Chapter Summaries

Xu Xuan prepared to join Liu Xiaowen and Wen Si'an in seeking the estate’s pills, while he began refining the Deep Spring Sword. On the road, Fan Huayan and her master revealed that they were refugees from the fallen Long Cloud Gate and feared that a wider age of chaos was approaching.

• Xu Xuan learned that the estate held pills that could hasten foundation establishment and decided to investigate Fan Huayan while pursuing the jade pendant.
• Liu Qiuqi and Qi Wen replied that they could not accompany Xu Xuan, so he recruited Wen Si'an and planned for Liu Xiaowen to join them while Wang Xiwei stayed behind.
• Xu Xuan asked Wang Xiwei to examine the sword pellet, learned it should be nurtured with spiritual sense, and named it the Deep Spring Sword.
• Fan Huayan traveled with her master toward the estate and worried about trusting Liu Xiaowen, while her master said they could not afford to miss the opportunity.
• Fan Huayan and her master recalled how Northern Liao had conquered their homeland and destroyed the Long Cloud Gate, and Fan Huayan feared the Li Kingdom was nearing its end.

Xu Xuan and his companions entered the cave abode at Cold Legacy Cliff, where the formation separated their group and the search for treasures sparked a battle. Xu Xuan fought Du He over a Foundation Establishment flying boat, and the chapter ended as Du He unleashed a demonic blood-qi artifact and Xu Xuan prepared to counter with his Eight-Direction Ancient Sword.

• Liu Xiaowen returned from seclusion, and Xu Xuan, Wen Si'an, and Liu Xiaowen traveled to Cold Legacy Cliff to meet Fan Huayan's party.
• Du He tried to persuade Xu Xuan's group to join him, but Xu Xuan refused; Fan Qingzhu later arrived and explained that she had fled the northern invasion and learned of the cave abode from a map fragment.
• Xu Xuan, Wen Si'an, and Fan Qingzhu entered the opened cave abode, where its formation scattered their companions and sent them into an armory filled with artifacts.
• Xu Xuan and several cultivators fought over a green wooden boat, while Fan Qingzhu battled for an ebony fan; Du He challenged Xu Xuan for the boat, and Wen Si'an fought Du He's old servant.
• Xu Xuan gained the upper hand against Du He until Du He ordered Mo Servant to release a blood-red artifact that transformed him; Xu Xuan then drew his Eight-Direction Ancient Sword to face him.

Xu Xuan killed Du He, acquired the Unmoored Boat, and questioned the surviving ink servant before the man’s head suddenly exploded. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaowen reached the Scripture-Inquiring Wall, obtained a fourth-grade talisman art, and came under attack.

• Xu Xuan concentrated his Thunder Marsh into a Tribulation Pool and killed Du He with a combined attack from Constant Light, Cinnabar Thunder, and Hidden Spring.
• Xu Xuan sealed a living vermilion pill, collected Du He's artifacts, and took the Unmoored Boat; he then helped Fan Qingzhu and questioned Du He's ink servant about the Blood River Sect.
• The ink servant revealed that he and Du He had fled the destroyed Blood River Sect, but his head exploded when Xu Xuan asked who had sent them to target him.
• Liu Xiaowen, Fan Huayan, and Xianghe entered a plaza called the Scripture-Inquiring Wall, where Fan Huayan explained the cave residence's history and urged Liu Xiaowen to try the wall.
• Liu Xiaowen's fortune and virtue Qi and Great Sun Radiant Flame awakened the wall, which gave him the fourth-grade Goodwill-Praying Karma-Transforming Talisman Art.
• Three rogue cultivators attacked Liu Xiaowen as he prepared to defend himself with his flaming Dharma Sword.

Liu Xiaowen and Fan Huayan defeated a rogue cultivator at the Dharma-Hearing Wall, and Fan learned that Liu had obtained the talisman art she sought. Zanluo then cornered the group and began overpowering them, but a powerful swordsman arrived just as Liu was about to be killed.

• Liu Xiaowen and Fan Huayan fought a fourth-level Qi Refining woman while Xianghe held off two other cultivators, and Liu killed the woman with a hidden spark of greater yang essence.
• The two remaining attackers fled, and Liu, Fan, and Xianghe headed toward the Pill Chamber after Fan healed Liu's wounds.
• Fan recognized Liu's Goodwill-Praying Karma-Transforming Talisman Art and asked to examine it, while Liu agreed to discuss it after they reunited with his master.
• Zanluo emerged from a passage, revealed his formidable cultivation, and attacked the group with pink treasured light and scripture that subdued Xianghe and drew Fan toward him.
• Liu resisted Zanluo's influence with Cruel Tiger Flame Aspect, and an unseen swordsman appeared with violet aura, lightning, and two flying swords aimed at Zanluo.

