Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen began their wedding night by studying the cultivation method Zhong Ziqing gave them. After practicing Luan and Phoenix Singing in Harmony, both advanced to the golden core late stage and spent half a month consolidating their cultivation.

• Lü Wenqiu told Zhong Ziqing that Qingtong's advice had helped her comprehend slowness within the Time Law and defeat Nalan Xue.
• Zhong Ziqing said he would eventually leave the Academy to seek further advancement, though he still needed to prepare.
• Zhong Ziqing interrupted Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen's wedding night to give them a Jade Slip containing Luan and Phoenix Singing in Harmony.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen studied the method, practiced it together, and used earth milk to nourish their bodies.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen both broke through to the golden core late stage and spent half a month consolidating their cultivation.

After making breakthroughs, Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen planned to travel to Bingzhou, where Zhong Ziqing warned that Ghost Cultivators might soon rise again. Xu Qingtong resolved to go despite the danger, while the chapter ended with concerns that the threat could eventually reach Central Province.

• Zhong Ziqing learned that Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen had both made breakthroughs after nearly a month of practice.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen asked to travel to Bingzhou, and Zhong Ziqing warned that Ghost Cultivators might appear there again.
• Zhong Ziqing explained Bingzhou’s history of Ghost Cultivator catastrophes and how the Witch Clan had once foreseen and suppressed them.
• Xu Qingtong learned that Jade Spring True Person may have destroyed the Teleportation Arrays connecting Central Province and Bingzhou to keep Yu Xuzi from returning.
• Lü Wenqiu warned that the Five Great Sects had little incentive to help Bingzhou, and Xu Qingtong cautioned that Ghost Cultivators might discover a Teleportation Array and threaten Central Province.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen prepared to return to Bingzhou despite the danger there, receiving protective treasures from Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu. After informing their elders and buying supplies and a new Flying Boat, they set off toward Wei City to visit Azure Wind Hall.

• Zhong Ziqing told Xu Qingtong to evacuate his loved ones from Bingzhou and destroy the Teleportation Array, but Xu Qingtong decided to go there and help if he could.
• Zhong Ziqing and Lü Wenqiu gave Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen protective treasures, teleportation talismans, and the Cosmic Heart Stone.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen exchanged their merit for supplies, informed Shen Haotian and Yu Tiancheng of their trip, and left the Academy.
• Xu Qingtong bought the Treasure Flying Boat Dustless at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion in Zhonglü City.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen flew toward Wei City so he could visit Azure Wind Hall.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen visited Wei City, reunited with Bai Feng, and enjoyed a drunken feast before checking on their shop. After hearing the shop was thriving, Xu Qingtong entrusted its care to Cui Yan and Lan Xin Butterfly and announced that he and Du Siwen would travel the world.

• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen arrived in Wei City, where Bai Feng recognized Xu Qingtong and welcomed them to his manor.
• Bai Feng praised the couple and invited them to a feast, where he and Xu Qingtong drank like mortals and got drunk.
• Du Siwen helped Xu Qingtong back to Azure Wind Hall, then scolded him the next morning for his drunken behavior.
• Cui Yan reported that the shop was doing well and gave Xu Qingtong its earnings and collected goods.
• Xu Qingtong told Cui Yan and Lan Xin Butterfly to hire two shop assistants, focus on cultivation, and seek help from the Academy if needed.
• Xu Qingtong said he and Du Siwen would travel the world, and Lan Xin Butterfly offered him recently gathered intelligence.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen left Azure Wind Hall and traveled toward Cat-Ear Island, while Jade Sound Pavilion’s Nalan Xue sent Fairy Yuqi to follow them. The couple entered the island’s Teleportation Array and vanished, unaware that a momentous event was about to unfold there.

• Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen the intelligence from the jade slip, promised Cui Yan support if he attempted a Golden Core breakthrough, and departed with Du Siwen.
• Yan Zhongzi told his disciple to stop watching Xu Qingtong because Xu Qingtong had become a named disciple of a Spirit Transformation powerhouse.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen flew past Law City after hearing that Jade Sound Pavilion had tightened its inspections, but Nalan Xue spotted them and ordered Fairy Yuqi to follow them quietly.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen reminisced about a past waterspout as they traveled over the sea toward Cat-Ear Island, unaware that Fairy Yuqi was following them.
• After waiting until dark, Xu Qingtong placed high-grade spirit stones in the Teleportation Array at the island’s ruined temple and departed with Du Siwen.

