Recaps

As Ao Ruo’s True Dragon River Passage brought it toward the Ya Kingdom, Zhang Yuan prepared to face the dragon’s trial above the Ya East River. Chen Xinqiao returned home and entrusted her father with a sealed letter for the Immortal Master before Ao Ruo charged at Zhang Yuan.

• [Cloud-Ao Bearing Mountain True Lord] watched the signs of the true dragon’s passage and worried that Zhang Yuan had been manipulated into killing his own people.
• Chen Xinqiao returned to the Chen Residence, gave Chen Qinkuai a sealed letter for the Immortal Master, and told him to seek help from the Aohai Cui Clan if trouble arose after she left.
• Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun arrived above the Ya East River, where cultivators and members of several clans gathered to watch the trial.
• Xiao Yuanjun went down to the riverbank while Zhang Yuan remained in the air to face Ao Ruo.
• Ao Ruo spotted Zhang Yuan blocking its way and charged at him, its roar unsettling the gathered cultivators.

Zhang Yuan passed the Dragon-Squeezing Trial by killing Ao Ruo with a single sword strike, stunning the cultivators who witnessed it. Deng Qiuzhi immediately attacked him, while Xiao Yuanjun was held back from intervening, and the chapter ended as Deng Qiuzhi’s palm struck Zhang Yuan’s chest.

• Zhang Yuan resisted Ao Ruo’s Dragon’s Roar and unleashed a sword strike combining his divine abilities with refined Sword Qi.
• Ao Ruo tried to flee and sought Deng Qiuzhi’s help, but Deng Qiuzhi refused to save him, and Zhang Yuan’s strike split the dragon in two.
• The riverbank cultivators were stunned by Ao Ruo’s death, while Cui Zhaowei judged Zhang Yuan’s strike stronger than her own.
• After Zhang Yuan passed the Dragon-Squeezing Trial, Deng Qiuzhi summoned a mountain to attack him, but Xiao Yuanjun destroyed it with her Weather and Season Mystic Pearls.
• Li Wangshuo blocked Xiao Yuanjun as Deng Qiuzhi appeared before Zhang Yuan and struck his chest with a palm.

Zhang Yuan survived Deng Qiuzhi’s attacks by forcibly raising his rank to Celestial Person, but heaven and earth rejected him and he remained trapped inside Deng Qiuzhi’s Dao Domain. He realized Deng Qiuzhi was trying to force his third trial to emerge and identified it as the Dusty Bonds Trial, which appeared to involve killing mortals.

• Deng Qiuzhi struck Zhang Yuan and trapped him inside his [Myriad-Walled Heaven-Encompassing Dao Domain].
• Facing a lethal blow, Zhang Yuan successively used [Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain] and [Heaven-Sundering Fourfold Immortal Domain] to raise his rank to Celestial Person.
• Heaven and earth rejected Zhang Yuan, and the chaos beyond the heavens began pulling him toward ascension while his body threatened to break apart.
• Zhang Yuan lowered his rank to escape the worst of the ascension pull, but he could not break through Deng Qiuzhi’s Dao Domain.
• Zhang Yuan realized Deng Qiuzhi was pushing him to trigger his third trial and discovered it was the [Dusty Bonds Trial], then thought of Chen Xinqiao.

Zhang Yuan uncovered the scheme behind his Dusty Bonds Trial but refused to kill Chen Xinqiao, while she realized the True Lords had made her death inevitable. Chen Xinqiao used the porcelain bottle Zhang Yuan had given her to help him pass the trial, then killed herself.

• Zhang Yuan realized Chen Xinqiao was the reincarnation of an Outer Dao cultivator and that the True Lords intended for him to kill her.
• True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns offered Zhang Yuan a chance to pass the Dusty Bonds Trial by killing Chen Xinqiao, but Zhang Yuan asked why she mattered and refused to act.
• Deng Qiuzhi attacked Zhang Yuan as True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns departed, and Zhang Yuan's bottleneck vanished as he passed the trial.
• At Liu Family Village, Chen Xinqiao found the porcelain bottle Zhang Yuan had left behind and concluded that the True Lords would prevent her from forming an Outer Dao golden core.
• Chen Xinqiao used the bottle's karmic connection to help Zhang Yuan pass the trial, then pierced her throat with a shard and died.

After Chen Xinqiao died saving him, Zhang Yuan became a Foundation Establishment Celestial and went to confirm she could not be revived. He set out to take revenge on the Hengyang Lu Clan, while True Lords argued over whether to intervene and Cloud Ao restrained True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns.

