Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong rescued Luo Yichen, defeated the Profound Yin Church disciples outside the Anyang Sect, and returned to Juxian Academy to plan a counterattack. He left the Tianhua Sect preparing to advance on the Heavenly Mystery Palace territory within ten days.

• Xu Qingtong freed Luo Yichen from the ice, treated his injuries, and escorted him back to the Anyang Sect.
• Xu Qingtong killed the Profound Yin Church disciples gathered outside the Anyang Sect, then parted ways with Luo Yichen.
• Xu Qingtong told Shen Haotian that Yin Wanchou’s body had been destroyed but his Nascent Soul had escaped, and they planned a joint advance toward the Heavenly Mystery Palace territory.
• Xu Qingtong ordered Ximen Wanyan and Zhuge Liuyun to prepare Juxian Academy’s forces while he returned to the Tianhua Sect to gather elite disciples.
• Xu Qingtong tasked Lei Wei and Zhuang Shengren with selecting troops, Fang Tianqi with gathering intelligence, and Dong Yunxiao with coordinating preparations within ten days.

Xu Qingtong taught Duoduo how to select yuanrong fruit and refine Yuanrong Bolts, passing his secret technique on to her. After Duoduo successfully made a bolt, Xu Qingtong tried to persuade her to stay and refine more.

• Xu Qingtong explained Duoduo’s cultivation difficulties with the One Qi Primordial Unity Art.
• Xu Qingtong brought Duoduo to the Alchemy Chamber and taught her how to select suitable yuanrong fruit, warning that poor choices could cause failures or a furnace explosion.
• Duoduo practiced sorting fruit for three days until she could select suitable materials without mistakes.
• Xu Qingtong taught Duoduo the Yuanrong Bolt refining method, and she successfully refined a bolt in less than half an hour.
• Xu Qingtong urged Duoduo to keep refining yuanrong fruit and offered to let her keep one bolt in ten.

Xu Qingtong and Duoduo refined over thirteen hundred Yuanrong Bolts, which helped the Tianhua Sect and Juxian Academy capture the Heavenly Mystery Hall. With Yin Wanchou still missing, Xu Qingtong met with Shen Haotian and Yu Jizi to plan a joint campaign against the Profound Yin Church and proposed dividing its territory among their three sects.

• Xu Qingtong promised Duoduo one Yuanrong Bolt for every ten she refined, and they produced more than thirteen hundred bolts in seven days.
• Xu Qingtong distributed the bolts between the Tianhua Sect and Juxian Academy, then ordered their forces to advance on the Heavenly Mystery Hall.
• Ximen Wanyan, Zhuge Liuyun, Zhuang Shengren, and Lei Wei led four columns against the hall, which fell after more than ten days of fighting; Yin Wanchou remained missing.
• Xu Qingtong went to Juxian Academy and urged Shen Haotian to join him in attacking the Profound Yin Church Headquarters to find Yin Wanchou.
• Yu Jizi arrived to discuss a joint campaign and offered forces from the Anyang Sect; Xu Qingtong proposed dividing the Profound Yin Church's territory into three shares.

The Anyang Sect, Juxian Academy, and Tianhua Sect attacked the Profound Yin Church while Xu Qingtong searched for Yin Wanchou, who escaped detection. After the church was destroyed at great cost, Xu Qingtong discovered a cavern full of corpses that appeared to belong to the Devil Race.

• Yu Jizi gathered forces from the Anyang Sect, while Juxian Academy and Tianhua Sect sent cultivators to join the campaign against the Profound Yin Church.
• Xu Qingtong flew to Redfang City and Red Yin Mountain, searching for Yin Wanchou as the allied forces assembled.
• Xiao Bai opened a breach in the Profound Yin Church’s Mountain-Guarding Grand Array, and the allied forces stormed the church.
• The battle killed the Profound Yin Church’s people and cost the attackers two Nascent Soul cultivators and many other casualties, but Xu Qingtong still did not find Yin Wanchou.
• Ximen Wanyan found a cavern filled with strange corpses, and Xu Qingtong suspected they were Devil Race remains secretly kept by the Profound Yin Church.

