Chapter Summaries

Liu Yu studied the Canglang Spirit Water recipe and used the Immortal Mansion’s Black Spirit Field to produce seeds for most of its required herbs. After returning to his cave abode, he prepared to make the spirit water and spoke with Ji Ruyan, while still feeling uneasy about sharing his home with her.

• Liu Yu cultivated, memorized the Canglang Spirit Water recipe, and brought more than thirty herb varieties into the Immortal Mansion.
• Liu Yu planted the herbs in the Black Spirit Field, gathered seeds from twenty-three varieties after five hours, and harvested six Dragonblood Fruits.
• Liu Yu returned to his cave abode and practiced the Primordial Yang Body-Tempering Fist before heading to the Alchemy Room to prepare Canglang Spirit Water.
• Liu Yu spoke with Ji Ruyan, praised her tea, gave her Clear Lotus Spirit Tea, and reminded her to put cultivation first.
• Liu Yu sent Voice-Transmitting Talismans to Wu Chang, Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and others to search for the nine herb varieties he still needed, then entered the Alchemy Room while feeling uncomfortable about living with Ji Ruyan.

Liu Yu prepared Canglang Spirit Water from thirty-three spiritual herbs and decided to test it on rogue cultivators rather than risk taking it himself. He traveled toward Jiatai Market and the chapter ended with rogue cultivators Xu Kang and Yuan Wanli beside a stream, unaware that they might become his test subjects.

• Liu Yu extracted the essences of all thirty-three spiritual herbs and combined them according to the Canglang Spirit Water formula.
• The mixture transformed into azure Canglang Spirit Water, but Liu Yu decided the formula needed testing before he used it.
• Liu Yu left his cave abode and headed toward Jiatai Market to find rogue cultivators to test the spirit water on.
• Xu Kang and Yuan Wanli, a pair of rogue cultivators who murdered and robbed their targets, talked beside a stream after killing another cultivator.

Liu Yu captured the rogue cultivators Xu Kang and Yuan Wanli and tested his Canglang Spirit Water on them. After confirming it removed most impurities and pill toxins, he killed them and flew back toward the Primordial Yang Sect.

• Liu Yu arrived at the stream and subdued Xu Kang and Yuan Wanli with Spirit-Shocking Thorn before sealing their dantians and taking their belongings.
• Liu Yu bound the pair in an underground cave and forced Yuan Wanli to drink Canglang Spirit Water while he observed its effects.
• Yuan Wanli endured intense pain as the spirit water expelled pill toxins and impurities, and Liu Yu concluded it had cleansed her body and slightly improved her aptitude.
• Liu Yu forced Xu Kang to drink the spirit water and confirmed that its effects matched those on Yuan Wanli.
• Liu Yu burned Xu Kang and Yuan Wanli to ash with Azure Yang Demonic Flame, then flew toward the Primordial Yang Sect.

After cleansing his body of pill toxins and completing his fourth Demon Fire Refining Essence, Liu Yu revealed his breakthrough to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment and met the other disciples of his nominal master, Li Changkong. The chapter ended with Lu Xue asking whether he had chosen a Daoist name.

• Liu Yu used Canglang Spirit Water to expel pill toxins, then found that his cultivation speed had improved slightly.
• Liu Yu completed his fourth session of Demon Fire Refining Essence, strengthening and purifying his magical power, and concealed his cultivation at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
• Liu Yu traveled to Heaven-Reaching Peak to meet Li Changkong and his fellow disciples, and Li Changkong recognized his breakthrough.
• Liu Yu exchanged introductions with Li Buyu, Li Bufan, Jing Yongqing, Lu Xue, and Yu Jiang before Li Changkong dismissed them to enjoy the lotus pond.
• Liu Yu joined Jing Yongqing, Lu Xue, and Yu Jiang at a pavilion, where Lu Xue asked him whether he had chosen a Daoist name.

Liu Yu became acquainted with Lu Xue, who revealed that her friendship with Yan Qun’er explained her warmth toward him. After learning that the sect’s Spirit Herb Garden was too risky a source for the rare ingredients he needed, he began preparing to use the approaching Blood-Colored Secret Realm to gather seeds through recruited outer disciples.

