Chapter Summaries

The Azure Cloud Sect assembled to choose a new Elder for the Hall of Skill Transmission, with Chen Qingxuan and Lu Qingzhu competing for the position. After Liu Wentian secured the support of three powerful shop managers for Lu Qingzhu, Jin Mang made the first case for Chen Qingxuan, and the assembly’s debate began.

• The Azure Cloud Sect convened its decision-makers, representatives, and both Elder candidates to choose a successor to Elder Fang Daoyi.
• Chen Qingxuan reflected on Zhou Qing’s advice and waited calmly after seeking support from the Elders who favored him.
• Liu Wentian told Lu Qingzhu that he had won the support of Hu Guan, Liao Qifeng, and Xuan Zhen by exploiting their personal interests and vulnerabilities.
• Mu Mingsheng opened the assembly and invited the participants to state their opinions before he made the final decision.
• Jin Mang endorsed Chen Qingxuan, citing his cultivation, talent, service to the sect, and discerning decision to recruit Zhou Qing.

The Azure Cloud Sect's Elders and Hall Masters voted overwhelmingly for Lu Qingzhu to become an Elder, leaving Chen Qingxuan's supporters outnumbered. Mu Zhuosha arrived with Zhou Qing and asked whether she could have a say in the choice.

• Jin Mang argued that Chen Qingxuan's cultivation, teaching record, and talent for recognizing disciples made him a suitable Elder, while Mao Liang championed Lu Qingzhu.
• Jiang Renqing unexpectedly supported Chen Qingxuan because he feared Lu Qingzhu would obstruct an investigation into Hu Guan's suspected ties to Demonic Path cultivators.
• The Elders' votes favored Lu Qingzhu twelve to four after the External Affairs Elders declared their unanimous support for him.
• He Huifeng and Bai Muyun's representative supported Lu Qingzhu, while Xuan Zheng supported Chen Qingxuan; Xu Jingfeng then said he also favored Lu Qingzhu.
• Mu Zhuosha entered the Dao Source Hall with Zhou Qing, and Chen Qingxuan rushed to greet his Senior Sister.
• Mu Zhuosha praised Chen Qingxuan for taking in a fine disciple, then asked whether she could have a say in the Elder selection.

Mu Zhuosha emerged from seclusion and revealed that Zhou Qing had helped her suppress her demonic intent with a new array. The Sect Leader awarded Chen Qingxuan the Elder position and promised to support Zhou Qing’s request for the title of Array Grandmaster in exchange for offering his array to the sect.

• Mu Zhuosha returned and challenged the selection of Lu Qingzhu as Skill Transmission Hall Elder, nominating Chen Qingxuan and herself instead.
• The Sect Leader declared Chen Qingxuan the new Elder and gave him an Azure Cloud Sect Elder token.
• Mu Zhuosha told the assembly that Zhou Qing had helped suppress her demonic intent by creating an array.
• Zhou Qing explained that his array soothed demonic intent for three days and offered it to the sect in exchange for support in earning the title of Array Grandmaster.
• The Sect Leader promised to do everything he could to help Zhou Qing obtain the title.

After Mu Zhuosha emerged from seclusion, Zhou Qing learned that her return would bring old enemies seeking revenge, while she urged Chen Qingxuan to assert his authority as an Elder. Mu Zhuosha explained that Sect Leader True Person had chosen Chen to counter the Native Faction, and Zhou Qing questioned why the Sect Leader needed to balance factions when he was already the Sect’s strongest figure.

• Mu Zhuosha told Zhou Qing that her escape from Myriad Visions City while mad had led her to fight through numerous sect territories, leaving Azure Cloud Sect with many enemies who might seek revenge now that she had emerged.
• Mu Zhuosha scolded Chen Qingxuan for being too cautious and for letting Lu Qingzhu fight him to a standstill, then ordered him to bring their absent junior brothers and sisters back to the Sect.
• Mu Zhuosha praised Zhou Qing as a promising talent and promised to back him, encouraging him to act boldly within Azure Cloud Sect.
• Mu Zhuosha advised Chen Qingxuan to raise the contribution quotas of the mines and shops under his authority by thirty percent and replace anyone who refused to comply.
• Mu Zhuosha explained that Sect Leader True Person had chosen Chen Qingxuan to suppress the powerful Native Faction and bring new people into the Sect’s upper ranks.
• Zhou Qing asked Mu Zhuosha why Sect Leader True Person needed to balance factions when no faction could threaten his position as the Sect’s strongest person.

