Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue met the Moon Invitation Palace elders, who explained how the Saintess inheritance in the secret realm worked. The four candidates were allowed to enter and search for the Profound Yin Palace, while Xiao Ruoling remained surprised by the sect’s easygoing ways.

• Xiao Ruoling greeted nine young Grandmasters and told them that Zeng Yuan missed Moon Invitation Palace but was well in the imperial palace.
• Yun Qiuhua explained that a candidate became a Saintess by finding the Profound Yin Palace and receiving the Great Yin Refinement inheritance, and that its location could not be mapped or predicted.
• Xiao Ruoling asked to gather Heaven-Connecting Grass, and Yun Qiuhua teased her about wanting it for her Heir Apparent.
• Yun Qiuhua explained that marriage could destroy a Moon Invitation Palace disciple’s cultivation, but Xiao Ruoling’s techniques would instead grow stronger alongside her Heir Apparent’s.
• The elders told Xiao Ruoling, Shen Hanyue, and the other two candidates to enter the secret realm, warned them not to fight to kill, and sent them on their way.

Xiao Ruoling entered Moon Invitation Palace’s Secret Realm, followed the call of the Great Yin Refinement inheritance to Profound Yin Palace, and gathered Heaven-Connecting Grass along the way. When Shen Hanyue arrived, Xiao Ruoling proposed that they enter the palace together and see whether both could receive the inheritance, leaving Shen Hanyue to weigh the idea against her mother’s hopes.

• Yun Qiuhua introduced Xiao Ruoling, Shen Hanyue, Ji Mingzhu, and Xu Lingzhi, gave them protective pills and signal tubes, and warned them about the Secret Realm’s dangers.
• Jing Xiaodie introduced herself as Moon Invitation Palace’s Palace Master, and Yun Qiuhua explained that the Saintess was already inside the Secret Realm.
• Xiao Ruoling entered the Secret Realm alone, sensed a place calling to her, and fought off Demon Beasts as she collected Heaven-Connecting Grass.
• Xiao Ruoling reached Profound Yin Palace and found fifteen stalks of Heaven-Connecting Grass in her Small Cold Jade Box.
• Shen Hanyue arrived at Profound Yin Palace, and Xiao Ruoling suggested that they enter together to test whether both could receive the inheritance.

Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue debated whether to enter the Profound Yin Palace together and share the Saintess inheritance. At midnight they passed through its doors and witnessed a veiled woman performing the Great Yin Refinement, then returned outside with the vision fading.

• Xiao Ruoling explained why she was suited to become the Saintess and urged Shen Hanyue to consider entering the Profound Yin Palace alongside her.
• Xiao Ruoling gathered thirty-five stalks of Heaven-Connecting Grass while Shen Hanyue continued weighing the risks of joining her.
• At midnight, Shen Hanyue agreed to enter with Xiao Ruoling, and the two touched the jade doors together.
• Moonlight gathered around the doors, drawing Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue into a celestial palace suspended above the clouds.
• Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue watched a veiled woman dance beneath an enormous moon, performing the Great Yin Refinement, before finding themselves back at the doors.

Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue both practiced the Great Yin Refinement after receiving its inheritance, and they discovered that Demon Beasts no longer attacked them. Xiao Ruoling later told Chu Zhiyuan what happened, then gave him three stalks of Heaven-Connecting Grass as she continued cultivating toward a higher realm.

• Xiao Ruoling practiced the Great Yin Refinement beneath the moon, and Shen Hanyue confirmed that her own inherited movements were identical.
• Shen Hanyue practiced the art and felt moonlight balance the heat in her body, while Xiao Ruoling suggested they could both become Saintesses.
• Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue left the secret realm and found that its Demon Beasts did not attack them; Shen Hanyue then explained their shared inheritance to Yun Qiuhua.
• Xiao Ruoling recounted the events to Chu Zhiyuan, who said Shen Hanyue needed guidance before Xiao Ruoling could leave.
• Xiao Ruoling gave Chu Zhiyuan the Small Cold Jade Box, and he took three stalks of Heaven-Connecting Grass before embracing her.

