Chapter Summaries

Third Martial Uncle warned the sect that Ying Huaixu would need extensive preparations for his future heavenly tribulations, while the sect also considered the dangers awaiting the disciples in the Cold Pool Secret Realm. Later, the Artifact Refining Peak master recruited Ying Huaixu to refine artifacts, and Ying accepted after receiving a mission.

• Third Martial Uncle questioned whether the sect had planned Ye Ningshuang's training and cautioned that Ying Huaixu might attack disciples from other sects in the Cold Pool Secret Realm.
• Meng Wuya argued that Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang could handle the secret realm's dangers because both were invincible within the Sea of Qi Realm.
• Third Martial Uncle explained that Ying Huaixu's future tribulations would require soul-restoring treasures, healing resources, and materials to rebuild his body, since Lü Qingyi and He Xixiang could not intervene.
• Lao Zhuang ordered the sect to search for the needed treasures, while Third Martial Uncle said he had only one set of preparations to share with Ye Ningshuang.
• The Artifact Refining Peak master abducted Ying Huaixu and begged him to learn artifact refining, and Ying accepted after receiving a sect mission with rewards.

Ying Huaixu rapidly advanced his Artifact Refining by producing magical equipment with an enchanted hammer, then joined Qiu Shiyi on a mission to recruit ascenders in Ascension City as sect miners. There, he found the ascenders' cultivation realms high but their combat strength strangely weak.

• Ying Huaixu crafted a supreme-quality Flowing Cloud Sword and began mass-producing weapons with a hammer he instructed to work by itself.
• Ying Huaixu completed his Artifact Refining quest, collected its rewards, and planned to return the next day.
• The Pill Peak Master and Artifact Peak Master repeatedly abducted Ying Huaixu over the following days, but Qiu Shiyi eventually came to recruit him for a mission.
• Qiu Shiyi told Ying Huaixu that they would bring ascenders back to the sect to mine, and Ying Huaixu accepted the event quest.
• Qiu Shiyi took Ying Huaixu and other Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples to Ascension City, where Ying Huaixu noticed that its ascenders seemed weak despite their high cultivation realms.

Qiu Shiyi recounted how Ying Huaixu had repeatedly defeated him in the Illusory Dream Trial, then helped the Divine Firmament Sword Sect capture newly ascended cultivators and send them to work in its mines. Ying Huaixu examined the weak newcomers and was so impressed by the miners’ terms that he asked to join them.

• Qiu Shiyi explained that Ye Ningshuang’s healing and Ying Huaixu’s Frost Concept made them nearly impossible to defeat in the Illusory Dream Trial.
• The Ascension Formation activated, and Qiu Shiyi ordered the Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples to surround the newly arrived ascenders.
• A newly ascended man resisted being assigned to the mines, so a sect disciple knocked him unconscious and gave the newcomers miner’s tokens.
• Ying Huaixu noticed that the ascenders’ converted Spirit Sea cultivation was exceptionally weak and their techniques seemed poor.
• Qiu Shiyi brought the ascenders to the mine, where the steward explained their ore shares and rewards for turning in treasures.
• Ying Huaixu asked the mine steward if he could join the miners, but the steward dismissed the question as a joke.

Ying Huaixu watched newly ascended cultivators mine and considered recruiting promising prospects for the Divine Firmament Sword Sect. By the end of the day, only the young man whose parchment Ying Huaixu had returned had found Spirit Crystals, leaving the screening unfinished.

• Ying Huaixu inspected the miners’ hidden treasures, took a young man’s technique-improving parchment, then returned it along with a bottle of Body Tempering Pills.
• Ying Huaixu decided to watch the miners for two more days and recruit those who showed promise, while the overseer explained that finding a Spirit Crystal within three days would mark someone as talented.
• Disciples killed several miners who tried to steal the young man’s pills, and Ying Huaixu rewarded the guards with supreme-quality Spirit Tempering Pills.
• Ying Huaixu froze the disciples who showed off their muscles in front of him after learning they were attracted to his portrait and the nickname Sister Ying.
• Ying Huaixu reviewed the day’s mining results and found that nearly everyone had returned empty-handed, while the young man had dug out two Spirit Crystals.

