Chapter Summaries

Li Yan surrendered the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape to Shuang Qingqing, who gave him the Cloud-Piercing Willow as compensation before departing. He reached a remote mountain range with his new flying treasure and established a concealed, heavily fortified cave to stay in.

• Shuang Qingqing explained that she needed the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape and offered Li Yan the Cloud-Piercing Willow in exchange.
• Li Yan accepted the flying treasure after Shuang Qingqing warned him that stronger flying treasures could still catch it.
• Shuang Qingqing departed with the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape, warned Li Yan to keep her identity secret, and told him what to say if Bai Rou asked about it.
• Li Yan flew more than ten thousand li to a remote mountain range using the Cloud-Piercing Willow.
• Li Yan carved out a cave and concealed it behind several layers of protective formations.
• Li Yan examined the Cloud-Piercing Willow, considered its speed and origins, and brought out a folding fan and a white jade handkerchief.

Li Yan studied the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief, then began undoing the seals on the deadly poisons in his body so he could refine them and attempt to reach the foundation establishment middle stage. Meanwhile, the chapter introduced Daning City under the Pure Land Sect’s jurisdiction and ended with a man and woman together in a secret chamber there.

• Li Yan suspected that the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief’s red threads were ancient material and that he still lacked the control art needed to wield the treasure fully.
• Li Yan examined the five spiritual-power cauldrons in his dantian and began releasing and refining the poisons sealed within his body.
• Li Yan prepared to spend at least a month in secluded cultivation, using the poisons to try to advance to the foundation establishment middle stage.
• The chapter described Daning City’s place within the Pure Land Sect’s territory and explained how Buddhist thought power and Daoist vow power were obtained through worship.
• A naked man and a beautiful woman were together in a secret chamber in Daning City.

The Red Cicada Sect’s Golden Core elder killed the Pure Land Sect monk Yiguang using the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art, then left with his Storage Pouch. After nearly three months in seclusion, Li Yan broke through to the Foundation Establishment middle stage and began planning to refine his magical weapons.

• The Red Cicada Sect elder revealed that she had lured Yiguang into breaking his Buddhist discipline and drained him with the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art.
• The Red Cicada Sect elder took Yiguang’s Storage Pouch, and half a day later a monk discovered that Yiguang’s soul lamp had gone out.
• Li Yan’s breakthrough shook the desolate mountain as black vapor gathered around him and his spiritual power surged through his expanded dantian.
• Li Yan recalled surviving several dangerous bouts of chaotic spiritual power and resolved to avoid using outside power for breakthroughs again.
• Li Yan found that he had reached the Foundation Establishment middle stage, gained Divine Sense extending more than eleven hundred li, and planned to refine his folding fan and Cloud-Piercing Willow magical treasure.

Li Yan refined Blood-Hand Flying Sickle’s folding fan into the Li Fire Mystical Yellow Fan and discovered its powerful but limited flame attack. After reaching Jade Pass City on the Pure Land Sect’s border, he stopped a group of cultivators to ask why so many mortals lived there, and the burly cultivator guessed that Li Yan was new to the sect’s territory.

• Li Yan refined Blood-Hand Flying Sickle’s fan, turning it pale yellow and gaining control of an early second-level Flying Sickle Blood Mantis.
• Li Yan discovered that the Li Fire Mystical Yellow Fan could release powerful flames, but its blood river regenerated enough fire for only two full-strength attacks a day.
• Li Yan traveled north by teleportation formations and then flew toward the Pure Land Sect’s territory to save spirit stones.
• Li Yan arrived near Jade Pass City and was surprised to sense many mortals and cultivators living there.
• Li Yan blocked a burly early Foundation Establishment cultivator and his two companions, then asked why mortals lived in the city.
• The burly cultivator asked whether Li Yan was new to the Pure Land Sect’s territory, startling him.

Li Yan questioned Ouyang Jinfei about how the Pure Land Sect’s cities accommodated mortals and cultivators, while concealing his identity and pretending to be an alchemist from the Huchen Lineage. Ouyang Jinfei explained the city’s layout as they approached, and Li Yan learned that cultivators entered their district through the central temple.

• Li Yan noticed an approaching cultivator before Ouyang Jinfei did, prompting Ouyang Jinfei to treat him with greater caution and invite him to talk while flying.
• Ouyang Jinfei explained that Pure Land Sect cities housed mortals and cultivators in separate areas, while Li Yan asked questions and concealed his surprise.
• When Ouyang Jinfei tried to leave, Li Yan claimed to be an alchemical cultivator on assignment and said he belonged to the Huchen Lineage.
• Ouyang Jinfei introduced himself as an elder of Thousand Peaks Mountain and became eager to please Li Yan after hearing his claimed lineage.
• Li Yan called himself Huchen Jianghai and asked how the city districts were divided, so Ouyang Jinfei explained that mortals lived in a small outer area while cultivators used the district around the central temple.

