Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua and the others arrived at a mountain range where Shanghua Sect forces were driving out Luolu Mountain cultivators. They learned that Shanghua Sect was seizing a spirit stone mine, and the flying boat party was left free to go after the fighting ended.

• Xiao Hua studied the jade slip Gen Qing had given him and practiced Soul Stab for several days before the flying boat stopped.
• Xiao Hua and his companions saw Shanghua Sect cultivators battling Luolu Mountain disciples near the Mo Ran Black Forest, where wood-attributed spiritual qi was unusually abundant.
• Shanghua Sect’s formation overwhelmed the Luolu Mountain forces, and Cultivator Ming arrived to confront Cultivator Kong.
• Cultivator Kong declared that the spirit stone mine in the Liao Ming Mountain Range belonged to Shanghua Sect, and Cultivator Ming led his disciples away.
• The Shanghua Sect disciples descended into the mountain range, and the cultivators blocking the flying boat departed without further interference.

Zhu Chenghe, Chen Yi, and the others discussed the Shanghua Sect’s seizure of a spirit stone mine as they traveled toward Mo Ran Black Forest. Chen Yi revealed a hidden path into the forest, and the group reached its entrance, where the path stopped at the boundary.

• Zhu Chenghe, Chen Yi, and Qiang Yuefeng speculated that other sects might also be seeking to seize spirit stone mines.
• As the group neared Mo Ran Black Forest, Chen Yi offered to reveal a hidden path in exchange for a larger share, and Zhu Chenghe agreed to give her half of his share.
• Chen Yi used a jade spoon to summon a tiny jade maiden that led the group toward the forest while Xiao Hua guarded against danger.
• Xiao Hua sensed the forest’s darkness slowing the flow of his true essence, though the black substances had little effect on him and gathered around the Earth Crystal Yao Ru in his meridians.
• Chen Yi stopped the jade maiden at the forest’s boundary and told Zhu Chenghe that they had reached the hidden path.

Xiao Hua and the others entered the Mo Ran Black Forest through a fragile hidden passage, protected from the Ink Sand by magic artifacts and Chen Yi’s feather gauze. As they traveled deeper, Zhu Chenghe began explaining that they had come seeking Sword Immortal remains and introduced Xiao Hua to the origins of sword cultivation.

• Zhu Chenghe, Xie Zhiqian, and the others used protective magic artifacts against the Ink Sand, while Chen Yi lent Xiao Hua a feather gauze garment.
• Chen Yi led the group into a winding hidden passage above the forest floor and warned them not to draw too much spiritual energy or destroy its fragile boundary.
• Xiao Hua used his Dharma Eye to see the faint passage through the Ink Sand as the group flew deeper into the forest.
• Qiang Yuefeng revealed that the group had come for Sword Immortal remains, and Zhu Chenghe agreed to explain the matter during their journey.
• Zhu Chenghe explained the distinction between sword cultivators and Daoist cultivators, including their reliance on flying swords.

Xiao Hua learned from Zhu Chenghe and Chen Yi about True Person Mingjian’s victories over Huanguo’s sword cultivators and the secret duel he arranged with Li Xiubai. The account ended after Mingjian’s Nascent Soul projection reported that the duel was over without revealing its result, and his Life Spirit Tablet shattered.

• Zhu Chenghe explained that True Person Mingjian of the Changbai Sect had defeated Huanguo sword cultivators in nine consecutive battles.
• Chen Yi and Zhu Chenghe recounted how Li Xiubai cultivated nine Spirit Swords and challenged Mingjian after returning from Million Meng Mountain.
• Mingjian welcomed Li Xiubai to the Changbai Sect, and the two disappeared after announcing they would duel in secret.
• Mingjian’s disciple received a message from his secret communication array after Mingjian’s Life Spirit Tablet shattered.
• Mingjian’s Nascent Soul projection told the Changbai Sect master and a Yanzhu Sword Sect elder that the duel had ended, but revealed nothing about its result.

