Chapter Summaries

Zhu He confirmed that Duan Rong had condensed a Nascent Soul and delighted in telling his junior brother Gu Daoling, who rushed to meet Duan Rong. At the Lü Family Estate, Duan Rong answered Gu Daoling’s request for proof by striking him with a palm and sending him flying into the mountains.

• Duan Rong reassured Zhu He by showing him his Natal Nascent Soul, and Zhu He left the Dense Forest overjoyed.
• Zhu He visited Gu Daoling at the Star Gazing Pavilion and told him that Duan Rong had condensed a Nascent Soul.
• Gu Daoling was astonished by the news, then hurried to the Lü Family Estate to meet Duan Rong.
• Duan Rong paused his chess game with Shen'er and Qian'er to greet Gu Daoling.
• When Gu Daoling asked to see proof of Duan Rong's Nascent Soul, Duan Rong bound him with a palm strike and hurled him into the mountains.

Duan Rong became the Taiyi Sect Old Ancestor after forming a Nascent Soul, but he remained committed to keeping his family life separate from his public rank. As word of his achievement spread, Zhu He arrived at the Lü Family Estate, where Han Cheng brought him straight to Duan Rong without observing the proper protocol.

• Duan Rong sent Gu Daoling flying with a palm and discovered that Gu Daoling's Law of Power was unfamiliar, leaving him unable to help Gu Daoling advance.
• Han Cheng told Lü Zhongtang and Li Baoyue that Lü Yinlin had passed the Old Ancestor position to Duan Rong, and Lü Qingzhu confirmed that Duan Rong had formed a Nascent Soul.
• Lü Zhongtang and Li Baoyue bowed to Duan Rong at dinner, but Duan Rong insisted that family rites should prevail within the Lü Family Estate.
• News of Duan Rong's Nascent Soul and new position spread across the Nine Provinces, while he and Lü Zhongtang gradually grew comfortable together again.
• Han Cheng brought Zhu He directly to Duan Rong in the courtyard, failing to recognize that the sect master should have waited for the Old Ancestor's permission.

Duan Rong let Zhu He pursue Taiyi Sect’s interests against the Heavenly Evolution Sect and Divine Intent Gate while enjoying time with Shen’er and Qian’er. When Li Ku and Zhuang Tairu arrived to pressure Lü Yinlin, Duan Rong went to meet them.

• Lü Zhongtang left the pavilion, and Zhu He told Duan Rong that the Nine Provinces’ sects were beginning to believe Duan Rong had become Taiyi Sect’s sect ancestor.
• Zhu He proposed seizing border interests from the Heavenly Evolution Sect and Divine Intent Gate, and Duan Rong approved his plan while warning him to avoid a major conflict.
• Duan Rong played hide-and-seek with Shen’er and Qian’er, then learned from Chu Wushang that Li Ku and Zhuang Tairu were visiting Lü Yinlin’s Secluded Residence.
• Duan Rong left Qian’er to find Shen’er and hurried to the valley, where he told Li Ku and Zhuang Tairu that even half a chess piece could decide victory or defeat.

Duan Rong faced a test from Zhuang Tairu and Li Ku, who had come to determine whether his reported Nascent Soul cultivation was real. After Duan Rong proved his strength through chess, Zhuang Tairu departed on friendly terms, and Lü Yinlin suggested that Duan Rong consider an alliance with him.

• Duan Rong met Zhuang Tairu and Li Ku, who scanned his Dantian but found no visible sign of cultivation.
• Zhuang Tairu challenged Duan Rong to chess to test him, and Duan Rong quickly gained a commanding position on the board.
• Zhuang Tairu used hidden ripples to test Duan Rong, who broke through them with a single move and confirmed his Nascent Soul Realm.
• Zhuang Tairu conceded defeat and left with Li Ku, expressing a desire to play Duan Rong again.
• Lü Yinlin suggested Duan Rong consider forming an alliance with Zhuang Tairu, and Duan Rong decided to discuss the matter with Zhu He.

Zhuang Tairu and Li Ku spread news of Duan Rong’s early Nascent Soul breakthrough to draw the Nine Provinces’ sects into the Taiyi Sect’s rise. As the Taiyi Sect pressed its advantage, Lin Youjian asked Jiang Hanyan whether she still had feelings about Duan Rong becoming a likely successor to the Lingji Master.

• Zhuang Tairu and Li Ku decided to tell Ji Wuya that Duan Rong had condensed a Nascent Soul before thirty and broken Zhuang Tairu’s concealment ripples, hoping to draw other sects into the turmoil and buy their sects time.
• News of Duan Rong’s achievement spread across the Nine Provinces, and Zhu He warned Duan Rong that the rumors were being used to make others wary of him.
• Duan Rong and Zhu He concluded that the Heavenly Evolution Sect and the Divine Intent Gate were muddying the waters, and Duan Rong urged Zhu He to press their border conflicts harder.
• Zhu He advised that an alliance with Zhuang Tairu would be risky for the Divine Intent Gate while the Taiyi Sect was expanding, and Duan Rong agreed to postpone the idea.
• The Taiyi Sect intensified its struggle for neighboring interests, while its elders accepted Duan Rong as their new Nascent Soul Old Ancestor.
• Lin Youjian told Jiang Hanyan that Duan Rong might become the next Lingji Master and asked whether Jiang Hanyan still had feelings for him.

