Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing searched the expanded technique hall for an aura-gazing method and rejected a notoriously difficult basic text after reading other disciples’ warnings. He chose Evergreen Qi Observation Art, hoping to use it to examine others’ Providence and keep watch over his own.

• Lu Qing activated the hall’s filters and entered a space filled with aura-gazing techniques, many of which had limited exchanges that other disciples had already selected.
• Lu Qing examined Basic Aura-Reading Art, Part One, but withdrew after finding that it depended on obscure comprehension rather than offering practical instruction.
• Lu Qing compared Palm Flower-Gazing Art, Great Dream Deduction Art, Divination Formula, and Essential Star-Gazing Art before settling on Evergreen Qi Observation Art.
• Lu Qing chose Evergreen Qi Observation Art because he wanted to observe Providence, including his own, and recognize when he should flee from danger.

Lu Qing studied the Evergreen Qi Observation Art and learned how it veiled him from Destiny while he observed the fortunes of others. He began by using the art to examine his own luck, with the results left unrevealed.

• Lu Qing spent over a thousand contribution points to exchange for the Evergreen Qi Observation Art and several other techniques.
• Lu Qing watched the art’s founder demonstrate it and learned that it added a hazy layer of Heavenly Secrets to protect practitioners from damage when confronting Destiny.
• Lu Qing practiced the art and realized its Evergreen state let him observe beings from outside the dust-laden net without harming his cultivation.
• Lu Qing considered combining the art with the Great Concealment Art to deceive Heavenly Secrets, then steadied himself and abandoned the reckless idea.
• Lu Qing activated Qi Observation to inspect his own luck, and his Divine Soul separated outward as the chapter ended.

Lu Qing discovered that his Providence could shift between grayish-white clouds and more auspicious colors, though its true nature remained unclear. He left seclusion to sell spirit fruit and visited Martial Uncle Luo, who brought him to a Culinary Hall to cook the Lunar Fish Lu Qing had brought.

• Lu Qing observed his grayish-white Providence and wondered whether it meant he was exceptionally unlucky or had misread it.
• After practicing the Aura Observation Art for several days, Lu Qing saw his Providence change from grayish-white to cyan-purple and pale gold before returning to grayish-white.
• Lu Qing concluded that his Providence was not fixed and continued cultivating the Aura Observation Art until he reached minor mastery.
• Lu Qing decided to leave seclusion and sell his Dragonheart Fruit and Purple Moon Fruit, then summoned Lunar Fish and flew to Spirit Plant City.
• Lu Qing visited Martial Uncle Luo and offered him the Lunar Fish.
• Martial Uncle Luo accepted the fish and led Lu Qing to the Culinary Hall, where other disciples greeted him.

Lu Qing shared a nourishing Lunar Fish meal prepared by Martial Uncle Luo, which furthered his cultivation. He then visited the task area to trade Dragonheart Fruit and Purple Moon Spirit Fruit, where Chen Yuyi offered to buy all the Dragonheart Fruit he could find.

• Lu Qing ate Martial Uncle Luo's expertly prepared Lunar Fish with the Culinary Hall disciples and felt his cultivation advance.
• Martial Uncle Luo observed that Lu Qing had gained another trace of natural aura and told him to cultivate well before he left.
• Lu Qing realized the meal had helped him advance another step in his technique and went to the task area to post a trade order.
• Lu Qing offered Dragonheart Fruit and Purple Moon Spirit Fruit, and the attendant noted that Myriad Dragon Lake had recently needed Dragonheart Fruit.
• Chen Yuyi arrived and offered Lu Qing a satisfying price, promising to raise it if needed, while other disciples brought out their Dragonheart Fruit.
• Chen Yuyi declared he would buy all the Dragonheart Fruit, impressing Lu Qing with his spending power.

Lu Qing sold his spirit fruits, gained insight into Providence while observing Spirit Plant City, and returned to cultivate his plants. Elsewhere, Zhou Yaoming investigated a suspected traitor within the sect, while the White Crane delivered news about the Blood-Transforming Formation.

• Lu Qing sold his Dragonheart Fruit and Purple Moon Fruit, then observed the Providence gathered over Spirit Plant City and reflected on how it extended beyond individual cultivators.
• Zhou Yaoming learned from the White Crane that the sect suspected an insider traitor and asked for the list of people who knew about the Blood-Transforming Formation.
• The White Crane left after delivering the message, unaware that the tea it drank had come from Lu Qing.
• Lu Qing returned to Spirit Leaf Island and planted the Star Tree beside his tea tree, positioning it so the tea tree could benefit from the Moon Essence.

