Chapter Summaries

Yang Sixuan investigated Shang Xiangyu after Yang Yi uncovered evidence linking him to the Filthy Blood Sect and a dangerous secret art. In the dungeon, Duan Rong revealed that Shang Xiangyu had succeeded in refining a medicine and killed several people, leaving Yang Sixuan with reason to pursue him.

• Yang Yi told Yang Sixuan that Pan Yong had fled with ingredients for the Garbha Sutra and presented Filthy Blood Sect books found in Shang Xiangyu’s Stone Chamber.
• Yang Sixuan found the altered Nine Nether Grand Hidden Art and concluded that Shang Xiangyu had damaged his foundation and planned to join the Filthy Blood Sect.
• Yang Sixuan learned that Duan Rong was in the dungeon and went with Yang Yi to question him.
• Duan Rong told Yang Sixuan that Shang Xiangyu’s furnace had exploded only once and that he had succeeded in the second attempt by using his younger brother’s blood to refine Blood Pills.
• Duan Rong said Shang Xiangyu had killed Chen Hu and Yin Cong, while Yang Sixuan assessed his account and Yang Yi asked why Shang Xiangyu had spared Duan Rong and Pan Yong.

Yang Sixuan used the Soul Reflection Seal on Duan Rong, who resisted long enough to conceal what he knew before collapsing and waking with severe soul pain. Meanwhile, Shang Xiangyu went undercover in Cangtai County to seek the Filthy Blood Sect, then discovered Pan Yong had been officially wanted for stealing rare medicines.

• Yang Sixuan immobilized Duan Rong and used the Soul Reflection Seal to question him, but Duan Rong's answers revealed nothing about the Garbha Sutra or Pan Yong's theft.
• Yang Sixuan concluded that Shang Xiangyu and Pan Yong's case remained unresolved and said they would need to capture them to uncover the truth.
• Duan Rong regained consciousness in the prison, confirmed with the old man that Yang Sixuan had finished questioning him, and went back to sleep as his soul pain continued.
• Shang Xiangyu hid his appearance in Cangtai County and searched for remnants of the Filthy Blood Sect, hoping to use its need for blood from virgins as a lead.
• Shang Xiangyu saw an official Wanted Circular identifying Pan Yong as the sect disciple who had stolen rare medicinal ingredients, leaving him baffled because Pan Yong was under his insect gu.

After Duan Rong was released from the Judgment and Rectification Department, he reunited with Xiao Yu and resumed cultivation while Yang Sixuan’s search for Shang Xiangyu and Pan Yong remained fruitless. The chapter ended with Duan Rong using Initial Stage Yinghuo of Divine Soul Illusion to frighten a baboon in the Dense Forest.

• Yang Sixuan rejected Yang Yi’s suggestion to issue a Wanted Circular for Shang Xiangyu, ordered Duan Rong released, and gave Old Qin only a verbal warning.
• Duan Rong returned to Xia Honghua’s accounts, then reunited with Xiao Yu and arranged to join her and Xi Men Kan Kan in accepting Guanglu Court tasks next month.
• Duan Rong and Xiao Yu confessed their feelings, and Xiao Yu asked him to sleep on the floor until they married.
• Duan Rong resumed cultivation in the Dense Forest and estimated that he was close to reaching True Qi Realm First Level.
• Duan Rong used Initial Stage Yinghuo to make a baboon see terrifying illusions and flee the Dense Forest.

After reaching the True Qi Realm First Level, Duan Rong returned to the Stone Workshop and devoured the Artifact Spirits in discarded weapons to gain martial arts realms. He filled his consciousness space, then went to sleep at Xi Men Kan Kan’s cave while Xi Men Kan Kan went to catch dinner.

• Duan Rong reached the True Qi Realm First Level and went to the Stone Workshop to search discarded weapons.
• Duan Rong considered whether he could devour a twelfth-rank Artifact Spirit and gain insight into Peerless Skills, then began devouring weapons for their martial arts realms.
• Xi Men Kan Kan found Duan Rong rapidly handling discarded weapons and asked what he was doing; Duan Rong claimed he was communing with their spirits.
• Duan Rong’s devouring failed because the relevant area of his consciousness space was full, so he stopped to rest and digest the Artifact Spirits he had absorbed.
• Duan Rong went to sleep in Xi Men Kan Kan’s cave, and Xi Men Kan Kan went into the woods to catch game for dinner.

