Chapter Summaries

Li Rui learned that the Zhu Family had been attacked but chose not to get involved until Zhu Ling came to his estate seeking help. When she tried to assassinate him while disguised as Zhu Ling, he killed her and discovered that she was wearing a face.

• Li Rui decided not to investigate the Ghost Underworld Sect's attack on the Zhu Family.
• Hu YanZhuo and Sun Bixuan discussed lying low after their assault on the Zhu Family and Tang Sheng's intervention.
• Zhu Ling came to Li Rui's estate and pleaded for help, claiming that her family had been devastated and her father was unconscious.
• The fake Zhu Ling feigned collapse, then stabbed at Li Rui and recoiled when he revealed his blade qi.
• Li Rui killed the impostor and pulled away her face, revealing the woman beneath it.

Li Rui killed and secretly buried Scarlet Training Woman, an Eighth Rank Ghost Underworld Sect disciple who had infiltrated the branch headquarters as Zhu Ling. He claimed her treasures and achievement reward, helped the Zhu Family recover, and later learned that the real Zhu Ling had been found dead.

• Li Rui recognized the disguised Scarlet Training Woman, killed her, and buried her corpse to conceal his strength and avoid trouble with the authorities and Ghost Underworld Sect.
• The achievement system rewarded Li Rui with 40 Achievement Points for completing the corpse-burying mission, bringing his total to 50.
• Li Rui found spirit pills, weapons, and a locked mechanism box among Scarlet Training Woman’s possessions, and kept the items for himself.
• Li Rui sent Wang Zhao and Yang Yong to the Zhu Family with a medicinal spirit pill, which woke the gravely injured Zhu Ping.
• Yang Yong reported that Zhu Ling’s skinned body had been found outside the city, while the Ghost Underworld Sect grew quieter after its failed revenge attempt.
• Yang Yong noticed an old willow sprouting new buds, but Li Rui told him not to spread the news.

After Jiang Linxian killed Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother, Li Rui continued cultivating with spiritual pills and neared completion of Copper Bone. Meanwhile, Gongyang Han revealed that the Old Mother had faked her death and sent him to recover the Immortal Treasure from Su Xuan.

• Wu Tu told Li Rui that Jiang Linxian had killed Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother and scattered the Ghost Underworld Sect in Clear River.
• Gongyang Han stopped Hu YanZhuo outside Qinghe City, claimed the Old Mother had survived by sacrificing a body, and questioned him about Su Xuan.
• Hu YanZhuo told Gongyang Han that Su Xuan had returned to Clear River seeking revenge against Tang Sheng and the Heaven and Earth Alliance.
• Gongyang Han revealed that the Old Mother had staged her death and tasked him with retrieving the Immortal Treasure from Su Xuan.
• A month later, Li Rui’s cultivation had advanced rapidly as Martial Bone reduced the harm from daily spiritual pills.
• Li Rui swallowed a Seventh Rank spiritual pill to push toward completing Copper Bone.

Li Rui reached the Jade Bone Realm after a night of cultivation, then sparred with Xu Tai and revealed strength that Zhang Yang recognized as Eighth Rank. The chapter left Zhang Yang marveling at Li Rui’s rapid rise and rejecting his claim to be an old man past his prime.

• Li Rui refined the Seventh Rank spiritual pill’s medicinal power overnight and entered the Jade Bone Realm, more than doubling his strength.
• Zhang Yang visited Li Rui with Xu Tai, who asked for a spar to overcome a bottleneck in his blade technique.
• Li Rui and Xu Tai fought with wooden sabers, and Li Rui calmly guided the exchange while keeping Xu Tai at a disadvantage.
• Li Rui struck Xu Tai’s waist after about a hundred moves, and Zhang Yang stopped the spar and revealed that Li Rui was already Eighth Rank.
• Li Rui modestly praised Xu Tai and called himself an old man with no potential left, but Zhang Yang declared that he was plainly in his prime.

After reaching the eighth rank, Li Rui gained Zhang Yang’s public support and drew the attention of senior Heaven and Earth Alliance leaders. Tang Sheng appointed him Vice Branch Master, leaving Li Rui poised to earn more resources for his next breakthrough.

• Zhang Yang held a banquet to celebrate Li Rui’s breakthrough and told their faction to treat Li Rui as his equal and elder brother.
• Li Rui drank and played along with the banquet, then walked home without any trace of drunkenness.
• Li Rui expected the Branch Master to approach him after he revealed his strength to secure the resources needed for the Willow Tendon Realm.
• Tang Sheng and Dao Xiong visited Heaven One Hall and praised Li Rui’s breakthrough as an auspicious sign for the alliance.
• Tang Sheng appointed Li Rui Vice Branch Master, and Li Rui welcomed the promotion because it would increase his income.

