Chapter Summaries

Shi Xuan arrived in Tianji City for an auction and reunited with Xiao Wen and Feng Anbai, offering to help Feng Anbai improve her swordsmanship. At the Penglai Sect’s External Affairs Hall, he collected his auction token and learned that An Wang and Xia Jiling would also attend.

• Shi Xuan emerged from Tianji City’s teleportation array and encountered Xiao Wen, who had advanced to the Spirit Soul Stage, and Xiao Wen’s wife, Feng Anbai.
• Feng Anbai asked Shi Xuan for swordsmanship instruction, and Shi Xuan invited her to visit him at the Penglai Sect.
• Shi Xuan brought Xiao Wen and Feng Anbai to the Penglai Sect’s External Affairs Hall and received his auction entry token from Fei Fengzhuo.
• Fei Fengzhuo told Shi Xuan that An Wang had removed a lightning-attributed Unicorn Kui Ox Inner Core from the inventory because he intended to bid for it, and that Xia Jiling had collected the other sect token.
• Xiao Wen revealed that he had come for items at the auction, and Shi Xuan suggested they attend together in three days.

Shi Xuan guided Feng Anbai in a swordsmanship spar and considered how to obtain natural treasures at the upcoming auction. The next morning, he faced a crowd of cultivators gathered outside to challenge him.

• Shi Xuan sparred with Feng Anbai in a cramped room, exposed the weaknesses in her swordsmanship, and demonstrated Sword Qi Thunder Sound at her request.
• Shi Xuan calculated that his valuables could help him buy Phoenix Blood and Intangible Divine Iron at the auction, so he decided to offer them there rather than exchange them for Spirit Stones beforehand.
• Fei Fengzhuo told Shi Xuan that cultivators had gathered outside to challenge him and were shouting in the street.
• Shi Xuan went to the gate and calmly invited the gathered cultivators to make their moves.

Shi Xuan defeated Huo Yining with one lightning-fast sword strike, discouraging the crowd from challenging him and establishing the ruthless reputation he wanted. Later that night, an unexplained white Sword Light attacked him as he refined the Taiji Diagram.

• Huo Yining challenged Shi Xuan to a contest of swordsmanship, and Shi Xuan accepted.
• Shi Xuan struck Huo Yining through the chest with one Sword Qi Thunder Sound attack, knocking him unconscious.
• Shi Xuan warned the gathered cultivators that he never showed mercy, and nearly all abandoned their plans to challenge him.
• Shi Xuan left the crowd, satisfied that his reputation would deter future challengers and protect his cultivation time.
• As Shi Xuan refined the Taiji Diagram late at night, a white Sword Light attacked him, and he sent the Heavenly Thunder Demon Subduing Sword to meet it.

Shi Xuan survived a nighttime swordsmanship lesson from an unknown Golden Core Grandmaster, then joined Xiao Wen and Feng Anbai on the way to an auction outside Tianji City. At the city gate, they encountered Daoquanzi, who revealed that he faced a serious problem only he could solve.

• An unknown Golden Core Grandmaster attacked Shi Xuan with Sword Qi Thunder Sound and Sword Light Differentiation, then vanished after warning him against arrogance.
• Xiao Wen apologized to Shi Xuan for revealing his identity, and Feng Anbai and Xiao Wen told him that cultivators were praising his strength while spreading rumors about his character.
• Shi Xuan agreed to attend the auction with Xiao Wen and Feng Anbai, and the three set out for its venue beyond Tianji City.
• Daoquanzi appeared at the city gate, worriedly said that even True Person Jiang could not help him, and asked Shi Xuan why he had come to Tianji City.

Shi Xuan accompanied the troubled Daoquanzi to an auction, where Daoquanzi revealed his Primordial Spirit cultivation by creating a Supreme-grade Spirit Stone to gain entry. Inside White Jade Capital, Daoquanzi explained that his third Heavenly Tribulation was approaching after only a little over two thousand years since achieving Primordial Spirit.

