Chapter Summaries

Li Chengxuan witnessed Du Qing attain the Clear Water Fruition and establish a new talisman inheritance, then was sent by the Heavenly Dao to Primordial Chaos Temple to uncover the roots of the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Talisman. The chapter ended with the old Daoist priest asking why Li Chengxuan seemed unimpressed by the temple’s inheritance.

• Li Chengxuan watched Du Qing refine Clear Water’s golden nature, attain the Dao, and become the Azure Primordial Cloud Talisman True Lord.
• Du Qing declared the Clear Water Fruition complete and made the Azure Primordial Cloud Talisman Scripture available to cultivators throughout the world.
• Li Chengxuan copied the scripture from a mountain cliff, intending to give it to a young member of the Du Household, but departed when Du Qing sensed someone’s presence.
• Li Chengxuan arrived at Primordial Chaos Temple and listened as an old Daoist priest taught young acolytes about the origin of heavenly script.
• Li Chengxuan realized Primordial Chaos Temple held the inheritance behind the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Talisman, but judged its practice too primitive to be useful.
• The old Daoist priest noticed Li Chengxuan’s doubts and asked why he was unimpressed by the temple’s inheritance.

Li Chengxuan returned from the underground palace with ancient talisman scriptures bestowed by a mysterious Daoist and used his knowledge to lecture on talismans in Danzhou City. As the lecture brought forth Clear Water’s Manifestation and completed his Merit, he established his Immortal Foundation, formed the Grotto Mystery Book, and departed on an azure cloud.

• Li Chengxuan discovered that a mysterious old Daoist had added ancient talisman scriptures to his book and completed a thunder talisman for him.
• Li Chengxuan realized his theory of continuing the lost teachings of sages past had brought him to the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
• Du Qingquan warned Li Chengxuan that Rogue Cultivators had gathered outside the city lord’s residence, hoping to seize rumored opportunities.
• Li Chengxuan began lecturing on talisman methods instead of confronting the Rogue Cultivators, explaining the origins of cloud seal script and Clear Water’s legacy.
• Clear Water’s Manifestation restored spirit springs throughout Danzhou City, and Li Chengxuan’s Merit completed his Immortal Foundation in the form of a book.
• Li Chengxuan renamed his lifebound Law Artifact the Grotto Mystery Book, sent awakening rain over Danzhou City, and departed on an azure cloud.

Li Chengxuan returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain after reaching Foundation Establishment with a newly awakened blue-green cloud following him. After naming it Li Qingyun and allowing Jiang Xiaoyu to play with it, he emerged from seclusion and learned that Deacon Xue of the Immortal Alliance had arrived.

• Hu Yueqiu hurried to protect Jiang Xiaoyu when a blue-green cloud approached, but recognized Li Chengxuan when he arrived and congratulated him on reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Li Chengxuan found himself barred from the Patriarch Hall, so he placed Hunyuanzi's discourse in the scripture library and hung the Heavenly Script Thunder Talisman above its entrance before entering.
• Li Chengxuan checked the cloud against the patriarch's portrait and named it Li Qingyun, then told it to leave him to cultivate.
• Jiang Xiaoyu played with Li Qingyun outside the Patriarch Hall, and the cloud formed a chubby arm for her to hold.
• After stabilizing his realm in seclusion, Li Chengxuan emerged and Hu Yueqiu told him that Deacon Xue of the Immortal Alliance was waiting in the General Affairs Hall.

Xue Yang brought Li Chengxuan an Immortal Alliance elder appointment and asked him to guide the alliance households’ younger cultivators, but Li Chengxuan refused both requests to keep Supreme Mystery Mountain from attracting more attention. After Hua Chunning advanced her cultivation and Duanmu Ren took an interest in Li Qingyun, Hu Yueqiu reported that Liu Zhijian had shaken loose another secret realm at Mirror Moon Lake.

