Chapter Summaries

Lei Jun’s cultivation was interrupted when Contemporary Celestial Master Li Qingfeng emerged from years of seclusion and gathered the Celestial Master Mansion’s leaders and disciples. Afterward, Xu Yuanzhen questioned the unusual delay in his emergence and explained that Lei Jun would need a Water Marrow Yin Fish and a yin-yang harmonizing spiritual item to further improve his comprehension.

• Lei Jun and the other disciples saw thunder and lightning over Dragon Tiger Mountain as Li Qingfeng emerged from seclusion.
• Yuan Mobai brought Lei Jun and Wang Guiyuan to the Celestial Master Hall, where Li Qingfeng greeted the elders and encouraged the gathered young disciples.
• Li Qingfeng decided Tang Xiaotang would wait until the next Ordination Ceremony for her formal initiation, and the elders agreed not to disturb her cultivation.
• Xu Yuanzhen returned to the mountain and told Lei Jun that Li Qingfeng’s postponed emergence from seclusion was abnormal and might mean he had thought too much.
• Xu Yuanzhen said Lei Jun would need a Water Marrow Yin Fish and a spiritual item that harmonized yin and yang to improve his comprehension with the Fire Marrow Yang Fish.

Lei Jun strengthened his divine soul through cultivation while Tang Xiaotang left Dragon Tiger Mountain after the Celestial Master entered seclusion again. At the next Ordination Ceremony, Lei Jun assisted Yuan Mobai and noticed a guest watching him instead of the new disciples.

• Lei Jun built virtual Refining and Salvation and Universal Salvation Halls on his Dao Foundation Altar, further nurturing his divine soul through the Fire Marrow Yang Fish.
• The Contemporary Celestial Master entered seclusion again, prompting Tang Xiaotang to leave the mountain in frustration after learning he would miss another Ordination Ceremony.
• The new year arrived, and twenty-three-year-old Lei Jun attended his second Ordination Ceremony as Yuan Mobai's assistant while Wang Guiyuan remained in seclusion.
• Lei Jun recognized Zhang Yuan among the new disciples and learned that Li Zhengxuan's first disciple would be a young Dao Child brought to the mountain by the Young Celestial Master.
• As the Chuan Du Initiation began, Lei Jun noticed a guest on the viewing platform watching him rather than the new disciples.

At the Ordination Ceremony, Lei Jun learned more about the distinguished guests and the rivalry between the Celestial Master Mansion and Pure Yang Palace. When Yuan Mobai asked him to fetch alchemy supplies or join a sparring exchange, Lei Jun’s fortune signs warned that the order of his choices could bring very different outcomes.

• A woman from the Suzhou Chu Clan watched Lei Jun and discussed his promise with a young clansman, identifying herself later as Chu Yu, the Moon Studio Master.
• The Ordination Ceremony concluded, drawing attention to Young Celestial Master Li Zhengxuan’s first disciple and to guests from Pure Yang Palace, the Fang Clan, and the Chu Clan.
• Lei Jun and Luo Haoran discussed Pure Yang Palace’s visit, while the chapter explained how its cultivation methods differed from those of the Celestial Master Mansion.
• Yuan Mobai asked Lei Jun to fetch a Both Crossing Cauldron and spirit herbs, then offered him the chance to spar with Pure Yang Palace disciples.
• Lei Jun’s Light Sphere presented fortune signs linking his choice and the order of his actions to different opportunities and risks.

Lei Jun found a spiritually unusual Medicine Mortar in the Great Pill Chamber while gathering equipment for Yuan Mobai’s pill refining. After an incident in the Medicine Garden left Zhang Yuan and Fang Mingyuan injured, Lei Jun learned Fang Mingyuan had been strolling there with Zhang Jingzhen’s junior sister and joked that the pair had something going on.

• Lei Jun declined to perform in the exchange session and went to the Great Pill Chamber to gather Yuan Mobai’s pill-refining equipment.
• Sensing the Fire Marrow Yang Fish react, Lei Jun found and stored a spiritually unusual Medicine Mortar before taking a Both Crossing Cauldron and heading to the Medicine Garden.
• At the Medicine Garden, Lei Jun saw Zhang Yuan and Fang Mingyuan being carried away injured, while Fang Jian and Zhang Jingzhen organized the response.
• Shangguan Hong told Lei Jun that Zhang Yuan had encountered Fang Mingyuan strolling with the junior sister, and Luo Haoran had injured Fang Mingyuan while rushing to help.
• Lei Jun joked that Fang Mingyuan and the junior sister had something going on, leaving Shangguan Hong choking on his saliva.

