Chapter Summaries

Lin Mo agreed to investigate the area with Luan Xiuping, while Dantai Jingyu revealed that Zhuge Fengming’s divination had told him to follow Lin Mo. The three became closer, and Luan Xiuping asked Lin Mo what had brought him to the Divine Firmament Sect.

• Lin Mo agreed to search for any remaining Tai Sui Gate Fiends alongside Luan Xiuping, and the other cultivators departed after exchanging farewells and tokens with him.
• Dantai Jingyu said Zhuge Fengming’s astrological verdict had accurately matched the night’s events, prompting Luan Xiuping to realize Dantai was the Astrology Pavilion’s young master.
• Dantai Jingyu revealed that Zhuge Fengming had told him to follow Lin Mo to fulfill his great path, and Luan Xiuping took the verdict as a sign that meeting Lin Mo was no coincidence.
• Luan Xiuping shared that his own divination predicted the great path to heaven would open within a year or two, then proposed that the three become sworn brothers.
• Lin Mo and Dantai Jingyu declined sworn brotherhood but agreed to call Luan Xiuping Brother Luan in private, and Luan introduced himself by name.
• Dantai Jingyu asked Lin Mo what he was planning at the Divine Firmament Sect and said he and Luan Xiuping would stay by Lin Mo’s side.

Lin Mo used the Spirit-Devouring Vine to locate and pierce a Spiritual Qi Spring Eye, exposing a flaw in the Divine Firmament Sky-Locking Formation. He and Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu began digging toward the breach to enter the Divine Firmament Sect.

• Lin Mo asked Luan Xiuping to guard the area and set up a concealment formation before summoning the Spirit-Devouring Vine.
• Lin Mo fed the vine spirit spring water and sent its roots and Curled-Branch Swords underground to search for a flaw in the sect's protective formation.
• The Curled-Branch Swords found a Spiritual Qi Spring Eye nearly ten thousand zhang below ground and cut an opening through the Divine Firmament Sky-Locking Formation.
• Luan Xiuping agreed that his Golden Net Shield could protect the group underground for half an hour, though the extreme heat would eventually destroy it.
• Lin Mo, Luan Xiuping, and Dantai Jingyu used their swords to carve a passage downward toward the breach.

The Divine Firmament Sect’s six weakened elders faced imminent threats from the Qiongxiao Sect and a stranger who had entered their protective formation. Lin Mo prepared to enter the sect with Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu, taking precautions to prevent a misunderstanding.

• The golden Nascent Soul threatened the six Divine Firmament elders, warning that the Qiongxiao Sect would soon attack.
• Qiongsongzi sensed that someone had entered through the formation’s spiritual energy spring outlet and learned that the grand formation would collapse within three days.
• Qiongsongzi ordered Qiongyuzi to stop the intruder, and Qiongyuzi flew toward the ruins of the Sect Master Peak.
• Lin Mo, Luan Xiuping, and Dantai Jingyu pressed through the formation barrier underground while Lin Mo warned them that the elders might attack.
• Lin Mo brought A-Teng’s Vine Root Ball beside them and made it display a message inside the formation to identify their group.

Lin Mo and his companions emerged from the Divine Firmament Sky-Locking Formation and convinced Qiongyuzi that they meant the Divine Firmament Sect no harm. When Lin Mo tried to explain that he had encountered a similar crisis before, Qiongyuzi misunderstood his answer and attacked him.

• Qiongyuzi read Lin Mo’s vine-written message, then examined a letter identifying Lin Mo, Dantai Jingyu, and Luan Xiuping and explaining how they had found the spiritual energy spring.
• Qiongyuzi demanded that the three swear an oath upon their divine souls before leaving the formation, and they swore they were friends of the Divine Firmament Sect.
• Lin Mo, Dantai Jingyu, and Luan Xiuping emerged, and Qiongyuzi sensed their cultivation levels and saw that Lin Mo was unfazed by his Nascent Soul pressure.
• Lin Mo said he had encountered a similar situation before, then clarified that the Sword Sect’s crisis had not been as severe as the Divine Firmament Sect’s.
• Qiongyuzi accused Lin Mo of toying with him and lunged to search his soul and refine his spirit.

