Chapter Summaries

Liu Yu revealed his strength in the Qianchang Spirit Herb Garden and swiftly killed the cultivators attacking Ye Menghua and the others. After Cao Yuanwu recognized him as Qing Yang of the Primordial Yang Sect, Liu Yu killed him too, leaving Ye Menghua to ask whether she would survive.

• The blue-robed woman used a Red Needle Talisman Treasure to kill a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator, but Cao Yuanwu then killed her and her companion.
• Liu Yu stopped concealing his strength and used the Molten Fire Saber, Crimson Flame Tower, and Spirit-Shocking Thorn to kill the two cultivators fighting him and Ye Menghua.
• Cao Yuanwu recognized Liu Yu as Qing Yang of the Primordial Yang Sect and offered him the spirit herbs in exchange for permission to leave.
• Liu Yu attacked Cao Yuanwu with his Spirit Artifacts and Spirit-Shocking Thorns, then crushed him with the Crimson Flame Tower.
• Ye Menghua, realizing Liu Yu had locked onto her, asked whether she could escape alive.

Liu Yu destroyed the White Cloud Temple’s Spirit Herb Garden, took its valuable plants, and returned to Eternal Peace Market Ward. After witnessing a mortal siege on the way, he entered seclusion and began attempting to break through to late Foundation Establishment, ending as his magic power showed the first sign of an opportunity.

• Liu Yu killed Ye Menghua and burned the bodies before using the Azure Yang Demonic Flame to break through the Spirit Herb Garden’s protective formation.
• Liu Yu collected the garden’s valuable spirit grasses and herbs, scattered the remaining ashes with Gale Technique, and flew toward Eternal Peace Market Ward.
• Liu Yu watched cultivators help an attacking army breach a mortal city’s walls, then left without intervening.
• Liu Yu returned to Eternal Peace Market Ward, told Yingge and Yanwu he would receive no visitors, and notified Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin of his seclusion.
• Liu Yu prepared a Spirit Gathering Array, a Purpleheart Barrier-Breaking Pill, and other resources before circulating the Azure Yang Art for seven days.
• Liu Yu felt a flicker of excitement in his magic power as the long-awaited opportunity to attempt a breakthrough arrived.

Liu Yu broke through to the Foundation Establishment late stage and spent days stabilizing his cultivation and learning to control his increased power. He prepared to leave seclusion, aware that the war and the threat to White Cloud Temple might soon demand his attention.

• Liu Yu used a Purpleheart Barrier-Breaking Pill and other spiritual resources to overcome the bottleneck and reach the Foundation Establishment late stage.
• Liu Yu stabilized his breakthrough, increased his magic power by forty percent, and expanded his divine sense to thirteen li.
• Liu Yu tested fire, wood, and other spells for seven days and nights until he could fully control his new cultivation.
• Liu Yu decided to leave seclusion after nearly a month, concerned that Immortal Palace City might have fallen and that his team could soon receive orders.

After breaking through to the foundation establishment late stage, Liu Yu planted newly harvested spirit herbs and decided to improve his alchemy by refining Origin-Rising Pills. Jiang Qiushui told him the sect’s forces had breached White Cloud Temple’s defenses, and he prepared his squad to depart for the coming decisive battle.

• Liu Yu planted the Qianchang Spirit Herb Garden herbs in the Black Spirit Field and resolved to practice refining Origin-Rising Pills.
• After nearly a month of secluded cultivation, Liu Yu left his cave abode and learned that Jiang Qiushui and other seniors had come to visit.
• Jiang Qiushui reported that the sects had breached Immortal Palace City and surrounding immortal cities, leaving White Cloud Temple’s mountain gate encircled.
• Liu Yu concluded that all twelve Azure Edge Squads would likely be ordered into the decisive battle, and he reassured Jiang Qiushui that they would respond as events unfolded.
• Liu Yu lent Jiang Qiushui two high-grade spirit artifacts on credit for four thousand spirit stones and ordered the squad to leave Eternal Peace Market Ward the next day.

