Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xun instructed his disciple Luo Yuancheng in talisman arts before leaving Heaven Talisman Island and heading for Ringless Island. The chapter then shifted to Forgetful River Lake, where Zhou Xun and Lin Xueying admired the rapid growth of his spiritual plants.

• Zhou Xun gave Luo Yuancheng the second Purple Jade Pill after Li Daniu declined it, then gave Li Daniu a Tier 3 High-Grade Escape Talisman.
• Zhou Xun assessed Luo Yuancheng's talisman skills and demonstrated how to draw a Tier 3 middle-grade Firebird Talisman.
• After reflecting on Zhou Xun's instruction overnight, Luo Yuancheng successfully drew the Firebird Talisman.
• Zhou Xun left Heaven Talisman Island and traveled toward Ringless Island, where Ironside True Lord was already meeting him when the cultivators reported his arrival.
• At Forgetful River Lake, Lin Xueying admired Zhou Xun's Tier 4 Spirit Mist Tea and the Stillheart Lotus nearing Tier 4.

Zhou Xun traveled from Forgetful River Lake to Ringless Island, checking his formations and bringing his subordinates to meet Ironside True Lord. As they discussed the Southern Sea’s fragile truce, Zhou Xun said tensions between the human and demon races were rising again.

• Zhou Xun told Xue Ying he would be away for about a month and entrusted Forgetful River Lake to her.
• Zhou Xun flew to Heaven Feather Sect, entered the Heavenly Mystery Secret Realm, and confirmed its formation remained intact before checking his Southern Sea formation.
• Zhou Xun arrived at Ringless Island with his subordinates in the Heavenly Mystery Grotto, and Ironside True Lord welcomed them.
• Ironside True Lord admired Zhou Xun’s Heavenly Mystery Grotto and his Demon Emperor subordinates, while Zhou Xun offered him a Beast Taming Art.
• Ironside True Lord reported that Ringless Island had been peaceful, and Zhou Xun said the human and demon races were stirring again despite their truce.

Zhou Xun consulted Ironside True Lord about improving his Thunderclap Wings, then met his original body to exchange treasures and strengthen its spiritual root. After resuming his inspection journey, he reached West Pole Island, the westernmost human outpost in the Southern Sea.

• Zhou Xun gave Ironside True Lord a fire-attributed Tier 4 Demonic Beast inner core and asked him how to upgrade the Thunderclap Wings; Ironside True Lord recommended adding the wings of a Tier 4 lightning-attributed demon bird.
• Zhou Xun's incarnation met his original body on a desolate island and gave it a Tier 4 Peak-Grade Fire Cloud Mushroom and a wood-attributed Tier 4 Demonic Beast inner core.
• Zhou Xun and his incarnation exchanged treasures and continued their separate roles, with the original body staying in the Eastern Wasteland and the incarnation seeking resources.
• Zhou Xun returned to Ringless Island, bid farewell to Ironside True Lord, and set out to continue inspecting the region and search for a lightning-attributed demon bird.
• After three months of travel, Zhou Xun reached West Pole Island, the westernmost Human Race fortress in the Southern Sea.

Zhou Xun visited West Pole Island, where True Monarch Qingxuan and True Monarch Lingyu revealed how they had raised its spiritual energy and told him about the legendary Heavenly Star Grotto. After learning about threats near the island and a possible lead on a lightning-element demon bird, Zhou Xun departed for Seatown Immortal City after five days.

• Zhou Xun arrived at West Pole Island and was welcomed by Li Yunfei and Su Yao, the husband-and-wife Nascent Soul cultivators guarding it.
• Li Yunfei explained that he and Su Yao had merged several Tier 3 spiritual veins and strengthened them with a Spirit-Gathering formation to create the island's Tier 4 spiritual energy.
• Li Yunfei told Zhou Xun that the Heavenly Star Grotto might contain their patriarch's legacy, though he and Su Yao had failed to gain the patriarch's recognition.
• Li Yunfei described the Blackscale Serpent Emperor and Bloodfeather Eagle Emperor, whose forces harassed West Pole Island despite the truce between the races.
• Li Yunfei shared rumors that the Azure Lightning Demon Clan lived in a mysterious lightning region and might include Tier 4 demon birds, prompting Zhou Xun to investigate.
• After discussing cultivation with the two True Lords and staying five days, Zhou Xun departed for Seatown Immortal City, having nearly completed his inspection of the South Sea.

