Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong took first place in the Martial Arts Rankings and stayed loyal to Juxian Academy despite the five great sects’ efforts to recruit him. After receiving his reward, he asked Shen Haotian for permission to travel with Du Siwen and eventually return to settle matters from his past, leaving with a plan to avoid attracting attention.

• Xu Qingtong reached the eighty-eighth layer, while Nangong Zhen reached the eightieth and learned of Xu Qingtong’s achievement.
• Five days later, Xu Qingtong took first place in the Martial Arts Rankings, Nangong Zhen came third, Zhuge Liuyun came fifth, and Du Siwen came tenth.
• The five great sects recruited nearly half of Juxian Academy’s ranked participants, but Xu Qingtong, Nangong Zhen, Zhuge Liuyun, and Du Siwen all chose to stay.
• Shen Haotian awarded Xu Qingtong twenty thousand merit after deducting his debt, and granted rewards to Nangong Zhen, Zhuge Liuyun, and Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong asked Shen Haotian to keep his origins secret and requested permission to leave with Du Siwen for three to ten years.
• Shen Haotian warned that Xu Qingtong’s fame made travel risky, and Xu Qingtong decided to travel around Central Province with Du Siwen before seeking a chance to leave.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen planned to leave the Academy on a long journey to conceal their movements, then went to Zhonglü City to check on Duoduo. They learned she had been moved to the Thousand Talisman Pavilion, where Xu Qingtong found her safe and gave her guidance on cultivation.

• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen they would travel through Central Province before returning to Bingzhou and said the route would help keep their plans from attracting attention.
• Xu Qingtong told Nangong Zhen he and Du Siwen would leave the next day and expected to return within three to five years.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen quietly left the Academy, bought supplies in Zhonglü City, and went to Duoduo's courtyard, where they found her missing.
• Information Gatherer Bao told Xu Qingtong that the Thousand Talisman Pavilion's shopkeeper had taken Duoduo there the previous day.
• The shopkeeper explained that he had moved Duoduo and her grandfather to make things more convenient, and Xu Qingtong thanked him before visiting Duoduo.
• Xu Qingtong found Duoduo happy in her new home, noticed her unstable fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivation, and corrected her mistakes.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen left Duoduo in the care of the Thousand Talisman Pavilion shopkeeper and traveled into the Netherworld Forest while Xu Qingtong searched for an elusive pursuer. There, a swift fifth-tier Mengji Beast wounded Du Siwen’s robe, and Xu Qingtong raised an Ice Wall to protect her.

• Xu Qingtong guided Duoduo’s cultivation, gave the shopkeeper Chance Talismans, and departed Zhonglü City with Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen entered the Netherworld Forest on flying swords as Xu Qingtong tried to locate the divine sense following them.
• Du Siwen fought demon beasts along the way while Xu Qingtong let her handle the weaker ones.
• A fifth-tier Mengji Beast attacked Du Siwen, overpowering her halberd strikes with its speed and wind techniques.
• The Mengji Beast tore Du Siwen’s robe, and Xu Qingtong summoned the Xuanming Seal to raise an Ice Wall in front of her.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen killed a fifth-tier Mengji Beast, then found a cave to shelter in overnight. While searching for the mysterious divine sense, Xu Qingtong detected signs of a recent battle nearby but could not find whoever had fought there.

• Xu Qingtong trapped the Mengji Beast with his Five Elements Divine Seals, and Du Siwen severed its tail and cut open its belly, killing it.
• Du Siwen extracted the beast's fifth-tier wind-attribute inner core, and Xu Qingtong decided they should stay nearby overnight.
• Xizi found a natural cave, and Xu Qingtong assigned Xiao Bai to guard the entrance while Xizi scouted underground.
• Xu Qingtong meditated and searched for the mysterious divine sense, then detected a spiritual-power fluctuation about seven or eight li away.
• Xu Qingtong found scorch marks and fresh soil near a large tree but could not locate the person responsible, and he wondered whether they were watching him or intended to kill him.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen suspected an unseen cultivator had been following them through the Netherworld Forest, possibly because of Xu Qingtong’s Ranking Challenges. Later, a swarm of Yin Nether Beasts attacked their cave, and Xu Qingtong hesitated to let Xiao Qi absorb their Nether Qi because other cultivators might be watching.

• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen that someone had been following them since they entered the Netherworld Forest, and they considered whether the person was interested in his Ranking Challenges.
• After midnight, Xizi warned Xu Qingtong that monsters were approaching, so he hid Xizi and Xiao Bai and told Du Siwen to conceal her aura.
• A swarm of more than a thousand insect-like monsters reached the cave, and Xu Qingtong attacked them with talismans when they charged inside.
• The monsters absorbed gray gas from their dead and wounded, regrew their legs, and gnawed through the ice walls Xu Qingtong created with the Xuanming Seal.
• Xiao Qi identified the monsters as Yin Nether Beasts and offered to absorb their Nether Qi, but Xu Qingtong refused because unseen cultivators might be watching.

