Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yang reunited with Zhou Yanwei and caught up with him over tea, discussing Jiang Yang’s sword strike and their old acquaintances. Zhou Yanwei revealed that he cultivated one of the Twelve Qi: True Qi, known as Bestowing Longevity.

• Jiang Yang and Zhou Yanwei exchanged greetings and went to Zhou Yanwei’s courtyard to talk.
• Zhou Yanwei praised Jiang Yang’s sword strike, saying it had transformed the Autumn Woods beneath the Heavenly Pass and drawn sword cultivators there to study it.
• Jiang Yang said the transformation could last six months to a year if no one destroyed it, startling Zhou Yanwei.
• Jiang Yang credited Zhou Yanwei with helping him begin his Sword Dao and said Fang Xu had been taken in by the Luan-kind and might no longer recognize them.
• After discussing cultivation and Dao lineages, Zhou Yanwei revealed his Azure-white qi and identified it as True Qi, known as Bestowing Longevity.

Jiang Yang learned how Zhou Yanwei’s Pingwu Zhou Lineage survived the fall of the Jin Kingdom and discovered the strengths of the True Qi Dao Lineage. The two agreed to support each other in the coming battles.

• Zhou Yanwei told Jiang Yang that the Pingwu Zhou Lineage had served the fallen Jin Kingdom, then sought protection first from Locust Image Palace and later from Rain Xiang Mountain.
• Zhou Yanwei explained that Great True Person Xiang Fan had defeated Locust Image Palace and forced it to retreat into the Zhao Kingdom, after which the Zhou lineage submitted to Rain Xiang Mountain.
• Zhou Yanwei described True Qi as a balanced Dao Lineage that could support advancement through most of the Eight Qi and help cultivators stabilize their foundations.
• Zhou Yanwei explained that his True Qi foundation could discern mysteries, bind flesh and bone, and preserve life, though it was less suited to spells.
• Zhou Yanwei asked Jiang Yang for support in the coming battles, and Jiang Yang agreed to fight beside him.

Jiang Yang led Rain Xiang Mountain’s cultivators into battle and faced Kui Shuyue, whose strange disaster-based Dao let him evade Jiang Yang’s first attack. The True Persons watching recognized that Kui Shuyue possessed dual immortal foundations, apparently gained by devouring a cultivator of the same rank.

• Jiang Yang led a silent crowd of cultivators out of the city, and they followed him into battle as their foremost younger-generation fighter.
• Lu Ji ordered his forces to charge and sent Kui Shuyue to hold Jiang Yang off.
• Jiang Yang’s presence left a wide space empty on the battlefield until Kui Shuyue attacked him from the sky.
• Jiang Yang’s Sword Qi destroyed Kui Shuyue’s spear, but Kui Shuyue re-formed from gray vapor and attacked again.
• The True Persons identified Kui Shuyue’s dual immortal foundations and suspected he had swallowed a cultivator of the same rank alive.

Kui Shuyue unleashed the Yang-Nine Calamity-Blight Mistlight against Jiang Yang while both committed to killing blows. Jiang Yang was trapped in the mistlight as Kui Shuyue’s spear closed in, but Kui Shuyue was being drained by Jiang Yang’s sword intent.

• Lin Xiuyi and the other True Persons discussed Kui Shuyue’s forced Transformation and the cost of losing his path to divine powers.
• Tai Pei'er fought two Foundation Establishment cultivators and noticed calamity qi gathering in the distant clouds.
• Jiang Yang and Kui Shuyue resumed their battle, with both recognizing the danger posed by the other’s strength.
• Kui Shuyue cast the Yang-Nine Calamity-Blight Mistlight, blinding and immobilizing Jiang Yang as he threw his black spear.
• As the spear neared Jiang Yang, Jiang Yang’s sword intent drained Kui Shuyue’s vitality, cultivation, and lifespan.

Jiang Yang survived Kui Shuyue’s Calamity-Binding Black Spear and broke through the Calamity Veil, then overwhelmed him with sword qi. Kui Shuyue invoked his hidden Fate-Reversing Embryo to recover and boost his power, but after clashing with Jiang Yang he used the technique to escape, wary that Jiang Yang had not revealed his full strength.

• Kui Shuyue used a secret talisman to shield himself from Jiang Yang’s sword intent and threw his Calamity-Binding Black Spear into the Calamity Veil.
• Kui Shuyue believed Jiang Yang was dead, but Jiang Yang emerged from the mist holding the summoned black spear and shattered Kui Shuyue’s defenses with sword qi.
• Kui Shuyue’s injuries silenced his powers, so he activated his hidden second Immortal Foundation and the Fate-Reversing Embryo to restore himself and raise his strength.
• Jiang Yang judged that Kui Shuyue’s empowered state remained within Foundation Establishment and attacked without revealing his second sword intent.
• Kui Shuyue met Jiang Yang’s strike with blood vitality, then used the Fate-Reversing Embryo to re-form himself three hundred zhang away instead of fighting to the death.

