Chapter Summaries

Sang Ying became Immortal Venerable Yanchen’s nominal disciple after learning she was destined to die as cannon fodder in Su Fuyun’s story. She resolved to avoid the romance and leave Crimson Snow Peak once she could protect herself, then arrived there and promised Su Fuyun she would not compete for Yanchen’s affection.

• Sang Ying accepted Immortal Venerable Yanchen as her master at a sparse ceremony and received a jade talisman instead of the prized sword he had given Su Fuyun.
• Sang Ying recalled reading a book that revealed her future death and her role in helping Su Fuyun complete her spirit root.
• Sang Ying decided to become Yanchen’s disciple for protection, avoid targeting Su Fuyun, and leave Crimson Snow Peak after forming her Golden Core.
• Sang Ying climbed the snowbound mountain alone and was confronted by Heng'an, who warned her not to steal Yanchen’s affection from Su Fuyun.
• Sang Ying told Su Fuyun she would never compete with her for Yanchen’s affection.

Sang Ying won the sword competition and claimed the Frost Condensation Flower, but Gu Huaiwei forced her to give it to Su Fuyun. She asked for a place in the Qishan Secret Realm and resolved to reach Foundation Establishment in time to seek a thousand-year ice lotus there.

• Sang Ying defeated Su Fuyun in the sword competition and won the Frost Condensation Flower.
• Gu Huaiwei demanded that Sang Ying hand the flower to Su Fuyun, offering her a Foundation Establishment Pill and access to his treasure pavilion in exchange.
• Sang Ying gave up the Frost Condensation Flower and asked Gu Huaiwei to reserve her a place in the Qishan Secret Realm.
• Gu Huaiwei warned Sang Ying not to regret her request, and Sang Ying resolved to reach Foundation Establishment and obtain the thousand-year ice lotus.

Su Fuyun persuaded Gu Huaiwei to let her join the Qishan Secret Realm expedition, hoping to find an ice lotus that could improve her constitution. Sang Ying broke through to Foundation Establishment and arrived at the mountain gate, where disciples complained about her late arrival and Su Fuyun joined in.

• Su Fuyun told Gu Huaiwei she had practiced a long-lost sword art, and he allowed her to do so as long as it harmed no one.
• Su Fuyun convinced Gu Huaiwei to reserve her a place in the Qishan Secret Realm expedition, and he told her to stay close to Mu Xuan.
• Sang Ying refused to use her Foundation Establishment Pill and broke through to Foundation Establishment through cultivation.
• Zhou Heng'an came to fetch Sang Ying for the expedition, and she hurried to the mountain gate after learning the group was waiting.
• A female cultivator criticized Sang Ying for making everyone wait, and Su Fuyun suggested Sang Ying wanted to seek a breakthrough in the secret realm.

Sang Ying joined the expedition to the Qishan Secret Realm after reaching Foundation Establishment, surprising the disciples who had criticized her lateness. As the Flowing Light Sword Sect set out under Mu Xuan and Elder Yanhua, Yanhua recognized Sang Ying as Sang Zheng’s daughter and silently reflected on her father’s failure to protect her.

• Chen Xiu criticized Sang Ying for taking a place on a Foundation Establishment expedition while still at Qi Refining, and another disciple tried to smooth over the insult.
• Sang Ying arrived, apologized to Mu Xuan, and revealed through her Foundation Establishment presence that she had advanced beyond Qi Refining.
• Su Fuyun claimed she had sent Sang Ying voice transmission jade talismans, but Sang Ying said she had seen none and politely thanked her.
• Mu Xuan warned the disciples to follow his arrangements, look out for one another, and avoid framing fellow disciples.
• Elder Yanhua summoned a sect flying boat, asked Sang Ying whether she was from Sang Zheng’s family, then watched her go with thoughts about her father’s inability to protect her.

Sang Ying tried to meditate aboard the flying boat, but Su Fuyun and several female cultivators interrupted her and misunderstood her intentions. When Su Fuyun advised her not to rush her cultivation before the Foundation Establishment Realm secret realm, Sang Ying revealed that she had already reached Foundation Establishment.

• Sang Ying stayed in her cabin to stabilize her cultivation while the other disciples enjoyed the flying boat.
• Su Fuyun knocked on Sang Ying's door and invited her to explore the boat, interrupting her meditation.
• Chen Xiu criticized Sang Ying, and Sang Ying opened the door and pointed out the do-not-disturb sign.
• Jiang Yan apologized for disturbing Sang Ying, who calmly accepted the apology.
• Su Fuyun told Sang Ying not to rush her cultivation because the senior disciples would protect her in the secret realm.
• Sang Ying told Su Fuyun that she had already reached Foundation Establishment.

