Chapter Summaries

Qi Yun survived another elimination assessment at the Limitless Devil Sect, but the final initiation trial was set to begin tomorrow while his mysterious panel's spell update remained incomplete. He faced the prospect of entering the trial without the advantage he had been waiting for.

• A black-clad man called the names of recruits who had met the sect's standard, and Qi Yun was among those allowed to return to their dwellings.
• Qi Yun watched the remaining recruits face an unknown fate as they were taken away to become human material.
• Qi Yun recalled how the Limitless Devil Sect had eliminated most of his original group of five hundred recruits over two years.
• Qi Yun checked his mysterious panel and saw that his Clear Breeze Technique update had reached only 82%.
• Qi Yun realized the final initiation trial would begin the next day, before the spell update could finish.

Qi Yun entered the Wuji Sacred Sect’s trial valley, where the promised head start proved to be a lie and the cultivators were scattered. While fleeing a near-spirit leopard, he found a precious herb that triggered an update to his Clear Breeze Technique.

• The goateed overseer used a bronze Law Artifact to subdue the recruits and announced that they had to evade the sect’s searchers to pass the trial.
• Qi Yun agreed to form a group with Tang Shun, but the recruits were separated after entering the valley, leaving Qi Yun alone.
• The goateed overseer sent nearly twenty black-robed cultivators into the valley to capture the recruits as human material.
• A near-spirit leopard chased Qi Yun through the forest, and he used the Clear Breeze Technique to keep ahead of it.
• Qi Yun followed a mysterious stirring to a translucent herb by a stream; after he picked it up, it was absorbed, and his Clear Breeze Technique completed a minor update.

Qi Yun used the updated Clear Breeze Technique to turn into an undetectable breeze and escape the black panther, then drifted deeper into the valley to hide from the demonic cultivators. Nearby, one of those cultivators found the Wind-Hiding Grass Qi Yun had dropped and tucked it away, unaware that Qi Yun was watching him.

• The Clear Breeze Technique updated, allowing Qi Yun to transform into a concealed, formless breeze and evade the black panther.
• Qi Yun realized that refining the spiritual herb had supplied the data that advanced his Law Technique, and saw potential in updating other simple techniques.
• Qi Yun decided to hide in the valley and use his new technique to survive the trial, then drifted toward its darker corners.
• Black-robed cultivators attacked the young cultivators, extracting their souls and collecting their bodies in Blood Mountain Bags.
• A black-robed cultivator discovered the Wind-Hiding Grass beside a fallen young cultivator and tucked it into his robes.
• Qi Yun silently watched from a nearby tree branch, focused on the Wind-Hiding Grass the cultivator had taken.

Qi Yun hid from the stronger black-robed cultivators until Tang Shun pursued and killed Zhou Ling with a secret Sword Dao Law Technique. Realizing the trial was not a fair test of survival, Qi Yun followed Tang Shun to learn more.

• Qi Yun stayed hidden in a tree, waiting out the entrance trial rather than risk confronting the black-robed cultivators.
• Wounded Zhou Ling fled into view, with Tang Shun following and striking him with Red Night Sword Qi.
• Tang Shun killed Zhou Ling and drew the blood and vital essence from his corpse to strengthen his Sword Qi.
• Qi Yun recognized that Tang Shun's secret technique and Zhou Ling's death exposed the trial's hidden brutality.
• After questioning whether surviving the day would truly be enough to pass, Qi Yun transformed into a clear breeze and followed Tang Shun.

Tang Shun slaughtered former companions to strengthen his Red Night Sword Qi, then fought Fang Hai, who tried to steal his adamant metal. After Tang Shun killed Fang Hai, the pouch vanished from the rock, leaving him raging and demanding to know who took it.

• Tang Shun killed five former companions and absorbed their blood essence and vital Qi to strengthen his Red Night Sword Qi.
• Fang Hai posed as a black-robed cultivator, but Tang Shun recognized his ambush and confronted him over the adamant metal.
• Tang Shun and Fang Hai fought with their inherited techniques, and Tang Shun revealed he could wield Sword Qi with both hands.
• Qi Yun seized the moment to make the pouch disappear from the mossy rock while Tang Shun and Fang Hai fought.
• Tang Shun killed Fang Hai and absorbed his vital Qi, then discovered the pouch was gone and roared, asking who had taken it.

