Chapter Summaries

Yan Qingchen was detained by Yellow Qi Valley after openly confessing his crimes and revealing his identity, while Li Yan spent months trying to learn his fate. Concluding that Yan Qingchen might have been traded back to his sect, Li Yan left Yellow Qi Valley and, eight years later, returned to the barren mountains near his home.

• Yan Qingchen cooperated with the Enforcement Hall, admitted to killing fellow disciples, and revealed his true identity, so they confined him in a secret chamber.
• Yan Qingchen suspected a gray-robed old man had exposed him and resolved to uncover and retaliate against the hidden enemy.
• Li Yan waited six months for news of Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu, then reasoned that the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect might have arranged Yan Qingchen's release through a trade.
• Li Yan left his courtyard at Yellow Qi Valley and departed the sect, deciding he had only been a passerby there.
• Eight years later, Li Yan flew over familiar barren mountains on his return journey, following Martial Uncle Ning Ke's safe route home.

Li Yan returned to the Yi Wood Immortal Sect with the Mistmoon Clear Immortal Grass after years of dangerous travel. Zhao Ziming escorted him through the sect’s Forest Sea Immortal Traces formation and told him Bai Rou’s condition had improved, though she remained unconscious.

• Li Yan reached the reed marshes and entered the Yi Wood Immortal Sect through one of its lakeside entrances.
• Ning Ke confirmed that Li Yan had obtained the Mistmoon Clear Immortal Grass and summoned him to the sect.
• Zhao Ziming welcomed Li Yan and reported that Ning Ke had cleared the chaotic forces from Bai Rou’s consciousness, preventing further damage.
• Li Yan followed Zhao Ziming through the forest and learned that Forest Sea Immortal Traces was the Yi Wood Immortal Sect’s inner mountain gate protection formation.

Li Yan presented Fairy Ning Ke with two ancient Hazy Moon Clear Immortal Grass stalks and rare herbs, and she agreed to use one to cleanse Bai Rou’s consciousness sea in seven days. As Li Yan waited, he examined Thousand Luo Stone he had acquired after surviving a dangerous pursuit.

• Li Yan showed Fairy Ning Ke two roughly seventeen-thousand-year-old Hazy Moon Clear Immortal Grass stalks and explained that he had found them in an undiscovered secret realm in Huangqi Valley.
• Li Yan offered Fairy Ning Ke a ring of rare medicinal herbs for the Five Immortals Sect, and she accepted them.
• Fairy Ning Ke took one stalk of Hazy Moon Clear Immortal Grass to prepare for cleansing Bai Rou’s consciousness sea and said the treatment would take about seven days.
• Li Yan offered her the remaining stalk for transplantation, and Fairy Ning Ke agreed to try growing it with Second Martial Uncle’s help.
• While waiting, Li Yan examined a nearly hundred-thousand-year-old piece of Thousand Luo Stone he had won at auction after paying seven supreme-grade spirit stones and Shattered Separation deadly poison.
• Li Yan recalled that a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator and an early-stage Void Refinement spirit beast with the Immobilization Technique had pursued him for four months after the auction.

Li Yan escaped a relentless pursuit by killing the tracking spirit beast, then learned Bai Rou had awakened but needed years to recover. As he planned to take her back to the Phantom Sect, he told Fairy Ning Ke about the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect and the secret realm, prompting her to decide to spread news about the ancient inheritance.

• A man and spirit beast pursued Li Yan after destroying his avatar, but Li Yan eventually poisoned the beast and escaped the Void Refinement cultivator.
• Li Yan sorted the materials he had gathered for Bai Rou and waited for Martial Uncle Ning Ke to return.
• Fairy Ning Ke told Li Yan that Bai Rou had awakened, though her consciousness sea would need at least five years to recover, and Li Yan proposed taking her back to the Phantom Sect.
• Fairy Ning Ke advised Li Yan not to bring Bai Rou into Tuban and suggested that he take her to the Gui Water Immortal Sect with Ling Yao's help.
• Li Yan told Fairy Ning Ke about encountering the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect and recounted the jade slip and secret realm; Ning Ke concluded that the sect should release news about the ancient inheritance hall.