Sang Ying rebuffed Su Fuyun and settled into a peaceful routine before arriving with the Flowing Light Sword Sect at Yunzhou City for the Qishan Secret Realm. She reluctantly went to the market with Su Fuyun, who decided to buy a Gale Hound pup despite warnings about the dangers of raising it.

• Sang Ying turned Su Fuyun away, and Jiang Yan warned Chen Xiu to stay out of both Sang Ying's and Su Fuyun's affairs.
• Sang Ying stabilized her cultivation while the Flowing Light Sword Sect traveled to Yunzhou City, where Elder Yanhua led the disciples to their sect base.
• Su Fuyun came to Sang Ying's courtyard and invited her to the market; Sang Ying reluctantly agreed after Mu Xuan urged her to go.
• Su Fuyun found a Gale Hound pup at a stall, and a male cultivator warned that raising it to maturity would be difficult and costly.
• Su Fuyun ignored the warning and offered to buy the pup.

Su Fuyun bought a Demon Beast cub after borrowing ninety mid-grade Spirit Stones from Sang Ying, who then found a curious booklet at another stall. A haughty female cultivator in red tried to take the booklet from Sang Ying.

• Su Fuyun decided to buy a Demon Beast cub, though she hesitated over its price of ninety mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Su Fuyun asked Sang Ying to lend her money, and Sang Ying agreed after the cub's cuteness softened her refusal.
• Sang Ying made Su Fuyun record the loan in a Jade Slip before paying the stallholder.
• Su Fuyun took the cub while Sang Ying browsed the market and bought a few storybooks.
• Sang Ying spotted a tattered booklet at a secluded stall, but a female cultivator in red tried to snatch it and demanded it for herself.

Sang Ying clashed with Gu Hongyi over a booklet, while Su Fuyun sided with Gu Hongyi before learning what had happened. When Gu Hongyi attacked the stallholder, the stallholder destroyed her whip and dismissed the Cloud Cauldron Sect's sect master as unworthy of their regard.

• Sang Ying bought a booklet before Gu Hongyi could claim it, and refused to sell it when Gu Hongyi demanded it.
• Su Fuyun arrived, apologized to Gu Hongyi without asking what happened, and urged Sang Ying to hand over the booklet.
• Zhao Yunhe joined the dispute, and Su Fuyun again asked Sang Ying to return the booklet while Zhao Yunhe tried to calm everyone.
• The stallholder defended Sang Ying, and Gu Hongyi attacked the stallholder with her whip.
• The stallholder caught and destroyed Gu Hongyi's whip, prompting Zhao Yunhe to apologize and the stallholder to scorn the Cloud Cauldron Sect's sect master.

Sang Ying received Zhao Yunhe’s Storage Bag after Gu Hongyi offended her, then discovered that the booklet she had bought was a rare guide to Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts. The stall owner was revealed to be a black-cloaked man discussing an important matter with a masked companion in Yunzhou City.

• Zhao Yunhe apologized to Sang Ying for Gu Hongyi’s behavior and gave her his Storage Bag as compensation before chasing after Gu Hongyi.
• Sang Ying returned to her quarters with the Storage Bag, ignored Su Fuyun’s hints to open it, and stayed in her room to cultivate for several days.
• Sang Ying used her Essence Blood on the battered booklet and revealed The Complete Book of Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts of the Cultivation World, which could identify spiritual things and where to find them.
• Sang Ying realized the book could help her find the thousand-year-old ice lotus in the Qishan Secret Realm and vowed to repay its seller if they met again.
• In the Moon-Embracing Tower, the black-cloaked stall owner told his masked companion that Sang Ying had a keen eye, then assured him he would obtain what he wanted.

Sang Ying entered the Qishan Secret Realm, escaped a fifth-tier Crimson Flame Python, and headed for the Thousand-Year Ice Lotus, whose seventh-tier guardian she planned to subdue. Meanwhile, Su Fuyun and her companions found the valley and its hidden cold pool, where the ice lotus was about to bloom.

• Mu Xuan warned the disciples not to harm fellow sect members, and Elder Yanhua led them to the opening of the Qishan Secret Realm.
• Sang Ying landed in a Crimson Flame Python's den and fled from the fifth-tier beast to a cold pool.
• Sang Ying hid underwater until the python left, then followed the Complete Guide to Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts toward the Thousand-Year Ice Lotus.
• Sang Ying learned that a seventh-tier spirit beast guarded the ice lotus and prepared to deal with it.
• Su Fuyun befriended Jun Heng of the Purple Firmament Sect and led her companions to the frost-covered valley.
• Su Fuyun and her companions discovered a hidden cold pool and an ice lotus that was about to bloom.

Su Fuyun persuaded the Flowing Light Sword Sect disciples to help her claim a thousand-year ice lotus, then stole it despite Jun Heng ordering everyone to retreat from its seventh-tier Ice Flood Dragon guardian. The dragon attacked the group, and just as the disciples expected to die, a slender figure appeared between them and the beast.

