Chapter Summaries

Su Jiu chose missions at the Steward Hall and used Yu Yin’s habit of snatching them to trick her into accepting two dangerous assignments. Yu Yin’s boyfriend, Qi Fei, paid the resulting penalty and broke up with her.

• Su Jiu exchanged her contribution points for a Storage Bag and chose missions at the Steward Hall.
• Yu Yin snatched a Windfang Rabbit mission from Su Jiu, and her seventh-level Qi Refining boyfriend registered it for her.
• Su Jiu let Yu Yin take two missions for second-tier demonic beasts, then registered the missions she actually wanted.
• Yu Yin and her boyfriend discovered the missions carried a two-hundred-spirit-stone penalty if left unregistered or failed.
• After Yu Yin refused to help cover the penalty, Qi Fei paid what remained from his stipend and ended their relationship.

Su Jiu practiced the Water-Wisdom Sword Art and confronted Yu Yin, who blamed her for breaking up with Qi Fei. Yu Yin returned home still consumed by resentment, and a flash of red light appeared in her eyes.

• Su Jiu practiced the Water-Wisdom Sword Art while Chu Mojin recognized it and wondered how she had learned the sect leader's signature technique.
• Yu Yin confronted Su Jiu over her breakup with Qi Fei and accused her of setting her up, but Su Jiu pointed out that Yu Yin had stolen her assignment and brought the trouble on herself.
• Su Jiu guessed that Qi Fei had broken up with Yu Yin after she refused to pay a two-hundred-spirit-stone fine, and Yu Yin stopped to ask how Su Jiu knew.
• Xia Meng and Mu Zihan wondered why Yu Yin targeted Su Jiu, while Sun Wei told Qian Ling that jealousy over Su Jiu's talent, opportunities, and cultivation likely explained it.
• Yu Ying urged Yu Yin to stop picking on Su Jiu, but Yu Yin implied Su Jiu might not live long enough to take revenge, and red light flickered through her eyes.

Su Jiu prepared for missions to gather biyi grass and hunt Civet Beasts by shopping at the marketplace with Xia Meng and Mu Zihan. After warning them about the danger of their group mission, she bought pills and sold her surplus Spirit-Gathering Pills, then went to a nearby general store for supplies.

• Su Jiu explained that biyi grass grew where Civet Beasts fed and chose to visit the marketplace before hunting them.
• Xia Meng and Mu Zihan told Su Jiu they would join late-stage qi refining cultivators on a group hunt, and Su Jiu warned them that another cultivator had died on a similar trip.
• Su Jiu rejected a stall vendor's overpriced, poor-quality Spirit-Gathering Pills and bought five bottles of Returning Spirit Pills at Pillheart Workshop.
• Su Jiu sold the shopkeeper twelve bottles of sect-made Spirit-Gathering Pills for one hundred and twenty spirit stones and bought two bottles of Hemostatic Pills.
• The shopkeeper recommended the general store next door, and Su Jiu went there to look for supplies.

Su Jiu bought talismans and a damaged defensive artifact from a strange general store, where its bearded shopkeeper recognized her ice spiritual root. Meanwhile, Mu Zihan and Xia Meng found Bai Su arguing with Su Mianmian over a Jade Token, which shattered after someone bumped into Bai Su.

• Su Jiu spent spirit stones on Thunderbolt Talismans, Binding Talismans, and a damaged Wooden Hairpin at the general store.
• The bearded shopkeeper stopped Su Jiu from leaving until he returned a spirit stone she had overpaid, then identified her ice spiritual root and offered her a discount.
• Mu Zihan and Xia Meng came upon Bai Su and her companions arguing with Su Mianmian over a Jade Token that Su Mianmian had already paid for.
• Lu Tianqi and Ran Chao offered Su Mianmian double the price, but she refused to sell the Jade Token.
• Someone rushed into Bai Su, shattering the Jade Token in her hand, and Ran Chao glared at the newcomer as Bai Su began to cry.

