Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua joined the Thunder Control Sect disciples as they prepared to fight alongside Jiming Mountain against the sword cultivators, while suspecting Zhan Xin’s motives. The battle began with the enemy encircling the mountain, and the chapter left the cultivators fighting amid rising casualties.

• Xiao Hua agreed to fight with Cui Hongshen’s group but said he would stay behind them because he had not learned their joint attack techniques.
• Han Bing challenged Cui Hongshen to a wager: whoever returned from the battle first would have to kowtow and call himself a coward, and Cui accepted.
• Zhan Xin explained that the allied cultivators would attack from one side and distributed talismans that let them pass through Jiming Mountain’s restriction.
• Zhan Xin led Jiming Mountain’s disciples out, followed by Cui Hongshen’s Thunder Control Sect group, and Cui told Xiao Hua to stay close behind him.
• The sword cultivators on the other sides withdrew to encircle Jiming Mountain, and Zhan Xin realized their plans had been exposed.
• Sword cultivators and Dao cultivators collided, and fierce fighting and screams spread across the battlefield.

Zhan Xin and Han Bing fought sword cultivators as Jiming Mountain’s disciples suffered heavy losses, forcing Zhan Xin to signal for battle formations. The fighting escalated into a clash between the two sides’ combined attacks, while Cui Hongshen faced a sword cultivator whose flying sword recovered after being struck by lightning.

• Zhan Xin damaged a sword cultivator’s flying sword, killed him with talismans and spells, then slew a younger swordsman with Taiyi Azure Light.
• Han Bing pierced a sword cultivator through the chest with a hidden sword tip after drawing him into attacking the bamboo segment.
• Sword cultivators killed more than twenty Jiming Mountain disciples before Zhan Xin sent the agreed signal for battle formations.
• Jiming Mountain disciples formed teams and launched combined attacks, and the sword cultivators answered with formations of their own, filling the battlefield with explosions and casualties.
• Cui Hongshen struck a Bright Sword Swordsman’s flying sword with lightning, but the swordsman recovered and sent the sword toward Cui Hongshen.

The Thunder Control Sect disciples fought a larger force of sword cultivators, and an unseen attacker repeatedly saved them when their formation began to falter. The battle continued as Cui Hongshen led a counterattack, while Xiao Hua concealed the full extent of his abilities.

• Dui Qimeng used her lightning bottle to shatter a sword cultivator's flying sword, while Xiao Hua and the other Thunder Control Sect disciples held their own against their opponents.
• After both sides signaled, Cui Hongshen ordered the Thunder Control Sect disciples to form ranks and meet an attack by more than twenty swordsmen with their combined techniques.
• The swordsmen's giant formation broke the Thunder Control Sect's attack, injuring the disciples and forcing them to form a defensive circle.
• A sword cultivator's attack nearly killed Dui Ling, but he suddenly clutched his head and fell, allowing Ming Mou to knock away the stopped flying sword.
• Another sword cultivator collapsed just as Zhen Huo faced danger, and Cui Hongshen led the emboldened disciples in a counterattack while Xiao Hua again urged them to flee.

Xiao Hua and the Thunder Control Sect disciples faced a desperate retreat as sword cultivators pressed their attack, but a Sword Transformation old man arrived and shattered Jiming Mountain’s defenses. After he uncovered the Taiyi Azure Light Sword and left, the battlefield descended into chaos, and Cui Hongshen rallied his squad to face the attackers together.

• Cui Hongshen agreed to retreat with his disciples, while Han Bing and Zhan Xin signaled the Jiming Mountain disciples to withdraw.
• A Sword Transformation old man appeared, subdued the battlefield with his sword intent, and split Jiming Mountain’s formation with one strike.
• The old man uncovered the Taiyi Azure Light Sword, tested its power by cutting off a mountain peak, then ordered the sword cultivators to kill everyone from Jiming Mountain and flew north.
• With the Jiming Mountain defenses broken, the sword cultivators charged, Han Bing escaped aboard the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, and Zhan Xin tried to organize a breakthrough.
• Xiao Hua warned the fleeing Thunder Control Sect disciples to regroup, and Cui Hongshen admitted his mistake and vowed to stay beside them.
• Zhen Minghui and Dui Ling joined Cui Hongshen in choosing to fight together, and Dui Ling attacked a nearby Sword Embryo cultivator with her Lightning Seal.

