Chapter Summaries

Liu Yu and the Sacred Fire Cult group approached the Spirit Herb Garden while the Heavenly One Sect cultivators attacked its formation. As Liu Yu grew uneasy about the resources invested in their mission, the Third-Tier Forbidden-Breaking Pearl nearly brought down the garden’s weakened formation, and Tang Tianbao ordered his group to prepare to act.

• Liu Yu and six Sacred Fire Cult members agreed on a plan to approach the Heavenly One Sect cultivators at Sacred Flame Peak.
• Ren Hongyan recovered two depleted high-grade spirit stones from the black tiger puppet and led her group to attack the Spirit Herb Garden’s formation.
• Tang Tianbao kept his group hidden nearby, expecting the formation to drain the Heavenly One Sect cultivators’ magic power.
• Liu Yu spotted Ren Hongyan use a Third-Tier Forbidden-Breaking Pearl and suspected the mission’s backer sought something more valuable than the garden’s herbs.
• Liu Yu sent Little Green into the woods, then regrouped with Tang Tianbao’s party when ordered to prepare for action.
• The Third-Tier Forbidden-Breaking Pearl weakened the formation, and the four Heavenly One Sect cultivators pressed their attack as it neared collapse.

The Sacred Fire Cult and the Heavenly One Sect fought over the Spirit Herb Garden while Liu Yu secretly sent Little Green to search for the three-origin fruit. After Little Green secured it, Liu Yu stopped holding back and seized the gentle female cultivator, breaking the battle’s stalemate.

• Tang Tianbao led the Sacred Fire Cult cultivators to attack Ren Hongyan and her three companions after finding them inside the Spirit Herb Garden.
• The two sides traded attacks, then fought for several rounds as Ren Hongyan’s coordinated formation and Vermilion Ancient Zither held off the Sacred Fire Cult’s numerical advantage.
• Liu Yu kept the gentle female cultivator occupied while remotely directing Little Green to search the garden for the three-origin fruit.
• Little Green found the three-origin fruit, and Liu Yu ordered it to gather a few more herbs before withdrawing without leaving many traces.
• Under Purple Robe’s cover, Liu Yu used Flash Spirit Art to bypass the gentle female cultivator’s Snow Leopard Spirit Beast, shatter her protective shield, seize her, and slam her into the ground.

Liu Yu killed a Heavenly One Sect cultivator and pretended to struggle against her frenzied Snow Leopard Spirit Beast while Ren Hongyan used a talisman treasure to help her companions escape. Tang Tianbao abandoned the pursuit to protect the Sacred Fire Cult’s remaining strength, then led the group toward the Spirit Herb Garden.

• Liu Yu killed the gentle Heavenly One Sect cultivator, destroyed her corpse, and watched Purple Robe shift her attack to another opponent.
• Ren Hongyan’s two junior brothers urged retreat, so she prepared a talisman treasure while Liu Yu prolonged his fight with the Snow Leopard Spirit Beast.
• Ren Hongyan activated a Jade Flute Talisman Treasure and summoned two fire phoenixes, then fled as her companions used Heavenly Thunder Pearls and talismans to cover their escape.
• Tang Tianbao stopped the Sacred Fire Cult members from pursuing the fleeing Heavenly One Sect cultivators, explaining that the cult could not afford further losses.
• Liu Yu killed the Snow Leopard Spirit Beast and stored its corpse, then joined Tang Tianbao’s group as they headed toward the Spirit Herb Garden.

Liu Yu helped Tang Tianbao’s group secure and replant the Spirit Herb Garden, then traveled with them across the Secret Realm’s second level to collect its remaining resources. After Uncle Yang asked whether they should leave, Tang Tianbao instead led the group toward an undisclosed destination.

• Tang Tianbao’s group returned from their failed pursuit of the Heavenly One Sect cultivators and praised Liu Yu for helping defeat one of their enemies.
• The seven entered the Spirit Herb Garden, harvested its mature plants, and entrusted Liu Yu with planting the remaining seeds.
• Tang Tianbao installed a formation to protect the garden, and the group left Sacred Flame Peak to gather resources from the Secret Realm’s other sites.
• Liu Yu counted more than a hundred Resource Sites on the second level as the group collected their contents.
• Uncle Yang asked Tang Tianbao whether they should leave, but Tang Tianbao told everyone to follow him and set off in a different direction.

