Chapter Summaries

Li Yan was dragged through space by the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief, survived severe injuries, and emerged above a black sea before reaching safety on a reef. He confirmed that he had arrived at the North Sea of Beiming on the Desolate Moon Continent, leaving him to reckon with how he had crossed beyond the Three Realms and returned.

• The Heaven-Stealing Kerchief pulled Li Yan through space while Mei Hongyu was thrown into a spirit-storage space to escape the force.
• Li Yan emerged above a black sea, healed his mangled body with pills, and seized control of the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief again.
• Li Yan landed on a reef, concealed himself with a Ghost Trace formation, and spent a day examining the kerchief without understanding its strange threads.
• After testing the kerchief and flying to another island, Li Yan confirmed that he was in the North Sea of Beiming on the Desolate Moon Continent.
• Li Yan recalled being expelled from the Lost Continent and considered whether the void river he encountered had been the legendary River Reaching Heaven beyond the Three Realms.

Li Yan investigated the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief’s inexplicable transmission and confirmed that it had brought him to the North Sea of Darkness on the Desolate Moon Continent. After reaching the Pure Land Sect, he brought Mei Hongyu out and told her they had returned to her homeland, though neither could explain how.

• Li Yan concluded that the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief had used the azure light’s power to transmit him an immense distance, but repeated tests revealed no further transmission ability.
• After several days of searching, Li Yan confirmed that he was on the Desolate Moon Continent and found the Pure Land Sect.
• Li Yan brought Mei Hongyu out after verifying that their surroundings were not an illusion.
• Mei Hongyu recognized the Pure Land Sect and reacted with shock as Li Yan explained how they had reached the North Sea of Darkness.

Mei Hongyu recovered from the shock of returning to the Desolate Moon Continent and agreed to ascend with Li Yan and his senior siblings. She revealed that she planned to seek someone in the Main Dao Realm, leaving Li Yan surprised by her destination.

• Mei Hongyu recognized the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower and reflected on her unexpected return to the homeland she had left behind.
• Mei Hongyu said she would search for another ascension node, and Li Yan offered to share a stable node and ascend with her group.
• Mei Hongyu accepted Li Yan's offer, believing that traveling with him and the others would improve her chances of ascending safely.
• Li Yan asked where she planned to go after ascending, and Mei Hongyu said she would travel to the Main Dao Realm to find someone.
• Mei Hongyu explained that her mysterious master had left her a message about where to find her, and Li Yan was surprised by her destination.

Li Yan explained to Mei Hongyu that the Immortal-Spirit Realm was vast and dangerous, making travel from the Cangxuan Realm to the Main Dao Realm impractical for her. Mei Hongyu decided to search the Mortal Realm for clues about ascension routes to her master, but Li Yan stopped her before she left.

• Li Yan told Mei Hongyu that he knew an ascension node leading to the Cangxuan Realm, not the Main Dao Realm, and warned her about the dangers and costs of crossing realms.
• Mei Hongyu realized Li Yan had come down from the Immortal-Spirit Realm to bring his senior brother and senior sister back up.
• Mei Hongyu asked whether Li Yan knew where ascension nodes to the Main Dao Realm might appear, but he said he did not know.
• Mei Hongyu decided to seek information from powerful lower-realm sects with ties to the Immortal-Spirit Realm and declined to travel with Li Yan.
• As Mei Hongyu prepared to leave, Li Yan called out for her to wait.

Li Yan promised to take Mei Hongyu to the cross-realm grand array after ascending, and she accepted his help with a solemn vow of gratitude. The chapter then revealed that a white-gauzed woman of the Mountain of Heavenly Fate had watched a disciple’s calamity end, though that disciple’s connection to Li Yan might bring fortune or misfortune.

