Chapter Summaries

Lu Ping watched the city lord’s manor stage an auction where the household stewards overpaid for worthless goods, then saw Zhao Qingsu present a jade box containing a purported wisp of Dao Resonance from the Zhao Household Ancestor’s attempted breakthrough. Lu Ping recognized that the claim was suspicious, and Shen Yuerong also sensed a plot as the three Nascent Soul ancestors focused on the treasure.

• Lu Ping chose to pretend he did not know Han Shishan and stood quietly behind Shen Yuerong as Zhao Qingsu entered and fawned over the three ancestors.
• Zhao Qingsu began the trade fair, and the Jin, Wang, and Han household stewards bid extravagant sums for ordinary goods from the city lord’s manor.
• Lu Ping chose to stay silent as the manor finished selling its goods and the hall grew tense for the main event.
• Zhao Qingsu presented a sealed jade box and claimed it held insight from the Zhao Household Ancestor’s attempt to reach Spirit Transformation, asking the three households to spare the Zhao Household.
• Lu Ping recalled that he and Crow Daoist had killed the ancestor and destroyed his Nascent Soul, so he suspected the purported Dao Resonance was a trap.
• Shen Yuerong tensed and touched her Storage Ring as Lu Ping considered whether to stay, urge her to leave, or offer to assess the treasure for a fee.

Lu Ping watched as Zhao Qingsu activated a bloodline formation that sacrificed the entire Zhao Household to force his breakthrough to Nascent Soul. The three Nascent Soul ancestors were trapped inside as Zhao Qingsu declared that he alone was the Zhao Household.

• Lu Ping sent Shen Yuerong away with a voice transmission, then stayed hidden to observe the Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Han Shishan lunged for Zhao Qingsu’s jade box, and the Jin Household Ancestor and Wang Family Ancestor attacked him.
• Zhao Qingsu slammed the jade box into the formation’s core while Sun Jingli’s projection shielded him from the ancestors’ combined attack.
• The formation killed the Zhao Household’s thousands of blood relatives and drew their blood essence into the hall, trapping the three Nascent Soul ancestors.
• Zhao Qingsu swallowed the blood pearl made from the Zhao Household Ancestor’s remains and used the clan’s sacrificed essence to break through to Nascent Soul.
• Zhao Qingsu rose with a Nascent Soul and declared, “As long as I become a Nascent Soul ancestor, I am the Zhao Household.”

Lu Ping escaped the Zhao Estate’s Nascent Soul tribulation, then intercepted and killed the gravely wounded Han Shishan. He collected Han Shishan’s Storage Ring and faced a choice about what to do next.

• Lu Ping used Early Leave to escape the Zhao Estate as a heavenly tribulation engulfed the blood Formation.
• A crow showed Lu Ping that Han Shishan had survived the trap but was fleeing with his cultivation ruined, so Lu Ping chose to intercept him.
• Lu Ping used I'll Make Three Points and his Hundred-Blade Ring to overwhelm Han Shishan and erase his Nascent Soul.
• The Hundred-Blade Ring nearly exhausted Lu Ping’s Divine Sense, but he collected Han Shishan’s Storage Ring and found no Law Treasures or appealing Cultivation Methods inside.
• Lu Ping considered erasing the evidence, heading to the Azure Dragon Upper Domain, or billing the Azure Cloud Sect for Han Shishan’s funeral expenses.

Lu Ping returned to Qingyang City, learned that the city lord had profited from the Zhao Estate disaster, and secured a travel permit before setting out for the Azure Dragon Upper Domain. He reached the Boundary Pass and faced a choice about how to enter.