Xu Xuan and Fan Qingzhu drove off Zanluo, then Xu Xuan obtained Fan Huayan’s jade pendant by offering Fan Qingzhu access to a fortune-qi talisman art in exchange for joining his sect. At the pill chamber, twelve Gift of Ascent Pills emerged, and a battle erupted as Liu Xiaowen and Duan Pingdu each received one.

• Xu Xuan and Fan Qingzhu overpowered Zanluo, but the demonic monk escaped using a strange transformation.
• Liu Xiaowen gave Xu Xuan a fourth-grade fortune-qi talisman art, and Fan Qingzhu asked to read it; Xu Xuan offered access in exchange for Fan Qingzhu becoming a sect attendant and Fan Huayan surrendering her jade pendant as a pledge.
• Fan Qingzhu announced that the pill chamber was opening, and Xu Xuan’s group entered a cavern where cultivators from several factions had gathered around a treasure furnace.
• The furnace released twelve Gift of Ascent Pills, and one flew to each of Liu Xiaowen and Duan Pingdu.
• Xu Xuan raised Constant Light and summoned his flying swords as cultivators attacked one another over the pills, plunging the cavern into chaos.

Xu Xuan fought Zanluo and Liang Yong over an emerald pill, killed Zanluo, and joined his companions to claim their prize. After the cultivators finished competing for the twelve pills, the Water-Fire Not Yet Fulfilled Furnace erupted, and a naked man crawled out of it.

• Liu Xiaowen received an emerald pill, while Xu Xuan faced Zanluo and Liang Yong as Wen Si'an and Liu Xiaowen held off other cultivators.
• Liang Yong attacked Xu Xuan and Zanluo with black-and-gray fire, then Zanluo used a bewitching spell that Xu Xuan broke with the Sky-Venerating Eye.
• Xu Xuan struck Zanluo with Great Marsh Cloud-Sink, splitting his skull, but a talisman carried him to the Duan Clan; Liang Yong withdrew from the fight.
• Xu Xuan helped Fan Qingzhu escape with a pill, and the cultivators claimed all twelve pills before fighting over the sealed Daoist texts.
• The Water-Fire Not Yet Fulfilled Furnace released deadly fire and water, then a naked man crawled out and fell to the cavern floor.

Xu Xuan witnessed a Foundation Establishment cultivator retrieve a spirit pill refined from Kang Ning, a long-dead disciple of the Heaven-Bestowed Dao, after slaughtering the Rogue Cultivators. The Duan Clan took the Water-Fire Not Yet Fulfilled Furnace, and Xu Xuan left Cold Legacy Cliff suspecting the cave’s discovery had been orchestrated.

• A Foundation Establishment cultivator entered through the Kan passage, ordered everyone to stay still, and used the Lightning Mirror to kill the Rogue Cultivators and feed their blood and flesh to Kang Ning.
• Kang Ning named himself and asked whether his dynasty and lineage still existed; after learning Qi had fallen and his lineage was gone, he crumbled into blue cinnabar, from which a Golden Pheasant emerged.
• The armored cultivator captured the Golden Pheasant, which became a blue-gray spirit pill, and Tiantuo explained that Kang Ning’s immortal foundation had been refined into it.
• The armored cultivator departed with the spirit pill, and the Water-Fire Not Yet Fulfilled Furnace flew to Duan Chengsi, who held a token for the cave abode.
• Xu Xuan left Cold Legacy Cliff with his companions and suspected the Duan Clan had planned the cave’s discovery, then decided to return to Green Luo and examine the jade pendant.

Xu Xuan activated Fan Huayan’s moon-white jade pendant and discovered that it transformed into a White Jade Dao Altar, granting him an Immortal Register and access to the White Jade Heavenly Palace. In the Dao-Contemplation Hall, he obtained the Most High Profound Offering Scripture and uncovered the Great Red Abbey’s lineage, including the identity of its founding patriarch.

