Chapter Summaries

Shen Yun learned that his comprehension of the Nascent Soul Dao had stirred heaven’s workings and drawn the attention of a Destiny Artifact. As the martial examination reached its final battle, Qing Zhange crushed his opponents and faced Shen Yun for the championship.

• Shen Yun learned from the Azure Dragon that his Dao comprehension had triggered a Destiny Artifact’s manifestation and could open a new Nascent Soul extreme realm.
• Zhang Zijian conceded his match against Shen Yun, while Qing Zhange defeated Mo Xuanji with a single overwhelming attack.
• Shen Yun recognized that Qing Zhange had fused three earth-related Daos with body-refining arts to form a powerful Nascent Soul Great Dao.
• Qing Zhange defeated Jue Wushen in two moves, while Shen Qingruo conceded her match against Shen Yun and urged him to be careful.
• Shen Yun stepped onto the Battle Platform to face Qing Zhange in the martial examination’s final showdown.

Shen Yun defeated Qing Zhange in the Battle Platform contest, breaking his spear and piercing his chest with Vast Virtue Central Earth Sword Qi. Qing Zhange’s Dao Heart shattered, and he died by returning to the Dao, leaving Shen Yun hailed as a figure standing atop the Northern Wasteland.

• Qing Zhange attacked Shen Yun with his Dragon-head spear, but Shen Yun met him with sword fingers and the Power of Wind and Lightning.
• Shen Yun steadily overpowered Qing Zhange, whose spear technique faltered despite Yang Xuanxiao’s prediction that Shen Yun would soon exhaust his strength.
• Qing Zhange unleashed the Profound Yellow Earth-Shaking Spear, claiming it embodied thirty years of cultivation and travel.
• Shen Yun answered with Vast Virtue Central Earth Sword Qi, broke the Dragon-head spear, and pierced Qing Zhange’s right chest.
• Qing Zhange’s confidence collapsed, and he died as his Dao Heart shattered and black flames consumed his Four-Colored Nascent Soul.

After Shen Yun’s victory made him famous across the Northern Wasteland, Central Continent nobles resolved to kill him in revenge for Qing Zhange’s death. Shen Yun and his companions departed for the Central Continent, where the next stage of his journey awaited.

• The Northern Wasteland celebrated Shen Yun’s victory, and aspiring cultivators flocked to the Lone Swan Sword Sect.
• At the Overlord Manor, Zhao Chenglie and the other nobles learned that Shen Yun had defeated Jun Lingzi and Qing Zhange, while Murong Jiu failed to divine anything about him.
• Yang Xuanxiao described Shen Yun’s strength, and the Overlord vowed that Shen Yun would die for killing his younger brother despite his favor with the Ninth Prince.
• Murong Jiu proposed asking the Martial Marquis Lineage for help, and the Overlord set out to seek Brother Tian Yin’s intervention.
• Shen Yun said farewell to his relatives and friends, then boarded a spirit ship with his companions and set off for the Central Continent.

Shen Yun and the other sword sect cultivators arrived in Tianhua Prefecture ahead of the imperial examination and stayed in Old Man Li’s courtyard. That night, a powerful sword cultivator reached the city, recognized by the guards as an expert nostalgic for the Lone Swan Sword Sect.

• Shen Yun and his companions admired the Great Gan Immortal Dynasty as their Spirit Boat carried them to Tianhua Prefecture.
• Jue Wushen pointed out the city above Immortal's Draught Lake, while Shen Wude described the powerful sects and noble lineages of Central Continent.
• Shen Yun’s group met Old Man Li at the city gate, and he offered them rooms in his courtyard for the night.
• Old Man Li briefly glanced at Shen Qingruo with a flicker in his eyes before leaving for his Pharmacy Hall.
• A sword cultivator swept across Immortal's Draught Lake, and the guards recognized the visitor’s Droplet Sword Intent as the expert who missed the Lone Swan Sword Sect.

