Chapter Summaries

Shen Jingchuan concealed his identity while earning Spirit Stones and strengthening his Divine Sense, unaware that the Tian Household was planning to seize the Spirit Vein he won at auction. Tian Chengye ordered his men to track Shen Jingchuan and watch the Wang Household, which was also keeping an eye on him.

• Shen Jingchuan changed his appearance and concealed his cultivation while selling goods in Spirit Creek Market, then spent nights refining pills and tempering his Divine Sense.
• Tian Zheng and Tian Ming reported to Tian Chengye that Shen Jingchuan traded pills and mortal goods, had ties to True Person Moxuan, and was rumored to belong to an unknown Lineage.
• Tian Chengye decided the Tian Household would take the Spirit Vein from Shen Jingchuan despite knowing little about the Shen Household’s strength.
• Tian Ming told Tian Chengye that five members of the Wang Household were also watching Shen Jingchuan.
• Tian Chengye ordered Tian Zheng and Tian Ming to follow Shen Jingchuan and monitor the Wang Household and any other potential rivals.

Shen Jingchuan buried the repaired Spirit Vein in the Heaven and Earth Ring, strengthening its Spiritual Qi. Little Black and Treading Snow emerged from their cocoons with awakened bloodlines and innate abilities, and Xian'er urged Shen Jingchuan to form Equal Contracts with them.

• Shen Jingchuan removed the repaired Spirit Vein from the sphere of light and buried it beneath the Heaven and Earth Ring, causing Spiritual Qi to spread through the space.
• Shen Jingchuan reassured Su Qinghua that Big Black, Little Black, and Treading Snow needed more time, then fed Big Black apples.
• Little Black emerged from his cocoon with wings and a lightning-bearing horn, and Shen Jingchuan welcomed and fed him.
• Treading Snow emerged with wings and an icy horn, and Shen Jingchuan welcomed and fed her.
• Xian'er explained that Little Black and Treading Snow had awakened their lightning and ice abilities, then told Shen Jingchuan to use his Contract Jade Slip to make willing Equal Contracts with them.

Shen Jingchuan formed Equal Contracts with Little Black, Treading Snow, and Big Black, allowing them to communicate through Divine Sense. Little Black and Treading Snow tested their newly awakened flight abilities, leaving Shen Jingchuan eager to ride them but worried their wind would damage his spirit herbs.

• Shen Jingchuan contracted with Little Black and Treading Snow, and they called him Master despite the Equal Contracts because they had already accepted him as their master.
• Xian'er explained that Little Black and Treading Snow had reached the second tier and that Big Black could likely advance with a catalyst, so Shen Jingchuan contracted with Big Black too.
• Big Black told Shen Jingchuan it had understood him for a long time and asked him not to forget his promise to help activate its High Antiquity bloodline.
• Little Black tried flying, struggled at first, then steadied itself and circled through the air.
• After Xian'er explained that Demon Power kept Little Black aloft, Treading Snow took flight and joined it, while Shen Jingchuan watched the wind threaten his planted spirit herbs.
• Shen Jingchuan told both horses to land, and they came down and folded their wings.

Shen Jingchuan tested Big Black’s strength, learned to avoid sparring with Little Black and Treading Snow until they controlled their abilities, and left the spirit space to continue cultivating. With two Foundation Establishment-level spirit beasts and growing mastery of his techniques, he felt less afraid of the Wang Household.

• Xian'er offered to train Little Black and Treading Snow in their Divine Abilities and cultivation, while Shen Jingchuan introduced her to the horses.
• Shen Jingchuan sparred with Big Black, dodged his attacks, and subdued him after more than a dozen exchanges.
• Xian'er warned Shen Jingchuan that Little Black might electrocute him and Treading Snow might freeze him, so he declined to spar with either horse.
• Treading Snow briefly sent a wave of cold at Shen Jingchuan, then told him she had only been joking.
• Shen Jingchuan promised to help Xian'er remake her body, then left the Heaven and Earth Ring to cultivate in his cave abode.
• Shen Jingchuan reviewed his pills, Soul-Seizing Nail, and Heaven and Earth Ring, and felt less wary of the Wang Household because Little Black and Treading Snow were Foundation Establishment-level allies.