Chu Zhiyuan reunited with Xiao Ruoling, learned about her plans as Moon Invitation Palace’s Saintess, and returned to Prince Qing’s Estate to cultivate. After consuming three Heaven-Connecting Grass plants, he broke through to the Eighth Heaven, while Chu Qingfeng warned him that the White Cloud Sword Palace situation remained troublesome.

• Chu Zhiyuan teased Shen Hanyue about their cultivation levels as Xiao Ruoling explained that she would soon marry into Prince Qing’s Estate and that Shen Hanyue would eventually take the lead as Saintess.
• Xiao Ruoling said she needed to visit the Nine Li Divine Cult, the Carefree Cult, and the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult, and Chu Zhiyuan warned her to be cautious, especially around the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult.
• Xiao Ruoling declined Chu Zhiyuan’s offer to accompany her on the visits, and he left after promising to see her in a month.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned to Listening to Waves Courtyard, consumed the three Heaven-Connecting Grass plants, and strengthened his meridians enough to attempt a breakthrough.
• Chu Zhiyuan broke through to the Eighth Heaven overnight, then told Chu Qingfeng that Spiritual Grass had helped him advance.
• Chu Qingfeng urged Chu Zhiyuan to seek experience beyond cultivation and warned that the White Cloud Sword Palace matter was troublesome.

Chu Zhiyuan investigated suspicious betrayals across several sects and learned Great Lie and Great Guang might be preparing to move against Great Jing. He urged White Cloud Sword Palace to guard against further traitors, while an ominous premonition from the east left him wondering whether a Grandmaster threatened him.

• Chu Qingfeng said the Supervisory Department should investigate the traitors appearing in White Cloud Sword Palace and Flying Heaven Sect, and warned Chu Zhiyuan to gain more experience.
• At the Ministry of Rites, Huang Shirong told Chu Zhiyuan that Zhou Tianqi had evaded pursuit for over two thousand li and seemed to be fleeing south toward Jade Cauldron Sect.
• Chu Zhiyuan warned Huang Shirong that other disciples might become traitors, and she decided to return to White Cloud Sword Palace to urge Elder Gu to investigate.
• Ma Tianhe told Chu Zhiyuan that the suspected Formless Sect member had revealed the Great Formless Art, confirming his identity.
• Ma Tianhe reported that Great Lie and Great Guang might join Great Meng against Great Jing, while the Eastern Territory army was poorly trained; Chu Zhiyuan concluded they needed to delay and strengthen the army.
• Chu Zhiyuan felt danger coming from the east and wondered whether a Grandmaster was behind the premonition.

Chu Zhiyuan investigated the danger he sensed from the east but found no known sect or expert responsible, so he urged the Supervisory Department to watch for new forces. He then began cultivating the Sword Nurturing Art to strengthen himself, leaving two strands of Sword Qi slowly developing within him.

• Chu Zhiyuan speculated that an eastern sect or the Carefree Cult might threaten him, but sensed no danger when he tested the Carefree Cult's name.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Ma Tianhe to alert Division Master Leng and have the Supervisory Department monitor the east for newly emerged forces and experts.
• Chu Zhiyuan decided to cultivate the Sword Nurturing Art because its risks were manageable compared with the unknown danger from the east.
• Chu Zhiyuan condensed a tiny violet sword in his Celestial Pool Acupoint and began nurturing it, then formed a second strand of Sword Qi on his left.
• Chu Zhiyuan cultivated through the night and continued nurturing the Sword Qi while going to practice at the Bright Martial Hall and visiting the Ministry of Rites.

Chu Zhiyuan visited Li Hongzhao after she broke through to the Fourth Heaven and told her that Xiao Ruoling had become Moon Invitation Palace’s Saintess. He then invited Li Hongzhao to watch him expose Great Lie’s Twelfth Prince, Xu Jingren, whom he suspected was a Formless Sect expert; Xu sensed that his identity had likely been exposed.