Shen Yun completed the Great Dao of Earth and helped Old Man Li treat a crowd of patients at the Pharmacy Hall, revealing his mastery of medicinal knowledge. The chapter ended with Old Man Li agreeing to Shen Qingruo’s offer to prepare spiritual cuisine, while the Pill Cauldron Sect’s oppressive inner workings weighed on Shen Yun’s thoughts.

• Shen Yun completed his third Dao, the Great Dao of Earth, and learned that Shen Wude was setting up a stall at the Market.
• Shen Yun visited the Pharmacy Hall, where patients praised Old Man Li and wandering cultivators discussed the Pill Cauldron Sect’s exploitation of its Outer Sect alchemists.
• Shen Yun reflected that the Central Continent concealed dangerous conflicts and that compassion required strength and caution.
• Shen Yun took over preparing herbs for Old Man Li, matching and arranging prescriptions so quickly and accurately that the patients were treated in less than half an hour.
• Old Man Li apologized for failing to recognize Shen Yun’s ability, and Shen Qingruo offered to make spiritual cuisine for them that evening.

Shen Yun treated patients at the Pharmacy Hall, earning Duke Wangshi’s gratitude, before rejecting Gu Changhe’s offer to join Pill Cauldron Sect. When Wind Guard attacked him, Shen Yun killed him with overwhelming force.

• Gu Changhe and Wind Guard planned to recruit the alchemy genius they believed was Old Man Li’s successor.
• Shen Yun treated a long-standing illness afflicting Duke Wangshi, who gave him a token granting access to the Western Chang Marquisate.
• A mysterious swordsman asked Shen Yun for a diagnosis, but Shen Yun said the man’s cultivation was too high for him to help.
• Gu Changhe offered Shen Yun an inner disciple position in Pill Cauldron Sect, and Shen Yun dismissed the sect and told him not to obstruct the hall.
• Wind Guard attacked Shen Yun, who immobilized him and shattered his body into dust with invisible sword energy.

Shen Yun defeated Gu Changhe and faced Murong Hong, who arrived to demand Gu Changhe’s release. Just as Murong Hong’s power threatened Shen Yun, the middle-aged sword cultivator intervened and revealed himself as Jian Wushuang.

• Shen Yun killed Wind Guard, and Gu Changhe crushed a Transmission Talisman and tried to flee.
• Shen Yun used the Destiny Divine Dragon to strike Gu Changhe, shattering his dantian and physical body.
• Murong Hong arrived, and Old Man Li warned Shen Yun that the Tian Ce Marquis Manor vice prefect was tied to the Pill Cauldron Sect.
• Murong Hong ordered Shen Yun to release Gu Changhe and attacked him with overwhelming spiritual pressure and Dao Principles.
• The middle-aged sword cultivator stopped Murong Hong with a sword strike, and Murong Hong recognized him as Jian Wushuang.

Jian Wushuang forced Murong Hong to withdraw and shielded Shen Yun from repercussions for killing Pill Cauldron Sect disciples. Shen Yun questioned Gu Changhe about the sect, learned Qingying had been sent to Marquis Ping Ding’s manor, and killed Gu Changhe rather than let him go.

• Jian Wushuang ordered Murong Hong to leave and warned that Pill Cauldron Dao Lord could come to him personally if Pill Cauldron Sect objected.
• Shen Yun demanded information about Pill Cauldron Sect from Gu Changhe, who first refused before begging for mercy when Shen Yun threatened him.
• Gu Changhe revealed that Pill Cauldron Sect had a peak sixth-rank Alchemist, three Deity Transformation Realm elders, and that Qingying had been sent to Marquis Ping Ding’s manor.
• Old Man Li heard Qingying’s fate and returned to Pharmacy Hall in grief, while Shen Yun silently took note of her situation.
• Gu Changhe promised that no one would seek trouble with Shen Yun, but Shen Yun saw through his deceit and beheaded him.

Shen Yun advanced his understanding of the great dao of water while sparring with Jian Wushuang, who admitted he had nothing more to teach him. At Tian Ce Marquis Manor, Murong Jiu urged caution toward Shen Yun and said the manor might break away from the Noble Marquis Faction, then set out to meet him.

