Chapter Summaries

Cang Baihe and the Evergreen Sect elders went to the Broken Mountain Sect to answer accusations that they had conspired with the Blood Ghost, while keeping Lu Li’s identity secret. At the Council Hall, Wei Zhantang proposed a solution to the dispute, but the chapter ended before he revealed it.

• Cang Baihe rejected Luo Bingxin’s suggestion to risk Lu Li and agreed with the elders that the Evergreen Sect should answer the Broken Mountain Sect’s accusation.
• Cang Baihe, Luo Bingxin, Huo Wuyai, and Xie Liuyun arrived at the Broken Mountain Sect, where Elder Qiu demoted Uncle Fu to a menial disciple for driving away a promising talent.
• Elder Qiu led the Evergreen Sect elders to the Council Hall, where they found representatives of the Incense Fragrance Sect and Vajra Gate alongside the Broken Mountain Sect.
• Huo Wuyai and Xie Liuyun challenged the Broken Mountain Sect’s accusations, and Xie Liuyun mocked its tea before Wei Zhantang stopped their argument.
• Wei Zhantang said prolonged conflict would strain both sects and began presenting a solution that would benefit everyone.

Cang Baihe rejected Wei Zhantang’s demand for Evergreen Sect territory and treasure, while the rival sect leaders left with their hostility unresolved. Three days later, Lu Li had continued cultivating and was making steady progress, though he still wanted more martial skills.

• Wei Zhantang proposed a truce in exchange for a thousand Evergreen Sect businesses and a million taels of silver, but Cang Baihe refused and drove him and the Incense Fragrance Sect’s members out of the hall.
• Wei Zhantang recalled Xiao Jinglei’s past humiliation and decided the Evergreen Sect would require careful planning to defeat; Elder Qiu and Luo Bingyun traded threats over their disciples, Lu Li and Huang Rongyue.
• Lu Li cultivated at home for three days, advancing the Endless Life Technique and Ice Fiend Blade Technique while finding his selection of martial skills insufficient.

Lu Li advanced his cultivation, considered developing poison-based techniques, and became a Gold-Rank Assassin while Tiger Girl and the Cloud-翻 Wolf reached the Inner Energy Realm. The Evergreen Sect elders then appointed him to lead its disciples as tensions with the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense-Taking Cult escalated, despite objections from senior disciples.

• Lu Li planned to experiment with fusing poison into his inner energy but recognized that the dangerous idea would require time to pursue.
• Lu Li bought ten Qi-Gathering Pills at the Wind and Rain Tower, took a mission, and earned Gold-Rank Assassin status and a thirty-percent discount.
• Tiger Girl and the Cloud-翻 Wolf absorbed their medicinal energy and broke through to the Inner Energy Realm, with Tiger Girl strong enough to make Lu Li stumble.
• Lu Li completed his daily cultivation, assessed his growing strength, and worried that he lacked the money or access to obtain high-grade martial arts.
• Luo Bingxin and the other four elders arrived with a crowd of disciples and warned them to prepare for worsening conflict with the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense-Taking Cult.
• Cang Baihe appointed Lu Li to lead the disciples, prompting protests from older members who questioned his experience.

Lu Li learned that Broken Mountain Sect planned to target him, while Luo Bingyun discovered his close bond with Huang Rongyue and offered to help bring them together. Qin Feng led a disguised attack on Evergreen Sect's Deacon Mansion, tortured Ji Yun, and prepared to frame the assault as an internal incident.

• Cang Baihe warned Lu Li that Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect had ill intentions after negotiations failed, while Vajra Gate stayed neutral.
• Luo Bingyun warned Lu Li that Huang Rongyue had become Elder Qiu's direct disciple and offered to kill her, but Lu Li explained their friendship and her help hiding his strength.
• Qin Feng ordered his followers to slaughter Evergreen Sect disciples and provoke Lu Li, then led them into a Deacon Mansion.
• Qin Feng's group killed Ji Yun's men, defeated Ji Yun, and tortured him with silver needles.
• Qin Feng's followers changed into Broken Mountain Sect robes, and Qin Feng spoke warmly to Ji Yun as he began to wake.

Lu Li confronted Qin Feng after Ji Yun identified him as the attacker, then beat him until he confessed to targeting Ji Yun because he wanted to pursue Huang Rongyue. Qin Feng admitted he had acted on the belief that Huang Rongyue and Lu Li were enemies.