Li Yan posed as Huchen Jianghai and offered Ouyang Jinfei a chance to buy one of his personal poison pills. After demonstrating the pill’s power, he convinced Ouyang that he was a Huchen Lineage cultivator, and Ouyang eagerly asked its price.

• Li Yan learned that Ouyang Jinfei planned to take him to the Pure Land Sect’s temple and stationed Buddha, but said he would bring his personal pills to the market.
• Ouyang Jinfei asked to buy pills, and Li Yan agreed to sell him a bottle containing two poison pills in return for his earlier help.
• Li Yan took Ouyang Jinfei and his disciples into a forest and demonstrated the pill on a tree, making part of its trunk harden like refined iron.
• Ouyang Jinfei recognized the pill’s value as a weapon and became convinced Li Yan belonged to the Huchen Lineage.
• Ouyang Jinfei asked Li Yan how many spirit stones he wanted for the pill.

Li Yan entered Jade Pass City, a hidden city under the Pure Land Sect, and learned about its marketplace and an upcoming auction. Ouyang Jinfei left him with directions and auction details that caught Li Yan’s interest.

• Three stranded figures discussed how they might use two Realm-Breaking Pearls to escape their sealed realm, while hundreds of their followers waited behind them.
• Li Yan entered Jade Pass City with Ouyang Jinfei and his two disciples, paid the entry fee, and learned that violence was forbidden under the Pure Land Sect’s protection.
• Ouyang Jinfei offered to accompany Li Yan to the Buddha’s residence, but Li Yan declined so he could explore the city on his own.
• Ouyang Jinfei told Li Yan that an auction would take place in two days and described items including Golden Flood Dragon Python eyes, Waterlinked Pearl Swords, Crystal Bone Water, and Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Teeth.
• Li Yan concealed his reaction when Ouyang Jinfei named the auction items, then received directions to the auction house and marketplace.

Li Yan learned that Crystal Bone Water would appear at an auction and considered whether his spirit stones would be enough to buy it. Meanwhile, Wang Lang mistook Li Yan for the attacker who had ruined his cultivation and investigated a series of disappearances with the Pure Land Sect, ending by revealing that both sides were searching for a mysterious stone bead.

• Ouyang Jinfei told Li Yan that Crystal Bone Water would be sold at an auction, and Li Yan weighed his limited funds against the chance to acquire it.
• Wang Lang saw Li Yan pass by and thought his back resembled the old acquaintance who had ambushed him, but he dismissed the resemblance.
• Wang Lang met Chan Monk Yize in Yuguan City and discussed the missing and murdered cultivators that both the Ten-Step Academy and the Pure Land Sect were investigating.
• Yize told Wang Lang that someone who had contacted Buddha Yiguang might have come to Yuguan City, while withholding details about Yiguang's death.
• Wang Lang revealed that his investigation concerned a missing stone bead and suggested it might be linked to Yiguang's Immortal-Subduing Bead.

Wang Lang uncovered clues linking pearl-like treasures and the deaths of sect cultivators, while Liao Song and Yi Fa investigated Yi Guang’s murder and the woman suspected of using the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art. Li Yan learned that Crystal Bone Water would be sold at the Chanting Robes Gathering, gathered supplies and spirit stones in the city, and settled into an inn for the night.

• Wang Lang told Zeng Ze that several cases involved missing or murdered sect figures and pearl-like objects, and Zeng Ze confirmed Yi Guang’s Immortal-Descending Pearl had disappeared with his Storage Pouch while his prayer beads remained.
• Liao Song told Yi Fa that the Pure Land Sect knew someone was searching for round pearl-like objects and that Mo Qing had retrieved a stone carving’s eye, while Yi Fa questioned the investigation into Yi Guang’s death.
• Liao Song warned Yi Fa that Yi Guang had fallen victim to the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art and ordered temple disciples to investigate suspicious people and guard against the woman.
• Li Yan visited the Chanting Robes Gathering, learned it would auction Crystal Bone Water in two days, and paid fifty low-grade spirit stones for an entry token.
• Li Yan bought two materials for his Guiyi Water-Parting Spike, sold several treasures for more than thirty thousand spirit stones, and rented a room at an inn.

Li Yan attended the Singing Robe Gathering auction and discovered that its entrance array concealed participants’ appearances and confined their Divine Senses. The auction began under the supervision of Golden Core cultivator Wang Wuzhong, who introduced Heavenly Gate Sand as the first item.

