Chapter Summaries

The four great sects gathered to open the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm, and the ten Heaven-Gazing Tokens were brought out to begin the ritual. When the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect leader, Jiang Bo, did not place his tokens, the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect master realized something had gone wrong and demanded an explanation.

• The Divine Nether Sect and the Azure Soaring Daoist Sect arrived at the gathering, followed by the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect with thirteen flying boats.
• The four sect leaders assembled outside the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm as the ten Heaven-Gazing Tokens were prepared to open it.
• The tokens released streams of Spiritual Power, causing an altar to rise from underground.
• The Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect leader did not place his tokens, while the other sect leaders remained still.
• The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect master asked Jiang Bo what he meant.

As the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm prepared to open, the Purple Firmament Palace arrived to challenge the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s place among the four great sects. Jiang Bo told Qi Zhengliu that the other sects had decided his sect was no longer fit to enter Heaven-Gazing Ridge with them.

• Jiang Bo and the other sect masters waited without surrendering their Heaven-Gazing Tokens, and Qi Zhengliu demanded to know why.
• The Purple Firmament Palace’s flying boats appeared, and Qi Zhengliu realized the sect intended to claim a place among the great sects by replacing the declining Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect.
• Lei Mingzi descended beside the altar, while onlookers openly argued that the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect should lose its status.
• Qi Zhengliu confronted the other sect masters, and Jiang Bo accused his sect of repeatedly falling behind and weakening the domain’s Spiritual Qi.
• Jiang Bo declared that the other three great sects had judged the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect unfit to enter Heaven-Gazing Ridge with them.

Qi Zhengliu faced pressure from the other sect leaders to give up one of the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s Heaven-Gazing Tokens to the Purple Firmament Palace. He was left powerless as the sects’ Late Great Saint elders forced his hand, while his sect’s third supreme elder was injured for trying to intervene.

• Qi Zhengliu rejected the thought of surrendering the Heaven-Gazing Tokens and challenged the other leaders over their intentions.
• You Qi proposed that the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect step down if it performed poorly again, and Lei Mingzi demanded one of its tokens for the Purple Firmament Palace.
• Lei Mingzi stepped onto the altar as the Heaven-Viewing Saint Sect, Divine Nether Sect, and Azure Soaring Daoist Sect tacitly backed his demand.
• The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s third supreme elder moved to support Qi Zhengliu, but three Late Great Saint presences struck him and made him cough up blood.
• Qi Zhengliu and the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect disciples felt powerless as the other sects’ pressure left him with no choice but to agree.

Qi Zhengliu accepted the other sect leaders’ terms and opened the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm, while betting that the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect would win first place. Three days into the expedition, Lin Xuan encountered Qin Meier inside the realm.

• Qi Zhengliu agreed to yield a Heaven-Gazing Token but challenged the other sects to give one to the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect if it won the expedition.
• Jiang Bo, the leader of the Azure Soaring Daoist Sect, and the leader of the Divine Nether Sect accepted Qi Zhengliu’s wager and handed over their tokens as the altar was activated.
• The Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm opened, and the five great sects entered as exploration began across the realm.
• Three days later, Lin Xuan met Qin Meier, who talked about her family’s elders and praised the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s chances.
• Qin Meier asked Lin Xuan where he had gone after they last met, while Lin Xuan reflected that he had unexpectedly encountered her and the Qin Household in the secret realm.

Lin Xuan traveled with Qin Meier, Zhang Nianqiu, and the Qin Household's fourth elder when they received word that the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and the Purple Firmament Palace were fighting over a supreme treasure. The group headed toward the battle, while Lin Xuan discovered a sect message warning that Ximu Peak disciples were in danger.

• The fourth elder recalled how a Demon Beast had unexpectedly frozen, letting him kill it and protect the group.
• Zhang Nianqiu worried that Qin Meier liked Lin Xuan, whom she considered unworthy and inferior to the Fengyang Sect's senior brothers.
• Lin Xuan spotted streaks of light racing toward a nearby valley, and the group's tokens reported a fight between the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and the Purple Firmament Palace.
• The fourth elder agreed to go with Qin Meier and Zhang Nianqiu and look for a chance to benefit from the chaos.
• Lin Xuan checked his sect token and read a warning that the Purple Firmament Palace was bullying others and Ximu Peak disciples were in danger.

Ximu Peak disciples from the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect found valuable Earth Vein Spirit Fruit, but Purple Firmament Palace disciples demanded that they surrender it. The Ximu Peak disciples stalled while seeking help, and the Purple Firmament Palace leader saw through their ploy and threatened to kill them.