• Xue Yang presented Li Chengxuan with a token appointing him as the Immortal Alliance’s teachings elder, but Li Chengxuan refused to take up the post.
• Xue Yang asked Li Chengxuan to guide the Immortal Alliance households’ younger members, and Li Chengxuan declined; Hu Yueqiu affirmed that Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain had treated her kindly.
• Li Chengxuan continued stabilizing his Foundation Establishment realm, while Hua Chunning emerged from seclusion after advancing to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.
• Duanmu Ren wondered whether Li Qingyun had been born from Li Chengxuan’s communion with heaven and earth, then tried to befriend the children.
• Hu Yueqiu reported that Liu Zhijian had appeared at Mirror Moon Lake and shaken loose another secret realm.

After Liu Zhijian shook the water manor of Mirror Moon Lake out of the lakebed, Xue Yang explained that the dragonkind had sent aquatic demons and Devil Cultivators to claim it. Hua Chunning was asked to bring Hu Yueqiu and her [Fu Water] to open the manor, while Liu Zhijian remained at the lake, unharmed and fishing as the opposing sides waited.

• Li Chengxuan told Supreme Mystery Mountain's disciples they could pursue the opportunity at Mirror Moon Lake, but Hua Chunning, Duanmu Ren, and Hu Yueqiu chose to stay and cultivate.
• Xue Yang returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain and told Hua Chunning that Liu Zhijian's use of [Kan] to aid [Fu] had washed the former lake god's water manor out of the lakebed.
• Xue Yang explained that the dragonkind claimed the lake god had stolen a supreme treasure and had sent aquatic demons and Devil Cultivators to Mirror Moon Lake.
• Xue Yang asked Hua Chunning to have Hu Yueqiu use [Fu Water] to open the manor and end the standoff, and Hua Chunning went to ask her master for permission.
• At Mirror Moon Lake, Liu Zhijian remained uninjured and fished while Immortal Alliance cultivators and Rogue Cultivators followed his lead and the sea demons avoided a fight.
• Liu Zhijian watched the underwater manor, which appeared as a huge, green-fuzz-covered snail shell, after several Rogue Cultivators died trying to investigate it.

Hu Yueqiu reunited with Liu Zhijian and joined Xue Yang’s meeting about the Mirror Moon Lake secret realm. After warning the cultivators about its Divine Dao dangers and the enemies guarding it, Xue Yang took Hu Yueqiu to inspect the realm and seek a way to open it.

• Hu Yueqiu brought Liu Zhijian a letter from Xiao Yu'er and joined him at the Immortal Alliance meeting.
• Xue Yang explained that the lake god had abandoned its body to cultivate the Divine Dao and warned that its turbid Qi could ruin an immortal cultivator’s Dao Path.
• Xue Yang said the Xue Household would support the expedition from outside the secret realm, while the other cultivators could compete for its opportunities.
• Xue Yang warned the cultivators about three Perfected Qi Refining Confluence Water monsters and Old Method Devil Cultivators who wielded Blood, Sha, Xi, and Sui Qi.
• Xue Yang asked Hu Yueqiu how to open the secret realm, then took him to examine it after Hu Yueqiu said he had not yet seen it.

Hu Yueqiu realized Mirror Moon Lake’s secret realm was connected to the Divine Dao and used the moonlit lake to seek entry. After extinguishing the surrounding lights, Hu Yueqiu vanished at the lakebed beneath the moon, leaving the others uncertain what had happened.

• Hu Yueqiu sensed that the conch-shell residence beneath Mirror Moon Lake was an illusion and decided to return after nightfall.
• Dongfang Qingyin introduced herself to Hu Yueqiu, explained her lineage’s [Xin Metal] cultivation, and shared her theory that the lake residence reflected the Great Void.
• Hu Yueqiu rejected Dongfang Qingyin’s theory and concluded that the secret realm’s key lay in the Divine Dao.
• At night, Hu Yueqiu asked Xue Yang to put out the lights around the lake, leaving only the moon to illuminate it.
• Hu Yueqiu entered the lake, ignored the illusory conch shell, bowed to the moon at the lakebed, and vanished.

Hu Yueqiu discovered that the Mirror Moon Lake secret realm was a Divine Dao residence in the [Yin World] and found a way to enter it through moon worship and Cloud Seal Script divine talismans. Three nights later, Dongfang Qingyin and a long-whiskered demon entered with her, each recognizing an object they had come to find.

