Recaps

Li Yan learned that he had been brought to the Phantom Sect after his body recovered and was examined for a possible Fragmented Poison Body. Li Wuyi assigned him to Small Bamboo Peak, but Li Yan remained wary and wanted to return home to protect his family from a possible Meng Kingdom invasion.

• Cultivator Yu questioned Li Yan about his cultivation and Strategist Ji's final strike, then a scholar and several elders examined him.
• Li Wuyi arrived, dismissed Cultivator Yu, and explained the Phantom Sect's five peaks and Li Yan's placement as a registered disciple of Small Bamboo Peak.
• Li Yan asked to leave the sect and go home, explaining that his family lived near the threatened frontier.
• Li Wuyi told Li Yan that the sect had alerted its subordinate sect to stop the invasion and protect his immediate family, but Li Yan doubted his assurances.

Li Wuyi explained why Li Yan could not leave the Wangliang Sect and taught him about the dangerous disjointed poison body. Li Yan accepted that he could not return home for now and bowed to Li Wuyi as his Eldest Senior Brother.

• Li Wuyi told Li Yan that he was a million li from home, could not leave the sect, and would not survive the journey back alone.
• Li Yan asked whether he could disperse his disjointed poison body and have the sect send him somewhere mortals lived.
• Li Wuyi warned that dispersing his cultivation could kill him and explained the poison constitution’s origins, dangers, and abilities.
• Li Yan realized that returning home was impossible for now and decided to pursue cultivation despite his fears.
• Li Yan stood and greeted Li Wuyi as his Eldest Senior Brother.

Li Wuyi took Li Yan on a flight around several Wangliang Sect peaks, showing him their dangerous specialties and explaining the sect's customs. They reached Laojun Peak, where Li Yan was to collect his initiation supplies, while a red-robed woman at Buli Peak took an interest in Li Wuyi.

• Li Wuyi flew Li Yan around Spirit Insect Peak and explained that its cultivators raised spirit insects and beasts; Li Yan learned that Li Wuyi was seventy-four and had entered foundation establishment at nineteen.
• Li Wuyi showed Li Yan Four Symbols Peak, describing its shifting poisonous formation, then circled Buli Peak and warned him about the deadly gu insects bred there.
• A red-robed woman at Buli Peak recognized Li Wuyi's magical implement and decided to seek him out later, while Li Wuyi abruptly sped away with Li Yan.
• Li Wuyi explained Laojun Peak's role as the sect's center for affairs, instruction, competitions, and alchemy as they flew there.
• Li Yan arrived at Laojun Peak's Affairs Hall to collect his initiation supplies and felt reassured by the busy, more ordinary-looking surroundings.

Li Wuyi brought Li Yan to the Affairs Hall to collect his initiation items, where Senior Brother Lin mistook Li Yan’s unusual admission and low cultivation for a sign of exceptional spiritual roots. Li Wuyi stored the items in a Storage Pouch for Li Yan and took him back toward their master.

• Li Wuyi led Li Yan into the Affairs Hall and asked Senior Brother Lin for Li Yan’s initiation items.
• Senior Brother Lin learned Li Yan was Martial Elder Uncle Wei’s newly accepted honorary disciple and assumed he had exceptional spiritual roots.
• Senior Brother Lin presented Li Yan with sect clothing, an identity badge, a sword, a flying artifact, spirit stones, medicine, talismans, a Storage Pouch, and an Initiation Jade Slip.
• Li Wuyi explained that Li Yan could not yet use the Storage Pouch or read the jade slip, so he would handle them for him.
• Li Wuyi put the items into the Storage Pouch and handed it to Li Yan, who was startled by its weightlessness.
• Li Wuyi told Li Yan they were returning because their master was waiting.

Li Yan arrived at Small Bamboo Peak with Li Wuyi, learned a little about the sect’s spirit artifacts, and was brought to meet his master and mistress. After his master’s voice reminded him of Strategist Ji, Li Yan stumbled through his greeting, prompting his mistress to tease that he did not think much of her.

