Chapter Summaries

Lu Changzhi received a map to the Core of the Source of Water, located near the Flower Spirit Sect, and gave Gu Chen a Saint’s inheritance. At the rift valley, the Flower Spirit Sect struggled to control the growing water spiritual power as forces from across the region arrived, and Lu Changzhi found the area packed with people.

• Lu Changzhi claimed his luck reward and received the location of the Core of the Source of Water near the Flower Spirit Sect.
• After Gu Chen and Xiao Ming ended their fight, Lu Changzhi gave Gu Chen a Saint’s inheritance and a storage ring.
• Mu Fan concluded that Lu Changzhi had been responsible for the disturbance at the Cloud Heaven Holy Land by hunting there.
• The Flower Spirit Sect’s elders reported that rising water spiritual power made it increasingly difficult to reach the depths of the rift valley.
• Experts from the Star Moon Holy Land arrived and entered the rift valley, followed by many others seeking the source of the water spiritual power.
• Lu Changzhi arrived by flying boat and was surprised by the crowds gathered in the rift valley.

Lu Changzhi descended into a rift filled with dense water Spiritual Power, using the Water-Averting Treasure Pearl to overcome the pressure and dive faster than the other cultivators. The pearl reacted violently as he neared a faint azure light deep below, while Jing Yun decided Lu Changzhi might help the Buddhist Order obtain its fated treasure.

• Lu Changzhi disguised himself and entered the crowded rift, where three hidden observers noticed that his Qi was unusual.
• Lu Changzhi dived through the increasingly dark water as other cultivators struggled against the pressure.
• Lu Changzhi used the Water-Averting Treasure Pearl to eliminate the pressure and greatly increase his speed.
• Jing Yun sensed Lu Changzhi, used Buddhist light to investigate him, and decided he might lead the Buddhist Order to its fated treasure.
• Lu Changzhi spotted faint azure light ahead and stopped as the Water-Averting Treasure Pearl trembled violently.

Lu Changzhi collected the Origin of Water and discovered a vast trove of Source Water Spirit Crystals in the fissure beneath it. After he and the system gathered all 16,524 and a half crystals, he headed back, while others outside the rift began searching for the person who had taken the Origin.

• Lu Changzhi had the system collect the Origin of Water, then noticed another fissure beneath the site and entered it.
• People outside the rift realized the water spiritual power had stopped increasing, and Jing Yun urged the monks to watch for whoever had taken the treasure.
• In the void, Gu Qingyang suggested Ancestor Yi might have collected the Origin of Water, and the others warned Ancestor Zhencang not to attack him if so.
• Lu Changzhi found dense clusters of Source Water Spirit Crystals in the fissure and began collecting them with the system.
• Lu Changzhi relaxed on the Observing Chair while the system gathered 16,524 and a half crystals, then he set off back.

Lu Changzhi emerged from the underwater rift with the Water-Averting Treasure Pearl and found powerful sect experts waiting to confront whoever had taken the treasure. As he considered how to handle them, he recognized Gu Qingyang and secretly revealed that he was one of his own.

• Lu Changzhi noticed Jing Yun following him underwater, then raced ahead and emerged from the water.
• The assembled experts surrounded the area, and an elder of the Vast Heaven Sect asked Lu Changzhi whether he had found anything below.
• The system offered Lu Changzhi three choices, including killing the greedy experts to maximize the Helping Others for Pleasure Broadsword's first-layer effect.
• Lu Changzhi reviewed the experts' strength and spotted Gu Qingyang among the six Transcendent Realm experts.
• Lu Changzhi sent Gu Qingyang a transmission saying he was one of his own, and Gu Qingyang recognized him as Changzhi.

Lu Changzhi used the Cloud Heaven Holy Land’s protections to lure the Buddhist Order, Star Moon Holy Land, and Extreme Arms Holy Land into pursuing him. He unleashed a Saint’s spear against them, and the three leaders braced to meet its attack.

