Chapter Summaries

Ye Tianyi returned to Cangyun Sect and learned that his junior brother Lu Changsheng spent his time collecting Spirit Stones and supplies rather than diligently cultivating. Ye Tianyi resolved to discipline him, but when Lu Changsheng greeted him by asking if he had eaten, he was left speechless.

• Lin Po praised Ye Tianyi’s cultivation and told him that Lu Changsheng was an extraordinary talent unlike anyone Cang Province would produce in five hundred years.
• Lin Po showed Ye Tianyi Lu Changsheng collecting Spirit Stones from disciples and ordering them to deal with shops that owed him.
• Lin Po described how Lu Changsheng regularly took spirit rice, pills, and Spirit Stones meant for other disciples and elders.
• Ye Tianyi decided to discipline Lu Changsheng after seeing his conduct and hearing about his long-standing habits.
• Lu Changsheng met Ye Tianyi and asked whether his second senior brother had eaten, leaving Ye Tianyi speechless.

Ye Tianyi returned to Qingyun Peak and became concerned about Lu Changsheng’s strange behavior, but Liu Qingcheng insisted there was more to him than the rumors suggested. Lu Changsheng’s cultivation revealed the brutal cost of his Myriad Tribulations Immortal Physique, and the chapter ended with him heading toward Azure Cloud Peak to test his strength against the sect master.

• Lu Changsheng rushed off to collect a sack of spirit herbs when the sect bell announced their distribution, while Lin Po warned Ye Tianyi about the Nighttime Madman.
• Lu Changsheng returned with a sack full of spirit herbs, and Liu Qingcheng arrived to ask him to inspect a formation.
• Liu Qingcheng confirmed that Lu Changsheng had fixed the formation and told Ye Tianyi to get along with him rather than trust rumors.
• Ye Tianyi watched Lu Changsheng return from a brief cultivation session and saw him endure severe pain beneath the old pine.
• Lu Changsheng reflected that his Myriad Tribulations Immortal Physique made cultivation agonizing and costly, though it gave him far more Law Power than others at his level.
• After reaching the eighth layer of Core Formation, Lu Changsheng changed into black clothes and flew toward Azure Cloud Peak, wondering whether he could defeat the sect master.

Lu Changsheng hid his nighttime beatings of sect members while easing the pain caused by his cultivation, and Ye Tianyi began to suspect him. Just as Ye Tianyi confronted him about receiving massages, a disciple reported that their eldest senior brother had encountered trouble with his cultivation.

• Lu Tianyi chased a dark figure after being beaten, but the attacker escaped before the Peak Masters arrived.
• Ye Tianyi recalled seeing a dark figure enter Qingyun Peak and briefly suspected Lu Changsheng, but dismissed the idea when he found him being massaged by female disciples.
• Lu Changsheng explained that the massages eased his bodily pain and that he helped the disciples with their cultivation questions.
• A young girl arrived and told Lu Changsheng that their eldest senior brother had run into trouble with his cultivation.

Lu Changsheng treated Zhou Qingyu’s cultivation injury by passing off knowledge from a book, while Ye Tianyi grew suspicious of his junior brother’s abilities. After Zhou Qingyu sent him to Cangyun City to handle the Ning Household, Lu Changsheng left, prompting Luo Xianling to worry that Ning Yuxin might become interested in him.

• Luo Xianling brought word that Zhou Qingyu had been injured, and he arrived at Lu Changsheng’s room seeking help.
• Lu Changsheng gave Zhou Qingyu advice from a book, and Zhou Qingyu recovered while Ye Tianyi questioned how much his junior brother truly knew.
• Lu Changsheng showed Zhou Qingyu a book with missing pages and explained away the ink on his fingers, leaving Ye Tianyi uneasy.
• Zhou Qingyu told Lu Changsheng that the Ning Household had arrived and asked him to handle it.
• Lu Changsheng told Luo Xianling that Ning Yuxin was in Cangyun City, then left for the city before she could stop him.

