Chapter Summaries

Li Yan proved his identity to Duke Cui by wielding the lance he had once given to Li Du, and Cui Feng recognized him as Marshal Li. Li Yan was appointed a guard instructor and escorted to the Listening Wind courtyard, while Lin Yuxing failed to learn anything about his background.

• Duke Cui led Li Yan into an underground chamber filled with weapons and asked him to demonstrate Marshal Li's techniques.
• Li Yan chose a heavy lance, wielded it effortlessly, and recalled giving it to his guard captain Li Du.
• Cui Feng knelt and saluted Li Yan as Marshal Li, then ordered Yisheng to appoint Zhang Ming as a guard instructor and house him in the western Listening Wind courtyard.
• Lin Yuxing escorted Li Yan through the ducal residence and tried to learn about him, but Li Yan revealed nothing useful.
• Li Yan told Lin Yuxing that he had arrived in Jade Sea City that day and had no luggage to collect.

Li Yan settled into the Duke's Manor as a guard instructor and reflected on Cui Feng's account of his disappearance, which left him uncertain how a past heart-demon vision had become real. He resolved to investigate the claims at Green Mountain Pass, while also considering the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower and the underground grottoes on the Qingqing Continent.

• Lin Yuxing warned Li Yan to follow the manor's rules and left after failing to learn anything useful from him.
• Li Yan recalled Cui Feng's account that Li Du had concealed his disappearance, killed the rebel witnesses, and suspected Dong Lingmin had rescued him after killing Kong Xiao.
• Cui Feng had urged Li Yan to meet the current Son of Heaven, but Li Yan refused and agreed only to stay temporarily as a guard instructor.
• Li Yan considered the contradictions in Cui Feng's story, including the timeline of his disappearance and Cui Feng's age, and decided to investigate whether a Marshal Li Yan had truly existed at Green Mountain Pass.
• Li Yan also connected his heart demon to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower and noted that the battle at Fallen Immortal Slope had occurred while he was trapped in the Qingqing Continent's underground grottoes.

Li Yan suspected that his life since the underground secret cavern might be an illusion, but tests failed to change his surroundings, and he became increasingly convinced that Cui Feng was the source of the strangeness. He reported to the Duke’s Residence for his new duties, intending to investigate Green Mountain Pass discreetly.

• Li Yan feared that his soul had been trapped in a dream or illusion since his time in the Soul Prison Clan’s cavern.
• Li Yan bit his tongue and stabbed his palm with a Guiyi Water-Parting Spike, but the pain and his healing wound felt real, leaving him uncertain about Cui Feng.
• Over the next two days, Li Yan tried to escape the suspected illusion, including flying far out to sea, but could not break free.
• Li Yan decided that his experiences were probably real and planned to investigate Green Mountain Pass without drawing attention.
• Li Yan arrived at the Duke’s Residence front hall, where Lin Yuxing and seven others awaited the Duke, and prepared to begin his assigned duties.

Li Yan met the martial instructors gathered at Cui Feng’s residence, using Cui Feng’s name to deflect their suspicions about his strength. Cui Feng introduced the household’s powerful Jianghu figures and presented Zhang Ming as a rising young expert, leaving the others scrutinizing Li Yan and his group.

• Li Yan met Shi Ning and Huang Sanniang and inferred that the other instructors doubted his claimed first-rate martial arts.
• Cui Feng arrived with a young man and woman, warned the instructors to obey orders, and placed their duties under Yisheng’s arrangements.
• Cui Feng introduced Bao Feiyu, Tong Buyou, Huang Ruiying, and Shi Ning and Huang Sanniang, including Huang Ruiying’s history and her desire to avenge her husband by killing Xianyu Beifeng.
• Cui Feng introduced Zhang Ming as a rising expert and urged the others to get along with him, prompting the young man and woman to examine Li Yan closely.

Li Yan began his guard duties at the Duke’s residence while investigating whether he had truly returned to the Desolate Moon Continent. Meanwhile, Cui Yuan Ying and Cui Yuan Yi headed to a riding and archery examination, where Yuan Yi tried to persuade his sister to help him avoid another poor result.

