Chapter Summaries

Sun Guoshu and Mu Lian escaped two Ten-Step Academy sword cultivators by sacrificing Sun Guoshu’s magical treasure and exploiting their hesitation over the Shadowspace Stone. As they fled on Mu Lian’s gu insect, two unidentified figures appeared in their path.

• Sun Guoshu feigned a bodily detonation, then ordered his Abyssal Ground Lizard’s artifact spirit to explode and used the sword cultivators’ confusion to escape with Mu Lian.
• The Ten-Step Academy cultivators hesitated over whether to pursue or retrieve the Shadowspace Stone, allowing Sun Guoshu and Mu Lian to get farther away.
• Mu Lian caught up with Sun Guoshu on her fast-flying gu insect, and he climbed aboard while calculating how much she owed him for his losses.
• As Sun Guoshu began asking Mu Lian for compensation, a man and a woman suddenly appeared ahead and blocked their path.

Li Yan reunited with Sun Guoshu and learned that he and Mu Lian were fleeing Ten-Step Academy cultivators over a Shadowspace Stone. Zhao Min drove off their pursuers, while Li Yan began asking about Small Bamboo Peak and Madam Wei.

• Mu Lian recognized that Li Yan and Zhao Min were far beyond her cultivation and greeted them as seniors, while Sun Guoshu recognized Li Yan as his long-lost Young Master.
• Li Yan used memories from Peiyang Market and Windcool Mountain to convince Sun Guoshu that he was truly alive, then asked why Sun Guoshu and Mu Lian were being pursued.
• Sun Guoshu explained that two Ten-Step Academy cultivators had hunted them because Mu Lian obtained a Shadowspace Stone, and Zhao Min vanished to confront the pursuers.
• Li Yan offered to help Sun Guoshu pursue Golden Core and asked about Small Bamboo Peak; Sun Guoshu said Wei had become a Nascent Soul fifty years earlier while Madam Wei remained Golden Core.
• Mu Lian warned Sun Guoshu not to speak carelessly about Madam Wei, and Zhao Min returned with the pursuers' Storage Pouches and the Shadowspace Stone, saying she had only taught them a lesson.

Zhao Min reunited with members of Phantom Sect and learned how Small Bamboo Peak had fared during her absence. As she and Li Yan drew near their home, they heard that Wei Zhongran had formed his Nascent Soul and Zhao Zhi had advanced only to False Nascent Soul; Mu Lian then revealed that Li Changting had become Peak Master.

• Zhao Min returned with the Storage Pouches and asked Sun Guoshu about Small Bamboo Peak, while Mu Lian recognized her as Martial Aunt Zhao.
• Sun Guoshu told Zhao Min that Wei Zhongran had formed his Nascent Soul fifty years earlier and that Zhao Zhi had reached False Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Yan comforted Zhao Min over her mother's slow cultivation and asked how many Golden Core cultivators Small Bamboo Peak had.
• Sun Guoshu named Wei Chi Tuo, Yun Chunqu, Miao Wangqing, and Gong Chenying as cultivators who had formed their Golden Cores, surprising Li Yan and Zhao Min especially about Miao Wangqing.
• Mu Lian murmured that Miao Wangqing had been forced into forming her Golden Core by their Peak Master, prompting Li Yan and Zhao Min to ask whether Li Changting had become Peak Master.

Li Yan and Zhao Min returned to the Phantom Sect after learning about Small Bamboo Peak and Gong Chenying’s long absence. At Small Bamboo Peak, Wei Zhongran and Zhao Zhi worried that five years had passed without word from their daughter, unaware that Li Yan and Zhao Min had just come home.

• Mu Lian told Li Yan and Zhao Min that Li Yuyin had entered seclusion to pursue the Nascent Soul Realm, while Miao had recently formed her Golden Core after decades of seclusion.
• Mu Lian revealed that Gong Chenying had left the sect more than a decade earlier, though she did not know where Gong had gone or whether she had returned.
• Li Yan and Zhao Min learned that the four great sects still controlled the Desolate Moon Continent and reached the Phantom Sect by nightfall.
• Li Yan told Sun Guoshu to visit Small Bamboo Peak in two days, then parted from him and Mu Lian with Zhao Min.
• Wei Zhongran and Zhao Zhi discussed their lack of news from Min'er over the past five years, and Zhao Zhi wondered whether someone had impersonated her.

