Chapter Summaries

Qi Daojie was sentenced to serve in the Western Frontier's Death Camp, while his master Qin Wuya prepared to confront intruders approaching North Spring Mountain. As Qin Wuya faced Chu Wusheng and Jiang Hongguang hesitated at the mountain's edge, Jiang sensed that entering the mountain could kill him.

• Qi Daojie told Qin Wuya that the Emperor had ordered him to earn a hundred thousand merits in the Western Frontier's Death Camp, then left in chains after bidding his master farewell.
• Qin Wuya sensed someone approaching, seized his sword, and headed toward the east as martial artists around North Spring Mountain felt his Sword Intent.
• Gu Yuanqing took up the Kunwu Sword and went to the Scenery Pavilion, while two old men from Hongyan Mountain set out toward North Spring Mountain.
• Chu Wusheng intercepted Qin Wuya and challenged him, while Jiang Hongguang stopped at the edge of North Spring Mountain.
• Jiang Hongguang warned that something was wrong with the mountain and that he might die if he entered, saying he had felt nothing like it even when facing Mu Shengxue.

Jiang Hongguang risked his remaining lifespan to climb North Spring Mountain, hoping to glimpse a power beyond Grandmaster, but an unseen Flying Sword killed him in an instant. The watching Grandmasters and Gu Yuanqing were left confronting the mountain’s terrifying mystery.

• At the foot of North Spring Mountain, Jiang Hongguang restored himself to his peak by spending his remaining lifespan and declared that he would climb to see someone beyond Grandmaster.
• The old man in Hemp Robe watched from the waterfall and decided to investigate what was hidden on North Spring Mountain.
• Jiang Hongguang began climbing the cliff, but his footing failed and he started to fall as a streak of Sword Light descended toward him.
• Chu Wusheng rushed toward the cliff, but Qin Wuya intercepted him and the two exchanged a powerful sword strike.
• An unseen Flying Sword pierced Jiang Hongguang’s skull and returned to the mountaintop, killing him before the assembled watchers could identify his attacker.

Gu Yuanqing killed Jiang Hongguang with a single sword strike, shocking the Grandmasters and spectators gathered around North Spring Mountain. Qin Wuya and the others departed, leaving Gu Yuanqing to reflect that the sudden end of the battle had restored peace to his mountain.

• Chu Wusheng caught Jiang Hongguang's corpse and realized that a single strike had killed the Grandmaster.
• Gu Yuanqing recognized how his Mountain Master abilities had empowered his sword and met Qin Wuya's gaze with his own Sword Intent.
• Qin Wuya criticized Chu Wusheng's dulled sword, and Chu Wusheng carried Jiang Hongguang's corpse away after challenging Qin Wuya to remember his words sixty years later.
• Yuan Yingsong learned that the dead Grandmaster was Jiang Hongguang and watched Qin Wuya leave for the royal capital.
• The Martial World spectators realized the battle was over and dispersed, while Gu Yuanqing regretted losing the chance to fight a Grandmaster but welcomed the peace on North Spring Mountain.

Li Haotian learned that Gu Yuanqing had killed Old Man Tianzhu Jiang Hongguang with one sword and confided to Prince Qing how Gu Yuanqing had ended up on North Spring Mountain. As rumors spread and the Heavenly Policy Mansion pursued Void Form, Gu Yuanqing resumed training and began preparing to reforge his foundation before reaching Grandmaster.

• Li Haotian summoned Prince Qing and explained that Gu Yuanqing had been imprisoned on North Spring Mountain after Miaoxuan insisted he be spared, then asked how to handle the situation.
• Prince Qing advised Li Haotian to avoid further action for now and send Gu Yuanqing books, since no imperial edict had formally imprisoned him.
• A storyteller in Linping County embellished the tale of Old Man Tianzhu's death until a squad of bailiffs posted a Heavenly Policy Mansion wanted notice for Void Form.
• The disguised Void Form recognized his own wanted portrait and worried that the Heavenly Policy Mansion was hunting him again.
• After martial artists left North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing resumed cultivation, advanced far into the profound martial ninth layer, and focused on developing a method to reforge his foundation.

Gu Yuanqing studied the Remnant Scripture and numerous cultivation manuals to devise a method for stabilizing the Profound Martial Secret Treasure. After repeated revisions and tests, he finally succeeded in the Spiritual Mountain Trial, though he planned to refine the technique further before practicing it for real.

