Chapter Summaries

Lu Ping explained the Great Sun Primordial Void Seal Method to Jiang Mutian, who quickly learned to erase her Qi with it. She offered to teach him her Dao of killing and combat, leaving him eager to accept her guidance.

• Lu Ping welcomed Jiang Mutian into his room and prepared tea while she watched him.
• Lu Ping told Jiang Mutian that he had stayed in Nü Zhi City waiting for news of her, and she asked him to explain the Great Sun Primordial Void Seal Method.
• Lu Ping spent two days explaining the method’s core principles and practical techniques to Jiang Mutian.
• Jiang Mutian used the seal method to erase her Qi and praised how much work it would save her.
• Jiang Mutian offered to teach Lu Ping about her Dao of killing and combat, and he eagerly considered accepting.

Lu Ping studied Jiang Mutian’s slaughter Sword Intent over several days, gradually forming an understanding of it. When Ning Junqiu arrived to discuss pill-refinement business, Jiang Mutian emerged at just the right moment, and Ning Junqiu stopped short upon entering and seeing her.

• Lu Ping accepted Jiang Mutian’s instruction and began studying the slaughter Sword Intent sealed in a Jade Talisman.
• After each talisman crumbled, Jiang Mutian gave Lu Ping another, and his understanding of the Way of Slaughter began to take shape over five or six days.
• Jiang Mutian left the main room and sat with Lu Ping just as Ning Junqiu’s Sound Transmission Talisman arrived at the courtyard gate.
• Lu Ping removed the Restriction and invited Ning Junqiu inside to discuss the next month’s pill-refinement schedule and ingredients.
• Ning Junqiu entered, saw Jiang Mutian, and abruptly stopped speaking.

Lu Ping introduced Jiang Mutian as his senior sister to ease Ning Junqiu’s suspicions, and Jiang Mutian tacitly accepted the title. After Ning Junqiu presented a stack of calling cards, Lu Ping faced a choice about whether to end or continue taking alchemy orders.

• Ning Junqiu entered Lu Ping’s room and found him pouring tea for the aloof Jiang Mutian.
• Ning Junqiu asked what Jiang Mutian was to Lu Ping, and Jiang Mutian silently waited for his answer.
• Lu Ping chose to call Jiang Mutian his senior sister, and she accepted the title without comment.
• Ning Junqiu relaxed and respectfully greeted Jiang Mutian as Lu Ping’s senior sister.
• Lu Ping examined Ning Junqiu’s calling cards and faced options about ending or continuing his alchemy work.

Lu Ping turned down future alchemy requests and kept refining Jiang Mutian’s Slaughter Sword Intent. After mastering the tenth Jade Talisman, he demonstrated a formidable Hundred-Blade Gang Qi in the courtyard.

• Lu Ping told Ning Junqiu he would finish three batches of Pills and then leave Nü Zhi City with Jiang Mutian.
• Ning Junqiu realized Jiang Mutian was more than Lu Ping’s senior sister and left without asking him to stay.
• Jiang Mutian accepted Lu Ping’s claim that she was his senior sister and gave him another Sword Intent Jade Talisman.
• Lu Ping refined and delivered Ning Junqiu’s three batches of Pills, then focused on studying the Jade Talismans.
• Lu Ping shattered the tenth Jade Talisman and used his Hundred-Blade Gang Qi to erase the upper half of a Sword-Testing Stone.

Lu Ping impressed Jiang Mutian by comprehending his own Killing Intent, and she praised his talent before activating the Heguang Talisman without drawing a backlash. As Jiang Mutian departed, she told him she walked ahead on the Great Dao, and Lu Ping promised to pursue it tirelessly.

• Jiang Mutian recognized that Lu Ping had forged his own path of slaughter and said she had nothing more to teach him.
• Lu Ping thanked Jiang Mutian modestly for her guidance, and she activated the Heguang Talisman beneath the stars.
• Lu Ping waited for a divination backlash, but none came because Jiang Mutian had avoided injury and prepared for her enemies.
• Jiang Mutian warned Lu Ping not to get entangled in the Demonic Cult's affairs and began to leave.
• Jiang Mutian told Lu Ping, "The Great Dao is lonely, and I walk ahead," and Lu Ping vowed to pursue the Dao tirelessly.

After Jiang Mutian left Nü Zhi City, Lu Ping departed as well and took Crow-Crow through the Domain of Chaos to search for secret realms. When they found a Spirit Transformation-level realm, Lu Ping considered whether getting trapped inside might actually benefit his cultivation.

• Jiang Mutian left the Gathering Immortals Tower, and Lu Ping packed his belongings and departed Nü Zhi City.
• Lu Ping released Crow-Crow, who had recovered from self-destruction, and had him pilot the Flying Boat through the Domain of Chaos.
• After half a month of finding only low-level secret realms, Lu Ping discovered a realm that could accommodate Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators.
• Lu Ping weighed the system's options for exploring the secret realm and began to think being trapped inside could give him years of peaceful cultivation.