Wei Zhongran and Zhao Zhi learned that Zhao Min and Li Yan had returned and joyfully reunited with them at Small Bamboo Peak. The chapter ended with everyone gathered in the main hall, where Li Yan asked about Fifth Senior Brother and Seventh Senior Brother.

• Wei Zhongran told Zhao Zhi he would wait one more year for news before traveling to Qingqing Continent himself.
• Wei Zhongran sensed two powerful auras approaching and recognized Zhao Min and Li Yan, then told Zhao Zhi they had returned.
• Zhao Min reunited tearfully with Zhao Zhi and Wei Zhongran, while Li Yan greeted Wei Zhongran and congratulated him on completing the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Wuyi, Wei Chi Tuo, Yun Chunqu, and the Small Bamboo Peak disciples arrived to welcome Zhao Min and Li Yan; Zhao Zhi rewarded the disciples with contribution points.
• Wei Zhongran led everyone to the main hall, where Li Yan asked about Fifth Senior Brother and Seventh Senior Brother.

Li Yan and Zhao Min reunited with their Wangliang Sect family and shared a carefully limited account of their years away. The group learned that Gong Chenying was back with her clan, while Li Yan remained uncertain whether Shuang Qingqing and Bai Rou had returned.

• Li Yan learned that his fifth and seventh senior brothers were in seclusion, while Li Wuyi explained that Gong Chenying had returned to the Wind God Continent with Gong Shanhe.
• Zhao Min asked about Gong Chenying and Miao; Li Wuyi said Miao had formed her core and had gone to Laojun Peak for spirit plant seeds.
• Li Wuyi and Wei Chituo asked Li Yan how he and Zhao Min had reached the middle stage of the Golden Core Realm, and Li Yan recounted their journey while concealing dangerous details.
• Li Yan asked about Shuang Qingqing and Bai Rou, and Wei Zhongran said neither had returned to the Desolate Moon Continent or the Muliu Sect.
• Li Wuyi warned Li Yan about the Pure Land Sect, and Li Yan and Zhao Min maintained that they had been trapped in an underground cavern before emerging in the Northern Underworld Sea.

Li Yan reunited with his family and fellow disciples at Small Bamboo Peak after returning from the Northern Underworld Sea, and he reflected on how much had changed during his absence. At the gathering, he learned about Wei Chituo’s body-refinement method and the group’s history with Li Changting’s gu wine, just as Li Changting noticed his reluctance to drink it.

• Li Yan and Zhao Min reassured Li Wuyi that they had kept out of sight, then Zhao Min reunited with Li Changting at Buli Peak.
• Wei Zhongran spoke privately with Li Yan for over two hours before the disciples gathered at Li Yan’s old bamboo courtyard.
• Li Yan surveyed the familiar courtyard and noticed that three fellow disciples were missing from the old gathering.
• Wei Chituo explained that he had obtained a Pure Land Sect body-refinement method from a dead monk’s storage ring during the war against the Devil Race.
• Li Yan learned that Li Changting’s gu wine had helped the disciples recover from injuries during the war, and that the others had gradually grown accustomed to drinking it.
• When Li Yan admitted he still preferred clear liquor, Li Changting heard him and rose to confront him.

Li Changting exposed that Li Yan and Zhao Min had planted the Heart-Twining Twin Gu, prompting Zhao Min to explain why she had chosen to keep it. The chapter ended with Li Yan and Zhao Min sharing a quiet moment beneath the moon while Zhao Zhi worried about them from afar.