Lin Mo confronted Qiongyuzi after the elder attacked him and his companions, insisting that only he could break the formation threatening the Divine Firmament Sect. The sect’s other supreme elders arrived and agreed to compensate him, but Lin Mo demanded that Qiongyuzi prove his apology by drinking the spring water.

• Qiongyuzi shattered Luan Xiuping’s Golden Net Shield, injuring Lin Mo, Luan Xiuping, and Dantai Jingyu, but Lin Mo healed them with spring water from his wooden tub.
• Lin Mo told Qiongyuzi that a Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation was damaging the Divine Firmament Sect’s fortune and claimed only he could break it.
• Qiongyuzi questioned Lin Mo’s knowledge and threatened him, but lowered his hand rather than risk the sect’s destruction.
• Lin Mo demanded an apology and compensation, wagering his life that Qiongyuzi could not kill him without endangering the sect.
• Qiongsongzi and the other four supreme elders arrived, and Qiongsongzi promised compensation but challenged whether Lin Mo deserved an apology.
• Lin Mo pointed to the spring water and dared Qiongyuzi to drink it as proof that he could accept an apology from a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.

Lin Mo revealed that the bathwater could restore the Divine Firmament Sect's failing fortunes, and Qiongsongzi tested it, recovering some of his vitality and cultivation. The elders then learned the limited supply could either restore the Six Elders or help purify the dragon vein and restore the sect's fortune, leaving them to choose.

• Lin Mo insisted that the bathwater was the means to save the Divine Firmament Sect, while Qiongsongzi warned him against making unreasonable demands.
• Qiong Yangzi persuaded the other elders to test Lin Mo's claim because the sect had no other hope.
• Qiongsongzi drank a sphere of bathwater and recovered about five percent of his vitality, raising his cultivation to the fifth level of Nascent Soul.
• The Six Elders realized the remaining bathwater could restore their strength, and Qiongsongzi became excited at the prospect of returning to his peak.
• Lin Mo explained that the bathwater could also expel evil influences, purify the dragon vein, and restore the sect's fortune, forcing the elders to weigh the sect's needs against their own recovery.

Lin Mo earned the Divine Firmament Sect elders’ trust by sacrificing his essence blood to make spirit liquid that restored their vitality. With the Six Elders recovered, he urged them to take him to the dragon vein and destroy the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation.

• Qiongsongzi pressed Qiongyuzi to apologize to Lin Mo, who insisted that Qiongyuzi had to answer for injuring his friend.
• Lin Mo cut his wrist and combined his essence blood with mid-grade spirit liquid, claiming the mixture could restore the elders and purify the dragon vein.
• Lin Mo offered to help destroy the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation, prompting Qiongyuzi and the other elders to apologize and bow to him.
• The Six Elders drank half the spirit liquid each and quickly regained their former peak cultivation and youthful appearances.
• Lin Mo urged the recovered elders to take him underground to the dragon vein before he could no longer hold on.

Lin Mo persuaded the Six Elders of the Divine Firmament to take him underground to investigate the failing Earth Vein Fire Pool, while pretending to risk his life to destroy the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation. After Qiongsongzi brought out his defensive ancient treasure, the Two-World Bell, Lin Mo asked whether he could buy a similar treasure, and Qiongsongzi offered him the bell instead.

• Lin Mo assured Qiongsongzi that he would destroy the formation even at the cost of his life, and the Six Elders agreed to help him.
• Qiongsongzi led Lin Mo, Dantai Jingyu, and Luan Xiuping to the Earth Vein Fire Pool beneath Divine Firmament Peak.
• Lin Mo noticed that an unknown force had drained the pool's earth vein spirit fire without tainting it.
• Qiongsongzi used the Two-World Bell to protect the group and explained that it was a mid-grade ancient treasure he had found in an Ancient Forbidden Land.
• Lin Mo asked to buy a defensive ancient treasure for Luan Xiuping, whose own treasure had been destroyed, and Qiongsongzi offered him the Two-World Bell.

