Chapter Summaries

Jiang Che learned that the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection could offer access to powerful cultivation arts, resources, and a path to the Complete Truth Realm, so he resolved to reach the True Person Realm before it began. After opening eleven acupoints, he failed repeatedly to open the Hundred Meetings Acupoint and sought Xu Qingshan’s advice, leaving his master stunned by his progress.

• Jiang Che questioned a menial disciple about the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection and learned of its potential rewards and formidable rivals.
• Jiang Che decided he needed to break through to the True Person Realm before the selection and returned to the Grade A Cultivation Room.
• Jiang Che opened the eighth through eleventh acupoints but repeatedly failed to break through the Hundred Meetings Acupoint, suffering a backlash that made him spit blood.
• Jiang Che visited Xu Qingshan and explained that he had opened eleven acupoints but could not open the last one.
• Xu Qingshan was shocked that Jiang Che had reached eleven acupoints in only three months and told him that the era, not Jiang Che, was at fault.

Xu Qingshan explained that Jiang Che’s breakthrough was hindered by the loss of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, and that the True Essence Pill could offer a shortcut. Unable to get the pill from his enemy Xie Songnian, Jiang Che paid Four Seas Pavilion to search for clues, while its attendant realized who he was and decided to send him a gift.

• Xu Qingshan told Jiang Che that the vanished Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism made breaking through the Hundred Meetings Acupoint far harder in the present era, and recalled spending ten years overcoming the barrier himself.
• Xu Qingshan explained that a True Essence Pill could improve Jiang Che’s chance of breaking through, but the only known pill in Cang Prefecture Capital had passed into Xie Songnian’s hands.
• Jiang Che rejected waiting years for a breakthrough and decided to seek information about the pill, its ingredients, and possible alternatives from Four Seas Pavilion.
• Jiang Che disguised himself, paid Four Seas Pavilion a fifty-thousand-tael deposit, and asked for all relevant information within ten days.
• After Jiang Che left, the attendant deduced that the mysterious buyer was Jiang Che and inferred that he had reached the final step before the True Person Realm.
• The attendant decided not to keep Jiang Che’s money and resolved to send him a grand gift.

Jiang Che received a rare pill from Four Seas Pavilion after agreeing to remember its favor, then brought it to Ye Lianzhen for appraisal. Ye Lianzhen recognized the pill with surprise, but the chapter ended before she explained what it was.

• Jiang Che met Hall Master Zhao, who confirmed the True Essence Pill formula was lost but revealed a weaker alternative that could aid a breakthrough to the True Person Realm.
• Hall Master Zhao gifted Jiang Che the alternative pill, returned his fifty-thousand-tael deposit, and gave him a Four Seas token in exchange for his future help.
• Jiang Che accepted Four Seas Pavilion's offer of friendship and returned to Azure Cloud Sect with the pill.
• Wary of hidden dangers, Jiang Che took the pill to Ye Lianzhen at Mist Gauze Courtyard for appraisal.
• Ye Lianzhen opened the jade box, recognized the three-colored pill, and asked Jiang Che where he had obtained it.

Jiang Che used an aged medicinal pill to forcefully strengthen his divine sense and nearly break through to the True Person Realm, but the pill’s power ran out before he could succeed. His master, Xu Qingshan, then told him the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection was likely only two months away and urged him to win a place among the top-tier sects.

• Ye Lianzhen confirmed the pill was safe and could help Jiang Che break through, then warned him to guard his true heart while taking it.
• Jiang Che consumed the pill and struck at the barrier at the Hundred Meetings Acupoint, but its power faded and the backlash knocked him unconscious.
• After waking, Jiang Che found his divine sense had grown stronger and the barrier remained cracked, leaving him close to a breakthrough.
• A disciple summoned Jiang Che to meet Xu Qingshan, who said the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection would likely take place within two months.
• Xu Qingshan described the cultivation resources available in the top-tier sects and explained that the court would compensate Azure Cloud Sect for selected disciples.
• Jiang Che promised to strive for a selection spot, and Xu Qingshan said success would leave him with no need to fear Xie Songnian or Qin Fuhu.

