Chapter Summaries

Li Yan’s golden-core tribulation suddenly unleashed its final four strikes together, leaving him gravely wounded as he fought to survive beneath the storm. He refused to escape into Tuban in case that ended his attempt, and continued using magic treasures to delay the descending lightning.

• The sect master warned the disciples to shelter as Li Yan’s tribulation grew dangerously powerful.
• A giant eye appeared in the storm and sent a lightning strike at Li Yan, nearly splitting him in two and hurling him into a deep pit.
• Li Yan used three magic treasures to block further tribulations, while the Heart-Twining Twinborn Gu’s resistance helped save him; Zhao Min felt his injuries through their bond.
• Li Yan recovered enough to consider escaping into Tuban, but feared that doing so would count as a failed tribulation.
• Li Yan sent six more magic treasures against the descending lightning and chose to keep resisting, despite his worsening injuries and dwindling Divine Sense.

Li Yan used the Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes to disrupt the Heavenly Tribulation and then pierced the enormous eye controlling it. The eye withdrew and the storm subsided, but Li Yan was buried beneath the earth, still struggling to withstand the remaining force.

• Li Yan sent the Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes into the Heavenly Tribulation, where they resisted its lightning and disrupted its gathered power.
• Li Yan used his Divine Sense to keep the spikes churning the tribulation while he took medicinal pills and prepared his other magic treasures.
• The enormous eye changed the tribulation’s lightning to red, and Li Yan withdrew the spikes before deploying his treasures as a defensive barrier.
• Li Yan drove the Guiyi Water-Parting Spikes into the enormous eye, causing the eye to convulse and the Heavenly Tribulation to explode outward.
• The enormous eye withdrew into the clouds, and the storm receded as the blast buried Li Yan deep underground.
• Li Yan maintained his final spiritual power barrier and absorbed golden arcs of electricity while earth and debris continued piling above him.

Li Yan survived the Heavenly Tribulation as golden lightning repaired his body and transformed his cultivation, absorbing the Tribulation Essence Qi in only a few dozen breaths. He faced Tian Xingzi and Xing Ming at the pit, and the three reached a wary understanding as Li Yan confirmed Tian Xingzi was weakened by old injuries.

• Golden lightning entered Li Yan's Dantian, where it revived the gray speck, drew in the shattered cauldrons and chaotic spiritual power, and rapidly healed his wounds.
• Tian Xingzi and Xing Ming reached the pit and tried to claim the remaining Tribulation Essence Qi, but it vanished underground as Li Yan emerged alive.
• Tian Xingzi and Xing Ming were astonished that Li Yan had absorbed the Tribulation Essence Qi and formed his golden core within a few dozen breaths.
• Tian Xingzi claimed Falling Star Valley had only watched over Li Yan, while Li Yan thanked him and introduced himself as Zhang Ming.
• The three sensed one another's strength and abandoned thoughts of conflict, and Li Yan judged that Tian Xingzi's aura was weakened by his old injuries.

After emerging from a twenty-year seclusion and forming his Golden Core, Li Yan negotiated with Tian Xingzi and Xing Ming instead of fleeing Falling Star Valley. He agreed to become a nominal sect elder, then moved into Starry Cave to consolidate his cultivation.

• Li Yan offered compensation for the damage caused by his Heavenly Tribulation, but Tian Xingzi reminded him of his promise to serve as a guest elder.
• Xing Ming explained that Li Yan had spent twenty years in seclusion, leaving Li Yan startled and worried about Zhao Min.
• Tian Xingzi offered Li Yan cultivation resources and freedom to travel, and Li Yan agreed to become an elder in name.
• Li Yan declined a grand celebration but agreed to appear at the sect's rites to Heaven and Earth before leaving the other arrangements to Xing Ming.
• Xing Ming led Li Yan to Starry Cave, where Li Yan activated the valley's restrictive formation and walked inside.

After twenty years in seclusion, Li Yan settled into his new residence in Falling Star Valley and checked on the Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant and the Snow Mosquito King. The dragon elephant remained sealed in its giant egg, while the Snow Mosquito King had grown far stronger and amassed a vast colony.

