Chapter Summaries

Li Yunjing learned that the old man had only ten years left to live and promised to visit him again, then prepared for three years of confinement by recording his technique and organizing supplies. He left Xing'er and Yue'er with Foundation Establishment Pills and instructions to cultivate while he entered closed-door cultivation.

• The old man calmly accepted his approaching death, urged Li Yunjing to cultivate, and asked him to return in ten years.
• Li Yunjing told Jin Shouyun and Su Guo that he would serve time in the Divine Prison, then returned to Qiwu Villa and wrote down the Purple Firmament Divine Spirit-Forging Heavenly Secret Art.
• Li Yunjing packed surplus supplies for Xing'er and Yue'er to sell and spent nearly all his other Spirit Stones on second-order materials for five crafts.
• Li Yunjing visited the Star Moon Trading Firm, encouraged Cong Rujin, and told Xing'er and Yue'er to focus on cultivation during his coming years in seclusion.
• Li Yunjing gave Xing'er and Yue'er one Foundation Establishment Pill each and urged them to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Li Yunjing spent three days with Xing'er and Yue'er before leaving the Star Moon Trading Firm and visiting Fang Long to strengthen their alliance. He then returned to the sect and reported to the Law Enforcement Hall to serve the three-year imprisonment ordered by Palace Master Qin.

• Li Yunjing gave Xing'er and Yue'er Foundation Establishment Pills, stayed with them for three days, and reminded them to prioritize cultivation before leaving.
• Xing'er and Yue'er gave Li Yunjing 700,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones earned by the Star Moon Trading Firm's two shops.
• Li Yunjing visited Fang Long with Fang Yuxuan, and Fang Long promised to protect the Star Moon Trading Firm while Fang Yuxuan pledged to rally local support.
• Li Yunjing returned through the teleportation array and went to the Law Enforcement Hall to report for his sentence.
• A deacon checked Li Yunjing's Identity Token, confirmed the ancestor's order, and told him to come along.

Li Yunjing was escorted to Divine Prison to serve a three-year sentence, but the guards treated him as an important True Disciple and placed him in a private building on the third level. He settled in, improved the building’s spiritual-energy supply with his Spirit Gathering Array, and prepared to spend the sentence cultivating in comfort.

• Li Yunjing followed steward Liu from the Law Enforcement Hall to Divine Prison Peak, where Liu reassured him that his three-year sentence would be manageable.
• Liu brought Li Yunjing through the prison’s guarded levels and arranged for him to stay in a building on the third level rather than among the crowded first-level cells.
• The black-armored prison guard registered Li Yunjing’s sentence and escorted him into the building, where wards and arrays sealed him inside.
• Li Yunjing inspected his quarters and found that the spiritual energy was too weak for his cultivation without assistance.
• Li Yunjing modified his Spirit Gathering Array, set it up with Mid-grade Spirit Stones, and arranged food, drink, and a meditation cushion before settling down to read.

During his three-year imprisonment, Li Yunjing cultivated intensively, broke through to the third layer of Foundation Establishment, and advanced his skills in several auxiliary professions. With one month left before his release, he studied the strengthening monster egg and expected it to hatch soon.

• Li Yunjing reviewed his books, mastered three cultivation arts, and strengthened his divine abilities during the first year of imprisonment.
• Li Yunjing studied the Heavenly Fire Divine Flame Seal, the Fire Dragon Divine Light Transformation, and two mind-cultivation arts while spending heavily on Spirit Stones.
• Li Yunjing broke through to the third layer of Foundation Establishment, discovered a lightning scepter in his sea of consciousness, and realized his bones had become thunder bones.
• Li Yunjing used his remaining time to improve his alchemy, crafting, formations, talisman-making, and puppetry skills, while exhausting most of his pills and Spirit Stones.
• With one month left before his imprisonment ended, Li Yunjing gathered his belongings and studied the monster egg as its life force grew stronger.

Li Yunjing’s demonic beast egg hatched into a clever, powerful yellow bird, which he named Little Yellow and raised during his three-year confinement. After his sentence ended, he left Divine Prison Peak and found hundreds of familiar people waiting to welcome him.