• Shen Yun and Jian Wushuang exchanged sword techniques over Immortal's Draught Lake as Shen Yun deepened his comprehension of water.
• Jue Wushen, Shen Qingruo, and Shen Wude discussed Jian Wushuang's legendary reputation and the Pill Cauldron Sect's silence.
• Jian Wushuang ended the sparring, praised Shen Yun's exceptional comprehension, and accepted Shen Wude's immortal brew before leaving.
• Murong Hong received a report identifying Shen Yun as the top scholar and martial artist in the Northern Wasteland imperial examination.
• Murong Jiu warned Murong Hong not to become deeply involved with Shen Yun, suggested Tian Ce Marquis Manor could leave the Noble Marquis Faction, and went to meet Shen Yun.

Shen Yun and Shen Wude visited a Tianhua City teahouse, where the White-haired Storyteller judged the leading contenders for the upcoming Metropolitan Examination. The storyteller named Ye Jiuge and began to name Murong Jiu before the Ninth Princess of Great Zhou appeared at the window.

• Shen Yun and Shen Wude explored Tianhua City, where Shen Wude had been making money by selling goods at unlicensed stalls.
• Shen Yun and Shen Wude entered Jianghu Tea House and found the White-haired Storyteller addressing a crowd.
• The White-haired Storyteller dismissed several Central Continent talents as unlikely Martial Champions, then identified Ye Jiuge of the Eastern Continent as a leading contender.
• A middle-aged Golden Core cultivator challenged the storyteller, who subdued him with a single glance.
• The White-haired Storyteller revealed that Ye Jiuge had a Lightning Spirit Body and reached Nascent Soul in seventy years, then began naming Murong Jiu before the Ninth Princess of Great Zhou appeared at the window.

Shen Yun met Murong Jiu, the daughter of Marquis Tiance, who warned him about the Overlord and the Martial Marquis Lineage before offering her manor’s goodwill. In the capital, the Overlord sought Wu Tianyin’s help against Shen Yun, and Wu Tianyin agreed to consider it after hearing Shen Yun was connected to Jian Wushuang.

• Shen Yun recognized that Murong Jiu resembled the Ninth Princess but had a different soul aura, while a storyteller named him as a possible fourth contender whose choice could shape Great Gan’s future.
• Shen Yun followed Murong Jiu from the teahouse and met her in a secluded garden, where she warned that the Overlord sought revenge and that the nobles would resist Shen Yun’s bid for martial champion.
• Murong Jiu said Tian Ce Manor wanted to form a good relationship with Shen Yun and urged him to be especially wary of the Martial Marquis Lineage.
• The Overlord visited Wu Tianyin at Marquis Wu’s Mansion and asked him to act against Shen Yun, arguing that Shen Yun’s ties to Jian Wushuang threatened the court.
• Wu Tianyin agreed to consider the request, and the Overlord left eager to kill Shen Yun.

After learning that the Boundless Sea might help him comprehend the Five Elements Great Dao and locate the Phoenix Clan’s supreme treasure, Shen Yun prepared to travel there. He left his companions in Jian Wushuang’s care and set out with a warning that the sea’s demon beasts had been unusually active.

• Murong Jiu told Murong Hong that the court’s political tide favored His Majesty, though she suspected Shen Yun might still change the outcome.
• You Huang revealed that the Phoenix Clan’s supreme treasure lay in the Boundless Sea and gave Shen Yun her clan’s bloodline inscription before leaving to pursue nirvana.
• The Azure Dragon explained that Innate Magical Treasures could advance alongside their owners’ Dao cultivation, and Shen Yun resolved to seek the Five Elements Chaos Tower.
• Shen Yun told his companions he would travel to the Boundless Sea and meet them in the Great Gan Capital two months later.
• Jian Wushuang promised to protect Shen Yun’s companions and warned him that demon beasts in the Boundless Sea had been making unusual movements.

