Chapter Summaries

After breaking through to Qi Refining, Li Chengxuan inherited Supreme Mystery Mountain as its new sect leader and freed his companions by deactivating the mountain's grand array. While investigating a gray bead in his sea of consciousness, he fell into an unknown place and awoke before a man who was fishing.

• Li Chengxuan broke through to the Qi Refining Stage and returned to the Ancestral Hall, where Old Daoist Wu named him Supreme Mystery Mountain's three hundred and sixty-fourth sect leader.
• Li Chengxuan accepted the spirit seal, then expelled Qi Yuntian and Luo Qingqing from the sect so they could leave the Southern Edge Continent.
• Old Daoist Wu left for the Chu Lands with Chu Siyue, while Qi Yuntian and Luo Qingqing departed and each told Li Chengxuan their plans.
• Li Chengxuan deactivated Supreme Mystery Mountain's grand array, freeing the mountain's Spiritual Qi and allowing it to return to Desolate Province.
• Li Chengxuan sensed a gray bead with two holes in his sea of consciousness, fell into an unknown place, and awoke as a middle-aged fisherman called him awake.

Li Chengxuan returned to Earth through the Two Worlds Pearl and found that his hometown had been relocated and his family had died or disappeared. Back at Supreme Mystery Mountain, he discovered Hua Mingcheng and Hua Chunning of Rejuvenation Valley waiting to meet him.

• Li Chengxuan confirmed that the gray sphere could take him between Earth and the cultivation world, then learned from Liu Zhijian that he was at Li Household Hollow.
• Li Chengxuan traveled to the relocated neighborhood and learned that his parents were dead and his older brother, Li Jiabao, ran a supermarket, while he himself had been missing for years.
• After an old man identified him as Li Chengxuan, Li Chengxuan vanished from Earth and awoke in Supreme Mystery Mountain's Founding Ancestor Hall.
• Li Chengxuan realized he had returned through the Two Worlds Pearl and considered Earth a valuable world despite its lack of Spiritual Qi.
• Li Chengxuan went to the General Affairs Hall and found Hua Mingcheng and Hua Chunning of Rejuvenation Valley waiting; he remarked that they had some nerve.

Li Chengxuan took charge of Supreme Mystery Mountain and received Hua Mingcheng and Hua Chunning, then faced the Immortal Alliance’s demands for the sect’s revival. After learning his Mortal World Turbid Qi cultivation left him with little hope of progress, he returned to Earth through the Two Worlds Pearl.

• Hua Mingcheng brought three spiritual flowers to congratulate Li Chengxuan and offered Hua Chunning to serve him; Li Chengxuan accepted her but said she could not cultivate the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao.
• Li Chengxuan instructed Hua Chunning to handle the stream of visitors bringing gifts and greetings to Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Xue Yang told Li Chengxuan that the Immortal Alliance required Supreme Mystery Mountain to produce cultivators at increasingly advanced Embryonic Breathing stages within five, ten, and twenty years, or Li Chengxuan would face the Calamity of Wu Earth.
• Li Chengxuan told Xue Yang that he had entered the Dao using Mortal World Turbid Qi.
• After considering his bleak prospects for cultivation in Desolate Province, Li Chengxuan connected to the Two Worlds Pearl and returned to Earth.

Li Chengxuan discovered that Liu Zhijian had an exceptional cultivation aptitude and used a pill to cleanse his body before deciding to take him to Supreme Mystery Mountain. After they crossed worlds, thunder shook the Southern Edge Continent.

• Liu Zhijian told Li Chengxuan about his lifelong love of fishing and asked whether he had the aptitude to cultivate.
• Li Chengxuan used the Qi Observation Technique and saw Liu Zhijian's rich manifestation of Water Virtue, then realized the Two Worlds Pearl could bring promising talents from Earth to Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• When Liu Zhijian tried to leave, Li Chengxuan pulled him back and insisted on guiding him into the Dao.
• Li Chengxuan gave Liu Zhijian a cultivation pill, and Liu Zhijian woke with his ailments gone and grime covering his skin.
• Liu Zhijian accepted Li Chengxuan as his master, and Li Chengxuan took him through the Two Worlds Pearl to the cultivation world.
• As Liu Zhijian opened his eyes at their destination, thunder rolled across the Southern Edge Continent and the winds and clouds churned.

