Chapter Summaries

Jiang Che reviewed the gains from his dangerous Ailin mission, then used the Willow Source Old Dream instance to kill its participants and earn nine wisps of primordial origin first spirit. As he left Ailin after two months, he asked Du Yongchang for advice on choosing a Qi Refining method.

• Jiang Che concluded that the primordial origin first spirit remained hidden within him and reviewed his gains in merit, reputation, and transmigration energy.
• During two quiet months in Ailin, Jiang Che entered the Willow Source Old Dream instance, manipulated Liu Bingyuan into lifting his restriction, and killed all six participants.
• Jiang Che reached the instance boundary before dawn, ending it with a grade Jia rating and a reward of nine wisps of primordial origin first spirit.
• Jiang Che and the other Registered Disciples prepared to leave Ailin, and Du Yongchang came out to see them off.
• Jiang Che thanked Du Yongchang, learned that he would serve three years in Ailin, and asked which Qi Refining methods he could choose from after practicing the Upper Azure Smoke Cloud Embryonic Breath Method.

After the victory feast, Jiang Che publicly credited Hu Yan and Zhang Erguo for their contributions, and Hu Yan explained the steps and costs involved in reaching Qi Refining. The chapter leaves Jiang Che wondering how the rule that an unopened body cannot contain spirit essence applies to his [primordial origin first spirit].

• Jiang Che praised Hu Yan and Zhang Erguo before Du Yongchang and the others, prompting Du to promise to report their contributions to the sect.
• After the feast, Hu Yan announced that she would enter seclusion and attempt to break through to Qi Refining when they returned to the sect.
• Jiang Che asked Hu Yan how cultivators achieved Qi Refining, and she explained the stages of full aperture, gang force, and drawing spirit essence into the body with a compatible method.
• Hu Yan revealed that she had gathered [wildwood prairie-fire qi] and the resources for one breakthrough attempt, which she considered her only chance.
• After Hu Yan and Zhang Erguo left, Jiang Che questioned how his [primordial origin first spirit] fit with the rule that the body could not contain spirit essence before reaching full aperture.

After two months of peace in Ailin, Jiang Che reflected on his gains, tested the Willow Source Old Dream instance, and prepared to return to the sect with the recognition of powerful cultivators. Before leaving, he asked Du Yongchang for advice about choosing a Qi Refining method.

• Jiang Che realized the five wisps of [primordial origin first spirit] remained inside him without being detected, unlike spiritual energy he had converted before.
• Jiang Che reviewed his gains in Ailin, including the Little Hidden Temple instance, transmigration energy, merit, and the attention of four Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Jiang Che entered the Willow Source Old Dream instance, killed its participants, reached the boundary, and earned a grade Jia rating with nine wisps of [primordial origin first spirit].
• After two months without further disturbances, Jiang Che and the Registered Disciples prepared to leave Ailin, and Du Yongchang came to see them off.
• Jiang Che thanked Du Yongchang and asked him what options he would have for a Qi Refining method after practicing the Upper Azure Smoke Cloud Embryonic Breath Method.

Jiang Che defeated Wang Yibai in a brief sword match, then let Liu Mo and another disciple display their abilities during the assessment. At Yan We iwan’s courtyard, he discovered an instance connected to an ancient Stone Cauldron and wondered whether it signaled an approaching life-or-death crisis.

• Jiang Che defeated Wang Yibai with the Azure Torrent Sword Art, ending their match in barely a dozen exchanges.
• Jiang Che fought Liu Mo in a nearly even exhibition, giving him room to demonstrate his skills before winning by one move.
• Jiang Che completed his assessment and left early to consolidate his cultivation.
• Zhang Erguo invited Jiang Che to celebrate at Instructor Yan’s courtyard, where Yan We iwan showed them her father’s Alchemy Room.
• Jiang Che saw azure light flowing over the Stone Cauldron and realized an instance had appeared, prompting him to question whether he faced a hidden crisis.

Jiang Che acquired a new instance through the Stone Cauldron and entered Azure Mystic twenty-one years in the past, where he discovered that its central figure was the talented disciple Li Qiubai. Suspecting Li Qiubai’s past calamity was connected to the danger now facing him, Jiang Che encountered Li Qiubai as the instance began.

• Jiang Che touched Yan We iwan’s Stone Cauldron and secretly absorbed it into his consciousness space.
• Jiang Che left Yan We iwan’s courtyard with Zhang Erguo, while Yan Shicheng returned and quietly hid his complicated feelings.
• Jiang Che entered the Stone Cauldron instance and heard a prologue describing Li Qiubai as a gifted, humble Azure Mystic disciple destined for Jingyan Peak.
• Jiang Che recognized that the instance took place in Xianxi Year Eight, twenty-one years earlier, and suspected Li Qiubai’s fate was tied to his present danger.
• Li Qiubai stepped out of the courtyard and Jiang Che recognized him as the instance’s central figure.

