Chapter Summaries

Chen Heng unleashed Purple-Clear Divine Thunder against Huzhao’s forces, rescued Deng Yunji’s remnants, and led them back to his fortified camp. After detecting and driving off a mysterious observer, Chen Heng gathered the remaining True Persons and asked why Deng Yunji had crossed the river with only one division to attack Huzhao.

• Chen Heng gathered power and unleashed Purple-Clear Divine Thunder, killing Wan Youyue and many Huzhao soldiers.
• Chen Heng and Jadechen’s forces resumed fighting, then withdrew with Deng Yunji’s surviving troops as Huzhao’s True Persons hesitated to challenge him.
• Chen Heng spotted a white cloud with a trace of yao qi and warned that it was not from Huzhao; the white-robed man inside later left, seeking the Five Elders Temple legacy estate.
• Chen Heng took command of Deng Yunji’s remnants and led them to a fortified camp, where Chi Ying reported that Huzhao had withdrawn and the other divisions were safe.
• Chen Heng summoned the Immortal Dao True Persons and asked why Deng Yunji had led a single division across the river to attack Huzhao.

Chen Heng’s forces learned that Gu Yi had disguised herself as Lü Xing and used a Dragon-Trapping Nail to defeat Deng Yunji, costing Jadechen a Numinous Treasure Altar. As the True Persons argued over strategy and blame, Chen Heng refused to abandon Deng Yunji’s survivors and prepared to move the camp forward; Su Tong arrived with a rare treasure to present to him.

• Senior Brother Zhou reported that Gu Yi had infiltrated Deng Yunji’s camp as Lü Xing, struck Deng Yunji from behind, and helped route his forces.
• Pang Yi urged Chen Heng to separate Deng Yunji’s battered survivors from the main force, but Senior Brother Zhou and others objected.
• Chen Heng silenced the arguing True Persons and ordered Chi Ying to marshal the troops, refusing to abandon Deng Yunji’s survivors.
• Chen Heng told Chi Ying he knew of the danger that Gu Yi might infiltrate his camp again and said he had a way to counter her demonic art.
• Su Tong of the Chenzhang Sect arrived at the command tent and asked to present Chen Heng with a rare treasure.

Su Tong offered Chen Heng a Merfolk woman named Xu Qing, claiming she had the rare Peach Kang Constitution, and asked to transfer with his master to Shen Cheng’s division. After Su Tong left, Xu Qing tried to persuade Chen Heng to teach her cultivation, but Chen Heng exposed her as Gu Yi in disguise and killed her apparent body with Sword Qi.

• Su Tong presented the Merfolk woman to Chen Heng as a rare treasure and explained how he and Li Yi had found her while searching for Black Mystery Fish.
• Su Tong claimed the woman’s identity was genuine despite Gu Yi’s infiltration, then asked Chen Heng to let him and Li Yi transfer to Shen Cheng’s division.
• Chen Heng dismissed Su Tong without agreeing to the request, leaving him alone with the woman he had named Xu Qing.
• Xu Qing asked Chen Heng to teach her cultivation and began approaching him while removing her robes.
• Chen Heng killed Xu Qing’s apparent body with Sword Qi and identified the woman as Gu Yi in disguise.
• Gu Yi laughed and told Chen Heng that he had no appreciation for romance.

Gu Yi’s disguised Emanation was exposed by Chen Heng and destroyed, but she escaped by sacrificing it and left behind the Dragon-Trapping Nail. Chen Heng warned the Jadechen True Persons to prepare for renewed fighting while quietly waiting for his Spell Formula to reach full mastery and give him a way to break the stalemate.

• Gu Yi revealed how she had manipulated Deng Yunji into a disastrous attack, then asked Chen Heng how he had seen through her disguise.
• Chen Heng surrounded Gu Yi’s Emanation with Dao lineage cultivators and rejected her attempt to unsettle him with words.
• Gu Yi abandoned the Emanation, leaving the Dragon-Trapping Nail in a gold hairpin and promising to retrieve it herself.
• Chen Heng reassured the shaken True Persons, warned that battle would resume soon, and dismissed them; Li Yi left the tent relieved to have survived.
• Chen Heng reflected on Jadechen’s disadvantage without one Spirit-Treasure Altar and decided to endure a few more days until his Spell Formula was complete.
• Aboard a boat in the northern Weiyong Kingdom, Gu Yi opened her eyes, realized the Emanation was lost, and sighed.

