Chapter Summaries

Lu Ping created a Star River Talisman by sealing the power of Star River Myriad Blades into spirit jade, then sent Crow-Crow to deliver it to Ye Zhi as the latter departed on an inspection tour. Ye Zhi mistook the mysterious gift for a treasure from a Thousand Mechanisms Sect ancestor, and Lu Ping faced a choice about whether to correct him.

• Lu Ping used Reverse Engineering and his other abilities to seal Star River Myriad Blades into a Mystic Marrow Jade talisman, succeeding on his first attempt.
• As he continued deducing the As-If-Original Seal, Lu Ping recognized its Buddhist origins and wondered whether heavenly secrets, karma, and fate could also be sealed.
• Lu Ping kept his true body in Han Shishan's cave abode and sent Crow-Crow ahead to meet Ye Zhi outside the Thousand Mechanisms Sect.
• Crow-Crow gave Ye Zhi the Star River Talisman as a gift from its master, and Ye Zhi recognized the sealed power as Star River Myriad Blades.
• Ye Zhi concluded that Crow-Crow's master was a highly senior Thousand Mechanisms Sect ancestor and thanked the presumed senior.
• Lu Ping received options to leave Ye Zhi's mistaken assumption uncorrected, have Crow-Crow claim its master was the sect's founding patriarch, or demand Spirit Stones.

Lu Ping warned Ye Zhi of an impending Nascent Soul Perfection ambush, sending him back to the Thousand Mechanisms Sect for help. In seclusion, Lu Ping learned to make teleportation and invisibility talismans, then noticed Han Shishan arrive dejected with only a small supply of Mystic Marrow Jade.

• Lu Ping used the Red-Feather Fire Crow to warn Ye Zhi that a Nascent Soul Perfection force planned to ambush him, and Ye Zhi turned his flying boat back toward the Thousand Mechanisms Sect.
• Lu Ping continued cultivating and trying to combine array and talisman methods to create a seal that concealed heavenly secrets, but instead learned to make Random Teleportation Talismans and Invisibility Talismans.
• Lu Ping used Early Leave to study spatial fluctuations and successfully carved a Random Teleportation Talisman from Mystic Marrow Jade.
• Lu Ping found Invisibility Talismans easier to make because he was familiar with the concealment patterns of the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak.
• Han Shishan brought Lu Ping a small batch of Mystic Marrow Jade and lingered, looking dejected, as options appeared for how Lu Ping should respond.

Lu Ping learned that Han Shishan was being sent to a dangerous frontier post and gave him powerful tools to survive, hoping to preserve a useful ally. Worried that the Azure Cloud Sect’s plans would disrupt his supply of Mystic Marrow Jade, Lu Ping went to Qingyang City to meet Shen Yuerong.

• Han Shishan told Lu Ping that he had been ordered to guard a Mystic Marrow Jade vein near the Domain of Chaos, which Lu Ping recognized as a likely attempt to exile him.
• Lu Ping chose to help Han Shishan and gave him Spirit-Winding Thread, Spirit-Chaos Lure, a powerful Random Teleportation Talisman, and formation plates for the Five Elements Heaven-Trapping Formation.
• Han Shishan accepted the items and bowed to Lu Ping before leaving to arrange for the Han Household’s future.
• Lu Ping worried that the Azure Cloud Sect’s actions could disrupt the supply and drive up the price of Mystic Marrow Jade.
• Lu Ping traveled to Qingyang City and met Shen Yuerong at the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.

Lu Ping used his status and resources to partner with Shen Yuerong in a plan to profit from Mystic Marrow Jade trades, then watched a rumor-driven price crash begin in Qingyang City. As the market collapsed, he faced a choice between trusting Shen Yuerong and taking control of the trades himself.

