Chapter Summaries

After Elder Jiang disappeared in the explosion of the ancient jade, Gu Sheng entered the world of The Unbeginning Scripture and learned how to leave the Desolate Domain through Void Crossing. He returned to Pingtou Mountain, sought Zhang Tianxing’s Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking, and was drawn into its illusion.

• Elder Jiang told Gu Sheng that The Unbeginning Scripture could help him leave the Desolate Domain, then vanished when the ancient jade exploded and destroyed the altar and stele ruins.
• The Unbeginning Scripture drew Gu Sheng into its inner world, where its guardian Unbeginning explained that Gu Sheng had to understand its patterns and laws to master its power.
• After studying the patterns, Gu Sheng activated Void Crossing and traveled through the void before arriving at Pingtou Mountain.
• Gu Sheng found Zhang Tianxing, recounted his experiences, and asked to learn from the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking.
• Zhang Tianxing summoned the book and challenged Gu Sheng to comprehend its illusions; the book pulled Gu Sheng into a dense forest.

Gu Sheng fought off boar demons in the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking illusion, then faced a Greed Spirit disguised as Ji Ziyue. After defeating its attack, he was left questioning his feelings for Ji Ziyue and what the illusion was testing.

• Gu Sheng used his Fire Spirit Dagger to kill the boar demons and set out through the forest.
• Gu Sheng met a Ji Ziyue who claimed she had followed him, but he suspected she was an illusion and tested her memories and knowledge of the Great Void Technique.
• Gu Sheng sensed his power being drained, exposed Ji Ziyue as the Greed Spirit, and fought it with his Fire Spirit Dagger.
• The Greed Spirit appeared to leave a wounded Ji Ziyue behind, but Gu Sheng realized the apparent victim was another deception and drove the spirit away.
• Gu Sheng wondered whether he had feelings for Ji Ziyue and what the illusion was testing.

Gu Sheng passed the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking’s illusion test, received Zhang Tianxing’s map, and found the book hidden in an underground chamber. He reached its protective barrier, which required true blood to open, and prepared to use his Fire Spirit Dagger.

• Gu Sheng resisted the illusion of a mountain of raw ores and returned to Zhang Tianxing’s room, having passed the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking’s test.
• Zhang Tianxing gave Gu Sheng the treasure map and vanished after explaining that handing it over would scatter the divine mountain’s spiritual energy.
• Gu Sheng followed the map to barren mountains, realized the Heavenly Book might be underground, and found an abandoned mine shaft.
• Gu Sheng descended into the mine, discovered a concealed chamber, and found the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking on a jade platform behind a spell barrier.
• Gu Sheng read the barrier’s instruction to use true blood to take the book and summoned his Fire Spirit Dagger.

Gu Sheng retrieved the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking from a mine, fought strange creatures that yielded Source Ore, and escaped after sealing the entrance. He returned to Stone Village and revealed the book, which Fifth Master Zhang recognized as a lost Zhang family heirloom and sacred relic of the Source Heavenly Master.

• Gu Sheng used his blood to remove the barrier and took the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking, but hid when unfamiliar creatures approached the stone chamber.
• Gu Sheng killed the creatures with the Fire Spirit Dagger, collected Source Ore from their corpses, and sealed the mine entrance before fleeing.
• Gu Sheng sensed an unknown energy following him toward Stone Village, hid in a valley overnight, and went to the village after dawn when the surroundings seemed safe.
• The villagers welcomed Gu Sheng back, and Elder Shi and Fifth Master Zhang gathered with him in the council hall after he said he had important news.
• Gu Sheng showed the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking, and Fifth Master Zhang recognized it as the Zhang family heirloom and knelt in gratitude as the Zhang family members followed.

Gu Sheng returned Earth Spirit Source Stones to Fifth Master Zhang, but a mysterious presence seemed to overhear them and later attacked Stone Village. After Old Yellow Ox was killed and dragged away, Gu Sheng pursued the creature into the night.