Shen Jingchuan set out alone for Green Wilds Market, confident that his hidden spirit beasts could protect him from the Wang Household and other threats. After riding east beyond Spirit Creek Market, he stopped to face five approaching cultivators, whose leader asked if he was Shen Jingchuan.

• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu he planned to visit a market in the Qi Kingdom and refused to let her and Huan'er accompany him.
• Xiao Mingshu gave Shen Jingchuan a Jade Slip showing the routes to two markets beyond the Great Qian Kingdom's borders.
• After breakfast, Shen Jingchuan left Spirit Creek Market on Big Black and headed east toward Green Wilds Market.
• Shen Jingchuan rode beyond the market's territory at an unhurried pace, expecting the Wang Household or others to ambush him.
• Five riders caught up with Shen Jingchuan, who moved off the road and waited for them; their leader asked whether he was Young Friend Shen Jingchuan.

Shen Jingchuan confronted five members of the Wang Household who suspected him of killing their relatives and coveted his share of a First-Tier Spirit Vein. He killed one attacker with the Soul-Seizing Nail, but the remaining cultivators pressed their assault as his Divine Sense was nearly exhausted.

• The Wang Household's leader accused Shen Jingchuan of killing their third elder and a branch-family uncle, and Shen admitted that he had killed three ambushers without confirming their identities.
• The Wang Household's leader sent three Eighth Layer cultivators to attack Shen Jingchuan, who countered with the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring and charged forward on Big Black.
• Shen Jingchuan used the Soul-Seizing Nail to paralyze the blue-robed youth, then beheaded him with his longsword.
• The two remaining young cultivators put up protective barriers as the Wang Household's leader and a Ninth Layer cultivator joined the attack.
• The leader recognized Shen Jingchuan's weapon as a soul attack and reasoned that the Sixth Layer cultivator had spent nearly all his Divine Sense on it.

Shen Jingchuan defeated the attackers with Little Black’s lightning and Treading Snow’s freezing powers, then searched the bodies for valuables. He left the old man alive and maimed so he could question him.

• Shen Jingchuan sent Little Black to attack the old man, and her lightning struck both him and the middle-aged man.
• Treading Snow froze the two young attackers, and Shen Jingchuan killed them with the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring.
• Little Black and Treading Snow repeatedly struck the old man and the middle-aged man with lightning and freezing attacks until Shen Jingchuan ordered them to stop.
• Shen Jingchuan severed the old man’s hands and feet, then found that the middle-aged man had died.
• Shen Jingchuan melted the ice on the corpses, collected their Storage Rings and swords, and returned to the old man.

Shen Jingchuan escaped Tian Chengye’s pursuit by using Little Black’s newly awakened speed ability, then hid inside the Heaven and Earth Ring in a forest. Tian Chengye had tracked him from the market town to reclaim the Spirit Vein, and continued searching after Shen Jingchuan vanished.

• Tian Chengye arrived with Tian Zheng and Tian Ming, and Shen Jingchuan sent Big Black, Little Black, and Treading Snow into the Heaven and Earth Ring before fleeing.
• Shen Jingchuan used upgraded Divine Movement Talismans, but Tian Chengye kept pursuing him on his sword.
• Shen Jingchuan summoned Little Black, who used her speed ability and a Divine Movement Talisman to pull away from Tian Chengye.
• Little Black told Shen Jingchuan that she had awakened lightning and speed abilities, but could only maintain her current pace for about half an hour.
• Shen Jingchuan returned Little Black to the ring, descended into a forest, and hid himself and the ring among the leaves.
• Tian Chengye revealed that Tian Zheng and Tian Ming had secretly marked Shen Jingchuan and that he had delayed leaving town while waiting for others to attack him.

