Chapter Summaries

Sheng Daoren attacked Army Breaker Fortress, but abandoned the city to pursue Li Rui, whom he wanted as a vessel. Li Rui survived Sheng Daoren’s attacks with Gu Changsheng’s protection and a bluff about reinforcements, and Yuan Dingting arrived just in time to confront the demon.

• Sheng Daoren attacked Army Breaker Fortress and used the Earth-Shaking Demonic Sound to torment its soldiers while searching for hidden people.
• Li Rui concealed himself underground, but Sheng Daoren discovered him and pursued him beyond the city.
• Fu Tao led the soldiers away from Army Breaker Fortress to seek help at Clear River.
• Sheng Daoren attacked Li Rui underground, but Li Rui’s Five Elements Shield and Gu Changsheng’s true intent blocked his strikes.
• Li Rui claimed Dark Guard reinforcements would arrive, and Yuan Dingting appeared in silver armor to destroy Sheng Daoren’s ghostly attack.

After Yuan Dingting defeated the Fallen Immortal threatening Army Breaker Fortress, Li Rui returned safely and received a cultivation method from the Marquis. Sent back to Clear River to recuperate, Li Rui completed an achievement and obtained the Spirit Ascension Manual.

• Fu Tao led the fleeing soldiers back to Army Breaker Fortress after Yuan Dingting confronted the Heretical Daoist.
• Li Rui returned to the fortress and explained that Gu Changsheng’s life-saving means had helped him survive the pursuit.
• Yuan Dingting announced that the Heretical Daoist had been eliminated, then gave Li Rui a cultivation method taken from the enemy.
• Regional Commander Zhou approved Li Rui’s return to Clear River, where he rested away from the front lines.
• Li Rui completed the Avoiding the Immortal Calamity achievement, gained 40 Achievement Points, and received the Spirit Ascension Manual.

Li Rui discovered that Great Dream Wandering Immortal let him enter the Great Void Dao Field, where the White Jade Steps tempered his soul and tested his combat abilities. After months of cultivation there, he broke through to the threshold of the Five Elements Body Refining Art’s second layer.

• Li Rui entered the Great Void Dao Field through a dream, but the White Jade Steps’ first assault jolted him awake and left his soul greatly strengthened.
• Jiang Linxian revealed that the Imperial Court had imprisoned a Fallen Immortal and collected five immortal formulas and three Immortal Treasures, and offered to help Li Rui exchange his formula for another.
• Sheng Daoren revived through the Blood Soul Curse and vowed revenge against Yuan Dingting, while Ning Zhongtian told Li Rui that General Xue had captured several Purple Gold Palace branch halls.
• Li Rui repeatedly trained in the Great Void Dao Field, eventually reaching the second White Jade Step before a flying sword struck him and ended his dream.
• After three months of cultivation, Li Rui drew in the Dao field’s spiritual energy and reached the threshold of the Five Elements Body Refining Art’s second layer.

Li Rui learned that the Purple Gold Palace had built a Heaven Snatching Array and was killing anyone who might carry news of it to Yuan Dingting. He avoided the ambushes by staying in Qinghe, then used his earth-traveling ability to head toward Cloud Province underground.

• Li Rui mastered the second layer of the Five Elements Body Refining Art, climbed more than ten steps in the Great Void Dao Field, and died under its assault.
• Iron Madman broke through to the Upper Three Ranks, but Li Rui defeated him with one palm and revealed that he had also advanced.
• Xiao Yu brought Li Rui to the wounded He Qiannian, who said he and Jiang Linxian had discovered the Heaven Snatching Array in the Purple Gold Palace and gave Li Rui a letter for Yuan Dingting.
• Si Feng ordered Blood Shadow Old Ancestor to prevent news of the array from reaching Yuan Dingting, while Sheng Daoren finished refining the Thousand Soul Banner and began eyeing Li Rui's body.
• Li Rui burned He Qiannian's letter and stayed in Qinghe as Purple Gold Palace assassins ambushed travelers bound for Cloud Province; after Liang He confirmed people were disappearing, Li Rui went underground toward Cloud Province.

Li Rui warned Yuan Dingting that Purple Gold Palace was preparing the Heaven Snatching Array, prompting Yu Kingdom’s forces to attack and surround the palace. After Jiang Linxian returned and claimed the formation would break within three days, Gu Changsheng appeared before Si Feng, who had become the array’s core.