Demon Sect forces launched a surprise attack on Azure Cloud Sect, overwhelming its disciples and killing Elder Li before Mo Wuhen and other True Person Realm experts appeared. At High Heaven Courtyard, Yue Lingfeng sacrificed his lifeblood essence to destroy a group of attackers and sent Gu Qingxuan toward the back mountain to seek the sect master.

• Demon Sect assassins killed the gate guards and attacked disciples across Azure Cloud Sect, including the Martial Practice Arena.
• Elder Li killed numerous attackers but was slain with one strike by Shadow Demon Mo Wuhen, who was joined by other True Person Realm experts.
• Demon Sect forces surrounded Yue Lingfeng and Gu Qingxuan at High Heaven Courtyard while its elders and core disciples fell.
• Yue Lingfeng burned his lifeblood essence and killed more than ten Half-Step True Person Demon Sect hall masters.
• Yue Lingfeng urged Gu Qingxuan to flee to the forbidden grounds in the back mountain and seek the sect master, and she left in tears.

The Demon Sect attacked Azure Cloud Sect while the Qilin Army sealed the mountain, trapping the sect without aid. Jiang Che emerged from cultivation, discovered the massacre, secured Jiang Ling’s safety, and charged into battle.

• Steward Liu escaped the Demon Sect’s encirclement to seek help, but the Qilin Army refused to intervene and barred anyone from leaving Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Steward Liu returned to the mountain gate, where he told the beleaguered elders and disciples that the Qilin Army would not save them, crushing their hopes.
• Jiang Che sensed danger through his bond with Little Black, left the cultivation room, and killed three Demon Sect fiends attacking fleeing disciples.
• Jiang Che ordered Little Black to guard Jiang Ling, then charged toward the fiercest fighting and began cutting down Demon Sect attackers with his fists.

Jiang Che raced across Azure Cloud Sect to rescue disciples and secretly helped Yue Lingfeng escape the Demon Sect protectors surrounding him. After Yue fled, Jiang Che vanished before the protectors could find him.

• Jiang Che killed a Peak Organ-Refining Realm Demon Sect hall master with one punch and helped the battered Azure Cloud Sect disciples hold their battlefield.
• Jiang Che killed the three Half-Step True Person experts pursuing Gu Qingxuan, and she told him Yue Lingfeng had used a forbidden technique to send her to seek the sect master's help.
• Jiang Che used Shadow Evasion to approach High Heaven Courtyard and decided to help Yue Lingfeng, who was being overwhelmed by three Demon Sect protectors.
• Jiang Che fired three Nirvana: Star Chaser Arrows, disrupting the protectors and allowing Yue Lingfeng to escape toward the back mountain.
• Jiang Che vanished with Shadow Evasion before the furious protectors could find him in the ruins.

As Azure Cloud Sect suffered a massacre, Xu Zhouzi waited until the cost of preserving the sect was enough before confronting Shadow Demon Mo Wuhen and revealing Xie Songnian’s betrayal. The chapter ended with Xu Zhouzi transforming into a towering giant and displaying the peak strength of the True Person Realm Seventh Stage.

• Xuanqing asked Xu Zhouzi why he would not intervene, and Xu Zhouzi said the price of preserving Azure Cloud Sect was not yet enough.
• Xu Zhouzi left Cloud-Level Pavilion to confront Mo Wuhen, who demanded the Heavenly Heart Order stolen from him sixty years earlier.
• Xie Songnian arrived and Xu Zhouzi exposed his alliance with the Commander-in-Chief Mansion and the Demon Sect; Xie Songnian admitted he wanted the sect master position and planned to kill Xu Zhouzi.
• Mo Wuhen and Xie Songnian explained that they were willing to sacrifice others to obtain the Heavenly Heart Order and secure their own goals.
• Xu Zhouzi unleashed his power, transformed into a muscular giant, and revealed that he was still at the peak of the True Person Realm Seventh Stage.

Xu Zhouzi killed Mo Wuhen and expelled the defeated Xie Songnian, who escaped the Qilin Army with a blood escape technique. After Jiang Che learned that Xie Songnian had fled while badly wounded, he began considering a bold pursuit.

