Chapter Summaries

Ding Hэpu told Chen Heng that Zhang Taichu could support him and passed along gifts from Qiao Rui, including the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring and the Luo Dark Water cultivation method. Chen Heng asked Ding Hэpu for guidance on reaching the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, and Ding Hэpu arranged to teach him the next morning.

• Chen Heng learned that Ding Hэpu was recruiting him as a retainer for Zhang Taichu, who had once studied under Ding Hэpu's master.
• Ding Hэpu gave Chen Heng a wooden box from Qiao Rui's aunt, containing the unused Deep Void Demon-Subduing Sword Talisman and the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring.
• The Five-Qi Cosmic Ring's artifact spirit appeared, introduced himself, and urged Chen Heng to cultivate so they could make the ring's name famous again.
• Chen Heng received the Luo Dark Water cultivation method from a jade tally, which Qiao Rui had persuaded her aunt to include.
• Chen Heng asked Ding Hэpu to teach him how to attain the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, Body and Sword as One, and Ding Hэpu told him to return the next morning.

Ding Hэpu sent Chen Heng into the Nine-Orifice Treasure Pearl to fight endless Fire Baleful Intent spirits using only his sword, hoping to force a breakthrough in his Sword Dao. Ten days later, Ding Hэpu sensed something inside the pearl and realized his improvised sword-training advice might actually have worked.

• Ding Hэpu gave Chen Heng the Bu Qingdu True Register and sent him into the Nine-Orifice Treasure Pearl, where Chen Heng could rely only on swordsmanship.
• Chen Heng fought swarms of Fire Baleful Intent spirits, whose attacks wounded him and whose bodies split apart rather than dying.
• Ding Hэpu removed the restrictions on the Five-Direction Spirit-Suppressing Talisman and Lunar Wheel Mirror while hosting a banquet with the artifacts.
• The Lunar Wheel Mirror revealed that Chen Heng's supposed Bu Qingdu True Register was actually a Southern Dipper Life-Storing Talisman that could restore him from severe injuries.
• Ding Hэpu admitted that he knew nothing about swordsmanship and had invented his advice, while the World-Escaping Shuttle and the others agreed not to tell Chen Heng.
• Ten days later, Ding Hэpu sensed a change inside the pearl and wondered whether his improvised advice had truly helped Chen Heng.

After surviving ten days in the Inner Landscape, Chen Heng reached the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, recovered from his wounds, and set out for the Eastern Sea instead of returning to Changying Court. There, Chen Chan’s group encountered a Vermilion Luminescence Sect procession carrying Qingzhi, who decided to travel to the Southern Territory to explain herself to Chen Heng.

• Chen Heng realized that Body and Sword as One lay within himself, attained the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, and used Sword Escape to destroy hundreds of Fire Baleful Intent essences.
• Ding Hэpu healed Chen Heng with a Southern Dipper Life-Storing Talisman, then sent him away from the Bronze Palace; Chen Heng chose to go directly to the Eastern Sea and informed Shen Yuanzhi.
• Chen Chan stopped Junior Fellow Disciple Jiang from attacking the approaching Vermilion Luminescence Sect procession and continued toward the Jade Spring Immortal Market after it passed.
• Qingzhi provoked Chen Chan with a face and a silent taunt, then learned from the older Daoist nun that Chen Chan was Chen Jade Pivot’s daughter.
• Qingzhi said she planned to visit the Southern Territory to explain how she had wronged Chen Heng, transformed into a giant azure bird, and flew away after warning the Daoist nun not to eat her ripe peaches.

Chen Heng reached Shouyang Mountain, disguised himself to avoid drawing the attention of Xie Yingyuan and the Aristocratic Clans, and set out for the Jade Spring Immortal Market to trade treasures and search for Essences of the Innate Five Elements. After boarding a ferry vessel, he sensed something through his Tortoiseshell and left his cabin.

• Chen Heng recalled the history of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan and Shouyang Mountain, then learned that the mountain’s old sealing power still blocked spatial travel.
• Chen Heng concealed his identity and decided to visit the Jade Spring Immortal Market before the Dragon Palace’s bridegroom-selection Dharma Assembly.
• Chen Heng reached a coastal city and boarded a ferry vessel bound for the mobile Jade Spring Immortal Market, which traveled on the back of a Baxia.
• Aboard the vessel, a curious girl wanted to seek swordsmanship advice from Chen Heng, but her brother warned her not to disturb him.
• After three days on the vessel, Chen Heng used his Tortoiseshell, sensed a stirring, and left his cabin.