After escaping with Tang Shun’s Storage Bag, Qi Yun examined its contents and learned that the Law Technique Panel could not refine the metal-element [adamant metal]. He discovered sword techniques that could help him use the metal treasure, but chose to focus on the inconspicuous [Basic Sword Qi] rather than Tang Shun’s distinctive [Red Night Sword Qi].

• Qi Yun fled more than ten li in his [Fresh Breeze] state and hid in a concealed underground hollow to inspect Tang Shun’s Storage Bag.
• Qi Yun found three cultivation pills, [adamant metal], two jade talismans, and a silver bracelet, then safely returned the pills to the bag without testing them.
• Qi Yun tried to refine the [adamant metal] with the Law Technique Panel, but it remained unresponsive, leading him to suspect that only compatible spiritual treasures could be refined.
• Qi Yun studied the [Red Night Sword Qi] and [Basic Sword Qi] techniques and learned that the former required the blood essence and vital Qi of living cultivators.
• Qi Yun decided not to practice [Red Night Sword Qi] because Tang Shun could recognize it, and chose [Basic Sword Qi] as a discreet metal-element technique that might work with the [adamant metal].

Tang Shun searched for the thief who stole his Storage Bag, while Shen Fan used the Azure Luo Calculation Method to guide him toward Qi Yun’s hiding place. Tang Shun found Qi Yun in the cavern and blocked its only exit.

• Tang Shun raged through the valley, killing anyone he encountered as he searched for his missing belongings and the bracelet.
• Shen Fan offered to help Tang Shun find the thief in exchange for a future favor, then used the Azure Luo Calculation Method to produce a golden breeze that would lead him onward.
• After Tang Shun left, Shen Fan and Du Yunian revealed they had used a strand of Tang Shun’s presence as leverage for the coming Peach Garden competition.
• Qi Yun stayed hidden in the cavern, examined the unresponsive silver bracelet, and practiced Basic Sword Qi.
• Tang Shun’s scarlet Sword Qi blasted open the cavern entrance, and he confronted Qi Yun, declaring that he had nowhere left to run.

Qi Yun stayed hidden from Tang Shun, who had tracked him to a cave and demanded his Storage Bag, until the trial ended. Tang Shun eventually left for good, and Qi Yun remained in the cave as the trial’s end was announced.

• Tang Shun used a wisp of golden wind to track Qi Yun, who realized he could not escape without being detected.
• Tang Shun offered to leave peacefully if Qi Yun returned his Storage Bag, but Qi Yun saw through his false sincerity and stayed hidden.
• After guarding the cave for two hours, Tang Shun left, but Qi Yun suspected a trap and continued hiding.
• Tang Shun returned, found no sign of Qi Yun, destroyed the golden wind, and departed again.
• Qi Yun waited until the Clear Breeze Technique wore off, then recovered his True Qi while watching the entrance.
• A gong sounded, and a voice announced that the trial was over and the surviving young cultivators should await escort.

Qi Yun and five others survived the valley trial and were accepted as formal disciples of the Wuji Sacred Sect, though their initiation ceremony was still three days away. After settling into the sect’s cottages, Qi Yun cultivated [Basic Sword Qi] using Tang Shun’s manual and successfully cut a wooden table with sword qi.

• Deacon Hu learned that six people survived the trial, and the group emerged from the valley: Tang Shun, Shen Fan, Du Yunian, Wu Tao, Sun Pingqiu, and Qi Yun.
• Deacon Hu declared the six formal disciples of the Wuji Sacred Sect and told them to rest before their initiation ceremony in three days.
• Tang Shun tried to persuade Deacon Hu to help recover his missing Storage Bag, but Deacon Hu refused and left him behind.
• Qi Yun concluded that Tang Shun’s Storage Bag contained something important and resolved to dispose of its contents soon.
• The black-robed cultivator led the group to cottages in a bamboo grove, where Shen Fan, Du Yunian, and Sun Pingqiu separated themselves from Qi Yun and Wu Tao.
• Qi Yun practiced [Basic Sword Qi] that night and successfully carved a sword mark into a wooden table.

Qi Yun used the adamant metal to upgrade Basic Sword Qi, removing its casting windup and letting him unleash it with a thought. Three days later, he traveled toward the Holy Sect’s mountain gate, learning that the Zombie Alliance had cut off the direct route and seized territory from the sect.

• Qi Yun refined the adamant metal, filling Basic Sword Qi’s progress and upgrading it so he could cast it instantly with a thought.
• Tang Shun questioned the other five travelers about his missing Storage Bag but found no clues and continued suspecting Shen Fan, Du Yunian, and Sun Pingqiu.
• Qi Yun boarded one of six separate carriages and received an Aura-Concealing Pearl for the journey through Zombie Alliance territory.
• A black-robed cultivator explained that the Zombie Alliance had seized Holy Sect lands and severed the direct route to the mountain gate.

