Chapter Summaries

Li Yunjing saw that upgrading the Alchemy Chamber gave Luozhen Sect’s Alchemists a chance to refine immortal-grade divine pills, then upgraded the Scripture Pavilion. The pavilion reached level 10, but its next upgrade required the sect’s prosperity to reach 40.

• Li Yunjing learned that the upgraded Alchemy Chamber could produce immortal-grade divine pills, a feat almost unheard of in the lower realm.
• Ding Qifeng told Li Yunjing he had refined eight supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, which could help create eight Foundation Establishment disciples.
• Li Yunjing reflected on Luozhen Sect’s growing ranks and visited the Scripture Pavilion after confirming its upgrade requirements were met.
• Li Yunjing upgraded the Scripture Pavilion to level 10, granting it improved cultivation-study effects and a chance for Dao arts to gain special traits.
• Li Yunjing saw that the Scripture Pavilion’s next upgrade required sect prosperity of at least 40.

Li Yunjing upgraded the Luozhen Sect’s Disciple Quarters, unlocking the prospect of dream-based cultivation instruction at its next level. A letter from Jin Ruoxu warned that the Daozhen Sect was competing for the Qianyuan Cave Abode, so Li Yunjing called on the Immortal Alliance for support.

• Li Yunjing saw that the Scripture Repository needed sect prosperity of forty to reach lv10, while the Luozhen Sect had only thirty-eight.
• Li Yunjing upgraded the Disciple Quarters to lv8 and discovered that lv9 would add a chance to learn a suitable Cultivation Method or Law Technique in a dream.
• Mo Xuan delivered a letter from Jin Ruoxu saying the Wangtian Jin Household had to act immediately because the Daozhen Sect had also set its sights on the Qianyuan Cave Abode.
• Li Yunjing recalled the Daozhen Sect’s past role in the Luozhen Sect’s decline and resolved not to let the new rivalry over the cave abode go unanswered.
• Li Yunjing used his Immortal Alliance Token to call for backup.

Li Yunjing visited Jin Ruoxu to discuss securing support against the Daozhen Sect, and assured him that Xiao Tianxing would bring help from the Immortal Alliance. While fishing with Jin Ruoxu, Li Yunjing hooked something extraordinarily heavy and discovered it was a wooden box, not a fish.

• Li Yunjing asked Xiao Tianxing to recruit powerful Immortal Alliance True Disciples, then left Nangong Chengyu in charge of the Luozhen Sect and traveled to Heaven-Gazing City.
• Jin Qiwu welcomed Li Yunjing and escorted him to Jin Ruoxu's residence on the Jin Household's floating islands.
• Li Yunjing told Jin Ruoxu that Xiao Tianxing would help and explained that additional allies might join the Qianyuan Cave Abode, prompting Jin Ruoxu to agree to share its benefits.
• Jin Ruoxu invited Li Yunjing to fish in his pond, and Li Yunjing quickly hooked something heavy.
• Li Yunjing struggled with the catch until a wooden box surfaced from the pond.

Li Yunjing discovered that Jin Ruoxu’s fishpond was a Spirit Treasure connected to an ancient sect’s treasury and caught a Sword Intent Casket and a jade wine cup. He then joined the Immortal Alliance’s True Disciples in the Jin Household’s main hall to prepare for the business that had brought them together.

• Jin Ruoxu explained that his sixth-grade Spirit Treasure fishpond let people fish for treasures from an ancient sect’s treasury.
• Li Yunjing caught a Sword Intent Casket containing multiple kinds of sword intent, which Jin Ruoxu identified as at least a fifth-grade Law Treasure.
• After half an hour without a catch, Li Yunjing pulled a jade wine cup from the pond just as Jin Qiwu announced the Immortal Alliance’s True Disciples had arrived.
• Li Yunjing and Jin Ruoxu went to the Jin Household’s main hall, where Xiao Tianxing, Cao Lie, and Chu Xin greeted him.
• Chu Xin told Li Yunjing he had come to lend a hand and regretted missing the earlier fight against the body-forging disciple in the Annan Kingdom.