• Zhang Yuan reached the Chen household and confirmed that Chen Xinqiao’s body and soul were both gone, leaving no chance to bring her back.
• Zhang Yuan visited Chen Qinkuai, received Chen Xinqiao’s sealed letter, and left without reading it.
• Xiao Yuanjun met Zhang Yuan outside and promised to handle the Hengyang Lu Clan’s Celestial Persons while he did what he needed to do.
• Zhang Yuan declared that he would kill for the lords in the heavens to see and linked his [Myriad Coexistence] chain to the Wen River Deng Clan.
• The True Lords debated Zhang Yuan’s trials and whether he should be killed, as True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns moved to attack him.
• Cloud Ao Bearing the Mountain True Lord hooked True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns’s vast hand with his fishing rod as Zhang Yuan approached the clan’s gates.

Zhang Yuan tracked the Wen River Deng Clan to Cloud Brocade Mountain while the True Lords’ contest of Golden Positions continued in the void. Deng Qingyang discovered his new fortune-reading ability, saw Zhang Yuan above the mountain, and fled as three-colored qi light swept down.

• True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns wrestled against Cloud Ao Bearing the Mountain True Lord, but the Mountain-Suppressing Bone held firm against the Windy Reed Fruit’s gathered forces.
• Zhang Yuan used his karmic connection to a Wen River Deng Clan disciple to reach the clan’s hidden headquarters on Cloud Brocade Mountain.
• Deng Qingyang finished refining Illuminating Heavenly Gang and learned that his third life-bound divine ability, Leaf-Fall Auspice Reading, revealed good or ill fortune.
• Deng Qingyang’s reading warned that grave calamity loomed, and he spotted Zhang Yuan hovering above the mountain.
• Deng Qingyang recognized Zhang Yuan, panicked, and rolled off a cliff just as three-colored qi light surged down over Cloud Brocade Mountain.

After destroying Cloud Brocade Mountain, Zhang Yuan read Chen Xinqiao’s farewell letter and reflected on his new celestial state. A giant Day Patrol God arrived at Ya Kingdom’s Capital City to register him in the Netherworld Administration by order of a True Lord.

• Zhang Yuan returned to Brightheart Residence after destroying the Wen River Deng Clan’s Cloud Brocade Mountain and chose not to pursue survivors who might have True Lord protection.
• Zhang Yuan opened Chen Xinqiao’s farewell letter, learned she was the reincarnation of True Person Qingxu, and resolved to become stronger despite his anger at True Lord Imperial Balance Myriad Turns.
• Zhang Yuan examined the changes to his status, body, Primordial Spirit, and Divine Abilities after attaining the celestial state.
• Zhang Yuan sensed a vast, yin-filled figure approaching the Ya Kingdom’s Capital City and recognized that it possessed status equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Celestial.
• The Day Patrol God identified itself as an inspector of the Netherworld Administration and announced that Zhang Yuan’s name had to be entered on its register by a True Lord’s decree.

Zhang Yuan learned that attaining celestial standing required him to proclaim a Dao Epithet so the Nether Bureau could register him. After he chose [Return to True], the Day Patrol God recorded his name and granted him an eight-hundred-year lifespan, while Xiao Yuanjun warned him to forge his Dao Domain before the Wen River Deng Clan's True Lord came after him.

• The Day Patrol God immobilized Zhang Yuan and demanded that his name be entered on the Nether Bureau's register, but repeated himself without explaining what he needed.
• Xiao Yuanjun arrived and explained that a celestial person had to proclaim a Dao Epithet for the Nether Bureau to record it and fix their lifespan at eight hundred years.
• Zhang Yuan chose [Return to True] as his Dao Epithet, and the Day Patrol God recorded him as [Return to True Celestial Person] Zhang Yuan before departing.
• Zhang Yuan asked whether Chen Xinqiao could be reborn, and Xiao Yuanjun said she was utterly dead with no soul fragment remaining.
• Xiao Yuanjun warned Zhang Yuan that the Wen River Deng Clan's True Lord would target him and urged him to forge his Dao Domain, promising to handle the traps herself.

After becoming a Celestial Person, Zhang Yuan chose a new talent and studied the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Pre-Heaven True Law Self-Salvation Great Method. He left off preparing to forge his Dao Domain and planned to ask Xiao Yuanjun about the next steps once she woke.