After the Ordination Ceremony ended, Lei Jun learned that the Medicine Mortar he found was an Unfinished Vessel suited to his cultivation. Xu Yuanzhen said that with it, the Fire Marrow Yang Fish, and a Water Marrow Yin Fish, Lei Jun could improve his comprehension.

• Lei Jun reflected on the quieted dispute involving Li Ying and Fang Mingyuan, while Chen Yi won the sparring match for the Celestial Master Mansion.
• Yuan Mobai refined pills and distributed them, and Lei Jun realized how his choices had helped him find the Medicine Mortar and avoid exposing the possible marriage alliance.
• As the guests departed, a woman from the Chu Family ordered her nephew to watch Chen Yi and Lei Jun more closely.
• Lei Jun visited the injured Zhang Yuan and confined Luo Haoran, then heard Yuan Mobai and Xu Yuanzhen discuss Li Zhengxuan's wavering approach to the Fang Clan.
• Lei Jun examined the Medicine Mortar and learned from Xu Yuanzhen that it was an Unfinished Vessel that could help improve his comprehension if he also found the Water Marrow Yin Fish.

Lei Jun spent a year cultivating before Xu Yuanzhen’s message revealed Cold Springs north of the Xin River that could produce Water Marrow Yin Fish. He and Yuan Mobai traveled to the Cloud Firmament Mountain Range to investigate, arriving at Azure Firmament Temple and meeting its Temple Master, Lu Zhaoqing.

• Xu Yuanzhen teased Lei Jun and then left to continue her travels, while Yuan Mobai observed that she and Lei Jun understood each other well.
• Lei Jun resumed cultivation, building the Silent Hall and using the Fire Marrow Yang Fish and Azure Stone Ink to improve his practice.
• A year later, Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun that Xu Yuanzhen had found spiritually potent Cold Springs north of the Xin River, where Water Marrow Yin Fish might eventually form.
• Wang Guiyuan helped Lei Jun prepare abundant supplies before Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai departed Dragon Tiger Mountain for the Cloud Firmament Mountain Range.
• Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai stayed at Azure Firmament Temple near Azure Firmament Mountain and greeted its Temple Master, Lu Zhaoqing.

Lei Jun completed his breakthrough from Foundation Establishment Perfection to the Third Heaven Altar Realm, overcoming the Heavenly Chasm Tribulation with Yuan Mobai watching over him. After learning about his new cultivation and talisman-making abilities, Lei Jun said he would delay choosing his Third Art while he considered new ideas.

• Lei Jun completed his sixth Dharma Hall and reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, then crafted a mid-grade Natal Spirit Invocation Talisman with the Vermillion Point Brush.
• Lei Jun formed a Three-Layer Altar above the pool as the Heavenly Chasm Tribulation’s yin fire attacked him, and he overcame it to enter the Third Heaven Altar Realm.
• Yuan Mobai congratulated Lei Jun, helped him adjust to his new realm, and gave him the second volume of the "Great Dao Classic of True Orthodox Dharma."
• Lei Jun learned that his First Layer Altar let him make mid-grade basic Spirit Talismans and sometimes upper-grade Natal Talismans with the Vermillion Point Brush, while simplifying the ritual lowered their grade.
• Yuan Mobai explained how higher realms affected talisman-making and Natal Spells, then suggested Lei Jun cultivate another Natal Talisman Art.
• Lei Jun told Yuan Mobai he would postpone his Third Art because he was still thinking through new ideas, and Yuan Mobai asked whether he planned to create a new basic Spirit Talisman.

While Yuan Mobai and Lei Jun waited at Azure Firmament Temple for the Water Marrow Yin Fish, Lei Jun refined a new concealed attack called Dark River Force. After Yuan Mobai left on an uncertain errand, Qin Tao warned Lei Jun about the deadly risks of crossing cultivation tribulations, and Lei Jun replied that waiting to die was worse.

• Lei Jun demonstrated Dark River Force, a corrosive power he had developed by combining Azure Stone Ink's spiritual energy with his Magic Power, and Yuan Mobai helped him refine it.
• Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai remained in the mountains, cultivating and awaiting the Cold Spring Yin Fish's maturation.
• When summer arrived, Yuan Mobai left Azure Firmament Temple on business and told Lei Jun to stay until he returned.
• Qin Tao praised Lei Jun's talent and warned him that failed tribulations could cause Qi Deviation or death, citing a new disciple's failure and the death of the temple's former Upper Seat.
• Lei Jun recognized Qin Tao's envy and fear about his own stalled cultivation, then answered that waiting to die was more terrifying than death.

