Chapter Summaries

Jiang Beiran declined the Four Directions Sect’s offer to become its Situ and met again with the Six-Tailed Fox, who asked why he had spared her. After returning to Returning Heart Sect, he checked in with Zhu Baishan and Lu Bogui, then reunited with Shi Fenglan and considered asking her about rare treasures.

• Hong Yaxuan delivered a Ten Thousand Zhang Spirit Ginseng from Sect Leader Wan and offered Jiang Beiran the Situ post at the Four Directions Sect, but he declined.
• The Six-Tailed Fox visited Jiang Beiran in his bedchamber, asked why he had let her live, and left to find her mother after he said he had no reason to kill her.
• Jiang Beiran returned to Returning Heart Sect and agreed with Zhu Baishan not to expand the Lulin County policies until supplies could support the growth.
• Lu Bogui told Jiang Beiran that he had gained insights into the Big Dipper Spirit Technique and planned to visit Lenan County for discussions with the Sun-Falling Sect.
• Shi Fenglan tearfully welcomed Jiang Beiran back, then ate the pastries he made and invited him to play Simulated Jianghu.
• Jiang Beiran considered asking Shi Fenglan, who might recognize rare treasures, for clues about the treasures he needed.

Jiang Beiran ignored his usual avoidance of the Five Golden Flowers, inviting them to play Simulated Jianghu and offering to carve them gifts. Their unexpected closeness left him wondering whether the system’s bizarre options were connected to his new main quest for rare treasures.

• Jiang Beiran chose to stay when the Five Golden Flowers arrived, then watched them hide behind an artificial mountain to tidy themselves before greeting Shi Fenglan.
• After the Five Golden Flowers finished their medicinal bath, Jiang Beiran chose the system option to invite them to play Simulated Jianghu, surprising them and Yu Manwen.
• Shi Fenglan suspected Jiang Beiran had invited the girls to make her happy, while Jiang Beiran remained puzzled by the system’s options.
• Yu Guimiao asked to trade for a carving of Chain Fairy, and Jiang Beiran offered to make one for her and sculptures of the Yu Family Three Sisters.
• Shi Fenglan decided to seek more treasures for Jiang Beiran and remembered her father might have a private treasury.

Jiang Beiran hosted an intense Simulated Jianghu game with Shi Fenglan and the Five Golden Flowers, then returned to his cabin to plan how to handle a dangerous main mission. After Mo Xia visited and played Go with him all night, Jiang Beiran’s thoughts sharpened and he devised several ways to approach the quest.

• Fang Qiuyue and Liu Zijin formed a blood oath, and the Five Golden Flowers learned the gambling game as Jiang Beiran explained its rules.
• The players traded attacks and tricks; Jiang Beiran used Wind Pocket to stop Yu Guimiao from blowing away Fang Qiuyue’s protective mist, then won by quietly gathering resources.
• Yu Manwen ended the game so the Five Golden Flowers could attend evening class, and Jiang Beiran promised they could play again the next day before leaving Tinglan Water Pavilion.
• Back at his cabin, Jiang Beiran found that Lin Yuyan had not delivered copybooks recently and considered how little he could rely on his allies for the main mission.
• Mo Xia arrived for a Go match, and Jiang Beiran told him he had improved enough to face him seriously; they played through the night, leaving Jiang Beiran with several plans for the quest.

Yu Manwen brought her five disciples to Orchid Pavilion, where Jiang Beiran introduced an upgraded version of Simulated Jianghu and gave them character sculptures. As the game began, Shi Fenglan used a rare treasure to create an unbreakable formation for her Blessed Heaven Cave-Abode, while Jiang Beiran noticed Liu Zijin knew how to use another rare treasure.

• Yu Manwen caught Yu Guimiao letting her thoughts wander during cultivation and warned her not to skip practice.
• Yu Manwen brought the Five Golden Flowers to Orchid Pavilion, where they joined Jiang Beiran and Shi Fenglan after their medicinal bath.
• Jiang Beiran upgraded Simulated Jianghu to Simulated Immortal Cultivation, explained its team and solo-play rules, and handed out five character sculptures.
• The players drew lots for teams, and Yu Manwen was paired with Jiang Beiran while Yu Guimiao became a solo player.
• Shi Fenglan and Fang Qiuyue drew rare treasures, and Liu Zijin quietly told Fang Qiuyue how to use the Heaven-Shocking Flame.
• Shi Fenglan used the Earth-Hidden True Crystal to make her Blessed Heaven Cave-Abode’s Namo Formation permanent and impossible to crack.

