Chapter Summaries

Su Shi'er returned to his underground cultivation abode to prepare his treasures and resources before facing the turmoil at Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain. After discovering several valuable items among the fallen cultivators’ possessions, he began tempering them and uncovered the mask’s name, Thousand Illusions.

• Su Shi'er decided to inform the sect master about the sect’s crisis but first prepared to refine his belongings in case the Righteous Path Alliance lost the advantage.
• Su Shi'er entered his underground abode, expanded the Heaven and Earth Furnace, and placed Zhong Wu’s Edict Token and Monk Sanjie’s White Jade Buddha Beads inside.
• Su Shi'er sorted the Storage Pouches of the thirty-two Foundation Establishment cultivators he had killed and found abundant materials, spirit medicines, and four useful treasures.
• Su Shi'er put the Wind Rider Wave Treader Boots into the furnace, then identified the Sun-Hanging Saber and Firefly Sword as a pair of Mid-grade Spirit Artifacts and added them to be tempered.
• Su Shi'er channeled True Yuan into the mist-shrouded mask, revealing the characters Thousand Illusions as a dense spiritual aura surged from it.

Su Shi'er discovered a disguise mask and the Bloodlight Escape secret art among the One-Eyed Cultivator's belongings, then cultivated the escape art while his treasures were tempered. After seven days, the Edict Token was ruined, but the Sun-Hanging Saber and Firefly Sword had fused into a powerful High-grade Spirit Artifact that he named Neither-Knife-Nor-Sword.

• Su Shi'er identified the Thousand Illusions Mask as a Mid-grade Spirit Artifact, tested its ability to alter his appearance, and put it into the Heaven and Earth Furnace for tempering.
• He found the Bloodlight Escape secret art on a Bone Fragment and began cultivating it as a means to flee danger, especially if he went to Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain.
• On the seventh day, Su Shi'er heard a crack and found the Edict Token shattered into four pieces inside the furnace.
• Su Shi'er discovered that the Sun-Hanging Saber and Firefly Sword had fused into a new Spiritual Artifact, while the other treasures remained intact.
• He tested the fused weapon's sharp power, recognized it as a High-grade Spirit Artifact, and named it Neither-Knife-Nor-Sword.

Su Shi'er tested the artifacts he had refined and discovered that reciting the words on the White Jade Buddha Beads released their immense Buddha Essence. After preparing to investigate Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain, he left his secret chamber and told Yu Wan'er he would escort the seventeen people home, alarming her with his departure.

• Su Shi'er tested the Wind Rider Wave Treader Boots and Thousand Illusions Mask, finding their effects improved only slightly or remained unchanged.
• Su Shi'er noticed tiny characters on the White Jade Buddha Beads and activated them by reciting the Buddhist phrase Monk Sanjie had used.
• The White Jade Buddha Beads released an overwhelming reserve of pure Buddha Essence, which Su Shi'er could not refine without a Buddhist cultivation technique.
• Su Shi'er put the beads around his neck, packed the Heaven and Earth Furnace, and decided to investigate Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain.
• Su Shi'er found Yu Wan'er training the others, offered to escort the seventeen people home, and prompted Yu Wan'er to anxiously ask if he was leaving.

Su Shi'er prepared the surviving younger disciples at Tui Song Cliff for safety, then headed to Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain to aid the sect master and investigate the forces behind the sect’s calamity. He grew increasingly suspicious that the mysterious Venerable Lord was involved in the conflict gathering there.

• Su Shi'er gave Yu Wan'er cultivation resources and promised to reinforce the formation while she and the others stayed at Tui Song Cliff.
• Su Shi'er strengthened the defenses with numerous formations and added control formulas to the Passage Token for Yu Wan'er.
• Su Shi'er escorted seventeen people who wanted to return home to their respective hometowns.
• Su Shi'er set out for Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain and suspected that the mysterious Venerable Lord had helped cause the sect’s disaster and the unrest in Cang Mountain.
• Su Shi'er arrived at the edge of Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain, which had been forbidden to ordinary cultivators since the sect forces entered three months earlier.