Yao Yu and Yao Ying’s ship was attacked by a flying fish, then confronted by Windflame Island demon cultivators who used the incident as a pretext to assault the passengers. Chen Heng revealed overwhelming swordsmanship and began cutting down the attackers.

• A flying fish attacked the vessel, and Yao Yu, Yao Ying, the stewards, and other cultivators joined forces to kill it.
• The black-robed steward recognized the fish as a likely spirit pet, and Chen Heng warned that its owner might cause trouble.
• Demon cultivators from Windflame Island arrived, accused the ship of killing their pet, and demanded compensation; Yao Ying explained their ties to the Ninth Prince’s faction and Jade Spring Immortal Market’s ties to Princess Changle.
• The horned demon cultivator attacked the elderly steward and ordered his followers to kill everyone aboard.
• Chen Heng destroyed the horned demon’s attack with the Innate Great Sun Divine Light, beheaded him with Scarlet Light, and swiftly killed other demon cultivators.

Chen Heng slaughtered the Windflame Island Demon Cultivators, then traveled to the Jade Spring Immortal Market and began seeking resources for his Dao Arts. His arrival drew the attention of Huzhao Sect disciples, who suspected he had come for the Dragon Palace bridegroom selection.

• Chen Heng killed the Windflame Island Demon Cultivators, and the old steward promised that the Jade Spring Immortal Market would handle the consequences.
• Chen Heng found a Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearl among the demons’ possessions and used it to cultivate for three days while planning to seek additional resources at the market.
• Chen Heng arrived at the Jade Spring Immortal Market, a vast settlement built upon a divine Baxia, and flew toward it using Sword Escape.
• Yao Yu told Yao Ying to stop coveting Chen Heng’s Swordsmanship, while the old steward and black-robed steward discussed sending word about Chen Heng to the market’s Custodians.
• Huzhao Sect disciples saw Chen Heng’s Sword Escape and speculated that he was an unfamiliar outsider who had come for the Dragon Palace bridegroom selection.

Chen Heng entered the Jade Spring Immortal Market, met the formidable monk Hongji, and sold demon cultivators’ belongings at the Azure Firmament Tower to buy Yellow Pool Pills. While waiting, he found his name in the latest New Year's Day Appraisal, and a woman began telling him about the rankings.

• Chen Heng entered the immortal market and briefly met Hongji, who judged that Chen Heng might be a rival at the Dragon Palace's groom selection.
• Chen Heng went to the Azure Firmament Tower and asked senior attendant Peng Qing to appraise and buy his items.
• Peng Qing’s staff appraised Chen Heng’s goods, and Chen Heng asked to exchange the proceeds for thirty Yellow Pool Pills.
• Chen Heng found his name in the latest New Year's Day Appraisal among the Purple Mansion Senior Adepts.
• A woman entered and told Chen Heng that the rankings had stirred interest even in the Eastern Sea, and Chen Heng asked her to explain.

Chen Heng discussed his high placement on the New Year's Day Appraisal with Xue Wan'er, a steward of the Azure Firmament Tower, and collected the Yellow Pool Pills and Talisman Coins owed to him. He then traded a Yellow Dragon Gallbladder for a water-aligned Mysterious Gate Mushroom.

• Xue Wan'er explained how the Eight Sects and Six Schools had transformed the New Year's Day Appraisal and why Chen Heng's unusual eleventh-place Purple Mansion ranking had stirred curiosity.
• Xue Wan'er introduced herself and delivered thirty Yellow Pool Pills and Talisman Coins, explaining that the Jade Spring Immortal Market's Custodians had ordered the gift in gratitude for Chen Heng's intervention aboard the ship.
• Chen Heng asked Xue Wan'er about Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearls, Cloudbeam Gypsum, and Essences of the Innate Five Elements, then offered to trade an earth-aligned essence for another element.
• Xue Wan'er consulted an elderly Custodian and returned with a water-aligned Mysterious Gate Mushroom.
• Chen Heng gave Xue Wan'er a Yellow Dragon Gallbladder in exchange, delighting her.

