Chapter Summaries

Gu Yuanqing defeated Lan Tinglie and bound him with the Hun Tian Rope, but spared him after learning he protected hundreds of thousands of humans. Lan Tinglie began explaining the Dragon Demon Region, while Gu Yuanqing’s effortless opening of his Storage Bag made him suspect Gu Yuanqing was a Heavenly Human Realm Great Cultivator.

• Lan Tinglie merged his Divine Soul with his body and used secret arts to resist Gu Yuanqing’s Hun Tian Rope and Palm Seal, but Gu Yuanqing struck him down and captured him.
• Lan Tinglie asked Gu Yuanqing to protect the 368,000 humans living near his cave Residence, but Gu Yuanqing refused to take on that duty.
• Gu Yuanqing offered to let Lan Tinglie go if he first explained the realm and its powers, experts, and forbidden places.
• Lan Tinglie said his Storage Bag held a map of the regional powers, and Gu Yuanqing used Object Control to retrieve it.
• Lan Tinglie realized Gu Yuanqing had opened his Storage Bag despite its Divine Soul imprint and suspected he was a Heavenly Human Realm Great Cultivator.

Gu Yuanqing learned about the Demon Realm’s four great powers from Lan Tinglie, then questioned Ji Qingyun about the realm and the Lingxu Sect’s ability to reach it. Meanwhile, Lingxu Sect Sect Master summoned Qi Minze to bring Ji Qingyun’s soul lamp to his seclusion chamber.

• Lan Tinglie explained the Dragon Demon Realm’s four great powers and the cultivator realms to Gu Yuanqing.
• Gu Yuanqing borrowed Lan Tinglie’s cultivation manuals and released him beyond North Spring Mountain, where Lan Tinglie regained his magical power and flew away.
• Gu Yuanqing brought Ji Qingyun out of the Heaven and Earth Pool and learned that Ji Qingyun knew little about the Demon Realm.
• Ji Qingyun told Gu Yuanqing that a Heavenly Human cultivator’s split soul might be able to descend into the Demon Realm.
• At the Lingxu Sect, Sect Master asked Qi Minze to bring Ji Qingyun’s soul lamp to his seclusion chamber.

Zhang Xuanlin failed to locate Ji Qingyun’s aura and decided to send a soul fragment into the Floating World, while Gu Yuanqing let Ji Qingyun explore North Spring Mountain and continued studying the mountain’s strange connection to both worlds. As the mountain attracted cultivators and Gu Yuanqing’s grasp of spatial techniques deepened, a panda arrived on a cloud demanding rent.

• Zhang Xuanlin used Ji Qingyun’s soul lamp but could not detect his aura, so he resolved to send a soul fragment into the Floating World despite Qi Minze’s warning.
• Gu Yuanqing allowed Ji Qingyun one day to explore North Spring Mountain, then returned him to the Heaven and Earth Pool and offered another day in exchange for useful information.
• Gu Yuanqing studied Lan Tinglie’s Demon Realm manuals, observed North Spring Mountain’s growth, and practiced the Heavenly Angling Technique as the mountain’s spatial nature became clearer to him.
• Cultivators gathered outside North Spring Mountain to benefit from its dense spiritual qi, while Ji Dai and Li Shi'an discussed how the Imperial Court might regulate access.
• A black-and-white panda appeared on a cloud, struck a gong, and announced that it was time to pay the rent.

Gu Yuanqing avoided paying rent to the Iron Eater Beasts, discovered that the fox cub he had fished up likely belonged to the Sky Fox Tribe, and continued keeping a low profile on North Spring Mountain. Meanwhile, Zuo Songhe secured the Heavenly Policy Mansion’s arrangements for an outer cultivation station, and a mysterious man appeared at Lingxiao Mountain, summoning the Lingxu Sect’s leader through its soul lamps.

• The Great Gong Venerable collected bamboo rent from the tribes in the Iron Eater Beast territory and told the White Headed Eagle Tribe to leave when it could not pay.
• Gu Yuanqing persuaded the Great Gong Venerable that North Spring Mountain was outside the Iron Eater Tribe’s territory, so he did not owe rent.
• Gu Yuanqing examined the fox cub from the Heaven and Earth Pool, recognized signs of the Sky Fox Tribe, and returned it to the pool while deciding not to expose the other cubs.
• Zuo Songhe presented the North Spring Mountain Outer Cultivation Station regulations to Gu Yuanqing, who left Great Qian free to make its own arrangements.
• A mysterious man emerged from a hidden chamber at Lingxiao Mountain, used the soul lamps to summon the Lingxu Sect’s leader, and prompted Kuang Tongyi to sense his message from Great Zhou.