Su Shi'er arrived at Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain during the standoff between the Righteous Path Alliance and the sinister forces, then went to the Yun Ge Sect encampment to meet Sect Master Ren Yunzong. He entered the hall where the peak masters had gathered, leaving them to assess his return and rapid rise.

• Su Shi'er surveyed the four occupied peaks and noticed a strange treasure stirring beneath a lake between the Third and Fourth Peaks.
• Su Shi'er flew to the Yun Ge Sect's Sixth Peak and presented his Elder Token to guards Qingyang and Qingfeng, who recognized him and escorted him toward the Sect Master.
• Qingyang told Su Shi'er that Ren Yunzong wanted to see him alone, and Su Shi'er navigated the courtyard's trapping array to enter the main hall.
• Su Shi'er recognized Ren Yunzong and saw Tianyin Peak Master Shen Miaoyin, Tianhua Peak Master Fu Boren, and Luoyan Peak Master Shen Luoyan waiting inside.
• Shen Miaoyin and Shen Luoyan were impressed by Su Shi'er's progress, while Fu Boren watched him with displeasure over his growing status.

Su Shi'er reported Yun Ge Sect's destruction and the Blood Spirit Venerable's attack to Ren Yunzong and the Peak Masters. Ren Yunzong recovered from his grief, learned Su Shi'er had killed the Blood Spirit Venerable and saved the surviving disciples, and asked him to call him Martial Brother.

• Ren Yunzong welcomed Su Shi'er and declared him the youngest martial brother and future Peak Master of the eighth peak.
• Su Shi'er recounted the calamity that had struck Yun Ge Sect, leaving Ren Yunzong and the three Peak Masters grief-stricken and enraged.
• Ren Yunzong blamed himself for failing to account for the Blood Spirit Venerable, and Shen Miaoyin steadied his unstable aura.
• Su Shi'er told Ren Yunzong he had killed the Blood Spirit Venerable, sent home disciples who wished to leave, and protected the rest at Tui Song Cliff.
• Fu Boren challenged Su Shi'er for sending disciples away, but Ren Yunzong defended him and thanked him for saving the sect's survivors.
• Su Shi'er addressed Ren Yunzong as sect master, and Ren Yunzong told him to call him Martial Brother.

Su Shi'er learned that the Righteous Path Alliance planned to strike the Evil Path Alliance when the extraordinary treasure emerged, then discovered that the visiting Master Sanjie was the monk he had met in the Heavenly Absolute Secret Realm. The chapter ended as Ren Yunzong asked whether Sanjie had learned when the treasure would appear.

• Ren Yunzong told Su Shi'er that the Righteous Path Alliance expected to defeat the Evil Path Alliance when the extraordinary treasure emerged from Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain.
• Su Shi'er asked about the other Peak Masters and learned that Xu Chaoyang had died while Chen Yuntai and Lu Mingshi were recovering from severe injuries.
• An attendant announced Master Sanjie of Forget Worry City, and Ren Yunzong welcomed him into the room.
• Su Shi'er recognized Sanjie as the monk from the Heavenly Absolute Secret Realm and grew wary upon sensing his deep Golden Core cultivation.
• Ren Yunzong served Sanjie Spirit Mist Tea and asked whether he had learned when the extraordinary treasure would appear.

Monk Sanjie announced that a supreme yang treasure would appear in ten days, setting the stage for a decisive battle against the Evil Path Alliance. His recognition of Su Shi'er led Shen Miaoyin to realize that Su Shi'er and Zhu Hanwei had switched identities in the Heavenly Absolute Secret Realm, while Su Shi'er revealed his suspicion that an Outer Heavenly Demon had possessed Monk Sanjie there.

• Monk Sanjie told Ren Yunzong that the treasure would appear at noon in ten days and that the allied sects could use the favorable conditions to fight the Evil Path Alliance.
• Monk Sanjie asked who Su Shi'er was, then claimed he had befriended a man using that name in the Heavenly Absolute Secret Realm.
• Monk Sanjie described the man as a fat, quick-witted cultivator who had traveled with a thin, masked cultivator named Zhu Hanwei, and the gathered leaders concealed their recognition of the identity swap.
• Shen Miaoyin blamed the Xuan Yin Sect for impersonating Yun Ge Sect disciples, and Monk Sanjie accepted her explanation before leaving to contact the other allies.
• After Monk Sanjie left, Shen Miaoyin confronted Su Shi'er about switching identities with Zhu Hanwei, and Su Shi'er admitted it and said he believed an Outer Heavenly Demon had possessed Monk Sanjie in the secret realm.

