Chapter Summaries

Chu Xingchen and his disciples attended the Black Tortoise Kingdom’s banquet, where his familiar dealings with the Heavenly Derivation Sect baffled the other Central Province sects. The Myriad Sword Sect’s leader ordered a disciple to find out which sect Chu Xingchen’s group belonged to.

• Chu Xingchen and his disciples entered Bright Martial Hall and took seats near the Heavenly Derivation Sect.
• Li Xingtian recognized the Heavenly Derivation Sect’s emblem and wondered whether Chu Xingchen had ties to Central Province.
• Zheng Xiaofeng greeted Chu Xingchen respectfully and said the matter he had reported was nearly resolved.
• The unidentified sect opposite became more curious about Chu Xingchen after seeing Zheng Xiaofeng’s deference.
• The Myriad Sword Sect’s leader noticed the other sects watching Chu Xingchen and sent a disciple to learn which sect his group belonged to.

At the emperor’s banquet, Chu Xingchen ignored the sects watching him and focused on feeding Chen Baiqing, while their failed attempts to uncover his sect’s name convinced Zhao Xuan that the Heavenly Derivation Sect was secretly protecting them. Zhao Xuan decided he might be able to build a connection with the mysterious sect instead.

• The Myriad Sword Sect’s leader ordered his disciple to investigate Chu Xingchen’s sect more thoroughly after learning only that it was from Yuzhou City and had been specially invited by the Heavenly Derivation Sect.
• Chu Xingchen fed Chen Baiqing pastries while Li Yingling and Li Xingtian sampled the food before Emperor Zhao Xuan entered and took the seat of honor.
• Zhao Xuan noticed the other sects watching Chu Xingchen and concluded that the Heavenly Derivation Sect had planted a hidden piece and was signaling its protection.
• Chu Xingchen asked the watching sects what they wanted, and the Heavenly Derivation Sect’s leader praised him and shared a cup of wine with him.
• Two disciples returned from investigating and confirmed they still could not discover Chu Xingchen’s sect name, strengthening Zhao Xuan’s suspicion that the Heavenly Derivation Sect was concealing it.
• Zhao Xuan decided to show goodwill to Chu Xingchen’s sect as a possible way to connect with the Heavenly Derivation Sect.

After the banquet, Chu Xingchen took his disciples to a farewell dinner arranged by Li Xingtian, where the usually reserved disciple spoke sincerely to his master and senior sister. Li Xingtian stayed behind as the carriage departed, and Chu Xingchen told Chen Baiqing that her senior brother would return when he missed home.

• At the imperial banquet, Chu Xingchen fed Chen Baiqing and left without incident after the Heavenly Derivation Sect vouched for his group.
• The next day, Li Xingtian took Chu Xingchen, Li Yingling, and Chen Baiqing to the Half-Idle Abode for a sect dinner.
• Over wine, Li Xingtian thanked Chu Xingchen for treating him sincerely and told Li Yingling he knew what she meant, while Chen Baiqing quietly ate.
• After paying the bill, Li Xingtian remained outside as Chu Xingchen and Chen Baiqing boarded the carriage and left.
• When Chen Baiqing asked when her senior brother would return, Chu Xingchen said he would come back when he missed home.

Chu Xingchen confirmed that the criminals from Li Yingling’s past had been punished and returned to the Heavenly Mandate Pavilion with his disciples. As Li Xingtian prepared to leave for Central Province, he discovered Chu Xingchen had secretly left him a blood-replenishing gourd and a powerful saber.

• Chu Xingchen reviewed Zheng Xiaofeng’s list of punishments and insisted that every case be lawful and free of wrongful charges.
• Chu Xingchen returned to the Heavenly Mandate Pavilion, reassured Chen Baiqing, and prepared to leave with Li Yingling and Wen Qing.
• Li Yingling thanked Chu Xingchen for what he had done at the Mass Burial Grounds, and he teased her about being moved.
• Li Yingling clumsily drove the carriage out of the Capital City while Li Xingtian watched them depart.
• Li Xingtian found a Blood-Replenishing Gourd and a dark red saber in his Spatial Ring and realized Chu Xingchen had left him the gifts.

Chu Xingchen received invitations from the Yuzhou City Demon-Suppression Bureau and Chanwood Temple, but chose to delay visiting either. He then planned a Sect Recruitment Conference, leaving Li Yingling eager to design its trials.

