Chapter Summaries

Over several years, Su Qingqing gained influence in the Outer Gate while quietly ruining Xia Meng’s reputation, and Bai Ran struggled to keep up with her. Bai Su discovered that her Mustard Seed Space had split and that someone else was using the resources beyond the divide, leaving her fearful and unsettled.

• Mo Yan, Su Mianmian, Jin Chen, and Bai Su reached foundation establishment, while Shu Bai won the Outer Gate Grand Competition and purified his spirit roots to one.
• Su Qingqing recognized Xia Meng’s hostility and secretly worked to expose her false innocence until Xia Meng’s reputation was ruined.
• Xia Meng challenged Su Qingqing to an arena match and grievously injured her, but Su Qingqing’s reputation remained intact.
• Su Mianmian caught Xia Meng troubling Su Qingqing, whipped her, and scolded Su Qingqing before returning to the Inner Gate.
• Su Qingqing befriended Lin Miaomiao and learned how Su Jiu had saved her from a demonic cultivator.
• Bai Su found that a barrier had divided her Mustard Seed Space and that resources on the other side were disappearing, suggesting someone else was using it.

Bai Su learned that her Mustard Seed Space had been divided and heard that Su Jiu was advancing rapidly, while Gong Hao pursued a plan to hurt Chu Mojin and Chu Luohen through her. Three years later, Su Jiu underwent a powerful breakthrough on Ice Veil Peak, and her Sea of Consciousness began to settle.

• Bai Su told Gong Hao that her Mustard Seed Space had been split, with supplies disappearing from the side she could not reach.
• A youth wearing the Black Veil Hat reported that the three men Gong Hao sent to the Azure Mist Continent had been wiped out and that Su Jiu had reached Foundation Establishment great perfection two years earlier.
• The youth said he had not won Su Jiu over, and Gong Hao explained that he wanted to make Chu Mojin and Chu Luohen suffer through her.
• Gong Hao's demonic core went berserk, so Bai Su brought him a bottle of human organs, which he drank to quiet it.
• Three years later, Chu Mojin watched a powerful wind sweep over Ice Veil Peak as Su Jiu cultivated in seclusion with Jade Moisture, Ice Clarity supporting her breakthrough.
• Su Jiu's Sea of Consciousness began to settle, and Flower Bud swayed unsteadily while appearing to open further.

Su Jiu faced a heart-demon tribulation that forced her to confront her responsibility for the deaths in Millet Village, but she reaffirmed that she would act against evil again. She then endured the strongest golden-core tribulation lightning and formed a nine-pattern golden core.

• Su Jiu relived the deaths in Millet Village as the heart demon accused her of causing them by destroying the village's arrangement with the fish demon.
• Chu Luohen recognized that Su Jiu was undergoing a heart-demon tribulation and suspected it was rooted in Millet Village.
• Su Jiu rejected the heart demon's accusation, accepted her share of responsibility, and declared that she would still enter Millet Village and act again.
• Su Jiu emerged from seclusion as one-nine tribulation lightning struck her, while Chu Luohen and Chu Mojin watched.
• Su Jiu endured all nine bolts as Flower Bud absorbed their power, and a nine-pattern silver golden core formed within her.

Su Jiu survived the tribulation and formed a nine-pattern golden core, then emerged from seclusion to greet the cultivators gathered at Ice Veil Peak. Her friends welcomed her, while her transformed appearance stunned the crowd.

• Su Jiu discovered she had formed a nine-pattern golden core and wondered about the silver-blue flower mark beneath her eye and the matching bud in her sea of consciousness.
• Su Jiu tested her new golden core power, cleaned up, and prepared to leave her courtyard as cultivators gathered outside Ice Veil Peak.
• Su Mianmian waited with Jin Chen and others, while Jin Chen's senior brother teased him about his feelings for her.
• Su Qingqing and Lin Miaomiao discussed addressing Su Jiu as a True Person, and Xia Meng hoped Su Jiu had died in the tribulation.
• Su Jiu emerged looking radiant, embraced Su Mianmian, praised her for reaching foundation establishment, and thanked the gathered crowd.

