Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua completed the first level of Lightning Escape Technique and began practicing Awakening Thunder Evasion as he traveled. At Qingleng Mountain, Xiao Mao endured Yuan Zhiming’s harsh instruction, learned a method that accelerated his cultivation, and was ordered to keep training in the cold rain.

• Xiao Hua discovered that he had mastered Zhe Lei Evasion and began practicing Awakening Thunder Evasion while traveling.
• Yuan Zhiming tested Xiao Mao by making him kneel in freezing wind and rain, then taught him a cultivation mnemonic that more than doubled his usual progress.
• Yuan Zhiming learned that Xiao Mao had risen from the fourth to the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation through the Yaomiao Plan and asked him to recount his experience in Cold Ice Cave.
• Xiao Mao described what had happened but withheld the details of how he circulated his cultivation technique.
• Yuan Zhiming told Xiao Mao to remain at Qingleng Mountain and said he wanted to guide him toward Golden Core, then left him to endure the cold and cultivate.

Qu Jianchong and Yang Ming returned from Snowy Mountain Range to warn Xuanjian Sect that disciples had been disappearing near Million Meng Mountain, with similar incidents affecting other sects. Sect Master Ouyang Mingxiu and Vice Sect Master Zhang Yanzong discussed the threat as a new emerald sword light arrived in the hall.

• Qu Jianchong and Yang Ming entered Xuanjian Spirit Palace and reported to Sect Master Ouyang Mingxiu.
• Qu Jianchong reported that Xuanjian Sect disciples had vanished during patrols near Million Meng Mountain, prompting the sect to change its patrols.
• Yang Ming reported similar disappearances among nearby sword sects, while Qu Jianchong added that Qushan Sect's spirit beasts had shown abnormalities.
• Ouyang Mingxiu and Zhang Yanzong suspected a probe from Million Meng Mountain and agreed to send more people while remaining cautious.
• An emerald sword light flew into the palace and descended before Zhang Yanzong.

Zhang Yanzong learned that Zhang Yutong and Zhang Yuhe were in danger in the Three Cultivation Kingdoms after seeking Mysterious Yin Spirit Grass for the Great Yin Yang Six Harmonies Sword Spirit. Ouyang Mingxiu sent Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao to investigate and find the two women.

• Zhang Yanzong received Zhang Yuhe’s flying sword letter and tried to rush to her and Zhang Yutong’s aid, but Ouyang Mingxiu stopped him because the journey would take too long.
• Zhang Yanzong explained that Zhang Yuhe and Zhang Yutong had gone to seek Mysterious Yin Spirit Grass to cultivate the Great Yin Yang Six Harmonies Sword Spirit.
• Ouyang Mingxiu concluded that the women were likely near the Mysterious Yin Illusion Realm and condemned the Dao Sect disciple who had endangered them.
• Ouyang Mingxiu summoned Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao, who examined the letter and judged that the women had likely been trapped in a formation.
• Ouyang Mingxiu gave Duan Yuming the Sect Master Token and ordered him and Wang Xuyyao to go to the Taiqing Sect in Meng Kingdom or search near the Mysterious Yin Illusion Realm.

Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao set out to find Yuhe and Yutong, while Xuanjian Sect learned that a missing disciple had been driven mad by a Soul Searching Technique. Fairy Hongxia endured her Master's punishment and confessed her feelings for Xiao Hua, then asked whether her Master meant Shang Hua Ming.

• Ouyang Mingxiu gave Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao the Sect Master Token and an image to help them find Yuhe and Yutong, and they departed for the Taiqing Sect.
• Tang Hao reported that he had found a missing disciple in the Snowy Mountain Range, but the boy had lost his mind after someone used a Soul Searching Technique on him.
• Fairy Hongxia's Master punished her for removing the Essence Nourishing Talisman and confronting a fellow Huanhua Sect disciple at the Feathered Immortal Convention.
• Fairy Hongxia told her Master that Xiao Hua had been someone she knew before and explained why she did not regret helping him at the convention.
• Fairy Hongxia confessed that she believed Xiao Hua was the one she had been waiting for in this life, and her Master asked whether she knew about Shang Hua Ming.

