Chapter Summaries

Xu Xuan cultivated beneath the Northern Dipper with the Star-Rushing Heavenly Star Pill, drawing down light from the Tianpeng Hidden Origin Star. Inside his qi sea, the Heavenly Canopy Demon-Slaying Diagram and a Chaos Divine Being stirred, then reached a wary accord before the statue spoke the words “Northern Sea.”

• Xu Xuan swallowed the Star-Rushing Heavenly Star Pill and began refining starlight to strengthen his magical power.
• The Heavenly Canopy Demon-Slaying Diagram responded to the Hidden Origin Star’s light and began descending from Xu Xuan’s consciousness sea into his qi sea.
• A Chaos Divine Being emerged in the qi sea as the diagram’s Thunder Department spirits gathered, and Tiantuo watched their confrontation.
• The Venerable Seat of Profound Unity’s Successive Union appeared, causing the Thunder Department spirits to lower their weapons and the diagram to settle above the thunder pool.
• The Chaos Divine Being returned to its stone form after speaking “Northern Sea,” leaving Tiantuo to wonder about its origins while Xu Xuan continued cultivating, unaware.

After two years in seclusion, Xu Xuan emerged at the late stage of Foundation Establishment and studied a purple qi cultivation method while considering his next visits to the Plainlands. He learned that Liu Xingfang’s family wanted to arrange a marriage and draw him back to the clan, so Xu Xuan decided to accompany him and see what lay behind the request.

• Xu Xuan emerged from seclusion with his cultivation at the late stage of Foundation Establishment and reflected on the three developing forms of [Heaven-Commanding Tribulation].
• Xu Xuan examined a stone statue in his qi sea with Tiantuo, then used the Dark Azure Dao Book to produce the fifth-grade Eastern Mystery Treatise on Gazing at the Dao and received [Purple Qi from the East] for its spell.
• Liu Xingfang reported that Elder Wen was preparing for Foundation Establishment, Fa Yan had reached the ninth level, and the Hollow Sword Gate had been rebuilt with the sect’s help.
• Liu Xingfang presented invitations from Purple Gold Abbey, the Chen Household, and his own Liu Household, and Xu Xuan decided to visit the Chen Household first.
• Liu Xingfang told Xu Xuan that his parents wanted him to return to the clan for a marriage arrangement and a breakthrough on the clan’s spiritual mountain.
• Xu Xuan told Liu Xingfang to make his own decision and said he would accompany him to the Liu Household during his trip to the Plainlands.

Xu Xuan visited the Chen Household at West Verdure and met its aging patriarch, Chen Weiyuan. Chen Weiyuan told Xu Xuan that his days were numbered and that the Chen Household would decline, then began sharing matters he needed to discuss before his death.

• Xu Xuan and Liu Xingfang surveyed Lushwood, where dead spirit trees had sealed the spiritual veins, and discussed the difficulty of restoring the land.
• Xu Xuan reached Du Wang City, where Jiang Chi greeted him and led him to the Chen Household’s main mountain, West Verdure.
• Tiantuo identified Subduing Earth as the earth virtue at the mountain’s roots, and Chen Mingyu welcomed Xu Xuan and escorted him to the Taiheng Hall.
• Chen Weiyuan dismissed Chen Mingyu and asked Xu Xuan whether Mingyu could shoulder the Chen Household, then warned that the clan could not hold West Verdure after his death.
• Chen Weiyuan told Xu Xuan that Chen Xiyue had joined the Azure Splendor Sect under True Person [Spring Yin] and asked him to support her if she encountered trouble.
• Chen Weiyuan said his days were numbered and that the Chen Household was destined to decline, leaving Xu Xuan to hear what he needed to tell him.

Chen Weiyuan explained how Shock Thunder and Wu Earth were tied to Great Shu’s founding and the Jingming Turmoil, while Xu Xuan worried that a powerful figure might know the secrets behind his cultivation and identity. The chapter ended with Tiantuo urging Xu Xuan not to try to fathom Heaven’s intentions as thunder and heavenly sounds continued outside the hall.