Xu Qingtong uncovered the Profound Yin Church’s corpse-puppet methods and reworked Yin Wanchou’s damaged Purple-Gold Corpse Puppet without harming the innocent. After purifying the puppet and destroying the cavern’s corpses and corpse water, he left to search for Yin Wanchou.

• Xu Qingtong and Ximen Wanyan found Devil Race corpses in a cavern beneath the Profound Yin Church and guarded the site until Yu Jizi and Shen Haotian arrived.
• Xu Qingtong showed Yu Jizi and Shen Haotian the cavern and explained that he planned to repair Yin Wanchou’s damaged Purple-Gold Corpse Puppet there.
• After Yu Jizi objected to keeping an evil object, Xu Qingtong argued that righteousness and evil depended on the cultivator’s heart, and Yu Jizi accepted his rebuke.
• Xu Qingtong studied the Profound Yin Church’s Corpse-Control Technique and devised a way to repair and improve the puppet without harming the innocent.
• Xu Qingtong erased the puppet’s consciousness, repaired it, and used the Wordless Heart Sutra and Heaven and Earth Bowl to remove its evil aura.
• Xu Qingtong dissolved the cavern’s devil corpses and corpse water, destroyed the underground chamber, and departed to search for Yin Wanchou.

Xu Qingtong created a Spirit Transformation-level Purple-Gold Puppet and gave Du Siwen control of it to guard the Tianhua Sect. He then returned to Juxian Academy to ask Shen Haotian to help organize a wider search for the still-missing Yin Wanchou.

• Xu Qingtong returned to the Tianhua Sect and posted a bounty for capturing Yin Wanchou or reporting his whereabouts.
• Xu Qingtong split off a wisp of his divine soul and spent half a month refining the Purple-Gold Puppet.
• Xu Qingtong gave Du Siwen the Spirit-Control Talisman, and she ritually refined it and tested the puppet against him.
• Xu Qingtong left the Purple-Gold Puppet with Du Siwen to protect the sect while he pursued Yin Wanchou.
• Xu Qingtong asked Shen Haotian to arrange similar bounty missions through Juxian Academy and the Anyang Sect, and Shen Haotian agreed.

Xu Qingtong and Shen Haotian arranged for Nangong Zhen to succeed Shen as Tianhua Sect’s Sect Master while Shen traveled to seek a chance to reach Spirit Transformation. Xu Qingtong then gave Shen voice transmission talismans before setting out to pursue Yin Wanchou.

• Shen Haotian ordered Wang Yuning to post a bounty for Yin Wanchou, and Xu Qingtong added rewards for verified leads.
• Xu Qingtong examined Shen Haotian and confirmed he had reached Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Realm but still lacked an opportunity to advance.
• Shen Haotian proposed Xu Qingtong as acting Sect Master, but Xu recommended Nangong Zhen as his successor.
• Xu Qingtong persuaded the Academy’s elders and officials to support Nangong Zhen, and Shen scheduled the inauguration for three days later.
• Nangong Zhen promised to support the Tianhua Sect after Xu Qingtong ascended to the Spirit Realm.
• Five days later, Xu Qingtong gave Shen Haotian Ten-Thousand-Mile Voice Transmission Talismans and wished him success in reaching Spirit Transformation.

Xu Qingtong found a trace of Yin Wanchou’s aura in Linyue City but returned to help Shen Haotian prepare for his imminent Spirit Transformation tribulation. Shen Haotian chose Purple Rosy Clouds Island as the remote site, and two days later he arrived at Spring-Knowing Abode to meet Xu Qingtong.

• Xu Qingtong searched across Central Province for Yin Wanchou and found a trace of his aura in Linyue City just as Shen Haotian called him back because his Heavenly Tribulation was approaching.
• Xu Qingtong asked Luo Yichen to investigate Linyue City while he returned to Juxian Academy to assist Shen Haotian.
• Xu Qingtong reviewed Shen Haotian’s preparations and explained the tribulation stages and dangers he had faced when reaching Spirit Transformation.
• Xu Qingtong recommended Purple Rosy Clouds Island as a secluded place for Shen Haotian’s tribulation, and Shen Haotian agreed.
• Shen Haotian went to the Many Treasures Pavilion, then arrived at Spring-Knowing Abode two days later.

