Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into the Dao Sect, Chen Yu learned that he had seven days to reach the third layer of Qi Refining or be turned into Spirit Essence. His system awarded almost no experience for ordinary cultivation, but he discovered that cultivating amid the yin qi of the Mass Burial Grounds earned it far faster.

• Chen Yu learned that his Dao Sect assessment was seven days away and that failure would mean being refined into Spirit Essence.
• A system revealed Chen Yu was a mortal with a false spiritual root and required 11 experience points for his next level.
• Chen Yu tried cultivating the Qi Guiding Art but gained experience at an impractically slow rate.
• Chen Yu realized the system might count simulated cultivation using a different kind of qi.
• Chen Yu went to the Mass Burial Grounds and gained 0.001 experience points by simulating the Qi Guiding Art amid yin qi.

Chen Yu cultivated in the Mass Burial Grounds until he had enough experience to reach the Qi Refining First Layer, then returned to his stone house. He entered to find his Dao companion, Yun Miaozhen, waiting for him.

• Chen Yu absorbed yin energy while practicing the Qi Guiding Art, gradually accumulating 11 experience points despite having to stop when he grew cold.
• Chen Yu spent the experience to break through to the Qi Refining First Layer and felt his body recover and strengthen.
• Chen Yu saw that advancing to the second layer required 20 experience points and decided he had ample time before the assessment.
• Chen Yu hurried out of the Mass Burial Grounds after nightfall and headed back to his stone house.
• Chen Yu hesitated outside the door after seeing a woman's silhouette undressing, then entered when she called to him.
• Chen Yu recognized the woman reclining on the bed as his Dao companion, Yun Miaozhen.

Chen Yu confirmed that Yun Miaozhen’s harvesting drained his cultivation experience, then discovered his new qi refining first layer made him more resistant to the mass graveyard’s yin energy. He realized that reaching the Dao Sect assessment’s required cultivation in seven days would be difficult unless he found a way to restore his faster cultivation speed.

• Yun Miaozhen noticed Chen Yu had reached the qi refining first layer and celebrated by harvesting his spiritual essence.
• The next day, Yun Miaozhen found her cultivation had increased and said she expected to pass the Dao Sect’s assessment in seven days.
• Chen Yu checked his system and found that Yun Miaozhen’s harvesting had cost him 0.2 experience points.
• Chen Yu went to the mass graveyard to cultivate and discovered he was gaining only 0.00003 experience points per second.
• Chen Yu suspected his increased resistance to yin energy after reaching the qi refining first layer had slowed his cultivation, and considered cultivating at night to regain his former pace.

Chen Yu reduced his cultivation to mortal level so he could regain experience faster at the Mass Burial Grounds, hoping to reach the third layer of Qi Refining before the Dao Sect assessment. After a day of cultivation, he had gained over twenty experience points and set out for the grounds again before the elder’s lecture.

• Chen Yu returned to the Stone House and spent several days with Yun Miaozhen, reducing his cultivation to mortal level while she harvested his vitality.
• Chen Yu went to the Mass Burial Grounds and found he gained 0.0007 experience points per second while cultivating there.
• Chen Yu cultivated until nightfall, accumulated 20.16003 experience points, and returned to the Stone House, where Yun Miaozhen focused on her own cultivation.
• The next morning, Chen Yu packed food and water and headed back to the Mass Burial Grounds before the Dao Sect elder’s afternoon lecture.

Chen Yu went to Little Bamboo Peak for an elder’s lecture and discovered that the Dao Sect’s disciples considered being refined into spirit essence an honor. The elder began teaching after transforming one disciple into a Rhyme Spirit, leaving Chen Yu bewildered among the unafraid crowd.

• Chen Yu left the Mass Burial Grounds for the elder’s lecture at Little Bamboo Peak, where Liu Sanli met him and offered to share cultivation insights.
• Chen Yu noticed that the gathered disciples seemed relaxed despite the approaching assessment and the sweet scent growing stronger in the bamboo grove.
• An elder arrived on a crane, selected a disciple, and refined him into a Superior-grade Rhyme Spirit.
• Chen Yu asked Liu Sanli why he was not afraid, and Liu Sanli said the elder had shown great compassion; the other disciples shared his view.
• The elder tucked away the Rhyme Spirit and began his cultivation lecture.

Chen Yu learned that the Dao Sect refined nominal disciples into Spirit Essence and concealed the practice with incense that influenced their minds. After hearing that reaching the third layer of Qi Refining would not be enough to join the outer sect, he resumed cultivating and resolved to rely on his strength.

