Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua agreed to wager the Ling Yunwu Sword Pouch against breaking Seven Spirit Mountain's Vanta Great Formation, but he then proposed avoiding the trap. Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao urged him to face the challenge and adopt the bearing of a future grandmaster.

• Qi Chengyi offered fragments of a spirit-artifact refining secret art and proposed that Xiao Hua wager the Sword Pouch on breaking the Vanta Great Formation.
• Xiao Hua accepted the wager, and Qi Chengyi left to prepare the formation.
• Fairy Hongxia warned Xiao Hua that four cultivators could not defeat the formation's eighty-one swordsmen, while Li Zongbao suspected the formation might already await them ahead.
• Xiao Hua revealed that he had only agreed as a stopgap and suggested fleeing rather than entering the trap.
• Fairy Hongxia urged Xiao Hua to stop thinking like a Rogue Cultivator and take responsibility as a future Dao Sect grandmaster.
• Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao supported Fairy Hongxia, encouraging Xiao Hua to face the challenge.

Xiao Hua agreed to challenge Seven Spirit Mountain’s Vanta Great Formation after Fairy Hongxia urged him not to hold back, while privately resolving to protect his companions. As the group approached the waiting sword cultivators, Xiao Hua learned more about Extreme Magnetic Yuan Light and discovered that Xiao Mao’s divine sense reached unusually far.

• Xiao Hua reassured Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao that he was willing to break Seven Spirit Mountain’s formation, and Fairy Hongxia privately explained why she had urged him forward.
• Xiao Hua realized that Xiang Zhili had probably concealed his cultivation after recalling a conversation between Cui Hongshen and Dui Qimeng.
• Li Zongbao described Extreme Magnetic Yuan Light, its use in refining powerful artifacts, and the Kunlun Sect’s rare Two-Winged Light-Splitting Instrument.
• Xiao Mao reported that more than a hundred sword cultivators, including Qi Chengyi, waited ahead, while another force blocked the route toward Million Meng Mountain.
• Li Zongbao revealed that his Immortal-Piercing Whip had been destroyed and that he had borrowed his master’s Two Principles Ring.
• Li Zongbao was astonished when Xiao Mao said his divine sense could detect events more than a dozen miles away.

Xiao Hua gives Fairy Hongxia and Xiao Mao the Spirit Guiding Technique before leading his companions to Seven Spirit Mountain’s Vanta Great Formation. He enters the seemingly ordinary formation with confidence, while Li Zongbao and the others remain on guard.

• Xiao Hua gives Fairy Hongxia a jade slip containing the Spirit Guiding Technique, and Xiao Mao asks for and receives a copy.
• Xiao Mao is astonished by the technique’s depth and feels his loneliness begin to fade.
• Xiao Hua and his companions meet Qi Chengyi and more than one hundred Seven Spirit Mountain swordsmen assembled before the formation.
• Xiao Hua warns Qi Chengyi that he will show restraint only in this battle and demands that Seven Spirit Mountain stop sending swordsmen after them if they break through.
• Qi Chengyi agrees that Seven Spirit Mountain will not block them again if they break the formation, and he opens a passage into the ranks.
• Xiao Hua strides into the formation while Li Zongbao and the others follow cautiously, but Xiao Hua’s Buddhist consciousness detects no unusual fluctuation.

Xiao Hua and his companions faced Seven Spirit Mountain’s Vanta Great Formation, which sealed them inside and unleashed crushing attacks. Xiao Hua began breaking the formation with the Kunlun Mirror and As-You-Wish Staff, but Fairy Hongxia’s defenses failed and Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao could not overcome the transformed artifact cultivators.

• Xiao Hua entered the formation’s center with Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao as Qi Chengyi warned him that the formation was about to activate.
• The formation sealed the hundred-zhang space and blocked Xiao Hua’s divine sense; Qi Chengyi’s threat briefly made Xiao Hua hesitate before he realized the swordsmen were tricking him.
• Fairy Hongxia released her Ice Phoenix Dharma Body and Innate True Water to shield Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao from the formation’s first crushing attack.
• Xiao Hua used the Kunlun Mirror to freeze two artifact cultivators, then wielded the As-You-Wish Staff to withstand the formation’s force and knock an artifact cultivator out of it.
• Fairy Hongxia withdrew her exhausted Dharma Body as Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao attacked, but the formation restrained their magic treasures and left them unable to injure the artifact cultivators.