Li Chengxuan learned that Liu Zhijian’s arrival had prompted the Heavenly Dao to manifest, bringing Supreme Mystery Mountain new protections and revealing Li Chengxuan’s own Dao Path. After a month of study, Liu Zhijian began learning cultivation, and Li Chengxuan told him to seek Clear Qi Above the River of the Kan Water path.

• The Heavenly Dao manifested after Liu Zhijian’s arrival, and Li Chengxuan realized Liu’s abundant Kan Water aspect had strengthened it.
• Li Chengxuan accepted Liu Zhijian as Supreme Mystery Mountain’s three hundred and sixty-fifth-generation disciple, and the Heavenly Dao concealed Liu’s origins and aspects.
• Li Chengxuan learned from the Heavenly Dao that Mundane World Qi could support the Human Immortal Dao, then decided to focus on cultivation while the Two Worlds Pearl recovered.
• Liu Zhijian spent a month reading cultivation texts, and Li Chengxuan began teaching him after judging his studies sufficient.
• Li Chengxuan told Liu Zhijian to master embryonic breathing and then gather Clear Qi Above the River of the Kan Water path.

Liu Zhijian chose the slow, safe Dripping Water Pierces Stone Meridian-Opening Method and began studying it, while Li Chengxuan admired his resolve. Li Chengxuan was then called to the Hall of General Affairs, where Hua Mingcheng begged him for help.

• Li Chengxuan took Liu Zhijian to the library and explained that he needed to open his blocked meridians before he could cultivate.
• Li Chengxuan introduced several meridian-opening methods, including a risky method that used Geng Metal Qi and a slow, safe method used by Rogue Cultivators.
• Liu Zhijian chose the Dripping Water Pierces Stone Meridian-Opening Method, trusting his patience and perseverance, and began studying it in the side hall.
• Li Chengxuan reflected that Liu Zhijian's steadfast Dao heart was especially valuable, then returned to the Ancestral Master Hall to examine the Two Worlds Pearl.
• Hua Chunning sent word that Hua Mingcheng had arrived, and Hua Mingcheng knelt before Li Chengxuan and pleaded for help.

Hua Mingcheng asked Supreme Mystery Mountain for help after the Azure Cloud Sect seized Rejuvenation Valley, but Li Chengxuan chose to wait for the Immortal Alliance to respond. As Liu Zhijian made a breakthrough in the meridian-opening method, Xue Yang revealed that the Azure Cloud Sect’s arrival followed the fall of the figure who had protected the Old Method sects.

• Hua Mingcheng told Li Chengxuan that the Azure Cloud Sect, a New Method sect from Central Continent with a Foundation Establishment elder, had taken Rejuvenation Valley for its sect grounds.
• Li Chengxuan decided Supreme Mystery Mountain should keep its distance and wait for the Immortal Alliance to handle the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Liu Zhijian used memories of his childhood and a calm state of mind to condense a droplet of spiritual water, grasping the basics of the meridian-opening method.
• Xue Yang visited Li Chengxuan and explained that the New Method had defeated the Old Method a thousand years earlier, leaving Southern Edge Continent to the Old Method sects under an agreement.
• Xue Yang revealed that the Azure Cloud Sect had entered Southern Edge Continent because the powerful figure who had protected the Old Method sects had fallen.

After the Azure Cloud Sect seized Supreme Mystery Mountain’s territory, Li Chengxuan negotiated with the Immortal Alliance for compensation and asked for methods from extinct Dao lineages so he could pursue Foundation Establishment. The alliance agreed to send them, including the Xue Household’s Rainbow Rosy Clouds method, while Li Chengxuan prepared to travel to Earth and continue lost teachings.

• Li Chengxuan asked Xue Yang how the Immortal Alliance would respond to the Azure Cloud Sect’s arrival and agreed to hold off on retaliation in exchange for resources and cultivation methods from extinct Dao lineages.
• Li Chengxuan told Xue Yang that, despite entering the Dao with Mortal World Turbid Qi, he still wanted to build an immortal foundation in his lifetime.
• At Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain, the Xue Household’s old ancestor approved Li Chengxuan’s request and ordered Xue Yang to send the extinct lineages’ methods along with the clan’s Rainbow Rosy Clouds cultivation method.
• Li Chengxuan examined the methods delivered to Supreme Mystery Mountain and identified Continue Lost Teachings as a path toward Foundation Establishment through reviving extinct Dao lineages.
• Li Chengxuan connected to the Two Worlds Pearl and prepared to travel to Earth in search of another child of fate.