• Su Fuyun proposed that the disciples work together to drive off the guardian and award the ice lotus to the winner, with future spoils going to the others.
• Jun Heng led the group in drawing out the guardian, and they discovered it was a seventh-tier Ice Flood Dragon nearing its transformation into a dragon.
• Jun Heng ordered everyone to retreat without taking the ice lotus, and the disciples switched to defense as they fled.
• Su Fuyun picked the ice lotus and put it into her Storage Bag, enraging the Ice Flood Dragon and causing it to shatter the disciples' defenses and injure several of them.
• The Ice Flood Dragon swept its tail toward the group again, but a slender figure appeared in front of the disciples before the blow landed.

Sang Ying and the others escaped the Ice Flood Dragon by using sleep-inducing powder, then gathered in a cave to decide how to divide the Ice Lotus. Just as Jun Heng was chosen to receive its core, the dragon found them and attacked the cave.

• Sang Ying gave Jun Heng powder that could put the Ice Flood Dragon to sleep, and he scattered it into the dragon’s mouth while the others maintained a barrier.
• The Ice Flood Dragon collapsed into the pool, and the group escaped to a hidden cave to recover.
• Su Fuyun apologized for taking the Ice Lotus, and the group debated how to divide its sixteen petals among twenty-seven people.
• Jun Heng proposed giving petals to eighteen contributors and the flower’s core to the greatest contributor; the group chose Jun Heng for the core.
• The cave began to shake as the Ice Flood Dragon screeched nearby and came after them.

Sang Ying was forced into the underground river after Su Fuyun pushed the ice lotus and the ice flood dragon’s attention onto her. Jun Heng went after Sang Ying while the surviving disciples recovered, and Su Fuyun defended herself against his questions.

• Sang Ying urged Su Fuyun to return the ice lotus to the ice flood dragon, and the disciples pleaded with Su Fuyun to hand it over.
• Su Fuyun shoved the Storage Bag containing the ice lotus into Sang Ying’s waistband and pushed her toward the ice flood dragon, claiming she would leave the lotus to her.
• Sang Ying’s Ice Soul Sword shattered when she blocked the dragon’s blow, and she fell into the underground river as the ice flood dragon pursued her.
• Jun Heng left to search for Sang Ying, then confronted Su Fuyun about giving Sang Ying the ice lotus and drawing the dragon’s attention to her.
• Su Fuyun tearfully denied intending to hurt Sang Ying, while Jun Heng told the others he would find Sang Ying because she had saved him twice.

After escaping the underground river, Sang Ying found a hidden herb garden and gathered valuable spirit plants while the Gale Hound pup followed her. She continued through the underground world and discovered an Ice Lotus blooming in a frozen pool.

• Sang Ying recovered enough to explore the cavern, found her Ice Soul Sword’s hilt, and discovered that Su Fuyun’s Storage Bag held a Gale Hound pup instead of the Ice Lotus.
• Sang Ying released the pup and followed the underground river until she reached a spirit herb garden filled with rare plants and a ten-thousand-year-old Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree.
• Sang Ying gathered selected herbs, Frost Condensation Flowers, and tea leaves and branches, while the Gale Hound pup ate Life Spirit Grass.
• Sang Ying continued onward and came upon a frozen landscape with an Ice Lotus blooming in the center of an icy pool.

Sang Ying found a ten-thousand-year Ice Lotus and reached the immortal lord’s land of inheritance after an underground river carried her there. She met Immortal Lord Fusheng, who named her his inheritor and revealed that he had been the cultivation world’s greatest Alchemist.

• Sang Ying picked one ten-thousand-year Ice Lotus and carried the trembling Gale Hound pup onward, asking it not to help Su Fuyun harm her.
• Sang Ying recognized the palace as the land of inheritance and entered through its open back door.
• Sang Ying chose the door marked “Can save lives” and met Immortal Lord Fusheng’s remnant soul.
• Sang Ying explained that she had reached the medicine garden by accident rather than passing the trials, but Immortal Lord Fusheng still accepted her as his inheritor.
• Immortal Lord Fusheng announced that he had been the greatest Alchemist in the cultivation world and had ascended with a tenth-grade divine pill.

Sang Ying refused to become Immortal Lord Fusheng’s alchemy successor because her Ice Spirit Root made her unsuitable, but he entrusted her with the inheritance to pass on to a worthy person. He gave her a Realm Pearl containing ice lotuses and crystals, and she swore to find a successor with no ties to Lan Ji before his remnant soul vanished.