• Lu Ping sold his goods to Shen Yuerong for Mystic Marrow Jade and learned that the Azure Cloud Sect appeared to be restricting purchases while secretly stockpiling it.
• Lu Ping used his Third-Grade Alchemist Certificate to borrow three million Spirit Stones and arranged with Shen Yuerong to buy Mystic Marrow Jade when its price fell, splitting the profits seventy-thirty.
• Lu Ping returned to Han Shishan's cave abode and practiced carving runes into Mystic Marrow Jade while Han Shishan prepared to leave for the border.
• After Han Shishan left, rumors spread that a new border vein would double Mystic Marrow Jade production, and Sun Jingli forced Qingyang City's merchants to buy large quantities.
• The rumors triggered panic and a sharp price drop, and Lu Ping was offered the choice of staying in seclusion or entering the market to direct the trades himself.

Lu Ping used Shen Yuerong’s market strategy to profit from the panic surrounding the Mystic Marrow Jade mine, earning forty-two million Low-Grade Spirit Stones. After the Azure Cloud Sect announced plans to reclaim the mine, he met Shen Yuerong in Qingyang City and faced a choice about how to show off his new wealth.

• Lu Ping watched as the Azure Dragon Merchant Association bought Mystic Marrow Jade during the market panic, using his three and a half million Low-Grade Spirit Stones to build a position.
• News spread that the mine had fallen and its supply was cut off, driving up prices as disciples and merchants rushed to buy Mystic Marrow Jade.
• Lu Ping suspected the crisis was being used to manipulate the market, while Shen Yuerong sold their holdings gradually into the frenzied demand.
• After twenty days, Lu Ping’s stock was sold, earning him forty-two million Low-Grade Spirit Stones after Shen Yuerong’s share and repayment of the loan.
• The Azure Cloud Sect announced it would send five Nascent Soul cultivators and elite disciples to retake the mine, and Lu Ping went to meet Shen Yuerong in Qingyang City.
• Shen Yuerong gave Lu Ping a Storage Bag containing forty-two million Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and he considered three ways to celebrate or display his wealth.

Lu Ping used his Mystic Marrow Jade profits to buy cultivation supplies and secure a Passage Permit to the Azure Dragon Upper Domain, then returned to seclusion. As the Azure Cloud Sect celebrated Han Shishan’s supposed heroism, Lu Ping continued developing a Heavenly Secrets Concealment Seal and seemed close to completing it.

• Lu Ping chose to cash out and ordered Shen Yuerong to gather the materials on his list, explaining that five Nascent Soul Elders meant the Mystic Marrow Jade scheme was nearing its end because Han Shishan was an uncontrollable variable.
• Shen Yuerong praised Lu Ping’s insight, gathered his supplies, granted him Fourth-Level VIP status, and obtained a Passage Permit to the Azure Dragon Upper Domain.
• Lu Ping returned to the Azure Cloud Sect and resumed secluded cultivation, while two months later the sect announced that its five Nascent Soul Elders had retaken the Mystic Marrow Jade Vein and celebrated Han Shishan as a hero.
• Lu Ping ignored the celebrations and devoted himself to deducing the Heavenly Secrets Concealment Seal, using the As-If-Original Seal, formation principles, and talisman runes.
• Lu Ping studied a piece of Mystic Marrow Essence Jade and formed an intricate, endless rune in his sea of consciousness before extending a finger tipped with faint light.

Lu Ping completed the Heguang Tongchen Talisman, which concealed its holder by making them indistinguishable from the countless other specks of dust, but found he could not craft another. After testing its power and sensing a shift in the heavenly secrets, he encountered Azure Cloud Sect Master Shen Yaoxin and faced a choice about how to greet him.

• Lu Ping crafted the Heguang Tongchen Talisman from Mystic Marrow Essence Jade, which split into a yin talisman and a yang talisman.
• Lu Ping tried to make spare talismans, but every material he used shattered because his inspiration attuned to the Heavenly Dao had been exhausted.
• Lu Ping imprinted his Divine Sense into the Dust-Sharing Yang Talisman and learned that it concealed its holder by blending their presence into a mass of indistinguishable dust.
• Lu Ping went to Old Pine Peak, overheard patrolling disciples discuss the Mystic Marrow Jade vein, and sensed that the Military Breaker Star had lost its connection to its target.
• Lu Ping encountered Shen Yaoxin, the Spirit Transformation Stage Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect, and received three possible responses to choose from.