• Xu Xuan examined his spoils from Gifted Heart Prefecture, including the Gift of One Mound Pill, the Goodwill-Praying Karma-Transforming Talisman Art, and the Unmoored Boat.
• Xu Xuan placed Fan Huayan’s jade pendant in his Qi Sea, where it drained the Moon Laurel and became a White Jade Dao Altar; his dark flood dragon became a Black Jade Dragon-Patterned Bracelet.
• Xu Xuan refused to let Tiantuo accompany him and ascended the altar into the White Jade Heavenly Palace.
• Xu Xuan entered the Dao-Contemplation Hall, where his Immortal Register revealed a Great Void ceiling and a strand of Sword Qi returned carrying the Most High Profound Offering Scripture.
• Xu Xuan saw the lineage chart identify Wen Yuhua as the Great Red Abbey’s founding patriarch and recognized Wen Fufeng as Daoist Chongyang.

Xu Xuan witnessed a memory revealing how Wen Fufeng and the others were made to fight demons before a Vermilion Bird killed them. After glimpsing the Profound-Enshrining Sword Canon, he learned from Tiantuo that the dark azure qi might be mystic qi from a mysterious lineage known only through its immortals.

• Xu Xuan saw a memory of the Demon Calamity in which two Purple Mansion Dharma Bodies sent Wen Fufeng, Chen Changqi, Zhu Yucheng, and others into a battlefield to fight demons.
• A Vermilion Bird entered the battlefield and killed Wen Fufeng, Chen Changqi, and Zhu Yucheng, revealing how Xu Xuan's master had died.
• Xu Xuan read the opening of the Profound-Enshrining Sword Canon before a heavenly drum returned him to his Qi Sea.
• Tiantuo tried and failed to take the Dao book, then agreed to explain what he knew after Xu Xuan promised to take him along next time he ascended to heaven.
• Tiantuo suggested the dark azure qi might be ancestral mystic qi and said the mysterious Dao lineage had no known methods or artifacts, with only immortals appearing since Middle Antiquity.

Xu Xuan entered Deep Abyss with Tiantuo to seek Fire Crow and information about a Nurturing Earth cultivation method, but a collapsing passage forced Tiantuo to send him there alone. Xu Xuan crashed into the Southern Sea, killing Hai Xiangqing, and left the surviving lesser demons wondering who had appeared.

• Xu Xuan reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, advanced his Sword Embryo, and checked on Xu Fayan and Liu Xingfang, who were progressing toward Qi Refining.
• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo entered Deep Abyss, where Tiantuo explained that the realm preserved demon lineages from immortal cultivators.
• Two Dharma Bodies fighting in the Great Void shattered the passage and sealed their way back, so Tiantuo used his remaining power to launch Xu Xuan toward Deep Abyss.
• Hai Xiangqing tried to seize Hai Er's Nether Consciousness Pearl after dismissing him, while the other lesser demons watched.
• Xu Xuan fell from the sky in a burst of lightning, crushed Hai Xiangqing and two lesser demons, and emerged dazed as the survivors approached.

Xu Xuan entered the Deep Abyss, discovered that Nether Sense Pearls could strengthen spiritual sense, and learned that local demons gathered them from sea vents. After claiming the vent of the demon he had killed, he set out to visit the two remaining pearl-gathering neighbors.

• Xu Xuan landed in the Southern Vast Ocean and used his cultivation to make the lesser demons submit to him.
• Xu Xuan learned from Hai Er that Nether Sense Pearls strengthened spiritual sense, tested several, and decided to seek more.
• Hai Er explained that Lord Octopus, Crystal Lady, and Hai Xiangqing had occupied the region’s three pearl-producing sea vents, and that Xu Xuan had killed Hai Xiangqing on landing.
• Xu Xuan inspected Hai Xiangqing’s sea vent and learned that its eruptions produced only a handful of pearls every three months.
• Hai Er told Xu Xuan that Lord Octopus and Crystal Lady were weaker than him, so Xu Xuan ordered Hai Er to take him to visit them.

Xu Xuan defeated Zhang Gong and took control of the Wave-Subduing passage and the three sea eyes in the Deep Abyss. He gathered nearly three hundred spectral awareness pearls and began refining them to strengthen his spiritual awareness.

• Zhang Gong killed Crystal Woman and ordered his demons to seize her and Hai Xiangqing's sea eyes.
• Xu Xuan arrived at Coral Wave Island and learned from Zhang Gong that the Deep Abyss was isolated from the outside world.
• Zhang Gong lured Xu Xuan toward the Wave-Subduing stele and attacked him with a soul-shaking spear, but Xu Xuan's soul protection let him defeat Zhang Gong.
• Xu Xuan refined Zhang Gong's Fish Marshal Token, activated the passage, and took command of the demons and all three sea eyes.
• Xu Xuan ordered the demons to collect spectral awareness pearls, gathered nearly three hundred deep-blue pearls, and began refining them in Zhang Gong's cave abode.

