Chapter Summaries

Qiu Qiansha protected Qing Chen from the Blood God Sect, then secretly told him the Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals might reveal a route out of the Nanhua Realm. He left Qing Chen with a dangerous imperial-palace assignment and the knowledge that the last two seals point to a passage linked to the Yinghuo Star.

• Qiu Qiansha praised Qing Chen and explained that he had intervened against the Blood Saber Ancestor because he valued him and wanted to keep the Blood God Sect from recruiting him.
• Qiu Qiansha asked Qing Chen to investigate something in Great Jin's imperial palace, noting that Emperor Jingtai was interested in Qing Chen's dream-cultivation comprehension.
• Qiu Qiansha sealed Guanlan Pavilion from outside observation and told Qing Chen that Grand Void Profound Venerable's dream cultivation could preserve insights and spiritual tempering gained across years in a dream.
• Qiu Qiansha explained that the last two Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals might reveal a route out of the Nanhua Realm through a spectacle on the Yinghuo Star.

Qiu Qiansha revealed the value of the final Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals and tasked Qing Chen with finding clues to the Nanhua Realm’s hidden nodes in exchange for a Primordial Spirit Fruit. After Qiu Qiansha left, Qing Chen suspected the Imperial House had noticed their meeting.

• Qiu Qiansha told Qing Chen that the final two Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals likely held clues to leaving the Nanhua Realm.
• Qiu Qiansha offered Qing Chen a Primordial Spirit Fruit if he found specific clues to the hidden nodes in the final Dream Seal.
• Qiu Qiansha explained the three trials of Spirit Transformation and the treasures that could help Qing Chen survive them.
• Qing Chen accepted the mission, and Qiu Qiansha urged him to cultivate ties with the Iron Household and study their Primordial Magnetism Cauldron.
• Qiu Qiansha departed, and Qing Chen suspected the Imperial House knew an Origin-Initial Devil Sect member had visited him.

Qing Chen welcomed Tie Ce and Tie Zhan to his new manor, where they discussed the Iron Household’s plans for a possible Northern Border war and Qing Chen’s role in it. Qing Chen agreed that he could fight there for resources and military merit, while the Iron Household acknowledged his bond with Qingyao as their wedding approached.

• Qing Chen greeted Tie Ce and Tie Zhan at the gates of his newly unveiled manor and hosted them in the Wave-Watching Pavilion.
• Tie Ce described the Iron Household’s forces and the danger of a renewed Golden Tent Khanate attack on the Northern Border.
• Tie Zhan named the other Great Jin cultivators helping defend the border, while Tie Ce explained that the Khanate was likely gathering strength for another assault.
• Qing Chen said he could go to Dragon-Sundering Cliff if needed, though his current cultivation might limit his responsibility.
• Tie Ce proposed that Qing Chen and Qingyao jointly wield the Primordial Magnetism Cauldron, and Qing Chen welcomed the chance to gain battlefield resources and military merit.
• Tie Ce warned Qing Chen to treat Qingyao well, and Tie Zhan and Tie Ce remarked that she had become shy with their wedding approaching.

Qing Chen prepared for his grand wedding to Tie Qingyao while managing his plans involving Emperor Jingtai, Qiu Qiansha, and the Iron Household. The wedding rites began with imperial-princess-level pageantry, and Qing Chen set out from his manor as onlookers compared the ceremony to a prince’s wedding.

• Qing Chen accepted an Iron Household elder's Jade Talisman from Tie Ce and Tie Zhan, then watched them leave the mountain.
• Qing Chen drafted the Carefree Treatise on Truth and Falsehood, planned to keep Emperor Jingtai and Qiu Qiansha waiting, and resolved to conceal Huo Lifei's Jade Butterfly.
• Qing Chen exchanged resources and Penglai True Lord's remaining magic treasures for an Azure Radiance Longevity-Extending Longevity Fruit as a betrothal gift for Tie Qingyao.
• The Imperial Household Department, Ministry of Rites, Clan Court, and Iron Household began wedding preparations, setting ceremonial standards comparable to an imperial princess's marriage.
• Imperial officials delivered the wedding regalia and decree, and Qing Chen donned his wedding robe before accepting the proclamation and boarding the dragon carriage.
• Ji Jin's companions watched Qing Chen's procession and remarked that its display rivaled the weddings of princes' households.