Tang Tianbao revealed that the Sacred Fire Cult’s Secret Realm had been built to finish refining the half-made Sacred Fire Sword, a Spirit Treasure left by Patriarch Skyfire. He opened the passage to the Secret Realm’s core and led Liu Yu and the others inside, where they learned the sword was guarded by powerful formations.

• Tang Tianbao led Liu Yu and the others to an ordinary hill near Sacred Flame Peak and explained that the Sacred Fire Cult’s headquarters had fallen after seven Nascent Soul Cultivators attacked during an attempt to refine a Spirit Treasure.
• Tang Tianbao revealed that Patriarch Skyfire escaped with the half-refined Sacred Fire Sword and established the Secret Realm to continue refining it.
• Tang Tianbao used the Sacred Fire Token to split open the hill and reveal an entrance to the Secret Realm’s core.
• Liu Yu followed Tang Tianbao into the passage and sensed increasingly dense fire spiritual energy as they descended.
• Tang Tianbao explained that the Sacred Fire Sword was protected by two complementary fourth-tier formations and that Patriarch Skyfire had ordered the secret to be passed from one Holy Son to the next.

Liu Yu and the Sacred Fire Cult cultivators reached the magma-filled third level of the Secret Realm and activated a vast formation with the Sacred Fire Token. The formation channeled power into the lava lake, where an immense pressure descended as the chapter ended.

• Liu Yu and the others crossed the floating islands above the magma lake and reached the barren central island.
• Tang Tianbao uncovered a vast formation while Liu Yu searched the islands for the Sacred Fire Sword and suspected it was hidden in the magma.
• Tang Tianbao activated the Sacred Fire Token, and Liu Yu sensed the formation begin to respond.
• The floating island fragments shook, revealing countless formations that channeled spiritual power toward the central island.
• The central formation sent a massive pillar of light into the lava lake, and a terrifying pressure descended upon the group.

Liu Yu watched the Sacred Fire Sword absorb the formations’ power and undergo True Lord Skyfire’s final forging process, but the attempt to make it a Spirit Treasure ended in a violent explosion. The sword survived with its tip missing and all its power gone, leaving it lying like ordinary iron on the central floating island.

• Liu Yu and the others endured the oppressive might as the enormous Sacred Fire Sword rose from the lava lake and hovered above the central formation.
• The central formation poured accumulated spiritual power into the sword for twelve hours, but Liu Yu sensed that it had gained no spirituality and remained a Treasure.
• Countless runes from the surrounding formations branded themselves onto the sword, shrinking it to three feet and vastly increasing its power.
• The central formation joined the sword, but its growing instability forced Liu Yu and Tang Tianbao to retreat as the blade shook and gathered power.
• The Sacred Fire Sword exploded in a surge of orange-red light, destroying many floating island fragments and shaking the Secret Realm’s third level.
• After the light faded, Liu Yu saw that the sword’s tip had vanished; it lost its power, fell onto the central island, and lay still.

After the Sacred Fire Sword’s forging failed, Liu Yu saw a chance to claim the powerful Treasure, while Zhou Ziwen launched a sudden betrayal and tried to escape with it. Tang Tianbao survived Zhou’s attack but lost Uncle Yang, and the chapter ended as he activated the Formation to seal the exit.

• Liu Yu judged that the failed forging left the Sacred Fire Sword powerful enough for him to refine after forming his Golden Core, and he watched Zhou Ziwen suspiciously as the group approached it.
• Zhou Ziwen stabbed at Tang Tianbao from behind and unleashed Talisman Spells against the others, while Uncle Yang used a life-consuming Secret Art to shield Tang Tianbao and died from Zhou’s Black Knife.
• Tang Tianbao was grievously wounded but survived, and Zhou Ziwen grabbed the Sacred Fire Sword, failed to store it, and fled toward the exit as Liu Yu held back.
• Zhou Ziwen sent Voice-Transmitting Talismans to accomplices, while Purple Robe and two other followers broke free of his spells and pursued him; Liu Yu followed after clearing the lightning attack.
• Tang Tianbao recovered enough to move, took out the Sacred Fire Token, and activated the Formation to seal the exit as Zhou Ziwen neared it.

Zhou Ziwen revealed himself as the Twisted Shadow and fought Liu Yu, Purple Robe, Tang Tianbao, and the others while trying to escape with the Sacred Fire Sword. He broke through the exit barrier with a blood-path spell and Blood Baleful Pearls, then paused at the exit with one hand on the sword as Tang Tianbao pursued him.

