Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu decide how to reach Black Mountain Main City without spending the prohibitive 50,000 low-grade Wild Source fare. Lu Zhen rejects hunting beasts or selling treasures as risky and proposes joining a caravan as guards.
• They find a caravan bound for their destination, traveling with more than a hundred enormous Armored Earth Dragons. Its guard captain, Hong Gu, recruits Leng Qiu, a powerful True Elixir Realm expert.
• At the camp, Leng Qiu and Lu Zhen reunite with Mo Laosan and his sworn brother, the tiger-headed greater demon Tiger Fool, whom they met at the city gate. When Leng Qiu calls Lu Zhen her cultivation partner, the others are startled by the mismatch between their realms.
• Caravan owner Shopkeeper Qian welcomes them and offers Leng Qiu pay for her protection; Lu Zhen’s food and lodging are included, with his pay counted alongside hers.
• The caravan sets out along the dangerous Black Wind Road, where bandits and greater demons may attack. The group travels in the front cabin, the most exposed position.
• During the journey, the guards talk about their plans and backgrounds. Mo Laosan and Tiger Fool hope to see the wider world and perhaps advance their cultivation. Hong Gu warns them that large cities can be dangerous and people untrustworthy.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen remains cautious and resourceful, favoring a low-profile plan over quick but risky ways to earn money. He is relaxed about being mistaken for someone dependent on Leng Qiu and good-humoredly accepts the group’s teasing.
• Leng Qiu stays cool and reserved, but openly identifies Lu Zhen as her cultivation partner, surprising the others. She gives little response to their comments about their relationship.
• Hong Gu is bold, sociable, and protective, but her warning about faithless men reveals a painful past. She briefly becomes emotional before steering the conversation back to drinking.
• Mo Laosan and Tiger Fool are friendly and curious. Their surprise at Leng Qiu’s choice of partner gives way to polite acceptance; both are eager to explore beyond their remote home.
• The group begins forming a tentative camaraderie as fellow guards, though Lu Zhen’s lower cultivation and Leng Qiu’s strength remain a source of attention.

Significant themes

• Prudence and survival: Lu Zhen prioritizes avoiding danger and keeping their wealth hidden.
• Power and social expectations: The others find Leng Qiu’s relationship with a lower-realm cultivator unusual, exposing assumptions about status and compatibility.
• Trust and betrayal: Hong Gu’s warning, grounded in an unstated personal wound, suggests that kindness and loyalty can be precarious.
• Adventure and ambition: Mo Laosan and Tiger Fool’s journey reflects the desire to broaden one’s horizons and pursue further advancement.

Key plot points and events

• Jin An shows Jin Yuanbai a recording of Leng Qiu entering Golden Leaf City. Captivated, Jin Yuanbai decides to seize her and present her to Young Master Ebony, hoping to win a deputy commander position in Black Mountain Main City’s Sky Patrol Guard.
• Learning Leng Qiu is traveling with Shopkeeper Qian’s caravan, Jin Yuanbai hires Monk Rock and Azure Scale to intercept it. He offers 30,000 mid-grade wild source for Leng Qiu alive, while Monk Rock insists they avoid a direct fight if the caravan will surrender her.
• On Black Wind Road, the caravan is attacked by a third-tier Ironclad Rhinoceros. Hong Gu, Mo Laosan, and Tiger Fool combine their abilities to kill it.
• Watching the fight, Lu Zhen judges the caravan guards’ law comprehension and combat methods inferior to those of disciples from his sect. He asks why the intelligent third-tier demons remain in animal form.
• Mo Laosan explains that pure-blooded demons reject transformation as beneath them, while half-demons use the Form-Transforming Art. Pure-blooded demons despise half-demons as “mongrels,” and the groups often fight when they meet.

Character developments and interactions

• Jin Yuanbai reveals his ambition and willingness to abduct Leng Qiu for political advancement. He is calculating enough to hire stronger fighters rather than risk his own men.
• Monk Rock agrees to the job but emphasizes caution and self-preservation; he plans to seek surrender before resorting to battle. His negotiation raises the price from 20,000 to 30,000.
• Lu Zhen observes the battle critically, showing his high standards and sect-trained perspective. He turns the encounter into a chance to learn about local demon culture.
• Mo Laosan explains the distinction between pure-blooded demons and half-demons. Tiger Fool confirms the prejudice against half-demons with a blunt comment.
• Hong Gu, Mo Laosan, and Tiger Fool cooperate effectively against the rhinoceros, demonstrating the caravan’s ability to handle immediate threats.

