Chapter Summaries

Ning Xiaochuan absorbed a Dark Warrior’s blood, broke through to the Profound Qi Seventh Level, and defeated another attacker before returning to find Yu Ningsheng had killed Hei Lin. When Yu Ningsheng collapsed from a poisoned wound, Ning Xiaochuan removed the Evil Dragon Scale and explained that its poison had once killed a Sword Pavilion Marquis.

• Ning Xiaochuan drained a Profound Qi Seventh Level Dark Warrior with the Demon Sword and advanced to the Profound Qi Seventh Level.
• Ning Xiaochuan killed another Dark Warrior after a fierce saber fight, suffering seven wounds in the process.
• Ning Xiaochuan returned to find Hei Lin and the Iron Lion Mystic Beast frozen and shattered, while Yu Ningsheng revealed that the attackers were Dark Warriors tied to the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.
• Yu Ningsheng denied being injured, but poison from an Evil Dragon Scale spread through her body and caused her to collapse.
• Ning Xiaochuan removed the Evil Dragon Scale from Yu Ningsheng's wound and explained its deadly poison and its connection to the previous Sword Pavilion Marquis's death.

Ning Xiaochuan brought the poisoned Yu Ningsheng to Begonia Manor and treated her wounds before transfusing his own blood to save her. Afterward, he suspected the Demon Sword in his Blood Aperture had replenished his blood and began investigating it.

• Ning Xiaochuan said Yu Ningsheng could be saved by changing her blood and hurried with her to Begonia Manor.
• Ning Qianwu learned that his five assassins had been killed and ordered a search for the mysterious expert using the Blood Devouring Demon Art.
• Ning Xiaochuan explained that Begonia Manor would protect them because an attack there would expose the culprit within the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.
• Ning Xiaochuan stitched Yu Ningsheng's wound and warned that the Evil Dragon Poison in her blood would still kill her.
• Yu Ningsheng agreed to a risky blood change, and Ning Xiaochuan transfused half his blood while her poisonous blood was drained.
• Ning Xiaochuan left Yu Ningsheng in Yu Yan's care and began studying the Demon Sword after suspecting it had replenished his blood.

Ning Xiaochuan consolidated his Profound Qi Seventh Level cultivation and failed to form a Profound Qi Sword. After Yu Ningsheng tried to leave Begonia Manor, he promised to help her enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy within three months, leaving Yu Yan doubtful that he could afford to redeem her.

• Ning Xiaochuan cultivated through the night, reached the Profound Qi Seventh Level, and failed to condense a Profound Qi Sword.
• Ning Xiaochuan met Yu Ningsheng in Begonia Manor, and they agreed that they had each repaid the other's life-saving favor.
• Yu Ningsheng said she wanted to enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy, then departed when Ning Xiaochuan fell silent.
• Ning Xiaochuan promised to secure Yu Ningsheng's admission within three months, and she left without taking his promise seriously.
• Yu Yan warned Ning Xiaochuan that redeeming Yu Ningsheng could cost at least three hundred million Small Coin and anger the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, but he said he was repaying a kindness.

Ning Xiaochuan resolved to reach the Divine Body Realm within three months so he could become an Intermediate Heart Nourisher and earn enough to meet his promise. After cultivating with the Gold Thread Purple Wood Box, he went to Nanshan Village to seek Mysterious Medicine and agreed to buy a blood-red leaf for fifty thousand Small Coin.

• Ning Xiaochuan calculated that refining Heart Nourishing Elixir would not earn three hundred million Small Coin in three months and decided he needed to become an Intermediate Heart Nourisher.
• Ning Xiaochuan used the Gold Thread Purple Wood Box for ten days of secluded cultivation, reached the peak of the Profound Qi Seventh Level, and split a bronze cauldron with his Profound Qi Sword.
• Ning Xiaochuan asked Yu Yan where to buy Mysterious Medicine, and she directed him to the market in Nanshan Village.
• Ning Xiaochuan identified a peddler's supposed Blood Ancestor Root as an ordinary Blood Tree Root and asked Yu Yan not to expose the struggling seller.
• Ning Xiaochuan spotted a blood-red leaf at a young stall owner's stand, and despite Yu Yan's protests, he agreed to pay fifty thousand Small Coin for it.

