Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan returned with the auras of eight Nether Secret Guards as bait, prompting four Grandmasters to agree to protect him when the guards came after him. After celebrating Phoenix Camp’s victory over Great Lie and learning Xu Yingying had returned, he went to meet her and showed her the Spirit Sealing Box.

• Chu Zhiyuan kept the eight strings of hand beads and persuaded the four Grandmasters to seek the Prince’s help in protecting him from the Nether Secret Guards.
• Bai Ningshuang confronted Chu Zhiyuan about Phoenix Camp’s attack on Great Lie’s four camps, and he reassured her while Chu Yi pressed him for the story.
• Chu Zhiyuan visited Xu Yingying’s estate but found she had returned to her sect, so he asked Zhou Sisi to tell him when she came back.
• Two days later, Chu Zhiyuan handled his Ministry of Rites duties and went to the estate, where he found Xu Yingying practicing swordsmanship.
• Chu Zhiyuan handed Xu Yingying the Spirit Sealing Box and asked whether she knew about the Nether Secret Guards.

Chu Zhiyuan learned how the Evil-Repelling Pearl could warn of and weaken the Nether Secret Guard, then received five mysterious daggers called the Evil-Dispelling Divine Blade from Xu Yingying. He left eager to refine the daggers and discover their power.

• Xu Yingying warned Chu Zhiyuan that the Nether Secret Guard would keep hunting him after he killed eight of them with their prayer beads.
• Xu Yingying showed Chu Zhiyuan her Evil-Repelling Pearl and explained that it sensed Nether Secret Guard within a hundred paces and restrained their power.
• Xu Yingying explained that Meng Canglan's Dominion Pearl warded off foreign powers, while Xiao Ruoling's Great Yin Refinement also protected her from ghostly things.
• Chu Zhiyuan declined Xu Yingying's offer of the Evil-Repelling Pearl, so she returned with a box containing five small daggers called the Evil-Dispelling Divine Blade.
• Chu Zhiyuan accepted the daggers, recognized that they were shrouded in mysterious mist, and left eager to refine them.

Chu Zhiyuan refined the five Evil-Dispelling Flying Daggers and encountered a mysterious faceless man who seemed to be a divine envoy, but the Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses drove him away. At Moon-Inviting Peak, Chu Zhiyuan met Meng Canglan and prepared to enter the secret land again, while Xiao Ruoling arrived.

• Chu Zhiyuan completed refining the five Flying Daggers, discovered their strange patterns, and linked them to his Spiritual Power.
• A gray-robed man appeared in the woods, and Chu Zhiyuan suspected he was a divine envoy when Super Sensation could not reveal him.
• The Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses shone with golden light, exposed the man's faceless appearance, and carried Chu Zhiyuan away from him.
• Chu Zhiyuan reached Moon-Inviting Peak and met Meng Canglan, who warned him that news of his attack on Great Lie's four elite camps had spread widely.
• Chu Zhiyuan decided to enter the secret land again, and Xiao Ruoling arrived with a group of White-Clad Girls.

Chu Zhiyuan met Xiao Ruoling and the Carefree Cult women after word spread of his victory over Great Lie’s four camps, and they suspected someone was trying to force him into the military. He proposed promoting military formations as a way to make that assignment unattractive, while revealing his longer-term plan to strengthen Great Jing.

• Shen Hanyue questioned Chu Zhiyuan about his battlefield success and said it had made people regard him as skilled in warfare.
• Xiao Ruoling and Chu Zhiyuan suspected that someone was deliberately praising him to pressure him into military service, where he could be endangered.
• Meng Canglan urged Chu Zhiyuan to avoid the military and proposed making others believe he was unsuitable for it.
• Chu Zhiyuan said he would spread word that he intended to promote formations, prompting Meng Canglan’s approval and Xiao Ruoling’s understanding.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that he had established the Phoenix Camp to spread formations and develop more Grandmasters, gradually increasing Great Jing’s military strength.

