Chapter Summaries

After returning to Zizai Continent, Xie Xiyi’s troubled mind-certification revealed that his realm had fallen, while Xiaoqiu passed and received a Chan Abode token. Venerable Shangshan ordered Xie Xiyi to remain at the Anuttara Buddhist Sect for cultivation, and Xie Xiyi sent Chi Yu a message saying he would enter sealed seclusion and asking him to look after Xiaoqiu.

• Chi Yu passed through the Mind-Certifying Terrace and received Mind-Clearing Enlightenment Tea from the Chan master.
• The Chan master noticed that Xie Xiyi’s realm had fallen after his mind-certification, while Xiaoqiu passed and received a Bitter Truth Chan Abode token.
• Venerable Shangshan summoned Xie Xiyi and ordered him to cultivate at the Anuttara Buddhist Sect without leaving the sect.
• Xie Xiyi asked whether pursuing his feelings could bear good fruit, and Shangshan warned that good fruit would be hard to obtain.
• Xie Xiyi agreed to obey Shangshan and sent Chi Yu a message saying he would enter sealed seclusion and asking him to care for Xiaoqiu.

Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi had entered seclusion indefinitely and felt the strain of being apart from him. He helped Suoluo and Qiye launch their communication jade talismans, then contacted Xie Xiyi and asked about his cultivation realm.

• Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi had gone into seclusion, and Xiaoqiu promised to keep him company.
• Chi Yu worried that Xie Xiyi’s cultivation realm had dropped because of him, then spent the night restless and practicing swordsmanship.
• Suoluo and Qiye showed Chi Yu three types of communication jade talismans and signed a contract granting him a third of the profits.
• Chi Yu advised the brothers on product names, pricing, and limited editions, and accepted jade talismans to promote at the Dao Di Chan Abode.
• Chi Yu used a jade talisman to contact Xie Xiyi, who said he would be in seclusion indefinitely, perhaps for hundreds or thousands of years.
• Chi Yu asked about Xie Xiyi’s lowered cultivation realm, and Xie Xiyi explained that cultivation could fluctuate with one’s state of mind.

Xie Xiyi remained under guard at the Anuttara Buddhist Sect while his cultivation declined from the effects of love poison, and he secretly advised Chi Yu on easing the symptoms of their spiritual communion. Chi Yu began classes and studying Buddha Bones, while Qingxuan’s team won the Hongbao Trial; Qingxuan then approached Chi Yu, who remained wary of him because of Xie Xiyi’s warning.

• Chi Yu questioned Xie Xiyi about his cultivation decline, but Xie Xiyi denied that Chi Yu was responsible and ended their conversation.
• Shangshan told Lecturer Hong that Xie Xiyi’s cultivation had nearly fallen below the first stage of second Chan because of love poison connected to Long Aotian.
• Xie Xiyi read Chi Yu’s messages and told him that Dharma Lotuses could ease the discomfort caused by their spiritual communion.
• Chi Yu began attending classes, befriended cultivators through Jade Tokens, and obtained instructions for cultivating Buddha Bones.
• Qingxuan and Mingxin’s team won the Hongbao Trial after killing over three thousand fiends and received Bodhi Seeds and Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Qingxuan sat in Xie Xiyi’s usual seat to speak with Chi Yu, who showed his wariness and reluctance to welcome him.

Qingxuan tried to get closer to Chi Yu, but Chi Yu stayed guarded and refused his Bodhi Seeds. After Qingxuan learned about Chi Yu’s successful Communication Jade Talisman business, Chi Yu gave away Qingxuan’s lavish fruit gift and discovered that Zhiguan was Ling Zhenbai, Ling Hezhou’s father.

• Qingxuan offered Chi Yu Bodhi Seeds and assured him that he had no intention of harming him, but Chi Yu refused the gift and remained distant.
• After class, Qingxuan watched Chi Yu happily discuss cultivation with Senior Brother Wuyou, then learned from Mingxin that Chi Yu had devised the popular Communication Jade Talisman business and told Mingxin to leave it alone.
• Mingxin suggested Qingxuan become Dao companions with Chi Yu, and Qingxuan decided to approach him slowly while Xuanji remained in seclusion.
• Chi Yu received expensive Spirit Fruit from Qingxuan and, after Xiaoqiu suggested rejecting it, gave the fruit to Zhiguan to share with the senior brothers.
• Chi Yu learned that Zhiguan’s secular name was Ling Zhenbai and realized he was Ling Hezhou’s father.
• Chi Yu returned to his dormitory and sent messages to Xie Xiyi.