Duan Rong spent several days devouring Artifact Spirits from discarded weapons, and his improved Mental Strength let him absorb them far faster than before. After Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi reunited with him, he stopped searching and took them to explore Shang Xiangyu's empty mountain top.

• Xi Men Kan Kan found that Duan Rong could not be woken, while Duan Rong absorbed the Artifact Spirits in the discarded weapons and discovered his level-twelve Mental Strength had greatly improved his digestion speed.
• Duan Rong continued handling discarded weapons for several days, reassuring Xi Men Kan Kan that he was not crazy, while Xi Men Kan Kan grew increasingly worried.
• After Xi Men Kan Kan's three-month training ended, he brought Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi to see Duan Rong, who stopped his search when Xiao Yu called to him.
• Duan Rong explained that he had found no Essence Qi Realm Artifact Spirits and told Xiao Yu not to worry, then teased Shen Mizhi about finally leaving the Hall of Elders.
• Duan Rong took Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi to Shang Xiangyu's empty mountain top and jokingly named them its kings and bandit chief's wife.

Duan Rong realized that Essence Qi Realm weapons were made from materials other than ordinary iron, then planned to refine pills himself to support his cultivation. The next morning, he led Xi Men Kan Kan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi to Guanglu Court, where they registered for palace-repair work.

• Duan Rong recalled Shang Xiangyu destroying Chen Hu's Nine-Section Steel Whip and confirmed with Xi Men Kan Kan that Essence Qi Realm weapons required materials beyond ordinary iron.
• Xi Men Kan Kan explained that only the forbidden Iron Peak Mountain workshops forged Essence Qi Realm weapons and that Star Disks were made there as well.
• Duan Rong decided to refine pill medicine himself using Shang Xiangyu's equipment and his inherited knowledge, trading only for ingredients to reduce the cost.
• Duan Rong led Xi Men Kan Kan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi to Guanglu Court the next morning and selected a palace-repair task for them.
• The four took their Sect Cloud Documents into Guanglu Court and registered for the task.

After earning Contribution Points through strenuous labor, Duan Rong asked Shen Mizhi to investigate Lü Qingzhu while beginning to practice alchemy. Shen Mizhi revealed that Lü Qingzhu’s father was a leading contender to become Taiyi Sect’s next sect master, and that the Old Ancestor’s special favor toward her had shifted the elders’ political calculations.

• Duan Rong, Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, and Xi Men Kan Kan finished carrying building materials and shared a meal beneath the newly clear, starry sky after a sudden storm.
• Duan Rong saw Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan off, then asked Shen Mizhi to learn about Lü Qingzhu’s place in Taiyi Sect.
• Duan Rong tried refining Righteous Yang Pills twice, burning every batch as he struggled to control the heat, but gradually learned from his mistakes.
• Shen Mizhi told Duan Rong that Lü Qingzhu was the daughter of elder Lü Zhongtang, one of two leading candidates to succeed sect master Chu Qiushan.
• Shen Mizhi explained that Taiyi Sect’s Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin had raised and trained Lü Qingzhu, prompting many elders to favor Lü Zhongtang as the next sect master.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu resolved their suspicions about Lü Qingzhu, and their lives settled into a steady routine as Duan Rong cultivated and worked at the Herb Pavilion. Later, he guided Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, and Xi Men Kan Kan toward suitable True Qi Realm martial arts in the Scripture Repository, where their joking drew a threatening response from a hidden guardian.

• Shen Mizhi told Xiao Yu that Duan Rong had asked her to investigate Lü Qingzhu, prompting Xiao Yu to confront Duan Rong that night.
• Duan Rong confessed his past with Lü Qingzhu to Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu wept with relief as the two reconciled.
• Duan Rong continued cultivating and managing accounts for Xia Honghua, earned praise and twenty Contribution Points in the audit, and explained to Old Qin that Yang Yi had confiscated the Moon in Water medicinal liquid.
• After Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi reached the Great Perfection Realm of the Inner Breath Realm, Duan Rong accompanied them and Xi Men Kan Kan to choose True Qi Realm martial arts.
• Duan Rong recommended the Orchid Disorder Sword, Cleaving Sky Saber, and Flowing Cloud Snow Shadow Saber, and the three found that each suited them.
• A hidden guardian used spiritual pressure to force Duan Rong, Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, and Xi Men Kan Kan to their knees, then warned them not to play around in the Scripture Repository.

