Chapter Summaries

Lin Mo cultivated to the third layer of foundation establishment and discovered that his Ancient Sword could help him sense the other eight swords. He decided to travel with Han Kang and Xiao He to the Sword Sect, where he planned to destroy a Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation, subdue another Ancient Sword, and have Xiao He’s physique examined.

• Lin Mo tended his spirit plants, added essence-nurturing fruit plants, and continued cultivating despite his slow progress.
• Lin Mo studied the Ancient Sword and concluded that all nine swords were needed to complete its formation pattern and unleash its full power.
• Lin Mo decided to visit the Sword Sect to destroy the formation beneath its Master Peak and seek the next Ancient Sword.
• Han Kang agreed to accompany Lin Mo and bring Xiao He so Sect Master Miao could examine her possible special physique.
• Han Kang told Lin Mo to prepare for their trip to the Sword Sect the next morning.

Han Kang brought Lin Mo and Lin Xiaohe to the Sword Sect, where Miao Yun recognized Lin Xiaohe's rare clear sword heart and asked to take her as a disciple. Lin Mo then warned that a Peerless Demonic Array beneath Sword Peak was draining the sect's earth vein qi, and Miao Yun revealed the Sword Sect had already suffered major losses.

• Han Kang introduced Lin Xiaohe to Miao Yun, and Lin Xiaohe demonstrated her innate sword power by cutting a wooden stick into eight pieces.
• Miao Yun identified Lin Xiaohe as likely possessing a clear sword heart and explained that she already wielded sword dao true essence despite having no cultivation.
• Miao Yun asked to make Lin Xiaohe her disciple, but Lin Xiaohe refused to leave her brother and parents at the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Lin Mo revealed an Ancient Sword and warned that another one beneath Sword Peak suppressed a Peerless Demonic Array threatening the Sword Sect's foundations.
• Miao Yun said the Sword Sect had lost more than half its earth vein qi, its spirit plants were withering, and its spiritual energy had weakened, then asked whether the Azure Cloud Sect had suffered the same trouble.

Miao Yun revealed that the Sword Sect’s dragon vein node was rapidly losing earth-vein qi, and Lin Mo agreed to investigate in exchange for the sect’s support. Beneath the master peak, the Ancient Sword pointed toward a cavern wall that Lin Mo suspected concealed the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation.

• Miao Yun told Han Kang and Lin Mo that the Sword Sect’s dragon vein node had been draining earth-vein qi for half a month, despite her search underground.
• Han Kang gave Lin Mo a Heaven-Restoring Pill and urged him to help; Miao Yun offered him the rank of chief Guest Elder and any Ancient Sword they found.
• Lin Mo promised to do what he could to restore the dragon vein, left Lin Xiaohe behind, and followed Miao Yun underground with Han Kang and the Sword Sect elders.
• At the dragon vein node, Lin Mo used spiritual energy to activate the Ancient Sword, which pointed toward a cavern wall and shook violently.
• Lin Mo told the others to break through the wall, saying the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation was likely causing the earth-vein qi to disappear.

Lin Mo and the Sword Sect members found a second Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation and an Ancient Sword beneath the sect. After the two Ancient Swords destroyed the formation, Lin Mo suffered a severe backlash, but Miao Yun still sensed that the sect’s fortune had barely improved, prompting Lin Mo to consider using the swords to restore the underground dragon vein.

• Miao Yun and the Sword Sect elders blasted a passage through the rock and discovered an underground cavern containing the formation and a second Ancient Sword.
• Lin Mo realized the formation was drawing on the earth vein qi and harming the Sword Sect’s fortune.
• The first Ancient Sword trembled in Lin Mo’s hand, and the second sword responded by releasing power that destroyed all 8,100 stone pillars.
• The second Ancient Sword flew to Lin Mo and acknowledged him, while the two swords’ lights went out and Lin Mo suffered a debilitating backlash.
• Lin Mo took a Heaven-Restoring Pill, and the Sword Sect elders apologized after seeing his condition.
• Miao Yun said the sect’s fortune had barely recovered, and Lin Mo considered using the two swords to restore the underground dragon vein.