Zhang Xuanlin arrived from the Upper Realm and went to North Spring Mountain with Kuang Tongyi to investigate Ji Qingyun’s disappearance and the mountain’s unusual spiritual qi. Gu Yuanqing challenged Zhang Xuanlin to come up the mountain if he truly wanted to talk, and Zhang accepted.

• Zhang Xuanlin arrived at Lingxu Sect, where Qi Qianli recognized the sect’s cultivation aura in him.
• Gu Yuanqing continued studying spatial changes on North Spring Mountain and reached the mid-stage Fire Dao Realm.
• The Great Gong Venerable visited to demand rent, but Gu Yuanqing persuaded him to return to the Iron Eater Tribe and ask how the rules applied.
• Zhang Xuanlin and Kuang Tongyi approached North Spring Mountain to investigate its spiritual qi and ask about Ji Qingyun.
• Gu Yuanqing warned the visitors away, then invited Zhang Xuanlin to come onto the mountain to talk, and Zhang accepted.

Zhang Xuanlin, the Lingxu Sect’s Sect Master, entered North Spring Mountain in a puppet body and was immediately suppressed by the mountain’s power. After Gu Yuanqing released him, Zhang Xuanlin recognized that the mountain lay between the Floating World and the Demon Realm and marveled at its methods.

• Zhang Xuanlin and Kuang Tongyi approached North Spring Mountain, where Li Shi'an and Ji Dai greeted them.
• Zhang Xuanlin used his Heavenly Human Realm insight to discover that North Spring Mountain occupied a separate space, then broke through the hidden entrance.
• Gu Yuanqing observed Zhang Xuanlin’s spatial technique and gained further insight, but the mountain’s pressure forced Zhang Xuanlin’s consciousness back into his puppet core.
• Gu Yuanqing examined the puppet, carried it to his courtyard, and eased the suppression so Zhang Xuanlin could reactivate its body.
• Zhang Xuanlin confirmed that he was the Lingxu Sect’s Sect Master and praised Gu Yuanqing for hiding the mountain between worlds and transforming demonic qi into spiritual qi.

Gu Yuanqing kept Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun confined on North Spring Mountain after Zhang Xuanlin warned that Gu’s plan to transform the Floating World could endanger its inhabitants. As Gu considered reorganizing the mountain and learning from Zhang, he sensed two pursued strangers arrive at its foot.

• Zhang Xuanlin warned Gu Yuanqing that severing the original array to transform the Floating World could put countless lives at risk, but Gu declined to explain his plan.
• Gu Yuanqing admitted that Ji Qingyun was in his hands and summoned him to meet Zhang Xuanlin.
• Zhang Xuanlin told Ji Qingyun that Gu’s mountain array had restrained his split soul and that his divine sense could not escape or send information to his true self.
• Ji Qingyun described the Heaven and Earth Pool, where people became fish in a vast inner ocean, and Zhang Xuanlin failed to investigate the mountain without worsening his restraint.
• Gu Yuanqing considered where to house Zhang Xuanlin and how to reorganize North Spring Mountain, then sensed a young man and woman arrive while fleeing pursuers.

Gu Yuanqing rescued Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu, two Yan Mountain Sect disciples fleeing through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, and learned their sect had been driven from its home by conflict and hostility. After discovering they were the only survivors of their group, he left them in the courtyard and allowed Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun to stay on North Spring Mountain under strict conditions.

• Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu fled wolves and a Giant Eagle, and Gu Yuanqing brought them into North Spring Mountain for safety.
• Gu Yuanqing learned that the Yan Mountain Sect had been displaced repeatedly and that the pair had fled a Core Formation Realm great demon while trying to reach Lanting City.
• Gu Yuanqing told Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu that the other disciples who came with them had been killed by Demon Beasts, and Lu Jianqiu vowed revenge.
• Zhang Xuanlin warned Gu Yuanqing not to trust Demonized Persons, but Gu Yuanqing explained that the Demon Realm's humans were not the same as those beings.
• Gu Yuanqing allowed Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun to stay in a courtyard and warned them not to harm the deaf and mute old servant.