Li Chengxuan visited his old hometown on Earth, reconnected with his brother Li Jiabao, and discovered that county magistrate Duanmu Ren had the powerful presence and fate he was seeking. The chapter ended with Li Chengxuan compelling Duanmu Ren to sit across from him.

• Li Chengxuan visited a struggling coal mine and found no one with a notable presence.
• Li Chengxuan reunited with Li Jiabao, used a Method Formula to restore his brother’s trust, and joined him and his family for a meal.
• Liu Lidan argued with Li Jiabao over their debts, while Li Chengxuan observed that the family had no affinity with the Dao.
• Hu Shihao confronted Li Jiabao and tried to punch him, but Li Chengxuan stopped him.
• Li Chengxuan questioned county magistrate Duanmu Ren and compelled him to sit, recognizing his concentrated presence and fate.

Li Chengxuan discovered that Duanmu Ren possessed a High Shaman lineage and used his power to make the county magistrate confess to years of embezzlement. He enlisted Duanmu Ren’s help, then watched him leave and secretly plot to investigate Li Jiabao’s family and find spiritual experts who could counter Li Chengxuan’s techniques.

• Li Chengxuan controlled Duanmu Ren, dismissed the onlookers, and arranged for Li Jiabao to receive the money owed by the coal mine.
• Li Chengxuan questioned Duanmu Ren about murder and corruption, and Duanmu Ren involuntarily confessed to embezzling public funds for twenty years.
• Li Chengxuan recognized Duanmu Ren’s High Shaman lineage but set aside taking him to the cultivation world because he could not bring another person through the Two Worlds Pearl.
• Li Chengxuan promised Duanmu Ren a fortuitous opportunity in exchange for his help, and Duanmu Ren agreed and exchanged contact information with Li Jiabao.
• After leaving, Duanmu Ren ordered round-the-clock protection, a discreet investigation of Li Jiabao’s family, and the recruitment of renowned Daoist priests and monks.

Li Chengxuan returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain, where Hua Mingcheng sought refuge for the Hua clan after a destructive split over the Azure Cloud Sect’s new cultivation methods. The chapter ended with Li Chengxuan examining Liu Zhijian, whose meridian cultivation had brought agitation and a rotten smell from his body.

• Li Chengxuan decided to guide Duanmu Ren carefully, while Li Jiabao and Liu Lidan celebrated their family’s new connection to the county magistrate.
• Li Chengxuan returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain and allowed Hua Mingcheng and Hua Chunning to settle the Hua clan at the mountain’s foot.
• Hua Mingcheng told Hua Chunning that he had sent the clan members who favored the new methods to the Azure Cloud Sect and brought those with manifestations to Supreme Mystery Mountain, hoping she could revive Yi Wood.
• Liu Zhijian told Li Chengxuan that his cultivation had left him agitated and emitting a rotten stench.
• Li Chengxuan used the Qi Observation Technique to examine Liu Zhijian and was astonished by what he saw.

Li Chengxuan diagnosed Liu Zhijian’s stalled cultivation as a result of living against the flowing nature of his Kan Water aspect and sent him down the mountain to seek experience. Liu Zhijian settled by a river in Danzhou, where his meridians opened faster, but his new friend Deng Gang revealed that the river’s recent catastrophe had been caused by the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect.

• Li Chengxuan explained that Liu Zhijian’s murky Kan Water aspect stemmed from prolonged seclusion and advised him to cultivate in the world beyond Supreme Mystery Mountain.
• Liu Zhijian traveled east to Danzhou, where he took up fishing and continued practicing the Meridian Opening Method at night.
• After a month in Danzhou, Liu Zhijian had opened twenty percent of his meridians and made several loyal friends, including Deng Gang.
• While drinking together beside the river, Deng Gang told Liu Zhijian that it had flowed backward and dried up months earlier.
• Deng Gang blamed the calamity on the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect, shocking Liu Zhijian.

