Chapter Summaries

Li Rui sheltered Chen Ming, who claimed to know where Top Grade Spirit Stones were and agreed to share them under a Dao Oath. After Chen Ming secretly planned to evade the oath and keep the stones, Li Rui trapped him with talismans inside the carriage.

• Chen Ming told Li Rui that his compass could detect Top Grade Spirit Stones and that a Profound Understanding Upper Stage Demonic Cultivator had pursued him.
• Li Rui agreed to shelter Chen Ming in exchange for half the Top Grade Spirit Stones, and they formed a Dao Oath.
• Li Rui warned the spirit mine's guards, placed warning talismans around the mine, and sent Ning Zhongtian back to the Qingwei Sect.
• Myriad Ghosts Daoist watched the spirit mine, chose not to risk exposing his Evil Puppet Array, and left.
• After half a month, Li Rui arranged for Chen Ming to leave in a talisman-covered carriage, while Chen Ming secretly planned to keep the stones and evade the Dao Oath.
• When Chen Ming tried to leave the carriage, its talismans blazed with white light, and Li Rui told him there was no need to go.

Li Rui trapped and killed Chen Ming, refining him into the Thousand Soul Banner’s main soul before returning to Qingwei Sect. After a month of cultivation, Li Rui returned to Qinghe City with Ge Hong and learned that Yao Xue was preparing to leave for a spirit mine in the Northern Plains.

• Li Rui revealed the Thousand Souls Banner and used hidden barrier talismans to trap Chen Ming inside the carriage.
• Li Rui suppressed Chen Ming with his immortal-palace Qi Form, then refined him into the Thousand Soul Banner’s main soul.
• Li Rui destroyed the carriage and Demon Horse to hide the evidence, then continued toward Qingwei Sect with Chen Ming’s brass compass.
• Li Rui returned to Qingwei Sect and cultivated on Evergreen Peak for a month.
• Li Rui descended to Qinghe City with Ge Hong, who had reached the sixth rank and returned to Clear River for a visit.
• Yao Xue told Li Rui that she would soon head north to help with a newly appeared spirit mine.

Li Rui learned that a newly emerged spirit mine in the Northern Plains had brought the Yu Kingdom and the Arctic Demon Sect to the brink of war, then defeated Nie Siming in a spar. That night, he climbed beyond the familiar summit of the White Jade Steps and reached a point where he could see the immortal palaces, as a distant chant sounded.

• Yao Xue told Li Rui that Gu Changsheng claimed the Northern Plains spirit mine belonged to the Yu Kingdom, and Li Rui gave her life-saving talismans before she headed north.
• Li Rui heard that Yu Kingdom forces and the Arctic Demon Sect were in a military standoff over the mine, and Nie Siming expressed regret that he could not return to the northern battlefield.
• Nie Siming challenged Li Rui to spar, but Li Rui defeated him with a single slash; Liang He watched and strengthened his resolve to become powerful.
• Li Rui cultivated with spirit stones, then climbed the White Jade Steps and used his Dao Embryo to push through the spirit impact beyond the familiar summit.
• Li Rui reached a point where he could see a vast white jade plaza and towering Jade Towers, and heard a chant about the White Jade Capital and eternal life.

Li Rui entered the Great Void Dao Field, passed its first Heart Questioning Trial, and began considering how to pursue its Immortal Legacies. Back in Clear River, he praised Liang He’s progress and secretly used Evergreen Qi to help He Qiannian, whose long-dormant dantian finally stirred.

• Li Rui stepped onto the white jade plaza and entered the Great Void Dao Field, where he encountered a Bewildering Heart Array.
• Li Rui walked through the wine pool and meat forest, but the Great Dream Wandering Immortal ended before he could finish the trial.
• Li Rui resumed his morning cultivation, then praised Liang He for managing the Heaven and Earth Alliance without letting its affairs distract him.
• Li Rui learned the Chen Family had moved away, then visited He Qiannian at the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.
• Li Rui circulated Evergreen Qi through He Qiannian, causing a faint tremor in his dantian and renewing his hope of condensing a Qi Form.

Li Rui passed the first stage of the Great Void Dao Field’s Heart Questioning Trial and received a Great Dao Fragment, then used the Evil Ghost Path to strengthen his Thousand Soul Banner. After returning to the Qingwei Sect, he heard Sang Kong complain about Demonic Cultivators gathering over rumors of Top Grade Spirit Stones, and Li Rui reflected on the chaos those rumors could cause.