Xiao Hua protected the Thunder Control Sect disciples as they fought their way through the Sword Cultivators, but Han Bing’s flight brought even more powerful enemies toward them. With the group surrounded, Cui Hongshen prepared to hold off the high-level swordsmen and told the others to escape.

• Cui Hongshen ordered the Thunder Control Sect disciples to form up, while Xiao Hua shielded them with the Town Cloud Seal and stopped Sword Cultivators with his Soul Thorn.
• Xiao Hua and the others fought their way toward a remote area, where Han Bing arrived pursued by dozens of high-level Sword Cultivators.
• Han Bing was killed by twin blue and red swords, and his Flowing Cloud Flying Boat continued toward the Thunder Control Sect disciples as their pursuers closed in.
• Cui Hongshen confessed his dreams to Dui Qimeng, and she promised to remain with him in this life and the next.
• Cui Hongshen told the others to flee while he held back the high-level Sword Cultivators, then warned Xiao Hua to take care of himself.

Xiao Hua revealed his overwhelming strength to rescue the Thunder Control Sect disciples from the sword cultivators and took control of their escape. He left the chapter facing two Bright Sword Sixth Grade Twin Swordsmen whose weapons countered his attacks.

• Xiao Hua appeared with his Phoenix Dharma Body, sheared the tips from the swords threatening Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng, and drove back their attackers.
• Xiao Hua protected the Thunder Control Sect disciples as they boarded the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, then restrained Cui Hongshen and forced him aboard as well.
• Xiao Hua killed a muscular Bright Sword Fifth Grade sword cultivator with the Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors and seized his sword and storage pouch.
• An elderly Bright Sword Sixth Grade cultivator challenged Xiao Hua and blocked his attacks with Taiyi Azure Light while his identical-looking partner used a wooden sword to counter the Phoenix Dharma Body.

Xiao Hua fought off the Bright Sword cultivators attacking the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, killing several and forcing the rest to scatter. He escaped with the boat while the sword cultivators resumed their attack on Jiming Mountain’s survivors.

• Xiao Hua used the Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors and Qiu Yin Liu to kill two Bright Sword Sixth Grade twin swordsmen.
• When a commander ordered the sword cultivators to attack in formations, Xiao Hua seized the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat with his Phoenix Dharma Body and charged through their ranks.
• Xiao Hua used the Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors and Town Cloud Seal to kill more swordsmen and break up their formations.
• Xiao Hua turned back toward the crimson-robed commander, making the pursuing sword cultivators scatter, then collected fallen storage pouches and flew away.
• The crimson-robed commander ordered the sword cultivators to kill Jiming Mountain’s survivors and loot its treasures.
• Xiao Hua took the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat more than ten li away and saw that the sword cultivators had not pursued him.

After Xiao Hua exhausted his magic power escaping Jiming Mountain, the Thunder Control Sect disciples reached safety aboard the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat. Cui Hongshen thanked Xiao Hua and renewed their argument over seniority, while Xiao Hua prepared for the danger of the Sword Transformation-stage elder and claimed the seized boat for himself.

• Xiao Hua pretended to collapse after his Phoenix Dharma Body and magical treasures vanished, but Mingmou caught him before he could fall.
• Zhen Minghui regained control of the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, and Su Qing gave Xiao Hua a Kuipu Pill to restore his magic power.
• Xiao Hua removed Cui Hongshen's restraint, and Cui Hongshen thanked him for saving his life while he and Xiao Hua resumed their dispute over who was senior.
• Xiao Hua refused Cui Hongshen's bow, challenged him to see who would reach the Golden Core stage first, then began cultivating with Azure Spirit Pills.
• Xiao Hua claimed Han Bing's storage pouch and a copy of the boat-control jade slip, and said he would put the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat away near Xuntian City.
• Cui Hongshen and Zhen Minghui recognized that Xiao Hua's strength exceeded what his cultivation level suggested, while Xiao Hua worried that the Sword Transformation-stage elder might pursue him for the Innate Golden Mother.