Liu Zhijian joined Deng Gang aboard Zhao Changfan’s ship, where the Wave-Subduing Gang leader sought allies to avenge his family and gang. The gathering dwindled as guests learned of the dangerous forces involved, then Zhao Changfan revealed the Wave-Subduing Flood Dragon Pearl, which stirred Liu Zhijian’s meridians.

• Liu Zhijian and Deng Gang boarded Zhao Changfan’s ship after Zhao invited them to a gathering of jianghu eccentrics.
• Zhao Changfan asked the guests to help him avenge his parents and the destruction of the Wave-Subduing Gang by the Danzhou City Lord’s Manor.
• A guest connected the city lord’s wife to Rejuvenation Valley’s Hua family, prompting Wu Laosan and several others to leave.
• Granny Jiu and a blind old Daoist revealed that Rejuvenation Valley had been seized by outside cultivators and that an old poisoner had fled to the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect.
• Zhao Changfan revealed the Wave-Subduing Flood Dragon Pearl, and Liu Zhijian sensed that it was a Kan Water spiritual object suited to him.

Zhao Changfan recruited allies to reclaim a flood dragon's cave abode, but the expedition descended into deadly betrayals over its treasures. After Zhao Changfan's servant killed him for City Lord Du and Madam Hua, the scholar in blue revealed himself as Lin Muyang, an inner disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Zhao Changfan revealed that his flood dragon pearl unlocked a cave abode containing flood dragon remains, blood, and an immortal cultivation method.
• Liu Zhijian suspected a conspiracy but agreed to help Deng Gang obtain flood dragon blood.
• Seven days later, the expedition reached the cave abode, where deadly restrictions and infighting killed Old Daoist Zhong, the middle-aged swordsman, and Granny Jiu.
• Deng Gang suffered grievous injuries while saving Liu Zhijian from the scholar in blue, and Liu Zhijian repelled the attacker and protected Deng Gang.
• After Zhao Changfan opened the restrictions, Uncle Luo killed him and surrendered the pearl to City Lord Du and Madam Hua in exchange for his granddaughter.
• The scholar in blue identified the couple's invisibility talisman and introduced himself as Lin Muyang, an inner disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Lin Muyang, Hua Yuhe, Du Qingquan, and Liu Zhijian confronted one another in the flood dragon’s cave abode until Liu revealed that he was the sect master of Supreme Mystery Mountain’s personal disciple. After Lin offered him first choice of a treasure as an apology, Liu took the flood dragon’s blood and left with Deng Gang.

• Hua Yuhe recognized Lin Muyang as a member of the Azure Cloud Sect, and Lin asked Du Qingquan about the Invisibility Talisman.
• Hua Yuhe stopped Liu Zhijian from leaving, so he revealed his identity as a cultivator of Supreme Mystery Mountain and showed the Grand Mysterious Token.
• Liu Zhijian said his master was Supreme Mystery Mountain’s current sect master, and Lin Muyang apologized and offered him first choice of a spiritual treasure.
• Liu Zhijian identified the watery light as a wisp of [Kan Water] Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, while the others recognized its immense value.
• Liu Zhijian collected the flood dragon’s blood, helped Deng Gang up, and left the cave abode.

Li Chengxuan studied the High Shaman Dao and concluded that Duanmu Ren might follow its black-shaman path, so he summoned the county magistrate to offer him a chance to cultivate. Duanmu Ren learned that Li Chengxuan’s sect was in another world and was left considering whether to abandon his mortal life.

• Li Chengxuan read about the High Shaman Dao lineage and wondered whether Duanmu Ren practiced its black-shaman path.
• Duanmu Ren investigated Li Chengxuan and found no ordinary explanation for his disappearance, then received Li Chengxuan’s request to meet at the Lijiawa Subsidence Area.
• Li Chengxuan demonstrated his power by drawing fish and shrimp to a medicinal pill, convincing Duanmu Ren that he had underestimated him.
• Li Chengxuan offered Duanmu Ren an immortal opportunity and explained that he had the potential to pursue the Dao, like Liu Zhijian.
• Li Chengxuan revealed that his sect was not in this world and offered to take Duanmu Ren to see Liu Zhijian.
• Duanmu Ren asked whether he could refuse the offer to give up his mortal wealth and status.