Jiang Beiran agreed to help Lin Yuyan find her missing youngest aunt, Lin Shiyun, after learning that his divination could not locate her. He discovered that Lin Yuyan’s main family lived in Qi Kingdom and realized he might have to travel there.

• Jiang Beiran reviewed clues to several rare treasures and considered how to refine Old Wang into an Imperial Gu.
• Lin Yuyan asked Jiang Beiran to help find her missing aunt, Lin Shiyun, whose sudden disappearance seemed unusual.
• Jiang Beiran agreed to help and asked Lin Yuyan about several treasures, but she had heard of none of them.
• At Anliang Village, Jiang Beiran used Lin Shiyun’s birth details and a jade pendant to try divining her location, but his art revealed nothing.
• Lin Yuyan told Jiang Beiran that her family’s main residence was in Shunzhang County, Qi Kingdom, so he asked her to describe the situation there.

Jiang Beiran questioned Lin Yuyan about Qi Kingdom’s factions, spiritual resources, and political structure, comparing its power with Sheng Kingdom’s. He ended by asking her to describe what else was special about Qi Kingdom.

• Lin Yuyan described Qi Kingdom’s three leading powers: Lin-Yu Palace, the Southern Ming Army, and Emperor Tu Chengfeng, whose authority depended on whether their interests aligned.
• Lin Yuyan explained that Qi Kingdom had far richer spiritual veins than Sheng Kingdom, including the Empty Cicada Sect’s rare earth spiritual vein.
• Jiang Beiran discussed the legends and rankings of blessed lands and grotto-heavens, while deciding against taking Li Fucheng to seek one out.
• Jiang Beiran explained to Lin Yuyan that Sheng Kingdom united weaker sects and still allowed talented commoners to become Cultivators, while a Qi Kingdom that closed those paths would become a feudal empire.
• Jiang Beiran asked Lin Yuyan to continue describing what made Qi Kingdom special beyond its spiritual veins.

Jiang Beiran questioned Lin Yuyan about her origins and learned that her powerful family, which sent her to Sheng Kingdom six years earlier, had ties to the Central Plains and the Star Realm. The chapter left him preparing to hear more about Lin Yuyan’s father and the dangerous Nether Realms.

• Lin Yuyan asked whether Jiang Beiran had been born and raised in Sheng Kingdom, and he chose to say he had forgotten some things, earning a Charm increase.
• Lin Yuyan explained that she had mistaken Jiang Beiran for an unaffiliated cultivator from the Central Plains because he knew the Sixteen Arts of the Mysterious Gate.
• Lin Yuyan said her father had sent her to the Returning Heart Sect six years earlier without explaining why or when she could return, and Jiang Beiran realized her arrival might be tied to his own trial.
• Jiang Beiran asked about Lin Yuyan’s family and her father’s cultivation, faction, and connections, and she warned that the information was confidential and risky to know.
• Lin Yuyan explained that the Star Realm connected to other worlds called Nether Realms, including realms created by powerful people who tore open space and realms linked to entirely different worlds.

Jiang Beiran learned about Lin Yuyan’s family, whose Void Perception and Nether Realm expeditions made them a powerful neutral force in Qi Kingdom. He also learned how Central Plains Spirit Stones were ranked and used, leaving him intrigued by the region’s advanced techniques and riches.

• Lin Yuyan explained that her father was a prominent Universe Master who could locate Nether Realms and that Universe Masters made advanced storage and communication tokens.
• Jiang Beiran learned that Lin Yuyan’s family found and explored Nether Realms, then auctioned coordinates and information to powerful factions, but he declined her invitation to join their Ghost-Seeking Squad.
• Lin Yuyan described how the six great nations searched Nether Realms to gain strength and how some worlds fought back against the Profound Dragon Continent.
• Lin Yuyan showed Jiang Beiran an Earth Rank Spirit Stone and explained the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow grades, their shapes, and their value in trade and mystical arts.