Su Jiu visited Heavenly Origin Hall after reaching Core Formation, where her elders praised her and gave her spirit artifacts and a damaged manual on Void Talisman Drawing. The meeting ended with Xia Jue preparing to investigate the Azure Fall Sect Sect Leader, whose demon soul was linked to trapped Enforcement Hall disciples.

• Su Jiu told Chu Luohen she had stopped wearing the Lily-of-the-Valley Warm Jade, then encountered True Person Yi Xiu, who apologized to her.
• Su Jiu went to Heavenly Origin Hall, drawing attention from disciples who recognized her as an Ice Veil Peak personal disciple.
• Yun Qiqi told Guo Kang she wanted to thank Su Jiu in person, but he urged her to let the matter go.
• The elders congratulated Su Jiu on reaching Core Formation at twenty-three and gave her spirit artifacts, while the Grand Elder gifted her a damaged Void Talisman Drawing manual.
• Xia Jue announced he would personally investigate the Azure Fall Sect Sect Leader after two groups of Enforcement Hall disciples became trapped, and Ning Hai reluctantly let him go.

Su Jiu discussed making Purple Ultimate her Life-Bound Treasure and learned that her Stone Spirit could produce ore, while Chu Mojin took it to cultivate frostglow stone. Meanwhile, Su Qingqing was accused of murdering four Outer Gate disciples and taken away by the Enforcement Hall, leaving Lin Miaomiao to seek Su Jiu’s help.

• Chu Mojin asked Su Jiu what she wanted as her Life-Bound Treasure, and she proposed adding frostglow stone to Purple Ultimate.
• Su Jiu discovered that tribulation lightning had purified her Stone Spirit, and Chu Luohen explained that it could reproduce ore when stored with it.
• Chu Mojin took the Stone Spirit to produce frostglow stone while Su Jiu planned to meditate and cultivate.
• Xia Meng accused Su Qingqing of murdering four disciples, and an Enforcement Hall disciple used bloodstained robes and her testimony to arrest her.
• Lin Miaomiao challenged the arrest, but Su Qingqing urged her to step aside and secretly directed her to Su Jiu.
• Su Qingqing noticed the lead disciple’s panic and exchanged a contemptuous look with Bai Ran before being taken away.

Lin Miaomiao tried to reach Ice Veil Peak for help after Su Qingqing was arrested, but Xia Meng trapped her with a formation. Mu Zihan freed Lin Miaomiao, while Su Bo found Su Mianmian and set off with her to help Qingqing.

• Lin Miaomiao headed for Ice Veil Peak after recalling Su Qingqing's warning, while Su Bo went to find Su Mianmian.
• Xia Meng trapped Lin Miaomiao in a formation to keep her from reaching Su Jiu.
• Mu Zihan confronted Xia Meng, warned her about framing Su Qingqing, and left when Xia Meng refused to back down.
• Su Bo told Su Mianmian that Qingqing was in trouble, and Su Mianmian left with him for Blazing Flame Peak.
• An Inner Gate Disciple brought by Mu Zihan broke the formation, freeing Lin Miaomiao, who thanked Mu Zihan and ran toward Ice Veil Peak.

Su Jiu and Su Mianmian confronted Yi Zheng after Su Qingqing was taken away by impostors wearing Enforcement Hall uniforms. Su Jiu ordered a search and questioned Xia Meng, then went to inspect the bodies of four murder victims.

• Su Mianmian accused Yi Zheng of unlawfully arresting Su Qingqing, while Lin Miaomiao showed a recording of three supposed Enforcement Hall disciples taking her away.
• Yi Zheng discovered that the three in the recording were impostors wearing uniforms and Waist Tokens stolen from deceased Enforcement Hall disciples, and he mobilized a search for them and Su Qingqing.
• Su Jiu ordered the sect's main gate guarded and identified Xia Meng as the next lead.
• Xia Meng insisted that Su Qingqing had killed someone and refused to provide further information.
• Su Jiu asked to see the four bodies, and the frightened Outer Gate disciple who found them said they were already dead when the disciple arrived.

