Arc 2Witchcraft Traces and Hidden Enemies

Qi Yan advanced his cultivation while investigating incidents involving spirit pets, witchcraft, and attempts to implicate the Heavenly Evolution Sect. Little Crybaby survived an attack during her confinement and planned to travel, while Qi Yan connected one of her required materials to the distorted space in the Wang Family tomb.

  • Qi Yan used the ice jade bed and Mu Xunzhen’s pills to cultivate while Mu Xunzhen investigated his possible connection to Brother A-Yan.
  • Qi Yan helped Yun Ranyi capture the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly, exposed Ye Jingshan’s scheme, and received a phoenix earring that became a flying artifact.
  • Mu Xunzhen discovered Ye Jingshan’s ties to the Azure Cloud Sect, forged Qi Yan a sword blank, and wounded Perfected Daoqing while warning his sect against further provocations.
  • Qi Yan forged his lifebound sword Lightning Glow and reached the seventh layer of Qi Refinement as his exchanges with Little Crybaby helped him combine Dao cultivation with Witchcraft.
  • Qi Yan and Wunian survived an ambush in the Wang Family tomb and discovered that someone had used an Essence-Draining Incantation to draw power from the earth veins.
  • Jiang Jinyue reported the tomb incident and Yun Ranyi’s agreement to join the Heavenly Evolution Sect to Mu Xunzhen, then began training Qi Yan in spell control.
  • Little Crybaby survived an attempt to lure her out of confinement by using a hair substitute and an illusion, then obtained Elder Wu’s permission to travel.
  • Little Crybaby proposed cultivating the Concordance Pact with Qi Yan and planned a journey to Heavenly Concord Continent, while Qi Yan linked the Space-Chaos Pearl on her materials list to the tomb’s spatial distortion.
Chapters 26–50 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 26The Ice Jade Bed

Mu Xunzhen investigated the demonic qi leaks and sent Jiang Jinyue to secretly examine the Yun Clan, while she pushed Qi Yan to advance his cultivation. Qi Yan discovered the ice jade bed helped convert his Witchcraft power toward Daoist qi, then learned that Sixth Senior Brother had been expelled.

  • Mu Xunzhen learned that demonic qi had contaminated the seabed where the demonic dragon appeared and suspected someone was coordinating a plan involving arrays and the Yun Clan.
  • Mu Xunzhen ordered an investigation of the Yun Clan and told her subordinate to take Jiang Jinyue along, then declined to decide whether Qi Yan would join the peak competition until she saw his progress.
  • Mu Xunzhen challenged Qi Yan to reach the late Qi Refinement stage within a month, offering a magical artifact for success and Jiang Jinyue's cooking as punishment for falling far short.
  • Qi Yan entered Jiang Jinyue's bare cave abode, found the ice jade bed, and slept on it after covering it with weeds.
  • Qi Yan discovered that the ice jade bed made his Witchcraft power more like Daoist qi while he cultivated, suggesting it could help him convert between the two.
  • Little Crybaby told Qi Yan that Sixth Senior Brother had been expelled after the Law Enforcement Hall matter.

Ch. 27She Must Be Really Old!

Little Crybaby accepted ten-thousand-year cold jade as compensation and discovered it strengthened both her Dao Arts cultivation and Qi Yan’s training. As Qi Yan and Little Crybaby entered meditation, Mu Xunzhen began to suspect that Qi Yan might be Brother A-Yan reincarnated and left to investigate his birthplace.

  • Qi Yan advised Little Crybaby to choose ten-thousand-year cold jade, and she carried the whole piece back to her cave abode.
  • Little Crybaby found that the jade calmed her mind, helped convert her witchcraft power into Dao Arts qi, and strengthened her Golden Core.
  • Qi Yan used the jade as a bed, found he could skip sleep while meditating, and began taking Mu Xunzhen’s pills to advance his cultivation.
  • Jiang Jinyue complained that Qi Yan had ignored her farewell before she left to investigate the Yun Clan.
  • Mu Xunzhen reconsidered whether Brother A-Yan could have reincarnated and decided to investigate the Qi Clan and perform divinations at Qi Yan’s birthplace.

