Chapter Summaries

After being exiled to North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing discovered a residence-binding system that improved his cultivation talent and granted him spiritual qi. With his cultivation advancing, he resolved to escape his confinement rather than spend his life at others’ mercy.

• Eunuch Xu delivered the Imperial Decree exiling Gu Yuanqing to North Spring Mountain and warned him to keep the circumstances of his case secret.
• Gu Yuanqing settled into the mountain with two servants whose tongues had been cut out and ears rendered useless, then spent ten lonely days recovering.
• Gu Yuanqing asked a young eunuch to bring him books and reflected on the imperial princess involved in the incident that had led to his exile.
• A system appeared after Gu Yuanqing had remained in unclaimed territory for ten days and bound North Spring Mountain as his residence, boosting his talents and granting daily spiritual qi.
• Gu Yuanqing cultivated with the system’s aid, expelled stagnant blood, advanced to Fourth-Level Origin Scholar, and resolved to grow strong enough to escape the mountain.

Gu Yuanqing explored North Spring Mountain and steadily imprinted the entire mountain into his sea of consciousness, while cultivating and adjusting to life in confinement. After a month, he completed the initial spirit imbuing and discovered that the text beside the mountain phantom had changed.

• Gu Yuanqing examined the ruins of the North Spring Sword Sect and continued spirit imbuing North Spring Mountain as he explored its old halls and dried Spirit Spring.
• Gu Yuanqing cultivated the Profound Heaven Art at night, tempering fifteen acupoints, and practiced his sword techniques the next morning.
• Gu Yuanqing accepted books brought by a young eunuch and spent the following month cultivating, practicing swordsmanship, reading, and measuring the mountain.
• Gu Yuanqing completed the mountain phantom from the West Cliff, gained heightened senses that let him inspect the summit, and nearly fell before checking the changed text in his sea of consciousness.

Gu Yuanqing used his improved comprehension to study True Martial cultivation, refine his own training, and uncover the old man's secret movements through Mountain Observation. He kept watching the old man investigate tunnels across North Spring Mountain, suspecting he was searching for a hidden legacy.

• Gu Yuanqing studied Zhou Yan's travelogue and other books, copying passages and piecing together principles of True Martial cultivation.
• Gu Yuanqing adjusted his Qi and Blood circulation and used the mountain's two wisps of Spiritual Qi to temper his acupoints.
• Gu Yuanqing saw the old man enter a hidden fissure and remain out of sight, then suspected the man was searching for the North Spring Sword Sect Legacy Treasure.
• Gu Yuanqing monitored the old man over the following days and saw him repeatedly dig in fissures around the mountain.
• On the ninth day, Gu Yuanqing saw the old man examine a map of North Spring Mountain marked with crosses and later investigate another fissure.

Gu Yuanqing reached the Origin Scholar Ninth Level, then received the Heart Zen Unity Art, a cultivation manual that opened a path to stronger secret treasures. Months later, he had tempered all seventy-two acupoints and deepened his bond with North Spring Mountain, while waiting to shape a cultivation method of his own.

• Gu Yuanqing completed the Profound Heaven Art’s thirty-six acupoints and wondered how to advance toward the True Martial Realm.
• A young eunuch delivered books, and Gu Yuanqing discovered a handwritten Heart Zen Unity Art manual with detailed annotations.
• Gu Yuanqing weighed his options and chose to temper his acupoints anew with the Heart Zen Unity Art, hoping to open a Mysterious Martial Secret Treasure and eventually strive for an even greater one.
• Over several months, Gu Yuanqing tempered all seventy-two acupoints, practiced Mountain Observation, and grew more closely attuned to North Spring Mountain.
• Gu Yuanqing sensed that he was close to becoming one with the mountain and began forming a cultivation method suited to himself.

Li Miaoxuan rejected Qin Baijun after revealing that she was pregnant, while Gu Yuanqing’s Mountain Observation advanced enough for him to discover the North Spring Sword Sect’s hidden underground Stone Chamber. He found a cache of cultivation manuals and weapons, including the Secret Sword.