Chi Yu tried to give Xie Xiyi space during his seclusion, but his silence made Xie Xiyi increasingly anxious about Qingxuan's attention. After Xie Xiyi failed to break out of seclusion, he contacted Chi Yu and learned Qingxuan had been visiting him again, leaving him unsettled behind the Restriction.

• Xie Xiyi forbade Chi Yu from cultivating through Divine Sense with anyone else, including Xiaoqiu, and warned him to keep Xiaoqiu away from Mingxin.
• Chi Yu stopped messaging Xie Xiyi for half a month, while Xie Xiyi grew worried that Qingxuan might get close to him.
• Xie Xiyi tried to leave his seclusion chamber but was stopped by the guarding monk, who repelled his attack and reinforced the Restriction.
• Qingxuan continued visiting Chi Yu with gifts, which Chi Yu passed to Zhiguan, Suoluo, and Qiye rather than accepting for himself.
• Xie Xiyi contacted Chi Yu and asked who was with him; Chi Yu admitted Qingxuan had just been there, and Xie Xiyi stood before the unbroken Restriction, visibly disturbed.

Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi had been sent to cultivate in the Infinite Secret Realm and could no longer receive messages, while Qingxuan continued trying to get close to Chi Yu. Qingxuan returned to his quarters and received another batch of reckless advice from Mingxin.

• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu he was going to cultivate in the Infinite Secret Realm and would be unable to receive messages until he returned.
• Chi Yu found Qingxuan still at his quarters, admitted he missed Xie Xiyi, and asked Qingxuan to leave so he could cultivate.
• Chi Yu released Wu Yunsu’s snake and explained to Xiaoqiu that his bond with Xie Xiyi was one of trust and companionship, not marriage.
• Qingxuan returned to his quarters and told Mingxin to stop suggesting he use Spiritual Communion to win Chi Yu over.

Qingxuan and Mingxin planned to use an upcoming Zizai Continent secret realm to find a body for Fu Ze, while Chi Yu struggled with his feelings for Xie Xiyi during the latter’s unexplained absence. Chi Yu woke with the key to his dorm wardrobe, which he had lost two years earlier, leaving him unsure whether Xie Xiyi had really visited him in the night.

• Qingxuan told Mingxin they would seek a suitable body for Fu Ze in the secret realm opening on Zizai Continent in two months.
• Chi Yu learned that Xie Xiyi could not be contacted because he was in a secret realm and realized how deeply attached he had become to him.
• Chi Yu noticed Xiaoqiu and Wu Yunsu sleeping unusually deeply and warmed their room after sensing a strange chill.
• Chi Yu dreamed that a cold, long-haired man who smelled like Xie Xiyi visited him, and he called the man Senior Brother Xuanji.
• Chi Yu woke holding the long-lost key to his dorm wardrobe and wondered whether the nighttime visit had been real.

Chi Yu accepted the profits from Suoluo and Qiye’s Communication Jade Talisman business and received a Sumeru Ring from Lecturer Hong. Lecturer Hong examined the Bright Pearl and revealed that it could bring the dead back to life if they had been dead for no more than twelve two-hour periods.

• Xiaoqiu told Chi Yu that the night had been cold, and Chi Yu wondered whether Xie Xiyi’s icy constitution explained the chill before putting away his Telephone Cord Bracelet.
• Suoluo and Qiye delivered the talisman business’s profits, and Chi Yu told them to bring the accounts only once a year because he trusted them.
• Lecturer Hong praised Chi Yu’s progress and gave him a Sumeru Ring after Chi Yu jokingly called him a father.
• Lecturer Hong recognized the Bright Pearl Venerable Hanshan had given Chi Yu as a supreme Buddhist treasure and confirmed that it showed Chi Yu had the aptitude to become a Buddha-son.
• Lecturer Hong explained that the filled Bright Pearl could grant wishes by circumventing Heavenly Dao laws, including reviving someone who had been dead for no more than twelve two-hour periods.

Lecturer Hong explained that Chi Yu’s Buddhist Righteous Object could grant a wish with a high—but not certain—chance of success, and revealed that another such pearl lay in the secret realm. As Chi Yu prepared to enter the realm, Xie Xiyi remained trapped in accelerated seclusion, unable to leave before finishing his Buddha Bones.