• Chen Weiyuan used an Apricot-Yellow Treasure Banner to shield the Main Hall and asked Xu Xuan to recount what he had learned about Great Shu.
• Chen Weiyuan explained that the founding emperor raised Wu Earth to its pinnacle after Shock Thunder severed Xin Metal and he proved his path where True Lord Qing Yu had fallen in the Gloomy Netherworld.
• Chen Weiyuan recounted how the Jingming Turmoil brought the founding emperor’s disappearance, the Underworld’s return, Mysterious Pivot’s death, Emperor Jing’s passing, and Great Shu’s eventual collapse.
• Chen Weiyuan revealed that Xu Xuan’s master had obtained the Thunder Radiance Spirit-Inquiry Method in the Northern Sea, and admitted that Xu Xuan’s progress and identity worried him.
• Xu Xuan wondered whether True Lord Suspended Chaos knew about his secrets and the strange change in his Immortal Register, recalling a gaze from Thunder Marsh.
• Tiantuo told Xu Xuan not to divine Heaven’s intentions, and Xu Xuan steadied himself as thunder rolled outside the hall.

Xu Xuan learned more about Great Shu’s past and Chen Weiyuan’s concerns before leaving Western Verdant Mountain. Liu Xingfang returned to Zhixu Mountain, where his parents urged him to take over the mountain and marry into the Wu family, leaving him reacting sharply to the proposal.

• Chen Weiyuan told Xu Xuan that Great Scarlet and the Void Sword had served Great Shu, warned him about the danger to Jade Flow, and promised to ask about cultivation methods for him.
• Chen Mingyu met Xu Xuan outside the hall and said the Chen clan would lift its mountain closure when the dust had settled.
• Liu Xingfang returned to Zhixu Mountain and learned from Madam Dan that Liu Qiuye hoped he would claim the mountain and marry.
• Liu Xingfang refused to compete with his brothers for the household head position and offered to bring Madam Dan to live in Green Luo.
• Liu Qiuye proposed a marriage alliance with the Wu family, a foundation establishment clan from Red Cloud, and Liu Xingfang reacted as Panpo rang with a sword cry.

Liu Xingfang learned that his father wanted him to marry into the Wu Household, but a summons from his master interrupted their discussion. At Azure Field, he met the Wu Household visitors, including the woman intended as his match, Shao Yue, who refused to greet him.

• Liu Qiuye urged Liu Xingfang to consider marrying into the Wu Household and becoming lord of Zhixu Mountain, while Liu Xingfang resisted the plan.
• A servant announced that the Calamity-Splitting Sword Immortal had summoned Liu Xingfang to meet him and the clan leader at Azure Field, so Liu Xingfang left the hall.
• Liu Xingfang traveled past the Liu Household's ancestral land and reflected on his childhood before reaching Azure Field Mountain.
• Liu Baiyuan greeted Liu Xingfang and told him that his master, his father, and other honored guests were waiting inside.
• Xu Xuan introduced Liu Xingfang to a Wu Household man, who praised his cultivation and called for Shao Yue to meet him.
• Shao Yue lowered her eyes and refused to meet Liu Xingfang.

Liu Xingfang accompanied Wu Shao Yue and Qingyun around Azure Field, where a conversation about their families and Dao traditions revealed Wu Shao Yue’s interest in the power of Altar Thunder. The chapter ended with her asking Liu Xingfang to exchange a few moves so she could witness it firsthand.

