Chapter Summaries

After emerging from four years of seclusion, Zhou Qing reunited with his disciples and reassured Qingyuan that he would keep caring for her. He then set out to melt the Thunder Serpent Horn into pellets to strengthen his Iron Pellet Technique.

• Zhou Qing said goodbye to Mu Zhuosha and returned to his courtyard, where his junior brothers and sisters welcomed him and told him about their lives in the sect.
• Zhou Qing visited Qingyuan, who confessed that she feared being abandoned, and promised to take care of her for the rest of her life.
• Zhou Qing reflected on the many people who depended on him and decided to use his time before Mu Zhuosha prepared the Foundation Establishment Pill to work on the Thunder Serpent Horn.
• Zhou Qing left Violet Cloud Mountain and headed to the mountain where he had previously tested his power, intending to melt the horn into pellets.

Zhou Qing pushed Withered Wood Revives to its limit and discovered that his magnetic field perception could reach deeper into matter, then used his enhanced power to melt the Thunder Serpent Horn into bullets. After collecting five Foundation Establishment Pills, he broke through in Thunder Serpent Cave with unexpected ease and confirmed that he had established his foundation.

• Zhou Qing expanded his magnetic field and explored the microscopic structures of matter while his life potential was at its peak.
• Zhou Qing melted the Thunder Serpent Horn with plasma and shaped the liquid into one hundred and twenty bullets before his life potential began to decline.
• Mu Zhuosha gave Zhou Qing five Foundation Establishment Pills and explained that he should take one if his qi sea was damaged during the breakthrough.
• Zhou Qing returned to Thunder Serpent Cave and began Foundation Establishment as the Thunder Serpent grumbled at his unexpected return.
• Zhou Qing directed his spiritual energy into his qi sea acupoint and established his foundation in less than two quarters of an hour.
• Zhou Qing confirmed his dantian had stabilized and realized his unusually strong body had made the breakthrough easy.

Zhou Qing decided to open multiple dantians to increase his strength, even if doing so slowed his cultivation. After successfully opening a second dantian in his left hand, he prepared to attempt a third.

• Zhou Qing considered the benefits and costs of opening more dantians and chose to prioritize his future strength over cultivation speed.
• Using Ancient Notes from Du Ziming, Zhou Qing selected the Zhongchong Acupoint on his left hand as his second dantian.
• Zhou Qing carefully struck the Zhongchong Acupoint with spiritual energy, using a Foundation Establishment Pill to repair the damage.
• After five more days, Zhou Qing stabilized the Zhongchong Acupoint and successfully opened his second dantian.
• Zhou Qing rested for two days, then prepared to open his third dantian.

After opening all sixteen of his Dantians, Zhou Qing used Withered Wood Revives to greatly strengthen his magnetic field and rapidly absorb spiritual energy. His experiment drained the Spirit Pool enough to disrupt the Azure Cloud Sect’s spiritual energy, and Sect Leader True Person warned him to consider the sect before trying such things again.

• Zhou Qing asked Mu Zhuosha to buy twenty Foundation Establishment Pills and have people collect more Ancient Notes, claiming he was exploring how to open the Middle and Upper Dantians.
• After receiving the pills, Zhou Qing returned to Thunder Serpent Cave and spent four months opening the remaining ten acupoints, bringing his total to one large and fifteen small Dantians.
• With no new Dantians left to open, Zhou Qing activated Withered Wood Revives and discovered that his magnetic field expanded dramatically in his peak state.
• Zhou Qing drew spiritual energy from the Spirit Pool so quickly that its water level fell by three chi, cutting off the Azure Cloud Sect’s usual source of spiritual energy.
• Sect Leader True Person confronted Zhou Qing at the Spirit Pool, and Zhou Qing promised not to repeat the experiment while the Sect Leader urged him to consider the sect’s inheritance.

