Chapter Summaries

Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping taught Li Xiaoya a formation-breaking array on their way to Thousand Leaves Valley, while Liu Yulan searched for him near Mu Family Fort. The three reached the valley’s forest outskirts and prepared to continue on foot.

• Elder Jin told his companions that the plan was canceled and that they should wait for news about the Mu Household’s expedition.
• Mu Qilong stopped with Li Xiaoya and Mu Dingping to teach Li Xiaoya how to use a formation-breaking array.
• Li Xiaoya mastered most of the array in one afternoon and later showed strength that astonished Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping.
• Liu Yulan searched unsuccessfully for the Mu Household near Mu Family Fort, then followed Li Xiaoya’s Lifebound Primordial Spirit Lamp north.
• Mu Qilong, Mu Dingping, and Li Xiaoya reached Thousand Leaves Valley’s outskirts, where Mu Qilong led them down into the forest to avoid flying demon beasts.

Li Xiaoya, Mu Qilong, and Mu Dingping recovered their magic power before pushing deeper into Thousand Leaves Valley and fighting their way past demon beasts. When Li Xiaoya sensed an early fifth-tier beast, he used an Invisibility Talisman to approach it alone while the others followed to support him.

• Mu Qilong created an alarm barrier, and the three cultivators rested until their magic power was fully restored.
• The group traveled through the forest, taking turns clearing increasingly powerful demon beasts as they advanced.
• Mu Dingping took the lead, but Li Xiaoya later joined him to help handle the many third-tier beasts.
• Li Xiaoya detected a peak fourth-tier or fifth-tier beast and decided to kill it despite Mu Qilong's concerns.
• Li Xiaoya vanished with an Invisibility Talisman and approached the enormous early fifth-tier beast while Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping followed.

Li Xiaoya killed a Fifth-Tier Four-Eared Striped Horse Beast with a surprise attack and collected its blood. Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping arrived and began butchering the beast while Li Xiaoya stored the purified blood.

• Li Xiaoya recognized a resting Four-Eared Striped Horse Beast and pierced its forelegs with Fire Spirit Needles before cutting off its head with the Fire Dragon Sword.
• Li Xiaoya gathered the beast’s blood and used flames to purify it.
• Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping arrived, surprised that Li Xiaoya had killed the beast alone.
• Li Xiaoya told Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping to butcher the corpse and let them keep everything except the Demon Beast Core.
• Li Xiaoya collected the purified blood in a jade bottle and stored it in his Storage Pouch.

Li Xiaoya and the Mu brothers reached the entrance to Thousand Leaves Valley after he killed the Four-Eared Striped Horse Beast and unknowingly avoided an ambush. As they prepared to break the valley’s restriction, other cultivators tracked them and approached the entrance.

• Mu Qilong gave Li Xiaoya the Four-Eared Striped Horse Beast’s core, and the three continued toward Thousand Leaves Valley.
• A group of cultivators discussed their failed ambush and decided to wait near the valley entrance, sending a Feathered Spirit Beast ahead to scout.
• Li Xiaoya, Mu Qilong, and Mu Dingping reached the yellow restriction at the entrance and rested before attempting to open it.
• Mu Qilong explained Thousand Leaves Valley’s history and the rare Jade Spirit Tree and its Spirit-Replenishing Liquid as he prepared the Formation Flags.

Li Xiaoya, Mu Qilong, and Mu Dingping broke the restrictions around the valley while cultivators tracked them with a Flying Feather Spirit Beast. With seven Core Condensation cultivators closing in, Mu Dingping collapsed from the formation’s backlash, and Li Xiaoya stayed to help him instead of entering the opening.

• Li Xiaoya joined Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping in using a formation to break the valley’s restrictions.
• A cultivator’s Flying Feather Spirit Beast detected them, and a group of cultivators hurried toward the valley.
• Li Xiaoya spotted the beast and realized they were being watched, but Mu Qilong urged him to complete the formation.
• Li Xiaoya swept the formation flag across the barrier and opened a circular passage as the approaching cultivators arrived.
• Mu Dingping vomited blood and collapsed from the backlash, while Mu Qilong rushed toward the opening and Li Xiaoya stopped to help him.

Li Xiaoya refused to flee when the Seven Baleful Fiends of Cloud-Link ambushed him and Mu Dingping outside the entrance to Thousand Leaves Valley. He overwhelmed Lian Ying and disrupted the group, but the Seven Baleful Fiends began using spells to restrain him.

