Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing'an learned that Li Muchen and Zhang Shundao had joined his side, while Xue Tianfei prepared the Eternal Night Chamber of Commerce for an upcoming auction. Five Peak Eternal Realm experts began promoting the Eternal Night Sect across the Nine Directions and Ten Domains.

• Li Wensheng told Lu Qing'an that Li Muchen and Zhang Shundao had joined them and promised to bring five experts to meet him in three days.
• Xue Tianfei told Lu Qing'an that she had renamed the chamber of commerce, begun buying promising assets, and wanted to display the sect's strength to outsiders.
• Xue Tianfei warned Lu Qing'an that an auction had been moved forward by half a month, and he told her to prepare wealth and Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone for it.
• Lu Qing'an and Xue Tianfei spent a day together before she returned to manage the chamber of commerce and he resumed cultivating his soul.
• Five Peak Eternal Realm experts spread praise of the Eternal Night Sect across the Nine Directions and Ten Domains, and Li Muchen told a white-haired old man that the sect was “fucking awesome.”

Zhang Shundao wagered with Zhang Tianshi that the Eternal Night Sect would surpass the Celestial Master's Mansion Daoist Sanctuary in strength and fame within a hundred years. After five Peak Eternal Realm experts spent three days promoting it, the sect's name spread across the Nine Directions and Ten Domains as its chamber of commerce bought small businesses at high prices.

• Zhang Shundao visited Zhang Tianshi at the Celestial Master's Mansion Daoist Sanctuary and asked whether he had heard of the Eternal Night Sect.
• Zhang Shundao claimed the new sect could surpass Zhang Tianshi's sanctuary and wagered all his assets against its treasured showpiece, with a hundred years to prove it.
• Dao Lord Xuexiao, Lian Jie, the Lava Sage, and two others tirelessly promoted the Eternal Night Sect across the Nine Directions and Ten Domains.
• Cultivators began discussing the five Peak Eternal Realm experts' unusual endorsements and the Eternal Night Chamber of Commerce's high-priced purchases of small and abandoned businesses.
• The Eternal Night Sect became widely known throughout the Nine Directions and Ten Domains, while cultivators wondered what its leaders were planning.

Li Wensong brought Li Muchen, Zhang Shundao, Dao Lord Xuexiao, Lava Sage, and Lian Jie to meet Lu Qing'an after their efforts had spread the Eternal Night Sect's fame. The five saw the sect's extraordinary Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone veins and met Lu Qing'an in his courtyard, where they began discussing their contributions.

• Li Wensong thanked the five Peak Eternal Realm experts for helping raise the Eternal Night Sect's reputation and reminded them to be respectful to Lu Qing'an.
• Chen Lingling encouraged Han Li and the others to cultivate toward the Peak Eternal Realm while Li Wensong led the five experts to the sect.
• Li Muchen and Zhang Shundao were astonished by the sect's many Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone veins, including a sentient top-grade vein at the Late Eternal Realm.
• Li Wensong introduced the five experts to Lu Qing'an, who welcomed them and filled their teacups while Xiao Qingyi stayed seated beside him.
• Lu Qing'an thanked the five for their work, and Zhang Shundao and Dao Lord Xuexiao modestly brushed off their contributions.

Lu Qing'an brought Dao Lord Xuexiao, Lava Sage, and Lian Jie onto his side, then met Li Muchen, who tested whether Lu Qing'an knew his deepest desire. Lu Qing'an gave him a vague promise, predicted the Eternal Night Sect would become one of the Nine Directions and Ten Domains' strongest forces within a hundred years, and left Zhang Shundao awestruck.

• Lu Qing'an forgave Dao Lord Xuexiao and welcomed him and Lava Sage as allies after they drank tea with him.
• Lian Jie apologized for her past actions, and Lu Qing'an accepted her as a subordinate.
• Li Muchen greeted Lu Qing'an and called Li Wensong “Brother Song,” surprising those present.
• Li Muchen asked whether Lu Qing'an knew what he wanted most, and Lu Qing'an promised he would get it before long.
• Zhang Shundao asked when the Eternal Night Sect would become one of the strongest forces, and Lu Qing'an answered that it would happen within a hundred years.

Lu Qing'an used his reputation as a peak Eternal Realm expert who had mastered the Rule of Cause and Effect to recruit Li Muchen, Zhang Shundao, Dao Lord Xuexiao, Lava Sage, and Lian Jie into the Eternal Night Sect. He began an initiation ceremony that would let him observe each recruit's rules and strongest attack, starting with Lian Jie.

