Chapter Summaries

Gu Yuanqing established the Nine Twists Mountain Range as the Great Qian Dynasty’s base in the Ancient Realm and prepared Li Chengyi to fish for Dao Souls. They arrived at Dongyuan City to travel to the Boundless River, where a Sanyang Sect elder’s arrival drew wary attention.

• Gu Yuanqing named the newly arranged Nine Twists Soul Stirring Great Formation the Nine Twists Mountain Range and gave Li Chengyi the formation’s control token.
• Li Chengyi refined the formation’s core, and Gu Yuanqing took him to Dongyuan City before dawn using a Spatial Art.
• At the Teleportation Array, Xue Pingyan recognized Li Chengyi and then cautiously paid his respects to Gu Yuanqing.
• Gu Yuanqing explained that the newly arrived man was likely an elder of the Sanyang Sect, a first-tribulation heavenly change cultivator.

Gu Yuanqing taught Li Chengyi to fish for Dao Souls in the Ancient Realm and challenged him to examine why his cultivation had stalled. As Li Chengyi began questioning his Dao heart, cultivators from the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower arrived and confronted Gu Yuanqing.

• Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi entered the Ancient Realm, where Gu Yuanqing explained that the Boundless River might have been created by a powerful cultivator and warned Li Chengyi not to lose his true heart.
• Gu Yuanqing took Li Chengyi to a gentle stretch of the Boundless River and taught him how to fish for Dao Souls, then caught a Yellow-Tier Path of Thunder Dao Soul for him.
• After Li Chengyi struggled to catch a Dao Soul, Gu Yuanqing questioned why he cultivated and pointed out that his progress had slowed since the World Conflict.
• Li Chengyi reflected on his motives and cultivation while Gu Yuanqing shielded him from interruption, but a group of Heavenly Humans from the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower turned back and called out to Gu Yuanqing.

Gu Yuanqing killed four Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower cultivators who confronted him in the Ancient Realm while Li Chengyi focused on questioning his heart. The tower learned that Gu Yuanqing could threaten its forces even beyond the Qian Yuan Realm, and its wariness turned to fear.

• Xie Yingying, Chu Qianrui, and two hall masters challenged Gu Yuanqing beside the Boundless River and accused the Qian Yuan Realm of colluding with the Shadow Cult.
• Gu Yuanqing used four blasts of Formless Calamity Finger to kill their split souls and gathered their belongings while Li Chengyi remained unaware.
• News of the clash reached the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower, where Su Yuheng learned that four cultivators had been severely injured.
• Chu Qianrui told Su Yuheng that his split soul had been completely slain and that he might be unable to wield three-tribulation power for thirty years.
• The Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower realized that Gu Yuanqing could threaten it in the Ancient Realm, not just within the Qian Yuan Realm.

Su Yuheng ordered the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower to investigate Gu Yuanqing and suspend action against the Qian Yuan Realm, while Gu Yuanqing guided Li Chengyi in the Ancient Realm. Later, Gu Yuanqing told the Great Qian Dynasty to reject the Sanyang Sect’s request unless its heavenly humans paid divine soul great medicine to enter, leaving Li Guanrong to deliver the refusal despite warnings about the sect’s power.

• Su Yuheng suspected Gu Yuanqing might be a yin-yang great cultivator and ordered Qiao Tinglan to investigate him while suspending operations against the Qian Yuan Realm.
• Gu Yuanqing guided Li Chengyi as he refined a dao soul and practiced fishing in the Boundless River, and Li Chengyi gradually learned to catch dao souls on his own.
• Li Guanrong continued governing Great Qian while Li Chengyi remained away, and Su Xuexin spent time in the mortal world and grew closer to Chen Binglan.
• After receiving the Sanyang Sect’s request for its heavenly humans to enter the Qian Yuan Realm, Li Guanrong consulted Li Shi'an and Li Haotian, then asked Gu Yuanqing for a decision.
• Gu Yuanqing ordered Li Guanrong to reject the request unless each heavenly human offered an earth-tier divine soul great medicine for a year’s stay, and Li Guanrong relayed the refusal to Liao Xu despite his warning about the Sanyang Sect.