• Li Wuyi explained that the black bamboo was a spirit plant and led Li Yan up Small Bamboo Peak.
• Li Wuyi had a servant disciple named Xiaoyi help Li Yan wash and change into simple spirit artifacts.
• Li Wuyi brought Li Yan to the bamboo house, where Li Yan met his master, mistress, and fellow disciples.
• Li Yan recognized a resemblance between his master’s voice and Strategist Ji, then awkwardly paid respects to both masters.
• Li Yan’s mistress remarked that he seemed not to think much of her.

Li Yan recounted a fabricated version of his past to Wei Zhongran and the other disciples, concealing his ties to Dong Fuyi and the Gui Water Immortal Sect. Wei Zhongran explained that the gathering was to study Li Yan’s Fragmented Poison Body cultivation, then called him forward.

• Wei Zhongran questioned Li Yan about his past while the other Small Bamboo Peak disciples listened.
• Li Yan told them how he had joined the army, discovered Strategist Ji’s treachery, and escaped with Marshal Hong’s help, while hiding his connection to the Gui Water Immortal Sect.
• The martial aunt and Fourth Senior Sister reacted with concern to Li Yan’s account, and the group admired Marshal Hong’s courage.
• Wei Zhongran asked Li Yan about his cultivation and explained that the sect wanted to record the process of cultivating the rare Fragmented Poison Body.
• Li Yan affirmed that his account of his cultivation was true, and Wei Zhongran told him to come forward.

Wei Zhongran tested Li Yan’s aptitude and arranged for him to receive a water-element cultivation method and immortal arts at the Phantom Sect. Lin Daqiao took Li Yan to settle in and explained how the great sects recruited disciples from subordinate sects.

• Wei Zhongran confirmed that Li Yan had mixed spiritual roots, found water to be his strongest element, and told him to choose a suitable cultivation method and immortal arts.
• Lin Daqiao volunteered to help Li Yan, and Wei Zhongran assigned him to arrange Li Yan’s lodging and explain the sect’s rules and basic matters.
• The senior disciples teased one another as Li Yan struggled to understand their banter, while Li Wuyi agreed to help him choose his cultivation methods the next morning.
• Lin Daqiao led Li Yan up the mountain and told him about his own background, cultivation progress, and former sect.
• Lin Daqiao explained that the four great sects rewarded subordinate sects for sending talented disciples and retained authority over those who later returned to serve as elders.

Li Yan chose a secluded bamboo courtyard on Small Bamboo Peak, where Lin Daqiao explained its protective formation and the peak’s varied cultivation arts. Meanwhile, Wei Zhongran and his wife discussed Li Yan’s concealed role in the ambush and why they had taken him in, leaving his new masters willing to wait for him to trust them.

• Lin Daqiao led Li Yan through Small Bamboo Peak’s residences and explained why most of its former houses had been demolished.
• Li Yan chose a remote courtyard, and Lin Daqiao gave him its waist badge and demonstrated the protective formation.
• Lin Daqiao described the courtyard rooms, the sect’s grand formation, and Sixth Senior Sister’s skill in formations and combat.
• Lin Daqiao used an immortal art to clean the courtyard and showed Li Yan its reception hall.
• Wei Zhongran’s wife said Li Yan had been cautious and dishonest about the ambush, and Wei Zhongran confirmed that Li Yan had delivered the killing blow.
• Wei Zhongran explained that he had taken Li Yan in out of pity and hoped Li Yan would share the truth once he trusted the sect.

Lin Daqiao taught Li Yan the cultivation world's customs and explained spirit stones, artifacts, and talismans, helping him understand the resources and protection he had received from the Phantom Sect. The lesson left Li Yan more aware of how unusually generous Li Wuyi had been toward him, though he remained uneasy about his master's motives.

