Chapter Summaries

Su Hong reviewed Guiqulaixi intelligence and discovered that Li Yan and Bai Rou had rescued one of its escort missions in the Cangxuan Realm. Recognizing them in the portraits, she realized Li Yan had been alive and had crossed her path again without her knowing.

• Su Hong considered the reports that Li Yan and his companions had vanished, then set aside her search for him to focus on Guiqulaixi's affairs.
• Su Hong read a jade slip about an escort mission in the Cangxuan Realm that had survived an ambush with help from mysterious cultivators.
• Su Hong learned that Elder Ye had asked Guiqulaixi branches to assist anyone carrying the group's tokens and report their movements.
• Su Hong saw portraits of the rescuers and recognized Li Yan and Bai Rou.
• Su Hong recalled her earlier investigations into Li Yan, Bai Rou, and others connected to the Phantom Sect.

Su Hong read news of Li Yan's actions in the Cangxuan Realm and realized he had advanced to at least the Void Refinement Realm. His astonishing progress prompted her to reconsider how she balanced cultivation with her responsibilities, and she continued reading the jade slip in a calmer state.

• Su Hong read that Bai Rou had become the Woodflow Sect's master and mistakenly suspected Li Yan had been alone with her while Zhao Min and Gong Chenying tolerated it.
• Su Hong reconsidered after remembering Zhao Min and Gong Chenying's intelligence, and concluded Li Yan and Bai Rou were likely together on sect business.
• Su Hong believed Li Yan had intervened to save Elder Ye and the others partly because of their past connection, and felt relieved to learn he had survived ascension and reached the Cangxuan Realm.
• Su Hong reacted to the report that a mysterious person had killed two masked Void Refinement Realm cultivators and inferred that Li Yan had done it, possibly after reaching early Void Refinement.
• Su Hong compared Li Yan's rapid advancement with her own late Nascent Soul cultivation and decided to make more time for cultivation instead of alternating between cultivation and handling affairs.
• Su Hong steadied herself and returned her attention to the rest of the jade slip.

Li Yan and Bai Rou arrived at Wind-Listening City to use its teleportation array, and Li Yan spotted someone familiar in a shop. The chapter revealed how Liu Siyu left Yellow Qi Valley with Yan Qingchen and joined the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, where she and her Lineage settled safely.

• Li Yan and Bai Rou entered Wind-Listening City and headed toward the convent's teleportation array.
• Li Yan's gaze passed a shop entrance, and his pupils contracted, though he concealed his reaction from Bai Rou.
• Yan Qingchen walked through the city with Liu Siyu and suggested she browse the shops for ornaments.
• Liu Siyu recalled how she had confessed Yan Qingchen's crimes to Yellow Qi Valley's Enforcement Hall and feared that the sect might silence her and her Lineage.
• Yan Qingchen visited Liu Siyu under escort, admitted responsibility, and asked her to leave with him, promising protection and resources for her Lineage.
• Liu Siyu left with Yan Qingchen for the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, where her Lineage received a place to settle and she became a core disciple.

Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu became Dao Companions after he earned her trust, though she refused to practice their sect’s dual-cultivation technique. While traveling with a delegation through Wind-Listening City, Yan Qingchen sensed something familiar, but Li Yan concealed himself nearby and left with Bai Rou before Yan Qingchen could identify him.

• Yan Qingchen broke through to the Void Refinement Realm, and Liu Siyu later reached the late Spirit Transformation Realm.
• Yan Qingchen proposed that he and Liu Siyu become Dao Companions and practice a dual-cultivation technique; Liu Siyu agreed to the relationship but declined the technique.
• Yan Qingchen publicly announced their relationship, set their ceremony date with Liu Siyu’s approval, and began living with her.
• Yan Qingchen traveled to Wind-Listening City with Liu Siyu and five other cultivators to scout the attitude of another sect before their main delegation arrived.
• Yan Qingchen sensed something familiar in the crowded street but, after finding no sign of danger, led his group onward.
• Li Yan hid himself beside an usher as Yan Qingchen’s group passed, then left with Bai Rou after they continued down the street.

