Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong and Wei City's defenders repelled the Profound Yin Church's attack, killing three of its Nascent Soul cultivators and more than twenty Golden Core cultivators. Wang Chengcai vanished during the battle, and Wei Qifeng concluded that destroying Wei City might require help from Senior Uncle Yin.

• Wang Chengcai demanded that Wei City surrender, but Xu Qingtong refused and the Profound Yin Church attacked the city's defensive formation.
• Xu Qingtong and the other defenders fired Yuanrong Bolts, killing two Nascent Soul cultivators and destroying another's body, while Wang Chengcai disappeared.
• Xu Qingtong slowed the final Nascent Soul cultivator with the Time Law, Du Siwen killed him, and Xiao Qi devoured his Nascent Soul.
• Du Siwen and the other defenders drove the Profound Yin Church's Golden Core cultivators from Wei City, leaving more than twenty corpses behind.
• Xu Qingtong returned to refining Yuanrong Bolts, while Wang Chengcai reported the defeat to Wei Qifeng, who decided to consult Senior Uncle Yin.

After the Profound Yin Church retreated from Wei City, Xu Qingtong strengthened control over the Yuanrong Bolts while rival sects clashed over territory and a stolen disciple. The chapter ended with Xu Qingtong asking for the Heavenly Mystery Palace disciple’s name, suspecting the affair resembled his past with Dongfang Hui.

• Wei Qifeng reported the losses at Wei City to Yin Wanchou, who warned him that Lü Wenqiu was too powerful to risk provoking.
• Xu Qingtong revised the Yuanrong Bolt refining method to let him control the bolts, then had Ximen Wanyan and Guo Tianyu replace the Garrison Camp’s bolts.
• The Anyang Sect occupied the disputed Desert Swamp after the Profound Yin Church was weakened, and fighting broke out between the two sects.
• The Heavenly Mystery Palace and the Jade Sound Pavilion fought after Heavenly Mystery Palace disciples rescued a Jade Sound Pavilion disciple imprisoned for refusing to cultivate the Heart-Severing Art.
• Xu Qingtong thought of Dongfang Hui as he heard about the disciple’s past romance and asked Lan Xin Butterfly for the disciple’s name.

Xu Qingtong investigated the Five Great Sects’ conflict and learned from Lü Wenqiu that a major upheaval might involve another realm or race. Back in Wei City, he strengthened its intelligence network and defenses while commissioning Duoduo to make Yuanrong Crossbows.

• Xu Qingtong ordered Lan Xin Butterfly to investigate Dong Yunxiao and monitor the Five Great Sects, then left Wei City to visit Lü Wenqiu.
• Lü Wenqiu explained that the Spirit Transformation cultivators were avoiding conflict because they hoped to leave Central Province, and he suspected the Wuji Sect’s leaders were hiding their intentions.
• Xu Qingtong and Lü Wenqiu discussed the approaching upheaval, the Netherworld, and Xu Qingtong’s earlier encounter with a Yin Nether Beast.
• Xu Qingtong visited Shen Haotian to explain how to operate the Yuanrong Bolts, then returned to Wei City and ordered daily intelligence gathering and recruitment for an Azure Edge Camp.
• Xu Qingtong asked Duoduo to refine twenty Yuanrong Crossbows using materials supplied by Cui Yan.

After months of cultivation, Xu Qingtong learned that Dong Yunxiao was Old Dong and tracked him to a hidden cave on Phoenix Mausoleum Mountain. He reunited with Dong Yunxiao, returned Han Minghui’s mechanism art, and agreed to call each other brothers.

• Xu Qingtong trained for six months, then gave Guo Tianyu Yuanrong Crossbows and bolts for the Azure Edge Camp.
• Lan Xin Butterfly told Xu Qingtong that Dong Yunxiao was Old Dong, a former Heavenly Mystery Palace prodigy now pursued by both the Heavenly Mystery Palace and the Jade Sound Pavilion.
• Xu Qingtong left his incarnation at the City Lord’s Manor and flew to Phoenix Mausoleum Mountain to find Dong Yunxiao.
• Dong Yunxiao emerged from his cave and let Xu Qingtong inside after questioning how he had found the secluded place.
• Xu Qingtong returned Han Minghui’s Han Clan Mechanism Art jade slip and explained his connection to Han Minghui.
• After Xu Qingtong declined the title of junior martial brother because he served Zhong Ziqing, Dong Yunxiao proposed they address each other as brothers, and Xu Qingtong accepted.

