Chapter Summaries

Song Yan studied a vast map of the mortal world and wondered how Xie Tianji could have traveled from the Chu Kingdom to the Central Region and back as a mortal. After emerging from seclusion with his Foundation Establishment complete, he tested flight with Xiao Ju and Xiao He, then began studying the swift but costly Wandering the Great Void sword escape.

• Song Yan examined the heavenly map, recognized the Sword Sect Ruins marked in the Chu Kingdom, and was stunned by the world's scale.
• Song Yan calculated how vast the journey from the borderlands to the Central Region would be and questioned how Xie Tianji had made it as a mortal.
• Song Yan emerged after thirteen months of seclusion and told Xiao Ju and Xiao He that he had successfully established his foundation.
• Song Yan flew through the air on his own Sword Qi, then rode the Unmoored Boat with Xiao Ju and Xiao He through the clouds and mountains.
• Song Yan reviewed Wandering the Great Void and learned that the sword escape offered great speed and agility but consumed several times more Sword Qi.

Song Yan mastered the first steps of the Wandering the Great Void escape technique, then accepted Xiao Ju as his disciple after she chose the perilous Sword Cultivator path. With Song Yan protecting her, Xiao Ju completed the sword-planting ritual and formed her Sword Mansion and Dao Seed, leaving her alive but exhausted and in need of recovery.

• Song Yan practiced Wandering the Great Void and demonstrated a swift, nimble sword-light escape before returning to the courtyard.
• Song Yan explained the risks of the Sword-Planting Technique to Xiao Ju, and she chose the Sword Cultivator path despite the danger.
• Xiao Ju knelt and completed the discipleship ceremony, becoming Song Yan’s disciple.
• Song Yan taught Xiao Ju the Spirit Transformation Chapter, and about ten days later she prepared to plant her sword in the meditation chamber.
• Xiao Ju severed her Spiritual Roots and endured the collapse of her cultivation while Song Yan suppressed her uncontrolled Spiritual Qi.
• Xiao Ju formed a Sword Mansion and a golden-patterned Dao Seed, and Song Yan caught her as she collapsed and told her to rest.

After establishing his foundation, Song Yan helped Xiao Ju resume cultivation and prepared for the Dragon Pool Gathering while searching for a faster cultivation method and information about Dao Patterns. He left Xiao Ju and Snake Treasure with passes and traveled alone to the Sword Sect using the Jade Seal, where his strength let him open the Bamboo Grove’s hidden path.

• Xiao Ju cultivated the Qi Condensation Scroll, returned to the third layer of Qi Refining, and studied swordsmanship and formations.
• Song Yan searched for news of the Demonic Path invasion but found no signs of unusual activity, then visited the Inner Sect Scripture Repository to look for cultivation methods and information about Dao Patterns.
• Song Yan met Xu Wenxuan, who had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator and told him that the Dragon Pool Gathering would be broadcast across the Chu Kingdom using the Spirit-Revealing Treasure Mirror.
• Song Yan found no suitable method or useful information in the repository and returned to his cave abode, where he gave Xiao Ju and Snake Treasure passes and told them to travel to Dragon Pool Mountain if he was delayed.
• Song Yan used the Great Void Sword-Nourishing Chapter and the Sword Sect Jade Seal to teleport to the Sword Sect, then used his Foundation Establishment Sword Qi to open the Bamboo Grove’s hidden path.

Chen Linyuan and Wu Xusheng discussed Lin Qing’s claim of having lived another lifetime and the possible future demonic calamity, while Chen offered Wu a lead in his search for his missing grandson. In the Sword Sect Ruins, Song Yan found a courtyard and a sword case that joined with the Two-Pole Bead, revealing the name “Inexhaustible Treasury.”

• The gray-robed Chen Linyuan visited Wu Xusheng in the Inner Sect Library, where Wu studied the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones Divine Ability.
• Chen and Wu dismissed Yang Wenxuan’s scheming as a minor threat, and Chen said Song Yan would have to face his own trials.
• Chen asked Wu about reversing time, then told him of Lin Qing’s claim and the demonic calamity Lin Qing had described.
• Chen gave Wu a Jade Slip in hopes that Lin Qing’s supposed memories might help locate Wu’s missing grandson.
• Song Yan followed the Two-Pole Bead’s guidance through the Bamboo Grove and discovered a secluded courtyard with a familiar black stone stele and an ancient sword case.
• The Two-Pole Bead flew into a recess in the sword case, whose newly revealed inscription read “Inexhaustible Treasury.”