Chen Heng cultivated in seclusion at Jade Spring Immortal Market, purged the impurities from his origin spirit, and reached Purple Mansion, Third Layer. He then attended Azure Firmament Tower’s treasure fair at Lotus Pond Mountain, where the first displayed treasure stirred the guests’ surprise.

• Chen Heng inspected the water-aspected mysterious gate mushroom he had traded for and considered how difficult it would be to obtain the remaining ingredients he needed.
• Chen Heng swallowed a Yellow Pool Pill and cultivated for fifty days, purging his origin spirit’s impurities and advancing to Purple Mansion, Third Layer.
• Chen Heng stabilized his cultivation for ten more days, then joined Peng Qing aboard a flying vessel bound for the treasure fair at Lotus Pond Mountain.
• Peng Qing pointed out the unruly Rou Xuan Prefecture cultivators and the renowned Zhang Yuxuan as they traveled to the fair.
• Chen Heng entered a private room and learned how guests used talisman coins on jade platters to bid through the lotuses on the lake.
• A maid presented the opening treasure in a brocade box carried by a Dragon-Whisker Carp, and the guests reacted with surprise.

Chen Heng attended the Azure Firmament Tower treasure gathering, where he watched rare medicines and artifacts draw fierce bidding and secured Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearls. Qin Tong tried to dominate the auction with Rou Xuan Prefecture’s wealth, but Chen Heng’s display of power forced him to withdraw; Chen Heng later left the gathering with the pearls.

• Chen Heng recognized the Iron Gall as a damaged Immortal Dao Dharma Artifact, which the Azure Firmament Tower then sold at auction.
• The gathering displayed rare goods including Minghe sand, Rebirth Water, a dream-inducing pill, and a red sandalwood tray, prompting cultivators to compete for them.
• Qin Tong offered an exceptionally high bid for Minghe sand and promised Jianjun bamboo to anyone who would not compete against him.
• Chen Heng confronted Qin Tong, whose fear of Chen Heng’s sword pressure led him to withdraw from the contest.
• The Dragon-Whisker Carp carried out a box of twenty-six Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearls, and Chen Heng acquired them.
• Chen Heng watched the gathering a little longer, lost interest, and used the World-Escaping Shuttle to leave.

After two months of seclusion on a deserted Eastern Sea island, Chen Heng reached middle completion in Purple-Clear Divine Thunder and encountered Cui Jingzhong being pursued by a powerful Yin-Yang Demon. Chen Heng and Cui Jingzhong drove the demon off, and Chen Heng learned that it was a manifestation of Chen Chan’s art from the Xiantian Demon Sect before reuniting with Cui Jingzhong.

• Chen Heng completed his seclusion on the deserted island, where he demonstrated Purple-Clear Divine Thunder and reflected on its immense power and cost.
• Chen Heng spotted a golden-red Flying Vessel pursued by a Yin-Yang Demon and revealed himself to the people aboard, including Cui Jingzhong.
• Chen Heng fought the Yin-Yang Demon while Cui Jingzhong left the Flying Vessel and joined the battle by disrupting the demon’s defenses.
• Chen Heng struck the demon with five bolts of Purple-Clear Divine Thunder, then pursued and destroyed its escaping spirit.
• Cui Jingzhong explained that the Yin-Yang Demon was a manifestation of Chen Chan’s Divine Ability from the Xiantian Demon Sect, and he asked Chen Heng why he was there.

Chen Heng encountered Cui Jingzhong and Qiao Ting in the Eastern Sea and learned that they were fleeing Chen Chan’s pursuit after a beast-driving pill disrupted the Xiantian Demon Sect’s eight Golden Flood Dragons. Qiao Ting suspected Chen Heng had come for the Dragon Palace’s selection of a son-in-law.

• Chen Heng explained that he had come to the Eastern Sea to compete for first place at the Dharma Assembly, while Cui Jingzhong described how the True Lord was preparing to face the fire calamity.
• Cui Jingzhong recounted how Rou Xuan Prefecture disciples had pursued him to refine a Dragon Vermilion Pill, and how his beast-driving pill enraged Chen Chan by affecting the demon sect’s Golden Flood Dragons.
• Chen Heng learned that Chen Chan’s Yin-Yang Demon had seized several Vermilion Luminescence Sect disciples and kept pursuing Cui Jingzhong’s group.
• Qiao Ting arrived aboard a Flying Vessel and asked Chen Heng whether he had come for the Dragon Palace’s selection of a son-in-law.