• Li Rui left the resentful Fairy behind, passed the Heart Questioning Trial, and received a Great Dao Fragment that brought him closer to the Great Dao.
• Li Rui entered the Evil Ghost Path and used his Thousand Soul Banner to capture its countless evil ghosts; the next morning, he discovered some of their souls had become real.
• Li Rui ate with Liang He and Yang Yong, confirmed that Master Fu was made from a talisman, and heard that Liu Tong was expanding Spring Breeze Hall into Jiangzhou.
• Li Rui spent about half a month helping He Qiannian condense his Qi Form, then returned to the Qingwei Sect with Ge Hong.
• Sang Kong told Li Rui that Demonic Cultivators had gathered over rumors of Top Grade Spirit Stones in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and Li Rui considered how the resulting disorder might benefit an immortal sect.

Li Rui used a Spirit Seeking Compass to confirm that the Top Grade Spirit Stone was hidden in the Qingwei Sect’s mining area, while Zhu Qian ordered him to investigate. Elsewhere, Myriad Ghosts Daoist controlled a Qingwei Sect disciple as a Human Puppet and agreed to spread Ji Lei’s claim about the stone’s location.

• Li Rui activated the Spirit Seeking Compass and confirmed that the Top Grade Spirit Stone was in the Qingwei Sect’s mining area.
• Ke Chuan told Li Rui that Zhu Qian wanted him to investigate the Witch Kingdom and Qingwei Sect, and Zhu Qian formally assigned him the task.
• Myriad Ghosts Daoist revealed that he had turned a young Qingwei Sect disciple into a Human Puppet who reported Li Rui’s return and could spy on the sect.
• Ji Lei visited Myriad Ghosts Daoist and asked him to tell the Demonic Cultivators that the Top Grade Spirit Stone remained inside the Qingwei Sect’s spirit mine.
• Myriad Ghosts Daoist agreed to spread the message, hoping the resulting chaos would improve his chance of obtaining the stone.

Li Rui learned that Qingwei Sect’s Top Grade Spirit Stone had become a target after rumors spread, while the sect hurried to reinforce the formation protecting it. After clearing the Evil Ghost Path and earning another Great Dao Fragment, Li Rui found that the Great Void Dao Field’s age restriction might not exclude him after all.

• Li Rui told King Wei Zhu Qian that rumors claimed Qingwei Sect had obtained a Top Grade Spirit Stone, then advised Yuan Xiong to wait and watch.
• Xuan Yu Daoren ordered Qingwei Sect’s elders to help Xuan Cheng Daoren reinforce the formation and urged him to speed up the extraction of the Top Grade Spirit Stone.
• Yuan Xiong agreed to ask the Grand Talisman Master Mr. Zhang about the high-grade talisman materials Li Rui needed.
• Li Rui reinforced his Small Five Elements Array, cultivated, and cleared the Evil Ghost Path with his Thousand Soul Banner, earning another Great Dao Fragment.
• Li Rui read that the Great Void Dao Field admitted only Mystic Profound Realm cultivators under forty, then watched Divine Radiance emerge from the stone stele and envelop him.

Li Rui entered the Great Void Dao Field after its stele recognized him as only twenty-five years old, and received Longevity True Lord’s teachings on longevity. After returning from his Morning Practice, he learned that Qingwei Sect had been attacked by Demonic Cultivators and watched Yu and Witch Kingdom forces try to exploit the aftermath before Qingwei Sect sent them away.

• Li Rui entered the Great Void Dao Field and chose an inconspicuous small house belonging to Longevity True Lord.
• Longevity True Lord’s projection tested Li Rui’s lifespan and taught him a method of longevity, which Li Rui later understood as guidance from an ancient cultivator who had survived through the ages.
• After his Morning Practice, Li Rui learned from Yuan Xiong that Demonic Cultivators had attacked Qingwei Sect’s camp and that King Wei had sent soldiers there.
• Ben Shi and a Witch Kingdom general entered Qingwei Sect’s camp under the pretense of offering support, but Xuan Yu Daoren turned them away.
• Li Rui and Yuan Xiong left, anticipating that the conflict around the spirit mines would worsen and that their camp would need to prepare.