Zhou Xun investigated a vast sea fog that trapped Wang Lingfeng and another cultivator, then sent a puppet inside to find them. The puppet was suddenly displaced and Zhou Xun lost contact with it, leaving the rescue attempt uncertain.

• Zhou Xun cultivated with Tier 4 Middle-Grade Dan Yuan Wine and reflected that he would need to refine pills to increase his magical power.
• Feng Zhong allowed the Core Formation cultivators to pursue a flock of Tier 3 flying eagles, and Wang Lingfeng chased the leader with another cultivator.
• A spreading sea fog swallowed Wang Lingfeng and his companion, prompting Feng Zhong to ask Zhou Xun to rescue them.
• Zhou Xun used Wang Lingfeng's spirit wine and his Diviner's Compass to locate him, then sent a Tier 3 puppet ape into the fog.
• The puppet appeared to be moved far away, and Zhou Xun lost contact with it.

Zhou Xun and his companions were swallowed by a strange mist that sealed away their divine senses and separated one of their men. Following his Diviner’s Compass, Zhou Xun led the survivors to Perfected Lord Heavenly Star’s protected cave residence, but they found no way to break its formation.

• The mist engulfed Zhou Xun, Feng Zhong, and their companions, and Li Qun vanished before the group could stop it.
• Zhou Xun used his Azure Jade Chalice to suppress the mist’s void power and led the others through it with his Diviner’s Compass.
• Zhou Xun’s group found a vast island protected by a Tier 4 Peak-Grade formation and searched the area for an entrance.
• A stone stele identified the cave residence as belonging to Fang Tianxing, whom the cultivators recognized as Perfected Lord Heavenly Star.
• The young man in white robes tried to force his way through the formation, but its backlash sent him flying and left him seriously injured.

Zhou Xun and his companions escaped Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's hidden cave residence without letting its location become known, and he later returned to Forgetful River Lake. He discovered that his Thousand Echo Bug had continued to grow and strengthen.

• Zhou Xun had his Core Formation Stage subordinates swear Heart Demon Oaths to keep Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's Cave Residence secret, then led them in searching for a way out.
• After three days, the formation released Zhou Xun and the others above the sea, restoring Wang Lingfeng, the cultivator surnamed He, the flying eagle, and Zhou Xun's Ape Puppet to them.
• Wang Lingfeng explained that he and the cultivator surnamed He had been trapped in endless mist and had never discovered the cave residence's island; Zhou Xun killed the flying eagle and shared its carcass.
• Zhou Xun returned to Forgetful River Lake and decided he would have to make another trip to the cave residence.
• Zhou Xun visited the insect room with Lin Xueying, saw that the Thousand Echo Bug had grown golden markings, and shared its ability to sense Spirit Energy.

After returning from a year-long patrol, Zhou Xun turned in his mission and asked Monarch Qian Chuan about the growing threat of the Demon Race and materials for his treasures. He learned that Perfected Lord Yuan Gu had acquired the restriction-breaking talisman he needed, leaving Zhou Xun to consider whether he could obtain it from him.

• Zhou Xun returned to Seatown Immortal City with Wang Lingfeng and the others after completing their patrol, and he reported his mission to Monarch Qian Chuan.
• Monarch Qian Chuan warned Zhou Xun that the Demon Race was reinforcing its forces and that a major war could soon erupt.
• Zhou Xun asked Monarch Qian Chuan to watch for Tier 4 lightning-attributed demon birds, which he needed for a treasure, and received a warning to act discreetly.
• Zhou Xun asked about Tier 4 Middle-Grade restriction-breaking treasures, but Monarch Qian Chuan said the treasury's talisman had been exchanged five months earlier.
• Monarch Qian Chuan identified Perfected Lord Yuan Gu as the talisman's buyer, and Zhou Xun recalled the mysterious cultivator's strength and unusual Spirit Gu secret art.