Li Rui became vice branch master of the Qinghe Branch and gained authority over Heaven One Hall, the Medicine Hall, and the Black Market. After using his new position to expand his pill business and build ties among Clear River’s elite, he asked Ge Hong for guidance on a Qi Circulation Diagram.

• Dao Xiong appointed Li Rui vice branch master and placed Heaven One Hall, the Medicine Hall, and the Black Market under his supervision.
• Li Rui received 20 Achievement Points for entering the upper echelon and spent several days accepting congratulations before turning down invitations to focus on training and reading.
• Li Rui made Jiang Cheng refine spirit pills for him, using his control of the Black Market and Medicine Hall to buy ingredients cheaply and sell the pills at a large profit.
• Li Rui visited Ge Hong, whose residence was filled with young women, and the two newly appointed vice branch masters talked over tea.
• Li Rui asked Ge Hong to guide him on a Qi Circulation Diagram, which Ge Hong recognized as something used after reaching Willow Sinew.

Li Rui discussed Qi Circulation Diagrams and the formation of true qi with Ge Hong, gaining guidance for choosing a method as he prepared to advance beyond Eighth Rank. Meanwhile, Gongyang Han watched the Qinghe Branch of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, suspecting its leaders had killed Su Xuan and taken the item she carried.

• Ge Hong explained that Qi Circulation Diagrams shaped true qi, that choosing a suitable one mattered, and that most people relied on dreams or personal preference to find one.
• Li Rui considered seeking a dragon-form diagram and learned from Ge Hong that a Spirit Guide could allow someone to possess a second form.
• Li Rui talked with Ge Hong late into the night, then left in his carriage and reflected on his comfortable life.
• Gongyang Han watched the Qinghe Branch and concluded that Su Xuan had vanished after entering it, likely killed by someone there.
• Gongyang Han suspected Tang Sheng and vowed to recover the item Su Xuan had carried for Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother.

Li Rui reflected on whether his qi circulation should form an Immortal Realm, then managed Heaven One Hall and the Medicine Hall through careful choices and calculated favors. The chapter ended with Xu Xiang reporting that the Blood Tiger Gang had offered him money for information about when Li Rui left home.

• Li Rui realized his dream of an Immortal Realm might reveal the form of his qi circulation, but decided to leave the choice to fate until he found a method.
• Li Rui explained why he had chosen the cautious Yang Deliu to lead Heaven One Hall and used him as a dependable subordinate.
• Li Rui visited Jiang Cheng and guided him through a pill formula while deliberately saving other formulas for later.
• Xu Xiang told Li Rui that Vice Incense Master Ma of the Blood Tiger Gang had offered him four Eighth-Rank Spirit Pills for information about Li Rui's whereabouts.
• Xu Xiang claimed he had refused the offer, and Li Rui praised him while privately suspecting the bribe had not been large enough.

Li Rui avoided invitations and confined himself to Heaven One Hall to prevent new entanglements as his status rose. A month later, he learned that Vice Master Qian had died.

• Li Rui refused Zhu Ping’s invitation and told Yang Yong and Wang Zhao to turn away all future visitors.
• Li Rui spent the next month seeing no one outside the Qinghe Branch, and his prestige rose as people accepted his withdrawal.
• Qian Rui accepted Ma Chao’s invitation to a banquet, hoping the connection might help him return to the Main Branch.
• Yang Deliu told Li Rui that Vice Master Qian had died.

After Qian Cai was assassinated, Tang Sheng investigated the killing and discovered the Ghost Underworld Sect’s involvement. The Heaven and Earth Alliance and the Blood Tiger Gang purged their ranks, while Li Rui kept his distance from the fighting.

• Tang Sheng raged over Qian Cai’s death, suspecting the assassination had been intended for him, and Ge Hong identified the wound as a strike from the Ghost Underworld Sect’s Azure Snake Spear.
• Zeng Jiang confronted Gongyang Han, who admitted killing Qian Cai despite Tang Sheng’s absence and said he was searching for an Immortal Treasure on Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother’s orders.
• Zeng Jiang revealed that he had leaked Tang Sheng’s banquet plans to Gongyang Han and asked for a chance to return to the Ghost Underworld Sect, which Gongyang Han promised to arrange.
• Tang Sheng met Peng Hu privately, and the Heaven and Earth Alliance and Blood Tiger Gang uncovered and killed numerous Ghost Underworld Sect spies, though Ma Chao was found innocent.
• Li Rui helped search the Black Market and Medicine Hall under his charge, found two Ghost Underworld Sect disciples, and chose to remain reclusive after the purge.

