Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yang confronted the Shang clan and learned that Tinglan, the spirit deity inhabiting the clan’s ancient qin, recognized Shang Qingzheng as patriarch because she held the Nine Shao Flute. As Jiang Yang questioned the clan about Shang Sixian’s death, Shang Chaohua revealed that the clan had sent her on the journey that killed her, and named her companion as her birth father, Song Ting.

• Jiang Yang revealed that he knew the Shang clan’s ancient qin was its last safeguard, and Tinglan emerged from it to greet him.
• Tinglan recognized Shang Qingzheng’s Nine Shao Flute, declared that whoever held it was the patriarch, and gave her a jade box entrusted to his care.
• Shang Qingzheng refused the patriarch’s position, while Tinglan withdrew and left the Shang clan’s affairs to Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang questioned the clan about Shang Sixian’s death, and Shang Chaohua admitted the clan had sent her on her journey.
• Shang Chaohua revealed that Shang Sixian had explored a secret realm with her birth father, the Tribulation Pool’s Thunder Cultivator, Song Ting.

Jiang Yang exposed how the Shang clan had sacrificed Shang Qingzheng’s mother to appease the Tribulation Pool and punished the elders responsible. Shang Chaohua died by his own hand, while Jiang Yang spared the rest and urged Shang Qingzheng to grow strong enough to resist the forces behind the clan’s suffering.

• Shang Chaohua explained that the Shang clan had repeatedly sacrificed talented members to survive, and Jiang Yang identified the High Sect and the Tribulation Pool as the source of their oppression.
• Jiang Yang condemned the elders for coercing Shang Qingzheng’s mother, and Shang Qingzheng realized that the clan had driven her mother to her death.
• Jiang Yang exposed the elders’ selfishness beneath their claims of sacrificing one person for the clan, and Shang Qingzheng struggled to contain her grief and anger.
• Jiang Yang ordered Shang Chaohua to take his own life, and Shang Chaohua shattered his immortal foundation and died as Shang Sibai watched.
• Jiang Yang spared the other elders but warned that they would still be punished, then comforted Shang Qingzheng and urged her to cultivate until the Shang could no longer be trampled at will.

Jiang Yang examined the Shang genealogy and discovered that Shang Wensu, author of the Phoenix-Approaching Score, had been a Grand Pitch Shang ancestor. Shang Qingzheng opened the Deity Edict’s Jade Box and found a Purple Mansion Mystic Sound Spirit Treasure, leaving her with a valuable inheritance and renewed ties to the Shang bloodline.

• Shang Qingzheng resolved to accept the burden of the divine powers, and Jiang Yang examined the Shang genealogical records.
• Jiang Yang found Shang Wensu in the records and learned that she had been a Grand Pitch Shang ancestor who authored the Phoenix-Approaching Score.
• Shang Qingzheng opened the Jade Box and discovered an azure jade that strengthened her immortal foundation when she held it.
• Jiang Yang summoned the Deity Edict, who identified the treasure as triple-ripple azure-cry jade and explained that it belonged to Shang descendants who reached Foundation Establishment peak before age sixty.
• Shang Qingzheng accepted the jade as her inheritance, and Jiang Yang recognized that it was the Purple Mansion Mystic Sound Spirit Treasure he had been seeking.

Jiang Yang and Shang Qingzheng recovered Mystic Sound inheritances and left the Ancestral Hall, then Shang Qingzheng played him a song in the snow. The Shang lineage waited anxiously for punishment, and the chapter ended as it finally struck.

• Shang Qingzheng found three jade slips containing the lineage's cultivation methods and secret arts, and Jiang Yang urged her to memorize them.
• Jiang Yang encouraged Shang Qingzheng to aim for the Purple Mansion, and she asked why he treated her so well.
• Jiang Yang recognized the power of primordial magnetism ahead as the Tribulation Pool, then turned back with Shang Qingzheng.
• Shang Qingzheng played a xiao melody and sang an old song for Jiang Yang in the falling snow.
• After Jiang Yang and Shang Qingzheng left, Shang Sibai found the jade slips in the Ancestral Hall and took them.
• The Shang lineage waited half a month for punishment, then panicked when it came the following morning.

