Chapter Summaries

Zilin confronted Muya after he probed Golden Ao Mountain's formation, and the other Jade Pure One lineage Dao children joined her in driving him off. Su Yao emerged from seclusion, wounded Muya with a sword strike, and reunited with Zilin by calling her Ji Yunheng.

• Zilin sensed someone probing Golden Ao Mountain's Soul-Losing Radiant Fire Formation and went into the Great Void to confront the intruder.
• Muya attacked Zilin, and she used Fragrance Condenses Purple and Borrow Light to fight him despite her unstable foundation.
• Ying Qi, Xuan Yan, and Mo Li arrived and joined Zilin in forcing Muya to retreat.
• Muya used a corrosive Hazy Clouds technique to escape, but Su Yao struck him with Sword Intent, and Muya fled using a talisman.
• Su Yao emerged from seclusion and called Zilin Ji Yunheng; they exchanged quiet greetings after a long separation.

Zilin entertained Su Yao and the others at a moonlit gathering with paper spirits, dancers, music, and wine made through Purple Qi. Su Yao then recalled how nearly thirty years had passed since their last gathering, leaving Yang Xiu still in seclusion and Azure Jade absent.

• Zilin used Purple Qi to create paper dancers, instruments, and a wine-serving attendant, impressing Mo Li and Ying Qi.
• Su Yao explained that the paper wine temporarily gained the qualities of real wine before dissipating, and Xuan Yan urged everyone to enjoy it while it lasted.
• After several rounds of wine, Su Yao quieted the gathering and asked when they had last shared a table.
• Xuan Yan recalled that they had gathered before the True Lord's reincarnated self reincarnated, then listed the friends' breakthroughs and returns from seclusion.
• Xuan Yan said Yang Xiu remained in seclusion and Azure Jade was best left unmentioned, while Su Yao toasted their thirty glorious years and the swift passage of time.

Su Yao explained Yang Xiu’s absence and the danger posed by demons from Longchuan Heaven, before an overwhelming heavenly pressure silenced the gathering and warned them against speaking further. After the others departed, Su Yao and Zilin shared a tender but unfinished exchange, ending with Zilin fleeing as he tried to confess his feelings.

• Su Yao told Xuan Yan and the others that Yang Xiu had returned to Green Nuo and entered seclusion after receiving a cultivation method.
• Mo Li explained that demons who escaped Longchuan Heaven had been causing trouble in Nanzhao, and Su Yao and the others questioned how they had obtained Spirit Treasures.
• After Mo Li and Ying Qi discussed the Witchcraft Dao, Xuan Yan warned them to mind their words, and a heavenly pressure forced everyone to kneel.
• A mysterious voice said the juniors’ words should not be taken seriously and ordered them to receive Heavenly Thunder after the current matter was settled.
• At dawn, Su Yao and Zilin spoke about his poem and the osmanthus trees he had planted, and Zilin thanked him.
• Su Yao called Zilin Ji Yunheng and began to confess that he had planted the trees hoping she would be there, but she hurried away before he could finish, leaving him bewildered.

On Qingnuo Mountain, Yang Xiu wondered whether Zilin had succeeded in her breakthrough on Golden Ao Mountain and whether Su had left seclusion. He told Xu Mo that Su and Zilin had long cared for each other but neither had been willing to express it, leaving their relationship unresolved.

• Yang Xiu stood on Qingnuo Mountain after successfully cultivating the Mysterious Heaven True Martial Divine Sha Dharma Body while Xu Mo watched in silence.
• Yang Xiu asked Xu Mo what Golden Ao Mountain was like and whether Zilin had succeeded.
• Xu Mo explained Zilin’s lineage and cultivation, then judged that she had a ninety-nine percent chance of succeeding.
• Yang Xiu wondered whether Brother Su had emerged from seclusion and recalled that Zilin had feelings for him.
• Yang Xiu told Xu Mo that Su and Zilin had avoided speaking openly about their feelings, with Zilin fearing it would cloud her Dao heart and Su fearing attachment.

Yang Xiu confessed that shame over cultivating Divine True Qi kept him from visiting his friends on Golden Ao Mountain, even though he knew they would not blame him. He remained unable to forgive himself and left to cultivate another Profound Qi Divine Ability, asking Xu Mo to congratulate Zilin for him.

