Chapter Summaries

Ye Yun practiced the Nine Yin Cold Claw and discovered how to use Ice Force to destroy a target from within, then refined the Cold Spring’s cold qi to accelerate his cultivation. After the spring’s full-moon eruption left its water temporarily warm, he suspected a treasure lay beneath it and dove in to search.

• Ye Yun practiced the Nine Yin Cold Claw until he learned to make Ice Force penetrate a stone and crush it internally.
• Ye Yun absorbed and refined the Cold Spring’s cold qi, increasing his cultivation until he opened the first meridian and reached the Qi Refining Realm Second Layer.
• On the full moon night, Ye Yun went outside as the Cold Spring’s cold qi erupted and covered the valley in ice.
• Ye Yun reached the Cold Spring and found its water still and unexpectedly warm after the cold qi dispersed.
• Ye Yun decided a treasure beneath the spring might speed his cultivation and plunged into the water.

Ye Yun discovered the Earthheart Flame and Frost-Ice Soul beneath the Cold Spring but could not safely take either treasure. He retrieved their companion treasure, the Iceheart Lotus Platform, and began cultivating on it, gaining denser spiritual energy and improved comprehension.

• Ye Yun swam to the bottom of the Cold Spring and saw the Earthheart Flame and Frost-Ice Soul locked in a balance of opposing powers.
• Ye Yun realized his cultivation was too low to take either treasure and spotted another object across the spring bottom.
• Ye Yun grabbed the object and barely made it back to the surface before running out of breath.
• Ye Yun identified the object as the Iceheart Lotus Platform, a companion treasure of the Frost-Ice Soul that gathered spiritual energy and enhanced comprehension.
• Ye Yun activated the Iceheart Lotus Platform and cultivated on it, finding the spiritual energy twice as dense and his understanding clearer.

Ye Yun reached the Initiation Realm in the Void Meditation Formula and discovered it let him enter a powerful state he named the Selfless Realm. Three months later, near the peak of the Qi Refining Realm’s Fourth Heaven, he went to the Mission Hall to accept his first required inner-disciple mission.

• Ye Yun opened his second meridian with the Iceheart Lotus Platform’s help and expected to reach the Qi Refining Realm Fifth Layer within about three months.
• Ye Yun cultivated the Void Meditation Formula to the Initiation Realm, entered a state of instinctive counterattacks, and named the martial art the Selfless Realm.
• At the annual Outer Disciple Grand Competition, Ye Yun reflected on how his special ability had changed his fate since the previous year’s competition against Tie Shan.
• Over the next three months, Ye Yun advanced his cultivation and martial arts, though the Selfless Realm remained at the Initiation Realm.
• After his three-month grace period ended, Ye Yun went to the Mission Hall and reviewed its three levels of missions.

Ye Yun returned to the village to find his grandfather gravely ill, and he stayed with him until he died. After burying him and promising to pursue martial arts with all his strength, Ye Yun headed toward the Blackwater Mountains, stopping first at Azure Sun Town for supplies.

• Ye Yun accepted a task to collect ten Red Jade Flowers from the Blackwater Mountains within three months.
• Ye Yun visited his grandfather and found him bedridden with an old injury that had worsened.
• Ye Yun told his grandfather that he had reached the Qi Refining Realm and become an inner sect disciple.
• Ye Yun accompanied his grandfather into the courtyard to watch the moon, and his grandfather died after giving him a final warning and advice.
• Ye Yun buried his grandfather three days later and vowed to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
• Ye Yun set out for the Blackwater Mountains and went to Azure Sun Town to replenish medicinal pills.

Ye Yun bought healing and true qi-restoring pills before returning to the Blackwater Mountains to hunt demonic beasts and gather Red Jade Flowers. After spotting a Dark Nether Python being fought by a young master and his guards, he sneaked into its nest and found a pool of milky-white liquid in a cavern.

• Ye Yun bought five Qi-Replenishing Pills, five Rejuvenation Pills, and two Life-Rejuvenation Pills at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
• Ye Yun stayed at an inn overnight, then returned to the Blackwater Mountains and killed an Ironclad Savage Bull with one strike.
• Over three days, Ye Yun killed more than a dozen low-grade second-rank demonic beasts and two mid-grade second-rank demonic beasts, and found three Red Jade Flowers.
• Ye Yun saw a young master and three guards fighting a Dark Nether Python, then circled around to enter its nest through a valley.
• Ye Yun explored the cave and discovered a pool of milky-white liquid in a depression atop a stone pillar.

