Chapter Summaries

The Jade Screen Sect began its final selection for core disciples, summoning twenty-five candidates to the main vein. Yunlong announced that only twelve would survive the individual-combat trials, which were about to begin.

• Yunlong rang the bronze cauldron bell and announced the start of the final selection throughout Beyond the Cloudy Heavens.
• Yun Feng and Yun Peng heard the summons and prepared to enter the selection, each carrying personal hopes and concerns.
• Yunmo arrived at the main vein in a dramatic display, and Yun Feng recognized him as the figure she had seen before.
• Twenty-five candidates gathered in the great hall and paid their respects to Yunlong and the sect's elders and hall masters.
• Yunlong explained that the candidates would fight individually and that the twelve who endured to the end would become core disciples.

Xu Long learned that the final selection would pit twenty-five cultivators against one another in a fragment space under Yunlong’s supervision, with twelve earning places as core disciples. As Yun Peng and Yun Feng entered the gateway after confronting each other, the other cultivators followed and the selection began.

• Yunlong announced a fragment-space trial in which the remaining cultivators would claim twelve core disciple spots, with him ensuring the space stayed safe and fair.
• Xu Long noticed Yun Feng, the sect’s eldest senior brother, and watched as Yun Peng confronted him and challenged him to settle their conflict inside the gateway.
• Yun Peng entered the fragment space, and Yun Feng sent Xu Long a voice transmission explaining Yun Peng’s harsh childhood, his bond with Yun Kun, and the source of their conflict.
• Yun Feng followed Yun Peng into the fragment space, then Xu Long and the other cultivators began entering for the final selection.

The final trial to select core disciples began, and Xu Long confronted a Mystic Immortal who attacked him immediately. Xu Long overwhelmed his opponent with powerful strikes, but the cultivator escaped behind an unfamiliar talisman that absorbed the force of Xu Long’s sword light.

• The sect master announced the final trial as the disciples entered the fragment space, where their jade tokens showed the locations of the twenty-five contestants.
• Xu Long saw a nearby cultivator approaching and prepared to fight, knowing twelve would advance and the sect master would choose five from among them.
• The Mystic Immortal attacked Xu Long with a streak of light, but Xu Long stopped it with one palm strike and counterattacked with a magic seal and sword light.
• Xu Long’s sword qi shattered the Mystic Immortal’s protective magic seal and drove him into retreat.
• The Mystic Immortal threw out an ancient pale yellow talisman, which expanded into a wall and absorbed Xu Long’s sword light as he fled.
• Xu Long sensed something unusual about the talisman while tracking his descending sword light.

Xu Long defeated a Mystic Immortal cultivator and then fought Yunya in the fragment space, revealing his Dharma of Heaven and Earth and overpowering Yunya with Heaven-Slaying One Sword. Yunya conceded, but Xu Long unleashed the sword anyway, leaving a spatial rift overhead and his Dharma Body nearly broken.

• Xu Long used his magic seal and sword light to eliminate a Mystic Immortal cultivator despite the opponent's protective talisman.
• Yunya arrived to challenge Xu Long, and the two exchanged attacks with his black curved blade and Xu Long's sword light.
• Xu Long summoned a Dharma of Heaven and Earth, which caught Yunya's descending blade and helped him counter Yunya's attacks.
• Xu Long struck Yunya with the Dharma Body's palm and prepared Heaven-Slaying One Sword as his Magic Power dwindled.
• Yunya conceded after Xu Long named his sword strike, but Xu Long unleashed its full force, blasting open a spatial rift and leaving his Dharma Body illusory and damaged.

Xu Long defeated Yunya with Heaven-Slaying One Sword, and the Jade Screen Sect School named him among its twelve new core disciples and placed him third. The sect publicly announced the disciples, bound them to the sect register, and left the crowd stunned to discover Xu Long was only a Middle Stage Earth Immortal.

