched them go before telling the Golden-Winged Demon Sparrow that it was no match for Chen Fan.