Li Rui watched as Nine Nether Old Freak led Demonic Cultivators in a raid on the Qingwei Sect’s spirit stone mine, while Xuan Yu Daoren fought him and Myriad Ghosts Daoist secretly set up an evil formation. The supposed Top Grade Spirit Stone proved to be a Myriad Transformation Talisman, revealing a trap as Xuanwei Zhenren arrived to execute the trapped Demonic Cultivators.

• Nine Nether Old Freak revealed his Spirit Seeking Compass to convince the Demonic Cultivators that the Qingwei Sect held a Top Grade Spirit Stone, then led them toward its mine.
• Li Rui sensed Celestial Phenomenon Realm fighters, disguised himself, and went to observe the mine from a nearby hill.
• Xuan Yu Daoren fought Nine Nether Old Freak while Demonic Cultivators attacked the mine, and Myriad Ghosts Daoist unleashed an evil formation that devastated Qingwei Sect disciples.
• Nine Nether Old Freak’s subordinate used the Spirit Seeking Compass to snatch what appeared to be the Top Grade Spirit Stone, but it was actually a Myriad Transformation Talisman.
• A Demonic Cultivator realized they had fallen into a trap, and Xuanwei Zhenren appeared above the mine, declaring that the invaders would be executed.

Li Rui discovered that Qingwei Sect’s Top Grade Spirit Stone had been intercepted by Ji Lei, who killed Xuan Cheng and fled with it. After finding a second Top Grade Spirit Stone hidden on Xuan Cheng’s corpse, Li Rui concealed it and headed for the Yu Kingdom camp, while Xuanwei and Xuan Yu vowed to pursue revenge against the Arctic Demon Sect.

• Li Rui realized Qingwei Sect had used the spirit mine battle as a trap and followed the Spirit Seeking Compass toward another location.
• Ji Lei intercepted Xuan Cheng, revealed his Celestial Phenomenon Realm power, killed him, and took the Top Grade Spirit Stone.
• Xuanwei and Xuanyu chased Ji Lei, while Li Rui returned to Xuan Cheng’s corpse, broke its hidden formation, and found another Top Grade Spirit Stone.
• Li Rui concealed the spirit stone’s aura with Sealing Talismans and traveled toward the Yu Kingdom’s spirit mine camp.
• Xuanwei and Xuan Yu returned to find Xuan Cheng dead and the Top Grade Spirit Stone gone, then identified the Myriad Laws Palace and blamed the Arctic Demon Sect.

Li Rui learned that Qingwei Sect’s trap had devastated the Demonic Cultivators and secretly refined the Top Grade Spirit Stone he had obtained, gaining more than a decade’s worth of cultivation. He returned to Evergreen Peak as tensions between Qingwei Sect, Yu Kingdom, and Witch Kingdom remained high, and Tan Hu was told not to leave the mountain for a year.

• Zhu Qian ordered Ben Shi to conceal that his troops had joined the failed raid, while Yuan Xiong told Li Rui he had sent away the Fifth Prince’s investigators.
• Li Rui told Yuan Xiong that Qingwei Sect had lured the Demonic Cultivators into a trap, but kept the Top Grade Spirit Stone’s true fate to himself.
• Ji Lei rescued the wounded Myriad Ghosts Daoist from Qingwei Sect’s pursuit with a Minor Teleportation Talisman.
• Li Rui returned to Clear River, refined the sealed Top Grade Spirit Stone underground for three months, and gained more than a decade’s worth of cultivation.
• Li Rui returned to Evergreen Peak and refused Tan Hu’s request to go down the mountain, warning him to stay there for the next year.

Li Rui listened to Longevity Dao Lord’s teachings, received news from Jiang Linxian, and agreed to let his disciples hold a banquet for his hundredth birthday. After hearing Sang Kong’s suspicions about the Qingwei Sect and Arctic Demon Sect, Li Rui continued cultivating and advanced to Fourth Order Array Master.

• Li Rui received Jiang Linxian’s letter, which mentioned her progress and Yan Er’s studies at the East Sea Immortal Sect.
• Liu Tiezhu told Li Rui that Liang He and Wang Zhao wanted to celebrate Li Rui’s hundredth birthday, and Li Rui agreed.
• Sang Kong told Li Rui that a mysterious expert had taken the Top Grade Spirit Stone and speculated that the expert belonged to the Arctic Demon Sect.
• Li Rui returned to the Annan Garrison with Liu Tiezhu and joined Liang He and Yang Yong for hot pot while his disciples prepared for the birthday banquet.
• Li Rui planted array flags and activated the Bewildering Heart Array, becoming a Fourth Order Array Master.