• Lian Pinghai, Shi Ning, and Li Yan agreed to one-year contracts after discussing their duties and protections with Cui Feng.
• Li Yan refused Cui Feng’s offer to remain at his side and instead took an assignment guarding Cui Yuan Ying whenever she went out.
• While working with Bao Feiyu, Li Yan discussed martial arts and revealed a breadth of knowledge that surprised the veteran guard.
• Cui Yuan Yi complained to Cui Yuan Ying that he feared the riding and archery examination and wished he could avoid martial practice.
• Cui Yuan Ying saw through Yuan Yi’s attempt to get her to deliberately perform poorly with him and urged him to work harder instead.

Li Yan searched the archives at Green Mountain Pass for evidence about the man with his name in the records, then flew to the imperial capital to continue investigating. Meanwhile, Silver Six ordered Copper Eleven to join a sudden attack in Jade Sea City the following night, and Li Yan began searching the capital’s Military Affairs Office.

• Cui Yuanyi complained to Cui Yuanying about Song Duan’s harsh instruction while Li Yan’s puppet quietly accompanied them.
• Li Yan found records identifying him as a commander who had served at Green Mountain Pass for seventeen years, but he could not locate a portrait.
• Li Yan considered seeking records in the imperial capital, using Soul Search on Cui Feng, or visiting the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower, then flew toward the capital.
• Silver Six summoned Copper Eleven and ordered him to seize his target in Jade Sea City at the hour of the pig the following night.
• Li Yan arrived at the imperial capital and began searching the Military Affairs Office’s archives for records about himself.

Li Yan searched the Military Affairs Bureau’s archives for records about his disappearance and found a reward proclamation with a portrait that barely resembled him. In Jade Sea City, Zhong Wusi infiltrated Cui Feng’s manor and fought him, leaving Cui Feng to identify the intruder and demand his purpose.

• Li Yan waited until nightfall, shielded himself in the Military Affairs Bureau’s archives room, and searched its records with his Divine Sense.
• Li Yan found a retained reward proclamation issued after his disappearance, but its carefully drawn portrait resembled him only slightly.
• Li Yan discovered records claiming he came from Jade Pass City and had been born to a martial arts family, then remained behind to ponder the conflicting evidence.
• Cui Feng noticed a masked intruder entering the Ducal Manor and confronted him while Lin Yuxing, the Shi Ning couple, and the guards gathered silently.
• The intruder attacked Cui Feng from the air, and their clash damaged the courtyard before Cui Feng recognized him as Zhong Wusi, the supposedly dead Ghostflame Hand.

Zhong Wusi attacked Cui Feng at the Duke's Estate, but Cui Feng and his allies countered, forcing Zhong Wusi to retreat. A red-cloaked assailant joined the fight, and as he and Zhong Wusi attacked Cui Feng together, more enemies arrived at the estate.

• Zhong Wusi revealed himself to Cui Feng and tried to lure him away, while Cui Feng proposed meeting outside the city in four days.
• Cui Feng summoned Lin Yuxing and the Shi Ning couple, and they launched a coordinated attack that trapped Zhong Wusi.
• Zhong Wusi escaped through the courtyard wall after a mysterious intervention disrupted Cui Feng's and Lin Yuxing's attacks.
• A red-cloaked man ambushed Cui Feng with a golden pestle, and Cui Feng recognized his martial art as the imperial Profound Yellow Red Dragon Art and called him Prince Nan.
• The red-cloaked man and Zhong Wusi attacked Cui Feng together, while Song Duan, Tong Buyou, and others shouted as more assailants approached the Duke's Estate.

A surprise attack on the Duke’s estate exposed Lian Pinghai and Huang Ruiying as traitors, while Cui Feng and his allies fought to protect the County Princess and Cui Yuanyi. The chapter ended with Huang Ruiying holding Cui Yuanyi hostage and Cui Feng badly wounded after defeating Zhong Wusi.