Xu Xuan claimed the Deep Abyss pearl grounds, sealed the Southern Sea passage, and transformed the lesser demons into permanent servants there. He then visited the Fire Crows and learned their conflict with the Longevity Monastery had spread to the Deep Abyss, while the timing of Surging Tribulation Heaven remained distant.

• Xu Xuan refined the Nether-Sense Pearls, then used Lord Zhang’s token and Tiantuo’s Mandala Divine Pattern to uncover and claim an ancient soul artifact beneath the Wave-Subduing Monument.
• Xu Xuan sealed the passage from the Southern Sea, and Tiantuo transformed Hai Er and the other lesser demons so they could live in the Deep Abyss and tend its sea eyes.
• Xu Xuan opened a gateway to the Fire Crow territory and found its crossing deserted before meeting Yang Yuanyi at Mountain Flame City.
• Yang Yuanyi told Xu Xuan that the Fire Crows were fighting the Longevity Monastery of Red Cloud, whose True Person Hua Yuan was opposed by Demon King Dao Yan.
• Xu Xuan asked about Surging Tribulation Heaven, and Yang Yuanyi said it remained well before its estimated arrival and that the Great Li Song Clan was directing the affair.

Xu Xuan visited the Heart-Listening Pavilion to trade for a fourth-grade Nurturing Earth cultivation method, exchanging Tiantuo’s Lesser Thousand Heart Seal for the Returning to the Nether Sheep Aspect Scripture. After returning to Green Luo, he recorded the scripture and considered the pearl-harvesting ground’s potential yield.

• Xu Xuan followed Yang Yuanyi’s directions to the Heart-Listening Pavilion and met Su Lan, who explained its All-Heaven Observation Ranking and trading services.
• Su Lan led Xu Xuan to Elder Yuan, who offered him the fourth-grade Returning to the Nether Sheep Aspect Scripture in exchange for a rare text.
• Xu Xuan obtained the Lesser Thousand Heart Seal from Tiantuo and traded the fourth-grade Hearing the Nether spell for the cultivation method.
• After Xu Xuan left, Elder Yuan and a spirit-flame woman discussed his bloodline, dragonkind, and the Heavenly Demon Treatise on Exploring the Profound.
• Xu Xuan returned to his true body in Green Luo, examined the Fish Nether Token and a Nether-Blue Pearl, then recorded the Returning to the Nether Sheep Aspect Scripture.

Xu Xuan emerged from seclusion, learned that Green Plain Town was complete, and helped Liu Xiaowen hatch a spirit creature. On Frostreturn Peak, Xu Fayan completed a talisman and urged Zhang Gaoxia to disregard her mortal relatives’ demands, leaving her troubled as she departed.

• Liu Xiaowen greeted Xu Xuan after he emerged from three years of seclusion and reported disputes among the families in Green Plain Town.
• Xu Xuan told Liu Xiaowen to establish rules for the town’s mortals, then traveled with him to inspect the Earthflame Noon-Origin Tree.
• Liu Xiaowen used his Great Sun Radiant Flame to help hatch a Disaster-Flame Crane, which landed on his shoulder.
• Xu Fayan completed a Third Grade Righteous Mind Karma-Transcending Talisman, but it burned to ash when he tried to use it on himself.
• Zhang Gaoxia visited Xu Fayan to discuss Green Plain Town, and he urged her to treat her mortal relatives as insignificant; she left troubled.

Wang Qiyun completed a lightning-aligned flying sword for Liu Xingfang before reconciling further with Wang Xiwei, who proposed a sect artifact-refining hall and gave his son a long-delayed gift. On Frostreturn Peak, Xu Xuan gave Xu Fayan cultivation methods and considered how to choose disciples for the approaching Hollow Sword Gate Sword Trial Gathering, just as Liu Xingfang arrived.

• Wang Qiyun finished forging Liu Xingfang's flying sword from thunderclap copper and thunderlight water.
• Wang Cheng Yan visited Wang Qiyun and Shen Shu, and Wang Xiwei arrived to discuss establishing an artifact-refining hall for the sect.
• Wang Xiwei gave Wang Qiyun a high-grade Qi Refining artifact he had prepared for him.
• Xu Xuan gave Xu Fayan a fourth-grade cultivation method and taught him the Jade Blood Heavenly Heart Art after hearing about his talisman and spell progress.
• Xu Xuan wondered whether Xu Fayan should join Xiao Wen and Liu Xingfang at the Hollow Sword Gate Sword Trial Gathering, and Liu Xingfang arrived to pay his respects.

