Chapter Summaries

Tang Yan and Hou Niao fought to a standstill as Tang Yan tested the power of Hou Niao’s unusual flying-sword technique. Tang Yan sought a battle near death to break through his stalled growth, and the chapter ended as he prepared to force Hou Niao out of his sword.

• Hou Niao used the “Before” formula’s Sword Momentum to damage Tang Yan’s Jade Clarity Dharma Body and drive him into the air.
• Tang Yan recognized that Hou Niao’s body was inside the flying sword’s Sword Spirit space and used his Mustard Seed Golden Body and Spirit-Suppressing Bell to try to trap it.
• The flying sword shattered Tang Yan’s bell, and Hou Niao appeared as the two fighters faced each other after their exchanges ended in a draw.
• Tang Yan reflected that he had suppressed his advancement to compete for Extraterrestrial Spirit Green and now sought a dangerous battle to break his strength bottleneck.
• Tang Yan decided he had to force Hou Niao’s true body out and told him he would not let him use the fight to rise higher.

Tang Yan and Hou Niao fought for several quarters of an hour without either gaining the advantage. As the observers worried that Hou Niao might be losing strength, Daoist Zhan suggested he had chosen the declining Ganling Small World deliberately to uncover the Wu Sect’s plans and set a trap.

• Tang Yan used Force Technique to burden Hou Niao’s flying sword, but Hou Niao switched to a sword-in-hand attack and Tang Yan evaded it with Fuyao’s help.
• Tang Yan launched Fire Crow, Fire Snake, and Fire Tortoise again, while neither fighter managed to overcome the other.
• Daoist Jin and Daoist Gu worried that Tang Yan was taking too long to defeat Hou Niao.
• Li Chuping feared Hou Niao would run out of strength after the prolonged fight, while Daoist An praised his endurance.
• Daoist Zhan pointed out that Hou Niao had helped cause the Ganling Small World’s decline and suggested he had deliberately chosen it to expose the other side’s plans and lay a trap.

Tang Yan trapped the Sword Cultivator inside his Jade Clarity Dharma Body using Body Heaven and Earth, while Same-Origin Joint Cultivation secretly made him stronger as the Ganling Small World weakened. Confident he had won, Tang Yan offered to make the Sword Cultivator his disciple, but the man challenged his certainty.

• Tang Yan abandoned the Mustard-Seed Hidden-Gold Body and expanded his Jade Clarity Dharma Body to force the Sword Cultivator into using the Body Sword Technique.
• Tang Yan invoked Body Heaven and Earth, trapping the Sword Cultivator and his flying sword inside the Dharma Body.
• The Sword Cultivator slashed at the Dharma Body but could not escape, while Tang Yan concealed how Same-Origin Joint Cultivation increased his strength as the Ganling Small World weakened.
• Tang Yan judged that he had secured victory and asked the Sword Cultivator to swear a Dao pact and take him as his master.
• The Sword Cultivator questioned whether Constellation True Disciples all thought themselves invincible, and Tang Yan prepared to prove his claim in combat.

Tang Yan trapped the Sword Cultivator with Same-Origin Joint Cultivation, but discovered the Small Grotto-Heaven Small World was collapsing far faster than he had expected. The Sword Cultivator revealed he had accelerated its collapse, forcing Tang Yan to choose between killing him immediately or risking an unwanted breakthrough to the Golden Core Upper Realm.

• Tang Yan used his Dharma-Myself Body to restrain the Sword Cultivator and urged him to swear a Dao pact.
• The Sword Cultivator asked about Tang Yan's technique, and Tang Yan explained that he had activated Same-Origin Joint Cultivation.
• Tang Yan realized the Small Grotto-Heaven Small World was collapsing at a rate that would soon overwhelm his mortal body with power.
• The Sword Cultivator admitted he had accelerated the Small World's collapse and warned that Tang Yan would soon advance to the Golden Core Upper Realm.
• The Sword Cultivator told Tang Yan that his only chance was to kill him and escape before the breakthrough, leaving Tang Yan torn between fighting and suspecting a bluff.

