Chapter Summaries

Gao Yuan explained that he saw Lu Qing as someone who had chosen not to compete for the Great Era, while Lu Qing sensed a passing gaze and continued his cultivation. Three months later, Lu Qing traveled with Wang Chunfeng to attend a lecture at the dojo, where he learned that Xuanyuan Ling was expected to emerge from seclusion.

• Gao Yuan told Li Tongxiao that Lu Qing was not an opponent on their path because he had declined to strive for the Great Era’s Providence.
• Li Tongxiao realized that Lu Qing had avoided the Trial Path and the Great Era’s competition, and felt envy toward his choice.
• Lu Qing sensed a gaze sweep across Sun-Moon Mountain, considered the Dao Sect’s internal conflicts, and returned to cultivation.
• Three months later, Lu Qing received Wang Chunfeng’s reminder about the lecture and departed for the dojo in his Green Leaf Flying Boat.
• Wang Chunfeng invited Lu Qing aboard his Grotto-Heaven treasure boat and explained that Xuanyuan Ling might emerge from seclusion for the lecture.

Lu Qing attended the Dao Sect’s gathering for a sermon and learned about Senior Brother Xuanyuan Ling’s strength and the rules for advancement among the disciples. He found his assigned seat, number twenty-nine, and waited for Master to arrive.

• Lu Qing saw Xuanyuan Ling appear and learned from Wang Chunfeng that Xuanyuan Ling had reached the Primordial Spirit Realm.
• Wang Chunfeng explained the entry assessment and said Xuanyuan Ling had declined advancement because he believed his sword path contained an error, though Master had reserved him a personal disciple position.
• Lu Qing and Wang Chunfeng arrived at the central hall, where Wang explained where the different ranks of disciples sat.
• Lu Qing followed the movement of his token to meditation cushion twenty-nine and sat down.
• While waiting for Master, Lu Qing listened to the disciples’ conversations and matched their names and voices to Wang Chunfeng’s introductions.

Lu Qing listened to Li Luoyang lecture on the sword and gained profound insights that advanced his cultivation to the Fourth Golden Core Realm. He discerned that a seemingly star-cleaving sword-light had severed the constellations’ Destiny, then began deriving the technique within his Dao Heart’s Spirit Platform.

• Nine direct disciples of the Qing generation appeared at the front of the Dao grounds, and Li Luoyang began a lecture focused on the sword.
• Lu Qing immersed himself in Li Luoyang’s teachings and gained a faint trace of Sword Qi in his Golden Core.
• Lu Qing broke through into the Fourth Golden Core Realm but stopped himself from pushing on toward the Fifth because his foundation was not ready.
• Lu Qing witnessed a sword-light that scattered the stars and realized it had severed the constellations’ Destiny and disrupted Heavenly Secrets.
• Lu Qing began imitating and deriving the sword-light within his Dao Heart’s Spirit Platform.

Lu Qing simplified the profound sword form he witnessed during the Dao discourse and learned that it could sever a person’s Fate Allotment. After the disciples awoke, his improved perception revealed an unexpected extra personal disciple.

• Lu Qing recreated the Blood Demon in his Spirit Platform and used the sword light to extinguish the blood cloud of Providence above it.
• Lu Qing realized the sword form severed Fate Allotment rather than merely killing the body, and considered how it might be used outside the discourse.
• Lu Qing continued consolidating his spiritual power while the other disciples remained immersed in enlightenment.
• After more than three months, all the disciples awoke, and Lu Qing noticed an extra meditation cushion among the personal disciples.
• Lu Qing saw that one personal disciple had only recently reached the Golden Core realm and realized he had not been among the disciples he saw before.

During the master’s lecture, Tan Tianci was named the tenth direct disciple, Qing Feng, prompting mixed reactions among the disciples. Lu Qing saw that Tan Tianci possessed great Providence and left before he could be drawn into the tensions surrounding him; the chapter ended as a late Golden Core disciple challenged Qing Feng and a purple-robed young man intervened.

• The master announced that Tan Tianci had become the tenth direct disciple and given the dharma name Qing Feng.
• The nine direct disciples congratulated Qing Feng, while other disciples reacted with silence, confusion, and hostility.
• Lu Qing saw a golden dragon within Qing Feng’s brilliant aura of Providence and decided to leave rather than get involved.
• Lu Qing sent Senior Brother Wang a voice transmission, then departed the hall as disciples outside watched him fly away.
• A late Golden Core disciple asked Qing Feng for guidance, and a purple-robed young man objected that the challenger was much stronger.

After leaving the sect gathering, Lu Qing returned to Sun-Moon Mountain and refined the sword Dao insights he had gained. He began practicing with a sword formed from his Dharma power, ready to test his technique against the clouds and mist.