Zhou Xun reunited with Jiang Wanning and Wang Erniu, then gave Erniu five hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones to help him buy a sword-refining material. The next day, Zhou Xun went to visit Perfected Lord Yuan Gu, where True Monarch Fengyan was already present in a deferential role.

• Jiang Wanning told Zhou Xun that the Wind-Guiding Butterfly had emerged from a cocoon with new purple patterns after advancing.
• Wang Erniu visited Zhou Xun, who learned he had reached Late-Stage Core Formation and was missing his family.
• Wang Erniu asked Zhou Xun for five hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones to bid for a Tier 4 Lower Grade Glimmergold Divine Stone, and Zhou Xun gave him the funds.
• After Wang Erniu left, Zhou Xun postponed his visit to Perfected Lord Yuan Gu until the next morning.
• Zhou Xun sent a Message Talisman into Perfected Lord Yuan Gu's cave abode and found True Monarch Fengyan there acting deferentially toward Yuan Gu.

Zhou Xun visited Perfected Lord Yuan Gu to obtain his Tier 4 Middle-Grade Restriction Breaking Talisman, which he needed for Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's inheritance. Yuan Gu first demanded Zhou Xun's Wind-Guiding Butterfly, then agreed to trade the talisman for five jin of Spirit Mist Tea, leaving Zhou Xun to present the tea for inspection.

• Perfected Lord Yuan Gu hid True Monarch Fengyan in his cultivation chamber before welcoming Zhou Xun into his cave abode.
• Zhou Xun presented Yuan Gu with Tier 4 Lower Grade Spirit Mist Tea, and they drank it together.
• Zhou Xun asked Yuan Gu to trade his Tier 4 Middle-Grade Restriction Breaking Talisman, offering to fulfill his conditions.
• Yuan Gu asked for Zhou Xun's Wind-Guiding Butterfly, but Zhou Xun refused and asked him to name another condition.
• Yuan Gu offered to trade the talisman for five jin of Spirit Mist Tea, and Zhou Xun agreed and placed ten jade boxes of tea on the table.
• Yuan Gu inspected the tea and praised its quality.

Zhou Xun obtained the Restriction Breaking Talisman from Perfected Lord Yuan Gu and prepared to visit Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's Cave Residence for an inheritance. He appointed the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle as his mount for the trip, prompting the turtle to boast to Feng Zhong.

• Perfected Lord Yuan Gu gave Zhou Xun the Restriction Breaking Talisman, while True Monarch Fengyan questioned why they had not seized Zhou Xun and his Wind-Guiding Butterfly.
• Zhou Xun examined the talisman with his divine sense and Diviner's Compass, found no problems, and prepared for his journey to Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's Cave Residence.
• Zhou Xun praised the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle's pill-refinement progress, answered his questions, and asked him to serve as a mount on the trip planned for the next day.
• The Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle visited Feng Zhong and smugly announced that Zhou Xun had chosen him to accompany him, darkening Feng Zhong's expression.

Zhou Xun traveled with the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle toward the sea region where he had discovered Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's Cave Residence, cultivating on the way. After arriving, he used a stele fragment and his Diviner's Compass to locate the cave residence, whose position proved unexpectedly far away.

• The Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle departed with Zhou Xun from the immortal city and carried the Heavenly Mystery Grotto across the sea.
• Zhou Xun cultivated with Dan Yuan Wine and tempered his body with lightning from his Natal Treasure Lightning Pool during the journey.
• After three months, the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle brought Zhou Xun to the sea region where he had first encountered the mist, but the mist was gone.
• Zhou Xun used a fragment of the stone stele and his Diviner's Compass to search for Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's Cave Residence.
• The compass's golden arrow pointed northwest, and Zhou Xun was surprised by how far away the location was.

