Chapter Summaries

Liu Yuan visited Chen Xun’s talisman shop and pretended to mistake him for an old acquaintance, offering him a Five Elements Sect token meant for Ji Kun’s descendants. After she left, she revealed that she had recognized Chen Xun and Big Black Ox all along, and was grateful to know they were alive.

• Liu Yuan entered Chen Xun’s shop, asked about his talismans, and said he reminded her of an old acquaintance from centuries ago.
• Big Black Ox recognized Liu Yuan, while Chen Xun claimed the ox and his craft were family heirlooms.
• Liu Yuan introduced herself and gave Chen Xun a Five Elements Sect token that Ji Kun had left for his descendants, offering him a position as a Registered Elder.
• Liu Yuan told Chen Xun that Ji Kun had entrusted an ancient inheritance book to a close friend, but Chen Xun rejected being treated as that person’s shadow.
• Liu Yuan left without looking back, and Chen Xun sat holding the token as she privately admitted she had recognized him and Big Black Ox.

Liu Yuan reunited with Chen Xun in Imperial Void City, but they chose not to acknowledge their past relationship and continued on separate paths. Meanwhile, the Cultivation World’s power holders began planning a new phase that would intensify conflict among the sects.

• Liu Yuan led the Five Elements Sect disciples to meet the Heavenly Martial Sect, carrying the authority of the sect’s Golden Core Great Cultivator.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reflected on their encounter with Liu Yuan, and Big Black Ox spent their accumulated merit to bless their friends’ next lives.
• A month later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox bought a five-hundred-year Yu Chen Grass at the Auction Convention and returned to running the Talisman Shop; Liu Yuan did not visit again.
• Thirteen power holders met in Imperial Void City and discussed using conflict over Wu Kingdom’s resources to reduce the sects’ strength and cultivator numbers.
• The Patriarch ordered the Golden Core Cultivators to let sect struggles proceed within the rules while forbidding city fighting and disorder among mortals.

As the Ten Great Immortal Sects let sect grudges run unchecked, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox heard rumors that the Five Elements Sect had been defeated by the Heavenly Martial Sect and went to investigate. At the same time, a Heavenly Martial Sect peak master ordered an ambush to kill Liu Yuan and other Five Elements Sect members on the road.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox listened to gossip about conflicts between the major sects while keeping their talisman shop.
• Passersby reported that a Heavenly Martial Sect prodigy had killed a Five Elements Sect prodigy decades earlier and that a Five Elements Sect peak master had recently lost a fight to a Heavenly Martial Sect elder.
• Chen Xun sent Big Black Ox with him to the central district to find out what had happened.
• At the Heavenly Martial Sect encampment, a young woman in the Mid Golden Core realm ordered her followers to intercept and kill the Five Elements Sect members traveling on the road.
• The young woman singled out Liu Yuan as a target and told her followers to kill everyone before the Purple Cloud Immortal Sect could intervene.

As Liu Yuan prepared to return to the Five Elements Sect, Ji Haoxuan arrived to lead her group past a likely Heavenly Martial Sect ambush. When the sect ships departed, Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox set out to protect Liu Yuan, revealing a terrifying aura that froze the cultivators around them.

• Liu Yuan decided her disciples would remain in West City until Ji Haoxuan returned with reinforcements, but Ji Haoxuan came back and arranged a safer route to the sect.
• Ji Haoxuan urged the disciples to remember their humiliation and promised the Five Elements Sect would demand an explanation from the Heavenly Martial Sect.
• Seven days later, Liu Yuan and Ji Haoxuan led two Five Elements Sect ships out of West City as the Heavenly Martial Sect mobilized to pursue and kill them.
• Chen Xun and the Big Black Ox left a secluded Talisman Shop after deciding to protect Liu Yuan for Shi Jing's sake.
• The Big Black Ox released a powerful aura that halted spiritual energy and terrified nearby cultivators before Chen Xun and the ox vanished.

Xia Han and the Heavenly Martial Sect pursued Liu Yuan and Ji Haoxuan, while a traitor’s route change led them into an ambush. Liu Yuan prepared to sacrifice herself so Ji Haoxuan could save the Five Elements Sect disciples, but Xia Yuanqi’s forces arrived to complete the encirclement.