• Liu Yu chose the Daoist name Qing Yang, then traveled with Lu Xue and learned that she had known Yan Qun’er since childhood.
• Jiang Qiushui delivered the Golden Star Jade Pill Hall’s earnings and collected spirit grasses, but Liu Yu found that he had gathered less than two-fifths of the varieties needed for Golden Core Condensation Pills.
• Liu Yu rejected the idea of bribing disciples at the sect’s Spirit Herb Garden and decided to use the Blood-Colored Secret Realm to obtain the remaining spirit grass seeds.
• Liu Yu had Wu Chang identify thirty strong outer disciples, narrowed the list to sixteen, and instructed him to bring candidates for recruitment.
• Liu Yu recruited ten outer disciples to enter the secret realm, offering rewards and giving them maps and instructions to prioritize collecting spirit grass seeds.

Liu Yu prepared ten outer disciples to gather resources and spirit-beast seeds in the Blood-Colored Secret Realm, then chose the Blood-Sacrifice Bonding Method to raise two Netherworld Spirit Snakes. After noticing a shortage of supplies that might signal trouble beyond the upcoming expedition, he returned to Colorful Lotus Mountain and began bonding with the eggs.

• Liu Yu equipped ten outer disciples for the Blood-Colored Secret Realm and assigned Wu Chang to oversee their selection tournament.
• Liu Yu studied spirit-beast texts at the Scripture Pavilion and chose the Blood-Sacrifice Bonding Method for its strong control over bonded beasts.
• Liu Yu noticed that shops were short of healing pills, talismans, and even second-tier talismans, so he sent Wu Chang to investigate.
• Liu Yu asked Ji Ruyan to tend his Spirit Herb Garden and gave her a basic book on cultivating spirit grasses.
• Liu Yu arranged a bonding formation, placed the two Netherworld Spirit Snake eggs inside it, and activated the formation.

Liu Yu used the Blood-Sacrifice Bonding Method to bind two unhatched Netherworld Spirit Snakes to himself and prepared a cold, damp nest for them. After studying spirit-beast care, he learned that Geng Yunsong had decided to enter the dangerous Blood-Colored Secret Realm, and the chapter ended with Liu Yu questioning his choice.

• Liu Yu used a formation and his blood essence to weaken the two spirit beast eggs, then engraved a servant's brand into each unborn Netherworld Spirit Snake's essence soul.
• Liu Yu arranged ice and water spirit stones and dampened the Spirit Beast Room to imitate the snakes' natural habitat, then left them to develop and hatch.
• Liu Yu refined a Blood-Melting Pill and studied spirit-beast care, considering how he could use Spirit-Nourishing Pellets and Pills to help the snakes advance.
• Geng Yunsong told Liu Yu he had resolved to enter the Blood-Colored Secret Realm despite the danger and his poor cultivation prospects.
• Liu Yu warned Geng Yunsong that only one or two in ten people emerged safely and asked whether he had truly decided.

Liu Yu supported Geng Yunsong’s decision to enter the Blood-Colored Secret Realm, helped Ji Ruyan prepare for Foundation Establishment, and obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill for her. As the sect’s party departed, one spirit beast egg hatched into a green Netherworld Spirit Snake, which Liu Yu named Little Green.

• Liu Yu gave Geng Yunsong a Yin Thunder Pearl and two superior-grade magical artifacts before he left for the Blood-Colored Secret Realm selection.
• Ji Ruyan broke through to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and Liu Yu obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill for her through a sect disciple.
• Ji Ruyan emerged from seclusion, and Liu Yu gave her three Dragonblood Fruits to take one each month.
• Liu Yu sensed that one spirit beast egg was about to hatch and encouraged the creature to break its shell by itself.
• A green-and-black Netherworld Spirit Snake hatched, crawled onto Liu Yu’s hand, and received the name Little Green.

Liu Yu raised and tested Little Green, whose unusual bloodline and powerful innate spells suggested great potential. After the Blood-Colored Secret Realm expedition returned, Shi Xianglong reported Zhou’s death and delivered the spiritual herb and grass seeds he had collected.

