Chapter Summaries

Xu Xuan returned to White Ridge Village to test the children for spiritual roots and find a disciple destined to practice the Great Red Abbey’s incomplete fire cultivation method. He discovered that Liu Shengshui’s grandson, Liu Xiaowen, resonated with the ancient jade stele and chose him as his disciple.

• Xu Xuan arrived in White Ridge Village and began examining the children with the Profound Mirror of Bone Illumination.
• After finding no spiritual roots among the children presented, Xu Xuan asked Liu Fanhe whether any village children were missing.
• Liu Shengshui brought his reluctant grandson, and Xu Xuan sensed that the boy resonated with Sun-Flint Descent of Fire.
• Xu Xuan used the bronze mirror to reveal Liu Xiaowen’s extraordinary spiritual root and invited him to enter the Great Red Abbey.
• Liu Xiaowen stopped resisting, bowed to Xu Xuan, and gave his name.

After three years of seclusion, Xu Xuan emerged as the Great Red Abbey struggled with dwindling resources and the Lotus Temple’s growing threat. He oversaw Liu Xiaowen receiving a new magical sword, then prepared to seek a birthday gift for the Chen Household’s old master.

• Xu Xuan reached the fifth level of Qi Refining and learned from Wang Xiwei that the Lotus Temple remained a threat while the Chen Household was entangled in a conflict with monsters.
• Xu Xuan visited Cloud-Sweeping Peak, where Wang Qiyun showed him an upper-grade Fetal Breathing sword he had forged for Liu Xiaowen.
• Liu Xiaowen reported reaching the middle stage of Fetal Breathing, and Wang Qiyun used a tiger monster’s blood to complete the sword, which Liu Xiaowen named [Fire Tiger Fang].
• Xu Xuan inventoried the Great Red Abbey’s poor harvests and dwindling supplies, then gathered valuables to seek a suitable gift for the Chen Household’s old master’s birthday.

Xu Xuan went beneath Jade Glass Market to seek a Wu Earth treasure and met Liu Qiuqi, who proposed a larger deal involving the region’s threatened clans. Liu Qiuqi revealed that the Wu Clan’s heir had been brutally murdered, leaving Xu Xuan’s safety and the purpose of the deal uncertain.

• Xu Xuan visited Wang Ya’s shop and asked for a Foundation Establishment-grade Wu Earth treasure to give the Chen Clan.
• Wang Ya led Xu Xuan into the underground ghost market and showed him an [Earth Mother's Benevolent Pearl], which its seller wanted exchanged for a wood virtue treasure.
• Xu Xuan gave Wang Ya an upper-grade Fetal Breath artifact to help negotiate, then met the seller, Liu Qiuqi, a disciple of the Liu Clan.
• Liu Qiuqi offered Xu Xuan the pearl if he agreed to a larger deal, then explained that ambitious factions threatened the remaining clans between the Seven Azure Peaks and the Great Scenery Plains.
• Liu Qiuqi told Xu Xuan that the Wu Clan’s young heir had been beheaded and his body covered in hundreds of blade wounds.

Xu Xuan traded for the Earth Mother's Benevolent Pearl, agreed to secretly support Liu Qiuqi, and reflected on his past and the Life Foundation needed to advance his cultivation. The chapter ended when Wen Si'an arrived injured and reported that Black Wind Valley had attacked again.

• Xu Xuan and Liu Qiuqi agreed to exchange resources and secretly aid each other until after Chen Weiyuan's birthday celebration.
• Xu Xuan returned to Azure Sky Peak, instructed Liu Xiaowen, and allowed him three days to visit his family in White Ridge Village.
• Xu Xuan offered incense with Liu Xiaowen in the Founders' Hall and remembered how Chongyangzi had taken him in as a child.
• Xu Xuan studied the dangerous lightning method required to form his Life Foundation and advance to the sixth level of Qi Refining.
• Wen Si'an arrived injured and told Xu Xuan that Black Wind Valley had sent people to attack them again, so he summoned Cinnabar Thunder.

Black Wind Valley elder Xie Miao attacked Great Red Abbey’s Medicine Garden, and Xu Xuan drove him off with a sword strike. The chapter ended with Valley Master Xie Shu planning to destroy the abbey and use its fortune to reach Foundation Establishment.

