Chapter Summaries

Fashanji slaughtered the Mysterious Truth Sect after consuming Sima Lingzhen, while Xu Zhi emerged from a mindscape in the Earth Abyss and learned about the Formless Lie Sword Cave. Xu Zhi used one of his three requests to give Chen Heng a place in the cave, and the chapter ended with someone calling Chen Heng to meet the True Lord.

• Fashanji transformed after consuming Sima Lingzhen, and Chen Ying mocked Ai Jian as the Mysterious Truth Sect’s disciples were trapped and overwhelmed by terror.
• Ai Jian recalled Xu Zhi’s sword talent, while Gu Jun asked him to save Xu Zhi from the Earth Abyss if he survived.
• Fashanji unleashed thousands of blood silhouettes that killed Gu Jun, Yan Feichen, and the remaining Mysterious Truth Sect members before breaking Sima Lingzhen’s seal.
• Xu Zhi emerged from his mindscape, and Wusheng Child promised to teach him the Wusheng Sword Sect’s scriptures and explained the Formless Lie Sword Cave and Xu Yuanhua’s pact.
• Xu Zhi asked to give someone a place in the Formless Lie Sword Cave, provoking Wusheng Child, then named Chen Heng as the recipient.
• Someone called Chen Heng from outside the Alchemy Chamber in Golden Drum Cave, saying the True Lord wanted to see him.

Chen Heng was summoned to meet Qiao Yubi, who helped him reach Sword Intent Manifestation and began revealing the history of his lineage. Qiao Yubi recounted Chen Heng’s illustrious ancestors and started explaining his father Chen Jade Pivot’s past, leaving the truth of Chen Heng’s origins still unfolding.

• Qiao Ting led Chen Heng into the Palace, where the Golden Gourd Strongman guided him to the lowest hall beside a pit filled with the Turbid Tide.
• While Chen Heng waited, Qiao Yubi sent Sword Qi through his meridians and taught him how to capture it, helping him attain Sword Intent Manifestation.
• Qiao Yubi promised to answer Chen Heng’s questions about his origins, then identified Chen Qianzheng as his forebear and described the destruction and rise of his lineage.
• Qiao Yubi explained that Chen Heng’s grandfather, Chen Yu, became a supreme Divine Dao ruler after surviving the destruction of his family’s homeland.
• Qiao Yubi began recounting Chen Jade Pivot’s past, revealing that he had once belonged to the Pivot Dipper Sect and been close friends with Qiao Yubi and Zhijie before joining the Xiantian Demon Sect.

Chen Heng learned that Chen Jade Pivot had used Primordial Beginning True Origin and a forbidden art to divide his Pure Yang Thunder Tribulation among his descendants, either recruiting survivors as servants or consuming the less talented. With few powers willing to shelter him, Qiao Yubi offered Chen Heng three possible paths and ended by asking him to risk a journey to Qiaoming Gorge for a chance to enter the Zhongyi Sword Sect.

• Qiao Yubi explained how Chen Jade Pivot used his descendants to divide his tribulations, withdrawing them from promising survivors and refining less talented descendants into elixirs.
• Chen Heng realized that his cultivation and bloodline tied him to the forbidden art, leaving him unable to escape the tribulations simply by abandoning his current path.
• Qiao Yubi explained why Void Sovereign Heaven and most sects would not shelter Chen Heng, given Chen Jade Pivot’s crimes and their family connection.
• Qiao Yubi restored the Beast-Head Token into a jade pendant and offered Chen Heng three paths: await protection from the Yuluo Immortal Mansion, marry into the Mishan Qiao Clan, or travel to Qiaoming Gorge.
• Qiao Yubi told Chen Heng that success at Qiaoming Gorge could give him a thirty-percent chance of entering the Zhongyi Sword Sect.