Qi Yun and Wu Tao discussed surviving the trial before a corpse herder from the Zombie Alliance passed their group under cover of Aura-Concealing Pearls. The group escaped the Alliance’s territory and reached Anping County, where they stopped to rest at a Holy Sect market.

• Qi Yun told Wu Tao that he had hidden in a cave until the trial ended, while Wu Tao described being hunted and surviving with [Sweet Rain Descends].
• A black-robed cultivator warned the group to conceal their auras as they traveled through the Zombie Alliance’s territory.
• A corpse herder arrived with eight iron corpses, but the Aura-Concealing Pearls hid the group from him.
• After waiting until the corpse herder had gone, the group resumed traveling through the night and left the Zombie Alliance’s territory.
• The black-robed cultivator led Qi Yun and the others into Anping County and brought them to a Holy Sect market to rest and eat.

After eating well, Qi Yun went to the Wuji Sacred Sect Market No. 735 and pawned Tang Shun’s stolen belongings. He lured Tang Shun out of the city and revealed that he intended to kill him, striking him with Sword Qi before disappearing.

• Qi Yun entered the underground Wuji Sacred Sect Market No. 735 and pawned the contents of Tang Shun’s Storage Bag.
• Tang Shun learned from the pawnshop that Qi Yun had stolen his Storage Bag and followed him out of the city to reclaim his property.
• Qi Yun led Tang Shun into the woods and said he had set up the encounter to silence him.
• Tang Shun mocked Qi Yun, but Qi Yun’s Sword Qi cut his cheek before Qi Yun dissolved into a breeze and vanished.

Qi Yun killed Tang Shun after luring him into an ambush in the mountain forest. With the threat removed, Qi Yun dragged Tang Shun’s body deeper into the woods to conceal it.

• Tang Shun admitted defeat and offered to spare Qi Yun trouble, but Qi Yun said he would kill him because Tang Shun would break his oath and attack again.
• Tang Shun launched a desperate barrage of Red Night Sword Qi, but Qi Yun stayed behind a tree and waited for him to weaken.
• Tang Shun tried to flee, and Qi Yun severed his ankle with Sword Qi before striking him three more times.
• Qi Yun stepped on Tang Shun’s back and cut his throat, killing him.
• Qi Yun recalled how he had deliberately revealed his whereabouts to lure Tang Shun out of Anping County, then dragged the corpse into the deeper forest for the animals to dispose of.

After Tang Shun disappeared, Qi Yun and the others traveled to the Wuji Sacred Sect and arrived at its mountain gate, the Great Void Mirror Heaven. They joined hundreds of other prospective disciples and waited for the initiation ceremony to begin in two days.

• The black-robed cultivator searched for Tang Shun, then departed with the others after two hours without finding him.
• After thirteen days of travel, Qi Yun and the others arrived at the Great Void Mirror Heaven and saw the enormous jeweled mirrors and palaces of the Wuji Sacred Sect.
• Shen Fan, Qi Yun, and the others passed through a Mortal-Warding Barrier and met a sleepy young Daoist who confirmed that one of their six registered candidates was missing.
• The young Daoist used a wind-riding art to carry Qi Yun and his four companions to the lowest mirror, where he told them to wait for the initiation ceremony.
• Qi Yun discovered that several hundred prospective disciples had gathered on the vast mirror surface.

Qi Yun received his Great Void Jade Token and learned he had been assigned to the Seventh Outer Prefecture of the Wuji Sacred Sect. After entering his new courtyard, he was briefed on sect currency and yearly assessments, then wondered whether the briefing itself counted as a mission.

• A silver-haired Daoist led the initiation ceremony, issued the prospective disciples Great Void Jade Tokens, and congratulated them on entering the Holy Sect.
• Qi Yun learned he was assigned to the Seventh Outer Prefecture, while Wu Tao was assigned to the Ninth; they promised to reunite in the inner prefecture.
• Qi Yun noticed Shen Fan and two others were assigned to the Fourth Outer Prefecture, then entered the Seventh Outer Prefecture through its golden stairway.
• Qi Yun arrived in a private courtyard and met Cao Song, who explained that disciples could earn and spend Sacred Yuan through sect affairs.
• Cao Song warned that outer prefecture disciples faced yearly assessments and could be sent to the human materials market after two consecutive failures, then left abruptly.