• Zhou Ziwen used his Black Scepter to attack the exit barrier while Liu Yu and the Sacred Fire Cult members tried to stop him.
• Purple Robe and Liu Yu recognized Zhou Ziwen's blood-path methods as those of the wanted evil cultivator Twisted Shadow.
• Tang Tianbao confronted Zhou Ziwen, who admitted leaking information to rival sects and claiming the Sacred Fire Sword for himself.
• Zhou Ziwen unleashed Blood Plague Cloud, corroded the barrier, and escaped the attackers by throwing Blood Baleful Pearls.
• Tang Tianbao reached the exit ahead of the others, where Zhou Ziwen paused with a hand on the Sacred Fire Sword.

Liu Yu watched the Sacred Fire Cult, Heavenly One Sect, and Heavenly Demon Sect converge over the Sacred Fire Sword and Secret Realm Key, then entered the chaotic battle while concealing his full strength. The fight began in earnest, and Liu Yu easily repelled the Heavenly One Sect cultivator’s opening attacks as the platform filled with clashing techniques.

• Liu Yu realized Zhou Ziwen had arranged for cultivators from the Heavenly One Sect and Heavenly Demon Sect to meet them, making a battle inevitable.
• Ren Hongyan, the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator, and Zhou Ziwen agreed to join forces temporarily against Tang Tianbao’s group, despite distrust and rivalry between the sects.
• Tang Tianbao and Purple Robe tried to persuade Ren Hongyan and the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator to switch sides, but neither responded.
• Ren Hongyan opened the battle with the Vermilion Ancient Zither, while the other cultivators attacked their assigned opponents and Zhou Ziwen launched a lethal assault on Tang Tianbao.
• Liu Yu shattered Ren Hongyan’s red arrows and repelled the Righteous Youth’s six Cold Star Darts with his Dark Moon Sword and bare fists.
• The fighting spread across the cramped platform, with spells and magical artifacts colliding as Liu Yu held back and waited for the combatants to weaken one another.

Liu Yu concealed his full strength while fighting the Heavenly One Sect’s Righteous Youth, then isolated and killed him with a divine sense attack. He returned to find Purple Robe mortally wounded by Ren Hongyan, and began fighting alone as the remaining battles continued.

• Liu Yu drove the Righteous Youth into the passage, blocked outside observation with a Divine Sense Wall, and knocked him unconscious with Spirit-Shocking Thorn.
• Liu Yu killed the Righteous Youth with Azure Yang Demonic Flame, collected his spoils, and hurried back to the platform.
• Ren Hongyan’s assault overwhelmed Purple Robe, and a red feathered arrow pierced her chest before Liu Yu could reach her.
• Purple Robe died after whispering to Liu Yu, and her Spirit Artifact fell when she lost control of it.
• Liu Yu laid Purple Robe’s body aside and fought Ren Hongyan’s illusory weapons alone while monitoring the other battles.

Liu Yu feigned weakness while the cultivators battled and waited for an opening. When Ren Hongyan turned her attack on a cult member, Liu Yu killed a Heavenly One Sect cultivator by surprise, leaving six fighters on the battlefield.

• Ren Hongyan intensified her assault on Liu Yu with formations of fire-empowered weapons, while he deliberately appeared close to defeat and conserved his strength.
• Tang Tianbao attacked Zhou Ziwen with renewed fury after Purple Robe died, and the two exchanged powerful sword and blood-bat attacks.
• Liu Yu assessed the battles and continued stalling, planning to exploit the hostility between the Heavenly Demon Sect and Heavenly One Sect.
• Ren Hongyan unleashed a Starfire Torrent at Liu Yu and a nearby cult member; Liu Yu used silver blades and an icy barrier to withstand her attack.
• When Ren Hongyan and another Heavenly One Sect cultivator cornered the nearby cult member, Liu Yu used Flash Spirit Art and smashed the second cultivator with nine strikes of the Dark Moon Sword.
• Ren Hongyan's Flamebirds killed the cult member moments after Liu Yu's attack, leaving six fighters alive: Liu Yu, Tang Tianbao, Zhou Ziwen, Ren Hongyan, and two other cultivators.

