Chapter Summaries

Duan Rong left Chu Wushang after learning how the Garbha Sutra could aid his search for a cultivation medium and discovering the rare medicines required for its later levels. He headed to Cloud Floating Peak to cultivate the sutra and appeared before Xi Men Kan Kan, who had mistaken him for a clerk.

• Duan Rong bowed to Chu Wushang before leaving, and Chu Wushang explained that Mental Strength helped cultivators perceive the Law of Power behind a medium.
• Chu Wushang was shocked to learn Duan Rong had reached Level 13 of the Garbha Sutra and identified the medicines Duan Rong needed for its later levels.
• Duan Rong learned that Levels 17 and 18 required fresh Nine Nether Gou brain marrow and Heart-Bewitching Azure Eyes Cat eye pupils from the Gloomy Dark Forest.
• Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin asked Chu Wushang what he thought of Duan Rong, and Chu Wushang praised Duan Rong's character and sensitivity to the Dao.
• Duan Rong left for Cloud Floating Peak to cultivate the Garbha Sutra, then startled Xi Men Kan Kan by appearing at his desk.

Duan Rong visited Cloud Floating Peak to seek divine medicine, but Zhu He was away, so he went to Sky Pillar Peak to borrow the herbs from Jiang Hanyan. Lin Youjian intervened and tried to reclaim them, only for Duan Rong to reveal his Cave Illumination Realm strength.

• Duan Rong met Xi Men Kan Kan, learned Zhu He would be away for half a month, and passed through a solid wall using the Wall Passing Technique.
• Duan Rong recalled that Jiang Hanyan had gathered Silver Edge Grass, Purple Mist Flower, and Soul Silk Grass in the God and Demon Ruins, then went to Sky Pillar Peak to ask for them.
• Jiang Hanyan welcomed Duan Rong and readily gave him the three divine medicines, saying he deserved them for saving her.
• Lin Youjian appeared and accused Duan Rong of taking advantage of Jiang Hanyan, then used the Law of Power to pull the Black Jade Boxes toward herself.
• Duan Rong pressed the boxes back onto the table, and Lin Youjian recognized that he had reached Cave Illumination and condensed the Cave of Darkness.

Duan Rong revealed that he had reached the Cave Illumination Realm, borrowed three divine medicines from Lin Youjian, and returned to the Lü Family Estate to cultivate the Garbha Sutra. After advancing to its fourteenth layer, he replenished his Tree Spirit Light Sea by devouring millennium-old trees in the Boundless Mountains and began cultivating the fifteenth layer.

• Lin Youjian realized Duan Rong had condensed a growth-potential Cave of Darkness in less than a year, while Jiang Hanyan was shocked to learn he had reached the Cave Illumination Realm.
• Duan Rong took three divine medicines from Sky Pillar Peak and promised to return them within two months; Lin Youjian warned Jiang Hanyan not to develop feelings for him.
• Duan Rong returned to the Lü Family Estate, told Xiao Yu he would cultivate in a secret chamber, and accepted an Array Ruler from Lü Zhongtang to access a concealed Garbha Sutra chamber.
• Duan Rong used the Silver Edge Grass to cultivate the fourteenth layer of the Garbha Sutra in two days, exhausting the Tree Spirit Light Sea he had gathered.
• Duan Rong entered the Boundless Mountains at night and devoured the Artifact Spirit of a 1,200-year-old ancient cypress, replenishing his Tree Spirit Light Sea before beginning the fifteenth layer.

After reaching the sixteenth level of the Garbha Sutra, Duan Rong demonstrated the evolved, group-attack form of Illusory Bewitchment and recruited Lü Zhongtang and Sun Fujiā to help capture two high-level primal beasts. The three entered the Gloomy Dark Forest, where Sun Fujiā revealed an underground river current that led into its depths.

• Lü Qingzhu finished refining a drop of high-level primal beast essence blood, then watched Shen'er walk eight steps into her arms.
• Duan Rong completed the fourteenth through sixteenth levels of the Garbha Sutra and gained the group-attack form of Illusory Bewitchment.
• Duan Rong showed Lü Zhongtang his evolved Illusory Bewitchment and asked him to help capture a Heart-Bewitching Azure Eyes Cat and a Nine Nether Gou.
• Lü Zhongtang recruited Sun Fujiā, who agreed to guide Duan Rong and Lü Zhongtang into the Gloomy Dark Forest.
• Sun Fujiā led the two men to a river and explained that its underground current ran directly into the forest's depths.