Liu Yu led his force from the Eternal Peace Market Ward toward Immortal Palace City, compelling local powers to submit as the White Cloud Temple’s territory fell. After a sect envoy ordered him to join the coming assault on the White Cloud Temple Mountain Gate within a month, Liu Yu sped up his advance.

• Liu Yu departed the Eternal Peace Market Ward aboard the Origin Returning Boat with more than six hundred Qi Refining Cultivators and seventeen Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
• Liu Yu accepted the Lu Household of the Greenwave River’s surrender, imposed Spirit-Locking Restrictions on its two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and drafted cultivators into his force.
• Over seven days, Liu Yu’s force advanced three hundred li as most local powers surrendered and a few that resisted were slaughtered.
• Zhou Zhuofeng delivered the sect’s order for Liu Yu to join the main force before the assault on the White Cloud Temple Mountain Gate in one month.
• Liu Yu discussed matters with Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin, then ordered the Origin Returning Boat to speed up.

Liu Yu reached the Primordial Yang Sect’s main camp at Cloudreach Mountain on the final day of his deadline, reported his completed mission, and visited his nominal master, Li Changkong. His reunion with Li Changkong and Li Buyu suggested they did not intend to claim his Fire Spirit Fruit, leaving Liu Yu relieved as the coming battle approached.

• Liu Yu passed Immortal Palace City and Heavenly King Mountain, then arrived at White Cloud Temple’s Cloudreach Mountain with his Foundation Establishment force.
• Zhou Zhuofeng checked Liu Yu’s Sect Token, welcomed him, and acknowledged his contributions to the sect.
• Liu Yu reported to the General Affairs Office and considered how his accomplishments would affect his role in the coming battle.
• Liu Yu entered Li Changkong’s tent, paid his respects to Li Changkong and Li Buyu, and explained his late arrival.
• Li Changkong praised Liu Yu’s safe return and completed mission, and Liu Yu inferred that neither Li Changkong nor Li Buyu planned to take his Fire Spirit Fruit.

Liu Yu spoke with Li Changkong about the coming assault on Cloudreach Mountain and secured a safer assignment for himself and Li Buyu. After returning to his tent, he contacted Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin, prepared his spirit artifacts, and learned his former Azure Edge Squad would remain under his command for the battle.

• Liu Yu asked Li Changkong when the sect would attack Cloudreach Mountain and voiced his fears about facing powerful cultivators.
• Li Changkong said the assault would likely begin within two days, that no Nascent Soul cultivator from White Cloud Temple would intervene, and that he could arrange safer positions for Liu Yu and Li Buyu.
• Liu Yu accepted Li Changkong's offer and asked him questions about cultivation before a bell summoned Li Changkong to a meeting.
• Liu Yu returned to his tent, contacted Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin, and told them to rest and preserve their strength for the coming battle.
• Liu Yu nurtured his spirit artifacts, then received word that the twelve Azure Edge Squads would remain under their former leaders during the battle.

Liu Yu used his rising reputation to sell pills to Shi Xianglong and cautiously manage ties with sect factions while preparing for the war. When the Blazing Sun Drum sounded, he received orders to muster his forces, signaling that the decisive battle was about to begin.

• Liu Yu planned to delegate routine duties to Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin so his growing force would not hinder his cultivation.
• Shi Xianglong visited Liu Yu to seek protection and buy pills, and Liu Yu sold him two discounted bottles of Essence-Refining Pills.
• Foundation Establishment Cultivators continued visiting Liu Yu, but he kept their conversations superficial and focused on surviving the coming battle.
• The Blazing Sun Drum sounded across the camp, and Liu Yu recognized it as a sign that the final battle was imminent.
• Liu Yu received orders to assemble his existing ranks at the main camp's drill ground and went there, where he saw the Blazing Sun Drum being struck.

Liu Yu assembled his squad, confirmed that their mission rewards and resource claims had been recognized, and urged them to fight hard in the coming battle against the White Cloud Temple. While surveying the assembled forces, he noticed the sect’s elite Firefeather Dao Soldiers and realized their combined strength could threaten even him.