Lin Mo discovered that his bathwater could purify the Sword Sect’s contaminated Dragon Vein, and he negotiated for spirit liquid to continue the treatment. The chapter ended with Han Kang offering two thousand drops of mid-grade spirit liquid in exchange for payment from Miao Yun.

• Lin Mo returned with the others to the Dragon Vein and explained that the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation had contaminated it and drained the Sword Sect’s fortune.
• Miao Yun and the Sword Sect elders pleaded with Lin Mo to purify the Dragon Vein and promised rewards and a place for Xiao He as a True Disciple.
• Lin Mo poured his bathwater into the magma, and Miao Yun sensed that the Dragon Vein and the sect’s fortune had begun to recover.
• Lin Mo revealed that his bathwater contained Low-Grade Spirit Liquid and mid-grade spirit liquid, prompting Miao Yun to offer to gather more supplies.
• Lin Mo said that ten thousand drops of mid-grade spirit liquid should suffice, and Han Kang offered two thousand drops in exchange for payment.

Lin Mo accepted Miao Yun’s Dark-Green Iron Fragment and promised to purify the Sword Sect’s dragon vein within seven days, while Han Kang received an offer of Sword Dao manuals. Meanwhile, a hidden enemy learned that Lin Mo threatened their plan and organized an ambush to kill him.

• Miao Yun offered Lin Mo the Dark-Green Iron Fragment as thanks for purifying the dragon vein, and Han Kang handed over two thousand drops of mid-grade spirit liquid.
• Miao Yun offered Han Kang twenty Sword Dao manuals, and Lin Mo said he needed seven days and a larger bathing tub to complete the purification.
• Lin Mo assured Miao Yun that Lin Xiaohe would agree to become her disciple, and the group returned to the surface.
• A Sword-Browed Elder watched Lin Mo with concealed hostility as the group departed.
• A Black-Clad Man received a message that Lin Mo had destroyed the Nine-Nine Soul-Devouring Formation and threatened the Holy Lord’s awakening.
• The Black-Clad Man ordered a feigned attack on the Azure Cloud Sect and arranged an ambush between it and the Sword Sect to kill Lin Mo.

Lin Mo purified the Sword Sect’s dragon vein with the vitality essence in his bathwater and prepared to return to the Azure Cloud Sect. Before leaving, he sensed a familiar evil aura on the Ninth Elder and realized it resembled the aura from demonized man-eating blood vines.

• Lin Mo declined Miao Yun’s invitation to stay and poured the bathwater into the Magma Lake, purifying the dragon vein and restoring the Sword Sect’s fortune.
• Miao Yun thanked Lin Mo and made him the Sword Sect’s foremost Guest Elder.
• Lin Mo warned Miao Yun that the Ninth Elder carried an evil aura, but Miao Yun said the elder had saved her life and remained loyal to the sect.
• Lin Mo departed for the Azure Cloud Sect while Miao Yun watched the Ninth Elder, who showed no unusual behavior.
• On his way back, Lin Mo recognized the Ninth Elder’s aura as matching the foul aura from Gou Fengying’s demonized man-eating blood vines.

Lin Mo was ambushed by Tai Sui Gate cultivators while traveling to the Azure Cloud Sect, but his Spirit Plant and unexpected sword power let him defeat them. He realized more Tai Sui Fiends were likely waiting along his route.

• Lin Mo suspected the Ninth Elder had been tainted by the same foul aura as Gou Fengying and decided to find evidence of his betrayal, despite worrying about Xiao He.
• A blood-red attack knocked Lin Mo's Flying Sword away, but he used A-Teng to block the next strike and steady himself in midair.
• A masked leader ordered the Tai Sui Gate cultivators to kill Lin Mo before other groups could claim credit for the White Jade Branch Altar's mission.
• Lin Mo combined the energy of his six Dao Platforms with the Black-and-White Light Mass and Blood Mist sphere, unleashing a rainbow sword strike that annihilated the attackers.
• Lin Mo realized the leader's words meant more Tai Sui Fiends were likely positioned along the route to ambush him.

