Chapter Summaries

After reaching the Purple Mansion, Fang Qing returned to the Azure Sea Sect, paid respects at Ruan Zhixuan’s grave, and refused to take charge of the sect. He left the sect in Cui Zhe’s hands and continued toward the Eastern Sea Cultivation Realm, where a major auction was about to begin.

• Fang Qing let Yu Xiang'er cultivate on Jade Spring Island, then traveled through the Great Void to the Azure Sea Sect.
• Cui Zhe escorted Fang Qing to Ruan Zhixuan’s grave, where Fang Qing offered incense and told Qin Ruxue to keep the Blazing Flame Scroll.
• Linghu Zhong urged Fang Qing to lead the sect, but Fang Qing refused and left the Azure Sea Sect in Cui Zhe’s hands, with Qin Ruxue guarding Supreme White Island.
• Fang Qing left the Azure Sea Sect and checked the All-Heaven Star Palace Secret Realm, deciding it would likely remain closed for another ten or twenty years.
• Fang Qing reviewed affairs in the Breath-Nourishing Dao and planned to travel east, then learned that the Shang Clan’s top auction was about to begin.

The Azure Departure Fang family reviewed its finances and agreed to impose stricter rules on family cultivators while seeking additional cultivation methods. The meeting ended with Le Mingxue naming Fang Daoling as the family’s candidate to seek an opportunity at Deathless Temple after reaching Qi Ingestion Ninth Layer.

• Fang Wujiu and Fang Shanglin discussed the family’s children and Daoyun’s [Three Stars Water] fate chart.
• At the clan meeting, Fang Wujiu reported that the family’s expenses exceeded its income and proposed that cultivators repay support and receive fixed resource allotments.
• Le Mingxue agreed to Fang Wujiu’s reforms and discussed expanding the family’s collection of cultivation methods beyond Water Virtue.
• Fang Wujiu urged the younger generation to search for Dao Foundation methods and other useful traditions when traveling.
• After the other cultivators left, Le Mingxue told Fang Shangxuan and Fang Daoling that Daoling should go to Deathless Temple after reaching Qi Ingestion Ninth Layer.

Fang Qing returned to Purple Mansion and planned to use his Steel Strength Dudzi identity to gather resources while slowly addressing the White Bone Way’s debt to Chu Zhaohuang. He concealed his cultivation and set out for a top-tier auction, leaving his eastern assignment open to prolonged preparation.

• Fang Wujiu and Le Mingxue worried about the Fang Family’s ties to Steel Strength Dudzi, while Fang Qing recognized Fang Daoling as a promising Dao Foundation Seed.
• Fang Qing judged that the Golden Core True Lords were limited in their ability to act and grew urgent about gathering resources before Grand Yellow Heaven opened.
• Fang Qing had Sangji maintain his Steel Strength Dudzi cover and arrange an official dispatch east, where he could begin planning around Chu Zhaohuang.
• Fang Qing accepted Purple Mansion spiritual materials from Sangji, urged him to advance his cultivation, and declined to meet Demon-Subduing Black Tara.
• Fang Qing traveled to the Eastern Sea Cultivation Realm, concealed his Divine Ability and aura, and decided to attend a top-tier auction before visiting the Supreme Unity Arcane Sect.
• Fang Qing resolved to delay confronting Chu Zhaohuang and considered laying groundwork in the Wu Kingdom while remaining the White Bone Way’s agent.

Zhan Hongxiu and Fang Qing attended a top-tier auction hosted by the Shang Clan, where Nascent Soul cultivators gathered and the opening lots were sold. The chapter ended with a quasi-fourth-tier puppet offered through sealed bidding for rare cultivation resources.

• Zhan Hongxiu used her Shang Clan Token to enter a private box and reviewed the auction's privacy and bidding rules.
• Fang Qing arrived later, divined that his fortune was auspicious and an old acquaintance was present, then waited for the auction to begin.
• Shang Qiukong opened the auction and demonstrated the Shang Clan's influence by revealing details about Old Monster Jin's cultivation and ailment.
• Bidders competed openly for a genuine Golden Core Pill, which sold for one hundred and twenty high-grade spirit stones.
• Shang Qiukong offered a quasi-fourth-tier Heavenly Mechanism Gate puppet through sealed bidding, seeking supreme-grade spirit stones or rare resources for Nascent Soul cultivation.