Gu Yi recovered from the backlash of her Changing Form art and led Huzhao’s forces against Chen Heng across the Shuo River. She challenged him personally, but Chen Heng seized the true mother insect behind her golden swarm.

• Gu Yi took Huzhao’s secret medicine to recover from the injuries caused by her destroyed Emanation and vowed to retrieve the Dragon-Trapping Nail from Chen Heng.
• Several days later, Gu Yi’s army arrived at the Shuo River, where Chen Heng and the Jadechen forces met them across the water.
• Gu Yi offered Chen Heng the Dragon-Trapping Nail if he signed a Spirit Contract and withdrew his forces, but he refused and called her a demoness.
• Gu Yi and Chen Heng attacked each other while ordering their allies to stay out of the duel and guard their camps.
• Gu Yi unleashed True Thought Golden Insects to wear Chen Heng down, but he endured her yin-light attack and seized the hidden mother insect.

Chen Heng and Gu Yi fought an escalating duel above the Shuo River, trading powerful arts until Chen Heng’s divided sword lights forced Gu Yi onto the defensive. After his Sword-Light Differentiation proved unsustainable, both prepared to unleash another clash, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Chen Heng identified and seized the True Thought Golden Insect, but Gu Yi transferred it into her Sleeve Pouch and attacked him with black cords.
• Gu Yi unleashed the Nether Spring White Bone Great Hand, and Chen Heng dodged it before splitting it apart with a sword strike.
• Gu Yi summoned twenty-four White Bone Great Hands, but Chen Heng broke through their encirclement with twenty-four sword lights and attacked her.
• Gu Yi used Northern Calamity Netherfire to deflect the sword lights, while Chen Heng pressed forward with his Yin-Eroding Red Water and eventually breached her ring of fire.
• Chen Heng’s divided sword lights began to collapse before Gu Yi could be struck, and he withdrew as Gu Yi remarked that he had not mastered Sword-Light Differentiation.
• Chen Heng and Gu Yi traded taunts, then raised their hands and began forming Spell Formulas as their auras shook the river and threatened the spectators.

Chen Heng and Gu Yi fought a prolonged, destructive battle, each unleashing powerful artifacts and killing techniques. Their forces arrived as the duel escalated into a clash between Chen Heng’s Purity-Cleansing Seed and Gu Yi’s Jade-Scale Surge, leaving Wang Sen and Fu Shen'an wary of intervening.

• Chen Heng and Gu Yi exchanged divine thunder, spell spirits, magical artifacts, and close-range attacks, with neither gaining a decisive advantage.
• Gu Yi recognized the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring and reflected on Chen Heng’s unusual strength and lack of familiar battle records.
• Chen Heng taunted Gu Yi to surrender, but she mocked him and used her alluring voice attack while continuing to fight.
• Wang Sen and Fu Shen'an arrived with their forces, briefly distracting the duelists before both unleashed their trump cards.
• Chen Heng’s Purity-Cleansing Seed and Gu Yi’s Jade-Scale Surge collided, devastating the Shuo River and nearby mountains as Wang Sen and Fu Shen'an exchanged wary looks.

Chen Heng forced Gu Yi to withdraw, then persuaded Wang Sen to join a risky plan to destroy Huzhao's Hook-and-Cross Fortresses. After seven quiet days, Chen Heng announced that his preparations were complete.

• Gu Yi withdrew after admitting Chen Heng was stronger, and Fu Shen'an led Huzhao's forces back to their camp.
• Wang Sen asked Chen Heng to assess Gu Yi, and Chen Heng said he could defeat her only by wearing down her strength in a prolonged fight.
• Chen Heng persuaded Wang Sen to help destroy Huzhao's fortresses before their formation could turn Weiyong Kingdom into a Yin-Evil Demon Sea.
• Wang Sen gave Chen Heng the Shengdou Pearl for protection and went to coordinate with He Lizi and Shen Cheng.
• After seven days without major battles, Chen Heng opened his eyes from meditation and said his preparations were complete.

Chen Heng perfected the Earth-Traveling Art and infiltrated a Hook-and-Cross Fortress through the underground baleful qi, hoping to find and destroy its core restrictions. Inside, he discovered Gu Yi was preparing a spell involving his portrait and followed her to learn what she planned.

