Chapter Summaries

After completing his quests, Gu Yi was about to leave the cultivation world when the transport portal closed and righteous cultivators ambushed him. Betrayed by He Yan and poisoned, Gu Yi self-destructed at Heaven-Reaching Peak, killing himself alongside hundreds of cultivators, while He Yan survived and became the new Demonic Clan Leader.

• Gu Yi completed the system’s main quests and prepared to return home from Heaven-Reaching Peak, but the system malfunctioned and the transport portal closed.
• Righteous cultivators surrounded Gu Yi, and He Yan revealed that he had poisoned him and planned to keep him as a male concubine.
• Gu Yi pulled He Yan’s sword from his chest and self-destructed, blasting the attacking cultivators backward and badly injuring He Yan.
• Gu Yi fell from the cliff and died, while He Yan returned to the Demonic Cult and became its new leader.

After He Yan poisoned and wounded Gu Yi and sent him off a cliff, Gu Yi awoke near death inside a barrier with the blind Lin Yuan. The two recognized their shared misfortune, and the chapter ended with Lin Yuan telling Gu Yi to move away from the cold wind.

• Gu Yi awoke inside a barrier after He Yan poisoned him, stabbed him, and he fell from Heaven-Reaching Peak, and he realized he had only about half a month to live.
• Gu Yi met the blind young man Lin Yuan, and they exchanged stories about ending up trapped in the barrier.
• Gu Yi recognized Lin Yuan as a villain from the novel, a gifted cultivator destined to die at the male lead's hands.
• Gu Yi explored the circular barrier, then settled against its wall and drifted off after taking a medicinal pill.
• Lin Yuan found Gu Yi and told him to sleep farther inside so the night wind would not freeze him.

Gu Yi and Lin Yuan spent several days together in the barrier, where the blind Lin Yuan gradually grew attached to the dying cultivator. When Gu Yi's condition worsened, Lin Yuan tried to keep him alive and entered his Sea of Consciousness.

• Gu Yi told Lin Yuan he knew of his reputation, and Lin Yuan explained that he had been blinded and thrown from Heaven-Reaching Peak three years earlier.
• Gu Yi offered Lin Yuan a fox-fur cloak, but Lin Yuan rejected the kindness and told him to stay away.
• Gu Yi and Lin Yuan spent three days in silence, with Gu Yi bundling himself against the cold each night.
• On the fourth night, Lin Yuan sensed that Gu Yi was close to death and poured spiritual power into him to steady his heartbeat.
• Lin Yuan entered Gu Yi's Sea of Consciousness and found his indistinct spiritual consciousness curled up in a corner.

After Gu Yi recovered from a near-fatal collapse with Lin Yuan’s help, he woke believing they had engaged in soul cultivation and struggled to apologize. Lin Yuan revealed he thought he had only transferred spiritual energy, leaving Gu Yi to decide it was better to keep the misunderstanding to himself.

• Gu Yi woke beneath the fox-fur cloak with Lin Yuan beside him and remembered their consciousnesses embracing in his sea of consciousness.
• Gu Yi resolved to apologize and compensate Lin Yuan, while privately wrestling with guilt over what he believed had happened.
• Lin Yuan woke, moved away, and said he had helped only because he did not want Gu Yi to die and rot beside him.
• Gu Yi apologized, but Lin Yuan explained that he had merely transferred spiritual energy to keep him alive.
• Gu Yi realized Lin Yuan did not know about soul cultivation and decided not to tell him, believing he would eventually leave the cave and forget Gu Yi.

Lin Yuan asked Gu Yi to recount the three years he had missed, and Gu Yi told him about the Qingling Sword Sect, the Demonic Cult, and the Demon Lord’s death. As Gu Yi kept Lin Yuan company with stories, Lin Yuan decided he wanted him to stay alive longer and ended the chapter by mocking Gu Yi’s fairy tales.

• Lin Yuan asked Gu Yi what had happened over the past three years, and Gu Yi spent several days recounting events in the righteous sects and the Demonic Cult.
• Lin Yuan criticized the Demon Lord’s death and He Yan’s leadership, saying He Yan had broken the peace agreement and brought war back to the world.
• Gu Yi admitted that he had been one of the Demon Lord’s subordinates, and Lin Yuan lost interest and turned away to sleep.
• Lin Yuan decided Gu Yi should stay alive until Lin Yuan escaped the barrier, so Gu Yi continued telling him stories each day.
• Gu Yi told Lin Yuan the fairy tales of Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood, and Lin Yuan mocked him by asking whether everyone in the Demonic Cult had grown up listening to them.

