Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yang explored the Dark Marsh, where he collected a Dark Marsh Baleful-Insect Crystal and hunted a Green-Eyed Green-Twig Snake. After resting beside a stream, he heard people shouting nearby and prepared to investigate.

• Bai Tang warned Jiang Yang that Foundation Establishment cultivators were dangerous, and he entered the Dark Marsh cautiously.
• Jiang Yang fought off several miasma-corrupted creatures and avoided the Greenback Alligator's deep pool.
• Jiang Yang recognized Human-Faced Moths nesting in an Iron Birch and retrieved a Dark Marsh Baleful-Insect Crystal from a cocoon.
• Jiang Yang stored the crystal properly, later killed a Green-Eyed Green-Twig Snake, and collected its venomous fangs and gallbladder.
• After searching for a day, Jiang Yang rested beside a clear stream while Bai Tang kept watch.
• Jiang Yang heard people arguing and shouting nearby, then rose to his feet.

Jiang Yang hid behind a waterfall as Mei Ling used enchanted stream water to treat Lin Xingchang, then watched the trio face the demonic woman pursuing them over a Spirit Treasure. As Mei Ling threw a jade box toward the waterfall to buy time, she and Mei Feng fled in the opposite direction, leaving the box near Jiang Yang.

• Jiang Yang concealed himself behind the waterfall and watched three newcomers arrive.
• Mei Ling used talisman water from the stream to drive killing intent from Lin Xingchang’s meridians.
• The demonic woman caught up with Mei Ling, Mei Feng, and Lin Xingchang, demanding the Spirit Treasure they had found.
• Mei Ling scattered poisonous powder, but the demonic woman dispersed it and formed a blade from killing intent.
• Mei Ling threw a jade box toward the waterfall and fled with Mei Feng, leaving Lin Xingchang with them.

Mei Ling threw the Jade Box to distract the girl in black, but the girl pursued the fleeing group and left the Spirit Treasure behind. Jiang Yang caught the box, discovered it held water-cutting mystic amber, and continued deeper into the Dark Marsh after leaving a fake box at the waterfall.

• Mei Ling threw the Jade Box toward the waterfall and fled with Mei Feng and Chang Xing while the girl in black chased them.
• The Jade Box landed in Jiang Yang’s hands, and he opened it with Bai Tang to find two pieces of water-cutting mystic amber.
• Jiang Yang put the Spirit Treasure away and decided to leave before the girl in black could return.
• Jiang Yang tossed an empty Jade Box into the waterfall as a decoy, then headed deeper into the marsh with Bai Tang.

Qin Dingyi discovered that the Jade Box she recovered was empty and tracked Jiang Yang down, suspecting he had taken the Spirit Treasure. After Jiang Yang refused to let her inspect his Storage Bag, Qin Dingyi declared she would take it by force.

• Qin Dingyi found an empty Jade Box, destroyed it in anger, and decided to search for the woman who had escaped her.
• Jiang Yang traveled deeper into the Dark Marsh and killed a concealed Jade-Eyed Snake for its materials.
• Bai Tang warned Jiang Yang of an approaching attacker, and Jiang Yang’s Sword Qi exposed Qin Dingyi in the mist.
• Qin Dingyi introduced herself as a fellow disciple of a great sect and asked Jiang Yang whether he had seen the woman she was pursuing.
• Qin Dingyi demanded to inspect Jiang Yang’s Storage Bag, and Jiang Yang refused.
• Qin Dingyi said she would take the Storage Bag herself.

Jiang Yang fought Qin Dingyi and resisted her sword attacks and demonic bell sounds with his swordsmanship and Mystic Shield. After Qin Dingyi’s Ring Blade struck his sword at close range, Jiang Yang seized the opening and launched White Rainbow Pierces the Sun.

