Chapter Summaries

Shi Xuan and Yu Ruoshui began their twenty-day guard duty at Yin Feng Cave after Ye Xiang'an assigned them a punishing task. Shi Xuan devised a plan to mislead Meng Yuchang and asked Yu Ruoshui to pretend to distance herself from him and spread selected complaints.

• Shi Xuan calmed Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan by explaining that Ye Xiang'an's assignments followed the sect rules, so appealing to the Discipline Hall would likely fail.
• Shi Xuan sent Zhou Dielan to guard the medicinal fields, then flew with Yu Ruoshui to Yin Feng Cave and took over the duty from the departing disciples.
• The outgoing guards explained that they had to monitor cultivators entering the cave, notify the Elder on duty if anyone stayed inside too long, and close the entrance at night.
• Yu Ruoshui worried that the assignment would prevent them from earning Merit Points for pills, and Shi Xuan realized he could use the task to conceal that he did not need pills to cultivate.
• Shi Xuan asked Yu Ruoshui to distance herself from him publicly and spread staged complaints about Yin Feng Cave and other tasks to mislead Meng Yuchang's group.
• Yu Ruoshui reluctantly agreed, and Shi Xuan shared cultivation insights with her as the two grew increasingly cold.

While guarding Yin Feng Cave, Shi Xuan discovered that its gale helped him temper his body and visualize the Yin Wind Divine Intent. He and Yu Ruoshui exchanged sword arts and, before parting for the night, Shi Xuan instructed her how to respond to the cultivators who would try to persuade her to distance herself from him.

• Shi Xuan used the gale from Yin Feng Cave to improve his body-tempering, and Yu Ruoshui found that her fire-element cultivation art could also counter its chill.
• Shi Xuan sensed the gale’s divine intent and mastered the Gale Sword, then offered to teach it to Yu Ruoshui in exchange for learning one of her sword arts.
• Shi Xuan taught Yu Ruoshui the Gale Sword, and she taught him the Blazing Sun Sword; both successfully learned the other’s technique.
• Shi Xuan and Yu Ruoshui spent the day cultivating and discussing the Dao, growing more familiar as they exchanged insights.
• Shi Xuan warned Yu Ruoshui that cultivators would try to turn her against him and told her to pretend to waver before eventually distancing herself from him.

Shi Xuan endured Meng Yuchang’s harassment and the outer sect’s growing hostility while cultivating at Yin Feng Cave with Yu Ruoshui. After a lecture and a routine soul-cultivation test, Ye Xiang'an publicly mocked Shi Xuan’s slow progress and threatened that he could be expelled from the sect.

• Shi Xuan and Yu Ruoshui kept up their plan to appear distant, and Meng Yuchang mocked Shi Xuan at Yin Feng Cave before leaving with his lackeys.
• Shi Xuan and Yu Ruoshui discussed the Heart Wind Sword and concluded that Shi Xuan needed stronger soul cultivation before he could master it.
• Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan publicly distanced themselves from Shi Xuan, while Shi Xuan continued to improve through his time guarding Yin Feng Cave.
• At Dao Listening Hall, Wan Hui lectured the outer sect disciples on cultivation, then Elder Cheng Ping arranged monthly tests of their soul cultivation.
• Ye Xiang'an tested Shi Xuan, criticized his slight improvement in ten days, and warned that he might be expelled from the sect.

Over two years, Shi Xuan endured ridicule while cultivating steadily at Yin Feng Cave, and Yu Ruoshui persisted with taking one pill a day. As Ming Qingyue neared the end of her seclusion, Meng Yuchang and Ma Yuanjing plotted to lure Shi Xuan to the Sea of Flames and kill him before she could intervene.

• True Master Zhang asked Yu Linglong about Ming Qingyue’s progress, and Mo Yuan said they still needed to observe the young friend he had mentioned.
• Shi Xuan explained the dangers of relying on too many pills to Yu Ruoshui, who decided to take only one pill each day.
• Two years later, Shi Xuan endured insults at the Dao Listening Hall while his disciplined cultivation left him close to the Qi Induction Stage.
• Shi Xuan reflected that Yu Ruoshui had persisted with her pill limit and that Zhou Dielan had reached the Soul Departure Stage half a year earlier.
• Meng Yuchang learned that Ming Qingyue would soon emerge from seclusion, and he and Ma Yuanjing decided to arrange for Shi Xuan to disappear during a patrol of the Sea of Flames.

