Chapter Summaries

Yi Xuan led the Azure Cloud Sect group to the Artifact Ruins, then left Yan Siruo to guide the others while he followed from the sky. At the gathering, tensions flared between the Gazing Immortal Sect and Azure Thunder Hall, and Yi Xuan appeared just as Elder Qi asked where the Azure Cloud Sect’s elder was.

• Yi Xuan pointed out the mountains where the Artifact Ruins entrance lay, handed the map to Yan Siruo, and flew off in the Firmament.
• Yan Siruo led the group to a valley clearing where many Southern Frontier sects had gathered, and He Hongfei greeted a fellow disciple from Azure Thunder Hall.
• Elder Liu of the Gazing Immortal Sect mocked the Azure Cloud Sect for arriving without an elder, and Elder Qi confronted him in defense of the group.
• Elder Liu and Elder Qi drew their weapons and clashed with their presences, but other elders intervened and they backed down.
• Elder Qi asked where the Azure Cloud Sect’s leader was, and Yi Xuan appeared and introduced himself as the sect’s new Sect Protector.
• Elder Qi mistook Yi Xuan for a young Golden Core cultivator, but Yi Xuan clarified that he was not an elder or a Golden Core cultivator.

Yi Xuan let the Azure Cloud Sect disciples believe he had abandoned them, while secretly relying on their apparent weakness to avoid provoking the Gazing Immortal Sect and other powers. When the Artifact Ruins began opening, he equipped his disciples with mysterious belts and entered the secret realm with them, astonishing Elder Qi.

• Elder Qi mistook Yi Xuan for the Azure Cloud Sect’s hidden Nascent Soul patriarch, and Yi Xuan mistook Elder Qi’s respect for friendly goodwill.
• He Hongfei criticized Yi Xuan for failing to defend the sect, while Yan Siruo cautioned him to keep his voice down.
• Yi Xuan privately reasoned that staying out of the dispute would make the Azure Cloud Sect seem weak and keep the other powers focused on stronger opponents.
• A group arrived in the valley, causing the maps held by the sect leaders to glow and signal that the Artifact Ruins were about to open.
• Yi Xuan handed Yan Siruo and the others mysterious belts instead of a map, then entered the secret realm with all ten Azure Cloud Sect members.
• Elder Qi was stunned to see Yi Xuan enter with his disciples, then watched the other sects activate their maps and follow.

Yi Xuan entered the Artifact Ruins and set up a research laboratory in a cave, then deployed mechanical birds to extend his communications network. He connected to and monitored the other nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples, who were all heading toward the central stone mountain.

• Yi Xuan arrived in the Artifact Ruins and recalled Sect Master Cui's instructions to head toward the central stone mountain while searching for Law Treasures.
• Yi Xuan entered a nearby cave and used ten Pangu units and other equipment to turn it into a research laboratory.
• Yi Xuan asked Butler to connect to signals in the Artifact Ruins, but learned that none were within range.
• Yi Xuan ordered Butler to release mechanical bird drones, which spread out and established connections to all nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples' belts.
• Yi Xuan activated monitoring and saw that all nine disciples were moving toward the central stone mountain.

Yi Xuan used drones, aircraft, and Pangu robots to monitor the other nine cultivators while searching the Artifact Ruins for Spiritual Qi gathering points. As the group approached the central stone mountain, He Hongfei complained about Yi Xuan’s absence, and Yi Xuan finally spoke to everyone through their belts.

• Yi Xuan ordered the butler to monitor the other nine cultivators and send ornithopter drones to rescue them if needed.
• Yi Xuan launched ten Little Eagles carrying Pangu robots, then used the drone network to locate Spiritual Qi gathering points and sent the robots to investigate safely.
• The nine cultivators made their way toward the central stone mountain; Yan Siruo escaped a dangerous encounter between two powerful sect disciples without being harmed.
• He Hongfei complained that Yi Xuan had abandoned them and reached to remove the belt Yi Xuan had given him.
• Yi Xuan’s voice came through He Hongfei’s belt and the other eight belts, ordering the cultivators to follow his instructions.

Yi Xuan used the belts to guide the Azure Cloud Sect disciples to buried Law Artifacts, earning their trust as they searched the ruins. After the group gathered outside his stone cave, he told them to leave their finds with him and go back for more.

• Yi Xuan ordered the nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples through their belts to avoid the central stone mountain and guided Yan Siruo toward a marked location.
• Yan Siruo uncovered a buried Law Artifact beneath rubble, convincing the other disciples that Yi Xuan's belt could locate treasures.
• Yi Xuan assigned the nine disciples and ten Pangu units to search for Law Artifacts across the ruins.
• After two days, He Hongfei urged Yi Xuan to stop the search so they would have time to refine their finds, and Yi Xuan summoned everyone to his stone cave.
• The disciples arrived with their Law Artifacts, and Yi Xuan told them to leave the treasures with him and return to searching.