After surviving the battle at Jiming Mountain, Cui Hongshen and the others agreed to conceal Xiao Hua’s strength in their report so he could remain with the First Squad. They reached the vicinity of Xuntian City, where an armored guard named Song Jie stopped them and asked about their sect.

• Cui Hongshen and Zhen Minghui decided to report only that the squad had left Jiming Mountain before the sword cultivators attacked, and the others agreed to keep Xiao Hua’s strength secret.
• Cui Hongshen gave Han Bing’s storage pouch to Dui Qimeng to return to Xiao Hua, who accepted it and asked the squad to maintain its previous pace while he cultivated.
• The Flowing Cloud Flying Boat reached the vicinity of Xuntian City after more than thirty days, and Xiao Hua stored it away as the disciples disembarked.
• Cui Hongshen led the squad toward the city, but Song Jie and more than a dozen Xuntian City guards stopped them and asked which sect they belonged to.

Cui Hongshen's squad reached Xuntian City, where they learned the sword cultivators had expanded their attacks and the city was on heightened alert. Cui was taken to the Council Hall as the sect representatives debated how to face the conflict.

• Song Jie told Cui Hongshen that Jiming Mountain had been reported destroyed and escorted his squad toward Xuntian City.
• Song Jie explained that the war had become a stalemate and that beast cultivators and artifact cultivators had joined the sword cultivators' attacks.
• Xiao Hua considered studying the sword cultivation techniques and weapons he had acquired before the group reached Xuntian City.
• City guards inspected Thunder Control Sect's tokens at the gates, then Xiao Hua and the others went to their stronghold while Cui Hongshen went to the Council Hall.
• Liu Xinwu and Li Jijie exchanged remarks about Changbai Sect's flying swords before Yuan Zhongjue asked the sect representatives how they should face the battle.

Cui Hongshen reported to the Council Hall about his squad’s escape from Jiming Mountain and the large force of sword cultivators that later attacked it. He earned rewards and was ordered to keep the Council Hall’s account secret.

• Yuan Zhongyu summoned Cui Hongshen and Song Jie to the Council Hall, where Cui Hongshen explained that he had left Jiming Mountain with Zhan Xin’s token.
• Cui Hongshen recounted seeing over a hundred sword cultivators gathering near Jiming Mountain and sending warnings before retreating with his squad.
• Cui Hongshen described hearing a battle that lasted until the next day, then sensing a powerful sword aura and seeing dazzling sword light before fleeing.
• Cui Hongshen identified the arriving swordsman as a Sword Transformation Swordsman, and Yuan Zhongyu praised him, rewarded him, and ordered him to keep the report secret.

Cui Hongshen reported what he knew about Jiming Mountain, prompting the Council Hall to question Wang Ye and learn that the Seven Wonders Sect had hidden the Taiyi Azure Light there. As the sect leaders discussed defenses and troop deployments, a survivor revealed that Qin Jian of the Void Sky Sword Sect had ambushed and killed more than three hundred Joyful Sect disciples, then challenged the Dao Sect to stop him.

• Cui Hongshen admitted he could not confirm the high-ranking cultivator’s strength or identify the source of the sharp sword light, and Song Jie left to report the matter to the City Lord.
• Yuan Zhongyu questioned Wang Ye about the Seven Wonders Sect’s presence at Jiming Mountain, and Wang Ye summoned True Person Liukong, who confirmed that the sect kept secret locations there.
• Wang Ye explained that the sword cultivators had attacked Jiming Mountain to seize the Taiyi Azure Light, while the Council Hall failed to uncover more about Moqing Cave and turned to discussing spirit stone mines and enemy forces.
• Fan Qing reported that the Void Sky Sword Sect had ambushed and annihilated more than three hundred Joyful Sect disciples near Gale Ridge, and he presented a flying sword left by the attacker.
• The flying sword projected Qin Jian’s message, in which he claimed responsibility for the massacre and promised further ambushes against Dao Sect cultivators.
• Heng Ming vowed to kill Qin Jian, but Yuan Zhongyu warned that Qin Jian’s power rivaled a late Golden Core cultivator and proposed that a group of Dao Sect cultivators ambush him together.