• Li Yunjing poured mana into the egg until it hatched, then discovered the tiny yellow bird was a top-tier first-rank demonic beast.
• Li Yunjing named the bird Little Yellow, fed it Qi Replenishing Pills, and raised it without using restrictions to control it.
• During his confinement, Li Yunjing cultivated, studied ancient texts, and strengthened his body with lightning power from the scepter.
• When the three-year sentence ended, Li Yunjing left the small building with a larger, swift-flying Little Yellow on his shoulder, and the black-armored cultivator escorted him out of Divine Prison.
• Li Yunjing walked down Divine Prison Peak and found Yu Yunyi, Lu Ruoxi, and hundreds of familiar people waiting; Yu Yunyi embraced him and Lu Ruoxi expressed concern that he had not replied to their messages.

After three years in prison, Li Yunjing reunited with his friends and learned how the Divine Firmament Dao Sect’s war and internal affairs had changed. He revealed his third-layer Foundation Establishment cultivation and vowed to challenge those who had mistreated his team, then led everyone to Donghua Pavilion.

• Lu Ruoxi took Little Yellow from Li Yunjing and fussed over the spirit beast while he greeted his friends.
• Li Yunjing learned that Yu Zongzhe had won the Inner Sect Competition and become a True Disciple, while the sect had secured its front lines at great cost.
• Li Yunjing offered to arrange posts for his team and promised to confront anyone who obstructed them, revealing that he had reached the third layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Li Yunjing urged his friends to name a troublesome True Disciple for him to challenge, and Fu Chao agreed to find someone.
• Li Yunjing led the group through the mountains to Donghua Pavilion, where the shopkeeper welcomed them.

Li Yunjing celebrated his release from prison with a banquet at Donghua Pavilion, where He Bao and Senior Brother Han challenged him to a duel on the Grudge Platform. After accepting the challenge, Li Yunjing met Ying Qianqian and her grandfather, whose guidance on the Heavenly Secret Art helped him; the duel was set for one month later.

• Li Yunjing and his friends gathered at Donghua Pavilion for a lavish banquet celebrating his return from prison.
• He Bao arrived to provoke Li Yunjing, and Fu Chao stepped forward to confront him before Li Yunjing challenged him to settle the dispute on the Grudge Platform.
• Senior Brother Han arrived and accepted Li Yunjing's challenge, setting their fight for one month later at noon.
• Ying Qianqian appeared and explained that she had come to dine with her grandfather, who then entered the hall and calmed the gathering with his presence.
• Ying Qianqian's grandfather recognized Li Yunjing's cultivation of the Heavenly Secret Art and gave him guidance that advanced his understanding.
• Ying Qianqian and her grandfather left, and Fu Chao asked Li Yunjing to guess the old man's cultivation level.

Li Yunjing challenged Han Yanzhi to a death duel next month, while Han secretly sent a possessed beetle to spy on him. After returning to Qiwu Villa with Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi, Li Yunjing cultivated with them for half a month, and the chapter ended with him asking when to visit their families.

• Li Yunjing reassured his companions that he would defeat Han Yanzhi on the Grudge Platform and asked Lu Ruoxi to play a battle-stirring tune.
• Han Yanzhi released a spirit beetle with the Possession Technique and sent it to watch Li Yunjing.
• Li Yunjing took Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi to Qiwu Villa, where he activated the wards and settled in with them.
• Li Yunjing, Yu Yunyi, and Lu Ruoxi cultivated together for half a month, strengthening their magical power and true essence.
• Li Yunjing asked Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi when he should visit the Yu Family and the Lv Family.

Li Yunjing promised Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi that he would visit their families and make their relationship official, then toured Qiwu Villa with them and spent time studying and cultivating. As his decisive battle with Han Yanzhi drew near, the match became a sensation across the Divine Firmament Dao Sect, and Palace Master Qin learned of Li Yunjing’s latest trouble.

• Li Yunjing told Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi he wanted to visit their families, and they agreed to decide whose home they would visit first after his fight with Han Yanzhi.
• Li Yunjing showed Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi around Qiwu Villa, fed Little Yellow three Qi Replenishing Pills, and led them to his study.
• Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi wrote down techniques and abilities they had mastered while Li Yunjing selected books to send to the Star Moon Trading Firm and cultivated for several days.
• Han Yanzhi watched Qiwu Villa with Black Armor Beetles for more than half a month, but Li Yunjing stayed inside and Han Yanzhi could not prepare properly for their fight.
• Fu Chao and others opened gambling pools on the match, while Li Yunjing’s team placed substantial wagers across them.
• Palace Master Qin received a report about the coming battle and lamented that Li Yunjing had caused trouble again soon after leaving prison.

