Chapter Summaries

Gu Yuanqing fought Lie Shanyi while using their clash to improve his Sword Dao, then overwhelmed him by drawing the Purple Flame Demon Suppressing Ring into North Spring Grotto-Heaven. The ring was sealed, and Lie Shanyi lost his connection to it and was flung backward.

• Gu Yuanqing and Lie Shanyi fought evenly, with Gu Yuanqing learning from the battle despite Lie Shanyi's superior Spear Dao control.
• Lie Shanyi realized Gu Yuanqing was honing his Sword Dao and launched the Purple Flame Demon Suppressing Ring at him.
• Gu Yuanqing used North Spring Mountain's power to seize the ring and drag it toward North Spring Grotto-Heaven.
• Lie Shanyi struggled to recall the ring while Wei Qin and the other Divine Generals activated their Flying Boats' formations and attacked Gu Yuanqing.
• The ring reached North Spring Grotto-Heaven and its power was sealed, severing Lie Shanyi's connection and sending him tumbling backward.

Gu Yuanqing repelled Lie Shanyi and the tower ships with the Demon Subduing Sword Formation, forcing Lie Shanyi to negotiate from a distance. Gu Yuanqing then released Lie Shanhan, who returned to Lie Shanyi and revealed that he had signed a Nether God Contract and suffered a great loss.

• Gu Yuanqing struck the tower ships with the Formless Calamity Finger and Great Five Elements Divine Thunder while the Demon Subduing Sword battled Lie Shanyi.
• Lie Shanyi transformed into a thousand-zhang god-devil, but Gu Yuanqing’s Demon Subduing Sword Formation wounded him and drove him and the three tower ships into retreat.
• Lie Shanyi assessed the casualties and concluded that Gu Yuanqing was beyond his reach while protected by North Spring Grotto-Heaven’s formation.
• Lie Shanyi returned within three thousand li of North Spring Mountain and proposed negotiating for Lie Shanhan’s release.
• Gu Yuanqing sent Lie Shanhan out of North Spring Grotto-Heaven, and Lie Shanhan rejoined Lie Shanyi and explained that he had signed a Nether God Contract.

Lie Shanhan agreed to pay Gu Yuanqing a Nether God Contract’s worth of treasures and the Lie Shan Seal’s refining method in exchange for his life. After Demon God Mountain withdrew, Lie Shanyi and Lie Shanhan discussed Gu Yuanqing’s strength and the Heaven Treading Immortal Steed, which might one day escape the cage.

• Lie Shanhan accepted Gu Yuanqing’s jade token and agreed to deliver the listed treasures and refining method within ten years.
• Lie Shanyi warned Gu Yuanqing that Demon God Mountain could still challenge him, but left with Lie Shanhan after Gu threatened a harsher response.
• Gu Yuanqing reflected that he had spared Lie Shanhan partly to avoid an outright war with Demon God Mountain and gain time to grow stronger.
• The Dragon Demon Realm’s demons marveled at Gu Yuanqing’s power, and Xiong Ba regretted once haggling with him over treasures.
• Aboard the departing Flying Boats, Lie Shanyi told Lie Shanhan that Gu Yuanqing possessed a descendant of the Heaven Treading Immortal Steed, which might eventually escape the cage.
• Lie Shanhan urged Lie Shanyi to report the discovery to their imperial brother, while Lie Shanyi said the matter required careful planning and hinted that Lie Shanhan could help him break through to the immortal realm.

After tensions with Demon God Mountain eased, Gu Yuanqing remained focused on growing stronger. Li Guanrong persuaded him to let Aunt Su leave North Spring Grotto-Heaven and accompany him to the Qian Yuan Realm, but Gu Yuanqing refused to let them take the Heaven Treading Immortal Steed.

• Lie Shanyi urged Lie Shanhan to ask their imperial brother to help him obtain the Heaven Treading Immortal Steed, while Lie Shanhan warned that the other great lineages might oppose another Lie Shan cultivator reaching the Deathlessness realm.
• Gu Yuanqing reflected on how his strength depended on North Spring Grotto-Heaven and continued cultivating despite the return of peace.
• Three months later, Li Guanrong visited Gu Yuanqing and complained that merchants from the Exquisite World disrespected him as Crown Prince of Great Qian.
• Li Guanrong asked to borrow Aunt Su, and Gu Yuanqing agreed to let her leave the mountain with him after telling him to inform his father.
• Gu Yuanqing refused Li Guanrong’s request to bring the Heaven Treading Immortal Steed, and Li Guanrong and Aunt Su departed North Spring Grotto-Heaven.