Chen Heng chose to risk Qiaoming Gorge in hopes of joining the Zhongyi Sword Sect rather than seek safety through the Yuluo Immortal Mansion or marry into the Mishan Qiao Clan. Qiao Yubi equipped him for the journey and revealed that Chen Yu held the method for refining Netherworld True Water; after Chen Heng left, a woman confronted Qiao Yubi about killing her father and helping Chen Heng.

• Chen Heng asked Qiao Yubi to explain the three paths, and Qiao Yubi warned that the Yuluo Immortal Mansion offered safety at the cost of freedom while marriage would bind him to the Mishan Qiao Clan.
• Qiao Yubi explained that Qiaoming Gorge carried a nine-in-ten chance of death and that Chen Heng was too old to cultivate the Zhongyi Sword Sect's Three Great Sword Canons if he passed its trial.
• Chen Heng declared that he would enter Qiaoming Gorge to pursue freedom and everlasting life, and Qiao Yubi gave him three sword talismans and explained how Zhijie's jade pendant could conceal him from Chen Jade Pivot's divinations.
• Qiao Yubi told Chen Heng to collect a Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship from Cui Jingzhong and revealed that Chen Yu alone possessed the method for refining the subsidiary waters into Netherworld True Water.
• Chen Heng left the palace resolved to challenge Chen Jade Pivot, while a woman inside asked Qiao Yubi why he had killed her father and helped Chen Heng.

Qiao Ting confronted Qiao Yubi over his support for Chen Heng, then learned Chen Heng faced only a forty-percent chance of surviving Qiaoming Gorge. As Chen Heng departed in the Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship, Patriarch Minqiu arrived to convey Dao Lord Tong Xuan’s request concerning him, and Qiao Yubi agreed to hear it out.

• Qiao Ting accused Qiao Yubi of helping Chen Heng despite the blood feud between their families, and Qiao Yubi defended Chen Heng as separate from his father and grandfather.
• Qiao Yubi told Qiao Ting she would enter the Vermilion Luminescence Sect’s Lower Court and warned her to avoid its internal struggles; she asked about Chen Heng’s chances in Qiaoming Gorge, and Qiao Yubi said they were forty percent.
• Qiao Ting left after declaring she could match Wei Lingjiang, while Qiao Yubi decided to warn Wei Lingjiang’s master about possible friction.
• Chen Heng departed Golden Drum Cave aboard the Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship and questioned the World-Escaping Shuttle’s evasive artifact spirit.
• Patriarch Minqiu visited Qiao Yubi, reported that the Eight Sects would wait rather than join the dispute in Law Sage Heaven, and said Dao Lord Tong Xuan wanted to ask for Chen Heng.
• Qiao Yubi agreed to honor Dao Lord Tong Xuan’s request but explained that he had sent Chen Heng to Qiaoming Gorge partly out of concern for the common good.

Qiao Yubi and the short Daoist agreed not to bring Chen Heng to the Zhongyi Sword Sect after Dao Lord Tong Xuan intervened, while Chen Heng traveled through the Earth Abyss aboard the Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship. After rejecting refuge with Chen Jade Pivot and hearing a secret about True Lord Yan Xi, Chen Heng emerged from the Earth Abyss and returned to the surface.

• Qiao Yubi praised Chen Heng’s potential, but the short Daoist honored his promise to Dao Lord Tong Xuan and accepted that Chen Heng had already left Golden Drum Cave.
• Qiao Yubi considered the Jade Dawn School a better path for Chen Heng, and the short Daoist reminded him to cultivate the Mysterious Spirit Nether Transformation while he supervised Law Sage Heaven.
• Aboard the Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship, Chen Heng rejected the World-Escaping Shuttle’s suggestion that he seek refuge with Chen Jade Pivot, explaining that he feared being used to avert Chen Jade Pivot’s Heavenly Punishments.
• The World-Escaping Shuttle revealed that True Lord Yan Xi had deep ties to the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan and might marry the Dragon Woman; Chen Heng then returned to meditating on his cultivation.
• After half a month of travel, Chen Heng awoke as the Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship left the Earth Abyss and returned to the surface.

