Chapter Summaries

Li Rui gained the True Martial Weapon Nurturing Art and entered the Yu Kingdom’s capital, where he reunited with Jiang Linxian. Jiang Linxian revealed that Yellow Dragon Child, a powerful figure behind the Immortal Disaster, had discovered him, and the chapter ended as Eunuch Zheng escorted Li Rui to meet the emperor.

• Li Rui received the Hammer Dao Method, which the system enhanced into the True Martial Weapon Nurturing Art, and learned of its connection to the Hammer Qi Method.
• Li Rui entered the capital with Yuan An and his companion, then met Han Qin, who led them to Jiang Linxian.
• Jiang Linxian told Li Rui that he planned to send Jiang Yan to the Immortal Cultivation World because Yellow Dragon Child had discovered his search for his wife’s killer.
• Jiang Linxian explained that Yellow Dragon Child belonged to the Arctic Immortal Sect and had likely caused the Immortal Disaster and the Old Witch Emperor’s death.
• Li Rui urged Jiang Linxian to proceed cautiously, and Jiang Linxian said he would cultivate in the capital until he reached the first rank.
• The next morning, Eunuch Zheng arrived to escort Li Rui to the palace at the emperor’s command.

Li Rui was appointed to the newly established Mountain-Seeking Department instead of joining Gu Changsheng’s Imperial Astronomical Bureau, and the department quickly grew into a powerful office overseeing cultivators. After helping manage its armory while his rank and influence rose, Li Rui reached Dao completion during closed-door cultivation.

• The Holy Emperor appointed Li Rui to the Mountain-Seeking Department, which Prime Minister Zhang proposed creating to apprehend cultivators.
• Gu Changsheng returned from the Northern Plains and angrily learned that Zhang Zilu had recruited Li Rui, but Li Rui persuaded him that the appointment could benefit both departments.
• Gu Changsheng invited Prime Minister Zhang to hot pot for seven consecutive days, after which Zhang began taking detours to avoid him.
• Prime Minister Zhang oversaw the Mountain-Seeking Department’s rapid expansion, and Li Rui became a Mountain-Suppressing Envoy in charge of its armory.
• Li Rui cultivated in his room and sensed that his Dao had become complete.

Li Rui comprehended the Immortal Way by connecting with the Immortal Court in his dantian, then learned that Jiang Linxian had also grasped sword Dao rhythm. He moved into the Mountain-Seeking Department’s residence in the capital with Liu Tiezhu and Yuan An.

• Li Rui gained a trace of the Immortal Court’s Dao rhythm and named his Great Way the Immortal Way, whose Immortal Domain could suppress other Dao arts and repel evil.
• Li Rui discussed Jiang Yan’s guaranteed passage to the Immortal Cultivation World with Jiang Linxian, who said he would rather remain in their world.
• Li Rui learned that Jiang Linxian had comprehended sword Dao rhythm and revealed that he had just comprehended Azure Profound Dao rhythm; the two men laughed together.
• Li Rui brought Liu Tiezhu and Yuan An to the three-courtyard residence assigned to him near Jishuitan and led them inside.

In Yuanfeng 117, Zhu Qian and Jiang Linxian entered the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, while Li Rui concealed that he could break through by having his Dao Embryo Infant undergo tribulation in his inner world. Zhu Qian sought the National Preceptor’s support in his bid for the throne, and Li Rui went to oversee the Mountain-Seeking Department’s Talisman and Array Chambers, where two visitors arrived.

• Zhu Qian successfully entered the Celestial Phenomenon Realm with Three-Colored True Lightning, while Jiang Linxian and Li Rui discussed the breakthrough and her earlier Six-Colored True Lightning.
• Li Rui reflected that he could enter the Celestial Phenomenon Realm but was waiting to nurture the Immortal Court and could conceal his tribulation by sending his Dao Embryo Infant through it.
• Zhu Qian thanked the National Preceptor for his breakthrough, said the emperor had warmed toward him, and hoped to return to the palace as a Crown Prince candidate.
• The National Preceptor warned Zhu Qian that his shortcut breakthrough would limit his future advancement unless he found extraordinary bones and underwent Soul-Swapping Bone Replacement.
• Li Rui visited the Mountain-Seeking Department, where he oversaw the Talisman Chamber and Array Chamber.
• Two people entered the rear courtyard and greeted Li Rui.

