Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Chen Cheng arrives at the Gu Household’s alchemy chamber to handle a crisis involving eighteen unstable furnaces. Gu Dezhao warns him of the danger, while He Lianhong—an elder from the Divine Owl Sect—doubts Chen Cheng and refuses to help without a high fee.
• Chen Cheng reveals exceptional control over alchemical fire: he compresses the escaping flames into a small fireball and draws the chamber’s heat into it, quickly making the area safe.
• Inside, he uses advanced alchemical techniques to diagnose and restore the balance between each furnace’s fire and medicinal ingredients. He resolves the first furnace swiftly, then handles several at once, ultimately stabilizing all eighteen without sacrificing their contents.
• Grateful, Gu Dezhao offers Chen Cheng a reward. Chen asks for a shop to start a pill business. Gu Dezhao gives him a prime storefront on Vermilion Bird Avenue and promises to supply equipment and ingredients.
• He Lianhong, impressed by Chen Cheng’s talent, invites him to the Divine Owl Sect in three days to examine a mysterious pill formula. Chen leaves to visit Bai Fengyi.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng remains calm and modest despite the risks, but his mastery quickly proves far beyond what the others expect. He accepts a practical, long-term business opportunity rather than demanding immediate payment.
• Gu Dezhao shifts from polite but wary skepticism to admiration and deep gratitude, rewarding Chen generously and seeking to secure an ongoing relationship.
• Gu Fei supports Chen and is proud of his abilities, though he admits he did not know Chen could control fire at such a high level.
• He Lianhong begins contemptuous and even withdraws his fire-control support to test Chen. After witnessing Chen’s skill, he becomes respectful and eager to recruit him, though Chen’s allegiance to the Northern Emperor Demon-Subduing Sect makes that unlikely.

Significant themes

• Skill speaks louder than reputation: Chen’s abilities silence doubts through action.
• Trust and reciprocity: The Gu family rewards Chen not only for saving them but to build a lasting alliance.
• Talent attracts opportunity: Chen’s performance earns both a business foothold and an invitation from a powerful sect.
• Composure amid danger: Chen’s calm contrasts with the others’ fear of a potentially catastrophic chain reaction.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cheng secretly checks that he has not been followed, then visits Bai Fengyi. He appoints her as alchemist for his planned shop, despite her having no alchemical experience.
• Using his abilities, Chen Cheng gives Bai Fengyi foundational mastery of two alchemical arts and supplies her with a seed of blazingheart profound fire. She proves able to control it, though she still needs to learn how to identify and select medicinal ingredients.
• The Gu family provides furnaces and medicinal stock. Shen Mi organizes and decorates the shop, while masked Bai Fengyi prepares the alchemy rooms and storeroom, keeping her identity hidden to avoid attracting Baili Jueluo.
• The shop opens as the Chen Family Alchemy House. Gu Dezhao introduces Chen Cheng as an eighteen-year-old Profound Realm master alchemist and disciple of Purple Empyrean Peak’s master, then announces a public demonstration to establish his credibility.
• Fang Mufeng, Chen Cheng’s second senior brother, challenges the quality of the demonstration and warns against damaging their master’s reputation. Chen Cheng responds by refining two different pills at once.
• Fang recognizes the pills as Profound Pills and apologizes for underestimating Chen Cheng. Chen completes the process, but Fang and Gu Dezhao are so astonished by the finished pills that they cannot yet announce their quality. Chen calmly asks Fang for his assessment.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng displays confidence and strategic showmanship: he equips Bai Fengyi to run the alchemy operation and uses a public demonstration to attract customers and silence doubters.
• Bai Fengyi moves from disbelief to determined acceptance of her new role. Her skill with the gifted flame suggests she may become a capable alchemist, though secrecy limits her freedom.
• Shen Mi enthusiastically handles the practical work of preparing the shop.
• Gu Dezhao acts as Chen Cheng’s sponsor and public advocate, but the demonstration leaves even him speechless.
• Fang Mufeng begins skeptical and protective of their master’s reputation, then quickly recognizes Chen Cheng’s exceptional skill and offers an apology. The chapter ends before he can judge the pills’ final quality.

Significant themes

• Talent and empowerment: Chen Cheng uses bestowed knowledge and resources to help Bai Fengyi overcome her lack of training.
• Reputation and proof: The shop’s opening turns Chen Cheng’s status into a public test, where demonstrated ability matters more than claims.
• Mastery and limits: Refining two kinds of Profound Pills simultaneously impresses even experts, while the unresolved question of pill quality sustains tension.
• Secrecy and exposure: Bai Fengyi’s hidden identity contrasts with the public spectacle surrounding the new shop.

Chapter Summary: “Ambushed”

Key plot points and events

• Fang Mufeng appraises Chen Cheng’s two pills as supreme grade, drawing astonishment and praise from the crowd. Powerful families and businesses rush to approach Chen, but he directs them to negotiate with Shen Mi, making her his representative for business matters.
• Chen tells Fang about an invitation from He Lianhong, an elder of the Divine Owl Sect, to help decipher an ancient pill formula. Fang warns that He is greedy, lecherous, and untrustworthy, and that he likely lacks the authority to offer access to any genuine secrets. Chen decides to avoid him.
• Chen delays returning to the sect, but later encounters He aboard a treasure ship. Since the ship is under the Northern Emperor Demon-Subduing Sect’s control, Chen cultivates safely during the voyage.
• After landing at Di Luo Plain, Chen spots He riding toward the wooded mountains where Han Feng and the Nine Demons Alliance are based. Chen suspects He may have been the insider who enabled the massacre at Breezewind Water Stronghold, but refuses to pursue him without clearer evidence or assurances of safety.
• As Chen, Fang, and Gu Fei travel through the wilderness, more than a dozen masked assassins launch a coordinated ambush. Fang detects them just in time and attacks the assailants threatening Gu Fei. Chen faces five attackers alone, including two at the Nine-Aperture God-Forging Realm—well above his apparent level. The chapter ends as Fang and Gu Fei fear for Chen, then stare in shock at what happens next.