Ying Huaixu treated the new Ascenders fairly, letting miners leave and giving them a share of their earnings, while Fellow Daoist Chen learned that their work and Divine Firmament Sword Sect tokens offered protection and a chance to join the outer sect. At the Market, an old man told the Ascenders they were in the Hongmeng World and urged them to make the most of their opportunity.

• Ying Huaixu praised a young miner’s physique and arranged Body Tempering Pills for the miners, while the young man took his payment entirely in pills.
• Ying Huaixu let miners who wanted to leave go freely, recruited more Ascenders, and promised the newcomers they could leave after three days.
• Fellow Daoist Chen told the miners that the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s tokens protected them and urged them to keep working toward joining the outer sect.
• The Ascenders visited the Market, saw cultivators pause their fight rather than risk harming people bearing the sect’s tokens, and felt the Meridian Opening cultivators’ pressure.
• An old man told the Ascenders that they were in the Hongmeng World, not the Immortal Realm, and advised them to make the most of their chance to work for the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.

An old miner explained why the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s mines were far better than those of other sects, then sold the new ascenders Summoning Tokens so their loved ones could ascend there. Ying Huaixu saw the ascenders’ hard work and decided to select twenty for promotion to the Outer Sect based on their mining results.

• The old man told the ascenders about the abuse miners faced in other sects and said the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s treatment was like paradise.
• The old man traded Summoning Tokens for more than thirty supreme-quality Body Tempering Pills, and the ascenders sent the tokens to people they cared about.
• The ascenders urged their loved ones in the lower worlds to ascend quickly and request work as miners in the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
• Ying Huaixu and his steward noted the ascenders’ determination and poor spiritual roots as the ascenders worked and trained hard.
• Ying Huaixu ordered that twenty ascenders would be promoted to the Outer Sect within the month based on their mining results.

Ying Huaixu spent over seven hundred thousand Supreme Spirit Stones to prepare twenty foundation-rebuilding pills and offered twenty ascenders a chance to enter the Outer Sect. Their fierce competition drew a growing crowd to the mine, where the surge in ore production overwhelmed the steward and alarmed the Outer Disciples.

• Ying Huaixu told the steward to select twenty ascenders for the Outer Sect and refined twenty pills to rebuild their foundations.
• The steward announced the opportunity to the miners, and Fellow Daoist Chen explained that rebuilding their foundations was essential for ascenders to overcome their low potential.
• The miners worked frantically, raising daily Spirit Crystal output from a few hundred jin to several thousand.
• More ascenders voluntarily arrived to mine and pay respects to Ying Huaixu, pushing production beyond ten thousand jin a day.
• The steward reported the labor shortage, so General Affairs Peak sent Outer Disciples to help tally the ore.
• The Outer Disciples saw the ascenders' fierce competition and resolved to work harder themselves.

The ascenders’ frenzy at the mine spurred the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s Outer Disciples to cultivate harder, while Zhuang Mu prepared to appoint Ying Huaixu as Holy Son and grant him authority equal to the Sect Master. The peak masters then faced another mountain of paperwork about the mine’s resources and worked overtime to process it.

• After hearing that Ying Huaixu had offered twenty Outer Disciple spots to the ascenders, the Outer Disciples began cultivating frantically, driven by competition and jealousy.
• Zhuang Mu drafted a document naming Ying Huaixu Holy Son and granting him broad authority, while Meng Wuya learned that Zhuang Mu had already decided to appoint him.
• Zhuang Mu defended favoring Ying Huaixu over Ye Ningshuang, arguing that Ying Huaixu had served the sect while Ye Ningshuang’s destiny might serve the wider world instead.
• When Third Martial Uncle objected that Ying Huaixu had no future, Zhuang Mu insisted the sect’s protective formation could help him overcome his tribulation and declared that Ying Huaixu was worth the cost.
• Sword-Questioning Peak delivered another large batch of documents concerning mine resources, so Zhuang Mu and the other peak masters stayed late to approve them.