Kui Shuyue tried to escape Jiang Yang, but Jiang Yang’s sword intent followed him into the Great Void and killed him despite Kui Bo’an’s intervention. At Gray Pool, Guanzhi met the two Impermanence Envoys, who said they had been waiting for him.

• Kui Shuyue used his Fate-Reversing Embryo and blood energy to recover while fleeing toward Kui Bo’an.
• Jiang Yang spotted Kui Shuyue’s fleeing blood energy and used Silencing the Cold Cicada to strike him from afar.
• Kui Shuyue called for Kui Bo’an, who pulled him into the Great Void, but Jiang Yang’s sword intent followed and reduced him to ash.
• At Gray Pool in Xianyu Kingdom, Guanzhi’s ominous display was interrupted by the arrival of two Impermanence Envoys.
• Guanzhi greeted the envoys, who told him the appointed hour had come and that they had been waiting for him.

Kui Guanzhi prepared to attempt Dao attainment under pressure from the Underworld Constables, while True Persons gathered in the Great Void to witness the rare event. As the tribulation clouds darkened the battlefield, Lu Xinghuai identified Kui Guanzhi’s Calamity Qi path as the ancient demonic Dao called Heavenly Calamity Qi of Scarcity.

• The Underworld Constables urged Kui Guanzhi to attain the Dao and promised to preserve one branch of his bloodline if he failed.
• Kui Guanzhi considered his descendants and Xianyu’s fate before the Underworld Constables invited him to begin.
• Zhuang Beiwang, Dongmen Wan Jing, Lin Xi Yu, and Lin Xiuyi watched the battle and discussed the sword strike that had killed Kui Bo'an.
• The True Persons sensed the tribulation clouds and realized that Kui Guanzhi was attempting Dao attainment.
• The True Persons gathered in the Great Void to observe, and Lu Xinghuai explained that Calamity Qi was called Heavenly Calamity Qi of Scarcity.

Kui Guanzhi began his attempt to prove the Dao of Tribulation Qi as True Persons gathered to watch and ominous black clouds darkened the battlefield below. The chapter ended as he summoned an invisible staircase and prepared to climb it.

• The two Impermanence officials doubted Kui Guanzhi could attain the Dao, though they hoped he would condense some golden nature.
• True Persons gathered near the summit, and Lu Xinghuai recalled the history of the Tribulation Qi lineage.
• A high cultivator from a Grotto-Heaven arrived, prompting speculation that Kui Guanzhi might have a chance to prove his Dao.
• The sky darkened, the battle below faltered, and Tai Pei'er rushed toward Jiang Yang as Xianyu's cultivators began retreating.
• Kui Guanzhi transformed beneath the crow-filled clouds, invoked Heavenly Calamity Descent, and faced the invisible staircase.

At Weiqu Mountain, Kui Guanzhi endured successive calamity-qi divine powers while seeking the Dao, as observers recognized the political schemes behind the manifestation. Unable to gather enough strength for the final step, he shattered his own Six-Yang Skull to create a means of meeting the tribulation.

• At Weiqu Mountain, the manifestation’s Tribulation Qi tore apart the mountain as Kui Guanzhi began seeking the Dao.
• Lin Xi Yu and Lin Xiuyi realized that Zheng and Chu’s centuries of warfare had helped nourish the Great True Person’s manifestation, and suspected the Zheng Royal House knew of the scheme.
• Kui Guanzhi raised the divine powers Fullness Body, Calamity Guilt Sight, and All Enveloped in Gloom, while observers debated his unorthodox path.
• Kui Guanzhi realized he lacked the strength to condense the final divine power and still attain the Dao.
• Kui Guanzhi struck his own head and shattered his Six-Yang Skull, declaring that he would slay himself to forge a way to meet the Tribulation Qi.

Kui Guanzhi shattered his rising sun and burned his five divine powers to forge golden nature, but he died after producing only a single wisp. After the Underworld Constables took the wisp and the divine powers fell, a new upheaval in the Great Void revealed a Mountain Range and a Mysterious Temple.

• Kui Guanzhi used Fate-Reversing Embryo to slay his own body and forge Tribulation Qi, then burned his five divine powers to seek golden nature.
• Kui Guanzhi produced one wisp of golden nature but failed to forge another before his divine powers ran out.
• Kui Guanzhi died after declaring that this was where it ended, and two Underworld Constables seized the golden nature and departed.
• The dark clouds and Tribulation Qi ash dispersed across Xianyu, leaving Cloud-Velvet Black Feathers to fall as the divine powers vanished.
• A figure summoned a Spirit God in the Great Void, and it tore open a fissure that revealed a Mountain Range and a Mysterious Temple.