Character developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates growing influence and composure: he delegates business affairs to Shen Mi, cautiously evaluates He’s invitation, and refuses to risk himself pursuing uncertain leads. During the ambush, he remains clear-headed enough to direct Fang to protect Gu Fei.
• Fang Mufeng proves both protective and formidable, warning Chen about He and agreeing to escort him. His instinct is to protect both younger companions, but Chen’s instruction helps him commit to saving Gu Fei first.
• Shen Mi is entrusted with negotiations and business operations, reflecting Chen’s confidence in her and her importance to the Alchemy House.
• Gu Fei remains inexperienced compared with the others and believes Chen cannot withstand the attackers, but his concern for Chen is genuine.
• He Lianhong becomes more suspicious: his appearance near the Nine Demons Alliance’s base suggests he may be connected to the earlier massacre.

Significant themes

• Caution versus ambition: Chen declines to chase a potentially valuable clue without knowing whether it is real or safe.
• Trust and delegation: Chen relies on Shen Mi for public business, Bai Fengyi for the refining room, and Fang for protection.
• Hidden strength and underestimated ability: The assassins appear to have caught Chen at a disadvantage, while Fang and Gu Fei’s assumptions about his limits set up the chapter’s cliffhanger.
• Intrigue and betrayal: He’s possible role as an insider hints at treachery behind the massacre.

Character interactions

• The crowd’s reaction elevates Chen’s status, while Chen redirects its attention to Shen Mi and publicly empowers her.
• Fang acts as Chen’s adviser and protector, sharing his judgment of He and arranging to travel with him.
• Chen, Fang, and Gu Fei travel together, with Fang prioritizing Gu Fei during the ambush after Chen explicitly tells him to do so.
• The assassins divide their attack among all three travelers, leaving Chen isolated against five opponents as Fang and Gu Fei watch in alarm.

Plot points and events

• Chen Cheng confronts a group of attackers alongside Fang Mufeng and Gu Fei. Though badly outnumbered and facing two Nine-Aperture God-Forging Realm fighters, he attacks rather than retreating.
• He uses Thunder Prison to halt the leading enemy for an instant, pulls himself along the man’s long lance, and kills him with a precise strike to the throat.
• The second high-level enemy attacks with a bladed whip, creating two destructive tornadoes of iron, leaves, and blood. Chen Cheng threads qi through their rotations and redirects them into a spinning ring, turning the attackers’ own force against them.
• Chen Cheng binds the enemy and his three supporting fighters with qi. He kills the three lesser enemies with sword qi, then applies the circulation method of Taiji Force to compress the tornado ring into a concentrated blast that pierces and obliterates the second enemy.
• The remaining attackers flee. Fang Mufeng, Chen Cheng, and Gu Fei pursue them in different directions. Fang kills four; Chen catches his target, but the man dies by biting a concealed poison capsule before he can be questioned. His body yields no identifying evidence.
• Gu Fei calls for help after being injured by the last fleeing enemy. Chen rushes to him; Fang has also arrived, but the attacker has escaped into the forest.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng demonstrates exceptional composure, timing, and adaptability. He moves from a risky direct assault to sophisticated qi manipulation, revealing a powerful understanding of force, Taiji principles, and battlefield control.
• Fang Mufeng shifts from fearing for Chen Cheng to marveling at his skill, interpreting the technique as a masterful use of borrowed force. He praises Chen as a boon to Purple Empyrean Peak and the sect, then takes command of the pursuit.
• Gu Fei is stunned by the gap between his own strength and Chen Cheng’s. He admits his earlier hopes of catching up were unrealistic, and feels fortunate that his family and lineage have ties to Chen. He later needs help after being wounded.
• The enemies’ confidence collapses after Chen Cheng’s reversal. The surviving fighters flee, while the captured pursuer’s suicide suggests they are disciplined operatives serving an unknown superior.

Significant themes

• Borrowing and redirecting force: Chen Cheng’s Taiji-inspired technique turns powerful attacks back on their users.
• Skill over apparent disadvantage: Precision, timing, and control overcome superior reach and numbers.
• Loyalty and protection: Fang and Gu Fei worry for Chen and recognize the value of their bond with him.
• Hidden conspiracy: The prepared ambush, death-sworn operative, and lack of evidence point to a larger plot whose mastermind remains unknown.

Plot points and events

• After the group’s clash with their enemies, Fang Mufeng tries to pursue a fleeing attacker but is overcome by violent coughing, a consequence of years of poison from the Longevity Pills. Chen Cheng takes over the chase.
• Chen Cheng catches the attacker, cuts off his leg, and prevents him from killing himself with a hidden poison sac. He tries to use No-Thought Moon Eye to control him, but discovers the man is already another person’s spirit slave and cannot be made into Chen Cheng’s moon slave.
• A blue-armored warrior arrives and kills the captured attacker with a devastating Coiling Dragon spear. He then pursues Chen Cheng, whose attempts to disrupt him with Taiji Qi Flow fail.
• Chen Cheng evades the spear with Moon Step of Impermanence and Instant Shift, but is badly cut by its residual qi. When the warrior attacks at close range, his qi crushes Chen Cheng’s mirror images, and a punch sends Chen Cheng crashing through trees and rocks.
• The warrior follows with a lethal stomp. The attacker’s mangled corpse transforms into a Corpse Demon and briefly lunges at him, but the warrior destroys it without slowing his attack.
• Chen Cheng survives the stomp and begins pushing the warrior’s foot upward. Golden Amber Threads coil around Chen Cheng’s hands and arms, then wrap around the warrior’s legs, setting up the next exchange.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Cheng proves resourceful and decisive, combining pursuit, sword techniques, movement abilities, and physical endurance against a far stronger opponent. He recognizes when direct defense is futile and adapts, but the warrior’s strength repeatedly overwhelms his tricks.
• Fang Mufeng is too ill to pursue the enemy, revealing how deeply the Longevity Pill poison has damaged him despite his high cultivation.
• The blue-armored warrior is a formidable, confident enemy. He admires Chen Cheng’s unusual techniques and toughness, yet remains intent on killing him. He also recognizes the Corpse Demon as a demonic method and wonders whether Chen Cheng belongs to the same side.
• The captured attacker is revealed to be a spirit slave, explaining his unwavering loyalty and willingness to die rather than be captured.

