Chapter Summaries

Shopkeeper Zhu returned to the Qianyu Sect with urgent news from the market and delivered the Ancestor's jade slip to Tian Xingwen. Tian Xingwen cautiously began examining it, wary of poison and the Five Immortals Sect, but nothing happened when his divine sense first touched it.

• Shopkeeper Zhu escaped the market and flew toward the Qianyu Sect, fearing an ambush after Elders Liang and Zeng vanished and the teleportation array was destroyed.
• Shopkeeper Zhu reached the sect safely and noticed its defenses had been strengthened before heading directly to Tian Xingwen's cave dwelling.
• Tian Xingwen sensed Shopkeeper Zhu's arrival and received him inside the cave, where Shopkeeper Zhu presented the jade slip recorded by the Ancestor.
• Tian Xingwen kept the jade slip at a distance and cautiously tested it with a strand of divine sense, mindful of the poison-wielding cultivator suspected to be from the Gui Water Immortal Sect.
• After the first touch caused no harm, Tian Xingwen sent his divine sense toward the jade slip again.

Tian Xingwen questioned Shopkeeper Zhu about the attack on Yuanqi Market and concluded that the enemy might be trying to lure him out. He secretly attacked Zhu and captured him, but the ease of the ambush made him question whether his suspicions were correct.

• Tian Xingwen broke the jade slip’s restriction and read Su Nanzi’s warning about Five Immortals Sect cultivators and a possible trap.
• Shopkeeper Zhu recounted how the Ancestor had sent him to deliver the message after the teleportation array was destroyed and Elders Liang and Zeng vanished.
• Tian Xingwen considered that the enemy might be targeting him rather than Su Nanzi, then dismissed Shopkeeper Zhu.
• Tian Xingwen attacked Shopkeeper Zhu from behind and bound him in a golden net.
• Tian Xingwen wondered whether he had misjudged Zhu, while recalling that the enemy had destroyed Su Nanzi’s avatar after wrecking the teleportation array.

Tian Xingwen uncovered signs that the jade slip and Shopkeeper Zhu’s message were meant to lure him away from the sect, then captured Shopkeeper Zhu. As he reconsidered the evidence, he realized Shopkeeper Zhu might be genuine and unknowingly used by the enemy.

• Tian Xingwen noticed the jade slip lacked Su Nanzi’s aura and contradicted Su Nanzi’s earlier instructions, making him suspect a trap.
• Tian Xingwen questioned Shopkeeper Zhu about meeting Su Nanzi and spotted gaps in his account of the teleportation materials and the courtyard.
• Tian Xingwen told Shopkeeper Zhu to return, then attacked and bound him when he left.
• Tian Xingwen found no flaws in Shopkeeper Zhu’s transformation and considered that the real Shopkeeper Zhu might have been manipulated without his knowledge.

Tian Xingwen reconsidered whether Shopkeeper Zhu had been deceived and decided to search his soul, but a terrifying power erupted from Zhu and triggered an avalanche that struck Qianyu Sect. The story then shifted back to early morning, when Ping Tu waited outside the sect for Zhu as part of a plan to attack Tian Xingwen from both inside and outside.

• Tian Xingwen considered how enemies might have captured Shopkeeper Zhu and altered his memories, leaving Zhu convinced that his encounter with Su Nanzi had been real.
• Still uncertain, Tian Xingwen chose to search Shopkeeper Zhu's soul and began casting the spell.
• A life-threatening power erupted from Shopkeeper Zhu before Tian Xingwen could withdraw his spell, cracking the surrounding space and shaking Qianyu Sect.
• A snow mountain collapsed, sending an enormous avalanche toward Qianyu Sect and burying the sky in snow and debris.
• Earlier that morning, Ping Tu arrived outside Qianyu Sect ahead of Shopkeeper Zhu and waited to receive Pei Buchong and Li Yan and help launch an inside-and-outside attack.
• Pei Buchong and Li Yan rejected plans to storm the sect and decided that luring Tian Xingwen out was their safest option.

Pei Buchong and Li Yan debated how to assassinate Tian Xingwen before Qianyu Sect discovered Su Nanzi’s death. Li Yan proposed a way to draw Tian Xingwen out using the real Shopkeeper Zhu and a Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu, leaving Pei Buchong astonished by the Gu’s abilities.