Lu Ping faced Shen Yaoxin’s probe, endured his Spirit Transformation sword strike, and demonstrated his strength and insight. Shen Yaoxin made Lu Ping an Azure Cloud Sect elder, and Lu Ping returned to Han Shishan’s cave abode with the sect’s investigation settled.

• Lu Ping followed Shen Yaoxin into the Nine Heavens and withstood the Gang winds without protection, surprising the Sect Master.
• Lu Ping invited Shen Yaoxin to make his move, then crushed the Sect Master’s Spirit Transformation sword light with his bare hand.
• Lu Ping identified three flaws in Shen Yaoxin’s sword technique, prompting Shen Yaoxin to reconsider testing him or confronting him.
• Shen Yaoxin offered Lu Ping an elder’s position, and Lu Ping accepted in exchange for a quiet place to cultivate.
• Lu Ping received an Elder Token and returned to Han Shishan’s cave abode.

Lu Ping received Xiaolai Peak as his new residence and discovered that its upkeep would cost far more than his elder stipend. He slipped away rather than recruit disciples, then inspected the abandoned peak and considered how to restore its failing formations.

• Shen Yaoxin assigned Lu Ping Xiaolai Peak, and a Deacon explained that its halls and medicine garden had fallen into disrepair.
• Lu Ping read the peak’s accounts and learned that he would have to pay its operating costs, formation expenses, and spirit-vein rent himself.
• Lu Ping chose to avoid the eager disciples gathered at the Internal Affairs Hall and slipped out through the back door using his Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak.
• Lu Ping reached Xiaolai Peak and used his Formation Command Token to disperse its mist and enter the Main Hall.
• Lu Ping found that most of the hall’s basic formations had stopped working and considered options for repairing or changing the peak’s formations.

Lu Ping reinforced Xiaolai Peak’s formations and put Crow-Crow to work on repairs before restoring the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak to its peak. The cloak let him conceal his cultivation and presence even from Spirit Transformation experts, and a new Trait began generating.

• Lu Ping replaced Xiaolai Peak’s Spirit Gathering Formation and secretly added killing, maze, and poison formations to its defenses.
• Lu Ping chose Crow-Crow to repair the peak, and the Red-Feather Fire Crow began clearing rubble, fixing roofs, and pulling weeds.
• Lu Ping gathered materials Shen Yuerong had helped him obtain and used the Moon Palace Fire-Devouring Furnace to repair the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak.
• Lu Ping restored the cloak’s concealment and form-imitation abilities, making it possible to hide himself from Spirit Transformation experts if he did not act.
• Lu Ping tested the cloak, which transformed into an Azure Cloud Sect elder’s robe, and a Trait began generating.

Lu Ping returned to the valley and reunited with Jiang Mutian after she defeated three enemies. He earned her trust and received cultivation resources and a one-use Sword Talisman, then faced a choice as she prepared to leave.

• Lu Ping rejected the negative Late Food Delivery Trait, paid two years of rent, and left the Azure Cloud Sect for the valley.
• After a fierce battle ended, Lu Ping disguised himself as an Azure Cloud Sect elder and approached Jiang Mutian beside three corpses.
• Lu Ping offered Jiang Mutian the antidote to the Severed-Fate Hehuan Powder and claimed Past-Life Wisdom had led him to repay a life-saving debt.
• Jiang Mutian accepted Lu Ping's explanation, drank the antidote, and let him guard her while she healed.
• Jiang Mutian gave Lu Ping a Storage Ring of cultivation resources and a single-use Sword Talisman before preparing to leave.
• Lu Ping faced options to see Jiang Mutian off, ask her to wait, or take a picture with her.

Lu Ping gave Jiang Mutian the Heguang Talisman to conceal her heavenly secrets, then joined it with his Tongchen Talisman when a powerful divination attack threatened her. Jiang Mutian struck back through the void but collapsed after her sword returned to her.