• Zhang Yuan asked Xiao Yuanjun whether she had been injured, and she said she had searched for the Wen River Deng Clan’s Celestial Persons but found none.
• Xiao Yuanjun gave Zhang Yuan the Foundation Establishment chapter and went to sleep beside him.
• Zhang Yuan reviewed three talent options and chose [Basking in the Spring Breeze] to gain a trace of goodwill from anyone who met him.
• Zhang Yuan read about Celestial Person cultivation, learning that it involved refining the twelve yin-yang qi and the ten true natures of the five aggregates.
• Zhang Yuan found no explanation of how to cultivate those elements and decided to begin forging his Dao Domain while waiting for Xiao Yuanjun to wake.

Zhang Yuan forged his [Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain] into a Dao Domain, anchoring his existential rank and escaping the risk of being lost in chaos. Meanwhile, Li Huixi learned that he had attained Celestial Personhood but judged that his lack of backing made a Golden Core unlikely.

• Zhang Yuan entered the Chaos Void and used [Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain] to create a stable world as his Dao Domain.
• Zhang Yuan named the palace within his new domain [Immortal Palace] and returned from the void.
• At Sun-Moon Cliff, Li Zhongshuang told Li Huixi that Zhang Yuan had attained Celestial Personhood but had not announced his Dao Epithet.
• Li Huixi suggested [Return to True] as Zhang Yuan's Dao Epithet and said he had the potential to reach Celestial Person Perfection.
• Li Huixi explained that the remaining Golden Positions were scarce and that Zhang Yuan, an outsider without a True Lord's support, was unlikely to attain a Golden Core.

Cui Qiezhe asked Zhang Yuan to investigate a change at Mount Junya while helping Cui Zhaowei complete her Ascending Mountain Pass. Zhang Yuan accepted after Cui Qiezhe offered a Pre-Heaven True Treasure, and he and Cui Zhaowei set out at once.

• Li Huixi reconsidered how to bring Zhang Yuan to her and decided she would rather have him come willingly.
• Cui Qiezhe and Cui Zhaowei visited Zhang Yuan at Brightheart Residence, and Zhang Yuan exchanged Dao epithets with Cui Qiezhe as a fellow Celestial Person.
• Cui Qiezhe asked Zhang Yuan to investigate the change at Mount Junya and escort Cui Zhaowei as she climbed the mountain for her Ascending Mountain Pass.
• Cui Qiezhe offered Zhang Yuan an unclaimed Pre-Heaven True Treasure as a reward, and Zhang Yuan accepted.
• Zhang Yuan departed for Mount Junya with Cui Zhaowei.

Zhang Yuan and Cui Zhaowei arrived at Mount Junya, where a dazzling barrier and rumors of treasures had drawn cultivators from across the region. As Zhang Yuan learned how Celestial Persons’ mystic wonders differ from ordinary divine abilities, rumors revealed that a Pre-Heaven Supreme Treasure and a True Lord Inheritance might be emerging on the mountain.

• Zhang Yuan and Cui Zhaowei found many cultivators gathered outside Mount Junya, which was shielded by seven-colored precious light.
• Zhang Yuan identified five Celestial Persons at the mountain, including Li Jiansong, Deng Yici, and the rogue cultivator Qin Tianyi.
• Cui Zhaowei explained that cultivation stages were only rough measures of Celestial Person strength, while mystic wonders could let them defeat opponents at higher stages.
• Zhang Yuan asked how divine effects could be transformed into mystic wonders, puzzling Cui Zhaowei with his lack of basic knowledge.
• Zhang Yuan overheard cultivators say that a Pre-Heaven Supreme Treasure and a True Lord Inheritance were emerging on Mount Junya, along with lesser opportunities for Qi Refining cultivators.

Zhang Yuan suspected Mount Junya’s upheaval was bait for a True Lord’s chosen pawn and watched the Celestial Persons gather. When Qin Tianyi learned the True Lord Inheritance mattered to his cultivation, he tried to use Zhang Yuan to divert the Wen River Deng Clan’s attention.

