Chapter Summaries

Shen Changchuan killed Zhou Lingyun before he could activate a Jade Talisman containing a powerful strike, then thanked Shen Chong for his help. After Shen Chong took Zhou Lingyun’s head, Shen Changchuan destroyed the evidence and continued leading the convoy, resolving to be more cautious.

• Shen Changchuan reflected that Zhou Lingyun’s Jade Talisman could have killed him, but he had struck before Zhou Lingyun could activate it.
• Shen Chong arrived after the fighting ended, and Shen Changchuan thanked him for helping defeat Zhou Lingyun’s Dao Protector.
• Shen Chong asked for Zhou Lingyun’s head, severed it from the body, and flew away with it.
• Shen Changchuan considered how unexpectedly Zhou Lingyun’s ambush had ended and vowed to cultivate cautiously rather than leave the sect.
• Shen Changchuan destroyed Zhou Lingyun’s corpse and the surrounding traces, withdrew the formation, and led the convoy onward.

Shen Changchuan learned that Shen Chong had defeated the Shen Family Ancestor in a battle that devastated half of Tiannan City and claimed responsibility for Zhou Lingyun’s death. After visiting Dawan Village and reuniting with his family, Shen Changchuan returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect and decided to cultivate in seclusion.

• Shen Chong brought Zhou Lingyun’s head to Tiannan City, fought the Shen Family Ancestor to a draw, and left after destroying half the city.
• Cultivators spread rumors that a mysterious expert had lent Shen Chong soul power, while Shen Changchuan learned that Shen Chong had claimed responsibility for Zhou Lingyun’s death.
• Shen Changchuan asked Han Yue'er’s subordinates to keep secret that he had killed Zhou Lingyun.
• Shen Changchuan and Han Yue'er arrived in Dawan Village, where Han Qinhu welcomed them emotionally.
• Shen Changchuan shared in the village’s profits, said goodbye to his family, and traveled to the Dragon Firmament Sect.
• Shen Changchuan returned to his courtyard, resolved to improve his strength in seclusion, and stayed inside for the following days.

Over the year, Shen Changchuan struggled to understand how his Divine Ability Seed had transformed, then sought guidance from his master, Roaming Dragon. Roaming Dragon explained how a seed’s growth depended on personal cultivation and spell knowledge, leaving Shen Changchuan to suspect his broad practice had nourished his own seed.

• Shen Changchuan spent a month studying his Divine Ability Seed but could only identify the transformation caused by the life-or-death crisis with Zhou Lingyun’s Jade Talisman.
• Shen Changchuan gave up trying to recreate the insight he had experienced during the crisis and went to ask his master, Roaming Dragon, for advice.
• Roaming Dragon was astonished that Shen Changchuan had begun evolving his Divine Ability Seed so soon after reaching the first level of the Out of Body Realm.
• Roaming Dragon explained that Divine Ability Seeds evolved according to each cultivator’s experience and understanding, and that practicing more spells provided nourishment for their growth.
• Shen Changchuan wondered whether his wood- and sword-type spells and mastery of the basic Array Master inheritance had nourished his Divine Ability Seed.

After realizing how his Progress Bar Panel had helped him accumulate perfected spells and defeat Zhou Lingyun, Shen Changchuan spent a year building up his arsenal and advancing his cultivation. He reached the mid-stage of the first level but ran out of Spirit Stones and began looking for a way to fund his continued training.

• Shen Changchuan recognized that his Progress Bar Panel had helped him protect himself, gain resources, strengthen his Divine Ability Seed, and kill Zhou Lingyun.
• After saying farewell to Roaming Dragon, Shen Changchuan spent six months selecting spells from the Scripture Pavilion and practicing them in an uninhabited mountain forest.
• Over the year since returning to the sect, Shen Changchuan perfected nearly two hundred first-tier spells and two second-tier spells.
• By repeatedly expending and replenishing his magical power, Shen Changchuan strengthened his control, magical power, and divine sense, then used second-tier True Essence Pills to reach the mid-stage of the first level.
• Shen Changchuan held back from advancing further to protect his foundation, but realized he had spent all his Spirit Stones and worried that meditation alone would slow his training.

Shen Changchuan worried that his cultivation consumed Spirit Stones faster than Dawan Village could earn them, so he considered reviving his alchemy skills to sell low-tier pills. Just as he formed a rough plan, a visitor invited him to join a team.