Duan Rong spent three years cultivating in the mountains, reaching True Qi Realm Perfection while helping Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi train and secretly refining pills for them. After securing approval for the Outer Sect assessment, he amazed his companions by crossing a slick iron chain with his Cloud Cliff Willow Catkin Step, and the group joined the crowds heading toward the first round.

• Duan Rong became Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi's informal Martial Arts teacher and secretly refined Righteous Yang Pills for them.
• Old Qin visited Duan Rong asking whether Shang Xiangyu had returned, and Xi Men Kan Kan later told Duan Rong that Old Qin had died.
• Three years passed, and Duan Rong reached True Qi Realm Perfection while Xi Men Kan Kan reached True Qi Realm Second Level and Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi continued training for the assessment.
• Duan Rong obtained an assessment approval slip with Xia Honghua's signed evaluation after his absent supervisor Shang Xiangyu could not provide one.
• When the group found only three beast-hide straps at the iron-chain crossing, Duan Rong gave his strap to Xi Men Kan Kan and crossed the chain himself using Cloud Cliff Willow Catkin Step.
• Duan Rong reunited with the others on the far side, and they followed the crowded mountain road toward the Outer Sect assessment's first round.

Duan Rong and the other Registered Disciples entered a secluded valley where the first examination tested their ability to withstand pressure on their divine souls. As the Four Great Wisdom Kings awakened through Smoke Offering, Jiang Hanyan played her zither to protect the candidates, and the examination began.

• Duan Rong and his companions followed the crowd into the valley and saw four colossal statues surrounding a White Jade Altar.
• An Internal History Department official announced that candidates would pass the first examination by crossing the White Line, with farther progress earning additional exemptions.
• Sixteen robed figures performed Smoke Offering around the statues, and Duan Rong recognized the ritual as the statues' eyes began to glow red.
• Zhu He joined the elders overseeing the examination, and Jiang Hanyan leaped from the mountain peak to the altar after her master Lin Youjian sent her.
• When the bell rang, Jiang Hanyan played her zither as the awakened statues unleashed pressure on the candidates' divine souls; Duan Rong realized her music was protecting them.

Duan Rong endured the soul pressure of the Secluded Valley trials, crossed the Red Line, and continued toward the altar while the elders watched. The chapter ended as his trembling feet neared the stairs, leaving it uncertain whether he could step onto them.

• A Registered Disciple reached the White Line, succumbed to a deathlike terror, and fainted after trying to cross it.
• Duan Rong guided Xiao Yu across the White Line, but she stopped when the pressure became too intense; Shen Mizhi forced herself forward and fainted.
• Xi Men Kan Kan retreated from the Red Line, while Duan Rong crossed it and continued toward the altar despite the growing pain in his soul.
• The elders atop the Solitary Peak noted that only eleven people had crossed the Red Line and focused their attention on Duan Rong as he advanced alone.
• Duan Rong approached the altar stairs, and the elders held their breath as he seemed close to stepping onto them.

Duan Rong climbed the sacrificial platform’s Stone Steps, reaching the eighth step and nearly taking the final step onto the altar. After realizing that the Taiyi Sect’s powerful elders and Jiang Hanyan were watching because ascending the altar revealed extraordinary talent, he chose to stop rather than attract dangerous attention.

• Duan Rong stepped onto the first three Stone Steps, enduring increasing pain in his divine soul as Jiang Hanyan played her zither and watched him.
• Duan Rong continued climbing to the seventh Stone Step, and Chu Qiushan arrived at Solitary Peak to watch him.
• Duan Rong reached the eighth Stone Step despite the agony, while Chu Qiushan reflected on his own past ascent and stalled cultivation.
• Duan Rong placed one foot toward the altar’s final step, and Jiang Hanyan stopped playing as she watched him in shock.
• Duan Rong realized the elders were judging the talent represented by ascending the altar, then lowered his lifted heel and decided not to take the final step.