As Great Qian adjusted to the loss of the Heavenly Ladder, merchant guilds filled its supply shortages and sought broader access to other realms. The Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild’s fourth shopkeeper, Qiu Han, arrived as the first Heavenly Human visitor and asked to meet Gu Yuanqing, leaving Li Chengyi to pass the request to his father.

• Ji Dai and Kuang Tongyi broke through to the Void Heaven Realm, while merchant guilds expanded across Great Qian and supplied cultivators with goods from the Exquisite Worlds.
• The merchant guilds petitioned to open a Teleportation Array between the Qian Yuan Realm and the Dan Yun Realm, but Great Qian rejected their request.
• Qiu Han arrived with two others at the Teleportation Array and revealed that the Qian Yuan Realm could accommodate Heavenly Humans.
• Li Shi'an welcomed Qiu Han and escorted him to the mountains before the evening banquet at the Great Qian palace.
• At the banquet, Qiu Han asked Li Chengyi to introduce him to Gu Yuanqing, and Li Chengyi agreed to inform his father.

At the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild's residence, Qiu Han and Liao Xu discussed Gu Yuanqing's power, tracing his ability to lecture across the Qian Yuan Realm to the Path of Incense and Fire. As Qiu Han waited for the Great Qian emperor's reply to his request for a meeting, Gu Yuanqing appeared in his quiet chamber.

• Qiu Han asked Liao Xu about North Spring Mountain, and Liao Xu described its transformation and Gu Yuanqing's apparent discovery of a sealed legacy.
• Liao Xu revealed that Gu Yuanqing's lectures on cultivation had been heard throughout the Qian Yuan Realm, and Qiu Han connected this to the Path of Incense and Fire.
• Qiu Han reasoned that Gu Yuanqing's followers and the Great Qian court had helped him rise to heavenly human status, while noting that his Realm Token made him dangerous within the realm.
• Qiu Han said he wanted to meet Gu Yuanqing and waited for the Great Qian emperor's reply.
• After Liao Xu left, Qiu Han entered his quiet chamber and found Gu Yuanqing there, asking who he was.

Gu Yuanqing secretly confronted Qiu Han at the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild’s courtyard and used an illusion to warn him against overstepping in Great Qian. Qiu Han recognized Gu’s formidable strength and resolved that the Guild would focus on business and avoid making him an enemy.

• Gu Yuanqing appeared inside Qiu Han’s courtyard unnoticed and exchanged veiled remarks with him about Gu’s reputation and the Guild’s arrival in Great Qian.
• Gu Yuanqing warned Qiu Han that the Guild would be safe in Great Qian as long as it obeyed the laws, then ended their conversation and vanished.
• Qiu Han realized the half-hour conversation had been an illusion and that he had remained at the courtyard entrance the whole time.
• Liao Xu arrived and learned from Qiu Han that Gu Yuanqing had visited and that an instant had seemed to pass while half an hour elapsed.
• Qiu Han judged Gu Yuanqing’s cultivation to be beyond their estimates, and he and Liao Xu agreed the Guild should follow its usual rules and avoid antagonizing him.
• From North Spring Grotto-Heaven, Gu Yuanqing watched the Guild and concluded that his warning had been understood.

Gu Yuanqing chose to delay opening the Qingping Grotto-Heaven and continued cultivating while his Heavenly Human World developed. Meanwhile, Cao Rui asked Crown Prince Li Guanrong to admit the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s young master and his Heavenly Human Dao guardian into the Qian Yuan Realm, challenging Great Qian’s entry rules.

• Gu Yuanqing decided to wait until his cultivation and the Qian Yuan Realm’s transformations advanced before trying to open the Qingping Grotto-Heaven.
• Gu Yuanqing used the Clear Thought Heaven Stone to cultivate and comprehend the Great Dao as his dao principle imprints developed.
• Cao Rui visited Li Guanrong and requested permission for the Misty Rain Tower’s young master to visit the Qian Yuan Realm and study the Dao at its borders.
• Li Guanrong approved the young master’s visit and offered passage to the border regions aboard Great Qian’s Sea Shaking Boat.
• Cao Rui revealed that a Heavenly Human Dao guardian would accompany the young master, and Li Guanrong objected because the realm barred Heavenly Humans.
• Cao Rui cited Qiu Han’s presence in Great Qian and pressed Li Guanrong to treat the Misty Rain Tower equally with the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild.

