Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing’s strength and cultivation improved over a month as tensions with Fang Yuhe’s camp persisted. When he set out to check on Nie Yunxi, the Discipline Hall summoned him because Wei Xu had ruined a furnace of pills through negligence and was sentenced to thirty strikes of the Soul-Striking Whip.

• Zhou Qing learned that the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall had stopped letting Fang Yuhe monopolize mission assignments, worsening hostility between their camps.
• Zhou Qing’s magnetic field expanded, his Iron Pellet Technique reached twenty times the speed of sound, and his Spirit Pressure rose to twelve cun.
• Zhou Qing worried about Nie Yunxi’s distant behavior and decided to visit her.
• Discipline Hall disciples summoned Zhou Qing to answer for Wei Xu’s offense.
• Jiang Renqing said Wei Xu had fallen asleep while watching a pill furnace, ruined a batch of Gathering Qi Pills, and been sentenced to thirty strikes of the Soul-Striking Whip.

Wei Xu endured thirty lashes in the Discipline Hall for oversleeping, then told Zhou Qing he suspected Liu Bingxuan had framed him. Wei Xu refused Zhou Qing’s offer to pursue the matter, choosing to keep his resentment as motivation, while Zhou Qing urged him not to let revenge corrupt his path; Wei Xu remained determined to settle the debt himself.

• Jiang Renqing rejected Zhou Qing’s defense of Wei Xu and ordered him to receive thirty lashes from the Soul-Striking Whip.
• Zhou Qing carried the exhausted Wei Xu out of the Discipline Hall, where Wei Xu recovered and blamed Liu Bingxuan for possibly tampering with the pill furnace.
• Wei Xu explained that Liu Bingxuan’s connections would likely spare him serious punishment even if he confessed, so he wanted to remember the grievance and grow stronger.
• Zhou Qing warned Wei Xu against letting revenge replace his pursuit of the Dao and offered to punish Liu Bingxuan himself.
• Wei Xu remained grave and unsatisfied, believing he needed to avenge the humiliation personally.

Zhou Qing maintained his meditation, cultivation, and array studies while Wei Xu decided to pursue longevity alongside him rather than become his enemy. After learning Liu Bingxuan likely used a Wood-type spell to make Wei Xu sluggish, Zhou Qing planned to investigate it at the Scripture Pavilion.

• Zhou Qing meditated and practiced Qi Refining before studying the effects of array runes with cinnabar ink and his magnetic field.
• Wei Xu told Zhou Qing he had let go of his grievance and chose to pursue longevity because their friendship mattered more to him than their differing goals.
• Zhou Qing said he would teach Liu Bingxuan a lesson, then trained his magnetic field oscillation before visiting Wei Kuang.
• Wei Kuang suspected Liu Bingxuan had used a Wood-type spell to make Wei Xu's mind sluggish and spirit listless.
• Wei Kuang told Zhou Qing that his Senior Apprentice authority allowed him to consult Qi Refining spells at the Scripture Pavilion.

Zhou Qing visited the Scripture Pavilion to study the Wood-type spell Immortal's Intoxication, which Liu Bingxuan had used against Wei Xu. He learned the principles of spell cultivation and mastered the spell, but its weak range left him unsure of its combat value.

• Zhou Qing met Xu Jingfeng at the Scripture Pavilion and received permission to enter.
• Zhou Qing searched the Wood-type spells and borrowed Immortal's Intoxication after registering it with Xu Jingfeng.
• After finishing his meditation and Qi Refinement, Zhou Qing studied the scroll and learned how spiritual energy, the extraordinary meridians, and the five viscera worked together to form spells.
• Zhou Qing memorized the meridian sequence and successfully guided Wood-type spiritual energy through his liver to cast Immortal's Intoxication.
• Zhou Qing saw that the spell's range was less than two feet and judged that it was too weak for a direct fight with Liu Bingxuan.

Zhou Qing developed a five-rune combination that reflected the spiritual energy fluctuations of Immortal's Intoxication, but it overwhelmed his paper array medium. He visited the Array Institute to ask Xuan Zhe for better materials, and Wu Tao offered to take him to the Elder.