• Shi Xuan led Daoquanzi, Xiao Wen, and Feng Anbai to the auction site and discovered Daoquanzi had neither an entry token nor a Supreme-grade Spirit Stone.
• When the auction attendants challenged Daoquanzi’s eligibility, Daoquanzi gathered spiritual energy from hundreds of li and transformed it into a Supreme-grade Spirit Stone.
• The middle-aged cultivator let Daoquanzi and his companions enter White Jade Capital, while Wu Dao Xiao trembled in fear.
• Inside the hall, Daoquanzi revealed that his third Heavenly Tribulation was approaching and that he had achieved Primordial Spirit more than two thousand years earlier.
• Daoquanzi clarified that he had been the current Yingzhou Sect Master's junior brother before the Sect Master reincarnated, and that he later guided him back to the sect.

Shi Xuan and his companions attended a secret auction with Daoquanzi, who sought a treasure to help him face his third Heavenly Tribulation. The auction began, and Shi Xuan waited for Phoenix Blood, the item he wanted most.

• Daoquanzi explained that the Nine Fires Burning Heart Tribulation could not be delayed by formations and that he needed the Mysterious Yin Seven Water Beads to overcome it.
• Daoquanzi told Shi Xuan that cultivators of Yuyu Daoist’s lineage could find the first two Heavenly Tribulations easier to cross, though they still faced danger.
• Shi Xuan and his companions donned robes and wooden masks that concealed their identities before joining the nighttime auction.
• Ouyang Tuo, Fang Ximeng, and Hua Yu opened the auction, and a bidder traded a Geng Metal Heavenly Gang Sword for the Five Fires Qiankun Net.
• Ouyang Tuo announced Phoenix Blood as the tenth auction item, and Shi Xuan was relieved it had not appeared after the Intangible Divine Iron.

Shi Xuan competed to trade heavenly treasures for the Phoenix Blood, which its owner wanted for advancing his Golden Core. After another cultivator offered Heavenly Sha Yin Silk, Shi Xuan put forward his Yin-Yang Jade Tablet and argued that it could benefit the seller’s yin-attribute cultivation; the exchange remained undecided.

• A black-robed cultivator revealed three drops of Phoenix Blood and sought a yin-, dark-, cold-, or ghost-attribute treasure or Spirit Artifact in exchange.
• Cultivators offered Spirit Artifacts, and one promised one hundred Upper-grade Spirit Stones for an artifact with six layers of Heavenly Dipper Restriction if it secured the Phoenix Blood.
• Shi Xuan offered his Breath Soil, which an aged cultivator verified as genuine and offered to trade for his eight-layer Bone Shattering Heart Hammer.
• A cultivator offered Heavenly Sha Yin Silk for the Phoenix Blood, delighting its owner, who hoped to use it to advance to a mid-grade Golden Core.
• Shi Xuan countered with his Yin-Yang Jade Tablet and claimed it could help the owner overcome bottlenecks in his yin-attribute cultivation.

Shi Xuan exchanged the Yin-Yang Jade Tablet for Phoenix Blood and five Upper-grade Spirit Stones, securing the main item he had come to the auction to obtain. Later, An Wang tried to trade a Nine Revolutions Jade Elixir Divine Pill for a Unicorn Kui Ox Inner Core, but the seller chose a Mountain Moving Beast Inner Core instead.

• Shi Xuan persuaded the owner of the Phoenix Blood to choose the Yin-Yang Jade Tablet, and the owner agreed to exchange it for the Phoenix Blood.
• Several cultivators offered better-looking fire-aspect treasures for the tablet, but Shi Xuan honored his agreement and completed the exchange, receiving five Upper-grade Spirit Stones as well.
• A cultivator asked whether Shi Xuan would trade his Breath Soil for Intangible Divine Iron, and Shi Xuan said he would consider the offer when the iron came up for auction.
• The owner of a Unicorn Kui Ox Inner Core offered it for a Nine Revolutions Jade Elixir Divine Pill or an earth-aspect Demonic Beast Core, and An Wang bid a pill.
• A cultivator offered a Mountain Moving Beast Inner Core, and the seller chose it despite An Wang's pleas to accept the pill.

Shi Xuan exchanged Breath Soil for Intangible Divine Iron as the auction moved to its final items. The bidding for a Purple Sun Spirit Nurturing Immortal Pill escalated among lifespan-seeking Golden Core Grandmasters, and Ouyang Tuo made a competing offer with a Rebirth God Pill.

