Chapter Summaries

He Xixiang protected Ying Huaixu from the sect leaders, then learned from Lü Qingyi that his intelligence about the Thousand Mechanisms Sect spy and Cold Mountain Temple had proved reliable. After the Sect Master seized Ying Huaixu and began whipping him, He Xixiang arrived behind him in a fury.

• He Xixiang warned the Sect Master and peak masters not to target Ying Huaixu, then kept him bound and swinging from a tree until Lü Qingyi persuaded her to let him down.
• Lü Qingyi told He Xixiang that Ying Huaixu had revealed a Thousand Mechanisms Sect spy could pass through the sect's defenses and that his earlier intelligence had been accurate.
• He Xixiang and Lü Qingyi hurried to investigate how Xue Si had passed the Questioning Heart Formation, while Ying Huaixu left for the Illusory Dream Mountain Range.
• The Sect Master ambushed Ying Huaixu, tied him to a cross, and whipped him over the grievances from the Illusory Dream Trial.
• Ying Huaixu asked the Sect Master whether he felt cold and pointed out that the chill might be coming from behind him; the Sect Master turned and saw He Xixiang glaring at him.

He Xixiang rescued Ying Huaixu by brutally punishing the Sect Master and the other peaks, then tended to Ying Huaixu’s wounds. As Lü Qingyi and He Xixiang set out to investigate how Xue Si passed the Heart-Questioning Array, He Xixiang insisted that Ying Huaixu stay close to her.

• He Xixiang beat the Sect Master after finding Ying Huaixu injured, then whipped him for two hours.
• He Xixiang visited the major peaks and beat their residents to prove she had not been joking.
• He Xixiang applied ointment to Ying Huaixu’s whip marks, while Lü Qingyi teased them about their closeness.
• Lü Qingyi invited He Xixiang and Ying Huaixu to investigate how Xue Si passed the Heart-Questioning Array, and she forbade Ying Huaixu from weakening himself.
• He Xixiang told Ying Huaixu she felt uncomfortable about his relationship with Lü Qingyi, and Ying Huaixu promised never to betray her.

Ying Huaixu gained experience from eating He Xixiang’s spiritual fruit and drinking Lü Qingyi’s tea, then advanced to the fourth level of Meridian Opening. He explained how Xue Si had passed the Questioning Heart Formation, but Lü Qingyi challenged his account before He Xixiang defended him.

• He Xixiang fed Ying Huaixu spiritual fruit and Lü Qingyi gave him tea, earning him enough experience to reach the fourth level of Meridian Opening.
• He Xixiang and Lü Qingyi realized Ying Huaixu had been stronger than they expected, while Ying Huaixu discovered each fruit and the tea only granted experience once.
• The three watched Xue Si enter the Questioning Heart Formation after sealing away her memories as a Descender.
• Ying Huaixu explained that Xue Si’s sealed memories let her pass as an innocent person, revealing a loophole that could enable spies to enter the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
• Lü Qingyi questioned how Ying Huaixu knew the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s plan, and He Xixiang interrupted by feeding him fruit and defending him.

Lü Qingyi tasked Ying Huaixu with investigating Xue Si and gathering evidence that the Thousand Mechanisms Sect had sent her to kill the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s geniuses. Ying Huaixu told the disciples to play along with Xue Si’s seduction as part of the investigation, leaving her bewildered when a crowd came to offer their help.

• Lü Qingyi explained that she needed evidence to use against the Thousand Mechanisms Sect and assigned Ying Huaixu a quest to investigate Xue Si’s identity and purpose.
• He Xixiang told Ying Huaixu that Zhuang Mu and Lü Qingyi were formidable fighters, while Lü Qingyi sent Ying Huaixu to investigate Xue Si.
• He Xiuyuan told Ying Huaixu that he had cleared the Nightmare Trial and that the disciples had been ordered to watch Xue Si.
• Ying Huaixu encouraged He Xiuyuan and the other disciples to go along with Xue Si’s advances so she would have a chance to reveal her intentions.
• He Xiuyuan and another disciple spent time with Xue Si, who expected the disciples to become jealous and turn on one another.
• Xue Si was flustered when more than a dozen Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples gathered outside her Cave Abode and offered to help her.