Mu Zhuosha and Chen Qingxuan explained how Azure Cloud Sect used tension between the Native and Outsider Factions to keep the sect vigorous and united, and how Affiliated Families managed its territory. After gaining Mu Zhuosha’s support, Zhou Qing planned to devote himself to cultivation.

• Mu Zhuosha explained that factional tension kept disciples from becoming complacent and prevented powerful families from splitting the sect.
• Chen Qingxuan told Zhou Qing that Azure Cloud Sect managed its territory through Affiliated Families, which reclaimed land, managed local affairs, and sent gifted descendants to the sect.
• Chen Qingxuan revealed that Wei Kuang’s grandfather’s younger brother had returned to the Wei Clan and become its head.
• Mu Zhuosha asked Zhou Qing how often she should visit for help suppressing demonic intent, and he told her to come in ten days.
• Zhou Qing returned home, took a day to plan, and set his cultivation routine around magnetic fields, Dao heart training, and qi refinement.

Zhou Qing learned how Mu Zhuosha’s return had stirred the Azure Cloud Sect and watched the sect face pressure from the Longevity Sect over her past conflicts. The Longevity Sect’s leader asked Zhou Qing to use his array to steady his daughter Qingyuan’s Dao Heart before her Foundation Establishment, offering him a favor in return.

• Disciples gathered at Zhou Qing’s residence to ask about Mu Zhuosha, and he described their recent time together.
• Zhou Qing saw the Azure Cloud Sect celebrate Mu Zhuosha’s return, then learned that the Longevity Sect’s leader had fought the sect over her past actions.
• Chen Qingxuan brought Zhou Qing to Cloud Gazing Hall, where Sect Leader True Person introduced him to Grandmaster Qingmu of the Longevity Sect.
• Grandmaster Qingmu introduced his daughter Qingyuan and asked Zhou Qing to use his array to steady her Dao Heart for Foundation Establishment, promising him a favor in return.

Zhou Qing used his array to clear Qingyuan’s distracting thoughts and help her prepare for a Foundation Establishment breakthrough. Afterward, Mu Zhuosha explained why she had fought Grandmaster Qingmu and advised Zhou Qing on how to profit from the array, while he revealed that he still had a complete version to improve.

• Zhou Qing activated the array for Qingyuan, whose demonic thoughts vanished and whose aura became calm and steady.
• Grandmaster Qingmu escorted Qingyuan to a quiet room for seclusion, and Zhou Qing left Purple Dusk Palace for the Scripture Pavilion.
• Mu Zhuosha explained that she had fought Grandmaster Qingmu to prevent him and other sects from using past events to pressure Azure Cloud Sect.
• Mu Zhuosha advised Zhou Qing to negotiate a share of the array’s sales rather than surrendering it outright to the sect.
• Zhou Qing said he would honor his promise to the sect, then revealed that the version he had submitted was weakened and that he still had a complete version to improve.

Zhou Qing learned from Mu Zhuosha how cultivators build combat systems by integrating compatible spells, and they discussed the Sacred Lotus Maiden’s formidable system. Afterward, Zhou Qing recognized that his mixed Five Elements spiritual roots left his spell combat weak, while his magnetic-field abilities were powerful, and he began considering how to unite the two.

• Zhou Qing asked Mu Zhuosha whether his array was valuable enough to bring danger, and she reassured him that a Golden Core Sect could safely support it.
• Mu Zhuosha explained that the Sacred Lotus Maiden had defeated her with a mature combat system, which combined spells into an integrated whole.
• Mu Zhuosha described how cultivators selected compatible spells and trained their combinations, then discussed metal-element combat systems with Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing and Mu Zhuosha exchanged insights on spiritual energy for two hours, each gaining new understanding before Mu Zhuosha sent him away to ponder.
• Zhou Qing reflected that his magnetic-field system was powerful but his spell system was weakened by his mixed Five Elements spiritual roots, and he concluded that he needed to unite the two systems.