• Gu Yuanqing reconsidered the Remnant Scripture and began dividing the Heavenly Cycle Great Formation into smaller formations to develop a new cultivation method.
• Eunuch Xu brought books, cultivation manuals, food, wine, and clothes from the emperor, and mentioned that Princess Miaoxuan had left for the Lingxu Sect.
• Gu Yuanqing studied the delivered manuals for over a dozen days, using their insights to refine the Heavenly Dao Heart Zen Art.
• Gu Yuanqing successfully stabilized the Profound Martial Secret Treasure in the Spiritual Mountain Trial but decided to keep testing and improving the technique before using it in reality.

Gu Yuanqing completed and installed the Heavenly Dao Zen Heart Art, stabilizing his foundation and bringing himself closer to the Grandmaster Realm. Meanwhile, a secret report reached the Imperial Palace that Grandmaster Zhou Yin had been attacked and four Heavenly Catchers killed, with the Crimson Dragon Cult suspected.

• Gu Yuanqing walked around North Spring Mountain to restore his spirit and sensed the spiritual vein beneath the mountain.
• Gu Yuanqing spent a month alternating cultivation, recreation, and revisions until he completed his new cultivation method.
• Gu Yuanqing used Mountain Observation and Object Control to reshape his true Qi routes and form a stable new Profound Martial Grand Formation.
• Gu Yuanqing reinforced the Heavenly Dao Zen Heart Art through the night, leaving his true Qi fifty percent more condensed and his foundation complete.
• Eunuch Huang delivered a secret letter to Li Haotian, who learned that Zhou Yin had been attacked at Water Stockade Peak and Ma Weiwei, Jing Shanping, Liu Jiujiang, and Zhong Mengfei had died.

After Divine Constable Zhou Yin vanished, the Great Qian court summoned its remaining Grandmasters, while a powerful visitor from afar learned of Gu Yuanqing and set out to meet him. On North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing continued his relaxed life until the old man came to beg him for guidance on becoming a Grandmaster.

• Li Haotian ended court early and summoned Qin Wuya and Xuanqing after learning Zhou Yin's fate was unknown.
• Si Zhiyu told a burly visitor about Great Qian's experts and the sword that had killed Jiang Hongguang on North Spring Mountain.
• The burly visitor decided to investigate Gu Yuanqing, whose sudden rise from Origin Scholar to a suspected beyond-Grandmaster expert intrigued him.
• Gu Yuanqing explored the lands around North Spring Mountain but stopped leaving after his empowerments weakened beyond its borders.
• The old man knelt before Gu Yuanqing and begged him to teach the path to becoming a Grandmaster, and Gu Yuanqing told him to stand up.

Gu Yuanqing refused to teach Gu Wenqi a method to become a Grandmaster, while the Gu Family discussed Gu Yuanqing’s rise and its own decline. In Hexi Province, a burly man slaughtered a Demon Suppression Division base and ordered the Crimson Dragon Cult to use the corpses to make an Inferior Sacred Demon Pill.

• Gu Wenqi revealed that he was a surviving disciple of the North Spring Sword Sect and asked Gu Yuanqing for a Grandmaster cultivation method, but Gu Yuanqing refused and let him choose whether to stay or leave.
• Gu Yuanqing reflected that Gu Wenqi’s troubles did not obligate him to help and returned to reading.
• Servants in the Gu Family Mansion speculated that Gu Yuanqing belonged to their family, and Peng Bingshan reported that Gu Hongyu had been drinking after hearing news of Yuanqing.
• Prince Gu refused to intervene on Yuanqing’s behalf without the Emperor’s direction and ordered that Gu Yuan Ying receive the same monthly allowance as the legitimate children.
• A burly man killed more than a thousand Demon Suppression Division fighters at a base in Hexi Province, then ordered the Crimson Dragon Cult Leader to prepare an altar and condense an Inferior Sacred Demon Pill from their blood.

Zuo Qiu used a sacrifice to forge a Sacred Demon Pill and learned of other Demon Realm Seals in Great Qian. After the Crimson Dragon Cult massacred Imperial Court forces and headed toward the capital, a Divine Eagle Guard deputy knelt before Gu Yuanqing and begged him to descend from the mountain to save the kingdom.