Su Shi'er warned Ren Yunzong and the others that Monk Sanjie had been possessed by an Outer Heavenly Demon, prompting a dispute over whether Sanjie or Shi'er could be trusted. Ren Yunzong decided to keep both under closer watch as the decisive battle against the Evil Path Alliance approached.

• Su Shi'er confirmed that Monk Sanjie had cried out the name of an Outer Heavenly Demon when it tried to seize his body.
• Ren Yunzong reassured Su Shi'er, asked him to keep the news from the sect, and let him leave to visit the people at Luofu Peak.
• After Su Shi'er left, Shen Miaoyin urged caution about Monk Sanjie, while Fu Boren defended him and questioned Su Shi'er's motives and rapid cultivation.
• Shen Miaoyin defended Su Shi'er's character, and Ren Yunzong ended the dispute by deciding to watch both men more closely.

Su Shi'er reunited with Xiao Yue after twenty years and learned that Lu Mingshi was gravely injured. After waiting through the night, he watched Lu Mingshi's condition worsen, leaving Xiao Yue devastated and desperate to save him.

• Su Shi'er worried about the coming decisive battle and Monk Sanjie's strength as he made his way to Luofu Peak's people.
• Su Shi'er reunited with Xiao Yue, who said she had worried about him during his twenty-year absence.
• Su Shi'er asked about Lu Mingshi, and Xiao Yue revealed that his injuries were severe while Han Yu tried to help him recover.
• Su Shi'er and Xiao Yue waited outside Lu Mingshi's room for a day and night.
• Lu Mingshi's aura weakened, and Han Yu admitted he could do nothing to save him.
• Xiao Yue wept over Lu Mingshi and hurried to seek help from the Sect Master.

As Lu Mingshi lay dying, he entrusted Xiao Yue with a jade token and a clue to her origins. Su Shi'er offered a way to save him by using a Bodhi Flower to help him form a Golden Core, leaving Xiao Yue and Han Yu with a chance to hope.

• Lu Mingshi gave Xiao Yue a jade token and told her to visit Gulin Xiaoshan after forming her Golden Core to discover the mystery of her origins.
• Lu Mingshi handed Xiao Yue his Storage Pouch, then collapsed as Xiao Yue and Han Yu mourned him.
• Su Shi'er stopped their grief and said he might be able to save Lu Mingshi, though his chance of success was below thirty percent.
• Su Shi'er explained that a Golden Core breakthrough might restore Lu Mingshi's depleted life force.
• Su Shi'er revealed his Bodhi Flower, which could improve Lu Mingshi's chances of forming a Golden Core.

Su Shi'er gave Xiao Yue the Bodhi Flower to help Lu Mingshi form a Golden Core, and Lu Mingshi completed the breakthrough after three days and nights. The chapter ended with Xiao Yue rushing to her grandfather as he awoke, while Su Shi'er reflected on how much weaker his breakthrough seemed than Yun Wuxia's.

• Han Yu knelt before Su Shi'er and pledged himself to him, while Xiao Yue tearfully thanked him for offering the Bodhi Flower.
• Su Shi'er explained that Xiao Yue had to refine the Bodhi Flower and channel its power into Lu Mingshi, then handed it to her.
• Xiao Yue catalyzed the Bodhi Flower, and its petals dissolved into mist that entered Lu Mingshi as his aura alternated between death and life.
• When Lu Mingshi appeared to die, Su Shi'er pulled Xiao Yue and Han Yu back, shielded them, and set up a formation to contain the surging energy.
• Lu Mingshi awoke and formed a Golden Core over three days and nights, then opened his eyes with renewed vitality.
• Xiao Yue rushed toward Lu Mingshi, while Su Shi'er wondered why his breakthrough had been less dramatic than Yun Wuxia's.