Su Jiu investigated the deaths of four disciples and argued that Xia Meng had framed Su Qingqing, while the true killer remained unknown. That night, Xia Meng died from poison as Su Jiu confronted a disguised attacker, whom she defeated without yet revealing his identity.

• Su Jiu learned that the four women may have died in an Illusion-Killing Array and discovered they had bullied Xia Meng but never targeted Su Qingqing.
• Su Jiu and Zhang Liang determined that the damaged formation disk was crude and distinct from Su Jiu's superior-grade array, strengthening suspicion that Xia Meng had staged the attack and framed Su Qingqing.
• After a day of investigation failed to resolve the case, Su Jiu watched a furtive figure approach the One-One-Seven Courtyard and saw a black-clad attacker kill her with poison.
• Yi Zheng identified the dead figure as Xia Meng while Su Jiu fought the attacker, whose skill suggested he was a powerful sect disciple.
• Su Jiu stopped holding back and defeated the black-clad man as other cultivators gathered nearby.

Su Jiu and Su Mianmian questioned Flying Eagle after the Enforcement Hall arrested him for killing Xia Meng and discovered he might be protecting someone connected to Su Qingqing’s disappearance. A message warned an unnamed man that the Enforcement Hall would search Blazing Flame Peak, and two disciples arrived to take him away.

• Yi Zheng recognized the captured killer as Flying Eagle, a respected senior from the Enforcement Hall, and Flying Eagle admitted guilt.
• Su Jiu reasoned that Flying Eagle was protecting someone nearby and narrowed the likely suspects to women living in three dormitories southwest of Xia Meng’s body.
• Flying Eagle said he had heard that the people involved might have gone to Blazing Flame Peak, but insisted he did not know where Su Qingqing was.
• Su Mianmian ordered the Enforcement Hall to search Blazing Flame Peak the next day, while Su Jiu suspected the affair might have targeted both sisters.
• A woman emerged from the shadows after the others left, and an unnamed man received a message warning him that a dead person was safer than a living one.
• Two Blazing Flame Peak disciples entered the man’s courtyard and told him to come with them.

Hong Ling confronted Zhan Sheng for arranging Su Qingqing’s kidnapping and made him choose between Blazing Flame Peak and his lover and child. After Su Mianmian arrived, Hong Ling let her punish Zhan Sheng, while Su Qingqing was found safe and only lightly injured.

• Hong Ling exposed Zhan Sheng’s plan to use Su Qingqing to extort resources from Su Mianmian and confronted him about his pregnant lover outside the sect.
• Zhan Sheng pleaded to stay at Blazing Flame Peak and promised to abandon his lover, but Hong Ling condemned him and handed him over to Su Mianmian.
• Su Mianmian arrived looking for the kidnappers, and Hong Ling told her that Su Qingqing was resting in a side room with minor injuries.
• Hong Ling revealed that Zhan Sheng had ordered the kidnapping and allowed Su Mianmian to whip him while the disciples watched.
• Blazing Flame Peak disciples freed Su Qingqing and treated her injuries.

Su Jiu learned that Bai Ran had orchestrated the plot against Su Qingqing, then received a mission to join Xia Jue’s search for missing disciples at Liu Household Village. She accepted the mission and set out aboard the Skyfaring Shuttle, carrying the further task of capturing the former Azure Fall Sect Leader possessed by a demon soul.

