Chapter Summaries

Li Yan realized that he and his companions had been trapped in a formation controlled by a late-stage Void Refinement Realm assassin, and he tried to find a way out before the enemy could turn on him. As he searched the mountains in the rain, the formation returned him to the same passage, where he found Xu Yihua and Jiang Tingye hanging dead.

• Li Yan learned through Soul Search that the assassins had trapped all six companions and that Yang Zun's group was caught in the formation's core.
• Li Yan tried to tear open space, confirmed that the formation had sealed off the spatial currents, and flew toward the side of a mountain to search for its barrier.
• Li Yan rounded the mountain and saw the familiar passage again, with Xu Yihua hanging dead above its entrance.
• Li Yan continued around the mountain without finding Ming Qi or any sign of the others, and reasoned that the enemy was still occupied with them.
• Li Yan encountered the passage once more and saw Jiang Tingye hanging beside Xu Yihua, realizing that he had returned to the starting point.

Li Yan realized the formation was isolating and killing his companions, then encountered Xie Xingzhi's corpse hanging from a mountain pass and fled. As he fell through an endless repetition of identical mountain passages, a giant hammer suddenly struck at his waist.

• Li Yan inferred that the formation's enemies had separated his companions and were hunting them, while Ming Qi, Yang Zun, and Xie Xingzhi remained missing.
• Li Yan tried to escape by flying back around a mountain peak but found Xie Xingzhi's corpse hanging there, calling for help before accusing him of running away.
• Li Yan plunged toward the earth and planned to conceal himself, but his Divine Sense revealed identical mountain passages and three hanging corpses repeating endlessly beneath him.
• A long-handled giant hammer tore through the rain and rammed toward Li Yan's waist.

Li Yan fought Shi Ying while the others closed in, and a blue light concealed the battle at the center of the formation. Shi Ying claimed his opponent had self-destructed and destroyed his treasures, leaving the middle-aged Void Refinement cultivator frustrated that he had lost a valuable leaf-shaped treasure.

• Li Yan nearly took a blow from Shi Ying before recovering from his distraction and fighting the assassin head-on.
• The middle-aged cultivator and two companions arrived at the ren-shaped passage, where they found corpses hanging above the entrance, including Yang Zun.
• A blue light erupted below, and the three cultivators rushed down to surround the concealed battle as Shi Ying was hurled into the distance.
• Shi Ying returned bloodied and claimed that his opponent had self-destructed just before they arrived.
• The middle-aged cultivator questioned Shi Ying about the missing belongings and learned that the opponent had used a yellow, coin-sized leaf to block Divine Sense.
• The middle-aged cultivator searched the area but found no trace of the treasure or the cultivator's remains.

The middle-aged cultivator led his surviving subordinates to an ambush near Idle Crane Manor, hoping to stop the escaped female cultivator from delivering the goods. When a female cultivator secretly stole his storage rings and attacked him, he dodged and killed her with an ice spike, but the chapter left her identity and the outcome of the mission unresolved.

• The middle-aged cultivator rebuked Shi Ying for the failed ambush, then decided to head toward Idle Crane Manor and prepare another interception.
• He reasoned that the escaped female cultivator might still reach the manor and chose a concealed ambush site ten thousand li away rather than split his forces.
• The middle-aged cultivator and three subordinates hid among the riverside reeds, where he set up a formation and ordered them to wait for his signal.
• After half an hour, the female cultivator secretly tested the formation, approached the middle-aged cultivator, and took several storage rings from his fingers.
• The middle-aged cultivator evaded her sudden palm strike and killed her with an ice spike through the back of her head.

Shi Ying revealed himself as the traitor who had poisoned the middle-aged cultivator and ambushed him inside the formation. After Shi Ying intercepted the cultivator’s fleeing Nascent Soul, the dying man realized that the person before him was not truly Shi Ying.

• The poisoned middle-aged cultivator was caught off guard by a black-light attack that pierced his hand and lower back, while soul-wrenching pain left him unable to resist.
• The middle-aged cultivator’s golden Nascent Soul fled, but Shi Ying and a second streak of black light intercepted it and struck it down.
• Shi Ying accused the weakened Nascent Soul of still attempting teleportation and prepared to finish it with his water-separating spikes.
• The middle-aged cultivator recalled how he had discovered the poison, wrongly suspected the female cultivator, and recognized that she had been controlled before she attacked him.
• Shi Ying said he intended to kill the entire group and claim the mission’s credit, then attacked the Nascent Soul as it secretly gathered power to escape.
• The Nascent Soul recognized that its attacker was not Shi Ying before the black-light attack struck.

