Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing survived Mu Zhuosha’s illusion and desire-based assault, then learned she had likely condensed a Golden Core but was restrained by the conflict between her immortal Dao and demonic intent. After recovering, he discovered that his magnetic field perception had become more precise and could control eight separate fields, inspiring a new idea.

• Mu Zhuosha’s illusion led Zhou Qing across the etched line, where her demonic thoughts stirred overwhelming desires and violent impulses in him.
• Zhou Qing let his tempered Dao heart confront and shatter the invading desires, then escaped beyond the ward’s range.
• Zhou Qing told Chen Qingxuan what had happened and learned Mu Zhuosha had likely condensed her Golden Core, though her demonic intent restrained its power.
• Zhou Qing entered Silent Sitting, Clear Mind and found his magnetic field perception had grown more precise and could control eight fields at once.
• A long-developing idea struck Zhou Qing, startling him enough that he lost control of the iron pellets.

Zhou Qing used his magnetic field ability to reproduce Paper Crane Messaging and observe the locations and movements of his junior brothers and sisters across Violet Cloud Mountain. He planned to develop the technique into a broader investigative formation and sought ways to strengthen his Dao Heart, but his attempt to consult Wei Kuang was delayed when Wei Kuang was away.

• Zhou Qing realized he could use six magnetic fields to imitate the runes of Paper Crane Messaging and successfully sensed Liang Ting's location and movements.
• Zhou Qing used the auras from all his paper cranes to observe his junior brothers and sisters across Violet Cloud Mountain, including Wang Xiaohu sneaking away with Feng Yuan.
• Zhou Qing wrote down a plan to develop an investigative formation that could detect a much wider area.
• Zhou Qing connected his stronger spiritual perception to his Dao Heart overcoming the desires stirred by Mu Zhuosha and considered how to strengthen it further.
• Zhou Qing went to Wei Kuang's home at noon to ask for advice, but Wei Kuang was not there.

Zhou Qing met Wei Kuang, who explained that Elder Lin Maoshan’s expected retreat could open an elder position that Uncle Chen Qingxuan and Uncle Lu might contest. Wei Kuang feared Uncle Lu’s promotion would strengthen the Native Faction and leave disciples from the mortal world with fewer opportunities.

• Zhou Qing used the Fluctuation Search Method to find Wei Kuang returning from Azure Cloud Mountain and met him on the mountain path.
• Wei Kuang told Zhou Qing that Elder Fang Daoyi had passed away in meditation and explained how funerals maintained alliances between cultivation sects.
• Wei Kuang said Elder Lin Maoshan might soon enter life-or-death seclusion, leaving a vacant position in the Hall of Skill Transmission for Uncle Chen Qingxuan or Uncle Lu to contest.
• Wei Kuang explained that Uncle Chen had less support among the sect’s seniors and disciples, while Uncle Lu could rely on his former junior brothers and sisters.
• Wei Kuang told Zhou Qing that Uncle Lu’s Native Faction favored policies that would reduce support for disciples from the mortal world, and said he opposed their influence because it could block talented outsiders from advancing.

Zhou Qing sought a way to stir desire and strengthen his Dao Heart, so he used his knowledge of arrays to experiment with Wood-attribute runes. After a month of risky trials, he created the Minor Spring Return Array, a vitality-stimulating array whose potential he marked for military use.

• Zhou Qing learned from Wei Kuang that desire-stirring methods were associated with Wood-attribute spiritual energy, though Azure Cloud Sect had no such spell.
• Zhou Qing began testing Wood-attribute runes and, after finding no single rune had the effect he wanted, turned to combinations.
• Zhou Qing considered abandoning the arduous research but continued, redirecting nearly all his spare time to it and neglecting a planned gathering with his junior brothers and sisters.
• Zhou Qing discovered that a five-rune combination stimulated vitality and recorded it as the Minor Spring Return Array.
• Zhou Qing found that the array had caused weed seeds on his body to sprout, realized it might affect dangerous plants, and marked it as convertible for military use.