Ch. 28Rumors

After leaving seclusion, Qi Yan went to the External Affairs Peak to find a mission and heard rumors that Jiang Jinyue had used her influence to make him the sect master's direct disciple. He took a dangerous mission despite being under the required cultivation level, and his identity caused the busy hall and plaza to fall silent.

  • Qi Yan found Jiang Jinyue's residence empty, glimpsed her bedroom, and learned from a female elder that Jiang Jinyue and his master were away.
  • Qi Yan used his life token to teleport to the External Affairs Peak and browsed the bustling market for things to furnish his cave abode.
  • Qi Yan overheard disciples claiming he had become a direct disciple through Jiang Jinyue's favor, and suspected someone had deliberately spread the rumors.
  • Qi Yan entered the External Affairs Hall and requested a mission to deal with a spirit creature threatening the Ye Clan, despite being only at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement.
  • After Qi Yan registered with his life token, the attendant recognized him aloud, and the hall and plaza fell silent.

Ch. 29Meeting Yun Ranyi Again

Qi Yan traveled to Changshui City to investigate the Ye Clan’s failing spirit pet eggs, but discovered Yun Ranyi was visiting the clan and abandoned the investigation to meet her. He entered her side hall after agreeing to work for her in exchange for one slap a month.

  • Qi Yan registered for a mission despite other disciples questioning why the sect master’s new direct disciple would take a low-paying assignment.
  • During his journey to Changshui City, Qi Yan broke through to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.
  • Ye Jingshan explained that the Ye Clan’s newly hatched spirit pets had become weak, though the clan had never found the suspected creature causing the problem.
  • Qi Yan learned that Yun Ranyi had come to Changshui City with her clan and suspected she might be there to buy spirit pets.
  • After hearing the problem had begun a month earlier, Qi Yan concluded it was unrelated to Yun Ranyi and then headed to her side hall instead of inspecting the Ye Clan’s facilities.
  • Yun Ranyi offered Qi Yan one slap a month as wages, and he accepted before entering her side hall.

Ch. 30Undercurrents in Heavenly Prefecture

Qi Yan enlisted Yun Ranyi’s help to solve the Ye Clan’s spirit-pet egg problem, while Yun Ranyi revealed that she hoped to use his trust to misdirect Heavenly Prefecture’s suspicious powers. In a quiet room, Qi Yan called Little Crybaby for advice on how energy could be silently drained from spirit-pet eggs.

  • Qi Yan offered to help Yun Ranyi secure spirit pets from the Ye Clan in exchange for her assistance with the clan’s problem, and she agreed to meet him at midnight.
  • Qi Yan told Ye Jingshan that Yun Ranyi could help and advised him to offer her a trade discount; Ye Jingshan agreed to cooperate.
  • Yun Ranyi told Xiao Yuan that she hoped Qi Yan’s trust could help misdirect neighboring powers, and she discussed Mu Xunzhen’s possible conflict with the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
  • Qi Yan contacted Little Crybaby, learned she had reached the Golden Core Second Layer, and asked how spirit-pet eggs could be drained of energy without detection.
  • Little Crybaby admitted she did not know the answer but decided to ask Grandpa Wu.

Ch. 31I want to keep a cat

Qi Yan and Little Crybaby discussed whether a Witchcraft curse or a rare spirit butterfly was draining spirit pet eggs, while their private conversations grew increasingly personal. At the Ye Clan’s incubation building, Xiao Yuan’s Spirit-Peering Array revealed a flash of residual Witchcraft, and Xiao Yuan rushed toward it.

  • Grandpa Wu told Little Crybaby that a curse was the likeliest cause of the disappearing egg nutrients, though he also described a rare spirit-attuned butterfly that could resemble an egg.
  • Qi Yan considered using knowledge from the Heavenly Evolution Art to detect unusual energy flows, then chatted with Little Crybaby about spirit pets, cats, and whether he had a lover.
  • Xiao Yuan overheard Qi Yan’s conversation, accused him of wanting a cat for a lover, and brought him to meet Yun Ranyi and Ye Jingshan.
  • Qi Yan suggested they inspect the incubation room, and Xiao Yuan set up a Spirit-Peering Array in the Ye Clan’s heavily guarded building.
  • The array revealed a faint scarlet trace of residual Witchcraft, and Xiao Yuan hurried toward it while Qi Yan questioned her haste.