Li Guanrong told Liao Xu that the Great Qian Dynasty would let Heavenly Humans enter the Qian Yuan Realm to observe its development if they paid an annual fee of divine soul great medicines. The message reached the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild and was sent onward to the Sanyang Sect, while Li Chengyi subdued a second Profound Tier Dao Soul and prepared to leave the Ancient Realm with Gu Yuanqing.

• Li Guanrong told Liao Xu that Gu Yuanqing had changed the rules to allow Heavenly Humans into the Qian Yuan Realm in exchange for divine soul great medicines.
• Liao Xu arranged for the Great Qian Dynasty's Jade Slip to be delivered to the guild, and Fourth Shopkeeper Qiu Han decided to take it to the Sanyang Sect.
• Qiu Han rewarded Liao Xu with a lower-grade Profound Tier Dao Soul and reminded him to maintain good relations with the Great Qian Dynasty.
• Li Chengyi subdued a second lower-grade Profound Tier Dao Soul after battling it with his Void Heaven Domain.
• Gu Yuanqing told Li Chengyi to refine the Dao Soul before they traveled elsewhere and then returned to Nine Bends Mountain to leave the Ancient Realm.

Gu Yuanqing brought Li Chengyi to the Illusionary Spirit Sect’s residence, where Lu Zeyu welcomed them and gave Li Chengyi a gift and the sect’s honored-guest Token. After reuniting with old acquaintances and preparing Li Chengyi for the Great Qian Dynasty’s future in the Exquisite World, Gu Yuanqing left with him, while Xue Pingyan’s suspicious behavior drew Li Chengyi’s suspicion and Saber Demon Lü Chen watched them from hiding.

• Li Chengyi refined the profound-tier dao soul, then traveled with Gu Yuanqing to the Illusionary Spirit Sect’s courtyard by the Boundless River.
• Lu Zeyu welcomed Gu Yuanqing as a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator, gave Li Chengyi a Storage Bag and honored-guest Token, and discussed Gu Yuanqing’s origins and the Qian Yuan Realm.
• Yi Yunbo and Qiu Ziqing visited, offered help to the Great Qian Dynasty’s cultivators, and shared their knowledge with Li Chengyi over a feast.
• The next morning, Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi encountered Xue Pingyan, whose hurried escape led Li Chengyi to suspect he had informed the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower.
• Gu Yuanqing flew with Li Chengyi toward the Nine Bends Mountain residence, evading Saber Demon Lü Chen, while Liu Ruiyuan arrived at the Boundless River with the Sanyang Sect.

Liu Ruiyuan’s Sanyang Sect party failed to find Gu Yuanqing, while Li Chengyi returned from the Ancient Realm and learned the Sanyang Sect wanted Heavenly Humans to enter the Qian Yuan Realm. Baili Jinghong sent Cen Pingshan to observe the realm’s Great Dao, accepting its payment demands while promising the Sanyang Sect would someday take back far more.

• Liu Ruiyuan and his companions traced Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi to the Boundless River, but they missed their chance to follow them through the Teleportation Array.
• Zhang Quan tried to track Gu Yuanqing, but Saber Demon Lü Chen attacked him and drove him away; Liu Ruiyuan then ordered the Sanyang Sect to watch the array instead.
• Li Chengyi woke after recovering from refining Dao Souls, discussed ways to guard against their effects with Gu Yuanqing, and returned to the Imperial Palace.
• Li Guanrong told Li Chengyi that the Sanyang Sect wanted to negotiate for Heavenly Humans to enter the Qian Yuan Realm, and Li Chengyi told him to carry out his grandfather’s decision.
• Baili Jinghong ordered Cen Pingshan to travel to the Qian Yuan Realm with Liu Ruiyuan, accepted its annual payment terms, and said the Sanyang Sect would repay the realm’s demands a hundredfold someday.