Tian Chengye failed to find Shen Jingchuan after the young cultivator escaped into his hidden space, so he waited outside while Shen cultivated and sorted through the spoils. After touching the barrier to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, Shen learned from Xian'er that he should stay hidden and strengthen his foundation before attempting to advance.

• Tian Chengye searched the forest for Shen Jingchuan, used a formation-breaking talisman, and then waited nearby when it revealed nothing.
• Inside the space, Shen Jingchuan asked Xian'er whether Tian Chengye could detect him traveling away; she assured him that even a Golden Core cultivator could not.
• Shen Jingchuan chose to wait Tian Chengye out, then checked the spirit fields, fed the horses, and opened five rings taken from the dead Wang Household members.
• Shen Jingchuan found more than eighty thousand Spirit Stones and a Longevity-Extending Pill, then sent the remaining items to be upgraded.
• Shen Jingchuan cultivated until he touched the barrier to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, while Xian'er taught Qingshu and Qinghua.
• Xian'er warned Shen Jingchuan to remain in the space for a few more days and to firm up his foundation before advancing.

Shen Jingchuan looted the five dead Wang Household cultivators, then broke through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer while preparing to attack the Wang Household for its Spirit Vein. He left the Heaven and Earth Ring with Treading Snow and searched for the battlefield where the bodies lay.

• Shen Jingchuan found a Longevity-Extending Pill and more than eighty thousand Spirit Stones in the five Storage Rings, and decided the Wang Household's Spirit Vein was worth pursuing.
• He fed the rings' ordinary pills, magic swords, Law Artifacts, and talismans to the light sphere, then cultivated with high-grade pills until he broke through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
• Shen Jingchuan consolidated his breakthrough, and Xian'er warned him that the Wang Household's Foundation Establishment cultivator might use secret tricks.
• He left the Heaven and Earth Ring, summoned Treading Snow, and rode her toward the hidden battlefield while she asked to spend more time outside.
• Treading Snow searched the forest with Shen Jingchuan until they found traces of the earlier fighting.

Shen Jingchuan learned the location of the Wang Household from Accountant Wu, then rode to its mountain stronghold. After surveying its walls and finding no major formation, he headed openly for the gate.

• Shen Jingchuan found that the corpses at the site of the earlier fight had disappeared and decided to investigate the Wang Household.
• Shen Jingchuan invited Accountant Wu to a meal by sending him a High-Grade Qi Gathering Pill, then asked where the Wang Household was.
• Accountant Wu gave Shen Jingchuan directions to the Wang Household without asking why he wanted to know.
• Shen Jingchuan rode Big Black from Spirit Creek Market to the Wang Household, which stood within a large, walled mountain stronghold.
• Shen Jingchuan used his Divine Sense to inspect the stronghold, found no major formation, and rode toward its gate.

Tian Chengye’s group used a Tracking Insect to follow Shen Jingchuan to the Wang Household, where he openly challenged the household over their feud. As both sides confronted each other at the stronghold gates, Shen Jingchuan questioned whether he could bring himself to wipe out the household.

• Tian Zheng released a Tracking Insect, which followed Shen Jingchuan’s scent from the forest toward Spirit Creek Market and beyond.
• Tian Chengye and Tian Ming joined Tian Zheng, and the three pursued the mark toward the Wang Household’s stronghold.
• Shen Jingchuan announced himself at the gates and said he had come seeking vengeance, prompting the guards to raise the alarm and retreat inside.
• Shen Jingchuan watched the Wang Household mobilize and wrestled with whether to kill its members and whether they had prepared an ambush.
• A Qi Refining Great Perfection elder confronted Shen Jingchuan and accused him of killing seven Wang Household members, while Shen Jingchuan demanded to know whether his household had ever provoked them.

Shen Jingchuan confronted the Wang Household over repeated ambushes, then attacked its mountain fortress with Treading Snow and his other spirit beasts. The Wang Household’s cultivators struck back, but Little Black and the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring killed the three who charged Shen Jingchuan, while Treading Snow continued toward the mountaintop.