• Chen Heng used an Earth Element Yellow Dragon Gallbladder to perfect the Earth-Traveling Art and decided to infiltrate a Hook-and-Cross Fortress from below.
• Chen Heng concealed himself within the underground baleful qi, rode it into the fortress, and evaded the Heavenly Demon statue’s lotus lamps and the guards’ detection.
• Chen Heng explored the fortress and determined that the cavern hall was not its true core, then searched for the earth-vein baleful qi’s containment site.
• Chen Heng saw Gu Yi arrive with a Yaksha Attendant, who reported that their work was nearly eighty percent complete and that Chen Heng’s portrait had been prepared.
• Chen Heng followed Gu Yi onto the Colorful Boat to discover what she intended to do with his portrait.

Gu Yi prepared the Five Plague Strongmen to attack Chen Heng from afar and planned to capture his aura, while Chen Heng secretly discovered the Huzhao camp’s hidden Hook-and-Cross Fortress hub and waited for the right moment to strike. Five days later, the Evil-Expelling Divine Generals were complete, and both camps mobilized for battle.

• Gu Yi used a portrait of Chen Heng to complete the Five Plague Strongmen ritual and planned to trap him with the Profound Void Pot to capture his aura.
• Chen Heng searched the city and found a concealed well leading to a cavern that housed a Hook-and-Cross Fortress hub, guarded by five Dao lineage True Persons and a Heavenly Demon statue.
• Chen Heng realized that destroying the statue could cripple the fortress, but he stayed hidden and waited for an opportunity.
• Gu Yi challenged Chen Heng during the next five days, but Chen Heng refused to answer her challenge.
• Chen Heng’s Emanation sensed that the Evil-Expelling Divine Generals were complete, summoned the Jadechen troops, and declared that the time had come.
• Gu Yi sensed the generals’ completion, took her command token, and headed outside the city to meet the Jadechen forces.

Jadechen launched an all-out assault on the Hook-and-Cross Fortress with two Evil-Expelling Divine Generals, while Gu Yi prepared the defenders and watched for danger. Chen Heng disguised himself as Senior Sister Li and ambushed a Golden Core cultivator overseeing the fortress formations, killing him before he could react.

• Chen Heng and Wang Sen manifested Evil-Expelling Divine Generals and led their forces in an attack on the Hook-and-Cross Fortress as all four Jadechen divisions committed their troops.
• Gu Yi warned Xiong Zhong and the other defenders not to underestimate the assault, then ordered them to arrange formations and sent spirit talismans to summon additional formation overseers.
• A spirit talisman reached five Dao lineage True Persons in a cavern beneath the fortress, and a blue-robed cultivator volunteered to leave and oversee a formation.
• Senior Sister Li drew the blue-robed cultivator aside in the Tribulation Water and showed him what appeared to be an object from her sleeve.
• Chen Heng, disguised as Senior Sister Li, fired the Lunar Wheel Mirror at point-blank range and pierced the cultivator's skull with Scarlet Sword Qi, killing him and destroying his Origin Spirit.

Chen Heng killed the Blue-Robed Daoist, infiltrated the Hook-and-Cross Fortress, and destroyed its Heavenly Demon stone statue, collapsing the city’s defenses and turning the battle in Jadechen’s favor. As the armies clashed and Gu Yi fought Chen Heng, he directed the Evil-Expelling Divine Generals to bombard Jin Shanxin until an aged voice ordered them to stop.

• Chen Heng killed the Blue-Robed Daoist, took his corpse, and sent an Emanation disguised as him into the cavern while his true body headed for the Heavenly Demon stone statue.
• Chen Heng’s Emanation attacked Senior Sister Li, while Chen Heng’s true body fought through the fortress wards and struck the statue with his sword light.
• The Heavenly Demon stone statue shattered, causing Gu Yi’s fortress wards to collapse and weakening the other two Hook-and-Cross Fortresses as well.
• Fu Shen'an and Sun Pu mobilized their forces, but Jadechen’s assault overwhelmed Huzhao, and Gu Yi attacked Chen Heng amid the battle.
• Chen Heng ordered the Evil-Expelling Divine Generals to shoot Jin Shanxin repeatedly, and an aged voice suddenly commanded them to stop.

