Chapter Summaries

Yu Ci and Baoguang discussed the distant Xiyu Alliance while relaxing in a lake, but their conversation was interrupted by a distress signal and an attack nearby. A yellow-robed Daoist illuminated the lake to leer at Murong Qingyan, who rose from the water and angrily challenged him.

• Yu Ci asked Baoguang about the Xiyu Alliance, and Baoguang explained its power and named several member sects he knew.
• Baoguang wondered whether Li You was fond of Meng Wei, but Yu Ci struggled to answer before a crimson Alert Flying Star appeared and was struck down.
• Yu Ci told Baoguang to return to Zhixin Temple and summon the temple master, suspecting Meng Wei and Li You were in danger.
• A blast struck the lake, and a yellow-robed Daoist lit the valley while calling out to the bathing Murong Qingyan.
• Murong Qingyan rose from the water and insulted the yellow-robed Daoist, challenging him to attack instead of taunting her.

Yu Zhou and Baoguang watched Murong Qingyan battle a yellow-robed Taoist, who used his superior Mysterious Water Manifestation to overwhelm and wound her. The chapter left Yu Zhou wondering what Murong Qingyan intended as she calmly removed the torn part of her garment under the Taoist’s gaze.

• The yellow-robed Taoist taunted Murong Qingyan with obscene remarks about her and her mother until she attacked him with a water dragon.
• The Taoist reversed Murong Qingyan’s water dragon and turned its spray into a flock of birds, forcing Yu Zhou to pull Baoguang underwater to escape the battle’s aftermath.
• Murong Qingyan broke free of the Taoist’s water techniques, but he cut her neck during a close-range exchange and continued to provoke her.
• Murong Qingyan and the yellow-robed Taoist fought across the lake until she retreated, while he identified a piece of her clothing as Delusion Fragrance and boasted that no one could interrupt them.
• Murong Qingyan smiled and removed the torn section of her outer garment, leaving Yu Zhou and Baoguang stunned as Yu Zhou wondered what she was planning.

Murong Qingyan confronted Nan Songzi at South Frost Lake, using a staged poisoning and the threat of One Dream Return to drive him off, but Yu Ci recognized the deception. Nan Songzi returned and threatened Murong Qingyan, only for a sudden sword strike to interrupt him.

• Nan Songzi suspected Murong Qingyan’s behavior was a trap, but she claimed a broken medicine bottle had poisoned him and invoked One Dream Return, sending him fleeing into the night.
• Yu Ci told Baoguang to return to the monastery and summon the abbey master, explaining that Murong Qingyan’s apparent victory had been a bluff.
• Nan Songzi quickly returned to South Frost Lake, unleashed a blast of True Baleful Intent, and accused Murong Qingyan of using Soul Leaving Incense to imitate One Dream Return.
• Murong Qingyan reasoned that someone within her sect had revealed her journey, while Nan Songzi threatened to assault her and raised his hands to strike.
• A sword light shot from the southern mountaintop toward Nan Songzi’s head, cutting off his threat.

Nan Songzi attacked Murong Qingyan while Meng Wei intervened and worked with her to turn his ambush against him. Just as Nan Songzi prepared to unleash a magical artifact, he heard a chime and recognized the Great Cave True Talisman in someone's hands.

• Nan Songzi repelled Meng Wei's sword strikes, but she joined Murong Qingyan and declared that the Li Chen Sect permitted its disciples to kill him.
• Nan Songzi shrouded the lake in illusionary mist and pressured Murong Qingyan while Meng Wei guarded herself with her sword.
• Yu Ci and Baoguang fled the lakeshore, and Meng Wei recognized that Yu Ci had likely taken them to safety.
• Murong Qingyan and Meng Wei exchanged signals and merged their auras, drawing Nan Songzi into attacking Meng Wei's pine-patterned sword instead of his intended target.
• Nan Songzi prepared to release his magical artifact, then heard a clear chime and recognized the Great Cave True Talisman.