As floodwaters overwhelmed Azure Firmament Lake, Lei Jun and the others used the damaged talisman formation to hold back a vast Suspended Sky Lake. Lei Jun chose to stay and reinforce the formation, while Qin Tao set out to seek aid, leaving the group facing a fragile, dangerous standoff.

• Lei Jun learned that Luo Haoran had rescued members of the Jingxiang Fang Clan, including Fang Mingyuan, and warned him to remain wary.
• A breach in Azure Firmament Lake’s dike damaged its talisman formation and sent Lu Zhaoqing and Qin Tao rushing to help Luo Haoran.
• Lei Jun joined them, and the four disciples repaired the formation enough to restrain the floodwaters in a vast Suspended Sky Lake.
• Lei Jun’s fortune signs warned that leaving by either mountain route would bring severe danger, while staying to reinforce the formation offered an opportunity with hidden risks.
• Luo Haoran and Lei Jun stayed at Azure Firmament Lake, while Qin Tao departed through the mountains to seek aid from the Purple Firmament Sect.

After Azure Firmament Lake’s flood-control formation was sabotaged, Lei Jun and his companions worked to stabilize it and uncovered signs linking the attack to the Dong Clan and possibly the Jiangzhou Lin Clan. Lei Jun found a rare Both Crossing Stone, while Luo Haoran prepared to inspect the area for further attacks.

• Qin Tao chose the western route toward the Purple Firmament Sect, while Lei Jun and the others discovered that someone had deliberately damaged Azure Firmament Lake’s talisman array.
• Luo Haoran and Lu Zhaoqing identified traces of Body Refinement Martial Arts that resembled the Dong Clan’s inherited art, and they considered whether the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had encouraged the sabotage.
• Lei Jun, Luo Haoran, and Lu Zhaoqing reinforced the remaining talisman array and lake dike as the floodwaters battered them.
• Lei Jun found a black-and-white Both Crossing Stone beneath the dike and recognized it as one of the opportunities hinted at by his Middle Middle Auspicious Sign.
• Luo Haoran revealed that he had chosen the Water Aversion Talisman as his third Natal Talisman Art because his hometown had often flooded.
• Luo Haoran set out to check for further sabotage, and Lei Jun offered to accompany him while Lu Zhaoqing relied on Spirit Sensing Talismans to warn them of danger.

Dong Yang ambushed the Celestial Master Mansion disciples and pressed the aging Lu Zhaoqing with a barrage of punches. Lei Jun revealed his overwhelming strength by killing six Dong Clan attackers with single punches, leaving Dong Yang and the others stunned.

• Dong Yang burst from Suspended Sky Lake and severely wounded Luo Haoran before more Dong Clan members followed him out of the water.
• Dong Yang fought Lu Zhaoqing, dodging his talisman attacks and eventually breaking through his Golden Barrier Talisman defenses.
• As Lu Zhaoqing struggled against Dong Yang, Lei Jun supported Luo Haoran and punched the other Dong Clan attackers into the lake embankment.
• Lei Jun killed six Dong Clan members with single punches, astonishing Dong Yang, Lu Zhaoqing, and Luo Haoran.

Lei Jun killed Dong Yang and revealed that he had reached the Third Heaven and erected his Dharma Altar, then treated the badly wounded Luo Haoran. He used Dong Yang’s Water Aversion Golden Eye to shelter Luo Haoran in the floodwaters and began considering whether the Both Crossing Stone could complete a four-in-one combination to improve his comprehension.

• Lei Jun caught Dong Yang’s punch, used a cyan flash to weaken his blood and qi, and killed him with a strike to the throat.
• Lei Jun told Lu Zhaoqing and Luo Haoran that his master had helped him overcome Azure Stone Ink’s damage and pass the tribulation to erect his Dharma Altar.
• Lei Jun used medicine prepared by Wang Guiyuan to stabilize Luo Haoran, whose injuries and fever left him unconscious.
• Lei Jun found the Water Aversion Golden Eye on Dong Yang’s corpse and used it with Luo Haoran’s Water Aversion Talisman to create a sheltered space in the floodwaters.
• Lei Jun identified the Water Aversion Golden Eye and Both Crossing Stone as likely opportunities from the Middle Middle Auspicious Sign and wondered whether the Both Crossing Stone could make a four-in-one comprehension combination.