Zhu Chenghe explained that the cultivators were seeking the remains and ten flying swords of True Person Mingjian and Li Xiubai in Mo Ran Black Forest, and revealed that he needed help investigating a strange place where Sky Yin Grass might grow. When a pursued cultivator drew two Mo Ran toward them, the group left their hiding place and prepared to face the beasts.

• Zhu Chenghe, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian told Xiao Hua how True Person Mingjian and Li Xiubai had died together and how the search for their swords had led cultivators to Mo Ran Black Forest.
• Zhu Chenghe explained that he and the others sought the ten flying swords, the two seniors’ remains, and their storage bags, and said Sky Yin Grass might be found at their destination.
• A distant cultivator’s divine sense swept over the group, and Zhu Chenghe realized the cultivator was luring Mo Ran toward them.
• Chen Yi urged the group to leave the hidden path, and Zhu Chenghe led them out into the forest, where its crushing force weighed Xiao Hua down.
• The group hid among the black trees as a pale-green-robed cultivator fled past, pursued by two enormous Mo Ran.
• One Mo Ran unleashed a mass of swirling black qi at the fleeing cultivator, and Xiao Hua sensed that the attack drew in the forest’s strange black matter.

Zhu Chenghe, Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian fought two Ink Sand Pythons in the black forest after one fleeing cultivator diverted an attack toward Zhu Chenghe. The pythons’ venom damaged Xie Zhiqian’s flying sword, and the beasts began to flee.

• A fleeing cultivator used his lotus-shaped treasure to block an Ink Sand Python’s attack, then redirected the air mass toward Zhu Chenghe.
• Zhu Chenghe’s golden sword light held back the air mass, and Chen Yi’s flower-petal swords pierced it before it burst into black spheres.
• Zhu Chenghe urged Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian to fight the two Ink Sand Pythons together; the fleeing cultivator escaped while smashing the scattered spheres with wooden staff shadows.
• Chen Yi attacked one python with flower-shaped sword light, while Qiang Yuefeng swung his enormous sword at it and Xie Zhiqian sent his flying sword toward the other python’s eye.
• The pythons counterattacked with black air and venom; the venom corroded Xie Zhiqian’s flying sword, and Zhu Chenghe used two balls of light to shield him.
• After their attacks failed against the four cultivators, the Ink Sand Pythons flapped their wings and began to flee.

Chen Yi and the others failed to capture the Ink Serpents, then fled as a rare Ink Storm swept through the Mo Ran Black Forest. Xiao Hua took a different route and fought off the short, fat Golden Core cultivator who had lured the serpents over, leaving the man reeling from a sudden attack on his mind.

• Chen Yi trapped the Ink Serpents with her pink veil, but they escaped into the ground using Earth Evasion.
• Zhu Chenghe warned that an Ink Storm was approaching and gave Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, Xie Zhiqian, and Xiao Hua jade slips before they fled.
• Xiao Hua saw the Ink Storm swallow cultivators and beasts, then chose a separate route to avoid revealing his full speed.
• The short, fat Golden Core cultivator demanded Xiao Hua's storage pouch and attacked him when Xiao Hua refused.
• Xiao Hua evaded the cultivator's Great Restraint Technique with protective radiance and Earth Condensation Technique, then struck the man with a painful attack on his mind.

Xiao Hua stole a mysterious Witch Puppet from a Golden Core cultivator and escaped as the Ink Storm killed his pursuer. Realizing he had flown deeper into the Mo Ran Black Forest, he found that the Mo Ran were sheltering underground and decided to use the storm as cover to venture farther in.

• Xiao Hua grabbed the green Witch Puppet and the cultivator’s storage bags before fleeing.
• The Ink Storm overwhelmed the cultivator, and a black log struck him dead after his magical power failed.
• Xiao Hua realized he had veered toward the center of the Mo Ran Black Forest and could not outrun the storm.
• Xiao Hua used Buddhist consciousness to find the Mo Ran curled beneath the ground, sheltered from the Ink Storm.
• Xiao Hua burrowed underground, then decided to venture deeper into the forest while its dangerous creatures remained hidden.