• Shen Changchuan reflected on the high cost of cultivation and the difficulty of earning Spirit Stones, despite Dawan Village providing a steady but insufficient income.
• Shen Changchuan decided he could not abandon his method of repeatedly exhausting and restoring his magical power because it strengthened his cultivation and foundation.
• Shen Changchuan considered using his Basic Alchemy skills to refine low-tier pills for cultivators and families moving to the Border Wilderness Forest.
• Shen Changchuan planned to use Dawan Village as a platform to sell the pills.
• A visitor came to see Shen Changchuan and invited him to join a team.

Wu Tianhao asked Shen Changchuan to join a mission to find and rescue a missing Out-of-Body Realm ancestor and alchemist deep in the Monster Beast Forest. Shen agreed, and Wu Tianhao revealed the reward included 15,000 Spirit Stones, an alchemist inheritance, and three pill recipes.

• Wu Tianhao explained that a wealthy Yangshan City family had lost contact with its Out-of-Body Realm ancestor and alchemist during a search for water-element treasures in the Monster Beast Forest.
• Wu Tianhao asked Shen Changchuan to help locate and rescue the missing pair, citing Shen's Beast Taming Secret Technique and the dangers posed by powerful Demon Beasts.
• Wu Tianhao revealed that his clan owed the family a favor, and Shen agreed to help because Wu had looked after him before.
• Shen Changchuan asked about the reward, and Wu Tianhao said the family offered 15,000 Spirit Stones for finding them, plus an alchemist inheritance and three pill recipes if both were rescued.

Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao accepted a richly rewarded assignment to find a missing Out of Body Realm family ancestor, hoping to earn Spirit Stones and an alchemy legacy. After half a month searching the Monster Beast Forest, they reached a dead end.

• Shen Changchuan agreed to join Wu Tianhao on the assignment after learning its generous reward, and they planned to share the Spirit Stones and copy the alchemy legacy and recipes.
• Wu Tianhao explained that the family offered its alchemy legacy because its only Out of Body Realm ancestor had disappeared, leaving it vulnerable to rivals.
• Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao went to the External Affairs Hall, learned Hong Yang had left on an assignment, and registered for their task.
• Shen Changchuan demonstrated his powerful spell mastery in the Monster Beast Forest, killing a colossal ape and impressing Wu Tianhao.
• After searching for half a month, Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan still had not found the missing man.

Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao searched the Monster Beast Mountain Range for the Zheng Clan’s alchemy legacy, and Shen Changchuan found valuable Monkey King Wine. After the rainy season made tracking impossible, they decided to stop searching and leave with the treasures they had gathered.

• Shen Changchuan stored the giant ape’s corpse, spotted a jade-green tree, and collected the Monkey King Wine hidden inside it.
• Wu Tianhao identified the wine and declined Shen Changchuan’s offer to share it, saying the spoils belonged to Shen Changchuan.
• Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao continued searching for ten more days as they looked for the Zheng Clan’s trail.
• When a storm brought the rainy season and Mountain Leeches covered the forest, Shen Changchuan concluded that the Blood Talisman could no longer track their targets reliably.
• Shen Changchuan considered whether exploring the Monster Beast Mountain Range could earn him Spirit Stones, but decided the uncertain rewards and powerful Demon Beasts made it too dangerous.

Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao continued searching the Monster Beast Forest for their mission target, but after three days they discovered a suspicious group escorting prisoners through the rainy-season forest. Shen Changchuan recognized his former subordinate Guo Cheng among them, and the pair set off to investigate.

• Shen Changchuan persuaded Wu Tianhao to search for another three to five days, then sent his Dark Soul Crows out to scout the forest.
• After three more days, Shen Changchuan spotted a group of prisoners being escorted deeper into the forest, with Mountain Leeches strangely avoiding them.
• Wu Tianhao suspected the group was suspicious because he knew of no way to ward off the Mountain Leeches.
• Shen Changchuan recognized Guo Cheng, a former subordinate who knew how to make Refined Charcoal, among the prisoners and wondered whether he was connected to their alchemist mission target.
• Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao decided to investigate the group and rescue Guo Cheng if necessary.

Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan found Hong Yang while raiding a temporary camp, only to learn that he had infiltrated a Demonic Cultivator group to investigate the disappearances of cultivators. After a warning talisman alerted the group’s hideout, Hong Yang led them to move out before the suspects could escape.

• Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan discovered that the ragged infiltrator in the camp was Hong Yang, who scolded them for ruining his month-long undercover operation.
• Wu Tianhao explained how he and Shen Changchuan had tracked the suspicious group to the camp and attacked to rescue its captives.
• Hong Yang revealed that he was investigating Demonic Cultivators linked to the disappearances of people in the Border Wilderness Forest.
• Shen Changchuan recalled his previous encounters with Demonic Cultivators and wondered whether they sought something important in the Border Wilderness.
• Hong Yang found a shattered Warning Jade Talisman on a dead Black-Clad Man and ordered the group to leave before the hideout could flee.

