Chapter Summaries

In a ruined mountain temple, Xuanqing and his rough companions waited for travelers to exploit when Yu Ci arrived, claiming to be an independent herb gatherer. Xuanqing questioned Yu Ci about gathering Shrimp Whisker Grass in Sky Rift Valley.

• At a drinking feast, Xuanqing dismissed the dark-faced man's suggestion to seek Elder Chang and discussed offering tribute to Steward Lu.
• A lookout reported a lone peddler approaching, and Xuanqing told Heizi to test the visitor before admitting him.
• Yu Ci entered the temple with a longsword, and the men mocked his handsome, youthful appearance.
• Heizi urged Yu Ci to pay respects to Immortal Master Xuan Qing, but Xuanqing silenced him with a word.
• Yu Ci introduced himself as an independent cultivator, and Xuanqing asked whether he had entered Sky Rift Valley to gather Shrimp Whisker Grass; Yu Ci confirmed it.

Yu Ci listened as Xuan Qing warned him about the dangers of Sky Rift Valley and offered him a talisman and an alliance with his companions. When Yu Ci revealed his ability to draw a talisman with Spirit Light Adherence, Xuan Qing and the others became terrified, and Yu Ci took the seat of honor.

• Xuan Qing warned Yu Ci that demons could escape the Nether Prison Yellow Springs through Sky Rift Valley and showed him a preserved demonic skull.
• Xuan Qing gave Yu Ci a spiritual talisman and suggested he travel with Xuan Qing's companions to gather Shrimp Whisker Grass.
• Yu Ci recognized the talisman as the Calm Heart Incantation, then drew a glowing tranquility talisman in the air using Spirit Light Adherence.
• Xuan Qing's companions were awed and frightened by Yu Ci's display, and the dark-faced man tried to flee but fell.
• Yu Ci took Xuan Qing's seat, laid his sword across his knees, and told the group he had only been joking; they apologized and praised him.

Yu Ci frightened Xuan Qing and his gang into fleeing, then admitted to himself that he had relied on bluffing to stay safe. Left alone in the temple, he reflected on cultivation and examined the strange monster head.

• Yu Ci accused Xuan Qing and his gang of threatening him, and Xuan Qing confessed to using fraud to obtain shrimp whisker grass.
• Yu Ci dismissed Xuan Qing as beneath him and ordered everyone to leave, sending the gang fleeing from the temple.
• After the group escaped, Yu Ci laughed with relief and let the Heart Calming Talisman shatter.
• Yu Ci assessed Xuan Qing as likely being at the peak of Orifice Enlightenment and reflected on the distinction between mortal cultivation and cultivators.
• Yu Ci noticed the monster head’s strange cold shell and hidden warmth, and decided to study it later.

Yu Ci reflected on his escape from the Twin Immortals and the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror that helped him cultivate as a wandering cultivator. He continued meditating, circulating the qi of his five viscera with the cool qi in his Mud Pill Palace.

• Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror to draw talismans with its cyan light, then recalled how he had stolen it and a cultivation scripture from Great Immortal Purple Thunder while escaping Chen Kingdom.
• Yu Ci remembered how the Twin Immortals used immortal children as test subjects and how he had fled after a battle shook their compound when he was thirteen.
• Yu Ci recalled learning about cultivation’s six realms and resolved that he could one day match or surpass Purple Thunder and Crimson Yin.
• Yu Ci appreciated the bronze mirror’s nearly costless spiritual light, which had helped him advance to the peak of Orifice Enlightenment despite lacking resources and guidance.
• Yu Ci considered whether the Bai Ri Mansion’s Three Yang Talisman Sword could help him improve his talismanry, then began meditating and circulating qi through his body.

Yu Ci joined the many medicine gatherers searching the Sky Rift Valley for Shrimp Whisker Grass, hoping to earn Bai Ri Mansion’s Three Yang Talisman Sword. After months of searching, he detected a promising scent on a cliff and found a giant pine covered in the rare grass.

• Yu Ci sensed strangers approaching his shelter, prepared his sword, and welcomed the medicine-gathering travelers who said they were bound for the Sky Rift Valley.
• Five months after reaching the Sky Rift Valley, Yu Ci surveyed its vast cloud-covered cliffs and reflected on the thousand stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass he needed for the sword.
• Yu Ci used the Wind Catching Technique to detect the grass’s scent, then leaped down the cliff and carefully descended through the fog.
• Yu Ci followed the scent across the cliff face to a giant pine, where he spotted dozens of stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass clinging to its trunk and branches.