• After failing to find what he wanted in the city, Li Yan meditated and noticed his token signaling the auction was about to begin.
• Li Yan entered the Singing Robe Gathering and found that its array gave everyone identical black robes and faces, prevented Divine Sense from leaving the body, and assigned each person a distinctive floral marker.
• Li Yan found his seat in the rear row and wondered whether Ouyang Jinfei was among the indistinguishable attendees.
• Wang Wuzhong, the Gathering’s third steward and an early Golden Core cultivator, appeared to preside over the auction.
• Wang Wuzhong introduced the first lot, twenty-four zhu of Heavenly Gate Sand, a high-grade earth-element refining material.

Li Yan attended an auction where wealthy cultivators drove up the prices of several treasures before he tried to buy Crystalbone Water for refining his growth-type magic treasure. The bidding for the rare material unexpectedly surged as multiple private boxes joined the contest, leaving Li Yan unsure why it was so sought after.

• Wang Wuzhong opened the auction with Heavenly Gate Sand, which a bidder in a red-rose private box won for six thousand spirit stones.
• Several treasures were sold, including the Water-Linked Pearl Swords for two hundred and thirty thousand spirit stones and tier-two Golden Flood Dragon Python eyes for one hundred and seventy thousand.
• Li Yan learned that his remaining one hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones should be enough to purchase the tier-one Crystalbone Water he needed.
• A black-robed bidder with a white daffodil on their cuff and Li Yan began bidding for the Crystalbone Water, then two private boxes joined the contest.
• The daffodil-cuffed bidder, the red-rose box, and other private boxes rapidly raised the price, while Li Yan wondered why so many people wanted the material.

Li Yan lost the bidding for the Crystal Bone Water and continued north toward the Pure Land Sect, seeking a way to reach the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower. After taking shelter from a snowstorm, he recognized the Foundation Establishment cultivator being chased by a Gold Core Realm pursuer as someone he knew.

• Li Yan bid 130,000 spirit stones for the Crystal Bone Water, but the Red Rose private room raised the price to 150,000 and won it.
• Li Yan left Jade Pass City and headed north, planning to seek the Crimson Mother Essence in the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower.
• Li Yan sensed two Gold Core Realm cultivators pursuing one another and changed course to avoid getting involved.
• Li Yan carved a cave in the mountains, set up protective formations, and began recovering his spiritual power.
• Li Yan recognized the fleeing Foundation Establishment cultivator as an acquaintance when the pair flew over his mountain refuge.

Li Yan secretly watched Su Hong flee from a seductive early Golden Core cultivator who wanted an unknown item and threatened to capture her. As Su Hong, badly injured and nearly out of spiritual power, began forcing her energy to end her life, Li Yan remained hidden and uncertain whether she could act before her pursuer stopped her.

• Su Hong fled from the woman in azure gauze, who demanded an item and offered to spare her if she submitted.
• Su Hong accused the woman of cultivating the Seven Mysteries Yin Nü Art and explained that she would rather die than be captured.
• Su Hong proposed that the woman inspect her Storage Pouch, but the woman refused to let her go.
• Li Yan observed the confrontation from a concealed cave and decided not to intervene.
• Su Hong began forcing her dwindling spiritual power to circulate despite the severe pain in her body.

Su Hong struggled to escape the beautiful woman in azure gauze, who had identified her as the buyer from the Red Rose private room and realized she was nearly out of strength. When the woman attacked, a hidden Li Yan sent Su Hong instructions to flee toward a rock jutting from the cliff, and an unseen force pulled her out of the woman's grasp.

• The beautiful woman in azure gauze confronted Su Hong about the treasures from the Singing Robes Gathering, and Su Hong admitted she had been in the Red Rose private room.
• Su Hong recognized the attacker as someone associated with the people wearing white narcissus on their cuffs, while Li Yan listened from a nearby cave and weighed whether to intervene for the Crystal Bone Water.
• The beautiful woman in azure gauze saw that Su Hong was badly injured and had been stalling to recover, then flew toward her.
• Su Hong realized she could neither recover enough to fight nor kill herself before the attacker reached her.
• Li Yan secretly told Su Hong to descend toward a protruding rock halfway down the mountain, and she obeyed.
• The beautiful woman in azure gauze lashed an azure streak after Su Hong, but an invisible force yanked Su Hong sideways and left the streak grasping empty air.

Li Yan concealed himself near his cave and used poison to disable Su Hong, offering to help her escape in exchange for her Crystal Bone Water. When the beautiful woman in azure gauze attacked Su Hong, Li Yan ambushed her and began overpowering the Gold Core Realm cultivator.

• The beautiful woman in azure gauze found no cultivator near the cave and concluded that its modest defenses belonged to an abandoned Foundation Establishment abode.
• Li Yan told Su Hong he wanted her Crystal Bone Water and would help her escape, while secretly poisoning her on the rock.
• Su Hong pretended to accept Li Yan's offer and planned to use the ensuing fight to recover and escape.
• The beautiful woman in azure gauze attacked Su Hong, who could not move because Li Yan's poison had cut off her spiritual power.
• Li Yan appeared and struck the beautiful woman in azure gauze, breaking her right arm and injuring her left wrist before pursuing her with another attack.