• Masked attackers stormed the Duke’s estate, keeping government troops and the Emperor’s hidden experts from reaching it while Cui Feng, Lin Yuxing, and Shi Ning fought them.
• Li Yan learned through his puppet that the Duke’s estate was under attack and prepared to abandon his plan to Soul Search Cui Feng.
• Lin Yuxing traded injuries to sever one attacker’s arm, while Lian Pinghai revealed his betrayal by slashing Song Duan and turning on Tong Buyou.
• Huang Ruiying revealed herself as a traitor and seized Cui Yuanyi, demanding that Zhang Ming hand over the County Princess.
• Cui Feng was distracted by the hostages, then grievously wounded Zhong Wusi with a knee strike while taking the red-cloaked man’s pestle blow.

Cui Feng confronted Huang Ruiying over her betrayal and learned that Prince Nan’s forces had uncovered the succession plot but not the identity of the hidden prince. As Huang Ruiying threatened Cui Yuanyi, Li Yan arrived, rescued him, and left the red-cloaked Prince Nan’s plans facing a powerful new obstacle.

• Cui Feng questioned Huang Ruiying, who revealed that she had turned against him because he had failed to help her kill Xianyu Beifeng and demanded Cui Yuanying.
• Cui Feng realized Huang Ruiying had exposed his plans to Prince Nan, while the red-cloaked man revealed that the emperor’s chosen successor was hidden among Cui Feng’s descendants.
• The red-cloaked man threatened Cui Yuanyi and ordered Huang Ruiying to kill him unless Cui Feng handed over Cui Yuanying.
• Huang Ruiying began choking Cui Yuanyi, but Li Yan appeared on the roof, knocked her down, and rescued him.
• Li Yan challenged the red-cloaked man, questioning why he would plunge the realm back into war.

Li Yan defeated the Southern King and the masked attackers, then helped Cui Feng recover after the assault on the Duke’s residence. As Cui Feng lay dying, he recognized Li Yan as an immortal cultivator and sank into sudden silence, prompting Li Yan to seize his shoulder.

• The red-cloaked Southern King attacked Li Yan, who stopped his golden pestle with one finger and hurled him into the courtyard wall and rockery.
• Lian Pinghai and the masked night walkers tried to flee, but Li Yan struck them down; Cui Feng thanked Li Yan before collapsing from the roof.
• Cui Feng woke in bed and learned that the attackers had been defeated and imprisoned, while Cui Yuanying realized that Cui Yuanyi was the Fourth Prince and that she had served as bait.
• Li Yan told Cui Feng that he would not live beyond three days, then questioned whether Cui Feng truly thought he was the same Li Yan from decades earlier.
• Cui Feng said the wanted notice’s portrait resembled Li Yan and asked whether he was an immortal cultivator; Li Yan confirmed it, and Cui Feng began murmuring before falling silent.
• Li Yan suddenly seized Cui Feng’s shoulder when his murmuring stopped.

Li Yan tried to extract Cui Feng’s memories after discovering he had died, but Cui Feng’s soul transformed into a large-headed, thin-tailed creature and dissipated after calling Li Yan “Grand Marshal.” Seeking answers about the creature and its connection to his dream, Li Yan left the Duke’s Estate and arrived at Peiyang Market, where his Phantom Sect token gained him entry.

• Li Yan found Cui Feng dead and used a forbidden spell to draw out his soul and search its memories.
• Cui Feng’s soul transformed into a large-headed, thin-tailed creature, called Li Yan “Grand Marshal,” and vanished beneath Li Yan’s spiritual barrier.
• Li Yan left the Duke’s Estate and told Lin Yuxing and the others to bury Cui Feng, claiming the Duke had died after exhausting his vital energy.
• Li Yan recalled encountering the same creatures near the Flame Palace in the Northern Abyss Demon Suppression Tower and considered returning there or researching them.
• Li Yan reached Peiyang Market, revealed his Phantom Sect token to its Golden Core Realm guardians, and entered without trouble.

Li Yan visited Guiqulaixi to learn about the strange creature connected to his troubling experiences. Zhong Wantong identified it as a Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast and explained how groups of them could possess people and reenact events from a consumed dream, leaving Li Yan with a clearer understanding of the karmic knot involving him.