Chen Heng challenged Tao Tian to test the gulf between Golden Core and Primordial Spirit cultivation, but Tao Tian defeated the Evil-Expelling Divine Generals and invited Chen Heng to join Huzhao. Chen Heng refused, and Tao Tian withdrew after Yu Shitong enforced the Spirit Contract and negotiated compensation.

• Tao Tian saved Jin Shanxin by destroying the arrows and breaking the Spirit Contract, forcing Huzhao to forfeit its claim to the campaign.
• Chen Heng took control of an Evil-Expelling Divine General and attacked Jin Shanxin, but Tao Tian deflected his arrows and fought him with overwhelming power.
• Tao Tian bound Chen Heng's divine general with a crimson chain, destroyed it, and then destroyed Wang Sen's divine general before explaining the gulf between their cultivation realms.
• Tao Tian offered to bring Chen Heng into Huzhao as his fellow disciple, but Chen Heng declined, and Yu Shitong appeared to confront Tao Tian over breaking the contract.
• Tao Tian agreed to give Yu Shitong four Primordial Chaos Divine Pu Pills as compensation and led Huzhao's forces away.
• Gu Yi warned Chen Heng that they would meet again while seeking Golden Core medicines, and Chen Heng threatened to kill her if she made no progress.

Yu Shitong rewarded Jadechen’s allies after its victory over Huzhao, granting Chi Ying’s Lingshu Mountain permission to seek a new foundational scripture and giving Chen Heng a precious pill and Sword Dao Insights. Chen Heng later arrived at a vast mountain range, where he believed he had found the place he sought.

• Yu Shitong praised Chi Ying’s service and promised to report Lingshu Mountain’s request to replace the Scripture of the Mysterious Cavern with the Collected Nine Essentials of the Primal Capital.
• Yu Shitong gave Chen Heng and the others Primordial Unity Divine Simplicity Pills, then presented Chen Heng with a book of Sword Dao Insights left by his martial uncle.
• Wang Sen remarked that Deng Yunji was likely in trouble because Yu Shitong had shown him little concern after his defeat.
• Chen Heng left the Jade Scenery Flying Palace and, ten days later, reached a mountain range in Eastern Maitreya Province, where he thought he had found the right place.

Chen Heng searched Wing-Gazing Mountain for Mysterious Chamber Water to prepare for forming a first-rank Golden Core, collecting fifteen drops before discovering that another cultivator had taken the last cache. The cultivator had also found a Five Elders Temple Legacy Abode there, and Chen Heng pursued him to settle the water’s ownership and investigate the unexpected discovery.

• Chen Heng entered a hidden cavern beneath Wing-Gazing Mountain and collected three drops of superior-quality Mysterious Chamber Water.
• He followed Zhang Taichu’s scroll to search the mountain’s other hidden locations, gathering fifteen drops over two days, though he still lacked enough for a first-rank Golden Core.
• As Chen Heng approached the scroll’s final location, a young man burst from a hill in Five-Colored Light and said he had found both a Five Elders Temple Legacy Abode and Mysterious Chamber Water.
• Chen Heng recognized the young man from their earlier encounter and realized he had taken the water from the final cache.
• Chen Heng considered why a Five Elders Temple Legacy Abode had appeared far from its expected location, then pursued the young man.

Chen Heng followed Kong Chong into the Five Elders Temple’s abandoned underground palace and took the True Scripture of the Essential Secrets of the Five Elements Spirit Platform before Kong Chong could claim it. After they revealed their identities and discussed the Three Realms Grotto and Tianyi Yan’s rebellion, Kong Chong proposed a trade and asked Chen Heng to answer several questions.

• Kong Chong entered the hidden palace and spent five days breaking the restrictions around a jade slip and Daoist book while Chen Heng secretly followed him.
• Chen Heng snatched the True Scripture of the Essential Secrets of the Five Elements Spirit Platform and confronted Kong Chong, who admitted he came from the Three Realms Grotto.
• Chen Heng exposed Kong Chong’s false claim that he belonged to the Yinjing Cult, and Kong Chong confessed that he was an emanation of one of Tianyi Yan’s former followers.
• Kong Chong explained that his ancestor had joined Tianyi Yan’s rebellion and that his people remained imprisoned in the Three Realms Grotto.
• Chen Heng offered to trade with Kong Chong, who welcomed the proposal and then bowed to ask Chen Heng several questions.