• Hu Yueqiu examined the lake god's residence, concluded that it belonged to the Divine Dao and the [Yin World], and used her [Greater Yin] image to return to Mirror Moon Lake.
• Hu Yueqiu revealed that the residence could be reached by sending out a Yin Spirit or by using Cloud Seal Script divine talismans to perform the moon-worshipping rite.
• Xue Yang chose the talisman method, and three nights later the cultivators and demons gathered at Mirror Moon Lake with the required talismans and offerings.
• Hu Yueqiu entered the lake and worshipped the moon, followed by Dongfang Qingyin and a long-whiskered demon, who used their talismans to reach the residence.
• Dongfang Qingyin recognized the osmanthus tree as her family's inherited Law Artifact, while the long-whiskered demon identified the [Confluence Water] precious orb as the object His Highness wanted.

Dongfang Qingyin and the demons failed to remove the spiritual treasures anchoring the hidden cave abode, so more cultivators and demons gathered to claim its riches. Blood Young Master revealed that killing people could draw the cave back into the present world, and General Xie and Blood Young Master began targeting the cultivators, with Hu Yueqiu facing Blood Young Master’s attack.

• Dongfang Qingyin summoned a Treasure Earth cultivator to assess the osmanthus tree Law Artifact, while Lord Longwhiskers called General Xie to help retrieve the [Confluence Water] jewel.
• After failing to move the treasures, the demons summoned reinforcements, and Dongfang Qingyin let more cultivators and demons enter the cave abode.
• An Immortal Alliance cultivator killed a Rogue Cultivator over a moon-patterned mirror, but a battered middle-aged cultivator killed the attacker with a bronze short spear and took the mirror.
• Blood Young Master explained that killing cultivators could use entangled karma to bring the cave abode back into the present world, and Lord Longwhiskers ordered General Xie to test the idea.
• General Xie revealed his great green crab form and killed several Rogue Cultivators, confirming that the cave abode responded to the deaths.
• General Xie charged at Dongfang Qingyin’s group, while Blood Young Master chose Hu Yueqiu as his target and lunged at her.

Hu Yueqiu slew Blood Young Master with a thunderous sword strike as the cave abode fell from the Yin World toward the mortal world. Daoist Lightless then seized the moonlight from the laurel tree, leaving his identity and intentions mysterious.

• Hu Yueqiu saw through Blood Young Master's deception, wounded him, and later killed him with a lightning-charged sword strike.
• Dongfang Qingyin pinned the crab monster's joints with needles, then fought Lord Longwhiskers when he came to its aid.
• The cave abode began falling toward the mortal world, and the old [Treasure Earth] cultivator explained that they were passing between the realms of yin and yang.
• Daoist Lightless blinded Lord Longwhiskers and drained the light from the [Confluence Water] pearl before approaching the laurel tree.
• Dongfang Qingyin asked Cultivator He to drive Lightless away, but Lightless extinguished his candle and drew the moonlight from the laurel tree.

Liu Zhijian protected the Rogue Cultivators and defeated the gray-horned whale monster by using the Old Man by the Stream to seize his thoughts. Heba Yansi recognized Liu Zhijian as the opportunity he needed for Foundation Establishment and prepared to fight him.

• The gray-horned whale monster led the monsters in attacking the Rogue Cultivators, who fled behind Liu Zhijian for protection.
• Liu Zhijian hooked the whale monster with his fishing line, while Heba Yansi tried to join the fight and Xue Yang blocked him.
• Liu Zhijian sensed the whale monster's thoughts through the line and used pain to disrupt his struggles.
• Liu Zhijian drew the whale monster to shore and killed him with the Golden Bamboo Thunder Sword, prompting the Rogue Cultivators and Immortal Alliance cultivators to counterattack.
• Heba Yansi drove Xue Yang back and decided that killing Liu Zhijian and seizing his fortune would let him achieve Foundation Establishment.

Liu Zhijian fought Heba Yansi at Mirror Moon Lake, where Heba’s Sha Qi techniques left him badly wounded. A sudden True Fire awakened in Liu Zhijian’s fishing rod, allowing him to defeat Heba and gather the destiny needed for Foundation Establishment.