• Xu Long overcame Yunya with Heaven-Slaying One Sword and entered the spatial rift after the selection results reached twelve.
• Yun Hong argued for his preferred top-three candidates, but Yunxiang challenged his list and Yunlong announced Yun Feng, Yun Peng, and Yunmo as the top three.
• Yunlong proclaimed the twelve core disciples, and the disciples accepted their responsibilities and were entered into the sect register.
• Xu Long and the other eleven disciples left the hall in ceremonial robes as the Jade Screen Sect School announced them to the gathered crowd.
• Yun Ya sensed Xu Long's aura and realized that the third-ranked core disciple was a Middle Stage Earth Immortal.

Xu Long was publicly proclaimed one of the Jade Screen Sect School’s twelve core disciples, drawing admiration from allies and scrutiny from rival powers. After the ceremony, Yun Feng accepted her father Yun Hong’s plan to seek a Dao companion for political support, while Xu Long awaited the sect’s decision about an expedition into the Vast Sea.

• The sect master proclaimed the twelve core disciples, with Xu Long named third and recognized as the youngest among them.
• Yun Ya recognized Xu Long as Yunmo, while Yun Feng realized he was the free-spirited cultivator who had lingered in her heart.
• Two blue-robed informants discussed the Jade Screen Sect School’s rising strength and reported that rival powers would target Yunmo and the other core disciples.
• The twelve received the crowd’s salute and treasured light as Yunlong watched, prepared with jade tokens and mindful of the danger facing his generation.
• Yun Hong told Yun Feng that the family cultivators wanted her to find a Dao companion to secure support, and she agreed to follow his guidance.
• Xu Long returned to his mountain hall and considered the coming decision about who would explore the Vast Sea, where the three great powers planned to pursue a mysterious opportunity.

Xu Long prepared to explore the Vast Sea anomaly, which might be connected to his True Dragon bloodline. Yun Ya tried to recruit him into the clan cultivators’ faction by proposing Yun Feng as his Dao companion, but Xu Long refused and reaffirmed his commitment to the Boundless Wilderness.

• Xu Long recalled his near-death encounter with the Vast Sea’s dragon-shaped creature and resolved to investigate the anomaly despite the danger.
• Yun Ya visited Xu Long and awkwardly tried to persuade him to consider taking a Dao companion.
• Yun Ya revealed that Elder Yun Hong had sent him to recommend Yun Feng and draw Xu Long closer to the clan cultivators.
• Xu Long questioned Yun Ya’s role as Yun Hong’s spokesman, and Yun Ya explained that cultivators in the grotto-heaven blessed land had to choose between the sect master and the clans.
• Xu Long rejected the proposal, deciding not to join the clan cultivators’ faction and to focus on entering the Vast Sea and cultivating in the Boundless Wilderness.
• Yun Ya stopped trying to persuade Xu Long after seeing his firm refusal.

Xu Long asked Yun Ya about defensive talismans and learned that Elder Yun Hong made them, then used a Divination Talisman to investigate his growing unease and saw visions of dangers awaiting him in the Vast Sea. As Xu Long set out to seek talismans from Yun Hong, the sect master summoned him to the secluded residence of the Twofold Immortal old ancestor, Yun He.

• Xu Long asked Yun Ya about a defensive talisman that could withstand a mystic immortal's attack, and Yun Ya revealed that Elder Yun Hong was the sect's only talisman maker.
• Xu Long realized that rejecting Yun Hong's goodwill might have cost him access to talismans, but his concern about the coming trip to the Vast Sea led him to decide to visit Yun Hong anyway.
• Xu Long used a Divination Talisman to investigate his unease and saw a lightning-fast streak, a dragon-shaped being, and a square object that overwhelmed and suppressed him.
• Xu Long concluded that the square object threatened him and that the Vast Sea journey held danger, though he remained determined to go and sought defensive talismans for protection.
• As Xu Long left to find Elder Yun Hong, the sect master's message ordered him to report immediately to the secluded residence of the old ancestor, Yun He.

Ancestor Yun He told Sect Master Yunlong that the Vast Sea might contain an ancient inheritance and ordered all five finalists to explore it despite the risks. He revealed that his own tribulation was approaching, then summoned the disciples and explained their mission, leaving them about to enter the dangerous Vast Sea.