• Yang Xiu imagined how Su Yao and Zilin would avoid speaking openly about their feelings, then wondered aloud about the celebration taking place on Golden Ao Mountain after Zilin's breakthrough.
• Yang Xiu told Xu Mo that he felt unworthy of visiting his friends because he had cultivated a Divine True Dharma Body and carried both Profound Qi and Divine Sha.
• Xu Mo urged Yang Xiu to trust that his friends would accept him regardless of his cultivation, but Yang Xiu said their lack of blame only made his guilt harder to bear.
• Yang Xiu admitted he could not forgive himself for feeling he had betrayed the Jade Pure One and the Golden Court by cultivating True Martial Mountain's methods.
• As dawn came, Yang Xiu asked Xu Mo to congratulate Zilin for him and announced he would cultivate the Profound Qi Body Divine Ability, "Karma Enshrouds the Body."
• Yang Xiu vanished from the mountaintop, leaving Xu Mo alone in tears.

Lu Ming and Lu Chang were attacked by Demonic Dao cultivators seeking the Lu Household’s Spirit Artifacts, and Qixia Temple’s cultivators arrived to rescue them. Ren Han struck the enemy leader with Su Yao’s Vermilion Brightness Sword, cracking his blood cauldron and leaving the battle unresolved.

• The Demonic Dao leader demanded that Lu Ming and Lu Chang surrender the Scarlet Jiao Lock and Black Armor Golden Screen, but Lu Ming attacked and urged Lu Chang to escape.
• The enemy cultivators overwhelmed the brothers with their blood spring and pink haze, so Lu Ming used a Purple Mansion talisman to carry them toward Cibi Lake.
• Ren Han, Lu Yuan, Zichuan, Li Xu, Yang Zhao, Lin Shuang, and Xu Qingluo arrived and attacked the Demonic Dao cultivators with frost, rosy light, golden radiance, and flames.
• Ren Han pursued the leader and struck his blood cauldron with Su Yao’s Vermilion Brightness Sword, cracking it and spilling its blood spring.

Ren Han and the others defeated the Blood Qi and Desire Devil cultivators at White Sand Mountain, while Zilin negotiated with their blood-robed ally over the damaged Spirit Artifact. Zilin and Ying Qi then headed to Cibi Lake to watch over Su's disciple.

• Ren Han and the others killed the blood-robed figures and the two women in pink after sealing off their escape routes.
• Zilin gave the seven fighters pills to purge lingering devil energy and sent them after the two Lu Household brothers with a Subterranean Water Talisman.
• Zilin recovered the damaged Myriad Blood Cauldron and the Mind-Bewitching Mirror, then faced the blood-robed man when he demanded extra payment.
• Zilin refused to pay more and threatened to fight, so the blood-robed man departed with the two Spirit Artifacts.
• Zilin told Ying Qi that she had chosen the lesser evil by cooperating with the Demonic Dao, and they flew toward Cibi Lake to keep watch over Su's disciple.

After escaping the Devil Cultivators, Lu Ming and Lu Chang headed for Cibi Lake to seek the lake god’s protection. Ren Han and the Qixia Temple disciples intercepted them to report that the attackers had been killed on the temple master's orders, then departed for Cibi Lake.

• Lu Chang helped the badly injured Lu Ming reach a hidden cave, where the brothers took pills and recovered enough to travel.
• Lu Ming decided they should go to Cibi Lake because they had nowhere else to seek shelter.
• The brothers used their last Subterranean Water Talisman to travel through a stream toward Cibi Lake.
• Ren Han and six Qixia Temple disciples appeared in the reeds and stopped the brothers.
• Ren Han explained that the temple master had forbidden Purple Mansion cultivators from attacking the Lu Household near White Sand Mountain and had ordered the attackers killed.
• Ren Han and the others left for Cibi Lake, while Lu Ming and Lu Chang remained behind in silence.

Lu Ming and Lu Chang returned to Cibi Lake on Ao Xiao’s back after he explained their choices and warned them about Qixia Temple’s uncertain motives. In the Great Void, Zilin and Ying Qi connected their return to the coming opening of the Purple-Blue Secret Realm.