• Mu Qilong tried to enter the blue opening, but a spell drove him back to Li Xiaoya and Mu Dingping as the Seven Baleful Fiends of Cloud-Link surrounded them.
• Lian Ying demanded that Mu Qilong let the Cloud-Link Fort cultivators enter Thousand Leaves Valley to seek Spirit-Replenishing Liquid, and Li Xiaoya refused to yield.
• Lian Ying attacked Li Xiaoya with a black spear, but Li Xiaoya knocked it aside, struck Lian Ying through his Small Bell defense, and sent him crashing into a tree.
• Li Xiaoya charged the short, stout cultivator while the other six attacked him, but their artifacts bounced off his body and threw their formation into disarray.
• Lian Ying urged the cultivators to use spells, and the short, stout cultivator trapped Li Xiaoya's thigh with a muddy hand before Li Xiaoya tore free and charged him.

Li Xiaoya overwhelmed the cultivators surrounding him, killing several while Mu Qilong helped from the sidelines. He pursued their leader, Lian Ying, who used his own junior brother as a shield, and stood ready to finish him as the two remaining cultivators watched in terror.

• Li Xiaoya killed the short, fat cultivator after Mu Qilong secretly tripped him with a Wood Vine Technique.
• Lian Ying ordered the female cultivator to engage Mu Qilong while the others attacked Li Xiaoya from a distance.
• Li Xiaoya blocked Lian Ying's giant spear with a blue barrier, then killed the scrawny cultivator with the Earthfire Technique and Fire Dragon Sword.
• Li Xiaoya destroyed Lian Ying's Black Python Spear and cut through the Dharma Artifacts the other cultivators sent after him.
• Lian Ying used his third junior brother as a shield against Li Xiaoya's Fire Dragon Spits Pearl, and Li Xiaoya advanced on him as the two remaining cultivators stopped attacking.

Li Xiaoya survived Lian Ying’s Thunderclap Seed and killed the remaining attackers with help from Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping. As the cave entrance’s blue halo began to fade, Li Xiaoya stood despite his wounds and told Mu Qilong to help Mu Dingping.

• Lian Ying pretended to beg for mercy, then attacked Li Xiaoya with a Thunderclap Seed, but Li Xiaoya emerged from the blast and beheaded him.
• The female cultivator became distracted by Lian Ying’s death, allowing Mu Qilong to strike and kill her.
• Two cultivators charged Li Xiaoya, then fled; Li Xiaoya killed one with a Fire Spirit Needle, while Mu Dingping trapped the other with a vine spell so Li Xiaoya could finish him.
• Li Xiaoya collapsed from exhaustion, and Mu Qilong praised him for saving them.
• When the cave entrance’s blue halo began to disappear, Li Xiaoya stood and told Mu Qilong to help the injured Mu Dingping.

Li Xiaoya recovered from his injuries inside Thousand Leaves Valley, then demanded answers from Mu Qilong before agreeing to continue. Mu Qilong revealed the Mu Household’s connection to the Thousand Leaves Sect and led Li Xiaoya and Mu Dingping toward the Spirit-Replenishing Liquid, leaving them in a secluded valley.

• Liu Yulan arrived at the sealed entrance to Thousand Leaves Valley and began investigating the bodies and battle damage outside.
• Li Xiaoya recovered about seventy or eighty percent of his strength and found Mu Qilong and Mu Dingping waiting for him.
• Li Xiaoya refused to set out until Mu Qilong explained the secrets he had concealed.
• Mu Qilong revealed that the Mu Household descended from the Thousand Leaves Sect, which had once owned Thousand Leaves Valley.
• Mu Qilong led Li Xiaoya and Mu Dingping through hidden routes and restrictions to a secluded valley beneath a Jade Spirit Tree.

Li Xiaoya and Mu Qilong reached the Mu Household’s true Jade Spirit Tree to retrieve Spirit-Replenishing Liquid, but a Sixth-Tier Iron-Armed Ape emerged and killed Mu Dingping. Li Xiaoya rescued Mu Qilong from the beast, and the two fled through the protected entrance as the ape battered the barrier.

• Mu Qilong explained that the emerald Jade Spirit Tree was the true source of the Spirit-Replenishing Liquid and gave Mu Dingping a Jade Pendant to approach it.
• Mu Dingping entered the tree’s restricted area, where an Iron-Armed Ape attacked and killed him with a single blow.
• Li Xiaoya and Mu Qilong tried to escape the Iron-Armed Ape, and Li Xiaoya pulled Mu Qilong clear with the Fire Spirit Thread.
• The Iron-Armed Ape struck the cave entrance’s restriction but could not get through, and Li Xiaoya and Mu Qilong left by the passage.

Li Xiaoya and Mu Qilong tried to get past the Iron-Armed Ape and reach the Jade Spirit Tree’s Spirit-Replenishing Liquid. After the ape shattered Li Xiaoya’s Illusory Formation, he fought it directly and landed a powerful second strike as the battle continued.