Chen Heng left the Earth Abyss and learned that a demonic calamity had devastated the region around his sect. After discovering that the Mysterious Truth Sect had been destroyed, he sought out Daoist Tu Shan.

• The World-Escaping Shuttle’s artifact spirit warned Chen Heng that the Turbidity-Clearing Golden Ship burned in sunlight and urged him to avoid the deadly Qiaoming Gorge, but Chen Heng resolved to continue and make arrangements for his friend and Tu Shan Ge.
• Chen Heng left the Earth Abyss in a Flying Vessel and, after several days, sensed a fierce blood-baleful presence near a ruined landscape.
• Chen Heng met Fan Shu of the Flower-Washing Sword Sect, who told him that Ai Jian had released Blood Demons that devastated the region before a Jade Dawn School elder destroyed them.
• Chen Heng asked whether the Mysterious Truth Sect and the surrounding inhabitants had been wiped out, then flew to a nearby mountain and called for Daoist Tu Shan.

Chen Heng returned to the Blazing Mountain Divine Domain and revived Tu Shan Ge, Tu Shan Zhuang, and the foxes, who had survived the Blood Demon's assault by feigning death. As Tu Shan Ge began learning a Side-Door Immortal Dao method, a mysterious voice identified Chen Heng as a member of the Mysterious Truth Sect.

• Chen Heng found the Blazing Mountain Divine Domain deserted and discovered Tu Shan Ge, Tu Shan Zhuang, and the foxes apparently lifeless.
• Tu Shan Ningning explained how to break the death-feigning spell, and Chen Heng awakened Tu Shan Zhuang and the foxes before Tu Shan Zhuang revived Tu Shan Ge with a Jade Seal.
• Tu Shan Ge told Chen Heng that he had lured away two Blood Shadows while protecting his clan, though he had lost both arms and suffered damage to his Life-Bound Golden Seal and Divine Path Golden Body.
• The World-Escaping Shuttle offered Tu Shan Ge instruction in a Higher Vehicle Side-Door Immortal Dao method in exchange for hearing about the death-feigning spell.
• Tu Shan Ge mentioned the Chen Clan in Lanliang City, and Chen Heng said Tu Shan Ge could not have left Blazing Mountain to save them.
• A mysterious gaze pierced the Divine Domain's barrier and a voice told Chen Heng that it had finally found someone from the Mysterious Truth Sect.

Hou Wen found Chen Heng alive through the Mysterious Truth Sect’s Golden Scroll and captured him to bring back to the Jade Dawn School. As Hou Wen prepared to return to the Mountain Gate to suppress his worsening demonic nature, Wusheng Child secretly gave Chen Heng a sword connected to the Formless Lie Sword Cave.

• Hou Wen used the Golden Scroll to identify Chen Heng as a surviving Mysterious Truth Sect disciple, though he wondered why his divinations had not revealed him.
• Hou Wen tore open the Blazing Mountain Divine Domain, restrained Chen Heng, and took him and Tu Shan Ge’s group into his Dharma Conch.
• Wusheng Child appeared unseen, sent a tiny scarlet sword into Chen Heng’s brow, and said Chen Heng could unlock it after cultivating his Purple Mansion.
• Hou Wen contacted a boy at the Mountain Gate and asked him to tell Elder Xun that he needed help suppressing his demonic nature.
• Hou Wen used a Hidden Immortal Soaring Heaven Talisman to set off for the Mountain Gate.

Hou Wen returned to Jade Dawn School’s Xiaoming Great Marsh carrying Chen Heng, after suffering the Blood River Sect’s Six Desires Great Demon True Light. Elder Xun cured him with a nine-eyed Furu, reprimanded him for his failures, and arranged for Chen Heng to be taken to the Mystery Teaching Hall before sending him to the Huayang Sect; Elder Xun then recognized something unusual about Chen Heng just as a Golden-Robed Youth arrived.