Xu Qingtong refined Yin Nether Beasts into Taiyin Qi and discovered that it merged smoothly with the stellar power in his Star Sea. At dawn, the beasts fled, leaving him to hide his cultivation method from Du Siwen, who suspected he was practicing an evil art.

• Xu Qingtong ordered Biyue to seal the entrance, and Biyue offered to follow Du Siwen after she formed her Golden Core.
• Xu Qingtong used the Yin Nether Soul Refining Art to refine a Yin Nether Beast into Taiyin Qi, which entered his Star Sea and merged with the power of the stars.
• Xu Qingtong tested his shamanic arts and found that the merged energies made them flow more smoothly, so he refined more beasts.
• Xu Qingtong refined more than twenty Yin Nether Beasts with Biyue's help before the creatures fled as dawn approached.
• Xu Qingtong claimed he needed the beasts as sparring partners, and Du Siwen became suspicious when he admitted he needed to absorb their Yin Nether Qi.

Xu Qingtong stayed in the cave to refine Yin Nether Beasts and discovered he could turn their Taiyin Qi into the Power of the Stars. After a month of cultivation, he entered the Witch Spirit Realm.

• Du Siwen worried that Xu Qingtong planned to practice an evil cultivation method, but he reassured her and they decided to stay in the area while he cultivated at night.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen explored nearby territory, gathered spirit herbs, and killed demon beasts, but Xu Qingtong could not locate the Netherworld Passage.
• Xu Qingtong repeatedly refined the Yin Nether Beasts that came to the cave at night while a hidden Divine Sense monitored him.
• Xu Qingtong found that the Taiyi Heart Method could refine Taiyin Qi into the Power of the Stars, strengthening the five stellar qi clusters in his Star Sea.
• After a month of cultivation, Xu Qingtong's star clusters produced Star-Origin Essence, his Star Sea doubled in size, and he entered the Witch Spirit Realm.

Xu Qingtong followed the Yin Nether Beasts to a pond and learned that its entrance to the Netherworld was a Spatial Rift that closed during the day. After discovering who had been trailing him, he left a threatening message and continued with Du Siwen toward Qushui City.

• Xu Qingtong followed the Yin Nether Beasts to a pond, where Xiao Bai revealed a black hole that closed as daylight strengthened.
• Xu Qingtong concluded the pond held a Spatial Rift that opened at night and closed during the day, then left with Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong returned to the pond and had Xiao Bai use its Innate Divine Ability to identify the person following them.
• Xu Qingtong recognized the follower as an old acquaintance, left a threat on a tree, and departed with Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen flew out of the Netherworld Forest into the Haoyu Mountain Range, heading toward Qushui City.

Xu Qingtong developed the Heaven Eye Talisman while traveling with Du Siwen toward Qushui City, using it to confirm their pursuer had stopped following them. After surviving a dangerous encounter and continuing their journey, they approached the source of the Sang River and decided to search for tiger-patterned white jade lotuses.

• Xu Qingtong studied warning talismans aboard the Ink Cloud Shuttle and designed a talisman that could detect nearby spiritual-power fluctuations.
• Xu Qingtong crafted two Heaven Eye Talismans, which could warn him of spiritual power within fifty zhang and send messages as far as thirty li.
• Xu Qingtong tested a talisman and received a warning about a third-tier demon beast, then concluded their pursuer had given up following them.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen traveled onward, collected demon cores, and escaped a sixth-tier demon beast after Xu Qingtong sacrificed a Puppet Guard.
• Xu Qingtong checked their map and suggested visiting the source of the Sang River to look for tiger-patterned white jade lotuses, and Du Siwen agreed.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen explored the marsh at the Sang River’s source, where they discovered Corpse King Flowers that could be used to refine Soul-Returning Pills. Xu Qingtong devised a trap and captured one, storing it in the Seven-Star Bracelet.

• Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen antidote pills and cautiously investigated the marsh after they smelled rotting flesh, though Xiao Qi found no corpses or yin souls.
• A Corpse King Flower attacked Xu Qingtong, escaped after breaking free of his ice, and was identified by him as a rare ingredient for Soul-Returning Pills.
• Xu Qingtong planned to lure a Corpse King Flower with a demon beast, and Du Siwen and Xiao Qi hunted beasts for his trap.
• Xu Qingtong set the trap, hid his incarnation nearby, and waited with Du Siwen until the incarnation reported that a Corpse King Flower had been caught.
• Xu Qingtong and his incarnation captured the flower, erased its intelligence, sealed it, and placed it in the Seven-Star Bracelet.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen harvested Corpse King Flowers in the swamp, but Xu Qingtong discovered that Demonic Qi was entering his original body and causing bouts of irritability. After another five days of harvesting, they prepared to reunite with his original body and leave, when something unexpected happened.