Xu Qingtong persuaded Dong Yunxiao and Xin Ke to join Wei City, then treated Xin Ke’s illness. The chapter ended with Heavenly Mystery Palace Grand Elder Yan Zhongzi arriving at Wei City and asking about Dong Yunxiao.

• Xu Qingtong invited Dong Yunxiao to join Wei City, promising safety and resources, and Xin Ke urged her husband to accept.
• Dong Yunxiao agreed, and Xu Qingtong brought him and Xin Ke to Wei City, where he appointed Dong Yunxiao an elder with resources equal to a Vice City Lord’s.
• Xu Qingtong diagnosed Xin Ke’s illness and prescribed medicine, which Dong Yunxiao helped her refine.
• After ten days, Xin Ke had recovered enough to circulate her magic power, and Dong Yunxiao thanked Xu Qingtong for treating her.
• Guo Tianyu reported that Yan Zhongzi had arrived at Wei City’s south gate, and Xu Qingtong went to meet him.
• Yan Zhongzi asked whether Dong Yunxiao, an outcast disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Palace, had fled to Wei City, and Xu Qingtong demanded that he speak plainly.

Xu Qingtong drove off Yan Zhongzi’s attempt to seize Dong Yunxiao and spent years strengthening Wei City and Juxian Academy. Later, Shen Haotian told him Yin Nether Qi had appeared in the Haoyu Mountain Range, possibly signaling that the great calamity was near.

• Yan Zhongzi demanded that Xu Qingtong surrender Dong Yunxiao, but Xu Qingtong refused and challenged the Heavenly Mystery Palace forces outside Wei City.
• Xu Qingtong and the Azure Edge Camp used twenty Yuanrong Crossbows to destroy the Heavenly Mystery Palace’s forces, sparing Yan Zhongzi’s life and sending him back with a warning for Sect Leader Zheng.
• The Heavenly Mystery Palace abandoned thoughts of retaliation, and the Jade Sound Pavilion and Anyang Sect also became more cautious toward Wei City and Juxian Academy.
• After ten years, Xu Qingtong returned from Wei City to Juxian Academy, handed the Garrison Camp’s duties to Lei Wei, and resumed a hands-off role.
• Shen Haotian told Xu Qingtong that Yin Nether Qi had appeared in the Haoyu Mountain Range and that two Wuji Sect investigation groups had vanished.
• Xu Qingtong advised against helping Kang Yi, while Shen Haotian revealed that Senior Lü suspected the Barrier to the Netherworld had loosened and the great calamity might be imminent.

Xu Qingtong and Shen Haotian discussed the Wuji Sect’s secret-realm crisis and its request for help investigating yin nether qi in the Haoyu Mountain Range. The Academy agreed to help in exchange for resources, and Xu Qingtong began assembling a team for the dangerous mission.

• Shen Haotian told Xu Qingtong that seventh-tier demon beasts were attacking the Black Tortoise Secret Realm’s barrier, while yin nether qi had appeared in the Haoyu Mountain Range and two Wuji Sect investigation groups had vanished.
• Shen Haotian explained that the Wuji Sect needed at least a hundred Golden Core puppets to deal with the beasts, but manufacturing them was slow and difficult.
• Xu Qingtong and the elders debated whether to help the Wuji Sect and agreed to seek resources rather than territory in return.
• Shen Haotian assigned the Grand Elder to negotiate with the Wuji Sect and Xu Qingtong to choose who would carry out the mission.
• Xu Qingtong ordered Lei Wei to select ten capable people from the Garrison Camp to investigate the source of the yin nether qi in the Haoyu Mountain Range.

Xu Qingtong prepared to lead nine Garrison Camp members to investigate the Yin Nether Qi at the southern foot of the Haoyu Mountain Range. Before leaving, he warned Du Siwen about the approaching calamity in Central Province and entrusted her with protecting their family.