Li Yan used poison and Shi Ying’s appearance to kill the cultivators who had trapped him, then revealed how he had planned and carried out the deception. Alone inside the weakened formation, he began probing its core and considered how to obtain the middle-aged cultivator’s dark red blade, as someone approached.

• Li Yan’s attack stopped the middle-aged cultivator from activating the formation, and the wounded Nascent Soul figure died as the noose vanished.
• Li Yan searched the dead cultivators’ storage treasures, burned their bodies, and used a Reality-Confusing Pill to return to his own appearance.
• Li Yan recalled using Pitch-Black Night to capture Shi Ying, searching his memories, and learning that Mingqi had escaped the formation.
• Li Yan explained how he poisoned the three cultivators and nearly misjudged the middle-aged cultivator’s ability to survive the toxins.
• Li Yan recognized the formation as a weakened version of the one from the previous night and sat at its core to study how to break it.
• Li Yan considered claiming the middle-aged cultivator’s concealed dark red blade, while someone silently approached him.

Ming Qi escaped the formation with a Sky's End Talisman and continued toward Idle Crane Manor, where she encountered the badly wounded Li Yan. Li Yan claimed that Yang Zun and the others had died in the formation, and the chapter ended with Ming Qi asking whether he had brought the escorted items.

• Ming Qi used a Sky's End Talisman to escape the formation, then decided to continue toward Idle Crane Manor despite suspecting another ambush.
• Ming Qi spotted Li Yan flying ahead and followed him cautiously, wondering whether he was bait.
• Near Idle Crane Manor, Ming Qi revealed herself and called out to Li Yan, who acted surprised to see her.
• Li Yan told Ming Qi that Yang Zun and the others had died fighting the enemies in the formation, and that he had killed the last enemy after it was badly injured.
• Ming Qi asked Li Yan whether he had brought the escorted items, and he said that he had.

Li Yan and Ming Qi returned to Yellow Banner Valley after delivering their mission items and evading Night Hawk assassins, then gave matching accounts to the sect. Back in his cultivation chamber, Li Yan sorted his spoils and began studying the dark-red blade, whose former owner's lingering Divine Sense suggested an unusual technique.

• Li Yan and Ming Qi agreed not to press each other about their secrets and continued toward Leisure Crane Manor together.
• After recovering at Leisure Crane Manor, Li Yan and Ming Qi took a roundabout route back to Yellow Banner Valley while avoiding unusual cultivators and Night Hawk assassins.
• Li Yan and Ming Qi handed in their mission, answered the Mission Hall's questions and an elder's interrogation, then departed separately after being released.
• Li Yan rested at home, sorted his acquired treasures, and kept items that might cause trouble separate from the rest.
• Li Yan examined the dark-red blade and found that the middle-aged cultivator's Divine Sense imprint still lingered on it, suggesting the cultivator had used a special auxiliary technique.
• Li Yan took out the middle-aged cultivator's jade slips and three books to inspect them again.

Li Yan searched unsuccessfully for a way to refine the dark-red blade, then discovered a tiny formation restriction hidden at one corner of it. He used the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to test the restriction, but the blade only trembled, leaving him without a clear result.

• Li Yan destroyed the lingering Divine Sense imprint in the dark-red blade and tried to refine it, but failed to establish a connection.
• Over four days, Li Yan examined the blade and tested dozens of refinement methods, finding that he could only activate it crudely.
• Li Yan noticed a pale-white dot at the junction of two blade edges and confirmed it appeared only when the blade was at its normal size.
• Li Yan recognized the dot's spiraling patterns as a formation restriction and brought out the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief.
• Li Yan shrank the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief and placed it over the dot, causing the dark-red blade to tremble without visibly breaking the restriction.

Li Yan used the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to uncover the dark-red blade’s incantation and discovered that it was a tool for training Divine Sense through the Subtle Thought technique. After two years of dangerous missions, he earned enough sect contribution points to qualify for the Ancient Hall of Inheritance and began cultivating Subtle Thought while he waited.

• Li Yan used the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to probe the dark-red blade and recovered the Subtle Thought technique, a method for training Divine Sense control and power.
• Li Yan realized the middle-aged cultivator he had killed might have possessed powerful Divine Sense attacks, and he reflected that his poison and cautious ambush had saved him.
• Li Yan named the dark-red blade the Cloud-Piercing Blade and spent a day studying the formation flags, managing to set up a limited confounding formation he named Ghostly Traces.
• Li Yan spent two years taking dangerous missions, then stopped after earning enough sect contribution points to qualify for the Ancient Hall of Inheritance.
• Li Yan began cultivating Subtle Thought while waiting for his next objective.