• Liu Qiuqi sent Qingyun to show Liu Xingfang and Wu Shao Yue around Azure Field while Wu Ansha stayed behind.
• Wu Shao Yue explained that her branch of the Heavenwater Wu Household lacked the main household’s spiritual resources and could not practice its withering qi tradition.
• Liu Xingfang steered their conversation away from marriage and asked Wu Shao Yue about demonic cultivation traditions, including withering qi and blood qi.
• Wu Shao Yue discussed ancient demonic paths and hinted that the path opposite bing fire had risen through dishonorable means, then cautioned against speculating about the distinction between immortals and demons.
• Liu Xingfang displayed Altar Thunder, astonishing Wu Shao Yue and Qingyun.
• Wu Shao Yue asked Liu Xingfang to exchange a few moves so she could witness Altar Thunder, leaving him and Qingyun surprised.

On Mulberry Flowering Peak, Wu Shaoyue challenged Liu Xingfang to a friendly exchange, but her fascination with his sword and Altar Thunder made her let his attack hit her unguarded. Wu Ansha stopped the blow, and the chapter ended with Xu Xuan ordering Liu Xingfang to accompany Wu Shaoyue for a stroll as she asked him to stab her again.

• Qingyun led Wu Shaoyue and Liu Xingfang to the training grounds, where Wu Shaoyue provoked him into exchanging one move.
• Liu Xingfang summoned his Heavenly Heart Thunder Pool and struck Wu Shaoyue with his sword while she unleashed the Yang Baleful Threefold Treasure Blade.
• Wu Shaoyue withdrew her protection and watched Liu Xingfang's lightning-charged sword strike descend, but Wu Ansha emerged from the earth veins and swallowed the attack.
• Wu Shaoyue told Wu Ansha she wanted to become better acquainted with Liu Xingfang, and Xu Xuan told Liu Xingfang to take her for a stroll.
• As they walked down the mountain, Wu Shaoyue whispered that he should stab her again, while Liu Xingfang silently wondered what was wrong with her.

Xu Xuan and Liu Qiuqi discussed Wu Ansha’s proposed marriage between Wu Shaoyue and Liu Xingfang, as well as the growing threat from Northern Liao. Liu Qiuqi then revealed the Zhu Clan’s recent expansion into Jade Flow and led Xu Xuan toward a hidden passage connected to the Plainlands’ past.

• Wu Ansha proposed that Wu Shaoyue and Liu Xingfang spend several years working together in trade before deciding whether to marry, and Xu Xuan and Liu Qiuqi agreed to consider it.
• Liu Xingfang returned from meeting Wu Shaoyue, described her as unlike ordinary people, and went back to the mountain at Xu Xuan’s request.
• Xu Xuan and Liu Qiuqi discussed Great Li’s retreat from the northern frontier and the danger posed by the Liao People.
• Liu Qiuqi showed Xu Xuan a letter marked with the character Zhu and revealed that Zhu Yuanyun’s forces and Green-Wasteland Abbey cultivators had seized territory in Jade Flow.
• Liu Qiuqi opened a hidden passage beneath the main hall and invited Xu Xuan inside to learn the Plainlands’ history; Xu Xuan sensed deathly energy, and the demon linked it to the Gloomy Netherworld.

Liu Qiuqi led Xu Xuan through an underground passage to a Qi Kingdom tomb and explained how the four Plainlands families had served Great Shu. He revealed that Great Shu’s false Netherworld had erupted into rebellion during the Jing Nether Calamity, prompting the founding emperor to purge everything connected to the Underworld.

• Liu Qiuqi guided Xu Xuan through a passage whose carved bricks recalled the Qi Kingdom’s imperial rites, while Tiantuo recounted Emperor Gong Ye Canxuan’s rise and burning death.
• Liu Qiuqi opened a martial rite golden wood door and led Xu Xuan into a tomb beneath the Great Scenery Plains, explaining that a Qi noble had built it where Emperor Wang’s final vital essence had settled.
• Liu Qiuqi showed Xu Xuan carvings linking the Liu, Wu, Duan, and Zhu families to Great Shu’s offices and traditions, including Yin Regulation, construction, mountain-driving, and military command.
• Liu Qiuqi explained that Great Shu built a false Netherworld beneath Lacquer Mountain, where yin soldiers later rebelled under mysterious figures during the Jing Nether Calamity.
• Liu Qiuqi said the founding emperor ordered Emperor Wang to take the throne and purged the Zhu Clan and everything tied to the Underworld; a chilling gust then extinguished the lamp.