Tang Yan unleashed his full strength against Hou Niao, believing he had gained the upper hand, while observers debated the battle’s strange progress and feared its aftermath. The contest remained unresolved, and Li Chuping worried more about what the Wu Sect might do if Tang Yan were defeated than about Shanmen’s reaction to Hou Niao’s loss.

• Tang Yan dismissed his Dharma-Myself Body, brought his Fire Constructs and White Kite into the fight, and attacked Hou Niao with everything at his disposal.
• Tang Yan realized Hou Niao could not affect the Small World’s collapse while using Man and Sword as One, and continued pressing him as their contest became a test of endurance.
• Daoist Gu and Daoist Jin discussed how to handle the Gengjing Ore mine and prepare Anhe for Shanmen’s likely response.
• Li Chuping pointed out that Tang Yan’s steady rise and Hou Niao’s steady retreat were suspicious, and said Hou Niao was probably waiting for an opportunity.
• Daoist Zhan said she feared Tang Yan more when he appeared to have the advantage, while Li Chuping worried about the trouble the Wu Sect might cause if Tang Yan were defeated and killed.

Tang Yan nearly defeated the Sword Cultivator with his fire techniques, but the Sword Cultivator countered them with hidden earth and water defenses. Tang Yan was forced into ascension and chose to endure the consequences rather than die fighting.

• Tang Yan trapped the Sword Cultivator in Fire Prison Realm Heaven and combined the White Kite with the Fire Crow, Fire Snake, and Fire Tortoise to unleash the Three-Jiao Heart Fire.
• The Sword Cultivator destroyed the White Kite, then used yellow earth radiance and blue water radiance to extinguish the flames and defeat Tang Yan’s attack.
• Tang Yan’s brief lapse in focus allowed the Unseen to seize him, and thunderclouds formed over Ganling Small World as he was forced to ascend.
• The Sword Cultivator congratulated Tang Yan on his ascension and said he would take care of the extraterrestrial spirit green.
• Tang Yan weighed dying alongside the Sword Cultivator against surviving the dangers of ascending within a small world, and chose to endure humiliation and shoulder the burden.

Hou Niao watched Tang Yan face Core Formation tribulation as the Ganling Small World collapsed, reflecting on his hidden role in accelerating its decay and on Tang Yan’s strength. Tang Yan survived the first two lightning strikes and prepared to face the final one.

• Hou Niao recalled how he had secretly used the Ancient Thunder Talisman to accelerate the Ganling Small World’s collapse and reconsidered Tang Yan as an equal in battle.
• As the small world’s collapse accelerated, Hou Niao watched Tang Yan and called out mockingly while thunderclouds gathered.
• Tang Yan endured the first lightning strike and resolved to kill Hou Niao after forming his core.
• The second lightning strike left Tang Yan unharmed, and he transformed into the Jade Void Dharma-Myself Body to face the final bolt.

Tang Yan formed a Thunder Core during the collapse of the Ganling Small World, and he and Hou Niao were ejected before it closed. The duel ended without a winner, leaving Tang Yan newly advanced and privately intent on killing Hou Niao later.

• Tang Yan endured the final purple Thunder bolt and imprinted the High Antiquity Thunder Talisman into his half-formed Golden Core, advancing to the Upper Realm.
• The Ganling Small World collapsed, and its forces ejected Tang Yan and Hou Niao before it sealed itself away.
• Daoist Qingshan and the others saw both men emerge unharmed, while Tang Yan's aura showed that he had formed his core.
• Hou Niao claimed the Small World had collapsed just as the duel was about to be decided, and Tang Yan supported his explanation.
• Tang Yan and the others agreed to return, while Tang Yan concealed his humiliation and resolved to kill Hou Niao later.