• Gu Sheng gave Fifth Master Zhang Earth Spirit Source Stones, and Fifth Master Zhang and Elder Shi warned that Azure Cloud Sect and the earth spirits might pursue anyone who took them.
• Gu Sheng sensed a strange energy fluctuation near the council hall, but he could not find its source after chasing it away from the village.
• Gu Sheng attended Stone Village's bonfire celebration, then rushed to Shi Lou's cowshed after Sister-in-law Shi cried out that a human-like Big Black Bear had killed Old Yellow Ox and dragged it away.
• Gu Sheng examined the bloody ox head, doubted that an ordinary bear was responsible, and left to investigate while Fifth Master Zhang told the villagers to stay alert.
• Gu Sheng followed the scent of blood for dozens of li into the night.

After discovering that the Earth Spirit Source Stone had been stolen during a diversion, Gu Sheng studied the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking and traced the stone to Kaiyang City. He arrived with Er Gou and Shi Lou and learned of a mysterious source stone in the city’s northern district that might be the one he sought.

• Gu Sheng found his Earth Spirit Source Stone missing and, with Fifth Master Zhang, suspected outsiders such as the Azure Cloud Sect or stone gamblers had taken it.
• Gu Sheng studied the Heavenly Book of Source-Seeking for more than a month and used its upper volume to sense the stone’s direction.
• Gu Sheng learned the Earth Spirit Source Stone lay southeast of Stone Village, toward Kaiyang City, and set out with Er Gou and Shi Lou.
• The three reached Kaiyang City, paid the guards in source stones, and settled at Source Stone Inn.
• Gu Sheng searched the stone gambling market and heard that a mysterious, powerful source stone had appeared in northern Kaiyang City.
• Gu Sheng planned to search the northern district the next morning, believing the mysterious source stone might be his stolen Earth Spirit Source Stone.

Gu Sheng and his companions encountered the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden’s preparations in Kaiyang City, then crossed into Azure Cloud Sect territory and were barred from the Gambling Stone House. After sensing a premium Insect Source Stone in a boulder, Gu Sheng returned and struck a deal with Qingshan, leaving a crowd eager to see the stone.

• Soldiers ordered the innkeeper to close his inn for the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden’s arrival, but allowed it to remain open after he paid them in Source Ore.
• Gu Sheng, Er Gou, and Shi Lou found the streets divided between the Jade Pool Holy Land’s restricted territory and the Azure Cloud Sect’s busy territory, then headed to the Gambling Stone House.
• Thugs insulted and turned the three away, and Gu Sheng left rather than provoke the Azure Cloud Sect’s attention.
• Gu Sheng sensed an ancient premium Insect Source Stone inside a huge boulder by the bridge and decided to use it to approach Qingshan.
• Gu Sheng beat the thugs after they insulted him again, then demanded the Gambling Stone House’s best Source Ore and the Azure Cloud Sect’s protection in exchange for showing Qingshan the treasure.
• Qingshan accepted Gu Sheng’s terms, and gamblers poured out of the Gambling Stone House to watch as Gu Sheng led him to the boulder.

Gu Sheng proved that the boulder contained Source Ore and uncovered a rare Palm Splitting Stone, winning his wager with Qingshan. Qingshan faced the crowd’s demands to honor his promise, and Gu Sheng offered him another form of punishment.

• Gu Sheng wagered with Qingshan that the boulder contained Source Ore, while Qingshan promised to swallow stone chips if it did.
• After the first cut revealed nothing, Gu Sheng persuaded the stone cutter to make another cut, which exposed a piece of Source Ore.
• Gu Sheng directed the stone cutter to shape the remaining stone, revealing a valuable Palm Splitting Stone.
• Shi Lou reminded Qingshan to keep his promise, and Qingshan hesitated to swallow a sharp stone chip.
• Gu Sheng offered Qingshan another form of punishment, and Qingshan asked what it was.

Gu Sheng seized a Primordial Ancient Ore stone at the Gambling Stone House and learned that the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden had arrived in the city. He headed for the Jade Pool Holy Land’s Spirit Stone shop, where Qingshan used his Azure Cloud Sect connections to seek them entry.