• Little Green ate its eggshell and a dead hatchling of its own kind, then fell asleep as its aura began to rise.
• Liu Yu cultivated ingredients in the Immortal Mansion and refined forty-two Spirit-Nourishing Pellets from five successful batches.
• Eight days later, Little Green advanced to tier-one mid-grade and demonstrated powerful ice-crystal and freezing-breath spells.
• Liu Yu fed Little Green a Spirit-Nourishing Pellet and a deer-type Demon Beast corpse while awaiting news of the returning expedition.
• Shi Xianglong arrived and told Liu Yu that Zhou had been killed by Snowfall Pavilion disciples during their return from the secret realm.
• Shi Xianglong gave Liu Yu eight Jade Boxes of spiritual herb and grass seeds for inspection.

Liu Yu learned that only two of the ten disciples he sent into the Blood-Colored Secret Realm had survived, leaving him short of the spirit herbs needed for Golden Core Condensation Pills. After weighing risky ways to gather the rest and considering the importance of forming at least a fifth-grade golden core, he entered the Immortal Mansion and discovered that the darkstar spirit tree had not matured as expected.

• Shi Xianglong traded eight varieties of spirit herb seeds for a Dragonblood Fruit and Foundation Establishment Insights, while a badly injured disciple received Insights and two hundred spirit stones for four varieties.
• Liu Yu learned from the disciples that the Blood-Colored Secret Realm grew deadlier from the middle Hunting Days to the final Judgment Days, when elite disciples fought over their amassed resources.
• Wu Chang reported that only two of Liu Yu's ten disciples had survived, and Liu Yu realized his plan had failed to gather enough herbs for Golden Core Condensation Pills.
• Liu Yu rejected funding or bribing elite disciples and stealing controlled seeds as too risky, then resolved that he must avoid forming a lower-grade golden core and aim for at least the fifth grade.
• Liu Yu found no sign of Geng Yunsong, entered the Immortal Mansion with twelve jade boxes, and discovered that the darkstar spirit tree had failed to mature on schedule.

Liu Yu created an illusory star in the Immortal Mansion and learned to control its starlight, accelerating the darkstar spirit tree’s fruiting. After recovering from the strain, he checked on Ji Ruyan and Little Green, then discovered a message on his Sect Token that might contain his assignment.

• Liu Yu’s thought caused the Immortal Mansion to produce an illusory star whose silver light reached the darkstar spirit tree.
• Liu Yu learned to control the star and concentrate its beam, making Starlit Fruit begin growing and likely ripen within seven or eight days.
• Liu Yu replanted spirit grass seeds in the Black Spirit Field, then left the Immortal Mansion and collapsed from mental exhaustion.
• Liu Yu awoke three days later, visited Little Green in the Spirit Beast Room, fed it a Spirit-Nourishing Pellet, and replaced its consumed carcass.
• Liu Yu noticed his Sect Token was disturbed and read its message, suspecting the sect had issued his assignment.

Liu Yu answered the Primordial Yang Sect’s secret summons to True Yang Hall, where True Person Changfeng showed the assembled Foundation Establishment cultivators a map of Southern Heaven and raised the Nine-Nation Pact. The chapter ended as Changfeng introduced the alliance and its place between the orthodox and demonic factions.

• Liu Yu left his cave abode and flew to Heaven-Reaching Peak after receiving the sect’s message summoning him to True Yang Daoist Ground.
• Liu Yu waited outside True Yang Hall, learned that other Foundation Establishment cultivators knew little about the summons, and met Yan Kai.
• Liu Yu and Yan Kai entered True Yang Hall, where nearly two hundred Primordial Yang Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered.
• True Person Changfeng arrived, addressed the cultivators, and displayed a map dividing Southern Heaven among the orthodox, demonic, and Nine-Nation Alliance territories.
• True Person Changfeng asked the assembled cultivators about the Nine-Nation Pact and explained how the alliance had formed after the orthodox-demonic war ten thousand years earlier.

