Recaps

After the simulation ended, Lu Ping inherited his Golden Core cultivation, forty-two years of memories, and several treasures, including the Moon Palace Fire-Devouring Furnace and the transforming Fire Crow Seed. He discovered that his Fire Crow Technique was a fragment of the ancient Golden Crow Transformation, whose next stage would let his Fire Crow exist independently.

• Lu Ping returned to the moment the simulation began and advanced from Qi Refining Fifth Layer to Golden Core Early Stage, gaining an Immaculate Golden Core and forty-two years of memories.
• The system increased Lu Ping's Trait slots to thirteen, and he equipped Flattery, Friend of Women, Workwear Thug, and Workplace People-Pleaser.
• Lu Ping found that the Moon Palace Fire-Devouring Furnace had returned intact in his Dantian alongside the Fire Crow Seed, which had entered a dormant transformation.
• Lu Ping studied the Golden Crow Demon Emperor's fragmented memories and learned that the Fire Crow Technique came from the ancient Golden Crow Transformation.
• Lu Ping learned that the next stage, the Crimson Fire Crow, could live beyond his body, reform after being dispersed, and eventually lead to nurturing a Three-Legged Golden Crow.

After reaching Golden Core, Lu Ping discovered that his improved cultivation and body were held back by poverty and the Greenwood Sect’s thin Spiritual Qi. The System assigned him a mission to become Sect Master, and he considered the risks of seizing power before he had built any standing in the sect.

• Lu Ping mastered the third layer of the Hundred-Forged Medicine Body Formula and judged that his body could withstand a Nascent Soul cultivator’s blow.
• Lu Ping realized that his powerful [I'm the Client] ability consumed too many Spirit Stones and found only 120 Low-Grade Spirit Stones in his Storage Ring.
• Lu Ping found that the Greenwood Sect’s Spiritual Qi was too thin for his Golden Core cultivation and concluded that he would need to move somewhere larger.
• The System issued Lu Ping a Workplace Advancement Mission to become the Greenwood Sect Master, offering a fourth simulation, a trait draw, and trait synthesis as rewards.
• Lu Ping considered killing Han Changqing to take over the sect but recognized that his low status and the hidden power within the Greenwood Sect made the plan risky.

Lu Ping concealed his Golden Core cultivation, then revealed it to Qi Cangshu and asked him to arrange a meeting with Si Wangshu. He reached her courtyard, where he discovered signs of a Nascent Soul protector and was greeted as a fellow Golden Core True Person.

• Lu Ping suppressed his urge to attack the Greenwood Sect and used his techniques to pass the Alchemy Hall guards after paying them Spirit Stones.
• Lu Ping revealed his Golden Core presence to Qi Cangshu and asked to meet the Si Clan's youngster.
• Qi Cangshu contacted Si Wangshu, who invited Lu Ping to her courtyard and allowed Qi Cangshu to accompany him.
• Lu Ping noticed the courtyard's powerful hidden killing formation and sensed a likely Nascent Soul Dao protector nearby.
• Si Wangshu greeted Lu Ping as an equal and felt that he seemed familiar.

Lu Ping used his apparent ties to the Great Forest Temple and his alchemy to gain Si Wangshu’s trust while seeking a Third-Grade Alchemist’s status for travel through the Azure Dragon Domain. He left Si Wangshu with an improved Spirit-Urging Pill Formula and warned that dangerous experiments could kill vulnerable cultivators.

• Lu Ping recited scripture and conjured an illusion of a mountain temple and peach blossoms, leading Si Wangshu to identify the Great Forest Temple.
• Lu Ping used a Law Treasure furnace to refine three Peach Blossom Meridian-Calming Pills, and Si Wangshu recognized them as the Great Forest Temple’s secret medicine for repairing a damaged Dao foundation.
• Lu Ping claimed karmic ties with Wuming, said Wuming would travel through the Azure Yang Central Region soon, and explained that he would stay at the Greenwood Sect to prevent misunderstandings with the Si Clan.
• Lu Ping asked Si Wangshu to help him obtain the status of a Third-Grade Alchemist, and she cautioned that the Heavenly Certification Alliance was not controlled by the Si Clan.
• Lu Ping gave Si Wangshu an improved Spirit-Urging Pill Formula tailored to her project and said he had improved it out of compassion to reduce deaths from dangerous experiments.