Li Guanrong refused Cao Rui’s attempt to bring a Heavenly Human into Great Qian, while Gu Siyuan supported keeping the realm’s restrictions in place. Cao Rui then reported to the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower and planned to leak the Qian Yuan Realm’s coordinates so outside powers might force their way in.

• Cao Rui pressed Li Guanrong to let the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s young master enter Great Qian with a Heavenly Human, but Li Guanrong refused and warned that Great Qian’s rules would not change.
• Li Guanrong told Gu Siyuan that Cao Rui was testing Great Qian’s stance and that he had also rejected merchant guilds’ requests to bring in Void Heaven Cultivators.
• Little Fox offered to punish Cao Rui, but Li Guanrong declined her help as Gu Siyuan laughed at her teasing.
• Cao Rui entered the Ancient Realm to report the dispute to the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s higher-ups, then told Song Jingren that the next shipment would carry the Qian Yuan Realm’s coordinates.
• Cao Rui and Song Jingren planned to let other forces discover the realm and attempt to enter, expecting Great Qian to seek the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s help.

The Shadow Cult planned to invade the Qian Yuan Realm for its resources, while the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower secretly prepared for the coming attack. The invasion was set for three months later, and Li Guanrong sensed that the Tower’s unusual silence meant trouble was approaching.

• Cao Rui and Song Jingren discussed using the Qian Yuan Realm’s Realm Tokens to establish a foothold, while Qiu Han left after securing trade agreements with the Great Qian Dynasty.
• Yan Jin told the Shadow Cult’s leaders that the Qian Yuan Realm had only one heavenly human and proposed an invasion to seize or plunder it.
• The Shadow Cult agreed to act in three months, when Yan Jin would use a Realm Stabilizing Pearl to create a window for the attack.
• Cao Rui gave Song Jingren a storage pouch to deliver secretly to Overseas and said the Tower Master would not let the Shadow Cult take the Qian Yuan Realm.
• The Qian Yuan Realm continued refusing outsiders and new Teleportation Array connections, while Li Guanrong had the Heavenly Policy Mansion watch the unusually quiet Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower.

Song Jingren resumed inspecting shops after secluded cultivation while the Shadow Cult used its Ancient Realm Treasures to enter the Qian Yuan Realm and prepare to plunder it. Gu Yuanqing intercepted the nine Heavenly Humans and faced their coordinated attack.

• Song Jingren emerged from secluded cultivation and continued inspecting shops as though nothing had happened.
• Yan Jin led eight Shadow Cult Heavenly Humans through the void into the Qian Yuan Realm aboard the Heaven-Escaping World-Breaking Shuttle.
• Yan Jin proposed pillaging the Overseas New Realm and then the mainland, hoping to seize treasures and spiritual veins.
• Gu Yuanqing sensed the shuttle's arrival, assessed the intruders, and sent a yin-yang-level avatar to confront them.
• The Shadow Cult Heavenly Humans failed to detect Gu Yuanqing's avatar, then launched nine Dharma Treasures at him.

Gu Yuanqing effortlessly defeated the Shadow Cult cultivators who entered the Qian Yuan Realm, then used Soul Searching on the survivors and learned of the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s involvement. Li Chengyi assembled his allies and set out to confront the tower, while Cao Rui waited for the Shadow Cult’s incursion to be discovered.

• Yan Jin and the Shadow Cult attacked Gu Yuanqing, but he swept them aside with the Heavenly Wind Fan, killing most of them and leaving Yan Jin and Zhang Qianye unconscious.
• Gu Yuanqing collected the surviving treasures, captured Yan Jin and Zhang Qianye, and used the Divine Intent Spirit Analysis Art to search their souls.
• Gu Yuanqing told Li Chengyi what he had learned about the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower, and Li Chengyi summoned Li Shi'an, Qin Wuya, and other officials to the Imperial Palace.
• Li Chengyi and his allies prepared to visit the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s headquarters.
• Cao Rui and Lu Jingren discussed the Shadow Cult’s expected arrival and Cao Rui’s plan to report the breach if Great Qian had not discovered it within three days.