Li Yan and Bai Rou secretly followed Yan Qingchen’s group through Listening Wind City after Li Yan recognized his old enemy and learned that he had advanced to Void Refinement. The group reached Moonshadow Inn, where Yan Qingchen arranged lodging and Junior Sister Zhong sought to leave; Li Yan remained concealed nearby, intent on discovering why they had come.

• Li Yan disguised himself and told Bai Rou that Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu were among the people he had encountered while searching for the Hazy Moon Clear Immortal Grass.
• Li Yan decided to kill Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu, then secretly used his Divine Sense to assess their group and found three Void Refinement cultivators and four Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Li Yan blended his Divine Sense into nearby cultivators’ probes, allowing him to investigate Yan Qingchen’s group without being discovered.
• Yan Qingchen’s group arrived at Moonshadow Inn, where he booked a secluded courtyard with five rooms and drew resentment from Junior Sister Zhong.
• Junior Sister Zhong asked to explore the city, and one of her fellow disciples supported the request by saying they had already planned to go out together.

Li Yan and Bai Rou followed Yan Qingchen’s group to Moonshadow Inn, where Li Yan learned more about Liu Siyu and the group’s mission by secretly listening to three Spirit Transformation cultivators. He prepared a plan to deal with them and arranged for Bai Rou to help, then watched as the three entered a dining room next door.

• Yan Qingchen’s group split up at Moonshadow Inn, and Li Yan and Bai Rou followed while disguising their appearances.
• Li Yan chose the three Spirit Transformation cultivators who left the inn as easier targets and secretly listened as they discussed Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu.
• Li Yan learned that Liu Siyu had joined the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect with her clan and had become Yan Qingchen’s Dao companion, but he could not discover the group’s mission.
• Li Yan sent Bai Rou two possible plans and told her she might need to enter his spirit-storage space; Bai Rou warned him to avoid taking needless risks.
• The three cultivators returned to Moonshadow Inn and asked about vegetarian meals, allowing Li Yan and Bai Rou to choose a room beside theirs and wait for the next step.

Li Yan and Bai Rou overheard three cultivators from the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect discussing Liu Siyu, then disguised their identities when the trio came to investigate. After extracting information from them, the cultivators left believing they had intimidated members of an insignificant sect, while Li Yan and Bai Rou remained in their room.

• Li Yan and Bai Rou ate in a private room while three Yin-Yang Chaos Sect cultivators in the next room overheard someone mention Liu Siyu and her disappearance from a sect.
• Junior Sister Zhong persuaded Second Senior Brother and Fourth Junior Brother to investigate the people who might know Liu Siyu, despite Second Senior Brother's suspicions that the coincidence was suspicious.
• Li Yan and Bai Rou pretended to be a man and woman named Lin and denied knowing the visitors when the three knocked on their door.
• Second Senior Brother and the others entered, apologized with spirit stones, and questioned Li Yan and Bai Rou about Liu Siyu after identifying themselves as members of the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect.
• The three threatened Li Yan and Bai Rou to keep their conversation secret, then returned to their room convinced the pair came from an insignificant sect.

Junior Sister Zhong and her two senior brothers discovered that Liu Siyu had vanished from the Wind Night Sect years ago and reported their suspicions about her to their master. Meanwhile, Li Yan revealed that the trio had marked him and Bai Rou, then prepared to begin an assassination; the chapter ended with the master and his wife weighing the report.

• Junior Sister Zhong persuaded two cultivators to reveal that Liu Siyu belonged to the Wind Night Sect and had disappeared years earlier, around the time Yan Qingchen was absent.
• Junior Sister Zhong and her senior brothers discussed whether Liu Siyu had used a sect mission to enter Yin-Yang Chaos Sect, then decided to report only the facts to their master.
• Li Yan told Bai Rou that the trio had secretly marked them, and Bai Rou changed out of her marked clothes.
• Li Yan told Bai Rou that the assassination would begin and should be over within two hours.
• Junior Sister Zhong and her senior brothers returned to their master's courtyard and reported Liu Siyu's origins and their concerns.
• The middle-aged scholar and his wife listened to the report, and the scholar regarded the allegations with suspicion.