Fang Qing won the Heavenly Water Alchemy Classic and discovered that the Star Palace Tokens resembled his Devouring Sea Token, which could let him enter the Void Ruins Secret Realm. As the auction ended, he warned Shang Yuanxin that a fatal calamity awaited him and teleported away.

• Fang Qing bid successfully on the Heavenly Water Alchemy Classic with High-Grade Spirit Stones and Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Milk, then verified that it included an authentic Nascent Infant Pill recipe.
• Shang Yuanci completed the exchange and invited Fang Qing to sell pills through her establishment on Mysterious Origin Island.
• Turtle Elder urged Zhan Hongxiu to win a Star Palace Token, explaining how the Tortoise-Crane Longevity Formula could identify her as a Star Palace disciple; Zhan Hongxiu won one after fierce bidding.
• Fang Qing noticed that the Star Palace Tokens closely resembled his Devouring Sea Token and divined that it gave him a ninety percent chance of entering the Void Ruins Secret Realm.
• After the auction ended, Fang Qing declined the private exchange gathering and warned Shang Yuanxin that staying there would bring grave misfortune before teleporting away.

Fang Qing traveled to the Wu Kingdom and posed as a young swordsman at a roadside tavern, where he learned about the local martial world and its paths to immortality. The chapter left him questioning the legend of the Eighth Worthy Prince and the royal family’s power.

• Fang Qing reached the Wu Kingdom, adopted local clothing, bought a sword, and stopped at a roadside tavern in Qiantang.
• Fang Qing befriended Proprietor Li and joined the gathered martial artists in boasting about making a name for himself.
• Proprietor Li told Fang Qing about the Eight Renowned Swords, Asking Sword Mountain, the Wuyue Sword Pavilion, and the Wu Kingdom royal house.
• A martial artist recounted how the Eighth Worthy Prince defeated the Third Prince’s rebellion, then yielded the throne to the Tenth Prince and entered the martial world.
• Fang Qing privately dismissed the Eighth Worthy Prince’s choice and wondered why the royal house’s Purple Mansion cultivators had not intervened.

Fang Qing watched Li Lu defeat Qian Mingsu in a staged sword match, then left Wu Yue while the Purple Mansion powers behind the conflict argued in the Great Void. True Person Li remained suspicious of the Wuyue Sword Pavilion as Fang Qing continued toward Asking Sword Mountain and the Vast Sea Sect.

• Fang Qing realized the Wu Kingdom succession struggle concealed a cultivation-world scheme and learned that Boss Li was the Eighth Virtuous Prince, Li Lu.
• Qian Mingsu of the Wuyue Sword Pavilion challenged Li Lu to a sword match, and Li Lu summoned the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.
• Li Lu defeated Qian Mingsu with a single strike, destroying Autumn Water and perfecting his Dao Foundation.
• Fang Qing left the scene by flying sword and continued toward Asking Sword Mountain and the Vast Sea Sect.
• In the Great Void, True Person Li confronted a Wuyue Sword Pavilion True Person over the scheme and suspected the Pavilion's loyalty to the Wu Kingdom.

Fang Qing traveled to Asking Sword Mountain, where he examined the famous sword scars and restrained his bonded flying sword from challenging them. He sensed a coming storm in the Wu-Yue Lands as Li Lu approached Purple Mansion and continued hunting Metal Virtue sword cultivators.

• Fang Qing reflected on the weakened Golden Core True Lords and learned through the Dao-Born Pearl that Shang Yuanxin had survived his tribulation and thanked him through Zhong Lingxiu.
• Shang Yuanxin told Zhong Lingxiu that Heavenfiend Old Monster had attacked the auction gathering, many cultivators had died, and the mysterious female cultivator had escaped.
• Zhong Lingxiu learned that Heaven Frost Adept had been injured in the battle, while Fang Qing recalled Zhan Hongxiu's knack for getting caught up in trouble.
• Fang Qing reached Asking Sword Mountain and passed through its mist, revealing himself as a sword cultivator to a mortal who hoped to become his disciple.
• Fang Qing studied the sword scars on the mountain wall as a cultivator explained how the True Lord's wall ranked swords that left their mark.
• Slay-Break-Wolf stirred to challenge the famed swords, but Fang Qing restrained it and foresaw bloodshed as Li Lu neared Purple Mansion by hunting Metal Virtue sword cultivators.