Shi Xuan joined a patrol in the Sea of Flames, suspecting Meng Yuchang and Ma Yuanjing planned to kill him and preparing to defend himself. When the patrol teams split up, Ma Yuanjing lured Shi Xuan toward a volcanic island, but a colossal eruption knocked out the nearby disciples and trapped them amid a vast sea-and-fire upheaval.

• Shi Xuan traveled to the Sea of Flames with Meng Yuchang, Ma Yuanjing, Yan Wanxiao, Duan Yang, and the other patrol members, wary of the danger Meng and Ma posed.
• Yan Wanxiao warned Shi Xuan that Meng Yuchang and Ma Yuanjing might harm him and offered to patrol with him, but Meng assigned Shi Xuan to Ma Yuanjing's team instead.
• Shi Xuan and Ma Yuanjing flew toward a volcanic island, while Meng Yuchang and Yan Wanxiao took a nearby route.
• Ma Yuanjing suggested that Shi Xuan rest on the island, and an enormous seawater pillar erupted, knocking both men and the nearby patrol teams unconscious.
• Hundreds of nearby volcanoes erupted around the towering water column, and a Penglai Sect steward urged the others to notify the sect because disciples were trapped inside.

Shi Xuan became trapped in the ruins of the Vermilion Bird Clan’s Flame Mountain and fought his way through its fire monsters to a vast underground hall. He descended into the Southern Ming Li Fire chamber, where he encountered Meng Yuchang and was badly wounded, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Shi Xuan awoke in a blazing passageway, collected pieces of the unusually hard rock, and fought his way through Flame Birds and Flame Giants using the Myriad Forms Shadowless Sword.
• Shi Xuan escaped into an ancient hall that the fire monsters would not enter and recognized murals of Vermilion Divine Birds, identifying the ruins as the buried Flame Mountain.
• Unable to find an exit and unwilling to wait for rescue, Shi Xuan entered the intensely hot passageway leading below the hall.
• Shi Xuan reached a lake of Southern Ming Li Fire and found Meng Yuchang absorbing its flames to strengthen his Blazing Dragon Divine Fire True Qi.
• Shi Xuan attacked Meng Yuchang, but his sword could not break through Meng Yuchang’s True Qi, and Meng Yuchang’s fire dragon struck him down.
• Meng Yuchang approached the injured Shi Xuan and threatened to throw him into the Southern Ming Li Fire Lake.

Shi Xuan killed Meng Yuchang by luring him into lowering his guard, then disposed of the evidence and discovered that Vermillion Bird Feathers could drive away the flame creatures. He left the great hall carrying a feather and continued through the passage.

• Shi Xuan used the Heart Wind Sword to fill Meng Yuchang with joy while pretending his attacks were futile, then struck him with Geng Metal Sword Qi and confirmed the kill with Shangqing Hand Pivot Thunder.
• Shi Xuan searched Meng Yuchang's belongings, took the hard rocks and three Vermillion Bird Feathers, and threw the corpse, storage bag, jade pendant, and remaining items into South Bright Li Fire Lake.
• Shi Xuan destroyed the scene as best he could and changed into a Daoist robe from the storage bag.
• Shi Xuan approached another entrance holding a Vermillion Bird Feather and watched the flame giants and flame birds retreat from him.
• Shi Xuan transformed into Clear Wind and escaped down the passage while carrying the feather.

Shi Xuan escaped the erupting Flame Mountain, reunited with Penglai Sect disciples, and concealed his role in Meng Yuchang’s death as the sect investigated the missing cultivators. The Flame Mountain vanished after Zhu Yanzi sealed it away, while Meng Li’s attempt to summon clues from Meng Yuchang’s remains failed.

• Shi Xuan escaped the Flame Mountain and met Yan Wanxiao and other Penglai Sect disciples searching the mist for survivors.
• South Bright Li Fire Lake erupted, and Shi Xuan glimpsed an archaic cultivator step toward the Flame Mountain before following Yan Wanxiao’s group away.
• Zhu Yanzi struck talismans onto the Flame Mountain, shrank it, and carried it away after two powerful figures departed.
• A powerful current drew the seawater and mist toward the center, forcing Shi Xuan and the other disciples to flee back to the mine island.
• Meng Li arrived with the Elders, revealed Meng Yuchang’s Soul Lamp had gone out, and questioned Yan Wanxiao before the search turned to Ma Yuanjing and Shi Xuan.
• Meng Li used the Soul-Summoning Secret Art to seek clues about Meng Yuchang, but the ritual failed.