• Qin Dingyi attacked Jiang Yang with Nether Blades, and he countered with his Mystic Shield and sword qi.
• Jiang Yang pressed Qin Dingyi with repeated sword strikes, while she blocked with her Ring Blade and secretly replenished her magic power with an Elixir.
• Qin Dingyi used her silver bells to daze Jiang Yang and sent a Nether Blade at him, but his Clear-Wave Mystic Shield stopped it.
• Bai Tang told Jiang Yang to focus his mind and brave danger, then left him to face Qin Dingyi’s next bell attack alone.
• Jiang Yang recovered just before Qin Dingyi’s Ring Blade reached him, blocked it with his sword, and lunged at her with White Rainbow Pierces the Sun.

Jiang Yang and Qin Dingyi fought to a standstill after he wounded her, then resumed their duel once both had recovered some Magic Power. Jiang Yang’s reinforced Mystic Shield let him press the attack, but Qin Dingyi revealed that his strike had fallen into her trap.

• Jiang Yang pierced Qin Dingyi with his sword after breaking through her Dark-Moon Origin Shield, but she struck him away before he could finish her.
• While they recovered and questioned each other, Qin Dingyi learned Jiang Yang had used pain from a cut on his palm to resist her Netherfiend Heavenly Sound Bells.
• Jiang Yang used Clear-Wave Origin Water to reinforce his Mystic Shield and charged Qin Dingyi as their battle resumed.
• Qin Dingyi retreated into Root Vines, and Jiang Yang seized the opening to sever the arm holding her Ring Blade with Body and Sword as One.
• Qin Dingyi declared that Jiang Yang had fallen for her trap.

Jiang Yang survived Qin Dingyi’s attack after Shang Qingzheng’s breakthrough fed him cultivation and magic power through their Dao companion bond. Qin Dingyi escaped at the cost of her arm, leaving Jiang Yang exhausted but newly advanced to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

• Qin Dingyi attacked Jiang Yang after his magic power ran dry, but he broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining and dispelled her killing-intent blade.
• Jiang Yang unleashed One Qi Faces the Sun, while Qin Dingyi sacrificed her severed arm to summon a Black-Winged Mystic Bat and escape in black mist.
• Jiang Yang collapsed beneath a dawn redwood, and Bai Tang explained that she had spared him further combat because his body was in poor condition.
• Bai Tang said Qin Dingyi’s escape art would likely prevent her arm from regrowing for years and delay her Immortal Foundation.
• Jiang Yang realized Shang Qingzheng had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, and their Dao companion bond had returned some of her cultivation and magic power to him.
• Jiang Yang reviewed the dangerous duel with Bai Tang, who praised his performance against Qin Dingyi, a well-equipped core disciple.

After recovering from his battle with the black-robed demoness, Jiang Yang resumed hunting Green-Eyed Green-Twig Snakes and obtained her Ring Blade from Bai Tang. When he found the final snake near a Greenback Alligator’s pool, Bai Tang intervened, and Jiang Yang unleashed a mysterious sword technique as the beast emerged.

• Jiang Yang meditated under Bai Tang’s guard, recovered enough to travel, and decided to continue hunting the remaining Green-Eyed Green-Twig Snakes.
• Bai Tang gave Jiang Yang the demoness’s Ring Blade, and he considered selling it because its baleful qi did not suit his cultivation path.
• After searching nearly another day, Jiang Yang found and killed the final Jade-Eyed Snake he needed.
• Jiang Yang nearly approached the Greenback Alligator’s pool, but Bai Tang stopped him and retreated with him when the beast stirred.
• The Greenback Alligator emerged and roared, so Bai Tang entered the sword and told Jiang Yang to hold on.
• Jiang Yang felt a profound urge, pressed two fingers against the blade, and invoked Withering and Flourishing Tribulation.

Jiang Yang escaped the Dark Marsh and traveled toward Rain Xiang Mountain, while Bai Tang explained that his strike against the Greenback Alligator had carried a trace of her divine powers. The two reached the Sect’s heartland, but Bai Tang still knew only fragments of her origins.