• Lu Ping returned to Qingyang City and found it quiet, though Qingyang Guards patrolled in greater numbers and the city lord's guards inspected Wang Family and Jin Household shops.
• Shen Yuerong gave Lu Ping his travel permit and explained that the Wang Family and Jin Household had donated half their assets, while the Han Household planned to leave the city.
• Lu Ping spent heavily at the Azure Dragon Merchant Association on rare medicinal herbs, but could not replenish his invisibility or Random Teleportation Talismans.
• Lu Ping traveled through the Teleportation Hall to the Azure Dragon Upper Domain and arrived at the Boundary Pass.
• Lu Ping saw the long inspection queues and considered whether to wait, cut in, or propose a new clearance system.

Lu Ping entered the Azure Dragon Upper Domain, paid its checkpoint fee, and learned that staying in its cities required a Baojia Token that consumed Spirit Stones every day. He arrived in Baodi City and faced a choice between reporting to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, exploring, or investing his Nascent Soul inheritances.

• Lu Ping joined the inspection queue and presented the travel document Shen Yuerong had given him, identifying himself as a participant in the Dao of Alchemy Grand Competition.
• Lu Ping paid five hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to enter the Azure Dragon Upper Domain and was struck by its dense Spiritual Qi.
• A Deacon gave Lu Ping a free Baojia Token and explained that its formation consumed Spirit Stones daily; Lu Ping imprinted it and deposited eight Spirit Stones.
• Lu Ping paid to teleport to Baodi City, one of the Azure Dragon Upper Domain’s seven main cities and the location of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s headquarters.
• Lu Ping saw Baodi City’s towering businesses and scrolling market news, then considered reporting to the Merchant Association, exploring, or investing his three Nascent Soul inheritances in pill futures.

Lu Ping joined the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s team for the Seven Cities Dao of Alchemy Grand Competition and received a place to stay and an advance allowance. After local participants looked down on him as a Central Region outsider, team leader Yan Xuanyao defended him and warned him to follow Upper Domain rules.

• Lu Ping chose to buy a map of Baodi City and used Shen Yuerong’s appointment token to register at the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.
• A Golden Core Perfection elder confirmed Lu Ping’s eligibility, gave him a competition token, and advanced him 240 Low-Grade Spirit Stones as his Baojia Allowance.
• An attendant showed Lu Ping to his cave abode, where he met team leader Yan Xuanyao, a Fourth-Level Alchemist.
• When local participants mocked Lu Ping’s Central Region origins, Yan Xuanyao rebuked them and warned Lu Ping that he had to follow Upper Domain rules.
• Lu Ping entered his well-equipped cave abode and considered whether to study the competition, explore Baodi City, or pitch Yan Xuanyao a proposal for monetizing the competition.

Lu Ping studied the dangerous rules for the Dao of Alchemy Grand Competition and bought its expensive Pill Formula bundle before preparing for two months. At the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s internal selection, he met his assigned partner, Liang Yishou, and faced a choice about how to approach him.

• Lu Ping learned that the competition used poison pills and a formation that sent Pill Qi against opposing teams, and discovered that the Pill Formulas had to be purchased separately.
• Lu Ping bought the competition’s bundle of more than a hundred Pill Formulas for seventy thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Ping spent two months studying the formulas and medicinal ingredients while preparing for the association’s internal selection.
• Lu Ping arrived at the selection arena and met his partner, Golden Core Perfection Third-Grade Alchemist Liang Yishou.
• Lu Ping faced options to greet Liang Yishou, treat him dismissively, or require him to sign a cooperation agreement.

Lu Ping used an unconventional set of ingredients to make a fast-acting poison pill and win the alchemy qualifier before his opponents could finish refining their pills. The arena fell silent as the merchant association’s Alchemists stared at him, and he faced a choice about how to respond.

• Lu Ping chose to attack while Liang Yishou focused on defense, then selected obscure supplementary ingredients and One-Step Grass for his pill.
• Lu Ping reassured Liang Yishou that his detoxification strategy was sound while leaving his own alchemy unexplained.
• Lu Ping traced the Great Expansion Alchemy Formation’s Spirit Veins before rapidly refining a black pill with One-Step Grass.
• Lu Ping sent the pill’s fast-moving poisonous Qi through the formation, disrupting the gaunt old man’s alchemy and causing both opponents’ cauldrons to explode.
• Lu Ping won the qualifier while Liang Yishou and the spectators stared in shock.