Over five years, Zhou Qing cultivated carefully while his ideas reshaped the Western Serenity Continent and the Eight Sect Alliance expanded its influence. After his junior disciples took their sect examination, he approved Wang Xiaohu’s request to serve in Great Qian.

• Zhou Qing tested Withered Wood Revives at its lowest efficiency and began cultivating in that first-stage limit state every three days.
• Zhou Qing coordinated the Eight Sect Alliance’s dispute with the Dao Speech Sect, using Infrasound to make the sect yield and accept the Long-Distance Communication System.
• The Dharma Dissemination Dojo assessed the Eight Sect Alliance, judged it far from the Nascent Soul Realm, and encouraged three other alliances to form.
• Twenty of Zhou Qing’s fifty-seven junior brothers and sisters became formal disciples, while the rest were assigned to sect enterprises or the mortal world.
• Wang Xiaohu asked Zhou Qing for a permanent posting in Great Qian, reconsidered for a month, then reaffirmed his choice, and Zhou Qing agreed.

Wang Xiaohu left Azure Cloud Sect after a farewell banquet, while Zhou Qing prepared to depart following ten years of cultivation in Thunder Serpent Cave. Before leaving, Zhou Qing completed a device that let him control the Eight Sect Alliance’s Relay Station network, giving him a powerful safeguard for his journey.

• Qingyuan gave Wang Xiaohu a Storage Pouch with cultivation supplies and gifts for his father, and Wang Xiaohu left Azure Cloud Sect the next day.
• As disciples departed, Zhou Qing discussed their plans with Wei Xu and Yuan Hongying; Wei Xu chose the Discipline Hall, while Yuan Hongying chose the Array Institute.
• Zhou Qing spent two more years in Thunder Serpent Cave, opening one primary dantian and twenty-five secondary dantians before ending his ten-year retreat.
• Zhou Qing told the Sect Leader True Person that he planned to descend the mountain soon, then collected a Bagua disk from Xuan Zhe at the Array Institute.
• Zhou Qing activated the Bagua disk and gained access to the Heavenly Net arrays across more than eighty thousand Relay Stations throughout the Western Serenity Continent.

Zhou Qing used the Long-Distance Communication System to find Bai Yujing and set out to investigate him and court Yanlin Valley. Near his destination, he changed his appearance and aura so Bai Yujing would not recognize him.

• Zhou Qing found Bai Yujing's Spirit Pressure among a group of mostly low-level cultivators and identified the area where he was staying.
• Zhou Qing decided to investigate Bai Yujing and the Seven Emotions Sect, and to seek an alliance with Yanlin Valley.
• Zhou Qing entrusted the Array Institute to Mu Zhuosha and said farewell to her and Qingyuan before leaving the mountain.
• Zhou Qing flew northeast for five days and used his magnetic-field ability to change his aura and appearance.
• Zhou Qing reconnected to the Relay Station and tried to locate Bai Yujing again.

Zhou Qing tracked Bai Yujing to the Li Family residence in Lian Gu Town and learned that the family was recruiting cultivators for a competition over a Golden Core True Person's secret realm. He demonstrated his strength to gain entry, and Bai Qing reacted in shock when he heard Zhou Qing's name.

• Zhou Qing followed Bai Yujing's signal to Lian Gu Town and discovered that he was inside the Li Family residence.
• Zhou Qing learned that the seven Foundation Establishment families would compete for the right to explore a Golden Core True Person's secret realm first.
• Zhou Qing offered to join the Li Family, then cleaved its recruitment arena in two with a Gengjin Blade spell.
• A Li Family clansman reported Zhou Qing's arrival to Li Zuowu, who was meeting with the newly recruited guest elder Bai Qing.
• Bai Qing dropped and shattered his teacup when he heard that the visitor was named Zhou Qing.

Bai Yujing joined the Li Family to search for a Golden Core secret realm and was alarmed when a cultivator named Zhou Qing arrived. After the two clashed over their terms for entering the hidden treasury, Zhou Qing was led to a courtyard where more than twenty young girls waited.

