Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua reunited with Fairy Hongxia, gave her a Rejuvenation Pill, and watched her leave for Huanhua Sect business. Back in the pill-refining room, he experimented with the Pure Water Bottle and inspected other treasures before noticing that Little Yellow had learned to ask after his well-being.

• Fairy Hongxia showed Xiao Hua her Sect Leader Token and said she had to leave, then promised to tell him before going to Million Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Hua gave Fairy Hongxia a Rejuvenation Pill to pass on to her master as his filial offering, and she departed soon afterward.
• Xiao Hua studied Buddhist artifact methods and found that the Pure Water Bottle could collect waterlight but would not release an attack.
• Xiao Hua considered using the Buddha Sarira to control the Pure Water Bottle, then examined the Yin Yang Sword Gourds, Feng Buping's demonic staff, and the Wind Pearl.
• Xiao Hua summoned Little Yellow, who asked whether he was well but did not understand what politeness meant.

Xiao Hua discovered that the Wind Pearl was connected to Dai Er and gave it to her, triggering her transformation into a swan before a Heavenly Dao-like force reverted her to a duck. He then glimpsed the power of rules through his Primordial Spirit in the Heavenly Dao Starry Sky, but Little Huang’s frightened call pulled him back.

• Xiao Hua asked Little Huang to guard the Wind Pearl, and Little Huang sensed that its aura resembled the duck’s.
• Xiao Hua brought the Wind Pearl to Dai Er, who swallowed it and unleashed a hurricane in his space.
• Dai Er transformed into a white swan, but a powerful Heavenly Dao-like will forced her back into her little duck form.
• Xiao Hua’s divine sense joined a Primordial Spirit shaped like a star and gained a vague understanding of the power of rules.
• Little Huang called to Xiao Hua in fear, interrupting his meditation before he could become absorbed into the Heavenly Dao Starry Sky.

Xiao Hua realized Dai Er could transform into human form but decided to keep her inside his space to protect his secret. He learned to control the Pure Water Vase through his Buddha Sarira and began refining a Fireball Jade Talisman, which demanded a tremendous burst of spiritual power.

• Xiao Hua concluded that Dai Er’s spiritual beast form could transform, but ordered Little Yellow to watch over her and resolved not to let her leave his space.
• Xiao Hua used his Buddha Sarira to control the Pure Water Vase and unleash Innate True Water without relying on mental power.
• Xiao Hua prepared jade liquid from jade marrow and decided to try refining a jade talisman with his own sigil method.
• Xiao Hua formed a Fireball Talisman sigil and drove it into the jade liquid, causing a yellow speck to draw in his spiritual power.
• Xiao Hua continued feeding the forming jade talisman with spiritual power and realized that even Golden Core cultivators might struggle to sustain the process.

Xiao Hua successfully refined Fireball Jade Talismans, examined Tu Hong’s storage pouch and learned about the Ice Mirror, then met Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng as they prepared to leave. He removed the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat’s hidden serial mark and sent the couple back with Rejuvenation Pills, while realizing there might be trouble connected to Qian Mo.

• Xiao Hua used Buddhist consciousness to control the mana and patterns, then successfully refined several powerful Fireball Jade Talismans.
• Xiao Hua inspected Tu Hong’s storage pouch and discovered that the Ice Mirror could form cold and illusion formations, attack with mirror light, and eventually enable short-distance teleportation.
• After receiving a message, Xiao Hua welcomed Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng, who said they were returning to Qiong Lei Peak at Senior Brother Minghui’s request.
• Xiao Hua found the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat’s concealed serial number, erased it with his mana, and stored the boat away.
• Cui Hongshen warned Xiao Hua about Seven Wonders Sect and advised him not to suffer an immediate loss; Xiao Hua also recognized that Qian Mo’s attitude could cause trouble.
• Xiao Hua gave Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng Rejuvenation Pills, and Dui Qimeng swallowed one and recognized its effects.

After returning from the Alchemy Cave, Xiao Hua found the Thunder Control Sect's forces gathering in Xuntian City and clashed with Zhenshan over his disrespectful attitude. Zhenshan demanded the First Squad's Captain's Token so his arriving disciples could take over their quarters, leaving Cui Hongshen to consider how to accommodate the order while Xiao Hua remained behind.

