Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong demonstrated his Time Law to Du Siwen, who then studied the Cosmic Heart Stone while they cultivated on Lakeside Island. After Du Siwen reached mid-stage Golden Core, they left for Red Rock Canyon to find Nangong, but trouble stopped them along the way.

• Xu Qingtong used his Time Law to slow Du Siwen’s Long Halberd, then collapsed from exhausting his mental energy.
• Du Siwen tried to learn the Time Law from the Cosmic Heart Stone but found she could neither retain nor imprint its runes; Xu Qingtong lent her the stone to study.
• Over the next month, Du Siwen memorized three runes while cultivating, and Xizi broke through to the fifth tier.
• More than five months after entering the formation on Lakeside Island, Du Siwen reached mid-stage Golden Core and prepared to leave with Xu Qingtong.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen set off by Flying Boat for Red Rock Canyon to find Nangong, but they ran into trouble before traveling three hundred li.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen found the Secret Realm’s demon beasts still roaming after the Five Great Sects’ disciples disappeared, then fled a surge of beasts led by the Riftwind Beast. The Riftwind Beast caught up with them near Jadewater Lake, and Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen to hide in the Seven-Star Bracelet.

• Xu Qingtong killed a sixth-tier Diamond-Horned Ox that attacked his flying boat, then he and Du Siwen continued toward Red Rock Canyon by Flying Sword Technique.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen killed another patrol of demon beasts and suspected the Five Great Sects’ disciples had been defeated, killed, or driven away.
• Xu Qingtong set his incarnation to keep watch while he and Du Siwen meditated, and the incarnation killed two sixth-tier and six fifth-tier demon beasts overnight.
• After a roar came from Red Rock Canyon, Xu Qingtong detected dozens of demon beasts pursuing them and pulled Du Siwen toward Jadewater Lake.
• Golden-Feathered Arrow Birds caught up as the Riftwind Beast led the pursuing horde, and Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen to enter the Seven-Star Bracelet.

Xu Qingtong fled the Riftwind Beast, then tricked it into revealing how immortal essence had strengthened the demon beasts in the Secret Realm. He caught the beast with his time-law power and pierced its chest with the Fengyi Sword, but the wounded beast counterattacked as the chapter ended.

• Xu Qingtong sent Du Siwen into the Seven-Star Bracelet and fled with his Flying Heaven Wings, but the Riftwind Beast pursued him to the edge of the Secret Realm.
• The Riftwind Beast told Xu Qingtong that demon beasts had killed many of the human cultivators and that immortal essence had helped three beasts reach the seventh tier.
• Xu Qingtong learned that immortal jade had been exposed when its seals vanished fifteen years earlier, then tried to leave after extracting the information.
• The Riftwind Beast saw through Xu Qingtong's deception and moved to eat him, so Xu Qingtong sent out his incarnation and attacked with Demon Flame Burning Heaven.
• Xu Qingtong's incarnation slowed the Riftwind Beast with the power of the time law, allowing Xu Qingtong to pierce its chest with the Fengyi Sword.
• The Riftwind Beast broke free and launched a Wind Blade at Xu Qingtong, who raised the Mysterious Light Mirror while his incarnation used the time law again.

Xu Qingtong killed the Riftwind Beast, then chose to leave the Secret Realm with Du Siwen rather than search for the last Seventh-Tier Demon Beast. After they escaped the pursuing beasts and returned to the Primordial Beginning Hall, Sect Leader Kang sought to question Xu Qingtong.

• Xu Qingtong used the Turtle-Speed Technique and Fengyi Sword to wound the Riftwind Beast, then pulled out its Demon Core and killed it.
• Xiao Qi devoured the Riftwind Beast's demon soul, while Xu Qingtong stored its wings and corpse and released Du Siwen from the Seven-Star Bracelet.
• Xu Qingtong remembered that one Seventh-Tier Demon Beast remained, but decided he and Du Siwen should leave and report the situation to the Wuji Sect so they could negotiate a return.
• As Demon Beasts approached, Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen crushed their teleportation Jade Talismans and escaped the Secret Realm.
• Du Siwen and Xu Qingtong reunited with Nangong Zhen and the Grand Elder in the Primordial Beginning Hall, where the Grand Elder told Xu Qingtong that Sect Leader Kang had questions for him.