Dao Sect leaders issued a bounty for Qin Jian, hoping disciples could kill him and raise their own morale. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua and the First Squad reached the Thunder Control Sect stronghold, where they learned they needed squad imprints on their tokens before entering.

• Wang Ye, Qing Zhici, Heng Ming, and other Dao Sect leaders agreed to offer a bounty for Qin Jian, and the Council Hall distributed the order across the Xiaoyu Continent.
• Xiao Hua followed Zhen Minghui and the others to the Thunder Control Sect stronghold in Xuntian City.
• A guard refused to admit Zhen Minghui's group because their tokens lacked the required First Squad imprint.
• Zhen of Zhen Thunder Palace recognized the group, welcomed their safe return, and learned that Cui Hongshen had gone to the Council Hall.
• Zhen told the group to wait for Cui Hongshen to imprint their tokens and warned Zhen Minghui not to discuss Jiming Mountain casually during wartime.

Cui Hongshen and the First Squad returned to Xuntian City, where Zhen praised their achievements and arranged quarters for them. As the squad settled in, Cui Hongshen began explaining their rewards and the rules for staying in the city.

• Cui Hongshen reported to Zhen and handed over Qian Mo's token and a Council Hall reward, which Zhen recorded as honors for the squad.
• Zhen gave Cui Hongshen the sect's customary reward and arranged quiet rooms for the squad in the stronghold.
• Cui Hongshen used the Captain's Token to open the pavilion's restriction, and Xiao Hua noticed his own token had changed as well.
• Xiao Hua declined a share of the rewards, so Cui Hongshen asked Zhen Minghui and Dui Qimeng to divide them among the others.
• Cui Hongshen explained that the disciples could move freely within the stronghold but had to report to him before leaving it, and they could not leave Xuntian City.

Cui Hongshen explained Xuntian City's rules and facilities before two Dry Thunder Palace disciples attacked the First Squad over their assigned residence. Xiao Hua intervened when they insulted Dui Qimeng and challenged them to prove their claim by producing more flying swords than he could.

• Cui Hongshen warned the First Squad to follow Xuntian City's rules and gave Xiao Hua a jade slip describing the city's trade fair and facilities.
• Two Dry Thunder Palace disciples, Qian Yuan and his short-tempered companion, entered the pavilion and used a spell to restrain Cui Hongshen and the others.
• Dui Qimeng explained that the First Squad had been assigned the residence, but the two disciples refused to leave and insulted her.
• Xiao Hua confronted the pair, restrained himself after hearing that their Second Squad had lost most of its members, and defended Dui Qimeng when they continued to provoke her.
• Xiao Hua offered to let the First Squad leave if the two Dry Thunder Palace disciples could produce more flying swords than he could, then dropped more than ten swords onto the floor.

Xiao Hua put Qian Yuan and the short cultivator in their place after they insulted his companions, then left the Thunder Control Sect stronghold when the Hand of Cause and Effect stirred within him. He explored Xuntian City and ended the chapter walking through its snow-covered streets.

• Xiao Hua displayed damaged flying swords from sword cultivators, silenced Qian Yuan and the short cultivator, and demanded they make amends to Dui Qimeng.
• Cui Hongshen accepted their apology and escorted Qian Yuan and the short cultivator out, while Xiao Hua watched with concealed amusement.
• Three days later, Xiao Hua sensed a change in the Hand of Cause and Effect and noticed that the Primordial Spirit within it was growing as it moved across the hand.
• Xiao Hua left the stronghold after telling Zhen Huo he was going for a walk, then asked a patrol disciple where the alchemy and artifact-refining facilities were.
• The patrol disciple guided Xiao Hua to the deserted artifact-refining building, and Xiao Hua continued out of the stronghold to stroll through Xuntian City's snowy streets.