• Xie Miao broke through the Medicine Garden’s formations and fought Wang Xiwei, wounding him with a talisman and a sudden close-range attack.
• Xu Xuan arrived, destroyed Xie Miao’s ghost talisman, and cut him with Cinnabar Thunder, forcing him to retreat.
• Xu Xuan helped Wang Xiwei recover as the two recognized how few people Great Red Abbey had available to defend itself.
• Xie Miao returned to Black Wind Valley and reported that Wang Xiwei was weak in combat and Xu Xuan’s reputation was overstated.
• Xie Shu’s wound flared with Xu Xuan’s Sword Qi, and he vowed to slaughter Great Red Abbey, seize its fortune, and replenish his life for Foundation Establishment.

Liu Xiaowen returned to White Ridge after three years away and reunited with his aged grandfather, but a warning from his jade pendant sent him rushing back to Green Luo. Xu Xuan learned that Everbright Mountain faced danger and resolved to seek the Life Foundation and rapidly advance his cultivation.

• Liu Xiaowen returned to White Ridge, where Liu Fanhe recognized him and led him to Liu Shengshui.
• Liu Xiaowen reunited with Liu Shengshui, offered incense to his parents, and spent the afternoon helping his grandfather at home.
• Liu Xiaowen's jade pendant heated and pointed toward Everbright Mountain, so he hurried back to Green Luo to report the apparent attack.
• Xu Xuan and Wen Si'an returned to Green Luo after discussing Black Wind Valley and the threat to Everbright Mountain.
• Xu Xuan warned Liu Xiaowen and Wang Qiyun to stay inside the formation and resolved to seek the Life Foundation and force his cultivation higher.

Wen Xiuyun visited Xu Xuan to propose a marriage alliance between the Autumn Gourd School and the Great Red Abbey, and Xu Xuan arranged for Wang Qiyun to meet Shen Shu. After Wen Si'an asked whether Xu Xuan had considered taking a Dao companion, he left for Everbright Mountain to consult Wang Xiwei about the match.

• Xu Xuan welcomed Wen Xiuyun and Shen Shu from the Autumn Gourd School and heard that Wen Xiuyun feared Black Wind Valley's growing influence.
• Wen Xiuyun proposed a marriage alliance, and Xu Xuan chose Wang Qiyun as a suitable match for Shen Shu.
• Wang Qiyun met Shen Shu, and Xu Xuan told him to show her around Green Luo; Wen Xiuyun agreed to arrange the marriage if they took to each other.
• Wen Xiuyun gave Wang Qiyun the enchanted robe [Fire Splitter] before leaving, and Xu Xuan explained the proposed alliance to him.
• Wen Si'an asked Xu Xuan whether he had considered taking a Dao companion, leaving him flustered before she sent him away.
• Xu Xuan rode a cloud toward Everbright Mountain to consult Wang Xiwei, while someone watched him leave through Clear Thought Hall's barely opened doors.

Xu Xuan visited Everbright Mountain, saw Lotus Temple expanding in Dapan, and returned to discuss the Autumn Gourd School marriage alliance and Chen Weiyuan’s birthday. Wang Xiwei gave him Mystic Prayer Thunderwood for his future breakthrough, then revealed his grief over the decree that had killed their former master; Xu Xuan silenced him and left for the Founders’ Hall.

• Xu Xuan visited Everbright Mountain, spoke with Zhang Gaoxia, and found Wang Xiwei repairing the Golden Light Formation.
• Xu Xuan and Wang Xiwei saw Lotus Temple’s new temple in Dapan and resolved to deal with the monks after Xu Xuan reached Foundation Establishment.
• Xu Xuan told Wang Xiwei about the Autumn Gourd School’s visit and planned to arrange Wang Qiyun’s marriage to Shen Shu, while preparing for Chen Weiyuan’s birthday celebration.
• Wang Xiwei gave Xu Xuan Mystic Prayer Thunderwood, which he had prepared to help Xu Xuan seek his life foundation and withstand heavenly lightning.
• Wang Xiwei recalled their former master’s death by a decree, and Xu Xuan ordered him never to speak of it again or let Wen Si'an find out before leaving for the Founders’ Hall.

Xu Xuan attended Chen Weiyuan’s birthday celebration and presented the Great Red Abbey’s gift, the Earth Mother's Benevolent Pearl. After Chen Weiyuan recognized how weary Xu Xuan had become, Liu Qiuqi told him that a Foundation Establishment Pill was being offered as a prize.