• Lecturer Hong told Chi Yu how the pearl worked and suggested that combining it with the Righteous Object in the secret realm could guarantee a wish; Chi Yu decided he needed to find it and restore Xie Xiyi as Senior Brother Xuanji before going home.
• Chi Yu told Xiaoqiu and Wu Yunsu to stay in Luo Po while he entered the secret realm, and warned Wu Yunsu not to bully Xiaoqiu.
• When the secret realm was announced, Senior Brothers Wuyou, Lianchi, and Jingguan warned Chi Yu that cultivators might kill over resources, and Chi Yu formed a team with them.
• After five years of cultivation in the Infinite Secret Realm, Xie Xiyi had refined eighteen segments of Buddha Bone and reached the Boundless Pure Heaven Realm, but he asked Venerable Shangshan to let him leave before completing his spine.
• Venerable Shangshan refused to release Xie Xiyi until he finished refining his spine, and Xie Xiyi returned to his Cave Abode; Shangshan and Venerable Hanshan then discussed his connection to Long Aotian and the Heavenly Dao.

Chi Yu, Qingxuan, and Lianchi traveled through the Tiangang Secret Realm while searching for Senior Brother Jingguan and harvesting a five-colored lotus. After they escaped a nascent soul Yaoshou emerging from the lake, they continued deeper into the realm.

• Chi Yu woke beside Qingxuan and Lianchi, and the three agreed to travel together to meet Senior Brother Jingguan.
• Lianchi used Chi Yu’s jade talismans to contact Jingguan and led the group toward him, while Qingxuan chose not to seek out Mingxin.
• At a lake, the group prepared to harvest a ripening five-colored lotus, but other disciples challenged their claim to it.
• Lianchi defeated the rival disciples, and the trio worked together to kill a Golden Core Realm koi Yaoshou and collect the lotus.
• Qingxuan offered Chi Yu a five-colored lotus pod, but Lianchi took it in exchange for Pure Origin Pills after Chi Yu agreed.
• Lianchi sensed a nascent soul Yaoshou approaching, and the three fled as its roar shook the area.

Qingxuan arranged for Fu Ze to possess Lianchi, while Chi Yu and the others collected treasures before a swarm of Yaoshou separated them. Lianchi was possessed, and Chi Yu waited in a cave until Qingxuan arrived to find him.

• Qingxuan persuaded Fu Ze to possess Lianchi in exchange for learning part of the secret about Xuanji's family, and they signed a Soul Contract.
• Lianchi, Chi Yu, and Qingxuan collected rare treasures, shared them equally, and Chi Yu gave Lianchi Foundation-Nourishing Pills.
• Thousands of Yaoshou attacked the group, forcing the three to flee separately; Chi Yu escaped and took shelter in a cave.
• Qingxuan showed Lianchi the Soul Pearl, and Fu Ze possessed him, causing Lianchi severe pain in his Spiritual Realm.
• After waiting four hours, Chi Yu contacted Lianchi, who said Qingxuan would come find him; Qingxuan soon arrived at Chi Yu's cave.

Chi Yu traveled with Qingxuan through the Tiangang Secret Realm, keeping his distance despite Qingxuan’s offer of protection. An unseen attacker ambushed Chi Yu with increasingly powerful sword qi, and the chapter left him wounded, nearly out of spiritual power, and still refusing Qingxuan’s help.

• Chi Yu met Qingxuan, learned that Senior Brother Lianchi had left him in Qingxuan’s care, and agreed to travel with him toward Senior Brother Jingguan.
• Qingxuan killed a Spirit-Devouring Ant on Chi Yu’s shoulder, noticed Chi Yu’s advanced divine sense, and confessed that he wanted to protect him; Chi Yu declined the offer.
• Qingxuan chose a detour around a nascent soul stage greater demon, and Chi Yu collected spirit items and defeated their guardian Yaoshou on the way.
• An unseen attacker struck Chi Yu’s shoulder with sword light, but Chi Yu refused Qingxuan’s offer to intervene and tried to locate the attacker himself.
• The attacker continued to wound Chi Yu with sword qi from hidden positions, while Chi Yu taunted the assailant and refused to ask Qingxuan for help.
• With his spiritual power nearly exhausted, Chi Yu ducked behind a boulder to take pills, but an incoming qi blade forced him to roll and knocked the pills from his hand.

Chi Yu escaped Fu Ze’s attack through the Forbidden Curse and was rescued by a man he mistook for Senior Brother Xuanji. After realizing the man was not behaving like the Senior Brother he knew, Chi Yu learned that he was Xie Xiyi, who had come to the Tiangang Secret Realm to retrieve a Buddhist Sect Treasure.