Lin Mo defeated Tai Sui Gate ambushers and continued toward the Azure Cloud Sect, where he met the scar-faced body refinement cultivator Yan Lie. Lin Mo fought him at close quarters and was wounded, while Yan Lie's saber drew blood.

• The black-clad Tai Sui Gate man learned Lin Mo had killed the ambush party and ordered a black-robed youth to warn Yan Lie to capture Lin Mo alive.
• Lin Mo searched the fallen Tai Sui fiends, then set out for the Azure Cloud Sect with Chen Li while the Gu-Devouring Bee remained asleep.
• Near the sect, Lin Mo sensed Yan Lie and told Chen Li to protect him while he tested his physique in close combat.
• Yan Lie claimed that the Longevity Valley was allied with the Tai Sui Gate and attacked Lin Mo with a saber forged from demon beast bones.
• Lin Mo ignored Chen Li's warning and clashed with Yan Lie, nearly splitting his sword hand and chipping his Dao Sword as Yan Lie's saber drew blood.

Lin Mo killed the scar-faced man after a dangerous close-quarters fight and took his possessions. He then encountered Yan Lie, a False Core or Pseudo Core cultivator who challenged him to survive three moves.

• Lin Mo's Dao Sword shattered and the scar-faced man wounded his shoulder, but the black-and-white light mass and other powers killed the attacker.
• Lin Mo collected the scar-faced man's saber, spirit stones, spirit liquid, talismans, formation disc, and demon beast materials, then burned the corpse and left with Chen Li.
• Yan Lie refused orders from the White Jade Branch Altar to capture Lin Mo alive, insisting that nobody could dictate how he acted.
• Lin Mo arrived on his flying sword, and Yan Lie stopped him with a towering wall of fire.
• Lin Mo sensed Yan Lie's power was below that of a Golden Core True Lord and accepted him as a test of his own strength.
• Yan Lie challenged Lin Mo to survive three moves, promising to leave if he did and threatening to kill him if he failed.

Lin Mo fought Yan Lie, who tested him with increasingly powerful fire attacks and revealed the might of his false core realm. After Lin Mo’s strongest saber strike was consumed by Yan Lie’s attack, Lin Mo was left exhausted as Yan Lie’s men urged their leader to finish him.

• Yan Lie’s men retreated as Lin Mo drew the Baleful Black Saber and prepared to fight him.
• Lin Mo blocked Yan Lie’s first fire attack with his saber, then countered Yan Lie’s fire chains with the Explosive Flame Art.
• Yan Lie revealed that he would use his full strength and formed a molten sphere with power comparable to a first-layer Golden Core cultivator.
• Lin Mo gathered the strength of his Dao Platforms, blood energy, and body to strike the molten sphere with his strongest saber slash.
• The collision consumed the molten sphere’s power, but Lin Mo was left depleted while Yan Lie remained able to fight.
• One of Yan Lie’s men urged him to attack Lin Mo while he was weak and said the group could kill him at once.

Lin Mo returned to the Azure Cloud Sect after surviving three Tai Sui Gate ambushes, while the elders investigated the purpose of the attack on the sect. He warned them that the Longevity Valley might also belong to the Tai Sui Gate, leaving the sect to consider a new threat.

• Yan Lie honored his wager by sparing Lin Mo, then carried the remaining red-robed men away toward the Fire Rock Domain.
• Han Kang and the elders concluded that the Tai Sui Gate's weak attack on the Azure Cloud Sect may have been a ploy to draw Han Kang away and target Lin Mo.
• Yuan Jingtu warned that Lin Mo might be in danger on his return, and Han Kang prepared to go find him.
• Lin Mo arrived safely and told the elders that he had survived three Tai Sui Gate ambushes, including attacks by outsiders from the Longevity Domain and Fire Rock Domain.
• Han Kang proposed that the Tai Sui Gate's Golden Core cultivators were occupied and that the sect had borrowed help from other domains.
• Lin Mo reported that Guo Peng had claimed the Longevity Valley was a Tai Sui Gate faction, warning the Azure Cloud Sect to stay on guard.