• Lin Daqiao explained cultivation ranks, forms of address, and the rules for using Divine Sense, and Li Yan realized he had acted rashly in the main hall.
• Lin Daqiao described spirit veins and spirit stones, including how they supported cultivation and served as currency.
• Lin Daqiao demonstrated a spirit sword and flying boat, then explained that Li Yan's sword, robe, and boots were spirit artifacts.
• Lin Daqiao explained the uses and grades of talisman papers and said Li Yan's three defensive talismans included a Blaze Iron Wall Talisman capable of resisting an early Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator's full-force strike.

Lin Daqiao explained the Wangliang Sect’s rules, ranks, competitions, missions, and resources to Li Yan, including how Lian Shan’s betrayal led to Li Yan’s admission. Li Yan learned how costly cultivation could be and ended the chapter realizing how poor he was.

• Lin Daqiao described the sect’s laws, its servant, outer, and inner ranks, and the assessments and competitions disciples faced.
• Lin Daqiao explained that Lian Shan had reached foundation establishment but fled after stealing Spirit Insect Peak’s books and jade slips, and that the items from his Storage Pouch reached Strategist Ji.
• Lin Daqiao told Li Yan that disciples earned spirit stones through missions and explained Small Bamboo Peak’s unusual cooking and creature-tending assignments, leaving Li Yan uneasy about what they involved.
• Lin Daqiao described the peaks’ treasure repositories and clarified that basic immortal arts could be practiced by cultivators with different spirit roots.
• Li Yan learned that pills and spirit implements could cost hundreds or thousands of spirit stones and realized his three-stone allowance left him extremely poor.

Lin Daqiao explained how Storage Pouches worked and why they were valuable, then learned that Li Yan could project his Divine Sense despite being only at the second level of the Qi Condensation Realm. He urged Li Yan to test whether he could use the pouch, leaving Li Yan uneasy about revealing this ability.

• Lin Daqiao explained the grades, uses, risks, and scarcity of Storage Pouches and described how cultivation lineages supplied them to the Four Great Sects.
• Lin Daqiao showed Li Yan how to use Divine Sense to store and retrieve items, then asked whether Li Yan could project his Divine Sense outside his body.
• Li Yan admitted that he could project his Divine Sense two or three zhang and privately decided to attribute the ability to his Fragmented Poison Body.
• Lin Daqiao was shocked and recalled the dangerous history of a cultivator who had strengthened his Divine Sense with a fragmentary secret technique.
• Li Yan confirmed his ability, and Lin Daqiao asked him to try putting a small sword into the Storage Pouch.

Li Yan learned to use Divine Sense, his Storage Pouch, and the courtyard’s defensive formation while Lin Daqiao explained the sect’s customs and soul lamps. After examining his second-layer cultivation, Li Yan overused his Divine Sense and spiritual power, then discovered that recovering his depleted spiritual power took three hours and left him puzzled about his slow cultivation.

• Li Yan used Divine Sense to move his little sword and retrieve a spirit stone from his Storage Pouch, and Lin Daqiao taught him about spiritual artifacts, sect resources, and soul lamps.
• Li Yan worried that a soul lamp could leave the sect able to track or kill him, though he concealed his concerns from Lin Daqiao.
• After Lin Daqiao left, Li Yan bound the waist token with his blood and tested the courtyard formation’s illusion, attack, and defense modes.
• Li Yan found his residence bare, collected food and boiling water from the servants’ office, and discovered he could safely store the kettle in his Storage Pouch.
• Li Yan confirmed that he had reached the second layer of the Qi Condensation Realm and found that his spiritual power and Divine Sense had grown stronger.
• Li Yan exhausted his spiritual power and overused his Divine Sense while exploring the courtyard, then spent three hours recovering most of his strength and pondered the slow cultivation rate.

Li Yan discovered that his slow cultivation came from using the first-layer mnemonic after reaching the second Qi Condensation layer, then verified that the correct mnemonic restored his water spiritual power quickly. Li Wuyi brought him to the Small Bamboo Peak Treasure Pavilion, where Martial Uncle Gu examined him and remarked on his mixed spiritual roots and unusual physique.