Li Rui broke through to fourth-tier array formations while preparing to celebrate his hundredth birthday, and welcomed old friends and disciples at his residence. Liu Tong became Li Rui’s disciple, Wang Zhao returned with Qiao Mai, and Li Rui approved their marriage; the chapter ended with Yang Yong asking whether Li Rui had ever expected to live to a hundred.

• Li Rui completed his breakthrough to fourth-tier array formations and celebrated his progress in talismans and formations.
• Li Rui told Liu Tong to call him Master, and Liu Tong accepted him as a disciple and greeted Liang He and Liu Tiezhu as his senior brothers.
• Wang Zhao returned with his wife, Qiao Mai, and introduced her to Liu Tiezhu, Liang He, and Liu Tong.
• Li Rui and Yang Yong welcomed Wang Zhao and Qiao Mai, and Li Rui approved their marriage after checking Qiao Mai’s background.
• A month later, Yang Yong asked Li Rui whether he had ever imagined living to a hundred.

Li Rui’s hundredth birthday banquet drew Qinghe’s powerful figures and distinguished visitors from across the Yu Kingdom and the Wu Court. Grand Eunuch Zheng arrived with the Emperor’s congratulations, who praised Li Rui as the Foremost Benevolent of the Southern Lands.

• Li Rui welcomed birthday guests alongside his disciples, while friends including Lin Lang, Nie Siming, Yuan Xiong, and Ning Zhongtian offered congratulations and gifts.
• Provincial Commander Zhou Dinghai arrived with Annan Garrison’s generals, honored Li Rui, and departed without stealing the birthday star’s limelight.
• Officials from the capital and the Wu Court sent congratulations, followed by a message from Prince Qi and greetings from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s Gu Changsheng and Jiang Linxian.
• Yuan An came in his father’s stead and called Li Rui his master, saying his parents had told him he acknowledged Li Rui as a child.
• Grand Eunuch Zheng arrived on the Emperor’s behalf and conveyed the Emperor’s praise of Li Rui as the Foremost Benevolent of the Southern Lands.

At Li Rui’s birthday banquet, the Holy Emperor honored him as the Foremost Benevolent of the Southern Lands, and his achievement reward transformed his physique into an Innate Immortal Martial Dao Embryo. Fearing that powerful cultivators would target him if they discovered his talent, Li Rui searched for a way to conceal it and eventually settled at the spirit mine to cultivate while continuing his search.

• Eunuch Zheng delivered the Holy Emperor’s congratulations and named Li Rui the Foremost Benevolent of the Southern Lands, then attended his birthday banquet.
• After the guests departed, Li Rui completed the A Family That Accumulates Good Deeds achievement and received an Innate Immortal Martial Dao Embryo through successive reward enhancements.
• Wang Zhao married Qiao Mai, while Liu Tong returned to Jiangnan with Lin Wan, leaving Li Rui, Yang Yong, and Liu Tiezhu at the residence.
• Li Rui stayed in Clear River for two months searching for a method to conceal his physique, but could not obtain one.
• Li Rui left Clear River for the spirit mine, where he cultivated and continued searching for a way to hide his talent.

Li Rui remained at the Spirit Mine to avoid Qingwei Sect and sought a way to conceal himself from powerful scrutiny, while Myriad Ghosts Daoist grew impatient to turn him into a Human Puppet. At the Great Void Dao Field, Li Rui showed Wu De proof of lower-realm spiritual energy and offered to help him descend if he found the Lotus Heart Array.

• Li Rui accepted Ke Chuan’s third-grade grand pill and used their renewed acquaintance to ask about arrays that could hide him from a first-grade expert.
• Ke Chuan told Li Rui about the Lotus Heart Array, an ancient formation said to block even a first-grade expert’s scrutiny, and Li Rui began searching for it.
• After Li Rui stayed at the Spirit Mine for half a year, Myriad Ghosts Daoist learned he still had no plans to return to Qingwei Sect and urged his Human Puppet to continue watching him.
• Li Rui cultivated the Eternal Evergreen Art and strengthened his body with the help of his Innate Immortal Martial Dao Embryo.
• At the Great Void Dao Field, Li Rui let Wu De fall from the White Jade Steps, then showed him lower-realm spiritual energy to confirm his family could descend there.
• Li Rui asked Wu De to find the Lotus Heart Array in exchange for helping him clear a path to the lower realm, and Wu De eagerly agreed.