Gu Yuanqing sheltered the Yan Mountain Sect survivors and studied the relationship between spiritual qi and demonic qi while training in the Spiritual Mountain Trial. Meanwhile, the Iron Eater Ancestor took the Great Gong Venerable to collect rent from Gu Yuanqing and demand dragon phoenix bamboo from a Two-Headed Flood Dragon.

• Gu Yuanqing let Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu rest in a courtyard, and they realized the tea he served had rapidly healed their injuries.
• Xing Fei told Lu Jianqiu that their sect’s enemies included Demon Beasts, the City Lord of Canglan City, the Qian Family of Zhenbei City, and the North Dragon Sword Sect of Qizhou Prefecture.
• Gu Yuanqing concluded that spiritual qi could benefit cultivators from the Demon Realm, then honed his Fire Dao techniques against opponents in the Spiritual Mountain Trial.
• The Iron Eater Ancestor reminded the Great Gong Venerable that collecting rent was vital to the tribe and warned him to be careful with humans.
• The Iron Eater Ancestor set out with the Great Gong Venerable to collect rent from Gu Yuanqing and obtain dragon phoenix bamboo from the Two-Headed Flood Dragon.

Xiong Ba took Meng San to collect rent across the Iron Eater Tribe’s territory, causing trouble at several households before they reached Gu Yuanqing’s North Spring Mountain. Gu Yuanqing negotiated with the powerful Bamboo Mountain Ancestor and offered a Divine Platform treasure, but Xiong Ba refused it and insisted that rent had to be paid in bamboo.

• Xiong Ba struck the gong to demand rent from the Golden-eyed Ape Demons, then fled after his blast knocked the Apes unconscious and provoked a giant Demon Ape.
• Xiong Ba and Meng San visited six households, wrecking mountains, killing a Great Demon by accident, angering a Thunder Tiger, and throwing the Winged Snakes out of the territory.
• Gu Yuanqing experimented with Demon Realm techniques and improved his Physical Body’s cultivation method before hearing the gong announce the rent collectors’ arrival.
• Xiong Ba demanded rent from Gu Yuanqing and proposed that he pay a thousand jin of graded Demonic Bamboo each year for a thousand li of territory.
• Gu Yuanqing offered a Divine Platform treasure as payment, but Xiong Ba returned it and said the Iron-Eating Tribe only accepted bamboo.

Gu Yuanqing bargained with the Iron Eater Ancestor over rent for North Spring Mountain, trading a hundred catties of dao-resonance-infused bamboo now for a promise of two thousand catties next year and a thousand li of territory. After the bears left, Gu Yuanqing considered using bamboo to obtain Divine Platform Foundation Establishment materials, while Kuang Tongyi finally called for him at the mountain gate.

• Gu Yuanqing offered the Iron Eater Ancestor a taste of his bamboo and negotiated annual rent down to a thousand catties in exchange for a thousand li of territory.
• Gu Yuanqing gave the Iron Eater Ancestor a hundred catties of bamboo and arranged to provide two thousand catties next year, with a chance to trade extra bamboo for cultivation materials.
• The Iron Eater Ancestor and Great Gong Venerable left, and the Ancestor taught Great Gong Venerable his bargaining tactics.
• Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun worried about the power of the two bears, while Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu identified Xiong Ba as the Iron-Eating Tribe's ancestor.
• Gu Yuanqing weighed the prospect of trading bamboo for cultivation materials, and Kuang Tongyi called for him outside North Spring Mountain.

Gu Yuanqing drove Kuang Tongyi away from North Spring Mountain, continued refining his cultivation method, and sent Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu off with a detailed map. The Heavenly King Bell then rang nine times, summoning the human race to war.

• Gu Yuanqing suppressed Kuang Tongyi twice and forced him to leave North Spring Mountain, while Li Shi'an and Ji Dai marveled at his power.
• Gu Yuanqing hosted Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu for a meal, then spent the day refining his cultivation technique.
• Xiong Ba returned to Bamboo Mountain with Dao-resonant bamboo, but the old chieftain struck him and forbade him from collecting rent again.
• The old chieftain tasted Xiong Ba's bamboo, judged it valuable, and learned that Xiong Ba had forgotten the human's name.
• Gu Yuanqing gave Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu a detailed mountain map as they prepared to leave for Lanting City.
• The Heavenly King Bell rang nine times, and Xing Fei identified it as a summons to war for the human race.