Li Chengxuan offered to take Duanmu Ren to another world to cultivate immortality, but Duanmu Ren refused, explaining that he valued his current life and prospects. Li Chengxuan accepted his choice and asked him to secure Li Household Hollow as a private residence; after warning Duanmu Ren about his armed escort, Li Chengxuan vanished.

• Li Chengxuan asked Duanmu Ren why he did not want to cultivate immortality, and Duanmu Ren explained that he feared the dangers and did not want to abandon his successful life.
• Duanmu Ren compared Li Chengxuan's offer to his classmates' invitation to go abroad, saying he had refused that opportunity when he had little and was even less willing to leave now that he held power.
• Li Chengxuan accepted Duanmu Ren's refusal, while Duanmu Ren offered to find three qualified disciples as an apology.
• Duanmu Ren offered help with mundane matters and suggested growing medicinal herbs, but Li Chengxuan said the world lacked Spiritual Qi and asked him to close off Li Household Hollow instead.
• Li Chengxuan warned Duanmu Ren that his armed escort could not stop him, then disappeared from sight.

Li Jiabao learned that the county planned to hand him a lucrative tourism-resort project, but wanted to ask Li Chengxuan before agreeing. At Supreme Mystery Mountain, Hua Chunning reported that Liu Zhijian had made a name for himself helping disaster victims and began to brief Li Chengxuan on the Azure Cloud Sect and the new method.

• Liu Lidan urged Li Jiabao to use his connection with Hu Shihao to get her brother a safe job at the mine, but Li Jiabao refused.
• Hu Shihao told Li Jiabao that the county planned a resort in the subsidence zone and wanted him to take over the project using loans and subsidies.
• Li Jiabao was stunned by the offer and said he needed to consult Li Chengxuan.
• Hua Chunning told Li Chengxuan that Liu Zhijian had settled at Wild Goose Pond Mountain and was gathering disaster victims with a body-tempering cultivator and a hunchbacked elder.
• Hua Chunning began reporting what she had learned about the Azure Cloud Sect and the new method, and Li Chengxuan turned solemn.

Hua Chunning told Li Chengxuan about the Azure Cloud Sect and the new cultivation method, including its reliance on Spirit Roots. After promising her a chance to overcome her weak aptitude, Li Chengxuan considered sending her to Earth to strengthen her [Yi Wood] aspect.

• Hua Chunning explained that the Azure Cloud Sect had fled the Central Continent after its cultivators were killed and its territory lost.
• She described the new method’s Spirit Root requirements and said people of the Southern Edge Continent lacked Spirit Roots, though the Azure Cloud Sect offered a limited body-refining path.
• Li Chengxuan told Hua Chunning he would give her a fortuitous opportunity in one month, and she gratefully pledged herself to the sect.
• Li Chengxuan considered sending Hua Chunning to Earth as his agent and testing whether her [Yi Wood] aspect could be strengthened there before she returned to cultivate.

Li Chengxuan discovered that helping people on Earth increased his cultivation through Manifestation and Merit, then studied how these gains related to Immortal Foundations. He made Hua Chunning a Registered Disciple and brought her through the Two Worlds Pearl to a hidden Grotto-Heaven.

• Li Chengxuan sensed his cultivation increase at the construction site and suspected that his influence on people's fates was generating Manifestation and Merit.
• After villagers arrived seeking work, Li Chengxuan ordered them called back and arranged jobs for farmers who had lost their land, causing his cultivation to rise again.
• Li Chengxuan asked Secretary Bai to find more local workers and said Hua Chunning would soon take charge of the project's practical matters.
• Li Chengxuan consulted ancient texts and learned that Manifestations and Merit from the same Dao lineage could coexist, but those from different lineages could be fatal.
• Li Chengxuan accepted Hua Chunning as a Registered Disciple, linked her soul to the Two Worlds Pearl, and warned her to keep a hidden resource secret.
• Li Chengxuan transported Hua Chunning through the Two Worlds Pearl, and she recognized the unfamiliar place as a Grotto-Heaven.