Fairy Yuqi destroyed the Teleportation Array on Cat-Ear Island, trapping Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen on Red Moon Island, then slaughtered the island’s residents to conceal what she had done. Unable to return, Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen went to Cloudsky Peak, where they reunited with Zhuang Shengren and Ding Jiayue, and Zhuang Shengren discovered Xu Qingtong had reached the golden core stage.

• Fairy Yuqi found the Teleportation Array on Cat-Ear Island and destroyed it, then killed the island’s residents and left.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen saw their Teleportation Array crack and concluded that its counterpart on Cat-Ear Island had been destroyed, leaving them unable to return.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen decided to settle in and traveled with Xiao Bai to Cloudsky Peak.
• A gatekeeping disciple announced Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen’s return, and Zhuang Shengren and Ding Jiayue hurried to greet them.
• Zhuang Shengren welcomed Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen, then examined Xu Qingtong and congratulated him on reaching the golden core stage.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen returned to Cloudsky Peak, where they revealed their marriage and paid their respects at Xu Qingtong’s uncle and aunt’s grave. Xu Qingtong moved the grave and their old courtyard into the Seven-Star Bracelet, and he and Du Siwen left considering its crowded space and the possibility of expanding it after he reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Xu Qingtong told Zhuang Shengren that he and Du Siwen had reached the late stage of Golden Core, but the broken Teleportation Array meant they could not return to Central Province.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen told Zhuang Shengren they were married, and he began arranging a celebration on Cloudsky Peak.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen visited his uncle and aunt’s courtyard, knelt at their grave, and told them about their marriage.
• Du Siwen encouraged Xu Qingtong to keep striving to master the time law, and he resolved not to give up on the possibility of turning back time.
• Xu Qingtong moved the courtyard and grave into the Seven-Star Bracelet, where he and Du Siwen saw that the space was thriving but nearly full.

Xu Qingtong told Fang Tianqi that a Ghost Cultivator calamity might soon threaten Qing and Bing Provinces and urged the sect to prepare. Back in his cave, he used a Turtle Shell to divine Du Siwen’s fortune, but the result remained unexplained.

• Zhuang Shengren and Ding Jiayue learned that Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen had returned, and they brought the couple to meet Fang Tianqi at the Council Hall.
• Fang Tianqi discovered that Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen had reached the late stage of Golden Core and asked after Yu Tiancheng.
• Xu Qingtong warned Fang Tianqi that a Ghost Cultivator uprising could strike Qing and Bing Provinces, possibly involving Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, and said Central Province had shut down the Teleportation Array.
• Xu Qingtong suggested that the three sects might have to change their banners and form a new power if they could not resist the Ghost Cultivators, and Fang Tianqi agreed to heighten the sect’s vigilance.
• Xu Qingtong returned to his cave and used the Turtle Shell and a strand of Du Siwen’s hair to perform a divination, producing characters that he interpreted silently.

Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen investigated the lands threatened by ghost cultivators and encountered Biluozong’s sect master, Peng Zide. They then visited Xu Qingtong’s parents’ grave, where a villager’s account moved him to bring his parents’ remains into the Seven-Star Bracelet.

• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen that ghost cultivators would appear in Qing-Bing Land within three years and planned to inspect the area before speaking with the Three Great Sects.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen surveyed the Thousand-Cloud Mountain Range, then encountered Peng Zide when they crossed into Biluozong’s territory.
• Xu Qingtong intimidated Peng Zide with his Golden Core aura, refused his invitation, and continued toward Bluestone Town with Du Siwen.
• Xu Qingtong brought Du Siwen to his parents’ grave near Upper Yang Village, where an old villager told them that kindhearted locals had kept the grave from disappearing.
• Xu Qingtong drew his parents’ grave into the Seven-Star Bracelet, and Du Siwen offered to join him inside to help lay them to rest.

