Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan returned to Phoenix Imperial City, then traveled to the Outer Realm Battlefield to study its strange spatial cracks and test passages to other realms. He discovered he could open a passage between the Lesser Beyond the Heavens and the Beyond the Heavens, leaving him able to travel between them at will.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Li Cunren that he was preparing to visit the Outer Realm Battlefield and promised to search for Li Cunren's missing bookboy.
• At the Outer Realm Battlefield, Chu Zhiyuan studied the void's spatial cracks and opened light gates to Great Bright Peak, Phoenix Imperial City, and the Demon Realm.
• Chu Zhiyuan entered the Demon Realm, surveyed Devil Race inhabitants in Luyang City from a nearby mountain, and returned without exposing himself.
• Chu Zhiyuan used the Outer Realm Battlefield to travel to the Lesser Beyond the Heavens, where his main body confirmed that it could open a passage back to the Beyond the Heavens.

Chu Zhiyuan brought his main body to Beyond the Heavens through a spatial gate and went to the Profound Yin Palace, where he reunited with Xiao Ruoling. He showed her that he could travel through space, leaving her amazed by his ability.

• Chu Liezhao and Chu Zhiyuan used light gates to reach the Outer Realm Battlefield, where Heavenly Dragon power strengthened both bodies.
• Chu Zhiyuan considered how his main body could find a cultivation path beyond the Immeasurable Light Sutra and the slow Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record.
• Chu Zhiyuan traveled to the Profound Yin Palace, and Xiao Ruoling sensed him and came down from the palace to meet him.
• Xiao Ruoling brought Chu Zhiyuan to a courtyard in the Outer Palace, where he explained that he had comprehended the Dao of space.
• Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated his light gate by taking Xiao Ruoling to the demon realm and quickly returning her to the courtyard.
• Xiao Ruoling marveled at Chu Zhiyuan's spatial art and said it made distant places seem close.

Chu Zhiyuan rejected joining a prince's estate for its cultivation method and chose to pursue divine race martial arts while exploring Beyond the Heavens. He and Xiao Ruoling visited Prince Qing's Estate before returning to the Profound Yin Palace, where Chu Zhiyuan's training accelerated through his connection to Chu Liezhao.

• Chu Zhiyuan declined Xiao Ruoling's suggestion to verify his imperial lineage and become a prince's Heir Apparent, choosing instead to seek a stronger inheritance and study divine race martial arts.
• Xiao Ruoling agreed to search the Profound Yin Palace's scriptures for records of the divine race, and Chu Zhiyuan reassured her that they could try this path before turning to Celestial Being Martial Arts or the Immeasurable Light Sutra.
• Chu Zhiyuan took Xiao Ruoling through a gate of light to Prince Qing's Estate, where they went to pay respects to the Princess Consort and visit the Duke.
• After returning to the Profound Yin Palace, Chu Zhiyuan practiced the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record and discovered that his clone Chu Liezhao was transmitting strength to him, greatly accelerating his physical growth.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned to Prince Qing's Estate, while Chu Liezhao opened a gate of light from Great Bright Peak to the Outer Realm Battlefield and began searching for Li Cunren's book attendant with the Heart-Connecting Bead.

Chu Zhiyuan followed the Heart-Connecting Bead into a hidden valley and found Tong Weijiang near death. After saving him with a Phoenix Nirvana Pill, Chu Zhiyuan prepared to bring him back to the First Prince.

• Chu Liezhao tracked the Heart-Connecting Bead’s shifting resonance while Chu Zhiyuan spent time with his family and considered finding life-extending medicine for his parents.
• Chu Liezhao descended through a strange valley where powerful winds and darkness blocked his senses, then emerged in a springlike hidden valley.
• Chu Zhiyuan found Tong Weijiang dying beneath a tree and revived him with a spirit pill.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave Tong Weijiang a Phoenix Nirvana Pill, which healed his severed heart meridians and restored his strength.
• Tong Weijiang wanted revenge on the Devil Race but chose to return with Chu Zhiyuan to see the First Prince first.