• Zhou Qing reasoned that arrays could help him deal with Liu Bingxuan and expose the framing of Wei Xu without fighting openly.
• Zhou Qing tested runes that affected metal-aspect spiritual energy and, after three days, found five that worked together to reflect the desired fluctuations.
• Zhou Qing discovered that the five-rune combination was too powerful for kraft paper and decided to ask Xuan Zhe for a better array medium.
• Zhou Qing arrived at the Array Institute and asked Wu Tao for directions to Xuan Zhe.
• Wu Tao recognized Zhou Qing's Paper Crane Messaging and agreed to take him to Xuan Zhe.

Zhou Qing visited Xuan Zhe’s Research Room seeking an advanced array carrier for his new formation, but Wu Tao offered to obtain Golden Monkey Hide for him. Zhou Qing then entered Xuan Zhe’s workshop, where the Elder welcomed him and asked if he had come to learn formations.

• Wu Tao explained the Array Institute’s training and the dangers of researching formations, while Zhou Qing said his sensitivity to spiritual energy helped him avoid accidents.
• Zhou Qing asked Wu Tao for a suitable carrier because kraft paper burned when he completed a new formation.
• Wu Tao recommended Golden Monkey Hide, a carrier suitable for nearly all Yellow-Grade Arrays, and offered to fetch some from the Spiritual Garden.
• Wu Tao suggested Zhou Qing borrow Array Structures from Xuan Zhe to learn about formation grades, then sent him to the Elder’s Research Room.
• Xuan Zhe welcomed Zhou Qing into his workshop and asked if he had come to learn formations.

Zhou Qing borrowed array manuals from Xuan Zhe and learned how the Five Elements Extinction Array revealed new runes by concentrating spiritual energy. After leaving the Array Institute, he crossed paths with Liu Bingxuan, who later told Fang Yuhe’s companions that Zhou Qing had backed down from confronting him.

• Xuan Zhe urged Zhou Qing to join the Array Institute, but Zhou Qing declined and borrowed Advanced Array Symbols and Fundamentals of Array Structure.
• Xuan Zhe explained that the Five Elements Extinction Array concentrated spiritual energy to reveal runes, which the Azure Cloud Sect deciphered and recorded.
• Wu Tao gave Zhou Qing ten sheets of Golden Monkey Hide, and Zhou Qing thanked him before leaving Violet Cloud Mountain.
• Zhou Qing encountered Liu Bingxuan on the mountain path, ignored his provocation, and continued to his villa.
• Liu Bingxuan told Fang Yuhe’s gathered companions that Zhou Qing had slunk away without challenging him, and they discussed wanting to punish Zhou Qing as they had Wei Xu.

Fang Yuhe’s followers urged Liu Bingxuan to deal with Zhou Qing, while Zhou Qing completed and tested an array that rebounded Immortal’s Intoxication. After studying new array texts, Zhou Qing wondered whether he could reproduce the Five Elements Extinction Grand Formation.

• Liu Bingxuan dismissed Fang Yuhe’s warnings about Zhou Qing and offered to make Zhou Qing suffer, while Fang Yuhe welcomed the idea but redirected the group to cultivation.
• Zhou Qing inscribed an array on the Golden Monkey Hide and tested it, causing his Immortal’s Intoxication spell to rebound and put him to sleep.
• Zhou Qing found the array worked as intended but cracked after activation, so he added Metal-element traits to make it more dangerous for Liu Bingxuan.
• Zhou Qing planned to take another pill-furnace-guarding task and wait for Liu Bingxuan to attack, having encouraged his arrogance by keeping his own followers calm.
• Zhou Qing studied Advanced Array Symbols and Fundamentals of Array Structure, then wondered whether he could recreate the Five Elements Extinction Grand Formation.

Zhou Qing compressed spiritual energy with his magnetic field and discovered a powerful new attack, which he named Five-Colored Divine Light. After concealing the damage it caused, he continued training until he received a task guarding a pill furnace at the Pill Hall.

