Chapter Summaries

As Luo Zhen sat in the Holy Water, several people nearby suffered horrifying afflictions, while Xiang Qing examined the masked youth and sensed that he was a dangerous scourge. Xiang Qing chose to avoid entangling himself with him and then noticed Qin Han, whom he believed had the makings of a notable figure.

• Luo Zhen entered the Holy Water and sat cross-legged, but nothing initially seemed to happen around him.
• A youth nearby went mad after his face and head turned purple and split open, while another bled from every pore and died; a third person's arms began turning stone-like.
• Xiang Qing studied the masked Luo Zhen and sensed that his seemingly fine exterior concealed something rotten, but he let his killing intent fade to avoid incurring karma.
• Xiang Qing turned his attention to the crowd outside the Holy Water and remarked that Qin Han might become a notable figure.

Xiang Qing arranged for Qin Han to enter the Holy Water early, hoping to judge whether he was worth recruiting into the Xiang Clan. As Qin Han prepared for the baptism, he and Qin Jiuxiao exchanged threats, while Lu Changzhi left the task of retrieving the basin to the system.

• Xiang Qing told the Holy Water steward to arrange Qin Han's early entry and decided that his performance would determine whether the Xiang Clan recruited him.
• Lu Changzhi noticed Qin Han's opportunity had arrived early, and the system offered to handle the Holy Water basin by forming a huge pair of shoulders from seawater.
• Qin Han entered the Holy Water without hiding his identity, and Qin Jiuxiao recognized him as the man who had rescued Liu Qingyan.
• Qin Han taunted Qin Jiuxiao and declared that joining the Xiang Clan would provoke him further, while Mo Gen warned Qin Jiuxiao not to start a fight on Xiang Clan territory.
• Qin Han sat down confidently, believing his past achievements and support from Elder Hua and the ancestor would ensure his success.
• Qin Jiuxiao became enraged and transmitted to Mu Qianqian, asking her to help him.

Mu Qianqian expelled all four of her male disciples after suddenly attacking Qin Jiuxiao, leaving them baffled about what had caused her anger. Meanwhile, Qin Han focused on impressing the Xiang Clan by refining the Holy Water and considered using its power to break through his cultivation realm.

• Mu Qianqian blasted Qin Jiuxiao across the flying boat, then disowned him, Mo Gen, and the other disciples and threatened to kill them if they did not leave.
• Mo Gen and the other disciples questioned Qin Jiuxiao about what he had said, but he insisted he had done nothing wrong and denied that Qin Han was involved.
• One disciple speculated that Mu Qianqian had expelled them after discovering Qin Han's strength, prompting Qin Jiuxiao to reject the idea and grow more furious at Qin Han.
• Qin Han asked Hua Yunfan how to impress the Xiang Clan, but Hua Yunfan said he did not understand the Holy Water's unusual power.
• Qin Han began refining the Holy Water and decided to try using it to break through his cultivation realm.

Qin Han used the Holy Water’s energy to force repeated breakthroughs, while Xiang Qing secretly helped him absorb more by connecting him to the water’s core and blocking out ambient spiritual power. After Qin Han advanced an entire major realm to the Dao Comprehension Realm in under three hours, Hua Yunfan warned him that continuing could bring a severe future cost.

• Qin Han circulated the Holy Water’s unknown energy through his meridians and accumulated enough spiritual power to approach a breakthrough.
• Qin Han triggered a breakthrough and used its suction to absorb the Holy Water’s energy instead of surrounding spiritual power.
• Xiang Qing connected Qin Han to the Holy Water’s core and secretly blocked ambient spiritual power so Qin Han could absorb more energy.
• Qin Han broke through repeatedly, advancing an entire major realm to the Dao Comprehension Realm in less than three hours.
• Hua Yunfan warned Qin Han to stop because continuing to break through could make him pay an enormous price later.