• Bai Yujing recalled his past defeat by Zhou Qing and sought a divine sense cultivation method rumored to lie in a secret realm in the Lian Gu Mountains.
• Li Zuowu invited Zhou Qing into the Li Family hall, where Bai Yujing questioned him and concealed his relief upon believing he was not the Zhou Qing he feared.
• Zhou Qing revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation, prompting Li Zuowu to welcome his help in securing first entry to the hidden treasury.
• Zhou Qing demanded a share of the treasury's contents and one low-grade spirit stone each day, provoking Bai Yujing while Li Zuowu tried to keep them apart.
• Li Zuowu sent Zhou Qing to a quiet courtyard, where Zhou Qing found more than twenty girls standing in neat rows.

Zhou Qing established an arrogant new persona at the Li Family estate while investigating Bai Yujing’s purpose. After Bai Yujing left the estate, Zhou Qing planted a sound-transmission array plate in his room and followed his movements to a mountain, where he found him meeting two low-level cultivators.

• Zhou Qing demanded thirty-six beauties, then sent them all away to show that he was no less indifferent to female beauty than Bai Qing.
• Zhou Qing settled into the Li Family estate and tried to uncover Bai Yujing’s intentions, but Bai Yujing revealed nothing.
• Zhou Qing used the Relay Station to observe Bai Yujing leaving the estate and seized the chance to plant a sound-transmission array plate in his room.
• Zhou Qing tracked Bai Yujing to a nearby mountain, where he saw him meet two cultivators at the second level of Qi Refinement.

Bai Yujing manipulated the Li and Cai Families into conflict while secretly training to counter Zhou Qing, whom he considered a terrifying opponent. After learning that the Seven Emotions Sect planned to attack Yanlin Valley, Zhou Qing decided to use Bai Yujing to infiltrate the sect and waited for an opening.

• Bai Yujing killed one of two men he had followed, then returned unnoticed to the Li Family.
• The Cai Family accused Li Yiming of killing their granddaughter, and tensions between the Cai and Li Families nearly erupted into a fight.
• Zhou Qing helped the Li Family by displaying his Spirit Pressure as a guest elder while the rival families fueled the dispute.
• A woman from the Seven Emotions Sect confronted Bai Yujing, who explained that he was practicing how to exploit human conflicts so he could defeat Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing overheard that the Seven Emotions Sect planned to attack Yanlin Valley and resolved to use Bai Yujing as a way into the sect.
• Zhou Qing went into hiding and waited for Bai Yujing to create an opportunity.

Bai Yujing’s murder of Master Qi using the Hong Family’s Bone-Piercing Chill deepened mistrust among Lian Gu Town’s seven families, pushing them toward civil war. Zhou Qing confronted Bai Yujing, revealed that he suspected him of both murders, and proposed they become friends.

• During a banquet at the Hong Family, the Yu Family learned that Master Qi had been killed, and the seven family heads went to investigate.
• The family heads found traces of the Hong Family’s Bone-Piercing Chill on Master Qi’s corpse, causing them to suspect one another and destroying the town’s fragile peace.
• Bai Yujing was pleased that his schemes had brought the seven families close to conflict while he limited himself to using cultivation below the third level of Foundation Establishment.
• Zhou Qing confronted Bai Yujing, accused him of killing the Cai Family woman and Master Qi, and explained that he had watched him since seeing him follow Li Yiming.
• Bai Yujing considered killing Zhou Qing, but Zhou Qing warned that he could escape even a stronger opponent and suggested they become friends.

Bai Yujing recruited Zhou Qing for the Seven Emotions Sect and introduced him to Lin Xue, who agreed to assess him during the operation against Yanlin Valley. Lin Xue led Zhou Qing into Yanlin Valley's sphere of influence as Bai Yujing returned to the Lian Gu Mountains.