• Yun He chose Yunya, Yun Feng, Yunmo, Yun Peng, and Yun Feng as the five disciples to send into the Vast Sea, while Yunlong worried about the danger.
• Yun He explained that the Vast Sea contained strange treasures, spiritual essences, residual energy, and possibly an ancient place of inheritance.
• Yun He told Yunlong that Perfected Lord Pinglu was approaching his tribulation and revealed that his own tribulation was near, urging Yunlong to prepare to support the sect.
• Xu Long and the other four finalists gathered outside Yun He's mountain, then followed Yunlong inside and paid their respects to the ancestor.
• Yun He informed the disciples that they were to obtain as much of the Vast Sea's inheritance as possible and warned them that its opportunities came with danger.

Ancestor Yun He warned the Jade Screen Sect School’s five strongest disciples about the dangers of entering the Vast Sea and revealed that the Duck Beast King was being sought by the Saint Daoist Sanctuary. Xu Long resolved to go, then sought defensive talismans from Yun Hong as Yun Feng weighed whether to accept the expedition.

• Ancestor Yun He told Xu Long, Yun Peng, Yun Feng, Yunya, and the others to gather at Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary in half a month, warning that rival sect disciples posed the greatest danger in the Vast Sea.
• Xu Long and the other disciples accepted the challenge, and Ancestor Yun He promised to explain the Twofold Immortal realm if they returned alive.
• Ancestor Yun He warned that the Duck Beast King had visited the Jade Screen Sect School and ordered the disciples to report sightings of him to the sect.
• Xu Long connected the Duck Beast King’s movements and the strange Vast Sea phenomenon to a possible pursuit by the Saint Daoist Sanctuary, while the others recalled his supposed battle with the beast king.
• Xu Long told Yun Feng that he had declined Yun Hong’s offer but still needed defensive talismans, so Yun Feng advised him to ask Yun Hong directly.
• Xu Long headed to Yun Hong’s mountain as Yun Feng discussed the expedition’s risks with her father and asked him to decide whether she should go.

Yun Feng urged Yun Hong to rely on the family’s own strength after their attempt to recruit Xu Long failed, and she prepared to seek influence by joining the journey to the Vast Sea. Xu Long came to Yun Hong for defensive talismans, endured a demonstration of their power, and left after Yun Feng confronted him about rejecting her.

• Yun Feng discussed the family’s predicament with Yun Hong and accepted that she would have to make a name for herself on the journey to the Vast Sea.
• Xu Long visited Yun Hong to ask for defensive talismans and offered to pay a high price.
• Yun Hong tested Xu Long by manifesting a talisman in his Sea of Consciousness, where Xu Long’s Wisdom Sword countered its lightning, wind, and fire attacks.
• Yun Hong praised Xu Long’s abilities and challenged him for thinking he wanted Spirit Stones and resources.
• Yun Feng asked Xu Long whether he rejected her because she did not catch his eye or because he wished to avoid attachments.
• Xu Long said he feared slowing either himself or another person on the arduous path of cultivation, then left without answering Yun Feng’s unasked question.

Xu Long prepared to journey to the Vast Sea, accepting Yun Hong’s talismans before leaving Beyond the Cloudy Heavens for the Rotten Peach Mountain Dao Field. As factions across the Boundless Wilderness secretly mobilized, Luo Huayu agreed to represent Luo River Valley, and the chapter ended with the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary drawing the attention of cultivators and vicious beast clans.

• Yun Feng withdrew from the Vast Sea journey after Xu Long turned her down, and Yun Hong decided to preserve the clan cultivators’ influence by backing someone else.
• Xu Long used his core disciple jade token to obtain nearly thirty thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of resources on credit, bringing his preparations to nearly sixty thousand Spirit Stones’ worth.
• Yun Ya delivered five-colored talismans from Yun Hong to Xu Long, who accepted them and prepared to leave for the Vast Sea with the young man.
• Xu Long departed Beyond the Cloudy Heavens for the Rotten Peach Mountain Dao Field, while the Jade Screen Sect School began consolidating teleportation arrays at the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary.
• Luo Ning delivered the old ancestor’s orders and pill formulas to Luo Huayu, who agreed to make the Vast Sea journey and murmured about the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary.
• Vicious beast clans across the Boundless Wilderness began watching the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary as other factions secretly prepared for the Vast Sea journey.

