Chapter Summaries

Bai Muyun praised Wu Tao’s rune research while dismissing Zhou Qing’s reputation, then granted Wu Tao grandmaster-level privileges. As Wu Tao savored his new status, Xiao Yang reminded him of his agreement with Zhou Qing, and Wu Tao went to the Scripture Pavilion to obtain the Spirit Realm Network Array Diagram.

• Bai Muyun argued that rune interpretation mattered more than constructing formations, praised Wu Tao’s contributions, and said Zhou Qing was no true genius.
• Bai Muyun gave Wu Tao an advanced Research Room and the rights of an Array Grandmaster, and Wu Tao reveled in his elevated position.
• Xiao Yang delivered Zhou Qing’s congratulations and reminded Wu Tao to hand over the Spirit Realm Network Array Diagram.
• Wu Tao offered to take Xiao Yang into his Research Room, while Xiao Yang privately planned to leave the Array Institute and follow Cheng Feipeng.
• Wary of Zhou Qing’s hold over him, Wu Tao went to the Scripture Pavilion, where his new status impressed Wu Juan, to obtain the diagram.

Zhou Qing received the Spirit Realm Network Array Diagram from Wu Tao and urged him to leave the Array Institute before Palace Lord Bai discovered his deception, but Wu Tao refused. Zhou Qing then cultivated with High-Grade Spirit Stones, reaching a speed he estimated could bring him to the fourth layer of Qi Refining within half a year.

• Wu Tao gave Zhou Qing the Spirit Realm Network Array Diagram, which Zhou Qing studied and found contained several hundred formations, including some useful to his research.
• Zhou Qing gave Wu Tao the remaining fifty rune annotations he had promised and advised him to leave the Array Institute and join his workshop.
• Wu Tao refused to leave the Array Institute, treasured the annotations, and departed Violet Cloud Mountain.
• Cheng Feipeng worried that Wu Tao might harm Zhou Qing, but Zhou Qing said Wu Tao lacked the ability to do so.
• Zhou Qing used two High-Grade Spirit Stones during his nightly qi circulation and estimated his cultivation speed could take him to the fourth layer of Qi Refining within half a year.

Zhou Qing met with Mu Zhuosha and Du Ziming to discuss expanding their Talisman business and gaining influence within the sect. Du Ziming agreed to negotiate with the Crimson Fire Sect and gave Zhou Qing ancient notes on opening the dantians and acupoints.

• Mu Zhuosha introduced Zhou Qing to her friend and Senior Martial Uncle, Du Ziming, who praised Zhou Qing's growing reputation across the Three Myriad Cities.
• Zhou Qing explained that limited manpower prevented his workshop from meeting demand for Thorn Bind Talismans and said he hoped to build an organization with the standing of the Array Institute.
• Zhou Qing proposed selling his new Fire-infused Gold Needles Talisman and said an apprentice from the Array Institute would soon join his team.
• Zhou Qing asked Du Ziming to negotiate with the Crimson Fire Sect over the Golden Needle Technique market, and Du Ziming agreed to go.
• Du Ziming gave Zhou Qing Jingzhai Notes, a collection of an ancient qi practitioner's experiences exploring how to open acupoints throughout the body.

Zhou Qing studied ancient cultivation notes, speculated that his strengthened body might let him open additional acupoints, and grew more urgent about increasing his cultivation. Meanwhile, his talismans boosted his reputation and unsettled the Affiliated Families, whose five leading patriarchs met to discuss how to deal with him.

• Zhou Qing studied Du Ziming’s Ancient Notes and concluded that his unusually strong body might someday withstand the strain of opening additional acupoints.
• Zhou Qing learned from the notes about ancient Demonic Path Blood Sacrifices and grew more fearful of the power he had encountered in the mental realm.
• Du Ziming negotiated a cooperation agreement with the Crimson Fire Sect, and Zhou Qing’s Fire-infused Gold Needles caused a frenzy after their release.
• As Zhou Qing’s reputation grew, weaker Affiliated Families considered joining Mu Zhuosha’s faction, alarming the powerful families led by the Fang, Lu, Xu, Mu, and Wei Families.
• The patriarchs Mu Yunhe, Xu Jingtian, Fang Dalin, Lu Cenghong, and Wei Xing secretly gathered at the Mu Family, where Wei Xing called for Zhou Qing to be eliminated and Mu Yunhe warned that Zhou Qing could not die.