Significant themes

• Power versus ingenuity: Chen Cheng cannot match the warrior’s raw strength, so survival depends on timing, movement, and unconventional abilities.
• The cost of power: Fang Mufeng’s illness shows the lasting physical and mental damage caused by the poison in the Longevity Pills.
• Loyalty and control: The spirit slave’s resistance to capture demonstrates how thoroughly his master controls him.
• Misjudgment and hidden potential: The warrior is repeatedly surprised by Chen Cheng’s age, resilience, and abilities, while the Golden Amber Threads introduce another unexplained source of strength.

Plot points

• Chen Cheng reveals the Blood Immortal Gu’s hidden Gu King ability: golden-amber threads that can pierce Qi Aura, gnaw through defenses, and strengthen his body. Ren Xiaozhou, a powerful Nine Demons Alliance hall master, is caught off guard; the threads penetrate his legs and bones, leaving him badly wounded.
• Ren tries to negotiate, then threatens Chen, but ultimately pretends to prepare a killing move and flees. Chen chooses not to pursue him toward the stronger protector Han Feng’s stronghold.
• Chen retrieves Ren’s third-tier Coiling Dragon Spear and refines it, using the spiritual essence to upgrade his Thunder Radiance Sword. He then discovers that his companions, Gu Fei and Fang Mufeng, are missing and fears Han Feng’s forces have captured them.
• Chen heads toward the enemy stronghold under the concealment of Moon Breath of Avici. Someone approaches undetected and restrains him—but it is Luo Hanying, who quietly warns him that other Demonic Sacred Sect members are nearby.
• Luo explains that she came to confront Han Feng after confirming Han had impersonated her, attacked two strongholds, and ambushed her loyal subordinates. She has not captured Chen’s companions, but another Sacred Sect member may have.
• Luo’s status and the sect’s hostility toward righteous-path warriors make it difficult for her to secure their release. She is especially constrained by an elder who raised her and has begun suspecting her relationship with Chen. Seeing his distress, Luo appears to decide on a course of action.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng demonstrates tactical restraint: he relies on a concealed trump card to survive, refuses to be bluffed, and avoids a dangerous pursuit. His concern for Fang and Gu drives him to risk entering enemy territory.
• Ren Xiaozhou is exposed as badly injured and less confident than he claims. He attempts both negotiation and intimidation before fleeing.
• Luo Hanying reunites with Chen unexpectedly. Though outwardly formidable, she is emotionally moved by his past willingness to risk himself for her and is torn between helping him and obeying her sect’s rules.
• Their reunion highlights mutual trust and affection, while the possibility that Luo’s allies hold Chen’s companions creates tension.

Significant themes

• Hidden strength and misjudgment: Ren’s assumptions about Chen’s abilities lead to his defeat.
• Pragmatism and survival: Chen weighs the danger of pursuit and chooses caution over revenge.
• Loyalty and obligation: Chen risks himself for his companions, while Luo must balance personal loyalty against sect duty.
• Conflict between factions: The enmity between righteous and demonic groups complicates even a straightforward request for mercy.

Plot and events

• Luo Hanying agrees to investigate whether Chen Cheng’s fellow disciples, Fang Mufeng and Gu Fei, have been captured by her forces. Chen lends her the Blood Immortal Gu and Corpse Demon Gu to help locate them.
• Before leaving, Luo asks Chen to meet her secretly at Falling Star Valley in three days to collect a gift she prepared in gratitude for his saving her life. Both acknowledge the danger of their secret alliance.
• Luo finds Fang and Gu unconscious but unharmed, guarded by Snake Granny, who plans to turn them into Snake Puppets. She hides Chen’s Gu near them, then gives the signal for the Sacred Sect’s attack on the Nine Demons Alliance stronghold.
• While the battle draws attention away, Chen sneaks in, knocks out the lone guard, and rescues Fang and Gu. He leaves the two Gu behind to watch for pursuers.
• The Gu spot He Lianhong, badly wounded and separated from his supplies. Chen decides the injured man is too dangerous to leave alive, given his suspected earlier scheme against Chen.
• Chen uses the Blood Immortal Gu to ambush He as he reaches a blood-staunching herb. The Gu’s threads maim and immobilize him without killing him.
• Disguised in the clothes and mask of the dead Nine Demons Alliance expert Chu Xiao, Chen confronts He. He Lianhong first mistakes him for Chu, then realizes Chu is dead and pleads for his life.
• Chen asks whether the Divine Owl Sect truly possesses a Primordial Alchemy Formula.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng shows strategic foresight and decisiveness, using the chaos of battle and the Gu’s abilities to rescue his friends and trap He Lianhong. He spares Luo’s subordinate, mindful of her loyalties, but remains willing to kill a threat to himself.
• Luo Hanying risks violating her sect’s rules to help Chen, placing their personal trust above factional boundaries. Her secret gift and warning reinforce their growing bond.
• He Lianhong shifts from confidence that he has escaped death to desperation when Chen’s ambush destroys his chance to treat his wounds. He tries to bargain and appeal to their supposed friendship.
• Fang Mufeng and Gu Fei remain unconscious throughout, but Chen’s rescue underscores his loyalty to his fellow disciples.
• Snake Granny’s intention to turn Fang and Gu into puppets makes the danger of their capture explicit.

