Chapter Summaries

After Chen Yu reached the second layer of Foundation Establishment, he tested whether his five spirit seeds could nourish one another and began cultivating through their cycle. The chapter ended as he activated his cultivation manuals and saw all six start cultivating at once.

• Lü Yanyan asked Chen Yu to help enclose their homes with a fence, and he asked whether she had seen Shen Fei.
• Chen Yu decided to seek out Shen Fei after breaking through and handing over his position as Nine-Bend Peak's Senior Master Brother.
• Chen Yu cultivated the Yi Wood Heart Sutra and advanced to the second layer of Foundation Establishment, forming a wood spirit seed and learning the Water Escape Technique.
• Chen Yu used water essence to nourish wood, then circulated essence through all five spirit seeds in a continuous cycle.
• Chen Yu activated the True Essence Profound Canon and discovered that his other five cultivation manuals were cultivating at the same time.

Chen Yu discovered that cultivating the True Essence Profound Canon also advanced his five other manuals, and he used Poison No. 38 to push his cultivation despite its memory-loss side effect. Lü Yanyan mistook his repeated questions for a strange loop before learning he was testing poison, and she resolved to give him a proper boost that evening.

• Chen Yu realized that the five manuals ran alongside the True Essence Profound Canon, letting him gain experience in all of them at once.
• Chen Yu swallowed a quarter of Poison No. 38 and resumed cultivating, unaware that the poison would repeatedly erase his recent memories.
• Lü Yanyan noticed Chen Yu asking the same question about her fence work each time he opened his eyes and wondered whether she was trapped in a loop.
• Lü Yanyan checked the fence, confirmed time was passing normally, and grew worried that Chen Yu was losing his memory.
• Chen Yu explained that his temporary memory loss came from testing a new poison, and Lü Yanyan left determined to give him a proper boost that night.

After reaching the limit of the True Essence Profound Canon, Chen Yu tried to arrange for Shen Fei to poison him so he could relinquish his position as Nine-Bend Peak's Senior Master Brother. Shen Fei instead admired Chen Yu's generosity and talent as they headed to his residence with Cao Jun and Li Wei as witnesses.

• Chen Yu used his Experience Points to raise his cultivation and went to visit Shen Fei, hoping to hand over his position as Senior Master Brother.
• Shen Fei told Chen Yu that he had stopped adding poison to his meals and was focusing on studying the Poison Path.
• Shen Fei showed Chen Yu his Bone-Softening Powder formula, and Chen Yu suggested improving it with powdered Ghost King Scorpion remains.
• Chen Yu offered to give Shen Fei Ghost King Scorpions and invited Cao Jun and Li Wei along as witnesses.
• Shen Fei followed Chen Yu, admiring his skill and generosity and believing he deserved to be Senior Master Brother.

Chen Yu displayed rare venomous creatures from Black Mist Marsh and used conversation about poison research to make Shen Fei believe he was exceptionally devoted to the poison path. After Lü Yanyan brought him restorative soup, Chen Yu believed he had made himself seem vulnerable and prepared to create an opportunity for Shen Fei to poison him.

• Shen Fei, Cao Jun, and Li Wei admired Chen Yu’s dried venomous creatures, and Shen Fei praised his courage in collecting them from Black Mist Marsh.
• Shen Fei warned Cao Jun and Li Wei not to touch the deadly specimens, increasing their admiration for Chen Yu.
• Lü Yanyan brought Chen Yu spirit ginseng and pigeon soup, and Chen Yu claimed that testing a new poison on himself had left him weak.
• Chen Yu told the others to be cautious about testing poisons on themselves, while Shen Fei interpreted the tale as proof of Chen Yu’s devotion and resolved to learn from him.
• Chen Yu accepted the soup and planned to create an opportunity for Shen Fei to poison him.

Chen Yu arranged for Shen Fei to reclaim the position of Nine-Bend Peak's Senior Master Brother by making it appear that Shen had poisoned him. After the others left, Chen Yu revealed he had faked his collapse to escape the burdens of the position, while Shen Fei realized Chen Yu had staged the incident.