• Gu Qingyang told Lu Changzhi to leave while the elders handled the situation, but Jing Yun, Mo Ling, and an expert from the Extreme Arms Holy Land all demanded that Lu Changzhi surrender the treasure.
• Lu Changzhi activated a Cloud Heaven token and fled upward as the three forces attacked him; an array disc and talisman blocked their strikes.
• Lu Changzhi challenged his pursuers and stopped in midair, drawing the three forces after him as Gu Qingyang marveled at his speed.
• Lu Changzhi revealed a miniature spear refined by Ge Duantian, whose Saint-level pressure and spear intent startled the pursuers.
• The spear’s illusory Saint declared that those who offended Cloud Heaven Holy Land’s younger generation would be slain, then attacked as Mo Ling, Jing Yun, and the Extreme Arms expert prepared to resist.

Lu Changzhi used a Saint's spear strike to turn back the pursuing experts, then killed Mo Ling and several others with a soul-cutting cleaver. As the survivors fled and the battlefield fell silent, a Cloud Heaven Holy Land flying vessel approached.

• Lu Changzhi's spear strike blasted Mo Ling, Jing Yun, and the other pursuers backward, leaving them injured.
• Lu Changzhi seized Mo Ling, suppressed him with Origin Spiritual Power, and killed him with a cleaver that destroyed his soul.
• Lu Changzhi killed several Star Moon Holy Land experts who tried to flee or reason with him.
• Lu Changzhi killed Jing Yun after asking whether he had ever risked his head and spilled his blood for an opportunity.
• Gu Qingyang praised Lu Changzhi's decisive fighting, while the surviving enemies fled and the remaining low-level monks were left alive as witnesses.
• A Cloud Heaven Holy Land flying vessel approached the bloodstained, silent battlefield.

Lu Changzhi examined the gains from the battle as Cloud Heaven Holy Land left the scene and tried to distance itself from the killings. He discovered that three Buddhist monks had cultivated arts involving yang energy and evil spirits, while Gu Qingyang revealed that Shadow Hall elites were secretly following their flying boat.

• Cloud Heaven Holy Land elders collected the corpses’ storage rings, and an elder blamed the clash on people who had provoked the Holy Land over its treasure.
• Onlookers speculated about the treasure and the Holy Land’s recent good fortune, while two figures vanished to investigate the incident.
• Lu Changzhi reviewed the great saber’s upgrades and the martial arts and cultivation arts gathered from the battle.
• Lu Changzhi found that Jing Yun had perfected the male dual-cultivation art “Harvest Yang to Supplement Yang Art” and had also cultivated “Evil Spirit Control Art.”
• Lu Changzhi discovered that all three Buddhist monks had cultivated both arts, but their storage rings contained nothing related to evil spirits.
• Gu Qingyang told Lu Changzhi that two Shadow Hall elites were secretly following the flying boat and said they would keep up their act rather than risk a costly fight.

Lu Changzhi learned that two Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty Shadow Hall agents were secretly following them and gained a tool that could reveal their concealed positions. He and Gu Qingyang decided to enter the Cloud Heaven Holy Land to preserve their deception, while Lu Changzhi proposed another option.

• Gu Qingyang explained that the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty's Shadow Hall trained agents to gather intelligence through concealment, speed, and observation.
• Lu Changzhi discovered that two Transcendent Realm Shadow Hall agents were following their flying boat and learned they could become suicide attackers if needed.
• Gu Qingyang gave Lu Changzhi a transparent array lens that let him faintly see the hidden agents.
• Gu Qingyang said they had to enter the Cloud Heaven Holy Land to convince the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, even though the sect elders would later have to flee its core area.
• Lu Changzhi considered the plan and said there was another way.

Lu Changzhi told Gu Qingyang that he had posed as the rumored Sword Immortal and showed him the Dao-Severing Sword, which Gu Qingyang identified as an incomplete sword that once had a spirit. Gu Qingyang let Lu Changzhi decide what to do next, and Lu Changzhi headed for the Cloud Heaven Holy Land, where Fang Ling rushed to greet him after receiving his message.

