Chapter Summaries

Wenrui and her fellow disciples prepared to enter the newly opened Volcano Secret Realm while their master ordered two disciples to keep watching Qin Huaian. After the Number Seven Seed Space upgraded, Qin Huaian sensed that it desired an item near the volcano and set out to find it.

• Wenrui told her Second Senior Brother that cultivators below the Body Integration Realm could enter the Volcano Secret Realm, and he decided the risks were worth taking.
• Wenrui’s master arrived with her Eldest Senior Brother and ordered him and Wenrui to stay behind and monitor Qin Huaian without harming him.
• Wenrui’s master took Wenrui to enter the secret realm while the other two disciples remained to watch Qin Huaian.
• Qin Huaian completed the Number Seven Seed Space upgrade and sensed that it and the Little Seedling wanted an item about one hundred thousand li to the northeast.
• Qin Huaian connected the item’s location to the volcano Xu Yunpeng had mentioned, put away his formation, and set out to seek it.

Qin Huaian deduced the Mysterious Void Concealment Art to hide his cultivation as Nascent Soul Late Stage and explored the greatly expanded Seed Space. After two days, he left his residence, where cultivators who had been watching him noticed his return.

• Qin Huaian worried that his rapid rise to Spirit Transformation would attract suspicion, so he spent 1,400 medium-grade spirit stones to deduce the Mysterious Void Concealment Art to beginner level in two days.
• Qin Huaian calculated that perfecting the Supreme Purity Ascension Scripture would require 51,200 high-grade spirit stones for a four-year deduction, and decided to seek treasures for a sapling before earning the remaining stones.
• Qin Huaian found that his Seed Space had expanded to 100,000 li in diameter, but its plants and plankton had not grown, leading him to wonder whether it lacked energy found only in a true world.
• Qin Huaian activated the concealment art, reduced his displayed cultivation to Nascent Soul Late Stage, and left his residence.
• A middle-aged male cultivator and a white-clad female cultivator discussed their master and senior brother entering a secret realm, then noticed that Qin Huaian had come out.

Qin Huaian learned that a newly opened secret realm had drawn Vast Peace City’s cultivators away from the postponed formation competition, and he headed toward it because the sapling’s desired treasure might be inside. On the way, he discovered that two cultivators who had tracked him for years were pursuing him, and he suspected they wanted his Exotic Flame.

• Qin Huaian asked a cultivator why Vast Peace City was quieter than usual and learned that its formation competition had been postponed because a new secret realm had opened by the volcano in Vast Peace Forest.
• The cultivator told Qin Huaian that the Volcano Secret Realm lay northeast of the city and was open to cultivators below the Body Integration Realm; Qin Huaian decided to investigate despite warnings about its dangers.
• After leaving the city, Qin Huaian flew northeast and unleashed his divine sense upon reaching Vast Peace Forest.
• Qin Huaian detected the female cultivator who had sold him crystal-like material and the middle-aged male cultivator who had tracked him before, and realized they had been watching him since he bought it.
• Qin Huaian suspected the crystal-like material had been bait to expose someone with an Exotic Flame and decided that the pursuers could not be allowed to live.

Qin Huaian confronted the cultivators who had been tracking him over the Starlight Fire Glaze and trapped them in a sixth-tier formation. After defeating the female cultivator and crippling the middle-aged man, he demanded to know why they had pursued him.

• The middle-aged cultivator and his junior sister pursued Qin Huaian and discussed capturing him over the Starlight Fire Glaze he had bought.
• Qin Huaian stopped, laid a sixth-tier trapping-and-killing formation, and asked the middle-aged cultivator why he was tracking him.
• The middle-aged cultivator attacked Qin Huaian, but Qin Huaian evaded him and unleashed the formation's sword radiances.
• The female cultivator blew up her magic treasure to open a gap in the formation, then died under the sword radiances as the middle-aged cultivator tried to escape.
• Qin Huaian trapped the middle-aged cultivator in his Sword Domain, severed his arms, and crippled him.
• The middle-aged cultivator begged for his life, and Qin Huaian demanded an explanation for the pursuit.

Qin Huaian killed the cultivators who had tracked him and continued toward the Volcano Secret Realm. As he approached its entrance, powerful cultivators saw through his disguise, and one recognized him as Wang Baole.

• Qin Huaian learned that the dead cultivator's master was a Void Refinement Mid Stage cultivator who likely suspected he possessed an Exotic Flame.
• Qin Huaian took control of the middle-aged cultivator's divine soul, then destroyed it and burned the scene clean.
• Qin Huaian flew to the volcano and found many cultivators gathered around the secret realm's teleportation array.
• Qin Huaian approached the array, but a powerful cultivator sent him a divine sense transmission telling him to stop.
• Several cultivators inspected Qin Huaian, and a burly man recognized him as Wang Baole.

