Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua escaped blame for the missing spirit pet, but Liao Zhouquan and Deming came to reclaim the storage pouch he had won from Fan Tong. Xiao Hua reluctantly accepted that the Taiqing Sect would return the sect’s communal supplies to Changbai Sect, and the chapter ended with him resolving to one day make rules of his own.

• Mingcheng cleared Xiao Hua of taking the spirit pet because the illusion array’s recordings had been destroyed and the Changbai Sect disciples had not inspected Fan Tong’s spirit storage pouch.
• Liao Zhouquan and Deming visited Xiao Hua after Gen Qing confronted him, and Xiao Hua explained the earlier dispute over the spirit pet.
• Xiao Hua offered up the storage pouch, and Deming and Gen Qing discovered that it contained a large quantity of spirit stones and pills belonging to Changbai Sect.
• Deming argued that the pouch’s contents were communal property and urged Xiao Hua to return them, while Gen Qing said the storage pouch had to go back to Changbai Sect.
• Xiao Hua accepted their decision and learned that five Thunder Control Sect and Changbai Sect disciples had died on the first day of fighting.

Xiao Hua negotiated with Liao Zhouquan for Fan Tong’s incomplete Town Cloud Seal and its damaged refinement method, while returning most of the storage-bag contents to the Changbai Sect. After Gen Qing departed, Xiao Hua studied the seal and jade slip, then used Samadhi True Fire to reveal green seal-script on a white bone.

• Xiao Hua declined the Changbai Sect’s offer of ordinary artifacts and insisted on receiving Fan Tong’s incomplete magic treasure, the Town Cloud Seal.
• Liao Zhouquan gave Xiao Hua the seal and an aged jade slip containing its incomplete refinement method after Gen Qing pressed him to honor the compensation agreement.
• Xiao Hua returned ninety percent of the spirit stones and one-tenth of every kind of medicinal pill from Fan Tong’s storage bag, keeping the high-grade bag for himself.
• Xiao Hua gave Gen Qing a Soul Condensing Pill, and she explained the Town Cloud Seal’s power demands and told him to wait until his cultivation advanced before using it.
• Gen Qing told Xiao Hua that two Huan Kingdom sword cultivators wanted to exchange items with cultivators from the Three Cultivation Kingdoms.
• Xiao Hua activated the quiet chamber’s restrictions and burned a white bone with Samadhi True Fire, revealing green seal-script characters within it.

Xiao Hua learned that Mysterious Yin Grass was the main ingredient in Profound Yin Pills and decided to offer some to two Huan Kingdom sword cultivators in exchange for a sword-cultivation method. After waiting through other unsuccessful visitors, he reached the pavilion, where the sword cultivators’ demands remained unknown.

• Xiao Hua spoke with Qian Diheng, then watched Qian Heng of Dry Thunder Palace achieve Foundation Establishment and use an Essence Nourishing Talisman.
• Qian Diheng lent Xiao Hua a jade slip of spirit-grass records, and Xiao Hua found that he had Mysterious Yin Grass seeds among the seeds he had acquired in Jingbo City.
• Xiao Hua wondered why two early Foundation Establishment sword cultivators wanted Mysterious Yin Grass and hoped to trade it for a Sword Pellet cultivation method or the Flying Sword Technique.
• Xiao Hua took a stalk of Mysterious Yin Grass to the sword cultivators’ pavilion and learned from Ke Xingxi that previous visitors had failed to discover what the sword cultivators wanted.
• Ke Xingxi’s brother Ke Qiaoliang emerged without learning anything, and Xiao Hua finally reached the front of the line, seeing Ke Xingxi’s expressionless face.

Xiao Hua tried to exchange Mysterious Yin Grass for a sword cultivator’s Sword Driving Technique from Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe, but the sisters discovered his grass was not the rarer Mysterious Yin Spirit Grass. Zhang Yuhe still decided to take the grass in exchange for another item, and the negotiation ended in a confrontation when Xiao Hua refused anything but a sword-controlling technique.

• Xiao Hua met Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe and offered them Mysterious Yin Grass in exchange for Xuanjian Sect’s Sword Driving Technique.
• Zhang Yuhe offered a Sword Driving Technique from a fallen sect, and Xiao Hua handed over his jade box for the sisters to appraise.
• Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe realized the grass was ordinary Mysterious Yin Grass rather than Mysterious Yin Spirit Grass, but Zhang Yuhe chose to trade for it anyway.
• Zhang Yuhe withdrew the promised Sword Driving Technique and tried to tempt Xiao Hua with a magic treasure, but he refused everything except a sword-controlling technique.
• Zhang Yuhe declared that Xiao Hua would have to exchange regardless and summoned her tiny purple sword.