Mu Yunhe and the other family heads agreed to target Zhou Qing by crippling his cultivation, while Zhou’s talisman business and disciples prospered. Wang Xiaohu told Zhou that a third-layer Qi Refinement rogue cultivator named Wu Xingyun had taken an unusual interest in him, leaving Zhou suspicious of her motives.

• Mu Yunhe agreed with the family heads to cripple Zhou Qing rather than kill him, and warned Wei Xing not to act on his own.
• Zhou Qing’s Fire-infused Gold Needles sold well, letting him increase his junior brothers’ and sisters’ compensation and share spirit stones with those he had not hired.
• Yuan Hongying, Wei Xu, and Zhang Shan broke through to the second layer of Qi Refinement, and Zhou Qing held a gathering to celebrate them.
• After two months of cultivation, Zhou Qing felt close to advancing to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement.
• Wang Xiaohu told Zhou Qing he had met Wu Xingyun, a third-layer rogue cultivator who seemed unusually interested in him, and admitted he suspected she had ulterior motives.

Zhou Qing realized that the female cultivator had used Wang Xiaohu to draw him into a trap, and that several Affiliated Families were behind a coordinated attempt to isolate him. With his allies away from the sect, he considered how to respond rather than simply waiting out the danger.

• Wang Xiaohu told Zhou Qing that the female cultivator had tried to coax Zhou Qing's formation diagrams from him, and Zhou Qing sent him back to stay on Violet Cloud Mountain.
• Zhou Qing suspected that the plot targeted him personally and that the female cultivator's handlers could track Wang Xiaohu through information from inside the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Zhou Qing met Lu Qiushui, who explained that she was leaving to inspect an early ore shipment from Red Maple Lake Spirit Mine.
• Lu Qiushui warned Zhou Qing that Chen Qingxuan, Jiang Renqing, Eldest Senior Sister, and others had left the sect amid trouble involving hijacked caravans and suspected Demonic Cultivators.
• After Lu Qiushui departed, Zhou Qing concluded that several major Affiliated Families had coordinated to remove his allies and target him, and he began considering a response.

Zhou Qing used Wang Xiaohu’s message to Wu Xingyun to set a trap for the people plotting to seize the Talisman array diagram. Wei Xing, Lu Cenghong, and Lu Qingzhu waited for him at Wu Xingyun’s courtyard, but he did not appear by midnight.

• Zhou Qing told Wang Xiaohu to send Wu Xingyun a message promising the array diagram, then learned her address and instructed Wang Xiaohu to stay home.
• Wu Xingyun received the message and rushed to the Azure Cloud Sect shop, where Wei Xing and Lu Cenghong learned that Wang Xiaohu had promised to meet her that night.
• Wei Xing and Lu Cenghong concluded that Zhou Qing was using Wu Xingyun to lure them out, while Lu Qingzhu joined them to guard against surprises.
• Wei Xing and Wu Xingyun waited at her courtyard as Lu Cenghong and Lu Qingzhu watched nearby, but Zhou Qing never arrived that night.

Zhou Qing used his Heavenly Net to locate the ambushers waiting for him and launched five iron pellets at them from several li away. The pellets burst into the courtyard, killing Wu Xingyun and grievously wounding Wei Xing, while Lu Cenghong and Lu Qingzhu were left unable to warn them in time.