• Zhang Yuan suspected a True Lord had arranged Mount Junya’s opportunity for someone else and considered Qin Tianyi and several young cultivators as possible targets.
• Qin Tianyi noticed Zhang Yuan watching him and exchanged greetings with him before Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian approached.
• Li Jiansong introduced himself, but Deng Yici insulted the Jingyang Li Clan and declared the Wen River Deng Clan would take the Pre-Heaven Supreme Treasure and True Lord Inheritance.
• Qin Tianyi realized the inheritance was linked to his cultivation and decided he needed someone to draw Deng Yici’s attention away from him.
• Qin Tianyi loudly pretended to recognize Zhang Yuan as an old friend, exposing him to everyone’s gaze and angering Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan reunited with Qin Tianyi’s group at Mount Junya, where Deng Yici recognized him as an enemy of her clan and offered to make him her male consort. When the mountain’s inheritance barrier opened, its deadly restrictions killed several cultivators and badly injured Qin Tianyi, who tried to reach the summit with a mystic wonder.

• Qin Tianyi introduced Zhang Yuan to the group, and Li Jiansong failed to recognize him while Deng Yici identified him as the man who destroyed Cloud Brocade Mountain.
• Deng Yici offered Zhang Yuan a chance to become her male consort, but he refused and said he was already betrothed; Cui Zhaowei rebuffed Deng Yici’s insult.
• Mount Junya’s seven-colored light faded, and Qi Refining Perfected Persons who flew toward it or used divine abilities exploded into clouds of blood.
• Shen Qiulan determined that Mount Junya’s pre-heaven law forbade flying and divine abilities, warning that those who broke the restriction would be reduced to ashes.
• Qin Tianyi used [Thunder Rumbles] to rush toward the summit, but a purple thunderbolt struck him and sent him crashing down the mountainside, badly injured.

Zhang Yuan and Cui Zhaowei climbed Mount Junya, where the lingering might of a dead True Lord suppressed cultivators and brought hidden opportunities to the surface. Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian stole a young cultivator’s Pre-Heaven True Treasure, but Zhang Yuan appeared to claim the sword for himself.

• Zhang Yuan used [Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain] to restore his Celestial Person Status after Mount Junya’s pressure suppressed it, then continued uphill with Cui Zhaowei.
• Deng Yici climbed alone while Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian changed their appearances and followed other cultivators in search of opportunities.
• Qin Tianyi revealed that he had used a delaying tactic to reach halfway up the mountain ahead of the others and pursue its treasures and inheritance.
• Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian followed a young cultivator, then seized the [Broad Thunder Sword] after he obtained it.
• Zhang Yuan appeared and said the sword was fated to become his Ritual Sword, asking Miss Zhaowei to agree.

Zhang Yuan took the [Broad Thunder Sword] from Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian, then spared them after they surrendered. Shen Qiulan recognized him as the Sword Immortal of the Ya East River and led Pei Chongtian away; Zhang Yuan and Cui Zhaowei then discussed the sword and another possible True Treasure.

• Zhang Yuan claimed the opportunity belonged to him, and his Celestial Person status suppressed Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian when they challenged him.
• Shen Qiulan and Pei Chongtian surrendered the [Broad Thunder Sword] and begged Zhang Yuan to spare their lives, which he did.
• Shen Qiulan recognized Zhang Yuan as the Sword Immortal of the Ya East River and warned Pei Chongtian of his record of killing, prompting them to flee to the south side of the mountain.
• Zhang Yuan told Cui Zhaowei he was not one to revel in slaughter, and Cui Zhaowei offered to ask her father about a different Pre-Heaven True Treasure.
• Zhang Yuan said he would first examine the miraculous effects of the [Broad Thunder Sword].

Zhang Yuan and Cui Zhaowei encountered Qin Tianyi fleeing from Wenren Xuange, a cultivator who could use divine abilities on Mount Junya. Wenren Xuange demanded Cui Zhaowei’s death for no reason beyond disliking her face, and Zhang Yuan stopped to confront him.

• Zhang Yuan and Cui Zhaowei set off toward Mount Junya’s summit after Zhang Yuan inspected the Broad Thunder Sword.
• Qin Tianyi fled from Wenren Xuange, spotted Zhang Yuan, and rolled behind him while pleading for help.
• Qin Tianyi explained that Wenren Xuange retained his Nine-Turn Qi Refining cultivation and divine abilities, but Zhang Yuan refused to get involved.
• Wenren Xuange stopped Zhang Yuan and demanded Cui Zhaowei’s head, saying he wanted to kill her because he disliked her cold face.
• Zhang Yuan learned Cui Zhaowei was the daughter of the Eastern Ya Cui Clan’s head, but Wenren Xuange remained determined to kill her.