Lu Ping offered Si Wangshu an improved Spirit-Urging Pill Formula and a rare Heaven-Mending Minor Restoration Pill Formula, seeking the Si Clan’s cooperation while he stayed at the Greenwood Sect. Si Wangshu agreed to support him, while the second formula remained contingent on the clan’s future response.

• Si Wangshu hesitated to secure Lu Ping a Third-Grade Alchemist certificate, since the Spirit-Urging Pill Formula alone did not justify the Si Clan’s political backing.
• Lu Ping revealed the Heaven-Mending Minor Restoration Pill Formula, which could raise a Low-Grade Spirit Root to a Middle-Grade Spirit Root, and said he wanted to avoid future misunderstandings with the Si Clan.
• Si Wangshu agreed that the Si Clan would cooperate with Lu Ping during his stay at the Greenwood Sect, and Lu Ping gave her the Spirit-Urging Pill Formula as a gift.
• Lu Ping and Qi Cangshu left the courtyard, and a hidden Nascent Soul expert warned Si Wangshu that Lu Ping seemed far stronger than his Golden Core cultivation suggested.
• Si Wangshu rejected investigating Lu Ping and decided the Si Clan should honor their deal, privately lamenting that he was from Great Forest Temple.

Lu Ping confronted Greenwood Sect Master Han Changqing in the Main Hall and destroyed the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s hidden Divine Sense protecting him. After searching Han Changqing’s memories and killing him, Lu Ping faced a crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered outside.

• Qi Cangshu escorted Lu Ping into the Main Hall to meet Sect Master Han Changqing.
• Lu Ping revealed his Golden Core aura, overwhelmed the hall’s restrictions, and attacked Han Changqing with a Fire-Separation Finger.
• A golden sigil blocked Lu Ping’s strike, and he recognized the presence behind it as the Golden Crow Demon Emperor Chunwu.
• Lu Ping shattered the sigil with a Spirit Stone and a second Fire-Separation Finger, then crushed the Demon Emperor’s Divine Sense.
• Lu Ping searched Han Changqing’s memories, took his Storage Ring, and killed him.
• A Nascent Soul Divine Sense briefly probed the Main Hall and withdrew as more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered outside.

Lu Ping concealed his role in Han Changqing’s death by having Qi Cangshu present it as a fatal Qi Deviation. The sect elders mistook Qi Cangshu for the killer and urged him to take over as Sect Master.

• Lu Ping took Han Changqing’s Sect Master Token and asked Qi Cangshu how Han Changqing had died.
• Qi Cangshu claimed Han Changqing had forced a breakthrough, suffered Qi Deviation, and entrusted him with responsibility for the sect.
• Lu Ping lowered his displayed cultivation and stood behind Qi Cangshu as the elders outside entered the Main Hall.
• Lu Ping released his pressure briefly, making the elders believe Qi Cangshu was the source of the overwhelming strength.
• Qi Cangshu repeated the Qi Deviation story, and the elders accepted his account without daring to challenge him.
• The Law Enforcement Hall and Mining Hall elders urged Qi Cangshu to succeed Han Changqing as Sect Master.

Qi Cangshu refused to become Sect Master and presented Lu Ping as Han Changqing’s successor, while the sect elders mistook Lu Ping for Qi Cangshu’s puppet. After the elders departed, Lu Ping entered the Sect Master’s cave abode and began his fourth life simulation.

• Qi Cangshu named Lu Ping the Greenwood Sect’s secret senior-most True Disciple and First-in-Line Successor.
• The Law Enforcement Hall and Mining Hall elders assumed Qi Cangshu had made Lu Ping a scapegoat and bowed to him as Sect Master Lu.
• Lu Ping accepted the Sect Master Token, ordered the sect to continue operating as before, and assigned Han Changqing’s funeral arrangements to Qi Cangshu.
• Lu Ping kept Qi Cangshu in the Main Hall for an hour, reinforcing the disciples’ belief that Qi Cangshu was instructing a puppet Sect Master.
• Lu Ping secured the Sect Master’s cave abode, examined his new Trait Synthesis reward, and started the fourth life simulation.