• Wen Si'an dressed Xu Xuan in Wen Fufeng’s inherited enchanted robe, Red Sparrow, before he left the abbey.
• Xu Xuan traveled to the Chen Household and was welcomed by Chen Xiyue, whom he had taught in his youth.
• Xu Xuan presented the Earth Mother's Benevolent Pearl to Chen Weiyuan, who remarked that Xu Xuan had grown old quickly.
• Chen Xiyue spoke with Xu Xuan at the banquet, and he reassured her that he might regain his youthful appearance after breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
• Liu Qiuqi joined Xu Xuan at the banquet and revealed that Chen Weiyuan had prepared a Foundation Establishment Pill as a prize.

Xu Xuan attended Chen Weiyuan’s gathering, where the clans’ declining strength was exposed and Xu Xuan received a precious Foundation Establishment pill. Zhu Yucheng announced an agreement with Chen Weiyuan to let the clans develop for forty years before he united the Great Scenery Plains.

• Liu Qiuqi explained that the Chen Household’s One Origin Harmonious Peak Pills offered a better path to Foundation Establishment than ordinary pills.
• Zhu Yucheng arrived with the corpse of a Foundation Establishment demon from White Azure Cavern and took a seat beside Chen Weiyuan.
• Chen Weiyuan tested the clans’ descendants with the Mysterious Yellow Venerable Light Tower, then gave pills to Xu Xuan and a Duan Clan descendant, who had endured its pressure the longest.
• A Wu Clan elder asked Chen Weiyuan to uphold justice over Wu Heyong, but Chen Weiyuan dismissed the complaint and the clan fell silent.
• Zhu Yucheng denounced the clans for their weakness and declared that he would unite the Great Scenery Plains in forty years, while Xu Xuan gripped his pill.

Xu Xuan refined the Mystic Prayer Thunderwood and discovered it strengthened his lightning techniques while giving him a one-use means of healing grave wounds. After hearing Wang Xiwei’s concerns about the burdens Xu Xuan and Wen Si'an carried, he brought Si'an a sword and called to her at Changming, where their reunion began.

• Xu Xuan refined the Mystic Prayer Thunderwood with his primal essence and sword qi until the Dark Flood Dragon’s roar erased the spirit wood’s lingering resentment, allowing it to take root in his qi sea.
• Xu Xuan learned that the spirit wood increased the speed and power of his Thunder Radiance Spirit-Inquiry Method by twenty percent and could heal grievous wounds once at the cost of severe damage to the wood.
• Xu Xuan visited Wang Xiwei, who showed him a sword he had forged for Wen Si'an and urged Xu Xuan to support her as the two of them bore the sect’s responsibilities.
• Wang Xiwei arranged Xu Xuan’s attempt to seek his Life Foundation in three days and asked him to deliver Wen Si'an’s sword to Changming.
• Xu Xuan found Wen Si'an tending the spirit fields, called to her from above, and heard her reply, “Senior Brother.”

Xu Xuan discussed the Great Red Abbey’s need for a spirit plant cultivator with Wen Si'an before traveling to Frostreturn Peak to prepare for a storm. At White Stone Mountain, Liu Xiaowen received a treasured magic tool from Jiang Chiyu and discovered a Foundation Establishment-grade treasure tree whose existence could endanger the sect.

• Wen Si'an asked Xu Xuan to name her sword, and he called it Rainthought.
• Wen Si'an explained that the abbey needed an expert to tend its spirit fields, and Xu Xuan suggested asking Rejuvenation Mountain for help.
• Wen Si'an gave Xu Xuan an Origin-Enriching Pill, and he went to Frostreturn Peak to await a storm and draw lightning into his body.
• Wang Qiyun brought Liu Xiaowen to White Stone Mountain, where Jiang Chiyu gave Liu Xiaowen the Spirit-Devouring Token to aid his cultivation.
• Jiang Chiyu led Wang Qiyun and Liu Xiaowen to a hidden cavern, where they found a Foundation Establishment-grade treasure tree growing in lava.
• Jiang Chiyu warned that news of the tree could bring disaster because the Chen Household had sealed off its mountain.

Xu Xuan consumed the Spirit-Gathering Blood Pill despite knowing it was made from mortal blood, then endured a lightning tribulation and attained his Life Foundation and the sixth level of Qi Refining. He returned to the Great Red Abbey and learned that Chiyu had discovered a precious Foundation Establishment-grade tree below White Stone Mountain, which he and Wang Xiwei resolved to protect in secret.