• Liu Yu met Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin and confirmed that all members of his squad had assembled.
• Liu Yu told his squad that the sect had recognized their mission rewards and resource claims, but said those benefits depended on destroying the White Cloud Temple.
• Wei Guangzheng, Meng Wenxing, and the other cultivators pledged to give their utmost in the coming battle.
• Liu Yu observed Li Buyu’s larger, well-disciplined squad and reflected on how background and inherited resources shaped a cultivator’s prospects.
• Liu Yu surveyed the forces on the drill ground and identified a hundred perfected Qi Refining cultivators as likely Firefeather Dao Soldiers whose combined power could overwhelm him.

Liu Yu joined the three sects’ army as it advanced to Cloudreach Mountain and encircled the White Cloud Temple’s stronghold. After the elders ordered an attack, Liu Yu instructed his unit to join the assault.

• True Person Changfeng addressed the assembled cultivators and ordered the army to march on Cloudreach Mountain.
• Zhao Wuji, Zhou Zhuofeng, and Bai Yuxuan organized the formations as the three sects advanced toward the mountain.
• Liu Yu led his unit of eight hundred cultivators to its assigned position and warned Leng Yuexin not to rush ahead for spoils.
• The three sects’ Golden Core Cultivators coordinated their forces, then ordered the attack on Cloudreach Mountain.
• Liu Yu ordered Leng Yuexin and Jiang Qiushui to direct their cultivators in a simultaneous assault.

Liu Yu and the Chu Kingdom's Three Sects attacked White Cloud Temple's Cloudreach Mountain, but the Immortal Wood Mystic Spirit Formation easily withstood their assault. Liu Yu stayed inconspicuous while True Person Qingwei feared the sect's absent Nascent Soul patriarchs had already fallen and that disaster was near.

• Liu Yu led his team in a restrained attack as the Chu Kingdom's Three Sects unleashed their forces against Cloudreach Mountain.
• The Immortal Wood Mystic Spirit Formation repelled the assault, and Liu Yu warned his team not to probe its clashes with divine sense.
• After repeated attacks left the formation unharmed, Liu Yu told Jiang Qiushui that the elders had other arrangements and the real battle had not begun.
• Liu Yu and Jiang Qiushui continued holding back, aiming to avoid attention during the battle.
• True Person Qingwei oversaw White Cloud Temple's defenses, worried that his two martial uncles were missing and that the sect stood on the brink of destruction.

As the Chu Kingdom’s Three Sects besieged Cloudreach Mountain, True Person Qingwei learned that the White Cloud Temple’s two Nascent Soul patriarchs had died and arranged for Qingyou and Qingshui to escape with the sect’s legacy. Qingwei stayed behind to defend the temple while Liu Yu observed the siege and the Firefeather Dao Soldiers’ formidable attacks.

• A Foundation Establishment disciple told True Person Qingwei that the two patriarchs’ soul lamps in the Ancestral Hall had gone out.
• Qingwei secretly summoned Qingyou and Qingshui, revealed that Cloudreach Mountain could not be saved, and ordered them to flee through a secret passage with elite disciples and the sect’s resources.
• Qingwei refused to escape, telling Qingyou and Qingshui to preserve the temple’s lineage and warning Qingshui not to seek revenge before reaching a mature Nascent Soul.
• Qingyou and Qingshui left with the disciple, while Qingwei kowtowed to the patriarchs’ portraits and returned to oversee the mountain’s defenses.
• As the Chu Kingdom’s Three Sects continued attacking the Immortal Wood Mystic Spirit Formation, Liu Yu watched the battlefield and assessed the Firefeather Dao Soldiers’ powerful coordinated spell.

Liu Yu and the Chu Kingdom’s Three Sects continued their eight-day assault on Cloudreach Mountain, while the exhausted defenders of White Cloud Temple struggled behind the Immortal Wood Mystic Spirit Formation. True Person Changfeng then activated a Spirit-Severing Talisman that deadened the spiritual power feeding the formation, leaving True Person Qingwei alarmed as the siege reached a turning point.