Su Jiu shattered the Jade Pendant that would have caused Su Mianmian’s death, then warned her to stay away from Bai Su. Su Mianmian grew wary of Bai Su as they left the marketplace.

• Su Jiu smashed the Jade Pendant and offered to repay Bai Su, while the crowd mocked Lu Tianqi and his companions for blaming her over an item they had not bought.
• Su Mianmian defended Su Jiu, and Ran Chao’s group left after threatening her.
• Su Jiu recalled that the Jade Pendant contained a great demon whose later attack would kill Su Mianmian, and realized its destruction had prevented that danger.
• Mu Zihan and Xia Meng excused themselves, unwilling to take sides between Bai Su and Su Mianmian.
• Su Jiu pointed out Bai Su’s unusual cultivation progress and resources, urging Su Mianmian to avoid her; Su Mianmian began to grow wary of Bai Su.

Su Jiu completed her missions in the mountains near the Azure Tide Sect, killing two Civet Beasts and harvesting biyi grass. As she prepared to return, she rushed to save a group of disciples from a Ya Beast and was left fighting it alone.

• Su Jiu searched the mountain, collected blood-staunching herbs, and followed Civet Beast tracks into a wetland.
• Su Jiu killed the first Civet Beast, found the biyi grass near its cave, then killed a second Civet Beast that attacked her.
• Su Jiu harvested the biyi grass and prepared to return to the sect, but heard disciples calling for help.
• Su Jiu saw Mu Zihan, Xia Meng, Su Bo, and other low-level disciples fleeing a Ya Beast, then charged in to rescue the one it was about to catch.
• Xia Meng asked whether the group should help Su Jiu, while the rescued disciple warned them not to get in her way, and Su Bo watched with concern.

Su Jiu killed the wounded Ya Beast after the other cultivators fled, then exposed how three late Qi Refining stage seniors had used the disciples as bait to steal stargrass. Fang Hao rewarded her and gave the disciples Communication Talismans, while two observers watched them return to the sect.

• Su Jiu fought the Ya Beast, ordered the other cultivators to flee, and escaped its water binding after it shattered her hairpin.
• Su Jiu used a Binding Talisman and a Thunderbolt Talisman to incapacitate the wounded Ya Beast, then finished it with Ice Spikes.
• Fang Hao arrived with the seven disciples Su Jiu had rescued, and they revealed that three seniors had lured the Ya Beast after them while taking stargrass from its cave.
• Fang Hao discovered that the seniors had coated the disciples’ spirit stones with silver bell grass powder to attract demonic beasts, and he gave the disciples Communication Talismans to report the trio.
• Fang Hao bought the Ya Beast from Su Jiu for a thousand spirit stones, and she offered the other disciples a share before they declined.
• As the group returned, Su Jiu explained that she had used talismans to kill the Ya Beast, while a teenage boy and a young man watched from above and decided they had not needed to intervene.

Su Jiu returned to the sect, earned spirit stones by completing missions, and accepted new work before being drawn into the Enforcement Hall’s investigation of Qian Ling’s death. The inquiry found no clear culprit, while a cloaked old man elsewhere realized the sect had noticed something sooner than he expected.

• Su Jiu turned in missions for eighty-five spirit stones, accepted repeat Biyi grass and Civet Beast missions, then earned two hundred more spirit stones by turning them in again.
• Su Jiu accepted missions to hunt Windfang Rabbits and Mushroom Beasts after declining to repeat the difficult Biyi grass and Civet Beast tasks.
• Su Jiu returned to her courtyard and found Enforcement Hall members questioning its residents about Qian Ling, who had died in her room three days earlier.
• Sun Wei said she had discovered Qian Ling’s death after asking to borrow spirit stones and trying to shove her, while the investigation found no one else had entered or left the room.
• The Enforcement Hall leader revealed that Qian Ling’s soul had disappeared, leaving the investigators without a way to question her.
• A cloaked old man in a mountain cave looked toward the Azure Tide Sect and complained that they had noticed too quickly.