The Sanyang Sect’s Cen Pingshan and Liu Ruiyuan entered the Qian Yuan Realm to comprehend the Dao, but their attempt to intimidate the Great Qian Dynasty was stopped by Gu Yuanqing. News of the costly arrangement spread, drawing attention to the realm, while Li Chengyi resolved to become a Heavenly Human within fifty years.

• Li Guanrong delivered two stalks of Divine Soul Great Medicine to the Imperial Palace, and Li Chengyi brought them to North Spring Grotto-Heaven for Gu Yuanqing to seal.
• Cen Pingshan and Liu Ruiyuan entered the Qian Yuan Realm and unleashed their Heavenly Human auras before Li Shi'an and the Heavenly Policy Mansion’s soldiers.
• Cen Pingshan pressured Li Shi'an, but Gu Yuanqing intervened, warned the Sanyang Sect cultivators to follow the realm’s rules, and let Liu Ruiyuan take Cen Pingshan to the realm’s edge.
• Li Shi'an lamented his weakness, while Li Chengyi resolved to reach the Heavenly Human realm within fifty years.
• The Great Qian Dynasty publicized the Sanyang Sect’s paid entry, and Lu Zeyu of the Illusionary Spirit Sect wondered how Baili Jinghong would react if he learned Gu Yuanqing’s identity.

Gu Yuanqing hosted Illusionary Spirit Sect cultivators who came to contemplate the Dao and learned that Liu Ruiyuan was secretly searching for a supreme yang blazing crystal in the Qian Yuan Realm. When Liu Ruiyuan finally found the treasure, Gu Yuanqing took it and confronted him for breaking the terms of entry.

• Gu Yuanqing helped Li Chengyi consolidate his cultivation, then sent him to the Boundless River with Li Shi'an and gave them protective jade tokens.
• Yi Yunbo and Qiu Ziqing visited North Spring Grotto-Heaven, where Gu Yuanqing welcomed them and they discussed Liu Ruiyuan's search for a supreme yang blazing crystal.
• The Sanyang Sect renewed its stay in the Qian Yuan Realm by sending another divine soul great medicine, while Gu Yuanqing refused to meet its elder in the Ancient Realm.
• Liu Ruiyuan found a supreme yang blazing crystal deep in the magma, but Gu Yuanqing made it vanish before Liu Ruiyuan could claim it.
• Liu Ruiyuan accused Gu Yuanqing of taking the crystal, and Gu Yuanqing admitted it and rebuked him for hunting treasure instead of merely contemplating the Dao.

Gu Yuanqing seized the Sanyang Sect’s supreme yang blazing crystal and refused to return it, prompting the sect to negotiate for its purchase. He traveled to the PurpleYou Realm to meet its representatives, while both sides suspected the other had a plan; Gu Yuanqing hoped the Sanyang Sect would give him an excuse to strike.

• Gu Yuanqing kept the supreme yang blazing crystal from Liu Ruiyuan, who swallowed his anger and returned to the Ancient Realm to report the incident to the Sanyang Sect.
• Baili Jinghong and the Sanyang Sect elders debated attacking the Qian Yuan Realm, but Baili Jinghong chose to investigate Gu Yuanqing’s strength before deciding.
• The Sanyang Sect offered to buy the crystal, and Gu Yuanqing demanded ten Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicines; the sect instead invited him to negotiate in the PurpleYou Realm.
• Gu Yuanqing dismissed Li Guanrong’s concerns and traveled to the PurpleYou Realm with Gu Siyuan, Qin Wuya, Void Form, other cultivators, and Liao Xu.
• Feng Yunting welcomed Gu Yuanqing and led him toward Skycloud Mountain, where Zhu Qingyu and other Sanyang Sect Heavenly Humans prepared to test whether he had arrived in his original body or as a split-soul puppet.
• From the North Spring Grotto-Heaven, Gu Yuanqing considered the risk of a Sanyang Sect ambush and hoped it would give him grounds to seize more divine soul great medicines.

Gu Yuanqing used the Wuchen Sect’s arrival to force the Sanyang Sect to raise its offer for the supreme yang blazing crystal to five stalks of Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicine. The Sanyang Sect prepared to test whether Gu Yuanqing was present in his true body, while Gu Yuanqing warned Gu Siyuan not to worry too much about a possible attack.