• Ning Qianqian brought Chu Xingchen letters from the Yuzhou City Demon-Suppression Bureau and Chanwood Temple, which invited him to visit.
• Chu Xingchen read the letters, decided not to visit either for now, and let Li Yingling read them.
• Chu Xingchen outlined plans for recruiting disciples, developing the sect, planting Spirit Plants, and practicing alchemy.
• Li Yingling proposed recruitment trials to test candidates' character, aptitude, and intelligence, and volunteered to organize them.
• Chen Baiqing, Ning Kun, and Ning Qianqian supported Li Yingling's proposal, and the sect meeting concluded.
• Li Yingling returned to her room excited to plan the Trial Conference while Chu Xingchen prepared to scrutinize her ideas.

Chu Xingchen tested a batch of Qi Condensation Pills on Li Yingling, whose painful reaction convinced him to study alchemy again. Li Yingling later went to meet the Abbot of Chanwood Temple and a Young Monk, finding Yuanjing visibly weakened as he argued with Yuankong.

• Chu Xingchen forced Li Yingling to eat a Qi Condensation Pill, and she told him it tasted fine while struggling against its powerful medicinal effect.
• Chu Xingchen used Spiritual Energy to ease Li Yingling's symptoms and decided to buy Alchemy Manuals and study alchemy again.
• Li Yingling abandoned her plan to gather material and returned to her room to cultivate.
• Ning Qianqian told Li Yingling that the Abbot of Chanwood Temple and a Young Monk had arrived to see the Sect Leader, so Li Yingling asked her to take them to the Main Hall.
• Li Yingling overheard Yuankong telling Yuanjing that he had acted willingly, while Yuanjing insisted that he must be willing too.
• Li Yingling entered the Main Hall and noticed that Yuanjing's beard had turned white and that he looked exhausted and unsteady.

Chu Xingchen demonstrated his clay-pot alchemy to A Nian and approved a favorable Black Tortoise Kingdom partnership funded by its monthly subsidy. At the sect, Li Yingling refused Yuanjing’s offer to compensate them for Yuankong’s sale of the Śarīra, and Yuanjing proposed exchanging a secret Heart Sutra for it.

• Chu Xingchen showed A Nian how he refined a healing spirit medicine, and she watched closely in hopes of learning his method.
• Chu Xingchen reviewed Zhao Wanqing’s partnership documents and asked her to expand the publicity campaign, charging any additional costs to the Black Tortoise Kingdom’s monthly subsidy.
• A Nian tasted Chu Xingchen’s Pill Elixir and cried out that it had the same awful taste as before.
• Li Yingling rejected Yuanjing’s offer of compensation for the Śarīra, and Yuankong admitted there was no principle behind Chanwood Temple’s claim to it.
• Yuanjing sent Yuankong outside and offered Li Yingling a secret supreme Heart Sutra in exchange for the Śarīra.

Chu Xingchen negotiated with Yuanjing over the Jialan Śarīra, rejecting the initial offers and securing a harsh contract tied to Chanwood Temple’s help promoting his sect’s Disciple Recruitment Conference. After the negotiations, he asked Li Yingling about her plans for the Trial Conference and warned her to avoid ideas involving demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters.

• Chu Xingchen learned from Yuankong that Yuanjing wanted the Jialan Śarīra and went to meet him in the main hall.
• Yuanjing explained that he needed the Śarīra to reshape Yuankong’s root bone because Yuankong would otherwise lose his chance to cultivate.
• Chu Xingchen refused Yuanjing’s heart sutra and proposed a price of twenty-five thousand spirit stones, which Chanwood Temple could not afford.
• Chu Xingchen offered a different arrangement in which Yuanjing would help promote the Disciple Recruitment Conference, then drew up a demanding contract with additional conditions.
• Yuanjing left with Yuankong, who was relieved the deal had failed, but Yuanjing revealed that Yuankong was also in trouble under the contract.
• Chu Xingchen asked Li Yingling about her Trial Conference plan and offered her a Tenfold Great Tonic Pill if she removed ideas involving demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters.

Chen Baiqing cultivated and studied while her master pursued alchemy and her senior sister prepared the sect’s trials and ceremony. After Chen Baiqing reached Foundation Establishment and agreed to help, she saw a vast crowd gathering at the sect entrance and realized the trial formation could not hold them all.

• Chen Baiqing cultivated through the night, studied her senior sister’s book, and reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Chen Baiqing watched her master test his pills on Yuankong after her senior sister refused to keep tasting them.
• Zhao Wanqing and the abbot of Chanwood Temple reported that publicity for the ceremony was underway as Chen Baiqing’s senior sister built a large illusion formation and prepared the trials.
• Chanwood Temple took Yuankong away to reshape his root bone, while Chen Baiqing broke through to Foundation Establishment and received a strange divine ability manual from her master.
• Chen Baiqing agreed to help her senior sister with the ceremony, then saw a massive crowd at the sect entrance and realized the trial formation could not fit them all.