• Xia Han ordered the Heavenly Martial Sect ships to wait until they were farther from Imperial Void City before attacking the fleeing Five Elements Sect ships.
• Liu Yuan and Ji Haoxuan realized a traitor had revealed their route, and Liu Yuan summoned her Glass Jade Umbrella so Ji Haoxuan could escape with the disciples if she could not hold off their pursuers.
• Ji Haoxuan ordered the disciples to fight to the death and suspected the traitor was among the people assigned to receive them.
• Xia Yuanqi and two more Heavenly Martial Sect ships emerged from the clouds and flanked the Five Elements Sect ships.
• Ji Haoxuan recognized Xia Yuanqi and accused him of trying to provoke a war between the sects.

The Heavenly Martial Sect attacked the Five Elements Sect, but two terrifying black figures appeared and halted the battle. Liu Yuan recognized Chen Xun and Black Ox and ordered her disciples to advance toward them, leaving the ships approaching the pair.

• Xia Yuanqi and Xia Han launched the Heavenly Martial Sect’s attack on the Five Elements Sect, and Ji Haoxuan prepared his disciples to resist.
• An immense pressure stopped the fighting as Chen Xun and Black Ox appeared on opposite sides of the sky.
• The cultivators of both sects were overwhelmed by the figures’ spirit pressure, while Liu Yuan recognized them as Senior Brother Chen Xun and Black Ox.
• Liu Yuan ordered the Five Elements Sect’s ships to advance straight toward Chen Xun and Black Ox, and the vessels continued forward as the disciples braced themselves.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox rescued Liu Yuan by annihilating the Heavenly Martial Sect pursuers with a devastating axe strike, then escaped into the forest with the spoils. Liu Yuan and Ji Haoxuan headed back to the Five Elements Sect, while Chen Xun began planning how to gather supplies for their future journey across the Heaven Severing Great Plains.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox appeared to save Liu Yuan as the Giant Ship passed, while Ji Haoxuan realized the two figures were not ordinary cultivators.
• Chen Xun revealed that he had come to see an old friend off, then unleashed his aura and struck the Heavenly Martial Sect forces with the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
• The Heavenly Martial Sect cultivators and their four Giant Ships vanished in the Time River, leaving the Five Elements Sect disciples stunned.
• Liu Yuan returned toward the Five Elements Sect with Ji Haoxuan, who vowed to report the attack and seek justice for her.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox collected the surviving Storage Rings, destroyed traces of the loot, and discussed gathering supplies before crossing the Heaven Severing Great Plains.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox sorted through the spoils from the Heavenly Martial Sect cultivators and found Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, Spirit Cleansing Grass, and a Jade Origin Fruit. They left the cave after deciding Imperial Void City was no longer safe and that they needed to prepare for the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox counted thousands of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and hundreds of thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones, then inspected Storage Rings and destroyed manuals and artifacts they could not use.
• Big Black Ox found Spirit Cleansing Grass, and Chen Xun recognized its value and resolved to cultivate it.
• Chen Xun discovered a Jade Origin Fruit capable of helping Golden Core cultivators break through and advanced their plan to grow it into a fruit tree.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox copied an Array Diagram Compendium and sorted their useful spoils into the Storage Rings they had bought.
• Chen Xun decided they could not remain in Imperial Void City because of the risk of being traced and the lack of a path to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left the cave, and the wild beasts returned to their undisturbed nest.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox packed up their home and talisman shop and left Imperial Void City to wander. Meanwhile, Ying Xing advised Yi Chu not to provoke the mysterious being who had intervened for the Five Elements Sect, and the two great Immortal Sects’ decisions brought the conflict to an end.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned to Soaked Immortal Mountain, packed their belongings, and left their cave abode and talisman shop behind.
• Ying Xing heard that a mysterious being had killed the Heavenly Martial Sect’s three Golden Core Cultivators and rejected Yi Chu’s proposal to investigate and capture him.
• Ying Xing warned Yi Chu that provoking a likely Nascent Soul cultivator could bring disaster, and Yi Chu agreed to refuse the Heavenly Martial Sect’s request.
• The Purple Cloud Immortal Sect released Wei Xun, who returned to the Five Elements Sect more obediently.
• With Wei Xun free, pressure on the Heavenly Martial Sect increased as the Five Elements Sect prepared to take its territory, ending the impact of Chen Xun and Big Black Ox’s actions.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox gave up searching the Qian Kingdom for injustice and built a heavily fortified underground cave abode to cultivate in seclusion. They settled into a steady routine, though Chen Xun worried that time was running out.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox found no suitable villains in the Qian Kingdom and decided to focus on cultivation instead.
• Chen Xun led Big Black Ox deep underground, where they carved out a spacious earth cave and stabilized it with the Five Extremes Array.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox outfitted the cave with cultivation rooms and began planting spirit trees and herbs.
• Chen Xun refined pills while Big Black Ox tended the plants, and they discussed their future Nascent Soul Plan.
• Chen Xun reflected that time was running out as the two continued their secluded routine.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned to the Five Elements Sect to see Liu Yuan as she neared the end of her life. Chen Xun created a sky full of falling fireballs for her, but she died in their arms, leaving him and Big Black Ox as the last ones on the cliff.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox arrived at the Five Elements Sect while Liu Yuan sat on a cliff, weakened by old age and surrounded by the grieving sect.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox joined Liu Yuan, who mourned the deaths of Shi Jing, her master, and the other people she had lost.
• Liu Yuan recalled watching falling stars with Chen Xun and Big Black Ox and said that seeing them had made her happiest day in centuries.
• Chen Xun unleashed his full strength to fill the night sky with blazing fireballs so Liu Yuan could watch them fall like stars.
• Liu Yuan thanked Chen Xun and Big Black Ox, then died in their arms, leaving them alone on the cliff.