Lin Mo reported that the Tai Sui Gate had ties to Longevity Valley, the Penglai Commerce Association, and possibly the Sword Sect’s Ninth Elder, alarming Han Kang and the Azure Cloud Sect elders. Han Kang sent the elders away, ordered secrecy, and asked Lin Mo to investigate the Commerce Association disciple while he considered the Tai Sui Gate’s threat.

• Lin Mo told Han Kang that Longevity Valley might belong to the Tai Sui Gate and that he had killed its agent Yang Jie, who had ties to a Penglai Commerce Association disciple.
• Lin Mo reported that the Sword Sect’s Ninth Elder had an aura like the Man-Eating Blood Vine and might have joined the Tai Sui Gate or been controlled by it.
• Han Kang dismissed the elders and told Lin Mo to keep the revelations secret unless the sect could gain the strength to confront the threat.
• Han Kang judged that Longevity Valley’s old valley master was unlikely to reach the Nascent Soul realm and asked Lin Mo to investigate the Commerce Association disciple in the Black Market.
• Lin Mo said he would use the disciple’s interest in mutated spirit plants to gather information and suggested pretending to join the Tai Sui Gate, but Han Kang deferred that plan and told him to report back.

Lin Mo returned to the Elders' Court, praised Qin Sang Sang for helping his parents grow spirit rice, and gave her spirit stones and a Meridian-Shaping Pill. That night, he visited the Black Market and confronted Du Zhong, who admitted he belonged to the Tai Sui Gate and urged Lin Mo to join the Holy Church to escape death.

• Lin Mo learned that Qin Sang Sang had asked Elder Lü for spirit rice seeds so his parents could farm, and he praised her for caring for them.
• Lin Mo gave Qin Sang Sang a Storage Bag of low-grade spirit stones and a Meridian-Shaping Pill for her future cultivation.
• After his family had gone to sleep, Lin Mo disguised himself with a Bark Mask and flew to the Black Market.
• Lin Mo set up a Concealment Formation at Du Zhong's stall and told him that he had killed Yang Jie and taken his Storage Bag.
• Du Zhong showed Lin Mo a Penglai Commerce Association token, admitted he was a Tai Sui Gate disciple, and warned that Lin Mo would die unless he joined the Holy Church.

Lin Mo negotiated with Du Zhong for Supreme-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills and information about the Tai Sui Gate, then used his mutated spirit plants as leverage to warn the gate against provoking the Azure Cloud Sect. He left the Black Market with clues about the Holy Lord and considered acting against Longevity Valley before the Holy Lord awakened.

• Du Zhong urged Lin Mo to join the Holy Church, claiming its members would eventually ascend to the Upper Realm, while Lin Mo questioned the claim and pressed him for information.
• Lin Mo offered seventh-grade mutated spirit plants in exchange for Supreme-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills and asked about the Tai Sui Gate's mind-control art, but Du Zhong said he could reveal nothing about its secrets.
• Du Zhong recognized that Lin Mo's Iceheart Lotus and Fire Lotus Root had mutated from eighth-grade spirit plants and promised to find another source for the pills because the Longevity Valley Old Valley Master was in death seclusion.
• Lin Mo inferred that Longevity Valley was connected to the Tai Sui Gate and that the Sword Sect's Ninth Elder had been mind-controlled, then warned Du Zhong not to provoke the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Du Zhong warned Lin Mo that the Holy Lord would awaken and recover his strength, while Lin Mo left the Black Market and considered seeking support from the eight great Cultivation Aristocratic Clans to uproot Longevity Valley.

Lin Mo set out to enlist the Eight Great Households in destroying the Longevity Valley, despite Han Kang’s concern for his safety. At the Hundred Blessings Market, he learned Zhou Wu had revealed his identity to the Wu Household, then publicly announced his visit and summoned the Eight Great Households’ leaders.

