Chapter Summaries

Qi Yan arrived at the Heavenly Evolution Sect seeking a master and was unexpectedly given an assessment overseen by Jiang Jinyue. After he identified the Scripture of the Origin of Ten Thousand Arts as flawed, Mu Xunzhen began to suspect he might be Brother A-Yan.

• Qi Yan reached the Heavenly Evolution Sect and persuaded a white deer to lead him to the Recruitment Hall, where elders gathered to assess him.
• Qi Yan greeted the elders, who explained that Jiang Jinyue would decide how to assess him.
• Jiang Jinyue appeared as chief examiner, teased Qi Yan for staring, and laughed when he called her “Sister,” then declared that he passed the manners test.
• Jiang Jinyue asked Elder Wan to give Qi Yan the Scripture of the Origin of Ten Thousand Arts to interpret.
• Qi Yan said the scripture was missing key words or passages because following its instructions would produce nothing.
• Mu Xunzhen heard Qi Yan’s answer and wondered whether he was Brother A-Yan.

Qi Yan underwent the Heavenly Evolution Sect’s entrance assessment, impressing the elders with his comprehension and conduct on the Ancient Divine Power Path. After he exposed an illusionary disciple’s attempted betrayal, the test continued with a mental-pressure challenge that Jiang Jinyue protested as unfair.

• Jiang Jinyue gave Qi Yan a Dao Arts manual to interpret, and he explained its inner-alchemy method without having studied it before.
• The elders praised Qi Yan’s comprehension and suggested he complete the Ancient Divine Power Path to retrieve the Exquisite Pearl.
• Jiang Jinyue sent Qi Yan into the path, where he used his techniques to overcome venomous creatures in the Gobi wilderness.
• Qi Yan gave antidote pills to an injured young man and worked with him, but stayed wary of his suspicious story.
• When the young man attacked him near the Exquisite Pearl, Qi Yan dodged, subdued him, and learned the encounter was an illusion.
• A voice warned Qi Yan that the path ahead would increase mental pressure, while Jiang Jinyue called the test unfair and received no answer.

Qi Yan endured the Heavenly Evolution Sect’s pressure trial, broke through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, and passed by reaching the Exquisite Jade. After the elders competed to recruit him, Mu Xunzhen declared that Qi Yan would become her second disciple and Jiang Jinyue’s junior brother.

• The elders watched as Qi Yan entered the Exquisite Pearl’s pressure field, while Jiang Jinyue protested that the trial was too difficult for someone at the Third Layer of Qi Refining.
• Qi Yan pushed forward despite the physical and mental pressure, using spells and a small piece of a Qi-Replenishing Pill to break through to the Fourth Layer.
• Qi Yan seized the Exquisite Jade, completing the trial, and Jiang Jinyue caught him when he nearly collapsed outside the passage.
• The elders argued over which peak should take Qi Yan, and Jiang Jinyue insisted that she would take him as her disciple.
• Mu Xunzhen appeared and announced that Qi Yan would be her second disciple, leaving Jiang Jinyue and the gathered elders stunned.

Qi Yan joined the Heavenly Evolution Sect as Mu Xunzhen’s direct disciple, and Jiang Jinyue took him to register and settle in. As Jiang Jinyue prepared to show him his new home, Mu Xunzhen summoned Qi Yan and ordered Jiang Jinyue to cook as punishment for forgetting her instructions.

• Mu Xunzhen accepted Qi Yan as her direct disciple, healed his knees, and told Jiang Jinyue to register and settle him in.
• Jiang Jinyue teased Qi Yan about becoming her junior brother and explained that Mu Xunzhen had chosen him partly for his aptitude in witchcraft and the possibility of preserving its legacy.
• Qi Yan registered with the sect, received a life token, and listened to its rules while Jiang Jinyue explained its functions.
• Jiang Jinyue offered Qi Yan her unused cave abode and led him to the kitchen after he promised to make her food.
• Mu Xunzhen called Jiang Jinyue out for forgetting to bring Qi Yan to see her, ordered Jiang Jinyue to cook and eat the meal herself, and summoned Qi Yan.

Qi Yan committed to cultivating witchcraft after Mu Xunzhen explained its costs, and she gave him pills and the Heavenly Evolution Art. After he and Jiang Jinyue ate salvaged crispy rice, their teasing ended with Qi Yan blasted through the roof just as news arrived about the Demon Realm rift.

• Mu Xunzhen warned Qi Yan about the social, physical, and longevity costs of witchcraft, and Qi Yan chose to pursue it despite them.
• Mu Xunzhen gave Qi Yan witchcraft pills and the Heavenly Evolution Art, then explained how he could improve his cultivation through movement.
• Qi Yan joined Jiang Jinyue in eating the crispy rice he had salvaged from her failed cooking.
• Jiang Jinyue explained how Golden Core cultivation slowed aging, and Qi Yan teased her about the price of genius.
• Mu Xunzhen blasted Qi Yan through the roof, then an old man arrived with preliminary findings about the Demon Realm rift.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.