Qin Huaian was recognized at the Volcano Secret Realm entrance, where powerful factions competed to recruit him and pressure him for the Sword Immortal Legacy. He decided to reveal that he had inherited a sword art, leaving the factions waiting to see whether he would hand it over before entering the realm.

• A burly cultivator identified Qin Huaian, and Zheng Yanfeng tried to seize him before Jiao Qiyue intervened.
• Chu Chengze, Jiao Qiyue, and representatives of other major powers offered Qin Huaian generous terms to join their factions.
• Qin Huaian declined to choose a faction immediately and said he wanted to enter the Volcano Secret Realm first.
• Zhao Xu argued that Qin Huaian should surrender the Sword Immortal Legacy's secret arts before entering, while Jiao Qiyue objected to pressuring him.
• Qin Huaian admitted that he had obtained a sword art and pretended to be reluctant to part with his most precious possession.

Qin Huaian negotiated with several factions over the Sword Immortal Legacy, rejecting a joint sealing arrangement that could leave him hunted inside the Volcano Secret Realm. After revealing the Flowing Cloud Sword Art and offering ten copies for spirit stones, he was urged by Jiao Qiyue to join the Fire Departing Hall instead.

• Zhao Xu and Zheng Yanfeng proposed that Qin Huaian trade the Sword Immortal Legacy for cultivation resources or let the factions seal it jointly.
• Qin Huaian declined the sealing arrangement because he feared the factions would send cultivators to hunt him in the Volcano Secret Realm.
• Qin Huaian showed the jade slip of the Flowing Cloud Sword Art to Jiao Qiyue, and the faction leaders confirmed its immense value.
• Qin Huaian offered to sell ten copies of the sword art for one million high-grade spirit stones each and swore not to teach it further before becoming an immortal.
• Jiao Qiyue asked Qin Huaian to join the Fire Departing Hall, promising to protect him without requiring him to give up the legacy.

Qin Huaian sold copies of the Flowing Cloud Sword Art to Riverbank Continent’s major factions, secured their public promises of protection, and entered the teleportation formation. Following the little sapling’s senses across a desolate plain, he found a gigantic tree that resisted both his sword and his Heaven Burning Form strike.

• Qin Huaian declined Jiao Qiyue’s invitation for now and asked the factions buying his Sword Immortal Legacy to guarantee his safety.
• Qin Huaian sold all ten copies of the Flowing Cloud Sword Art to major factions, earning a vast amount of spirit stones.
• Jiao Qiyue told Qin Huaian that Fire Departing Hall’s invitation remained open and that his storage bag contained a jade slip introducing Riverbank Continent.
• Qin Huaian entered the teleportation formation, arrived on a barren plain, and changed his appearance.
• Qin Huaian followed the little sapling’s senses to a gigantic tree and found that his supreme-grade Spirit Artifact and Heaven Burning Form could barely mark its trunk.

Qin Huaian searched a desolate plain for a treasure Little Seedling needed, then became embroiled in a fight over a Blood Ginseng. He defeated the gray-robed cultivator and left the burly man standing as the battle continued.

• Qin Huaian failed to damage a giant tree with the Flowing Cloud Sword or the Crimson Ash Quicksand Flame, then continued across the plain in search of Little Seedling’s treasure.
• Qin Huaian came upon a gray-robed cultivator and a burly enshrined official arguing over a seventh-tier Blood Ginseng before they began fighting.
• The two Spirit Transformation Late Stage cultivators attacked Qin Huaian, and he dodged them and clashed with the burly man using his sword.
• The gray-robed cultivator tried to seize the Blood Ginseng, but Qin Huaian trapped him with his Sword Domain and killed him with several sword strikes.

After defeating the gray-robed cultivator, Qin Huaian pursued the treasure sensed by Little Seedling and reached a crater filled with Earthcore Flame Marrow. There, Murong Zhe gathered the cultivators to attack the seventh-rank natural formation protecting it.

• Qin Huaian let the burly man escape, collected the gray-robed cultivator’s Storage Ring and flying sword, and harvested the Blood Ginseng.
• As he flew toward Little Seedling’s treasure, Qin Huaian studied Jiao Qiyue’s jade slip about Riverbank Continent and its factions, neighboring continents, and dangerous regions.
• Qin Huaian arrived at a crater where hundreds of cultivators watched Earthcore Flame Marrow rise from the magma, blocked by a seventh-rank natural formation.
• Murong Zhe identified himself as a sixth-rank formation master and offered to direct the cultivators in attacking the formation.
• The cultivators agreed to follow Murong Zhe’s instructions and claim whatever treasures they could obtain once the formation broke.