Xu Qingtong returned to the Witch Clan with Du Siwen and learned from Si Yuanzhi that the clan had preserved knowledge about fighting Ghost Cultivators. He revealed that his divination predicted a Ghost Cultivator uprising within three years, and the story left off as Si Yuanzhi asked what he intended to do.

• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen visited his parents’ graves in the Seven-Star Bracelet, then left together.
• Three months later, Xu Qingtong led Du Siwen through a hollow tree in the Black Witch Marsh and brought her to the Witch Clan.
• Xu Qingtong introduced Du Siwen to clan chief Si Yuanzhi as his wife, and Si Yuanzhi explained Xu Qingtong’s ties to the clan.
• Si Yuanzhi congratulated Xu Qingtong on reaching the Witch Spirit Realm, while Xu Qingtong revealed that his Human Race cultivation had reached the late stage of Golden Core.
• Xu Qingtong asked Si Yuanzhi about Ghost Cultivators, and Si Yuanzhi explained the Witch Clan’s history of fighting them and its records of how to handle them.
• Xu Qingtong said his divination predicted Ghost Cultivators would appear within three years and explained that Central Province could no longer send help because the Teleportation Array had been destroyed.

Xu Qingtong proposed settling the Witch Clan in Qing and Bing Provinces, then tried to find a way through the barrier trapping them. Xiao Bai opened a tiny passage but could not enlarge it, so Si Yuanzhi offered to show them a ten-thousand-year-old Mandui Fruit tree.

• Xu Qingtong suggested making Qing and Bing Provinces Witch Clan territory, and Du Siwen reassured Si Yuanzhi that Xu Qingtong's powerful allies would support the plan.
• Xu Qingtong raised concerns about Qingzhou and decided to test whether he could open the barrier before planning further.
• Si Yuanzhi explained that opening the barrier had cost him half his star power and taken ten years to recover, then brought Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen to the Heaven Eye.
• Xu Qingtong tested the barrier with the Fengyi Sword but decided not to use his World-Breaking Fruit, so he summoned Xiao Bai for help.
• Xiao Bai opened a small black hole in the barrier but said he lacked the spatial power to make it large enough for them to pass through.
• Si Yuanzhi revealed that a ten-thousand-year-old Mandui Fruit tree grew in the Lesser Heaven Realm, and Xu Qingtong asked him to take them to it.

Xu Qingtong and Si Yuanzhi agreed on the Witch Clan’s future role and discussed how its Taiyi Heart Method could counter Ghost Cultivators. After Si Yuanzhi answered Xu Qingtong’s cultivation questions, he asked whether Du Siwen would join the Witch Clan.

• Si Yuanzhi let Xiao Bai gather ripe Mandui Fruits, then offered Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen a house beside his residence.
• Xu Qingtong and Si Yuanzhi agreed that the Witch Clan would settle in Black Witch Marsh and Demon Baleful Forest, welcome volunteers before war, and help the Qing-Bing Land fight the Ghost Cultivators.
• Si Yuanzhi explained that the Taiyi Heart Method refined yin nether qi into taiyin qi, and Xu Qingtong showed him the Yin Nether Soul Refining Art.
• Si Yuanzhi compared the two methods and explained that the Witch Clan’s spell could not refine living people’s souls, unlike the Yin Nether Soul Refining Art used with the Soul Refining Pot.
• Si Yuanzhi answered Xu Qingtong’s questions about the Taiyi Heart Method, then asked whether Du Siwen would join the Witch Clan.

Xu Qingtong persuaded Du Siwen to join the Witch Clan while retaining her Human Race identity, and Si Yuanzhi fused a drop of Witch Ancestor blood into her. At the welcoming ceremony, Si Yuanzhi announced Xu Qingtong had secured a place for the clan to live, then began to reveal another reason for the gathering.