• Lü Yanyan brought Chen Yu spirit ginseng and pigeon soup, and Shen Fei, Cao Jun, and Li Wei visited to discuss poison-making.
• Chen Yu left Shen Fei alone with his dinner and ingredients, but Shen Fei carefully avoided contaminating the soup and prepared the poison formula instead.
• Chen Yu returned with Ghost King Scorpions, helped Shen Fei adjust his Soft-Bone Powder formula, and arranged for Cao Jun and Li Wei to leave the room.
• When Shen Fei took the finished powder from Chen Yu, it scattered onto Chen Yu, who pretended to collapse and declared that Shen Fei had won back the Senior Master Brother position.
• Lü Yanyan rushed in with her sword drawn, but Chen Yu took an antidote and sent Shen Fei, Cao Jun, and Li Wei away before revealing that he had been pretending.
• Shen Fei told Cao Jun and Li Wei that Chen Yu had deliberately staged the incident, and they hurried after him.

Chen Yu prepared for Wei Yang's revival while trying to refine a Spirit-Restoring Pill that might let him divert Wei Yang into a dog. He ran out of supreme heart-calming grass and left Nine-Bend Peak to look for more at Purple Bamboo Peak.

• Chen Yu reached the peak of the third layer of Foundation Establishment but could not obtain the final experience point needed to break through to Golden Core.
• Chen Yu decided to prepare for Wei Yang's revival with poisons and formations, and considered using a Spirit-Restoring Pill to transfer Wei Yang into a dog.
• Chen Yu repeatedly failed to refine the Spirit-Restoring Pill, then used spirit-gathering jade as a steady source of fire to produce a blackish-yellow pill.
• Chen Yu ran out of supreme heart-calming grass and left for Purple Bamboo Peak to ask whether inner sect disciples could collect more.

Chen Yu headed to Purple Bamboo Peak to obtain supreme heart-calming grass and accepted spirit essence from Shen Fei to pay for it. Passing Emerald Cloud Peak on the way, he decided to visit Zhang Jiuge and continued up the mountain.

• Chen Yu learned from Shen Fei that supreme heart-calming grass had to be purchased with spirit essence, and Shen Fei gave him three pieces as thanks for his help with the Soft-Bone Powder formula.
• Zhao Meng challenged Chen Yu’s seniority, so Shen Fei slapped him and insisted that Chen Yu was Nine-Bend Peak’s true Senior Master Brother.
• Chen Yu left with the spirit essence and crossed the ravine by Heaven-Chasm Peak using his true qi.
• Chen Yu passed Emerald Cloud Peak, decided to visit Zhang Jiuge, and continued up its mountainside after the disciples greeted him respectfully.

Chen Yu returned to Emerald Cloud Peak and found its disciples struggling under new rules that pressured them to volunteer for Dispatch Missions. After Senior Zhang Jiuge warned him to leave because the peak master had returned, Chen Yu fled and sensed a powerful Golden Core-level presence, but then encountered Senior Brother Li.

• Chen Yu found notices requiring Emerald Cloud Peak disciples to catch violations in person and offering rewards for volunteering for Dispatch Missions.
• Chen Yu visited Senior Zhang Jiuge, who looked frail and warned him that the peak master had returned and he should leave immediately.
• Chen Yu told Zhang Jiuge that Elder Jin, who had possessed a female disciple and cultivated the True Origin Mystic Canon, was dead; Zhang Jiuge tearfully thanked him and murmured, "Little Lei..."
• Chen Yu hurried off Emerald Cloud Peak and sensed an immense surge of true qi that he estimated belonged to someone at least at the second layer of Golden Core.
• Chen Yu used the Wind-Riding Art to head toward Purple Bamboo Peak, where he encountered Senior Brother Li.

Chen Yu visited the Outer Sect to obtain supreme heart-calming grass and learned that Elder Li was struggling under Peak Master Gao’s rule. Back at Nine Bends Peak, Chen Yu secluded himself in the Immortal Relic and successfully refined a Spirit-Restoring Pill on his fourth attempt.

• Chen Yu met Elder Li, who described how Peak Master Gao’s return had stripped him of authority and left him fearful of being punished for delays.
• Chen Yu saw that the Heavenly Union Association’s headquarters on Purple Bamboo Peak had been demolished and replaced with spirit fields.
• Chen Yu exchanged one piece of high-grade spirit essence for four stalks of supreme heart-calming grass at the Herb Pavilion.
• Chen Yu returned to Nine Bends Peak, told Lü Yanyan about the Outer Sect, and then entered seclusion to refine a Spirit-Restoring Pill.
• Chen Yu failed at his first three attempts but succeeded on the fourth, confirming the pill’s shape, color, and scent were correct.