• Li Rui evaded Purple Gold Palace’s surveillance, reached the Annan Marquis Residence, and told Yuan Dingting about the Heaven Snatching Array.
• Yuan Dingting led Yu Kingdom’s forces into battle, and the armies of Annan, Jiannan, and Huaidong besieged Purple Gold Palace.
• Si Feng burned Zhu Yun to refine a Profound Water Pill, then used it to reverse the Heaven Snatching Array and restore his power.
• The Heaven Snatching Array appeared over Purple Gold Palace, leaving the armies outside in a month-long stalemate.
• Jiang Linxian returned from the Witch Kingdom and told Li Rui that the formation would break within three days.
• Gu Changsheng appeared before Si Feng at the array’s core and declared that he had come to take him in.

Gu Changsheng and Qingding Daoren shut down Si Feng’s Heaven Snatching Array, allowing the Yu Kingdom’s forces to destroy Purple Gold Palace and capture Si Feng. Li Rui killed the Fallen Immortal Sheng Daoren, claimed his Thousand Soul Banner, and began refining it; afterward, Si Feng was imprisoned in the Black Jail, where Gu Changsheng pressed him for immortal hand seals and the method of locating spirit mines.

• Qingding Daoren used a Yin-Yang Reversal Treasure to stop Si Feng’s Heaven Snatching Array, and Gu Changsheng captured Si Feng while Yuan Dingting led the assault that shattered the formation.
• Li Rui fought Sheng Daoren underground, suppressed him with an Immortal Palace phantom, killed him, and took his Thousand Soul Banner.
• After the Yu Kingdom defeated Purple Gold Palace, Li Rui concealed Sheng Daoren’s identity from Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong, while Jiang Linxian explained that Gu Changsheng had sealed the Fallen Immortal who had possessed Qu Chengfeng.
• The Holy Emperor issued a general amnesty after Eastern Wu was pacified and the Witch Kingdom agreed to renew the Sandalwood City Pact.
• Li Rui subdued the souls in the Thousand Soul Banner and began refining it with Immortal Profound Qi.
• Gu Changsheng visited the imprisoned Si Feng in the Black Jail and demanded his immortal hand seals and the method for locating spirit mines.

Li Rui refined the first layer of the Thousand Soul Banner, learned of a planned sect in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and encountered Wu De of the Profound Mystery Palace in the Great Void Dao Field. After a year of cultivation, he defeated Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong in sparring, earning their recognition as the foremost fighter in the Innate Realm.

• Li Rui completed the first layer of the Thousand Soul Banner and visited He Qiannian, who discussed the proposed sect in the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Li Rui met Wu De of the Profound Mystery Palace in the Great Void Dao Field, exchanged false identities, and later asked Tan Hu to investigate the sect.
• Li Rui entered the Great Void Dao Field night after night but did not encounter Wu De again as another autumn arrived.
• Li Rui fought Nie Siming, who entered his mad demon state, and defeated him after more than a thousand exchanges.
• Li Rui then defeated Yuan Xiong in a second sparring match, and both men declared him the foremost fighter in the Innate Realm.

Li Rui received the Divine Arrival Scripture from Wu De, an immortal cultivator who mistook him for an heir to a mysterious lineage, and learned that his Great Innate path existed in the Immortal Cultivation World. The chapter ended with Nie Siming warning Li Rui that a remnant of the Purple Gold Palace had placed a bounty on him, leaving Li Rui wondering why the remnants had singled him out.

• Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong praised Li Rui after their battle, then broke through to the Upper Three Ranks three days later and chose to remain in Clear River.
• He Qiannian saw Li Rui seize a wisp of radiance and recognized that his Great Horizontal Training had reached major completion.
• Lin Lang told Li Rui that the Heaven Origin Commerce Association had found traces of Seven Stars Stone in the East Sea and promised to deliver it to him.
• Wu De mistook Li Rui for an heir to a mysterious lineage, gave him the Divine Arrival Scripture, and revealed that Li Rui's Great Innate path was known in the Immortal Cultivation World.
• Nie Siming told Li Rui that a Black Market assassin had accepted a bounty on him and that a remnant of the Purple Gold Palace had placed it.