• Hou Wen reached Jade Dawn School’s Mountain Gate and tried to suppress the Six Desires Great Demon True Light afflicting him.
• A boy brought Hou Wen a Clearance Pill from Qiao Rui, but it could not cure his demonic affliction, so he called for Elder Xun.
• Elder Xun fed the demonic true light to his nine-eyed Furu, then scolded Hou Wen for neglecting cultivation, failing to prepare for danger, and losing the lead to Sima Lingzhen.
• Hou Wen recounted the events involving the Mysterious Truth Sect, and Elder Xun said Chen Heng should go to the Huayang Sect after questioning at the Mystery Teaching Hall.
• Hou Wen released Chen Heng from his Dharma Conch, and Elder Xun calculated that the youth was extraordinary before a Golden-Robed Youth arrived and reacted to him.

Elder Xun defended Chen Heng from Elder Wang, who attacked him because Chen Heng was the son of his old enemy, Chen Jade Pivot. After Furu revealed Chen Heng’s identity to the gathered elders, several joined the fight against Elder Xun, until a booming voice interrupted them.

• Elder Wang accused Chen Heng of being Chen Jade Pivot’s son and attacked him, but Elder Xun blocked the strike and fought back.
• Elder Xun and Elder Wang’s duel drew the attention of other True Adepts, who transported Hou Wen away and asked him what had happened.
• Furu announced that Chen Heng was Chen Jade Pivot’s son, prompting a female elder and several others to join the battle against Elder Xun.
• Elder Xun refused to hand Chen Heng over and struggled against the elders’ combined attacks.
• A booming voice interrupted the battle and asked why the elders had started fighting.

The Master of Spirit Treasure Hall reprimanded the cultivators who had attacked Chen Heng, then summoned Elder Xun while the other elders dispersed. Luan Shuo arranged for Mi Jingshi to help Chen Heng if necessary, and an unseen voice asked Luan Shuo why he was working so hard to save him.

• The Master of Spirit Treasure Hall chastised Elder Wang, the female cultivator, and the others for fighting within the Mountain Gate, then summoned Elder Xun into his Grotto-Heaven.
• Luan Shuo met Mi Jingshi, who wanted to borrow the Nine Heavens Thunderclap Diagram, and told him about the events involving Chen Heng.
• Luan Shuo reminded Mi Jingshi that his daughter was with Chen Wei in the Yuluo Immortal Mansion, prompting Mi Jingshi to worry that Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji might resent him if he ignored Chen Heng.
• Luan Shuo advised Mi Jingshi to help Chen Heng if the Master of Spirit Treasure Hall's position remained unclear, and Mi Jingshi agreed to follow his plan.
• A voice from Luan Shuo's sleeve asked why he was trying so hard to save Chen Heng, and Luan Shuo replied that his master's kindness was reason enough.

Luan Shuo explained that he had helped Chen Heng because he believed Chen Heng’s extraordinary appearance signaled a remarkable destiny, while Tong Xuan chose to let Chen Heng face the Jade Dawn School’s Lower Court without public protection. Chen Heng continued refining his body in the Mystery Teaching Hall and expected to break through another minor barrier after about a month.

• Luan Shuo told the Ink Flood Dragon that Chen Heng’s exceptional appearance convinced him to offer Mi Jingshi advice on protecting Chen Heng.
• Eastern Dipper and a heroic-looking man learned that Chen Heng was in Xiaoming Great Marsh, inside the Jade Dawn School, and contacted Tong Xuan.
• Tong Xuan refused to publicly intervene for Chen Heng, saying that protection from his name would prevent Chen Heng from being tempered, and ordered the heroic-looking man to return Eastern Dipper to Dao Lord Weiling.
• Chen Heng completed a period of body refinement in the Mystery Teaching Hall and sensed that another month there could bring a minor cultivation breakthrough.

Chen Heng learned that the Jade Dawn School planned to destroy his Dao foundation and hand him over to the Huayang Sect, but Mi Jingshi promised that the returning Dao Scion Jun Yao might secure his safety and a benefit. Six days later, Mi Jingshi sensed another fiery message arriving at the Mystery Teaching Hall.