• Li Changting teased Li Yan about the Heart-Twining Twin Gu, startling the people gathered in his courtyard.
• Zhao Min explained that she had planted the paired gu in Li Yan while he was unconscious and in danger, and told Zhao Zhi she had chosen not to remove it.
• Wei Zhongran accepted Zhao Min's decision, while Li Changting and Miao Wangqing pressed Li Yan and Zhao Min about becoming Dao companions.
• At dawn, Zhao Min asked Li Yan when he would seek out Gong Chenying, and they spoke about his feelings before leaning together beneath the moon.
• Zhao Zhi asked Wei Zhongran to observe Li Yan and Zhao Min from afar, then fretted that her daughter might act rashly.

Li Yan reunited with his former fellow disciples and learned about the Wangliang Sect’s territorial conflict with the Taixuan Sect and the uncertain whereabouts of its highest-ranking cultivators. He settled Zi Kun at his courtyard to cultivate, then headed to his cultivation chamber.

• Li Yan reunited with Wang Tian, Zuo Shengyan, Baili Yuan, and Du Sanjiang, told them a limited account of his return, and learned that several of their old companions had died in the great battle.
• Li Yan revealed his Golden Core Middle Stage cultivation, leaving the four fellow disciples astonished as they compared their progress with his.
• Li Yan learned that the Wangliang Sect was resisting pressure from the Taixuan Sect and its allies to surrender former Taixuan territories, while reports about Spirit Transformation cultivators ascending remained unconfirmed.
• Sun Guoshu visited Li Yan’s courtyard and left smiling after their discussion.
• Li Yan brought Zi Kun out of Tuban, gave him a sect token, and allowed him to establish the Great Dragon-Elephant Array and cultivate in the courtyard.
• Li Yan left Zi Kun eager to explore the sect and went to the cultivation chamber at the back of his residence.

After returning to Small Bamboo Peak, Li Yan entered Tuban and reunited with Ping Tu, telling him about his century stranded on the Lost Continent and his meeting with Qianzhong and Pei Buchong. Ping Tu learned that Qianzhong might be trapped and remained unable to leave Tuban, while Li Yan offered to help him recover.

• Zi Kun activated a powerful formation over Li Yan’s courtyard as Li Yan entered his cultivation chamber and used an ancient crystal to travel to Tuban.
• Li Yan greeted Ping Tu respectfully, and Ping Tu expressed surprise that Li Yan had survived the Devil Race invasion.
• Li Yan recounted his journey to the Lost Continent and explained that he had met a wisp of Qianzhong’s Divine Thought and learned about Pei Buchong’s search for him.
• Ping Tu became excited to hear about Qianzhong, then grew anxious when Li Yan said Qianzhong’s true body might be trapped somewhere.
• Li Yan explained that Ping Tu’s strength had only recovered to the middle Spirit Transformation stage and asked how he could help.
• Ping Tu said ninth-grade medicinal pills or at least a hundred supreme-grade spirit stones could restore much of his strength, allowing him to attempt to transform back into the Five Elements Dao-Evil Bead.

Li Yan returned to Wangliang Sect, learned that a hostile otherworldly Spirit Transformation cultivator remained somewhere on the Desolate Moon Continent, and entered seclusion to prepare for Nascent Soul Formation. Fifteen years later, Shuang Qingqing visited Small Bamboo Peak, found Li Yan and Zhao Min in seclusion, and departed without being seen again.

• Ping Tu warned Li Yan that a black-robed Spirit Transformation cultivator had tried to enter the hidden realm and might threaten him, then told him to focus on forming his Nascent Soul.
• Li Yan and Zhao Min received Wangliang Sect visitors, accepted positions as sect elders without a ceremony, and returned to seclusion after Li Yan checked on Qianji.
• Li Yan examined the red-glowing spearhead he intended for Gong Chenying, studied Shuang Qingqing's cultivation insights, and spent twenty-one days reading before beginning his cultivation.
• Fifteen years passed while Li Yan and Zhao Min remained secluded, and Shuang Qingqing returned to the Desolate Moon Continent with Bai Rou.
• Shuang Qingqing visited Small Bamboo Peak, learned from Wei Zhongran that Li Yan and Zhao Min were in long-term seclusion, and left without seeing Bai Rou again.