Significant themes

• Ambition and exploitation: Jin Yuanbai treats Leng Qiu as a means to gain status, arranging her abduction for his own benefit.
• Caution versus risk: Monk Rock accepts lucrative work but prioritizes survival over a potentially costly battle.
• Cultural hierarchy and prejudice: The demons’ contempt for half-demons mirrors entrenched divisions and status-based discrimination.
• Different standards of power: Lu Zhen’s comparison between the caravan guards and sect disciples highlights how cultivation, training, and access to techniques shape combat ability.

Key plot points and events

• After defeating an Ironclad Rhinoceros, the caravan guards divide their payment. Shopkeeper Qian also rewards them generously with wine, spirit fruit, and above-market prices for the beast’s materials.
• Meanwhile, bandits Monk Rock and Azure Scale prepare a powerful trapping formation on Black Wind Road. Though hired by Jin Yuanbai to capture Leng Qiu, they intend to keep or sell her themselves and flee.
• Jin Yuanbai watches the ambush through a formation disk, unaware of the bandits’ betrayal.
• When the caravan enters the pass, the bandits activate the Heaven-Locking Dragon-Trapping Formation, sealing the procession in yellow mist and chains. Shopkeeper Qian offers money to avoid a fight, but the attackers demand Leng Qiu.
• Leng Qiu reveals her immense power. Her Water Law creates a water dragon that kills Azure Scale and overwhelms Monk Rock, trapping him in a Water Prison.

Character developments and interactions

• Hong Gu shows her generosity and team spirit by insisting Leng Qiu accept a share of the reward. The guards’ camaraderie is reinforced by their cheerful celebration.
• Shopkeeper Qian proves a considerate employer, rewarding the caravan’s service and trying to negotiate peacefully when it is ambushed.
• Monk Rock and Azure Scale reveal themselves as opportunistic and treacherous, planning to betray Jin Yuanbai for greater profit. Their confidence collapses when they realize Leng Qiu is far stronger than they expected.
• Leng Qiu shifts from quiet participant to the caravan’s decisive protector, exposing her concealed peak-level strength. Lu Zhen recognizes the formation as dangerous but appears confident in her ability.
• Jin Yuanbai remains fixated on possessing Leng Qiu, unaware that his hired men have their own scheme.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and solidarity: The caravan’s guards support one another, while the bandits’ alliance is founded on greed and betrayal.
• Appearance versus reality: Leng Qiu’s delicate appearance hides overwhelming power; the bandits mistake beauty for vulnerability.
• Greed and its consequences: Monk Rock and Azure Scale’s attempt to exploit both Jin Yuanbai and the caravan leads them into a confrontation they cannot win.
• Power and protection: Leng Qiu’s strength transforms the ambush from a threat to the caravan into a near-instant defeat for its attackers.

Plot and key events

• Leng Qiu defeats two mid-stage true-elixir cultivators with overwhelming ease, then forces Monk Rock to reveal that Jin Yuanbai hired the gang to capture her. She kills Monk Rock, leaving Jin Yuanbai terrified of retaliation.
• Jin Yuanbai decides to seek help from Young Master Ebony, preparing a misleading account of what happened.
• As the caravan resumes its journey, Lu Zhen asks about the Jin family. Learning that its strongest members are peak third-realm cultivators, he and Leng Qiu decide not to let the dispute distract them from their journey to Black Mountain Main City.
• In the Void Realm, Sikong Ye announces that the Primordial Ancient Star may contain immortal medicine capable of extending the lives of fourth- and fifth-realm cultivators. Powerful figures immediately offer enormous rewards for it.
• Lu Zhen’s sect contacts, including Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Chu, advise him that finding the medicine—or the Core Passage Node—could earn him great status and help him buy back his Nine Provinces Small World.

Character developments and interactions

• Leng Qiu reveals the full extent of her strength and remains cool and dismissive after the fight. Her easy victory changes how the caravan members regard her.
• Lu Zhen stays relaxed and treats Leng Qiu as an equal, easing the tension by inviting everyone to drink. He also thinks strategically about the Jin family and the value of the newly revealed treasure.
• Hong Gu, Mo Laosan, Tiger Fool, and the others become cautious and deferential toward Leng Qiu after witnessing her power. They are also puzzled by Lu Zhen’s composure around her.
• Jin Yuanbai shifts from arrogance to fear and tries to enlist Young Master Ebony’s help.
• Sikong Ye’s announcement draws the attention of powerful cultivators, while Lei Wanche and Pavilion Master Chu give Lu Zhen practical advice about turning the discovery into political and financial gain.