Gu Yuanqing ignored the Heavenly King Bell’s summons and continued cultivating as North Spring Mountain transformed the Floating World and drew countless cultivators to its foothills. The chapter ended with Gu Yuanqing spotting Gu Yunying arriving at the mountain with Li Changyan and Prince Qing.

• Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu explained the likely threats behind the Heavenly King Bell and left for Lanting City while Gu Yuanqing stayed to cultivate.
• Gu Yuanqing refined his body and Dao Embryo as North Spring Mountain grew and spread the Demon Realm’s Dao into the Floating World.
• Li Shi'an and Ji Dai advanced their Dao insights, Kuang Tongyi glimpsed a path to the Divine Platform, and two cultivators broke through from the Profound Martial Ninth Layer to Grandmaster.
• Pilgrims crowded the area around North Spring Mountain, and Gu Yuanqing quietly protected the region, studied their manuals, and rewarded some with spirit spring water.
• Gu Yuanqing recognized Gu Yunying among the visitors and saw her arrive with Li Changyan and Prince Qing.

Gu Yunying and Li Changyan visited Gu Yuanqing on North Spring Mountain to seek his approval for their marriage. Gu Yuanqing approved and received their invitation, then sent the visitors back down the mountain after they spent time cultivating there.

• Gu Yunying told Li Changyan that her family had begun treating her better because of Gu Yuanqing, and recalled how her brother had been unusually kind and perceptive since childhood.
• Gu Yuanqing used Cloudmist and the Heavenly Fishing Method to bring Prince Qing, Gu Yunying, and Li Changyan from the mountain's foot to his courtyard.
• Gu Yuanqing welcomed the visitors and served them spirit spring water, which eased Prince Qing's injuries and renewed his strength.
• Prince Qing explained that Gu Yunying and Li Changyan planned to marry in six months and presented Gu Yuanqing with an invitation.
• Gu Yuanqing approved the marriage, warned Li Changyan to treat Gu Yunying well, and said he would attend if he could.
• Prince Qing and Li Changyan cultivated on North Spring Mountain before Gu Yuanqing sent all three back to the foot of the mountain.

Gu Yuanqing avoided being drawn into the Human-Demon War when Ji Xian, a Heavenly Human from the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall, tried to compel him to serve. After the Iron Eater Tribe chief drove Ji Xian away, Zhang Xuanlin asked about the war, and Gu Yuanqing prepared to propose a mutually beneficial arrangement.

• Gu Yuanqing gave Gu Yunying, Prince Qing, and Li Changyan jade bottles of spirit spring water as they left North Spring Mountain.
• Gu Yuanqing saw Ji Xian scan North Spring Mountain after the Iron Eater Tribe chief forced him out of the tribe’s territory.
• Ji Xian demanded that Gu Yuanqing join the war effort under the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall’s authority and sent sword qi toward the mountain.
• The Iron Eater Tribe chief warned Ji Xian not to trespass, and Ji Xian left without reaching Gu Yuanqing.
• Gu Yuanqing told Aunt Feng that everything was fine, then met with Zhang Xuanlin, who asked about the Human Race’s peril.
• Gu Yuanqing confirmed Ji Xian was a human from the Demon Realm and offered to tell Zhang Xuanlin more after discussing a proposal.

Gu Yuanqing rejected Zhang Xuanlin’s attempt to obtain Lingxu Sect cultivation methods and discovered the Way of Space while cultivating on North Spring Mountain. After his spatial insight strengthened his abilities and cultivation, two figures from the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall arrived, and Gu Yuanqing moved to meet them.

• Zhang Xuanlin questioned Gu Yuanqing about his cultivation and proposed no agreement, while Gu Yuanqing urged him to consider a trade for higher-realm cultivation methods.
• Gu Yuanqing told Zhang Xuanlin that his breakthrough would eventually let him and Ji Qingyun leave, but Zhang Xuanlin returned without accepting the offer.
• Zhang Xuanlin’s original self concluded that his split soul had encountered serious trouble in the Floating World and could only leave it to act on its own.
• While cultivating, Gu Yuanqing perceived the Way of Space through North Spring Mountain’s unusual state and imprinted its resonance in his Dao embryo after seven days of contemplation.
• Gu Yuanqing used Heavenly Fishing Empowerment to move objects through space more smoothly, and his cultivation, Fire Dao, and physical strength improved.
• Two streaks of Rainbow Light approached North Spring Mountain from the east, and Gu Yuanqing vanished from the courtyard to meet them.

