Chapter Summaries

Yang Lingrui used his newly refined Dual Wind Dao Tradition to aid Tiger Chasing’s three Core Formation Cultivators and injure an Eastern Wilderness opponent. After the battle, he returned to camp and unexpectedly healed Xue Qingluan’s injuries.

• Yang Lingrui used a concealed wind spike to pierce an Eastern Wilderness Core Formation Cultivator’s defenses and strike his lower back.
• Yang Lingrui escaped with Phantom Body as the Eastern Wilderness withdrew, ending the battle and giving Tiger Chasing’s exhausted forces time to rest.
• Three Tiger Chasing Core Formation Cultivators thanked Yang Lingrui for helping them through the fight.
• Yang Lingrui returned to camp, where Xue Qingluan hid the injuries and mental damage she had suffered when her Bright Moon Manifestation was destroyed.
• Yang Lingrui told Xue Qingluan to lower her mental guard and placed his palm on her head, healing her injuries with a warm force.

Yang Lingrui treated Xue Qingluan’s injuries and heard her prediction that the Eastern Wilderness would soon reinforce the battlefield. He prepared to return with her to the main camp as the reinforcements were expected within a day or two.

• Yang Lingrui used the consciousness fragment in his sea of consciousness to heal Xue Qingluan’s injuries.
• Xue Qingluan thanked Yang Lingrui and gave him her latest battle report and analysis.
• Xue Qingluan predicted that the Eastern Wilderness would send reinforcements to the battlefield within the next day or two.
• Yang Lingrui told Xue Qingluan to return to the main camp with him.

Yang Lingrui helped Tiger Chasing prepare for an orderly retreat and went to cover the evacuation of a garrison. When Eastern Wilderness forces attacked, they recognized him as the feared “Ghost” and fled.

• Yang Lingrui warned the defending general and Core Formation Cultivators to withdraw early, and several encampments moved back under his arrangements.
• Yang Lingrui and Xue Qingluan received orders to cover the retreat of two large garrisons, while He Shenglai, Qiu Ran, and Zi He were assigned other crucial tasks.
• Yang Lingrui reached his garrison and infused its Tiger Cannons and supplies with wind arts, more than tripling the army’s withdrawal efficiency.
• A spell erupted in the sky as the Eastern Wilderness forces began their attack.
• Yang Lingrui confronted more than twenty Eastern Wilderness cultivators on the First Heaven Battlefield, enveloped them in a raging gale, and made them flee when their leader recognized the “Ghost.”

Yang Lingrui faced five Eastern Wilderness cultivators whose Wind Stabilizing Pills countered his wind arts, but he overwhelmed their joint Spirit Manifestation with his World Destruction black wind. He turned the tornado inward to test how much the pills could withstand, swallowing all five as their protection began to crack.

• Yang Lingrui killed the first group of more than twenty Eastern Wilderness cultivators who had been sent to probe the garrison’s defenses.
• Five cultivators from a great Eastern Wilderness clan arrived, using Wind Stabilizing Pills to disperse Yang Lingrui’s black and yellow wind arts.
• The five formed a two-headed, four-armed Spirit Manifestation and smashed Yang Lingrui’s yellow wind manifestation, but he blocked their ray arts with a black wind python.
• Yang Lingrui unleashed World Destruction, trapping the five and breaking their Spirit Manifestation despite their pills.
• Yang Lingrui drove the growing tornado downward, engulfing the five as the Wind Stabilizing Pills’ protective barrier began to crack.

Yang Lingrui killed five Eastern Wilderness cultivators and drove their army into retreat, but a Core Formation Cultivator then ambushed him and tried to seize his Spiritual Incarnation. Trapped in an earthen prison, Yang Lingrui began refining the treasure and wounded his attacker with an exploding wind spike.