• Tan Tianci agreed to discuss the Dao with his challengers after Qingchen asked him what he wanted.
• Wang Chunfeng left the hall to avoid getting caught up in the coming conflict, then met Bai Changshou and Liao Bufan outside.
• News that the master had accepted another direct disciple spread to the other main lineages after the gathering ended.
• Three months later, Lu Qing returned to Sun-Moon Mountain and saw that the Five-Element Spirit Rice was nearly ripe and nearby disciples were nearing breakthroughs.
• Lu Qing studied the Fortune-Slaying Sword and formed a three-foot-three-inch blade from his Dharma power.
• Lu Qing raised the manifested sword amid the mountain clouds and mist to test his technique.

Lu Qing tested his Fate Severing sword by cutting the Fate Allotment of clouds across ten thousand miles, turning them into rain and gaining new insight into the technique. The strike drew attention across the Dao Sect, interrupting a Dao debate between Tan Tianci and his challenger as disciples sensed the sword’s power.

• Lu Qing struck the clouds with his sword, severing their Fate Allotment and causing a vast, unseasonal rainstorm.
• Lu Qing realized that the sword could sever the Fate Allotment of cultivators as well as clouds, but warned himself to use it cautiously and practice somewhere uninhabited.
• Lu Qing’s Spirit Sword shattered after the strike, leading him to decide that he needed to find a good sword.
• The rain and thunder drew the attention of Dao Sect disciples and interrupted Tan Tianci and his challenger as they discussed the Dao.
• A disciple sensed the Sword Qi in a raindrop, and others wondered who had wielded the remarkable sword art.

The Sword Lineage disciples drew their swords against the vast rain, and Qingchen realized the sword hidden within it carried three parts of the Master’s true intent. After the rain dispersed, Lu Qing sensed the disturbance but let it go, while the identity of the sword’s wielder remained unknown.

• Sword Lineage disciples abandoned the Dao discussion and joined their sword intent against the rain, drawing the attention of disciples from other peaks.
• Qingchen recognized that the rain concealed a heartless, formless sword and prepared to intervene, but an unseen Senior Brother told him he could not stop it.
• The unseen Senior Brother used his cultivation to seize and dissolve a stream of Sword Qi, explaining that the sword carried three parts of the Master’s true intent.
• Qingchen questioned who had wielded the sword, but the Senior Brother said he did not know and that its wielder was not among them.
• Lu Qing sensed the disturbance as the rain cleared but chose not to investigate, and the disciples praised the rainfall for helping the spirit rice grow.

Lu Qing concealed the Heavenly Secrets after wielding a powerful sword strike, while high-ranking Dao Sect figures discussed his comprehension and the Sword Lineage’s role. Sun Qidao told Li Luoyang that the Demon Land had reappeared in the Four Lands, setting the Law Enforcement branch and Sword Lineage to investigate.

• Lu Qing activated the Great Concealment Art, hiding his Heavenly Secrets from those trying to calculate him.
• Several high-ranking gazes observed the sword strike, and a young man judged that its wielder had gained three parts and lost three parts of his own understanding.
• Sun Qidao appeared before Li Luoyang and learned that the Sword Lineage had completed its task of finding a person of great Fate Allotment.
• Sun Qidao told Li Luoyang that the Demon Land had reappeared in the Four Lands, and that the Law Enforcement branch and Sword Lineage would go there together.
• After several days of cultivation, Lu Qing learned through White Crane Boy’s intelligence sources about the developments outside.

After hearing that a Great Era was approaching, Lu Qing steadied his Dao Heart and used divination to avoid a dangerous route to Misty-Wave Lake. He took a detour through Lingzhi Mountain, where a massive explosion erupted in the distance as he continued on.

• White Crane Boy told Lu Qing that a Great Era was approaching, with rising opportunities, prodigies, and dangers.
• Lu Qing realized that the changing heavens and growing Fate Allotment might affect sects as well as individuals, then reaffirmed his commitment to quiet cultivation.
• After receiving White Crane Boy's invitation, Lu Qing's divination warned that two routes to Misty-Wave Lake carried danger, while the route through Lingzhi Mountain was safe.
• Lu Qing chose the safe detour and collected Immortal Lingzhi as a gift for White Crane Boy.
• As Lu Qing left Lingzhi Mountain, a huge mushroom-shaped gray cloud rose in the distance, and he continued toward Misty-Wave Lake.

An unmanned Enforcement Treasure Ship crashed into the Dao Sect, revealing that its Law Enforcement disciples had vanished and raising fears of the Demon Sect’s growing power. The sect leaders debated the threat and questioned whether the Law Enforcement Lineage could address its internal problems before going to the rumored Demon Land.