Li Yan poisoned the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect cultivators while they questioned their master about Liu Siyu and the Wind Night Sect. The middle-aged scholar’s Nascent Soul escaped the courtyard to seek Yan Qingchen’s help, while Li Yan remained hidden outside.

• The middle-aged scholar and his wife learned that Liu Siyu’s former cultivation art was wood-attributed and became more certain the Wind Night Sect woman was Liu Siyu.
• The middle-aged scholar ordered his second disciple to take him to the Wind Night Sect pair, but he and his wife suddenly succumbed to a deadly poison.
• The scholar used his Divine Sense and saw his three disciples and wife dying as the toxin dissolved their bodies.
• The scholar’s Nascent Soul fled, crushed a transmission talisman to contact Yan Qingchen, and broke through the room’s array.
• Li Yan watched from outside the courtyard, having followed the three disciples there without entering.

Li Yan used hidden poisons and gu insects to kill the three Spirit Transformation cultivators and the Void Refinement couple inside their courtyard. Yan Qingchen sensed that Senior Brother Shen and the others were in trouble and hurriedly armed himself, leaving the chapter with him on alert.

• Li Yan concluded that entering the courtyard himself was too dangerous and set a plan in motion through the three Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Li Yan secretly infected the three cultivators with Fragmented mixed poison and planted gu insects inside them.
• The three cultivators entered their master's room, unknowingly spreading poison that the Void Refinement couple inhaled while Li Yan waited outside.
• When the middle-aged scholar prepared to go capture Li Yan and Bai Rou, Li Yan detonated the gu insects, and the poison killed everyone in the room.
• Yan Qingchen sensed that Senior Brother Shen and the others were in trouble, pulled away from Liu Siyu, dressed, and activated his protective armor.

Yan Qingchen discovered that Senior Brother Shen and four others had been poisoned to death inside a courtyard whose defenses remained intact. After searching for the unseen attacker and testing whether it would strike Liu Siyu, he found no enemy and began concluding that the threat might not still be nearby.

• Yan Qingchen sensed the paired transmission talismans explode, ordered Liu Siyu to stay protected, and searched the courtyard while concealed.
• Yan Qingchen found Senior Brother Shen’s Nascent Soul turning black; Shen briefly warned him about deadly poison before dissolving into black water.
• Yan Qingchen discovered five more puddles of black water in Shen’s room, where Junior Sister Zhong and two others had recently visited.
• Yan Qingchen searched the courtyard for more than half an hour while Liu Siyu waited inside, then told her to come out with full defenses and avoid outside air.
• Yan Qingchen told Liu Siyu that all five had died from poison despite the intact restrictions, and reasoned that the attacker was likely not a Body Integration Realm expert.
• Yan Qingchen revealed that he had used Liu Siyu as bait to draw out a hidden attacker, but no one struck, so he began ruling out the possibility that the enemy remained nearby.

Yan Qingchen deduced that Junior Sister Zhong and the other two had unknowingly carried a triggered poison into Senior Brother Shen’s room, while secretly preparing for an attack. He suggested the Phantom Sect was behind the poison as the concealed enemy waited outside the courtyard.

• Yan Qingchen reassured Liu Siyu that no enemy appeared to be inside the courtyard while secretly spreading his Divine Sense and preparing to counter an attack.
• Yan Qingchen explained that Junior Sister Zhong and the other two had likely brought in the poison that killed Senior Brother Shen and the others, leaving no traces in the courtyard’s defenses.
• Liu Siyu realized the poison could have required a trigger and then dissipated, but she could not explain how the three disciples had been made to carry it.
• Yan Qingchen ruled out several ways the disciples might have been controlled and pointed out that they were nearing the Phantom Sect.
• Liu Siyu identified the Phantom Sect, while the concealed figure outside waited and reflected on Yan Qingchen’s cunning and ruthlessness.