• Heba Yansi mocked Liu Zhijian’s ignorance of Supreme Mystery Mountain’s inheritance, then used his Sha Qi body to survive Liu’s hook and restore himself.
• Heba Yansi linked their Qi signatures and used the [Punishment and Prison's Hundred Crimes and Thousand Tortures Method] on himself, making wounds appear on Liu Zhijian.
• As Heba gained the upper hand, sparks from Liu Zhijian’s fishing rod ignited into [True Fire], which burned away Sha Qi and prevented Heba from healing.
• Liu Zhijian struck Heba Yansi with the flaming rod until Heba’s body dispersed into Sha Qi, then sensed destiny gathering and realized Foundation Establishment was near.
• Three figures above the coastal sea celebrated Liu Zhijian’s impending breakthrough and said their strand of [Kan Water] had matured.

The dragon prince and two Devil Cultivators celebrated their plot against Supreme Mystery Mountain, expecting Liu Zhijian’s Sha-taint to bring the sect down. At Mirror Moon Lake, High Person Shouyan arrived and invited Liu Zhijian and Hu Yueqiu to Flame Mountain to overcome their coming tribulations.

• The dragon prince, Daoist Blood, and the Heba family head discussed the deaths of their subordinates and their plan to bring Supreme Mystery Mountain to ruin.
• The dragon prince said Liu Zhijian’s Sha-taint would help destroy the sect, while Daoist Blood warned that Li Chengxuan and the mountain’s deep foundations might thwart them.
• The dragon prince spotted a blaze heading toward Mirror Moon Lake, and Daoist Blood recognized it as High Person Shouyan of Flame Mountain.
• High Person Shouyan arrived at Mirror Moon Lake and questioned Liu Zhijian about declining the opportunity to establish his Foundation.
• High Person Shouyan warned Liu Zhijian and Hu Yueqiu that Sha and blood would obstruct their Dao, then invited them to Flame Mountain to slay demons and turn tribulation into merit.

Li Chengxuan heard Liu Zhijian and Hu Yueqiu’s reports from Mirror Moon Lake, advised them to avoid the dangerous Flame Mountain mission, and promised to send them to the Grotto-Heaven to clear their lingering Blood Qi and Sha Qi. Hu Yueqiu spent the evening with Jiang Xiaoyu and Li Qingyun, while a tiny blue snail emerged from the pond to absorb moonlight.

• Li Chengxuan explained the True Fire Dao lineage’s history and why High Person Shouyan had invited Liu Zhijian and Hu Yueqiu to help defend Flame Mountain from demon kingdoms, but advised them to stay and cultivate.
• Hu Yueqiu reported the spoils and dangers at Mirror Moon Lake, including the Confluence Water orb, the jade osmanthus tree, Daoist Lightless, and the conch shell she left submerged; Li Chengxuan approved her choices and warned them about the Yin World and divine Dao.
• Liu Zhijian admitted that Sha Qi clung to him and vowed to avoid trouble, while Li Chengxuan said he would send both disciples to the Grotto-Heaven to cleanse their Qi.
• Jiang Xiaoyu worried that Liu Zhijian was going to have a baby as he entered secluded cultivation, then happily showed Hu Yueqiu Li Qingyun and received a jade box of live fish, shells, and aquatic plants from Mirror Moon Lake.
• Hu Yueqiu helped Jiang Xiaoyu make a pond for the fish, and the girl imagined her master fishing there; later, a tiny blue snail crawled out and breathed in the moonlight.

Hu Shihao visited Li Jiabao at the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and told him about a fugitive who had killed the Zhao Household in revenge for his parents. Li Jiabao ordered Hu Shihao to find out where the fugitive was, leaving Hu Shihao convinced the courtyard was a terrorist organization’s base.