Qing Chen’s wedding procession drew the attention of Great Jin’s nobles and powerful cultivators gathered in Capital City over the loosening seal of the Chi Xi Ancient Battlefield. As Qing Chen’s influence became clear, old rivals and sect leaders considered their relationships with him, while several sword cultivators questioned his standing.

• Ji Jin rebuked a man for disparaging Qing Chen and declared that Qing Chen was a future Spirit Venerable and a valuable ally to the Eastern Prince’s Household.
• Xiao Chengyue resented Qing Chen’s wedding honors, while Chen Lingyi considered using him to gain Qing Chen’s favor.
• The Golden Wheel Dharma King asked the Tiger-Subduing Venerable about Qing Chen’s defeat of Chan Master Hui'an, and the old monk said Hui'an’s setback might free him from worldly burdens.
• A Black Bird Heaven-Bearing Sect leader questioned Feng Jiuling about Qing Chen and the Blood River God-Slaying Spear, then told him to offer Qing Chen a cup of wine and let the past go.
• Lu Changeng asked whether Qing Chen’s higher Heavenly Gang Ranking was deserved, and the Mount Taibai Sword Venerable said only a fight could settle his doubts.

Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao’s wedding drew powerful factions and spectators from across Great Jin, while the Demon Lotus Sect watched the ceremony from afar and celebrated its leader’s marriage. The chapter ended with Su Zixuan quietly wishing Qing Chen lasting peace.

• The Six Directions Alliance, the Fist Alliance, the Corpse Devil Sect, and other factions gathered along Vermilion Bird Great Dao to witness the wedding.
• Tie Qingyao’s Phoenix-Pattern Jade Carriage emerged from the Iron Household as Luan-yang Princess praised her beauty and Ji Chengjing recalled his mother’s demand that he apologize to Qing Chen.
• Qing Chen waited in his dragon-scale Wedding Carriage as the Phoenix-Pattern Jade Carriage approached, with powerful cultivators and crowds watching the ceremony.
• Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao’s wedding appeared in Recording Jade Slips at the Demon Lotus Sect’s Main Altar, prompting Xin Bairen and Lin Changsheng to order celebrations and rewards.
• Su Zixuan watched Qing Chen help Tie Qingyao from her carriage, concealed her melancholy, and later wished Qing Chen lasting peace.

Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao completed their grand Dao Companion ceremony in Capital City, recognized by the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty. The wedding gifts then began arriving from powerful factions, with the Blood God Sect’s gift announced as the gathering’s mood turned delicate.

• Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao bowed to heaven and earth, their clans and elders, and then to each other as Dao companions.
• Qing Chen promised Tie Qingyao he would protect her, and she called him “Husband” before they completed the ceremony.
• The Imperial Ceremony Platform’s bells rang, and the wedding was witnessed across Capital City through water mirrors.
• Ji Jin presented two high-grade fourth-tier treasures from the Eastern Prince’s Household, while the Heavenly Balance Alliance and Qin Jundi offered a star crystal and a token bearing Qin Jundi’s fist intent.
• Numerous great sects and factions presented valuable wedding gifts, and the ceremonial official announced the Blood God Sect’s gift as the atmosphere grew delicate.

At Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao’s wedding, the Blood God Sect and Origin-Initial Devil Sect presented lavish treasures, while the Iron Household publicly granted the couple access to the Primordial Magnetism Cauldron and vowed to protect Qing Chen. Qing Chen left the celebration with a trove of cultivation resources and strong backing, though the chapter’s closing verses hinted at hidden schemes and future trials.

• Blood Nascent Soul Boy presented the Blood God Sect’s supreme-grade fourth-tier Blood Dragon Essence to Qing Chen.
• Yan Moyou delivered seven taels of supreme-grade fourth-tier primordial magnetism divine marrow from the Origin-Initial Devil Sect and relayed the offer for Qing Chen to become deputy branch master upon reaching Nascent Soul peak.
• Tie Zhan announced that Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao would jointly wield the Primordial Magnetism Cauldron in Capital City.
• Tie Zhan declared that anyone who bullied Qing Chen through seniority would make an enemy of the Iron Household, and Tie Hengjiang would personally confront them.
• Qing Chen surveyed the wedding gifts and offered to share the treasures with Tie Qingyao, who urged him to use them to strengthen himself.