The Yin Mountain Bone Demon discovered a Danyang Fruit Tree deep in the Great Black Mountain and waited for Li Chuanghai, Fang Long, and their allies to battle the Red Sun Snake Clan. He stole all nine fruits and fled, leaving the cultivators to abandon the fight and pursue him.

• The Yin Mountain Bone Demon entered the Great Black Mountain to hide from the Divine Firmament Dao Sect and found a tree bearing nine Danyang Fruits.
• Li Chuanghai, Fang Long, and seven other Foundation Establishment cultivators attacked the Red Sun Snake King to claim the fruits, but the snake king and its horde overwhelmed them.
• Fang Long summoned reinforcements from Red Sun Valley, whose cultivators joined the battle and helped stabilize the fight against the snakes.
• The Yin Mountain Bone Demon burrowed underground, waited for an opening, then emerged and stole all nine Danyang Fruits.
• Li Chuanghai, Fang Long, the reinforcements, and the other cultivators abandoned the battle and chased the fleeing Yin Mountain Bone Demon.

Fang Long and Li Chuanghai’s pursuit of Yin Mountain Bone Demon ended in the deaths of five Foundation Establishment cultivators, prompting the Divine Firmament Dao Sect to issue a wanted order. Li Yunjing, Yu Yunyi, and Lu Ruoxi set out to hunt the demon, and Li Yunjing sensed something unusual while searching for him.

• Fang Long and Li Chuanghai withdrew their forces from the battle with the Red Sun Snake Clan, then resumed their pursuit of Yin Mountain Bone Demon.
• Yin Mountain Bone Demon trapped five Foundation Establishment cultivators in his Blood-Colored Banner formation, killed them, and took four bodies to refine into puppets.
• Fang Long reported the deaths and the stolen Danyang Fruit to the sect, which issued a wanted order and sent Law Enforcement Hall disciples toward Red Sun Valley.
• Li Yunjing, Yu Yunyi, and Lu Ruoxi accepted the hunt and traveled from Red Sun Market aboard an Azure Cloud Boat with a Thousand-Mile Tracking Mirror.
• Li Yunjing sensed a cold, sinister presence during the search and told Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi that Yin Mountain Bone Demon was nearby.

Li Yunjing used the Divine Firmament Divine Spirit-Forging Heavenly Secret Art to locate Yin Mountain Bone Demon, then led a group of Divine Firmament Dao Sect cultivators in an attack. They killed the sixth-level Foundation Establishment expert, leaving the group ready to divide his spoils.

• Li Yunjing reasoned that Yin Mountain Bone Demon had evaded the searches by concealing himself at the very battlefield where he had killed five cultivators.
• Li Yunjing used the Sky Thunder Cannon to bombard the ground, and his divine sense detected Yin Mountain Bone Demon beneath it.
• Yin Mountain Bone Demon emerged and recognized Li Yunjing, shocked that he had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm in only a few years.
• Li Yunjing, Yu Yunyi, Lu Ruoxi, and four other disciples surrounded Yin Mountain Bone Demon and attacked, shattering his ghostly creatures with lightning arts.
• The disciples wounded Yin Mountain Bone Demon with their weapons and techniques, and Li Yunjing beheaded him with the Azure Sea Listening Waves Sword.

After Li Yunjing and his companions slew the Yin Mountain Bone Demon, Li Chuanghai and a crowd of cultivators tried to claim the corpse and its nine Danyang Fruits. Li Yunjing secured the spoils, publicly rebuked Li Chuanghai, and the chapter ended with the two sides facing off after Li Chuanghai attacked him.

• Li Chuanghai demanded that Li Yunjing and the others hand over the Yin Mountain Bone Demon's corpse, but Li Yunjing refused.
• Old Daoist Qingfeng and other cultivators demanded the belongings of their fallen companions, and Li Yunjing said the sect elders would determine their rightful inheritors.
• Li Yunjing promised four companions a Danyang Fruit and stored the demon's corpse, blasting aside other cultivators who tried to stop him.
• Li Chuanghai demanded the corpse and Danyang Fruits, while some Divine Firmament Dao Sect disciples backed him; Li Yunjing cursed Li Chuanghai and accused him of coveting the spoils.
• Li Chuanghai attacked Li Yunjing with lightning, but Li Yunjing blocked the strike with the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Seal, and Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi joined him in calling for Li Chuanghai's arrest.