• Li Yan offered to take Mei Hongyu to the cross-realm grand array and cover the spirit stones, explaining that he first needed to settle matters in Luo Gucheng.
• Mei Hongyu accepted Li Yan’s help, swore to remember and repay his kindness, and agreed to hurry toward the Phantom Sect with him.
• Mei Hongyu asked Li Yan whether he had surpassed the Spirit Transformation Realm, and he replied that she would understand the dangers of the Immortal-Spirit Realm after ascending.
• A white-gauzed woman divined that a disciple’s calamity had ended, but wondered whether the disciple’s connection to Li Yan would prove fortunate or disastrous.
• The woman revealed that she belonged to the secretive Mountain of Heavenly Fate and had found the disciple on Desolate Moon Continent, where she had to guide her without drawing the Heavenly Dao’s Eye.

Li Yan returned to the Phantom Sect and learned from the new Chimei Envoy, Feng Yu, that Gu Jiuqi had already taken Wei Chi Tuo and Miao Wangqing away ahead of him. After confirming the arrangements for Feng Hongyue and obtaining the Polar Ice Heart, Li Yan left the remaining matters settled.

• Li Yan stopped outside the Phantom Sect after sensing that its auras had changed and that two familiar presences were missing from Small Bamboo Peak.
• Feng Yu appeared, confirmed Li Yan's identity, and introduced himself as the new Chimei Envoy using a clone.
• Li Yan told Feng Yu that he had obtained the Polar Ice Heart and identified Mei Hongyu as a friend from the lower realm.
• Feng Yu explained that Gu Jiuqi had left about twenty years earlier and taken Wei Chi Tuo and Miao Wangqing with him to ascend.
• Li Yan learned that Gu Jiuqi had also explained his conditions for Feng Hongyue, leaving Feng Hongyue's arrangements settled.

Li Yan learned from Feng Yu that the Phantom Sect and Extinction Sect were still investigating the Ghost Domain, then left the lower-realm sect with Mei Hongyu. More than ten years after ascending with her to the Cangxuan Realm, Li Yan gave her Immortalization Liquid and prepared to handle his own urgent affairs.

• Feng Yu told Li Yan that the Phantom Sect had taken precautions against the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, while the Ghost Domain investigation and the sect’s response remained unresolved.
• Feng Yu returned to the sect’s outer area disguised as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Li Yan told Mei Hongyu that his senior brother and senior sister had already ascended.
• Li Yan and Mei Hongyu departed on the Cloud-Piercing Blade, and Li Yan looked back on his memories of the Phantom Sect and his departed senior brothers and sisters.
• More than ten years later, Li Yan had brought Mei Hongyu safely through an ascension node into the Cangxuan Realm, where she sensed the upper realm’s laws and abundant spiritual energy.
• Li Yan gave Mei Hongyu Immortalization Liquid and told her he needed to handle urgent matters before sending her to a cross-domain teleportation grand formation.

Li Yan repaid his blood pact with Sima Zimo by delivering the Polar Ice Heart and receiving potent poisons, then traveled toward Luo Gucheng while investigating the sects’ movements. The Phantom Sect and Miesheng Sect secretly gathered strength against the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, while Li Yan stayed away from the Phantom Sect as tensions grew.

• Mei Hongyu accepted the Immortalization Fluid and entered Tuban's space while Li Yan set out for the Ghost Domain.
• Li Yan gave Sima Zimo the Polar Ice Heart, received several potent poisons, and the blood pact between them dissipated.
• Li Yan and Sima Zimo exchanged Dao insights and contact information before Li Yan left for Luo Gucheng.
• Li Yan refined Sima Zimo's poisons during his journey and learned that the Phantom Sect and Miesheng Sect were strengthening their ties.
• The two sects imprisoned Fan Nan and the other ghost creatures while secretly gathering allies and evidence instead of attacking Yellow Springs City.

Li Yan traveled to West Qi Market to investigate Luo Gucheng and determine whether they had exposed information about the Five Immortals Sect. He concluded that Luo Gucheng had concealed the encounter and learned that Zhu Hongyi and Yan He were the sect’s two Body Integration experts.

