Chapter Summaries

Jiang Lu and the others escaped from the Stone Beast after discovering it had swallowed them, then recovered with the help of a warm ball of light. The group left the trial having each advanced one cultivation level.

• Jiang Lu’s bleeding nose attracted the blue tendrils, which separated her from Qin Yaner and the others and multiplied whenever she cut them.
• Jiang Lu used three powerful formation disks to blast open the Stone Beast’s stomach, creating an exit for the group.
• Jiang Lu and the others escaped just before the mountain moved and the opening closed, then realized they had been inside a Stone Beast.
• Jiang Lu explained how the tendrils had reacted to her blood and how she had used the formation disks to free them.
• A gentle ball of light restored the group as they meditated, and Jiang Lu and every other disciple advanced one level.

Jiang Lu and her companions entered the second trial, where a swarm of cockroaches and Spirit-Eating Worms threatened them. Jiang Lu secretly pulled the worms into her space, leaving the Secret Realm Spirit baffled as the group moved on toward the third trial.

• Fu Yao encouraged Jiang Lu to keep moving, and the group was swept by a hurricane into a gloomy cliffside passage.
• Qin Yaner was cut, and Jiang Lu gave her a top-grade healing pill for the small wound.
• Cockroaches crawled from the cliffs and attacked, frightening Jiang Lu, while Fu Yao and Jiang Lu burned and blasted the swarm.
• Spirit-Eating Worms emerged from the cockroach corpses, and Jiang Lu used her Divine Sense to put them into her space.
• The Secret Realm Spirit watched the group approach the third trial and wondered how they kept overcoming its trials.

The Secret Realm Spirit used a hurricane to scatter Jiang Lu and her companions, leaving Jiang Lu alone in a dangerous area. Guided by Cangchen, she reached a cold pool as the spirit watched her with special interest.

• The Secret Realm Spirit unleashed a hurricane that swept Jiang Lu, Qin Yaner, and their companions apart.
• Qin Yaner searched for Jiang Lu, then found Yun Shu and Chu Yuxuan after the winds subsided.
• Jiang Lu woke alone beneath a cliff and called for her senior sisters, but received no answer.
• The Secret Realm Spirit watched Jiang Lu and decided to test her in the more dangerous area.
• Jiang Lu summoned Cangchen, followed his report of dripping water, and reached a cold pool.

Jiang Lu collected Moonlight Condensation Pearls and meditated beside a cold pool while Cangchen entered it to find treasures. At the bottom, Cangchen discovered a Dragon Bone whose lingering consciousness trapped him inside it.

• Jiang Lu gathered Moonlight Condensation Pearls from the moss and used one to protect herself from the cold pool's chill as she meditated.
• Cangchen told Jiang Lu that something inside the pool would benefit his cultivation, and she let him enter after Chi Li reassured her.
• Cultivators watching the secret realm and the people of the Crimson Reed Domain worried as Jiang Lu meditated alone beside the pool.
• Cangchen passed through a barrier only the Dragon Clan could cross and stored the Heavenly Treasures hidden beneath the pool.
• Cangchen followed the lingering voice to a Dragon Bone, which enclosed him as the voice revealed it had been waiting for him.

Jiang Lu rescued Cangchen from the Dragon Bone in the cold pool, then subdued its remnant Divine Sense and gained a wider Divine Sense range. Cangchen absorbed the Dragon Marrow and entered Jiang Lu’s spatial storage as she headed for the surface, while the Secret Realm Spirit watched her in disbelief.

• Cangchen was overpowered by the Dragon Bone, and Jiang Lu sensed his distress and dived into the cold pool to save him.
• Jiang Lu struck the Dragon Bone with her drum, then trapped and absorbed its remnant Divine Sense within her Sea of Consciousness.
• Cangchen absorbed the Dragon Marrow, causing the Dragon Bone to crumble into powder, and told Jiang Lu his strength would rise after he rested.
• Jiang Lu stored Cangchen and the drum in her spatial storage and swam toward the surface of the cold pool.
• The Secret Realm Spirit noticed the changes in the pool, questioned how Jiang Lu had gained another opportunity, and sent a streak of spiritual light toward her.

Jiang Lu emerged in a strange forest, followed You Xi's group through danger, and secretly took a legendary Sky-Mending Jade Flower before they arrived. You Xi and the others received Heavenly Vetch Cores as trial rewards while Jiang Lu hid nearby, pleased with her stolen treasure.