• Zhou Qing reasoned that Golden Core Sects could not compress spiritual energy to extreme concentrations because it became too turbulent for spells and arrays to contain.
• Zhou Qing used his magnetic field to compress spiritual energy until it formed dazzling streams of five-colored light, but could not compress it further.
• Zhou Qing released the compressed spiritual energy into a bamboo grove, where it snapped and partly vaporized several zhang of bamboo.
• Zhou Qing named the attack Five-Colored Divine Light, concealed the broken bamboo, and continued his daily training.
• Two days later, Zhou Qing accepted a Pill Hall task guarding a pill furnace and set out with the Golden Monkey Skin Array Diagram hidden against his body.

Zhou Qing watched Master Yuan’s pill furnace while waiting for Liu Bingxuan to make a move. Liu Bingxuan tried to intoxicate Zhou Qing with Immortal’s Intoxication, but instead collapsed in agony, leaving the Pill Hall guards stunned.

• Master Yuan assigned Zhou Qing to watch a batch of Bigu Pills in the Bing pill room before leaving with Qiao Hong.
• Qiao Hong pretended to return for his notes, then sent Liu Bingxuan a paper crane reporting that Zhou Qing was guarding a pill furnace.
• Liu Bingxuan hurried to the Pill Hall, mocked Zhou Qing, and secretly directed Immortal’s Intoxication at him.
• Zhou Qing seemed to sway, but Liu Bingxuan suddenly suffered a sharp pain in his head and collapsed, howling as the other guards looked on.

Zhou Qing was brought before the Discipline Hall after Liu Bingxuan was injured, but he argued that Liu had attacked him first and been struck by a defensive array. He challenged the Elder to punish Liu under the sect rules and offered to have the array verified by an instructor from the Array Institute.

• Liu Bingxuan’s companions accused Zhou Qing of injuring him and reported the matter to the Discipline Hall.
• Gao Jie agreed to watch Zhou Qing’s pill furnace while Zhou Qing went with the stewards to the Discipline Hall.
• Jiang Renqing questioned Zhou Qing, who admitted Liu Bingxuan had been injured but argued that sect rules also punished Liu for attacking a fellow disciple.
• Zhou Qing showed Jiang Renqing an array diagram that he said reflected Immortal's Intoxication and offered to have an Array Institute instructor verify it.

Zhou Qing exposed Liu Bingxuan’s attack with an array appraisal and pressed for him to answer for drugging Wei Xu as well. Liu Bingxuan accepted punishment, but Fang Yuhe and the other disciples rallied around him and volunteered to share the blame, leaving the group more united against Zhou Qing.

• Wu Tao appraised Zhou Qing’s array diagram and confirmed that it reflected a wood-element technique and included counterattack runes.
• Jiang Renqing ruled that Liu Bingxuan had to answer Zhou Qing’s accusation in the Truth-Seeking Array, but Liu admitted he had attacked Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing accused Liu Bingxuan of also drugging Wei Xu, and Liu confessed to that crime as well.
• Jiang Renqing sentenced Liu Bingxuan to 120 strikes of the Soul-Striking Whip and forfeiture of a year’s spirit stone stipend.
• Fang Yuhe arrived and asked to take Liu Bingxuan’s punishment, claiming he had known of the plan and failed to stop it.
• More than a dozen disciples joined Fang Yuhe in declaring themselves accomplices, and the group felt their bonds strengthen.

Zhou Qing condemned Fang Yuhe, Liu Bingxuan, and their companions for valuing loyalty while violating sect rules, and Jiang Renqing punished them with Soul-Striking Whip lashes. Afterward, Zhou Qing and Wei Xu discussed the sect’s conflicts and the need to temper their Dao-hearts as they returned to Violet Cloud Mountain.