Ying Huaixu discovered that He Xixiang’s fruit had let him sense and touch space, while the sect’s disciples thwarted his attempts to find ways to change his appearance. Fellow Daoist Chen explained to the Ascenders that the Divine Firmament Sword Sect encouraged strong disciples to help weaker ones.

• Ying Huaixu failed to find appearance-altering pills because sect members had bought or destroyed the supplies, so he gave up on changing his face.
• Ying Huaixu sensed a fragrance coming from his body, tested his new strength, and realized he could touch space after eating He Xixiang’s fruit.
• The Ascenders in the mine earned substantial rewards, and Fellow Daoist Chen drew their attention for mining more than anyone else while gathering information for them.
• Fellow Daoist Chen led the miners to a restaurant and told them that the sect welcomed others’ opportunities and that newly powerful disciples often volunteered to help weaker people.

Chen Zhiyuan sought Ying Huaixu’s favor after hearing about his influence, and earned a place among twenty Ascenders selected to enter the Divine Firmament Sword Sect’s outer sect. The remaining Ascenders learned they could still qualify by mining, though the Spirit-Shaping Pill’s enormous cost made them regret not working harder.

• Chen Zhiyuan told Ying Huaixu he wanted to take He Xiuyuan’s place, and Ying Huaixu promised to remember him and discuss it after he reached the Myriad Gates and entered the outer sect.
• A month later, Chen Zhiyuan ranked first in mining contributions, and Ying Huaixu gave him and nineteen other selected Ascenders Spirit-Shaping Pills before leaving them with the steward.
• The twenty Ascenders reshaped their Spiritual Roots, lost their former cultivation, and prepared to report to the outer sect with the steward.
• The steward told the unselected Ascenders that one person could enter the outer sect each month by ranking first in contributions and paying half the pill’s cost.
• The Ascenders learned that a Spirit-Shaping Pill cost a hundred thousand Supreme Spirit Stones, and regretted missing the chance to receive one through Ying Huaixu.

He Xiuyuan grew anxious after seeing Ying Huaixu’s extreme preparations for the Cold Pool Secret Realm, and the selected disciples entered the realm dressed in layers of protective gear. The group set out in tense silence, while Tong Xinran wondered how to answer other sects’ mockery.

• He Xiuyuan worried that he could not overcome his reputation as the threshold, then rushed to prepare after seeing the powerful equipment Ying Huaixu had made for the secret-realm disciples.
• He Xiuyuan received a Substitute Death Token and spent the remaining days trying to strengthen himself, while Ye Ningshuang also gathered defensive items and medicine.
• At the Cold Pool Secret Realm’s opening, Zhuang Mu saw that the disciples had layered themselves in Defensive Talismans and defensive magic artifacts, and He Xiuyuan arrived inside a talisman-covered puppet.
• Ying Huaixu told He Xiuyuan that the secret realm held a single boss with very high stats, increasing He Xiuyuan’s alarm.
• Zhuang Mu sent the silent group on their way, and Tong Xinran considered how to respond when other sects mocked their preparations.

Ying Huaixu saw that the Cold Pool Secret Realm had become an extremely dangerous challenge and urged caution as the sects gathered at its entrance. Tong Xinran’s warning prompted the Great Sun Sacred Ground and the Star-Seizing Sect to prepare defenses too, though other factions mocked them.

• Ying Huaixu checked the map, saw three blood-red warning marks beside the Cold Pool Secret Realm, and grew gravely concerned.
• Tong Xinran brought the Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples to the entrance, where the other factions arrived and mocked their layers of defensive talismans.
• Tong Xinran warned the assembled factions that the secret realm had changed and advised them to prepare defenses, but most dismissed her warning.
• The Star-Seizing Sect’s leader learned that Tong Xinran was leading the Divine Firmament Sword Sect party and ordered his disciples to equip themselves after hearing the Great Sun Sacred Ground was doing the same.
• Xu Yaoyang ordered the Great Sun Sacred Ground disciples to keep applying defensive talismans and requesting more magical artifacts, telling them, “We have to.”