• Gao Lingfeng told Chu Zhiyuan that Xu Jingren planned to leave Great Jing after the Town Martial Division failed to find the martial artists who had injured him.
• Chu Zhiyuan decided to visit Xu Jingren and see him off, then asked Gao Lingfeng whether Cheng Tianfeng had encountered trouble on his secret journey home.
• Li Hongzhao broke through to the Fourth Heaven, and Chu Zhiyuan congratulated her before revealing that he had reached the Eighth Heaven and that Xiao Ruoling had become Moon Invitation Palace’s Saintess.
• Chu Zhiyuan urged Li Hongzhao to accompany him to see Xu Jingren and watch him expose a supposed Formless Sect expert.
• At Great Lie Pavilion, Xu Jingren sensed mounting pressure and realized that his identity had likely been exposed.

Xu Jingren confronted Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao over the failed investigation into his attackers, while Chu and Li sparred. After Chu’s swordplay caused Xu to clutch his abdomen, Xu’s disguise began to unravel, and Chu demanded to know who he really was.

• Xu Jingren suspected Great Jing would not dare detain him and received a visit from Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao.
• Chu Zhiyuan suggested Xu’s attackers might have been Great Lie experts, while Li Hongzhao speculated they had been silenced.
• Chu Zhiyuan challenged Li Hongzhao after she questioned the Town Martial Division, and the two fought with their swords.
• Li Hongzhao’s Phoenix Sword Art reached its peak, but Chu Zhiyuan still struck her with hidden Sword Qi.
• Xu Jingren clutched his abdomen and tried to leave, but Chu Zhiyuan blocked him and noticed his face and body changing.

Chu Zhiyuan exposed Xu Jingren as Sun Jiuwei of the Formless Sect and deduced where the real Twelfth Prince might be hidden. After Chu Zhiyuan left, Li Hongzhao learned that Sun Jiuwei’s cultivation had been shattered, but she remained confident her message would reach the prince before Great Jing’s.

• Chu Zhiyuan summoned the Town Martial Division and identified the disguised Xu Jingren as Sun Jiuwei, a Grandmaster of the Formless Sect.
• Chu Zhiyuan deduced that the real Twelfth Prince was near Taizhou and narrowed the hiding place to the middle of Yongfu Street.
• Li Hongzhao tried to shield Sun Jiuwei, but Chu Zhiyuan inferred that the prince might already have been moved and warned that Great Jing would race her message.
• Chu Zhiyuan left with Zou Fang, and Sun Jiuwei told Li Hongzhao that an invisible force had pierced his dantian and destroyed his cultivation.
• Li Hongzhao blamed Chu Zhiyuan for exploiting Sun Jiuwei’s lack of protection and said Great Jing’s transmission would be slower than theirs.

Li Hongzhao tried to find a way to keep Chu Zhiyuan from gaining more merit and decided to lure him toward a thousand-year-old cave mansion near Jade Capital. Chu Zhiyuan returned before she could act and reported that the Twelfth Prince at Great Lie’s Sifang Pavilion was the real one.

• Li Hongzhao and Su Qiuyan discussed Chu Zhiyuan’s invisible finger force and agreed that Li Hongzhao should avoid meeting him alone.
• Li Hongzhao considered schemes to prevent Chu Zhiyuan from earning merit, then settled on telling him about Lu Yaofeng’s cave mansion.
• Li Hongzhao explained that Lu Yaofeng had been a Grandmaster who practiced the Heaven and Earth Six Severing Palms and had left a cave mansion near Jade Capital.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned and told Li Hongzhao that the Twelfth Prince staying at Great Lie’s residence in Sifang Pavilion was the real one.

Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao discussed the failed scheme to turn Great Lie and Great Guang against Great Jing, then uncovered a new danger connected to the ancient Grandmaster Lu Yaofeng. They agreed to investigate Lu Yaofeng’s cave mansion together and divide whatever they found.

• Chu Zhiyuan argued that rescuing Great Lie’s Twelfth Prince would disrupt Great Meng’s plans, while Li Hongzhao insisted the prince’s personal grudges would not affect court affairs.
• Li Hongzhao revealed that Great Meng had offered Great Lie and Great Guang Undying Trees to secure their cooperation against Great Jing.
• Li Hongzhao asked Chu Zhiyuan about Lu Yaofeng, and he recognized the name as the source of the danger he had sensed to the east.
• Li Hongzhao offered to explore Lu Yaofeng’s cave mansion with Chu Zhiyuan and split its discoveries evenly.
• Li Hongzhao unfolded an ancient map showing the cave mansion east of them, and Chu Zhiyuan urged her to investigate Lu Yaofeng’s past as well.