Lu Changsheng met Ning Yuchen in Cangyun City and gave him advice about Zhou Qingyu before heading to the Drunken Moon Pavilion to see Su Muyue. He asked Su Muyue about newly manifested secret realms, but their conversation was interrupted by several intruders.

• Lu Changsheng arrived at the Drunken Immortal Tower, where Ning Yuchen asked what Zhou Qingyu liked, and Lu Changsheng claimed he prized Spirit Stones and treasured swords.
• Lu Changsheng left for the Drunken Moon Pavilion, while Ning Yuxin heard about his reputation and prepared to travel to Qingyun Peak the next day.
• Lu Changsheng met Su Muyue and asked whether any secret realms had manifested recently on his senior brother's behalf.
• Several figures forced their way toward Lu Changsheng and Su Muyue, disrupting their conversation.

Lu Changsheng let Cangyun Sect disciples beat Shi Feng after Shi Feng overturned their table and insulted the sect. After leaving Su Muyue, Lu Changsheng secretly went to investigate three hidden Core Formation experts near Cangyun City.

• Shi Feng, a direct disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect, interrupted Lu Changsheng and Su Muyue, insulted Lu Changsheng, and overturned their table.
• Lu Changsheng accused Shi Feng of looking down on the Cangyun Sect, prompting arriving disciples to beat Shi Feng and his companions.
• Lu Changsheng ordered the disciples to gag Shi Feng and continue beating him, then had them throw the group out before he left Su Muyue.
• Lu Changsheng sensed several hidden Core Formation experts and quietly went to watch them, identifying one at the Core Formation Fourth Layer and two at the Core Formation Third Layer.

Lu Changsheng overheard a plot to kill the Ning siblings and turn the Ning Household against the Cangyun Sect, so he intervened and killed the two Core Formation attackers. He erased their traces, then sent up the Cangyun Sect's distress signal.

• Su Muyue told Elder Qi she found Lu Changsheng intriguing, while Elder Qi reminded her to focus on obtaining the Azure Cloud Map.
• Lu Changsheng overheard three Core Formation cultivators discuss killing the Ning siblings to provoke conflict between the Ning Household and the Cangyun Sect.
• After two of the plotters lured away their target, Lu Changsheng confronted the remaining pair and killed them with his overwhelming power.
• Lu Changsheng burned and scattered the corpses, then sent the Cangyun Sect's distress signal toward the outskirts of the city.

After helping the sect investigate the Profound Heaven Sect incident, Lu Changsheng spent the day answering the inner disciples’ cultivation questions before the Ning Household arrived at Qingyun Peak. He encouraged Ning Yuxin to take up swordsmanship to connect with Zhou Qingyu, then offered to teach her, leaving her to wonder whether he could really do it.

• Lu Changsheng avoided the sect’s citywide investigation by staying at an inn, then returned to Qingyun Peak the next day.
• Lu Changsheng answered the inner disciples’ questions about cultivation, swordsmanship, talismans, and pill refining.
• Ning Yuxin arrived with the Ning Household, and Ning Yuchen left Lu Changsheng to look after her while delivering chests of Spirit Stones and other gifts.
• Zhou Qingyu returned and told Lu Changsheng to be careful, then left Ning Yuxin disappointed by barely speaking with her.
• Lu Changsheng advised Ning Yuxin to practice swordsmanship to share Zhou Qingyu’s interests and offered to teach her.
• Ning Yuxin asked Lu Changsheng, “could you really do it?”, silencing everyone on the mountaintop.

Lu Changsheng sold Ning Yuxin a Clear Sword Heart Pill containing his sword intent, then helped Ye Tianyi identify a pill-refining mistake. Ye Tianyi decided to supervise Lu Changsheng’s cultivation and take him to the approaching Cangyun Secret Realm.