• Yun Miaozhen and Liu Sanli asked the elder questions during the lesson, while Chen Yu recognized the white bones as evidence of the sect's brutality and left.
• The elder praised the Spirit Essence he had taken from a living person, while two white-robed disciples moved the bones to the Mass Burial Grounds.
• Chen Yu returned to the Mass Burial Grounds and decided to gather experience points so he could reach the third layer of Qi Refining.
• Two Dao Sect disciples revealed that nominal disciples were expendable materials and that anyone seeking to enter the outer sect had to defeat an existing outer disciple, who would then be refined into Spirit Essence.
• Chen Yu realized he needed to prepare for a challenge beyond simply reaching the third layer and began cultivating again.

Chen Yu reached the experience limit of the Qi Guiding Art and spent all his stored experience to rise to the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining before the Dao Sect assessment. After noticing Yun Miaozhen’s sword practice and a missing skeleton at the Mass Burial Grounds, he prepared to improve his chances of passing in other ways.

• Chen Yu left the Mass Burial Grounds with 81 experience points and watched Yun Miaozhen practice Basic Sword Forms after she broke through to the third layer of Qi Refining.
• Yun Miaozhen explained that she had gathered spiritual power into her wooden sword until it flared and shattered, then led Chen Yu into the Stone House.
• Chen Yu returned to the Mass Burial Grounds the next day and found that the skeleton discarded there by two Dao Sect disciples had disappeared.
• Chen Yu cultivated until the Qi Guiding Art reached its limit at 99 experience points.
• Chen Yu allocated all his experience to his level, reaching the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining, then decided to prepare in another way for the assessment.

Chen Yu sought a way to blind an Outer Sect Disciple during the coming assessment and searched Little Bamboo Peak's Miscellaneous Goods Pavilion for something that could create a sudden flash. After discovering the Little Bright beads were too weak and easily broken, he tested Glowing Jade on the dark mountain path.

• Chen Yu decided to use a burst of light to blind his opponent during the assessment instead of fighting head-on.
• On Little Bamboo Peak, Chen Yu nearly fell under the influence of the sweetness in the air before catching himself and leaving for the Miscellaneous Goods Pavilion.
• Chen Yu took several Little Bright beads and two strings of Glowing Jade from the free supplies.
• On the mountain path, Chen Yu overloaded a Little Bright bead with Spiritual Power, but it only glowed brighter before cracking apart.
• Chen Yu took out the Glowing Jade to test it.

Chen Yu tested Glowing Jade and accidentally interrupted two Registered Disciples, then attended the Dao Sect assessment at Jade Forest Peak. When the disciples who had reached the third layer of Qi Refining were called forward, Chen Yu joined Yun Miaozhen, leaving Liu Sanli stunned.

• Chen Yu infused Glowing Jade with spiritual power and discovered it burst into a blinding flash before crumbling to dust.
• Chen Yu threw another piece into nearby bushes and startled a naked man and woman, then hurried away as they cursed him.
• Chen Yu met Liu Sanli at Little Bamboo Peak, where Liu Sanli learned Chen Yu had reached the Qi Refining First Layer and praised his abundant spiritual power.
• Two Dao Sect disciples led the gathered Registered Disciples to Jade Forest Peak for the assessment, and Chen Yu memorized the face of the ill-tempered Brother Zhou.
• Elder Sun called for disciples at the third layer of Qi Refining, and Chen Yu stepped forward beside Yun Miaozhen, astonishing Liu Sanli.

Chen Yu reached the third layer of Qi Refining and qualified for the outer sect, while Elder Sun Shengcheng persuaded the disciples who had failed to enter a formation that killed them and turned them into Rhyme Spirit. The chapter ended with Chen Yu, Yun Miaozhen, and a scar-faced man learning that they had to defeat an outer sect disciple to advance.

• Liu Sanli and Yun Miaozhen were surprised by Chen Yu’s sudden strength, and Yun Miaozhen regretted not harvesting him more thoroughly.
• Elder Sun Shengcheng counted the disciples’ expected Rhyme Spirit and praised the failed candidates, who eagerly declared their willingness to contribute to the Dao Sect.
• Elder Sun Shengcheng directed the failed disciples into a formation, and the elders activated it, killing everyone inside and producing Rhyme Spirit.
• Elder Wu collected the Rhyme Spirit and gave pieces to Elder Sun and Elder Song.
• Elder Sun Shengcheng told Chen Yu, Yun Miaozhen, and the scar-faced man that each had to defeat an outer sect disciple to enter the outer sect.