• Gu Sheng forced Qingshan to serve him for ten days, and Qingshan led him into the Gambling Stone House after slapping its owner for insulting him.
• Gu Sheng used his divine sense to find a stone containing Primordial Ancient Ore, then had Qingshan make the owner hand it over.
• Gu Sheng asked Qingshan about the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden and agreed to shorten his service if Qingshan could help him approach her.
• The Jade Pool Immortal Maiden arrived amid a spectacular display and flew to the Spirit Stone shop, prompting Gu Sheng to head there with a Palm Splitting Stone.
• At the Spirit Stone shop, Qingshan spotted his Third Brother and called Gu Sheng and the others over for help getting inside.

Gu Sheng searched the Spirit Stone shop for the Earth Spirit Source Stones and helped the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden recover from abnormal fluctuations in her divine power. She gave him the stones and protected him from Qing Mu and Qing Lei, who left after learning the Jade Pool Holy Land backed him.

• Gu Sheng deflected Qing Lei's energy during a handshake, then entered the Spirit Stone shop with Qingshan, Qing Mu, and the others to search for the Earth Spirit Source Stones.
• Qing Lei deliberately broke a piece of Source Ore and blamed Er Gou, while Qing Mu denied knowing Gu Sheng and demanded compensation.
• The Jade Pool Immortal Maiden became ill when she stirred her divine power, and Gu Sheng used a Yuan and Mysterious Mother Qi to stabilize her condition.
• After Gu Sheng explained that he was seeking the Earth Spirit Source Stones, the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden agreed to help and had a servant bring them from storage.
• Qing Lei challenged Gu Sheng over the stones' connection to Azure Cloud Sect's spirit vein, but the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden claimed responsibility for giving them to Gu Sheng, and Qing Mu led his group away.

Gu Sheng attended the Jade Pool Holy Land’s stone appreciation gathering, where Yao Xi warned him that its courtyard was an altar and that Er Gou might be a target for sacrifice-refining. As Gu Sheng tried to sneak Er Gou out, Yao Xi drew attention to herself, and the nine strange stones formed a seven-colored sphere of light.

• The Jade Pool Immortal Maiden invited Gu Sheng, Er Gou, and Shi Lou into the rear courtyard, where Gu Sheng noticed an altar-like arrangement of strange stones and encountered Yao Xi.
• Yao Xi reunited with Gu Sheng, and the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden joined them to examine a high-quality Blue Crystal Stone.
• Yao Xi warned Gu Sheng that the gathering’s altar might be screening people with physiques suitable for sacrifice-refining.
• After the nine enormous stones arrived, Er Gou trembled as their demonic nature triggered his bloodline, and Gu Sheng used Mysterious Yellow Qi to stabilize him.
• Gu Sheng began to carry Er Gou toward an exit while Yao Xi distracted the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden by testing the stones.
• The stones lit up in seven colors and converged into a millstone-sized sphere of light as Yao Xi stirred her divine power.

Gu Sheng escaped the Jade Pool Holy Land’s guards and learned that Er Gou’s reaction to the Source Ore marked him as a potential cultivator the holy land wanted to train. After the Grand Elder spared Gu Sheng, he flew to find Er Gou and Shi Lou, only to discover that Qing Mu and Qing Lei’s Azure Cloud Sect group had cornered them.

• Gu Sheng cut through two guards’ spears and drove them off, then sent Shi Lou away with the weakened Er Gou while he faced the pursuing guards.
• The Grand Elder crushed Gu Sheng with his pressure, but Yao Xi and the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden pleaded for him, and the Grand Elder let him go.
• The Jade Pool Immortal Maiden explained that Er Gou’s reaction to the Source Ore meant the formation altar had detected his special potential, and she offered him training while respecting his family’s choice.
• After the Jade Pool Immortal Maiden and Yao Xi left, Gu Sheng flew toward Shi Lou and Er Gou and found Azure Cloud Sect disciples surrounding them.
• Gu Sheng saw that Shi Lou was wounded and Er Gou was nearly unconscious, then Qing Lei mocked his reassurance that Er Gou would recover with rest.