A young True Person from the lineage discussed the mysterious one’s arrival and the destiny that had entangled the Shang clan. Three months later, True Person Yu Shan arrived to investigate the clan elders’ bizarre attachments, but found their souls intact and their bonds to inanimate objects seemingly impossible to sever.

• A black-and-gold-robed True Person learned that the mysterious one had left the plains and discussed the lineage’s plans to watch over the Shang and send the Ringing Jade.
• The young True Person warned that becoming entangled in the mysterious one’s destiny could turn into an inescapable shackle.
• Three months later, Shang Sibai prepared for a grand wedding despite the previous clan head’s death and summoned True Person Yu Shan for help.
• Shang Sibai showed Yu Shan three Clan Elders who had become romantically attached to a potted plant, a zither, and a wolfhound.
• Yu Shan saw that the elders’ souls were unharmed but that strange threads bound each of them to an object, recalling that Conjoined Branch could never be untied.

Yu Shan failed to undo the Fate Divine Power afflicting three Shang Clan Elders and told Shang Sibai to find whoever had caused it. Jiang Yang and Zhiyang discussed Jiang Yang’s decision to sever Cong Huaijin’s feelings for him and agreed to leave any lingering consequences to Chu Qingjian.

• Yu Shan examined the threads above the three elders and admitted that he could not remove the divine power.
• Shang Sibai begged Yu Shan to restore the elders, but Yu Shan advised him to seek the person responsible and refused to erase their minds.
• Jiang Yang reflected on his return from the Snowfield, where he had settled Shang Qingzheng’s concerns and helped prepare her for a future breakthrough.
• Zhiyang accused Jiang Yang of mishandling Cong Huaijin’s affection, and Jiang Yang worried that cutting those ties might harm her soul.
• Jiang Yang decided to wait for Chu Qingjian to emerge from seclusion before addressing any consequences for her disciple, then ordered Zhiyang to leave.

Zhiyang left to exchange the Jade Sparrow Token for a Grand Pill for Shang Qingzheng, while Jiang Yang checked Cong Huaijin’s condition and rewarded her with the Azure Banner. After discovering his divine powers had grown through feedback from Shang Qingzheng, Jiang Yang began examining his treasures and tasted spirit wine from the Grotto-Heaven.

• Jiang Yang gave Zhiyang the Jade Sparrow Token, Purple Mansion spirit resources, and the Wu Earth Small Seal, instructing him to obtain a Grand Pill for Shang Qingzheng and check on her work.
• Jiang Yang examined Cong Huaijin’s karmic threads, found no serious change in her, and gave her the Azure Banner as a reward.
• Jiang Yang meditated and realized his divine powers had advanced, likely through feedback from Shang Qingzheng’s cultivation and emotional changes.
• Jiang Yang wondered why Bai Tang had given him no feedback, then began sorting through items he had not yet examined.
• Jiang Yang opened a jar of aged spirit wine from the Grotto-Heaven and drank a ladleful, finding its spirit vigor overwhelming.

Jiang Yang refined the spirit wine and examined the rare treasures he had acquired, including the Ten Thousand Ravines, Pine Winds Painting and Myriad Mysteries Cosmic Light Gourd. After sorting through several scripture scrolls, he prepared to test one he had been unable to open before.

• Jiang Yang discovered that removing the spirit wine’s killing aura left potent spiritual liquid, then drank some and compressed its vigor into a qi pellet.
• Jiang Yang refined the Ten Thousand Ravines, Pine Winds Painting, an Ancient Spirit Artifact with five wondrous powers, and tucked it into his sleeve as a hidden trump card.
• Jiang Yang identified the Myriad Mysteries Cosmic Light Gourd’s Cosmic Union power, which could absorb and suppress many kinds of attacks, and hung the gourd at his waist.
• Jiang Yang reviewed three scripture scrolls, including the Wind Rushes Through the Void traversal art and the Secret Dao Art of Mysterious Canopy Nurturing the Origin and Sheltering Manifestation.
• Jiang Yang returned to the stubborn scroll he had been unable to open years earlier and prepared to examine it with his Purple Mansion cultivation.