After the Xianyu Kingdom ruler died pursuing the Dao, Lu Xinghuai used the Myriad Forms Boundary Map and a guardian Spirit God to open a grotto-heaven in the Great Void. Lin Xi Yu and Lin Xiuyi entered the realm, while Jiang Yang recognized it as Southern Peak Abbey and reunited with Tai Pei'er.

• Lu Xinghuai summoned a guardian Spirit God and used the Myriad Forms Boundary Map to widen the opening to the grotto-heaven.
• The map released qi of Fortune and Virtue, which flowed into the opening and stabilized the rift.
• Lin Xi Yu caught a few falling lights, then joined Lin Xiuyi and the other True Persons in entering the realm.
• Black feathers formed from the path of Tribulation Qi rained onto the battlefield, and the cultivators scrambled to collect them as Spirit Treasures.
• Jiang Yang watched the heavens with his mystic pupils, injured his left eye by the burst of white light, and realized that Southern Peak Abbey had appeared.
• Tai Pei'er flew out of the crowd and landed before Jiang Yang.

Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er planned to enter a secret realm hidden in the Great Void, though Jiang Yang feared the danger posed by Purple Mansion True Persons. Tai Pei'er revealed that she sought a Tao Spring rather than golden nature, and they reached a snowy peak to begin their search.

• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er discussed the Great True Person's failed Transformation and set out together for the mountains.
• Jiang Yang revealed that his mystic eye could see the secret realm's location in the Great Void, and Tai Pei'er said her secret art could let her travel there briefly.
• Tai Pei'er explained that she had prepared for this opportunity and planned to have Jiang Yang guide them through the Great Void while she cast her art.
• Jiang Yang warned that entering the realm could cost them their lives, but Tai Pei'er clarified that she wanted to find a Tao Spring, not golden nature.
• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er reached a snowy peak in Xianyu, where she revealed the Tao Spring's potential benefit to them both.

Tai Pei'er told Jiang Yang about Clear-Heaven Spring, a Spirit Spring said to help cultivators attain divine powers, and led him to Quwei Mountain to enter Southern Peak Abbey through the Great Void. After they found the summit tainted by Tribulation Qi and caught longevity qi spirit treasures, Tai Pei'er began preparing while Jiang Yang watched the Great Void.

• Tai Pei'er explained Clear-Heaven Spring's benefits and revealed that she hoped to attain divine powers alongside Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er flew through the mourning and turmoil in Xianyu Kingdom toward Quwei Mountain, where its sovereign Kui Guanzhi had cultivated in seclusion.
• Tai Pei'er inspected the summit and warned Jiang Yang that the gray pool would bring misfortune, while Jiang Yang identified Tribulation Qi in its water.
• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er caught falling longevity qi spirit treasures and recognized them as low-grade treasures useful in lifespan-increasing elixirs.
• Tai Pei'er asked Jiang Yang to guard her and began preparing to connect to the Great Void as he endured pain in his left eye and looked upward.

Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er used Moon-Riding Talismans to enter the Great Void. Meanwhile, Purple Mansion cultivators entered the Southern Peak Grotto-Heaven, discovered an unclaimed portion of golden nature, and raced to seize it.

• Jiang Yang used his Mystic Pupil to confirm that the Great Void had settled and locate the gateway.
• Tai Pei'er created Moon-Riding Talismans and explained they would let them remain in the Great Void for about a quarter of an hour.
• Tai Pei'er and Jiang Yang held hands, recited the Guiding Incantation, and rose into the Great Void on lunar radiance.
• Purple Mansion True Persons entered the Grotto-Heaven and found golden nature above an ancient platform.
• Lin Xi Yu and the other cultivators recognized the golden nature as unclaimed, and they rushed toward it, plunging the Grotto-Heaven into chaos.

The Purple Mansion cultivators fought over the Heavenly Proclamation Longevity Qi Myriad Transformations, but the mystic shield kept it from being claimed. As four factions formed a tense standoff, Lin Xiuyi pointed out a fifth faction: a lone, powerful observer above them.

• The cultivators recognized the golden nature as the rare Heavenly Proclamation Longevity Qi Myriad Transformations and rushed to seize it, while Lin Xi Yu and Lin Xiuyi cautiously hung back.
• A Shi cultivator from the Manifest Dharma Temple formed a giant golden body to block the others, but their combined attacks shattered it and sent the red-robed monk fleeing.
• Lu Xinghuai joined the struggle as the mystic shield shook under an attack, then urged his allies to cooperate in claiming the golden nature.
• Zhuang Beiwang and the Threefold Way cultivators agreed to follow Lu Xinghuai, while Dongmen Wan Jing and Lin Xi Yu avoided a firm commitment.
• Lin Xiuyi noticed a lone figure watching from above, and Dongmen Wan Jing identified him as a former heavenly figure who had entered the mortal world.