Chu Zhiyuan explained how Phoenix Camp defeated the four Great Lie camps, then treated Xu Wannian’s lingering injuries and guided him back to the grandmaster realm. The chapter ended with Xu Wannian breaking through after taking Meng Canglan’s spiritual pill.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Shen Hanyue that Phoenix Camp had defeated the Great Lie camps by attacking them one by one and preventing them from sending signals for help.
• Meng Canglan recognized that Chu Zhiyuan had understated the difficulty of Phoenix Camp’s victory.
• Chu Zhiyuan examined Xu Wannian and discovered that his Qi Deviation injuries had never fully healed.
• Meng Canglan gave Xu Wannian a spiritual pill, and Chu Zhiyuan guided him through a healing cultivation route.
• Xu Wannian opened his eyes after a quarter of an hour and reached the grandmaster realm.

Xu Wannian reached Grandmaster after rebuilding his cultivation, while Chu Zhiyuan warned Meng Canglan against treating the dangerous path as a shortcut. Later, Xiao Ruoling explained Moon Invitation Palace’s history with the Underworld God’s divine envoys and agreed to enter the secret realm with Chu Zhiyuan, giving him the palace’s identity Jade Token.

• Xu Wannian thanked Chu Zhiyuan for helping him reach Grandmaster, and Chu Zhiyuan said rebuilding his cultivation had strengthened his foundation and state of mind.
• Meng Canglan asked whether other sect members could follow Xu Wannian’s path, and Chu Zhiyuan said those who had given up had little hope of reaching Grandmaster.
• Chu Zhiyuan practiced the Glazed Saber Scripture with the Bright Moon Blade and multiple Flying Daggers, using the Heavenly Yuan Art to replenish his Spiritual Power.
• Xiao Ruoling visited Chu Zhiyuan, and he told her about the Nether Secret Guard and the strange man he had encountered on the road.
• Xiao Ruoling identified the strange man as an Impermanence serving the Underworld God and explained that Moon Invitation Palace had hunted divine envoys for generations.
• Chu Zhiyuan said he planned to stay in the secret realm for a month to investigate why it drove people mad, and Xiao Ruoling agreed to join him and gave him Moon Invitation Palace’s identity Jade Token.

Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling explored a snow-covered area of the Secret Realm, found a Snow Ganoderma, and came under attack from a swarm of strange black insects. Chu Zhiyuan drove the swarm away with the Heaven and Earth Six Severing Palms, and they remained in the snowy wilderness.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling entered a vast snowy region, where Xiao Ruoling used Great Yin Refinement to make most Demon Beasts less likely to attack them.
• Chu Zhiyuan found a Snow Ganoderma beneath the snow, and Xiao Ruoling harvested it and stored it in a Cold Jade Box.
• Two giant centipede-like insects emerged and attacked Xiao Ruoling, then a swarm of black insects pursued them.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling tried to repel the swarm as they fled, but the insects resisted Xiao Ruoling's palm force and kept catching up.
• Chu Zhiyuan killed many insects with the Heaven and Earth Six Severing Palms, causing the swarm to retreat.

Chu Zhiyuan used the Heaven and Earth Six Severing Palms to kill the black insects, then collected their demon crystals as snacks for the Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses. As he and Xiao Ruoling continued through the snowy secret land, a gigantic pangolin burst from the ground and charged at them.

• Chu Zhiyuan explained that the Heaven and Earth Six Severing Palms let him overcome the black insects' hard shells, and that he had avoided the manual's traps through his martial knowledge and intuition.
• Xiao Ruoling asked why Chu Zhiyuan had not used his Flying Daggers, and he showed her that the insects' green blood could corrode a stone away.
• Chu Zhiyuan used Gang Qi and snow to gather and clean the demon crystals, saying they would make snacks for the Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling continued deeper into the snowy secret land, and Chu Zhiyuan warned her to prepare to flee.
• A gigantic pangolin burst through the snow and charged at Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling.

Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling explored the snowy mountains, where he killed a powerful pangolin Demon Beast and collected its Demon Crystal. After a fruitless search and a sudden blizzard, they returned to Moon Invitation Palace with the Snow Ganoderma.