After the Enforcement Hall investigated Qian Ling’s death, Su Jiu detected a faint trace of demonic energy near Qian Ling’s room. While shopping for defensive Magical Artifacts, she met Xiang Li, who encouraged her to study Talisman Arts instead of rushing her cultivation, and she left considering his offer.

• Han Jia told Su Jiu that the Enforcement Hall had searched their rooms and reported that Qian Ling had been dead for three days.
• Su Jiu sensed a faint wisp of demonic energy near Qian Ling’s room, but it vanished before she could investigate further.
• At the Treasure Pavilion, Xiang Li stopped the shopkeeper from undervaluing Su Jiu’s Flying Sword, and the shopkeeper gave her a mid-grade Magical Artifact.
• Xiang Li revealed that he was the general store’s shopkeeper and showed Su Jiu a Golden Bell Shield Talisman.
• Xiang Li offered to sell Su Jiu’s first-tier Talismans and cautioned her that rushing cultivation could destabilize her foundation.
• Su Jiu declined to commit to studying Talisman Arts and left after saying she would consider it.

Su Jiu met a group of cultivators seeking a fifth member for a team task to hunt a Two-Headed Python. After proving herself in a spar with Lie Changfeng, she was accepted onto the team, which planned to set out the next day.

• Zhou Xing invited Su Jiu to join his group for a team task hunting a First Tier advanced Two-Headed Python, offering two hundred Spirit Stones per person.
• Shu Bai asked Su Jiu to prove her strength by sparring with one of the group, and Su Jiu chose Lie Changfeng.
• Su Jiu outmatched Lie Changfeng in their sword fight and stopped him with five Ice Spikes, while deliberately holding back to spare his pride.
• Shu Bai introduced Su Jiu to Zhou Xing, Lie Changfeng, and Mo Yan, and the group accepted her as their fifth member.
• Lie Changfeng asked whether Su Jiu was a sword cultivator, and she replied that she had simply practiced a lot.

Su Jiu learned that Yu Yin might be harming Han Jia through dreams, while a contract-bound woman helped an old man lure Azure Tide Sect disciples to him. Su Jiu joined Shu Bai's team on Verdant Mountain, where they made camp and shared a warm meal after she killed a Windfang Rabbit.

• Han Jia told Su Jiu that after speaking with Yu Yin, she had entered a terrifying dream and lost much of her spiritual energy and vitality, so Su Jiu advised her to avoid Yu Yin and noted she lacked evidence for a report.
• In a cave, an old man ordered a woman bound to him by contract to lure cultivators to him, promising extra benefits for bringing people in the middle or late stages of Qi Refining.
• Su Jiu met Shu Bai, Zhou Xing, Mo Yan, and Lie Changfeng at the Azure Tide Sect gates, and their team walked to Verdant Mountain.
• At the mountain, Su Jiu killed a Windfang Rabbit with Ice Spike and brought it back for dinner, while her companions prepared fish, porcupine, and skewered meat.
• Su Jiu ate with the group by the fire and reflected on how their warm company differed from her old life.

On Verdant Mountain, Su Jiu and Mo Yan set off toward the southwest while Shu Bai and Zhou Xing went to gather herbs. Elsewhere, Yu Yin lured Yun Qiqi and her companions into a cave, where a demonic cultivator captured them to extract their souls, and Yu Yin agreed to bring him five more cultivators.

• Su Jiu told Shu Bai and Zhou Xing that she had another mission in the southwest, and Mo Yan chose to accompany her while the others gathered herbs.
• Yu Yin led Yun Qiqi and four companions into a cave, where a stone door sealed their exit and revealed a demonic cultivator, a vat of blood, and several corpses.
• The demonic cultivator seized Yun Qiqi and defeated the group, then extracted the soul of one fallen cultivator while binding the survivors.
• Yu Yin accepted spirit stones from the demonic cultivator, who asked her to lure five more mid Qi Refining cultivators to him.
• Yu Yin rejected the demonic cultivator's offer to join the demonic path and left the cave as Yun Qiqi cursed her.