Chu Zhiyuan and Tong Weijiang escaped a phantom valley through Chu Zhiyuan’s radiant door, which led to the Thirteenth Prince Consort’s Mansion. Chu Zhiyuan then returned to investigate the strange force that suppressed True Essence and discovered it within the hooves of four white deer.

• Chu Zhiyuan found that the valley’s phantom array sent anyone who tried to leave back to the starting point, while a strange force drained and immobilized True Essence in the air.
• Chu Zhiyuan opened a radiant door, took Tong Weijiang through it, and brought him safely to the Thirteenth Prince Consort’s Mansion.
• Chu Zhiyuan later searched the valley and followed its true path into a vast mountain range, where the strange force again stiffened his True Essence.
• Chu Zhiyuan discovered four white deer whose hooves contained the same strange force, then opened a radiant door to bring his main body to the mountain.
• Chu Liezhao stepped through the door as it closed, and the curious white deer approached Chu Zhiyuan and touched him with their antlers.

Chu Zhiyuan followed four white deer to a hidden cave and discovered a Golden Palace marked with the divine script for “Demon Subduing.” An invisible barrier repelled him, leaving him injured by the strange power within it and unable to heal quickly.

• Chu Zhiyuan gained the white deer’s trust, rode one as they flew through a strange aura, and arrived at a hidden cave where his Super Sensation was restrained.
• Chu Zhiyuan found a Golden Palace bearing the divine script “Demon Subduing” and suspected it was connected to Demon Subduing Spirit Mountain and his Great Demon Subduing Seal.
• Chu Zhiyuan tried to enter the palace but was blocked by an invisible barrier, even after practicing the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record.
• Chu Zhiyuan kicked at the barrier and was thrown backward, suffering internal injuries from the strange power.
• Chu Zhiyuan found that neither his True Essence nor the power drawn by his Heavenly Dragon could reach his injured organs, and he could not open the light gate.

Chu Zhiyuan investigated the Strange Qi in the cave and discovered that the white flowers and pool water could transform it. After surviving the process, he gained control of the Strange Qi and a greatly strengthened constitution, then turned his attention to the Golden Palace.

• Chu Zhiyuan found that healing pills could not reach his wounds and learned that the pool water carried Strange Qi that worsened his condition.
• Using the Spirit-Connecting Heavenly Talisman, Chu Zhiyuan learned that the four white deer had eaten the white flowers and survived their pain after falling into the pool.
• Chu Zhiyuan ate a white flower, endured blue flames scorching his body, and leaped into the pool, where icy Strange Qi extinguished the flames and began remaking him.
• Chu Zhiyuan repeated the process with more flowers, then stopped before eating the last one when his intuition warned him of disaster.
• Chu Zhiyuan gained control of the Strange Qi, improved his constitution, and watched the four deer run away before fixing his gaze on the Golden Palace.

Chu Zhiyuan discovered that the Glass Tree in the Golden Palace was the Demon Subduing Divine Tree and learned how it produced Strange Qi, Carefree Flowers, and Dust-Washing Water. As he used the tree to cultivate and connected with its consciousness, Chu Liezhao entered the Fifth Turn, while Chu Zhiyuan decided not to remove the Cave Heaven because its power could attract danger.

• Chu Zhiyuan perceived the Glass Tree and traced the Strange Qi to it and the golden light within the Golden Palace.
• Chu Zhiyuan opened the Golden Palace and learned from its divine script that the Demon Subduing Divine Tree could suppress Demonic Beings from Beyond the Heavens and needed spiritual power to grow.
• Chu Zhiyuan fed the tree spiritual power and used its Strange Qi to increase his Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record cultivation efficiency more than tenfold.
• Chu Zhiyuan connected with the Demon Subduing Divine Tree through the Spirit-Connecting Heavenly Talisman, and Chu Liezhao entered the Fifth Turn as their spiritual power resonated.
• Chu Zhiyuan learned that the pool's Carefree Flowers and Dust-Washing Water were produced after demons were subdued, but decided against taking the Cave Heaven elsewhere because others might seize it and the Strange Qi could attract trouble.