Murong Qingyan and Meng Wei battled Nan Songzi over the Great Cave True Talisman, but Nan Songzi’s heart-demon techniques turned the fight against them. As thunder struck Nan Songzi and Murong Qingyan closed in on the talisman, an unknown figure caught it and fled.

• Murong Qingyan used the Great Cave True Talisman to break Nan Songzi’s talisman arts, while Meng Wei wounded him with her sword.
• Nan Songzi recognized the talisman and demanded Murong Qingyan hand it over, but she mocked his stalled cultivation and refused.
• Nan Songzi filled the lake with red mist and Heart Demon Sha Qi, then attacked Murong Qingyan and forced the talisman from her grasp.
• Meng Wei blocked Nan Songzi from reaching the falling talisman, but his God Slaying Thorn broke through her sword defense and injured her.
• A thunderbolt struck Nan Songzi and destabilized his evil art as Murong Qingyan pursued the talisman.
• An unknown figure burst from the water, caught the Precious Talisman, and retreated through the air.

Yu Ci used the chaos over the Great Cave True Talisman to help Murong Qingyan, but Nan Songzi seized the talisman and attacked him. The chapter ended with Tao Rong breaking free and grievously wounding Nan Songzi, while Yu Ci recognized her strange laughter from the lake.

• Yu Ci used a Five Thunder Talisman to disrupt Nan Songzi and help Murong Qingyan, but Tao Rong snatched the Great Cave True Talisman first.
• Tao Rong accused Murong Qingyan of keeping the Myriad Manifestations Sect's heirloom from her, while Nan Songzi demanded the talisman's cultivation method.
• Nan Songzi took the talisman from Tao Rong, swallowed it, and attacked Yu Ci with lightning.
• Nan Songzi trapped Yu Ci in the red mist and struck him with overwhelming force as Meng Wei tried to intervene.
• Yu Ci survived the blow and was hurled into the lake, while Tao Rong broke free and wounded Nan Songzi in the lower abdomen.
• Yu Ci emerged from the water and froze when he heard Tao Rong's laughter.

Crimson Yin revealed that she had killed Tao Rong and impersonated her to deceive Nan Songzi, then used One Dream Return to drive him into a fatal backlash. After Nan Songzi exploded his body and fled as a soul, Murong Qingyan protected Meng Wei and Yu Ci while Crimson Yin introduced herself as the master of the Xuan Yin Sect; Yu Ci recognized her from the past.

• Crimson Yin revealed Tao Rong's severed head and told Nan Songzi that she had impersonated her.
• Murong Qingyan identified Crimson Yin as a Dharma transmitter of the East Sea Rakshasa Sect, and Crimson Yin gave her Daoist title and named her branch sect.
• Nan Songzi realized the Great Cave True Talisman and One Dream Return had triggered his Heart Demon Sha Qi, then tried to attack before exploding his body.
• Nan Songzi's soul fled toward the south as the released shadows attacked, and Crimson Yin disrupted them while Murong Qingyan shielded Meng Wei and Yu Ci.
• Crimson Yin introduced herself to Meng Wei and revealed her true appearance through Rakshasa Illusion Arts.
• Yu Ci recognized Crimson Yin and recalled her as the Crimson Yin Female Immortal.

Yu Ci saw Crimson Yin again at South Frost Lake but kept his identity hidden, and her presence left him with a new sense of urgency. Twenty days later, Murong Qingyan bid farewell to Yu Zhou, and Yu Ci and Baoguang escorted her down the mountain, where she explained why she wanted the Water Aspect Bird.

• Crimson Yin returned the Great Cave True Talisman to Murong Qingyan, gave her Uncle Tao’s location, and left for Juebi City.
• Yu Ci watched Crimson Yin depart without revealing that he had once served her, then felt an unprecedented urgency.
• Yu Ci learned that Nan Songzi had escaped as a spirit and that Meng Wei was recovering from damage to her returning elixir and Dao foundation.
• Murong Qingyan visited Zhixin Temple to bid farewell to Yu Zhou and then left with Yu Ci and Baoguang escorting her.
• Murong Qingyan told Baoguang that she wanted the Water Aspect Bird for lessons in the Myriad Manifestations Sect’s talisman and illusionary arts.