• Yang Lingrui overwhelmed the five cultivators with black wind, killing them as their leader fled and was caught by the black wind python.
• The Eastern Wilderness army retreated after Yang Lingrui's victory, but an approaching Core Formation Cultivator forced Yang Lingrui to flee.
• The Core Formation Cultivator crushed the area with a vast layer of earth, but Yang Lingrui survived by using the two hands he had received from Tiger Chasing.
• Recognizing the hands as a Spiritual Incarnation, the Core Formation Cultivator pursued Yang Lingrui and trapped him within four earthen walls.
• Yang Lingrui began refining the hands and used them to block an attack, then detonated a wind spike inside the Core Formation Cultivator's side.

Yang Lingrui was buried by the earth cultivator while trying to refine his Spiritually Connected Embodiment Hands, but the Murong Clan’s Colorful Cloud Blessed Land appeared over the Northern Frontline and sent reinforcements into battle. Murong Qiuhan arrived and attacked the earth cultivator as the First Prince redirected his forces toward the Third Prince’s territory.

• Yang Lingrui began breaking through to the Twelfth Floor of Qi Gathering, but the earth cultivator split the ground and buried him beneath falling mud and stones.
• The earth cultivator tried to seize Yang Lingrui’s hands, but a golden thread struck away his true essence as multicolored clouds and a rift appeared over the Northern Frontline.
• The First Prince recognized the Murong Clan’s Colorful Cloud Blessed Land, steadied himself with the red-robed female cultivator’s help, and ordered his forces to withdraw and attack the Third Prince’s territory in the Northwest.
• Murong Qiuhan descended onto the battlefield, identified herself, and forced the earth cultivator to flee.
• Murong Qiuhan summoned a jade seal and enlarged it into a colossal peak that crushed the earth cultivator’s technique.

Murong Qiuhan rescued Yang Lingrui from an Earth Cultivator of Essence Condensation, and he broke through to the Twelfth Floor of Qi Gathering. After she gave him five valuable treasures and helped him heal, Yang Lingrui resolved to strengthen the Yang Family as he advanced toward Essence Condensation.

• Murong Qiuhan killed the Earth Cultivator of Essence Condensation and collected the cultivator’s true essence.
• Murong Qiuhan noticed Yang Lingrui’s spiritual fluctuations had stabilized, and he broke through to the Twelfth Floor of Qi Gathering.
• Murong Qiuhan tested Yang Lingrui with the Exquisite Heart Method, but he remained unmoved and thanked her for saving his life.
• Murong Qiuhan gave Yang Lingrui five treasures, including healing medicines, a Golden Thread Dharma Robe, and a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Yang Lingrui used the medicines under Murong Qiuhan’s protection, healed his injuries, and resolved to gather resources for the Yang Family after reaching Essence Condensation.

After Murong Qiuhan explained the lifespan cost of the Murong Clan’s secret arts, Yang Lingrui joined her in battle as the Colorful Cloud Blessed Land’s forces helped Tiger Chasing push back the Eastern Wilderness. The retreating Eastern Wilderness army turned to widespread looting, while Murong Tianyang ordered Tiger Chasing troops to help the victims and win the people’s trust.

• Murong Qiuhan explained that Murong Clan members gained cultivation through secret arts but rapidly lost their lifespans outside the Colorful Cloud Blessed Land.
• Yang Lingrui recovered from his injuries and joined Murong Qiuhan in battle against the Eastern Wilderness forces.
• After the First Prince of the Eastern Wilderness ordered a retreat, Tiger Chasing pursued the enemy and turned its withdrawal into a rout.
• Eastern Wilderness soldiers and cultivators deserted discipline and plundered villages, towns, lineages, and sects as they fled.
• Murong Tianyang slowed Tiger Chasing’s pursuit and sent supplies and troops to help the people rebuild, changing their view of the dynasty.

Yuan Cheng and Yang Guanfeng encountered Eastern Wilderness cultivators plundering He'gou Town, where the wounded mayor Qu Ming tried to protect the townspeople. Yang Guanfeng felt a sudden pull from the west and decided to intervene, while Yang Lingrui raced toward the town and someone struck the cultivator about to burn it.