Yu Ci used his keen sense of smell and a warning talisman to safely harvest Shrimp Whisker Grass, then headed toward a secluded shelter. Near his destination, he detected a large group examining herbs and another group approaching, whom he recognized as acquaintances.

• Yu Ci used the Five Directions Spirit Communication Talisman to detect nearby living creatures before approaching the Shrimp Whisker Grass.
• Yu Ci carefully harvested about a hundred stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass and added them to the stone box holding his earlier harvest.
• Yu Ci climbed back to the cliff top, rested, and traveled through the forest toward a distant hiding place to avoid other herb gatherers.
• Yu Ci smelled more than fifteen people examining Shrimp Whisker Grass near his destination and realized they could block his way to shelter.
• Yu Ci noticed seven or eight people approaching from the side, gripped the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, and recognized them as acquaintances by their scent.

Yu Ci reunited with Lu Bing’s group and joined them for a night around the fire, where a drunken herb harvester revealed why Bai Ri Mansion collected Shrimp Whisker Grass. The gathering ended with Yu Ci declaring that he wanted eternal life, while Lu Bing quietly understood his ambition.

• Yu Ci met Lu Bing and learned that his group had lost nearly half its members while harvesting herbs in Sky Rift Valley.
• Lu Bing invited Yu Ci to join his group around their campfire, and Yu Ci accepted while remaining cautious.
• The gathered herb harvesters debated Shrimp Whisker Grass and heard Li Hong claim that Bai Ri Mansion used it to cultivate Fish Dragon Grass.
• When asked what he would trade for the rare herb, Yu Ci said he wanted to attain eternal life.
• Lu Bing raised his wine gourd to Yu Ci, recognizing the seriousness behind his words.

Yu Ci struggled with his desire to pursue longevity while discussing the value of rare grasses with the herb gatherers. Daoist Yan suddenly attacked the group, leaving Yu Ci and Lu Bing facing him amid the flames.

• Yu Ci reflected on how his pursuit of longevity had become an instinct and sensed that he was close to a breakthrough.
• Daoist Yan claimed that ten stalks of Fish Dragon Grass could be exchanged for a Cold Jade Heart Cleansing Pill and that a thousand stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass could buy a Three Yang Talisman Sword.
• Yu Ci noticed something suspicious about Daoist Yan and warned the others just before a wave of fire swept through the gathering.
• Daoist Yan killed or grievously wounded most of the herb gatherers, while Lu Bing attacked him with his sword.
• Daoist Yan easily blocked Lu Bing's attacks with a red, flame-wreathed weapon and taunted Yu Ci for escaping his first strike.

Yu Ci fled after Daoist Yan slaughtered Lu Bing and the herb gatherers, using a hidden cave to evade him briefly. Daoist Yan caught up and attacked again, leaving Yu Ci facing him in the mountain forest.

• Daoist Yan used a single sword strike to kill Lu Bing and more than twenty herb gatherers, leaving Yu Ci alive.
• Yu Ci retreated toward a hidden cave, but Daoist Yan tracked him inside using his divine soul.
• Yu Ci escaped through another cave exit and ran while drawing talismans and storing them in the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror.
• Daoist Yan caught up with Yu Ci and swung his crimson sword, but Yu Ci dodged the attack.
• Yu Ci asked whether Daoist Yan's sword was the Nine Yang or Three Yang Talisman Sword, and Daoist Yan flew past him to block his path.

Daoist Yan explained how he forged the Nine Yang Talisman Sword, then pressed his attack on Yu Ci. Yu Ci used mist and Palm Thunder to evade and counter, but Daoist Yan dispersed the fog and revealed that he had reached the Spirit Communion realm, leaving Yu Ci facing a vast difference in power.

• Daoist Yan boasted that he had fused Three Yang Talisman Swords into a Nine Yang Talisman Sword, while Yu Ci remained unmoved.
• Daoist Yan advanced with his sword, and Yu Ci released mist from his sleeve to obscure his movements.
• Daoist Yan cut through a decoy in the fog, then used divine intent to track Yu Ci nearby.
• Yu Ci fired Palm Thunder, which narrowly missed Daoist Yan and shattered a poplar tree.
• Daoist Yan drew talismans with qi to summon a scorching gale that scattered the fog.
• Yu Ci recognized that Daoist Yan had reached the Spirit Communion realm, and Daoist Yan challenged him to acknowledge his prowess.