Significant themes

• Power and perception: Leng Qiu’s strength transforms how others see her, while Lu Zhen’s calm suggests hidden confidence of his own.
• Ambition and survival: Jin Yuanbai seeks protection, and the caravan’s group prioritizes its larger mission over a local feud.
• The value of longevity: The rare medicine’s promise of more time makes even the most powerful cultivators compete for it.
• Opportunity and advancement: The discovery could bring Lu Zhen influence and resources—and help him reclaim his world.

Plot points

• Leng Qiu and Lu Zhen leave the Void Realm after learning of the Longevity-Extending Immortal Medicine. Leng Qiu warns that the Primordial Ancient Star is dangerous, with powerful cultivators and large groups of Third Realm experts; Lu Zhen agrees they must prioritize survival.
• In Black Mountain Main City, Young Master Ebony—also known as Wu Mu—learns that Leng Qiu is traveling with Shopkeeper Qian’s caravan. He becomes determined to capture her.
• Wu Mu’s Mysterious Spirit Hundred-Flower Veil requires a hundred women with extreme-cold constitutions. It can provide formidable defense and unleash powerful attacks, and Wu Mu has been forcibly exploiting such women to complete it.
• Suspicious that Jin Yuanbai has withheld information, Wu Mu interrogates him and learns Leng Qiu killed two mid-stage True Elixir Realm cultivators with one move. Rather than abandon his plan, Wu Mu decides to recruit additional support.
• Wu Mu pays Daoist Nun Colorful Robes with a Transformation Fruit and refined gold to help seize Leng Qiu. He also secretly arranges for two late-stage True Elixir Realm city-guard commanders to join them.
• With the caravan nearing Fallen Leaf Valley—a narrow route suited to an ambush—Wu Mu and the Daoist nun set out to surround and capture Leng Qiu.

Character developments and interactions

• Leng Qiu shows sound judgment, resisting the temptation of the immortal medicine until she understands the dangers of the region.
• Lu Zhen accepts her caution, indicating that the pair share a pragmatic approach to survival.
• Wu Mu is revealed as both predatory and calculating. His lust for Leng Qiu is tied to his desire to use her as a component in his magical treasure, but he carefully assesses risks and builds overwhelming forces rather than acting rashly.
• Daoist Nun Colorful Robes is a powerful, pragmatic beast-tamer motivated by payment. She teases Wu Mu but agrees to the job, relying on their history and her ties to his master.
• Jin Yuanbai is wary of confronting Leng Qiu himself and passes the decision to Wu Mu. Wu Mu’s harsh questioning exposes why he held back.

Significant themes

• Temptation versus survival: The promise of rare medicine must be weighed against the dangers of pursuing it.
• Power and exploitation: Wu Mu’s magical treasure depends on the abuse of women, portraying power as something pursued through cruelty and coercion.
• Caution and calculated violence: Both Leng Qiu and Wu Mu assess threats carefully, though one uses caution to stay safe and the other to make his predation more effective.
• Trust and self-interest: Wu Mu hires the Daoist nun because past dealings and institutional ties make her a reliable partner, while both characters are ultimately acting for their own benefit.

Plot points and events

• During the caravan’s peaceful journey, Lu Zhen receives his monthly settlement. His experience gains are boosted by his high settlement level and a strong evaluation, and the resulting nourishment causes his inner landscape to expand.
• The Panel also grants experience from enemies killed by Lu Zhen and his clone, though the haul is modest compared with the previous month.
• Reaching settlement level 30 gives Lu Zhen a choice between accelerating growth within his inner landscape and making it a real world. He chooses Inner Landscape World, which can host living beings and turns his clone into a spatial anchor he can recall or teleport to once a year.
• Lu Zhen spends experience improving his cultivation technique and physique. Raising his physique to level 35 grants All Rivers Embrace the Sea, which will make his star river five times longer after his breakthrough.
• Confident that his inner landscape and mastery of law will stabilize the dangerous process, Lu Zhen links his thousand true cores with the Great Dao’s tribulation light. They form a flowing star river, and he successfully enters the Nu River Realm, the third realm.
• His breakthrough’s aura draws the attention of Hong Gu and Mo Laosan, who congratulate him—though Mo Laosan mistakes the realm’s name for the True Elixir Realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen moves from the peak of the Rushing River Realm into a far more powerful stage, confirming that his exceptional law comprehension and growing inner landscape make a normally perilous breakthrough seem almost effortless.
• He shows strategic judgment in choosing the Inner Landscape World trait for its safety and mobility benefits, and prioritizes strengthening his physique as the foundation for advancement.
• Hong Gu and Mo Laosan react with surprise and admiration, underscoring how unusual Lu Zhen’s rapid progress is.