Xiao Hua fought to break the Vanta Great Formation and helped Fairy Hongxia and Li Zongbao escape, but the formation trapped him and Xiao Mao as it transformed into a massive tower. The chapter ended with a mysterious force enveloping them and suppressing the Kunlun Mirror.

• Xiao Hua realized the formation shifted its disciples to fill gaps and repeatedly struck them with the As-You-Wish Staff while the Kunlun Mirror froze sections of the formation.
• Fairy Hongxia and Li Zongbao escaped the formation as it transformed into a towering structure made from the disciples’ magical artifacts.
• Xiao Hua found a weakness and rushed toward it with Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao, but the formation drew them back with powerful suction.
• Xiao Hua used Sleeve Universe to send Fairy Hongxia and Li Zongbao through the gap, then caught Xiao Mao as the gap closed.
• A violent, mysterious fluctuation enveloped Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao, immobilizing the Kunlun Mirror above Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao faced the Vanta Great Formation, where eighty-one Artifact Spirits combined into a giant spirit to defend the tower. Xiao Hua overwhelmed it with the As-You-Wish Staff, scattering its body and leaving Qi Chengyi to watch the formation’s power collapse.

• Xiao Hua reassured Xiao Mao and revealed he intended to break the formation himself.
• The Vanta Great Formation expanded around them, and its sound attack made Xiao Mao feel compelled to surrender.
• Xiao Hua attacked the tower with the Kunlun Mirror, prompting eighty-one Artifact Spirits to combine into a giant spirit.
• The giant spirit repelled the Kunlun Mirror’s attack, but Xiao Hua used the As-You-Wish Staff to smash its palm and battle it at close range.
• Qi Chengyi watched in alarm as Xiao Hua shattered the giant spirit’s arms and continued striking its body.
• Xiao Hua blasted a hole through the giant spirit’s back, and the growing black hole swallowed it, scattering its Artifact Spirits toward the tower’s summit.

Xiao Hua fought the Vanta Great Formation’s soul swords, saved Xiao Mao from their attack, and captured several Artifact Spirits. He forced Qi Chengyi to negotiate, but Qi Chengyi refused to provide the magic treasure or artifact-refining technique Xiao Hua demanded for Xiao Mao.

• The Vanta Great Formation turned its Artifact Spirits into soul swords that pierced through the Kunlun Mirror’s defenses, and Xiao Hua trapped many with his soul threads.
• Several soul swords struck Xiao Mao, but Green Seal Script-like runes emerged from his brow and protected him from harm.
• Xiao Hua captured and devoured ten Artifact Spirits before Qi Chengyi offered him Seven Spirit Mountain’s secret technique for forging and refining Artifact Spirits.
• Xiao Hua demanded compensation for Xiao Mao, and Qi Chengyi pointed out that Xiao Mao had awakened; Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao to keep his eyes shut so they could continue bargaining.
• Xiao Hua demanded a magic treasure or an artifact-refining technique for Xiao Mao, but Qi Chengyi insisted that Seven Spirit Mountain had neither.

Xiao Hua freed Xiao Mao from the Vanta Great Formation and took Qi Chengyi’s storage pouch as compensation. After discovering the pouch contained a white bone that joined the bones in his space, Xiao Hua decided not to return it, while Qi Chengyi pressed him to trade it for a Seven Spirit Mountain magic artifact.

• Xiao Hua seized Qi Chengyi’s storage pouch and accepted its contents as compensation for Xiao Mao before releasing Xiao Mao and leaving the Vanta Great Formation.
• Xiao Mao emerged feeling refreshed and full of vitality, while Xiao Hua warned him to stay calm and not use his divine sense.
• The Vanta Tower collapsed, revealing Seven Spirit Mountain disciples and more than twenty identical magic artifacts that Qi Chengyi began collecting.
• Xiao Hua offered to trade the storage pouch for one of the magic artifacts, and Qi Chengyi agreed but pleaded for the pouch’s return.
• Xiao Hua inspected the pouch in his space and found a long white bone that joined the other bones there, deciding he would not give it back.