Yi Xuan persuaded the others to hand over their Law Artifacts, claiming he could refine them quickly, then used his Temperature-Controlled Separation Furnace to extract rare metals from the artifacts. After the furnace successfully separated materials with over ninety-five percent purity, Yi Xuan heard the Pangu units return and went to see what they had found.

• Yi Xuan convinced the others to give him their Law Artifacts by promising he could refine them before the Artifact Ruins closed.
• Yi Xuan took the Law Artifacts into the stone cave and loaded them into the Temperature-Controlled Separation Furnace.
• Yi Xuan used the Golden Flame and the furnace’s cooling system to melt the artifacts without damaging the machine.
• Yi Xuan separated the molten materials by centrifugal force and had the housekeeper cool and test them.
• The housekeeper reported that the extracted materials had purities above ninety-five percent, and Yi Xuan went outside when he heard the Pangu units return aboard the Little Eagle.

Yi Xuan gathered Law Artifacts from the ruins’ outskirts and pondered the immense power of the ancient Artifact Sect. He sent spare drones toward the central stone mountain, where they discovered Gazing Immortal Sect disciples guarding a cave and hinting at a secret plan involving Senior Brother Qi.

• Yi Xuan had the Pangu units bring Law Artifacts back from the outskirts and fed them into the separation furnace.
• Yi Xuan studied the map, realized the ruins still held vast numbers of Law Artifacts, and felt a growing sense of crisis.
• On the fourth day, Yi Xuan chose to launch his spare flapping-wing drones to explore the stone mountain instead of sending everyone there.
• The drones spotted two Gazing Immortal Sect disciples guarding a cave halfway up the mountain.
• The guards said their sect master’s important plan could make their sect a first-rate power and involved a great sacrifice by Senior Brother Qi.
• Yi Xuan ordered the cave watched and considered investigating to learn the Gazing Immortal Sect’s secret.

Yi Xuan modified two flapping-wing drones to infiltrate the Gazing Immortal Sect’s cave and spy on its disciples. He discovered they were helping Junior Brother Qi merge with something that could give their sect control of the Artifact Ruins and threaten the other sects in the Southern Frontier.

• Yi Xuan added four-legged systems to two flapping-wing drones so they could enter the cave without attracting attention.
• Yi Xuan sent the modified drones toward the Gazing Immortal Sect’s cave, where they slipped past the guards and crawled inside along the stone wall.
• The drones found six Gazing Immortal Sect disciples sitting around the naked Junior Brother Qi, while Senior Brother Qian watched nearby.
• Junior Brother Qi said the painful process had nearly worked and thanked the sect master for providing a Blood Cloud Pill.
• Senior Brother Qian said that once Junior Brother Qi fully merged with it, the Artifact Ruins would be like a back garden to the Gazing Immortal Sect, and he laughed at the fate of the other sects in the Southern Frontier.

Yi Xuan watched the Gazing Immortal Sect activate a formation to turn Junior Brother Qi into the spirit of a vicious Law Artifact. He realized Sect Leader Liu planned to use the weapon to slaughter the other sects in the Artifact Ruins and secure its riches for the Gazing Immortal Sect.

• Senior Brother Qian encouraged Junior Brother Qi to sacrifice himself for the Gazing Immortal Sect’s future.
• Senior Brother Qian and six disciples activated the Yin-Gathering Evil-Birthing Formation above Junior Brother Qi.
• The formation crushed Junior Brother Qi into a cloud of blood mist as the cave shook violently.
• The Gazing Immortal Sect disciples anticipated the emergence of the vicious weapon and planned to make Junior Brother Qi its artifact spirit.
• Yi Xuan pieced together Sect Leader Liu’s plan to use the weapon to kill everyone in the Artifact Ruins and monopolize its benefits.

Yi Xuan sent hundreds of ornithopters to destroy the vicious saber as it emerged beneath the Gazing Immortal Sect’s formation, but the attacks failed. The formation merged into the saber, and the disciple surnamed Qi returned in a red-robed form and prepared to kill his fellow disciples.

• Yi Xuan gathered 327 ornithopters near the cave and ordered them to wait for his signal.
• The vicious saber rose from beneath the cave floor as the formation absorbed the blood mist and glowed red.
• Yi Xuan ordered all the ornithopters to self-destruct and attack the saber, but their explosions left it unharmed.
• The formation wrapped around the saber and merged into it, forcing the seven Gazing Immortal Sect disciples to their knees.
• A red-robed figure appeared beside the saber, and the disciple surnamed Qian recognized him as Junior Brother Qi.
• Junior Brother Qi gripped the saber, dismissed his fellow disciples as ants, and raised his weapon to kill them.

