Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan entered the Heavenly Will Pavilion and used its strange void to understand the connection between the heavens and his own cultivation. He reached the Intent Transformation Realm and returned to the courtyard, where Noble Consort Hui, Chu Zhen, and Chu Qiao awaited him.

• Noble Consort Hui awarded Chu Zhiyuan a place in the Heavenly Will Pavilion, and he hinted that his discovery involved the Devil Race.
• Chu Zhiyuan used the Green Jade Pendant to enter the Heavenly Will Pavilion while Noble Consort Hui, Chu Zhen, and Chu Qiao waited.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed how the stars, moon, Spiritual Qi vortex, and his dantian’s Yin-Yang Fish were connected.
• Chu Zhiyuan manifested Great Bright Peak in the void, transformed his Yin-Yang Fish, and reached the Intent Transformation Realm.
• Chu Zhiyuan left the Heavenly Will Pavilion and appeared back in the courtyard.

Chu Zhiyuan entered the Intent Transformation Realm after visiting Heavenly Will Pavilion and discovered new ways to cultivate with the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record. The next morning, Chu Honglin took him to begin training at the True Martial Academy.

• Chu Zhiyuan's Heaven's Will Jade Token crumbled after he left Heavenly Will Pavilion, and he told Chu Zhen and Chu Qiao that its mysteries could only be understood by experiencing it themselves.
• Chu Zhiyuan examined the Little White Snake within him and realized that the Intent Transformation Realm let him command more and purer Spiritual Qi through the aura of his state of mind.
• Chu Zhiyuan tried the first stance of the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record in his room and found that it changed his feet, making him steadier, more agile, and lighter.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave two Imperial Guards Third Grade Tourmaline Fruits before heading to Clear Wind Cliff the following morning.
• Chu Honglin confirmed that Chu Zhiyuan had entered the Intent Transformation Realm and took him to the True Martial Academy, where he would now cultivate.

Chu Zhiyuan discussed the path to Spirit Venerablehood with Chu Honglin and considered how his status as the Phoenix Dynasty's Imperial Son-in-Law could endanger him in a future war. After reaching the Intent Transformation Realm, he resolved to devote more effort to the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record and left True Martial Academy after taunting his brothers with his breakthrough.

• Chu Zhiyuan asked Chu Honglin about becoming a Spirit Venerable and learned that reaching the Spirit Transformation Realm required going to the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Chu Zhiyuan said he might need to fall out with the Twelfth Princess to escape his Imperial Son-in-Law status, but Chu Honglin warned that the Emperor could strip him of his rank and cultivation.
• Chu Zhiyuan realized that fixating on Spirit Venerablehood could hinder him, so he decided to focus more on the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record as another possible route to immortality.
• Chu Lieyu met Chu Zhiyuan, who revealed that he had entered the first transformation of the Intent Transformation Realm and gave him two Third Grade Tourmaline Fruits.
• Chu Zhiyuan announced his breakthrough to the Fourth Prince and the Twelfth Prince, then strode away toward True Martial Academy after provoking them.

Chu Zhiyuan entered True Martial Academy and discovered how the Karma Stone’s Ode to Light could aid his cultivation. He began looking for ways to benefit from the Phoenix Dynasty’s resources while keeping the Devil Race threat from being revealed too soon.

• The Fourth Prince and Twelfth Prince warned that the Seventh Prince was exploiting Chu Zhiyuan’s eagerness for connection, but Chu Zhiyuan decided that exchanging gifts was worthwhile to avoid isolation.
• Chu Zhiyuan entered True Martial Academy and sensed the Light Qi in Chu Chunhan’s Ode to Light, realizing it could strengthen his Intent Transformation cultivation and understanding of the Immeasurable Light Sutra.
• Chu Honglin explained that the Ode to Light was inscribed on ancient Karma Stone, which could retain its aura indefinitely, and told Chu Zhiyuan to cultivate there.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked whether they could tell the Twelfth Princess about the Devil Race and said he wanted to build a relationship with her for access to resources.
• Chu Honglin agreed to delay the news for a few days while Chu Zhiyuan stayed to practice martial arts.