Chu Zhiyuan discovered how the Great Demon Subduing Seal drew Strange Qi from the Demon Subduing Divine Tree, then joined Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue at the Profound Yin Palace. He noticed that an Outer Palace disciple, Junior Sister Qiao, had exceptional talent and was hiding a secret.

• Chu Zhiyuan learned that the Great Demon Subduing Seal required a connection to the Demon Subduing Divine Tree to summon Strange Qi, and his Super Sensation reached more than two hundred li.
• Chu Zhiyuan practiced the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record in the Profound Yin Palace before Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue visited him.
• Shen Hanyue discussed wanting to visit Yujing Imperial City, but Xiao Ruoling reminded her that she could not leave until she reached perfection in the Intent Transformation Realm.
• Senior Sister Lu visited and remarked on Xiao Ruoling's marriage, while Shen Hanyue explained that Lu looked down on disciples from the Lesser Beyond the Heavens and doubted they could become Venerables.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed that Junior Sister Qiao had extraordinary aptitude and carried a secret.

Chu Zhiyuan suspected a young woman had ties to the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult and learned that the Profound Yin Palace kept an ancient divine-race palm technique in a guarded Cave Heaven. He took Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue through a light gate to the demon realm, leaving them tense as two young men approached.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Shen Hanyue and Xiao Ruoling that a young woman might have cultivated anew or belonged to the Eternal Spirit Divine Cult, and warned them that she concealed a dangerous weapon in her fingernails.
• Xiao Ruoling revealed that the Profound Yin Palace held the Great Yin Plain Palm in its Spirit Treasury Cave, while Chu Zhiyuan wondered whether other ancient sects possessed divine-race martial arts.
• Chu Zhiyuan proposed entering the Profound Yin Grotto-Heaven, despite its guards and spiritual treasures, and said he could escape by opening a light gate if discovered.
• Chu Zhiyuan opened a light gate and brought Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue to a mountain peak in the demon realm.
• Two brawny young men flew toward them, and Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue tensed while Chu Zhiyuan greeted the pair with a smile.

Chu Zhiyuan, Xiao Ruoling, and Shen Hanyue explored the demon realm and were drawn into a fight between young demons. Chu Zhiyuan killed both groups with the Great Demon Subduing Seal and Glazed Blades, and the three decided to leave before attracting stronger pursuers.

• Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue confirmed that the two experts who had left were Demon Race, but Xiao Ruoling refused to attack because the group was too weak.
• The three encountered four young men fleeing from twelve pursuers, and Chu Zhiyuan carried Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue away at speed.
• Chu Zhiyuan used the Great Demon Subduing Seal to immobilize the four fleeing demons, who were then beaten to death by their pursuers.
• Chu Zhiyuan trapped the dozen pursuers inside a ring of golden mist and killed them with his Glazed Blades after they threatened him and demanded the two women.
• After seeing the demons' corpses reveal leopard faces, Xiao Ruoling urged the group to return before they attracted pursuit.

Chu Zhiyuan returned from the Outer Realm Battlefield with Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue, then used his memories and Super Sensation to explore the Profound Yin Grotto-Heaven. He left a Flying Dagger near Spirit Treasury Cave and brought back rare flowers for Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue before setting out to cultivate at the Demon Subduing Palace.

• Chu Zhiyuan brought Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue back to the courtyard and agreed they could visit the imperial city after they cultivated more.
• Chu Zhiyuan used his Flying Dagger's memories to enter the Profound Yin Grotto-Heaven and examined its mountains, bamboo forests, and abundant Spiritual Qi.
• Chu Zhiyuan observed Spirit Treasury Cave from a distance, but an invisible force blocked his Super Sensation from seeing inside, so he hid a Flying Dagger in a bamboo stalk.
• Chu Zhiyuan gathered a Rainbow Flower and a Golden Profound Flower while avoiding the Demon Beasts guarding them.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave the flowers to Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue to split, then left to cultivate the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record at the Demon Subduing Palace.