Hong Yang, Wu Tianhao, and Shen Changchuan raced toward the Demonic Cultivators’ lair after Hong Yang discovered its location, while the captives they left behind debated what to do. At the lair, the Demonic Cultivators prepared to use the three newcomers as sacrifices, but their leader erupted in paranoia over his “precious little darling.”

• The rescued cultivators argued over whether to wait or flee, while Guo Cheng recognized Shen Changchuan and considered making a deal with him.
• Hong Yang, Wu Tianhao, and Shen Changchuan flew toward the Demonic Cultivators’ lair without waiting for the rescued group.
• In Black Mist Valley, the Demonic Cultivators watched a Giant Worm produce the Mountain Leeches and fed it the blood of captives.
• The Demonic Cultivators learned that Hong Yang and two Dragon Firmament Sect cultivators were approaching and planned to kill them as sacrifices.
• The senior Demonic Cultivator struck a subordinate and accused the others of trying to take his place and seize his “precious little darling.”

Hong Yang discovered that several of Seven Absolutes Old Devil’s True Disciples had gathered in the valley and realized the threat was far greater than he expected. He unleashed a secret art to break through their formation, while Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao faced Deng Xin elsewhere.

• Hong Yang sensed two more auras and concluded that four of Seven Absolutes Old Devil’s True Disciples had come to the valley.
• Hong Yang realized Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao had been separated by the formation and were fighting a stronger enemy elsewhere.
• A Demonic Cultivator revealed that Seven Absolutes Old Ancestor had planned to claim Border Wilderness Forest before Roaming Dragon interfered.
• Hong Yang used Blazing Sun Disintegration to raise his power to the Peak Ninth Level of the Out of Body Realm and attacked the formation with Great Crimson Sun Flame Fist.
• Wu Tianhao identified their opponent as Deng Xin, the fourth-ranked True Disciple beneath Seven Absolutes Old Devil, and Shen Changchuan recalled that their master had defeated the Old Devil years earlier.

Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan recognized the threat posed by Deng Xin, a disciple of the Seven Absolutes Old Devil, and tried to wait for Hong Yang to come to their aid. When a burst of yang energy signaled trouble on Hong Yang’s side, Deng Xin attacked them from behind.

• Wu Tianhao recalled how Roaming Dragon had driven off the Seven Absolutes Old Devil and founded the Dragon Firmament Sect in the Grotto-Heaven Ruins.
• Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan realized that several powerful Seven Absolutes Sect disciples had gathered in Black Mist Valley and feared they might not survive.
• Deng Xin taunted Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan but held back while watching Hong Yang fight elsewhere in the valley.
• Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan suspected Deng Xin was waiting for Hong Yang’s fight to conclude and decided to stay on guard until Hong Yang could help them.
• A surge of yang energy erupted from Hong Yang’s direction, and Deng Xin appeared behind Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan, slashing at them with his black claws.

Deng Xin overwhelmed Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan with his speed and perfected black lightning spell, while the White Jade Heart-Protecting Mirror kept them alive. With the mirror nearly broken, Shen Changchuan asked Wu Tianhao to hold Deng Xin off as he considered using his trump card.

• Deng Xin attacked Wu Tianhao from behind, but Shen Changchuan used the White Jade Heart-Protecting Mirror to block the blow and protect them both from the impact.
• Deng Xin spotted the mirror and, coveting the defensive treasure, unleashed a perfected second-tier black lightning spell.
• Wu Tianhao threw a green spear that transformed into a dragon, but Deng Xin's black lightning swallowed it.
• Shen Changchuan raised the mirror to stop the black lightning, but the attack cracked it and sent him and Wu Tianhao flying.
• Shen Changchuan asked Wu Tianhao if he could hold Deng Xin off, while weighing whether to use his Jade Talisman.

Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao endured Deng Xin’s repeated Black Baleful Fierce Thunder attacks and coordinated a counterattack using Shen Changchuan’s Divine Ability Seed. The chapter ended as Shen Changchuan’s scarlet eye froze Deng Xin for an instant, leaving him exposed to the Myriad Phenomena Sword.

• Shen Changchuan used the Bronze Bell to shield himself and Wu Tianhao from Deng Xin’s Black Baleful Fierce Thunder.
• Shen Changchuan told Wu Tianhao to restrain Deng Xin briefly while he attacked with his Divine Ability Seed.
• Wu Tianhao agreed to use a method that would freeze Deng Xin for one breath, though it would leave him unable to fight afterward.
• Deng Xin’s next Black Baleful Fierce Thunder strike exhausted the Bronze Bell and left the pair without its protection.
• Shen Changchuan manifested a giant scarlet eye that struck Deng Xin’s consciousness and froze him in place.
• Shen Changchuan unleashed the Myriad Phenomena Sword of the Three Forest Senluo Sword Array.