• Chen Heng cultivated in the Mystery Teaching Hall’s cell and judged that another month in Xiaoming Great Marsh could bring him to the second stage of Foundation Establishment.
• Mi Jingshi told Chen Heng that the Jade Dawn School’s factions had agreed to destroy his primordial beginning true origin Dao foundation and place him under the Huayang Sect’s supervision.
• Mi Jingshi said Dao Scion Jun Yao’s return might spare Chen Heng and bring him a major benefit, then urged him to wait calmly.
• Mi Jingshi returned Chen Heng’s World-Escaping Shuttle, explaining that he could not retrieve the closely guarded Sword Talismans.
• Six days later, Mi Jingshi sensed a streak of fire enter the Mystery Teaching Hall and caught the object it carried.

Mi Jingshi tried to secure Jun Yao’s help for Chen Heng, but Elder Sun forced him to go to Shouyang Mountain under orders from Xie Shouyuan. Mi Jingshi escaped using a Bìkuī Insect and rushed to Chen Heng’s prison, where two men intercepted him.

• Mi Jingshi concluded Jun Yao had sealed his mountain because of his injuries and decided to visit him in person for help with Chen Heng.
• Elder Sun arrived with official orders and requisitioned Mi Jingshi for guard duty at Shouyang Mountain, keeping him away while a Mystery Teaching Hall Deacon went to kill Chen Heng.
• Mi Jingshi learned Xie Shouyuan was targeting Chen Heng and that the mansion master was displeased with him for contacting Jun Yao.
• As Elder Sun escorted him away, Mi Jingshi used a Bìkuī Insect to create a spirit body and secretly escape.
• Mi Jingshi hurried toward Chen Heng’s prison, but two men appeared and stopped him before he could reach it.

The Gongshu Brothers stopped Xie Yingyuan’s forces from killing Chen Heng, and Mi Jingshi freed Chen Heng to choose his next path. Chen Heng chose to go to Xiyi Mountain and struck the Kui Ox Drum to request an audience with Jun Yao.

• Gongshu Yu and Gongshu Long told Mi Jingshi that they had captured the stewards and Mountain-Moving Strongmen sent to kill Chen Heng.
• The Gongshu Brothers fought Elder Sun and Xie Yingyuan’s divine statue while Mi Jingshi freed Chen Heng and urged him to seek Jun Yao at Xiyi Mountain.
• Mi Jingshi revealed that Xie Yingyuan blamed Chen Jade Pivot for turning his four children into human puppets.
• Chen Heng rejected the prospect of fleeing to Qiaoming Gorge and asked the World-Escaping Shuttle to take him to Xiyi Mountain.
• Gongshu Yu’s spell pinned Xie Yingyuan and others in place as the World-Escaping Shuttle carried Chen Heng to the Kui Ox Drum.
• Chen Heng struck the Kui Ox Drum and requested an audience with True Person Jun Yao.

After advancing to the second level of Foundation Establishment, Chen Heng met Dao Scion Jun Yao, who offered him a place in the Jade Dawn School’s Four Great Lower Courts. Chen Heng chose to sever ties with Chen Jade Pivot, and Jun Yao gave him a valuable Daoist tome before the chapter ended.

• Chen Heng completed his cultivation breakthrough, gaining the ability to alter his size and greatly increasing his True Qi.
• Steward Feng told Chen Heng that Jun Yao wished to see him, and Chen Heng followed him to the Qianyuan Grand Hall.
• Chen Heng arrived while Jun Yao and Elder Xun discussed Jun Yao’s plans to deal with Xie Yingyuan of Shouyang Mountain before Jun Yao’s lifespan ended.
• Jun Yao offered to enroll Chen Heng as a Lower Court disciple, warning that joining the Jade Dawn School meant breaking with Chen Jade Pivot.
• Chen Heng rejected Chen Jade Pivot and declared his resolve to pursue the Dao, after which Jun Yao gave him a heavy tome made of gold and jade.

