Chapter Summaries

Lu Changzhi and Gu Chen returned to Eighteen City with their companions and found the Star Moon Holy Land’s Qian Shenglin waiting with a concealed force. Qian demanded their resources and control of the city’s formation, and the chapter ended as Gu Chen challenged him just before his countdown ran out.

• Xu Hao considered avoiding direct intervention but thought he could help remove Qian Shenglin as the Star Moon Holy Land’s holy son after the secret realm closed.
• Lu Changzhi and Gu Chen discovered that more than two hundred Star Moon Holy Land disciples and allies had gathered around Eighteen City.
• Qian Shenglin prepared his force as Lu Changzhi’s flying boat approached, while people inside the city readied themselves to help defend it.
• Gu Chen asked whether Qian Shenglin’s group had killed the spirit beasts around the city, and Qian demanded their collected light, resources, and control of the formation.
• Qian Shenglin revealed his identity and gave the returning group three breaths to comply, prompting Gu Chen to ask what came after “those who rob.”

Qian Shenglin revealed the Star Moon Holy Land’s hidden forces, but Lu Changzhi used the delay to send a marked army of black-clad figures into the fight. As the battle began, Qin Li narrowly dodged Qian Shenglin’s attack.

• Qian Shenglin called out the Star Moon Holy Land forces concealed in the forest, while Luo Zhen disguised himself and joined the crowd emerging from hiding.
• Lu Changzhi sent a message ordering his allies to make their move, and Gu Chen declared, “Those who rob shall themselves be robbed!”
• Black-clad fighters appeared around Eighteen City, each targeting Star Moon Holy Land disciples marked with crescents.
• Qian Shenglin urged his disciples to attack and struck at Qin Li with Star River Suppression and Annihilation.
• Qin Li slipped past Qian Shenglin’s punch, leaving him stunned that she had dodged it.

Qin Li, Gu Chen, Mu Fan, Luo Ling'er, and Xiao Ye fought the Star Moon Holy Land disciples while Jin Fugui watched from their flying boat, and black-clad allies arrived to reinforce them. Luo Zhen tried to leave but was marked by two crescents, and the fighters were warned that he was a prospective holy son of the Cloud Heaven Holy Land with powerful defenses.

• Qin Li dodged Qian Shenglin's punch and counterattacked his waist as the others engaged the Star Moon Holy Land disciples.
• Mu Fan scattered talismans across the battlefield, while Gu Chen fought head-on and Luo Ling'er used a concealed hammer to send an opponent flying.
• Xiao Ye attacked with flame techniques that concealed lightning, while Jin Fugui watched from the flying boat and the five relied on layered defenses.
• Black-clad figures arrived to support the five, leaving the Star Moon Holy Land disciples and onlookers shocked by the battle's scale.
• Luo Zhen tried to change direction and escape, but two crescent lights appeared above him.
• A Cloud Heaven Holy Land member identified Luo Zhen as a prospective holy son and warned the black-clad figures to watch out for his defenses.

Luo Zhen was caught by Xu Hao while trying to escape, badly injured, and stripped of his belongings after Lu Changzhi received his storage ring. The chapter ended with Luo Zhen collapsing as Xu Hao feared he had died.

• Tang Zining warned the others about Luo Zhen’s defensive measures after marking him as a fellow Cloud Heaven Holy Land disciple.
• Lu Changzhi recognized Luo Zhen and realized his misfortune could bring him another reward.
• Luo Zhen tried to flee, but Xu Hao struck him and the disciples’ array stopped him, worsening his injuries.
• Lu Changzhi received Luo Zhen’s storage ring and inferred that the punch had badly hurt him.
• Xu Hao removed Luo Zhen’s remaining belongings and mask, then set him down; Luo Zhen rolled his eyes and fell backward.
• Xu Hao panicked and told Luo Zhen not to die.

Xu Hao knocked Luo Zhen unconscious and returned his armor before the black-clad Five Symbols Sect disciples stripped and looted the Star Moon Holy Land group. The battle ended with Qian Shenglin humiliated but convinced the attackers would not dare go further.

• Xu Hao checked that Luo Zhen was alive, then put his soft armor back on him because he considered it ineffective.
• The Five Symbols Sect squads fought the Star Moon Holy Land disciples using coordinated tactics and stripped them of their clothes and belongings.
• People in the city watched the spectacle and reacted with shock, jokes, embarrassment, and disgust.
• The battle ended quickly, leaving the Star Moon Holy Land disciples without their possessions or clothing and with no one killed.
• Qian Shenglin judged that the attackers had held back because they feared the consequences, and he refused to believe they would go further.