• Lu Changzhi explained his plan to use his Sword Immortal identity to Gu Qingyang, who was astonished to learn that Lu Changzhi had been the rumored Sword Immortal.
• Lu Changzhi revealed the Dao-Severing Sword, and Gu Qingyang examined it and explained the three levels of sword cultivation.
• Gu Qingyang recognized that the Dao-Severing Sword had once possessed a sword spirit and told Lu Changzhi to make his own decision while the elders acted as a safety net.
• Lu Changzhi traveled toward the Cloud Heaven Holy Land and sent Fang Ling a message using the communication method Fang Ling had given him.
• Fang Ling received word that the Senior Sword Immortal was visiting and hurried out to meet him.

Cloud Heaven Holy Land prepared to welcome the Sword Immortal, while Qin Jiuxiao grew hopeful at the news that his benefactor was coming. Meanwhile, Cheng Qian watched the Li Clan’s siege of the Ma Clan and planned to kill Ma Yunteng; Lu Changzhi arrived at the Holy Land in his External Avatar.

• Huang Yunya ordered Cloud Heaven Holy Land to prepare a proper welcome for the Sword Immortal and decided to tell Luo Zhen, treating his reaction as a test.
• Qin Jiuxiao learned that the Sword Immortal would visit and, after ordering his attendant to press Elder Li for answers about the pill, decided to prepare for the arrival.
• Cheng Qian watched the Li Clan hold Ma Yunteng’s family captive while besieging the Ma Clan, and planned to give Ma Yunteng a good death.
• Lu Changzhi concealed his true body and companions inside the Heaven and Earth Pagoda, then approached Cloud Heaven Holy Land aboard a flying boat as the elders sensed the Sword Immortal’s arrival.

Lu Changzhi returned to the Cloud Heaven Holy Land, where Huang Yunya welcomed him and hosted a banquet. He noticed Luo Zhen’s remarkable growth and learned his Nine Deaths and One Life talent had not yet taken effect, while Qin Jiuxiao’s toast interrupted Luo Zhen as he tried to speak.

• Huang Yunya and the elders welcomed Lu Changzhi’s flying boat, while two Shadow Hall members recorded his return from outside the defensive formation.
• Lu Changzhi joined a banquet and asked whether the Blood Devil had appeared again; Huang Yunya said it had not, and Fang Ling thanked Lu Changzhi for lending him a sword.
• Lu Changzhi noticed Fang Ling’s serious injury, which Fang Ling said came from an accident during his lightning tribulation.
• Lu Changzhi was shocked by Luo Zhen’s improved aptitude and cultivation, and the system told him that the Nine Deaths and One Life calamity had not yet come.
• Qin Jiuxiao toasted Lu Changzhi for saving his life, prompting Luo Zhen to reach for his cup after Qin Jiuxiao stole the chance to speak.

At a gathering in the Cloud Heaven Holy Land, Luo Zhen restrained himself from challenging Qin Jiuxiao, then won Lu Changzhi’s praise and asked to cultivate under him. Lu Changzhi told him to become Holy Son first, prompting Luo Zhen to resolve to claim the position, while the system warned that Qin Jiuxiao was about to turn evil.

• Fang Ling warned Luo Zhen not to disrupt the gathering, and Luo Zhen heeded his advice.
• Luo Zhen toasted Lu Changzhi, angering Qin Jiuxiao and drawing disapproval from several elders.
• Lu Changzhi praised Luo Zhen as a fine disciple, making Luo Zhen proud.
• Luo Zhen asked Lu Changzhi through voice transmission if he could cultivate under him, and Lu Changzhi replied that they could discuss it after Luo Zhen became Holy Son.
• Luo Zhen resolved to take the Holy Son position, while Lu Changzhi considered how the promotion might benefit them both.
• The system warned Lu Changzhi that Qin Jiuxiao was about to turn evil.