Jiang Yang deciphered the azure Dao Scroll and discovered it contained a gold-seeking method for the [Longevity Oak] position, along with a way to redirect some of the lifespan cost of his life-exchange technique to his Spirit Sword. He welcomed Bi Xingjian to the pavilion and reassured him that their senior-junior bond remained close.

• Jiang Yang read the azure scroll, whose dialogue about the Great Chun tree described how cultivation and Dao Lineages adapted to the changing world.
• Jiang Yang realized the scroll was a gold-seeking method for the [Longevity Oak] position and reasoned that fortune qi and official fortune qi might also have corresponding surplus positions.
• Jiang Yang concluded that he could shift much of the lifespan cost of his Lifespan-Slash Life-Exchange Method onto the Spirit Sword he had nurtured within him.
• Jiang Yang sensed a visitor, set down the scroll, and went out to greet Bi Xingjian.
• Jiang Yang led Bi Xingjian into the pavilion and told him that they remained close fellow disciples despite Jiang Yang having advanced ahead.

Jiang Yang learned that the [Crimson Mansion Cloud Whirlpool Lotus] had matured into a Purple Mansion Spirit Treasure and went to harvest it before it drained the peak’s spirit spring. He secured the lotus, then replanted a rhizome and added [Radiant Purple Glaze] so the transformed treasure land could benefit the peak’s future disciples.

• Bi Xingjian told Jiang Yang that the [Crimson Mansion Cloud Whirlpool Lotus] had ripened into a Purple Mansion Spirit Treasure and warned that it was turning the spirit spring into purple qi.
• Jiang Yang and Bi Xingjian traveled to the spring, where they found the lotus thriving amid thick purple qi and the water nearly depleted.
• When Jiang Yang tried to harvest it, the lotus tore free and fled, but his spell-light net caught it and returned it to his hand.
• Jiang Yang replanted a piece of the lotus’s rhizome in the depleted pool and added [Radiant Purple Glaze] to support its future growth.
• Jiang Yang offered the lotus platforms that grew there to Bi Xingjian and future successor disciples as a benefit for the peak.

Jiang Yang entrusted Bi Xingjian with the newly formed Spirit Spring, then began refining a rare lotus Spirit Treasure into a mysterious mansion. Meanwhile, Zhiyang traveled to Cinnabar Cliffs and Azure Walls and was welcomed by a disciple sent to meet him.

• Jiang Yang left Bi Xingjian to oversee the Spirit Spring he had created and returned to his lodge with the crimson mansion cloud whirlpool lotus.
• Jiang Yang began refining the lotus into his body to create a mysterious mansion that could store his possessions.
• Zhiyang flew north along the Jin River, admired the prosperous lands, and observed the powerful spirit array protecting the Zheng Kingdom's capital, Qi.
• Zhiyang continued to Cinnabar Cliffs and Azure Walls, where a female disciple greeted him and explained that her master was occupied in the Elixir Chamber.
• Zhiyang accepted the disciple's explanation and asked her to lead the way.

Zhen Qing discovered that the sleeping girl sent to the Cave-Arcane Heaven had suffered backlash from the Moon-Cold Curse and had touched the Dream-Traveling Immortal-Returning Pillow, a Position Relic tied to True Lord Lou Wan. The Immortal Maiden decided to keep the girl in heaven to study the Dao and make her own move amid the resulting entanglements.