• Bai Yujing offered Zhou Qing a chance to prove himself and gain entry to an unnamed sect.
• Bai Yujing staged a falling-out with Zhou Qing, obtained leave from Li Zuowu, and took him beyond the Lian Gu Mountains.
• Bai Yujing's followers greeted him as the Tenth Young Master and said Seventh Miss was on her way.
• Lin Xue arrived, learned Zhou Qing's name, and agreed to assess him for admission to the Seven Emotions Sect.
• Bai Yujing declined to join the operation against Yanlin Valley and returned to the Lian Gu Mountains.
• Lin Xue introduced herself as Zhou Qing's seat master and led him deeper into Yanlin Valley's sphere of influence.

Lin Xue brought Zhou Qing to the Seven Emotions Sect’s gathering point, where Wei Wushang and Hu Tingyuan mocked Bai Yujing and dismissed Zhou Qing as a figure of hollow fame. When they arranged a spar to provoke Lin Xue, Zhou Qing accepted their challenge.

• Lin Xue brought Zhou Qing to the ruined temple where the Seven Emotions Sect had gathered to attack Yanlin Valley.
• Wei Wushang and Hu Tingyuan criticized Bai Yujing and claimed Zhou Qing was famous without merit.
• Wei Wushang and Hu Tingyuan proposed a spar between their Rogue Cultivators and Zhou Qing to entertain themselves and put Lin Xue in her place.
• Lin Xue objected because she feared Zhou Qing would be hurt, but Zhou Qing accepted the challenge.

Zhou Qing defeated Wang Daxun with Lightning Arts, drawing Wei Wushang and Hu Tingyuan’s suspicion and attention. Lin Xue led him away after the others agreed to keep him under watch while they investigated his origins.

• Lin Xue allowed Wang Daxun to challenge Zhou Qing after Zhou refused her attempt to protect him.
• Wang Daxun attacked with a flying sword, but Zhou Qing caught it and shattered it with Lightning Arts, leaving Wang badly injured.
• Wei Wushang questioned Zhou Qing about his Lightning Arts and suspected he might be an Immortal Path spy, while Lin Xue and Hu Tingyuan argued that he was likely trustworthy.
• Wei Wushang agreed to spare Zhou Qing for now but ordered that he remain under the three senior disciples’ watch.
• Zhou Qing taunted the gathered cultivators, and Lin Xue led him from the hall and acknowledged his mastery of Lightning Arts.

The Seven Emotions Sect reached Yanlin Valley after Yan Dongyang betrayed his sect and disabled its protective formation. As Yanlin Valley’s defenders faced the invaders, Zhou Qing mocked Yan Dongyang, leaving Lin Xue to urge him to focus on the battle.

• Lin Xue warned Zhou Qing not to provoke the Seven Emotions Sect’s senior apprentices, and Zhou Qing agreed to behave.
• The Seven Emotions Sect’s forces arrived at Yanlin Valley, where its protective formation suddenly collapsed.
• Yan Dongyang joined Wei Wushang and revealed that he had betrayed Yanlin Valley by disabling the formation.
• Yan Xuyang and Yan Xiaorong arrived with their remaining Foundation Establishment disciples, while Yan Xuyang accused Yan Dongyang of betraying the sect.
• Yan Dongyang explained his resentment toward Yan Xuyang and Yanlin Valley, and Yan Xiaorong insulted him.
• Zhou Qing laughed at Yan Xiaorong’s remark, angering Yan Dongyang, while Lin Xue told Zhou Qing to focus on the urgent matter.

Yan Dongyang betrayed Yanlin Valley to the Seven Emotions Sect, but reinforcements from the Eight Sect Alliance arrived in time. Zhou Qing revealed that he had infiltrated the Seven Emotions Sect to track its movements, leaving the attackers surrounded by growing opposition.