Xiao Hua refused to return the mysterious bones from Qi Chengyi’s storage pouch, rejected his magical artifact, and warned the sword cultivators not to pursue them. After the four Dao Sect cultivators departed, Qi Chengyi withdrew his disciples and discussed how to explain the failed battle to his sect; meanwhile, Xiao Hua teased Xiao Mao about refining him a magical artifact and embarrassed Fairy Hongxia.

• Xiao Hua refused Qi Chengyi’s requests for the pouch’s contents and magical artifact, then warned the Seven Spirit Mountain disciples not to harass them again.
• Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Fairy Hongxia flew away, while Qi Chengyi ordered his disciples to stop tracking them.
• Qi Chengyi questioned the surviving disciples about the Vanta Great Formation and learned their soul swords had feared Xiao Hua’s defensive soul technique.
• Qi Chengyi explained to Junior Brother Gan why he had not personally fought Xiao Hua and revealed plans to account for the failed mission.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao he would refine him a magical artifact, then bragged about his abilities and embarrassed Fairy Hongxia.

Xiao Hua learned that Xue Xue may have changed herself because she feared falling behind him, and Fairy Hongxia admitted she had felt the same way. After the group boarded the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, Xiao Hua investigated the mysterious growth in Xiao Mao’s divine sense and found unusual green lights within the clouds surrounding his soul.

• Xiao Hua told Fairy Hongxia about Xue Xue’s strange behavior and showed her the pink jade slip.
• Fairy Hongxia explained that she and Xue Xue both worried Xiao Hua’s rapid cultivation had left them unworthy of him, then teased him about whether he preferred women who changed or stayed the same.
• Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao interrupted Xiao Hua’s awkward conversation with Fairy Hongxia, and Xiao Hua had Xiao Mao and Li Zongbao take out and steer the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat.
• Xiao Hua asked Xiao Mao about his increased divine sense, and Xiao Mao said it had grown by more than a mile after he fainted inside the Vanta Great Formation.
• Xiao Hua cautiously sent soul silk into Xiao Mao’s brow and saw violently churning dark clouds with intermittent ghostly green hues around Xiao Mao’s soul.

Xiao Hua discovered that Qi Chengyi’s ring-shaped tablet contained a blood-sacrifice method for tempering Artifact Spirits, though its body-fusion technique was unusable to him. Li Zongbao’s explanation sparked an idea, and Xiao Hua offered to restore the damaged Immortal-Piercing Whip and turn it into a spirit artifact.

• Xiao Hua decided not to probe the dark clouds surrounding Xiao Mao’s soul and asked what kind of magic treasure Xiao Mao wanted.
• Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, Li Zongbao, and Fairy Hongxia flew safely toward Huan Kingdom’s border as the landscape shifted to glaciers and ice lakes.
• Xiao Hua realized Qi Chengyi’s ring-shaped tablet described a dangerous artifact cultivator technique that required merging an artifact into one’s body, along with a blood-sacrifice method for nurturing Artifact Spirits.
• Li Zongbao explained that spirit artifacts had once been nurtured with a cultivator’s own blood essence, prompting Xiao Hua to study the tablet again.
• Xiao Hua told Li Zongbao he might be able to restore the damaged Immortal-Piercing Whip and upgrade it into a spirit artifact.

Xiao Hua discovered that Qi Chengyi had tricked him into carrying a supposed Divine Sword Secret Codex, drawing Sikong Yu of Pingshan Sword Gate into a confrontation. After Sikong Yu demanded the relic and threatened him, Xiao Hua began fighting back with the Kunlun Mirror.

• Xiao Hua told Li Zongbao he had a seventy percent chance of repairing the Immortal-Piercing Whip and accepted it for practice.
• Xiao Hua sensed a golden broken arrow near Li Zongbao, caught it briefly with Sleeve Universe, and watched it escape back to Sikong Yu.
• Sikong Yu identified himself as a cultivator from Pingshan Sword Gate and demanded the Divine Sword Secret Codex, claiming it was a sacred Sword Domain relic.
• Xiao Hua realized Qi Chengyi had deliberately planted the supposed secret codex in the storage pouch and laughed at the deception.
• Sikong Yu threatened Xiao Hua and gathered golden sword light to attack, so Xiao Hua activated the Kunlun Mirror and sent hundreds of azure trees at him.