• Shen Jingchuan demanded that the Wang Household answer for two ambushes, but the old man denied the household’s responsibility and threatened him.
• Shen Jingchuan released Treading Snow, who froze the fortress wall and advanced through the stronghold, freezing mortals and cultivators in her path.
• The old man broke free and knocked aside the Heaven and Earth Ring, then charged Shen Jingchuan with two Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators.
• Shen Jingchuan reinforced himself with two Vajra Talismans, stored Big Black, and released Little Black to meet the attackers.
• Little Black paralyzed the three charging cultivators with lightning, and the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring sliced them down.

Shen Jingchuan attacked the Wang Household with Treading Snow and Little Black, forcing Wang Xuanji and Zhao Jiufeng to defend their mountaintop. The battle escalated when Shen Jingchuan joined the fight with the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring, and Treading Snow unleashed her Innate Divine Ability to stop Zhao Jiufeng from striking him.

• Wang Xuanji and Zhao Jiufeng saw Shen Jingchuan's two second-tier Demon Beasts attacking and prepared to confront them.
• Shen Jingchuan sent Little Black to help Treading Snow while he attacked the Wang Household's cultivators on the city wall.
• Little Black's lightning and Shen Jingchuan's attacks killed the remaining cultivators on the wall, while Treading Snow wounded Wang Xuanji and Zhao Jiufeng with her ice.
• Little Black joined Treading Snow, and their ice and lightning attacks struck the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Shen Jingchuan activated the Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Linked Formation, alarming Zhao Jiufeng and Wang Xuanji.
• As Zhao Jiufeng prepared to use a second-tier attack talisman against Shen Jingchuan, Treading Snow unleashed her Innate Divine Ability, Icebound for a Thousand Li.

Shen Jingchuan and his companions fought Zhao Jiufeng and Wang Xuanji on the mountaintop, killing Wang Xuanji and leaving Zhao Jiufeng at their mercy. After Shen Jingchuan broke Zhao Jiufeng’s wrist and disarmed him, Zhao begged for his life by insisting he was not part of the Wang Household.

• Treading Snow froze Zhao Jiufeng and Wang Xuanji while Little Black struck them with lightning, leaving both wounded and unable to move freely.
• Shen Jingchuan empowered the Heaven and Earth Rings with the formation and knocked Wang Xuanji from the air.
• Wang Xuanji unleashed a Heaven-Burning Talisman, so Shen Jingchuan hid inside a ring; the Heaven and Earth Rings continued onward and killed Wang Xuanji.
• Treading Snow and Little Black attacked Zhao Jiufeng together, freezing and electrocuting him before their charges knocked him to the ground.
• Shen Jingchuan emerged and sent the Heaven and Earth Rings at Zhao Jiufeng, breaking his wrist and knocking his talisman away.
• Zhao Jiufeng begged Shen Jingchuan to stop, claiming that his surname was Zhao and that he was not a member of the Wang Household.

Shen Jingchuan defeated Zhao Jiufeng and forced him to prove his loyalty by wiping out the remaining Wang Household members and surrendering their valuables. After Zhao Jiufeng complied and revealed the Zhao Household’s location, Shen Jingchuan let him go and was left wondering how to retrieve the Spirit Vein beneath the mountain.

• Shen Jingchuan sealed Zhao Jiufeng’s Qi Sea and questioned his claims that he had only come to visit the Wang Household.
• Zhao Jiufeng offered to sever ties with the Wang Household and compensate Shen Jingchuan, who demanded that he kill everyone remaining there and collect their Storage Rings and Storage Bags.
• Shen Jingchuan threatened to destroy the Zhao Household if Zhao Jiufeng fled or failed to obey, then released the seal on his Qi Sea.
• Zhao Jiufeng recovered, pursued and killed the Wang Household’s remaining cultivators and mortals, and returned with nearly a hundred Storage Rings and Storage Bags.
• Shen Jingchuan took the valuables, learned the Zhao Household’s location, and let Zhao Jiufeng leave after claiming his ring as well.
• Shen Jingchuan recalled the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring and wondered how to collect the Spirit Vein buried beneath the mountain.