• Li Yan explored Starlit Cave, established the Great Dragon Elephant Formation, and shut himself in the cultivation chamber to settle matters before cultivating.
• Li Yan explained that he had stayed with Falling Star Valley so the sect could help him search for Zhao Min and a way out of the Forgotten Continent.
• Li Yan remembered his family in Great Green Mountain and grieved that decades had passed without him fulfilling his duty to his parents.
• Li Yan found the Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant still alive inside its enormous purple egg after twenty years of Soul-Burning Fire Refinement, but could not determine its condition.
• Li Yan saw that the Snow Mosquito King had grown close to a third-tier breakthrough and that its colony had expanded to one or two million mosquitoes.

Li Yan inspected his newly formed golden core, discovering a five-colored, five-petaled lotus and a vast Dantian sea after advancing to the Golden Core Realm. He also found that the Qiongqi Purgatory Art had reached its third level and tested his greatly strengthened body before turning his attention to the Disjointed Poison Body.

• Li Yan examined his Dantian and found a five-petaled, five-colored lotus surrounding his golden core, along with five spiritual-power channels and an enormous Dantian sea.
• Li Yan reflected on the resources behind his breakthrough, including the Gui Water True Scripture, the Qiongqi Purgatory Art, and two drops of Undying Underworld Phoenix blood essence.
• Li Yan discovered that the Qiongqi Purgatory Art had advanced to its third level and tested his physical strength, sending a powerful strike into his cave residence's barrier.
• Li Yan compared his strength with Gong Chenying's and believed he could now defeat Teng Wuji through physical strength alone.
• Li Yan directed his divine sense toward his chest to inspect how the Disjointed Poison Body had developed after his breakthrough.

Li Yan tested the newly separated pale mist from his Fragmented Poison Body and discovered it had no apparent effect on objects, creatures, or souls. He realized it affected the Flying Scythe Blood Mantis’s perception, then summoned the Snow Mosquito King, whose boast about its strength ended with Li Yan effortlessly beating it into submission.

• Li Yan found that the pale mist neither corroded a wooden sword, drained a spirit stone, harmed a butterfly, nor injured the Flying Scythe Blood Mantis’s soul.
• Li Yan noticed the Flying Scythe Blood Mantis felt happy in the mist and seemed to see others of its kind, then summoned the Snow Mosquito King to investigate further.
• The Snow Mosquito King woke from its daze, mistook Li Yan’s unchanged aura for a lack of progress, and boasted that its own cultivation had advanced greatly.
• The Snow Mosquito King challenged Li Yan to test its strength, but Li Yan slapped it down, caught its proboscis during a sneak attack, and overwhelmed it.
• The Snow Mosquito King realized Li Yan’s cultivation had advanced far beyond its own and wondered whether Li Yan had formed a Golden Core.

Li Yan tested the illusion poison produced by his Disjointed Poison Body and learned to control its mist and shape the illusions it created. Afterward, he received the Golden Core Realm cultivation formulas and discovered the Subduing Wave Soul-Killing immortal art, which complemented his Guiyi Water-Parting Spike.

• Li Yan warned the Snow Mosquito King against betraying him and sent it into the white mist to test the poison.
• Li Yan realized the mist caused an illusion after the Snow Mosquito King repeatedly spoke to empty space.
• Over three days, Li Yan tested the poison on Snow Mosquitoes and found that its illusions followed their thoughts and wore off at different rates depending on their mental strength and cultivation.
• Li Yan learned he could change the mist's density, make it colorless, and shape its illusions, though doing so consumed Divine Sense and soul power.
• Li Yan accessed the Golden Core Realm Qi Refinement formulas in his sea of consciousness and found the Subduing Wave Soul-Killing immortal art, which he recognized as a companion art for the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike.

Li Yan cultivated after forming his core, while Falling Star Valley announced Zhang Ming’s advancement and held a ceremony that drew attention from across the cultivation world. At the ceremony, Li Yan quietly dissolved Feng Tao’s oath and met with Golden Core cultivators, who recognized Zhang Ming as a formidable young body cultivator.