After returning to Penglai Island, Shi Xuan collected his Merit Points and reassured Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan, while remaining wary that Meng Li might investigate Meng Yuchang’s death. He continued training outside Yin Feng Cave, and the chapter ended with Mo Yuan asking the disciples whether they would kill loved ones who blocked their Dao Path.

• Elder Cheng Ping awarded the returning outer-sect disciples Merit Points and excused them from Sect Missions for three months.
• Shi Xuan told Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan what he could about the Flame Mountain incident and the mysterious cultivator who appeared above it.
• Yu Ruoshui told Shi Xuan that Steward Ye and Meng Yuchang’s associates had been punished and sent to guard a dangerous border island.
• Shi Xuan worried that Meng Li might suspect him, then exchanged Merit Points for cultivation-experience jade slips and trained outside Yin Feng Cave for two months with Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan.
• Mo Yuan asked the Dao Listening Hall disciples whether they would kill relatives, friends, Dao Companions, or teachers who blocked their Dao Path.

After Mo Yuan asked the disciples whether they would kill loved ones who obstructed their Dao, Shi Xuan answered that he did not know. The next day, Mo Yuan invited Shi Xuan to Tian Ji Peak and accepted him as a disciple, leaving Shi Xuan wondering why as his formal induction ceremony began.

• Yu Wendao, Yu Ruoshui, Zhou Dielan, and other disciples debated whether they would kill relatives or friends who obstructed their Dao, while Shi Xuan honestly answered Mo Yuan that he did not know.
• Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan told Shi Xuan they had spent their saved merit points on Youth Preserving Pills.
• Daoist attendant Xuan Chong summoned Shi Xuan to Tian Ji Peak, where Mo Yuan offered to accept him as a disciple, and Shi Xuan agreed.
• Mo Yuan took Shi Xuan to Tian Shu Peak, where eight bell rings announced a Golden Core Grandmaster’s disciple-acceptance ceremony.
• Mo Yuan advised Shi Xuan to remain firm in himself and gave him the Qianyang Green Lamp as a reminder of choice and relinquishment.
• Shi Xuan completed the ceremony, became an inner disciple, and had his name entered into the Penglai Sect’s inheritance register.

Mo Yuan explained to Shi Xuan how innate nature, the Heavenly Dao, and human relationships shaped the path of cultivation. He gave Shi Xuan the Dao name Tian Xuan and sent him to choose new cultivation arts.

• After Shi Xuan became Mo Yuan’s registered disciple, Mo Yuan asked whether he remembered the question about killing loved ones and discussed Shi Xuan’s answer, “I don’t know.”
• Mo Yuan used contrasting mountain paths to explain that no choice was universally right or wrong, and that a cultivator had to follow a path aligned with their innate nature.
• Mo Yuan distinguished the Heavenly Dao from the human way, warning that cultivators whose nature leaned toward killing faced greater dangers and opposition.
• Mo Yuan explained that cultivation returned a person toward their innate nature, described ways it could be changed, and advised Shi Xuan to focus on steadfastness for the Golden Core Great Dao.
• Mo Yuan gave Shi Xuan the Dao name Tian Xuan, recommended a wind-aspected cultivation method, and told him to select one cultivation method and one true ritual-refining art at End of the World Pavilion.
• Shi Xuan asked again why Mo Yuan had accepted him, and Mo Yuan said his answer had been appropriate because the disciples were not yet ready to make such a choice; Shi Xuan then flew toward Tian Shu Peak.

After entering the inner sect, Shi Xuan collected cultivation methods and moved his servants to his new residence on Tian Ji Peak. He reunited with Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan, whose friendship with him survived their changed status, and Zhou Dielan asked why Uncle-Ancestor Mo had accepted him as a disciple.

• Shi Xuan registered at the Affairs Hall, then visited the End of the World Pavilion to obtain copies of the True Method of Formless Wind Prohibition and the True Explanation of the Divine Wind of Heaven, Earth, and the Six Directions.
• Qi Guanyu and Shen Hongwen tried to apologize to Shi Xuan, but he dismissed them and went inside to pack.
• Shi Xuan invited Green Pine, Qingzhu, Qinglian, and Chinese Rose to join him at his new cave residence, rewarding their continued loyalty.
• At Prosperity Star Hall, Shi Xuan met Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan and reassured the other female disciples that he held no grudge against them.
• Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan welcomed Shi Xuan into their residence, where Yu Ruoshui teased him about their new forms of address and Zhou Dielan asked why Uncle-Ancestor Mo had accepted him.