Shen Changchuan used the transformed power of his Divine Ability to kill Deng Xin after Wu Tianhao created an opening by restraining him. The two survived, but both were left too exhausted to fight, and Wu Tianhao praised Shen Changchuan’s extraordinary talent.

• Shen Changchuan unleashed his Myriad Phenomena Senluo sword strike, spending nearly all his magical power to kill Deng Xin.
• Deng Xin broke free of the scarlet pupils’ control, but Shen Changchuan’s sword light pierced him and destroyed his soul.
• Wu Tianhao flew over to Shen Changchuan and confirmed that Deng Xin was dead, though he had no strength left to fight.
• Wu Tianhao praised Shen Changchuan for transforming his Divine Ability, while Shen Changchuan credited Wu Tianhao’s restraint for creating the opening.

Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao killed Deng Xin and reunited with Hong Yang, who urged them to escape and summon help. A half-step Spirit Wandering Realm enemy then appeared, and Hong Yang broke through the formation to throw the two juniors to safety as the enemy’s power surged.

• Shen Changchuan burned Deng Xin’s corpse to ashes and took his two Storage Bags.
• Wu Tianhao decided that he and Shen Changchuan should leave the formation and send a Message Talisman for help.
• Hong Yang arrived and learned that Shen Changchuan had killed Deng Xin with one strike.
• A sinister voice announced that they could not escape, and a half-step Spirit Wandering Realm aura covered the area.
• Hong Yang carried Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan to the formation barrier, punched a hole through it, and hurled them outside.

Hong Yang stayed behind to hold off the Black Windstorm enemy while Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan escaped, but he was badly defeated. Wu and Shen returned with a powerful Jade Talisman as the enemy prepared to strike Hong Yang again.

• Hong Yang confronted the enemy inside the Black Windstorm and fought to buy Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan time to escape.
• Wu Tianhao urged Shen Changchuan to seek reinforcements while he returned to help Hong Yang, but Shen chose to go with him and revealed a powerful Jade Talisman.
• Wu Tianhao recognized that the Jade Talisman held power beyond the Spirit Wandering Realm, and the two headed back toward the valley.
• The enemy overwhelmed Hong Yang, blasting him into a crater and leaving him gravely wounded.
• Hong Yang rose to face the approaching Wind and Cloud Giant Hand as the enemy prepared to finish him.

Hong Yang faced death in Black Mist Valley until Roaming Dragon arrived and flattened the valley with a single palm, saving him and the surviving captives. Roaming Dragon said the enemy had escaped and left the others to rescue the prisoners, while Shen Changchuan learned how the Demonic Cultivators had used them to feed the monster in the rift.

• As Hong Yang prepared to die, a colossal hand descended and destroyed Black Mist Valley while a Golden Bell Cover shielded him.
• Roaming Dragon appeared with Wu Tianhao and Shen Changchuan, healed Hong Yang, and praised him for not abandoning his fellow disciples.
• Roaming Dragon revealed that the enemy had escaped, ordered the others to rescue the people below, and departed.
• Hong Yang, Wu Tianhao, and Shen Changchuan dug dozens of surviving captives out of the valley's enormous handprint.
• The rescued cultivators told Shen Changchuan that Demonic Cultivators had drained their blood to feed the monster in the rift and thrown the dead to the Mountain Leeches.

Wu Zhen delivered the Immortal Sect’s order for the Dragon Firmament Sect to invade Southern Yue within three months, and Roaming Dragon realized the demand was meant to force him out of the Seven Sons of Jade Clarity. Meanwhile, Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao returned to the sect after surviving their dangerous mission and rescuing the alchemist and the clan’s Old Ancestor.

• Wu Zhen presented Roaming Dragon with the Immortal Sect’s order to attack Southern Yue within three months, and Roaming Dragon objected that the young sect lacked the strength to do so.
• Hong Yang urged Roaming Dragon to appeal the order, but Roaming Dragon sent him to rest and admitted to himself that the faction’s weakened position made the demand difficult to overturn.
• Roaming Dragon vowed not to give up his title as one of the Seven Sons of Jade Clarity, despite having withdrawn from the next contest and asked for ten more years.
• Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao returned to the Dragon Firmament Sect after a perilous mission in which Roaming Dragon defeated the Seven Absolutes Old Devil’s disciple, who escaped as a wisp of soul.
• Shen Changchuan and Wu Tianhao had completed their mission, rescuing the alchemist and the clan’s Old Ancestor, both of whom had survived captivity.