Zhang Yuan killed Wenren Xuange on Mount Junya despite the mountain laws aiding him, then discovered a rare cultivation manual among Wenren Xuange’s belongings. Qin Tianyi revealed that the manual was an Elder Era scripture linked to a hidden Golden Position and the method Qin himself practiced.

• Zhang Yuan suppressed Wenren Xuange with his Celestial Person Status, but Mount Junya’s laws helped Wenren Xuange break free.
• Zhang Yuan attacked with the [Weather and Season Mystic Pearls], but Wenren Xuange’s defensive armor blocked the lightning bolts.
• Zhang Yuan used the [Lamp-Lighting Oil-Adding Pill] and a swift Sword Qi strike to kill Wenren Xuange, then took his armor, spear, and storage pouch.
• Zhang Yuan found a copy of the "Radiant Immortal-Shaking Scripture" in Wenren Xuange’s pouch, and Qin Tianyi recognized it.
• Zhang Yuan restrained Qin Tianyi and demanded an explanation, so Qin revealed that the scripture was an Elder Era cultivation method linked to a hidden Golden Position.

Zhang Yuan tried to leave Mount Junya with Cui Zhaowei, but the mountain’s renewed collapse and surging True Lord Laws made the trial impossible for her to pass. He linked their lives with [Myriad Coexistence] and carried her upward as lightning struck.

• Mount Junya crumbled into floating Glazed Jade Stones, revealing a Pre-Heaven True Treasure and a True Lord Inheritance while its True Lord Laws grew stronger.
• The pressure weakened Qin Tianyi and left Cui Zhaowei unable to walk, while Zhang Yuan remained unaffected by using [Heaven-Sundering Fourfold Immortal Domain].
• Zhang Yuan realized Cui Zhaowei would lose her cultivation if she failed [Ascending Mountain Pass], and offered to use [Myriad Coexistence] to link their Karma and lives.
• Cui Zhaowei agreed, and Zhang Yuan activated [Myriad Coexistence], binding their wrists with a chain.
• Lightning surged from the Glazed Jade Stones, and Zhang Yuan shielded Cui Zhaowei, lifted her around the waist, and sprang up the mountain.

Zhang Yuan helped Cui Zhaowei pass Mount Junya’s Ascending Mountain Pass, then claimed the treasures at the summit. After he took both, the laws’ suppression lifted, and the cultivators who rushed toward them fled or were killed.

• Zhang Yuan carried Cui Zhaowei up Mount Junya and helped her pass the Ascending Mountain Pass.
• Zhang Yuan took the Radiant Thunder Pivot Immortal-Quelling Scripture, intending to bargain with Qin Tianyi for it later.
• Zhang Yuan claimed the Eastern Mystic-Yang Fusang Banner and stored it in his Dao Domain.
• The laws’ suppression vanished after Zhang Yuan took both treasures, restoring the cultivators’ cultivation.
• A burly Seven-Turn Qi Refining Perfected Person tried to seize the treasures, but Cui Zhaowei killed him with her sword, and the other cultivators fled.

Cui Qiezhe explained his strategy of keeping the Ya Kingdom out of the coming unification wars and reassured Jiang Peilan that Zhang Yuan would help their daughter Zhaowei pass the Ascending Mountain Pass. After waking and sensing Zhang Yuan had connected Myriad Coexistence to someone else, Xiao Yuanjun hurried to Mount Junya to check on him.

• Cui Qiezhe reflected that relinquishing Mount Junya had bought the Ya Kingdom peace, though he expected the wider wars to come.
• Jiang Peilan visited Cui Qiezhe, who told her he had arranged for Zhang Yuan to accompany Zhaowei through the Ascending Mountain Pass.
• Cui Qiezhe told Jiang Peilan to visit the Chancellor's Residence less often, though he said he would return home after Zhang Yuan returned.
• Xiao Yuanjun woke at Brightheart Residence, sensed Zhang Yuan had connected Myriad Coexistence to another person, and became concerned he might be deceived.
• Xiao Yuanjun located Zhang Yuan at Mount Junya and rushed there.

Zhang Yuan trapped the cultivators on Mount Junya and seized their treasures, then faced demands from Deng Yici, Cui Zhaowei, and Qin Tianyi for his inheritance. Before they could force a decision, Xiao Yuanjun arrived with overwhelming power and offered to kill anyone he chose.