Lei Jun watched Fang Yue arrive with Fang Mingyuan and Qin Tao, only to learn that Fang Yue intended to thank Luo Haoran and help control the flood. As the flood settled, Fang Yue and Fang Mingyuan argued over principles, until a sudden explosion sounded from the north and raised the possibility that the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had set another ambush.

• Fang Yue arrived at Azure Firmament Lake with Fang Mingyuan and Qin Tao, explaining that he had come to thank Luo Haoran for saving his clansman.
• Fang Yue returned Qin Tao to Lu Zhaoqing and revealed that he had persuaded the Jiangzhou Lin Clan’s Shen Si and his group to leave.
• Fang Yue used Confucian poetry to summon wind and suppress the flood while Lei Jun and Luo Haoran concealed themselves among the submerged rocks.
• Fang Yue told Fang Mingyuan that he genuinely believed Luo Haoran deserved gratitude, then reprimanded him for ignoring basic principles.
• An explosion erupted in the northern mountains, and Lei Jun wondered whether the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had placed another ambush there.

After the flood at Azure Firmament Lake subsided, Yuan Mobai arrived and explained that a battle involving Lei Jun’s master had caused the deaths of Lin Clan members lying in ambush nearby. The group returned to Azure Firmament Temple to plan their next steps, and Lei Jun noticed Li Xuan and Qu Yong reacting with shock to the account of his journey.

• Fang Yue and the others greeted Yuan Mobai after he calmed the floodwaters and restored Azure Firmament Lake.
• Yuan Mobai explained that a battle agreement involving Lei Jun’s master had unintentionally killed Lin Clan members near North Mountain.
• Yuan Mobai asked Lu Zhaoqing to bring Fang Yue and Fang Mingyuan to Azure Firmament Temple, where Li Xuan and Qu Yong joined the group.
• Li Xuan arranged for Qin Tao to be returned to the Purple Firmament Sect for judgment and assigned a Celestial Master Mansion disciple to await the verdict.
• After hearing Lei Jun and the others recount their journey, Li Xuan stared at Lei Jun and glared at Qu Yong, who looked shocked and aggrieved.

After helping defeat the Dong Family at Azure Firmament Lake, Lei Jun stayed out of the widening conflict between the Celestial Master Mansion and the Jiangzhou Lin Clan while cultivating in seclusion. Yuan Mobai helped him obtain the Water Marrow Yin Fish, completing the pair with his Fire Marrow Yang Fish and bringing their spiritual currents together like a Taiji Yin Yang Fish.

• Li Xuan praised Lei Jun for reaching the Third Heaven and establishing a Dharma Altar, while Yuan Mobai advised him to learn from hardship.
• Yuan Mobai and Li Xuan prepared to counterattack the Jiangzhou Lin Clan and deal with the Dong Family, while Lei Jun returned to his residence to recover and cultivate.
• Lei Jun heard that the mansion's conflict with the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had drawn in the Jingxiang Fang Clan and Shu Mountain, and learned that Chen Yi had been injured in an ambush by Yellow Heaven Path Disciples.
• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun that the Water Marrow Yin Fish had appeared at Cold Spring and let him catch it himself using the Fire Marrow Yang Fish.
• Lei Jun caught the Water Marrow Yin Fish, and golden and silver currents joined in his palm as a turning Taiji Yin Yang Fish.

Lei Jun combined four spirit objects to raise his comprehension to Profound Clarity and advance to the Second Layer Altar. Encouraged by Yuan Mobai, he prepared to test unconventional ways of using multiple Spirit Talismans at once.

• Lei Jun collected the Water Marrow Yin Fish from the Cold Spring with Yuan Mobai and returned to Azure Firmament Temple.
• Lei Jun refined the four spirit objects together, then absorbed the resulting black-and-white vapor and stabilized his departing soul through visualization.
• Lei Jun’s soul and body reunited, raising his comprehension from upper grade to Profound Clarity and advancing his cultivation to the Second Layer Altar.
• Yuan Mobai explained how Profound Clarity could aid Lei Jun’s cultivation and experiments with Daoist methods and Talisman Scriptures.
• Lei Jun recalled that Talisman School cultivators usually could not use multiple Spirit Talismans at once and decided to test unconventional approaches.