After Tang Yan advanced to the Upper Realm, Hou Niao and the others parted ways, and Li Chuping warned Hou Niao about the Wu Sect’s likely revenge. Pingliang Prefecture began rebuilding as Li Chuping pondered Hou Niao’s mysterious rise and suspected a connection to the Anhe Daoist Sect.

• Daoist Zhan teased Hou Niao about his schemes, while Li Chuping and Daoist An exchanged farewells and warned him that Tang Yan might seek revenge.
• Hou Niao told Li Chuping that he had planted a weakness in Tang Yan during his heavenly tribulation, but said it would not let them control Tang Yan outright.
• Li Chuping proposed a public account that preserved Tang Yan’s honor, claiming he had willingly advanced to escape the changed Grotto-Heaven World.
• Pingliang Prefecture began rebuilding, while Hou Niao spent his time wandering and visiting the Anhe Female Cultivator instead of helping Li Chuping.
• Li Chuping reflected on Hou Niao’s steady progress and suspected that his unusual fortune might have come from secrets tied to the Anhe Daoist Sect.

Hou Niao reviewed his failed fight against Tang Yan and examined the limits of his swordsmanship, especially his slow, unreliable Flying Sword Stance. He traced his dissatisfaction with Quanzhen’s Flying Sword Art to the Soul Realm Sword Cultivators he had encountered, whom he had always considered true Sword Cultivators.

• Hou Niao recognized that his Flying Sword could not overcome Tang Yan’s powerful Dharma Bodies, while his Forward Character Formula had managed to injure the Dharma-Self Body.
• Hou Niao identified momentum as the key to mastering the Body Sword Technique and considered the distinct meanings of the Self-Alone, Dugu, and Hook-Sinking momentums.
• Hou Niao compared his three sword stances and concluded that the Flying Sword Stance lagged behind the Sword-Wielding and Body Sword stances despite decades of effort.
• Hou Niao questioned whether the Shanmen Quanzhen swordsmanship system had a fundamental flaw and retraced how his doubts had developed.
• Hou Niao realized that he had expected more from the Flying Sword Art ever since entering the Dao Path because he regarded the Soul Realm’s Sword One, Sword Two, and Sword Three as true Sword Cultivators.

After reflecting on his struggles to advance as a Sword Cultivator, Hou Niao asked Li Chuping for leave to travel beyond Pingliang Prefecture. Their discussion turned to the Anhe Daoist Sect’s invitation to become a True Disciple, and Hou Niao left with ambitions beyond simply securing a position.

• Hou Niao recognized that he still fell short of being a true Sword Cultivator, though the Five Elements Mystic Light had shown unexpected power.
• Under Li Chuping’s management, the three-prefecture system in Pingliang Prefecture settled into an orderly routine.
• Hou Niao asked Li Chuping for leave to travel, and Li Chuping warned him that Tang Yan might target him outside Pingliang.
• Li Chuping asked whether Hou Niao had received an invitation from the Anhe Daoist Sect, and Hou Niao said he regarded it as a precaution while preferring a True Disciple position within Shanmen Quanzhen.
• Li Chuping urged Hou Niao to consider the Northern Anhe branch’s invitation and promised that the Minister of Justice Prefecture would not obstruct him; Hou Niao accepted the support but kept his greater ambitions to himself.

After arranging affairs in Pingliang Prefecture, Li Shipeng left Zhongqing City to travel and strengthen his earth and water Profound Lights, planning to visit the Winged People Tribe, Loulan, and Bai Qingqian. He arrived in Mirage Tower during the Sea God Festival, where a mysterious veiled female cultivator stood out at a gathering in the Jiedu Prefecture gardens.