Lin Mo accepted Qiongsongzi’s White Sun Tower and arranged for Luan Xiuping to receive the Two-World Bell before they entered the Earth Vein Fire Pool. After Lin Mo sensed the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation beneath the pool, Qiongsongzi gave him a protective Feather Cloak for the perilous descent.

• Lin Mo offered the Two-World Bell to Luan Xiuping, who initially refused because ancient defensive treasures were so rare.
• Qiongyuzi gave Lin Mo the White Sun Tower, and Lin Mo persuaded Luan Xiuping to choose the Two-World Bell.
• Qiongsongzi enlarged the White Sun Tower and carried Lin Mo toward the center of the Fire Pool.
• Lin Mo sensed the formation beneath the pool and told Qiongsongzi to take them into it.
• Qiongsongzi gave Lin Mo a Feather Cloak made from the life-fated feathers of a Sun-Eating Nether Crow to protect him from the heat.

Lin Mo and Qiongsongzi traveled into the Fire Pool while Qiongsongzi explained the Sun-Eating Nether Crow and the transition from the Primordial Era to the modern cultivation world. Lin Mo suspected his Treasure Gourd might be one of the ancient wondrous objects that could restore collapsing bodies, as the Blood-Colored Sphere stirred within his dantian and they descended into the pool’s center.

• Lin Mo admired the Sun-Eating Nether Crow cloak as Qiongsongzi explained how the ancient bird endured solar true fire.
• Lin Mo asked Qiongsongzi why the Primordial Era had ended, and Qiongsongzi described how declining, purifying spiritual energy caused ancient cultivators’ bodies to collapse.
• Qiongsongzi said the Primordial Era’s survivors had developed modern cultivation methods but could not use them before their bodies and souls failed.
• Lin Mo connected his Treasure Gourd’s vitality-restoring power to the ancient wondrous objects Qiongsongzi described.
• The Blood-Colored Sphere trembled inside Lin Mo’s dantian as Qiongsongzi led him deeper into the Fire Pool’s blood-red center.

Lin Mo and Qiongsongzi discovered the third Ancient Sword had broken the hidden Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation and acknowledged Lin Mo as its master. As they prepared to leave, a sword-shaped apparition appeared, leaving them unsure what it was.

• Qiongsongzi discovered the hidden Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation beneath the blood-red ocean as Lin Mo arrived.
• The third Ancient Sword destroyed the formation’s stone pillars and flew outside the White Sun Tower, where it resonated with Lin Mo’s other two swords.
• Lin Mo told Qiongsongzi that the Ancient Swords had acknowledged him on their own and that he believed his fate was tied to the formations.
• Lin Mo said he would leave after returning to the surface, though he privately stayed wary of the Divine Firmament Sect.
• A fourth sword-shaped figure appeared where the third sword had floated, and Lin Mo and Qiongsongzi realized it looked like an aura-less, flickering shadow.

Lin Mo helped Qiongsongzi dismantle the formation beneath the fire pool and restore the Divine Firmament Sect's fortune, revealing a chance to reunite the sect with its branch, the Qiongxiao Sect. As Qiongsongzi led Lin Mo back to the sect, the imprisoned Qiongxiao Nascent Soul witnessed the Fortune Lotuses revive and realized Qiongsongzi might reach the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage.

• Lin Mo told Qiongsongzi that he had dismantled the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation and that the sect's fortune would recover.
• Qiongsongzi explained that the Qiongxiao Sect had split from the Divine Firmament Sect long ago and suspected its old sect master had come to seek reunion because the branch's fortune had also suffered.
• Qiongsongzi asked Lin Mo to help frighten the Qiongxiao Sect's old sect master and encourage the sects to reunite, and Lin Mo agreed to assist.
• Lin Mo failed to subdue the Ancient Sword's shadow, so Qiongsongzi used the White Sun Tower to bring him out of the fire pool.
• Qiongsongzi told the waiting elders, Luan Xiuping, and Dantai Jingyu that the formation was dismantled, ordered them to keep the matter secret, and announced that Lin Mo would receive further rewards.
• The imprisoned golden Nascent Soul saw the Fortune Lotuses revive and noticed Qiongsongzi's lotus had grown a seventh bud.