Song Yan spent twenty-three days refining the Sword Case and discovered that its inner world contained the incomplete Void Transformation Book, including a cultivation method that greatly improved his progress. After switching to the Purple Firmament Daoist Scripture, he cultivated for a month before hurrying to the ongoing Dragon Pool Gathering.

• Song Yan struggled to refine the Sword Case for twenty-three days before it accepted his Sword Qi and connected to him.
• Song Yan entered the Sword Case's vast inner world, where black-and-white Qi surged into his consciousness and gave him the incomplete Void Transformation Book.
• Song Yan learned that the Void Transformation Book contained the Purple Firmament Daoist Scripture and the Void Sword Chapter, and found that the scripture refined his Sword Qi far more effectively than his former method.
• Song Yan formed a Spirit-Gathering Sword Formation and switched to the Purple Firmament Daoist Scripture, steadily strengthening his Dao Foundation over the next month.
• Song Yan realized the Dragon Pool Gathering had already been underway for several days and set off in black-and-white sword light toward Qiyuan Prefecture.

At the Dragon Pool Gathering, Li Xuan and the Zhongmiao Sect sought to capitalize on the Dongyuan Sect’s declining reputation, while Zhou Liu rebuffed Li Xuan’s attempt to ingratiate himself. After Zhao Xuan lost a spar, Zhongmiao Sect cultivators insulted Dongyuan Sect and provoked Gu Qingqing, until Li Xuan used his Foundation Establishment pressure to challenge Yuwen Yao and the others.

• Li Xuan brought two Zhongmiao Sect disciples to Looking Immortal Terrace, where Zhou Liu curtly dismissed his attempt to introduce them.
• Zhao Xuan lost a close spar to a Hanging Sword Mountain disciple, prompting cultivators to gossip about the Dongyuan Sect’s weakness.
• Li Xuan and other cultivators joined in disparaging the Dongyuan Sect, angering Gu Qingqing when they insulted Song Yan and questioned his reputation.
• A Zhongmiao Sect disciple pressured Gu Qingqing and challenged her, so Yuwen Yao stepped in to protect her.
• Li Xuan arrived and intensified his Foundation Establishment pressure against Yuwen Yao and Gu Qingqing, then challenged them to settle the dispute through their skills.

Li Yi and Song Yan arrived at Looking Immortal Terrace and confronted Li Xuan after he pressured Gu Qingqing and the Dongyuan Sect disciples. Song Yan revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation and forced Li Xuan to back down, while a hidden Rogue Cultivator considered killing him and wondered where his disciple had gone.

• A crow pecked through Li Xuan's protective Spiritual Qi and pierced his hand as he threatened Gu Qingqing.
• Li Yi arrived and shattered the pressure Li Xuan had placed on the Dongyuan Sect cultivators, and Song Yan descended beside Gu Qingqing as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Song Yan challenged Li Xuan over Gu Qingqing's question and unleashed a sword strike that left Li Xuan dazed and unable to understand what had happened.
• Zhou Liu ordered the groups to stop disrupting the gathering, and Li Xuan refused Li Yi's challenge before leaving with the Zhongmiao Sect disciples.
• The Dongyuan Sect disciples celebrated Song Yan's breakthrough, learned that Xiang Zhaoling had not yet arrived, and went to their assigned lodgings on Egret Cliff.
• A hidden Rogue Cultivator recognized Song Yan as a threat and considered eliminating him while wondering where his disciple had gone.

Xiang Zhaoling and Zhou Mengdie crossed Great Heaven Mountain as Xiang explained that she had come to the Chu Kingdom searching for a legendary Gu insect that could foresee the future. At Dragon Pool Mountain, Song Yan learned about the Nine Veins Grand Competition, prepared to study the Void Transformation Book, and brought out a sword case for Xiao Ju.

• Xiang Zhaoling guided the exhausted Zhou Mengdie across the coldest part of Great Heaven Mountain and told her she had come north after sensing a trace of a legendary future-seeing Gu in the Chu Kingdom.
• Xiang Zhaoling summoned Gray Plume, and she and Zhou Mengdie flew toward Qiyuan Prefecture and Dragon Pool Mountain.
• Xiao Ju briefed Song Yan and Li Yi on the Dragon Pool Gathering, its competition stages, and the widely favored Xuanyuan Sect prodigy Zhou Liu.
• Li Yi challenged Song Yan to spar, and Song Yan agreed to meet him the next day.
• Song Yan decided to spend two days studying the Void Transformation Book, then brought out the Useless Sword Case and the Flying Sword Joined Branches for Xiao Ju.