• Qin Feng carried the badly injured Ji Yun to Lu Li’s Deacon Mansion and denied Ji Yun’s accusation that he had attacked him.
• A physician reported that Ji Yun’s bones were nearly all broken and that ten silver needles had been driven between his fingers.
• Lu Li challenged Qin Feng, and Qin Feng was badly injured in their brief clash before he fled and smashed Lu Li’s gate.
• Lu Li caught Qin Feng, repeatedly slammed him into the ground, and threatened to keep beating him until he confessed.
• Qin Feng admitted that he had sought out Ji Yun to cause trouble because he loved Huang Rongyue and believed she had a longstanding grudge against Lu Li.

After humiliating Qin Feng and Broken Mountain Sect’s disciples, Lu Li provoked the sect into plotting an ambush against him. Broken Mountain Sect prepared a Heavenly Net led by Yan Wenchou, while Huang Rongyue advanced in seclusion and vowed to make the sect her gift to Lu Li.

• Lu Li forced Qin Feng’s group to repair his damaged floor and door, then threw them out and ordered them to bring better cultivation manuals next time.
• Qin Yun reported Lu Li’s insults to Wei Zhantang and the elders, prompting Wei Zhantang to order Yan Wenchou and five senior disciples to lay a Heavenly Net for Lu Li.
• Elder Qiu revealed that Huang Rongyue had entered seclusion, and Wei Zhantang praised her progress and discussed arranging her future with Qingtian.
• Huang Rongyue emerged from seclusion, revealed she had become a true disciple, and vowed to make Broken Mountain Sect her first gift to Lu Li.
• Yan Wenchou gathered Qin Feng, five senior brothers, and members of Incense Fragrance Sect to ambush Lu Li, but his insults sparked an argument that threw the courtyard into chaos.

Lu Li detected an ambush and repeatedly withdrew rather than risk his subordinates in a direct assault. When the Incense Fragrance Sect’s experts finally left their hiding place, he led his men into action.

• Lu Li sensed many powerful enemies waiting in the courtyard and called off the first operation.
• Qin Feng calmed the Incense Fragrance Sect after Yan Wenchou provoked them, and the group agreed to wait another night for Lu Li.
• Lu Li returned over the following days but withdrew each time, while his cultivation and Ice Fiend Blade Technique improved.
• The Incense Fragrance Sect’s people lost patience after four days and left the courtyard, followed by an expert who had been hiding in a tree.
• Lu Li’s men recognized that his warnings had prevented heavy losses, and he drew his blade and ordered them to begin.

Lu Li attacked the estate, killed Qin Feng, Yan Wenchou, and five True Disciples, then took his forces away after they defeated the remaining enemies and divided the spoils. The Incense Fragrance Sect found the burned ruins the next day and suspected Blood Ghost had been watching them.

• Lu Li arrived after five True Disciples were thrown into the estate, then killed Qin Feng and Yan Wenchou.
• Nie Kun led Lu Li's forces to victory, and three followers broke through to the Houtian Realm under Lu Li's guidance.
• Lu Li let his subordinates divide the treasury goods, and they set the estate ablaze before leaving.
• Luo Bingxin watched Lu Li's group disappear and reflected that her disciple had become too capable for her to teach.
• The next day, the Incense Fragrance Sect found the burned estate and its charred bodies, then sent someone to report to Elder Qiming.

Prefect Wu Ziyuanxiu and his aide Zhang Zhihuan suspected Lu Li was Blood Ghost and decided to recruit him to counter the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect. Wu planned to offer Lu Li a slot in Tianlan Cave, then confronted elders from both sects when they asked him to punish Blood Ghost.

• People across Qingfeng Prefecture spread conflicting rumors about Blood Ghost and debated whether he was a hero, criminal, or bandit.
• Zhang Zhihuan told Wu Ziyuanxiu that the Evergreen Sect might be hiding Lu Li’s identity as Blood Ghost.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu agreed to recruit Lu Li as a potential ally against the Incense Fragrance Sect and decided to give him a slot in Tianlan Cave.
• Elder Qiu and Elder Liu asked Wu Ziyuanxiu to investigate Blood Ghost’s attacks on their sects.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu challenged the elders’ claims of public fear and asked why Blood Ghost had not attacked him.

Wu Ziyuanxiu refused to let the Broken Mountain Sect pressure him into confronting Blood Ghost and considered mediating the conflict between the sects. Meanwhile, Lu Li advanced to the fifth layer of the Houtian Realm and demonstrated his new strength, but he still needed better techniques.

• Wu Ziyuanxiu rebuked Elder Qiu and Elder Liu for demanding action against Blood Ghost, and Zhang Zhihuan struck Elder Liu down when he prepared to attack.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu and Zhang Zhihuan discussed rising tensions between the Broken Mountain Sect, the Incense Fragrance Sect, and the Evergreen Sect, and agreed to try using Lu Li as a mediator.
• Lu Li cultivated the Endless Life Technique to the fifth layer of the Houtian Realm and raised the Ice Fiend Blade Technique to 1500 points.
• Lu Li's punch sent a powerful gust through the courtyard, splitting a large tree, and he caught it before it fell.
• Lu Li reviewed his techniques and resolved to seek a new lightness skill while avoiding the weakening effects of the Golden Muscle and Jade Vessel Method.