Qi Yun discovered that the Limitless Devil Sect drove its disciples through a ruthless system of missions, commerce, and competition rather than open violence. After selling a detailed Basic Sword Qi technique and spending nearly all the proceeds on a wrapped bundle, he felt a familiar stirring as he opened it.

• Qi Yun read the sect’s dangerous missions and decided to sell the Basic Sword Qi jade talisman, avoiding the distinctive Red Night Sword Qi technique.
• A sleep-deprived Daoist collected the talisman for the sect’s marketplace, and Qi Yun recognized how the sect used ambition to pressure disciples into competing and compromising themselves.
• Two days later, Qi Yun received 105 Sacred Yuan from the sale and spent nearly all of it on a bundle from the Wuji Treasure Market.
• Qi Yun opened the delivered bundle, and a familiar stirring welled up inside him.

Qi Yun chose a versatile Qi Refining method and bought a guide to talisman-making so he could pursue many Law Techniques and earn Sacred Yuan by selling talismans. He began refining a larger piece of adamant metal to advance his Law Technique Panel.

• Qi Yun reviewed the spiritual objects, cultivation books, and jade talismans he had bought in the Wuji Treasure Market.
• Qi Yun studied the Innate One Qi Heart Method, which cultivated True Qi compatible with nearly every Law Technique.
• Qi Yun decided to master multiple arts and selected the method because it suited his plans, despite its lack of affinity with any Great Dao.
• Qi Yun studied Collected Annotations on Secret Seal Script and identified the Expel Evil and Break Baleful Intent talismans as products he could sell.
• Qi Yun picked up the larger piece of adamant metal, and the Law Technique Panel immediately refined it.

Qi Yun’s Law Technique Panel added tracking to Basic Sword Qi and an evasion effect to Clear Breeze Technique, then he spent three months learning Talisman Art and succeeded in drawing his first talisman. He discovered that the panel could refine talismans for their Dao intent, but with Talisman Art’s update stuck at 93% and his savings gone, he faced the prospect of making more talismans himself.

• Qi Yun saw that Basic Sword Qi could now track a target three times and Clear Breeze Technique could evade one attack before ending.
• Qi Yun began cultivating the Innate One Qi Heart Method and spent three months practicing Talisman Art.
• Qi Yun successfully drew his first talisman and saw Talisman Art appear on the Law Technique Panel.
• Qi Yun refined over a hundred finished talismans and concluded that the panel could absorb Dao intent from objects beyond spiritual treasures.
• Qi Yun found Talisman Art’s update at 93%, realized he could not afford more talismans, and considered taking a break before drawing more.

Qi Yun discovered that a Law Technique update removed talisman-drawing failures, allowing him to mass-produce weak but cheap Youth Edition Talismans. The talismans became a hit among outer manor disciples, while Ruan Bai finally found a listing only to discover it was a scalper’s proxy-purchasing service.

• Qi Yun finished drawing eight talismans and found that his Talisman Art update had removed the failure mechanic, leaving only talisman quality affected.
• Qi Yun successfully drew a talisman carelessly and realized he could produce talismans with a guaranteed success rate.
• Qi Yun decided to sell low-quality talismans cheaply in bulk and began drawing them in earnest.
• Outer manor disciples eagerly bought the Youth Edition Evil-Dispelling Talismans and Baleful Intent-Breaking Talismans, which quickly sold out whenever listed.
• Ruan Bai finally spotted a Youth Edition listing, but discovered it was a proxy-purchasing service marked up by fifty percent and angrily cursed the scalpers.

Qi Yun used his earnings from selling talismans to prepare for the outer mansion assessment and swallowed a Qi Spirit Pill to begin secluded cultivation toward the Qi Refining Third Layer. Meanwhile, Tang Shun’s elder learned that Tang Shun was dead and reacted with furious menace.

• Qi Yun counted his 739 Sacred Yuan in earnings and decided to focus on cultivation ahead of the assessment in six months.
• Qi Yun recalled that he had reached the Qi Refining Second Layer and needed to break through to the Third Layer to improve his chances of passing.
• Qi Yun took a Qi Spirit Pill from the bottle Tang Shun had carried and shut himself in his chamber to cultivate.
• In Flower Moon Hall, a black-clad cultivator reported to the white-haired elder that Tang Shun’s body had been found.
• The elder responded to news of Tang Shun’s death with a chilling laugh and a furious declaration.