Xiao Hua traded his several-thousand-year-old Mysterious Yin Grass to Zhang Yutong for a sword-gestation method that might repair his damaged Sword Pellet. After reading it, he realized he lacked sword essence and could not safely nourish the pellet without disrupting his Dragon Transformation Art, leaving him regretting the trade.

• Xiao Hua offered Zhang Yuhe his Mysterious Yin Grass for the Sword Gestation Method and a Sword Pellet repair method, then showed the sisters his lifeless Sword Pellet.
• Zhang Yutong offered Xiao Hua a damaged jade slip containing an unconventional Sword Gestation Method that might repair Sword Pellets, and he accepted it in exchange for the grass.
• Zhang Yutong explained that the method could be attempted as late as Sword Grade Nine, though starting later made success less likely, and Xiao Hua left the sword cultivators' pavilion.
• Min Ge provoked Xiao Hua at the Thunder Control Sect's pavilion, and Wang Yunxiao stopped Min Ge from escalating the quarrel.
• Wang Yunxiao, Min Ge, and Yuan Bo speculated that Xiao Hua had traded for a magic artifact, while Xiao Hua studied the jade slip in his quiet room.
• Xiao Hua discovered that the method required sword essence he did not have and that nourishing the Sword Pellet in his dantian could disrupt his Dragon Transformation Art, so he regretted the trade.

Xiao Hua discovered that the Buddha fire in his Buddha Sarira could nurture the nine Sword Pellets, while he placed second among the Thunder Control Sect disciples in the first stage of the Feathered Immortal Convention. During the day of rest afterward, Ke Xingxi summoned him to meet Kunlun Sect’s Han Zhu, while Yuan Bo and Min Ge grew more suspicious of Xiao Hua.

• Xun Shu told Xiao Hua that a Kun Thunder Palace disciple had established his foundation, and Xiao Hua’s advice about seeking tranquility prompted her to bow to him.
• Xiao Hua finished the first stage in second place among the Thunder Control Sect disciples, behind Qian Mo.
• Xiao Hua discovered Buddha fire within his Buddha Sarira and used it to nurture the nine Sword Pellets and their Small Pouch.
• Xiao Hua skipped the Gathering of Exchange to cultivate, but Ke Xingxi arrived and invited him to meet Han Zhu of Kunlun Sect.
• Yuan Bo and Min Ge followed Xiao Hua and Ke Xingxi to Kunlun Sect’s pavilion and voiced suspicions about Xiao Hua’s origins and motives.

Han Zhu summoned Xiao Hua and gave him an incomplete Great Vajra Dharma Body method, along with guidance on Buddhist cultivation and clues about the Buddhist Sect ruins. He left Xiao Hua with a token and instructions to visit during the Feathered Immortal Convention, while taking a Spirit Nourishing Pill from Xiao Hua’s offerings.

• Han Zhu praised Xiao Hua’s combat skills and explained that the incomplete Golden Rule pointed to Buddhist cultivation methods hidden in the Buddhist Sect ruins, which he believed were the former Pure Land.
• Han Zhu said he was searching for where Buddhism had gone and questioned why its ruins lay in the isolated Three Cultivation Kingdoms, but told Xiao Hua he would not take him there because his cultivation was too weak.
• Han Zhu gave Xiao Hua the incomplete Great Vajra Dharma Body method and a pale golden Buddha containing words to read at late Foundation Establishment, then shared advice about cultivating Buddhist Sarira.
• Han Zhu gave Xiao Hua a jade token and told him he could visit during the Feathered Immortal Convention, advising him to avoid the second-stage sect contest and focus on cultivation.
• Xiao Hua offered Han Zhu pills he had obtained, and Han Zhu selected a Spirit Nourishing Pill, explaining that it nourished divine sense for Golden Core cultivators.

Xiao Hua received Han Zhu’s Spirit Nourishing Pill formula and learned that the pill could nurture Buddhist sarira, then returned to the Feathered Immortal Convention as the second-stage matchups were drawn. He learned that the top eight would receive Foundation Establishment Pills, and the draw paired him against fellow Thunder Control Sect disciple Kun Feiyan.

