Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yi agreed to become Lady Mysterious Maiden’s Yang Marriage husband, hoping to aid her and strengthen his Dao Path while rejecting schemes to manipulate her. After studying the marriage art, he was visited by Lady Mysterious Maiden, who said they would act as though nothing had happened after that night.

• Jiang Yi returned Profound Mystery True Person to his robes as Lady Mysterious Maiden praised his reputation and discussed his coming entry into the Xiantian Sect as its Dao Child.
• Jiang Yi offered his fortune and essence blood for the Yang Marriage, and Lady Mysterious Maiden agreed to perform the art within the next few days before Fengdu sank into the Netherworld.
• Profound Mystery True Person told Jiang Yi that Lady Mysterious Maiden intended to enter Taiyin and urged him to consider how their bond could benefit his Dao Path.
• Jiang Yi rejected the idea of manipulating a True Lord and said he would focus on cultivation rather than seek a Dao protector.
• After a day of deduction, Jiang Yi read the Yang Marriage art, and Lady Mysterious Maiden appeared in the side hall and told him they would act as though nothing had happened afterward.

Jiang Yi performed the Yang Marriage rite with the mysterious woman whose [Taiyin] power nourished his cultivation, allowing him to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining. The rite ended as Qiao Yu arrived to congratulate him on his wedding, startling both him and the woman.

• Daoist Mingxuan and Fan Miao discussed Yu Shenxiu’s fate and regretted that they would not witness [Taiyin] and [Lesser Yang] contend.
• Gui'er prepared the bridal chamber while Qiao Yu asked about Jiang Yi and then went to see him in the side hall.
• The Empress’s [Taiyin] manifestation enveloped Jiang Yi, but he resisted giving up his true Yang and circulated his cultivation art.
• Jiang Yi and the mysterious woman’s Yin and Yang contended, and the [Taiyin] manifestation repeatedly refined his Origin Qi and Pill Qi.
• Jiang Yi broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, releasing a wisp of true Yang that the woman absorbed before the radiance faded.
• Qiao Yu entered and congratulated Jiang Yi on his wedding, leaving him and the woman startled.

Jiang Yi and Qiao Yu completed their wedding bows in [Fengdu], while Lady Mysterious Maiden used the ceremony to advance her own plan to leave the Netherworld. As [Fengdu] sank, the Great Kui Mysterious Drum sounded, raising the question of whether the Xiantian Sect was deploying its Grand Formation.

• Qiao Yu entered the side hall, but Profound Mystery True Person distracted her and led her away before she discovered Jiang Yi and Lady Mysterious Maiden concealed by [Taiyin].
• Jiang Yi found that his cultivation had gained the ability to infuse True Qi with spirit, letting him shape and animate a powerful Flame Dragon.
• Lady Mysterious Maiden ordered Gui'er to have Qiao Yu wear the bridal robes and perform the wedding bows in her place, intending to use the rite to reshape a body and escape [Fengdu].
• Jiang Yi and Qiao Yu exchanged wedding bows before the wandering sword cultivator spirits, and the destroyed [Sword Dao] bestowed fortune on Jiang Yi.
• The cultivators left as [Fengdu] sank, while Liu Huan reflected on their gains and Han Li resolved to cultivate in seclusion.
• Fuli Zi and Lou Zhenxiao waited for the Innate Dao Child when the Great Kui Mysterious Drum sounded seven times, prompting Fuli Zi to wonder whether the Xiantian Sect would deploy its Grand Formation.

The Xiantian Sect sent the Great Kui Mysterious Drum to welcome its new Dao Child, while Jiang Yi completed his Yang Marriage and received protection from Lady Mysterious Maiden. After leaving [Fengdu], Jiang Yi was separated from Qiao Yu and brought before the Patriarch, who offered him three strategies for his Dao path.

• The Great Kui Mysterious Drum’s procession shook the mountains, and Liu Huan explained its significance to Han Li and Yang Xun.
• Lady Mysterious Maiden gave Jiang Yi three protective talismans and a Taiyin Plain Form Ring, and the two pledged support to each other’s Dao paths.
• Jiang Yi and Qiao Yu left [Fengdu] as it sank into the Netherworld, with Qiao Yu insisting that she was Jiang Yi’s Sword Dao master rather than his dao companion.
• The drum’s artifact spirit mistook Qiao Yu for the new Dao Child when she emerged alone into the Yang world, while Jiang Yi was pulled into the Great Void.
• The Patriarch appeared before Jiang Yi, told him to act with greater confidence as the Xiantian Sect’s Dao Child, and presented three strategies for his Dao path.