Cai Qin confronted Fairy Hongxia over her defiance and heard the Huanhua Sect’s decree that she marry Yun Zichong or enter Cold Ice Valley for twenty years. Fairy Hongxia rejected the marriage and chose to enter the valley, while Yun Zichong suspected Xiao Hua was the reason.

• Cai Qin punished Fairy Hongxia and admonished her for choosing affection over cultivation.
• Jiang Lihan arrived with Yun Zichong and conveyed the sect leader’s decree concerning Fairy Hongxia’s conduct at the Feathered Immortal Convention.
• Jiang Lihan announced that Fairy Hongxia would enter Cold Ice Valley for twenty years, but the sect leader also ordered her to become Yun Zichong’s cultivation partner.
• Yun Zichong said he admired Fairy Hongxia and welcomed the sect leader’s arrangement, while Cai Qin considered whether the match could spare her disciple from punishment.
• Fairy Hongxia refused to become Yun Zichong’s partner and declared that she would enter Cold Ice Valley the next day.
• Yun Zichong was shocked by her refusal and suspected that Xiao Hua was behind it.

Fairy Hongxia refused Cai Qin’s attempt to dissuade her from entering Hanfeng Valley, so Cai Qin gave her the Cai Family’s Ice Phoenix Cultivation Method as a possible means of survival. Elsewhere, Zhang Qingxiao revealed how Zhang Yutong’s disappearance could provoke conflict between sword cultivators and Daoist sects.

• Fairy Hongxia rejected Cai Qin’s advice to accept Yun Zichong and reaffirmed that she would enter Hanfeng Valley for Xiao Hua’s sake.
• After Fairy Hongxia knelt outside her cave for two days, Cai Qin gave her the incomplete Ice Phoenix Cultivation Method and explained that it might awaken the Cai Family bloodline, though failure meant death.
• Cai Qin set restrictions around Fairy Hongxia and left her to study the inherited cultivation method.
• Zhang Yutong questioned Zhang Qingxiao about her abduction, and he admitted that her disappearance could help stir conflict between sword cultivators and Daoist sects.
• Zhang Qingxiao explained that Zhang Yutong’s twin sister and the Changbai Sect or Taiqing Sect might react to her disappearance and draw the sword cultivators into the conflict.

Zhang Yutong was held captive by Zhang Qingxiao, who argued that the Heavenly Demon Sect would grow by giving cultivators access to techniques and a way to achieve Foundation Establishment. After months of confinement, she tried to escape, but Zhang Qingxiao stopped her, and she attempted to persuade him to join Xuanjian Sect.

• Zhang Qingxiao told Zhang Yutong that the Heavenly Demon Sect would prosper by offering techniques, pills, and a way to achieve Foundation Establishment to cultivators rejected by other sects.
• Zhang Qingxiao disappeared after warning Zhang Yutong that she might survive if his plan succeeded, while she worried about Zhang Yuhe and Xuanjian Sect being drawn into his scheme.
• Zhang Yutong cultivated in confinement for over half a year but could not break Zhang Qingxiao's restraint.
• Zhang Yutong left her room and tried to flee the village, but Zhang Qingxiao called to her from a locust tree and warned her not to leave.
• Zhang Yutong asked why Zhang Qingxiao had joined the Demonic Path and offered to introduce him to Xuanjian Sect, prompting him to laugh as she challenged his disbelief.

Zhang Qingxiao told Zhang Yutong that he had joined the Heavenly Demon Sect to avenge his family against two Nascent Soul cultivators, then worried over Zhang Yuhe’s disappearance and suspected Xiao Hua of having hidden secrets. At the Taiqing Sect, Deming and Renzhu discussed the missing sword cultivators and the Feathered Immortal Convention’s unexpected events before Renzhu revealed an image of Xiao Hua fighting He Fangyuan.

• Zhang Qingxiao refused Zhang Yutong’s offer to join the Xuanjian Sect, explaining that his enemies were two Nascent Soul cultivators and that only the Heavenly Demon Sect’s sect master would help him.
• After Zhang Yutong left, Zhang Qingxiao wondered where Zhang Yuhe was and suspected that Xiao Hua’s rapid cultivation and Shang Hua Ming’s destruction might be connected to him.
• Deming and Renzhu discussed the Xuanjian Sect’s investigation and concluded that the Taiqing Sect had fulfilled its duties while the Changbai Sect bore the pressure over Liu Weigang’s disappearance.
• Renzhu reminded Deming that Xiao Hua had taken the sword embryo, then showed him an image of Xiao Hua fighting He Fangyuan.