Li Rui settled into his role supporting the Mountain-Seeking Department while old allies joined its ranks. As he neared Tribulation Transcendence, he asked Weapon Spirit Old Man for guidance on drawing tribulation lightning into his body, and received an ancient Body Cultivator’s insights.

• Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong returned to the capital as Mountain-Suppressing Envoys, and Li Rui learned that Meng Chong would join them by Imperial Edict.
• Li Rui hosted Meng Chong, Nie Siming, Yuan Xiong, and Jiang Linxian for three days of drinking, and Meng Chong officially became a Deputy Director of the Mountain-Seeking Department.
• Li Rui spent the following year drawing talismans and laying formations for the department while Chief Zhang refused to let him join field missions.
• Li Rui told Weapon Spirit Old Man that he wanted to undergo tribulation within his body, and the old man gave him an ancient Body Cultivator’s insights.

Li Rui welcomed Ning Zhongtian and Tan Hu back from the Northern Plains and arranged for them to serve under General Nie. After entrusting his household to Jiang Linxian, he left the capital to pursue a breakthrough and entered the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.

• Li Rui reunited with Ning Zhongtian and Tan Hu, who had grown stronger during their years in the Northern Plains, and assigned them to General Nie.
• Ning Zhongtian and Tan Hu moved into Li Rui's residence, then went out and reported to the Mountain-Seeking Department the next day.
• Li Rui offered Liu Tiezhu a workshop job, but Liu Tiezhu said he was content with his forging, martial practice, and neighborhood chores.
• Li Rui finished preparing talismans and array flags, then asked Jiang Linxian to watch over his household while he left the city for up to ten days.
• Li Rui traveled deep into the mountains, meditated beneath an ancient tree, and entered the Celestial Phenomenon Realm when peach blossoms grew again in his Immortal Court.

Li Rui endured the Nine-Colored True Lightning within his Immortal Court and reached the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, gaining Dao rhymes that stabilized his immortal foundation. He reunited with Jiang Linxian, then learned how his breakthrough corresponded to the Violet Palace Realm and the path toward the Dao Body Realm.

• Li Rui's Dao Embryo endured successive lightning strikes, culminating in the Nine-Colored True Lightning that engraved myriad Dao rhymes across his Immortal Court.
• Li Rui confirmed that the Lotus Heart Array still concealed his aura, then left the mountain and discovered that his breakthrough had taken thirteen days.
• Li Rui reunited with Jiang Linxian, confirmed his success, and received Jiang Linxian's promise to keep his breakthrough secret.
• Li Rui visited the Great Void Dao Field, where Weapon Spirit Old Man praised his swift entry into the Violet Palace Realm.
• Li Rui reflected on how the Violet Palace Realm matched the Celestial Phenomenon Realm and learned that the next stage was the Dao Body Realm.

After breaking through to the Purple Mansion, Li Rui learned about the Dao Body Realm and revealed his Small Grotto-heaven origins to Weapon Spirit Old Man, who then offered him more guidance. Li Rui strengthened his standing in the Mountain-Seeking Department and ended the chapter by visiting Jiang Linxian.

• Weapon Spirit Old Man explained that reaching the Dao Body Realm required merging with the Dao and advised Li Rui to nourish his Spirit Embryo and seek a Contemplation Method.
• Li Rui told Weapon Spirit Old Man that he came from a Small Grotto-heaven, and Weapon Spirit Old Man responded by guiding him more earnestly.
• Wei Ke complained that the Talisman Chamber was running low on talismans, and Li Rui promised a thirty-percent salary increase for the staff.
• Li Rui continued financing the Mountain-Seeking Department’s heavy use of talismans and arrays with Spring Breeze Hall’s profits, strengthening his ties to the imperial court.
• The Holy Emperor praised Li Rui at morning court, and Li Rui later went to Jiang Linxian’s residence and greeted the young woman he found there.