Liu Yu held off Ren Hongyan with a stockpile of powerful talismans while the other cultivators fought, waiting for the battle to weaken his opponents. After the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator finished off the Sacred Fire Cult's last follower, he turned on Ren Hongyan and trapped her between himself and Liu Yu.

• Ren Hongyan attacked Liu Yu with Flame Heron phantoms and weapon projections, but Liu Yu repelled them with Golden Wind Dispersal Talismans and his Dark Moon Sword.
• The Eyebrowless Male Cultivator secretly proposed joining forces against Ren Hongyan, and Liu Yu agreed while intending to exploit the fighting.
• The Eyebrowless Male Cultivator drained the Sacred Fire Cult's final follower and extracted his primordial spirit into his black banner Spirit Artifact.
• Ren Hongyan eased her attacks on Liu Yu and turned her attention toward the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator, while Tang Tianbao and Zhou Ziwen activated their talisman treasures against each other.
• The Eyebrowless Male Cultivator bypassed Tang Tianbao and Zhou Ziwen, positioned himself on Ren Hongyan's other side, and attacked her with souls and two black spheres.

Liu Yu concealed his strength while Ren Hongyan and the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator exhausted their trump cards in a fierce battle. When Ren Hongyan faced the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, Liu Yu revealed his overwhelming cultivation and prepared to strike as the chapter ended.

• Ren Hongyan and the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator brought out their talisman treasures, and their fire phoenix and black skull fought until both vanished.
• Liu Yu stopped hiding his body-refining strength and pressured Ren Hongyan, creating an opening for the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator.
• The Eyebrowless Male Cultivator unleashed over a hundred Soul Wraiths and two dark spheres at Ren Hongyan.
• Ren Hongyan stopped playing as the Soul Wraiths closed in, then looked at Liu Yu with hatred.
• Liu Yu dispelled his Spirit-Concealing Art, released spirit pressure stronger than Foundation Establishment peak, and prepared Spirit-Shocking Thorn and Azure Yang Demonic Flame attacks.

Liu Yu killed Ren Hongyan and the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator, then seized the chance to burn Zhou Ziwen to ashes after Tang Tianbao spared him. As Liu Yu prepared to subdue Tang Tianbao and take the Sacred Fire Sword, his spiritual perception warned him of mortal danger from the sword, and he realized it possessed spirituality.

• Liu Yu struck the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator with the Spirit-Shocking Thorn and killed him with the Molten Fire Saber, then drove the living souls back into the black banner.
• Liu Yu gathered Ren Hongyan's and the Eyebrowless Male Cultivator's artifacts and Storage Bags, and the Azure Yang Demonic Flame absorbed Ren Hongyan's vitality.
• Tang Tianbao defeated Zhou Ziwen with a sword strike powered by sword momentum, but stopped short of killing him and let him leave with one arm severed.
• Liu Yu attacked Zhou Ziwen with the Spirit-Shocking Thorn and Azure Yang Demonic Flame, killing him and advancing the flame to the Nine Demonic Flame Turns.
• Tang Tianbao recognized Liu Yu as Hong Hao and the Azure Yang Old Devil, then tried to delay him while recovering his magic power.
• Liu Yu halted his attack after sensing mortal danger from the Sacred Fire Sword and realized the sword possessed spirituality.

Liu Yu and Tang Tianbao left the Sacred Fire Cult Secret Realm after the Sacred Fire Sword awakened as a spirit treasure and acknowledged Tang Tianbao. Outside, True Person Black Bone, a late Golden Core cultivator, ambushed them and demanded their treasures, forcing Tang Tianbao to raise the sword and begin Ultimate Sublimation.

• Liu Yu recognized that the Sacred Fire Sword had gained spirituality and acknowledged Tang Tianbao, so he abandoned his plan to attack and seize it.
• Liu Yu and Tang Tianbao made peace, gathered the fallen cult members' bodies, and used the hidden teleportation formation to leave the Secret Realm.
• After emerging into the desert, Liu Yu and Tang Tianbao prepared to part ways, but a late Golden Core cultivator's pressure suddenly locked onto them.
• True Person Black Bone demanded their storage bags and the treasures they had obtained, threatening to extract and refine their souls if they refused.
• Tang Tianbao raised the Sacred Fire Sword, recalled the fallen Sacred Fire Cult members, and began Ultimate Sublimation.