Su Jiu and her companions defeated a Two-Headed Python through careful teamwork before she and Mo Yan set off southwest. There, they encountered Yu Yin, whose false story about a Mushroom Beast did not fool Su Jiu, who suspected her involvement in Qian Ling’s death.

• Su Jiu and the four disciples coordinated their attacks to kill the Two-Headed Python without anyone getting hurt.
• Zhou Xing praised Su Jiu, and the group discussed their solid cultivation and why Su Jiu’s Ice Spiritual Root had left her in the Outer Gate.
• Su Jiu and Mo Yan split from the others, and Su Jiu killed two Windfang Rabbits on their way southwest.
• A bloodied Yu Yin claimed a Mushroom Beast had captured her fellow disciples and asked Su Jiu and Mo Yan to help rescue them.
• Su Jiu questioned Yu Yin about Qian Ling and watched her briefly stiffen before claiming she would avenge her.

Su Jiu and Mo Yan uncovered a demonic cultivator’s lair and fought to rescue the captured Azure Tide Sect disciples. After Su Jiu destroyed the demonic cultivator’s gourd and freed the captives, a furious voice elsewhere cried out for its junior brother.

• Yu Yin revealed the Cave’s Blood Vat, four bound Azure Tide Sect disciples, and the demonic cultivator hiding there.
• Su Jiu wounded the demonic cultivator with Ice Spikes while Mo Yan was bound, and the cultivator forced Yu Yin to attack Su Jiu through their master-servant contract.
• Su Jiu knocked Yu Yin unconscious and kept fighting until Yun Qiqi warned her that the cultivator’s gourd was his weakness.
• The demonic cultivator poured his demonic qi into the gourd and tried to flee, but Su Jiu destroyed it with five Ice Spikes.
• The freed captives thanked Su Jiu and Mo Yan, and Yun Qiqi asked Su Jiu how she could cast spells so quickly.
• A furious voice from a distant demon grotto roared, “Junior Brother!!!”

Su Jiu and the Enforcement Hall uncovered how Yu Yin and a demonic cultivator had captured disciples’ souls, but Qian Ling could no longer be saved. As Shu Bai, Lie Changfeng, and Zhou Xing hurried toward Su Jiu and Mo Yan, they saw the Enforcement Hall leave and continued on to the site.

• Su Jiu confronted the dying Yu Yin, who showed fear when asked what would happen to Yu Ying, and Yu Yin died from a master-servant contract.
• Xia Jue arrived with the Enforcement Hall, confirmed Yu Yin’s death, and explained that Qian Ling’s soul had been trapped too long to recover.
• The Enforcement Hall recovered the Demonic Artifacts, Concealment Jade, Soul-Attracting Incense, and a second-tier formation from the cavern.
• Xia Jue asked whether Su Jiu had killed the demonic cultivator, then encouraged her to cultivate diligently before leading the Enforcement Hall away.
• Shu Bai told Zhou Xing and Lie Changfeng that he had noticed Su Jiu watching the southwest and worried about Mo Yan, and the three hurried toward them.
• Lie Changfeng, Shu Bai, and Zhou Xing saw the Enforcement Hall flying back overhead before they reached their destination.

Su Jiu finished the Mushroom Beast mission after returning from a dangerous encounter with a demonic cultivator, then refused extra payment from Shu Bai’s group. Back at the courtyard, she confronted Han Jia over her attempt to excuse Yu Yin’s betrayal, leaving their disagreement unresolved.

• Su Jiu sent Shu Bai, Zhou Xing, Lie Changfeng, and Mo Yan back to the sect while she continued on to hunt the Mushroom Beast.
• Su Jiu defeated the poisonous Mushroom Beast with her Golden Bell Shield and Ice Spike, then completed the mission despite improperly storing the monster.
• Shu Bai offered Su Jiu an extra hundred spirit stones for saving Mo Yan and helping kill the Two-Headed Python, but she accepted only their agreed share.
• Su Jiu learned that Yu Ying had moved to another courtyard and assured Han Jia she did not blame Yu Ying for her sister’s actions.
• Han Jia admitted she envied Su Jiu and argued that cultivators with few advantages sometimes created their own opportunities, prompting Su Jiu to condemn Yu Yin’s choices and warn Han Jia against following the same path.