• The Enforcement Treasure Ship fell from the sky, crushed two mountain peaks, and caused widespread destruction.
• Purple-robed elders identified the ship as the Enforcement Treasure Ship returning from the Four Lands and confirmed that everyone aboard was missing.
• The elders found no apparent problems with the ship, which made them suspect a deeper threat and report the incident to the sect’s leaders.
• The leaders discussed the Demon Sect’s possible resurgence and the reluctance of most Immortal Sects to heed warnings about it.
• Wei Zu described how few Immortal Sects had listened to his warning about the Demon Sect’s cross-domain teleportation formations.
• Yu Youshu warned that the Law Enforcement Lineage needed to resolve its internal problems before it could go to the rumored Demon Land.

The Dean ordered precautions against the Demon Sect and approved a Heaven Soul Lamp for Law Enforcement disciples entering the Demon Land, while secret figures debated possible corruption within the sect. Jiang Wuya then summoned his disciples and questioned how they knew the Law Enforcement Treasure Boat had encountered trouble.

• First Seat Jiang rejected First Seat Yu's suspicion that Law Enforcement disciples might turn to the Demonic Path, while First Seat Ren urged caution and deferred to Li Luoyang.
• Li Luoyang left the matter to the Dean, who allowed Law Enforcement disciples to travel to the Demon Land if a Heaven Soul Lamp was lit for them and urged the branches to implement the improved sect-protecting formation.
• After the council dispersed, hidden figures suspected someone had entered the Demonic Path and considered whether the Gao Clan, Li Clan, or Ren Clan might be involved.
• Jiang Wuya gathered Gao Yuan, Gao Xiangyun, Zhou Jinyuan, and Li Mingnan, then challenged Li Mingnan's assumption that the Demon Sect had caused the treasure boat's trouble.

Jiang Wuya assigned four disciples to investigate a Demon Sect spy in the Law Enforcement Lineage by taking its members to the Questioning-Heart Path, stirring unease across the Dao Sect. Lu Qing reached Misty-Wave Lake with White Crane Boy, who revealed his hidden Spirit Island and lakeside nest.

• Gao Xiangyun, Li Mingnan, and the other two disciples volunteered to handle the spy investigation, and Jiang Wuya ordered them to organize Law Enforcement disciples for the Questioning-Heart Path.
• Gao Xiangyun warned Gao Yuan that the spy might know the Law Enforcement Treasure Boat’s secrets and that the investigation could implicate powerful elders and peak masters.
• News of the planned Questioning-Heart Path and Three-Lives Mirror spread through the Law Enforcement Lineage, prompting anxiety and a rise in nearby Cultivation Cave rentals.
• Lu Qing arrived at Misty-Wave Lake and admired its clear, expansive waters.
• White Crane Boy revealed a hidden Spirit Island rising from the lake and showed Lu Qing its central lake and cliffside nest.

Lu Qing visited White Crane Boy, exchanged gifts and cultivation knowledge with him, and warned him against casually revealing his abilities. After Lu Qing left, he overheard disciples discussing a law-enforcement treasure vessel that had crashed and the sect’s plan to test its disciples for spies.

• White Crane Boy served Lu Qing tea, accepted an Immortal Lingzhi, and gave him Dragonbone Herb and other Spirit Medicines.
• Lu Qing declined White Crane Boy’s additional gifts, sensing that the White Crane Ancestor was watching them.
• White Crane Boy exchanged a reusable sound-transmission talisman with Lu Qing and promised to help him reach the Ancestor if needed.
• White Crane Boy transmitted his innate minor divine ability to Lu Qing, who warned him not to reveal cultivation methods carelessly.
• Lu Qing left the cave abode and overheard disciples say that a law-enforcement treasure vessel had crashed, possibly due to demonic sect cultivators, and that law-enforcement disciples would undergo the Heart-Questioning Path test.

Lu Qing learned that the fallen Enforcement Lineage vessel belonged to a reconnaissance team sent to the Four Lands, where the core of an ancient Demon Land was about to reappear. Wang Chunfeng explained that the Dao Sect had sent the Sword Lineage and Law Enforcement Lineage to confront the Six Demonic Paths, leaving Lu Qing with more questions about the Demon Land’s return.

• Lu Qing met Wang Chunfeng at Sun-Moon Mountain and invited him inside to explain his troubling matter.
• Wang Chunfeng said the empty Enforcement Lineage vessel had belonged to a team sent to the Four Lands to scout the emergence of a fabled Demon Land.
• Wang Chunfeng explained that the Demon Land’s return was tied to a coming contest over Fate Allotment between the Immortal Path and the Demonic Path.
• Wang Chunfeng described how the Primordial Era Demon Land had vanished and how the surviving minor Demon Sects had become the Six Demonic Paths.
• Wang Chunfeng said the Dao Sect had dispatched the Sword Lineage and Law Enforcement Lineage to the Four Lands, while Lu Qing wondered what had caused the Demon Land to reappear.