• Chu Zhiyuan repeatedly dodged the pangolin's attacks while using flying daggers to expose a weakness beneath its jaw, then killed it with the Heaven and Earth Six Severing Palms.
• Chu Zhiyuan stored the Snow Ganoderma to hide its fragrance, cut open the pangolin's corpse, and collected its pale-yellow Demon Crystal.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling searched another hundred li of mountains but found no Heavenly Treasures or cave mansion.
• A heavy snowstorm erased their visible tracks, but Chu Zhiyuan followed their footprints and led Xiao Ruoling back past the vanished pangolin corpse.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned the Cold Jade Box containing the Snow Ganoderma to Xiao Ruoling, who opened it after they arrived at Moon Invitation Palace.

Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling returned from a newly discovered snowy realm, where they found a large Snow Ganoderma, and prepared to share it rather than risk Xiao Ruoling’s reputation. At their courtyard, Chu Zhiyuan used a demon crystal to accelerate his Flying Daggers’ spiritual growth, then swallowed a Phoenix Blood Pill and began rapidly advancing his Dragon Transformation Technique and Scale Refining.

• Yun Qiuhua confirmed the Snow Ganoderma was unusually large and said the snowy realm appeared to be a place Moon Invitation Palace had never encountered before.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling left Yun Qiuhua, and Xiao Ruoling returned to change clothes.
• Chu Zhiyuan discovered that placing his five Flying Daggers against a demon crystal greatly accelerated their spiritual growth.
• Xiao Ruoling said the Palace Master had given Chu Zhiyuan a Phoenix Blood Pill, and Chu Zhiyuan decided to take it while she stood guard.
• The Phoenix Blood Pill caused intense pain, sped up Chu Zhiyuan’s Dragon Transformation Technique, and made his Scale Refining advance rapidly.

Chu Zhiyuan strengthened his cultivation and discussed Wentian Cliff, the Sky Concealment Sect, and the Fearless Sect with Xiao Ruoling. An imperial edict ordered him to receive Great Zhen’s Eighteenth Princess, who would arrive in two days.

• Chu Zhiyuan used a Phoenix Blood Pill to advance his Scale Refining stage by about one-tenth.
• Chu Zhiyuan embraced Xiao Ruoling and learned that her Great Yin Refinement now ran continuously without deliberate cultivation.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling discussed Gao Jiuqu’s secretive arrival from Wentian Cliff and suspected he was escorting an important member of Great Zhen’s imperial clan.
• Chu Zhiyuan planned to cooperate with the Sky Concealment Sect to locate and destroy the Fearless Sect’s Grandmasters and lairs.
• Zou Fang reported that Chief Steward Huang had delivered an imperial edict ordering Chu Zhiyuan to receive Great Zhen’s Eighteenth Princess upon her arrival in two days.

Chu Zhiyuan used Azure Luan Demon Crystals to infuse his Flying Daggers and Bright Moon Blade with spirituality, advancing his Glazed Saber Scripture. After explaining that the next stage was Spirit Transformation, he began to condense his own Blade Intent.

• Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Great Zhen Envoy Mission included the Eighteenth Princess, Mo Chunyu, and Gao Jiuqu, and decided to head back the next day.
• Xiao Ruoling gave Chu Zhiyuan two Azure Luan Demon Crystals from a Cold Jade Box.
• Chu Zhiyuan used one demon crystal to awaken all twelve Flying Daggers, making them move freely with his thoughts.
• Chu Zhiyuan infused Bright Moon Blade with the second demon crystal, awakening its spirituality and sensing that it had come from beyond the heavens.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that the Spirit Transformation Realm involved nurturing Blade Intent and using the blade's spirit to refine oneself, then began transforming his presence into that of a divine blade.

After reaching Spirit Transformation, Chu Zhiyuan returned to Jade Capital and reported the Nether Divine Envoy’s violation of the rules to Chu Qingfeng. He then investigated the Eighteenth Princess’s party and learned that Zou Fang’s Profound Life True Scripture had cost him 120 years of lifespan, leaving Chu Zhiyuan concerned about his future.