Ye Yun discovered Earth-Origin Milk in a cave, then found a Red Jade Flower guarded by a Lightning Eagle and killed the beast using the Selfless Realm. After collecting its materials and Monster Crystal Core, he left to prepare for a breakthrough, while the young master whose Earth-Origin Milk he took continued searching for him.

• Ye Yun recognized the milky liquid in a cave as Earth-Origin Milk, collected nearly half a bottle, and fled after hearing the battle outside draw to a close.
• Ye Yun searched for Red Jade Flowers and found one near a Lightning Eagle's nest.
• Ye Yun entered the Selfless Realm and killed the Lightning Eagle with a thrust through its wing followed by four strikes to its eyes, but the effort left him exhausted.
• Ye Yun collected the Red Jade Flower, Lightning Eagle feathers and talons, and its Monster Crystal Core, which he hoped would help him break through to the Qi Refining Realm Fifth Layer.
• The young master ordered his group to keep searching for Ye Yun, vowing revenge for the stolen Earth-Origin Milk.

Ye Yun broke through to the Qi Refining Realm Fifth Layer, then killed a Vajra Ape while obtaining the Red Jade Flowers he needed for his mission. As he prepared to claim the ape’s corpse, Zhao Yu confronted him and demanded the Earth-Origin Milk he had taken the previous day.

• Ye Yun used the Lightning Eagle's Monster Crystal Core to break through to the Qi Refining Realm Fifth Layer and spent the night stabilizing his true qi.
• Ye Yun fought and killed a Vajra Ape guarding five Red Jade Flowers, then picked the flowers for his mission.
• After recovering, Ye Yun heard approaching footsteps and saw Zhao Yu arrive with three others.
• Zhao Yu demanded that Ye Yun hand over the Earth-Origin Milk and threatened him on behalf of the Imperial Capital Zhao Family.
• Ye Yun realized Zhao Yu would not let the matter end peacefully.

Ye Yun fled Zhao Yu and his guards, then used Earth-Origin Milk to restore his true qi and turn the chase into a fight. After perfecting Treading Snow Without Trace, he killed the guards and caught Zhao Yu, who begged for mercy as Ye Yun struck him.

• Ye Yun tricked Zhao Yu by pretending to agree to a search, then escaped into the forest as Zhao Yu and three men pursued him.
• After half an hour of running, Ye Yun drank Earth-Origin Milk to replenish his true qi and lured the pursuers closer by feigning exhaustion.
• Ye Yun turned and killed one guard, then fought the guard captain and another guard while Zhao Yu used a Fury Origin Pill to raise his cultivation.
• Cornered by attacks from three directions, Ye Yun perfected Treading Snow Without Trace and evaded Zhao Yu’s strike.
• Ye Yun killed another guard, waited for the Fury Origin Pill’s effects to fade, then killed the guard captain and chased down the fleeing Zhao Yu.
• Zhao Yu begged Ye Yun to spare him and offered money from his family, but Ye Yun remained unmoved and punched him.

Ye Yun killed Zhao Yu, then faced Tyrant Blade Zhuang Yan, who tried to force him to kneel and threatened to kill him. Xiang Wentian and Mo Chou intervened before a fight broke out, and Ye Yun left the Blackwater Mountains determined to grow strong enough to challenge Zhuang Yan.

• Ye Yun ignored Zhuang Yan's order to stop and killed Zhao Yu, prompting Zhuang Yan to arrive and demand that Ye Yun kneel.
• Zhuang Yan's pressure wounded Ye Yun, but Ye Yun refused to submit and Zhuang Yan prepared to kill him.
• Xiang Wentian confronted Zhuang Yan, and Mo Chou persuaded them to postpone their fight until after the ruins exploration.
• Zhuang Yan spared Ye Yun for the moment and left with Mo Chou, while Xiang Wentian urged Ye Yun to return to the sect.
• Ye Yun vowed to wash away his humiliation by defeating Zhuang Yan, set his sights on the Hundred Strong Ranking, searched Zhao Yu's corpse, and left the Blackwater Mountains.

Ye Yun arranged to sell Zhao Yu’s Storage Bag at an auction and bought the Iceheart Formula, a secret art that could help him cultivate the Selfless Realm. He spent the next three days practicing it at the inn.

• After recovering at the inn, Ye Yun transferred the contents of Zhao Yu’s Storage Bag and took it to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to sell.
• Master Huang offered to enter the Storage Bag in Azure Sun Town’s auction, and Ye Yun agreed to wait for the sale.
• Ye Yun browsed a stall and bought the Iceheart Formula for one hundred taels of gold after his special ability revealed its compatibility.
• Ye Yun read and practiced the Iceheart Formula, discovering that it could suppress qi deviation and aid his cultivation of the Selfless Realm.
• Ye Yun stayed at the inn for three days, practicing the Iceheart Formula and contemplating the Selfless Realm.