• Xiao Hua gave Han Zhu a Spirit Nourishing Pill, received the pill formula and information about the Divine Bewildering Fruit, then left the Kunlun Sect pavilion.
• Xun Shu summoned Xiao Hua to hear the second-stage announcements, and Renzhu announced that the top eight contestants would each receive a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Xiao Hua asked Xun Shu about the Immortal Alliance, but their conversation paused as the sect representatives began drawing matchups.
• Yang Fan and Tian Wei placed their sects’ disciples into the bracket, then Gen Qing drew positions for Qian Mo, Xiao Hua, and Kun Feiyan.
• The draw placed Xiao Hua against Kun Feiyan in the first round, ensuring that one of the two Thunder Control Sect disciples would be eliminated.

After the first-stage rankings placed Xiao Hua and Kun Feiyan against each other, Gen Yue summoned Xiao Hua and ordered him to lose so the Thunder Control Sect would avoid embarrassment. Xiao Hua resisted the pressure by bargaining for three Foundation Establishment Pills, then left for the match.

• The thirty-two advancing disciples were ranked, with Xiao Hua twentieth and Kun Feiyan nineteenth, and their upcoming match was set.
• Gen Qing told Jiang Changhong that he expected Xiao Hua to defeat Kun Feiyan, while Jiang Changhong showed unusual interest in the Thunder Control Sect disciple.
• Gen Yue summoned Xiao Hua, recounted how he had secretly protected him, and urged him to put the Thunder Control Sect's reputation ahead of his own ranking.
• Gen Yue instructed Xiao Hua to lose to Kun Feiyan, arguing that Xiao Hua's cultivation and experience were insufficient to advance safely.
• Xiao Hua asked for a Foundation Establishment Pill in exchange for yielding, then negotiated until Gen Yue gave him three pills.
• Xiao Hua accepted the pills and left Gen Yue's room to face Kun Feiyan in the match.

Xiao Hua deliberately forfeited his match against Kun Feiyan, despite the Foundation Establishment Pill at stake, and returned to his quiet room to study Buddhist cultivation techniques. The chapter left him examining the Town Cloud Seal jade slip.

• Xun Shu, Li Xiaoxiao, and Qian Diheng urged Xiao Hua to enter the arena before time ran out.
• Xiao Hua exchanged attacks with Kun Feiyan, then pretended he could not match her strength and conceded the match.
• Kun Feiyan advanced, while Qian Diheng and Li Xiaoxiao recognized that Xiao Hua had forfeited intentionally and Gen Yue praised his supposed concern for the sect.
• Xiao Hua declined to watch the remaining matches and returned to his quiet room.
• Xiao Hua studied the Golden Rule, realized his body might already have reached the Great Vajra Dharma Body method’s third level, and then began reading the Town Cloud Seal jade slip.

Xiao Hua refined the Town Cloud Seal and accidentally demolished much of his pavilion while testing its power. Meanwhile, Yun Zichong defeated Zhuo Qingyuan to take first place in the Feathered Immortal Convention, and the top-ranked disciples awaited a surprise the next morning.

• Xiao Hua discovered that his Great Vajra Dharma Body made his skin difficult to pierce, forced out a drop of blood, and began blood-refining the Town Cloud Seal.
• Xiao Hua spent five days refining the seal while Zhuo Qingyuan and Yun Zichong fought for first place in the convention.
• Zhuo Qingyuan and Yun Zichong both used Giant Spirit Talismans and clashed with enormous strength in the illusion array.
• Xiao Hua tested the newly refined Town Cloud Seal with a light pat, breaking the quiet chamber's restrictions and collapsing more than half the pavilion.
• Yun Zichong struck Zhuo Qingyuan's neck, disrupted her spiritual power, and won after Zhuo Qingyuan conceded.
• Renzhu announced that the Taiqing Sect would distribute rewards and reveal a surprise for the top thirty-two disciples the next morning.

Xiao Hua heard that Fairy Hongxia had performed brilliantly at the Feathered Immortal Convention and grew jealous when Qian Diheng admired her. Meanwhile, Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe collected the Mysterious Yin Spirit Grass from Renzhu and decided to stay for the convention’s final match.