Jun Yao gave Chen Heng the Doushu Heavenly King Divine Sect Jade Book and sent him to await formal registration with the Jade Dawn School, while urging him to pursue the school’s own Golden Core Great Dao. Jun Yao’s master then arrived and revealed that his request for a Ginseng Fruit from Elder Tai Su had received an answer.

• Jun Yao gave Chen Heng the Doushu Heavenly King Divine Sect Jade Book, which contained cultivation methods through the Cavern Mystery realm, and explained that he withheld its later scriptures so Chen Heng would focus on Jade Dawn’s Golden Core Great Dao.
• Jun Yao told Chen Heng to stay on Xiyi Mountain until his name was entered in the golden register, and advised him to contact Xun Bing if trouble arose after Jun Yao’s death.
• Jun Yao sent Chen Heng back to his quiet chamber, where Chen Heng reflected on finally reaching the Jade Dawn School.
• Jun Yao’s master descended into the Qianyuan Grand Hall through a talisman plaque, scolded him for persisting with an Arcane Art tied to Chen Yan, and asked about his recent dealings with Chen Heng and Xie Yingyuan.
• Jun Yao explained that he had given Chen Heng only the incomplete Jade Book and no cultivation resources, believing Chen Heng should rely on his own strength.
• Jun Yao’s master told him that his request for a Ginseng Fruit from Elder Tai Su had yielded a result.

Jun Yao’s teacher revealed that Mei Gongxing had a risky method that might preserve Jun Yao’s life, while warning him that the Gongshu brothers’ help for Chen Heng could point to the Twelve Great Clans’ growing ambitions. Two days later, Chen Heng learned that his name had been entered into the Golden Register and that an envoy had come to escort him to the Lower Court.

• Jun Yao recalled Elder Tai Su’s history and doubted that the elder would offer Ginseng Fruit without seeking something from Jade Dawn.
• Jun Yao’s teacher explained that Mei Gongxing had interrupted the proposed Ginseng Fruit trade and offered a method with a thirty percent chance of temporarily saving Jun Yao, though the cost would involve him personally.
• Jun Yao decided to consult the patriarchs about the method, while his teacher vowed to save him regardless of fate.
• Jun Yao’s teacher raised suspicions about the Gongshu brothers’ protection of Chen Heng and the Twelve Great Clans’ growing disloyalty; Jun Yao agreed that the clans might need to be checked.
• Two days later, Steward Feng told Chen Heng that his name had been entered into the Golden Register and that an envoy was waiting to take him to the Lower Court.

Chen Heng learned that he had been assigned to Changying Court, where powerful clan ties could make his cultivation difficult, but he accepted the challenge and flew to the Lower Court. Dao Lord Tong Xuan then revealed why he had imprisoned Chen Yuanji: he wanted Chen Heng to join Jade Dawn School and face the dangers of Changying Court, leaving Chen Yuanji silent and departing after handing Tong Xuan something.

• Steward Feng warned Chen Heng that Changying Court’s superintendent Qiao Yu and initiation master Xie Yu had ties to the Changyou Xie Clan, unlike Baishang Court’s impartial superintendent Wu Sheng.
• Chen Heng took Jun Yao’s words, “No dragon dwells in stagnant water,” as a challenge to carve his own path, bowed toward Xiyi Mountain, and flew to the waiting vessel.
• Jun Yao watched Chen Heng depart and said he would give him the Killing Sword if he could stir up the Lower Court without losing resolve; a sword rang out with fierce killing intent.
• Dao Lord Tong Xuan released Chen Yuanji from his Inner Landscape world and explained that he had imprisoned him to stop him from taking Chen Heng to Yuluo Immortal Mansion.
• Chen Yuanji accused Tong Xuan of intending to use Chen Heng as a blade against the great clans, but Tong Xuan argued that Chen Heng should choose whether to pursue the Great Dao.
• Chen Yuanji fell silent, tossed an object from his sleeve to Tong Xuan, and left without a word.