Ning Xiaochuan recognized a stall owner's leaf as rare Blood Toad Wood and tried to buy it while learning where it came from. After the seller returned to bargain, Ning Xiaochuan offered the original fifty thousand Small Coin if the seller would take him to the place where he found it.

• Ning Xiaochuan offered the young stall owner fifty thousand Small Coin for the Blood Toad Wood leaf and asked where he had found it, but the young man refused to sell.
• Ning Xiaochuan left with Yu Yan for a wine shop, while the young man took the leaf to Profound Leaf Abode for an appraisal and learned it was worth at most eighty Small Coin.
• The young man hurried to find Ning Xiaochuan at the wine shop, and the shopkeeper of Profound Leaf Abode sent a martial artist to follow him.
• The young man offered to sell the leaf for less, but Ning Xiaochuan insisted that he reveal where he had found it and offered fifty thousand Small Coin if he would take him there.

Ning Xiaochuan watched the Dragon Elephant Divine Martial Battalion and six thousand Scarlet Armor soldiers march through Nanshan Village to attack a Dark Emperor City stronghold. After the army departed, a legendary dragon appeared overhead, leaving the villagers wondering why such powerful forces had been deployed.

• Gou Sheng repaid Three-Fingered Lin the money he owed, and Ning Xiaochuan marveled that the blind fortune-teller could recognize him from far away.
• Twelve Dragon Elephant Divine Martial warriors and six thousand Scarlet Armor soldiers marched through Nanshan Village, prompting rumors that they were heading to destroy a Dark Emperor City stronghold.
• Ning Xiaochuan met the icy gaze of a blue-haired, green-eyed female Dragon Elephant Divine Martial warrior and staggered back, overwhelmed by her killing intent.
• A colossal shadow flew above the village, and the Dragon Elephant Divine Martial warriors paused before the blue-haired, green-eyed warrior ordered them onward.
• Yu Yan said the shadow had likely been a legendary dragon, and Gou Sheng recalled that Yulan Imperial City’s Divine Dragon Warriors rarely appeared except in exceptionally important wars.

Ning Xiaochuan learned that Dark Emperor City was a powerful underground organization and traveled with Murong Wushuang into Nanyue Mountain to find Blood Toad Wood. By nightfall, he realized Murong Wushuang was a martial arts expert whose hidden strength made him wary.

• Yu Yan explained that Dark Emperor City ruled the Imperial City's hidden world and was difficult for the court to destroy.
• Three-Fingered Lin doubted the army would defeat Dark Emperor City, while Murong Wushuang urged Ning Xiaochuan to continue searching for the tree.
• Ning Xiaochuan, Yu Yan, and Murong Wushuang left Nanshan Village, and Murong Wushuang revealed his proper name after Yu Yan questioned his fortune-telling.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang rode to Nanyue Mountain, while Ning Xiaochuan left Yu Yan in a village at its foot for safety.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang traveled deep into the mountain until nightfall, and Ning Xiaochuan recognized that Murong Wushuang's cultivation was no lower than his own.

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang traveled into the mountains to find the Blood Toad Wood tree, while Cui Buping tracked them there to seize it. When Cui Buping’s men attacked, Ning Xiaochuan revealed his strength by knocking two martial artists off a cliff.

• Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang camped, cultivated, and continued their journey into the mountains.
• Murong Wushuang admitted the crimson leaf was worth only eighty Small Coin, and Ning Xiaochuan explained that the leaf was made from valuable Blood Toad Wood.
• Cui Buping arrived with a Thousand Mile Two-Headed Hound and more than ten armed martial artists, declaring he would kill them after they led him to the tree.
• Ning Xiaochuan explained that a jin of Blood Toad Wood sold for one hundred thousand Small Coin and revealed he had anticipated Cui Buping’s deception and pursuit.
• Cui Buping sent two Profound Qi Sixth Level martial artists to attack, and Ning Xiaochuan struck them off the cliff.

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang defeated Cui Buping and the Profound Leaf Abode martial artists to keep the Blood Toad Wood secret. Murong Wushuang offered Ning Xiaochuan the tree as a gift, and Ning Xiaochuan left him with a cultivation manual before they went to retrieve it.