Shen Yun arrived in the Boundless Sea, hired Wu Ping'an as a guide, and entered Spirit Shark Marketplace, where he learned that Demon Race experts were gathering over rumors of a Phoenix Clan inheritance. The chapter left Shen Yun intrigued by Canglan Hall and the newly sprouted Wutong Tree as he continued searching for a magic treasure.

• Shen Yun teleported from Tianhua Prefecture to the Boundless Sea and learned from a Daoist that the region was home to many clans under the rules of the five great Dao Lords.
• Shen Yun hired Wu Ping'an as his guide and used his mana to carry them to Spirit Shark Marketplace.
• The Leopard Demon let Shen Yun and Wu Ping'an enter the marketplace without paying, while the other cultivators waited in line.
• Shen Yun saw Demon Race experts led by a red-haired man fly toward the marketplace and heard that a Wutong Tree at Canglan Hall had sprouted, prompting rumors of a Phoenix Clan inheritance.
• Wu Ping'an told Shen Yun the legends of Canglan Hall, and Shen Yun wondered about the Wutong Tree and the hall as he continued his search.

Shen Yun learned that the Phoenix Clan inheritance might be connected to Canglan Hall and stayed with Wu Ping'an and Wu Xining while awaiting the secret realm’s opening. Meanwhile, three royal-clan Venerables prepared to enter Canglan Hall and brought the disgraced Qiongqi King to help them.

• Shen Yun learned that Canglan Hall opened for seven days starting April fourth and decided to wait in Spirit Shark Marketplace.
• Wu Ping'an offered Shen Yun lodging, and Shen Yun gave him five Medium-grade Spirit Stones before following him home.
• Shen Yun comprehended the Great Dao of Gold from Wu Ping'an’s renewed spirit, and the resulting Dao resonance transformed Wu Ping'an’s divine soul and spiritual power.
• Wu Ping'an introduced Shen Yun to his sister, Wu Xining, whose initial wariness made Shen Yun suspect their family had hidden troubles.
• Three royal-clan Venerables gathered offshore, discussed the risks of entering Canglan Hall in the First Dao Lord’s territory, and brought in the Qiongqi King to make up for his past failures.

Shen Yun visited the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion to seek inspiration for breaking through his cultivation bottleneck and watched Master Tie refine a Fourth-tier war saber. The chapter ended with Master Tie asking whether Shen Yun was an artifact refiner and growing hostile when Shen Yun said he was not.

• Shen Yun gained new insight into the Dao of Heavenly Secrets and realized that the opening of Canglan Hall involved hidden schemes.
• Shen Yun went to Spirit Shark Marketplace, where the Leopard Spirit eagerly offered to guide him to the best alchemy and artifact-refining establishments.
• The Leopard Spirit led Shen Yun to the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion, where the Old Shopkeeper agreed to take him to see Master Tie.
• Shen Yun examined the pavilion's Crimson Flame Silver Gold and the Leopard Spirit's Mysterious Fire Banner before watching Master Tie forge a Fourth-tier war saber.
• Master Tie asked whether Shen Yun was an artifact refiner, and Shen Yun's denial made Master Tie's expression turn unfriendly.

Shen Yun helped Master Tie refine a fourth-tier supreme-grade saber with a spirit array, earning Master Tie’s gratitude and a Phoenix Blood Stone. The chapter left Shen Yun anticipating that the Five Elements Great Dao was within reach.

• Master Tie dismissed Shen Yun until he learned Shen Yun was a Spirit Array Master, then invited him to assist with refining a saber.
• Shen Yun inscribed a formation into the heated saber, and Master Tie quenched it into a fourth-tier supreme-grade magic tool.
• Shen Yun named the saber Azure Rainbow Flowing Wing, and Master Tie gifted it to him.
• Shen Yun gave Master Tie the Yellow Springs Blood Sea Wheel in return for the saber.
• Master Tie gifted Shen Yun a Phoenix Blood Stone, whose aura resonated with Shen Yun’s understanding of the five elements.

Shen Yun encountered Wu Xining being bullied by the Pill Cauldron Sect and intervened through the Leopard Spirit. When True Monarch Han threatened them, Venerable Yu appeared and addressed Shen Yun as a fellow Daoist.