Qin Han absorbed the Holy Water and rapidly broke through into the Transcendent Realm, despite Hua Yunfan warning him that his cultivation foundation was becoming unstable. After he stopped at the sixth level of the Transcendent Realm, Xiang Qing judged his condition to be dangerously hollow but offered him a place in the Xiang Clan.

• Hua Yunfan warned Qin Han that his rapid breakthroughs were damaging his foundation, but he insisted he accepted the cost of his chosen path.
• Qin Han continued advancing through multiple levels and entered the Transcendent Realm, drawing the crowd’s attention and deepening Qin Jiuxiao’s worry and resentment.
• Qin Han declared that he would try to reach the Saint Realm, but his breakthrough momentum faded and he stopped at the sixth level of the Transcendent Realm.
• Xiang Qing saw that Qin Han’s cultivation was unstable and that Holy Water power occupied much of his dantian.
• Qin Han thanked the Xiang Clan, and Xiang Qing invited him to join the clan and cultivate.

Xiang Qing offered Qin Han a token that would let him join the Xiang Clan once he reached the Saint Realm, while Qin Jiuxiao fled to avoid facing him. Sun Yi and Chen Kun suspected Xiang Qing had another motive, and Chen Kun sensed that people from the Xiang Clan had arrived.

• Qin Jiuxiao’s companions urged him to escape before Qin Han could use the Xiang Clan against him, and Qin Jiuxiao left while injured.
• Qin Han accepted Xiang Qing’s offer to join the Xiang Clan after reaching the Saint Realm and received a token bearing the character “Xiang.”
• Qin Han noticed Qin Jiuxiao was gone and dismissed him as a coward.
• Xiang Qing told his companions Qin Han still needed experience and revealed that his offer was meant to encourage others to absorb the Holy Water’s remaining energy.
• Sun Yi and Chen Kun suspected Xiang Qing had ulterior motives, and Chen Kun sensed the Xiang Clan’s people approaching.

Xiang Qing tried to take the Holy Water’s energy, but it grew legs, spoke, and escaped despite his attempts to stop it. Xiang Qing and the Xiang Clan experts then headed for the Land of the Four Directions, leaving the onlookers to wonder if the Xiang Clan had taken the Holy Water.

• Xiang Qing brought Xiang Clan experts to guard the Holy Water and waited until its energy had nearly run dry from cultivators absorbing it.
• Xiang Qing tried several methods to seize the Holy Water’s core but found that its energy could not be moved by ordinary means.
• The Holy Water gathered into a glowing mass, grew two legs, and escaped through Xiang Qing’s barrier after saying, “Off I go, bye-bye now.”
• Xiang Qing told the Xiang Clan members that the Holy Water had grown legs and run away, then chose to continue to the Land of the Four Directions.
• The Xiang Clan experts joined Xiang Qing on the trip, while the remaining onlookers wondered whether the Xiang Clan had taken the Holy Water.

Lu Changzhi visited Hidden Origin Peak, checked on his disciples, and gave Luo Ling'er a Saint King Realm Red Dragon Fish to cook. He suggested Qin Li take the sect patriarch with her when she went out to temper herself, but she declined, and the chapter ended as Luo Ling'er brought the enormous pot of fish to dinner.

• Lu Changzhi received a storage ring containing the Red Dragon Fish, then used the system to descend to Hidden Origin Peak and meet Gu Chen.
• Gu Chen told Lu Changzhi that his cultivation and body training had improved rapidly, while Lu Changzhi learned that Cang Wenyu and Xu Kun were in seclusion.
• Lu Changzhi gave Luo Ling'er the Red Dragon Fish, which had been at the Saint King Realm, and asked her and Gu Chen to prepare it.
• Lu Changzhi visited Qin Li in the secret realm and learned that she planned to go out to temper herself.
• Lu Changzhi offered Qin Li the sect patriarch as a sect specialty, but she declined and said she would avoid danger; he asked her to leave the next day after dinner.
• Luo Ling'er carried the giant pot of fish to the dining table, shaking Hidden Origin Peak as it landed.