Chen Heng and Kong Chong negotiated an exchange involving Mysterious Chamber Water and two Five Elders Immortal Palace texts, then spent three days interpreting a scripture. The chapter ended as Kong Chong transformed into a towering Five-Colored Peacock to test Chen Heng in a friendly bout.

• Kong Chong explained how his grandfather had found Pan Yangzi's legacy and moved it to Wing-Gazing Mountain before his emanation dissipated.
• Chen Heng agreed to trade the Five Elders texts and interpret the scripture, while Kong Chong offered one drop of Mysterious Chamber Water for himself and the remaining eight to Chen Heng.
• Kong Chong asked Chen Heng to interpret the True Scripture of the Secret Essentials of the Five Elements Spirit Terrace, and Chen Heng agreed.
• Kong Chong's second condition was a friendly contest, which Chen Heng accepted; Kong Chong handed over eight drops of Mysterious Chamber Water and kept one.
• After Chen Heng interpreted the scripture over three days, Kong Chong opened the restricted entrance and flew out with Chen Heng to begin their bout.
• Kong Chong transformed into a hundred-zhang Five-Colored Peacock, and Chen Heng recognized him as an Innate Divine Monster.

Chen Heng and Kong Chong fought fiercely as Kong Chong used the Five-Colored Divine Light and the Five Elders Heavenly Official Great Hand Seal to sweep Chen Heng into a five-element world. Chen Heng found a flaw in the divine light and escaped, pinning Kong Chong down and declaring victory.

• Kong Chong transformed into a Five-Colored Peacock and attacked Chen Heng, but Chen Heng's twenty-four sword lights broke through his opening assault.
• Kong Chong summoned phantom deities to fight Chen Heng, then used Five-Colored Divine Light to sweep away his attacks and nearly catch him.
• Kong Chong used the Five Elders Heavenly Official Great Hand Seal to restrain Chen Heng and swept him into a five-element world with the divine light.
• Chen Heng calculated the flaw in Kong Chong's Five-Colored Divine Light while trapped, then used an insight to emerge behind Kong Chong.
• Chen Heng pressed Kong Chong into the ground with a hand seal and told him he had lost.

Chen Heng defeated Kong Chong by using his Tai Su True Form to expose a flaw in the Five-Colored Divine Light, then received the peacock clan’s Five Elements insights and promised to help free Kong Chong’s clan from the Three Realms Grotto. After returning to Changli Island, Chen Heng encountered someone who had taken human form.

• Chen Heng manifested his Tai Su True Form, weakened Kong Chong’s Five-Colored Divine Light, and forced Kong Chong to concede defeat.
• Chen Heng and Kong Chong discussed cultivation for three days, and Kong Chong gave him a Jade Gui containing his clan’s insights into the Dao of the Five Elements.
• Kong Chong explained that Tianyi Yan had killed his clan leader and forced the surviving Five-Colored Peacocks into the Three Realms Grotto; Chen Heng promised to help free them once he grew strong enough.
• Kong Chong swore that his clan would follow Chen Heng if he freed them, then returned to the Three Realms Grotto.
• Chen Heng returned to Changli Island after settling his Dao Merit, where someone hurried up to him after taking human form.

Tu Shan Ningning reached the Qi Refinement Realm and took human form, and Chen Heng agreed to teach her to complete her transformation. After addressing He Manzi’s request for Sword Dao guidance and reviewing his accumulated letters, Chen Heng learned that Void Sovereign Heaven had sent envoys to Xiaoming Great Marsh and allied with Jadechen.

• Tu Shan Ningning proudly showed Chen Heng her new human form and cultivation, and he praised her aptitude while offering to guide her transformation.
• Tu Shan Ge reported that He Manzi had repeatedly visited with gifts seeking Chen Heng’s Sword Dao guidance, so Chen Heng wrote a reply and sent him the White Silk Flying Dragon Treasure Scroll.
• Chen Heng read the letters accumulated during his absence and briefly examined those from Qiao Rui and Jiang Daolian.
• Tu Shan Ge told Chen Heng that Void Sovereign Heaven’s envoys were staying at the Four Symbols Pavilion and that Void Sovereign Heaven and Jadechen had reached a preliminary alliance.