• Yan Dongyang taunted Yan Xuyang and demanded that he kill himself, while Yan Xuyang condemned his betrayal.
• Iron Sword Old Man arrived with Sky Sword Sect reinforcements, explaining that the Eight Sect Alliance Leader had warned them of the attack three days earlier.
• Xu Jingfeng and Mu Zhuosha arrived from the Azure Cloud Sect by the Alliance Leader's command, further strengthening Yanlin Valley's defenses.
• Wei Wushang threatened the arriving cultivators, but Zhou Qing appeared among the Seven Emotions Sect's ranks and asked whether they had brought anyone else.
• Zhou Qing revealed his identity as the Eight Sect Alliance Leader and said he had infiltrated the Seven Emotions Sect to scout its movements.
• Lin Xue recognized that the mission had failed and blamed Bai Yujing for unknowingly bringing Zhou Qing to them.

Zhou Qing let the Seven Emotions Sect withdraw from Yanlin Valley, then used Relay Stations to track them and find their lair. After Yanlin Valley joined the Nine Alliance, the Seven Emotions Sect confronted Bai Yujing, who was stunned to learn that the Zhou Qing he had studied was the same Zhou Qing who had secretly exposed and thwarted their plans.

• Zhou Qing allowed Lin Xue, Wei Wushang, and the Seven Emotions Sect to leave, while Yan Xiaorong failed to reclaim Yan Dongyang.
• Yan Xuyang agreed to bring Yanlin Valley into the Eight Sect Alliance, which became the Nine Alliance.
• Zhou Qing deployed Relay Stations over Yanlin Valley and planned to use the marked Spirit Pressure signatures of the departing Seven Emotions Sect members to locate their lair.
• The Seven Emotions Sect went to the Lian Gu Mountains, where Bai Yujing had incited seven Foundation Establishment families to fight and obtained a Divine Sense Method from a Golden Core secret realm.
• Lin Xue told Bai Yujing that Zhou Qing had been at Yanlin Valley under his own identity, leaving Bai Yujing shocked and dejected.

Bai Yujing warned the Seven Emotions Sect cultivators that Zhou Qing might be tracking them and persuaded them to scatter and take detours. Watching them through the Relay Station, Zhou Qing identified their resting places and mapped the sect’s strongholds.

• Bai Yujing argued that Zhou Qing was powerful enough to pose a serious threat and might be tracking the Seven Emotions Sect cultivators.
• Bai Yujing persuaded Wei Wushang and the others to split up, take winding routes, and reunite at the Holy Sect.
• Bai Yujing left Lian Gu Town rather than stay to watch the conflict among the Foundation Establishment families.
• Zhou Qing watched the Seven Emotions Sect cultivators scatter through the Relay Station and realized they were trying to evade his tracking.
• Zhou Qing marked the cultivators’ overnight stops on a map of the Western Serenity Continent to locate the Seven Emotions Sect’s strongholds.

Zhou Qing discovered that the Seven Emotions Sect had gathered near Myriad Visions City and suspected the Dharma Dissemination Dojo was secretly supporting them. After warning Mu Zhuosha about the danger of investigating further, he left her to connect his clues about the Dojo and the Fifth Ancestor’s death.

• Zhou Qing traced the Seven Emotions Sect to the area near Myriad Visions City and concluded that the Dharma Dissemination Dojo might be nurturing the sect as a hidden weapon.
• Zhou Qing decided to stop tracking the Seven Emotions Sect because the Dharma Dissemination Dojo could kill him if it learned he knew its secret.
• Zhou Qing told Mu Zhuosha that the Sect Leader True Person had sent him to investigate whether the Dharma Dissemination Dojo had killed geniuses nearing the Nascent Soul realm.
• Mu Zhuosha described mysterious deaths among powerful geniuses, including the Fifth Ancestor of the Azure Cloud Sect, whose breakthrough was disrupted by a Demonic Path attack.
• Zhou Qing declined to explain why he suspected the Seven Emotions Sect, and Mu Zhuosha pieced together his clues and grew alarmed.