• Xiao Hua denied responsibility for damaging the pavilion, then joined Qian Diheng and Xun Shu to discuss the tournament results.
• Xun Shu and Qian Diheng told Xiao Hua that Huanhua Sect’s Yun Zichong had won the convention and Fairy Hongxia had nearly taken the championship.
• Qian Diheng praised Fairy Hongxia and discussed pursuing her, prompting Xiao Hua to leave in frustration.
• Xiao Hua saw disciples waiting outside Fairy Hongxia’s pavilion and heard that she would not meet them because she had matches the next day.
• Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe exchanged goods with Renzhu, received the Mysterious Yin Spirit Grass, and chose to participate in the final match.

Renzhu revealed the Prajna Heavy Sword as the prize for the Feathered Immortal Convention’s final trial, and Xiao Hua recognized it as his own and rushed to secure it. The battle in the illusion array descended into chaos, with Xiao Hua ambushing opponents while the contest continued.

• Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe thanked Deming and quietly left the Vast Realm after he assured them their whereabouts remained secret.
• Renzhu announced that the Prajna Heavy Sword would go to a disciple who survived the illusion-array battle and could lift it.
• Xiao Hua recognized the sword blank and entered the array determined to obtain it before the incense burned out.
• Xiao Hua urged Gan Mo to attack the Meng Kingdom disciples, then scattered Fireball Talismans to break their formation and provoke a wider fight.
• Protected by Puchen and wielding the Demon Spear Tip, Xiao Hua ambushed four disciples and forced them to leave the array.
• Xiao Hua dodged a cascade of firelight, two Lian Kingdom disciples fled by activating their jade tokens, and a radiant flying sword struck toward the flames.

Xiao Hua survived the chaotic battle in the illusion array as most disciples withdrew or were defeated. Yun Zichong and Fairy Hongxia remained with Xiao Hua, and Yun Zichong challenged him to stop watching and act.

• Xiao Hua evaded attacks amid the chaos, while a hidden needle-like artifact killed a disciple and prompted many others to flee.
• Yun Zichong claimed the sword embryo and persuaded most remaining disciples, including Zhuo Qingyuan, to withdraw.
• Zhang Xin and Yang Fangcheng challenged Yun Zichong, while Xiao Hua declined to join them.
• Fairy Hongxia used her red sash to defeat Zhang Xin, and Yang Fangcheng withdrew from the array.
• Yun Zichong put away his artifact and addressed Xiao Hua, asking whether he still meant to stand aside.

Xiao Hua fought Yun Zichong for the sword embryo, but Yun Zichong used an Essence Nourishing Talisman to establish his foundation and trap him. Fairy Hongxia chose to stand with Xiao Hua and activated her own Essence Nourishing Talisman, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Xiao Hua's Spirit Crow Fire Net broke through Yun Zichong's bamboo defense, but Yun Zichong countered with a feather fan that overwhelmed Xiao Hua's Fire Crows.
• Xiao Hua released the Town Cloud Seal and pinned Yun Zichong, who refused to withdraw and revealed an Essence Nourishing Talisman.
• Yun Zichong used the talisman to establish his foundation, draining the illusory array of spiritual qi until Renzhu dismissed it.
• Yun Zichong demanded that Xiao Hua surrender the sword embryo, but Fairy Hongxia stepped between them and pleaded for his life.
• Xiao Hua refused to withdraw, and Fairy Hongxia declared that she would stand with him before activating her own Essence Nourishing Talisman.

Fairy Hongxia began Foundation Establishment to help Xiao Hua, while Yun Zichong conceded and left the Feathered Immortal Convention. Xiao Hua was left to claim the Prajna Heavy Sword, but after learning he could use only his physical strength, he failed to budge it on his first attempt.

• Fairy Hongxia began Foundation Establishment with greater momentum than Yun Zichong, and Yun Zichong conceded and followed Renzhu away from the plaza.
• Fairy Hongxia left with Deming after telling Xiao Hua that the sword embryo should be his, and Xiao Hua stored the Town Cloud Seal inside his body.
• Renzhu returned and told Xiao Hua that the sword embryo could be taken only by pulling it free within a restriction that sealed all magical power.
• Xiao Hua approached the Prajna Heavy Sword, found his magical power suppressed, and pulled with both hands, but the sword did not move.