Mu Fan proposed a coercive cooperation agreement to the captured Star Moon Holy Land disciples, demanding tribute, compensation, labor, and territory. When Qian Shenglin refused and Mu Fan asked him to suggest his own terms, Mu Fan suddenly launched something toward his mouth.

• The people of the city celebrated the Star Moon Holy Land disciples’ defeat and joked about what would happen to the naked captives.
• Mu Fan approached the captured disciples and told Qian Shenglin they should discuss friendly cooperation.
• Mu Fan unfurled an agreement demanding occupied cities, daily spirit-beast tribute, compensation for Eighteen City, and labor from the captives.
• Qian Shenglin and the other Star Moon Holy Land disciples angrily rejected the agreement.
• Mu Fan asked Qian Shenglin to propose his own terms, then flicked something toward the gap between his lips.

Mu Fan forced Qian Shenglin to cooperate by claiming the pill he had swallowed would ruin his cultivation and manhood, and promised him an antidote before the secret realm closed. After settling the Star Moon Holy Land dispute, Lu Changzhi went to move Luo Zhen and noticed an opportunity above his head.

• Mu Fan shot a pill into Qian Shenglin's mouth, leaving him gagging and unable to expel it because his spiritual power was restricted.
• Mu Fan privately claimed the pill would destroy Qian Shenglin's cultivation talent and manhood, making him fear losing his Holy Son position.
• Mu Fan offered Qian Shenglin an antidote and enough radiance to preserve his standing if he kept his disciples in line, and Qian Shenglin agreed.
• Qian Shenglin asked Mu Fan to cooperate by publicly threatening him through the other disciples, and Mu Fan told Gu Chen to comply.
• Lu Changzhi left the flying boat after the matter was settled and found Luo Zhen protected by Xu Hao's formation.
• Lu Changzhi noticed a hand of opportunity beckoning above Luo Zhen's head.

Lu Changzhi discovered that Luo Zhen’s injuries would grant him the Rapid Healing Spirit Physique, then buried him safely outside Eighteen City to recover. After the Star Moon Holy Land signed a cooperation agreement and its disciples departed, the city’s people thanked Lu Changzhi and Gu Chen’s group assessed the damage.

• Lu Changzhi learned that Luo Zhen would gain the Rapid Healing Spirit Physique as he recovered from his injuries, and realized faster healing would let Luo Zhen suffer more often.
• Lu Changzhi carried Luo Zhen away from Eighteen City, buried him in a protected location, and covered him with a formation.
• The Five Symbols Sect forced Qian Shenglin to sign a friendly cooperation agreement with the Star Moon Holy Land, after which the Holy Land’s disciples left.
• Lu Changzhi’s companions prepared to depart, while the other black-clad figures refused rewards and returned the loot taken from the Star Moon Holy Land disciples.
• Eighteen City’s residents thanked Lu Changzhi and his companions, while Gu Chen and the others investigated the city’s losses, including a caretaker who had lost his right arm.

Lu Changzhi used a powerful pill and diluted Life Spirit Spring Essence to heal the unconscious young man’s severed arm. The arm reattached, and Lu Changzhi left him in Gu Chen’s care to recover.

• Lu Changzhi examined the young man’s injury and asked where his severed arm was.
• Lu Changzhi cleaned the arm and wound, then aligned the arm with the injury and held them in place with spiritual power.
• Lu Changzhi used a powerful healing pill and diluted Life Spirit Spring Essence to flood the young man’s body with healing power and vitality.
• The wound rapidly healed and the arm reattached, astonishing the onlookers.
• Lu Changzhi told Gu Chen to have someone watch over the recovering young man, then returned to his residence as the crowd watched with reverence.

After the Star Moon Holy Land was ambushed and stripped by Eighteen City, Qian Shenglin planned to investigate the attackers while rumors transformed them into the infamous Eighteen City Clothes-Stripping Gang. Wujie decided to postpone dealing with Eighteen City, then learned that his followers had found the young man they were seeking.

• Qian Shenglin told a disciple to identify Eighteen City's forces and vowed to avenge the Star Moon Holy Land's humiliation.
• News spread that Eighteen City had swiftly defeated Qian Shenglin's attack, captured the disciples, and forced him to sign a cooperation agreement.
• Rumors exaggerated Eighteen City's strength and methods, giving its unknown forces the name the Eighteen City Clothes-Stripping Gang.
• After reading a jade talisman about the battle, Wujie chose to set Eighteen City aside until the Star Moon Holy Land had gathered more resources for it.
• Wujie received a ray of Buddha light and learned that his followers had found the young man they were seeking.