• Pei Buchong proposed that the three infiltrate Qianyu Sect, capture Heng Qing or another elder, and use that person to get close enough to assassinate Tian Xingwen.
• Li Yan agreed to infiltrate but suggested sending Tian Xingwen a message through the real Shopkeeper Zhu, claiming they had found powerful Five Immortals Sect cultivators in Yuanqi Market.
• Pei Buchong questioned how they could make Tian Xingwen believe the message came from Su Nanzi, since they could not reproduce Su Nanzi’s distinctive mark or aura.
• Li Yan explained that a Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu could make its host impossible to Soul Search without causing the host to explode, and said even a Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator could not easily detect or overcome it.
• Li Yan linked the Gu to a secret incident among the Tianli Clan and offered to give Pei Buchong a few Gu and methods for raising them, leaving Pei Buchong deeply impressed by their strange powers.

Li Yan explained how his Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu plan would make Tian Xingwen suspicious of Shopkeeper Zhu and prompt him to perform a Soul Search. Pei Buchong proposed a way to strengthen the trap, drawing on a secret he had uncovered after defeating a Spirit Transformation cultivator, and the chapter ended as he began to reveal that cultivator’s ancient evil technique.

• Li Yan laid out how Shopkeeper Zhu and the jade slip would lead Tian Xingwen to investigate and eventually Soul Search him, while any choice Tian Xingwen made would draw him away from the Qianyu Sect’s well-guarded market town.
• Pei Buchong praised Li Yan’s plan and suggested adding something to Shopkeeper Zhu to increase the force of his self-destruction.
• Li Yan worried that controlling Shopkeeper Zhu or placing a treasure on him could make his behavior seem unnatural and expose the plan.
• Pei Buchong recalled how a Spirit Transformation cultivator in a minor domain tried to capture him, forcing him to fight and capture the man’s Nascent Soul in the chaotic spatial currents.
• Pei Buchong discovered through a Soul Search that the cultivator had learned an ancient evil-cultivation technique that let him detect Pei Buchong’s concealed whereabouts.

Pei Buchong, Li Yan, and Ping Tu devised a plan to use Blood Infant Full Moon and a Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu to turn Shopkeeper Zhu into a concealed trap for Tian Xingwen. After confirming the techniques left Shopkeeper Zhu’s aura and Nascent Soul apparently normal, they split up to infiltrate the Qianyu Sect and prepare for several possible outcomes.

• Pei Buchong recalled the Blood Infant Full Moon art and explained how he could fuse Liang Xuhe’s and Cultivator Zeng’s Nascent Souls into Shopkeeper Zhu without revealing the power or letting Shopkeeper Zhu control it.
• Li Yan, Pei Buchong, and Ping Tu agreed that Shopkeeper Zhu would carry the concealed power near Tian Xingwen during a Soul Search, where it could be detonated to catch Tian Xingwen off guard.
• The three went to Yuanqi Market, where Pei Buchong fused two blood-red moons into Shopkeeper Zhu and Li Yan placed a Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu inside him.
• Ping Tu and Pei Buchong’s attempts to Soul Search Shopkeeper Zhu triggered an overwhelming warning of mortal danger, though later checks found his aura and body apparently normal.
• Li Yan and Pei Buchong headed for the Qianyu Sect to infiltrate it, while Ping Tu planned to impersonate Su Nanzi, direct Shopkeeper Zhu, and prepare an ambush outside the sect.

Li Yan and Pei Buchong waited for Shopkeeper Zhu’s self-detonation to cripple Tian Xingwen, then seized the resulting chaos to escape the Qianyu Sect. Li Yan massacred the cultivators guarding the valley entrance, but two Void Refinement cultivators rushed to confront him.

• Shopkeeper Zhu’s self-detonation collapsed a snow mountain near Tian Xingwen’s cave, throwing the Qianyu Sect into confusion.
• Li Yan and Pei Buchong mingled their divine senses with the sect’s cultivators and saw Tian Xingwen emerge gravely wounded from the destruction.
• Pei Buchong signaled Li Yan to move, and Li Yan rushed toward the valley entrance instead of approaching Tian Xingwen.
• Li Yan attacked the unprepared guards and nearby cultivators with the Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes, killing dozens.
• Li Yan unleashed the Gui-Extreme Flame at the valley entrance, burning away the nearby cultivators.
• Two Void Refinement cultivators charged at Li Yan from either side of the valley.