Lu Ping replaced a weak Trait with Early Leave, an A-rank ability that let him escape most places at the cost of randomly deducted Spirit Stones. After synthesizing Traits and finding a fortune in Han Changqing’s Storage Ring, he tested Early Leave from his cave abode.

• Lu Ping equipped Early Leave in place of Workplace People-Pleaser and reviewed the limits of Trait synthesis.
• Lu Ping used sixty D-rank Traits to synthesize six C-rank Traits, but still lacked enough C-ranks to make a B-rank Trait.
• Lu Ping found more than twenty-three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and other valuables in Han Changqing’s Storage Ring.
• Lu Ping activated Early Leave while inside the Sect Master's cave abode.

The new Greenwood Sect Master used Early Leave to escape the sect formation, then gathered ingredients and refined Spirit-Winding Thread and Qi-Gathering Pills while calculating the cost of advancing his cultivation. Three days later, an envoy from the Azure Cloud Sect arrived at the mountain gate.

• The Sect Master used Early Leave to leave the Greenwood Sect without triggering its mountain-guarding formation, then returned through the front gate.
• He ordered Qi Cangshu to gather medicinal ingredients and found the sect had enough for one furnace of Spirit-Winding Thread but too few supplies for Spirit-Chaos Lure.
• He refined twelve portions of Spirit-Winding Thread and then made a furnace of twelve Qi-Gathering Pills.
• He calculated that reaching the Golden Core Middle Stage would require about four thousand Qi-Gathering Pills and found the Greenwood Sect could not supply enough ingredients.
• He tested his daily absorption limits, and three days later an Azure Cloud Sect Envoy arrived by Cloud Boat.

Lu Ping defended the Greenwood Sect against Han Shishan’s accusation over Han Changqing’s death, claiming it had been caused by a failed breakthrough. A mysterious old woman confirmed his account and made Han Shishan reconsider, leaving Lu Ping to choose how to handle the envoy.

• Han Shishan arrived at the Greenwood Sect and demanded that whoever killed Han Changqing kill themselves in apology.
• Lu Ping rejected the options to trap or bargain with Han Shishan and claimed Han Changqing had died from a breakthrough backlash.
• Han Shishan formed a giant Spiritual Power palm over the gathered sect members and demanded the truth again.
• An old woman appeared and confirmed she had witnessed signs of Spiritual Power backlash near the Main Hall three days earlier.
• Han Shishan recognized the mark on the old woman's robe and stopped pressing the Greenwood Sect; Lu Ping considered how to deal with him next.

Lu Ping secured official recognition as Greenwood Sect Master and kept the sect’s existing system intact while its members speculated about his hidden backing. Two days later, his Fire Crow advanced to Core Condensation, gained the ability to act independently, and was named Crow Daoist.

• Lu Ping chose to submit the succession document, and Han Shishan stamped it with the Azure Cloud Sect seal, officially recognizing him as Greenwood Sect Master.
• Qi Cangshu and the hall stewards congratulated Lu Ping, who reassured them that the halls would continue operating under the old system.
• Greenwood Sect members spread rumors linking Lu Ping, Qi Cangshu, and the Bamboo Courtyard Behind the Mountain to a powerful hidden patron.
• Lu Ping returned to cultivating and refining pills, and two days later his Fire Crow awakened as a Core Condensation Red-Feather Fire Crow.
• Lu Ping named the Fire Crow Crow Daoist, and it disguised itself as an ordinary crow while three Outer Sect Disciples gossiped nearby about Lu Ping and his supposed patron.

Lu Ping received his Third-Grade Alchemist certificate from Si Wangshu and gave her the complete Heaven-Mending Minor Restoration Pill Formula. He warned her of a possible Myriad Demon Domain connection to Han Changqing, but Si Wangshu could only promise to report it to her clan.