Significant themes

• Preparation and breakthrough: Lu Zhen’s accumulated cultivation, law mastery, and physique combine to overcome a threshold that traps many talented martial artists.
• Growth through systems and choices: Panel rewards accelerate his progress, but his decisions about traits and experience determine how he develops.
• Power and security: Making the inner landscape real offers protection for Guga and creates a strategic link to his clone.
• Exceptional destiny: Lu Zhen’s effortless success contrasts with the danger and long delays ordinary cultivators face.

Plot points and events

• Lu Zhen celebrates breaking through into the early Nu River Realm with Leng Qiu, Hong Gu, and Mo Laosan. When Mo Laosan asks about his cultivation foundation, Hong Gu rebukes him for prying into a closely guarded secret.
• Leng Qiu privately reveals her own tidal-crest progression—six at early stage, twenty at middle stage, and fifty-seven at peak—and asks Lu Zhen about his. He tells her he already has twenty, astonishing her; she judges his foundation to be among the sect’s top three.
• Elsewhere, Young Master Ebony uses the Mysterious Spirit Hundred-Flower Veil to drain the cold essence of a hundred women with extreme-cold constitutions, fusing it with his extreme-flame energy. He plans to use the artifact against Leng Qiu.
• Working with Daoist Nun Colorful Robes, he sets a trap for Shopkeeper Qian’s caravan. Her demonic beasts herd the caravan into the Soundless Abyss, where communications are blocked.
• The caravan is overwhelmed by the beast tide and forced into the dead-end basin. Young Master Ebony and Colorful Robes reveal themselves, backed by the Veil, numerous powerful demons, and armed half-demons. The caravan recognizes the danger and fears even Leng Qiu may not be enough.
• Lu Zhen notices Young Master Ebony staring greedily at Leng Qiu and feels an intense, protective discomfort.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen displays an exceptional cultivation foundation but remains modest about his breakthrough and conceals the deeper significance of his progress.
• Leng Qiu is impressed by Lu Zhen’s twenty early-stage tidal crests, which surpass her own early-stage achievement by a wide margin. Their private exchange reveals trust and mutual respect.
• Hong Gu protects Lu Zhen’s privacy by stopping Mo Laosan’s intrusive question, then helps lead the caravan’s defense.
• Mo Laosan is blunt and inquisitive, but accepts Hong Gu’s rebuke and later spots the escape route during the attack.
• Young Master Ebony and Daoist Nun Colorful Robes cooperate in a calculated ambush: Ebony supplies the sinister artifact and Colorful Robes devises the strategy of driving the caravan into the Soundless Abyss.
• Lu Zhen’s reaction to Ebony’s gaze hints at a personal attachment to Leng Qiu and sets up a likely confrontation.

Significant themes

• Power and hidden foundations: Tidal crests measure a cultivator’s potential and strength, making them valuable secrets.
• Predation and exploitation: The Veil’s power comes from forcibly extracting the women’s life essence.
• Strategy and entrapment: The attackers exploit terrain and blocked communications to isolate their prey.
• Protectiveness and loyalty: Lu Zhen’s unease at Ebony’s gaze suggests his concern for Leng Qiu may become a motivating force.

Plot points

• Ji Yue, a powerful royal inspector, visits the Jiuli Clan to review its governance. Clan Chief Jiuli Feng boasts that trade is safe and orderly, then demonstrates a new formation that monitors the clan’s vast territory and records major battles.
• The formation immediately detects a violent attack in Fallen Leaf Valley. Its images show Daoist Nun Colorful Robes and Young Master Ebony ambushing a caravan with a horde of powerful demons.
• Leng Qiu protects the caravan, using water-law techniques to drive back the demons. Ji Yue and her retinue are impressed by her skill, and Ji Yue’s Fifth Realm uncle suggests recruiting her to the Heaven-Patrolling Bureau.
• Young Master Ebony escalates the fight by unleashing the Hundred-Flower Veil, which drains the cold energy of captive women and combines it with his fire laws to create a devastating iceflame spear. Leng Qiu begins to struggle while also holding off the demons.
• Leng Qiu considers using hidden powers, but worries they will reveal her identity and attract unwanted attention. Lu Zhen tells her not to worry, steps forward, and raises his aura. When a demon attacks him, he prepares to use “Tribulation Light.”