Significant themes

• Loyalty across opposing factions: Luo helps Chen despite the deep divide between their sects, while Chen recognizes the personal cost of her choice.
• Secrecy and self-preservation: Both Luo and Chen take care to hide their relationship and identities in a politically dangerous environment.
• Strategy and timing: Chen’s successful rescue and ambush depend on careful preparation, surveillance, and exploiting distractions.
• Ruthlessness and moral restraint: Chen is prepared to eliminate He Lianhong, yet spares a guard out of consideration for Luo.
• Betrayal and trust: He’s former camaraderie with Chen’s assumed identity becomes a desperate plea, while Chen’s suspicion of He motivates the attack.

Key plot points and events

• Interrogating He Lianhong, Chen Cheng learns of an ancient pill formula copied from an Iron Stele in ruins on Mount Tianyue. The stele may be part of a seal containing an ancient demon, so removing it could be dangerous.
• Chen Cheng uses Demonic Eye Heart Inquiry to force He Lianhong to reveal the ruins’ exact location. The technique devastates He’s mind, and he dies shortly afterward.
• Chen Cheng leaves Fang Mufeng and Gu Fei in the care of his senior brother Zou Yan for treatment, then returns to Coiling Dragon Cliff to train for the Outer Sect competition, now just over a month away.
• Three days later, Chen Cheng secretly leaves the sect for Falling Star Valley. He notices he is being followed and takes precautions to hide his destination.
• The pursuers are a group of five aligned with the Northern Yin pro-war faction: Inner Sect disciples Fang Luting, Sun Yichao, Zhu Kang, and Li Sun, along with Tan Chen. Fang Luting leads them and intends both to kill Chen Cheng and discover where he is going.
• Through his mental link with Tan Chen, Chen Cheng learns the pursuers’ identities and strength. Rather than risk fighting several stronger opponents, he abandons his horse, masks his scent, and uses Tan Chen’s information to evade them.
• Fang Luting splits the group to track the horse and Chen Cheng separately. Chen Cheng outruns Sun Yichao and Li Sun and reaches Falling Star Valley safely, heading to the secret place he shares with Luo Hanying.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng is calculating and cautious: he extracts the information he needs from He Lianhong, then avoids a fight he knows he cannot win. He also remains intensely focused on training and protecting his secret connection with Luo Hanying.
• He Lianhong tries to bargain for his life but is overwhelmed by Chen Cheng’s interrogation technique and dies after revealing the ruins’ location.
• Tan Chen, despite his low standing among the pursuers, secretly helps Chen Cheng through their mental link, identifying the Profound Deer as the key to escaping.
• Fang Luting is an assertive and secretive leader, motivated partly by a bounty offered by the Li lineage after Chen Cheng injured Li Juye. She insists on caution because she wants to learn where Chen Cheng is headed, not merely kill him.
• Sun Yichao, Zhu Kang, and Li Sun defer to Fang Luting despite their eagerness to attack. Their pursuit shows how the feud over Li Juye has turned into an organized threat against Chen Cheng.
• Chen Cheng also shows loyalty toward his allies by arranging treatment for Fang Mufeng and Gu Fei before resuming his own plans.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: Chen Cheng’s ability to control others, especially through Demonic Eye Heart Inquiry, brings results at a terrible cost.
• Caution over pride: Faced with stronger enemies, Chen Cheng chooses evasion and strategy rather than a reckless confrontation.
• Factional intrigue and revenge: A public defeat has led to covert retaliation, revealing how rivalries and political alliances shape the danger around him.
• Effort and self-reliance: With no powerful backer supplying him resources, Chen Cheng relies on hard training, stamina, and preparation to improve his prospects.

Plot points and events

• Chen Cheng finds Luo Hanying’s hidden medicine bottle and discovers it contains an exceptionally potent supply of Essence of Pill Qi.
• He absorbs it, opening four Divine Apertures in succession and advancing from the four-aperture to the eight-aperture God-Forging Realm. The remaining medicinal power is insufficient to open a ninth aperture, but Chen expects further progress before the Outer Sect competition.
• Meanwhile, Sun Yichao, Li Sun, and Tan Chen search for Chen. Tan invents a fleeting sighting to keep the others pursuing him; Sun eventually spots Chen’s footprints, and the three follow them.
• They find Chen standing openly above them. Sun and Li assume he is still only at four apertures and boast that defeating him will be easy. Tan quietly moves out of danger.
• Chen reveals his eight-aperture strength and summons an enormous mass of black Punitive Thunder. Sun and Li realize he may be stronger than either of them, despite their higher cultivation.
• When Chen prepares to attack, Sun and Li kneel and beg for mercy, falsely claiming they would have spared him. Chen invokes “Thunder, punish falsehood,” and the chapter ends as the punishment strikes.

Character developments

• Chen Cheng grows dramatically stronger and becomes more confident, calmly turning his enemies’ own “lion hunting a rabbit” comparison against them.
• Tan Chen shows himself to be calculating and self-preserving: he manipulates Sun and Li into continuing the search, then withdraws when Chen appears.
• Sun Yichao and Li Sun shift from arrogant certainty to panic and pleading once they realize Chen’s strength has surpassed their expectations.

Themes

• Power and advancement: Access to rare resources can produce rapid leaps in strength and change who holds the advantage.
• Arrogance and reversal: Sun and Li underestimate Chen, only to become prey in the hunt they thought would be effortless.
• Deception and self-interest: Tan manipulates his companions, while Sun and Li’s desperate promises expose their concern for survival over loyalty.
• Justice and hypocrisy: Chen tests their claim that they would have spared him, and his thunder technique appears to punish their lie.

Character interactions

• Chen’s calm confidence contrasts with Sun and Li’s taunts, then their frantic pleas.
• Tan exploits Sun and Li’s fear of losing credit to keep them searching, while flattering Sun to maintain his trust.
• Sun and Li try to persuade Chen they are fellow disciples who would show mercy; Chen challenges their sincerity and responds with supernatural judgment.