Duan Rong, Lü Zhongtang, and Sun Fujiā traveled through an underground current into the Gloomy Dark Forest and set an ambush for the Heart-Bewitching Azure Eyes Cat. They captured the beast and secured its Azure Eye, though Sun Fujiā was astonished by Duan Rong’s abilities.

• Sun Fujiā led Duan Rong and Lü Zhongtang through an underground current into the Gloomy Dark Forest, where they cautiously searched for the Heart-Bewitching Azure Eyes Cat.
• The three men found the cat’s droppings and Red Pomegranate Fruit, then used insect-secretions liquid to hide their human scent before lying in wait.
• The Heart-Bewitching Azure Eyes Cat emerged from a hollow tree and approached the fruit, allowing the three men to trap it with walls formed from their Law of Power.
• The cat released an azure butterfly that bewitched Lü Zhongtang, but Duan Rong’s group-targeted Illusory Bewitchment trapped the butterfly and freed him.
• The three men crushed the Heart-Bewitching Azure Eyes Cat, and Duan Rong retrieved its Azure Eye and sealed it in a Black Jade Box.

After helping Sun Fujiā capture the Nine Nether Gou, Duan Rong returned to the Lü Family Estate and realized that the seventeenth layer of the Garbha Sutra required more spiritual pressure than the chamber’s statue could provide. He went to the secluded valley to cultivate beneath its four colossal Wisdom King statues, where the retired elder Wei Yan challenged his right to be there.

• Duan Rong, Sun Fujiā, and Lü Zhongtang exhausted and killed the Nine Nether Gou, collected its valuable parts, and Sun Fujiā asked Duan Rong to repay him with a future favor.
• Sun Fujiā returned to the Herb Pavilion while Duan Rong and Lü Zhongtang headed back to the Lü Family Estate.
• After sixteen days of cultivation, Duan Rong reached the seventeenth layer of the Garbha Sutra and concluded that he needed stronger spiritual pressure from larger divine statues.
• Duan Rong recalled the four mountain-sized Wisdom King statues in the Outer Sect Disciple entry-test valley and decided to try cultivating beneath them.
• Wei Yan confronted Duan Rong in the secluded valley, checked his Sect Cloud Document, and told him to leave; Duan Rong explained that he had come to cultivate the Garbha Sutra, prompting Wei Yan to laugh.

Duan Rong persuaded Chu Wushang to let him cultivate the eighteenth level of the Garbha Sutra in the valley guarded by Wei Yan. After more than two days of rapid progress, he left to replenish his tree spirits, leaving Wei Yan and Chu Wushang puzzled by his fruit-picking explanation.

• Wei Yan drove Duan Rong out of the valley, so Duan Rong went to ask Chu Wushang to intervene.
• Chu Wushang accompanied Duan Rong back, and Wei Yan allowed him to try cultivating in the valley.
• Duan Rong ate a portion of Nine Nether Gou brain marrow and endured the spiritual pressure of the four Mountain Body Divine Statues as he cultivated the eighteenth level.
• After more than two days, Duan Rong had used two portions of brain marrow but stopped because his tree spirits were exhausted.
• Duan Rong gathered fruit in the nearby forest, offered some to Wei Yan and Chu Wushang, and returned toward the altar.

Duan Rong reached Level 18 of the Garbha Sutra, received medicines for later levels from Chu Wushang, and began studying the unusual Level 22 method. Its Heart-Devouring Seed technique revealed a way to secretly control people, leaving Duan Rong afraid that Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin might already have planted one in him.

• Duan Rong awakened after consuming all five Nine Nether Gou brain slices and confirmed to Wei Yan that he had reached Level 18 of the Garbha Sutra.
• Duan Rong warned Wei Yan by invoking Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin, then received three bottles of supplementary medicine from Chu Wushang for Levels 19 through 21.
• Duan Rong adapted to Level 18 by resting through devouring ancient trees in the forest, while Chu Wushang stayed to watch over him and Wei Yan spent much of his time drinking.
• After fifteen days, Duan Rong studied the Level 22 method and discovered it described the Divine Soul Forty-Nine Transformations and the Heart-Devouring Seed.
• Duan Rong realized a Heart-Devouring Seed could secretly alter and control a person's divine soul, and feared that Lü Yinlin might have planted one in him.