• Qu Ming fought five army-following cultivators who had looted households and killed their residents, but they overpowered him.
• The townspeople begged the cultivators to spare Qu Ming, while Yuan Cheng held back from intervening because he feared exposing himself and his master.
• Yang Guanfeng noticed Qu Ming’s resolve, then felt his mind and spirit stir toward the west and told Yuan Cheng to hide as he went to kill the cultivators.
• Yang Lingrui abruptly transformed into golden light and flew northeast, leaving Murong Qiuhan to chase after him.
• A cultivator prepared to burn the townspeople, but an unseen attacker struck him backward and extinguished the fire spell.

Yang Guanfeng killed five Eastern Wilderness cultivators who had attacked Qu Ming and the people of He'gou Town, but a Core Formation cultivator arrived and threatened them. Yang Lingrui and Murong Qiuhan rescued them, and Yang Lingrui recognized Yang Guanfeng as his ancestor and knelt to pay his respects.

• Yang Guanfeng killed the five Eastern Wilderness cultivators, burned their bodies with Qu Ming's fire talismans, and urged the townspeople to flee.
• A Core Formation cultivator arrived, incapacitated everyone in He'gou Town, and prepared to kill Yang Guanfeng and Qu Ming.
• Yang Lingrui arrived and shattered the old cultivator's attack with his Spiritual Incarnation, then pursued and killed him.
• Tiger Chasing cultivators arrived and recognized Yang Guanfeng as one of their own when he showed his worn Black Tiger Camp clothing.
• Yang Lingrui returned with Murong Qiuhan, recognized Yang Guanfeng after twelve years, and knelt to pay respects to the Songshan Yang Family ancestor.

Yang Lingrui reunited with Yang Guanfeng, whom everyone had believed dead, and Murong Qiuhan improvised a story that he had returned from a secret mission. Yang Lingrui saw through her deception and realized the Yang Family remained a pawn of the Dynasty, but he concealed his anger as he embraced his Old Ancestor.

• Yang Lingrui revealed that the returned man was Yang Guanfeng, the Yang Family Old Ancestor, shocking those present.
• Murong Qiuhan recalled that Yang Guanfeng had been sent with Murong Ying Xuan as a guard and feared the Yang Family would learn he had been sacrificed in the Dynasty's plans.
• Murong Qiuhan welcomed Yang Guanfeng as a triumphant return, and he played along by claiming he had completed his mission.
• Murong Qiuhan and Yang Guanfeng presented their meeting as an official reception for a secret agent, but Yang Lingrui recognized that she had made up the story.
• Yang Lingrui briefly revealed his anger before hiding it and embracing Yang Guanfeng, saying the Old Ancestor had suffered.

Murong Qiuhan privately learned how Yang Guanfeng survived and assured him the Dynasty would compensate him, while he promised the Yang Family would remain loyal. He asked her to help him visit Murong Ying Xuan’s grave with Flying Swallow Grass, and she accepted with gratitude.

• Murong Qiuhan halted the troops in He'gou Town, distributed supplies to the townsfolk, and arranged funerals with Tiger Chasing.
• Murong Qiuhan visited Yang Guanfeng’s tent, but Yang Lingrui refused to leave him alone with her until Yang Guanfeng asked him to wait outside.
• Murong Qiuhan sealed the tent and asked how Yang Guanfeng survived; he explained that Ying Xuan’s hairpin had saved him.
• Murong Qiuhan promised compensation from the Dynasty, and Yang Guanfeng assured her the Yang Family would not let the matter affect its relationship with the Dynasty.
• Yang Guanfeng showed Murong Qiuhan Flying Swallow Grass and asked her to help him visit Murong Ying Xuan’s grave; Murong Qiuhan bowed and thanked him.

Yang Guanfeng arranged the cover story for his years undercover and learned how the Yang Family had fared during his absence. He chose a frontier fief near Befeng City to seek a spirit mine and give the family a path toward independence, then broke down remembering Yang Linghu.