Zhou Qing struggled to solve the limits on his spiritual qi and learned from Qingyuan that opening additional dantians could increase its capacity, though the necessary methods were beyond Qionghua Continent. As he took Qingyuan to find someone else to entertain her, Liu Wentian and Lu Qingzhu discussed turning Zhou Qing’s arrays into profitable sect property.

• Zhou Qing spent three days trying to find a way to increase his spiritual qi capacity and combine the energy of his two combat systems.
• Qingyuan visited Zhou Qing after her breakthrough and explained that some sects knew methods for opening Middle and Upper Dantians, but those methods could not be found on Qionghua Continent.
• Zhou Qing agreed to show Qingyuan around the Azure Cloud Sect and led her toward the Scripture Pavilion to find someone else to keep her occupied.
• Qingyuan bluntly rejected Liu Wentian, and Zhou Qing hurried her away while Liu Wentian went to Lu Qingzhu’s residence.
• Liu Wentian told Lu Qingzhu that other shopkeepers wanted Zhou Qing’s arrays engraved onto plates for sale, and they planned to claim the profits for themselves and the sect.

Liu Wentian and the other shopkeepers planned to sell Zhou Qing’s mind-calming formations through the sect and relied on his help to prepare them. At the Scripture Pavilion, Zhou Qing asked Mu Zhuosha about Foundation Establishment and the possibility of opening multiple dantians.

• Liu Wentian, Lu Qingzhu, and the other shopkeepers decided to seek the sect’s approval to inscribe and sell Zhou Qing’s formations before the Array Institute emerged from seclusion.
• Zhou Qing brought Qingyuan to the Scripture Pavilion, where Mu Zhuosha ordered Qingyuan to sit quietly in a corner and told her to address Zhou Qing as Senior Brother.
• Mu Zhuosha said Qingyuan feared her because she had supposedly terrified her during a past attack on the Longevity Sect, though Mu Zhuosha doubted that account.
• Zhou Qing asked Mu Zhuosha about opening a dantian, and she explained that Foundation Establishment required several kinds of pills and substantial wealth.
• Zhou Qing asked why only three acupoints could become dantians when the body had 365 acupoints corresponding to the Heavenly Cycle.

Mu Zhuosha explained the origins, costs, and benefits of cultivating three dantians and advised Zhou Qing on spirit stones and Single Crystals. Zhou Qing escorted Qingyuan to the Purple Dusk Palace, where the new Receptionist Daoist Yu Liangmou showed unusual interest in him and praised his talent and service to the sect.

• Mu Zhuosha told Zhou Qing how cultivators discovered the three dantians and why only wealthy major sects could support those who cultivated them.
• Mu Zhuosha advised Zhou Qing to exchange spirit stones for High-Grade Spirit Stones or, if he could afford them, Single Crystals.
• Zhou Qing took Qingyuan away from Mu Zhuosha and brought her toward the Purple Dusk Palace, while they joked about how to address each other.
• At Cloud Gazing Hall, Receptionist Daoist Yu Liangmou introduced himself, offered Zhou Qing tea he had secretly brewed, and asked about his origins.
• Yu Liangmou praised Zhou Qing for being born in the Fifth Ancestor's homeland, possessing peerless talent, and rendering great service to the sect.

Zhou Qing brought Qingyuan back to Violet Cloud Mountain and settled her in the bamboo grove so he could continue cultivating. When Lu Qiushui arrived with his monthly spirit stones, he learned that she had returned to the sect and taken up the post of Miscellaneous Affairs Hall Elder.

• Yu Liangmou told Zhou Qing that the Sect Leader and Grandmaster Qingmu were away discussing the Dao, and Zhou Qing agreed to take Qingyuan back with him.
• Zhou Qing settled Qingyuan in the bamboo grove outside his separate courtyard and continued his cultivation while keeping her company during breaks.
• Lu Qiushui visited Zhou Qing to deliver his monthly spirit stones and introduced herself as the newly appointed Elder of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
• Zhou Qing recognized Lu Qiushui as his Martial Aunt, and she explained that Mu Zhuosha had told her to take up the post before the sect assembly ratified it.