• Lu Ping offered Jiang Mutian the Heguang Talisman and claimed it could conceal heavenly secrets and karma.
• Lu Ping explained that he had refined the talisman using a wisp of Heavenly Dao inspiration, and Jiang Mutian accepted it.
• Jiang Mutian sensed that the Military Breaker and Seven Killings stars had lost their connection to the world.
• A force divining Jiang Mutian's heavenly secrets cracked the Heguang Talisman, so Lu Ping sent his Tongchen Talisman to complete their formation around her.
• Jiang Mutian slashed into the void, then collapsed as her flying sword returned to her.

Jiang Mutian recovered after using her sword to sever the karma of someone divining her, and explained that the intruder had suffered a severe backlash. As she prepared to leave, Lu Ping asked her name, and she revealed that she was the leader of the Demonic Sect.

• Lu Ping caught Jiang Mutian as she collapsed, then supported her with Spiritual Power while she took a pill to recover.
• Jiang Mutian said her sword had severed the karma of the person peering into the secrets of heaven, leaving that person badly weakened.
• When Lu Ping asked who was plotting against her, Jiang Mutian admitted she did not know and said she was good at killing.
• As Jiang Mutian began to leave, Lu Ping asked her name, and she introduced herself as Jiang Mutian, leader of the Demonic Sect.

After Jiang Mutian revealed herself as the Devil Cult’s leader and gave Lu Ping a healing pill, he reflected on the Cult’s mystery and headed to Red Refining Mountain. Disguised as a weak rogue cultivator, he approached Wuming’s party and asked to join them.

• Jiang Mutian told Lu Ping she led the Devil Cult, left him a Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill, and disappeared.
• Lu Ping considered the Devil Cult’s secrecy and his unexpected connection to its leader, then resolved to focus on cultivation.
• Lu Ping disguised his cultivation and appearance with the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak and traveled to Red Refining Mountain.
• Wuming noticed Lu Ping following his party and invited him to join them.
• Lu Ping introduced himself as Li Feiyu, a low-level rogue cultivator with basic alchemy skills, and asked to accompany the group.

Li joined Wuming and two other cultivators to explore a cave, where they fought Fire Crows and faced the demon-raising middle-aged man behind them. After the others were knocked unconscious, Li revealed his Nascent Soul cultivation, killed the man, and discovered information about the Golden Crow Demon Emperor; he then faced three choices about what to do next.

• Wuming invited Li to join the group despite the Sword Cultivator’s objections, and they entered the cave together.
• A flock of Fire Crows attacked, and Li supplied high-grade Rejuvenation Pills that helped the Sword Cultivator and staff cultivator fight back.
• A middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator appeared, revealed his plan to create a Blood-Congealing Five-Elements Pill, and attacked the group with fire rings.
• Wuming, the Sword Cultivator, and the staff cultivator were knocked unconscious, but Li remained unharmed and revealed his Nascent Soul cultivation.
• Li used the Soul Searching Technique on the middle-aged man, learned of his next contact with the Golden Crow Demon Emperor, and burned him and the lead Fire Crow to ashes.
• Li was left with three unconscious companions and a choice of whether to revive them, pretend to faint, or exploit the two cultivators for a recording.

Lu Ping used the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak to pretend to be gravely wounded while Wuming recovered, then watched as the Sword Cultivator and staff cultivator tried to kill them for their belongings. Lu Ping revealed his Nascent Soul cultivation to kill the attackers, and after Wuming showed no regret or resentment, Lu Ping said he had come to ask him for something.

• Lu Ping disguised himself as an unconscious, gravely wounded Foundation Establishment cultivator and let Wuming awaken first.
• Wuming revived the Sword Cultivator and staff cultivator, but they decided to kill Lu Ping and take his possessions.
• Wuming defended Lu Ping, and the two cultivators wounded him as they attacked.
• Lu Ping released his Nascent Soul pressure and killed both attackers, then revealed his true cultivation to Wuming.
• Wuming accepted the deaths as karmic consequences and said he felt no regret or resentment, while Lu Ping told him he had something to ask.