• The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and Purple Firmament Palace disciples encountered each other near the Earth Vein Spirit Fruit because they had entered the secret realm in nearby directions.
• The leading Purple Firmament Palace disciple demanded the fruit and threatened the Ximu Peak disciples, while his group prepared to use the clash against the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect.
• The Ximu Peak disciples hesitated to surrender the fruit, hoping it could improve their prospects despite their weak cultivation and their peak’s lack of resources.
• The Ximu Peak disciples sent a call for help with their sect tokens and tried to buy time, but the Purple Firmament Palace leader recognized their tactic and said he would kill them.

Nie Fa stepped forward to challenge Liang Jiugong after the Purple Firmament Palace disciples defeated Yuan Chang and demanded that the Ximu Peak disciples cripple their cultivation. He admitted he might not win, but invoked his teachings and clear Sword Heart as he staked his life on a fight.

• Liang Jiugong struck Yuan Chang down and his group claimed the earth vein spirit fruit while mocking the Ximu Peak disciples.
• Liang Jiugong demanded that the Ximu Peak disciples cripple their cultivation or die, leaving them humiliated and despairing.
• Nie Fa stepped forward despite his Heavenly Venerable cultivation, and the Ximu Peak disciples and wounded Yuan Chang urged him to retreat.
• Yuan Chang offered to cripple her own cultivation if Liang Jiugong would spare the others, but Nie Fa refused to let the threat go unanswered.
• Nie Fa declared that he would do his utmost to fight Liang Jiugong, invoking his master's sword teachings and staking his life on the challenge.

Nie Fa challenged Liang Jiugong and wounded him with a single strike, revealing his third level sword intent despite his Heavenly Venerable Realm cultivation. Liang Jiugong accused the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect of deception and ordered his followers to attack, leaving Ximu Peak’s disciples facing a fight.

• Nie Fa drew his sword and faced Liang Jiugong, who charged at him, confident that his higher cultivation realm guaranteed victory.
• Nie Fa unleashed third level sword intent and pierced Liang Jiugong’s defenses, knocking him down and leaving him bleeding.
• Liang Jiugong accused Nie Fa of being a hidden prodigy from the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and denounced the Ximu Peak disciples as shameless actors.
• The Ximu Peak disciples and Senior Sister Yuan stared in disbelief at Nie Fa’s sword intent and wondered how he had concealed it.
• Liang Jiugong raised his estimation of Nie Fa’s threat and ordered his followers to attack and kill them all.

Nie Fa broke through to third-level sword intent and fought off numerous Purple Firmament Palace disciples, drawing admiration from the gathered cultivators. Just as Liang Jiugong gained the upper hand and prepared to kill him, Elder Gong arrived and asked Nie Fa to become his disciple.

• Nie Fa broke through to third-level sword intent during the battle and joined the fight against the Purple Firmament Palace cultivators.
• Nie Fa held several opponents at bay, and Senior Sister Yuan, Qin Meier, Zhang Nianqiu, and nearby cultivators watched in amazement.
• As Nie Fa grew wounded and exhausted, Liang Jiugong gained the advantage and prepared to strike at his neck.
• Elder Gong of the Purple Firmament Palace intervened with his late saint realm pressure and separated the two sides.
• Elder Gong praised Nie Fa and asked whether he would be willing to take him as his master.

Elder Gong of the Purple Firmament Palace tried to recruit Nie Fa, then attacked him and the Ximu Peak disciples when Nie Fa refused. Lin Xuan arrived, cut down Elder Gong with one strike, and declared that the elder deserved to die for attacking and trying to take his nominal disciple.

• Elder Gong offered to take Nie Fa as his disciple, but Nie Fa refused because he considered someone else his master.
• Elder Gong attacked Nie Fa and the Ximu Peak disciples, leaving them convinced they were about to die.
• Lin Xuan's sword strike shattered Elder Gong's attack and severely wounded him.
• Lin Xuan appeared before the disciples, praised Nie Fa, and assured him that he would handle everything.
• Lin Xuan called Nie Fa his nominal disciple and condemned Elder Gong for attacking him and trying to steal his disciple.

Lin Xuan revealed overwhelming Sword Intent and killed Elder Gong, a Late Saint Realm elder of the Purple Firmament Palace, despite the threat of war between the sects. After Liang Jiugong and the other Purple Firmament Palace disciples knelt, Senior Sister Yuan accused Liang Jiugong of refining living people into medicine, and Qin Meier realized Lin Xuan was the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s deputy peak master.