• Li Yan considered his strengthened Fragmented Poison Body, silver-sand-refined arm, and improved abilities as he prepared to face Luo Gucheng.
• Li Yan entered West Qi Market and spent several days discreetly gathering information through conversations in shops.
• Li Yan learned that Luo Gucheng blamed a rival sect for destroying the teleportation array and later publicly slaughtered that sect.
• Li Yan deduced that Luo Gucheng had staged the account and the retaliation to hide its encounter with the Five Immortals Sect and intimidate other forces.
• Li Yan learned that Zhu Hongyi was a mid-stage Body Integration sword cultivator and that his junior martial brother Yan He was an initial-stage Body Integration sword cultivator.

Li Yan investigated Luo Gucheng, identified the golden-eyed flying squirrel as a likely guardian of the sect, and began planning how to draw out and kill the people who knew his secret. The chapter then revealed that Yuan Zhen, the golden-eyed flying squirrel, had just finished refining Silkworm Eye Pills inside Luo Gucheng.

• Li Yan learned that Zhu Hongyi had a seventh-tier golden-eyed flying squirrel companion and reasoned that it had probably stayed behind to guard Luo Gucheng.
• Li Yan weighed the risks of confronting Luo Gucheng and considered luring its experts out, while concluding that he needed to kill everyone who knew his secret.
• Li Yan decided to seek more definite information and left the inn for the market's teleportation formations.
• Yuan Zhen sealed away the six Silkworm Eye Pills he had refined after eight years of work and prepared to rest before resuming cultivation.

Yuan Zhen worried that Zhu Hongyi and Yan He had not sent news from the lower realm, while Li Yan secretly prepared to infiltrate the Western Qi marketplace and question Luo Gucheng’s guards. Li Yan slipped into their courtyard during a visitor’s arrival but stayed inside to wait for a safer opportunity.

• Yuan Zhen considered why Zhu Hongyi and Yan He had not replied to his messages from the lower realm and wondered whether they were returning.
• Li Yan investigated the two Void Refinement cultivators guarding the Western Qi marketplace and planned to obtain information about Luo Gucheng.
• Li Yan decided to use the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to quietly bypass the courtyard’s restrictions.
• A Daoist named Ding arrived at midnight and was admitted into the courtyard, creating an unexpected opening for Li Yan.
• Li Yan slipped past the closing gate under his concealment technique and remained in the courtyard after Ding entered another room.

Li Yan infiltrated Luo Gucheng, poisoned and captured Lin Chaoming, and searched his memories for information about the sect. He learned that the two Supreme Elders who had ambushed him were away searching for the true culprit, while Elder Yuan Zhen remained behind; Li Yan resolved to check what the four returning investigation teams knew.

• Li Yan slipped into Lin Chaoming’s room while the cultivator escorted a visitor out, then hid on the ceiling until Lin began meditating.
• Li Yan’s mixed Zhili poison rendered Lin unconscious, and he sealed Lin’s soul, magic power, and Nascent Soul with red talismans.
• Li Yan performed Soul Search on Lin and learned that Elder Zhang was cultivating next door and that the Daoist’s visit had been an ordinary barter transaction.
• Li Yan learned that the two Luo Gucheng Supreme Elders were absent, identified them as the silver-haired old man and young cultivator who had ambushed him, and found that Zhu Hongyi and Yan He had left no soul lamps behind.
• Li Yan discovered that the Supreme Elders were searching for the true culprit and had sent four teams to investigate; three teams had returned, and Elder Yuan Zhen was the only one Lin believed knew the details.
• Li Yan realized the four teams might have received clues about the Five Immortals Sect and decided he needed to verify what they knew.

Li Yan used Soul Search on Lin Chaoming and Elder Zhang to learn how Luo Gucheng had traced him: Zhu Hongyi’s time-related sword art could reveal images from the past. With Zhu Hongyi and Yan He believed dead, Li Yan weighed how to eliminate the remaining threat, the Golden-Eyed Flying Rat, and infiltrate Luo Gucheng. He ended the chapter uncertain whether to go there or lure his target out, wary of the sect’s powerful protective formation.