After the Heavenly Origin Hall ordered a voluntary mountain patrol, Su Jiu advanced to the sixth Qi Refining layer and reunited with her companions. She witnessed Jin Xi confront Lu Tianqi and Bai Su over their engagement, then recalled the deadly future awaiting Jin Chen and the Jin Household and began forming a plan to prevent it.

• The sect leader ordered a voluntary mountain patrol for middle- and late-stage Qi Refining disciples, offering high sect honor points as rewards.
• Su Jiu broke through to the sixth Qi Refining layer, while Han Jia regretted their estrangement and reflected on Yu Yin’s fate.
• Shu Bai arranged to meet Su Jiu and their companions at a teahouse, where they watched Jin Xi confront Lu Tianqi and Bai Su.
• Jin Xi demanded that Lu Tianqi have his father formally dissolve their engagement, and Lu Tianqi agreed to speak to him.
• Su Jiu remembered that Lu Tianqi would later destroy the Jin Household and cause Jin Chen’s death, and she began devising a way to change that outcome.

Su Jiu joined Shu Bai and their companions in signing up for a mountain patrol prompted by a demonic cultivator’s attack near the Azure Tide Order. Their team drew a token that delayed their patrol for weeks, while a cloaked old man plotted against Su Jiu from a demon grotto.

• Zhou Xing and Lie Changfeng noticed Su Jiu had reached the sixth Qi Refining layer, and Shu Bai explained that the patrol was connected to the demonic cultivator she had encountered.
• Su Jiu saw Bai Su, Lu Tianqi, Ran Chao, and other disciples at the crowded registration desk, where an Inner Gate disciple praised her cultivation and warned her against relying on pills.
• Shu Bai registered their five-person team and received token number seventy-four, placing their patrol in the fourth week of the schedule.
• The mission office announced that over thirty-two thousand disciples had signed up, meaning the patrol rotation would take six years to complete.
• In a demon grotto, a cloaked old man remained intent on reaching Su Jiu, while Deputy Envoy Zuo warned him that the Azure Tide Sect was too powerful to provoke.

Hong Ling persuaded Su Mianmian to cultivate seriously so she could keep up with Su Jiu, while Su Jiu visited the General Store to learn talisman drawing from Xiang Li. Xiang Li demonstrated how to make a talisman, and Su Jiu watched his finished work.

• Hong Ling warned Su Mianmian that falling behind Su Jiu could keep them from traveling together, and Su Mianmian vowed to cultivate diligently.
• Su Mianmian sent Su Jiu a message saying they would travel across the Azure Realm together after reaching foundation establishment.
• Su Jiu visited the General Store and found Xiang Li, who agreed to teach her talisman drawing.
• Xiang Li explained that talisman drawing required concentration and a single stroke, then completed a talisman with spiritual power.

Su Jiu tried to learn Ice Element Talismans from Xiang Li but could not overcome the obstacle blocking her spiritual energy. Frustrated, she reshaped the Water-Wisdom Sword Art into an ice-based style and cultivated Sword Qi, while Chu Mojin watched from the roof.

• Xiang Li taught Su Jiu about talisman materials and gave her a book on Ice Element Talismans, cinnabar, paper, and brushes.
• Su Jiu failed to finish an Ice Spike Talisman after her spiritual energy met an invisible obstruction, and Xiang Li explained that every Talisman Master had to discover their own sticking point.
• Su Jiu kept practicing talisman drawing late into the night, then went outside to train with her flying sword.
• Chu Mojin watched Su Jiu practice and saw her alter the Water-Wisdom Sword Art into a more powerful ice-based sword art.
• Su Jiu's sword strike sliced off a corner of the eaves as she condensed Sword Qi, and she realized she might no longer be able to practice in the courtyard.