Duan Rong remained motionless on the altar for ten days while cultivating the twenty-second level of the Garbha Sutra, alarming Chu Wushang and Wei Yan. Lü Yinlin arrived, reassured them that Duan Rong was safe, and revealed that he had chosen Duan Rong as Taiyi Sect’s true heir.

• Wei Yan worried that Duan Rong’s divine soul might have been damaged, so Chu Wushang went to summon Lü Yinlin and ordered Wei Yan to keep watch.
• Lü Yinlin recognized Wei Yan from their campaign against the Filthy Blood Sect and gave him a precious medicine to delay the collapse of his Cave of Darkness.
• Chu Wushang returned, and Lü Yinlin examined Duan Rong and said that ten days of cultivation was not unusually long.
• Lü Yinlin recalled giving Duan Rong the beast-hide secret manual containing the Heart-Devouring Seed art because Duan Rong’s talent and character convinced him he could become Taiyi Sect’s next Old Ancestor.

Duan Rong completed the Divine Soul Forty-Nine Transformations after sitting in cultivation for thirty-three days, then demonstrated the ultimate state of Illusory Bewitchment. After checking for Nightmare Seeds and discovering that his and Chu Wushang’s secret manuals differed, he met Lü Yinlin, who admitted to controlling the sect through hidden puppets.

• Lü Yinlin left Wei Yan and Chu Wushang to guard Duan Rong, and they watched over him as he cultivated for thirty-three days.
• Duan Rong mastered the Divine Soul Forty-Nine Transformations and searched his divine soul for a Nightmare Seed, finding no mature seed.
• Duan Rong woke and displayed Illusory Bewitchment at its ultimate state, filling the valley with firefly-like illusions before scanning Chu Wushang and finding no Nightmare Seed in him.
• Duan Rong borrowed Chu Wushang’s Garbha Sutra manual, found that it omitted the Heart-Devouring Seed technique, and explained the Level 22 transformations to him.
• Duan Rong went to Lü Yinlin’s cave, where Lü Yinlin confirmed that neither Duan Rong nor Chu Wushang had a Nightmare Seed and revealed that he had planted many seeds in others to keep the sect under his control.

Lü Yinlin explained the cost and limits of Nightmare Seed puppets, then charged Duan Rong with carrying Taiyi Sect’s inheritance. Duan Rong confirmed Lü Qingzhu had no Nightmare Seed and returned to find the Office of Transmission demanding repayment of the Three-Flavor Divine Medicine.

• Lü Yinlin told Duan Rong that the Heart-Devouring Seed technique was Taiyi Sect’s robe and bowl inheritance and named him its last promising successor.
• Lü Yinlin explained that Nightmare Seeds erased a person’s self and creativity, making puppets unsuitable for the sect’s true talents.
• Duan Rong used the Law of Power to bloom a wintersweet branch and brought it to Lü Qingzhu, then searched her divine soul and found no Nightmare Seed.
• Duan Rong and Lü Qingzhu visited Lü Zhongtang and Shen'er, ate breakfast, and returned to Duan Rong’s courtyard.
• Xiao Yu gave Duan Rong an official demand from Lin Youjian for the overdue Three-Flavor Divine Medicine, and Duan Rong recalled that the two-month repayment period had passed.

Duan Rong visited Zhu He to obtain approval for three divine medicines and learned that the exhausted sect leader was trying to reform Taiyi Sect. After Zhu He assigned him a light duty at the Lü Family Estate, Duan Rong visited Wu Shidao and discovered that he carried a Nightmare Seed.