• Li Yan found no evidence that the market’s formations recorded images and considered whether Amur had arranged to expose him or Luo Gucheng had traced time backward.
• Li Yan disguised himself as Lin Chaoming, lured Elder Zhang into his room, poisoned him, and performed Soul Search.
• Li Yan discovered Elder Zhang’s suspicion that Luo Gucheng’s Supreme Elders had used the divine ability Sword Spirit Spans Sun and Moon to uncover a clue about the market killings.
• Li Yan confirmed from both elders’ memories that Zhu Hongyi could use the sword art to glimpse scenes from the river of time, explaining how Luo Gucheng had found him.
• Li Yan concluded that Zhu Hongyi and Yan He were likely dead but that the Golden-Eyed Flying Rat could still reveal his secret.
• Li Yan considered infiltrating Luo Gucheng to kill the Golden-Eyed Flying Rat, but weighed the risks of waiting six years, impersonating an elder, and facing the Ten Directions Golden Light Sword Formation.

Yuan Zhen received news that three unidentified Void Refinement cultivators had attacked West Qi Market, killing Elder Zhang and severely wounding Elder Lin. Suspecting the Five Immortals Sect had begun its long-awaited retaliation, he hurried to the market as Luo Gucheng mobilized its forces.

• Yuan Zhen waited for intelligence from the sect’s search teams and for word from Zhu Hongyi and the others.
• A woman elder reported that three attackers had infiltrated West Qi Market, killed Elder Zhang, and wounded Elder Lin before escaping.
• The woman explained that Elder Lin had triggered a warning formation, allowing her and Elder Hong to reach the market, but the attackers had already fled.
• Yuan Zhen suspected the Five Immortals Sect was retaliating for the earlier incidents at West Qi Market and learned that all three attackers appeared to be Void Refinement cultivators.
• Yuan Zhen took the woman elder to West Qi Market, where ruins, disabled teleportation arrays, and mobilized Luo Gucheng patrols awaited them.

Yuan Zhen investigated the ruined marketplace and traced the chaotic five-element spiritual energy to the Five Immortals Sect, but failed to locate the three assassins. He ordered the marketplace closed to newcomers, gathered its registration records, and returned to question the badly wounded Elder Lin.

• Yuan Zhen examined the destroyed courtyard and recognized the disordered five-element spiritual energy as a clue pointing to the Five Immortals Sect.
• Yuan Zhen searched outside the Western Qi Marketplace but found no useful traces of the three assassins, who had killed another squad at an exit while escaping.
• Yuan Zhen ordered Elder Hong and Elder Zhang to collect half a year of entry records, restricted access to the marketplace, and allowed verified occupants to leave.
• Yuan Zhen considered persuading Zhu Hongyi to reveal information about the Five Immortals Sect if the investigation failed.
• Yuan Zhen returned to the sect and went to Elder Lin's courtyard to question him about the assassins.

Yuan Zhen investigated Elder Lin’s wounds and questioned him about the ambush, then examined the damaged flying swords left behind by the attackers. The black droplets on the swords proved to contain extraordinarily pure water-attribute spiritual power, but Yuan Zhen still had not identified their source.

• Yuan Zhen used Divine Sense to confirm Elder Lin’s injuries were genuine, gave him a bottle of Pills, and asked him to describe the attack.
• Elder Lin recounted how three masked attackers used a golden flying nail, an arrow, and a water wall to wound him before retreating.
• Yuan Zhen considered whether the attackers were cultivators from the Five Immortals Sect and asked Elder Lin about their cultivation and attacks.
• Elder Lin summoned his damaged flying swords, revealing black water droplets clinging to their blades and cracks in several swords.
• Yuan Zhen examined three droplets from a nearby sword with Divine Sense and recognized their extraordinarily pure water-attribute spiritual power.

Yuan Zhen examined Elder Lin’s flying swords and uncovered traces of several elemental powers before the black droplets trapped him in a strange state. Li Yan, disguised as Elder Lin, used the opening to separate Yuan Zhen’s soul from his body, then reflected on the elaborate plan that had brought him into Yuan Zhen’s private cultivation chamber, where he prepared to strike.