Fang Qing learned about Profound Void Heaven and cautiously entered it by controlling a converted cultivator’s divine sense. After attending Northern Zhou’s Monthly Appraisal, he met Yin Kaitian, who began hinting at a scheme involving the Four-Silence Sect.

• Chu Chenguang gave Fang Qing a Profound Void Stone and explained how to enter Profound Void Heaven.
• Fang Qing converted several vicious criminals and used one to explore Profound Void Heaven while concealing his own identity.
• Fang Qing visited the Qiantang district and observed Northern Zhou’s Grand Arbiter appraise the Eight Worthies Prince.
• Yin Kaitian approached Fang Qing, led him to a teahouse, and asked whether he had heard of the Four-Silence Sect.

Fang Qing joined the Four-Silence Sect after Yin Kaitian revealed its doctrine and its claims about the path to [Year Guardian], then investigated the sect from Wu Kingdom and suspected it had powerful backing. While traveling through the Wu-Yue Lands, he confronted a feudal lord’s soldier who was forcing villagers into labor and enforcing a weapons ban.

• Yin Kaitian recruited Fang Qing into the Four-Silence Sect by explaining its doctrine that All Things Are Four and its theories about Golden Core True Lords and [Year Guardian].
• Fang Qing accepted the invitation, exchanged Profound Void Heaven marks with Yin Kaitian, and learned that the sect’s master was said to have founded the sect after receiving divine revelation.
• Back in Wu Kingdom, Fang Qing divined that Yin Kaitian and Chu Chenguang had arranged to assess and recruit him, and he suspected the sect’s master was a Purple Mansion cultivator with possible Golden Core backing.
• Fang Qing sent his expendable material to gather intelligence in Profound Void Heaven while he traveled through the Wu-Yue Lands and observed the hardships imposed on the common people.
• When a feudal lord’s soldier ordered villagers to provide laborers and threatened Fang Qing for carrying a sword, Fang Qing cut off the soldier’s hand, prompting him to kneel and address Fang Qing as an immortal.

Fang Qing killed the Ning Family knight, its young master, and its Late Dao Foundation ancestor, then fought off Azure Eyes the True Person after recognizing that someone had manipulated him toward Qiantang City. He escaped, leaving Azure Eyes wounded and convinced he had been fooled by a disguised Esoteric Treasury Dharma King.

• Fang Qing killed the Ning Family knight and the young master who attacked him, then waited for the Ning Family ancestor to arrive.
• Fang Qing defeated the Late Dao Foundation ancestor with Slay-Break-Wolf, took his ox-headed bonded sword, and gained insights into Ox Metal.
• Fang Qing resisted a force compelling him to travel to Qiantang City and attacked the old boatman, Azure Eyes the True Person, at the river crossing.
• Azure Eyes healed and blamed an Esoteric Treasury Dharma King for disguising himself as a Dao Foundation cultivator, while Fang Qing escaped into the Great Void.

Fang Qing traveled to the Vast Sea Sect as Steel Strength Dudzi to obtain a Purple Mansion continuation of the Whale-Swallows-the-Sea Formula. After trading for it, he learned from True Person Leshan that [Chariot Water] had once displaced [Wall Water] as the rightful Water Virtue.

• True Person Azure Eyes learned that Steel Strength Dudzi belonged to the Esoteric Treasury's White Bone Way and decided to wait for a chance to settle accounts with him.
• Fang Qing reached the Vast Sea Sect, identified himself as Steel Strength Dudzi, and was welcomed by True Person Leshan.
• Fang Qing explained that he sought a [Winnowing Basket Water] Purple Mansion Gong or a [Chariot Water] continuation for the Eastwater White Clan.
• True Person Leshan agreed to trade Fang Qing the Purple Mansion Chapter of the Whale-Swallows-the-Sea Formula for several Purple Mansion Spirit Assets.
• Fang Qing discussed Water Virtue with True Person Leshan and True Person Sanmu, then learned that [Chariot Water] had deposed [Wall Water] from Water Virtue's rightful position.

Fang Qing obtained the Whale-Swallows-the-Sea Formula from Leshan and sought other Water Virtue inheritances, especially Wall Water. Sanmu and Leshan offered him two Purple Mansion methods in exchange for helping raid a hidden site in Eastern Wu, and the three entered the Great Void to discuss the plan as the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly drew near.