Wen Si'an emerged from seclusion after using the Rain-Prayer Dance to establish her Foundation, while the Liu Household weighed its alliances and Qingyun urged Liu Qiuqi to leave his clan. The chapter ended with Xu Xuan welcoming Wen Si'an’s breakthrough, which brought his sect to four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

• Liu Qiuqi learned that the Duan Clan would not commit to confronting the Zhu Clan and discussed Zhu Yucheng’s movements with Qingyun.
• Qingyun revealed that Zhu Yucheng had entered White Azure Cavern and that Lingming True Person had become embroiled in a conflict with Yin Thunder Mountain.
• Qingyun urged Liu Qiuqi to abandon his clan and join Jade Flow, but he refused to forsake the Liu Household.
• Zhang Gaoxia and Jiang Zhoudu waited as dark clouds gathered over Colorful Cloud Peak, and the Rain-Prayer Dance brought down spiritually charged rain.
• Wen Si'an emerged from the water after forming her immortal foundation, and Xu Xuan arrived to congratulate her.
• Xu Xuan recognized that Wen Si'an’s breakthrough brought the sect to four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Wen Si'an described the strange manifestations and dream that accompanied her Foundation Establishment, while Xu Xuan considered how the sect could use its new power. At Mist-Hidden Peak, Xu Fayan rejected Empty-Handed's offer and continued cultivating, revealing that something had taken shape inside the Ancient Bronze Jar.

• Wen Si'an told Xu Xuan that her new Immortal Foundation let her pray for rain and escape through water, and that a dream showed her a red boar and a Golden Bronze Statue catching dew.
• Wen Si'an revealed [Sun-Guarding Edge], and Xu Xuan identified it as victory gold, a manifestation of Qian Heaven.
• Wen Si'an proposed assigning Foundation Establishment cultivators to the peaks of [Five-Element Mountain] and warned that the Zhu Clan had been making moves.
• Empty-Handed visited Xu Fayan at Mist-Hidden Peak and offered to teach him [Mustard-Seed Formless Escape Art], but Xu Fayan refused and continued making a [Rainbow-Slaying Talisman].
• After Empty-Handed left, Xu Fayan refined a spirit stone, and the Ancient Bronze Jar rose within his consciousness sea with two points of yellow light circling inside.

Xu Xuan visited the Purple Gold Abbey to discuss cooperation and exchange knowledge about altar thunder, while assessing whether Chonghua offered room for his sect to expand westward. At Eternal Divinity Mountain, he heard a familiar woman ask to see the Calamity-Splitting Sword Immortal and decided to pretend she did not know him.

• Xu Xuan and Liang Yong met Xin Heniан, who escorted them to the Purple Gold Abbey in a Thunder Chariot.
• During the journey, Xin Heniан explained that the abbey wanted closer cooperation and that Daoist Jade Radiance wished to discuss altar thunder with Xu Xuan.
• At Eternal Divinity Mountain, Xin Heniан described the abbey's history and said Lingming True Person lacked the energy to oversee Chonghua.
• Xu Xuan concluded that no Purple Mansion cultivator currently controlled Chonghua, making westward expansion a possible option for his abbey.
• Xu Xuan heard a familiar woman ask to see the Calamity-Splitting Sword Immortal and decided to act as though she did not recognize him.

Xu Xuan met Xin Yuanchang at Purple Gold Abbey, where Xin asked him to have a damaged spirit-sword tip examined for reforging. Xu Yi, disguised as Xin Yuanchang’s daughter, explained the sword’s history and hinted at a connection between two Mysterious Thunder paths.