Chen Yu delivered Ghost King Scorpion Corpse Powder to Shen Fei and learned that he had been selected for the Three-Sect Grand Competition in three months. He gave Lü Yanyan spirit essence to strengthen her cultivation, then returned to the Immortal Ruins to prepare poisons and formations for the threat in the Pill Hall.

• Chen Yu left the Immortal Ruins and gave Shen Fei Ghost King Scorpion Corpse Powder after keeping him waiting outside.
• Shen Fei told Chen Yu that Nine-Bend Peak had selected him, Shen Fei, Cao, Li, and Lü Yanyan to compete in the Three-Sect Grand Competition.
• Chen Yu explained the tournament to Lü Yanyan and urged her to improve her cultivation before it began.
• Chen Yu gave Lü Yanyan a piece of high-grade spirit essence despite her reluctance to accept it.
• Chen Yu returned to the Immortal Ruins and decided to prepare poisons first, then work on formations to use against Golden Core cultivators.

Chen Yu refined No. 88 Poison and began preparing other ways to deal with Wei Yang, while testing a Spirit-Restoring Pill on a stray dog he named Big Yellow. Seven days later, Big Yellow’s barking alerted Chen Yu to someone circling his residence, and he went out to confront the intruder.

• Chen Yu poured No. 88 Poison into the coffin and heard a sudden thump from inside, suggesting its occupant could be affected.
• Chen Yu caught a stray dog, gave it a Spirit-Restoring Pill, and brought it home after it developed Spiritual Power.
• Lü Yanyan befriended the dog and named it Big Yellow.
• Chen Yu spent seven days developing No. 93 Poison and studying the Array Dao Manual while Lü Yanyan cultivated and played with Big Yellow.
• Big Yellow barked at a figure skulking around Chen Yu’s residence, and Chen Yu stepped outside to face the uninvited guest.

Chen Yu trapped Li Zhe in the Star-Dipper Maze Formation and learned that the Azure Void Society had sent him to invite Chen Yu to join. After Li Zhe identified himself, Chen Yu asked why the society had chosen to approach him now.

• Chen Yu spotted an unfamiliar ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator wandering near his home and used his divine sense to examine him.
• Li Zhe spent hours trying to reach Chen Yu’s house, became convinced the place was haunted, and tried to flee the maze.
• Chen Yu questioned Li Zhe through divine sense, and Li Zhe admitted he belonged to the Azure Void Society and had come to invite Chen Yu to join.
• Chen Yu recalled that the society had wanted to recruit him before and wondered whether the upcoming Three-Sect Grand Competition was related.
• Chen Yu approached Li Zhe and asked why the Azure Void Society had suddenly decided to invite him now.

Chen Yu questioned Li Zhe about the Azure Void Society’s recruitment and learned that it was approaching Dao Sect disciples listed for the Three-Sect Grand Competition. After Li Zhe threatened him, Chen Yu killed him and collected the spirit essence his body produced.

• Li Zhe accused Chen Yu of using tricks, then claimed joining the Azure Void Society would let him survive the Dao Sect’s destruction and choose between the Evergreen Sect and Jade Void Sect.
• Chen Yu rejected Li Zhe’s offer and asked whether the Society was recruiting him because of the upcoming Three-Sect Grand Competition.
• When Li Zhe threatened him, Chen Yu snapped both of his arms and forced him to reveal that the Society had gathered the competition participants’ names and sent people to invite most of them.
• Chen Yu confirmed Li Zhe knew little more, then killed him as he tried to leave and drew the refined spirit essence into his hand.

Chen Yu weighed the Azure Void Society’s plans for the Three-Sect Grand Competition while continuing his poison research, then encountered another member recruiting him. The woman claimed she could offer him a way to live, and Chen Yu questioned how long the society had existed.

• Chen Yu gave Lü Yanyan the Spirit Essence and concealed Li Zhe’s death by telling her a wild boar had approached their fence.
• Chen Yu continued researching No. 93 Poison and decided to avoid joining the Azure Void Society until after the Three-Sect Grand Competition.
• A month later, Chen Yu successfully refined No. 93 Poison and tested it on himself, while Lü Yanyan’s cultivation neared a breakthrough.
• Big Yellow barked as the Star-Dipper Maze Formation trapped an eighth-level Qi Refining woman, and Chen Yu appeared before her.
• The woman offered Chen Yu a way to live by urging him to join the Azure Void Society, and he asked how long it had existed and how many members it had.