• Zhang Shundao told Li Muchen about his private hundred-year bet with his eldest senior brother, convincing Li Muchen that Lu Qing'an had mastered the Rule of Cause and Effect.
• Lu Qing'an invited the five peak Eternal Realm experts to join the Eternal Night Sect, and Dao Lord Xuexiao, Lava Sage, and Lian Jie agreed.
• Zhang Shundao weighed the cost to his businesses, then agreed to join; Li Muchen also accepted.
• Li Wensong vowed to help make the sect one of the ten greatest powers and was praised by Lu Qing'an, strengthening the others' belief that he was Lu Qing'an's favored chess piece.
• Lu Qing'an announced that each new Eternal Realm member had to use every rule and unleash their strongest attack before him, then asked Lian Jie to go first.

During the Eternal Night Sect ceremony, Lu Qing'an learned powerful rules by watching Lian Jie and Zhang Shundao demonstrate their techniques. Zhang Shundao's Unification Rule shattered Lu Qing'an's enhanced barrier, and Lu Qing'an began deducing it to strengthen his defenses and attack-neutralizing abilities.

• Lian Jie demonstrated her techniques in the sky, and Lu Qing'an learned new rules and a method to greatly strengthen his sealing barrier.
• Lu Qing'an welcomed Lian Jie into the Eternal Night Sect and invited Zhang Shundao to demonstrate his strongest technique.
• Lu Qing'an used his newly strengthened barrier to contain Zhang Shundao's demonstration as Zhang displayed several powerful rules.
• Zhang Shundao unleashed the Unification Rule, combining his rules into an attack that shattered Lu Qing'an's barrier.
• Lu Qing'an began deducing the Unification Rule, hoping to use it with the Mirror Rule and Star Vortex to neutralize attacks more easily.

Lu Qing'an finished deducing the Unification Rule after watching Zhang Shundao demonstrate his techniques, then challenged him to test his own strengthened techniques. Zhang Shundao’s strongest attack vanished under Lu Qing'an’s effortless counter, leaving everyone stunned.

• Zhang Shundao displayed his strongest techniques, and Lu Qing'an welcomed him to the Eternal Night Sect.
• Lu Qing'an continued deducing the Unification Rule while Zhang Shundao and the others wondered whether he was studying Zhang Shundao’s technique.
• Lu Qing'an completed his deduction and realized his Unification Rule was nearly as powerful as Zhang Shundao’s.
• Lu Qing'an asked Zhang Shundao to attack him with his strongest strike, and the two moved high into the sky.
• Zhang Shundao unleashed his strongest attack, but Lu Qing'an combined a stronger Unification Rule with the Mirror Rule to absorb and erase it.

Lu Qing'an tested two improved methods for neutralizing Zhang Shundao’s Unification Rule attacks, then watched Li Muchen demonstrate his techniques. Li Muchen revealed the extremely difficult Rule of Vitality, leaving Lu Qing'an surprised.

• Zhang Shundao attacked Lu Qing'an with the Unification Rule, and Lu Qing'an neutralized the attack with a method combining the Unification Rule and Mirror Rule.
• Zhang Shundao launched a stronger attack, and Lu Qing'an absorbed it into a vast Star Vortex and transferred it to distant space.
• Lu Qing'an thanked Zhang Shundao and returned with him to the stone pavilion, where Li Muchen comforted Zhang Shundao.
• Zhang Shundao imagined learning Lu Qing'an's Star Vortex method by comprehending the rule he lacked.
• Li Muchen demonstrated his methods inside Lu Qing'an's barrier, revealing ten rules Lu Qing'an did not possess and several ways to combine rules.
• Li Muchen displayed the Rule of Vitality, surprising Lu Qing'an with a rule that was among the most difficult to comprehend.

Li Muchen demonstrated the Rule of Vitality, prompting Lu Qing'an to deduce it and discover its power to restore life and temporarily grant objects sentience. Lu Qing'an planned to use the rule to fulfill his promise to the Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein and to make sentient Demon God Phantoms fight for him.

• Zhang Shundao and the others watched as Li Muchen displayed the Rule of Vitality by causing flowers to bloom in the void.
• Lu Qing'an began deducing the Rule of Vitality, spending over ten times the Power of the Dao Source he had used to deduce the Unification Rule.
• Lu Qing'an realized the rule could restore the recently dead and, at higher mastery, temporarily give objects sentience.
• Lu Qing'an planned to grant a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein sentience to fulfill his promise to the top-grade vein.
• Lu Qing'an conceived of giving each Demon God Phantom sentience so the Eternal Realm-strength phantoms could carry out his orders independently.

Lu Qing'an told Li Muchen he would answer whether he had mastered the Rule of Vitality after half an hour, while the group celebrated their entry into the Eternal Night Sect. When the time was up, Lu Qing'an completed his deduction of the Rule of Vitality and turned to Li Muchen.