Xue Si’s attempt to operate undercover at the Divine Firmament Sword Sect was derailed when its disciples flocked to her cave abode, prompting Ying Huaixu to arrange a severe punishment. After Qiu Shiyi discovered Xue Si’s hidden murderous intent, he returned to find Ying Huaixu training He Xiuyuan and was astonished by He’s progress.

• Xue Si grew exhausted and angry as disciples visited her cave abode and put up an archway advertising her services, so she shut herself inside.
• Ying Huaixu told Qiu Shiyi that Xue Si’s conduct deserved an exceptionally harsh punishment, and Qiu took her to Demon Suppression Peak.
• Qiu Shiyi had Xue Si pierced through the shoulder blades and scorched with Earth Vein Fire, then released her after she begged for mercy.
• Xue Si concealed her murderous intent and left, but Qiu Shiyi sensed it and concluded that something was wrong with her.
• Qiu Shiyi found Ying Huaixu training He Xiuyuan and was astonished by how much He’s strength had changed.

Ying Huaixu trained He Xiuyuan in combat and recruited Qiu Shiyi for future Secret Realm runs. As they discussed He Xiuyuan’s ties to He Xixiang and the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s past, Ying Huaixu saw a painting revealing Lü Qingyi’s striking appearance.

• Ying Huaixu harshly trained He Xiuyuan, correcting his fighting habits until He Xiuyuan could exchange blows with him and understand skill rotation.
• Qiu Shiyi asked to spar with Ying Huaixu, who agreed on the condition that Qiu Shiyi join his future dungeon runs; Qiu Shiyi also said Ying Huaixu would need He Xiuyuan’s permission to visit Cold Mountain Temple.
• Ying Huaixu asked about He Xiuyuan’s relationship with He Xixiang, and He Xiuyuan explained that she was his aunt who had left the Great Sun Sacred Ground and refused to recognize her family ties.
• Qiu Shiyi recounted how Lü Qingyi had purged corruption from the Divine Firmament Sword Sect and forced its direct disciples to take responsibility for running it.
• Qiu Shiyi showed Ying Huaixu a painting of Lü Qingyi, and Ying Huaixu was stunned by her beauty.

Ying Huaixu sparred with Qiu Shiyi to test Frost Annihilation’s limits, then watched Qiu overwhelm He Xiuyuan. While discussing Xue Si’s suspected infiltration, Ying Huaixu realized he could create the evidence they lacked.

• Qiu Shiyi gave Ying Huaixu an old painting of Senior Sister Qingyi and explained that his master had hidden it to avoid being punished for keeping it.
• Ying Huaixu defeated Qiu Shiyi quickly in their first spar, but Qiu adapted to the Frost Concept and tested how Frost Annihilation worked against opponents of higher cultivation realms.
• Qiu Shiyi explained that Frost Annihilation could freeze someone at the same cultivation realm, briefly affect someone one major realm higher, and only chill someone two major realms higher.
• Qiu Shiyi trapped He Xiuyuan in a sphere of water while Ying Huaixu warned him not to drown He Xiuyuan.
• Ying Huaixu confirmed that Xue Si was an undercover agent, then realized he could create evidence against her and asked Qiu Shiyi for help.

Ying Huaixu and Qiu Shiyi arranged for Xue Si to uncover Ye Ningshuang’s strength while keeping the disciples safe, but Ye Ningshuang revealed she had already used Xue Si as bait to expose her information. In the small world, Zhuang Mu supported the plan as a chance to confront anyone who threatened Ye Ningshuang, and the peak masters acknowledged Ying Huaixu’s concern for his fellow disciples.

• Ying Huaixu asked Qiu Shiyi to monitor Xue Si and let her investigate the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s disciples without allowing anyone to die.
• Lü Qingyi approved Ying Huaixu’s plan, and Ye Ningshuang emerged to say she trusted him and had already arranged for Xue Si to find out about her strength.
• Ye Ningshuang told Ying Huaixu she wanted to grow stronger and use Xue Si as bait to draw out enemies of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
• Zhuang Mu supported letting word of Ye Ningshuang’s abilities spread and warned that the sect would retaliate against anyone who tried to hunt her.
• The peak masters changed their objections into praise for Ying Huaixu and recognized that he had been helping his fellow disciples by refining pills.