• Li Yan entered his sea of consciousness and found that the Gui Water True Scripture had replaced the first-layer mnemonic with the correct second-layer one.
• Li Yan memorized the new mnemonic and confirmed through an hour of cultivation that his water spiritual power recovered much faster.
• Li Yan practiced flying in his courtyard, then resumed meditation after eating the next morning.
• Li Wuyi arrived and carried Li Yan to the Treasure Pavilion to choose cultivation methods and immortal arts.
• Martial Uncle Gu scanned Li Yan, examined his wrist, and noted that he had mixed spiritual roots despite possessing the Fragmented Poison Body.

Li Yan explored the Treasure Pavilion with Li Wuyi and chose a cultivation method, immortal arts, and introductory books. He left with his selections and monthly cultivation resources, ready to begin studying the immortal cultivation world.

• Li Wuyi brought Li Yan through the vortex into the Treasure Pavilion and explained the three pavilion sections.
• Li Yan struggled to enter the Scripture Pavilion until he used his spiritual power to pass through its barrier, confirming his spiritual power was unusually strong for his realm.
• Li Wuyi explained the pavilion’s offerings, and Li Yan inspected cultivation methods, immortal arts, and books while displaying his powerful Divine Sense.
• Li Yan chose the Myriad Origin Dao cultivation method, four green-grade immortal arts, and several books on history and cultivation basics.
• Li Wuyi explained the restrictions on higher floors and the other pavilion sections, then gave Li Yan three low-grade spirit stones and a bottle of fasting pills as his monthly resources.

Li Yan received the cultivation texts sealed in his sea of consciousness, then met Li Changting and Zhao Min outside his courtyard. After escaping Li Changting’s insect wine, he tested a fasting pill and spent the next eight or nine days studying the ancient books without feeling hungry.

• The gray-robed old man sealed Li Yan’s requested jade slips and ancient books in his sea of consciousness and sent him and Li Wuyi away.
• Li Wuyi introduced Li Changting and Zhao Min, who had been waiting outside Li Yan’s courtyard.
• Zhao Min abruptly left, and Li Wuyi warned Li Yan that Li Changting’s wine contained living and dead Gu insects.
• Li Yan activated his courtyard’s restrictions and retreated inside, where he took a fasting pill and immediately felt full.
• Li Yan spent eight or nine days reading every ancient book in his sea of consciousness while the fasting pill kept him from feeling hungry.

Li Yan cultivated for more than half a year, tested the power of his spiritual energy, and learned how to practice the Cloud Rain Art from Lin Daqiao. He emerged from seclusion looking more mature but troubled, then headed toward the mountaintop.

• Li Yan cultivated the Gui Water True Scripture and found that his spiritual power could strike the unusually resilient walls of his courtyard without damaging them.
• Li Yan tested the dark bamboo outside and concluded that it was a spiritual material distinct from the bamboo used to build the courtyard.
• Li Yan struggled to cast the Cloud Rain Art and sought guidance from Lin Daqiao, who explained how to coordinate incantations, hand seals, and spiritual power.
• Li Yan cultivated in seclusion for more than half a year, leaving periodically to collect food rather than relying on Fasting Pills.
• Li Yan emerged from his courtyard in a dark green robe, looking older and troubled, and walked toward the mountaintop.

Li Yan discovered that his slowing cultivation and erratic Cloud Rain Art came from his Fragmented Poison Body, which produced several deadly poisons. Wei Zhongran explained the condition and gave Li Yan records to study, leaving him with a renewed path forward and spirit stones to repair his courtyard formation.

• Li Yan recalled how his spiritual power stalled and his Cloud Rain Art produced corrosive green rain and eerie blue mist that damaged his courtyard.
• Li Yan concluded that his Fragmented Poison Body caused the strange effects and summoned Wei Zhongran for help.
• Wei Zhongran examined the poisons, identified their ingredients, and explained that Li Yan's constitution produced them.
• Wei Zhongran took Li Yan to collect jade slips about the Fragmented Poison Body from several peaks and had workers replace his stone table and stools.
• Wei Zhongran gave Li Yan spirit stones to replenish the courtyard formation, while Miao Wangqing became curious about her master's regard for him.