Li Yunjing and Jin Ruoxu assembled Xiao Tianxing, Chu Xin, and Cao Lie to explore the Qianyuan Cave Abode, agreeing on how to divide its spoils before setting out. When each of the three revealed that a Dao Integration Realm expert was coming to assist, the group revised its plans to consider exploring the dangerous fourth layer.

• Li Yunjing introduced Xiao Tianxing, Chu Xin, and Cao Lie to Jin Ruoxu, who explained what he knew about the Qianyuan Cave Abode and the Daozhen Sect's search for it.
• Xiao Tianxing confirmed that the cave abode's owner had no descendants, then negotiated a division giving Jin Ruoxu forty percent and each of the three guests twenty percent of the rest; Li Yunjing asked only for a few treasures.
• Jin Ruoxu led the group and a large contingent of Jin Household cultivators aboard a giant ship toward the cave abode.
• Jin Ruoxu showed the group a layout of the cave abode and said the outer three layers were manageable for Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators, while the fourth was deadly.
• Xiao Tianxing, Chu Xin, and Cao Lie each revealed that they had called a Dao Integration Realm senior to help, prompting Jin Ruoxu to consider exploring the fourth layer.

Jin Ruoxu explained the dangers and layout of the Qianyuan Cave Abode, then three Dao Integration True Lords arrived to join the expedition. The group entered the cave abode through an entrance opened by Jin Ruoxu’s talisman seal, and Li Yunjing surveyed its bright, spacious first chamber.

• Jin Ruoxu explained that the Qianyuan Cave Abode lay within Northern Dark Mountain and described its formation, puppets, and shifting passages.
• Three Dao Integration True Lords arrived, and Zhao Rugui, Wang Ci, and Cao Zhao each offered Li Yunjing their support.
• Jin Qiwu announced that the group had reached Northern Dark Mountain, and Jin Ruoxu led everyone off the concealed ship and into the mountain range.
• Jin Ruoxu activated the Qianyuan Talisman Seal, opening a vortex entrance, and entered the Qianyuan Cave Abode first.
• Li Yunjing and the others followed into the cave abode, where Li Yunjing found himself in a brightly lit, spacious chamber.

Cao Zhao, Wang Ci, and the others explored the first level of the Qianyuan Cave Abode, where Li Yunjing collected eighty-one damaged puppets. On the second level, the Immortal Bone protected Li Yunjing from the Earth Vein Dao script, which the Five Spirits Lord said contained a cultivation method.

• Jin Ruoxu revealed that the Qianyuan Cave Abode belonged to Lin Xuan, the famed True Lord Xuanhao.
• Jin Ruoxu destroyed the cores of the few puppets that attacked the group.
• Xiao Tianxing advised Li Yunjing to take the puppets to an Immortal Alliance artifact-refining grandmaster, and Li Yunjing stored all eighty-one.
• The group used a teleportation array to reach the second level and found nine passages covered in Earth Vein Dao script.
• The script made Li Yunjing dizzy, but the Immortal Bone restored him, and the Five Spirits Lord told him he could read it and consider cultivating the method it recorded.

Li Yunjing obtained the Earth Vein Return to Origin Scripture by having the Five Spirits Lord decipher the seal script, and decided he needed the Northern Dark Vein-Suppressing Seal to use it with the Northern Dark Earth Vein. The Dao Union True Lords failed to find a way through the passages, leaving the expedition seemingly stuck on the second level.

• Jin Ruoxu asked Wang Ci, Cao Zhao, and Zhao Rugui to find the passage to the third level, but Wang Ci said their Divine Sense could not penetrate the level.
• Cao Zhao, Wang Ci, and Zhao Rugui each entered a passage to search for a way through, while Li Yunjing studied the seal script on the walls.
• Li Yunjing asked the Five Spirits Lord to copy the seal script, and the Five Spirits Lord recorded the Earth Vein Return to Origin Scripture on a Jade Slip in his storage ring.
• Li Yunjing read the scripture and realized that obtaining the Northern Dark Vein-Suppressing Seal could let him cultivate with the Northern Dark Earth Vein.
• Wang Ci, Cao Zhao, and Zhao Rugui returned and reported that the passages branched and shifted, and that the correct route closed unless the group entered the third level immediately.
• Jin Ruoxu, Xiao Tianxing, and the others grew grim as the failed search threatened to end their expedition without any treasures.