• Chu Zhiyuan showed Xiao Ruoling how his Spirit Transformation Blade Intent could injure people through Spiritual Power, then left to return to Jade Capital.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Qingfeng that the Nether Divine Envoy had approached him, and Chu Qingfeng vowed to punish the Great Lie Emperor for allowing the violation.
• Chu Zhiyuan reasoned that the Great Lie Emperor’s alliance with the Nether God weakened the Emperor’s Sword, and Chu Qingfeng warned him to avoid Moon Invitation Palace.
• Chu Zhiyuan visited the Supervisory Department and asked Ma Tianhe for information about the Eighteenth Princess’s party, the Eighteenth Princess, and Gao Jiuqu.
• Zou Fang told Chu Zhiyuan that he had reached Grandmaster Perfection, and Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Profound Life True Scripture had consumed 120 years of Zou Fang’s lifespan.

Chu Zhiyuan promised to help Zou Fang find a way into the Grandmaster realm, then confronted Li Hongzhao over spreading news that provoked the Great Lie Emperor to send assassins after him. He threatened retaliation against Great Meng and demanded twenty Phoenix Blood Pills.

• Chu Zhiyuan realized eunuchs might need a secret method or Heavenly Treasures to complete their essence and enter the Grandmaster realm, and promised to look for a way to help Zou Fang.
• Chu Zhiyuan went to Bright Moon Tower and challenged Li Hongzhao, accusing her of spreading the Phoenix Camp news to provoke the Great Lie Emperor into sending the Nether Secret Guard after him.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao each gathered their auras and exchanged threats, then Chu Zhiyuan warned her that the Great Lie Emperor had gone mad by keeping divine guards and colluding with divine envoys.
• Chu Zhiyuan argued that the Phoenix Camp could infiltrate Great Meng and wreak havoc, while Li Hongzhao insisted her country could defend itself.
• Chu Zhiyuan accused Li Hongzhao of striking first and demanded twenty Phoenix Blood Pills.

Chu Zhiyuan negotiated with Li Hongzhao for Phoenix Blood Pills and warned her that the Nether Secret Guard could threaten her and provoke a war between Great Lie and Great Jing. He then asked why the Eighteenth Princess of Great Zhen had come, and Li Hongzhao explained that Gao Jiuqu sought to use Chu Zhiyuan as a whetstone to break through to Grandmaster.

• Chu Zhiyuan bargained with Li Hongzhao for Phoenix Blood Pills, agreeing to take ten in ten days for the Phoenix Camp.
• Chu Zhiyuan described the Nether Secret Guard’s use of divine power, and Su Qiuyan confirmed that four Grandmasters were guarding him.
• Chu Zhiyuan warned Li Hongzhao that the Nether Secret Guard might kill her and frame Great Jing, but Li Hongzhao said her Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Technique could restrain divine guards and envoys.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked about the Eighteenth Princess of Great Zhen, and Li Hongzhao said Gao Jiuqu had come to use him as a whetstone for a breakthrough.
• Li Hongzhao said Gao Jiuqu had reached Grandmaster Perfection at twenty-five and had been stuck there for five years.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that Wentian Cliff might be using Gao Jiuqu to challenge him and enhance its reputation, then received intelligence about Gao from the Sky Concealment Sect. He left to consider how to face Gao, who might have mastered the Heaven's Machine Art.

• Li Hongzhao explained that Wentian Cliff disciples sought opponents as whetstones and warned that Gao Jiuqu might use a victory over Chu Zhiyuan to break through to the Grandmaster realm.
• Chu Zhiyuan suspected Wentian Cliff planned to profit from his reputation, but resolved to resist its scheme.
• Chu Zhiyuan allowed an inconspicuous middle-aged man to approach and invited him to his residence.
• The man revealed that his sect would cooperate with Chu Zhiyuan for one year and gave him a booklet containing its information on Gao Jiuqu.
• The man warned that Gao Jiuqu might have cultivated the Heaven's Machine Art, and Chu Zhiyuan left to analyze his opponent and plan a response.