After Liu Yuan’s death, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox accepted their grief and resolved to seek their departed companions again in the future. At Ji Kun’s grave, they deciphered part of his ancient book and discovered a path leading toward the Bank of the Milky Way.

• Chen Xun comforted Big Black Ox after Liu Yuan’s passing and vowed that they would meet their departed friends again.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox went to Immortal Hidden Mountain to pay their respects at Ji Kun’s grave.
• Chen Xun opened the ancient book Ji Kun had left him and struggled to understand its obscure writing.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox deciphered part of the book and learned that the Ji Clan descended from a branch of a great noble clan from elsewhere.
• Chen Xun realized the stars-falling phenomenon had not been a coincidence and that a road lay on the Bank of the Milky Way.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox saluted Ji Kun’s grave and resolved to set out together toward the distant road.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox visited the graves of their old companions, paid respects to the Five Elements Sect’s elders, and gave Ding Qiu five bottles of Mid-Grade Five Elements Pills. After they left, the sect honored them as ancestors and began protecting Ji Kun’s name, while other powers grew wary of the Five Elements Sect.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox visited Shi Jing’s grave, played a funeral song for him, and then paid respects to Le Feng and Chen Xun at Immortal Hidden Mountain.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox offered incense to Zuo Yiying and the other Five Elements Sect seniors, leaving a plate of Crane Spirit Tree offerings before her tablet.
• Chen Xun gave Ding Qiu five bottles of Mid-Grade Five Elements Pills and told him to care for Liu Yuan’s line, Ji Kun and Shi Jing’s descendants, and independent cultivators.
• Ding Qiu called the visitors ancestors, ordered Liu Peak Master’s burial to receive the sect’s highest honors, and directed the sect to find and support Ji Kun’s descendants.
• The Five Elements Sect ordered its disciples not to tarnish Old Ancestor Ji Kun’s name, prompting a surge in cultivation and reducing infighting.
• Other sects grew more cautious toward the Five Elements Sect, and the Heavenly Martial Sect’s Sect Master personally mourned Liu Yuan and offered goodwill.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned to their underground cave abode and began preparing to reach the peak of the Golden Core Realm. After years of pill refining and formation study, they continued cultivating together while taking occasional breaks to explore and enjoy the world.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox learned that the Qian Kingdom's royal family had changed, then resolved to grow stronger and keep their promise to show their old friends the future.
• When Martial World People on horseback bullied them on the road, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox struck back, leaving the men and horses overturned and the guards begging for mercy.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox carefully inspected the mountain range before returning to their underground cave abode.
• Chen Xun focused on refining True Essence Pills while Big Black Ox tended spirit herbs and studied formations, and together they began their assault on the peak of the Golden Core Realm.
• Over the following years, Chen Xun developed a Mutated True Essence Pill but dispersed it when its medicinal power seemed too dangerous, while Big Black Ox deepened his understanding of formations.
• When they grew tired of cultivation, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox went hunting, admired scenery, listened to storytellers, and brought food home.

After three hundred years, the cultivation world’s major powers gathered at the Wu Kingdom’s northern border to explore the north, while Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reached the peak of the Golden Core Stage in seclusion. They realized their exceptionally stable Five Golden Cores made the usual path to Nascent Soul difficult, so they left to gather information and pursue their Nascent Soul Plan using external means.