Duan Rong withdrew from the sacrificial platform at the final moment, ending his chance to become the first person in 180 years to step onto it. The first assessment ended with Lin Youjian reviving the fainted disciples, and the sect sorted the Registered Disciples by how far they had advanced.

• Duan Rong feigned agony as he retreated, while Xiao Yu worried over him and Chu Qiushan and Yang Sixuan assessed his attempt from Solitary Peak.
• Chu Qiushan praised Yang Sixuan’s firm Dao heart, and Yang Sixuan reconsidered his suspicions about Duan Rong’s strength and past testimony.
• A horn ended the first round, and Yang Yi’s Judgment and Rectification Department squads secured the valley as the divine soul pressure vanished.
• Lin Youjian arrived on the sacrificial platform, played two notes on Jiang Hanyan’s zither to awaken the fainted disciples, and left with Jiang Hanyan.
• Yang Yi’s men divided the Registered Disciples into three groups: eleven who crossed the Red Line, those who crossed the White Line, and the majority who failed and were told to leave the sect.

After passing the first trial, Duan Rong befriended Liu Shushan and celebrated with Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi. He accompanied them to the second trial, where Yang Yi let him through despite his unstamped examination slip, and the group learned the trial would consist of one-on-one matches.

• The Internal History Department registered the eleven candidates who had crossed the red line, and Duan Rong met Liu Shushan on the altar platform.
• Duan Rong and Liu Shushan chatted until Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi arrived, then Duan Rong and his friends celebrated their success with a feast.
• Duan Rong accompanied Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Shen Mizhi to the second trial, where an inspector noticed his examination slip lacked a number and stamp.
• Yang Yi recognized Duan Rong, returned his documents, and let him enter the trial grounds despite the missing stamp.
• The candidates gathered by their assigned numbers and learned the second trial would be a two-round, one-on-one contest in which most participants would pass.

Duan Rong watched Xiao Yu and Xi Men Kan Kan compete in the second assessment, reassuring Xiao Yu and helping Xi Men Kan Kan win by identifying his opponent’s saber technique weakness. Xiao Yu misunderstood Duan Rong’s absence after her victory, but he explained himself, and she forgave him.

• Yang Yi locked the wooden gate as the second assessment began, and Xiao Yu, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Duan Rong joined the line of contestants.
• Duan Rong reassured nervous Xiao Yu, who entered her circle and gained the advantage over a burly opponent with her Flowing Cloud Snow Shadow Saber.
• Duan Rong recognized the weakness in Xi Men Kan Kan’s opponent’s Sweeping Leaf Eighteen Saber and called out that its transitions exposed both shoulders.
• Xi Men Kan Kan attacked those transition points, forced his opponent outside the circle, and won his contest.
• Xiao Yu won her fight but felt hurt when she found Duan Rong watching Xi Men Kan Kan instead of waiting for her.
• Duan Rong explained why he had left, and Xi Men Kan Kan described how Duan Rong’s advice had helped him win, easing Xiao Yu’s resentment.

Duan Rong forced Shen Mizhi to surrender her first match so she could conserve her strength, then taught her how to counter her second opponent’s sword techniques. Shen Mizhi won and acknowledged that Duan Rong had helped her pass the second assessment, while he hinted at his vast knowledge of Martial Arts.

• Shen Mizhi fought a spear-wielding woman, but Duan Rong shouted to startle her into stepping outside the circle and losing the first match.
• Duan Rong gave Xiao Yu pills for Shen Mizhi and insisted that Shen Mizhi would have lost if she had continued fighting the woman.
• Before Shen Mizhi’s second match, Duan Rong told her how to counter the lean swordsman’s techniques, including his three Reverse Sword Killing Moves.
• Shen Mizhi followed Duan Rong’s strategy, struck the swordsman twice, and won after forcing him out of the circle.
• Shen Mizhi apologized for doubting Duan Rong and realized his help had made it possible for her to pass the assessment.
• Duan Rong claimed he knew the swordsman’s moves because he was the Omniscient Scholar who knew all Martial Arts under heaven.