Lu Qing tended the spiritual plants on Spirit Leaf Island and practiced his cultivation beneath the Star Tree as it matured. After several days of meditation, he opened his eyes with a flash of divine light before it quickly receded.

• Lu Qing examined the slow-growing Star Tree, realized his spiritual rain was nourishing the fields below more than the tree, and redirected more rain toward it.
• Lu Qing inspected the South Sea Snow Lotus, South Sea One-Sword Wind, Profound Cloud Blood Dragon, Dragonheart Fruit, and Purple Moon Fruit, noting their growth and uses.
• Lu Qing continued practicing his cultivation on Spirit Leaf Island, sometimes sharing food with White Crane Boy.
• The Star Tree grew into a great tree, its starry leaves glowing beneath the night sky as Lu Qing meditated under it.
• After several days of cultivation, Lu Qing opened his eyes, revealed blazing divine light, and immediately drew it back into himself.

Lu Qing traded his Southern Sea Spirit Plants through Li Xiaocheng, then met Zhou Yaoming, who questioned him about the Blood-Transforming Formation. Zhou Yaoming acknowledged that Lu Qing was entangled in the matter but assured him others would shield him from outside interference, leaving his own trials on the Dao path ahead.

• Lu Qing contacted Li Xiaocheng and arranged a trade of three Southern Sea Spirit Plants at the Spirit Plant Academy without appearing in person.
• Li Xiaocheng arrived on a White Crane, completed the trade with Lu Qing, and flew away at breakneck speed despite Lu Qing's advice to travel slowly.
• Lu Qing noticed Zhou Yaoming nearby, greeted the Elder, and recalled his possible connections to events in Nether Province and Southern Province.
• Zhou Yaoming asked Lu Qing about the Blood-Transforming Formation and said Lu Qing had discovered it, while making clear he did not intend to investigate him.
• Zhou Yaoming said Elder Liu admired Lu Qing and warned that others might seek to learn who discovered the formation, but promised people would block their moves.

Zhou Yaoming warned Lu Qing about the Karmic Tribulation and explained why the Blood-Transforming Formation made him a target. He cast a divination for Lu Qing, who entered an unusual state of insight into Heavenly Secrets.

• Zhou Yaoming told Lu Qing that the Karmic Tribulation entangled cultivators with relatives, friends, enemies, and strangers, and warned that what appeared unreal could still wield real power.
• Zhou Yaoming linked the Blood-Transforming Formation’s interested parties to a dangerous hidden current and said Lu Qing’s tribulation could not be avoided.
• Zhou Yaoming recommended that Lu Qing visit the Floating Grotto-Heaven and Illusory Dream Grotto-Heaven if he sought primordial qi, then began a divination for him.
• As Zhou Yaoming used a tortoiseshell, a gold-threaded copper coin, and yarrow grass, Lu Qing’s Aura Observation Art advanced and he fell into an insight into Heavenly Secrets.
• Zhou Yaoming read the hexagram as great auspiciousness, left words in the air, and departed while Lu Qing remained immersed in a world shrouded by Heavenly Secrets.

Lu Qing gained a new understanding of the Evergreen Qi Observation Art in a dreamlike vision and learned that his Primordial Qi lay northwest. He returned to Spirit Leaf Island, sensed an approaching upheaval, and the chapter ended with Yue Jing aboard a luxurious tower ship as fellow disciples asked about his sharpened aura.

• As a stone in a dream, Lu Qing realized Aura Observation could reveal different aspects of Providence according to what the observer sought.
• Lu Qing awoke between the sea and sky, found the message “Neither gods nor ghosts may approach. Auspicious: northwest,” and realized his Primordial Qi was northwest.
• Lu Qing thanked the Academy Master and Elder Liu, then reflected on the Blood-Transforming Formation and sensed dark clouds gathering on the horizon.
• Aboard a luxurious tower ship, Yue Jing's fellow disciples asked what he had experienced and why his aura had grown sharper.

Gu Xuantian revealed that Yue Jing’s supposed treasure was connected to the Demonic Path’s Blood-Transforming Formation, prompting Elder Song to order the arrest and killing of sect traitors. As the Dao Academy carried out a bloody purge, Lu Qing observed the news and the Mountain Gate Formation, suspecting the Gourd Fragment was the real key behind the incident.