• Li Yan entered Guiqulaixi and asked to speak with its most knowledgeable source about a Demon Beast.
• Zhong Wantong identified the creature in Li Yan’s jade slip as a Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast from Flame Palace on the Northern Underworld Demon-Suppressing Tower’s second level.
• Zhong Wantong explained that the creature consumed dreams, could enter them through fire, and might possess someone to reenact events from a dream.
• Li Yan paid another thousand low-grade spirit stones to learn how the creature could influence the other people involved in a dream.
• Zhong Wantong explained that several Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beasts could possess different people and work together to reenact the dream, making their actions seem like a person’s own achievements.

Li Yan learned how Flame-Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beasts had connected his dream to events involving Cui Feng and others, then concluded that he had ended the resulting cycle of reincarnation. He left the trading house after sending Su Hong a message and secluded himself near Wangliang Sect to reflect on the Heavenly Dao and the path of defiance.

• The middle-aged man in black explained how Flame-Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beasts devoured dreams, possessed mortals, and could not survive outside the Northern Underworld Demon-Suppressing Tower in the lower realm.
• Li Yan inferred that escaped beasts had linked his dream to Cui Feng, the Meng Kingdom battle at Fallen Immortal Slope, and the Li Yan seen at Green Mountain Pass.
• The middle-aged man revealed that the beasts could confuse unrelated people or events after engraving a dream into their souls, and that the creatures also existed in the Immortal Spirit Realm.
• Li Yan asked the middle-aged man to tell Su Hong that her old friend from the wind and snow had returned home, then left Peiyang Market.
• Li Yan concealed himself on a mountain near Wangliang Sect and reasoned that he had ended the dream-driven cycle of reincarnation, concluding that the path of Daoist arts meant defying heaven and breaking laws.

Li Yan gained a deeper understanding of heaven-and-earth rules and nearly began forming his Nascent Soul, then returned toward his sect to prepare for the attempt. On the Lost Continent, Mu Guyue gave Mu Sha her cave’s restriction token and Black Devil God Armor before preparing to seek an ascension node.

• After eight days of meditation, Li Yan awakened just as his mana neared the point of forming a Nascent Soul and realized he needed to attempt it somewhere safer.
• Li Yan collected his swords and purple flag, then flew toward his sect to finish preparing for his Nascent Soul tribulation.
• Mu Guyue told Mu Sha she was nearly ready to search for an ascension node and gave him the restriction token to her cave residence.
• Mu Sha recognized the black pellet Mu Guyue gave him as Black Devil God Armor and thanked her before leaving to refine it with his essence blood.
• Mu Guyue reflected on her completed death missions and her preparations to leave amid spatial turbulence.

Mu Guyue left Mu Sha after secretly ensuring he had protection and hinting that the person he sought was in the Immortal-Spirit Realm. At Small Bamboo Peak, Zhao Min sensed Li Yan returning, and he arrived to find her with Wei Zhongran.

• Mu Guyue revealed that she had waited for Mu Sha to stabilize his Gold Core cultivation and had obtained the Black Devil God Armor with demon crystals taken from the Primal Chaos Profound Gold Dragon.
• Mu Guyue sent Mu Sha a final message urging him to cultivate toward the Immortal-Spirit Realm, and Mu Sha resolved to go there to find the person he sought.
• Mu Guyue left alone through the chaotic currents, while Mu Sha later returned to find her cave abode empty.
• At Small Bamboo Peak, Wei Zhongran visited Zhao Min, and she sensed Li Yan returning through their Heart-Twining Twin-Flower Gu connection.
• Li Yan arrived at his courtyard, greeted Wei Zhongran, and felt awkward when he saw Zhao Min watching him.

Li Yan returned to the Phantom Sect after gaining insight into his state of mind and learned that he was nearing a Nascent Soul breakthrough. With Wei Zhongran and Mo Qing set to guard him, he prepared for tribulation at a forbidden site on Small Bamboo Peak.