• Zhou Qing mocked the disciples’ brotherhood and argued that loyalty only served wrongdoing when their aims were crooked.
• Zhou Qing told Jiang Renqing that the group’s failure to stop Liu Bingxuan showed their hearts had gone astray, and Liu Bingxuan tried to take responsibility alone.
• Jiang Renqing upheld Liu Bingxuan’s sentence of 120 Soul-Striking Whip lashes and one year without a monthly allowance, and sentenced the others to 30 lashes and one season without an allowance.
• Discipline Hall stewards bound the disciples to jade pillars and whipped them while Zhou Qing watched before leaving.
• Wei Xu told Zhou Qing he had followed Fang Yuhe to the Discipline Hall, and the two discussed the disciples’ repeated provocations and the need to temper their Dao-hearts.
• Zhou Qing recalled Chen Qingxuan’s Silent Sitting, Clear Mind practice and resolved to ask Uncle Chen why the Sect Leader had not introduced it throughout the sect.

After half a year at the Azure Cloud Sect, Zhou Qing had steadily strengthened his magnetic field, techniques, and cultivation while remaining focused on his studies. A sudden red light on Violet Cloud Mountain drew him to a peach grove, where he encountered the panicked Fang Yuhe and then Yuan Hongying.

• Fang Yuhe, Liu Bingxuan, and the others settled down and stopped harassing Zhou Qing and the junior disciples.
• Zhou Qing spent his days training his magnetic field, meditating, refining qi, and studying formations, while setting spell study aside.
• Over half a year, Zhou Qing greatly improved his magnetic field, Iron Pellet Technique, Five-Colored Divine Light, and cultivation, and he continued memorizing formation knowledge from Xuan Zhe.
• After finishing his qi circulation, Zhou Qing saw a red light rise from Violet Cloud Mountain and hurried toward it.
• Zhou Qing entered a peach grove and saw Fang Yuhe rushing toward the light in a panic, followed by Yuan Hongying approaching from another direction.

Zhou Qing and the other disciples witnessed Lin Hongyu's death after her failed breakthrough, leaving them shaken about the dangers of cultivation. He encouraged Yuan Hongying to face her fears, then Wang Xiaohu came to him unable to meditate after seeing Lin Hongyu's corpse.

• Zhou Qing and Yuan Hongying arrived at Lin Hongyu's home, where disciples gathered as her fire-element spiritual energy dissipated after a failed breakthrough.
• A white-robed Daoist brought Lin Hongyu's mangled corpse outside and entrusted it to Fang Yuhe for burial.
• Yuan Hongying feared she would meet Lin Hongyu's fate, and Zhou Qing urged her to either find the courage to continue cultivating or give it up and leave the sect.
• Zhou Qing noticed Nie Yunxi leaving but returned to finish his formation studies, then reflected on the risks of compressing spiritual energy during breakthroughs.
• Wang Xiaohu told Zhou Qing that seeing Lin Hongyu's corpse had left him unable to enter stillness and cultivate.

Zhou Qing reassured Wang Xiaohu after the previous night's death, then went to check on Nie Yunxi when he learned she had been isolating herself. He broke through her courtyard restriction and saved her from dangerously uncontrolled, freezing spiritual energy, but could not determine what had caused her condition.

• Wang Xiaohu confessed that Lin Hongyu's death had frightened him, and Zhou Qing explained that the other disciples were likely hiding their fear too.
• Zhou Qing asked Wang Xiaohu to invite the disciples to a gathering, then agreed to visit Nie Yunxi himself because she had been ignoring everyone.
• Zhou Qing sensed chaotic spiritual energy and frost at Nie Yunxi's courtyard, forced his way through its restriction, and found her unconscious and freezing.
• Zhou Qing used his magnetic field to guide Nie Yunxi's wild spiritual energy back through her meridians, and she regained consciousness.
• Zhou Qing asked Nie Yunxi what had gone wrong with her cultivation, but she only apologized for disappointing him.

Nie Yunxi confessed her feelings for Zhou Qing, and he explained that her grief had disrupted her Dao heart and caused her spiritual energy to change. After Zhou Qing hosted a feast to lift the disciples’ spirits, the gathering ended with seven tolls of the Azure Cloud Sect’s bell announcing an Elder’s death at Living Dead Cliff.