Yu Ci reflected on Ye Bin’s legendary achievements and, inspired by Nan Songzi’s remarks about talisman apertures, discovered a new way to understand and draw spiritual talismans. He left the chapter having completed a Calm Heart Incantation that rang with a clear, resonant chime.

• Murong Qingyan praised Ye Bin’s strength, swordsmanship, leadership, and self-restraint, while Yu Ci recognized that the Half-Mountain Mirage sword intent might be the one Ye Bin had bestowed on him.
• Murong Qingyan noticed Yu Ci habitually forming the Calm Heart Incantation and mentioned that Nan Songzi was renowned for talismanic techniques.
• Ten days after Murong Qingyan departed, Yu Ci settled into a secluded valley and recalled Nan Songzi’s warning that talismans required knowing their secret apertures.
• Yu Ci concluded that apertures were key nodes where divine intent and primordial qi gathered and circulated through a talisman’s structure.
• Yu Ci successfully drew the Calm Heart Incantation, whose final stroke seemed to surge like a flying dragon and produced a clear, lingering chime.

Yu Ci refined his understanding of talisman apertures while cultivating the Qi Infusion Method. In Juebi City, Murong Qingyan contacted Liu Guan and delivered an invitation from the bell’s master for him to return.

• Yu Ci drew more than a dozen Calm Heart Incantations and improved his grasp of their apertures, though he knew applying the Qi Infusion Method to other talismans would take further effort.
• Murong Qingyan arrived outside Juebi City and used a demonic resonance to summon the cold tide and bring snow over the city.
• Li You sensed a fleeting pressure in his courtyard, then stepped outside and saw that snow had begun to fall.
• Murong Qingyan greeted Liu Guan and explained that her Spirit Shaman abilities allowed her to carry messages from the Divine Lord’s followers.
• Murong Qingyan gave Liu Guan a purple-red bell and relayed its master’s message asking him to return now that he had seen the Divine Lord’s grace and might.

Murong Qingyan warned Liu Guan that the two cultivators he pursued might be luring him into muddying the investigation around the Sky Rift Valley. Liu Guan praised her insight, then abruptly attacked her because he hated clever, beautiful, flattering women.

• Liu Guan accepted Murong Qingyan’s invitation to return, but said two elusive cultivators nearby had to be dealt with first.
• Liu Guan recounted how he suspected Monk Yi Xin and Lu Mingyue of opening the two-realm passage and concealing their true cultivation.
• Murong Qingyan argued that the passage was unlikely to have formed naturally and that the pair might be using Liu Guan to obscure a larger scheme.
• Liu Guan considered Murong Qingyan’s theory and wondered whether he had been manipulated into acting as a spearhead.
• Liu Guan suddenly seized Murong Qingyan by the face and throat, saying he hated women who were clever, pretty, and sweet-talking.

Murong Qingyan survived Liu Guan’s attack by recognizing his fixation on Madame Yellow Springs and persuading him to step back and survey the larger situation. After Liu Guan left for the North Sea Heavenly Star Palace, she reunited with Crimson Yin and insisted she wanted no part in the broader conflict.

• Liu Guan seized Murong Qingyan and threatened to tear out her tongue and heart, but released her when her fear broke the resemblance he saw to Madame Yellow Springs.
• Murong Qingyan reasoned that Liu Guan’s old trauma had driven his outburst and advised him to look beyond the immediate turmoil rather than react impulsively.
• Liu Guan accepted her advice to survey the whole board, asked where the Ghost Bell Seed was, and departed for the North Sea Heavenly Star Palace.
• Murong Qingyan descended the mountain and met the Crimson Yin Female Immortal, who thanked her for persuading Liu Guan to leave Juebi City.
• Murong Qingyan told Crimson Yin that she had come only to deliver a message and visit friends, and claimed that knowing nothing was why she had become the greatest Spirit Shaman.

Yu Ci advanced his Qi Infusion Method practice and discovered that his talisman work could amplify his divine soul perception, creating a vivid picture of the world around him. His new perception warned him of an approaching target, and after striking a crow from the sky, he saw Immortal Master Xie emerge over the ridge.