Chu Zhiyuan cultivated at Great Bright Peak, where one day of practice equaled ten days outside, then spoke with Chu Honglin about the Devil Race’s conspiracy. He warned Li Yuzhen so she could report it to the Twelfth Princess, though he expected her not to believe the warning.

• Chu Zhiyuan cultivated at Great Bright Peak and found that a day there equaled ten days of cultivation outside.
• Chu Honglin told Chu Zhiyuan that the Imperial Court planned to set a trap and explained that a peak Venerable had sealed power inside the captured Devil Race agent.
• Chu Zhiyuan agreed that the other dynasties should eventually be informed, though Chu Honglin said there was no rush.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Li Yuzhen to deliver a Jade Scenery Grotto-Heaven gift to the Twelfth Princess and told her about the Devil Race conspiracy.
• Li Yuzhen believed Chu Zhiyuan and left to report the news directly to the Twelfth Princess.
• Youlan watched Chu Zhiyuan and wondered whether he hoped the Twelfth Princess would be punished or demoted so their marriage arrangement would end.

Chu Zhiyuan refused to use his marriage alliance or threaten suicide to change his circumstances, then went to True Martial Academy and discussed Heaven's Will Pavilion with Third Prince Chu Lieyang. Chu Lieyang revealed that Emperor favored Chu Zhiyuan's late Imperial Consort and blamed Chu Zhiyuan for her death, while Chu Zhiyuan remained unconvinced and continued cultivating.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Youlan to refuse visitors and said they would leave rather than seek favor from the other princes.
• Chu Zhiyuan trained through the night, and a small Flying Dagger drifted over the imperial city.
• At True Martial Academy, Chu Zhiyuan spoke with Third Prince Chu Lieyang about Heaven's Will Pavilion, the princes' cultivation, and the Spirit Guards.
• Chu Lieyang suggested Chu Zhiyuan could escape the marriage by killing himself, then revealed that Emperor had favored Chu Zhiyuan's late Imperial Consort and resented him for her death.
• Chu Zhiyuan rejected Chu Lieyang's advice and joked that neither of them was likely to become Emperor.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that Imperial Concubine had sacrificed her life to save him and heard Third Prince Chu Lieyang warn that the Phoenix Dynasty would treat him harshly as the Twelfth Princess’s Imperial Son-in-Law. He planned to find a way to keep benefiting from Great Bright Peak after leaving, then asked Chu Honglin about the injury that had led to Imperial Concubine’s sacrifice.

• Chu Lieyang revealed that Imperial Concubine had died saving Chu Zhiyuan, then urged him not to accept his fate and described the danger of marrying the Phoenix Dynasty’s beloved Twelfth Princess.
• Chu Zhiyuan suspected Chu Lieyang had ulterior motives but recognized that losing access to Great Bright Peak would hinder his cultivation.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Honglin that Great Bright Peak accelerated his cultivation at least tenfold, and considered using an avatar there after leaving the palace.
• Chu Honglin confirmed there was no way to enter Great Bright Peak from outside the imperial palace, and Chu Zhiyuan asked whether the Devil Race had caused his past injury.

Chu Zhiyuan learned how the Devil Race had used his mother’s death to ruin the Emperor’s chance of reaching the Spirit Venerable realm, and he resolved to oppose the demons within the Jade Scenery Dynasty. He then discovered that Chu Lieyang was secretly devoted to the Twelfth Princess of the Phoenix Dynasty and wanted to replace him as her future husband.

• Chu Honglin told Chu Zhiyuan that a Great Heavenly Demon had attacked him, and Chu Zhiyuan deduced that the Devil Race had targeted his mother to destabilize the Emperor during his cultivation breakthrough.
• Chu Honglin explained that the Emperor had nearly suffered Qi Deviation after Chu Zhiyuan’s mother died and could no longer reach the Spirit Venerable realm.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked how to identify Heavenly Demons, and Chu Honglin promised to investigate their aura.
• Chu Lieyang secretly admired a painting of the Twelfth Princess in his guarded courtyard, while Chu Zhiyuan’s Flying Dagger watched him.
• Chu Zhiyuan recognized the woman in the painting as his future wife and realized Chu Lieyang wanted him to rebel so he could take his place.