Deming and Renzhu discussed Xiao Hua’s apparent ability to help Foundation Establishment cultivators advance and decided to keep watching him. Five years later, as Wu Nai prepared Xiao Hua for a Foundation Establishment trial, Xiao Hua discovered that a command token was an incomplete Great Universe Shifting Token.

• Deming and Renzhu reviewed Xiao Hua’s fights and learned that he had failed Foundation Establishment himself, but they agreed to keep his apparent ability to help others secret and monitor him.
• Several years passed as the search for the vanished sword cultivators continued without success and the Changbai Sect grew indifferent to Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao.
• Wu Nai learned that Wang Yunxiao had established his foundation and complained about Xiao Hua, then received Gen Qing’s request to summon him.
• Wu Nai sent Xiangyang to find Xiao Hua in the Library Pavilion and tell him to prepare for the five-year Foundation Establishment trial; Yan Qinglian gave Xiangyang Invisibility Talismans for him.
• Xiao Hua, after spending five years reading records in the Dry Thunder Palace Library Pavilion, deduced that a command token was an incomplete Great Universe Shifting Token.

Xiao Hua reached the late fifteenth layer of Qi Cultivation and used his essence blood to nurture a repaired Sword Pellet into a flying sword. After Little Yellow devoured a hostile phantom expelled by the pellet, Xiao Hua gained control of the sword, though its unusual sensations left him suspecting it carried karmic hindrance; a sudden wave of bewilderment then appeared before him.

• Xiao Hua advanced to the late stage of the fifteenth layer of Qi Cultivation while concealing his true realm as an ordinary late-twelfth-layer disciple.
• Xiao Hua inspected the repaired Sword Pellet and found its runes sluggish, with no sign of a living sword spirit.
• Xiao Hua used his essence blood to nurture the Sword Pellet, but the pellet expelled foul blood containing a hostile phantom.
• Little Yellow sucked the phantom out of the blood and swallowed it, allowing Xiao Hua to burn away the remaining blood filth.
• The Sword Pellet transformed into an azure-and-red flying sword that Xiao Hua could control, and he sensed both sharpness and a wariness he suspected came from karmic hindrance.
• Xiao Hua tested the sword, lamented that he lacked a sword-control technique, and then saw a wave of bewilderment appear before him.

Xiao Hua mastered the first level of Sword Manifests the World and named his flying sword Slaying Dreams before Xiangyang summoned him to meet Gen Qing. Gen Qing said he had remembered a way to repay Xiao Hua for his help at the Feathered Immortal Convention, leaving the details undisclosed.

• Xiao Hua learned Sword Manifests the World, used it to split his flying sword into eight sword lights, and named the sword Slaying Dreams.
• A message summoned Xiao Hua from the Library Pavilion, and Xiangyang told him that Gen Qing wanted to see him.
• Xiangyang urged Xiao Hua to seek experience to help establish his foundation and gave him Invisibility Talismans refined by his sister-in-law.
• Xiangyang told Xiao Hua that Wang Yunxiao had established his foundation and that their Master had been troubled by recent events.
• Gen Qing told Xiao Hua he had called him to repay the favor Xiao Hua had done him at the Feathered Immortal Convention.

Gen Qing repaid Xiao Hua with a jade slip containing the origins of a mysterious material, magical-treasure formulas, and insights into Foundation Establishment. As Xiao Hua studied the insights on his way back, an intense sense of danger suddenly overtook him.

• Gen Qing gave Xiao Hua a jade slip with information about a mysterious material and his private cultivation insights, including methods for refining and using magical treasures and guidance on breaking through Foundation Establishment.
• Gen Qing advised Xiao Hua to cultivate patiently and consider immortal affinity, while Xiangyang remained silent about the jade slip.
• Xiao Hua declined to visit Wu Nai and said he planned to travel; after receiving a message, he told Xiangyang that Xun Shu had invited him to seek Foundation Establishment opportunities together.
• Xiangyang encouraged Xiao Hua to travel with Xun Shu and flew off, then was shocked to see Xiao Hua use Awakening Thunder Evasion.
• Xiao Hua read Gen Qing's Foundation Establishment insights while flying toward East Ridge Medicine Garden, but a sudden, intense sense of danger interrupted him.