• Gu Yuanqing met Zhu Qingyu of the Sanyang Sect and refused to exchange the supreme yang blazing crystal for anything except Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicine.
• Zhu Qingyu pressured Gu Yuanqing, but Gu Yuanqing easily dispelled his divine soul attack and threatened to sell the crystal to the Wuchen Sect.
• Jiang Wuwei arrived with Wuchen Sect cultivators and bid against the Sanyang Sect, driving Zhu Qingyu’s offer up to five stalks of Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicine.
• Zhu Qingyu agreed to trade the next morning, then complained with other Sanyang Sect heavenly humans that Gu Yuanqing had used the Wuchen Sect to raise the price.
• Zhu Qingyu ordered Zhao Yu to have Liu test whether Gu Yuanqing’s true body remained in the Qian Yuan Realm.
• Gu Siyuan worried that the Sanyang Sect might attack after the trade, but Gu Yuanqing said they could not threaten him.

Zhu Qingyu realized Gu Yuanqing was the Illusionary Spirit Sect’s Gu Divine Fisher, a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator, and rushed to warn the Sanyang Sect that Liu Ruiyuan was in danger. He begged Gu Yuanqing to spare Liu after revealing that Liu had gone to test whether Gu Yuanqing’s true body was in the Qian Yuan Realm, but Gu Yuanqing challenged the request.

• Gu Yuanqing considered how the Sanyang Sect might recognize him, while Zhu Qingyu traced his uneasy feeling and identified Gu Yuanqing as the former Divine Fisher guest elder.
• Zhu Qingyu hurried to the Sanyang Sect’s residence and warned Baili Jinghong that Liu Ruiyuan might be confronting a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator.
• Baili Jinghong sent Zhu Qingyu to plead for Liu’s life, and Zhu Qingyu rushed to Gu Yuanqing’s courtyard in the Purple You Realm.
• Gu Yuanqing received Zhu Qingyu privately after he asked to speak, while Gu Siyuan and Qin Wuya waited outside.
• Zhu Qingyu admitted that Liu Ruiyuan had been sent to test Gu Yuanqing’s true body and begged him to spare Liu.
• Gu Yuanqing asked whether Zhu Qingyu expected mercy after Liu had attacked him.

Zhu Qingyu negotiated with Gu Yuanqing to spare Liu Ruiyuan and Cen Pingshan, agreeing to pay five Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicines. In North Spring Grotto-Heaven, Gu Yuanqing stopped Liu Ruiyuan’s attempt to summon a Nether Prison Envoy, nearly killed him, and spared him after the agreement; Liu Ruiyuan realized Gu Yuanqing was a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator.

• Zhu Qingyu offered three ninth-rank spirit veins, but Gu Yuanqing demanded five Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicines in exchange for sparing Liu Ruiyuan and Cen Pingshan.
• Zhu Qingyu agreed to provide five medicines, including some from the Ancient Realm, and Gu Yuanqing confirmed the deal after contacting his true body.
• Liu Ruiyuan performed a sacrifice to summon a Nether Prison Envoy and spy on North Spring Mountain, but Gu Yuanqing cut off the connection to North Spring Grotto-Heaven.
• Gu Yuanqing struck Liu Ruiyuan through space, shattering his formation and Bronze Great Cauldron and severely injuring him before stopping the attack.
• Gu Yuanqing warned Liu Ruiyuan not to cause trouble again and withdrew his palm, leaving Liu Ruiyuan to escape the magma and recover.
• Liu Ruiyuan realized Gu Yuanqing was a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator and suspected the Sanyang Sect had paid a steep price to save him.

Gu Yuanqing completed a deal with the Sanyang Sect in the Purple You Realm and warned the Purple Extreme Pavilion about the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower. Two days after the pavilion punished Xue Pingyan, the tower launched an ambush against Gu Yuanqing, who discovered that several attackers and the accompanying elder were part of the plot.