• Zuo Qiu drove Si Zhiyu aside, carved a new altar formation, and opened the Demon Realm Seal to gather demonic qi.
• Zuo Qiu killed Guan Zhao to complete the sacrifice and collected the finished Sacred Demon Pill.
• Si Zhiyu told Zuo Qiu about other Demon Realm Seals, and Zuo Qiu chose to travel toward South Goose Path before visiting the royal capital.
• The Crimson Dragon Cult massacred Demon Suppression Division forces and South Goose Path troops, prompting Li Haotian to order an investigation and summon Uncle Prince Qing.
• News of the Crimson Dragon Cult's attacks spread across Great Qian as people fled and sects gathered or escaped.
• A Deputy Commander of Divine Eagle Guard knelt at North Spring Mountain Courtyard and begged Gu Yuanqing to come down from the mountain and save Great Qian.

Gu Yuanqing confronted Yuan Yingsong, who tried to pressure him into fighting the Crimson Dragon Cult, and exposed the scheme behind the general’s plea. Gu Yuanqing forced Yuan Yingsong to keep kneeling while he considered whether to reveal who was plotting against him.

• Yuan Yingsong publicly begged Gu Yuanqing to leave North Spring Mountain and defeat the Crimson Dragon Cult, but Gu Yuanqing recognized that someone was trying to force his hand.
• Gu Yuanqing accused Yuan Yingsong of risking his position as Deputy Commander of the Divine Eagle Guard to carry out an outsider’s scheme.
• When Yuan Yingsong tried to leave, Gu Yuanqing used his power to force him back to his knees and warned that he would not hesitate to kill him.
• Gu Yuanqing deduced that the Crimson Dragon Cult was targeting the Demon Realm Seals and that someone had promised to transfer Yuan Yingsong away if he succeeded in pressuring Gu Yuanqing.
• Gu Yuanqing revealed that he had overheard Yuan Yingsong’s earlier meeting, then demanded the identity of the person scheming against him.
• Yuan Yingsong refused to answer, so Gu Yuanqing left him kneeling outside the courtyard and went back to reading.

Gu Yuanqing continued transforming his Profound Martial Secret Treasure while Yuan Yingsong and his guards came to retrieve the general. After Gu Yuanqing suppressed the soldiers and rebuked them for demanding his help, they left the mountain, and a goshawk carried a message to Divine Eagle Guard Headquarters.

• Gu Yuanqing drew North Spring Mountain's Earth Sha into his Profound Martial Secret Treasure, which continued transforming as his true qi recovered.
• Zhang Zhuo led the guards up North Spring Mountain and found Yuan Yingsong kneeling outside Gu Yuanqing's courtyard.
• When Zhang Zhuo tried to help Yuan Yingsong, Gu Yuanqing's pressure suppressed the guards' true qi and left several of them unable to move.
• Zhang Zhuo accused Gu Yuanqing of humiliating Yuan Yingsong and failing to help Great Qian, so Gu Yuanqing struck him aside and demanded respect.
• Gu Yuanqing ordered Yuan Yingsong to keep kneeling until he had something to say, and Yuan Yingsong sent Zhang Zhuo and the guards back down the mountain.
• A goshawk flew to Divine Eagle Guard Headquarters an hour after Zhang Zhuo and the others descended.

After the Divine Eagle Guard reported Yuan Yingsong’s actions, Li Haotian ordered Xu Lianying to investigate whether someone had interfered with the Imperial Guard Armies. On North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing faced a grandmaster in the Spiritual Mountain Trial and began trying to understand the gap between their powers.

• Zhang Ji was enraged by Gu Yuanqing’s treatment of the Divine Eagle Guard, but his adviser urged him to report the matter to Li Haotian instead of confronting Gu Yuanqing.
• Li Haotian suspected that Yuan Yingsong had been manipulated and ordered Xu Lianying to bring him back from North Spring Mountain and investigate.
• Xu Lianying reported that the Crimson Dragon Cult was advancing slowly under the command of Si Zhiyu and the foreign expert Zuo Qiu.
• Gu Yuanqing questioned Yuan Yingsong about who wanted to cause trouble for him, but Yuan Yingsong refused to answer, so Gu Yuanqing returned to cultivation.
• In the Spiritual Mountain Trial, Gu Yuanqing discovered that Xu Lianying had reached the Dao Embryo Realm and was killed almost instantly by his fly-whisk.
• Gu Yuanqing concluded that Xu Lianying’s eyes and the grandmaster’s mind-and-will techniques might explain the gap, and decided to enter the trial again.

