Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong returned to Central Province and learned that the Netherworld invasion had devastated the sects, including the deaths of his master and Juxian Academy’s elders. He joined Shen Haotian and Yu Jizi to discuss defenses, while revealing that he had severely damaged the Netherworld forces at the barrier.

• Xu Qingtong emerged from the spatial passage under attack, identified himself, and was escorted by a Juxian Academy disciple to Shen Haotian’s camp.
• Shen Haotian told Xu Qingtong that the Grand Elder and Third Elder had sacrificed themselves to kill two Netherworld Cultivators, and that Yu Tiancheng had also died.
• Xu Qingtong mourned Yu Tiancheng and learned that the Netherworld had taken his remains, leaving the academy to build a clothes tomb.
• Xu Qingtong offered to defend the barrier and revealed that his ten Yuanrong Bolts had killed or gravely wounded many Netherworld Cultivators.
• Shen Haotian explained that Yu Jizi was acting Sect Leader of the Anyang Sect after Jade Spring True Person’s death, then recounted the invasion’s damage across Central Province.

After returning from the Netherworld, Xu Qingtong briefed the Anyang Sect and Juxian Academy on the enemy’s strength and helped them agree on a unified command. He reunited with his friends and disciples, then told Lü Wenqiu what he had learned about the invasion, including the Netherworld’s succession struggle and its abduction of powerful cultivators.

• Xu Qingtong told Yu Jizi that the Netherworld was sending powerful forces through the barrier each night and that his surprise attack had likely killed half their Golden Core-level cultivators.
• Xu Qingtong argued that the Anyang Sect and Juxian Academy needed unified command to cooperate, and the three leaders agreed on a strategy pending approval from Lü Wenqiu and Luo Yichen.
• Xu Qingtong reunited with Lei Wei, Zhuang Shengren, and Fu Xingzhi, heard about losses and changes among their companions, and gave them Yuanrong Bolts for protection.
• Lü Wenqiu summoned Xu Qingtong to Tianhua Mountain and asked what he had learned during his ten years in the Netherworld.
• Xu Qingtong explained that the invasion was tied to the Heavenly Dao’s cycle and the Central Ghost Emperor’s impending ascension, but questioned why Netherworld forces abducted powerful cultivators instead of plundering resources.

Xu Qingtong learned that the Netherworld sought human cultivators for their yang energy and was appointed to lead the campaign against its forces. At the Interface Node, he set Xiao Bai to keep watch and began trying to merge his Netherworld Body with his Incarnation.

• Xu Qingtong explained the Netherworld’s need for yang energy and proposed a plan to Lü Wenqiu, who appointed him commander of the campaign.
• Xu Qingtong warned that at least five Netherworld cultivators had reached Spirit Transformation, and Lü Wenqiu promised that he and Fellow Daoist Luo would intervene against them.
• Xu Qingtong visited Yu Tiancheng’s grave, then flew to the Interface Node camp and was recognized by Lei Wei as the Academy’s Fourth Elder.
• Xu Qingtong told Xiao Bai to watch the quiet passage entrance, and Xiao Bai said he could not close the node because doing so required power over the Heavenly Dao.
• Xu Qingtong summoned his Netherworld Body and Incarnation, then began trying to merge them by gradually balancing their opposing yin and yang energies.

Xu Qingtong struggled to merge his Netherworld Body with his incarnation before a powerful Netherworld Cultivator emerged from the Spatial Passage and attacked him. He used the Heaven and Earth Bowl and other treasures to hold the foe off, but the chapter ended as a swarm of black snakes rushed toward his defensive light.

• Xu Qingtong began merging his Netherworld Body into his incarnation so one Primordial Spirit could control both, and had made substantial progress by the fifth day.
• Xiao Bai warned Xu Qingtong that someone was coming through the Spatial Passage, so he hid his unfinished bodies and summoned Zhuang Shengren and Lei Wei by voice transmission.
• A late Body-Shaping stage Netherworld Cultivator emerged, and Xu Qingtong used the Heaven and Earth Bowl to melt the man's Protective Barrier.
• The old man sent a Ghost Spirit at Xu Qingtong, but Xiao Qi caught and swallowed it, revealing herself as a Double-Pupiled Bird.
• Xu Qingtong replenished his Magic Power, damaged the old man's barrier with the Fengyi Sword, and raised the Heaven and Earth Bowl's golden defense against the Nether Serpent Staff's swarm of black snakes.