Xiao Hua escaped the Ink Storm by hiding underground behind the Rabbit Formation, where he examined the treasures taken from a cultivator swallowed by the storm. He discovered Green Seal writing on giant bones and learned the Witch Puppet's limitations, then wondered whether his Prajna Heavy Sword counted as a magical artifact within the Five Elements.

• Xiao Hua flew ahead of the Ink Storm, then burrowed deep underground and activated the Rabbit Formation to shield himself from the falling Ink Sand.
• Xiao Hua inspected the Witch Puppet and the cultivator's storage bags, finding damaged artifacts, jade slips, and two enormous bones but no spirit stones or medicines.
• Xiao Hua burned the bones with Samadhi True Fire, revealing Green Seal characters that entered his mind before the bones joined the giant skeleton in his space.
• Xiao Hua observed that the thunder beast cub was still alive and that the poisoned Youth-Preserving Grass was recovering inside his space.
• Xiao Hua studied the Witch Puppet inheritance and learned it could only protect its refiner from a killing blow within certain limits.
• Xiao Hua considered the inheritance's distinction between magical artifacts within and outside the Five Elements and suspected his Prajna Heavy Sword fit the former category.

Xiao Hua searched the Ghost Cultivator's legacy for a way to refine the Prajna Heavy Sword and discovered the legendary Five Elements As-You-Wish Heaven-Piercing Staff, though the legacy offered no instructions for making one. He successfully refined the Witch Puppet and, with the Ink Storm still raging outside, turned to cultivating the Soul Thorn.

• Xiao Hua learned that the Prajna Heavy Sword could not be refined by ordinary means and found no method for forging it in the Ghost Cultivator's legacy.
• Xiao Hua discovered the Five Elements As-You-Wish Heaven-Piercing Staff in the legacy but realized it could not tell him how to refine one.
• Xiao Hua used his Dharma Eye and soul silk to study the Witch Puppet's green seal script, then refined it with his essence blood.
• Xiao Hua hung the smiling Witch Puppet around his neck after confirming it could still be used.
• Xiao Hua observed that the Ink Storm had not subsided and began comprehending the Ghost Cultivator's Soul Thorn.

Xiao Hua exploited Ink Sand to accelerate his cultivation, captured Ink Serpents, and gathered more than a thousand corpses before an early Nascent Soul cultivator pursued him. He fled through the earth toward the raging Ink Storm, hoping to escape before his pursuer caught him.

• Xiao Hua discovered that Ink Sand corroded the Earth Crystal Yao Ru into spiritual energy and increased his cultivation speed by more than threefold.
• After the Ink Storm subsided, Xiao Hua captured two Ink Serpents with Earth Condensing Techniques and continued refining the Earth Crystal Yao Ru underground.
• Xiao Hua collected over a thousand Ink Serpent corpses near the surface before an early Nascent Soul cultivator detected him and gave chase.
• Xiao Hua altered his appearance with the Stealing Heaven and Changing the Sun technique and evaded underground as the Nascent Soul cultivator attacked with spells and streaks of radiance.
• Xiao Hua reached the dense Ink Sand beneath the raging storm and continued fleeing toward the surface while the Nascent Soul cultivator pursued him.

Xiao Hua was trapped by a Nascent Soul cultivator’s spell, but Giant Ink Pythons attacked and gave him a chance to escape. The cultivator continued pursuing him, and Xiao Hua finally damaged the cultivator’s magic treasure with his spirit fire before the cultivator conjured a giant hand to seize him.

• The Nascent Soul cultivator restrained Xiao Hua with a rope-like spell and dismissed him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• A Giant Ink Python attacked the Nascent Soul cultivator, and more than a dozen others emerged from underground to join the fight.
• Xiao Hua broke free as the Ink Sand corroded the restraint and fled toward the ground, while the pythons repeatedly interrupted the cultivator’s pursuit.
• The Nascent Soul cultivator struck at Xiao Hua with his magic treasure and pressure, but Xiao Hua’s Soul Sting made him pause, and Xiao Hua escaped farther.
• Xiao Hua used a speck of scarlet spirit fire to burn the rope-like magic treasure nearly beyond repair.
• Enraged, the Nascent Soul cultivator summoned a giant hand and reached down to seize Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua escaped a Nascent Soul cultivator by plunging into the Ink Storm, then hid inside a blackwood tree and found a way to refine spiritual energy despite Ink Sand clogging his meridians. He stabilized his Wood Escape Technique and began examining how the Ink Sand had affected his body.

