Chapter Summaries

Li Yan rescued Shanggong Changge from Dongli Pei and used a series of verbal traps to catch the cultivator off guard before killing him. He left Dongli Dongshan and Daoyu unconscious, intending to search their memories for what had happened to Zhao Min and Shanggong Changge.

• Li Yan realized Dongli Pei was connected to Zhao Min's supposed death and decided to rescue Shanggong Changge to learn the truth.
• Li Yan broke Dongli Pei's restriction, redirected the shock wave, and took Shanggong Changge away while Dongli Pei swept Dongli Dongshan and Daoyu aside.
• Li Yan unsettled Dongli Pei with remarks that implied he had watched the scene inside the restriction, then struck him by surprise.
• Dongli Dongshan and Daoyu tried to flee, but Li Yan knocked them unconscious with Heavy Water Beads.
• Li Yan pierced Dongli Pei with his Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes and confirmed that the cultivator was dead.

Li Yan killed Dongli Pei in a direct fight, collected the group’s concealment treasures, and hid the bodies and survivors inside a formation. He confronted Dao Yu, who begged for his life, and revealed that he remembered their conflict in the lower realm.

• Li Yan exploited Dongli Pei’s momentary distraction to strike his soul, body, and dantian, killing him and confirming he could defeat ordinary Integrated Body Early Stage cultivators.
• Li Yan took the black veils and other belongings, gathered the bodies and unconscious Dao Yu, and concealed them within a formation.
• Li Yan restored his original appearance and woke Dao Yu, who pretended to assess the situation before Li Yan’s power forced him upright.
• Dao Yu saw Dongli Pei’s corpse and begged Li Yan to spare him, claiming he had no real ties to the Dongli Lineage.
• Li Yan addressed Dao Yu by name and recalled their past encounter involving Zhao Min, leaving Dao Yu confused and shocked.

Li Yan learned through Soul Searches that Daoyu had lost the memories linking him to Li Yan and that Shanggong Changge had concealed Zhao Min’s involvement in Dongli Qing’s death. After weighing Shanggong Changge’s schemes against the ways she had saved him and protected Zhao Min, Li Yan decided to spare her.

• Daoyu pleaded with Li Yan, who gouged out one of his eyes and then used the Soul-Seeking Technique on him.
• Li Yan discovered that Daoyu had been told Zhao Min died from poison and had no memories of his past conflict with Li Yan.
• Li Yan searched Dongli Dongshan’s soul and learned he had only passed messages, then searched the unconscious Shanggong Changge.
• Li Yan learned that Shanggong Changge had tried to keep him and Zhao Min apart but had concealed evidence implicating Zhao Min in Dongli Qing’s death.
• Li Yan considered that Shanggong Changge had saved him twice and protected Zhao Min, and decided to spare her.

Li Yan disguised himself as a stout yellow-robed cultivator and killed Dongli Pei, Daoyu, and Dongli Dongshan, leaving Shanggong Changge alive. He revealed that he had erased the evidence for her sake, then left her to handle the remaining cleanup, while she still wondered how they knew each other.

• Li Yan decided to kill Shanggong Changge's attackers and approached Dongli Dongshan while disguised as a stout yellow-robed cultivator.
• Shanggong Changge woke and watched Li Yan burn Dongli Dongshan, Daoyu, and Dongli Pei to nothingness while leaving their storage treasures behind.
• Shanggong Changge judged that Li Yan was far stronger than Dongli Pei and stayed still, fearing what he might do to her.
• Shanggong Changge bowed to Li Yan, who greeted her as a fellow Daoist and said their meeting was a measure of immortal affinity.
• Li Yan told Shanggong Changge he had erased the evidence and left her to finish the cleanup, reassuring her that she could handle what remained.

Shanggong Changge offered the mysterious jade box to the yellow-robed cultivator who had saved her, hoping to earn his favor. Before leaving, Li Yan told her that Zhao Min was safe and that he had brought her to the Immortal Spirit Realm.

• Shanggong Changge concluded that Dao Yu had betrayed her over the jade box and planned how to conceal Dao Yu’s disappearance.
• Shanggong Changge thanked the yellow-robed cultivator for saving her and asked where they had met, but he prepared to leave without answering.
• Shanggong Changge offered the jade box to the cultivator as thanks and to forge good karma with him.
• Li Yan accepted the jade box after realizing Shanggong Changge wanted to secure his goodwill.
• As Li Yan departed, he told Shanggong Changge that Zhao Min was safe and had been brought to the Immortal Spirit Realm, leaving her stunned.