Ye Yun attended the Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction, hoping his Storage Bag would sell well and that he could find useful treasures. The auction began with a fierce bidding contest for White Jade Ginseng, while Ye Yun waited for his Storage Bag to come up.

• Ye Yun paid one hundred taels of silver to enter the auction and took seat number sixty-five.
• Master Huang opened the auction, and a mid-grade Azure Edge Sword sold for eighty thousand taels of silver.
• Ye Yun watched bidders compete for a three-hundred-year-old White Jade Ginseng, which he could have used before reaching the Qi Refining Realm.
• The Zhou Family's Second Elder bid against Duan Qingxue, driving the ginseng's price to one hundred and sixty thousand taels of silver.
• The Zhou Family's Second Elder stopped bidding after his nephew reminded him to save money for another item, and Duan Qingxue won the ginseng after trading insults with him.

Ye Yun bid against the Zhou Family's Second Elder and won the Human Origin Pill, which he hoped would help him grow stronger before the Great Dynasty Tournament. The auction continued with more high-priced sales.

• After many auction items sold, Master Huang introduced the Human Origin Pill, a second-grade pill that could raise a Qi Refining Realm martial artist by one minor realm.
• Ye Yun waited as the bidding climbed, then offered 180,000 taels of silver for the pill.
• The Zhou Family's Second Elder bid 185,000 taels and asked Ye Yun to yield, but Ye Yun refused and raised his bid to 190,000 taels.
• The Zhou Family's Second Elder threatened Ye Yun, while Duan Qingxue mocked him.
• Master Huang declared Ye Yun the winner, and Ye Yun paid with gold notes, inspected the pill, and stored it in his Storage Bag.
• After the Human Origin Pill was sold, the auction continued, with later items also fetching high prices.

Ye Yun watched the auction’s final lots sell, earning a large sum from his Storage Bag while the Emerald Palace won the Quasi-Ultimate martial art Gale Falling Leaves Saber Technique. The auction ended, and Master Huang thanked the guests.

• A Storage Bag with space roughly one zhang wide sold for 125,000 taels of gold to the first bidder, leaving Ye Yun expecting about 110,000 taels after commission.
• Master Huang revealed the final lot as the Gale Falling Leaves Saber Technique, a Quasi-Ultimate Martial Art once wielded by Core Elixir Realm martial artist Nie Yuan.
• The Zhou Family, Emerald Palace, Earthfire Sect, Flowing Cloud Sect, and Purple Extreme Sect joined the bidding, driving the price to 300,000 taels of gold.
• The Zhou Family's Second Elder raised his bid to 310,000 taels, but the Emerald Palace outbid him.
• The Emerald Palace won the Gale Falling Leaves Saber Technique for 415,000 taels of gold, and Master Huang declared the auction over.

Ye Yun collected the proceeds from his auctioned Storage Bag and left Azure Sun Town, but four pursuers ambushed him on the way. He leaped into the Blackwater River after being wounded by arrows, and his pursuers left believing he was unlikely to survive.

• Ye Yun collected 112,000 taels of gold notes from Steward Jin and left the Divine Arms Pavilion.
• Ye Yun headed toward the Blackwater Mountains to avoid anyone waiting on the road to the Purple Extreme Sect.
• A red-clad archer and three other pursuers found Ye Yun using Soul-Chasing Incense and a Scent-Seeking Mouse.
• Ye Yun pretended to surrender, then fled toward the Blackwater River while dodging arrows.
• The archer shot Ye Yun through the chest as he leaped into the river, and he swallowed a Life-Rejuvenation Pill before disappearing beneath the water.
• The four pursuers assumed Ye Yun had little chance of surviving and returned to Azure Sun Town.

After being rescued from the Blackwater River by Uncle Iron Bull, Ye Yun recovered at his home and grew close to his family. With his injuries healed and cultivation restored, he prepared to return to the sect and pursue revenge against the four people who had hunted him.

• Fishermen found Ye Yun drifting down the Blackwater River and Uncle Iron Bull brought him home.
• Ye Yun woke after two days, learned Yaya's father had saved him, and nearly succumbed to qi deviation when resentment overwhelmed him.
• Ye Yun used his remaining healing pills to treat his injuries and thanked Uncle Iron Bull for saving his life.
• Over the next week, Ye Yun recovered, grew close to Yaya and Uncle Iron Bull, and advanced toward the Qi Refining Realm Sixth Layer.
• Ye Yun decided to return to the sect, earn a place on the Hundred Strong Ranking, and strengthen himself before taking revenge on the four people.