• Zhou Qing used the Heavenly Net to detect Wei Xing and Wu Xingyun inside the courtyard and two guards outside it.
• Zhou Qing accelerated five iron pellets with his magnetic field and sent them toward the courtyard.
• Lu Qingzhu spotted the incoming pellets, and Lu Cenghong and Lu Qingzhu realized they could not warn Wei Xing before they arrived.
• Wei Xing promised Wu Xingyun a place as a Wei Family guest retainer after her role in luring Wang Xiaohu was complete.
• The pellets shattered Wu Xingyun's head and broke through Wei Xing's protective technique, blasting off his leg and badly wounding his chest, abdomen, and face.

Zhou Qing revealed that he had killed Wei Xing with a devastating attack, then calmly admitted it to Lu Qingzhu and Lu Cenghong. When Lu Cenghong attacked him, Zhou Qing unleashed a dazzling Five-Colored Divine Light, leaving the outcome of the confrontation unresolved.

• Five bullets tore through Wei Xing’s defenses, destroyed his dantians, and killed him as Lu Qingzhu and Lu Cenghong watched.
• Lu Qingzhu and Lu Cenghong followed the attack’s path into the forest and found Zhou Qing waiting alone.
• Zhou Qing admitted killing the man who had coveted his Talismans, then tried to leave for Azure Cloud Sect.
• Lu Cenghong decided to kill Zhou Qing, while Lu Qingzhu stood guard for a possible ambush.
• Lu Cenghong sent a firebird spell at Zhou Qing, but Zhou Qing released a Five-Colored Divine Light, prompting Lu Qingzhu to warn him to retreat.

Zhou Qing defeated Wei Xing, severely wounded Lu Cenghong, and drove Lu Qingzhu to flee, then returned to studying formations. The sect summoned him to Purple Dusk Palace to answer for the killing, and he brought Wang Xiaohu along as a witness.

• Zhou Qing split Lu Cenghong’s Undying Bird with the Five-Colored Divine Light and shattered his shoulder, while Lu Qingzhu caught him and fled with Wei Xing’s corpse.
• Zhou Qing returned to Violet Cloud Mountain, satisfied that his victory would deter the sect’s schemers, and calmly resumed studying formations.
• Yu Liangmou told Zhou Qing that Lu Qingzhu and several Elders had reported the death of the Wei Family Head and the injury to the Lu Family Head.
• Yu Liangmou said the Sect Leader True Person wanted Zhou Qing at Purple Dusk Palace and warned that the Affiliated Families might oppose the sect protecting him.
• Zhou Qing assured Yu Liangmou that he had an explanation and asked him to stop at Wang Xiaohu’s home before they went to Purple Dusk Palace.
• Wang Xiaohu opened the door and fell silent when he saw Yu Liangmou behind Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing faced the Azure Cloud Sect elders over killing Wei Xing and argued that he had acted against thieves without knowing they belonged to an Affiliated Family. The elders were unsettled by his account and the strength he had demonstrated, while the hearing remained unresolved.

• Zhou Qing brought Wang Xiaohu to Azure Cloud Mountain to testify about the previous night's events and told him to wait outside Cloud Gazing Hall.
• Yu Liangmou led Zhou Qing into the hall, where the elders examined Wei Xing's corpse and Lu Cenghong's injuries and considered Zhou Qing's extraordinary combat strength.
• The Sect Leader questioned Zhou Qing about Wei Xing's death, and Zhou Qing admitted that he had killed him.
• Xu Jingfeng proposed crippling Zhou Qing's cultivation, but Zhou Qing argued that he had attacked a thief who intended to steal his Talismans and had not known the man's identity.
• Zhou Qing said Lu Qingzhu could confirm that he had attacked from far away in the dark, leaving the elders chilled by his explanation.

Zhou Qing argued that he had killed the Wei Family Patriarch without knowing his identity, and the sect leaders could not prove otherwise. He offered the Wei Family access to his Talisman business as compensation, while arranging to gain influence over its shops.