• Lu Changsheng sold Ning Yuxin a Clear Sword Heart Pill for ten thousand Spirit Stones, claiming it would help her comprehend the Dao of the Sword.
• Lu Changsheng explained how Ye Tianyi’s Clear Heart Pill refining had caused two furnaces to explode, and Ye Tianyi prepared to try again.
• Lu Changsheng made Ning Yuxin’s pill and sealed a wisp of his origin sword intent inside it.
• Ning Yuxin collected the pill at noon, and Lu Changsheng told her to take it, though she left without showing the gratitude he expected.
• Ye Tianyi successfully refined the pills, then told Lu Changsheng he would supervise his cultivation and bring him into the Cangyun Secret Realm.

Ye Tianyi took Lu Changsheng to cultivate at the outer disciples' trial grounds and revealed that their master had been missing for two years. After Lu Changsheng spent his Spirit Stones and returned to Qingyun Peak, he found Ning Yuxin had successfully formed Sword Intent but was struggling to understand Eldest Senior Brother's notes, and he offered to help her improve with money.

• Ye Tianyi told Lu Changsheng their master had disappeared two years earlier and brought him to the outer disciples' trial grounds to cultivate.
• Lu Changsheng used up his twenty thousand Spirit Stones without reaching the Ninth Layer of Core Formation and decided to return to the sect to check on Ning Yuxin.
• Lu Changsheng found that Ning Yuxin had formed Sword Intent and earned Eldest Senior Brother's attention, but she feared he would discover she could not understand his notes.
• Lu Changsheng told Ning Yuxin she could improve her Sword Intent by spending money.

Lu Changsheng took twenty thousand Spirit Stones from Ning Yuxin in exchange for helping improve her swordsmanship, then prepared pills for her and led her toward the Sword Cave. He also encountered Shi Feng and his companions, who appeared to have come to Cangyun under the pretext of helping with a beast tide.

• Lu Changsheng charged Ning Yuxin twenty thousand Spirit Stones to help improve her swordsmanship, and she paid without bargaining.
• Lu Changsheng told Ning Yuxin to keep their arrangement secret, then spent three Spirit Stones on herbs and kept the rest as his fee.
• Lu Changsheng met Shi Feng, a young man, and an elderly Core Formation expert in Cangyun City; the elder praised him while Shi Feng complained about their past conflict.
• Shi Feng's companions said they had come to help with the beast tide, but Lu Changsheng suspected they were plotting something and returned to Qingyun Peak.
• Lu Changsheng refined pills for Ning Yuxin, handed them to her the next morning, and led her toward the sect's Sword Cave to use them.

Lu Changsheng helped Ning Yuxin cultivate sword intent in the Sword Cave to earn Spirit Stones, then tried to avoid Luo Xianling and Ye Tianyi. After Ye Tianyi signed him up to fight an approaching beast tide, Lu Changsheng told Luo Xianling that his master had been kidnapped to explain his dealings with Ning Yuxin, and she set off to steal Spirit Stones from her father.

• Lu Changsheng instructed Ning Yuxin to take a pill and cultivate in the Sword Cave, where her sword intent grew over two days.
• Luo Xianling confronted Lu Changsheng for neglecting her, but he fled before she could get an explanation.
• Ye Tianyi learned Lu Changsheng had reached the fourth level of Spirit Gathering and signed him up to fight the coming beast tide.
• Lu Changsheng told Luo Xianling that his master had been kidnapped and that he was earning Spirit Stones to pay the ransom.
• Luo Xianling promised to steal Spirit Stones from her father, leaving Lu Changsheng with a twinge of conscience.

Lu Changsheng watched Zhou Qingyu defeat Li Changfeng in a sparring match and worried that his senior brother’s dazzling swordsmanship would attract danger. When a signal announced the approaching beast tide, Lu Changsheng prepared to accompany Zhou Qingyu and hoped to guide him toward greater protection through the Dynasty War.