Qin Huaian collected Earthcore Flame Marrow from magma pits in the Volcano Secret Realm while fighting Lava Giant Lizards and avoiding attention. At another formation, someone recognized him as the cultivator they had been monitoring, and Qin Huaian recognized the person who had sold him Starlight Fire Glaze.

• Murong Zhe divided the cultivators into four groups, and they broke the formation surrounding a magma pit.
• Qin Huaian dodged the Lava Giant Lizards, collected Earthcore Flame Marrow, and killed an early fifth-rank lizard that attacked him.
• Qin Huaian gathered nearly a hundred pieces before leaving the pit, then shook off several Spirit Transformation cultivators who pursued him.
• Over five days, Qin Huaian passed more magma pits and collected nearly five hundred pieces of Earthcore Flame Marrow in total.
• A cultivator recognized Qin Huaian as the person they had been monitoring and warned a white-bearded elder, while Qin Huaian recognized the cultivator who had sold him Starlight Fire Glaze.

Qin Huaian lured a white-bearded Void Refinement Mid Stage cultivator and his disciple into a fight, using a trapping formation and Sword Domain while concealing his true strength. As his spiritual power dwindled, he focused it into his broken sword, and the old man broke free of the Sword Domain believing Qin Huaian was nearly exhausted.

• Qin Huaian fled when he recognized the white-bearded old man and his disciple, but they pursued him.
• Qin Huaian stopped after flying more than ten thousand li, set a sixth-rank trapping-kill formation, and provoked the old man with a spear taken from one of his dead disciples.
• The old man protected his disciple Wenrui with a cauldron and found the formation's weak point, then shattered the formation with his flying sword.
• Qin Huaian unleashed his Sword Domain and attacked the old man with his broken sword and Exotic Flame, draining both their spiritual power.
• Qin Huaian shifted more spiritual power into his broken sword as the Sword Domain weakened, and the old man broke free, believing Qin Huaian was exhausted.

Qin Huaian killed a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator and his fleeing Nascent Soul Late Stage subordinate, then escaped and recovered underground. He refined the Great Square Cauldron, a mid-grade True Artifact, and was surprised when it displaced the Flowing Cloud Sword in his dantian.

• Qin Huaian cleaved the white-bearded old man in two with his broken sword and destroyed his Primordial Spirit with bright yellow flames.
• Qin Huaian used a Binding Talisman and Flame Dragon Talisman to kill the Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator who tried to flee.
• Qin Huaian collected the men's belongings, retrieved his damaged formation flags, and flew away from the battlefield.
• Qin Huaian found an energy barrier blocking his descent underground, carved out a cave above it, and restored his spiritual power.
• Qin Huaian examined and refined the Great Square Cauldron, discovering it was a mid-grade True Artifact.
• Qin Huaian absorbed the Great Square Cauldron into his body, where it pushed the Flowing Cloud Sword aside and floated above it.

Qin Huaian pursued the treasure sensed by the Little Seedling through the Volcano Secret Realm and encountered three cultivators who had been robbing others. After one demanded Earthcore Flame Marrow, Qin Huaian killed him and faced his two companions.

• Qin Huaian noticed an ancient pattern on the Great Square Cauldron flicker, then continued flying toward the treasure sensed by the Little Seedling.
• Qin Huaian saw three cultivators heading his way and learned they had robbed juniors from the East Peace Royal Family and collected Earthcore Flame Marrow.
• The scrawny cultivator demanded one hundred pieces of Earthcore Flame Marrow from Qin Huaian.
• Qin Huaian struck the scrawny cultivator with his broken sword, pursued him as he fell, and killed both his body and Primordial Spirit.
• Qin Huaian took the cultivator's Storage Ring and turned to face the other two cultivators.

Qin Huaian reached a lava river rich in Earthcore Flame Marrow and watched cultivators risk their lives to gather it. When cultivators spotted a Molten Heart Lotus, he followed the crowd toward the rare herb.

• Qin Huaian used his Body Integration Realm puppet to kill two cultivators who attacked him, then collected their Storage Rings and erased the traces of the fight.
• Qin Huaian found nearly a thousand pieces of Earthcore Flame Marrow in the bandits' Storage Rings and flew toward denser spiritual energy.
• Qin Huaian arrived at a vast lava river where cultivators gathered to cultivate and search for Earthcore Flame Marrow.
• A peak fifth-rank Gold Flame Giant Python swallowed a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator, but the others continued collecting resources.
• Several cultivators recognized Qin Huaian by his aura, and cries of “Molten Heart Lotus” drew him and the crowd toward the rare spirit herb.