Zhou Xun tracked down Perfected Lord Heavenly Star’s moving cave residence and found a weak point in its powerful formation. When his Sword Qi failed to break through, he activated a Tier 4 Middle-Grade Restriction Breaking Talisman to force an entrance.

• Zhou Xun used his divination arts to follow the cave residence as it moved every three days, finally reaching the sea of mist after two months.
• Zhou Xun sealed the space around himself and the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle, then used the Diviner’s Compass and stone stele fragment to find the route to the island.
• Zhou Xun and the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle reached the island and examined its immense formation, which was nearly at Tier 5.
• Zhou Xun used his Thousand Echo Bug to trace the formation’s Spiritual Qi flows and discovered a deliberately placed weak spot.
• Zhou Xun’s Sword Qi failed to breach the weak spot, so he activated his Restriction Breaking Talisman.

Zhou Xun broke the formation protecting Perfected Lord Heavenly Star's Cave Residence and entered, only for Perfected Lord Yuan Gu and True Monarch Fengyan to ambush him. While Yuan Gu raced deeper into the island, Zhou Xun battled Fengyan and easily blocked his powerful attack with the Violet Firmament True Thunder Formation.

• Zhou Xun found a Spirit Energy node in the formation, struck it with his cone, and shattered the light screen with a gap over a zhang wide.
• Zhou Xun and the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle entered the cave residence and sensed Spiritual Qi purer than any Zhou Xun had encountered.
• Perfected Lord Yuan Gu and True Monarch Fengyan arrived, and Yuan Gu announced he would claim the cave residence's treasures and inheritance before flying deeper into the island.
• True Monarch Fengyan blocked Zhou Xun while two Tier 4 Ironback Demon Dragonflies fought Zhou Xun's spirit beasts; the five Bloodfiend Spawns fused into a Bloodfiend General.
• Zhou Xun surrounded Fengyan with his seventy-two Lightning Seeds in the Violet Firmament True Thunder Formation, overwhelming Fengyan's defenses and blocking his mist sword.

Zhou Xun defeated True Monarch Fengyan and the two Ironback Demon Dragonflies, then discovered that Perfected Lord Yuan Gu had emptied the palace of its treasures. Using a strange spirit insect and his Diviner's Compass, Zhou Xun found Yuan Gu hidden in a temporary void cave above the palace.

• Zhou Xun captured True Monarch Fengyan's infant spirit and sealed a strange insect that emerged from Fengyan's corpse.
• Zhou Xun and his companions defeated the two Ironback Demon Dragonflies, then stored their bodies.
• Zhou Xun entered the palace and found its racks bare and its central light barrier destroyed.
• Zhou Xun used the strange insect to trace Perfected Lord Yuan Gu with his Diviner's Compass.
• Zhou Xun revealed Perfected Lord Yuan Gu hiding in a temporary void cave above the palace.

Zhou Xun confronted Perfected Lord Yuan Gu, who revealed that a Mystic Puppet Gu had let him spy on Zhou Xun’s forces. Their battle began with Yuan Gu’s teleporting mother Gu and enormous insect formation, but Zhou Xun’s lightning attacks weakened the swarm and exposed Yuan Gu’s hesitation. Zhou Xun trapped him with the Heavenly Origin Sword Formation as the chapter ended.

• Perfected Lord Yuan Gu revealed that his mother Gu had controlled True Monarch Fengyan and relayed everything Fengyan knew.
• Zhou Xun rejected Yuan Gu’s offer to join the Mystic Gu Sect, and they left the palace to fight in the air.
• Yuan Gu sent his teleporting mother Gu to attack, damaging Zhou Xun’s Black Tortoise Shield, while Zhou Xun countered with seventy-two Lightning Seeds.
• Yuan Gu unleashed hundreds of thousands of Gu insects, but Zhou Xun repeatedly blasted the swarm with lightning, killing many of them.
• Yuan Gu hesitated and revealed an opening, so Zhou Xun enclosed him with the Lightning Seeds and activated the Heavenly Origin Sword Formation.