Lin Yuan accidentally injured Gu Yi, whose life was fading, and tried to save him by entering his sea of consciousness and channeling spiritual energy. Gu Yi woke in Lin Yuan’s arms, feeling healthier but ashamed of his thoughts about cultivating together.

• Lin Yuan criticized Gu Yi’s fairy tales and revealed his painful identification with Little Red Riding Hood, then knocked Gu Yi down when he tried to comfort him.
• Gu Yi coughed up blood, and Lin Yuan realized he had hurt him and tried to restore him with spiritual energy.
• As Gu Yi’s consciousness faded, he murmured his passwords and pleaded for warmth, while Lin Yuan entered his sea of consciousness and sustained him through soul cultivation.
• Gu Yi woke in Lin Yuan’s arms and realized the treatment had improved his condition enough for him to last another two months.
• Gu Yi thought about the possibility of cultivating together with Lin Yuan, then condemned himself for having such thoughts about the person who had saved him.

Gu Yi confessed that he and Lin Yuan had practiced soul cultivation twice, but Lin Yuan focused on learning how to cultivate together rather than punishing him. The chapter left them preparing to study a cultivation manual so Lin Yuan could learn the method.

• Gu Yi recalled how Lin Yuan's future hatred of the male lead and pursuit of the female lead would lead to his downfall, then worried that Lin Yuan might punish him for their soul cultivation.
• After Lin Yuan woke and asked whether Gu Yi was well, Gu Yi admitted that saving him had involved soul cultivation, not merely transferring spiritual energy.
• Lin Yuan asked Gu Yi to teach him how to cultivate together, saying the practice could improve his cultivation.
• Gu Yi tried to dissuade Lin Yuan, but agreed to teach him and retrieved a cultivation manual from his storage ring.
• Gu Yi began reading the manual before teaching Lin Yuan, while Lin Yuan listened to the pages turning.

Gu Yi hesitated before attempting soul cultivation with Lin Yuan, the novel’s future powerful figure, but eventually agreed. The ritual took a painful turn when Lin Yuan suddenly bit Gu Yi’s neck, leaving Gu Yi shocked and furious.

• Gu Yi worried about the consequences of angering Lin Yuan but assured him he could proceed.
• Gu Yi asked Lin Yuan to confirm he was serious, then began reciting the cultivation formula.
• Lin Yuan circulated his spiritual power and asked Gu Yi what came next.
• As Gu Yi nervously reached to undo Lin Yuan’s clothes, Lin Yuan bit through the skin on his neck.
• Gu Yi cursed Lin Yuan and lamented that the encounter had not gone as he imagined.

Lin Yuan used an intimate cultivation method with Gu Yi to repair his meridians and extend his lifespan, then insisted they continue after Gu Yi refused. Gu Yi agreed under pressure, while Lin Yuan promised not to kill him after they escaped and demanded they keep the matter secret.

• Lin Yuan noticed Gu Yi's meridians repairing themselves and stayed beside him while he slept for seven days.
• Gu Yi woke with healed meridians and nearly a year of added lifespan, but Lin Yuan said he had helped mainly to advance his cultivation.
• Gu Yi refused to continue, believing Lin Yuan would kill him once they escaped, but Lin Yuan demanded to know why he had changed his mind.
• Lin Yuan pinned Gu Yi down and threatened to force him, so Gu Yi stopped resisting and said continuing was not out of the question.
• Lin Yuan promised not to kill Gu Yi after they escaped and ordered him to keep their relationship secret.

Half a year later, Lin Yuan promised to take Gu Yi back to the Qingling Sword Sect and offered to make him his cultivation partner. Gu Yi stayed silent, leaving Lin Yuan to wonder whether he had fallen asleep.

• Gu Yi asked Lin Yuan whether he would kill him after they escaped, and Lin Yuan promised he would not.
• Lin Yuan decided to hide Gu Yi at his cave abode and help him pursue orthodox cultivation so they could stay together.
• Gu Yi worried that Lin Yuan would fall for the female lead and that Lin Hai or the orthodox sects would punish him for being the Demon Lord.
• Gu Yi said they should go their separate ways after escaping and promised to keep their time together secret.
• Lin Yuan offered to take Gu Yi home and become his cultivation partner, then reassured him that his blindness and family opposition could be overcome.
• When Gu Yi did not answer, Lin Yuan kissed him and murmured that he was beginning to understand romantic love.

As Lin Yuan underwent a Golden Core tribulation, Gu Yi escaped through a breach in the barrier but returned to take the final bolt for him. After Lin Yuan advanced, Gu Yi decided to leave before he woke, hoping they would no longer owe each other and that Lin Yuan would forget him.