Li Rui received a Flying Fish Robe from the Imperial Court, then secluded himself to study the Divine Arrival Scripture and advance his cultivation. After two years, he achieved Great Perfection of Divine Soul and discovered a stone embryo resembling his childhood self within his dantian’s Immortal Court.

• Minister of War Chai Yan rewarded Annan Garrison and bestowed a Flying Fish Robe on Li Rui, earning him the Governor Tao Feng’s attention and 30 Achievement Points.
• Li Rui turned away visitors and secretly discovered that Wu De had hidden a tracking passage in the Divine Arrival Scripture, which he blocked before beginning cultivation.
• Two Daoists arrived in Clear River and decided to visit Zhou Dinghai.
• During Li Rui’s two-year seclusion, Liang He reported that Wang Zhao had become a successful Demon Tamer, and Li Rui arranged for him to take charge of Spring Breeze Hall if needed.
• Li Rui’s divine soul reached Great Perfection, allowing him to sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and bringing him close to the Upper Three Ranks.
• Li Rui examined his dantian’s Immortal Court and saw a stone embryo beneath the blooming peach tree that resembled him as a child.

Li Rui learned that the Qingwei Sect would select an Imperial Court elder, and he decided to compete for the chance to learn immortal cultivation. As remnants of Purple Gold Palace plotted to seize the Thousand Soul Banner from him, Li Rui strengthened his spiritual root and met Wu De again in his dreams.

• Li Rui completed his soul cultivation, met Yuan Xiong, and learned that Nie Siming was surveying the Ten Thousand Mountains with Qingwei Sect Daoists.
• Blood Shadow Old Ancestor learned that Li Rui had left Clear River and planned to take the Thousand Soul Banner he believed Li Rui had obtained.
• Xue Gui told Li Rui about the Qingwei Sect's selection for an elder, and Li Rui agreed to try for Annan Garrison's slot.
• Lin Lang gave Li Rui a Seven Stars Stone, and Li Rui consumed it to strengthen his spiritual root while promising to protect one person from the Heaven Origin Commerce Association if he entered the sect.
• Nie Siming learned more about the rising spiritual energy and the Imperial Court's plans for Fallen Immortals as he surveyed the Ten Thousand Mountains with Ziyang and Chunxu.
• Li Rui met Wu De in his dream and warned him to abandon his intentions after dismissing the Divine Arrival Scripture as ordinary.

Li Rui learned about the Immortal Cultivation World and entered the Imperial Court’s selection for officials to be stationed at Qingwei Sect. He passed the Spiritual Root test, and as the second round stalled, he stepped forward to attempt lifting the Qi Eating Spirit Iron.

• Li Rui met Nie Siming and two Qingwei Sect Daoists, then learned over hotpot that Qingding Zhenren would soon open the sect and accept disciples.
• In the Great Void Dreamland, Wu De told Li Rui that climbers had only ten attempts to reach the top of the White Jade Steps, and Li Rui realized Great Dream Wandering Immortal might let him ignore that limit.
• Zhou Dinghai began the selection, and Li Rui passed the first round by presenting a Middle Grade Spiritual Root.
• Only eleven of the more than thirty candidates passed the Spiritual Root test, and the remaining candidates left.
• In the second round, Zhou Dinghai required the candidates to lift Qi Eating Spirit Iron without touching it, but their true qi dispersed against the metal.
• As the candidates struggled to find a way to lift the iron, an unidentified voice said it would give it a try.

Li Rui passed the selection to represent the Yu Kingdom at the Qingwei Sect after lifting the Qi-Eating Divine Iron with spiritual energy, and he prepared to relocate there with Liu Tiezhu and trusted companions. After an attempt to climb the White Jade Steps left him unconscious, he arranged for Liang He to manage affairs at home and set out with his party for the immortal sect.

• Li Rui lifted the Qi-Eating Divine Iron a zhang with spiritual energy, passed the assessment, and was chosen as the candidate for the Qingwei Sect.
• Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong celebrated Li Rui’s success, and Nie Siming told him that nourishing his Spiritual Root with spiritual energy might improve it.
• Nie Siming explained that Yuan Dingting believed martial arts and immortal cultivation could lead to the same destination, while Mister Liu said the Upper Three Ranks’ methods came from the upper realm.
• Li Rui met Chunxuzi and Ziyang Daoren, then returned to the Great Void Dao Palace to nurture his Dao embryo and attempt to climb the White Jade Steps; a soul storm knocked him unconscious.
• After waking, Li Rui instructed Ma Xi to care for Yang Yong and assigned Liang He to guard the household and the Heaven and Earth Alliance while he took Liu Tiezhu to the Qingwei Sect.
• Ning Zhongtian, Tan Hu, Ge Hong, Wei Ming, and other trusted men joined Li Rui as attendants, and the group departed for the Qingwei Sect.