Song Yan studied the Sword Chapter and searched Tiered Spring Market for Flying Swords, where he encountered Gu Qingqing and learned that Yang Yuerong had been forced to leave the Dongyuan Sect and return to her Lineage. Gu Qingqing invited Song Yan and Xiao Ju to witness the Yang Lineage’s centennial grand rite.

• Song Yan gave Xiao Ju the Useless Sword Case and Joined Branches, then studied the Void Transformation Book and puzzled over the distinctive effects of his Sword Intent.
• Song Yan spent several days studying sword cultivation and sparring with Li Yi before heading to Tiered Spring Market with Xiao Ju to seek Flying Swords.
• Song Yan saw Moon-Midst Pavilion, where the leaders of the nine branches discussed affairs, and met Gu Qingqing and Yang Yuerong at a pool.
• Yang Yuerong told Song Yan that she had left the Dongyuan Sect and returned to the Yang Lineage because of its traditions and rules.
• Yang Yuerong recommended that Song Yan visit Thousand-Forging Hall for Flying Swords, and Gu Qingqing invited him to attend the Yang Lineage’s centennial grand rite.

Song Yan visited the Thousand-Forging Hall to look for flying swords, but the irritable shopkeeper insulted him and Xiao Ju before recognizing that her Sword Case had been repaired. The old man begged Song Yan to explain how it was fixed, but Song Yan left without answering, bought two flying swords elsewhere, and worried about his dwindling Spirit Stones.

• Yang Yuerong invited Song Yan to observe the Yang Clan’s centennial ceremony, then directed him to the Thousand-Forging Hall.
• Song Yan and Xiao Ju found the old shopkeeper arguing with a Yan Clan disciple, then entered the shabby shop to ask about flying swords and ancient swords.
• The shopkeeper mocked Song Yan’s Sword Case and ordered them out, but he stopped them when he saw the Useless Sword Case on Xiao Ju’s back.
• Song Yan told the shopkeeper that Yan Xun had given him the unfinished case, and the old man criticized the Yan Clan and insulted Song Yan and Xiao Ju.
• Xiao Ju summoned the Joined Branches Flying Sword to confront the shopkeeper, who recognized that the case and sword were intact and harmonized.
• The shopkeeper begged Song Yan to explain how the case had been repaired, but Song Yan left and later bought two high-grade flying swords while worrying about his lack of Spirit Stones.

Song Yan attended the Dragon Pool Mountain gatherings, reunited with Ke Huai, and heard Bai Qi invite Xiao He to join Shangtong Mountain, but Xiao He chose to stay with him. On the eve of the selection, Zhang Guangyuan explained its rules, and Song Yan left with Lin Qing, who reflected on delaying his own Foundation Establishment breakthrough.

• Song Yan listened to a Sheyang Sect elder expound the Dao, then met Ke Huai and played chess with him at the waterside pavilion.
• Bai Qi invited Xiao He to join Shangtong Mountain and travel to the Central Region, but Xiao He refused because she did not want to leave Song Yan.
• Song Yan and Ke Huai finished their game and parted, with Ke Huai noting they might meet in the selection.
• Zhang Guangyuan summoned the Dongyuan Sect participants and explained that contestants needed to collect both a Yin Talisman and a Yang Talisman to advance.
• Song Yan left the meeting with Lin Qing, who congratulated him on reaching Foundation Establishment and considered postponing his own breakthrough until after Dragon Pool Mountain.

Lin Qing and Song Yan discussed the lack of signs of the Demonic Path’s invasion, while Hu Haotian prepared the Hu Lineage to join a conspiracy meant to change its fortunes. At the Dragon Pool Gathering, Song Yan entered the selection with a blank talisman and immediately confronted an injured rogue cultivator as a Hanging Sword Mountain disciple appeared behind him.