• Chang Shu told Xiao Hua that the Thunder Control Sect had sent many reinforcements to Xuntian City after Qin Jian assassinated Tu Hong, and offered to inquire about secret bidding gatherings.
• Xiao Hua, Cui Hongshen, and Dui Qimeng returned to their quarters and found Zhen Minghui and the others facing a crowd of dissatisfied Foundation Establishment disciples.
• Zhenshan scolded Cui Hongshen for keeping the newcomers waiting, then mocked Xiao Hua's cultivation and compared him unfavorably with Wang Yunxiao.
• Xiao Hua answered Zhenshan's taunt by asking whether Zhen Yuqian had established his foundation, angering Zhenshan.
• Zhenshan ordered Cui Hongshen to hand over the First Squad's Captain's Token, and Zhen Minghui explained that the squad was expected to return to Qiong Lei Peak while Zhenshan's group occupied their quarters.

Cui Hongshen prepared to leave Xuntian City with the Thunder Control Sect First Squad while Xiao Hua chose to remain at the encampment and return to Alchemy Cave. Li Zongbao arrived with Xiao Mao, confirmed Cui Hongshen’s cultivation was sound, and offered Dui Qimeng his help.

• Cui Hongshen insisted on securing a resting place for Xiao Hua despite Zhen Shan and Zhen Jianfeng pressuring him to hand over the squad’s token and leave.
• The duty disciples told Cui Hongshen that the Sect Master would personally welcome the First Squad at Qiong Lei Peak, and Xiao Hua decided to go to Alchemy Cave instead of staying with the other disciples.
• Cui Hongshen handed the token’s restriction to Zhen Shan, then Xiao Hua privately asked him to tell their Master and Eldest Senior Brother that he had rare items for them after the war.
• Cui Hongshen and the First Squad prepared to board the Thunder Ark, while Zhen Minghui remarked on Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng’s advancement to mid Foundation Establishment.
• Li Zongbao arrived with Xiao Mao, examined Cui Hongshen’s cultivation and praised his sound foundation, then told Dui Qimeng that choosing Cui Hongshen had been wise and gave her a communication talisman, promising to help her once.

Xiao Hua was summoned to the Council Hall over an item, forcing him to abandon his trip with Li Zongbao to Flowing Ice Valley. The chapter ended with Xiao Hua confronting Wang Ye in the Council Hall and insulting its authority.

• Li Zongbao urged Xiao Hua to leave for Flowing Ice Valley immediately, and Xiao Hua said goodbye to Cui Hongshen and the others.
• Seven Wonders Sect disciples and Xuntian City guards surrounded Xiao Hua and escorted him to the Council Hall to answer for an item.
• Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao accompanied Xiao Hua, and Li Zongbao challenged Wang Ye over the summons and the claim that Qin Jian was not at Flowing Ice Valley.
• Wang Ye asked Xiao Hua why the Council Hall had summoned him, and Xiao Hua said he had nothing to fear because the Council Hall was not a den of bandits.

Wang Ye accused Xiao Hua of concealing a Seven Wonders Sect flying boat and challenged the Thunder Control Sect’s account of its wartime achievements. After Xiao Hua produced the boat, the elders disputed who should inspect it, leaving Dexun to examine its hidden serial number.

• Gan Mo asked Xiao Hua whether the flying boat he had seized from sword cultivators belonged to the Seven Wonders Sect, and Xiao Hua denied recognizing it.
• Xiao Hua produced the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, and Wang Ye identified it as the Seven Wonders Sect’s vessel and demanded its return.
• Wang Ye accused the Thunder Control Sect’s First Squad of killing Seven Wonders Sect disciples at Jiming Mountain and falsely claiming merit, while Gan Mo, Heng Ming, and Dexun challenged his accusations.
• Xiao Hua questioned how Wang Ye recognized the boat, and Wang Ye said its hidden serial number proved its origin.
• Heng Ming stopped Wang Ye from taking the boat for inspection, and Dexun offered to examine it instead.