Duan Rong explored Fissure Valley with Xi Men Kan Kan and Liu Shushan, then answered an obscure Daoist question at the Quick-Witted Dao Debate and obtained a Taiyi Token. The old man replaced the question with a new one, and Duan Rong left without sharing its answer.

• Duan Rong met Xi Men Kan Kan at the Nameless Temple Ruins, where they searched for a Taiyi Token but found nothing.
• Liu Shushan joined Duan Rong and Xi Men Kan Kan, explained that the temple’s hidden token likely required knowledge of geomancy and arcane formations, and left with them.
• Duan Rong reached the Quick-Witted Dao Debate and answered that neither thinking nor knowing was the first opportunity.
• The old man confirmed Duan Rong’s answer, stamped his assessment slip, and gave him a Taiyi Token.
• The old man posted a new Daoist question and warned Duan Rong not to reveal its answer as Duan Rong, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Liu Shushan departed.

Duan Rong, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Liu Shushan obtained Taiyi Tokens at a chess challenge in Fissure Valley and reunited with Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi, who had passed challenges of their own. As the group headed for the gorge’s exit, Duan Rong realized that stepping onto the Divine Statue Valley sacrificial platform would have made him an Inner Sect Disciple—but also exposed the Filthy Blood Divine Skill blood core in his sea of consciousness to Lü Yinlin.

• Duan Rong, Xi Men Kan Kan, and Liu Shushan found a remote chess challenge where winning a game earned a Taiyi Token, and all three obtained one.
• Xi Men Kan Kan joked that Shen Mizhi had learned music at Flower Shadow House, prompting her to chase him in anger.
• Duan Rong reunited with Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi, learned that they had earned Taiyi Tokens through Sudoku and a musical challenge, and joined them on the way to the gorge’s exit.
• After spotting wolf smoke that marked the exit, Duan Rong realized that the sacrificial platform would have bypassed the Taiyi Token and made him an Inner Sect Disciple.
• Duan Rong understood that direct cultivation under Lü Yinlin would have exposed his Filthy Blood Divine Skill blood core, a power Lü Yinlin despised because its creator, Fu Yi, had once been his favored disciple before betraying him.

After becoming Outer Sect Disciples, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu returned to Xiangu County, where they discovered that Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi had disappeared and the Yuan Shun Escort Agency had changed. Their fellow escorts avoided them, so they left to seek answers from Zhao Mu.

• Duan Rong and the others received their Sect Cloud Documents, Outer Sect Disciple rules, and three months of leave to visit their families.
• Duan Rong told Xiao Yu he would ask Xiao Zongting for her hand and marry her during their leave, then the group packed and left Changliu Mountain.
• The group traveled home and parted at Yuan Yang Prefecture, where Shen Mizhi and Liu Shushan headed toward Ruyang Prefecture and Xi Men Kan Kan stayed behind.
• Duan Rong and Xiao Yu reached the Yuan Shun Escort Agency and found unfamiliar faces; at the Xiao Family courtyard, they saw smashed doors and found Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi missing.
• When escorts avoided their questions and Ruan Fengshan was absent, Duan Rong stopped Xiao Yu from using her Taiyi Token and suggested they question Zhao Mu instead.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu searched for news of Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi, discovering that two of Xiao Zongting’s trusted escort masters had died around the same time the Xiao Family vanished. After Yang Zhen secretly arranged a meeting, Duan Rong began clearing Ruan Fengshan’s agents from their trail so they could investigate further.

• Duan Rong and Xiao Yu found Zhao Mu’s courtyard empty and learned from a neighbor that Zhao Mu had died half a month earlier.
• At Li Gu’s home, Xiao Yu and Duan Rong discovered his spirit tablet and learned he had also died half a month earlier; Wang Shi refused to explain and chased them away with a weapon.
• Duan Rong comforted Xiao Yu and told her they needed to shake the agents following them before deciding what to do next.
• Yang Zhen sent Duan Rong a note arranging a meeting at the Old Residence of Jie Lei at Zi Hour, and Duan Rong told Xiao Yu he trusted him.
• Duan Rong began knocking Ruan Fengshan’s hidden agents unconscious, starting with a young agent concealed in a tree.