Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yang decided to try borrowing Rain Xiang Mountain’s Spirit Treasure to cross the Heli Heavenly Abyss, with a month to secure it before waiting for the Locust Gate Heavenly Pass to open. He returned to his courtyard with Cong Huaijin, reassured her that he would come back, and began testing her cultivation knowledge.

• Jiang Yang consulted Qing He and Bai Tang, then agreed with Xuan Yan to make the Spirit Treasure loan his priority for one month before choosing to wait for the pass to open.
• Jiang Yang left Xuan Yan and learned from Butterfly-Bearing that Bi Xingjian was visiting White Elm Peak to help Senior Brother Zang Yu treat an insect infestation.
• Jiang Yang thanked Butterfly-Bearing for caring for Cong Huaijin, then took her back to his courtyard.
• Cong Huaijin asked Jiang Yang whether he would stay, and he told her that he still had to leave but would return.
• Jiang Yang tested Cong Huaijin on her lessons until she struggled to answer his questions.

Jiang Yang tested Cong Huaijin on Dao principles, rewarded her with a book, a talisman pouch, and Pills, and advised her to take on ordinary duties. A letter from Shang Qingzheng reached him, prompting him to write back.

• Jiang Yang questioned Cong Huaijin on water and the Six Harmonies Treatise, and she answered with confidence after a hint.
• Jiang Yang gave Cong Huaijin a book, a talisman pouch, and several Pills, then encouraged her to meet more peers through ordinary duties.
• A Spirit Crane delivered a letter from Shang Qingzheng to Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang read Shang Qingzheng's complaints and news of her breakthrough, then sat down to write her a reply.

Jiang Yang waited for Xuan Guang to emerge from seclusion, then spent a moonlit evening with Shang Qingzheng, who visited him after learning he had returned. They discussed their recent cultivation breakthroughs and the absence of True Person Xuan Xi, who was attempting to condense a second divine power.

• Wei Rui told Jiang Yang that Xuan Guang remained in seclusion, so Jiang Yang postponed borrowing the Spirit Treasure and asked that future visitors be let through without an announcement.
• Jiang Yang reflected on his cultivation and the advantages his immortal scripture and Dao Fruits had given him.
• Shang Qingzheng arrived and reunited with Jiang Yang, who welcomed her into his courtyard for tea.
• Shang Qingzheng noticed Jiang Yang had advanced to the late stage, and she told him she had also broken through after handing her peak duties to her senior sister.
• Jiang Yang learned that True Person Xuan Xi had missed the Cuiwei opportunity because she was attempting to condense her second divine power.

Jiang Yang shared a sixth-grade cultivation method and three ancient musical scores from the grotto-heaven with Shang Qingzheng. Shang Qingzheng treasured the gifts, especially Great Peace Repose, which she suspected was related to a melody passed down by her lineage.

• Shang Qingzheng told Jiang Yang that Little Sixteen had been sent to reflect for being lazy and impossible to catch.
• Jiang Yang gave Shang Qingzheng a jade slip containing the sixth-grade Pitch-Within Great Cluster Divine Scroll, and she said it surpassed her lineage's cultivation methods.
• Jiang Yang urged Shang Qingzheng to keep the scroll and study it after mastering her current divine power.
• Jiang Yang gave Shang Qingzheng three musical scores: Disordered Notes, Gentle Breeze, and Great Peace Repose.
• Shang Qingzheng praised the scores and said Great Peace Repose might share an origin with her family's Pacifying War with Martial Might.

Jiang Yang gave Shang Qingzheng a rare musical score and the elegant mystic artifact Just Right, which she gladly accepted. She refused his Purple Mansion-grade Mystic Star Locust Blossom, insisting he had earned it through hardship and should keep it for his own cultivation.

• Jiang Yang showed Shang Qingzheng the Great Peace Repose score, and she was delighted by the find.
• Jiang Yang presented Shang Qingzheng with the fan-shaped mystic artifact Just Right, and she accepted it after admiring its beauty and hearing how it worked.
• Jiang Yang opened a Jade Box containing a Purple Mansion-grade Mystic Star Locust Blossom and explained its benefits for cultivation.
• Shang Qingzheng refused the blossom, telling Jiang Yang to keep the reward he had won through hardship in the Grotto-Heaven.
• Jiang Yang wondered how to explain that Shang Qingzheng had helped him greatly in ways she could not see.

Jiang Yang gave Shang Qingzheng a share of his grotto-heaven treasures and urged her to pursue divine powers, strengthening their resolve to seize every moment. He then asked Xuan Guang to secure the sect’s Upstream Netherglow Wall for a journey to the Netherworld, and Xuan Guang agreed to consult Xuan Di.