Plot and events

• Chen Cheng kills Sun Yichao and Li Sun with overwhelming Punitive Thunder, then hides in a tree to draw out the other pursuers. He tells Tan Chen to stay concealed.
• Fang Luting and Zhu Kang arrive, find the burned remains, and suspect Chen Cheng was responsible, but they cannot detect his scent.
• Chen Cheng ambushes them with concealed lightning pythons. Zhu Kang is fatally mangled. Fang Luting is badly wounded, but her demonic deer instinctively carries her out of the head-on strike; the deer’s spine is broken.
• Fang Luting takes pills that stabilize her injuries and sharply boost her power. Chen Cheng’s next lightning attack meets her dark-green qi barrier, and the two enter close combat.
• Fang Luting’s sword nearly strikes Chen Cheng’s vital point, but he uses Moon Step of Impermanence to shift in midair and evade it. He counters with a thunder-enhanced stomp, crushing her shoulder and disabling her left arm.
• As Chen Cheng pursues her, Fang Luting invokes a demonic art. Her body enlarges, her eyes turn red, and dark-gray demonic qi greatly increases her strength and speed.
• Chen Cheng’s Vertical Eye Mark identifies the art as Demon Luo Heavenly Body. He suspects Fang Luting is tied to Luo Hanying’s grandmother and may be investigating Luo Hanying’s lost primal yin. Fearing the consequences if they are exposed, he resolves to kill Fang Luting.
• Fang Luting charges with renewed power. Chen Cheng meets her attack directly, punching toward her sword rather than dodging. The chapter ends as their clash is about to land.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng displays a major leap in power, tactical patience, and confidence. He uses concealment and ambushes, then relies on advanced movement and combat traits when fighting Fang Luting. His growing suspicion about her motives makes the fight personal and urgent.
• Fang Luting proves skilled and resourceful, using pills to keep fighting despite severe injuries. When cornered, she reveals a dangerous demonic transformation, shifting from cautious investigator to relentless attacker.
• Tan Chen remains obedient and loyal, alerting Chen Cheng to approaching enemies and following his order to hide.
• Zhu Kang is overwhelmed by Chen Cheng’s ambush and pleads with Fang Luting, but she is herself under attack and cannot save him.
• Fang Luting’s demonic deer saves her from a direct head strike, but is gravely crippled in the process.

Significant themes

• Preparation versus strength: Chen Cheng’s concealment and planned ambush give him an advantage, while Fang Luting’s skill and power let her survive and counterattack.
• Escalation and hidden abilities: Both fighters reveal increasingly potent techniques, turning a planned execution into an unpredictable duel.
• Loyalty and obedience: Tan Chen’s devotion to Chen Cheng is presented as absolute.
• Secrecy and perilous connections: Chen Cheng’s fear that Fang Luting’s investigation could expose his relationship with Luo Hanying raises the stakes beyond the immediate fight.

Chapter Summary: “Departure”

Key events

• Fang Luting attacks Chen Cheng in her demonic-transformed state. He tests her strength and survives her rapid combinations through his unusually powerful physique and extreme flexibility.
• Both fighters unleash their strongest techniques. Fang Luting is initially stronger, but Chen Cheng’s descending punch shatters her right arm and sends her crashing into a crater. He kills her rather than question her, since approaching cultivators have been alerted by the battle.
• Chen Cheng loots Fang Luting, kills and harvests a Profound Realm demonic deer, then escapes with Tan Chen. To preserve their outward hostility, they return to the sect separately.
• Over the following month, Chen Cheng cultivates with Great Longevity Pills and the deer’s meat. His physique advances to the level of fourth-tier Profound Armaments and Armor, while his Thunder Radiance Sword reaches third tier.
• At the sect, Chen Cheng learns that Peak Master Wang is treating Ning Shuangxu’s blindness and has promised to address Jiang Yujiao’s hidden ailment after Chen Cheng returns from the Vast Righteousness Alliance.
• Chen Cheng joins the delegation heading north to the Alliance. Two Peak Masters and two elders accompany the ten ranked disciples to lend them authority and protect them from the increasingly dangerous demons along the route.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng demonstrates both tactical caution and overwhelming physical power. He adapts quickly in battle, but chooses a decisive kill over extracting information when the threat of discovery becomes urgent. His month of intensive training greatly strengthens him.
• Fang Luting is astonished to see Chen Cheng use the Demon Luo Heavenly Body and wonders whether he belongs to her demonic lineage. The revelation unsettles her, but Chen Cheng gives no explanation; after losing, she begs for mercy and is killed.
• Ning Shuangxu remains unsure whether her eyesight can be restored. Chen Cheng reassures her and promises to keep searching, strengthening their affectionate, trusting bond.
• Chen Cheng is encouraged by Wang Changsheng’s promise to treat Jiang Yujiao, though finding a way to rescue her younger sister remains unresolved.
• Among the departing disciples, distinct alliances form: Huang Donglai and Zhu Chong gather around Tan Chen; Qu Fanghua, Shen Zhong, and Ran Shuang form another group; Ji Jingyou, Gu Fei, and Lu Zhenting cluster around Chen Cheng. Ji and Lu acknowledge one another’s improved cultivation and weapons, while Gu Fei reacts tensely to their equipment.

Significant themes

• Power and adaptation: Chen Cheng’s battle success comes from assessing his opponent, exploiting his strengths, and training relentlessly.
• Urgency and hard choices: He sacrifices the chance to interrogate Fang Luting in order to escape before reinforcements arrive.
• Hope and perseverance: Chen Cheng urges Ning Shuangxu not to give up on treatment, while continuing to pursue solutions for his friends.
• Competition and uneasy alliances: The expedition begins with visible groupings and rivalries among the sect’s promising disciples, foreshadowing tensions on the journey.