Lin Mo explained how he destroyed the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation and restored the Divine Firmament Sect’s providence, while Qionghengzi struggled to believe the Six Elders had recovered. Qionghengzi demanded to inspect the formation’s remains and Ancient Sword and verify whether Lin Mo was destined to answer both providence and calamity.

• The Six Elders of the Divine Firmament brought Lin Mo to meet Qionghengzi, whose golden nascent soul was imprisoned in a formation.
• Qiongsongzi explained that the Divine Firmament Sect and Qiongxiao Sect shared roots, and that Lin Mo’s Special Spirit Liquid had helped restore the elders’ cultivation.
• Lin Mo recounted breaking the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation with the Ancient Sword and suspected a Spirit Transformation expert in the Tai Sui Gate was draining earth-vein energy.
• Qiongsongzi confirmed that Lin Mo destroyed the formation beneath the Earth Vein Fire Pool and suggested the Ancient Sword had protected the sect’s providence.
• Qionghengzi demanded to see the formation’s remains and the Ancient Sword’s phantom image, and said he would verify whether Lin Mo was destined to answer providence and calamity.

Lin Mo persuaded Qionghengzi that the Qiongxiao Sect and Divine Firmament Sect should reunite, while warning that the Tai Sui Gate might be preparing a major threat. The sect leaders agreed to pursue a merger without abandoning body refinement, and Lin Mo asked about a suspected Soul-Devouring Formation in the Central Continent.

• Lin Mo urged Qionghengzi to reunite the Qiongxiao Sect and Divine Firmament Sect so their sect fortunes could support each other.
• Qionghengzi admitted that the Qiongxiao Sect’s five Nascent Soul cultivators had declined in strength and warned that the Tai Sui Gate had secretly used Soul-Devouring Formations to drain the Divine Land’s fortune.
• Lin Mo reported that Tai Sui Gate cultivators had vanished and warned that they might return with a Spirit Transformation expert, but Qionghengzi said such an expert was unlikely to act lightly.
• Qionghengzi agreed that the sects could merge, provided the Qiongxiao Sect’s body refinement methods were preserved, and Qiongsongzi proposed letting younger disciples choose the new sect master.
• Lin Mo asked whether the elders had visited the Central Continent, where he suspected an enormous hand-shaped mountain concealed another Soul-Devouring Formation.

Lin Mo learned that the fourth Ancient Sword lay beneath Buddha Hand Peak, the sacred site of Western Esoteric Buddhism, and prepared to travel to the Western Regions despite the difficulty of entering it. Before leaving the Divine Firmament Sect, he asked Qionghengzi for a body refinement manual for Senior Brother Liu.

• Lin Mo described the visions linked to the Ancient Swords, and Qionghengzi identified the palm-shaped mountain as Buddha Hand Peak in the Western Regions.
• Qiongsongzi explained the differences between Esoteric Buddhism and the Chan School, while Qionghengzi described Buddha Hand Peak's guarded status and unusual practices.
• Lin Mo thanked the elders and announced that he would set out for the Western Regions to obtain the fourth Ancient Sword.
• Qiongmingzi gave Dantai Jingyu a compass set with three hundred and sixty-five Nightglow Pearls, and Lin Mo urged him to accept it.
• Lin Mo asked Qionghengzi whether he would trade him a body refinement manual for Senior Brother Liu, who had refined resentful energy and killing intent.

Lin Mo learned that Liu Xianzong’s unusual physique could make him suited to Western Esoteric Buddhism’s body-refinement methods, and received rare Message Jade Slips from the Divine Firmament Sect. After returning to East Sea Island, Lin Mo changed his appearance and concealed his aura as he headed back to the Azure Cloud Sect with Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu.

• Qionghengzi explained that Liu Xianzong could refine resentful energy and killing intent, and that Western Esoteric Buddhism’s methods might suit his physique.
• Qiongsongzi gave Lin Mo three Message Jade Slips, and Lin Mo imprinted one and kept the other two.
• Lin Mo left the Divine Firmament Sect with Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu after Qiongsongzi deactivated the sealing array.
• Lin Mo traveled through Vaultheaven City and across the North Sea, eventually reaching East Sea Island after more than half a month.
• Lin Mo avoided disciples of the Eight Great Households by changing his appearance and concealing his aura, then returned toward the Azure Cloud Sect with Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu.