Ch. 32Breaking Out of the Cocoon

Qi Yan, Yun Ranyi, and Xiao Yuan confronted Ye Jingshan while pursuing the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly, which emerged from its cocoon and triggered an ambush. After capturing Ye Jingshan and the butterfly, Qi Yan and Yun Ranyi discussed their secrecy and agreed to be more honest, though Yun Ranyi left his proposal to stop guarding against each other unanswered.

  • The Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly emerged from its cocoon, trapped Xiao Yuan in an illusion, and tried to flee as Ye Jingshan's spiritual net appeared.
  • Qi Yan pulled Yun Ranyi out of Ye Jingshan's fire attack, then confronted Ye Jingshan while guards surrounded them.
  • Qi Yan used a Calming Spell to help Xiao Yuan escape the illusion, and Xiao Yuan seized Ye Jingshan before he could finish preparing his spell.
  • Xiao Yuan subdued Ye Jingshan and captured the spirit butterfly, which chose to settle in Yun Ranyi's palm.
  • Qi Yan asked why Yun Ranyi had hidden her goal; she admitted she had treated him as a potential opponent, and he revealed his true name and asked them to stop mistrusting each other.
  • Qi Yan explained that he had suspected Ye Jingshan after the butterfly's emergence seemed deliberately timed, and inferred that Ye Jingshan had hastened its maturation.

Ch. 33Flirted with

Qi Yan uncovered Ye Jingshan’s plan to hasten the spirit butterfly’s emergence and learned from Yun Ranyi that its birth might signal the Heavenly Evolution Sect’s leader was pursuing the taboo path of communion with the divine. Yun Ranyi flirted with Qi Yan as she gave him a phoenix earring that transformed into a powerful flying treasure, and he left to report Ye Jingshan while carrying the cocoon silk.

  • Qi Yan explained that Ye Jingshan had sought knowledgeable but weak outer disciples to find the spirit butterfly, then hastened its emergence when Yun Ranyi and Xiao Yuan arrived.
  • Yun Ranyi warned Qi Yan that the spirit butterfly’s birth supported suspicions that his honored master was secretly pursuing communion with the divine, potentially stirring conflict around the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
  • Qi Yan thanked Yun Ranyi, then demanded payment for his help; she offered him a flying artifact, and Xiao Yuan brought her a phoenix earring.
  • Yun Ranyi gave Qi Yan one of the paired phoenix earrings and flirted with him before leaving with Xiao Yuan.
  • Qi Yan gathered the unbreakable cocoon silk, picked up the unconscious Ye Jingshan, and transformed the earring into a phoenix that carried him rapidly toward the sect.

Ch. 34Protecting Her Own

Yun Ranyi gave Qi Yan her phoenix carriage and insisted that she and Xiao Yuan proceed with the demonic abyss formation without relying on him. Qi Yan brought Ye Jingshan to the External Affairs Hall, where Mu Xunzhen praised him and ordered the Ye Clan seized and destroyed.

  • Yun Ranyi explained to Xiao Yuan that she had given Qi Yan the phoenix carriage, then said they would continue with the demonic abyss formation and keep their plans from him.
  • Meng Ming warned Yun Ranyi that someone was secretly watching their residence, and Yun Ranyi identified the watcher as likely connected to Jiang Jinyue and Mu Xunzhen.
  • Jiang Jinyue watched Yun Ranyi and Xiao Yuan return home, then argued with the old man beside her that she had to protect Qi Yan as his senior sister.
  • Qi Yan brought the unconscious Ye Jingshan to the External Affairs Hall and asked Hall Master Zhou Chong to rule publicly on whether his assignment counted as completed.
  • Mu Xunzhen praised Qi Yan, then ordered Zhou Chong to take over the Ye Clan's properties and arrest its members, killing anyone who resisted.

Ch. 35Illusory Dream

Mu Xunzhen learned that the Azure Cloud Sect and other powers might be plotting against the Heavenly Evolution Sect, then praised Qi Yan as a pivotal figure whose fate suited the path of the Arbiter of Fate. After giving him a sword blank and discussing the inner sect tournament, she was left wondering whether Qi Yan was connected to the Brother A-Yan she sought or whether their meeting was only an illusory dream.