Li Rui settled into Qingwei Sect, studied its teachings, and advanced toward the Dao Embryo Realm while learning about growing threats from Purple Gold Palace remnants. He later visited the Merit Hall and chose a copy of "Complete Talisman Explanation," as Blood Shadow Old Ancestor plotted against him and Qingwei Sect.

• Ziyang Daoren led Li Rui and his party to their residence on Evergreen Peak, where Li Rui read the sect booklet and learned about the Six Arts of Immortal Cultivation.
• Li Rui observed Qingwei Sect's founding ceremony and immortal sect examination, then attended Chunxuzi's lectures and realized his stone embryo was beginning to shed its shell.
• Li Rui befriended Sang Kong, who warned him that Purple Gold Palace remnants were active in Ten Thousand Mountains and that Blood Shadow Old Ancestor might retaliate against Yu Kingdom officials.
• Blood Shadow Old Ancestor recruited Celestial Ox Vermilion Toad to watch Li Rui and attack Qingwei Sect disciples, but Celestial Ox Vermilion Toad planned to send demons only to patrol nearby.
• Li Rui visited Qingwei Sect's Merit Hall and selected "Complete Talisman Explanation" to obtain.

Li Rui studied talisman cultivation and, a year later, successfully made a Spirit Gathering Talisman while his Dao fetus continued transforming. He met the Little White Flood Dragon to hear news of the Ten Thousand Mountains, then quietly rescued a Qingwei Sect disciple from a demonic beast.

• Li Rui spent 69 contribution points to obtain the Complete Talisman Explanation and chose to study talismans among the six arts of cultivation.
• After a year of study, Li Rui created a Spirit Gathering Talisman and saw that one of his Dao fetus’s hands had completed its transformation.
• Li Rui met the Little White Flood Dragon, learned that the Three-Eyed Ghost Elephant and the Celestial Ox Vermilion Toad’s subordinates had arrived in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and promised to seek an Immortal Technique for demon cultivators.
• Li Rui recognized a Qingwei Sect disciple being attacked near the sect’s formation and killed the demonic beast with a flick of true qi.
• The disciple thanked the unseen senior who saved him, while Li Rui left without revealing himself.

Li Rui attended Qingwei Sect’s Inner Sect assessment, where Blood Shadow Old Ancestor secretly attacked during the trial. Blood Shadow Old Ancestor struck Li Rui, but his body turned out to be a talisman.

• Li Rui accepted an invitation to observe Qingwei Sect’s Inner Sect assessment and discussed the competition with Liu Tiezhu.
• Li Rui and Sang Kong watched Zhang Fan reach the final of the matches before joining the disciples’ trial in the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Blood Shadow Old Ancestor learned that Li Rui had descended the mountain and planned to seize him while a hidden array raised demon beast skeletons to attack the disciples.
• Chunxuzi and the middle-aged Daoist fought the skeletons while Li Rui and Sang Kong defended themselves, but Blood Shadow Old Ancestor suddenly attacked Li Rui from underground.
• Blood Shadow Old Ancestor’s palm struck Li Rui, whose body exploded and transformed into a talisman.

Li Rui escaped Blood Shadow Old Ancestor with a talisman-made clone and realized the Thousand Soul Banner had drawn the powerful cultivator’s attention. After a year of surveillance, Li Rui staged the banner’s theft and sent it to Blood Shadow Old Ancestor, hoping to distract him and keep himself safe while he cultivated.

• Li Rui revealed that he had used a clone talisman to evade Blood Shadow Old Ancestor, then resolved to remove the threat posed by the Thousand Soul Banner.
• Sang Kong praised Li Rui’s talisman skills and told him he had explained Li Rui’s absence to Chunxuzi without mentioning the talismans.
• Blood Shadow Old Ancestor ordered Earth Element Demon and other subordinates to watch Qingwei Sect and capture Li Rui if he came down the mountain.
• A year later, Earth Element Demon claimed he had stolen the Thousand Soul Banner from Li Rui, and Blood Shadow Old Ancestor took it to refine.
• Li Rui returned to Evergreen Peak after deliberately giving up the banner, which he had secretly altered to hinder Blood Shadow Old Ancestor and reveal his whereabouts.