• Lin Xuan appeared before the Ximu Peak disciples and shattered Elder Gong’s attack with a single strike, revealing tangible Sword Intent.
• Lin Xuan broke Elder Gong’s Saint Artifact and ignored his pleas to let him go.
• Lin Xuan killed Elder Gong with a sword strike that also shattered his soul.
• Liang Jiugong and the other Purple Firmament Palace disciples knelt before Lin Xuan, and Liang Jiugong kowtowed until he died from a shattered mind.
• Senior Sister Yuan accused Liang Jiugong of refining living people into medicine and said his followers had killed hundreds of innocents.
• Qin Meier recognized Lin Xuan as Deputy Peak Master Lin of the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect.

After Lin Xuan killed a Late Saint Realm deputy Peak Master of the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect, Qin Meier, the Fourth Elder, and Zhang Nianqiu realized how powerful he was and regretted their earlier attitudes toward him. Lin Xuan gave Qin Meier a passage token for Ximu Peak and left with the Ximu Peak disciples, while Zhang Nianqiu was left wishing she could make amends.

• Qin Meier, the Fourth Elder, and Zhang Nianqiu realized Lin Xuan had killed the Late Saint Realm deputy Peak Master and had helped them reach this place.
• Qin Meier and Zhang Nianqiu remembered their earlier dismissive treatment of Lin Xuan and feared they had insulted a powerful expert.
• Lin Xuan told Qin Meier he would no longer travel with the Qin Household because he had matters to handle at the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect.
• Lin Xuan gave Qin Meier a passage token for Ximu Peak and left with the Ximu Peak disciples.
• The Qin Household celebrated its new connection to the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect, while Zhang Nianqiu regretted missing her chance to make amends.

Fang Xing and the Fang Household members explored the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm together, but their inability to contact stronger allies left them wary of a valley blocking their route. Fang Liqiu reflected on her rising status in the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and wondered where the rogue cultivator who had rejected her had gone.

• Fang Xing asked Fang Liqiu whether they could contact other Fang Household members or sect disciples, and she said they were too far away.
• Fang Xing studied a valley that blocked their route, unable to see inside or sense what awaited them.
• Fang Liqiu worried that their small group would be unable to protect any fortuitous opportunity they found.
• Fang Liqiu recalled that she and Fang Yuan had joined the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and felt her branch's standing in the Fang Household had improved.
• Fang Liqiu thought of Qin Meier's lesser-ranked Fengyang Sect and wondered whether the rogue cultivator had married into Qin Meier's household.

Fang Yu and Fang Zhenyu clashed over Fang Yun'er as the Fang Household group approached the valley in the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm. Fang Zhenyu declared that she would prove her superiority in the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect's grand competition.

• Fang Liqiu reassured Fang Xing and the others that they would be safe if they avoided competing with Saint Realm cultivators for opportunities.
• Fang Yu worried that Fang Yun'er had been denied a place in the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect and hoped she was doing well.
• Fang Zhenyu insulted Fang Yun'er and advised Fang Yu to stop worrying about someone she considered useless.
• Fang Yu reminded Fang Zhenyu that Fang Yun'er had once grievously injured her with a single sword strike.
• Fang Zhenyu dismissed that defeat as belonging to the past and vowed to make Fang Yu and everyone else acknowledge their gap during the sect's grand competition.

Feng Jingyu faced a crowd of cultivators who tried to seize her Mystic Phoenix Ghost Vine, but revealed strength far beyond her Thearch Realm cultivation. After swiftly killing several attackers, she unleashed a golden phoenix sword strike that wiped out the group.

• More than a dozen cultivators surrounded Feng Jingyu and demanded that she surrender the Mystic Phoenix Ghost Vine.
• Feng Jingyu refused, explaining through her actions that she had prepared the rare vine for her future Saint Realm Lightning Tribulation and would not give it up.
• Feng Jingyu vanished and killed two Thearch Realm cultivators with precise strikes to their hearts and Dantian.
• An Ancient Emperor mistook Feng Jingyu's strength for that of a Great Emperor and attacked her.
• Feng Jingyu drew a longsword and unleashed a golden phoenix sword strike that extinguished the attackers' vitality.

Feng Jingyu killed the cultivators who attacked her, then spared a group of Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect disciples who witnessed the aftermath. Elsewhere in the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm, another group of sect disciples headed east to confront the Purple Firmament Palace over its challenge arena and theft of a junior sister’s opportunity.