• Lu Ming decided that he and Lu Chang should go to Cibi Lake after surviving the encounter with Qixia Temple’s disciples.
• Ao Xiao appeared, offered to take them to the Water Manor, and explained that Qixia Temple had not promised to protect them even though it had saved them.
• Ao Xiao gave the brothers three choices and advised them to return to the Water Manor for now, warning them not to cling to White Sand Mountain at the cost of their lives.
• Lu Ming and Lu Chang rode on Ao Xiao’s back into the Water Manor’s secret realm, and Ao Xiao said Qixia Temple might want something from them.
• Zilin told Ying Qi that Wu Nuo’s descendants returning to Cibi Lake signaled that the Purple-Blue Secret Realm was about to open.

Ying Qi and Zilin discussed the three treasures in the Purple-Blue Secret Realm and the plan to use the Lu Household boys and Ao Xiao to open it. Yang Nan reported that the boys were progressing faster than expected and confirmed that they had not detected the observers.

• Ying Qi explained that the dormant Witch Talisman metal nature and the Spirit Witch Summoning and Response Chapter were among the secret realm’s prizes, while Zilin added the Five Laws flood dragon essence.
• Zilin and Ying Qi reviewed how the Witch Hall, the Nanzhao royal family, and the Dragon Palace of the South Sea had already claimed the three treasures, while their own parties sought other spiritual objects and the secret realm.
• Zilin described the plan to help the two Lu Household boys advance, trigger a hidden measure that would kill them, and make Ao Xiao sacrifice himself to open the Purple-Blue Secret Realm.
• Yang Nan emerged from the water manor and reported that Ao Xiao had sent the two Lu Household boys into the Qi Descending Pool, where their cultivation was rising rapidly.
• Yang Nan assured Zilin that the boys had not noticed them because Ni Polu concealed their presence with a Subterranean Water Spirit Treasure.

Ying Qi and Zilin discussed Ao Xiao’s restraint, Su Yao’s seclusion, and the dwindling restriction holding back the Proclaiming Earth upheaval. Zilin deciphered a cryptic play’s final lines as a warning from the Mysterious Gate’s higher-ups, then revealed that Su Yao was cultivating Color Pierces the Thoroughfare.

• Yang Nan assured Zilin that Li Chaoxue’s golden circlet kept Ao Xiao obedient, then went to guard the Water Palace Secret Realm.
• Zilin told Ying Qi that Su Yao had entered seclusion to cultivate a second Divine Ability after killing two Purple Mansion Early Stage beings from Longchuan Heaven.
• Ying Qi reported that the Proclaiming Earth Qi was growing denser and that only a trace of the ruler’s Subterranean Water Restriction remained.
• Ying Qi relayed the final lines of Autumn in the Old Court, which the ruler and other leaders had watched in Nanzhao’s royal city.
• Zilin interpreted the lines as a possible message from the Mysterious Gate’s higher-ups and questioned why they knew the play’s words despite not attending.
• Zilin told Ying Qi that Su Yao was cultivating the Rainbow Clouds Technique Divine Ability Color Pierces the Thoroughfare.

Ying Qi explained the origins and power of Color Pierces the Thoroughfare to Zilin, who lamented how slowly she was developing her first Divine Ability compared with Su and Yang. Their discussion of Law Bodies prompted Ying Qi to offer Zilin a suggestion, leaving her curious about what he had in mind.

• Ying Qi described how Color Pierces the Thoroughfare combined the Rainbow Clouds path with Bright Yang heavenly light intent and explained its ability to penetrate defenses and spread myriad attacks.
• Zilin said she had spent twenty-five years cultivating since reaching the Purple Mansion but had completed only thirty percent of her first Divine Ability.
• Ying Qi compared Zilin and his own progress with Yang's naturally complete Fate Divine Ability and Su's progress, saying their current pace was still encouraging.
• Zilin noted that Su and Yang had also cultivated True Qi path Law Bodies while she and Ying Qi had only begun learning theirs.
• After Zilin remarked that only a few paths could rival the Mystic Body path, Ying Qi said he had a suggestion for her, and she asked what it was.