• Jiang Yang showed Shang Qingzheng a Storage Bag filled with treasures from the grotto-heaven and explained how abundant its riches had been.
• Jiang Yang insisted Shang Qingzheng accept a Jade Box and told her he did not want to watch her grow old before reaching divine powers.
• Shang Qingzheng recalled how meeting Jiang Yang had changed her life and began to believe that divine powers might be within her reach.
• After emerging from seclusion, Xuan Guang summoned Jiang Yang, who congratulated him on his progress in divine powers.
• Jiang Yang asked Xuan Guang to borrow the sect’s Upstream Netherglow Wall for True Person Xuanyan’s journey through the Heavenly Abyss to the Netherworld.
• Xuan Guang agreed to discuss the request with Xuan Di.

Xuan Guang arranged for Jiang Yang to borrow Xuan Di’s [Upstream Netherglow Wall] for a journey into the Netherworld, with Xuan Yan accompanying him. He then decided Rain Xiang Mountain would answer the Zheng Kingdom’s call for aid against invading enemies and began arranging forces.

• Xuan Guang told Jiang Yang he would inform him after consulting his martial uncle, then summoned Xuan Di.
• Xuan Guang asked to borrow Xuan Di’s [Upstream Netherglow Wall] for Jiang Yang’s Journey Through the Nether, Crossing the Yin, and Xuan Di agreed after learning Xuan Yan would accompany him.
• Xuan Guang hinted that Jiang Yang’s journey concerned the dead, but told Xuan Di not to ask further.
• Xuan Di reported that the Zheng Kingdom had suffered several battles against invaders and asked the immortal Sects for help.
• Xuan Guang decided Rain Xiang Mountain would send disciples and a True Person, and would also request manpower from its aristocratic clans and the Immortal Race.
• Xuan Guang ordered a maid to invite True Person Xuanyan.

Jiang Yang studied the Daybreak Separation Sword Intent and learned that Bai Tang would teach him how to build a Great Net Eight-Vision Platform. After True Person Xuanyan arrived with the Spirit Treasure, Jiang Yang prepared to depart with him.

• Jiang Yang practiced his swordsmanship and reflected that he might be able to cultivate two sword intents.
• Jiang Yang told Cong Huaijin he would leave for a few days or up to a month and arranged for her to stay with Martial Uncle Bi.
• Bai Tang gave Jiang Yang the method for constructing the Great Net Eight-Vision Platform, titled "Studying the Dao at the Pure Tranquility Temple · Questions to Above, Eleven."
• True Person Xuanyan arrived with the Spirit Treasure and urged Jiang Yang to climb onto his back so they could set out.

Jiang Yang traveled with Xuan Yan into the Heli Heavenly Abyss, enduring its crushing depths as Xuan Yan used a Spirit Treasure to guide them through the weak water. They reached the Netherworld, where Qing He warned Jiang Yang not to look overhead because a sleeping Spirit Venerable dwelled there, and Xuan Yan stopped before a new sight.

• Xuan Yan carried Jiang Yang through the Great Void and arrived above the Heli Heavenly Abyss as night fell.
• Xuan Yan leaped into the Sea Eye with Jiang Yang and shielded him from the darkness, suction, and crushing water pressure.
• Xuan Yan summoned the Upstream Netherglow Wall, using its power to calm the weak water and help them descend.
• After passing through the nine layers of weak water, Jiang Yang and Xuan Yan reached the Netherworld.
• Qing He warned Jiang Yang not to look overhead or provoke the sleeping Spirit Venerable, and Xuan Yan stopped when a sight appeared ahead.

Jiang Yang and Xuan Yan crossed the Nether Bureau, where Qing He explained how the Locust Gate had lost its power to the River of Forgetfulness. They reached the riverbank, where Jiang Yang prepared to attend to his purpose for coming.

• Xuan Yan explained that Immortal Lord Chihua had raised the Locust Gate to spare wronged souls from torture and send them toward reincarnation.
• Qing He explained that Chihua's intervention disrupted the Nether Bureau's order, and that Supreme Yang Xu Wood had eroded into Nether Yin Locust Wood.
• Xuan Yan warned Jiang Yang not to interfere with the procession of souls, then concealed their auras and led him past the Heavenly Pass.
• Jiang Yang saw that the River of Forgetfulness cleansed departed souls of their past lives before they rose as Living Souls and proceeded to reincarnation.
• Xuan Yan brought Jiang Yang to a quiet stretch of riverbank and stepped aside, leaving him to carry out his purpose.

Jiang Yang helped Bai Tang begin her reincarnation by casting Bai Du into the River of Forgetfulness, and the two confessed their feelings before parting. He left the Nether Bureau with Xuan Yan and returned to the Mortal World.