After nearly two months of research, Zhou Qing designed a twenty-eight-rune array that overwhelmed Golden Monkey Hide, then sought better materials to complete it. At the Array Institute, Wu Tao was stunned by Zhou Qing’s claim that he had constructed an array beyond the material’s capacity.

• Zhou Qing selected twenty-eight runes and began inscribing their array on Golden Monkey Hide, which cracked at the sixteenth rune and shattered at the twenty-first.
• Zhou Qing felt a surge of desire subside into calm and realized the incomplete array had worked, but he needed higher-grade materials to finish it.
• After sleeping for the first time in nearly half a year, Zhou Qing noticed visitors arriving for Elder Fang Daoyi’s funeral and remembered to ask Chen Qingxuan about the Elder election.
• Zhou Qing went to the Array Institute and asked Wu Tao to lend him a higher-grade array medium.
• Wu Tao doubted Zhou Qing had independently constructed an array that Golden Monkey Hide could not support, but Zhou Qing insisted and offered to share the credit if it succeeded.

Zhou Qing secured array materials from Wu Tao while secretly keeping his most dangerous array private, then urged Chen Qingxuan to actively campaign for the Hall of Skill Transmission Elder position. The chapter ended with Zhou Qing offering to help Chen Qingxuan gather support against Lu Qingzhu.

• Zhou Qing persuaded Wu Tao to lend him Soft Black Jade, Spirit Rhinoceros Marrow, and Fossil Plaster in exchange for being credited as a co-author on an array.
• Zhou Qing decided not to reveal his powerful mind-affecting array, but planned to develop a safer research byproduct for Wu Tao to report to the sect.
• Outside the Hall of Skill Transmission, Zhou Qing met Lu Qingzhu and Liu Wentian, who praised Zhou Qing before discussing the Sect Leader's interest in him and their plan to support Lu Qingzhu for Elder.
• Zhou Qing visited Chen Qingxuan and learned that Liu Wentian was gathering allies to promote Lu Qingzhu for the Elder position.
• Zhou Qing challenged Chen Qingxuan's resignation and advised him to visit supportive Elders, saying he had a plan that might help.

Zhou Qing completed and tested the Eternal Submergence array, which stirred desires and strengthened his mental power when his Dao Heart overcame them. After improving the array on paper, he planned to develop a method to calm Mu Zhuosha’s desires and help Chen Qingxuan contend for the Elder position, but he ran out of spirit stones before testing his changes.

• Zhou Qing carved an array onto Soft Black Jade, then added a spirit-stone energy extraction array after realizing its effects bypassed the cultivator who activated it.
• Zhou Qing borrowed five Low-Grade Spirit Stones from Nie Yunxi and used them to test the completed array, which drew out desires that his Dao Heart overcame and converted into increased mental strength.
• Zhou Qing divided his magnetic field into ten parts and used simulated rune frequencies to restore a withered blade of grass, then named his array Eternal Submergence.
• Zhou Qing decided to strengthen Eternal Submergence and develop an array to calm desire so he could help Mu Zhuosha leave Living Dead Cliff and support Chen Qingxuan’s bid for Elder.
• Zhou Qing refined his array design with runes that he expected to make desires more powerful and enticing, but he had no spirit stones left to test the changes.

Zhou Qing decided to seek sect funding for his array research and went to submit the original Eternal Submergence array. Meanwhile, Gao Huang humiliated Azure Cloud Sect disciples during a sparring exchange and spotted Zhou Qing as a new potential opponent.

• Zhou Qing realized his research required more spirit stones and planned to ask Wu Tao about becoming an official array master and funding his work.
• Zhou Qing took the original Eternal Submergence array toward the Array Institute, intending to exchange it for sect resources.
• Jiang Renqing hosted Gao Quan and Yinghua Sect disciples while their younger disciples sparred at Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Gao Huang easily defeated Fang Yuhe, then mocked the Azure Cloud Sect disciples for their lack of combat experience.
• Fang Yuhe stopped Liu Bingxuan from challenging Gao Huang, who taunted the gathered disciples and lamented that none would fight him.
• Gao Huang noticed Zhou Qing walking along a path outside the mountain hollow and dashed toward him.