Gongsun Sui and Qiyang came to North Spring Mountain to recruit Gu Yuanqing, whom King Ji believed to be a powerful array master, for the Human Race’s impending war. Gu Yuanqing questioned the secrecy surrounding the enemy and refused to leave his seclusion, while Gongsun Sui warned that disobeying the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall could mark him as a traitor.

• Gongsun Sui told Qiyang that King Ji had identified the hidden cultivator as a formidable array master and explained why they needed his help.
• Gongsun Sui and Qiyang reached North Spring Mountain but could not sense anyone inside its concealed formation.
• Gu Yuanqing revealed himself after hearing that Gongsun Sui had come on behalf of King Ji and the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall.
• Gongsun Sui invited Gu Yuanqing to aid the Human Race, but refused to disclose its enemy or the details of the war.
• Gu Yuanqing questioned whether the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall was starting the war and then told the visitors to leave.
• Gongsun Sui warned Gu Yuanqing that refusing the Sacred Hall’s commands after the Nine-Sound Heavenly King Bell rang could make him a traitor.

Gongsun Sui and Qiyang failed to persuade Gu Yuanqing to leave North Spring Mountain, so Qiyang attacked him. Gu Yuanqing easily defeated Qiyang with spatial techniques but watched Gongsun Sui to see whether the conflict could still be contained.

• Gongsun Sui and Qiyang urged Gu Yuanqing to join the Human Race's efforts against the coming calamity, but he declined to leave North Spring Mountain.
• Qiyang threatened to enforce the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall's decree, and Gu Yuanqing warned that an attack would make them enemies.
• Gu Yuanqing concealed North Spring Mountain in Cloudmist as Qiyang summoned his Soul Summoning Banner and attacked the mountain with a soul assault.
• Gu Yuanqing nullified the banner's attack and slapped Qiyang twice with spatial force, sending him crashing into a deep crater.
• Gongsun Sui recognized Gu Yuanqing's mastery of the Way of Space and held back, while Gu Yuanqing waited to see if he would escalate the conflict.

Gu Yuanqing drove Gongsun Sui and Qiyang away, while the demon leaders and Heavenly Human Sacred Hall discussed an approaching upheaval and preparations for war. The Hall Master kept the reason for the war secret, despite growing suspicion and friction among the races.

• Gongsun Sui stopped Qiyang from attacking Gu Yuanqing again and withdrew, deciding to report the encounter to the Heavenly King before taking further action.
• Gu Yuanqing wondered why the Heavenly Human Sacred Hall was preparing for a war whose intended enemy remained unclear.
• Ao Guang told four Great Demons that the Dragon Demon Ancestor had warned of a great upheaval and ordered them to investigate the human race's plans.
• Ji Xian reported to the Hall Master that the Six Neutral Demon Races had refused an alliance and that the Iron-Eating Tribe had nearly fought him.
• The Hall Master explained that the Sacred Hall was delaying its announcement because the rise in demonic qi was not yet obvious and disclosure could provoke the demons, while Ji Xian warned that secrecy was increasing suspicion and racial tensions.

As demonic qi began changing across the realm, the Purple Robe elder realized the threat to humanity and prepared to use a conflict with the Demon Cave as cover. On North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing discovered how to refine his body with the mountain’s crushing intent, while a hunting party from the North Dragon Sword Sect spotted the mountain and headed toward it.

• The Purple Robe elder connected the Cave Heaven Profound Pearl’s warning to the growing demonic qi and considered concealing the Human Race’s true purpose behind a battle against the Demon Cave.
• Gu Yuanqing turned North Spring Mountain’s intent inward during his training, enduring its pressure until he sensed golden bones and jade muscle and neared major completion of the Fire Dao Realm.
• Gu Yuanqing sent food and wine to the Drunken Immortal Tower, where Senior Sister Qin recognized his Spirit Spring water and led her junior sisters away with the jug.
• The young master of the North Dragon Sword Sect led his guards into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, hunted a Two-Headed Python, and collected its Demon Core.
• Uncle Zhou spotted North Spring Mountain, and the young master decided the group could stay there for the night.