Chu Zhiyuan joined his brothers at True Martial Academy and openly discussed the imperial succession while assuring First Prince Chu Liechu he posed no threat. Later, Chu Honglin gave him a Heavenly Demon Soul Bead, and Chu Zhiyuan used its aura to locate a Heavenly Demon possessing an ordinary young man.

• Chu Zhiyuan arrived at True Martial Academy and spoke with Second Prince Chu Liexuan and Third Prince Chu Lieyang before First Prince Chu Liechu arrived.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Liechu he had taken a calamity in his stead and said he had not obtained a Void Secret Treasure.
• Chu Zhiyuan assessed Chu Liechu as the leading candidate for the throne but recognized that the Emperor's will could change the succession.
• At Clear Wind Cliff, Chu Honglin gave Chu Zhiyuan a seven-colored Heavenly Demon Soul Bead and explained that it was refined from souls and could help identify Heavenly Demon aura.
• Chu Zhiyuan used the Flying Dagger to find a trace of Heavenly Demon aura in an ordinary young man preparing bone broth.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Chu Honglin to accompany him if he found a Heavenly Demon, and Chu Honglin agreed while warning him not to let the Devil Race influence his state of mind.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin discussed how Great Heavenly Demons possessed bodies, recovered past-life memories, and could be killed or driven back to the Demon Spirit Realm. Disguised as City Guards, they headed to a wonton stall where Chu Zhiyuan remembered encountering one, leaving their search about to begin.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Honglin he remembered encountering a Heavenly Demon at a snack stall, and Chu Honglin agreed to investigate without acting rashly.
• Chu Honglin explained that Great Heavenly Demons could possess bodies, become Nether Demons, and eventually regain memories of past lives as they rose through the Devil Race.
• Chu Honglin said a Void Entry Level first-grade martial art could destroy a Great Heavenly Demon's soul, while forcing a possessed one back into the Demon Spirit Realm was enough.
• At dusk, Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin disguised themselves as City Guards and walked through the imperial city toward the wonton stall.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin tracked a Great Heavenly Demon hiding in the body of a wonton seller and attacked him at his home. The demon exploded into black light, and Chu Zhiyuan conjured a golden net over the blast site while checking on Chu Honglin.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin watched the wonton seller from a nearby restaurant until midnight, then followed him to his residence.
• Chu Honglin and Chu Zhiyuan attacked the seller with Great Brightness Fist, but he endured their blows with the help of a strange treasure.
• The seller hurled black light at Chu Zhiyuan, who dodged it and retreated toward the courtyard gate.
• Chu Honglin identified the seller as a Great Heavenly Demon and taunted him into revealing the Heavenly Demon Dismantlement technique.
• The seller exploded into black light, collapsing a nearby wall, while Chu Zhiyuan escaped the blast and found Chu Honglin still standing.
• Chu Zhiyuan formed divine-script seals and summoned a golden net over the spot where the seller had transformed.

Chu Zhiyuan used the Great Demon Subduing Seal to destroy a Great Heavenly Demon’s soul, discovering that the technique could also strengthen his soul and reveal memory fragments. He and Chu Honglin recovered the demon’s Soul Bead and considered how to use it to find more Heavenly Demons.

• Chu Zhiyuan layered golden nets over the Great Heavenly Demon’s exposed soul and destroyed it with the Great Demon Subduing Seal.
• Chu Honglin praised Chu Zhiyuan and offered to claim credit for him, but Chu Zhiyuan urged him to take the merit instead.
• Chu Zhiyuan revealed that refining the demon’s soul strengthened his own soul and gave him fragments of its memories.
• Chu Honglin decided to restrict access to Diwu Academy’s martial arts records, and Chu Zhiyuan asked that those affected be compensated with a top-tier martial art.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked whether his achievement meant he no longer needed to become the Imperial Son-in-Law, but Chu Honglin said the decision was uncertain.
• Chu Zhiyuan retrieved the seven-colored Soul Bead and told Chu Honglin that he could use it to locate more Heavenly Demons.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin confirmed that the seven-colored soul pearl could detect nearby Great Heavenly Demons and located a powerful one in a noble’s residence. After leaving the City Guard to capture it, Chu Zhiyuan reflected on how absorbing a demon’s soul had strengthened his own soul and abilities.