• Yuan Zhen found pure water-, wood-, and metal-element power on Elder Lin’s flying swords and suspected the visitors were connected to the Five Immortals Sect.
• When Yuan Zhen examined the black droplets more closely, two of them seemed to become eyes and drew him into a bizarre, immobilizing state.
• Elder Lin revealed himself as Li Yan and attacked Yuan Zhen’s exposed soul with Soul-Splitting Slash and pink mist, then took Yuan Zhen’s body and left his souls and spirits behind.
• Li Yan recalled killing Elder Zhang, arranging an attack at the market exit with his three incarnations, and disguising his injuries with illusion poison to control how others perceived him.
• After Luo Gucheng’s cultivators brought Li Yan to his courtyard, Yuan Zhen eventually came to inspect him, giving Li Yan a private space in which to prepare his attack.

Li Yan subdued Yuan Zhen with a Five Immortals Sect spell and soul poison, then searched his fragmented souls for information about how Zhu Hongyi had discovered him. He learned that a search team was missing and began considering how to protect his identity, before summoning Du Shishan to the courtyard.

• Li Yan explained how he had lured Yuan Zhen into a trap and incapacitated him with Eye of Gui Water, Crimson Powder Pillow, and Soul-Severing Slash.
• Li Yan searched Yuan Zhen’s fragmented souls, then returned them to Yuan Zhen’s body while leaving him unconscious in Tuban.
• Li Yan learned that Zhu Hongyi had discovered him through Sword Spirit Through Sun and Moon and had sent teams to search for him.
• Li Yan learned that three search teams had returned without results, while a fourth team of six Luo Gucheng cultivators had gone missing while investigating eastward.
• Li Yan decided he would need to confirm or resolve the danger posed by the missing team, then used Yuan Zhen’s appearance to leave Elder Lin’s courtyard.
• Li Yan sent a sound-transmission talisman, and Du Shishan arrived at the courtyard and paid his respects to the Supreme Elder.

Yuan Zhen ordered stricter defenses at West Qi Market while secretly waiting in seclusion as Li Yan, who had taken Yuan Zhen’s identity, for news about a dispatched team. After more than two months, a young elder reported that a visitor from the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect had information about Feng Hefei’s team and might know who had killed them.

• Yuan Zhen ordered Martial Nephew Du, Elder Hong, and Elder Zhang to tighten inspections at West Qi Market and promised to capture the true enemies.
• After Du left, Yuan Zhen sent a sound-transmission talisman, and the chapter revealed that Li Yan was impersonating him while the real Yuan Zhen remained in Li Yan’s Tuban.
• Li Yan waited in the cultivation chamber for news from the team sent to investigate him and planned to act if no report arrived within half a year.
• More than two months later, the young elder Li Yan had assigned to issue a summons came to report that a Void Refinement elder from the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect wanted to visit.
• The young elder told Li Yan that the visitor had seen a team of cultivators killed, identified them as people from Luo Gucheng, and claimed he might know the murderer.

Yuan Zhen learned that Zheng Youlin of the powerful Yin-Yang Chaos Sect had come to discuss the deaths of Feng Hefei's team and cooperation over the Five Immortals Sect. Alarmed that his connection to the conflict could expose him and endanger his allies, Yuan Zhen kept the matter secret and summoned Zheng Youlin to meet him.

• Yuan Zhen feared Feng Hefei had revealed his appearance to the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, which could prevent him from returning to the Phantom Sect and put his master and others at risk.
• Qiu Yu reported that Zheng Youlin had identified Feng Hefei's team as dead and claimed Five Immortals Sect cultivators were responsible, though he had no evidence beyond accurate descriptions of three victims.
• Yuan Zhen confirmed that no one else knew the details and learned that Zheng Youlin wanted to exchange information about the Five Immortals Sect.
• Yuan Zhen ordered Qiu Yu to bring Zheng Youlin to him, and Qiu Yu escorted the visitor to the main hall before waiting in the courtyard.