• Wei Zhongran told Li Yan that his senior brothers were pursuing their own affairs and confirmed that Li Yan’s spiritual power showed signs of an impending breakthrough.
• Wei Zhongran agreed to escort Li Yan to a designated tribulation site and transmit advice on forming a Nascent Soul, while Zhao Min followed and urged Li Yan not to force the attempt.
• Wei Zhongran sent a signal and left to notify Mo Qing, while Zhao Min departed after asking Li Yan to inform Zi Kun and the others.
• Li Yan settled on the mountaintop and arranged his spirit stones, healing and restorative pills, and Storage Pouches for the upcoming tribulation.
• Li Yan brought out his Heavenly Wind Bamboo, a costly treasure that could absorb some of the tribulation winds.

Li Yan prepared to form a Nascent Soul at Small Bamboo Peak, while Wei Zhongran and Mo Qing secured the Phantom Sect against interference. After Li Yan took the Bright Lotus Pill and entered a state of deep enlightenment, a violent storm gathered over the sect, signaling that his tribulation was beginning.

• Li Yan confirmed his Heavenly Wind Bamboo was ready, and Wei Zhongran ordered the Phantom Sect to close its grand formation, evacuate Small Bamboo Peak, and strengthen patrols.
• Wang Tian and other Golden Core cultivators suspected Zhao Zhi was forming a Nascent Soul, while Wei Zhongran and Mo Qing revealed that Li Yan was the one preparing to cross the tribulation.
• Wei Zhongran and Mo Qing guarded the area and watched for outside Nascent Soul cultivators, while Wei Zhongran resolved to save Li Yan if the tribulation became fatal.
• Li Yan swallowed the Bright Lotus Pill and entered a state of enlightenment, sensing the time transformation and Five Elements he had begun to comprehend.
• Violent winds and dark clouds gathered over the Phantom Sect, and Wei Zhongran and Mo Qing recognized that Li Yan's Nascent Soul tribulation was approaching.

As the Phantom Sect prepared for a Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, Li Changting, Zhao Min, and Miao Wangqing learned that Li Yan was the one facing it, stunning the sect’s cultivators. Meanwhile, Wang Dahai left his herb garden to find a place to watch the tribulation and crashed into a stone pillar.

• Li Changting complained that Li Wuyi had once been the finest disciple of their generation, while Zhao Min revealed that Li Yan had returned and brought on the tribulation.
• Li Changting teased the pregnant Miao Wangqing about claiming Li Wuyi for herself, leaving Zhao Min and Miao Wangqing speechless.
• Wei Chi Tuo learned that Li Yan was forming a Nascent Soul and scolded Zi Kun and Qianji for keeping Li Yan’s cultivation secret.
• Wei Chi Tuo threatened to stop introducing Qianji and Zi Kun to female cultivators from the Water Silk Sect, prompting both demons to plead with him.
• Wang Dahai told his disciple Ding Xiaofan to stay in the herb garden, then hurried off to find a vantage point from which to watch the tribulation.
• Wang Dahai flew into a stone pillar on Silver Horn Peak, striking his forehead and leaving the world spinning.

Li Yan entered a mysterious golden gate, awakened as the Heavenly Tribulation began, and revealed enough power to shatter its first lightning strike. As the onlookers realized Li Yan was the one forming his Nascent Soul, two more bolts descended and he met them with his fist and palm.

• Ding Xiaofan recognized that Li Yan was undergoing his tribulation and considered how to help without drawing it toward himself.
• Li Yan appeared before a vast golden gate, lost his memories, and entered a profound state while watching its five-colored light.
• The gate drew Li Yan back into the world just as the Heavenly Tribulation lightning struck, and he woke on the mountain peak.
• Wei Zhongran withdrew the formation covering Li Yan, and Li Yan shattered the first bolt of lightning with a surge of force.
• Baili Yuan, Wang Tian, and the others saw Li Yan and realized he, not Zhao Zhi, was forming his Nascent Soul; Zhao Min watched him from Buli Peak.
• Two more lightning bolts struck, and Li Yan blocked them with his fist and palm, breaking apart the bolt against his fist.