Lu Jingren and Cao Rui discussed the Shadow Cult’s plans in the Qian Yuan Realm before the Great Qian Dynasty surrounded the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower residence. Li Chengyi accused Cao Rui of helping the Shadow Cult, and Cao Rui warned him that attacking the tower would bring grave consequences.

• Lu Jingren and Cao Rui discussed how the Shadow Cult could enter the Qian Yuan Realm undetected and planned what they would do after seizing the Qian Yuan Token.
• Cao Rui’s communication token reacted, and he realized something might have happened to Gu Zihao; Lu Jingren offered to investigate the imperial capital.
• Cao Rui and Lu Jingren saw more than a thousand Jinwu Guard cultivators and Heavenly Policy Mansion forces surrounding the residence.
• Li Chengyi arrived by flying boat with Li Guanrong and Su Xuexin, while Cao Rui activated the residence’s formation.
• Li Chengyi accused the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower of harboring the Shadow Cult and declared that Cao Rui deserved execution; Cao Rui denied the charge and warned Great Qian against attacking.

Li Chengyi ordered the Great Qian forces to attack the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower and capture its people. Li Shi'an defeated Cao Rui with help from a Heavenly Human treasure, while Lu Jingren fled and was pursued.

• Li Shi'an and Kuang Tongyi volunteered to fight the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower's Void Heaven cultivators as Li Chengyi ordered the Jinwu Guard and Heavenly Policy Mansion to surround the residence.
• Gongsun Jing sealed the residence with the Jinwu Guard while the Heavenly Policy Mansion set up formations, and Li Chengyi used his Realm Token to weaken Cao Rui's formation.
• Li Shi'an and Kuang Tongyi battled Cao Rui and Lu Jingren for nearly an hour as Liao Xu and Liu Muzhou watched from afar.
• Li Shi'an used a Heavenly Human-level Great Seal and a jade plaque from Gu Yuanqing to break Cao Rui's defenses and knock him from the sky.
• Lu Jingren forced Kuang Tongyi back, wounded Gongsun Jing while breaking through the Jinwu Guard's formation, and fled as Kuang Tongyi pursued him.

Li Chengyi captured the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s people in the Qian Yuan Realm, but Gu Yuanqing revealed that a Heavenly Human Split Soul had escaped and seized it. The soul’s memories were erased before the story shifted to the Tower’s headquarters, where its leaders prepared to pursue the Qian Yuan Realm.

• Li Chengyi bound Lu Jingren, captured Cao Rui, and ordered the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s goods confiscated and Cao Rui interrogated.
• Li Chengyi went to North Spring Grotto-Heaven, where Gu Yuanqing revealed that a Heavenly Human Split Soul had escaped from the battle.
• Gu Yuanqing pulled the split soul into the grotto-heaven, searched its soul, and destroyed it while Li Chengyi reflected on his oversight.
• In the Ling Shu Realm, Deputy Tower Master Xie Yingying returned to the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s headquarters, where Su Yuheng stressed the importance of securing the Qian Yuan Realm.

Misty Rain Tower prepared to enter the Qian Yuan Realm, but Xie Yingying’s split soul was destroyed, warning them that their plans had gone awry. Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi ignored the Tower’s request to connect the Teleportation Arrays, while Su Yuheng sent allies to wait in the Purple You Realm.

• Su Yuheng, Xie Yingying, and Chu Qianrui discussed seizing a Realm Token and taking control of the Qian Yuan Realm before rival factions could act.
• Xie Yingying’s split soul was destroyed, and he warned that something had happened in the Qian Yuan Realm.
• Su Yuheng found a request from the Ling Shu Realm to connect the Teleportation Arrays, while Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi realized Misty Rain Tower had sensed the split soul’s destruction.
• Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi ignored the connection request and discussed how news of the Qian Yuan Realm could draw more factions into the conflict.
• Su Yuheng sent Chu Qianrui and Hall Master Sun to the Purple You Realm to wait, warning them that the Qian Yuan Realm’s Teleportation Array might be ambushed.

The Great Qian Dynasty proclaimed that the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower had colluded with the Shadow Cult and punished its members, provoking outrage from the Tower and confusion among foreign cultivators. As the Tower’s leaders tried to respond, Xie Yingying suspected the Shadow Cult had betrayed their agreement and sided with the Qian Yuan Realm.