Lu Ping defeated successive opponents in the merchant guild’s alchemy selection with rapid, unconventional pills, earning wary silence from the local Alchemists. At the final match, Yan Xuanyao’s disciple prepared defensive pills to counter him, and Lu Ping faced a new set of options.

• Lu Ping chose option A and withdrew from the platform with Liang Yishou after winning their first match.
• Lu Ping used Deadwood Vine and auxiliary ingredients to make his pill Qi reach his second opponents before their Poison Pills were ready, causing both cauldrons to explode.
• Lu Ping won his later matches by rapidly combining unusual ingredients and forcing opponents to lose control or blow up their cauldrons.
• Yan Xuanyao’s Personal Disciple challenged Lu Ping in the final selection match and chose defensive Turtle-Breathing Purity Pills instead of Poison Pills.
• Lu Ping was presented with three options: refine a Poison Pill, try something different, or challenge the Taiyan Formation’s judging mechanism.

Lu Ping defeated Yan Xuanyao’s Personal Disciple by channeling pill Qi through the formation’s Spirit Vein to trigger an earthfire explosion, earning a place on the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s team for the Baodi City Grand Competition. Yan Xuanyao gave him access to the core Alchemy Chamber and assigned Liang Yishou as his partner, leaving Lu Ping to consider whether to train there or visit a major city.

• Lu Ping chose B and refined unusual ingredients, then used pill Qi to trigger an explosion beneath his opponent’s furnace and win the selection match.
• Yan Xuanyao named Lu Ping to lead the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s team for the Baodi City Grand Competition and warned him about the Great Expansion Alchemy Formation and the powerful opponents ahead.
• Lu Ping accepted Yan Xuanyao’s advice, and Yan gave him a pass to the association’s core Alchemy Chamber.
• Yan Xuanyao assigned Liang Yishou as Lu Ping’s competition partner, leaving Liang overwhelmed by the news.
• Lu Ping returned to his cave abode and considered using the pass to train, visiting a major city, or asking Si Wangshu to recruit him for the Si Clan.

Lu Ping bought all forty portions of sha soul crystal from the Azure Dragon Merchant Association and discovered that he and Liang Yishou had been given eighty-to-one odds in the alchemy competition. He tried to bet on his own team, but the gambling house refused because competitors were prohibited from wagering.

• Lu Ping used his Level Three VIP token to buy all forty portions of sha soul crystal in Baodi City.
• Lu Ping saw the city’s lavish promotions and betting frenzy surrounding the Seven-City Dao of Alchemy Grand Competition.
• Lu Ping found the Azure Dragon Merchant Association team, Liang Yishou and himself, listed at eighty-to-one odds.
• Lu Ping inferred that Yan Xuanyao had paired him with Liang Yishou to create a long-shot team that would attract bets.
• Lu Ping tried to wager his Spirit Stones on his team, but the gambling house Deacon identified him as a competitor and invoked the ban on bets by competitors and their close relatives.

Lu Ping recognized that the gambling house controlled the betting and returned to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association after failing to find Sha Soul Crystal. On the way, he entered the Dark Hall to buy intelligence about the Baodi City competition teams, but learned that it would sell only basic information while the competition was underway.

• Lu Ping realized the Four Domains Gambling House could confiscate both stakes and winnings, then left as gamblers bet on the competition.
• Lu Ping searched Baodi City’s materials market for Sha Soul Crystal, found none, and chose to return to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.
• Lu Ping spotted the Dark Hall operating openly and chose to enter rather than walk away.
• Lu Ping asked a Dark Hall Deacon for Grade A intelligence on the competition teams, but the Deacon said only Grade D information was available during the competition.