True Person Changfeng revealed that Yan Kingdom and Southern Yu Kingdom had secretly fallen under the influence of the righteous and demonic paths, and ordered Primordial Yang Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators to prepare for a campaign to reclaim them. Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui left to make preparations, with Liu Yu reassuring her and teaching her combat principles during their flight.

• True Person Changfeng showed how losing Yan Kingdom and Southern Yu Kingdom could lead to the Nine Kingdoms Alliance being swallowed by the righteous and demonic paths.
• True Person Changfeng announced that Chu Kingdom and its allies would send troops to eliminate traitorous forces, and ordered all two hundred cultivators present to assemble at True Yang Daoist Ground the next morning.
• Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui left True Yang Hall, and the Five-Colored Mystic Firmament Array activated to seal the Primordial Yang Sect grounds.
• Liu Yu carried Jiang Qiushui on the Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades and reassured her that she would return safely from the coming conflict.
• Jiang Qiushui embraced Liu Yu as he taught her combat principles for surviving battles between cultivators.

Liu Yu prepared to leave Colorful Lotus Mountain for a dangerous sect mission, giving Ji Ruyan instructions and supplies before traveling with Jiang Qiushui to Heaven-Reaching Peak. There, he and Jiang Qiushui joined more than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators awaiting the mission briefing, and Yan Kai warned that the coming battle could be deadly.

• Liu Yu reassured Jiang Qiushui about the pills left behind at Jade Pill Hall, then entered Colorful Lotus Mountain to gather his belongings and put Little Green in a Spirit Beast Bag.
• Liu Yu told Ji Ruyan he would be away on a dangerous mission, supplied her with cultivation pills, warned her to stay on the mountain and keep her unusual constitution secret, and left her to cultivate.
• Liu Yu departed with Jiang Qiushui and gave her a Golden Steel Banner and a Yin Thunder Pearl to prepare for battle.
• Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui reached Heaven-Reaching Peak, where more than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators had gathered to await the sect's arrangements.
• Yan Kai greeted Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui, then expressed concern that the coming conflict with the Yan Kingdom and Southern Yu Kingdom would bring a bitter battle and many deaths.

Liu Yu formed a defensive alliance with Yan Kai and recruited Cui Liang while considering how the coming war might let him obtain scarce cultivation resources. True Person Changfeng announced the sect’s campaign rewards and stirred the disciples’ fighting spirit, leaving Liu Yu wary of his mind-influencing ability.

• Liu Yu and Yan Kai agreed to look out for each other during the war, and Jiang Qiushui stayed with them as they waited for the sect’s mission.
• Liu Yu considered using the coming chaos to seize high-level resources and decided he needed a team that he could direct.
• Liu Yu invited Cui Liang to join their group, bringing his companions to Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, and Cui Liang.
• True Person Changfeng arrived with nine other elders and announced that disciples could earn merit, exchange it for resources including Golden Core Condensation Pills, and keep what they seized from enemies.
• True Person Changfeng’s words stirred the disciples’ fighting spirit, but Liu Yu used the Divine Preservation Art to stay clearheaded and noticed the elder subtly controlled their reactions.

Liu Yu and the other chosen Foundation Establishment cultivators departed for the Yan Kingdom aboard the Primordial Yang Sect’s Peregrine Ship, a swift and heavily defended spirit vessel. As they traveled south toward a rendezvous with cultivators from other sects, Liu Yu cultivated before returning to the deck with Jiang Qiushui as the ship neared the snowbound southern reaches of the Chu Kingdom.

• True Person Changfeng selected Liu Yu, Jiang Qiushui, Yan Kai, Cui Liang, and 146 other disciples to travel to the Yan Kingdom, while the remaining fifty stayed behind.
• True Person Changfeng launched the Peregrine Ship, and the hundred and fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators boarded before it passed through the sect’s Five-Colored Mystic Firmament Array and flew south.
• True Person Changfeng announced that the ship would rendezvous near the Chu Kingdom’s border with cultivators from Crescent Moon Valley, Snowfall Pavilion, the Void Clarity School, and the Hehuan Sect.
• Liu Yu went below to cultivate while Yan Kai and Cui Liang stayed on deck, and Jiang Qiushui later joined Liu Yu when he returned.
• Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui observed the snowy landscape of Cang Province as the Peregrine Ship continued toward its rendezvous.