Zhuang Mu decided to protect Ying Huaixu despite the Grand Ancestor's prophecy, then discovered a hidden, damaged page and rejected the prophecy. Meanwhile, Ying Huaixu and several disciples watched Xue Si meet the Ghost Bride, confirming that the Illusory Dream Trial's monsters were real.

• Zhuang Mu urged the elders to protect Ying Huaixu, and they agreed after learning Ying Huaixu's beatings had pushed him close to a breakthrough.
• Zhuang Mu found a scorched painting and cryptic writing hidden inside the Grand Ancestor's prophecy, then discarded the prophecy and returned to the Illusory Dream Mountain Range.
• He Xiuyuan told Ying Huaixu that Xue Si was making a move, and Ying Huaixu joined him, Qiu Shiyi, and Ye Ningshuang to watch her.
• Qiu Shiyi explained that he had fed Xue Si information about the sect's trusted formations, leading her to believe she could act without being detected.
• Xue Si met a woman Ying Huaixu recognized as the Ghost Bride, and the watching disciples realized the Illusory Dream Trial's monsters truly existed.

The Ghost Bride and Xue Si exchanged intelligence near the Divine Firmament Sword Sect, unaware that the sect’s disciples were watching them. After the Ghost Bride left, Ying Huaixu sent disciples to follow her and set out with Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan to ask Lü Qingyi for supplies.

• The Ghost Bride met Xue Si near the Divine Firmament Sword Sect and received intelligence about Ye Ningshuang, while Xue Si dismissed Ying Huaixu as unremarkable.
• The Ghost Bride grew uneasy and left, and the hidden Ying Huaixu, Qiu Shiyi, and Ye Ningshuang discussed Xue Si’s infiltration.
• Several disciples followed the Ghost Bride to investigate her strength and the power behind her, and Ying Huaixu supplied them with pills and cautioned them to retreat if danger arose.
• Ying Huaixu asked Qiu Shiyi to watch Xue Si and invited Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan to accompany him on an errand.
• Ying Huaixu decided to visit Ye Ningshuang’s master, Lü Qingyi, to ask for supplies.

Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang visited Sword-Questioning Peak’s vast inner peak, where Ying Huaixu realized its powerful disciples and Lü Qingyi’s strength hinted at dangers beyond the game’s known world. He gave Lü Qingyi Spirit Leaves as tea, then prepared to explain why they had come.

• Ying Huaixu roasted Spirit Leaves, packed them in a box, and brought them as a gift for Lü Qingyi.
• Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, and He Xiuyuan entered Sword-Questioning Peak and discovered its immense inner peak, which the female disciple said was the foundation of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
• The female disciple explained that every peak except Tianqu Peak had an inner peak, and Ying Huaixu wondered whether this hidden world foreshadowed a later game map and a looming catastrophe.
• Ying Huaixu entered Lü Qingyi’s palace and saw her holding a universe before she discarded it and returned to her little-girl form.
• Ying Huaixu brewed Lü Qingyi tea from the Spirit Leaves, and she asked what he had come to see her about.

Ying Huaixu gathered powerful defensive treasures for Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan before worrying that He Xixiang had gone to the dangerous Heavenly Snow Sacred Land. Lü Qingyi reassured him, then brought him to a depleted starry sky, where he suspected the force behind the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s envoy was responsible; she sent him back outside the sect without resolving the mystery.

• Ying Huaixu asked Lü Qingyi for defensive treasures for Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan, and she gave them armor and a shield along with three Jade Tokens that could each block a fatal blow.
• Ying Huaixu asked where He Xixiang had gone and worried that she might be headed to the Heavenly Snow Sacred Land, but Lü Qingyi said He Xixiang had asked her not to help and was not weak.
• Ying Huaixu asked Lü Qingyi to teach him how to make a universe by hand, and she explained that controlling a starry sky was a Tribulation Transcendence ability.
• Lü Qingyi took Ying Huaixu to a starry sky whose vitality had been drained, and Ying Huaixu suggested that the force behind the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s envoy might be responsible.
• Lü Qingyi continued to investigate the envoy without finding any trace of it, then snapped her fingers and sent Ying Huaixu outside the sect.