• Liu Yu ordered Jiang Qiushui to keep the exhausted cultivators fighting under the wartime rules, while Leng Yuexin affirmed she could endure the battle.
• After eight days and nights of combat, both the attackers and White Cloud Temple’s defenders showed severe fatigue, though the Immortal Wood Mystic Spirit Formation remained intact.
• True Person Changfeng, True Person Sanjie, and True Person Chongxuan secretly agreed on their next move, and Changfeng activated a mysterious white spirit talisman.
• Liu Yu sensed that the talisman had entered the ground and altered the surrounding spiritual energy, identifying it as a Spirit-Severing Talisman.
• True Person Qingwei recognized that the talisman was weakening the formation by disrupting the spirit vein’s power and cried out in alarm.

The Chu Kingdom’s Three Sects used successive Spirit-Severing Talismans to weaken White Cloud Temple’s formation while Liu Yu watched the prolonged assault. Just as True Person Qingwei begged for peace, a terrifying golden hand descended from the clouds toward the barrier.

• The three sects intensified their attacks as the first Spirit-Severing Talisman slowed the formation’s spiritual-power supply, and True Person Qingwei kept White Cloud Temple’s defenses organized.
• On the ninth day, True Person Sanjie used a second Spirit-Severing Talisman, followed by True Person Chongxuan using a third, dimming the barrier by about thirty percent.
• Liu Yu urged Jiang Qiushui, Leng Yuexin, and his other companions to conserve their strength while cultivators on both sides continued to die in the fighting.
• As the third talisman’s effects faded, True Person Qingwei offered the three sects any price and recognition of their seized territory in exchange for peace, but they ignored him and continued attacking.
• An overwhelming spirit pressure darkened the sky, and Liu Yu saw a gigantic golden hand emerge from the clouds and descend toward the azure barrier.

A Nascent Soul True Lord’s Great Light Palm crippled White Cloud Temple’s formation, and the three sects soon broke through and invaded Cloudreach Mountain. True Person Qingwei revealed that the temple’s two patriarchs were dead and ordered the survivors to flee, while Liu Yu deliberately avoided the fiercest fighting as he sought a safer route out.

• Liu Yu and Leng Yuexin identified the descending golden palm as likely the Great Light Palm of Suchness Temple, used by Master Xingchi.
• The golden palm overwhelmed White Cloud Temple’s defenses, leaving the Immortal Wood Mystic Spirit Formation near collapse as the three sects renewed their assault.
• More than a hundred Golden Core cultivators shattered the formation, triggering a violent spiritual energy storm and backlash that cracked the Golden Core elder’s core.
• True Person Qingwei told White Cloud Temple’s Golden Core cultivators that their two patriarchs’ soul lamps had gone out eight days earlier and ordered them to preserve the temple’s lineage by escaping.
• The three sects surged into Cloudreach Mountain as White Cloud Temple’s cultivators fought, fled, or were overwhelmed; Liu Yu advanced slowly toward areas with fewer escaping cultivators to avoid desperate opponents.

As White Cloud Temple’s defeat sent cultivators fleeing Cloudreach Mountain, Liu Yu avoided the escaping Golden Core cultivators and joined the effort to intercept weaker disciples. He recognized Song Haocang among the fugitives and attacked him, but paused the assault when Song claimed to know the location of the ancient three-origin fruit, a treasure tied to Core Formation.

• Liu Yu dodged an injured White Cloud Temple Golden Core cultivator and watched the cultivator’s treasure kill several disciples who tried to obstruct his escape.
• As White Cloud Temple’s remaining cultivators broke out through the encirclement, Liu Yu’s group intercepted ordinary Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment fugitives while making way for Golden Core cultivators.
• Liu Yu recognized Song Haocang, the Foundation Establishment peak cultivator who had abandoned his fellow disciples, and attacked him with the Profound Departure Sword and Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades.
• Song Haocang defended himself with several high-grade spirit artifacts as Liu Yu and the surrounding cultivators trapped him under repeated attacks.
• Facing death, Song Haocang told Liu Yu by voice transmission that he knew about the ancient three-origin fruit, and Liu Yu eased his assault to hear more.

Liu Yu bargained with Song Haocang for information about the Three-Origin Fruit and secretly helped him escape the battlefield. After both men swore heart-demon oaths, Liu Yu escorted Song toward the edge of the fighting while planning to kill him later.