• The Ten Great Immortal Sects and other powers assembled forces in the Wu Kingdom, established Merit Points for exploration contributions, and drew cultivators from across the nations northward.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox broke through to the peak of the Golden Core Stage, bringing their spiritual power, physiques, and divine senses to their limits.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox worried that their five Golden Cores would be difficult to shatter for a Nascent Soul breakthrough, then decided to seek external objects and proceed cautiously.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox packed their completed Natal Magic Treasures, including the three array flags Big Black Ox had crafted and nurtured with Five Elements Qi.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox began their Nascent Soul Plan, left their underground dwelling, and vanished into the world.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox learned that cultivators across Qian Kingdom had gone north to explore Wu Kingdom, leaving the cultivation world quiet. They decided to head east toward the chaotic Eastern Nations to seek opportunities, and left Border City in a flash.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox questioned a wandering cultivator at Burnt Valley Market and learned that the Ten Great Immortal Sects and other powers had sent cultivators north to explore Wu Kingdom.
• After traveling for half a year, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reached Qian Kingdom’s eastern border and discussed the opportunities and risks in the Eastern Nations.
• Chen Xun decided that the Eastern Nations offered better prospects than challenging the Ten Great Immortal Sects or joining the northern expedition.
• Chen Xun mounted Big Black Ox, and they left Border City for the Eastern Nations, astonishing the commoners who saw them vanish.

Six months after leaving the Qian Kingdom, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox discovered that An Yun Country’s cultivators preyed on mortals and targeted the Azure Pool Sect after rescuing women trafficked by its disciples. They ambushed sect master Qin Xianqin in a prepared Mist Array and trapped him in a Big Black Coffin.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox arrived in An Yun Country and condemned the violence and disorder they saw there.
• They rescued several dozen women with spirit roots from Azure Pool Sect disciples trafficking them as Furnace Cauldrons, then took the disciples’ spirit stones, maps, and information.
• After learning that the Azure Pool Sect was involved in such dealings, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox traveled to its stronghold and staked it out for months.
• Qin Xianqin returned to the Azure Pool Sect after a gathering of the three sect masters and worried that his sect would lose its standing.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox caught Qin Xianqin in their Mist Array, suppressed his magic power, and dropped a Big Black Coffin over him.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox terrorized sect masters under the pretense that they had violated a taboo, extracting Nascent Soul Pill formulas from them. After the three raids, the shaken sect masters began guarding the roads and suspecting one another.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox trapped Qin Xianqin in the Black Coffin and demanded a Nascent Soul Pill formula, then left him unconscious beneath a tree.
• Qin Xianqin realized the encounter had been a warning and returned to Azure Pool Sect, later developing a habit of checking the almanac before traveling.
• Five months later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox dragged the Six String Sect master into the Black Coffin and obtained another Nascent Soul Pill formula.
• Five months after that, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox abducted the Unfixed Sect master and persuaded him to hand over a Nascent Soul Pill formula.
• The three sect masters began stationing disciples along the roads and suspected one another of arranging the humiliations.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox traveled through the Eastern Nations, gathering information about rare spiritual herbs and witnessing the turmoil of mortal kingdoms. After a century with the Four Symbols Alliance, they left the city and headed toward the Great Que Sect, where a Nascent Soul Pill ingredient grew.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox decided to seek information from the Three Great Powers about rare spiritual herbs needed for pill formulas.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox traveled among the nations, helped refugees escape armies and beasts, and recorded what they witnessed.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox joined the Four Symbols Alliance and spent a hundred years quietly running an information shop while Chen Xun mapped locations of interest.
• After news of discoveries north of Wu Kingdom drew cultivators away, Chen Xun improved his Great Fireball Spell and named it Starfall while Big Black Ox studied restrictions.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reported their duties, left the Four Symbols Alliance, and departed for the Great Que Sect, which guarded the Toss Spirit Profound Mushroom.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox spent forty years roaming the Eastern Nations and breaking into sects to practice the Five Elements Restriction Breaking Art. After Big Black Ox reached great mastery, they prepared to return to the Great Que Sect, then set off toward the red dots on Chen Xun's map.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox tried to open the Great Que Sect's Mountain Protecting Array, but an explosion alerted its disciples and they fled.
• They practiced on small sects across several countries, repeatedly opening or weakening Mountain Protecting Arrays and sometimes leaving pills or other compensation.
• Over the next forty years, Big Black Ox's Five Elements Restriction Breaking Art reached great mastery, ending their wandering practice.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox recalled their escapades, including their encounter with the Scolding Spirit Sect, and planned to revisit the Great Que Sect.
• Chen Xun threw Big Black Ox into the river during a playful fight, and three days later they set out following the red dots on the map.