• Hu Shihao hurried through the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and was terrified by the fisherman and Sword Immortal Junior Sister.
• Hu Shihao saw Duanmu Ren speak with Li Jiabao and noticed Duanmu Ren treated Li Jiabao with respect.
• Li Jiabao asked Hu Shihao about recent news in the county, and Hu Shihao described the Zhao Household massacre.
• Hu Shihao explained that the killer was a former army scout who might still be hiding in Stone Ridge or have gone to Frontier Province.
• Li Jiabao ordered Hu Shihao to ask around for the fugitive’s whereabouts, and Hu Shihao concluded that the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard was a terrorist organization’s base.

Li Jiabao drove to a remote town to find a young man hiding after his parents’ deaths, then recruited him as a day laborer and brought him back with other workers. At a highway checkpoint, police began checking the crowded van’s passengers.

• Li Jiabao offered to donate five hundred thousand yuan to the county bureau and drove through its overloading checkpoint without an inspection.
• A veteran officer explained that Li Jiabao had stopped handing out money after people exploited his charity and officials called him in for talks.
• Li Jiabao searched an abandoned middle school where the young man had once stayed and found him hiding in the teachers’ dormitory.
• Li Jiabao invited the young man to join his day-labor crew, then gathered other workers and drove them back toward the county.
• At the checkpoint, the veteran officer praised Li Jiabao’s haul, but a young officer insisted that the passengers get out for identity checks.

At the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard, Li Chengxuan interviewed Fang Qi and used the Qi Observation Technique to assess his Manifestation. He declared that Fang Qi’s experiences and nature corresponded to the true virtue of metal.

• An older police officer explained to a young officer why he had let Boss Li’s van pass, arguing that the young officer’s principles depended on who he was dealing with.
• Li Jiabao assigned the new arrivals jobs around the Sub-Courtyard and led Fang Qi to the great hall for an interview.
• Liu Zhijian asked Fang Qi whether he could fish, then complained that the Sha Qi had ruined his fishing.
• Hu Yueqiu asked Fang Qi whether he knew swordsmanship, and Fang Qi said that he did not.
• Li Chengxuan arrived, examined Fang Qi’s Manifestation, and said it embodied the true virtue of metal.

Fang Qi joined Supreme Mystery Mountain as a Registered Disciple after Li Chengxuan rescued him and recognized his Dui Metal Manifestation. Li Chengxuan entrusted Duanmu Ren with teaching Fang Qi to cultivate before entering seclusion to address the chaos in the Southern Reach.

• Li Chengxuan invited Fang Qi to join Supreme Mystery Mountain, and Fang Qi accepted, paid respects to the Ancestral Master, and became a Registered Disciple.
• Li Chengxuan saw that the Ancestral Master’s portrait had gained a golden-white light, which signaled approval of Fang Qi’s Dui Metal Manifestation.
• Li Chengxuan met Duanmu Ren on Earth, praised his role in bringing Fang Qi to the sect, and asked him to guide Fang Qi into Qi Ingestion while he went into seclusion.
• Li Chengxuan gave Duanmu Ren a Grand Mysterious Token that allowed him to travel between the Grotto-Heaven and the sect five times.
• Duanmu Ren met Fang Qi at the Administrative Hall, heard his understanding of cultivation and Dui Metal, and began explaining the metal virtue and Dao tradition.

Duanmu Ren taught Fang Qi the five aspects of Metal and the principles of the [Dui Metal] Dao lineage, then explained how the sect’s disciples chose their paths toward Foundation Establishment. Fang Qi chose a dangerous method to open his meridians and began it by drawing sharp Metal Qi through his wounded palm, enduring the pain as he remembered his parents’ deaths.

• Duanmu Ren explained the five aspects of Metal and taught Fang Qi that [Dui Metal] required impartial judgment, restraint, and discernment.
• Duanmu Ren reassured Fang Qi that his revenge was a necessary supplement to a law that had failed to protect him, then described the Dao paths of several senior disciples and his own.
• At the library, Fang Qi chose the lethal [Geng White Sharp and Fierce Meridian Charging Method] despite Duanmu Ren’s attempts to dissuade him.
• Fang Qi used a broken steel longsword and his blood to draw out sharp Metal Qi, forcing it through his hand greater yin lung meridian and opening four acupoints.
• Fang Qi laughed through the pain and recalled the years of heartache caused by watching his parents be beaten to death and being powerless to save them.