• Jiang Lu climbed out of the water into a lush forest and found that the Moonlight Condensation Pearls protected her from the illusion.
• Jiang Lu spotted You Xi, Mu Xiaoqing, and their bedraggled companions, then followed them after vines attacked and drove them onward.
• Cutie identified a seven-colored flower as the legendary Sky-Mending Jade Flower, which could mend damage to a cultivator's Dao foundation and divine soul.
• Jiang Lu secretly removed the Sky-Mending Jade Flower with her Divine Sense and hid as You Xi's group arrived.
• Mu Xiaoqing found Heavenly Vetch Cores, and You Xi distributed them to the group as rewards for clearing the trial.

Jiang Lu fought invisible attacks in the Star Ruins, using discarded medicinal powder to reveal their paths while her Chaos Body absorbed Stellar Power. The Secret Realm Spirit recognized her constitution and decided to send her to unexplored places, while Qin Yaner and Fu Yao searched for her elsewhere in the secret realm.

• The Secret Realm Spirit transported Jiang Lu to a desolate area where invisible attacks struck at her.
• Jiang Lu scattered discarded medicinal powder to expose the attacks and fought back with Qianming, Chi Li, and Qiming.
• Observers aboard the spirit vessel questioned whether Jiang Lu had contracted three Spirit Beasts, and Ye Qingluan and Ye Qing said they had not known.
• Jiang Lu absorbed Stellar Power as she battled, growing stronger while the Secret Realm Spirit realized she had a Chaos Body.
• The Secret Realm Spirit decided to send Jiang Lu to unexplored places in the secret realm.
• Qin Yaner asked Fu Yao where Jiang Lu was, and Fu Yao reassured her that Jiang Lu would be safe.

Jiang Lu endured a long trial, absorbed the Stellar Power, and received a Stellar Stone after demanding a reward from the Secret Realm Spirit. She was then transported to a scorching desert filled with quicksand and lizards, where she began refining the sunlight’s power to survive.

• Fu Yao led the group onward while Qin Yaner worried that Jiang Lu might be harmed by training alone.
• After days of fighting, Jiang Lu cleared her trial, complained about receiving no reward, and persuaded the Secret Realm Spirit to give her a Stellar Stone.
• Jiang Lu stored the Stellar Stone and was transported with the two Spirit Beasts to a blazing desert.
• Jiang Lu spotted quicksand and lizards below her and stayed airborne, despite the sun rapidly draining her spiritual power.
• Jiang Lu began refining the sunlight’s Righteous Vitality into her own power.

Jiang Lu was trapped in the Blazing Flame Land, where Blazing Sand Dragons and Golden-Line Glimmer Snakes attacked her from beneath the sand and around a cactus field. She escaped the first swarm but became surrounded by snakes that fed on Divine Sense, leaving her on a cactus preparing to defend herself.

• Jiang Lu used spiritual power to reveal the demon beasts beneath the sand and realized the desert prevented her from traveling through the air.
• When Jiang Lu touched down, Blazing Sand Dragons surrounded and attacked her, but she cut through them and used ice blades and an Extreme-Speed Talisman to escape their wall.
• Jiang Lu ran toward a cactus patch, where the Blazing Sand Dragons stopped at the edge of the Golden-Line Glimmer Snakes' territory.
• Jiang Lu entered the cactus field and discovered the snakes could consume her Divine Sense as they surrounded her.
• Jiang Lu leaped onto a cactus and swallowed a Detox Pill and a Clear-Mind Pill as the snakes released a thin mist around her.

Jiang Lu cleared the secret realm trial by using flute music to lull the surrounding snakes to sleep, then demanded and received two inner cores as her reward. Outside, the elders questioned Ye Qing about her many talents, while Shi Yan continued scheming to recruit her into the Flowing Cloud Sect; Jiang Lu was transported to another place.

• Jiang Lu played her jade flute, calming the secret realm and putting the surrounding snakes to sleep.
• Jiang Lu asked the Secret Realm Spirit for a clearance reward and received inner cores from a Blazing Sand Dragon and a Golden-Line Glimmer Snake.
• The elders questioned Ye Qing about Jiang Lu's beast taming and soul-cleansing music, and he admitted that she knew a little.
• Shi Yan asked Lu Lingfeng and Xi Siyu how to persuade Jiang Lu to join the Flowing Cloud Sect, then decided to wait until they returned to the Crimson Reed Domain.
• The Secret Realm Spirit compared Jiang Lu's easy progress with the other teams' struggles, and Jiang Lu was transported to another place.

After clearing eight trials, Jiang Lu followed a group of Xuancheng Domain Heavenly Prodigies, hoping to benefit from the dangers they faced. The Secret Realm Spirit merged their areas and unleashed a foul-smelling monster, forcing Jiang Lu and the others to flee together.