Shen Haotian traveled with Xu Qingtong to Purple Rosy Clouds Island and successfully advanced to spirit transformation after surviving his heavenly tribulation. Xu Qingtong used insights from the breakthrough to deepen his understanding of time and space, then emerged from five months of seclusion to speak with Shen Haotian.

• Shen Haotian spent his merit on treasures, then joined Xu Qingtong on a journey to Purple Rosy Clouds Island.
• Xu Qingtong helped Shen Haotian prepare a tribulation site behind Ink Bamboo Studio and set up formations to defend and gather spiritual qi.
• Shen Haotian endured thirty-six rounds of tribulation lightning and advanced to spirit transformation.
• Shen Haotian thanked Xu Qingtong, and they agreed to remain on the island while Shen Haotian consolidated his cultivation and Xu Qingtong contemplated his insights.
• Xu Qingtong meditated in seclusion for five months, deepening his understanding of time and space, then emerged and asked whether Shen Haotian had stabilized his cultivation.

After Shen Haotian returned to Central Province, Xu Qingtong used his new insight into space-time to break into Cangwu Immortal Lord’s Sea Cloud Hall, despite realizing he might be unable to escape. The Immortal Lord noticed the intrusion and sent his disciple Hong Chen to investigate, and Xu Qingtong found an unfamiliar man waiting inside the formation.

• Xu Qingtong congratulated Shen Haotian on reaching Spirit Transformation, then asked him to return to Central Province and work with Luo Yichen to find Yin Wanchou.
• Xu Qingtong battered Sea Cloud Hall’s self-repairing formation with the Yuanrong Crossbow and tore open a gap, entering the residence before it closed behind him.
• Cangwu Immortal Lord saw Xu Qingtong through a screen of light and ordered his Profound Immortal disciple Hong Chen to investigate the intrusion in the Mortal Realm.
• Cangwu Immortal Lord gave Hong Chen a Boundary-Breaking Disc and explained how to return to the Spirit Realm.
• After finding nothing in the first room, Xu Qingtong sensed the formation tremble and went outside, where he encountered an unfamiliar man watching him.

Xu Qingtong encountered Hong Chenxian, a disciple of Cangwu Immortal Lord, inside the Immortal Lord's Villa and convinced him he had entered by accident. After discovering Xu Qingtong's cultivation and keeping him occupied with questions and wine, Hong Chenxian remained unaware of Xu Qingtong's deeper circumstances.

• Xu Qingtong met Hong Chenxian, who demanded to inspect his Storage Ring and threatened to capture him.
• Xu Qingtong activated his True Qi Armor Talisman, and Hong Chenxian realized he had immortal essence and knew Spirit Realm Immortal Arts.
• Xu Qingtong explained that he had learned the arts while trapped in Tranquil Heart Hall, and Hong Chenxian marveled at his cultivation.
• Xu Qingtong claimed he was from Central Province and asked Hong Chenxian about the Spirit Realm, steering the conversation away from questions about himself.
• Xu Qingtong brought out wine and invited Hong Chenxian to drink, pouring them both a cup.

Xu Qingtong learned that Hong Chenxian had come to the Mortal Realm to recruit talented cultivators for Cangwu Immortal Lord, and the two became drinking companions. Hong Chenxian gave Xu Qingtong Guidance Jade Tokens before returning to the Spirit Realm, while Xu Qingtong planned to ascend later and send a message to Commissioner Zhong through him.

• Xu Qingtong learned from Hong Chenxian that Cangwu Immortal Lord had sent him to recruit Mortal Realm talent because the Spirit Realm lacked cultivators.
• Xu Qingtong learned that Commissioner Zhong was safe and had been entrusted with important duties by Cangwu Immortal Lord.
• Hong Chenxian showed Xu Qingtong around the Sea Cloud Hall, shared the collected spoils, and offered to take him to the Spirit Realm, but Xu Qingtong declined because the crossing was too risky.
• Xu Qingtong told Hong Chenxian about the promising cultivators in Central Province, and Hong Chenxian gave him fifteen Guidance Jade Tokens for a safer ascent to the Yugong Domain.
• Hong Chenxian opened a passage and returned to the Spirit Realm after Xu Qingtong asked him to tell Commissioner Zhong that his Martial Uncle had gone there too.