Li Yan blasted open the Qianyu Sect’s valley entrance and signaled Ping Tu, who rushed in and killed two Void Refinement elders. As the sect’s forces converged, Li Yan stayed behind to hold them off while Ping Tu went to aid Pei Buchong in finishing off the wounded Tian Xingwen.

• Li Yan killed the guards at the valley entrance and blasted open the formation restriction, sending the agreed signal to Ping Tu.
• Ping Tu charged into the sect and killed the two Void Refinement elders attacking Li Yan.
• Qianyu Sect’s disciples and nine Void Refinement cultivators mobilized, while Heng Qing headed toward the collapsing snow mountain to protect Tian Xingwen.
• Ping Tu ordered Li Yan to hold off the approaching cultivators and went to assist Pei Buchong against Tian Xingwen.
• Li Yan agreed to delay the Qianyu Sect forces as Pei Buchong and Ping Tu continued their assault on Tian Xingwen.

Li Yan and Ping Tu launched a full-force assault on the Qianyu Sect cultivators, with Li Yan using his speed and soul attacks to kill several Void Refinement elders. The battle continued as Li Yan’s poison proved less effective against prepared enemies, and he struck another cultivator with his Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes.

• Ping Tu vanished to evade the four elders surrounding him and rush toward the crisis involving Tian Xingwen and Pei Buchong.
• Li Yan unleashed his prepared spell and used Phoenix Soaring to attack the besieging cultivators from multiple directions.
• Li Yan’s Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes and soul attacks killed two Qianyu Sect elders despite their defensive countermeasures.
• Li Yan smashed a third elder’s neck with his elbow, crushing the man’s body through his silver armor.
• A fourth elder charged out of Li Yan’s poisonous mist, and Li Yan stabbed him in the chest with both Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes.

Li Yan killed six Void Refinement Realm cultivators in moments, then unleashed blue flames on the surrounding Qianyu Sect forces. Ping Tu joined Pei Buchong against Tian Xingwen and the others, and the chapter ended with Heng Qing driving the frightened attackers back into a reckless charge against Li Yan.

• Li Yan killed a Qianyu Sect elder with the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike and silently slew two more Void Refinement Realm cultivators with a soul attack.
• Li Yan used Gui-Extreme Flame to destroy the two bodies and engulf the surrounding Qianyu Sect cultivators in blue fire.
• Ping Tu arrived beside Pei Buchong and struck a Void Refinement Realm elder with the Five Elements Dao-Evil Bead.
• Pei Buchong continued attacking the badly wounded Tian Xingwen, who secretly urged Heng Qing to help him bring out the formation disk.
• Pei Buchong and the others sensed Li Yan had already killed six powerful enemies, while Li Yan continued slaughtering the surrounding forces.
• Heng Qing shouted at his side to fight, and the Qianyu Sect cultivators charged Li Yan again despite the blue flames.

Li Yan realized Heng Qing had activated a hidden method in the Qianyu Sect’s entry cultivation art to drive its disciples into battle. As Heng Qing and another elder halted the attackers long enough for Tian Xingwen to produce the formation disk, the Qianyu Sect’s leaders prepared to trap and kill the Five Immortals Sect invaders.

• Li Yan recognized Heng Qing and suspected the Qianyu Sect had planted control restrictions in its low-level cultivators, while Heng Qing used a sound wave to spur the disciples into suicidal attacks.
• Heng Qing and Tian Xingwen worried that Su Nanzi had not returned, but they had no time to investigate as Heng Qing attacked Pei Buchong.
• Heng Qing blocked Pei Buchong’s spear with his enlarged arm and silver gauntlet, while a Qianyu Sect elder was injured stopping Ping Tu’s charge.
• Tian Xingwen used the brief opening to bring out the formation disk and vowed to kill the invaders.
• Heng Qing and the other elder focused their divine senses on Tian Xingwen’s formation disk and resolved to avenge the Qianyu Sect’s losses.