• Gu Xuantian presented Elder Song’s command token and announced that those who betrayed the sect and colluded with the Demonic Path would be killed.
• Yue Jing denied being a demonic cultivator or betraying the sect as he collapsed, while Law Enforcement disciples carried out arrests across the Dao Academy’s mountain gate.
• Lu Qing read reports about the purge and learned that the Blood-Transforming Formation had helped Yue Jing gain fortuitous opportunities and breakthroughs.
• Lu Qing connected his earlier experiences and suspected that the Gourd Fragment mattered more than the Blood-Transforming Formation, then stopped himself from probing further.
• Lu Qing watched the purge’s shifting currents of power and noticed that the Mountain Gate Formation was cleansing Killing Intent and suppressing Providence.

Lu Qing learned that Elder Yue had tampered with the Blood-Transforming Formation and connected the incident to missing disciples, a Blood Demon, and a dangerous divination. After hearing that Yue Youya had been sentenced to Heart-Questioning Cliff, Lu Qing avoided the confiscated goods and remained at Spirit Leaf Island.

• Lu Qing examined his Providence and saw pale blue Providence at its center.
• White Crane Boy contacted Lu Qing with a Radiant Circle Talisman and showed him Elder Yue's cultivation ground, where disciples were taking inventory after the Demonic Path affair.
• White Crane Boy told Lu Qing that Elder Yue had meddled with the Blood-Transforming Formation, and Lu Qing realized the missing disciples and the Blood Demon were connected.
• White Crane Boy explained that Yue Youya, Yue Jing's elder brother, had voluntarily accepted five hundred years at Heart-Questioning Cliff.
• Lu Qing declined White Crane Boy's offer to find him anything among the confiscated goods, ended the call, and stood by the shore of Spirit Leaf Island.

Lu Qing advanced his Aura Observation Art and used his understanding of wind, rain, and Providence to create a formation that could protect his Providence. The formation took shape and sank into his Providence, though its rank and effects remained unknown.

• Lu Qing reached major mastery in the Evergreen Qi Observation Art and fully integrated the Second Insight into his cultivation.
• Lu Qing used Call the Wind and Summon the Rain, observing how its rain moved and washed away traces across the sea and Spirit Leaf Island.
• Lu Qing realized he could use a formation to simulate a layer of Providence, causing schemes against him to fall into it first.
• Lu Qing formed a rough, imperceptible Providence protection formation and placed it into his own Providence.

Lu Qing advanced his Formation Dao by creating and operating a formation of his own. At the Outer Academy, Elder Yue died after confronting the consequences of his pursuit of Longevity, while Zhou Yaoming and Liu Changquan discussed Lu Qing’s future.

• Lu Qing used Call the Wind and Summon the Rain to set up his own formation, gaining insight as trapping, killing, and sealing formations formed around him.
• On the White Jade Platform, Elder Yue asked about the Yue Clan and declared that he had destroyed it while pursuing Longevity.
• Liu Changquan presented the head of a ten-thousand-year-old cultivator whose pursuit of Longevity had left him trapped and decrepit.
• Elder Yue acknowledged the terror of life and death before dying, as Zhou Yaoming watched in silence.
• After leaving the platform, Zhou Yaoming and Liu Changquan discussed the incident and Lu Qing’s aptitude, with Liu worrying about what awaited him when he entered that place.

Liu Changquan visited Lu Qing to test his formation practice and explain the Heaven-and-Earth-severing formation. After Liu Changquan demonstrated how Heaven and Earth could be gathered into an inch of space, Lu Qing gained a profound new insight and was told to attend his lesson in three days.

• Liu Changquan arrived at Lu Qing’s cave abode and asked whether the formations Lu Qing had cast were ones he had seen before.
• Lu Qing admitted he was struggling to understand how the Absolute Heaven and Earth formation could sever Heaven and Earth when its workings seemed to lack their presence.
• Liu Changquan demonstrated the formation by gathering the aura of Heaven and Earth into his palm, showing Lu Qing a world contained within an inch of space.
• Lu Qing comprehended the formation’s scope and felt an insight similar to his past comprehension of the Great Dao.
• Liu Changquan invited Lu Qing to his lesson at the Martial Arts Plaza in three days and departed.

After emerging from seclusion, Lu Qing collected news about his spirit-plant trade and attended Liu Changquan’s formation lecture. Immersing himself in the formation’s principles, he broke through to the Nine Realms of the Purple Mansion and formed an incomplete Absolute Heaven and Earth.

• Lu Qing learned that Li Xiaocheng had completed his spirit-plant transaction and agreed to continue trading plants from the Southern Sea.
• Lu Qing went to the Martial Arts Hall and listened as Liu Changquan introduced the fundamentals of formations.
• Lu Qing studied the formation visualization diagram and connected its shifting formation eyes to his Absolute Heaven and Earth formation.
• Lu Qing’s spiritual sea stirred, and a drop of spiritual liquid fell as he broke through to the Nine Realms of the Purple Mansion.
• Lu Qing found that his Absolute Heaven and Earth formation had taken shape, though it was not yet vast enough to draw on the surrounding spiritual qi.