Zhou Qing used his newly invented array to defeat Gao Huang after the Yinghua Sect disciple attacked him, leaving Gao Huang trapped in a struggle with his desires. The incident eased tensions between the sects, and Zhou Qing returned to the Array Institute to show Wu Tao the array.

• Zhou Qing encountered Gao Huang, who challenged Azure Cloud Sect's strongest Outer Disciple and dismissed Fang Yuhe after defeating him.
• When Gao Huang attacked Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing used the Soft Black Jade Tablet to disrupt Gao Huang's Dao heart and leave him crying and laughing uncontrollably.
• Jiang Renqing and Gao Quan arrived, and Jiang Renqing agreed to take Gao Huang away to recover while defending Zhou Qing's right to counterattack.
• After learning Zhou Qing had entered the sect less than a year earlier and was its Senior Apprentice, Li Miao and the other Yinghua Sect disciples admired Azure Cloud Sect's foundations, and the groups went on a tour of Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Zhou Qing reached the Array Institute and showed Wu Tao the completed array, saying he had tested it in combat.

Wu Tao examined Zhou Qing’s array and discovered it was a Profound-Grade Array aimed at the Dao Heart, then explained the sect’s rewards and advancement requirements for array masters. Zhou Qing considered seeking formal recognition, though neither he nor Wu Tao knew whether an Outer Disciple could qualify without transferring to the Array Institute.

• Wu Tao mistakenly counted the auxiliary spirit-energy array as part of Zhou Qing’s main array, then corrected his count and recognized it as a Profound-Grade Array.
• Zhou Qing explained the array’s function, and Wu Tao said an array master at the Scripture Pavilion would need to evaluate and register it.
• Wu Tao described the spirit stones, materials, and status available to formal array masters, along with the requirements for advancement.
• Zhou Qing asked whether he could be assessed as an array master before transferring to the Array Institute, and Wu Tao suggested asking a formal array master and urged him to transfer.

Zhou Qing completed a Yellow-Grade Vine Array and brought his four arrays to the Scripture Pavilion to apply as an official array master. Cheng Feipeng reviewed Zhou Qing’s work and praised the ingenuity of his Paper Crane Messaging array and the precision of his other designs.

• Zhou Qing finished a Vine Array that let him control small plants, then marked it for possible improvement with vine seeds and Metal-element runes.
• Zhou Qing returned to the Array Institute with enough arrays to apply for official array master status, and Wu Tao escorted him to the Scripture Pavilion.
• Wu Tao introduced Zhou Qing to Cheng Feipeng, who was astonished that the young Outer Disciple had come to apply.
• Cheng Feipeng recognized Zhou Qing as the creator of the new Paper Crane Messaging array and examined the four arrays he submitted.
• Cheng Feipeng praised Paper Crane Messaging as an ingenious Yellow-Grade Array and noted the precise rune choices and structure in the Minor Spring Return and Vine Arrays.

Cheng Feipeng recognized Zhou Qing’s exceptional talent after examining his arrays, but could not formally grade his Profound-Grade Array while the Five Elements Extinction Grand Formation remained active. He arranged for Zhou Qing to receive formal arrayist benefits in the meantime, and Zhou Qing and Wu Tao left their names on the array records.

• Cheng Feipeng examined Zhou Qing’s three Yellow-Grade Arrays and the Lustful Submergence Array, recognizing Zhou Qing’s distinctive style and judging the Profound-Grade Array worthy of its rank.
• Zhou Qing explained that he had tested the array on Gao Huang after Gao Huang provoked him, and Cheng Feipeng approved of his response.
• Cheng Feipeng told Zhou Qing he could not formally grade the array or appoint him an arrayist until the Five Elements Extinction Grand Formation stopped operating, which might take a year.
• Cheng Feipeng had Zhou Qing copy his arrays onto stone and jade slabs, and Zhou Qing carved Wu Tao’s name beside his own on the Lustful Submergence Array in recognition of Wu Tao’s Soft Black Jade Tablet.
• Cheng Feipeng used the Array Institute’s seal to approve Zhou Qing for formal arrayist benefits and offered to arrange a Research Room, but Zhou Qing asked to have his benefits delivered to his residence on Violet Cloud Mountain.