Fairy Ning Ke explained why exposing Yin-Yang Chaos Sect’s connection to Yellow Qi Valley would drive the two sects apart, then sent Li Yan to reunite with Bai Rou. Bai Rou awakened after more than sixty years of recovery and, seeing Li Yan again, asked where she was and where Zhaoyan and the others had gone.

• Li Yan questioned whether revealing Yan Qingchen’s secrets might unite Yellow Qi Valley and Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, but Fairy Ning Ke explained that Yellow Qi Valley would fiercely defend its orthodoxy and resent the exposure.
• Fairy Ning Ke predicted that publicizing the Ancient Hall of Inheritance would anger Yellow Qi Valley and prevent an alliance with Yin-Yang Chaos Sect; she approved Li Yan’s plan to seek out the Undying Nether Phoenix Clan sisters later.
• Fairy Ning Ke told Li Yan to take Bai Rou back to his side, while warning that news about Yellow Qi Valley needed to spread soon.
• Bai Rou awakened after more than sixty years with severe damage to her sea of consciousness and learned that Li Yan had paid to have her treated.
• Li Yan reunited with Bai Rou on a mountain, and she stood stunned before asking where she was and where Zhaoyan and the others were.

After Bai Rou awoke in the Immortal-Spirit Realm, Li Yan explained the battle, the safety of Woodflow Sect, and why she would need to recover far from the Phantom Sect. They shared news of their past before Li Yan left to ask Ling Yao about the Gui Water Immortal Sect and Dong Fuyi, while Bai Rou remained to heal.

• Li Yan told Bai Rou that she had been brought to the Immortal-Spirit Realm after saving Zhaoyan and suffering a devastating injury to her sea of consciousness.
• Li Yan explained that Woodflow Sect was safe under the Phantom Sect's protection, recounted the battle's outcome, and said Zhaoyan had ascended with the others.
• Bai Rou asked to return to Zhaoyan, but Li Yan explained that the journey was dangerous and urged her to spend about five years stabilizing her condition.
• Bai Rou asked how Li Yan had reached the Immortal-Spirit Realm, and he began telling her about his past while they sat together on the mountain.
• Li Yan gave Bai Rou voice transmission talismans, promised to help her search for Shuang Qingqing, and left to visit Ling Yao and ask about the sect and Dong Fuyi.
• Ling Yao greeted Li Yan with a flurry of questions about the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass, Yellow Qi Valley, and its alchemy.

Li Yan learned about developments in Five Immortal Sect, then sought guidance from Fairy Ning Ke and successfully advanced into the Void Refinement Realm. More than two years later, Bai Rou recovered with a greatly expanded sea of consciousness and stronger Divine Sense.

• Li Yan answered Ling Yao’s questions, learned that Dong Fuyi was still perfecting his foundation and Shi Li Gui had gone to find Xing Jia and the others, and gave Ling Yao alchemy jade slips and rare herbs.
• Li Yan entered seclusion, then left three years later to ask an elder to protect him during his breakthrough.
• Fairy Ning Ke gave Li Yan detailed advice about the Void Refinement Realm Heavenly Tribulation, and Ling Yao joined her to watch over him.
• After four days of tribulation, Li Yan successfully advanced into the Void Refinement Realm, and he left Bai Rou a jade slip and a storage ring before returning to his cave dwelling.
• More than two years later, Bai Rou awoke with a sea of consciousness over thirty percent larger and Divine Sense strength comparable to a late Nascent Soul cultivator.

Bai Rou recovered from her injuries and found Li Yan’s message telling her to remain in the cave residence and cultivate while he stayed in seclusion. When she inspected the storage ring he had left, she discovered her missing Thousand-Luo Ancient Ape and rare materials inside.