• The first two bolts of Lin Yuan’s tribulation cracked the barrier, and Gu Yi slipped outside while Lin Yuan continued his breakthrough.
• After Lin Yuan was hurt by the fourth bolt, Gu Yi turned back, torn between fleeing and helping the young blind man who had saved him.
• As the final bolt descended, Gu Yi rushed in front of Lin Yuan and took the strike, allowing Lin Yuan to advance to Golden Core.
• Gu Yi carried the unconscious Lin Yuan into a cave and discovered his Golden Core, but did not notice the black energy coiling around it.
• Gu Yi stroked Lin Yuan’s face and left, saying he would keep Lin Yuan’s secret and asking him to forget him.

Lin Yuan woke after four years missing, learned that Gu Yi may be the supposedly dead Demon Venerable, and accused someone in the Qingling Sword Sect of trying to kill him. He resolved to confront the third elder, and the chapter ended in a flashback with Chu Ping about to strike him at Heaven-Reaching Peak.

• Lin Yuan woke beside Lin Hai, discovered his sight had returned, and asked whether Gu Yi had been found with him.
• Lin Hai said Lin Yuan had been alone and explained that Gu Yi had become the Demon Venerable before being driven to Heaven-Reaching Peak and presumed dead.
• Lin Yuan remembered Gu Yi’s account of serving the Demon Venerable and realized Gu Yi might have been the ruler himself.
• Lin Yuan told Lin Hai that someone in the sect had wanted him dead and asked whether the third elder was still there.
• Four years earlier, the wounded Lin Yuan faced Chu Ping at Heaven-Reaching Peak and challenged him about wanting him dead.

After Chu Ping pushed the injured Lin Yuan off a cliff, Lin Yuan survived and returned to the sect, where he reunited with his family and friends. Seeking to see Gu Yi’s face, he found the Demon Venerable’s portrait in the Beauty Rankings, but Gu Yi’s mask concealed it.

• Chu Ping attacked Lin Yuan over Chu Jing’s injuries and shoved him off a cliff when he heard approaching footsteps.
• Lin Yuan stopped in midair against an invisible barrier and later told Lin Hai what Chu Ping had done.
• Lin Hai left to seize Chu Ping while Lin Yuan wondered how his eyesight had recovered and noticed black energy flash between his brows.
• Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng reunited with Lin Yuan and asked where he had been for four years.
• Lin Yuan asked for a portrait of Gu Yi, and Lin Ning found his picture ranked tenth in the Beauty Rankings.
• Lin Yuan was frustrated that Gu Yi wore a mask, while Xiao Cheng chided Lin Ning for neglecting her cultivation.

Lin Yuan went to the Illusory Demon Sect looking for Gu Yi, but its disciples insisted Gu Yi had died and Protector Shen secretly ordered an inquiry. After learning that He Yan had wanted Gu Yi as a male concubine, Lin Yuan rushed to the Blood Demon Sect, where he confronted He Yan.

• Lin Yuan hurried to the Illusory Demon Sect, where Protector Shen said Gu Yi had died a year earlier and ordered his disciples to deny that Gu Yi was alive.
• Xiao Cheng warned Lin Yuan that revealing Gu Yi’s survival could endanger him and their sect, and Lin Yuan realized He Yan might still be a threat.
• Lin Yuan recalled Gu Yi explaining that He Yan had wanted to make the Demon Venerable his male concubine, and resolved to find Gu Yi before He Yan could capture him again.
• Lin Yuan headed for the Blood Demon Sect, and Xiao Cheng sent Lin Hai a voice transmission about where he was going.
• Lin Yuan struck the Blood Demon Sect’s sign with his sword and demanded that He Yan come out; when He Yan appeared, Lin Yuan recognized him from Gu Yi’s description.

Lin Yuan confronted He Yan at the Blood Demon Sect but found no trace of Gu Yi, then returned to the Qingling Sword Sect and punished Chu Ping for betraying him. He told Lin Hai he wanted to find Gu Yi, leaving his grandfather alarmed and convinced Gu Yi had taken advantage of him.

• Lin Yuan attacked He Yan at the Blood Demon Sect to search for Gu Yi's aura, but Lin Hai arrived and took Lin Yuan, Lin Ning, and Xiao Cheng away.
• Back at the Qingling Sword Sect, Lin Yuan found Chu Ping bound and revealed that he had survived the fall from Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• Lin Yuan blinded Chu Ping, severed his legs, and ordered that Chu Ping and Chu Jing have their meridians destroyed and be expelled from the sect.
• Lin Yuan told Lin Hai how he had survived in the barrier, met Gu Yi, and decided he wanted to find him.
• Lin Hai suspected Gu Yi had exploited Lin Yuan and reacted with anger and alarm.