Zhou Qing learned why the sect discouraged exchanging spirit stones and heard how Lu Qiushui became an Elder despite expected opposition. The Sect Leader summoned Zhou Qing to negotiate the sale of his array inscriptions, and Yu Liangmou advised him to keep the arrays under his own name and claim a share of the profits.

• Lu Qiushui explained that the sect stored High-Grade Spirit Stones because they retained spiritual energy better, and offered to exchange Zhou Qing's stones at the sect's favorable rate.
• The sect assembly appointed Lu Qiushui as an Elder of Miscellaneous Affairs Hall with overwhelming support, leaving her puzzled about the Native Faction's lack of opposition.
• Mu Zhuosha told Lu Qiushui she would soon understand why the appointment had passed so easily.
• Yu Liangmou brought Zhou Qing and Qingyuan to meet the Sect Leader, explaining that the shops wanted to sell Zhou Qing's arrays before the Array Institute could claim thirty percent of the revenue.
• Yu Liangmou warned Zhou Qing against giving the arrays to the Array Institute or the shopkeepers and urged him to cooperate with the sect in his own name while taking a share of the profits.

Zhou Qing negotiated the terms for Azure Cloud Sect to sell his array, securing credit for its creation while asking the shopkeepers to help him find runes. Hu Guan warned him that rune trading was dangerous and recounted how Crimson Fire Sect had been fooled into buying one rune disguised as more than thirty.

• Grandmaster Qingmu thanked Zhou Qing for looking after Qingyuan, then left Azure Cloud Sect with his daughter.
• The Sect Leader True Person gathered Zhou Qing, Liu Wentian, the shopkeepers, and Elders to discuss selling Zhou Qing's array.
• Zhou Qing agreed to provide the array but insisted that the Array Institute grant him the Array Grandmaster title first; the Sect Leader True Person offered to have the sect pay his stipend.
• Zhou Qing required each sold diagram to bear his handwritten Zhou mark and asked the shopkeepers to search for runes to improve his array cultivation.
• Hu Guan warned Zhou Qing about stolen and forged runes, then described how Crimson Fire Sect had paid three hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones for a compendium of more than thirty variations of a single rune.

Zhou Qing secured the sect’s support for selling his Mind-Clearing Array and proposed using part of the proceeds to increase Outer Disciples’ monthly spirit stone allowances. The elders and shopkeepers approved the fund, which Liu Wentian said would begin that month even before the arrays went on sale.

• Zhou Qing asked the sect to establish a foundation funded by array shops, giving each Outer Disciple two additional Low-Grade Spirit Stones per month.
• The Sect Leader True Person and the three shopkeepers approved the proposal and told Zhou Qing to finish the anti-analysis array.
• Zhou Qing named the array the Mind-Clearing Array, and the Sect Leader True Person ordered the sect to prepare for its sale.
• Lu Qiushui praised Zhou Qing for sharing the array’s potential wealth with the disciples, and Zhou Qing explained that supporting them would strengthen the sect.
• Liu Wentian and the shopkeepers told Zhou Qing that the Zhou Qing Foundation would begin that month and that they would cover the allowance even if the business lost money.

After learning that Zhou Qing had arranged for the sect’s formation income to double the disciples’ monthly Spirit Stone allowance, Fang Yuhe recognized how far Zhou Qing’s generosity and realm surpassed his own. Fang Yuhe and nearly a hundred disciples set out to thank Zhou Qing.

• Fang Yuhe reflected on death and longevity while tending the flower he had taken from Lin Hongyu’s grave.
• A sect servant delivered Fang Yuhe two additional monthly Spirit Stones and explained that Zhou Qing had proposed raising the disciples’ allowance using formation income.
• Fang Yuhe realized Zhou Qing had risen far beyond him by choosing to share his success with generations of Azure Cloud Sect disciples.
• Liu Bingxuan arrived, and he and Fang Yuhe agreed to gather the disciples and thank Zhou Qing.
• Nearly a hundred disciples assembled at Fang Yuhe’s home, then set off together for Zhou Qing’s residence.