• Li Yan studied the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike and began cultivating with the Golden Core Realm formula of the Gui Water True Scripture.
• Xing Ming announced that a Falling Star Valley cultivator had formed a core, distributed invitations, and allowed speculation about the mysterious Zhang Ming to spread.
• At the Elder Heaven-Worship Ceremony, Li Yan briefly appeared and nodded to Feng Tao, releasing her from their oath.
• Feng Tao felt her inner turmoil disappear and gratefully saluted Zhang Ming, while Zhu Luomu and his junior martial siblings recalled how he had saved them.
• Li Yan joined Xing Ming and visiting Golden Core cultivators in the rear hall to exchange cultivation insights; they learned of his body-cultivation prowess and young age.

Three years after becoming a Grand Elder, Li Yan had stabilized his Golden Core, advanced his cultivation, and increased his strength while waiting for a chance to investigate Zhao Min’s disappearance. Star Mantis asked him to escort valuable sect goods and several disciples to Holy Demon City, and Li Yan agreed, gaining an opportunity to pursue his own inquiries there.

• Li Yan spent three years in seclusion stabilizing his realm, cultivating Fubo Soul-Slaying, refining Undying Nether Phoenix essence blood, and practicing the Qiongqi Purgatory Art.
• Star Mantis visited Li Yan at Starlit Cave and praised his qi-concealing method after sensing his elusive aura.
• Star Mantis explained that he needed to refine four Fire-Washing Pills for Six Coil Hall and could no longer escort a Buddhist kasaya and two Seven Dragon Bone-Forging Pills to Holy Demon City.
• Li Yan agreed to deliver the sect’s goods to Holy Demon City in Star Mantis’s place.
• Star Mantis asked Li Yan to bring several disciples along, and Li Yan agreed.

Li Yan asked Xing Ming about the cross-realm teleportation array and explained that he hoped to find news of his missing master and grandmaster. Xing Ming revealed the array’s history, location, and restrictions, leaving Li Yan to consider why only Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could realistically use it.

• Li Yan told Xing Ming he wanted to investigate whether the Lost Continent had an array connecting it to another realm.
• Li Yan explained that his master and grandmaster had come from another realm and that he hoped the array might provide clues to their whereabouts.
• Xing Ming revealed that the array connected the Lost Continent to the Verdant Continent and had been built during the ancient war between the primitive Devil Race and the Verdant Continent.
• Xing Ming explained that the array stood on a subsidiary peak in Holy Devil City, where Nascent Soul Realm cultivators guarded it.
• Xing Ming said Spirit Transformation cultivators could not use the array and that, despite the permission for lower realms, only Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could actually travel through it.

Li Yan learned that cross-realm teleportation demanded rare spirit stones and a body strong enough to survive, making it unlikely his master had left the Lost Continent without protection. Xingming then began explaining a secret account of why the Black and White Devil Races divided their lands, ending with a mysterious Human Race cultivator’s intervention.

• Xingming told Li Yan that cross-realm teleportation required two thousand high-grade spirit stones or one Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone, as well as a Nascent Soul-level body or protection.
• Li Yan asked why the White Devil Race and Black Devil Race treated humans differently and why the White Devil Race seemed to be distancing itself.
• Xingming warned Li Yan to keep the account private and reviewed how the Xiahou Aristocratic Clan became the Black Devil Race after withdrawing from its war with the primordial Devil Race.
• Li Yan recited the common explanations for the withdrawal: the threat of Spirit Transformation cultivators self-destructing and the destructive treasure inside Holy Devil Palace.
• Xingming described another account in which an unknown, powerful Human Race cultivator accepted a bargain from a primordial Devil Race elder and left Xiahou Shangxie a letter urging the two sides to divide the land.

Star Ming explained how a powerful Human Race cultivator had saved the White Devil Race and why the Holy Devil Palace’s stance toward Human Race cultivators had become uncertain. Li Yan realized the cross-world formation was beyond his reach for now, decided to find Senior Sister, and went to the sect master’s hall the next morning.