Su Shi'er saved Lu Mingshi with a Bodhi Flower, allowing him to break through to the Golden Core stage, and Lu Mingshi recognized his own past misjudgment of Su Shi'er. They agreed to hide the breakthrough ahead of the decisive battle, which they feared concealed greater dangers than expected.

• Lu Mingshi woke after forming his Golden Core and learned from Xiao Yue that Su Shi'er had saved him with a Bodhi Flower.
• Lu Mingshi reflected on Luofu Peak’s decline, admitted he had misjudged Su Shi'er, and pledged that half his life belonged to him.
• Su Shi'er urged Lu Mingshi to conceal his breakthrough until the decisive battle, and Lu Mingshi agreed to pretend he was still gravely injured.
• Lu Mingshi, Xiao Yue, and Han Yu discussed the hidden preparations and strength of the Evil Path Alliance and warned one another to retreat if the battle became unwinnable.

Su Shi'er learned the Spirit Sculpting Pill’s formula and the difficulty of finding its three essential ingredients. Xiao Yue revealed that the spring where she found a Youth Preserving Pill might be the Ageless Spring, but its location remained unknown.

• Su Shi'er asked Lu Mingshi about the Spirit Sculpting Pill, and Lu Mingshi recognized it as a pill that could reshape Spiritual Root aptitude.
• Lu Mingshi gave Su Shi'er an incomplete ancient formula and explained that the Ageless Spring, Nine Bends Spirit Ginseng, and Thousand Year Ganoderma were indispensable ingredients.
• Su Shi'er decided to focus on the coming decisive battle before searching for the Ageless Spring and Nine Bends Spirit Ginseng.
• Xiao Yue said the spring where she had found a Youth Preserving Pill might be the Ageless Spring and identified it as a One Look Spring.
• Su Shi'er asked Xiao Yue where the spring was.

Su Shi'er learned that Ascension Mountain might hold the Ageless Spring and set out to investigate before the sect’s decisive battle. Meanwhile, the Xuan Yin Sect confirmed his identity and discussed the Venerable Lord’s order to capture him and retrieve his belongings.

• Xiao Yue told Su Shi'er that a Taoist temple on Ascension Mountain had a One Look Spring, which might be the Ageless Spring he needed.
• Su Shi'er decided to visit Ascension Mountain alone, while Xiao Yue stayed behind because her grandfather Lu Mingshi’s supposed injuries could not be exposed as a ruse.
• Lu Mingshi encouraged Han Yu not to lose heart over Su Shi'er's progress, and Han Yu vowed to remain steadfast.
• Elder Demon Jiyin reported to the Xuan Yin Sect Master that Su Shi'er, master of Yun Ge Sect’s Eighth Peak, had returned and was the man the Venerable Lord had ordered them to retrieve.
• A hooded swordsman confirmed Su Shi'er's identity, and Elder Demon Jiyin accused him of helping Yun Wuxia kill Ji Feng and conspiring over the Heavenly Absolute Secret Scroll.

The Xuan Yin Sect planned to capture Su Shi'er for the Heavenly Absolute Secret Scroll and use him to manipulate Fu Boren, while preparing for an impending battle. Su Shi'er reached Ascension Temple to collect One Look Spring water and was approached by a mortal with a request.

• The Xuan Yin Sect Master ordered Elder Demon Jiyin to capture Su Shi'er and investigate why the Venerable Lord was targeting him.
• Elder Demon Jiyin and a hooded cultivator discussed using Fu Boren's history with the cultivator to pressure him into joining Xuan Yin Sect or eliminate him.
• A triangular-eyed Golden Pill Cultivator reported that Su Shi'er had left Yun Ge Sect's camp, but refused to join the pursuit and said he cared only about avenging Ji Feng.
• Elder Demon Jiyin declared that Xuan Yin Sect would be the only sect left in the Cangshan region after the coming campaign.
• Su Shi'er found One Look Spring at Ascension Temple, waited for the mortals to leave, then began collecting its water with a Red-skinned Gourd.
• A young Daoist at the courtyard entrance allowed Su Shi'er to take the spring water and asked him to grant an unreasonable request.