• Li Shipeng finished making arrangements in Pingliang Prefecture and departed Zhongqing City for a journey south.
• Li Shipeng planned to study the Spirit Pearls at the Winged People Tribe and Loulan and to bring Bai Qingqian with him from Mirage Tower.
• Li Shipeng reached Mirage Tower after more than twenty years, as the city celebrated its hundred-year Sea God Festival.
• Cultivators and other prominent figures gathered at the Jiedu Prefecture gardens, where a veiled female cultivator drew attention with her exceptional beauty.

Bai Qingqian attended a gathering hosted by the Jiedu Prefecture and reflected on the Bai Clan’s recovery and her quiet life in Mirage Tower City. As the guests discussed business, cultivation, and other matters, two female cultivators spotted a striking young man and considered approaching him.

• Bai Qingqian recalled how the Bai Clan had withdrawn from Anhe Daoist State, stabilized its businesses, and begun cautiously expanding into Ancient Loulan.
• Bai Qingqian mingled with the invited cultivators alongside Xiangfei Bamboo, the only person she knew well in Mirage Tower City.
• Guests exchanged gossip about the prefecture’s garden, a Smoke Jade discovery, sea merchants, and dual cultivation.
• Two female cultivators appraised the men at the gathering and singled out a handsome Natural Realm cultivator.
• The younger sister wondered who the young man was, and the elder sister urged her to approach him.

At Mirage Tower, Guan Ruyu joined a group of female cultivators who admired his looks and enjoyed his wit and knowledge. Bai Qingqian discussed Xiangfei Bamboo’s plans to seek a place in the Southeast as a guest elder, while reflecting on Hou Niao’s troubles and the growing power of the Canghai Pirates.

• A group of female cultivators called out to Guan Ruyu and learned that he came from the Weiliao Kingdom in the Southeast.
• Guan Ruyu accepted their invitation to discuss the Southeast, and more women joined their lively conversation.
• Xiangfei Bamboo told Bai Qingqian that she wanted to travel to the Southeast and find a tradition where she could cultivate as a guest elder without joining.
• Bai Qingqian agreed to ask Hou Niao for advice but warned that his enemies among the Daoist sects might make it difficult.
• Bai Qingqian noted that Fang Yazi and the Canghai Pirates had grown powerful on the Lizhi Sea, while many sword cultivators at the gathering had dealt in goods through the Bai Clan.

At the Jiedu Prefecture’s centennial celebration, Daoist Wang Chuquan announced a new sea route to Yingtai and introduced Xiang Anshi, who set a contest of strength to choose six merchant firms. The chapter ended with the cultivators studying the enormous whale they would have to drag.

• Daoist Wang Chuquan announced that six merchant firms would initially be selected to develop the new route to Yingtai.
• Wang Chuquan introduced Yingtai’s Constellation True Disciple, Xiang Anshi, and his junior sisters Chen Zhaodi and Nie Yingnan.
• Xiang Anshi declared that strength alone would determine which firms Yingtai worked with.
• Xiang Anshi summoned a giant whale and announced that the six cultivators who dragged it farthest would win.
• The assembled cultivators assessed the whale’s immense size and power, weighing whether they could move it.

At Yingtai’s festival, Xiang Anshi’s whale-dragging contest tested cultivators’ overall ability, but the merchants in attendance hesitated to compete. Guan Ruyu offered to help Bai Qingqian, who deferred her decision while weighing the risks to her clan.

• Guan Ruyu explained that dragging the Blue Sea Sperm Whale required magical power and mastery of water, not brute strength alone.
• Bai Qingqian declined to compete for the Bai Clan, and Xiangfei Bamboo offered to represent her, but Qingqian saw little reason to risk pursuing the trade route.
• Guan Ruyu volunteered to help Bai Qingqian, and she suggested they wait to see how others performed before deciding.
• The crowd remained hesitant to attempt the contest, prompting Xiang Anshi to criticize their lack of courage.
• Nie Yingnan and Chen Zhaodi discussed how the whale’s size set a high threshold and how merchants’ cautious habits differed from those of powerful Daoist sects.