Lin Yuan secretly searched for Gu Yi while Gu Yi, disguised as a woman and using the name Ye Yiyi, escaped pursuers with a girl named Yezi. After sharing food and resting in the woods, Gu Yi worried when Yezi failed to return.

• Lin Yuan continued searching for Gu Yi in secret with Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng, while Lin Hai urged him to give up.
• Gu Yi escaped his cave, disguised himself in women's clothes, and stopped to eat a roasted chicken.
• A fleeing girl ran into Gu Yi, who tried to avoid helping her before finally leading her through the woods and shaking off their pursuers.
• Gu Yi told the girl his false name, Ye Yiyi, and shared his chicken with her; the girl introduced herself as Yezi.
• Yezi asked Gu Yi to accompany her while she relieved herself, but he refused and fell asleep; when she did not return, he wondered if the pursuers had caught her.

Gu Yi discovered that Yezi had drugged him and left him to take her place as the only daughter of the Ye Family, a prospective disciple of Tianmu Sect. Trapped there under her identity and too weak to escape, he decided to pretend to be Yezi for now.

• Gu Yi found Yezi’s abandoned bundle, inhaled the fragrance from its envelope, and collapsed after realizing she had tricked him again.
• Gu Yi woke at Tianmu Sect and learned from Xie Wenyun that he had brought him there as Junior Sister Ye on his master’s orders.
• Gu Yi found Yezi’s hidden belongings and read a letter explaining her family background, her promised discipleship, and her escape to find someone she loved.
• Gu Yi learned Yezi had left him her identity-confirming bangle and supplies, and had mistaken him for a sickly woman after checking his pulse.
• Gu Yi considered escaping but, weakened by the drug and worried that revealing himself could expose his real identity, decided to pass himself off as Yezi.

Gu Yi spent several years recovering at the Tianmu Sect while living under Ye Yiyi’s identity, but his cultivation remained stuck at the foundation establishment stage. When Xie Wenyun told him that Jiang Lingzhou had arrived, Gu Yi prepared to face the persistent suitor who had once tried to marry him.

• Gu Yi stayed at the Tianmu Sect under Ye Yiyi’s identity and became Wen Daochen’s second disciple.
• Wen Daochen arranged treatment for Gu Yi, and over three years his health and lifespan improved, though his cultivation remained at the foundation establishment stage.
• Gu Yi wondered whether Lin Yuan had met the female lead and moved on from him.
• Xie Wenyun told Gu Yi that Junior Brother Jiang had arrived with a message, and Gu Yi agreed to go see him.
• Gu Yi recalled that Jiang Lingzhou had fallen for him, proposed marriage, and declared he would marry no one but Senior Sister Yiyi.

Jiang Lingzhou visited the Tianmu Sect to announce the upcoming Orthodox-Demonic Friendship Conference, which Gu Yi had established years earlier and forgotten about. Gu Yi learned he and Xie Wenyun would have to attend the event, now treated as a matchmaking gathering, while Jiang Lingzhou continued pursuing him.

• Jiang Lingzhou kissed Gu Yi on the cheek, and Gu Yi told him that seeing him was frightening because he had once been bitten by a dog.
• Jiang Lingzhou explained that the Orthodox-Demonic Friendship Conference would take place at the Illusory Demon Sect every four years under the peace agreement Gu Yi had proposed.
• Xie Wenyun objected to attending and pointed out that the Demon Venerable was dead, while Jiang Lingzhou revealed that the conference was treated as a matchmaking event.
• Gu Yi realized that he and Xie Wenyun were the Tianmu Sect's only eligible disciples and had no choice but to attend.
• Jiang Lingzhou offered to protect Gu Yi from being matched with a demonic cultivator, and Gu Yi teased him by suggesting he improve his inner beauty with rouge and face powder.

Gu Yi accepted an azure sky jade pendant from Jiang Lingzhou and agreed to go boating with him, while Xie Wenyun quietly revealed his unspoken feelings. Back in his quarters, Gu Yi worried about Lin Yuan’s fate and resolved to retrieve his Life Lamp from the Illusory Demon Sect.

• Jiang Lingzhou gave Gu Yi a rare azure sky jade pendant, which Gu Yi accepted because it could conceal spiritual power.
• Jiang Lingzhou invited Gu Yi to go out on the lake, and Gu Yi agreed before Jiang Lingzhou left to arrange the outing.
• Xie Wenyun offered to pretend to be Gu Yi’s Dao Companion, but Gu Yi left, unaware that Xie Wenyun had loved him since they first met.
• Gu Yi returned to his quarters and considered whether Lin Yuan had already met the female lead and whether their story would lead to Lin Yuan’s death.
• Gu Yi reminded himself to stop worrying about Lin Yuan and decided to use the opportunity to retrieve his Life Lamp from the Illusory Demon Sect.