Lu Li was ambushed by masked forces from the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect while traveling through the forest. As he struggled to protect Hu Niu, Black Hawk and Elder Qing arrived, and Qing Yi killed the powerful man blocking Lu Li’s escape.

• Lu Li sensed an ambush and found himself surrounded by masked attackers from the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect.
• Lu Li killed the first attacker, then fought off the encircling enemies as they overwhelmed him with their numbers.
• Lu Li decided to break through with Hu Niu and the Cloud-Turning Wolf, but a powerful masked man struck Hu Niu and threatened to stop them.
• Lu Li recognized that Black Hawk and Elder Qing had arrived, abandoned his escape attempt, and renewed his attack.
• Qing Yi descended beside the burly attacker and pierced his chest before retreating to Lu Li’s side.

Lu Li survived an ambush when Elder Qing and several powerful allies arrived, leaving the attackers badly outmatched. As the enemy pleaded that he only wanted to kill Blood Ghost, the Wind and Rain Pavilion’s Pavilion Master challenged his claim and the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Elder Qing and Black Hawk arrived to help Lu Li, and Lu Li checked Hu Niu’s minor injuries.
• An enemy Xiantian Martial Artist confronted Lu Li, but Elder Qing stepped in while Elder Qiu secretly held back and Governor Wu Ziyuanxiu watched from a distance.
• The enemy used a secret technique to grow stronger, but the Pavilion Master of Wind and Rain Pavilion, Deacon Su, and Old Ma arrived and overwhelmed him with their presence.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu abandoned his plan to intervene, while Luo Bingxin was pleased that Lu Li had gathered so many powerful allies.
• The enemy claimed he only wanted to kill Blood Ghost and had no grievance against Wind and Rain Pavilion, but the Pavilion Master challenged him for attacking one of its assassins at its doorstep.

The Pavilion Master burned the burly man to ashes, but armed soldiers arrived and trapped Lu Li and the others in the Thousand Origin Formation. Black Hawk spotted the formation’s weak point, and Commandery Governor Wu Ziyuanxiu led reinforcements into the battle, where their leader unexpectedly sided with Lu Li.

• The Pavilion Master killed the burly man with her flames and prepared to attack the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect followers.
• A disciplined force of black-clad soldiers surrounded Lu Li and the others, and the Pavilion Master called on them to fight.
• Lu Li and the others struggled against the soldiers’ shifting Thousand Origin Formation while Wu Ziyuanxiu and Zhang Zhihuan suspected the commandant’s involvement.
• Black Hawk recognized the formation and directed Lu Li through its weak left side, but a Xiantian soldier pursued Lu Li and wounded him.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu brought his men to reinforce the fight, and their leader smiled at Lu Li before attacking the enemy soldiers.

Wu Ziyuanxiu and his allies defeated the enemy assault, but the dying Xiantian master made a final attack on Lu Li and died after failing to kill him. Afterward, Wu Ziyuanxiu protected Lu Li from the Pavilion Master, who left with Deacon Su and Old Ma while warning Lu Li with a furious glare.

• Wu Ziyuanxiu broke through the enemy line, and Deacon Su and Old Ma joined him in surrounding the Xiantian master.
• The Xiantian master used a secret technique to charge at Lu Li, who survived the blow and quickly recovered; the Xiantian master then died from the technique’s effects.
• Master Luo Bingxin stayed hidden after deciding Lu Li could handle the attack himself.
• The Pavilion Master confronted Lu Li over her injuries, while Deacon Su and Old Ma defended him and argued that the Wind and Rain Pavilion’s leaders were corrupt.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu stopped the Pavilion Master from approaching Lu Li and threatened her, so Deacon Su and Old Ma escorted her away.

Wu Ziyuanxiu revealed himself as Qingfeng Prefecture’s Commandery Governor and recruited Lu Li to help oppose the Commandery Captain and the Incense Fragrance Sect. Lu Li accepted in exchange for access to Tianlan Cave and other cultivation resources, while agreeing to keep their alliance secret.

• Wu Ziyuanxiu identified Lu Li as Blood Ghost and revealed that he was the Commandery Governor.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu explained Gongsun Honglou’s history and identified the fat man as Zhan Ying, the Commandery Captain’s son.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu asked Lu Li to help oppose the Commandery Captain, whom he suspected of plotting rebellion.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu offered Lu Li a place in Tianlan Cave, cultivation methods, martial skills, and leftover pills, and Lu Li agreed to work with him.
• Wu Ziyuanxiu told Lu Li to keep their alliance secret as they returned to the city.