Xu Qingtong told Kang Yi that broken seals had released immortal essence in the Secret Realm, rapidly strengthening its demon beasts, and proved that he and Du Siwen had killed the Riftwind Beast. After warning Kang Yi about two other seventh-tier beasts and more likely to emerge, Xu returned to the Guest Reception Tower with Du Siwen and Nangong Zhen while the Grand Elder left to attend to an urgent matter.

• Kang Yi stopped an elder from inspecting Xu Qingtong's Storage Ring and asked whether Xu had seen the Riftwind Beast.
• Xu Qingtong asked Kang Yi to speak privately and bring Du Siwen, then explained that released immortal essence had strengthened the Secret Realm's demon beasts.
• Xu showed Kang Yi the Riftwind Beast's Demon Core and wings, proving that he and Du Siwen had killed it.
• Xu warned Kang Yi that a Jadewater Flood Dragon and another seventh-tier demon beast remained in the Secret Realm, and that more could appear within ten years.
• Kang Yi told Xu and Du Siwen to return to the Guest Reception Tower, and the Grand Elder soon left after instructing them not to wander.
• Xu asked Nangong Zhen to return with him and tell him about his experiences in the Secret Realm.

Xu Qingtong, Du Siwen, and Nangong Zhen discussed their experiences in the Secret Realm and learned that the Wuji Sect wanted them to return to hunt another seventh-tier demon beast. The Grand Elder arrived with payment for Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen after confirming they had killed the Riftwind Beast.

• Nangong Zhen recounted fleeing the Secret Realm after Anyang Sect disciples and demon beasts trapped him, and said fifteen people had returned so far.
• Xu Qingtong told Nangong Zhen that he and Du Siwen had killed the Riftwind Beast and that one seventh-tier demon beast might remain in the Secret Realm.
• Nangong Zhen said he would not enter the Secret Realm again, while Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen discussed threats from the Anyang Sect and Dongfang Hui.
• The Grand Elder told Xu Qingtong that the other sects had suffered losses and confirmed that the Wuji Sect wanted help hunting the remaining demon beast.
• Xu Qingtong complained that the Wuji Sect expected them to risk their lives without proper compensation, and the Grand Elder gave him two Storage Bags as payment for killing the Riftwind Beast.

Xu Qingtong refused to risk another trip into the Black Tortoise Secret Realm for the Wuji Sect’s initial offer, and Kang Yi sought permission to offer a greater reward. Xu Qingtong still held out for better terms as the sect scheduled the next mission for two days later.

• Xu Qingtong, Nangong Zhen, and Du Siwen rejected the initial payment and said they would not reenter the Secret Realm, while the Grand Elder learned that Kang Yi would not let them leave yet.
• Kang Yi told the white-browed elder about the disaster in the Black Tortoise Secret Realm and proposed offering outsiders access to the Dao Comprehension Stele; the elder approved the plan.
• Kang Yi compensated the other sects with ten million spirit stones for each disciple they had lost, then offered mission participants two million spirit stones and three days to study the Dao Comprehension Stele.
• Xu Qingtong refused to agree, so Kang Yi privately promised to discuss his conditions and then added another million spirit stones for each participant.
• Kang Yi finalized the mission for the day after tomorrow, while Xu Qingtong stayed behind in the hall.

Xu Qingtong negotiated with Kang Yi for a month to study the Dao Comprehension Stele and pendants that would help him and Du Siwen find each other in the Secret Realm. After Nangong Zhen returned to the Academy, Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen joined the other sect disciples as the Secret Realm opened.