Li Rui learned that Jiang Linxian had searched for a Contemplation Method suited to his Dao, while Jiang Yan prepared to pursue cultivation in the Immortal Cultivation World. Later, Fourth Prince Zhu Ting invited Li Rui to his residence and asked him to help learn court affairs.

• Jiang Yan told Li Rui she had returned and explained that she chose to leave Great Yu for the Immortal Cultivation World to pursue her own path.
• Jiang Linxian told Li Rui that no contemplation diagram for the Azure Profound Great Dao was available, then offered him his Sword Dao Contemplation Method, which Li Rui declined.
• Li Rui recognized that Jiang Linxian had stabilized his sword embryo foundation through daily contemplation, and the two agreed to compete to enter the Earth Immortal Realm first.
• Jiang Yan stayed in the capital and periodically sought Li Rui's guidance on cultivation.
• Fourth Prince Zhu Ting summoned Li Rui to his residence, where he chatted with him alongside Xia Yun before asking Li Rui to help him learn court affairs.

Li Rui declined to formally support Fourth Prince Zhu Ting but left open the possibility of advising him, weighing his new Celestial Phenomenon Realm strength against the risks of court politics. At the Great Void Dao Field, Li Rui realized his Dao Embryo and Immortal Court might already amount to the Violet Palace Weapon Spirit Old Man described.

• Zhu Ting revealed that he was entering the palace and tried to recruit Li Rui, who refused to commit but offered to advise him if needed.
• Zhu Ting warned Li Rui that Fifth Prince Zhu Qian had been investigating him in Cloud Province and had recently reached the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.
• Li Rui left the Wu Prince Residence with Liu Tiezhu and Yuan An, reflecting that his breakthrough gave him the standing to choose his political alliances carefully.
• Li Rui returned home, cultivated late into the night, and then entered the Great Void Dao Field.
• Weapon Spirit Old Man explained how Spirit Embryos opened Violet Palaces of different sizes, and Li Rui wondered how his Immortal Court compared.

Li Rui traveled to Jiangzhou with Nie Siming and others to hunt a Demonic Cultivator who used a white banner to massacre villages. Xuan Yu Daoren revealed that he had arranged the disturbances to lure Li Rui out and now planned to kill him.

• Li Rui learned that Zhu Qian had returned to the Imperial Palace and wondered why he had investigated Li Rui in Cloud Province.
• Nie Siming asked Li Rui to help capture a Demonic Cultivator who used Talismans Art to escape after killing villagers, and Li Rui agreed to go to Jiangzhou.
• Li Rui and Nie Siming traveled by treasure boat to Jiangzhou, where Fan Wen welcomed them and reported that the white-banner Demonic Cultivator had killed more than a hundred civilians.
• A hawk-nosed Demonic Cultivator met Xuan Yu Daoren on the beach and reported that Li Rui had arrived in Jiangzhou; Xuan Yu told him to proceed according to the plan.
• Xuan Yu Daoren resolved to kill Li Rui, whom he had deliberately lured out as part of his plots and blamed for obstructing his path.

Li Rui, Nie Siming, and Fan Wen ambushed a Demonic Cultivator in a village after Li Rui used tracking and concealed arrays to locate him. The Demonic Cultivator revealed a Hundred Souls Banner made from the lives of at least ten thousand ordinary people, and Fan Wen prepared to fight him.

• Fan Wen reported that the Demonic Cultivator had appeared again, and Li Rui agreed to set an array at the village where the man repeatedly returned.
• Li Rui concealed an array around the village using small stones while Fan Wen and Nie Siming posed as peddlers.
• At Zi Hour, the hooked-nosed Demonic Cultivator entered the village, and Fan Wen and Nie Siming moved to intercept him as Li Rui guarded the perimeter with Ning Zhongtian.
• The Demonic Cultivator tried to flee but was thrown back into a thatched hut by the array, then rose and attacked Fan Wen and Nie Siming with a soul banner.
• Fan Wen recognized the Hundred Souls Banner and realized the Demonic Cultivator had slaughtered at least ten thousand ordinary people to refine it.

Li Rui, Fan Wen, and Nie Siming killed the Demonic Cultivator after Xuan Yu Daoren betrayed him, then celebrated their victory in Jiangzhou. The three left for Dragon Spring Town to meet an artifact-refining immortal master.