• Duan Rong read Xi Men Kan Kan's reports, confirmed Zhu He was at Cloud Floating Peak, and went to see him.
• Duan Rong revealed that he had attained the Cave Illumination Realm with a growing Cave of Darkness, and Zhu He discussed the difficulties of restoring order to Taiyi Sect.
• Zhu He issued Duan Rong an order to collect three divine medicines for his debt to Lin Youjian and assigned him to guard the Lü Family Estate.
• Duan Rong located Wu Shidao and visited him, concealing his true cultivation when Wu Shidao probed his Dantian.
• Duan Rong sensed Wu Shidao's body and realized that Wu Shidao carried a Nightmare Seed and was a puppet.

Duan Rong discovered that Wu Shidao was Old Ancestor Lü Yinlin’s long-standing puppet and feared how completely Lü Yinlin controlled the Taiyi Sect. Seeking a way to grow stronger, Duan Rong devoured the artifact spirit in Gu Daoling’s calligraphy, but its Star Phenomenon Law could not strengthen his cultivation.

• Duan Rong asked Wu Shidao to deliver three divine herbs to Sky Pillar Peak for Lin and Jiang Hanyan, then realized Wu Shidao was a mature Nightmare Seed puppet serving Lü Yinlin.
• Duan Rong considered Lü Yinlin’s control over Cloud Floating Peak and the sect, and worried that he might suffer the same fate as Fu Yi unless he became strong enough to stand against the Old Ancestor.
• Duan Rong retrieved Gu Daoling’s calligraphy from his cave dwelling, spoke briefly with Li Ruojian, and returned to the Lü Family Estate.
• Duan Rong used Read Artifact Spirit and Devour on the calligraphy, destroying its artistic conception as he absorbed its artifact spirit and began digesting it in seclusion.
• After finishing the digestion, Duan Rong discovered that the Star Phenomenon Law had dissipated without deepening his cultivation because it was not among the Seventy-nine Laws of Power in his Cave Illumination.

Duan Rong confirmed that devouring Artifact Spirits could not deepen the Laws of Power in his Cave of Darkness, so he began Object Investigation and Bigu. After days of meditation, Qian’er’s steaming urine melting the snow sparked an insight about the Dao.

• Duan Rong retrieved the God Slaying Whip from a cave and devoured its Artifact Spirit, but its Law of Power dissipated without entering his Cave of Darkness.
• Duan Rong read the Yang Fish’s Data Panel, found its Artifact Spirit beyond his current Mental Strength, and decided to abandon Artifact Spirits as a way to deepen his Laws of Power.
• Duan Rong returned to his courtyard, began meditating on the roof, and told Xiao Yu he would begin Bigu.
• Lü Zhongtang reassured Xiao Yu and the others that Duan Rong was cultivating through Object Investigation and searching for a medium.
• After more than ten days of meditation, Duan Rong saw Qian’er’s warm urine melt the snow and recalled the Taiyi Sect patriarch’s enlightenment, murmuring, “The Dao is in urine and feces...”

Duan Rong searched for the medium that could deepen his Law of Power, suspecting that snow or its reflection in moonlight had stirred it. After vanishing from the Lü Family Estate to investigate snow in a Mountain Hollow, he found no answer and continued deeper into the snowy Bamboo Grove.

• Duan Rong sensed the Law of Power stir while watching moonlight play across snow, then began observing snow and its changing states.
• Duan Rong left the Lü Family Estate before dawn and sat beside a snowy Mountain Hollow beyond a Bamboo Grove.
• Zhu Xiaoqi discovered Duan Rong missing, and Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi searched the nearby wilderness without finding him.
• Lü Zhongtang found Duan Rong enveloped in Snow Mist and brought Lü Qingzhu and Xiao Yu to see him investigating snow grains.
• Duan Rong told Lü Zhongtang that he had gained no insight, then walked deeper into the Bamboo Grove to continue his investigation.

After deciding he could no longer delay his cultivation journey, Duan Rong left the sect after saying farewell to Lü Qingzhu, Shen'er, Xiao Yu, and Qian'er. He traveled toward Linzhang Prefecture, where his descent from a mountain brought him face-to-face with three bandits.

• Duan Rong concluded that snow was not a suitable medium, while Lü Qingzhu visited him beneath the moon and learned he was leaving the sect to travel.
• Duan Rong and Lü Qingzhu visited Shen'er, then parted as Duan Rong departed to say goodbye to Xiao Yu.
• Duan Rong gave Xiao Yu a Dew-Drinking Cicada that could withstand three attacks from a Cave Illumination Realm expert and taught her how to use it before leaving.
• Duan Rong traveled by boat along the Zhang River, then walked toward Linzhang Prefecture and climbed a mountain to visit a small wilderness temple.
• Duan Rong descended the mountain by a winding path and encountered three armed bandits climbing toward him.