• Chu Zhiyuan used his soul power to activate the seven-colored soul pearl, and it detected another Great Heavenly Demon ten li away.
• Chu Honglin tried to activate the pearl with the Great Brightness Fist but failed, and Chu Zhiyuan explained that only the pearl’s master could use it.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin traced the demon to a young man in a wealthy residence, where Chu Zhiyuan sensed that the demon’s cultivation had surpassed the Third Turn of the Intent Transformation Realm.
• Chu Honglin decided to have the City Guard capture the demon and other suspects, while promising to seek two Nascent Soul Stage guards for Chu Zhiyuan.
• Chu Zhiyuan reflected on the disorientation caused by absorbing a Great Heavenly Demon’s memories and recognized that his strengthened soul had improved his Spiritual Power and incarnation ability.

After absorbing a Great Heavenly Demon's memories, Chu Zhiyuan gained a deeper understanding of soul cultivation and found that his increased soul power accelerated his cultivation. He considered secretly hunting more Great Heavenly Demons with Chu Honglin, but planned to let his uncle claim the merits, since he believed he could no longer join the Spirit Guards.

• Chu Zhiyuan learned that incarnations could transmit soul power to the main body and studied the Great Heavenly Demon's knowledge of soul cultivation and the Devil Race.
• At True Martial Academy, Chu Zhiyuan tested his stronger soul power and found that the Immeasurable Light Sutra circulated faster, improving his prospects of reaching the Second Turn.
• First Prince and Second Prince sensed the large Yin-Yang Fish above Chu Zhiyuan and began cultivating with renewed urgency.
• Chu Honglin told Chu Zhiyuan that the incident involving Diwu Academy had been settled, then warned him that his Prince's Mansion was riddled with disloyalty.
• Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Emperor would not assign him more guards, but that merits for secretly killing Great Heavenly Demons could still be recognized.
• Chu Zhiyuan proposed recording the merits under Chu Honglin's name to keep his own role secret, and dismissed the prospect of becoming a Spirit Guard.

Chu Zhiyuan learned about merit exchanges, then discovered that the Twelfth Princess had dismissed his warning. He used the Great Demon Subduing Seal on a prisoner in the City Guard’s heavenly prison, leaving the man trapped in a golden cocoon and losing consciousness.

• Chu Honglin explained that merit-exchanged spirit pills temporarily advanced cultivation by borrowing time from later progress, and agreed to get Chu Zhiyuan a set of Flying Daggers.
• Li Yuzhen reported that the Twelfth Princess had dismissed Chu Zhiyuan’s warning and ordered her not to meddle or report anything further.
• Chu Zhiyuan inferred that the Twelfth Princess would secretly prepare despite her doubts, and told Li Yuzhen to return to the Princess Mansion to watch the Cave Heaven opening.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin visited a heavily guarded City Guard prison, where Chu Zhiyuan identified an ordinary-faced prisoner as their target.
• Chu Zhiyuan cast the Great Demon Subduing Seal repeatedly, trapping the prisoner in overlapping golden nets until he lost consciousness.

Chu Zhiyuan uncovered a Devil Race spy’s palace intelligence network and considered using the Auspicious Ruyi to hide the consequences of eliminating him. While patrolling the city for more Great Heavenly Demons, Chu Zhiyuan found a Soul Enlightenment Bead and tested whether he could use it.