Zhou Qing went to Purple Dusk Palace to see off the Yinghua Sect guests and reconcile with Gao Huang. After the elders made peace between the sects, Zhou Qing joined the visiting disciples and answered their questions about his array and cultivation.

• Wei Xu and Wei Kuang found Zhou Qing and told him that a Discipline Hall deacon had summoned him to Purple Dusk Palace.
• Zhou Qing arrived at Eternal Life Hall, where Jiang Renqing was receiving Gao Quan and the Yinghua Sect guests.
• Jiang Renqing asked Zhou Qing and Gao Huang to put aside their conflict and treat each other as fellow cultivators, and they exchanged apologies.
• Jiang Renqing sent Zhou Qing to meet the Yinghua Sect disciples, and Zhou Qing realized that receiving guests could prepare promising disciples for future sect leadership.
• Li Miao and the other Yinghua Sect disciples asked Zhou Qing about his array and cultivation until Gao Quan prepared to depart.

After Zhou Qing preserved Azure Cloud Sect’s prestige against Yinghua Sect, his fellow disciples praised and respected him. Lu Qingzhu worried that Zhou Qing’s growing influence resembled Mu Zhuosha’s rise and urged Liu Wentian to secure allies before the sect assembly in three months.

• Gao Huang and the people from Yinghua Sect departed, and Jiang Renqing told Zhou Qing to meet future guests from friendly sects.
• Liu Bingxuan thanked Zhou Qing for defending Azure Cloud Sect and acknowledged Zhou Qing’s strength, while Zhou Qing questioned his outlook.
• Liu Wentian and Lu Qingzhu praised Zhou Qing, and Liu Bingxuan recounted how Zhou Qing’s array had thrown Gao Huang’s Dao heart into chaos.
• Liu Wentian told Lu Qingzhu that Zhou Qing had been granted the treatment of an official array master despite his application remaining unapproved.
• Lu Qingzhu compared Zhou Qing’s growing respect among the disciples to Mu Zhuosha’s former rise and said they should win allies before Elder Lin entered Living Dead Cave in three months.

Liu Wentian reassured Lu Qingzhu that most sect elders would support them, while Zhou Qing received supplies and used them to improve Eternal Submergence. After struggling to find the array’s inverse, Zhou Qing discovered that he had reached the perfection of the first level of Qi Refining.

• Liu Wentian listed the elders he expected to support Lu Qingzhu and eased Lu Qingzhu’s worries about the Sect Leader’s ambiguous attitude.
• Wei Xu and Wei Kuang delivered twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and ten Soft Black Jade Tablets to Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing inscribed Eternal Submergence onto a jade tablet, activated the improved array, and produced fourteen magnetic fields after resisting its powerful effects.
• Zhou Qing spent half a month testing runes for Eternal Submergence’s inverse and found inverse runes for only twelve of its twenty-seven runes.
• Zhou Qing measured his Spirit Pressure and realized he had reached the perfection of the first level of Qi Refining after ten months in the Azure Cloud Sect.

Zhou Qing broke through to the second layer of Qi Refinement, greatly improving his cultivation, magnetic field, and combat abilities. He then headed to Azure Cloud Mountain to demand the remaining runes from Cheng Feipeng, while Fang Yuhe and Liu Bingxuan went to receive guests from Sky Sword Sect.

• Zhou Qing used his steadfast Dao Heart to break through to the second layer of Qi Refinement and realized that his mind guided spiritual energy into a stable collapse.
• Zhou Qing discovered that his lifespan, cultivation speed, magnetic field range, and magnetic field strength had all increased substantially.
• Zhou Qing found that he could accelerate two iron pellets at once and that his Five-Colored Divine Light had become far more powerful.
• Zhou Qing decided to resolve the Elder position dispute and later improve his escape and scouting techniques.
• Zhou Qing headed for Azure Cloud Mountain to demand the remaining two thousand runes from Cheng Feipeng, while Fang Yuhe and Liu Bingxuan went to receive visitors from Sky Sword Sect.