Fang Yuhe, Liu Bingxuan, and the other Outer Disciples celebrated Zhou Qing’s achievements and named him their Honorary Senior Apprentice. Zhou Qing then oversaw a successful test and pricing of the Reverse Qing Restoration Array, while Lu Qiushui teased him about his obliviousness to romance.

• Fang Yuhe and Liu Bingxuan joined Zhou Qing’s cohort for a feast, where Liu Bingxuan apologized to Wei Xu and the disciples pledged to work together.
• Fang Yuhe announced that the Outer Disciples had unanimously chosen Zhou Qing as their Honorary Senior Apprentice, and Zhou Qing accepted the title.
• Zhou Qing went to Azure Cloud Mountain to explain the Anti-Analysis Array inscription, then returned to the feast.
• The Array Institute produced a sample Reverse Qing Restoration Array diagram, and Zhou Qing witnessed a successful test showing it worked three times with effects lasting three days.
• Zhou Qing joined the pricing council, which set the array diagram’s price at thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Qiushui told Zhou Qing that Grandmaster Qingmu had entrusted Qingyuan to him because he valued Zhou Qing, then teased him for being oblivious to women’s feelings.

Zhou Qing collected his monthly stipend and devoted himself to cultivation, rapidly approaching the peak of the second layer of Qi Refinement. Immortal Taixu took Nie Yunxi to the Illusory Love Sect, leaving Zhou Qing and Mu Zhuosha to discuss his calm farewell.

• Lu Qiushui gave Zhou Qing eighty-two Mid-Grade Spirit Stones as his monthly stipend.
• Zhou Qing used his abundant Spirit Stones to cultivate and estimated he would soon reach the peak of the second layer of Qi Refinement.
• Yu Liangmou summoned Zhou Qing to Purple Dusk Palace, where Mu Zhuosha introduced Immortal Taixu, who had come to take Nie Yunxi to the Illusory Love Sect.
• Immortal Taixu comforted Nie Yunxi, and Nie Yunxi said farewell to Zhou Qing before leaving with her.
• Zhou Qing repaid Nie Yunxi one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone as interest, and Mu Zhuosha questioned why he had not said anything affectionate.
• Zhou Qing told Mu Zhuosha that he had no reason to make sentimental promises when he had never intended to keep Nie Yunxi from leaving.

Zhou Qing visited Cheng Feipeng at the Array Institute and learned that the institute earned much of its income by selling combat Talismans. After studying the institute’s Talisman patterns, he spotted redundant runes and decided to try improving them.

• Zhou Qing went to the Array Institute, where apprentices greeted him with excitement over his Restore Qing Destroy Ming Formation and his expected rise to Array Grandmaster.
• Zhou Qing asked Cheng Feipeng about the institute’s income, and Cheng explained that it profited from Talismans made from Five Elements Spells.
• Cheng gave Zhou Qing a booklet of the institute’s Talisman patterns after warning him not to share them with anyone.
• Zhou Qing tested several basic Talismans with his knowledge of rune frequencies and found that their patterns contained redundant runes.
• Zhou Qing decided to improve the Talismans by removing unnecessary runes and making them more efficient.

Zhou Qing learned that the Zhou Qing Foundation’s shopkeepers wanted to reduce their monthly contribution and used Azure Cloud Sect’s long-distance transmission array to contact Hu Guan in South Myriad Treasure City. As he waited for a reply, he examined the array and considered how slowly messages traveled across the Cultivation World.

• Zhou Qing collected eighty-two Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from Lu Qiushui, who told him the Zhou Qing Foundation’s shopkeepers wanted to reduce their monthly contribution from two new spirit stones to one.
• Lu Qiushui led Zhou Qing to the Spirit Realm Network’s transmission array and explained how the sect relayed messages across great distances.
• Zhou Qing studied the composite array, and Lu Qiushui activated it with two Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Qiushui sent Hu Guan a message asking why the Zhou Qing Foundation was being reduced, and Zhou Qing waited for the distant reply.