Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan and eleven other young cultivators entered the Jade Spring Grotto-Heaven after memorizing an illustrated booklet of its strange flowers and exotic fruits. Inside, Chu Zhiyuan used a soul pearl to pursue a sensed danger, gathered a flower, and sheltered in a cave at dusk, where he realized the plants differed from those in the Jade Scenery Grotto-Heaven.

• Chu Zhiyuan and the others memorized booklets describing the Cave Heaven’s strange flowers and exotic fruits, and Chu Zhiyuan persuaded the group to wait for two girls who were still reading.
• Chu Hongfeng used a silver plaque and the power of four men to open a door into the Jade Spring Grotto-Heaven, and Chu Zhiyuan entered first.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed six Spirit Guard descendants with a Spirit Rhinoceros Pearl, then used a soul pearl to detect danger and flew through the mountains on his Moon Silkworm Frost Robe.
• Chu Zhiyuan killed a snake hiding in a rock crevice with Nine Great Brightness Fists and collected an orchid before continuing onward.
• At dusk, Chu Zhiyuan sheltered in a mountainside cave and found that the Cave Heaven’s strange flowers and exotic fruits differed from those in the Jade Scenery Grotto-Heaven.

Chu Zhiyuan gathered six descendants of the Spirit Guards to hunt a Devil Race expert in Jade Spring Grotto-Heaven. After locating the expert’s cave and preparing to attack together, they charged inside as the enemy’s invisible finger force narrowly missed Chu Zhiyuan.

• Chu Zhiyuan avoided eating Jade Spring Grotto-Heaven’s exotic fruits after sensing that a mysterious substance in them could be dangerous.
• He cultivated through the night, then directed six descendants of the Spirit Guards east to encircle the Devil Race expert.
• Chu Zhiyuan and the six rested in a prepared cave, and he warned them to observe their opponent and fight cautiously.
• At dawn, Chu Zhiyuan led the group to the cave where the lone Devil Race expert was hiding and learned that the enemy had reached Eight Revolutions.
• Chu Zhiyuan dodged an invisible finger attack at the cave entrance and warned the others before they rushed inside together.

Chu Zhiyuan and six companions hunted down three Devil Race experts who had infiltrated the Cave Heaven, using the Great Demon Subduing Seal to capture and kill them. After returning to the Divine Martial Department, Chu Hongfeng, Chu Honglin, and Chu Hongming discussed the danger and whether Chu Zhiyuan could be trusted to handle it.

• Chu Zhiyuan and the six companions fought a middle-aged Devil Race expert, and Chu Zhiyuan restrained him with the Great Demon Subduing Seal before killing him with the Autumn Water Divine Saber.
• Chu Zhiyuan sealed the expert’s soul pearl and learned from it that two more Devil Race experts were nearby.
• Chu Zhiyuan and the six companions followed the soul pearl and killed the other two Devil Race experts, then spent the remaining time searching for rare flowers and strange fruits.
• At the Divine Martial Department, Chu Hongfeng asked whether Ninth Prince was safe, while Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming vouched for Chu Zhiyuan’s steadiness.
• Chu Hongfeng warned that discovering more Devil Race infiltrators would have serious consequences for the three great Imperial Courts, and Chu Honglin urged him to leave such matters to Imperial Brother.

Chu Zhiyuan returned from the Cave Heaven with three Devil Race corpses, prompting the princes to reconsider their ambush plan as they expected stronger enemies. With Chu Liezhao due to leave for the Phoenix Dynasty in three months, Chu Zhiyuan proposed sending a substitute in his place.

• Chu Honglin, Chu Hongfeng, and Chu Hongming discussed the danger of the Devil Race opening Cave Heaven gates and lamented that Chu Liezhao would soon be sent to the Phoenix Dynasty.
• Chu Zhiyuan emerged from the light gate with six descendants of Spiritual Guards and three Devil Race corpses, then recounted how they had fought three enemies, including one in the Nascent Soul Stage.
• Chu Honglin and the others realized the Devil Race might send even more powerful fighters, making their plan to use Chu Liezhao's Soul Pearl and the Great Demon Subduing Seal less reliable.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked whether he could enter Cave Heavens in the Phoenix Dynasty, but Chu Hongfeng explained that they could only be entered in the imperial capital at the Divine Martial Department.
• When Chu Hongming asked how they could satisfy both sides, Chu Zhiyuan suggested finding a substitute for Chu Liezhao, leaving the three princes startled.