Gu Yuanqing repeatedly challenged Xu Lianying in the Trial Space and learned that a Grandmaster’s advantage lay in the union of Mental Power and will. Back on North Spring Mountain, he continued gathering heavenly gang qi, held Yuan Yingsong and the soldiers under pressure, and noticed Xu Lianying arriving at the foot of the Front Mountain.

• Gu Yuanqing repeatedly fought Xu Lianying in the Trial Space, discovering that a Grandmaster’s gaze could imprint his will on his mind and leave him unable to fight.
• Gu Yuanqing concluded that his Mental Power was strong but scattered, while a Grandmaster’s will was concentrated, and he realized Dao Embryo Transformation involved transforming the mind.
• Gu Yuanqing slowed his pursuit of Grandmasterhood as the Profound Martial Secret Treasure neared Transformation, then returned from gathering heavenly gang qi to find Yuan Yingsong still kneeling.
• Zhang Zhuo and the soldiers asked Gu Yuanqing to spare Yuan Yingsong for the sake of guarding the Demon Realm Seal, but Gu Yuanqing made them kneel under crushing pressure as well.
• Gu Yuanqing read and wrote on the rear mountain using Object Control, then sensed Xu Lianying entering North Spring Mountain.

Gu Yuanqing hosted Xu Lianying, agreed to let him take Yuan Yingsong back to Capital City, and learned that the Imperial Court would not tolerate the Crimson Dragon Cult’s advance. Meanwhile, the cult’s forces continued toward Capital City after destroying an army, and Zuo Qiu struggled to control his Ghost Head Saber.

• Gu Yuanqing recognized Xu Lianying as a Grandmaster and welcomed him to North Spring Mountain with a shipment of supplies.
• Xu Lianying asked to take Yuan Yingsong away, and Gu Yuanqing agreed while warning that he disliked being coerced.
• Xu Lianying assured Gu Yuanqing that Imperial Guard soldiers would no longer climb the mountain without permission and said the Great Qian Dynasty could defend itself against the Crimson Dragon Cult.
• Gu Yuanqing released Yuan Yingsong and his subordinates from the pressure that had kept them kneeling, and Xu Lianying ordered Yuan Yingsong to accompany him to Capital City to meet the emperor.
• Several hundred Crimson Dragon Cult followers rode toward Capital City after Tong Tianxiong’s fifty-thousand-man army was slaughtered at Tunxi Slope.
• Zuo Qiu said the Ghost Head Saber had nearly turned on him after he killed too many people.

Zuo Qiu led the Crimson Dragon Cult toward North Spring Mountain and the royal capital, while Emperor Li Haotian’s court organized defenses against his advance. The chapter ended with Li Haotian sending word to Gu Yuanqing about the danger and leaving his response to him.

• Zuo Qiu inspected the Ghost Soul Blade, learned the group was nearing the capital, and ordered the carriages to hurry toward North Spring Mountain first.
• Emperor Li Haotian’s court learned the Crimson Dragon Cult was expected to reach the capital the next day and discussed how to defend against it.
• Lai Tianfeng warned that the cult could infiltrate the formation at Dayu Mountain, so Li Haotian sent True Master Xuanqing and Qin Wuya there.
• Li Haotian ordered Chen Ao to take the Dragon Steed Army, Huben Guard, and Qian Dragon Heavenly Saber to defend Fengtian City’s north gate.
• Prince Qing told Li Haotian that the Imperial Ancestor had agreed to investigate North Spring Mountain, though even he could not be certain of defeating Zuo Qiu.
• Li Haotian asked Xu Lianying to inform Gu Yuanqing about the Crimson Dragon Cult and leave it to Gu Yuanqing to decide whether to stay or fight.

Gu Yuanqing prepared to defend North Spring Mountain as the Crimson Dragon Cult approached, while the Great Qian court worried about the threat and the consequences of revealing its Imperial Ancestor. A gray-haired Cult expert arrived at the mountain’s foot and sensed that both it and the power within were unusual.

• Zhang Zhuo vowed that the Imperial Guard would defend the Demon Realm Seal, and Gu Yuanqing told him to retreat into North Spring Mountain if necessary.
• Gu Yuanqing used Mountain Observation to sense the mountain’s changes and practiced a Sword Formation with the Kunwu Sword, blue needles, and emerald bamboo.
• Li Haotian awaited reports in the capital as fear spread, while Prince Gu dismissed his family’s pleas to flee and learned the Crimson Dragon Cult was heading for North Spring Mountain.
• Li Haotian and Prince Qing discussed the Imperial Ancestor’s arrival and Gu Yuanqing’s possible help, while Li Haotian worried about the political and succession implications of drawing close to him.
• A gray-haired old man in blue reached the foot of North Spring Mountain and remarked on the mountain’s strange nature and the expert living beyond the imperial house.