Shanggong Changge concluded that Zhao Min had survived and been taken away by her powerful master, and felt relieved that Zhao Min held no grudge against her. Li Yan left her behind, traveled far from Saint Demon City, and began examining the treasures he had taken from the golden-armored giant.

• Shanggong Changge recalled the Supreme Elders' troubled questions about Zhao Min and realized their claim that Zhao Min had died may have concealed her being taken away.
• Shanggong Changge decided the yellow-robed cultivator was likely Zhao Min's master or his sect's elder, and believed Zhao Min's good opinion of her had helped spare her life.
• Shanggong Changge silently wished Zhao Min well, then flew away with her heart at ease.
• Li Yan revealed that he had deliberately led Shanggong Changge to a false explanation for Zhao Min's past and chose to leave their shared history behind.
• Li Yan flew for two days, carved out a hidden chamber in a remote mountain, and set formations around it.
• Li Yan examined the pills from the golden-armored giant, identifying several high-grade pills but finding no signs of soul-restoring medicine.

Li Yan examined the pills, materials, and magical treasures taken from the golden-armored giant, identifying several useful items and recognizing the azure cloud treasure as the legendary flying treasure Ink Cloud. After five months spent erasing its imprint and refining it anew, Li Yan set off across the sea on Ink Cloud.

• Li Yan identified the Seven Radiance Pills and Dragon Marrow Body-Attachment Pills, then stored the unfamiliar pills and materials for later study.
• Li Yan tested the golden greatsword and several other magical treasures, discovering that the black shield and red umbrella could both defend and attack.
• Li Yan recognized the azure cloud treasure as Ink Cloud, a rare flying magical treasure, and decided to refine it before leaving.
• Li Yan found the golden-armored giant's dark-red imprint within Ink Cloud and spent five months erasing it and refining the treasure anew.
• Li Yan emerged from the sea standing on Ink Cloud and flew toward the distant horizon.

After refining Ink Cloud, Li Yan tested its effects and considered the risks of keeping the sealed little girl in yellow inside Tuban. He examined the golden-armored giant’s collected treasures and jade slips, finding techniques, formulas, maps, and a remarkable sword formation.

• Li Yan finished refining Ink Cloud and discovered that it made his movement faster and increased the speed of his spiritual power circulation.
• Li Yan failed to search the little girl in yellow’s soul because golden light protected it, so he kept her sealed inside Tuban rather than risk releasing or awakening her.
• Li Yan decided not to return to the underground cave, despite wondering whether a powerful master might still be connected to the little girl.
• Li Yan examined the jade slips from the spatial treasures and found six first-rate techniques, including the vicious Blood-Melting Yin Poison Art, which he set aside.
• Li Yan sorted away useful pill formulas and maps, then found the Eight Gates Golden Light Sword Formation among the remaining records.

Li Yan inspected his spoils from the White Devil Race and found that the sealed jade box Shanggong Changge had given him could not be safely opened, so he decided to study it later. After concluding his journey had achieved its main purpose for Zhao Min, he traveled to Flower Shade City and entered under his youthful disguise.

• Li Yan examined the Eight-Gate Golden Light Sword Array and reflected that he had missed the chance to learn more about the powerful underground array.
• Li Yan tried several methods to open Shanggong Changge's jade box, but stopped the Prison Breaker technique when he sensed it would destroy the box and its contents.
• Li Yan tested the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief against the seal, considered why it had failed, and decided to preserve the box for future study.
• Li Yan inspected Dongli Pei's belongings and judged his White Devil Race journey a mixture of danger and reward, with Zhao Min's Dao Path now able to continue smoothly.
• Li Yan put away Ink Cloud, approached Flower Shade City on foot in disguise, presented a peach-blossom token, and entered past the Huafu Sect guards.

Li Yan returned to Flower Shade City and reunited with Qianji, telling him they would leave for the North Pasture Realm the next day. Elsewhere, Hong Yin searched a cavern for answers about the Red Whisk Temple and found evidence that the Northern Underworld Demon-Suppressing Tower’s beasts had mixed, transformed bloodlines.