Zhou Qing refused to leave his array research to receive the Sky Sword Sect guests, prompting conflict between Mao Liang and Chen Qingxuan. After testing every rune available to the Azure Cloud Sect, Zhou Qing found only twenty-two of the twenty-seven inverted runes he needed, leaving his research stalled just short of success.

• At Purple Dusk Palace, Liang Feng demanded to meet Zhou Qing, and Mao Liang sent Fang Yuhe to fetch him.
• After receiving the last two thousand runes from Cheng Feipeng, Zhou Qing refused Fang Yuhe’s request to attend the guests, saying his cultivation and research took priority.
• Mao Liang ordered Fang Yuhe to bring Zhou Qing again, but Iron Sword Old Man urged him to let the matter go, and Chen Qingxuan also refused to force Zhou Qing to attend.
• Mao Liang confronted Chen Qingxuan and declared that the Elder position would never be given to someone like him.
• After half a month of testing, Zhou Qing found only twenty-two inverted runes among the Azure Cloud Sect’s rune collection and realized he lacked the resources to complete his research.

Zhou Qing reunited with his fellow disciples and learned that Chen Qingxuan might be considered for promotion to Elder. After the gathering eased his stress, Zhou Qing found a new way to search for inverse runes by using two nearby runes as guides and narrowing the gap between them.

• Zhou Qing met Wang Xiaohu in the bamboo grove and agreed to host a gathering for their cohort that day.
• The disciples gathered at Zhou Qing’s courtyard, where they praised his actions against the Yinghua Sect and discussed Chen Qingxuan’s possible promotion to Elder.
• Wei Kuang explained that Jin Mang hoped Zhou Qing’s standing would help Chen Qingxuan, though the promotion remained uncertain.
• After the disciples left, Zhou Qing reconsidered his dependence on runes and realized he could use two runes with effects closest to an inverse rune to guide gradual adjustments toward it.

Zhou Qing completed an Inverted Array that calmed desires, then devised a weaker version he could plausibly show the sect. As he planned to gather Spirit Stones and share his rune research for possible recognition as an Array Grandmaster, the Azure Cloud Sect’s bell announced that Elder Lin had entered death seclusion, leaving Zhou Qing little time before a new Elder candidate would be chosen.

• Zhou Qing found inverse frequencies for the remaining target runes and completed an Inverted Array that used his magnetic field to simulate five missing runes.
• Zhou Qing tested the array and found it soothed desires without erasing them, with the effect lasting ten days.
• Zhou Qing modified the array into a thirty-seven-rune version that weakened desires for three days, then decided to gather ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones before testing it on Mu Zhuosha at Living Dead Cliff.
• Zhou Qing considered sharing his detailed rune research with Xuan Zhe to improve the sect’s array arts and seek recognition as an Array Grandmaster.
• The Azure Cloud Sect’s bell rang five times to announce Elder Lin’s entry into death seclusion, and Zhou Qing realized a new Elder candidate would be decided the next day.

Zhou Qing borrowed spirit stones from Chen Qingxuan and secretly used the Inverted Array to free Mu Zhuosha from her demonic thoughts. Mu Zhuosha emerged from the Living Dead Cave at dawn, and Zhou Qing prepared to tell her what had happened and ask her for help.

• Zhou Qing asked Chen Qingxuan for spirit stones, and Chen Qingxuan lent him twenty while warning him about the dangers of array research.
• Zhou Qing learned that Elder Lin Maoshan had entered seclusion, then decided to wait until midnight before secretly visiting Living Dead Cliff.
• Zhou Qing entered the Living Dead Cave and found Mu Zhuosha, who mistook his visit for an attempt to help Chen Qingxuan become an Elder.
• Zhou Qing activated the Inverted Array with ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, sending its spiritual energy into Mu Zhuosha's chamber.
• Mu Zhuosha overcame her demonic thoughts, left the stone chamber, and agreed to leave the cave with Zhou Qing at dawn.