Yu Ci turned the fight against Daoist Yan around by creating a Seven Star Talisman Sword and meeting the Nine Yang Talisman Sword head-on. Their battle remained fierce as Yu Ci used desperate, life-or-death attacks to seize the initiative.

• Daoist Yan rushed Yu Ci with the Nine Yang Talisman Sword while Yu Ci drew a blue radiance from his sleeve to block the first blow.
• Yu Ci fed heart-blood into a Seven Star Sword Talisman, strengthening its light enough to withstand Daoist Yan's second strike.
• Daoist Yan engulfed the forest in fire, but Yu Ci escaped the flames with his talisman sword and extinguished the fires on his body.
• Yu Ci repeatedly threatened Daoist Yan's vital points with counterattacks, forcing him to defend despite inflicting wounds on Yu Ci.
• Yu Ci focused on the sword tip and drove forward, turning defense into offense and claiming a sliver of the initiative.

Yu Ci and Daoist Yan continued their fight in the burning forest, where Daoist Yan revealed a deadly formless Sword Qi technique. Wounded and nearly unable to move, Yu Ci threw his broken sword at him as the next strike gathered.

• Daoist Yan unleashed a fire talisman, blasting Yu Ci into a tree and setting the mountain forest ablaze.
• Yu Ci saw Daoist Yan begin a strange sword stance and sensed danger, then ducked and raised the Seven Star Talisman Sword as an instinctive defense.
• Daoist Yan's formless Sword Qi shattered the Seven Star Talisman Sword and injured Yu Ci, who narrowly avoided being pierced.
• Daoist Yan kept his sword aimed at Yu Ci while gathering power for another strike, and Yu Ci realized he had to kill him before it landed.
• Yu Ci threw the broken half of his sword at Daoist Yan as the Nine Yang Talisman Sword began to glow.

Yu Ci’s newly awakened soul vibration guided the Seven Star Talisman Sword to kill Daoist Yan, and he searched the corpse for clues and possessions. He found the Nine Yang Talisman Sword and a strange black ring that seemed to chime when he looked at it.

• Yu Ci sensed his soul vibrate and directed the Seven Star Talisman Sword to fly through Daoist Yan’s neck, killing him.
• Yu Ci fought off his exhaustion and approached Daoist Yan’s fallen body as rain dampened the wildfire.
• Yu Ci picked up the Nine Yang Talisman Sword and examined its wooden body and crimson markings.
• Yu Ci searched Daoist Yan’s corpse but found no belongings besides his clothes and sword.
• Yu Ci noticed a black ring on Daoist Yan’s left pinky, heard a faint chime inside his skull, and pulled the ring off to inspect it.

Yu Ci discovered that the power to open and empty the Storage Ring came from his own divine soul, proving he had reached spiritual penetration. He then successfully cast a Five Thunder Talisman, leaving him exhausted but overwhelmed by the breakthrough.

• Yu Ci opened the Storage Ring with a thought and realized the mysterious little hammer was his own divine intent.
• Yu Ci emptied the ring, spilling its contents into a pile before him.
• Yu Ci recalled the Crimson Yin Female Immortal's explanation of spiritual penetration and recognized that he had crossed beyond the Three Mortal Gates.
• Yu Ci traced a Five Thunder Talisman in the air, summoning a huge blue arc of lightning and thunder.
• Yu Ci collapsed into an exhausted, laughing posture and kicked the pile of sundries apart.

After defeating Daoist Yan and becoming a Spirit cultivator, Yu Ci sorted through the spoils and discovered valuable talismans and a method for refining a Pure Yang Talisman Sword. He burned the dead and sacrificed the gathered Shrimp Whisker Grass, then stood with his new gains and the aftermath of the battle.

• Yu Ci recovered from his emotional outburst and sorted the scattered belongings taken from Daoist Yan, finding hundreds of Shrimp Whisker Grass plants, seven Jade Talismans, and a mysterious miniature dagger.
• Yu Ci read the jade slip and learned it contained the method for refining a Three Yang Talisman Sword into a Pure Yang Talisman Sword.
• Yu Ci stored his belongings, left Daoist Yan's headless corpse behind, and returned to the clearing where the twenty-two victims lay.
• Yu Ci drove away scavenging beasts, performed a soul-soothing talisman rite for the dead, and burned their bodies with the Nine Yang Talisman Sword.
• Yu Ci cast the Shrimp Whisker Grass from all twenty-two stone boxes into the funeral pyre, sacrificing roughly fifteen hundred plants.