Shen Jingchuan hid in the Heaven and Earth Ring to evade the Tian Household while he and Xian'er discussed the Wang Household's Spirit Vein and sorted through their spoils. After feeding the ring Spirit Stones and expanding its space, he learned that Tian Chengye and his companions had reached the mountain and planned to wait for him to emerge.

• Shen Jingchuan asked Xian'er whether wiping out the Wang Household had been cruel, and she said they had brought it on themselves by ambushing him.
• Xian'er discovered that the approaching Tian Household had tracked Shen Jingchuan with tracking powder and advised him to hide in the ring until it wore off.
• Shen Jingchuan and the two girls sorted the Wang Household's spoils, and he found a Geng Metal Mountain-Slaying Talisman and valuable items in Zhao Jiufeng's, Wang Xuanji's, and the patriarch's rings.
• Shen Jingchuan fed a hundred thousand Spirit Stones to the Heaven and Earth Ring, expanding its space from one li to two li in diameter.
• Tian Chengye, Tian Zheng, and Tian Ming lost Shen Jingchuan's trail near the ring, then decided to rest on the mountain and wait for him to emerge.

Tian Chengye and his men discovered and began excavating a Spirit Vein beneath the mountain, while Shen Jingchuan waited for his upgraded talisman to finish. Shen Jingchuan planned to let the Tian Household gather the treasure before taking it for himself.

• Tian Zheng persuaded Tian Chengye that the mountain might contain a Spirit Vein, and Tian Chengye ordered him and Tian Ming to help excavate it.
• Tian Chengye dug down to the Spirit Marrow, extracted it, and told Tian Zheng and Tian Ming to mine the surrounding Spirit Stones while keeping the discovery secret.
• Tian Zheng and Tian Ming filled their rings with raw Spirit Stone ore, repeatedly hauling it away and returning to the pit.
• After a day of cultivation, Shen Jingchuan retrieved his upgraded items and learned from Xian'er that the Geng Metal Mountain-Slaying Talisman could kill Tian Chengye with a well-aimed strike.
• Shen Jingchuan decided to let the Tian Household finish gathering the treasure before swooping in to claim it.

Shen Jingchuan prepared to use his talisman and the spirit horses’ attacks against Tian Chengye after the Tian men finished mining the Spirit Stones. When the pursuers closed in, Shen Jingchuan and the horses abruptly turned to launch their counterattack.

• Shen Jingchuan planned to have Little Black and Treading Snow strike Tian Chengye with their strongest abilities before he used the talisman.
• Shen Jingchuan comforted Big Black, who said he could awaken his bloodline without a spiritual treasure, then began cultivating.
• Tian Zheng and Tian Ming mined for three days, while Tian Chengye plotted to let Shen Jingchuan kill or cripple the two younger men.
• After Xian'er reported that the mining was finished, Shen Jingchuan probed the area and planned an escape that would draw the pursuers into range.
• Shen Jingchuan, Little Black, and Treading Snow emerged and fled; Tian Chengye, Tian Zheng, and Tian Ming chased them.
• As Tian Chengye drew close, Shen Jingchuan leapt backward and ordered an attack, and Little Black and Treading Snow wheeled around to charge.

Shen Jingchuan and his two flying horses killed Tian Chengye and the two cultivators pursuing them. After collecting valuables from the bodies, Shen Jingchuan went with the horses to claim the spirit ore they had found.

• Treading Snow froze Tian Chengye with a water shield, Little Black struck him with lightning, and Shen Jingchuan hit him with an upper second-tier talisman.
• Little Black and Treading Snow caught and killed Tian Zheng and Tian Ming as they fled.
• Shen Jingchuan kept his distance and used the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring formation to kill Tian Chengye, who had been pretending to be unconscious.
• Shen Jingchuan searched Tian Chengye and the other two cultivators, took their valuables, and burned their bodies.
• Shen Jingchuan flew with Treading Snow and Little Black to the mountain and stored the spirit ore in his ball of light.