Wang Ye tried to claim Xiao Hua’s Flowing Cloud Flying Boat for the Seven Wonders Sect, but its identifying mark was missing and Xiao Hua challenged his reasoning. Li Zongbao and Hengming backed Xiao Hua, and Hengming proposed leasing the boat until its ownership could be settled.

• Dexun examined the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat and found that it lacked the Seven Wonders Sect’s identifying mark; Wang Ye’s own test also failed to reveal it.
• Wang Ye brought out an identical boat and insisted that the missing mark did not disprove his sect’s ownership, but Xiao Hua pointed out that the mark was the means of identification.
• Xiao Hua challenged Wang Ye’s authority to seize the boat and argued that the Council Hall served all three cultivation kingdoms; Gan Mo urged the factions to prioritize the war effort.
• Li Zongbao claimed that he had seized the flying boat from sword cultivators and had given it to Xiao Hua, then warned Wang Ye against taking his property.
• Hengming proposed that Li Zongbao lease the boat for ninety-nine years and pay spirit stones if the Seven Wonders Sect’s ownership was later established; Dexun asked what would happen if the dispute remained unresolved.

Wang Ye agreed to lease the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat to Li Zongbao’s group for ninety-nine years, and Li Zongbao revealed why the arrangement effectively secured it for them. The group discussed whether to head to Flowing Ice Valley, then split up to return to their sect strongholds while awaiting news.

• Wang Ye accepted the proposal to lease the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat to Li Zongbao, while warning him of a planned assault on Seven Absolute Ridge and Flowing Ice Valley.
• Li Zongbao led Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao from the Council Hall and explained that leasing the boat was safer than openly claiming it.
• Xiao Mao reasoned that the ninety-nine-year lease left the flying boat effectively in their hands, and Li Zongbao said the Seven Wonders Sect’s nominal ownership could not be enforced.
• Li Zongbao advised waiting for other disciples before traveling to Flowing Ice Valley, since Qin Jian was not there and the Huanhua Sect was also heading there.
• Xiao Mao returned to the Xunyan Sect’s stronghold, while Xiao Hua flew back to the Thunder Control Sect’s stronghold.

Lu Ruochang and the sword cultivators debated who had killed their missing comrades and concluded that a mysterious late Golden Core Daoist was responsible, while the Terrifying Phoenix remained a separate target. Lu Ruochang announced a bounty on the Terrifying Phoenix, outlined plans for the Yin Yang Sword Spirit and Spirit Devouring Great Formation, and hinted at another strategy for the war.

• Yu Ming returned to the sword domain with a damaged soul and no memory, crying out as he attacked an imagined Terrifying Phoenix.
• Lu Ruochang, Lian Ying, Zhu Chengye, and Cang Yuan discussed the deaths of sword cultivators and reasoned that a late Golden Core Daoist had killed several of them, while the Terrifying Phoenix might have escaped the Quanjin Mountain battle.
• Lu Ruochang announced the sword domain’s first bounty order, offering rewards to anyone who killed the Terrifying Phoenix, and said she had sent people to find portraits of five possible Thunder Control Sect identities.
• Lu Ruochang told Zhu Chengye that the Yin Yang Sword Spirit should be ready in half a year and instructed him to consolidate occupied sites and continue killing cultivators.
• Lu Ruochang revealed that Luo Xianling and other sword cultivators had obtained Spirit Devouring Insect larvae, and she tasked Cang Yuan and Qing Feng with preparing to command them.
• Lu Ruochang hinted that she had another plan beyond the sword formation, while Yu Ming’s cries drowned out the rest of the discussion.

Xiao Hua discovered that a Jade Linglong contained an unfamiliar Bone Tempering Art and reflected on his incomplete cultivation before refining Fireball Talismans. Chang Shu then secured him an invitation to a secret Bidding Convention in Xuntian City, scheduled for three nights later.