• Jiang Yang met Bai Tang at the River of Forgetfulness, where she explained that casting Bai Du into the river would let her reincarnate.
• Jiang Yang asked how he could find Bai Tang again, and she said they would meet when the time was right.
• Bai Tang asked Jiang Yang to kiss her, and they embraced and shared their feelings before she returned to the sword.
• Jiang Yang immersed Bai Du in the Weak Water and let it vanish, then waited silently by the riverbank.
• Xuan Yan returned, and Jiang Yang told him everything had gone smoothly before leaving the Nether Bureau with him.
• Xuan Yan carried Jiang Yang through the Sea Eye, and they emerged from the Heavenly Abyss into the Mortal World.

After leaving the Heavenly Abyss, Jiang Yang traveled to the Water Palace to ask Yuan Jun for help exchanging a Spirit Treasure for Chu Qingjian. He was welcomed by Yuanzhu and settled into the palace, where he prepared to discuss his request.

• Jiang Yang told Xuan Yan he would visit Dragonkind on Xuan Guang’s behalf to secure a Spirit Treasure for Chu Qingjian, and Xuan Yan returned to the sect alone.
• Jiang Yang flew across the Lesser Sea and was met by Yuanzhu, who welcomed him to the Water Palace on behalf of the Dragon Prince of the Azure Void.
• Yuanzhu ordered the Qiu-Scaled Horned Shrimp Clan to provide thirty-eight thousand horn scales as punishment for disturbing the waters near Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang accepted Yuanzhu’s hospitality but asked the attendants to ease their excessive attention.
• Yuanzhu explained that Yuan Jun had granted him the character in his name, and Jiang Yang chose to address him as Elder Yuan.

Jiang Yang visited Yuan Jun in the Dragon Palace to trade Armor-Piercing White Thunder for pivot thunder that could help Chu Qingjian reach the Purple Mansion. Yuan Jun revealed that Dragonkind already watched Chu Qingjian because of Jiang Yang, then teased him by withholding her agreement as he asked what she wanted.

• Yuanzhu escorted Jiang Yang to Yuan Jun’s private pavilion for a welcoming banquet.
• Jiang Yang and Yuan Jun shared wine and discussed his successful trip to Azure Corner Heaven, which Yuan Jun had warned him about.
• Jiang Yang offered Armor-Piercing White Thunder in exchange for pivot thunder suited to Chu Qingjian’s dao lineage.
• Yuan Jun explained that Dragonkind knew of Chu Qingjian because of Jiang Yang and suggested his help would let her cross the Purple Mansion threshold with ease.
• Yuan Jun pretended she had not agreed to the exchange, and Jiang Yang asked what it would take for her to accept.

Jiang Yang drank a pot of spirit wine at Yuan Jun’s request, and she presented him with Divine-Resonance Jun Thunder for Chu Qingjian’s Purple Mansion breakthrough. When he offered to compensate her for the valuable treasure, Yuan Jun insisted that the wine had already fulfilled their agreement.

• Yuan Jun teased Jiang Yang before asking him to finish a pot of spirit wine in exchange for the spirit thunder.
• Jiang Yang drank the wine while Yuan Jun joined him, and he stopped after finishing the pot.
• Yuan Jun summoned a mermaid attendant, who brought Jiang Yang a wooden box containing Divine-Resonance Jun Thunder, also called the Golden Mystic Heavenly Pivot Token.
• Yuan Jun explained that the thunder suited Chu Qingjian’s breakthrough and said it was a gift, not a trade.
• Jiang Yang hesitated to accept the valuable thunder, but Yuan Jun said that his wine-drinking had already fulfilled their agreement.

Jiang Yang exchanged White Thunder with Yuan Jun and discussed her impending breakthrough to the Purple Mansion before preparing to leave. Yuan Jun sent him off with the White Thunder again, this time as a Dragonkind gift for Chu Qingjian.

• Jiang Yang accepted Yuan Jun's Spirit Treasure and secretly offered her the White Thunder in exchange, but Yuan Jun noticed and agreed to take it.
• Jiang Yang and Yuan Jun drank and discussed cultivation, and Yuan Jun revealed she planned to enter seclusion to break through to the Purple Mansion.
• Jiang Yang declined Yuan Jun's invitation to stay longer and formally took his leave.
• Yuan Jun gave Jiang Yang the White Thunder to deliver to Chu Qingjian as a congratulatory gift, and Jiang Yang conceded that she had won.

Jiang Yang returned from the Water Palace and traveled across Zheng Kingdom toward his sect, where he discovered that war was imminent and Rogue Cultivators were competing for dangerous conscription posts. He left the estate queue after learning that the Zhai Clan offered spirit fields to the families of those killed in battle.