• Murong Qiuhan and Yang Guanfeng agreed on a detailed account of his secret mission and intelligence from Befeng City.
• Yang Lingrui brought Yuan Cheng to see Yang Guanfeng and recounted the Yang Family’s events over the past twelve years, including Yang Linghu’s death.
• Yang Guanfeng chose a frontier area near Befeng City for the family’s fief and told Yang Lingrui to inform Lingqing.
• Yang Guanfeng left Yuan Cheng at the front lines to train under Yang Lingrui while he returned to report to the Dynasty.
• Yang Guanfeng considered how to guide the Blazing Spirit Mine beneath Befeng City and make it a foundation for the Yang Family’s independence.
• Yang Guanfeng remembered Yang Linghu’s life and teachings, then wept and called his name.

The Third Prince learned that his eldest brother was stationing troops on the northern front and sent elite forces east to confront him. In Qiulu City, Elder Yu hosted visitors from the Pan Family, whose talisman master exchanged techniques with him before revealing that Qin Qiongyu would attend the Gathering of Heroes Banquet.

• The Third Prince received news that his eldest brother was stationing troops on the northern front and feared an attack after the defeat in the south.
• The Third Prince ordered four Spiritual Connection Perfection cultivators to lead troops east and confront his eldest brother.
• Pan Yin, Pan Baocai, and Zhou Shijie visited Elder Yu to thank the Yang Family for helping Pan Baolu in Qinghe Town, and Pan Yin presented a gift.
• Zhou Shijie crafted a high-quality Water Talisman while Elder Yu demonstrated a fine-grade Divine Movement Talisman, giving both him and Chen Yang new insights.
• Zhou Shijie told Elder Yu that Qin Qiongyu of the Su Family of Jingyun Peak was a newly advanced Core Formation Talisman Master who would attend the Gathering of Heroes Banquet.

Chen Yang recognized Qin Qiongyu as the man who had helped torment Yang Lingrui in the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly’s illusion realm and arranged for Elder Yu to approach him at the Gathering of Heroes Banquet. Elder Yu offered Qin Qiongyu a fragmentary talisman arts text and asked for guidance about the Heavenly Talisman Secret Realm, leaving Qin to consider the seemingly generous visit.

• Chen Yang connected Zhou Shijie's description of Qin Qiongyu to the man who had helped torment Yang Lingrui in the illusion realm and decided to collect a debt from him.
• Chen Yang told Elder Yu his plan through Thought Transmission, and Elder Yu memorized it.
• Three days later, Elder Yu and Zhou Shijie traveled to the Gathering of Heroes Banquet in a mountain estate west of Autumn Deer.
• At the main banquet, Elder Yu visited Qin Qiongyu and offered him a fragmentary talisman arts text copied and aged by Chen Yang.
• Elder Yu explained that he hoped to trade the fragment for Qin Qiongyu's experience entering the Heavenly Talisman Secret Realm, while insisting Qin could keep it even if he declined.

Qin Qiongyu accepted the Yang Family’s incomplete talisman inheritance and secretly planned to cripple its talisman crafters with dangerous techniques. Chen Yang recognized the trap and found that the Star Palace absorbed its backlash, leaving Qin Qiongyu’s scheme unable to harm him.

• Qin Qiongyu verified Elder Yu’s story, accepted the inheritance, and took him on as an attendant.
• Qin Qiongyu studied the inheritance, crafted a Divine Movement Talisman, and planned to pass Elder Yu techniques that would damage his body over time.
• Elder Yu reported his success to Zhou Shijie, while a Su Family attendant overheard them and confirmed Qin Qiongyu’s belief that Elder Yu had sincerely sought his help.
• The next day, Qin Qiongyu brought Elder Yu to the main banquet and casually taught risky talisman-crafting techniques to the gathered masters.
• Chen Yang tested the techniques, recognized Qin Qiongyu’s plan, and watched the Star Palace absorb the backlash without harming him.

Chen Yang discovered that purified backlash power could disrupt cultivators’ enlightenment and breakthroughs, leading him to suspect his origins were extraordinary and to begin investigating them discreetly. At the Gathering of Heroes Banquet, three Spiritual Connection Talisman Masters began a public demonstration, and Chen Yang was astonished by the headmaster’s method of refining a breakthrough-enhancing talisman.