Chen Heng and Cui Jingzhong learned that Chen Chan had used Five-Pocket Worms to spy on them and Qiao Ting, and the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring explained how to remove the worms. The group discovered that the worms had been extracted, while Qiao Ting questioned the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring about its connection to the Qiao Clan.

• Chen Heng asked Cui Jingzhong whether Chen Chan’s Yin-Yang Demon had secretly tampered with their bodies, and the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring identified the method as Five-Pocket Worms.
• The Five-Qi Cosmic Ring explained that the worms could relay their hosts’ information to Chen Chan and described ways to expose or remove them.
• A woman in golden light drew five-colored rays from Cui Jingzhong and Qiao Ting, extracting the Five-Pocket Worms from their bodies.
• A voice advised that Red City Pills and a specific cultivation process could eliminate the worms while nourishing their hosts.
• Qiao Ting asked how the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring came to be with Chen Heng, and it said the Qiao Clan had given it to him to repay his kindness to Little Qiao.

Chen Heng learned that a powerful mad monk had fled to the Eastern Sea after abducting cultivators across Xudu Heaven, while Chen Chan revealed herself as his elder sister and offered him protection. The chapter left Chen Heng facing her invitation as danger from the monk loomed nearby.

• Chen Chan appeared before Chen Heng and teased him about their relationship, explaining that she was his elder sister.
• Chen Chan said she had followed Chen Heng’s actions at the Yuchen Lower Court and had sent Cui Jingzhong a warning about the mad monk.
• Cui Jingzhong told Chen Heng that the mad monk had abducted cultivators across several regions, survived attacks from the Blood River Sect, and reached the Eastern Sea.
• Cui Jingzhong rescued seven or eight Vermilion Luminescence Sect cultivators after Chen Chan’s flower basket brought them out.
• Chen Chan dismissed the danger from the local aristocratic clans and asked Chen Heng whether he would come with her or risk being captured by the mad monk.

Chen Chan met Chen Heng on a deserted island and offered him a Purity-Cleansing Seed while explaining why she wanted his help against Chen Jade Pivot. She urged Chen Heng to join her in meeting Chen Lü, whose help could aid his bid in the Dragon Palace’s selection of a son-in-law.

• Chen Chan showed Chen Heng the Purity-Cleansing Seed and used her Rhinoceros-Horn Dharma Artifact to isolate the island from divination.
• Chen Chan said she wanted to kill Chen Jade Pivot and explained that Chen Xiangxian’s divination had identified several people connected to a sign of “leaping in the abyss.”
• Chen Heng questioned why Chen Chan trusted him and asked about Chen Jade Pivot’s intentions and the relationship between Qiao Rui and Qiao Ting.
• Chen Chan said she was betting on Chen Heng because his purple mansion eleven was genuine and asked him to meet Chen Lü, who could help him contend for first place in the Dragon Palace’s selection.
• A whistle sounded in the distance, and Cui Jingzhong announced that Junior Fellow Disciple Chen was approaching.

Chen Heng met Cui Jingzhong in the Eastern Sea, where Cui offered him a Clear Ascension Pill and discussed his interest in alchemical texts. Qiao Ting remained wary and resentful of Chen Heng, while Chen Heng produced a Daoist text as a possible return gift.

• Chen Heng arrived at a deserted island and met Cui Jingzhong, who gave him a Clear Ascension Pill that could temporarily increase True Qi by more than thirty percent.
• Cui Jingzhong asked whether Chen Heng would stay in the Eastern Sea and said he wanted to read the Vermilion Luminescence Sect's alchemical texts to improve his pill formula.
• Qiao Ting warned Cui Jingzhong to be cautious around Chen Heng and said she had no intention of standing by as he pursued the Dragon Palace Consort Selection.
• Cui Jingzhong explained that the Guangshi Sect's library was limited, and Chen Heng offered him a Daoist text in return for the pill.

Chen Heng gave Cui Jingzhong a treasured manual of alchemical and auxiliary arts before leaving with Qiao Ting for the Jade Spring Immortal Market. Meanwhile, Laughing Monk reunited with Zhou Ji, who suspected the monk had come seeking help after stirring up trouble.