Blood Fiend and Huo Lifei recovered from a bandit ambush in the Shiyuan Immortal Star Sea and argued over their outdated Star Map. As they continued toward Huo Lifei’s territory, Zhao Ningyi wondered whether Qing Chen would still hold a wedding, while Huo Lifei and Blood Fiend mocked her faith in his promise.

• Blood Fiend and Huo Lifei assessed their injuries and wreckage after surviving an ambush by Star Sea bandit cultivators.
• Blood Fiend blamed Huo Lifei’s outdated Star Map for leading them into danger, and she argued that the Star Paths had changed over tens of thousands of years.
• Huo Lifei reflected that Zhao Ningyi’s presence in her sea of consciousness kept her from fully controlling her body’s magic power.
• Zhao Ningyi gazed toward the Nanhua Realm and explained that she wanted to know what it would become after they left.
• Huo Lifei promised Zhao Ningyi a new life in her territory and dismissed her hopes that Qing Chen would keep his promise not to hold a wedding.
• Blood Fiend mocked Huo Lifei and Zhao Ningyi for believing a blood path cultivator’s words.

Blood Fiend ended his alliance with Huo Lifei and set off alone through the Star Sea. In Great Jin, Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao returned to the Marquis’s Manor after their grand wedding and began their wedding night.

• Blood Fiend revealed a hidden blood boat, parted ways with Huo Lifei, and flew into the distant asteroid belt.
• The wedding celebrations in Great Jin ended after the Iron Household announced that Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao would jointly control the Primordial Magnetism Cauldron in Capital City.
• Qing Chen escorted Tie Qingyao to Cangming Peak, where the guests and attendants withdrew and left the couple alone.
• In the bridal chamber, Qing Chen praised Tie Qingyao, and they drank their nuptial wine with linked arms.
• Qing Chen caught Tie Qingyao’s wrist and teased her about freeing her from the wedding formalities.

Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao consummated their marriage and used a paired cultivation technique to harmonize their energies. Afterward, Qing Chen decided how Tie Qingyao could support his interests while keeping his deepest secrets from her, and he left the story eager to resume their intimacy.

• Qing Chen removed Tie Qingyao's phoenix crown, and the two began their wedding night together.
• Qing Chen sensed Tie Qingyao's exceptionally pure innate primordial yin essence and used the Yin-Yang True Union and Agreement of the Three to circulate their energies together.
• After a day and a night, Qing Chen felt refreshed and considered how to use Tie Qingyao's connections, resources, and abilities while concealing his fundamental secrets from her.
• Tie Qingyao woke and teased Qing Chen about where he was looking, and he embraced her and suggested they continue their intimacy.

Qing Chen spent nine years consolidating his cultivation and strengthening the Azure Abyss Marquis's Manor while enjoying a quieter life with Tie Qingyao. Meanwhile, the Demon Lotus Sect expanded its power across the Gouwu Sea, and Qing Chen remained poised for the conflicts ahead.

• Qing Chen and Tie Qingyao grew closer as she recovered from the damage to her lifespan and began managing the Azure Abyss Marquis's Manor.
• Qing Chen refined his wedding gifts, strengthened his Blood River God-Slaying Spear, and advanced his physical cultivation to the peak of the middle stage of the Immortal Realm.
• Qing Chen used the nine peaceful years to settle his Dao heart while his combat strength and cultivation continued to grow.
• Lin Changsheng, Su Zixuan, Xu Jiuling, Hua Tieshou, and Xin Bairen helped the Demon Lotus Sect consolidate control of the Sun Moon Star Three Sea Regions and expand its army and fleet.
• Xu Jiuling reached the Nascent Soul Realm, while Duan Tianya, Gu Jianchun, Wan Hun, Yuji, and Daoist Tongyou died after failed breakthroughs or other tribulations, and Chi Xuntian mysteriously disappeared.