Elder Wu killed a registered disciple who challenged the outer-sect advancement rules, and Yun Miaozhen lost her trial after an elder secretly disrupted her spiritual power. Chen Yu began his own trial at night, preparing to use the jade hidden in his hand against an arrogant outer sect disciple.

• Elder Sun clarified that reaching the third layer of Qi Refining only gave registered disciples a chance to advance, and Elder Wu killed the scarred disciple when he protested.
• Yun Miaozhen chose Junior Brother Xu for her trial and struggled against his iron sword while wielding a wooden one.
• Yun Miaozhen gained the upper hand with basic sword moves, but Junior Brother Xu used Earth Collapse to break her sword and knock her down.
• An elder prevented Yun Miaozhen from mobilizing her spiritual power, allowing Junior Brother Xu to point his sword at her throat and win.
• Chen Yu chose an arrogant outer sect disciple as his opponent, then gripped his wooden sword and touched the jade hidden in his hand.

Chen Yu defeated an arrogant Outer Sect disciple by using the Glowing Jade to blind him, earning official admission to the Dao Sect's Outer Sect. Elder Song then used a sweet-smelling substance to make the defeated disciple accept his fate as spirit essence.

• Chen Yu chose to challenge the arrogant disciple and avoided his sword attacks while Elder Wu imposed a ten-breath limit on the fight.
• Chen Yu flashed the Glowing Jade repeatedly, blinding his opponent and letting him press the Wooden Sword against the disciple's chest.
• The arrogant disciple protested that Chen Yu had won through underhanded tricks, but Elder Wu ruled that Chen Yu had won.
• Elder Sun praised Chen Yu and made him an official Outer Sect disciple.
• Elder Song released a sweet scent that calmed the defeated disciple, who accepted that it was time for him to become spirit essence.

Chen Yu returned to Little Bamboo Peak after surviving the assessment and received Ah Zhen’s inferior Spirit Essence. While preparing to leave for Emerald Cloud Peak, he found a hidden key and then recognized Wang He as a raving madman.

• Elder Wu gave Chen Yu the inferior Spirit Essence refined from the failed disciple and left the admission arrangements to Elders Sun and Song.
• Elder Sun told Chen Yu to meet him at Emerald Cloud Peak the next morning, and Xu Yunnian and Wang He learned that Chen Yu had a false spirit embryo.
• Chen Yu returned alone to Little Bamboo Peak, examined Ah Zhen’s Spirit Essence, and went to sleep without feeling grief or joy at her death.
• While stripping the bedding from his stone bed, Chen Yu found a strangely shaped key hidden beneath Ah Zhen’s sleeping place and took it.
• On the way to Emerald Cloud Peak, Chen Yu followed a muttering outer disciple and discovered that the man was Wang He.

Chen Yu encountered Wang He babbling incoherently after the two had handled skeletal remains at the Mass Burial Grounds. The Outer Sect disciples brought them to Elder Sun, who sent Wang He to Jade Yao Peak and told Chen Yu he would be registered at Emerald Cloud Peak.

• Chen Yu recognized Wang He, who ran past him muttering that something was both dead and alive.
• Outer Sect disciples confronted Chen Yu, and he told them he had passed the assessment and become an Outer Sect disciple.
• The disciples escorted Chen Yu and Wang He to Elder Sun, who failed to rouse Wang He and declared him beyond saving.
• Elder Sun sent Wang He to Elder Zheng at Jade Yao Peak to settle his debts.
• Elder Sun explained that Chen Yu would join Emerald Cloud Peak because he had taken Zhou Yun's place, and said he would register him.

Elder Sun registered Chen Yu as an outer disciple of Emerald Cloud Peak and explained the sect’s provisions, costs, and missions. When Chen Yu revealed he had a false spirit embryo, Elder Sun’s hopes for him collapsed, and he left Chen Yu to collect his own supplies.

• Elder Sun replaced Zhou Yun’s name with Chen Yu’s in the register and issued Chen Yu an outer disciple token.
• Elder Sun explained the free provisions, cultivation manual, expenses, loans, and contribution-point missions available to Chen Yu.
• Elder Sun showed Chen Yu the mission board, then helped him collect two sets of outer disciple robes.
• At the Scripture Repository, Chen Yu asked which manual suited a false spirit embryo, and Elder Sun examined his meridians and confirmed it.
• Elder Sun cursed and walked away, telling Chen Yu to collect a manual, a sword, and his residence key and Code of Conduct Manual himself.

Chen Yu chose the powerful but costly True Essence Profound Canon after discovering that its glowing reviews concealed its demanding cultivation requirements. He left the Scripture Repository committed to cultivating it and was advised to borrow money from Elder Sun to afford the arts needed to advance.