• Xiao Bai fretted over its dwindling supply of Mandui Fruit, and Xu Qingtong gave it a few more.
• Xu Qingtong explained to Du Siwen that Witch Clan cultivation could help her grow stronger, and she agreed to join while keeping her Human Race identity.
• Xu Qingtong brought Du Siwen to Si Yuanzhi, who welcomed her and fused a drop of Witch Ancestor blood into her.
• Si Yuanzhi ordered a Welcoming New Members Ceremony before the banquet and prepared offerings at the great tree.
• Si Yuanzhi announced that Xu Qingtong had secured a place where the Witch Clan could live and flourish, then said there was another important reason for the gathering.

After Du Siwen joined the Witch Clan, Xiao Bai broke through to the sixth tier, and Xu Qingtong brought him to test whether he could open the Barrier. Xiao Bai created a much larger Black Hole, and Xu Qingtong sent a rabbit through it to test the danger.

• Du Siwen completed the Witch Clan's rites and joined the clan as Xu Qingtong's wife.
• Xiao Bai urgently asked Xu Qingtong for Demon Cores and broke through to the sixth tier with his help.
• Xiao Bai swaggered in front of Xiao Qi, who beat him, before Xizi evaded his attempt to retaliate.
• Xu Qingtong, Du Siwen, and Si Yuanzhi returned to the Heaven Eye the next morning, where Xiao Bai opened a Black Hole more than three times larger than before.
• Xu Qingtong rejected Si Yuanzhi's suggestion to send a clansman through and tossed a rabbit carrying his Divine Sense into the Black Hole.

Xu Qingtong proved that the barrier passage was safe by sending a rabbit and then Yi Chen through the black hole. He told the Witch Clan leaders that only about a hundred people could leave at a time, and they began discussing how to organize their departure for Qing-Bing Land.

• Xu Qingtong sent a rabbit through the black hole and confirmed that it reached the outside safely.
• Si Yuanzhi and the Grand Elder chose Yi Chen to test the passage, and Xu Qingtong gave him a Calamity-Substitute Talisman.
• Yi Chen traveled through the black hole and returned safely, thanking Xu Qingtong before returning the talisman.
• Xiao Bai said it could not keep controlling the black hole for long, so Xu Qingtong and the clan leaders went to discuss the departure plan.
• Xu Qingtong explained that only about a hundred people could leave each time and that the land in Qing-Bing Land was limited.
• The Second Elder questioned the small territory, then apologized to Xu Qingtong, and Si Yuanzhi proposed discussing the groups and choosing who would leave.

Si Yuanzhi and Xu Qingtong organized the Witch Clan’s first group to leave the Lesser Heaven Realm, then sent the clan’s elites through the barrier. Xu Qingtong reunited with Du Siwen and the Grand Elder outside, where he planned to lead everyone from Black Witch Marsh to Demon Baleful Forest to establish a new home.

• Si Yuanzhi, the Grand Elder, and the Second Elder agreed to send out clanspeople at the Sorcerer Realm or above who already had children, and Si Yuanzhi gave Xu Qingtong a hide containing cultivation methods up to Witch Immortal.
• The elders selected six hundred and thirty clanspeople, and Si Yuanzhi assigned Xu Qingtong to coordinate their departure while the Grand Elder managed them.
• Du Siwen and the Grand Elder went through Xiao Bai’s temporary black hole first, followed by the clanspeople in batches as Xiao Bai rested and recovered between openings.
• After everyone else had left, Xiao Bai used its innate divine ability to hold the black hole open for three breaths, and Xu Qingtong escaped with Xiao Bai into the Seven-Star Bracelet.
• Xu Qingtong reunited with Du Siwen and the Grand Elder at the great tree, then said he would lead the clanspeople from Black Witch Marsh to Demon Baleful Forest to build a city and a new home.

Xu Qingtong led the Witch Clan through the Black Witch Marsh and chose the Black Water Pool as a place for them to settle. After the Grand Elder thanked him, Xu Qingtong asked how the clan could strengthen its people, and the Grand Elder handed him an item to examine.