• Yuan Jun sent Jiang Yang safely back toward land, and Fen Shuier escorted him to the coast before Jiang Yang continued alone.
• Jiang Yang flew for days across Zheng Kingdom, observing its cultivators and learning how long the journey was outside the Great Void.
• Jiang Yang descended at the Si Xia Zhai Clan estate and joined a queue to find out why crowds had gathered there.
• A gray-robed cultivator told Jiang Yang that war had been announced within the last fortnight and that selected cultivators would fight barbarians at the frontier.
• The cultivator explained that the Zhai Clan was recruiting Rogue Cultivators to fill its levy and promised five mu of spirit fields to the families of those killed in battle.
• Jiang Yang abandoned any attempt to dissuade the eager cultivator from seeking a place in the levy.

Jiang Yang learned that war had forced the Zhai Clan to recruit rogue cultivators and discovered the red lot he drew could secure a place for Lu Yuzheng. After giving it to him, Jiang Yang learned the surrounding geography and planned a route toward Rain Xiang Mountain that might take him past Tai Pei'er’s clan.

• Jiang Yang reasoned that the war in the Zheng Kingdom would draw in Rain Xiang Mountain and the surrounding clans.
• A Zhai Clan steward announced a recruitment drive, offering land, wealth, and marriage ties to those who earned military merit.
• Jiang Yang gave his red drawing lot to Lu Yuzheng, who eagerly accepted the chance to join the campaign.
• Lu Yuzheng told Jiang Yang that they were in Si Xia, once the home of a Water Palace and the former home of Jiang Yang's master's lineage.
• Lu Yuzheng described the route through Huai River and the nearby clans, and Jiang Yang realized he might pass the Duguang Tai Clan and meet Tai Pei'er.

Jiang Yang traveled south, gaining insight from the mortal world and the fertile central lands before reaching Xielin Commandery, territory of the Nanshan Xie clan. There, Xie Leran welcomed him on behalf of the clan head and guided him to their garden for tea.

• Jiang Yang thanked Lu Yuzheng for his information, left Si Xia, and passed the Ten-Thousand-Mile Snow Mountain.
• Jiang Yang watched the people of the Huai River region and gained insight into the mortal roots of cultivators and the meaning of the golden position.
• Jiang Yang traveled across the fertile plains of the Jin River and learned that he had reached Xielin Commandery, ruled by the Xie Lineage.
• Xie Leran approached Jiang Yang, said the clan head had divined his arrival, and invited him to accept the clan's hospitality.
• Jiang Yang accepted Xie Leran's invitation and asked how Xie Lezhi was related to him.

Jiang Yang visited the Xie Lineage and learned why the Northern Di repeatedly raided Zheng Kingdom’s border. He realized the raids persisted because Zheng Kingdom and Chu Kingdom used the Northern Di territory as a buffer, and waited for Xie Wenzhao to reveal the purpose of the invitation.

• Xie Leran brought Jiang Yang to Weinan Mountain, where Xie Wenzhao welcomed him as an honored guest.
• After exchanging pleasantries, Xie Leran asked Jiang Yang whether he had heard about the fighting on the border.
• Xie Wenzhao explained that Northern Di raids followed cold waves from the Heqiu Snowfield and that the tribes practiced Wu arts and gu.
• Jiang Yang asked whether the Northern Di had a True Lord backing them, and Xie Wenzhao said their survival stemmed from the rivalry between Zheng Kingdom and Chu Kingdom.
• Jiang Yang understood that neither kingdom wanted the Northern Di destroyed because the territory served as a buffer, then thanked Xie Wenzhao and waited for the main purpose of the visit.

Jiang Yang avoided giving Xie Wenzhao information about the war, accepted a pouch of resources, then scattered them over Xielin Commandery before leaving. He flew on to Duguang and descended to visit the Tai clan and Tai Pei'er.

• Xie Wenzhao asked Jiang Yang about the High Sect's deployment plans and which True Person would enter the war, but Jiang Yang said he knew nothing and could not promise to share future information.
• Xie Leran gave Jiang Yang a pouch of spirit resources as a travel gift, and Jiang Yang agreed to accept it.
• Jiang Yang flew above Xielin Commandery, emptied the pouch by scattering its contents over the city, and left as people scrambled for the resources.
• Xie Leran told Xie Wenzhao what Jiang Yang had done, and Xie Wenzhao dismissed it as Jiang Yang indulging himself and playing in the mortal world.
• Jiang Yang crossed into Duguang and descended near the Tai clan's lands to visit Tai Pei'er.