Lin Youjian encouraged Jiang Hanyan to pursue her feelings for Duan Rong and arranged for her to invite him to Sky Pillar Peak. Duan Rong accepted the invitation, while Xiao Yu grew wary of Jiang Hanyan’s familiarity with him.

• Lin Youjian told Jiang Hanyan she had noticed her love for Duan Rong and asked whether she wanted her help bringing them together.
• Jiang Hanyan agreed, and Lin Youjian decided she would invite Duan Rong to Sky Pillar Peak under the pretext of sharing new music and Hundred-Flower Honey.
• Jiang Hanyan delivered the invitation to Duan Rong’s home, where Xiao Yu questioned her before letting her enter.
• Duan Rong recognized Jiang Hanyan, accepted the invitation, and said he would visit Sky Pillar Peak the next day.
• As Xiao Yu escorted Jiang Hanyan out, Jiang Hanyan offered to send her some Hundred-Flower Honey, and Xiao Yu watched her leave thoughtfully.

Duan Rong visited Sky Pillar Peak, where Lin Youjian asked him to take Jiang Hanyan as a concubine, but he refused and left her heartbroken. After receiving his letter and poem the next morning, Jiang Hanyan found clarity in her grief and comprehended Sound Wave Force's final killing move.

• Duan Rong watched Lin Youjian perform Sound Wave Force and praised the profound silence at the end of her zither piece.
• Lin Youjian asked Duan Rong to take Jiang Hanyan as a concubine or maidservant, but Duan Rong told Jiang Hanyan he did not want her to become his concubine and departed.
• Jiang Hanyan wept through the night while Lin Youjian kept watch and comforted her as she slept.
• Shen Mizhi delivered Duan Rong's letter to Jiang Hanyan, and Jiang Hanyan read his explanation about shedding worldly attachments and a poem about being born too late or too soon.
• Jiang Hanyan played and sang the poem, then told Lin Youjian she had comprehended Sound Wave Force's final killing move.

Duan Rong learned that the Miao Kuo Small Gathering, moved forward by Ji Wuya, was tied to Taiyi Sect’s rising influence and to reinforcing a vast formation beneath Dharma Appearance Sect. He also realized the gathering might let him find the missing part of his soul cultivation technique, while Lü Yinlin revealed that the Suppression Tower held a true God or Devil.

• Chu Wushang told Duan Rong that Ji Wuya had arrived, and Duan Rong went to meet him at Lü Yinlin’s secluded residence.
• Ji Wuya invited Duan Rong and Lü Yinlin to the Miao Kuo Small Gathering on the third day of the next month, and both agreed to attend.
• Lü Yinlin explained that Ji Wuya had likely advanced the gathering to discuss Taiyi Sect’s new standing after Duan Rong reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Duan Rong learned that the gathering took place at Dharma Appearance Sect’s Miao Kuo Separate Residence, where four enormous golden statues might contain the missing stages of his soul cultivation technique.
• Lü Yinlin revealed that the gathering’s original purpose was to reinforce the Suppression Tower’s rune formation every thirty years, and said it suppressed a true God or Devil.

Duan Rong, Lü Yinlin, and Zhu He arrived at the Miao Kuo Separate Residence for the Miao Kuo Small Gathering, where Duan Rong met the leaders of several sects and Lingji Master. Lingji left the sects to settle their disputes over interests before the gathering turned to reinforcing the Suppression Tower’s talisman formation.

• Duan Rong, Lü Yinlin, and Zhu He crossed the Mohe Desert and entered the Miao Kuo Separate Residence through its protective talisman formation.
• Duan Rong and Lü Yinlin presented their invitations, and Zhu He registered as the Taiyi Sect’s accompanying sect master.
• Duan Rong met Ji Wuya, Wei Yong, Shang Lu, Ke Qian, Fu Hongyu, and Ruan Lingchen, and traded barbs with Ruan Lingchen.
• Zhuang Tairu invited Duan Rong to play chess during the gathering, while Li Yunjing watched Zhu He with concern over their recent border disputes.
• Lingji Master arrived with Huizhao and Daorong, announced that the sects should settle their own disputes before discussing the Suppression Tower’s talisman formation, and left.

At the Miao Kuo Small Gathering, Taiyi Sect presented a measured plan for negotiating disputes among the sects, frustrating Ji Wuya’s effort to turn them against Taiyi Sect. That night, Duan Rong discovered Master Ci'en’s Buddha Bone Relics and learned they could help heal injured Nascent Souls.

• Ji Wuya urged the sects to discuss how to respond to Taiyi Sect’s growing power, but Fu Hongyu, Shang Lu, and Ke Qian initially said their sects would stay out of the conflict.
• Li Ku and Zhuang Tairu threatened to attack Free and Unfettered Alliance if Ke Qian refused to join the others, prompting Ji Wuya to press for a joint plan.
• Duan Rong had Zhu He present Taiyi Sect’s restrained proposal, which Fu Hongyu accepted as a basis for discussion and which undermined Ji Wuya’s plans.
• Zhu He negotiated with representatives of six sects until nightfall, when the unsettled talks were postponed until the next day.
• Duan Rong wandered through the temple and found the glowing Buddha Bone Relics in Huikong Zen Courtyard, where Lü Yinlin explained their protective talisman array and healing value.
• Duan Rong learned that Zhuang Tairu was busy reviewing Zhu He’s proposal with Li Ku and the others, and he praised Zhu for making a name for himself.