Ying Huaixu traveled to Falling Radiance City with Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan, then visited the Nether Capital Merchant Guild to clear three Spirit Stone instances. He exchanged the valuable crystals he found for Spirit Stones and learned they were rare Origin Cores.

• Ying Huaixu flew to Falling Radiance City with Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan, where the sect’s presence earned them respect from the city’s cultivators.
• Ying Huaixu gave Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan five hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones each, then headed to the Nether Capital Merchant Guild.
• The guild attendant warned Ying Huaixu that the creatures in the Meridian Opening wagers had become violent, but he took the Jade Tokens anyway.
• Ying Huaixu quickly cleared the Spirit Stone, Spirit Herb, and Equipment Materials instances and brought back a crystal from each.
• The attendant valued the crystals at one million Supreme Spirit Stones each and explained that they were Origin Cores, Plant Origin Cores, and Metal Origin Cores.

Ying Huaixu unlocked the Nether Capital Merchant Guild’s beast-fighting event, raised and wagered on a Three-Tailed Cat, and made a deal with Xiaohe. After leaving the guild, he met Xu Yaoyang, who wanted to speak with him privately over a meal.

• Xiaohe told Ying Huaixu about the Merchant Guild’s beast-raising event, and he selected a Three-Tailed Cat, named it Eight Chi, and invested spirit stones in its care and first fight.
• Ying Huaixu improved Eight Chi’s attributes and agreed to share thirty percent of his beast-fighting betting funds with Xiaohe in exchange for her future information about the guild.
• Ying Huaixu left the guild and found Ye Ningshuang waiting for him; she explained that Xu Yaoyang had been looking for him.
• Xu Yaoyang asked Ying Huaixu to speak somewhere private, and the three went to a restaurant while Ye Ningshuang remained wary of Xu Yaoyang.

Xu Yaoyang asked Ying Huaixu to help capture a traitor who had stolen a treasury and could suppress powerful cultivators to Meridian Opening, and Ying Huaixu accepted an unavoidable epoch quest. After Xu Yaoyang arranged a room beside Ying Huaixu's, Ye Ningshuang attacked him, mistaking his cultivation-driven heat for perversion.

• Xu Yaoyang asked Ying Huaixu to help apprehend a Sacred Land traitor who could not be defeated alone in a place that suppressed cultivators to Meridian Opening.
• He Xiuyuan arrived and explained that Xu Yaoyang's master had dismissed his role in stopping the City Lord of Falling Radiance City.
• Ying Huaixu accepted Xu Yaoyang's epoch quest and agreed to help in exchange for the traitor's possessions apart from the Great Sun Secret Canon and Great Sun Sword Art.
• Xu Yaoyang said he had moved closer to Ying Huaixu because his ice-attribute spiritual energy felt comfortable, then requested a room next to his.
• Ying Huaixu used his Frost Concept to counter the heat coming from next door, and Ye Ningshuang burst into Xu Yaoyang's room, calling him a pervert and attacking him.

Ye Ningshuang’s jealousy of Xu Yaoyang led to a chaotic night of interrupted cultivation, while Ying Huaixu tried to keep them apart. The next morning, Xu Yaoyang followed Ying Huaixu as they went to find He Xiuyuan, leaving both Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang wary of his intentions.

• Ye Ningshuang attacked Xu Yaoyang, then pretended to be sleepwalking when Ying Huaixu arrived and carried her away.
• Ye Ningshuang watched Xu Yaoyang all night and drew her sword whenever he tried to cultivate, while Ying Huaixu also stopped cultivating and went to sleep.
• Ye Ningshuang’s killing intent filled the restaurant with cold, purplish-brown fog, and Ying Huaixu carried her to He Xiuyuan’s room when she attacked Xu Yaoyang again.
• Ye Ningshuang asked Ying Huaixu to cultivate with her, but he refused because he feared Xu Yaoyang would start cultivating too.
• The next morning, Xu Yaoyang followed Ying Huaixu, saying they were now a team because Ying Huaixu had promised to help him catch the traitor.
• He Xiuyuan emerged from another restaurant and told Ying Huaixu that Xu Yaoyang was open and aboveboard and could be trusted.