• Star Ming told Li Yan that Xiahou Shangxie had linked the rebuilt Holy Devil Palace formation to a mysterious Human Race expert and had failed to infiltrate it.
• Star Ming explained that the expert had ordered the White Devil Race to conceal his role, but Xiahou Shangxie’s deduction helped turn Human Race cultivators into targets of the Black Devil Race.
• Star Ming described the factions within the White Devil Race over whether to protect Human Race cultivators and warned Li Yan not to spread the uncertain account.
• After Star Ming left, Li Yan worried that the cross-world formation required vast high-grade spirit stones and a Nascent Soul Cultivator to protect him during transport.
• Li Yan decided to find Senior Sister first, cultivated overnight, and flew to the sect master’s hall the next morning.
• When four guards challenged Li Yan at the hall, he revealed a pale-blue token marked with five stars.

Li Yan arrived at the sect master's hall and was appointed to lead fifteen Falling Star Valley disciples to Sacred Devil City. He departed with them aboard the Cloud-Piercing Willow, leaving Xing Ming impressed by the treasure and more confident in Li Yan's background.

• Li Yan showed his Elder Zhang token to the guards, learned that Xing Ming and fifteen disciples were inside, and entered the hall.
• Xing Ming warned the disciples not to provoke cultivators in Sacred Devil City, explained that the White Devil Race usually favored humans when they had reason on their side, and named Li Yan as their leader.
• Li Yan recognized Feng Tao and an Affairs Hall steward among the five Foundation Establishment cultivators, while Feng Tao worried that he might hold a grudge over their past encounters.
• Xing Ming gave Li Yan a Storage Pouch, and Li Yan summoned the Cloud-Piercing Willow and invited the disciples aboard.
• Li Yan flew toward Sacred Devil City with the disciples, while Xing Ming recognized the treasure's exceptional quality and reflected on Li Yan's likely background.

Li Yan brought Falling Star Valley disciples to Saint Demon City on the Cloud-piercing Willow, while Xing Ming inferred Zhang Ming’s sect came from the Qingqing Continent from the treasure’s aura. At the sect’s shop, Li Yan reunited with the former Shattered Star Chamber steward Su Yuan, who recognized him as the newly appointed Elder Zhang.

• Xing Ming recognized the Cloud-piercing Willow’s artifact-refining methods and deduced from it that Zhang Ming’s sect had originated on the Qingqing Continent.
• Li Yan flew to Saint Demon City with fifteen Falling Star Valley disciples, reaching the city in three days while thinking of his senior sister.
• Li Yan followed Xing Ming’s jade slip to Falling Star Valley’s shop and led the disciples through it to the rear courtyard.
• Su Yuan and another Foundation Establishment cultivator came out to greet Li Yan, and Su Yuan recognized him from the Shattered Star Chamber.
• Su Yuan recalled that a sect message had identified Li Yan as the newly advanced Golden Core Realm Elder Zhang.

Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi welcomed Li Yan and the sect’s fifteen trainees to Holy Demon City, where Li Yan handed over the sect’s supplies and instructions. After reading Xing Ming’s message, Su Yuan planned lodging and a banquet while preparing to follow Li Yan’s arrangements.

• Su Yuan’s skill managing Falling Star Valley’s shop in Holy Demon City earned him the position for years, and he reached the False Core Realm with benefits from the post.
• Su Yuan recognized Li Yan as Elder Zhang and welcomed him alongside Xie Tongyi, while Xie Tongyi grew envious of their apparent old connection.
• Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi arranged for Feng Tao and the other cultivators to settle in, then escorted Li Yan to the pavilion’s sixth floor.
• Li Yan gave Su Yuan the Storage Pouch and jade slip, leaving Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi uncertain whether to inspect the supplies in front of him.
• Su Yuan read Xing Ming’s instructions to arrange lodging, obey Li Yan’s decisions, and ensure Elder Zhang attended the transaction with Master Wanxiang of Longhua Temple.
• Su Yuan decided to host a banquet for the arriving cultivators and focus on serving Li Yan well.