Xu Qingtong held off a Netherworld elder until Lü Wenqiu and Luo Yichen arrived, then joined the battle as more Netherworld Cultivators poured through the Spatial Passage. After rescuing Shen Haotian, Xu Qingtong killed one enemy and trapped another with the Heaven and Earth Bowl, while Xiao Qi attacked the second foe.

• Xu Qingtong defended himself against the Netherworld elder until Lü Wenqiu and Luo Yichen arrived and attacked.
• Shen Haotian and Yu Jizi joined the battle, then three more Netherworld Cultivators emerged from the Spatial Passage and put them under pressure.
• Xu Qingtong caught the wounded Shen Haotian, gave him a Soul-Returning Pill, and killed a pursuing mid-stage Netherworld Cultivator with Purple Lightning, the Time Law, and the Heaven and Earth Bowl.
• Xu Qingtong trapped a tall, thin mid-stage Netherworld Cultivator inside the Heaven and Earth Bowl's barrier and pierced him with the Fengyi Sword.
• Xu Qingtong ordered Xiao Qi to attack the trapped Netherworld Cultivator, and Xiao Qi struck him with two beams of five-colored light.

Xiao Qi and Xu Qingtong’s group defeated the Netherworld Cultivators at the Spatial Passage, killing their subordinates and forcing one Late Body-Shaping Stage fighter to flee. Xu Qingtong subdued the last cultivator with the Heaven and Earth Bowl, which stopped shaking after consuming him.

• Xiao Qi wounded the tall, thin Netherworld Cultivator with its five-colored divine light, then killed and devoured him.
• Xu Qingtong, Yu Jizi, and their allies killed three of the five mid Body-Shaping Stage Netherworld Cultivators, prompting the two Late Body-Shaping Stage leaders to order a retreat.
• Zhuang Shengren and Lei Wei fired their Yuanrong Crossbows at the retreating cultivators, killing all but one mid Body-Shaping Stage Netherworld Cultivator, whom Xu Qingtong finished with the Heaven and Earth Bowl.
• One Late Body-Shaping Stage Netherworld Cultivator escaped into the Spatial Passage after Zhuang Shengren, Lei Wei, and Luo Yichen attacked him.
• Xu Qingtong and Lü Wenqiu stopped the remaining Late Body-Shaping Stage Netherworld Cultivator from self-detonating, and Luo Yichen struck him down.
• Xu Qingtong drew the mangled Netherworld Cultivator into the Heaven and Earth Bowl and struggled to contain it until the bowl stopped shaking.

Xu Qingtong refined a wounded Netherworld Cultivator to death, absorbed the pure yin energy left behind for Xiao Qi, and completed the fusion of his incarnation with his Netherworld Body. He accepted command of the defenses at the Spatial Passage as Netherworld Cultivators plotted revenge against him.

• Xu Qingtong used the Heaven and Earth Bowl to destroy the old fiend's soul, then gave the pure yin energy in the bowl to Xiao Qi to refine.
• Xu Qingtong joined his incarnation and Netherworld Body, completed their fusion over three days, and then merged the incarnation with his original body again.
• Lü Wenqiu and Luo Yichen appointed Xu Qingtong commander-in-chief of the defenses at the Spatial Passage, and he accepted after asking them to notify their sect leaders.
• Xu Qingtong had Zhuang Shengren build him a house near the passage, set Xiao Bai to guard it, and began cultivating alongside his incarnation.
• Three late body-shaping stage Netherworld Cultivators discussed their losses, learned Xu Qingtong had defeated their forces, and vowed revenge.
• Xu Qingtong sneezed while cultivating and wondered who was thinking about him.

Xu Qingtong entered the Netherworld to assess its remaining late Body-Shaping cultivators and was pursued back through the Spatial Passage by a white-haired old fiend. With help from Lei Wei and Zhuang Shengren, he captured the fiend and began refining him in the Soul-Refining Pool.

• Xu Qingtong found three late Body-Shaping Netherworld Cultivators gathered in a house, including the wounded old fiend, and the white-haired old man detected his Divine Sense.
• Xu Qingtong fled through the Spatial Passage, but the white-haired old man pursued him into the Human Realm.
• Xu Qingtong trapped the old man with the Heaven and Earth Bowl while Lei Wei and Zhuang Shengren struck him with Yuanrong Bolts.
• Xu Qingtong wounded the old man with the Fengyi Sword and Raging Thunder Fingers, then sucked him into the Heaven and Earth Bowl.
• Xu Qingtong left his Incarnation with Lei Wei and Zhuang Shengren to guard the passage, returned to his room, and transformed the bowl into the Soul-Refining Pool to refine the captive.