• Gu Yuanqing exchanged the supreme yang blazing crystal for six Heaven Tier divine soul great medicines from Zhu Qingyu and arranged for the other four to be delivered in ten days.
• Gu Yuanqing toured the Purple You Realm with Xiahou Chen, warned the Purple Extreme Pavilion not to get involved in his grudge with the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower, and prompted an investigation into Xue Pingyan.
• Xue Pingyan begged Gu Yuanqing's forgiveness, cut off an arm and part of his divine soul, and was stripped of his elder position and imprisoned for a hundred years by Feng Yunting.
• Seven Void Heaven Cultivators ambushed Gu Yuanqing at Dreamlike Purple Valley, but he killed six and gravely wounded the surviving Heavenly Human.
• The surviving attacker opened his cultivation seal, and two more cultivators appeared; Gu Yuanqing identified the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower's involvement and exposed the Purple Extreme Pavilion elder as a disguised conspirator.
• Su Yuheng confirmed that the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower had chosen to kill Gu Yuanqing, even if the target was only his avatar.

Su Yuheng and the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower tried to trap and kill Gu Yuanqing by forcing him to reveal his Heavenly Human cultivation and face heavenly punishment. Gu Yuanqing escaped their formation, but a great hand carried him and the Qian Yuan Realm group away to the North Spring Grotto-Heaven, leaving their enemies to die beneath the punishment.

• Su Yuheng ordered Han Haoyang and another Great Cultivator of the Two Tribulations of Heavenly Change to attack Gu Yuanqing with a killing formation as heavenly punishment gathered.
• Gu Yuanqing slipped out of the formation, suppressed Gu Siyuan and Qin Wuya, and declared that the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower's world force could not defeat him.
• After heavenly punishment struck, Gu Yuanqing used the Formless Calamity Finger to kill Su Yuheng and grievously injure the other attackers.
• A great hand broke through the Purple You Realm's space and carried Gu Yuanqing, Gu Siyuan, Qin Wuya, and the others away before the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower could finish its assault.
• Xiahou Chen and Feng Yunting found the devastated battlefield, while the survivors from the Qian Yuan Realm realized they had returned to the North Spring Grotto-Heaven.

After Gu Yuanqing returned from the Purple You Realm, Li Guanrong learned of the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower’s ambush and was given a jade token bearing Gu Yuanqing’s soul imprint to deliver to the Ling Shu Realm. The Tower believed it had destroyed Gu Yuanqing’s split soul, but other factions recognized the attack as a grave mistake, leaving the Tower’s next move uncertain.

• Gu Siyuan told Li Guanrong how the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower ambushed Gu Yuanqing and how they returned safely to North Spring Mountain.
• Li Guanrong confronted Gu Yuanqing, learned he intended to retaliate, and received a jade token containing a wisp of Gu Yuanqing’s soul imprint to send into the Ling Shu Realm.
• Li Guanrong inferred that Gu Yuanqing might have reached the Yin-Yang Realm and summoned Liao Xu of the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild.
• Tower Master Su Yuheng rewarded the families of the fallen Han and Chang cultivators, arranged a Spirit Body for Qiao Yufei, and ordered investigations into Gu Yuanqing and the Qian Yuan Realm.
• News of the deaths in the Purple You Realm reached the Sanyang Sect, Wuchen Sect, Illusionary Spirit Sect, and Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild, whose leaders reacted differently to the attack.
• Zhu Qingyu of the Sanyang Sect mocked the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower for attacking Gu Yuanqing when even the Sanyang Sect had not dared.

Li Guanrong demanded that the Purple Extreme Pavilion break with the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower, while Feng Yunting ordered an investigation into the pavilion’s ties to outside factions. In North Spring Grotto-Heaven, Gu Yuanqing used Dao Derivation to create the Golden Palace Qi Huang Dan Jing and emerged when the Sanyang Sect’s delivery was due.