Ye Yun said goodbye to Uncle Iron Bull and Yaya, then went to Azure Sun Town to learn the identities and backing of the people who had ambushed him. He returned toward the Purple Extreme Sect determined to grow strong enough to take revenge on the Blackwater Four Fiends and face Zhuang Yan.

• Ye Yun gave Uncle Iron Bull one hundred taels of silver and promised Yaya he would return to visit.
• Ye Yun left the village after saying goodbye to Uncle Iron Bull and Yaya, then disguised himself before entering Azure Sun Town.
• Ye Yun paid an inn waiter for information and learned that his attackers were the Blackwater Four Fiends, backed by a True Essence Realm expert.
• Ye Yun considered waiting until he reached the True Essence Realm or finding a way to survive against one, then left town for the Purple Extreme Sect.
• Ye Yun set goals of entering the Hundred Strong Ranking, improving his cultivation, and defeating the Blackwater Four Fiends before the Great Dynasty Tournament so he could face Zhuang Yan with a clear mind.

After returning to the Purple Extreme Sect, Ye Yun reflected on his martial arts and resolved to challenge Zhou Yuan for a place on the Hundred Strong Ranking. Their fight began with both fighters landing blows and staggering backward.

• Ye Yun returned to the sect and worried that spreading his effort across many martial arts kept him from excelling against stronger opponents.
• Ye Yun submitted the Red Jade Flower mission and learned he would not need to complete another mission until the three-month deadline passed.
• Ye Yun requested permission from the Fifth Elder to challenge Zhou Yuan, ranked ninety-fifth on the Hundred Strong Ranking.
• Zhou Yuan arrived and accepted Ye Yun's challenge, and the two took their positions on the arena.
• Ye Yun attacked with the Nine Yin Cold Claw, then kicked Zhou Yuan's waist; Zhou Yuan countered with a palm strike, and both staggered backward.

Ye Yun defeated Zhou Yuan in a Hundred Strong Ranking challenge and claimed the ninety-fifth position. After recovering, Ye Yun learned about the ranking’s Spirit Stone rewards and its direct entry to the Great Dynasty Tournament.

• Ye Yun and Zhou Yuan fought for over a hundred exchanges, with Ye Yun’s Ice Force steadily draining Zhou Yuan’s true qi.
• Zhou Yuan used the Qi Burst Formula to intensify his assault, but Ye Yun entered the Selfless Realm and evaded his decisive strike with Treading Snow Without Trace.
• Ye Yun struck Zhou Yuan from behind and won the challenge, taking ninety-fifth place while Zhou Yuan fell to ninety-sixth.
• After recovering, Ye Yun heard Zhou Yuan explain the Hundred Strong Ranking’s rewards, Spirit Stone benefits, and direct qualification for the Great Dynasty Tournament.
• Ye Yun thanked Zhou Yuan, and the two parted after agreeing they might spar again.

After reaching the Hundred Strong Ranking, Ye Yun collected his Spirit Stone reward and tested how it affected his cultivation. As he continued cultivating, news of his achievement spread across Great Sun Peak, surprising Ling Chen, He Yue, and other disciples.

• Ye Yun visited the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, where Ma Ji gave him six Spirit Stones covering three months of rewards for his Hundred Strong Ranking position.
• Ye Yun cultivated with a Low-Grade Spirit Stone on the Iceheart Lotus Platform and found that it increased his cultivation speed by at least fifty percent.
• Ye Yun considered the limited supply of Spirit Stones and their different attributes, then resumed cultivating the Ice Profound Force.
• Ling Chen heard that Ye Yun had entered the Hundred Strong Ranking and resolved to work harder.
• He Yue heard the news from her maid, showed surprise, and returned to cultivating in the bamboo grove.

Ye Yun endured a dangerous breakthrough to reach the Qi Refining Realm Sixth Layer, then sparred with Ling Chen and He Yue after they visited to congratulate him. He left the spar having dodged every attack from the two disciples.

• Ye Yun's hidden injuries erupted as he attacked the Impurity Barrier, but he endured the pain and broke through to the Qi Refining Realm Sixth Layer, recovering as spiritual energy repaired his wounds.
• Ling Chen and He Yue visited Ye Yun to congratulate him on entering the Hundred Strong Ranking, and the three exchanged cultivation insights.
• Ling Chen proposed a spar, and Ye Yun agreed to face Ling Chen and He Yue together in the nearby valley.
• Ling Chen and He Yue attacked Ye Yun as a team, but he evaded and countered their moves without being struck.
• After more than half an hour, Ling Chen and He Yue ended the spar without having touched Ye Yun.