Chu Zhiyuan sought a chance to study Divine Clan martial arts, hoping they might help him understand Celestial Being martial arts and advance his cultivation. Li Cunren secured access through Fengtian Palace on the condition that Chu Zhiyuan share any insights he gained.

• Li Cunren told Chu Zhiyuan that the Divine Palace held Divine Clan martial arts but only the Emperor could enter, then offered to sound out Fengtian Palace.
• Li Cunhou explained that Fengtian Palace possessed Divine Clan martial arts, though no one there could understand them, and said he had seen them only because the palace sought to curry favor with Imperial Consort.
• Li Cunhou told Chu Zhiyuan that Cheng Yunzheng and the others planned to return to the Yuanzhen Imperial Dynasty to recover, and asked whether Chu Zhiyuan would intercept them.
• Chu Zhiyuan said Cheng Yunzheng had suffered enough and left any further action to Madam’s judgment, while Li Cunhou lingered and discussed the Demon Race’s withdrawal.
• Li Cunren returned with Fengtian Palace’s agreement to let Chu Zhiyuan see its Divine Clan martial arts if he shared any insights he gained.

Chu Zhiyuan discussed his wife’s ambitions and his own precarious position as a Prince Yujing with Li Cunren and Li Cunhou before heading to Fengtian Palace to attempt comprehending divine clan martial arts. The chapter left him at the foot of a mountain, where Li Cunren put on a mask that sealed his senses.

• Li Cunhou delivered Chu Zhiyuan an invitation, and the brothers-in-law discussed Chu Zhiyuan’s wife leaving for the Outer Realm Battlefield to pursue cultivation.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that he could not urge his wife to slow down without appearing disloyal to the Jade Scenery Dynasty, though he hoped the dynasties would eventually unite.
• Li Cunhou resolved to focus on cultivation and left to return home.
• After breakfast, Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren went to Fengtian Palace, where Lan Mingxuan and Wu Xun led them to a mountain and gave them thin masks.
• Li Cunren put on his mask and immediately closed his eyes, standing motionless.

Chu Zhiyuan examined the Xuzhai Mask and discovered its power came from a strange, layered flower, but Elder Fang arrived to prevent him from entering Fengtian Palace’s Divine Treasure. Li Cunren defended Chu Zhiyuan’s right to see the divine clan martial arts, yet Fang stood firm, leaving Chu Zhiyuan unable to access them.

• Chu Zhiyuan used Super Sensation to uncover the Xuzhai Mask’s unusual power and trace its core to a flower formed from countless layers of smaller flowers.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Lan Mingxuan and Wu Xun for a mask, but Elder Fang arrived and shouted for him to stop.
• When the mask would not come off Li Cunren’s face, Chu Zhiyuan used the Demon Subduing Divine Tree’s aura to remove it and wake Li Cunren.
• Fang Yubai objected to letting Chu Zhiyuan, the Jade Scenery Dynasty’s Ninth Prince, enter Fengtian Palace’s Divine Treasure, while Li Cunren argued that Chu Zhiyuan was family and could be trusted.
• Chu Zhiyuan offered to swear he would not reveal what he saw to Jade Scenery, but Fang Yubai refused, and Chu Zhiyuan lamented that he still could not study the divine clan martial arts.

Chu Zhiyuan left Fengtian Palace after Elder Fang blocked him from viewing its divine clan martial arts, then went to the Chaofeng Sword Sect. The sect agreed to let him enter its Cave Heaven to see its Spirit Treasure, and Lu Qingyuan led him and his companions there.

• Chu Zhiyuan accepted Fengtian Palace's refusal and departed with Li Cunren, who angrily rebuked Fang Yubai for opposing the Palace Lord's decision.
• Lan Mingxuan and Wu Xun discussed Fang Yubai's concerns about revealing Fengtian Palace's martial arts, while Fang claimed the Palace Lord had changed his mind.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Li Cunren the timing was not right and suggested they ask someone before visiting the Chaofeng Sword Sect.
• The next morning, Zhuang Juyue welcomed Chu Zhiyuan and said the Sect Master had granted him an exception to enter the sect's Cave Heaven and view its Spirit Treasure.
• Lu Qingyuan led Chu Zhiyuan, Fu Zheng, and Li Yuzhen out of the city to the Chaofeng Sword Sect.