• Xu Qingtong declined to summon Ximen Wanyan because he was in seclusion, then gave Lei Wei a jade slip containing a method to neutralize demonic qi.
• Xu Qingtong planned the expedition while waiting for the Grand Elder to return, and Sect Master Shen Haotian approved his team of nine Garrison Camp members.
• Xu Qingtong inspected the team, gave Fu Xingzhi Soul-Returning Pills to distribute, and sent Lei Wei to obtain supplies from the Many Treasures Pavilion.
• Xu Qingtong told Du Siwen to take Cheng Kang and Duoduo to Bingzhou if the calamity struck Central Province, gave her a Storage Ring, and left for the academy's mountain gate.
• Xu Qingtong arrived at the mountain gate, where Lei Wei, Fu Xingzhi, and the other seven members were waiting.

Xu Qingtong led Lei Wei, Fu Xingzhi, and the Garrison Camp members into the Haoyu Mountain Range swamp, where they endured a night attack by Yin Nether Beasts. After the beasts retreated, Xu Qingtong ordered everyone to recover, while a sudden thought stirred his mind.

• Xu Qingtong brought the group to the swamp and had them use the Demon-Transforming Art to adapt to its demonic qi.
• Xu Qingtong detected yin nether qi and warned the group that Foundation Establishment-strength Yin Nether Beasts might emerge.
• Xu Qingtong assigned the fire spell users to work with Fu Xingzhi and told Lei Wei to fight beside him with lightning spells.
• Xu Qingtong and Lei Wei helped the group repel growing waves of Yin Nether Beasts until the beasts retreated after Yin Hour.
• Xu Qingtong stopped Fu Xingzhi from pursuing the retreating beasts and told everyone to meditate and recover.
• Xu Qingtong chose not to use Witch Clan spells to refine the yin nether qi, then suddenly felt a thought ripple through his mind.

Xu Qingtong discovered that a spatial node in the Haoyu Mountain Range could open a passage to the Netherworld within a year and reported his findings to the Wuji Sect. He then investigated a second node near Juxian Academy, where Xiao Bai noticed a frightening change.

• Xu Qingtong and the Garrison Camp reached a pool in the Haoyu Mountain Range, where Xiao Bai identified a spatial node that could open within a year.
• Xu Qingtong sent Lei Wei and the others back to Juxian Academy, then traveled to the Wuji Sect to report the node and the Yin Nether Beasts to Kang Yi.
• Kang Yi recognized the danger to the Wuji Sect and hurried to report Xu Qingtong's findings to Martial Uncle Xiao.
• Xu Qingtong remembered a Netherworld node in the Netherworld Forest and detoured there to check whether it also threatened Juxian Academy.
• Xu Qingtong called Xiao Bai to examine the pool, and Xiao Bai suddenly paled after noticing a change in the black hole.

Xu Qingtong absorbed yin nether qi and refined the Yin Nether Beasts at a collapsing Netherworld node, but the pond gave way and its suction pulled him into a black hole. His warning reached Du Siwen, who informed Shen Haotian and Lü Wenqiu that the Central Province had been connected to the Netherworld as Lü recognized the start of the ten-thousand-year calamity.

• Xiao Bai warned Xu Qingtong that the spatial node beneath the pond was about to collapse, but Xu Qingtong stayed to absorb its yin nether qi.
• Xu Qingtong refined the Yin Nether Beasts emerging from the pond, then used lightning techniques to destroy more of them when his star sea could absorb no further Great Yin power.
• The pond vanished and a black hole dragged Xu Qingtong in despite his attempts to escape; he left Du Siwen a warning through the Concentric Heart Lotus Pendant before disappearing.
• Du Siwen received Xu Qingtong's message and told Shen Haotian that the collapsed node had connected the Central Province to the Netherworld.
• Du Siwen reported the message to Lü Wenqiu, who said the ten-thousand-year calamity had begun.

Du Siwen and Lü Wenqiu prepared for Central Province’s great calamity while Xu Qingtong recovered after being swept into the Netherworld. He realized his yang energy was draining, stabilized it, and faced the Netherworld inhabitants who had captured him as they came to put a chain around his neck.

• Du Siwen told Lü Wenqiu that Xu Qingtong had arranged for her, Cheng Kang, and Duoduo to return to Bingzhou if calamity struck, and Lü Wenqiu ordered her to go.
• Shen Haotian reported that the Academy’s defenses were strengthened and Lei Wei was managing the Garrison Camp, while Lü Wenqiu prepared to alert the other sects and consult the Spirit Transformation masters.
• Nether Emissary and his followers found the unconscious Xu Qingtong in the Netherworld and carried him to a village, intending to keep him alive for his yang energy.
• Xu Qingtong awakened, discovered his yang energy was draining, and used the Yin Nether Soul Refining Art and a Soul-Returning Pill to stabilize and heal himself.
• Xu Qingtong recognized that he was in the Netherworld and examined the village, but four soul bodies entered his locked room and moved to chain him.