After Mo Yuan accepted Shi Xuan as his disciple, Shi Xuan studied his new cultivation methods, mastered part of the Qianyang Green Lamp, and secluded himself to protect his cultivation time. Ming Qingyue emerged from seclusion and reunited with Shi Xuan, but their visit to Yin Feng Cave ended with Yu Wendao challenging him to Magic Combat.

• Shi Xuan left Heart Moon Peak after Miao Daiyun tried to approach him, then studied the Divine Wind and Formless Wind methods and began mastering the Qianyang Green Lamp.
• Overwhelmed by visitors after becoming Mo Yuan's disciple, Shi Xuan hung a seclusion sign and resumed cultivating with Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan at Yin Feng Cave.
• After ten days, Ming Qingyue emerged from seclusion and visited Shi Xuan, telling him she was close to Minor Qi Induction Accomplishment and planned to compete in the sect competition.
• Shi Xuan invited Ming Qingyue to cultivate at Yin Feng Cave, where she reunited with Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan.
• Yu Wendao approached Shi Xuan at Yin Feng Cave and challenged him to Magic Combat.

Shi Xuan accepted Yu Wendao’s Magic Combat challenge and outmaneuvered him with swordsmanship, evasion, and a thunder spell. Yu Wendao survived by deploying his inherited Golden Lamp Treasure Umbrella, then proposed ending the fight in a draw.

• Shi Xuan accepted Yu Wendao’s challenge and traveled with Yu Ruoshui, Zhou Dielan, and Ming Qingyue to the Battle Stage on Canshui Peak.
• Yu Wendao attacked with his Ice Sword, but Shi Xuan’s Myriad Forms Shadowless Sword and wind sword techniques forced him onto the defensive.
• Yu Wendao used his fifth-tier Freezing Cold Light, but Shi Xuan dodged with Minor Clear Wind Escape and countered with Shangqing Hand Pivot Thunder.
• Yu Wendao abandoned his Ice Sword and protected himself from Shi Xuan’s thunder spell with the Golden Lamp Treasure Umbrella.
• Yu Wendao, exhausted and unable to hit Shi Xuan, proposed that they end the Magic Combat in a draw.

Shi Xuan defeated Yu Wendao, then endured a humiliating challenge from Qi Induction Stage cultivator Lu Xuanyi that made him recognize his own weakness and renew his resolve to cultivate. As Shi Xuan trained toward a breakthrough, Meng Li remained intent on discovering who killed Yu Yuchang and threatened everyone who had borne him a grudge.

• Shi Xuan forced Yu Wendao to concede their Battle Stage match, and Yu Wendao challenged him to see who would reach the Qi Induction Stage first.
• Lu Xuanyi attacked Shi Xuan on the Battle Stage, and Shi Xuan escaped through the flames after experiencing the overwhelming strength of a Qi Induction Stage cultivator.
• Shi Xuan told Ming Qingyue, Yu Ruoshui, and Zhou Dielan that he would keep his cultivation path but work harder to advance.
• Lu Xuanyi reported to Meng Li that Shi Xuan showed no sign of having the power to kill Yu Yuchang, and Meng Li threatened to kill everyone who had borne Yu Yuchang a grudge if he could not find the cause of death.
• Shi Xuan ignored the inner sect disciples' changing attitudes and devoted himself to arduous cultivation as he felt a breakthrough drawing near.

Three years after the previous events, the Penglai Sect held its internal tournament while Shi Xuan stayed away to prepare for a breakthrough. He reached the Qi Induction Stage, and Mo Yuan appeared outside his cave dwelling to help him continue safely.

• The Penglai Sect began its grand internal tournament, and disciples debated whether Ming Qingyue could win the Qi Induction contest.
• Leng Rumei arrived to judge the tournament, while Yong Liding startled onlookers by describing his unusual preferences in women.
• Disciples criticized Shi Xuan for skipping the tournament and mocked his slow cultivation, but Shi Xuan remained in seclusion because his breakthrough was imminent.
• Shi Xuan used the Five Directional Thunder Gods True Form Diagram and the Treasure Record's secret method to connect his soul with his body and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
• Shi Xuan broke through to the Qi Induction Stage and emerged from his cave dwelling, where Mo Yuan was waiting after sensing the disturbance.

Shi Xuan celebrated breaking through to the Qi Induction Stage and lent Yu Ruoshui his Qianyang Green Lamp for her tournament match. Yu Ruoshui used it to defeat Mu Qingyan’s illusions, and the news of Shi Xuan’s breakthrough spread through the sect, stunning his critics and delighting his supporters.