Chu Zhiyuan secretly sent Xu Jingren back to Great Lie and arranged for the Supervisory Department to investigate Lu Yaofeng. He then learned that White Cloud Sword Palace still could not locate Zhou Tianqi, and Huang Shirong offered him access to White Cloud Sword Studio if he caught him.

• Chu Zhiyuan advised Xu Jingren to learn Great Meng's bargaining chip before acting, gave him a secret-agent code phrase, and sent him home in secret.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Ma Tianhe to investigate Lu Yaofeng and demanded the findings by the next day.
• At West Second Hall, Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu told Chu Zhiyuan that Zhou Tianqi had not been caught, while Huang Shirong reported that Elder Gu had begun investigating the sect for Demonic Humans.
• Huang Shirong explained that Elder Gu had used Zhou Tianqi's clothing to track him, but the trail had split into several locations, making him difficult to catch.
• Huang Shirong offered Chu Zhiyuan access to White Cloud Sword Studio if he captured Zhou Tianqi, and Chu Zhiyuan wondered whether White Cloud Sword Palace wanted something from him.

Chu Zhiyuan used a wooden sword once carried by Zhou Tianqi to track him, agreeing to help Huang Shirong find the missing White Cloud Sword Palace disciple. Their search led them west from Huai Mountain to a village, where Chu Zhiyuan sensed Zhou Tianqi was waiting.

• Chu Zhiyuan agreed to search for Zhou Tianqi with Huang Shirong and examined the wooden sword Zhou had kept since childhood.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong set out together on the Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses, discussing how White Cloud Sword Palace would handle Zhou if he had harmed anyone.
• At Huai Mountain, Chu Zhiyuan used his Super Sensation to detect that Zhou Tianqi had gone west, despite most travelers heading east or south.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong followed the trail west and arrived at a village at sunset, where Chu Zhiyuan said Zhou Tianqi was there.

Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong found Zhou Tianqi hiding in a mountain village and learned why he had betrayed his sect and how he had escaped the Law Enforcement Hall. Huang Shirong killed him when he attacked, and Chu Zhiyuan recovered the strange artifact that had concealed his aura.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong tracked Zhou Tianqi to a village a thousand miles west of Jade Capital and entered his courtyard.
• Zhou Tianqi explained that he had practiced an evil art from the Jade Cauldron Sect because he believed becoming a Grandmaster was the only way to avoid a life of weakness.
• Zhou Tianqi admitted that Martial Uncle Kong had discovered his cultivation method and tried to kill him, then revealed he had used a strange artifact to evade detection.
• Zhou Tianqi attacked Huang Shirong, but she struck first and pierced his brow with her sword, killing him before he could unleash Mutual Destruction.
• Chu Zhiyuan retrieved a black bead and a tiny black cauldron from Zhou Tianqi's belongings, and Huang Shirong let him keep the bead.

Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong discovered a small cauldron that revealed the Jade Cauldron Sect’s cultivation power, but Chu Zhiyuan destroyed its dangerous flames before they could reach her. They kept the transformed vessel, which Chu Zhiyuan named the White Cauldron.

• Chu Zhiyuan used the Black Pearl to hide his aura from Great Grandmasters and warned Huang Shirong that a Jade Cauldron Sect Great Grandmaster might be tracking them.
• Chu Zhiyuan identified a small black cauldron as the object through which Zhou Tianqi had obtained the Jade Cauldron Sect’s cultivation method.
• Huang Shirong put her blood on the cauldron to investigate its power, and black flames emerged and moved toward her brow.
• Chu Zhiyuan destroyed the flames with his Fearless Realm power and Great Heavenly Dragon Fist, sensing they came from beyond the void and could not be removed once attached.
• Huang Shirong gave Chu Zhiyuan the cauldron in gratitude, and he named its transparent form the White Cauldron.