• Leshan and Sanmu discussed how Chariot Water had taken Water Virtue's rightful position from Wall Water, and Fang Qing asked them about the Four-Silence Sect and Lord Pu.
• A Dao Foundation cultivator delivered the Whale-Swallows-the-Sea Formula, which Leshan gave to Fang Qing; Fang Qing studied its Facing the Abyss Divine Ability.
• Fang Qing asked to trade for Purple Mansion methods from the other branches of Water Virtue, especially Wall Water.
• Sanmu proposed that Fang Qing help him and Leshan open a hidden site in Eastern Wu, and Leshan offered him two non-Chariot Water methods for his help.
• Fang Qing agreed to hold off one Early Purple Mansion cultivator if needed, and Sanmu said the Wuyue Sword Pavilion was occupied with affairs in Qiantang City.
• Fang Qing asked about the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly and Li Lu, then entered the Great Void with Sanmu and Leshan.

Fang Qing helped Sanmu and Leshan raid a secret realm, then faced Xu Qing in Great Void and endured the Sword Immortal’s attacks before escaping. Back at Vast Sea Sect, he negotiated his reward and took two Radiant Iridescent Scales, while Leshan agreed to provide the promised cultivation techniques.

• Sanmu found a hidden secret realm in Great Void, and Leshan explained the danger of attracting Purple Mansion cultivators while they plundered it.
• Fang Qing encountered Xu Qing and his green-dressed junior sister, then fought Xu Qing’s powerful [Neck Metal] sword arts with the Bronze Halberd.
• Fang Qing used his Ignorance-Slighting Ashen Flame to withstand Xu Qing’s attacks and withdrew after receiving Sanmu’s warning.
• Fang Qing escaped Xu Qing by returning to Great Void and circling back to Vast Sea Sect.
• Sanmu offered Fang Qing two of the seven Radiant Iridescent Scales recovered from the secret realm, and Fang Qing considered using them to advance Slay-Break-Wolf.
• Leshan agreed to provide the sect’s two promised Purple Mansion cultivation techniques, beginning with the Heaven-One Generates Water Formula.

Fang Qing studied Water Virtue cultivation methods, healed his sword wound by transforming his Divine Abilities, and cultivated Facing the Abyss. He learned that the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly in Qiantang was being arranged to advance Li Lu’s prospects, then agreed to attend.

• Fang Qing chose Three Stars Water and received the Heaven-One Generates Water Formula and Ouyang's Miscellany on Sword-Refining and Fire-Tempering from Leshan.
• Fang Qing left the Vast Sea Sect, used Dao-Born Pearl to transform Maiden Earth into Wings Fire, and refined the sword qi in his wound into spiritual energy with Origin-Refining Cauldron.
• Fang Qing cultivated Facing the Abyss and studied the Heaven-One Generates Water Formula, discovering that he needed a strand of its True Qi as a catalyst.
• Fang Qing took control of his disciple in Profound Void Heaven and learned from Yin Kaitian that their group was heading to Qiantang for the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly.
• Fang Qing saw that Yin Kaitian faced a likely deadly calamity and suspected the gathering had been arranged to benefit Li Lu, but agreed to attend.

Fang Qing entered Qiantang City under the alias Fang Jin to attend the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly and investigate the Four-Silence Sect. After meeting Yun Wuxin and learning of the sect’s plan to disrupt the assembly, he left its members unaware of his visit and prepared to trace their hidden leader through causality and divination.

• Fang Qing traveled toward Qiantang City while considering his cultivation path and the difficulty of studying the Great Sun True Interpretation.
• He met the young swordsman Yun Wuxin, who shared his invitation to the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly and declared his intent to challenge renowned swordsmen.
• Yun Wuxin identified the arriving Young Master Yu as one of the Four Great Sword Immortals, and Fang Qing entered Qiantang City with the crowd.
• Fang Qing visited Yin Kaitian, who revealed that the Four-Silence Sect had ordered its members to disrupt the assembly and gather information on Li Lu.
• Fang Qing learned that the sect leader concealed his identity in Profound Void Heaven and left, intending to use accumulated causality and divination to identify him.

At the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly, the Three Dukes postponed a duel between Young Master Yu and Gongsun Qing and began a sword-appraisal contest. Wu Su praised several swords before an unremarkable Dao Foundation cultivator revealed that Zhang Ya Jiu had forged the remarkable Ya Jiu Sword.