• Liu Yu eased his attacks and questioned Song Haocang, who offered information about the Three-Origin Fruit in exchange for safe passage.
• Song Haocang explained the fruit’s core-formation benefits and swore to tell Liu Yu everything he knew.
• Song Haocang demanded that Liu Yu swear to protect him, and Liu Yu promised not to kill or pursue him during the battle while secretly planning to deal with him afterward.
• Liu Yu and Song Haocang swore their oaths, and Song Haocang divulged his information about the Three-Origin Fruit.
• Liu Yu ordered Jiang Qiushui and Leng Yuexin to hunt elsewhere, then staged a fierce clash with Song Haocang as they moved toward the battlefield’s edge.
• Liu Yu told Song Haocang to leave while nearby cultivators were distracted, and Song Haocang prepared to depart.

Liu Yu tracked Song Haocang after forcing him to swear a heart-demon oath, then returned to the battle at Cloudreach Mountain and survived the rout of White Cloud Temple. By nightfall, the temple had been destroyed, while Liu Yu remained focused on his own safety and the unresolved prospect of obtaining the three-origin fruit.

• Song Haocang fled northwest, unaware Liu Yu had placed a concealed divine sense mark on him, and Liu Yu pretended to pursue him before returning to Cloudreach Mountain.
• Liu Yu kept away from Golden Core battles and resumed his team's relatively safe post on the battlefield's outskirts.
• Liu Yu used the Azure Yang Demonic Flame to kill cultivators and gather fuel, while Jiang Qiushui fought safely alongside allies using Spirit Artifacts Liu Yu had provided on credit.
• White Cloud Temple Golden Core Cultivators detonated their cores to resist the encirclement, killing many nearby cultivators, but the three sects continued to overwhelm the temple's forces.
• After several hours of fighting, White Cloud Temple was defeated and Cloudreach Mountain lay devastated; Liu Yu surveyed the aftermath and wondered why the righteous path had not supported the Yan Kingdom's Four Sects.

After the battle at Cloudreach Mountain, Liu Yu tended to his force, waited in vain for the sect to summon him, and studied a spell manual while the three sects divided White Cloud Temple’s spoils. He learned that the war would not bring him and Jiang Qiushui home soon, as their sect still needed them to secure its new territory.

• Leng Yuexin reported that nineteen Qi Refining Cultivators and three sect disciples had died, and Liu Yu assigned her to care for the wounded.
• Liu Yu watched the three sects occupy separate camps and realized that the sect’s True Disciples had been summoned up Cloudreach Mountain while he was left below.
• The Golden Core Cultivators debated White Cloud Temple’s surrendered captives, and True Person Chongxuan backed True Person Changfeng’s proposal to dispose of them.
• Jiang Qiushui brought Liu Yu a record of their force’s battle contributions, and he approved it with his magic power imprint.
• Jiang Qiushui asked when they could return to the sect, and Liu Yu told her they would likely have to remain in the Yan Kingdom for another year or two.

Liu Yu joined the Foundation Establishment cultivators summoned by the three sects and watched the captured White Cloud Temple disciples being executed on the way to their meeting. At the Hall of Righteous Clarity, he reunited with Senior Sister Li Buyu, met other prominent sect disciples, and encountered Bai Yuxuan, the woman who had appeared in his youthful dreams.

• Liu Yu received the three sects' order to attend a meeting and set out with Jiang Qiushui, Leng Yuexin, Wei Guangzheng, and the others.
• Guards from the three sects executed the captured White Cloud Temple cultivators, and Liu Yu abandoned the idea of collecting fuel from their corpses without the elders' permission.
• Liu Yu and his companions arrived at the Hall of Righteous Clarity, where True Person Changfeng, True Person Sanjie, and True Person Chongxuan presided over hundreds of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
• Li Buyu welcomed Liu Yu and introduced him to prominent members of their sect.
• Liu Yu greeted Bai Yuxuan, who responded reservedly while privately wondering at his rapid cultivation and rise to prominence.