Lu Ping paid the Dark Hall to deliver a Pseudo-Peach Blossom Meridian-Calming Pill to Si Wangshu and received intelligence on his opponents. He returned to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association to prepare for battle, where he considered how to handle his generous daily ingredient quota.

• Lu Ping paid two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones for a grade-D intelligence report from the Dark Hall.
• Lu Ping paid ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones for the Dark Hall to deliver a Pseudo-Peach Blossom Meridian-Calming Pill directly to Si Wangshu of the Si Clan in Dangang City.
• Lu Ping wondered why the Dark Hall seemed so poor and suspected its activities served a purpose beyond making money, but chose not to investigate further.
• Lu Ping returned to his cave abode and began preparing for battle by spending nearly every day in the Core Alchemy Chamber.
• The Azure Dragon Merchant Association gave Lu Ping a generous daily quota of medicinal ingredients, and he considered whether to take only what he needed or claim the whole quota.

Lu Ping stockpiled pills and studied rival Alchemists before the Baodi City Qualifier began. After Si Wangshu arrived, he placed a bet through her, and Yan Xuanyao privately told him to hold back as the first group was about to compete.

• Lu Ping chose to use the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s materials to refine pills, building up a large supply while studying techniques from past competitions.
• Liang Yishou gave Lu Ping a Jade Slip containing valuable information about the competing teams.
• When Si Wangshu arrived in Baodi City, Lu Ping asked her to bet ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones on the Azure Dragon Merchant Association and encouraged her to stay through the qualifier.
• The Baodi City Qualifier opened with more than twenty teams, a group-stage format, extensive broadcasts, and heavy betting activity.
• Yan Xuanyao called Lu Ping aside before the competition and told him not to stand out too much and to hold something back.

Lu Ping and Liang Yishou repeatedly scraped through the tournament rounds while making the Azure Dragon Merchant Association look weak, sending their betting odds soaring. Their semifinal opponent was the heavily favored Heavenly Pill Pavilion, and Yan Xuanyao told Lu Ping to defeat them the next day.

• Lu Ping and Liang Yishou defeated the Li Lineage after Liang's Detoxification Pill held off their Poison Qi and Lu's Poison Pill overwhelmed their defense.
• Lu Ping reviewed dossiers on the Heavenly Pill Pavilion's Xiao Han and the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower's Ye Hongshan, identifying them as leading contenders.
• Lu Ping and Liang Yishou advanced through two more matches by pretending to struggle and winning by narrow margins, frustrating bettors who had wagered against them.
• The semifinal lineup matched the Azure Dragon Merchant Association against the Heavenly Pill Pavilion, and the odds against Lu Ping and Liang Yishou rose to one hundred to one.
• Yan Xuanyao told Lu Ping to beat the Heavenly Pill Pavilion, and Lu Ping faced three possible responses.

Lu Ping led the Azure Dragon Merchant Association to victory over the Heavenly Pill Pavilion in the semifinals and the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower in the finals by rapidly refining pills that sabotaged his opponents. After the team qualified to represent Baodi City, Yan Xuanyao arrived at Lu Ping’s cave with two other Nascent Soul cultivators, and Lu Ping considered how to respond.

• Lu Ping chose a fast pill-making strategy, and his pill redirected the formation’s Earthfire into Xiao Han’s cauldron, knocking out Xiao Han and his teammate and winning the semifinal for the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.
• Two days later, Lu Ping chose another fast assault against Ye Hongshan, whose pill exploded after Lu Ping’s grayish-white pill Qi corroded her veil and disrupted her refining.
• The Azure Dragon Merchant Association defeated the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower and qualified to represent Baodi City, while the competition’s betting odds and the crowd’s reactions swung wildly.
• Yan Xuanyao visited Lu Ping’s cave abode that night with a middle-aged man in Shen Household attire and an Azure Dragon Merchant Association elder, all three of them Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Lu Ping weighed three possible responses to the visitors, including pretending to cooperate, confronting them, or staging a public scandal.