• Xiao Hua found that the Jade Linglong recorded a profound Bone Tempering Art and left a Primordial Spirit to study it.
• Xiao Hua realized that his second stage of bone tempering remained incomplete and that he needed the elusive Origin of Earth to finish it.
• Xiao Hua refined Fireball Talismans and considered why powerful cultivators rarely made low-grade talismans.
• Chang Shu told Xiao Hua that a secret Bidding Convention would be held in three days and offered to obtain a token for him in exchange for spirit stones.
• Xiao Hua paid Chang Shu, who returned with a bronze tiger tally and a jade slip granting access to the gathering.

Xiao Hua discovered that a curfew had been imposed in Xuntian City and used his Council Hall special permit to reach the secret bidding meeting. He entered the teahouse late and learned that only a few attendees had arrived despite the meeting being scheduled for midnight.

• Chang Shu mistook Xiao Hua's survival and standing for signs of powerful backing and wished he could accompany him to the secret bidding meeting.
• Xiao Hua found the Thunder Control Sect encampment deserted and learned from patrol disciples that both the sect and Xuntian City had imposed nighttime restrictions.
• Xiao Hua showed the patrol disciples his Council Hall special permit and left the encampment despite the curfew.
• Xiao Hua persuaded Xuntian City patrol disciples to let him pass with the permit and flew to the secret bidding meeting's teahouse.
• Shopkeeper Lian admitted Xiao Hua after he gave the signal and presented his bronze tiger tally, then remarked that few attendees had arrived so far.

Xiao Hua entered Xuntian City’s secret bidding gathering and discovered that seating and bidding priority depended on the rank of each cultivator’s tiger tally. The gathering began with ordinary goods before Bai Xing introduced sect techniques collected from the battlefield, leaving Xiao Hua listening as the first buyer asked for Seven Wonders Sect techniques.

• Xiao Hua and a tall cultivator arrived at the tea house after curfew and were admitted to the bidding gathering through a formation.
• The tall cultivator presented a tiger tally decorated with golden threads and was seated at the front, while Xiao Hua’s bronze tally placed him at the back.
• Bai Xing opened the gathering, explained its rules, and began with ordinary items supplied by the tea house.
• Xiao Hua realized that he had paid a large entrance fee and considered bidding before Bai Xing moved on to the items the cultivators wanted.
• Bai Xing offered Qi Cultivation techniques from more than a dozen sects, and a cultivator asked for Seven Wonders Sect techniques.

At a secret bidding gathering, Xiao Hua was horrified to discover that the remains of fallen cultivators were being sold alongside their belongings. He tried to understand how the remains would be handled and was moved to intervene, but the bidding for Xuantian Sect remains left the chapter at a new interruption.

• White Xing auctioned cultivation techniques and Sword Domain weapons, while Xiao Hua watched without bidding.
• White Xing offered the tokens, artifacts, and remains of thirteen Exotic Beast Sect disciples, prompting Xiao Hua to question what would happen if no one claimed them.
• White Xing explained that unclaimed remains would be burned, and Xiao Hua objected to the way the fallen were being treated.
• A cultivator bought the remains of twenty-three Chen Fangu Valley disciples, while the other bags remained unwanted, deepening Xiao Hua's concern.
• White Xing presented two bags of Xuantian Sect remains, and one cultivator claimed the bag containing thirty-seven corpses.
• Xiao Hua and another cultivator both called out to interrupt the bidding, and White Xing asked whether the second cultivator wished to bid.

Xiao Hua attended Bai Xing’s secret auction of battlefield spoils, where cultivators traded corpses for military merit and spirit stones. He refused to buy the corpses, then purchased a damaged Thunder Control Sect thunder boat and left with his purpose fulfilled.

• Bai Xing auctioned corpses from various sects, and Xiao Hua learned that cultivators were buying them to claim military merit.
• When Bai Xing offered over a hundred Thunder Control Sect corpses, Xiao Hua restrained his anger and declined to bid.
• Xiao Hua watched cultivators bid fiercely on sword cultivator corpses and resisted the temptation to join their trade.
• Bai Xing offered a damaged Thunder Control Sect thunder boat, and Xiao Hua paid the requested spirit stones to acquire it.
• Xiao Hua inspected the damaged thunder boat, put it away, and sat down, satisfied that he had achieved his goal.