Li Yunjing and Li Chuanghai were summoned by Law Enforcement Hall elder Yu Yuanhua after their dispute over the Danyang Fruit, but they joined the campaign against the Red Sun Snake Clan on arrival. As the clan’s forces fell, Li Yunjing helped attack the Red Sun Snake King, who was still fighting Yu Yuanhua.

• Li Yunjing provoked Li Chuanghai after the latter attacked him, and their fellow disciples restrained Li Chuanghai as outsiders backed away from the dispute.
• Fang Long arrived with Law Enforcement Hall members and ordered Li Yunjing and Li Chuanghai to meet Elder Yu Yuanhua at Great Black Mountain.
• Li Yunjing and his companions reached the mountain and joined the battle against the Red Sun Snake Clan aboard an Azure Cloud Boat; Li Chuanghai summoned his own boat and followed.
• Li Yunjing distributed the Danyang Fruits, giving one to each of the four fellow disciples and two each to Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi while keeping one for himself.
• After the Red Sun Snake Clan’s forces were nearly wiped out, Li Yunjing and the Azure Cloud Boats fired on the Red Sun Snake King to aid Yu Yuanhua.

Li Yunjing’s group helped Yu Yuanhua kill the Red Sun Snake King, after which Yu Yuanhua heard testimony about Li Chuanghai’s attack and ordered him to return to the sect to await punishment. Yu Yuanhua taught Li Yunjing to uphold sect rules, then left him and his companions impressed by the revelation that the Ancestors thought highly of him.

• Yu Yuanhua trapped the Red Sun Snake King in the Samadhi True Fire Array while Li Yunjing’s group helped prevent its escape, and the elder cut out valuable parts before the demon king burned to ash.
• Li Yunjing accused Li Chuanghai of attacking him over the Danyang Fruit, and Yu Yunyi, Lu Ruoxi, and four fellow disciples backed up the account as witnesses.
• Yu Yuanhua ruled that Li Chuanghai had violated sect rules and sent him back to await punishment, despite Li Yunjing suggesting they let the matter go.
• Yu Yuanhua rebuked Li Yunjing for dismissing the need for punishment, then taught him that the sect’s rules protected its disciples and required their support.
• Yu Yuanhua reminded Li Yunjing that the Ancestors thought highly of him and departed with the Law Enforcement Hall, leaving Yu Yunyi, Lu Ruoxi, and the four disciples astonished.
• The four fellow disciples began flattering Li Yunjing in hopes of gaining favor, while Li Yunjing wondered whether they might prove useful.

Li Yunjing gave Fang Long a Danyang Fruit to aid his attempt at forming a core, and four fellow disciples joined Li Yunjing’s circle. After a feast and a tense exchange about his Star Moon Trading Firm, Li Yunjing returned to the sect as the Law Enforcement Hall summoned Li Chuanghai to answer for attacking him.

• Fang Long asked Li Yunjing to sell him a Danyang Fruit, and Li Yunjing gave him one without charge after learning Fang Long hoped to form a core.
• Jiang Zeyu, Fan Yuening, Yu Qianlan, and Cang Jiwen asked to join Li Yunjing’s group, and he welcomed them.
• Fang Long hosted a feast at his residence in Red Sun Valley, where Li Yunjing introduced Yu Yunyi and Lu Ruoxi to him and the four new members.
• On the Azure Cloud Boat, Lu Ruoxi and Yu Yunyi questioned Li Yunjing about his Star Moon Trading Firm, while he avoided explaining why he had not introduced them to Xing'er and Yue'er.
• Yu Yuanhua presented a recording of Li Chuanghai’s attack to the Law Enforcement Hall, and Vice Hall Master Wan summoned Li Chuanghai to defend himself.
• Li Chuanghai admitted attacking Li Yunjing but claimed Li Yunjing’s insults had provoked him and said he regretted losing control.

Vice Hall Master Wan punished Li Chuanghai for attacking Li Yunjing and ordered Li Yunjing to serve as Imperial Preceptor in Yingtian Prefecture for three years. Li Yunjing took comfort in Li Chuanghai’s harsher sentence and prepared his allies as the long-awaited match against Han Yanzhi approached.