Li Rui obtained the Lotus Heart Array from Wu De and used it to secure Evergreen Peak, the spirit mine, and his residence in Clear River. With his homes shielded from spying, he returned to cultivating in peace while beginning to research how to make the array mobile.

• Yuan Xiong visited Li Rui, discussed the Northern Plains war and King Wei’s use of spirit stones, then sparred with Li Rui and was decisively defeated.
• Wu De gave Li Rui the Lotus Heart Array’s mental formula in the Great Void Dao Field and proposed meeting in person to exchange for the Qi Concealment method.
• Li Rui agreed to Wu De’s meeting proposal but left the Great Void Dao Field, keeping the array and avoiding an in-person meeting.
• Li Rui mastered the rudimentary Lotus Heart Array and tested it at the spirit mine, then returned to Clear River and later Evergreen Peak after Great Master Qingding went north.
• Li Rui established Lotus Heart Arrays at Evergreen Peak, the spirit mine, and his residence in Clear River, then began researching how to make the array move.

Li Rui learned and mastered the Array-Shifting Method, using it to conceal and move the Lotus Heart Array. Sang Kong asked him to help the Witch Kingdom obtain Yu Kingdom’s Top Grade Spirit Stone, while Yuan An announced he would soon travel through the Witch Kingdom; Li Rui advised him to run if trouble arose.

• Ke Chuan taught Li Rui his late master’s Array-Shifting Method after Li Rui insisted on learning it.
• Li Rui mastered the method in a month and moved the Lotus Heart Array flags while keeping the array intact.
• Sang Kong asked Li Rui to arrange the Witch Kingdom’s purchase of Yu Kingdom’s Top Grade Spirit Stone, but Li Rui declined and pointed him toward another contact.
• Yuan An visited Li Rui after entering the inner sect and said he planned to travel in the Witch Kingdom for at least half a year.
• Li Rui told Yuan An that when traveling the martial world, he should run if the situation looked wrong.

Li Rui guarded Prince Wei Zhu Qian during his failed attempt to break through to the Celestial Phenomenon realm, then returned to Evergreen Peak. Walking through a spring rain that followed him for hundreds of li, Li Rui naturally advanced to the Profound Understanding Middle Stage.

• Ning Zhongtian decided to go north with Tan Hu to seek battlefield experience, and Li Rui arranged a letter of introduction for them before seeing them off.
• Li Rui traveled to the spirit mine, where Zhu Qian summoned him, Yuan Xiong, Ke Chuan, and Ben Shi to guard his attempted breakthrough into the Celestial Phenomenon realm.
• Zhu Qian failed to break through, while Li Rui and Yuan Xiong stayed away rather than risk appearing to mock him; the Myriad Ghosts Daoist and the Arctic Immortal Sect's experts abandoned their planned ambush.
• Zhou Tong gave Zhu Qian a Soul Stabilizing Pill and roused him from despair, and Zhu Qian regained his resolve to seek another chance with the National Preceptor's help.
• Li Rui returned to Evergreen Peak and walked through a raincloud that followed him across hundreds of li, naturally reaching the Profound Understanding Middle Stage that night.

Li Rui reached the Profound Understanding Middle Stage and continued cultivating steadily while helping Old Ziyang Daoist protect Qingwei Sect disciples serving on the Northern Plains battlefield. He returned to Clear River and found Yang Yong gravely ill, nearing death.

• Li Rui returned to Evergreen Peak after disappearing for two days, and Ge Hong announced he had touched the threshold of the fifth rank before leaving the mountain to seek an opportunity.
• Old Ziyang Daoist visited Li Rui with Northern Land wine and asked him to help ease the harsh treatment of Qingwei Sect disciples under General He; Li Rui agreed to ask Yuan Xiong to write a letter.
• Old Ziyang Daoist later repaid Li Rui's help, and Evergreen Peak gained more medicinal pills, Immortal Techniques, and spirit talismans.
• Li Rui took Liu Tiezhu back to Clear River, where he encountered Liang He and found Yang Yong lying gravely ill in bed.