• Xu Zhouzi annihilated Mo Wuhen and crushed him to death after he tried to escape.
• Xu Zhouzi defeated Xie Songnian but spared him, expelled him from the Azure Cloud Sect, and forbade him from returning to Cang Prefecture Capital.
• Long Xiang ordered Xie Songnian arrested, but Xie Songnian used a blood-red jade talisman to break through the Qilin Army's encirclement and flee.
• Jiang Che learned that a black-feathered crow had followed Xie Songnian, while Yue Lingfeng's hastily assembled squad defeated the Demon Sect protectors.
• Jiang Che finished wiping out the Demon Sect fighters around the courtyards and received the crow's urgent report that Xie Songnian had escaped badly wounded.

Jiang Che tracked the gravely wounded Xie Songnian to a mountain cave and killed him before he could recover and seek revenge. He found a True Essence Pill and an ancient bronze mirror on the corpse, then erased all traces and left.

• After learning that Xu Zhouzi had spared the wounded Xie Songnian, Jiang Che hurried after him to seize the chance to kill him.
• Xie Songnian hid in a remote cave, swallowed pills to stabilize himself, and vowed revenge against Xu Zhouzi, the Azure Cloud Sect, Qin Fuhu, and Jiang Che.
• Jiang Che attacked from outside the cave with a twenty-fivefold Star Chaser Arrow, blasting Xie Songnian from the ruins and destroying his lower body.
• Xie Songnian recognized Jiang Che, but Jiang Che killed him with a second attack, ending his life and extinguishing his soul.
• Jiang Che searched Xie Songnian’s corpse and found a True Essence Pill and an ancient bronze mirror engraved with the words “Illusion Truth.”
• Jiang Che dissolved Xie Songnian’s body and the surrounding blood with Corpse Dissolving Water, then left without a trace.

After the Qilin Army crushed the Demon Sect network in Cang Prefecture, Jiang Che grew wary of Qin Fuhu’s purge and received a major reward from the Azure Cloud Sect. He swallowed the True Essence Pill, broke through to the True Person Realm, and was shocked that his inner force had not transformed into true qi.

• The Commander-in-Chief Mansion accused Xie Songnian of being a Demon Sect mole, arrested suspected spies across several sects, and had dozens executed, including Zhao Qianjun.
• Jiang Che read the report and worried that Qin Fuhu’s purge might target others after the martial world had been cleansed of its supposed stains.
• Xu Zhouzi rewarded Yue Lingfeng and other elders for their part in defeating the Demon Sect, then awarded Jiang Che a Return to Truth Pill, contribution points, and a choice of supreme treasure.
• Jiang Che chose to focus on cultivating and swallowed the genuine True Essence Pill he had taken from Xie Songnian’s corpse.
• Jiang Che shattered the barrier at the Hundred Meetings acupoint and reached the True Person Realm, but discovered that his inner force had not turned into true qi.

Jiang Che used the Return to Truth Pill to break through to the True Person Realm, then resolved to seek selection for the Heavenly Strategy Guard. Meanwhile, Qin Fuhu forced Cang Prefecture’s martial leaders to surrender half their assets, and Xu Zhouzi pointed to the Heavenly Strategy Guard as their remaining chance to resist his ambitions.

• Jiang Che swallowed the Return to Truth Pill and transformed his force into true qi, completing his breakthrough to the True Person Realm.
• Jiang Che spent half a month consolidating his new realm, realized he needed more Return to Truth Pills to advance, and decided he must be selected for the Heavenly Strategy Guard.
• Qin Fuhu summoned Cang Prefecture’s martial leaders and demanded that every family and sect contribute half its assets as military funds.
• Qin Fuhu revealed his True Person Realm Seventh Stage Peak strength and used his soldiers and True Qi Cannons to compel the leaders to accept his demand.
• Zhao Qingtian, Liu Ruyan, and Xu Zhouzi left the mansion furious, and Xu Zhouzi warned that Qin Fuhu meant to bring the martial world under Qilin Army control.
• Xu Zhouzi told Zhao Qingtian and Liu Ruyan that the Heavenly Strategy Guard was their one remaining chance.