A mysterious woman appeared at the southeastern sea, traced a substance’s trail, and vanished toward the Land of the Four Directions. Meanwhile, Lu Changzhi shared Saint King's fish with his disciples and traveled to find Xiao Ye, hoping to teach Xiao Ye's Tongtong and improve his own trait.

• After the Xiang Clan took all the Holy Water, Luo Zhen tried to find cultivators who would let him travel with them.
• A rift opened above the sea, and a black-clad woman arrived, searched the seawater, and followed a beam of light toward the Land of the Four Directions.
• At Hidden Origin Peak, Gu Chen ate Saint King's fish to strengthen his body, and Lu Changzhi prepared portions for the other peaks.
• Lu Changzhi delivered fish to Mu Fan at Extreme Arms Holy Land and asked about his progress in mechanical arts.
• Lu Changzhi delivered a portion to Fugui, then descended to Xiao Ye to teach Xiao Ye's Tongtong.

Lu Changzhi visited Xiao Ye, who asked for more cultivation techniques and martial skills, while Lu noticed that Xiao Ye still had one vague system task left to complete. Meanwhile, Xiang Qing visited the Cloud Heaven Holy Land for historical records and asked why the Five Symbols Sect had endured despite its limited strength.

• Xiao Ye told Lu Changzhi that outside cultivators had made the region less peaceful, though the Xiao Clan had handled its troubles.
• Xiao Ye asked whether the sect had more cultivation techniques and martial skills, and Lu Changzhi promised to consult the ancestor.
• Lu Changzhi noted that Xiao Ye still needed to use his system to display his brilliance and shock the masses, but left him to figure out how.
• Xiang Qing arrived at the Cloud Heaven Holy Land with companions and reviewed its records while Huang Yunya attended them.
• Xiang Qing asked whether the Five Symbols Sect still existed, and Huang Yunya confirmed it was in the Eastern Region but had limited strength.
• Xiang Qing asked Huang Yunya how the Five Symbols Sect could have lasted without strength.

Xiang Qing agreed to protect the Cloud Heaven Holy Land from minor troubles for fifty years after Huang Qianzhou offered his son Yunya’s service in exchange. The visitors then set out toward the Five Symbols Sect, whose possible secret had caught Xiang Qing’s interest, while the sect received news that outside experts were coming.

• Xiang Qing questioned Huang Yunya about how the Five Symbols Sect had survived, then decided to visit it because its name and history might connect to Xiang Li’s Five Elements Sacred Physique.
• Huang Yunya told Xiang Qing that the Extreme Arms Holy Land had blockaded the Five Symbols Sect, and Xiang Qing suspected the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had discovered a secret there.
• Huang Qianzhou emerged from seclusion and asked Xiang Qing’s party to stay, then knelt and offered Huang Yunya’s service in exchange for protection from outside experts.
• Xiang Qing promised to protect the Cloud Heaven Holy Land from minor troubles for fifty years and departed.
• The Five Symbols Sect received word that outside experts were coming and rushed to work overtime to protect its ancestral instructions.

Xiang Qing left his name over the Cloud Heaven Holy Land as protection, then took Huang Yunya toward the Five Symbols Sect. As the sect secretly prepared for their arrival, Huang Qianzhou resumed cultivation, puzzled by his headache, and Huang Yunya reached the sect with questions about its secrets.

• Xiang Qing wrote his name across the sky to protect the Cloud Heaven Holy Land and warned Huang Yunya not to misuse his protection.
• Huang Qianzhou returned to his secret chamber to cultivate, then woke with a headache and wondered if something had gone wrong.
• Xiao Ye noticed the characters in the sky and called for Tongtong, but received no answer, while Lu Changzhi slept to the sound of a zither.
• Liang Si warned the Five Symbols Sect's patriarchs about Xiang Qing, then used a stone to contact someone and demanded they arrive within three shichen.
• The Five Symbols Sect's patriarchs devised a plan and began preparations as Liang Si left in disguise.
• Huang Yunya rode with Xiang Qing toward the Five Symbols Sect and announced that they had arrived.