Lu Changzhi left Cloud Heaven Holy Land after a banquet, giving Huang Yunya dozens of rare Source Water Spirit Crystals as thanks. After he departed, the elders wondered whether the generous gift was a trap, while a hidden observer collected recordings for their own plans.

• Lu Changzhi learned that Qin Jiuxiao’s growing hatred could make him turn dark, increasing his strength growth and chances of finding opportunities, and concluded that [Impermanent Karma] would keep the change from harming him.
• After the banquet, Lu Changzhi declined Huang Yunya’s offer of accommodations and gave him a storage ring containing dozens of Source Water Spirit Crystals.
• Huang Yunya and the elders were astonished by the gift, while Luo Zhen watched Lu Changzhi and resolved to work hard to become the Holy Son.
• A concealed observer put away recording stones and said the material needed only a few small adjustments before it could be used.
• After Lu Changzhi departed, the elders speculated that the crystals might have been stolen and given to them to frame Cloud Heaven Holy Land, and Huang Yunya warned them not to invite trouble.

Qin Jiuxiao planned to kill Luo Zhen before the Holy Son was chosen, while Li Zhen ordered the Ma Clan wiped out to satisfy pressure from the Holy Land. Elsewhere, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty pursued an array treasure and the Source Water Spirit Crystals, as Lu Changzhi’s system began an optimization.

• Qin Jiuxiao blamed Luo Zhen for the Sword Immortal’s praise and resolved to kill him before the Holy Son was chosen.
• Lu Changzhi considered the cost of refreshing a fortuitous encounter and planned to return to Hidden Origin Peak to take Fugui as his disciple and upgrade the system.
• Li Zhen learned that Ma Yunteng was missing and ordered that the entire Ma Clan be killed if Ma Yunteng did not appear.
• The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty investigated Chen Fangyuan’s array and sent more people to claim the Source Water Spirit Crystals near the Flower Spirit Sect.
• The system told Lu Changzhi that it was being optimized and urged him to stay alive.

Lu Changzhi tested the system’s new Accomplice Identification function, which marked his allies green and appeared to give them conspicuous green hats. At the Flower Spirit Sect, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s Black Eagle Army arrived and ordered everyone to leave, then struck down a Flower Spirit Sect elder who objected.

• The system told Lu Changzhi that its optimization had added Accomplice Identification, and he activated it to see Gu Qingyang and the others marked emerald green.
• Lu Changzhi noticed a vivid green hat above a patriarch’s head and concluded that the system had marked everyone in the sect.
• The Black Eagle Army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty arrived on Black-Scaled Eagles and ordered everyone outside the dynasty to leave the area within a hundred li.
• The Flower Spirit Sect master tried to explain that the sect was located there, but the commander rebuked her and refused to listen.
• A Flower Spirit Sect elder protested that the treasure beneath them had already been taken, and a flash of spear light cut her off.

The Li Clan moved to destroy the Ma Clan after Ma Yunteng failed to return, while Lu Changzhi returned to the Five Symbols Sect with Source Water Spirit Crystals and considered refining the Core of the Source of Water. Xiao Ye then received an unexpectedly high task rating for resolving the Xiao Clan's predicament, though he did not know what he had done.

• A Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty attacker killed a Flower Spirit Sect elder, and the other figures on the black-scaled eagle made the sect leave or die.
• Spectators gathered at the Ma Clan as the deadline passed, and the Xiao Clan elders concluded Ma Yunteng might have been used to help them.
• Li Zhen declared Ma Yunteng's chance was over and sent the Li Clan into the Ma Clan.
• Lu Changzhi gave Gu Qingyang a storage ring containing several thousand Source Water Spirit Crystals, then returned to Hidden Origin Peak and postponed refining the Core of the Source of Water.
• Xiao Ye received a system notice that he had completed the task of resolving the Xiao Clan's predicament with a rating of eleven, leaving him confused.

Xiao Ye’s mission to resolve the Xiao Clan’s predicament was completed when the Li Clan wiped out the Ma Clan, earning him a Thunder Dragon Egg and Lu Changzhi a restricted prize draw. Lu Changzhi obtained a Black Tortoise Egg and planned to nurture it with water resources for Xiao Ming, then asked the hesitant Gu Chen what was troubling him.