• Li Miaoxuan told Qin Baijun that she intended to leave worldly affairs behind and would not return his romantic feelings.
• Qin Baijun angrily slashed the lake with his Flying Sword and left the Royal Villa.
• Gu Yuanqing’s Mountain Observation merged with North Spring Mountain and allowed him to sense its underground depths.
• Gu Yuanqing watched the Old Servant secretly carve into the mountain and expanded his consciousness into the rock.
• Gu Yuanqing discovered an underground Stone Chamber containing shelves of cultivation manuals, a Secret Sword, and other weapons.

Gu Yuanqing studied North Spring Mountain’s hidden cultivation manuals and gained profound insights that transformed his swordsmanship. After months of preparation and failed attempts to form a complete acupoint array, he opened his Profound Martial Secret Treasure and began stabilizing it within his crimson palace.

• Gu Yuanqing used Mountain Observation to inspect the underground secret chamber and studied its cultivation manuals, including five techniques that could lead to Grandmasterhood.
• Gu Yuanqing practiced the Wind Dao and Rain Dao Sword Art, and his swordsmanship advanced until he formed the embryo of Sword Intent.
• Over the next several months, Gu Yuanqing tempered 394 acupoints as North Spring Mountain’s spiritual energy increased, but his attempts to form a Heavenly Cycle Great Formation repeatedly failed.
• Gu Yuanqing chose a 108-acupoint array and used it to draw the Profound Martial Secret Treasure from between Mustard Seeds into his crimson palace.
• Gu Yuanqing stabilized the secret treasure by pouring vital energy into it, then began examining it.

After attaining True Martial, Gu Yuanqing examined his Profound Martial Secret Treasure and discovered it could potentially become a Saint Martial Secret Treasure. He learned to gather qi of heaven gang through North Spring Mountain, accelerating his cultivation as the mountain neared its transformation into a Spirit Mountain.

• Gu Yuanqing inspected his Secret Treasury and saw that its seven-colored radiance gave it the potential to become a Saint Martial Secret Treasure.
• After realizing his breakthrough had damaged his bed, Gu Yuanqing moved his bedding and reflected on how True Martial had unified his energy channels and strengthened his attacks.
• Gu Yuanqing used Mountain Observation to watch the soldiers stationed at North Spring Mountain and sensed spiritual qi growing at the mountain's core.
• At dawn, Gu Yuanqing used Mountain Observation to gather qi of heaven gang from North Spring Mountain's phantom and sent it into his Secret Treasury.
• Gu Yuanqing realized he could use North Spring Mountain to gather qi of heaven gang and qi of earth sha, allowing him to cultivate far faster before the mountain's transformation attracted attention.

Qin Baijun learned that Gu Yuanxuan had died and that Gu Yuanqun might be imprisoned on North Spring Mountain, then set out with murderous intent. There, Gu Yuanqing watched an old man defeat two masked intruders, but an armored figure with an eagle phantom approached as the fight ended.

• Li Haiming told Qin Baijun that Gu Yuanxuan had been stripped of his cultivation, banished, and killed, and mentioned a rumor that Gu Yuanqun was imprisoned on North Spring Mountain.
• Qin Baijun grew furious at the thought that Gu Yuanqun had fathered Princess Miaoxuan's child and headed for North Spring Mountain.
• Gu Yuanqing cultivated on North Spring Mountain and observed two masked swordsmen arrive and attack the old man.
• Gu Yuanqing recognized the old man's saber work as resembling the Big Dipper Sword Technique and studied the combatants' flaws.
• The old man unleashed genuine Big Dipper Sword Technique sword qi, wounded both intruders, and withdrew toward his dwelling.
• An armored figure bearing an eagle phantom approached as Gu Yuanqing watched the battle end.

Gu Yuanqing worried that his breakthrough had been observed, while Qin Baijun’s failed attempt to infiltrate North Spring Mountain led to a marriage proposal that Li Miaoxuan rejected. The chapter ended with Qin Baijun asking his grandfather to kill someone after learning the proposal had been refused.