• Lu Changsheng returned to Qingyun Peak and found Shi Feng and an old man watching Zhou Qingyu spar with Li Changfeng of the Profound Heaven Sect.
• Zhou Qingyu unleashed Sword Qi and defeated Li Changfeng, impressing the old man and earning Li Changfeng’s concession.
• Lu Changsheng worried Zhou Qingyu had revealed too much of his talent, then agreed to stay by his side during the coming beast tide.
• Lu Changsheng hoped Zhou Qingyu would place in the Dynasty War and enter a powerful immortal sect, bringing protection to himself and the Cangyun Sect.
• A streak of azure light appeared above Azure Cloud Peak, warning that the beast tide was approaching.

As the Cangyun Sect prepared to repel a beast tide, Luo Xianling secretly gave Lu Changsheng ten thousand Spirit Stones and insisted that her father protect him. Luo Tian resented Lu Changsheng and doubted he could keep pace with his daughter, while Luo Xianling declared she would protect him after becoming stronger.

• The Profound Heaven Sect elders decided to help Cangyun fend off the Demon Beasts while secretly judging Zhou Qingyu too dangerous to leave alive.
• Lu Changsheng joined the sect’s assembled forces with Zhou Qingyu and Ye Tianyi, reluctantly preparing for his first beast tide.
• Luo Xianling gave Lu Changsheng ten thousand Spirit Stones from her father’s savings, while Luo Tian watched him with an angry gaze.
• Luo Xianling asked Luo Tian to protect Lu Changsheng, and he reassured her that Zhou Qingyu and Qingyun Peak’s elders would keep him safe.
• Luo Tian warned that Lu Changsheng would not keep pace with Luo Xianling, but she vowed to protect him after achieving success in cultivation and said she liked him because he was good-looking.

Cangyun Sect’s disciples reached the Hundred Thousand Mountains and battled the beast tide, while Lu Changsheng stayed behind to guard the rear and collect Demon Beast corpses. After five uneventful days, he began to doubt his suspicions about the Profound Heaven Sect—until he noticed a sweet fragrance amid the battlefield’s stench.

• Luo Tian led the Cangyun disciples to the mountain pass, where they divided into seven forces to repel the approaching beast tide.
• The Profound Heaven Sect members agreed to assist Pill Cloud Peak elsewhere, while Luo Xianling returned to remind Lu Changsheng to shout loudly if he needed help.
• Lu Changsheng gave Luo Xianling a safety talisman, and she hurried back to Luo Tian.
• Zhou Qingyu charged into the beast tide and slew Demon Beasts while the Cangyun disciples fought across the battlefield.
• Lu Changsheng guarded the rear, secretly watched for anyone in danger, and collected fallen Demon Beast corpses for their value.
• After five days without trouble, Lu Changsheng wondered if he had misjudged the Profound Heaven Sect, then caught a sweet fragrance through the stench of blood.

On the seventh day, Zhou Qingyu fought an Azure Wind Bird while Core Formation Demon Beasts descended on Qingyun Peak. Lu Changsheng discovered that Illusory God Flowers were luring the beasts, burned them away, and then sensed a mysterious Core Formation assailant targeting Zhou Qingyu.

• Zhou Qingyu fought fiercely, while Lu Changsheng roasted the Demon Beasts he had slain and fed the gathered disciples and elders.
• An Azure Wind Bird at Core Formation attacked Zhou Qingyu, and the elders let him fight it to temper himself as more powerful beasts arrived.
• Lu Changsheng spotted Illusory God Flowers and realized the Profound Heaven Sect had planted them to lure Demon Beasts toward Zhou Qingyu.
• Lu Changsheng used the Fire Instruction to burn the flowers, halting the approaching beasts and easing the danger to Qingyun Peak.
• Lu Changsheng sensed a lifeless black shadow with Core Formation third-layer cultivation watching Zhou Qingyu from a peak.