  • Mu Xunzhen searched Ye Jingshan's soul and discovered that the Azure Cloud Sect had become his new patron.
  • Qi Yan told Mu Xunzhen about the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly and Yun Ranyi's suspicion that its appearance signaled an impending god's descent.
  • Mu Xunzhen recognized Qi Yan's unusual fate and said he might be better suited than she was to become the Arbiter of Fate.
  • Mu Xunzhen forged Qi Yan a sword blank and explained that he would need to gather materials to develop it into a natal magical artifact.
  • Qi Yan asked about joining the inner sect tournament to investigate the rumors against him, but Mu Xunzhen told him to focus on cultivation.
  • After Qi Yan left, Mu Xunzhen wondered whether his changed behavior and memories connected him to Brother A-Yan, and whether the spirit butterfly foretold a reunion or an illusion.

Ch. 36Fading Sunset Clouds

Qi Yan collected his basic sect allowance, advised Jiang Jinyue on investigating the Yun Clan, and went to the scripture library to research materials for his sword. Meanwhile, Mu Xunzhen confronted Perfected Daoqing at the Azure Cloud Sect, injured him, and warned the sect against testing Heavenly Evolution Sect.

  • Qi Yan learned that Jiang Jinyue had previously withheld his standard resources to keep him from becoming complacent, then collected his monthly supplies from the Internal Affairs Hall.
  • Jiang Jinyue questioned Qi Yan about Yun Ranyi and the Yun Clan’s possible ties to the Extreme Dao Sect, and Qi Yan suggested monitoring their trade and responses to local conflicts.
  • Qi Yan asked Jiang Jinyue about materials for enhancing Dao Arts and shortening Witchcraft incantations, then chose to research the subject himself at the scripture library.
  • Mu Xunzhen appeared at the Azure Cloud Sect and threw Ye Jingshan’s body toward the main hall, where it exploded into threads of rain.
  • Mu Xunzhen shattered Perfected Daoqing’s horsetail whisk, wounded him, and warned the Azure Cloud Sect that further tests would bring its downfall.

Ch. 37Before the mountain storm

Mu Xunzhen crushed Daoqing’s challenge, leaving the Azure Cloud Sect scrambling to rally allies and undermine her reputation. Meanwhile, Qi Yan chose lightning-focused Dao Arts, sought thunder-water metal, and left the sect with Jing Chuan, who hinted that a few people did harbor malice toward him.

  • Mu Xunzhen defeated Daoqing with one strike, and he warned the Azure Cloud Sect that her power exceeded what surviving nine tribulations suggested.
  • Daoqing recalled rumors of Mu Xunzhen’s bloody past and ordered his followers to spread them, while sending letters to Abbess Jingkong and Feng Yufeng to seek support against the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
  • Qi Yan studied artifact refining, chose lightning arts as his focus with ice as a supplement, and decided to obtain thunder-water metal for his sword.
  • At the outer sect plaza, Qi Yan asked for thunder-water metal, and Jing Chuan offered to take him to markets outside the sect.
  • Qi Yan asked Jing Chuan to call him Brother Qi, and Jing Chuan explained that most people envied him without malice, prompting Qi Yan to question who belonged to the hostile minority.

Ch. 38The Little Nun

Qi Yan explored the political and commercial ties around the Heavenly Evolution Sect with Jing Chuan, then inferred how recruitment disputes might fuel rumors and factional conflict. Their discussion ended in an awkward encounter with a group of nuns, and Qi Yan paid for their meal before pulling Jing Chuan away.

  • Jing Chuan showed Qi Yan a nearby town managed by his family and explained that trade took place at sect, city, family, and shop levels.
  • Qi Yan spent his remaining spirit stones on Thunder-Water Metal, then noticed a pretty young nun entering the shop with several others.
  • Over wine, Jing Chuan said he had spoken up because Qi Yan treated him as a brother, while Qi Yan reasoned that recruitment limits and favoritism could be behind sect disputes and rumors.
  • Jing Chuan spoke loudly about being willing to give his life for their friendship just as the nuns entered and overheard him.
  • The head nun scolded Jing Chuan, and Qi Yan offered to pay for the nuns' food before dragging him away.