• Zhou Qing revealed that he could lock onto and attack someone from several li away, alarming the Elders and prompting He Huifeng to suggest the killing might have been a misunderstanding.
• Zhou Qing proposed that Bai Muyun return to the Array Institute so he could demonstrate his ability, then claimed he had been joking and called Wang Xiaohu as a witness.
• Wang Xiaohu testified that Zhou Qing had only known about Wu Xingyun, though the Elders remained suspicious and lacked evidence to convict him.
• Sect Leader True Person accepted that the killing might have been a misunderstanding, while Lu Qingzhu and Mao Liang argued that the Wei Family deserved compensation.
• Zhou Qing offered to sell his Talismans through the Wei Family's shops and asked to place his own people there, positioning himself to gain control of the business.

Zhou Qing refused to give his new arrays to the sect and hinted that he might possess one capable of threatening a Golden Core cultivator. After he left, Bai Muyun and the Affiliated Families agreed to join forces to strengthen the Array Institute and counter his growing influence.

• Elder Mao Liang challenged Zhou Qing’s offer to compensate the Wei Family, and Zhou Qing defended his plan to place people there to help them.
• Xu Jingfeng urged Zhou Qing to hand his arrays over to the sect, but Zhou Qing refused and cited his past contributions.
• Zhou Qing suggested he might have an array that could threaten a Golden Core cultivator, alarming the elders and Palace Lord Bai.
• The Sect Leader True Person ordered Lu Qingzhu and Yu Liangmou to return Wei Xing’s corpse to the Wei Family and convey Zhou Qing’s offer.
• Mao Liang and the Affiliated Family heads agreed with Bai Muyun to cooperate against Zhou Qing and fund exchanges of rune knowledge between friendly sects.

Bai Muyun organized an Arrays Tournament to strengthen the Array Institute and set Wu Tao against Zhou Qing, believing Wu Tao could rival him. Fearing exposure and Bai Muyun’s wrath, Wu Tao went to Zhou Qing for help.

• Bai Muyun told Xuan Zhe and Hong Guan to arrange an Arrays Tournament and protect the Array Institute’s rune repository from Zhou Qing.
• Bai Muyun praised Wu Tao’s talent and said the tournament would help him surpass Zhou Qing, while Wu Tao hid his lack of confidence.
• Wu Tao regretted taking advantage of his position and realized he would be exposed at the tournament unless Zhou Qing helped him.
• Wu Tao waited outside Zhou Qing’s courtyard for several shichen before Zhou Qing let him in.
• Wu Tao told Zhou Qing that Bai Muyun expected him to compete against Zhou Qing and begged Zhou Qing to save him.

Zhou Qing arranged for Wu Tao to secretly pass him the runes from the Arrays Tournament in exchange for help. After rumors confirmed Zhou Qing had defeated three Foundation Establishment cultivators, he gathered his junior brothers and sisters and declared that the balance of power had shifted, inviting all of them to work with him and build a united force.

• Zhou Qing offered Wu Tao a safe place to study arrays, but Wu Tao hesitated to give up his status at the Array Institute.
• Zhou Qing proposed secretly sending Wu Tao messages during the Arrays Tournament, and Wu Tao agreed to provide copies of every rune shared there in return.
• Wei Xu told Zhou Qing that rumors of his victories over the Wei Family Head, the Lu Family Head, and Lu Qingzhu had spread through the Azure Cloud Sect, and Zhou Qing confirmed them.
• Zhou Qing asked Wei Xu to gather their junior brothers and sisters at his home that evening.
• Zhou Qing told the gathered disciples that he had previously limited who could work for him to protect them, but now invited everyone to join his talisman workshop and help build a powerful united group.

Zhou Qing expanded his Talisman team and developed an Infrasound-based communication and attack method. Fang Yuhe brought him the metal sheets he needed, while revealing that many smaller Affiliated Families were open to aligning with Zhou Qing.

• The disciples agreed to join Zhou Qing's Talisman team, expanding it to sixty people.
• Zhou Qing continued developing Five Elements Talismans and worked on using Infrasound for covert communication and attacks.
• Zhou Qing asked Fang Yuhe to find metal suitable for an Infrasound receiving device.
• Fang Yuhe told Zhou Qing that many smaller Affiliated Families were considering breaking from the great clans, and that the Fang Family wanted him to build ties with Zhou Qing.
• Fang Yuhe delivered thin metal sheets, which Zhou Qing confirmed were exactly what he needed.