• Chen Chuanshan surveyed the aftermath of the fight and glanced toward the old man’s cave, leaving Gu Yuanqing concerned that his breakthrough had been noticed.
• Xue Chengyang told Qin Baijun that a concealed sentry had stopped their attempt to infiltrate North Spring Mountain, and Qin Baijun gave the wounded men Rejuvenation Pills.
• Prince Gu learned that Li Miaoxuan was pregnant and suspected the child belonged to Gu Yuanqing, ordering his steward to keep the secret and continue acting as before.
• Li Haotian proposed that Li Miaoxuan marry Qin Baijun and remove her unborn child, but Li Miaoxuan refused and warned that her status as a grandmaster meant no one could force her.
• Qin Baijun learned that Li Haotian had refused the proposal and asked his grandfather to kill someone.

Gu Yuanqing reflected on his rapid cultivation and his growing bond with North Spring Mountain before sensing intruders climbing toward the summit. Qin Baijun and Elder Qin headed for the Courtyard where Gu Yuanqing lived, leaving him to realize they might be coming for him.

• Gu Yuanqing returned to his Courtyard with a pheasant brought by a mountain eagle and asked Feng Tao to cook it with chilies.
• Gu Yuanqing observed that his Profound Martial Secret Treasure was filling with gathered qi and that he had reached the Third True Martial Level.
• Gu Yuanqing thought about Li Miaoxuan and wondered how she had been faring since their separation.
• Qin Baijun arrived at North Spring Mountain with Elder Qin, intent on killing Gu Yuanqing over his grudge.
• Gu Yuanqing sensed the pair climbing the mountain and watched as they followed Qin Baijun's directions toward his Courtyard.

Gu Yuanqing watched Elder Qin and Qin Baijun clash with the Divine Eagle Guard, only to discover that Qin Baijun had come to kill him. Qin Baijun broke through to the True Martial Seventh Layer as he confronted Gu Yuanqing, who faced an immediate threat.

• Gu Yuanqing concealed his aura and watched as Chen Chuanshan and the Divine Eagle Guard challenged Elder Qin and Qin Baijun for entering Great Qian's forbidden ground.
• Elder Qin deflected the guard's attacks while Qin Baijun fled toward Gu Yuanqing's courtyard.
• Qin Baijun called Gu Yuanqing out and destroyed his house with a sword slash, forcing Gu Yuanqing to dodge onto the roof.
• Gu Yuanqing asked Qin Baijun whether they had a grudge, and Qin Baijun declared that he wanted him dead.
• Qin Baijun's murderous intent cleared his cultivation bottleneck, and he advanced to the True Martial Seventh Layer as Gu Yuanqing realized he had to act before the young man attacked.

Gu Yuanqing nearly killed Qin Baijun after an unseen force suppressed the True Martial cultivators’ connection to heaven and earth, but Elder Qin’s attack was also stopped by the mysterious intervention. Qin Baijun fled with his grandfather, leaving Gu Yuanqing to wonder who had helped him and whether his old grievance involved Li Miaoxuan.

• Gu Yuanqing attacked Qin Baijun with Sword Pointing at Tian Shu after Qin Baijun’s Profound Martial Phenomenon suddenly vanished.
• Gu Yuanqing used Stars Shift to sever Qin Baijun’s right arm, and Qin Baijun screamed for his grandfather to save him.
• Elder Qin drove back Chen Chuanshan’s group and attacked Gu Yuanqing with a Void Great Hand Seal, but an unseen force dispelled the attack and sent Elder Qin crashing down.
• Elder Qin suspected a Grandmaster was present, retrieved Qin Baijun’s mangled arm, and fled with him while unable to manifest his phenomenon.
• Gu Yuanqing and Chen Chuanshan thanked the unseen Senior, then Gu Yuanqing salvaged his belongings and considered whether his past grievance involved Li Miaoxuan.

After surviving an attack, Gu Yuanqing resolved to cultivate faster and broke through to the True Martial Fourth Layer, then refined his swordsmanship. The next morning, Eunuch Xu arrived at North Spring Mountain with Chen Chuanshan and supplies, leaving Gu Yuanqing eager for company but wondering why the emperor’s trusted eunuch had come.