Jiang Beiran prepared for his journey to the Central Plains by arranging for Gu Qinghuan to maintain his self-barrier and equipping him with new tools. After leaving the barrier, he returned to Water Mirror Hall, where Shi Fenglan eagerly called him over to try her latest tactic.

• Jiang Beiran examined Lin Yuyan’s Earth Rank spirit stone, agreed to help her, and asked her to meet him at Chen Hour the day after tomorrow.
• Jiang Beiran summoned Gu Qinghuan, entrusted him with maintaining the self-barrier, gave him Zhurong Tea to prepare for a constitution transformation, and presented him with the Prairie Fire Hammer.
• Jiang Beiran discovered the Formation Eye was absorbing Gu Qinghuan’s energy and arranged for him to use the True Origin Heavenly Steel Art to help power the barrier while cultivating.
• Jiang Beiran gave Gu Qinghuan a bead that could help him escape the barrier in an emergency, then left him in charge of maintaining it.
• Jiang Beiran returned to Water Mirror Hall, where Shi Fenglan greeted him with a new tactic and invited him to play.

Jiang Beiran left Sheng Kingdom with Lin Yuyan to search for her aunt in Qi Kingdom, using her family’s waist token to travel across borders. The system repeatedly presented dangerous route choices and granted him new skill and attribute points, and he made camp before reaching Qi Kingdom to assess his next steps.

• Shi Fenglan used the Seven Fairies’ wish to claim one thousand taels of gold, outbid Jiang Beiran for valuable items, and defeat him in their game.
• Jiang Beiran declined another game with Shi Fenglan and discovered that the system had rewarded him with Luck for ignoring her as she followed him.
• Jiang Beiran met Lin Yuyan at the pavilion, instructed her to report any trouble involving her aunt to her father, and set out with her for Qi Kingdom.
• After crossing Sheng Kingdom’s border, Jiang Beiran repeatedly chose routes through the system’s options and received new skill points and attributes.
• Jiang Beiran stopped on a mountain peak to camp, cooked dinner with Lin Yuyan, and considered whether to remain in the Central Plains region to gain more rewards.

Jiang Beiran escorted Lin Yuyan into Qi Kingdom, where the Lin Family’s prestige let them pass Shenmen Pass without inspection. After navigating the dangerous city outskirts, he abandoned divination for Lin Shiyun’s location when the system warned him against it, leaving their search unresolved.

• Jiang Beiran and Lin Yuyan reached Shenmen Pass after several days of forced landings, and Lin Yuyan explained that Qi Kingdom’s national array made entering by flight impossible.
• At the checkpoint, the guards treated Lin Yuyan with great respect because of her Lin Family token and let Jiang Beiran pass without inspection.
• Du Ming approached Lin Yuyan, but Jiang Beiran ordered him to get lost and used mental pressure to make him flee.
• Jiang Beiran followed the system’s guidance through Linghai City and set up camp outside the fortress after eleven dangerous prompts.
• Jiang Beiran considered divining Lin Shiyun’s location, but the system warned him away, so he abandoned the attempt and faced a new set of risky choices about camping.

Jiang Beiran tried to navigate Qi Kingdom without triggering too many system options, but a tavern scam unexpectedly offered an Earth Grade reward. After choosing the safest responses and settling into an inn, he felt his old confidence return while wondering what the performers were planning.

• Jiang Beiran sent Lin Yuyan away to learn about Qi Kingdom’s major forces, then tested the area and found that traveling alone triggered fewer options than traveling with her.
• Jiang Beiran entered a tavern and chose not to interfere when a thug and a young couple staged a rescue-the-beauty scam, earning a Perception point by handing the woman back to the thug.
• Jiang Beiran watched the performers flee when someone called out that the constables were coming, and he suspected their routine concealed something more significant.
• Jiang Beiran checked into a Human room at an inn, gaining a Focus point and regaining some of his confidence as he wondered about the tavern performers.

Jiang Beiran recruited Xiao Qi, a shrewd local fixer, to help him investigate in the Qi Kingdom. After learning that Jiang Beiran was seeking the Lin Family, Xiao Qi pledged to find the person he was looking for.