Lu Ping abandoned his search for treasure in the Domain of Chaos after two secret realms yielded little and Crow-Crow died in a collapse. He returned to Qingyang City to collect his investment from the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, but sensed something was wrong as someone approached.

• Lu Ping sent Crow-Crow to search a Spirit Transformation secret realm, but it found only a few million Low-Grade Spirit Stones’ worth of spoils.
• Lu Ping sent Crow-Crow into a second secret realm, which collapsed and severed their connection, killing Crow-Crow again.
• Lu Ping chose to stop exploring secret realms and traveled to Ox Ridge City, where he bought a Teleportation Jade Talisman to Black Nether City.
• Lu Ping passed through Black Nether City and returned to Qingyang City after a year away, adjusting his cultivation to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Lu Ping visited the Azure Dragon Merchant Association to collect the 3.5 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones he had invested, then grew wary when he heard footsteps outside the private room.

Lu Ping collected the profits from Shen Yuerong’s Mystic Marrow Jade trade, stocked up on medicinal ingredients, and returned to Azure Cloud Sect. After reviewing Li Shi’s report on protecting Wuming, he rewarded Li Shi and arranged another protection mission, then wondered whether he had become part of Wuming’s path of cultivation.

• Shen Silan told Lu Ping that Shen Yuerong had returned to the Azure Dragon Upper Domain to pursue a chance at reaching Nascent Soul and handed him 41.2 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Ping bought a large supply of low-level medicinal ingredients from the Azure Dragon Merchant Association and considered seeking resources in the Myriad Demon Domain or the Azure Dragon Upper Domain.
• Lu Ping returned to Xiaolai Peak and reviewed Li Shi’s detailed report on secretly protecting Wuming and his companions at Red-Silk Mountain.
• Lu Ping gave Li Shi ten Contribution Points and set up an exclusive follow-up mission to protect Wuming at Broken Sunset Valley eleven years later.
• Lu Ping reflected that his actions made him resemble a Golden Finger grandpa in Wuming’s cultivation story, and the system presented him with options for what to do next.

Lu Ping reflected on karma, advanced his Dao Heart, and searched the Azure Cloud Sect’s archives and vault for ingredients for the Nine-Revolution Heaven-Defying Pill. After paying for the ingredients and preparing to leave, he went to bid farewell to Shen Yaoxin, who awaited him in the Main Peak hall.

• Lu Ping chose to reflect on karma, strengthening his Dao Heart before entering the Azure Cloud Sect’s Scripture Pavilion.
• Lu Ping studied the pavilion’s texts for a month, found a clue to the Nine-Aperture Star Marrow Fruit, and mastered the available methods and sword scriptures.
• Lu Ping visited the inner vault and exchanged three Taiyi Origin-Returning Pills for several ingredients and artifact-refining materials.
• Lu Ping left the vault with more pill ingredients and decided to say goodbye to Shen Yaoxin before leaving the sect.
• Lu Ping entered the Main Peak hall, where Shen Yaoxin greeted him and options appeared for how to settle their karma.

Lu Ping gave a five-day alchemy sermon at the Azure Cloud Sect, cementing his standing as Grand Supreme Elder before leaving. He then went to the Thousand Mechanisms Sect to learn its Mechanism Arts and Puppet Technique and confront Gongshu Ke about an old matter.

• Lu Ping accepted Shen Yaoxin’s request and agreed to give a sermon for the Azure Cloud Sect’s disciples.
• Lu Ping taught alchemy at Red Cloud Peak for five days, helping disciples and elders gain insights and leaving the sect in awe of him.
• Lu Ping said farewell to Shen Yaoxin and left the Azure Cloud Sect, freeing himself from its hold after repaying his debt with the sermon.
• Lu Ping traveled to the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, aiming to acquire its Mechanism Arts and Puppet Technique and ask Gongshu Ke about the Dark Hall case.

Lu Ping infiltrated the Thousand Mechanisms Sect and confronted Gongshu Ke to demand access to the sect’s two supreme arts. Gongshu Ke offered to trade them for a Creation Life-Restoring Pill, leaving Lu Ping to decide how to respond.

• Lu Ping used the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak to enter the Thousand Mechanisms Sect unseen and found Gongshu Ke carving a Mechanism Bird in the main hall.
• Lu Ping revealed himself and demanded to study the Heavenly Art True Scroll and Taiwei Puppet Profound Scripture.
• Gongshu Ke refused, but his Primordial Spirit shook with conflicting Qi signatures when Lu Ping pressed him to name his price.
• Gongshu Ke offered to trade the two supreme arts for a Creation Life-Restoring Pill, and Lu Ping remembered he had three of the pills in his Storage Ring.