• Zhen Qing visited the Immortal Maiden and found a sleeping girl on a jade platform in the side hall.
• Zhen Qing examined the girl and identified her Taiyin cultivation, night-mooring frost foundation, Perceive Obscurity Method, and Moon-Cold Curse backlash.
• The Immortal Maiden explained that the girl had contacted the Dream-Traveling Immortal-Returning Pillow, a Position Relic linked to True Lord Lou Wan and its dream-based visions of the future.
• Zhen Qing offered to send the girl away to avoid karmic entanglement, but the Immortal Maiden stopped her.
• The Immortal Maiden ordered Zhen Qing to announce that she favored the girl and intended to keep her in heaven to study the Dao.

Zhiyang visited Qin Siwei to discuss two ancient batches of pills from Azure Corner Heaven, learning that she could open one furnace but needed help with the other. He then asked her to refine a Purple Mansion breakthrough Grand Pill for Shang Qingzheng, and began explaining her cultivation background.

• Zhiyang arrived at Yu Zhao Hall and met Qin Siwei in the Elixir Chamber while she tended three furnaces.
• Qin Siwei explained that both batches of ancient pills were deteriorated, but one could be opened after a few more days of nurturing.
• Qin Siwei said the other batch needed a stronger flame and offered three options: Purple Mansion attached fire, Purple Mansion-grade penglite, or a Separation Fire Purple Mansion cultivator.
• Zhiyang accepted that only one batch might be salvaged, noting that the other could wait another thirty to fifty years.
• Zhiyang gave Qin Siwei a seal token and asked her to refine a Purple Mansion breakthrough Grand Pill for Shang Qingzheng.
• Qin Siwei asked about Shang Qingzheng's cultivation, and Zhiyang began describing her Mystic Sound lineage and ancient cultivation method.

Zhiyang obtained the Precious Flower Calyx Elixir from Qin Siwei for Shang Qingzheng’s planned breakthrough. While traveling through the Great Void, he encountered Wen Yong, who accused him of killing his senior brother and attacked.

• Qin Siwei chose Silver Bell Calyx and Golden Chrysanthemum of the Empty Valley to refine a breakthrough elixir, and Zhiyang offered her spirit resources as payment.
• Qin Siwei accepted two resources and spent half a month refining the Precious Flower Calyx Elixir, which could increase magic power and nourish the mind and consciousness.
• Zhiyang stored the elixir for Shang Qingzheng and left Qin Siwei’s residence.
• Zhiyang traveled through the Great Void, sensed someone nearby, and called for them to reveal themselves.
• A young Daoist in an apricot robe appeared and identified himself as Wen Yong, then demanded that Zhiyang repay his senior brother’s life.

Zhiyang fought Wen Yong, who had mistaken him for the killer of his senior brother after recognizing the Wu-Xu Guarded Simplicity Seal. Zhiyang’s sword strike nearly killed Wen Yong, but Wen Yong survived by activating Sovereign’s Flawlessness.

• Zhiyang evaded Wen Yong’s attack with his Fate Divine Power and used Conjoined Branch to assess his opponent’s strength.
• Wen Yong summoned Wu Central Palace to suppress Zhiyang, but Zhiyang countered with the Wu-Xu Guarded Simplicity Seal.
• Wen Yong recognized the seal as his lineage’s artifact and accused Zhiyang of killing his senior brother.
• Zhiyang accepted the accusation without explaining the mix-up, drew his Spirit Sword, and charged Wen Yong.
• Wen Yong used Pivot Image Inquiring Locust Mystic Art to weigh down Zhiyang, but Zhiyang’s sword strike forced Wen Yong to activate Sovereign’s Flawlessness to survive.

Zhiyang attacked Wen Yong, whose formidable defensive divine abilities could not withstand the Sword Immortal’s strike. Wen Yong escaped with his head and a fragment of his rising sun, but Zhiyang judged him nearly dead.

• Wen Yong recognized Zhiyang as a Sword Immortal and decided to flee while trying to learn more about him.
• Zhiyang locked onto Wen Yong and unleashed the Day-Opening, Night-Closing Sword of Dual Principles Unraveling the Mysteries.
• Wen Yong activated Sovereign's Flawlessness and Wu Central Palace, but Zhiyang’s sword intent shattered his defenses and ravaged his dharma body.
• As the sword intent spread toward his rising sun, Wen Yong cut off his own head to preserve it and escaped with his head carried by his hair.
• Zhiyang recovered his strength and concluded that Wen Yong had escaped with only a small remnant of his rising sun and was as good as dead.