After returning from a night of fighting, Lu Li received Extreme Ice Marrow and learned the sect would freely provide him with resources to speed his advancement. He searched the Scripture Pavilion for a Divine Intent Map but found none, and an old man appeared behind him.

• Lu Li returned to the courtyard exhausted, while Luo Bingxin told the elders about his growing network and the group arranged extra cultivation supplies for him.
• Lu Li collected his supplies at the cave dwelling, where Ji Yun worried about his rapid progress and the disciples discussed their improved position against the Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect.
• Lu Li received another piece of Extreme Ice Marrow, endured it more easily than before, and strengthened his Extreme Ice Inner Qi.
• Luo Bingxin told Lu Li she would continue giving him Extreme Ice Marrow and that the elders had authorized him to take any cultivation resources, techniques, and martial skills he needed.
• Lu Li went to the Scripture Pavilion’s highest floor looking for a Divine Intent Map, and the old man who had taught him the Ice Fiend Blade Technique suddenly appeared.

Lu Li collected lightness, body-tempering, and other martial arts techniques from the Scripture Pavilion after receiving advice from an enigmatic senior. He left to master his manuals as the leaders of Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect began a tense meeting.

• Lu Li met an old senior in the Scripture Pavilion, who warned him against aiming too high and recommended the difficult Void Crossing Technique.
• The senior gave Lu Li the Void Crossing Technique manual and revealed that Evergreen Sect held the second half of the Vajra Gate's Metal-Stone Body technique.
• Lu Li collected the second half of Metal-Stone Body, then gathered a stack of other manuals, including Orthodox Origin Technique, Lingyan Technique, and Withered Wood Blooming Technique.
• Lu Li left the pavilion and headed down the mountain to master his new techniques before returning for more.
• The leaders of Broken Mountain Sect and Incense Fragrance Sect met amid a tense atmosphere.

After the failed attempt to kill Blood Ghost, Wei Zhantang and Elder Qi argued over responsibility before agreeing to investigate their enemies. Meanwhile, Lu Li strengthened his skills, and a man who learned of his return called him an unfilial son.

• Elder Qi accused Wei Zhantang of failing to prevent the operation against Blood Ghost from collapsing, and Wei Zhantang blamed the Incense Fragrance Sect for harboring a traitor.
• Elder Qiu calmed Wei Zhantang and Elder Qi, and they agreed to set aside their dispute and investigate Blood Ghost and Lu Li.
• Wei Zhantang worried that Lu Li might become a threat to the Broken Mountain Sect, while Elder Qi promised to search for clues about Blood Ghost.
• A man received a letter by Black Hawk, learned that someone had broken his formation, and killed the bird before calling Lu Li an unfilial son.
• Lu Li mastered the techniques and martial skills he had brought from the Evergreen Sect, advanced the Ice Fiend Blade Technique, and decided to study lightness skills and body-hardening martial arts.

Lu Li advanced his Metal-Stone Body and tested its toughness before meeting Wen Ziliang of the Vajra Gate. Their spar began with an even exchange, and both revealed powerful transformations as the fight continued.

• Lu Li entered the lower half of the Metal-Stone Body, transforming his skin into black gold and demonstrating that a broken saber could not scratch him.
• Wen Ziliang arrived to meet Lu Li despite his master's warning that the meeting broke the rules set by the Broken Mountain Sect.
• Wen Ziliang invited Lu Li to test their horizontal training techniques, and Lu Li accepted to measure his strength against a Vajra Gate expert.
• Lu Li and Wen Ziliang exchanged plain punches and staggered backward, matching each other's strength.
• Wen Ziliang revealed his third-level Diamond Body, and Lu Li responded by turning his skin black gold.

Lu Li fought Wen Ziliang to a draw and bonded with the Vajra Gate disciple over wine. Elder Qin then revealed that Evergreen Sect’s hidden secret was the All-Things Creation Technique, which worked alongside the Endless Life Technique.

• Wen Ziliang and Lu Li clashed with their hardened bodies, and neither could defeat the other.
• Wen Ziliang invited Lu Li to feast with him, and the two groups drank and talked together.
• Wen Ziliang explained that Vajra Gate possessed a secret technique suited to the Metal-Stone Body, while Elder Qin cautioned that it was restricted.
• Lu Li asked Elder Qin about Evergreen Sect’s secret and warned that his sect and Vajra Gate might eventually face Broken Mountain Sect.
• Elder Qin revealed that Evergreen Sect’s two core techniques were the Endless Life Technique and the All-Things Creation Technique, which worked together.