• Li Xiaoya proposed a plan to Mu Qilong, and they prepared to lure the Iron-Armed Ape away from the cave entrance.
• Li Xiaoya baited the ape into an Illusory Formation while Mu Qilong searched Mu Dingping’s corpse for the Jade Pendant.
• Mu Qilong found the pendant and ran toward the Jade Spirit Tree, asking Li Xiaoya to hold the ape off for a quarter of an hour.
• The Iron-Armed Ape broke the formation with a sound-wave attack, forcing Li Xiaoya to flee and fight back with Fire Spirit Threads and his Fire Dragon Sword.
• Li Xiaoya narrowly dodged the ape’s attack, wounded its mouth, and swung again at its reaching hand.

Li Xiaoya recovered after killing the Iron-Armed Ape and returned with Mu Qilong, who pledged the Mu Household's gratitude. At the exit, they encountered Liu Yulan, whose identity surprised Li Xiaoya.

• Li Xiaoya killed the Iron-Armed Ape with his final strength and meditated for two days to recover.
• Mu Qilong collected the Iron-Armed Ape's remains and gave its Demon Beast Core to Li Xiaoya, then pledged the Mu Household's allegiance.
• Li Xiaoya asked Mu Qilong to carry the Iron-Armed Ape's materials, and they traveled back while Li Xiaoya tended to his injuries.
• Mu Qilong used a Jade Pendant to lead Li Xiaoya through the Yellow Light Curtain at the exit.
• Liu Yulan appeared and recognized Li Xiaoya, while Mu Qilong identified her as a disciple of Patriarch Heavenly Venerable Daoling.

Liu Yulan found Li Xiaoya and Mu Qilong, brought them back to Mu Family Fort, and gave Li Xiaoya a Heavenly One Pill to heal his injuries. When they arrived, Elder Jin and the others were waiting outside the fort, and Mu Qilong confronted them about their intentions.

• Liu Yulan told Li Xiaoya that Heavenly Venerable Daoling had sent her to find him and asked what had happened at Mu Family Fort.
• Mu Qilong recounted the events, and Liu Yulan carried him and Li Xiaoya toward the fort on her Flying Gourd.
• Liu Yulan gave Li Xiaoya two healing pills, and he swallowed a Heavenly One Pill that began repairing his injuries as he meditated.
• Elder Jin and the others argued with a young Mu Household cultivator outside the fort and demanded to see Mu Qilong before the month was up.
• Mu Qilong, Li Xiaoya, and Liu Yulan arrived, startling Elder Jin, who noticed Liu Yulan was a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.
• Mu Qilong questioned Elder Jin about whether he had come to stir up trouble while Mu Qilong was away.

Mu Qilong returned to Mu Family Fort with Liu Yulan and Li Xiaoya, gave Li Xiaoya Spirit-Replenishing Liquid and other supplies, and learned that the Jin family had repeatedly challenged the fort. After Elder Jin reported Liu Yulan’s return to a mysterious figure, the figure killed him and ended the matter.

• Elder Jin and the cultivators with him left after recognizing Liu Yulan as a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, while Mu Qilong secretly vowed to settle the score once his ancestor recovered.
• Mu Qilong entered Mu Family Fort with Liu Yulan and Li Xiaoya, learned that the fort had remained safe, and promised a reward to the Dark-Skinned Youth.
• Mu Qilong arranged accommodations for Li Xiaoya and Liu Yulan, then took Spirit-Replenishing Liquid to the injured ancestor in the Tall Tower.
• Mu Qilong gave Li Xiaoya a Flying Spiritual Artifact, tens of thousands of spirit stones, and a bottle of Spirit-Replenishing Liquid, while Liu Yulan returned to report to Heavenly Venerable Daoling.
• Elder Jin told a mysterious figure that Mu Qilong had returned with Liu Yulan, and the figure recognized her and ordered the matter to end.
• The mysterious figure engulfed Elder Jin in dark-green gas, reduced him to powder, and vanished.

After the Mu Household discovered that the rebellious lineages had vanished, Li Xiaoya recovered, advanced to the sixth level of the Core Condensation Stage, and left to search for the Necklace. After more than two years without finding news of it, he gave up for the time being and flew back toward the Heavenly Dao Sect.