Qing Chen learned that Hui'an had left the Vajra Zen Sect and that Yuan Jin had become a Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Cultivator, while the sect’s new head sought peaceful cooperation with the Demon Lotus Sect. An imperial decree then summoned Qing Chen to the Profound-Nurturing Hall at once, and he left knowing that officials from two powerful institutions had recently visited the palace.

• Hui'an passed leadership of the Vajra Zen Sect to Wuchen and left to wander the world after five years of austere meditation.
• Wuchen sent Qing Chen Buddhist spirit tea and a jade slip proposing cooperation to preserve peace in the Gouwu Sea.
• Qing Chen learned that Yuan Jin had become a Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Cultivator and praised Lin Changsheng’s handling of the Demon Lotus Sect.
• Wei Jin arrived at the Azure Abyss Marquis's Manor with Emperor Jingtai’s private decree ordering Qing Chen to enter the Profound-Nurturing Hall at once.
• Wei Jin told Qing Chen that members of the Heaven-Observing Divine Directorate and the Gouchen Star-Commanding Palace had visited the Profound-Nurturing Hall the previous night.

After nine years of cultivation, Qing Chen arrived at Jade Capital Mountain and met senior officials gathered in the Profound-Nurturing Hall. Seeing the Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals reignited his hope of using dream cultivation to glimpse time rules.

• Qing Chen and Wei Jin traveled by cloud chariot to Jade Capital Mountain, where Qing Chen reflected on how much stronger he had become and how cautious he remained of Emperor Jingtai’s power.
• In the Profound-Nurturing Hall, Qing Chen met Gao Wuyong, Yuan Guanxing, and Lu Zhaobi, whose high ranks and formidable abilities made the gathering seem significant.
• Qing Chen studied the three Visualization Diagrams and recalled Qiu Qiansha’s account of the Grand Void Profound Venerable and dream cultivation’s connection to time rules.
• Qing Chen considered how the Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals and his past experience with the Great Void Authority might help him touch time rules and transform his Dao path.
• Qing Chen thought that obtaining the Nine-Headed Demon Venerable’s Demon Heart Essence could advance his Bodhi Spirit Body and improve his chances of understanding the seals.

Emperor Jingtai summoned Qing Chen and three other dream cultivators and gave each a copy of the Dream Pool Essays, challenging them to develop insights into dream cultivation. He offered the chance to view the fourth Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seal and powerful rewards, leaving Qing Chen eager to pursue the opportunity while concealing his own secrets.

• Qing Chen reflected on the dangers surrounding several linked opportunities and resolved not to act recklessly.
• Emperor Jingtai arrived at the Profound-Nurturing Hall, where Qing Chen noticed Yue Hanzhang, a Nascent Soul peak cultivator and former lover of Yaoyue.
• Emperor Jingtai presented four copies of the Dream Pool Essays and assigned Qing Chen, Gao Wuyong, Yuan Guanxing, and Yue Hanzhang to study them for up to one hundred years.
• Emperor Jingtai promised the author of the most valuable insights access to the fourth Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seal and offered rewards including treasures for Spirit Transformation.
• Qing Chen recognized that viewing the fourth seal could help him conceal Huo Lifei's node Jade Butterfly and support his plans involving Qiu Qiansha, but he was disadvantaged by having studied dream cultivation for only nine years.

Qing Chen studied the three Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seals and the Dream Pool Essays, considering how to combine them with his own knowledge to forge an unusual path of dream cultivation. After leaving the side hall, he learned that the Directorate of Ceremonial had summoned him to the Imperial Pole Hall.

• Emperor Jingtai gave Qing Chen, Yuan Guanxing, Lu Zhaobi, and Yue Hanzhang jade slips and ordered them to present their results in a hundred years.
• After Emperor Jingtai departed, Yuan Guanxing left the hall, while Qing Chen stayed to study the three paintings.
• Qing Chen contemplated each Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seal and glimpsed an old meditation cushion, but the Nine-Colored Pearl gave him no further insight.
• Qing Chen scanned the Dream Pool Essays and formed a plan to combine it with the paintings and his own knowledge.
• Wei Jin met Qing Chen outside the side hall and told him to proceed to the Imperial Pole Hall by verbal command.