Xiao Hua defeated Sikong Yu, revealing his sword-cultivator abilities and overwhelming strength, then gave the Golden Broken Arrow to Xiao Mao. With Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia unconscious, Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao to hide the evidence of Sikong Yu's death by flying swords.

• Sikong Yu's Golden Broken Arrow broke through Xiao Hua's greenwood defense, but Xiao Hua held it back with the Kunlun Mirror.
• Xiao Hua attacked with Dream Severing and Mountain Splitting, and Sikong Yu transformed into a giant sword after blocking them.
• Xiao Hua's Spirit Severing Primordial Light exposed Sikong Yu's invisible Golden Broken Arrow and beheaded him.
• Xiao Hua collected Sikong Yu's storage bag and Golden Broken Arrow, then gave the arrow to Xiao Mao.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao to dispose of Sikong Yu's corpse so no one would know he had been killed by flying swords.

Xiao Hua awakened Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia, then the group decided to face the Huan Kingdom sword cultivators pursuing them rather than flee. He began repairing Li Zongbao’s Immortal-Piercing Whip with a strange flame and a blood-condensation technique, leaving the process underway.

• Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao about his unusual resistance to Sikong Yu’s sound attack and discussed Xiao Mao’s unknown origins and hopes of finding his parents in Million Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Hua used strange hand seals to awaken Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia, who saw Sikong Yu’s corpse and learned that news of Xiao Hua’s Divine Sword Secret Codex was attracting sword cultivators.
• Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, Li Zongbao, and Fairy Hongxia agreed to use their victories to spread the Daoist cultivators’ prestige, and Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia marked Sikong Yu’s corpse.
• Xiao Hua asked Li Zongbao for eighty-one drops of heart’s blood to repair the Immortal-Piercing Whip, and Li Zongbao gave him the first nine drops.
• Xiao Hua used a strange crimson flame to shape the blood into a phantom, then sent it into the Immortal-Piercing Whip before swallowing medicinal pills and meditating.

Xiao Hua used the Demon Realm’s Blood Fusion Method and spiritual fire to begin refining Li Zongbao’s Immortal-Piercing Whip, restoring their faint connection to it. Five days later, four Illusion Sword Rank Three swordsmen trapped Xiao Hua in a Four Symbols Sword Array, and he broke its formation long enough to strike back, killing one swordswoman and exposing another enemy.

• Xiao Hua refined nine drops of Li Zongbao’s essence blood with spiritual fire, causing the Immortal-Piercing Whip to respond to Li Zongbao again.
• Xiao Hua said the effort had improved his cultivation but left him too exhausted to continue refining for nine days, and Li Zongbao accepted the delay.
• Five days later, four Illusion Sword Rank Three swordsmen attacked the group, sent the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat onto the water, and trapped Xiao Hua in a Four Symbols Sword Array.
• Xiao Hua summoned lightning to loosen the array’s confinement, vanished with a Demon Realm concealment technique, and transformed into a sword to clash with two of the giant swords.
• Xiao Hua’s sword gourd sent two azure-red sword lights past the orange-red sword, and one killed the female swordsman; his spiritual fire ensnared the golden-yellow sword and revealed a middle-aged swordsman.

Xiao Hua and Fairy Hongxia killed the remaining Illusion Sword Rank Three sword cultivators, and Xiao Hua gave Xiao Mao the Sun-Shooting Arrow’s refinement method. With the group pursued across Huan Kingdom, Xiao Hua led them to a mountain cave and sent puppets inside.