Xiao Hua was ambushed by Zhen Hao and Zhen Mie of Yan Lei Ridge, who used their Foundation Establishment pressure to pin him down. He broke free with the Great Vajra Dharma Body and used the Town Cloud Seal against their Hundred Layer Cloud Barrier, leaving their clash unresolved.

• Xiao Hua spotted Zhen Hao hiding nearby, but Zhen Hao and Zhen Mie revealed themselves and used their Foundation Establishment pressure to restrain him.
• Zhen Mie sent a flying sword talisman at Xiao Hua, who caught and crushed it with his pale golden Great Vajra Dharma Body.
• Zhen Hao attacked with the Four Symbols Wheel, but Xiao Hua's Dharma Body knocked it away and suffered damage in the exchange.
• Xiao Hua summoned the Town Cloud Seal, while Zhen Mie activated the Hundred Layer Cloud Barrier and blocked the seal with a cloud.
• Xiao Hua drew on his magic power to strengthen the Town Cloud Seal and drain the surrounding spiritual energy as Zhen Mie tried to reinforce the barrier.

Xiao Hua defeated Zhen Hao and Zhen Mie in a fierce fight, killing both Foundation Establishment cultivators despite their magic treasures. After recovering from the exertion, he collected their belongings and discovered a formation set in the ravine before flying toward East Ridge.

• Zhen Hao's Four Symbols Wheel was knocked away by Xiao Hua's Town Cloud Seal, while Zhen Mie's spear-shaped magical artifact was repelled by Xiao Hua's Great Vajra Dharma Body.
• Zhen Hao's Moyun Armor stopped the Town Cloud Seal, but Xiao Hua used Awakening Thunder Evasion to close in and killed him with a cyan-and-red sword light.
• Xiao Hua hurled the Town Cloud Seal at Zhen Mie, broke through his Hundred Layer Cloud Barrier, and knocked him down.
• Xiao Hua recovered his strength, collected Zhen Mie and Zhen Hao's storage pouches and magic treasures, and destroyed their corpses with Samadhi True Fire.
• Xiao Hua found and collected formation flags and a formation plate hidden in the ravine, then flew toward East Ridge.
• A Golden Core cultivator appeared outside a secluded hall in Zhen Thunder Palace and wondered which disciple training outside had died.

After killing Zhen Mie and Zhen Hao, Xiao Hua studied their manuals and information about the Buddhist Sect ruins while continuing his cultivation at East Ridge Medicine Garden. When Xun Shu finally summoned him to meet at Qiong Lei Peak for the Foundation Establishment trial, Xiao Hua replied, prepared to see his master, and left East Ridge.

• Xiao Hua returned to East Ridge, stored the spoils from Zhen Mie and Zhen Hao, and burned their remaining belongings.
• Xiao Hua discovered that Zhen Xie's jade slips contained detailed information about the Buddhist Sect ruins and studied artifact forging while tempering the Fire Marrow Blazing Crystal.
• Xiao Hua advanced to the early sixteenth layer of Qi Cultivation and investigated the increasingly violent fire-aspected spiritual qi at East Ridge, but found no cause.
• Xiao Hua received messages from Xue Xue and Xun Shu, reassured Xue Xue, and learned that he was to meet Xun Shu at Qiong Lei Peak in three days.
• Xiao Hua sealed East Ridge Medicine Garden and flew to Myriad Thunder Valley to bid farewell to his master.

As Xiao Hua waited for Xun Shu at Qiong Lei Peak, Zhen Yihong confronted him about two missing Yan Lei Ridge disciples and attacked him. Wu Nai arrived in time to suppress Zhen Yihong, who claimed he had only meant to test and advise Xiao Hua.