Xiang Qing led experts from the Xiang Clan to the Five Symbols Sect, where he exposed Cang Wenyu’s concealed cultivation and demanded an audience with the sect’s Saints. He suspected the sect was hiding an important secret and sought to uncover it by speaking with its strongest patriarch.

• Xiang Qing directed the Winged Bird to fly to the Five Symbols Sect, and the Xiang Clan experts searched the sect with their senses.
• Cang Wenyu met the visitors, while Huang Yunya accused the Five Symbols Sect of hiding its true strength.
• Xiang Qing revealed that Cang Wenyu was concealing Dao Comprehension Realm cultivation and ordered the sect’s Saints to appear.
• Cang Wenyu explained that the patriarchs were in secluded death cultivation, so Xiang Qing gave him pills to extend their lives.
• A Xiang Clan expert and the Winged Bird unleashed pressure on the Five Symbols Sect members, but Xiang Qing stopped them and requested a meeting with the strongest patriarch.

Xiao Ming reacted to the Xiang Clan’s Winged Bird and drew the clan’s attention toward Hidden Origin Peak. As Qin Li stopped Xiao Ming from rushing out, the Xiang Clan began searching for the hidden source of the disturbance.

• Cang Wenyu hurried to fetch the Five Symbols Sect’s patriarch, while Huang Yunya suspected the sect had hidden its strength and was responsible for past mysteries.
• Xiao Ming woke to the Winged Bird’s cry and sent out invisible sound waves that made the Saint Realm bird droop and descend.
• Xiang Qing steadied and shielded the Winged Bird, while the Xiang Clan inferred that an extraordinary Beast Race member was hidden nearby.
• The patriarchs in the shadows realized the disturbance might have come from Hidden Origin Peak and hurried to prevent the Xiang Clan from investigating it.
• Xiao Ming threw off the blanket, expanded outside the window, and prepared to attack the Winged Bird.
• Qin Li stepped in front of Xiao Ming and warned that the Xiang Clan was trying to lure them out.

Qin Li and Xiao Ming hid in the secret realm while Xiang Qing investigated the Five Symbols Sect after its Winged Bird was frightened. Xiang Qing questioned the sect’s ancient expert about its name, then accepted Huang Yunya’s suggestion to visit Hidden Origin Peak.

• Qin Li gave Xiao Ming a spirit fruit and promised to help catch and cook the creature that had disturbed him once she grew stronger.
• The Winged Bird reacted in terror outside the Five Symbols Sect, prompting Xiang Qing to enter the sect and investigate.
• An ancient expert emerged from a coffin and revealed a power comparable to Xiang Qing’s father, startling Huang Yunya.
• The old man explained that the sect was named after five Horned Elephants that had guarded it when it was founded.
• Xiang Qing asked to visit the sect’s scenic grounds, and Huang Yunya directed him to Hidden Origin Peak.

Xiang Qing accepted the Five Symbols Sect patriarch’s offer to tour the sect treasury, while the patriarch’s blunt honesty made Huang Yunya’s warnings seem like deception. Xiang Qing still suspected the real Hidden Origin Peak held something important, and Qin Li wondered if he had sensed it.

• Xiang Qing asked to visit Hidden Origin Peak, and the patriarch led the group to a smaller, recently established peak that he said had little scenery or few disciples.
• The patriarch accused Huang Yunya of trying to use Xiang Qing to settle their conflict, then offered the Xiang Clan a tour of the treasury and scripture repository.
• Huang Yunya insisted that Hidden Origin Peak and the treasury were fakes, but the patriarch agreed, prompting Cang Wenyu to admire his teaching about making the truth seem unbelievable.
• Qin Li recognized that the peak they had visited was indeed fake and reflected on how skillfully her Master made truth appear false.
• Xiang Qing told Huang Yunya to behave and accepted the patriarch’s invitation, while privately deciding to investigate the real Hidden Origin Peak later.
• Qin Li noticed Xiang Qing glance toward the real peak and wondered whether he had sensed it, then concluded the array should have hidden it from him.