• Xu Qingtong organized the 630 Witch Clan members into teams and led them toward the Demon Baleful Forest, with Du Siwen and the Grand Elder guarding the procession.
• When one clansman wandered off during the night, the Grand Elder punished both him and his team leader, and the group resumed its journey at daybreak.
• Xu Qingtong and the Grand Elder chose a small mountain near the Heavenly Chasm, with a ravine and pool, as the clan’s settlement site.
• Du Siwen received Xu Qingtong’s signal through the Concentric Heart Lotus Pendant and led the clansmen to the Black Water Pool.
• Xu Qingtong asked how the Witch Clan could quickly improve its strength, and the Grand Elder took an item from his robe and asked whether Xu Qingtong recognized it.

Xu Qingtong received flesh lingzhi and the Nine Yin Pill refinement method from the Grand Elder, then helped the Witch Clan establish temporary dwellings while Du Siwen learned shamanic arts. After learning how flesh lingzhi could be fed with yin-rich materials, Xu Qingtong decided to return to the sect and discuss dealing with ghost cultivators.

• The Grand Elder gave Xu Qingtong a piece of flesh lingzhi and the Nine Yin Pill refinement method, warning him to keep them secret.
• Xu Qingtong cut a fingernail-sized piece from the flesh lingzhi, stored it in a jade bottle, and promised to protect the Witch Clan's interests.
• Xu Qingtong taught Du Siwen the Taiyi Heart Method and directed Witch Clan disciples as they built dwellings near Black Water Pool.
• Du Siwen studied the Taiyi Heart Method, opened a star sea at her spleen, and began learning shamanic arts.
• The Grand Elder told Xu Qingtong that flesh lingzhi grew well when wrapped in yin-rich materials such as River Styx water, Yellow Springs dew, or ghost cultivators' bodies.
• Xu Qingtong decided to return to the sect and discuss dealing with ghost cultivators with the sect leader.

Xu Qingtong discovered that Yellow Springs Jade Dew could rapidly nurture the Flesh Lingzhi, so he took Du Siwen to the Thousand-Cloud Mountain Range to gather more and let the fungus grow. After a night of Taiyi Heart Method practice, the Flesh Lingzhi had turned purple-gold, but Xu Qingtong said he would not refine it into pills yet, leaving Du Siwen to wonder whether he planned to give it to the Witch Clan.

• Xu Qingtong fed the Flesh Lingzhi half a bottle of Yellow Springs Jade Dew, causing it to grow, and changed course for the Thousand-Cloud Mountain Range.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen found the old Corpse Charm cave, where Xu Qingtong collected more Yellow Springs Jade Dew and showed her the enlarged Flesh Lingzhi.
• Du Siwen placed the Flesh Lingzhi in a hollow filled with Yellow Springs Jade Dew, and the two practiced the Taiyi Heart Method through the night.
• Xu Qingtong and Du Siwen found that the Flesh Lingzhi had grown into a large purple-gold lump, and Xu Qingtong said he would not refine it into pills yet.
• Du Siwen asked Xu Qingtong whether he intended to give the Flesh Lingzhi to the Witch Clan.

Xu Qingtong gave Xiao Qi half the flesh lingzhi to help her advance and uncovered nine mysterious crystal stones beneath its pool. After Xiao Qi ate the lingzhi and swallowed the Riftwind Beast's Inner Core, she entered a blazing transformation toward the sixth tier, leaving Xu Qingtong watching anxiously as a wondrous sight began.

• Xu Qingtong decided to use the flesh lingzhi to help Xiao Qi advance instead of refining Nine Yin Pills, and Xiao Qi asked for half of it plus the Riftwind Beast's Inner Core.
• Xu Qingtong found the flesh lingzhi rooted to its pool, dug up the pool, and uncovered nine mysterious crystal stones formed from Yellow Springs Jade Dew.
• Xu Qingtong cut off half the lingzhi for Xiao Qi, stored the rest and the stones, then studied pill refinement while Du Siwen practiced witch arts.
• Xiao Qi finished eating the lingzhi, drew in surrounding spiritual qi, and swallowed the Riftwind Beast's Inner Core.
• Flames engulfed Xiao Qi as she told Xu Qingtong she needed to bathe in them to reach the sixth tier; he saw that her feathers had burned away just before a wondrous sight unfolded.