Qing Chen received Emperor Jingtai’s summons to attend the grand court assembly at the Imperial Pole Hall and set out in official robes. As he approached the hall, he heard rumors about a fierce Northern Border war and considered the opportunities and dangers awaiting him there.

• Wei Jin told Qing Chen that Emperor Jingtai had summoned him to the Imperial Pole Hall’s grand court assembly.
• Qing Chen accepted the court robes prepared by the Directorate of Ceremonial and dressed in his scarlet official robe and Azure Abyss Marquis’s Golden Talisman.
• Wei Jin escorted Qing Chen up Jade Capital Mountain, where Immortal Officials yielded the way and speculated about his appointment and the Northern Border fighting.
• Qing Chen heard that Spirit Venerable Xiao Canglan had arrived and that a Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Cultivator had died in the renewed Northern Border war.
• As he continued toward the hall, Qing Chen weighed the Northern Border conflict and the Chi Xi Ancient Battlefield as potential risks and sources of opportunity.

Qing Chen was escorted to the Imperial Pole Hall for an audience, where he entered the Inner Hall and faced the scrutiny of Great Jin’s highest officials and nobles. As he prepared to stand near Tie Ce, someone called out to stop him.

• Qing Chen wondered whether Xie Xuanwei, the Dugu ancestor, and Xiao Canglan had come to the capital because of turmoil across the realm.
• Wei Jin praised Qing Chen’s bearing and reflected on the eight hundred years it had taken him to reach the Imperial Pole Hall.
• Qing Chen climbed the White Jade Imperial Path and entered the Inner Hall, where powerful officials, nobles, and Xiao Canglan scrutinized him.
• Tie Ce called Qing Chen over and signaled where he should stand among the officials.
• An unidentified voice called out, “Azure Abyss Marquis, please wait,” just as Qing Chen prepared to join Tie Ce.

Qing Chen was assigned a Subordinate Second Rank position at Imperial Pole Hall, provoking courtly reactions and a sharp exchange with Ji Huaiyue. The court then received news that the Northern Border was ablaze with war, and Pei Xuance revealed Tie Zhongtang’s secret plan to lure the enemy into a vast furnace battle.

• Yang Tingheng placed Qing Chen among the Subordinate Second Rank crimson-robed officials, above Tie Ce’s position in the hall.
• Qing Chen exchanged pointed remarks with Ji Huaiyue, while Li Qingyuan found the confrontation amusing.
• The Heavenly Cycle Star Map illuminated the Northern Border, and Pei Xuance reported that the Azure Wolf King Tribe and Black Fox King Tribe had joined forces and pressed south.
• Pei Xuance revealed that Tie Zhongtang had set a Dragon-Trapping Stratagem to lure the invading Wang Tribes into Blood Wolf Plain and destroy them with the furnace battle technique.

Pei Xuance reported that the Golden Tent’s attack on the Northern Border had killed senior officers and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, prompting a request for a powerful commander to reinforce Shanhai Pass. Qing Chen appeared to be the intended choice, but Xiao Canglan intervened to request reinforcements for the Southern Borderlands as well, leaving Qing Chen wary of being drawn into another campaign.

• Pei Xuance reported that the Canglang King and Black Fox King had invaded together, and Tie Hengjiang and Tie Zhongtang had driven them back and wounded the Black Fox King.
• Pei Xuance recounted the great victory at Blood Wolf Plain, then revealed that the enemy’s sacrificial blood formation had killed Han Chixiao, four Nascent Soul battle generals, and over 254,000 Black Armor Army cultivators.
• Pei Xuance requested a Heavenly Gang Ranking-caliber commander and elite Dao soldiers to reinforce Shanhai Pass and fill the vacancy left by Han Chixiao.
• The court’s officials looked toward Qing Chen as the likely candidate, while Qing Chen considered the terms and benefits of taking the assignment.
• Xiao Canglan argued that the Southern Borderlands also needed reinforcements because Wu Gui had obtained a strengthened Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron and the Gu Tribe of Southern Yue was stirring.
• Qing Chen suspected that Xiao Canglan was maneuvering to send him to the Southern Borderlands.