Qin Huaian saw a rare Twin-Heart Molten Heart Lotus guarded by powerful demonic beasts and considered how to reach the treasure Little Seedling needed. Zheng Hong led cultivators in an assault on the guardians, but the attack collapsed, leaving the lotus and the treasure out of reach.

• Qin Huaian saw cultivators gather around the immature Twin-Heart Molten Heart Lotus, and Zheng Hong warned them to wait until it ripened.
• Zheng Hong attacked cultivators who rushed ahead, sparking a chaotic fight that ended when two Profound Sun Dragon Turtles emerged to guard the lotus.
• Qin Huaian realized the treasure Little Seedling needed lay beneath the lava river near the lotus.
• Gold Flame Giant Pythons attacked the cultivators, and Zheng Hong urged the crowd to unite against the two turtles.
• Zheng Hong and the other cultivators attacked the turtles, but their shells withstood the blows as the turtles and other demonic beasts killed or wounded the front ranks.
• The cultivators retreated toward shore, and Zheng Hong withdrew with them to consider a longer-term plan.

Qin Huaian waited near the lava river for another chance to claim the Molten Heart Lotus, while Zhao Jinnan urged him to leave and offered him a place in the Golden Swan True Kingdom. As cultivators charged toward the river again, Qin Huaian joined them, leaving the scheming cultivators behind.

• After the Profound Sun Dragon Turtles repelled the first assault, many cultivators left, but Qin Huaian stayed to wait for another chance at the Molten Heart Lotus.
• Several cultivators secretly plotted to seize Qin Huaian, whom they knew as Wang Baole, after he left the riverbank.
• Zhao Jinnan recognized Qin Huaian, apologized for placing a tracking mark on his Communication Bead, and invited him to join the Golden Swan True Kingdom.
• Qin Huaian revealed that he had already handed the Sword Immortal Legacy to the major powers of Riverbank Continent and declined Zhao Jinnan's invitation.
• Zhao Jinnan warned Qin Huaian that the area might become dangerous, then left with his attendants.
• When cultivators charged toward the center of the lava river again, Qin Huaian rushed after them, surprising the men who had planned to seize him.

Qin Huaian followed the cultivators into the lava river, avoided the battle for the Molten Heart Lotus, and searched its depths for treasures. He found a powerful formation beneath the riverbed and encountered another cultivator nearby.

• Qin Huaian entered the lava river with the cultivators and headed toward its center, planning to dive below rather than fight for the Molten Heart Lotus.
• Demonic beasts attacked the cultivators, but organized groups and Void Refinement Realm cultivators fought them back and cleared most of the river's surface.
• The Molten Heart Lotus matured, and the cultivators turned on one another as they rushed to claim it; Qin Huaian instead dove beneath the lava.
• Qin Huaian reached the riverbed, collected Earthcore Flame Marrow, and found a formation blocking his attempt to burrow toward the treasure he sensed.
• Qin Huaian's Body Integration Realm puppet could not damage the formation, so he explored its perimeter and discovered another cultivator searching nearby.

After the Molten Heart Lotus was harvested, Qin Huaian and more than a thousand cultivators fell into a vast space centered on a dark-red mountain. They discovered that they could not use spiritual power or divine sense, and an aged voice spoke as they stood at a loss.

• A mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator seized the Molten Heart Lotus, but attackers wounded and killed him before two late-stage Void Refinement cultivators took its flowers.
• Cultivators began diving into the lava river to search for Earthcore Flame Marrow while Qin Huaian examined the array barrier below.
• When the Molten Heart Lotus was harvested, the barrier changed and Qin Huaian fell into a vast space with over a thousand other cultivators.
• Qin Huaian and the others landed near a towering dark-red mountain and discovered they could not use spiritual power, divine sense, or their Storage Rings.
• Qin Huaian found that his Seed Space still worked, and an aged voice rang out across the space.

Qin Huaian and the other cultivators learned that War God Xing had commissioned an old Daoist to create the Volcano Secret Realm as a trial ground for future human cultivators. The old Daoist began explaining the trial’s rules, leaving the group poised to learn what awaited them.

• The old Daoist revealed that War God Xing had ordered him to establish trial grounds to cultivate the human race’s younger generation.
• He explained that War God Xing had exterminated the Flame Devils after they refused to leave human territory and attacked human settlements.
• The old Daoist described how he turned the Flame Devil territory into a secret realm, gathering the tribe’s blood and vitality around the mountain at the fire vein’s center.
• He warned the cultivators not to damage the great trees, which were formed from the Flame Devils’ bodies and sustained the realm’s power of blood and vitality.
• The old Daoist said the trial ground had been prepared for a future age when the human race might decline, then began explaining its rules.