• Bai Rou’s Divine Sense and cultivation improved greatly as she recovered in the Immortal-Spirit Realm.
• Bai Rou found Li Yan’s jade slip and storage ring outside her cave residence and learned that he had entered seclusion.
• Bai Rou confirmed that Li Yan’s cave residence was occupied, then returned to her cultivation chamber.
• Bai Rou examined the storage ring Li Yan had given her and found her damaged Thousand-Luo Ancient Ape inside.
• Bai Rou recognized Thousand-Luo Stone and other materials in the ring, and exclaimed in surprise at their quality.

Bai Rou discovered a cache of rare materials for refining Thousand Luo Ancient Apes, then three years later Li Yan stabilized his cultivation at the early Void Refinement stage. He assessed his greatly enhanced spiritual power, Divine Sense, and deadly poisons as he considered the possibilities for further research.

• Bai Rou recognized a huge Thousand Luo Stone and other rare materials as supplies for refining Thousand Luo Ancient Apes.
• Bai Rou recalled that Li Yan had remembered the materials they had discussed, and she examined the cache with excitement.
• Three years later, Li Yan emerged from seclusion with his cultivation stabilized at the early Void Refinement stage.
• Li Yan judged that his spiritual power had more than doubled and that his Divine Sense had advanced to at least the peak of late Void Refinement.
• Li Yan found that his Fragmented Poison Body had strengthened its existing poisons rather than producing new ones, and he considered researching combinations of multiple poisons.

After advancing to the Void Refinement Realm, Li Yan discovered two new arts in the Gui Water True Scripture and decided to strengthen his abilities before returning to the Phantom Sect with Bai Rou. He found Bai Rou absorbed in repairing her puppet, while Ling Yao, Ning Ke, and several other familiar cultivators were away or in seclusion.

• Li Yan discovered that the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike’s third tier, Eye of Gui Water, could briefly pin an enemy’s soul in place without damaging it.
• Li Yan learned that Gui Extreme Flame was a large-scale attack that could dry out living beings with spreading Gui Water Frostflame.
• Li Yan decided to cultivate Eye of Gui Water and bolster his life-saving abilities before taking Bai Rou back to the Phantom Sect.
• Li Yan found Bai Rou dazed as she focused on reforging the Thousand-Luo Ancient Ape, gave her a few instructions, and watched her return to her cave abode.
• Li Yan failed to find Ling Yao and learned from Ning Ke’s Divine Thought incarnation that Ning Ke and Zhao Ziming, along with several others, were away or in seclusion.

Li Yan learned that several senior figures were in prolonged seclusion and that Ping Tu had recovered to the late stage of the Void Refinement Realm before leaving with disciples on an outing arranged by Fairy Ning Ke. Seven years later, Li Yan emerged from cultivation after receiving word that Second Martial Uncle had returned with some people.

• Li Yan visited the Ji Earth Immortal Sect but could not see True Lord Qianzhong or Pei Buchong because they were in secluded cultivation.
• A senior sister told Li Yan that Ping Tu had emerged from seclusion at the late stage of the Void Refinement Realm and had left the sect with three disciples.
• Fairy Ning Ke sent Zhao Ziming and two disciples from other sects out for practical experience, entrusting Ping Tu with a jade slip for Senior Brother Shi and the others.
• Li Yan returned to his cave abode and resumed cultivation, unaware that Zhao Ziming's departure was connected to his return from Yellow Qi Valley.
• Seven years later, Li Yan left his cultivation chamber after stabilizing his realm and learned from a sound-transmission jade slip that Second Martial Uncle had returned with some people.

After leaving seclusion, Li Yan met Bai Rou and told her they could set out within a month, then visited Shi Ligu to learn how his news had helped the sect’s long-running trap against the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect. The ambush had badly wounded a Mahayana powerhouse and killed two Fusion cultivators, while Li Yan was left keenly aware of the gulf between his strength and theirs.