• The Enforcement Hall arrested four conspirators, and Yi Zheng asked Su Jiu to consider joining the hall before she returned to Ice Veil Peak.
• Su Mianmian told Su Jiu that Su Qingqing was recovering and that she and Jin Chen were leaving to gain experience.
• The Enforcement Hall identified Bai Ran as the mastermind behind the plot against Su Qingqing and revealed that Flying Eagle was her brother; Bai Ran had fled Azure Tide.
• Lian Chuan, Grand Elder of the Hundred Refinement Sect, agreed to modify Su Jiu’s Purple Ultimate, but the work would take half a year.
• Ning Hai asked Su Jiu to help Xia Jue investigate Liu Household Village, where disciples had gone missing, and gave her the Skyfaring Shuttle to catch up with him.
• Su Jiu sent word to Ice Veil Peak and departed on the Skyfaring Shuttle to rescue the missing disciples and capture the former Azure Fall Sect Leader, who housed a demon soul.

Bai Ran agreed to infiltrate the Misty Immortal Sect for a black-cloaked man, while Su Jiu joined Xia Jue's group on their way to investigate a village. The group discovered a hidden barrier surrounding the village, where earlier Azure Tide Sect parties had disappeared.

• Bai Ran signed a contract formation binding her to the black-cloaked man, who explained why she would infiltrate the divided Misty Immortal Sect rather than the united Azure Tide Sect.
• Su Jiu used the Skyfaring Shuttle to catch up with Xia Jue's group and joined them as a formation specialist.
• After half a month aboard the flying boat, Xia Jue's group approached a village surrounded by dense demonic and yin evil qi and landed outside it.
• Su Jiu detected a barrier around the village, and Xia Jue realized it might explain why the previous Azure Tide Sect groups had not returned.
• A haughty female cultivator demanded that Su Jiu break the barrier, but Xia Jue defended her and pointed out that barriers and formations were different.

Su Jiu and the Azure Tide cultivators discovered that a new wall had sealed Liu Household Village’s barrier, trapping their fellow disciples inside. After confronting Yu Shanshan, Su Jiu joined Xia Jue’s group as they headed to a neighboring village to investigate how the abnormalities began.

• Su Jiu tested the barrier with ice spiritual qi, and Xia Jue confirmed that its wall now prevented anyone from entering Liu Household Village.
• Su Jiu asked about the first Message Talisman and concluded that someone might be sealing the villagers and trapped cultivators inside.
• Yu Shanshan insulted Su Jiu and challenged her, but Xia Jue and Qiu Ran intervened and revealed that Su Jiu was Chu Mojin’s disciple.
• After learning Su Jiu’s identity, Yu Shanshan backed down while Qiu Ran criticized her for focusing on Xia Jue instead of listening.
• Xia Jue led Su Jiu and the others toward a neighboring village, where Li Ru introduced herself to Su Jiu.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue investigated the eerie Ma Family Village and learned that a black wind had been carrying people away across the surrounding villages. The villagers traced the disappearances back to a sinister wind a year earlier, while Liu Household Village had become a place from which no one returned.

• Su Jiu sensed sinister energy and decay near Ma Family Village, and Xia Jue split the disciples into three groups to investigate.
• Su Jiu, Xia Jue, and another cultivator followed the stench through a village whose homes were shut and cooking fires absent.
• Ma Cheng warned Su Jiu and Xia Jue that demons had taken over the surrounding villages and described a black wind carrying people away.
• Ma Cheng said several groups of cultivators had entered Liu Household Village and never returned.
• Ma Cheng explained that a sinister wind had swept through the area a year earlier, after which villagers began disappearing and the soil turned black.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue uncovered corpses beneath a banyan tree and identified it as a medium used to drain villagers’ vitality. As the cultivators split up to search other villages, the Azure Fall Sect leader was revealed to be working with a heretical woman and ordered her to eliminate them.

• Su Jiu, Xia Jue, and their companion followed the rotting aura to a banyan tree and uncovered a mass of corpses beneath it.
• Su Jiu and Xia Jue realized the tree was a medium, and they decided not to destroy it in case it alerted the heretical cultivator or endangered their missing fellow disciples.
• Xia Jue gathered the other cultivators and assigned them to search separate villages for more mediums.
• Su Jiu switched assignments so she could investigate neighboring Hua Household Village, where a villager had reported a blood-draining flower.
• The Azure Fall Sect leader appeared in a water mirror and ordered a woman surrounded by skulls to deal with Su Jiu and the other cultivators; the woman reminded him that she was his partner, not his subordinate.