Lu Qing listened as Wang Chunfeng explained the Great Era’s struggle between the Immortal and Demonic Paths and warned that the Demon Sect might have spies inside the sect. Wang Chunfeng chose to leave for the Four Lands to guard an Immortal City, and Lu Qing agreed to cover his post at Reception Peak.

• Wang Chunfeng told Lu Qing that the Great Era involved a battle for Fate Allotment between the Immortal and Demonic Paths, and said he longed to fight Demonic Cultivators.
• Wang Chunfeng worried that the Demon Sect had planted spies in the sect, while Lu Qing doubted the Questioning-Heart Path and Profound Heaven Mirror could easily expose them.
• Wang Chunfeng asked Lu Qing to watch Reception Peak the day after tomorrow because he planned to leave for the Four Lands the next day.
• Lu Qing accepted the post and wished Wang Chunfeng safety on his journey.
• Wang Chunfeng departed as a bold sword cry rose into the heavens.

Lu Qing returned to Sun-Moon Mountain and cultivated while reflecting on a travelogue’s account of the cultivation realms and Immortal Ascension. He concluded that the Demonic Path’s shortcut to extending lifespan helped fuel the growing struggle for Fate Allotment, though the full causes of the tribulation remained unclear.

• Lu Qing judged the Demon Land’s aftermath dangerous and resolved to focus on cultivation while avoiding the gathering vortex of cause and effect.
• Lu Qing traveled through the clouds, practiced Call the Wind and Summon the Rain, and deepened his comprehension of the Great Dao of Water Essence.
• Lu Qing meditated beneath the Star Tree and reread Dongyang the Hermit's travelogue about cultivation realms and the path to Immortal Ascension.
• Lu Qing reflected that the travelogue could guide disciples but might unsettle those with weak Dao Hearts.
• Lu Qing reasoned that demonic techniques for seizing others’ lifespans encouraged people to join the Demon Sect or take up the Immortal Path, and that the Demonic Path’s appearance might have induced the coming tribulation.

Lu Qing crossed the Lifespan-and-Death Obstacle after reaffirming his Dao Heart, then strengthened his Divine Soul and reflected on developing the Inner World within his Golden Core. He planned to remain safely at Sun-Moon Mountain and continue cultivating while the sect faced trouble from the Demon Sect.

• Lu Qing decided that he would keep cultivating steadily, seeking the Dao and truth regardless of his lifespan or circumstances.
• Lu Qing crossed the Lifespan-and-Death Obstacle and considered how fear of death and attachment could affect other cultivators.
• Lu Qing drew down starlight to strengthen his Divine Soul, then examined the Water Essence and formation auras within his Golden Core.
• Lu Qing concluded that comprehending the Great Dao would provide the foundation for developing his Golden Core Inner World.
• Lu Qing reviewed his duties and resources at Sun-Moon Mountain and decided to stay and cultivate unless major problems arose.

The Profound Heaven Bell rang seven times before the Dao Sect’s expedition to the Four Lands, exposing hidden Evil Cultivators and clearing the way for the departure. As the Law Enforcement Treasure Boats left through the Domain-Breaking Grand Formation, Lu Qing reflected on the Sect’s preparations while Spirit Plant disciples discussed the expedition’s dangers and rewards.

• Lu Qing saw the phantom Profound Heaven Bell ring seven times as cultivators and tower ships gathered for the journey to the Four Lands.
• The bell chimes exposed concealed Evil Cultivators within the Sect, and law enforcement disciples seized them for Heart-Questioning Cliff.
• Lu Qing used Qi Observation to see the immense Providence linking the Profound Heaven Bell to the Dao Sect’s halls, peaks, and Blessed Lands.
• The Domain-Breaking Grand Formation carried the ships and cultivators through the sky and sent them toward the Four Lands.
• Hu Laozhang, Hou Wucai, and the Spirit Plant disciples discussed the expedition’s dangers and the contribution-point rewards for killing Demonic Cultivators.

Hu Laozhang warned Hou Wucai and the others that the Four Lands were a deadly Demon Sect stronghold, while Lu Qing judged his own preparations and continued cultivating. A white-robed disciple inspected Sun-Moon Mountain’s Five-Element Spirit Rice harvest, and the garden passed without incident.

• Hu Laozhang told Hou Wucai that cultivators in the Four Lands faced deadly Demonic Cultivators and could be refined into Human Pills.
• Lu Qing considered the dangers of the Four Lands and reviewed his safeguards before cultivating beneath the Star Tree.
• A white-robed disciple arrived at Sun-Moon Mountain to collect and inspect the previous year’s Spirit Plant harvest.
• Hu Laozhang presented the Five-Element Spirit Rice, and the white-robed disciple confirmed that the garden had passed inspection.