Chapter Summaries

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong traveled through the Qingyang Kingdom, where they encountered the Black-Hearted Old Devil chasing four women he claimed were his concubines. Li Xiaoya rescued the women and destroyed the old devil’s skull staff, leaving their confrontation underway.

• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong learned that several lineages in the Liang Kingdom had been massacred and continued their journey through the Qingyang Kingdom.
• Zhang Hong questioned Li Xiaoya about his distracted thoughts, but he avoided discussing his feelings for Liu Xian'er and hurried toward signs of a fight.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong saw four female cultivators fleeing a Core Condensation Stage pursuer, who called them his runaway concubines.
• The women identified their pursuer as the Black-Hearted Old Devil and pleaded for help, saying he intended to abduct them as cultivation cauldrons.
• Li Xiaoya pulled the four women to safety and shattered the Blackheart Devil Lord's skull staff with a punch, causing him to cough up blood.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong confronted Blackheart Devil Lord, who transformed through a vicious demonic cultivation method and gained power near the golden core stage. Li Xiaoya discovered that the transformed villain was weaker than his appearance suggested, then struck him with a blow that shattered his Great Guandao and hit his chest.

• Blackheart Devil Lord opened a bottle of blackish-red vapor and swallowed several pitch-black elixirs to begin his demonic transformation.
• Blackheart Devil Lord grew into a towering, scaled demon with bone spikes and an aura near the golden core stage, while Zhang Hong shielded the four female cultivators from his roar.
• Blackheart Devil Lord punched Li Xiaoya, but Li Xiaoya's Bright Silver Armor and Overlord Art repelled the blow and badly injured Blackheart Devil Lord's fist.
• Blackheart Devil Lord drew a Great Guandao and swung it at Li Xiaoya, who vanished and reappeared above him.
• Li Xiaoya punched through Blackheart Devil Lord's raised Great Guandao and drove his fist into Blackheart Devil Lord's chest.

Li Xiaoya killed Blackheart Devil Lord and rescued four female cultivators, who showered him with praise. Zhang Hong grew jealous of their attention, but Li Xiaoya coaxed her into laughing and chased after her as they continued toward Liang Kingdom.

• Li Xiaoya struck Blackheart Devil Lord so hard that he crashed into the ground and died.
• The four female cultivators praised Li Xiaoya and thanked him for saving them, while Zhang Hong reacted with a cough.
• Li Xiaoya learned that the girls had wandered into Blackheart Devil Lord’s territory while pursuing a demon beast, and he eventually left with Zhang Hong after giving them small gifts.
• Zhang Hong ignored Li Xiaoya during their flight, jealous of the attention he had received from the girls.
• Li Xiaoya flattered and pleaded with Zhang Hong until she laughed, pinched his cheek, and flew ahead, challenging him to catch her.

At the Zhang Household Market District, investigators from four sects waited outside the household’s protective restrictions while searching for the Lu Household massacre’s murderer. Dong Santong’s panicked warning sparked alarm, but the supposed threat turned out to be Zhang Cai chasing Dong, who escaped straight through the restrictions.

• Liu Zhengran, Suoluo, Fairy Green Lotus, and Granny Fudi discussed how the Zhang Household’s restrictions had resisted their attacks and wondered how someone had entered them.
• Dong Santong arrived battered and warned the investigators that the murderer was coming, prompting Liu Zhengran and the cultivators to ready their weapons.
• Zhang Cai arrived looking disheveled, and the investigators feared that he had lost to a powerful murderer.
• Zhang Cai revealed that he was chasing Dong Santong, who had tricked his martial uncle and falsely alarmed the investigators.
• Dong Santong fled toward the restrictions and passed through them in a flash of white light, leaving Zhang Cai and the others astonished.

Zhang Cai and the others investigated the massacre inside the sealed Zhang Household after Dong Santong slipped through its barrier and returned with a grim report. As they prepared to break in, Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong flew toward them, with Li Xiaoya suggesting they delay returning to the Heavenly Dao Sect.

• Dong Santong passed through the barrier, and Zhang Cai explained how the mischievous youth had tricked him into fighting demon beasts during their earlier chase.
• Liu Zhengran revealed that the Zhang Household's sole survivor had reported a massacre, and the group summoned Zhang Bosan while resuming their assault on the barrier.
• Dong Santong emerged from the Zhang Household and described the mutilated corpses inside before Zhang Cai released him and questioned him.
• Zhang Bosan recounted escaping the slaughter after seeing a tall figure hunt down the Zhang Household, and Liu Zhengran began planning the barrier's destruction with Zhang Cai.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong flew together toward the group, and Li Xiaoya asked his senior sister whether they could postpone returning to the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong agreed to delay returning to the Heavenly Dao Sect while they headed toward the Liang Kingdom, where they planned to ask about the stolen Pearl. A talisman-clad group led by a young woman pursued two pairs of cultivators, and Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong ended the chapter confronting one pair.