Chu Zhiyuan received a Phoenix Nirvana Pill from the Twelfth Princess after his information proved accurate, then learned she would join the Spirit Guard and be away for at least a year. He accepted that a substitute would perform their wedding ceremony and expected to reach the Nascent Soul Stage before she returned.

• Chu Hongfeng praised Chu Zhiyuan and the six others for their joint effort, and they left after he promised to petition for their rewards.
• Li Yuzhen visited Chu Zhiyuan to convey the Twelfth Princess's thanks and confirmed that their Cave Heavens opened at about the same time.
• Li Yuzhen gave Chu Zhiyuan a Phoenix Nirvana Pill, which he accepted as a precious extra chance to save his avatar.
• Li Yuzhen told Chu Zhiyuan that the Twelfth Princess had reached the Nascent Soul Stage and would join the Spirit Guard, where she had to serve for at least a year.
• Chu Zhiyuan learned that a substitute would perform the wedding ceremony in the Twelfth Princess's place and felt relieved that he might reach the Nascent Soul Stage before she returned.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Twelfth Princess had advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage and would join the Spirit Guard, disrupting the wedding plans. He suspected the Phoenix Dynasty had chosen him for a reason, then advanced to the Fifth Turn and hoped to reach the Nascent Soul Stage before the wedding.

• Li Yuzhen told Chu Zhiyuan that the Twelfth Princess had advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage and would soon join the Spirit Guard.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Yuzhen discussed the Twelfth Princess's prospects as a Spirit Lord and the possibility that she had chosen him for his value to her.
• Chu Zhiyuan agreed to pretend to be the Twelfth Princess during the wedding while a substitute took her place.
• Chu Zhiyuan questioned whether the Phoenix Dynasty's emperor had designated him as Imperial Son-in-Law, and Youlan suggested the choice might not have been arbitrary.
• After cultivating overnight, Chu Zhiyuan entered the Fifth Turn and hoped to reach the Nascent Soul Stage before the wedding.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Twelfth Princess had joined the Spirit Guard, then discovered that his uncle Chu Honglin had been assassinated. He reached Prince Gan's Mansion and offered a spirit pill to save Chu Honglin, but the chapter ended as Chu Hongming took him inside.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Honglin that the Twelfth Princess had joined the Spirit Guard, and Chu Honglin confirmed that the Emperor had rejected Chu Zhiyuan's plan to send a substitute to the Phoenix Dynasty.
• Chu Zhiyuan found True Martial Academy nearly empty, returned to his mansion, and learned from Youlan that Chu Honglin had been assassinated and his condition was unknown.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed no nearby Devil Race experts and went to Prince Gan's Mansion, which was shrouded in a barrier and surrounded by Imperial Guards.
• Chu Liechu told Chu Zhiyuan that the Great Bright Heart Protecting Pill had run out, and Chu Zhiyuan offered another spirit pill that could save Chu Honglin.
• Chu Hongming came out of the hall and brought Chu Zhiyuan inside.

After a Devil Race expert attempted to assassinate Chu Honglin, Chu Zhiyuan gave him a Phoenix Nirvana Pill to save his life. Chu Honglin recovered, but he and Chu Zhiyuan realized the attack was tied to a secret they shared and that the Devil Race might soon target Chu Zhiyuan too.

• Chu Zhiyuan followed Chu Hongming into the bedroom and found Chu Honglin coughing blood after an assassination attempt.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave Chu Honglin the Phoenix Nirvana Pill that the Twelfth Princess had given him, and Chu Hongming fed it to Chu Honglin despite his protests.
• The Phoenix Nirvana Pill quickly restored Chu Honglin, and Imperial Physician Gu warned him not to fight or kill anyone for three days.
• Chu Honglin said the attacker was a Devil Race expert who had escaped while the Imperial Observatory pursued him.
• Chu Honglin and Chu Zhiyuan concluded that the Devil Race had learned of a secret involving them, and Chu Zhiyuan said they needed another Great Bright Heart Protecting Pill.