• An Wang lunged for the Unicorn Kui Ox's Inner Core, but Hou Huayu trapped him with a purple cloud as the silent cultivators showed him mercy.
• Daoquanzi quietly told Shi Xuan he had seen enough and left the auction unnoticed.
• The owner of the Intangible Divine Iron accepted a Profound Water Banner and twenty Upper-grade Spirit Stones, then exchanged the iron with Shi Xuan for Breath Soil.
• Ouyang Tuo announced that the nineteenth item was a Purple Sun Spirit Nurturing Immortal Pill, and its owner asked for Supreme-grade Spirit Stones, a lifespan-extending pill, or a reincarnation secret treasure.
• Bidders offered increasingly potent lifespan-extending pills, and Ouyang Tuo countered with a Rebirth God Pill that could extend life by two sixty-year cycles, stunning the eager Golden Core Grandmasters with its ominous seal.

Ouyang Tuo secured the Purple Sun Spirit Nurturing Immortal Pill, and the auction’s final item, the Purple Mansion Secret Manual, was sold to a Golden Core Grandmaster. After the auction, Shi Xuan cautiously returned to Tianji City, then saw Xiao Wen and Feng Anbai off before heading back to Penglai Sect to await news about the Kun Peng Stomach.

• Ouyang Tuo traded a Rebirth God Pill for the Purple Sun Spirit Nurturing Immortal Pill after Hou Huayu offered to arrange protection for its owner’s reincarnation, but the owner chose Ouyang Tuo’s pill.
• A black-robed cultivator offered the Purple Mansion Secret Manual, and a Golden Core Grandmaster bought it with the formation diagrams and flags of the Positive and Negative Nine Palaces Great Array.
• Ouyang Tuo concluded the auction and opened the venue for further exchanges, while Shi Xuan avoided the crowds and used a Minor Teleportation Talisman to leave the desert before flying back to Tianji City.
• An Wang returned before dawn in despair, while Xiao Wen and Feng Anbai came to bid farewell the next day after acquiring the items they wanted.
• Shi Xuan sparred with Feng Anbai, saw the couple off, and returned to Penglai Sect that afternoon to await news about the Kun Peng Stomach.

Five years later, Mo Yuan announced that he had advanced to the Yin Spirit and recommended Shi Xuan to succeed him as chief of Tian Ji Peak. Three Elders and a true disciple challenged Shi Xuan for the seat, and Mo Yuan prepared a starry Void Illusion arena for their contest.

• Shi Xuan learned that Mo Yuan had broken through to the Yin Spirit and summoned the peak’s Elders and true disciples.
• Mo Yuan told Shi Xuan that he would soon leave the Greater World and had already recommended him as the next chief of Tian Ji Peak.
• Shi Xuan declared confidence in defending his succession against challengers, relying on his perfected Seventh Heaven Taiji Diagram.
• Ling Qing, Gu Xinxuan, Yue Yinxin, and Hong Zhishan each announced their intention to contend for the chief seat.
• The contenders agreed to spar in Mo Yuan’s cave dwelling, and Mo Yuan transformed the space into a starry Void Illusion arena.

Shi Xuan defeated Gu Xinxuan and Hong Zhishan in succession in Mo Yuan’s Void Illusion, using his swordsmanship and Daoist arts to overcome their defenses. Mo Yuan stopped Shi Xuan’s final attack after Hong Zhishan had clearly lost.

• Gu Xinxuan set the sparring rules, and Shi Xuan agreed before attacking with the Heavenly Thunder Demon Subduing Sword.
• Shi Xuan used Stars Shake and Fall as a feint, then struck Gu Xinxuan’s throat with the Thunder Marsh Divine Sword and won.
• Hong Zhishan challenged Shi Xuan with the Crimson Jade Dragon God Sword and Green Jade Small Shield, while Shi Xuan defended himself with the Taiji Diagram.
• Shi Xuan exploited a gap between Hong Zhishan’s defenses and battered him with Heavenly Thunder Punishment.
• Mo Yuan halted the ninth bolt and declared Hong Zhishan defeated after his defenses and weapons had been overwhelmed.

Shi Xuan defeated Ling Qing with the Taiji Diagram’s Golden Bridge and secured the position of Chief of Tian Shu Peak after Yue Yinxin declined to challenge him. The next day, the sect gathered at Heaven-Connecting Hall for his ceremony, where Chi Zhengde and Chi Caibo reunited with former friends among the disciples.