At the Xuntian Tea House exchange, Xiao Hua watched a mysterious cultivator offer a fortune for clues about who had killed Tu Hong, worrying that witnesses might expose him. After the investigator left, the exchange continued with a request for Innate True Wood, which Xiao Hua realized he possessed in his space.

• Bai Xing said the tea house had one Rejuvenation Pill and negotiated its sale to the cultivator seeking it.
• A concealed cultivator offered many spirit stones for information about whether Tu Hong’s killer was a swordsman or cultivator and which sect the killer belonged to.
• Several attendees privately shared what they had witnessed, and the investigator rewarded those whose accounts provided useful clues.
• Xiao Hua feared that reports of his Shadow Concealment Art and sword light could lead the investigator to him.
• The investigator left despite Xuntian City’s curfew, and Bai Xing claimed he knew nothing about the man or his affairs.
• A front-row cultivator sought Innate True Wood, and Xiao Hua noted that he had innate materials stored in his space.

At a gathering in Xuntian Tea House, Xiao Hua recognized a rare item he possessed as Morning Evening Moon and traded four leaves for the Qianli Pill formula. The cultivator who sought the leaves obtained the formula from a pill refiner, while Xiao Hua kept his reasons for wanting it to himself.

• A cultivator asked the gathering for an unusual spiritual tea, but Bai Xing and the other guests did not recognize it.
• Xiao Hua recognized the item in the jade slip as the Fragrant Baleful Intent leaves he had received from Ziye and admitted he had used some to make tea.
• The cultivator explained that the leaves were Morning Evening Moon, a rare auxiliary item for soul cultivators, and Xiao Hua agreed to trade his remaining four leaves.
• Xiao Hua asked the cultivator to obtain a Qianli Pill formula in exchange, and the cultivator negotiated with a pill refiner and paid a large sum of spirit stones.
• The cultivator handed Xiao Hua the formula and received the four leaves, then wondered why Xiao Hua had made him conduct the negotiation.

Xiao Hua obtained the Qianli Pill formula and collected three map jade slips at the end of the Bidding Convention. Bai Xing then kept him behind and demanded that he pay for the corpses of Thunder Control Sect disciples, warning that powerful connections and cultivators outside could threaten him.

• Xiao Hua learned that the Morning Evening Moon had tempted another cultivator to trade, then memorized the Qianli Pill formula he had obtained.
• A cultivator offered a sword jade slip map, but others recognized it as a map of the area near Million Meng Mountain and showed matching copies.
• Xiao Hua offered twenty spirit stones for the maps, and Bai Xing added one of his own before the other cultivators handed over their copies.
• After the Bidding Convention ended, Bai Xing privately gave Xiao Hua a storage bag containing the corpses of more than forty Thunder Control Sect disciples and said Xiao Hua had to bid for them.
• Xiao Hua refused to pay, and Bai Xing warned that his connections and the cultivators waiting outside might make trouble for him.

Xiao Hua was forced to buy a storage bag of corpses from Bai Xing to avoid exposing himself, but discovered the deal also included a damaged Sword Transformation sword art and maps. Back at the Thunder Control Sect stronghold, he used Fragrant Baleful Intent spiritual tea to understand true Soul Power and drew a Morning Evening Moon into the mysterious space in his Dharma Eye.

• Bai Xing pressured Xiao Hua to buy the corpses, revealing that his sword scroll contained a damaged Sword Transformation sword art and that the storage bag also held two maps.
• Xiao Hua paid Bai Xing for the storage bag and left Xuntian Tea House after the other cultivators had departed one by one.
• Xiao Hua returned to the Thunder Control Sect stronghold, entered an Alchemy Cave, and tried a leaf of Fragrant Baleful Intent spiritual tea.
• Xiao Hua used soul silk on the tea and realized that the wave moving through it was true Soul Power, the force Soul Cultivators tempered through their techniques.
• Xiao Hua extracted a Morning Evening Moon from the tea and drew it into the mysterious space in his Dharma Eye, where its emerald radiance illuminated Qi Heaven.