• Li Muchen asked Lu Qing'an whether he possessed the Rule of Vitality and requested guidance to advance his mastery.
• Lu Qing'an said he would answer in half an hour and announced that the new members had made the Eternal Night Sect strong enough to rank among the top twenty forces.
• Li Wensong privately told Li Muchen that Lu Qing'an was testing his patience, and Li Muchen waited gratefully.
• The group celebrated joining the Eternal Night Sect while Li Muchen, Zhang Shundao, Dao Lord Xuexiao, and the others awaited Lu Qing'an's answer.
• Lu Qing'an's deduction of the Rule of Vitality finished, and he turned to Li Muchen.

Lu Qing'an demonstrated that he had mastered the Rule of Vitality at the perfect level by giving countless Demon God Phantoms intelligence, stunning Li Muchen and the others. He dismissed the phantoms after confirming they could think and act independently, then asked Li Muchen whether he had learned anything.

• Lu Qing'an told Li Muchen that he had mastered the Rule of Vitality many years ago and offered to demonstrate it.
• Lu Qing'an summoned countless Demon God Phantoms, each containing one or two rules and showing signs of intelligence.
• Li Muchen and Zhang Shundao realized the phantoms had the Rule of Vitality at the perfect level and were horrified by Lu Qing'an's power.
• Lu Qing'an confirmed he could command the intelligent phantoms with a thought and that they could travel far away to carry out orders.
• Lu Qing'an dismissed the phantoms and returned to the pavilion, where Li Muchen praised his mastery of the Rule of Vitality.

Lu Qing'an failed to explain how to cultivate the Rule of Vitality, so he promised to refine it into an inheritance fragment for Li Muchen if he proved useful. Li Muchen pledged himself to Lu Qing'an, while Li Wensong and the others were impressed by the offer.

• Lu Qing'an claimed he had comprehended and developed the Rule of Vitality years earlier, astonishing Li Muchen and the others.
• Li Muchen described his years of studying the Rule of Vitality and asked Lu Qing'an to guide him to the initial stage.
• Lu Qing'an admitted no need to guide Li Muchen and said he would help him advance directly, as he had done for Li Wensong.
• Lu Qing'an promised to refine the Rule of Vitality into an inheritance fragment for Li Muchen if he satisfied him and followed Li Wensong's instructions.
• Li Muchen swore loyalty to Lu Qing'an, and Li Wensong praised him with renewed admiration.

Lu Qing'an introduced Xue Tianfei to the five Peak Eternal Realm experts who had joined the Eternal Night Sect and put them at her disposal for business dealings. He learned that Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen each knew a powerful artifact refiner who might repair the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror.

• Lu Qing'an summoned Xue Tianfei and introduced her as his woman and the head of the Eternal Night Chamber of Commerce, instructing the five experts to follow her directions.
• Li Muchen and the others eagerly agreed to help Xue Tianfei with the chamber’s acquisitions and negotiations with a faction that had previously looked down on the Eternal Night Sect.
• Xue Tianfei arranged for the group to meet the faction the next day, and the five experts vowed to stand up for the sect.
• Lu Qing'an showed the group the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror, and Li Muchen and Zhang Shundao identified it as a rare treasure capable of locating Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone veins.
• Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen each offered to contact a powerful artifact refiner they knew to see if either could repair the mirror.

Lu Qing'an delegated the sect and chamber of commerce’s affairs to Li Wensong and Xue Tianfei, then teased Xiao Qingyi about why he could help Xue Tianfei cultivate but not him. He later met Golden Dragon and agreed to use the Rule of Vitality to let him briefly pursue a romance with a sentient Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein.

• Lu Qing'an told Li Wensong to take Li Muchen and the others away and help oversee the sect and chamber of commerce.
• Xue Tianfei left to handle business after Lu Qing'an told her she could direct Li Muchen and the others as she wished.
• Xiao Qingyi asked why Lu Qing'an could rapidly raise Xue Tianfei’s cultivation but not his, and Lu Qing'an joked that Xiao Qingyi would have to become a woman and marry him.
• Lu Qing'an kicked Xiao Qingyi away after Xiao Qingyi suggested they could marry with him taking the woman’s role.
• Lu Qing'an went to Golden Dragon and agreed to use the Rule of Vitality to let him briefly court a sentient Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein.

The golden dragon tried to practice falling in love with a sentient Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein, but the vein chose to be male, and their brief connection ended when its sentience faded. Meanwhile, Li Wensong arranged for Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen to contact two artifact refiners, only for them to discover the refiners were bitter rivals.

• Lu Qing'an gave a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein sentience for the golden dragon, and it transformed into a male black snake.
• The golden dragon complained to Lu Qing'an that he could not fall in love with another male vein, but Lu Qing'an told him to treat the encounter as practice.
• The golden dragon returned to the black snake, gradually grew fond of him, and said goodbye when the black snake's sentience faded and he reverted to a vein.
• Li Wensong asked Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen to contact the artifact refiners they knew for Lu Qing'an's task.
• Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen discovered that their contacts, Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe, were famously at odds.

Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen separately contacted master artifact refiners about repairing the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror, and both Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe eagerly offered to help. Zhang Shundao chose Leng Xinghe because he owed Li Muchen a favor, then tried to bargain with Chu Xuantie for his Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein.

• Zhang Shundao told Chu Xuantie that the damaged Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror needed repair, and Chu Xuantie immediately agreed to come help.
• Li Muchen told Zhang Shundao that Leng Xinghe had also offered to set out at once after hearing about the mirror.
• Zhang Shundao chose Leng Xinghe because he owed Li Muchen a favor, then contacted Chu Xuantie to withdraw the request.
• Chu Xuantie offered benefits in exchange for repairing the mirror, and Zhang Shundao demanded Chu Xuantie's intermediate Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein.
• Chu Xuantie objected to the demand, and Zhang Shundao urged him to make another offer, noting that Leng Xinghe had offered good things.

Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen each tried to secure the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror repair for an artifact refiner, sparking a bidding war between Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe. Leng Xinghe ended by offering an intermediate-grade and a low-grade heavenly mandate soul stone vein and demanding that Chu Xuantie be dismissed.

• Zhang Shundao persuaded Chu Xuantie to accept the repair task in exchange for an intermediate-grade heavenly mandate soul stone vein.
• Li Muchen told Zhang Shundao that Leng Xinghe was already on his way, but Leng Xinghe refused to give up the repair job.
• Li Muchen told Leng Xinghe that Chu Xuantie had already been promised the task and offered an intermediate-grade vein.
• Leng Xinghe matched Chu Xuantie's offer, then agreed to add a low-grade vein when Li Muchen suggested Chu might offer more.
• Li Muchen told Zhang Shundao that Leng Xinghe wanted Chu Xuantie dismissed.

Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen turned Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe’s rivalry over repairing the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror into a bidding contest, then invited them to the Eternal Night Sect to compare repair methods. The two refiners arrived, and Li Wensong’s unexpected position of authority left Chu Xuantie stunned.

• Zhang Shundao told Chu Xuantie that Leng Xinghe had offered more benefits for the repair job, prompting Chu Xuantie to raise his offer.
• Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen brought Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe into a face-to-face argument, where both men kept increasing their offers and boasting about their artifact-refining skills.
• Zhang Shundao and Li Muchen proposed that the rivals come to the Eternal Night Sect and compete by presenting their repair methods, while secretly planning to obtain all their offered treasures and soul stone veins.
• Li Wensong and the others heard the plan, and Li Wensong suspected Lu Qing'an had a purpose beyond repairing the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror.
• Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe arrived at the Eternal Night Sect, where Li Wensong welcomed them and Chu Xuantie was surprised when Zhang Shundao introduced him as his good Brother Song.

Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe learned that Li Wensong, Zhang Shundao, Li Muchen, and the others had joined the Eternal Night Sect as pawns in Lu Qing'an's grand plan. Li Wensong brought them to the sect to meet Lu Qing'an and repair the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror, leaving Lu Qing'an impressed by how quickly his followers had recruited two top artifact refiners.

• Li Wensong explained that he was the number one sacrificial pawn, while Li Muchen and Zhang Shundao described the Eternal Night Sect master's extraordinary powers and their willingness to serve him.
• Li Wensong speculated that Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe might also be pawns, leaving the two suspicious that they had been set up and unexpectedly united as old rivals.
• Li Wensong offered to take Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe to meet Lu Qing'an so they could help repair the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror, and both agreed.
• Li Wensong led them into the Eternal Night Sect, where Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe were stunned by its many Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone veins and a sentient top-grade vein at the Late Eternal Realm.
• Li Wensong introduced Chu Xuantie and Leng Xinghe to Lu Qing'an as two of the Nine Directions and Ten Domains' finest artifact refiners, and Lu Qing'an marveled at how quickly they had been recruited.

Lu Qing'an brought out the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror and watched Leng Xinghe and Chu Xuantie compete for the chance to repair it, with both offering heavenly mandate soul stone veins. After studying the treasure, Chu Xuantie declared he could repair it in one month, while Leng Xinghe had yet to state his estimate.

• Li Muchen, Zhang Shundao, Dao Lord Xuexiao, and the others returned and greeted Lu Qing'an respectfully, startling Leng Xinghe and Chu Xuantie.
• Lu Qing'an presented the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror, and Leng Xinghe and Chu Xuantie argued over who would repair it while offering soul stone veins for the opportunity.
• Zhang Shundao proposed that each refiner study the mirror and compete by guaranteeing a repair time, with the winner forfeiting his promised veins if he failed.
• Leng Xinghe and Chu Xuantie each studied the mirror in the Time Cultivation Tower and emerged shaken by its complicated construction.
• Chu Xuantie claimed he could repair the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror in one month and promised to surrender both veins if he failed.