• Shi Xuan defeated Hong Zhishan, then accepted Ling Qing’s challenge after a short rest.
• Ling Qing’s great net trapped the Heavenly Thunder Demon Subduing Sword briefly, but Shi Xuan’s Golden Bridge halted Ling Qing and his artifacts, allowing the sword to reach him.
• Ling Qing conceded and warned Shi Xuan that he might pursue a mid-grade Golden Core if Shi Xuan had not achieved Golden Core by then.
• Yue Yinxin declined to fight, and Mo Yuan named Shi Xuan Chief, announcing a ceremony for the next day.
• At Heaven-Connecting Hall, Li Bingnan and Zhou Ban Yu wondered why the disciples had gathered, and Chi Zhengde and Chi Caibo joined them.

Mo Yuan advanced to the Yin Spirit Stage and named Shi Xuan as his successor as Tian Ji Peak Head. After Shi Xuan took command of the peak, Mo Yuan prepared to enter seclusion before leaving the world and entrusted him with the Leifu Gate, advice to seek True Person Jiang, and a protective Spirit Tool.

• Chi Caibo, Chi Zhengde, Zhou Ban Yu, and Li Bingnan speculated about why the sect had gathered at Heaven-Connecting Hall.
• Ling Xing announced that Mo Yuan had advanced to the Yin Spirit Stage and would recommend Shi Xuan as the next Tian Ji Peak Head.
• Mo Yuan handed Shi Xuan the Heavenly Jade Seal, and Shi Xuan accepted the position as the assembled disciples congratulated him.
• Mo Yuan told Shi Xuan he would soon enter seclusion and later leave the world, then passed him the Leifu Gate and its refinement art.
• Mo Yuan advised Shi Xuan to visit True Person Jiang and promised to give him a protective Spirit Tool.

Shi Xuan accepted the Cloud Mist Immortal Robe from Mo Yuan, mastered it and the Leifu Gate, then took up his duties as Tian Ji Peak’s new Peak Master. He arranged to let Clear Wind leave after his breakthrough and gathered the peak’s cultivators to explain that its old rules would remain in place, though Ke Yuan'an asked what that meant.

• Mo Yuan gave Shi Xuan the Cloud Mist Immortal Robe and asked him to offer congratulations to Shen Xianyun if he reached Golden Core.
• Shi Xuan mastered the restriction core of the Leifu Gate, sensed the Lei Mansion World through it, and resisted the illusion of having absolute control over the world.
• Shi Xuan mastered the Cloud Mist Immortal Robe and received Cangwu and Clear Wind, who reported that the peak’s stewards wanted to discuss future arrangements.
• Shi Xuan learned that Clear Wind intended to leave cultivation and return home after breaking through, and promised him a generous parting gift.
• Cangwu assembled Tian Ji Peak’s elders, disciples, and stewards, and Shi Xuan told them to continue according to the old rules.
• Ke Yuan'an asked Shi Xuan what he meant by continuing according to the old rules.

Shi Xuan settled Tian Ji Peak’s affairs, took Cangwu as his daoist child, and spent a year cultivating and gathering knowledge for his Golden Core advancement. When he showed True Person Jiang his trace of Creation, it completed Jiang’s accumulation but triggered his Heavenly Tribulation early, leaving the Penglai Sect’s protective array activated as preparations began.

• Shi Xuan kept the existing rules for Tian Ji Peak and assigned Ling Qing to guard the Leifu Gate whenever he was away.
• Shi Xuan invited Cangwu to become his daoist child, warning him not to abuse his name or neglect cultivation.
• Shi Xuan visited the End of the World Pavilion, advised Chi Caibo to prioritize cultivation, and later spent a year cultivating and studying other methods.
• Shi Xuan learned that Mo Yuan had left the realm and showed True Person Jiang his trace of Creation as Mo Yuan had arranged.
• True Person Jiang said Shi Xuan’s display had triggered his Heavenly Tribulation ahead of schedule and told him to notify the Sect Master.
• Shi Xuan informed Zhang Zhengyan, who activated the Nine Heavens All-Seal Myriad Thunder Immortal Array to prepare for True Person Jiang’s tribulation.