• The Great Qian Dynasty announced that Cao Rui and Zhao Jingren would be beheaded for colluding with the Shadow Cult, while other implicated members would have their cultivation crippled and be exiled.
• Liao Xu and Liu Muzhou discussed whether the proclamation was true and worried that the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower would retaliate.
• Chu Qianrui learned that the Qian Yuan Realm had rejected attempts to open the Teleportation Array and ordered Zeng Jingming to ask the Purple Extreme Pavilion again.
• Su Yuheng berated Xie Yingying over the damage to the Tower’s reputation and demanded an explanation.
• Xie Yingying concluded that the Shadow Cult had abandoned their agreement and colluded with the Qian Yuan Realm.

After Great Qian publicly executed two Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower cultivators, the tower remained silent until it learned that the Shadow Cult’s leaders had died in the Qian Yuan Realm and its own shops were under attack. Liao Xu then brought Li Guanrong reports of the Tower’s conflicts with the Shadow Cult, opening the way for closer cooperation between Great Qian and the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild.

• Li Guanrong oversaw the public beheading of Cao Rui and Lu Jingren, and the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower made no immediate response.
• As the Qian Yuan Realm guarded its Teleportation Array, cultivators and merchants across other realms watched for the Tower’s reaction.
• Su Yuheng convened the Tower’s hall masters, and Xie Yingying reported that Yan Jin, Zhang Qianye, and the other Shadow Cult cultivators who entered the Qian Yuan Realm had been killed.
• Ye Fusheng reported that Treasure Hall shops in several Exquisite World's realms had come under suspected Shadow Cult attacks.
• Liao Xu gave Li Guanrong reports of conflicts between the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower and Shadow Hall, and Li Guanrong welcomed the prospect of further cooperation with the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild.

The Shadow Cult and the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower continued to weaken each other as rumors spread that the Qian Yuan Realm had killed Shadow Cult experts. After a battle in the Ling Yuan Realm further fueled those rumors, the great sects turned their attention to the Qian Yuan Realm, and Qiu Han was summoned by the Sanyang Sect to discuss it.

• Li Chengyi and Li Guanrong discussed the Shadow Cult and Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower blaming each other while wondering how powerful Li Chengyi's grandfather was.
• The Shadow Cult and Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower escalated their conflict, while the Great Qian Dynasty tolerated unfamiliar cultivators as long as they obeyed its rules.
• The Four Great Sects, led by the Crimson Flame Sect, attacked the Ling Yuan Realm, where awakened Shadow Cult elders and a Realm Token forced them to withdraw.
• The absence of Yan Jin, Zhang Qian, and several Hall Masters led people to believe they had died in the Qian Yuan Realm, drawing the attention of the Illusionary Spirit Sect and the Sanyang Sect.
• The Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild's Head Shopkeeper told Qiu Han to meet a Sanyang Sect Elder and share only what he knew about the Qian Yuan Realm and Gu Yuanqing.

Gu Yuanqing guided Li Chengyi into the Ancient Realm, taught him how to survive there, and prepared a residence for Qian Yuan cultivators. News of their arrival reached the Exquisite World, where Yi Yunbo suspected Gu Yuanqing was the Illusionary Spirit Sect’s Guest Elder Gu, and a fresh report confirmed that Li Chengyi and Gu Yuanqing had been seen together.

• Li Chengyi told Gu Yuanqing that he had sensed the Ancient Realm, and Gu Yuanqing warned him not to enter too often or risk damaging his divine soul origin.
• Li Chengyi entered the Ancient Realm, where Gu Yuanqing joined him and guided him through Wuyi City to a mountain residence he had prepared for Qian Yuan cultivators.
• Gu Yuanqing taught Li Chengyi Ancient Realm techniques and modified the mountain’s protective formation while Li Chengyi cultivated.
• Rumors spread that Li Chengyi and Gu Yuanqing had entered the Ancient Realm, and an offer of a profound-tier lower-grade dao soul for information about Qian Yuan cultivators drew the attention of low-level cultivators.
• Yi Yunbo concluded that Gu Yuanqing was probably the Illusionary Spirit Sect’s Guest Elder Gu, and a Communication Spirit Talisman reported that Li Chengyi and Gu Yuanqing had been seen in the Ancient Realm.