Pei Buchong, Ping Tu, and Li Yan’s plan trapped Tian Xingwen and the two cultivators with him inside a spatial enclosure created by the Five Elements Dao-Evil Bead, preventing Tian Xingwen from controlling the Sect Protection Array. The chapter left the injured Tian Xingwen lost in the yellow dust, fearing that even self-detonation would not defeat his enemies.

• Tian Xingwen tried to activate the Sect Protection Array but found that he could no longer sense or control it.
• Pei Buchong and Ping Tu revealed that Ping Tu had used the disguised Five Elements Dao-Evil Bead to enclose the area and separate it from the outside world.
• Pei Buchong’s attacks and the chaotic battle had concealed the bead’s spatial fluctuations while keeping Tian Xingwen distracted and unable to gather himself.
• Pei Buchong announced that Su Nanzi was dead, startling Tian Xingwen, Heng Qing, and the other elder and interrupting their attempt to regroup.
• Yellow dust disoriented the three trapped cultivators, and Tian Xingwen feared that self-detonation would not work against the Five Immortals Sect’s carefully laid plan.

Li Yan, Pei Buchong, and Ping Tu wiped out Qianyu Sect and secretly eliminated or captured its cultivators across the sect’s market towns and cities. As they left the final market, Pei Buchong praised Li Yan’s help, while the three looked ahead to attacking Qianyu Sect’s vassal forces.

• Li Yan used the Five Elements Dao-Evil Bead with Ping Tu and Pei Buchong to trap and kill the remaining Qianyu Sect cultivators.
• After wiping out the sect, the three sealed it and concealed its destruction with an illusory formation.
• They traveled through Qianyu Sect’s market towns and cities, capturing valuable cultivators and killing others while hiding their actions.
• At the final market, the three removed the last Qianyu Sect cultivators and flew away on the Seven-Treasure Golden Lotus.
• Pei Buchong credited Li Yan with helping complete the mission and suggested they work together again, but Li Yan said his cultivation remained too low to take part fully in sect affairs.
• Pei Buchong said they still had to move quickly against Qianyu Sect’s vassal forces.

Pei Buchong, Li Yan, and Ping Tu spent half a month destroying three Qianyu Sect vassal sects and uncovering a secret assassin organization personally controlled by Su Nanzi. With hostile forces mobilizing and the Qianyu Sect’s core already gone, they ended the campaign and prepared to divide the spoils.

• Ping Tu warned that news of the Qianyu Sect’s troubles would soon spread, so Pei Buchong ordered an immediate attack on nearby third-rate sects.
• Over half a month, Pei Buchong, Li Yan, and Ping Tu destroyed three third-rate sects and discovered that Su Nanzi had secretly created a killer organization using one sect as cover.
• Ping Tu argued that Su Nanzi’s expansion had likely been directed by the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, while Pei Buchong and Li Yan agreed that he had little reason to betray a top-tier sect.
• The group learned that the assassin organization targeted rival forces to weaken or secretly control them, and they wiped out its hidden base.
• After learning that hostile forces had mobilized and defenses had tightened, Pei Buchong called off further attacks and said it was time to divide the spoils.

After finishing the Qianyu Sect purge, Ping Tu, Pei Buchong, and Li Yan prepared to divide the spoils. Elsewhere, Shuang Qingqing and Bai Rou decided to establish the Muliu Sect, and Shuang Qingqing learned Bai Rou had traveled to find her without Li Yan’s knowledge.

• Ping Tu searched for a place to land as Pei Buchong and Li Yan looked forward to dividing the resources taken from the Qianyu Sect and other forces.
• Shuang Qingqing and Bai Rou finished studying the puppet arts in an ancient monastery and planned to establish the Muliu Sect, with Shuang Qingqing as its first old ancestor and Bai Rou as its second.
• Bai Rou objected to being called an old ancestor, and Shuang Qingqing teased her about both being Li Yan’s senior sisters.
• Shuang Qingqing recalled scolding Li Yan for letting Bai Rou travel alone, then learned Bai Rou had faced danger and grown into a formidable cultivator along the way.
• Shuang Qingqing discovered that Li Yan had not sent Bai Rou to find her; Bai Rou had left on her own after Li Yan departed and her cultivation stabilized.