True Person Jiang passed his Heavenly Tribulation and drove off Old Ghost Blood River and Old Ghost Yama with help from Guiyuanzi. Twelve years later, Shi Xuan was summoned to discuss congratulating Shen Xianyun of the Luofu Sect on achieving a mid-grade Golden Core.

• Sect Master Zhang activated the Nine Heavens All-Seal Myriad Thunder Immortal Array and showed the sect leaders the storm and Earth-Lung Yin Fire surrounding True Person Jiang’s tribulation.
• True Person Jiang completed his tribulation, then faced Old Ghost Blood River and Old Ghost Yama as they tried to exploit his weakened state.
• Guiyuanzi arrived to support True Person Jiang, and the two hostile True Persons withdrew; True Person Jiang then returned the nine volcanoes to the seabed.
• True Person Jiang entered seclusion, appointed Xie Fangwei to temporarily take charge of End of the World Pavilion, and reminded Shi Xuan that he owed him a favor.
• Twelve years later, Cangwu told Shi Xuan that Shen Xianyun had achieved a mid-grade Golden Core and the sect was discussing who should offer congratulations.

Shi Xuan agreed to represent the Penglai Sect at Shen Xianyun’s Golden Core ceremony and arranged a group of disciples to accompany him. As the disciples gathered for selection, they discussed Xie Fangwei’s disciples and the fading renown of the late Golden Core Grandmaster Yong Xiang, then greeted Shi Xuan as he entered.

• Shi Xuan met Yu Ruoshui on Tian Shu Peak and learned that she had reached the Spirit Soul Stage after her parents’ deaths; she planned to cultivate Uncle Yong’s sword-box method.
• Shi Xuan told Sect Master Zhang that his master had asked him to congratulate Shen Xianyun, and the Sect Master assigned him two Inner Disciples and eight Outer Disciples as attendants.
• Shi Xuan arranged a disciple-selection gathering at Dao Listening Hall and visited Yu Ruoshui before the gathering took place three days later.
• At the hall, Jin Leiyu claimed that Xie Fangwei might soon take disciples, but Li Bingnan contradicted him and explained that the late Yong Xiang had once been a renowned Golden Core Grandmaster.
• Li Bingnan revealed that Xie Fangwei had already accepted Chi Caibo and Chi Zhengde as disciples, leaving the gathered disciples surprised and thoughtful.
• Shi Xuan entered Dao Listening Hall, and the disciples greeted him with delight.

Shi Xuan selected ten Penglai Sect disciples to accompany him to Luofu Sect for a Golden Core Ceremony and instructed them on how to behave there. He planned to lend them flying swords and a sword formation so they could defend themselves against possible provocation.

• Shi Xuan selected Luo Banshan and Tang Youqiu from the Inner Disciples, then chose Li Bingnan, Zhou Ban Yu, Ren Shuiyao, Jiang Nianqiao, and four other Outer Disciples.
• Shi Xuan took the ten disciples to his cave dwelling and told them to speak little, avoid trouble, stay together, and let Luo Banshan and Tang Youqiu handle ordinary matters.
• Li Bingnan asked what they should do if disciples from Blood Demon Sect or Netherworld Sect provoked them, and Shi Xuan said they should strike back if they were offended while remaining on the side of principles.
• Shi Xuan warned that some of the newer Outer Disciples might be at a disadvantage in a fight and offered to lend the group flying swords and a sword formation for practice before the ceremony.

Shi Xuan equipped seven Outer Disciples with the Azure Dragon Sword of Yimu and taught them the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions sword art for their journey to the Luofu Sect. The next day, he inspected their practice at Tian Ji Peak and found that all seven had worked diligently.

• Shi Xuan gave the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions sword art to the Outer Disciples and assigned Zhou Ban Yu to withdraw from the seven-person formation.
• Shi Xuan gave Zhou Ban Yu the Soul-Bewildering Banner and kept Luo Banshan and Tang Youqiu behind to discuss possible challenges on the journey to the Luofu Sect.
• Shi Xuan instructed the disciples to practice the sword art and demonstrate it at Tian Ji Peak the next day.
• Jiang Nianqiao demonstrated her sword art, and Shi Xuan praised her progress while pointing out shortcomings.
• Li Bingnan and the other five sword disciples demonstrated their arts, and Shi Xuan noted that they had practiced with similar diligence.