Lu Ping arranged to travel to Great Forest Temple with Wuming in eleven years and gave him supplies before leaving Red Refining Mountain. Disguised as an evil cultivator, Lu Ping entered an underground Black Market and found a stall selling forged certifications and sect tokens, where he had to decide what to do next.

• Lu Ping revealed the As-If-Original Seal to Wuming and arranged to visit Great Forest Temple with him in eleven years.
• Lu Ping gave Wuming pills, traps, teleportation talismans, and a Star-River Law Seal, then left the cavern and vanished under his cloak.
• Lu Ping disguised himself as a dead middle-aged Evil Cultivator and traveled to the underground Black Market beneath a stone forest.
• Lu Ping explored the Black Market and found a busy stall selling forged certificates, travel permits, and sect tokens.
• Lu Ping faced a choice between leaving, inspecting an Azure Cloud Sect Elder Token, or asking the stall owner for a marriage certificate.

Lu Ping explored the Black Market, commissioned a fake Azure Cloud Sect Elder Token, and discovered how the Ascension Tower’s cultivation loans bound borrowers to a debt contract. He continued deeper into the market to find lodging while waiting a month for the Lord of the South’s contact.

• Lu Ping paid a Golden Core stall owner to make a convincing fake Azure Cloud Sect Elder Token and learned how to counterfeit identity tokens.
• Lu Ping watched a Qi Refining cultivator take a cultivation loan and advance to Foundation Establishment, then sensed the contract’s invisible thread leading to a Nascent Soul cultivator in the Ascension Tower.
• The Ascension Tower’s Deacon told the newly advanced cultivator he owed one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones a month for fifty years, with his soul and Qi and Blood as collateral for missed payments.
• Lu Ping chose not to interfere with the borrowers and continued through the Black Market.
• Lu Ping went to the Fortune-Coming Inn to find a place to stay until his meeting with the Lord of the South’s contact in a month.

Lu Ping reverse-engineered the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s Bloodline Reversal Great Art into a new secret method called “Crow, Come,” then met a gray-robed Golden Core envoy at an abandoned mine. The envoy demanded 3,000 Spirit Stones to recommend Lu Ping for bloodline reversal, leaving Lu Ping to choose how to respond.

• Lu Ping rented a Grade B cave abode in the Black Market and studied the Bloodline Reversal Great Art, discovering the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s Bloodline Marks could serve as teleportation anchors.
• Lu Ping spent more than twenty days devising the secret method “Crow, Come” to force open a teleportation path through a Bloodline Mark.
• After resting and recovering, Lu Ping went to an abandoned mine and prepared a Five Elements Heaven-Trapping Formation with additional traps.
• A gray-robed Golden Core Late Stage cultivator arrived and questioned Lu Ping, whom he addressed as Li Si, about forming a False Core.
• The envoy said Lu Ping would need to show sincerity to gain a chance at bloodline reversal and demanded 3,000 Spirit Stones to recommend him.

Lu Ping discovered that Zhao Kangquan was extorting would-be demons on behalf of a distant lord, then attacked and killed him to search his memories. He learned Zhao Kangquan’s sect identity and recovered his belongings, leaving Lu Ping to decide what to do next.

• Lu Ping paid Zhao Kangquan three thousand Spirit Stones and learned he wanted thirty thousand more at Falling Crow Valley in three months, but Zhao Kangquan had no Bloodline Mark and was only an intermediary.
• Lu Ping attacked Zhao Kangquan with a Spirit Stone and a palm strike, shattering the spirit beast that tried to protect him.
• Lu Ping used Soul Searching Technique on Zhao Kangquan and learned he was an Inner Sect Deacon of the Profound Beast Taming Sect, a second-rate sect in the Cangxuan Central Region.
• Lu Ping burned Zhao Kangquan’s remains, took his Storage Ring, Spirit Beast Bag, identity credentials, and the Myriad Spirits True Scripture, then erased his traces and faced new choices.