After Chu Honglin survived an assassination attempt, Chu Zhiyuan proposed using him as bait to lure the Devil Race into an ambush. The plan hinged on Chu Zhiyuan's secret Great Demon Subduing Seal, and the chapter ended with the two setting out for a tavern to begin the scheme.

• Chu Hongming urged Chu Honglin to stay inside, but Chu Zhiyuan proposed taking the initiative and setting a trap for the Devil Race.
• Chu Honglin agreed to serve as bait and said Chu Zhiyuan would accompany him while the others waited to surround the attackers.
• Chu Hongzhen realized Chu Zhiyuan could use an extraordinary art against Devil Race experts, and Chu Honglin confirmed it was the Great Demon Subduing Seal while warning him to keep it secret.
• Chu Hongzhen praised Chu Zhiyuan and agreed that his ability to sense the Devil Race would make the ambush safer.
• Chu Zhiyuan suggested that he and Chu Honglin visit a tavern every night, and the following evening they left Prince Gan's Mansion together.

Chu Zhiyuan suspected the Devil Sect might be helping the Devil Race gather intelligence, while he and Chu Honglin waited in vain for an assassination attempt. Later, Chu Hongming delivered two imperial gifts, including a ruined ancient mirror said to have belonged to the Divine Race, leaving Chu Zhiyuan wondering whether the Twelfth Princess was the reason it had been given to him.

• Chu Zhiyuan proposed that the Devil Sect might have become the Devil Race's informants, and Chu Honglin agreed to have the Imperial Observatory or Imperial Guard investigate.
• Chu Honglin told Chu Zhiyuan that the Imperial Observatory had abandoned its pursuit of the assassins but had marked them so they could be sensed on the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin spent three nights visiting restaurants without encountering an assassination attempt, then Chu Zhiyuan returned to his estate on the fourth day.
• Chu Hongming arrived with an imperial decree and presented Chu Zhiyuan with two Great Bright Heart Protecting Pills as compensation and a reward.
• Chu Hongming gave Chu Zhiyuan the ruined Haoyang Demon Subduing Mirror, explaining that it was an ancient treasure from the Divine Race that neither humans nor Celestials could use.
• Chu Zhiyuan wondered whether the mirror had been bestowed on him because of the Twelfth Princess.

Chu Zhiyuan pretended to reject the Haoyang Demon Subduing Mirror while secretly discovering divine script engraved inside it. Studying the script alongside the Ode to Light revealed its meaning, but his attempt to use that insight ended with the white Jade Token crumbling to dust.

• Chu Zhiyuan angrily threw and stomped on the Haoyang Demon Subduing Mirror, while Chu Hongming retrieved it and urged him to keep the imperial gift.
• Chu Zhiyuan secretly recognized the mirror's unusual material and found eleven layers inside it, nine of which bore divine script forming a mnemonic chant.
• Chu Hongming called off the planned ambush after the Devil Race failed to take the bait, and Chu Zhiyuan agreed to keep the mirror.
• Chu Zhiyuan compared the mirror's divine script with the Ode to Light and realized the ode corresponded to the divine characters for light.
• Chu Zhiyuan tried to draw a strange pattern with the Autumn Water Divine Saber, but the white Jade Token in his other hand shattered into powder.

Chu Zhiyuan sought a way to strengthen his divine-script power and arranged for Li Yuzhen to ask the Twelfth Princess to take two hidden Flying Daggers to the Outer Realm Battlefield. Meanwhile, Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue celebrated their extraordinary Cave Heaven harvest, which had raised their standing in the Profound Yin Palace.