• Feng Jingyu killed the cultivators who had surrounded her with a single sword strike.
• Feng Jingyu spared Fang Liqiu and the other Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect disciples who entered the valley, then left after warning them that the secret realm was dangerous.
• Fang Liqiu, Fang Xing, Fang Yuan, Fang Zhenyu, and Fang Yu marveled at Feng Jingyu’s strength and felt inspired or impressed by her.
• A separate group of Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect disciples traveled east, troubled by the Purple Firmament Palace’s treatment of their fellow disciples.
• A newly admitted disciple questioned whether they had to go, and a senior brother explained that they could not ignore the challenge arena or the theft of a Pill Peak junior sister’s opportunity.

Cao Chun led Ximu Peak disciples toward Purple Firmament Palace’s arena, hoping to seize the inheritance wager as an opportunity to improve Ximu Peak’s prospects. Along the way, Yun Zhi dismissed their chances and Longevity Star Peak disciples mocked Lang Ping, leaving Ximu Peak’s newer disciples angry and ready to defend him.

• Cao Chun resolved to improve herself in the Heaven-Gazing Secret Realm and protect Ximu Peak and her father’s wish.
• Cao Chun and her group encountered Yun Zhi and Longevity Star Peak disciples heading to the arena.
• Yun Zhi told Cao Chun’s group they were too weak to matter, then allowed them to follow for the sake of a stronger show of force.
• Longevity Star Peak disciples mocked Lang Ping for his past and his move to Ximu Peak.
• A Ximu Peak disciple bristled at the insults and began to speak up for Lang Ping.

Lang Ping refused to be provoked by Yun Zhi’s group as the disciples traveled to a secret-realm arena, where Cao Chun discovered the arena was part of a formation screening candidates for a likely Great Saint inheritance. The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect remained at a disadvantage against the Purple Firmament Palace, whose elder declared the contest already decided.

• Lang Ping stopped a disciple from retaliating against Yun Zhi’s group, and Cao Chun rebuked Yun Zhi’s noisy follower before both groups continued to the appointed location.
• Cao Chun reunited with her injured father, Cao Zhengyang, who was using a lotus-shaped clay platform to stabilize his condition.
• Cao Chun recognized that Cao Zhengyang, Elder Gan, and three Purple Firmament Palace cultivators stood at the focal points of a lost Heavenly Net Scarlet Pattern Formation.
• Cao Chun realized the formation was screening disciples for a likely inheritance from a Great Saint who specialized in formations.
• A Purple Firmament Palace disciple defeated a Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect challenger, and a Purple Firmament Palace elder told Cao Zhengyang that the outcome was decided.

The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect struggled to keep Great Saint Yantian’s inheritance from the Purple Firmament Palace after seven disciples lost in succession. With Chunyang’s fate and the sect’s treasures on the line, Cao Zhengyang faced the question of who could still fight.

• A Purple Firmament Palace elder mocked the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect after its disciples suffered seven consecutive defeats and questioned whether the contest needed to continue.
• Cao Chun explained that the Heavenly Net Scarlet Pattern Formation required rival entrants to compete for the inheritance, and that Chunyang had been injured while the Purple Firmament Palace seized her opportunity.
• The sects’ elders agreed that victories in disciple matches would advance their side through the formation, with younger disciples earning one step and senior disciples earning two.
• Cao Zhengyang wagered that a Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect victory would bring Chunyang’s attacker, compensation, secret-realm treasures, and a half-step saint weapon to their side; defeat would cost them those things and Chunyang’s place in the sect.
• The Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s exceptionally talented Quail Head Peak disciple was defeated in one blow, and six more disciples lost, leaving no one to take the field for the next one-step match.

A newly admitted Ximu Peak disciple entered the formation to face the Purple Firmament Palace’s Thearch Realm swordsman, and his wine-fueled strength let him hold his own. As the fight remained evenly matched, the Purple Firmament Palace elder accused Cao Zhengyang of hiding the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s true trump card.

• A gray-clad Ximu Peak disciple with a wine gourd volunteered to fight despite Cao Zhengyang’s protests and the other disciples’ doubts.
• The Purple Firmament Palace swordsman mocked the young Heavenly Venerable, who drank from his gourd and challenged him in return.
• The disciple’s Wine Rhyme Physique and swordsmanship let him exchange blows evenly with the Thearch Realm opponent.
• The Purple Firmament Palace swordsman tried to outlast him, but the disciple grew stronger as the fight continued.
• The Purple Firmament Palace elder accused Cao Zhengyang of having deliberately concealed the Cinnabar Cloud Sword Sect’s trump card, while Cao Zhengyang watched in silence.