• Jiang Lu recovered from the eighth trial, claimed her rewards, and prepared to leave as the Secret Realm Spirit sulked over her repeated demands.
• Jiang Lu spotted five Xuancheng Domain Heavenly Prodigies, including Mu Xiaoqing and You Xi, and followed them from a distance.
• The Secret Realm Spirit secretly fused the areas around Jiang Lu and the group, then watched as they encountered a terrifying monster.
• Mu Xiaoqing and the others fled from the monster, while its stench exposed Jiang Lu hiding nearby.
• Jiang Lu awkwardly greeted the group, and everyone ran from the monster together as the Xuancheng Domain Heavenly Prodigies wondered whether she had backup nearby.

Jiang Lu escaped a fog formation and reunited with Qin Yaner and the others, who mistakenly believed she had suffered terribly. As rival domain teams gathered inside the formation and fought approaching demonic beasts, Jiang Lu learned that the formation’s mist was beginning to clear and that people on both sides could see through it.

• Jiang Lu followed Mu Xiaoqing’s group until a sudden fog formation trapped them, then escaped before it closed.
• Jiang Lu reunited with Qin Yaner and was comforted while the others assumed her torn robe and tangled hair showed how much she had suffered.
• Fu Yao explained that the group had trapped themselves in a defensive formation on the only escape route, and that the formation had strengthened after outside interference.
• Teams from the Desolate Qian Domain, Ling Shuo Domain, and Azure Tide Domain arrived, each reporting that demonic beasts had driven them into the mist.
• Five mutated demonic beasts approached, and the gathered teams attacked them as their spiritual power gradually dispersed the mist.
• Jiang Lu asked Fu Yao whether the formation revealed its occupants to outsiders, and Fu Yao confirmed that people inside and outside could see one another.

Jiang Lu and the Crimson Reed Domain disciples emerged from an invisible formation after the other domains defeated the demonic beasts, sparking accusations that they had watched the battle from safety. You Xi then accused Jiang Lu of leading the group into the danger as part of a Crimson Reed Domain conspiracy.

• The fog dispersed, revealing the exhausted Heavenly Prodigies and the demonic beasts they had defeated outside the formation.
• The Heavenly Prodigies rushed toward Jiang Lu's group but collided with the invisible barrier and realized the Crimson Reed Domain disciples had been protected inside it.
• Chen Cheng demanded to know how they had entered the formation, and Qin Yaner said they had hidden there because the fog and beasts made the area dangerous.
• The Crimson Reed Domain disciples denied deliberately watching the battle, and the other domains' anger eased as they considered that the fog might have concealed the fight.
• You Xi challenged their explanation, claiming Jiang Lu had led the other domains into the beasts' siege, while Jiang Lu insisted she knew nothing about it.
• You Xi pointed at Jiang Lu and declared that the Crimson Reed Domain had meticulously planned a conspiracy.

You Xi accused Jiang Lu and the Crimson Reed Domain of plotting to use the demonic beasts to weaken the other Heaven’s Chosen, though the accusation was baseless. After the Secret Realm trial ended, the Crimson Reed Domain was named first, and the Five Great Domains agreed to coordinate resources around the Stellar Stone holder while Ye Qingluan insisted that Lu’er keep everything that belonged to her.

• You Xi claimed Jiang Lu had lured the Heaven’s Chosen into a formation so the Crimson Reed Domain could profit from the demonic beasts exhausting them, while Jiang Lu and the others knew it was a fabrication.
• The Secret Realm trial ended, and everyone was forcibly teleported onto the spirit vessel as the entrance closed behind them.
• The presiding elder announced that no disciple had been expelled or withdrawn, confirmed that someone had obtained a Stellar Stone, and declared the Crimson Reed Domain first place.
• Jiang Lu asked Qin Yaner why the competition had ended so abruptly, and Qin Yaner said something must have changed.
• The leaders of the Five Great Domains discussed concentrating resources on the Stellar Stone holder and having the other Domains’ Heaven’s Chosen assist that person’s cultivation.
• Ye Qingluan agreed to the arrangement but insisted that nothing belonging to Lu’er be withheld.

After the elders settled the resource distribution, Ye Qingluan returned to the chess room and explained that Jiang Lu would receive a Heaven's Chosen Token granting her access to forbidden lands and secret realms across the Five Great Domains. She warned Jiang Lu that other Heaven's Chosen might follow her during training, then began to caution her about the consequences of taking first place on the Heaven's Chosen Ranking.

• The presiding elder hesitated to question Ye Qingluan, but she left without revealing more about herself.
• Ye Qingluan entered the chess room, and Ye Qing hurriedly began massaging her shoulders while Jiang Lu watched in surprise.
• Ye Qingluan told Ye Qing and Jiang Lu that other Heaven's Chosen might follow Jiang Lu during future training, though the elders had not withheld her resources.
• Ye Qingluan gave Jiang Lu a Heaven's Chosen Token that granted her entry to forbidden lands, secret realms, and sacred cultivation grounds throughout the Five Great Domains.
• Ye Qingluan advised Jiang Lu to train as she pleased and not take responsibility for clearing the way for others.
• Ye Qingluan warned Jiang Lu that her first-place ranking had made her famous across the domains and began explaining what that meant for her cultivation path.