After Qin Fuhu demanded half of every sect’s assets, the sects pinned their hopes on the coming Heavenly Strategy Guard selection and pushed their young geniuses to break through. Jiang Che revealed to Xu Qingshan that he had already reached the True Person Realm, leaving his master stunned.

• Xu Zhouzi, Zhao Qingtian, and Liu Ruyan realized that a disciple chosen for the Heavenly Strategy Guard could help protect their sects from Qin Fuhu.
• Qin Fuhu told his son Qin Xuange to ensure that none of the sects’ geniuses were selected, and Qin Xuange agreed.
• Zhao Qingtian ordered Qin Wuya to use the sect’s resources to break through to the True Person Realm before the selection, while other sects likewise pushed their disciples to cultivate.
• Xu Qingshan told Jiang Che about Qin Fuhu’s demand and urged him to prepare for the selection, unaware that Jiang Che had already broken through.
• Jiang Che released his True Person Realm pressure and confirmed his breakthrough, stunning Xu Qingshan.

Jiang Che told Xu Qingshan he had broken through to the True Person Realm, and his master gave him Return to Truth Pills while urging him to keep the breakthrough secret. Jiang Che then dissolved the Illusion Truth Ancient Mirror and gained a divine ability to create a controllable avatar, which he tested before hiding it as a potential revival point.

• Jiang Che concealed the True Essence Pill and Xie Songnian’s death from Xu Qingshan, who gave him Return to Truth Pills and warned him to hide his breakthrough from Qin Fuhu.
• Jiang Che cultivated with a Return to Truth Pill and tried several ways to activate the Illusion Truth Ancient Mirror.
• Jiang Che used [True Nine Li Weapon Lord] to dissolve the mirror and obtained the [Great Void Illusion Truth Art], which let him create an avatar and potentially revive through it if his original body died.
• Jiang Che formed an avatar with ten percent of his strength and confirmed it could use Black Armor Form and [Shadow Evasion].
• Jiang Che sent the avatar among the disciples, Xiao Mingqian, Liu Qing, Su Wan, and others, and nobody detected that it was a duplicate.
• Jiang Che returned the avatar to the Chief Courtyard, concealed it with [Shadow Evasion], and kept it hidden as a revival point.

After Jiang Che broke through to the True Person Realm, Xu Zhouzi gathered Azure Cloud Sect’s leaders and persuaded them to pool their Return to Truth Pills to help him advance further. Jiang Che received twenty-three pills and unlimited access to the Spirit-Grade Cultivation Room as he prepared for the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection.

• Xu Qingshan told Xu Zhouzi that Jiang Che had already broken through to the True Person Realm, so he no longer needed the sect treasury’s rare resources.
• Xu Zhouzi summoned the surviving courtyard masters and core elders, then announced Jiang Che’s breakthrough and proposed giving him all their Return to Truth Pills.
• Xu Zhouzi offered three pills, Xu Qingshan said he had already given Jiang Che two, and the gathered leaders contributed a total of twenty-three pills.
• Xu Zhouzi ordered everyone to keep Jiang Che’s breakthrough secret from Qin Fuhu and the Commander-in-Chief Mansion.
• Xu Qingshan presented Jiang Che with the pills and told him Xu Zhouzi had granted him unlimited access to the Spirit-Grade Cultivation Room to cultivate before the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection.

Jiang Che used the sect’s resources to cultivate in the Spirit-Grade Cultivation Room, reaching the peak of the True Person Realm Second Stage. He unlocked the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art’s group-attack ultimate move, Ten Thousand Dragons Prison Suppression.

• Jiang Che thanked Xu Qingshan and the sect elders for the Return to Truth Pills and access to the Spirit-Grade Cultivation Room.
• Jiang Che showed Uncle-Master Shen the Sect Master’s command token and entered the Spirit-Grade Cultivation Room, where he sensed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism.
• Jiang Che consumed ten Return to Truth Pills and perfected the fourth layer of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art, breaking through to the True Person Realm Second Stage.
• Jiang Che exchanged for the art’s fifth layer and used the remaining thirteen pills, reaching the peak of the True Person Realm Second Stage but falling short of the third stage.
• Jiang Che learned the ultimate move Ten Thousand Dragons Prison Suppression, which unleashed devastating attacks across a wide area.