Ch. 39The ends of the earth

Qi Yan completed his first lifebound sword and advanced to the threshold of the seventh level of Qi Refining, while Little Crybaby sought his advice about resources and a dangerous Golden Core trial. They discovered they lived on opposite ends of the world, far apart on Heavenly Prefecture and Seven Kills Continents.

  • Qi Yan coated his sword blank with Thunder-Water Metal, bonded it with his blood, and completed his lifebound magical artifact.
  • The joy of completing the sword helped Qi Yan break through the sixth level of Qi Refining and reach the threshold of the seventh.
  • Little Crybaby learned that a Golden Core trial was approaching and worried her ill-intentioned fellow disciples might endanger her.
  • Qi Yan advised Little Crybaby about the trial and gave her the recipe for a Liquid Condensation Pill, prompting her to consider hiding a breakthrough before the trial.
  • Qi Yan and Little Crybaby discovered that he was on Heavenly Prefecture Continent and she was on Seven Kills Continent, at opposite ends of the world.

Ch. 40The same path

Qi Yan taught Little Crybaby the Breath-Concealing Incantation, while she prepared for a dangerous sect trial and discovered that a regional difference in alchemy could make her formula valuable. After they agreed to compare resources before buying them, Qi Yan broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.

  • Qi Yan learned the Breath-Concealing Incantation from Little Crybaby, who secretly decided to study Witchcraft so she could continue helping him.
  • Little Crybaby attended the sect briefing and learned that her trial would take place in the hazardous Ten Thousand Poisons Forest in three days.
  • An alchemist dismissed Little Crybaby's Snow Condensation Flower and her plan to make Liquid Condensation Pills, leading her to suspect that her formula relied on ingredients others undervalued.
  • Little Crybaby told Qi Yan what had happened, and they agreed to learn alchemy and check with each other before purchasing expensive materials.
  • Qi Yan realized that practicing the Breath-Concealing Incantation had helped him combine Dao cultivation with Witchcraft, and he broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.

Ch. 41Lightning Glow

After naming his sword Lightning Glow, Qi Yan tested his combat abilities in the sect’s Furious Sand Illusion Realm and accepted Jing Chuan’s invitation to investigate a possibly haunted family tomb. As Qi Yan and Jing Chuan prepared to pursue the mission, a group of nuns arrived at the troubled clan’s residence offering help.

  • Qi Yan emerged from seclusion, practiced with his sword, and named it Lightning Glow.
  • Jing Chuan took Qi Yan to the Furious Sand Illusion Realm, where Qi Yan easily defeated a sand demon and a swarm of scorpions with his sword and lightning arts.
  • Jing Chuan invited Qi Yan to join a team investigating a clan tomb where a corpse might have reanimated, and Qi Yan accepted for the spirit stone reward and combat experience.
  • A group of nuns arrived at the clan residence and offered to help with its haunting.

Ch. 42Wuzheng and Wunian

Qi Yan and Jing Chuan arrived to investigate a haunting at the Wang Family tomb, where they encountered Wuzheng and her nuns investigating as well. A mysterious voice sealed the chamber and made falling stones target only the nuns, prompting them to accuse the Heavenly Evolution Sect of trying to kill them.

  • Wang Tong let Wuzheng and her nuns inspect the Wang Family burial ground after the Heavenly Evolution Sect failed to arrive for days.
  • Jing Chuan and Qi Yan arrived just as the nuns entered the tomb, and Qi Yan suspected they had come to investigate the sect.
  • Qi Yan and Jing Chuan met Wuzheng's group in the tomb's outer chamber and learned they had been investigating the haunting.
  • A chilling soul-voice spoke, the stone door slammed shut, and falling rocks targeted only the nuns.
  • The nuns accused the Heavenly Evolution Sect of trapping them, and Qi Yan warned them that something was trying to provoke a fight.

Ch. 43Joining hands

Qi Yan and Wunian became separated from the others inside the chaos formation, then joined forces against a spear-wielding ambusher in the tomb. After they drove him off, Wunian protected Qi Yan from Wuzheng, leaving their companions stunned.