• Chu Zhiyuan concluded that he lacked the power to inscribe divine script and considered ways to boost his strength.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave Li Yuzhen a map and an Autumn Water Divine Saber, asking her to retrieve two Flying Daggers and seek the Twelfth Princess's help.
• Chu Zhiyuan instructed Li Yuzhen to have the Twelfth Princess place the Flying Daggers near the Devil Race so they could absorb devilish qi.
• Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue discussed how their Cave Heaven gains surpassed those of the other teams and had impressed the Profound Yin Palace.
• Shen Hanyue began to hint that their success involved more than luck, but Xiao Ruoling stopped her and insisted they had simply been lucky.

Xiao Ruoling agreed to use spirit fruits to raise her cultivation so she could better support Chu Zhiyuan. In the Phoenix Dynasty, Li Miaotan examined two blades sent by the Imperial Son-in-Law and identified them as Spirit Artifacts, leaving Li Yuzhen incredulous.

• Xiao Ruoling told Shen Hanyue that Chu Zhiyuan had secretly helped her, while keeping the truth about his incarnation hidden.
• Xiao Ruoling warned that spirit fruits could weaken their foundations, but agreed to raise their realms quickly so she could help Chu Zhiyuan.
• Li Yuzhen returned to the Twelfth Princess's Estate and presented Li Miaotan with two Autumn Water Divine Sabers.
• Li Miaotan tested the blades and recognized that they possessed spirituality and were Spirit Artifacts.
• Li Yuzhen questioned how the ostracized Imperial Son-in-Law could possibly possess Spirit Artifacts.

Li Miaotan and Li Yuzhen discussed the Imperial Son-in-Law’s Spirit Artifacts, his possible allegiance to the Phoenix Dynasty, and the danger of Devil Race attacks. Li Miaotan agreed to help him while preparing for the possibility that they would become enemies, and the two considered how to learn the Jade Scenery Dynasty’s method for restraining the Devil Race.

• Li Yuzhen and Li Miaotan realized that the two sabers were Spirit Artifacts and suspected that Prince Gan had given them to the Imperial Son-in-Law.
• Li Yuzhen argued that the Imperial Son-in-Law could be drawn to the Phoenix Dynasty, and Li Miaotan agreed to try while preparing to restrain him if necessary.
• Li Miaotan agreed to let the Spirit Artifacts be sent to the Outer Realm Battlefield, where they could absorb Spiritual Qi before returning to their owner.
• Li Yuzhen gave Li Miaotan a Soul Guarding Jade to protect her from Devil Race soul-force attacks in the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Li Miaotan and Li Yuzhen discussed the Devil Race’s likely next assassination attempt and the Jade Scenery Dynasty’s secret method for restraining the invasion of Cave Heaven.

Li Miaotan returned the Soul Guarding Jade to Li Yuzhen and planned to prepare for the Outer Realm Battlefield by infiltrating the Jade Scenery Dynasty. Meanwhile, Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin discussed unrest caused by the Imperial Court’s crackdown on devil arts before Chu Zhiyuan sensed someone spying on them.

• Li Miaotan insisted that Li Yuzhen keep the Soul Guarding Jade and said she would ask the Emperor for a Spirit Artifact before departing for the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Li Yuzhen advised Li Miaotan to cultivate constant vigilance, and Li Miaotan decided to infiltrate the Jade Scenery Dynasty and meet the Imperial Son-in-Law herself.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin walked through the imperial city as Chu Honglin explained that the crackdown on devil arts had provoked Devil Sect and Devil School members to resist the Imperial Court.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed someone probing them from a nearby alley, but the spy fled before Chu Honglin could confront them.
• Chu Zhiyuan suspected the spy was preparing for an assassination and believed they belonged to the Devil Sect or Devil School rather than the Devil Race.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin discovered that two Devil Sect experts on a Painted Barge had planned to assassinate Chu Honglin. Chu Zhiyuan left to summon reinforcements, while Chu Hongming prepared to seek help from the Imperial Observatory.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin followed suspicious figures through the Imperial City’s alleys to the Great River and identified a Painted Barge where devil-arts singing could be heard.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed two concealed Nascent Soul Stage experts aboard the barge and warned Chu Honglin that they intended to assassinate him.
• Chu Honglin stayed to watch the barge while Chu Zhiyuan went to summon Fifth Brother and Eighth Brother, planning to bring four venerables.
• Chu Zhiyuan reached Prince Xu’s Manor and told Chu Hongming about the assassination attempt.
• Chu Hongming said he would find the Imperial Observatory, but Chu Zhiyuan departed first to gather more venerables.