• Fan Wen and Nie Siming fought the Demonic Cultivator while Li Rui's formation sealed the village and prevented his escape.
• The Demonic Cultivator discovered Xuan Yu Daoren had lured him into a trap, but the formation blocked him and Nie Siming and Fan Wen killed him.
• Xuan Yu Daoren watched from the forest and left, believing the Demonic Cultivator deserved his death for slaughtering mortals.
• Li Rui, Fan Wen, and Nie Siming remained in Jiangzhou for several days, and Li Rui asked about an artifact-refining immortal master in Dragon Spring Town.
• Fan Wen offered to introduce Li Rui to the master, and Nie Siming joined them; the three set out for Dragon Spring Town the next morning.

Li Rui and Nie Siming visited Dragon Spring Town to meet Situ Lian, a grand artifact refiner, who agreed to strengthen Li Rui’s Flood Dragon Slayer and help with their other requests. After Li Rui’s group returned to the capital, Xuanyu watched their boat depart from the forest outside Jiangzhou City, his eyes cold.

• Fan Wen led Li Rui and Nie Siming to Star-Picking Pavilion and introduced them to Situ Lian, who was refining a magic treasure.
• Li Rui asked Situ Lian to strengthen Flood Dragon Slayer, and Situ Lian recognized its unusual forging and artifact spirit.
• Nie Siming made his own request, and Situ Lian agreed to help both visitors because of Gu Changsheng’s favor.
• Situ Lian asked Li Rui to bring the weapon’s original smith to Dragon Spring Town so they could discuss their craft, and Li Rui agreed.
• Li Rui and his companions said farewell to Fan Wen and returned to the capital by boat.
• Xuanyu emerged from the mountain forest outside Jiangzhou City and watched their departing boat with a cold gleam in his eyes.

Xuanyu Daoren tried to ambush Li Rui, but Li Rui, disguised as Old Demon of Tiannan, intercepted and defeated him. Xuanyu realized Li Rui’s true identity and died after Li Rui’s Dao Embryo swallowed his Spirit Embryo.

• Xuanyu Daoren prepared to attack Li Rui, but Old Demon of Tiannan appeared and challenged him instead.
• Xuanyu recognized the Thousand Soul Banner and fought Old Demon of Tiannan, believing he had killed Chunxuzi.
• Li Rui abandoned the Thousand Soul Banner, used his powerful body to overwhelm Xuanyu, and nullified Xuanyu’s Water Great Dao with a Dao Domain.
• Xuanyu tried to flee, but Li Rui beat apart his protective treasure and half-demon body.
• Li Rui revealed his Dao Embryo, and Xuanyu realized Old Demon of Tiannan was Li Rui and that Li Rui had killed Chunxuzi.
• Li Rui’s Dao Embryo swallowed Xuanyu’s Spirit Embryo, scattering Xuanyu’s soul.

Li Rui killed Xuan Yu Daoren by posing as Old Demon of Tiannan, then returned to the capital and received an achievement reward for using a demon’s identity to eliminate a threat. As the Arctic Immortal Sect learned of Xuanyu’s death and began seeking out Old Demon of Tiannan, Li Rui’s secret identity became the focus of its suspicions.

• Fan Wen found the massive crater outside Jiangzhou City and recognized that Xuan Yu Daoren had fought a Demonic Cultivator known as Old Demon of Tiannan.
• Great Master Qingding learned that Xuanyu had died and ordered that a place be left for him in the Ancestral Hall, but that his name not be inscribed.
• Li Rui reunited with Nie Siming and Ning Zhongtian near the capital, then received 30 Achievement Points for completing the Using Demons to Subdue Demons task.
• Three days later, Ning Zhongtian told Li Rui that Xuan Yu Daoren had fought Old Demon of Tiannan, whom people now ranked among the twenty greatest demons in the world.
• Ji Lei learned from Elder Ma that Xuanyu had died and that the Arctic Immortal Sect’s Sect Master had sent Elder Ji to invite Old Demon of Tiannan to the Holy Mountain.