Wei Qixin broke the mystic shield around the golden nature, triggering a battle among the cultivators. The golden nature released seven-colored light that added twelve years to the lifespan of those it touched, including Lin Xi Yu.

• Lu Xinghuai identified Wei Qixin as a member of the Xuanzhu Wei Clan, whose lineage was known for true fire and longevity qi.
• Lin Xi Yu warned Lin Xiuyi that they were caught in a dangerous contest for the golden nature and urged him to seek a chance to escape.
• Lu Boyan and a Monk proposed taking the golden nature for shared study, but the other cultivators rejected their offers.
• Wei Qixin threw down his Divine Candle Harmonizing Seal and shattered the platform’s mystic shield.
• The cultivators fought over the golden nature as it rose free and released seven-colored light that added twelve years to the lifespans of those it touched.

Lu Boyan stole the golden nature with Yi Kong’s help, but its light first restored and then drained lifespan, turning the gathered cultivators against him. As they fought over it, a black shadow suddenly attacked Lu Boyan’s hand from the sky.

• Lu Boyan and Yi Kong worked together to seize the golden nature from beneath Yi Zhe’s nose, with Lu Boyan using Fixed-Space Hexagram to take it.
• The golden nature released seven-colored light that shortened the cultivators’ lifespans by twelve years, undoing the earlier increase and leaving Lu Boyan gravely weakened.
• Lu Xinghuai explained that the golden nature’s blessings and calamities were intertwined, while the furious cultivators surrounded Lu Boyan and pressed him for the chance to recover their lost years.
• Wei Qixin watched from above and declared that everyone in the Grotto-Heaven was trapped under his control.
• A shrill cry interrupted Wei Qixin as a black shadow streaked toward Lu Boyan’s hand holding the golden nature.

Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er entered the Southern Peak Grotto-Heaven and explored its desolate outskirts while searching for the Spirit Spring. After reaching the boundary without finding it, they decided to investigate the floating Immortal Islands.

• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er passed through the gateway from the Great Void into the Southern Peak Grotto-Heaven.
• Tai Pei'er reflected on her previous life, her resolve to revive the Tai, and her longing to attain divine powers with Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er found no nearby Purple Mansion cultivators and flew east at low altitude to search for the Spirit Spring.
• After about two hours, Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er reached a boundary of flowing light without finding signs of people, buildings, or the Spirit Spring.
• Jiang Yang suggested that they investigate the floating Immortal Islands, and Tai Pei'er agreed.

Kui Guanzhi used the Fate-Reversing Embryo to survive as the Calamity Crow, a golden-nature demon, and fled with a speck of colored light as Wei Qixin and the others pursued him. Lin Xi Yu and Lin Xiuyi broke away to explore the Southern Peak Grotto-Heaven while Wei Qixin confronted the fleeing Crow with a Dark Seal and Heaven-Enveloping Fire.

• Kui Guanzhi transformed into the Calamity Crow, retaining only his true spirit and a trace of golden nature, and hoped to reach a forming gateway in the void.
• The Calamity Crow tore off Lu Boyan's right arm and escaped with the golden nature, prompting Wei Qixin to recognize him and accuse the Nether Bureau of scheming.
• Wei Qixin, Lu Xinghuai, and other cultivators pursued the Crow, while Lin Xi Yu and Lin Xiuyi stopped to investigate nearby Mystic Towers and Immortal Peaks.
• The Calamity Crow flew through the sky carrying a speck of colored light as divine powers struck at him, and his severed arm reattached itself to Lu Boyan.
• Wei Qixin dropped a mountain-sized Dark Seal toward the Calamity Crow and invoked Heaven-Enveloping Fire.

Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er explored ancient Immortal Islands and found a Daoist temple containing two Purple Mansion Spirit Artifacts. After dividing the Wooden Sword and Gourd, they left the hall with their search for the spirit spring still ahead.

• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er landed on an Immortal Island as strange disturbances shook the grotto-heaven, which they suspected came from Purple Mansion True Persons fighting over the golden nature.
• Tai Pei'er recognized patterns on the Mystic Pavilion and concluded that the spirit spring should be on the island.
• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er entered the pavilion and found a statue, a Wooden Sword, and a Gourd on its altar.
• Tai Pei'er identified the Gourd as a Spirit Artifact, while Jiang Yang determined the Wooden Sword was likely a Spell Sword rather than a Spirit Sword.
• Tai Pei'er kept the Wooden Sword and gave the Gourd to Jiang Yang, and they bowed respectfully to the statue before leaving.