Li Yunjing learned from the Five Spirits Lord that the entrance to the third level lay inside the black-and-yellow sea of light behind the group, not in the nine passages. He crossed safely into a vast hall and returned to bring the others through.

• The Five Spirits Lord told Li Yunjing that the entrance to the third level was behind him, hidden in the sea of light.
• Li Yunjing suggested the sea of light was the entrance, and Xiao Tianxing and Chu Xin supported his reasoning about the cave abode's deceptive design.
• When no one volunteered to scout, Li Yunjing entered the sea of light and reached a vast crystal-jade hall containing a great cauldron and a spirit pool.
• Li Yunjing returned to the second level and told Jin Ruoxu and the others that the passage was safe.
• Li Yunjing led the group into the sea of light, and they all began crossing to the third level.

Jin Ruoxu and the others discovered that Qianyuan Cave Abode’s third level held a pool of earth vein origin spirit liquid and Lin Xuan’s Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron. After the group divided the liquid, Jin Ruoxu said the cauldron belonged to Li Yunjing under their agreement.

• Jin Ruoxu explained that he had never surveyed the third level and had relied on records from his predecessors.
• Wang Ci identified the pool as earth vein origin spirit liquid and praised its immense value.
• Jin Ruoxu collected nearly forty percent of the liquid, and Xiao Tianxing and the others divided the rest; Li Yunjing took none.
• Jin Ruoxu identified the great cauldron as Lin Xuan’s life-bound Law Treasure, the Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron.
• Jin Ruoxu said the cauldron should go to Li Yunjing under their agreement, despite admitting that he had briefly coveted it.

Li Yunjing studied the Method Formula for the Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron and unexpectedly gained the Spirit Treasure’s recognition, fusing it with himself. Inside its hidden space, he discovered the Northern Dark Vein-Suppressing Seal he had been seeking.

• The three Dao Union True Lords chose not to contest Li Yunjing for the cauldron, and he began studying its activation Method Formula with the Five Spirits Lord’s help.
• The Five Spirits Lord explained that the cauldron’s inscriptions strengthened it and that its original artifact spirit had long since dissipated.
• As Li Yunjing formed the Method Formula, the cauldron awakened, resonated with the earth veins, and recognized him as its master.
• The cauldron shrank into a streak of light, entered Li Yunjing’s Dantian, and fused with him.
• Li Yunjing discovered a hidden space inside the cauldron containing treasures, including the Northern Dark Vein-Suppressing Seal.

Li Yunjing retrieved the Northern Dark Vein-Suppressing Seal and shared the treasures hidden inside the Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron to protect his Dao heart. After receiving four bottles of earth vein origin spiritual liquid, he joined the others at the hidden entrance to the dangerous fourth floor of the Qianyuan Cave Abode.

• Li Yunjing took out the Northern Dark Vein-Suppressing Seal, briefly sensed a powerful presence he suspected was the will of the Northern Dark earth vein, and then put the seal away.
• Li Yunjing revealed the treasures hidden in the Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron and let Jin Ruoxu, Xiao Tianxing, Cao Lie, and the others divide them, explaining that he wanted to keep his Dao heart clear.
• Xiao Tianxing, Cao Lie, Chu Xin, and Jin Ruoxu each gave Li Yunjing a bottle of earth vein origin spiritual liquid, leaving him with four bottles holding at least four hundred jin in total.
• Someone discovered a hidden door believed to lead to the fourth floor, and Jin Ruoxu warned that the floor was extremely dangerous.
• Wang Ci, Cao Zhao, and Zhao Rugui reassured the group and entered first, followed by the others; Li Yunjing and Xiao Tianxing stepped through together.