• Xu Xuan wrestled with the pill’s origin and his master’s teachings before choosing to consume it for the sake of the sect’s legacy.
• Xu Xuan drew down lightning and, after surviving the tribulation, formed his Life Foundation and advanced to the sixth level of Qi Refining.
• Xu Xuan swallowed an Essence-Nourishing Pill to heal, then flew to Azure Sky Peak and met Wang Xiwei outside True Abode Hall.
• Xu Xuan and Wang Xiwei honored their founders, and Wang Xiwei told him that Chiyu had found a precious Foundation Establishment-grade tree below White Stone Mountain.
• Xu Xuan and Wang Xiwei agreed to keep the discovery secret, inspect the tree, and secretly watch White Stone for signs of trouble.

Cihai planned to wait for his breakthrough before moving against the Great Red Abbey, while secretly hoping to destroy Chen Weiyuan’s bloodline. At White Stone Mountain, Xu Xuan secured a hidden spiritual tree and then headed to arrange Qiyun’s marriage and an alliance with the Autumn Gourd School.

• Cihai rejected Chifa’s proposal to seize Longbright and ordered him to delay Xu Xuan’s Foundation Establishment until Cihai became a Dharma Master.
• Cihai recalled how Chen Weiyuan had killed his master with one spear, and he resolved to destroy Chen Weiyuan’s bloodline when the time came.
• Xu Xuan questioned Qi Xiuli about Li Heishui’s death and the discovery of an Earthflame Noon-Origin Tree in the mine.
• Xu Xuan sent Qi Xiuli to Green Luo under the sect’s protection, ordered Li Heishui’s corpse discarded, and tasked Jiang Chiyu with investigating possible accomplices.
• Xu Xuan concealed the tree and its fruit, then flew to Rosy Dawn Peak to settle Qiyun’s marriage and seek an alliance with the Autumn Gourd School.

Shen Shu married Wang Qiyun and left the Autumn Gourd School for Green Luo, while Xu Xuan reflected on the alliance’s benefits and cultivated with a crimson fruit. A thought about the Spirit-Gathering Blood Pill triggered a wave of horror and guilt in Xu Xuan, and he left the mountain feeling exposed and desolate.

• Wen Xiuyun sent Shen Shu off with the wedding procession, urging her to settle into her new household and mind her conduct.
• Wang Qiyun reassured Shen Shu on the journey to Green Luo, and she touched the crooked red jade hairpin he had made for her.
• Xu Xuan welcomed the marriage and valued the Autumn Gourd School’s gift of a method for crafting Fetal Breath enchanted robes.
• After the wedding feast, Xu Xuan consumed a crimson fruit from the Earthflame Noon-Origin Tree while cultivating on Azure Sky Peak.
• Xu Xuan thought of the Spirit-Gathering Blood Pill, then suffered horror and nausea as a scrutinizing gaze seemed to fall on him from the Founders' Hall.
• Xu Xuan left the mountain, feeling exposed and desolate.

Xie Shu revealed that he had formed a demonic [Nature Root] as he plotted against Xu Xuan, while Wang Qiyun successfully advanced to Qi Refining. Xu Xuan assessed Liu Xiaowen’s promising cultivation and waited for the chance to test his strengthened [Great Thunder-Prayer Radiance].

• Xie Miao reported Xu Xuan’s breakthrough to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, and Xie Shu described his plan to wait for an opening to attack him.
• Xie Shu revealed a pulsing mass of flesh and blood as his demonic [Nature Root], terrifying Xie Miao.
• Wang Qiyun cultivated the Fire-Crossing Unhindered Art, formed his qi sea, and advanced from Fetal Breath to Qi Refining.
• Wang Qiyun celebrated his breakthrough by carrying Shen Shu through the sky on a cloud of qi.
• Xu Xuan found that Liu Xiaowen had reached middle Fetal Breath and that his spiritual root had grown to nine inches.
• Xu Xuan reflected on the power of his strengthened [Great Thunder-Prayer Radiance] and sensed that someone was watching him.

Xu Xuan sought Rejuvenation Mountain’s help to stop a mysterious infestation ravaging spirit herbs, then used Sword Qi to save its jade beauty bamboo. The infestation’s remaining pests formed a blood-red flower that entered Xu Xuan’s qi sea, and as he searched for answers, the flower began reacting to an ominous change in the sky.