• Xiao Hua ambushed and killed the middle-aged sword cultivator with his spiked mace while spirit fire and fireball talismans disrupted the attackers.
• Fairy Hongxia used Innate True Water to trap the sword cultivators as Xiao Hua killed the old woman and the final ash-black sword cultivator.
• Xiao Mao collected the corpses and weapons, and Xiao Hua gave him a jade slip containing the Sun-Shooting Arrow’s control and refinement methods.
• Xiao Hua explained that sword cultivators could use different sword implements, then decided the group should hide in nearby caves rather than flee Huan Kingdom.
• Xiao Hua led Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Fairy Hongxia to a cave and sent several puppets inside.

Tanhua recounted the difficult publication history of Chronicles of the Cultivating God, from repeated contract rejections to its eventual paid release and completion. The chapter ended with an editor rejecting Tanhua’s planned follow-up, Light Trace, and advising Tanhua to design a more distinctive opening for a new book.

• Tanhua described repeatedly applying for an official contract for Chronicles of the Cultivating God and finally receiving one after the novel reached 1.2 million words.
• Tanhua recalled that Chronicles of the Cultivating God went behind a paywall at 1.5 million words, despite receiving no major promotion and having very few subscribers.
• Tanhua finished Chronicles of the Cultivating God after another year and planned to write a new book called Light Trace.
• An editor rejected continuing with Light Trace, saying the story lacked immersion and distinctive appeal, and advised Tanhua to carefully design a new book’s opening.

Xiao Hua completed the refinement of Li Zongbao’s Immortal-Piercing Whip into a spiritual artifact while their group hid inside a concealed cave. When Xiao Hua sensed a Sword Transformation cultivator pursuing them, he sent Fairy Hongxia, Xiao Mao, and Li Zongbao away so he could face the threat alone.

• Xiao Hua concealed the group in a cave with the Duotian Star Array and spent nearly a hundred days completing the whip’s refinements.
• Xiao Hua infused the whip’s spirit with a blood shadow and Li Zongbao’s sapphire-blue radiance, transforming the weapon into a spiritual artifact.
• The newly refined Immortal-Piercing Whip burst through the formation with sapphire light and formed a connection with Li Zongbao.
• Xiao Hua warned that a Sword Transformation cultivator was pursuing them and ordered Fairy Hongxia, Xiao Mao, and Li Zongbao to flee.
• Li Zongbao agreed to protect Fairy Hongxia and Xiao Mao as they left Xiao Hua behind.

Xiao Hua lured a Sword Transformation cultivator away from Fairy Hongxia and the others, then faced the pursuer at an ice lake. The woman recognized him as the cultivator behind the attacks in Huan Country and revealed that she knew he possessed sword essence and the Divine Sword Secret Codex.

• Xiao Hua sent Fairy Hongxia and the others ahead while he stayed behind to draw the Sword Transformation cultivator away from them.
• Xiao Hua used evasive flight to keep his pursuer at a distance, then stopped atop an iceberg in the middle of an ice lake.
• The Sword Transformation cultivator attacked Xiao Hua with a storm of violet sword lights, and he countered with the Sea-Overturning Seal.
• The violet-robed woman emerged from the sword radiance and identified Xiao Hua as the cultivator who had frightened Lu Ruochang.
• The woman explained that Xiao Hua's repeated kills of Illusion Sword Swordsmen, his sword essence, and his possession of the Divine Sword Secret Codex had brought her after him.

Xiao Hua confronted Xue Mingcha of the Void Sky Sword Sect, who came to avenge Qin Jian, and fought her with his magical artifacts and techniques. The battle remained unresolved as Xiao Hua summoned dark clouds and heavenly lightning while refusing to use his Phoenix Dharma Body.

• Xue Mingcha revealed that she had come to kill Xiao Hua for killing Qin Jian, and Xiao Hua chose to fight rather than surrender.
• Xiao Hua attacked with the Sea-Overturning Seal, but Xue Mingcha shattered its confinement and countered with sword lights.
• Xiao Hua vanished with the Demonic Realm Concealment Technique and struck at Xue Mingcha with the Spirit Severing Primordial Light, but her sword radiance blocked it.
• Xue Mingcha attacked with sword pillars, but Xiao Hua shattered them with the As-You-Wish Staff and fought through her waves of sword light.
• After neither could injure the other, Xiao Hua retrieved the Sea-Overturning Seal and used the Lightning Drawing Technique to summon dark clouds and heavenly lightning.