• Xu Yi visited Xin Yuanchang at Purple Gold Abbey after her father and grandfather had both left Yin Thunder Mountain, and she persuaded Xin to let her join his meeting with a Sword Immortal.
• Xu Xuan arrived and greeted Xin Yuanchang, while Xu Yi pretended to be Xin’s daughter, Xin Yinan.
• Xin Yuanchang asked Xu Xuan to deepen trade between their abbeys and have Wen Guang examine a broken sword tip that he hoped to reforge into a Foundation Establishment Dharma Sword.
• Tiantuo told Xu Xuan that the spirit sword had slain a Vermilion Bird descendant above the Purple Mansion level, and Xu Yi identified the tip as part of Blazing Splendor.
• Xu Xuan agreed to take the tip for examination, and Xu Yi said the Mysterious Thunder Combat-Killing Immortal Path and Mysterious Thunder Celestial Pivot Immortal Path were connected only by their shared name and ancestral qi.

Xu Yi explained the lore of ancestral qi and the origins of different thunder lineages to Xu Xuan, while Xin Yuanchang revealed the source of his own thunder foundation. The chapter left Xu Xuan examining a token from the Thunder Department that seemed tied to his altar thunder and the Grand Truth Sect.

• Xu Yi asked Xu Xuan to leave sword intent on her Dharma Sword, and he agreed after she settled on one sword.
• Xu Yi told Xu Xuan that primordial qi had given rise to altar thunder and that ancestral qi could create or elevate Dao lineages.
• Xu Yi suggested that mystic thunder might be a path seeking to elevate divine thunder, prompting Xu Xuan to reconsider the connections between thunder lineages and Venerable Positions.
• Xin Yuanchang clarified that the lore came from recently unearthed ruins in Northern Liao and cautioned that its claims might not be reliable.
• Xin Yuanchang said he cultivated capital thunder punishment, which he had transformed into divine thunder, and showed Xu Xuan a Thunder Department token bearing a Golden Scale Hook Snake.

Xu Xuan examined a Thunder-Wielding Command Token and saw ancient heavenly prisons before a mysterious presence destroyed the artifact. As he left, Xu Yi and Xin Yuanchang discussed the matter’s connection to Wanjin and the Celestial Pivot Sword Immortal, while Xu Xuan wondered whether the prisons held a living prisoner and a cultivation method.

• Xin Yuanchang gave Xu Xuan a Thunder-Wielding Command Token, through which Xu Xuan saw lightning-bound heavenly prisons and sensed a presence that shattered his spiritual perception and reduced the token to dust.
• Thunder struck the hall entrance, halting Xu Xuan’s discussion with Xin Yuanchang, who handed him the blade of Blazing Splendor to investigate reforging before Xu Xuan departed with Liang Yong.
• Xu Yi questioned Xin Yuanchang about his connection to the Grand Truth Sect and guessed that True Person Wanjin had sent the token; they discussed the Celestial Pivot Sword Immortal and the divine thunder lineages.
• Liang Yong told Xu Xuan that he had mistaken a married woman for a widow and worried that the rapidly growing sect had made him feel out of place; Xu Xuan reassured him of his standing.
• Xu Xuan told Tiantuo about the heavenly prisons, considered whether a living creature could still be imprisoned there, and suspected the vision was connected to the Thunder Department and a cultivation method.

Liu Xiaowen collected tribute in the Calm Sea, drove the monk Yun Qing from the Muddy Sea with one sword strike, and received a summons to the Crystal Palace. As Bai Ling hurried toward the palace, Liu Xiaowen read an intelligence report mentioning the [Calamity-Splitting Sword].