• Gu Yuanqing sensed that he had reached the True Martial Fourth Layer and realized his lack of combat experience had nearly cost him his life.
• Chen Chuanshan sent a secret report to Li Haotian, who learned that a Lingxu Sect Elder had trespassed on North Spring Mountain and ordered Xu Lianying to check for a Grandmaster Attendant.
• Li Haotian told Xu Lianying to visit North Spring Mountain the next day with fur coats and the Kunwu Sword for Princess Xuan'er.
• Gu Yuanqing practiced swordsmanship in the damaged Courtyard, gaining insights from his battle before his Wood sword crumbled to dust.
• Gu Yuanqing saw Xu Lianying, Chen Chuanshan, and several Soldiers climbing the mountain with supplies, and welcomed the prospect of someone to talk to.

Xu Lianying visited Gu Yuanqing on North Spring Mountain with rewards from Emperor Li Haotian, including fur coats and the treasured sword Kunwu, and urged him to remain patient and keep his cultivation as his foundation. Back in the palace, Li Haotian arranged for Princess Miaoxuan’s imminent childbirth, then Prince Qing arrived and asked whether she was pregnant.

• Gu Yuanqing welcomed Xu Lianying and Chen Chuanshan, discussed his quiet life on the mountain, and asked for wine.
• Xu Lianying presented Gu Yuanqing with two fur coats from the Inner Treasury and the sword Kunwu, sent by Li Haotian.
• Xu Lianying advised Gu Yuanqing to endure solitude, keep things to himself, and focus on cultivation before leaving the mountain.
• Xu Lianying reported to Li Haotian that Gu Yuanqing had reached the True Martial Realm and appeared to possess unusual ability, while finding no trace of a Grandmaster on North Spring Mountain.
• Li Haotian asked Xu Lianying to summon Imperial Physician Zhou Yanhuai and prepare midwives because Princess Miaoxuan was due to give birth soon.
• Prince Qing arrived to see Li Haotian and privately asked whether Princess Miaoxuan was pregnant.

Li Haotian’s court debated Li Miaoxuan’s claim to the heirship as she secretly gave birth to a son, while Gu Yuanqing sensed a change from afar. Three months later, a veiled woman calling herself Miaoxuan arrived on North Spring Mountain and asked Gu Yuanqing to walk with her.

• Prince Qing urged Li Haotian to remove the pregnant Li Miaoxuan from consideration as Heir Apparent, but Li Haotian refused to decide the matter then.
• Gu Yuanqing practiced swordsmanship with the Kunwu Sword and later felt an inexplicable disturbance as Li Miaoxuan gave birth to a boy in Qingyun Garden.
• Li Haotian briefly held his newborn son, then left for Fengtian Hall without visiting Li Miaoxuan, who cared for the child.
• Three months later, Gu Yuanqing noticed a veiled young woman arriving with the supply party and watched the eunuch and Soldiers leave her behind.
• The woman introduced herself as Miaoxuan, asked to stay in Gu Yuanqing’s courtyard, and invited him to walk with her.

Gu Yuanqing spent the day exploring North Spring Mountain with Li Miaoxuan, and their conversation about immortality and cultivation drew them closer. After she watched his swordsmanship, Li Miaoxuan taught him the Great Yi Illusionary Sky Steps, then watched him practice from her window.

• Gu Yuanqing and Li Miaoxuan climbed North Spring Mountain, where she spoke of seeking enduring existence and the Great Dao.
• They shared a meal and discussed cultivation, exchanging insights into the martial path.
• At Li Miaoxuan's request, Gu Yuanqing demonstrated his swordsmanship, which she judged to have the foundation for Grandmaster-level skill.
• Li Miaoxuan demonstrated the Great Yi Illusionary Sky Steps and taught Gu Yuanqing its essential principles.
• Gu Yuanqing began practicing the movement technique beneath the moon while Li Miaoxuan watched him quietly from her window.