• Li Yan entered Flower Shade City using his property token and went to the secluded courtyard where Qianji had been waiting.
• Li Yan told Qianji that his plans had gone smoothly and that they would leave for the North Pasture Realm the next day, first seeking Chen Ying and Zhao Min at the Tianli Clan.
• Li Yan decided to explain the essential details of his recent affairs to Qianji so he would not misunderstand what had happened to Luo Beixi and Ye Yuhong if they met later.
• Hong Yin continued searching a cavern for clues to the Red Whisk Temple’s disappearance after tracing the Red Whisk Red Dragon Spear’s spearhead to the Northern Underworld Demon-Suppressing Tower.
• Hong Yin captured a Demon Beast in the tower and learned through a Soul Search that it carried traits from several bloodlines, including the Wind Beast’s.

Hong Yin followed the wind through a cavern and reached a wall covered in silver vines that lashed toward her. Li Yan explained to Qianji why he spared Luo Beixi and treated Luo Youhuang, then planned their journey to North Pasture Realm with Qianji accompanying him outside.

• Hong Yin followed clues from inherited bloodline memories through a cavern whose wind reminded her of Wind God Continent.
• Hong Yin reached the cavern’s vast end, where silver vines clung to the wall and whipped toward her.
• Li Yan told Qianji that he spared Luo Beixi and Ye Yuhong and used a soul-restoring pill to save Luo Youhuang.
• Qianji understood Li Yan’s decision and welcomed the news that they would leave the next day for North Pasture Realm.
• Li Yan told Qianji he could gain experience on the journey, and Qianji praised him until Li Yan told him to shut up.

More than ten years into their journey, Qianji trapped a fourth-tier flying-fish sea demon in his ice sword formation while Li Yan watched unseen. As they continued toward Luo Gucheng by a route that avoided Dim Heaven Dark Earth, Li Yan’s harsh training had pushed Qianji to fight increasingly dangerous opponents and rely on himself.

• Qianji used eight ice swords to trap the flying-fish sea demon, whose water spells weakened as his seawater was frozen and scattered.
• The sea demon realized Qianji had anticipated his ambush and deliberately lured him away from the ocean before deploying the sword formation.
• Li Yan observed from Ink Cloud as Qianji contained the demon, pleased that Qianji’s years of training had made the formation effective.
• Li Yan and Qianji traveled west toward Luo Gucheng, taking a detour around Dim Heaven Dark Earth because Qianji was not ready to face its dangers.
• Li Yan guided Qianji’s cultivation and sent him to fight opponents of varying strength, refusing to intervene unless Qianji faced immediate death.
• Qianji endured dangerous fights without calling for rescue, determined to grow stronger and eventually catch up to Zi Kun.

Li Yan gave Qianji the Eight-Gate Golden Light Sword Formation and taught him to adapt it to the Snow Mosquitoes’ ice-and-snow swords. Qianji used the formation against a flying-fish sea demon, which nearly escaped before he froze it solid.

• Qianji’s growing resolve to cultivate reassured Li Yan, who decided the Eight-Gate Golden Light Sword Formation could strengthen him.
• Li Yan explained the sword formation to Qianji and taught him to begin with eight ice-and-snow longswords.
• Qianji trapped a flying-fish sea demon in the formation, where bone-chilling cold weakened it.
• The sea demon found an apparent opening and used its bladed proboscis to break through the formation’s membrane.
• Qianji intensified the cold, refroze the opening, and encased the sea demon in ice, freezing its body and Nascent Soul.

Qianji killed a flying-fish sea demon with the Eight Gates Golden Light Sword Formation, then continued training under Li Yan as they traveled to the North Pasture Realm. After they arrived, the story turned to the Tianli Clan’s hard-won settlement in a hostile primeval forest.

• Qianji trapped and killed the flying-fish sea demon, and his Snow Mosquitoes devoured its flesh while he claimed its nascent soul and bones.
• Qianji continued traveling and fighting under Li Yan’s guidance, advancing to the nascent soul middle stage as they reached the far western edge of the Cangxuan Realm.
• Li Yan and Qianji discussed cross-realm travel and the possibility of visiting Zi Kun before using a super teleportation formation to enter the North Pasture Realm.
• Li Yan and Qianji set out toward the Tianli Clan, which had settled in a damp, miasma-filled part of a primeval forest after generations of migration.
• The Tianli Clan fought the Demon Beasts that claimed the forest territory and eventually seized the area, paying a grievous price.

Gong Chenying and her family settled into the Tianli Clan’s Qing'a King Residence after the clan recognized their merits and gave them a home befitting their status. The chapter ended with Zhao Min alone beneath the moon, remembering the quiet nights at Small Bamboo Peak.