• Li Yan left seclusion, visited Bai Rou, and learned that she had recovered and advanced to the mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Yan told Bai Rou he planned to consult the senior who had treated her and that they could leave in at most a month.
• Li Yan met Shi Ligu, who praised his stable Void Refinement Realm and the news he had brought back.
• Shi Ligu explained that the sect had used Li Yan’s news to stir up a confrontation in Yellow Qi Valley and adjust its trap against the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect.
• The Five Immortal Sects severely wounded a Mahayana powerhouse and killed two Fusion cultivators, while Feng Yu was injured in the enemy’s secret counterattack.
• Li Yan listened to the account and recognized how powerless he remained compared with the powerful cultivators involved.

Li Yan asked Shi Ligui for permission to travel alone with Bai Rou back to the Phantom Sect, and Shi Ligui agreed after setting up a way for them to stay in contact. After leaving the Gui Water Immortal Gate, Li Yan visited Ping Tu at the Ji Earth Immortal Gate, where they shared a meal and wine.

• Li Yan explained that he wanted to take Bai Rou back to the Phantom Sect alone and help her experience the Immortal-Spirit Realm, and Shi Ligui agreed while arranging secret contact points and code phrases.
• Li Yan gave Shi Ligui rare medicinal herbs for himself and Qian Zhong, and Shi Ligui planned to transplant them and consult Ning Ke about the rarest specimens.
• Li Yan asked Shi Ligui to examine an illusion formation, and Shi Ligui kept the formation flags to study them and told Li Yan to return in ten days.
• Li Yan left the Gui Water Immortal Gate and visited Ping Tu at the Ji Earth Immortal Gate, where the two reminisced about their past in the lower realm.
• Li Yan cooked wild game for Ping Tu, and the two brought out wine to share.

Li Yan reunited with Ping Tu, then revealed to Bai Rou that he had reached the Void Refinement realm and set off with her to escort her home. Elsewhere, Elder Hao considered his next steps, while Tang Feng drank with three sword cultivators who might have noticed his soul arts during their escape from a Demon Beast tide.

• Li Yan told Ping Tu about his travels, received his advice on Void Refinement cultivation, and gave him twenty Sand Star King Stones.
• After spending several days studying the Ghost Trail array, Li Yan emerged with Bai Rou through a teleportation array and explained that he would escort her himself because he had reached the Void Refinement realm.
• Li Yan and Bai Rou discussed the Immortal-Spirit Realm's spiritual energy, then flew away together on the Cloud-Piercing Blade.
• Elder Hao discovered that Li Yan had been absent for more than a Sexagenary Cycle and decided to return to discuss their plans with Tang San.
• Tang Feng recounted how he and three sword cultivators had survived a Demon Beast tide, while privately suspecting that they had noticed his soul arts.

Tang Feng traveled with three Thunder Sword Sect cultivators, poisoned three monks to escape their notice, then struck down the swordsmen when they tried to attack him. Years later, a dark-red streak of light carried a green-robed figure and a white-clad woman across the Cangxuan Realm.

• Tang Feng accepted the three swordsmen's invitation to travel together and drank with them at an inn in an immortal cultivator city.
• When a fat monk berated their group, Tang Feng apologized, then poisoned the three monks by dosing their food through a passing waiter.
• After the monks collapsed, Tang Feng and the three swordsmen fled the inn, and the swordsmen recognized him as a poison cultivator.
• As they neared Guizang City, the swordsmen tried to attack Tang Feng, but he struck their souls with Soul-Shocking Spike and defeated them despite being wounded by their life-bound swords.
• Tang Feng looted and burned the three swordsmen, thought of Li Yan, and later a dark-red streak of light crossed the Cangxuan Realm with two people aboard.

Li Yan and Bai Rou paused in a valley that reminded Bai Rou of her home in Wood Flow Sect, then watched an eagle nearly kill a fire-red fox. They followed the wounded fox into a mountain crevice and discovered it led to a deep cave.