• Jiang Yang emerged from the Dark Marsh under the moonlight, and Bai Tang said the wounded Greenback Alligator would not dare pursue them.
• Jiang Yang continued toward Rain Xiang Mountain with the assignment’s materials and two baleful qi items to sell after returning to the Sect.
• Jiang Yang asked Bai Tang about his sword strike, and she explained how divine powers developed from an immortal foundation and why choosing a Dao mattered.
• Bai Tang revealed that contact with Jiang Yang’s Spirit Seed had restored fragments of her memories and divine powers, and that she likely belonged to the Cracking Wood Dao.
• Jiang Yang comforted Bai Tang about her uncertain origins, and they continued toward home through the night.

After returning to the Sect and recovering, Jiang Yang sent Shang Qingzheng a letter and set out to handle his outstanding affairs. He collected his task reward and opened a stall in Chuanwu Market Ward to sell his Harvests and look for Spirit Treasures.

• Jiang Yang returned to the Sect, bathed after asking Bai Tang for privacy, and cultivated the Dew Essence Consumption Method at dawn.
• After resting for two days to stabilize his meridians, Jiang Yang wrote Shang Qingzheng a letter about his travels and sent it, then realized he had not found her a gift.
• Jiang Yang turned in five sets of Snake Fangs and Gallbladders at the General Affairs Office and received eighty Dao merits.
• Jiang Yang learned from Zhou Yanwei that he would need to visit Pure Etiquette Peak to claim the reward for the water-cutting mystic amber, and decided to sell his other Harvests first.
• Jiang Yang rented a stall in Chuanwu Market Ward, arranged his Harvests on a cloth, and waited for customers.

Jiang Yang set up a stall to trade his valuable finds for Qi Refining Spirit Treasures that matched the four seasons. He exchanged the Dark Marsh Baleful-Insect Crystal with Dan Ruo for the Mulberry-Grove Seasonal Wind and a cicada husk, then learned how to protect the seasonal wind.

• Jiang Yang displayed his Mystic Artifact, Spirit Treasures, and Fetal Breathing beast materials at his stall, hoping to exchange his treasures for ones suited to the four seasons.
• A senior brother in blue robes bought all of Jiang Yang's beast materials for nearly thirty Spirit Stones.
• Dan Ruo, an alchemist Jiang Yang had met on Pill Spring Island, asked to trade for the Dark Marsh Baleful-Insect Crystal.
• Dan Ruo exchanged the insect crystal for the Mulberry-Grove Seasonal Wind and gave Jiang Yang a cicada husk that could contain the wind.
• Dan Ruo warned Jiang Yang that frost, snow, or cold could turn the seasonal wind into Cold Autumn Northern Gale, and invited him to visit her on Pill Spring Island.

Jiang Yang visited Jade-Washing Studio to sell the Ring Blade he had acquired. Gao Yuezhen identified it as a mid-grade Mystic Artifact and praised its craftsmanship, leaving Jiang Yang waiting to hear his offer.

• Jiang Yang discussed alchemy with Bai Tang while they waited at his stall, but the remaining goods attracted few buyers.
• Jiang Yang left the stall and visited the shops on a nearby market street to find a buyer for his goods.
• Jiang Yang chose Jade-Washing Studio and met its owner, Gao Yuezhen, who introduced himself as a former disciple of Rain Marsh Peak.
• Jiang Yang showed Gao Yuezhen the Ring Blade and asked whether he would buy it.
• Gao Yuezhen examined the Ring Blade, identified it as the mid-grade Dark Mystery Dance Wheelblade, and complimented its craftsmanship.
• Jiang Yang praised Gao Yuezhen's eye and asked what price he would offer.