Xiao Hua pulled the Prajna Heavy Sword from the platform, making his name famous at the Feathered Immortal Convention, then kept it despite Gen Qing suspecting the Taiqing Sect had set a trap. The chapter ended as Xiao Hua and the other disciples gathered for the convention banquet, with Gen Qing noting the sword blank might be connected to something from the Thunder Control Sect.

• Xiao Hua strained with the Dragon Transformation Art and pulled the Prajna Heavy Sword free as the crowd cheered.
• Renzhu praised Xiao Hua before the assembled sects, declaring the convention concluded and inviting everyone to a banquet.
• Gen Qing inspected the sword blank, suspected it was a Taiqing Sect scheme, and advised Xiao Hua to return it.
• Xiao Hua refused to give up the sword blank, and Gen Qing backed his decision while promising to investigate its connection to the Thunder Control Sect.
• Gen Yue questioned Xiao Hua about Gen Qing's summons, and Xiao Hua said they had discussed his cultivation and newly refined magic treasure.
• Xiao Hua joined the other disciples at the plaza banquet, where Taiqing Sect disciples had laid out tables of spirit wine and spirit fruits.

At the Feathered Immortal Convention’s final banquet, Xiao Hua fielded toasts and reflections on cultivation, connections, and his relationships with Fairy Hongxia and Xue Xue. He Fangyuan thanked Xiao Hua for helping him achieve Foundation Establishment by giving him the Taiyi Azure Light Staff and its refinement method, and another guest approached as Xiao Hua was about to sit down.

• Xiao Hua attended the final banquet and considered Gen Qing’s advice about enduring social obligations while striving to become strong enough to gain freedom.
• Qian Diheng toasted Xiao Hua and urged him to build connections, but Xiao Hua said he preferred to devote himself to cultivation.
• Xun Shu teased Xiao Hua about Fairy Hongxia and Xue Xue, and Xiao Hua agreed to attend the coming training expedition and let Xun Shu speak in his favor.
• Li Xiaoxiao, Kun Feiyan, and other disciples toasted Xiao Hua, who drank with them and dispelled the wine’s effects with his magic power.
• He Fangyuan thanked Xiao Hua for helping him achieve Foundation Establishment, gave him the Taiyi Azure Light Staff and its refinement method, and explained that its Innate Metal Qi could be refined into a flying sword or, at Nascent Soul, into natal true light.
• After Xiao Hua saw He Fangyuan off, another voice approached and remarked that even Foundation Establishment cultivators had come to toast him.

Xiao Hua accepted gifts from Zhong Xiaohan and Zhong Tianxing, then discovered that the skullcap they gave him reacted with the white bones in his space and revealed talisman knowledge and a rabbit-shaped formation. As he prepared to leave the Feathered Immortal Convention, he noticed Min Ge glaring at him and grew wary of the Changbai Sect.

• Zhong Xiaohan and Zhong Tianxing thanked Xiao Hua for helping Zhong Xiaohan achieve Foundation Establishment and gave him Foundation Establishment Pills and a skullcap from Million Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Hua recalled the 360 moves of Heaven-Piercing Staff Techniques after examining the Prajna Heavy Sword and sent the sword embryo into his space.
• The skullcap sparked with lightning in Xiao Hua's space, joined with two white bones, and revealed green seal-script talismans and a rabbit-shaped formation in his memories.
• Xun Shu told Xiao Hua that the Thunder Control Sect disciples would gather soon to return to their sects after the Feathered Immortal Convention.
• Xiao Hua sensed Min Ge glaring at him and recalled that no Changbai Sect disciples had toasted him, making him wary of their intentions.

After Xiao Hua sensed danger on the journey home, Gen Qing twice changed Thunder Control Sect’s route to avoid a possible ambush. The disciples grew restless over the delays, while an unknown man in Mihuan waited in hiding for approaching cultivators.

• Xiao Hua advanced to the middle stage of the twelfth layer of Qi Cultivation after learning from disciples of other sects on the journey back to Xi Country.
• Xiao Hua warned Gen Qing that enemies might be waiting ahead, and Gen Qing ordered Gen Yue to divert the thunder boat.
• A man in Mihuan concealed himself on a plain, used a talisman to hide, and prepared for the arrival of two sword lights.
• After Xiao Hua felt the warning again, Gen Qing agreed to make a second detour despite seeing no danger with his divine sense.
• The Thunder Control Sect disciples grew anxious about the delay and sent Qian Hong to ask Xiao Hua what was happening.