Li Yan waited with Yellow Qi Valley’s elite disciples for the ancient inheritance hall to open, while keeping his distance from the Ming sisters and observing the other groups. Ming Qi suspected he concealed a powerful cultivation level, and Yan Qingchen privately urged his hired companions to help him find a specific item inside.

• Li Yan arrived at the lakeshore gathering and reflected on the difficult requirements for entering the ancient inheritance hall.
• Li Yan exchanged distant greetings with the Ming sisters and recognized Ming Yu’s surprise at seeing him.
• Ming Yu questioned whether Li Yan possessed Void Refinement methods, and Ming Qi suspected he had a hidden treasure and at least peak late Spirit Transformation cultivation.
• Yan Qingchen reminded his four companions to stay together and promised to honor their conditions if they helped him find an item.
• Liu Siyu affirmed that Yan Qingchen would keep his promises, while the others concealed their disdain for her affection toward him.

Li Yan boarded the boat bound for the Ancient Hall of Inheritance and learned that its formation checked each passenger’s identity token. After the boat passed through the island’s forest, it continued into dense trees rather than revealing the hall, leaving Li Yan and other first-time visitors uncertain about what lay ahead.

• Liu Siyu defended accepting deposits as fair payment for a risky transaction, easing Yan Qingchen’s expression.
• A huge pleasure boat emerged from the lake’s central island, and a white-robed woman ordered the gathered cultivators aboard.
• Li Yan boarded and saw his identity token briefly rise as the boat’s formation verified the passengers.
• The white-robed woman activated the boat, which sped across the lake and entered the island through a parting wall of trees.
• The boat continued through dense forest after entering the island, and Li Yan realized the Ancient Hall of Inheritance had not yet appeared.

Li Yan and the other cultivators endured a disorienting journey through Yellow Qi Valley’s shifting forest before the boat passed through a curtain of waterfalls into a gloomy wilderness of endless purple lavender. They searched for the ancient inheritance hall as the boat sped onward, but its location remained unknown.

• The boat traveled through a seemingly endless forest that parted before its prow, while the unchanging scenery and uncertain passage of time unsettled the passengers.
• Li Yan reasoned that Yellow Qi Valley’s route concealed the hall’s true distance and deliberately wore down travelers’ emotions.
• The forest abruptly gave way to waterfalls, and the boat passed through their torrent into a dark, clouded wilderness covered in purple lavender.
• Li Yan and the other passengers searched the strange landscape, but detected no other living beings or signs of the ancient inheritance hall.
• Cultivators exchanged anxious voice transmissions and wondered whether the place was a ghost domain, while the woman in white continued to say nothing.

Li Yan and the other cultivators arrived at the Ancient Hall of Inheritance after a purple storm swept away their boat. The white-robed woman explained the hall’s three-month limit and began describing how they could seek enlightenment from its statue, while the disciples stood before the vast palace.

• Li Yan and the other cultivators waited aboard the boat as it crossed the endless purple expanse.
• The white-robed woman announced their arrival, and a purple gale engulfed the boat before it vanished and left them on solid ground.
• Li Yan and the others found themselves before a vast palace filled with yellow light, crimson cloud-patterned pillars, and a statue of the Supreme Pure Moral Heavenly Venerable.
• The white-robed woman told the disciples they had three months to seek opportunities, warned that some might die, and said the hall offered two places to obtain inheritance.
• The white-robed woman explained that disciples could meditate four hundred and ninety-nine zhang from the statue and seek insight from the yellow light and its Dao principles.

Li Yan entered Yellow Qi Valley’s ancient inheritance hall and searched its side chambers for a lead on the Clear Moon Immortal Grass. After inspecting the chambers, he stepped onto a hidden stairway behind the statue as white light enveloped him.

• The woman in white explained the inheritance hall’s statue, restricted side chambers, dangers, and three-month time limit, then disappeared.
• Li Yan suspected the sect had opened only part of the hall and worried that the Clear Moon Immortal Grass might not be among the treasures outside it.
• Li Yan saw the side chambers labeled with different arts and stopped at the Spirit Plants chamber, where he comprehended its door restriction for five days before leaving.
• Li Yan reached the rear of the hall and stepped onto stairs hidden behind the statue, where white light suddenly surrounded him.