Bai Rou and Shuang Qingqing completed their study of the Arhat Statue Puppet Arts and prepared to establish the Muliu Sect in the Immortal Spirit Realm. Meanwhile, Li Yan returned to the Wangliang Sect after traveling with Pei Buchong and Ping Tu, whose conversations revealed how widely he had traveled.

• Shuang Qingqing learned from Bai Rou about her past ordeals in the Netherworld and admired how resilient she had become.
• Shuang Qingqing guided Bai Rou's cultivation, and Bai Rou reached the middle stage of Spirit Transformation a little over ten years later.
• Shuang Qingqing refined a crude Arhat Statue puppet, confirmed her breakthrough in the Puppet Arts, and taught Bai Rou the art's overall framework.
• Bai Rou agreed to take responsibility for the Muliu Sect, and Shuang Qingqing proposed that they inspect possible sites for establishing it.
• Li Yan returned to the Wangliang Sect after traveling with Pei Buchong and Ping Tu, who were heading back to the Five Immortals Sect.
• Pei Buchong realized from Li Yan's remarks that his junior brother knew more about the Immortal Spirit Realm and may have visited all four of its great regions.

Li Yan returned to the Wangliang Sect after helping destroy Qianyu Sect and several other forces, then entered seclusion while the sect’s standoff with the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect continued. Five years later, Qianji alerted Li Yan that his heavenly tribulation was near, and he successfully reached Spirit Transformation with little difficulty.

• Pei Buchong and Ping Tu parted from Li Yan near the Wangliang Sect after discussing cultivation and learning that he planned to handle his own affairs before attempting Body Integration.
• Li Yan returned to Small Bamboo Peak, found Zhao Min and the others focused on cultivation, and entered seclusion after gathering news about the Wangliang Sect, the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, and the Life Extinction Sect.
• Li Yan learned that the Wangliang Sect and the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect had ended their unsuccessful negotiations and remained watchful, a stalemate he had hoped would continue.
• Five years later, Qianji sent Li Yan a message that his heavenly tribulation was about to arrive, and several days afterward he successfully reached Spirit Transformation.
• Li Yan and Li Wuyi congratulated Qianji, while Li Yan later guessed that Qianji’s past death had given his soul an affinity with death that weakened the heavenly tribulation.

Li Yan decided to travel to the North Pasture Realm with Qianji so Qianji could visit Zi Kun and the Heavenly Demon Grassland, then continue to the Pojun Sect. Zhao Min declined to join because she was nearing a breakthrough, so Li Yan left her cultivation resources to distribute among their loved ones before departing with Qianji.

• Li Yan noticed that Qianji had grown lonely after reaching Spirit Transformation and invited him to travel to the North Pasture Realm to see Zi Kun.
• Qianji eagerly prepared for the journey, and Li Yan told him he had made no breakthrough despite years of cultivation.
• Li Yan asked Zhao Min and Gong Chenying to accompany them, but Gong Chenying remained in seclusion and Zhao Min declined because she was pursuing a breakthrough.
• Li Yan gave Zhao Min cultivation resources for Gong Chenying, Li Zhaoyan, their senior brothers, and the others to distribute.
• Li Yan reported his plans to Small Bamboo Peak and then left the Wangliang Sect with Qianji.

Li Yan and Qianji traveled through the North Pasture Realm toward the Heavenly Demon Grassland, with Li Yan warning that Zi Kun might have grown strong enough to defeat Qianji. In Star Flame City, Qianji searched for an artifact-refining method suited to him, and a Guiqulaixi steward offered two promising possibilities.

• Li Yan told Qianji they would visit the Pojun Sect before going to the Heavenly Demon Grassland to find Zi Kun, and warned that Zi Kun might have reached the Void Refinement Realm.
• Qianji resolved to train on the journey and asked Li Yan to help him obtain any useful magical treasures they found.
• After five years of traveling, Li Yan and Qianji reached Star Flame City near the Heavenly Demon Grassland, where Qianji complained that he had struggled to find a suitable magical treasure.
• Li Yan advised Qianji to seek an ice-element artifact-refining method and gather the materials to make a treasure tailored to himself.
• At a Guiqulaixi shop, Qianji discussed his needs with the steward, who offered several refining arts before naming two that seemed to suit him.