After Zhou Tianqi’s execution, Chu Zhiyuan returned to Jade Capital with Huang Shirong and discovered that the Crystal Cauldron could store objects. The next morning, he learned that Xu Yingying had arrived.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong reflected on Zhou Tianqi’s death and Kong Xuefang’s shattered prospects of becoming a Grand Grandmaster.
• On the journey back, Chu Zhiyuan studied the Crystal Cauldron and suspected it was a storage treasure, while Huang Shirong remained vigilant about her feelings for him.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong parted outside Prince Qing’s Estate; Huang Shirong then told Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu that Zhou Tianqi had been executed and she was returning to the sect.
• Chu Zhiyuan tested the Crystal Cauldron at home and found that it could store his Qingying Sword and other items.
• The next morning, Feng Xi delivered a letter from an old acquaintance, and Chu Zhiyuan recognized that Xu Yingying had arrived.

Chu Zhiyuan met Xu Yingying and Xu Suying in a pine forest, then accompanied Xu Yingying to a Nine Li Divine Cult manor to help her cultivate. Xu Yingying broke through to the Fifth Heaven, while Chu Zhiyuan glimpsed the cult’s unusual cultivation method and realized its missing Visualization Diagram kept it from being easily copied.

• Xu Yingying worried that Chu Zhiyuan would not come, and Xu Suying reassured her that he would.
• Chu Zhiyuan arrived on two Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses, which Xu Yingying tried and failed to touch.
• Xu Yingying showed Chu Zhiyuan a Heavenly Ganoderma Jade Foundation Pill and invited him to cultivate with her at a mountain estate.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xu Yingying pressed their palms together in the manor pavilion and circulated their breaths while Xu Suying watched from a distance.
• Chu Zhiyuan observed Xu Yingying’s exploratory cultivation route stabilize, and she broke through to the Fifth Heaven.
• Chu Zhiyuan recognized the Nine Li Divine Cult’s method as mysterious but understood that its missing Visualization Diagram prevented him from readily adopting it.

Chu Zhiyuan helped Xu Yingying break through, then traded promises with her for a first-grade body cultivation pill. Before leaving, he learned Xu Yingying's complaints about Moon Invitation Palace, where Xiao Ruoling had become Saintess.

• Xu Yingying broke through and gave Chu Zhiyuan a Heavenly Ganoderma Jade Foundation Pill in return for his help.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Xu Yingying to obtain unusual body cultivation arts, and she agreed to give him a first-grade Pure Flower Pill at their next meeting.
• Xu Yingying said they would enter the next realm in one month and again challenged Chu Zhiyuan to a swordsmanship contest.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Xu Yingying that his Heir Apparent's Consort, Xiao Ruoling, had become the Saintess of Moon Invitation Palace.
• Xu Yingying described Moon Invitation Palace as vicious and said its disciples often killed people and harassed the Nine Li Divine Cult.
• Xu Yingying gave Chu Zhiyuan a Pure Flower Pill in advance, and he departed with Xu Suying.

Chu Zhiyuan returned to Xu Suying and Xu Yingying to ask about sacrificial refinement, and Xu Yingying taught him the method along with an art for eavesdropping on Sound Transmission. Back at the Prince's Residence, he began refining the White Cauldron and made steady progress as an unusual force joined with its patterns.

• Xu Suying told Xu Yingying that Chu Zhiyuan's swordsmanship was unfathomable, making Xu Yingying eager to challenge him next month.
• Chu Zhiyuan showed Xu Yingying and Xu Suying the Black Pearl, which Xu Suying recognized as a treasure that concealed vital aura.
• Xu Yingying taught Chu Zhiyuan the sacrificial refinement method and an art that could eavesdrop on Sound Transmission.
• On his way back, Chu Zhiyuan decided that refining the White Cauldron was urgent because a Grandmaster might otherwise take what he stored inside.
• At the Prince's Residence, Chu Zhiyuan formed nine patterns into a strange character, drew down an unusual force, and began merging it with the White Cauldron's patterns.