Li Yan questioned Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi about the shop and Sacred Demon City, then asked them to compile information on Sacred Demon Palace cultivators. Su Yuan revealed he was nearing a connection with the palace, leaving Li Yan cautiously interested but unconvinced until the arrangement was finalized.

• Su Yuan showed Li Yan the crimson kasaya, and Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi inspected it together and found no flaws.
• Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi briefed Li Yan on the shop and the factions in Sacred Demon City.
• Li Yan asked about making connections with Sacred Demon Palace, and Xie Tongyi said their attempts had made little progress beyond reaching some Golden Core Realm cultivators.
• Li Yan told the two Deacons to compile descriptions of every Sacred Demon Palace cultivator they knew and promised them credit for useful discoveries.
• Su Yuan revealed that he had been negotiating with the Sacred Demon Palace and that the matter was nearing a decision, surprising Xie Tongyi and prompting Li Yan to tell him to speak freely.

Su Yuan revealed that Falling Star Valley could win a major pill-supply contract with the Holy Demon Palace, and Li Yan agreed to support him while seeking a chance to enter the palace. Two days later, Li Yan received the information he had requested from Xie Tongyi and continued watching him closely.

• Su Yuan told Li Yan and Xie Tongyi that the Holy Demon Palace might award Falling Star Valley a twenty-percent share of its low- and mid-grade pill supply if two fourth-grade pills passed testing.
• Li Yan confirmed that the Seven Dragon Bone-Forging Pills met the impurity requirements and asked Su Yuan about the palace’s suppliers, delivery arrangements, and the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan’s role.
• Su Yuan explained that the contract share would be taken from the Ghost Flood Dragon Clan, which had not agreed to surrender it, and asked Li Yan for guidance.
• Li Yan ordered Xie Tongyi to assist Su Yuan fully, avoid prying into confidential matters, and report any problems to him.
• Over the next two days, Li Yan failed to approach the Holy Demon Palace, while Su Yuan handled the contract and Xie Tongyi gathered information for Li Yan.
• Xie Tongyi gave Li Yan a jade slip, and Li Yan noted that he had kept watch over Xie Tongyi with a Divine Sense mark.

Li Yan reviewed intelligence on Holy Devil Palace cultivators but found no convincing lead on Zhao Min, then met Master Wanxiang to discuss refining a kasaya. Their conversation turned to body cultivation before a disturbance erupted in the shop, leaving its cause unknown.

• Li Yan searched the jade slip's records for Zhao Min and copied the names of twenty-three female cultivators at the false core and early Gold Core stages for later investigation.
• Xie Tongyi announced Master Wanxiang's arrival, and Li Yan received the Longhua Temple monk in a side room.
• Li Yan handed Master Wanxiang the crimson kasaya, sensed the monk's powerful Buddhist awareness, and learned that yin fire from Falling Star Valley's earthfire vein suited its final refinement.
• Master Wanxiang and Li Yan discussed body cultivation for six hours while Xie Tongyi waited outside.
• An unexpected disturbance broke out in the shop as Li Yan and Master Wanxiang continued their conversation.

Li Yan and Master Wanxiang ended their discussion of body cultivation just as Jiao Wuxing attacked Su Yuan in Falling Star Valley’s shop. After learning Jiao Wuxing’s identity and the likely cause of the assault, Li Yan asked whether they could kill people in Saint Demon City, leaving the assembled cultivators stunned.

• Li Yan and Master Wanxiang exchanged cultivation insights, then prepared to part on friendly terms.
• Jiao Wuxing burst into the shop and struck Su Yuan, leaving him bloodied and the stone floor cracked.
• Li Yan and Master Wanxiang appeared between Jiao Wuxing and Su Yuan, while Xie Tongyi identified Jiao Wuxing as a member of the Ghost Flood Dragon Race.
• Jiao Wuxing accused Su Yuan of interfering with his race’s business and warned Li Yan not to meddle.
• Li Yan inferred that Su Yuan’s dealings involved the Holy Devil Palace and asked Master Wanxiang whether they could kill people in the city, shocking everyone present.