• Yu Ci read Li You's letter, which warned him about demons in the region and mentioned Monk Yi Xin's injury.
• Yu Ci refined his understanding of forming and clearing apertures while drawing the Five Directions Spirit Communication Talisman.
• Yu Ci combined the talisman's feedback with his divine soul perception, greatly extending his range and clarity of perception.
• Yu Ci sensed an approaching target and attacked it with his sword intent, knocking a crow out of the sky.
• Yu Ci watched the crow fall beyond the ridge and was astonished when Immortal Master Xie appeared.

Xie Liang returned from the Sky Rift, examined Yu Ci’s imitation Innate Qi, and explained its limits and unusual benefits. He praised Yu Ci’s soul perception and said he had begun following the path to a Core Formation cultivator’s flawless panoramic awareness, while Yu Ci privately recalled his familiarity with the Zhaoshen Map.

• Xie Liang returned carrying the crow that had fallen over the mountain, and Yu Ci learned he had received daily messages urging him to come back and teach the Qi Infusion Method.
• Xie Liang identified the dead crow as a beast contaminated by demonic aura and asked whether demons had appeared near Zhixin Temple.
• Xie Liang feinted at Yu Ci, tested his swordsmanship, and then questioned the imitation Innate Qi Yu Ci used.
• Xie Liang explained that Yu Ci’s Innate Qi lacked the bodily cohesion of true Core Formation, could strain his body, and nevertheless helped him understand talisman methods and connect his orifices.
• Xie Liang praised Yu Ci’s soul perception and described it as an early form of the flawless panoramic awareness of a Core Formation cultivator.
• Yu Ci realized he had not experienced the difficulty Xie Liang described because he was already familiar with the fifty-li-square panoramic space on the Zhaoshen Map.

Xie Liang taught Yu Ci how the Xuan Yuan Gen Ben Qi Fa relied on understanding the whole self and forming a mental image rooted in it. After recognizing that his own Colorful Clouds Chasing Moon practice had changed over time and no longer belonged to someone else’s fixed formula, Yu Ci broke through his attachment and entered a new state of cultivation.

• Xie Liang explained the method of forming a mental image from a complete understanding of the self and warned Yu Ci that his old Contemplation and Visualization habits could become an obstacle.
• At Zhixin Temple, Baoguang reported that a rat had gone mad and bitten someone, leading Yu Ci and Xie Liang to suspect the nearby demonized crow.
• Yu Ci connected Xie Liang’s teaching to Ye Tu’s concentric circle theory and realized that both concerned refining and understanding the self.
• While waiting for Xie Liang, Yu Ci practiced Colorful Clouds Chasing Moon, and Xie Liang rebuked him for clinging to a fixed formula.
• Xie Liang helped Yu Ci recognize that the bright moon he contemplated had become his own, and Yu Ci let go of his attachment as the moon stirred his primordial qi.

Xie Liang taught Yu Ci the Xuan Yuan Gen Ben Qi Fa, though Yu Ci could not yet find his mindscape and joined the temple’s search for a dangerous demon. Xie Liang destroyed the demon and Nan Songzi’s soul-lodging Peach Blossom Tent, confirming Nan Songzi’s death and raising suspicions about his past crimes.

• Xie Liang taught Yu Ci the Xuan Yuan Gen Ben Qi Fa, and Yu Ci grasped its methods in a single night.
• Yu Ci spent more than ten days seeking a mindscape without success, then joined the immortal elders and fellow disciples in searching for a powerful demon.
• Xie Liang tracked the demon to an illusion array and destroyed it with his Five Thunders Crashing Down, also burning the evil implement that housed Nan Songzi’s soul.
• Yu Ci identified the red gauze fragment as the source of the red mist he had encountered at South Frost Lake.
• Haiyang confirmed the fragment was a Peach Blossom Tent, and Yu Zhou wondered whether Nan Songzi had been responsible for deaths among female cultivators along the Cang River.