• Vice Hall Master Wan reprimanded Li Chuanghai and sentenced him to ten years at the front lines, where he had to kill ten True Disciples of the Nether Ghost Sect.
• Elder Xu argued that Li Yunjing also deserved punishment, and Vice Hall Master Wan ordered him to serve as Imperial Preceptor in Yingtian Prefecture for three years.
• Li Yunjing’s companions objected to the assignment, but he accepted that Yu Yuanhua had helped keep his punishment manageable and learned Li Chuanghai’s sentence from him.
• Li Yunjing laughed at Li Chuanghai’s punishment and spent the next few days arranging influential posts for his allies across the sect.
• Li Yunjing and Han Yanzhi’s match day arrived, while Fu Chao’s betting pool drew heavy wagers on Han Yanzhi.

Li Yunjing and Han Yanzhi began their deadly duel on the Grudge Platform before thousands of spectators, with Li Yunjing’s strength quickly surprising Han Yanzhi. The fight remained unresolved as Li Yunjing blocked Han Yanzhi’s icy needles and unleashed Palm Lightning.

• Li Yunjing placed large bets on himself through Su Guo and Jin Shouyun after learning that few people expected him to defeat Han Yanzhi.
• Han Yanzhi arrived at the Grudge Platform with Li Chuanghai, who promised him ten thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones if he killed Li Yunjing.
• Li Yunjing and Han Yanzhi confirmed that they intended to settle their grudge by death, and a Law Enforcement Hall elder sealed the platform with a barrier.
• Li Yunjing overwhelmed Han Yanzhi with his sword before Han Yanzhi escaped the strike using an illusory body and counterattacked with the Wind-Catching Shadow-Sweeping Technique.
• Li Yunjing matched Han Yanzhi’s nine phantom bodies, blocked his icy Flying Needles with the Azure Sea Listening Waves Sword, and unleashed Palm Lightning.

Li Yunjing overwhelmed Han Yanzhi with powerful elemental techniques, but Han Yanzhi swallowed a pill that temporarily raised his cultivation to the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Their battle remained deadlocked, with Li Yunjing trying to survive until the pill’s effects wore off.

• Li Yunjing saw through Han Yanzhi’s phantom bodies and attacked him with the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Seal, then unleashed Water God Thunder, Nine Yang Fire, Fire God Thunder, and Water-Fire Harmony.
• Han Yanzhi dispelled the whirlwind and swallowed a pill that greatly increased his strength, temporarily raising his cultivation to the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Li Yunjing activated his spirit weapons and tried to stall until the pill’s effects ended, while Han Yanzhi claimed the pill would last half an hour and charged at him.
• Li Yunjing used the Gale Boots and Fire Dragon Divine Light Transformation to evade Han Yanzhi’s attacks, countering with the Heavenly Fire Divine Flame Seal.
• Li Yunjing and Han Yanzhi continued fighting at high speed as the onlookers watched, and only a quarter of an hour remained before Han Yanzhi’s pill was expected to wear off.

Li Yunjing defeated and killed Han Yanzhi after resisting the Seven Emotions Gourd, then claimed the treasures Han Yanzhi had carried. The sect ordered Li Yunjing to become the Great Ming State Preceptor in Yingtian Prefecture, while Li Chuanghai received a decree sending him to the border and vowed revenge.

• Han Yanzhi unleashed the Seven Emotions Gourd’s Red-Dust Miscellaneous Qi, but Li Yunjing used the Supreme Lord's Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility to dispel its effects.
• Han Yanzhi burned his vital essence and attacked Li Yunjing, who blocked the strike with the Myriad Dao Glazed Furnace and killed him with the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Seal’s Five Elements Divine Thunder.
• Li Chuanghai demanded that Li Yunjing return the Seven Emotions Gourd, but Li Yunjing refused and later erased Li Chuanghai’s spiritual imprint from it.
• Yu Yunyi explained that Li Yunjing had accepted punishment, and Li Yunjing told Fu Chao he expected to be sent to Yingtian Prefecture.
• Li Chuanghai received the sect’s decree sending him to the border, while Elder Yu Yuanhua delivered Li Yunjing the order to assume the position of Great Ming State Preceptor within three days.
• Li Yunjing told Yu Yuanhua that he believed he had a chance to become the next Sect Leader.