Su Jiu realized the villages formed a natural formation that was draining life force from the cultivators trapped in Liu Household Village, so she warned Xia Jue against destroying the mediums. In Zhang Family Village, Li Ru encountered the demon soul sharing Fang Qian’s body, and Su Jiu arrived to confront him.

• Su Jiu studied the villages from above, recognized their natural formation, and concluded that destroying the mediums could endanger the captives in Liu Household Village.
• Su Jiu sent Xia Jue a message, and he understood that they would need to use their remaining approach.
• Li Ru watched a black mass of qi carry a villager into a well in Zhang Family Village, then faced the man who revealed he shared Fang Qian’s body through a symbiotic contract.
• Li Ru recognized the former Azure Fall Sect master and released a signal flare, but the demon soul overpowered her.
• Su Jiu intervened with a swift sword strike and asked where Fang Qian was; the demon soul said he was asleep and could not be allowed to die.

Su Jiu defeated the demon soul possessing Fang Qian, but she could not free Fang Qian from their symbiotic contract. Fang Qian destroyed the demon soul by sacrificing himself, and Su Jiu asked Xia Jue whether he would make the same choice.

• Su Jiu fought the demon soul with her ordinary spirit artifact and overwhelmed him with her golden core strength.
• The demon soul threatened that killing him would also kill Fang Qian, but Su Jiu froze him before he could escape.
• Su Jiu asked Xia Jue whether Fang Qian could be saved, and Xia Jue said the symbiotic contract left him little hope.
• Fang Qian regained control of his body, thanked Su Jiu for saving the Azure Fall Sect, and killed himself to destroy the demon soul.
• Su Jiu asked Xia Jue if he would take his own life in Fang Qian's situation, and he answered yes without hesitation.

After Fang Qian's death, Su Jiu and Xia Jue deduced that a Wood Source Spirit Pearl was draining life through plants and might have become a demonic pearl. The woman behind the scheme appeared and revealed that Fang Qian had been her gardener, leaving the cultivators facing a powerful enemy.

• Su Jiu warned Xia Jue that the formation eye might begin draining life from those trapped in Liu Household Village after Fang Qian's death cut off its supply.
• Xia Jue proposed three possibilities for what lay inside the barrier, and Su Jiu identified a Wood Source Spirit Pearl as the likely cause.
• Su Jiu explained that the pearl could turn into a Wood Source Demonic Pearl and attack the villagers once its supply of life force ran out.
• A woman emerged beside Fang Qian's corpse, and Su Jiu determined that her cultivation was above Xia Jue's.
• The woman called Fang Qian her gardener and asked who would fertilize her plants now, confirming her role in the heretical scheme.

The Azure Tide Sect disciples fought the Heretical Cultivator with the Seven-Star Sword Formation, and Su Jiu joined the formation when one disciple could no longer continue. After the sect overwhelmed her, the Heretical Cultivator revealed a resentful-qi banner and her true, aged form, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• The Azure Tide Sect disciples surrounded the Heretical Cultivator, and Xia Jue ordered them to form the Seven-Star Sword Formation.
• Su Jiu and Li Ru guarded the formation as the Heretical Cultivator repeatedly attacked its weaker members and exhausted the disciples.
• Su Jiu used a defensive formation to save an early golden core disciple from black qi, then exchanged places with him and joined the Seven-Star Sword Formation.
• The formation’s power increased with Su Jiu’s help, and the disciples defeated the Heretical Cultivator as the village barrier began to falter.
• As Xia Jue prepared to kill her, the Heretical Cultivator threw a resentful-qi banner into the air and transformed into a shriveled Old Lady.