• A crow flew from the Alchemy Hall to the bamboo courtyard, where an old woman noticed it before looking away.
• Si Wangshu brought Lu Ping his Third-Grade Alchemist certificate, and Lu Ping accepted it without asking for more.
• Lu Ping gave Si Wangshu the detailed Pill Formula, and she thanked him and the Si Clan pledged to remember the favor.
• Lu Ping warned Si Wangshu that Han Changqing's actions might be tied to the Myriad Demon Domain.
• Si Wangshu said she would report the warning but could not guarantee the Si Clan would change its assessment of the southern situation.
• Lu Ping considered whether to press the issue further as options appeared before him.

Lu Ping left Si Wangshu with a warning and a token, then prepared to depart the Greenwood Sect after taking only a few resources. Before leaving, he created a poison called Lingering Silk and handed the sect’s affairs to Qi Cangshu, who worried that the other halls would not accept his authority.

• Lu Ping warned Si Wangshu without naming the Golden Crow Demon Emperor, and she gave him a Si Clan token before returning home.
• Lu Ping inventoried the Greenwood Sect’s resources, took a small flying boat and pill ingredients, and left the rest for the sect.
• Lu Ping used sect ingredients to refine Lingering Silk, a poison that could affect Golden Core cultivators and potentially harm Nascent Soul cultivators.
• After several days of preparations, Lu Ping summoned Qi Cangshu and entrusted him with the Greenwood Sect’s accounts, storehouse authority, and external affairs as Lu Ping prepared to leave.
• Qi Cangshu questioned whether the Law Enforcement Hall and Mining Hall would accept his authority, and Lu Ping faced options for supporting him or forcing obedience.

Lu Ping handed Qi Cangshu resources and instructions to strengthen his position in the Greenwood Sect, then secretly traveled to Qingyang City. There, he presented his Third-Grade Alchemist certificate at the Azure Dragon Merchant Association and met chief shopkeeper Shen Yuerong.

• Lu Ping gave Qi Cangshu a hundred Qi-Gathering Pills and told him to support Qian Dafu and watch for Xu Qingshi.
• Qi Cangshu led a meeting while Lu Ping silently presided, then Lu Ping unleashed a pressure that frightened the assembled elders and deacons before dismissing them.
• At midnight, Lu Ping left the Greenwood Sect by flying boat, suppressed his cultivation to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and sent the Scarlet-Feathered Fire Crow ahead toward Qingyang City.
• Lu Ping arrived in Qingyang City and went directly to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.
• Lu Ping showed his Third-Grade Alchemist certificate, and chief shopkeeper Shen Yuerong received him and asked how to address him.

Lu Ping sold Qi-Gathering Pills to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, bought emergency Talismans, and explored Qingyang City while gathering news about Zhao Mingchuan. The chapter ended when Zhao Mingchuan’s Demonic Hound charged at Lu Ping, leaving him to choose how to respond.

• Lu Ping sold two hundred Qi-Gathering Pills to Shen Yuerong, arranged a large herb purchase, and asked her to apply for a place on Qingyang City’s Long-Distance Teleportation Array.
• Lu Ping bought a Random Teleportation Talisman and a High-Grade Invisibility Talisman from the association.
• Lu Ping went to a restaurant and overheard cultivators praise Zhao Mingchuan’s rise and Household Ancestor Zhao’s protection of him.
• Lu Ping recalled that Zhao Mingchuan and Li Yuniang were intended as sacrifices for Household Ancestor Zhao’s attempt to prove the Dao by killing his wife.
• Zhao Mingchuan entered the restaurant with Guards and a Demonic Hound, which charged at Lu Ping after Zhao signaled it.

Lu Ping struck Zhao Mingchuan after the young man’s demonic hound attacked him, then left as Zhao Mingchuan threatened revenge. He watched the Zhao Household patriarch comfort Li Yuniang and begin dual cultivation, and faced a choice about when to attack them.

• Lu Ping’s protective spiritual light sent Zhao Mingchuan’s demonic hound flying, and Lu Ping slapped Zhao Mingchuan when he attacked.
• Lu Ping walked away despite Zhao Mingchuan’s threats, deciding the feud meant he should not leave the young man alive to retaliate.
• Li Yuniang returned to the Zhao Estate, struck a Guard for failing to protect Zhao Mingchuan, and ordered an investigation into Lu Ping.
• A Red-Feather Fire Crow followed Li Yuniang to the patriarch’s courtyard, where the patriarch comforted her and promised to send Zhao Qingsu after Lu Ping.
• The Zhao Household patriarch and Li Yuniang began dual cultivation while Lu Ping waited outside the estate and considered when to strike.