• Ning Xiaochuan used his Profound Qi Sword to sever Cui Buping's weapon and legs while Murong Wushuang killed the Profound Leaf Abode martial artists and threw their bodies off the cliff.
• Cui Buping tried to turn Murong Wushuang against Ning Xiaochuan, but Murong Wushuang beheaded Cui Buping and discarded his corpse.
• Murong Wushuang declared that he wanted to be Ning Xiaochuan's friend and offered him the Blood Toad Wood as a gift.
• Ning Xiaochuan offered Murong Wushuang Gold Thread Purple Wood in exchange, but Murong Wushuang refused because the treasure would put him in danger.
• Ning Xiaochuan carved the Turtle Breath Immovable Skill onto a stone slab for Murong Wushuang.

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang descended a cliff in search of Blood Toad Wood, where a Fire Spider attacked them. Ning Xiaochuan killed the beast after breaking through to the Profound Qi Eighth Level, then reached the Blood Toad Wood and began digging it out.

• Murong Wushuang chose to accompany Ning Xiaochuan down the cliff and carried the cultivation manual with him.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang found Blood Toad Wood below, but a Second-Grade Fire Spider attacked and left Murong Wushuang hanging by its silk.
• Ning Xiaochuan fought the Fire Spider on the cliff, broke through to the Profound Qi Eighth Level, and killed it with a Profound Qi Sword.
• Ning Xiaochuan rescued Murong Wushuang and sent him back up the cliff to tend to his injuries.
• Ning Xiaochuan reached the thousand-year-old Blood Toad Wood, stopped the Demon Sword from absorbing it, and began excavating its roots.

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang recovered the Blood Toad Wood in Nanyue Mountain, then witnessed Yue Wuyang defeat Minister Tian in a battle above the clouds. As they left the mountain, an unexplained voice begging Ning Xiaochuan to save it continued to haunt him.

• Ning Xiaochuan dug up the Blood Toad Wood Tree and carried it back to Murong Wushuang, who had been cultivating the Turtle Breath Immovable Skill.
• Ning Xiaochuan warned Murong Wushuang that Profound Leaf Abode might send more experts after them, and they prepared to leave Nanyue Mountain.
• Yue Wuyang arrived on a giant dragon and defeated Minister Tian, who fell from the sky as his teng serpent was blasted into blood.
• Ning Xiaochuan heard an aged voice asking him to save it, though Murong Wushuang had heard nothing.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang returned to the village, where Murong Wushuang destroyed the Turtle Breath Immovable Skill's stone slab and promised to keep the technique secret.
• As Yu Yan called Ning Xiaochuan to return to Begonia Manor, he remained troubled by the voice echoing in his mind.

Ning Xiaochuan followed the voice calling for help back to Nanyue Mountain and found the gravely injured Minister Tian, whom he carried away to treat. Three Dragon Elephant Warriors then discovered that Minister Tian had escaped using Corpse Shelling and began searching for him.

• Ning Xiaochuan returned to Begonia Manor, planted the Blood Toad Wood in Purple Qi Garden, and ordered the servants to stay away.
• Ning Xiaochuan heard Minister Tian's plea again and rushed from the manor to the battlefield in Nanyue Mountain.
• Ning Xiaochuan found Minister Tian inside a charred corpse shell and, deciding to uphold his principles as a physician, carried the injured man away.
• A blue-haired, green-eyed Dragon Elephant Warrior discovered that Minister Tian had used Corpse Shelling to escape and noticed footprints near the empty shell.
• The blue-haired, green-eyed warrior sent Zuo Jinfeng to report to the Marquis and ordered You Zui to mobilize three thousand soldiers to search Nanyue Mountain.

Ning Xiaochuan treated Minister Tian, absorbed Blood Toad Wood to strengthen his cultivation, and mastered a three-strike Profound Qi Sword technique. As he remained at the Profound Qi Eighth Level, Steward Qiu and Ye Chenglong plotted to investigate his garden, while Murong Wushuang arrived to visit him.