Zhou Qing discovered that infrasound could harm him and planned to develop a receiver, communication codes, and defenses against sonic attacks. He rejected Ji Qian’s attempt to negotiate for the Wei Family until Wei Huan came in person, then formalized cooperation with the Wei and Fang families and worried that his growing workload would interfere with cultivation.

• Zhou Qing’s Fire-Heart Iron experiment made him dizzy and nauseated, confirming that infrasound could affect his body, so he stopped and planned to create a receiver, communication codes, and sonic defenses.
• Ji Qian came to negotiate cooperation for the Wei Family, but Zhou Qing refused to proceed unless Wei Huan met him in person and the family changed its attitude.
• Two days later, Wei Huan and Fang Zheng visited Zhou Qing, and the three agreed on supply, payment, and staffing terms before signing a contract.
• Cheng Feipeng brought Zhou Qing more workshop business to handle, leaving Zhou Qing concerned that his growing responsibilities would disrupt his cultivation.

Zhou Qing appointed Yu Liangmou to manage his workshop and Affiliated Family affairs, freeing him to focus on cultivation and his Infrasound research. After two months, he had developed a decoding-device prototype and learned the Arrays Tournament was still at least half a year away.

• Zhou Qing asked Mu Zhuosha to find him an assistant, and she arranged for Yu Liangmou to help him.
• Yu Liangmou reported to Zhou Qing and took responsibility for coordinating the workshop and Affiliated Families.
• With routine affairs delegated, Zhou Qing focused on Infrasound experiments and identified frequencies that caused hallucinations, liver damage, and dizziness.
• Zhou Qing built a prototype decoding device using Fire-Heart Iron and a Soft Black Jade Tablet to convert Infrasound signals into audible sound.
• Zhou Qing asked Wu Tao about the Arrays Tournament and learned it would not begin for at least another half year.

Over four months, Zhou Qing developed an infrasound weapon, expanded his business, and advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Meanwhile, Bai Muyun and the Affiliated Families prepared an Arrays Tournament to counter Zhou Qing and Mu Zhuosha’s growing alliance, with five friendly sects agreeing to attend.

• Zhou Qing spent four months improving his receiving device and coding a way to transmit information through undetectable infrasound frequencies.
• Mu Zhuosha secured the allegiance of more than twenty Affiliated Families, while Yu Liangmou inspected them and organized their business contributions to Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing bought an advanced Storage Pouch, secretly commissioned a massive Fire-Heart Iron bell to amplify infrasound, and broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.
• Zhou Qing tested his stronger Five-Colored Divine Light in the mountains, found it still could not produce runes, and concluded that his eventual technique might become Chaos Divine Light.
• The Affiliated Families raised over twenty thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones to fund Bai Muyun’s Arrays Tournament, and Bai Muyun, Xuan Zhe, and Hong Guan invited seven sects.
• Longevity Sect and Crimson Fire Sect declined to attend after suspecting internal strife in Azure Cloud Sect, while the other five invited sects arrived.

Zhou Qing gave Wu Tao a concealed device that transmitted voices through infrasound and tested it during the preparations for the Arrays Tournament. Through the device, Zhou Qing overheard Bai Muyun revealing the Array Institute’s plans to unite the participating array masters against him.

• Wu Tao secretly visited Zhou Qing, who gave him an encrypted array plaque and explained how to activate it.
• Wu Tao returned to the Research Room, where Bai Muyun praised his rune analysis and discussed the next day’s tournament.
• Wu Tao secretly activated the plaque while Bai Muyun spoke, hoping to confirm that the device could not be detected.
• Zhou Qing tested his matching plaque and received Bai Muyun’s voice through the eavesdropping device.
• Bai Muyun said that seven sects had been invited but only five had attended, and declared that the array masters would form an alliance to share techniques and challenge Zhou Qing.