Lu Qing completed his breakthrough into the ninth realm of the Purple Palace and observed the sect clearing treasures from its floating island. As unrest over the Yue Clan spread beyond the mountain gate, the chapter left the sect settling down while outsiders reacted to the clan’s collapse.

• Elder Liu taught Lu Qing that the essence of formations was change and warned him to avoid anyone claiming to teach the Great Dao.
• Lu Qing reviewed the Heaven-and-Earth Severing Formation and decided it would protect him during his coming breakthrough.
• Lu Qing entered the ninth realm of the Purple Palace and sensed changes throughout his body, soul, and dantian.
• Lu Qing saw White Crane Boy secretly stash treasures from the floating island, while the boy insisted the items were payment for its work.
• Several days later, the mountain gate’s unrest subsided as outsiders discussed the Yue Clan’s collapse.

As news of the Yue Clan’s fall spread, cultivators across the Profound Heaven Domain sensed a new era approaching. Lu Qing observed the stars shifting and wondered what great event was beginning to unfold.

• A sect master reflected on the Yue Clan’s destruction while his disciple called its downfall deserved.
• Zhu Longxiang recalled the Profound Heaven Dao Academy and reaffirmed his loyalty to the Heavenly Mountain Sect despite his master’s apology.
• Wind and Clouds welcomed a fiery streak in the sky as a chance for another fight.
• A youth traveling from Nether Province heard of the Yue Clan’s fall and felt his choice had been right.
• Song Wen told White Crane that a thousand-year great age was about to begin in the Profound Heaven Domain.
• Lu Qing used the Aura Observation Art to see the stars begin to move and suspected that a major event was approaching.

Lu Qing reflected on the unavoidable Golden Core tribulation and stopped trying to foresee its details, then resumed cultivation. After another month, he collected spirit stones and sold fresh Dragonheart Fruit before visiting Myriad Dragon Lake, where memories of the four-season rain and mountain came back to him.

• Lu Qing considered the hidden dangers surrounding his Golden Core tribulation, but realized that he could not peer into its nature while intending to form a Golden Core.
• Lu Qing set aside his thoughts and devoted himself to cultivation and refinement for another month.
• Lu Qing visited the Spirit Plant Academy and withdrew spirit stones from Li Xiaocheng.
• Lu Qing gave Li Xiaocheng fresh Dragonheart Fruit, and Li Xiaocheng agreed to handle the sale as before.
• Lu Qing visited Myriad Dragon Lake, watched the disciples fishing, and remembered the four-season rain and mountain.

Lu Qing rejected the time-bearing spirit rain’s temptation to hand him insight into the Great Dao of Time, while discovering that his Timekeeping Spell could predict nearby rain. After several days of cultivation on Spirit Leaf Island, White Crane Boy brought him a pile of treasures, but Lu Qing refused them and welcomed it to share tea instead.

• Lu Qing dispersed the spirit rain’s time aura and recognized that resisting its temptation had brought him into a tribulation involving the monkey mind and horse will.
• Lu Qing found that his Timekeeping Spell could predict rain over Myriad Dragon Lake and how long it would last.
• Lu Qing continued cultivating and tending Spirit Plants on Spirit Leaf Island for several days.
• White Crane Boy brought Lu Qing a pile of high-grade artifacts, spirit medicines, and pills as gifts.
• Lu Qing refused the treasures, explaining that friends did not need gifts to maintain their relationship, and offered White Crane Boy tea instead.
• White Crane Boy accepted Lu Qing’s explanation and eagerly drank the tea.

White Crane Boy visited Lu Qing, shared his tricks, and left him spiritual plant seeds before returning to the mountain gates. There, White Crane and Song Wen persuaded him to cultivate harder as the changing stars heralded a thousand-year grand age.

• White Crane Boy demonstrated how he could steal a pill unnoticed and told Lu Qing about his experiences on the floating island.
• White Crane Boy promised to bring Lu Qing fish from the East Sea and left him a bag of spiritual plant seeds before flying away.
• White Crane urged his younger brother to cultivate beyond Foundation Establishment, but White Crane Boy insisted that five hundred years was plenty of time.
• Song Wen reminded White Crane Boy that his death would grieve his elder brother and friends, prompting him to vow to cultivate an extra hour each day and reach Purple Palace.
• White Crane and Song Wen discussed the changing stars and the approaching grand age, when their sects' young talents would compete.