Li Rui returned to Qinghe City to report his intelligence on Qingwei Sect, give Liang He an Immortal Technique primer, and secretly break through to form a Dao Embryo. He told He Qiannian about his success and promised to carry Great Horizontal Training forward, while He Qiannian asked him to call him brother.

• Li Rui slipped past the Earth Element Demon, checked for Purple Gold Palace contingencies, and entered Qinghe City.
• Li Rui gave Xue Gui a booklet of intelligence on Qingwei Sect and accompanied him to report to Regional Commander Zhou Dinghai.
• Li Rui reunited with Nie Siming and the Yuan Xiong brothers, showed them a talisman technique, and gave Liang He a Qi Refining Primer.
• Li Rui traveled to a secluded hill and used Spirit Gathering Talismans, pills, and moonlight to form his Dao Embryo.
• Li Rui told He Qiannian that he had succeeded, and He Qiannian celebrated before asking Li Rui to call him brother.

Li Rui tested his progress on the White Jade Steps and confirmed that he could eventually reach the Immortal Court’s inheritance, while he and Wu De kept up a wary show of friendship. After a year of cultivation at the Qingwei Sect, Li Rui learned that the sect’s Grand Rite of the Heavens would soon draw immortal sects from the East Sea.

• Li Rui returned to the Qingwei Sect and cautiously restrained the Dao Embryo’s absorption of spiritual energy.
• Wu De attacked Li Rui with a flying sword on the White Jade Steps, then tested his strength; both men hid their suspicions and later cultivated separately.
• After Wu De left, Li Rui climbed to seventy percent of the White Jade Steps before his soul gave out, and he concluded that he could pass them at the Profound Comprehension Realm.
• Li Rui learned that Ge Hong had mastered the Azure Bloom Art and advised Ning Zhongtian and Wei Ming not to force a path that did not suit them.
• After another year passed, Sang Kong told Li Rui that the Qingwei Sect would soon hold the Grand Rite of the Heavens, attended by immortal sects from the East Sea.

Li Rui attended the Grand Rite of the Heavens at the Qingwei Sect, where he uncovered a Purple Gold Palace spy and witnessed the Celestial Ox Vermilion Toad eliminate the conspirators. As scripture debates began, the National Preceptor sent Fang Hua to pressure Li Rui into taking the stage and bolstering Yu Kingdom's prestige.

• Li Rui watched Qingding Zhenren and the National Preceptor lecture on the Dao, then chose not to join the scripture debates despite their benefits.
• While walking at night, Li Rui saw a Daoist secretly give a map of the Qingwei Sect to a Purple Gold Palace agent in exchange for a spirit pill.
• The Celestial Ox Vermilion Toad killed both the Daoist spy and the black-robed man, while Li Rui watched unseen and realized the toad had turned against the Purple Gold Palace.
• The Grand Rite continued without interruption, and Li Rui watched the scripture debates as cultivators used their souls and spiritual energy to compete.
• Fang Hua told Li Rui that the National Preceptor expected him to take the stage and warned him not to bring shame upon the Imperial Court.

Li Rui faced Fang Hua in a scripture debate and revealed that he had reached Spirit Refinement, earning the attention of the Yu Kingdom’s powerful figures. After the National Preceptor stopped Fang Hua from escalating the contest, Li Rui received the Eternal Evergreen Art as an achievement reward.

• Li Rui took the platform to debate Fang Hua, while the gathered cultivators expected him to be outmatched.
• Fang Hua opened with a soul-shaking declaration, but Li Rui stood firm and announced that he had broken through the Spirit Refinement Barrier.
• Li Rui countered by declaring that cultivators should contend with heaven, silencing the surrounding scripture debates and drawing the attention of the National Preceptor and Great Master Qingding.
• Fang Hua gathered spiritual energy to attack, but the National Preceptor dispersed the vortex and ordered him to stop.
• Li Rui thanked the National Preceptor, left the platform, and received 30 Achievement Points and the Eternal Evergreen Art for completing his achievement.