Lin Mo returned to the Azure Cloud Sect with Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu, bringing new allies and plans for his trip to the Western Region. Han Kang then called for help from seclusion after his golden core shattered without forming a nascent soul.

• Lin Mo returned to the Azure Cloud Sect with Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu, and learned that Han Kang had become Grand Elder while Bai Qing was appointed sect master.
• Lin Mo introduced Luan Xiuping and Dantai Jingyu as prospective guest elders and told Bai Qing he would soon leave again.
• Lin Mo explained that he planned to obtain the fourth Ancient Sword and help Liu Xianzong learn the Buddhism Esoteric Sect's body refinement method.
• Han Kang called to Lin Mo from the Back Mountain forbidden grounds, saying his golden core had shattered but his nascent soul had not formed and he needed a Supreme Nascent Soul Condensation Pill to survive.

After Han Kang shattered his golden core in a forced attempt to form a nascent soul, Lin Mo sought a powerful Nascent Soul Condensation Pill to save him. As Han Kang neared death on the seventh day, Lin Mo gave him spirit liquid to buy time while they awaited Qiongsongzi’s promised pill.

• Lin Mo learned from Luan Xiuping that Han Kang would die or become crippled within seven days unless he obtained a Supreme Nascent Soul Condensation Pill.
• Lin Mo contacted Qiongsongzi, who offered a Mid-Grade pill, but Lin Mo explained it was insufficient and asked him to find a High-Grade pill in exchange for Lin Mo’s ability to upgrade pills.
• Qiongsongzi promised to obtain the pill within seven days and hurried to contact other Nascent Soul cultivators and sects.
• On the seventh day, Han Kang lamented that Zhuge’s prediction of his reaching Nascent Soul had misled him as his body and divine sense began to fail.
• Lin Mo gave Han Kang a bottle of Special Spirit Liquid that he said would restore his vitality and stabilize his consciousness for at least three days.

Lin Mo tried to keep Han Kang alive with spirit spring water while accepting responsibility for the Azure Cloud Sect’s future, but the treatment could no longer match Han Kang’s fading vitality. Qiongsongzi arrived and discovered that Han Kang’s nascent soul was forming, warning that tribulation lightning would soon strike the sect.

• Han Kang told Lin Mo that the spirit liquid could sustain him for only a day and asked him to support Bai Qing and Jin Zun and guard the Azure Cloud Sect in the future.
• Lin Mo continued giving Han Kang diluted spirit spring water for half a month, but Han Kang’s vitality declined until even undiluted spirit spring water could not restore it.
• Lin Mo estimated that Han Kang had less than half a day to live and feared that Qiongsongzi would arrive too late to save him.
• Qiongsongzi reached the Azure Cloud Sect and saw yin-yang qi gathering above the Sect Master Peak, indicating that Han Kang’s nascent soul was forming.
• Qiongsongzi shouted for Lin Mo and ordered everyone in the sect to evacuate because tribulation lightning would cover a radius of sixty li.

As Han Kang’s nascent soul formed and triggered a sixfold tribulation, Lin Mo broke through to the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment. Lin Mo gave Han Kang three powerful treasures and spirit spring water to help him survive, then fled beyond the tribulation’s range as Han Kang prepared to face the lightning.

• Han Kang formed a nascent soul outside his body, triggering a sixfold tribulation as Lin Mo’s black-and-white light mass helped him break through to the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Qiongsongzi warned Lin Mo that anyone within the tribulation’s range would be attacked, with its power doubled.
• Lin Mo gave Han Kang the White Sun Tower, the Nether Crow Feather Robe, the Vine Sphere, and a bottle of Authentic Spirit Spring Water.
• Lin Mo flew away from Sect Master Peak, leaving Han Kang to face the tribulation.
• Han Kang declared that he would overcome the sixfold lightning tribulation and become a Great Cultivator.