Lu Ping poisoned the Zhao Household ancestor during his cultivation ritual, inadvertently helping him attain a breakthrough insight, then attacked while the ancestor weakened himself to suppress the breakthrough. The ancestor activated the Zhao Estate’s protective formation and trapped Lu Ping, leaving him to choose how to respond.

• Lu Ping used an invisibility talisman to sneak into the Zhao Estate and sent Lingering Silk poison through Li Yuniang to the Zhao Household ancestor.
• The ancestor killed Li Yuniang, then grieved for her and nearly reached the Spirit Transformation tribulation after developing genuine feelings.
• The ancestor suppressed the breakthrough by cutting his cultivation from Nascent Soul perfection to the late stage, and Lu Ping attacked him while he was dazed.
• The ancestor activated the Zhao Estate’s protective grand formation, trapping Lu Ping inside and presenting him with three choices.

Lu Ping killed the Zhao Household's ancestor with help from his poisons, a powerful punch, and Crow Daoist's self-detonation, then used Early Leave to escape the residence. As the Zhao Household panicked and searched for its ancestor, Lu Ping stood outside with two Storage Rings and considered what to do next.

• Lu Ping chose to attack the weakened Zhao Household's ancestor and killed him with Southern Bright Separation Fire.
• The ancestor's Nascent Soul tried to escape, but Crow Daoist self-detonated and Sun True Fire severely weakened it before Lu Ping searched its memories and destroyed it.
• Lu Ping collected the Storage Rings of the Zhao Household's ancestor and Li Yuniang, then chose Early Leave to escape the Zhao residence.
• Lu Ping cleaned himself, merged into the crowd, and bought hot cakes while the Zhao Household's formation remained active.
• A shout asking where the ancestor was froze the street, and Lu Ping faced options to leave, return to the hidden vault, or offer crisis management for a fee.

Lu Ping searched the Zhao Household’s patriarch’s Storage Ring for a twin to his Moon Palace Fire-Devouring Furnace, then learned how Zhao Qingsu had secured the family’s survival after the patriarch’s death. With Shen Yuerong’s warning acknowledged and a pass to Yi Wood City in hand, Lu Ping began teleporting away just as Zhao Qingsu arrived with Qingyang Guards.

• Lu Ping found no Moon Palace Fire-Devouring Furnace in the patriarch’s Storage Ring, but discovered the Yin-Yang Canon in Li Yuniang’s ring and chose not to study or publicize it.
• Lu Ping collected his medicinal herbs from Shen Yuerong and learned that the Zhao Household’s patriarch had died, while Zhao Qingsu had given half the family’s resources to the City Lord’s Manor.
• Shen Yuerong told Lu Ping that Zhao Qingsu’s wife and son had disappeared, and Lu Ping warned her that the Wang Family was close to Steward Chen.
• Shen Yuerong gave Lu Ping a pass for the Teleportation Hall, and he used it with his Third-Grade Alchemist certificate to enter the teleportation array.
• As the array activated, Qingyang Guards rushed into the hall beside Zhao Qingsu.

Lu Ping arrived in Yi Wood City, was swindled by a scam-prevention seller, then stocked up on supplies and settled into a rented cave abode. After hearing that many sect leaders and elders from the Border Regions had gathered in the city, he examined the mysterious token that had brought him there.

• Lu Ping escaped Qingyang City through the Teleportation Array as Zhao Qingsu and the City Lord's Manor guards were blocked from pursuing him.
• Lu Ping arrived in Yi Wood City, bought a scam-prevention Jade Slip from a swindler, and discovered its warning described the seller himself.
• Lu Ping shopped at the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, spending over three hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones on materials and talismans, but learned Random Teleportation Talismans were sold out.
• Qiu Wanchuan told Lu Ping that about a hundred sect masters and elders from the Border Regions had arrived in Yi Wood City over the past month.
• Lu Ping bought a map, rented an A-Class Cave Abode, checked its formations, laid Spirit-Winding Thread, and examined the mysterious token that was his main reason for coming to Yi Wood City.