Patriarch Netherworld Profound offered Jiang Yi three paths to establish his Dao Child position, and Jiang Yi chose to pursue all three despite their dangers. He returned to the Xiantian Sect amid a grand welcome, beginning his journey to take charge of the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool.

• Patriarch Netherworld Profound described three paths for Jiang Yi: enter the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool, seek the remnant Sword Dao lineage at Bluefall Cliff, or travel to Jianmu beyond this world.
• Jiang Yi chose to walk all three paths, first returning to the sect, then gaining the Sword Dao lineage's support, and finally seeking Jianmu's Dao Fruit.
• Patriarch Netherworld Profound accepted Jiang Yi's decision, told him Qin Baiyu would arrange his entry into the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool, and sent him out of the Great Void with a Talisman Edict.
• The Talisman Edict resonated with the Great Kui Mysterious Drum, which sounded nine beats as the white-haired elder and cultivators across the regions welcomed Jiang Yi as the true Dao Child.
• Jiang Yi surveyed the lands below and recited a poem before the Xiantian Sect's Heavenly Reception Ladder carried him, Qiao Yu, and the drum's Artifact Spirit toward the mountain gates.

Jiang Yi traveled to the Xiantian Sect aboard the Heaven-Climbing Ladder while Qiao Yu explained how Dao Lineages surveyed heaven and determined the epoch. The group reached the Xiantian Sect’s mountain gate, and Jiang Yi saw the sect’s vast, towering presence.

• The Great Kui Mysterious Drum's Artifact Spirit guided Jiang Yi and Qiao Yu through the astral winds and explained the authority of surveying heaven and determining the epoch.
• Qiao Yu described how Dao Lineages set calamities in motion to restore order and revealed that the Purple Pole Imperial Heaven Chart determined which side gained that authority.
• Qiao Yu said her maternal grandfather had presided over a surveying of heaven and determining of the epoch and inscribed his name on the chart.
• The Heaven-Climbing Ladder descended toward the Xiantian Sect, and Jiang Yi beheld its mountain gate and towering silhouette.

Jiang Yi returned to the Xiantian Sect, where he learned that its Eight Lords' Descendants and Master-Disciple Lineage were locked in a growing struggle and that his new position as Dao Child had made him a target. As he began the sect’s entry procedures, a drunken elder on Luofeng Mountain realized that Shao Guansu’s gathering had left the Dao Child without a proper welcome.

• The Artifact Spirit of the Great Kui Mysterious Drum brought Jiang Yi and Qiao Hao to the Xiantian Sect, where Jiang Yi noticed the sect’s rich Spiritual Qi and the absence of a welcoming procession.
• Jiang Yi declined to complain to Qin Baiyu and asked for the sect’s rules, its entry procedures, and information about its eight peaks and Lower Courtyard.
• Qiao Hao pressed the Artifact Spirit of the Great Kui Mysterious Drum to explain the sect’s factions, and he described the Eight Lords’ Descendants and the Master-Disciple Lineage as rival power blocs.
• The Artifact Spirit of the Great Kui Mysterious Drum revealed that Shao Guansu, who had hosted a Pill Assembly, belonged to the Eight Lords’ Descendants and had recently become a True Person.
• Jiang Yi stored the Great Precepts Book in his Sleeve Pouch and chose to proceed with the entry rites rather than wait for a welcoming procession.
• On Luofeng Mountain, an old man learned that Drum Elder had escorted the Dao Child back while Shao Guansu’s guests were away, then panicked that the Dao Child had been slighted.

Jiang Yi returned to the Xiantian Sect and completed the rites that formally welcomed him as its Dao Child. As the sect celebrated his arrival, Shao Guansu and Wu Zixiao discussed the political factions that might test the new Dao Child.