As crowds gathered for the Sect Recruitment Ceremony, Lin Luoyu questioned Cui Hao’s easy decision to leave the mountain queue and found him drinking in Yuzhou City. Cui Hao explained that he simply followed his own wishes, and the two introduced themselves as fellow travelers.

• A crowd gathered at the Sect’s mountain gates, where Lin Luoyu and Cui Hao waited among the hopeful applicants.
• A little girl announced that applicants needed to collect numbered tokens from the Demon-Suppression Bureau and return on their assigned days.
• Cui Hao left the queue to collect his token in Yuzhou City, and Lin Luoyu followed after reflecting on his choice.
• Cui Hao drank in a tavern and said he had no inside information; he had simply wanted to leave.
• Lin Luoyu joined Cui Hao, gave her name, and shared a drink as he wished her a smooth path to immortality.

Cui Hao met Lin Luoyu in Yuzhou City, then entered the disciple recruitment trial on the date marked on his token. Inside an illusion, he was asked to judge a dispute between Wang Dagou and Wang Ergou, and the chapter ended with him asking where Xiaocui was.

• Lin Luoyu declined Cui Hao's offer to buy her a meal and told him her token was for two days later.
• On the day of his trial, Cui Hao learned that all three thousand candidates from the previous day had failed to reach the second round.
• Li Yingling appeared in the illusion realm and told the candidates to enter a village to understand how difficult it was to be human.
• Cui Hao entered the village and found Wang Dagou and Wang Ergou accusing each other over Xiaocui's marriage.
• Cui Hao questioned why no other candidates had entered the village and asked the two men where Xiaocui was.

Cui Hao used unconventional matchmaking judgments to pass through ten cases in an illusion, only to learn that he had answered every question incorrectly. Li Yingling nevertheless gave him a token and invited him to return for the Second Trial so her master could meet him.

• Cui Hao questioned Wang Dagou and Wang Ergou, then joined their hands and sent them away together instead of ruling for either man.
• Cui Hao handled nine more cases by pairing up the disputing parties, and the illusion ended after his tenth case.
• Li Yingling told Cui Hao that he had not guessed even one answer correctly and asked how he had managed to get all ten wrong.
• Li Yingling gave Cui Hao a token and told him to return in ten days for the Second Trial, saying his unusual talent should be shown to her master.
• Cui Hao asked whether his Spiritual Root would be tested, and Li Yingling explained that people without one were sent down the mountain instead of entering the illusion.

Lin Luoyu passed the preliminary trial and later entered the sect for the second trial, where she found Cui Hao in line and saw the sect leader, Chu Xingchen. Cui Hao had been earning money by drawing indecent picture books, and Lin Luoyu’s second trial was about to begin in the Main Hall.

• Lin Luoyu passed ten cases in the preliminary trial and received a token for the second trial.
• Lin Luoyu met Cui Hao at a Yuzhou City eatery, learned that he had also passed, and offered him silver when she thought he was short of money.
• Cui Hao accepted Lin Luoyu’s silver, saying he had found work in Yuzhou City.
• As prices fell, Lin Luoyu learned that Cui Hao’s work was drawing indecent picture books and saw him promise to quit and repay her.
• Lin Luoyu presented her second trial token and entered the Main Hall, where she joined Cui Hao in line and exchanged a glance with Chu Xingchen.

Chu Xingchen conducted the Second Trial by asking candidates questions, dismissing the late-arriving young man and stumping nearly everyone with abstract topics. Cui Hao unexpectedly gave a sound answer about how a stable mortal market supported cultivation sects.

• Chu Xingchen eliminated the late-arriving young man, citing his lack of urgency and noticing his Arsonist trait.
• Chu Xingchen reassured the candidates that the Second Trial would involve answering questions and chatting.
• Chu Xingchen praised Lin Luoyu for earning full marks and encouraged her perseverance in cultivation.
• Chu Xingchen asked the other candidates abstract questions, but none of them could answer.
• Cui Hao explained that a prosperous, stable mortal market could support cultivation sects and improve their efficiency, surprising Chu Xingchen.

Chu Xingchen finished the second trial and welcomed Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu into the sect, while Chen Baiqing learned she would become a senior sister. He inspected Lin Luoyu’s traits as the new disciples stood in the Main Hall.

• Chu Xingchen considered Cui Hao’s traits and spiritual root, praised his talent despite his strange first-trial behavior, and decided he was worth recruiting.
• Chu Xingchen questioned the remaining second-trial participants, then arranged for Li Yingling to give each of them fifty taels of silver.
• Chen Baiqing told Chu Xingchen that no one in her batch looked promising, and Chu Xingchen reassured her that she would become a senior sister.
• Chu Xingchen and Chen Baiqing waited for the final batch to finish its illusions, while Ning Qianqian and Demon-Suppression Bureau members escorted the unsuccessful candidates away.
• Chu Xingchen entered the Main Hall, where Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu stood with his eldest disciple, and checked Lin Luoyu’s traits.