Chu Zhiyuan entered the Chaofeng Sword Sect’s Cave Heaven to study its divine race martial art and became entranced by the Hundred Birds Palace. As he began to float off the ground, Lu Qingyuan wondered whether the palace—not the phoenix statue—held the art’s true mystery.

• Lu Qingyuan led Chu Zhiyuan into the Chaofeng Sword Sect’s Cave Heaven after Fu Zheng and Li Yuzhen warned him to be careful.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Lu Qingyuan crossed the springlike Cave Heaven, where he noted her profound mastery of the Abyssal Fall Sword Art.
• They arrived at the golden hall and its phoenix statue, which Lu Qingyuan said contained the divine race martial art.
• Chu Zhiyuan recognized the palace’s divine-script name as Hundred Birds Palace and became absorbed in the vision of birds it evoked.
• Chu Zhiyuan’s feet lifted from the ground as he stared at the palace, and Lu Qingyuan guarded him while wondering if the palace held the real mystery.
• Lu Qingyuan tried to comprehend the palace herself but gave up after a quarter of an hour.

Chu Zhiyuan rose before the bronze hall and gained an extraordinary insight as birds gathered around him and a second hall appeared in the air. After vanishing into its golden light and returning with a flock of golden birds, he tested his sword technique by leveling the forest where Lu Qingyuan and the disciples stood.

• Chu Zhiyuan floated toward the phoenix plaque as birds gathered and circled him, while Lu Qingyuan kept the Chaofeng Sword Sect disciples back.
• A bronze hall appeared in the void, and Chu Zhiyuan entered it with the birds as golden light transformed them.
• The hall vanished from the air and returned to the Mountain after a clear cry rang throughout the Cave Heaven; Chu Zhiyuan emerged among golden birds and drew his sword.
• Chu Zhiyuan summoned thousands of bird shadows and sent them swooping into the forest where Lu Qingyuan and the disciples stood.
• The disciples dodged or tried to block the attack, and the bird shadows blasted the forest flat, leaving those who resisted in tatters.

Chu Zhiyuan comprehended the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Sword Art from the divine script in the Bronze Palace and passed it to Lu Qingyuan. After she mastered the move, they left the Chaofeng Sword Sect disciples, and Chu Zhiyuan later practiced the sword art at Prince Qing's Estate.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Lu Qingyuan he had comprehended the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Sword Art and offered to pass it on to her.
• Chu Zhiyuan used the Heavenly Illusion Pavilion to guide Lu Qingyuan through a vision of birds gathering around a seven-colored phoenix.
• Chu Zhiyuan reflected that the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Sword Art could complement the Chaofeng Sword Art, which was better suited to one-on-one combat.
• Lu Qingyuan awoke with the sword art's insight and sent golden bird phantoms flying, forcing the surrounding disciples to block or retreat.
• Lu Qingyuan thanked Chu Zhiyuan and left with him as the Chaofeng Sword Sect disciples watched and marveled at his comprehension.
• At Prince Qing's Estate, Chu Zhiyuan practiced the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Sword Art and formed a circling flock of bird shadows.

Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Sword Art and discussed its power and the Phoenix Dynasty’s sect rivalries with Li Cunren. As they considered whether the other great sects would seek his help, Miss Fan of Little Marquis Ming’s Mansion requested an audience.

• Chu Zhiyuan formed a rainbow phoenix with the sword art, showing how it could destroy a rockery and grant him great speed and strength.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Li Cunren that Fengtian Palace might refuse to share its treasured martial arts, while Li Cunren complained that its master had broken his word.
• Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated the sword art’s bird phantoms, knocking Li Cunren back and showing how the technique could strengthen Chaofeng Sword Sect.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren discussed the rivalries among Fengtian Palace, Jade Kunlun Palace, and the other great sects.
• Fu Zheng reported that Miss Fan from Little Marquis Ming’s Mansion had requested an audience.