Ying Huaixu prepared to test whether a red-named demonic beast’s game mechanics still applied in reality, bringing He Xiuyuan, Ye Ningshuang, and Xu Yaoyang to hunt it. They found an enormous one-eyed black bear behind a waterfall, and Xu Yaoyang flew out to fight it.

• Ying Huaixu bought Talismans and explained that he wanted to kill a demonic beast for an experiment before helping Xu Yaoyang investigate the traitor.
• Ying Huaixu led the others toward a tracked red-named boss, while He Xiuyuan worried about the danger and Xu Yaoyang offered to help.
• Ying Huaixu admitted the target should be a half-step Qi Sea beast, and Xu Yaoyang agreed to fight it while hoping to experience Ying Huaixu’s frost spiritual energy.
• The group found a massive one-eyed black bear sleeping behind a waterfall, and Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, and He Xiuyuan felt its pressure.
• Xu Yaoyang confidently flew out to face the black bear.

Xu Yaoyang and He Xiuyuan challenged a black bear but were quickly overwhelmed, while Ye Ningshuang and Ying Huaixu fought back with their abilities. The black bear was repeatedly trapped and attacked, but the battle was still ongoing.

• The black bear easily caught Xu Yaoyang's sword attacks and battered him despite Xu Yaoyang activating Blazing Sun Form and Three Suns Across the Sky.
• The black bear blocked Xu Yaoyang's final attack with a magical cloak, and Xu Yaoyang admitted defeat and urged the others to run.
• He Xiuyuan charged the black bear and was immediately sent flying.
• Ye Ningshuang cut through the black bear's cloak barrier and shaved his head, enraging him as he attacked her with a spiked club.
• Ying Huaixu blocked the black bear's club, and Ye Ningshuang's black mist attacks and Ying Huaixu's freezing power repeatedly caught the bear as he tried to escape.

Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, and Xu Yaoyang fought the black bear with immobilizing techniques, swords, and talismans, but the beast revealed powerful spells and Magic Treasures of its own. When the black bear unleashed an unavoidable area attack, the group fled, with Ying Huaixu forcing He Xiuyuan to stop pretending to sleep and run too.

• Ying Huaixu and Xu Yaoyang repeatedly struck the black bear while Ye Ningshuang bound it with black mist.
• The black bear broke Ye Ningshuang's bindings, evaded Ying Huaixu's freezing attack, and used his Wolf-Fang Club to send spikes at Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang.
• Ying Huaixu parried the spikes while Xu Yaoyang pierced the black bear through its enlarged bell with the True Sun Sword.
• Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang's attacks nearly froze the black bear, but it marked the ground with an area attack that forced the group to flee.
• Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, and Xu Yaoyang ran, and Ying Huaixu slapped He Xiuyuan and ordered him to stop pretending to sleep.

Ying Huaixu, Ye Ningshuang, Xu Yaoyang, and He Xiuyuan faced a transformed black bear whose strength far exceeded their expectations. After Ye Ningshuang broke through and fought recklessly, Ying Huaixu also advanced, and together they killed the bear before Ye Ningshuang collapsed from blood loss.

• Xu Yaoyang and the others were surrounded by black fog, and the black bear transformed into a towering man with a spiked club.
• Ying Huaixu asked Xu Yaoyang and He Xiuyuan to hold off the man while he broke through, but Ye Ningshuang instead devoured demonic beast souls and advanced to the eighth level of Meridian Opening.
• Ye Ningshuang attacked the transformed black bear with black-fog swords and fought through severe injuries, while her wounds healed and she continued striking.
• Ying Huaixu broke through to the fifth level of Meridian Opening, then joined Ye Ningshuang in freezing and attacking the black bear.
• Ye Ningshuang trapped the black bear in a Black Fog Cage, and Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang killed him, earning Ying Huaixu the first-kill reward.
• Ye Ningshuang collapsed into Ying Huaixu's arms after saying she had lost too much blood, and Xu Yaoyang wondered whether they were human.