• Yun Wuxin waited for Fang Qing so they could enter the White Jade Platform together, then watched Young Master Yu and Gongsun Qing prepare to duel.
• The Three Dukes stopped the duel until His Majesty arrived and announced three contests, offering a Moon-Soul Mystic Pearl for the first round of sword appraisal.
• Wu Su appraised Yun Wuxin's Ten-Thousand Jun as a second-grade sword containing the hidden Heart's Devotion, then shamed a noble cultivator for his ostentatiously decorated sword.
• Wu Su ranked Gongsun Qing's Evil Severing second grade and Young Master Yu's Three Thousand Snows first grade.
• A black-feathered Dao Foundation cultivator presented the Ya Jiu Sword, which Wu Su said could be named on the Sword Cliff, and declared that Zhang Ya Jiu had forged it.

The Tide-Watching Sword Assembly concluded its three contests, awarding prizes for sword forging, sword arts, and sword intent. After the Wu Emperor invited the gathered cultivators to settle their rivalries through duels, Gongsun Qing challenged Young Master Yu, while Fang Qing located the Four-Silence Sect Master among the Purple Mansion cultivators watching from the Great Void.

• Zhang Ya Jiu won the first contest and received the Moon-Soul Mystic Pearl after no one else presented a sword.
• A Ji Clan member won the sword-art contest with the first-grade Seven-String Formless Sword Art and received the Mystic True Five-Restoration Pill.
• Gongsun Qing won the sword-intent contest after his seven-colored sword intent outlasted the others, earning the Autumn Origin Mountain Scroll.
• The Wu Emperor ordered the Three Dukes to record the contest winners' names and invited cultivators to challenge one another in sword duels.
• Gongsun Qing challenged Young Master Yu to a battle of severing swords, and Young Master Yu accepted.
• Fang Qing used the Dao-Born Pearl to locate the Four-Silence Sect Master among the Purple Mansion cultivators in the Great Void.

At the Tide-Watching Sword Assembly, Li Lu slaughtered challengers to build auspices for his Purple Mansion breakthrough, just as Northern Zhou declared war on Wu. As Qiantang City fell into turmoil, Fang Qing revealed himself as a Metal Virtue Purple Mansion Sword Immortal and stepped into the Great Void to confront the Four-Silence Sect leader.

• Gongsun Qing defeated Young Master Yu with the Lesser Threefold Union, and Li Lu arrived to claim first place at the assembly.
• Li Lu killed Gongsun Qing and Zhou Qingmu with his sword, increasing his Purple Mansion auspices as Yun Wuxin witnessed the slaughter.
• Northern Zhou issued a declaration of war against Wu, prompting the Wu Emperor and officials to leave the assembly and the Greenpine Swordsman to hurry Yun Wuxin toward Qiantang City.
• Four-Silence Sect followers set fires in Qiantang City, and the Greenpine Swordsman fled with Yun Wuxin as Dao Foundation pursuers closed in.
• Fang Qing revealed his Metal Virtue Purple Mansion aura, then entered the Great Void to pursue the concealed leader of the Four-Silence Sect.

Li Lu learned that Li Que had arranged Tu Lan’s cultivation and planned to take Li Lu’s Dao Foundation to forge a fourth Divine Ability, and he submitted to the sacrifice. In the Great Void, Fang Qing confronted True Person Sanmu, who began explaining the ancient secrets connecting Metal cultivation, Golden Core, and the [Year Guardian].

• Li Lu asked Li Que where Tu Lan was, and Li Que revealed that Tu Lan had received the Three-Yin Unity Qi Jade-Seed Divine Awareness Scripture from him and had saved Li Lu from a deadly tribulation.
• Li Que explained that Li Lu had been steered toward the Divine Ability 'Mutual Slaughter' rather than 'Regretful Heart,' and admitted he needed Li Lu’s Dao Foundation to advance amid the Northern Zhou invasion and threats from the Great Void.
• Li Lu accepted Li Que’s plan to take his Dao Foundation, released the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, and said the sword had never truly belonged to him.
• Fang Qing stopped a mist-shrouded Purple Mansion cultivator in the Great Void by threatening to reveal he was the Four-Silence Sect Master, and the figure turned out to be True Person Sanmu of the Chuli Sect.
• Fang Qing asked True Person Sanmu about [Year Guardian], [Bond Metal], and 'Mutual Slaughter,' and Sanmu warned that the secrets involved many Golden Core True Lords before beginning his account of the ancient [Year Guardians].