• Xiao Hua recalled his failed Foundation Establishment attempt and waited for Xun Shu while other disciples mocked or pitied him.
• Zhen Yihong approached Xiao Hua and demanded to know whether he had seen the missing Zhen Hao and Zhen Mie.
• Zhen Yihong released his pressure and prepared to attack Xiao Hua, who considered revealing his Great Vajra Dharma Body to survive.
• Xun Shu arrived as Wu Nai swept in with his late Foundation Establishment pressure and pinned Zhen Yihong to the mountain path.
• Wu Nai condemned Zhen Yihong for bullying a weaker disciple, and Zhen Yihong claimed he had only been testing and advising Xiao Hua.

Wu Nai stopped Zhen Yihong from harming Xiao Hua and the nearby disciples, then warned Xiao Hua to establish his foundation before returning from his coming journey. Xun Shu revealed that Qian Diheng and Kun Feiyan would join their expedition, and Xiao Hua was left facing their request not to withdraw.

• Wu Nai pressured Zhen Yihong until he activated a magical artifact, then seized it and severed his control, injuring Zhen Yihong before returning the artifact.
• Zhen Yihong put away the artifact and left for Qiong Lei Peak after glaring at Xiao Hua.
• Wu Nai warned Xiao Hua that he must establish his foundation during his upcoming experience or not come back, then left without another glance at him.
• Wu Nai gave Xun Shu a storage bag and told her to be careful on the road as she, Qian Diheng, and Kun Feiyan greeted him.
• Xun Shu told Xiao Hua that Qian Diheng and Kun Feiyan would join the trip, and Qian Diheng urged him not to back out.

Xiao Hua traveled with Xun Shu, Qian Diheng, and Kun Feiyan toward Mingxi, a dangerous land where they hoped to find a path to lightning evasion. Meanwhile, Zhen Weisheng blamed Wu Nai for the deaths of Zhen Hao and Zhen Mie and sent Zhen Ping out to pursue Xiao Hua; the group camped separately for the night.

• Xiao Hua learned that Xun Shu, Qian Diheng, and Kun Feiyan had only a vague direction for Mingxi, so he agreed to accompany them while planning to refine his flames and prepare for Foundation Establishment.
• Zhen Weisheng and Zhen Yihong suspected Wu Nai had ambushed Zhen Hao and Zhen Mie, and Zhen Weisheng urged Zhen Ping to register for training and pursue Xiao Hua.
• Xun Shu told Xiao Hua that their group needed to change direction, and Qian Diheng asked why a Yan Lei Ridge Martial Uncle had confronted him.
• Xiao Hua and Qian Diheng joked about the confrontation as the group continued toward Mingxi.
• Xun Shu and Kun Feiyan accepted Xiao Hua's suggestion to stop for the night, and Xiao Hua carved out a separate cave near the others.

Xiao Hua concealed himself in a cave protected by his unusual rabbit-shaped defensive array while he and his companions waited out a storm. The thunderstorm trapped the group in the mountains, leaving them unable to continue toward Mingxi.

• Xiao Hua hid his cave with his array and cultivated alone, while Qian Diheng, Xun Shu, and Kun Feiyan made their own preparations nearby.
• After the storm began, Xiao Hua emerged and suggested the group wait until the rain stopped before setting out.
• Qian Diheng insisted on seeing Xiao Hua's array, and Xiao Hua showed the others his spirit talismans while concealing how he had obtained them.
• Kun Feiyan mentioned that powerful cultivators could form arrays with jade talismans, prompting Xiao Hua to wonder whether he could use them to refine his own talismans.
• Xun Shu found that the thunderstorm restricted divine sense, and the group realized the violent lightning made it too dangerous to fly away.
• The four stayed in Xiao Hua's cave, where Xiao Hua studied a jade slip on artifact refinement.

Xiao Hua protected the group from the mudslide with a formation, while a mysterious little bottle emerged from a rift in the sky and drew the attention of powerful cultivators. After a terrifying pressure passed, Xun Shu discovered signs that her true qi was approaching Foundation Establishment.

• Xiao Hua placed talismans around the cave and set up a formation that blocked divine sense.
• A torrent of mud buried the cave, leaving Xiao Hua and the others protected beneath it.
• A rift opened in the sky, and a little bottle flew west as the Thunder Control Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators sensed the disturbance.
• A divine projection searched the area, spotted the four Qi Refining cultivators, then flew southwest before summoning them.
• Xiao Hua and the others recovered from the pressure, and Xun Shu announced that her true qi showed signs of Foundation Establishment.