• Elder Sun reacted with dismay upon learning Chen Yu had a False Spirit Embryo, and the Scripture Repository's guardian revealed that he had also risen from registered disciple to Outer Sect disciple with one.
• The guardian directed Chen Yu to the True Essence Profound Canon, where Chen Yu found a collection of glowing reviews and chose to inspect other cultivation arts before deciding.
• Chen Yu learned that the True Essence Profound Canon required additional arts for each breakthrough beyond the fourth level of Qi Refining, making it expensive to cultivate.
• Chen Yu added a misleadingly positive review warning against the art while admitting he intended to cultivate it, then selected the True Essence Profound Canon.
• The guardian told Chen Yu that Elder Sun's Sun Zheng Loans could lend him enough to help reach the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Chen Yu discovered that suspending Ah Zhen over his Baihui acupoint greatly accelerated his cultivation with the True Essence Profound Canon, letting him reach the technique’s limit and spend experience to advance to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. He planned to earn spirit essence for new techniques and conceal his level, then read the Dao Sect’s conduct rules.

• Chen Yu collected a standard longsword, his house key, and the Code of Conduct Manual, then settled into his house and began studying the True Essence Profound Canon.
• Chen Yu found that ordinary cultivation gained experience far too slowly and realized Ah Zhen could supply the spiritual energy needed to speed it up.
• Chen Yu hung Ah Zhen above his head and cultivated, gaining experience rapidly without depleting her spiritual power.
• Chen Yu cultivated until the True Essence Profound Canon reached its limit and his experience total reached fifty points.
• Chen Yu spent ten experience points to advance to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, leaving forty points, and decided to earn spirit essence for new cultivation techniques.
• Chen Yu read the Dao Sect’s Code of Conduct Manual, which listed rules for Outer Sect disciples.

Chen Yu studied the Dao Sect’s extensive rulebook and realized that catching violations could earn him points to exchange for spirit essence. After avoiding a shoelace violation and passing the Emerald Cloud Peak disciples watching his door, he questioned two fellow outer disciples and learned how the five outer peaks were organized and reached.

• Chen Yu calculated that he needed eight hundred points to obtain cultivation methods, Martial Skills, and a Qi-Concealing Method, and decided to seek violations beyond his monthly quota.
• Chen Yu checked his clothes and equipment against the rules, then caught and corrected his improperly tied shoelaces before leaving his room.
• Outer disciples who had watched Chen Yu’s door failed to catch him breaking a rule and recognized that he had complied perfectly.
• Chen Yu asked two outer disciples about visiting other peaks, prompting them to answer politely under the handbook’s rules.
• The two disciples explained the five outer peaks and told Chen Yu to follow the signposts down the white jade steps.

Chen Yu explored Heavenly Flame Peak, Jade Yao Peak, and Ten Thousand Mountains Peak and discovered their disciples were being used as furnace fires, pool water, and mountain formations. At Purple Bamboo Peak, he found a mission seeking Xu Yunnian’s corpse but decided it was too dangerous to pursue.

• Chen Yu visited Heavenly Flame Peak and learned its disciples transformed into flames beneath alchemy and smelting furnaces.
• Chen Yu visited Jade Yao Peak and Ten Thousand Mountains Peak, discovering their disciples served as spirit-pool water and mountain-guarding formations.
• Chen Yu arrived at Purple Bamboo Peak and found a mission offering a spirit essence for Xu Yunnian’s corpse.
• Chen Yu recalled that Xu Yunnian and Wang He had cleared bones at Jadewood Peak before Wang He went mad, and suspected they had encountered trouble at the Mass Burial Grounds.
• Chen Yu judged the corpse-recovery mission too dangerous and decided to return to Emerald Cloud Peak.

After failing to catch any rule violations, Chen Yu sought Contribution Points and learned about a high-reward mission to find Xu Yunnian's corpse. He persuaded a Senior Sister selling a service that supplied reportable violations to let him witness one before paying, and she agreed to take him somewhere secluded.

• Chen Yu found no violations on the five peaks and worried about completing his monthly assignment or earning Contribution Points.
• At the mission board, Chen Yu learned that Liu He had accepted the mission to find Xu Yunnian's corpse, whose discovery offered a Spirit Essence and whose leads earned Contribution Points.
• Chen Yu considered searching for leads himself after other disciples left to look for Xu Yunnian.
• A Senior Sister offered Chen Yu six months of supplied violations through her organization's service, with a ten-Contribution-Point fee or an interest-free seven-day loan.
• Chen Yu asked to see a violation before joining, and the Senior Sister agreed to take him somewhere secluded.