Tang Tianbao wielded the Sacred Fire Sword to destroy True Person Black Bone, but the Spirit Treasure consumed his life. Before dying, he entrusted Liu Yu with the sword and the Sacred Fire Cult’s legacy, and Liu Yu renamed the blade the Ruined Sword.

• Tang Tianbao entered sudden enlightenment, joined his mind with the Sacred Fire Sword, and summoned a towering sword phantom by drawing spiritual energy from the surrounding land.
• True Person Black Bone unleashed his black banner, thousands of ghosts, and a swarm of skulls, but Tang Tianbao’s first sword strike destroyed them all.
• Tang Tianbao’s next strike overwhelmed True Person Black Bone’s defenses and reduced him to dust, while the sword’s power drained Tang Tianbao’s life.
• Tang Tianbao gave Liu Yu the Sacred Fire Sword and explained the Sacred Fire Token’s hand seals and Secret Realm, asking him to preserve the Sacred Fire Cult’s legacy before he died.
• Liu Yu burned Tang Tianbao’s body, took up the altered gray sword, and named it the Ruined Sword.

Liu Yu returned from the Western Sand Land with the Ruined Sword and a damaged black-banner Treasure, then warned the Sacred Fire Cult to hide by inventing a story about the Holy Son’s mission. Back at the Primordial Yang Sect, he paid a visit to Li Changkong and received the master’s Core Formation insights as he prepared to advance his cultivation.

• Liu Yu failed to gain the Ruined Sword’s recognition, discovered it could not be stored while its spirit resisted, and took the damaged black-banner Treasure for himself.
• Liu Yu erased the battlefield traces, left the Western Sand Land, and stopped at the West Sand Market Ward to warn Purple Heart that the Sacred Fire Cult faced pursuit, while concealing the deaths of Tang Tianbao and the others.
• Liu Yu left the market, crossed into another country, and used a Teleportation Formation to return to the Primordial Yang Sect.
• Liu Yu visited Li Changkong at Heaven-Reaching Peak, reported that a small opportunity had advanced his cultivation, and said he planned to reach Foundation Establishment Peak before preparing for Core Formation.
• Li Changkong gave Liu Yu his recorded Core Formation insights and urged him to learn from his senior sister, Li Buyu.

After returning to the Primordial Yang Sect, Liu Yu reunited with Ji Ruyan, then retreated to his cultivation room to examine the spoils from his journey into the Secret Realm. He secured the three-origin fruit and considered how advancing to the Golden Core realm might let him bring the Ruined Sword into the Immortal Mansion and refine it.

• Liu Yu left his nominal master's cave abode, received greetings from Foundation Establishment disciples at the True Yang Daoist Ground, and flew back to Rosycloud Mountain.
• Liu Yu reunited with Ji Ruyan, shared pastries and intimacy with her, and heard that the past year had been largely peaceful for the Jade Pill Hall.
• Liu Yu entrusted Ji Ruyan with Little Green and the Storage Bag before heading to his cultivation room to resume cultivation.
• Liu Yu examined the three-origin fruit from his Secret Realm spoils and recognized its potential to improve his chances of forming a high-grade Golden Core.
• Liu Yu tried to communicate with the Ruined Sword's sword spirit, then failed to bring the sword into the Immortal Mansion but suspected he could overcome its resistance after reaching the Golden Core realm.

Liu Yu inventoried his spoils from the Secret Realm, secured rare resources for his future Golden Core, and gave Jiang Qiushui and Ji Ruyan top-grade spirit artifacts. As his preparations for Core Formation neared completion, he decided to settle the karmic ties of his current life and wondered whether any descendants of the Liu family still survived.

• Liu Yu examined the damaged black banner and his many spirit artifacts, then considered selling some, keeping others, and eventually cultivating deathsworn after Core Formation.
• Liu Yu discovered Millennium Spirit Milk, Falling Sun Crystal, and a vast trove of resources among Tang Tianbao's belongings, storing the haul in the Immortal Mansion.
• Liu Yu continued cultivating, refined lunar yin power with the Astral True Form, and practiced his combat techniques before meeting Jiang Qiushui and Ji Ruyan.
• Liu Yu gave Jiang Qiushui the Light-Concealing Sword and Ji Ruyan the Ancient Phoenix zither, charging each of them three thousand spirit stones.
• After watching Jiang Qiushui dance with her sword while Ji Ruyan played the zither, Liu Yu concluded that only one final matter remained before Core Formation and wondered whether the Liu family still had descendants.