• The Forbidden Curse transported Chi Yu away as Fu Ze’s Sword Technique struck, and its counterattack sliced through Fu Ze’s body.
• Qingxuan questioned Fu Ze about Chi Yu’s disappearance, but Fu Ze said Chi Yu might have left the secret realm.
• Xie Xiyi found the badly injured, temporarily blind Chi Yu and gave him a pill; Chi Yu mistook him for Senior Brother Xuanji and clung to him.
• Chi Yu realized Xie Xiyi was not Senior Brother Xuanji after he explained that Chi Yu might remain blind until reaching the Nascent Soul Stage.
• Chi Yu used his divine sense to examine Xie Xiyi and learned that he had come to the Tiangang Secret Realm to retrieve a Buddhist Sect Treasure bead.

Chi Yu rejected Xie Xiyi’s offer of body parts but was forced to receive his golden eyes, then followed him as Xie Xiyi went searching for another prayer bead. Meanwhile, Qingxuan asked Fu Ze about Xuanji’s family, learning that they had many Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.

• Chi Yu gave Xie Xiyi the Zhengtong Buddhist Sect’s Righteous Object and realized that he was not the Senior Brother Xuanji he knew.
• Xie Xiyi offered Chi Yu his golden eyes, a Buddha Bone sword, finger-bone beads, and heart’s blood in exchange for the prayer bead.
• Chi Yu refused the gifts, but Xie Xiyi restrained him and forced the golden eyes into his sockets, restoring his sight and granting him the Illusion-Piercing Supernatural Ability.
• Xie Xiyi left to search for another prayer bead and told Chi Yu to follow if he wished; Chi Yu demanded that he remove the eyes but was too afraid to do it himself.
• Qingxuan asked Fu Ze how he was faring in Lianchi’s body, and Fu Ze explained that Lianchi’s spirit remained inside it.
• Fu Ze told Qingxuan that Xuanji’s mortal family included many Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators, including ten Golden Core relatives serving as guards for Xuanji’s younger sister.

Qingxuan and Fu Ze speculated that the Great Xia Imperial Clan’s unusual cultivation came from a hidden bloodline secret, while Xiaoqiu struggled under Wu Yunsu’s orders outside the secret realm. Inside, Chi Yu questioned Xie Xiyi about leaving the Buddhist sect, and Xie Xiyi began explaining his discovery of a loophole in the heavenly Dao.

• Qingxuan proposed that the Great Xia Imperial Clan might reproduce through a powerful “queen” who bestowed exceptional aptitude on its descendants, and planned to test the theory on Xuanji’s boy attendant.
• Qingxuan told Fu Ze to stay hidden, promised to take Long Junior Brother away after the secret realm closed, and planned for Mingxin to abduct the boy attendant.
• Wu Yunsu used a Gu Worm to force Xiaoqiu to dig land and serve him while Xuanji remained in the secret realm.
• Chi Yu asked Xie Xiyi to remove his eyes, but Xie Xiyi refused and explained that he had properly returned to secular life rather than betrayed the Buddhist sect.
• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu he had discovered a loophole in the heavenly Dao, then compared the world’s people to Go pieces controlled by a player.

Xie Xiyi explained that the Heavenly Dao had engineered the Xie Clan’s destruction to advance the Haoyuan Realm, while Chi Yu learned Xiaoqiu’s remains were with Xie Xiyi and searched for a way home. Chi Yu resolved to wait for the Tiangang Secret Realm’s exit, as Xiaoqiu waited there for Aotian-ge to return.

• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu that the Heavenly Dao had orchestrated the Xie Clan’s destruction over two thousand years, turning its members into medicinal resources and cultivating geniuses from their remains.
• Xie Xiyi confirmed that the Thousand Mountains Brew came from the Xie Clan and revealed that Xiaoqiu was preserved in a pendant of glittering sand.
• Xie Xiyi told Chi Yu he could return to his original world through the Tiangang Secret Realm’s exit, which would appear in ten days or more.
• Chi Yu decided to wait for the exit so he could return to Senior Brother Xuanji and protect Xiaoqiu.
• Xiaoqiu endured Wu Yunsu’s errands and resolved to complain to Aotian-ge when he returned.
• When the Tiangang Secret Realm opened again after seven days, Xiaoqiu waited at its exit for Aotian-ge and changed his braid to the high ponytail Aotian-ge had first tied for him.