Zhou Xun killed Perfected Lord Yuan Gu’s body but discovered that his Nascent Soul had escaped through a Doppelganger Gu. He inventoried the spoils and examined valuable inheritances, then found a mysterious token whose purpose was unknown.

• Zhou Xun overwhelmed Perfected Lord Yuan Gu with a torrent of lightning swords, but found only a corpse and a thumb-sized Doppelganger Gu after the battle.
• Zhou Xun collected Perfected Lord Yuan Gu’s body and Storage Pouch, planning to refine the body into Bloodfiend Crystals.
• Zhou Xun found little wealth in True Monarch Fengyan’s and Perfected Lord Yuan Gu’s Storage Pouches, though he recovered a damaged defensive treasure pearl and studied Yuan Gu’s Hundred Refinements Spirit Gu Art.
• Zhou Xun examined Perfected Lord Heavenly Star’s Tier 4 Peak-Grade formation inheritance and found that it included instructions for making a Teleportation Array and a sizable piece of Void Essence Crystal.
• Zhou Xun reviewed a Tier 4 Peak-Grade Spiritual Vein Master inheritance, then noticed an unfamiliar token carved with ancient runes.

Zhou Xun claimed the island grotto and learned it was a Tier 5 minor space created by Celestial Sovereign Xuan Kong. He refined the remnant souls from two corpses and set out for an Extreme Yin Land in Demon Race territory to nurture a Bloodfiend Spawn.

• Zhou Xun refined the token, learned the grotto’s origins and formation secrets, and became master of the minor space.
• Zhou Xun released the azure ape, which devoured the remnant souls in Perfected Lord Yuan Gu’s and True Monarch Fengyan’s corpses.
• Perfected Lord Yuan Gu, now inhabiting a low-level cultivator’s body, suffered backlash and vowed revenge against Zhou Xun.
• Zhou Xun refined Perfected Lord Yuan Gu’s corpse into a half-finished Bloodfiend Spawn and used the Diviner’s Compass to locate an Extreme Yin Land nearly two million li away.
• Zhou Xun concealed himself on the Crimson Noon Spirit Turtle and traveled through Demon Race territory, reaching his destination after about a month.

Zhou Xun prepared a Bloodfiend Spawn nurturing formation and planned to link Heaven Han City with White Cloud Immortal City using a Teleportation Array. He summoned his subordinates to Lakeheart Island and revealed the plan, leaving them astonished at the prospect of easy travel between the two cities.

• Zhou Xun buried the half-finished Bloodfiend Spawn in an Extreme Yin Corpse Raising Formation, concealed the site, and estimated they would need at least ten years to mature.
• Zhou Xun retrieved the Profound Void Crystal and decided to build a Teleportation Array between Heaven Han City and White Cloud Immortal City.
• Zhou Xun summoned Xing Huaian, Yuan Pan'er, Xu Shaoqing, Wang Shun, Lin Youshan, and Fang Zheng-Lun to Lakeheart Island.
• Zhou Xun told the assembled group that he intended to set up a Teleportation Array, prompting surprise and excitement at the possibility of traveling easily between the cities.

Zhou Xun oversaw the construction of Heavenly Star Hall and refined a Teleportation Array for White Cloud Immortal City. After traveling to Heaven Han City to build its matching array, he arrived and set out to visit Uncle-Master Nanyue.

• Zhou Xun agreed to open the Teleportation Array to cultivators and instructed the city’s leaders to gather materials and build a dedicated hall.
• Xing Huaian and the others completed Heavenly Star Hall, and Zhou Xun began refining the array inside it.
• Zhou Xun spent ten days preparing the spirit jade and processed the Profound Void Crystal to finish the White Cloud Immortal City array.
• Zhou Xun told everyone that the array would be complete once he set up its counterpart in Heaven Han City, then left for the city.
• Zhou Xun arrived in Heaven Han City two months later and headed to visit Uncle-Master Nanyue.