  • Jing Chuan opened the inner stone door, triggering the formation and scattering everyone through the tomb.
  • Qi Yan found Wunian and persuaded her to cooperate, then they headed toward the main burial chamber while discussing the altered tomb and its earth veins.
  • Wunian sensed and blocked a witch curse, but a spear-wielding ambusher attacked her, so Qi Yan intervened.
  • Qi Yan and Wunian combined their attacks, wounded the ambusher, and forced him to retreat before Qi Yan helped the injured Wunian.
  • Wuzheng arrived with Jing Chuan and attacked Qi Yan, but Wunian stepped between them and told her senior sister to stop.

Ch. 44Dharma Mystery Nunnery

Qi Yan and Wunian uncovered that a masked attacker had used the Essence-Draining Incantation to siphon power from the Wang Family burial ground’s earth veins, while making the Heavenly Evolution Sect look responsible. Wunian left after Qi Yan promised to help identify and avenge the attacker, whom he suspected was a sect member aiding a smear campaign before the grand competition.

  • Wunian healed an injured nun and determined that the burial chamber showed traces of witchcraft rather than corpse refinement.
  • Qi Yan described the spear-wielding attacker, and Jing Chuan realized the clues could implicate the Heavenly Evolution Sect, though the attacker might be framing it.
  • Wunian examined the corpse and asked Qi Yan to stay behind with her so they could privately investigate the curse.
  • Qi Yan identified the Essence-Draining Incantation, and Wunian deduced that the corpse had been used to channel the earth veins’ power to the caster.
  • Qi Yan suspected the attacker was a Heavenly Evolution disciple seeking to reach Golden Core and helping smear the sect before the grand competition.
  • Wunian admitted her group belonged to Dharma Mystery Nunnery, and Qi Yan urged her to think more carefully and promised to avenge the sneak attack.

Ch. 45Jinyue returned

Qi Yan and Wunian recovered a witch-treasure formation core and repaired the burial chamber’s earth veins before parting ways. After collecting his mission reward, Qi Yan missed Jiang Jinyue, who suddenly appeared and confronted him about the nun and an earring.

  • Wunian found the formation core beneath the coffin, explained its uses, and gave it to Qi Yan to help him trace its origins.
  • Wunian corrected the earth veins, and she and Qi Yan argued about her life as a nun before leaving the chamber.
  • Wuzheng questioned Wunian about her private time with Qi Yan, while Jing Chuan complained that he had struggled against Wuzheng and resolved to train for the tournament.
  • Qi Yan collected his mission reward with Jing Chuan but remained distracted by thoughts of Jiang Jinyue.
  • Jiang Jinyue appeared before Qi Yan, questioned him about a little nun and a woman's earring, and ordered him back to the peak.

Ch. 46Yun and Jiang's first meeting

Jiang Jinyue confronted Qi Yan about his remarks concerning a nun and Yun Ranyi, then met Yun Ranyi to negotiate the Yun Clan’s alliance with the Heavenly Evolution Sect. The chapter ended with Jiang Jinyue demanding that Yun Ranyi stay away from Qi Yan.

  • Jiang Jinyue dragged Qi Yan to his cave abode, questioned him about the nun and Yun Ranyi, and heard his account of the Dharma Mystery Nunnery mission and its ambusher.
  • Jiang Jinyue told Qi Yan that she had helped Yun Ranyi during a dispute over a mineral vein, after Yun Ranyi sought the Heavenly Evolution Sect’s protection.
  • Jiang Jinyue met Yun Ranyi at the city lord’s residence and discussed the Yun Clan’s proposed alliance and protection arrangement.
  • Jiang Jinyue asked the Yun Clan to tie down two factions involved in the mining dispute and demanded that Yun Ranyi stay away from Qi Yan.

Ch. 47I'd Become a Bewitching Demoness?

Jiang Jinyue reported Yun Ranyi’s decision and Qi Yan’s discoveries to Mu Xunzhen, who suspected trouble within the sect and ordered Jiang Jinyue to guide Qi Yan. Jiang Jinyue returned to find Qi Yan cooking and agreed to train him so he could confront the fellow disciple he believed had ambushed them.