Qi Yun struggled with the vicious blade’s artifact spirit, briefly regained control, and killed a disciple before leaving the cave. Yi Xuan’s surveillance was exposed, and Qi Yun slaughtered a group of unknown disciples while Qian Lei’s followers gathered their belongings.

• Qi Yun alternated between moments of clarity and madness as he fought the vicious blade’s artifact spirit, while Qian Lei’s group dodged his clumsy attacks.
• Qi Yun suddenly killed Junior Brother Qin when he opened his eyes and swung the blade at a disciple who approached him.
• Qi Yun regained control long enough to hear Qian Lei claim that the artifact spirit had killed Senior Brother Qin, then laughed and rushed from the cave.
• Qi Yun noticed Yi Xuan’s four-legged robots, threatened to find him, and destroyed the robots before racing away from the cave.
• Yi Xuan’s ornithopters followed Qian Lei and his disciples as they caught up with Qi Yun, who killed a group of unknown disciples with a single blade strike.
• Qian Lei ordered his junior brothers to collect the dead men’s Storage Bags and the gains they had obtained in the Artifact Ruins.

Yi Xuan recalled Qi Yun’s deadly attacks and gathered the Azure Cloud Sect disciples in the cave to warn them that they could not confront the Gazing Immortal Sect directly. He began considering how to gain support from other sects, but Yan Siruo questioned how strong he really was.

• Yi Xuan used the drone to observe Qi Yun killing several groups of cultivators and concluded that Qi Yun had Nascent Soul Realm strength.
• Yi Xuan ordered He Hongfei and the other Azure Cloud Sect disciples, along with the people aboard the Pangu, to return to his stone cave.
• Yi Xuan considered avoiding Qi Yun but decided instead to seek the goodwill of disciples from other Southern Frontier sects.
• The nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples arrived at the cave, where Yi Xuan explained the danger posed by Qi Yun and the Gazing Immortal Sect.
• Yan Siruo interrupted Yi Xuan and asked how strong he was, reasoning that his appointment as Sect Protector and leader of the expedition suggested he surpassed an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.

Yi Xuan gathered nine Southern Frontier disciples to help publicize his plan to kill Qi Yun and increase the Azure Cloud Sect’s influence. After he broadcast the Gazing Immortal Sect’s crimes and raised a beacon for shelter, Qu Ling warned Yan Siruo that the other sects’ disciples would not come—only Qi Yun and his followers would.

• Yi Xuan explained that he planned to kill Qi Yun himself and use the deed to win gratitude for the Azure Cloud Sect, convincing He Hongfei and the other eight disciples to follow his plan.
• Yi Xuan used Butler and the drones to broadcast his voice across the Artifact Ruins, and Qi Yun caught and crushed one of the ornithopters.
• Yi Xuan revealed the Gazing Immortal Sect’s plot and told the Southern Frontier disciples to follow the formation’s signal to shelter.
• He Hongfei and the other eight disciples activated the formation, sending a pillar of light into the sky, while Qi Yun and Qian Lei dismissed the signal and continued hunting.
• Yan Siruo expected the other sects’ disciples to arrive, but Qu Ling told her that only Qi Yun and the Gazing Immortal Sect disciples would come.

Yi Xuan's warning helped a Qianyuan Sect team escape Qi Yun, and their public confirmation of the danger spread across the stone mountain. The Azure Thunder Hall arrived to seek Yi Xuan's protection, trusting the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Qu Ling explained how Yi Xuan's warning would gradually convince scattered Southern Frontier disciples to gather at the formation and draw Qi Yun toward them.
• Qi Yun tried to kill a six-person team, but their leader used a Greater Teleportation Talisman to escape after recognizing the danger.
• The Qianyuan Sect leader broadcast that Yi Xuan had told the truth and announced that his team was heading for the Azure Cloud Sect's formation.
• Yi Xuan learned through his drones that the Qianyuan Sect team had confirmed his warning and prepared to welcome them.
• The nine members of the Azure Thunder Hall arrived, and their leader told Yi Xuan they had come to seek his protection.

Qi Yun headed for the Azure Cloud Sect after Qian Lei suggested attacking its camp, while Yi Xuan prepared to confront him. Yi Xuan entered the Black Tortoise mech and blocked Qi Yun’s opening strike, but Qi Yun moved behind it and launched another attack.

• Qi Yun destroyed the stone mountains in frustration, and Qian Lei persuaded him to fly toward the pillar of light and attack the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Qian Lei stayed behind with the other Gazing Immortal Sect disciples, weighing the consequences of Qi Yun’s fight as a drone relayed their conversation to Yi Xuan.
• Qi Yun arrived at the Azure Cloud Sect camp, and Yi Xuan reassured Yan Siruo before summoning the Black Tortoise mech.
• Yi Xuan entered the mech and blocked Qi Yun’s saber with a greatsword, which took ten percent damage.
• Qi Yun flashed behind the Black Tortoise and swung at it again, leaving Yi Xuan unable to dodge.