Character developments and interactions

• Jiuli Feng shifts from confident host to embarrassed clan chief when the formation exposes a massacre in the territory he claimed was peaceful.
• Ji Yue moves from routine inspection to keen interest in Leng Qiu, though she waits to see how the battle unfolds before acting on her uncle’s suggestion.
• Leng Qiu demonstrates exceptional mastery of water laws and a strong instinct to protect the caravan, but faces a difficult choice between survival and concealing her identity.
• Lu Zhen takes responsibility for intervening so Leng Qiu need not expose her trump cards. The chapter ends just as he confronts the attacking demon.
• Daoist Nun Colorful Robes and Young Master Ebony work together in the ambush, but Leng Qiu’s resistance forces them to reveal more of their strength.

Significant themes

• Public authority versus reality: The formation exposes the gap between Jiuli Feng’s claims of order and the violence occurring under his rule.
• Power and responsibility: Leng Qiu risks herself to defend the caravan, while Lu Zhen steps in when she is overwhelmed.
• Hidden identity and political consequences: Leng Qiu’s strongest abilities could save lives but expose her to dangerous attention.
• Exploitation and cruelty: The Hundred-Flower Veil’s power comes from forcibly draining captive women, emphasizing the villains’ brutality.

Plot points and events

• Lu Zhen reveals a devastating new ability: a Great Dao branch embryo, expressed as a storm of golden tribulation-light spears. In one attack, he kills Young Master Ebony, Daoist Nun Colorful Robes, and more than a dozen powerful demons, while shattering the Mysterious Spirit Hundred-Flower Veil.
• The battle is witnessed through the Jiuli Clan’s Heaven-Watching Formation Disk. Ji Yue’s Void Insight Realm uncle recognizes Lu Zhen’s achievement as extraordinary and predicts he is likely to reach the Primordial Spirit Realm—and possibly the Void Insight Realm.
• Excited by Lu Zhen’s potential, Ji Yue leaves Jiuli Divine City with her uncle, Jiuli Feng, and other cultivators to meet him.
• After the caravan leaves the Soundless Abyss, Ji Yue arrives aboard a Sky-Rending Golden-Winged Roc. She praises both Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu, then asks about their origins.
• Lu Zhen claims that he and Leng Qiu are disciples of a reclusive master, whom he invents as “Recluse Yue.” Ji Yue accepts the explanation and invites them both to join her in the Royal Court’s Heaven-Patrolling Bureau.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen demonstrates that his calm demeanor concealed overwhelming power and remarkable talent. He remains cautious, disguising his background when questioned and reacting warily to Ji Yue’s arrival.
• Leng Qiu is astonished to learn that Lu Zhen has comprehended a Great Dao branch embryo so early. His strength explains why the sect canceled his Arena participation and granted him a place on the Primordial Ancient Star. She teases him for hiding his abilities; he says revealing them would bring trouble.
• Hong Gu, Mo Laosan, and the caravan guards are stunned by Lu Zhen’s victory. They recognize that their earlier assumption that he relied on Leng Qiu was mistaken.
• Ji Yue is impressed by Lu Zhen’s talent and also acknowledges Leng Qiu’s skill in wielding water law. She offers both a place in her service, apparently seeking to recruit exceptional cultivators.
• Ji Yue’s uncle, a powerful Void Insight expert, validates the significance of Lu Zhen’s achievement, strengthening the case for his exceptional future prospects.

Significant themes

• Hidden strength and mistaken judgments: Those who underestimated Lu Zhen discover that his apparent dependence on Leng Qiu was an illusion.
• Talent and destiny: Lu Zhen’s early mastery of a Great Dao branch embryo suggests an unusually promising cultivation path.
• Caution and concealed identity: Despite his victory, Lu Zhen avoids revealing his true background, using an invented master to protect himself.
• Power attracting opportunity: Lu Zhen’s public display of strength immediately draws the attention of the Royal Court and a potentially important offer.