• He Shouzheng rushed back to Cloud Reception Hall after realizing he had missed Jiang Yi’s arrival, then learned Jiang Yi had gone to Origin Candle Hall to obtain the Great Precepts Book.
• Shao Guansu told Wu Zixiao that he had used He Shouzheng to test the Dao Child’s response and speculated that Jiang Yi might serve the Patriarch and sect master against the Master-Disciple Lineage.
• Wu Zixiao refused Shao Guansu’s attempt to persuade him to change allegiance, while Shao Guansu wondered who would first face Jiang Yi’s reputed killing sword.
• Jiang Yi entrusted Profound Mystery True Person to Qiao Hao and entered Origin Candle Hall, where the administrator led him through the formal rites of incense, obeisance, and lamp-lighting.
• The ceremony filled the Lower Courtyard with auspicious visions and Dao lamps, and the assembled attendants proclaimed Jiang Yi the sect’s Dao Child.

Jiang Yi completed the ritual to light his everlasting Merit Lamp and entered his name in the Xiantian Sect’s Golden Book, becoming severed from his worldly ties. He accepted his new identity as the sect’s Dao Child and resolved to devote himself solely to cultivation.

• Jiang Yi completed the Life Lamp ceremony at Origin Candle Hall, drawing Ding Fire spirit chance into his cultivation and strengthening his body.
• Qiao Hao demonstrated her knowledge of the Dao Child’s Merit Lamp, leaving the Great Kui Mysterious Drum’s Artifact Spirit curious about her origins.
• The administrator explained Jiang Yi’s body and spirit lamps and brought the Golden Book for him to enter the Dao register.
• Jiang Yi inscribed his name and personal details, and the administrator declared that his ties to relatives, friends, and companions outside the sect were severed.
• Jiang Yi accepted the loss of his former connections and resolved to focus only on cultivating the Dao.

After settling into the Xiantian Sect, Jiang Yi learned more about the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool and weighed how to respond to the slight he had received at the Cloud-Receiving Hall. The next morning, he prepared to choose the three masters who would guide his life as Dao Child and select his scriptures.

• Jiang Yi thanked Qiao Hao for helping him, promised she could live at the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool, and made the same promise to Profound Mystery True Person.
• The Great Kui Mysterious Drum's artifact spirit explained the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool's benefits and described He Shouzheng as a low-ranking administrator used to test Jiang Yi.
• Jiang Yi decided not to punish He Shouzheng or reveal his strength prematurely, choosing instead to wait for a better chance to establish his authority.
• Jiang Yi meditated through the night, and his vast reserves of true Qi startled the Great Kui Mysterious Drum's artifact spirit as he neared the tenth level of Qi refining.
• The Great Kui Mysterious Drum's artifact spirit urged Jiang Yi to choose his Scripture Master first and reminded him to select three scriptures at the Merit-Recording Hall.

Jiang Yi entered the Merit-Recording Hall to choose among the Xiantian Sect’s Three Great Original Scriptures. After invoking the Heavenly Book to determine which scripture best suited his Dao Path, he began studying the notes left by earlier readers.

• Qiao Hao teased Jiang Yi about her family’s ancient lineage, and he joked that she could become mistress of the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool.
• Jiang Yi arrived at the Merit-Recording Hall, where cultivators gathered to see the Qi Refining Dao Child.
• The hall’s administrator explained that Jiang Yi could select an original scripture there but would need to visit Qian Peak to study it.
• The administrator summoned the three original scriptures, and Jiang Yi sensed their immense power and learned their names.
• Jiang Yi consulted the Heavenly Book about which scripture suited his Dao Path, then began reviewing the predecessors’ annotations.

Jiang Yi spent two days choosing an original scripture while Shao Guansu reprimanded a clan member for investigating the Dao Child. Jiang Yi emerged having chosen the Supreme Nothingness Dao Lord's Scripture, and the Merit-Recording Hall's overseer revealed that he had ranked first in Dao Wisdom on the Southern Dipper Ranking.

• Shao Guansu learned that a middle-aged Shao clan Daoist had investigated Jiang Yi's origins and condemned him for disrespecting the sect's crown prince.
• Shao Guansu explained the purpose of Jiang Yi's life lamp, scripture choice, and three teachers, then sent the Daoist away and ordered him to go home and wait for death.
• The Great Kui Mysterious Drum's Artifact Spirit explained the differences among the Three Great Original Scriptures to Qiao Hao, who correctly identified their respective paths.
• Jiang Yi emerged from the Merit-Recording Hall after a powerful display of wondrous lights and said he had chosen the Supreme Nothingness Dao Lord's Scripture of Wondrous Essentials for Delivering the World.
• The Merit-Recording Hall's overseer announced that Jiang Yi had reached first place in Dao Wisdom on the Southern Dipper Ranking.