Tong Xinran opened the altered Cold Pool Secret Realm, which randomly teleported entrants into dangerous locations. Ying Huaixu and He Xiuyuan escaped a pack of red-name wolf demons, while Ying discovered the realm was full of powerful monsters and raid bosses; Ye Ningshuang, meanwhile, was teleported directly to a Nine-Leaf Nether Soul Lotus and contracted with its guardian.

• Tong Xinran warned the sects that the Cold Pool Secret Realm had changed, opened it with a small seal, and explained that entrants would be teleported to random locations.
• Ying Huaixu held back from entering and made He Xiuyuan go first, then followed after He Xiuyuan reported finding an opportunity.
• Ying Huaixu and He Xiuyuan landed together and fled a pack of red-name wolf demons, discovering that flying was forbidden inside the realm.
• Ying Huaixu checked the map and found dense red-name monster icons, black-skull raid bosses, and a world boss, then decided to gather their sect's disciples and find Ye Ningshuang.
• Ye Ningshuang told Ying Huaixu that she had been teleported to a Nine-Leaf Nether Soul Lotus and had apparently contracted with its guardian, a tiny black-purple kitten.

Ying Huaixu rescued He Xiuyuan after a strange beast swallowed his puppet, then led him to a frost cave where they gathered innate qi and cultivated. Ying Huaixu advanced the Snow-Tempering Scripture and prepared to spend his remaining experience on his realm.

• Ying Huaixu tracked He Xiuyuan to a pool, where He Xiuyuan revealed a treasure-filled air pocket beneath the water, and they collected its treasures.
• A strange beast returned to the pool, forcing He Xiuyuan to abandon his puppet and flee in his real body; Ying Huaixu's rescue mission was completed when they reunited.
• Ying Huaixu led He Xiuyuan to a frost-filled cave and killed its Frost Giant Bear after He Xiuyuan was thrown out of the cave.
• He Xiuyuan sealed the cave entrance while he cultivated innate metal qi, and Ying Huaixu absorbed innate ice spirit qi.
• Ying Huaixu advanced the Snow-Tempering Scripture to Snow-Section Mind Method, then resolved to spend his remaining experience on his realm.

Ying Huaixu regrouped the Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples and helped He Xiuyuan fight demonic beasts in the Cold Pool Secret Realm. Meanwhile, Huang Tianqi’s group rescued other sect disciples from mandrills, while the Star-Seizing Sect remained trapped by a giant python.

• Ying Huaixu advanced to the Sea of Qi third level, confirmed that all the Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples were alive, and sent them a location to regroup.
• He Xiuyuan awakened an immortal-grade spiritual root after absorbing Innate Metal Qi, then drew a pack of black gorillas before Ying Huaixu killed them with one sword strike.
• Ying Huaixu and He Xiuyuan continued hunting demonic beasts, with Ying Huaixu urging He Xiuyuan to grow stronger.
• Huang Tianqi traded to save a group besieged by mandrills, then restrained the beasts while Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples killed them.
• The rescued disciples crushed their tokens and left the secret realm, while the Star-Seizing Sect disciples stayed trapped in a hollow tree as a giant python attacked.
• Senior Brother Nangong told the Star-Seizing Sect disciples with damaged defenses to escape and prepared to fight the python with the rest.

Qin Erniu rescued Senior Brother Nangong and the Star-Seizing Sect disciples by killing a giant python alone, leaving them stunned by the gap between their strength and his. After comparing himself with He Xiuyuan, Qin Erniu set off to seek more opportunities in the Cold Pool Secret Realm and warned the Star-Seizing Sect to leave.

• Senior Brother Nangong and the Star-Seizing Sect disciples attacked the giant python, but it broke free and nearly killed him.
• Qin Erniu arrived and killed the giant python with his massive sword, then recorded the fight on his token.
• Senior Brother Nangong thanked Qin Erniu, who said he had only wanted to farm monsters without taking damage.
• Qin Erniu saw He Xiuyuan's combat message and joked that the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's entry threshold had risen beyond him.
• Qin Erniu resolved to grow stronger and search for opportunities, while warning Senior Brother Nangong's group to leave the secret realm.

