Chapter Summaries

Ye Lin and Gu Qingzhi entered the ruined main hall of the Divine Gu Sect and met its Third Elder, an ancient Golden Immortal near the end of his lifespan. The Third Elder accused them of destroying his home and revealed that the old tree had directed them there.

• Ye Lin turned the remaining half of the hall's door to ash as he and Gu Qingzhi entered.
• The Third Elder of the Divine Gu Sect addressed them from a platform and reproached them for entering his home and plundering it.
• Ye Lin recognized that the Third Elder's frail condition came from his lifespan running out.
• Ye Lin argued that the Immortal World had become secret realms and that they had come to explore one, then asked the Third Elder to explain his objection.
• The Third Elder said their actions were destroying his home and asked whether the old tree had sent them.

Ye Lin and Gu Qingzhi confronted the old man about transforming into Xu Feng, and he admitted he had done it to lure them in and drain their vital essence. He offered to reveal the Divine Gu Sect’s greatest secret in exchange for vital essence, leaving them wary after claiming he had once reached the eighth layer of Golden Immortal.

• Ye Lin asked the old man whether he had transformed into Xu Feng, and the old man admitted it.
• Ye Lin and Gu Qingzhi prepared to fight, but the old man asked to make a deal instead.
• The old man explained that he needed vital essence to extend his life and offered the Divine Gu Sect’s greatest secret in return.
• Ye Lin said he had no way to extend the old man’s lifespan, and the old man insisted that a supply of vital essence would suffice.
• The old man claimed he had been an eighth-layer Golden Immortal and warned Ye Lin and Gu Qingzhi to either provide vital essence or leave.

Ye Lin refused to help the weakened eighth-layer Golden Immortal recover, deciding to wait until the old man died and search for his secret afterward. Outside the hall, Ye Lin told Gu Qingzhi that the old man would perish in three days.

• Ye Lin warned the old man that restoring his strength would put Ye Lin and Gu Qingzhi in danger.
• The old man cursed Ye Lin and told him to leave, so Ye Lin and Gu Qingzhi departed without learning the secret.
• The old man closed his eyes and sighed that his fate had reached its end.
• Gu Qingzhi asked Ye Lin whether they would have to wait long for the old man to die.
• Ye Lin said the old man would die within three days, based on the information he had seen on the old man's panel.

Ye Lin, Gu Qingzhi, and Xu Feng waited outside a great hall for an old man who Ye Lin said was close to death. They stayed outside rather than risk provoking the Golden Immortal Level Eight senior, whose sigh echoed through the hall.

• Gu Qingzhi asked Ye Lin how he knew someone would die within days, but Ye Lin could not explain.
• Xu Feng joined them, and Gu Qingzhi explained that they had met a lookalike; Xu Feng admitted that he had too.
• Gu Qingzhi said they were waiting for an old man inside the hall to die so they could claim his treasures.
• Xu Feng started toward the hall, but stopped and sat down beside Ye Lin when Gu Qingzhi suggested he test the old man.
• The three waited outside, reasoning that the old man intended to face death alone, and a heavy sigh sounded from within the hall.

Ye Lin and the others discovered that the old man had died after their taunts, buried him, and searched the hall for the secret he had mentioned. Ye Lin uncovered a hidden stairway, and the group descended into the darkness as a black shadow watched them before vanishing.

• The old man’s life force disappeared, and Ye Lin and the others realized he had died after they provoked him.
• Ye Lin led the group into the hall, bowed to the old man, and used his power to bury the body outside.
• Ye Lin searched beneath the old man’s cushion and broke through the floor, revealing a stairway below.
• Xu Feng called the others to follow Ye Lin, and the group descended into the darkness.
• A black shadow appeared in the hall, watched the passage, and then dispersed.

Ye Lin led the group through an indestructible corridor into a forbidden area of the Divine Gu Sect. They emerged into a vast space filled with human-sized white cocoons, and Gu Qingzhi sensed that the place was familiar.