Chapter summary

As the disciples prepare for the Vast Righteousness Alliance tournament, Gu Fei, Ji Jingyou, and Lu Zhenting offer Chen Cheng their weapons after noticing he appears unarmed. Chen Cheng accepts their concern but does not take a weapon. Their worries prove unnecessary: Purple Empyrean Peak’s delegation arrives, and Eldest Senior Sister An Lingyue gives him the Flame Kirin Sword, a powerful ninth-tier weapon belonging to their ailing master, Wang Changsheng. Fang Mufeng also gives Chen Cheng seventh-tier inner armor in repayment for Chen Cheng once saving his life.
The gifts surprise and impress the onlookers, while Qu Fanghua—who had mocked Chen Cheng’s lack of equipment and disparaged Purple Empyrean Peak—becomes resentful. She continues insisting that the absence of armor would leave him vulnerable, even after Fang Mufeng supplies it. Shen Zhong tries to restrain her careless remarks; Ran Shuang stays silent and composed. Chen Cheng also learns that his Fourth Senior Sister, Ran Xue, is at the Alliance, and that she is Ran Shuang’s estranged older sister.
The group sets out and travels safely through allied territory before entering the dangerous, unclaimed Mount Tianyue Range. Lu Zhenting and Gu Fei warn that its forests contain powerful demonic beasts and valuable medicinal herbs, often guarded by demons or demonic-path cultivators. Ji Jingyou recounts how a fellow disciple was badly ambushed and permanently weakened, heightening everyone’s anxiety. The escort arranges itself defensively and eventually camps overnight beside a stream.
Chen Cheng has an additional reason to be alert: he previously learned from He Lianhong that an ancient ruin lies somewhere in the range. At the campsite, he identifies its likely location on the mountainside and quietly tells Ji Jingyou, Gu Fei, and Lu Zhenting. Just as the others react, something suddenly changes—ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng remains calm and understated, accepts the support of his peers, and quietly weighs both the journey’s dangers and the chance to explore the ruin.
• His peers show loyalty and concern: first offering weapons, then staying close to him during the journey.
• An Lingyue and Fang Mufeng demonstrate Purple Empyrean Peak’s strong support for Chen Cheng through valuable gifts and personal regard.
• Qu Fanghua reveals envy and prejudice toward Chen Cheng and Purple Empyrean Peak; Shen Zhong cautions her, while Ran Shuang remains guarded and silent.
• Ran Xue and Ran Shuang’s estrangement is introduced, with An Lingyue warning Chen Cheng not to bring it up with Ran Xue.

Significant themes

The chapter contrasts appearance and reality: Chen Cheng seems poorly equipped, but his sect and friends support him generously. It also emphasizes loyalty and repayment, envy and factional rivalry, and the uncertainty of opportunity in dangerous places—the mountain range may offer treasures and an ancient ruin, but also ambushes and death.

Key events

• A massive explosion erupts on the hillside. While the elders suspect a powerful demon, Chen Cheng senses that the source has not moved. He secretly sends his Gu Insects to investigate and retrieve a fist-sized, blazing crystal from the shattered ground above magma.
• The crystal’s heat is so intense that the Blood Immortal Gu’s ordinary threads cannot touch it. Its Golden Amber Threads can, however, wrap and conceal it. Chen Cheng hides the crystal in his Taiji Space and recognizes it as a rare second-tier Spirit Realm treasure, though he does not know its exact value or use.
• After the group settles in for the night, Zhao Changqing raises the alarm: nearly a hundred powerful enemies are attacking. Lu Mingyang and Li Miaoyuan rush to meet the main force, while Qiu Tongtian leads the disciples away.
• Lu Zhenting wants to stay with his father, but the others persuade him to retreat. The fleeing group is pursued by enemies demanding an Earthfire Spirit Heart—a rare crystal used in artifact forging or to create a Spirit Realm fire seed. The group does not realize Chen Cheng has secretly taken it.
• When enemies appear ahead as well, Qiu Tongtian prepares to sacrifice himself so the others can scatter. Chen Cheng interrupts, claiming he knows a place where they can hide, and leads the group in a new direction. Qu Fanghua refuses to trust him and prepares to flee alone.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng shows calm judgment and resourcefulness: he identifies the explosion’s real source, retrieves the crystal discreetly, and later steps forward with a possible escape plan when the group is trapped. His companions’ willingness to trust him contrasts with Qu Fanghua’s suspicion.
• Lu Mingyang and Li Miaoyuan put the disciples’ safety first, engaging the attackers and risking their lives to hold them off.
• Lu Zhenting struggles between loyalty to his father and the need to escape; Ji Jingyou, Gu Fei, and Chen Cheng help convince him to go.
• Qiu Tongtian accepts the apparent need to sacrifice himself, but Chen Cheng’s proposal gives him—and the others—renewed hope.
• Gu Fei explains the danger and value of Spirit Realm demons and later identifies the Earthfire Spirit Heart, linking the attack to the crystal Chen Cheng found.
• Qu Fanghua reacts fearfully and distrustfully, blaming whoever has the treasure and refusing to follow Chen Cheng.

Significant themes

• Survival and responsibility: The elders risk themselves to protect the younger disciples, while the group must choose between standing together and fleeing.
• Trust under pressure: Chen Cheng’s credibility persuades Qiu Tongtian, but Qu Fanghua’s distrust threatens to divide the group.
• Power, danger, and greed: Rare treasures promise enormous wealth and strength, but also attract lethal conflict.
• Secrecy and concealed advantage: Chen Cheng’s discovery may be the very reason the attackers are pursuing the group, though he has not yet revealed it.