• Chu Honglin explained that the First Prince’s investigation of unpaid military provisions had helped them imprison a Devil Race infiltrator without exposing their own involvement.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin discussed the dangers of the Outer Realm Battlefield and Chu Zhiyuan’s hope of reaching the ninth transformation of Spirit Transformation.
• Chu Zhiyuan purified the dead infiltrator’s soul and learned that he had operated an intelligence network for over ten years, aided by two Eunuchs.
• Chu Honglin proposed using the Auspicious Ruyi to conceal the fallout, and Chu Zhiyuan suggested searching the city for more Great Heavenly Demons before doing so.
• While searching a sealed residence, Chu Zhiyuan found a green Soul Enlightenment Bead and pressed it to his brow to test whether he could use it.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin discovered that Heavenly Demons had extracted martial arts insights from dead Spirit Guards and resolved to hunt down the remaining demons. Chu Zhiyuan sent Xiao Ruoling six cultivation-boosting Miracle Fruits and a coded message summoning her to Prince Qing's Estate soon.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Honglin that Lüzhu contained martial arts insights extracted from the souls of Spirit Guards and Demon Race experts, and concealed that one victim was from the Jade Scenery Dynasty.
• Chu Zhiyuan revealed that two body-snatching Great Heavenly Demons remained, at Yixin Pavilion and Moon-Inviting Courtyard, and Chu Honglin vowed to kill them with the Auspicious Ruyi.
• Chu Honglin gave Chu Zhiyuan three invisible Autumn Water Divine Sabers, and Chu Zhiyuan decided to learn the Startled Swan Saber Art at Diwu Academy.
• Shen Hanyue delivered Xiao Ruoling a box from the Ninth Prince containing six second-grade Miracle Fruits and a letter describing them as repayment for saving his life.
• Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue ate the fruits, while Xiao Ruoling read a coded message urging her to return to the Lesser Beyond the Heavens and meet him at Prince Qing's Estate soon.

Xiao Ruoling received the Autumn Water Divine Saber from Chu Zhiyuan and learned the memories and martial insights of a woman who died on the Outer Realm Battlefield. She passed those insights to Shen Hanyue, who quickly advanced her Profound Yin Divine Palm.

• Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue advanced their cultivation after consuming the Miracle Fruit and discussed competing for a spot in the Lesser Taiyin Grotto-Heaven.
• Xiao Ruoling brought Chu Zhiyuan the Autumn Water Divine Saber, and he used it to pass her the experiences and martial insights of a woman who died on the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Chu Zhiyuan helped Xiao Ruoling overcome the bleakness caused by those memories and explained the dangers of the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Xiao Ruoling asked Chu Zhiyuan to help Shen Hanyue, and he used an incarnation in a Flying Dagger to pass the memories to her.
• Shen Hanyue gained rapid insight into the Profound Yin Divine Palm and reached the Intent Attainment level.

Shen Hanyue and Xiao Ruoling gained the memories of a Profound Yin Palace True Disciple through Chu Zhiyuan’s Flying Daggers, giving them new confidence about competing for a Cave Heaven slot. Meanwhile, Chu Zhiyuan reached the complete perfection of the First Turn and studied the powerful inheritances held in the Soul Enlightenment Bead.

• Shen Hanyue recognized Chu Zhiyuan’s Flying Daggers as the source of the inherited cultivation memories, and Xiao Ruoling confirmed it.
• Shen Hanyue celebrated that she and Xiao Ruoling could now compete for a Cave Heaven slot, but Xiao Ruoling urged her to conceal their progress and support Zhao Qingying.
• Xiao Ruoling studied the two Autumn Water Divine Sabers and decided she needed a trustworthy person to carry them to the Phoenix Dynasty’s imperial city.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed that the Little White Snake had reached the complete perfection of the First Turn and was about to enter the Second Turn.
• Chu Zhiyuan realized the Karma Stone Wall’s aura could not leave the True Martial Academy, so his cultivation would slow after he went to the Phoenix Dynasty.
• Chu Zhiyuan reviewed the six martial inheritances in the Soul Enlightenment Bead and recognized both their value and the threat posed by the Devil Race.

At True Martial Academy, Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Yuan Zhen Dynasty had proposed marriage to Twelfth Princess, potentially changing his fate as her intended Imperial Son-in-Law and hostage. Chu Lieyang urged him to write her a letter, but Chu Zhiyuan doubted the advice would help.

• Chu Lieyang told Chu Zhiyuan that the Yuan Zhen Dynasty had proposed marriage to Twelfth Princess.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Lieyang argued over the dangers of becoming an Imperial Son-in-Law and hostage.
• Chu Lieyang explained that Twelfth Princess's Divine Race Bloodline could greatly improve her Imperial Son-in-Law's bloodline and aptitude.
• Chu Lieyang warned that Chu Zhiyuan might lose his chance to marry Twelfth Princess yet still be sent as a hostage.
• Chu Lieyang advised Chu Zhiyuan to write Twelfth Princess a letter of admiration, and Chu Zhiyuan dismissed the idea as rotten advice.