• Nie Yunxi told Zhou Qing that her feelings for him had filled her with grief, and Zhou Qing urged her to focus on cultivating the Dao rather than dividing her heart.
• Zhou Qing identified Nie Yunxi’s condition as demonic deviation and said he would take her to see Uncle Chen for help.
• Zhou Qing brought Nie Yunxi to a feast with the gathered disciples, who agreed to meet for a feast at his home every month.
• Wei Xu and Wei Kuang thanked Zhou Qing for supporting the disciples, and Zhou Qing described the momentum he had gained from bearing responsibility for them.
• As the disciples prepared to leave, the Azure Cloud Sect’s bell tolled seven times, and Wei Kuang explained that an Elder at Living Dead Cliff had passed away in meditation.

Zhou Qing brought Nie Yunxi to Chen Qingxuan, who explained that her demonic deviation could be resolved by erasing her feelings for Zhou Qing or by cultivating emotion as the foundation of her Dao at the Illusory Love Sect. Nie Yunxi learned the two paths and their implications, but had not yet chosen between them.

• Zhou Qing and Nie Yunxi visited Chen Qingxuan after hearing his mournful flute playing.
• Nie Yunxi described how her feelings for Zhou Qing had led to demonic deviation, and Zhou Qing insisted on staying involved in decisions about her treatment.
• Chen Qingxuan reassured Zhou Qing that the sect's methods would not harm Nie Yunxi, then spoke with her privately.
• Chen Qingxuan offered to take Nie Yunxi to the Illusory Love Sect to erase her feelings for Zhou Qing and dispel the demonic intent.
• Chen Qingxuan presented the alternative of transferring to Immortal Taixu's tutelage and cultivating the Emotion Formula, explaining why the Illusory Love Sect was accepted as part of the immortal path.

Nie Yunxi chose to join the Illusory Love Sect, while Zhou Qing agreed to check on Mu Zhuosha at Living Dead Cliff for Chen Qingxuan. Zhou Qing and Fang Yuhe began the cave-cleaning task, with Fang Yuhe explaining why the caves had to be cleared of accumulated aura.

• Nie Yunxi asked Chen Qingxuan to recommend her to the Illusory Love Sect, and he agreed to take her after settling the sect’s affairs, warning her not to cultivate until then.
• Chen Qingxuan asked Zhou Qing to accept the Living Dead Cliff task and check Mu Zhuosha’s condition without speaking to her or crossing the mark outside her cave.
• Nie Yunxi asked Zhou Qing what he wanted to say before she left, but he urged her to cultivate and described lasting companionship rather than love; she returned home disappointed and wondered whether he was hiding his feelings.
• Zhou Qing accepted the task to clean the seclusion caves and went to Living Dead Cliff, where he found Xu Jingfeng and a disheveled Fang Yuhe waiting.
• Xu Jingfeng handed Zhou Qing and Fang Yuhe talismans for cleaning the caves, and Fang Yuhe explained that they would disperse the accumulated aura left behind by Elders who had died in meditation.

Zhou Qing and Fang Yuhe cleansed the seclusion cave at Living Dead Cliff, where Fang Yuhe discovered that his great-grandfather had died in meditation. After hearing Mu Zhuosha’s song, Zhou Qing found her chained in the deepest chamber and faced her plea to set her free.

• Zhou Qing and Fang Yuhe entered Living Dead Cliff and learned that the Elders’ lingering despair and unusual magnetic field made the cave terrifying.
• While cleansing an empty chamber, Fang Yuhe found his great-grandfather’s carved list of family names and mourned his death; he and Zhou Qing reconciled after Fang Yuhe reflected on the cost of pursuing immortality.
• A chilling children’s song rang through the cave, and Fang Yuhe identified its singer as Mu Zhuosha, Azure Cloud Sect’s gifted cultivator who was nearing Golden Core.
• Fang Yuhe left, but Zhou Qing continued toward the deepest chamber to see Mu Zhuosha for himself.
• Mu Zhuosha appeared as a petite, beautiful girl chained to the chamber floor and asked Zhou Qing to remove her chains so she could leave.