Gu Sheng killed Qing Lei and nearly defeated Qing Mu, but Qingshan's plea let Qing Mu escape and summon Azure Cloud Sect disciples. Gu Sheng carried the injured Shi Lou and Er Gou to an inn, where Qing Mu and his followers attacked; Gu Sheng fought them off and killed more than a dozen disciples as Qing Mu tried to flee.

• Shi Lou charged Qing Lei, who struck him with the Shaking Palm, and Gu Sheng caught Shi Lou and protected his heart meridian.
• Gu Sheng killed Qing Lei with a blast of Profound Yellow Power, then disarmed Qing Mu with the Fire Spirit Dagger and moved to strike his heart.
• Qingshan begged Gu Sheng to spare Qing Mu, giving Qing Mu time to launch a distress flare and escape; Gu Sheng then carried Shi Lou and Er Gou away.
• Gu Sheng returned to the inn and treated the injured Shi Lou and Er Gou while Qing Mu's disciples gathered outside and Qing Mu threatened to break in.
• Qing Mu stormed into the room and ordered his disciples to attack Gu Sheng, who killed more than a dozen of them before Qing Mu tried to flee.

Gu Sheng defeated Qing Mu and drove off the Azure Cloud Sect cultivators in Kaiyang City, then returned to Stone Village with the injured Shi Lou and Er Gou. After Elder Shi welcomed him back and confirmed he had retrieved the Earth Spirit Source Stones, Gu Sheng faced Fifth Master Zhang’s unexplained displeasure.

• Gu Sheng fought Qing Mu and killed him after escaping the Azure Cloud Sect’s formation with the Great Void Technique; the remaining disciples fled with Qing Mu’s corpse.
• Gu Sheng returned to the inn, where Qingshan had guarded Shi Lou and Er Gou, and Qingshan warned him that the Azure Cloud Sect might retaliate.
• Gu Sheng agreed to leave the Northern Region, then took Shi Lou and Er Gou by carriage back to Stone Village.
• Shi Lou’s mother took her injured son home, while Fifth Master Zhang summoned Gu Sheng to the village council hall.
• Elder Shi asked whether Gu Sheng had retrieved the Earth Spirit Source Stones, and Gu Sheng showed him that he had brought them all back.

Gu Sheng learned that Shi Lou and Er Gou descended from otherworldly cultivators whose dormant divine power had awakened after contact with unusual Source Ore. As Shi Lou’s transformation began, Gu Sheng helped him regain consciousness, and the group prepared to train him and Er Gou to defend Stone Village while keeping their origins secret.

• Fifth Master Zhang told Gu Sheng and Elder Shi that Er Gou and Shi Lou’s bloodlines had awakened, and explained their ancestors’ origins as cultivators from another world.
• Gu Sheng proposed training the awakened youths to protect Stone Village while keeping their identities secret, and Fifth Master Zhang and Elder Shi agreed to the plan.
• Shi Lou’s mother rushed to the council hall to report that Shi Lou and Er Gou’s appearances were changing, so Gu Sheng, Elder Shi, and Fifth Master Zhang hurried to Shi Lou’s home.
• Gu Sheng used his divine power to help Shi Lou through his transformation, and Shi Lou expelled black blood before waking with new strength.
• Fifth Master Zhang and Gu Sheng explained that Shi Lou now possessed divine power and would train alongside Er Gou to guard Stone Village, and Shi Lou promised to protect the village and his family.

Gu Sheng helped Er Gou stabilize his newly awakened power, then took him and Shi Lou to train in Divine Wood Forest. A month later, the injured Shi Shanlin warned them that Fifth Master Zhang had been attacked, and the village faced an imminent assault by bandits seeking the Heart of the Divine Wood and the young men’s awakened bloodlines.

• Er Gou lost control of his awakened divine power and destroyed a pigsty, but Gu Sheng calmed him and helped him stabilize it.
• Fifth Master Zhang brought Gu Sheng, Shi Lou, and Er Gou to Divine Wood Forest to train, and Gu Sheng taught the two young men to control their power over the following month.
• Shi Shanlin arrived at the forest wounded and collapsed after warning Gu Sheng to save Fifth Master Zhang.
• Gu Sheng and Er Gou flew to Stone Village, where they found Fifth Master Zhang gravely injured and learned that two groups of bandits had come for the Heart of the Divine Wood and Shi Lou’s and Er Gou’s awakened bloodlines.
• When the village gong sounded an alarm, Elder Shi called the able-bodied men to defend the village, and Er Gou rushed toward the danger as his mother called after him.