The Blue Robe old man arrived at North Spring Mountain with the Emperor’s authority and ordered the Divine Eagle Guard to withdraw before the Crimson Dragon Cult arrived. Gu Yuanqing watched from the mountain as the cult’s riders approached, led by a formidable, brazen man.

• Liu Guanliang executed two deserters, then received the Blue Robe old man’s Golden Dragon Token and agreed to withdraw the Divine Eagle Guard.
• At a roadside teahouse, Zuo Qiu killed the owner after discovering his poisoning attempt, and Si Zhiyu identified him as a disciple of Myriad Poison Valley.
• The Blue Robe old man noticed Gu Yuanqing on North Spring Mountain and called to him, but the two exchanged only a brief greeting before waiting in silence.
• Gu Yuanqing accepted fruit from the Monkey King and remained on the mountain as the Crimson Dragon Cult’s riders approached.
• Gu Yuanqing spotted a burly man standing atop the carriage at the head of the approaching group.

Zuo Qiu, a Visitor from Beyond, fought Li Shi'an, a Fire Dao Realm expert, while Gu Yuanqing watched and learned that their world was a Trial Ground. As Zuo Qiu gained the advantage, Si Zhiyu rushed toward North Spring Mountain to capture Gu Yuanqing, unaware of the danger approaching.

• Zuo Qiu identified Li Shi'an as his opponent and revealed that he came from beyond the Trial Ground.
• Li Shi'an confirmed that Zuo Qiu was a Visitor from Beyond and drew his flexible sword to fight him.
• Zuo Qiu and Li Shi'an exchanged powerful attacks, with Li Shi'an forced to defend against Zuo Qiu's blood-red Dao Coin strikes.
• Gu Yuanqing watched the battle and realized that Fire Dao Realm lay beyond grandmaster, while the world held secrets he did not know.
• Si Zhiyu left his subordinates behind and hurried toward North Spring Mountain to capture Gu Yuanqing while Zuo Qiu fought.

Gu Yuanqing killed Crimson Dragon Cult Leader Si Zhiyu, while Li Shi'an struggled against Zuo Qiu and his Spiritual Treasure saber. Gu Yuanqing called Li Shi'an into North Spring Mountain for help, and Li Shi'an fled there as Zuo Qiu's Blood Tiger pursued him.

• Si Zhiyu suppressed Gu Yuanqing with his Grandmaster aura, but Gu Yuanqing severed his connection to heaven and earth and killed him with the Kunwu Sword.
• The Crimson Dragon Cult members panicked and fled after their leader's death, while Zuo Qiu drove Li Shi'an back.
• Zuo Qiu revealed that his saber was a Spiritual Treasure and transformed it into a Blood Tiger that broke Li Shi'an's sword and wounded his arm.
• Gu Yuanqing judged that he needed Li Shi'an's help to defeat Zuo Qiu and called for him to enter North Spring Mountain.
• Li Shi'an unleashed the Dragon Slaying Technique again and retreated toward North Spring Mountain as the Blood Tiger pursued him.

Li Shi'an was driven into North Spring Mountain by Zuo Qiu, where Gu Yuanqing used the mountain’s power to suppress Zuo Qiu’s Blood Tiger Yao Blade. Zuo Qiu refused to enter the mountain, and Gu Yuanqing asked Li Shi'an how they could stop him from outside its bounds.

• Zuo Qiu battered Li Shi'an with the Blood Tiger Yao Blade as Li Shi'an struggled to reach North Spring Mountain and burned Dao Embryo Essence Blood to survive.
• When the Blood Tiger entered North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing used the mountain’s power to suppress it and draw the Blood Tiger Yao Blade to himself.
• Zuo Qiu stopped just short of entering the mountain, sensing danger, and accused Gu Yuanqing of relying on a Formation.
• Gu Yuanqing claimed the blade and joked that it was ideal for chopping firewood, while Zuo Qiu studied the mountain’s Formation for a way through.
• Li Shi'an thanked Gu Yuanqing for saving him, explained that Zuo Qiu’s warning premonitions had exposed the Formation, and was asked how they could defeat Zuo Qiu outside the mountain.