Chen Yu avoided joining the Azure Void Society and continued giving Lü Yanyan spirit essence while she cultivated ahead of the Three-Sect Grand Competition. With the competition three days away, Shen Fei explained the travel arrangements and warned that three Inner Sect disciples had gone missing, leaving Lü Yanyan to wonder whether Chen Yu was connected to the spirit essence.

• Chen Yu decided that joining the Azure Void Society would risk exposing him to the Dao Sect, then gave Lü Yanyan spirit essence and returned to studying the Array Dao Manual.
• A month later, Chen Yu praised Lü Yanyan for reaching the middle stage of the seventh Qi Refining layer and gave her another piece of spirit essence.
• Three days before the Three-Sect Grand Competition, Shen Fei visited Lü Yanyan and Chen Yu to explain that the Dao Sect team would travel by flying boat and be led by Gao Xuan of Emerald Cloud Peak.
• Shen Fei warned Chen Yu and Lü Yanyan that three Inner Sect disciples at the eighth and ninth Qi Refining layers had mysteriously disappeared.
• Chen Yu focused on the team leader Gao Xuan, while Lü Yanyan wondered whether Chen Yu had been refining the spirit essence before dismissing the possibility.

Chen Yu dismantled the Star-Dipper Maze Formation before leaving for the Three-Sect Grand Competition and gave Lü Yanyan poisons for emergencies. At Heaven's Chasm Peak, the Nine-Bend Peak disciples gathered with the other participants, and Chen Yu noticed something through his Divine Sense.

• Chen Yu removed the Star-Dipper Maze Formation and reassured Lü Yanyan about the competition, then handed her poisons said to work on foundation establishment cultivators.
• Shen Fei, Cao Jun, and Li Wei arrived to escort Chen Yu and Lü Yanyan to Heaven's Chasm Peak as Nine-Bend Peak's five representatives.
• The other peaks' disciples moved aside and warned one another to watch out for poison when the Nine-Bend Peak group passed.
• While waiting by the flying boat, Chen Yu used his Divine Sense to follow the conversations of all forty gathered disciples at once.
• Chen Yu suddenly noticed something while surveying the summit with his Divine Sense.

At the Three-Sect Grand Competition, Chen Yu overheard Azure Void Society disciples discussing their plan to throw a match and offer allegiance to another side, while he reconsidered the White Lotus Sect’s role in the Black Mist Marsh trial. As the Dao Sect’s flying boat departed, Zhang Jiuge unexpectedly joined Peak Master Gao, leaving Chen Yu puzzled about his purpose.

• Chen Yu overheard disciples suspecting him of killing missing Azure Void Society members and learned that all of their people may have died during the Black Mist Marsh trial.
• Chen Yu reasoned that the White Lotus Sect might have arranged the mass Inner Sect promotions without Azure Void Society involvement and considered whether the White Lotus Sect’s upper ranks had ties to the Dao Sect.
• Chen Yu overheard Azure Void Society disciples planning to lose a match at the Three-Sect Grand Competition to avoid being caught between the Evergreen Sect, the Jade Void Sect, and the Dao Sect.
• Peak Master Gao arrived, summoned the Inner Sect disciples aboard the flying boat, and led the sixty-five competitors toward the competition.
• Zhang Jiuge hurried onto the flying boat, entered Gao Xuan’s lounge, and departed with the group, surprising Chen Yu.

Shen Fei identified the old man as Zhang Jiuge, the legendary figure Lü Yanyan remembered from the Scripture Repository on Emerald Cloud Peak. Chen Yu remained calm and asked Shen Fei whether he knew Elder Zhang.

• Shen Fei called the late-arriving old man Zhang Jiuge.
• Lü Yanyan recognized him as the old man who had once sat outside the Scripture Repository on Emerald Cloud Peak.
• Lü Yanyan recalled the rumors that Zhang Jiuge had borrowed to repay loans and forced the Dao Sect to introduce new rules.
• Lü Yanyan was stunned to learn that the old man was the legendary Zhang Jiuge and turned to tell Chen Yu.
• Lü Yanyan found Chen Yu calm, and Chen Yu asked Shen Fei if he knew Elder Zhang.