  • Jiang Jinyue told Qi Yan that Yun Ranyi had agreed to join the Heavenly Evolution Sect, and Qi Yan suspected new developments had changed her plans.
  • Jiang Jinyue reported Yun Ranyi’s actions and Qi Yan’s findings about the Wang Family to Mu Xunzhen, who said she would deal with anyone responsible for disciples killing one another.
  • Mu Xunzhen questioned Jiang Jinyue about her feelings for Qi Yan, praised his rapid cultivation, and instructed Jiang Jinyue to guide him.
  • Jiang Jinyue found Qi Yan cooking and told him that Mu Xunzhen had assigned her to train him.
  • Qi Yan said he wanted the ability to knock out the teeth of the fellow disciple he believed had ambushed them, and Jiang Jinyue promised him special training.

Ch. 48The Senior Sister Tutor

Mu Xunzhen recalled how she had survived her Golden Core trial and accepted confinement after elders blamed her for her senior brothers’ injuries. Meanwhile, Jiang Jinyue tutored Qi Yan in spell control and promised him a reward if his practice satisfied her the next morning.

  • Mu Xunzhen remembered baiting two attackers during her Golden Core trial, using their momentum to send them into venomous beasts, and leaving without the Heart-Nourishing Lotus.
  • Eldest Senior Brother accused Mu Xunzhen of pushing him and Third Senior Brother into danger, but she challenged his claims and denied the elders’ accusations.
  • The elders sentenced Mu Xunzhen to one month of confinement on Chaotic Spirit Mountain, and she accepted while thinking of Qi Yan.
  • Jiang Jinyue made Qi Yan practice striking a purple lightning crescent, exposing his poor spell control and teaching him that mastering his techniques supported his cultivation.
  • Jiang Jinyue told Qi Yan to keep practicing and promised a reward if she approved of his progress the next morning.

Ch. 49The Root of It

Qi Yan independently grasped how lightning arts worked and improved his Lightning Attraction Technique, then grew alarmed when Little Crybaby described her confinement and her parents’ deaths. He urged her to escape or hide, suspecting her sect might be dangerous.

  • Jiang Jinyue challenged Qi Yan to understand lightning’s essence on his own and offered to let him hold her hand if he succeeded in one night, then kicked him back to his cave abode after he reacted dismissively.
  • Qi Yan reasoned that lightning arts used magical power to guide electric charges, then made his Lightning Attraction Technique strike from a point only inches above the ground.
  • Little Crybaby told Qi Yan that her trial had ended with her third senior brother dead, her eldest senior brother missing an arm, and her confined in a cave filled with oppressive aura and strange sounds.
  • Little Crybaby revealed that her parents had been sect members who died before her master took her in, prompting Qi Yan to suspect that her senior brothers’ mistreatment was connected to her past.
  • Qi Yan urged Little Crybaby to flee if possible or use illusion arts, witchcraft, and concealment techniques to hide herself.

Ch. 50The Concordance Pact, the Space-Chaos Pearl

Little Crybaby survived an apparent assassination attempt in the cave and won permission to travel while the Law Enforcement Hall investigated. She and Qi Yan discussed the danger beneath the cave and their future cultivation plans, and Qi Yan recognized the Space-Chaos Pearl on her list of needed materials.

  • Little Crybaby used a hair substitute and an illusion to test the cave’s soul-bewildering summons, then hid as a sword strike pinned the substitute outside.
  • Elder Wu and the other elders arrived; after Xie Zhenzhou identified the corpse as a substitute, Little Crybaby revealed herself and said she might have died without her precaution.
  • Elder Wu granted Little Crybaby permission to travel, and the elders left the investigation to the Law Enforcement Hall.
  • Little Crybaby returned to her cave abode and cried to Qi Yan, who advised her to leave Seven Kills Continent and focus on cultivating after warning that demons might be connected to the cave.
  • Little Crybaby proposed that she and Qi Yan cultivate the Concordance Pact together, then planned to travel to Heavenly Concord Continent for materials and a calculation-enhancing implement.
  • Qi Yan noticed the Space-Chaos Pearl on Little Crybaby’s materials list and connected it to the spatial distortion he had experienced in the Wang Family tomb.
Arc 2 of 3
Arc 2 of 3