• Xiao Qi entered Jiang Beiran’s room and explained how his gang staged elaborate traps to swindle heroic men.
• Jiang Beiran recognized Xiao Qi’s usefulness as a local source of information and offered him a poisoned pill as a test of loyalty.
• Xiao Qi swallowed the Five Ganoderma Hundred Flower Pill without hesitation and revealed that his real name was Han Dacheng, a Flower leader in the Tiger Head Gang.
• Jiang Beiran asked Xiao Qi about the Lin Family, and Xiao Qi recognized it as a powerful family that even the emperor respected.
• Xiao Qi knelt and promised to do everything he could to help Jiang Beiran find the person he sought.

Jiang Beiran enlisted Xiao Qi to help search for Lin Yuyan’s missing aunt, Lin Shiyun, and sent him to work alongside Lin Yuyan. Lin Yuyan recalled that her aunt had asked about lead powder from Huangping Prefecture, giving them a possible destination.

• Lin Yuyan returned to Jiang Beiran and reported that her aunt was still missing, while Xiao Qi arrived with the preparations Jiang Beiran had requested.
• Lin Yuyan agreed to obtain a Lin Family voice-transmitting waist token, and Jiang Beiran invited Xiao Qi to join his plans after he passed a test by finding the cave.
• Jiang Beiran brought Xiao Qi into the hidden cave and explained that Xiao Qi would help investigate Lin Shiyun, then assigned him to work with Lin Yuyan.
• Jiang Beiran asked Lin Yuyan for details about her aunt, and she revealed that Lin Shiyun was a Profound King who preferred traveling to cultivation.
• Lin Yuyan remembered that Lin Shiyun had asked whether she wanted lead powder from Huangping Prefecture, suggesting that the prefecture might be her destination.

Jiang Beiran used Xiao Qi’s knowledge of Huangping Prefecture and Lin Yuyan’s memories to identify likely places to search for Lin Shiyun, sending Lin Yuyan and Xiao Qi to Fengshuang City. There, Lin Yuyan waited at a restaurant while Xiao Qi went to gather information, and he was stunned by the wealth she gave him for expenses.

• Xiao Qi narrowed the search to Fengshuang City, where Hexiang Pavilion sold famous lead powder, and Lin Yuyan marked twelve places her aunt had visited.
• Xiao Qi identified seven places Lin Shiyun had visited alone as sites rumored to contain Secret Realms, and he pointed out Wuli Ravine near Fengshuang City as a likely lead.
• Jiang Beiran sent Lin Yuyan and Xiao Qi to investigate Wuli Ravine and other Secret Realm rumors in Huangping Prefecture, while he stayed behind and worried that Lin Shiyun had run into trouble.
• On the way to Fengshuang City, Xiao Qi called Lin Yuyan his sister-in-law, making her happy, and the two traveled there by flying carriage.
• At a restaurant, Lin Yuyan treated Xiao Qi generously and used a waist token to tell Jiang Beiran they had arrived; Xiao Qi later opened her expense pouch and found it filled with valuable gold and silver.

Xiao Qi hired Shi Liqiang to investigate reports of Secret Realms and learned that Heavenly Water had fallen at Wuli Ravine, where a Red Sun Sect cultivator killed witnesses and the sect sealed off the area. Lin Yuyan passed the leads to Jiang Beiran, who arrived to discuss their next move while reflecting on the attributes and skills he had gained during his days in Fengshuang City.

• Xiao Qi paid Shi Liqiang to investigate Wuli Ravine and other places rumored to contain Secret Realms, then reported the assignment to Lin Yuyan.
• Three days later, Shi Liqiang told Xiao Qi that Heavenly Water had fallen at Wuli Ravine and that a Red Sun Sect cultivator had killed nearby witnesses before the sect sealed off the ravine.
• Shi Liqiang warned Xiao Qi that the Red Sun Sect was watching the city and suggested spreading the news to draw in rival factions; he also shared other, less certain leads about Secret Realms.
• Xiao Qi gave Lin Yuyan his findings, and she relayed them to Jiang Beiran, who said he would come to meet her.
• Jiang Beiran arrived at Lin Yuyan's room, and he recalled gaining new attributes and skills by triggering options while traveling and exploring Fengshuang City.