• The system awarded Xiao Ye a Thunder Dragon Egg after the Ma Clan’s destruction completed his mission with an eleven rating.
• Lu Changzhi learned that the Li Clan, not Xiao Ye or Cheng Qian, had wiped out the Ma Clan after the pill dispute, indirectly resolving Xiao Ye’s trial.
• Lu Changzhi used his prize draw to receive a Black Tortoise Egg and planned to hatch it with the Origin of Water and Source Water Spirit Crystal for Xiao Ming.
• Gu Chen came to see Lu Changzhi, who asked what he was finding difficult to say.

Gu Chen completed a sign-in task by sitting on Lu Changzhi’s specially made bed, giving Lu Changzhi five cultivation points and a timely breakthrough opportunity. While Lu Changzhi slept through his attempted breakthrough, Xiao Niu accidentally struck Chen Fangyuan’s buried formation, revealing the main tomb and prompting the Great Zhou emperor to set out for it.

• Gu Chen asked to sit on Lu Changzhi’s bed to complete a sign-in task, and Lu Changzhi used the bed as an excuse to help him save face.
• Gu Chen completed the task and left, while Lu Changzhi received five cultivation points that made a breakthrough available.
• After eating, Lu Changzhi went to bed and told the system to begin his breakthrough, then fell asleep.
• At the Southern Region spirit vein, Xiao Niu struck the buried formation with his pickaxe and caused it to reveal a bright Fangyuan symbol in the sky.
• The Great Zhou emperor learned that the revealed location held the main tomb and decided to go there to obtain the secret of the breakthrough.
• The system quietly left Hidden Origin Peak with Xiao Ye’s Tongtong while Lu Changzhi slept.

The appearance of Saint King Chen Fangyuan’s inheritance stirred the major factions, while the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty moved into the Flower Spirit Rift Valley. After advancing to the Early Transcendent Realm, Lu Changzhi learned of the upheaval and asked Cang Wenyu whether inheritances and ruins always made such a commotion.

• Reports of Saint King Chen Fangyuan’s inheritance spread, but Dongfang Jun and Cang Wenyu’s Five Symbols Sect held back from acting.
• Huang Yunya learned of the inheritance and a water-filled fissure at the Flower Spirit Sect, then ordered an investigation into the Source Water Spirit Crystal’s possible appearance.
• Jiang Yuanyin ordered the Extreme Arms Holy Land to pursue the inheritance, commanding them to seize it if they could not secure it peacefully.
• The Buddhist Order and the Star Moon Holy Land also decided to pursue the inheritance, while setting aside other concerns for now.
• Lu Changzhi woke in the Early Transcendent Realm and learned from Cang Wenyu that the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s Black Eagle Army had occupied the Flower Spirit Rift Valley.
• Lu Changzhi asked Cang Wenyu whether inheritances and ruins traditionally caused such a conspicuous disturbance.

Lu Changzhi learned that the Five Symbols Sect would avoid competing for the Saint King's inheritance, then heard that the Cloud Heaven Holy Land had found information about the Flower Spirit Sect. The Holy Land was blamed for the incident, argued over whether Fang Ling was involved, and issued a denial that other factions largely dismissed.

• Cang Wenyu told Lu Changzhi that the Five Symbols Sect would focus on cultivation and stay out of the Saint King's inheritance, though its ancestors might join in.
• Cang Wenyu said the Cloud Heaven Holy Land had not yet responded with news about the Flower Spirit Sect.
• Huang Yunya learned that rumors linked the Holy Land to the Flower Spirit Sect incident, and the elders suspected the Sword Immortal had framed them.
• Elders accused Fang Ling of possibly acting against the Holy Land, but Huang Yunya stopped their quarrel and led them to issue a denial.
• Other factions mocked the Holy Land's statement, while the three factions involved focused on Chen Fangyuan's inheritance.