A shadowy attacker used the Thousand Net Tower to try to kill Zhou Qingyu, but Lu Changsheng secretly stopped the artifact and pursued the attacker. After discovering the attacker was a puppet, Lu Changsheng suspected the Profound Heaven Sect was trying to provoke conflict between the Cangyun Sect and the Thousand Net Sect, and wondered whether Zhou Qingyu’s past encounter with the Profound Heaven Sect’s sect master was connected.

• A shadowy figure unleashed the Thousand Net Tower on Zhou Qingyu, and Ye Tianyi rushed to shield him as the tower threatened to crush them.
• Lu Changsheng used Law Power to seal the tower and make it fall harmlessly, then recognized it as the Thousand Net Sect’s damaged sect-guarding artifact.
• The shadowy figure fled when people from the other peaks arrived, and Lu Changsheng intercepted him a hundred li away.
• Lu Changsheng discovered that the attacker was a Core Formation puppet and suspected the Profound Heaven Sect had arranged the assassination to sow distrust between the sects.
• Lu Changsheng recalled that the Profound Heaven Sect’s sect master had praised Zhou Qingyu before he disappeared that night, and wondered what had happened.

After the beast tide ended, Lu Changsheng sold the Demon Beasts and the Thousand Net Tower, then spent his gains breaking through to the Ninth Layer of Core Formation. The Profound Heaven Sect’s plot against Cangyun had failed, but its members expected the Thousand Net Sect and other allies to threaten Cangyun next.

• Luo Xianling found Lu Changsheng safe and embraced him in relief after the battle.
• Lu Changsheng sold the Demon Beasts for nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones and the damaged Thousand Net Tower for nearly forty thousand, bringing his savings to nearly eighty thousand.
• The Profound Heaven Sect’s three men discussed how their scheme had failed and decided to wait for the Thousand Net Sect to pursue the tower and for the Cangyun Secret Realm to open.
• Lu Changsheng used his Spirit Stones to cultivate through the Myriad Tribulations Immortal Physique’s painful breakthrough and reached the Ninth Layer of Core Formation.
• Lu Changsheng spent several days recovering beneath the old pine tree while consolidating his cultivation and contemplating the cost of advancing further.

After recovering, Lu Changsheng learned that the tyrannical Sword Intent he had given Ning Yuxin was damaging her body. He agreed to take her to Cangyun City to find costly medicines and materials, while privately worrying that she might have noticed his profiteering.

• Ning Yuxin told Lu Changsheng that her Sword Intent was growing quickly but causing painful changes in her body.
• Lu Changsheng diagnosed the problem as his unusually tyrannical Sword Intent straining Ning Yuxin's body and explained that she needed to temper her body and raise her cultivation.
• Lu Changsheng said the treatment would require expensive spirit medicines and materials, and Ning Yuxin asked him to accompany her to Cangyun City the next day.
• After Ning Yuxin left, Lu Changsheng worried she might have realized he had been overcharging her and decided to prove his value.
• The next morning, Lu Changsheng waited outside to take Ning Yuxin to Cangyun City.

Lu Changsheng took Ning Yuxin shopping in Cangyun City, buying large quantities of spirit medicines and offering her an expensive cultivation package. The chapter left off when a young man outbid Lu Changsheng for a rare Scarlet Spirit Grass and confronted him with a mocking, provocative look.

• Lu Changsheng bought a hundred of each of several spirit medicines and other spiritual materials, spending thirty thousand Spirit Stones.
• Lu Changsheng offered Ning Yuxin a three-year cultivation package that promised the ninth layer of Essence Condensation, the fourth layer of Sword Intent, and a body nearly matching a body cultivator's for a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• Ning Yuxin accepted the offer but said she needed her father to send more Spirit Stones.
• Lu Changsheng found a rare Scarlet Spirit Grass, which he wanted for a pill to ease the pain of his future Nascent Soul breakthrough.
• A young man offered two thousand Spirit Stones for the grass and approached Lu Changsheng with a mocking smile.