• Lin Qing told Song Yan that Sect Master Chen Linyuan would likely prepare for the Demonic Path’s invasion, and Song Yan resolved to use the Dragon Pool Gathering to strengthen himself.
• Hu Haotian learned that his envoy had delivered gifts to the Six Great Sects and declared that the Hu Lineage’s plans would soon bring a new order to the Chu Kingdom.
• Song Yan joined 117 other younger-generation cultivators at the selection grounds, signed the Life-and-Death Writ, and drew a blank talisman.
• The formation transported Song Yan into the Ancient Forest, where he detected and attacked an injured Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator hiding nearby.
• The rogue cultivator revealed a Yang Talisman and recognized Song Yan, while a Hanging Sword Mountain disciple carrying a Yin Talisman emerged behind him.

Song Yan collected the Yin and Yang Talismans and headed back toward the return point, while Lin Qing used a scroll to take a Yin Talisman from Shen Qing and fled the pursuing Spirit Talisman Sect cultivator. Yuwen Yao and Han Yuan defeated a group of Qi Refining cultivators, but Yuwen Yao still needed a Yang Talisman.

• Song Yan took the Yang Talisman from a rogue cultivator and the Yin Talisman from a Hanging Sword Mountain disciple, then set off toward the plaza.
• Lin Qing trapped a Spirit Talisman Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator with his Wandering-Holding Scroll and took Shen Qing's Yin Talisman before escaping into the forest.
• The Spirit Talisman Sect cultivator broke free and pursued Lin Qing, who used the scroll again to divert a sword talisman.
• Yuwen Yao and Han Yuan fought off a group of allied cultivators and collected several Spirit Talismans.
• Han Yuan qualified with his talismans, while Yuwen Yao still lacked a Yang Talisman and agreed to hunt for one with him.

Xiang Zhaoling captured three cultivators’ talismans with her Gu insects and giant toad, while two disguised Devil cultivators killed Yang Kaijun and concealed his corpse. Song Yan discovered the hidden body, leaving him to investigate a death that should have alerted the selection’s overseers.

• Xiang Zhaoling used her insect flute and Gu insects to draw three talismans to her, while Brother Croak swallowed the three cultivators who tried to attack her.
• A Devil cultivator took on Ke Huai’s appearance and discussed with his companion their plans to target Song Yan despite Senior Xin Mountain’s orders.
• The disguised pair revealed that they had killed Yang Kaijun, transformed his corpse and the evidence into mossy stone and rotten wood, and planned to infiltrate his identity.
• Song Yan walked through the Strange Mountain Range and used his Void-Viewing Sword Eye to see through a moss-covered rock and reveal Yang Kaijun’s corpse.

Song Yan used the illusion effect of his Sword Intent to defeat Fan Dongchen and take his six talismans, then was transported to Beyond-Boundary Broad Valley. Fan Dongchen’s reputation for attacking other participants had spread through the square when the teleportation array flashed and someone appeared kneeling.

• Song Yan found a dead Yang family cultivator but left the body alone, deciding to report it to Elder Zhang.
• Fan Dongchen ambushed Song Yan and believed he had killed him, but Song Yan revealed the attack had been an illusion created by his Sword Pellet and Mirage Bead.
• Song Yan used the Unmoored Boat and Sword Intent to overwhelm Fan Dongchen, who dropped to his knees as Song Yan took his six talismans.
• Song Yan was teleported away after remarking that he had almost killed Fan Dongchen.
• At Beyond-Boundary Broad Valley, participants discussed Fan Dongchen’s attacks on other cultivators, and the teleportation array flashed as a figure appeared on his knees.

Song Yan emerged from the selection with nine talismans and helped Dongyuan Sect secure a strong result, while Zhou Liu refused to give Fan Dongchen an extra qualification slot. As Song Yan weighed who should receive his two extra places, Su Lianxue of the Heavenly Jade Palace arrived to meet him.

• Song Yan appeared with nine talismans after eliminating Fan Dongchen, and the selection ended with Dongyuan Sect earning seven places in the new generation.
• Dongyuan Sect learned that four of its five previous-intake disciples had qualified, bringing its total to eleven competitors for the final stage.
• Shen Yu questioned Fan Dongchen about losing to Song Yan, but Zhou Liu rejected Shen Yu's plan to give Fan Dongchen his extra slot and awarded it to a Qi Refining disciple instead.
• Song Yan turned down visitors seeking his two extra places and tentatively chose Han Yuan and Kong You, while Shao Sichao declined a place.
• Su Lianxue, a disciple of the Heavenly Jade Palace, visited Song Yan's cave abode and introduced herself.