Yingtai cultivators used a Great Whale pulling contest to test the strength of the Brocade Continent’s cultivation world, while Ye Tian’s humorous failure turned the challenge into a game. After many cultivators failed, a middle-aged Natural Realm cultivator finally dragged the whale a foot, winning the crowd’s cheers.

• Ye Tian tried pulling the Great Whale’s cable but failed, easing the tension and turning the contest into an amusing game.
• More than a dozen cultivators tried and failed, with the strongest among them only making the whale move an eyelid and spout mist.
• Nie Yingnan and Chen Zhaodi discussed the continent’s cultivators, while Xiang Anshi observed that the contest favored enduring styles of cultivation over the Sword Dao.
• A taciturn middle-aged Natural Realm cultivator braced himself and dragged the Great Whale a foot, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Cultivators at the Centennial Gathering tested their strength against a great whale while Bai Qingqian and Xiangfei Bamboo discussed Guan Ruyu’s suspicious approach. Bai Qingqian chose to let events unfold and declined to seek a share of the contest’s opportunity for the Bai Clan.

• A Wu Sect cultivator named Ye Tian pulled the great whale about a foot before it resisted, giving the crowd a measure of his strength.
• Xiangfei Bamboo warned Bai Qingqian that Guan Ruyu seemed to be deliberately approaching them, and Bai Qingqian considered whether he might be targeting Hou.
• A sword cultivator told Bai Qingqian that most of their brothers were away in the Outer Sea and could not secure an opportunity for the Bai Clan.
• Bai Qingqian thanked the sword cultivators and said the Bai Clan did not intend to compete for a share, then invited them to Gushe Cottage for drinks.
• More cultivators tried their strength against the increasingly impatient whale, with the strongest pulling it three feet.
• Xiang Anshi judged the cultivators capable but unremarkable as he continued hoping to encounter leading figures from the continent.

Xiang Anshi, Chen Zhaodi, and Nie Yingnan discussed the missing Constellation True Disciple and the mystery of Tang Yan’s advancement while watching the great-whale strength contest. Guan Ruyu entered on behalf of the Bai Trading Company and used the Lihai Military Governor’s artificial mountain to drag the whale forward.

• Chen Zhaodi corrected Xiang Anshi that Tang Yan’s advancement had left only ten Constellation True Disciples, and she described the rumors surrounding his sudden breakthrough.
• Nie Yingnan criticized cultivation methods that let older cultivators suppress their realms and occupy opportunities meant for younger cultivators.
• Cultivators from Mirage Tower’s trading companies tried to pull the great whale, and a Southeast trading company Daoist reached the leading distance of thirty-four feet.
• Guan Ruyu entered the contest for the Bai Trading Company after Bai Qingqian accepted his offer to secure her an opportunity.
• Guan Ruyu linked himself to the artificial mountain and channeled its immense force through the cable, dragging the struggling great whale forward.

Guan Ruyu pulled the great whale twelve zhang for the Bai Firm, but Zong Qian of Shanmen then effortlessly dragged it thirty zhang for the Silver Sword Firm and freed it from its rope. Xiang Anshi recognized Zong Qian as an unexpectedly powerful opponent, while Chen Zhaodi noticed he had pocketed the flood-dragon sinew.

• Guan Ruyu used the Three Mountains Stances to pull the whale twelve zhang, setting a new record before stopping as it began to grow violent.
• Guan Ruyu dedicated his feat to Bai Qingqian, leaving her and Xiangfei Bamboo uneasy about the attention and the consequences for the Bai Firm.
• As Xiang Anshi prepared to end the contest, a Silver Sword Firm merchant insisted that its representative still had to compete.
• Zong Qian introduced himself, pulled the whale thirty zhang with one arm, and gently removed the flood-dragon sinew rope.
• Xiang Anshi rose in alarm at Zong Qian's strength, and Chen Zhaodi pointed out that Zong Qian had put the rope in his pouch.