Lu Ping traded a Creation Life-Restoring Pill for the Heavenly Art True Scroll and Taiwei Puppet Profound Scripture, then trapped Gongshu Ke and destroyed the mysterious divine thought controlling his puppet body. The real Gongshu Ke’s weak Primordial Spirit emerged from the spirit crystal and begged Lu Ping not to destroy the body, leaving Lu Ping to choose how to respond.

• Lu Ping exchanged a Creation Life-Restoring Pill for the two complete scriptures and immobilized Gongshu Ke with I'll Make Three Points.
• Lu Ping sealed the Thousand Mechanisms Hall with the Great Five Elements Heaven-Trapping Formation and erased its Karmic Threads.
• A mysterious divine thought took control of Gongshu Ke’s puppet body and threatened Lu Ping, who activated his Traits and stacked his combat power thirty-threefold.
• Lu Ping used Thousand Mechanisms Killing Intent to destroy the divine thought and break the puppet’s core Restriction.
• Lu Ping prepared to shatter the spirit crystal, but Gongshu Ke’s Primordial Spirit emerged and pleaded with him to spare the body.

Lu Ping learned why Gongshu Ke chose to remain a Spirit Transformation puppet despite years of suffering and agreed not to force him back into a mortal body. He removed the puppet’s remaining Restrictions, freeing Gongshu Ke from his torment while preserving his cultivation, and Gongshu Ke thanked him for the new life.

• Gongshu Ke explained that a mysterious expert had trapped his Nascent Soul in the Heaven-Reaching Puppet, where it transformed into a Primordial Spirit and granted him Spirit Transformation at the cost of his freedom.
• Gongshu Ke revealed that, after Lu Ping destroyed the lingering divine sense, he realized leaving the puppet would make him lose his Spirit Transformation cultivation, so he chose to remain in it.
• Lu Ping respected Gongshu Ke’s decision and warned that the puppet’s backup Restrictions could still let its master detonate it.
• Gongshu Ke offered Lu Ping anything from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s treasury in exchange for help, and Lu Ping instead asked him to explain obscure points in two cultivation scriptures.
• Lu Ping used his abilities to erase the puppet’s Restrictions, ending Gongshu Ke’s soul-forging torment and restoring his control over the body.
• Gongshu Ke returned to his middle-aged scholar appearance, thanked Lu Ping for giving him new life, and faced the next choice.

Lu Ping questioned Gongshu Ke about the Dark Hall, then stayed in the Thousand Mechanisms Sect to study mechanisms and puppetry. After gaining the Mental Involution Trait, he realized his Salty Fish Trait could protect him from its mental strain and praised the system as he considered which Trait to replace.

• Lu Ping asked Gongshu Ke who had turned him into a puppet, and Gongshu Ke identified the Dark Hall's ruler, Shenjizi, as the likely culprit.
• Lu Ping suspected Shenjizi was connected to the schemer targeting Jiang Mutian and reasoned that recent setbacks would make Shenjizi lie low.
• Lu Ping told Gongshu Ke to keep following any future Dark Hall orders and began studying mechanisms and puppetry with materials from the sect's storerooms.
• Lu Ping spent two years learning from Gongshu Ke and gained the Mental Involution Trait, which slowly increased Divine Sense but risked a mental breakdown.
• Lu Ping concluded that his Salty Fish Trait would protect his state of mind, praised the system, and considered which Trait to switch out.

Lu Ping left the Thousand Mechanisms Sect after spending three months mastering its inheritances and building a Nascent Soul Realm mechanism puppet. As he traveled onward, he assessed the threat from Shenjizi, put the puppet to work, and discovered that his Mental Involution Trait was rapidly strengthening his Primordial Spirit.

• Lu Ping completed a Nascent Soul Realm mechanism puppet and thanked Gongshu Ke before leaving the Thousand Mechanisms Sect.
• Lu Ping sensed no sign of the hidden enemy during his stay and suspected Shenjizi had withdrawn to bide his time.
• Lu Ping released a Flying Boat and had Little Puppet pilot it, teasing Crow-Crow about losing its job.
• Lu Ping considered buying a more spacious Cloud Boat, then rejected the thought as a distraction from his cultivation.
• Lu Ping examined his Mental Involution Trait and found that its anxious thoughts were automatically strengthening his Primordial Spirit.

Lu Ping traveled to Demon-Severing Cliff to meet Song Fuan, choosing to approach openly as the Azure Cloud Sect’s newly promoted Spirit Transformation Grand Supreme Elder. After his arrival drew attention from cultivators at the Demon-Suppressing Tower’s camp, he faced a guard and considered how to request an audience.