• Xu Qingtong asked Kang Yi to let him and Du Siwen enter at the same location and to give him unlimited time at the Dao Comprehension Stele, but accepted a month and two Concentric Heart Lotus Pendants instead.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen refined the pendants so they could sense each other within two thousand li, while the Grand Elder explained that the month of study would consume precious immortal jade.
• The Grand Elder told Nangong Zhen he could return to Juxian Academy, and Nangong Zhen left the next morning.
• Three days later, the Grand Elder, Xu Qingtong, and Du Siwen went to the Primordial Beginning Hall, where disciples from the participating sects gathered and received map jade slips and teleportation talismans.
• Kang Yi opened the Black Tortoise Picture, and Xu Qingtong waited for the other disciples to enter before inviting Du Siwen into the Secret Realm.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen traveled through the Black Tortoise Secret Realm toward Red Rock Canyon, where Xu Qingtong discovered a way to collect Geng Metal Qi with the Rushou Seal. They began refining the qi into their treasures, but Du Siwen decided not to continue because she lacked a metal spirit root.

• Xu Qingtong quickly reached Du Siwen at Purple Cloud Peak, and they decided to head for Red Rock Canyon before seeking the other seventh-tier demon beasts.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen fought through demon beasts on their journey, then joined forces with their summoned companions to defeat a group that trapped them in a ravine.
• Xu Qingtong recognized the ravine's unusual aura as Geng Metal Qi and used the Rushou Seal to gather it and shatter a large rock with its power.
• Xu Qingtong taught Du Siwen an artifact-refining method, then showed her how to refine Geng Metal Qi along the Water-Fire Heaven-Shaking Halberd's circulation route.
• Du Siwen successfully absorbed the Geng Metal Qi into her halberd, but told Xu Qingtong she did not want to keep refining it because she lacked a metal spirit root.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen refined Geng Metal qi in a ravine, strengthening their treasures before continuing toward Red Rock Canyon. When Xu Qingtong sensed Dongfang Hui following them, Du Siwen confronted her, and their clash began with a powerful halberd strike against Dongfang Hui’s shield.

• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen traveled deeper into the ravine, where they refined Geng Metal qi until the Rushou Seal and the Water-Fire Heaven-Shaking Halberd became middle-grade treasures.
• Du Siwen tested her strengthened halberd by splitting the rock with a golden strike, and Xu Qingtong decided they should leave for Red Rock Canyon rather than refine more qi.
• Near Red Rock Canyon, Xu Qingtong sensed Dongfang Hui approaching and admitted that he wanted to avoid her, but Du Siwen insisted on facing her.
• Du Siwen challenged Dongfang Hui over her past attack on Xu Qingtong, then struck when Dongfang Hui silently followed them.
• Dongfang Hui blocked Du Siwen’s Twin Heavens of Water and Fire with a shield, but the impact made her stagger and surprised her with its strength.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen reached Red Rock Canyon with Dongfang Hui following them, and they fought the demon beasts there without her help. Dongfang Hui realized Xu Qingtong had previously let her wound him and was left embarrassed after refusing his offer to join forces.

• Du Siwen wanted to attack Dongfang Hui for following them, but Xu Qingtong persuaded her to stay alert and continue toward Red Rock Canyon.
• Xu Qingtong invited Dongfang Hui to join them against two sixth-tier and six fifth-tier demon beasts, but she refused and said she would kill her own targets.
• Xu Qingtong split off his incarnation to fight the Gudia while his main body fought the Three-Tailed Monkey, and Du Siwen attacked the six fifth-tier beasts.
• Xu Qingtong killed the Three-Tailed Monkey and Gudia, collected their demon cores and souls, and Du Siwen killed all six fifth-tier beasts with her Geng Metal Qi.
• After watching their strength, Dongfang Hui abandoned the idea of challenging them and realized Xu Qingtong had deliberately let her stab him before.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen entered Red Rock Canyon to investigate the Riftwind Beast’s former territory, where Xu Qingtong faced the fierce wind alone and began to comprehend how to move with it. He reached a new understanding of the wind’s movements, though the chapter left his discovery’s full extent unrevealed.