Gu Yuanqing watched Li Miaoxuan reveal her identity and leave, then continued cultivating on North Spring Mountain. He witnessed the mountain’s Transformation and discovered that it had become a Spirit Mountain with new abilities and powerful enhancements.

• Li Miaoxuan thanked Gu Yuanqing for their time together, revealed that they had met three times, and left for the Lingxu Sect after leaping from the cliff.
• Gu Yuanqing realized Li Miaoxuan was the Imperial Family’s Miaoxuan and suspected she had sent him the Heart Zen Unity Art.
• Gu Yuanqing returned to his courtyard, brooded over their parting, and resumed cultivating that night.
• North Spring Mountain completed Spirit Imbuing and began its Transformation as Gu Yuanqing listened to its Dao Sound.
• North Spring Mountain’s image merged with the real mountain, and Gu Yuanqing gained the title North Spring Mountain Master and discovered new enhancements, including Object Control and the Spiritual Mountain Trial.

Gu Yuanqing practiced object control and tested his swordsmanship in the Spiritual Mountain Trial, where repeated battles taught him the limits of his ability and improved his understanding of combat. After recovering overnight, he began gathering qi of heaven gang and overheard that a princess of the Great Qian Dynasty was getting married.

• Gu Yuanqing learned to control the Kunwu Sword, accidentally disturbing Chen Chuanshan and the soldiers on North Spring Mountain before he resumed practicing in secret.
• Gu Yuanqing entered the Spiritual Mountain Trial and defeated Zhang Yingdong in a sword fight.
• Gu Yuanqing fought a powerful Kaiyang swordsman, recognized flaws in his own swordsmanship, and continued challenging opponents until he died in the trial.
• Gu Yuanqing concluded that he could fight opponents at the true martial sixth layer but could not overcome those at the seventh layer, then rested while Mountain Observation nourished his mind.
• Gu Yuanqing returned to the Eastern Mountain Rock to gather qi of heaven gang and overheard imperial guards discussing the Great Qian Dynasty's princess getting married.

Gu Yuanqing heard that Li Miaoxuan was to marry and struggled to understand the news, while the Imperial Palace secretly arranged for another woman to take her identity. As a demonic threat emerged beneath North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing advanced his swordsmanship and unleashed sword qi.

• Gu Yuanqing heard that Li Miaoxuan was to marry, set aside his doubts, and resumed Mountain Observation.
• Li Haotian ordered a lookalike to impersonate Li Miaoxuan and present an infant as her future son, threatening her to keep the secret.
• Li Kangwen celebrated after learning he had been chosen to marry Princess Miaoxuan.
• Chen Chuanshan learned that demonic qi had leaked from the cavern at North Spring Mountain, killing three Soldiers and driving two others berserk, and rushed to the site.
• Gu Yuanqing fought repeated opponents in the Spiritual Mountain Trial and improved enough to suppress True Martial Sixth Layer fighters.
• Gu Yuanqing combined the Great Yi Illusionary Sky Steps with his swordsmanship, causing his sword intent to surge into sword qi and startling the old man nearby.

Gu Yuanqing broke through to the True Martial Seventh Layer, merging his inner and outer worlds and gaining confidence in his strength. While surveying North Spring Mountain, he learned that a Demon Realm Fissure lay nearby and that the Forbidden Army had been redeployed because demonic qi was leaking from its seal.

• The old man recognized Gu Yuanqing's breakthrough in sword intent and regretted not bringing him into the North Spring Sword Sect earlier.
• Gu Yuanqing's Sword Dao insights transformed his Profound Martial Secret Treasure as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi poured into it.
• Gu Yuanqing merged his inner and outer worlds and reached the True Martial Seventh Layer.
• Gu Yuanqing tested his new strength, then used Mountain Observation to notice that most Forbidden Army troops had left their patrols.
• A soldier told Old Feng that the Forbidden Army had gathered near the Demon Realm Seal because demonic qi was leaking from the fissure.
• Gu Yuanqing worried that the seal might fail and that demonic qi could harm his newly formed Spirit Mountain and nearby living creatures.