Xu Qingtong killed the white-haired Netherworld cultivator and learned that the Haoyu Mountain Range had fallen, then returned to Juxian Academy to oversee Xiao Qi’s transformation. Xiao Qi began her tribulation, but flames engulfed her just as the transformation started.

• Xu Qingtong ignored the white-haired old man’s pleas and used the Soul-Refining Pool to kill him, then gave Xiao Qi the liquid yin energy to swallow.
• Yu Jizi told Xu Qingtong that the Haoyu Mountain Range had fallen and Senior Xiao was surrounded by four Spirit Transformation-level Netherworld cultivators.
• Xu Qingtong left his incarnation with Zhuang Shengren and Lei Wei to guard the node, then returned to Juxian Academy to help Xiao Qi transform.
• Shen Haotian led Xu Qingtong to a quiet place in the Back Mountain, where Xu prepared formations, elixirs, and tribulation aids as Xiao Qi refined yin energy and flesh lingzhi.
• After two days, Xiao Qi swallowed a Transformation Pill as tribulation clouds gathered, and her feathers burst into flames; she told Xu Qingtong she was all right.

Xu Qingtong watched Xiao Qi endure an unusually long heavenly tribulation as she transformed into human form, helping her survive with cultivation techniques, pills, and a treasure. After the immortal light completed her transformation, he freed her from their master-servant bond and named her his younger sister, Xu Jingtong.

• Xiao Qi endured successive bolts of tribulation lightning while her body transformed, and Xu Qingtong taught her the Heavenly Fire Body-Tempering Art.
• After the seventh bolt badly wounded Xiao Qi, Xu Qingtong gave her a Soul-Returning Pill, which healed her injuries as she continued the tribulation.
• When the ninth bolt passed without ending the tribulation, Xu Qingtong returned Xiao Qi's soul blood and gave her a handkerchief treasure to defend against further lightning.
• Xiao Qi used the handkerchief to withstand the tenth bolt, then survived the tribulation as immortal light completed her transformation.
• Xu Qingtong gave naked Xiao Qi a robe and returned to the Spring-Knowing Abode, where he declared that she was no longer his servant and named her his younger sister, Xu Jingtong.

Xu Qingtong returned Xiao Qi’s soul blood and welcomed her as his younger sister, Xu Jing Tong, after she assumed human form. News that the Netherworld forces had broken through and wounded key defenders sent Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi rushing to evacuate the Netherworld Forest and prepare the Academy’s defenses.

• Xu Qingtong returned Xiao Qi’s soul blood, and Xiao Qi tearfully agreed to become his younger sister while asking to keep the name Xiao Qi.
• Xu Qingtong obtained women’s clothes from Wang Yuning, and Xiao Qi changed into them before the two visited Shen Haotian.
• Shen Haotian reported that the Haoyu Mountain Range node had fallen and Netherworld Cultivators had entered Central Province, while Phoenix Mausoleum Mountain remained secure.
• Shen Haotian relayed that Xiao Yi’s body had been destroyed and Senior Lü and Luo Yichen had been injured and retreated.
• Xu Qingtong sent Xiao Qi to the Netherworld Forest to recall his incarnation and the others, then flew toward Wei City to bring City Lord Guo, Lan Xin Butterfly, and the rest back to the Academy.

After the Haoyu Mountain Range defensive line fell, Xu Qingtong evacuated his allies from Wei City and returned to Juxian Academy. Lü Wenqiu appointed him Grand Elder and placed him in charge of defending the Academy as Netherworld Cultivators spread through Central Province.