• Li Xiaoya told Zhang Hong he wanted to recover the Pearl and gain experience instead of returning to the Heavenly Dao Sect with her.
• Zhang Hong proposed that they ask about the Pearl at a market near the Liang Kingdom’s border with the Qingyang Kingdom, and Li Xiaoya agreed.
• A group of talisman-clad cultivators detected two pairs of cultivators nearby and flew toward them under the command of their young mistress.
• The group’s young mistress decided to capture both pairs after learning that they had come together.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong faced a man and a woman who had approached them while they were traveling.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong refused to help two Demonic Path cultivators who tried to recruit them, and Li Xiaoya injured the black-armored man when he kept blocking their way. More than a dozen cultivators surrounded them, and Li Xiaoya recognized the petite girl who appeared among them.

• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong encountered a black-armored man and a talisman-clad woman, both Demonic Path cultivators, who asked to travel with them.
• The woman claimed they were being hunted and offered a reward for an escort, but Li Xiaoya suspected the pair were lying and tried to leave.
• The black-armored man blocked Li Xiaoya again, so Li Xiaoya struck him with a golden fist and injured him.
• Li Xiaoya sensed approaching cultivators and warned Zhang Hong that they were already surrounded.
• A petite girl appeared using a Secret Art and asked how Li Xiaoya had discovered the group; Li Xiaoya recognized her.

Li Xiaoya reunited with Zhou Xiaoya, who recognized him from Spiritlight Lake while her Heavenly Spirit Church companions pursued two fugitives. Zhou Xiaoya captured the fleeing female cultivator, and Li Xiaoya suddenly appeared beside the black-armored man as he prepared to self-detonate.

• Zhou Xiaoya recognized Li Xiaoya after he reminded her of their meeting at Spiritlight Lake, and she happily called him her friend.
• Zhou Xiaoya ordered the black-armored man and the female cultivator to surrender, but the black-armored man began swelling as he prepared to self-detonate.
• The female cultivator fled on her Dharma Artifact, but Zhou Xiaoya used her Green Jade Staff to summon a giant bird that ensnared her in a net.
• Several Heavenly Spirit Church disciples fled from the black-armored man, while Li Xiaoya flashed beside him despite the danger of interrupting his self-detonation.

Li Xiaoya subdued the black-armored cultivator before he could detonate his magic power, and Zhou Xiaoya explained that her former maid had stolen a Holy Spirit Pill and half of an ancient cave-abode treasure map. After recovering her Storage Pouch, Zhou Xiaoya began putting the treasures away, but Li Xiaoya spotted something familiar among them.

• Li Xiaoya beat the black-armored cultivator out of his swelling demonic qi and left him alive, while Zhou Xiaoya ordered her disciples to retrieve him.
• Zhou Xiaoya introduced herself to Zhang Hong and explained that her former maid had stolen her treasures and fled with an unknown cultivator.
• Zhou Xiaoya told Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong that the stolen items included a Holy Spirit Pill and half of a treasure map confirmed by Heavenly Spirit Granny.
• Zhou Xiaoya's disciples returned her Storage Pouch, and she checked that its contents were present.
• Li Xiaoya noticed something familiar among the recovered treasures and called out to Zhou Xiaoya.

Li Xiaoya and Zhou Xiaoya discovered that their two map fragments joined to reveal an ancient treasure location, then agreed to search for it together under a Blood Oath Contract. The chapter ended as the three cultivators swore the contract, with each side to bring five cultivators and share the treasure equally.

• Li Xiaoya showed Zhou Xiaoya his map fragment, and the two pieces joined into a single map.
• The completed map revealed ancient place names and marked a treasure chest at Spirit Creek, though neither Li Xiaoya nor Zhou Xiaoya knew where it was.
• Li Xiaoya proposed that they each keep half and investigate before searching together, but Zhou Xiaoya worried that their opposing paths would invite gossip.
• Zhang Hong proposed that each side bring five cultivators of matching cultivation levels and divide any treasure equally, with neither side allowed to search alone.
• Zhou Xiaoya, Zhang Hong, and Li Xiaoya wrote and swore a Blood Oath Contract to bind their agreement.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong traveled toward the Zhang Household’s Sky-Pillar Market, discussing Zhou Xiaoya, the map, and their plans to avenge Liu Qingshan. They did not know the market had been massacred, while a mysterious figure in a blood-filled cavern neared success with a dark ritual.

• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong recalled meeting Zhou Xiaoya, and Zhang Hong warned him not to be fooled by her youthful appearance.
• Li Xiaoya revealed that he had considered trading the map for Holy Spirit Pills to improve his chances of reaching the Golden Core Stage, but agreed to honor their treasure-hunting arrangement.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong vowed to avenge Liu Qingshan and discussed asking for information at the Zhang Household’s Sky-Pillar Market in Liang Kingdom.
• Li Xiaoya comforted Zhang Hong about her background and promised to protect her from Ma Weiqi, then teased her as they flew toward the market.
• A mysterious figure in a blood-filled cavern absorbed magic power and declared that one more great blood sacrifice would complete his goal.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong arrived at the deserted Zhang Family Market and learned that the Zhang Household had been massacred by cultivators from four Righteous Path sects. They then asked a local cultivator about recent events involving the Heavenly Dao Sect, and he began to explain.

• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong noticed that most shops at the Zhang Family Market were closed and few cultivators were present.
• Li Xiaoya stopped a fleeing low-level cultivator and offered him ten spirit stones to answer their questions.
• The cultivator told Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong that four Righteous Path sects had broken into the Zhang Household two days earlier and killed everyone there.
• The cultivator explained that shopkeepers and other cultivators had left because the Zhang Household’s protective restrictions were gone.
• Li Xiaoya asked about recent events involving the Heavenly Dao Sect, and the cultivator began to answer.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong questioned Hua Muqian about news from the Heavenly Dao Sect, including Liu Hang’s disappearance after a battle. After learning about a Heavenly Dao Sect shop in the market, they headed for Circular Mountain Peak, while a veiled cultivator who had also questioned Hua Muqian learned that Li Xiaoya was there and flew after him.

• Hua Muqian told Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong about the battle in the Southwestern Ancient City and Liu Hang’s later disappearance after fighting two Fire Dragon Palace cultivators.
• Li Xiaoya worried about Liu Hang, whom he regarded as a father, and learned from Zhang Hong that the Heavenly Dao Sect maintained shops to gather intelligence and pass messages.
• Li Xiaoya paid Hua Muqian, then went with Zhang Hong toward Circular Mountain Peak to ask for more information.
• A veiled female cultivator stopped Hua Muqian, paid him to explain the bloody incident that had closed shops in Zhang Family Market, and asked about the Heavenly Dao Sect disciples he had met.
• Hua Muqian named Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong, and the veiled cultivator reacted with surprise that Li Xiaoya had come out before flying toward Circular Mountain Peak.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong found the Heavenly Dao Sect’s Spirit Dao Market and met its steward, Lin Xuandao, whom Li Xiaoya recognized from his early days at Heavenly Capital Peak. When Li Xiaoya asked Lin Xuandao about Ma Weiqi, Lin Xuandao reacted with alarm.

• Hua Muqian counted the Spirit Stones he had earned and decided to look for more cultivators to question.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong searched Circular Mountain Peak for the Heavenly Dao Sect’s shop, and Zhang Hong explained how the sect’s openly affiliated and covert shops operated.
• Zhang Hong presented her jade identity tablet at the Spirit Dao Market, and the assistant confirmed her identity before fetching the steward.
• Lin Xuandao emerged, and Li Xiaoya recognized him as a senior brother he had met at Heavenly Capital Peak; Lin Xuandao recognized Li Xiaoya in turn.
• Lin Xuandao invited Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong into a private sitting room, where Li Xiaoya asked him about Ma Weiqi and Lin Xuandao reacted with surprise.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong learned that the sect had secretly searched for Ma Weiqi for four years, though his whereabouts remained unknown, and that Liu Hang was also missing. As they flew away, Li Xiaoya sensed a Golden Core cultivator watching them, then spotted someone approaching in a streak of blue light.

• Lin Xuandao told Li Xiaoya that the sect had issued a secret Wanted Order for Ma Weiqi four years earlier, after he harmed fellow cultivators.
• Li Xiaoya revealed that Ma Weiqi had harmed him and Zhang Hong, and Lin Xuandao suspected Ma Weiqi’s elder had delayed the search.
• Lin Xuandao said there was no confirmed news about Ma Weiqi or Liu Hang, whose reported injury by Fire Dragon Palace cultivators remained only a rumor.
• Zhang Hong asked about the massacre at Zhang Family Market, and Lin Xuandao said he had asked the sect what to do with his shop.
• Li Xiaoya gave Lin Xuandao a water element Spiritual Artifact in thanks for his past kindness, then left with Zhang Hong.
• While flying around Circular Mountain Peak, Li Xiaoya sensed a Golden Core cultivator watching them and saw a figure approach in blue flight light.