Xu Qingtong learned about Dongliu City and the Netherworld after defeating four ghost officers and capturing You Chen. He questioned You Chen about the region, its cultivation system, and the strange event that brought him there, then learned how ghosts advanced their cultivation.

• Xu Qingtong killed three ghost officers with Divine Sense Thorns, spared one, and searched its soul to learn that he was in Dongliu City in the Southern Domain.
• Xu Qingtong decided to stay in the remote city, but You Chen arrived to investigate the missing human.
• Xu Qingtong concealed himself, trapped You Chen with a Blood-Soul Restriction Talisman, and forced him to answer questions.
• You Chen identified himself as Dongliu City's Netherworld Envoy and explained the Netherworld's cultivation stages and Mount Luofu's role.
• You Chen said Xu Qingtong had been found at Huangge Shoal after falling from the sky during the unusual phenomena, and described how ghosts cultivated by absorbing yin and yang energy.

Xu Qingtong learned how the Netherworld’s inhabitants cultivated and made You Chen his subordinate in exchange for cultivation resources. When You Chen warned that Xu Qingtong’s yang energy could attract powerful ghosts, Xu Qingtong considered sending his second primordial spirit out to cultivate while his body remained protected.

• You Chen explained that crystal orchids supplied yang energy in the Netherworld and that Yin Nether Beasts could locate safe passages to the Human Realm.
• Xu Qingtong offered You Chen a rabbit and promised more cultivation resources if You Chen served him temporarily; You Chen accepted after Xu Qingtong assured him he need not betray Mount Luofu.
• Xu Qingtong planted a restriction in You Chen’s divine soul, and You Chen saluted him as Master.
• You Chen warned that Xu Qingtong’s leaking yang energy could attract Body-Shaping Stage ghosts and suggested hiding underground or abandoning his physical body.
• Xu Qingtong decided to keep his body in the Netherworld while sending his second primordial spirit out to cultivate and seek a way back to the Human Realm.

Xu Qingtong settled into the Netherworld, studied its customs and cultivation techniques, and quickly advanced in the Nether God Canon with the help of rabbits rich in yang energy. He prepared to enter seclusion and tasked You Chen with searching for routes back to the Human Realm and watching the Five Great Regions.

• Xu Qingtong left his physical body in the room, found that his primordial spirit felt comfortable in the Netherworld, and confirmed that he could still communicate with his physical self inside the Seven-Star Bracelet.
• You Chen brought Xu Qingtong the requested texts and cultivation techniques, then received a rare wild rabbit after Xu Qingtong threatened him for coveting his physical body.
• Xu Qingtong studied the Netherworld's customs and geography, then noticed that its Jade Slips resembled those from the Human Realm.
• Xu Qingtong chose the Nether God Canon and broke through to the second layer of the soul-congealing stage in two days.
• You Chen explained that the rabbits' yang energy made the technique easier to cultivate, and Xu Qingtong gave him another rabbit before ordering him to search for nexus points to the Human Realm and monitor the Five Great Regions.

Xu Qingtong cultivated in the Netherworld and discovered that alternating the True Origin Scripture with the Nether God Canon let him refine Nine Yin Pills, eventually reaching the fifth level of the Soul-Congealing Stage. You Chen then reported that ten Body-Shaping Stage cultivators had entered the Human Realm to seek breakthroughs, with the Netherworld Lord allowing the invasion to replenish the Netherworld's dwindling population.

• Xu Qingtong cultivated for half a year, reached the fourth tier of the Soul-Congealing Stage, and learned from You Chen that Mount Luofu controlled a realm node near Dongliu City where powerful old ghosts had gathered.
• Xu Qingtong found that the Netherworld's yin energy was insufficient and that he could not refine Human Realm pills, then discovered he could use the True Origin Scripture and Nether God Canon together to absorb a Nine Yin Pill's power.
• Xu Qingtong used a Nine Yin Pill and a pheasant's yang energy to approach a breakthrough, then continued cultivating until he reached the fifth level of the Soul-Congealing Stage.
• You Chen told Xu Qingtong that ten Body-Shaping Stage cultivators had disappeared from the realm node and likely entered the Human Realm.
• You Chen explained that the Central Ghost Emperor's imminent ascension had sparked a contest for his vacant position, and the Body-Shaping Stage cultivators sought yang energy in the Human Realm while the Netherworld Lord permitted the invasion to replenish the Netherworld's population.