Ying Qi tried to persuade Zilin to consider Su Yao as a dao companion, but Su Yao emerged from seclusion and startled them both. He demonstrated his newly mastered Divine Ability, Color Pierces the Thoroughfare, leaving Zilin watching him in silence.

• Ying Qi suggested that Zilin and Su Yao might become dao companions, and Zilin asked him not to raise the matter again.
• Zilin and Ying Qi discussed the approaching opening of the Purple-Blue Secret Realm and worried that Su Yao might still be in seclusion.
• Su Yao appeared, stopped a Sword Intent inches from Ying Qi's forehead, and said it was thanks for his kind intentions.
• Ying Qi asked whether Su Yao had mastered his second Divine Ability, and Su Yao confirmed that he had.
• Su Yao demonstrated Color Pierces the Thoroughfare, illuminating and ordering the spiritual essence across the Great Void, while Ying Qi and Zilin watched in awe.

Su Yao, Zilin, and Ying Qi set out for the Water Palace Secret Realm, but a demonic force emerged near the two rivers and drew them north to aid Yang Xiu and his allies. Yang Xiu led his outnumbered group into the Great Void to stall the attackers while awaiting reinforcements.

• Zilin reported that preparations for the Purple-Blue Secret Realm were nearly complete, and Su Yao proposed they inspect the Water Palace Secret Realm.
• A pillar of Proclaiming Earth light rose in the north, and Ying Qi received Yang Xiu's warning that several demons, including at least two at Purple Mansion Middle Stage, were approaching.
• Su Yao summoned Lü Yu to guard Cibi Lake, then led Zilin and Ying Qi toward the confluence.
• Yang Xiu and his five companions faced eleven demons led by a red-robed man whose cultivation surpassed Yang Xiu's.
• Yang Xiu led his allies into the Great Void and instructed them to defend and stall until Zilin and Ying Qi arrived.

Yang Xiu and his allies confronted the man in red and his followers in the Great Void, where the man in red’s Li Fire and allies’ Divine Abilities put them under pressure. Yang Xiu split up the three-man formation to protect the Nanzhao cultivators while he held off the man in red, the white-clad man, and the woman in yellow-green.

• The man in red led Yang Xiu and the ten figures behind him into the Great Void, where both sides formed up for battle.
• Yang Xiu used his golden bell and calamity lightning to resist the man in red’s Li Fire, but the man in red summoned Recounting the Sight of the Sun and cut Yang Xiu off from the surrounding spiritual essence.
• The man in white attacked Mo Li with Resounding White Sound, while the short, plump woman used Hidden Scripture Pavilion against Xuan Yan.
• Eight Purple Mansion Demon Cultivators surrounded the three local Nanzhao Purple Mansion cultivators, and one of the Nanzhao cultivators suffered a severe wound.
• Yang Xiu ordered Mo Li and Xuan Yan to aid the Nanzhao cultivators and keep the eight attackers from forming a formation, while he stayed behind to face the three opponents.

Yang Xiu fought the man in red, the man in white, and the short, stout woman alone in the Great Void, using Karma Enshrouds the Body to bind their attacks before they broke through his defenses. As purple and five-colored lights arrived to aid him, the man in red prepared to face them too, and the way to Dragon Abyss remained blocked.

• Yang Xiu summoned a calamity shield and used Karma Enshrouds the Body to entangle the three opponents’ attacks and spiritual vitality.
• The man in red escaped a calamity lightning pillar with Coiling Flame Body, then used Sweep Away Remaining Ashes to cut apart Yang Xiu’s karmic chains.
• The man in white pierced a gap in Yang Xiu’s shield while the short, stout woman concealed the Profound Qi on his right flank.
• The three opponents attacked together, and the man in red’s sword strike shattered Yang Xiu’s barrier and sent him reeling with black blood at his mouth.
• Purple and five-colored flight lights approached, and the man in red readied his crimson sword as he vowed to take on everyone who came.

Zilin and Ying Qi joined the battle, with Ying Qi helping Mo Li, Xuan Yan, and the Nanzhao cultivators while Zilin teamed up with Yang Xiu against the three enemy Spirit Treasures. Zilin and Yang Xiu were gradually worn down by the combined assault, but Yang Xiu spotted a plain-robed figure appearing in the Great Void.