Chapter 337 Summary

• Escape and shelter: Shen Zhong urges Qu Fanghua to stop arguing and flee with Chen Cheng’s group. Though offended that Shen Zhong has left her behind, Qu Fanghua realizes she is unlikely to survive alone and catches up. Chen Cheng leads everyone through the confusing Random-Stone Maze to a hidden fissure and then into a spacious grotto-heaven. Qiu Tongtian recognizes its narrow entrance as an excellent defensive position, and the group thanks Chen Cheng for saving them.
• Qu Fanghua loses standing: Qu Fanghua refuses to thank Chen Cheng and claims she followed only because she feared Shen Zhong was being misled. Shen Zhong warns her that the group owes Chen Cheng their lives and that her accusations will turn everyone against her. She reluctantly keeps quiet. Later, when she tries to invoke her Star Ranking and seniority to intimidate Chen Cheng, the others—including Shen Zhong—stand behind him. Qiu Tongtian reprimands her and orders her to guard the entrance.
• The hidden ruin and its inscription: While the others rest, Chen Cheng cautiously explores a passage, sending his Gu creatures ahead. He discovers a vast, apparently bottomless abyss and an Iron Stele. Using his reading ability, he learns that the inscription does not describe an alchemy formula as expected: it explains that an ancient alchemist sealed a mass of Spirit Realm alchemical fire below, nourishing it with earth-vein energy. The stele also records a fire-control technique intended for a successor who might eventually subdue the fire.
• A new technique and a cautious plan: Chen Cheng gains beginner-level mastery of the Great Sun Heaven-Burning Art, a powerful fire-control art with combat applications. He considers descending into the abyss to obtain the sealed spiritual fire, but judges the danger too great. Instead, he begins refining the Earthfire Spirit Heart he already possesses; using the new art greatly speeds the process, which should take about seven days.

Character Development and Themes

Chen Cheng remains resourceful and measured: he protects the group, investigates carefully, and chooses patience over a potentially reckless descent. Qu Fanghua’s pride and resentment isolate her, while Shen Zhong shifts from loyal follower to someone willing to challenge her and support Chen Cheng. Qiu Tongtian reinforces the group’s need for discipline during a crisis.
The chapter emphasizes gratitude and loyalty, the consequences of arrogance, caution in the face of unknown power, and the value of knowledge and preparation.

Key plot points and events

• After taking refuge in an ancient ruin, Chen Cheng tells the group that their pursuers have moved on and urges them to leave. Qu Fanghua objects, but Qiu Tongtian trusts Chen Cheng and orders everyone out.
• Chen Cheng guides the group safely across the ridge, where they reunite with Lu Mingyang and his companions. Chen Cheng attributes his accurate guidance to sharing senses with his spirit eagle, the Howling Sky Eagle.
• The group travels safely out of the Tianyue Range and reaches Mount Zhengyang, where the Outer Sect Grand Competition will take place in three days.
• They encounter He Lianbo, deputy sect master of the powerful Divine Owl Sect. His disciples openly look down on the Northern Emperor Demon-Subduing Sect’s young contenders. Chen Cheng realizes He Lianbo is the older brother of He Lianhong, whom Chen Cheng secretly killed, and resolves to stay cautious.
• At the Vast Righteousness Alliance, Lu Zhenting explains that the Alliance is also a sect offering elite disciples superior training and resources. The competition’s top twelve will earn places as Outer Sect disciples.
• Chen Cheng asks Su Yan, an Alliance disciple, to take him to his Fourth Senior Sister, Ran Shuang. Su Yan’s attitude shifts from aloofness to eager deference when he hears her name.
• Ran Shuang initially does not answer from her Alchemy Chamber. As Chen Cheng turns to leave, she enthusiastically appears to greet him—then reacts with shock upon seeing the dark red sword at his waist.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng again demonstrates foresight, leadership, and resourcefulness, earning the group’s trust. He conceals the full extent of his abilities behind the explanation of his spirit eagle and remains wary of He Lianbo.
• Qu Fanghua remains resentful of Chen Cheng and distrusts his judgment, but the others disregard her objections; Shen Zhong has to drag her along.
• Lu Zhenting is anxious about his father, but is relieved when he reunites with Lu Mingyang.
• Qiu Tongtian decisively backs Chen Cheng’s advice, while Li Miaoyuan grows more suspicious of Chen Cheng’s unusual knowledge and abilities.
• Su Yan treats Chen Cheng with condescension until learning he is Ran Shuang’s junior brother, then becomes deferential and helpful.
• Ran Shuang makes a warm, exuberant first impression, but her shock at Chen Cheng’s sword hints at a significant connection or complication.