Xu Qingtong learned of another weakened inter-realm node and set out toward it, but met Jin Qiaojue, who helped him reflect on fate and the baleful energy clouding his mind. Jin Qiaojue gave him a bamboo hat and its refining method before vanishing, leaving Xu Qingtong to cultivate toward the body-shaping stage.

• You Chen told Xu Qingtong about a weakened node southwest of Dongliu City, and Xu Qingtong set out for it.
• Xu Qingtong stopped at a lake and met the old fisherman Jin Qiaojue, whom he recognized as Ksitigarbha.
• Jin Qiaojue explained how fate and human effort could coexist, prompting Xu Qingtong to reconsider his anger and ideas of right and wrong.
• Jin Qiaojue gave Xu Qingtong a bamboo hat and a jade slip containing its refining method, then vanished.

After years of cultivating in the Netherworld, Xu Qingtong used Origin-Enhancing Elixirs to supply yang energy and advanced to the Body-Shaping Stage. He examined his newly shaped body and summoned You Chen, who was astonished by his breakthrough.

• Xu Qingtong returned to Dongliu City with Ksitigarbha’s bamboo hat and realized that it resembled the Soul-Refining Pool, though he could not yet refine either treasure.
• Over three years, Xu Qingtong cultivated the Nether God Art to the fourth level of the Soul Forging Stage, then refined Origin-Enhancing Elixirs to supplement his yang energy.
• Xu Qingtong refined an Origin-Enhancing Elixir and confirmed that it provided a substantial supply of yang energy for his cultivation.
• When Xiao Bai complained about Xu Qingtong’s failure to find a way back from the Netherworld, Xu Qingtong froze him with an Ice Flame Palm and ordered Xiao Qi to take him away.
• After five years in the Netherworld, Xu Qingtong forged his Heavenly Soul, then advanced to the Body-Shaping Stage over the following two years without a Heavenly Tribulation.
• Xu Qingtong examined his newly shaped body and summoned You Chen, who recognized that Xu Qingtong had reached the Body-Shaping Stage.

After breaking through to the Body-Shaping Stage, Xu Qingtong bound two powerful treasures and prepared to return to the Human Realm. A month later, he silently left Dongliu City and flew north.

• Xu Qingtong gave You Chen an Origin-Enhancing Elixir to absorb for its yang energy and asked him to store it in a jade bottle.
• Xu Qingtong used Ksitigarbha’s jade slip to bind the bamboo hat, discovering it was the innate Netherworld treasure called the Flying Sky Crown.
• Xu Qingtong tried the binding method on the Soul-Refining Pool and successfully bound it as the Heaven and Earth Bowl, a treasure that could trap, attack, and defend.
• Xu Qingtong gave You Chen more elixirs, while You Chen suspected his master was preparing to leave.
• Xu Qingtong spent a month repairing his divine soul, then left Dongliu City and flew north.

Xu Qingtong left Dongliu City and approached the Spatial Passage, where he witnessed netherworld cultivators returning from a raid on the Human Realm. He fought his way through the passage to Central Province, where the defenders attacked him until he identified himself and asked who was in charge.

• Xu Qingtong left You Chen a jade slip and a jade pendant that could remove the restriction on You Chen's divine soul, then secretly departed Dongliu City.
• Xu Qingtong reached the Spatial Passage and overheard netherworld cultivators describe their raid on the Human Realm and the death of Wang Pangzi.
• After waiting for the area to quiet down, Xu Qingtong crept toward the passage but was detected by a powerful divine sense.
• Xu Qingtong blocked an old man's Black Skull with the Flying Sky Crown, shattered it with the Heaven and Earth Bowl, then used his original body's Yuanrong Crossbow to blast the gathering netherworld cultivators.
• Xu Qingtong entered the Spatial Passage and emerged in the Netherworld Forest, where Central Province cultivators attacked his netherworld body.
• Xu Qingtong summoned his original body, identified himself as the Fourth Elder of Juxian Academy, and asked who was in charge.