• Du Siwen cleared the battlefield and left with Xu Qingtong, while Dongfang Hui watched them go and wept over severing her feelings.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen reached Red Rock Canyon at midnight, rested until morning, and then entered the canyon together.
• At a fork underground, Xu Qingtong persuaded Du Siwen to explore the right passage with him rather than split up.
• As the wind grew too strong to withstand, Du Siwen sheltered behind a boulder while Xu Qingtong pressed farther into the passage.
• Xu Qingtong used the Riftwind Beast’s wing to discover that aligning with the wind removed its force, then applied the same principle to his Divine Sense and body.
• After sensing the wind and letting it carry him, Xu Qingtong opened his eyes with understanding and swayed freely with its movements.

Xu Qingtong mastered moving with the fierce wind and discovered a Riftwind Beast’s lair containing an egg and three-thousand-year-old Transformation Grass. Meanwhile, Du Siwen pressed deeper into a scorching passage until a dark red shadow appeared before her.

• Xu Qingtong drifted through the gorge while comprehending the wind, and Du Siwen realized he was learning to move freely within it.
• Du Siwen explored the quiet left passage, where growing darkness and heat made her increasingly uneasy.
• Xu Qingtong entered a cave, found a living Riftwind Beast egg, and stored it in the Seven-Star Bracelet.
• Xu Qingtong discovered three-thousand-year-old Transformation Grass, and Xiao Qi explained its value and suggested refining it into Transformation Pills.
• Du Siwen stopped in the pitch-black, scorching passage to turn back, but a dark red shadow appeared before her.

Xu Qingtong rescued Du Siwen from a dangerous fire spirit and discovered it was the heaven-and-earth spirit fire called Nine Nether Earthfire. He decided Du Siwen should refine it and gave her a secret method to do so.

• Du Siwen struggled against a flame shadow that repeatedly reformed after her attacks and nearly wounded her in the narrow gorge.
• Xu Qingtong hurried through the scorching passage and reached Du Siwen, trapping the flame shadow inside the Three Saints Bell.
• Xu Qingtong asked Xiao Bai and Xizi about the flame, and Xizi identified it as Nine Nether Earthfire.
• Xu Qingtong explained that spirit fire could be refined and persuaded Du Siwen to do so because her water and fire spirit roots suited it.
• Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen a secret spirit-fire refinement method, and she studied it before crushing the jade slip.

Du Siwen refined the Nine Nether Earthfire with Xu Qingtong’s help, while Xu Qingtong exhausted himself maintaining the restraints. Afterward, they decided to leave the canyon, and Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen a Riftwind Beast egg to bond with.

• Du Siwen chose to refine the Nine Nether Earthfire, and Xu Qingtong prepared a Five Elements Formation and restrained the fire spirit.
• Du Siwen erased the fire spirit’s consciousness and refined it into her dantian while Xu Qingtong collapsed from using the power of Time Law.
• Xu Qingtong woke and recovered as his incarnation watched over Du Siwen, who endured the flame’s heat until the refining was complete.
• Du Siwen thanked Xu Qingtong, and they decided to leave the canyon rather than explore farther into its dangerous depths.
• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen he had gained insight into the power of wind and found three-thousand-year-old transformation grass, then gave her a Riftwind Beast egg and urged her to bond with it using her essence blood.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen traveled to Cangwu Abyss in search of a seventh-tier demon beast. Xu Qingtong discovered a camouflaged Darknight Flying Tuo in the depths, but as he tried to escape, its suction slowed him and its scarlet tongue struck his back.

• Du Siwen accepted the Riftwind Beast egg from Xu Qingtong, claimed it with her essence blood, and placed it in a Spirit Beast Bag.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen traveled toward Cangwu Abyss, killing several fifth- and sixth-tier demon beasts along the way.
• Xu Qingtong descended into the abyss alone and found a moving stone-like creature among the bones at its bottom.
• Xu Qingtong recognized the creature as a Darknight Flying Tuo and tried to flee toward the cliff top.
• The Darknight Flying Tuo pulled Xu Qingtong back with its suction, then struck him in the back with its scarlet tongue.