After Zhiyang returned from defeating Wen Yong, Jiang Yang assessed his strength and resumed refining the Purple Qi Lotus. Five years later, sect leader Xuan Di summoned Jiang Yang to discuss whether he would accept disciples as the sect prepared to recruit newcomers.

• Zhiyang told Jiang Yang that he had killed Wen Yong, and they discussed the consequences of offending Locust Image Mountain.
• Jiang Yang considered what the battle had revealed about Zhiyang's abilities and his own prospects against powerful Purple Mansion cultivators.
• Zhiyang handed over the remaining resources, while Jiang Yang kept the elixir for Shang Qingzheng and continued refining the Purple Qi Lotus.
• Jiang Yang spent five years in seclusion, delivered the elixir to Shang Qingzheng, and advised her to prepare carefully before attempting her breakthrough.
• Xuan Di summoned Jiang Yang to the Ancestral Court and asked whether he would accept disciples during the sect's upcoming recruitment.

Jiang Yang agreed to attend the sect’s Apprentice-Selection Ceremony and consider taking disciples. At the ceremony, he examined six children and focused on Wei Jingxing, a gifted boy from the Bright Departure Sect whose eagerness to become Jiang Yang’s disciple revealed his cunning.

• Xuan Di asked Jiang Yang to take one or two disciples and help ease the Sect Leader’s burden, and Jiang Yang agreed to inspect the candidates.
• Half a month later, Jiang Yang joined Xuan Di and Zhi Qiu in the Golden Hall for the selection ceremony.
• Xuan Di identified Wei Jingxing, sent by the Bright Departure Sect and linked to the Xuanzhu Wei Clan, as a child whose placement was difficult to arrange.
• Jiang Yang examined all six children with his mystic pupils, noting Wei Jingxing’s exceptional aptitude and a hemp-clad girl’s unusually strong root bone.
• Jiang Yang asked Wei Jingxing his name and background, and Wei Jingxing declared that he had severed ties with his past and asked Jiang Yang to accept him as a disciple.
• Jiang Yang saw through Wei Jingxing’s thoughts with his fate divine power and recognized how cunning the boy was.

Jiang Yang selected Wei Jingxing and Chen Suxin as his disciples and brought them to Zhouhui Valley. After assigning Chen Suxin as senior sister, he prepared baths and robes for the children, then left them to wash and dress.

• Jiang Yang chose Wei Jingxing and Chen Suxin from the six children, while Zhi Qiu selected another boy.
• Jiang Yang brought the two children to Zhouhui Valley and formally accepted them as his disciples.
• Jiang Yang named the older Chen Suxin senior sister and Wei Jingxing second junior brother.
• Jiang Yang created wooden bathing tubs, filled them with warm water, and told the children to wash.
• Jiang Yang left Dao Academy robes beside the tubs and warned the children to be dressed when he returned.

Jiang Yang’s new disciples, Wei Jingxing and Chen Suxin, settled into their new robes and shared a meal before discussing their cultivation paths. Chen Suxin chose the Sword Dao, while Jiang Yang considered how to guide Wei Jingxing and pass down his master Xuan Guang’s sword teachings.

• Wei Jingxing and Chen Suxin bathed, and Wei Jingxing told Chen Suxin that their master was a powerful Sword Immortal.
• Jiang Yang returned with spirit rice, Silver-Eyed Fish, and vegetables, and the children ate together.
• Jiang Yang asked his disciples what they wanted to cultivate, and Wei Jingxing left the choice to his master.
• Chen Suxin decided she wanted to learn the sword from Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang approved Chen Suxin’s choice because her Giant Gate Court suited Sword Qi and he wanted to preserve Xuan Guang’s Sword Dao.