Key plot points

• Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu negotiate with Princess Ji Yue before joining her faction. Ji Yue offers them command of an independent branch of the Heaven-Patrolling Bureau, prospects for advancement, and one magical treasure or weapon each from her private treasury. They accept, while Lu privately knows he can leave the world if he finds what he came for.
• Ji Yue warns that joining means bearing her mark and becoming entangled in the Royal Court’s politics, though she will not impose a soul contract.
• Jiuli Feng reports that Jin Yuanbai of the Jin Family hired assassins and triggered the recent disaster. Ji Yue orders the family’s men executed and its women enslaved, treating the punishment as both justice and a gesture to her new recruits.
• Ji Yue, Lu Zhen, and Leng Qiu depart on her Sky-Rending Golden-Winged Roc. The caravan witnesses their departure, then resumes its journey to Black Mountain Main City.
• In flight, Ji Yue explains the Royal Court’s succession crisis. The aging Fifth-Realm ancestor may soon die, and no one has ever advanced from the Fifth to the Sixth Realm. Three powerful rivals contest the throne: the First Prince, backed by the Abyss-Suppressing Army; the Third Prince, supported by the wealthy Treasure Pavilion; and the Seventh Imperial Princess, trained by the State Religion.
• When Lu doubts that he and Leng Qiu can contend with such forces, Ji Yue says Lu’s rare talent—comprehending a great Dao branch embryo in the early Third Realm—gives him influence comparable to that of her powerful clan uncle.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen shows himself to be a shrewd negotiator, feigning reluctance to secure a better reward while concealing his intention to preserve his freedom. He is also wary of being drawn into a dangerous succession struggle.
• Leng Qiu supports Lu’s bargaining and recognizes his performance, privately amused by his act of hesitation.
• Ji Yue proves ambitious and politically calculating: she recruits exceptional talent, uses rewards to secure loyalty, and dispenses ruthless punishment to reinforce her authority.
• Jiuli Feng eagerly provides evidence against the Jin Family, hoping to earn the princess’s favor; she publicly acknowledges his clan’s service.
• The caravan members react with awe at having traveled alongside Lu and Leng Qiu, while Mo Laosan is delighted to have a story to boast about.

Significant themes

• Ambition and political power: Ji Yue’s bid for the throne frames the larger conflict, with military, commercial, and religious factions competing for influence.
• Freedom versus loyalty: Lu accepts service for its advantages but privately believes no faction can truly bind him.
• Talent as influence: Lu’s cultivation insight grants political weight far beyond what his rank would normally command.
• Ruthless justice and pragmatism: Ji Yue’s extreme order against the Jin Family shows how easily personal alliances and political goals can shape punishment.

Plot points and events

• The old fifth-realm cultivator admits he is only a “false Void Hollow”: a flawed breakthrough left him permanently stuck at the early fifth realm, despite granting immense strength and a ten-thousand-year lifespan. He warns Lu Zhen not to sacrifice his future for a quick advance.
• Lu Zhen pretends to doubt that a sixth realm exists, hoping to draw out information. The old man confirms it does, but says no new sixth-realm cultivator has appeared in the Primordial Imperial Clan for over a hundred million years. Lu Zhen concludes that peak fifth-realm cultivators likely represent the Ancient Star’s highest current power, making it a formidable world.
• Ji Yue returns to her residence with Lu Zhen. Her retainers expect her inspection tour’s success may earn her the rank of Seven-Pearl Prince, and learn that Lu Zhen has been appointed to lead the influential Heavenly Wind Residence. Some resent the appointment, but keep their objections private.
• Ji Yue arrives beside Lu Zhen on her golden roc, signaling how highly she regards him. She introduces him to her officers, then introduces her husband, whose cultivation is only at the peak of the third realm.
• The First Prince learns that Lu Zhen is a newly arrived third-realm cultivator who has already comprehended a great dao branch embryo. Seeing him as a major asset to Ji Yue’s bid for the throne, he orders a discreet effort to discover Lu Zhen’s desires and recruit him with an offer ten times better than Ji Yue’s.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Zhen remains composed and strategic: he conceals his knowledge of the sixth realm, probes the old man for information, and quietly assesses the Ancient Star’s strength. He accepts Ji Yue’s introduction to her retainers without comment on her husband’s comparatively low cultivation.
• The old cultivator reveals the personal cost of his ambition and offers Lu Zhen hard-earned advice, shifting from guarded observer to candid mentor.
• Ji Yue displays confidence and authority, publicly placing Lu Zhen at her side and giving him a powerful post. Her retainers’ reactions show that the appointment unsettles established interests.
• The First Prince emerges as ambitious and pragmatic, treating talent as something to acquire through sufficiently generous offers. His plan turns Lu Zhen into a potential prize in the royal succession struggle.

Significant themes

• The cost of shortcuts: A flawed breakthrough can grant power and longevity while permanently closing the path to further cultivation.
• Ambition and uncertainty: The sixth realm exists, but is so difficult to reach that even the most ancient clans have not produced a new cultivator in ages.
• Talent as political power: Lu Zhen’s promise affects the balance of a succession contest before he has even established himself.
• Hierarchy and loyalty: Rank governs life in the royal city, while retainers’ hopes for advancement coexist with resentment and obedience.