Duan Rong traveled through Linzhang Prefecture while searching for a medium, then investigated a newly built Five Manifestations God Temple after suspecting it was connected to the Filthy Blood Sect. The temple appeared deserted, but his suspicions turned toward Huangpi County’s magistrate, and he ended the chapter by using Read Artifact Spirit on the temple’s stone idol.

• Duan Rong avoided three bandits by transforming into a pine tree, then escaped down the mountain and entered Linzhang Prefecture City.
• Duan Rong spent a year traveling and later worked as a fortune teller in Huangpi County under the name Jiang Qingyu.
• A poor scholar told Duan Rong that a Five Manifestations God Temple had recently been built and that rumors claimed worshipping the god could bring sudden wealth.
• Duan Rong inspected the temple and found no obvious signs of the Filthy Blood Sect, but he suspected the sect was spreading its faith through the temple and its wealth rumors.
• Duan Rong began suspecting Huangpi County’s magistrate and returned to the temple, where he touched the idol and used Read Artifact Spirit.

Duan Rong discovered that devouring the thousand-year-incense City God statue in Xiangu County deepened seventeen Laws of Power in his Cave of Darkness, giving him a new path toward Nascent Soul. After finding no comparable statues nearby, he realized he needed Zhu He’s intelligence network to locate them.

• Duan Rong investigated the City God statue in Xiangu County and confirmed that its artifact spirit contained the Law of Power with Mixed Ages.
• Duan Rong devoured the City God statue’s artifact spirit and spent nearly a month digesting it, absorbing seventeen corresponding Laws of Power and strengthening his Cave of Darkness.
• Duan Rong examined other temples in Xiangu County, but their statues lacked the City God statue’s thousand years of incense.
• Duan Rong searched Jiuzhong County’s temples and found that none of their statues had more than a hundred years of incense.
• Duan Rong recalled that Zhu He had offered him an intelligence network across Qing Province and decided that he needed it to find more ancient divine statues.

After returning to the Lü Family Estate, Duan Rong reunited with Xiao Yu and his young sons, then went to Cloud Floating Peak to ask Zhu He for a post in the Hall of Elders. Zhu He offered him the deputy director position in the Judgment and Rectification Department, leaving Duan Rong wary of being drawn into a dispute with Yang Sixuan.

• Duan Rong returned to the estate and surprised Shen'er and Qian'er, who mistook him for an intruder until Xiao Yu introduced him as their father.
• Duan Rong fashioned three wooden swords with the Law of Power and played with Shen'er and Qian'er until they were exhausted.
• Duan Rong spent the evening with his family, read the memorials Xi Men Kan Kan had sent, and slept beside the boys.
• Duan Rong visited Cloud Floating Peak, spoke with Xi Men Kan Kan, and waited until Zhu He returned.
• Duan Rong told Zhu He he wanted a position in the Hall of Elders, and Zhu He offered him the deputy director post in the Judgment and Rectification Department so he could help replace Yang Sixuan.

Duan Rong was appointed Deputy Director of the Judgment and Rectification Department, then received Fan Yuan and Zhu He’s intelligence network in the secular world. He obtained the contacts and token needed to deploy Qing Province’s prefectural intelligence leaders, preparing to search for Millennial Incense divine statues without drawing attention.

• Zhu He appointed Duan Rong the fifty-third elder and made him Deputy Director of the Judgment and Rectification Department, provoking Yang Sixuan by criticizing his record against the Filthy Blood Sect.
• Zhu He introduced Fan Yuan as the person in charge of his secular intelligence network and ordered Fan Yuan to serve Duan Rong.
• Duan Rong brought Fan Yuan to the Lü Family Estate and privately asked for the identities and deployment details of the intelligence keepers across Qing Province’s prefectures.
• Fan Yuan gave Duan Rong detailed records and a black crane token that allowed its holder to command the prefectural intelligence keepers.