Xu Qingtong escaped a Darknight Flying Tuo’s attack with the Substitute Talisman Shen Haotian had given him, then hid with Du Siwen to recover and wait for help. On the fifth day, they spotted Mu Xue and a man from the Wuji Sect near Cangwu Abyss, and Xu Qingtong called out to him.

• The Darknight Flying Tuo caught Xu Qingtong with its tongue, but his Substitute Talisman took the attack and let him escape with Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong led Du Siwen to a hill, sent Xizi to watch the area, and told Du Siwen to keep her Substitute Talisman ready.
• Xu Qingtong spent a day refining the Flying Heaven Wings while he and Du Siwen waited on the hill for four more days.
• Xizi reported that a man and a woman had passed by, so Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen went to investigate.
• Xu Qingtong recognized the woman as Mu Xue of the Jade Sound Pavilion and suspected the man was Yuwen Kui of the Wuji Sect.
• Xu Qingtong sent Yuwen Kui a voice transmission, asking him to wait because he had something to discuss.

Xu Qingtong warned Yuwen Kui and Mu Xue about the powerful Darknight Flying Tuo in Cangwu Abyss, but Yuwen Kui went to face it alone. After the beast chased the injured Yuwen Kui and Mu Xue back toward Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen, both pursuers crushed their teleportation talismans to escape the Secret Realm.

• Xu Qingtong told Yuwen Kui that a peak sixth-tier Darknight Flying Tuo guarded Cangwu Abyss and suggested they work together, but Yuwen Kui mocked him and went ahead alone.
• Xu Qingtong described the abyss and the beast's camouflage, defenses, and deadly tongue to Mu Xue, then left with Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen decided to wait for other allies and consider hunting the beast for its valuable hide.
• Mu Xue and a bloodied Yuwen Kui fled from the Darknight Flying Tuo, which pursued them toward Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen.
• Yuwen Kui used a secret art to outrun Mu Xue and crushed his teleportation Jade Talisman; Mu Xue then crushed hers as well.

Xu Qingtong, Du Siwen, and Xiao Qi fought the Darknight Flying Tuo after it swallowed Mu Xue, wounding the beast and blinding it. They surrounded it to prevent its retreat to Cangwu Abyss, and the battle continued as it attacked Xu Qingtong’s Rushou Seal while Du Siwen’s Nine Nether Earthfire entered its mouth.

• Yuwen Kui escaped the Secret Realm while the Darknight Flying Tuo swallowed Mu Xue before she could teleport away.
• Xu Qingtong learned the beast was approaching and arranged his incarnation, Du Siwen, and Xiao Qi to fight it.
• Du Siwen wounded the beast’s tongue, and Xu Qingtong’s Fengyi Sword severed its left foreclaw.
• Xiao Qi struck the Darknight Flying Tuo’s eyes with Five-Colored Divine Light, blinding it and prompting it to retreat.
• Xu Qingtong blocked the beast’s route to Cangwu Abyss with the Five Elements Divine Seals while Du Siwen sent Nine Nether Earthfire into its mouth.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen killed the Darknight Flying Tuo, collected its remains, and decided to keep gathering herbs in the Secret Realm. As they searched, Xizi uncovered a piece of bloodgold stone.

• Du Siwen’s Nine Nether Earthfire and Xu Qingtong’s Five Elements Formation weakened the Darknight Flying Tuo, while Xu Qingtong’s Incarnation slowed it with the Time Law.
• Xu Qingtong cut open the Darknight Flying Tuo, removed its Demon Core, and used a Blood-Soul Restriction Talisman to help Xiao Qi consume its Beast Soul.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen divided the Darknight Flying Tuo’s remains, and Xu Qingtong promised to make Du Siwen a set of Invisibility Armor from its hide.
• Du Siwen proposed gathering more spirit medicines, and Xu Qingtong agreed that they should search the Secret Realm before it closed.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen collected herbs for Xiao Bai to plant in the Seven-Star Bracelet, while Xizi dug up a piece of bloodgold stone in less than a day.