• Chen Heng offered Cui Jingzhong Qi Lingzi's Secret Instructions for His Direct Disciples, and Cui Jingzhong accepted after learning Chen Heng had made several copies.
• Chen Heng departed by Sword Escape, and Qiao Ting told Cui Jingzhong they would go to the Jade Spring Immortal Market before returning to Eastern Maitreya Province.
• Zhou Ji roasted a fish on a reef and complained about former companions who had abandoned him.
• Laughing Monk arrived from the Trapped Dragon Cave, claimed Immaculate Light King Buddha had released him, and ate Zhou Ji's roasted fish.
• Zhou Ji noticed a familiar scent of blood on Laughing Monk and accused him of seeking help to smooth over trouble he had caused.

Zhou Ji recognized Laughing Monk and witnessed the monk suppress the Blood-Skinning Slaughter Pool Great Hell with his Brahma Wheel Wisdom King True Body. Laughing Monk sought Zhou Ji’s help after causing turmoil across Xudu Heaven, then revealed dozens of abducted people, leaving Zhou Ji to wonder what his old friend intended.

• Zhou Ji identified Laughing Monk’s Blood-Skinning Slaughter Pool Great Hell, and Laughing Monk suppressed its manifestation with a halo from his Brahma Wheel Wisdom King True Body.
• Laughing Monk told Zhou Ji that he had come to him because his old acquaintances were dead and he knew no one in Xudu Heaven.
• Zhou Ji recalled his past friendship with Laughing Monk and the monk’s failed attempt to free him before being imprisoned in the Trapped Dragon Cave for ten thousand years.
• Zhou Ji questioned Laughing Monk about abducting disciples and making enemies across Xudu Heaven.
• Laughing Monk opened his fist and released forty or fifty people onto the reef, prompting Zhou Ji to marvel at the scale of his operation.

Laughing Monk explained that Immaculate Light King Buddha had instructed him to divide his suffering and sacred path among ten chosen people, and asked Zhou Ji to help find the remaining three vessels. The chapter ended with Chen Heng wondering whether Chen Jade Pivot had been Daoist Kongkong’s disciple.

• Zhou Ji recognized He Lian among the unconscious captives and learned that Laughing Monk had also targeted the Xiantian Demon Sect’s people.
• Laughing Monk recounted how Daoist Kongkong’s notes and the Wisdom and Severance, Void Nirvana Sutra had shaped his cultivation and left him with a view-knowledge obstacle.
• Laughing Monk said Immaculate Light King Buddha had taught him to separate out ten demons so he could overcome the sutra’s impediments and attain Bodhisattva Fruition.
• Laughing Monk identified He Lian as a possible samadhi demon and asked Zhou Ji to help secure Lu Man as his good spiritual friend demon.
• Zhou Ji said he would consider the request and warned Laughing Monk not to act rashly while the Blood River Sect remained a threat.
• Chen Heng asked Chen Chan whether Chen Jade Pivot might have been Daoist Kongkong’s disciple, given his connection to Mu Sou.

Chen Chan explained Chen Jade Pivot’s ties to Daoist Kongkong and why his connection with Mu Sou was unusual as she escorted Chen Heng to Rou Xuan Prefecture. They arrived at the island stronghold, where Steward Zhao welcomed them on Chen Lü’s behalf and led them toward a banquet.

• Chen Heng asked Chen Chan about Chen Jade Pivot and Daoist Kongkong, and the World-Escaping Shuttle confirmed that Kongkong’s inheritance had helped Chen Jade Pivot escape Void Sovereign Heaven.
• Chen Chan revealed that Chen Jade Pivot had been exceptionally close to Mu Sou, while Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji had also enjoyed unusual access to Daoist Kongkong’s sanctuary.
• Chen Heng worried that accompanying Chen Chan might bring her trouble, but she said Chen Jade Pivot already knew their private thoughts and would not take their schemes seriously.
• Chen Chan asked Chen Heng to call her big sister, and he readily agreed before they continued their journey to Rou Xuan Prefecture.
• Chen Heng and Chen Chan arrived at Rou Xuan Prefecture, where Steward Zhao welcomed them and said Chen Lü had prepared a banquet on Guangmo Island.