Xiao Hua wandered through the snow in Xuntian City and was invited into a teahouse by a refined young scholar whose words seemed to stir an insight in him. Inside, Xiao Hua overheard cultivators discussing a large bounty on Qin Jian and learned that a group had already gone to the Fengmeng Mountains to pursue him.

• Xiao Hua walked through the snowfall without using a protective glow, enjoying the sensation and ignoring other cultivators' judgment.
• A brocade-robed scholar called Xiao Hua over and invited him into a teahouse after admiring his unrestrained manner.
• Xiao Hua's remark about not caring for worldly concerns gave the scholar an apparent insight, and Xiao Hua wondered whether their meeting was connected to his cause and effect.
• The scholar led Xiao Hua upstairs through the crowded teahouse, where Xiao Hua overheard cultivators discussing the Council Hall's bounty on Qin Jian.
• Xiao Hua learned that Liao Ping had gathered more than a hundred people and headed for the Fengmeng Mountains, but lost interest when he heard Qin Jian was an Illusion Sword Rank Three swordsman.

Xiao Hua accepted Ziye’s invitation to a hidden teahouse on the fourth floor and shared the spirit tea Fragrance Kills with him. As they talked, Ziye revealed that Xiao Hua’s unusual walk through the snow had drawn his attention, while Xiao Hua remained focused on drinking more tea.

• Xiao Hua followed Ziye through a hidden doorway beneath a black plum tree into a secluded tea room overlooking Xuntian City.
• Ziye dismissed most of his guards, and Xiao Hua sat with him beside a stream and accepted a cup of Fragrance Kills brewed over Samadhi True Fire.
• Xiao Hua praised the spirit tea, drained his first cup, and asked for another, delighting Ziye with his unceremonious manner.
• Ziye introduced himself and asked Xiao Hua’s name; Xiao Hua explained that Xiao was his surname, and Ziye said it resembled the name of a relative.
• Ziye explained that he had invited Xiao Hua after seeing him walk through the snow, while Xiao Hua said he had simply enjoyed trampling it.
• Xiao Hua quickly drank a second cup, saying he was still thirsty, and Ziye asked whether he could appreciate the tea’s changing sweetness.

Xiao Hua shared Fragrant Baleful Intent tea with Ziye, accepted tea seeds and cultivation instructions, and agreed to visit the Xuntian City market fair with him. As they walked through the snow and improvised songs together, Xiao Hua suddenly sensed that their words had stirred a half-remembered thought.

• Xiao Hua praised Ziye's Fragrant Baleful Intent tea, and Ziye gave him tea seeds and a jade slip explaining how to grow them.
• Xiao Hua and Ziye agreed not to spread the secret of the tea, and Xiao Hua offered Ziye his communication talisman.
• When Ziye invited him to the Xuntian City market fair, Xiao Hua accepted and let Fu Lu accompany them.
• Xiao Hua and Ziye chose to walk through the snow, where Ziye sang about parting and Xiao Hua answered with a song about longing and dreams.
• Xiao Hua became absorbed by the word “dream” but could not recall what it had brought to mind, while passing cultivators called him and Ziye insane.

Xiao Hua and Ziye explored Xuntian City's market before separating, and Xiao Hua discovered that its stalls were full of ignored items from Million Meng Mountain. After buying them cheaply, he realized the growing attention could expose his collecting and decided to use Mihuan instead.

• Xiao Hua and Ziye entered Xuntian City's market, where Ziye proposed meeting at the bidding platform in two hours while Xiao Hua continued bargain hunting.
• Ziye told Fu Lu that he considered Xiao Hua his kindred spirit and warned him to keep the matter secret.
• Xiao Hua learned that white bones at a stall came from Million Meng Mountain and traded a Kuipu Pill for them.
• Xiao Hua found more bones and other Million Meng Mountain items, buying them from multiple cultivators at increasingly low prices.
• Noticing the cultivators watching him, Xiao Hua decided to use Mihuan to continue collecting the items without drawing attention.