Qin Erniu explained the Cold Pool Secret Realm’s monster hierarchy to the Star-Seizing Sect, whose disciples learned that secret realms across the sects had changed. Xu Yaoyang and the Great Sun Sacred Ground disciples also confronted the danger and decided to seek out the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.

• After Senior Brother Nangong offered spirit crystals, Qin Erniu explained that the monsters had different ranks and warned the Star-Seizing Sect to look after themselves.
• The Star-Seizing Sect disciples swore to keep Qin Erniu’s remarks about Ying Huaixu secret, and Senior Brother Nangong revealed that their own sect’s secret realm had changed too.
• Senior Brother Nangong resolved to explore the Cold Pool Secret Realm carefully and gather information about its changes.
• The Great Sun Sacred Ground disciples regrouped with Xu Yaoyang, who killed monsters easily and revealed that their sect’s secret realm had also changed.
• Xu Yaoyang sensed powerful monsters deeper in the realm and ordered disciples who had used their talismans to teleport out while the rest followed him to find the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.

Ye Ningshuang learned how to use the Netherworld Spiritual Root from Xiao Gu and discovered a conscious shadow living within her soul. The shadow identified herself as Nether Soul, a former Lord of the Netherworld, leaving Ye Ningshuang uneasy about the forces guiding her.

• Ye Ningshuang waited in a safe valley for Ying Huaixu while Xiao Gu warned her that her future strength would leave the people she cared about behind.
• Xiao Gu explained the Netherworld Spiritual Root’s soul-devouring, soul-gathering, and soul-refining abilities and guided Ye Ningshuang to sense the souls she had absorbed.
• Ye Ningshuang discovered a shadow resembling herself secretly consuming soul power and confronted her.
• The shadow called herself Nether Soul and convinced Ye Ningshuang that they shared one body and that Ye Ningshuang could control her.
• Nether Soul said she had once been the Lord of the Netherworld and recognized Xiao Gu as a pet from her past.
• Ye Ningshuang grew agitated as she sensed that someone had been guiding her toward certain actions.

Ye Ningshuang discovered that the dark figure had been secretly consuming soul power to recover from injuries inflicted by Ying Huaixu, then used the power to break through to the third level of the Qi Sea stage. As Ye Ningshuang compared her progress with Ying Huaixu’s, he was searching through a huge lump for He Xiuyuan, who had been swallowed by Demonic Beasts three times in a row.

• Ye Ningshuang questioned the dark figure about hiding and secretly consuming her collected soul power, and the dark figure admitted she needed it to recover from Ying Huaixu’s injuries.
• The dark figure offered to take control of Ye Ningshuang’s body to fight enemies, but Ye Ningshuang argued that she would rather call Ying Huaixu for help and resolved to grow strong enough to stand beside him.
• Ye Ningshuang boiled the soul power to remove its resentment and evil energy, ate the purified broth, and advanced to the second and then third level of the Qi Sea stage.
• The little cat told Ye Ningshuang that the Netherworld Spiritual Root would make her surpass others, but Ye Ningshuang said Ying Huaixu still advanced more effortlessly and reached perfection with each breakthrough.
• Ying Huaixu searched a huge lump with a branch, called for He Xiuyuan, and backed away when He Xiuyuan emerged, saying not to come closer.

He Xiuyuan and Ying Huaixu headed to test He Xiuyuan against elite monsters, but He Xiuyuan was swallowed by a Wolf King before he could fight. Ying Huaixu slaughtered the wolf pack and faced the enraged Wolf King.

• He Xiuyuan washed up after being swallowed by a huge bird, and Ying Huaixu explained that its metal attribute made He Xiuyuan’s new immortal-grade Spiritual Root an attractive tonic.
• Ying Huaixu saw his experience rising from Demonic Beasts killed by Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples and encouraged He Xiuyuan to challenge an elite monster to shed his reputation as the sect’s threshold.
• Ying Huaixu led He Xiuyuan back to the Demonic Wolves, where the hill-sized Black Wolf King swallowed He Xiuyuan in one gulp.
• Ying Huaixu drew Frost Annihilation and froze the wolf pups, then shattered them and gained experience.
• The enraged Black Wolf King rose, and Ying Huaixu prepared to test the strength of the little boss.