Jiang Yi revealed that two original scriptures had approved him, earning praise from the sect and Patriarch Netherworld Profound. He entered the Hall of Transmitted Teachings and met Master Lu, the Scripture Master assigned to guide him.

• Jiang Yi told the Great Kui Mysterious Drum's Artifact Spirit that he had received approval from both the Supreme Void Scripture and the Great Void Scripture.
• The Great Kui Mysterious Drum's Artifact Spirit said the Patriarch had personally appointed Jiang Yi and praised the two scriptures’ approval as confirmation of his Dao Child status.
• Beyond the Azure Firmament, Patriarch Netherworld Profound discussed Jiang Yi’s achievement with a kindly old woman and downplayed it while comparing him with Zhang Yuansheng.
• Jiang Yi entered the Hall of Transmitted Teachings alone, where a True Lord’s Great Dao Manifestation introduced herself as Master Lu, his Scripture Master.

Jiang Yi met True Lord Lu, who equipped him with attendants and tested his views on love and cultivation. After he affirmed his resolve to pursue the Dao, True Lord Lu completed his investiture and took him to the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool.

• True Lord Lu advised Jiang Yi to focus on condensing true vapor and presented him with attendants for his new household.
• True Lord Lu asked about Jiang Yi’s relationship with Miss Qiao, and he said they were betrothed and would become dao companions.
• True Lord Lu used the Three-Nine Illuminating Truth Dharma Eye to examine Jiang Yi and asked how he understood love and what it meant to be a True Person.
• Jiang Yi explained that he sought to respond to love without attachment and remain true to his Dao, convincing True Lord Lu of his firm resolve.
• True Lord Lu declared the ceremony complete and transported Jiang Yi and his attendants to the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool.

Jiang Yi entered the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool as the Xiantian Sect’s Dao Child and learned that demonic forms lurked within the cosmic gateway. After discovering they could be useful for refining his spells, he prepared to make the most of the threat despite being the weakest Dao Child in the sect’s history.

• True Lord Lu brought Jiang Yi to the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool, gave him its array-core artifact, and explained his duties and upcoming assessments.
• True Lord Lu warned Jiang Yi that he would need strength beyond his title to earn respect, then departed after unleashing a burst of power that destroyed demonic forms across the Heavenly Pool.
• Jiang Yi and Profound Mystery True Person questioned why demonic forms were present in the protected Heavenly Pool.
• Jiang Yi refined the array-core artifact and met the Heavenly Pool’s Array Spirit, who explained that the cosmic gateway had let demonic forms hide inside.
• Jiang Yi realized True Lord Lu had cleared away many demonic forms to spare him trouble, and decided the remaining ones could help him refine his Bing-Ding Fire spells.

Jiang Yi used the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool’s resources and Spirit Truth Hut to cultivate toward the tenth level of Qi Refining and investigate how to gather the Six Harmonies Great Medicine. After ten days, he emerged having gathered three medicines and manifested Profound Light and Law Power, wondering how his comprehension would rank.

• Jiang Yi asked the Array Spirit to inventory the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool’s resources, prepare a Quiet Chamber, and bring him spirit objects.
• The Array Spirit opened the Spirit Truth Hut, and Jiang Yi instructed Profound Mystery True Person to organize the stores and bring Miss Xiao Qiao from the Lower Courtyard.
• Jiang Yi used Supplicating the Heavenly Book to seek a method for gathering all Six Harmonies Great Medicine, reducing the deduction time by offering spirit objects.
• Jiang Yi entered the Spirit Truth Hut to cultivate and decided to gather the upper three harmonies medicines while advancing his Qi Refining.
• After ten days, Jiang Yi emerged with Profound Light and Law Power, having gathered Void Origin True Essence, Essence Within the Spirit, and Fire Filling Li.