The Holy Emperor praised Chief Zhang and Marquis Dingyuan for suppressing cultivator unrest and signaled that he intended to cultivate Fourth Prince Zhu Ting. Li Rui then refined the spiritual power he had gained from Xuanyu’s Spirit Embryo, while Zhu Qian learned of Li Rui’s remarkable cultivation talent and began considering him more carefully.

• The Holy Emperor summoned Chief Zhang, Marquis Dingyuan, and Li Rui, praised their work against cultivator unrest, and told them to guide Zhu Ting.
• The Holy Emperor invited the officials to hot pot, but Chief Zhang declined and Li Rui dined with the Holy Emperor and Marquis Dingyuan.
• At the Mountain-Seeking Department, Li Rui assessed Xuanyu’s Spirit Embryo and began refining its spiritual power with the Eternal Evergreen Art.
• Li Rui recalled that the Arctic Immortal Sect held the Contemplation Method for the Azure Profound Great Dao and decided he had time to pursue it later.
• Zhu Qian encountered Zhu Ting at the palace gates and learned that Li Rui had reached the Profound Connection Realm after beginning martial arts past the age of seventy.

Li Rui learned that Zhu Qian’s agents were investigating his past and kept them under surveillance. In the Great Void Dao Field, he overpowered Wu De, who revealed plans to enter the lower realm and shared news of the Golden Court Grotto-heaven.

• Yuan An delivered Liang He’s letter, reporting that Zhu Qian’s people were investigating the Anning Guard and Zhu Family, especially Li Rui’s time as a Dark Guard.
• Li Rui ordered his people to keep watching Zhu Qian’s agents and told Yuan An to help Liu Tong when he arrived in the capital.
• In the Great Void Dao Field, Li Rui knocked Wu De down the White Jade Steps and bound him after Wu De said he could not provide an aura-concealment method.
• Wu De explained that an elder had agreed to take him to the lower realm, and Li Rui released him after hearing the explanation.
• Wu De told Li Rui that cultivators planned to force open the Golden Court Grotto-heaven, where dangerous opportunities awaited, before their time in the Dao Field ended.

As Great Yu prospered under the rise of immortal cultivation, Li Rui demonstrated an improved martial arts technique and revealed that he was close to a major breakthrough. Meanwhile, Zhu Qian plotted to steal Li Rui’s supreme bones, but his curse master Zhou Tong discovered Li Rui’s tribulation beginning as he approached the residence.

• He Qiannian lamented that martial arts were declining, and Li Rui showed him an improved Great Horizontal Training that caught threads of Great Dao Rhyme.
• Li Rui told He Qiannian that he was close to breaking through, while concealing that he was nearing Embryonic Formation in the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.
• Zhu Qian received Zhou Tong’s intelligence booklet listing Li Rui and two immortal sect talents as targets for Soul-Swapping Bone Replacement.
• Zhou Tong agreed to infiltrate Li Rui’s residence and plant a curse so Zhu Qian could target him later.
• As Zhou Tong approached Li Rui’s residence, a Tribulation Cloud gathered overhead, revealing that Li Rui was about to undergo Tribulation Transcendence.

Li Rui used a second tribulation to reveal his strength and drive Zhou Tong away, then received congratulations from Gu Changsheng and Jiang Linxian. His breakthrough prompted the Holy Emperor to plan a general amnesty, while Zhu Qian abandoned Li Rui as a candidate and set out for the Pingyuan Earl Residence.

• The Holy Emperor and Gu Changsheng sensed Li Rui’s breakthrough into the Celestial Phenomenon Realm and watched him withstand Six-Colored True Lightning.
• Zhou Tong realized Li Rui was beyond his reach and left after deciding to remove him from his list of targets.
• Li Rui explained that he had drawn tribulation lightning to intimidate Zhou Tong, then welcomed Gu Changsheng and Jiang Linxian, who came to congratulate him.
• The Holy Emperor ordered a general amnesty, and Gu Changsheng offered to handle Li Rui’s future promotion.
• Zhu Qian accepted that Li Rui was no longer a viable target and ordered Ben Shi to prepare a journey to the Pingyuan Earl Residence.