Chu Zhiyuan received the Great Zhen delegation at Yujing and discovered that Eighteenth Princess Cheng Miaozhen was secretly a Grandmaster. He welcomed her and her party to the capital, while Gao Jiuqu’s true purpose remained uncertain.

• Chu Zhiyuan reasoned that Gao Jiuqu might have come to Great Jing seeking hardship to break through to the Grandmaster realm, but reminded himself not to assume they were enemies before meeting.
• While waiting at Yujing’s southern gate, Chu Zhiyuan continued cultivating his Sword Qi and estimated that it might soon break the Bronze Tower.
• Gao Jiuqu arrived with Grandmaster Mo Chunyu and Eighteenth Princess Cheng Miaozhen, whose carriage also carried a Grandmaster woman from Wentian Cliff.
• Chu Zhiyuan used his insight to discover that Cheng Miaozhen had reached the First Heaven of the Grandmaster realm and concealed her cultivation with an unusual method.
• Chu Zhiyuan greeted Cheng Miaozhen on behalf of the court and invited her party to a welcoming feast, while sensing her coolness and resistance.

Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated his overwhelming Flying Dagger skill to Gao Jiuqu, then returned to cultivate and sharpened his Blade Intent. The chapter ended with Chu Yi asking about the Eighteenth Princess’s beauty and Bai Ningshuang withholding what she knew about the princess’s arrival.

• Chu Zhiyuan escorted Cheng Miaozhen to Great Zhen’s quarters, then met Gao Jiuqu outside the embassy.
• Chu Zhiyuan used his Flying Daggers to place three blades at Gao Jiuqu’s vital points, leaving the Wentian Cliff disciple unable to respond.
• Chu Zhiyuan declined to compare swordsmanship that day and reflected that Grandmasters no longer offered him a true challenge.
• Chu Zhiyuan cultivated the Glazed Saber Scripture, and his Blade Intent killed two birds overhead without leaving wounds.
• Chu Yi asked whether the Eighteenth Princess was beautiful, and Chu Zhiyuan said she matched Xiao; Bai Ningshuang refused to explain why the princess had come.

Chu Zhiyuan rejected Great Zhen’s plan to marry him to the Eighteenth Princess, fearing the political danger it would bring her and him. His family advised him to delay the match or gain enough power to resist it, and he decided to hasten his cultivation breakthrough.

• Chu Yi learned that Great Zhen intended for the Eighteenth Princess to be Chu Zhiyuan’s principal consort and Xiao Ruoling to be his secondary consort, and she objected.
• Chu Zhiyuan told his family he would defy an imperial marriage edict because he did not want to marry the Eighteenth Princess.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that a future war between Great Jing and Great Zhen could leave the princess isolated and make his marriage a source of lasting trouble.
• Chu Minghou suggested delaying the marriage until Chu Zhiyuan became a Great Grandmaster, while Bai Ningshuang argued that the Emperor would insist on carrying out any agreement he made.
• Chu Zhiyuan concluded that he needed to break through as soon as possible and resolved to use the Glazed Saber Scripture to advance his Spirit Transformation Realm.

Chu Zhiyuan sought a way to accelerate his Blade Intent cultivation and arranged a meeting with Flying Heaven Sect Hall Master Zhao Tiezheng to ask about its Heavenly Saber. Zhao Tiezheng agreed to ask the Sect Master whether Chu Zhiyuan could view it, with Chu Zhiyuan offering the sect a favor in return.

• Chu Zhiyuan considered using visualization or the Blade Intent of blade masters to speed his cultivation, then thought of seeking help from the Flying Heaven Sect.
• At Bright Moon Tower, Chu Zhiyuan heard people praise Phoenix Camp’s victories and cautioned Huang Shirong that the camp was not as powerful as they believed.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Zhao Tiezheng about the Flying Heaven Sect’s sabers, learning that Great Grandmasters’ sabers were sealed in the forbidden Heavenly Blade Pavilion.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that he had begun practicing blade techniques and asked to view the Heavenly Saber.
• Zhao Tiezheng agreed to write to the Sect Master, and Chu Zhiyuan offered the Flying Heaven Sect a favor if permission was granted.