Qin Jiuxiao escaped from monks of the Buddhist Order after realizing their leader, Wujie, had taken an unsettling interest in him. In Eighteen City, Lu Changzhi rested while the city recovered, and Xiao Ye told him after dinner that she planned to go out.

• Qin Jiuxiao gave up searching for Dai Tianfeng and headed back toward the city where he was staying.
• Two monks invited Qin Jiuxiao to meet the Buddhist Order’s Buddha’s child, but he sensed danger and fled after noticing one monk’s desireful stare.
• Qin Jiuxiao’s talisman attacks were blocked by a Buddhist bell, and Wujie arrived with more monks and pursued him.
• In Eighteen City, the wounded youth’s severed arm was miraculously restored, and Lu Changzhi rested while the city’s people repaired the damage.
• After Gu Chen and the others returned and dinner ended, Xiao Ye told Lu Changzhi she planned to go out for a while.

Lu Changzhi arranged for Gu Chen to accompany Xiao Ye on his journey, while Qin Han considered relying on his ancestor to escape the encirclement around him. Hua Yunfan stopped Qin Han from recklessly exposing himself and gave him a method to leave unnoticed.

• Lu Changzhi assigned Gu Chen to accompany Xiao Ye, and the two agreed to set out the next day.
• Xiao Ye pointed out his intended direction, and Gu Chen realized it was on the way to his own destination.
• Qin Han asked Hua Yunfan whether she had recovered enough to help him break through the blockade, but she warned that escaping could expose them again.
• Qin Han prepared to reveal himself, believing his ancestor would protect him, but Hua Yunfan rebuked him for relying on the ancestor instead of gaining experience.
• Qin Han put away his sword and apologized, and Hua Yunfan passed him a method that could let him escape unnoticed by having a spirit beast swallow him.

Jiang Yuanyin and a fellow ancestor planned to hasten the Nine-Story Tower’s appearance, while Lu Changzhi decided to wait for it before using his Sudden Enlightenment opportunity. As his External Avatar headed toward Crescent Lake with Gu Chen and Xiao Ye, he spotted Dongfang Yao’s group and realized their fortunes hinted at danger.

• Jiang Yuanyin discussed the difficulty of moving the Nine-Story Tower and asked his senior brother to guide the factions’ disciples toward activating it.
• The Star Moon Holy Land’s disciples returned to Eighteen City with wounded spirit beasts as tribute, and Gu Chen and Xiao Ye departed for Crescent Lake.
• Lu Changzhi learned the sect was publicizing the Nine-Story Tower and chose to wait for its appearance before using his remaining Sudden Enlightenment opportunity.
• Lu Changzhi used his External Avatar to track Gu Chen and Xiao Ye, then noticed Dongfang Yao leading a group of Dongfang Clan juniors.
• Lu Changzhi checked the group’s luck, saw that most of the juniors bore a bloody light, and decided to investigate Dongfang Yao another time before following Gu Chen and Xiao Ye toward Crescent Lake.

Xiao Ye stopped at Crescent Lake, found the Memento Jade, and received a Saint Rank High Grade pair of Lightning-Gathering Bracelets for completing his task. Lu Changzhi drew a Saint Rank Peak Grade blue jade thumb ring and reacted strangely after seeing it.

• Xiao Ye steered the flying boat down to Crescent Lake, while Gu Chen grew wary and kept watch as Xiao Ye entered the water.
• Xiao Ye found the Memento Jade in the lakebed and completed the system task with a rating of eight.
• The system rewarded Xiao Ye with Lightning-Gathering Bracelets that could condense lightning power and make one bolt stronger than six.
• Tongtong explained that the Memento Jade could store scenes witnessed by its activator, and Xiao Ye probed it with his consciousness.
• Lu Changzhi received a draw as Xiao Ye's master and obtained a Saint Rank Peak Grade blue jade thumb ring, whose appearance made his expression turn strange.

Lu Changzhi watched Xiao Ye and Gu Chen retrieve a memory jade from Crescent Lake, then learned that the Buddhist Order was hunting Qin Jiuxiao. He tracked Qin Han and found him hiding inside a spiritual beast, while Dai Tianfeng’s fortune revealed that events were moving quickly.

• Xiao Ye found a memory jade at the bottom of Crescent Lake and urged Gu Chen to return to Eighteen City with it for their master.
• Gu Chen searched the lake with Xiao Ye, obtained a spiritual herb and spear art through sign-in, and then left with him for Eighteen City.
• Lu Changzhi waited at Crescent Lake until Qin Jiuxiao arrived, entered the water, and revealed that the Buddhist Order was pursuing him.
• Lu Changzhi used the system to find Qin Han and discovered that he was hiding in a spiritual beast’s belly to evade Dai Tianfeng and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty juniors.
• Lu Changzhi checked Dai Tianfeng’s fortune and was stunned by how quickly things were changing.