• Bai Ling collected Netherwater Spirit Jade from the Yakshas, and Liu Xiaowen excused their shortfall before ordering the carriage toward the Muddy Sea.
• Bai Ling confronted Yun Qing for preaching in the Muddy Sea, but Liu Xiaowen challenged the monk to take one sword strike before leaving.
• Liu Xiaowen struck Yun Qing with One Qi Pierces the River, sending the wounded monk fleeing beyond the Muddy Sea.
• Liu Xiaowen ordered the aquatic folk who had listened to Yun Qing's scriptures to serve a year of hard labor in the sea abyss.
• Bai Ling drove Liu Xiaowen toward the Crystal Palace after a summons from Zhang Yu, while Liu Xiaowen read a report about the [Calamity-Splitting Sword].

Liu Xiaowen visited Jade Radiance Hall, where Dongfang Qionglian told him he would be transferred to serve her uncle, the Dragon King of Supreme Observation. He recognized the danger surrounding Zhang Yu and Qionglian’s relationship, and Qionglian warned him not to interfere.

• Liu Xiaowen arrived at Jade Radiance Hall and followed its bathing customs before meeting Zhang Yu and Dongfang Qionglian.
• Zhang Yu told Liu Xiaowen how he had found a moonstone after seeing Greater Yin moonlight streak across the sky.
• Liu Xiaowen explained that True Person [Radiant Refinement] had gone to [Golden Pivot] with True Person Pidan and that the Right Envoy branch would be transferred to serve under a Dragon King.
• Dongfang Qionglian told Liu Xiaowen he would serve her uncle, the Dragon King of Supreme Observation, and could leave once he finished helping with the Dragon King’s business.
• Liu Xiaowen asked when he could leave, prompting Zhang Yu to insist he would never part from Qionglian; she warned Liu Xiaowen silently not to meddle or die.

Dongfang Guanji gave Liu Xiaowen a choice between serving in the Eastern Sea and returning home, but demanded he complete one final task before earning his freedom. In Green Luo, Tiantuo discovered that dragons had found his hidden wealth and feared they might reach the place connected to his preserved fleshly body.

• Dongfang Guanji used the Origin-Burning Shangyou Cauldron to retrieve golden boy and jade maiden figures resembling Zhang Yu and Qionglian from the chaos cavern.
• Dongfang Guanji offered Liu Xiaowen a place in True Radiance Manor or a chance to return to his sect, and Liu Xiaowen chose to go home.
• Dongfang Guanji promised Liu Xiaowen freedom if he completed one final task, then sent a divine command into his mind.
• Xu Xuan cultivated the Violet Mystery Guiding Art and felt a brief, unexplained pain in his heart aperture.
• Tiantuo divined that dragons of the Eastern Sea had found his hidden wealth and revealed that his fleshly body was connected to its location.
• Tiantuo murmured the name Eastern Vast as images of the three luminaries formed in his hand.

Zhang Yiwan accidentally refined altar thunder as a fissure opened in the Great Void, and Song Shiming arrived to appoint Xu Xuan as Great Li’s Heavenly Thunder Envoy. Xu Xuan accepted after Tiantuo urged him to, gaining a new opportunity tied to the Thunder Palace and a summons to witness the Mystic Thunder Department’s first great punishment.

• Zhang Yiwan’s pill-refining attempt failed, but she discovered altar thunder among the ashes as the sky split open.
• Zhang Yiwan joined Zhang Gaoxia at the summit, where they watched a golden road and divine procession emerge from the Great Void.
• Song Shiming appointed Xu Xuan Heavenly Thunder Envoy of Red Cloud Commandery, but Xu Xuan initially refused the decree.
• Tiantuo urged Xu Xuan to accept, and Xu Xuan agreed, receiving a golden decree and a Thunder Passage seal.
• Song Shiming told Xu Xuan to attend the Mystic Thunder Department’s first great punishment when Venus traversed the heavens, then departed.
• Xu Xuan sensed his cultivation advancing after accepting the appointment, while suspecting the punishment involved a being imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison.