Chapter Summaries

Ying Huaixu led Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan to find an inside contact after realizing that killing every Thousand Mechanisms Sect outpost would not stop the blood sacrifice. At a prison beneath the City Lord’s residence, they uncovered the sect’s detailed plan while the City Lord and a masked disciple prepared for the Annihilation Envoy’s arrival.

• Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang purged several Thousand Mechanisms Sect outposts, earning Ying Huaixu 70,000 experience points before He Xiuyuan persuaded them to seek the inside contact instead.
• The City Lord watched corpses being carried to a Blood Altar beneath his residence as a masked Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple explained that the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s members would be needed as food for the arriving Annihilation Envoy.
• The City Lord tried to issue an order but received no response, while the masked disciple eventually received a reply and insisted that the plan was ready.
• Ying Huaixu led Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan to the death-row prison, where Ye Ningshuang silently killed the guards and Ying Huaixu selectively killed condemned inmates.
• Ying Huaixu found a leather-wrapped scroll inside a corpse’s belly and told He Xiuyuan it contained the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s detailed plan.

Ying Huaixu altered the report about the Blood Sacrifice Cultivators, and the World Mission updated to require the defense of Falling Radiance City against the Annihilation Envoy. The Divine Firmament Sword Sect arrived with a far larger force than Ying Huaixu expected, including the renowned Qiu Shiyi.

• Ying Huaixu persuaded He Xiuyuan to add an unverified accusation against the Thousand Mechanisms Sect and the city lord of Falling Radiance City to their report.
• The World Mission rewarded them for completing the investigation and unlocked a new act to defend Falling Radiance City and slay the Annihilation Envoy's descending avatar.
• He Xiuyuan worried that the report might be exposed as false, and Ying Huaixu claimed he had overheard the plot at the Thousand Mechanisms Sect's outpost.
• He Xiuyuan received an order to stand by, and a thunderous boom announced the arrival of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's reinforcements.
• Ying Huaixu saw the sect's Warships and Sword-Riding Disciples, including Qiu Shiyi, the Spirit Sea Realm peak cultivator known as the Little Killing God.

Ying Huaixu and He Xiuyuan watched the Divine Firmament Sword Sect seal Falling Radiance City with a formation that let the innocent leave and trapped those burdened by karmic sins. As they waited for the sect’s one-day evacuation deadline to pass, Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang eagerly prepared to punish the villains who stayed, leaving He Xiuyuan appalled by their enthusiasm.

• Ying Huaixu reassured He Xiuyuan that their mission report was accurate and that the sect alone was responsible for its response.
• Qiu Shiyi’s disciples deployed white jade pillars and a lockdown formation around Falling Radiance City, then guarded the exits while allowing people to leave.
• He Xiuyuan explained that the Questioning Heart Formation and Sin-Severing Formation trapped people with karmic sins, and that anyone still inside after one day would be wiped out.
• Ye Ningshuang asked whether she could kill the people who stayed, and Ying Huaixu agreed that they could punish those villains.
• Ying Huaixu helped Ye Ningshuang sharpen her sword while insisting they were eager to root out evil, leaving He Xiuyuan exasperated.

Falling Radiance City’s lord discovered that Qiu Shiyi and a large force from the Divine Firmament Sword Sect had arrived, disrupting the Thousand Mechanisms Sect cultivator’s blood-sacrifice plan. The city lord secretly reversed the array’s possession effect, gained the envoy’s power, and made the cultivator appear to take him hostage as they charged outside.

• Unable to contact his subordinates, the city lord of Falling Radiance City persuaded the Thousand Mechanisms Sect cultivator to let him leave the underground chamber.
• The city lord emerged and found the Divine Firmament Sword Sect gathered outside, led by Qiu Shiyi.
• The city lord warned the Thousand Mechanisms Sect cultivator, who insisted the envoy could defeat the sect’s disciples until he learned Qiu Shiyi had come.
• The Thousand Mechanisms Sect cultivator abandoned the blood-sacrifice descent and told the city lord to take the Descent Flame Seed and escape while he held Qiu Shiyi off.
• The city lord received the Blood-Red Pearl, redirected the possession effect, and absorbed the envoy’s power instead.
• The city lord controlled the Thousand Mechanisms Sect cultivator and made him carry the city lord outside as though holding him hostage.

The Divine Firmament Sword Sect slaughtered the condemned inhabitants of Falling Radiance City, and Ying Huaixu discovered he gained experience from their kills. Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan joined the fighting and grew stronger, while Ying Huaixu stayed back and neared 100,000 experience.

• After the evacuation deadline passed, Qiu Shiyi summoned rain made of swords that killed the remaining protesters in Falling Radiance City.
• Ying Huaixu gained experience from the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's kills and decided he could safely follow Ye Ningshuang to gain more in future battles.
• Qiu Shiyi sent the sect disciples to hunt down the remaining evil cultivators, and Ye Ningshuang joined the fight after Ying Huaixu gave her permission.
• Ying Huaixu ordered He Xiuyuan to protect Ye Ningshuang, and He Xiuyuan discovered that killing people steadily increased his cultivation.
• Ye Ningshuang absorbed soul power from corpses and advanced to the perfected seventh layer of body tempering, while Ying Huaixu's experience total reached 90,000.

The Divine Firmament Sword Sect slaughtered the fleeing enemies while He Xiuyuan suspected Ying Huaixu was behind his sudden cultivation gains. After the city lord escaped underground and drew Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, and He Xiuyuan into a bloody hall, Ye Ningshuang charged him in fury.

• Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan joined the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's slaughter, and He Xiuyuan advanced to the second level of Meridian Opening.
• He Xiuyuan recognized the city lord fleeing with a Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple, exposed him to the sect, and watched the city lord escape underground while the disciple was killed.
• Qiu Shiyi failed to locate the concealed city lord, but Ying Huaixu spotted him on his map and rushed toward Ye Ningshuang with He Xiuyuan following.
• Space twisted and transported Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, and He Xiuyuan into an underground hall where the city lord fed corpses into a mouth in his belly.
• The city lord attacked Ying Huaixu and He Xiuyuan, then declared he would devour Ye Ningshuang; enraged by Ying Huaixu's apparent defeat, she charged him with her sword.

He Xiuyuan and Ye Ningshuang were defeated by the transformed city lord, leaving Ying Huaixu to stop pretending to be unconscious and face the monster himself. The city lord’s attacks failed to harm Ying, and he launched a blood-red energy blast at him.

• The city lord transformed and blocked the cave exit, then knocked He Xiuyuan unconscious before Ye Ningshuang could escape with Ying Huaixu.
• Ye Ningshuang tried to protect Ying Huaixu, but the city lord struck her down and approached to devour her.
• Ying Huaixu sat up and asked the city lord to wait an hour before fighting.
• The city lord attacked Ying Huaixu twice, but Ying easily knocked him back without being injured.
• The city lord gave up on close combat and fired a blast of blood-red energy at Ying Huaixu.

Ying Huaixu advanced to Meridian Opening and defeated the city lord’s first phase, then let He Xiuyuan take the blame while Qiu Shiyi destroyed the second phase. After the mission ended, the sect punished Qiu Shiyi, Ye Ningshuang withdrew to cultivate, and He Xiuyuan entered the inner sect.

• The city lord’s blood-red attacks exhausted Ying Huaixu’s stamina, but his Blood-Coagulating Pills kept him alive without visible wounds.
• Ying Huaixu raised his cultivation to Meridian Opening, parried the city lord’s next pillar of light, and cut him down until a blood-red force began transforming his body.
• Ying Huaixu slapped He Xiuyuan, placed him before the second-phase boss, and pretended to be unconscious as Qiu Shiyi arrived.
• Qiu Shiyi destroyed the transformed city lord and the escaping blood-red energy, completing Act Three of the World Mission.
• The Divine Firmament Sword Sect punished Qiu Shiyi at Reflection Cliff, Ye Ningshuang devoted herself to cultivation, and He Xiuyuan entered the inner sect and received credit for the victory.

After his near-fatal fight with the City Lord, Ying Huaixu resolved to keep a low profile and focus on strengthening Ye Ningshuang. He completed a daily quest for Huang Tianqi, refined pills to unlock automatic alchemy, and gathered contribution points to obtain a meridian-opening cultivation method.

• Ying Huaixu reflected on his defeat by the City Lord and the unexpected situation with He Xiuyuan, then decided to avoid dangerous attention and develop Ye Ningshuang.
• Ying Huaixu brought Huang Tianqi three stalks of dewgrass, completing his daily quest and earning 3,000 experience.
• Huang Tianqi gave Ying Huaixu over a hundred top-grade Sweet Dew Pills and the formulas for Sweet Dew Pills and Second-Tier Spirit-Returning Pills.
• Ying Huaixu refined Sweet Dew Pills until he unlocked Automatic Alchemy, then used the method to produce a large batch while Huang Tianqi watched and learned.
• Huang Tianqi gave Ying Huaixu a Qi-Gathering Pill formula, and Ying Huaixu raised his proficiency until he could automate its refinement.
• Ying Huaixu exchanged the contents of several Storage Bags for contribution points so he could obtain a meridian-opening cultivation method.

Ying Huaixu pushed He Xiuyuan to take cultivation seriously, then discovered that Huang Tianqi had accidentally refined an Immortal-Grade Qi-Gathering Pill after blowing up the Pill Room. The chapter ended with the old man and Ying Huaixu stunned by Huang Tianqi’s extraordinary result.

• Ying Huaixu visited the inner sect and found He Xiuyuan had made no progress in cultivation or learned any techniques.
• Ying Huaixu challenged He Xiuyuan to train, exposed his poor fighting skills, and gave him over three hundred Qi-Gathering Pills to help him improve.
• He Xiuyuan agreed to cultivate seriously and aim for the ninth level of Meridian Opening within two years.
• Huang Tianqi blew up the Pill Room after putting over two hundred portions of herbs into a pill furnace.
• Ying Huaixu saw Huang Tianqi holding a glowing pill, and the old man identified it as an Immortal-Grade Qi-Gathering Pill.

After the alchemy room was destroyed, Ying Huaixu went to the Preaching Institute and encountered He Xixiang, whose painful lecture unexpectedly earned him a great deal of experience. He left hoping to attend her next lecture, though she only came once a month.

• The Pill Peak Master took Huang Tianqi and his immortal-grade Qi-Gathering Pill away, while Ying Huaixu wondered if he could reproduce the result.
• Unable to use the ruined alchemy room or the full Artifact Refining Room, Ying Huaixu went to the Preaching Institute for an activity.
• He Xixiang appeared and asked Ying Huaixu to attend her lecture after the servant disciples hurried out.
• Ying Huaixu endured He Xixiang's agonizing lecture and gained 1,000 experience points per minute for two hours.
• He Xixiang told Ying Huaixu she would lecture again on the first of next month, and he thanked her before she left.

Ying Huaixu suffered lingering effects from He Xixiang’s lecture, while the Pill Peak Master struggled with Huang Tianqi’s costly immortal-grade pill refining. At a sect meeting, Lü Qingyi defended her training methods for Ye Ningshuang and left after demanding the sect either appoint a new Master or let her teach as she saw fit.

• Ying Huaixu returned to his Cave Abode with a headache, then dreamed of He Xixiang’s lecture despite taking a Sleep Aid Pill.
• Huang Tianqi refined another Immortal-Grade Qi-Gathering Pill using a thousand portions of herbs, leaving the Pill Peak Master frustrated by the huge loss.
• The Sect Master praised Ye Ningshuang’s role in resolving the Falling Radiance City incident and proposed discussing a training plan for her.
• Lü Qingyi challenged the Sect Master’s concerns by pointing out Ye Ningshuang’s progress and asking whether she had actually died in Falling Radiance City.
• Lü Qingyi demanded that the sect choose a new Master for Ye Ningshuang or let her continue her own methods, then vanished.

Lü Qingyi visited He Xixiang and discussed Ying Huaixu’s unusual progress and He Xixiang’s interest in taking him as a disciple. A divination warned that Ying Huaixu would betray He Xixiang and stab her in the back, leaving He Xixiang unconvinced as Lü Qingyi hurried off to find him.

• Lü Qingyi complained to He Xixiang that the sect master and the other senior disciples were pressuring her over how she trained Ye Ningshuang.
• He Xixiang told Lü Qingyi about an outer disciple who had listened to her entire Dao lecture, and Lü Qingyi identified him as Ying Huaixu.
• He Xixiang questioned whether Ying Huaixu truly had a low-grade spiritual root after learning he had reached the first layer of Meridian Opening in less than a month.
• He Xixiang admitted she wanted to take Ying Huaixu as her disciple but feared the Grand Ancestor’s prophecy that her future disciple would betray her.
• Lü Qingyi divined that Ying Huaixu would betray He Xixiang and stab her in the back, then left to find him while He Xixiang accused her of trying to keep him for herself.

Ying Huaixu resumed taking quests after recovering from He Xixiang's preaching, then accepted a delivery quest from the Pill Room. He bought a large supply of Grain-Bigging Pills from an unexpectedly honest supervisor, who realized too late that he had forgotten to tell Ying Huaixu where Reflection Cliff was.

• Ying Huaixu attended sermons at the Preaching Institute and compared their meager experience rewards with He Xixiang's generous preaching.
• After several days of low-reward sermons, Ying Huaixu stopped attending most preachers and accepted an Adventure Quest to deliver food to Reflection Cliff.
• The Pill Room supervisor explained that Ying Huaixu was delivering oversized, defective Grain-Bigging Pills and showed him a smaller, well-made pill.
• Ying Huaixu asked to buy Grain-Bigging Pills, and the supervisor persuaded him to purchase ten thousand Spirit Stones' worth instead of a hundred thousand.
• Ying Huaixu gave the supervisor an extra two thousand Spirit Stones and headed for Reflection Cliff, while the supervisor realized he had forgotten to explain where it was.

Ying Huaixu delivered fasting pills to the disciples at Reflection Cliff, where a mysterious voice tried to lure him toward the mountaintop before Qiu Shiyi intervened. After the danger passed, Ying Huaixu fulfilled Qiu Shiyi’s unspoken request by bringing him a flask of wine.

• Ying Huaixu reached Reflection Cliff after a grueling climb and watched its imprisoned disciples scramble for the fasting pills he had brought.
• A woman’s alluring voice tried to control Ying Huaixu and draw him toward the mountaintop, but Qiu Shiyi fired a water sword at the source.
• A sealing formation activated on the mountaintop, and the trapped voice roared at Lü Qingyi before the mountain fell quiet.
• Ying Huaixu thanked Qiu Shiyi, who began asking him for a favor, but Ying Huaixu left before he could finish.
• Ying Huaixu returned with a flask of wine taken from a disciple at Reflection Cliff, and Qiu Shiyi drank it with satisfaction.

Qiu Shiyi thanked Ying Huaixu for saving He Xiuyuan and Ye Ningshuang in Falling Radiance City, then rewarded him for completing the hidden Adventure Quest. Ying Huaixu left with a key to Sword Mountain, an offer to become an Inner Disciple, and the promise that the sect would back him in future conflicts.

• Qiu Shiyi revealed that he had recognized Ying Huaixu's ice Spiritual Root and explained that Ying Huaixu had saved him from severe punishment by keeping the others alive.
• Qiu Shiyi admitted that he had arranged the Alchemy Hall quest to bring Ying Huaixu to Reflection Cliff.
• Qiu Shiyi urged Ying Huaixu to apply to become an Inner Disciple and gave him a Swimming Fish Jade Pendant as a reward for advancing quickly.
• Ying Huaixu recognized the pendant as a key to Sword Mountain and learned it would let him choose a growth Divine Weapon.
• Qiu Shiyi added Ying Huaixu to his friends list and promised that the Divine Firmament Sword Sect would call in reinforcements until they defeated anyone who threatened their own.

After Ying Huaixu returned to Reflection Cliff, Lü Qingyi explained the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s rules for helping fellow disciples and sharing the rewards from dangerous missions. Ying Huaixu left with Qiu Shiyi’s promise to help him once he joined the Inner Sect.

• After Ying Huaixu left, Lü Qingyi descended and punished a noisy presence on the mountaintop with a True Spirit Hand.
• When Ying Huaixu returned, Lü Qingyi asked why he had come to Reflection Cliff, and he explained that he wanted Qiu Shiyi to give him a ride down the mountain.
• Ying Huaixu asked whether fellow disciples would help him in danger, and Lü Qingyi said they would also expect him to help others.
• Lü Qingyi explained how the sect handled a helper’s share and compensation if that disciple died during a mission.
• Lü Qingyi told Ying Huaixu he could ask for help from someone no more than one major cultivation realm above him, except in special cases.
• After Lü Qingyi left, Ying Huaixu asked Qiu Shiyi to help him in the future, and Qiu Shiyi agreed.

Ye Ningshuang returned to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect after a harsh training trip, having become colder and reached the first layer of Meridian Opening. She and Ying Huaixu entered the inner sect, where their cultivation qualified them for promotion.

• Ye Ningshuang returned to the sect changed by her experiences and promised Ying Huaixu she would protect him.
• Ying Huaixu and Qiu Shiyi arrived, and Qiu Shiyi was stunned to learn Ye Ningshuang had reached Meridian Opening.
• Ying Huaixu asked Qiu Shiyi to take him and Ye Ningshuang to register with the inner sect.
• Ye Ningshuang told Ying Huaixu she had killed a few dozen people during her trip, and Ying Huaixu and Qiu Shiyi explained that such violence was common beyond the sect's territory.
• Qiu Shiyi took Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang into the inner sect, where Ying Huaixu received a Silver Disciple Token and Ye Ningshuang received a Swimming Fish Jade Pendant.

After Ye Ningshuang left with Lü Qingyi’s Divine Deer, He Xixiang offered Ying Huaixu the chance to become her disciple, and he accepted. His new master gave him generous supplies and unrestricted choices at the Scripture Pavilion, then prepared to show him around Tianqu Peak.

• Qiu Shiyi left after advising Ying Huaixu to seek his help only with serious problems.
• Lü Qingyi’s Divine Deer came for Ye Ningshuang, who insisted that Ying Huaixu come too until Lü Qingyi assured her someone else would take him as a disciple.
• He Xixiang appeared and asked Ying Huaixu to become her disciple after praising his cultivation and making him swear an oath.
• Ying Huaixu accepted He Xixiang’s offer and completed his quest to become a disciple.
• He Xixiang upgraded Ying Huaixu’s token and gave him supplies, pills, spirit stones, clothing, and free choices at the Scripture Pavilion.
• He Xixiang revealed that she was Tianqu Peak’s peak lord and said she would take Ying Huaixu to the Scripture Pavilion and show him around the peak.

After entering the Inner Sect, Ying Huaixu saw disciples recruiting for quests and chose an ice-focused cultivation build that seemed unremarkable to He Xixiang. He and Ye Ningshuang arrived at Sword Mountain to select their magical artifacts, leaving He Xixiang and Lü Qingyi to worry about Ying Huaixu’s judgment.

• Ying Huaixu saw Inner Sect disciples recruiting teammates and workers for quests, and He Xixiang told him there was no need to rush into them.
• Ying Huaixu chose the Snow-Tempering Scripture, Ice Rain Sword-Controlling Art, and Frost-Swept Shadow, despite He Xixiang offering to let him choose again.
• He Xixiang took Ying Huaixu to Sword Mountain to collect a magical artifact and warned him that he could choose only one.
• Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang inserted their Swimming Fish Jade Pendants into the gate and vanished to choose their artifacts.
• He Xixiang told Lü Qingyi about Ying Huaixu’s technique choices, and Lü Qingyi agreed that they seemed ordinary.