• Zhang Gaoxia and Wen Si'an failed to identify the pests devastating Longbright’s spirit herbs, so Xu Xuan went to Rejuvenation Mountain for help.
• Shi Mingsong taught Xu Xuan’s sect to use the [Lesser Gengjin Formation] and asked Xu Xuan to remove the pests from the jade beauty bamboo with Sword Qi.
• Xu Xuan killed the pests inside the bamboo, but they formed a blood-red flower that slipped past his defenses and rooted itself in his qi sea.
• Shi Mingsong promised to send spirit-plant cultivators to help Longbright, while Xu Xuan returned to Green Luo and found the flower caused the black spots on the Earthflame Noon-Origin Tree to disperse.
• Xu Xuan shut himself away to search the sect’s records, but the sky darkened in broad daylight as stars appeared and the flower grew vivid.

A Golden-Armored Deity from Tip-Feng Mountain appeared over the Great Scenery Plains and searched the sects, then subjected Xu Xuan to a painful inspection before healing him and leaving. Back in True Abode Hall, Xu Xuan found that his hidden treasures had reappeared and suspected the True Person’s visit was connected to the blood flower.

• A terrifying phenomenon darkened the sky, and Xu Xuan and Wen Si'an prepared for a possible demonic invasion.
• A Golden-Armored Deity appeared over the Li River, and Xu Xuan recognized him as a Purple Mansion True Person from Tip-Feng Mountain.
• The True Person swept the Great Scenery Plains with a bronze mirror, then inspected Xu Xuan and questioned him about Wen Fufeng.
• The True Person crushed Xu Xuan under invisible pressure, then healed him and elevated [Cinnabar Thunder] before departing.
• Wen Si'an reported damage and injuries among the disciples and urged Xu Xuan to recuperate, while Xu Xuan concealed how badly he had been hurt.
• Xu Xuan checked himself with the White Jade Ancient Stele and saw the blood flower wither, leading him to connect it to the True Person's appearance.

Chen Weiyuan revealed that he was sending Chen Xiyue away to join the Azure Splendor Sect, severing her ties to the Chen household to protect her from its fate. Xu Xuan suppressed the mysterious blood flower with the ancient stele and considered how to strengthen his Life Foundation before the coming conflict.

• Chen Weiyuan ignored the clan members protesting the mountain’s closure and played a game of Go with Chen Xiyue while they discussed the Plainlands’ cultivation breakthroughs.
• Chen Weiyuan told Chen Xiyue that the Azure Splendor Sect had agreed to accept her and ordered her to cut ties with the Great Scenery Chen household and the Shu Kingdom Imperial Descendants.
• Chen Weiyuan explained that he had made Chen Xiyue cultivate Jia Wood to weaken her connection to the household, then asked her to carry his spirit tablet through Ancient Shu someday.
• Xu Xuan examined the red blood flower in his Qi Sea and relied on the White Jade Ancient Stele to suppress it.
• Xu Xuan weighed the threats from Black Wind Valley and the Lotus Temple, then studied his master’s notes on bringing Sword Qi into the Life Foundation.

Rejuvenation Mountain sent Shi Yuanyu to help Xu Xuan manage Longbright’s spirit fields, where she advised dividing the crops according to their needs and shared knowledge about ancient cultivation paths. As Longbright prepared to improve its fields, Wen Si’an resolved to strengthen her cultivation so she could support Xu Xuan, while Zhang Gaoxia continued tending the plants and was called to inspect obstructed earth veins.

• Shi Yuanyu arrived at Longbright and advised Xu Xuan and Wen Si’an to separate the spirit plants according to their soil and moisture needs.
• Over spirit tea, Shi Yuanyu explained the Liu Household’s cultivation of taboo wood and described the ancient wood lineages and the shock thunder path.
• Shi Yuanyu told Xu Xuan that Longbright’s thin earth qi limited its crops and that higher-grade plants would likely require Mount Dapan.
• Wen Si’an resolved to resume the Congming One-Qi Sword Art and cultivate sword essence so she could help Xu Xuan face their enemies.
• Zhang Gaoxia reflected on her life in Longbright’s spirit fields and wondered when the sect might reclaim Mount Dapan.
• An outer disciple called Zhang Gaoxia to help inspect obstructed earth veins, and she went to assist.