• Shen Yun declined to enter the Pill Cauldron Sect shop but noticed Wu Xining arguing with its shopkeeper over the price of her spirit herb.
• Shen Yun invited Wu Xining to travel with him, and the Leopard Spirit offered to protect her, but she initially declined both offers.
• Shen Yun warned Wu Xining that the shopkeeper had alerted other pharmacies not to buy her herbs, so she accepted his help.
• The Leopard Spirit confronted Shopkeeper Wang about fair prices, and True Monarch Han came downstairs and attacked it with ice-type mana.
• Venerable Yu arrived, dispelled True Monarch Han's attack, and approached Shen Yun with an apology for coming uninvited.

Venerable Yu intervened after Shopkeeper Wang embezzled Wu Xining’s Spirit Stones, and True Monarch Han punished the shopkeeper and offered compensation to end the dispute. Venerable Yu then recruited Shen Yun to help weaken the spirit arrays around Canglan Hall, while warning him to keep his distance from Wu Xining.

• Shen Yun exchanged polite greetings with Venerable Yu, who condemned the Pill Cauldron Sect over Shopkeeper Wang’s treatment of Wu Xining.
• Shopkeeper Wang confessed to embezzling Wu Xining’s Spirit Stones, and True Monarch Han crippled a hundred years of his cultivation and offered tenfold compensation.
• Shen Yun accepted True Monarch Han’s offer to end the dispute, and Venerable Yu praised Leopard Spirit before leaving with Shen Yun.
• Cultivators speculated that Shen Yun was a powerful spirit array master, and True Monarch Han considered cooperating with the Demon Race ahead of Canglan Hall’s opening.
• Venerable Yu revealed that Third Dao Lord had ordered him to seek the Phoenix Clan inheritance and asked Shen Yun to weaken Canglan Hall’s spirit arrays; Shen Yun agreed.
• Venerable Yu warned Shen Yun to keep his distance from Wu Xining, and Shen Yun thanked him for the warning.

Venerable Yu reported to the Third Dao Lord that he had found a Spirit Array master and could advance the trip to Canglan Hall; she ordered Qingyuan to accompany him. Meanwhile, Shen Yun mastered the Path of Five Elements, fused four types of mana to reach nearly sevenfold battle power, and saw Canglan Hall emerge over the Boundless Sea.

• Venerable Yu told the Third Dao Lord he had found a Spirit Array master and encountered a descendant of Wu Mingtong, prompting her to warn of the bloodline’s curse and assign Qingyuan to the Canglan Hall trip.
• Shen Yun studied the Phoenix Blood Stone and sensed that it shared its origin with the Phoenix Clan inscriptions.
• Shen Yun completed the Path of Five Elements and realized that Five Elements Fusion required the sublimation of artistic conception as well as the blending of mana.
• Shen Yun fused four types of mana into a wheel of light, reaching nearly sevenfold battle power before hitting an unexplained limit.
• Shen Yun looked toward the sea horizon as Canglan Hall appeared in a burst of light, stirring the Boundless Sea.

Shen Yun joined Venerable Yu and Azure Firmament Palace’s expedition to Canglan Hall after bidding farewell to Wu Xining and Wu Ping'an. The group reached the palace’s formidable array, where Shen Yun was expected to weaken the restrictions so they could enter ahead of schedule.

• Shen Yun gave Wu Ping'an a Cosmic Bag of Spirit Stones and Cultivation Methods, then departed after urging him to stay indoors.
• Wu Xining and Wu Ping'an vowed never to forget Shen Yun’s kindness to the Wu Family.
• At Spirit Shark Marketplace, Shen Yun arrived before Venerable Yu, True Monarch Qingyuan, and the Azure Firmament Palace’s elite, impressing them with his speed.
• Venerable Yu explained that Shen Yun could weaken Canglan Hall’s outer restrictions to let the expedition enter that night, and Shen Yun agreed that the task would be easy.
• Shen Yun traveled with the group to Canglan Hall, where they encountered powerful pressure and dozens of overlapping Spirit Arrays.