• Xu Qingtong and his Incarnation caught seventeen Corpse King Flowers over five days, then stopped when the flowers they found were all less than a hundred years old.
• Du Siwen noticed Xu Qingtong's original body growing increasingly irritable and saw its eyes turn red, so Xu Qingtong examined himself and found a black substance moving through his blood.
• Xu Qingtong found no black substance in Du Siwen or his Incarnation and concluded that it was Demonic Qi entering only his original body.
• Xu Qingtong explained that Demonic Qi could affect his mind, but reassured Du Siwen that he could suppress it and would later try to refine it.
• Xu Qingtong's original body hunted Demon Beasts while Du Siwen and his Incarnation caught Corpse King Flowers, and they harvested thirty-two more over five days.
• Du Siwen suggested that she and the Incarnation meet Xu Qingtong's original body and leave the swamp, but something unexpected happened.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen discovered a Pure-Heart Snow Lotus in the marsh, harvested it, and Xu Qingtong took it into his dantian to nurture. They left for Qushui City along the Sang River, then made a bamboo raft and began drifting downstream.

• Du Siwen mistook a lotus emerging from the pond for a Tiger-Patterned White Jade Lotus, but Xu Qingtong identified it as a likely Pure-Heart Snow Lotus.
• Xu Qingtong waited for the lotus to bloom, then used a Golden Light Slash to sever its stem while Du Siwen watched for demon beasts.
• Xu Qingtong sealed the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus and took it into his dantian, where it absorbed the wisp of demonic qi he had been keeping.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen left the marsh aboard the Ink Cloud Shuttle and followed the Sang River toward Qushui City.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen chopped bamboo, built a raft, and set off downstream.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen reached Qushui City after drifting down the Sang River, where Zhu Erkui tried to seize Du Siwen and Xu Qingtong fought back. As a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator arrived, Xu Qingtong paused before killing Zhu Erkui.

• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen left their bamboo raft near Qushui City and concealed their cultivation as they traveled toward town.
• Zhu Erkui accosted Du Siwen, and Xu Qingtong claimed she was his pregnant wife to refuse Zhu's demand that she drink with him.
• Zhu Erkui ordered Zhang Shun and Chen Wu to attack Xu Qingtong, who severed Zhu's hand and knocked away their flying swords.
• Xu Qingtong killed Chen Wu and prepared to kill Zhu Erkui and Zhang Shun after Zhu secretly crushed a Jade Talisman for help.
• A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator hurried from the south and asked Xu Qingtong to stay his hand, so Xu Qingtong withdrew his spell.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen confronted Zhu Yuxi over his son’s attempt to seize Xu Qingtong’s pregnant wife, and their strength forced the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion master to make peace. Xu Qingtong accepted compensation and a VIP token, then left with Du Siwen rather than continue on to Qushui City.

• Zhu Yuxi demanded that Xu Qingtong surrender an arm to make up for injuring his son, and Xu Qingtong challenged him to take it.
• Xu Qingtong neutralized Zhu Yuxi’s Blazing Flame Hand, then Du Siwen attacked and drove Zhu Yuxi back with her halberd.
• Zhu Yuxi apologized and offered two hundred thousand spirit stones to settle the dispute, while Xu Qingtong gave him healing elixirs for his son.
• Xu Qingtong introduced himself as Chen Yu from Law City and said he would not use Qushui City’s teleportation route.
• Zhu Yuxi gave Xu Qingtong a VIP token for thirty-percent discounts at Heavenly Treasure Pavilion trading houses, and Xu Qingtong departed with Du Siwen.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen traveled to Lincui City after Zhu Erkui’s interference kept them from using Qushui City, then set out over the sea toward Cat-Ear Island. Their journey ended in danger when a waterspout sucked the Ink Cloud Shuttle inside.

• Du Siwen confronted Xu Qingtong about his false claim that she was pregnant and joked that he had ruined her chastity.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen decided to travel to Lincui City instead of Qushui City, and they reached the Jade Sound Pavilion’s principal city after five days.
• Du Siwen browsed Lincui City’s shops for most of the day, and Xu Qingtong left puzzled by her shopping habits.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen flew southeast from the coast toward Cat-Ear Island aboard the Ink Cloud Shuttle.
• A waterspout pursued the Ink Cloud Shuttle by drawing it in with its suction and swallowed it.