• Ning Xiaochuan repaired Minister Tian's injuries and used Mysterious Medicine to give him a chance of surviving.
• Ning Xiaochuan refined Blood Toad Wood into Blood Toad Elixir, which the Demon Sword absorbed, boosting his cultivation.
• Ning Xiaochuan reached the Profound Qi Eighth Level, circulated his blood six times per minute, and demonstrated his Profound Qi Sword Three-Hit Combo.
• Steward Qiu bribed Ye Chenglong with Azure Gold and asked him to help find the expert aiding Sickly Ning by investigating the Purple Qi Garden.
• Murong Wushuang, newly at the Profound Qi Eighth Level, brought a stolen hen to Begonia Manor to visit Ning Xiaochuan.

Murong Wushuang visited Begonia Manor and learned that Ning Xiaochuan had become its manor lord, while Ning Xiaochuan discovered Steward Qiu spying on his Profound Spirit Wood and killed him. Ye Chenglong then tried to ambush Ning Xiaochuan and attacked him openly, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Murong Wushuang arrived at Begonia Manor, where Steward Qiu demanded his overdue annual dues and threatened to seize his grandfather until Ning Xiaochuan came out to greet him.
• Ning Xiaochuan brought Murong Wushuang to Purple Qi Garden, sensed an intruder, and found Steward Qiu investigating the Profound Spirit Wood.
• Steward Qiu threatened to report Ning Xiaochuan's cultivation to Fourth Master, but Murong Wushuang blocked his escape and Ning Xiaochuan killed him with a Profound Qi Sword.
• Ye Chenglong attempted to attack Ning Xiaochuan from behind, but Ning Xiaochuan cut his saber in two and confronted him.
• Ye Chenglong declared that he served Fourth Master and launched his own Profound Qi Sword at Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang defeated Ye Chenglong and staged an assassin’s escape to conceal Ning Xiaochuan’s ability to cultivate Martial Dao Profound Qi. After recovering, Ning Xiaochuan researched Dark Emperor City in Purple Qi Garden, where a mummy-like figure appeared behind him, and he recognized it as someone who had come back to life.

• Ning Xiaochuan cut off Ye Chenglong’s arm with successive Profound Qi Swords, then killed him by piercing his heart with an Evil Dragon Scale as Murong Wushuang joined the fight.
• After recovering, Ning Xiaochuan thanked Murong Wushuang, asked him to keep his cultivation secret, and gave him ten drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir; he also promised to treat Murong Wushuang’s ill grandfather when he became an Intermediate Heart Nourisher.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang covered up the deaths of Steward Qiu and Ye Chenglong by claiming an assassin had attacked, with Murong Wushuang escaping in disguise while the guards pursued him.
• After two days, Ning Xiaochuan pretended to recuperate in Purple Qi Garden while reading historical records about Dark Emperor City.
• A mummy-like figure appeared behind Ning Xiaochuan, who turned and exclaimed that it had come back to life.

Ning Xiaochuan convinced the resurrected Minister Tian that returning to Dark Emperor City would put his life at risk, while the Old Marquis punished Ning Qianwen and Ning Qianwu after an attempt on Ning Xiaochuan’s life. The struggle over the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s heir grew more tangled as Ning Qianwu’s strategist suspected Ning Qiancheng had engineered the assassination and the Old Marquis’s decision to transfer authority.

• Ning Xiaochuan warned Minister Tian that the Undead City Lord would suspect him of betrayal if he returned to Dark Emperor City, and Minister Tian agreed to stay hidden while recovering.
• The Old Marquis summoned Ning Qianwen and Ning Qianwu over the attack on Ning Xiaochuan and ordered each to surrender half of his authority.
• The Old Marquis announced that Ning Qiancheng was returning after conquering the Heavenly Mystery Dynasty, and that the surrendered authority would go to him.
• Ning Qianwu’s strategist Yu Zhicong suggested that Ning Qiancheng may have arranged the assassination to weaken his brothers before returning.
• Ning Qianwu ordered his people recalled from Begonia Manor and decided to prepare for Ning Qiancheng’s return.

Ning Xiaochuan took control of Begonia Manor, advanced to the Profound Qi Ninth Level, and learned from Minister Tian about Heart Spirit Perception and the higher cultivation realms. After failing to locate the Three Hidden Meridians needed to enter the Divine Body Realm, he headed to the Imperial City with Begonia Manor’s funds and Blood Toad Wood to buy an Intermediate Pill.