He Huaibao prepared to join the trip to the Vast Sea and vowed to kill Yunmo, while the Sword Pavilion sent seven disciples and Falu set out after hearing news about Lady Li. Xu Long returned to the Rotten Peach Mountain Dao Field, delegated its defense and expansion, then left with the young man for the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary, where his new core-disciple status gave him easy passage through transport arrays.

• He Huaibao emerged from the lake with his partially controlled aquatic vicious beast, learned Yunmo was on the Vast Sea expedition list, and resolved to kill him there.
• The Sword Pavilion announced that it had dispatched seven Mystic Immortal disciples to investigate the Vast Sea anomaly, and Falu left his Buddhist kingdom after hearing that Lady Li was in trouble.
• Xu Long returned to the Rotten Peach Mountain Dao Field and revealed that the sect master had ranked him among the top three in the selection and made him a core disciple.
• Xu Long gave Feng Sihu a copied core-disciple jade token and ordered the four guardian cultivators to protect and expand the Dao field while he was away.
• Xu Long and the young man departed for the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary, and Xu Long discovered that his jade token let him use transport arrays without obstruction.

Xu Long arrived at the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary as the Jade Screen Sect School prepared to enter the Vast Sea, where he reunited with Yun Feng and met the arriving parties from Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge and Luo River Valley. He recognized He Huaibao among the wary Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge cultivators and noticed that Luo Huayu bore a golden flower like the one on the Heavenly Origin Barrier-Breaking Pill.

• Xu Long presented his token at the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary and met Yun Hu, who welcomed him as a core disciple judged among the selection's top three.
• Yun Hu gathered Xu Long, Yun Feng, and the other disciples, urged them to pursue the Vast Sea opportunity, and sealed the sanctuary's teleportation formation.
• Xu Long sensed Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge's arrival, and he recognized He Huaibao among the cultivators entering the sanctuary.
• Yun Feng greeted He Huaibao and his party, who recognized Xu Long but kept their distance from the Jade Screen Sect disciples.
• Luo Huayu led the Luo River Valley party into the sanctuary, and Xu Long noticed the golden flower between her brows resembled the flower on the Heavenly Origin Barrier-Breaking Pill.
• Yun Feng told Xu Long that Luo Huayu had established her own sanctuary and become renowned for her alchemical talent despite her family's earlier disregard.

At the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary, the three factions prepared to enter the Vast Sea, where torrents and a tornado made the crossing deadly. He Huaibao used a copper ring and a Kui Ox to open a passage, and the first group of cultivators was swallowed by the beast and carried into the sea as another group prepared to follow.

• Luo Huayu distributed Water-Avoidance Pills refined by Luo River Valley to the gathered cultivators.
• He Huaibao sent a Mystic Immortal cultivator into the torrents, but the man was swallowed by mist and died; He Huaibao then used an incantation to activate the cultivator's copper ring and release a ferocious beast.
• A second Mystic Immortal cultivator took the first man's place, and He Huaibao used a spell seal and the copper ring to shield him from the force of the sea.
• He Huaibao told the cultivators to enter through the center of the beast's silhouette, and the Kui Ox swallowed the first group as they approached.
• Luo Huayu's unbroken jade token confirmed that the group had not been betrayed, while another Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge cultivator took position for the next crossing.

Xu Long and the Jade Screen Sect School entered the Vast Sea as powerful outsiders approached, including a lecherous monk and a formidable swordswoman. The swordswoman struck down the monk, then led seven white-robed cultivators carrying sealed wooden cases into the raging waves.

• Yun Feng told the Jade Screen Sect School cultivators that they should seek the inheritance if possible, but use Elder Yun Hong’s temporary teleportation formation to retreat from powerful outsiders.
• Xu Long explained that forces beyond Daning Commandery Kingdom had also noticed the Vast Sea, and Yun Feng confirmed the sect master had ordered them to withdraw if those enemies proved too strong.
• White streaks of light arrived and headed straight for the Vast Sea, while a chant accompanied a young, lecherous monk who teased Lady Li.
• Lady Li unleashed a swift sword strike that Xu Long recognized as the work of a Mystic Immortal who had achieved major accomplishment in the Sword Dao.
• The monk used his Nine-Ring Khakkhara to block the strike but plunged into the Vast Sea, as Lady Li led seven white-robed cultivators carrying sealed wooden cases into the storming waves.