Li Xiaoya argued with Zhang Hong about returning to the Heavenly Dao Sect and meeting Heavenly Venerable Daoling, then hurt her while breaking free and watched her fly away in tears. Regretting his actions, he freed Second Better to ask what he should do.

• A veiled cultivator in a white palace dress passed Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong, then watched them leave from the mountain summit.
• Li Xiaoya told Zhang Hong he would not return to the Heavenly Dao Sect yet because he wanted to recover the necklace from Feng Chenzi.
• Zhang Hong said she wanted Li Xiaoya to introduce her to Heavenly Venerable Daoling, but Li Xiaoya resisted and accused her of pursuing his status.
• Li Xiaoya accidentally dislocated Zhang Hong's hand while wrenching free, and Zhang Hong flew toward the sect in tears as he headed the opposite way.
• Li Xiaoya regretted his treatment of Zhang Hong, hesitated over whether to follow her, and took Second Better out of the pouch to ask for advice.

Li Xiaoya regretted blaming Zhang Hong and searched for her, but instead found a little beggar being beaten by three men. He saved the boy, trained him in martial arts, and left him with the words “Uphold chivalry and justice,” while an unseen observer watched.

• Li Xiaoya told Second Better about his troubles with Zhang Hong, then let him remain outside after warning him not to speak without permission.
• Li Xiaoya searched for Zhang Hong for most of the day and worried that she might have done something reckless.
• Li Xiaoya found three men holding down a little beggar and stopped their leader from breaking the boy’s leg, then injured all three men and healed the child.
• Li Xiaoya discovered the boy had no spiritual root, so he opened the boy’s meridians and acupoints, gave him martial arts abilities, and left the words “Uphold chivalry and justice” on his palm.
• The little beggar later became a chivalrous hero, while an unseen watcher sighed in the darkness.

While searching for Zhang Hong, Li Xiaoya learned from Second Better that cultivators risk their fortune by interfering with mortals and heard stories about ancient cultivation and the Demonic Path. He finally found Zhang Hong concealed inside a cloud, after she remained upset with him.

• Second Better warned Li Xiaoya that improving Little Beggar’s abilities could affect his fortune, then explained how cultivators accumulated virtue and recounted legends about Dao Virtue Immortal Lord.
• Second Better described the age of the Elder Divine Cultivators and explained why Demonic Path cultivators pursued powerful methods despite the consequences.
• Li Xiaoya searched the mountain for Zhang Hong and shouted for her when he could not find her.
• Zhang Hong spoke to Li Xiaoya while remaining hidden from his divine sense, and he apologized and proposed finding her as a condition for her forgiveness.
• Li Xiaoya spotted Zhang Hong fleeing inside a cloud, caught up to it, and pulled her out.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong reconciled, and he took her toward the Heavenly Dao Sect to meet his master. Meanwhile, Zhang Cai was summoned to meet Liu Zhengran as rumors spread that the Blue Ice Fairy had come to investigate the Zhang Household massacre.

• Zhang Hong revealed how she had secretly followed Li Xiaoya, and the two apologized and made up.
• Li Xiaoya sent Second Better into the bag, then carried Zhang Hong toward the Heavenly Dao Sect to meet his master.
• The five Golden Core experts broke through the Zhang Household's restrictions and discovered its massacred residents, then stayed in the compound to investigate and clean up.
• Dong Santong found Zhang Cai and told him Liu Zhengran wanted to speak with him, so Zhang Cai flew to the meeting place.
• Cultivators speculated that the veiled Blue Ice Fairy was investigating the Zhang Household massacre, and a white-clad veiled woman emerged to silence them.

Zhang Cai and Dong Santong left the Zhang Family Market to continue searching for the murderer after the other sects abandoned the pursuit. Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong returned to the Heavenly Dao Sect, but the patrol stopped them because Li Xiaoya lacked an Identity Jade Token and his master, Heavenly Venerable Daoling, was away.

• A masked female cultivator drove off three cultivators who had been discussing her, then vanished from the area.
• Zhang Cai returned to find Dong Santong asleep and told him they had to keep searching for the murderer because Liu Zhengran and the other sect leaders had given up.
• Zhang Cai and Dong Santong left the Zhang Family Market without deciding where to search next.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong arrived at the Heavenly Dao Sect and set out to visit Heavenly Venerable Daoling.
• Senior Brother He and his patrol stopped Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong because Li Xiaoya had no spirit token; after hearing who he was, Senior Brother He still demanded proof.
• Li Xiaoya offered to have Heavenly Venerable Daoling vouch for him, but Senior Brother He explained that the master was not in the sect.