Jiang Che met Li Qiubai and sought his advice on the [Azure Torrent Sword Art] while hiding that he came from the future. Li Qiubai’s insights deepened Jiang Che’s understanding of the sword art, and the chapter ended with the two sharing mutual respect over tea.

• Jiang Che recognized Li Qiubai as the instance’s protagonist and hid his uncertain identity as a future Azure Mystic disciple.
• Jiang Che asked Li Qiubai for guidance, and Li Qiubai invited him into his courtyard to discuss cultivation until sunset.
• Jiang Che described his difficulties with the [Azure Torrent Sword Art], and Li Qiubai recognized the technique and explained its nature and intent.
• Jiang Che applied Li Qiubai’s guidance, concluding that a beginner established nature through form, while mastery let nature govern form.
• Li Qiubai praised Jiang Che’s insight, and they exchanged tea with a sense of mutual appreciation.

Jiang Che spent half a day discussing cultivation with Li Qiubai, whose insight and character impressed him and made him feel they could have been kindred spirits. After Li Qiubai departed, Jiang Che reflected on their different talents and concluded that staying alive mattered more than brilliance.

• Li Qiubai recognized that Jiang Che practiced the Upper Azure Expounding Heaven Method, but Jiang Che avoided revealing where he had learned it.
• Li Qiubai advised Jiang Che to seek accord with the Dao rather than pursue grandiose cultivation, and Jiang Che understood that the same principle applied across different methods.
• Jiang Che and Li Qiubai talked at length, praised each other's insights, and parted at dusk without learning what Li Qiubai had to do that night.
• After watching Li Qiubai disappear into the bamboo grove, Jiang Che compared his goodness and talent with those of Chunji, Zhang Erguo, and Li Qiubai.
• Jiang Che judged Li Qiubai more gifted than himself but recognized that Li Qiubai was dead, so he resolved to focus on staying alive.

Jiang Che followed Li Qiubai to learn what threatened him, but Yan Shicheng ambushed him after Jiang Che hinted that Li Qiubai might seek help from Jingyan Peak. Jiang Che fought back with his sword and spirit essence, though Yan Shicheng’s strength continued to overwhelm him.

• Jiang Che decided to follow Li Qiubai despite believing that the instance’s events could not be changed.
• Yan Shicheng stopped Jiang Che and questioned why he was following Senior Brother Li.
• Jiang Che mentioned that Li Qiubai had asked him to summon elders from Jingyan Peak, and the [Bodhi Heart Lamp] revealed Yan Shicheng’s killing intent.
• Yan Shicheng attacked Jiang Che from behind, but Jiang Che deflected the palm strike and wounded him with four sword thrusts.
• Yan Shicheng pressed his attack, exhausting Jiang Che’s first strand of [primordial origin first spirit], while Jiang Che prepared to use his remaining eleven strands.

Jiang Che defeated Yan Shicheng and tried to learn why he had targeted Li Qiubai, but Yan Shicheng killed himself before he could explain. As the Upper Court closed in, Jiang Che was suddenly pulled out of the instance.

• Jiang Che used strands of [primordial origin first spirit] to counter Yan Shicheng’s attacks and gradually gain the upper hand.
• Jiang Che struck Yan Shicheng with [Candlelight Thousand-Jin Finger], blasted him with the [Blazing Fire Spirit Talisman], severed his right arm, and wounded him again.
• Jiang Che threatened Yan Shicheng by mentioning his daughter, Yan We iwan, and used [Bodhi Heart Lamp] to glimpse scattered memories.
• Yan Shicheng briefly admitted that the truth had been exposed, then shattered his own meridians and organs to kill himself.
• As people approached the mountain path, Jiang Che was pulled out of the instance before he could make another move.

After earning Yan Shicheng’s cultivation insights, Jiang Che pieced together a tentative theory about how Yan had been involved in Li Qiubai’s death and considered whether Instructor Yan might be plotting against him in reality. He sent letters to Du Yongchang and Luo Wenling seeking information and possible help, while withholding a direct accusation until he knew more.

• Jiang Che collected Yan Shicheng’s cultivation insights and reviewed what he could improve in future runs of the instance.
• Jiang Che theorized that a Qi Refining Cultivator had coerced Yan Shicheng into acting against Li Qiubai to save Yan’s critically ill wife, but recognized that much of the story remained uncertain.
• Jiang Che ran Willow Source Old Dream twice, earning nine wisps of [Primordial Origin First Spirit] and learning [Spirit Sight of Subtlety].
• Jiang Che wrote to Du Yongchang asking about Li Qiubai and Yan Shicheng, hoping Du Yongchang might know about their time as Upper Court disciples.
• Jiang Che wrote to Luo Wenling asking about Li Qiubai and Yan Shicheng and vaguely warning that a Qi Refining cultivator might be targeting him, but he held back from directly requesting intervention.
• Jiang Che sealed and sent the letters separately, sending Du Yongchang’s to Ailin and Luo Wenling’s to Jingxiao Peak.