• Lin Mo told Han Kang he planned to negotiate with the Eight Great Households and hoped to destroy the Longevity Valley within half a month.
• Han Kang offered to accompany Lin Mo, but Lin Mo insisted he stay behind to protect the sect while Lin Mo traveled alone.
• Lin Mo reached the Hundred Blessings Market and met Zhou Wu, who confessed that he had answered the Wu Household’s questions about Lin Mo after his last visit.
• Lin Mo reassured Zhou Wu and asked him to take him to the Wu Household, then learned its ancestral estate was in Pill King City.
• Lin Mo stepped out of the carriage and announced himself as an Inner Sect Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect, calling on the leaders of the Eight Great Households to meet him.

Lin Mo offered to trade his Pill Toxin Removal method with the Eight Great Households and traveled to Pill King City without Longevity Valley's support. The household leaders gathered at the Wu residence to discuss the deal, then learned Lin Mo had arrived alone.

• Eight Foundation Establishment cultivators confronted Lin Mo, and he said he had come to do business with the Eight Great Households.
• Lin Mo set off for Pill King City by carriage and told the cultivators that the deal depended on their sincerity.
• The bearded cultivator ordered the Eight Great Households to report to their ancestors and invite them to the Wu Household.
• Wu Liu convened the household leaders, who discussed the importance of Lin Mo's Pill Toxin Removal method and questioned why he had chosen to trade with them.
• The Wu Household head reported that Lin Mo had reached the gates without Han Kang or anyone else backing him.

Lin Mo provoked the Eight Great Households into nearly attacking him, then revealed that he could upgrade their pills. The ancestors paused their assault, uncertain what to make of his offer.

• Wu Liu led the Eight Great Households’ ancestors outside to welcome Lin Mo, who remained in his carriage and criticized their strength.
• Wu Liu and Wu Pingdao threatened Lin Mo, but he argued that the Eight Great Households could not challenge Longevity Valley’s dominance of the Longevity Domain.
• Wu Pingdao and the other ancestors declared they would fight Longevity Valley rather than endure Lin Mo’s humiliation, and their combined pressure gathered against him.
• Lin Mo greeted the ancestors and asked them to consider his gift before attacking, but Wu Liu insisted he would not leave alive.
• Lin Mo used a Small Concealment Formation to block Zhou Wu and the driver’s perception, then offered to upgrade their Nascent Soul Condensation Pills and Mystic Origin Pills.

Lin Mo removed the toxins from eight pills and advanced their grades, including a low-grade Nascent Soul Condensation Pill. The Eight Great Households’ Golden Core True Lords were stunned by his ability and saw a much greater chance of gaining a Nascent Soul cultivator.

• Wu Liu ordered Wu Pingdao to give Lin Mo the Wu Household’s low-grade Nascent Soul Condensation Pill after Lin Mo claimed he could advance its grade.
• The eight Golden Core True Lords offered Lin Mo the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill and seven Mystic Origin Pills to test his secret method.
• Lin Mo took the pills to the Wu Household Hall and placed them in a jade bottle containing spirit spring water infused with vitality essence.
• After nearly half a day, Lin Mo removed the pills as gray-black vapor escaped from the bottle and the spirit liquid lost its vitality.
• The pills’ grades had risen, and the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill had advanced to mid-grade, leaving the Golden Core True Lords astonished at the prospects for forming a Nascent Soul.

Lin Mo returned the pills he had upgraded to the Wu Household and the seven lineage patriarchs, then challenged their suspicions about his motives. He revealed that he wanted the Eight Great Households’ help to destroy the Longevity Valley, which he said was controlled by Tai Sui Gate Fiends.

• Lin Mo returned eight pills to Wu Pingdao and the seven lineage patriarchs, who celebrated their rare grades and the prospects of advancing their cultivation.
• Wu Liu questioned why Lin Mo would not join a powerful Central Continent sect, and Lin Mo reminded her that the Wu Household had once intended to control him.
• Lin Mo accused the household leaders of plotting to capture him after seeing his pill-cleansing art, leaving them ashamed and speechless.
• Wu Pingdao questioned why Lin Mo had helped strengthen the Eight Great Households before negotiating a trade.
• Lin Mo denied that the Longevity Valley was his backing and said he wanted the Eight Great Households’ aid to eliminate it.
• Lin Mo declared that the Longevity Valley was not righteous but was controlled by Tai Sui Gate Fiends.