• Bai Rou asked Li Yan to return to a valley that resembled the place where she had cultivated in Wood Flow Sect, and he agreed.
• Li Yan and Bai Rou quietly reminisced about their homelands as they surveyed the valley.
• An eagle attacked a fire-red fox, but the fox escaped into a mountain crevice after tearing free from the eagle's grasp.
• Bai Rou asked to look for the injured fox, and Li Yan accompanied her to the crevice.
• Bai Rou and Li Yan followed the crevice deep into the mountain and found a large, dark cave.

Li Yan and Bai Rou discovered a damaged Shattered Star Formation in the cave while searching for the vanished fiery-red fox. They tested it with Li Yan’s black-armored Gu insect, which disappeared after Bai Rou activated the formation, leaving them uncertain where it had gone.

• Li Yan and Bai Rou searched the cave for the fiery-red fox but found no trace of it or anything unusual.
• Li Yan noticed a faint spiritual-energy fluctuation among a pile of stones, and Bai Rou identified the stones as a damaged Shattered Star Formation.
• Bai Rou explained that the formation could still teleport small objects because its Star-Gathering Stone remained intact, and Li Yan questioned how the fox had activated it.
• Li Yan sent his black-armored Gu insect onto the formation, but it did not teleport until Bai Rou struck the six remaining foundation stones in sequence.
• The Shattered Star Formation glimmered cyan, and the black-armored Gu insect vanished.

Li Yan and Bai Rou investigated a damaged Shattered Star Formation and worked to repair it so they could safely teleport. After Bai Rou installed the replacement stones, Li Yan offered to test the formation.

• Li Yan used the black-armored gu insect to learn that the formation’s distant end was also a Shattered Star Formation and that an injured red fox lay unconscious nearby.
• Bai Rou inspected the formation and judged she had a forty percent chance of repairing it if they could supply the needed materials.
• Li Yan provided most of the materials Bai Rou requested, including a superior substitute, and Bai Rou refined the components they needed.
• Bai Rou embedded two starlit stones into the formation after Li Yan confirmed the far side was empty and guarded by the gu insect.
• Li Yan offered to test the repaired formation.

Li Yan and Bai Rou used the transmission formation to reach an abandoned thatched residence, where they found no remaining valuables or clues about its former owner. Outside, they discovered an unconscious, badly injured fiery-red fox, and Bai Rou went to examine it.

• Li Yan tested the transmission formation with black-armored gu insects, set up protective formations and yellow gu insects, then prepared to travel with Bai Rou.
• Li Yan and Bai Rou transmitted to the other end, where Li Yan's black-armored gu insects were already waiting; unbeknownst to Bai Rou, another Li Yan remained behind in the cave.
• They inspected the preserved thatched residence and found traces of cultivation and alchemy, but no valuables or clues about the former owner.
• Li Yan and Bai Rou went outside and saw that the residence stood beside a lake within a formation-protected courtyard of barren spirit fields.
• Bai Rou approached an unconscious, bloodied fiery-red fox and found that, despite its scabbed wounds, it was still close to death.

Bai Rou used an immortal pill to heal the bloodied fiery-red fox and read its memories. The fox’s past revealed how it lost its parents, survived alone, and accidentally entered the fenced courtyard where it remained trapped.

• Li Yan explained that the fiery-red fox’s unusual healing ability could not restore its lost blood, so Bai Rou fed it an immortal pill.
• Bai Rou placed her hand on the fox’s head and witnessed its memories of running with its parents and learning to hunt.
• The fox’s parents were attacked in a storm, and the young fox fled from an eagle before returning to find one parent dead and the other gone.
• Injured and starving, the fox crawled into a mountain cleft and tried to make a safe resting place among the stones.
• While biting and digging at the stones, the fox suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar fenced courtyard and repeatedly bounced off the gate as it tried to escape.