After Qian Cai’s death, Li Rui received new responsibilities and hosted Wu Tu and Zhang Yang, who told him that the Huaqing Sect entrance trial had been moved up. The Huaqing Sect envoy was nearing Qinghe City, where Jiang Linxian privately revealed that he had seen through Jiang Yan’s cultivation of the Evil God.

• Dao Xiong redistributed Qian Cai’s halls among Zhang Yang, Li Rui, and Zhou Rui, while Ge Hong received nothing.
• Wu Tu and Zhang Yang visited Li Rui with wine, and Zhang Yang offered to send him two women, but Li Rui declined.
• Zhang Yang told Li Rui and Wu Tu that the Huaqing Sect entrance trial had been moved up and that Jiang Linxian was expected to come to Clear River.
• Jiang Yan reminded her father, Jiang Linxian, that he was the chief envoy for the trial, and he agreed to attend on time.
• Jiang Linxian stroked his sword and told Jiang Yan that he had seen through her cultivation of the Evil God.

County Magistrate Zhang welcomed the Huaqing Sect delegation to Qinghe City, where Jiang Yan served as deputy envoy in Jiang Linxian’s absence. At Heaven One Hall, Jiang Yan noticed that Li Rui’s fate pattern had begun to change, while Han Qin sought and received guidance on swordsmanship.

• County Magistrate Zhang welcomed the Huaqing Sect delegation, and Han Qin explained that Jiang Linxian would arrive later while Jiang Yan temporarily oversaw the competition.
• Han Qin and Jiang Yan visited Li Rui at Heaven One Hall, where Jiang Yan sensed that he had advanced to the eighth rank.
• Jiang Yan saw that Li Rui’s fate pattern showed signs of Dragon Raises Head, despite its overall designation remaining Hidden Dragon Do Not Use.
• Han Qin asked Li Rui how to break every sword, and Li Rui advised him to rely on actual combat rather than swordsmanship alone.
• Li Rui mentioned gathering the qi of a hundred weapons to become their master, and Han Qin said that it was a possible path.

Li Rui learned that Jiang Yan saw his primary qi form as a dragon and sensed an unmanifested secondary form, which he suspected was an immortal form. Five days later, he attended the Huaqing Sect entrance competition hoping to see Jiang Linxian, who arrived as the chapter ended.

• Han Qin and Jiang Yan explained that martial artists could form multiple qi forms, though forcing too many could cause qi deviation.
• Jiang Yan used her Fate Eye to identify Li Rui's primary form as a dragon and detected a hidden secondary form she could not see through.
• After Han Qin and Jiang Yan left, Li Rui suspected his secondary form was an immortal form and considered seeking the Heaven and Earth Alliance's Dragon Form Qi Circulation Diagram.
• Five days later, the Huaqing Sect entrance competition gathered spectators and contestants at the County Office, including Zhong Lei, He Wenxuan, and Liu Tong.
• Li Rui attended hoping to see Jiang Linxian, who arrived at the arena carrying a sword.

Jiang Linxian arrived to oversee Huaqing Sect’s disciple recruitment competition, where Han Qin sparred with the candidates. After Han Qin defeated all three, County Magistrate Zhang asked Jiang Linxian whether anyone had caught his eye.

• County Magistrate Zhang welcomed Jiang Linxian and tried to delay the competition with tea, but Jiang Linxian insisted they begin.
• Jiang Linxian recognized Zhong Lei as too old to qualify and sent Han Qin to spar with each of the three candidates.
• Han Qin used an unexpectedly shameless move to defeat Zhong Lei, drawing Jiang Linxian’s amused approval.
• Han Qin disarmed He Wenxuan after more than twenty exchanges and defeated Liu Tong after thirty moves.
• County Magistrate Zhang asked Jiang Linxian whether he had found a candidate he liked.

After Liu Tong was chosen to join Huaqing Sect, Li Rui hid the mysterious wooden box he had taken from the Red Flame Woman and attended Liu Tong’s farewell gathering. He advised Liu Tong to use his good looks to seek wealthy women at the sect.

• Jiang Linxian chose Liu Tong to enter Huaqing Sect, while Li Rui accepted that he had missed his chance to join.
• Li Rui recognized that the small wooden box he had taken from the Red Flame Woman contained the same golden spiritual matter as an item Jiang Linxian carried, and suspected the Ghost Underworld Sect was searching for it.
• Li Rui arranged for Yang Yong to carry the box out of Qinghe Branch with a cart of slop so he could bury it without drawing suspicion.
• Liu Tong invited Li Rui, Zhou Shulin, and Liang He to a gathering at his courtyard and thanked Li Rui for covering for his absences.
• Liu Tong asked Li Rui for advice about Huaqing Sect, and Li Rui told him to use his handsome looks to pursue wealthy junior sisters, senior sisters, or martial aunts.