Li Yan drove the beautiful woman in blue gauze away after a brutal fight, then rescued Su Hong and fled with her. A day later, he stopped in a mountain hollow and asked Su Hong to discuss her earlier promise.

• The beautiful woman in blue gauze failed to poison Li Yan, suffered his repeated attacks, and fled when her shield and injuries could no longer hold out.
• Li Yan revealed that he had used his full strength and deliberately let the woman escape to hide his Foundation Establishment cultivation; he collected his formation flags and took Su Hong away.
• The beautiful woman in blue gauze returned to the empty cave, guessed that her ambusher might be weaker than she had thought, and flew off after sensing in another direction.
• Li Yan flew northwest with Su Hong, who silently studied him and seemed increasingly certain of something about his identity.
• After more than a day of travel, Li Yan set Su Hong down beside a stream and asked her to discuss her earlier promise.

Li Yan received the Crystal Bone Water from Su Hong, but became suspicious when she revealed she knew he belonged to the Phantom Sect. After Su Hong showed him a Phantom Sect token that could detect nearby sect cultivators, she began explaining the recent mysterious disappearances of sects.

• Su Hong presented Li Yan with the Crystal Bone Water and said he owed her for it, prompting him to threaten her with killing intent.
• Su Hong revealed a brown Phantom Sect token, which convinced Li Yan that she had a reason to recognize him.
• Li Yan accepted the token and jade bottle, confirmed the bottle held eight droplets of first-grade Crystal Bone Water, and tested the token's ability to locate Phantom Sect cultivators.
• Su Hong explained that her token could sense nearby Phantom Sect members through ordinary restrictions, and Li Yan obscured his own token with spiritual power.
• Li Yan asked why the sect had given Su Hong the token, and she connected it to recent reports of sects mysteriously disappearing or being uprooted.

Li Yan learned that Su Hong’s Return Home network secretly cooperated with Phantom Sect and had been investigating a mysterious force. After accepting the treasures she offered, he agreed to escort her north and protect her while she recovered.

• Su Hong explained that Return Home had ties to Phantom Sect and had been tasked with gathering intelligence and assisting its cultivators.
• Su Hong recognized Li Yan as the bidder for Crystal Bone Water at the Garment-Singing Gathering, and Li Yan confirmed it.
• Li Yan decided to keep the Crystal Bone Water and offered Su Hong spirit stones, but she gave him the Heavenly Gate Sand and Golden Flood Python eyes as well.
• Su Hong asked Li Yan to escort her toward a teleportation point, and he agreed to travel north with her.
• Li Yan carried Su Hong several thousand li northwest to a secluded place where she could heal.

Li Yan and Su Hong escaped the ambush and parted ways, while Su Hong realized that Zhong Mengyin and the Red Cicada Sect were tied to the mysterious force. Zhong Mengyin regrouped with Elder Feng and the other attackers, who debated the identity of the cultivator who had disrupted their pursuit.

• Su Hong told Li Yan that she had suspected the mysterious force was targeting items at the Robe-Singing Convention and described how Zhong Mengyin and three Golden Core cultivators ambushed her.
• Li Yan and Su Hong hid while she recovered, then traveled to a teleportation point and parted ways without exchanging names.
• Su Hong deduced that Zhong Mengyin cultivated the Seven Profound Yin Maiden Art and was likely a hidden Red Cicada Sect elder, then resolved to send the information back immediately.
• Elder Feng reproached Zhong Mengyin for letting Su Hong escape, and she blamed the powerful defenders and the unknown cultivator who had intervened.
• Elder Feng suggested that the unknown body cultivator might have belonged to the Pure Land Sect.

Zhong Mengyin and her companions investigated the unknown attacker and traced him through Ouyang Jinfei to Hu Chen Jianghai, while Li Yan's former Lineage fell into upheaval. Li Yan arrived at the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower and prepared to enter the forbidden zone cautiously.

• Zhong Mengyin suspected the attacker was a poison cultivator and urged her companions to investigate cultivators who attended the Garment Singing Gathering.
• Zhong Mengyin and the others captured Ouyang Jinfei, whose Soul Search linked the poison cultivator to Hu Chen Jianghai.
• Patriarch Hu Chen destroyed the Ye family and confined Hu Chen Jianghai, who later escaped the Lineage and vanished.
• The chapter described how the four great sects controlled the Four Great Forbidden Zones and issued entry tokens through their subordinate Lineages.
• Li Yan arrived near the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower and reminded himself to be cautious around the powerful Pure Land Sect.