• Zhang Yuan used his Dao Domain to trap the fleeing cultivators and demanded their Qiankun Pouches, killing those who defied or threatened him.
• Deng Yici demanded Zhang Yuan's Pre-Heaven Supreme Treasure and True Lord Inheritance, offering compensation and a place as her consort; Cui Zhaowei and Qin Tianyi also sought the inheritance.
• Zhang Yuan agreed to discuss the inheritance with Qin Tianyi later, while privately deciding not to kill him because he was a True Lord's chess piece.
• Twelve powerful Weather and Seasonal Mystic Pearls enclosed Deng Yici, Qin Tianyi, and the others, revealing the arrival of an expert.
• Xiao Yuanjun emerged from the Great Void and asked Zhang Yuan if there was anyone he wanted killed, while Deng Yici asked who she was.

Xiao Yuanjun arrived at Mount Junya and used her Mystic Wonder to gravely wound Deng Yici after learning that the Wen River Deng Clan was targeting Zhang Yuan. Deng Yici escaped after making Zhang Yuan an offer, and Xiao Yuanjun realized she had misread his connection with Cui Zhaowei and arrived at an awkward moment.

• Xiao Yuanjun attacked Deng Yici with the [Weather and Season Mystic Pearls], and her Mystic Wonder made Deng Yici gravely wounded despite her evasion.
• Qin Tianyi, Shen Qiulan, and Pei Chongtian distanced themselves from the Wen River Deng Clan, while Deng Yici recognized Xiao Yuanjun as the thief who had once stolen treasures from her clan.
• Xiao Yuanjun and Deng Yici discussed the Golden Positions they sought, and Xiao Yuanjun threatened to kill any Deng Clan members who came after her.
• Deng Yici promised Zhang Yuan two Pre-Heaven Supreme Treasures if he visited the Wen River Deng Clan, then escaped into the Great Void before Xiao Yuanjun could catch her.
• Xiao Yuanjun told Zhang Yuan she had come after sensing his [Myriad Coexistence] connect with someone and fearing he had been deceived, then remarked that his master had arrived at the wrong time.

Zhang Yuan returned from Mount Junya with Xiao Yuanjun and gave her the Radiant Thunder Pivot Immortal-Quelling Scripture to study, while explaining how he had helped Cui Zhaowei pass the trial. Cui Zhaowei returned safely to her family, and Jiang Peilan arranged a dinner invitation for Zhang Yuan, hoping to bring the two closer.

• Zhang Yuan presented Xiao Yuanjun with the Radiant Thunder Pivot Immortal-Quelling Scripture and the Eastern Mystic-Yang Fusang Banner, then invited Qin Tianyi to Brightheart Residence to discuss the cultivation art.
• Zhang Yuan escorted Cui Zhaowei home before returning to Brightheart Residence, where he explained to Xiao Yuanjun how he had helped Cui Zhaowei and settled his karmic debt to the Eastern Ya Cui Clan.
• Zhang Yuan reflected that various clans' True Lords had tried to influence his Dusty Bonds Trial by arranging potential replacements for Chen Xinqiao as the person through whom it unfolded.
• Cui Zhaowei told Jiang Peilan that Mount Junya's awakened True Lord Laws had made the trial dangerous and that Zhang Yuan's divine ability had helped her pass.
• Jiang Peilan sent Cui Zhaowei to invite Zhang Yuan to dinner, recognizing that her daughter was beginning to speak up for him and that the Eastern Ya Cui Clan hoped to bring them together.

Cui Qiezhe thanked Zhang Yuan for helping Cui Zhaowei and used dinner to suggest that Zhang Yuan find a Dao Companion and start a family. Back at Brightheart Residence, Zhang Yuan reassured Xiao Yuanjun that he would not betray her, and she declared that master and disciple were Dao Companions too.

• Cui Qiezhe gave Zhang Yuan a sword-shaped Pre-Heaven True Treasure in gratitude for helping Cui Zhaowei pass her trial, and Zhang Yuan accepted it.
• Cui Qiezhe and Jiang Peilan invited Zhang Yuan to dinner and urged him to consider romance and descendants, while Cui Zhaowei understood their intentions in silence.
• After returning to Brightheart Residence, Zhang Yuan reflected that his dangerous circumstances made it better to remain alone.
• Xiao Yuanjun appeared and accused Zhang Yuan of wanting to betray her, then struck his chest when he denied it.
• Xiao Yuanjun insisted that masters and disciples could be Dao Companions, and Zhang Yuan agreed that he and his master were.