Jiang Yi tested his newly refined Profound Light, then listened to Qiao Yu and Profound Mystery True Person recommend that he learn an escape technique before pursuing stronger combat arts. The Array Spirit told him that He Shouzheng had left two rare sisters at the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool, claiming they could help Jiang Yi gather a Great Medicine ingredient.

• Jiang Yi used his Profound Light to split a cliff, fly at great speed, and smash mountains with a crimson Great Hand Seal before his Law Power ran low.
• Qiao Yu asked whether Jiang Yi had gathered three Great Medicine ingredients, and he said he had collected Void Origin Truth, Essence Within the Spirit, and Fire Filling Li.
• Qiao Yu urged Jiang Yi to cultivate Fire Escape before focusing on offensive arts, and Jiang Yi agreed that the advice made sense.
• Profound Mystery True Person recommended the Divine Fire Great Escape from the previous Dao Child's Scripture Pavilion and went to fetch it for Jiang Yi.
• The Array Spirit reported that He Shouzheng had left two Dharma Slave sisters for Jiang Yi, saying their Ren Water and Gui Water cultivation could help him gather Water Beneath Kan.

Jiang Yi named Chang Jing as his chief steward, arranged for Qiao Yu to enter seclusion, and went to Kan Peak to visit Scripture Master Lu. There, Liu Jing sought an audience with True Lord Pure Origin, Preserving Stillness, but learned she was instructing Jiang Yi instead.

• Jiang Yi settled the sisters in the Lower Courtyard and told He Shouzheng to meet him again in three days.
• Jiang Yi named the Array Spirit Chang Jing and appointed him chief steward of the Eternal Bright Heavenly Pool.
• Qiao Yu prepared to cultivate in seclusion and told Jiang Yi that she cultivated [Taibai] on the [Sword Dao].
• Jiang Yi considered the factions within the Xiantian Sect that might oppose him and decided to divine before each outing.
• Liu Jing arrived at Kan Peak with a Great Water Origin Pill and asked to see True Lord Pure Origin, Preserving Stillness.
• The attendant rejected Liu Jing's request and explained that the True Lord was instructing Jiang Yi.

Liu Jing left Kan Peak furious after realizing the Dao Child was receiving the guidance he had sought, and he predicted that Gu Changling would become the Dao Child’s enemy. In Kan Water Palace, Jiang Yi discussed the Great Medicine with True Lord Lu, learned that [Taiyin] favored him, and chose to gather “Taiyin true mercury” first.

• Liu Jing left Kan Peak after True Lord Pure Origin, Preserving Stillness did not recognize his worth, then vented his anger aboard the Cloud-Planning Dharma Boat.
• Liu Jing told the Azure Tiger that the Dao Child was inside Kan Water Palace and complained that a Qi Refining cultivator had surpassed his own hard-won achievements.
• Liu Jing predicted that Gu Changling would oppose the Dao Child, arguing that ambitious cultivators would not surrender their path to the Patriarch’s authority.
• Jiang Yi interpreted the “water beneath Kan” hexagram and learned from True Lord Lu that his Yang nature made that Great Medicine especially difficult to gather.
• True Lord Lu explained that [Taiyin] favored Jiang Yi and that “Taiyin true mercury” was likely to succeed, so Jiang Yi asked her to guard him while he gathered it first.

Jiang Yi gathered Taiyin True Mercury and Sun True Lead, united them into another great medicine, and drew the attention of the Xiantian Sect’s factions. He had gathered five of the six medicines and turned to consider his next step, while Gu Changling faced pressure over whether to advance or retreat.

• Jiang Yi gathered Taiyin True Mercury under True Lord Lu’s guidance, while disciples across Kan Peak watched the rare lunar spectacle.
• Liu Jing learned that Jiang Yi was gathering Taiyin True Mercury and Sun True Lead, then ordered the Southern Dipper Ranking brought to him.
• Jiang Yi used the Extraction and Addition Method to unite lead and mercury into a great medicine after eighty-one rounds.
• Shao Guansu wondered whether Jiang Yi’s public display would make the Eight Peaks’ true disciples retreat, while Gu Changling received a Yellow Dragon Gall gift from True Lord Luo and worried about his choice.
• Jiang Yi confirmed that he had gathered five great medicines, with only Water Beneath Kan remaining, and resolved to contend for sixty years to become a True Lord.