Song Yan resisted Su Lianxue’s attempt to seduce him and focused on developing his Sword Intent, which he named Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water. As the tournament neared, visitors sought his favor, and he rejected Elder Yang Wenxuan’s invitation while making clear that Yang would have to visit him himself if he had something important to say.

• Su Lianxue visited Song Yan, praised him, and offered him an entry talisman to her Warm Jade Tower so he could teach her swordsmanship and guide her cultivation.
• Song Yan refused to be swayed by Su Lianxue’s charm, and Xiao He took the talisman and made him promise not to visit the tower.
• Song Yan studied his Sword Intent and named its truth-and-illusion effect Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water.
• As the tournament approached, Xiao Ju managed a stream of visitors seeking places, connections, or information, including Xie Chan of Hanging Sword Mountain.
• Song Yan emerged from seclusion, heard Xiao Ju’s reports, and told her to decline Yang Wenxuan’s invitation and tell him to come in person if he had something important to discuss.

Yang Wenxuan tried to secure Song Yan’s Grand Competition place for Qin Zhan, but Song Yan refused and insisted that the place he had earned was his to decide. Yang Wenxuan left furious, while Qin Ying took an interest in Song Yan and flew to the attending Rogue Cultivators’ cave abodes.

• Qin Ying and Qin Zhan asked Yang Wenxuan to help Qin Zhan obtain a place in the Grand Competition, and Yang agreed to pressure Song Yan to give one up.
• Yang Wenxuan summoned Song Yan, but Xiao Ju reported that Song Yan was in seclusion and would not come; Yang then decided to visit him himself.
• Qin Zhan complained about Song Yan’s refusal to yield, while Qin Ying recalled his rapid rise in cultivation and went to seek him out.
• Yang Wenxuan confronted Song Yan at Worry-Free Lodge and demanded that he give Qin Zhan a place, citing Han Yuan’s injury.
• Song Yan rejected the demand, pointed out that other substitutes had stronger claims, and told Yang Wenxuan that the place he had won was his to decide.
• Song Yan left for his inner chamber and told Xiao Ju to see Yang Wenxuan out.

Song Yan rejected Yang Wenxuan’s pressure and helped finalize Dongyuan Sect’s Grand Competition roster. As the competition began alongside the Yang Clan’s Great Spirit-Sacrificing Ceremony, Yang Yuerong confided her wish to leave the clan, and the chapter ended with Song Yan and Gu Qingqing watching the masked ceremony begin.

• Song Yan refused to defer to Yang Wenxuan, who left in anger, and Song Yan suspected he might be connected to the Demon Ruins conspiracy.
• Song Yan gave the remaining Grand Competition qualifications to Han Yuan and Kong You after Han Yuan accepted and Shao Sichao declined.
• Yang Yuerong told Yang Qing she longed to leave the Yang Clan and live freely, and Yang Qing gave her a protective pendant and promised to help her leave.
• Song Yan joined the Dongyuan Sect disciples heading to Dragon Pool, where the final Grand Competition and the Yang Clan’s Great Spirit-Sacrificing Ceremony were about to begin.
• Gu Qingqing asked which masked representative was Yang Yuerong, and Song Yan could not identify her among the thirteen participants.

The Yang Clan’s ceremony at Dragon Pool Mountain was interrupted when two Golden Core devil cultivators trapped the gathering in a blood-red formation and killed True Person Ye Ding. As the Demon Ruins declared its takeover, Golden Core cultivators from the Xuanyuan Sect and Hanging Sword Mountain arrived, and a battle erupted above the mountain.

• The Yang Clan performed its ancient ceremony while Song Yan noticed cultivators leaving their seats and felt uneasy.
• Sixteen pillars of spiritual light formed a suppressive formation around the great enclosed building, and True Person Ye Ding fled into the clouds.
• Two Golden Core devil cultivators killed Ye Ding and announced that the Demon Ruins would take over the Chu Kingdom.
• Hu Haotian watched the Yang Clan, Yang Yuerong searched the crowd, and Lin Qing realized the invasion had begun earlier than in his previous life.
• Song Yan questioned the devil cultivators’ motives as Golden Core cultivators Chen Ya and Li Luo arrived to challenge them.
• The four Golden Core cultivators began fighting above Dragon Pool Mountain with lightning, Sword Qi, Ghost Skulls, and Yellow Springs.