Lei Jun experimented with linked and combined Spirit Talismans while the Celestial Master Mansion prepared for possible conflict with the Jiangzhou Lin Clan. Tang Xiaotang visited after becoming famous for rescuing Buddhist disciples, and Chu Yu arrived with a young Chu family member seeking Lei Jun’s help entering the mansion.

• Lei Jun tested linked Blazing Flame Talismans and then combined a Blazing Flame Talisman with a Wind Riding Talisman, extending its range but producing an unstable, inaccurate shot.
• Experts gathered at Azure Firmament Mountain as the Dong Family faced ruin and the Celestial Master Mansion awaited the Jiangzhou Lin Clan’s response.
• Tang Xiaotang visited Lei Jun after rescuing an elder and disciples from Bodhi Temple during a White Lotus Sect ambush, and they discussed experimenting with Spirit Talismans.
• Lu Zhaoqing brought Chu Yu and a young Chu family member to meet Lei Jun, and Chu Yu asked him to recommend the youth to Yuan Mobai for cultivation at the Celestial Master Mansion.

Chu Yu brought her great-grandson Chu Kun to Azure Firmament Temple to seek Yuan Mobai’s instruction and asked Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang to look after him if he joined the school. Yuan Mobai then revealed that his karmic connection to Chu Kun began with a search for news about the missing Celestial Master Seal.

• Chu Yu introduced Chu Kun to Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang, and Tang Xiaotang teased Chu Yu about being his Little Grand-Aunt.
• Chu Yu presented three Longitude and Latitude Boxes of Initiation Fee Gold for Yuan Mobai, Lei Jun, and Wang Guiyuan, while Lei Jun said Yuan Mobai would decide whether to accept Chu Kun.
• Chu Yu told Chu Kun to build relationships with Lei Jun and Wang Guiyuan, explaining that Yuan Mobai and Xu Yuanzhen’s regard for Lei Jun made him worth watching.
• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang that he had encountered Chu Kun’s parents while searching for news about the Celestial Master Seal, which had been lost years earlier.

Yuan Mobai explained the Celestial Master Mansion’s history of internal upheavals and how the Celestial Master Seal went missing. When Li Qingfeng emerged from seclusion, Lei Jun’s Sign Fortunes urged him to go to Nine Provinces Ridge on Azure Void Mountain, while returning to Dragon Tiger Mountain or staying in the Cloud Firmament Mountain Range carried great danger.

• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang that disputes over changes to the sect’s Taoist arts had weakened the Celestial Master Mansion in its early history.
• Yuan Mobai recounted how opposition to the Li Clan’s succession led to civil war, and how his master ended the conflict and became the third Celestial Master Li.
• Yuan Mobai explained that the Celestial Master Mansion’s third upheaval killed his master and Li Cangting, while Li Qingfeng survived, became the fourth Celestial Master Li, and lost the Celestial Master Seal to Li Cangting before his death.
• Tang Xiaotang vowed to recover the Celestial Master Seal, while Lei Jun asked Yuan Mobai where to find spiritual objects bearing earth and stone aspects and considered his suggested destinations.
• Li Qingfeng emerged from seclusion, prompting Tang Xiaotang and Yuan Mobai to return to Dragon Tiger Mountain, while Yuan Mobai asked Lei Jun where he wanted to go.
• Lei Jun’s Light Sphere revealed four Sign Fortunes, with the Supreme Good Fortune Sign directing him to wait patiently at Nine Provinces Ridge on Azure Void Mountain.

Lei Jun avoided returning to Dragon Tiger Mountain and went to Azure Void Mountain, where he cultivated while awaiting the opportunity promised by his fortune. The chapter ended with news that Contemporary Celestial Master Li Qingfeng had suddenly become ill while confronting the Jiangzhou Lin Clan Leader.

• Lei Jun chose to travel to Azure Void Mountain instead of returning to Dragon Tiger Mountain, and Yuan Mobai arranged for the Azure Void Sect to host him.
• Yuan Mobai returned to Dragon Tiger Mountain while Lei Jun met Sect Leader Tu Guangyu and examined the earth-and-stone spiritual materials available at Azure Void Mountain.
• Lei Jun searched around Nine Provinces Ridge for the promised Third Grade Opportunity, then continued cultivating at the Azure Void Sect.
• Lei Jun received a Longitude and Latitude Box filled with cultivation resources and advanced to the Second Layer Altar.
• The Azure Void Sect received news that Li Qingfeng had suddenly suffered a physical ailment while confronting the Jiangzhou Lin Clan Leader.