Jiang Che searched the Treasure Pavilion for a suitable treasure and discovered that an overlooked black bead was a Spirit-Grade Breath-Concealing Orb. Meanwhile, Qin Wuya broke through to the True Person Realm and vowed to defeat Jiang Che, while other contenders failed their breakthroughs.

• Jiang Che perfected the fourth and fifth layers of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art, strengthening his Yin-Yang Force Conversion talent, then decided to visit the Treasure Pavilion.
• Qin Wuya broke through to the True Person Realm, and Zhao Qingtian declared that the Heavenly Strategy Guard position would be his; Qin Wuya vowed to defeat his brother.
• Elder Qingxu allowed Jiang Che to browse the Treasure Pavilion alone, and Jiang Che dissolved its artifacts to inspect their Weapon Souls.
• Jiang Che found no exceptional treasures among the pavilion’s many weapons and considered taking the Shield of Bedrock.
• Jiang Che noticed a dusty black bead and discovered that the Breath-Concealing Orb was Spirit Grade.

Jiang Che gained the Breath-Concealing Orb’s Hidden Dao Formless skill, which concealed his secrets even from powerful experts, before the Azure Cloud Sect received an imperial decree requiring eligible young cultivators to compete for places in the Heavenly Strategy Guard and the Three Great Sects. After hearing the sects discussed, Jiang Che decided to choose the supposedly strongest but difficult-to-master Myriad Phenomena Infinite Dao.

• Jiang Che chose the Breath-Concealing Orb, awakened its Hidden Dao Formless skill, and concealed his aura, energy, and karmic fate from detection.
• Elder Qingxu explained that the sect had failed to activate the bead for two hundred years, but Jiang Che kept his choice and completed the registration.
• An imperial envoy announced that eligible cultivators under forty must attend the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection in the Capital City, where the top ninety-nine would enter the Three Great Sects’ inner sects and others could try for outer sect admission.
• Azure Cloud Sect disciples debated which Great Sect was strongest and whether Jiang Che would be selected as he left the dining hall.
• Jiang Che decided to choose the Myriad Phenomena Dao Sect because its Myriad Phenomena Infinite Dao was said to be theoretically the strongest, despite being difficult to cultivate.

With the Heavenly Strategy Guard selection a month away, Jiang Che returned toward Abyss-Facing City with Jiang Ling to visit his hometown, investigate his parents’ disappearance, and confront the Zhao Family. While they traveled disguised in a merchant caravan, his parents remained trapped in the Zhao Clan Earth Fort, where Madam Zhou was gravely ill.

• Jiang Che decided to return to Abyss-Facing City after considering the coming selection and his unresolved questions about his parents.
• Xu Qingshan agreed to Jiang Che’s plan, and Jiang Che and Jiang Ling left the Azure Cloud Sect disguised and joined a caravan.
• The Zhao Family’s rule over Abyss-Facing City had expanded, while Jiang Dawu and ill Madam Zhou continued working inside the Zhao Clan Earth Fort and longed for their missing children.
• During the journey, Jiang Ling befriended Xiao Cui, while the disguised Jiang Che observed a haughty young master Wang and his Bone-Forging Realm guard.

Jiang Che’s convoy encountered powerful Black Beasts and the bandit Wu San, but Jiang Che revealed his strength to protect the passengers. The convoy reached Abyss-Facing City safely, where Jiang Che thought of his old acquaintances and missing parents.

• The convoy encountered a pack of Iron Skin Realm Black Beasts led by a Force-Entering Realm wolf king, and Young Master Wang’s Bone-Forging Realm guard slaughtered them.
• Wu San blocked the road and demanded valuables and women, while the black-clad guard abandoned the passengers to curry favor with him.
• Wu San dragged Young Master Wang’s younger sister from her carriage and moved to seize the women in Jiang Che’s carriage.
• Jiang Che unleashed a burst of force that instantly turned Wu San into a cloud of blood, then ordered Chief Escort Cao to continue onward.
• The black-clad guard fled, and the convoy reached Abyss-Facing City, where Jiang Che wondered about his old acquaintances and missing parents.