• Sang Ying explained that her Ice Spirit Root made her unable to carry forward Immortal Lord Fusheng’s alchemy inheritance and suggested he seek another successor.
• Immortal Lord Fusheng praised Sang Ying’s honesty but insisted she take the inheritance and pass it to a suitable person when she found one.
• Immortal Lord Fusheng offered Sang Ying a Frost Return Pill formula and a Realm Pearl containing ice lotuses and ice-attribute spirit crystals to help complete her Ice Spirit Root.
• Sang Ying swore a Heart Demon Oath to find a worthy successor, and Immortal Lord Fusheng warned that the successor must have no ties to Lan Ji before his remnant soul disappeared.
• Su Fuyun waited with other young cultivators outside the great hall, knowing that the medicinal canon inside was the inheritance she had come to seek.

After surviving alone in the Qishan Secret Realm, Sang Ying prepared to leave and planned to tell Gu Huaiwei about Su Fuyun’s betrayal. The Ice Flood Dragon caught her and the Gale Hound, demanding its thousand-year ice lotus, and Sang Ying offered a better one in exchange for their safety.

• Sang Ying recalled gaining Immortal Lord Fusheng’s inheritance and surviving a month of dangers, while her swordsmanship and cultivation improved alongside her bond with the Gale Hound.
• Sang Ying decided to tell Gu Huaiwei that Su Fuyun had pushed her, then set out for the secret realm’s teleportation array as its reopening approached.
• After two days of travel, the Ice Flood Dragon seized Sang Ying and demanded the thousand-year ice lotus it believed she had taken.
• When the Gale Hound tried to defend Sang Ying, the Ice Flood Dragon struck it down and threatened to kill it unless Sang Ying returned the lotus.
• Sang Ying denied having the dragon’s lotus and offered a better one; the Ice Flood Dragon promised to let bygones be bygones and grant her three requests if she produced it.

Sang Ying proved to Cang Lian that she had not stolen his ice lotus and revealed that Su Fuyun was the thief. Cang Lian accepted the lotus and promised to protect Sang Ying and the Gale Hound as they left the secret realm, while the two beasts immediately began squabbling.

• Sang Ying showed Cang Lian her own ice lotus, convincing him that he had mistaken her for the thief.
• Sang Ying identified Su Fuyun and gave Cang Lian a portrait of her, prompting him to release Sang Ying and the Gale Hound.
• Sang Ying gave Cang Lian the ice lotus, and he renewed his offer of three favors.
• Sang Ying asked Cang Lian to protect them and escort them safely out of the secret realm, saving her other two requests for later.
• The Gale Hound woke and mocked Cang Lian by hiding in Sang Ying's arms, and Cang Lian sulked away while Sang Ying worried about their bickering.

Sang Ying parted from Cang Lian and left the Qishan Secret Realm carrying one of his scales to protect her. Outside, Su Fuyun and her companions reported Sang Ying dead, but Mu Xuan's questioning exposed that Su Fuyun had picked the ice lotus that provoked the ice flood dragon.

• Cang Lian gave Sang Ying a scale that could block a fatal blow and promised to find her after reaching the eighth rank and taking human form.
• Sang Ying reached the teleportation array after Su Fuyun and her companions had already left the Qishan Secret Realm.
• Su Fuyun told Elder Yanhua that Sang Ying was gone, and Lin Shu claimed a seventh-rank spirit beast had knocked her into a fissure.
• Mu Xuan questioned Lin Shu about why Sang Ying alone had been harmed, prompting another disciple to reveal that Su Fuyun had picked the ice lotus and angered the ice flood dragon.
• Su Fuyun admitted she had handed the ice lotus to Sang Ying after the dragon caught up, and the others concluded Sang Ying had brought the danger upon herself.

Sang Ying returned from the secret realm and confronted the disciples who believed Su Fuyun’s account that she had stolen the Ice Lotus and died for it. She denied bullying Su Fuyun or taking the flower, but Su Fuyun claimed she had accidentally given Sang Ying the Storage Bag containing the Raising Beast Ring instead.

• Su Fuyun convinced the disciples that Sang Ying had demanded the Ice Lotus and died trying to return it, while Elder Yanhua kept Sang Ying’s still-glowing life stone.
• Sang Ying appeared and challenged Lin Shu after he said she had bullied Su Fuyun and deserved to die for snatching a spirit treasure.
• Lin Shu accused Sang Ying of forcing Su Fuyun to give her the Ice Lotus and of being jealous of Su Fuyun’s favored place with Immortal Venerable Yanchen.
• Sang Ying explained that the sect master had arranged for her to become Immortal Venerable Yanchen’s disciple and denied ever bullying Su Fuyun or asking for the Ice Lotus.
• Sang Ying showed the Gale Hound she had received, and it ran eagerly to Su Fuyun when she reached for it.
• Su Fuyun said she had taken the wrong Storage Bag and accidentally given Sang Ying the one containing the Raising Beast Ring instead of the Ice Lotus.