Ye Qingluan told Jiang Lu that she would undertake the cross-domain trial alone, and Jiang Lu accepted the test without complaint. After encouraging Liu Qingqing to pursue cultivation and resolving to train with other Heaven’s Chosen, Jiang Lu began her journey in the Xuancheng Domain and sought a place to break through.

• Ye Qingluan explained that Jiang Lu would have no Dao Protector during the cross-domain trial, and Jiang Lu agreed to face the dangers alone.
• Jiang Lu told Qin Yaner and the other Crimson Reed Domain disciples what Ye Qingluan had said about her trial and its timing.
• Liu Qingqing confided that she had faced her inner demon, thanked Jiang Lu for listening, and said she planned to cultivate in seclusion after returning.
• Jiang Lu encouraged Liu Qingqing and privately hoped to train alongside other Heaven’s Chosen so she could collect their spoils.
• Jiang Lu set out in the Xuancheng Domain to find a place to break through and arrived at a gloomy entrance overgrown with brambles.

Jiang Lu entered the Jade Void Sect’s Heavenly Ruins Sword Mound to improve her coordination with Qianming and strengthen her ability to control it in battle. Guided by Cutie into a secluded path, she faced a storm of Sword Intent and began drawing it into herself.

• Jiang Lu entered the Sword Mound, where two mysterious cultivators watched her and decided to inform an elder.
• Jiang Lu changed her appearance and slipped past disciples training in the Sword Mound.
• Cutie directed Jiang Lu down a secluded mountain path, where the surrounding Sword Intent suddenly erupted into countless attacks.
• Jiang Lu defended herself with Qianming, then withdrew her Sword Intent and gradually guided the attacks into her body and Sea of Consciousness.

Jiang Lu broke through to the Middle Golden Core stage and formed her own sword heart while enduring the Sword Mound’s sword intents. She reached a chilling spirit sword and Swordheart Grass, then encountered Mu Xiaoqing and her companions as they approached the sword.

• Jiang Lu absorbed the ancient sword intents, advanced to the Middle Golden Core stage, and comprehended her own sword intent.
• Jiang Lu wielded Qianming and pressed through the sword intents until she reached the broken swords, where she spotted the Swordheart Grass beneath a chilling spirit sword.
• Jiang Lu hid as Chen Cheng, You Xi, and Mu Xiaoqing arrived, and she realized Mu Xiaoqing might help distract the sword so she could reach the grass.
• Jiang Lu questioned Mu Xiaoqing about wanting the sword, and Mu Xiaoqing explained that she hoped to take it to her master because its aura felt compatible with his.
• Mu Xiaoqing approached the spirit sword and raised a spiritual barrier as its cold sword intent swept toward her.

Jiang Lu realized the spirit sword was hostile to Mu Xiaoqing and helped her safely gather the Swordheart Grass. The sword revealed its Sword Spirit and confronted Jiang Lu, who challenged it to state its demands.

• Jiang Lu offered to share the Swordheart Grass with You Xi and Chen Cheng, and they agreed to help her obtain it.
• When Mu Xiaoqing approached the spirit swords, a spirit sword threatened her, so Jiang Lu drew Qianming and shielded the group.
• Jiang Lu warned Mu Xiaoqing that the spirit sword was hostile, then secretly told her to collect the nearby Swordheart Grass.
• Mu Xiaoqing gathered the herbs and gave them to Jiang Lu, while the spirit sword pressed closer without attacking her.
• Jiang Lu confronted the spirit sword, whose Sword Spirit appeared and remarked that Qianming was no ordinary sword.

Jiang Lu rejected the sword spirit’s attempt to persuade Mu Xiaoqing into a damaging contract and attacked it with Qianming. Qianming destroyed the sword spirit and grew stronger, leaving You Xi stunned as Jiang Lu turned back to the others.

• The sword spirit asked Mu Xiaoqing to contract with it so it could leave the Sword Mound, promising to heal her master’s injuries afterward.
• Jiang Lu warned Mu Xiaoqing that dissolving the contract could cost her cultivation, while You Xi and Chen Cheng urged Mu Xiaoqing to listen to Jiang Lu.
• Jiang Lu sent You Xi, Chen Cheng, and Mu Xiaoqing away, then attacked the sword spirit with Qianming.
• Qianming absorbed energy from the surrounding spirit swords and shattered the sword spirit, leaving its blade powerless and damaged.
• Qianming returned to Jiang Lu with a stronger aura, and You Xi asked whether Jiang Lu had destroyed the sword spirit.