• Xiahou Chen visited Li Guanrong to apologize for the Purple Extreme Pavilion’s role in the incident, and Li demanded that the pavilion remove every Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower shop from the Purple You Realm.
• Li Guanrong accused the pavilion of concealing a connection to the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower and dismissed Xiahou Chen after demanding an explanation.
• Xiahou Chen reported Li Guanrong’s demands to the pavilion, where the elders opposed confronting the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower.
• Feng Yunting ordered the Purple Extreme Pavilion to investigate its members and warned that anyone endangering the realm would be executed.
• Gu Yuanqing used Dao Derivation to create the Golden Palace Qi Huang Dan Jing for refining pills from his divine soul great medicine.
• Gu Yuanqing emerged from his immersion when the Sanyang Sect’s delivery of four Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicine stalks was due.

Gu Yuanqing visited Dongyuan City, collected payment from the Sanyang Sect, and checked on Li Chengyi and Li Shi'an before leaving the Ancient Realm. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild considered a request to send a jade pendant into the Ling Shu Realm, and its Head Shopkeeper hinted that Gu Yuanqing’s surname might conceal an important connection.

• Gu Yuanqing met Zhao Qianyu in Dongyuan City, declined an invitation to the City Lord's Mansion, and kept his own Consecration Token instead of accepting another.
• Zhu Qingyu delivered four stalks of Heaven-Tier Divine Soul Great Medicine, and Gu Yuanqing reaffirmed his agreement to spare two Sanyang Sect cultivators who followed Qian Yuan Realm's rules.
• Gu Yuanqing visited Li Chengyi and Li Shi'an beside the Boundless River, gave them guidance, and later sealed the four stalks of medicine on Nine Bends Mountain before leaving the Ancient Realm.
• Qiu Han, Lou Baiyu, and Dou Yi discussed the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild's request to send a jade pendant into the Ling Shu Realm on behalf of the Qian Yuan Realm.
• The Head Shopkeeper questioned why Gu Yuanqing defied the Sanyang Sect and pointed out that Gu Yuanqing shared the surname Gu.

The Heavenly Treasure Merchant Guild concluded that Gu Yuanqing was a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator and chose to accept his friendship. Gu Yuanqing cultivated a powerful soul fire, sent an avatar into the Ling Shu Realm, and approached Su Yuheng, who activated the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower Residence’s defenses.

• The Head Shopkeeper and Qiu Han recognized Gu Yuanqing as a Yin-Yang Great Cultivator and decided to accept his friendship.
• Gu Yuanqing studied the Golden Palace Qi Huang Dan Jing and advanced his divine soul fire through several transformations.
• Gu Yuanqing formed an avatar, sealed its cultivation to the peak of three tribulations of heavenly change, and sent it into the Ling Shu Realm with Heavenly Fishing Empowerment and Stars Shift.
• The avatar restored its Yin-Yang Realm cultivation, used Divine Intent Spirit Analysis Art on a Void Heaven Cultivator, and flew toward the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower Residence.
• Su Yuheng sensed danger, recognized Gu Yuanqing, and activated the residence’s mountain protection formation as Gu Yuanqing approached.

Gu Yuanqing attacked the Ten Directions Misty Rain Tower with the Lie Shan Seal and destroyed its mountain stronghold despite its protection formation. As heavenly punishment pursued him, his true body pulled him back to North Spring Grotto-Heaven, where the punishment vanished.

• Su Yuheng activated the mountain protection formation after sensing a calamity, and he, Chu Qianrui, Xie Yingying, and Su Yuntao learned that Gu Yuanqing was approaching alone.
• Gu Yuanqing used the Lie Shan Seal to break Chu Qianrui's lightning attack and shatter Su Yuheng's tribulation technique.
• Su Yuheng rallied the tower's cultivators and called on the other Realm Token holders, but the Lie Shan Seal smashed through the protection formation and flattened the mountain, killing everyone at the stronghold.
• Gu Yuanqing took the Realm Token but found he could not claim it, then returned it underground as heavenly punishment struck the Lie Shan Seal.
• Gu Yuanqing's true body in North Spring Grotto-Heaven used Heavenly Fishing Empowerment to pull him through space, and the pursuing heavenly punishment disappeared upon entering the grotto-heaven.