• The Tianli Clan assigned Gong Chenying’s family Li Yan’s Qing'a King Residence after learning that Li Yan had ascended and recognizing the family’s achievements.
• Gong Chenying initially wanted a small courtyard, but Gong Shanhe persuaded her to accept the residence so the clan would understand the family’s merits and not question Zhao Min and Little Beast receiving cultivation inheritances.
• Gong Chenying accepted the clan’s residence and servants, who cared for its grounds and handled household tasks.
• Zhao Min sat alone on the pavilion roof and recalled how she used to watch the moon at Small Bamboo Peak to quiet her thoughts and forget her loneliness and resentment.

Zhao Min remembered meeting Li Yan decades earlier and longed for his return while waiting in the Tianli Clan. Li Yan finally reached the clan’s territory and encountered a group of its cultivators, leaving the reunion still ahead.

• Zhao Min recalled how a grieving youth once shared the moonlit platform with her and how she and Gong Chenying later received Li Yan’s message that he would come for them.
• Zhao Min continued waiting for Li Yan after several decades, worrying about his safety and missing him.
• Li Yan and Qianji searched the vast forest for the Tianli Clan until Li Yan sensed they no longer needed to keep looking.
• Li Yan and Qianji met five Tianli Clan men, and Li Yan recognized that they cultivated forms of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art.

Li Yan presented his clan token to Tianli Clan guards, who recognized him as the legendary Prince Li and welcomed him into the clan. He and Qianji followed them through the hidden formation entrance, bringing Li Yan closer to reuniting with his family.

• Li Yan introduced himself to the Tianli Clan guards and sent the leader his token.
• The Nascent Soul guard recognized the token’s Qing'a King mark and realized Li Yan was the clan’s legendary benefactor.
• The guards saluted Li Yan and led him toward the Tianli Clan’s hidden entrance.
• Li Yan and Qianji followed the guards through a concealed formation in the forest.
• Li Yan shielded himself and Qianji, then moved toward the formation entrance.

Li Yan and Qianji entered the Tianli Clan in the Immortal Spirit Realm and were escorted toward Qing'a King's residence. As they passed through the clan’s settlements, Li Yan compared its mortal and cultivator communities with those of the lower realm.

• Li Yan and Qianji passed through a killing formation, where a Nascent Soul Cultivator verified Li Yan’s identity and sent a young Golden Core Realm cultivator to guide them.
• The Golden Core Realm cultivators questioned whether Li Yan matched his fearsome reputation, but their chief warned them to stop and sent a message to the clan’s higher-ups.
• The guide led Li Yan and Qianji through the forest to the Tianli Clan, where they saw mountain settlements, stilted houses, and towering pavilions.
• Li Yan and Qianji walked past mortal residents who fell silent and moved aside in fear when the cultivator guide approached.
• Li Yan reflected on how the Immortal Spirit Realm’s mortals and cultivators remained divided, unlike the lower-realm Tianli Clan, whose shared battles had bound them together.

Li Yan arrived at the Qing'a King Residence with Qianji, hoping to reunite with Zhao Min and the others. Zhao Min rushed to greet him and was stunned to discover that Qianji had been revived.

• A young Golden Core Realm cultivator led Li Yan and Qianji along secluded mountain paths to the Qing'a King Residence.
• The residence's chief steward told Zhao Min that the prince had returned, and Zhao Min immediately flew to the gates.
• Li Yan recognized Zhao Min on the gatehouse and called to her before she descended to greet him as her husband.
• Zhao Min initially mistook Qianji for a guard, then recognized his familiar voice and exclaimed in shock that he had been revived.

Li Yan reunited with Zhao Min at the Qing'a King's residence and learned that Gong Chenying was away on a five-year clan mission while Little Beast was competing in the Tianli Clan's grand competition. Zhao Min explained how Li Yan's achievements had earned his family access to clan cultivation inheritances, and Li Yan considered visiting Gong Chenying through a teleportation array.

• Zhao Min greeted Li Yan and brought him into the residence, reassuring him that everything was fine.
• Zhao Min told Li Yan that Gong Chenying had left six months earlier for a five-year mission guarding a Tianli Clan prison island.
• Zhao Min explained that Li Yan's achievements had brought the Tianli Clan great influence and allowed his close relatives to receive core cultivation inheritances.
• Zhao Min said Li Yan could visit Gong Chenying using a teleportation array connected to her island.
• Li Yan asked about Little Beast, and Zhao Min explained that he was participating in the ongoing grand competition for cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and below.