• Mu Qilong learned that Elder Jin and the other rebellious lineages had disappeared, and the patriarch ordered the grand formation kept active while they investigated.
• The patriarch praised Mu Qilong for helping Li Xiaoya and asked to meet him after his meditation.
• Li Xiaoya recovered, reached the sixth level of the Core Condensation Stage, sold the Sixth-Tier Demon Beast materials to the patriarch, and left the Mu Household with supplies and a Spiritual Artifact.
• Li Xiaoya gave the Wood Family Three Treasures a recommendation to cultivate at Heavenly Capital Peak, and they departed for the Divine Dao Sect.
• Li Xiaoya spent more than two years searching Market Districts for the Necklace, making friends and exploring with other Core Condensation Stage cultivators, but found no useful information.
• Li Xiaoya decided to return to the Heavenly Dao Sect and flew from the Mahan Kingdom on the Golden Light Ruler.

Li Xiaoya followed a blue-robed cultivator who caught and killed a fake Daoist priest, then discovered that the cultivator was his long-lost senior brother Liu Qingshan. Liu Qingshan recognized Li Xiaoya at the end of their reunion.

• Li Xiaoya arrived at a village and watched a priest frighten villagers with a false diagnosis.
• A blue-robed cultivator confronted the priest, who escaped using the Smoke Incarnation Art.
• The blue-robed cultivator caught the priest and killed him after he falsely claimed to belong to the Heavenly Dao Sect.
• Li Xiaoya revealed himself and called the blue-robed cultivator Liu Qingshan, his Senior Brother.
• Liu Qingshan studied Li Xiaoya's face and recognized him.

Li Xiaoya reunited with Liu Qingshan, who had secretly advanced to the Core Condensation Stage, and they caught up on their recent experiences. Liu Qingshan revealed that the Southwestern Ancient City would open in a dozen days and asked Li Xiaoya to help him explore it.

• Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan recognized each other, and Liu burned the charred Daoist's corpse to ash.
• Liu Qingshan told Li Xiaoya how he obtained a spirit herb, evaded the cultivators who hunted him, and reached the early Core Condensation Stage.
• Li Xiaoya recounted his ordeal at Spiritlight Lake, including the Devil Lord-level demon sealed in the bead on his wrist.
• Li Xiaoya and Liu agreed to return to the Heavenly Dao Sect so its elders could advise them and help investigate what happened to Li Xiaoya's parents.
• Liu told Li Xiaoya that the Southwestern Ancient City would open in about a dozen days and asked him to join the expedition.

Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan traveled toward the Southwestern Ancient City, sharing cultivation knowledge along the way. They reached Southern Sky City, where Liu Qingshan explained its ruler’s power and Li Xiaoya encouraged him to seek an opportunity in the ancient city.

• Li Xiaoya agreed with Liu Qingshan to explore the Southwestern Ancient City, and the two flew southwest while exchanging cultivation insights.
• Li Xiaoya taught Liu Qingshan the Qi Condensation True Art, while Liu Qingshan shared his talisman-refinement knowledge.
• Liu Qingshan explained that the Southwestern Ancient City had been closed to cultivators for over two hundred years and warned of its treasures, dangers, and deadly conflicts.
• Liu Qingshan told Li Xiaoya about Venerable Southern City, a powerful Nascent Soul Realm rogue cultivator who had built and defended Southern Sky City.
• Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan saw the cliffside city, and Li Xiaoya encouraged Liu Qingshan to believe he might find his opportunity in the Southwestern Ancient City.

Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan explored Southern Sky City and met three Golden Spirit Sect cultivators seeking companions for a trip to the Southwestern Ancient City. The two groups agreed to team up after Li Xiaoya revealed his cultivation level.

• Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan entered Southern Sky City and admired its elaborate gates, murals, and indoor Market District.
• He Jin, Yang Muqing, and Ding Leng asked whether the two were heading to the Southwestern Ancient City and learned they belonged to the Heavenly Dao Sect.
• He Jin said the Heavenly Dao Sect had already sent ten cultivators to the city and proposed that their groups join forces.
• Liu Qingshan agreed to team up, then introduced himself and Li Xiaoya to the Golden Spirit Sect disciples.
• He Jin shared the trio's cultivation levels, and Liu Qingshan said Li Xiaoya had reached the sixth level of the core condensation middle stage.

Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan teamed up with He Jin and his companions before setting out for the Southwestern Ancient City. They reached its outskirts safely and joined the Righteous Path cultivators gathered there.

• Liu Qingshan agreed to travel with He Jin, while Li Xiaoya and Liu Qingshan stocked up on elixirs and supplies in Southern Sky City.
• He Jin, Yang Muqing, and Ding Leng discussed Li Xiaoya’s strength as they waited for the two Heavenly Dao Sect cultivators.
• Li Xiaoya bought Liu Qingshan a Thunder-Attribute Spiritual Artifact, then he and Liu Qingshan met He Jin’s group.
• The five cultivators exchanged insights and crossed poisonous yellow mist without encountering demon beasts.
• The group arrived at the Southwestern Ancient City’s outskirts and headed for the area where Righteous Path cultivators had gathered.