• Ning Xiaochuan promoted formerly oppressed servants to stewards and continued cultivating with Blood Toad Wood until he reached the Profound Qi Ninth Level.
• Ning Xiaochuan sensed Minister Tian watching him, struck at him with a Profound Qi Sword Five-Hit Combo, and learned about Heart Spirit Perception and the cultivation realms.
• Ning Xiaochuan realized his Seven Aperture God Demon Heart had given him a Heart Aperture from birth, though its power was still limited.
• After a month, Ning Xiaochuan studied the Three Hidden Meridians but could not find them, and concluded he needed an Intermediate Pill to reach the Divine Body Realm.
• Ning Xiaochuan loaded Begonia Manor’s money and a fifty-jin branch of Blood Toad Wood into a cart and traveled to the Imperial City to buy an Intermediate Pill.

Ning Xiaochuan collected an unexpectedly generous stipend from the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall and prepared to buy Intermediate Pills. Before he could leave, Silver Pool Madam accused the Hall of selling counterfeit Mysterious Medicine, forcing Yu Qianqian to face a public scandal.

• Ning Xiaochuan met Yu Qianqian, reassured himself that she had not revealed his Heart Nourisher status to the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, and told her he lived at Begonia Manor.
• Yu Qianqian helped Ning Xiaochuan collect five million Small Coin, an Intermediate Heart Nourisher's stipend, and recommended the Golden Roc Auction House for buying Intermediate Pills.
• Silver Pool Madam arrived at the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall and accused it of selling counterfeit Fourth Grade Bloodstone Profound Grass that had lost its mystic qi and medicinal aura.
• The Sixth Deacon explained the strange case to Yu Qianqian, while Ning Xiaochuan observed the crowd and learned more about Silver Pool Madam's influence and status.
• Silver Pool Madam stirred public distrust of the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall, and Yu Qianqian demanded to inspect the supposed counterfeit medicine.
• Silver Pool Madam had Xiao Li hand the box containing the medicine to Yu Qianqian.

Ning Xiaochuan restored the drained Bloodstone Mysterious Medicine and exposed Silver Pool Madam’s attempt to frame the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall. Silver Pool Madam left in disgrace, then turned on Xiao Li and cast him out of her carriage.

• Yu Qianqian and the Sixth Deacon realized Xiao Li had drained the Bloodstone Profound Grass, leaving the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall trapped by Silver Pool Madam’s accusation.
• Ning Xiaochuan discovered a trace of medicinal aura remained and infused the Stone Grass with Blood Toad Wood aura, restoring it to Bloodstone Mysterious Medicine.
• Ning Xiaochuan revealed the restored medicine and claimed its Stone Skin had concealed it, allowing Yu Qianqian to challenge Silver Pool Madam’s judgment publicly.
• Silver Pool Madam invited Ning Xiaochuan to join the Imperial Heart Nourishing Hall, but he returned her medicine and she left in her carriage.
• Xiao Li offered to kill Ning Xiaochuan, but Silver Pool Madam slapped him, rejected his pleas, and struck him out of her carriage.

After Ning Xiaochuan helped the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall defeat Silver Pool Madam, he received an Intermediate Pill and bought Mysterious Medicine. Xiao Li ambushed him on the road out of the Imperial City, and Ning Xiaochuan fled after surviving his first attack.

• Xiao Li beat several martial artists who mocked him and vowed to kill Ning Xiaochuan so Silver Pool Madam would take him back.
• Ning Xiaochuan revealed that the Bloodstone Profound Grass was an illusion, and Yu Qianqian rewarded him with an Intermediate Pill for saving the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall's reputation.
• Yu Qianqian warned Ning Xiaochuan that Silver Pool Madam had killed her former male favorites, and Ning Xiaochuan bought Mysterious Medicine before leaving the Imperial City.
• Ning Xiaochuan sensed Xiao Li hiding beneath his Azure Deer Carriage, but Xiao Li smashed the carriage and attacked him.
• Xiao Li identified himself and struck Ning Xiaochuan with sword Qi, but Ning Xiaochuan's Profound Fortification Protective Shield let him survive and flee.
• Xiao Li pursued Ning Xiaochuan, confident he would kill him.