Xu Qingtong survived the waterspout by sheltering inside the Three Saints Bell, then discovered a mountain and cave beneath the sea. Inside the cave, a grave bearing the headstone he made for his parents drew him into a vision before a purplish-red crystal entered his mind.

• Xu Qingtong sent Du Siwen into the Seven-Star Bracelet and used the Three Saints Bell to survive as the waterspout shattered the Ink Cloud Shuttle.
• After the waterspout subsided, Xu Qingtong used Earth Milk to restore his Magic Power and found himself beside a mountain on the seabed.
• Xu Qingtong reached the mountain’s foot and was drawn into a cave where he found his parents’ grave and its familiar headstone.
• Xu Qingtong saw a vision of his parents, but a black thread pulled him toward a skeleton in the cave.
• A purplish-red crystal flew from the skeleton’s skull and plunged into Xu Qingtong’s mind.

Mokali used his remnant soul and sealed devil power to seize Xu Qingtong’s body, but Xu Qingtong fought back with the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus. Xu Qingtong gained the upper hand, and Mokali resolved to burn his remnant soul and take him down with him.

• Mokali fused his dark-green thirteenth vertebra into Xu Qingtong and began transforming his body.
• Xu Qingtong realized Mokali was the Devil Race leader imprisoned beneath the sea and learned how he had survived as a remnant soul.
• Mokali paused in shock when he sensed the Seven-Star Bracelet and Pure-Heart Snow Lotus inside Xu Qingtong’s body.
• Xu Qingtong brought the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus into his Niwang Palace and used it to attack Mokali’s remnant soul.
• Xu Qingtong drove Mokali into a corner, and Mokali threatened to burn his remnant soul and take Xu Qingtong down with him.

Xu Qingtong forced Mokali to bargain for his life and agreed to eventually return his remains and Demon Venerable Token to the Demon Realm. Mokali completed the transformation of Xu Qingtong’s body, leaving him stronger but radiating Demonic Qi.

• Xu Qingtong rejected Mokali’s threats and struck him again with the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus, weakening his remnant soul.
• Mokali asked Xu Qingtong to take his remains and Demon Venerable Token to the Demon Realm and offered to finish transforming Xu Qingtong’s body.
• Xu Qingtong refused Mokali’s secret method for concealing Demonic Qi, then reconsidered after Mokali reminded him that the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus could cleanse it.
• Xu Qingtong set three conditions, and Mokali agreed without receiving a Heart Demon oath.
• Mokali used the dark green vertebra to finish transforming Xu Qingtong’s body, which became tougher and radiated Demonic Qi.
• Mokali told Xu Qingtong he would soon undergo Liberation by Violence and asked him to keep his promise.

Xu Qingtong purged the demonic qi from his body with the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus, which produced three ink-black lotuses. He freed Du Siwen and explained what had happened, and the two decided to cultivate in the undersea cave abode while trapped by its formation.

• Mokali disappeared from Xu Qingtong's Niwang Palace after promising that his belongings would be Xu Qingtong's if the lotus failed to cleanse the demonic qi.
• Xu Qingtong used the Pure-Heart Snow Lotus to absorb the demonic qi in his body, and it produced three ink-black lotus blossoms over half a month.
• Xu Qingtong tossed Mokali's remains into the Seven-Star Bracelet, heard Du Siwen calling, and let her out.
• Du Siwen checked that Xu Qingtong was still human, and he recounted how Mokali had seized his body and how he had reached the seabed cave abode.
• Xu Qingtong discovered that an Invisibility Formation kept them from leaving the cave abode, and Du Siwen suggested they cultivate there.

After three years of cultivation trapped beneath the sea, Xu Qingtong discovered that Xiao Qi was about to advance to the fifth tier and might draw a heavenly tribulation. He protected Xiao Qi as the tribulation shattered the cave’s formation, leaving seawater pouring in while Xiao Qi continued its breakthrough.

• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen cultivated in the submerged mountain for three years, and Xu Qingtong’s original body and Incarnation advanced.
• Xiao Qi told Xu Qingtong that it could no longer suppress its breakthrough and sensed that a heavenly tribulation would follow.
• Xu Qingtong moved Du Siwen and his Incarnation into the Seven-Star Bracelet, then gave Xiao Qi a Fifth-Tier Demon Core to begin its advancement.
• The heavenly tribulation struck the cave, and its seventh bolt shattered the formation and let seawater rush inside.
• Xu Qingtong used spells, Biyue, and the Xuanming Seal to hold back the seawater as lightning struck a hole above Xiao Qi, whose flames vaporized the water pouring onto it.