• Lü Wenqiu warned Shen Haotian to recall their people after the Haoyu Mountain Range node fell, and Xu Qingtong rushed to Wei City to evacuate Guo Tianyu, Dong Yunxiao, Ding Jiayue, Lan Xin Butterfly, and the guards.
• Xu Qingtong and the others reached Juxian Academy, where the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array had been activated and Lei Wei and Wang Yuning helped settle the newcomers.
• Lü Wenqiu told Xu Qingtong that Netherworld Cultivators had occupied the southern foothills of the Haoyu Mountain Range, Xiao Yi's body had been destroyed, and Wuji Sect had withdrawn behind its defenses.
• Lü Wenqiu made Xu Qingtong responsible for protecting Juxian Academy and appointed him Grand Elder after Shen Haotian proposed handing over the Sect Master position.
• Xu Qingtong assigned Ximen Wanyan to command the Garrison Camp with Lei Wei and Zhuang Shengren as deputies, then defeated Ximen Wanyan in a fight when he protested.
• Xu Qingtong put Ding Jiayue and Lan Xin Butterfly in charge of the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array and warned them not to make any mistakes.

After taking office as Grand Elder, Xu Qingtong followed Xiao Qi’s advice and set out to scout the Netherworld nexus with his incarnation. While testing the Cloudlight Handkerchief’s power, they sensed movement in the Spatial Passage.

• Xu Qingtong finished organizing the academy’s affairs after three days of work as Grand Elder.
• Xiao Qi urged Xu Qingtong to launch surprise attacks on lone Netherworld cultivators, and he prepared his incarnation for the mission.
• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi left Juxian Academy and approached the nexus in Netherworld Forest under concealment.
• Xiao Qi revealed that the Cloudlight Handkerchief could restrain enemies and unleash thunder attacks, then trapped Xu Qingtong with it during a test.
• As Xiao Qi prepared to test the handkerchief’s offensive power on a nearby target, faint fluctuations came from the Spatial Passage.

Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi ambushed the Netherworld cultivator surnamed Huang after he left the Spatial Passage, then hid in a mountain valley to recover. They left the story with Xu Qingtong concealed beneath an enlarged Bamboo Hat.

• Xu Qingtong concealed himself with the Flying Sky Crown while two Netherworld cultivators searched the area near the Spatial Passage.
• After Wu Changde returned to gather their people, Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi lured Huang away and attacked him with the Turtle-Speed Technique, Cloudlight Handkerchief, and Nether Serpent Staff.
• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi repeatedly struck Huang with lightning and Thunderclap Slash, then sealed the gravely wounded cultivator with four Blood-Soul Restriction Jade Talismans.
• Xiao Qi urged Xu Qingtong to move before another Netherworld cultivator arrived, and he flew east while concealed.
• Xu Qingtong found a secluded mountain valley, shaped the Bamboo Hat into a broad cover, and hid beneath it.

Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi refined a Dark Azure Elixir from the sealed Netherworld Cultivator surnamed Huang, and Xu Qingtong survived its dangerous effects while gaining strength. After they planned a new way to fight their enemies, Xu Qingtong found Wu Changde and eleven Netherworld Cultivators digging a cave near the node.

• Xiao Qi refined the Netherworld Cultivator surnamed Huang into a Dark Azure Elixir using her clan’s secret technique.
• Xu Qingtong consumed the elixir and used the Nether God Canon to direct its divine soul power and power of the Great Yin, narrowly avoiding a fatal loss of control.
• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi discussed refining weaker elixirs and devised a battle plan using the Nether Serpent Staff, Cloudlight Handkerchief, and Xiao Qi’s innate ability.
• Wu Changde told the Netherworld Cultivators that they would stay in the Human Realm to harvest human cultivators’ yang qi and find shelter before daylight.
• Xu Qingtong returned to the node and discovered Wu Changde and eleven other Netherworld Cultivators digging a cave beneath a cliff.

Xu Qingtong watched the Netherworld Cultivators and waited until Wu Changde was alone before ambushing him with Xiao Qi. The attack badly wounded Wu Changde, but he was still fighting when the chapter ended.

• Xu Qingtong stayed hidden while the Netherworld Cultivators waited near the node, then watched Wu Changde send two groups east and west to investigate.
• Wu Changde took living human cultivators from his Black Bag and absorbed their Yang Qi, killing them as he cultivated.
• Xu Qingtong told Xiao Qi to prepare, crept up on Wu Changde, and slowed him with the Turtle-Speed Technique before summoning the Nether Serpent Staff.
• Xiao Qi struck Wu Changde with the Cloudlight Handkerchief's lightning blade, and Xu Qingtong hit him with Raging Thunder Finger.
• Wu Changde broke free of the Turtle-Speed Technique and snapped the snakes restraining him, but Xiao Qi's Thunder Spirits plunged their hands into his chest and unleashed lightning.