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin joined Chu Hongming and three Imperial Observatory Attendants to confront two devil-art Venerables hiding aboard a Painted Barge. As the Attendants activated the Jade Flute, Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming launched their attack, and the fight began.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Chu Honglin about Chu Hongming's plan to bring in the Imperial Observatory, whose attendants had tracking and binding Spirit Artifacts.
• Chu Hongming arrived with Attendants Mr. Zhu, Mr. Qin, and Mr. Hu, who used a Black Pearl to identify the hidden experts as Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu.
• The Attendants warned that Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu were renowned Venerables who had killed Venerables and would be difficult to capture, even with the Drunken God Flute.
• Chu Hongming and Chu Honglin agreed to hold the pair off while the Attendants used the Jade Flute, and Chu Honglin told Chu Zhiyuan to stay back and conceal the Great Demon Subduing Seal.
• Mr. Zhu raised the Jade Flute as Chu Hongming and Chu Honglin attacked the Painted Barge, where two figures emerged to meet them with a punch and a palm.

Chu Zhiyuan watched Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming battle Demon Sect masters Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu while Mr. Zhu used the silent Drunken God Flute to intensify the fight. As both sides weakened, Chu Zhiyuan slipped underwater and launched a surprise attack that badly injured Huang Jinfu.

• Mr. Zhu used the Drunken God Flute to spread its silent power over the four fighters, causing their excitement and attack power to rise.
• Chu Zhiyuan studied the fighters’ techniques and weaknesses, then entered the river unseen using the Moon Silkworm Frost Robe.
• As the battle wore on and the fighters weakened, Chu Honglin gained a slight advantage over Yu Jizu with his shifting Great Brightness Fist.
• Chu Zhiyuan emerged from the water and struck Yu Jizu’s left foot, then burst behind Huang Jinfu and landed a punch that severely damaged his internal organs.

Chu Zhiyuan watched the Drunken God Flute help Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming defeat Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu, then attacked the demonic sect experts aboard the Painted Barge. He killed them all, while Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming discussed whether demonic arts should be forbidden within the dynasty.

• Chu Zhiyuan saw the Drunken God Flute’s power incapacitate Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu while leaving Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming able to fight.
• Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming defeated Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu, and Chu Zhiyuan urged them to capture the experts aboard the Painted Barge as well.
• Chu Zhiyuan flew to the Painted Barge and used the Great Brightness Fist to drive out the demonic sect experts.
• Chu Zhiyuan pursued and killed every demonic sect expert who tried to escape the Painted Barge.
• Chu Honglin and Chu Hongming praised Chu Zhiyuan’s growing skill and discussed banning demonic arts within the dynasty.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that the devil sect’s seven-colored pearl preserved its owner’s cultivation and martial arts insights for later generations to inherit. After Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu confessed to plotting against Chu Honglin, Chu Zhiyuan concluded that the Devil Race had been behind their information gathering after all.

• Chu Hongming explained to Chu Honglin that court politics depended on judging conflicting reports and ministers’ motives, unlike the Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Chu Zhiyuan entered the Painted Barge, which sank beneath the river, then asked Chu Hongming and Mr. Zhu to interrogate the captured Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu using the Heart-Piercing Mirror.
• Chu Zhiyuan found a seven-colored pearl aboard the barge and discovered it was a devil pearl that let later generations inherit its owner’s cultivation and martial arts insights.
• Chu Honglin told Chu Zhiyuan that Yu Jizu and Huang Jinfu had confessed to plotting his assassination after hearing officials discuss the investigation in a tavern.
• Chu Honglin said the pair did not know who bought information from the Thousand Mechanisms Tower, and Chu Zhiyuan concluded that the Devil Race had been behind their information gathering.