Jiang Yang negotiated with Gao Yuezhen to sell a Ring Blade and a nether spring scale stone, then used the proceeds to seek Spirit Treasures and a larger Storage Bag. Gao Yuezhen showed him the shop's available seasonal materials, though he had no winter Spirit Treasures in stock.

• Gao Yuezhen identified the Ring Blade as a weapon made from refined Baleful Qi and linked it to the Threefold Way.
• Gao Yuezhen agreed to buy the Ring Blade for fifteen hundred Spirit Stones and the nether spring scale stone for one hundred.
• Jiang Yang declined to exchange the sixteen hundred Spirit Stones for dao merit and asked to buy Spirit Treasures and a larger Storage Bag.
• Gao Yuezhen brought out the shop's available spring and summer Spirit Treasures and said he had no winter materials in stock.

Jiang Yang bought two Spirit Treasures and a larger Storage Bag from Gao Yuezhen, then organized his belongings before setting out for Pure Etiquette Peak to seek the final treasure he needed. The chapter left him arriving at the Ancestral Court lakeshore and heading west toward the peak.

• Jiang Yang bought [Early Spring Blossom], [Youyang Locust Rain], and a large Storage Bag from Gao Yuezhen for 1,120 Spirit Stones, with Gao Yuezhen waiving the small remainder.
• Jiang Yang returned to his cave abode, transferred his possessions into the new Storage Bag, and kept his old one for sentimental reasons while Bai Tang teased him about hoarding.
• Jiang Yang noted that he had gathered three of the four Spirit Treasures required for the Four Seasons Transformation Spirit-Nurturing Method and planned to seek the winter treasure at Pure Etiquette Peak.
• The next morning, Jiang Yang traveled by boat from Cold Creek to the Ancestral Court and set out toward Pure Etiquette Peak beyond White Elm Peak.

Jiang Yang visited Pure Etiquette Peak to turn in task materials, where Yu Xiuyuan invited him to cultivate the lineage of Grace and Bearing because of his exceptional looks. Jiang Yang learned that appearance and bearing were treated as innate aptitude on this path, then remembered his actual errand and postponed the invitation.

• Jiang Yang reached Pure Etiquette Peak and met Yu Xiuyuan, who invited him to cultivate there.
• Yu Xiuyuan explained that Pure Etiquette Peak cultivated Grace and Bearing, a path of Ancient Music suited to people with exceptional appearances.
• Jiang Yang feared Yu Xiuyuan had discovered the Peach Branch, then realized he was praising Jiang Yang's looks and bearing.
• Yu Xiuyuan explained that appearance and bone structure were innate qualities and that cultivating Grace and Bearing could lead to a Dao body.
• Yu Xiuyuan invited Jiang Yang to join Pure Etiquette Peak again, but Jiang Yang remembered his task and took out the jade box of materials.

Jiang Yang submitted two pieces of water-cutting mystic amber to Pure Etiquette Peak and received Frost-Snow Qi and a Chunxuan Breakthrough Pill in return. With the spiritual qi he needed for his Four Seasons Transformation Spirit-Nurturing Method and a pill suited to his cultivation, he left ready to begin practicing.

• Yu Xiuyuan escorted Jiang Yang through Pure Etiquette Peak and explained that the peak used spiritual materials to help disciples establish immortal foundations.
• Jiang Yang presented the mystic amber to Chu Yun and asked for a winter-themed reward.
• Chu Yun offered Jiang Yang Frost-Snow Qi, which could help establish the Winter-Hardy Snow immortal foundation.
• When Chu Yun offered to make up the difference in value, Jiang Yang asked for an elixir suitable for his cultivation.
• Chu Yun gave Jiang Yang a Chunxuan Breakthrough Pill, surprising Yu Xiuyuan with the generosity of the exchange.
• After Jiang Yang left, Chu Yun said she had given him the pill because she found him pleasing to the eye, and Yu Xiuyuan accepted her reasoning.