Er Gou killed the bandits who attacked Stone Village, and the villagers learned that the Azure Cloud Sect had backed them. After recovering Shi Shanlin and preparing to retaliate, Gu Sheng led Er Gou and Shi Lou into the sect’s underground mine, where they slaughtered dozens of young Earth Spirits.

• Er Gou killed Scarface and the bandits at Stone Village, while Shi Lei learned that they had killed his mother and killed the last surviving bandit.
• Gu Sheng discovered that the Azure Cloud Sect backed the bandits, and he and Er Gou promised to take revenge and protect Stone Village.
• Gu Sheng healed Shi Shanlin, then joined Er Gou, Shi Lou, village elders, and Fifth Master Zhang in deciding to destroy the Azure Cloud Sect’s spiritual vein before attacking the sect.
• Three days later, Gu Sheng led Er Gou and Shi Lou into the underground mine and warned them about the young Earth Spirits they encountered.
• Er Gou and Shi Lou charged the young Earth Spirits and killed dozens of them.

Gu Sheng, Er Gou, and Shi Lou were trapped between hordes of Earth Spirit monsters in the mine, but Gu Sheng escaped with them into the void using the Great Void Technique. He used the Fire Spirit Dagger’s light to provoke the monsters into fighting each other, then led Er Gou and Shi Lou onward to search for the Azure Cloud Sect’s spirit vein.

• Gu Sheng identified the chips left by the slain young Earth Spirits as low-grade Earth Spirit Source Stones and led Er Gou and Shi Lou deeper into the mine.
• Gu Sheng found an abyss filled with Earth Spirit monsters, and the trio fled until monsters blocked their path from both directions.
• As Er Gou and Shi Lou were injured in the fight, Gu Sheng opened a rift with the Great Void Technique and carried them into the void, which would last only two hours.
• Gu Sheng realized the monsters were drawn to light and used the Fire Spirit Dagger as bait, causing the monsters to crowd around it and slaughter one another.
• Gu Sheng warned Er Gou and Shi Lou against killing each other over benefits, then threw the dagger down the tunnel to draw the remaining monsters away and ordered the group onward.

Gu Sheng, Er Gou, and Shi Lou descended into the depths beneath Azure Cloud Mountain, absorbed energy from the sect’s crystals, and found its enormous spiritual vein. They attacked its energy gate to cripple the Azure Cloud Sect, but their blows could not damage it.

• Gu Sheng leaped down the mine’s deep cliff, and Er Gou and Shi Lou followed despite his order to wait above.
• The three reunited beside crystals refined from Source Ore, and Gu Sheng led them in absorbing the crystals’ energy.
• Gu Sheng, Er Gou, and Shi Lou discovered the Azure Cloud Sect’s spiritual vein and identified its energy gate as the target.
• Er Gou struck the energy gate repeatedly, but it remained unharmed, and Shi Lou joined him in attacking it.

Gu Sheng and his companions failed to break the spiritual vein’s air gate until they refined its mutated Earth Spirit guardian into a premium Earth Spirit Ore Source. After a cave-in weakened the vein, they used the ore’s power to crack open the gate.

• Er Gou and Shi Lou attacked the spiritual vein’s air gate without damaging it, and Gu Sheng’s resonant divine power only caused the vein to tremble.
• A mutated Earth Spirit monster attacked Er Gou and Shi Lou, and Gu Sheng fought it before recognizing that it was linked to the Earth Spirit Source Stone.
• Gu Sheng trapped the monster in a sealed void, where he, Er Gou, and Shi Lou heated it until it was refined into a premium Earth Spirit Ore Source.
• The cavern collapsed, burying Guangcheng and weakening the spiritual vein’s aura, but Gu Sheng and his companions survived.
• Gu Sheng, Er Gou, and Shi Lou channeled their divine power through the premium ore source and cracked open the spiritual vein’s energy gate.