Lu Ping traced the massacre of Sunset Glow Village to an abandoned village near the Border Region and Savage Wilderness Expanse, hoping to uncover the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s connection to the crime. He found signs of a similar attack and weighed whether to hide or prepare an ambush as he waited for the person responsible.

• Lu Ping cultivated, refined pills, advanced his Thousand Mechanisms Falling Blossoms Instruction, and awakened the Red-Feather Fire Crow.
• After learning that Ye Zhi of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect would visit the Border Region, Lu Ping chose to search for the site Ji Chengfeng had described instead of following Ye Zhi.
• Lu Ping left Yi Wood City and used Ji Chengfeng’s account, maps, and the Red-Feather Fire Crow’s scouting to find an abandoned village near Barren Ridge.
• Lu Ping found burned houses and Sword Qi marks in the village, which had been abandoned for at least three months and bore signs similar to the Sunset Glow Village massacre.
• Lu Ping considered hiding from the powerful culprit or preparing the village as a battlefield where he could try to keep the mastermind from escaping.

Lu Ping concealed a trap in the ruined village and waited for Ye Zhi's Thousand Mechanisms Sect party to arrive. When black-clad attackers ambushed them, Lu Ping stayed hidden as Ye Zhi struck back, leaving the battle poised at the black-clad leader's attack.

• Lu Ping spread Spirit-Eroding Powder and Mind-Erasing Powder through the village, hid himself, and used the Red-Feather Fire Crow to watch the barren hills.
• Three days later, Ye Zhi led Ji Chengfeng and other Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciples into the village, where he identified the poisonous powders and found no survivors.
• Six black-clad cultivators ambushed the party, and five Golden Core attackers quickly incapacitated the disciples, including Ji Chengfeng.
• Lu Ping chose to remain hidden while Ye Zhi summoned a bronze Mechanism Beast and blasted the five attackers with azure-gold blades.
• The black-clad leader seized his opening and formed a Ghost Claw that lunged toward Ye Zhi's chest.

Lu Ping watched Ye Zhi and the black-clad leader battle while his poison slowly affected them, and Ye Zhi unleashed a dangerous forbidden technique that badly wounded his opponent. With the black-clad leader injured and both experts still fighting, Lu Ping faced a choice about whether to intervene.

• The black-clad leader ambushed Ye Zhi, breaking his array shields and injuring him.
• Lu Ping's poison began to affect both Nascent Soul experts, though neither realized its source.
• Ye Zhi formed a pair of mechanical arms from his bronze beast fragments and attacked the black-clad leader.
• After the leader struck Ye Zhi in the chest, Ye Zhi used Thousand Mechanisms · Blood Release and exploded his left arm into fragments that wounded the leader.
• Options appeared, asking Lu Ping whether to stay hidden, help Ye Zhi kill the leader, or interrupt the fight with a Rainmaking Art.

Lu Ping and Ye Zhi killed the leader of the men in black and the other attackers, but the leader’s soul-searching restriction destroyed his Nascent Soul before Lu Ping could learn much. With the fight over, Ye Zhi confronted Lu Ping about his use of a secret Thousand Mechanisms Sect technique, and Lu Ping faced a choice about how to respond.

• Lu Ping ambushed the wounded leader of the men in black with the Thousand Mechanisms Falling Blossoms Instruction and killed him with Ye Zhi’s help.
• Lu Ping searched the leader’s Nascent Soul, but a hidden restriction caused it to self-destruct before he could uncover more than fragments about the Dark Hall, the Heavenly Secrets Turmoil, and Shenjizi.
• Lu Ping and Ye Zhi hunted down the five fleeing Golden Core attackers, killing them despite another self-destruct restriction triggered during Lu Ping’s soul search.
• After the battle, Ye Zhi recognized the Thousand Mechanisms Sect technique Lu Ping had used and regarded him with suspicion as they stood among the fallen disciples.
• Lu Ping considered whether to leave immediately, build ties with the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, or jokingly praise Ye Zhi for his performance.