Liu Xingfang and Xu Fayan asked Xu Xuan for permission to gain experience on garrison duty at Horse-Tethering Road, while Liu Xiaowen learned that demons from Chonghua Commandery were fighting the Longevity Monastery. The chapter ended with Liu Xiaowen recognizing an opportunity after hearing that the Lotus Temple had been forced to shelter inside its walls.

• Liu Xingfang visited Xu Xuan at Xu Fayan’s courtyard and asked to join the disciples stationed at Horse-Tethering Road to improve his swordsmanship through combat.
• Xu Fayan also asked to go, and Xu Xuan gave both disciples Du He’s treasure talisman for protection before warning Xu Fayan to treat their fellow disciples gently.
• Xu Fayan resumed drawing an unfamiliar talisman after Liu Xingfang left the courtyard.
• Feng Chiquan arrived at Green Luo to honor his late father Feng Lidao’s agreement with Liu Xiaowen, bringing the promised bloodfire essence iron and proving his identity with their joined blood.
• Feng Chiquan told Liu Xiaowen that demons from Chonghua Commandery were battling the Longevity Monastery and that the Lotus Temple had retreated behind its defenses.
• Liu Xiaowen looked toward Mount Dapan and recognized an opportunity.

Lotus Temple’s Cihai revealed that demonic corruption had taken hold of him and planned to use the Little Lotus-Cause Pure Land to bring a bodhisattva’s manifestation into the world. Meanwhile, Xu Xuan learned that the temple’s attention might be diverted and prepared to reclaim Dapan, with Tiantuo offering to help.

• Cihai told Chifa that Lotus Temple was sheltering inside the Little Lotus-Cause Pure Land while monsters attacked the Longevity Monastery and surrounding lands.
• Cihai revealed that he had placed Master Miaohe’s remains in Dapan, then exposed his horns and demonic corruption when Chifa objected.
• Cihai claimed the bodhisattva had spoken to him and ordered his disciples to take the unconscious Chifa into the Pure Land.
• Feng Chiquan waited anxiously at Green Luo, fearing the sect might capture him to seize his spiritual treasure.
• Liu Xiaowen reported the crisis to Xu Xuan, who sent him to assess Dapan and considered destroying its temple to cut off the Pure Land’s vow power.
• Xu Xuan summoned Xi Wei, Si'an, and Fan Qingzhu, while Tiantuo eagerly offered his help against the monks.

Xu Xuan and his allies prepared to attack Dapan, finding a way to counter the Dharma Master’s remains hidden in its temple and considering Liang Yong’s help. At the temple, Cishan readied his disciples and accepted that the coming battle might be his last.

• Tiantuo sensed a Dharma Master-level presence beneath Dapan’s temple, and Xu Xuan used the Bodhi treasured light to find a way to subdue it.
• Xu Xuan, Wang Xiwei, Wen Si'an, and Fan Qingzhu planned to destroy the temple quickly with the [Unmoored Boat] and drive the Buddhist Cultivators from Green Peaks.
• Fan Qingzhu suggested inviting Liang Yong to help with the attack.
• Cishan told his six disciples to keep up their usual activities and wait for Xu Xuan’s group to arrive.
• Cishan visited the remains of his master, recalled how Chen Weiyuan had killed him, and accepted that he might die in the coming battle.

Xu Xuan met Liang Yong in Du Wang City to recruit him for a dangerous mission and negotiated a partnership involving a Blood River Sect artifact. After learning that the artifact could lead them to a cultivator who knew the Deepblood Pill formula, Xu Xuan agreed to join forces with Liang Yong and they set out for Green Luo.

• Xu Xuan found Liang Yong drinking at the Plum Studio and demonstrated that he could easily deflect the rogue cultivator’s attacks.
• Xu Xuan offered Liang Yong a share of the reward for helping with the mission at Dapan, and Liang Yong requested Du He’s Blood Qi artifact.
• Liang Yong revealed a second pearl, identified the paired artifact as the Mother-Child Blood River, and explained that it could locate a surviving Blood River Sect cultivator who knew the Deepblood Pill formula.
• Xu Xuan weighed the value of the formula for his sect and agreed to Liang Yong’s terms after confirming the Deepblood Pill used demonic-beast blood.
• Xu Xuan and Liang Yong swore a Heavenly Oath and traveled toward Green Luo together.