• Ye Lin and the group descended a long stairway and found an endless corridor with walls they could barely damage.
• Ye Lin sensed movement ahead and hurried toward a light at the end of the corridor as the others followed.
• A figure barred Ye Lin from entering without the Sect Master's written decree, but Ye Lin cut it in two with Sword Qi and crossed the light.
• Ye Lin arrived in a huge chamber lined with dense white cocoons, each topped with a human head.
• Gu Qingzhi said the chamber's layout felt familiar.

Ye Lin and the others discovered that threads from human chrysalises fed into a furnace, which Wang Tianyi opened. They found a mother and child surrounded by Gu insects inside, and San Zang and Zhang Wusheng reacted with alarm before Zhang Wusheng sealed the furnace again.

• Wang Xiaoyun spotted threads beneath the human chrysalises leading down to a massive furnace.
• Wang Tianyi examined the furnace and explained that it might be used to refine life-prolonging pills, nurture something dangerous, or gather the essence and vitality of living things.
• Wang Tianyi struck the furnace and opened it, then recoiled at what he saw inside.
• Ye Lin and the others saw a mother and child lying together amid countless Gu insects, and San Zang identified them as a Mother-Child Gu.
• San Zang retreated, Zhang Wusheng covered the furnace, and Ye Lin quietly moved away from it.

San Zang explained how the Divine Gu Sect refined Mother-Child Gu and warned that its immortal, resentment-filled source could awaken. Ye Lin noticed the mother and child’s jade pendant and learned that it could be absorbed with the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art.

• Bao Xiaotou asked San Zang and Zhang Wusheng to explain their cryptic remarks about Mother-Child Gu.
• San Zang described how the Divine Gu Sect tortured a pregnant woman and her unborn child to create Heart-Severing Gu that could control cultivators.
• San Zang warned that the mother and child were still alive and urged everyone to leave before they awakened.
• Gu Qingzhi wondered whether the mother and child were the secret the old man had mentioned.
• Ye Lin noticed the jade pendant in the mother and child’s arms, and the old man told him it held potent Killing Intent and resentment that his Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art could absorb.

Ye Lin hesitated over whether to refine the immense Killing Intent and resentment inside the jade pendant, but the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar persuaded him that they were power he could absorb. Convinced the jar would not deceive him, Ye Lin decided to seize the opportunity and rushed toward the pill furnace.

• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar urged Ye Lin to take the jade pendant and refine its Killing Intent and resentment to increase his cultivation.
• Ye Lin worried that absorbing the evil power could make him lose himself.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar argued that the power could be refined with the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art and reminded Ye Lin that it had acknowledged him as its master.
• Ye Lin decided to trust the jar and pursue the chance to reach the fifth level of the Golden Immortal realm.
• Ye Lin turned into a blur and charged toward the pill furnace.

Ye Lin took the jade pendant from the mother and child inside the pill furnace, provoking their attack. After the furnace exploded, the vengeful pair focused entirely on him, and a blood-red Sword Qi forced them back.

• Ye Lin opened the pill furnace and took the jade pendant from the mother and child despite their terrifying stares.
• The mother and child screamed for the pendant as venomous insects crawled from the shaking furnace toward Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin returned to Gu Qingzhi and said the pendant still had a use for him, while she wondered whether he practiced evil arts.
• The pill furnace exploded, revealing the pale, black-patterned mother and child, whose screams unleashed Primordial Spirit attacks.
• Zhang Wusheng remarked on the pair's terrifying resentment, and a blood-red Sword Qi struck them back as they kept their eyes fixed on Ye Lin.

Zhang Wusheng attacked the mother and child, but their surroundings filled with awakened figures from human cocoons as Ye Lin sent Shangguan Wanyu and the others away. Gu Qingzhi discovered another layer beneath the chamber, and Ye Lin and the others began clearing the area to reach it.

• Zhang Wusheng charged the mother and child and struck them into a wall.
• A voice murmured about a jade pendant, and human cocoons shattered as blank-eyed figures emerged and surrounded everyone.
• Zhang Wusheng unleashed golden radiance that vaporized many of the cocoons.
• Ye Lin sent Shangguan Wanyu and the others away, then prepared to attack the mother and child with the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor.
• Gu Qingzhi found another space beneath the pill furnace, while Xu Feng and Wang Xiaoyun joined the fight.
• Wang Xiaoyun took a tattered old book from his maid.

Wang Xiaoyun used his brush and book to destroy the human cocoons. In the main hall, San Zang explained that the Mother-Child Gu could awaken powerful dead figures under its control, trapping everyone inside with no way to escape.

• Wang Xiaoyun wrote a character for kill in the air, creating a black-armored general who split a human cocoon in two.
• Wang Xiaoyun opened his book and used a painting of rivers and mountains to draw in and grind the surrounding human cocoons to death.
• Li Xiaoyao led several people into the main hall and found San Zang meditating alone.
• Li Xiaoyao asked San Zang why he had fled, and San Zang explained that the Mother-Child Gu could control powerful figures even after their deaths.
• San Zang warned that if the Mother-Child Gu awakened, its controlled figures could block the only exit and wear everyone down, then he fell silent as Li Xiaoyao questioned why he had not said so earlier.

San Zang and the others waited in the hall as figures controlled by the awakened Mother-Child Gu rushed into the passage. After three seventh-layer Golden Immortals entered, San Zang explained why he had chosen not to pursue the treasures, leaving the danger ahead to those inside.

• The ground shook as the awakened Mother-Child Gu summoned powerful cultivators toward the hall.
• San Zang told everyone to stand still, and the incoming figures bypassed them and entered the passage.
• San Zang recognized that three of the figures were seventh-layer Golden Immortals, though the Gu could only use part of their strength.
• Li Xiaoyao asked how San Zang knew about the Mother-Child Gu, and San Zang said his master's friend studied the Dao of Gu.
• San Zang refused to enter the passage for treasures, explaining that he followed his master's warning and valued his life more.

Ye Lin temporarily suppressed the undying Mother-Child Gu while Gu Qingzhi, Xu Feng, and the others explored a secret chamber filled with Yin Qi. They discovered a corpse ahead, as the Mother-Child Gu continued demanding her jade pendant.

• Xu Feng complained after he and the others dealt with the human cocoons, while Gu Qingzhi opened a hidden secret realm beneath the ground.
• Ye Lin found that the Mother-Child Gu could not be killed and used the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor to pin her down.
• Ye Lin left the sword spirit to keep the Mother-Child Gu suppressed and joined the others in the secret chamber.
• Gu Qingzhi, Xu Feng, Zhang Wusheng, and Ye Lin explored the chamber, where Gu Qingzhi spotted a corpse in the darkness.

Gu Qingzhi and the others found only a long-dead woman in the secret chamber and left without disturbing her. Outside, they realized something had rescued the mother and son and removed the corpses, then Gu Qingzhi and Zhang Wusheng froze as a threat emerged from the dark passage.

• Gu Qingzhi, Xu Feng, and the others found a lone female corpse on an icy jade bed and discovered nothing else in the secret chamber.
• Zhang Wusheng suggested leaving the corpse undisturbed, and the group exited with Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin recovered the Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor and learned that something had damaged it and rescued the mother and son.
• Zhang Wusheng and Wang Xiaoyun noticed that the corpses outside had vanished, while Gu Qingzhi sensed something watching them.
• Gu Qingzhi and Zhang Wusheng suddenly became unable to move as Wang Xiaoyun raised his golden brush and shouted to slay.

Ye Lin and his companions fought through figures pouring from a cave, but Ye Lin spotted a Golden Immortal seventh-layer old man who attacked him with overwhelming speed. The old man slammed Ye Lin into a wall, leaving him injured and facing a far stronger opponent.