• Lu Ping counted the Spirit Stones accumulated through Passive Income and calculated that another forty years could bring him close to ten million.
• He traveled through Cangxuan City toward Demon-Severing Cliff, arriving on the day Zhu Wanshan was due to lead the Demon-Catching Squad into the Myriad Demon Domain.
• Lu Ping rejected disguising himself and chose to reveal his identity and Early Spirit Transformation cultivation to request an audience with Song Fuan.
• At the Demon-Suppressing Tower camp, Li Jingshi greeted Lu Ping while nearby cultivators recognized him as the Azure Cloud Sect’s Grand Supreme Elder.
• Lu Ping reflected that Shen Yaoxin had used his reputation to raise the Azure Cloud Sect’s standing, then considered how to respond to Li Jingshi.

Lu Ping gained an audience with Song Fuan at Demon-Severing Cliff by invoking his position in the Azure Cloud Sect. He reported Zhu Wanshan’s collaboration with a Great Demon and presented the formation diagram for “Crow’s Arrival,” leaving Song Fuan asking whether he had a plan.

• Lu Ping introduced himself to General Li Jingshi as a Grand Supreme Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect and requested an audience with Song Fuan.
• After Song Fuan summoned him, Lu Ping performed the Disciple’s Rite and explained that Zhu Wanshan had colluded with a Great Demon from the Myriad Demon Domain.
• Lu Ping described the Blood-Congealing Five-Elements Pill, the Bloodline Reversal Great Art, and the scheme to summon a Great Demon’s Avatar using transformed Demon Cultivators as anchors.
• Lu Ping gave Song Fuan a Jade Slip containing the “Crow’s Arrival” formation diagram, which Song Fuan examined and praised.
• Song Fuan asked Lu Ping whether he already had a plan, and the chapter ended as new choices appeared.

Lu Ping arranged for Chen Zhao to help him carry out a plan to trap the Great Demons, then claimed a bond from a previous life to explain his reverence for Song Fuan. He reached the Third Medicine Camp to meet Chen Zhao, whose stiff manner prompted Lu Ping to consider how to handle him.

• Lu Ping chose to lure the enemy into a trap and asked Song Fuan to assign Chen Zhao rather than a Garrison Guardian, citing the need for secrecy.
• Song Fuan agreed to issue a decree ordering Chen Zhao to assist Lu Ping.
• Lu Ping told Song Fuan that memories from a previous life had made him feel indebted and reverent, and Song Fuan accepted the explanation without pressing further.
• Lu Ping called Song Fuan “Teacher Song” before taking his leave, and Song Fuan briefly paused before dismissing him.
• Lu Ping went with Li Jingshi to the Third Medicine Camp, where Chen Zhao greeted him and led him into a restricted quiet room.
• Chen Zhao questioned why Lu Ping had summoned him, and Lu Ping faced options for responding to the cold, formal Camp General.

Lu Ping arranged to support Chen Zhao with a valuable pill formula, then ambushed and killed Zhu Wanshan to obtain the Great Wind Raptor’s true blood. After absorbing the blood, he faced the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s dormant wisp of Divine Sense in his Sea of Consciousness and had to choose how to deal with it.

• Lu Ping gave Chen Zhao the Small Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill Formula and settled in the Third Medicine Camp while waiting for Zhu Wanshan.
• Five days later, Lu Ping ambushed Zhu Wanshan aboard the Cloud Boat and destroyed him, his Nascent Soul, and his bonded Vermilion-Red Vulture.
• Lu Ping took the Great Wind Raptor’s bonded true blood from Zhu Wanshan’s Storage Ring and absorbed it, advancing his Early Spirit Transformation Stage cultivation slightly.
• The Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s wisp of Divine Sense appeared in Lu Ping’s Sea of Consciousness, and he considered three ways to deal with it.

Lu Ping consumed Chunwu’s wisp of Divine Sense, returned to the Profound Beast Taming Sect, and took charge as Acting Sect Master while protecting Qinghe. He declined to formally take Qinghe as his disciple but guided her cultivation, then faced a choice about how broadly to train her skills.

• Lu Ping chewed up Chunwu’s Three-Legged Crow spirit, severed its karmic connection, and returned to the Profound Beast Taming Sect disguised as Zhu Wanshan.
• Lu Ping balanced the Human Venerable Sect and Beast Venerable Sect at an assembly, silencing dissent with his presence.
• Qi Huailin asked Lu Ping to take Qinghe as his disciple, but Lu Ping declined the formal ceremony and promised to protect and guide her.
• Qi Huailin entrusted Lu Ping with the authority of Acting Sect Master, while Qinghe handled the sect’s affairs beside him.
• Lu Ping taught Qinghe and adjusted his approach to strengthen her foundation, then considered whether to teach her one or two disciplines or every art he knew.