Xiao Qi and Xu Qingtong killed Netherworld Cultivators and refined their bodies into Dark Azure Elixirs, then freed the captives they had found in the cultivators’ black bags. They prepared to ambush another group returning from the east, with Xu Qingtong planning to face its Body-Shaping Stage cultivator himself.

• Xiao Qi refined Wu Changde with her Innate Divine Ability while Xu Qingtong used the Turtle-Speed Technique to keep him trapped, producing three Dark Azure Elixirs.
• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi flew west to ambush six Netherworld Cultivators; Xiao Qi trapped their Body-Shaping Stage leader while Xu Qingtong bound the other five with the Nether Serpent Staff.
• Xiao Qi refined the leader and the five Soul Forging Stage cultivators, producing three more Dark Azure Elixirs of diminishing size.
• Xu Qingtong opened the cultivators’ black bags, revived twelve captive rogue cultivators with the Spring-Returning Technique, and sent them fleeing west.
• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi prepared to ambush the group returning from the east, with Xu Qingtong choosing to handle its Body-Shaping Stage cultivator while Xiao Qi dealt with the others.

Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi ambushed Li Wu and four Soul Forging Stage Netherworld cultivators, refining them into Dark Azure Elixirs and freeing their prisoners. Xiao Qi cultivated while Xu Qingtong gained insight into the Dao, and they prepared to decide what to do next.

• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi agreed that he would hold off Li Wu while she dealt with the four Soul Forging Stage cultivators.
• Xiao Qi trapped and began refining the four Netherworld cultivators while Xu Qingtong restrained Li Wu and struck him with purple lightning when he tried to escape.
• After Xiao Qi helped refine Li Wu, Xu Qingtong freed the Human Race cultivators from the Black Bags and sent them fleeing west.
• Xiao Qi praised Xu Qingtong for stopping the calamity, prompting him to reflect on Senior Jin's guidance and enter a state of Dao enlightenment.
• Xiao Qi cultivated a Dark Azure Elixir, and Xu Qingtong offered her several more, but she declined because she feared advancing too quickly would weaken her foundation.
• As night fell, Xiao Qi asked Xu Qingtong what they would do next.

Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi traveled east from Juxian Academy and ambushed a Netherworld cultivator pursuing fleeing humans. After learning that Haoyue City had fallen and the Wuji Sect was besieged, they freed the survivors and prepared to pursue another enemy.

• Xu Qingtong took Xiao Qi east, refined a Dark Azure Elixir, and sensed fleeing human cultivators being chased by two Netherworld cultivators.
• Xu Qingtong sent the fugitives in different directions, then joined Xiao Qi to capture and kill one of the pursuing Netherworld cultivators.
• A surviving cultivator told Xu Qingtong that Netherworld forces had captured Haoyue City and surrounded the Wuji Sect, whose Forefather had been killed.
• Xiao Qi refined the captured Netherworld cultivator into a Dark Azure Elixir, and Xu Qingtong freed and revived the people trapped in the Black Bag.
• Xu Qingtong urged the survivors to flee, and Xiao Qi asked whether they should hunt the other Early Body-Shaping Stage cultivator.

Xu Qingtong returned to Juxian Academy after learning that Nalan Xue had fallen, the first Spirit Transformation powerhouse lost in the calamity. He realized Yuanrong Fruit could be cultivated in spirit farmland and asked Shen Haotian for a large plot, arguing it could determine the Academy’s survival.

• Xu Qingtong and Xiao Qi killed another Early Body-Shaping Stage Netherworld Cultivator, then spent three months hunting Netherworld Cultivators near Juxian Academy and gathering Dark Azure Elixirs.
• Xu Qingtong learned that Nalan Xue had fallen and hurried back to the Academy as Netherworld Cultivators threatened more areas of Central Province.
• Lan Xin Butterfly told Xu Qingtong and the others that the Heavenly Mystery Palace had abandoned the Phoenix Mausoleum Mountain barrier node and Netherworld Cultivators had appeared near the Profound Yin Church.
• Ximen Wanyan asked Xu Qingtong for more Yuanrong Bolts, prompting Xu Qingtong to realize Yuanrong Fruit could be grown in spirit farmland.
• Xu Qingtong asked Shen Haotian for eighty to a hundred mu of top-quality spirit farmland so the Academy could grow Yuanrong Fruit for Yuanrong Bolts.