After more than fifty years in seclusion, Li Yan emerged at the peak of the False Nascent Soul Realm but still could not break through, and Ping Tu advised him to temper his state of mind through life outside seclusion. He reunited with Zi Kun, who asked about Qianji.

• Bai Rou returned to the Desolate Moon Continent as a Golden Core cultivator, became the Woodflow Sect's sect master, and devoted herself to formations and puppet arts.
• Sun Guoshu reached Great Completion of the Golden Core Realm, then visited Small Bamboo Peak and the Woodflow Sect.
• Wen Xinliang, Mei Bucai, and Lin Daqiao died in seclusion, while Chu Weili successfully formed his Golden Core.
• Li Wuyi postponed his wedding after Lin Daqiao's death, and Zhao Min later emerged from seclusion at the False Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Yan ended his fifty-one-year seclusion after failing to break through, and Ping Tu advised him to seek experience beyond cultivation.
• Zi Kun welcomed Li Yan and asked whether Qianji had broken through, causing Li Yan's expression to stiffen.

After decades in seclusion, Li Yan emerged from Tuban and reunited with Qianji and Zi Kun before learning how much time had passed. He discovered that two senior brothers and Mei Bucai had died, while his surviving sectmates had continued their lives, and the chapter left him reconnecting with the sect.

• Li Yan found the Snow Mosquito King, who had spent decades trapped in Tuban and grown despondent, and brought him out.
• Qianji reunited with Li Yan in the bamboo courtyard, then eagerly questioned Zi Kun about the female cultivators in the sect.
• Miao Wangqing told Li Yan that Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang had died, and Li Yan recalled Lin Daqiao’s kindness and offered hope that they might meet again through reincarnation.
• Li Yan learned that Mei Bucai had died, Chu Weili had formed his golden core, and Miao Wangqing’s wedding had been delayed by Li Wuyi’s conduct.
• Li Yan visited Wei Zhongran and Zhao Min, and Wei Zhongran learned that Li Yan had emerged with another powerful third-rank demon beast.

Li Yan reunited with Wei Zhongran, Zhao Min, and Bai Rou, then attended Li Wuyi’s wedding and became engaged to Zhao Min. He left the Phantom Sect to temper his state of mind by revisiting places from his past, and the chapter ended with him reflecting on the mountain where he and Strategist Ji had fought.

• Wei Zhongran confirmed Li Yan had reached the False Nascent Soul Realm and advised him to calm his mind before attempting further progress.
• Zhao Min told Li Yan that Bai Rou had returned and that Shuang Qingqing had departed, while the Woodstream Sect was established as an outer branch of the Phantom Sect.
• A year later, Li Wuyi married Miao Wangqing, and Wei Zhongran announced Li Yan and Zhao Min’s engagement.
• Li Yan left the Phantom Sect alone after Zhao Min kissed him goodbye, intending to temper his state of mind.
• Li Yan watched his former village for four months without intervening when villagers were attacked, then visited the Strategist’s Residence and reflected on his past with Strategist Ji.
• Li Yan reached the platform where he and Strategist Ji had once fought and contemplated the enduring pines.

After years of hiding his aura and living among ordinary people, Li Yan arrived in Yuhai City still searching for a way to break through. He overheard that Duke Cui was recruiting a head martial instructor and learned that the retired official’s residence stood at the center of the city’s attention.

• Li Yan recalled Strategist Ji’s death, let go of his hatred, and flew toward the moon.
• Over seven years, Li Yan lived as a soldier, an escort, and a farmer in search of enlightenment, but failed to achieve a breakthrough.
• Li Yan entered Yuhai City and considered what to do next after giving his house and farmland to Brother Feng’s family.
• Li Yan overheard three martial artists discussing Duke Cui’s search for a head martial instructor and learned that the duke had returned to Yuhai City with a few trusted followers.
• Li Yan left the tavern, and the chapter described Duke Cui’s reputation for punishing powerful offenders and the influence of his residence in Tianfeng Alley.

At Duke Cui’s residence, martial artists gathered to undergo tests intended to draw out a hidden opponent, while Li Yan watched from the crowd. Lian Pinghai used a careful technique to separate two black-gold boulders, bringing him close to passing the test as his strength began to fail.