After discovering that a hidden poison attack had killed their companions, Yan Qingchen persuaded Liu Siyu to leave the courtyard quietly rather than raise an alarm. Li Yan followed them through Wind-Listening City and watched as they headed toward a city gate.

• Yan Qingchen concluded that a powerful poison cultivator had attacked the courtyard and convinced Liu Siyu that reporting the deaths would expose them to greater danger.
• Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu prepared talismans, left the courtyard cautiously, and sealed it behind them without encountering an attack.
• Li Yan watched the pair leave and recognized that Yan Qingchen's precautions made it difficult to strike them openly.
• Li Yan followed Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu through the crowded streets of Wind-Listening City, keeping his presence concealed.
• After half an hour of browsing stalls to avoid drawing suspicion, Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu quickened their pace toward a city gate.

Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu fled Wind Listening City, but Li Yan tracked them down with the Cloud-Piercing Blade and ambushed their flying boat above a river. The boat survived with its stern damaged, and Yan Qingchen and Li Yan faced each other in the night.

• Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu passed the city gate inspection, then left Wind Listening City aboard a concealed gray flying boat.
• Yan Qingchen flew through populated areas, changed directions unpredictably, and repeatedly concealed the boat while searching for pursuers.
• Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu found no clear sign of an enemy until the boat crossed a vast river and was struck from behind.
• Li Yan appeared on the Cloud-Piercing Blade after using it to catch up, while Yan Qingchen turned the damaged boat toward him.
• Yan Qingchen reacted to Li Yan's attack and turned the boat at the last moment, preventing the blade from splitting it apart but leaving a crack in its stern.

Li Yan, Yan Qingchen, and Liu Siyu exchanged lethal attacks, and Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu nearly trapped Li Yan with a secret art that forced him into sleep. Li Yan escaped and broke free of the art, realizing that the Yin-Yang technique required both Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu to use it.

• Li Yan unleashed Soul-Severing Slash as Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu attacked him with a combined technique.
• Yan Qingchen's Dharma wheels merged into a black mirror that made Li Yan fall asleep, while Li Yan's soul attack left Yan Qingchen screaming in pain.
• Li Yan used the Cloud-Piercing Blade to flee beyond the mirror's range, and Liu Siyu retrieved the mirror and carried Yan Qingchen away.
• Li Yan's Nascent Soul struck the Dantian Sea, restoring his spiritual power and waking him from the sleep effect.
• Li Yan realized Liu Siyu had helped Yan Qingchen perform the secret art and recalled that Yan Qingchen had not used it in the Brilliant Long River secret realm.

Li Yan failed to finish off Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu after they escaped with the help of random teleportation talismans, while Yan Qingchen suspected their attacker belonged to the Phantom Sect. Li Yan reunited with Bai Rou and resumed their journey, leaving the fugitives alive and his pursuit behind.

• Li Yan searched for Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu, then pursued them after realizing their combined attack required both of them.
• Liu Siyu used two random teleportation talismans to carry herself and the badly wounded Yan Qingchen away from Li Yan, then collapsed from the backlash of her technique.
• Yan Qingchen fled toward a market city, nursed his soul injuries with Pills, and suspected that Li Yan was connected to the Phantom Sect.
• Bai Rou rejoined Li Yan after several days, and he told her that he had killed their master and four disciples but lost track of the two survivors.
• Li Yan gave up the pursuit and continued traveling with Bai Rou so she could resume her experience.

Li Yan and Bai Rou returned to the Phantom Sect after a long journey, but Li Yan learned that he still had three centennial missions to resolve. At Small Bamboo Peak, he entered Zhong Ziyan’s room to handle the matter, and she was struck by the imposing newcomers.