Lu Changzhi woke to a system choice about Xiang Qing and the trouble Xiao Ming’s Chongming Bird had caused, then returned to Hidden Origin Peak to learn the Five Symbols Sect’s response. He told Liang Si he would handle the Beast Race matter himself and entered the secret realm.

• The system presented Lu Changzhi with three choices for dealing with Xiang Qing’s interest in Xiao Ming and Hidden Origin Peak, then gave him a temporary fifth-level Saint Venerable boost.
• Lu Changzhi used Descent through Gu Chen to return to Hidden Origin Peak and found Cang Wenyu, who explained that Huang Yunya had brought Xiang Qing and the others to the sect.
• Lu Changzhi asked Liang Si about the situation and learned that the ancestors planned to protect the sect’s ancestral precepts while finding a suitable Beast Race member to replace Xiao Ming.
• Lu Changzhi told Liang Si he would handle the Beast Race matter instead of making him give up something he treasured, then flashed into the secret realm.

Lu Changzhi and Xiao Ming provoked the Black Dragon and made the Dragon-Imprisoning Stake appear to fail, using the dragon’s rage to weaken its restraints. The Black Dragon broke free of the stake’s restraining force as the Winged Bird fled, leaving its next move unclear.

• The Black Dragon woke from a dream and raged at the Winged Bird when it mocked the dragon’s lost masculinity.
• The Winged Bird continued provoking the Black Dragon by flaunting its own body, while Lu Changzhi secretly adjusted the Cage Stake to make its restraints seem ready to break.
• Xiao Ming told Lu Changzhi about its grudge against the Winged Bird, and Lu Changzhi planned to use Black Dragon meat to win over the Xiang Clan while preparing to kill its members.
• At Lu Changzhi’s request, Xiao Ming spat water at the Black Dragon, pushing its fury and struggles to their limit.
• The Cage Stake cracked and lost its restraining force, allowing the Black Dragon to lunge at the fleeing Winged Bird before the restraints vanished completely.

The Five Symbols Sect’s treasury stunned Huang Yunya with its wealth, while Xiang Qing discovered that the sect had a powerful Beast Race creature nearby. The Black Dragon escaped and attacked the Winged Bird, but Xiang Qing restrained it before an unknown voice demanded that it be handed over.

• Huang Yunya found the Five Symbols Sect’s treasury richer than the Cloud Heaven Holy Land’s and tried to dismiss its treasures as mundane.
• Xiang Qing asked the patriarch about the unique Beast Race presence that had frightened the Winged Bird.
• The Black Dragon burst out of the Five Symbols Sect and charged at the trembling Winged Bird.
• Xiang Qing appeared and bound the Black Dragon with his Saint Venerable power as it struggled against him.
• An unknown voice called from the distant void and demanded that the Black Dragon be handed over.

A masked figure attacked Xiang Qing and tried to take the Black Dragon, while Lu Changzhi used Random Deprivation on Xiang Qing. The figure escaped with the unconscious Black Dragon after naming himself Xiang Lin, leaving Xiang Qing to report that the attacker had reached at least the Seventh Level of Saint Venerable.

• A masked figure seized the Black Dragon, then struck Xiang Qing and forced him back in their clash.
• Lu Changzhi used Random Deprivation on Xiang Qing and removed his [Heart of Insight] talent.
• Xiang Qing's clan experts confronted the figure, but the figure refused to give up the Black Dragon and challenged them to stop him.
• Xiang Qing tried to negotiate and asked the figure's name; the figure knocked the Black Dragon unconscious and answered, "Xiang Lin."
• The figure vanished with the Black Dragon, and Xiang Qing told the clan experts that the attacker was at least the Seventh Level of Saint Venerable.