Li Yunjing and the Jin Household reached the empty fourth level, where a deadly mist appeared and revealed Lin Xuan’s corpse. The corpse transformed in an attempt to reach Void Refinement, and Wang Ci, Zhao Rugui, and Cao Zhao prepared to fight him as corpse Qi threatened to overwhelm the level.

• Li Yunjing and the others crossed the Severing Spirit Restriction and found the fourth level empty, its former killing formation already collapsed.
• As Wang Ci turned to leave, a blackish-gray mist flooded the level, drained the Golden Core cultivators of their vitality, and forced the survivors to defend themselves.
• Wang Ci and the others drove the mist back, revealing Lin Xuan’s lifeless body with an Earth Vein Dao mantra seal on his forehead.
• Lin Xuan’s eyes opened, and Zhao Rugui recognized that his corpse had transformed; Wang Ci realized Lin Xuan had chosen the transformation to pursue Void Refinement.
• Cao Zhao, Wang Ci, and Zhao Rugui brought out their Law Treasures as Lin Xuan unleashed a flood of corpse Qi that shook the fourth level.

Lin Xuan repelled the combined attack of Wang Ci, Cao Zhao, and Zhao Rugui with the power of Void Refinement, revealing that he had nearly broken through while undergoing corpse transformation. He began striking back against the three True Lords, leaving them gravely wounded and near death as Jin Ruoxu and the others watched helplessly.

• Wang Ci, Cao Zhao, and Zhao Rugui attacked Lin Xuan together with the Vast Seal, the Blazing Fire Divine Sword, and Vast Righteous Qi.
• Lin Xuan’s deathly stillness destroyed their attacks, seized the Vast Seal, and severely wounded all three men through the backlash.
• Wang Ci realized that Lin Xuan could wield Void Refinement power and had been interrupted while attempting to advance his cultivation.
• Lin Xuan declared that the three had hindered his attainment of the Dao and fired three pillars of ink-black light at them.
• Wang Ci was pierced through the chest, Cao Zhao’s sword was shattered and his cultivation fell, and Zhao Rugui’s scroll was destroyed as half his body withered.
• Jin Ruoxu and the others watched helplessly as the three Dao Union True Lords faced death.

Lin Xuan regained his consciousness when the Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron intervened, then chose to destroy himself to prevent his corpse transformation from becoming a calamity. After Lin Xuan vanished, the Northern Dark Earth Vein recovered, and Li Yunjing’s companions thanked him for saving them.

• Li Yunjing’s Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron emerged and used its Dao light to drive back the corpse mist and awaken Lin Xuan.
• Lin Xuan explained that corpse transformation and the Northern Dark Earth Vein had suppressed his consciousness, allowing a new consciousness to control his body.
• Lin Xuan entrusted Li Yunjing with the Earth Vein Dao inheritance and Northern Darkness, then began gathering the poisoned dead veins into himself to end the threat.
• The other consciousness tried to stop Lin Xuan, but the cauldron suppressed it, and Lin Xuan destroyed himself along with his Dao Fruit and corpse body.
• The corpse mist receded and the Northern Dark Earth Vein recovered; Wang Ci and the other two True Lords thanked Li Yunjing for saving them.

After escaping the Qianyuan Cave Abode, Li Yunjing and the others encountered the Daozhen Sect, whose dragon-horned Dao Union True Lord threatened them. His master intervened and forced him to apologize to the injured Immortal Alliance True Lords, but the disciple then turned his attention to Li Yunjing.

• Jin Ruoxu mourned the Jin Household’s dead and had Jin Qiwu gather their bodies before the group left the Qianyuan Cave Abode.
• The group emerged from the cave abode to find the Daozhen Sect surrounding the Jin Household’s ship.
• A dragon-horned Dao Union True Lord demanded their treasures and attacked, but a white-bearded old man made his pagoda’s ribbons of light vanish.
• The old man apologized for his disciple and struck him when he insulted the Immortal Alliance.
• At the old man’s insistence, the disciple reluctantly apologized to Wang Ci, Cao Zhao, and Zhao Rugui.
• The disciple then recognized Li Yunjing as the sect master of the Luozhen Sect and addressed him.