• Wang Xiaoyu wrote a giant character for “kill,” drawing countless figures out of the cave.
• Zhang Wusheng destroyed the figures with his golden radiance before Gu Qingzhi could act.
• Ye Lin spotted a Golden Immortal seventh-layer old man watching him from a gap in the wall, but the old man vanished.
• The old man seized Ye Lin’s Blooddrinking Sword of the Fallen Emperor and forced him to abandon it as he retreated.
• The old man struck Ye Lin in the chest and slammed him into the wall, leaving Ye Lin coughing blood.

Wang Xiaoyun fought a seventh-layer Golden Immortal old man, but his Yin-Yang formation shattered and he was badly injured. After the old man struck down Shuang'er, Wang Xiaoyun gathered his righteous aura and prepared to fight back.

• Wang Xiaoyun wrote the character for death on the old man, but realized it had no effect because the old man was already dead.
• Wang Xiaoyun used Yin-Yang Reversal to form a defensive diagram, but the old man's palm strike shattered it and sent him crashing into a wall.
• Shuang'er attacked the old man with her flute despite Wang Xiaoyun's warning, and the old man struck her down, leaving her fate unknown.
• Wang Xiaoyun's righteous aura formed three thousand phantoms behind him as he vowed to kill the old man.

Xu Feng used the Heavenly Saint Imperial Dynasty’s Imperial Jade Seal to fight back against a powerful old man, but the old man easily destroyed its golden dragon and sent Xu Feng flying. Back in the dynasty, the Emperor sensed the imperial destiny fluctuate and learned that Xu Feng was in danger, but decided to continue court, trusting the jade seal to protect him.

• Xu Feng begged the old man to stop beating him, then grew angry when the old man continued attacking.
• Xu Feng summoned the Imperial Jade Seal and used the dynasty’s destiny to send a golden dragon against the old man.
• The old man shattered the golden dragon with a punch and knocked Xu Feng into a wall.
• The Emperor sensed the imperial destiny fluctuate, realized Xu Feng had encountered a powerful enemy, and learned that Xu Feng was inside an Immortal World fragment.
• The Emperor told his ministers to continue court, believing that only a ninth-level Golden Immortal could overcome the Imperial Jade Seal’s protection.

Wang Xiaoyun killed the old man with his brush techniques, but the man revived because he was afflicted by the Mother-Child Gu. As the group found their exit blocked, San Zang explained that only eliminating the mother-and-child pair could end the Gu’s hold.

• Ye Lin and Xu Feng tried to retreat when they realized the old man’s strength was far beyond theirs.
• Wang Xiaoyun struck the old man with four brush techniques, ground his body to dust, and went to retrieve the unconscious maidservant.
• The old man reassembled and revived, shocking Xu Feng and prompting Ye Lin to abandon the fight.
• Wang Xiaoyun carried the maidservant toward the exit, where figures blocked the group’s way.
• San Zang explained to Li Xiaoyao that the Mother-Child Gu made its victims undying and could only be resolved by eliminating the mother-and-child pair.

San Zang explained the danger of the Mother-Child Gu and treated the crisis as a test of whether the others were worthy allies. Trapped in the sealed passage, Ye Lin and the others faced the advancing Gu victims while the mother demanded her jade pendant.

• San Zang told Li Xiaoyao that the Mother-Child Gu created loyal death warriors and said they might have to enter the passage to support the others.
• Xu Feng's two lackeys worried about the First Prince but decided to wait because they were too weak to help.
• Zhang Wusheng complained that the immortal Gu victims blocked the only exit and that neither he nor Gu Qingzhi could damage the walls.
• The three old men closed in on Ye Lin and the others as the mother and son demanded the jade pendant.
• Ye Lin's group warned against returning the pendant because its killing intent and resentment could make the mother stronger.