Lin Yuyan and Xiao Qi investigated Wuli Ravine for Lin Yuyan’s aunt, but a Bewildering Formation trapped them as they tried to leave. The Pegasus Organization’s Qingfeng agreed to kill them after Dongshuang urged him to silence the Lin Family witnesses.

• Jiang Beiran sent Lin Yuyan and Xiao Qi to investigate Wuli Ravine and told them to return if they could not find her aunt.
• Lin Yuyan and Xiao Qi reached Wuli Ravine, where Xiao Qi felt ill and Lin Yuyan’s Lin Family waist token showed no reaction.
• As they tried to leave, Xiao Qi realized they had been wandering in circles, and the Pegasus Organization’s Bewildering Formation had trapped them.
• The Pegasus Organization had attacked Lin Shiyun, stolen her waist token, and failed to capture her after she escaped into hiding.
• Qingfeng hesitated to attack Lin Yuyan and Xiao Qi, but Dongshuang convinced him that killing them and disposing of the bodies was their only way out.
• Qingfeng agreed to Dongshuang’s plan, and Panshi prepared to act.

Qingfeng and the Pegasus Organization tried to capture Lin Yuyan and Lin Shiyun, but Jiang Beiran intervened and revealed overwhelming strength. After rescuing the two women and treating Lin Shiyun’s poison, Jiang Beiran learned the Red Sun Sect’s leaders were elsewhere and declared he would pursue them next.

• Qingfeng took Lin Yuyan’s waist token and tried to force her into the formation, but she trapped him with a black jade treasure and fled with Xiao Qi.
• Dongshuang and Panshi intercepted Lin Yuyan, but Lin Shiyun appeared and protected her niece as the Pegasus Organization’s Profound Kings surrounded them.
• Qingfeng distracted Lin Shiyun while four Profound Kings attacked, but Jiang Beiran seized her Mystic Yin Pill and kicked all four attackers away.
• Lin Yuyan told Lin Shiyun who Jiang Beiran was, and Jiang Beiran gave Lin Yuyan pills that dispelled her aunt’s poison.
• Jiang Beiran asked whether the Red Sun Sect’s leaders were present, and after Qingfeng said they were not, Jiang Beiran said he would kill the Sun Envoys and go to the sect.

Jiang Beiran protected Lin Shiyun and the others from the Pegasus Organization’s cultivators, then revealed overwhelming physical strength as he defeated their attacks. After confirming they had no powerful backing, he killed the group and left Lin Shiyun wondering who he really was.

• Qingfeng convinced the fourteen Profound Kings to fight Jiang Beiran, and they attacked after Qiumu and Xiacuan prepared their formations.
• Jiang Beiran pulled Lin Shiyun out of danger and knocked all fourteen attackers down with one punch.
• Hui Yu swallowed an Imperial Ultimate Pill and drew on his companions’ Mystic Qi, but Jiang Beiran broke his sword with a flick of his finger.
• Jiang Beiran rebuked the cultivators for killing innocents and then killed Hui Yu, Panshi, Qingfeng, and the others.
• Lin Shiyun asked Lin Yuyan whether Jiang Beiran was her lover, and Lin Yuyan blushed as she explained that he was her Senior Brother from the Returning Heart Sect.

Jiang Beiran rescued Lin Shiyun, kept her with his group to protect the secret of his strength, and learned that she was connected to two materials he needed. After spending the night at camp, he began planning his return to Sheng Kingdom and offered Lin Shiyun some congee, provoking Lin Yuyan’s jealousy again.

• Jiang Beiran looted and destroyed the bodies of the fourteen Profound Kings while Lin Shiyun watched and Lin Yuyan defended him to her aunt.
• Jiang Beiran asked Xiao Qi and Lin Yuyan to investigate whether the Chiyang Sect had any missing disciples, then Lin Shiyun thanked him for saving her life.
• Jiang Beiran chose to ask Lin Shiyun to stay with his group, explaining that she had seen his strength and he needed to ensure she could keep it secret.
• Lin Shiyun agreed to remain with the group, and Jiang Beiran ordered everyone to camp and follow his instructions without asking why.
• After the night passed, Jiang Beiran praised Xiao Qi’s congee and offered a bowl to Lin Shiyun, stirring up another wave of murderous aura from Lin Yuyan.