Li Yan investigated why spiritual power leaked from his body and discovered twelve cracked meridian nodes, leaving him convinced his cultivation path was broken. A dream helped him realize that his Fragmented Poison Body had never fully separated, and he began to understand what had gone wrong.

• Li Yan studied three jade slips about the Fragmented Poison Body and suspected its fragmentation was linked to spiritual energy leaking from his body.
• Li Yan traced the loss of spiritual power to twelve cracked nodes along his main meridians.
• Li Yan searched the Gui Water True Scripture and the jade slips for a solution but found no guidance and feared his cultivation path had ended.
• Li Yan fell asleep, hoping he might ask his master to send him back to the mortal world if he found no answer.
• Li Yan recalled a passage about separated poison bodies and realized his twelve cracked sections were not truly separated bodies.
• Li Yan concluded that his Fragmented Poison Body had never been completed because he had never undergone the painful process of separation.

Li Yan discovered his Fragmented Poison Body was only half-formed and painfully separated its twelve meridian sections, confirming that spiritual power could still circulate through them. Over the following months, he cultivated the body and its toxins, received extra resources from the sect, and decided to seek a secluded place on Small Bamboo Peak to practice immortal arts safely.

• Li Yan realized his Fragmented Poison Body was an incomplete rough form and began testing how to separate its meridian sections.
• Li Yan used spiritual power to cut apart the meridian nodes, endured intense agony, and confirmed that spiritual power could pass through the separated sections without loss.
• Li Yan spent four months studying the twelve toxin sources and began stimulating them with Divine Sense, slowly strengthening his Divine Sense despite the pain.
• Wei Zhongran told Li Yan that the sect had approved extra spirit stones and Spirit Ascension Pills to support his cultivation of the Fragmented Poison Body.
• Li Yan found that his toxins destroyed furnishings whenever he practiced immortal arts in his courtyard, so he decided to find a secluded practice spot on Small Bamboo Peak.

Li Yan explored Small Bamboo Peak’s mountain paths while looking for a place to cultivate, and Sixth Senior Sister Gong Chenying warned him about forbidden areas. He ignored her limit and reached a towering stone stele that injured him with its overwhelming pressure, then left with a new resolve to gain power.

• Li Yan discovered that an apparent bamboo thicket concealed an illusion formation and encountered Gong Chenying, who warned him away from marked paths and the mountain summit beyond fifty li.
• Li Yan found several paths marked by small, uninscribed stones and saw disciples from other peaks entering and leaving them.
• Li Yan continued uphill past the fifty-li limit, admiring a scenic platform and searching for a place to practice.
• Li Yan rounded a bamboo grove and saw a vast square centered on a towering stone stele, whose pressure made him vomit blood and retreat.
• Li Yan recognized his own weakness, turned back down the mountain, and longed to obtain the power of immortals.

Li Yan practiced combining his Fragmented Poisons with immortal arts, learning the effects of two poisons while working to improve his slow, unfamiliar casting. After spending most of the day training, he stayed on the platform because it was the year's end on the Desolate Moon Continent.

• A tall old man in a distant cave sensed Li Yan's unusual spiritual power and Fragmented Poison Body, then wondered how his mixed spiritual roots could produce such pure spiritual power.
• Li Yan returned to the platform on Small Bamboo Peak and tested a Fragmented Poison with the Fireball Art, discovering that it adhered to surfaces and corroded them.
• Li Yan combined another Fragmented Poison with the Quicksand Art, turning bamboo to black liquid and learning that he could control when the poison took effect through his Divine Sense.
• Li Yan practiced immortal arts for several hours, restoring his spiritual power whenever he exhausted it and continuing until he was completely spent.
• Li Yan remained on the scarred platform instead of descending the mountain because it was the year's end on the Desolate Moon Continent.