Li Yan searched the vast lands outside the ancient inheritance hall for Moon-Haze Clear Immortal Grass but found little of value. While secretly following four Spirit Transformation cultivators, he discovered Yan Qingchen had been concealed among them, and chose to keep tracking the group.

• Li Yan explored a stormy bamboo grove, a snowfield, and abandoned spirit fields, finding no Moon-Haze Clear Immortal Grass.
• Li Yan avoided other cultivators and began using concealment techniques as he continued searching remote terrain.
• Li Yan detected four cautious Spirit Transformation cultivators and secretly followed them for several days.
• The four solidified near a hill, revealing Liu Siyu and three other cultivators Li Yan recognized.
• Li Yan saw Yan Qingchen step out from Liu Siyu's shadow and realized he had been concealed among the group all along.
• Li Yan suppressed his shock, concluded Yan Qingchen used a powerful concealment technique or treasure, and decided to keep following the five.

Yan Qingchen led Liu Siyu and three other cultivators into a hidden abyss beneath a vast thicket, claiming his master had discovered a sealed place there. Li Yan secretly followed them, and after the group changed direction deep underground, he continued tracking them cautiously.

• A long-bearded cultivator questioned whether Yan Qingchen's hidden formation could have escaped discovery, and Yan defended his account while warning the group not to act recklessly.
• Yan Qingchen opened a narrow entrance beneath the brambles and descended into the darkness, followed by Liu Siyu and the other three cultivators.
• Li Yan watched the group enter, learned through his Divine Sense that an abyss lay far below, and decided to follow them without revealing himself.
• Li Yan slipped through the dense brambles, descended into the cavern, and tracked the group's spiritual power from a safe distance.
• The group's spiritual power halted and then changed direction after they exchanged messages, so Li Yan waited before continuing after them.

Li Yan followed Yan Qingchen’s group into the abyss, where Yan Qingchen led them to a small tree on a cliff and began casting a complex spell. Elsewhere, the Ming sisters explored a radiant river inside a hidden realm, still searching for clues before their time in the Ancient Hall of Inheritance ran out.

• Li Yan discovered that Yan Qingchen’s group had changed direction in the abyss and paused to examine their surroundings.
• Yan Qingchen led Liu Siyu and the three other cultivators to a small tree growing from a cliff face.
• The Ming sisters continued exploring the glowing river and discussed whether its hidden realm might offer safety after the Ancient Hall of Inheritance closed.
• Yan Qingchen cast spell seals onto distinct points around the small tree while the others watched and waited.
• Liu Siyu noticed that the spell seals formed a larger pattern and that thirteen points remained unfilled.

Yan Qingchen revealed a hidden reef formation concealed in the cliff and explained that it guarded a place likely to contain treasure. The group agreed to take turns trying to break it, with Yan Qingchen reserving first choice of treasure if they had to break it together.

• Yan Qingchen dispelled the concealment and exposed a diamond-shaped entrance, which Senior Brother Zheng recognized as a rare hidden reef formation.
• Yan Qingchen explained that the formation was difficult to break and urged the group to act quickly while he checked for anyone approaching.
• Senior Brother Zheng agreed to try first and asked to choose one treasure ahead of the others if he broke the formation.
• Yan Qingchen agreed that whoever broke the formation first could choose one item, but set a two-hour limit for each attempt and claimed first choice if they broke it together.
• Cultivator Qian proposed using guessing-fists to decide the order, and Senior Brother Zheng accepted despite his displeasure.
• Liu Siyu volunteered to go last as the others prepared to decide who would attempt the formation first.

Yan Qingchen began his Five Elements Array Control technique to break the Hidden Reef Formation after the other cultivators failed. The chapter ended as his dark-golden alms bowl responded to the technique with a burst of white light.

• A cultivator won the chance to try breaking the Hidden Reef Formation first, but he and two others failed over six hours, and Zheng shattered his shoulder with a forceful attempt.
• Yan Qingchen asked Liu Siyu to try the formation, but she refused because she had found no formation eye and doubted she could succeed.
• Yan Qingchen explained his Five Elements Array Control method and assigned the others to positions around the formation, saying they would channel spiritual power into his five-element magical treasure.
• Yan Qingchen summoned a dark-golden alms bowl that triggered a resonance of laws, then formed hand seals and sent dark-green runes into it.
• After five breaths, the alms bowl's upward-facing mouth erupted with white light.