Lu Changzhi learned from Xiao Ye’s Memento Jade that a massive beast tide had erupted in the secret realm, killing one elder and injuring another. The recording ended with survivors discovering that the teleportation array had been destroyed, leaving them unable to escape.

• Lu Changzhi saw that Qin Han was likely to escape Dai Tianfeng and stopped following him.
• Crowds gathered outside Eighteen City, drawn by its refusal to collect their light and its reputation for helping weaker factions.
• Gu Chen returned to Eighteen City and went to investigate the enormous crowd.
• Xiao Ye showed Lu Changzhi a Memento Jade recording of a vast beast tide spreading through the secret realm.
• The recording revealed that one of the three elders was dead, another was injured, and Elder Chen had urged people to flee.
• Survivors reported that the teleportation array had been destroyed and they could not return.

Lu Changzhi learned from a Memento Jade that powerful beasts had overwhelmed the secret realm and killed the elders, and he decided to warn the patriarchs. As the crowded Eighteen City prepared for night, Dai Tianfeng pursued the person who took the sword dao opportunity, and Luo Ling'er's system reached level three.

• Lu Changzhi heard a recording explaining that powerful beasts had appeared in the secret realm, killed the elders, and left the trial participants hoping for help from a Xia Clan expert.
• Lu Changzhi considered whether the beasts were connected to Qin Li's training mission and decided to inform the patriarchs so they could prepare and search for clues.
• Gu Chen, Qin Li, Mu Fan, and others handled the crowd outside Eighteen City while Luo Ling'er cooked for them.
• Dai Tianfeng ordered his people to keep searching for the person who took the sword dao opportunity and ignored the converging beasts, then left after considering the Nine-Story Tower mark on his wrist.
• Luo Ling'er's system upgraded to level three, and Lu Changzhi received the notification while waiting for his meal.

Lu Changzhi’s God of Cooking System leveled up, granting new tools, skills, and the Dao Comprehension Tea Leaves Egg, which he hoped would help the sect achieve Sudden Enlightenment. As night fell, a group of hunters targeted a giant rhinoceros, but an abrupt change interrupted their attempt.

• The God of Cooking System improved its effects and kitchenware, and gave Lu Changzhi a God of Cooking Jar, Masterful Knife Skills, and A Thousand Cuts and Ten Thousand Slashes.
• Lu Changzhi learned that the God of Cooking Jar could speed up brewing and braising, and that people could be placed inside if sauce or broth was added.
• Lu Changzhi read that Dao Comprehension Tea Leaves Eggs could offer a small chance of Sudden Enlightenment, and decided to test the dish for the sect.
• Lu Changzhi gave Luo Ling'er Dao Comprehension Tea Leaves, the God of Cooking Jar, and the recipe to study.
• At night, a group of hunters spotted a giant rhinoceros and approached it, but an abrupt change occurred just as they prepared to attack.

Qin Han escaped from the rhinoceros and decided to find Jiang Xin before confronting Dai Tianfeng. In Eighteen City, Lu Changzhi observed the new rules and rewards, then received a Mystic Grade mission to investigate beneath Wujie's palace in Thirteenth City.

• Qin Han burst out of the rhinoceros and escaped the people who had discovered him.
• Qin Han remembered Dai Tianfeng's attack, but Hua Yunfan urged him to focus on gaining strength in the secret realm.
• Qin Han chose to find Jiang Xin first and disappeared into the night.
• Lu Changzhi reviewed Eighteen City's new rules and rewards, including rewards for spirit beast and demonic beast eggs.
• Lu Changzhi purchased a random mission to look beneath Wujie's palace in Thirteenth City within one day.

Lu Changzhi sent his External Avatar to the Thirteenth City, while Luo Zhen woke buried underground and discovered that his belongings and safeguards had been stolen. Lu Changzhi entered the city and noticed that its non-Buddhist cultivators had a strange light in their eyes.

• Lu Changzhi read the mission to go beneath the Thirteenth City and sent his External Avatar there in a Void Shuttle.
• Luo Zhen woke beneath the earth, found his storage ring and other belongings missing, and dug around without finding them.
• Luo Zhen concluded that someone had robbed him after knocking him unconscious and resolved to acquire more powerful tricks and trump cards if he survived the secret realm.
• Luo Zhen decided to find a safe place and wait out the secret realm, believing little time remained and that survival mattered more than placing in the Struggle of the Heaven's Chosen.
• Lu Changzhi concealed himself, entered the Thirteenth City, and noticed a light in the eyes of its cultivators who did not belong to the Buddhist Order.