Li Jianxin of the Tianmen Sword Pavilion carved a path through the waterspout so her companions could enter the Vast Sea, while Falu survived and taunted her from within the storm. As the waterspout threatened the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary, He Huaibao used an aquatic beast to carry Xu Long and the others underwater, where Yun Feng began explaining the factions of eastern Lai Province.

• Li Jianxin used the sword qi stored in her wooden case to split the waterspout, then led six junior brothers into the Vast Sea and followed them while vowing to kill Falu.
• Falu revealed that he had survived inside the waterspout, and Xu Long sensed that another unfamiliar cultivator had entered the Vast Sea during the chaos.
• As the waterspout surged toward the Qinghe Daoist Sanctuary, He Huaibao summoned an aquatic vicious beast and led the others into its cheek pouch for shelter.
• The beast carried Xu Long and the others beneath the waves, where Xu Long considered the danger posed by the outside cultivators and the possibility of future conflict with He Huaibao.
• Yun Feng explained that eastern Lai Province’s factions were divided into three tiers and began describing the First-rate Saint Daoist Sanctuary.

Yun Feng explained the Ten-Faced Buddha Kingdom’s exploitation of its believers, while Xu Long reflected on the powerful forces and hidden conspiracy surrounding the Vast Sea. He Huaibao scattered the Jade Screen disciples beneath the sea, and Xu Long found himself alone on a brightly lit but desolate seabed.

• Yun Feng described how the Ten-Faced Buddha Kingdom impoverished and controlled its believers, and Xu Long considered the danger posed by the forces gathered in the Vast Sea.
• Xu Long recalled his divination and resolved to rely on his strength to break the conspiracy surrounding the journey.
• He Huaibao changed the aquatic beast’s course and used its cheek pouch to scatter the Jade Screen disciples with a violent burst of seawater.
• He Huaibao rode the aquatic beast away to pursue other matters, leaving Xu Long to recover from the beast’s attack.
• Xu Long freed himself from seabed silt and saw golden sunlight illuminate the quiet, desolate trench.

Xu Long followed his Spirit-Seeking Armadillo to a mature Sweet Dew Grass in the Vast Sea, where an ambush by a cultivator from the Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge turned into a battle. After defeating the grass’s guardian beast, Xu Long was struck by a sonic attack and a dharma seal, leaving him battered amid a shattered coral thicket.

• Xu Long escaped the desolate trench by following his Spirit-Seeking Armadillo through the Vast Sea.
• The armadillo led Xu Long to a coral thicket, where he found a mature Sweet Dew Grass guarded by a hidden ferocious beast.
• Xu Long blasted the beast’s claw with a dharma seal, then used sword light to pierce the beast’s heart.
• Xu Long recognized the sound of a Beast-Taming Ring and realized a cultivator from the Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge had set the herb as bait.
• The Immortal Rosy Cloud Ridge cultivator unleashed a sonic attack that disrupted Xu Long’s magic power, then sent a dharma seal at him.
• Xu Long raised barriers against the exploding seal, but its force shattered the coral thicket and left him battered in the scalding water.

Xu Long fought He Ning and his amphibious Kui Ox beneath the sea, surviving a sneak attack and turning his sword light against He Ning before becoming trapped in a water vortex. He Ning prepared a focused sonic assault, and the chapter ended as Xu Long detonated his dharma seal beside the Kui Ox’s mouth.

• He Ning used a hidden Kui Ox and a dharma seal to ambush Xu Long, but Xu Long recovered and attacked with a star-shaped sword light.
• Xu Long’s sword light wounded the Kui Ox and struck He Ning’s life-bound copper ring, while He Ning sent the beast behind Xu Long.
• The Kui Ox stirred up a vortex around Xu Long and left an opening above him, trapping him while He Ning’s copper ring entangled his sword light.
• Xu Long sent a dharma seal through the vortex’s opening, but He Ning directed the Kui Ox to aim its sonic attack into the gap.
• Xu Long detonated his dharma seal beside the Kui Ox’s open mouth as the beast gathered energy for its attack.