After Xie Liang and Haiyang left, Yu Ci sought guidance on forming mental images and found direction in Meng Wei’s detailed advice. On his way to cultivate, he smelled Peach Blossom Tent fragrance nearby and sensed a dangerous presence.

• Yu Zhou, Xie Liang, and Yu Ci concluded that Nan Songzi had died because his greed led him to target a demon and draw Xie Liang into the conflict.
• Haiyang explained that Cultivation Bookworms were people who abandoned cultivation and harmed others for pleasure, prompting Yu Ci to recall Purple Thunder’s lustful reputation and think of Crimson Yin.
• Xie Liang returned to Sky Rift Valley, and Haiyang left Zhixin Temple two days later, leaving Yu Ci to resume solitary cultivation.
• Yu Ci sought advice about mental images from fellow disciples; Li You replied, “Spare me, please!”, while Meng Wei advised him to balance perception with discernment and rules.
• Yu Ci read Meng Wei’s letter while heading to the small valley, then smelled Peach Blossom Tent fragrance four li away and froze as he sensed a threatening presence.

Nan Songzi ambushed Yu Ci with his yin demon and soul-bewildering barrier, hoping to seize his body, while Yu Ci struggled to defend himself. As Nan Songzi and the demon prepared to invade Yu Ci’s Mud Pill Palace, a ringing sound from a grayish-blue rope interrupted them.

• Nan Songzi, weakened and trapped in yin-spirit form, ordered his natal yin demon to attack Yu Ci.
• Yu Ci countered the illusion array with Palm Lightning, but Nan Songzi’s Five Yin Soul-Bewildering Barrier protected the demon and resisted his sword intent.
• Nan Songzi launched shifting attacks on Yu Ci’s divine soul, while Yu Ci used Clear and Still Void to steady himself.
• Nan Songzi realized Yu Ci relied on external objects to resist the soul attacks and intensified his assault until Yu Ci lost control of his sword intent.
• Nan Songzi and the natal yin demon rushed toward Yu Ci’s Mud Pill Palace to seize his body, but a pair of metal hooks struck together and made Nan Songzi’s yin spirit shudder.

Yu Ci used the hooked cord to make Nan Songzi’s natal Yin Demon turn against him, then struck at the True Return Purple Smoke Warm Jade and forced Nan Songzi to release it. After Nan Songzi hit him with a God Slaying Thorn, Yu Ci discovered the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror had blocked it, while Nan Songzi screamed as the Yin Demon attacked him again.

• Yu Ci collided the hooked cord’s twin hooks, disrupting Nan Songzi and provoking his natal Yin Demon to attack him.
• The True Return Purple Smoke Warm Jade separated Nan Songzi’s Yin Spirit from the demon’s assault, allowing him to regain control and suppress it with talismans.
• Yu Ci struck the warm jade’s core with Sword Qi, and the clash with Nan Songzi’s Senluo True Sha sent the jade flying from his Yin Spirit.
• Nan Songzi launched a God Slaying Thorn at Yu Ci, but the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror hidden in Yu Ci’s sleeve blocked it.
• Nan Songzi screamed for help as his natal Yin Demon resumed trying to devour him.

Yu Ci survived Nan Songzi’s attack as Nan Songzi’s Yin spirit was consumed by his own Yin demon, which the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror then devoured. After the mirror finished digesting the monster, Yu Ci called out the Zhaoshen Map to see what had changed.

• Nan Songzi’s heart demon sha Qi erupted after the Returning True Purple Smoke Warm Jade was knocked away, and his Yin demon devoured his Yin spirit.
• The crimson monster lunged at Yu Ci, who flew past it and retrieved the warm jade it feared.
• The Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror released cyan light, destroyed the crimson monster, and devoured its remaining blood Qi.
• Yu Ci collected Nan Songzi’s red gauze soul-lodging vessel and identified the warm jade as the Myriad Manifestations Sect’s Returning True Purple Smoke Warm Jade.
• After the mirror finished digesting the monster and fell to the ground, Yu Ci picked it up and called out “Zhaoshen Map.”