Plot points and events

• The Seventh Imperial Princess learns that Ji Yue has brought Lu Zhen to the Royal Court and that he comprehended a great dao branch embryo in the Third Realm. Seeing him as a potential threat if he cannot be won over, she orders his quiet assassination and plans to frame the First and Third Princes.
• Ji Yue takes Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu to her private treasury. Lu Zhen chooses Wind-Chasing Thunder Shadow Boots, which greatly increase his speed and can briefly tear through the void. Leng Qiu selects the Mystic Ice Water-Cloud Cloak, which can shield its wearer from a Fourth Realm expert’s full-force attack.
• A royal summons pulls Ji Yue away. She instructs her aide, Old Yan, to escort the pair to the Heavenly Wind Residence, where Lu Zhen is to take over as head and Leng Qiu as deputy.
• Old Yan warns them that the three existing deputy heads—all early Fourth Realm experts—had competed for the head position and may resent Lu Zhen’s appointment. They greet the newcomers with outward politeness and explain the residence’s roles: intelligence gathering, major investigations, and earning contribution points through meritorious service.
• Lu Zhen studies the Royal Court’s treasury catalog and focuses on life-extending treasures. He sees a path to obtain the medicine needed to negotiate with the Great Luo Divine Dynasty for a title and resources.
• That night, Lu Zhen tells Liu Bowen that he has leads toward securing the title and spirit crystals needed to buy the Nine Provinces Small World and rescue Senior Hongwu and the others.

Character developments and interactions

• Seventh Imperial Princess: Her gentle public image masks ruthless ambition. She views Lu Zhen as a threat and seeks to eliminate him while concealing her involvement.
• Ji Yue: Shows strong confidence in Lu Zhen by appointing him to a powerful post and rewarding him and Leng Qiu with valuable treasures.
• Lu Zhen: Remains composed despite possible resentment from the deputy heads. His interest in life-extending medicine reveals his urgent commitment to rescuing his allies.
• Leng Qiu: Accepts a defensive treasure suited to survival in dangerous situations.
• White-Robed Consort: Resents Lu Zhen’s appointment, which blocks a position he hoped to secure for his uncle, and feels slighted by Ji Yue’s attention to Lu Zhen.
• The three deputy heads: Their courteous welcome conceals likely frustration at losing the post they had contested.
• Liu Bowen: Worries about the silence from Senior Hongwu’s group, but takes heart when Lu Zhen reassures him that a plan is forming.

Significant themes

• Hidden ambition and political deception: Beneath the court’s refined manners, rivals plot, maneuver for influence, and disguise hostility.
• Talent and power: Lu Zhen’s extraordinary ability earns him rapid advancement and valuable rewards, but also draws dangerous attention.
• Hope through practical action: Lu Zhen turns the desperate search for his trapped allies into a concrete plan involving contribution points, medicine, and political leverage.

Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu planned to pool Heavenly Wind Residence's contribution points to acquire the Void Undying Fruit, though Lu Zhen secretly sought a faster way to obtain it. Ji Yue then tasked Lu Zhen with investigating Marquis Anyuan in exchange for Nine-Turn Star Marrow, and Lu Zhen accepted.

• The Grand Supreme Elder promised Lu Zhen compensation and help securing his Nine Provinces Small World if he brought the sect the Void Undying Fruit.
• Lu Zhen proposed pooling Heavenly Wind Residence's points with Leng Qiu, who agreed to follow his lead and suggested using spies to complete missions.
• Lu Zhen agreed outwardly to accumulating points over time, but privately decided to use his hidden treasures to find another solution before Blood Butcher Old Fiend harmed Senior Hongwu and Lord Yu.
• Lu Zhen delegated routine assignments to the Heavenly Wind Residence's deputy heads and spies, then focused on cultivating the Grand Luo Myriad Phenomena Star-Devouring Record and advancing his great dao embryos.
• Ji Yue ordered Lu Zhen to investigate Marquis Anyuan's smuggling case and promised him Nine-Turn Star Marrow if he brought the Cloudship Bureau commissioner down.
• Lu Zhen accepted Ji Yue's assignment, judging the reward worth the risk.

Blood Butcher Old Fiend learned that Lu Zhen had entered the Primordial Ancient Star and planned to investigate the secrets of the Nine Provinces Small World through disguised deathsworn. Meanwhile, Lu Zhen and Leng Qiu discussed investigating Marquis Anyuan, and Lu Zhen summoned his avatar and discovered that Guga had awakened in the Fourth Realm.

• Blood Butcher Old Fiend studied Hongwu's primordial true blood and decided to send disguised deathsworn into the Nine Provinces Small World to search for secrets and treasures.
• Lu Zhen found Leng Qiu behind the sealed doors of their cave dwelling, then discussed how to investigate Marquis Anyuan's smuggling operation with her.
• Lu Zhen assigned trusted informants to investigate Marquis Anyuan's smuggling routes.
• Lu Zhen summoned his avatar and the sleeping Guga into his inner realm, where Guga absorbed its astral origin and grew into a ten-thousand-zhang beast.
• Guga returned to her small form and told Lu Zhen that she could swallow weaker souls or freeze the souls of slightly stronger foes.