Lu Ping was offered three hundred thousand Spirit Stones to withdraw from the Seven-City Grand Competition, and he was about to accept when Si Wangshu arrived to pay her respects. Her visit changed the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s tone, and Shen Sifeng offered Lu Ping the reward and a Fourth-Level Alchemist certificate.

• Yan Xuanyao offered Lu Ping three hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones to withdraw from the Seven-City Grand Competition, explaining that the association would claim Lu had damaged his Dao foundation.
• Lu Ping chose to accept the payment, but Liang Yishou announced that someone from the Si Clan had come to see him.
• Si Wangshu entered with a veiled old woman and gave Lu Ping a junior’s salute, surprising Yan Xuanyao and the Shen Household representatives.
• Shen Sifeng warmly greeted Si Wangshu, who exchanged courteous compliments with him before sitting beside Lu Ping.
• Shen Sifeng reframed the Spirit Stones as a reward and said the Shen Household had proposed giving Lu Ping a Fourth-Level Alchemist certificate.

Lu Ping accepted Shen Sifeng’s gift and gracefully parted ways with the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, then collected his enormous betting winnings from Si Wangshu. After discovering she had won far more than he had, he congratulated her Core Formation with a mass-producible Meridian-Clearing Pill formula, leaving her deeply impressed by his generosity.

• Lu Ping accepted Shen Sifeng’s Storage Ring and told the Azure Dragon Merchant Association he would help them again if needed.
• Si Wangshu gave Lu Ping his principal and eight and a half million Low-Grade Spirit Stones in winnings.
• Si Wangshu revealed that she had bet a million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and won eighty-five million, stunning Lu Ping.
• Lu Ping noticed Si Wangshu had reached Golden Core Early Stage and gave her the Meridian-Clearing Pill formula as a congratulatory gift.
• Si Wangshu recognized the formula’s potential to benefit low-level cultivators and solemnly thanked Lu Ping.

Lu Ping entered the White Tiger Domain to collect materials for Star River Myriad Blades and discovered that Sha Soul Crystals were controlled by White Tiger Hall and exchanged for military merits. He stood at the recruitment notice, weighing how to obtain enough crystals without committing to thirty years of service.

• Lu Ping obtained his Fourth-Level Alchemist certificate, bought all the Sha Soul Crystals available in Baodi City, and traveled through the cross-domain Teleportation Array to the White Tiger Domain.
• At the checkpoint, Lu Ping used one of his Sha Soul Crystals to activate a White Tiger Token and keep the Sha Qi at bay.
• Lu Ping arrived in Maoyuan City and saw that its fortified streets and wary, armored cultivators contrasted with the Azure Dragon Domain.
• At the supplies exchange, Lu Ping learned that Sha Soul Crystals cost one hundred military merits each and could not be traded without White Tiger Hall authorization.
• Lu Ping read that White Tiger Hall required a thirty-year commitment, and calculated that obtaining three thousand Sha Soul Crystals would require three hundred thousand military merits.

Lu Ping traveled from Maoyuan City to the White Tiger Hall’s headquarters at the Sha-Suppressing Great Wall, hoping to join the Pill Camp as a Fourth-Level Alchemist. The recruitment officer dismissed his certificate and assigned him to a three-month battlefield assessment at Black Moon Gorge.

• Lu Ping boarded a troop transport after learning he needed to travel by flying boat to reach the West-Suppressing Sword Pass.
• A scarred young man warned Lu Ping that life in the White Tiger Domain belonged to the military as the boat carried them west.
• Lu Ping arrived at the Sha-Suppressing Great Wall and joined the line of new recruits after a horn sounded.
• Lu Ping presented his Fourth-Level Alchemist certificate and asked to join the Pill Camp.
• The recruitment officer mocked Lu Ping, assigned him to the War Division as an army Alchemist, and ordered him to survive a three-month assessment at the Black Moon Gorge outpost.