On the year's end, Li Yan mourned the family and village celebrations he had left behind and knelt beneath the moon to wish his parents a happy New Year. Zhao Min joined him on the platform and asked about mortal customs, leaving the two sitting together as Li Yan described his hometown.

• Li Yan imagined his family and villagers celebrating the year's end and tearfully kowtowed to the moon, wishing his parents a happy New Year.
• Zhao Min appeared behind Li Yan and asked whether mortals celebrated the year's end.
• Li Yan questioned why Zhao Min had come to Small Bamboo Peak's rear mountain, and she explained that she had once often visited it as a disciple there.
• Zhao Min said she had never experienced life in a mortal town and asked Li Yan to tell her about the year's end.
• Li Yan sat beside Zhao Min and described the village, his family, and their preparations for the festival beneath the full moon.

Three years after the previous events, Li Yan had advanced to the middle stage of the seventh level of Qi Condensation while concealing his cultivation and strengthening his techniques and Divine Sense. He went to a Small Bamboo Peak gathering seeking advice about his dwindling resources, where he reunited with his senior brothers and sisters.

• Sword King of Lower Spring, Master Yiye, and Daoist Hanglin secretly discussed how their three sects would deal with the Phantom Sect before the next realm-seeking harvest.
• Li Yan reached the middle stage of the seventh level of Qi Condensation, improved his arts and Divine Sense, and used the Gui Water True Scripture to disguise his cultivation as the early stage of the sixth level.
• Li Yan realized his monthly spirit stones and Spirit-Raising Pills no longer met his needs and decided to ask his senior brothers about finding more resources.
• Li Yan remembered the quiet full-moon meetings he had shared with Zhao Min each year and smiled as he headed to the main hall.
• Li Yan entered the gathering and greeted his senior brothers and sisters, including Lin Daqiao, Li Wuyi, and Wei Chi Tuo.

Li Yan attended a gathering of Wei Zhongran’s disciples, where Wei Zhongran announced preparations for next year’s secret-realm expedition and who would be eligible to compete for a place. The chapter left the disciples facing an internal competition for forty-nine slots, while Li Yan and two senior brothers were barred from entering the realm.

• Li Yan greeted his senior brothers and sisters at Small Bamboo Peak and met three newly admitted outer disciples who treated him as their junior martial uncle.
• Lin Daqiao praised Li Yan’s rapid cultivation progress, while Wen Xinliang brought up Li Yan’s killing of Strategist Ji and his skill at setting traps.
• Wei Zhongran arrived, noticed Li Yan had advanced to the early phase of the sixth level of Qi Condensation, and announced that forty-nine Foundation Establishment cultivators would be chosen for next year’s secret-realm expedition.
• Wei Zhongran ruled that Li Wuyi and Lin Daqiao could register for the peak competition but must withdraw if selected, and that Li Yan would not participate.
• Wei Zhongran urged Wei Chituo, Yun Chunqu, Gong Chenying, and the others to compete for places, while Li Yan recalled the realm’s ancient treasures and powerful fourth-rank demon beasts.

The four sects and the secret realm’s demon beasts negotiated rules for entering the realm, which would now open every fifteen years mainly to Foundation Establishment cultivators. Wei Zhongran gave Li Wuyi a rare Dustless Pill before leaving for secluded cultivation, and Li Yan went with Lin Daqiao to learn how to take assignments on Small Bamboo Peak.

• The four sects negotiated with the demon beasts, agreeing to retain two passages and open selected areas of the secret realm every fifteen years.
• Wei Zhongran assigned Li Wuyi to manage Small Bamboo Peak during his secluded cultivation and gave him a Dustless Pill to aid his breakthrough.
• Li Wuyi accepted the pill gratefully, while Wei Zhongran encouraged Wei Chituo to rely on his own efforts.
• Li Yan reflected on Wei Zhongran's generosity, and Li Wuyi dismissed the disciples after the meeting.
• Li Yan asked Lin Daqiao how to take assignments on the peak, and Lin Daqiao took him toward the Assignment Hall on a spirit artifact.