• Chen Yang learned that purified backlash power could interfere with another cultivator’s insight or breakthrough and wondered whether his powers came from the legendary power of creation.
• Chen Yang decided to investigate his origins by searching records of the Lesser Treasure Realm while keeping his purpose hidden.
• Yang Yuanliu followed Chen Yang’s instructions by cultivating an interest in Dynasty history and becoming a registered disciple of Chengtian Academy with access to its library pavilion.
• Chen Yang returned his main consciousness to his avatar as Qin Qiongyu finished advising Elder Yu about preparing for the Heavenly Talisman Secret Realm.
• Three Spiritual Connection Talisman Masters began demonstrating their craft at the banquet, and the headmaster of Tiger Chasing Talisman Mountain started refining an Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman.
• Chen Yang watched the headmaster’s technique and was amazed by the method.

Three Spiritual Connection Talisman Masters demonstrated their techniques at the Gathering of Heroes Banquet, and Qin Qiongyu began to achieve enlightenment while watching the official talisman master. Chen Yang secretly sabotaged Qin Qiongyu’s breakthrough, causing his enlightenment to collapse.

• The head of Talisman Mountain fused many sheets of talisman paper into a completed Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman.
• The Chengtian Academy mountain master recited a poem to create a Flowing Water Gentle Wave Talisman and refined it in a stream summoned from a landscape scroll.
• The Chongtian Palace official talisman master demonstrated traditional talisman-making techniques, prompting Qin Qiongyu to enter a state of enlightenment.
• Qin Qiongyu nearly pushed open a stone gate in his illusion but could not complete the final step, and the gate closed as his enlightenment collapsed.
• Chen Yang laughed from within Elder Yu’s sleeve and used malicious force to disrupt Qin Qiongyu’s enlightenment.

Chen Yang used evil power to disrupt Qin Qiongyu’s enlightenment, and Qin later tried to claim the valuable Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman during the treasure-bestowing ceremony. Just as the talisman flew toward him, visions of his failed breakthrough and miserable death arose in his mind.

• Chen Yang sent a small amount of evil power through the Star Sea Space, unsettling Qin Qiongyu and disrupting his attempted enlightenment.
• Qin Qiongyu struggled to regain his composure while watching the imperial capital’s royal Talisman Master refine a good-grade True Yang Severing Talisman.
• The Flowing Water Gentle Wave Talisman went to a Qi Gathering Talisman Master from the western Desert Sea, and the True Yang Severing Talisman went to a Core Formation Talisman Master from an imperial capital noble family.
• The Talisman Mountain sect master began bestowing the Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman, which Elder Yu and Zhou Shijie discussed as exceptionally valuable.
• Qin Qiongyu circulated the Su Family Main Lineage cultivation method as the Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman flew toward him, but visions of his failed breakthrough and death suddenly filled his mind.

Chen Yang redirected the Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman to Zhou Shijie rather than let the Yang Family claim it, deciding the inheritance in the Heavenly Talisman Secret Realm mattered more. He entered the Secret Realm behind Qin Qiongyu with Elder Yu, who used the chance to stay close to his target.

• The Essence Embracing and Unity Talisman turned away from Qin Qiongyu and Elder Yu before Chen Yang redirected it to Zhou Shijie, who accepted it on behalf of the Pan Family.
• Qin Qiongyu decided to skip the second selection round and prepare for the Heavenly Talisman Secret Realm, while Chen Yang explained why the Yang Family did not need the treasure talisman.
• Chen Yang and Elder Yu placed slightly above the middle in the second selection round, and a Core Formation Talisman Master from the imperial capital's nobility won the final competition.
• After the selection ended, Talisman Mountain's five Core Formation Cultivators opened the Secret Realm entrance, and the competitors entered according to their rankings.
• Elder Yu chose to enter alongside Qin Qiongyu, claiming he wanted more instruction, and Qin Qiongyu agreed after sensing traces of backlash on him.