Liu Yu arrived with the Primordial Yang Sect cultivators at Thousand Snow Immortal City, where they waited under lockdown for the other sects. After rebuking Jiang Qiushui for following him, he disguised himself and headed toward the city’s eastern market district to sell pills and replenish his spirit stones.

• The Peregrine Ship reached Thousand Snow Immortal City, and Snowfall Pavilion cultivator Xu Qiu greeted the Primordial Yang Sect delegation.
• The Golden Core elders arranged for the group to wait two hours for the other sects, and Xu Qiu allowed them to enter the locked-down city with their identity tokens.
• Liu Yu separated from Cui Liang, Yan Kai, and Jiang Qiushui, saying he wanted to prepare for the war and look for powerful talismans.
• Jiang Qiushui followed Liu Yu, but he rebuked her for interfering with his private affairs, and she left dejectedly.
• Liu Yu changed into a disguise that concealed his face and divine sense, then headed east through Thousand Snow Immortal City.

Liu Yu sold pills and searched Thousand Snow City for powerful talismans and a defensive Spirit Artifact, but found neither before returning to the Peregrine Ship. There, he learned more about the ancient Mysterious Nether Sect and the Five Great Sects’ rise after a Demon Beast calamity.

• Liu Yu sold pills at several shops, built his spirit stone reserves back up to thirty thousand, and found no suitable talismans or Top-grade defensive Spirit Artifact.
• Liu Yu finished touring Thousand Snow City and returned to the Peregrine Ship, where spirit ships from the other four great sects had arrived.
• Cui Liang explained that the Six Great Sects had joined forces against a Demon Beast invasion more than three thousand years ago, then the other five sects destroyed the Mysterious Nether Sect after the beasts retreated.
• Jiang Qiushui criticized the five sects for attacking the weakened Mysterious Nether Sect, and Yan Kai warned her not to speak treasonously against their sect.

Liu Yu and the other Primordial Yang Sect disciples waited as the five sects negotiated an alliance to attack the Yan Kingdom, then set out from Thousand Snow City. The spirit ships crossed the border of the Chu Kingdom, and True Person Changfeng urged the disciples to rest and remain ready for the campaign.

• Jiang Qiushui withdrew her sympathetic remarks about the Mysterious Nether Sect after Yan Kai challenged them, while Cui Liang tried to restore harmony.
• Liu Yu observed the cultivators aboard the other sects’ spirit ships and noted their rivalries, reputations, and interactions.
• After lengthy arguments and compromises, the Golden Core cultivators of the five sects reached a preliminary agreement to attack the Yan Kingdom and launched their ships from Thousand Snow City.
• Liu Yu watched as the ships passed South Snow City and Southern Frontier City, carrying the disciples out of the Chu Kingdom and beyond its snowy landscape.
• True Person Changfeng told the Primordial Yang Sect disciples to rest and recover their strength, saying he hoped to bring them safely back to the sect.

Liu Yu visited his nominal master, Li Changkong, to learn about the coming campaign against the Yan Kingdom and seek guidance. He learned that Ancient Gate City would be the Chu Kingdom’s first target, then resolved to stay cautious while still claiming any spoils he could.

• Liu Yu brewed Clear Lake Dragon Well spirit tea and brought it to Li Changkong’s room as a courtesy before asking about the operation.
• Li Changkong explained that the alliance planned coordinated attacks on the Yan and Southern Yu Kingdoms, while Nascent Soul patriarchs intercepted enemy reinforcements.
• Li Changkong revealed that the Chu Kingdom’s first target was Ancient Gate City, which would serve as a foothold for advancing into the Yan Kingdom.
• Liu Yu encountered Li Buyu outside Li Changkong’s room and saw other cultivators seeking favors and safer assignments from Golden Core elders.
• Liu Yu considered Li Changkong’s advice to perform well, decided to remain cautious, and resolved not to pass up his share of the spoils.