Xu Qingtong returned to Central Province to help hunt Yin Wanchou, then entered the Demon Realm after discovering the fiend had likely fled there. He reunited with his former subordinate Luosaide and asked whether anyone suspicious had come to the Qingbing Tribe.

• Xu Qingtong learned from Nangong Zhen that Yin Wanchou had escaped again by abandoning his body and that Luo Yichen and Shen Haotian were tracking him near the Desert Swamp.
• Xu Qingtong found Luo Yichen and Shen Haotian by a black hill and suspected Yin Wanchou had entered the Demon Realm through a passage there.
• After examining the broken barrier, Xu Qingtong decided to pursue Yin Wanchou alone, while Luo Yichen and Shen Haotian returned to Central Province.
• Xu Qingtong used a World-Breaking Fruit to enter the Demon Realm and set out for the Qingbing Tribe.
• Xu Qingtong summoned Luosaide, his former subordinate, and asked whether anyone suspicious had recently visited the tribe.

Xu Qingtong learned that Yin Wanchou was likely responsible for a commander's mysterious death and visited Lu Gui'nian in Hanshui City to seek a way into Hagen City. Lu Gui'nian proposed that Xu disguise himself as a Fire Clan peddler so he could investigate without implicating Hanshui City.

• Xu Qingtong questioned Luosaide about suspicious events and learned that a commander had died without wounds while on patrol.
• Xu Qingtong left Luosaide and traveled to Hanshui City, where he visited Lu Gui'nian.
• Xu Qingtong told Lu Gui'nian that Yin Wanchou had harmed fellow cultivators and fled into the Demon Realm, and the two discussed how he might be cultivating there.
• Lu Gui'nian warned Xu Qingtong that entering Hagen City as a Hanshui City trader could provoke a conflict between the cities.
• Lu Gui'nian offered Xu Qingtong a herb that would make his skin red so he could pose as a Fire Clan peddler and enter Hagen City.

Xu Qingtong infiltrated the Fire Clan and Hagen City under a false identity, then ambushed Yin Wanchou at the east gate. He trapped Yin Wanchou in the Heaven and Earth Bowl and began refining his soul, while the City Lord was alerted.

• Xu Qingtong disguised himself as a Fire Clan member with crimson jiang grass, bought flame essence and xin metal stone, and learned about the Sea of Death from Meng Qi.
• Meng Qi followed Xu Qingtong and tried to rob him, so Xu Qingtong killed him, took his Identity Token, and crossed the Sea of Death to Hagen City.
• Xu Qingtong entered Hagen City using Meng Qi's token and learned that Yin Wanchou had taken Commander Xia's place and was stationed at the east gate.
• After watching the east gate for three days, Xu Qingtong froze Yin Wanchou with the Time Law and trapped him with a True Qi Kill Talisman and the Heaven and Earth Bowl.
• Yin Wanchou broke free of the Time Law and called for the City Lord, but Xu Qingtong froze him again and pulled him into the bowl, where his soul began to be refined.

Xu Qingtong escaped Cang Yan, killed Yin Wanchou, and prepared his friends and family for their futures. After Du Siwen reached Spirit Transformation, Xu Qingtong bid farewell to his companions and ascended through a Spatial Passage to the Spirit Realm.

• Xu Qingtong escaped Cang Yan by using an Instant Thousand Li Talisman and a Space Stone, then traveled to Bingzhou and refined Yin Wanchou to death in the Heaven and Earth Bowl.
• Xu Qingtong returned to the Tianhua Sect, told Du Siwen and Shen Haotian about killing Yin Wanchou and meeting Hong Chenxian, and shared Guidance Tokens with Shen Haotian.
• Du Siwen traveled with Xiao Qi, sensed her heavenly tribulation after returning three years later, and reached Spirit Transformation with Xu Qingtong's help.
• Xu Qingtong announced his plan to ascend, gave Du Siwen a Storage Ring containing supplies and Guidance Tokens, and said goodbye to his loved ones.
• Xu Qingtong opened a Spatial Passage, entrusted the Tianhua Sect and Du Siwen to Shen Haotian and Luo Yichen, and leaped into the passage toward the Spirit Realm.