• Duke Cui explained that he had little time left to investigate his opponent and ordered his aides to scrutinize the gathered experts.
• The authorities kept order outside Tianfeng Alley while crowds of martial artists and spectators gathered at the Duke’s residence.
• Li Yan mingled with the crowd as Xie invited another challenger to attempt the black-gold boulder test.
• Lian Pinghai stepped forward, and Xie recognized him as the martial hero known as “Flying Clouds Crossing Locks.”
• Lian Pinghai used internal force and the boulders’ rolling motion to separate them, but as they opened nearly eighty percent, his arms trembled and he neared exhaustion.

Lian Pinghai passed the first test by separating the black gold boulders, and Li Yan recognized them as yin-yang stones. Disguised as Zhang Ming, Li Yan then stepped forward and began prying the stones apart with extraordinary strength, leaving his fingers at risk as the refined middle-aged man prepared to intervene.

• Lian Pinghai separated the black gold boulders and was admitted to the Duke's estate for the later trials.
• Servants reset the boulders, but four more candidates failed to separate them.
• Li Yan recognized the boulders as yin-yang stones and decided to try the test as Zhang Ming.
• Zhang Ming introduced himself as a rustic villager who had learned crude moves near Great Green Mountain, drawing doubts from the crowd.
• Zhang Ming pried open the boulders and thrust his fingers into the gap, while the refined middle-aged man moved to protect him.

Li Yan passed the strength test by pulling apart and hurling the massive Yin-Yang Stones, then entered Duke Cui’s residence for the next round of trials. When Li Yan said he knew lightness skills and spear techniques, Duke Cui recognized something about him and blurted out “Li...” before demanding to know who he was.

• Li Yan tore the Yin-Yang Stones apart and threw them across the courtyard, earning the onlookers’ astonishment and passing the first round.
• The effeminate middle-aged man escorted Li Yan inside and reported his innate strength and unknown origins to Duke Cui.
• After resting for half an hour, Li Yan was led to the martial arts ground, where he observed Duke Cui’s powerful internal energy and the equipment for the next tests.
• Asked what skills he had practiced, Li Yan said he knew lightness skills and had practiced the spear.
• Duke Cui abruptly rose, began to call Li Yan by name, then stopped himself and asked who he was.

Li Yan confronted Duke Cui after the old general recognized his face and voice, though both men mistook the other's identity. Their private meeting turned violent when Duke Cui attacked, but Li Yan paused at the general's reference to a great marshal, suspecting a forgotten connection.

• Duke Cui reacted strongly to Li Yan's appearance and voice, then ordered Yisheng to bring Zhang Ming to his study alone.
• Li Yan entered the guarded study, revealed that his surname was Li, and asked Duke Cui why he recognized him.
• Duke Cui asked whether Li Yan was the young man's father and suspected that someone had sent an impostor in the likeness of the late great marshal.
• Li Yan considered using Soul Search, while Duke Cui sensed his killing intent and attacked him with a swift claw strike.
• Li Yan easily shifted out of the attack but froze when Duke Cui shouted that he had sullied the great marshal's name, searching his memories for the connection.

Li Yan recognized Duke Cui as Cui Feng, the old general from a dream of his time as Marshal, and convinced him of his identity by recalling private details of their campaign. Cui Feng led Li Yan to a concealed passage beneath his residence, and they began to descend together.

• Li Yan remembered Cui Feng from his dream of the battle at Fallen Immortal Slope and was shaken to find him alive in the present.
• Cui Feng attacked Li Yan, but Li Yan dodged and recalled a secret order and private conversations that proved he had been Marshal Li.
• Li Yan claimed that Dongling Min had taken him into a foggy forest where he had been trapped for years, then supported his identity with details about the troop deployment at Fallen Immortal Slope.
• Cui Feng remained doubtful about Li Yan's youthful appearance but agreed to take him somewhere after hearing the detailed recollections.
• Cui Feng opened a hidden passage beneath a screen and started down the stairs, inviting Li Yan to follow.