Li Yunjing returned to the Luozhen Sect after the conflict at the Jin Household and examined the treasures he had gained in the Qianyuan Cave Abode. He discovered that the Sword Intent Casket had made his Seven Slaughters Sword Intent more condensed, though it had reduced its capacity.

• A Dao Union True Lord mocked Li Yunjing and urged him to strengthen the Luozhen Sect so the Daozhen Sect could crush it again.
• Wang Ci, Zhao Rugui, and Cao Zhao left to recover from their injuries, while Jin Ruoxu thanked them for protecting the Jin Household.
• Li Yunjing traveled back with Jin Ruoxu, stayed briefly as a guest, and returned alone to the Luozhen Sect the following evening.
• Li Yunjing reviewed his treasures and decided to make the Earth Vein Return to Origin Scripture and Nine Unifications Return to Origin Cauldron inheritances of the Luozhen Sect.
• Li Yunjing tested the Sword Intent Casket, which absorbed and returned his Seven Slaughters Sword Intent, leaving it with reduced capacity but greater condensation.

Li Yunjing learned that the wine cup was an inferior innate object that condensed potent spirit liquid, and its Spiritual Qi helped him advance to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. The next morning, he gave Nangong Chengyu four bottles of earth vein origin spirit liquid from the Qianyuan Cave Abode, while Nangong Chengyu told him to keep the rest of his gains private.

• Li Yunjing asked the Five Spirits Lord to identify the wine cup, and learned it was an innate object that could condense spirit liquid.
• The Five Spirits Lord activated the cup, and Li Yunjing absorbed its Spiritual Qi and broke through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.
• Li Yunjing left the wine cup with the Five Spirits Lord, who agreed to make more spirit liquid when the cup was ready again.
• Li Yunjing gave Nangong Chengyu four bottles of earth vein origin spirit liquid and explained where they came from.
• Nangong Chengyu accepted the bottles and told Li Yunjing not to tell him about his other gains from the Qianyuan Cave Abode.

Li Yunjing upgraded Luozhen Sect’s mountain gate and Patriarch Hall, then upgraded its training ground as the sect met the required disciple threshold. He left the Patriarch Hall’s next upgrade dependent on compiling the eleven patriarchs’ records and began reviewing the training ground’s new effects.

• Li Yunjing spent sect materials to upgrade the mountain gate to level 7, gaining stronger defenses and a Spiritual Qi barrier that reflected part of attackers’ damage.
• Li Yunjing upgraded the Patriarch Hall to level 6 and decided to assign disciples the task of compiling the patriarchs’ preserved records so it could advance further.
• Li Yunjing noted that Luozhen Sect now had more than ten Foundation Establishment disciples, including six who succeeded with Ding Qifeng’s pills and three who advanced without them.
• Li Yunjing upgraded the training ground to level 7 and examined its enhanced cultivation and sparring effects.

Li Yunjing organized the Luozhen Sect’s plan to establish a new headquarters in Azure Jiao Marsh and prepared to lead an expedition there. New allies arrived from several sects, and Duan Tianjiao asked for the Seven Treasures Sect to lead the vanguard.

• Li Yunjing found that upgrading the training grounds required a third-grade Law Technique instructor and decided to leave finding one to Nangong Chengyu.
• Li Yunjing told Fang Hexuan, Mo Xuan, and the Luozhen Sect elders that the sect would clear Azure Jiao Marsh, build a new headquarters there, and keep Serene Valley as a branch.
• Li Yunjing assured the elders that the sect’s miraculous buildings would retain their effects when rebuilt at the new headquarters, and they settled the relocation details.
• Li Yunjing assigned Mo Xuan to arrange resources and seek the Jin Household’s support, then spent the night cultivating before departing for Azure Jiao Marsh.
• Wan Tao and ten other Nascent Soul Perfection cultivators from allied sects arrived and thanked Li Yunjing for bringing them to the top-tier Dao Realm.
• Duan Tianjiao announced that the Seven Treasures Sect supported the expedition and asked for it to lead the vanguard.