• A Nascent Soul cultivator trapped Xiao Hua with a giant hand, but Xiao Hua broke free and charged into the Ink Storm as the cultivator withdrew to fend off Giant Ink Pythons.
• The Ink Storm filled Xiao Hua’s meridians and dantian with Ink Sand, leaving him unable to circulate his magic power.
• Xiao Hua realized the blackwood could withstand the storm and used the Wood Escape Technique to enter it.
• Inside the blackwood, Xiao Hua found that Ink Sand blocked spiritual energy, but Earth Crystal Yao Ru helped generate earth-attributed spiritual energy that he refined into true yuan.
• Xiao Hua replenished the power sustaining his Wood Escape Technique and discovered that Ink Sand had gathered differently in his blood vessels, physical body, and Dharma body.

Xiao Hua struggled to refine the vast spiritual Qi released as Ink Sand corroded his Earth Crystal Yao Ru, and the ordeal transformed his lower dantian. He then sensed that his middle dantian was imprisoned, leaving the cause of the restriction unknown.

• Xiao Hua sent his Phoenix Dharma Body onto the blackwood canopy, where it absorbed Ink Sand around its void points and became more resistant.
• Xiao Hua realized Ink Sand was releasing spiritual Qi from the Earth Crystal Yao Ru faster than he could refine it, threatening to burst his meridians and Dantian.
• Xiao Hua used the Dragon Transformation Art and Earth Evolution cultivation art to refine the spiritual Qi, but discovered that Ink Sand destroyed true essence and made even more Qi gather.
• Xiao Hua poured true essence into his lower dantian until its Ink Sand vanished, causing a new void point to form and his true essence to become denser.
• Xiao Hua sensed his Dragon Transformation Art change and realized that something massive seemed to pin down the dragon head in his middle dantian.

Xiao Hua realized that his sealed middle dantian and Niwan Palace hinted at a powerful forgotten past, but his expanded meridians were on the verge of bursting. He used the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart to burn away his True Essence and refine the Ink Sand, leaving him with his Dharma Body recalled and the Ink Sand cleared.

• Xiao Hua suspected that he had once possessed a cultivation method and power unlike those of Xiaoyu Continent, and vowed to recover his memories and seek revenge on his unknown enemies.
• With his meridians nearing their limit, Xiao Hua recalled the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart and used it to consume his True Essence, enduring severe pain as the Niwan Palace seal reacted.
• Over more than a hundred days, Xiao Hua repeatedly activated the technique while refining the Earth Crystal Yao Ru and struggling to contain the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
• As the Ink Storm weakened, Xiao Hua worried that Ink Sand had trapped his Phoenix Dharma Body, then recalled it safely into his body.
• Xiao Hua used the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart several more times and completely cleared away the Ink Sand.

Xiao Hua activated the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart and survived the Ink Sand, advancing to the mid Foundation Establishment stage. The resulting fluctuations alerted two distant cultivators, while Xiao Hua continued to stabilize his cultivation deep in the Mo Ran Black Forest.

• Xiao Hua's activation of the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart sent faint fluctuations from the seal in two directions, reaching a white-haired old man and a dignified middle-aged cultivator in their secluded cave residences.
• The two cultivators tried to investigate the fluctuations but could not see their source, then separately considered how to look into the matter without breaking their heart oaths or alerting one another.
• After the last Ink Sand became Earth-attributed spiritual energy, Xiao Hua completed his technique and discovered that he had advanced to the mid Foundation Establishment stage.
• Xiao Hua reflected on the accumulated effort and dangerous conditions that had enabled his rapid progress, then resumed cultivating to stabilize his realm.
• Several strange spirit beasts swept across a barren area deep within the Mo Ran Black Forest.

Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian watched Golden Silk Armored Canopies devour a Mo Ran, then found Xiao Hua alive and approaching them in the Mo Ran Black Forest. The group faced the question of whether to share the corpse with Xiao Hua.

• Golden Silk Armored Canopies attacked and killed a Mo Ran, devouring its brain before flying away.
• Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian emerged from hiding and discussed waiting for Zhu Chenghe and claiming the Mo Ran corpse.
• Chen Yi sent Xie Zhiqian to retrieve the corpse, but he stopped when the others spotted Xiao Hua approaching.
• Xiao Hua greeted the group and began to explain how he had survived, but Chen Yi cut him off.
• Xie Zhiqian brought out the Mo Ran corpse, and Chen Yi hesitated when he asked how its shares should be divided among the four.

Xiao Hua reunited with Chen Yi, Xie Zhiqian, and Qiang Yuefeng, and learned that they were seeking the sword spirit of Nine Stars Over the Sun while Zhu Chenghe remained missing. Zhu Chenghe finally arrived, but a swarm of golden-thread armored centipedes appeared, and the group hid with Invisibility Talismans.

• Xiao Hua declined a share of the ink serpent, asking only for a piece of its hide, and Xie Zhiqian divided the remains among the three seniors.
• Xiao Hua asked about Zhu Chenghe, and Xie Zhiqian said they had been separated before the Ink Storm and had not seen him for several days.
• Qiang Yuefeng questioned Zhu Chenghe's disappearance and suspected he might have found the sword spirit of Nine Stars Over the Sun on his own.
• Chen Yi suggested Zhu Chenghe might have found a way to the hidden duel site, while Xiao Hua questioned why he would have needed their help if so.
• Zhu Chenghe arrived and mysteriously asked where the others thought he had gone.
• The group spotted more than a dozen golden-thread armored centipedes approaching the ink serpent's remains and used Invisibility Talismans to conceal themselves.

Zhu Chenghe led Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, Xie Zhiqian, and Xiao Hua to a valley where spiritual power and divine sense were sealed, claiming it held clues to the duel between Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian. He showed them a damaged Sword Pellet and proposed that the two masters had fought there using only swordsmanship.

• Golden Silk Armadillos detected Chen Yi’s hidden scent and pursued the group, forcing Zhu Chenghe and the others to flee with Xiao Hua close behind.
• Zhu Chenghe led the group to a secluded valley where their spiritual power would be sealed, and Xiao Hua collapsed before reaching the others.
• Qiang Yuefeng suggested that the Golden Silk Armadillos tracked Chen Yi by the fragrance of spiritual herbs on her, which Chen Yi admitted she had failed to erase completely.
• Zhu Chenghe revealed that he had remained inside the Mo Ran Black Forest during the Ink Storm and gave Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian three Ink Storm corpses each.
• At the valley, Zhu Chenghe showed the group a badly damaged Sword Pellet and explained that he believed Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian had dueled there without spiritual power, divine sense, or flying swords.

Zhu Chenghe explained why the group should enter the black mist to search for Changbai Sect Sword Pellets and Sky Yin Grass, then shared details about the dangers within. As sunlight briefly pushed the mist aside, he urged everyone to enter before the opening closed.

• Zhu Chenghe explained his evidence that unusual Changbai Sect Sword Pellets and Sky Yin Grass might lie beneath the black mist.
• Xiao Hua recalled Gen Qing's message and wondered how to find the Sky Yin Grass and an object that could not be controlled by divine sense.
• Zhu Chenghe gave Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xiao Hua jade slips describing the dangers and conditions inside.
• Zhu Chenghe warned Xiao Hua that the expedition was dangerous, but Xiao Hua decided to go down with the others.
• A gale and a shaft of sunlight made the black mist churn and part, revealing a valley below.
• Zhu Chenghe ordered the group to enter quickly while the mist remained open.