After leaving Pure Etiquette Peak with a precious Pill, Jiang Yang learned from Bai Tang how Dao lineages and their Dao references worked. He set aside his worries about choosing a path for now, while Bai Tang sensed that his Destiny was unusual but could not see its nature.

• Yu Xiuyuan escorted Jiang Yang down Pure Etiquette Peak and urged him to use the Pill to break through and perform well in the year-end Court Examination.
• On the way back, Jiang Yang worried that the grace and bearing Dao lineage might not suit him and remembered that he had agreed to join Dawn Rain Peak.
• Bai Tang explained that the grace and bearing lineage cultivated the Dao body rather than mere appearance, and described its five Dao references and their connection to attaining a golden core.
• Bai Tang explained how Shared Substances linked immortal foundations within a Dao lineage and advised Jiang Yang not to worry about choosing a Dao before reaching Qi Refining Peak.
• Jiang Yang accepted Bai Tang's advice and turned to the lakeside scenery as Bai Tang sensed his unusual Destiny but could not discern its nature.

Jiang Yang used the Four Seasons Transformation Spirit-Nurturing Containment Method to awaken the inheritance Spirit Seed and received the Dark Void Sword-Seed Art. The chapter left him realizing that the seed was the legendary Great Dream Immortal Chun Tree, a Divine Wood capable of growing a Spirit Sword.

• Jiang Yang arranged four Spirit Treasures and used the Guiding Incantation to draw the dead Spirit Seed into his Qi Sea.
• Bai Tang concealed the Cave Abode’s radiance while Jiang Yang refined the Spirit Treasures through spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
• The Four Seasons Rotation kindled life in the Spirit Seed, which sent a Wen scripture into Jiang Yang’s sea of consciousness.
• Jiang Yang learned that the Dark Void Sword-Seed Art could grow a personal Spirit Sword from a nurtured Spirit Seed.
• Jiang Yang received the Spirit Seed’s feedback that it was a seed of the Great Dream Immortal Chun Tree.

Jiang Yang revived the Great Dream Immortal Chun Tree Spirit Seed and learned the Dark Void Sword-Seed Art, while Bai Tang noticed an unexplained connection to the Vine Sword. After exchanging letters with Shang Qingzheng and resuming his cultivation, Jiang Yang trained through nearly half a year of winter and displayed his swordsmanship on Morning Rain Peak.

• Jiang Yang awoke after meditating for ten days and told Bai Tang that the Spirit Seed had revived.
• Jiang Yang explained the Great Dream Immortal Chun Tree inheritance and recognized similarities between the Dark Void Sword-Seed Art and Bai Tang's Vine Sword, leaving Bai Tang unable to explain her instinctive summoning of it.
• Jiang Yang read Shang Qingzheng's letter, learned she had broken through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, and wrote back about his plans to cultivate and catch up with her.
• Jiang Yang sent his reply by Spirit Crane and devoted himself to cultivation, swordsmanship, and the Dark Void Sword-Seed Art in preparation for the Court Examination.
• Nearly half a year later, Jiang Yang practiced in the snowy Pine-and-Cypress Needle Grove on Morning Rain Peak, cutting falling sleet to powder with his Sword Qi.

Jiang Yang advanced to Qi Refining Late Stage, refined his control of Sword Qi, and awakened his Spirit Sword, Spirit Oak. When the once-in-a-decade Ancestral Court examination began, he eagerly set off to take part in the trials.

• Bai Tang praised Jiang Yang's mastery of Sword Qi and cautioned him that Sword Ray required greater power and practice.
• Jiang Yang reflected on Spirit Oak, which had grown from the Spirit Seed and could now be summoned as a sword linked to his will.
• The Ancestral Court announced its examination, summoning disciples from across Rain Xiang Mountain to undergo the trials.
• Jiang Yang prepared to seek his Dao inheritance, and Bai Tang urged him to leave for the examination.
• Jiang Yang rode his rusty sword into the sky and headed for the Ancestral Court trials.