Yi Xuan tested the Black Tortoise against Qi Yun, only to learn that the Nascent Soul cultivator could overpower its defenses. After the mech was destroyed, Yi Xuan tried to negotiate with Qi Yun.

• The Black Tortoise blocked Qi Yun’s saber strike with its energy shield, consuming forty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and revealing that its melee strength was inadequate.
• Yi Xuan ordered the Black Tortoise to attack at range, and its Gatling gun fired ninety thousand rounds at Qi Yun, who emerged from the smoke apparently unharmed.
• Qi Yun charged, but the Black Tortoise’s Barrett struck his saber and sent him flying; Qi Yun reappeared unharmed behind the mech and attacked it repeatedly.
• Qi Yun overloaded the Black Tortoise’s energy shield and split the mech in two, while Yi Xuan ejected himself and his pilot’s seat to escape.
• Yi Xuan landed nearby and told Qi Yun that they could talk.

Yi Xuan used a laser emitter aboard the Firmament to defeat Qi Yun, who had threatened the crowd and demanded that they hand over Azure Cloud Sect disciples. After ensuring the vicious saber was being refined, Yi Xuan dismissed the other sects and returned to the stone cave.

• Qi Yun ordered Yi Xuan and the onlookers to kneel, then offered to spare anyone who handed over an Azure Cloud Sect disciple.
• Yi Xuan taunted Qi Yun and activated the laser emitter he had placed aboard the Firmament.
• The laser beam engulfed Qi Yun, forcing him into the vicious saber and severely damaging it.
• Yi Xuan sent the vicious saber to the Temperature-Controlled Separation Furnace and confirmed that Butler had begun refining it.
• The nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples surrounded Yi Xuan, and he reassured them before dismissing the other sects.
• Yi Xuan entered the stone cave.

Yi Xuan watched as the Qianyuan Sect tried to persuade the Southern Frontier sects to leave without repaying the Azure Cloud Sect, but the Azure Thunder Hall set a precedent by donating Law Artifacts. The other sects followed suit, and Yi Xuan emerged to consult with Yan Siruo and the other disciples.

• A Qianyuan Sect disciple denounced the Gazing Immortal Sect and promised to report the Azure Cloud Sect’s kindness, then urged the sects to disperse without giving anything.
• Yi Xuan watched from the cave and grew angry when the other sects prepared to leave without repaying him.
• The Azure Thunder Hall’s leading disciple announced that its members would give the Azure Cloud Sect three Law Artifacts each, and the nine disciples handed over twenty-seven artifacts.
• The Qianyuan Sect followed with thirty Law Artifacts, and the other sects lined up to give their own artifacts to the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Yan Siruo reported that the gifts had been placed outside, and Yi Xuan led him out of the cave to discuss matters with the waiting disciples.

Yi Xuan sent a disguised Pangu robot to lead Qu Ling and the Azure Cloud Sect disciples into the stone mountain while he stayed behind, wary of his damaged weapons and dwindling means. The disciples mistook the robot for Yi Xuan until He Hongfei pulled off its cloak and revealed the metal figure.

• Yi Xuan agreed to let the nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples enter the stone mountain after they pressed him for a share of the benefits.
• Yi Xuan told the disciples that Qu Ling would lead them into the stone mountain instead of him.
• A day later, Qu Ling led the group into the stone mountain with a silent, fully cloaked stranger among them.
• Qu Ling reasoned that Yi Xuan had stayed behind because the Black Tortoise was destroyed, the laser emitter was unusable, and Yi Xuan was a Rootless Person.
• The cloaked Pangu robot spoke in Yi Xuan's voice, and He Hongfei tore off its cloak to reveal a metal figure.

Yi Xuan had the vicious saber melted down and sent the Pangu with the Azure Cloud Sect disciples to the summit of the stone mountain. There, Qu Ling explained that despite its imposing appearance, the Artifact Sect’s great hall contained nothing.

• Yi Xuan confirmed to the Azure Cloud Sect disciples that the Pangu was a puppet and had it follow them toward the summit.
• The Temperature-Controlled Separation Furnace melted the vicious saber, separating its rare metals and revealing a black sphere and a white sphere that Yi Xuan stored for his master to examine.
• Yi Xuan loaded the other Law Artifacts into the furnace after the saber was fully refined.
• He Hongfei, Qu Ling, and the others reached the summit, where they found a lush ecosystem, a massive great hall, and disciples from other sects searching for opportunities.
• Qu Ling told Yi Xuan that generations of explorers had found nothing at all inside the great hall.