Xiaoqiu and Wu Yunsu learned that Chi Yu had vanished into a rift in the Tiangang Secret Realm, and Lecturer Hong confirmed that no one could bring him back because the event was heaven’s will. Wu Yunsu urged Xiaoqiu to focus on cultivating so he might live long enough to see Chi Yu again.

• Xiaoqiu discovered that Chi Yu had not emerged from the Tiangang Secret Realm, and Jingguan suggested he might have entered a rift.
• Wu Yunsu took the distraught Xiaoqiu to Lecturer Hong, who reassured them that Chi Yu was unharmed and might have been sent to the past or future.
• Lecturer Hong contacted Venerable Hanshan, who said Chi Yu was never meant to remain in this realm and could not be brought back.
• Wu Yunsu stopped Xiaoqiu from continuing to plead with Lecturer Hong and told him to cultivate in case Chi Yu had gone to the future.
• Wu Yunsu planned to certify his heart at the Mind-Certifying Terrace and enter the Bitter Truth Chan Abode with Xiaoqiu.

After Chi Yu disappeared in the Tiangang Secret Realm, Xiaoqiu struggled to accept Zhiguan’s divination that Long Junior Brother was at a dead end. Wu Yunsu joined the Bitter Truth Chan Abode to stay beside Xiaoqiu, while Xiaoqiu began to suspect Qingxuan had caused Aotian-ge’s disappearance.

• Wu Yunsu comforted Xiaoqiu and decided to have his heart certified so he could protect him.
• Suoluo and Qiye joined Xiaoqiu, and Zhiguan’s divination showed that Senior Brother Long’s reading was a dead end.
• Wu Yunsu passed the Mind-Certifying Terrace and persuaded the Chan master to assign him to the Bitter Truth Chan Abode.
• Qingxuan apologized for failing to save Long Junior Brother, said Lianchi was probably fine, and left with Mingxin.
• Zhiguan warned Xiaoqiu that Qingxuan and Mingxin felt suspicious, and Xiaoqiu vowed not to let Qingxuan get away with it if he had harmed Aotian-ge.

Xiaoqiu struggled with Long Aotian’s disappearance and wanted to investigate Qingxuan, while Wu Yunsu urged him to focus on cultivation until Xuanji returned. Elsewhere, Qingxuan and Mingxin discussed a concealed plan against Xuanji, and Chi Yu and Xie Xiyi followed a red thread toward the Buddhist Sect’s lost Righteous Object.

• Xiaoqiu said he would investigate what happened to Long Aotian, and Wu Yunsu agreed that Qingxuan was suspicious while deciding to watch Xiaoqiu until Xuanji left seclusion.
• Wu Yunsu passed the Bitter Truth Chan Abode’s test and showed Xiaoqiu his Jade Token.
• Qingxuan told Mingxin to act carefully against Xuanji and suggested that Xuanji might need to die if their suspicions about his family proved true.
• Chi Yu used his Illusion-Piercing Supernatural Ability to find the direction of the lost Buddhist Sect Righteous Object, and Xie Xiyi followed him southwest.
• After class, Wu Yunsu used a Wenxin Gu to tell Xiaoqiu to cultivate, but Xiaoqiu insisted he needed to learn whether Qingxuan had caused Long Aotian’s disappearance.

Wu Yunsu agreed to help Xiaoqiu investigate the circumstances surrounding Xuanji and the others, using demon corpses to feed his gu worms despite the risk of demonic blood affecting him. While Wu Yunsu refined the gu, Xiaoqiu went to the market for more demon corpses and unexpectedly saw Lianchi, then encountered Qingxuan, Jingguan, and Wuyou gathering information about the secret realm.

• Wu Yunsu offered to refine gu with Xiaoqiu's demon corpses and investigate with him, warning that the gu would need to consume many demons before they could secretly infest Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators.
• Wu Yunsu suspected that Xuanji's death seclusion, Chi Yu's disappearance in the Tiangang Secret Realm, and his own loss of cultivation were connected, but agreed to stand by Xiaoqiu because they were companions.
• Wu Yunsu began separating the demonic blood energy from his human cultivation and estimated the process would take another ten days, while Xiaoqiu decided to seek more demon corpses at the market.
• Xiaoqiu spotted Lianchi at the market and chased after him, but Lianchi disappeared before Xiaoqiu could catch up.
• Qingxuan, Jingguan, and Wuyou met Xiaoqiu, and Qingxuan said he was gathering information about the secret realm to help find Long Junior Brother.