Lu Zhen sent his clone and Guga treasure hunting in the Greenwood Royal Clan’s territory, then used Star Origin Grass to greatly strengthen his Star River. Back at Heavenly Wind Residence, he learned that Chen San had found a likely smuggling site connected to Marquis Anyuan.

• Lu Zhen sent his clone and Guga out to search the Primordial Ancient Star for treasures.
• The clone and Guga reached the Lin Feng Clan’s territory and began following Guga’s sense for treasure.
• Lu Zhen retrieved four spirit medicines through the spatial passage and consumed Star Origin Grass, increasing his Star River from twenty to thirty-five wave crests.
• Lu Zhen continued cultivating and judged that his strengthened Star River might let him fight a mid-Fourth Realm cultivator head-on.
• Chen San reported that Cloudship Bureau vessels secretly unloaded cargo at Greenstone Manor, which he suspected was a smuggling site tied to Marquis Anyuan.

Lu Zhen led the Heavenly Wind Residence to raid Greenstone Manor, where Marquis Anyuan confronted them and Lu Zhen attacked despite the lack of ironclad evidence. As they clashed, Adept Cangqing and the First Prince watched from afar, each waiting for a chance to intervene.

• Lu Zhen ordered the Heavenly Wind Residence to raid Greenstone Manor that night, while the Seventh Imperial Princess sent an old woman to ask Adept Cangqing to intervene.
• The First Prince learned of the raid from his informant and planned to rescue Lu Zhen so he could recruit him.
• Lu Zhen surrounded Greenstone Manor and demanded that its occupants surrender their cultivation and storage artifacts for inspection.
• Marquis Anyuan appeared and warned that searching his property without a royal warrant would be rebellion, but Lu Zhen decided to defeat him and seize the evidence.
• Lu Zhen’s tribulation-light attack collided with Marquis Anyuan’s Molten Gold great Dao embryo, and Lu Zhen immediately launched another attack.
• Adept Cangqing and the First Prince watched the battle from afar, each waiting for Lu Zhen and Marquis Anyuan to weaken.

Lu Zhen fought Marquis Anyuan at Greenstone Manor until Ji Yue, the First Prince, and the Third Prince arrived with their forces. The Royal Court’s ancestor ordered Marquis Anyuan searched, and when he tried to flee, Ji Yue’s clan uncle captured him with a giant hand of spatial laws.

• Ji Yue rushed to Greenstone Manor with Fourth Realm retainers after hearing Lu Zhen was fighting Marquis Anyuan, while the Third Prince also mobilized his forces.
• Lu Zhen exchanged attacks with Marquis Anyuan and judged that his opponent’s Fourth Realm foundation was weak, but held back the War Canon of Martial Mu to avoid exposing it.
• Ji Yue, the First Prince, and the Third Prince arrived and argued over whether Lu Zhen had broken the law by attacking Marquis Anyuan’s manor.
• Ji Yue’s clan uncle appeared and ordered Marquis Anyuan to hand over his Spatial Storage Treasure, saying the ancestor had decided on the search.
• Marquis Anyuan attempted to flee, but Ji Yue’s clan uncle seized him with a giant hand formed from spatial laws.

Marquis Anyuan was punished for smuggling Heavenly Mang Divine Crystal, and Ji Yue gained control of the Cloudship Bureau with Lu Zhen appointed to oversee it. As Lu Zhen returned to cultivating, Liu Bowen warned him that unfamiliar Rushing River Realm cultivators were searching the Nine Provinces Small World.

• The gray-robed ancestor stripped Marquis Anyuan of his title and property and sentenced him to two thousand years of hard labor in the Nine Nether Cold Prison.
• The ancestor placed the Cloudship Bureau under Ji Yue's authority and ordered Lu Zhen to oversee its operations; Ji Yue rewarded him with Nine-Turn Star Marrow and tribute credit points.
• The Third Prince left angrily, while the First Prince praised Lu Zhen and invited him to visit; news of Lu Zhen's victory then spread through Heavenly Mang Royal City.
• Lu Zhen returned to cultivation at the Heavenly Wind Residence and studied Marquis Anyuan's Molten Gold dao embryo for insight into Blazing Sun.
• Liu Bowen told Lu Zhen that groups of unfamiliar Rushing River Realm cultivators had entered the Nine Provinces Small World and were searching its mountains, tombs, and ruins.
• Lu Zhen told Liu Bowen to keep their people out of sight and avoid fighting the newcomers, saying he would handle the matter.