After surviving the battle with Daoist Yan, Yu Ci meditated under the Suspended Bright Moon to assess his cultivation and underwent a strange spiritual journey through the heavens. He awoke with stronger, more controllable true qi, but remained uncertain whether he had experienced the transformation expected of the Spirit Communion realm.

• Yu Ci chose a secluded rocky hollow high on a mountain as his shelter and took out the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror before meditating.
• As Yu Ci absorbed moon essence, the bright moon in his brain palace moved through the Nine Palaces, stirring subtle changes throughout his body.
• Yu Ci’s awareness merged with the moon, carrying him through boundless emptiness and across a vast sea of stars filled with tangled spiritual responses.
• A thunk inside Yu Ci’s skull jolted him awake at daybreak, leaving the celestial journey vivid but dreamlike in his memory.
• Yu Ci found his body in excellent condition and his true qi under unprecedented control, but wondered whether he had missed the expected transformation of the Spirit Communion realm and recognized that a more serious problem lay ahead.

Yu Ci encountered the aftermath of a vicious beast’s attack in the mountain forest and questioned a group of herb gatherers. As he moved to inspect the dead man, he noticed that one gatherer intended to kill him.

• Yu Ci heard a commotion in the forest as the ground shook and birds fled, then sensed a foul stench and heard someone scream and die.
• After the birds settled, Yu Ci followed the scent of blood and scorching to the attack site, where he found seven or eight herb gatherers.
• The gatherers told Yu Ci that a huge monster had ridden clouds and mist and wielded lightning and fire, though they had barely seen it.
• Yu Ci saw the dead man behind the gatherers and realized some of them had taken things from the corpse.
• Yu Ci moved to examine the body and noticed that one herb gatherer had formed murderous intent toward him.

Yu Ci discovered a new lamp-like power in his spirit and used its intimidating presence to stop the herb gatherers from threatening him. He followed the trail of a dead cultivator to a scorched battlefield covered in fragments of three kinds of talisman patterns.

• A lamp flame appeared above Yu Ci’s head, and his gaze frightened one herb gatherer into collapsing.
• Yu Ci examined the corpse, traced the man’s flight to a broken pine tree, and found a Storage Ring on his finger.
• The herb gatherers fled when Yu Ci stood with the ring in his hand, and he failed to break through the ring’s restrictions.
• Yu Ci followed the corpse’s trajectory and the beast’s lingering aura to a vast patch of scorched earth.
• Yu Ci recognized fragments of Demon Diagram Ghost Markings, Cloud Seals and Thunder Scripts, and Dragon Scripts and Phoenix Texts arranged around the depression.

Yu Ci uncovered a metal plate bearing the source of the intricate talisman traces, but a snake-like monk ambushed him and claimed the Zhaoshen Pan. The chapter ended with Yu Ci forcing the monk to retreat and taunting him about what he had said.

• Yu Ci realized the talisman patterns had passed through the soil from a buried metal plate, then cut it free and stored it in his ring when he sensed someone approaching.
• A bald, snake-like monk ambushed Yu Ci and accused him of trying to take the Zhaoshen Pan.
• Yu Ci recognized the monk as a likely spirit cultivator and attacked him with punches and a Great Sun Talisman.
• Yu Ci blinded the monk with the talisman's light, then struck his claws with the Nine Yang Talisman Sword and burned his flesh.
• The monk retreated in pain, and Yu Ci caught his breath before taunting him about what he had been saying.

Yu Ci escaped a monk and a group of pursuing cultivators after learning more about Hu Ke, the ghost beast, and the Star-Shooting Mirror. After running hundreds of miles and collapsing into sleep in the wilderness, he awoke from a terrifying vision of a diving grey hawk.

• Yu Ci blinded the monk with the Nine Yang Talisman Sword and fled when a distant whistle signaled that the monk's allies were approaching.
• The monk accused Yu Ci of causing Hu Ke's death, letting the ghost beast escape, and taking the Star-Shooting Mirror, while several groups answered the whistles across the forest.
• Yu Ci pieced together that Hu Ke had tried to capture the ghost beast with a spell formation and that the monk and his companions had come seeking the spoils.
• Yu Ci used repeated Divine Movement Talismans to outrun his pursuers and covered at least five hundred miles before exhaustion forced him to rest.
• Before falling asleep, Yu Ci drew a Five Directions Spirit Communication Talisman on the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, which resonated with his breathing as he practiced his habitual cultivation.
• Yu Ci woke abruptly from a nightmare in which a grey hawk plunged toward him, startled by the dream's malign intent.