Cui Hao began learning the Qi Refining and Spirit-Nourishing Art with Chen Baiqing’s help, while Lin Luoyu struggled to understand her more advanced cultivation method. When Chu Xingchen came out to help, he remembered that Li Xingtian had gone to Central Province.

• Cui Hao greeted Chen Baiqing, who explained the basics of the Qi Refining and Spirit-Nourishing Art and advised him to ask Li Xingtian for further guidance.
• Cui Hao offered to help Lin Luoyu with the Nine Profound Righteous Qi Art but could not understand it, so Chen Baiqing suggested they wait for Li Xingtian or Chu Xingchen.
• Cui Hao asked Chen Baiqing the Sect’s name, and she admitted she had never asked because the Sect felt like home.
• Cui Hao returned to his room to begin practicing while Lin Luoyu waited with Chen Baiqing for help.
• Chu Xingchen came out, heard Lin Luoyu needed help, and remembered that Li Xingtian had gone to Central Province.

Li Xingtian arrived in Central Province and used a local runner to learn about Sunset Valley and its recent news. After hearing that no secret realms were nearby, he asked Li Zi to find him a reputable inn and wondered how his master was doing.

• Li Xingtian reached Sunset Valley after an eight-day journey and entered the town through its great teleportation array.
• Li Xingtian chose Li Zi, a short-haired runner, to guide him through town and explain the local situation.
• Li Zi told Li Xingtian about the Bone-Restoring Pill and said she had heard of a secret realm at Hundred-Flower Ridge, but none in Sunset Valley.
• Li Zi said disciples of the Heavenly Derivation Sect and the Myriad Sword Sect had recently passed through, and Li Xingtian asked her to find him a reputable inn.
• Li Xingtian looked south and wondered how his master was doing.

Li Xingtian prepared for an opportunity in Sunset Valley, bought supplies at the Treasure Pavilion, and mistakenly believed his guide Lizi had taken his payment and fled. He found her waiting at the inn and apologized after she explained she had only been late.

• Li Xingtian paid Lizi a Spirit Stone in advance, then went to his room to rest and cultivate.
• At dawn, Li Xingtian did not find Lizi at the inn and headed to the Treasure Pavilion to buy talismans, pills, and Foundation Establishment spider silk.
• Li Xingtian negotiated with the shopkeeper, whom he recognized as Old Deng, and bought the supplies for seventy-five Spirit Stones.
• Li Xingtian bought more emergency supplies and told another guide that Lizi had taken his Spirit Stone without returning.
• Li Xingtian returned to the inn and found Lizi waiting anxiously; she apologized for being late and offered to guide him at half price.
• Li Xingtian told Lizi that he owed her an apology too.

Li Xingtian prepared to explore a trap-filled grave and bought small spirit beasts to scout ahead. Li Zi followed him despite her injuries, hoping to restore her reputation, and he finally agreed not to report her further.

• Li Xingtian refused to involve himself in Li Zi's dispute after she returned a Spirit Stone, then continued planning his expedition.
• The next morning, Li Xingtian found Li Zi bruised and injured, but rejected her offer to guide him without pay.
• Li Xingtian went to a shop to buy small spirit beasts for scouting the grave's traps and poisons.
• Li Zi negotiated a guide's discount, and Li Xingtian secured a larger discount by mentioning Old Man Deng from the Treasure Pavilion.
• Li Xingtian borrowed a dimensional pouch for the spirit beasts and told Li Zi he would not pursue the matter further, relieving her.

Chu Xingchen rushed toward Central Province after learning that Li Xingtian was being hunted, while Li Xingtian fled back toward Sunset Valley with the treasures he had taken from a Secret Realm. The Skyglow Sect had already sealed off the Teleportation Arrays and attacked him, leaving Chu Xingchen on his way to help.

• Li Yingling celebrated receiving a Spirit Treasure longsword after forming her golden core, while Cui Hao watched her and Chen Baiqing practiced their Divine Ability.
• Chu Xingchen told Li Yingling to protect the sect and flew toward Central Province after sensing that Li Xingtian had activated his Thousand-Mile Teleportation Talisman.
• Li Xingtian fled toward Sunset Valley, carrying the Secret Realm's treasures, including Embroidered Cloud Needles he planned to give Chu Xingchen.
• Li Xingtian recalled that a rogue cultivator had reported him to the Skyglow Sect after discovering him in the Secret Realm.
• When Li Xingtian reached Sunset Valley, he found the Skyglow Sect controlling the Teleportation Arrays, and its members attacked him as soon as they recognized him.