Su Shi'er learned that the One Look Spring’s water came from a rare stone and that using it for anything other than Youth Preserving Pills would be useless. He offered to help Yi Chunqiu begin cultivation and find him a trustworthy master, and Yi Chunqiu accepted his arrangements.

• Yi Chunqiu knelt and asked Su Shi'er to take him as a disciple, but Su Shi'er refused and prepared to leave without the spring water.
• Yi Chunqiu explained that the One Look Spring’s water came from a natural stone that absorbed spiritual qi and transformed yin and yang.
• Yi Chunqiu said his temple’s ancestral book had recorded the spring’s secrets, though the book had been destroyed in a fire.
• Su Shi'er realized that taking the spring water could ruin his chance to refine pills and offered to teach Yi Chunqiu a cultivation method and introduce him to a trustworthy master.
• Yi Chunqiu gave up on becoming Su Shi'er's disciple and agreed to follow his arrangements.

Su Shi'er recruited Yi Chunqiu into the Yun Ge Sect and safely collected the Ageless Spring before setting off for Yunhan Seven Peaks Mountain. As Yi Chunqiu began cultivating and a temple statue cracked, a mysterious sword strike overwhelmed Su Shi'er's defenses and smashed into him.

• Su Shi'er gave Yi Chunqiu cultivation supplies, a manual, and an Elder Token, instructing him to seek Zhu Hanwei at the Yun Ge Sect once he reached Qi Refining Stage Six.
• Yi Chunqiu explained how to preserve the Ageless Spring, and Su Shi'er used a jade box and the spring water to collect it.
• Su Shi'er cautioned Yi Chunqiu about relying on schemes without sufficient strength, then departed on his flying sword.
• Yi Chunqiu rejected the Ascension Temple patriarch's warning against cultivation and returned to his room to begin absorbing Qi.
• The statue in the temple's main hall cracked, releasing dark-yellow mist as Su Shi'er flew toward Sixth Peak.
• A sudden sword strike destroyed Su Shi'er's Defense Talismans, knocked away his Rock Shield, and sent the shield crashing into him.

Su Shi'er was ambushed by a mysterious hooded cultivator and nearly killed, but Fu Boren intervened. Fu Boren exposed the attacker's scheme and struck him instead, leaving the hooded man wounded.

• A flying sword struck Su Shi'er and wounded him, so he used Escape Talismans to flee toward the Sixth Peak.
• An array stopped Su Shi'er's escape, and he began preparing the Bloodlight Escape secret art as the sword threatened him again.
• Fu Boren arrived and blocked the attack, then confronted a gray-hooded cultivator who urged him to avenge Ye Liangchuan.
• Su Shi'er admitted that he had killed Ye Liangchuan, and Fu Boren's sword aura surged as he appeared ready to attack him.
• Fu Boren suddenly redirected his sword at the hooded cultivator, shattered his counterattack, and wounded him.
• Fu Boren accused the hooded cultivator of trying to make him kill Su Shi'er and drive a wedge between him and Yun Ge Sect.

Fu Boren was ambushed by Xu Chaoyang and Elder Demon Jiyin, but Su Shi'er’s warning gave him a chance to survive and expose Xu’s identity. The confrontation remained unresolved as Xu justified betraying Yun Ge Sect by describing the sect’s neglect and his failure to form a Golden Core.

• Fu Boren rejected the cloaked figure’s attempt to sow discord and attacked him with the Cicada Wing Sword.
• A formation spear and Elder Demon Jiyin’s surprise attack struck Fu Boren, leaving him gravely wounded.
• Su Shi'er called for Peak Master Xu to act, making Elder Demon Jiyin briefly suspect a trap and giving Fu Boren an opening to retreat.
• Fu Boren countered Elder Demon Jiyin’s next attack with his flying sword, then used healing pills while accusing the cloaked figure of being Xu Chaoyang.
• Xu Chaoyang revealed himself and defended his betrayal, saying Yun Ge Sect had ignored his suffering as he neared the end of his lifespan without forming a Golden Core.