Zeng Jiang planned to flee the Ghost Underworld Sect after deciding its rebellion would fail, while a mysterious letter revealed the sect’s locations to Jiang Linxian. Jiang Linxian prepared to investigate the marked sites discreetly.

• Liu Tong thanked Li Rui for his practical advice, and Li Rui told Zhou Shulin that Liu Tong’s path would not suit him.
• Gongyang Han told Zeng Jiang to keep searching for the item the Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother wanted and said they would act after Jiang Linxian left Clear River.
• Zeng Jiang decided to abandon the Ghost Underworld Sect, flee to Qing Province, and create trouble for the sect to cover his escape.
• County Magistrate Zhang delivered Jiang Linxian a letter listing several locations and reported that its messenger had poisoned himself.
• Jiang Linxian ordered County Magistrate Zhang to discreetly gather skilled people from the Heaven and Earth Alliance and the Blood Tiger Gang to investigate the locations.

Li Rui joined the County Office’s campaign to surround and exterminate the Ghost Underworld Sect at Roebuck Ridge, where he fought the sect’s followers and wounded an Eighth Rank Nine-Horned Silver Lizard. The battle escalated when a hulking, blue-black monster emerged from the cave, and Li Rui recognized it as the Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother.

• Zhang Yang summoned Li Rui and the Heaven and Earth Alliance out of Qinghe City, where they joined the Huaqing Sect and Blood Tiger Gang for a raid on the Ghost Underworld Sect.
• At Roebuck Ridge, Li Rui fought the sect’s followers while Zhang Yang confronted Ghost Face Blade, Hu YanZhuo.
• More than ten demon beasts burst from a cave, and an Eighth Rank Nine-Horned Silver Lizard attacked Li Rui.
• Li Rui targeted the lizard’s soft belly, wounded it badly, and let it flee into the woods rather than pursue it.
• A blue-black, towering monster emerged from the cave, roared at Jiang Linxian, and was recognized by Li Rui as the Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother.

Jiang Linxian used Seventh Form Sword Qi to kill Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother and devastate the Ghost Underworld Sect. Li Rui pursued the wounded Gongyang Han, killed him, and concealed how he had done it before Zhang Yang arrived.

• Jiang Linxian split her sword into seven tiny blades and used them to kill Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother, Headless Slave, and many Ghost Underworld Sect fighters.
• Gongyang Han fled the battlefield with a grave wound from Jiang Linxian’s attack.
• Li Rui shot Gongyang Han with a crossbow, then fought him with his blade and killed him with concealed blade qi.
• Li Rui searched Gongyang Han’s body and ensured his wounds would hide the cause of death.
• Zhang Yang arrived and found Gongyang Han’s corpse, while Li Rui claimed the wounded demon had been easy to finish off.

After the Ghost Underworld Sect was destroyed, Li Rui retrieved a hidden wooden box using the spirit-iron key taken from Gongyang Han. He discovered that the object inside was a Spirit Guide, an Immortal Treasure-like item that could let him open his second form.

• The Prefect let Incense Master Zeng's role in exposing the Ghost Underworld Sect go uninvestigated, and Jiang Linxian departed Clear River with the Huaqing Sect group and Liu Tong.
• Li Rui waited ten days before leaving Qinghe Branch in disguise and digging up the wooden box near a crooked-necked tree.
• Li Rui used the silver key from Gongyang Han to unlock the box and found a strange, translucent object inside.
• Li Rui deduced that the object had been kept for the Ten Thousand Ghosts Old Mother and was part of the Immortal Treasure Jiang Linxian had pursued.
• Li Rui recognized the object as a Spirit Guide and realized it could help him open his second form.

Li Rui and Zhang Yang joined the hunt for demon beasts in the mountains and encountered the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard that Li Rui had wounded before. After they killed it, Li Rui completed an achievement quest and received the Nine Profound Spirit Firmament Chart.

• Li Rui explained that the freed demon beasts posed a threat after one attacked a village, and he and Zhang Yang searched the mountains with the Heaven and Earth Alliance disciples.
• Li Rui and Zhang Yang heard cries for help and found a Nine-Horned Silver Lizard attacking the disciples.
• Li Rui recognized the lizard from the wound he had inflicted and told Zhang Yang to target its belly.
• Li Rui and Zhang Yang attacked together, and Li Rui cut open the lizard's belly, killing it.
• Li Rui received 30 Achievement Points and obtained the Nine Profound Spirit Firmament Chart after completing the Slaying Demons and Eliminating Evil quest.