• Li Yan and Bai Rou reached the Phantom Sect’s core region, and Bai Rou quietly regretted that their journey together was ending.
• At the mountain gate, a deacon verified Bai Rou’s identity and warned Li Yan that three centennial missions remained unfinished.
• Li Yan took Bai Rou to Small Bamboo Peak and went to the main hall to settle his mission obligations before reuniting with his family.
• A Golden Core Realm deacon saw Li Yan’s Spirit Transformation Realm rank and led him to Zhong Ziyan, whose room was available.
• Zhong Ziyan met Li Yan and Bai Rou, sensed Li Yan’s cultivation, and admired Bai Rou’s beauty.

Li Yan returned to the Phantom Sect and asked Zhong Ziyan to review his overdue assignments, only to learn that he owed six tasks. He quietly sought confirmation that Void Refinement cultivators were exempt, while Bai Rou realized his attempt to avoid the assignments might fail.

• Zhong Ziyan examined Li Yan's identity token and warned that his uncompleted assignments could alert the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Li Yan explained that he had spent the century treating a fellow sect cultivator, and Zhong Ziyan recognized his identity and confirmed Patriarch Da Cen and Patriarch Han Lin had approved his absence.
• Zhong Ziyan removed the token's warning but said Li Yan had to complete three delayed assignments within fifty years and six assignments in total.
• Li Yan considered how the assignments would disrupt his plans and asked whether Void Refinement cultivators were exempt from sect tasks.
• Bai Rou understood Li Yan was trying to avoid the assignments while keeping his cultivation concealed, and Zhong Ziyan confirmed that Void Refinement-level Patriarchs needed no assignments.

Li Yan returned to the Phantom Sect with Bai Rou and confirmed that he had advanced to the Spirit Transformation Realm, earning a summons to Laojun Peak and a new residence. Their return reunited the family and brought Li Zhaoyan relief after years of worry over Bai Rou, though Bai Rou recognized that Li Zhaoyan’s state of mind had hindered her cultivation.

• Li Yan asked Zhong Ziyan how to verify his Spirit Transformation Realm cultivation and learned that his outstanding sect missions would be canceled once his advancement was confirmed.
• A Spirit Transformation cultivator surnamed Sun verified Li Yan’s cultivation, summoned him to Laojun Peak for further questioning, and arranged for him to receive a new residence.
• Senior Brother Sun reflected on Li Yan’s special constitution and rapid advancement, then decided to report the news to his master.
• Li Yan and Bai Rou returned to the bamboo courtyard, where Wei Zhongran, Mo Qing, and Li Zhaoyan welcomed them; Da Cen remained in seclusion attempting a breakthrough.
• Li Zhaoyan clung to Bai Rou and cried before sharing her interest in puppet arts, and Bai Rou realized that her disciple’s state of mind had troubled her cultivation.

Li Yan and Bai Rou reunited with their Phantom Sect companions, and Bai Rou helped Li Zhaoyan overcome a mental obstacle in her cultivation. After Li Yan privately updated Zhao Min and Gong Chenying about Mu Guyue and Mu Sha, he revealed that they would soon move to the residence for Void Refinement cultivators.

• Bai Rou tested Li Zhaoyan’s artifact-refining skills and shared new puppet concepts with her, while Li Yan learned that his daughter’s unsettled state of mind had delayed her breakthrough.
• Zhao Min and Gong Chenying welcomed Bai Rou, and the reunited group gathered in the bamboo courtyard as Li Yan concealed his cultivation and caught up with everyone.
• Li Yan promised Zi Kun that they would search the North Pasture Realm for the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant clan and visit Qianji.
• Li Yan told the gathering how he had found the Longyueqing Immortal Herb and returned with Bai Rou, and Mo Qing repaid him with spirit stones.
• After the others left, Zhao Min and Gong Chenying asked about Mu Guyue and Mu Sha, and Li Yan said they had reached the Black Devil Race but that bringing them back would require discussing the matter with his master.
• Li Yan told Zhao Min and Gong Chenying that they would move into the residential area for Void Refinement cultivators, leaving them astonished.