Significant themes

• Trust versus suspicion: The group’s safe escape depends on trusting Chen Cheng, while Qu Fanghua and Li Miaoyuan remain distrustful for different reasons.
• Hidden identities and secrets: Chen Cheng’s unexplained knowledge, his concealed connection to He Lianhong’s death, and the sword’s effect on Ran Shuang all suggest mysteries still unfolding.
• Hierarchy and status: The Alliance’s elite structure and Su Yan’s sudden change in manner show how lineage, reputation, and connections shape relationships.
• Competition and ambition: The Grand Competition offers a path to greater cultivation, resources, and prestige, setting up the next stage of the story.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cheng meets Ran Xue, his Fourth Senior Sister, at the Vast Righteousness Alliance’s alchemy chamber. Ran Xue praises his achievements: fifth place on the Star Ranking without an empowerment, exceptional pill-making, and receiving the Flame Qilin Sword.
• Ran Xue explains that the sword is more than a ninth-tier Profound Sword, though she does not know its secret. Chen Cheng accepts that he will learn more from their master later.
• In the immense alchemy chamber, Ran Xue describes how difficult Spirit Realm pill-making is. Her attempt to refine a spirit pill goes dangerously awry, sending fire through the room. Chen Cheng calmly controls the runaway flame with a Spirit-Realm Fire-Control Technique he learned on his own, then helps restore the furnace.
• Impressed, Ran Xue gives Chen Cheng the genuine but obscure Great Evolution Alchemy Scripture, a Spirit Realm alchemy technique she found at the Ghost Market. She also lets him take ordinary medicinal ingredients from the storeroom; he collects enough to make Aperture-Refining Profound Pills.
• Liu Kaiping, the Alchemy Hall’s eldest senior brother, arrives suspiciously soon after the accident. Ran Xue distrusts him and says she is certain he arranged the furnace mishap to create an opportunity to “rescue” her. Chen Cheng warns her to be vigilant.
• Back at his residence, Chen Cheng studies the scripture and begins applying it with his fire-control technique. The combination makes his pill refinement more than five times faster: a pill that once took months may now take about half a month. He expects further gains if he obtains Spirit Realm alchemy fire.
• As he works, Chen Cheng senses a disturbance outside. Ji Jingyou hurries over and knocks on his door; the chapter ends before revealing why.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cheng remains modest but demonstrates remarkable composure and skill, especially when he controls the dangerous Spirit Realm fire. He readily accepts Ran Xue’s gift and ingredients, while avoiding taking more than necessary. He also earns Ran Xue’s trust and admiration.
• Ran Xue is warm and generous toward Chen Cheng, treating him with unusual affection. Her confidence in him grows after witnessing his skill. Her coldness toward Liu Kaiping reveals both her suspicion of him and a possible history of unwanted attention.
• Su Yan, initially present, is astonished by Ran Xue’s warmth and by Chen Cheng’s reputation, then tactfully leaves them alone.
• Liu Kaiping presents himself as a helpful senior, but Ran Xue sees him as manipulative and potentially responsible for the furnace incident.
• Chen Cheng and Ran Xue share a growing bond of trust: she offers him valuable instruction and resources, while he protects her and cautions her about the danger.
• Ji Jingyou’s urgent arrival sets up the next chapter’s conflict.

Significant themes

• Talent and self-reliance: Chen Cheng’s achievements and self-taught technique distinguish him, though he downplays his abilities.
• Mentorship and generosity: Ran Xue’s gifts and support strengthen the relationship between senior and junior.
• Trust and hidden motives: Liu Kaiping’s suspicious timing contrasts with the open trust between Chen Cheng and Ran Xue.
• Steady progress and patience: Chen Cheng takes only what he needs and focuses on improving his craft step by step.

Chen Cheng mastered a new spirit fire and arrived at the Vast Righteousness Alliance Outer Sect Grand Competition, where Ran Shuang stunned the spectators by killing her supposedly stronger opponent. The first round began with her victory, while Chen Cheng’s own competition remained ahead.

• Chen Cheng met rising stars from the Vast Sea Sect and Star-Seizing Sect, and Liu Yuling explained the competition’s elimination rules.
• Qu Fanghua and her companions discussed targeting Chen Cheng, while Qu secretly signaled Duan Yuchao that she wanted him killed.
• Chen Cheng completed his refinement of the Earthfire Spirit Heart, gained crimson-gold spirit fire, and replaced the flame in his Little Black Cauldron.
• At the competition, Ran Shuang drew Song Lie of the Divine Owl Sect, whose strength Liu Yuling warned had greatly surpassed that of a typical tenth-ranked disciple.
• Ran Shuang overwhelmed Song Lie in their opening clash and killed him before he could finish conceding.

Ran Shuang and the Northern Emperor Demon-Subduing Sect disciples advanced through successive rounds of the Outer Sect Grand Competition, while rising injuries and stronger opponents raised the stakes. As Ran Shuang prepared to face the formidable Li Gu despite her wounds, a mysterious woman in red approached and left him terrified.

• Ran Shuang defeated Song Lie, and the spectators discussed her strength and the danger of provoking the Divine Owl Sect.
• Lu Zhenting and Ran Shuang advanced through the second and third rounds, while Sun Kuai was disqualified for attacking Zhu Chong after he conceded.
• Ran Shuang drew a bye in the third round, then suffered serious injuries defeating a powerful opponent in the fourth; Ma Chengguo conceded after both his arms were broken by a single punch.
• Ran Shuang refused to withdraw, took medicine, and continued recovering as the competition advanced and the contestants drew stronger opponents.
• Ran Shuang drew Li Gu, who threatened her despite her injuries, but he suddenly cowered as a graceful woman in red swept toward him.

Chen Cheng drew Ran Shuang as his opponent, while Duan Yuchao and Qu Fanghua expected him to be badly defeated. Ran Xue urged Chen Cheng to win, and he faced the match with quiet resolve.

• Chen Cheng drew number three, while Duan Yuchao drew number four and realized he would face Ji Jingyou.
• Ran Shuang drew the other number three slip and became Chen Cheng's opponent.
• Duan Yuchao concluded that Ran Shuang would defeat Chen Cheng and exchanged a knowing glance with Qu Fanghua.
• Ran Xue took Chen Cheng's hands and urged him to win.
• Chen Cheng reassured Ran Xue and resolved to stop Ran Shuang from bringing ruin upon herself and the Ran household.

Chen Cheng defeated Ran Shuang and secretly saved her from being exposed for demonic qi, then drew attention from the alliance’s elders and competitors. The next round began, with Chen Cheng facing Xiang Pojun while Ji Jingyou and Huang Xi fought fiercely; their duel was still underway as Ji Jingyou accelerated to meet her at close range.

• Li Miaoyuan examined Ran Shuang, but Zhao Keqian confirmed she had no demonic qi and told Ran Xue to take her away.
• Chen Cheng told Ran Xue that his Pure Yang Art had eliminated Ran Shuang’s demonic qi, and Ran Xue thanked him before leaving with her sister.
• The next-round pairings were drawn: Chen Cheng faced Xiang Pojun, Ji Jingyou faced Huang Xi, and Shen Zhong faced Xue Qiao.
• Chen Cheng and Xiang Pojun stepped onto Arena One as spectators debated which fighter would win.
• On Arena Four, Ji Jingyou and Huang Xi exchanged attacks; Ji Jingyou’s giant sword shattered Huang Xi’s Sword Qi, and both charged into close combat.