• Shi Xuan told Qinglian, Qingzhu, Qingsong, and Chinese Rose that he had reached the Qi Induction Stage, then celebrated with his attendants.
• Ming Qingyue, Yu Ruoshui, and Zhou Dielan visited Shi Xuan, who lent Yu Ruoshui the Qianyang Green Lamp for her match against Mu Qingyan.
• Shi Xuan inspected his Dharma Artifacts and identified his Flame Mountain rocks as containing Li Fire Gold Essence.
• Yu Ruoshui used the Qianyang Green Lamp to dispel Mu Qingyan’s Illusion Light Silk and win their Magic Combat match.
• Yu Ruoshui announced that Shi Xuan had broken through, shocking Yu Wendao and other disciples while his admirers celebrated.
• Ming Qingyue also announced Shi Xuan’s breakthrough after winning her match on Yaoguang Peak.

Shi Xuan completed his first Qi Induction into Body under Mo Yuan’s guidance and learned more about the sect’s hidden affairs. Mo Yuan revealed why he had watched over Shi Xuan and offered him a Dao art in exchange for the one he had used at Soul Departure Stage.

• After Ming Qingyue explained the significance of Shi Xuan’s rapid breakthrough, the disciples celebrated their tournament results: Zhou Dielan placed ninth, Yu Ruoshui placed third, and Ming Qingyue won first place in the Qi Induction Stage.
• Shi Xuan recovered through meditation, then asked Mo Yuan to protect him as he began Qi Induction into Body the next day.
• Shi Xuan drew wind-aspected spiritual qi into his meridians and fused it with his Internal Energy, forming translucent azure True Qi; Mo Yuan praised him and declared him his personal disciple.
• Mo Yuan explained that the sects grew precious herbs and gathered resources in Lesser Thousand Worlds and secret realms, and that the Cangmang Dharma Assembly settled ownership of disputed realms through Magic Combat.
• Mo Yuan revealed that he had followed Shi Xuan to Flame Mountain, knew about his Dao art, and would let him choose another Dao art at the End of the World Pavilion if he offered the sect the one he had used.
• Mo Yuan explained that Senior Daoquanzi’s mark and a True Lord’s prediction had drawn attention to Shi Xuan, and admitted that he had lied about the reason he planned to take Shi Xuan as his disciple.

Shi Xuan learned why Mo Yuan had tested him and agreed to give the sect his Great Yin Lung Yang Geng Metal Sword Qi in exchange for another Daoist Magic Spiritual Power. After choosing the Jade Shattering Art, he studied it and wondered why his sword qi did not have cultivation levels like ordinary Daoist Magic Spiritual Powers.

• Mo Yuan explained the sect’s tests, its trust in daoist priest Daoquanzi’s mark, and why he would not reveal the whereabouts of its senior cultivators before Shi Xuan reached the Golden Core Stage.
• Shi Xuan agreed to offer the sect his Great Yin Lung Yang Geng Metal Sword Qi and asked Mo Yuan which Daoist Magic Spiritual Power to choose.
• Mo Yuan advised Shi Xuan to choose the Jade Shattering Art because Blazing Fire Golden Eyes overlapped with Shi Xuan’s Qianyang Green Lamp and could later be replaced by Purple Lightning Eyes.
• At the End of the World Pavilion, Shi Xuan inscribed his sword qi onto a jade slip, chose the Jade Shattering Art, and returned the Heavenly Six Directions Divine Wind True Formula to the white-haired daoist.
• Shi Xuan studied the Jade Shattering Art in his cave dwelling and wondered why his Great Yin Lung Yang Geng Metal Sword Qi had no levels.

Shi Xuan learned that his five limited Daoist magics could be combined into a powerful complete art when he formed his Golden Core. After Ming Qingyue departed to temper her Dao heart, Shi Xuan entered seclusion on Tian Ji Peak to cultivate True Qi.

• Shi Xuan asked Mo Yuan about the tiers of his Daoist magic, and Mo Yuan explained that five split arts could combine into a sixth-tier Daoist magic when the Five Elements united.
• Shi Xuan offered to share the method with Mo Yuan, but Mo Yuan said he wanted Shi Xuan to repay him by forming a high-grade Golden Core.
• Shi Xuan, Yu Ruoshui, and Zhou Dielan said farewell to Ming Qingyue as she set out to travel and temper her Dao heart.
• Shi Xuan encouraged Yu Ruoshui and Zhou Dielan to keep cultivating, then told them he would soon enter seclusion.
• Mo Yuan directed Shi Xuan to the rear mountain of Tian Ji Peak, where Shi Xuan sealed himself inside a cave dwelling and began tempering his body with True Qi.