• Zilin arrived at the main battlefield and attacked the man in red while Ying Qi went to support Mo Li, Xuan Yan, and the three Nanzhao Purple Mansion cultivators.
• Zilin used Fragrance Condenses Purple and the Purple Gauze Umbrella to withstand the man in red's Li Fire and the attacks of the Gold-Splitting Seal and Scripture-Containing Scroll.
• Yang Xiu used the Golden Armor Robe to reform the man in red's sword attack, then struck him with the Great Yang Killing Light summoned through Calamity Befalls Fate.
• The man in red, the man in white, and the short, stout woman activated their Spirit Treasures together and gradually depleted Zilin and Yang Xiu's strength.
• As Zilin asked how much longer they could hold on, Yang Xiu saw a plain-robed figure appear in the depths of the Great Void.

Su Yao arrived to aid Yang Xiu and fought the red-robed Purple Mansion cultivator, wounding him with Color Pierces the Thoroughfare and the Autumn Steed Sword. A mysterious True Lord’s reincarnated body stopped Su Yao from pursuing the fleeing enemies, and the group returned to Qingnuo to discuss Proclaiming Earth.

• Su Yao emerged from the Great Void and damaged the white-robed man’s Gold-Splitting Seal and the short, plump woman’s Scripture-Containing Scroll with his swords.
• Su Yao assigned Yang Xiu to fight the white-robed man and the short, plump woman, sent Zilin to aid the others against the eight Demon Cultivators, and confronted the red-robed man himself.
• Su Yao used Color Pierces the Thoroughfare to cut through the red-robed man’s sea of fire, then wounded him with the Autumn Steed Sword.
• A blurry figure wielding Wu Earth radiance blocked Su Yao’s killing strike and pursuit, allowing the red-robed man and his allies to escape.
• Su Yao identified the blurry figure as a True Lord’s reincarnated body, gave Zilin a pill for her injuries, and led the group back to Qingnuo to consult the honored ones about Proclaiming Earth.

On Golden Ao Mountain, Su Yao and Zilin discussed Yang Xiu’s guarded behavior in their recent battle and the True Qi Dharma Body he had cultivated. Su Yao accepted that Yang Xiu’s path was his own, while the unanswered questions remained between them.

• As snow fell at the pavilion, Su Yao set down a Go stone and admitted he had lost the game; Zilin offered him fresh tea.
• Su Yao told Zilin he had been thinking about whether Yang Xiu was hiding something from them.
• Zilin recalled Yang Xiu holding back during the battle in the Great Void and said he had told her he cultivated a True Qi Dharma Body by decree of the Supreme True Person.
• Su Yao recalled seeing Yang Xiu’s unfamiliar, Divine Dao-like True Qi at the confluence of the two rivers and described how Yang Xiu had entered seclusion after the Supreme True Person’s decree.
• Zilin said people bearing responsibility for their Dao lineages might keep things unspoken for fear of changing how others saw them, and urged Su Yao to accept Yang Xiu’s chosen path.
• Su Yao placed a white stone on the tengen and agreed that different paths could reach the same source.

Zhang Ziyan attained the Cang Metal Fate Divine Ability, Storehouse Metal, as Cang Metal Qi surged across Golden Ao Mountain. Su Yao and Zilin recognized his success and went to congratulate him, leaving Zhang ready to serve as Qixia Temple’s living vault.

• Cang Metal Qi erupted from Golden Ao Mountain’s back mountain and spread across the sky, stirring the mountain’s spiritual influence.
• Su Yao examined the back mountain and saw the Cang Metal Qi gathering around Zhang Ziyan inside his cave abode.
• Su Yao identified Zhang Ziyan’s newly attained Divine Ability as Storehouse Metal, which concealed Cang Metal Qi within his body.
• Zilin noted that Zhang could guard Qixia Temple’s storehouse, gather spiritual materials, and regulate its spiritual influence.
• Zhang Ziyan emerged from his cave abode and shouted that he had succeeded, and Su Yao and Zilin descended to congratulate him.